Bon Voyage
The day has arrived. Tomorrow morning, Neil and I are taking our yet-to-be-packed suitcases to the airport and heading to Italy. I do not feel at all ready for this grand adventure, but I'm excited nonetheless. I am sure that tonight, when I go to sleep, I will know that I'm prepared. But right now, I have an empty suitcase and no clue what clothes to bring or even what to wear on the airplane.
I'm so excited about visiting my long lost brother. And I'm thrilled to finally act on some of my wanderlust. Expect photos and thrilling posts upon my return at the beginning of April. But until then, unless I unexpectedly find myself in front of a computer in Italy, I will be a little bit quiet. Have a great couple of weeks!
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Monday, March 21, 2005
Sick is Scary
Yesterday, Neil got sick. It started shortly after a trip to our bagel shop for lunch. He was nauseous and his whole body felt weak. We thought it was brought on by the fumes from cleaning stuff we were using to clean the bathroom at the time, but he kept feeling ill for the rest of the day. We went to sleep at 11 and he tossed and turned and at 2 he woke up and went into the kitchen where he got dizzy and light-headed and then puked. The point of this is not to describe Neil's illness as much as it is to point out that I was terrified by it. Neil is never sick, so I am sure that was part of it, but I also just got worried.
"What if he doesn't get better," I wondered. "What if he has a really bad kind of poisoning?"
When I'm sick, I don't think those thoughts about myself. I just think, "Must get better, must get better." It's that caring about someone else thing that got me last night. I wasn't sick, so I had enough time to worry about Neil.
We're pretty sure he got sick from the lox on the bagel... and luckily, he is feeling better (but not all better) today. When we woke up this morning and he was the right color again, I felt a huge wave of relief. It felt so good, that I didn't mind all the worry from the night before. I love being in love with someone so much that it feels wonderful when a worry about their well-being fades away. Not sure if I'm making a whole lot of sense here -- it's been a long day.
Yesterday, Neil got sick. It started shortly after a trip to our bagel shop for lunch. He was nauseous and his whole body felt weak. We thought it was brought on by the fumes from cleaning stuff we were using to clean the bathroom at the time, but he kept feeling ill for the rest of the day. We went to sleep at 11 and he tossed and turned and at 2 he woke up and went into the kitchen where he got dizzy and light-headed and then puked. The point of this is not to describe Neil's illness as much as it is to point out that I was terrified by it. Neil is never sick, so I am sure that was part of it, but I also just got worried.
"What if he doesn't get better," I wondered. "What if he has a really bad kind of poisoning?"
When I'm sick, I don't think those thoughts about myself. I just think, "Must get better, must get better." It's that caring about someone else thing that got me last night. I wasn't sick, so I had enough time to worry about Neil.
We're pretty sure he got sick from the lox on the bagel... and luckily, he is feeling better (but not all better) today. When we woke up this morning and he was the right color again, I felt a huge wave of relief. It felt so good, that I didn't mind all the worry from the night before. I love being in love with someone so much that it feels wonderful when a worry about their well-being fades away. Not sure if I'm making a whole lot of sense here -- it's been a long day.
Friday, March 18, 2005
The Rudest Guy Ever
Tonight, like many other nights, Neil and I went to the gym after work. We both hopped on elliptical machines and started moving. I listened to my iPod and Neil was tuned into one of the televisions. Suddenly, even though my volume was up 2/3 of the way, I heard a very loud sound. It took a moment, but I tracked the noise to a man two machines over who was, I discovered, holding a cell phone to his ear and shouting into it.
"Tell me about your life, man!" he hollered. "I want to hear what's up with you!"
These were not statements that needed to be shouted, but they were being shouted nonetheless.
Right behind this fine specimen of a human was a sign that said something like, "Don't use your cell phone." (The sign was a bit more polite.)
At first, I thought that he might just be talking very briefly. I reasoned that I might take a really important call at the gym and set up a time for a later call back. I expected that, at any moment, my fellow gym member would say (a bit more softly), "Well, I'm at the gym so I've got to go, man." But the minutes ticked by and we were subjected to his shouting.
Cell phone man looked like a nice enough guy. He had dark hair that was a little spiky in front and those thick plastic glasses that have become increasingly cool among the 30-something set. He was wearing a normal white t-shirt and some striped workout pants. He had three days worth of stubble on his face, but it made him look rugged, like the kind of man you might meet at the mountain bike shop or the ski area. But his shoes were another story. He had white Nikes with a black swoosh and a big orange stripe that went right through the swoosh and looked spray painted on the shoe. I wondered if they were from an outlet or something and had to be marked with orange paint because he didn't pay full price? Or maybe these spray-painted shoes are cool now? I have no idea. He also had a very dated Sony armband walkman strapped to his left arm. There have been at least three generations of portable music players since that thing was made, so you know he's not the hippest guy around.
As the man continued to shout into his phone for 5...6...10 minutes, my dislike for him grew. I became a less mature version of myself as I turned to Neil and made an obnoxious gagging sign which I knew full well that Cell Phone Man could have seen reflected in the dark window in front of us if he weren't so self absorbed. Neil did an exaggerated thumbs down gesture and the two of us kept looking at Cell Phone Man and rolling our eyes.
Why I let Cell Phone Man bring out the worst in me, I'm not sure. It was just amazing to me that he somehow thought it was ok to have a 15 minute conversation on the precor at the gym while at least ten other people were in the room with him. It was even more amazing that he was able to shout that loud for that long while working out. The other day I was wondering what little annoyances I have coping strategies for. I suppose that when I am really annoyed by an inappropriate cell phone talker, I gag, roll my eyes and act like an adolescent. (all behaviors that are much cooler than shouting into your phone at the gym.)
Tonight, like many other nights, Neil and I went to the gym after work. We both hopped on elliptical machines and started moving. I listened to my iPod and Neil was tuned into one of the televisions. Suddenly, even though my volume was up 2/3 of the way, I heard a very loud sound. It took a moment, but I tracked the noise to a man two machines over who was, I discovered, holding a cell phone to his ear and shouting into it.
"Tell me about your life, man!" he hollered. "I want to hear what's up with you!"
These were not statements that needed to be shouted, but they were being shouted nonetheless.
Right behind this fine specimen of a human was a sign that said something like, "Don't use your cell phone." (The sign was a bit more polite.)
At first, I thought that he might just be talking very briefly. I reasoned that I might take a really important call at the gym and set up a time for a later call back. I expected that, at any moment, my fellow gym member would say (a bit more softly), "Well, I'm at the gym so I've got to go, man." But the minutes ticked by and we were subjected to his shouting.
Cell phone man looked like a nice enough guy. He had dark hair that was a little spiky in front and those thick plastic glasses that have become increasingly cool among the 30-something set. He was wearing a normal white t-shirt and some striped workout pants. He had three days worth of stubble on his face, but it made him look rugged, like the kind of man you might meet at the mountain bike shop or the ski area. But his shoes were another story. He had white Nikes with a black swoosh and a big orange stripe that went right through the swoosh and looked spray painted on the shoe. I wondered if they were from an outlet or something and had to be marked with orange paint because he didn't pay full price? Or maybe these spray-painted shoes are cool now? I have no idea. He also had a very dated Sony armband walkman strapped to his left arm. There have been at least three generations of portable music players since that thing was made, so you know he's not the hippest guy around.
As the man continued to shout into his phone for 5...6...10 minutes, my dislike for him grew. I became a less mature version of myself as I turned to Neil and made an obnoxious gagging sign which I knew full well that Cell Phone Man could have seen reflected in the dark window in front of us if he weren't so self absorbed. Neil did an exaggerated thumbs down gesture and the two of us kept looking at Cell Phone Man and rolling our eyes.
Why I let Cell Phone Man bring out the worst in me, I'm not sure. It was just amazing to me that he somehow thought it was ok to have a 15 minute conversation on the precor at the gym while at least ten other people were in the room with him. It was even more amazing that he was able to shout that loud for that long while working out. The other day I was wondering what little annoyances I have coping strategies for. I suppose that when I am really annoyed by an inappropriate cell phone talker, I gag, roll my eyes and act like an adolescent. (all behaviors that are much cooler than shouting into your phone at the gym.)
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Great Minds
The other day I told someone about moving to Washington D.C. next November and whoever it was said, "There are a lot of great minds in Washington D.C." And now I have this image in my head of a bunch of wise brains sitting around in cigar bars without their bodies. I realize this is completely bizarre, but that's the image I have. Instead of thinking of something obvious like the Washington Monument, or the Capitol building, I think of brains smoking cigars. Lovely. I wish I could remember who said that to me so I could properly thank them.
Letters
Last night I wrote six letters. Not e-mails, but handwritten letters. This is something I used to do all the time, but now I am out of practice. It seems that if I am not in front of a keyboard, I have trouble composing sentences. The pen in the hand just doesn't do it for me like it used to. I probably have about 20 journals that I wrote between 4th grate and the end of high school, but when I got to college, the writing by hand dropped off and I poured my heart out in e-mails to friends. Now, I have this blog and e-mails and everything I write for work is typed. I love technology, but it is a little bit sad that it's robbed me of the simplicity of pen and paper. I'm going to try to write letters more often in the hopes that I will be able to get that skill back.
Basketball
I am not the world's biggest sports fan. I like sports. Basketball is one of the few that I can actually watch on TV, but ask me to name teams and players and forget it. Since March Madness is beginning, I have been sucked into participating in two bracket competitions. One is for some money and I had to pay $10 to be a part of it, the other is at work and administered by my boss who plans to give the winner a day off! I love money, but I'm really hoping to win the day off. Perhaps my complete lack of statistical knowledge or season history will help me?
I wonder how many people across the country participate in this kind of gambling.
Taxes
Based on the results of this year's taxes, I should become a republican. (But don't worry, I'd have to be completely insane to do that.) Today, I feel like a grownup because I'm totally bummed about money. The biggest benefit of childhood is blissful ignorance about money in particular.
The other day I told someone about moving to Washington D.C. next November and whoever it was said, "There are a lot of great minds in Washington D.C." And now I have this image in my head of a bunch of wise brains sitting around in cigar bars without their bodies. I realize this is completely bizarre, but that's the image I have. Instead of thinking of something obvious like the Washington Monument, or the Capitol building, I think of brains smoking cigars. Lovely. I wish I could remember who said that to me so I could properly thank them.
Letters
Last night I wrote six letters. Not e-mails, but handwritten letters. This is something I used to do all the time, but now I am out of practice. It seems that if I am not in front of a keyboard, I have trouble composing sentences. The pen in the hand just doesn't do it for me like it used to. I probably have about 20 journals that I wrote between 4th grate and the end of high school, but when I got to college, the writing by hand dropped off and I poured my heart out in e-mails to friends. Now, I have this blog and e-mails and everything I write for work is typed. I love technology, but it is a little bit sad that it's robbed me of the simplicity of pen and paper. I'm going to try to write letters more often in the hopes that I will be able to get that skill back.
Basketball
I am not the world's biggest sports fan. I like sports. Basketball is one of the few that I can actually watch on TV, but ask me to name teams and players and forget it. Since March Madness is beginning, I have been sucked into participating in two bracket competitions. One is for some money and I had to pay $10 to be a part of it, the other is at work and administered by my boss who plans to give the winner a day off! I love money, but I'm really hoping to win the day off. Perhaps my complete lack of statistical knowledge or season history will help me?
I wonder how many people across the country participate in this kind of gambling.
Taxes
Based on the results of this year's taxes, I should become a republican. (But don't worry, I'd have to be completely insane to do that.) Today, I feel like a grownup because I'm totally bummed about money. The biggest benefit of childhood is blissful ignorance about money in particular.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Snow Day
Well, after I posted those photos last night, it continued to snow and when I woke up this morning, the amount of snow on my lounge chair had doubled. (of course, I was in too much of a rush to photograph it this morning.) This snow would not be extraordinary if I lived in Santa Fe, or Chicago or someplace else, but here in Albuquerque, we don't get snow like this. Usually, there is a light dusting once or twice a year, but that's it. Snow does not accumulate on cars and trees and streets. It just flutters down and melts. But here we are in March and we have a full-fledged snow day.
All the schools and colleges and some of the courts in town are closed today. For about 10 minutes, I entertained the idea that my office might be closed too, but no such luck. So, here I am. I felt a little bit insane driving to work this morning because there were only about five other people on the road. It was bizarre. Then, despite the fact that I was only driving 30 miles an hour, I got to work 20 minutes early. Pleased with my earliness, I decided to go to Starbucks. Apparently everyone else decided to do the same thing and by the time I got my grande latte with 2% milk and my lowfat blueberry muffin, I was 5 minutes late to work. Sometimes I really excel at defeating myself.
While in line at Starbucks, I got to read the actual print edition of the New York Times. Right on the front page there was an article about how people have tactics they use to fight little annoyances. The first example in the article was about the complete lunacy of the sizes at Starbucks and a man who refuses to order a "Tall, Grande or Venti" and instead says small, medium and large. Another man gets so annoyed by the little subscription cards in magazines that he sends them all back blank so the magazine has to pay for postage. I am sure that I must have tactics like this... but, other than telling telemarketers that we're on the Do Not Call list and hanging up, I can't think of any. I will admit that I often entertain the idea of ordering a medium at Starbucks, but I am just not brave enough. It's so serious in there and people are so practiced at rattling off their drink orders and when I get to the front of the line, I just have to compete. "Grande percent latte, please."
Side rant: Someone who just flew in is in the front entry of the office right now and my co-workers are standing around complaining about air travel with her. I have two thoughts about this: 1) I had assumed the airport might be closed, but apparently it isn't 2) It totally sucks to be forced to make small talk with strangers in business situations.
The Board
I am going to be on a board of directors. That's right, just as we learned we're moving, I was asked to serve on a board of directors for the university's art museum and gallery. I wrestled with this. I couldn't say no and explain the move, because the woman who asked me to do it is a CEO of a credit union. And, I realized, that I actually want to do it. I love art, was looking for a way to get involved with the university and actually may have something to offer the group because of my PR skills. So, I am going to be on a board for seven months which really seems like SUCH a grown up thing to do. But I am positive that I'm not really grown up.
Well, after I posted those photos last night, it continued to snow and when I woke up this morning, the amount of snow on my lounge chair had doubled. (of course, I was in too much of a rush to photograph it this morning.) This snow would not be extraordinary if I lived in Santa Fe, or Chicago or someplace else, but here in Albuquerque, we don't get snow like this. Usually, there is a light dusting once or twice a year, but that's it. Snow does not accumulate on cars and trees and streets. It just flutters down and melts. But here we are in March and we have a full-fledged snow day.
All the schools and colleges and some of the courts in town are closed today. For about 10 minutes, I entertained the idea that my office might be closed too, but no such luck. So, here I am. I felt a little bit insane driving to work this morning because there were only about five other people on the road. It was bizarre. Then, despite the fact that I was only driving 30 miles an hour, I got to work 20 minutes early. Pleased with my earliness, I decided to go to Starbucks. Apparently everyone else decided to do the same thing and by the time I got my grande latte with 2% milk and my lowfat blueberry muffin, I was 5 minutes late to work. Sometimes I really excel at defeating myself.
While in line at Starbucks, I got to read the actual print edition of the New York Times. Right on the front page there was an article about how people have tactics they use to fight little annoyances. The first example in the article was about the complete lunacy of the sizes at Starbucks and a man who refuses to order a "Tall, Grande or Venti" and instead says small, medium and large. Another man gets so annoyed by the little subscription cards in magazines that he sends them all back blank so the magazine has to pay for postage. I am sure that I must have tactics like this... but, other than telling telemarketers that we're on the Do Not Call list and hanging up, I can't think of any. I will admit that I often entertain the idea of ordering a medium at Starbucks, but I am just not brave enough. It's so serious in there and people are so practiced at rattling off their drink orders and when I get to the front of the line, I just have to compete. "Grande percent latte, please."
Side rant: Someone who just flew in is in the front entry of the office right now and my co-workers are standing around complaining about air travel with her. I have two thoughts about this: 1) I had assumed the airport might be closed, but apparently it isn't 2) It totally sucks to be forced to make small talk with strangers in business situations.
The Board
I am going to be on a board of directors. That's right, just as we learned we're moving, I was asked to serve on a board of directors for the university's art museum and gallery. I wrestled with this. I couldn't say no and explain the move, because the woman who asked me to do it is a CEO of a credit union. And, I realized, that I actually want to do it. I love art, was looking for a way to get involved with the university and actually may have something to offer the group because of my PR skills. So, I am going to be on a board for seven months which really seems like SUCH a grown up thing to do. But I am positive that I'm not really grown up.
Monday, March 14, 2005
Friday, March 11, 2005
Friday With Pollen
It's Friday and the sky is blue and I am wearing sandals and there is pollen everywhere which means that, while I may look cute in my spring shoes, my eyes are red and puffy. Urgh.
This morning, I got caught in a really bad traffic jam. It took me 30 minutes to get to work and usually takes 12. I realize that in larger cities, this might seem like nothing, but to me this morning, it was really annoying. It was one of those days when I woke up in the morning and thought, "I'm looking forward to going to work today." And then the world conspired against me to keep me from working. When I pulled into the parking lot after surviving the traffic jam, I noticed that one of my tires was completely flat and had a nail sticking out of it. Fun fun fun.
With help from a co-worker, I got the tire pumped up and drove to the tire place where they told me the wait would be 45 minutes to an hour and a half. Kind of a large window, so I called another co-worker to pick me up. All of this fun activity made it so I didn't get to work until about 10. Now I am at my desk and the sun outside is totally distracting. Maybe I'm not so excited about working today after all...
I had some deep and fascinating ideas for this post, but I am so annoyed by the day that I completely forgot what I was going to post.
I was looking at my free traffic report from sitemeter.com and I noticed that a ton of people are entering my site in the archives for May 2004. This is very strange. Since I don't pay for the traffic report, I can't find what search words are leading them there. Now I am wondering if I wrote something scandalous or really fascinating that month. I reread the posts and nothing seems out of the ordinary. Hmm. Maybe it's time to upgrade my traffic report...
I hope whoever reads this has a great weekend. I know I'm planning on it.
It's Friday and the sky is blue and I am wearing sandals and there is pollen everywhere which means that, while I may look cute in my spring shoes, my eyes are red and puffy. Urgh.
This morning, I got caught in a really bad traffic jam. It took me 30 minutes to get to work and usually takes 12. I realize that in larger cities, this might seem like nothing, but to me this morning, it was really annoying. It was one of those days when I woke up in the morning and thought, "I'm looking forward to going to work today." And then the world conspired against me to keep me from working. When I pulled into the parking lot after surviving the traffic jam, I noticed that one of my tires was completely flat and had a nail sticking out of it. Fun fun fun.
With help from a co-worker, I got the tire pumped up and drove to the tire place where they told me the wait would be 45 minutes to an hour and a half. Kind of a large window, so I called another co-worker to pick me up. All of this fun activity made it so I didn't get to work until about 10. Now I am at my desk and the sun outside is totally distracting. Maybe I'm not so excited about working today after all...
I had some deep and fascinating ideas for this post, but I am so annoyed by the day that I completely forgot what I was going to post.
I was looking at my free traffic report from sitemeter.com and I noticed that a ton of people are entering my site in the archives for May 2004. This is very strange. Since I don't pay for the traffic report, I can't find what search words are leading them there. Now I am wondering if I wrote something scandalous or really fascinating that month. I reread the posts and nothing seems out of the ordinary. Hmm. Maybe it's time to upgrade my traffic report...
I hope whoever reads this has a great weekend. I know I'm planning on it.
Hopping Mad
So, I am one of those people who saves all the receipts I get when I use my debit card and then takes them home and enters them in the checkbook in order to keep track of how much money I have. Today, in the midst of the "stupidest day ever" after I had been away from work for an hour and a half to pick up my car, I went to the ATM. I withdrew some money and then a bunch of buttons popped up on the touch-screen ATM. A quick glance revealed that the machine was asking me about my receipt, so I pushed a green "Yes" button only to realize that I had pressed, "Yes, Don't Print A Receipt" instead of the button below that said, "Yes, Print a Receipt". What moron programmer thought, "Hey, let's make two green yes buttons!" The level of stupidity in the world astounds me sometimes. From now on, I must remember that even the ATM may be trying to trick me.
This weekend, Neil and I are going skiing with my parents in Taos. Neil's never been skiing there and it is arguably one of the best ski areas in the world, so now that we know we're moving and this is our last winter here, we're going. I am a little nervous since it's been over a year since I've skied. Hopefully the spinning class has me in semi-good shape... I intend to kick all three of my skiing buddies' butts. (yes, I realize that this competitive spirit can be problematic...)
So, I am one of those people who saves all the receipts I get when I use my debit card and then takes them home and enters them in the checkbook in order to keep track of how much money I have. Today, in the midst of the "stupidest day ever" after I had been away from work for an hour and a half to pick up my car, I went to the ATM. I withdrew some money and then a bunch of buttons popped up on the touch-screen ATM. A quick glance revealed that the machine was asking me about my receipt, so I pushed a green "Yes" button only to realize that I had pressed, "Yes, Don't Print A Receipt" instead of the button below that said, "Yes, Print a Receipt". What moron programmer thought, "Hey, let's make two green yes buttons!" The level of stupidity in the world astounds me sometimes. From now on, I must remember that even the ATM may be trying to trick me.
This weekend, Neil and I are going skiing with my parents in Taos. Neil's never been skiing there and it is arguably one of the best ski areas in the world, so now that we know we're moving and this is our last winter here, we're going. I am a little nervous since it's been over a year since I've skied. Hopefully the spinning class has me in semi-good shape... I intend to kick all three of my skiing buddies' butts. (yes, I realize that this competitive spirit can be problematic...)
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
I'm in a text book!
That's right ladies and gentlemen...a silly newspaper article that I wrote about kickbikes back in 1998 (could that be right?) was chosen to be included in a textbook called "The Inquiring Reader". I found out that I was in the book by doing a search on Google for my name. What's funny is that the book was published in 2000 and I spent all of this time now knowing about my itty bitty bit of celebrity. (O.K. so the celebrity is only among the college-bound students who are forced to suffer through that text book, but still...)
When I found my name and the title of the article, "Kicking asphalt" listed in the table of contents of the book, at first I panicked. "What if I am in there as a bad example?" I wondered. So, last week, after knowing about the book for several months, I caved and paid the $50 to have it shipped to my house. Last night after work, the book was waiting for me on my porch. I opened the box with a bit of trepidation. It could have been my article used as a bad example, or it could have been someone else with my name's article... but, nope. It was my article with vocabulary words in it highlighted and a page and a half of questions about the article. I am even in the index!
This is the second book I know of that I am in. The first, I do not yet own, but it remains on my Amazon wish list. I think I am in the endnotes only, because an article I wrote in El Paso was cited.
Someday, when I have my own books published, I will not be as excited about these obscure references to me in other people's books. But for the moment, I'm thrilled.
Fondu
Last night I went to fondu for dinner with two women who I have recently become friends with. We were there for almost three hours and I had such a good time. They are funny and lots of fun and it was really refreshing to have lots of conversation with women that wasn't about work. Of course, as it always works out, just as we seem to be settling in to our life here and just as we are really making some good friends, we are moving. Yes, I still have about 8 months to enjoy these new friendships... but it's the whole knowing that we're moving thing that is still taking some getting used to. In any case, I am really happy to have some new friends.
That's right ladies and gentlemen...a silly newspaper article that I wrote about kickbikes back in 1998 (could that be right?) was chosen to be included in a textbook called "The Inquiring Reader". I found out that I was in the book by doing a search on Google for my name. What's funny is that the book was published in 2000 and I spent all of this time now knowing about my itty bitty bit of celebrity. (O.K. so the celebrity is only among the college-bound students who are forced to suffer through that text book, but still...)
When I found my name and the title of the article, "Kicking asphalt" listed in the table of contents of the book, at first I panicked. "What if I am in there as a bad example?" I wondered. So, last week, after knowing about the book for several months, I caved and paid the $50 to have it shipped to my house. Last night after work, the book was waiting for me on my porch. I opened the box with a bit of trepidation. It could have been my article used as a bad example, or it could have been someone else with my name's article... but, nope. It was my article with vocabulary words in it highlighted and a page and a half of questions about the article. I am even in the index!
This is the second book I know of that I am in. The first, I do not yet own, but it remains on my Amazon wish list. I think I am in the endnotes only, because an article I wrote in El Paso was cited.
Someday, when I have my own books published, I will not be as excited about these obscure references to me in other people's books. But for the moment, I'm thrilled.
Fondu
Last night I went to fondu for dinner with two women who I have recently become friends with. We were there for almost three hours and I had such a good time. They are funny and lots of fun and it was really refreshing to have lots of conversation with women that wasn't about work. Of course, as it always works out, just as we seem to be settling in to our life here and just as we are really making some good friends, we are moving. Yes, I still have about 8 months to enjoy these new friendships... but it's the whole knowing that we're moving thing that is still taking some getting used to. In any case, I am really happy to have some new friends.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Ahh Monday
So, it was a really good weekend! There was no relaxing to be had, but it was good.
Friday night we went out with our friends Ryan and Shay (very fun friends) and ate at a restaurant called Graze. Previously, I had walked by and looked at the menu and decided I didn't want to eat there, but I realize now that was a huge mistake. It's basically an upscale tapas place and the food was amazing. While it was also, rather amazingly expensive, I would really like to go back as soon as possible. Yumm.
Saturday, we worked off the food at our second spinning class. Last week was the first and both weeks kicked my butt while making me feel good about myself. I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my mom, which was nice. Then I went to dinner with Nancy and we saw Bride and Prejudice which rocked in so many ways. There's nothing like a romantic comedy in which people randomly burst into cheesy song. You have to know what you're getting yourself into, but this movie is a riot.
Sunday, my dad was in town and Neil and I took him to the zoo to look at the new Africa exhibit where we got to see the Red River Hog for the second time and between it's amazing ears and funny squealing sounds, it kept us laughing for a good five minutes. What an amazingly strange looking animal!
The afternoon was spent at a baby shower where I got to decorate tiny little t-shirts for Rebecca's soon-to-be-born baby. Then back to the house where I met up with the boys and went to dinner and the long-awaited Alison Krauss and Union Station concert which was even better than I thought it could be. If you have never heard Allison sing, get yourself to a CD store now, or go to iTunes and download something.
And now it is Monday and I am in a state of allergic haze. I have sneezed at least 75 times since waking up this morning. So, I have made myself an afternoon doctor's appointment to finally get some of the Allegra I need so badly. There's something magic in the way Monday can provide aggravation and disappointment. So long good weekend...
So, it was a really good weekend! There was no relaxing to be had, but it was good.
Friday night we went out with our friends Ryan and Shay (very fun friends) and ate at a restaurant called Graze. Previously, I had walked by and looked at the menu and decided I didn't want to eat there, but I realize now that was a huge mistake. It's basically an upscale tapas place and the food was amazing. While it was also, rather amazingly expensive, I would really like to go back as soon as possible. Yumm.
Saturday, we worked off the food at our second spinning class. Last week was the first and both weeks kicked my butt while making me feel good about myself. I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my mom, which was nice. Then I went to dinner with Nancy and we saw Bride and Prejudice which rocked in so many ways. There's nothing like a romantic comedy in which people randomly burst into cheesy song. You have to know what you're getting yourself into, but this movie is a riot.
Sunday, my dad was in town and Neil and I took him to the zoo to look at the new Africa exhibit where we got to see the Red River Hog for the second time and between it's amazing ears and funny squealing sounds, it kept us laughing for a good five minutes. What an amazingly strange looking animal!
The afternoon was spent at a baby shower where I got to decorate tiny little t-shirts for Rebecca's soon-to-be-born baby. Then back to the house where I met up with the boys and went to dinner and the long-awaited Alison Krauss and Union Station concert which was even better than I thought it could be. If you have never heard Allison sing, get yourself to a CD store now, or go to iTunes and download something.
And now it is Monday and I am in a state of allergic haze. I have sneezed at least 75 times since waking up this morning. So, I have made myself an afternoon doctor's appointment to finally get some of the Allegra I need so badly. There's something magic in the way Monday can provide aggravation and disappointment. So long good weekend...
Friday, March 04, 2005
Suicide
I would like to say that I, unequivocally, hate suicide. My co-worker's nephew committed suicide today or last night? And she got the news on the telephone this morning. And now she is filled with pain and worry. Worry about her brother and sister-in-law and how they will get over losing a child. Pain for her own loss. I know this because she said so, and because, I have been in a similar position on a couple of occasions.
Now I want to clarify, I don't hate the people who commit suicide, or try to, but I do hate it that they somehow end up in that dark place and that despite people loving them very much, nobody can draw them back out. I hate that people have to feel so much pain and to end the pain they have to cause so much pain for others.
And I wish I could heal my friend. And everyone else who needs the kind of healing that suicide makes necessary. Better yet, I wish there was a pain removal system that left the person who was feeling suicidal completely happy and ready for a long long life. But there is no such invention and I can't really heal anybody. I can just give hugs and watch. And I don't know if being a witness to pain and grieving is a good thing. Does it help? Just being there?
My friend came into work this morning feeling sad and she hadn't even gotten the news yet. She was shaken up by a near miss car accident this morning and she was worried about an unhappy family member, but mostly, she just knew it was not going to be a good day. I think we sometimes have these premonitions. We know things are wrong before knowing what they are. Other times tragedy catches us completely off-guard. But more often than not, in my life, I have felt people slipping away from me.
I heard someone recently say that, "every day we get away with our lives." I don't love looking at life that way, but I believe it is true. Each day, we go about living our lives and we are always avoiding death, escaping it for one more day. Until we don't want to or can't escape any longer.
And in a sense, we also get away with our loved one's lives every day. Every day the people we love go on living, we are lucky. And when we do lose someone, it is our job, really, to honor them, by the way we live our lives from that day on.
I hate suicide.
I would like to say that I, unequivocally, hate suicide. My co-worker's nephew committed suicide today or last night? And she got the news on the telephone this morning. And now she is filled with pain and worry. Worry about her brother and sister-in-law and how they will get over losing a child. Pain for her own loss. I know this because she said so, and because, I have been in a similar position on a couple of occasions.
Now I want to clarify, I don't hate the people who commit suicide, or try to, but I do hate it that they somehow end up in that dark place and that despite people loving them very much, nobody can draw them back out. I hate that people have to feel so much pain and to end the pain they have to cause so much pain for others.
And I wish I could heal my friend. And everyone else who needs the kind of healing that suicide makes necessary. Better yet, I wish there was a pain removal system that left the person who was feeling suicidal completely happy and ready for a long long life. But there is no such invention and I can't really heal anybody. I can just give hugs and watch. And I don't know if being a witness to pain and grieving is a good thing. Does it help? Just being there?
My friend came into work this morning feeling sad and she hadn't even gotten the news yet. She was shaken up by a near miss car accident this morning and she was worried about an unhappy family member, but mostly, she just knew it was not going to be a good day. I think we sometimes have these premonitions. We know things are wrong before knowing what they are. Other times tragedy catches us completely off-guard. But more often than not, in my life, I have felt people slipping away from me.
I heard someone recently say that, "every day we get away with our lives." I don't love looking at life that way, but I believe it is true. Each day, we go about living our lives and we are always avoiding death, escaping it for one more day. Until we don't want to or can't escape any longer.
And in a sense, we also get away with our loved one's lives every day. Every day the people we love go on living, we are lucky. And when we do lose someone, it is our job, really, to honor them, by the way we live our lives from that day on.
I hate suicide.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
It's March: Marriage, TV on Mute, Moving and other Musings
Last night at the gym, I watched "Fox News at 9" without the sound. Actually, I had sound, but it was coming from my iPod and consisted of Lyle Lovett, Ben Harper, Fiona Apple and Allison Krause (you've gotta love the random function). Anyways, normally when I watch the news, in spite of myself, I tend to become completely captivated by all crime stories. If someone was shot in the
I don't really have any conclusions to draw from these observations, except that I need to lessen my obsession with crime and that lots of times local news is kinda lame. (But not when Neil is on.)
So, as of Tuesday, Neil and I have been married for 2 and a half years. It's so funny, because it really doesn't feel that way at all. I still feel like our wedding was only a few months ago. I think that is a good sign. We celebrated the 2.5 anniversary by going to the gym. Doesn't sound exciting, but it was just right. :)
We're going to
And in other news, it is looking like Neil, the dogs, the bunny and I will be making a cross-country move at the end of this year. Yes, that's right, instead of moving to
And now a rant. Have any of you seen those promos on Fox about the Stars Without Makeup show? Basically they flash a bunch of famous women with no makeup on, or who were just caught in an unflattering moment and then they say, "You know you love it" or something like that. Now, I'm sorry, but I don't love it. I hate it. And I can't imagine watching a whole 1-hour special about it. Shouldn't every woman be able to go out of the house not looking her best and not fear having her photo snapped and flashed on
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