Lots of Things

I promised to cover so many topics last week when I was feeling incredibly inspired and immensely tired. I'll try to get to them all here... but they may be a bit abbreviated.

So last week was the annual convention that is put on by my place of employment for all of our members. It was the second convention I've attended while working here because I was at an out-of-town conference during the first convention. I had just told my boss earlier that week about the upcoming move and was beginning to feel that sense of freedom that comes with the knowledge you are about to change everything in your life. But then, during the convention, I began to realize that I know people finally and I know what to say when I talk to them because I actually really know my industry. I knew what to do, I could solve problems, I could make small talk, I could even engage strangers in semi-meaningful conversation because, after about two and a half years, I have become a big fish. I know that is a really tired cliche, but I know no better way to explain it. I am finally at the top of my game here in this job and it's time to move on. I was feeling sad about this last week, but, while it's still a little sad, I think it's better to leave when you're on top than to wait for the big decline. But it was still a really good feeling to feel so confident during the convention -- even when I had to speak in public. I just hope that my next job will be as fabulous as this one has been.

While at the convention I had another, slightly less important, realization and that is that there is something I absolutely love about country folk. By country folk, I mean people who live in rural areas and in this case, I'm talking about people who live in rural or small town New Mexico. Maybe it's the slight twang to their speech, or their lack of pretense and formality -- the fact that when you meet them, you feel as if you're already best friends... there's something familiar in their handshake, or the way they wink at you (and it's never ever a slimy wink). Everything they say is meant in earnest and you can't find better senses of humor. Yes, yes, I know I am generalizing, but there is something to what I'm saying. One of the people from less populated Southern New Mexico who attended the convention checked in early and then left to go get "cleaned up" before the evening reception. As he walked away, he turned back to me and said, "Four bells then?" with a slight southern accent. I think it took me a good 30 seconds to realize that he was asking if he was supposed to be back at 4 o'clock. Finally, I got it and nodded yes. For the rest of the afternoon I kept smiling to myself and thinking, "Four bells." Later that evening, another friend who is originally from small-town Texas walked over to a coworker who had a large plate of food and said, "Man, you're really grubbin' up tonight." I love that expression and must find a way to work it into conversation soon.

In other news, I was so relieved to learn that the little boy who was lost in the woods in Utah was found alive yesterday. Finally a positive end to a distressing story. But why did his parents have to tell the world that he's socially immature, sheesh, it's hard enough on the kid to be in the spotlight for all this, but now everyone knows that he's immature too?

I am slightly ashamed to admit that I watched the Jennifer Willbanks interview last night. But I'm allowed to be a little interested in her since she surfaced right here in my city. I have to say that while I do feel a little sorry for the woman, she's clearly really screwed up, I don't think she and her bizarre fiancee were telling the whole truth. I really and sincerely wish that society would forget about her and let her go through her self discovery in private. Enough attention has been given to her already. All the media is only bound to make her more screwed up. Yuck.

And finally, my office is growing tadpoles. One of my coworkers mentioned having hundreds of them in her pond and then before I knew it, we had all decided to take them on as a project and my coworker brought in a tank and the coworker with the pond brought in a batch of about 30 tadpoles and as of this afternoon, they are inhabiting my office. I am the official tadpole babysitter while the real tadpole caregiver is on vacation. So I get to stare at strange swimming blobs for two and a half weeks... they're kind of cool, but I'm worried, what if they grow legs? How do I change the water without killing them? This is a lot of responsibility. I have to feed them pond scum every day and when they start growing legs they will need to eat meat if we don't want them to cannibalize themselves. I don't know if I get paid enough for this... Besides, what kind of workplace grows tadpoles as a staff project?