This morning I heard a lot of talk about pruning that happened during the sabbath--I did not experience the same pruning. I am usually not lacking in the pruning department. For me, it's usually the regrowth that is so hard. During the sabbath, this is more of what I experienced. I am always cut to the heart when we have talks focused on how beautiful we are as God created us. I've always battled with self-confidence issues, and before the sabbath, I was terrified that it was going to be an incredibly lonely time for me. I thought nobody would want to see me and so I would be spending the whole time alone. But something happened during this time that I didn't count on, or realize. I didn't hate the time that I was alone, but even more, when people that I know mentioned getting together, I truly believed that they wanted to see me. I knew that it wasn't just lip service. I also realized that it was time to let go of a burden I didn't need anymore. For more details on that, you can visit my other blog at spkn4_4ever.livejournal.com. The post there is a cathartic rant of sorts, and if you are easily offended by language, you may not want to go there, but Plucky encouraged me to share it with the Hillside bloggers, so there it is for your perusal if you so choose.
So, in the end, I feel more confident in my ability to make friends, and I have pruned a friendship that was more damaging than anything...
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
For Women Only
I mean it! If you are a male and you are still reading this STOP NOW!
As some of you ladies know, there is a surgery I am working towards. I have created a separate journal for the purpose of detailing my experiences. This journal is for WOMEN ONLY PLEASE!!!!
This ladies only journal is here. I have made my first post and will be making more as soon as I find out more about this.
As some of you ladies know, there is a surgery I am working towards. I have created a separate journal for the purpose of detailing my experiences. This journal is for WOMEN ONLY PLEASE!!!!
This ladies only journal is here. I have made my first post and will be making more as soon as I find out more about this.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Ten Years Later (Warning: Long Post)
It's amazing how little people can change over ten years, though their lives are drastically different. Yesterday I attended my ten year high school reunion. The most enjoyable part of the whole experience was making people try to guess who I am. While most of my classmates looked exactly like they did in high school, I do not. I have, fortunately, overcome the unfortunate experience of looking like I was twelve, as I did ten years ago. In fact now, I can sometimes even pass for twenty-one. Please, no comments about how lucky I am to look young. I am fully aware that I will appreciate it later, but right now, it does not work to my advantage. But enough about that.
The day's events started with a barbecue at the park. I arrived to find only a few people so far, all of whom were actually responsible for planning the event. This was despite the fact that I intentionally showed up about five minutes late so that I wasn't the first person there. And still I was there before people really started showing up. I walked up to the event organizers and they looked at me as though they were about to tell me that the area was reserved and then one of them recognized me. They were actually quicker than most, possibly because they have seen a more recent picture of me since I did post a picture on classmates.com. I found myself talking with a girl whose name is also a month. We had a couple of classes together and she was always kind to me in high school, but we didn't exactly travel with the same crowds. Most of my friends were actually a year behind me in school. While talking to this girl, I found out that she also had younger friends in school. We chatted until more people began to show up and we started to great them as they arrived. After about 20 people had showed up, it was time for the food to begin. The guys (spouses and fiances of the organizers) brought over the hamburgers and hot dogs and dug in. I sat next to the girl with a name like a month and across from culinary school drop-out. On my other side was the child of one of my former classmates that I didn't recognize until someone else said his name. Apparently this was mutual because he sat next to me for a half an hour talking to all of us before he finally looked at me and said "Jeni Hardie!!! I finally figured out who I was talking to!" That was probably the most amusing moment of the entire barbecue, though I did get a lot of looks of shock from people who didn't recognize me until I took my sunglasses off.
A short time after the most amusing experience of the barbecue came the most awkward moment of the entire day. I was sitting at the check in table with the girl with a name like a month and who should appear but Momma's Boy, aka my last boyfriend from 9 years ago. Yes, I know it's been 9 years, and I do no wish things had gone any differently, but there's just something about seeing him that just made me feel so bitter. The thing is, he knew what I was going through at the time we were dating. I told him that I was cutting myself, and he called me a liar. He made no attempt to help me-- he told me that what I was doing was stupid (I won't argue that point, but at the time, it really didn't help) and that he just couldn't deal with it. Needless to say the relationship did not end on good terms, and what I did afterwards did nothing to help my memories of him. At any rate, when he came to the table to check in with his wife (who was actually one of my friends from the class of 1998, poor soul) she came to talk to me while I pretended he didn't exist. Fortunately for me, it seems that he didn't recognize me either. I spent most of the rest of the barbecue talking to Renaissance Girl (Momma's Boy's wife) and the wives of two guys I've known since kindergarten (who also happen to be a couple of my class of 98 friends--yes, a lot of people I know married each other!) After I'd been talking to them for a while, Momma's boy came over, looked at me and said "Holy crap! Jeni! I didn't recognize you with your dark hair," and then he sat down with Renaissance girl, which I took as my cue to go talk to somebody else. I chatted with Culinary School Drop-out for a little while, he introduced me to two of his three kids. The barbecue wrapped up and we all began to leave, only to meet up again in the evening for the dinner and dancing event.
I had purchased a new outfit for the dinner event when I went shopping on Friday. I went home and relaxed for an hour or so before it was time to start getting ready for the evening event. I gave my hair a good dousing with hairspray and unsuccessfully attempted to curl it. As is par for the course with my hair, despite spending an hour with a curling iron, all I ended up with was straight hair with curled under ends and a little bit of extra volume. I know some curly haired people would pay good money for hair as straight as mine, but it truly is a nightmare trying to curl this hair. At any rate, I did my hair, I put on full makeup, which you all know I very rarely do, and I got dressed for the party. Once again, I was one of the first to arrive. This time, it was good to be early because there were a lot of jokes about "the chicken or the fish" and it was just rather entertaining.
Jewelry Seller asked me to sit at a table with her and her husband. Also joining us at the table were Baby Voice and Goalie Girl along with their husbands. We had one more open seat at our table which was being reserved for Madame President. She didn't show up until dinner was nearly over. Dessert was already being served when she arrived, along with ES Bully. The dinner was nothing special. The salmon was good, but not great. The risotto was awful and our whole table laughed each time the servers returned to the back with another pile of yellow mush. The dessert made up for the risotto that tasted of dirty dishwater. It was a strawberry mousse in a chocolate cup (much like the miniature versions you can find in the buffet.)
After dinner, they subjected us to the utter torture of watching the senior slide show, which was awful the first time around and even more agonizing this time. Of course the people who were buddy buddy with the yearbook teacher/student council adviser enjoyed it, because it was filled with pictures of them. The rest of us who did not go drinking at Pyramid Lake with the yearbook teacher were lucky if we even had ONE picture in the slide show.
Next, we opened the time capsule (which was apparently created at one of the Pyramid Lake parties, because most of us had no knowledge of its existence).
Finally it was time for dancing/mingling. I found myself chatting with Madame President who seemed really excited to see me, even though we were never friends. Then I moved on to Captain Pompous, whom I've known since third grade, and therefore I am able to overlook his pompous nature. I then went back out to chat with my my class of 98 friends, but before long I was drug onto the dance floor by Birdy, which was rather shocking because he is one of the "popular crowd." He was one of the guys that everyone had looked forward to seeing. Don't think this is going anywhere, because he was totally smashed at the time and will probably not remember that it happened. He may or may not also be married. At any rate, he insisted that I go dance, which I had been avoiding because I felt like I didn't belong there because only the "popular crowd people were dancing". After one dance, he disappeared and I went to go sit by Miss Hawaii (and when I say that, I mean it... she really was Miss Hawaii--and she actually was one of my friends in high school). I talked with her for a little while, but was drug back onto the dance floor by Birdy. He disappeared, but Madame President insisted that I had to stay and dance anyway and Fashion Queen agreed. (Fashion Queen is a girl I've known since kindergarten, we were in Girl Scouts together and she was probably the most popular girl in school every year, and yet she still remained one of the kindest people I've ever met. I cannot ever remember her being mean to even a single person...) At any rate, somehow I ended up dancing for the rest of the night, with people I had been intimidated by in high school. It was actually kind of empowering. I don' know if that makes sense to anyone but me, but it made me feel so good. The evening ended a little after eleven and the girl with a name like a month wanted to exchange phone numbers so we can hang out sometime, and Madame President also suggested that she'd like to hang out sometime. The people who had been my friends before did nothing to attempt to keep in contact. It was rather a surprising outcome. I expected to meet up with old friends, but I never expected to make new friends. It's nice to know that I can still do that...
The day's events started with a barbecue at the park. I arrived to find only a few people so far, all of whom were actually responsible for planning the event. This was despite the fact that I intentionally showed up about five minutes late so that I wasn't the first person there. And still I was there before people really started showing up. I walked up to the event organizers and they looked at me as though they were about to tell me that the area was reserved and then one of them recognized me. They were actually quicker than most, possibly because they have seen a more recent picture of me since I did post a picture on classmates.com. I found myself talking with a girl whose name is also a month. We had a couple of classes together and she was always kind to me in high school, but we didn't exactly travel with the same crowds. Most of my friends were actually a year behind me in school. While talking to this girl, I found out that she also had younger friends in school. We chatted until more people began to show up and we started to great them as they arrived. After about 20 people had showed up, it was time for the food to begin. The guys (spouses and fiances of the organizers) brought over the hamburgers and hot dogs and dug in. I sat next to the girl with a name like a month and across from culinary school drop-out. On my other side was the child of one of my former classmates that I didn't recognize until someone else said his name. Apparently this was mutual because he sat next to me for a half an hour talking to all of us before he finally looked at me and said "Jeni Hardie!!! I finally figured out who I was talking to!" That was probably the most amusing moment of the entire barbecue, though I did get a lot of looks of shock from people who didn't recognize me until I took my sunglasses off.
A short time after the most amusing experience of the barbecue came the most awkward moment of the entire day. I was sitting at the check in table with the girl with a name like a month and who should appear but Momma's Boy, aka my last boyfriend from 9 years ago. Yes, I know it's been 9 years, and I do no wish things had gone any differently, but there's just something about seeing him that just made me feel so bitter. The thing is, he knew what I was going through at the time we were dating. I told him that I was cutting myself, and he called me a liar. He made no attempt to help me-- he told me that what I was doing was stupid (I won't argue that point, but at the time, it really didn't help) and that he just couldn't deal with it. Needless to say the relationship did not end on good terms, and what I did afterwards did nothing to help my memories of him. At any rate, when he came to the table to check in with his wife (who was actually one of my friends from the class of 1998, poor soul) she came to talk to me while I pretended he didn't exist. Fortunately for me, it seems that he didn't recognize me either. I spent most of the rest of the barbecue talking to Renaissance Girl (Momma's Boy's wife) and the wives of two guys I've known since kindergarten (who also happen to be a couple of my class of 98 friends--yes, a lot of people I know married each other!) After I'd been talking to them for a while, Momma's boy came over, looked at me and said "Holy crap! Jeni! I didn't recognize you with your dark hair," and then he sat down with Renaissance girl, which I took as my cue to go talk to somebody else. I chatted with Culinary School Drop-out for a little while, he introduced me to two of his three kids. The barbecue wrapped up and we all began to leave, only to meet up again in the evening for the dinner and dancing event.
I had purchased a new outfit for the dinner event when I went shopping on Friday. I went home and relaxed for an hour or so before it was time to start getting ready for the evening event. I gave my hair a good dousing with hairspray and unsuccessfully attempted to curl it. As is par for the course with my hair, despite spending an hour with a curling iron, all I ended up with was straight hair with curled under ends and a little bit of extra volume. I know some curly haired people would pay good money for hair as straight as mine, but it truly is a nightmare trying to curl this hair. At any rate, I did my hair, I put on full makeup, which you all know I very rarely do, and I got dressed for the party. Once again, I was one of the first to arrive. This time, it was good to be early because there were a lot of jokes about "the chicken or the fish" and it was just rather entertaining.
Jewelry Seller asked me to sit at a table with her and her husband. Also joining us at the table were Baby Voice and Goalie Girl along with their husbands. We had one more open seat at our table which was being reserved for Madame President. She didn't show up until dinner was nearly over. Dessert was already being served when she arrived, along with ES Bully. The dinner was nothing special. The salmon was good, but not great. The risotto was awful and our whole table laughed each time the servers returned to the back with another pile of yellow mush. The dessert made up for the risotto that tasted of dirty dishwater. It was a strawberry mousse in a chocolate cup (much like the miniature versions you can find in the buffet.)
After dinner, they subjected us to the utter torture of watching the senior slide show, which was awful the first time around and even more agonizing this time. Of course the people who were buddy buddy with the yearbook teacher/student council adviser enjoyed it, because it was filled with pictures of them. The rest of us who did not go drinking at Pyramid Lake with the yearbook teacher were lucky if we even had ONE picture in the slide show.
Next, we opened the time capsule (which was apparently created at one of the Pyramid Lake parties, because most of us had no knowledge of its existence).
Finally it was time for dancing/mingling. I found myself chatting with Madame President who seemed really excited to see me, even though we were never friends. Then I moved on to Captain Pompous, whom I've known since third grade, and therefore I am able to overlook his pompous nature. I then went back out to chat with my my class of 98 friends, but before long I was drug onto the dance floor by Birdy, which was rather shocking because he is one of the "popular crowd." He was one of the guys that everyone had looked forward to seeing. Don't think this is going anywhere, because he was totally smashed at the time and will probably not remember that it happened. He may or may not also be married. At any rate, he insisted that I go dance, which I had been avoiding because I felt like I didn't belong there because only the "popular crowd people were dancing". After one dance, he disappeared and I went to go sit by Miss Hawaii (and when I say that, I mean it... she really was Miss Hawaii--and she actually was one of my friends in high school). I talked with her for a little while, but was drug back onto the dance floor by Birdy. He disappeared, but Madame President insisted that I had to stay and dance anyway and Fashion Queen agreed. (Fashion Queen is a girl I've known since kindergarten, we were in Girl Scouts together and she was probably the most popular girl in school every year, and yet she still remained one of the kindest people I've ever met. I cannot ever remember her being mean to even a single person...) At any rate, somehow I ended up dancing for the rest of the night, with people I had been intimidated by in high school. It was actually kind of empowering. I don' know if that makes sense to anyone but me, but it made me feel so good. The evening ended a little after eleven and the girl with a name like a month wanted to exchange phone numbers so we can hang out sometime, and Madame President also suggested that she'd like to hang out sometime. The people who had been my friends before did nothing to attempt to keep in contact. It was rather a surprising outcome. I expected to meet up with old friends, but I never expected to make new friends. It's nice to know that I can still do that...
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Just Visiting...
I have friend that I've known for almost ten years. When I first became a Christian, our friendship started to fall apart. She didn't like my new friends. She didn't like that I wasn't the same that I was before. She didn't like that I didn't just ignore her racist jokes anymore... She didn't like that I was always at Bible study or just hanging out with my friends from Bible study. I invited her to join me, but she didn't really want to. She wanted to be her own separate part of my life, but I couldn't really separate my life into parts. We were still friends, but we didn't see each other much anymore. My last year at UNR, our time together had become especially sparse. I saw her probably 8 times that entire year. After my graduation party, things just fell apart, and we drifted apart for about a year and a half. When we came back together, she was more open-minded, more receptive to talking about her faith and what it meant to her, and why I had dove in so passionately. I will admit, I was probably too pushy with her sometimes, but it was only because I was desperately trying to keep her in my life, I was trying to get her to fit into the new life I was finding.
Over the last year, my friend has become a new person, too. She used to clam up when religion (or politics) came up in conversation. Now she starts the conversations. She has come to realize that faith doesn't have to be something that she experiences alone, but really can be something that she can share with others. This brings me to the title of this post.
I had shared with my friend that we were on sabbath break from church. She wanted to try out a new church, different from the traditional church that she was used to, and so she asked me to go with her. I really appreciated this opportunity since this was something I had always wanted to share with this friend. I agreed to go to this church with her, despite my expectations that I know it to be against many of my beliefs of what a church should be.
We entered the building and it instantly reminded me of the lobby of a high rise office building-- glossy wood walls, tile floor, rows of doors along both sides. The woman who had invited my friend took us on a tour. Tables were set up off to the left and a cafe type window was cut into the wall where people could place an order for the food and beverages they would like to buy. We proceeded along the left to the stairs where we moved to the second floor. The second floor was entirely offices except for one door. The door opened up to the balcony of the auditorium/sanctuary. She informed us that including the balcony they could seat 850. The seats were all theatre style, padded seats bolted to the floor--level after level after level of these seats. At the front where the worship was played and the message delivered was a stage with curtains and all. Not just a raised platform, but an actual stage. We proceeded back down the stairs, and she pointed out where the kids area was, but didn't take us over. She said that since we didn't have kids we probably weren't interested.
Once the service started, things got even more over-the-top. The worship was reminiscent of a rock concert with a full light show and fog. At this point I noticed that there were six video screens, probably 72 inches, placed throughout the sanctuary. There was a camera person zooming in on each member of the worship team individually and displaying them up on the screen. And during their announcements, they advertised their upcoming water baptism and barbecue. They reminded everybody to see x person to purchase their baptism barbecue ticket for $5.00.
The experience made me so much more grateful to be a part of a church that does not promote this culture of excess. I am glad to be part of a church that is not so big and so focused on the production that nobody gets to know anybody. I miss all you guys!
Over the last year, my friend has become a new person, too. She used to clam up when religion (or politics) came up in conversation. Now she starts the conversations. She has come to realize that faith doesn't have to be something that she experiences alone, but really can be something that she can share with others. This brings me to the title of this post.
I had shared with my friend that we were on sabbath break from church. She wanted to try out a new church, different from the traditional church that she was used to, and so she asked me to go with her. I really appreciated this opportunity since this was something I had always wanted to share with this friend. I agreed to go to this church with her, despite my expectations that I know it to be against many of my beliefs of what a church should be.
We entered the building and it instantly reminded me of the lobby of a high rise office building-- glossy wood walls, tile floor, rows of doors along both sides. The woman who had invited my friend took us on a tour. Tables were set up off to the left and a cafe type window was cut into the wall where people could place an order for the food and beverages they would like to buy. We proceeded along the left to the stairs where we moved to the second floor. The second floor was entirely offices except for one door. The door opened up to the balcony of the auditorium/sanctuary. She informed us that including the balcony they could seat 850. The seats were all theatre style, padded seats bolted to the floor--level after level after level of these seats. At the front where the worship was played and the message delivered was a stage with curtains and all. Not just a raised platform, but an actual stage. We proceeded back down the stairs, and she pointed out where the kids area was, but didn't take us over. She said that since we didn't have kids we probably weren't interested.
Once the service started, things got even more over-the-top. The worship was reminiscent of a rock concert with a full light show and fog. At this point I noticed that there were six video screens, probably 72 inches, placed throughout the sanctuary. There was a camera person zooming in on each member of the worship team individually and displaying them up on the screen. And during their announcements, they advertised their upcoming water baptism and barbecue. They reminded everybody to see x person to purchase their baptism barbecue ticket for $5.00.
The experience made me so much more grateful to be a part of a church that does not promote this culture of excess. I am glad to be part of a church that is not so big and so focused on the production that nobody gets to know anybody. I miss all you guys!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
You're not a real coffee drinker!
If you think you're a big coffee drinker, think again. I was just browsing and came across this story. This is hilarious! I cannot imagine how sick I would be if I tried this:
Too many Starbucks, too little time
Too many Starbucks, too little time
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Can this really be the end?
Captain of the geeks reporting in. I just completed my marathon reading session after picking up my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I started reading at about 2 am and I just finished at about 5:30 pm. I did pause in there for a short nap, about an hour and a half. But now I am done. I am kind of sad that the whole series is over. That there will be no more of Harry Potter's adventures to read. I will say nothing about the content of the book at this point so as not to spoil anything for people who haven't started and/or finished yet. I suppose now I shall have to resort to reading the whole series OVER AND OVER again. (Not that I didn't do that already, but now it is complete, so it's different.)
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Geekism is in my genes
So tomorrow is the release of the seventh and final Harry Potter book. I read through books one through six a few weeks ago and I got done too early. I had to read a couple more books, see the fifth movie and then start over with books five and six. My eagerness to try to determine what is going to happen in book seven has gotten my mom interested in the books. I've been trying to talk her into reading them for five years, and finally she decided to give them a chance. She originally only took the first book because she wasn't sure if she was going to like them since she usually reads mysteries. A couple days after I gave her the first book, she asked me to get out the next book for her so that she could pick it up when she came to get my cat. (She was watching Smokey while I was in Napa a couple of weekends ago.)
I knew that this would happen. I knew that my mom would enjoy them and want to get through them as quickly as she could. After all, the last series I got her hooked on, she finished reading 14 books in about a month.
Today when I asked my mom how far she was in book four of the Harry Potter series, she tried to defend herself as though I was going to make fun of her for reading slow and told me that there are more important things than books. I pretended to freak out and said, "You mean I shouldn't be staying at home reading when I'm supposed to be at work." She laughed and said that I only go to work so that I can pay for my books. My response: "Yeah, I don't even bother with rent anymore-- just books." And her response: "You have to pay rent so that you have a place to keep your books."
So apparently my mom thinks I am a geek. I haven't even bought very many books recently. The last book I bought was the most recent in the series that she's also addicted to and she read it before I did. Mind you, once I got my hands on it, I read it in one night... But come on--I might as well enjoy all of this reading time while I am single because we all know that if I ever get married, I won't have this sort of time then.
I may be a geek, but I think I have evidence that it's hereditary.
I knew that this would happen. I knew that my mom would enjoy them and want to get through them as quickly as she could. After all, the last series I got her hooked on, she finished reading 14 books in about a month.
Today when I asked my mom how far she was in book four of the Harry Potter series, she tried to defend herself as though I was going to make fun of her for reading slow and told me that there are more important things than books. I pretended to freak out and said, "You mean I shouldn't be staying at home reading when I'm supposed to be at work." She laughed and said that I only go to work so that I can pay for my books. My response: "Yeah, I don't even bother with rent anymore-- just books." And her response: "You have to pay rent so that you have a place to keep your books."
So apparently my mom thinks I am a geek. I haven't even bought very many books recently. The last book I bought was the most recent in the series that she's also addicted to and she read it before I did. Mind you, once I got my hands on it, I read it in one night... But come on--I might as well enjoy all of this reading time while I am single because we all know that if I ever get married, I won't have this sort of time then.
I may be a geek, but I think I have evidence that it's hereditary.
Friday, June 29, 2007
That's one bitter apple!
I know this might sound completely ridiculous, but I really hate that Adam and Eve had to go and spoil things for all of creation. I mean if it wasn't for that one darned apple, we would have so much less fuss.
Picture the scene shortly after this problem began.
Eve: Oh, Adam... Does this sheep skin make me look fat?
Adam: Grunts
Eve: I'm serious. I need help picking out an outfit.
Adam: Grunts
Eve: Okay, so do you like the fig leaf or the maple leaf better
Adam: (raised eyebrows) Which one's easier to take off?
Eve: (hits Adam with her purse) This is really important. I'm afraid the fig leave might be too skimpy. It might make me look cheap.
Adam: (looks down at his fig leave and shrugs)
We wouldn't have to worry about whether or not we can afford to buy all the latest fashion... We wouldn't have to worry about whether the same size will fit us in every brand... And we CERTAINLY wouldn't have to worry about trying on 40 different swimsuits and still not finding even one that fit in a manner becoming of a modest Christian woman.
Then again, one could argue in the case of swimsuits that being a man would be quite advantageous. After all, then you only have to worry about finding a pair of shorts that fits around your waist. Being a woman trying to find a bathing suit is probably comparable to being a man and trying to find a new pair of flip flops... And it's all because of Adam and Eve.
The moral of the story:
Number of swimsuits tried on today: 10
Number of swimsuits purchased: 0
Picture the scene shortly after this problem began.
Eve: Oh, Adam... Does this sheep skin make me look fat?
Adam: Grunts
Eve: I'm serious. I need help picking out an outfit.
Adam: Grunts
Eve: Okay, so do you like the fig leaf or the maple leaf better
Adam: (raised eyebrows) Which one's easier to take off?
Eve: (hits Adam with her purse) This is really important. I'm afraid the fig leave might be too skimpy. It might make me look cheap.
Adam: (looks down at his fig leave and shrugs)
We wouldn't have to worry about whether or not we can afford to buy all the latest fashion... We wouldn't have to worry about whether the same size will fit us in every brand... And we CERTAINLY wouldn't have to worry about trying on 40 different swimsuits and still not finding even one that fit in a manner becoming of a modest Christian woman.
Then again, one could argue in the case of swimsuits that being a man would be quite advantageous. After all, then you only have to worry about finding a pair of shorts that fits around your waist. Being a woman trying to find a bathing suit is probably comparable to being a man and trying to find a new pair of flip flops... And it's all because of Adam and Eve.
The moral of the story:
Number of swimsuits tried on today: 10
Number of swimsuits purchased: 0
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Enough Adventure for One Night
It was a pretty peaceful day. I went to my parents' house and watched Take the Lead with my mom. We ate bacon and eggs and then I watched Scoop with both of my parents. Nice and calm. We then went to Sam's Club, which was less crowded than usual, got all of the samples we could, made our purchases and continued to Barnes and Noble to purchase the thirteenth book in a series that my mother and I both read. I let her take the book first since at the moment I am making my way through the Harry Potter series again before book seven comes out... I am completely aware of how geeky this sounds and so I will add a little more to that fire. At Barnes and Noble I also purchased a paper back copy of the sixth Harry Potter book because I don't like to write in my hard cover books. My parents looked at me as though I was completely insane, not understanding why one would want to write in a book in the first place... Of course they wouldn't understand... They are not book nerds. At any rate, this still sounds like a normal day, right?
So we make our way to Baldini's because my parents like the beef barley soup. For the third week in a row, we have the same waiter. My dad said that they also had him for three weeks prior to the first week that I went with them. Apparently, every time that I've come with them, the waiter has not charge my parents for their soup, nor has he charged for my soda. My dad is convinced that it has something to do with me... I will neither admit nor deny that. I am just amused by it.
After we are done at Baldini's and on our way back to my apartment, my mom's best friend calls to ask if we want to meet up with her because she's going to dinner. My mom agrees, so we decide we'll just have dessert or a drink since we've already eaten. This is where the adventure begins. My mom's best friend is in the mood for Olive Garden. As we get closer we see tons of emergency vehicles. Just as we were about to make a left onto Peckham, a firetruck flips around and blocks off traffic. So we have to merge back over to go straight. We get to Virginia, then to Kietzke and see that there are approximately 15 police cars in the Olive Garden parking lot. We make our way in, find a place to park and get out of the car. Terri has put our names in, but the restaurant is not allowed to let anyone in or out. So we wait because Terri doesn't want to eat anywhere else... She doesn't want to take her food to go and come over to my place and eat (since it's close) and she doesn't want to go home until she's had her soup from Olive Garden. While we are waiting, we hear five or six different variations of what has happened. The first story is that a guy who lives in the apartment complex shot his girlfriend and then when the police showed up, he shot a policeman. The second variation is that a guy shot his girlfriend somewhere else--the police were chasing him and he crashed into something and fled into the apartment complex and they were trying to find him. The variations just continue from there. According to the news reports, nobody was hurt in the incident, so all of the tales we heard while waiting to get into the Olive Garden were bunk. But I still say that the experience was quite enough adventure for one night...
So we make our way to Baldini's because my parents like the beef barley soup. For the third week in a row, we have the same waiter. My dad said that they also had him for three weeks prior to the first week that I went with them. Apparently, every time that I've come with them, the waiter has not charge my parents for their soup, nor has he charged for my soda. My dad is convinced that it has something to do with me... I will neither admit nor deny that. I am just amused by it.
After we are done at Baldini's and on our way back to my apartment, my mom's best friend calls to ask if we want to meet up with her because she's going to dinner. My mom agrees, so we decide we'll just have dessert or a drink since we've already eaten. This is where the adventure begins. My mom's best friend is in the mood for Olive Garden. As we get closer we see tons of emergency vehicles. Just as we were about to make a left onto Peckham, a firetruck flips around and blocks off traffic. So we have to merge back over to go straight. We get to Virginia, then to Kietzke and see that there are approximately 15 police cars in the Olive Garden parking lot. We make our way in, find a place to park and get out of the car. Terri has put our names in, but the restaurant is not allowed to let anyone in or out. So we wait because Terri doesn't want to eat anywhere else... She doesn't want to take her food to go and come over to my place and eat (since it's close) and she doesn't want to go home until she's had her soup from Olive Garden. While we are waiting, we hear five or six different variations of what has happened. The first story is that a guy who lives in the apartment complex shot his girlfriend and then when the police showed up, he shot a policeman. The second variation is that a guy shot his girlfriend somewhere else--the police were chasing him and he crashed into something and fled into the apartment complex and they were trying to find him. The variations just continue from there. According to the news reports, nobody was hurt in the incident, so all of the tales we heard while waiting to get into the Olive Garden were bunk. But I still say that the experience was quite enough adventure for one night...
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Just one of those days...
My life is pretty good right now. I like my new job. I'm six days shy of proving my old boss wrong (she said I wouldn't last three months). I have actually been getting some attention from guys recently, (one asked for my # last weekend, and I got free drinks from the other last night...) which is very unusual for me. I have paid off all of my credit cards. I can probably buy a laptop soon. And yet right now, I am feeling kind of down. It has nothing to do with MY life. My life is pretty darn good right now. It has more to do with my family. Some things are not going well in my family right now. I am worried that my brother is unhappy, which makes me unhappy. My brother deserves to be happy.
*****
Also, I have a nephew who has gotten in some trouble recently and both he and his mother are trying to blame the trouble on everyone but themselves. This frustrates me because that's how it always is with them. EVERYTHING is always someone else's fault. I know it's not my place to judge, but I just wish they would step up and take responsibilty once in a while. They have a victim mentality in ALL situations. This is part of the reason I don't enjoy their company. My sister always has some tall tale about why an incident wasn't her fault or the fault of her child. It's not her daughter's fault that she snuck out and drove a car without a license--if it wasn't for her friend...
*****
My grandmother on my dad's side is now not speaking to my dad because of an incident at dinner on Tuesday night. My parents decided to take her out for mother's day/her birthday on Tuesday night. As usual, my mom invited my brother, his wife, and me to go along. Last time I didn't go because I had other plans, and so I felt obligated to go this time. We made it through most of dinner with no problems. We were at a buffet, so there was lots of time away from the table. Then when we went to get dessert. I almost never eat dessert, but always at a buffet. I got a tiny sliver of cake and a couple of chocolate mousse cups. As soon as I sat down with it, my grandmother looks at me and says, "You're not going to eat that, are you? That stuff makes you fat." I just said, "Um, okay," and went back to my conversation with Becca. Later in the evening, I told my mom about it and she was PISSED. I wasn't really upset by it or terribly mad because I expect this from her. After all, this is the woman who told me--at my college graduation party, no less-- that maybe I would find a boyfriend if I lost some weight. At any rate, my mom was pissed, told my dad that he needed to talk to his mother about this because it was just rude. My dad talked to her about it, she accused me of being too sensitive and somehow the conversation resulted in my father and my grandmother not speaking.
*****
At any rate, I suppose that my point is that my family, (excluding my parents, my younger brother, my aunt and three of my cousins) is a nightmare to be around. I really don't enjoy their company all that much. All of you fellow Hillsiders are much more family to me than most of my real family. You have shown me more love and acceptance than most of my real family as well. I don't think I could ever truly express how much I appreciate that. I am just glad to have such an awesome church family who accepts me for me whether I am fat or skinny, happy or sad. Thanks to all of you for always being there for me when I need someone and for showing me love like I haven't seen from most of my family. You guys are part of what makes my life so good right now, so seriously, thank you to all of you who have treated me like family.
*****
Also, I have a nephew who has gotten in some trouble recently and both he and his mother are trying to blame the trouble on everyone but themselves. This frustrates me because that's how it always is with them. EVERYTHING is always someone else's fault. I know it's not my place to judge, but I just wish they would step up and take responsibilty once in a while. They have a victim mentality in ALL situations. This is part of the reason I don't enjoy their company. My sister always has some tall tale about why an incident wasn't her fault or the fault of her child. It's not her daughter's fault that she snuck out and drove a car without a license--if it wasn't for her friend...
*****
My grandmother on my dad's side is now not speaking to my dad because of an incident at dinner on Tuesday night. My parents decided to take her out for mother's day/her birthday on Tuesday night. As usual, my mom invited my brother, his wife, and me to go along. Last time I didn't go because I had other plans, and so I felt obligated to go this time. We made it through most of dinner with no problems. We were at a buffet, so there was lots of time away from the table. Then when we went to get dessert. I almost never eat dessert, but always at a buffet. I got a tiny sliver of cake and a couple of chocolate mousse cups. As soon as I sat down with it, my grandmother looks at me and says, "You're not going to eat that, are you? That stuff makes you fat." I just said, "Um, okay," and went back to my conversation with Becca. Later in the evening, I told my mom about it and she was PISSED. I wasn't really upset by it or terribly mad because I expect this from her. After all, this is the woman who told me--at my college graduation party, no less-- that maybe I would find a boyfriend if I lost some weight. At any rate, my mom was pissed, told my dad that he needed to talk to his mother about this because it was just rude. My dad talked to her about it, she accused me of being too sensitive and somehow the conversation resulted in my father and my grandmother not speaking.
*****
At any rate, I suppose that my point is that my family, (excluding my parents, my younger brother, my aunt and three of my cousins) is a nightmare to be around. I really don't enjoy their company all that much. All of you fellow Hillsiders are much more family to me than most of my real family. You have shown me more love and acceptance than most of my real family as well. I don't think I could ever truly express how much I appreciate that. I am just glad to have such an awesome church family who accepts me for me whether I am fat or skinny, happy or sad. Thanks to all of you for always being there for me when I need someone and for showing me love like I haven't seen from most of my family. You guys are part of what makes my life so good right now, so seriously, thank you to all of you who have treated me like family.
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