So my first day here wasn't stellar. I flew up from Amarillo, and carried on a music box my Poppy had carved for me. It was incredibly delicate and I wanted to avoid breakage. The poor thing survived the ENTIRE flight and airport fiasco only to be crushed by hapless placement of a purse in my car. Tear.
I tried to wash my poor filthy car (it had been sitting in a driveway for a month and a half) and the car wash took payment but didn't work. Then some korean dude couldn't understand enough english to understand why I wanted a refund. It took 30 minutes to get my $6.00 back.
THEN I made a wrong turn trying to find the interstate, and the most stupendous thing happened. I got pulled over going 10 above the speed limit. I was accelerating to the speed sign posted 15 yards ahead, and explained that A) I was lost and B) I was new here and not entirely certain what the speed limit was anyway. His exact words were 'Welcome to Colorado - this isn't the best part of my job...'
Jerk.
I woke up the 2nd day here to a sore throat and have been progressing to development of a very healthy cold ever since.
*sigh*
On the upside, I'm loving my apartment and my family here is amazing! :) Despite all the unfortunate occurances to date, I'm having a good time and can't wait to start work on Tuesday!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sentimentalism
'Isn't it great to be back with real friends? I mean the kind you can tease relentlessly until they really hate you?'
Yes, yes it is...eventhough she was mostly referring to my ridicule ;)
It's also great to be with people who know that having your hair played with is one of life's greatest pleasures, and that snuggling 4 people to a bed is still proper protocol for sleepovers even at 24 when two of you are five months pregnant.
I have a story from the weekend, but it requries a preface.
Those who have slept with me know that I rarely snore, but do have another annoying/endearing (depending on your perspective) sleeping quirk. I click. Somehow I produce a strange clicking noise in the back of my throat every time I breathe.
This weekend, Erica and I were bedmates. Seeing as it's been six or so years since freshman year when we shared a dorm room, I suppose I can see how she'd forgotten about my clicking. In any case, apparently I fell asleep in the middle of Shiloh's (baby bump) evening calisthenics routine. The clicking started up, and she began to wonder if Shiloh had picked up some new communication method to supplement his kicks. She laid in silence feeling all around her stomach for a good 3-5 minutes before realizing that the sound was indeed coming from the pillow next to her and not, as she had suspected, from her stomach.
I think the incident illustrates how radically pregnancy changes your body - considering that the production of a strange noise at regular intervals could be considered normal development. Craziness. I'll leave additional commentary on the side effects of pregnancy out for the time being, but I will say this: If you're a female, don't assume that morning sickness and swolen ankles are the worst of what you deal with. Health class lied. At this stage in the game, I'm utterly shocked that women pull this off all the time. Maybe they keep us ignorant of the details as long as possible so we don't chicken out. I don't know...but I do know that I admire my friends for what they're going through and have an entirely new respect for mothers!!
Yes, yes it is...eventhough she was mostly referring to my ridicule ;)
It's also great to be with people who know that having your hair played with is one of life's greatest pleasures, and that snuggling 4 people to a bed is still proper protocol for sleepovers even at 24 when two of you are five months pregnant.
I have a story from the weekend, but it requries a preface.
Those who have slept with me know that I rarely snore, but do have another annoying/endearing (depending on your perspective) sleeping quirk. I click. Somehow I produce a strange clicking noise in the back of my throat every time I breathe.
This weekend, Erica and I were bedmates. Seeing as it's been six or so years since freshman year when we shared a dorm room, I suppose I can see how she'd forgotten about my clicking. In any case, apparently I fell asleep in the middle of Shiloh's (baby bump) evening calisthenics routine. The clicking started up, and she began to wonder if Shiloh had picked up some new communication method to supplement his kicks. She laid in silence feeling all around her stomach for a good 3-5 minutes before realizing that the sound was indeed coming from the pillow next to her and not, as she had suspected, from her stomach.
I think the incident illustrates how radically pregnancy changes your body - considering that the production of a strange noise at regular intervals could be considered normal development. Craziness. I'll leave additional commentary on the side effects of pregnancy out for the time being, but I will say this: If you're a female, don't assume that morning sickness and swolen ankles are the worst of what you deal with. Health class lied. At this stage in the game, I'm utterly shocked that women pull this off all the time. Maybe they keep us ignorant of the details as long as possible so we don't chicken out. I don't know...but I do know that I admire my friends for what they're going through and have an entirely new respect for mothers!!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Mrs. Manning
If you went to high school in Greenwood, America, you can already tell that the content of this blog will involve one of two things; English literature or eyebrows. Mrs. Manning taught our AP english courses and was notorious for her eyebrows. Er - lack thereof - and her thick, drawn-on brow liner version of them. Sadly, part of me wished my life related to something about English literature today -- and I suppose in part it does. Prepare yourself for a tradgedy, friends.
I was in the mall and decided that I'd neglected parts of my personal routine a little too much this summer, and why not treat myself to a quick manicure and eyebrow wax? Between my Dad's 50th birthday party, a wedding, and various other social outings on the horizon, I figured a little attention to the details couldn't hurt....right?
Oooh, so wrong.
That tiny chinese grandmother stole my eyebrows. Okay, so truthfully she only stole 75% of my eyebrows - but for someone who has naturally blonde hair, the remaining 25% doesn't really show up all that well on its own. The result appears as a small line reaching from the inner corner of my eyes to just above my pupils....then.....nothing. I was so shocked that I left without getting the manicure to try and calm myself. I desperately attempted to determine what was within my power to improve the situation. I finally came to the conclusion that (against all hope) instant hair growth serum and/or time travel are not at my disposal to rectify things. However, eyeliner just might do the trick. I could pull a Mrs. Manning and color it in! Lots of people do that, right? It's either that, or buy a bottle of hair color and try to dye what's left of my eyebrows to a shade distinguishable against my skin.
If I could play out for you all the terrible scenarios that ran through my mind of how horribly that might turn out, you'd see why I immediately decided against the hair dye.
I retreated to the haven of my vehicle to test out the eyeliner hypothesis, but had forgotten that the temperature in Midland runs at about a thousand and seven degrees these days, and the eyeliner was melted. Matters were further complicated by the fact that the truck I'm driving around has a non-functional AC. I was forced to cut my errand-running short because really, who wants to go into the post office looking like a half-eyebrowed weirdo? Not me, thank you.
*sigh* Lesson learned. Vanity is a horrible thing, and humility is a difficult virtue to stomach!
I was in the mall and decided that I'd neglected parts of my personal routine a little too much this summer, and why not treat myself to a quick manicure and eyebrow wax? Between my Dad's 50th birthday party, a wedding, and various other social outings on the horizon, I figured a little attention to the details couldn't hurt....right?
Oooh, so wrong.
That tiny chinese grandmother stole my eyebrows. Okay, so truthfully she only stole 75% of my eyebrows - but for someone who has naturally blonde hair, the remaining 25% doesn't really show up all that well on its own. The result appears as a small line reaching from the inner corner of my eyes to just above my pupils....then.....nothing. I was so shocked that I left without getting the manicure to try and calm myself. I desperately attempted to determine what was within my power to improve the situation. I finally came to the conclusion that (against all hope) instant hair growth serum and/or time travel are not at my disposal to rectify things. However, eyeliner just might do the trick. I could pull a Mrs. Manning and color it in! Lots of people do that, right? It's either that, or buy a bottle of hair color and try to dye what's left of my eyebrows to a shade distinguishable against my skin.
If I could play out for you all the terrible scenarios that ran through my mind of how horribly that might turn out, you'd see why I immediately decided against the hair dye.
I retreated to the haven of my vehicle to test out the eyeliner hypothesis, but had forgotten that the temperature in Midland runs at about a thousand and seven degrees these days, and the eyeliner was melted. Matters were further complicated by the fact that the truck I'm driving around has a non-functional AC. I was forced to cut my errand-running short because really, who wants to go into the post office looking like a half-eyebrowed weirdo? Not me, thank you.
*sigh* Lesson learned. Vanity is a horrible thing, and humility is a difficult virtue to stomach!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Flying
Between April and August, I will have flown on a total of 13 airplanes. I'm between numbers 5 and 6 at the moment. I can't help but people watch when I'm around crowds, and I have a few public service announcements:
1) I don't care who you are, you look like a douchebag when wearing your sunglasses indoors. Especially with your too-cool ball cap with the sticker still attached and your popped collar. Call me a hater, maybe I am -- but I still think you look like an idiot.
2) This one applies more to Texans than anyone else; but please, for decency sake, DO NOT bring your Dr. Pepper bottle aboard the airplane to use as a dip cup. It's disgusting, especially when you're stuck in such close proximity. If you can't survive an hour and a half flight without your nicotine fix, at least use something I can't see through while you do it. Seriously. Gross.
3) Please, please, PLEASE stop yelling into your cell phone. I realize the person on the other line may not be able to hear you, but everyone within a 20 foot radius can...and if the other party can't hear you in the first place, why drag on a 25 minute conversation? When you're yelling over the music in my headphones, it's getting bad.
That's the end of my rant... ;)
1) I don't care who you are, you look like a douchebag when wearing your sunglasses indoors. Especially with your too-cool ball cap with the sticker still attached and your popped collar. Call me a hater, maybe I am -- but I still think you look like an idiot.
2) This one applies more to Texans than anyone else; but please, for decency sake, DO NOT bring your Dr. Pepper bottle aboard the airplane to use as a dip cup. It's disgusting, especially when you're stuck in such close proximity. If you can't survive an hour and a half flight without your nicotine fix, at least use something I can't see through while you do it. Seriously. Gross.
3) Please, please, PLEASE stop yelling into your cell phone. I realize the person on the other line may not be able to hear you, but everyone within a 20 foot radius can...and if the other party can't hear you in the first place, why drag on a 25 minute conversation? When you're yelling over the music in my headphones, it's getting bad.
That's the end of my rant... ;)
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