What a hiatus!

I have not been around these parts in a minute! I’ve been using another medium to blog about some things near and dear that I don’t necessarily need everyone to know about but have to work through. With that, plus school, meetings, work, standing appointments, choir, orchestra, and dating, I’ve been incredibly busy.

Crazy how life gets good isn’t it?

Have you ever taken into consideration the random articles found on the roadways? I’m curious. I mentioned this on my Facebook, seeing a random shoe in the median. The responses were varied – some wondered, like me, if a person was so angry that throwing a shoe out of the window was the only natural response. Others thought that perhaps something terrible happened. One person said a ‘friend of hers’ thought that it was proof of an alien abduction. But I mean, I have seen some weird things on the roadside. Baby seat. Couch. Couch cushion. Bookshelf. Shoe. Backpack. I can’t imagine that all of these things bounced out of the back of a truck.

Sometimes I look at pictures of space, and of Earth, and of our Universe and I just get overwhelmed. Does that ever happen to you with anything? I just think about our planets in orbit around the sun, and how incredible it is that such a thing exists at all, and how so many things happen in such a big world that is actually tiny in comparison to the solar system it resides in while hurtling through space. Sometimes it’s a challenge for me to wrap my mind around the god thing, but when I think of all this, I’m convinced that the name doesn’t matter – there’s something out there bigger than me and I’m grateful.

Think about weather, and tides, and how plants and humans help each other out, and tell me that it wasn’t by design. Now look, I’m a firm believer in science and I’m not saying that the world was created in “7 days” by a supreme being. I don’t think there’s a puppet master pulling strings. What I am saying is that it isn’t just coincidence that humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, and that plants absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. That’s one of many examples that I could provide, but I think at this point I’m starting to ramble. It’s just powerful stuff.

I’m *this* close to home-ownership again! Also *this* close to being done with class for the semester. Orchestra concert was Sunday and went off well. I had a few people in the audience this time which was pretty cool. Choir concert is in a month. Closing date for the house would be in a month. I’m dating a neat guy. I’m doing personal training at the gym, I’m sponsoring a gal who seems to really be trying, I’m participating in service commitments…

Basically what I’m saying is I’m so busy I think that sometimes I skate by on adrenaline and caffeine alone. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I have a few friends who openly protest Thanksgiving, stating that America is celebrating genocide of the Native American population, and I know there are many others who believe that way. Lots of protests by Native American tribes take place on Thanksgiving. On the other hand, many Native Americans are supportive of Thanksgiving, as the main purpose of the day is to give thanks to whatever you believe in for the things we have in life. I think initially it was a day of thanks for the first successful harvest. Of course, there are those who will say history has been changed and what the books say does not accurately reflect what really happened. I guess we’ll never know for sure.What I love is that everyone is entitled to believe what they want. As long as you don’t force your beliefs on me, we’re good.

That being said, I love Thanksgiving, with all of the drama of trying to get the food prepared at the same time, making sure the potatoes aren’t too lumpy or too smooth. I swear, someday I’m going to master what ‘until it looks right’ means when my mom tells me to add milk to the potatoes. I like looking at ads at what I’d buy if I had all the money in the world or the bravery to try to shop on Black Friday. I like having football on the TV while we nap, going to the meeting, playing games, eating pie. What I really want to do that I have never done is see the lighting ceremony in our downtown area. I am hoping I can this year. I’ve been here 30 years and never experienced it. I mean I’ve seen the lights. I just haven’t seen them light up for the first time. Ya get me.

Wow. This thing is all over the place. Well, kinda like my brain I guess. You’re welcome.

Vaca brain

Do you believe in personality quizzes? Have you ever taken any and thought wow, that is spot on? I have. When I answer truthfully I am always surprised at how accurate my results can be. Is it because you see what you want to see in the results? I dunno. Interesting though.

If you could go anywhere alone, where would you go? I’m going to Florida this weekend and I couldn’t be more excited. I love traveling alone. I’m looking forward to ocean views and sand beneath my feet, and doing what I want, when I want.

Looking forward to some meditation and reading this weekend, along with some tasty foods and great photo ops. Now to find my camera…

It’s tattoo time, speaking of doing what I want when I want. I know, I’m ridiculous. I just love them so.

Do you ever think about how many different people there are in the world and how differently they all live their lives and perceive the things around them? Like, it’s no wonder communication is difficult. I love figuring out how people communicate and the mirroring it back to them. I just don’t know what to do with that skill set.

If you could be told what your purpose in life was, would you want to hear? I would.

Getting ahead on homework is a great feeling especially with a vaca coming up. So long suckers!

I’m really ready for the beach.

Why aren’t there resealable bags for cereal?

What happens if a cop pulls you over and they have a headlight out? Can you say something about it? Do they do once-overs on their cars before they go out on patrol? “Hey Bob, can you check my taillights?”

What is it about food days at work? It’s like the only thing that we can get excited about. Happy Friday! Stuff your face! But one of my aisle-mates brought homemade salsa so I am pretty stoked about that.

Why can’t I seem to take my contacts out on a regular basis? I did last night and today my eyes will not stop watering. I really need to get in the habit of taking them out more, I don’t want to do permanent damage to my eyes. Besides, my glasses are pretty adorable.

How crazy is it that just over 4 years ago I had no chance of doing anything based on my credit score, and today I’ve been pre-approved for a house?! (It’s pretty crazy)

What even are allergies? I mean, how do they just randomly show up in a person at 30? Have they been lying dormant in my body this whole time?

School starts in just over a week. I’m so close to being done I can taste it.

My life is so full today – I’m really quite lucky.

Apple Cinnamon Cheerios are a close second

In this day and age, where everyone has a camera and filters and everyone fancies themselves a photographer, is it a silly dream to want to be one? Not just a mediocre one, but a good one? Is it silly at 30 to finish one degree and start another that is completely different?

How is it that a plant can grow without soil?

It’s really true what they say, silence can absolutely be golden.

When you think about the universe, is it something that scares you or excites you?

I saw a truck on the interstate today that was carrying burial tombs. Not caskets. Like, full on tombs, decorated to the hilt. I didn’t even know there was a market for such a thing.

I feel like I’m wasting my life behind a desk doing a job that anyone could do, not really doing anything to benefit anyone else. It’s infuriating, to a degree, to realize that if I left, my presence would not be missed here. My circle of influence, for lack of a better term, is quite limited.

HyVee delivers groceries. It was a monumental day in my life once discovered. Yes, I used it. Yes, it was worth $4.95. Yes, I’ll do it again. I’m saving money by not going out to eat all the time, and I’ve got a variety of choices. It’s nice.

Sometimes people at work communicate in such a way that initially makes me bristle. Then I remember that it really doesn’t matter.

Golden Grahams might be the best cereal ever.

It’s a 4 day work week! Woo!

I sorta have a soundtrack to my life, because I obsessively listen to music over and over, and then even when it’s not on I hear it playing in my head. It can be fun. Also annoying. But mostly fun.

I enjoy several varieties of sushi. I don’t mind sharing with other people for a bigger selection. But so help me, if you get a roll that has raw fish in it, I am not giving you one of my hotel cali’s as a trade-off because no. I am not eating raw fish. (Just sayin)

When I try to meditate, i.e. clear my mind of all thoughts, my tinnitus gets louder, and then all I can think about is how loud my tinnitus is, and then wonder why I don’t always hear it or think about it, and then that’s all she wrote. Which is why I like yoga, and painting, and coloring. Because I’m distracted by something enough to not think about the tinnitus but also thoughts that would normally stick in my brain just pass right through.

Jurassic World is a must-see for those of you who enjoy cheesy action movies with a bit of gross and a whole lot of nostalgia. I really enjoyed it. My expectations were not exceptionally high, so I had that going for me. Also, Chris Pratt. ‘Nuff said.

Breakfast food is good at any time of the day or night.

I heard someone say yesterday that no moment is ever the same, and no moment can ever be exactly recreated. So, I’m going to just enjoy where I am and try to stop planning for a future I can’t predict, and stop dwelling on a past that cannot change and cannot be duplicated. Accept, enjoy, relax.

I’ve been holding out on redeeming my points work because I wanted to get enough to get another year of Netflix for free. So I got enough, and it turns out they don’t offer that anymore! I’m going to have to become a paying member next year! Sad day. (I get that it’s really cheap, but still)

So, if I’ve done the calculations correctly, I have 3 more classes after this semester, then my Kirkpatrick series which is 9 credit hours, and then I’m done with my degree! This has been a long time coming.

What is it about grandmas? They always want to give you food and candy, even if they’re not your grandma. It must be something that happens to the brain as it ages, where it automatically assumes that people under 50 are not eating enough, therefore they must be sent home with food.

Happy Monday.

Friday. Yes.

There is an almost palpable shift in the air on a Friday in the office. People are nicer, work seems easier, and I can justify almost anything. Watch.

Long lunch? Welp, it’s Friday! Long morning break? No problem, it’s Friday! Nerdy T-shirt and sneakers to work? Who cares…it’s Friday, hello, get with the program.

It’s quite astonishing, really.

Does everyone have music constantly playing in their heads? What’s it like to have a quiet mind? (clearly yoga and meditation has been a struggle for me, but at least I try)

How does a song make its way into a person’s brain? Like, I just started singing that song Roll to Me by Del Amitri. I had to look up the one line of lyrics I actually knew to figure out what the song was. I haven’t heard it in years. That song came out in 1995. I was 10. Seriously, where did it come from?

How does a school bus driver know where all the bus stops are? I mean, 50 kids on a bus is a lot of kids. I thought buses had like a total of 3 stops. And the kids had to get out and walk home from wherever the closest stop was. (I never rode the bus to school) I got stuck behind a school bus in my neighborhood yesterday and he stopped like 6 times in ‘not very far’ which translates to maybe three streets. There are no signs. Does he have to study a map of the city and memorize? Do the kids know and pull a string? I never saw a string on a bus. It has to be the driver. He must be responsible. (I could keep going, seriously)

What possesses a grown person to take another person’s lunch out of the fridge in the break room?

I write/type fridge instead of refrigerator most of the time because I usually spell refrigerator wrong, which is a huge bummer for me as I am typically quite adept at spelling. (yes, I spelled it wrong. It had the red squiggly line of shame)

Why is there a d in fridge? I mean really, where’d it come from?

Why aren’t office dogs standard for corporations? I mean, they’re just so fluffy. What does it take to get a corporation to allow dogs in the workplace? Cats would be a nightmare, I get that. When a person brings a dog to work, how often do they get to take breaks to take the dog outside for walks?

Is there a study that proves seeing outdoors during work increases productivity?

My lack of a window and office dog severely affects my morale at work. I’ve never had an office dog and only briefly had a window, so it probably doesn’t affect it as much as I’m letting on. I just think both would be great.

I love to eat healthy and really dislike cooking. It’s quite the juxtaposition I haven’t quite overcome yet.

I prefer to binge watch the same TV show on repeat on Netflix rather than start something new. I mean, I know there are a lot of good shows out there. I watched Agents of Shield for the first time and now I’m hooked (it’s incredibly cheesy, but it’s Marvel and Phil Coulson so…duh) Peaky Blinders, same thing. I knew nothing about that show except that Cillian Murphy was in it, and he’s probably in my top 3 favorite actors ever (and he’s Irish, so bonus) so I watched it and LOVED it. I guess my hesitation lies in the fact that my time is valuable (although how valuable is debatable, considering my above statement) and I don’t want to waste it trying a new show/movie that ends up just being awful. Clearly, I’m able to get past that on occasion. But sometimes (who am I kidding, most of the time) I’d prefer to watch something I know is going to make me laugh rather than take a guess.

Pizza is my kryptonite. Seriously, if bribing me is in order, good, thin crust pepperoni pizza is probably your best bet. Well, give it a shot anyway.

Most of the time in my life, I am not a very competitive person. Just the way I’m wired. But let me go ahead put this out there for whatever it’s worth. If you challenge me to a game of Scrabble, it is on. I will show no mercy.

This is getting long and I feel like I should end it and just publish another one later if I want. It has been more facts about me this time around as much as random questions/ideas that I ponder. I’m not sorry. I do feel a little bit badly that anyone reading this is hit with a wall of text. But I’m not motivated enough to insert a bunch of images just for the sake of having them included. I prefer clean lines rather than clutter. Thanks Mom.

[Edit: I just saw an article stating there’s a new non-stick coating out that prevents ketchup from sticking to the inside of the bottle. What a time to be alive.]

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