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.

*gasp*

It happened. I went a day without posting. But, to be fair, not without writing, because half this post was drafted yesterday and I just didn’t manage to get it published. It was bound to happen but I do not intend for that to become commonplace. I know you were very concerned.

I know my cats love me unconditionally because they still rub their little faces on my arm even though they know they’re going to get shocked. The hesitation before they make contact means they know it’s coming and do it anyway. I’m not sure if that’s stupidity or what, but I’ll take it. I mean come on, we’ve all done dumb things to show someone we care about them, amirite? (I’m totally right)

I pick the nail polish off my fingernails after it starts to peel. The nail polish on my thumbnail is always the most difficult to remove sans nail polish remover. What makes the thumbnail mightier than the rest? Why does the nail polish adhere to it more effectively? I don’t get it.

Who looked at rhubarb and decided it might be a good idea to try to eat it? I mean look, I can enjoy a slice of strawberry rhubarb pie every now and then, but it has to be ice cold with cool whip. That aside, seriously. (I would have died in the ‘hunter/gatherer’ times. Oooo look berries! Why are they so red? Oh well.)

I enjoy working out every time I go but I also enjoy sitting on my couch. So…yeah…

It’s amazing to me the predicaments we as people can get ourselves into (and out of) based on ego, pride, self-centeredness, fear, etc. But equally as surprising are the situations we get into (and out of) based on care, concern, passion, selflessness, empathy, and love. Human emotion is varied, unpredictable and fascinating.

What happens to the phone numbers and email addresses that go unused or sit dormant? Do they eventually just disappear? I mean I made a LOT of email addresses as a pre-teen/teen. Does some program go through and clean them up? Could I be drmrgrl36 again? (I think that was one. Wow. I dunno.)

Interstellar was as good the 3rd time as the 1st. I caught way more watching it at home. I think probably because I wasn’t so caught up in the music that I was able to actually focus on what was happening in the movie.

I don’t know if you guys have figured it out yet but I’m just a big geek/nerd/dork or whatever. I wear Harry Potter and Zelda t-shirts, go on and on about things that aren’t particularly important, think about things I can’t really wrap my mind around (like the vastness of the universe, that one gets me more often than I care to admit) and laugh at my own jokes. I have a Harry Potter tattoo, I saw LOTR in the theater more than 2 or 3 times, I’ve probably got half the Marvel movies embedded in my memory, and playing word games is something I really enjoy doing in my limited spare time. I’m just grateful today that I embrace that instead of hide it.

Ok. What’s with the worm smell after the first few rain showers in the spring? How do people enjoy that smell? I remember walking through my neighborhood as a kid, being seriously grossed out by the earthworms that crawled across the pavement. I’d tiptoe around them and probably squeal a little bit. (Ok, so I’m a little dramatic too. Whatever) I’d also run in fear at the sound of the tornado siren tests on Saturday mornings. I was kind of a wuss.

I’m going to Denver today! Woo! That means I’m spending 8 hours alone in a car today, but the payoff will be SO worth it. Visiting friends and babies, enjoying not being at work, and coming back to what I expect to be quite an enjoyable 1st full week in April.

Have no fear, I still intend on posting every day, even on vacation. There MIGHT even be a second post tonight, just because I’m going to have 8 hours alone in a car to think. (That’s as frightening as it is promising)

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.]

For your throwback viewing pleasure:

I think. A lot.

I don’t have many life-changing ideas to share with the world. I don’t even have great advice. I have some experiences, but I’m not sure they’re noteworthy. They’re mine, I suppose, which makes them unique, and perhaps valuable to a degree if I run into someone in the same situation I found myself in, who might be looking for some direction.

What I do have for certain is a laundry list of random thoughts that come through my brain like:

What does a massage therapist think about during 1.5 hours of silent muscle-rubbing of a complete stranger?

What happens to abandoned cars? Why did the person abandon it? Where did they go? Did they owe money on it still? Are they delinquent at the bank? Are they on the run? (this one goes on and on)

Why is it that the sound of fingernail clippers literally makes me cringe?

Is it ironic that I have a comic on my work cubicle that talks about hating work and playing games online instead? (theawkwardyeti.com – check him out)

Do my coworkers ever fall asleep, do workouts, or other crazy things in their cubicles when they think no one is looking?

Why does my tinnitus randomly split into two pitches? What causes tinnitus? How did I get it? (I thought everyone had ringing in their ears)

So…anyway. This blog is basically going to be my dumping ground for the things I think of, on the regular. Maybe they will be amusing, maybe not, but they will be authentic, and my Facebook friends will be grateful I’ve found another outlet.

Seriously though, we’ve put men on the moon, a robot on mars, recreated mammoth DNA in elephant cells (or something like that, idk I’m not a scientist) but canker sores and tinnitus still remain a mystery.

(edit, I found it. http://io9.com/scientists-have-transplanted-mammoth-dna-into-elephant-1693089895 I was totally right)