Thursday, March 30, 2006
Fight2type explained
So for those of you who might have been curious about the title of my blog… here’s you explanation. I’ve tried to journal/blog for years. It’s never really been successful. I always quit. I like the idea of my thoughts preserved some where, but it’s just a lot of effort to actually extract the thoughts from my brain into a comprehendible entry. Hence it’s a fight to type.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Understanding The Quitter
So originally this was going to be a comment responding to the Quitter's comment on my "The Book Blog" post. But the more and more i thought about it, the more i realized that this topic deserves its own post. You see, if you know the Quitter, you that she expresses love through hurtful words. Example, at the Christmas party i was trying to talk to her about the book i was reading. She and the boyfriend had already been making fun of me for a good 10 minutes (because i wasn't really a reader then, and they didn't believe that i was actually reading a book). I said, "i think it introduces some really interesting concepts..." And before i could finish she says, "you mean words on a page?" OUCH!!!! (Freakin' hilarious, but still.. ouch!) Anyway, you get the idea. The meaner she is to me... the more i know she loves me. She wouldn't go through the effort of insulting me otherwise.
Because i've become accustomed to this behaviour from her, it makes me wonder what she means when she says nice things. For example, the following quote comes from her comment on my "the book blog" post:
"Ninth. Oh yeah! Now I remember. I love your blog! You are quite a writer! Please keep it up! And don't follow my example of non-regularity concerning posts."
Now, does this mean that she really does like my blog, thinks i'm a good writer, and hopes that i post frequently? Or is she actually trying to say:
"This blog freakin' sucks! Why do i freakin' waste my time reading it? You're the WORST WRITER EVER!!!! Please do me, bloggers, the writing community, and civilization as a whole a favor and NEVER WRITE AGAIN! And if you refuse to do that, please at least follow my example and only write when you have insomnia. P.S. I've given your boyfriend instructions to slip Ambien into you're dinner."
I'm just so confused!
Monday, March 20, 2006
The Book Blog
Rule #1. No comments about "OMG you know how to read?" or "who has taken over you're blog, because YOU can't POSSIBLY be talking about books!?!?!"
Yes. it's true. I've started reading. And i kinda like it. I don't have books growing out of my hands and i couldn't open up my own Barnes and Noble (Quitter!) I also don't read the crap that Will reads. He just finished what i'm sure was an enthralling book about women governors. In his defense, it was for school... but still... who ever actually reads books for school? I'm quite picky about my books. I can't read hardback books. Too heavy. Too cumbersome. It's rare for me to read anywhere but in bed. (Though i'm guessing airports and planes will become new favorite reading locations soon.) Mom and Dad always read sci-fi and fantasy. I think this is why i was never a reader. Totally not my style. I've discovered that i gravitate towards books written in the first person. I think it makes it more believable, less like a story, more like something that could have actually happened. It sucks me in more. I also like semi-historical books, but not just rehashing history. I like a really great story that incorporates elements of history.
Several months ago I went into the Borders downtown (while i've never been a reader i've always LOVED bookstores, can't explain it) I was aimlessly wondering around and a very nice salesman caught my eye and asked if he could help me find something. I informed him that he probably could if i had ANY IDEA what i was looking for. I explained that i wasn't a reader, but that I kinda wanted to be. He smiled but didn't mock me at all. He led me over to a book called The Lovely Bones. It took me a couple months to read it (a huge improvement over toying with a book for several months only to never actually finish it) and i really liked it. Without giving too much away... It's told from the perspective of a girl named Susie who was murdered and is now looking on from heaven. She watches her friends and family as they go through stages of denial and grief. She struggles with not being able to help them work through their pain. The author introduces the theory of individual heavens that kind of intermingle. The idea is that everyone's heaven is different and some people will never meet in heaven because they are in different heavens. It's an interesting perspective.
The next book i read was Memoirs of a Geisha. I heard about the book a few years ago when it first came out. It seemed like it would be very interesting, but again.... i wasn't a reader. Recently the movie came out and i decided that i wanted to see it, but i thought i should read the book first. Oddly enough, still haven't seen the movie. LOVED the book. Loved the history and culture. I'm not sure i could read a book about Japanese history, but the fact that it was told through Chiyo/Sayuri's eyes. It was her experiences. I understand the story isn't autobiographical. It is fictional, but based on true events. I was a little disappointed by the ending. I don't want to give anything away, but it seemed a little too tidy to be realistic to me. Other than that, it was a fascinating story. It made me wish i could hop on a plane and go to Japan (even though it's not at all the same any more.) It reinforced my love of foreign culture.
Finally, Sunday afternoon, I took a long hot bath and finished reading Kite Runner. I think I liked it for a lot of the same reasons i liked Memoirs. It was glimpse into I world i know nothing about. People talk about books being an escape from reality. I think i'm beginning to understand that. Of course it makes me want to chuck it all grab a backpack and find some hostels to stay in so i can see the world. I LOVE other cultures and I love learning about other cultures, especially from the perspective of someone who lived there. I don't really know where to start on this book without giving everything away. It was a page turner though. The author was really good at making it look like the chapter was going to wrap up nicely, and then having a last sentence like "I didn't know then, but it was the last time I would ever see him." That's not a real quote, but you get the idea. I was annoyed by it at first, but i guess that's how you keep people reading.
Today i went to my own personal library................ My Aunt's bookshelf!!! (I should totally open a book store and name it that!!!) I haven't given her a nickname, and i think she would be upset if used the nickname that i've most recently given her. It's kind of a between us thing. So I'll use one of her old nicknames, Bange. Bange loaned me three books, i haven't decided which one i'm going to start with, but they all look pretty good. I'll keep you posted. Anyone else reading something good? (Quitter, if you don't comment I'll have no choice but to assume you've dropped off the face of the Earth. I KNOW you're reading something!)
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Homeschoolers, shop-lifting and police... oh my!!!
How's that for a teaser title? And I'm gonna make you wait 'til the end of the blog to fill in the details. So, it's been a pretty slow week. Wednesday at hag night Will and I started Fat Club (or Fat Watchers we haven't decided on which name we want for it yet, feel free to vote in comments section of this blog) Basically we are weighing ourselves in every week and competing to lose weight. Maybe I'll FINALLY get my butt back in shape. Before that, Karen and I went to kickboxing. It was a really good class, and we both signed up for a year! Yea!!!
And on to the big story! Mom and I left Friday afternoon and headed up to my first conference of the year. We got there Friday night and got set up. We had dinner and went back to the hotel and watched a movie. The next morning we got to the conference center about 15 minutes before the doors opened. We got the last few things set up and as soon as they opened the door, we were SWAMPED! I can't imagine if i had tried to do this conference alone.
So at one point this lady comes up and starts talking to mom and she's a little weird, but i don't think too much of it because sometimes homeschool parents are like that. (that sounds mean... but it's true) She hung around the booth for a pretty lengthy amount of time and mom and I both talked to her about a little bit about various part of our curriculum and she eventually left. Hours later when i was explaining for 167,246th time that day the difference between our various CD's to a very nice woman, i suddenly see 3 fully uniformed police officers come marching in (seriously, i felt like they should have had theme music and in my head they did) Me and my ADHD got super distracted and i had to apologize to the woman for fumbling over my words and explain to her that there were 3 cops standing right behind her. The cops moved on, we finished our conversation, and i sent her off happily with her student's curriculum for next fall.
About 45 minutes later the weird lady from much earlier in the day comes storming towards our booth with the police and the Conference Organizer (CO) behind her. She got to our table and tossed 2 cd's down and stormed on. I noticed that one of the CD's had a sticker on it indicating that it belonged to one of our retailers, not us. I mentioned that it wasn't ours and the CO asked me to just hang on to it. A few minutes later the CO came back and i gave her the CD. I was helping a customer so i couldn't really talk to her, but apparently she told mom that the lady had hit up 8 different booths! Let's here it for shoplifters who homeschool!!!!!! The one saving grace was that her children weren't with her, so there is a possibility that they haven't picked up the habit yet.
All in all the weekend was really good. I got to hang out with mom for a while. It looks like she is FINALLY going to call a counseling center for the family. We talked a little bit about how everyone has some issues that we need to work on. She mentioned her abandonment issues with her dad and said that whether i realize it or not i probably have some abandonment issues of my own regarding my sperm donor (that's my biological father). I about made her Coke go through her nose when i said "he's a jerk, I'm glad he wasn't around." The best part is that on Friday night Rica's mom (who stopped by to drop some stuff off) asked how many kids she had. Mom said 2. TWO!!!!!!! and then she caught herself and said "well 2 at home still. But 3 including her" Talk about abandonment issues!!! I didn't have any BEFORE, but i do NOW!!!! It was all very amusing and now i have a great way to guilt trip my mom. :-)
So now i'm back home. I had a little time with the boyfriend tonight. Will came over and we were supposed to help the boyfriend build our new desk... but all we really accomplished was making my garage smell like shop class. The boyfriend left for work. Will went home. And Oscar and I are hanging out. Grey's Anatomy is starting now. I've become really addicted to that show. It's just really good! Thanks to Rica, Elvis and the Super Bowl for turning me on to it. Tonight's show looks good. Just last week i was thinking "wow, don't they ever lose patient's at this hospital?" Apparently tonight is the night. (Not that i think the episode will be good because people die.... oh nevermind.... you know what i mean!!!!!!)
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Vacation forever! PLEASE!?!?!!
It's been awesome! Can i just stay on vacation forever?! And can the boyfriend stay with me? We've had a really great time together this week. We haven't really done much. We've just been hanging out. One night we went grocery shopping. Total rebels aren't we?! A couple days this week i got up and made us pancakes for breakfast. (and by breakfast i mean around noon)
Wednesday night we had a bit of a break from each other and Hag night was relocated. The radio station the boyfriend works for was hosting the local premier of Failure to Launch. He got me a couple passes to go see it, but for some reason didn't feel like coming to a romantic comedy starring the man i am totally in lust with. So, Will and the Quitter came with me. We had a really good time. The movie was hilarious. Much more on the comedy and less on the romantic side. I don't want to ruin the movie for any one who hasn't seen it. But I have 2 comments:
1. The "rated PG-13 for partial nudity" --- NOT THE NUDITY I WANTED!!!!
2. "What the hell kind of devil bird chirps at night?!?"
Thursday Will and I hung out most of the day and got none of things accomplished that we planned to. That night LJ came over with his girlfriend and I made lasagna. Everyone laughed at my lasagna because i used about 100 pounds of cheese to make it. But no one complained when they were eating it. That's right ... cuz it was TASTY!!! The boys started trying to fix our stupid home network stuff and me, Will, and LJ's GF played Dance Dance Revolution! I love that game. Will eventually went home and the boys eventually gave up (network STILL not fixed) I made margaritas and some how was convinced to watch the stupidest movie ever. All i'm saying is that if i'm a mother and some guy has me and my daughter held hostage, if i get my hands on the gun... i'm gonna shoot the bastard. No hesitation. I'm gonna freakin' shoot him!
Friday Will and I were VERY productive! We went to Costco! (we love costco) we tend to split things there. We buy 5 pound bags of cheese and then divide them into smaller freezer bags. We bought a big thing of ground beef and Will divided it out for me. (Because he loves me! I can't touch raw ground meat... grosses me out) After going to my coffee heaven we moved on to other shopping venues. We bought and installed hooks (lovely hooks to hang guests' coats on), bought and installed a towel ring in the downstairs bathroom, fixed the toilet paper holder that wasn't installed right (the boyfriend did it the first time), we bought a piece of wood and had it cut. (i might explain that later... but i don't feel like it right now) And we ate a big sandwich. It was quite a day.
Yesterday the boyfriend and i woke up and proceeded to drive all over the north side. We shopped for desks, mattresses, and other random things that we thought we might need. On the way home i called my Uncle (his nickname is now Elvis) and invited him and his GF over for dinner. They brought their son and Oscar's best friend, Loki (Loki is a Corgi and Loki is actually his name.) Oscar and Loki LOVE LOVE LOVE to play together. Oscar is about 3 times the size of Loki, but Loki can totally hold his own. Corgi's are herding dogs so Loki nips at Oscar's feet. It's all very amusing. After they left the boyfriend and i spent some quality time together enjoying the massive thunder storm that was blowing through.
Today the boyfriend and i spent most of the day trying to start the true "unpacking" process. We've been in the house since November, but we've been painting so most of our stuff has just remained in boxes in a giant pile that encompasses most of the game room. We're no where near being done... but at least we've started. Unfortunately, 8:30pm rolled around and that meant back to work for the boyfriend. So now i'm sitting with Oscar watching Grey's Anatomy. I liked it better when he was on vacation. If I had a one of the blogs that has a place to list your mood with each post... my mood would be pouty!!!
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
VACATION!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!
Yes! That's right! I'm on vacation!!! And so is the boyfriend! well... kinda. He has 2 jobs and is on vacation from one. So i'm pretty much solo in the afternoons, but then i get the whole evening with him! It's amazing! I'm fairly certain we'll kill each other by the end of the week. Not really... It's been great! We've been doing a bunch of nothin! And it's fantastic!
This weekend was big fun. Saturday morning I hosted a baby shower for my friend, Simmonds, she's due in April. Yea! The shower was fun but involved A LOT of estrogen! After the shower the boyfriend and I drove down the south side of town for a friend's b-day fiesta. It was a group of people our age and we sat around eating cake and talking about our houses and their kids. It was all very adult and made me feel a little old. I did get to play with the babies and re-ephasize to the boyfriend how great it is to pass them back to their parents when they start crying.
Afterwards we called my uncle and his girlfriend to see if they were up for going out, and when we heard back from them they were at a bar on the northwest side of town getting ready to sing karaoke. So, we made the trek over to join the party. I was tons o' fun. There was a pretty good crowd, but a lot people didn't start singing until later in the evening, so the rotations were pretty short at first and i got to sing a few times.
Now i'm just looking forward to NOT WORKING for a few days. We have no big plans for the week. LJ from the office is bringing his girlfriend over thursday and i'm going to make lasagna. The boys are going to try to get our home network up and running so that i can record a show with Tivo while also recording a show with the crappy DVR from the cable company. No more missing The O.C. while i watch CSI. YEA! Other than that, no real plans for the week. YEA FOR NO PLANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!