bad attitude

I have been struggling with a bad attitude about things. It has been going on for many months now. I come from a family of complainers so it comes easily to me. I am annoyed by complainers, yet I am one myself. Sometimes certain complaining can be funny, though.

Over the summer I got an attitude whenever I found out that I had to bring a side dish to any event. For some reason every event at the church requires you to bring a side dish. I decided that my side dishes would always be potato chips and cookies. : ) I hate making any type of food to bring to any event. I just got finished making a double chocolate mousse dessert for Dust's work Halloween party tomorrow. When I made it, it didn't look like there was enough. So I went to the grocery store to buy another packet of jell-o pudding filling. I thought I had enough cool whip. After putting the mousse in the bowl, it still didn't fill the bowl up. So, we decided to go back to the grocery store for some more cool whip to top the mousse with. It looks presentable now. So much hassle and agony over a stupid dessert. I remembered again why I don't like to make dishes. I feel so inept in the cooking department. And the creative department..

Comedian

A couple of weeks ago, Dust and I watched the documentary Comedian with Jerry Seinfeld. It was interesting to see what a comedian goes through when preparing for a show. Apparently, it is not a good idea to start out with new material. Most everyone agreed that you should start your routine with an old joke that is known to get laughs. Once the crowd is warmed up, then you can bring in new material.

Some of the comedians interviewed were: Colin Quinn, Orny Adams, Bill Cosby, and Jay Leno. It was cool hearing some of them talk in a bar or a casual environment. It felt like you were hanging out with them.

I was surprised that Jerry Seinfeld was nervous at several of his shows. This was taped when he had just come back into the comedy scene after leaving his sitcom. He started getting his feet wet again in some clubs in New York. We got to see him go through the process of being comfortable doing routines close to an hour.

I was able to see one of Seinfeld's "long" shows in person a couple years ago when he was in the area. I laughed so hard that I cried! I had tears streaming down my face the whole time. It was definately worth the money I spent for the ticket.

"the inner lives of men"

I have been reading the book "for women only" by Shaunti Feldhahn. On the cover it says, "what you need to know about the inner lives of men." Our home group hosts gave a copy of the book to every woman. Dust has been intrigued to see what a woman author knows about men. The author surveyed and interviewed all types of men.

I knew that men needed to be respected, but I didn't realize it was that important. 74% of men surveyed would rather be alone and unloved than inadequate and disrespected when forced to choose between the two. I would much definately want to be loved! One man surveyed said that at a minimum, he wants his wife to be supportive of him in public. Men complained about how painful it was to be criticized by their wife in public. Dust told me that there are some teasing that he doesn't mind. He doesn't want me to stop joking around with him.

When wives ask their husbands if they have done a certain task around the house, husbands hear, "I don't trust you." It is no wonder men hate being nagged. Procrastinating on a home task can be a sign that he's about to emotionally or physically crash. We (women) assume that he's choosing not to help.

I found it interesting that most men feel like imposters. They think they are just one mess up from being found out that they really don't know what they are doing. This is in regards to their jobs and being a husband or father. I guess most men aren't as confident as they appear to be. Affirmation is everything to a man. They need to feel appreciated.

Just some tidbits that I thought I would pass along. This is a really good book.

stream-of-consciousness-talking

Have you ever met someone who talks without hardly pausing between sentences? It is like their stream of consciousness thinking but they are speaking it. That is ok when you are brainstorming on a piece of paper, just don't say it. My brain processes things slowly when I am listening to someone. If someone is talking like that my brain goes into overload and I don't comprehend anything.

I was thinking about this recently when I was watching Gilmore Girls. I had heard a lot of good things about this show. I know several women who watch it faithfully. I just can't get into the show! I think it is because Loralei and Rory talk so fast all the time that I can't understand what's going on. It drives me crazy! They both talk to each other in a stream-of-consciousness type of way.

When someone seems to rattle on with no point in mind, I seem to loose interest. I know that a lot of women talk to each other this way. My mother talks like that and so did my grandmother. When my grandmother would talk to her sisters, they all would be talking and noone would be listening. Maybe it was my rebellion to not be a talker.

Listeners unite!

my brother the adventurer

My brother loves to travel and is constantly on the go. Does he have money for all of his adventures? Not really. Right now he only works on Tuesdays and Thursdays teaching college classes. He never ceases to amaze me. I got a call last night which woke me up out of bed. I get scared when I get calls at night. I always think the worst has happened. It was my brother on the phone and the first thing I asked was if he was ok. He was fine but needed my help in his next adventure. Apparently, the St. Louis Cardinals won their game last night and are still in the series. My brother "J" was buying some tickets to the next game online. He was going to be in my area on Wednesday and wanted to know if he could ship the tickets to my house. Of course I said yes. He was going to be visiting a friend in the prison nearby. He also wanted to spend the night Tuesday. And he is bringing his best friend along too. On Wednesday, he would visit his friend in prison, come back to my house and get the tickets, and drive to the St. Louis game. Crazy stuff! This is par for the course for my brother. I can't count the number of times he has called saying he needs to spend the night at my house and then things don't work out at the last minute. I have my house clean tonight in case he really does show up.

Jesus and Mary Magdalene???

My Dad likes to watch the History channel on tv. So does Dust. The last time we were at my parents' house there was a show on about Jesus. It mentioned the DaVinci Code book. I had no clue what the book was about. I was disgusted when I heard a lady say that she thinks Jesus had an affair with Mary Magdalene. How could she be saying this about my Lord? It seemed like blasphemy to me. The Bible never mentions that Jesus was married or had children. If He was married, that wouldn't really change my views. I do have a problem with people saying that Jesus had affairs. This lady seemed wacked out. She said that the Holy Grail is actually a person. That person is Mary Magdelene's daughter whose father was Jesus. Where do people come up with these ideas?

I don't know if I would like the DaVinci Code book if I read it. I probably should read it though just so I know what everybody is talking about.

my revelation

I had a revelation about myself last night. It came while I was watching the Apprentice. Torral had thought the "blondes" were out to get her. They all clicked together perfectly but her and Rebecca were on the outside. I think Torral must have had bad experiences in the past where she was excluded. I had a bad experience where I was excluded from a group. Because of that one bad experience, I sometimes think I am excluded from a group when maybe I'm not. If I am around the type of girls that excluded me the first time, I think that they will behave in the same manner. It is almost like a self-fulfilled prophecy. I may think certain girls are mean and out to get me and maybe after the way I behave, they will be mean back. I think I perceive things that aren't actually happening. That one bad experience has scarred my social life ever since.

Another thing I have realized is that I have an overdeveloped sense of empathy. I have too much of a good thing. I feel other people's pain as deeply as they are hurt. I am not trying to brag or toot my own horn. I feel sorry for people that maybe aren't feeling hurt. I am sad when I see someone eating alone at a restaurant. Maybe this is a gift that God gave me. God gives everyone different gifts.

Hope I didn't reveal too much of myself and scare people off. : )

self check-out lanes

I think I am getting better at using the self check-out lanes that some stores have now. I have had problems in the past where the machine would say, "unauthorized item in the bagging area." How embarrassing! It makes people around you think that you are trying to steal something. The self check-out supervisor has to come over and clear the screen.

I went to the Wal-Mart Neighborhood market Saturday and unloaded all my groceries onto the conveyor belt of the self check-out lane. I pulled my empty cart forward and started scanning my items. All my moves were very deliberate. I waited a second after putting the item in the bag before I scanned again or picked the bag up. The machine didn't have anything bad to say to me this time! I paid and left. After I had been home several hours, it dawned on me that I hadn't unpacked the toilet paper. There weren't any bags left that I hadn't unpacked. I looked in the trunk, but it was empty. I remember putting the 24 roll pack in my cart. I went through my motions. I remember putting the toilet paper on the conveyor, but I don't remember scanning it. I must have left it there. How could I have missed scanning and bagging the huge pack of toilet paper. Idiot! Well, I thought that I had the system mastered. Next time I will have to remember to actually scan and bag the items. Toilet paper is now on my grocery list again.

Crazy girl

Have you ever met someone so crazy that you can't believe that they are for real? I knew a girl that was so wacked out. She was a former co-worker of mine. All the talk about office workers recently has reminded me of her. She answered the phones at our office and our desks were positioned where we could talk to each other while we were working. A lot of the things she told me at work might not be appropriate to list on a blog. I apologize ahead of time. She should have been fired for the many things she said. She came back from lunch one day laughing and said, "I just had a quickie with my boyfriend." I died laughing because I couldn't believe that she just told me that.

She was extremely entertaining at work. There was always a big crisis in her life and the whole office had to know about it. She lied about being married in order to rent a house. The whole office heard her because she was talking to the person who was renting the house at work. She would have yelling fights with her boyfriend at work all the time. She broke up with her boyfriend while working there. She started dating another guy and told everyone that he was 1/4 black, 1/4 indian, and 1/2 white. She made a lot of racial jokes after that.

I know that I had an influence in her life. God put me there for a reason and her there for a reason. She started going to church with her mother on Sundays. Every Monday morning she asked me if I went to church on Sunday. Every Thursday morning she asked me how church was Wednesday night. She was amazed with my consistency. She didn't think Christians could be cool. She told me that I was cool. I hope I showed her that legalism isn't Christianity. I hope she still goes to church.

the office environment

I think it is fun to work in an office environment. This week's show of The Office was about the games the employees played while the boss was away. Jim and Pam invented the Dunder Company Olympics. I cracked up when I saw two employees racing with boxes of copy paper strapped to their feet. They really went all out with medals and a ceremony.

I was reminded of the fun times I had at my previous workplace while the boss and office manager were gone. We would play bowling with a masking tape ball and set various objects up in the hallway to knock down. Our company also had some big balloons with our logo on it that we all decided to blow up one day. One computer tech guy decided to put skittles in his balloon. He accidentally let go of his balloon and skittles went flying everywhere. We all tried to help pick them up before the boss got back. There was also the rubber band fights. It is fun flipping rubber bands over cubicle walls.

Similar to The Office, the majority of my previous co-workers hated their job. Several of them were major slackers. One guy watched movies and episodes of the Family Guy on his computer during the lunch hour. I don't think he asked if he could, but noone said anything. A friend of mine surfed the internet for the majority of the day. I'm not talking about the occassional blogging that we all do. She took about ten smoking breaks during the day. She also would leave when the boss was gone and walk down the street and go into stores.

Those were fun times but probably not productive times. There is no goofing around at my current workplace. It is a professional and classy environment. I also don't have any other co-workers to goof around with. Just me and my boss. I do make occassional comments though with the people that we share our office space.

"Worst day of my life, what do you think!"

This afternoon I went to the Shawnee Mission Urgent Care inside the Oak Park Mall. I found out that I have a urinary tract infection. As I was pulling out of my parking space, I hit a car. I did not see it at all. My bumper dented the driver's side door. I pulled back into my parking space. There was a circle shaped tear in my bumper. The 80-year-old lady inside the car that I hit was fine. I felt like a heel because the lady had a cane. She did not want to move her car though. She couldn't get the door open. She asked me to open it for her and I couldn't get it open either. How is this lady with a cane going to slide over to the passenger's door and get out? She asked me to call the police. I had no clue what the number was. I went back inside the Urgent Care office and they gave me the Mall security number. Security told me that the police would not come out because no one was injured and alcohol was not involved. The security also told me that we could file a police report at the station. The lady still did not want to leave the scene of the accident. I told her that we should exchange information and then call our insurance companies. As I was talking to her at her window, three separate hispanic ladies in vehicles honked and yelled at me. I was so ticked, that I yelled back, "We had a car accident." One lady rolled her eyes at me. Another lady pulled in a parking space and told me to ask the 80-year old to move her car. I said we were in an accident and we didn't want to move the cars. The only lady that was nice to me was a Chinese lady that said I'm sorry. What is wrong with these people? All this time I am thinking I do not have time for this. I need to get my prescription filled! I am in pain!

After the 80-year-old lady had called her son on my cell phone and asked him what to do, then she finally agreed to leave and go get a police report. As we walked into the police station, there was a red phone that had a sign that read, "Please pick up phone to file a police report." When I told the lady on the phone that the car accident occurred in the mall parking lot, she said that we didn't need to file a report because it was on private property. What a waste of time.

Moral of the story: Do not have a fender bender in a mall parking lot. Women shoppers have no mercy if you are blocking a lane. Do not hit old ladies.

Worlds of Fun

Saturday, Dust and I went to Worlds of Fun. Dust's work paid for the tickets and a meal. There was a buffet of brisket, beans, hot dogs, chicken, potato salad and etc. for all the employees of the company Dust works for. It was in a pavilion called Tivoli East.

I previously had a low opinion of the new ride Spinning Dragons. If the four people in the cart are of equal weight, the cart does not spin at all. So this time we tried to offset the weight distribution. Dust and t-bop sat on one side and I sat on the other. We got the cart spinning pretty good. It was nice having Dust's coworkers to talk to while waiting in line.

The Mamba is one of my favorite rides. They were having electronic difficulties that day and we were only able to ride it once. We watched two of the carts get stuck half-way on the ride. People were sitting in them for quite a while. I wonder if they made everyone get out and walk down the steps, or if they were able to get the carts to run the rest of the ride.

After some of his coworkers left, we decided to ride some of the lame fair-type rides. It started to rain, so we decided to get under the pavilion for the Octopus ride. We thought the rain would stop but it didn't. We really didn't think this through. So here Dust and I are on the Octopus ride and the rain is pouring down. The problem with this ride is that they can only load one cart at a time. It takes forever to load and unload everybody. Our jeans were entirely soaked by the time we got off the ride. We just started laughing when we found ourselves at the top of the ride. We ran from pavilion to pavilion as we made our journey out of the park.

The killer

If you look close enough you can see that my cat Autum has just killed a grasshopper. It is funny that after the kill, she sits beside it like she is protecting it. She leaves treasures like these all around the house. I get the priviledge of disposing of the body.

I tell Dust that she is earning her keep around here by killing bugs and grasshoppers. Dust likes to tell her that she is good for nothing when he walks out the door in the morning. It is not like you are going to see him kill any bugs. : )

One thing that is annoying is all of the grasshoppers in our house. What is the deal? How embarrassing! We saw one grasshopper walking on the ceiling the other day. We joked that it had heard about the cat from the other grasshoppers.

Plaza activities

I am really starting to love the Plaza! Dust and I went to the art fair that was held there this last weekend. Talk about crowded! We went to the parking garage located near the Palace theatre and McDonald's. We got one of the last parking spaces on the 5th or 6th level, whichever one is the top. It was kinda cool being on the very top. But then I had a fear of the whole thing collapsing because of the weight.

It was our first time going to the art fair. I really enjoyed myself. I actually recognized the comic strip art that is usually in the Star magazine section of the KC Star. Dust and I took a walk down by the river and noticed that there were gondola rides. How funny and awesome at the same time!

We met Achtung BB, his college friend, and Wah-Wah there. Woogie had a tantrum when we left the Thomas the Train play set at Barnes & Noble. He did ok after we were out the door. We ate at McDonald's because of the kid friendliness. There was a couple there that was totally making out in a booth. The guy and girl were sitting in the same side of the booth. I didn't get it--they looked like they were in their twenties. Hello-find someplace else! I didn't point it out to the group we were with. I don't know if they noticed it or not. Next time I want to try one of the restaurant booths like Uno pizzeria.

Learning something new

Usually every week or so, I seem to learn a new word, disease, song, you name it. Some say you learn something new every day. Once I learn something new, it seems to pop up everywhere and I learn more about the subject. Example: On another person's blog a few days ago, celiac disease was mentioned. I had never heard of that disease and wondered what it was. Today in the newspaper, there was a big article about it. Now I know it involves an allergy to gluten. Several months ago, I learned a new song from a tv show I watched and that week the lyrics ended up on Dash's blog. I learned it was an REM song--Everybody hurts sometimes.

A lot of coincidences seem to happen to me like that. Is God making sure that I am continuing in the learning process? There was a point in my life where I thought that I would be done learning some day. I have realized now that I will never be done learning. I should probably branch out from rock songs and diseases and learn words that I can use in everyday conversations. Actually Dust helps me in that area. He taught me the words disparity and moot. How could I have gone that long in my life without ever hearing about those two words? More important than words, diseases, songs and etc. is learning more about God. Dust has also challenged me in that area also.

it's all about the marketing

I am a fan of the Apprentice with Donald Trump. In almost every challenge the candidates face, marketing is everything. It is the most important function in bringing in sales. Almost every challenge is about which team can make the most money. It still surprises me after watching many episodes, how poorly the marketing is handled. The people on the show are supposed to be very successful, yet they make the most stupidest mistakes.

Kristi had made a flyer with XXX on it advertising a fitness class and she said that it didn't occur to her that it might be thought of as pornographic. Is she naive or just trying to save her butt? Whenever a team decides to hit the streets with flyers as their marketing plan they never seem to win. You would think if the candidates had watched the show before they would know that flyers don't work.

I don't think that I could ever be a sales person though. A lot of it is because of the stereotypical car salesman image. I have a hard time trusting sales people because they are usually just in it for the money. Being the brains behind developing a marketing strategy sounds interesting though.

the mysterious black gunk

My mom was sitting in bed and noticed some black gunk on the sheets. She thought it might be a Reese's Pieces Bite that she had been eating earlier. So she took the sheets off the bed and washed them. The black stuff was still there after being washed. It didn't smell like chocolate and it was like an adhesive.

Mom noticed a spot on her leg that looked like a mole. It was new and it didn't have good borders or coloring. She tried to be observant about that sort of thing because I have had moles removed that may have turned into cancer. She made an appointment at the dermatologist.

After sitting down at the recliner, my mom noticed the black gunk all over the foot rest. She yelled for Dad to come in there and look at it. She asked him if he had seen anything like that before. He said that it looks like the stuff that is all over his boots. Mom went and looked at his boots. Sure enough it was the same thing. My dad had cracks in his boots and instead of going out and buying a new pair, he put some industrial type adhesive on it that he had found at work.
Needless to say, he is in the doghouse now.

After examining her new mole again, Mom tried to pick at it and noticed it could come off. It was the black stuff from Dad's boots! She thought of the embarrassment she would have gone through if the dermatologist had picked it off. She cancelled her appointment.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

As a child, people ask you what you want to be when you grow up. I wonder how many people actually end up doing what they said they were going to do as a child? From about 6th grade on, I had said that I wanted to work in accounting. I followed through with what I wanted to do. My mom told me that my favorite toy when I was around five years old was the desk. I do remember writing and drawing things and filing them in folders. (was I a boring child or what?) I love office work and office supplies! I took two accounting classes in high school. There were only four of us that stuck it through Accounting II.

The only problem with sticking with the same interest is that I didn't branch out into any other areas. I know nothing about history, art, music, and literature. I went through college never having to write any papers. I wasn't complaining, but it does seem wrong doesn't it? I wish I had taken a variety of classes, but then again that does get expensive. I suppose I should have taken the initiative on my own to be knowledgeable in all areas. I am just too lazy! I look up to Dust in the fact that he has taken the initiative to know a little bit about everything so he can have a conversation with anyone he meets.

Will and Grace, Dust and Golden?

Yes, I watch Will and Grace. If you think less of me because I watch it, I am sorry. I think the show is hilarious. All the characters have extreme personalities. Sometimes Will reminds me of Dust (not the gay part) and sometimes Grace reminds me of myself. Dust and I don't bicker like they do, but some of their conversations sound familiar. I am the sloppy messy one like Grace. Dust complains about smells, toothpaste all over the cap, and some dishes in the sink similar to Will. Also, Will can be a little uptight sometimes like Dust. Grace is lazy and I am embarrassed to admit that I am too. She always talks about things and never does them, which I have the same problem.

Dust and I have inside jokes about Will and Grace. We like to quote some of the lines. Example: "Oh, he thinks we do things." (Regarding Grace says she is going to do something but doesn't)

The funny thing is that noone can really understand my true messiness unless you live with me. I always have the house clean for company, so some people don't believe that I could be dirty. Hence my problem of displaying one persona when actually I am another.

Dust thinks that maybe a better comparison to us would be the Odd Couple. I have never watched an episode, but maybe I should. Apparently, Dust used to watch the show all the time.

For those of you who watch Will and Grace, I bet you won't watch it again without thinking of us.

Every day has a schedule

My MomMaw (grandmother on mom's side) loved having routines. She is in Heaven now. I wonder what her schedule is like now? Monday was her laundry day that included washing her white bed sheets. Tuesday was her hair day at the beauty shop. I think she only washed her hair once a week. She had a big ratted poof of a hairstyle. MomMaw was easy to pick out when she came to grandparents day at school. She was the black haired big poof lady. Wednesday was her shopping day at the mall. She had so many purses that she probably bought one every week. MomMaw would buy tacos at Taco Bell or beef sandwhiches at Arby's at the food court and bring them home for supper. I can't remember what she did on Thursdays and Fridays. I think she would go to SDC or Branson with her best friend. MomMaw loved bus trips and she probably left on Fridays.

I was thinking about all of this recently because I realized that I have routines also. Mondays I buy groceries and at night I call my parents. Tuesday I do laundry. I like to have my weekends free of grocery shopping and laundry. That way I can travel and have fun and not worry. If I have time after work and before church on Wednesdays I go shopping. (Wal-mart, mall, Kohls)
Dust has his routine of calling his parents on Sunday night. He likes having schedules also.

Schedules are wonderful!