DLand - Take This Tree and Shove It

Had a pretty good weekend. I stayed up WAY too late on Friday night watching movies and putzing. By the time Saturday rolled around it was 10am and I was just getting out of bed. Decadence, I tell you.I had a list of two things I was looking for in my shopping plans - a new kitchen faucet and tying twine. I could have gotten those at the closest hardware store. Needless to say, I never made it to the hardware store. I started at Price Club and bought new clothes and some random food stuff. Then I realized it was 95 degrees outside, so I bought a cooler and got some ice so I could keep shopping. This shopping trip would stop for nothing. It seemed like every store I entered I then left spending around $100. Bed, Bath and Beyond beget me new sheets and a nice poster. Planet Music produced Talking Heads, the Gourds, Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Tom Jones. I found a used copy of Red Hot and Blue for only $4 but already own it. I considered buying it and then giving it to someone who I thought deserved it, since it's such an excellent disc, but doubted my follow through on this project. So I just left it in a very prominent place so someone would spot it and take it home. I thought about giving it to the guy who decided to follow me around after I told him that the Dead Milkmen cd he discovered was a good choice, but didn't think he needed any more encouragement. “Apparently he seemed to think that because I complimented his choice in music that meant that I thought he was groovy.” “No, you talked to him so hoped you wanted to have sex with him.” “Is it really like that? Is it really all about sex? I was just being friendly.” “There's a Chris Rock monologue you should hear about why guys do nice things.” Barnes and Nobles netted some German and Latin textbooks as part of the Puddin' Language Exchange Program. I'm teaching him Latin and he's teaching me German. I'm pretty pleased with both of our progress so far and hope that we'll soon be international citizens. Probably the most satisfying part of the weekend, though, was when I decided to take down the apple tree in my front yard. It has started dumping apples all over my driveway and sidewalk. They're pretty nasty and not very tasty apples in the first place. So I've been anxious to take it apart. I had already cut off all the limbs I could reach from the ground or from standing on the Saturn's roof. But then I got the bright idea to climb the tree as I cut off limbs, being careful to not cut off my own exit from the tree or the limb I was standing on at the time. In about two hours I managed to cut everything off the tree that might bear fruit. It was a very satisfying feeling. Rich has been suggesting I join a gym so I could work out and relieve some stress. But tearing this tree apart literally limb from limb did more for me than any Stairmaster could. I had a vendetta against this tree. And while my arms have a good sore feeling to them today, I feel even better knowing I've bagged and bundled every last damn apple from my yard for the last time. Much like Scarlett O'hara at sunset, I declared with God as my witness I would never see another apple on my lawn again.

Heart in San Francisco, Kidney Stones in Tennessee

It's after my bedtime, but I can't sleep. The cat won't stop meowing, either on the front porch or anywhere in the house. And the dog won't stop pacing. It must be a restless night for all of us.I'm pretty proud of our tiny little company tonight. My employee called - or rather the site he was training called - to tell me he was headed to the emergency room. We later found out it was kidney stones. But in a short amount of time we had rescheduled his flights, cancelled his hotel reservations, called his girlfriend in South Carolina, and left messages for all necessary parties. He called me later tonight, doped up on morphine, to apologize for not finishing the training this afternoon. I was thinking about how my company really handled all of this well. We knew who to call (I had to look up his girlfriend's number online to find her but I knew her full name and address). We knew what to do. And we offered to get his girlfriend there to escort him home whenever he's fit to travel and stay with him there. It only made since with his being alone and miserable there and her being alone and miserable where she was. Big companies are cool and working for the government is cool. But I don't think the federal government would call your girlfriend on an hour's notice and offer to fly her out to see you because you feel bad. So I think we as a company rock. I think I can't sleep because I'm spending a fair amount of time thinking about other people's burdens today. I went to visit Rosine today and had a grand time there. It was nice to just socialize and putter. I got my embroidery tips I needed and we looked at random books and laughed and joked about her body bucket thing she has to wear for another six weeks. Maybe I'm just more comfortable worrying about everyone else than I am about myself. Their troubles seem a lot easier to solve. All in all, I wouldn't say I have many troubles lately either. I'm pretty happy all around these days and really feel good about the world. So maybe I'm just excited to be able to give some time to others now when I'm not feeling so low. My wheel of fortune is on an upswing.

DLand - Happy Anniversary to Me

It's my third anniversary today ... third anniversary with my company that is. Three years ago today, Jer and I packed up all our stuff and drove across the state to start anew. I think it was the very next day I was on a plane headed to our annual convention. That was the convention that we all fondly look back on as the one where I was ready to kill Bossman and Dan. I think the term “yutz brothers” was used at one point. They sent me home early from that trip. Probably for the best.And thus began what I later termed the Year of Darkness in my marriage and life in general. It sucked all around. Jer was in a new city basically alone and unemployed, I was living in hotels more than at home, we rarely saw each other and when we did it was not pleasant. Sigh, how times change. Every year at work is better than the one before. And I'm a naturally optimistic person. So I can see a day when it will kick ass. It kicks ass occasionally now. And overall my job rocks. Just sometimes it makes me very very tired. This weekend was nice if too short. I worked from “home” on Friday so we hit the road soon after 5pm to head to Kevin and Jake's. Kevin was ready for us with delectable fajitas and we marvelled at Jake's dedication to putting together handouts for her classes. I must be a slacker when it comes to handouts. But at least I was a slacker with pink linen hosen! Actually, I had stayed up too late the nights before getting ready for my class in general and handouts of any great detail were just not going to happen. So maybe next year. University was fun and I really really enjoyed teaching my class. It was titled “How to Get into a Man's Pants” but most of it involved “How to get Izzy to take hers off and show how they were put together.” By the end of class I had to take 10 minutes to get dressed again. Dinner was excellent but I started getting sicker and sicker as the evening wore on. By the time we left Thornbury Cottage and I sat in the car, it all just rushed over me and I fell apart. Hurray for the Puddin' going back for pain pills from Jake (Hurray for Jake donating her codine to the cause) and then driving me home in my doped up state. By morning I didn't hurt anymore but I slept I think all of SUnday except for one short journey to the kitchen for dinner. I'm just now feeling human again. All in all a good weekend and a good day, but I think I'm up for a nap.