My sister loves questionnaires that ask "If you were a crayon, what color would you be?" or "What is the most embarrassing moment of your life?"
Today, the questionnaire she sent had a Christmas theme. There were two questions on there that made me stop and think. The first was "What was the worst holiday you have ever spent?" The second was "What do you want materialistically and philosophically?"
I am thankful that I have never had a really horrible holiday and that there is nothing that I must have for Christmas. I have everything I want and every thing I need.
That doesn't mean I don't have a Christmas list. Listen up, Santa...
1. A puppy that is solid white.
2. A diamond necklace.
3. An electric blanket.
4. A digital camera.
5. TiVo
What's your Christmas list?
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Friday, November 25, 2005
Thankful to be Blessed
After stuffing myself with more food than I should, I sit here now thinking about how thankful I am for my family. God has blessed me with so much in my life (way more than I will ever be able to deserve) but the greatest blessing I have is my family.
I think about all those people in this world who have nobody to go home to and share holidays with, and it makes me hold my family tighter to my heart. I can't imagine anything better than sitting around with loved ones, laughing and talking and crying and listening to stories you have heard a thousand times.
There is nothing more precious than my family to me. I think about all of the things that I used to value over family. Now, all of that seems so superficial and petty compared to the overwhelming love and support that binds my family together. I hope the memories that I made with my family will last me through times in the future when I can't be with them.
I hope everybody who got to spend this Thanksgiving with their loved ones counted their blessings. I know I did.
I think about all those people in this world who have nobody to go home to and share holidays with, and it makes me hold my family tighter to my heart. I can't imagine anything better than sitting around with loved ones, laughing and talking and crying and listening to stories you have heard a thousand times.
There is nothing more precious than my family to me. I think about all of the things that I used to value over family. Now, all of that seems so superficial and petty compared to the overwhelming love and support that binds my family together. I hope the memories that I made with my family will last me through times in the future when I can't be with them.
I hope everybody who got to spend this Thanksgiving with their loved ones counted their blessings. I know I did.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
First Day of Winter
Even though today feels like the first real day of winter, there is a silent beauty that Georgia possesses. The rain stills the coast and quiets the birds. The wind tapers off into soft lull and the earth sleeps.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
People are Crazy
So, most of you are aware that I am a Marketing Consultant for an apartment community. However, I can safely assume that you do not know just how much garbage I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Today is a classic example of what I have to deal with.
There is this really young couple who have lived in the apartment complex since August. They recently moved to a two-bedroom apartment so that another young couple could move in and help with the rent. The first couple got a dog and the second couple said they were "babysitting" another dog and cat. Neither one paid a pet fee. They let their dogs pee and poop on the porch, which dropped down to their neighbors below. Their down-stairs neighbors happen to be our maintenance technician and his family, who told us that the dog is a pit bull. Pit bulls are strictly prohibited.
The manager called her this afternoon and told her that she was not allowed to have the dog and that she can't have a dog anyway because she did not pay a pet fee. She went ballistic and hung up on the manager. Then, she went to the maintenance tech's house and cussed him out. Then she noticed that both my car and the manager's was still parked in front of the clubhouse, so she and her female roommate started beating on the front and back doors for twenty minutes, while shouting at us. We never answered, so they just sat on the rocking chairs outside, waiting for us to come out.
We called the police and as they came up to the two girls, her boyfriend came up. They told them to come back in the morning to talk things out, but they warned them if they act like this again, they will be arrested. I can't wait to see them in the morning.
People are crazy.
There is this really young couple who have lived in the apartment complex since August. They recently moved to a two-bedroom apartment so that another young couple could move in and help with the rent. The first couple got a dog and the second couple said they were "babysitting" another dog and cat. Neither one paid a pet fee. They let their dogs pee and poop on the porch, which dropped down to their neighbors below. Their down-stairs neighbors happen to be our maintenance technician and his family, who told us that the dog is a pit bull. Pit bulls are strictly prohibited.
The manager called her this afternoon and told her that she was not allowed to have the dog and that she can't have a dog anyway because she did not pay a pet fee. She went ballistic and hung up on the manager. Then, she went to the maintenance tech's house and cussed him out. Then she noticed that both my car and the manager's was still parked in front of the clubhouse, so she and her female roommate started beating on the front and back doors for twenty minutes, while shouting at us. We never answered, so they just sat on the rocking chairs outside, waiting for us to come out.
We called the police and as they came up to the two girls, her boyfriend came up. They told them to come back in the morning to talk things out, but they warned them if they act like this again, they will be arrested. I can't wait to see them in the morning.
People are crazy.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Narcolepsy and Me
I don't know why exactly, but lately I have been falling asleep day or night, rested or exhausted, for minutes or hours at a time. I can't decide if I am such a procrastinator that I my body reacts in a physical manifestation of me putting off work by falling asleep or if I am so exhausted that my body is slowly shutting down. Stress is so exhausting to me and I have a lot of it.
I can't decide if this is a phenomenon among college students or if I am just sleepy.
I can't decide if this is a phenomenon among college students or if I am just sleepy.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Stealing Happiness
From birth until the seventh grade, I had a single best friend. We were together constantly, mainly because we were cousins, but also because we were same-sex soulmates. We talked on the phone, got in trouble because we passed notes in class, hung out during recess and lunch, and shared clothes and make-up. The rift in our iron-clad relationship formed when she was trying to share something that I wasn't willing to give up...my boyfriend.
We were in the gymnasium of our middle school, which is so old it should be preserved as a historical monument. As I walked across the three-point line taped on the glossy floor, I knew something was different. All of the girls that I usually hung out with were sitting on the first row, whispering to each other. My best friend, who was usually the ring leader of the group, was strangely nowhere to be found. Even though in middle school you do not hang out with your boyfriend, I still didn't see him either. My boyfriend, by the way, was the hottest guy in the seventh grade, but only after I started dating him.
I walked up to my friends and asked why we weren't in our usual spot, the top row of the bleachers where it was dark enough so that the teachers could not tell what we were doing. It was the established "cool people" spot. They all looked at me with fake sympathetic smiles and told me to prepare myself for what they were going to say. I impatiently told them to hurry up with it, and they instructed me to walk to the hallway where the bathrooms are.
Even though this treasure hunt annoyed me, I was curious as to what I was going to find. Not surprisingly, I found my best friend flipping her hair and throwing her head back to laugh at my boyfriend. I quickly hid myself so that I could watch what they were doing, and not two seconds later, my best friend and boyfriend were making out.
I guess this is why I get so jealous when other girls try to get close to my boyfriend. It has nothing to do with his actions, or even the actions of the other girls. It has everything to do with me. I have accepted that and I am okay with that but I still don't like it.
Why do girls always try to take guys that they didn't want before, but now that I got them, they are all over them? It is because they try to steal happiness.
We were in the gymnasium of our middle school, which is so old it should be preserved as a historical monument. As I walked across the three-point line taped on the glossy floor, I knew something was different. All of the girls that I usually hung out with were sitting on the first row, whispering to each other. My best friend, who was usually the ring leader of the group, was strangely nowhere to be found. Even though in middle school you do not hang out with your boyfriend, I still didn't see him either. My boyfriend, by the way, was the hottest guy in the seventh grade, but only after I started dating him.
I walked up to my friends and asked why we weren't in our usual spot, the top row of the bleachers where it was dark enough so that the teachers could not tell what we were doing. It was the established "cool people" spot. They all looked at me with fake sympathetic smiles and told me to prepare myself for what they were going to say. I impatiently told them to hurry up with it, and they instructed me to walk to the hallway where the bathrooms are.
Even though this treasure hunt annoyed me, I was curious as to what I was going to find. Not surprisingly, I found my best friend flipping her hair and throwing her head back to laugh at my boyfriend. I quickly hid myself so that I could watch what they were doing, and not two seconds later, my best friend and boyfriend were making out.
I guess this is why I get so jealous when other girls try to get close to my boyfriend. It has nothing to do with his actions, or even the actions of the other girls. It has everything to do with me. I have accepted that and I am okay with that but I still don't like it.
Why do girls always try to take guys that they didn't want before, but now that I got them, they are all over them? It is because they try to steal happiness.
Monday, November 07, 2005
It must be the holiday season...
I know that it might sound strange, but it's just not Christmas without Barry. Who, you might ask, is Barry? None other than Barry Manilow. I refuse to perform any duties that hint at or relate to Christmas without Barry Manilow's Christmas CD softly lilting my spirits in the background.
Growing up, there weren't too many family traditions. The dynamics of what I considered family changed constantly so if any type of tradition had been established the year before, it was highly likely that there was no one to see it through the following year. When my mother remarried, our first Christmas was somewhat difficult because I had to split up my time with my mom and dad for the first time in my nine years of existance. It was extremely hard to see my dad living somewhere other than with mom and me, so hard I don't think I could ever put it exactly into words.
However, looking back, my step-dad had a very impressive collection of movies and CD's for the early nineties. He had an extensive collection of records, so every Saturday me, my step-sister, and my step-brother would get up and clean the house while listening to Tina Turner or Michael Jackson on vinyl. Those were the days.
When it came to Christmas music, his collection was equally impressive. At first, when he started playing Barry Manilow, Chicago, and Anne Murray, I thought it was pretty corny. However, I was out-voted, so that was the music that would be played during the entire holiday season.
We all grew to love those CD's, especially Barry, so when our beloved CD broke, it was mandatory that a replacement be found before any festivities could take place. Unbelievably, my step-dad was able to find it and now I am the keeper of the famed family traditional CD. I know every song; I can even anticipate what instrument comes next in any given song. Sure, there are a couple of songs on there that are a bit too corny for my taste, but overall that CD will always be cherished in my family as long as I am in it.
Friday, November 04, 2005
To every thing there is a season, and a time...
...a time to break down.
I don't think this verse in Ecclesiastes meant a literal mental breakdown.
Lately, I have had an overwhelming feeling of losing something. Last weekend, at about three o'clock in the morning, I opened the door to my apartment, while talking on my cell phone. As soon as I cracked the door enough to put my foot in, Buster took the opportunity to fly out past me, run down the stairs, and attempt to mark every bush in my apartment complex.
I grabbed the leash and ran downstairs to catch him, but I was side-tracked by a girl my age dressed in a cheap polyester medieval witch's costume. She asked me if that was my dog who flew down the stairs, barked at her, and ran off. I quickly said "yes," and tried to walk off. Even though I was frantically telling my boyfriend on my cell phone that I couldn't find Buster, she asked me if she could use my cell phone to call her friends. I said I would come back, but as I was responding, I saw Buster on the other side of the breezeway quickly look in my direction and run off again. I ran around the building, but he was no where in sight.
I spent the next thirty minutes walking around my building calling for Buster and freaking out on the phone. I left my front door open so Buster could come in on his own. Shivering from the cold and holding back tears, I stood in the middle of my parking lot, crying out for my beloved dog. My precious Buster. Instantly, out of nowhere, Buster starts trotting towards me. I called him with the sweetest voice I could muster until he came up to me. I scooped him up and took him inside.
I couldn't decide whether I should beat him within an inch of his life or hug and kiss him. I didn't punish him, but I hadn't been that out of control in a long time.
At work, when people ask for keys or packages, the same thing always happens. I spend about five minutes hunting down my keys, and most of the time the residents pitch in to help me locate them. I just feel like I am losing it...whatever fills the blank.
I don't think this verse in Ecclesiastes meant a literal mental breakdown.
Lately, I have had an overwhelming feeling of losing something. Last weekend, at about three o'clock in the morning, I opened the door to my apartment, while talking on my cell phone. As soon as I cracked the door enough to put my foot in, Buster took the opportunity to fly out past me, run down the stairs, and attempt to mark every bush in my apartment complex.
I grabbed the leash and ran downstairs to catch him, but I was side-tracked by a girl my age dressed in a cheap polyester medieval witch's costume. She asked me if that was my dog who flew down the stairs, barked at her, and ran off. I quickly said "yes," and tried to walk off. Even though I was frantically telling my boyfriend on my cell phone that I couldn't find Buster, she asked me if she could use my cell phone to call her friends. I said I would come back, but as I was responding, I saw Buster on the other side of the breezeway quickly look in my direction and run off again. I ran around the building, but he was no where in sight.
I spent the next thirty minutes walking around my building calling for Buster and freaking out on the phone. I left my front door open so Buster could come in on his own. Shivering from the cold and holding back tears, I stood in the middle of my parking lot, crying out for my beloved dog. My precious Buster. Instantly, out of nowhere, Buster starts trotting towards me. I called him with the sweetest voice I could muster until he came up to me. I scooped him up and took him inside.
I couldn't decide whether I should beat him within an inch of his life or hug and kiss him. I didn't punish him, but I hadn't been that out of control in a long time.
At work, when people ask for keys or packages, the same thing always happens. I spend about five minutes hunting down my keys, and most of the time the residents pitch in to help me locate them. I just feel like I am losing it...whatever fills the blank.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Grown-Up Jobs
Recently, I have had to research the area of Communications that I want to persue when I graduate. I had to find professional organizations to join, job listings for my particular field, and intership opportunities all over the nation.
An opportunity to write columns for the morning newspaper fell in my lap a few days ago. I had to scramble to get my resume together, as well as a cover letter and I actually reached out to my professor to help me with my email.
Why is it so intimidating to get a grown-up job? My professor says it is because this is the time in our lives that our precious ego will be tested and more than likely we will have to suffer rejection. It makes me not even want to get a grown-up job.
But you got to eat.
An opportunity to write columns for the morning newspaper fell in my lap a few days ago. I had to scramble to get my resume together, as well as a cover letter and I actually reached out to my professor to help me with my email.
Why is it so intimidating to get a grown-up job? My professor says it is because this is the time in our lives that our precious ego will be tested and more than likely we will have to suffer rejection. It makes me not even want to get a grown-up job.
But you got to eat.
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