Teens

This weekend was the 19th anniversary of my becoming a vegetarian. As I mentioned before, I have now been a vegetarian longer than I was a meat eater. The short story of why I became a vegetarian is this:

I couldn't disassociate the animal from the food. I wasn't fifteen, despite my posting the Taylor Swift song, but not far off - sixteen.

As I watched the Taylor Swift video, she talks about being fifteen when starting high school. I was fourteen then. And it occurred to me that there were a lot of things I did earlier than most. Not just because of where my birthday landed, but because I was just an old soul, I think. I grew up very fast. I was helping my mom with my brothers before I was even in kindergarten. So I try and give myself slack about my life now, thinking that I was an early bloomer in childhood and adolescence, so maybe I'm a late bloomer in adulthood. Marriage, children and career will come my way one day. I hope.

I also just uploaded some images to my elementary school facebook group from what would have been my 8th grade yearbook. I had already moved by then and no longer attended that school, but I got the yearbook from the school this summer, along with all the years I attended. As I looked at the teased hair and old computers, I thought about how my life would have been different had we stayed in Chicago. My mom always talked about how I would have had to take two CTA buses to high school instead of the short walk I had here, but I never really thought about what else might be different. I guess if it crossed my mind, I always thought about crime and somehow getting involved in the crime in Chicago. Interestingly, it was in the suburbs that I was raped. Since it was someone I knew, that could have happened anywhere. It can happen anywhere, regardless, really.

Aside from the rape, though, I think of Mike. I think of meeting him the summer before eighth grade. I was thinking how at the time my former classmates were smiling in those yearbook photos, I was neck deep in a romantic relationship way beyond my years. Though they seemed "older" to me because they were 'graduating' (it was a K-8 school), and I was merely in the 'middle' of a 6-12 school, my life belied my grade. Or maybe reflected it since the person I was dating did attend the same school, though that's not where we met. However, it did seem to make it more acceptable, despite the age difference. The next year when I was a freshman, he was a senior. I guess that's part of the reason this Taylor Swift song appealed to me (she mentions senior guys).

So, my freshman year was the only year we were actually like classmates. Before that, I was on the other side of the building, and my class times were all different, so I never saw him during school hours, though I did leave him notes in his locker. So freshman year, we saw each other between classes, he kept some stuff in my locker (which is like the high school equivalent of moving in, lol) and even kissed before class. My grades that year were horrible. Like failing. Clearly I had a bad, bad case of love brain. Nothing else seemed important to my freshman self. He graduated and the next year I started without him there. My grades did a complete 180. My counselor even wrote me a note to compliment me on the turnaround and encourage me to keep it up (our school counselors never did things like that). I was on cheerleading, performance choir and the school musical. After school, I had cheerleading practice and then went straight to rehearsal. I didn't get home until after 9:00 pm. Most nights he was at my house waiting for me. I still had to do my chores and homework. I still managed to do it all. Then he started complaining about my appearance, since I was in my cheerleading practice clothes and my hair and make-up for the day was long destroyed. I was indignant and knew he was wrong, which is why this Hinder video reminds me of that.

Still, somehow that year was our best year. Or maybe it was just the most emotional. For Christmas he bought me the diamond and sapphire ring that I still have. It was the pinnacle of my romantic life. Within a year, two weeks after turning sixteen, I was attacked. Our relationship was soon over. I was not the strong person depicted in the Hinder video. I was a complete mess. My grades or school activities didn't show it, but my heart and head definitely did. Like the video, though, I ended up with a completely new set of friends who were much more positive influences.

Amazing the things you go through in your teens. And the emotions you feel. The sensitivity. Sometimes you look back and think of how good it was, but don't remember the distress in your head.

I even wonder about how things might have been had my parents chose a different house. My mom will often point to a house down the street and say they almost bought that one. Or that they should've bought that one. Even though it's a block away, for a kid, that can mean a whole different set of friends. I met Mike because of our mutual friends who lived on the same block. My friend lived behind the alley from me. She knew his friend, who lived on the same street. She then met Mike, who also lived on the same street. Had I been on a different block, there would have been a different alley, a different house behind it and a different friend who lived there. How would my life have been different? I don't know. It's one of those things you wish you could see, but without changing anything. Just like watch it on a movie screen.

Which brings me back to the movie, Sliding Doors. I finally watched it. It is interesting. Without giving out too much of a spoiler, while watching it, you think that one life is better, but then you see that it's clearly not. The outcome is far worse.

So, I don't wish things were different. Not about my past. I can't. Remember, the past doesn't exist anymore. But mostly because I am still here! I still have the opportunity to make choices and live my life. There's no guarantee that any of the alternative realities would have allowed that to happen. I need to be thankful for that. Who knows, maybe this is the one I would have enthusiastically chosen if given the choice of all the different options. I can choose my next step, now. I guess I should choose wisely.

Short Attention Span Theatre

One of my fb friends posted something tonight that reminded me of this 'classic' video from 2007. (NSFW/Children/Homophobes)

Recently, I showed this video to my brother, who amazingly hadn't yet seen it. He was super annoyed by it and couldn't believe how long it was (that's what she said). It's about three and a half minutes long. He said it shouldn't be longer than thirty seconds. Now that I think about it, I don't think this video would have gotten as many hits had it come out now versus 2007. I mean, it's still getting tons of hits, but now the internet has much shorter attention spans. I was watching a funny cat/dog video today that was 30 seconds long and I fast forwarded to the end when I watched it again. Twitter limits posts to 140 characters. Not words - characters. I don't even know if that includes hash tags or links. If so, then that really limits the actual message. Anything longer on any type of social media, internet, etc. get a TLDR (too long; didn't read)

I actually had that reaction from some people back in 2009 with the lamebook post, "Jason's Monster Fail". The image itself is long for some attention spans, but when the comments (now removed, since the post was removed from lamebook) reached in the hundreds, and became part of the drama, even Ronan said he got bored reading it. Others wrote they had spent hours reading it! When one my former high school classmates saw it and I asked him what he thought, he said, "There's too many words." (More about the lamebook fiasco). And here.

And it wasn't just me trying to show them something, "funny". It was about MY LIFE! On display in a viral way. But it was TL;DR. (Mind you, Ronan found it on his own and emailed me about it. He thought it was about Belfast Jason (his 'nemesis') but still got bored!)

But there was show on Comedy Central called, Short Attention Span Theater, that I loved! It showed comedy clips instead of a comedian's whole set, or instead of whole episode of something. That was long before youtube or twitter! I guess I had the Short Attention Span before it was cool? And now that I'm old, I'm shaking my old lady stick at it. Maybe.

Bureaucracy

Fuming mad/sad right now. Just got a notice my health insurance will discontinue because I didn't verify income. I faxed my tax return (which I did a month early for this) before the deadline, printed a confirmation and called to confirm it was received. I just called to find out what the deal was and apparently they didn't just need the 1040, the needed all the worksheets and schedules to go with it. Instead of asking me for it, they discontinued my benefits. I am appealing, but I don't know if it will do any good. Still haven't heard anything about either job I interviewed for and getting VERY discouraged. As long as I had my health insurance, I was okay, but now...Now I am scared.

Spring is coming, just not here yet

Today is the first day of Spring. It is actually quite cold outside. Spring will arrive soon, though. It always does.

These birds are rule breakers

There has been a lot going on that I haven't had the time nor inclination to post about. The two biggest things are that I had a job interview in Indianapolis, and my mom's aunt passed away.

The job interview was about two and a half hours away, but for a position where I currently live. I stayed with my friend, Jana, who I've known since 6th grade and who was my roommate in college. It was St. Patrick's day weekend, so we went to visit the dyed green canal in Indy. She has a six month old baby, so our celebrations were tamer than perhaps they could have been, but it was fun nonetheless. We also went to a restaurant called, "Cheeseburgers in Paradise", and they had veggie burgers, which was awesome. What was even more awesome was the drink they serve by the same name as the restaurant. It's a multi-layered drink with daiquiri, pina colada and not even sure what else in it, but it was delicious. To add to the drunken debauchery, another night, I made mimosas for everyone at the house. We played Apples to Apples, ate pizza and cheesy poofs and drank mimosas from shamrock shaped straws - like a boss. 

Orange slice boat and gummy cheeseburger

The interview went well (it was before all the fun stuff, I couldn't relax before that). It lasted four hours and included teaching a sample lesson twice. The second time using feedback from the interviewer. I was so nervous the day before getting ready for my trip, I was literally shaking. It made me realize how much I have changed. I was less nervous in Edinburgh, Scotland moving to Manchester, England with £5 in my pocket. Here I was breaking down over a 2 1/2 hour drive in a rental car, no less? I sucked it up and once I got down there, I started to feel like my old self again. It was nice. 

While there, I learned that my mom's aunt passed away. I did not know her, as she lived in Texas, and her and my mom didn't talk very much after my Grandma died. However, it is still sad that my Grandma's sister is no longer here. It's another piece of her gone, I feel like. I'm also sad that she and her other sisters, who live in Chicago, weren't able to reunite before her death. I had offered before to drive the Chicago sisters down to Alabama and have her meet us there. My cousin wasn't interested, though, and I really didn't have the money to do it on my own, so it didn't happen. (My great aunts would not get on planes). It also reminded me that I really need to keep in touch better with my Chicago aunts. I see them about once a year. I am actually going to see them next week, which will also be their birthday. I want to plan something nice and maybe get more of the family together for it. We shall see. 

Since my great aunt passed away, I've connected on facebook with some cousins I've never known and another cousin I haven't talked to in over twenty years.

The 22nd will mark ten years since my Grandmother (on the other side of the family) passed away. The family hasn't been the same since she passed away. My dad has not been back to Alabama to visit any family since then, either. (My mom and I have gone a couple of times, since she also has family there). At night when I say my prayers and ask that God bless and watch over each member of the family, I often still catch myself thinking of asking for her, even though she's been gone this long. I guess now she can help watch over us. I just looked at the date of birth on her memorial and it made me smile to remember that is now little Emma's birthday. Named after her and born on her birthday, 84 years later.

Two years after she died, she got another great-grandchild from my oldest cousin. Six years after she died, she got another; her namesake. Life goes on. New generations are born. It may not be right then, but it will happen. It always does.

Easter basket packing party

Today was the Easter basket packing party for the volunteer group I work with. We packed nearly 100 Easter baskets for children in hospital and foster care in our area. I had purchased most of the supplies (like baskets, Easter grass, toys, etc.) last year after Easter when things went down to 90% off. I also got a couple of boxes of plastic Easter eggs and miscellaneous other items donated from a store when they pulled it off the sales floor. I need to remember to write them a thank you letter. I want to include a photo of the group as well. We still have tons of plastic eggs left and some grass, but we barely had enough baskets to go around. And despite my worry that we would be low on cellophane (to wrap the baskets), we had some left over. I was only able to get about 12 baskets worth last year on clearance. Luckily, others brought some and I ordered a 100 foot roll of it, too. At the event, though, I was pretty low key. I didn't do a whole lot of actually packing, just a few baskets and a little wrapping. I'm more the shopping guru. Oh, and worked a little bit with the kids who came to help. We made some of the Christmas cards for Operation Christmas Child (a project later in the year).

When I came home, I finished my taxes. Yay! I think this is the earliest I have ever had my taxes done. I had to fax them for my insurance today, so I had to get them done. Now to work on my lesson plan for the interview on Thursday.

But first, doctor appointment in the morning for a check up. Had the blood drawn on Friday. Which, by the way, sometimes when I tell a phlebotomist to take blood from my hand instead of my arm, they take it as a challenge to find the vein in my arm. Such was the case on Friday, but thankfully, after one attempt, she gave up. I was seriously about to pass out when she put it in the arm because it just goes nowhere and I remember all the times people looked for veins in vain (see what I did there) and the pain of it all. I think she saw that, too, because she asked if I was okay. I will be okay when you put the needle in my hand, please, kthx.

Back to happy thoughts. It was a good day today. Lots of people coming together to help others. Good times. Now here is a picture I took when I got home of me with my own Easter bunny. Happy Easter! (Probably the earliest I've ever said that, too). Note: I bought the bunny for Emma a couple of years ago, but she didn't like it so much, so I adopted it. 

Nine Inches

So, it snowed today. The meteorologists gave us a lot of advance notice for this snow. Schools were called off before a drop even fell. I thought it would be so funny if the reports were wrong and there would be no snow and the snow day was for naught. I just thought it would be interesting, but more importantly, I didn't want the snow.

In preparation for the snow I, like everyone else, went to the grocery store.

It wasn't too packed here. However, when I lived in Lafayette, Indiana, it was always packed before a snow storm. Always. The bread shelves would be nearly empty. Every single time. When I tried to figure out why, all I could come up with is that maybe the people at the store lived in more rural areas (though my stores were not in rural areas) so they would have a hard time getting out (lack of snow plows). The other factor that I noticed was that snow removal by the city was horrible down there. I could not understand how a city of that size could suck so badly at clearing the streets of snow. When I lamented this to my former co-worker, she said, "I guess it's just because we're better at driving in the snow." Really? You think your government says, "Well, our citizens know how to drive in this stuff, we don't really need to hurry up and plow it."

I was up at 6 this morning, with my car already parked on the side street from the night before, and still not a drop. I was beginning to think that maybe my prediction was right; the snow would miss us. I had an appointment in the afternoon, so I was hoping I wouldn't have to dig out to get there. I fell asleep and got a call around 9:30. It was the person I was meeting, who needed to reschedule due to a schedule conflict. No problemo. She mentioned the snow was just now starting. I looked out the window and saw the accumulation beginning. Now I was even happier she had to reschedule. I wrote down the new details in my planner, looked out the window again and smiled as I got back under my covers.

When all was said and done we got about nine inches. Not the foot of snow that was predicted, but still a significant amount. I missed all the fun by staying in bed under my covers. ;-) I imagine that by now the roads are all cleared and salted and I hope that by the time I do have to venture out of the house it is all good in the 'hood.

My Life & Sex & the City

I know I've posted before about how I can see things more objectively when seen on TV or in the movies. I can also find relatable scenarios to my own life. In the scene (starting at 4:15) Carrie faints from too much romance.

On my first date with Ronan in Belfast, we went into the center where I worked on Black Mountain and sat and looked out at Belfast from the large window. The night lights, the breathtaking view, the feeling I had for this man that I hadn't felt since I was a teenager. I had to lie down. I got really dizzy from the emotion of it all. It was amazing.

And then this happened. 

In Sex & the City and in my life with Ronan. (Okay, so I know it's a different man and time frame from the first clip, but you get the idea).

Saturday Night Fever

Went to the casino tonight. It was PACKED! They had a free gift giveaway (a stick vacuum-got mine), the $150,000 giveaway, the Chicago Poker Tournament. And it was Saturday night right after the first of the month.

I don't really know if the first of the month had anything to do with it, since I hear now people get checks at different times of the month. Regardless, the casino was super packed.

I played Baccarat with my $15 free bet and lost. Then I played the Big Wheel and pretty much lost there, too. Moved on to Roulette and won, woohoo! Then lost, boo! All in all, though, I only lost $14, so not too shabby ;-) I thought about playing black jack, and watched it for awhile, but I didn't have the cajones just yet.

It's becoming more apparent that I am going to have to do my taxes now instead of April 14th, as I usually do. I need the information for my FAFSA (for student aid) and for my insurance application. I am just hoping that I don't owe anything. I have so many charitable donation receipts this year, but I don't know if it will make a difference. Standard deduction will probably be the way to go yet again this year. It will make me feel like a fool keeping all my receipts throughout the year, then! Maybe I'll start them tomorrow. Tonight I'm tired from my Saturday night fever. ;-)

Bad Decisions

Yes. Yes, I do.

And it is a bad decision I've made before. I've made it a few times before. With this person specifically.

And he's so fun to make bad decisions with.

 

Lord knows I have some hella stories because of him.

And Lord knows I will need a few cocktails to help me through. My sober self will only get me so far in the bad decision making process. Self doubt, rational thought and clear headedness are no match for peach Schnapps, wine coolers and tequila.

That makes one of us, bro! ;-)

The past doesn't exist

Yesterday I posted this photo and said I was trying to live by it. Today, at therapy, my psychologist told me that the past doesn't exist anymore. When I talked about my fear of repeating mistakes I made in 2003, he said, "It's not 2003. 2003 doesn't exist anymore." He went on to explain that it is our memories that steer us, not the actual events. He touched my hand and said, "Is this the same hand you were born with?" I said that it was, but he said it wasn't. Neither was the hair on my head the same. We rejuvenate every part of us. I am not the same as I was in 2003. That person doesn't exist. The rape doesn't exist anymore. The person who was raped doesn't exist anymore. Twenty years ago is gone, it doesn't exist. Two weeks ago is gone. It's a bit much to grasp, as I am always looking back and love the idea of time travel.

That made me think of the Stephen King movie/film, The Langoliers. These creatures eat up time, so the past no longer exists. This one of the first things Ronan and I talked about during our marathon conversation, as I mentioned my trip to Bangor, Maine and he said he had a layover there before. I mentioned that Langoliers was filled at that airport, and he was surprised that I knew that and even knew of that book/film and said we must be the only two people to know that.

But that conversation no longer exists. It really doesn't. Because I thought moving to Derry was going to be the way Ronan and I were together. However, he said that he is happy with his life the way it is now and doesn't want to upset that balance. Our relationship doesn't exist anymore. It hasn't for quite a long time.

Don't Settle

Mom is home from the hospital. She is very happy to be home, and we are very happy to have her home. However, the issue that brought her there is not resolved. They can not do surgery due to the blood thinners she is on for the stents in her heart. While there, they found some other issues unrelated to her current symptoms. When her sister-in-law and I both asked what the plan was to address those issues, she got quite upset and said she didn't know and we were stressing her out. She said one thing at a time. While she was there, when they weren't sure what was wrong, I tried to get her to transfer to a hospital in the city. She wasn't interested. I've been trying to talk her into changing doctors for awhile now. Her doctor is fine, I suppose, but when she goes to his office, she only sees the nurse practitioner. The nurses have misdiagnosed her on more than one occasion and I don't understand why she settles for this treatment. I try and find other options and talk to her about getting another doctor, but this one is easy and safe. And they spend a lot of time with her, she says. What good is that if they misdiagnose you? I ask. "Yeah, I guess", is her answer.

Though I'm not far behind her with my doctor. I had an issue last week and the test came back negative, the medicine didn't work, and the doctor offered no follow up plan and I didn't push for one. So, let's see, you have pain and other symptoms, the treatment doesn't work, the test is negative, the doctor gives no alternate possibilities or plan of action, so is the problem supposed to just disappear?  Well, apparently, because that's my game plan thus far. Wait and see. I did happen to see a specialist later that week and mentioned it to her, but it apparently wasn't related to my 'specialist' issues, so she didn't address it. I have an already scheduled dr. appointment (my check up) early next month, so I've been hoping to just wait it out until then. However, given my mom's recent health issues, I'm starting to reconsider that position. I really don't like to push or make waves. So, instead, I'm settling for the treatment this one doctor doles out to me.

I got home from the casino tournament yesterday. I didn't win. Came in 44th place out of 319. Had a good time. I went to the Goodwill store out there and this guy standing near me had a ring tone of the song,"Thrift Shop". I couldn't help but laugh! I told him that was awesome.

I have a lot more I'd like to say, but not sure exactly where to begin or how to say it. But here are some things I like and others that I think are relevant right now. I will say, though, that when I say, "Don't Settle", I'm not just thinking of doctors.

Like this article that inspired the title of my blog title today.

I like this Taylor Swift song. The spoken bit at the beginning is over the top melodramatic, but the song I like.

Though this version is hilarious:


And trying to live by this: 
 

Slot Tournament

I am at a casino hotel tonight for the slots of love tournament. Alone. Forever alone lol. My mom and dad signed up for this earlier this month but since mom is in the hospital, they couldn't go. It was already paid for and no refunds so mom asked if I would like to go in her place. I called the casino and asked if it was transferable and they said yes. Bada bing bada boom, here I am. Drove about fifty miles to get here and got in right in time for dinner. My first round of slot play was a bit meh. Here's hoping tomorrow morning's round is better. I watched some craps on the casino floor tonight. Still don't know what's going on. I just know that seven is bad, which is opposite of what I thought before. Caught the last song of the band playing downstairs. Good. Lead singer was super hot lol. This room is so nice I wish I could live here. Its a suite with a king size bed. I'm sitting on the couch with my feet up on the ottoman. So comfy. The bathroom has a rain shower. I will be definitely be using that tonight because I smell like smoke so bad from the casino. I wonder if mom would've come if she would've been tempted to smoke here. I'm not going down to the pool or jacuzzi because a.) Its onthe other side of the hotel and b.) I couldn't find my swim suit. I feel like I see my bathing suit all the time but when I need it, it decides to hide from me. I think it's a conspiracy ;) I drank three peach schnapps and orange juice at dinner tonight. My face was all flushed and I may have been a bit tipsy. Definitely not drunk, though. Just put a little Colorado in my face. I am typing this out on my kindle which is kind of a pain, so I shall write more tomorrow. Nighty night.

Gallbladder

You know how you thought your biggest problem of the day was that you had to go shopping before the sales ended Saturday night but then you found out your Mom was in the hospital and you felt like a total jackass?

Mom is in the hospital again. This time it is her gallbladder. She has gallbladder 'sludge'. The doctor wants to remove her gallbladder as soon as tomorrow. However, since she is on blood thinners, they have to first consult with the cardiologist. She had two stents put in last month. She said that she is in utter disbelief that this is happening now. She said that she wishes it was really December 2012 and this year was just a dream like that time in Dallas (the TV show). She said, "I should be at home packing my overnight bag for my slot tournament tomorrow." I feel so bad. I had similar symptoms over the last week and I wish it could be me that is having this surgery instead. She's been through so much this year and with her heart issues the surgery will be so much more difficult for her. The nurse tried to ease my mind saying, "We do surgery on people on blood thinners all the time." But those other people aren't my Mom. I hope that it really is just a routine surgery.

Mom and Dad offered the slot tournament stay to me since it's already paid for. Mom wants someone to go and win some money for her! I just called the casino and the person was no help at all saying, "I work nights, I don't know. Call back in the morning." Thanks! And I thought the hardest part would be a.) Going away while Mom's sick and b.) finding someone to go with me. Apparently it is c.) dealing with clueless staff.

No, it's really still a.) :-(

Endocrine

Saw endocrinologist today. Doubling my vitamin D dose. She also said that when I become pregnant, I will have to take insulin shots instead of pills. She said that I should actually start that when I decide I want to become pregnant and not wait until afterwards. That was surprising, no one told me that before. Checked out some other things, go back for blood work in three months and follow up. She was actually prepared for our meeting and had notes about my case already prepared. My primary care physician walks in not knowing my name and can't treat me until she reads my computer file.

I am just so blah today. I'm started to doubt my decision about Ronan. Maybe we made the wrong decision. I don't know. Then I have these feelings of self doubt and loathing and think that if we did meet up again he wouldn't like me because a.) that happened when I lived in Manchester and b.) I feel disgusting. Then I also think if I tell him that I want to try and be together he will either disagree or not respond at all which will be heart breaking for me. Don't want to make the same mistakes over and over again which is why I left it to him. If he changed his mind, then he could come out here.

But when the doctor brought up pregnancy today I realized that the only person I could imagine getting married and having kids with is Ronan. Maybe that just means I have to find someone else. That I just haven't met the right person yet. Probably. But I'm such a sentimental fool! Gah.

Tired. I was ready for bed before 7 pm. Now it's an acceptable hour to go to bed so sleep, here I come.

Snow & Balance

It's snowing.  It started about 9:30 tonight while I was in Target doing another round of Valentine clearance shopping. I was unsure whether to stay in for awhile and give the plows time to clear or if I should get going before it got worse. I decided to forge ahead and made it home fine. Only spun a little when starting at a green light once. D'oh.

Today while walking through Target, I saw some of the children's clothes and thought, "That's not appropriate." It made me think that I am going to be the most over protective mother ever. And that scares me. I don't want my children to live in fear or be ridiculed or be otherwise negatively affected by my overbearing ways. But I, of course, don't want them to be negatively affected in any way, which is why I would be overbearing. Have to find a happy medium. Hopefully my husband (whoever that may be) will provide some balance. 

Adam and Emma didn't come visit today because Emma has been sick. Poor baby girl. I got her the cutest Hello Kitty skirts for her birthday, though (90% off at Target, of course). I can hardly wait for her to try them on. We'll see if I'll be able to wait until April to give them to her. I'm not great with waiting to give presents, I like to give them right away!

Presents: made me think of the blog post when Ronan came to visit and brought me flowers and a present. It doesn't take much to remind me.  Driving myself insane in the membrane! I have to find someone else to get my mind off of this. I'm going to lift the moratorium on friends setting me up, methinks. I'm so done-zo with obsessing over it. Can't I just have a normal relationship? Where's the balance there? It's, "Let me move to a different country for the love of my life" not, "Let's go out to a movie on Friday." Of course, the feeling of the love of your life is so much stronger and tips all the scales.

My x-ray came back normal. Which is good, I guess. However, it doesn't give any answers. I'll be at a specialist tomorrow, though, so maybe I'll get some insight then.

Here's a video for my current favorite song. Some of my fave lyrics, "I belong with you, you belong with me. You're my sweetheart."
 

First World Problems

I am shopped out! Yet, I'll probably still go out again tomorrow. Hey, it's the last day of Target Valentine clearance, can't miss that ;-)

In the midst of my shopping, I had to take a detour to my doctor's office. She sent me to get an x-ray. Since when do you have to get naked for an x-ray is what I want to know. Anyhow, changed into hospital gown, lied down, bada bing, bada boom. Done. We'll see if that shows anything. Then I was back on my adventure.

The shopping page is taking a lot of time. I really need to make it a proper blog and monetize it.

Something I didn't mention yesterday was that the night before I had these amazing dreams where I was in love with a man who would, "move mountains", to be with me. It was so awesome and made me feel good all day. I had such a great day yesterday. It was the first time since my Ronan conversation that I didn't think of him. Then today...I was at Target and a security officer was also looking at the Valentine stuff and we chit chatted and all I could think of was Ronan! Mother trucker. (Ronan is a security officer now). So then I start noticing other security officers throughout the store and I think of him more. And I'm cursing myself, "Damnit!" One day I went without obsessing over this. One frigging day. And it wasn't that I wasn't busy. I was super busy today, but still something reminded me of him. C'est la vie. Keep calm and carry on, right?

I got lots of cute stuff for the Easter baskets and for Operation Christmas Child. Great to be able to bless others while having fun doing it.

I still haven't drank pop. I decided to give it up for lent and hopefully that will break my habit. I switched to diet pop years ago but now there is so much info about how bad even diet pop is for you that I'm trying to quite that, too. It's just that I need to find other stuff to drink besides water. I know, first world problems, right? "Whatever shall I drink in the sea of hundreds of choices that I can get at any grocery store at any time of day?"

"Oh, I have to take a break from shopping to go see a doctor for a procedure." Lucky to be able to see a doctor, have a procedure, much less fit it in between errands. And shopping, well, that speaks for itself.

"Oh, I can't stop thinking of my ex who is safe and healthy living his own life."

Yeah, suck it up, sistah! Does that count as a self-pep talk? ;-)

Shopping for a cause

Whew, had a blast today! Went to Target with my friend, Lisa, to try and snag up some clearance toys for the Easter basket project next month. It wasn't 90% off yet like I had hoped, but we did get a few things and I'm going to head there in the morning and hope it will be 90% off then.

Then we went to the casino for a free buffet that I had. I placed my free $30 bet, too, and won! Yay! Gas money for tomorrow's adventures. Then I found out they serve mimosas at the bar there. Yep. Awesome.

I just spent a couple of hours on my shopping page putting together all of the Valentine's clearance deals and it is now past my bedtime. After my shopping trip, I have to go back to the dr. (groan) because I'm having some pain. This is in addition to my specialist appointments on Friday. I'm just thankful I can go, right? Got to look on the bright side ;-)

Later gators!

Nuts in my hair

A few days ago, I got this candy apple from the sandwich shop at the casino. I didn't pick out the specific one, just ordered a, "Caramel apple", and didn't think much of it. I got it home and saw it was like the most super duper covered apple I'd ever seen. I wondered if there was really apple in there. In addition to the regular caramel and nuts, there was some swirl stuff and pecans and then dipped in chocolate with more pecans. The chocolate was about 1/2 inch thick.

Tonight I decided I'd finally try and tame the candy apple beast.

First of all, I could not get it in my mouth (that's what she said). I mean, I couldn't get a bite in anywhere. The chocolate was way too thick and the pecans, too. It wasn't just a pecan here and there, it was solid pecans and chocolate. So, I try and get a bite towards the bottom of the apple. That's when the stick broke.

I realized there was no way I was going to be able to make it through the chocolate pecan mountain top, so I get a knife. Shit just got real. I start cutting off the chocolate pecan top to see if I can maybe find some apple down there. The stick is useless now, so I'm holding the actual apple cutting chunks off and taking a bite where I think I can fit it in my mouth.

Needless to say, I made a pretty big mess. The chocolate is now melting in my hands (since I'm holding the apple). I get it all over the knife, the table, my soy milk mug (I mean, I'm not going to eat chocolate without my soy milk).  I again try biting the bottom of the apple. I cut more and more chocolate and pecans off. They start to fall on the floor and the dogs go for them. D'oh. No dogs, not for you! Chocolate is bad. They're staring at me, begging. Licorice starts jumping up on me. I just sighed and knew that I had to accept defeat.

So, I clean up my mess, wash the knife and mug and my hands and think I'm all done. Later, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I have nuts in my hair! How in the hell did that happen?

I couldn't get it in my mouth and I got nuts in my hair. 

I think I much prefer the Affy Tapples.

Masochism

Masochism...I haz it.

I was just going through my old facebook messages and found the ones from Ronan deleted and blocked me as a friend. The mean messages are now freshest in my mind since I haven't spoken to him since last week. Gah, why did I read that? Masochist, I am.

When I check my email, I secretly hope that he has messaged me and that he still feels the same as he did last week during our phone conversation. Each time, though, no message. So, I was pasting in my old geocities blogs into blogger and there were these blogs about how Ronan would say he wanted to get back together and then not want to, disappear, etc. So I thought, "Well, was this time really any different?" Sure, we both made the decision that it just could not work like this. But, then I read a 2005 entry that mentioned Ronan and I were together, though living in different countries and I had lost my job. I let him know that I could now come be with him and we could be together since I didn't have anything holding me here and I never heard from him. Now, really this all just a moot point because Ronan and I aren't together. However, it makes me doubt the veracity of this recent phone conversation and declarations. Here I was thinking how bad it sucks that two people who love each other can't be together because they live in different countries. More so when they don't have money to fly back and forth or support the other in the country (because of work permit issues).

*Sigh*  But then I don't want to air these feelings for fear that it IS different and Ronan will read this and be put off that I have these doubts. One of the main differences between then and now is age. We were in our twenties then. Ronan in his early twenties at that. Being in your thirties is a whole new ballgame when it comes to emotional maturity.

Again, it is a moot point because we are not together. But the idea was that maybe, just maybe, if the stars aligned and we found ourselves able to make it work (i.e., be in the same country) then we would be together again. I guess what I'm afraid of is those stars aligning (i.e., me going to school in the UK) and me being left out in the cold.

But the most masochistic thing that I do is think too much! I'm tired of thinking and analyzing and wondering. That's one of the reasons why I told him that I can't do it like this. I need him to get out here and show me that he loves me. Because of all the mind changes, the disappearing acts, the time left wondering, I can't do that anymore. It just has to be no doubt in mind that this person loves me and will move mountains for me/to be with me. That's really all there is to it. So, why, then, do I keep getting that anxiety when checking my email? Check the landline phone to see if he's called? Search google to see how easy it is to find my address? Masochism. Pure and simple. As I've said, I've laid my cards on the table. If he wants me, he knows what to do. No amount of thinking and analyzing on my part is going to help that. I was honest and clear. But now I feel like I'm waiting for something that's not going to happen. And I know it's not going to happen because we said it! I am wishing and hoping for something is virtually impossible. Masochism.

Well, it's not impossible. People in different countries fall in love. People find a way. People save money. People move mountains for love.

They've just never moved them for me.

If you want to make God laugh...

Tell Him your plans.

So, I just wrote about all my plans to go to law school in the UK and the next day, I get a second interview for a teaching fellowship here in the US. I just thought that was kind of funny. I'm happy to have the opportunity, for sure, but my timing is often questionable.

I'm still going to apply for the LLB degree program in the UK and fill out the financial paperwork. I'm still going to go to this interview and see where that leads me. Neither one is guaranteed, but hopefully, one of them will work out.

This reminds me a lot of 2003, when I applied for the position in Belfast and another position in Chicago. I got both positions and decided on Belfast. I was a bit nervous because of my perception of Northern Ireland (the troubles), but I plunged ahead. It was one of the best decisions of my life. Being in Belfast really changed me. Unfortunately, being back in the US for this long has taken some of those changes away (the US breeds fear), but it was still a great experience. And I know there is another way I can live that doesn't involve constant fear, that is more laid back, that can roll with the punches.

While I am doing better and making plans and taking the steps to get to where I want to be, I still have some major down time. I still get discouraged and want to curl up in a ball. I wish there was someone to help me through all these processes. I'm always the one who will help others with resources and paperwork and red tape. I want someone to help me, now! At times it can seem daunting. But then, you think, "It's really just paperwork." So you fill out each form along the way, do some internet research, send emails and one day you're living your dream. Little by little, right? Because if you live your life all or nothing, you usually end up with a whole lot of nothing.

But now, about my day: Jenn texted and said she is going to the Grand Canyon in April, so I will be cat sitting for them again. So excited! I love cat sitting in the city. She had said they might not go because of the cost and I reminded her she could use miles for rental cars, too and so they're using their miles. Woohoo! Yeah, you'd think I was going or something. I just wanted them to go so I could have their condo for the week.

I dropped off eight boxes of cat food to Sandy's house for her cat, Louie. I got them free with a coupon tonight and dropped them off right away. Sandy called and said Louie hasn't stepped away from his bowl for several minutes. He's been eating people food, I guess. She said he's been out of cat food for quite some time. I'm going to see if I can scrounge up some more coupons to get more cat food for Louie.  Meow!

Oh, and the interview for the US position is in Indianapolis, about three 1/2 hours away. Jana said I could stay the night at her place, which is great. I messaged her on facebook tonight and found out that in addition to her husband and infant son, her mother, sister, and sister's two kids are living with her as well. Now, that's a full house. I asked if it would be too crowded, but she insisted it wouldn't be. I'm hoping to hitch a ride with a trucker from my old temp job who said that he drives to Indy every day. My hooptie isn't reliable enough for that journey. Of course, then I wouldn't have a car while in Indy, but we'll see what happens.

Lastly, I have watched this video about ten times today. It's a different variation of the cats playing pattycake video. This one is in French. Cracks me up.