Adieu to February!

I am thankful that February is almost over. It has been a disastrous month at work. Just about every day I would go into my supervisor's office and say one of two things:

"Can I just take a vacation until March?"
"Can I have a do-over for February?"

The meaning was the same either way. Even if I was working, it seemed almost counter-productive. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but not by much. It was a really bad month of billable hours. Blizzards. Flu. Children being removed. Kids visiting family. Flu.

Amazingly enough, I never got sick. I kept waiting for it. It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

All I can say is, "March, you better be good to me!"

And now I shall break out into singing "So Long, Farewell"... "I flit, I float, I flee flee flee, I fly..."

Fun on the Run

Saturday I was able to go see Les Miserables with 30 of my closest friends :). Truthfully, there were almost 30 people from Peoria that went, but not all of us travelled together. We had a 3 car caravan. It was a no-stress day, thanks to Kari's excellent planning. It is what she does for a living, but more often than not she still amazes me. She had a packet for each vehicle that included:
directions to the theater
what exit we would stop at for lunch (along with the fast food places available and what order they were in going down the street)
a synopsis of the play so those who had not seen it could become familiar with it
the menu for dinner so that people could decide ahead of time what they might want (to eliminate some of the wait time)

And everyone was operating on time, which made the day even less stressful!

I really enjoyed the show. We had really good seats (second row balcony). I think I prefer a musical that also has some talking in it. Les Mis was strictly music. But, that being said, I still really enjoyed this show.

After the show we walked several blocks to Giordano's for deep dish pizza. Than we walked back to our cars and headed back to Peoria. An eventful day, but a great break from the normal weekend routine!

Being concerned for characters on TV, in movies, or in books

And by "concerned" I mean that you might cry if something happens. You might sit on the edge of your seat until you find out what happens, you might yell at the TV or book if something doesn't go the way you think it should. You might talk about it with your roommate a lot in between shows. You might google the character to make sure that their contract wasn't ripped from their pretty little fingers. You might call other friends and poll them to see what they think is happening. You might try to talk yourself into believing something didn't really happen the way you just watched or read it happen. Not that I've ever done any of the above mentioned things, I'm just speaking hypothetically. Okay, maybe I've done one of them...

On a similar note, I've mentioned that Emily and I are watching season 2 of NCIS. My favorite thing to do when one of the characters is in a tight spot is to say "Oh, no, Emily! Do you think Gibbs (insert other character names here) is going to make it out of this okay? What if he dies?!" And Emily's standard reply, "Teresa, I'm pretty sure we are still watching him in season 8, so I think he's going to be okay." I, for some reason, am amused by this conversation every time. I don't know if Emily is, but she humors me, so she usually earns good roommate brownie points.

But really, sometimes I feel pretty pathetic that I get so attached to fictional characters. It's just my nature. I think I've mentioned this before, but when I was younger I would also talk out loud during movies or TV shows to state my concerns (a horrible trait, I know, but one I can't seem to break myself of). I would say to my brother things like, "what do you think he's thinking right now!" Or "why did he do that!" And my brother's standard reply "Because that's what the script says, Teresa." Although this is a similar response to Emily's, my brother never earned good-brother brownie points. I think he usually just received a glare.

Hmmm...maybe I like my roommate more than I liked my brother. I think that might be a blog post for another day. PS. I do LOVE my brother :).

sometimes I even scare myself!

My mind is often a jumbled mess. Even when I sleep. :) I have been really encouraged to have not caught any of the sickness that is going around. I've threatened to hide under a rock until it is all over. Yesterday I woke up with a scratchy throat and a slightly stuffy nose. I groaned. I expected it to turn into a full blown cold by the afternoon, but it didn't. I expected to wake up this morning with something worse, but I didn't. I did wake up in the middle of the night with some stomach pains and the chills. I thought for sure I was getting the stomach flu. I laid very still in bed and kept repeating "I am not going to be sick. I am not going to be sick." I refused to get out of bed and head to the bathroom. I know what you're thinking. As if laying really still and pretending not to be sick would actually work. But I fell asleep without anything happening. For the rest of the night I had random dreams about telling people I was starting to get the flu and them ostracizing me and telling me to go away. Intermixed with a tornado by my work building. Intermixed with a bunch of people hanging out in the building to get away from the tornado. Intermixed with walking into a room that had LOTS AND LOTS of puppies and kittens and I think a few rabbits. Honestly, I don't know where my brain comes up with these dreams! But, the good news is, I have not gotten any sicker today than I was yesterday. I keep telling myself it has to do with the change in weather. Of all weeks to get sick, this would be a bad one. I am heading to Chicago this weekend to see Les Miserables with a group of friends. We bought tickets in November, so I will be really bummed if I don't get to fully enjoy the show because of sickness. Maybe if I lay really still until then, nothing will happen...

It's your quarterly reminder

Have you ever gotten on Facebook, left a status update that you thought was either hilarious, thought provoking, awe inspiring, or at the very least something about yourself. You wait anxiously for someone to click the "like" button, leave a comment validating the reason you left the update in the first place. You wait. And wait. And wait. And nothing ever happens. Stay with me here. What are you thinking/feeling at that moment? If you're anything like me (and maybe you're not), you think, hmmm...did everyone miss that? Was it not as funny as I thought?

Well, it's the same with this here blog. No comments means I feel like no one is reading. I know this isn't true from comments people make to me in person. But, more often than not, people don't want to comment. I've been updating my blog posts on Facebook, so people can comment on there as well (and because some friends said it was the easiest way for them to know that I updated my blog because sometimes they don't think to visit my blog otherwise). So, I've been doing that. But even my two most faithful commenters (you know who you are) have not been commenting! :)

All I'm saying is, Please leave me a comment. I like comments. It makes me feel like I'm not just talking to myself! :) Thanks for listening!! And I guess, even if you still never comment, thanks for reading my blog.

Feeling good about yourself for random reasons

For 2 1/2 years I have been getting brochures in the mail from the place where I bought my couches and dresser when I moved into the apartment with Emily. For those 2 1/2 years, my couch has been the one featured on the brochures that come in the mail. And it's not always the same picture! It somehow, in some weird way, makes me feel good about that purchase! :) Especially knowing how much I agonized over buying just the right couch. And knowing that it was a little out of my comfort zone of what I would usually buy for myself.

Brain Fart

I am behind on my blogging because I have had one brain fart after another. I keep having these "great" ideas to blog about but than by the time I get home. Nothing. I can't remember what it is I was going to say. The other night I was getting ready for bed and thought of something I really wanted to blog about, had even gone so far as to play around with a clever title, but I had already shut the computer off, so I thought, "I'll just blog about it tomorrow." I thought about it ALL. DAY. LONG and still could not remember what it was. Some say these brain farts only come after 40 or even 50, but I've been getting them frequently for the last few years. Early onset brain farts. Just what I needed in my life!

In other news, I rented the movie "Flipped" last night. I really liked it. It is a cute coming of age movie. I had only heard of because I often look through redbox to see what's new. It is about a boy and girl. The girl falls in love with the boy when they are six or seven and he spends the next several years avoiding her. The majority of the story is set when they are in junior high. The story is repeatedly told through both their perspectives (which might annoy some people, although I was surprised how much I enjoyed it). Anyway, I would recommend it. The second movie I rented, I would not recommend. I also got "The Romantics." I lasted 20 minutes into the movie and than decided it was not worth my time. I can count on one hand the movies I have not been able to watch all the way through. So, I watched "Overboard" instead (which I own. on VHS.). Tonight I am going to watch "You Again." I'll let you know how it was.

If you're sensing a theme here, it is that I had no plans for the weekend so I am spending it in mindless entertainment. And avoidance of all responsibility. Although I am bound and determined to exercise sometime today. If only I would get off my behind. Or find some motivation somewhere. Getting off the computer is the first step. I will do that soon. I think. :)

On another side note. Apparently I enjoy talking in short. sentences. to. make. a. point.

The Important Things in Life (well, at work anyway)

Every Tuesday at work we have "small" team meetings. My program is a part of a larger division, but on Tuesdays it is just the five of us in FBI that meet. Today, we got a little bit accomplished. But than we laughed. A lot. I can't really remember what all we laughed at. But it made me think that I am truly blessed to work with a team of people that I respect and get along with so well. One of our team is leaving at the end of March. So, we were discussing the person who would replace him. Faye, our supervisor, had said that she has received one internal application. We asked if we could guess who it was and she didn't say no. We finally gave up and asked if she would just tell us. But than Jill piped in and stated that maybe we needed to play 2o questions. She was just joking and started throwing out questions, which Faye than started answering. We eventually guessed.

But than we started discussing the important things Faye should be asking applicants. Like, does the person bake? Is the person willing to do crafty things like go to Fired Up? Are they willing to take joking and sarcasm about their height, age, gender, marital status, etc? Oh, and maybe they should be a good therapist, too. :) Like I said, it's the important things in life that we are concerned about!

And all of this made me think of the advertisement for a nanny from Mary Poppins:
Jane: [reading advertisement for a new nanny] "Wanted: a nanny for two adorable children."
George Banks: Adorable. Well that's debatable, I must say.
Jane: If you want this choice position, have a cheery disposition...
George Banks: Jane, I don't...
Jane: ...Rosy cheeks, no warts...
Michael: That's the part I put in!
Jane: Play games, all sorts. You must be kind, you must be witty, very sweet, and fairly pretty...
George Banks: Well of all the ridiculous...!
Mrs. Banks: George, please!
Jane: Take us on outings, give us treats, sing songs, bring sweets. Never be cross or cruel. Never give us castor oil or gruel. Love us as a son and daughter, and never smell of barley water.
Michael: I put that in, too!
Jane: If you won't scold and dominate us, we will never give you cause to hate us. We won't hide your spectacles so you can't see, put toads in your bed, or pepper in your tea. Hurry, Nanny! Many thanks! Sincerely-...
Jane, Michael: Jane and Michael Banks!

Phooey on Artificial

Whoever said that artificial Christmas trees are cleaner than real Christmas trees has not met our artificial Christmas tree. We are still finding "needles" from the tree all over the apartment. Like, sometimes in my bed or in my bathroom...or in the laundry room. We have vacuumed since then but they are stubborn and don't like to be sucked up by the vacuum. Granted, it was a new tree this year, but I still did not expect it to shed that much. Maybe next year will be better. Or we will still have needles on the ground when we put the tree up next year, not sure which.

Musical?

I am not a musical person in that I can sing well or know how to read music or have a wide-range of musical tastes, but I do love to listen to music. I don't like silence, so I often have music playing in my apartment or in my car. I keep my iPod with me so that I can listen to it at work.

I've blogged before about how songs remind me of people and places. I realized today when I had iTunes on shuffle, that my memory for music is interesting. Can you think of CDs that you wore out? You had all the words to every song memorized? I had that come up today because a song from one of those CDs was playing and, as it ended, I immediately started singing the next song on the CD. Only I wasn't listening to the CD, I had my songs on shuffle, so a different artist started singing. But this happens to me often with music I know well and have listened to a lot. Sometimes it makes me want to turn off shuffle and find the next song as I feel it should be played! :) Just random thoughts on this Monday evening...