The countdown begins - 33 DAYS

After today, I have thirty-three days left in my "sentence" and will be paroled to my new office space, deo gracia. I spent the last week on vacation, trying to spend unused vacation time before I'm forced to surrender it on the altar of the "new job"...

Funniest (i.e. saddest) thing? Co-worker that sits next to me EIGHT HOURS A DAY has not said one single word to me about the move. Nothing. Not a "good for you", "kiss my tuckus", "don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out"... zippo, zero, zilch. I actually brought it up in conversation 2 weeks ago to try and open her up a little bit. Nada. No input whatsoever.

This attitude is largely what has me counting the hours, days and minutes till freedom. I feel like finding a convenient bell-tower, grabbing the ropes and swinging wildly, shouting, "SANCTUARY!! SANCTUARY!!!" Until the new year (both literal & metaphoric), I've committedto maintaining dignity, taking care of business, dotting I's and crossing all T's, continuing to cross-train the other staff to take over the piddley stuff (read here: which they were trained to do ages ago and passive-aggressively refused to master, causing me to take on said tasks), and go out with style.

Not quite certain...

... which of these girls I feel most like today.

Regardless, the image made me smile for a while. I'm trying to keep my eyes on my priorities, not get too distracted by the banal trivialities the keep flying in my face.




Count with me, children:
Only 51 days till I move to my new office!

Is anyone else out there feeling like a limber 12-year-old Asian acrobat today? Um...

O.k. Maybe what I meant to ask is, how are we all doing? Anyone else getting pulled in 32 directions?

Some of you I know about both IN the Real World (ha ha), some only via their Blogs. But if you're like me, and you need life to cease spinning for a few minutes (at least long enough for station identification), just follow me :-)

Give yourself 2 minutes.
Close your eyes (wait till you've finished reading, numbnuts)
Kick off your shoes, wiggle your toes, rotate your ankles slowly
Wiggle your fingers, rotate your wrists, then lay your hands in your lap.
Drop your chin slowly to your chest, then slowly raise back up
Repeat 10 times, breathing slowly throughout.

Then crack open the first Budweiser
(repeat above relaxation technique)
Open Bud #2
(repeat)

~ I think you follow my drift here ~

A Wedding Story

The scent of curry was the last thing I expected to smell when I woke up on September 16th. But as I stumbled toward the parking lot in my quest for breakfast, I was smacked in the olfactory by Eastern aromas wafting out of the property manager's office. I had spent the night (with Mom and 93-year-old Grandma) at a Motel 6, conveniently located near the Unitarian church in Columbus where my brother's wedding was taking place.

The bride and groom had actually tied the knot back in July at the courthouse in Missouri (where my brother currently lives). But they had also organized a church wedding in Columbus (where the bride is living and the couple met) so that friends and family could be present.

If you haven't attended a Unitarian wedding service, then you don't know what you're missing. It was brief, sincere, and lovely. No "bells & smells," no lengthy homiliy prating on from Ist Corinthians. Just a man, a woman, a minister and immediate family and friends. One added feature of the service was that the bride had prepared a complete Spanish translation of the readings and blessings for her mother (shown at right in the picture). Dear Mama speaks no English whatsoever, and delighted in testing my rudimental / rusty Spanish. And this picture doesn't do the bride justice. She's even prettier in person (heck, look at her Mom-- the woman's 72 but looks 60). And while her suit looks more silver here, it was actually a gorgeous sea-foam green.

I'm just glad to see my brother married again. After his first failed attempt I was afraid he might not opt to get back in the saddle. This was the bride's (who just turned 40) first dance with matrimony. They make an adorable couple-- three cheers to them in their new endeavor!

I Surrender

Ever feel like flinging your robotic arms up in the air and giving up?



Like you cannot put up with one... more... IDIOT making you crazy?


Does it feel like you're living on the corner of Compromise & Give In?

"If you love me, you'll do ______ for me..."

Like EVERYONE around you expects you to roll over & do their will?

Is this the message that pounds in your brain
(even though you've learned otherwise)?

Then fear not.
You're in the same darn boat as everyone else on this mortal coil.

You just have to remember these important words
(cue the Mutual of Omaha-style background music):

Nuts to the squirrels
& squirrels to the nuts!

You can't control what gets thrown at you, it all happens for a reason
(I've given up trying to reason out killer tsunami's and hurricanes).
Crazy folk are gonna keep on bein' crazy
whether we play their games or not.

That which does not kill us makes us stronger, right?