Countdown: 6 days.

Yesterday was my due date (March 30) but instead of arriving on time I decided to wait.  I’m glad I did because I like April 5th a whole lot.  My niece was due in March as well and decided to wait until April 2.  I was holding out for the 5th, but decided I should be happy with the 2nd lest my wonderful sister try to kill me (which, I believe, she threatened to do).  Her only wish was for any day other than the 1st.  Now, my Grandfather was born on April 1st and I (personally) thought that it would be a good day for Olivia as well, but Kris said NO.  She is lucky she got her wish and that Olivia obliged and waited another day.

I have a few more things to mention about my past before I move on and look forward to the next 40 years.  First, I have worked a wonderfully odd assortment of jobs.  I did the requisite stint at McDonalds; I did a summer stint at Disneyland (in California, which was way cool); worked concessions and souvenirs at University of Arizona and finally at a grocery store.  In a way all of them were good jobs and I don’t really regret any of them.  For the most part I had good managers as well – exept for 2.  I’m not proud of this but I have actually yelled at 2 managers, well, okay, I yelled at one and got into a tete-a-tete with the other, which did get a little heated, but there wasn’t any “yelling”.  The first instance was with one manager telling me to go do something that I had never done before and then yelled at me for not knowing how to do what he was asking.  Granted we were swamped with customers, but there is no excuse for yelling.  So I threw whatever I had in my hands onto the floor, screamed “Fine! You do it yourself!” and walked off the floor.  The second instance was with a manager who, for some reason, refused to learn how to pronounce my name correctly and when I finally started pronouncing his name incorrectly, he got upset.  That conversation took place in front of a customer, who as it turned out was his wife, and needless to say I won that argument. :- )  Thank goodness for wives, I tell you.

One of the coolest things I’ve ever had the opportunity to do was to volunteer for the 1996 Olympics.  I was a VIP driver for those people who were at the games as an official part of their team’s delegation: coaches, athletes, major sponsors, and organizer-types.  I drive a huge variety of people, but the neatest opportunity came the day of the closing ceremonies when I drove a woman who had just won her first Gold medal – for kyaking of all things.  I got to see it and it was way cool.

I’ve also had the opportunity to travel to London – just once – and for work – but it was still a good opportunity.  Oh, and I’ve been to Budapest – the BEST place in Europe to visit (even though I haven’t been to EVERY place in Europe, NOTHING could be as great as Budapest).

All in all it has been a good first 40 years and I am looking forward to the next 40.  I’ve been struggling with putting this whole birthday thing into perspective and I’ve come to realize that I’ve done a great many things these last 40 years, things that not every one has the opportunity to do and I am thankful for all of it.  I’ve also come to realize that if I can do all these cool and interesting things in my first 40 years (18 of which were under the control of my parents and therefore i didn’t have a whole lot of input, so really the last 22 years) then how much more could I do in the next 40?  This makes it exciting!  I can’t wait.

Knitting News
I finished the Baby Surprise Jacket for Lloyd and Arlana this last weekend and gave it to them at the baby shower.  I didn’t get to stay for long but I think they liked it – I know I did.  I bought two little pewter elephants for the button and they looked fabulous.  (Kate, if you are reading this, I opted for the elephants over the Chinese-character ones because the Chinese-character ones seemed a little too “grown-up”-ey and thought the elephants looked a little more a-pro-pos for a baby.)  So now I am starting a baby blanket for Gabby – one that she can call her own.  Olivia has a nice blanket that she carries with her everywhere (called “baba”) and I think Gabby needs one too.  It is a modified Log Cabin, so we’ll see how it turns out.

Folly
I did something absolutely ridiculous yesterday.  I ordered some Eegees to be FedEx’d to my birthday party on Saturday.  The shipping costs are roughly 4 times that of the actual product, but this is my birthday, gosh-golly-gee, and I want Eegees.  End of story.  I’m entitled to a little folly every now and then, right?  For those of you who will be there – this will be a treat for you.  Expect the best.

Foibles
I’m not sure why I included this in the title of the post because I don’t have any foibles to report.  Perhaps that is the foible?  You decide.  I think I just liked the alliteration.

Toodles

GGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Too many things going on and I can’t concentrate on any of it.  First – the current countdown is 13 days, just in case you were wondering or were needing to know how much longer I have until…something dramatic happens to me.

Two, CONGRATULATIONS to the Wildcats for making it to the Sweet 16!  Yea!

Three, I have yet another paper that I’m working on.  This has been the semester of endless papers.  By the 2nd week of May I will have written 10 papers.  UGH!

Four, I have decided that this year is the “move out by myself” year – whether it is purchasing a house/condo or moving into an apartment by my self – it is going to happen.  The big decision is whether or not to buy.  And if I do, house or condo?  And if a condo, where?  Lake County or in the city?  And if in the city….okay, I’ll just stop right here.  I’m leaning towards a condo, but having a garden would be awesome (even though I can’t garden).  But then there’s the maintenance factor that is way more expensive than the condo-maintenance factor, and am thinking that my first time home-buying experience should be a good one and the condo seems to be the way to go.  I have so many questions in my head…!

Fourth, oh, wait: fifth – I still need to finish the Baby Surprise Jacket for Lloyd and Arlana.  I’m getting close – less than 55 rows left, but it will still take a while. 

Help!

It is amazing sometimes to think about things that you hated as a kid but love as an adult.  My sister was one of those.  I remember that the day she was born, my Dad carried me down to a neighbor’s house.  It was very early in the morning so I wasn’t quite awake.  I was served some cereal that was new to me and most scrumptious.  Then I got to play all morning in their fabulous climbing tree.  I did get to see her in the hospital, but only through a window and I didn’t get to see my mom at all because kids weren’t allowed in the rooms.

For most of the next 12 years I tried to get my parents to send her back.  She was a pesty little thing.  Everything I did, she did.  Everywhere I went, she went.  So on and so forth.  For t.w.e.l.v.e. w.h.o.l.e. y.e.a.r.s.  And then suddenly I got to go off to college and you know what?  I missed her.  I am happy to report that we are quite close these days and for the most part the pest that she was in her younger years kinda gets forgotten.  Thank goodness.

Another memorable story is one of my cousin Gary.  He was four years older than me and I idolized him.  One summer, I must have been nine, my Uncle’s family and my family were off visiting some distant relative.  All the kids were sent to the back to play and I was sitting on a bench swing sipping a nice, cold coke.  In the glass bottle.  Somehow Gary had convinced me that a dragonfly had peed in my glass coke bottle and contaminated it.  My parents wouldn’t give me another one and so I didn’t get to finish.  So sad.  But that was the kind of guy he was.  He actually turned into a pretty decent adult.  about 10 years ago he became a Christian and his life took a 180-degree turn.  No more cussing, booze, or drugs.  Complete transformation.  He became the kind of cousin that I could really enjoy being around.  Three years ago, Gary and his wife Diane were living in Lafayette when Gary had a heart attack and died at the age of 40.  I miss him.  The really sad thing about it was that he passed away on our grandmother’s birthday.  Poor Meme, I think she will forever not celebrate her birthday because of his memory.  If you ever get to hear some of Jeff Foxworthy’s “Redneck” jokes, think Gary.  I believe he fit every, single one of those jokes!  No kidding!

My fondest memories of visiting family in Louisiana, something that we did every other summer, was getting to go up to Uncle Ben’s camp.  Ben is my Dad’s brother (father to Gary) and he had a “camp” up on Lake D’Arbonne in the far northern reaches of Louisiana.  The camp was supposed for use when he went hunting, but we used it as a summer get-a-way.  It was on the edge of the water and Lake D’Arbonne was a lake that flooded regularly (either on purpose or by nature), so it was built on stilts.  Pretty cool, eh?  There was fishing, skiing, swimming, 3-wheeling, 4-wheeling, Atari and just plain fun.  That was the most magical place to me.  I shall miss it.  (Ben has been trying to sell his property for a few years now and if I lived any closer, I would consider buying it from him.  Oh well.)  The only thing I didn’t like about being up there was Uncle Ben’s philosophy on catching fish.  “You catch it, you clean it”, was his philosophy, and well, I refuse to eat fish to this day.  But those were some memories, us all being up there.

I have one more sad thing to say today.  I spent an hour talking with Tracey last night, an old college friend and she told me that her mother passed away suddenly in surgery in January.  Tracey is an amazing woman and has been hit hard by this, so if any of you think about it, could you please send up a prayer for her?  I know she could use them.

So that’s all for today.  Until next time.

Oh, and one more thing:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!  Love you!

Okay, I’ll just say it: my birthday is coming up.  And it is one that ends in a 0.  It is not: 10, 20, 30, 50, 60 or 70, so think about it, I’m sure you’ll get it.  In commemoration of this fact, one that I cannot avoid, I thought I would write a few posts about where I’ve been and what I’ve done these 40 years.

Background: I was born in Louisiana but grew up in Tucson.  I consider myself a “true” southerner even though I have no accent.  I have to say that upon reflection, Tucson was a cool place to grow up.  We lived 1 hour from the mountians (fact: the southern-most ski sloped in the US are in Tucson) and yet there were vast deserts around (and lots of cacti).   My earliest memory is of my parents buying their first house.  I was four and I can remember going to visit the house before the previous couple had moved out.  My Dad had me on his shoulders and we walked throughout the house looking at the rooms and stuff.  He showed me the room that was going to be mine.  The couple that was living there was using it to store packed boxes and I can remember asking my Dad “Where’s my bed going to go?  There’s no room…”

I had what I consider to be a normal, well adjusted childhood and I have no complaints about anything.  There were lots of kids in the neighborhood, so there was always someone to play with.  We made kites and flew them.  We played Tin Can Tommy all over the place.  There was a car wash up on a hill and we would ride our bikes up there and then zoom down…probably to the dismay of any adult watching.  There was a nearby Arcade and Miniature Golf and movie theater.  And lots of other stuff for kids to get into trouble with.

Life was so much simpler back then (in the 70′s) and I wouldn’t trade it for today’s generation.  (Except for one thing: cell phones.  Only because once, when getting back from a Band trip in High School my Mom forgot to pick me up and I had to wait for about 4 hours – until she realized that I was missing and where I was.  A cell phone would have come in handy.  Just sayin’.)

My best friend from 4th – 12th grade was Alex.  She and I made a very odd pair – she was entirely cutting edge and very “punkish” and I was mostly plain and demure (except for a few “experimental” stages) - but we got along really well.  I can’t confess to everything that we did (because my parents are still alive and probably still have the power to “ground” me, and besides, I’m not sure I want them to know everything…) but we were quite the mischievous pair.  Think “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and Madonna together and you’ve got us pegged.  (BTW – I am secretly glad that I have outgrown my Madonna phase…)

Well, tha1t’s enough walking down memory lane today.  Maybe I’ll write some more soon.

Toodles

For millinea past women have always worn skirts.  Nice, big, flowy, long and lots of material skirts.  Some of you may think this an impractical and suppressive act that women were forced into, but there was at least one benefit.  Skirts have lots of material and if one were to, say, rip part of her skirt, in, say, a not so “good” area, there was plenty of material to cover it up.  But pants don’t have a plethora of extra material and I suppose this is a desirable thing in a pair of pants.  But when one rips a pair of pants, it is rather difficult to hid the rip or to fix it.  This is the downside.  Just letting you know – in case you were to ever wonder what the pluses and minuses were to wearing a pair of pants.  There is some downside to progression.

As I was approaching my local Starbucks this morning for my regular cup of tea, I encountered a prime example of someone who must know how to success in life – at least he appeared and acted like someone who was very important and successful.

Here’s what happened.  I crossed the street and turned left.  The local Starbucks is 2 storefronts from the corner, so I had to walk about 30 feet to the door.  During the time that I was approaching the door, another person, a “gentleman”, who was well dressed and in somewhat of a hurry, had the same distance to approach but from the opposite direction.  He arrived at the door perhaps 3 whole seconds before I did.  He proceeded to enter but neglected to hold the door for me.  (Common decency?)  He ordered his drink and then went to the counter for cream/sugar, proceeded to step in before another customer and caused her to wait until he was finished.  (The counter was big enough for 2.)

So what can be learned from this little episode?  The is you are an important, well-off and successful person then common kindness and decency don’t matter.

Well, I think you all know me far too well, ’cause I ended up doing #4, but not in exact order.  I did sleep late (I got up at 7:30 instead of 6) and I headed off for Panera.  (On a side note, I am now “over” Panera…at least for the next few weeks for reasons you will understand soon.)  I had a wonderful breakfast and studied until about 11.  Then I had an itch to do some driving, so I went to another Panera and had some sort of frozen coffee thing.  When the lunch crowd started packing the place I decided to go on out to Long Grove and visit the yarn store.  They have a lovely little shop with lots and lots of really nice yarn.  I ended up purchasing some nice, lush pink and white yarn for a baby blanket for Gabby (my niece).  I actually had the chance to use the EZ Navigator service on my new Blackberry, which was really, really cool.  I’ve never used a GPS system before and really liked it.  Then I was hungry but I didn’t want to leave the area cause treat #2 was a movie which didn’t start until 7 PM.  Let me tell you….sitting in a Starbucks for 2 hours with a potential of another 3 is not my idea of fun.  So I checked the movie times again and saw that the movie’s first showing was at 4 so I went to that one instead.  Then I went home and studied some more.  I only made it though the first 28 questions (out of a possible 87) but some of the questions were multi-part and were about a whole page in and of themselves.  I’m now on question #32, but it is because I decided to type up my answers instead of hand write them out (partly because I’m afraid of getting tendinitis in my hand and won’t be able to write come exam time, which would totally blow).  I had another nice and leisurely day today byeating breakfast at…Panera and lunch at …Panera with a friend.  I’m going to go another hour (I’m writing this at 7:30 PM) and then I’m going to go home and read…and set my clock ahead.

Nighty night and toodle-oo.

I’ve hit some “semester milestones” this week.  I had a Quad A course that is now finished (as of this week).  Next week is Spring Break.  And I’m taking the day off tomorrow (ostensibly to “study” for my midterm, but who knows….).  I’m going to a friend’s house to knit tonight.  Now I just need to decide how to spend tomorrow.

Here are my options.

1. Sleep late, wait until Amy goes to work and then stay home and study.
2. Sleep late, get up and go to the library at Trinity and then study.
3. Sleep late, get up and go to the library at Trinity, study and then go for a drive to somewhere interesting and study some more.
4. Sleep late, get up and go to the library at Trinity, study and then go for a drive to Long Grove, study some more and then treat myself to the yarn store there.
5. Sleep late, go somewhere for breakfast, go back and sleep some more and then study.
6. Sleep late, forget the studying and watch movies and knit all day.  Then study on Saturday.

Now, which option will I choose?  Tune in on Saturday to find out!