Work and Play August 31, 2005

I will be starting a new job on Tuesday. I know what you are thinking, you didn’t know I was looking for one. It’s true, I wasn’t looking, but not because I didn’t want a new job. It was just that I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. But Monday I received a job offer. And today I took it. I job hop. I don’t mean to, really. But I really miss the job I had at Foresight for a myriad of reasons, and want to find that again. I hope this is the one. It looks like a great opportunity for a great company and it will almost bring me back up to the payscale I was at 3 years ago. That’s a plus. That will help us get out of debt faster. Our debt retirement has been at a near standstill for some time now, so this will help. Plus I may still do some accounting work for my former employer on a temporary part-time basis, and that will bring in some extra cash too. Sweet.

This weekend we’ll be camping with our favorite camping buddies, Dan & Heather (and little Gilgamesh who is on the way, due in late November). Mike and I aren’t big fans of camping but it’s great with Dan & Heather because they make it so much fun! Not to mention Heather is the master planner and she ensures that we are all well fed the entire time. So I’m looking forward to a long weekend of rest, relaxation, and some darn good food!

It would be embarrassing if it wasn’t so stinkin’ funny August 25, 2005

About that wedding we were going to yesterday… we were early. A month early. Can you believe how important one little word can be? I must have ready that invitation 7 or 8 times and not once noticed the word “September.” Wow. Mike and I laughed all the way home. It was the kind of experience where you laugh for awhile, then stop, and then just can’t help starting up again.

It’s like Tuesday when we were waiting for Mike to go in for his MRI and he fell asleep in the chair. I woke him up when his name was called and he tried to walk to the doorway but his entire leg had fallen asleep. He was dragging it along beside him. Even 20 minutes after he left I still had the giggles. The scene kept replaying in my mind and I couldn’t help but laugh. The people in the waiting room must have thought I was crazy sitting there all alone with my knitting, giggling to myself.

Headlines for today August 24, 2005

I was late to work today.

My flu meds should be kicking in soon.

The coffee at work is ready.

I will be attending a wedding reception tonight.

I am severely behind on folding laundry.

Even if you were interested in these random pieces of information, how would you respond? You can’t really; no response is required (unless you feel like helping me fold laundry). It may be nice to know if you know me and care about me, but if I am just a stranger you found while blog-hopping, it means nothing to you. I think these random facts about me are just as useless as the news we get every day about people all over the world.

I don’t intentionally watch the news, but sometimes it’s hard to avoid. The post office has a tv set in the lobby and it plays CNN 24/7. The MRI waiting room has a tv set and what is on at 6:00? The news, of course. What really bothers me is when a reporter announces bad news and good news all in one breath. “So-and-so died tragically today…” and then almost before he/she is finished, they begin to smile and move right into “Some town somewhere is having a fun festival and you should go!” They don’t give you time to process the news of some stranger’s death, but then what is there to process anyway? Chances are if we knew the person we would know of their death by now, and would have already begun mourning the loss. But if they were a stranger we have no loss to mourn. And there isn’t much we can do about it. The information is USELESS to us.

I think that the news has gotten so out of hand that it has become more entertainment than anything. It’s there for the ooh-ahh factor and it’s all about the money. The networks are out to find the most shocking news and to be the first to find it. There is little purpose in reporting aside from making money. Argh. I just have to stop here. This topic upsets me and I’m getting all worked up.

In other news (pun intended), I’ve been thinking a lot about wanting to become a therapist. At this point I’m not quite confident it’s something I would be good at, but the desire is there and it’s very strong. It would be a weird switch from accounting and I’m not sure where the desire is coming from, but I’m just going to keep praying about it. If the desire is from God, He’ll open doors, right?

Posting for the sake of posting August 23, 2005

I just figured that since it has been 3 whole days since my last post (God forbid!) that it was about time I post again.

Mike goes in for an MRI today. They call it an MRI but I like to call it the Torture Tube. He’ll be taking a valium before he goes in. That’s always fun.

I’m hungry. It’s way past lunchtime but I have to stay to hold down the fort and I didn’t pack a lunch today. I haven’t been packing lunches because I’ve just been super tired, probably due to the cough and cold I’m developing. Mostly chest congestion though. It’s probably the flu. I hate the flu. It makes you tired. And I’m usually tired already, so that’s why I say I’ve been “super tired.” “Super tired” is just “tired” squared, that’s all.

Tuesday and I, we have our ups and downs, but it is still my favorite day of the week. What can I say? I’m loyal.

Happy Tuesday, folks!

Busted! I’m not a geek after all… August 19, 2005

This test says that I’m probably a pretty cool person and I’ve probably got social graces! How cool is that?

The Poser Geek

You answered 65% of the questions as a geek truly would.

As a poser geek, you’re trying too damned hard. There’s a strong possibility that you think you’re a geek because you own your own computer, however you’re truly missing the bigger picture. You aspirations of being a geek mainly come from your friends, who are probably slightly cooler.

Get rid of those thick black-rimmed glasses. Being a geek isn’t about style, it’s about substance!

So what’s this all mean? It means you’re probably a pretty cool person. You’ve probably got social graces and are well liked by many people. While not a complete conformist, you do prefer to follow along with popular culture. True geeks probably laugh at you behind your back.

In a nutshell, you answered most question how you thought a geek WOULD answer, but your misconceptions deceived you. Truth is, 60% of people are geekier than you.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 54% on geekness

Link: The True Geek Test written by ambientred on OkCupid Free Online Dating

Activity Addiction? August 19, 2005

I’ve been reading a great book called “Addiction & Grace,” by Gerald May. I’m only half way through it, but in this book Mr. May attempts to prove that we all are addicted to one thing or another. We all develop attachments to things, people, ideas, etc. and often those attachments become so strong they turn into addictions. Even though they may be bad for us, our minds and bodies have adapted so much that those things, people, ideas, etc. become “normal” to us. This is why we experience stress when we try to withdraw from those things, people, ideas, etc. We all have addictions whether we know it or not.

Last night I found myself on the couch doing nothing. No tv, no music, no phone. I wasn’t even creating new to-do lists in my head (a wonderful habit of mine). After a few minutes of this I started to feel very uneasy. Uneasiness and a sort of guilt at the thought that I should be doing something right now. “What should I be doing? There must be something I should be doing. It’s wrong that I am just sitting here doing nothing.” And if I had continued down this thought process I would have eventually convinced myself that I am a lazy, horrible person. That’s how it usually goes. But last night God didn’t let that happen. He did not let the lies enter into my thoughts. He wants me to rest. He does not expect me to be busy during every waking moment. IT’S OKAY.

Am I addicted to busy-ness? Have I been busy for so long that my body has adapted to make “busy” feel normal and right? When I am not busy my body rejects the change, as if something is wrong, and I just need to go find an activity to feel right again. TV, crochet, knitting, cross-stitch, reading, making TO-DO lists, anything will do. But I can’t just sit there. Oy vey.

Folk fest August 15, 2005

Mike and I went to the folk fest Friday night with the Johnsons. Yes, I actually convinced him to go to an event with ‘folk’ in the name, and during a Lions game at that! I had such a good time that I went back on Saturday. I had some great alone time and then Chey joined me later on in the evening. We danced, ate elephant ears, and left with some groovy henna tattoos. Henna is pretty cool but I have to agree a bit with James: it looks a lot like I drew on myself with magic marker.

Georgia Sea Island Singers August 12, 2005

The Great Lakes Folk Festival in East Lansing starts tonight. Among the many great musical artists featured there are the Georgia Sea Island Singers. I had never heard of them but I looked them up on Comcast Rhapsody and let me tell you, this is good stuff. I had originally wanted to see the Irish band at the festival but I think I have changed my mind after listening to this group. If you have Rhapsody, check them out. And if you are anywhere near East Lansing this weekend, come to the festival! It’s FREE!

http://greatlakesfolkfest.net/

I need a new profile picture August 12, 2005

The one I have up now is dumb. The problem is I am usually the one with the camera so I don’t have many pictures of myself. Anybody have any decent pictures of me? Ones where my mouth isn’t wide open laughing or full of food?

**Rant Warning** August 10, 2005

I just returned from a church meeting. The subject of the meeting is not relevant, but the whole experience brought up another pet peeve of mine. I really hate it when people tiptoe or dance around the truth. I see it all the time in churches and families; it’s right there in the script. They’ll tell you they are just trying to be sensitive and don’t want to offend anyone. But someone always ends up getting offended. Either you offend the people who don’t want to hear the truth, or you offend the people who hate being lied to (the people who will take honesty over warm fuzzies). I keep thinking about how the Bible describes Jesus’ social interactions. No way did he tiptoe around the truth. And yes, he probably did offend some, but he was more concerned about getting the truth to the people who were ready to change than offending the people who were stuck in their dead-end ways. I know the truth is hard to hear sometimes, but it’s the only way to freedom. John 8:31-32 “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”