work...

i'm working late - waiting on stuff to finish printing so that i can collate it... technology has been helpful this week... but it's not perfect... and until it can not only do all that i need it to concerning mail merges and duplex printing (and knowing that i need a different piece of paper for page 1 than pages 2 and 3) while making me a cup of coffee or changing the oil in my car, i will not give it my full loyalty...

and in all honesty, i would settle for the "doing everything that i need it to concerning mail merges and duplex printing with multiple types of paper" bit...

..::hold my hand::..

i might be starting a new project involving a mannequin hand i recently received in the mail.

kind of like a chain letter only less involved, more fun, and a lot crazier...

here's the idea:

i will follow these steps and then send the hand to someone else who would follow the process and then send it on to someone else...

1. paint/decorate the nails any way you would like... no writing on the hand or altering it in such a way that would hinder the integrity of the hand...
2. take a photo with the hand in a prominent location in your city or town... or something that represents your city/town/state... but it should be where you live, not where you're going on vacation...
3. send the photo along with the location information and a clever title involving the word "hand" to [the email address i will create]...
4. send the hand to a friend, including the instructions of what to do with the hand...
5. track the progress of the hand on [blog for hand around the world or some other clever title]...

i'm wondering if it will be as fun as i think it will be... the sad part would be that i would have to part with the hand for an infinite amount of time... i'm wondering if i should buy a new hand for the project or send mine and replace it with another...

it could be a lot of fun...

what do you think? would you participate if the hand was sent to you?

weekend update.

it's been a great weekend... i mean, the time is too short, but i have been incredibly thankful to spend time with some good friends... see a good show, eat some good food, watch some great tv...

it's been amazing to spend time with some people who know me and who love me...

highlights:
time with friends, in general
butch walker show
us border cantina
nashville flea market
hello kitty waffles
otter's
mckays
an incredible music swap
gilmore girls

lowlights:
the somewhat crazy weather
my feet not being prepared for long walks in flip flops yet this year
not being able to spend as much time with people as i want to

it's been a good weekend... but it's not over... and i still have a long drive tomorrow and more friends to see...

the first of what i'm sure will be many...

so there are a lot of things that i want to write about... the bachelor, my bad experience today at the job, an annoying lady at the bank, potential layoffs happening soon, the song "Africa" by Toto, pandora.com, the song "Taylor the Latte Boy" by Kristin Chenowith, the interesting people at the gym that i see at least 4 times a week...

but for tonight, i will focus my attention on something that happened recently...

i was on my way to work last thursday... i had just been to the dmv where i had a minor crisis/heart attack scare/panic attack... it all worked out, and i left the dmv and drove up the road to make my way to work... i stopped at a stoplight and looked in my rearview mirror to check my makeup (i gave up putting on makeup on my way to work a month ago... so i was NOT putting on makeup - seriously.)... and i saw something that i haven't seen before...

sticking out of the top of my head (not laying down) was a greyish-white hair... not only was it being rebellious by turning a different color (that i'm not fond of), but it was also being unreasonable by sticking up rather than laying down like the rest of them...

now i know that by pulling out that one hair, i was ensuring that "2 more would grow in its place." but i am pretty sure that is 1) a lie, and 2) not something i want to think about when i have one sticking out of my head... i had lost the ability to think about it logically at that point... i also needed to make sure it was real and that i wasn't just imagining it (i am feeling older these days)...

i didn't pull it out and discard of it... instead, i carefully clutched the teenager-ish-rogue-greyish-white hair between my index finger and thumb for the rest of the car ride and all the way into the building, up the elevator and to my desk. i then placed it on a green post-it and put tape over it, much like a mother would do with a baby's curl after a first hair cut... this is one memory i don't want to forget... i want to be reminded daily that life is short... i must make the most of it... and that i must remember to buy hair color the next time i go to wal-mart.

bus driver... move that bus...

it was time for my blog to have a bit of a face lift... and i guess it got a little more than a bit...

but i like it... and it could go hand in hand with my company/business ideas... so here it is...

no more simple ellipses... now i can be more defined... (of course, i will still use ellipses... but there will be a better title)

thoughts?

i still might change it up a little, but for now, i like it.

plus, now that i can see how many times i've written in a year for the last 5 years, i'm determined to write more than 15 (or 23) times this year... maybe not 274, though!

i hope to be more committed to writing in 2009 than i have been the last couple of years. we'll see how it works out.

what happened to January?

January was crazy. I know people say that things are busy when they may or may not be… but january was crazy for me… between work and other obligations and some minor crises (and work being nuts because of the break), I didn’t have time to think, much less blog…

So things have slowed down considerably… and I just realized that it’s almost been two months since I stopped to put a few words on screen of what’s going on in my life… or of what I’ve been pondering…

I had a birthday. 29. I had to be at work early the day before, the day of, and the day after my birthday… and when I say early, I don’t mean 15 minutes – I mean 2 hours! Originally, I was supposed to be there at 5:30 – but after the first day, we realized I just needed to be there by 6… On any ordinary day, I’m still very much in REM sleep at 6 a.m.

But I did have a chance to celebrate my day. Friends from work made the day special, and then the night after, I went out with friends from church and had a great time. Alyssa sent me great presents from afar – a luggage tag that was shiny and pink and said “comes with baggage.” – that was my favorite – that and the disco ball car air freshener with HILARIOUS packaging…

I’m pretty sure that all my feelings of being old and more tired are just my imagination (running away with me)… but I do feel older… I am making a concentrated effort to go to the gym at least 4 times a week… I’m in week 2 and have been successful so far. (I know that’s not saying much… but if you know me, it is!)

Valentine’s Day is just a few days away… I typically hate this particular holiday… I like part of it – the simple wishing well to friends and telling people that they are important to me… and I like crafts sometimes, so hand-making holiday cards is kind of fun (if I can finish them on time!)…

But it is seriously out of control. There is so much emphasis placed on it that it makes people crazy… to hear ladies be so disappointed because their husbands won’t do enough and decorations everywhere… It’s just a lot.

Maybe I’m bitter.

I looked on Wikipedia and found some old cards that are kind of funny… and I’ll post them
below for fun.

I don’t really have anything else of note right now…

My hope is that I’ll do a better job at actually keeping up now that things have slowed down some!

on the one with the big face, it says:

"A Simpering Miss,

The smile that on your face appears,

Stretching your mouth to meet your ears,

You think, no doubt, as sweet as honey,

Whereas, dear girl, it's only funny."

that was my favorite part about it.

christmas time is here.

i have been such a slacker about posting anything... i am not really sure why... 

there's a quote from the movie "you've got mail" where tom hanks questions the lyrics to the joni mitchell song "river" - and he questions the meaning of the song...

man, i love that movie... and part of me really loves that song... there's just something sober about it - how in the midst of what could be such a joyous time, there is a desire to escape... i know how it feels to not really feel "in the mood of christmas" - i've been watching the movies... i get a little teary-eyed at the hallmark channel christmas movies and love the cheesy abc family ones... 

i just saw that hershey kisses commercial - it's been on since i was a kid, and in so many ways, it represents the holidays for me... i managed to get the "christmas" box out of my hall closet... the one containing about a dozen ornaments, a rocking horse and my favorite decoration ever - the music box with the dancing santa/mrs. claus... 

and, yet... i wish i had a river i could skate away on...

there is a part of me that gets really contemplative and isolated during the fall and the holidays... i withdraw from people a lot... and keep to myself... i can get really sad... not for any reason in particular... maybe wishing things were different... maybe having a pity party... not really sure...

i like christmas... i like helping other people and the way that everyone seems nicer... more loving, more open to others... i like the fact that it's a chance to celebrate Jesus - His life and the hope that He brought to the world... 

and, yet... i wish i had a river i could skate away on... 

It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees.

They're putting up reindeer, and singing songs of joy and peace.

Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on.

But it don't snow here, it stays pretty green

I'm going to make a lot of money, then I'm going to quit this crazy scene.

I wish I had a river I could skate away on.

I wish I had a river so long, I would teach my feet to fly

Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on.

I made my baby cry

He tried hard to help me, you know, he put me at ease

And he love me so naughty, made me weak in the knees.

Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on.

I'm so hard to handle, I'm selfish and I'm sad

Now I've gone and lost the best baby that I ever had.

Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on.

I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly.

Oh, I wish I had a river

I made my baby say goodbye.

It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees.

They're putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace.

I wish I had a river I could skate away on.