As an addendum to the last post. Not only was the day pretty great, the night isn’t too bad either. I’m typing this on my newly repaired laptop while I sit in the dark on the deck. It’s so dark that I can’t see the VIM sitting about 4 feet from me, playing Blackbird on his 12 string guitar. In a few minutes we’ll go in, brush our teeth and slip under the clean, warm comforter. Airborne snakes are the last thing on my mind.
Perfection can be defined in an infinite number of ways. Today was one of those ways. The forecasted cold and rainy weather held off for one more day, so the VIM and I took a little walk this morning. It was a little chilly, but the sun was warm. It rained hard last night and the air was just a little humid and heavy with the smell of spring. Every plant and tree was was pushing toward full bloom. Every leaf was a bright, shiny green.
We walked along one of my favorite routes – an abandoned, well-maintained railbed, then veered off into the thicker trees on an overgrown, much older railbed. The history of this particular trail is extremely interesting to me, and every time I walk on this trail I imagine what it must have been like almost 200 years ago when the now quiet woods were filled with people and mules and machinery.
At this particular area I had to walk down a steep little hill to get closer to the water. As I walked I was keeping an eye on the pretty little sluiceway, trying to gauge where the best place would be to get a picture. Suddenly, there was a BIG movement to my left. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a big snake jump up out of the grass into the water. I had almost stepped on it. I lost sight of it for awhile (while I was frozen in place, afraid that if it could jump away from me, it could also jump toward me, and who even knew that freakin snakes could become airborne anyhow???) I finally spotted it on the other side, slithering under a thick patch of grass. Alas, no picture, because I was too busy trying not to have a full fledged meltdown right there in the middle of nowhere.
Ok, so maybe an ALMOST perfect day.
Filed under: The VIM
Two conversations within 45 minutes of each other:
We’re watching an ad for Honda lawnmowers. In the ad, a hot, big-haired blond woman wearing a cocktail dress is caressing the clean-shaven jaw of her man, a la those ads from the 70s for…I can’t remember what they were for…Razors? Shaving Cream? The next ad is for pizza, but the VIM is still talking about the cocktail dress-wearing retro woman.
Me: You know that last ad was about lawn mowers, right? The hot woman was just a prop. They were selling lawn mowers. Lawn. Mowers.
He: Yeah, but I don’t need to focus on the lawn mower, I already have one of those.
Me: …..
THEN -
During another commercial break, the VIM was asking me about my friends – how they met their husbands, how old they were, etc…
Me: …so Michael is 3 years younger than Angie…
He: How old is Angie?
Me: She’s a year younger than me…she’ll be 39 this year.
He: ok, so she’s gettin’ up there in years.
Me: …….
Filed under: Uncategorized
Some people say 30 is the hardest. Some say 50. I even know a guy who said turning 25 years old was horrible – it’s when he realized for the first time that he, too, would continue to age.
Before this year, I hadn’t run into Milestone Birthday Trepidation. I think it’s because I look young and definitely ACT immature young. In my head, I’m still 23. Strong body, strong mind, lots of time to decide what it is I want to do and where I want to do it. As I make the final run up to 40, though, I’m definitely beginning to get it.
I, too, will continue to age.
So although I feel healthy, I decided that this year will be the year that I make sure I’m a-ok – as healthy as possible as I move into the NEXT 40 years. So I made a Dr appointment.
Although I understand that preventative measures are better than reactive, I still felt silly making an appointment for just a general checkup. I felt silly when, after I answered his health questionnaire, the doctor said, “So, you seem to be in great health.” I definitely felt silly when he asked me if I had any questions or concerns and I showed him the little spot on my leg.
See, I have this little spot on my leg. I noticed it first last summer when I was shaving my legs, and thought it was a bug bite. As summer faded away and I scaled back the shaving operations, I mostly forgot about it. I knew it was there, but it didn’t really register. Since it was still there yesterday when the Dr asked me if I had any concerns, I mentioned it. I felt silly – absolutely sure that he would say it was a bug bite or dry skin and give me some cream for it – but I mentioned it. Because they (whomever they may be) always say to tell your Dr about stuff like that. And if nothing else, maybe the cream would make it a little less noticeable during shorts-wearing weather.
So he looked at it, ran his finger across it, measured it. Then he said he wanted to do a biopsy.
So now, a day later, a little chunk of my leg is in the lab, my shin bone hurts like hell (hopefully the next spot I develop will be on a fleshier part of my body), I discovered that simply hearing the word “cauterize” can cause my stomach to do mad flip flops, and I’m hanging out, waiting for the test results. I understand that in ANY case this isn’t a life-threatening condition. But for me, for someone who has had an incredibly lucky/healthy life to this point, it’s an eye-opener.
Filed under: Daily
My goddaughter was a tiny baby. 5lbs something, then dropped down to 4lbs 9oz before heading back in the right direction. I can remember rolling up the sleeves on her Preemie Footsie PJs because they were too long. I couldn’t do anything about the too-long PJ legs, so the footsie parts just dangled empty, inches below her tiny little toes.
I just got finished texting her about dinner plans for our shopping trip in a few weeks. She wants to go for Chinese before we head to the mall, and oh, we can’t forget to stop by the Limited Too before we hit up Aeropostale.
Holy cats, people…I’m old. OLD!
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One of the things I do for a living is recruit. One of the things I do as a recruiter is go to job fairs. One of the things I do at job fairs is do a lot of people watching. One of the OTHER things I do at job fairs is wonder in amazement what the heck it is that people are thinking. So I’m asking:
What the hell were you thinking when you decided to wear stiletos? Black, shiny, pointy (on both ends), stiletos. Why would you want to wear obviously uncomfortable shoes that you are unable to walk in to an event where the object is to WALK AROUND? Fool.
What the hell were you thinking when you decided to tell me how horrible your current employer is to work with? When you tell me how you basically run the place and “no one else does nothin’”?
Filed under: Daily
How incredibly sad is it that a reader has to comment to let other readers know that I’m still alive?
I am indeed still alive.
I still have plans to journal and blog.
I even have things I want to write.
I want to tell you about how the website design side-biz is kicking my ass. How my poor little laptop is visiting the world’s weirdest repair shop. How I came home last Friday morning to find a large part of my bathroom ceiling on my bathroom floor. What the VIM and I have been up to (polkas, penguins, and This is Your Life). How eight hours of my day has become one huge behavioral science project, and I’m not sure if I’m the researcher or the subject.
Oh, and I’m considering going back for my Masters. Anytime there’s a decision to be made like that, there’s much gnashing of the teeth and rolling of the head. Overanalyzation. Pros and Cons. But What Ifs. It’s a full time job in itself.
And thanks Kacey for updating for me. 
I should just make you my guest poster while I’m away!
