Ellemental

Wayne the Wall Man is here right now. Actually, today he’s Wayne the Countertop Man. A few weeks ago he was Wayne the Tile Man.

Wayne is a nice guy. His son helps him out, and sometimes his 4 yr old grandson comes along, too. I can’t remember the grandson’s name, but he is what I believe they call A Pistol.

Anyhow, Wayne is a nice guy. He’s here when he says he’ll be, and we trust him enough to leave the door unlocked for him when we can’t be here when he is.

Have I mentioned that Wayne is a nice guy? He is. But I have to tell you, every time I hear the name Wayne I start to twitch. It’s not his fault, but Wayne is the Face Of Chaos in my life right now. Wayne’s coming? Ok, no access to the kitchen sink (and DEAR GOD, the COFFEE POT) for 48 hours. Wayne’s coming? Ok, let’s rip everything out of all the cupboards. Wayne’s coming? Ok, time to shut off the electricity.

So Wayne is here today to install our new kitchen countertops. I believe that’s the last job we contracted him for. Our time with Wayne is almost at an end, and I’ll miss him.

Wait a minute…the VIM just asked Wayne if he does wallpaper…we ordered new wallpaper for the foyer (1 1/2 floors high and neither of us like ladders…). Wayne DOES wallpaper. Wayne WILL wallpaper for us.

Wayne rocks!

And I’m sorry about that.
You see, I, uh, have been toying around with other ways to communicate.
Twitter.
Facebook.

And they’re sooooo goooood. At first. Then I get overwhelmed. It all happens so fast. I don’t even have that many friends and I can’t keep up with all the requests and gifts and photos. It’s not that I don’t appreciate them…I DO, but…well, honestly, it’s a little more commitment than I’m looking for.

The best thing about Facebook, WordPress, is that I can quickly scan the happenings of my circle. I like that. There was a time when I had a blog reading routine – I read the same 8 or 10 blogs in the same order every day. Every once in a while I’d throw a new one in, and every once in a while I’d mourn when a daily read withered away. Facebook is similar to that. I’m keeping tabs, but much MUCH faster. And much MUCH less content. But somehow, it take MORE time.

Honestly, I miss the daily blog posts. Oh, I know they are still there, but for several months I’ve had to ignore them while I waded around in Facebook (the Twitter fascination didn’t last long with me…). See, there is a very finite amount of time I have online. This is very different from years past when I could leave my computer on 24/7 and hover around it for hours on end. Now there are things like kitchen remodeling (oh, you can bet there’s a few choice blog posts in THAT experience), and jobs and cats that throw up alot that demand my time.

And yes, the little time that’s left has been focused on areas other than my blog.

Even writing this post seems weird. Fashion moves so fast. Is it totally uncool of me to be posting several hundred self-centered words (300 to this point). Do I really expect that there is anyone left who has the time or the inclination to read more than a 40 word blurb that was written less than 15 minutes ago?

Part of my return to you, WordPress, is the anonymity. There is no VIM in my Facebook world. There is no kitchen remodeling. There are no cats. There is no place for me to vent and bitch and simply just journal and record the everyday mundane.

Thanks for still being here for me, WordPress.

Last week my best friend’s aunt (who was like an aunt to me, too, when we were young) passed away. This past weekend, my stepfather passed away. Yesterday I got an email telling me that the father of ANOTHER close friend passed away.

I am very seriously tired of grief.

The cats are pretty good at night, but every once in a while they get up to some hijinx that requires either the VIM to throw slippers or me to get up at 2 am, stomp though the house, and scoop up knocked over vitamin bottles or bungie-cord shut the bathroom cabinets that the cats keep trying to open, then slamming shut. Over and over. And over.

This week, it was my turn to stomp through the house, and when I got back into bed I couldn’t sleep. I considered just getting up. I’d be ok on 3 hours of sleep, and think of all the stuff I could get done! Then I tossed. Then I turned. Then I started thinking all the dark and ugly thoughts that only come at 2am and you can’t sleep. I did finally fall back asleep, but when my alarm went off I was in QUITE the rare mood. A bear with a sore ass, as my grandmother would say.

Our morning routine is that after I pour my coffee, I feed the cats then go make the bed. Just as I finish making the bed, one of the cats jumps up, settles into his corner, and goes to sleep. I don’t know what came over me, but that morning, I just could NOT let the cat sleep. Every time I walked by I’d poke him or shake him. I wanted payback, baby.

After an entire morning of harassing the cat, the VIM and I were getting ready to leave for work:

Me: Do you think it’s bad karma for me to be harassing the cat like this?

VIM: Yes. Remember the Egyptian Empire?

Me: ???

VIM: It’s a well-known fact that the fall of the Egyptian Empire happened because they taunted their kitties.

Now you know.

Big breakfast at beautiful resort. Best. Grits. Ever. Nice little Sunday drive. XC Skiing with friends. Perfect clothing choice for temperature. Perfect hat (finally). Perfect snow for skiing. Sunday paper, cup of coffee, cat on lap. Curled up on couch, watching the big snow flakes fall.
Pizza. Steelers.

Yay all the way around.

And you?

A Month’s Worth of Updates in One Long, Rambling, Bulleted Post:

• It’s been so long since I used WordPress that I couldn’t remember my password, then when I finally DID get it, the whole interface has been updated.
• I traded in my car, which I had become convinced was a bad karma magnet, for a cute, karma-free Subaru. It’s the first time in a long time I didn’t experience even a twinge of buyer’s remorse.
• The doctor has changed my medicine yet again, and I am experiencing the return of “The Tired.” I also have a touch of “The Apathetic” and “The Cranky.” The good news is that after a year or so, I at least am able to recognize what’s going on and not write it off to stress, low-grade flu, post-holiday let down, etc.
• Resolutions I made after watching 2 hours worth of various videos the VIM and I have shot on trips, around the house, etc: Renew committment to keeping my weight within my healthy range. Don’t wear ratty sweats in public. Continue having as much fun as we’ve had in the past 5 or so years.

It’s Friday morning. 7:30am. Normally I’d be out of the shower, somewhere between blowdrying my hair, making the second pot of coffee, and gathering my stuff for work. Today, though, I’m sitting in front of the computer with a nice hot cup of coffee (I’m not even close to the second pot yet since I just woke up), the Today Show on the tv behind me, cats milling around, about 3 inches of new snow on the ground and more coming down, and the VIM still in bed. Because we’re off today. OFF. Not. At. Work.

Today would be a great day to go XC skiing (well, except for the frigid temp), but no time for that. I’m getting my snow tires on today, then we’re heading out to see the Eagles in concert. As far as days off go, I’m pretty excited about this one.

It’s the Friday night of a very long week. I have two papers due Monday, some work that I brought home with me (because why let the fun end at 4pm on Friday?), one burnt out headlight, about 900 hours of web work to do, and people coming over for the game on Sunday. Should I:
A) Go to bed early to rest up for a busy weekend?
B) Get cracking on that web work and maybe start the papers?
C) Clean the toilets and vacuum the carpet now?
D) Go meet old friends for a drink at the cheesiest bar in town?

hmmmmmm… what to do? WHAT TO DO????????????????????

I’ll be the one standing at the corner of the bar making fun of the 21 year olds.

A woman in my area has started a journey to sell 1,000,000 t-shirts to benefit various charities. (I’m probably not explaining that well – you should probably read more about it yourself here.)

The $ from my shirt benefits a group called the Pink Panthers. They support folks receiving treatment for breast cancer.

I thought I’d just throw the information out there for anyone who may be thinking about fundraisers for their group.

The VIM, who is away this week, sent me this early morning picture from the road:

Scary Ronald