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.

I’m still a lover of memes. Which reminds me, Keri – I STILL need to do the flikr meme. I didn’t forget!

1.What is your occupation right now? I work in the HR office at a university. Anyone else here ever work in higher ed?

2.What color are your socks right now? White.

3.What are you listening to right now? The local news morning update on tv. Federal raid at a local company, more snow on the way, blah blah blah.

4.What was the last thing that you ate? Shrimp stir-fry. Yum

5.Can you drive a stick shift? Yep. I just bought a new car and was thrilled that it was a stick.

6.Last person you spoke to on the phone? My grandmother. We talk every night at 6pm. I want to talk to her to make sure she took her insulin shot, and she wants to talk to me to make sure I didn’t drive into a snow drift on my way to work. Worry – keeping our family in touch since 1968.

7.Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yep.

8.How old are you today? 40

9.What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? It’s a toss up between football and hockey. Right now I’m looking forward to the Superbowl. Once that’s over I’ll be able to focus on hockey.

10.What is your favorite drink? Coffee. We made some kick-ass homemade cherry brandy this year, and it ranks right up there, too.

11.Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes. I just started getting highlights, etc a few years ago. I finally found a great hairdresser who I can go to and say “do whatever you think will look best…”

12.Favorite food? Wonton soup. Soft pretzels.

13.What is the last movie you watched? Jaws…I had never seen it before last weekend. It was great!

14. Favorite day of the year? Thanksgiving

15.How do you vent anger? I cry. I hate it. It always feels wrong to me, but I can’t help it.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Big Mouth Singers

17.What is your favorite season? Spring

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Depends on what they are being used for.

19. Living arrangements? Me, the VIM, and two cats in a nice little split level on the top of a hill surrounded by woods.

20.When was the last time you cried? I know this sounds totally unprofessional, but last year I cried at work because I was so incredibly angry after a phone call. My co-worker ran downstairs and bought me a Snickers bar out of the vending machine to make me feel better. It worked.

21.What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, shoe boxes, cat hair.

22.What did you do last night? Went cross country skiing after work, took a shower, ate stir fry, watched George Carlin on DVD, went to bed. (That’s actually a pretty common night…)

23. What are you most afraid of? Those close to me being hurt. I also really hate spiders. A lot.

24. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburger? Cheese

25. Favorite dog breed? Big ones. Great Dane, Weimeraner, Boxer, Shepherds. I also like beagles a lot.

26. Favorite day of the week? I really like Friday nights, because it always feels like the whooooooooooole weekend is just out there, waiting.

27. How many states have you lived in? 1. (But I’ve lived in two counties!!! )

28.Diamonds or pearls? I guess diamonds, although I don’t really prefer either.

29.What is your favorite flower? Spring bulb-type flowers and gerbera daisies.

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?

So I’ve had my new car for a month. I’ve driven it about 900 miles. Over those miles I’ve tested and used just about all of the bells and whistles. Except the air conditioner. I haven’t actually turned that on yet, with the FREAKIN FRIGID temperatures we’re having but…..uh, where was I?

The car accessories. So everything works great, and the only problems I had was that the cruise control buttons on the steering wheel are in the same place that the radio control buttons used to be in my old car. Another side note – did I ever tell you that my old car had radio control buttons on the steering wheel and a passenger seat that knew if someone was sitting on it for airbag deployment purposes but did NOT have air conditioning? *ahem*

Anyhow. No problems with any of the accessories or controls. All good. All worked. Then on Tuesday on my way home from work, the windshield wiper fluid declined to work. Fine. I topped off the fluid when I got home (and it didn’t take much…). Next morning on my way to work, still no flow. So yesterday I called the dealership. They told me to bring it right in. I did. I checked it one more time in the parking lot, and it still wasn’t working.

I didn’t even get settled in my chair in the waiting room before they called me to tell me that there was nothing wrong with it – it worked just fine for the mechanic. And thank goodness he had two OTHER mechanics AND the receptionist right there beside him as witnesses. I was speechless. Dumbfounded. Feeling Like a Fool.

The mechanic, who had decided that he was dealing with a speechless, dumbfounded fool, asked me gently, “were you pressing the button?”

YES! YES I WAS PRESSING THE BUTTON! I have had the car for a month. I’ve used the windshield wipers and fluid in the past month. They worked fine!

“Ok, well, I’m going to back your car out of the garage into the parking lot, then I want you to get in and try it out before you leave.”

Dear Lord. It would have been humiliating enough if it had just been the two of us, but it was the end of the day, and EVERYONE was there. So yes, I got in the car, and of course it worked. The mechanic tried to explain the problem as perhaps the fluid holes froze, or perhaps a small piece of something happened to lodge in both holes at the same time and just happened to dislodge themselves in the 3 minutes between the time I tested the fluid one more time in the parking lot and he got in to test them out.

In other words, he thinks I’m an idiot.

The wind woke me up at 4am. Quite the mean feat for the wind, since I sleep like a rock. Seriously. A rock. Very little wakes me up. When I DID wake up, the VIM was already awake. Apparently he had been awake all night with the stomach virus that’s going around. Up and down many times. I never heard him lurch from the bed to the bathroom next door. Poor thing.

He already called into work to say he wouldn’t be in, and he’s tucked all cozy in bed (at least until the next lurch…) I’m wide awake, worried about him, and yeah, worried whether I’ll catch it or dodge it. Dodging would be cool.

Dodging would be VERY cool.

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.
]]> http://ellemental.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/2009-ahoy/feed/ 3 LisaSuza http://ellemental.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/keith-moon-joe-strummer-and-thomas-jefferson-oh-my/ http://ellemental.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/keith-moon-joe-strummer-and-thomas-jefferson-oh-my/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:12:26 +0000 LisaSuza http://ellemental.wordpress.com/?p=623 ]]>


So I’m working on my final paper for my class (and wondering why I thought going back to school would be easy. Easy my ass). It’s due tomorrow, and although it could be finished and submitted already, I don’t do things that way. No. I must obsess. I must create and change. Create and Change. I must write and rewrite the paper until riiiiiiiiiiiiiight before the submission deadline, then finally just give it up and let it go. Probably the best version was three revisions ago, but I cannot let it go, because I’m convinced the perfect paper – the Moby Dick of final papers is right around the corner.

This is probably a good indication of what I’d be like as a parent. Scary, no?

Anyhow, I just wanted to take a quick break between revisions to say that we’ve been watching the John Adams HBO miniseries (are they still called that?), and I have quite the crush on Thomas Jefferson.

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