Hand model

So, I was off of work yesterday for the first of three consecutive three-day weekends. Man, I am loving this weekend! I can't believe there is still one entire day left in the weekend.

Anyways, I was sitting at the pool yesterday when I got a call from an unknown number. Since I'm in such high-demand and have phone calls coming in left and right (ha!!!!!), I didn't answer it. Well, when I listened to the message, it was a casting agent calling to see if I could be a hand-double for Katherine Heigl in the movie Five Killers. Unfortunately, yet fortunately, when I spoke to the lady on the telephone, she realized about the stars, so that was a no-go. While I won't get to do it after all, I definitely got a good laugh out of it.

Tomorrow I am going to the Braves game; the Red Sox are in town. The Braves have lost the previous two games in the series, so I have a pretty good feeling about tomorrow. While I've only been to three games this season, I am glad to have a perfect record so far and I plan to continue it tomorrow. I also have tickets to the Phillies on Tuesday and Thursday. Well, I don't technically have Thursday's tickets yet, but I plan to go. I am going to try not to start any fist fights. :o)

Anyways, today has been the laziest day and it has been everything I hoped it would be. I actually got up early despite staying out until after 3:00 a.m. I hit up the gym, then came home and proceeded to be lazy. I read a lot and took several naps. Finally, around 6:45 p.m., I decided I better run a few errands, knowing that tomorrow will be hectic. Today has seemed sooooo long and I've loved every minute of it!

Hard worker

So, yesterday we had our annual staff retreat. We did an activity where we had 25 adjectives and had to match each adjective with one of the 25 staff people. We then went around the room and wrote the adjective we had selected on each person's respective sheet. My totals were as follows:

Hilarious - 7
Jokester - 6
Word smith - 4
Quick-witted - 2
Life of the party - 1
Out of the box thinker - 1

I am not sure if I should be concerned that I didn't get a single "self-starter" or "reliable" or something like that...A few people may have had 4 of a certain word, but they were fairly scattered across the board. Maybe I should be more dull at work. Or perhaps not.

This is pathetic

Hellooooooooo. Well, today had an interesting start. I was heading to Midtown to meet a friend for a goal-planning session. I was on GA400 approaching the toll plaza, fumbling in my purse for 50 cents. As I neared the plaza, I pulled off on the side of the road because I was having a hard time finding the appropriate amount of change. After I emptied my purse and scoured the car for loose change, I only had 46 cents. I was so annoyed because, at this point, it was too late for me to take a different route considering the toll booth was just up ahead. Anyways, I pulled up and said, "This is pathetic, but go ahead and ticket me because I only have 46 cents." You could tell the lady agreed that I was pathetic and told me just to give her the 46 cents. What a sweet, sweeet lady.

Then, when I got to the coffee shop, I saw a girl get in her car and start to drive off with her cup of coffee on top of the car. I honestly watched it happening and was kind of suffering from the bystander effect. I mean, I thought about getting out of my car and trying to hurry to say something, but I was also slightly amused. She started backing out with it still on the car, and then thankfully a better samaritan ran and waved her down and handed her cup in the window. Then, I turned and saw a woman lose her balance on her bike and fall off. She was able to catch herself by holding on and made it off the bike landing on her feet. I felt like a cameraman was watching to see if I am a helpful citizen or something. Apparently I'm not.

I had Mexican food twice today. I seriously ought to calm down. I'm starting to concern myself a little because I have an addiction. Oh well. I haven't eaten at home lately, so it makes sense to eat my favorite type of food if I'm paying to go out to eat. TAKE THAT!

I'm gonna hurt myself

So, it just hit me why Mr. Willy's warned me about hurting myself... Monday I had Moe's. Tuesday I had Willy's. Wednesday I had Los Loros. Today I had Monterrey and Pozole. I am overdosing on Mexican food and I LOVE IT! I mean, this has got to be unhealthy or something. Bad for the body, wonderful for the soul. Bueno.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be 100 degrees. That is absurd. I wish it was my Summer Friday so I could spend it chillaxing at the pool. I will, however, spend it at work. The good news is that the next three weeks are only four days each, considering my Summer Fridays on each side of the July 3rd holiday. HECK YEAH! There's something refreshing about a four-day week.

I went to the Highlands after work with some peeps. We had a swell time. It kind of felt like a Friday night. Speaking of, it's probably time that I go to sleep.

Today my mom gave me a new book called Nudge, recommended by my former former boss. I have only read 24 pages so far, but it seems very interesting. I love books like this! It's so interesting to read about psychology, philosophy, human interaction, etc.

Well, I guess it's bedtime. I have no idea how my stomach could be growling after all that it has gotten to eat this week. Ree. Donk. U. Lous.

Strawberries and creme

Heeeeeelllllllllllllllllo. Today was swell. I felt pretty honored today at Willy's. When I walked in, they literally fixed my order without even having to speak to me. That's called dedication. I was a little confused at the checkout because another guy goes, "Don't hurt yourself." I'm not sure if I was looking especially masochistic or if it somehow had to do with the fact that my nachos were larger than Stone Mountain, but it was pretty amusing.

I met my old boss, Kurt, at Starbucks tonight. It was honestly a night I will not forget for a long time. We talked about everything under the sun and it felt great. We touched on all different topics and it was just incredible. I felt so energized walking out of there. He truly is an amazing person who has worked hard and played hard. Wow - He just emailed. STRANGE! Anyways, he is a great mentor and a great friend. Enough sappiness there.

I wrote the most incredible essay last week and put the finishing touches on it a few days ago. It took a few days for me to remove myself from it, but I am actually very proud of the accomplishment. I think the book on creative immersion really helped me get there. I wrote it during a time of vulnerability and didn't worry about its purpose as I wrote it. It turned out to be pretty freakin' amazing if I do say so myself.

Finally, I received a newsletter in the mail the other day and was surprised to read my article. I mean, I knew it was going to be there, but it was a lot better than I remembered. Yes, I am tooting my horn right now, but I feel pretty successful. Cocky, anyone? :o)

Welcome to Atlanta

Well, I just got home from the beach today. I went to Ponte Vedra for the annual family shenanigans. We had a great time. It was relatively calm. The highlights were probably when my grandmother threatened to take me out of her will during a game of dominoes and when I had an allergic reaction to sunscreen.

The sunscreen incident put a damper on the final day of the trip. I had been using sunscreen every day and used a different tube on the last day. After a short time out in the sun, I started feeling like I was getting stabbed by needles. It progressively started getting worse. My mom and I were on a walk and I started twitching like a crackhead. I came in and tried to scrub it all off, but the damage was done.

They went to the store and got Benadryl for me and I spent the evening doped up on that while they went to church. Thankfully, they picked up some Benadryl anti-itch gel on the way home from church and I was able to discontinue my crackhead spasms. I am still Benadryled right now and am going to keep this gel handy tonight.

I just stubbed the silly out of my toes. Two of them parted ways on the foot of my bed. That caused me to collapse and bang the silly out of my knee on the frame. I am a failure!

Anyways, I know it's early, but I'm about to try to go to sleep. I threw my sleeping patterns off at the beach - staying up until 11:00 p.m. and what not! I've gotta get rested up for the week back at work...

Mr. Sparky

Well, I was a total woman yesterday. A few months ago, three lights in my house stopped working within a week of each other. I tried new lightbulbs and couldn't get the lights to work. Since Mr. Sparky had previously come and done some work on these same switches, he came out again to take a second look. (By the way, I realize his name is not Mr. Sparky, but it's easier that way.) Being the generous woman that she is, my mom met him here so that I didn't have to take off of work.

Anyways, it turns out they just needed new lightbulbs. Somehow I had gotten a 'bad pack' of lightbulbs, so all of the lightbulbs I was using to test the lights were broken. Oops. Sorry, Mom, for having to face the electrician. I bet he was really happy. Lesson learned: Try a lightbulb from another pack.

In other news... Hmm, do I have any other news? Not so much. I am acting like a senior citizen. I'm sitting here watching a game show and there's an AARP magazine and a library book on the couch with me. Sometimes I wonder how I aged so quickly. Every other commercial is about retirement and life insurance and what not, too.

Dang, it's almost 8:00 p.m. I better start getting ready for bed!!!

I'm all hopped up

Today was not the best day of my life. I will go ahead and throw that out there. I am not even afraid to admit that.

The good news was that I had a doctor's appointment that I went to all hopped up on Vicodin, so that was adventurous. My uncle drove me there and got to hear an entirely new side of me as I rambled in the car. I almost couldn't sit still in the car because looking out the window was like an out-of-body experience. I was being so loud in the car and then had to turn on my game face when I walked into the doctor's office. I was just kind of staring off into space. I am still kind of spacey if this doesn't seem as logical as usual. Not that I'm ever logical.

The appointment itself was horrendous, but the narcotics were amusing.

It isn't even 9:00 p.m. and I'm getting ready to go to sleep. I know that's slightly elderly of me, but I'm tired and feel like I might be getting a little sick. My SC joint is actually hurting some, too. I just popped a numbing patch onto that bad boy. Do I sound like an overmedicator? Cool.

Today I had a smoothie AND El Toro. What a swell eating day!

No talking in the library

Well, I'd say I've had a pretty productive weekend. I went to Coldstone Friday night, the pool Saturday afternoon, out in Midtown Saturday night, and spent today enjoying the sunshine and hitting up the library.

Call me a dork, but the library is so much fun. I just wanted to walk up and down the aisles all afternoon. I have seven different books checked out right now. It's interesting what the books I'm reading say about me. None of them are fictional books - those were the two I returned today because they didn't intrigue me soon enough. All of my books are nonfiction books of some kind and I think they say a lot about my life. I will just leave it that vague and continue on to another topic.

Oh yeah, I got a smoothie today and it was making me feel absolutely crazy... in a good way. It had strawberries, pineapple and kiwi and I had a great time with it. It put me in the best mood! I was just laughing hysterically at everything, acting somewhat intoxicated. I love FOOD!

Last night when we were out, this guy kept trying to talk to me and get me to dance. Needless to say, I wasn't having it, but at one point he was just like, "YOU ARE SHAWN JOHNSON." It was funny because I used to get that during the Olympics and it just picked up a bit because of Dancing With The Stars. I still think that nobody would tell me that if we weren't similar in size...

Chocolate milk

So, I finally got around to fixing that glass of chocolate milk that I talked about yesterday. It was just as incredible as I figured it might be. I think the anticipation over 24 hours might have helped.

I won the $45,000 bonus round on Wheel of Fortune tonight. The answer was "Court is adjourned." I think anybody would have been impressed if they had seen how few letters I had when I solved that puzzle. Yes, I measure my self-worth by how well I do on game shows sitting in my living room alone. And thankfully I do well, so I feel that life is worth living.

Today I had steak nachos for lunch for the second consecutive day, so that was exciting. I don't know if there's ever been a moment in my life that steak nachos didn't sound appetizing. I seriously amaze myself when it comes to Mexican food. When asked what I'd like to eat, I don't know that anything OTHER than Mexican food has come to mind first. Seriously. Occasionally I come up with something else I would like because I feel like other people are judging, but I usually make it pretty clear that my answer is going to be the same regardless of the day.

I have to get fuel for the Batmobile before I go to work tomorrow, so I'm about to hit the hay. On the way home from work, I decided I'd rather get up 15 minutes early than prolong my trip to the couch by 15 minutes. I think I made the right decision.

Tomorrow is FRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDAY!

I'm bringin' home a baby bumble bee

Won't my mommy be so proud of me?! You're darn right. My mother is always proud of me. I don't blame her.

So, I'm considering getting off of the couch and fixing a glass of chocolate milk. I would definitely drink one if it were in my hands right now.

I am watching Pyramid right now - this is such a great show. One of my goals in life is to be on a game show. I think I'd be pretty great at Pyramid. I'd actually be great at anything that doesn't involve trivia. History and geography are lost causes for me. Word games like Lingo are my forte. I am such a game show nut. My favorite is Family Feud... I actually got so sidetracked watching Pyramid that Family Feud has started now. HECK YEAH!

I can't believe it's almost the weekend already. I love four-day weeks. Which is why I looooooove Summer Fridays. Next week we start Summer Fridays, so I'll have every other Friday off work. Count. Me. In.

I'm too tired to say anything worth a hoot.

Wake up, go to the bathroom, go to prison

So, I was looking at www.ajc.com today and found myself laughing hysterically at a quotation in one of the articles. The article was about T.I. and his farewell concert before his 101-day prison stint. Here is what Kue Brower, a producer for T.I.’s opening act Southern Comfort, said in the paper:

“Prison - that’s not even a question,” he said. “Going to prison is like waking up in the morning. It happens to everybody.”

SERIOUSLY?!?! I mean, how many mornings have you literally woken up and thought today might be the day that you do something that lands you in prison?! Really? It 'happens' to everybody. It's kind of like the woman who said her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he chose to kill someone. WHAT?! It's not like going to prison is one of those inevitable life changes you encounter... ya know, one of those completely external circumstances that you find yourself facing.

Tomorrow is the day back to work after a holiday weekend. That's always a tough one. I am working on figuring some things out, though, so my life is heading on the up-and-up.

Accidents galore

So, let's talk about something crazy. I was driving home from work and nearing the exit ramp for Roswell Road. I was stopped and glanced in my rearview mirror to see a car rearend the car behind me. It scared me and my heart started pounding so I pulled over to make sure I hadn't been hit as well. The three of us were on the side of the road looking at the damage and my car had not been affected.

As we are looking out into the interstate, I see something ugly about to happen. Another car was stopped on the exit ramp and a car came barreling towards it at about 40 miles per hour. I felt the air from the impact about 10 yards away from me. Pieces of car went airborn and I swear my heart stopped. The three of us from the first collision were all standing there in shock, as this literally happened right before our eyes.

At this point, there are six cars on the side of the road and we are all in states of shock, waiting for the police to arrive. I debated about leaving, but didn't want to leave since I had now witnessed two car accidents. Just when I thought it was over, I heard a screech, turned my head, and witnessed a third car accident about fifteen yards away.

I was seriously speechless. It is still surreal to me. When the cops came, I was freed to go since there were enough people who said there was no debate about what had happened in any of the accidents. Oh man! I can't even believe it.

Then, on a sad note, a friend was in a car accident in which two people were killed. Thankfully he is okay, but it was just so overwhelming. So many lives seemed to flash right before eyes. I guess it goes to show you that anything can happen at any time.

Immersion

HAPPY FRIDAY. It's the Friday before a holiday weekend. Heck yes! I am in the process of getting caffeinated. It would be so awesome if people didn't need sleep. I love sleeping, but being tired sucks.

I check the weather all the time and I have no idea why. It's not like it matters what the weather is like when I am sitting inside. Maybe checking the weather becomes an obsession when there isn't a window in sight. Or perhaps I'm just a fool.

So, I heard something kinda cute on the way to work this morning. Someone on the radio said this little bit of wisdom: "A smile is a curve that sets everything straight." How adorable is that! It makes me think about how great it is when you find yourself laughing at something in your head. I have found myself doing that a lot lately. Not in a psychotic way, but in a smiling-on-the-inside kinda way.

Oh yeah - So, I just glanced at what I had already titled this and realized I hadn't talked about that yet. Anyways, I am reading a cool book titled Standing at Water's Edge. It's about creativity and it's really interesting so far. It kind of helps dissect the creative process and the thought processes of creators. It is about how people enter into states of creative immersion through different hobbies, relationships, etc. I know this is heavy thinking for a Friday morning, but I want to read more of it, so I figured I'd yap about it for a moment.

Time to focus. Peace out, player-haters.

Subcommittee of the committee of the...

Well, I got a library card on Sunday and checked out five books. I've only decided one of them is worthless so far. If I had actually looked at its cover, I would have judged it and wouldn't have gotten it. That just shows you to always judge a book by its cover. I started on a different one, but haven't gotten into that one yet. It may be time to move on...

I am telecommuting today. I have a doctor's appointment on the other side of creation this afternoon, so my employer was kind enough to let me work from home. I'd rather be at work than the doctor, but at least I'm making the most of the opportunity!

I really want to go running for some reason. I know it would be absolutely stupid to do considering the SC joint, but it sounds so freeing. For now, though, I will stick with lower-impact exercise to preserve the fact that I have two arms. On a side note, my arm/shoulder/chest is feeling good.

I just woke up and am already tired.

Walk it out (Walk it out)

Today was the day! Despite the horrid weather predictions, it actually didn't end up being too bad for the walk. We got misted on for maybe .5 or 1 mile, but it was great otherwise. It wasn't sunny or anything, but it beat what I thought it would be. I had a team of eleven folks, so we had a good time!

I did not perservere enough for the cotton candy. I waited in line for about ten or fifteen minutes once and it just wasn't moving like I hoped it would be. Then, a little later, my mom went back and waited in line for another ten minutes or so, but the line was just at a stand-still. I guess I didn't go for the cotton candy anyways, but it was slightly disappointing! At least the hot dog was good.

I have had an otherwise lazy day. I have felt unbelievably tired; I think it's the allergies battling against me. I was planning to go to the Braves game today, but felt that I had maxed out my outdoors time this morning. I'm just ready for this pollen nonsense to pass. I am watching the Braves on television and don't mind that I am sitting in the comfort of my bed for this loss. I shouldn't act like this game's over yet...

It's bedtime. I am going to go to spin in the morning to try to alleviate some of this allergy craziness!

Sinus Magee

I am beyond ready for allergy season to be over. My face feels so crowded right now. I have high hopes that I am nearing the final stretch.

Tomorrow is the walk for CF. I am excited that it is finally here, but kinda wish my team had exceeded $10,000 in donations. There's still a chance that it will happen since the donation deadline was extended through June 30. A swell friend of mine also already has a fundraiser in the works for June 13, so that's pretty awesome! Right now, I believe the team is maybe about $500 short of $10,000.

Anyways, the weather predictions for tomorrow aren't looking so hot. But the cotton candy prediction is promising. I should have starved myself all day so I could make room for cotton candy. Now that I think about it, is it possible to get full on cotton candy? I mean, it's basically a liquid by the time it makes it to your stomach. I guess you could eat it until you got sick from the sugar and vomited. Note to self. I'm hoping for some good weather for a good morning with good friends!

Today I started rereading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. What a great book. I highly recommend it to anyone who may have stumbled upon this. It made me think about a lot the first time through, and I found myself thinking about even more in the chunk I read earlier today. I admire him.

I guess I'm going to get ready to sleep. I took some Benadryl in hopes of straightening some shenanigans out within my face. Sinus pain SUCKS!

I'm hoping for a great day tomorrow!

What a day!!!

Well, today was a grand success if I've ever seen one. First off, I got up at regular time and worked from home for several hours. Then, I used some comp time to relax for the afternoon. I feel like I accomplished a lot.

I went and picked up my new license plate for my car, so that's nice. A part of me was hoping to get some really cool letter and number combination, so there was some slight disappointment when it looked like any old license plate, but I can't win them all. I got 50% of the letters from my first name and 67% of the numbers from my month/date birthday, so that's success. Yes, I realize that it's dorky that I have already thought about this, but this is why I will beat you at nearly any puzzle or game show. In that case, I can win them all.

Then, I went to the gas station and grocery store. It was adventurous going through the grocery store during the day because there were lots of elderly folks blocking the aisles. It's okay, though, because I considered the trip to be a speedy success. I spent $40, which is good for me, because I usually end up at the checkout with hardly anything. I didn't get anything exciting, with the exception of oyster crackers. Gosh, those are great.

I came home and my uncle hooked me up with his TiVo. That's exciting because maybe I can start working on my New Year's resolution, which was to start watching more television. I have failed miserably so far. I recorded my first TV show tonight - The Office. I look forward to trying to figure out how to watch it. My uncle and I also hit up Coldstone, where I got the traditional watermelon sorbet with gummy bears. It was incredible!

Finally, I have saved the best news for last... I have been fundraising for the Great Strides CF walk that takes place on Saturday morning. Today, I exceeded my personal fundraising goal of $5,000, so I am very happy to have met it despite getting off to a slow start! I have had the support of many amazing people and seeing the progress brings me tears of joy. I won't be able to thank folks enough when CF finally stands for Cure Found. :o)

Wrong place at the wrong time

So, you know how people sometimes say that someone was just in the wrong place at the wrong time? I just heard it on the news. This mother was saying that her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her son shot and killed a bartender and was previously charged with armed robbery and a home invasion/shooting. How does that even make sense?! Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is like innocently walking down the sidewalk eating an ice cream cone when a car jumps the curb and hits you. I don't think executing premeditated crimes constitutes as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But maybe I'm crazy...

In case anyone was wondering about my candle-handing-out experience last Thursday night... Believe it or not, I was a candle-handing-out failure. I was talking with someone about something on the computer at work and walked outside and all of the people were gone. I ran around the corner to find them all already holding candles. My bad. I failed miserably at my responsibility for the night. Thankfully everyone got a laugh out of it when I came running outside and realized I missed it.

I have been in a neverending battle over homeowner's dues with the property management company of my condo complex. It's like they're drunk at work every day or something. After relentlessly arguing, I finally got them to remove about $800 that were incorrectly billed to me. Today I got an email from the guy letting me know that now all I owe is $56.71 for October's prorated dues. Thankfully, I was able to conveniently attach the document he provided me last month showing that I already paid that amount. Get it together, moron. I don't think he realizes how stupid he looks. Or maybe he does considering I Facebooked him and he had a picture of him licking a statue of a woman's breasts. So professional... Makes me feel like I'm dealing with a stand-up guy. I wish I could have uploaded a photo when I filed my complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

Anyways, I guess I'm gonna hit the hay. I sat in on five interviews and a two-hour training today. Needless to say, I don't even remember my name right now.

Red Beezy

OMG. I am drinking a Red Bull. I am so not like this, but I've already worked over 40 hours this week and it's Thursday. Today I have been that delirious level of tired where I seem intoxicated.

I went to the SC joint doctor on Tuesday and got some good news...ish. He said let's give it two more months before considering anything 'invasive.' I'm happy to hear that, but I also wouldn't mind kicking the pain to the curb. I was prescribed a few different medications administered through patches, so that has been helping a little. Whatever... I'm a champion.

I'm about to have to go hand people candles. That is my task for tonight. Saturday I was assigned the task of THE Beer Supervisor for a party with over 1,200 guests. Good idea? Not so much. My job description said to look for visibly intoxicated people and take them to the medic tent. I say that in the past tense because I think I switched shifts with someone. Anyways, yeah... As exciting as it sounded, I don't know that I want to be in charge of regulating drunks.

Well, it's candle time. I can't wait to go home!