This past weekend, we moved hubby into his new weekday apartment. For those confused by that statement, hubby works for a university ninety miles from where we live so he keeps a place in the college town. When hubby accepted the job, they already had another James working there, so they asked if they could call him, Jim. I have cringed for years at him being referred to as Jim, so this weekend was frustrating as his coworkers kept saying that name and I kept looking for some stranger. I'm sure it is not telling that hubby uses an alias at work. Right? The student assistants struggle when I call and ask for James. There have even been a few times when the student claimed James didn't work for that department.
Though it was in the 90s and muggy, we had an overall fun day, especially because it included a road trip. For me, road trip equals singing at the top of my lungs to whatever is on the radio. Hubby regularly cringes at my singing because I truly can not carry a tune, but really don't care. He was greatly disturbed listening to me sing along with Maroon 5 and Fall Out Boy but soon got into the road trip mentality. After I rapped my way through Eminem & Rihanna's Love the Way You Lie, hubby couldn't resist stopping on every hip hop channel to ask if I liked this song or this song. We discussed my need for a new fall-back request song (see previous post), which led to my reveal that Add it Up was actually my favorite Violent Femmes song because I love the angst and f*ck you message. Hubby then asked me to sing from both Add it Up and Blister in the Sun because he claimed not to remember the difference. So of course, I obliged.
The music mellowed with Tom Petty followed by Jim Croce. Hubby always asks if I know who Jim Croce is because it leads to an emotional conversation. When his mother was in the cancer center, she regularly played Croce. One of our most poignant memories of his mother's final months is her reaction to our then three year old nephew dancing and singing Operator.
We settled hubby in his very questionable digs. They are questionable because the space is cleaner with newer carpeting than his previous apartment, but it is really tiny, has definitive water damage which may have been properly cleaned, and is in a questionable neighborhood, though three blocks from campus. After returning to the Fort, we did not rest, choosing instead to purchase edging stones so we could frame our new landscaping. This was a project we had decided to put on hold until next year, but then we saw the stones on sale for $0.33/ each and couldn't resist.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Guilty Pleasure Weekend
I spent last weekend enjoying several guilty pleasures. To start, hubby and I are becoming hooked on the Wii Lego Adventure Games. These things are really difficult to play so we are constantly challenged, plus it has become something we can do together. It would have been nice if Best Buy had not sent a copy of my receipt to hubby's email, but once he realized that someone had not stolen his card, we began the madness of gaming.
In case you missed it, I am a huge Superman fan! Yes, I like my men to be dark and brooding, but Superman has always been an exception because I love the innocence of his character and the continuous tale of him being a beacon of hope. It really is my guilty pleasure. I admit to watching several incarnations of this character on the small and big screen so I was extremely excited when it was announced that they would reboot the movies.
Hubby has endured through my obsession for more than a decade. I was amazed that he agreed to see Man of Steel, much less on opening day. After suffering through Superman Returns, which was awful, and ten years of my weekly dose of Smallville, which was syrupy sweet, he contemplated ways to balk from taking me to the movies. I have been a fan of Henry Cavill for years (He's the only reason I watched that unnamed show that he starred in.), so I was not going to be detoured from seeing the movie. In the end, hubby and I both thought it was an entertaining movie. Any gals interested in seeing it? I'm more than willing to go again.
Amazingly enough, the gals and I coordinated our schedules so we could see GNG perform on Saturday night. I had worked all day so we knew it would be an early evening, but it was so worth it. The dance floor was empty initially because there was a group of very inebriated young women and their oddball male companion. So I have to ask, are there ass pasties that work similarly to breast pasties? Otherwise, I can not explain how these women's dresses did not ride up as they resided on the curve of their cheeks.
At first opportunity, our group hit the secondary dance floor and within two songs, the floor was filled with people. Erin kept remarking about us kicking off the party. The band was disappointed that no one was making use of the main dance floor which sits in front of the stage, so the male lead called out to "the three ladies who have been dancing for a while, yes, you three ladies." He asked us onto the main dance floor, which we complied, then if we had any song requests. Erin pointed at me and said that I had lists. Of course, my mind went blank as he waited for me to name a song. Can you guess what song popped into my head? I seriously need to have more songs for those brain-mush moments. As you can imagine, I was pretty red as the lead dedicated "... to Melissa." Seriously, what is with me and sex? The gals and I were the only ones dancing in front of the stage, singing along but it was a blast!
In case you missed it, I am a huge Superman fan! Yes, I like my men to be dark and brooding, but Superman has always been an exception because I love the innocence of his character and the continuous tale of him being a beacon of hope. It really is my guilty pleasure. I admit to watching several incarnations of this character on the small and big screen so I was extremely excited when it was announced that they would reboot the movies.
Hubby has endured through my obsession for more than a decade. I was amazed that he agreed to see Man of Steel, much less on opening day. After suffering through Superman Returns, which was awful, and ten years of my weekly dose of Smallville, which was syrupy sweet, he contemplated ways to balk from taking me to the movies. I have been a fan of Henry Cavill for years (He's the only reason I watched that unnamed show that he starred in.), so I was not going to be detoured from seeing the movie. In the end, hubby and I both thought it was an entertaining movie. Any gals interested in seeing it? I'm more than willing to go again.
Amazingly enough, the gals and I coordinated our schedules so we could see GNG perform on Saturday night. I had worked all day so we knew it would be an early evening, but it was so worth it. The dance floor was empty initially because there was a group of very inebriated young women and their oddball male companion. So I have to ask, are there ass pasties that work similarly to breast pasties? Otherwise, I can not explain how these women's dresses did not ride up as they resided on the curve of their cheeks.
At first opportunity, our group hit the secondary dance floor and within two songs, the floor was filled with people. Erin kept remarking about us kicking off the party. The band was disappointed that no one was making use of the main dance floor which sits in front of the stage, so the male lead called out to "the three ladies who have been dancing for a while, yes, you three ladies." He asked us onto the main dance floor, which we complied, then if we had any song requests. Erin pointed at me and said that I had lists. Of course, my mind went blank as he waited for me to name a song. Can you guess what song popped into my head? I seriously need to have more songs for those brain-mush moments. As you can imagine, I was pretty red as the lead dedicated "... to Melissa." Seriously, what is with me and sex? The gals and I were the only ones dancing in front of the stage, singing along but it was a blast!
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Quiet
I have been very quiet recently. There are many reasons for this as life has decided to drop an avalanche on me. Just to give you an idea of why I have been keeping silent, here are the things influencing my life:
- Illness My immune system has been completely depleted between the narcolepsy and fighting this infection. The shock and awe treatment of a heavy antibiotic and six daily doses of Prednisone worked to a limited degree but did not completely eradicate the infection. The specialist has ordered several tests so that is how I'll spend the next few weeks. I can't even begin to explain how frustrated and miserable I have felt the past few months.
- Extended Family Dad is once again in WV. They are closing the family farm and possibly selling it. The farm has been in the family since before the Revolution and includes two large farmhouses that are filled with generations of family material. Dad is moving my grandfather from the farm and my grandmother from assisted living into an apartment that was built on my aunt's farm which is more than an hour away from the family homestead.
My mom's sister, Kay, who I am close with, is on a lung transplant list. Unfortunately, the doctor's have not given her a good prognosis. They have been blunt about the fact that her body can not handle another infection and we have been told to spend what time we can with her. Of course because I have an infection I can not visit, which breaks my heart.
- Immediate Family Dad has been undergoing a number of tests but unfortunately the docs can't determine the final diagnosis or the seriousness of the situation. Either way, dad is struggling with his own health issues while dealing with the emotional ramifications of his parent's situation. Mom and dad are both now officially retired and once again living in the same house. At minimum, I spend three hours a week on the phone between the two of them. I feel like a parent refereeing between the kids.
Jo and I have spoken a total of fifteen minutes in the past month because she's still mad at me. She may or may not have cancer. She may or may not have a heart condition. She may or may not have a neurological issue. Every hour, I receive conflicting information via Jo's text messages or when speaking to my parents. There was an incident recently which left her hospitalized for four days. Once again, more conflicting information. I am the girls' guardian, except Jo never completed the paperwork, so should Jo become incapacitated (as she was recently), I will be faced with some major legal drama with her exes. I hope not to test whether Florida family courts believe a stable home environment is better for children than an ex-con or an absentee father who refused to visit his child post-surgery or the weeks she was in ICU. Then there is the emotional ramifications at the thought of Jo being sick and whether we can overcome the issues that have created this breach in our relationship. Jo can't drive at the moment so my mom cancelled her trip to visit her sister Kay because mom felt the need to take care of my sister. I fear mom will regret this decision.
- Work I can't discuss roughly 60% of my daily work situations. Either they involve personnel issues, contract or financial discussions, or there is some other confidentiality issue. I do find it frustrating when people comment on how I spend my time at work. Considering I'm working 60% of my old job, 100% of the former assistant manager's old job, 20% new work that has been created, and preparing the department to host a national conference this summer, my workload is overflowing at the moment.
- Board My position as a Director on the FGS board has heated up. I'm co-chair of a committee that is about to implement a project that has been in the planning stages for years as well as redeveloping a current weekly workflow. Then I am a member of another committee where I had the sole responsibility of evaluating and developing a new project. This has led to me being granted permission to create a new secondary committee to implement my proposed ideas.
As you can see, I've had plenty of reasons to keep quiet. It's a lot to take in, much less that I am an emotional mess once I start talking or I'm a geyser of rushing information as I try to get it all out at once. So those moments when I smile or laugh, they are true miracles to me.
- Illness My immune system has been completely depleted between the narcolepsy and fighting this infection. The shock and awe treatment of a heavy antibiotic and six daily doses of Prednisone worked to a limited degree but did not completely eradicate the infection. The specialist has ordered several tests so that is how I'll spend the next few weeks. I can't even begin to explain how frustrated and miserable I have felt the past few months.
- Extended Family Dad is once again in WV. They are closing the family farm and possibly selling it. The farm has been in the family since before the Revolution and includes two large farmhouses that are filled with generations of family material. Dad is moving my grandfather from the farm and my grandmother from assisted living into an apartment that was built on my aunt's farm which is more than an hour away from the family homestead.
My mom's sister, Kay, who I am close with, is on a lung transplant list. Unfortunately, the doctor's have not given her a good prognosis. They have been blunt about the fact that her body can not handle another infection and we have been told to spend what time we can with her. Of course because I have an infection I can not visit, which breaks my heart.
- Immediate Family Dad has been undergoing a number of tests but unfortunately the docs can't determine the final diagnosis or the seriousness of the situation. Either way, dad is struggling with his own health issues while dealing with the emotional ramifications of his parent's situation. Mom and dad are both now officially retired and once again living in the same house. At minimum, I spend three hours a week on the phone between the two of them. I feel like a parent refereeing between the kids.
Jo and I have spoken a total of fifteen minutes in the past month because she's still mad at me. She may or may not have cancer. She may or may not have a heart condition. She may or may not have a neurological issue. Every hour, I receive conflicting information via Jo's text messages or when speaking to my parents. There was an incident recently which left her hospitalized for four days. Once again, more conflicting information. I am the girls' guardian, except Jo never completed the paperwork, so should Jo become incapacitated (as she was recently), I will be faced with some major legal drama with her exes. I hope not to test whether Florida family courts believe a stable home environment is better for children than an ex-con or an absentee father who refused to visit his child post-surgery or the weeks she was in ICU. Then there is the emotional ramifications at the thought of Jo being sick and whether we can overcome the issues that have created this breach in our relationship. Jo can't drive at the moment so my mom cancelled her trip to visit her sister Kay because mom felt the need to take care of my sister. I fear mom will regret this decision.
- Work I can't discuss roughly 60% of my daily work situations. Either they involve personnel issues, contract or financial discussions, or there is some other confidentiality issue. I do find it frustrating when people comment on how I spend my time at work. Considering I'm working 60% of my old job, 100% of the former assistant manager's old job, 20% new work that has been created, and preparing the department to host a national conference this summer, my workload is overflowing at the moment.
- Board My position as a Director on the FGS board has heated up. I'm co-chair of a committee that is about to implement a project that has been in the planning stages for years as well as redeveloping a current weekly workflow. Then I am a member of another committee where I had the sole responsibility of evaluating and developing a new project. This has led to me being granted permission to create a new secondary committee to implement my proposed ideas.
As you can see, I've had plenty of reasons to keep quiet. It's a lot to take in, much less that I am an emotional mess once I start talking or I'm a geyser of rushing information as I try to get it all out at once. So those moments when I smile or laugh, they are true miracles to me.
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