Today my car turns 1 year old! Happy birthoween!
1 year ago today I was haggling over her price and making my way through my first big car purchase. It was exhilarating, and frightening, and thrilling all at once.
I drove off the lot that night knowing I was the first to do so (except for the person who drove my car from the port to the lot...doesn't count).
And then a few weeks later, headlines splashing across every network, "Toyota recalls millions". I'm sorry...what did you say? And my car is included in this???
I drove with such caution and fear...I never thought I'd feel safe again in my car. But I took it in and it took two seconds for the technician to say, "Not to worry, your car is a 2010...which means it was made in Japan, with the right part."
Well, sing hallelujah! That was trial and tribulation numero uno.
Then came the flat tire at 5 months old. What? The nail is just on the edge of the wall, right outside of the tread, so you can't patch it?
Awesome. Boom, new tire. Wow, Jack, you are really testing me here.
But in all, the months passed by with the miles quickly clicking higher and the oil change getting missed by only a few hundred miles...no big deal. She's been a good car, she's gotten me to my destinations with ease and her little creaks and squeaks are just part and parcel with ownership. I will always see flaws and hear noises and wonder, but so long as it's not shaking and rattling, I guess I can live with the superficial irritations.
And for her birthday? Well, I spat out some nasty words to a driver and 5 seconds later I got a rock in my windshield. Sorry, kid! Mama'll get it fixed all better. Promise!
October 31, 2010
October 30, 2010
Help, again!
Partway into a conversation with a compatriot at Starbucks, I glance up to see someone through the glass outside walking, as expected, to get in line behind me.
I know them.
And I don't like them much.
Do I say, "Hi!"? Do I wave and turn back?
The line is empty behind me, until it fills with their bodily presence.
"Well, hello, you! How are you?"
"I'm great, how are you? How's the new job?"
"Oh, it is fantastic. How's work going for you?"
"Same old, same old, haha." Polite laughter...and awkward silence. Do I say something more? Should I say, "It was great to run into you!" and turn back to my original companion?
Usually, that's what you should do. But I feel this ridiculous obligation to maintain a connection, however anemic it may be, and it rapidly deteriorates to quick glances away by the one I don't like and me standing there with a plastered grin upon my face.
I need to learn it isn't rude to forgo conversation past the initial courtesies awarded in any situation because it's a mutual dislike, truly. They want the conversation as little as I do.
I'll eventually learn to just wave, or stave off after pleasantries. Eventually.
I know them.
And I don't like them much.
Do I say, "Hi!"? Do I wave and turn back?
The line is empty behind me, until it fills with their bodily presence.
"Well, hello, you! How are you?"
"I'm great, how are you? How's the new job?"
"Oh, it is fantastic. How's work going for you?"
"Same old, same old, haha." Polite laughter...and awkward silence. Do I say something more? Should I say, "It was great to run into you!" and turn back to my original companion?
Usually, that's what you should do. But I feel this ridiculous obligation to maintain a connection, however anemic it may be, and it rapidly deteriorates to quick glances away by the one I don't like and me standing there with a plastered grin upon my face.
I need to learn it isn't rude to forgo conversation past the initial courtesies awarded in any situation because it's a mutual dislike, truly. They want the conversation as little as I do.
I'll eventually learn to just wave, or stave off after pleasantries. Eventually.
October 26, 2010
It happened!
I called someone back whose phone call I had missed and she answered with an, "Hello, Rebecca!"
Yes! There are those in the working world that do see the futility (read: uselessness) and wasted time spent on pleasantries not needed considering the name is right in front of you on the telephone screen.
Hall. Er.
Yes! There are those in the working world that do see the futility (read: uselessness) and wasted time spent on pleasantries not needed considering the name is right in front of you on the telephone screen.
Hall. Er.
October 19, 2010
A horse, of course
I have officially lost my voice.
A very rare occurrence indeed. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been incapable of speech.
I find it incredibly humorous and will purposefully speak aloud just to hear the cracks and wobbles such as a 12-year old boy might have when asking his first date to dance.
Granted, it's still fairly irritating. Life becomes just a bit more difficult. Coffee orders get written down, emails are more prominent and whispering is imperative.
I, of the love of speech and song...I must whisper. I must resist the urge to speak. I cannot utter a lyric.
My heart hurts a little because of this. :-(
This, too, shall pass. This I know...but this I wish would happen faster!
A very rare occurrence indeed. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been incapable of speech.
I find it incredibly humorous and will purposefully speak aloud just to hear the cracks and wobbles such as a 12-year old boy might have when asking his first date to dance.
Granted, it's still fairly irritating. Life becomes just a bit more difficult. Coffee orders get written down, emails are more prominent and whispering is imperative.
I, of the love of speech and song...I must whisper. I must resist the urge to speak. I cannot utter a lyric.
My heart hurts a little because of this. :-(
This, too, shall pass. This I know...but this I wish would happen faster!
October 11, 2010
Wolverine
I meant to post this on the actual day but...Happy Five Months to my new foot (on October 6th)!
As a gift, I took her for a jog...and she handled it well! Hooray. Celebrations all around.
I doubt I will ever regret having this surgery. Life is already so much better without wincing in pain every step I take.
Cheers and here's to Monday!
As a gift, I took her for a jog...and she handled it well! Hooray. Celebrations all around.
I doubt I will ever regret having this surgery. Life is already so much better without wincing in pain every step I take.
Cheers and here's to Monday!
October 7, 2010
Thirteen Reasons Why
A few months back, a friend of mine suggested the book Th1teen R3asons Why and I soon thereafter placed it on my library queue.
It came in earlier this week and I made my trek (less frequent now, sad face) to my local library to pick it up. I immediately sat down to read it as I was more than intrigued by the book flap. I am an incessant bookflap reader. I want to know what the book is about. Yes, usually I can then figure out what happens, who it happens to, and how it gets resolved...but it's the journey that's fun, people!
I was reluctant to go to sleep that first night and even more so to leave it for work yesterday. The book is captivating. It has drawn me in and has yet to release me. I need to know more. I can't figure it out. Granted, the subject of the story is outted as having committed suicide (no, I'm not giving anything away...read the book flap!) at the very onset of the book and she has created 13 tapes for the 13 reasons why. Get it?
I love finding great books that make me hesitate to put them down on my bedside table as I close my eyes to sleep...only to open them a moment later, switch on my light and crack open the book. The familiar rustle of pages flipping is soothing and exciting all at once.
I've made it through 2 tapes and the narrator (one of the 13 reasons why) isn't mentioned yet. Half the time is spent with him trying to determine what he could have done to be a reason for her suicide. It's eating him up inside.
I cannot wait to get home tonight and read more!
In fact, I've wanted nothing more than to read to where my Modern Family disc from Netflix has sat unwatched for two days. I also love when books beat television and it's been awhile since that was the case.
However, I will say, if you cannot manage stories concerning suicide or situations that contribute to this type of scenario, this book is not for you. The girl is arresting, her disembodied voice flowing straight from the tapes into my head. The narrator is a sweet boy, confused and worried as to how he played a part in her death.
Do not Wikipedia this book...it lists all the reasons. I thankfully only glanced and saw the one I already knew. Phrew. Now, to make it through another workday to get back to my book!
It came in earlier this week and I made my trek (less frequent now, sad face) to my local library to pick it up. I immediately sat down to read it as I was more than intrigued by the book flap. I am an incessant bookflap reader. I want to know what the book is about. Yes, usually I can then figure out what happens, who it happens to, and how it gets resolved...but it's the journey that's fun, people!
I was reluctant to go to sleep that first night and even more so to leave it for work yesterday. The book is captivating. It has drawn me in and has yet to release me. I need to know more. I can't figure it out. Granted, the subject of the story is outted as having committed suicide (no, I'm not giving anything away...read the book flap!) at the very onset of the book and she has created 13 tapes for the 13 reasons why. Get it?
I love finding great books that make me hesitate to put them down on my bedside table as I close my eyes to sleep...only to open them a moment later, switch on my light and crack open the book. The familiar rustle of pages flipping is soothing and exciting all at once.
I've made it through 2 tapes and the narrator (one of the 13 reasons why) isn't mentioned yet. Half the time is spent with him trying to determine what he could have done to be a reason for her suicide. It's eating him up inside.
I cannot wait to get home tonight and read more!
In fact, I've wanted nothing more than to read to where my Modern Family disc from Netflix has sat unwatched for two days. I also love when books beat television and it's been awhile since that was the case.
However, I will say, if you cannot manage stories concerning suicide or situations that contribute to this type of scenario, this book is not for you. The girl is arresting, her disembodied voice flowing straight from the tapes into my head. The narrator is a sweet boy, confused and worried as to how he played a part in her death.
Do not Wikipedia this book...it lists all the reasons. I thankfully only glanced and saw the one I already knew. Phrew. Now, to make it through another workday to get back to my book!
October 5, 2010
Birthoween!
Happy birthday month to my car, Jack! Today, she told me it was 59* when I left for work.
She's really enjoying the great weather we've had since her birthday month started...except that it has made her exceptionally dirty (read: yellow).
I'll get her clean soon...one of these days.
She's really enjoying the great weather we've had since her birthday month started...except that it has made her exceptionally dirty (read: yellow).
I'll get her clean soon...one of these days.
October 4, 2010
Slow Monday
It was hard to get going this morning so I thought I'd wake me up with a little vocab lesson. I do love me some words! By the by, I nerdily signed up for Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day emails...yes, I love them that much.
Eighty-six (not just a number anymore) - to get rid of
Eighty-six (not just a number anymore) - to get rid of
- I realize this is slang but it is totally worth keeping around. Origins put it as a possible rhyming word for nix beginning in 1959. What a gas!
- Today was one of those days I had to eighty-six several outfits before deciding on what to wear.
- Mondays make it very difficult to maintain an insouciant attitude when no outfits look good, the drivers on the freeway are lousy, and the line for coffee stretches a mile long.
- After starting my new job, I have slowly coalesced with the other members of my team as I have gotten to know them better.
- Despite the fact that it was Monday, the weather was an auspicious sign that perhaps it wouldn't be so terrible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)