pre-bedtime bloggin'

Poo. My new West Elm bed frame (in chocolate) didn't make it here today. Rather, I wasn't here to receive it. Hopefully tomorrow they can leave it in the backyard and I can dash out of work at 3. We'll see. I really want to get it set up and start looking at alternative ideas for headboards. For now I'm thinking paint or a blik graphic. I don't have space for a 'real' headboard. It feels good getting some of my furniture upgraded to 'adult.' I foresee cute little fabric/canvas storage boxes underneath it peakin' on out. Storage for shit I don't have.

Remember how my 2008 started off super shitty and stayed that way for awhile? Friends and family getting cancers, wicked bout of depression that I'm hoping was seasonal, stress at work when we were "asking" someone to leave, a forced stint in the single world...it was bad. In the past month or two things have turned around, which makes me question my declaration that 2008 is the worst year ever. In my quest to find memoir-y blogs for a potential assignment, I came across a call girl blog that had some meme on gratitude. I traced it back and it was clearly some self-started meme, not some giant never ending making its way 'round the internets meme. Whatever. It seemed like a good and positive idea. So...

Five things for which I have gratitude:

1. My health. My friend Isobelle had lymphoma, uncle had (keyword here is HAD, he just found out they think its gone) prostate cancer, grandma went to the hospital, mom's always sick, Leticia getting a hip replacement at 28. Yikes. I'm really grateful that I have no major health problems. I've been able to train for a marathon with only a brief setback that was self-imposed (lazy stretching habits). I haven't been sick with any great frequency, and those illnesses are nothing more than colds. Watching some near and dears have life threatening conditions this year has really made me appreciate my health. It ain't something to squander.

2. My job. I love my job, and I love all the opportunities it has given me over two years. I love my coworkers. A long time ago I had really horrid coworkers and it can run a job. I think its actually fun to go to my job. I love that they think I'm worthy and capable of being a lecturer for a semester long course. I think the school does some really innovative cool stuff. I'm also really f'ing lucky that I have above average job security in this awesome recession.

3. The centuries of women who came before me and fought for what is/was just. In preparing for my course I've been refreshing on various civil rights movements including the many waves of feminism. I know that I have far fewer hurdles in life because of women who made a big ole stink and refused to be told to shut up or calm down.

4. My apartment. It sounds materialistic yes. But it's more than just really liking my apartment. Its being grateful that I even have a roof over my head, let alone one that I was able to select that meets my needs and I can live in without roommates. One that is a safe place and a place of refuge. Not many people can say that about their living situations. I know that no matter what shit came my way during the day, I can come home to my sanctuary with zero intrusions.

5. Supportive family, friends and boyfriend. There have certainly been times this year that I've needed support more than normal - March-April-May being the most obvious and public one. Then the marathon - the financial donations as well as the words of encouragement and the stream of "I'm proud of you I could never do that" comments make me feel all warm and fuzzy. I've never had to ask for money before for an activity and I was pretty amazed at people's generosity. The marathon has dominated my life the past few months and people have let me prattle on and on about it when its probably really uninteresting.

happy list

My friend Stevie has had a rough few weeks, and she made a list of stuff that makes her happy over on her blog. She asked people to comment with what makes them happy, but I figured I'd turn it into a post instead. I could use some cheer-me-ups/destressors, so it'll be nice to check this again later when I'm ugh-ing. List is in random order.

-Audrey scratching on the other side of the door and whining with excitement to see me while I unlock it after a long day at work.
-Audrey running in circles with her tail stick straight and wagging when she can sense that Nate is about to come over.
-My new memory foam mattress pad making my shitty mattress way more bearable.
-breakfast burritos
-weather in the mid-70s
-knowing that in a month I'll be eating at my favorite SF places again
-Lazy Saturday afternoons watching baseball on the tv with Nate
-Audrey bringing me her stuffed squirrels when I'm in bed, and arranging them next to me.
-The fact that I have a cool boss and at least one cool co-worker
-My profession and knowing that I found my career 'calling' way sooner than most people. Years of bumbling around saved.
-Werner Herzog films
-Sterling Merlot
-My amazing new vacuum
-playing scrabble
-making a difference in a student's day
-Big Brother, Battlestar Galactica, Lost, the Office, 30 Rock, HGTV, Mythbusters...tv in all forms
-Netflix
-quality time with Nate
-making waffles (or bacon or eggs or muffins) and coffee for breakfast with Nate on a Sunday morning
-watching the Golden Girls while I fall asleep
-the prospect of wearing fall/winter clothes again soon
-quiet music
-playing fetch with Audrey in the apartment
-the first of the month when my emusic downloads reload
-paydays and my future pay raise
-an evening at a white sox game...

Tag Yer It

Lo-Zone tagged me. First meme I've put on here in a long time. Isn't that what my unused VOX account is for? Regardless...

The game is to post 6 "weird" things about yourself and then "tag" other "people." It's like one of those annoying chain letters. Without further ado:

1. I gag at the sight of wet paper products. Many of you already knew this, but I pretty much want to vomit when I see or touch wet paper towels, wet napkins, wet anything made of dead trees.

2. I was second place in the NE state debate tournament junior year of high school. Don't even try to fight with me. SECOND PLACE.

3. I create fake stories/narratives about people when I see them eating alone in fast food establishments.

4. I got ran over by a rolling outhouse at Peony Park when I was 2. Yes, in Omaha they do things like race outhouses down hills for fun.

5. I count how many different letters there are in words using my fingers when I'm bored. So a word like banana I would tap each finger whenever a new letter is given. So my thumb and two fingers would be used for banana. It's like twiddling my thumbs. Nervous habit.

6. I hate eating the last bit of cereal in a cereal box. Instead of just throwing it out, I feel guilty and leave it on the shelf until I've amassed a dozen boxes of nothing but crumbs of cereal.

Tagged: Soup (you've now been DOUBLE TAGGED), Alycia, LQP, Scrvnr, Lil G