The First Twinges of Missing SOME Things in WNY

I can’t believe I am going to admit this aloud. Every now and then, I have this tiny little twinge of “I miss NY”. GAH! It is mostly food honestly. I was watching “How I Met Your Mother” and Robin and Barney go to Canada. They have coffee at TIM HORTANS. Barney says that it is awesome… the only good thing in Canada and all I have wanted since then is a LARGE Ice Capp with a cheddar cheese bagel. And Johnnys!! YUM! And no sub has been able to compete with a Wegmans Buffalo Chicken Wing sub. And the General Store… I want one of everything on the menu.

I also miss NY trees. I know that it weird, but the trees down here suck. They are mini and all gnarly. I like them, I just miss tall, straight Maple trees and pine trees. I haven’t seen a real tree since April 5^th. And GRASS. Oh my goodness. I didn’t realize how awesome NY grass is until I came here and tried to walk in barefeet. I LOVE going barefoot and I keep telling myself its ok to do it down here. Nope. Its not. Between pokey grass, stickers, insects, burning hot concrete and rocks I manage to injure myself. Sigh.

Im tired of driving down here. Its not scary anymore. My commute has become mundane. But its annoying though. I would love to drive somewhere without getting on a highway. Just one place. And I haven’t driven on a road that isn’t a one way since April 5^th.

I also miss Cooper Duper. A lot. :( The dogs and cat were taken from me on Sunday after we got back from Austin. I have been having trouble again the last few nights. Its so lonely and quiet without them. I have had them since the week before Memorial Day... so I have lived in the house without company, but I had gotten used to them. No one ran to meet me after work yesterday, and not one curled up with me to watch tv. :( I miss my bud Cooper.

Despite all of the above, I most definitely made the right choice to come down here. Im working on job (crazy!) and I knew that it was bad at home. Really I did. But I am realizing HOW bad and sad it was. No friends were left. None. Everyone in that town is old. It was just bad. Here is MUCH better. Astronomically better. Yeah my job isn’t my dream job…. But I like the people I work with, I make a livable wage, Im not in WNY, I kinda have a life now, and (no offense parents) Im not living at home!

The biggest difference between being home and here job wise… I am realizing how badly part-time and seasonal employers treat employees compared to here. Im not sure if this is normal or exceptionally good, but people treat other like everyone has a brain. Its amazing. I’m no longer working overtime and not getting paid for it, treated like I am an idiot (although at TJ’s I had the highest degree), and the managers here are competent. Its such a nice change!

Sunday was the trip to Austin! It was a good day. The drive was really easy! I got on a highway, got off an hour later, took a left and was on the UT campus! It was nice to see my cousin swim and she did well! We went to lunch at the Hula Hut and ate outside on the lake. It was so nice. I had been missing the WNY summer activities and eating on the deck at the casino was usually a summer staple! It was nice to see a lake too! After lunch we went Kayaking. It was a lot of fun. I got a little burnt (even though we were only out for an hour) It was fun to do something different! I was soaked at the end (its what happens when you are sharing a kayak with a 10 year old! But I got her plenty wet as well!) which felt really nice because it was HOT out. I forgot to look for a magnet so I am going to have to go back! I don’t have a magnet from San Antonio either! (if you have read any of my other blogs you will know that I collect magnets. Everytime I go to a new city I get one. If you haven’t read my other ones… I buy a magnet every time I go to a new city!) 

I just read some of my London blog. I am SO glad that I did that. I love reading it!

 Its starting I think… the Texas heat. Im still ok with it when Im at home in athletic clothes because I don’t care how much I am sweating. Im not ok with it when I trying to look halfway decent but Im just melting instead! Laurie you are right… Texas is as hot as hell :)

Im pretty sure I have a problem… I was perusing Amazon at work for a few minutes. I was adding everything to my cart for fun and clicked to see what the damage would be. I had $460 worth of BOOKS that I wanted. Books. I think I need to find a library. Pronto!

I am forgetting so many things but I can’t remember them. Tonight is football (woo) I have 4 more games left in my career. I am giving it up and sticking with softball I think. (although I am sucking it up in softball. Seriously I look like I have never played before. I used to own that outfield… now Im getting owned)

I miss you all. Maybe Ill see some of you in Sept?

New Experiences

AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!! It has been a crap week at work. Crap. Nothing about it went well or smoothly. That (Unfortunately) is not an exaggeration. A job that should have taken me all day on Wednesday, took me all day Wednesday, all day Thursday AND all day Friday with a little more that I have to finish on Monday. Its tedious and horrible. Blah.

This week has also been a week of adventures and new experiences. (I LOVE adventures!) My first new experience of the week occurred on Wednesday. Im not sure why but nasty, scary, creepy, crawly beings like my bathroom floor. Im not ok with this. The biggest reason that I am against their preference of my bathroom floor is that I ALWAYS discover these nasty visitors in the morning, around 6:30am when I am bleary eyed and disoriented. I was lucky with this visitor. I was close to stepping on him because I didn’t notice him until I was very very close.

I stroll in the bathroom on my relaxing work from home day. I was loving life and minding my own business when I notice a dark shape against the white bathroom rug. What the? I get really close (that was dumb) lean down (again dumb) and freaked out. A scorpion. ARGH! No no no! One thing that the spider taught me… get a solo cup and get it fast. I sprint (as fast as I can when Im all bleary eyed and lethargic) and grabbed a red cup, plopped it over him, and put a package of shower curtain rings on top. This is how he stayed until 7pm-ish. Not touching that. Eventually curiosity got the better of my and I lifted the cup up to see how my buddy was doing….

I didn’t know that scorpions are FAST. OMG! He DARTED to and fro. I absolutely freak out and leap on the step stool by the shower and scream. I didn’t dare get close to him with that tail and pinchers. Argh. But then he started making a dash for under my wardrobe where all of my shoes are. I heard that they like to live in shoes so I scream “Oh HELLLLL no” (excuse my French) and slam the cup over his head, and put the package of shower curtain rings back on top. I exhale in relief and look up… the cat is sitting on the bed with a look of complete disbelief on her face….. like that was the craziest, most pathetic showdown that she had ever seen. She was probably right.

I would like to say that I bucked up, got a piece of paper and transported it outside. Alas no. Instead I ripped the cup back off, stomped on it in victory, scooped it up and threw it and the cup away. (Ok ok… that is a complete lie) Jared came on Saturday and squished it (while I was a comfortable distance away), threw it in the cup and threw everything in the trash for me. Im grateful I have connections to scorpion killers.

My other adventure was my first ever oil change. Dad always changed my oil at home so I haven’t ever had to bring my car anywhere. Now that I think about it… I haven’t ever had to bring my car to a garage for any reason. Dad always did it for me. So I was off to Walmart for an oil change. I find the auto cetnre just fine, walk in and go up to the desk. The cashier girl was really nice but the guy was a bit of a sexist. He acted like I knew nothing. I tell him that my car needed an oil change and the conversation went something like this:

Mechanic: Ok… Well what is the make and model of car. Do you know it?

Me: Do I know it? Yes…. It is a Toyota Yaris

Mechanic: OK are you sure?

Me: Yeah… pretty sure

Mechanic: ok… The standard oil change comes with up to 5 quarts of oil. Do you think you will need more than that?

Me: Ummm no. it’s going to take like 3

Mechanic: Mmhmm well I guess we can charge you for the additional oil when you pick the car up.

Me: Its going to need like 3 quarts… not 5

Mechanic: yeah… well you are all set and we will call you when its ready.

Attitude!! I looked up the oil when I got home… Lucy needed 3.5. BAM. I rocked it. Walmart was really fast though. It took them like 20 minutes and bam they called my cell. It was speedy and really easy!

Tomorrow I have ANOTHER adventure… Im off to Austin for the day to watch my cousin swim. It should be a good day! Im driving up myself so hopefully I don’t get lost! I should be fine though. If I can handle Europe, I can handle driving an hour up an hour.

It is starting to get warmer here. Everytime I get into the car I think of Laurie saying “Texas??? Anna… its hot as hell there!” Well she is right. Its getting to be HOT. I think the air conditioning makes it even worse. I FREEZE indoors and walk outside and get hit with a HEAT wave. Its horrible. I shiver all day at work. People bring in blankets. WHY IS IT SO COLD??

Ok its 10:30pm and Im getting sleepy. I have more to say but Ill write tomorrow or Monday and fill you all in more. I miss you all and Congrats to my CHQ friends for making it over hump day. More than halfway done!

Thunder, Princesses, and Nostalgia

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ― C.S. Lewis

Today’s quote doesn’t even need explanation. It’s just so true . Except if said book is Johnny Tremaine. Goodness that book is horrible!

Ok Im a little over everything being Bigger in Texas. There was a thunderstorm last night. When I say that I mean a biggest, loudest thunderstorm I have ever lived through. The house literally shook with each thunder clap. I tried to count the time between the lightning and thunder and I couldn’t. It was so intense. I was ok with it… until the power went out. Im all alone in a big spooky house, in the middle of blinding thunderstorm, in complete dark. Not cool. The dogs were so good. They didn’t whine or bark at all. The power was still off when I got up at 6:30 so that was an interesting experience. I got dressed/ready in complete darkness. I had the flashlight on my phone, but couldn’t find a real flashlight. I should probably inquire where they live at some point. The storm woke me at midnight, but I fell right back to sleep until 1:30 and when the power went out at 2 I was wide awake until 3. Not ok with not being able to see except from lightning flashes. I need my nightlight in the hallway to stay illuminated thank you very much.

I have been missing NY a little this past week. On Saturday I was lucky and had a good hour and a half phone call from one of my favorite people. Man it made me miss home. (I cant believe Im saying that either) Then this week I have had my pod on shuffle at work and man do I have HORRIBLE stuff on that thing. I promised myself that I was going to go through and delete the crap ones. Then Saving Jane came on… and I instantly thought of Alex and how much he hated her music. EVERY day on the way to school he complained. Without fail. And Erin, Kirsten and I would play it over and over. Which lead me to thinking about driving him to school everyday and almost killing him with a snowplow but every time (or that my car would fall apart and kill us) he brought it up and told me I was a horrible I reminded him that without me he would have died riding with Peter. Im not sure I can get rid of these bad songs. They instantly bring me back.

Speaking of missing home… Ashville Days (or more appropriately “Day”) are on Saturday. Im not going to miss the parade, or the bedraces, or the garage sales, but the FIREWORKS. They are the best.  There sure are some characters that show up to watch, but it is so fun. July 4^th fireworks were decent at Lakewood, but the Ashville Days ones were the BEST. Sigh

OK I have made an executive decision. More people where cowboy hats and boots in good ole WNY then the Texans in Texas wear. Granted I am in a city down here, but there are so many people who wear them at home. And no one wears them in SA. (San Antonio). Its disappointing… and just shows how country WNY is! The place I come from sure is…. Special.

Last night was my second night off in a row… and I was LAZY. I watched two Disney movies while I was working on other things. (yeah I’m not sure why I picked Disney. I wanted to watch Harry Potter but it was on Blu-ray and the Playstation is broken at the moment)  It was actually pretty interesting. Take Cinderella for instance (first movie chosen). All of the decorations are pretty Rococo. Are they in France? Is it the 1800’s?? Their clothes are pretty good for that era, and so is the furniture etc. I didn’t really have any problems with Cinderella… she is a little dumb and way to willing to clean stuff, but all in all it was ok. Oh besides that the fact that Prince Charming says two things in the entire movie and she is in “love”. He asks her name and how he will find her again. That’s it… Come on Cinderella. One dance and two questions isn’t enough to marry the guy. Just saying.

Sleeping Beauty was my FAVORITE Disney movie and Phillip was my favorite Prince. (he at least talks and has a cool red riding cape thing)The part I never caught before is that Phillip’s dad says that it is the 14^th century. So its 1300’s?? Definitely hadn’t ever picked up on that before! That kinda explains why everyone is way ok with Sleeping Beauty being in love at 16. She is a little dumb too, and her feet at way to small. But I guess she is still my favorite, and Snow White is still the dumbest.

Discoveries and a Challenge

“One of the advantages of being disorganized is that one is always having surprising discoveries.” ― A.A. Milne

That is my new quote of the day section. I haven’t been putting pictures up like I did in my London and Rome blog so Im doing quotes for a bit instead. I thought that was appropriate for me right now. I haven’t been organized for awhile and have definitely had surprises. But hey…. Honestly who doesn’t love surprises?

Today was BLAH. That basically sums it up. The night was really relaxing though. I being lazy and Im not ashamed of it at all. A girl can have one night off a month right?

I was driving home today and it hit me… when I was in Rome and London the best way to learn about the city was getting lost. Here I was too scared to get lost because the traffic sucks and I didn’t want to get stuck in the wrong lane and end up in Mexico. (that is an extreme exaggeration but you get my point) So today on the way home I got off of 281 two exits early (crazy I know) BUT I found goldmines. Who knew that Starbucks, HEB (grocery store), Michaels, Chuys (a restaurant), and a liquor store (I need to check it out. Maybe they have NYS wine?!!) were all on the way home. Who. Knew? I love finding new stuff.

I forgot to mention something in my blog yesterday under the burning myself category.  I wrote awhile ago that I spilled water all over my desk and thankfully Crystal saved the day with her stash of napkins. Well Monday she wasn’t here and I moved up in the spilling things world… I spilled hot tea all over my desk and my dress. Oh it was fun. Hot green tea dripped onto my lap, seeped under my laptop, and moistened my Lego Big Ben. The hardest part about working in a cube farm, is that you cant make all of the reaction you would. I would have liked to pushed back in my chair, stood up, and yelled. Instead I got to say “shoot” in a whisper, sneak to the bathroom to get paper towels, and inconspicuously soak up my tea. One of these days Im going to do something and react how I will like to without thinking. I just know it.  

I updated my money spreadsheet yesterday. Talk about depressing. Student loans are rough. I am challenging myself… Im not buying an article of clothing until 9/15. Two month=no clothes. The only exception is ONE pair of athletic shorts because I cant get through a week of working out without running out. So one cheap pair of shorts and that it is. Im bribing myself with a book I want off of amazon. If I make it Im buying a $20 book. Better then spending more than that on clothes that I do not need.

I am tired of not having all of my belongings. I am always wanting something that is in NY. You know how all I want to do is watch the Great Gatsby? Well I don’t have it. Same with Les Mis. I wanted to wear a shirt that was home too. At HWS I was always missing something, then Rome (I was living out of a suitcase for 3 months. Granted it was a large suitcase), then London (living out of 2 suitcases) and now San Antonio (living out of a carload… but Lucy is a small car). I want to go home just to get things (And eat Johnnys!!!)

I miss everyone!

Nothing All That Epic

Oh my goodness.. I have a night off. What is this weird concept?  I was supposed to have a softball game but a water broke (or something along those lines) so I get to stay home! I am so excited. I watched the Lego movie (the end made it worth while), did a whole bunch of chores and am now watching the second Hobbit movie. (J.R.R Tolkien is turning over in his grave. Im sure) I am also making a cake. It doesn’t count because its from a box. I have learned my lesson from my last one though. I made it as a 13x9 so I can make it in my pyrex and have an air TIGHT lid on it so it wont go stale in two days. Im most likely going to eat all of it. I have some walking to do for sure!

Its eerie outside (which is why Im inside watching the Hobbit) There are probably 50 crows hanging out around the house. Its either going to be like Alfred Hitchcock’s the Birds or Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. Not sure which is worse as The Birds doenst have a definitive ending. If one of them comes rapping, rapping on my door, I shall freak out.

This week started out pretty busy. I was tired from the weekend of parties and not sleeping. Monday was Bday dinner for Jared (I think that he liked his Venus Fly Trap) Last night was football… I cant believe I am going to say this ( I really cant) but it was kinda fun. I caught a pass for a touchdown and actually knocked a ball down so my girl wouldn’t score a touchdown. Perhaps I am NFL material after all ;) We won 25-12 so perhaps that is why it was fun. And my girls were slow so it was a nice easy game. Oh I did miss a completely catchable ball. But whatever… didn’t let in a touchdown!

Today was my WFH (Work From Home. Accenture likes acronyms.) I didn’t put real clothes on, didn’t match my pj pants to my shirt, didn’t brush my hair, and didn’t put on makeup. I LOVE Wednesdays. I still do work! I just don’t have to look presentable. It is great.

On Monday I had a brand new experience! I burnt my tongue on a Skittle. Yup. A Skittle. I bet you don’t think its possible, but anything can bake in a car in Texas. I ran some errands on lunch and picked up a bag which I proceeded to leave it in my car. Me being as smart as I am saw them after work (3 hours later) and threw some in my mouth. It hurt. Other things that melt in Texas cars… chapstick, pens, and plastic Ted Baker bags. (The bag was actually way cool when it was melty. It was so and pliable. It cooled down and then got all stiff again. I also continue to burn my face on my sunglasses. You would think a girl would learn…

San Antonio… I like it but Im not in love. It’s a city, but it doenst feel like one. It feels like Buffalo. I remember when Sister lived in Buffalo I said I would never live somewhere that the driving was that busy… and here I am. I miss back country roads. More than I did in London. London was so exciting and I could hope on public transportation. Here its city but different. I need to walk the ranch more and feel like Im in the country.

I love having the dogs and cat here at the house with me. The cat is crazy. It sits in the sink to drink water, and eats my hair. She is actually chewing on it as I type. She sits behind me on the couch and chews my hair. The dogs and I are best buds. I give them treats so they like me. Its easy.

The World Cup is over. Its pathetic but I don’t know what Im going to do with my life now! It was something I loved that I could get into. I think I need to find a hobby (a cheap one) I don’t have a passion anymore and I need to find one.

My job… blah. There are some days/moment that I would rather be at Chaut. I know. Shocking. But Im telling people that their hours are charged to the incorrect code 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I miss Laurie and my pre-season CHQ crew. The phones kinda sucked, but I knew what I was doing, and got to hang out with awesome people. I do like the people at work. They make it good. Its just the job itself that is depressing.

Ok I am completely out of things to say. Perhaps my next post will be more exciting??

I miss you all!

The Morning Gods are Against Me

 

This morning was rough. Not the normal “I cant get up” rough, but a weird rough. I didn’t sleep last night. Shocker. It took forever to fall asleep and I kept waking up.  It didn’t help that every time I woke up I felt my softball wound stick to the sheets. Ewww. The dogs started barking at 5am… argh. I had a crazy dream about being in a cave and shooting wolves. Yeah. Shooting wolves. Not weird at all. Anyways so when my alarm went off I was just as tired as when I went to bed the night before. (ok FINE I admit.. I didn’t get up in time) I went to let the dogs out and they were CRAZY. They jumped all over and SPRINTED out the door as soon as I opened it. I hope that they had just seen a raccoon or something on the porch last night. That is what Im going with.

I walk in the bathroom and look in the mirror.. I have chocolate ALL over my face. All over. What is going on?? Then I remember I ate a piece of cake after I brushed my teeth last night (gross I know but I was hungry and lazy) So I wash my face, continue to get ready and go over to make my bed… there is chocolate EVERYWHERE. Not on my pillow where my chocolate covered face was, but at shoulder height. I look down, chocolate on my pjs. Wow. Seriously?

After I am chocolate free, dressed and ready to go I head out to the kitchen and write a note to the family saying that they can have a piece of cake. (I don’t need to get the entire thing) I wrote my note and my pen exploded. ALL over my hands. They are now (a very pleasant) blue. Both hands. Ok… I take the recycling down to the street and I kept feeling water hit my feet. Weird, but I couldn’t figure it out. I get to work and pull out my landyard… its SOAKED. The entire thing is wet. I LOVE putting soggy things around my neck. Especially when I don’t know what it making it wet. Such a Joy. I look in my bag on the back half (behind my planner) is soaking wet. No idea what from. I walk into work with a cold, clammy neck and my feet are hurting (so is the rest of my body by the way. Softball and walking has killed it) I look down only to discover that my flats are COVERED in stickers. It took me a solid 3 minutes to realize that I must have gotten then when I rolled out the recycling container (it lives in a patch of tall grass right inside the gate) Argh. I haven’t even dealt with them yet. I threw my heels on when I got to my desk and shoved the vicious things in the back corner of my desk.

Lasts night was fun! I went over to the family’s house and I beat my aunt and uncle home so I got to hang with my cousin for a bit. Then we were allowed to build Legos until dinner (I just re-read that and I sound like Im 5) We are building the Cinema set… omg so cool. I want the Parisan café SO badly!!!! Its all cute and French with little croissants. (Delee maybe you could buy it for your classroom and Ill assemble for you??) We then got distracted from building by surfing the Lego site and we wanted everything. They have some awesome sets (Tower Bridge, The Parisan Café, a Mini Cooper, and the Fairgrounds) I want all of those. The cinema is really cute though. And the Town Hall looks cool… I just need the entire city!

We hung out until dinner where I managed to fling my chicken across my plate, down my shirt and onto my shorts. I had a nice smear of BBQ down my front. Classy. Then it was off on our walk. My shoe rubbed my bandaid covered softball wound so it hurt the entire time. I ended up running/walking/running with my cousin. Nothing like a 10 year old to kick your butt into gear! After the run we got to finish the first book on the Lego set. It was fun building it with everyone. Oh and I tried my first grits… I like them!

This weekend will be busy busy. I have two parties at my house. Two. So that will be interesting. I have to clean my room and mow before they happen so tonight and tomorrow morning will be busy as well!

I miss you all! (CHQ Im thinking about you guys!)

Tired therefore Overwhelmed

I don’t feel like I have anything blog worthy to say, but I haven’t written in awhile and soon the hate mail will start coming in (ahem sister...) so here I am writing a post that can put everyone asleep.

It has kinda been another rough week. Mentally AND physically this time though. I have walked Monday, Tuesday with my aunt, and played softball (more on that to follow) last night so I am tired. I go to walk right after work (she feeds me... best deal ever) but that also means I am gone from 7am-8:30pm. I come home, shower and crash into bed. I haven’t gotten anything done. My to-do list grows longer everyday. I owe people messages, emails and phone calls. I am sorry if you are one of them… Im trying. Really. Oh and this weekend I wont have time to catch up on life because I have two parties at my house this weekend. (nope not for me.) When Im tired things seem overwhelming…

Why else was this week rough??... Oh none of my electronics are working. My computer is shot. I knew that coming home from London (two years ago), my cell is 5 hours ahead time wise (not all the time.. just randomly) my car (not an electronic I know…) needs to be registered, have new plates, is filthy (means I have to go through a car wash), AND needs an oil change. Seriously? Oh and I need a Texas license. Those aren’t free. GAH! I thought I could start saving money with my big girl job! Argh. Did I mention Im tired??? (therefore overwhelmed)

I officially had to give up my soccer team. I knew it was going to happen, but I was in complete denial. Sigh. It was hard. And still is. They are in good hands though.

Speaking of soccer… I have been getting a LOT of push back from losing respect for Germany. I didn’t think it was that controversial of a statement!!! Honestly having class should always happen, no matter what the level of play. And it’s the world cup… yes I get that, but that almost made it worse. Jared claims that Brazil quitting is worse that Germany continuing to shoot. We are agreeing to disagree. Dear Germany… you have been to the semi-finals many times. Act like it. They went a little far in their humiliation.

Oh I did get going on the children immigrant issue this week too.. but if I add that to this blog post it will be too much debate for one measley entry. So perhaps another time.

I need some down time. Still haven’t watched the Great Gatsby. Or Les Mis. Or eaten a Pizza Hut Buffalo Chicken Wing Pizza… which TEXAS DOESN’T HAVE. (if I am repeating myself, I apologize) The pizza huts down here are breaking my heart.

The house… is the reason I am so tired. (not 100% as I mentioned above that I run every second of the day) Im sleeping better… as of last night. But I was also so exhausted that Im not sure it counts. Im trying to get used to it again. Trying.

I FORGOT! Yesterday was my first day of WFH (work from home). It was weird. I LOVED getting out of bed, throwing on a tee, work out capris and didn’t brush my hair. Or put on makeup. It was glorious. I even made oatmeal for breakfast.  Extra glorious. It was weird though to be all alone in the kitchen working. I still had lync so I could chat with people, but I could turn around and chat. Very weird.. I did a lot of work so I was working, but it didn’t feel like I was working.  I got to make mac and cheese for lunch, and a cake on my lunch break. Oh and I filled the pool. I got stuff done on my break. It was awesome. And I gained an extra half hour after work because I was home at 4 instead of having to drive. So nice.

After my day working at home I headed out to our PCS Happy Hour. (ok I cant get used to that. It looks like Panama Central School is having a happy hour.) Here is where the day kinda goes wrong… I had a softball game after happy hour. Yeah… I haven’t played well at ALL. Palmer would be embarrassed by me and I wouldn’t make her team on a good night. The Sangria didn’t help my cause. I didn’t do anything horrible really… except right at the end when we are losing 23-10 (yup we pulled a Brazil) and I try to turn a full-fledged swing bunt (I swung and I basically bunted it) into a home run. Yeah.. I was golden for awhile. They over threw first and that means Im on third, but I decided to milk it and get home. I think I was safe because the guy was expecting me to slide, ( was expecting to slide either. Instinct just took hold) but the ump called me out. We were down by too much to fight him. So I have a scrape on my shin… a good one. And the top of my ankle is oozing liquids. Putting in the clutch rips it open every time. Argh.I am still missing Palmer at my softball games. After I do something stupid I try to think of what she would tell me becasue its way better than what my teammates tell me.

I miss you all.

Monday Already?

It feels like yesterday that I floated out of work, elated that I had three days of freedom. I dont know where those three days went! Friday started with an early morning workout session (speed walking without enough water in the Texas heat) and then it was straight off to July Fourth activites! Saturday was filled with shopping (at the outlets... even better!) I came home with some clothes and a Kate Spade purse! Today was a day of catch up... and I still havent caught up. I couldnt pay my bills because my pay hadnt been deposited yet.. and my computer has decided that it wants to cease existing. I have the blue screen of death. So frustating! Espeically since my up-to-date resume and cover letter template is on it and I was planning on tweaking it this weekend. Sigh. My phone is also deciding that it wants to difficult. Its internal clock is 5 hours ahead of central time. I have no idea what it is doing. I re-start and nothing happens, but then an hour later it is randomally ok again. What??!

Everyone moved out on me this weekend. It is weird to be alone again. Really weird. I had JUST gotten used to having everyone, and now its me, myself and I in this house. (I do have the dogs thank goodness... but no cat) Im trying not to have trouble honestly. And so far I have to keep reminding myself that I am fine. Sigh. I want everyone to come back :(

Tonight I went to Walmart to grab some things and decided that I needed some green in my life. I wandered out to the garden section and almost melted from the heat (its hot outside even at 7pm). I thought it was funny that you could buy catcus. Like real, life size, full grown catcus. The kind that go outside. They are ALL over the ranch! It was funny to me. I have never seen a full sized catcus in a pot. Just the mini ones (that mom still manages to kill) I found the orchids but it didnt seem like they were loving the Texas heat, and they were too much money so I picked out a Bonsai and named it Nigel. I have always wanted to name something Nigel, but am not sure that I could name an offspring that... so I gave it to a Bonsai. He seems happy in his home. Nothing like having to purchase a friend/company. Quite pathetic.

In an attempt to distract myself from this house, I watched a documentary on Hulu about the children of the Nazis. It was SO interesting. I haven ever heard anything about/from them before. There was a granddaughter of Goreing, grandson of Hoess, niece of Himmler, son of someone bad, and a daughter of Amon Goethe. It was all about how guilty they feel, and the daughter didnt understand what was going on when she was little so it was all about her story of realizing through the years of what her father did. Super interesting. The granddaughter of Goreing and her brother both sterlized themseleves so there wouldnt be another generation of Goreings. Intense. I watched it right before I went to Walmart which was silly because I wandered around thinking and kept having to backtrack to get things that I had forgetten. If any of you are bored watch Hitler's Children. Very thought provoking.

Im sorry that I did not blog on Wednesday. I was angry after my softball game. Yes its pathetic but I was angry. On a good note though... I have a cool jersey with my last name on it. That is pretty legit. I just wish that I could play like I used to. I dont know what is wrong with me. It looks like I have never played the sport before in my life. And I messed up my base running on Wed... that is my strong spot. Sigh. Also my batting glove that I wear under my fielding glove ripped. I was sad.. I have had it since my first day of Varsity... in eighth grade. Im having trouble throwing it away. (yes I am crazy)

I have more to say, but I am tired and it will take me a bit to fall asleep in this house so I need to head to bed. Ill write again soon.

I miss you all

Oh Buffalo...

I haven’t posted in awhile because I haven’t had any good stories… until this morning that is. Last Monday was a crap day, so in preparation of another potentially equally bad day I stopped at Starbucks for a coffee. I walked back out to my car, coffee in hand and singing in my head. I just put my hand on my car door handle when I heard a “Yo… YO!” What the… I look up and I HUGE black guy was sauntering towards me. Oh crap Im going to day (I say this because he was wearing a sleeveless cutout shirt, had tattoos everywhere , a solid 6+ feet tall with arms the size of my thigh and… I guess I did some racial profiling) Im just like “ummm hi..??” Below is the conversation... basically word for word. I sincerely hope that you all can tell what I said vs what he said so I don’t have to make a note of it… (disclaimer: sorry for the language)

“You from New York???””

“Yes…. But not the city” (again I was sterotyping)

“Where from then?”

“South of Buffalo… it’s a small town”

“Damn no way! Im from Buffalo! This is crazy!”

“Ohh… cool. Do you know of Jamestown?”

“SSSHHHIIITTT Sure do! My sister lives there! Right down by that community college. On E 2^nd St. Do you know where that is??”

“Yup… sure do. *Insert awkward pause. Ummmm… there are some good wings down there on 2nd”  (I had nothing else nice to say)

“Yeah by that baseball place. Damn good wings. And pizza. This shit be crazy. Small world right?”

“yes it is. Well I better head to work. Nice meeting you”

“Oh yeah yeah. You too. Most def. Shit… that be crazy” (and he waved and sauntered on his way)

I got in my car and just laughed… why me. I really need to change my plates on Lucy. It was too early for a strange encounter. Way too early.

 

Some more observations about Texas from a Western New Yorker’s point of view:

1.       Nowhere in the state of Texas is there a bottle of Hermann J. Wiemer’s Riesling. Nor is there a bottle of Dr. Konstantin Frank’s wine. Seriously? These Texans need to drink Finger Lake wine.  The good stuff.

2.       Everyone has a garage and… they don’t use it. (when I say everyone I mean EVERYONE except for 1 sane person in this town) I guess they don’t have snow… but still. It is odd to me. Lucy didn’t get a garage when I was home and I hated not being able to pull inside. I know there isn’t any snow down here, but there is SUN. Even in WNY the sun would bake Lucy, and its worse down here. Im baffled.

3.       I have seen a million and a half pickup trucks.. and no one wearing a cowboy hat. I am sad.

4.       I have eaten more Mexican food in 3 months then I have in my ENTIRE life. Im really not kidding at all. So much Mexican food. I am still craving a Buffalo Chicken pizza from Pizza Hut. I want to eat the entire Large pizza. (while watching the Great Gatsby)

5.       The movie theaters here are cool. (this should perhaps be limited to San Antonio as I have not seen a movie theater outside of the city). They let you put on your own butter flavoring on your popcorn AND they let you have unlimited refills on your pop. The machines are out in the lobby inbetween the theaters. Pretty cool.

6.       Texans complain about the heat as much as we complain about the snow.

7.       Im used to standing inside at work in the middle of June with pants and a sweatshirt and asking a co-worker “do you think its warm outside?” Down here that is just a stupid question (which I asked last week.)

 

I cant even explain how excited I am for the USA game tomorrow. I want them to win SO badly. Im nervous though… they only time they lost is when I didn’t wear my jersey, and tomorrow I cant wear my jersey to work. Oh dear :( I don’t know how I am going to do work for an hour either. No idea.

OK Im to tired to continue this tonight and I have other things to do. So… im going to stop. I have no other stories either. Tomorrow is flag football (blah) and Wednesday is softball… so Ill write when I can.

 

I miss you all.

Monday was Ridiculous and Tuesday Wasnt that Fun Either

Yesterday was ridiculous. Seriously. Nothing went right. Including the blog. My laptop has decided to cease performing its duties and just puts up the blue screen of death so I couldn’t write my blog last night. (not that I had a ton of time to do it anyways. But still. It was the straw on the camel’s back after the rest of the day)

It all started with pulling into Starbucks… It was then that I noticed that I didn’t have a wallet. Ok cool. But as I was digging to verify that I didn’t have the wallet I realized that I was also missing my water bottle, and my ipod. Score. This is going well. I did get to purchase coffee thanks to technology… I have the starbucks app so I just scanned my phone. Pretty awesome.

Work on Monday just plain old sucked. Just one of those days that the tasks are torture, one is in a stink pot of a mood, and the tasks are torture (I don’t know if I made it clear, but the tasks were torture) It didn’t help that in the afternoon (since I had forgotten my water bottle I had to use my cool world cup cup that Crystal had given me, but it didn’t have a lid) I dumped my full glass of water all over my desk. It really wasn’t that big of a deal, but it was just one more thing…. So I was grumpy. After work I knew I had to go grocery shopping so I could eat lunch on Tuesday… would have helped to have a wallet. So no grocery shopping after work for me. ARGH

So I just headed home, threw a burger down my throat, and went on my walk with the aunt. It was good! Not as hard as last time, except for right at the end. I love it because when we are done (its about an hour walk) we sit in the pool area for 30 mins to wait for swim practice to be over. The sweat literally pours out of my pores. Its gross, but also makes me feel like I worked out at the same time!

 As soon as I got home I grabbed my wallet and headed to HEB to grab some food for lunch. This redhead in Texas finally made a purchase that she should have made a month or two ago. I bought sunscreen. Not any old sunscreen…. I bought cool spray on (didnt know that was a thing), water proof (not resistant. BIG difference)  and wait for it…. Keep waiting…. Its 85 SPF. I was not aware that 85 existed. But I decided since I walk outside and burst into flames that I should get it. Bring it summer. Bring it.

It is now Wednesday… I have been writing this post over the last few days because I cant seem to find more than 4 minutes of free time at a time.  The cat hung out with me last night before bed. We are friends. Everyone is amazed it lets me pet her, but its really not that hard… you just have to be NICE to it. The poor thing gets tortured. She curled up with me and laid right on my laptop. I forgot how frustrating cats are in that regard. But she put her little head on my arm and draped her paw on my hand. I miss Fi-Fi. I want a kitten….

I woke up this morning in the same position that I remember falling asleep in and I couldn’t move. I was only half of wake so I slightly panicked, then I realized I really wasn’t paralyzed but was in fact perfectly fine. My limbs feel like lead today. Argh flag football kills me.

It was POURING on the way into work today. The kind of rain that everything is grey and you cant see in front of you. All you can see are the red running lights on the back of cars. Well…. NO ONE in the state turns their lights on in the rain?? What?? I looked it up today and “It’s not a state law in Texas, but local law enforcement suggests having headlights on when driving in the rain.” Suggests?? Really?? New York State is so much smarter than Texas. You can talk on your cell and drive down here too.  No texting thank goodness! But it is hard to see cars in the rain when they don’t have their lights on. Just pointing that out.

 This week has been rough so far. Argh. Busy Busy. Monday night was crazy, last night was football until 10:30 so I didn’t get to bed until 11:30, tonight is softball, tomorrow is a meeting/happy hour, and Friday cant come soon enough. Honestly all I want to do is sit and watch the Great Gatsby, then Les Mis, and eat an ENTIRE Buffalo Chicken Pizza from Pizza Hut while in my pjs and my hair on top of my head. I cant tell you how much I am craving that pizza. Its weird. Also its weird that I really want to watch the Great Gatsby. Oh and after I down the entire pizza, I would like a pint of Haagen-Dazs Tiramisu Gelato. I bought the tiny one for a dollar at HEB on Monday. It’s the closest I have been to Italy in a LONG time. It’s a little too sweet, but it is very good. Very gelato like.   

In a previous post, I mentioned that Crystal bought me a Texas flag (because they are EVERYWHERE) and I put it in a 7-Up bottle on my desk to be a “texan”. Well my parents read this thing apparently (shocker) and I received in the mail on Saturday… a New York State flag. Well played parents.. well played! Haha. According to mom it was tricky to find one (which helps to make my point!) But now I have a Texas flag and a NYS flag in my cube. (side note that I just thought of. No one says “texas state”. Do we say New York State because we have the city also? Idk maybe I am crazy) Dad wants me to tape up my flag so it waves over the sea of cubes… Not so sure I am that bold yet. :)

Ok now its Wednesday night.. I really cant seem to finish this post! I came home from work (late) and watched tv and decided I needed to walk or something. So I went on the treadmill for 30 mins (and 300 calories burned!) BUT I was really dumb. I was finally home alone and I haven’t had one of my signature dance parties in ages. So Im an idiot and started on WHILE I was walking on the treadmill. Lets just say Im extremely lucky to be alive… and so is my ipod. I dropped it while trying to save myself from flying off the treadmill (I was pulling a dance move) and my pod went FLYING off the treadmill and ripped my headphone out of my ears. Never again am I going to attempt a dance party on a treadmill. Lesson learned.

Im so tired and tomorrow is a LONG day. Ill try to write a post again soon. I miss you all.

Catching Up

The past weekend was busy. So busy. It was a lot of fun, just no time to chill really. Saturday morning I was up at the same time that I get up for work. On a Saturday. Gah. We were going to Kirsten’s swim meet and warmups were at 7 (didn’t have to be there for that) and it started at 8am. On a Saturday. Coffee was a necessity.  Not a want. A need. She swam well and destroyed the competition so it was fun to watch. Oh and in this summer rec swim thing… they start at 6 or something like that so these tiny little kids were swimming a length of the pool. Oh my goodness… adorable. They were tiny in their little cap and googles.

After the swim meet Jared and I went to the Matisse exhibit at the San Antonio Museum of Art. It was good. I have to remember that I have been terribly spoiled and every museum is not the Borghese, Louvre, or Met.  For a museum of its size, it was well done and had 4-5 rooms of his work. He isn’t my absolute favorite, but it was good to see some art. We checked out the rest of the museum after which has some good pieces. They have a Joshua Reynolds in their “european” collection (which I think consists of 4-5 paintings!) But a Joshua Reynolds was pretty impressive. It made me miss art. A lot.

The family had friends over for dinner so we hung out with them ate, and watched 3 ten year olds in the pool for a few hours. It was a busy non-stop day. I feel asleep in my clothes at 9:30 on top of my bed, and woke up the next morning.

Sunday I had to get up earlier that I did on Saturday because I was tagging along with the family to go to the swim meet. Warm ups were at 730 but it was a further drive so we had to leave at 7. Phew I was tired. The swim meet was a short one (it went til 1030 or so) so I was home for lunch, a shower, quick laundry (had to wash my USA jersey), took a nap and went to watch the USA game. It was another busy day! I came home right in time to go to bed and get up for work on Monday. Phew!

The game went something like this…. Me pacing and eating ice… me freaking out and jumping around… me sitting with my head in my hands groaning. What a heartbreaking game. Yes they are still in and should move on, but come on. WE WERE ADVANCING and blew it. The entire time that I am pacing and freaking out, Jared is SHOPPING online and not paying any attention to the game. Everytime I said “did you see that?!” he said “No.. I wasn’t looking” REALLY??? So I was dying alone.  All my other teams are out. England… Italy… have both broken my heart. USA is my last time standing which I NEVER saw coming. 2 weeks ago I would have said Italy would be my last team standing! Im shocked!

That was my weekend! Phew! I need a vacation!

I miss you all!

 

Randomness

“Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I’m very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” -Bill Shankly, Liverpool manager
 

Ahhh the World Cup. The best month of sport that only occurs once every 4 years.  It is a beautiful thing and it always breaks my heart. England lost today. They are probably out now, even if Uruguay loses to Italy (they should) and England beats Costa Rica. So disappointing. Now I have to hope for the miracle of miracles… that the USA makes a decent run.  I wish this country was cooler and showed soccer on tv more often then once every 4 years.
 

Softball last night went much better. My team was chill and sane, I didn’t make an error (almost did but got saved by my outfield bud) and I am starting to hit better. Not good by any means, but better. I cant judge the ball to save my life out in the outfield. I ran in to catch a ball that soared over my head (by outfield bud caught it). It honestly looked like I have never played softball before in my life. Also the batting glove that I wear under my glove that I have had since the first day of varsity practice in March of 8^th grade ripped last night. Sigh. Its just a glove, but that thing has seen a lot of great moments (and 4-5 heartbreaking ones. 2 that I haven’t exactly gotten over 7-8 years later but that is neither here nor there).
 

My weeks seem to have themes lately. I am very happy to be over the ones that have been dedicated to various aliments! This week I have had a SERIOUS case of itchy feet. Not literally itchy feet thankfully. Every morning while I am taking the flyover from 281 to 410 I watch the planes take off from the airport (yeah I know… not the safest thing to do while going 65 miles per hour) I have spent many a free minute looking up flights to anywhere. Literally. I don’t know what has gotten into me!
 

You all know that the last two weeks or so haven’t been my best. Well today someone asked me a question that got me thinking. They asked me "well... where did you see yourself in 5 years, 5 years ago". Whoa... I have no idea. I was 20, living in a dorm with seriously the best roommate ever, enjoying hanging with friends, learning all I could at a liberal arts school, recovering from the most rewarding experiences of my life while discovering I was to embark on another one junior year. I dont think I had a 5 year plan then. I had some goals that when I think about, I havent reached any, but also have accomplished things that I hadnt seen coming. (that is what life is after all... isnt it?) It was depressing and strangely reassuring all at the same time.
 

Well it has been 2 months plus some days and it has officially begun… I am starting to miss things. Did not think that would happen. Here is a short list:
 

1. Cooper- hands down I miss him the most. Best listener ever. Never judges, never talks back

2. This is weird.. but the lake. I don’t know why. I want to go to the lake so badly.

3. Campfires (also weird. I am aware)

4. Tim Hortans- Oh my goodness do I miss Tim Hortans. All I want is a great cup of coffee for $1.25. Seriously Starbucks work on that. I also want an Ice Capp. Someone mail me one!

5. A legit sub. It could be Wegmans or the General. Either would suffice.

6. Back country roads that you can drive down in bare feet with the windows open and the music blaring. You can drive miles without seen another car
7. Walking in grass in barefeet. Real grass.
8. CHQ...Hahah Im just kidding. Although I do miss Laurie and Scott's witty banter. (I also miss couponing with Sam, chatting with Peter, and calling Ken when everything was crashing!)
9. NY Drivers. San Antonio ones are horrible

I wrote that all last night.. and now its Friday, Im at work in an empty office and all I want to do is watch the Italy v Costa Rica game. Englands hopes for advancing lies with Italy. And Costa Rice just scored... Im off to bite my nails and read the live blog (since I cant watch at work)

I miss you all




 

Debacles and the Quarter Life Crisis Continues...

My life is never boring. It has kept me on my toes lately. Tonsil stones, reactions, my eye freaking out, etc. My eye is back to normal. (mostly) But other thing have stepped in to make sure I don’t have a normal week. On Friday I looked so cute. (conceited I know) but I had my cute bright blue pencil skirt on. The one from Benneton on Oxford St that I never wore around the 14710, and paired with a cute white shirt I actually looked put together. Thankfully I wore it on a Friday because at 2ish I went to the bathroom and zipped my cute shirt in the zipper. I pull the zipper down to re-zip and… it came off the track. Completely. The entire head of the zipper is bent and the track isn’t going back in. So I have a pencil skirt with a nonfunctioning zipper. Ok. Awesome. Thankfully by shirt was uber long and if I left it untucked no one could see my cute undies. The zipper is slightly important a pencil shirt considering it KEEPS THE SHIRT UP. I snuck to my desk and pinged Crystal who is prepared for every life situation and had safety pins. Phew. What was really fun was that I had to make it back to bathroom, and even after I pinned it, I had leave my shirt untucked. Gah. So much for getting dressed. (Picture a white tank that is hits my waist in the front, but has a tail and swoops down to my hammies, untucked over a pencil skirt. Yup. Looked dumb)

Along the same lines… my dress that I wore to work today makes me look pregnant. Not just a cute bump, but like a solid 4 months. It has an awkward waistline… its not an empire waist, but its not at the hips either. Its in the middle and it makes me look like Im hiding something. Of course I have worn the dress 4 or 5 times now and just noticed today…

My name apparently means graceful. Haha. Every morning that I wear a dress/skirt to work, I fall out of my car. I literally scan the surrounding area before I get out. No matter what I do, my skirt is bunched up or blowing badly in the wind. I hurry to fix it which is when I usually hit my bag against my car and stumble in heels and have to catch myself. You think I would be better at exiting a vehicle in a dress. You would think…

I had flag football last night. At 9:30. Argh. We lost against a pretty good team and let me be completely honest… I didn’t care. All of the guys did. They start getting all intense. (at the end of game they decided we need to go back to getting there early to jog and go over things…. I forget that it is the nfl that we are playing in) I don’t know why I am so uncaring about the games. I am competitive. I like to win. Flag football I could care less. But the real fun happened before the game, before I even stepped on the field…

I parked my car and headed through the parking lot to the field. Shortly after locking my car everything went downhill. I was looking afar to the field and thinking “what color are we again? We are green right? Wait no.. that is softball.” While I am thinking this Im scanning the sidelines to see someone I know. I should probably mention that I am wearing my blue team shirt. All I had to do is LOOK DOWN. But no. I continue scanning. Then I see a crew of blue and think “Oh right. Duh we are blue” And right then, in the very instant that I think “blue” I am in extreme pain. Everyone know those concrete strips in parking lots that tell the driver “hey parking spot ending! Please release your foot from the gas and apply the brakes!”?? Well I kicked one because I wasn’t LOOKING DOWN. Oh my goodness it hurt. I was in public so I just bent over and did the silent scream. Im so good at that. I take a moment to examine the damage and notice that my nail is scrapped. Ok… that is a lot of pain for that, but whatever.

I played the game and kept feeling my toe throb. Weird. I need to rebuild my pain tolerance… this is pathetic. I woke up this morning and the bottom knuckle is purple. Ahh… so the pain wasn’t from the nail. It hurts to walk. I have to walk on the outside of my foot (which now hurts). It’s the same pain that I had with my other toes. That sharp, on fire pain. Sigh. (important tidbit that has been overlooked its my left foot, 2^nd toe.) It completely threw my outfit this morning. I was going to wear pants that require heels (because they are so long) but I could get my toe in the heel without dying. Tonight is softball…. Should be interesting.

Since P-Dogg wont come down and be my personal trainer, I had to figure something else out! Thankfully my family has moved into “my” house for 6 weeks or so. My aunt walks every night and whenever I am free I tag along. She doenst “walk” by the way. It’s a canter and when you are done with the 3.5 miles I am literally dripping with sweat. I love it. Having a buddy helps. So much!

I have softball again tonight…. I don’t want to go. Just because I kinda made a fool out of myself last time. I still firmly keep my stance on the entire crap rule, but I probably could have done it with a little more class… oops. And Im not throwing in to a cutoff when second base is 5 ft away from me… and Willie Mays seemed to do ok catching with his glove down. It just annoying that my team is so hardcore and they have no idea what they are talking about. Im so good at keeping my mouth shut too… gah. I have to keep my head on straight tonight and bat better. We shall see how fast I am with a broken toe too…

So this is a rewrite of the original post that I wrote last night. I shouldn’t blog when I am tired and have a throbbing toe. I still haven’t had the best week this week. Still struggling honestly. Sitting in a cube all day emailing people that they need to fix their crap, and then getting stupid emails back is hitting me. Im supposed to be doing research, looking at art and writing articles. I have been trying to not have a ¼ life crisis for two weeks now. I think that is some of my problem with the sports… I don’t care, and I have a temper (which I usually don’t have). Im still not where I really want to be at, and Im getting impatient. (Patience is not one of my virtues.)

That is all I have today!

I miss you all. (and I miss the lake for some reason)

Im in Love...

Im in Love.... with soccer. Love with a capital "L". This next month is the highlight of every 4 years (that is kinda sad now that I think about it...) But it is so true. Im obsessed and not ashamed of it. USA just beat Ghana. About time. We have a chance to get out of group play if Portugal keep ruining their chances (I am completely ok with their embarrassing lost. And Spain's) 

Besides soccer what's new with me?? Hmmm... I wrote a blog post last week and didn't post it because it was so depressing and pessimistic. I didnt want to subject you all to it. Here is a taste: "While everyone tells me that it doesn’t matter and I don’t have to do what I went to school for I want to punch them because I went to school for art history for a reason. I like it and want to do something with it. If I wanted to be practical and work a job because it paid me money I would have gone to school for economics or something “practical” like that. I didn’t go to school to work a job to pay the bills. But I kinda need to pay the bills so here I am in San Antonio not knowing what Im doing." Yup... thats all you need to read out of my rant. End of story... My job is tedious.

Thanks to Jared, I made a spreadsheet of my meager income. Lets just say that I am going to Brazil 2016 for the Women's Gold Medal Match. I have a worksheet planning out my saving. Im going to rock it and get Abby Wambach's autograph. Its happening. Every 4 years I am going to the gold medal match. Hands down.

I mowed the lawn on Saturday.

Did you see that?? I mowed the lawn. Thats it. No story! I didnt almost chop off a limb, or die via nasal obstruction, or die. Im so excited. WooHoo!

All of my aliments are gone... except for the corner of my eye. Its bleeding and red. It itches like you wouldnt believe and its spread to under my eye. Any ideas??

I have nothing to say... I have football this week (I let in another touchdown last week but we won) and Softball on Wednesday (I got in a fight with my own team about them making me walk. A guy walked with 2 outs, we were up 13-5 and 2 people on my team wanted me to take the base instead of batting. Didnt go well. Oh and I caught a ball with my glove down instead of up and I was told I caught it wrong. I said "Hello ever heard of Willie Mays and I caught it didnt I??" Basically I didnt make friends on my team last week)

Other than that Im watching the World Cup every second, and I am frustrated with my job. I seriously need some art exposure. Gah.

Ok thats it. This is incredibly boring ( I realize that) but I havent written in awhile. Im thinking about Laurie as CHQ starts soon... Good Luck!

I miss you all!

Bad to Worse. Side Effects are Real

Do you know what I learned this week?? An extremely important lesson... dont complain about something because it can always get worse. Tonsil stone... they are gross. The side effects of Amoxicillin when you are allergic is even worse. Yeah... Im allergic. Instead of a sore throat, I have angry little red bumps over half of my body that itch. My stomach, back, chest, and head have been constantly itching since Thursday. In addition a SECOND side effect appeared last night. Im not so sure that Im ok disclosing said ailment on the world wide web, but lets just say Im really itchy everywhere, extremely uncomfortable, and my stomach hates me from all of the drugs that are pumping through my veins. (there are currently 4)

Lets back it up to Thursday night when I called my parents and casually mentioned that I was itching and looking like I got stabbed with a pine tree everywhere (Im allergic. I alos break out in red, itchy dots when I go strawberry picking. I think its the hay and yet every year my mother drags me to slave in the hot sun and get all itchy. Im pretty sure thats abuse) Anyways I tell mom, who tells dad, who googles it. Apparently a rash from this stuff is normal... until it starts itching. Shouldnt disclosed all of that info to the parents because they get worried and tell me that I should drive to the clinic.

I ignored them. That is what 25 year olds are supposed to do. Ignore their parents. So I go to work and cant stop itching and notice that side effect 2 is appearing rapidly. Great. Maybe I should call the doctor? I stop at Walmart after to get drugs (legal over the counter ones) I decide to grab some Benadryl for my angry red welts and for the fact that Texas hates me and has big bugs that bite so it may come in handy to have a stash. Then I remember that I wanted Tylenol a week or so ago and didnt have any.. so by the reach the self checkout I have 4 kinds of meds. I was waiting for a siren to go off as Im scanning med after med. (it didnt btw!)

I get home and I really dont feel well so... I cave. I call the doctor. They say (and I quote) "Ok Anna, The doctor will call you right back in a few minutes). This was at 4:45. By 7:30 I hadnt heard anything. I took the pill at night when I was supposed to and headed to bed. This morning I get a call saying that since its a rash Im probably ok. Just keep taking it. Ummm... not just a rash. I have second side effect also. Ohhhh... well the doctor needs to know this and we will call you back. OMG. This time she called me back in 10 minutes. Basically she said that I should stop taking Amoxicillin pronto (she was distressed that I took it last night. Ummm YOU DIDNT CALL ME BACK!) and that I was given a really high dosage (500mg 3 times a day) and that they are prescribing a new drug and cutting the amount in half (250mg ONCE a day). Yeah... I dont have confidence in the doctor I saw last week. The new doctor gave me prescription  for the antibiotic and one to fight side effect #2. THANK GOODNESS.

CVS makes me miss Wegmans. Because I have spent far too much of my life in customer service, I am very aware of how I get treated (I also try to be the perfect customer). The girl at CVS was not good. I walk up to the counter and she says that she will be right with me. The other pharmacist says what? (she didnt see me and I think she thought that girl #1 was talking to her) Girl #1 says "Oh she just needs... something." with some attitude. Ok whatever no big deal. She is cashing me out and I have 3 to pick up. She looks at me and says (again I quote) "Wow. What is wrong with you! You have a lot to pick up". Ummm... what? I just say "haha where do I start" to avoid the question. Not sure she got the joke because she just STARED. I swear I heard crickets. So awkward. Not so sure she will be working there that long if she asks everyone whats wrong with them.

So very long story short... I miss my stones. I dont feel well, but I have so many meds in this house and pumping through my veins that I should be soon. 4 meds.. one for the stones, one for side effect two, the remnant of the amoxicillin I took last night, and remnants of the stuff I took last night for side effect 2. And I wonder why my stomach hurts....


Lets switch to random topics. The first being the Texas flag. I want you all to think about the things that the NYS flag is on. How often do you see Liberty and Justice on a field of blue?? (and come on. We couldnt be more creative than that? Liberty and Justice... that hasnt been done before. Kinda like the towns of NYS. Cuba, Rome, Greece, Jamestown, Syracuse, and Milan are just a few.) Anyways back to the original point that I havent seen the NYS flag since 4th grade when we learned about state history. I have seen the Texas state flag everyday since being here. Its weird.

This state gets more and more hostile. Stickers, mouse sized beetles, post-it sized spiders, scorpions (havent seen one yet but apparently the house Im in gets them. OMG), and today I spotted my first.... snake. Eww. Im not ok with Texas' insect/reptile population (except for those cute green lizards. Those are ok!)

I dont have any stories. I havent felt well enough to do anything stupid, so I dont have any dumb stories for you guys. Sorry!

I miss you all!

Bruised knees, Bruised Ego and a Fond Trip down Memory Lane

This morning was spider free. Thank goodness. I could not have handled that this morning! I smashed my alarm forever, not really because I couldn’t keep my eyes open (that was the reason at the beginning) but because I couldn’t move. Oh my goodness I am sore today. Sore and every single movement is an effort. I didn’t know that an hour and a half of softball could kill me. (more on my injuries in a bit!)

Last night was fun… intense for an intramural but fun. I was in left center field (there are 4 outfielders… I feel like Im back in the Busti league with a Rover) and I am not used to the batters destroying the ball like they did last night. It makes sense… guys playing slow pitch softball, but I didn’t realize it until I was out to the fence playing outfield. Our pitcher was no Larson so every other hit was out to us! I didn’t play well… at all. I grounded out twice (I informed the ump that the tie goes to the runner the first time because I most def tied) and had a single. It was the fielding that P-Dogg would have been disappointed in….

First error… completely misjudged. Completely. The ball went up and I thought it was right to me, it got lost in the lights, and bam it was over my head. But it was 20 yds over my head so Im not really sure that I could have done anything about it even if I would have moved right away. The second error was worse. Embarrassing. I was out to the fence and I could tell it was going to drop in so I book it forwards, take a dive, catch it and IT FALL OUT OF MY GLOVE. Oh my goodness no…. So Im sprawled on the ground watching the yellow sphere slowly roll away from me. Crap.

We get out of the inning and as Im jogging in I automatically think “crap I have to go to the back end of the dugout to avoid P-Dogg”. Then I started chuckling because obviously I didn’t have to worry about it. But then while everyone is being nice and saying “no worries it was a hard catch” and “eh no big deal you tried” I started to miss getting told the TRUTH. I missed the dreaded jog in where you get met by PDogg in a blue "P" visor and creepy sunglasses (you could never see her eyes) and as she threw up her hands she would say… “What was that? That was a routine catch Rusch. Maybe if you weren’t so nonchalant out there and weren’t out in the Gobi desert you would have caught it!” Haha I miss that. My team probably thinks Im crazy because I just sat on the bench chuckling. (Just so everyone knows PDogg actually told me I was in the Gobi desert once. I remember because I had to go home and google it to see where it was.) Good memories :)

My injuries are minor. Two bruised knees (from the failed dive), one scrapped leg from a ground ball stop, and for some reason my hand hurts so much from batting. The first finger knuckle/palm is really painful and I don’t know why. There is a twinge every time I move my finger (which makes typing fun). It is all fat and weird. Im not sure what I did. Oh and every muscle in my body is screaming. My quads were still tight from Saturday so that first run down the baseline was comical. I need to get back in shape!

Nothing else is really new. Oh I did choke on my antibiotic pill at work yesterday afternoon. Legit choking. I was attempting to be quiet about it. Our cube farm is silent (most of the time) so opening food and choking on pills are disrupting but in the attempt to be all hush hush, I think I was louder. I tried to play it cool… I like to think I succeeded, but not so sure that I did!

I took pictures of my cube forever ago… and now it was so long ago that its missing half of the stuff that is in it now so it looks bleak and depressing. Ill take a new one tomorrow when no one is in my row and is wondering what the heck Im doing!

I miss you all! (well idk about my sister who enjoys my misery a little bit to much!)

Endangered Toes and a Creepy Crawly

I love that you never notice that something is wrong with your outfit until you get to work. I pull into my usual parking spot, take out the keys from the ignition, slip off my flats to put on my heels, and I notice I have white stuff on my black pants. Did I notice when I got them out of the drawer? No. Did I notice when I put them on? No. Did I notice when I get to work and there is nothing that I can do about it? Yes. Seriously? (side note. I started writing this on Tuesday, and Im finishing the post on Wednesday. I got to work today and did not realize that my pants desperately need a belt. Im really doing well this week!)

Below is Yours Truly! I hate my face, but other than that its not bad. Allie looks awesome and intense.. I just look white and weird! We came in 9^th out of 29 teams so I don’t think that is bad! My quads are still protesting Saturday!

 

Mowing. I cannot wait for the blog that I say “I mowed the lawn today” and I move on. That will mean that my lawn mowing experience wasn’t near tragic (like this one) or complete torture. Alas that blog post is not today. I waited until 7:15 to mow the lawn because it was so HOT out. Just to clarify… it was STILL HOT out at 7:15, but I was ready to go with my motivation tank (this one was Train Insane or Remain the Same. Catchy I know…) The first red-flag about how the evening was going to go was the epic battle of the…. Gas can. Yeah. Pathetic right? It’s the most complicated gas can I have ever seen. On Dad’s all you have to do is open the cap, pick out the funnel thing, and pour the gas. Well I took off the cap, tipped the can and nothing happened. (Yes it had gasoline in it. Im not THAT dumb!)I notice that there is a nob that says “store” and one that says “pour”. Ohhh clever. Problem solved… nope. I can move said nob. Instead I rip off the entire nozzle accidently. ARGH. Eventually after roughly… 4 minutes I finally get gasoline to come out of the dumb can. Then I proceed to overfill the tank and gas goes all over me and my Croc. Awesome.

I finally start mowing. 5 minutes in and everything is great (well lets be real… as great as it can be push mowing). I had to close the gate so I could mow behind it, so I stand next to the mower with my hand on the handle to keep it running, reach over and pull the gate. The mower was too close to the gate for it to close, so I pull it back and I RAN OVER MY FOOT WITH THE BLADES GOING.  Oh my goodness I freaked out and ran away from the mower (which caused it to turn off which was what I was trying to avoid to begin with). My heart was pounding and my Croc has a scrape on the top. The dogs were staring at me while I pranced through the yard saying aloud “I almost chopped off my foot… I almost chopped off my foot”. Thank you foot guardian angel. Your services are appreciated.

I continue mowing thinking that I am really stupid for 1. Running over my foot and 2. Freaking out. I move to the other lawn and the weirdest thing happens… I inhale something up my nose. It was a piece of grass, or a huge pollen bit but whatever it was hurt. A lot. It seems trivial… I am aware that all of you are like “Whatever Anna. No big deal”. I cant describe the pain. It was like my head and sinuses were simultaneously exploding. Both eyes are streaming, my nose is like Niagara Falls and it feel like someone is smashing me in the face. I again have to let go of the mower (Im barely strong enough to start it so I try to keep it running) and I just drop to my knees and try to blow my nose. Argh it was so bad. Again the dogs witnessed everything and just stared at me. Good times.

Thankfully the rest of the mow went well. Annabeth ever pooed in the part of the lawn that I had already mowed, not the part that I was about to. We had to have a talk about that last time, but she listened and only pooed behind me. Hey… I take whatever wins that I can!

 

Quick side note on America… When I was abroad I noticed the size of the cars and most likely commented on it somewhere in my either my Rome or London blog. They are tiny, practical, easier on the wallet and environmentally friendly. In America for some reason we have to drive tanks, and its usually one person per tank. I drive to work in an armada of Armadas. Its crazy. Why does everyone need such huge cars? Everyone makes fun of how small my car is but I think everyone else is crazy. If you are a Suburbian with your 2.3 kids, you don’t need a car that seats 9 so don’t complain about the gas prices.  Have you all seen the Armada??! My car could literally sit inside of it. Literally. Its just another reason that the rest of the world makes fun of us for consumption. Ok end of my bias and random rant on car size.

Well now its Wednesday and Im finishing up the post I started yesterday. I was just going to post it, but I have a dumb story to tell from this morning…

My alarm goes off at 5:45 this morning because I was too lazy last night to shower and needed to this morning. I get up ON TIME and start my normal routine… Say hi to the dogs, feed them, let them out and back in to shower. I am half awake staring at my clothes when out of the corner of my eye I see movement… I look over and scurrying (such an accurate word) across my bedroom floor was a spider. Ok no big deal right? WRONG. When they say that everything is bigger in Texas they mean its INSECTS. There are huge gross beetle things that I am not ok with and apparently (as I found out this morning) MAMMOTH size spiders. Oh my goodness I freaked. Of course the spider thought the bathroom was a perfect spot to head to (because I needed to shower!) and it stopped between the doorway and the shower. Right in the middle. It just sat there and seemed to say “bring it Anna. Try to get past me."

I stand and stare at it in horror. Its so gross that I don’t want to look at it, but at the same time I cant stop. (and I want to watch its movements). I decide that I have to take action so I go grab a Solo cup and return armed and with nerves of steel (not really but it sounds better than reality) The stupid thing wasn’t there. OMG seriously? With my feet in my bedroom, I poke my head in the door. Nothing. I leap (yes leap) onto my cousin’s step stool and spot it. With my Solo cup in hand I give myself a pep talk. Approximately 5 minutes pass and just as Im ready the creepy thing takes two steps… up the wall. CRAP. The solo cup was out (I should probably clarify that I wasn’t planning on trapping and transporting this abomination of a spider. I was planning on putting the cup over it, a package of shower curtain rings (they were heavy!) and leaving it there so I could shower) So the grossest thing I have ever seen is on the wall by the shower. No way am I showering. I slowly open the shower curtain, grab shampoo etc, reach ABOVE the spider and snatch my towel and sprint out. A spider made me shower in the spare bathroom down the hall.

 

After my shower I am now running late. I creepy back into my room… no sighting. I poke my head in the bathroom and ITS NOT THERE. Its worst not knowing where it is. I leapt back on the stool, step on the top step and get ready while I am constantly scanning my surrounding. I should describe said spider… it was brown and furry. Yes furry. If it stood on a normal size Post-It its creepy furry legs would touch all of the edges. Yes it was that big and that is NOT an exaggeration. The body wasn’t huge, but the fact that it had thick furry legs was not ok.   I have goosebumps just typing about it. Actually Crystal and I googled it at work.. It was a wolf spider. This is EXCATLY what it looked like…

https://www.google.com/search?q=wolf+spider&tbm=isch&imgil=5LdUGIRo7B_Z2M%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcQa1VbIsbvoEI1-rveK0bX0FaK-FurLlM-NUWfufCz2omyGpi8gqQ%253B1000%253B1056%253BSM3NAPBpl2LjxM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fen.wikipedia.org%25252Fwiki%25252FWolf_spider&source=iu&usg=__yXyfcyPDXMllFP5ZgXXat4exX1o%3D&sa=X&ei=7iePU5H0Bc61yASZ_ID4Dw&ved=0CKkBEP4dMAs&biw=1084&bih=459#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=5LdUGIRo7B_Z2M%253A%3BSM3NAPBpl2LjxM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252F2%252F25%252FHogna_lenta_18.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fen.wikipedia.org%252Fwiki%252FWolf_spider%3B1000%3B1056

Ok now that I am all creepy crawly Im going to stop!

 

I miss you all!