the office life. .

Our coffee, at work, sucks. Luckily though, I have some green tea bags. BONUS: green tea is a “debloater”. . .score! Anyway, our office is also cold all the time. I’m cold, by nature, which makes “office life” relatively freezing.

In the summer, the A/C is too cold and the winter is just cold by default. . OUTSIDE. As for inside. . the heater, regulated by my boss, doesn’t seem to stay on as long as I would prefer it to. . resulting in me, staying cold.

That’s where the tea plays an important role in this, my office life. I drink my hot tea in an effort to fill the “heat void” in my office life. It warms me both inside and out.

The problem:

Tea has this reputation. . it makes one frequent the bathroom. So. . .no matter how warm it makes me, the feeling becomes offset when I meet the cold, porcelain seat. .the toilet. Not only do toilets seem to stay 10-15degrees below room temperature (in my experience) anyway, but this particular toilet is in a room that feels nearly below freezing. Thus, pushing that particular seat below the freezing mark. You understand.

Another great attribute to this situation is that I did an intense workout with my roommates the other night, making walking slow and difficult. Frequent walks followed by squatting is more than painful.

America! The land I love!. .

You know we live in a great country-The United States-when political headlines share a striking resemblance to the World Series'. .

GOP Thumps the Democrats
"This is a Great Night for Republicans"
Va. Sweep/NJ Upset/Obama Stung
Go Phillies!

. . .

light bulb. .

So, “sometimes” when I acquire a new crush of sorts, I find myself constantly “grooming” my facebook profile. I will go through the first couple pages of my tagged pictures and weed out any that I may have, at one point, been on the fence about. As I was going through this process the other day, it hit me! This was ridic! I mean seriously, what am I doing? Do they even look at my page? I don’t even look at their pages very often. I actually make a point NOT to look, unless I intend on leaving a comment or something. Now don’t get me wrong. . I do my fair share of browsing through their pictures and reading their profile information. . but usually only ONCE. I don’t really want to know who they are talking to or what’s going on in their lives. Walls are just a place to publically display my wit. :) Anyway. .that is what conversations are for. I would hate to be “that guy” who brings something up that had never been previously discussed between the two particular parties. Meaning: someone was creeping.

Anyway, I wondered if there was any real truth behind the method to my grooming madness. Curiosity struck. I wonder how often guys check out girls on facebook. Like, if they start liking someone. . do they visit daily, weekly, monthly. . . ever??

[Mass texting begins.] I sent somewhere in the vicinity of 50-60 texts to most all my guy friends. Married’s excluded. I was surprised by the feedback. The guys I didn’t really expect to hear back from, I heard from. Nice. I got some pretty funny responses, which were sarcastic. However, it being the subject it was. . I deemed their responses to be sincere and the sarcasm was simply a cover. Making them creepy-ish? . . .maybe. The responses ranged from “daily” to “one a month, if ever.” Very cool. The most common response was every few days to weekly. The second most repetitive response was by way of mini feed. If they see something about you there, it's like they have a "why not?" moment. haha!! Interesting. This made my complex of “grooming” my profile go away.

Some more responses:
*probably more than I should. Why? You stalking someone. .
*this feels like a trick.
*what? Do you work for facebook survey?
*bitches be crazy.
To name a few. .

Something I didn’t think about ahead of time though was the curiosity that may come from their end. “Why?” popped up a lot. Explanations were in order. . Needless to say, it was a long day of texting.

In closing, I’d like to make a shout out to the carrier formerly known as Cingular. . thank you for unlimited text messaging.

and the award goes to. .

President Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize today!!
http://msnbc.com/id/33237202/ns/politics-white_house?GT1=43001

They don’t give this prestigious award to just anyone you know. A few of the past winners include Theodore Roosevelt (1906 winner); Martin Luther King Jr. (1964 winner); Mother Theresa (1979 winner); Nelson Mandela (1993 winner); and of course Al Gore, in 2007, as the infamous “founder of pollution”.

My initial reaction: My opinion of the Nobel Peace Prize has been tainted since 2007. But despite that, I am proud of our President and his ability to say the word ‘hope’ well.

I am just sarcastic by nature. Obviously it is an honor for your president win the Nobel Peace Prize. Not only is it awesome but it reflects on our country. So . .good deal! However, I do want to know what it takes exactly to get a Nobel Peace Prize. I mean. . I give people money all the time, sometimes even for medicine.


*I viewed the list of Nobel winners at http://almaz.com/nobel/peace

the bicycle gang. .

This past Friday night I was planning on staying in, maybe do some cleaning. . whatev. The roommates were out of town and I had the place to myself. .so why not right? I locked myself in my room and watched HGTV. Sure, I had a few options on the “going out” end, but they all involved driving further than I was willing. Then my friend calls me and plans are made. Nothing big, just go chill at his place with another friend and then maybe walk on over to campus corner. So I get ready and roll up to their place, when I get another call from him. Turns out the plan had changed and I was to ready myself for a night of mischief and terror on two wheels. Bicycles!! This was perfect. I was totally dressed inappropriately for such things. Plus it was freezing outside, and the wind that is self-caused while riding a bike would only intensify that fact. (Note: wearing short shorts, tank top, short-sleeved sweater, flip flops)
Anyway, we drove to the other friends’ house where the bikes were stored, thus creating more distance between us and campus corner. Fabulous.

(story within a story) whilst at the other house, getting ready for the bicycle gang activities. .i was offered the rest of my friends white Russian. I looked in it and noticed it had a brown tint to it, so I asked what was in it then took a drink. “chocolate milk” chimed through my ears. I immediately handed off the drink and ran inside barely making it to the toilet. Threw up. Cleaned up. Walked out. Now. . I’m not in any way allergic to milk, it’s just that I can’t share. The result of sharing causes nausea and probably death in some unfortunate case.

(Continued). . .everyone was very concerned about my warmth on the trip. Also my ability to ride in flip flops. I put on a big neon colored hoodie. I felt good!! Hopped on my “cruiser” and practiced for a bit while everyone else finished up their pre-drink. (Cruiser description: blue, chrome fenders, over extended handle bars, and new rubbers. LOVE)

Then me and the bicycle gang took off! 7 of us. And it was cold, but exhilarating. Cruising down the dark streets of nompton. Completely quiet other than the cold air through the spokes and the sound of my dear friends’ banter. Total happy buzz! We arrive at campus corner and tie the bikes up and do our thing. Dance party. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance party. Dance. Dance. People be hatin on my gang, I tell them what’s up. Dance. Dance.

Closing time. .the song.

Unleash the bikes! Only we can’t because one of my friends (with the key) walked home. So we waited for some others to go retrieve it on the bikes which I knew the combination to! Yeah. . pretty much saved the day. No big deal. In the meantime, I meet Collin. He is from Washington, here on family reunion business. We talk for a while, when he asked me if I “smoke bud”. I replied absolutely not but we needed another person in our gang. Seeing how my friend walked home, we now had an extra bike with no jockey. Hence, I save the day again when I suggest Collin ride the spare bike home. Solved.

quote from an emotional morning. .

we were just in "short-term" love.
i'm waiting to be in "long-term" love.

lyrics. .

just something to ponder. .

paramore's Turn It Off:

I scraped my knees while I was prayin
And found a demon in my safest haven

So true. .

professional. .

Today: a new, young Eskridge Honda parts delivery guy came into my shop and says in all sincerity. . “Hi. I’ve got a pretty big load. Can you help me?” Dude was completely straight faced and I am convinced he didn’t even realize what he had said. Being the professional I am, I simply bit my lip. .holding back ALL things inappropriate. However, I did “lend him a hand” in the sense that I pointed him in the direction of the parts room where our parts manager would assist him with the handling of “his load”.

Then the mass text messaging began.

I love my friends and here is why. I have compiled a list of the top 3 responses. . and they are:
3. KL: Did you respond with “ill be the judge of that!”
2. DP: Did you lend him a hand?
1. BH: Haha. .Be careful! Although I hear hondas are long lasting. . :)

*Surprisingly, I only recieved one "That's what she said!" response.

the art formerly known as poetry. .

I wrote this back in July when I was "dealing" with things. I've never been into the whole poetry thing (which is what I am classifying this as) before, but given the events that were taking place at the time. . .seemed necessary. Also, I was partially proud of myself. haha. So, this is me being humble. ;)

July
Your words are like shards of glass
Dating back to ‘since the beginning’
Getting deeper and deeper
Making things worse
Never encouraging
Never uplifting
Actions of disappointment and failure
Let down…

Where has your faith gone?
Not in me alone, but in Christ

Your shards do nothing but damage
Making the Rock nothing but a rolling stone
Trying to climb
Trying to overcome
Only One will help

The Devil is crafty with his props
Though I’m easily tempted
I am not easily fooled
Yet, I easily fall

My hearing drowns out my listening
I want to live for one
But as the story goes
I live for the other

Both angels and demons befriend me
I keep them separate, but close
Leaving me stagnant
Seating is limited when there is only one Throne

“I’m doing better”
Conviction lingers in the shadows
Waiting…
It’s not as hard as it seems
Water to wine
Shards to sand

oh! now I get it. .

Wednesday night I watched some of the ‘Presidential Address to Congress’ and I thought I was going to shoot myself. I felt like I was watching the election debates again. Only, there was no one else at the podium. There was an obvious line in the room. . the Democrats were the ones giving standing ovations in 3 minute intervals and the Republicans were the ones sitting mostly. With the distraction of the frequent applauding, I thought the address was confusing. I felt that he was talking in circles.

There was some I guess “joking” going on (given the laughter), although I’m not sure what for. When I hear the President say something to the effect of ‘still some things needing to be worked out’ when presenting a health care bill before Congress followed by laughter, I don’t find this funny. I don’t really follow politics as often as I should but whatever he was joking about was over my head apparently. After listening for about 30 minutes I came to the conclusion that there have been ‘rumors’ about things in his bill: groups to encourage senior suicide, insuring illegal immigrants, etc. . all of which he said were lies. That’s fine. Good. I’m glad those are lies. But what the F is so funny about it? It really kind of pissed me off. I’m sure there are other Americans out there who follow less than I do or not even at all, and when they come in and flip on the TV to that, it’s stupid. And if I were to follow politics, I don’t think I should have to follow tabloids also, to fully understand a Presidential Address.

Following the address, I concluded:

· Our tax dollars shouldn’t go towards ‘picking up the tab’ for someone who doesn’t have health insurance.
· Everyone will be required to have health insurance, but those who can’t afford it will be exempt.
· Small businesses and larger companies will have to provide or at least ‘pitch in’ for health coverage for their employees.
· Small businesses with a “narrower” profit margin will be exempt.
· Not one penny of this plan will add to our country’s deficit.
· Doctors will no longer be the deciders of what is needed to diagnose. (i.e. The program directors will say if x-rays or MRIs are necessary or not.)
· This is a plan to provide another choice for affordable health care coverage and maybe even the added competition will trigger other insurance companies to lower their rates and premiums, thus keeping your options open.

In my opinion, the first 2 points contradict each other, as do the third and fourth. I don’t understand how this won’t cost money. Who is going to pay for the people who can’t afford health insurance? Are they just going to make it so cheap that anyone can indeed afford it, while still receiving quality service? And who exactly will be providing these services? And will you get to investigate your doctor’s or any other medical physician’s facility or services before accepting government health insurance?

I don’t know really how I feel about any of this. It does make me a little nauseous to think about going through the government for everything. It feels that the government is slowly collecting industries. Home, auto, and now health? I am not ever sure where to go if I want to research further. I know a lot of “legit” sites, but can they be trusted? It feels that all is corrupted or maybe I’m just paranoid. If there is another civil war I don’t think it will be a matter of Democrat vs. Republican but more of the people vs. the government.

Fangtasia Football. .

Sunday was a rough day. Finally emerging from my room after 19 hours of mourning OU’s loss to BYU and fantasizing about nursing Sam Bradford back to health, I joined 2 of my roommates in the living room for casual conversation. [Oh and yes. .literally 19 hours. 9:30pm Saturday to about 5pm Sunday]

Anyway, after short deliberation, 2 of my roommates and I decided to start a fantasy football league. The league consists of 8 girls with NO fantasy football experience. However, we each do have “lifelines”. . This should be interesting!

I’m looking at this as a learning experience and also as a way to possibly get me more interested in teams that aren’t the Minnesota Vikings. If not, I’m banking on sporadic power hours to improve interest and productivity. Or worsen. . who knows.

Anyway, I foresee some good game watching nights with the roomies and league members along with some avid note taking. I’m hoping my note taking efficiency from years of movie and The Office quote jotting will play a significant role in MY success in this league. For I fully intend on dominating. AND I’ll be blogging along the way. .obviously.

Now. . .if only I can figure out how to change my team name from “Team 3” to “The Millennium Falcons” on the ESPN website thing. . Why “the millennium falcons” you ask? Well, there was a “Star Wars” marathon that took place this weekend. Thanks to my friend Chelsea, my dream of becoming “Amy Solo” [or Mrs. Han Solo] was rekindled.

Reading Challenge

As a conservative and “registered republican” if you will. .it seems that I am prone to receiving Barack-bashing emails and email forwards. Not all are bad, but they do in some way make fun of our president or bash him. Now I’m not judging anyone for this, I just simply don’t forward them back. No matter how many years of bad luck I will receive. It’s good for a laugh, whatev, I get it. However, it’s the more “serious” seeming ones that have begun to catch my attention. I’ve been receiving quite a few lately with quotes from Barack Obama’s books: “The Audacity of Hope” and “Dreams From My Father”. Some are quite disturbing and I can see why people are worried about the future of our country, with a man who thinks and writes like this. However, being the email forwards they are, I’ve decided to just read the books myself.

So. . with inspiration from the movie “Julie and Julia” [great movie], I’ve decided to start a blog. Not just a political blog, but a random blog. It may or may not have structure all the time, but it’s an outlet nonetheless. But for my first semi-structured feat, I plan to read through each of Obama’s books. I’ve set the goal to finish one book in 3 or less weeks. I know, this seems like a long time. But I am in no way a devout reader. Besides the Bible and the Twilight series, I don’t read anything unless it says “funny” or “hysterical”, etc. . somewhere on the cover!! So reading something I dug “boring from the lack of preferred adjectives on the cover” will be challenging I think. But I will blog along the way my findings and opinions. I’m pretty excited.

Step 1: Buy one of the books.