outta here till 2007

If I didn't say it to you in person or via card, have a Merry Christmas (or fill in the holiday of your choosing) and most certainly a fabby New Year. I am full of hope that 2007 will be better than 2006. It's gotta be, right?

spooky

Why my horrorscope sometimes spooks me (it is right way too often):

"Your wounds don't always heal quickly. Once you feel burned by someone, you are likely finished with him or her for quite some time. On the other hand, you are willing to forgive and forget if a straightforward conversation settles the score. If you have feelings of misgiving about a friend, air them out with this person. Speak your truth and then decide if the friendship is worth saving. You will feel better about yourself if you find out for sure."

Yup, done that.

hot

Those of you who know me in an everyday kind of way know that I love to go out to get coffee. I started doing this regularly when I moved to Seattle (surprise surprise) and have continued the tradition here in H-town. There are times when I order something really rich and crazy and times that I just get regular coffee. Those coffee times are the worst. I cannot wait to drink the coffee, so no matter how hot it is I scald my tongue. Sometimes I do it more than once before the coffee is cool enough to drink.

While this is a true story about me, it is also a metaphor. There are things out there that seem so good that I cannot pass them up, even if there is clearly something wrong. As an adult, I'm way better about figuring out the troublesome bits, but not always. For instance, I consistently buy underwear that is too big. I used to think that I like eggnog, and I almost drank some of the leftovers in my fridge, but I don't like eggnog!

But what do you do with the too-big underwear, the left-over eggnog? Neither is going to cool down like coffee but they're not going to magically fit or taste good.

train

Listening to a mix cd my friend gave me long ago a Metallica song came on, which made me think of my mother and her obsession with Jason Newstead. Long ago she dated a man named Val, who had a son named Mike. One of my high school best friends dated Mike and I was also friends with him. Mike knew Jason so my mom got interested in him and Metallica by proxy. Then I was thinking about how Mike reminded me of a heavy metal Leif Garrett and that's when I realized that he was the dude whose name I was trying to remember a few weeks ago.

I like it that hearing Metallica always makes me think of my mom.

bad callers

My phone rang this morning at 6:30am. NOrmally I would probably be up and around by then but this has been a week of little sleep, so I was dreaming about writing something or other, some kind of test maybe, and the blaring phone wrenched me right out of that. The worst part is that whoever it was didn't say anything. I checked the area code and it was western Maryland. Now I don't know a danged person in Maryland, at least no one with my phone number. I wish people who dial wrong numbers would at least apologize or make up a funny story.

e-silly

Friend, to me: "Have you ever tried that dating service E-Harmony?"

Me, to friend: "I don't like that word 'harmony.' Now if it was called E-Chaos, I'd be all over it."

off to traffic court

I couldn't figure out why people kept insisting that I was about to move away until I reread my post from last Friday. I am very much a "the decision has not been made until I actually make it" kind of person so I was perplexed, but now I understand. Let me say it loud and clear to anyone who cares: I love my job and I (gasp!) really like living in Houston. Whenever I say that people cringe, but they have not experienced the sweet bliss that is driving down the freeway after work with the windows down in December.

So yes, I will keep my peeps up to date on what's going on with me and currently that state is status quo but questioning. I guess that makes me a work-agnostic.

unhinged (not me!)

My friend recently became the creative director at Unhinged Productions. This is a great little theatre company here in H-town that deserves your support. Check them out!

minty

I've been chastised and flayed so much in the past 24 hours that I had to wear long sleeves today. I can't say any of it was undeserved, but it was hard to take in such a short time period. The bright spot is that I think (hope, hope) that I know where everyone stands now and can begin to work things out. There's been a lot of soul-searching going on over in Ranch Ranger.

dragons and whatnot

Wahoo, I finally finished Eragon. I had to put it away for an entire week while traveling, which was maddening because I only had about 25 pages left to read. Anyway, now I can safely watch all of those trailers and plan my trip to see it. Anyone want to go with me?

festivus

As I may have mentioned here before, our department has decided to celebrate Festivus this year. Part of the Festivus tradition is the airing of the grievances. We are thinking that an office party may not be the best place for such an event, so we are going to go with the pole, exchanging unwanted or unneeded items, and a lot of food. Oh, and there is a song, apparently.

I'm realizing that this airing of grievances doesn't happen on a regular basis but perhaps it should. I'm saying this in particular today because it's come to my attention that I've been not so nice so a few folks lately. In some cases, I really couldn't help it. I could have handled things better but the events themselves were out of my control. In others, I was at least 50% responsible for the hurt and, it seems, oblivious. Because grievances were aired, I had a chance to apologize, and whether that's enough I will find out soon enough.

friday morning comin' down

Well, it's Friday. I'm sitting at my friend's house, petting a borrowed kitten and listening to Townes Van Zandt. There is nothing like time and distance to add a twinge of bitterness to things.

Today is not a day to dwell, though, but to begin to figure out The Future. My interview went as well as I could have hoped. If it turns out that they liked me I will have to return to interview with the college administration, something I did not discover until I was on my way to the airport. My sis and her gf have already decided where I should live and who I should date if I move.

Here I am in the other town, though, the one where a second job interview might be happening soon. It has the obvious draw of being where my best li-berry school friend lives. It also happens to be a town where I immediately felt comfortable on my first visit. So it looks more and more likely that I will abandon my beloved H-town, in pursuit of filthy lucre or a more supportive administration or a future that makes more sense to me. I never planned to stay there for more than a few years and now it's been 4 1/2. There are times when I wish for a seer to tell me my path, but then I stop to listen and discover that I am my own seer.

being honest

Another zinger from my horrorscope:
"Tell everyone your big news instead of trying to hide it. Eventually, the information will leak out, so you might as well be upfront instead of trying to keep it under wraps. You will come across as being much more responsible and trustworthy."

I've already told a lot of folks, but if you didn't already know, I am going for a job interview Wednesday. It's a step up in responsibility (not to mention pay) and I am pretty darned excited about it. I will let you know, whether it's successful or more in the crash & burn category.

sundays are for reminiscing

I was listening to the Chenille Sisters song this morning, The Love of Your Life, and I realized that it reminded me so much of the ex. Give it a listen and see if you know what I mean. There are so many good songs on this album, like Help! I'm Turning Into My Parents, which is something most of us 30-somethings have lamented at one time or another. I only have the album on tape, though, and my only tape player is on the house, which oddly enough is the place I'm least likely to listen to music.

I'm actually at work right now. The li-berry is full and busy but not the Info Desk. People are cramming for finals and writing those last minute papers.

I put up my outdoor & indoor Christmas lights yesterday. I was very proud of myself for getting lights up all along the front of the house (save over the garage--it's peaked and way too much hassle). Still on my list: the tree. For an agnostic, I sure do love my holidays.