I work with a wonderful group of people. Many people would describe us as a family (I guess a slightly dysfunctional one) and I really like the people in my department.
Oh, but there is still the Drama.
With a capital D.
Sometimes I feel more like a coach than a project manager/editor. I spend lots of time patiently encouraging people to do what needs to be done (their jobs) and strategizing with my supervisor about how to gently introduce new projects when everything is Just Right. And even then, it's frequently a struggle to get through a project. There has been yelling. There have been fits of rage. There have been tears. There has been pouting and slamming of doors. And that's just for one project. I have about 20 going on right now. So it's fun.
Yesterday the person yelling was me. I wasn't yelling at anyone (and let's be honest, I wasn't really yelling). I was just expressing frustration about a key piece of information that wasn't shared with me during three separate, irritating phone calls while the person on the other line argued with me about details that weren't even relevant anymore (but I didn't know that because of the information she was withholding. Grrrr.). And there was some other stuff, too. It just kept piling up and piling up.
So I had HAD it yesterday. I was done with the Drama. I was so tired by the end of the day that I gave up before putting all of my groceries away and fell asleep on the couch with vegetables and soup cans littered throughout the kitchen. When M got home, I just didn't feel like talking about it. But finally, around bedtime, I launched into my story by saying, "Well, I'll just give you the short version." After I was done, I realized I had been ranting for over 30 minutes! He is so patient! He just sat there and listened and then gave me hugs when I finally wound down. And hopefully, there will be no more drama today.
At least it's Friday!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Reunion
It seems like this is my year for reunions.
My family had a good (but sad) reunion at my grandmother's funeral in January. At that time, we decided to plan another (more cheerful) reunion in July
Then yesterday, I got an email about a reunion being planned for my old church youth group. This sounds like a great idea, for several reasons. I did not go to high school with most of the people I went to church with, so I would not see them at class reunions. For those with whom I did attend high school, I did not go to my class reunions. Either of them. Cause I went to two high schools, so I got invited to two reunions. (I saw some pictures of one of them, and they were hilarious. Some people appeared to be operating at the same maturity level as in high school. Glad I wasn't there).
This kind of reunion seems like much more fun anyway, because it would be less of "I've got to look so good to impress everybody" and "Don't you wish you had asked me out in tenth grade?" and more of "This is where God has led me and what he has done in my life." Which, to me, is way more fun. Of course, we are all human, so there's no guarantee about the other stuff. I admit, I'd love to show off my (smokin' hot) godly and kind husband! :)
I'm not sure if my schedule will allow, and I'm pretty certain that Mr. Smokin' Hot himself wouldn't be able to attend due to the dissertation-writing of it all. (Which is truly fine with ...we agreed that I would do everything I can to keep his schedule and obligations to a bare minimum during this last hectic part of earning his Ph.D.). But it would be fun.
My family had a good (but sad) reunion at my grandmother's funeral in January. At that time, we decided to plan another (more cheerful) reunion in July
Then yesterday, I got an email about a reunion being planned for my old church youth group. This sounds like a great idea, for several reasons. I did not go to high school with most of the people I went to church with, so I would not see them at class reunions. For those with whom I did attend high school, I did not go to my class reunions. Either of them. Cause I went to two high schools, so I got invited to two reunions. (I saw some pictures of one of them, and they were hilarious. Some people appeared to be operating at the same maturity level as in high school. Glad I wasn't there).
This kind of reunion seems like much more fun anyway, because it would be less of "I've got to look so good to impress everybody" and "Don't you wish you had asked me out in tenth grade?" and more of "This is where God has led me and what he has done in my life." Which, to me, is way more fun. Of course, we are all human, so there's no guarantee about the other stuff. I admit, I'd love to show off my (smokin' hot) godly and kind husband! :)
I'm not sure if my schedule will allow, and I'm pretty certain that Mr. Smokin' Hot himself wouldn't be able to attend due to the dissertation-writing of it all. (Which is truly fine with ...we agreed that I would do everything I can to keep his schedule and obligations to a bare minimum during this last hectic part of earning his Ph.D.). But it would be fun.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Back in the (blogging) saddle again
Yep, it's been awhile. I'd all but given up on this blog. Yet here I am. My cousins have started a blog, and so that's been the motivation that I have needed to once again enthrall all reader(s) with riveting accounts of my exciting life.
Let's start with this weekend.
Saturday, I got dressed. And that's about all the noteworthy happenings to report.
Sunday, I got dressed and went to church. Then I took a three-hour nap, starting at 11 a.m. About 8:30 p.m., I ran on the treadmill. Then I decided to make brownies and peanut butter cookies. (Why? I'm not sure exactly). Then I talked to Mom and Dad on the phone. And went to bed.
Things that I did not do this weekend:
Write a paper for class that's due Tuesday
Vacuum
Clean any or all of the bathrooms
Errands
Spend any time outside even though it was 70 degrees
Taxes
There you have it. More to come!!!
Let's start with this weekend.
Saturday, I got dressed. And that's about all the noteworthy happenings to report.
Sunday, I got dressed and went to church. Then I took a three-hour nap, starting at 11 a.m. About 8:30 p.m., I ran on the treadmill. Then I decided to make brownies and peanut butter cookies. (Why? I'm not sure exactly). Then I talked to Mom and Dad on the phone. And went to bed.
Things that I did not do this weekend:
Write a paper for class that's due Tuesday
Vacuum
Clean any or all of the bathrooms
Errands
Spend any time outside even though it was 70 degrees
Taxes
There you have it. More to come!!!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
How time flies...
...when you're not blogging. I haven't posted in over a month. Things have been so busy and I don't have much interesting to write about. Plus, sometimes I think about it, and I just plain don't want to write a post.
So I guess today isn't one of those days. Sometimes I wonder...who am I writing for? Why do I feel such an obligation to keep putting words out here? I think by now, it's mostly for myself since nobody else wants to read a blog that is updated once every 5 weeks! And I already know what is going on, so I don't need to blog for myself.
Also, I don't like blogging at work because I always wonder who can see what I'm doing. So if you're out there, hi. And I'm getting back to work now. I'm on my lunch break! And when I'm at home, I hate to rev up the computer unless I absolutely have to, and then I have something else to do that's pressing enough to make me rev up the computer at home (usually school work).
So those are my thoughts for the day.
This weekend, my MIL and my dog-in-law are coming for a visit. Thankfully, the weather is cooler so we can enjoy being outside. I also have a ton of schoolwork to do, so we'll see how that goes.
Well, have fun. I don't know when I might post again. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next June. It will be a surprise!
So I guess today isn't one of those days. Sometimes I wonder...who am I writing for? Why do I feel such an obligation to keep putting words out here? I think by now, it's mostly for myself since nobody else wants to read a blog that is updated once every 5 weeks! And I already know what is going on, so I don't need to blog for myself.
Also, I don't like blogging at work because I always wonder who can see what I'm doing. So if you're out there, hi. And I'm getting back to work now. I'm on my lunch break! And when I'm at home, I hate to rev up the computer unless I absolutely have to, and then I have something else to do that's pressing enough to make me rev up the computer at home (usually school work).
So those are my thoughts for the day.
This weekend, my MIL and my dog-in-law are coming for a visit. Thankfully, the weather is cooler so we can enjoy being outside. I also have a ton of schoolwork to do, so we'll see how that goes.
Well, have fun. I don't know when I might post again. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next June. It will be a surprise!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
September
Well, Labor day has come and gone and now it's time to go on vacation now that my classes have started again. Yep, next week I'll be heading to the beach for a week with my family. However, I will have to return for my class and then drive back for the rest of the week. Aaah. Relaxing.
Hopefully this tropical low-pressure system that's threatening to turn into a tropical storm won't make this vacation a dud. Last time my family went to the beach together (three years ago) my dad had to have an emergency appendectemy the night before and then a Tropical Storm Gaston graced us with his presence for the first three days. (Well, Dad wasn't there yet and my sister and BIL stayed with him. My mom was already at a nearby beach b/c of a reunion with her college friends). So it was a little crazy.
This time, M can't come at all because of his dissertation, which makes me sad. Plus, we are supposed to be at my parents' house for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and he has to fly back early from both trips. I know he's really trying to work hard and that he needs as few distractions as possible, but it still stinks. We had talked about this year being harder because he won't have any extra time, but now it's looking like he won't get it done this year, and our "year of sacrifice" could stretch into two years. Argh. I know he's doing the best he can, and he feels bad about it, but it's still frustrating.
I hate to be so sporadic about keeping up this blog. I read other people's posts nearly every day; I just have a hard time thinking of anything interesting or meaningful to write about. And then I always get interrupted or need to go get work done. So I guess I'll do that now. Have a good day!
Hopefully this tropical low-pressure system that's threatening to turn into a tropical storm won't make this vacation a dud. Last time my family went to the beach together (three years ago) my dad had to have an emergency appendectemy the night before and then a Tropical Storm Gaston graced us with his presence for the first three days. (Well, Dad wasn't there yet and my sister and BIL stayed with him. My mom was already at a nearby beach b/c of a reunion with her college friends). So it was a little crazy.
This time, M can't come at all because of his dissertation, which makes me sad. Plus, we are supposed to be at my parents' house for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and he has to fly back early from both trips. I know he's really trying to work hard and that he needs as few distractions as possible, but it still stinks. We had talked about this year being harder because he won't have any extra time, but now it's looking like he won't get it done this year, and our "year of sacrifice" could stretch into two years. Argh. I know he's doing the best he can, and he feels bad about it, but it's still frustrating.
I hate to be so sporadic about keeping up this blog. I read other people's posts nearly every day; I just have a hard time thinking of anything interesting or meaningful to write about. And then I always get interrupted or need to go get work done. So I guess I'll do that now. Have a good day!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Backwards
Sorry to have left a downer post up for so long. I think I have a backwards view of blogging. I usually end up writing while I'm at work. I feel like I never have time to actually compose and write at work, but somehow I'm able to read several blogs each day with no problem.
Anyway, here I am. I am still finishing up a paper for my summer class, and my fall class starts Monday. Oh, joy. I am so ready to be done. This is the most difficult paper that I've done so far. In fact, if I hadn't already given a presentation on what the topic was/would be, I would have changed the topic. That usually happens to me...I start researching one idea and realize that it could be better/more interesting so I tweak the topic. Well, there was no topic-tweaking this time around. And I'm suffering for it. I'm not sure about how to get around this problem next summer when I still have a graduate-level class crammed into 7 weeks, but something has got to change. It's just SO hard to go to work full-time and then find time and energy afterwards for writing a 25-page paper, plus cooking dinner, cleaning, paying bills, staying in shape and sleeping. And don't even think that M should pitch in more, because he really does plenty to help out around the house and he works full-time AND he has a 200-page paper due in the spring, so it's not like he's sitting around the house eating olives and watching TV. Well, so he did last night, but that was because he spent the whole day off work researching in another town. Most nights that's not the case. And even if we do slack off one evening, he will stay up until 2 a.m. to work because he's under the gun to get it done!
I got a call from my grandmother last week saying that her nephew (my dad's first cousin) is moving and is getting rid of a china cabinet that was my great-grandparents'. I happen to have the matching buffet and sideboard, so it was offered to me. I would love to have it; I'm not sure how I'll get it to my house. But as it turns out, they're renovating a house and just don't plan to move it in. Otherwise, they're not in a rush, so I have about 8 months. They also said that it's not in the greatest shape. I'm not sure what to expect, but the other two pieces came from my great-aunt (who had them refinished, I think). I'm not sure that this piece has received such royal treatment. At any rate, it's more than I have now. And he's sending me pictures so that I can see it better. It would be cool to keep those pieces together. It's really a blessing that I got so much furniture from my great-grandparents, but it just worked out that the next generation down was in their 80's and don't need it, and their "kids" are either like my parents and already have more furniture than they know what to do with or they want new stuff, which is the same with my generations of cousins. It just turned out that I was the only one that actually owned a house so I got the furniture.
Enough rambling about furniture.
Well, I guess that's all I have to say. I need to save my words for the paper! :)
Anyway, here I am. I am still finishing up a paper for my summer class, and my fall class starts Monday. Oh, joy. I am so ready to be done. This is the most difficult paper that I've done so far. In fact, if I hadn't already given a presentation on what the topic was/would be, I would have changed the topic. That usually happens to me...I start researching one idea and realize that it could be better/more interesting so I tweak the topic. Well, there was no topic-tweaking this time around. And I'm suffering for it. I'm not sure about how to get around this problem next summer when I still have a graduate-level class crammed into 7 weeks, but something has got to change. It's just SO hard to go to work full-time and then find time and energy afterwards for writing a 25-page paper, plus cooking dinner, cleaning, paying bills, staying in shape and sleeping. And don't even think that M should pitch in more, because he really does plenty to help out around the house and he works full-time AND he has a 200-page paper due in the spring, so it's not like he's sitting around the house eating olives and watching TV. Well, so he did last night, but that was because he spent the whole day off work researching in another town. Most nights that's not the case. And even if we do slack off one evening, he will stay up until 2 a.m. to work because he's under the gun to get it done!
I got a call from my grandmother last week saying that her nephew (my dad's first cousin) is moving and is getting rid of a china cabinet that was my great-grandparents'. I happen to have the matching buffet and sideboard, so it was offered to me. I would love to have it; I'm not sure how I'll get it to my house. But as it turns out, they're renovating a house and just don't plan to move it in. Otherwise, they're not in a rush, so I have about 8 months. They also said that it's not in the greatest shape. I'm not sure what to expect, but the other two pieces came from my great-aunt (who had them refinished, I think). I'm not sure that this piece has received such royal treatment. At any rate, it's more than I have now. And he's sending me pictures so that I can see it better. It would be cool to keep those pieces together. It's really a blessing that I got so much furniture from my great-grandparents, but it just worked out that the next generation down was in their 80's and don't need it, and their "kids" are either like my parents and already have more furniture than they know what to do with or they want new stuff, which is the same with my generations of cousins. It just turned out that I was the only one that actually owned a house so I got the furniture.
Enough rambling about furniture.
Well, I guess that's all I have to say. I need to save my words for the paper! :)
Monday, July 30, 2007
Day of memory
Today would have been my BIL's 30th birthday. This time of year seems to bring up lots of memories and some sadness, as his birthday was today and he died two Septembers ago. In addition, his fiancee's birthday and the day she died of cancer were both in July as well.
I have been thinking about him more lately, not even realizing why, but then realizing today's significance. I'm not sure which is more difficult--thinking about the day he was born and all of the hopes and dreams and potential his life held, or about the day he died.
It's still difficult to drive by the place of his accident. There are still so many questions about how it happened that we'll never know the answers to. But it's amazing to me to think about him being in heaven. His first love was Jesus, and he showed it through his actions. It's cool to think about him there, worshipping and praising God for eternity. Even though we really miss him here on earth, there is such hope in knowing that he had peace with God through belief in Christ. It makes me sad and happy at the same time.
My BIL was such a quiet, thoughtful person, and he could be so funny and unpredictable at the same time. Sometimes he'd get a certain look on his face, and I'd know that in a few minutes, we were going to hear him voice a thought or a question that I'd never thought of before. He spoke often of his fiancee, who passed away two years before I met him. He spoke of her with such a love and appreciation for her, and his care for and dedication to her during her time of sickness was greater than many married couples would show to each other.
He had a very distinct sense of humor. Whenever we'd come across something that he'd appreciate, M would always make it a point to tell him about it to make him laugh, and we'd even remind each other to tell him because even a small smile from him brought such joy to the rest of us. Sometimes M laughs just like his brother, and I'm reminded of how similar they were in so many ways. They were best friends as well as brothers, and they shared many things that can't be duplicated in another person, things like like history, humor, faith, and love. I know M misses him deeply.
I remember telling M once that I could sense something different in his personality when he was with his brother. He just seemed freer somehow in his laughter, in a way I can't really explain.
I pray that today, my MIL and M would have peace and joy in remembering his life and knowing that he is with his Lord, and we'll be there one day, too.
I have been thinking about him more lately, not even realizing why, but then realizing today's significance. I'm not sure which is more difficult--thinking about the day he was born and all of the hopes and dreams and potential his life held, or about the day he died.
It's still difficult to drive by the place of his accident. There are still so many questions about how it happened that we'll never know the answers to. But it's amazing to me to think about him being in heaven. His first love was Jesus, and he showed it through his actions. It's cool to think about him there, worshipping and praising God for eternity. Even though we really miss him here on earth, there is such hope in knowing that he had peace with God through belief in Christ. It makes me sad and happy at the same time.
My BIL was such a quiet, thoughtful person, and he could be so funny and unpredictable at the same time. Sometimes he'd get a certain look on his face, and I'd know that in a few minutes, we were going to hear him voice a thought or a question that I'd never thought of before. He spoke often of his fiancee, who passed away two years before I met him. He spoke of her with such a love and appreciation for her, and his care for and dedication to her during her time of sickness was greater than many married couples would show to each other.
He had a very distinct sense of humor. Whenever we'd come across something that he'd appreciate, M would always make it a point to tell him about it to make him laugh, and we'd even remind each other to tell him because even a small smile from him brought such joy to the rest of us. Sometimes M laughs just like his brother, and I'm reminded of how similar they were in so many ways. They were best friends as well as brothers, and they shared many things that can't be duplicated in another person, things like like history, humor, faith, and love. I know M misses him deeply.
I remember telling M once that I could sense something different in his personality when he was with his brother. He just seemed freer somehow in his laughter, in a way I can't really explain.
I pray that today, my MIL and M would have peace and joy in remembering his life and knowing that he is with his Lord, and we'll be there one day, too.
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