why? Why? WHY?!?

City of Austin,
I thought that you had come up with every possible way to thwart my commute home from work.

School zones? Check.
Ill-timed lights? Check.
Overcrowding of poorly-maintained streets? Check.

But this is just too much.

Why on EARTH would you schedule "rolling blackouts" that impact traffic lights during evening rush hour? Sidestreets? Clogged. Major intersections? Clogged. Exit ramps and cut-throughs? Clogged.

Yes, we know it's hot. It's been getting increasingly hot for the last 2 weeks. You knew this. You saw this coming. Why is this an emergency? And seriously - do traffic lights really use up that much energy?

The definition of an emergency.

(note the flagrant use of the word "unexpected"...)

Need we spell it out for you? Apparently...yes.

I paid my electricity bill today. Maybe you could take some of that money and put it to use beefing up the infrastructure around here? Just a thought.

Now, if you really need to save some energy, I can give you the name and address of my place of business. Feel free to make cuts there anytime tomorrow between 8-5. Believe me, it's fine with me and the rest of my co-workers. Have at it.

Thank you.

Adults say the darndest things

As I settled into work this morning with my cuppa coffee, I started catching up on some of the other blogs that I read. I don't remember how I started reading Finslippy, but she cracks me up. I think she was nominated for "best blog writing" for last year's bloggies, which is likely where I picked up her link.

Anyhow:

I was reading this post and really trying hard to keep my laughter to myself as I read through the comments.

I don't have kids. I want them eventually, but I do not currently have any of my own. However, if and when I do, I cannot wait to keep a journal of funny things that 1) I say to them and 2) they say to me and/or others.

It reminds me of one of my jobs in college. I worked at a campus library at A&M. Our office was situated right inside the main entrance, and though it was not our primary job role, we served as a makeshift help desk for the library. What do you get when you combine some sassy, bored college kids and a bunch of random patrons asking dumb questions all day?

A little black book.

We constantly kept track of the dumb questions/weird conversations/general hilarity that happened at the front desk. That black book served us well for years. It was the backbone of the camaraderie we felt with our co-workers. We would hand it off between shifts, everyone adding their own two cents.

Here, my friend Michael recounts one of the stories. It just so happens to be a story about me being stalked - very poorly.

Anyhow:

We had this supervisor that was _not_a_fan_whatsoever_ of the book. He lectured us that if any patron ever found it and started reading through it, all heck would break loose. But we were smarter than that. We changed the names to protect the *innocent* and just referenced people in our own special way. Characters like "British guy", "Creepy stalker guy" and "Flaky grad student" were the only "patron names" that anyone would ever find in there.

The battle was on. It was now our duty to protect our turf and our sanity. That black book kept us going on many occasions. Bringing life and humor to the darkest corners of the library. Ok, so maybe it wasn't that dramatic, but we didn't want to lose the book. We still have little reunions where we recount the silly tales of the library. Fun stuff.

Anyhow:
I'd like to keep a book like that when I have kids. Just to remember the fun times.

I can quit anytime. Just not today.

I'm not one to be obsessed with celebrities.

Sure, when I have some downtime in the cubicle, I read up on the MSN Gossip every now and then. And yes, I peruse the front pages of the "magazines" in the checkout line at the grocery store, but who doesn't?

But today, I've stumbled upon a couple of links that just crack me up. I have no idea why I keep clicking "next" on this site, but I do.

And then there's this one, which isn't so much a celebrity site, but is still funny, especially if you read it with a Spanish accent in your head.

And last but not least, there's this one. Somewhat sketchy, yes. Somewhat funny, also yes.

Enjoy!

Afternoon snack

I'm eating cranberries that have been dried and flavored to taste like strawberries.

What is this world coming to?

What I'm up to...notable, and not so much

• I'm back in the U.S.
• I'm still taking malaria medicine. Yuck.
• I'm spending quality time in my cubicle.
• I also spent quality time with my DVR last night.
• I'm caught up with Lost.
• I'm going to two weddings on Saturday. Crazy.
• I turn 26 in 8 days. Also crazy.
• I still have henna on my extremities, and it's staring to look like I have a skin condition.
• I'm caught up on sleep...or so I think.
• I'm once again thankful for U.S. bathrooms.
• My car is making a seriously scary squealing noise.
• I got a new hairdryer. Complete with ions. Fancy.
• I still fully enjoy MS Excel. A little too much.
• My bamboo plant is still alive after 2 weeks of neglect.
• I haven't worked out in 2 weeks. I'm scared to go back.
• I haven't been to church in way too long. I miss it.
• I get married in 135 days. Wow.
• I'm caught up on work email. A (small) victory.
• I still have unpacking left to do from India.
• Amar moves into our future apartment next week.
• I'm spending 8 hours at a golf course on Friday. For work.

That's all for now folks. Still alive. Still breathing. Ready to retire. You know, the usual.

Travel journal

For those of you who want to keep tabs on us while we're in India, try this on for size:

My Trip Journal

Mmmmm

I (heart) bacon.

Updates

1) We're going to India in 3 days. 3 days!!
2) I bought a wedding dress!! Crazy.
3) I start taking malaria pills tomorrow - wish me luck.
4) God is really stinkin' good. I have to re-learn that every day.
5) Everyone is having babies, and those babies are exceptionally cute.

And you? How are things?

Nose to the grindstone

Totally getting a kick out of this.

For an afternoon of fun after downloading Bullfighter:
1) Open your work email
2) Select an email from a high-ranking co-worker
3) Ctrl + A
4) Ctrl + C
5) Open a document (MS Word, or other)
6) Ctrl + V
7) Click the magic bull and voila - fun for the whole family.

Still alive, I think

I promise I haven't been hiding. It's just been crazy lately, and that means that after I prioritize all that I can do in one day, blogging falls off the list quickly. So, I figure that I owe you a new post. After all, it's been awhile.

I'm recovering from a long weekend, filled mostly with work. My job sometimes requires me to work some pretty icky hours, and this weekend was no exception. I woke up at 8:00 AM on Saturday morning ready to go to brunch with my fiance and a bunch of his friends at 9:30. The brunch got pushed to 10:30, so I cleaned the bathroom - yes, very glamorous indeed.

Brunch was good, but for some reason, I could barely eat anything on my plate. After some fun conversation, making funny faces at baby Xavier, and downing a few gallons of coffee, to the mall we went.

Amar and I are leaving for India in a little less than two weeks, so we figured it was about time to stock up on some clothes, since my closet has been a little thin lately. And shop we did! Keeping in mind that it will be crazy hot and humid in Madras when we're there, we selected some things that would be conservative, but would still be comfy and cool. I think we succeeded.

We then sat down to watch Monsoon Wedding. It was my first "Indian" movie and I really enjoyed it. Though we won't be getting married in India, Amar's parents are throwing a party for us, so it was good to be exposed to a little of the culture. I seriously can't wait for the trip!

Then it was off to work :( We started around 5:30 PM on Saturday, and I didn't walk out of there until 1:30 PM the next day. Yeah, much more time than I would normally like to spend at the office on a weekend...but after a lot of work, we were successful and were able to leave and go sleep. A lot. I wound up staying awake for about 32 hours. I am not good at that kind of thing, so in the end, I wound up acting like a cranky 4 year old. Yes, I know, real mature of me. But I think I've recovered now.

And the countdown to India begins :)

How was your weekend? I know some people got to go see David Gray.

What to get the girl who has everything?

Ok, maybe I don't have everything, but much like my approach to buying shoes, I don't often find myself wanting for much. However, I stumbled upon this today and I must say, I'm tempted.

I'm tempted more by the idea of ridding my house of bugs relatively pain-free. However, being the avid bugophobe that I am, even zapping bugs from arms-length might be too close for comfort.

I once came home to find a giant stink bug perched precariously above the door to my apartment. I stood a great distance from the creature, pondering what to do. Various ideas raced through my head. Given that we lived on the second floor at the time, I contemplated what it would take to scale the wall, climb onto the balcony and somehow break into our apartment. I entertained the idea of just waiting it out - me vs. the bug. I thought about calling for backup, but was not confident that any of my friends would arrive in a timely manner.

So I resorted to the following: I took my shoe off, lobbed it at the bug, hoping to dislodge it from it's temporary home. I wasn't trying to kill it, necessarily, but just wanted to scare it enough so that it would fly or crawl away. If it chose to crawl, I would just avoid it until I could safely enter my home. However, if it chose to fly, my plan was to flail about hoping that it wouldn't land on me. So I threw shoe #1. Much to my displeasure, not only did I miss the bug, but I also failed to even make it flinch.

Freakin' bug. You won't get the best of me.

So I took off my other shoe and tossed it as well. Again, failure on two counts: the bug was still alive and still sitting right above my door. So I sat. And I thought. What's a girl to do? I was shoeless, and I couldn't get into my apartment, nor could I break into it successfully.

I probably waited outside for a good 5-10 minutes. Nothing. No movement. No sounds. No progress. Maybe it was dead? Could I take that chance? Images of the bug getting caught in my hair flooded my mind. Even as I type this, I can feel the fear welling up inside me once again.

After what seemed like an eternity, I decided that I would make a break for it. I readied my keys, forming a battle plan in my mind. I mentally rehearsed the quickest way to open the door, run inside and slam it shut behind me, making sure that I wasn't followed in by the monster.

I counted to 10, said a quick prayer, and made a break for it.

SUCCESS!!

I was safely inside in my bug-free apartment. A little while later my roommate came home. As I saw her entering the apartment, I motioned to her to get inside quickly, as the bug might still be waiting to pounce on its next unsuspecting victim. She looked at me like I was crazy, which wasn't really anything out of the ordinary. Then she asked me what the heck I was doing and why my shoes were outside. I sadly recounted the whole story to her, and wouldn't you know it, the bug had totally disappeared. So at that point, I was a barefoot blabbering idiot. Hey, at least I'm consistent :)

Wow...that was quite a tangent. Needless to say, I'm not sure that the bug vaccuum would even work for such an extreme case any of the following: Acarophobia, Arachnophobia, Apiphobia, Entomophobia, Insectophobia, Isopterophobia, Mottephobia.

Wow. That's a lot. For more on phobias, check this out.

Happy Monday to my feet

I went shopping yesterday. Actually, Amar and I went shopping. And we had fun. We each bought each other shoes. And let me tell you, that has got to be the perfect date.

I'm wearing my new shoes at the office today. Sure, it's a little painful breaking them in, but that's the price you pay, right? And I love that some of the girls have noticed without me even saying anything. Love it.

It's funny, though, because I don't think of myself as a shoe person. Some girls go shoe-crazy! Their closets and floors are littered with dozens of pairs. I'm more of a minimalist. I buy things that I know aren't too trendy, fit well, are affordable, and that will go with a lot of things. So two pairs of brown, two pairs of black, and some shoes for the gym - I'm set. I often talk myself out of buying new shoes because "I already have some kind of like those" or "They don't go with very many things" etc. But I think there must be some sort of balance. I have been avoiding everything in my closet that goes with brown because I didn't have any brown dressy shoes. Literally, it's been awhile since I've worn some of that stuff simply because I was lacking in the shoe department.

But today, the other half of my closet has come to life!

No, I'm not advocating buying everything that you are even remotely interested in. But sometimes it's just fun to treat yourself. Yippee!

So happy Monday to my feet. I hope you're enjoying yourselves down there. You seem to be, from the reports I'm getting.

My Friday morning:

Alarm goes off at 5:45 AM.
I actually wake up around 7.
I get ready, make my lunch, and I'm out the door by 7:50.
I arrive at the office a little after 8.
I head to my desk, setup my stuff, and then go get breakfast.
Bagel, coffee, and the fixins.

As I sit at my desk and quietly eat my breakfast and catch up on email, I can't help but listen to a conversation two of my co-workers are having on the next cube aisle over. I strain to hear, thinking that I must be mistaken. But no, I'm not. There are actually two 50 year old men talking about Dancing with the Stars. And in detail!! Scary, probably accurate, detail. The phrases "He really is the best," and "She's easy on the eyes" were overheard.

Wow.

What a great start to a Friday :)

An open letter to the automated bathroom

Automated bathroom:
I'm not a fan of you. With your self-flushing toilets, your self watering sinks, your self-dispensing paper towels, and your self-squirting soaps. Not a fan at all. You wind up flushing at the wrong time. You wind up turning the water off on me when my hands are lathered in soap. You wind up making me wave my arms around like an idiot just so that one more paper towel might come out.

And I'm tired of it.

I can flush my own toilet. I'm pretty sure I can dispense my own soap and turn the sink on and off at the right times. And for the love, I can grab my own paper towels.

Please, just let me do it. Yes, I admit I do have a streak of wild independence in me, but let's not blame that right now. Let's consider, for once, that you are the control freak. After all, you won't let me even perform normal human functions on my own. You have to have your say in everything that goes on in the bathroom. Your close friend, the automatic door, is just fine in my book. Sometimes he's even helpful when I have a bunch of stuff in my hands, or after "arm day" at the gym when I literally can't lift my arm to open doors.

But you, on the other hand, are out of control. Sometimes you even make an eerie squealing sound before you flush, and for the life of me, that sound haunts me in my sleep. Maybe you're more sanitary. I'll give you that. But I think I may prefer getting sick to looking like a flailing idiot.

You, automated bathroom, are dead to me.

Theme song, party of 1

So my roommate Malita just blogged about finding a site that tells you your life's theme song. Check it out here.

#1 on the day I was born was "Call Me" by Blondie. I find this to be a somewhat unsuitable match, as talking on the phone isn't my favorite thing in the world. So I perused the lyrics to find anything at all that might apply to my life, that might give meaning to my existence. Alas, nothing. The girl just really wants the guy to call her.

Moving on to my life's theme song, which is the #1 song on your 18th birthday. Mine came out to be "All My Life" by K-Ci and Jojo. Well, it didn't take me long to find some really deep, meaningful stuff in that one. Who can argue with lyrics like:

• I will never find another luva sweeta than you
• I will never find anutha luva more precious than you
• Said, I promise to never fall in love with a stranger

It's seriously some touching stuff, yo.

What are your theme songs?

...again, total credit for all of the creativity inspired by today's post goes to Malita ;)

Remind me next year

If I tell you that I'm going to the grocery store on the night before Valentine's day, please restrain me. This place was an absolute madhouse. Upon entering, the senses were overloaded with reds and magentas as far as the eye could see.

And the people. The people!! On average, there were about 76 people per aisle. And that's not even mentioning the dairy section. Any why does the store choose to restock at 5:30PM? My good GOSH! It was crazy. I thought that there might be an impending freeze or power outage or national crisis. But no. It's a bunch of flowers and pink paper flying off the shelves and into the hands of people who should already know that they are loved and cared for.

And on that note, I do have a date tomorrow. But I have no idea where we're going. I do know that it might involve ice cream, and for that I'm thankful.

Another thing I'm thankful for is this. Yes, I know it's poking fun at a somewhat tragic event. But still, it made me laugh out loud.

Sometimes I'm just not

Sometimes I'm just not interested in making small talk.
Sometimes I'm just not pumped about cleaning my room.
Sometimes I'm just not really excited about journaling.
Sometimes I'm just not motivated enough to get up and get lunch.
Sometimes I'm just not terribly excited about going to class.
Sometimes I'm just not worried that I haven't fully caught up on work email.
Sometimes I'm just not willing to pay hundreds of dollars for invitations.
Sometimes I'm just not hungry.
Sometimes I'm just not ok leaving the house without making up my bed.
Sometimes I'm just not disgusted by the state of the bathroom.
Sometimes I'm just not horrified to leave the house without showering.
Sometimes I'm just not upset that I can't please everyone.
Sometimes I'm just not embarrassed that I haven't washed my jeans in 2 weeks.
Sometimes I'm just not willing to sit down and make a five year plan.
Sometimes I'm just not satisfied with 4 cups of coffee.
Sometimes I'm just not.

No worries. I'm totally fine. I promise. Just a little introspective today. How are you?

Neighbors - we have a problem:

Until recently, our side of the duplex and their side cohabitated peacefully. We came and went at our own leisure, not really disturbing one another. We even occasionally brought in each other's trash cans. Sure, there was the occasional loud-stereo-featuring-Mariah-Carey-at-8-in-the-morning event from their side, but those were few and far between, so nothing too noteworthy.

However, the atmosphere is slowly changing. My sleep quality is slowly degrading, as are, I fear, our friendly neighborly relations. Let me set the scene:

It's late at night. I've just come home from a very long day, starting with a 6AM workout and ending with a 3 hour class until 10PM. I'm oh-so ready to have some quality time with my pillow. I enter my room, ready for bed, and I hear a very subtle sound coming from somewhere. I figure that it's just a car or a plane, and dismiss it. Upon crawling into my bed, I settle in between the featherbed and the down comforter (overkill I know, but soooo comfy). All is well and I turn the lights off and shut my eyes. But wait! There it is again. That dreadful noise! Whatever could it be? No. It couldn't...it CAN'T be! NO ONE SNORES THAT LOUD!!! It's coming through the wall. It's invading my quiet, peaceful room!! It's loud, irregular, and did I say loud? and.it.lasts.all.night.

Seriously. This guy (I'm assuming it's a man - sue me) needs some professional help! It's there when I go to sleep, it's there when I wake up. The snoring just won't cease. I put the pillow over my head, but no, this guy has some serious decibel power going on over there. Sure, there could be worse sounds coming through the walls. But the snoring is just excessive.

I'm contemplating anonymously mailing some of those nose-strips. I've even mentally composed a customer letter to accompany the box that I would slip into their mailbox. Would he get the hint? What's a girl to do? I can't just get up, waltz over there in my PJs and ask him to kindly roll over, can I?

Whew. Now that the snoring issue is out of my system, it's onto my next soapbox: an open letter to the owner of the low-rider truck that constantly parks in front of our house. Dude - you can't even go over a simple speed bump in that thing because the ground clearance isn't even higher than the bottom of the rims on the low-profile tires you've got on it. What's the deal? Please, please, get a real car. We're begging you. And when you do get a real car, please park it in front of your own house. We thank you in advance for your efforts to help keep our neighborhood at peace.

How I became a coffee snob

It was innocent enough, at first. I used to be just fine with popping open the Folgers and brewing a few cups here and there. Sure, it wasn't the best thing in the world. But it was cheap, easy, and widely available. And plus, haven't we always been told that the best part of waking up is indeed Folgers in your cup? So yes, I subscribed to that worldview....until recently.

You see, my friend Jim started roasting and selling his own coffee awhile back. I didn't initially give much serious thought to purchasing from him, though I was tremendously excited to see his business grow, as I am with other friends who are earnestly trying to turn a passion in life into something financially productive.

I emailed Jim a bunch of brainstormed ideas about publicity for his emerging brand. I had grand visions of coffee tasting parties and the like. And I liked reading a bit on his site about what he was up to, roasting-wise. But I hadn't ever purchased anything from him.

This past weekend, however, things changed. I helped host a girls brunch for our career class at church. I had asked various people to bring brunch items: fruit, eggs, biscuits, etc. I got to thinking a bit, and it occurred to me that this would be a neat time to try some McClarty coffee. I'd have enough people to warrant buying 1/2 a pound, and if it was a hit, a bunch of people would enjoy it and they might buy from Jim. I never expected it to turn into anything more serious.

So I emailed Jim about the order, and I headed over to his place on Saturday morning to pick it up. Much to my surprise, he handed me a Bell jar of whole coffee beans. Well, I wasn't prepared for such a delivery. Somewhere in the back of my head, I guess I had thought that it would already be ground. So from his house, I headed off to buy a grinder. "Why not?" I asked myself. I'll need it someday.

Soon, the coffee and the grinder were in hand, and the brunch was underway. One of the girls taught me how to grind the beans appropriately, and the aroma of fresh coffee filled the room. I could tell that people were excited to try the coffee, so we wasted no time in filling mugs for everyone once it had brewed.

To get the word out a bit, I made these little notecards with Jim's website on them, so that people could place orders if they were fond of the coffee. Several girls, after sampling their beverages, took the cards. I put in many good words for Jim :) The girls were quite fond of the coffee, and there was some mention of the appropriate use of essential oils during the roasting process....this comment was lost on me. I drink the coffee, I don't make it. But good for those who know more about it than me...

Anyhow, I took about 1/2 of the coffee beans home with me, because unfortunately for us, the coffee maker stopped working after 2 pots. Ha - more for me! Or so I thought. The coffee was safely stowed away in my fridge for the remainder of the weekend, and I informed my roommates that they were welcome to try it. When I came home the next day, Malita was raving about it. She said that after her first two cups, she almost made more because it was so good.

Alas, I cannot settle for Folgers any longer. You should give it a try too. Just for a week. And yes, this is an infomercial ;)

Week in review

So to keep tabs on myself after I outlined some goals a few days back, here's a status check on how I'm doing.

Read More
Right. Here's the hard one. Haven't quite yet picked up the Piper book this week. Maybe some downtime this afternoon or over the weekend.

Sort my mail
Thanks to some much needed prompting by Malita, I have kind of kept up with this one. I'm hoping to pick up a filing box this weekend and start putting things in their proper place. But the mail basket hasn't overflowed to the extreme that it did last month. So I consider this a mild success.

Get into shape
Thanks to my old roommate and personal trainer Lindsay, I've worked out 3 times this week so far. Twice we did weights, and then I did some light cardio. Several of my muscles were actively complaining, but they'll just have to deal with it. Was it hard? Yep, at times I really wanted to put the weights down and walk away. But I know that I have to stick with it.

Take better care of myself
Thanks also to Lindsay, I've been trying to stick with my meal plan this week. I haven't done a stellar job, but I have eaten more than I usually do. I've also tried to concentrate on the "smaller meals more frequently" idea, and I'm liking that a lot. The hardest part is the lunches and dinners. I will give myself kudos to the breakfasts and snacks :)

In other news, I've got a new roommate. She's probably 80% moved in. It's fun to change things up a bit, and I'm excited about the new house dynamics :)

This weekend I'm hosting a girls brunch for church, and given my love for all things breakfast, and my desire to get to know some of these girls better, it should make for a good Saturday morning. Oh, and I'm looking forward to my Christmas gift from Lindsay, which consists of a chef-prepared meal at her new house. Very yummy! Other than that, it should be a low-key weekend, which I'm excited about. The only bummer is that it's likely going to rain the whole time :( Yes, we do need the rain, but why does it have to come on the weekend. Bummer.

Quick (semi-rhetorical) question

Would it be considered rude to anonymously mail someone a card to a therapist? It would be a gesture of love wrapped in slight sarcasm (with a stamp and an envelope, of course!).










Ok. Yes. I know the answer. But it at least felt good to write about it. There. It's outta my system.....sort of. And no, it is not for any of you. Promise.

Not so much resolutions, per se...

There's a growing list of things I'd like to accomplish during 2006. Rather, a list of things I'd like to improve about my life in general. Seeing as it's the season to make lists, and everyone else is doing it, I'm going to (temporarily) jump on the bandwagon.

Read more
Everywhere I look, people are putting out lists of things that they read last year. Some of these lists top 40 books or so. And some of their goals for 2006 are even higher. And now that I'm engaged to a voracious reader, I feel that I have to jump start my own personal reading life. Last year I read practically nothing. But when I did finish a book (which happened with very low frequency) I felt so good! I read a book! Yes, I felt like a first grader, but it was still a good feeling. I have a few on my list that I'd love to tackle. Keep me accountable, people.

Sort my mail
In a mad dash to locate my healthcare card, I did a clean sweep on my room this past Sunday afternoon. After an hour and a half, I had filled an entire "tall kitchen" trash bag full of junk mail, catalogs, mass mailings, utility bills and the like. Typically, my pattern as of late has been to avoid the mail basket for as long as possible until 1) I desperately need an important legal document (i.e. insurance card, health card, etc.) or 2) something interesting comes in (i.e. wedding invitation, Christmas card, etc.). Well, I refuse to let it get that bad again. My goal is to go through all of my mail at least once a week. My stretch goal is to do it everyday. We'll see how it goes.

Get into shape
Yes, I know that everyone spends all of January working off the holiday pounds, so this goal isn't necessarily revolutionary by any means. But I have a different problem. Some people consider me lucky to be fighting to gain wait. But I don't see it as any kind of luck. Yes, I'm underweight. And yes, it's a health problem. Within the first year after college, when I started my first "real job," I lost 15 pounds. I don't have 15 pounds to lose, however, so this wasn't necessarily good. Instead of responding to stress by eating a lot, I tend to do the opposite. I quit eating. So as of yesterday, I gave a local gym and a former roommate-turned-personal-trainer a lot of money. I am hoping to gain healthy weight, put on some muscle, and get into the kind of shape I was in when I played sports constantly.

Take better care of myself
This goes hand-in-hand with the "get into shape" goal. I want to eat healthy, filling, regular meals. So along with the working out, I will be pairing that with meal planning by the aforementioned former roommate. I'm also going to quit biting my fingers/fingernails. This is also stress-related, like the eating. I've done it for as long as I can remember, but now that I have some fancy new jewelry to show off, I need to get my hands into shape, too.

I think that's it for now. I'll keep you posted on the progress. Here's a summary of the first 10 days of January:

• Reading: still working on "Don't Waste Your Life" with a goal to finish by the end of the month (I figure I'll start slow and then ramp up)...post other reading suggestion in the "Comments" at any time, if you have them :)
• Mail: haven't fallen behind yet, but looking to get a formal filing system in place soon
• Working out: joined a gym yesterday, workouts to commence next week
• Taking care: fingers at about 90% good (10% per finger [so all are in good shape except one, for now]); meal planning is starting this week

News to me

Apparently I'm already supposed to have the entire wedding planned. Yep. Engaged for 13 days, and it's supposed to be ready to roll. In the past 2 days alone, no less than 4 MEN have asked what my colors are. What the heck? I don't have colors yet. Are you insane? Or am I just missing something?

I don't have colors. I don't have a date. I don't have a place. I don't have a wedding party. I don't have a dress. I don't have a florist or a photographer. Nor do I have shoes, showers, registries, or all of the other accoutrements that are supposed to go along with all this.

Oh, and as of 8:15 this morning, I have no half and half for my coffee.

BUT - all is not lost. What I do have is time. And for that, I'm thankful :) I'm also thankful that God continues to remind me that I am surrounded by some amazing friends!

Seemingly insurmountable task on my doorstep

That's what it seems my primary task at the office seems to be today: the dreaded end of year self assessment. I.e. "How did you do over the past 12 months as measured against the stuff we asked you to do based on these metrics and objectives?" So basically, since I haven't quite kept detailed notes on everything I've done since last February, I'm wracking my brain, digging in my archived folders, and doing a good bit of creative writing.

But heck, I like writing, especially when I get to use buzzwords freely. Some of my favorite today seem to be: ensure, effectively, leveraged, interfaced, requirements, communicate, and last but not least - foster. Yes, it's fluff. But it's the bubble wrap that surrounds an important list of vital facts that management should handle with care. It's fluff with a purpose, and that purpose happens to be that I remain employed.

Everyone - cross your fingers.

P.S. I discovered last night that I'm now increasingly covered in small red spots. More on this breaking news as it become available.

A new year

It seems that with the start of the new year, the internet is virtually littered with "My year in review" and "My top 10 of 2005" lists, with the occasional "My resolutions for 2006" and on, and on. No offense to any of those people - those lists are all worthy of gracing browsers globally. So originally, I thought that I would rebel and post absolutely nothing of the sort. No review, no top 10, no list of promises to myself that I'll eventually break. Nada.

Then I started thinking about my year in review. Life was busy. Life was packed with stuff and people and things and places. Life was both good and bad, easy and hard. All in all, a lot happened over the last 12 months. I don't know if I'll make a top 10 list, or define a specific set of resolutions I want to make for 2006. But I do think that it's valuable to reflect on where you've been.

That's the same reason I keep a prayer journal. It's so neat to be able to look back and see how God has grown, challenged, matured, pruned, encouraged, guided and protected you. And looking back at 2005, I can see all of that.

There were breakups and makeups (and then breakups again)...
There was travel between continents...
I saw my family brought together by near tragedy and divided by sheer joy...
I saw a 50 year old man get a wedgie at family Christmas...
And I saw God continue to refine me and show me how much he loves me...





Oh, and I saw a beautiful diamond ring get slipped on my finger a few days ago...and I said yes!

So as the new year starts, just like everyone else, I want to read more, to be healthier, to enjoy life more, to cherish relationships more, and all that jazz. But mostly, I want to grow. I want to mature. I want to be refined again and again.

I just realized that this little blog is almost a year old. Hopefully I'll remember to get it a card or a little present. I'm always bad at remembering birthdays...

Zero progress

That's how far I've come thus far on my Christmas shopping. I don't even have a list yet, nor do I know who I'm buying for. But yes, I understand that it's not about the gifts, or even the quality time. It's about celebrating the birth of our Savior. And for that, I need no gift card, no wrapping paper, no curly ribbon. I need a humble, reflective, quiet heart. And I can't wait to be free from work so I can focus on just that.

I have one more day left "in the office," but I plan to work remotely. No meetings, no conference calls, no worries. My desk is clean and largely paperwork-free. For that, I'm quite thankful. I'm also thankful for flexible hours this time of year, which reminds me that some of the not-so-flexible times of the year allow for an easier holiday time for me. All good things.

Anyhow, I hope the time is treating you well. Enjoy your travels, your time with family, and your time unwinding. Oh, and for those of you in the Austin area, forget about a white Christmas. It's supposed to be 70 degrees. Woo hoo! Get out your flip flops!!

Ah, I love the holidays

Especially when they contain magical surprises, which this one most certainly will. Actually, I already kind of found out the biggest surprise of all - I'm going to New York. That's right, people, New York city. Ooooh, I LOVE it! I went twice while in high school, right around mid-March. It was so cold and blustery there during that transitional Spring time. I can only imagine how cold it will be during the week after Christmas. But it's totally worth it!

I'm now busy looking up shows to go see, stores to swing by, interesting "New Yorky" things to do. All that jazz. So if you have any suggestions, please do let me know. I'm so excited - beyond words, really.

There is just something enchanting, it seems, about New York at Christmas time. Or at least, that's what the movies would have us think. And I'm a sucker for movies. So I'll likely get to stroll through Central Park, as it's fields, trees and paths will be blanketed in snow. I'll get to see the giant Christmas tree in Rockefeller center, twinkling it's branches at me. Oy, I can't wait!!

New York suggestions? Leave me a comment.... :)

Following instructions

It's always nice to look down at the box of cookies you happen to be consuming and read something like this:

Distinctive cookies are available in a number of exquisite varieties for the many reasons you deserve to treat yourself right every day.

Yep, I'm just doing my part here, folks. Just treating myself right, like I'm being told to do.

Meanwhile, it's twelve days until Christmas and I've bought exactly four gifts. I have no idea how many people I even need to buy gifts for, but I'm quite sure that it's WAY more than four. I at least know what two of the remaining gifts will be, but all the rest...well, I'm pretty clueless. However, I am finding that shopping for others often winds up as shopping for me, so I probably need to keep on keeping on.

Repeat to self: 'tis better to give than to receive...'tis better to give than to receive...'tis better to give than to receive...

I finally found my sweaters

Apparently, in a rush to organize my closet last spring, I neatly packed away all my "winter wear." And I did a really good job of it, because I couldn't find it this week when the temperatures started dipping into the 20s. Wow, it was crazy cold. Why does this change in weather always happen in a matter of hours? I've talked to several people who were wearing summer clothes earlier this week, only to don their parkas in the midst of yesterday's ice show. Insane.

And apparently this weekend it's supposed to get into the 60s. Seriously - PICK A SEASON!! I can't handle wearing long-johns in the morning, and flip flops in the afternoon. I physically can't keep up with the amount of laundry required to dress oneself during such dramatic climactic shifts.

And for those of you keeping up...this will likely be the last installment of the "Kim's Tips" segment - as I know that you just can't stand for such blatant displays of my brilliance to continue:

I got a new business cell phone for work, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember the number. I'd write it on my hand, email it to myself, keep a piece of paper with me at all times that had the new number....but none of those efforts made any significant difference in my apparent memory deficiency.

So I got to thinking one day - how could I easily keep the number with me in an accessible manner? Could I somehow leverage the camera that was on the phone already? What if I wrote the number down, then took a picture of it, and then saved that picture as the wallpaper on my phone? Brilliant! Now, whenever I need the number, I just flip open the phone. If I need to give someone else the number, I can just show it to them on the phone itself.

Yep, I'm pretty cool. Go ahead and admit it....

Helpful tip

For the past several weeks, I've noticed that despite all of my best intentions, I continue to leave my lunch at home when I head off to work in the mornings. When I wake up each morning, I think, "Don't forget your lunch!" And each day I try to grab it on the way out the door, I forget. I even had to call my roommate one day to ask her to put my abandoned lunch back in the fridge, because I left it sitting out (so that I wouldn't forget it...).

This morning I decided that I needed a new approach. I started wondering about the absolutely necessary items that I had to have before leaving the house, figuring that if I could link the lunch and the necessary item, I was set. Items that immediately came to mind were clothing, computer, keys, and wallet. But how could I link the two items? Wouldn't most people just put a note somewhere? What was a girl to do?

And then it hit me - put my keys in the fridge on top of my lunch. Were the keys cold by the time I was ready to leave for work? You bet. But was my belly full with tasty fried rice a lunchtime today? Most certainly it was.

And that, my friends, is the helpful tip of the day. I have another one to share in the near future....but I'll leave you in suspense for now :)

The bottom line

Money: I've been thinking about it a lot. I guess it comes on the heels of considering how exactly I'll spend my holiday dollars, but it got me thinking. Why do I manage my money the way I do? Not that I'm sitting on a small fortune or anything, but I want to be a good steward of what I'm responsible for, you know?

Somehow, thanks mostly to my parents (and possibly my conservative, Christian schooling as a child), I wound up with pretty strong will power when it comes to spending. But God, in his patient, loving way, is showing me that I put a little too much stock in my stock, if you will. He's showing me that I derive a lot of my feelings of safety and security from seeing a certain number on an online statement. So He's working on my heart in that manner.

But while I've been good at saving, I have practically zero credit history. So while I tend to be proud of my ability to pinch my pennies, I found out yesterday that American Express is not impressed. And yes, it was a blow to my pride. But a necessary one, I think. I don't know what made me put all this out there, but I think it's something we all struggle with to a certain degree. So there, that's my two cents. Thanks for letting me get on one of my many soapboxes.

By the way, for those of you in the Central Texas area, I hear it's going to get what we call "pretty nasty" tomorrow. Freezing temperatures, blustering winds and possibly some ice. Stay safe!!

Alert: Slacker on the internet!!

A lot can happen in 32 days. Yes, it has actually been 32 days since I've posted. And yes, I fully own up to the fact that this is simply unacceptable in the eyes of my beloved readers. To the three of you, my very sincere apologies. Please, can you find it in your hearts to forgive me?

What does one choose to write about after an "extended" absence? The pressure is killing me, I'll admit that much. I guess I'll give a brief primer about what life has had to offer over the past month or so.

• Finished up work on the Katrina relief effort called housestohomes
• Worked like a crazy person on 6 different deployments
• Went on a few dates...
• ...and subsequently gave my parents a good scare about upcoming life developments
• Was a bridesmaid for the nth time
• Got hooked on another stinkin' tv show
• Contemplated buying a new car*
• Celebrated Thanksgiving with the family

I guess that's a good high-level. It seems a lot simpler "on paper" than it did to live through. But God is indeed good. I have no complaints.**

This weekend, I'm off to enjoy some festive entertainment. A movie, breakfast with a friend, an afternoon at the museum, a big fire, church and Bible study. All in all, the pace never slows, nor does it skip a beat.

What's going on with you?

*Please note that this impending purchase is not out of frivolity or excess, but sheer need. My car is dying a slow, noisy, sputtering death.

**Please note, some of you would disagree on this point. Please keep your comments to yourself...or at least to the comments section of this site.

It's late...no, it's early

And I can't seem to sleep. Yes, I know we gained an hour tonight, and I would normally be spending that additional quality time with my pillow. But I just can't sleep. No idea why. I've got 100 things running through my head right now. Most of them are really good. They make me almost giddy, in a way. I'm not complaining - but I'm sure by the time this evening rolls around, and I've put in a few hours of work, a few hours of play, and a few hours of study, I'll likely be dying to get back to my bed.

I worked last night as well. It went really well, actually. I used to think it was almost silly to pray about work, in a way. But God probably thinks I'm silly in general, so why not leverage that!? He blessed that time, and I'm praying that He does so later this morning as well.

After work last night, I contemplated running up to the neighborhood coffee shop, reading, and chilling out with some decaf. But upon returning to my abode, my couch and my DVR were looking mighty good. So I watched Gilmore Girls - it made me laugh. Then I started to watch Alias. Wow. It made me laugh, too. Unfortunately, the writers probably didn't intend that. I haven't finished the episode, but can't wait for the comedy to continue.

Of the brief moments I did see, this had to be my favorite line:

(read it with a gruff voice and squinted eyes, as you pretend to be a super-secret-under-cover CIA agent who is "really tough")

"My mother always said, if somebody was worth shooting once, they were worth shooting twice."

Ok - please tell me that at least made you smirk. It made me and my roommate laugh out loud. J.J. - is this the best you've got? Ugh!

The sweet stuff

If you will recall in my previous post, from time to time I enjoy a good chocolate. And once again, Dove has come through with flying colors. The messages this time even prompted me to note that I was starting to prefer these little delectable bites more than the (in)famous fortune cookie (which I have been known to consume in mass quantities).

Words of wisdom for Tuesday:

"Don't think about it so much."
"Laugh uncontrollably...it clears the mind."

So applicable on so many levels. There have been several circumstances recently that, upon reflection, cause me to laugh uncontrollably. There's nothing better than sitting in the middle of a meeting you're running, recalling a recent humorous event, and then just breaking out the biggest smirk on your face as you fight back the growing desire to just lose it altogether. I'm glad I have co-workers who can laugh with me. Ok, sometimes they laugh at me, but what do I care.

And about not "thinking about it so much," I think we can all take that to heart. Again, there have been several circumstances lately that have just sent my mind spinning (yes, some of these circumstances are related to those that make me laugh uncontrollably, but I digress). The mind is a funny thing, my friends. Best of luck taming it this week....

Trapped, but not for long

This psalm was in my head today. I'm stuck in cubicle land for a few more hours, but I literally cannot wait to get outside, take my shoes off, squint my eyes into the sun and feel the breeze. I don't know where I'm going after I get "off work" but I know that it will likely include a caffeinated beverage, a book, and wireless internet access.

And given this town, that only limits my options to about 50 different places. Love it!

This weekend is packed full of good things, and I'm really looking forward to it. I hope you're looking forward to your weekend as well. Enjoy the outdoors and the God who made it!

Star Performer

This man is the bane of my Cranium existence. Who the heck knows how to impersonate W.C. Fields?! Especially at 1AM? It's ok, I'm over it. Kice and I won anyways. Yay!

After reading more about him, I'm kind of glad I wasn't able to impersonate Mr. Fields.

Notable Quotes:

• A thing worth having is a thing worth cheating for.
• I am free of all prejudice - I hate everyone equally.
• I never vote for anyone, I always vote against.
• Start off every day with a smile and get it over with.

Interesting stuff....

Is this thing on?

Says Kim to her email. I keep hitting "refresh" and nothing is happening. It's like those sad 80's movies, where someone is waiting for a phone call, and they call the operator to make sure their phone is still working. And we all know that the phone is still working. It's the poor sap who's waiting for a call - they're the ones that need fixing.

Well, I'm pretty sure the internet is still functioning properly, but sometimes I'm doubtful about my own mind. Waiting is hard, but good. Not that I even know what I'm waiting for, I just know that I'm waiting. I have not been cleared for landing, nor have all the tray tables been placed in their upright and locked position. Ugh.

But seriously, I'll rest easy tonight on my new featherbed, while the chilly autumn air settles outside of my window. Yes, I said chilly. And yes, I know it was seriously only about 70 degrees today. But I shivered at least 3 times, and I attribute that to the "cold Canadian air" that has descended upon Central Texas.

To be completely honest here, I actually turned on the heater in my car today. I'm such a wimp......

In memory of Mr. Buchholtz

Mr. Buchholtz passed away a few weeks ago. I found that out today. He was my 10th grade Sunday school director. I had just spoken with him a few weeks back, as he and his family had contacted me about donating a table to Houses to Homes. As always, he was chipper, upbeat, and friendly.

He wasn't home when we came by to do the pick-up, but his sweet wife Bonnie was. She was just returning from getting some ice cream, and was as cheerful as ever. They wanted the table to go to someone in need. And that it did. It's at home in a house on 14th street.

Bill and Bonnie were constant fixtures in our youth group growing up. They made 10th grade bearable. Even if they didn't know you that well, you still felt like part of the family. Mr. Buchholtz always went out of his way to ensure that everyone felt included - that everyone felt loved.

To read more about this dear man, and the incredible life he led, please read here. And please be praying for Bonnie and the kids. Experiencing a loss like this is inexplicable. But so is God's peace. My prayer for them is that they would know His peace in ways that words can't describe.

Pray for me, if you get this in time

I'm about 15 minutes away from going running. Yep, running. And no, nothing is chasing me. Except for the curly-haired girl scout friend of mine who is training for a 10 mile run.

Why am I running? To encourage her - or at least that's the hope. She may well wind up reviving me from unconsciousness half way through our route, but that's another story for another time. I figure it might do her good to run with someone that's she's scores better than. And that "someone" is yours truly.

So anyways, it's 6:30 in the morning, and I'm lacing up my shoes to go out and run. I think I've lost it. I think the stresses of the recent weeks are finally all piling up and driving me to these insane measures. Wish me luck.

I love Dove

A friend of mine at work has a not-so-secret candy stash at her desk. And her favorite candy happens to be Dove dark chocolate. Dove, ingeniously, has made these little bite-sized candies that, upon consuming, one cannot stop from stuffing one's face with.

But I digress.

Each candy has a little "Promise message" (their words, not mine) on the inside of the wrapper. Here are a few from candies past:

• Go against the grain.
• Make "someday" today.
• There's a time for compromise...it's called "later."

You get the drift.

But the one I got today I thought was cute: When two hearts race, both win.

Now if you know me at all, you know I'm not all about mushy-gushy stuff like that. But I kind of liked their attempt at it today.

Dove chocolate - making your mouth, and your heart, happy.

Renters

Well, I think we have new neighbors. Why do I think that? Well, my first clue, upon coming home at 11 o'clock tonight, was hearing a seemingly large group of people on the other side of my bedroom wall exclaiming a muffled "So cute!"

Then they apparently moved (loudly) downstairs and the sounds of the group were a bit more muffled. But alas, some of them were still upstairs on the other side of the wall, apparently checking the structural soundness of the closets and doors.

The last clue, that really made me think that my initial hunch was right, was hearing the large group downstairs, outside on the patio with loud exclamations of "SO CUTE!" And thus, it seems that we now must go back to using just 1 side of the driveway again. No more sloppy parking. No more extra trash cans to use for our overflow. No more raucous parties on our side of the wall for awhile.

Ah, the death of a dream.

Seriously though, it shouldn't be that bad. Emphasis on the word shouldn't.

My personal scale

As of late, I've felt a bit like a natural disaster. I know that part, if not most, of that feeling is really off-base and very self-centered, but to a certain extent, it really feels like I should have my own personal destructive force scale.

Hurricanes have the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Tornadoes have the Fujita scale.
Earthquakes have the Richter scale.

And I should have the Kim scale. But mine would most certainly have to have a better name than that. I need a creative name, people. Any tasteful ideas should be documented in the "Comments" section. I'm being very trusting here, by the way. Only serious entries will be considered.

Ok, so I'm kind of kidding. But kind of not. Do you ever feel that most of the stuff you touch begins to tarnish rather than turn into gold? I'm sure the feeling will pass, and don't get me wrong, I'm not staying up at night pondering the not-so-Midas touch I seem to have lately. At least I haven't spilled anything on myself or fallen down any stairs as of late. But there's always time for that silliness, you know.

So anyhow, things are turning around a bit, and for that I'm glad. Now just a few things are left that keep striking the same chord in my mind. One of those being the reminder to wait on the Lord. We are told to wait on the Lord more times than I care to count at this late hour. But the one that currently resonates with me is this,

Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with You there is forgiveness,
Therefore You are feared.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits
And in His word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
More than watchmen wait for the morning,
More than watchmen wait for the morning.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
For with the Lord is unfailing love
and with Him is full redemption.
He Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

Psalm 130
So we're told to wait on the Lord. We're instructed to do that a lot. Why? Because it seems to be one of the hardest things that we have to do. We want everything now. We want to know everything, be everywhere, do everything, and control everything. But He tells us to wait. Not just for nothing, but for Him. So wait I will (or at least I'll try...).

General observations

I think I'm learning to live life. I mean really live it. I don't exactly know what that means, but I think I like it so far.

After we go to all the trouble to spend our young years making plans for our older years, God effortlessly shows us that most, if not all, of those plans were self-centered and without vision or focus. But then, He doesn't just leave us there with an eraser in our hands. He gives us a new piece of paper. A new vision. A new focus.

And in no way am I saying that I know exactly what that looks like. Much to the contrary, my dear friends. But I am saying that there's just something about going from pause to play.

Whenever people come into town, they always want to do "Austin-y" things. But as they say, a fish doesn't necessarily know that he's in water. In much the same way, Austin, to me, doesn't always seem all that special. But I had a spontaneous, Austin-y night. Two birds with one stone folks: me being spontaneous, and me doing Austin-type stuff. And it was life. It wasn't planned. It wasn't labored over. It wasn't dressed up or cute outfits. It wasn't busy, or boring, or even all that amazing in general. And that's what was so amazing about it.

Just a couple of girls out for the night. And now I sit here, snuggled up, ready for bed, writing and listening to David Gray, getting ready to read some Donald Miller. It's almost as if I planned it.

And I realized something about myself. Some of you probably already knew it, but I think I really saw it clearly for the first time today. I seek out the drama in life, but I'm satisfied all too often with the mundane. I'm not sure if that's necessarily good or bad, but it's something. It's a pulse.

Good night.

Another hurricane, it seems

And I'm housing a refugee and her cat. Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased to be doing so. One of my college roommates, in fact, found herself fleeing from Houston early this morning. When I say early, I mean it was barely morning when she left.

She called me at 2:15AM to tell me she was leaving. She lives in Katy, on the Northwest side of Houston. After having a nightmare (partly about a hurricane, partly about the season premiere of Lost), I woke up at around 5:30. So I tried to call her several times to see how far she had made it. After finally getting through around 5:45, she told me that she was about 20 miles outside of Katy.

20 miles!!!

3 hours to go 20 miles. Wow.

We soon found that text messaging was the best way to reach each other, so while I was working during the day, we were "texting" back and forth. You know what time she finally made it to my house today? Noon. Noon! What is normally a 3 hour trip from Houston to Austin became a 10 hour trip. How insane. But at least she's safe, and she's upstairs sleeping, since she had been up for more than 24 hours.

My other friends, God bless 'em, are riding the storm out in Houston. Jules - best of luck to you. Be safe and I love you!

Catching my breath, albeit briefly

So I have about 9 minutes before my next meeting, and I figured, why not post? There's been a lot going on in the past week. A lot. But it's been a good type of busy, accompanied all to often by a good type of tired, I guess. But I think I'm finally caught up on sleep and am back in full swing.

This week is marked with much work to be done at work, and much work to be done outside of the office.

And as irony would have it, now Texas is facing a hurricane. We've had a good time joking around with my friend Rita here at work, but in all seriousness, several of my good friends in the Houston area are evacuating. Luckily, some of them will likely land in Austin, so I'm thankful for that. Though I'm hoping that the evacuations turn out to be simply a precautionary measure and Houston/Galveston/Dickinson don't get hit too hard.

But alas, things like this happen. Although the last time I remember a hurricane coming close to my backyard was about 1988 with Hurricane Gilbert. I was in elementary school at the time, so they were showing us how to hide under our desks, and how to evacuate the building if need be. Rather than get scared, we got the biggest kick out of imagining hiding from flying debris in our classroom. I even remember eating lunch under our tables because we thought it was cool. Wow - we were awesome back in the day.

Now, of course, it's a bit different. I can comprehend the destruction that a mass of swirling clouds in the warm gulf can conjure up. Friends in Houston, you're welcome to come crash at my house this weekend. Be safe!

In conclusion

I am so glad that this week is drawing to a close. Or maybe I should look at it like the weekend is just beginning. I'm really glad that we don't have to earn weekends. They are just there. Automatically. You don't have to have a really great week in order to get a weekend. It's tacked on, right there at the end. For all to enjoy. And enjoy I will.

By about 3PM today, the only "nourishment" that was in my system for the whole day was about 4 cups of coffee and two doughnuts. It was a rough morning. But I survived nonetheless.

Anyhow, the coffee was directly related to the fact that last night was another late night. We finished another house last night. It was so great. It's for a family of 6. They have 4 girls! How fun! We started with a new group of volunteers, all eager and excited to get going on their first house. But there was a bit of a snag. Due to extenuating circumstances, when we got to the house, there was no power or water. No electricity. No air conditioning. Did I mention that we are in Texas? Did I mention that we only have 2 seasons - hot and really hot?

So we opened all the windows, and had some "emergency" lighting going on (3 lamps plugged into an outside power box via a series of extension cords). We had a few bottles of water. And we had a lot of work to do.

But we were out of there around midnight. One house down, several to go. That's the update for now. Good stuff!

To a new level

It's 10AM on Friday morning. I've already had 3 cups of coffee and two doughnuts. The degree to which I no longer care for my general health and well-being has reached a new level.

On a different note, we got a second house done last night. I'll post more about it at housestohomes, but that'll probably have to wait until later today. Good stuff, my friends. Good stuff indeed.

I've got to go to bed, but I'm too excited/busy/etc....I'm meeting up at work tomorrow at 6:30 AM to sort food and stash it for the food bank in town. Hopefully we'll be done by 9 or so, depending on how many folks show up. Sleep is scarce in our house this week, but I don't think any of us are complaining. At least, not yet. We'll see how this next week goes. Wish us luck on our next project!

It's funny how God kind of weaves things together in ways that we don't always comprehend until He's "finished" - but seriously, when is He finished? Recently, I've had the "do what you love" conversation about 7 times over the past two weeks. Questions like, "how do you know what you love?" and "how do you actually arrange to do it?" kept coming up with various friends and acquaintances. And everyone has their own two cents. Most of the people I know are not actually doing what they love, but most of them at least had an idea of what it was that they loved.

I, on the other hand, am a coward. When talking to my roommate I confessed that I didn't really know how to do what I loved because I didn't know what I loved. In her "kind" way, she called me out. And rightly so. I know it's somewhere down in there, but I think fear keeps me from realizing that it really is down in there somewhere. It just needs to come to the surface.

And right on the heels of those conversations and that wondering, opportunities abound. And not just opportunities to have fun and serve people. But opportunities that I literally am losing sleep over. Things that I can't imagine tiring of. Things that I'll drop everything else to do. Things that I can't help but tell everyone else about. And I'm so thankful for these things. Yes, it's only been a week. And I have no idea how this will all play out in the future, but I am so excited to be so excited about something, and I'm thankful for that.

Check it out!

Houses to Homes

The family

Well, I got word today that the family moved in. They are happy, healthy and safe - Praise God! It's so exciting to be a part of this. I literally cannot wait to meet them and to try to do this all over again for another group of people. And due to some late-breaking developments, that may happen sooner than I think.

Please be praying for The 95. I can't add more detail about that, namely because I don't have much detail. But it could be severely awesome. I'll explain more later. Promise.

And if you're reading this and you have any household items to donate, please leave a comment and I'll follow up with you. Think about things like pots, pans, towels, dishes, cups, linens, furniture. All the household necessities that some of us tend to have in excess. Just let me know what you've got.

And be praying for their grandma. We're trying to concoct a plan to get her from Louisiana to Austin sometime soon. And we're not quite sure how that might work....ideas?

Working on a new format...

Thanks for your patience...things will be fixed soon. Promise.

I hate waiting

Maybe that's part of the reason that we're often instructed to wait on the Lord. It's almost like we're programmed to do anything but wait. But that being said...

The family is moving in this afternoon. I have no idea who they are, where they're from, what they do for a living, what their kids like, what their hopes and dreams are...but I do know that they have a home with a shiny red door. And that makes me so excited I can hardly wait. I hate that I didn't take before and after pictures, but that doesn't keep me up at night.

What does keep me up at night is thinking about how much there is to be done, specifically to help those that are here in town, but also those that hurt like this every day. My roommate and I have traded about 30 emails today swapping ideas of how we can help, who we can involve, and all that. But for now, I'm glad that it just starts with one family. And I have no idea how this story will end, but I'm so thankful that I got to help in this tiny way.

I'm sure I'll post again when I have an update about the family. Stay tuned.

P.S. Remind me later if I don't fit this in with the on-going discussion I've been having entitled, "Do What You Love" combined with using spiritual gifts, waiting on the Lord, and being obedient. My it's an intricate tapestry of topics :)

A worthwhile evening

I just got home and it's almost 2 AM. Rarely do I ever see midnight come and go, as I like to be in bed rather early. But the last 6 hours of my life have been incredible, and I haven't even seen the fruit of my labor yet.

A very gracious and generous friend of mine recently offered up one of his rent houses to the evacuees that are staying in Austin. He just found out Wednesday afternoon that a family had been selected for his house, and that they would move into the house Thursday. So we scoured the city for extra couches, beds, posters, games, towels....all the necessities of filling a vacant house with the feel of a home.

None of us have met the family yet. My friend barely knows their names. They are a husband, wife and two young boys, and they will soon call an actual house their home for the next while.

It was just great. And I don't care if I'm tired. I just wanted to write about it briefly....for some reason.

Now, my own bed calls me. Get some rest, all.

Collecting my thoughts

I like to write. Note, I did not say that I'm good at it, but it really helps to just sort your thoughts out sometimes on paper (or paper-like substance: the category under which this website falls). I have actually been journaling for awhile. Specifically, my main journal is a prayer journal. I've been doing that for years, and my bookshelves are filling up with used journals that are starting to tell the story of my life, one day at a time.

And apparently now I've created a pre-journal journal. I have this little book that I take with me almost everywhere. Initially (and there's a bit of history here going all the way back to my A&M library days as a student worker - more on that later) it was just something to keep with me to jot notes down. You know, to-do lists, grocery lists, places I want to go someday, a funny bumper sticker I saw...stuff like that. Well now, it seems that I have so many things going through my head that they can't wait for my prayer journal to show up, and they make their way into the tiny pages of the pre-journal. It's so bad now that I've perfected the art of fishing the journal and pen out of my purse, opening it to the next blank page, scribbling sentence fragments on a few pages, and placing it back in my purse - all while driving 60 down I-35. Creativity may well lead to danger, my friends.

But I get overwhelmed with the feeling that I must, in some way, hang on to the spontaneous, random phrases before they leave me completely. I'm not a song writer by any means, but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with a few verses in my head of a song that has yet to be written - and I don't want to lose them, so I reach for the pre-journal. And it's almost rude, because sometimes I break it out in the middle of a conversation, cutting the other person off because it seems more important to me to document my thought process than to listen to a friend. My sincere apologies if I've ever pre-journaled you in conversation.

Needless to say, I had to stop this morning in the middle of drying my newly-cut hair to write a thought down about an onion. What's wrong with this picture?

The prettiness

I have to admit something - I'm addicted to (portions of) tv. Each night one of "my shows" is on with a new episode during the year, I gather 1) with 12 other friends at someone's apartment or 2) with my roommates at my house and we glue ourselves to the life-wasting box in the living room, bracing ourselves for emotional punches and fits of laughter (depending on the show) for the next 1-4 hours. Trust me - it's good fun for all.

Well, Mr. Abrams, you've done it now. Did you not hear my cries last season? Did you not notice the throngs of 20-something women cringing each time a punch was thrown in or around the general vicinity of his face? Do you just take sick pleasure in toying with us week after week with thoughts of "will they or won't they?"

The bad news.

Well, you've done it now. In the words of my roommate, "Don't screw up Lost like you've screwed up Alias."

Again I say, he's too pretty to die.

A one-track mind

I've been slacking off this week as far as posting goes.

Audience: my sincere apologies.

It's not that I don't have much to write about....ok, well, maybe I don't have a ton to write about, but there are thoughts swimming around somewhere in my head that need to get out and onto this here little page. However, it's almost as if I feel guilty for writing or thinking seriously about anything other than the hurricane and it's victims (aside from God, of course. There's always room to write and think seriously about God.). But much like a car wreck on the side of the road draws rubber-neckers, so the tv and news coverage of this disaster draws me in each night. I can't not watch. I feel myself starting to complain about something, and then an image of a family on a roof or a deserted highway fills my mind.

It's frustrating to hear people criticize this, or point the finger at that. And thousands of people are writing about it, and taking pictures, so what more could I add? Not much, I guess. I'm not there right now, nor do I know anyone firsthand who is experiencing that madness. And today alone I've received about 5-10 emails or phone calls about how to help from where I am.

My roommate and I were talking about it the other night. Actually, we were waiting for Lost to start, but it was pre-empted by an ABC hurricane special. And after it was over, I was glad that I had seen it. Those images just don't seem real to me. My roommate and I started talking about a comment a reporter made. It went something like this:

Desk Anchor to Field Reporter: Have you ever seen anything like this? (Obviously waiting for the "Never in my life!" response...)

Field Reporter: Uh...yeah. But not in America!

Wow. Isn't that just a bit true, though? Images like we're seeing used to belong to the third world. Only rarely were we confronted with such things. Yes, I remember hurricane Andrew and how it ripped parts of Florida to shreds. And yes, I remember San Francisco after the earthquake, seeing the pancake of a freeway just hanging in midair. But to even try to imagine New Orleans as a giant bowl 80% full of disease-infested waters...well, my mind just isn't used to that. And to see the thousands of people panicking and rioting, dehydrated and hungry. It's just totally foreign to me.

A co-worker of mine loaded up his car and trailer today, along with 3 other male family members, to make the trek to southern Mississippi. He is hoping to pick up his elderly family members and bring them back to safety. He is planning to stop along the way and pick up some weapons. And that, my friends, is absolutely insane to me. But he's probably safer that way, which is even more insane.

More firsthand accounts can be found here.

New Orleans

I've spent two Spring Breaks in my life doing ministry in New Orleans. During that time, I met some of the sweetest and brightest kids I've ever seen. In spite of the fact that they live in some of the worst conditions I've ever seen, they were never without a smile and a hefty dose of enthusiasm.

Today, their homes are likely flooded, if they are still standing at all. They live two blocks from the wall that keeps the Mississippi in its banks. And most of their families decided not to leave, or rather, weren't able to leave. Some of them are likely huddled together in flooded houses. Some may be at the Superdome looking for food or shelter. Others are who knows where.

A good friend of mine spent an entire summer there a few years back, loving the kids and teaching them that Jesus loves them too. When the mission workers started to evacuate earlier this week, only 1 child would go with them. They can't get in touch with anyone who stayed in the city, because there is no power and there are no phones available.

They likely have little to no food. They are likely running out of water. But even if people here could get in touch with people there, what do you tell them to do? Break into a Walmart and get food? Swim down to the mission and pry off the bars and the plywood that are on the windows, just to get inside to the kitchen?

Please be praying for these people. They need to be found by FEMA or the Red Cross. But so do thousands of others.

Links to storm coverage:
CNN Special
More CNN
MSNBC Coverage

Not quite homesick

I'm still up in North Carolina :) And I'm still enjoying it. We had yet another round of good food last night as we stopped by a cute little Italian place in Greensboro. And when I say little, I mean it. We had 17 people with us and filled at least 80% of the available space in the entire building. But it was fun and cozy - good food and such. All in all, a fun time.

I tried to make the rule that we wouldn't talk about work while we weren't at work, and that lasted for about 2 minutes. But that's ok. I am still making efforts to just get to know people, which can actually come in quite handy down the road.

Do you ever just feel like you've hit your stride? I think I'm feeling like that around here lately. I can't necessarily put it into words, but it's just a feeling like you're doing what you should be doing when you should be doing it.

I was talking to a friend of mine over email the other day, and he said something that just sounded so right...I can't say it verbatim, but it was something along the lines of "I love how the same old things look so much more interesting when viewed from a different vista." I like how life is like that. It's true with sunrises and sunsets. And I'm finding that it's also true with people. And I love that.

While the cat's away

So apparently, while I've been on my blogging hiatus, I've been getting spammed. My apologies, dear readers. I'm going to try to take care of that.

I'm actually posting from North Carolina. Good stuff! I'm midway through my first business trip. The flights were good, the hotel plush, the friends entertaining and the food tasty. All in all, it's been a pleasant stay so far. Let's hope the streak continues.

I hope to explore a bit tonight and let you all know how it goes. We ate at a Brazilian barbecue place last night, and it was quite good. It will be hard to top...

Tonight, I'm looking forward to checking out Winston-Salem. Though it's a college town, I hear there's not much to do there. We'll see about that....wish me luck!

P.S. The sunrises and sunsets here are beautiful. Just thought you should know.

It's not that bad...

Ok, based on my post yesterday, I feel that I need to clarify a bit. It's really not horribly awful around the cube these days. Nor is it even awful. In fact, most days are quite pleasant. But as any of you who are employees for an employer know, sometimes it's frustrating. And I've just had a lot of those days lately. Will they pass? Most certainly. Will I survive? Most certainly.

So, that being said, another week is underway :)

I learned yesterday that every 7 years you have to get new license plates for your car. Did you know that? I thought since I had been apparently driving with both an expired registration sticker and an expired state inspection, I should go get at least one of those items taken care of....but if you let your registration expire for more than 30 days, you have to go in person to get it cleared up.

Well, I thought that this might just be a ploy of the state to catch me in the act of driving illegally and thus arrest me on the spot when I arrived to get a new sticker. And apparently I've been watching way too many movies or something, because nothing of the sort happened. I showed my insurance card, gave them my current address, and all of a sudden, the guy just pulls out new plates. I thought that since my car wasn't officially "registered" anymore, I had to start all over again - new plates, new this, new that....but alas, he just said that every 7 years everyone has to get new plates.

So here I go, needing to memorize another series of letters and numbers. It doesn't really spell anything cute, but neither did my first plates, so I'm ok with that. And thus, my car is officially senile (if cars can in fact be senile). Let's just hope that it makes it for 7 more years.

Someone asked me why they pick 7 years. I honestly have no idea, but it makes no sense to me. I should have asked while I was there. Doh! Any thoughts?

There's a reason they call work "work"

And I've been reminded of that reason on a daily basis since my return. I think that people are now getting a bit tired of my "But I've been out of the country" excuse around the office. Ok, so I really don't use it that much, but for awhile, it did have some legs.

It's not that I don't love what I do. Ok, well maybe I don't necessarily love it, but there are certainly times when I don't like who I am when I'm in the office. And maybe God is using this trying time to refine me, who knows. I don't necessarily mind the long hours, but it's the general feeling of being incompetent that looms in the distance - that's the thing that keeps me up at night. I just have to keep reminding myself that when you're learning something new, it takes time, and it's not always comfortable.

On the other hand, my "to do" list keeps growing. Not task wise (like laundry, cleaning, car tune up, etc.) but a general "to do" list of life: books I want to read, adventures I want to take, people I want to get to know better. And I like that kind of list. I'm happy to add to it anytime.

Unfortunately, growing my career isn't necessarily on my current "to do" list, and that makes for daily challenges. Oh well. Maybe I just need another cup of coffee on this slow, cloudy Monday morning.

P.S. Last week, after a particularly emotionally-eventful conference call late in the afternoon, I went for a cup of coffee, hoping that it would calm me down. This, I believe, is a bad sign. Caffeine, last time I checked, isn't normally used as a sedative. It was more of a comfort food, I guess, but it made me laugh in retrospect.

P.P.S. I enjoy frequent use of the "P.S." In fact, I think that it should be used more often.

I really don't mean to be so dark, but this is what's on my mind...

First of all, thanks for your prayers for the Morris family. Things with Bing continue to be very precarious. He's still in the hospital, and times are difficult for the family.

I attended the funeral for Mrs. Turner yesterday, along with several good friends. Despite the rain-soaked morning, God was indeed good. It was the celebration of a life well-lived. It is always hard to watch people you love and care for endure such pain, but it is also joyous to know that her pain on Earth is finished. They had been married for 63 years. 63 years! That just boggles my mind.

Over the course of my life, I've attended probably about the same number of funerals as I have weddings. Ok, maybe slightly more weddings once college was in full-swing, but nonetheless, I've been to my fair share of both. In the last 8 years of my life, in fact, I've been to at least 8 funerals.

Things like that always cause you to go into "introspective" mode, at least for awhile. Do I tell the people I love that I love them? Do I truly value the time that I've so graciously been given? Do I live each day to the fullest? And on, and on.

And each time, I come away resolved to change the way that I treat people, the way that I live. And unfortunately, that behavior change sticks around for about as long as New Year's resolutions do.

And each time, I start to think about how I would want my funeral done. I told my stepmother once that I wanted a party - because simply put, I'd be in heaven with Jesus and people should be excited about that. She didn't quite feel the same way, quoting Ecclesiastes 3, and reminding me that there are seasons in which to mourn. Yes, I'm fully aware of those seasons. I guess I was thinking that if there were cupcakes involved, people would get past that mourning season and right on into the dancing. I'm not trying to be flippant about this, here. Please understand. Nor am I trying to be morbid. Just putting sundry thoughts together and hoping that it's in some way coherent.

Needless to say, this week will be touch-and-go. Your thoughts and prayers are valuable. Thanks for your friendship. And if I haven't told you lately, I do care about you sincerely. Please know that.

What do you say?

My heart is heavy this morning, as I found out late last night that one of my best friends is now experiencing a very difficult loss. Her grandparents were in a horrible car accident yesterday afternoon, and her grandmother (who was in her 90's) was killed. Her grandfather is now in the ICU at a nearby hospital, but they're not sure about his condition.

I've experienced many losses in my life, but still I'm finding that sometimes there are just no words. And maybe that's for the best. I honestly don't remember what people told me during those difficult times in my life, but I do remember their faces, and the fact that they cared. I remember their hugs, and the way they provided for my family.

The same family who is going through this loss today is also the same family that basically adopted me in high school after my family experienced a difficult loss. I was literally in the cradle with their daughter, and from that point on through the next 18 years, we were practically inseparable. They were there for me and my family in ways that I can't even describe. And now it's my turn to do the same for them.

Please be praying for the Morris family today, if you have the opportunity. Thanks.

Old email doesn't lose it's flavor

I was reading some old emails today from folks in college. One of my friends gave me a quote prior to us going on a mission trip back then, and I thought it seemed swell to pass it along. So here goes:

"You should not be willing to go, and have planned to stay here, but rather, you should plan to go and be willing to stay." J.R. Vassar
I thought this was interesting. I won't get on my soapbox about the word "missions," but rather, say that having the mindset described above is tough to do. Yes, I know I'm probably romanticising the idea of spending a considerable amount of time abroad teaching and telling people about Jesus. But just let me continue, for a moment, if you will.

I've felt the hunger to "go" since my senior year in high school. No, I won't tell you how long ago that was. I had been on "mission trips" prior to that time, but had never really thought of it as a type of calling. After attending a college conference that year, God really opened me to the idea of going. Not anywhere in particular, but just going. And the next four years of life presented several opportunities to do just that.

And then came corporate America. When I was younger I really thought I wanted to be in corporate America. And I have no doubt that it was meant to be that way for a season. But when is that season over? Do I now need to pray that I would be willing to stay, though I have a desire to go? So much to think about.

"In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9
And here I sit in my room, typing this out, contemplating life's next steps, with a flip flop resting in my lap to fend off any pesky critters that may have come in while I've had the window open. Does it get any better than this? Yes, let's hope it does.

Why am I still awake?

It's 1:00 AM and I can't sleep. If you know me at all, you know this practically never happens. Maybe the cheap gas station coffee I consumed outside of Waco about 2 hours ago is to blame? Or maybe it was the 2 hours of great conversation with my friend Kim? Or maybe I've just got a lot to think about and I don't want to face the stillness of a silent room. Whatever it is, I'm pretty much wide awake and ready to type.

I spent today saying goodbye to a girl I've known since we were literally in the crib together. She and her husband are moving to another state. She seems so much older than me - buying her second house, moving to support her husband's job, redecorating a new place. All I'm thinking about is if I have enough creamer in the fridge to make a cup of coffee in the morning. Life is strange.

I've got a lot of people on my mind right now: my students, my lifelong friends, my friends doing missions abroad, folks I knew in college but have not kept in touch with, my co-workers...and I have no idea what to do with it all but to just confess that sometimes I know not what to pray for (see Romans 8). I guess I just like to get these thoughts into words sometimes, but I have no idea if any of this makes sense. I'll now attempt to salvage the remaining hours before I get to face another day and see what He has in store.

Why am I acting like I was gone for 10 years?

It was two weeks. No more, no less. Yet my mind and my body are acting like I was out of the country for ages. My bed still seems strange, I can't find my glasses, and I had no idea how to turn off (much less get to) my alarm clock this morning. Should I be thankful that I'm not adjusting quickly? Possibly. I'll think on that some more and get back to you.

I finally hit the wall at about 2:30 yesterday. I was sitting at my desk and started to really feel bad. Not just tired, but heavy, in a way. So I thought about my options and decided to work from home for the remainder of the afternoon. Once I got home, I was glad that I had decided to leave the office, because I didn't last much longer. I slept for 2 1/2 hours, and then still had a hard time getting up. But alas, today I'm doing well. And as a bonus, I'm almost completely caught up at work. Good show!

Things I've noticed upon my return:
I now have the phrase "western toilet" in my vocabulary.
I still have to think twice before flushing toilet paper.
Meeting Christians here is just as refreshing as meeting them in Asia.
I have more foreign change in my wallet than I do American change.
I kind of miss being a visible minority.
I really missed dairy products, but have yet to partake of any ice cream.
I like saying that I was "out of the country."
There are now about 10 more books on my reading list.
I can't wait to go to church on Sunday. I should feel like this more often.
Arrested Development is as funny now as it was two weeks ago.
I missed home, but not as much as I thought I would.

471

That was the "unread email" count after 11 days off of work. Not too shabby, but then again, I'm not sure what I was expecting. Anyhow, I'm still adjusting a bit to being back at home. I slept well and have thus far, had very little effects from any jet lag. Praise God! Really, I just love typing "God" and not worrying about it being caught in some crazy governmental firewall. So please excuse me if I in any way overuse any Christian verbiage for the next while...

It was really different sleeping in a soft bed. I didn't think it would be weird, but it was. It was almost too soft and comfy. I've never thought that before, but it was just weird.

And apparently since the water hasn't been potable where I was staying, almost everyone else on the team was brushing their teeth with bottled water for the past 16 days. No one told me until we got to Los Angeles, however, and they looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I had been using tap water. Just one of those things, I guess.

I'll continue to post more, as I get a little further through the unread pile. After 2 hours, I'm down to 254 unread. Nice progress, in my opinion...