Saturday, September 27, 2008

EGO trip


I drove up to Maryland this week to interview for a new job.  It was very nice to have a couple of days off and to have a change of scenery, and to meet so many interesting people.  The campus was gorgeous as was the town, and everyone was nice.  The drive was LONG.  The husband and I actually had a chance to talk to each other because we were minus the little one who talks constantly.  Or sings.  Or just makes noise.  
I know I've said this before, but I believe in fate.  And oddly enough, as I found myself in Maryland tossing and turning in the Best Western where I wound up leaving my "magic" pillow - I wondered what I was doing there, and how the whole thing would turn out.  Still don't know the answer to that, but something very neat happened on the way back.
We were driving down I-81 and couldn't help ourselves.  We had to stop off on exit 140 to drive by Roanoke College, get gas at our favorite gas station there where we used to live, look for that barbeque in the tub that I used to buy so much.  When we pulled into the gas station, which is in the parking lot of the grocery store, there sat a Starbucks!  Since I actually emailed corporate back in 2002 and asked them to build a Starbucks in Salem, VA, I had to go in.  Hal was funny.  He completely entertained my excitement and went along willingly.  We walk in and immediately are hugged by the former VPSA and now, special assistant to the president, of Roanoke College.  It was so good to see him, this wiry man who put me to shame hiking in the mountains five  years ago.  We chatted a while, caught up with each other a bit, and then he said something that made my heart swell.  He said, you know Heather, when you left it was so bittersweet - you had a great opportunity but man you had done such a good job here.  Five years later he says this to me.  What a compliment.  I'm still reeling.  It's really great, and the only compliment I have let myself hear in a long time.  (I'm naturally bad at accepting compliments.)  I did manage to buy myself a cup of coffee but completely forgot my one raw sugar and cream, so as we were driving out there was ANOTHER Starbucks!  I walked in there half expecting to see someone else I knew but it was late and they were about to close.  It was great to see the campus again and we drove by our old residence hall.  At one point I thought I shouldn't have left, but if I'd done that I wouldn't have been there in South Carolina to help my aunt through her last days with bone cancer.  Everything happens for a reason.  Everything.

So now I'm referring to the Maryland jaunt as my ego trip.  Cause now I feel good about myself in a way that I haven't in a while.  Fate?  We shall see.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Ideas for the middle of the night.

So I'm sitting here awake.  Again.  Let's see.  Fun things to do in the middle of the night.  Play on Facebook.  Make comments about all your friend's photos.  Catch up on email!  Seriously, and I needed to do that too.  Listen to New Kids on the Block with my cool Bose headphones.  Read cnn.com and catch up on the news so I won't look like an idiot when there's a current affairs conversation going on in the workplace.  Snack.  Drink mojitos.  Contemplate life.  Write.  Stare at my little boo sleeping.  Snicker at my husband and his almost snore.  I suppose I could pose them and take funny pictures.  Nah.  That might be weird.  Go outside and pet P.P. -- the cat we brought home from Virginia that refuses to enter the house.  I think she has kitty bipolar disorder.  Oh.  I almost forgot.  Tonight I'm sitting here wondering why some freaking IDIOT in Atlanta robbed a Starbucks at gunpoint yesterday morning.  The poor barista he pointed the gun at is my friend!  

I wonder if it's true that sleeplessness or lack of sleep actually does make you more creative?

Monday, September 15, 2008

There must be a happy medium.

Last night I decided to do something revolutionary. I took a real sleeping pill. Not your over the counter Tylenol PM types, but Rozerem. That tiny little pill knocked me OUT for 12 hours straight. I didn't hear anything, feel anything, or hurt anywhere. OUT. I didn't really wake up good until about 7 tonight. My husbands tells me I should take another one tonight, but I don't want to be groggy all day tomorrow too, so I opt not to. And here I am. Awake all night!
Where is the happy medium? I have written published articles on how to get a good night's sleep! I have led seminars on how to sleep! I know what to do! Yet I cannot sleep. I have barriers. Aches and pains, gallbladder issues, a very strange and jacked up work schedule, and a 4 year old. Can't get rid of any of those things at the moment. I think my next post will be all about the cool things you can do in the wee hours of the day.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Circa 1974

The year was 1974. My birthday got me wondering, what was the world like when I was born? So I read a bunch of stuff on 1974. Here are the things that stuck out in my head:

Nixon was impeached, and Ford takes office.
Ted Bundy is killing people.
Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's record with 715 home runs.
UPC codes are introduced.
The U.S. Dept. of Justice breaks up AT&T and Bell telephone.
VW introduces the Rabbit for sale in the U.S.
Patricia Hearst is kidnapped.
The Sting gets the Oscar for Best Picture.

On my birthday in particular, Ford gives Nixon a full pardon and a plane crashes in the Ionian Sea. I wonder what this means for me?

Saturday, September 6, 2008

34 and all I get is a day off?

Finally, a day off. Actually 4 days off, and if you want to get technical, 4 days and 22 hours off. So my birthday is Monday, and lemme tell you, I'd rather be a kid. See, my kid's birthday is Sunday and she'll get a cake and presents with "azul" wrapping paper just like she wants. She'll have fun and we'll make a big deal and do something really cool. But for my birthday on Monday, nah. The stark reality started today when I rolled out of bed with a shoulder ache to remind myself that I'm getting old. Then I had to go stand in line and pay twenty bucks to renew my driver's license. Not to mention finally giving in and putting my real weight down on the form. And if that's wasn't enough, a stop by the tag office to pay taxes on my car!! So already I'm out $320 and whatever it costs me to make Sarah's birthday memorable and special.

But I do get 4 days and 22 hours off. Technically. I won't be working. I won't be serving coffee or soothing mad folks in the ER. I'll just be accepting the number 34 and watching my bank account diminish! Happy birthday to me...

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

New Kids on the Block


Call me a freak, call me a loser, call me retro and uncool.  I don't care.  Just downloaded the new album by New Kids on the Block from iTunes.  IT'S AMAZING!  Definitely, muscially, all grown up.  You owe it to yourself to get this and listen to it.  And if you're a hater, you need to get a life.