Esprit de l'escalier

Really wish I could just roll over and go back to sleep. *yawn*
Isn’t there a law or something about seniors and 8am classes?
There should be.

For a couple years I’ve been blaming it on lack of sleep, not enough sunshine, too much pressure from my job, earwax buildup, poor blood or anything else I could think of. But now I found out the real reason: I’m tired because I’m overworked.

Here’s why: The population of this country is 273 million. 140 million are retired. That leaves 133 million to do the work. There are 85 million in school, which leaves 48 million to do the work. Of this there are 29 million employed by the federal government, leaving 19 million to do the work. 2.8 million are in the armed forces preoccupied with Iraq. Which leaves 16.2 million to do the work.
Take from the total the 14,800,000 people who work for state and city governments. And that leaves 1.4 million to do the work. At any given time there are 188,000 people in hospitals, Leaving 1,212,000 to do the work. Now, there are 1,211,998 people in prisons.

That leaves just two people to do the work. You and me. And there you are sitting on your ass, at your computer, reading jokes.

Nice, real nice…………

You must be from the Pacific Northwest if:

1. You know the state flower (mildew).

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.

3. You use the statement “sun break” and know what it means.

4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.

5. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.

6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain without an umbrella waiting for the “Walk” signal.

8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain.

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, and Veneto’s.

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye salmon.

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, and Willamette.

12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark while only working eight-hour days.

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.

16. You are not fazed by “Today’s forecast: showers followed by rain,” and “Tomorrow’s forecast: rain followed by showers.”

17. You cannot wait for a day with “showers and sun breaks”.

18. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.

19. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind.

20. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see through
the cloud cover.

21. You notice “the mountain is out” when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.

22. You put on your shorts and fire up the barbecue when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.

23. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks on.

24. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.

25. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.

26. You knew immediately that the view out of Frasier’s window was fake.

27. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you can’t find the old ones after such a long time. Or better yet, you continue to wear your sunglasses on cloudy and rainy days.

28. You measure distance in drive time.

29. You often switch from “heat” to “a/c” in the same day.

30. You use a down comforter in the summer.

31. You carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them.

32. You design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.

33. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer & Elk season (Fall).

34. You actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your friends in the Northwest or those who used to live here!

Oooooh, my roommates have finally done it….they have crossed the line. Let’s start from the beginning.
First words spoken in reference to the VCR…”Don’t EVER remove the tapes from the VCR…ESPECIALLY on THURSDAYS”

Did their brains retain this ever so important piece of information? NO!

Super big problems people!!! Who is left without last nights episodes of CSI and Without A Trace? Me.

The American Embassy of apartment number 320 is very upset. The French are in trouble.

Why can’t guys just be friends? Why does it always have to be all or nothing? I guess Harry in “When Harry Met Sally” was right when he said guys and girls can’t be friends (unless of course both are currently in a relationship with other people). You know what? THAT SUCKS. I think it’s absolutely the most unreasonable and ridiculous rule in the whole wide world…(well, I’m sure I could think of worse rules…but I’d need a bit more time). Anyhow, as I was saying…that unspoken rule sucks on so many levels…perhaps someday I’ll write a book about it. It’ll probably be a tome of 20+ chapters expounding on pretty much everything that has been said before. But, as we know, that doesn’t lessen it’s crapiness.
What is with guys and ‘having’ girls anyway? Why can’t they be content with ‘having’ you as a friend? Why must it be ‘having’ you as a girlfriend? All this possession stuff just screams insecurity.
And what’s the deal with guys all making their move at the same inconvenient time? Gee wiz, you’d think they’d have the courtesy to meet and schedule all their tests on staggering dates…you know, teachers at least give that much consideration.
LORD give me wisdom to respond with love and wisdom. Let me not fall in step with foolish decisions and help there to not be any unneccessary heart break.

P.S. I was thinking the other day and I came up with a brilliant t-shirt idea…
“God is my sugar daddy” <--That's for you Andrea. 🙂 P.P.S. Made some big steps in my story today...thank the LORD I think it's coming together!

The pace is picking up as people snuggle down into their routine. I only wish I HAD a routine. I’m excited for the new quarter and the chance to work hard in a field I feel I can do well in…but my goodness it’s not easy!
I feel like I’m already behind on my reading. I have soooo much!
Also, I have a big interview tomorrow…pray for me!

That’s right…the craziness is back like a seasonal flu and it’s infecting all major areas, spiritual, academic and relational. And it doesn’t stop there…no sir. But I thank the LORD that He is with me…because even if it’s hard, at least I know I’ll survive.

On another note…Nessi, my new betta has come home to live with me. Dave dropped her off this weekend. She’s super cute…but, alas, I think she’s sick. She’s laying down on the bottom a lot and I haven’t seen her eat much of anything. I’m hoping it’s just adjustment anxiety and that it’ll pass. But please keep her in your prayers. I really don’t want to loose another one.

What’s one word to describe my living situation? FRENCH. Everything in my apartment is French. It’s cool and all…but in every situation there are lines. The line in this apartment is my bedroom door. My room has become the American Embasy of our French apartment. Well, at least we know that if it comes to punches…the French will no doubt surrender. he-he.

More news to come…eventually.

Shout out to my girls in California…I miss you!!!!

Lord,
HELP ME!!!
Once again I’m trying to do it all and I know I can’t. I haven’t dug myself into a pit yet…but I know you know that I will. Please don’t let me do it this time. I’ve learned my lesson enough to know that you should take the wheel now…BEFORE…I go crash and/ or trap myself under something heavy.
Lord, show me where you want me to go and who you want me to go there with. Show me what to do when I’m in a jam and tell me what to say when I’m speechless. Give me words to write when I hit a block and remind me every once in a while to take a look at my own story instead of working on someone else’s.
I pray that I’ll remember that I can’t make everyone happy and I can’t resolve all hard feelings. I can’t spend every second loving everyone that I can see needs love or helping those that need help. Help me to take things one at a time. I pray that I’ll remember I’m not super woman and that I can’t fly at lightening speed to be everywhere at once. Oh, and Lord, please help me remember to eat and sleep. And I pray for everyone else who feels the same way. The ball is in your court, God; help me keep it there.
AMEN

So, I suppose it’s best to start with the bad so that the good seems that much better, right?
I found out today that Jimmy passed away a couple days ago. I ran into Dave at the Bookstore, he greeted me with a long face and broke the sad news. He also said he got me a new betta. He named him Frodo but said that I could change it if I want. I’ve decided that accepting this new fish would be a good way to recover from the loss of dear Jimmy *May he rest in peace*. I think I’ll name him Nessi, after the Lockness Monster; in honor of Scotland. Or perhaps I should name him Scotty…but I think that’s a little cliche.

My head is seriously swimming. I’ve been going to meeting after meeting since I pulled into Seattle a few days ago. I was supposed to call Rachel as soon as I got here to go to dinner, but it was too late when I got here. Then we had to fork over $80 for early arrival, because otherwise there was no way I was going to get my stuff moved in before the retreat.
I got to hang out with Matt too. That was great. Plus, he helped keep the atmosphere light and got my mom and I pizza. *Cheers to you Matt…I think you saved my life…again*
The next morning my mom and I checked out of the hotel and went straight to Brigitte’s to pick up some boxes and bring a couple of her boxes too. We spent Saturday trying to get the apartment in order and hooking up the essentials.
Got up super early Sunday morning to get my mom to the airport by 5:30am. Came back and fell back in bed…slept through all the events I was supposed to attend. I just made it to the tail end of the President’s speech and was seated next to my advisor at our table. Can we say AWKWARD!
Had dinner, gathered myself and reconvined at the Falcon office to drive to Camp Casey for the leadership conference. I ended up driving…(I was so sick of driving by this time…but I had to make up for my lectoral malfunctions earlier that day).
So, we got there after a few wrong turns because the guy we were following didn’t know where he was going and settled in just in time for the first group gathering. Camp Casey was beautiful and I wish we didn’t have to attend so many meetings and lectures that didn’t apply to my section of leadership at all.
So during the workshops the news editor and I went to do some investigating for an article and made it back just in time for dinner.
Anyways, long story short…because even I’m getting bored giving a play by play…we got the info we needed and endured the rest of the day until we were allowed to leave early so we could be back for workshops the next day.
So…today we had workshops ALL day and it was great fun. Now I’m bracing myself for tomorrow which is going to be super intense.
My new roommate thinks I’m insane and that I work too much. Perhaps she’s right…but what if she’s not? What if I’m not working enough? Oh well, I guess I’ll find out. Having three jobs isn’t THAT bad…I mean, at least I keep busy, eh?

I’m really truly scared and nervous about this year…I can already tell it’s going to be a doozy. Pray for me.

Watched an interview with snow patrol this morning on LAUNCH. Makes me miss Scotland hecka bad. *sigh* Someday…someday I will go back. I’ll bring my best friend with me and we will meet cool people with cool accents; make friends; find jobs; live in a flat and continue leading the sitcom-like lifestyle to which we have become accustomed. Yes, that is what we will do and we will be happy. 🙂

P.S. Oh, and I “guess” Jesse can come to…if he wants.