Winds of Change

So it's been over two years since I've posted. Not that I haven't thought about it. Even started a post once...blahblahblah

So Where's Pi Now?

Quick sum up since March, 2010 (like, forEVER ago)

I actually don't recall much from the rest of 2010, except a few bad decisions, but hey, we all make those from time to time. 

Course they were fun (married skydiver (MSD) at the end of his marriage and a co-worker (chef)) and I only regret one (the chef).

Sometime around June/July/August, I made a Decision.

I'm moving back to Chicago in September whether I have a job or not.

I was only slightly deluded as to how complicated that would actually be...

Yeah, yeah I said it before,(Ahem, see below...) I had my epiphany in July 2009 and set out on a mission, but lost my steam...

Course I didn't move back to Chicago that September, but I told everyone I was, something about accountability.

So I pulled away from one group of friends and cut my social circle down to a few people. 

I was nearing the one year anniversary of my first skydive so decided to celebrate by doing it again!

Fantastic. That's how I met the MSD.

I told him not to get too attached, that I was planning to move back to Chi-town and it was just a good fun time...

Course, they never listen.

I ended up breaking his heart in late January.

My job search was actually going quite well by that point, I had an interview with a company in downtown Chicago the week of my birthday.

The interview was on a Thursday, my bday on Sunday, the next day Valentine's day. The restaurant was sure to be busy that Saturday. Course, silly me, just wrote in the 'Time off request book':

Will not know if back in town for Saturday the 12th, please let me know if you schedule me.

I distinctly recall texting one of my coworkers about my interview on Friday night and thinking to myself, I should ask her to check the schedule for me, just in case.

I chose not to.

As a result, I lost my restaurant job.

I loved that job.

Sigh.

Not ten days later, Friday, February 25, 2011, ~8:30am I was on my way to work when my cell phone rang.

It was a guy calling from one of the Big Five Banks in downtown Chicago. He wanted to chat about the application I had submitted.

At the time I didn't even recall what the position was!

I do have MSD to thank for this, he works for this Big Five Bank and had told me what a great company it was to work for and that I should look through their postings...well for shits and giggles I checked their site and there was one random Administrative Assistant IV position open in Chicago. I thought, hey, why not?

We setup and interview for a week from the following Monday.

Later that afternoon ~3:00pm, my phone rang.

Can you come to the Executive Conference Room?

As I walked down the hall, I had a feeling...

The engineering firm laid me off.

I wasn't surprised in the least. I could see that business was slow and they saw that I didn't have a direction.

I received 2 weeks' pay and all my vacation which was another 2 weeks...

I have a mortgage, car payment, student loans, credit cards, a few grand in the bank, and NO JOB.

Shit.

That lit a fire under my ass and gave me the push I needed to do what I had been wanting to do for almost two years.

Move back to Chicago!!

I continued to hammer the job search and put a plan in place to simplify the amount of SHIT I had accumulated over the four years I lived in my condo.

March 8, 2011

I went to that interview, nailed it, was offered the job two days later and had accepted it by Friday.

Start date, March 25.

I wasn't out of work long enough to collect Unemployment Benefits.

Time to deal with all my Stuff. I purged. I took stuff to the dumpster, Goodwill, sold it on Craigslist, my friends, and even gave a few things away.

It was LIBERATING.

After several trips back and forth, my condo nearly empty, I moved 350 miles away... to Mom's house!

More on that later...

In hindsight, the timing of my ending a relationship, losing my 2nd job, and being laid off was extremely convenient. Clearing a path for something new.

Kinda creepy too.
could be that whole 'shit happens for a reason' thing

Can't promise anything,..but it's nice to be back :)

How bout we go our separate ways now?

So update on that whole Rock Bottom Brewery thing...

Julia called and left a message...I had a feeling about what she'd say when I called her back.

Blah blah blah, limited availability, blah blah blah, too long to get through training, blah blah blah, may have bit off more than you can chew, blah blah blah, let's just go our separate ways now, and if you're availability on Friday and Saturday night open up, do give us a call.

Um. Gee. Thanks.

I was recounting this whole thing to my one adorable and effeminate co-worker (who is, amazingly, straight) and what did he say?

I was just hired there!

With a hand flourish.

Not only is he surprisingly straight, he's also a man-whore.

How does that work? (total denial)

Anyway, I went on a date last Thursday night, I was all excited about it all week.

The Black Eyed Peas were in town that night.

I kinda wanted to go but had been dragging my feet on buying a ticket....

And now I wish I had gone.

The date was weird.

He took me to this nice little tapas place in the 'trendy' East Village, the food was fantastic, as expected.

Conversation came easily, so no problems there.

The things he talked about, however, kept throwing up red flags.

He reminded me that he had been drinking all day when we met the Saturday prior at around 10:30 pm

He didn't seem like it to me...

So, is drinking all day on a Saturday a normal thing for you or ??

Well, I don't drink during the week blah blah blah something about an addictive personality, but I really enjoy drinking because I start to think about things that I normally don't think about.

Like what?

Well, I just notice stuff, like little things, I'm more focused on what's going on around me and I start to ask myself questions about it, and then I discover how I feel about certain things and what my true opinions are on various topics.

So, you're saying you're more focused when you're drunk than when you're sober? You don't relax and just let go of all that stuff when you're drinking (like normal people)?

No, you mean that's what it's like for you when you're sober or drinking?

Yeah, I think most people use alcohol as an escape or way to relax. I always feel the tension in my shoulders melt away with my first drink.

Wow, it takes me quite a few to feel anything.

Even though you only binge-drink on the weekend?

Yep.

Ok, enough said.

Oh, then there was his highly annoying habit of telling me how different he is from everyone else.

No, really, like he totally IS a unique snowflake. And he doesn't do things like other people.

Finally I just snapped.

OK. I GET it. You're Different. Now quit talking about it and do something! Give me an example!

He shut up for a little bit.

Sigh.

Shoulda gone to BEP.

Yeah it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged, but I’m going to go ahead and ignore that fact - - just act like I’ve been at it all along…

The restaurant for which I worked closed February 28^th, so after four months of being a server, I was out of a (second) job.

I kinda-sorta had something lined up, so I checked in with them and found out they had already hired someone.

But I have good sense on people. I let you know next week if she working out. (read with a Russian accent)

No biggie, right, I wouldn’t mind a weekend or two to myself.

Or so I thought.

After a few weeks of going nutso, with too much time on my hands and not enough to do (holy crap, like my day-job!) I started applying for server positions all over the place.

One of those places was Macaroni Grill.

Not the kind of place I patronize, I prefer to stay away from the big chains and go to local places instead.

But lots of people go there and there’s big $ potential.

I filled out the application, had a chat with a manager, then had to complete an Evaluation.

See they way it works is you fill out the Evaluation, they fax it to Headquarters, which runs it through a computer and it either comes back ‘Continue’ or ‘Discontinue’

No other information is given to the manager, just ‘Continue’ or ‘Discontinue’

The Evaluation was 200 fill-in-the-bubble questions, the first 30 of which were math related.

No calculator allowed.

Long division pretty much fried my brain.

The second set, about 70 questions, on reading and word comprehension.

The third, and most important set, 100 questions designed to determine how ‘service oriented’ you are.

It was obvious to me which answers to choose, but I think my brains were all worn out and some honesty creeped through.

One particular question I remember is True or False, I would rather be alone than do something I don’t want to do with others.

What the hell kind of question is that?!

If ‘others’ are gouging out each other’s eyes with soup spoons, then, yes, I’d rather be alone.

True or False: There are types of people I find difficult to get along with.

Only a brown-noser would answer False, cuz really, who doesn’t have difficulty with at least ONE type of person?

Anyway, the Evaluation took me an hour to complete and I was ready for a nap afterwards.

A few days later I call to get my results: Discontinue.

Macaroni Grill gave me an F.

Total Fail.

Wow.

Guess I’m not Macaroni Grill Material.

I didn’t want to go through five days of intensive training anyway.

I filled out a similar questionnaire for Rock Bottom Brewery, and was called for an interview!

Twice.

I have orientation at Rock Bottom this weekend.

They’re next door to each other.

So every time I go to work, my Epic FAIL is right there, staring me in the face.

Screw you, Macaroni Grill!

New Stuff!!

I've been MIA for awhile, like 10ish weeks MIA, well lots to share...

Let's start with today.

I went Skydiving.

Friday morning, 8:00 a.m., Hyvee, breakfast, co-workers...

The conversation turns to a story about a guy that was bungee jumping when the cord came off of his foot or something like that, I wasn't paying attention until C.J. said something about skydiving.

I've always wanted to do that!

My boss has done it and says she regrets not getting a camera guy, so be sure to take that option...

Hey, how about we do it? Next weekend maybe? Anyone interested?

A few people express interest, but they weren't all-in.

Aaron said he'd maybe jump out of plane... if it were on fire...

Geez, first breakfast, then skydiving? Where are we gonna be at day's end?!

I invited some of my friends, but alas, no one took us up on the offer.

So it was just us two.

A little drive out to the Winterset Municipal Airport and the home of the Des Moines Skydivers known also as the Couch Freaks

They chill in a hangar littered with old couches and picnic tables, an old dog wandering around, people getting ready for jumps, people returning from jumps, music going...

Very laid-back and informal, it has the feel of a late-night landing place for those in an altered state

After waiving all kinds of legal rights and signing our lives away to participate in an 'Ultra High-Risk Activity' we pick out jumpsuits.

I borrow a long-sleeve shirt from my Tandem Instructor, John, since my fleece would be too much...

Then stuff myself into the bright blue jumpsuit...I felt like a sausage!



He put the harness on and tightened it up, kinda makes you walk funny, a sort of waddle.

I did a little interview with my camera guy Andrew...

So do you have anything to say to people that might be watching this?

Ummm, Nope!

Out we went to the airstrip, took a group photo, then crammed into a little Cessna, all six of us

The ride up to 11,500 feet takes like 25 minutes, which is F O R E V E R when you want to jump out....

Shortest ride I've ever taken in a plane!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.....

Before/After

My Farrell's eXtreme BodyShaping Before and After pictures:



































Not as big or sharp as I was hoping but you get the idea!









10 Week Results:

Weight............161.....................151 (makes a difference on my 5'7" frame)
Body fat % ......29.0...................26.1
Left arm..........11.5"...................10.5"
Chest...............41......................37
Waist...............35......................33
Hips...............44.5....................41.5
Left thigh.........22.....................20
Push-ups.........20.....................49
Sit-ups.............21......................33 (I can already do more, only two weeks later)
Mile run........11:03..................9:31 (and I ran the whole thing!)

I signed up for three months of 'maintenance' so I can continue to improve my fitness level.

I'm very pleased with my results, my clothes fit better, some are too loose, and others that haven't fit for over a year have made their way back into rotation.

Since I hate running, I've decided to add it to my Tuesday/Thursday workouts (which are resistance bands) until I start waitressing again...

I never thought I would like working out!

My coach shared my before pictures with me during week six of the program, I was horrified. I had no idea I looked so terrible.

I actually thought I looked good?!

Never. Again.

A new Pi has emerged.

And she starts her new job tomorrow!

Progress!

Yes, a lull in the blogging, in the whole online-life in general, as I've been out living Real Life

I've found a new job!

My boss wasn't surprised, hah, he'll probably use my departure to be even lazier.

The announcement was made yesterday, a nice two paragrapher mentioning the things I've done for the company...

A few congratulations and you're leaving us?!

I know, isn't it great!?

Jumping off a sinking ship huh?

Well, when you put it that way, wouldn't you?

I'm excited for the challenge of a new industry, new co-workers, new boss, new everything!

What will my new cube-theme be?

Everyone has asked me if I'm taking time off between jobs...

No, what would I do with time off?

Think about starting my new job?

Mourn my 'loss'?

Time to 'switch gears'?

I checked out long ago and I'm ready to move on.

My boss offered to set up an outing to see me off...

The offer was not appealing in the least.

Plus, I don't really drink during the week...I'm in the whole work-out after work mode.

Results from Farrell's eXtreme Body Shaping next! (pictures too)

DSM, we need to talk...

I'm taking ballroom dance classes at the moment.

I love it.

I've learned basics for the waltz, tango, rumba, and cha-cha.

rumba and cha-cha are my faves so far...

So every Monday I rush around from work to work-out to home, shower, eat, speed to dance class

I live near the largest consumption mecca in the metro in a disgustingly suburban neighborhood full of identical looking condo and town-home developments.

Barf.

Dance class is on the north side of the city of Des Moines. There's no quick way to get there.

I end up driving through a few different neighborhoods on my way there, most notably, Beaverdale.

Beaverdale is an older 'hood with mature trees, brick houses set closely together and back from the street, and is generally a nice place.

It reminds me of parts of Chicago.

It has more of a city feel. It's quite a bit more inviting than where I live.

I love that part of my Monday.

It makes me miss living in a large city.

While visiting Mom this past weekend for the July Fourth festivities, I got a good talkin' to.

By Mom's business partner.

I've heard this speech a few times over the past few years, but I'm only it getting now.

Like, REALLY getting it.

I'm grossly under-paid.

My company is in shambles and the outlook is grim-to-uncertain.

I have a handful of (mostly crappy) friends.

I hate where I live.

I'm single.

I have a college education.

I grew up in a big city.

I live in the suburbs of Des Moines, Iowa.

What The Fuck.

I've never felt like Des Moines was Home, not really a good fit.

Young, single, educated people should live in large bustling cities with lots of other young, single, educated people, in my mind anyway!

and make enough money so a second job is unnecessary. savings are a reality. travel occurs often.

There's plenty of time to waste away in a suburb if/when I have that whole husband/kids/dog scenario going on...

What's holding me back?

Nothing, really.

There's no good reason to stay where I am.

Time to move.

Des Moines, you're fired!

Plan: complete all unfinished home improvement projects, then de-clutter and simplify, talk to realtors, pick one and list condo, also, look for job in Chicago

Scary...

Exciting...

can't sleep, heart is broken

I think about you. All the time.

I wake up at least once a night. Usually around 4 am.

Tonight, it’s earlier.

it’s been over a week since we last talked or had any contact.

That’s the longest it’s ever been since we met on december 6

I really miss you. I miss what we had.

i miss Sunday mornings

…high school Wednesday nights

…dinner with everyone

…waking up to a ‘good night cutie :)’ text message

…that wonderful feeling that no matter what, you’re there for me

I miss being loved and loving you.

You were my best friend for six months, someone I could trust and tell anything

I think I miss that part the most.

Even though I turned the corner and realized that you probably did the right thing, (I may still be convincing myself) this still hurts

A lot.

it’s hard to believe that this is what you wanted, I betyou would say, ‘it’s not what I wanted, but what I needed to do. I didn’t want to hurt you and believe me, I miss you too.’

Freedom

So I was dumped.

Looking back at the whole thing, the long drawn out process, really, why did it take a month?

Holding on to what I thought was something special and 'right'

Well, maybe it was for a little bit, but in hindsight, he did the right thing - why would I want to be with some one that can't make me a priority?!

I've turned a corner.

I'm finished with the whole thing.

I'm sick of talking about it.

I'm done!

Freedom.

Time to focus on me and the things I want to do (and improve) in my life.

I've been busy learning new dances, swing in particular, much different than all the latin dancing I've learned in the past

Swing is down n dirty compared to traditional ballroom, bent and loose knees, lower frame, very close to your partner...

A bit more real

Way fun!!

I'd like to compete in dance one day, call it a life goal :)

This is an amazing video of some Charleston moves, both 20s and 30s, with a little modern flair:

Fatty Spice

At 160 pounds I am the heaviest and fattest I've ever been.

I've gained 10 pounds over the last year that I like to attribute to emotional eating as a result of grief and hanging out with Fat Kids at massive buffets on Fridays.

I've been far too lazy.

Time for a change.

No more complaining

No more excuses

This time, I really mean it.

I've committed to an intense 10 week program: Farrell's Extreme BodyShaping

Six days a week of cardio and resistance training and a specific way to eat.

I'm going to turn myself into a muscle building machine

Today was orientation.

Meet your coaches, do sit-ups, push-ups, sit n reach, run a mile, get your gear, find out your body fat percentage, receive your manual.

My new bible.

I'm going to nerd out on all the info in the next couple of days and research my favorite places to eat out so I know what and how much I can eat when I feel I REALLY need to go out....

Starting Point

Weight: 161
Body Fat: 29%
Sit n reach: 12.25"
Sit-ups: 21
Push-ups: 20
Mile time: 11:03
Heart rate before steps: 94
Heart rate after steps: 121
Hips: 44"
Waist: 35"

Terrible numbers if you ask me!

Improvement is the goal, specific numbers to follow...maybe...

Yay! Go me!

A slimmer, healthier, more disciplined Spice will be the result :)

Day-After Update:

Holy crap I'm sore!!

where do we go from here?

Things have been looking up for me lately

I decided to look for another job

I may have figured out what kind of career I actually want

I signed up for an intense workout program to get into shape

I've been extremely happy to have someone to share all of this with, and to have his support.

But now, we are in limbo.

He is sending me mixed signals.

Possibly one of the most frustrating situations in life is dealing with mixed signals.

He doesn't know what he wants.

He only knows what he doesn't want: a committed relationship.

Were you doing a reality check and all of a sudden realized that, holy crap, I'm in a committed relationship?

Not exactly, but close.

I've just been enjoying you and your company and didn't really think about it...

I care about you, a lot, and I want you in my life. But I don't want a committed relationship, I feel trapped.

Why?

I don't know.

Basically, it boils down to he doesn't know what he wants, only that he doesn't want a committed relationship. Nevermind the fact that he's been in one for a couple of months.

He just didn't realize it.

I am frustrated because this has nothing to do with me. I've been great, wonderful, perfect, I didn't do anything wrong he tells me.

So I shouldn't take this personally?

This is your problem and you need to figure it out.

Let me throw in one little thing...

I'm kind of an 'all or nothing' type of girl.

I'm in love with you. I can't just be your friend.

You won't let me be your girlfriend.

What is in between?

Friends with benefits? How do expect us to turn back the dial to something you consider 'together' but not 'a committed relationship'?

I said it's all or nothing with me. That is usually true. I can't go back after falling in love with you. I'm willing to try whatever you come up with to make this work. To keep you in my life.

But if I feel as if I'm accepting less than I deserve, then I'll say so.

If you can't give me what you said I deserve then what choice do I have but to leave?

(You've been doing more than fulfilling my needs so far. Are you afraid you can't please me in a relationship? If so, that's ridiculous! You have been wonderful to me, the best man I've ever had the pleasure of dating.)

You are indecisive. I make decisions when you won't.

Please don't make me decide on this one.

I want you. I want what we've had for the past 5 months to continue.

So far, it's turned into a committed relationship, without even trying. I'm not sure it's something I wanted, but I'm open to it.

Yes, I'm freaked out by it too, but I think that's normal. What we have is worth more than a little freak out to me.

Are you being the typical man?

Yes, and no.

Yes, you're afraid of commitment. No, because you actually want to talk about it. You brought it up. You wanted to 'figure out where we're at'

We're in a committed relationship.

We love each other. (You may not say it, but it's in all the things you do)

We have more fun with each other than any other people I know.

Everything was going so well. We have a good balance of time together and time apart.

So why is this turning into a cliche?

It's not you it's me. It's bad timing. If I did want a committed relationship, I'd want it with you.

All things I've heard before.

Right before they broke my heart.

You say you don't wan to hurt me. You want me in your life. You care about me a great deal.

What am I supposed to do?

Act like nothing is going on?

Give you space so you can figure this out?

I want this. Do you? Will you please try?

I'm hoping that after you talk to other people about this and do some thinking that you'll come to your senses.

That you're being an idiot. That what we have is good for you and if you just get used to the idea of a committed relationship being a good thing then it'll all be fine.

We have something amazing going on. Please don't ruin it.

I keep telling myself that everything is going to be ok. Is it?

Why are you afraid of commitment? Why do you feel trapped?

These are the questions that you need to answer.

I wish I could help, but I don't think there's anything I can do.

I'm a SuperStar!

A few months ago, or something like that, Man Mountain (my boyfriend!!) , decided to go out and buy an xbox 360.

Retail.

At Best Buy.

Are you freakin crazy?!

Then I hopped on ebay...

I scored him a nice elite version, better than the impulse buy, for half what he paid.

He was impressed.

I've got mad ebay skillz.

Games, games, and more games followed.

Then came RockBand 2 and an extra guitar...

I had never played Guitar Hero or the first Rock Band when this 60 pound box showed up at work one day...

We became Addicted.

He has two roommates.

I hang out there all the time.

Voila! A band.

The first time we were all present to play everyone was a bit shy when it came to handling the microphone.

Not Dimes.

He grabbed that thing and butchered a couple of songs.

I had taken a break from Bass to eat some leftovers when Man Mountain decided to give it a try.

Man in the Box by Alice in Chains.

Total High School for me, I loved that song.

The song started and....I was horrified.

So much so that I had to steal it away from him and finish the song myself!

And it was good.

I really really enjoyed it!

Man Mountain was stunned.

You're good at this!

I've only sung karaoke a few times, and always the same couple of songs....

Though I sing in my car all the time and always listen to music cranked up, so I don't miss anything...look up lyrics in case I can't extract them myself...and have a good memory too

Guess who sings every time we play?

Me!

There are quite a few songs that I've never heard or am unfamiliar with in the game

So what do I do?

"Research"

Download a few songs and practice in the car!

I can consistently score in the high 90s and even 100% at Medium.

Hard is a different story.

The jump from Medium to Hard is much more difficult than the Easy to Medium jump.

You sing different parts of the song in some cases!

Man Mountain offered to make a CD of all the songs I want to practice....

How sweet!

My home internet stealing is back on, and this time I think it's for good...

More updates soon, there is much to tell.

(and my camera has finally been fixed!!)

Oh and I think all this 'panic' about swine flu is retarded.

I's Alive, I Swear!

The Pi is around...yes I said I was going to be getting back into the blogging thing, but yeah

well, didn't turn out the way I wanted, huh?

The network I was tappin at home figured it out and I'm in the internet dark once again.

I have to go to Man Mountain's place to have all my internet fun!

Now that I've finally got my laptop bag and accessories all sorted out, I'm mobile, I will be blogging (or at least stockpiling posts and pooping it all out on the weekend)

But, hey, better than nothing!

Ketchup

November brought Thanksgiving...

One of the best food holidays!

The Family decided at the Pumpkin Carving Party to have a Thanksgiving dinner

I graciously volunteered to do the turkey and a few sides...

I've never made a turkey so I was pumped

I started looking up recipes, tips and tricks, and even hit up my mother

A few days before the dinner I found out we were going to have more people than expected

Usually a great thing, except I didn't have enough turkey!

Begin: Turkey Drama, Tuesday

To make things more complicated I decided to fry the second turkey.

I've never fried a turkey.

Dinner is on Saturday

I work till 10ish on Tuesday nights so I figured I would go to Walmart since it's down the street and pick up another fresh turkey and some tasty goodness to inject into it

I tossed the turkey in the frig and went to bed...

The next night I made the brine for the 'regular' turkey and then had plans with a hottie...

Thursday night I injected my original fresh turkey (from costco) with Creole Butter (think I'll try jalapeno butter next time)

Quite the experience, piercing, nay, stabbing a turkey in so many spots with a syringe filled with a deliciously fragrant fluid...

All I had to do was open the Walmart turkey and place it in the pot of brine to soak overnight

I pulled it out of the frig....cut off the net...and realized it was FROZEN

Yes, in my fuzzy haste on Tuesday night I grabbed a frozen turkey.

At this point it was 11:15 and I was tired.

Fine. I'll go to the grocery store in the morning, pick up a fresh turkey, come home, unpack it and stick it in the brine, then go to work.

Hyvee at 7:30am is a madhouse.

People getting coffee at Starbucks, buying donuts, eating breakfast etc. etc.

I wander around, admiring the chaos, and finally find the fresh turkeys.

They cost twice as much as the ones at Costco.

Fuck that.

I am NOT paying twice as much for my second turkey!

So I suck it up and go to work.

I relay the whole story to everyone.

They have no problem when I leave just before 10 to get to Costco to buy another turkey...

I get it home, and start unpacking it...it's fresh but...still really really cold

Hands freezing, I had to resort to cutting the skin holding the drumsticks together.

Bummer

There was no way I was getting into the top cavity so I dumped it into the brine with the innards still inside...they're sealed, it'll be fine.

I make it back to work, amazingly, in an hour.

That night I baked my butt off.

2 pumpkin pies (from real pumpkins, not a can) and a black & white cheesecake (100% scratch) later...it was 2 am!

Oh yeah, I made cranberry sauce from scratch too, easy and way better than the can

Saturday, up early, pack up the car and off I go...

I've never cooked the main entree for more than 8 people...we ended up having 11

Aside from the turkeys, dessert, and cranberry sauce, I also roasted some butternut squash, and made the stuffing and gravy!

It wasn't my place but I had the run of the kitchen, cleaning up here n there while the Man of the House, whose main duty at home is to clean, kept telling me not to, he'll take care of it...

I was in The Zone.

I really enjoyed it!

The food was great, if you've never had a fried turkey, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Crispy on the outside, succulent and flavorful on the inside.

It was the only dish that was completely devoured.

I loved it so much I requested a turkey fryer for Christmas.

It may be one of the those things you'd buy your worst enemy, in the hopes that he/she wouldn't follow directions or take the necessary precautions and blow something up

I'm willing to risk it.

It's the closest you can get to heaven on this planet.

photo frenzy

I just burned an hour and a half uploading, naming, and organizing hundreds of photos! (and watching a bowl game...)

Long breaks from Internet Life are not recommended!

Ok...so what have I been up?

In October I had my second annual Pumpkin Carving Party

It was bigger than the first and a great time!

I carved 5 pumpkins this year and spent a whopping $85 at the pumpkin farm

Yep I got some poor sap to drive me up to the farm (again) just so I could buy primo carving pumpkins

And some pie pumpkins, of course

The first three pumpkins were destined to be included in a basket of halloween items for a charity auction

As you can see, they are fabulous, my boss even suggested I start charging people for them (he'd buy one)



Huh. Maybe :)

After the party a few of us went to the Champps Karaoke Finals to cheer on our own while they sang Afternoon Delight in costume (they took second place and won $50)

I even got up there to sing one of my favorites, I Touch Myself

It was okay, I'd have to say it's the toughest karaoke I've ever done, I was only a half a beer deep and couldn't hear myself!

No speakers in front of me. Bummer.

I decided to dress up for work at the last minute and ran out to buy all the thing I'd need to be an 80s Office Worker Zombie

I was rummaging through the racks at GoodWill when I found IT

The kind of find you just HAVE to buy.

A bright orange polyester leisure suit:

And it only cost me $6

I was chosen as a costume judge again this year for work...

When I walked into HQ, no one recognized me

(I was sporting my baby pink glitter platforms as well)

I called myself Hot Tequila Brown, after one of my favorite Jamiroquai songs

I was amazed at how well the suit fit me, and damn was it hot!

Cruella is my way awesome coworker Jeni, we were the only two to dress up in our office!

She totally won best costume.

Newsflash: Grief affects your judgement

Being totally head-fucked is the only rational explanation for my poor dating choice late last year

(At least that's what I'm telling myself)

It was about this time last year that I finally put an end to the whole thing

Yep, a few days after Christmas.

It's been a year so I figured it's time to tell all...

And I hate myself a little too when I think about it.

Why the hell was I so NICE?!

He's a pompous jackass, and I let him down easy

Why?

Because we work together. I figured even though we don't directly work with each other, we still occupy some of the same space 40+ hours a week

I wanted to avoid the weirdness...

So, what happened?

Like most things that go wrong, it happened in stages.

Ok, it all started one night when we went out to dinner.

We were having a good time, enjoying our burgers at Granite City

He freaked out.

He got all wide-eyed and starting babbling about me being a druggie

But....but NO, wait...You're a....a DRUGGIE?!

What the fuck are you talking about, I'm not a druggie.

But, but I don't want to think of you that way, you're not like that, are you? Drugs are so, so bad for you...

It basically went on like that for the rest of dinner.

He didn't say much the rest of the night, only that he needed to think about stuff.

Wow.

I later found out that he doesn't even take ibuprofen or aspirin, he prefers to handle things 'the natural way' cause anything else will pollute you.

Egh, he got over it, or so he said...

Right, I know, should have dumped him for his behavior and crazy ideas.

Strike two came one night when we were watching Heroes and I commented on how hot and tasty Hayden Panettiere is and how I wanted to do naughty things to her...

Normally, guys are all over a comment like this, and start asking probing questiones

He was all over it, but in a different way.

More of a priestly concern laced his question.

Cue freak out number two.

That's disgusting. Oh my god, are you gay?

That is so wrong, I can't believe you've done that

He was being absolutely serious.

I belive Pornography came up in this discussion too

To which he replied Pornography is disgusting. It's like watching two animals fuck.

Ok, so watching Animal Planet is the same as porn?!

Basically, we are different kinds of players in the game of life.

I'm on the field actually playing, participating in life.

He's on the sidelines, watching, learning from everyone's mistakes.

That may do the trick for some people, but I say How Boring.

Sure, learning by doing and making your own mistakes may be sometimes be considered 'the hard way' but, so what?

There's plenty of fun to be had in all of life's experiences, even if, in hindsight, it was a mistake.

The last straw is pretty much laid out in this post, but the one little thing I left out, the thing that was said that cannot be unsaid, well, he sat down on the bed next to me, looked me straight in the eye and called me a whore.

Yes, really.

A week or so after that, he sent me flowers at work.

The card said Let's talk.

Soooo what do you want to talk about?

Well I wanted to let you know that I've decided to accept you for who you are.

Hah.

A little late for that, don'tcha think?

I hadn't planned on ever explaining this whole thing but I heard a few things about him last week that prompted me to tell the world about how strange I think he is

Apparently in the last year, his social skills haven't improved

A few coworkers were on a volleyball team, naturally they head out for drinks afterward

He rates women. He says he's never met a woman above a six. And if she is above a six there has to be something wrong with her, like she's dumb or a complete bitch.

There were guys at the table that I would consider assholes and they all just sat there and didn't back him up...

Right, so he's a pig too.

In reality, he's one of those people that is so over the top homophobic that he's probably gay.

Ahhh, it's nice to finally get that out!

The Private Life

I've been living the Private Life lately

The life I had before I started blogging, myspacing, facebooking, flickring etc etc

What have I been up to?

Have I been alright?

Why haven't I blogged in a long time?

Motivation.

Blah-ness

A desire for a little privacy?

Time to come out of hiding

There have been plenty of blog-worthy happenings in the last couple of months, material is not the problem

I actually come up with blog ideas when I'm trying to fall asleep.

I've come really REALLY close to getting out of bed and actually typing some of them out.

(obviously, I haven't)

One of the many things that have hindered my blogging is my home computer.

It's a piece of shit.

It's in the extra bedroom.

Less than 6 feet from the cat boxes.

I don't have a comfy computer chair.

I use a large tupperware like container (it has my off-season clothes in it!)

Not exactly conducive to blogging and long stints on the interweb.

No more!

I now have a spiffy new laptop :D

Ah, yes, I will now be blogging comfortably from my favorite piece of furni: my couch <3

Let the updates begin...

2008 Election

Yeah, yeah, I haven't blogged in awhile...

It's 'Election Eve' and I just wanted to do a little post

I could say things like Tomorrow, history will be made and the world will change forever

Well, I'm not, there's plenty of that going around already

It's such a huge deal that I get this odd little tickle that whomever is elected won't make it through his first term... weird.

I'm not a doomsday type, and I'm not sure where it's coming from, but, I guess we'll see...

Bummer.

Especially since Obama is going to win.

One Year

The day after the Iowa vs. Iowa State day last year was the day my father died.

Today is the day after the Iowa vs. Iowa State game.

The exact date, the 16th, is Tuesday.

I've been more emotional than usual this past week, but today, the actual day, I'm ok.

This has been typical for the anniversaries over the past year.

I'm not falling apart or even feel like crying.

I'm actually a little relieved.

Relieved that the first year of grief is over.

It's been a tough year for me and I'm glad it's done.

I wonder if the first year of grieving is the most difficult?

So much has changed. I've changed.

I'm still getting used to who I am.

One of the people that has always been in my life is gone.

Hard to wrap my head around that sometimes...

Today is the day my dad passed away.

I miss you, dad, and I'll always love you

Football is Back!!

It's opening weekend for the NFL and I couldn't be happier

Finally, something worth watching on Sunday!

Right now my beloved Bears are leading the Colts 15-6 at half-time

Amazing! Go Bears!

I'm still looking for that Bears hoodie I was forced into buying one awful day in January last year at O'Hare airport

You know I way over paid for it.

Tailgating, tippy cup, bags, Monday Night Football at the bar, rivalries, and shouting at the television begins once again

I heart Football.