Holiday Parties without a Date (part 2)

You know the best thing about going to a party alone? When a guy calls you while you are on your way home and asks you to meet him and his friends out at a bar to listen to live music!

No date = fun with the girls during the party & fun with the guy after! *wink* *wink*

And for the record - I am a good girl so get your mind out of the gutter!

Holiday Parties without a Date

Holiday parties in and of themselves are not horrible. They especially seem horrible when you are the only one not in a relationship. I have a Christmas party tomorrow night for the salon where I work. At first several girls were going without their significant others...then they changed their minds. Then one of my co-workers went back and forth about her husband going. He was going, he wasn't going, he was going, he didn't want to go. In the midst of all this I ask my BFF to go with me - he and I are great friends and dinner companions and that is it. Although once interested in dating him I realize we are not compatible on that level. Dinner with him is safe - and the Christmas party would be too.

My conversation with him goes like this:
ME: I have a Christmas party next Saturday night and (whining) I don't want to be the only one without a date.
BFF: Aaaawww
ME: I know you don't like people, but don't you want to go?
BFF: I could go.
ME: Everyone knows you don't like people and they said "Why don't you bring your friend that doesn't like people?"
BFF: laughs - I would go.
ME: Really? You would go? I didn't expect you to say you would go.
BFF: I would go, but I wouldn't be excited about it.
ME: Okay. Well, I will confirm that everyone is really bringing a date and let you know for sure. It's business dressy. And, I have to warn you - I am wearing really long green feather eyelashes.
BFF: WHY? Why are you wearing those eyelashes?
ME: Because I want to be festive and different.
BFF: Okay. Like I said - I will go, but I won't be excited.

Fast forward a few days - BFF is not going with me. Said co-worker is definitely not brining her husband. So, both guys are off the hook (this time).

I would have had fun with BFF, even though he wouldn't have been excited. But now I don't have to worry about whether or not he is miserable.

I need a significant other. I would make him go - excited or not!

Early Morning 5k

I work every other Saturday at a salon. This, of course, means no sleeping in on those days.

A friend asked me to join her in a 5k event, which I generally like to do. I forgot all about it...why?? Because it's my Saturday to sleep in! Well, guess what? It's tomorrow! And I have to get my lazy ass out of bed tomorrow to meet up with her and the other friend we talked into joining - they are the only ones that signed up. So, I'm signing up now and know that I have to be good on my date tonight - no extra late night! Have to be home at a reasonable hour so I can do my 5k. Wish me luck! (On all accounts)

And for the record, even though I have done a marathon and a 1/2 marathon - it has been quite a while and it has also been a while since I took my butt to the gym or did a 5k. I have a Christmas party tomorrow night - hope I can walk!

Why I went to bed MAD!

Wednesday night (that would be 12/10/08) I decided to head to bed at a reasonable hour for me (11 pm) and picked up my favorite magazine to do a little pre-sleep reading. My favorite magazine is Reader's Digest (and yes, I am 38 not 88).

If I read this particular magazine prior to sleep I usually skip around and read all the jokes so that I go to bed on a high - having laughed myself silly. But this particular night I got caught up in an article by Michael Crowley who often writes about things that would easily piss a person off - not because he offends me - because he brings to light bullshit happening in our country! And so was the case on Wednesday night.

I decided to read his article about a government program called the National Flood Insurance Program. This program is in debt to the tune of $17 BILLION dollars. Normal people like me can't even truly imagine what that looks like (a lot of zeros - that's for sure). This program offers low cost insurance for people living in flood zones. WHY would that be an option? Well, because some brilliant people in DC voted this crap into effect. And do you know WHO is paying for this $17 billion dollars? Yep - you guessed it - that would be those of us that are tax payers! WTF??

I think that this program needs to seriously be looked at and reformed. People should not be allowed to continuously build on the same piece of land that will eventually get flooded again - and have someone else pay for it. One of the examples in the article is: One house in Houston has flooded 16 times; repairs have totaled $807,000, seven times the market value of the property. You cannot be serious! How on earth can we allow them to use our tax dollars to rebuild a home 16 times and it's worth is significantly lower?!

Below is a link to the article from Reader's Digest. The more I read this stuff and see what is going on in our world the more I think I need to run for public office. We need to start a grassroots effort to turn this country around! I've had enough!!

http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/outrageous-tax-dollars-bailing-out-homes-built-on-flood-zones/article103797.html

As most of you know I am not a fan of our newly elected official, but I will do my best to support him as our leader. I must say, however, that he ran on the platform of "Yes we Can" and "Change" so on that note let's pull the plug on all the ludicrous stuff being put into effect by our government. Each and every one of us counts and can make a difference...if you don't like what is going on with programs such as this one - stand up for your rights and do something about how your tax dollars are spent!

How to be Clumsy 101...

I am so clumsy and silly! And I don't just mean clumsy like tripping over myself (although I do that a lot) - I mean clumsy like doing things that don't make sense (almost like my mind is clumsy).

Here are some for instances:

I'm at work and we have to wear a badge. This badge must be swipped going in and out of main doors to building. So, one day I'm on the 2nd floor (where my exciting cube is) and have to go downstairs via the elevator so I can leave for the day. I am standing there wondering why the damn door isn't opening. Hmmm...I don't know how long it is before it dawns on me that I swipped my badge in front of the button instead of pushing it to go down. LOL

Another day I'm at work, standing in front of the elevator with some co-workers and we are getting ready to go to lunch. The elevator door opens and people are inside (that's what happens on elevators, you know) and it seems to scare me and I jump like 2 feet off the floor as if I have never seen people on an elevator before.

Then there was the day that my friend KM and I went to lunch and I come back and park the car as normal. On the way out that afternoon I am wandering around looking for my car. I try to call KM to see if she remembers where I parked. I am clueless looking for my car. KM calls me back and I'm like "Do you remember...OMG..." and I die laughing. I am laughing so hard I am doubled over and can't even really speak. While I am asking where my car is I realize I am standing right in front of it! This is why I start laughing so hard. Of course then KM is laughing and then I almost pee my pants laughing so hard!

So, now let's talk about being clumsy like tripping (my friend JA would really love this because he thinks it's funny when people fall). Most of my friends know about the terrible experience with dropping a 35 pound weight on my toe and breaking it to the point of surgery.

But...here's the dumb ass thing that happened tonight! Most people who know me make fun of my handbags and especially the size and weight of them. I have this really beautiful red patent leather one that I get lots of compliments on. One of the guys who eats lunch with some of us always says he can't pick it up because he didn't work out that day. I have a bad habit of putting my handbag on the floor next to my desk in my home office when I get home at night. Tonight I got up from my desk to go to the bathroom and bumped my big toe on my right foot. It felt like I bent the nail back or tore off the top layer of nail. So, after my stop in the bathroom I took my warm fuzzy sock off and not only did I peel off the top layer of nail - the whole corner of my nail came off and it was bleeding! Do you know anyone else that would happen to? NO and I don't either.

Man...I need to pay attention to what I am doing. Being clumsy is very dangerous. LOL

I'm not a Quitter (really)

So, since i enrolled in Cosmetology classes I have felt the instructors are less than enthused about teaching. Frankly, at my age, I feel like I want to learn from people who (a) want to be there, (b) don't leave the room after showing us one time and expect us to "get it", (c) have the decency to realize that I haven't been doing this for 20 years like they have! I'm in school because - well, here's a thought - I don't know what I'm doing! Yes, I owned a salon, and have been around the industry for over 20 years (managed a salon too long ago, and have just always had a passion for the beauty industry), but that does not mean I know everything.

My background is Operations and Human Resources (and some accounting - my first love). I LOVE the paperwork part of the business especially...the sitting down for hours looking at other salon/spa's websites to see what they are doing, the talking to people and marketing my business as a whole and the individuals within, the coming up with new ideas part of things. This is my passion.

Last week I had a MAJOR meltdown at school and went off on the teacher. It was NOT pretty. I do not regret telling her (or the other students in the class) how I feel about the way things are going, although I do regret how it all went down. I had already been considering leaving at the end of the quarter to apprentice at a salon in order to learn and earn money at the same time. Wednesday night in class made me realize that I now need to do this just to be sane. I do not want to spend anymore of my time with people who aren't 100% vested in my future and getting me where I want/need to be. I had every intention finishing out this quarter. However, this morning I woke up and just decided it's a total waste of time to spend the next 4 weeks in a situation I am not happy about. I wouldn't continue dating someone if I was this unhappy...why finish this? I can take a couple of weeks to gather my thoughts and get some rest (haha - for those of you that know me - this won't happen) and then start my new part-time job of apprenticing on the nights I would have attended school!

I am not really a quitter, but this time I am excusing myself from a situation that in no way benefits me and only makes me more and more unhappy. So, I guess all I can say is "I quit (school that is)."

Not so Great Animal Stories...

I have been wanting to post about one animal issue for a few weeks now...one night in my class my instructor told us about a story involving her son's dog. Apparently over the weekend her son's dog, a beautiful full-bred Rotty, had gotten out of the yard and the neighbor called Animal Control. Normally I would consider this the "responsible" thing to do, but only if the animal seemed to be bothersome or terrorizing people. By the time Animal Control showed up the dog was in his own backyard and things seemed fine, but AC said they still had to take the dog. They mentioned something about keeping the dog and the owner picking him up with a specified number of days. Well...on Tuesday he went to pick up the dog and was told he had been put down because he was growling and uneasy when they tried to get him out of the truck at the precinct. Hmmm...here's a thought - a dog is surrounded by strangers - of course he is uneasy! I can't believe they put him down. I, personally, have my suspicions about what happened to the dog. And I can't help but wonder if someone took the dog because he was pure-bred.

Now...with regard to calling AC I had my own run in with them a couple of times during the past couple of months. First, I was driving to work one rainy morning when I saw a mother dog from up the street and her 5 puppies walking in the road and following a stranger on her way to the bus stop. The puppies wouldn't stop following her...so I tried to catch them all and take them back to where they belong. I took them to the wrong house, but the owner knew where they belonged so we went across the street. No one was answering the door and I had to get to work so I left them with the neighbor and called AC. I called them because I was worried about the puppies and the fact no one was answering the door. It's too dangerous for puppies to be loose in the road. I am not sure about what happened after my call. But then, a few weeks later I saw the mother and one puppy sleeping in the yard of a neighbors house which means the dogs were loose again. And then my mother saw them loose one morning and sent them away. Why don't people keep watch over their pets?

The next day after my mother sent them away she heard a racket down near the pond where our ducks live...she didn't think much of it at the time. The next day I went to feed them and found them to have missing feathers and one was limping and wouldn't quack. I was so upset. I instantly had to call Animal Control. The next day they stopped by the house to ask what happened. I explained it to the guy but was told that because they are ducks they don't fall under the same circumstances as if they were someone's cat or dog. WHAT?? I love these ducks! Are you kidding?

Anyway, the good news is their feathers are coming back and they are both happily quacking again and the limp is getting better. If this had happened on Animal Planet someone would have gotten a ticket! And, someone would have taken care of my ducks.