Faith

I don’t really have a religion. I believe that there is a higher power that governs the people on this planet. I believe that what that higher power wants is for us to re-learn how to be kind to each other; how to live next door to someone who may have different ideas than we do but to love them anyway and how to offer a helping hand when we have one to spare. I don’t think He cares if we pray five times a day or once a week. I don’t think it matters if we work on Sunday or eat pork. The point of having faith in Him is to be the best human being we can be while we are here on this planet and to leave a legacy of kindness and love behind when we go. 

 That being said, seeing a menorah does not offend me. Seeing a person kneel to pray in public is not an insult. Saying “God Bless You” when someone sneezes is not inappropriate and having a prayer hanging on a wall in a school is not cause for a lawsuit.

 Atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, Catholic, Hindu, Baptist, Presbyterian or however else you choose to label yourself. As one person out of seven billion people on this planet, we are not going to see eye to eye on everything. And why would we want to? What would we have to talk about at happy hour if that was the case? Faith isn’t about being proven right or about bragging that you believe. Faith is walking the walk.

 I’m up on my soap box about this today because I read an article on msnbc.com about a girl named Jessica who lives in a small town. At sixteen years old, she claims to be an atheist. She brought a lawsuit against the school board in her town because they have had a prayer hanging in her school for forty-nine years. She won her lawsuit and the school is taking the prayer down.

 I think this is crap for several reasons. First, I can’t even begin to elaborate on all the things I believed when I was sixteen. I think this was an extremely bold act from someone who is still trying to figure out what life is all about. Second, what is so offensive about words on a wall that encourage, decent, moral behavior? I can imagine that ninety-nine percent of the people who walk through the doors of that school could use a gentle reminder to be kind and accepting of those around them, Jessica included.

 And lastly (I could go on for a while with this but I actually have other things to do today so I’m cutting this rant short). Jessica, what did you win? When you are on your death bed and you are going through all the events of your life, will this be one of the things that cross your mind? Will you be glad that you discouraged a small town from doing something that so many people rely on to comfort them in their time of need? Will you still feel the same way twenty years from now?  

 I’m willing to bet that if you ask this young girl, she will claim to be offended by that prayer hanging on the wall but the driving force behind her lawsuit was not her lack of faith but her desire to offend those in her town.

 Rant over.

2011 Wrap Up, 2012 NYR and Other Random Stuff. Enjoy!!

OMG!! I’ve been away so long. Sorry reader*. So much has been going on. First: I got a new job. YIPPY!!!!!!!!! I’m loving it. It’s exactly the right position for me. Still have to keep the part-time gig because even though my new job gives me personal fulfillment, it does nothing for my bank account. So I’ve been slaving away because it’s Christmas and that’s what Christmas is about. Running around like a mad woman buying whatever you can get your hands on even if it means pepper spraying those around you. Wait a minute, that doesn’t sound right…

 B: I am making amends with Benedict Arnold because I read something somewhere that said “when a friend does something wrong, try to remember all the times they did something right.” Plus, I’ve never been one to hold a grudge with the exception of that whole being-mad-at-my-dad-for-twenty-seven-years-thing but that was the exception, not the rule. I told her that this doesn’t mean we are back to pre-war status but we’re better off than we we’re a few months ago.

 Lastly, I suspended the online dating profile. It just got to be too much to handle. I might try again in 2012, but I can’t make any promises.

 Anyway, it’s a little overdue but I am posting my New Year’s Resolutions today. KM must be slacking off because he hasn’t pestered me about getting pre-approval this year, so hopefully, these are all acceptable 🙂 Please hold all applause until the end of the blog post, thank you. Here goes:

 1)      I do solemnly swear to get my shit together, financially. I’ve actually taken some major steps to get this accomplished. I won’t get into the details because that’s just a complete over share but I have a plan and a dead line and specific tasks and it’s like a military operation with acronyms and stuff. Like whoa.

2)      Make time for myself. I am not old by any means but I’m not getting any younger, either. I’ll be celebrating 3 decades next year and I would like to celebrate at least 7 more decades but in order to do this, I need to take care of myself.  Eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, take vitamins, look both ways, etc. In 2012, I will make time for these things. Not just “oh yeah, gotta exercise today at some point if I get home before 5:24 p.m.” Official time, scheduled time, specifically categorized on the calendar time. I will do this because I’m worth it.

3)      I have friends and family all over the country. I don’t see or talk to them very often but I think about them all the time. Going forward, I am going to make a better effort to let them know when they cross my mind, for whatever reason. Because the last thing I want to do is get hit by a bus without letting my loved ones know that even when they aren’t around they have the ability to piss me off. LOL, I kid. I want them to know that I love them and I miss them and I look forward to the next time we get to be together, whenever that may be.   

4)      I am odd and quirky and different and smart and sensitive and emotionally challenged and a whole slew of other distinct characteristics that make me, me. In 2012, I am going to be all of those things regardless of whether or not someone doesn’t approve or thinks it’s weird or judges me because “frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”**

5)      As I mentioned before, I’m hitting a pretty significant milestone this year.  I will absolutely mourn the loss of my 20’s but I will also celebrate this next chapter.  I have made so many mistakes but I’ve learned from them all and I hope that the next ten years hold all new mistakes for me to learn from and I accept that challenge!

 Just as an FYI, I did pretty good on my 2011 NYR. A summary: I’m still flawed, but who cares, you should see some of the people I know. (j/k…love you guys!!) I’m getting the money thing in order, I have a 3 year plan! I made my own choices (read: I screwed up a lot on 2011, but I still had one of the best years on record). I dated, lots. I also got more compliments on my smile this last year than I ever have before. Take that “experts” who say NYE are almost never accomplished!

 I’d like to make a toast, metaphorically speaking, to 2011, a phenomenal year, all things considered. I’ll look back on you fondly from the awesome places I’ll be in years to come. Here’s looking forward to 2012!

 Notes:

*This is where I would usually say hello to my mom but she told me the other day that she doesn’t read my blog anymore because she forgets!!! BURN!! Also, I noticed that I got a huge spike in readership after I wrote about Keanu Reeves so I was thinking about mentioning a celebrity in all my posts going forward but then I feel like that’s awkward product placement and I’m not  a sellout. Well, I’m not a sellout because no one has offered me any money yet but that’s not the point!

 ** I love that movie. I have  it on DVD and any time it rains and I don’t go outside, because I don’t like to go out in the rain, I watch this movie.

Saying Good-bye

Am I the only person who still does this? I think so. It really annoys me that formally ending a conversation has fallen out of fashion. I blame television. Television characters have been forgoing their adieus since the 80’s and since life imitates art (I know, it’s a stretch to consider TV an art form, but stick with me) real, live people think it’s an acceptable behavior. It’s not! This offense will, one day, appear on my mental instability report alongside “misuse of the word regardless and lack of turn signal usage” – three things that turn my usual Dr. Jekyll personality into Mr. Hyde.
I think I have discussed my issues with bad grammar before so it will suffice to say that my beef with regardless is when people say irregardless. It’s killing me that that “word” is currently (in my draft) underlined with an angry red squiggle. It’s not a word; it doesn’t mean what you think it means and it makes you sound stupid. Stop saying it. Now.
Not saying good-bye and not using a turn signal are two every day illustrations of a much deeper, much more disturbing problem. People don’t care about each other anymore. They don’t even pretend to. Don’t believe me? Spend ten minutes in a shopping center parking lot or driving on the interstate. People fly through traffic with reckless abandon. They put the lives of complete strangers at risk to be one car length ahead of them. Or to get a parking space 9 feet closer to the store where they will go inside, buy 2 items, talk on their cell phone while checking out and not say anything to the cashier. When the finish their phone conversation, they will abruptly hang up the phone.
Why, why, WHY doesn’t anyone say good-bye, anymore? It is a necessary part of communication whether you are talking, texting or sending up smoke signals. SIDEBAR: I am going to find the proper smoke signal for good-bye because it is a slloooowww day at the office. The texting thing really grates my nerves. If you are finished with the conversation or moving on or for whatever reason you are otherwise incapable of continuing to text…SAY SO! It’s not rocket science. At least that way, I’m not sitting there wondering if you have been kidnapped or died suddenly or I’ve in some way pissed you off to the point where you can’t even text me back! It’s exhausting. And it clearly upsets me. This has been a public service announcement.
Also, I’m meeting with Benedict Arnold on Thursday to discuss her previous misdeed. Don’t really know what’s going to come out of it. We are meeting at 7:30 which gives her exactly 35 minutes to somehow make this right before Game 2 of the World Series begins and I drink beer and cheer on The Cardinals! Stay tuned………….

My Job Sucks

Yep. I know I don’t write about it often but my current career path is less than spectacular. I deal with complaints. All. Day. Long. People get irritated and they call me and unload. Rarely do I ever get a person who says “Hey, I have this issue and I was wondering if you could help me.” Nope. I get the unhinged, back woods, uni-bomber wannabes who yell about tax dollars and “my rights” while the distinct sound of a shotgun being cocked is audible in the background. Or I get the housewife whose midday nap is interrupted by the sound of a fountain in the lake behind her house and she just cannot possibly be expected to tolerate that. I wish I was joking but that is absolutely true. She called me in tears because of the sound of the fountain. Tears. It is amazing to me that this is her number one problem.
On top of the actual work that I do, I have four bosses. Four. There are three workers in my department and we have four bosses. No, that was not a typo. Each of my supervisors’ level of intelligence is inversely proportionate to their level on the pay scale. It makes me cringe to see those numbers and to know that the only bucks they don’t pass are the ones in their wallets. Sigh. I now fully understand why people hate government.
The cake topper on this little bitch session, the crème de la crème or however they say that, is the following interaction that happened to me just about an hour ago:
The people involved are: one of my bosses (B1); an Administrative Assistant (AA) and me (ME). Even if I didn’t have excellent hearing, there are no walls in the part of the office where I sit so anyone can over hear anything. I overheard the following conversation:
AA: So, this letter is finished?
B1: Yes, we just need to include the supplemental documents in the packet and it can go out. Do you want me to copy the supplements?
AA: No, I can do it.
(B1 exits the room. AA picks up the phone and dials my extension despite the fact that she sits RIGHT NEXT TO ME)
AA: Hey, can you make copies of the supplements to send with the packet?
ME: (audibly) Yeah, sure. (In my head) ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!?!!?
As a side note, the administrative assistants in my office all make more money than I do so if dealing with that crap isn’t enough to make me want to run, screaming into oncoming traffic, when I leave this office, most days I have to go to a second job. Is it Happy Hour yet?

Snack Foods and Keanu Reeves Movies

Nothing takes the sting out of Monday like knowing you only have to work a three day week! Yay! In other less than newsworthy news, I don’t want to deal with the whole my-best-friend-hooked-up-with-my-crush melodrama, so today we are going to talk about Greek yogurt and movies.
First, Yogurt: I just ate my first cup of Greek yogurt. It was strawberry flavored. I have had issues with yogurt in the past. When I first got into reading food labels, I saw the notice on the yogurt container that said “Contains live and active cultures,” I was scared. What do you mean LIVE AND ACTIVE????? I immediately envisioned the Petri dishes from my ninth grade biology class; thousands of tiny microorganisms squirming around under a microscope just waiting to spread anthrax and athlete’s foot. I couldn’t eat yogurt until I could erase that image from my mind. I’m not even going to get into the Activia commercials but seriously people, why do we have to discuss poop on television??
So, I recently read something about Greek yogurt and what a great food it is so I decided to give it a try. I’m always looking for foods that are low in calories and high in protein. I don’t eat a lot of meat but I know that protein is important so I try to find it in other things. Low and behold: Greek yogurt, 130 calories and 14 grams of protein. It was pretty good. I was nervous about the texture. I have black listed foods purely based on the way I think they will feel when I eat them (Feta cheese) so I was hesitant about trying Greek yogurt. But it has passed the preliminary test which is great news because I bought some honey flavored GY also and I really hope it’s as delicious as it sounds!!
And now, Movies: Why, dear Divine Overseer of Movie Goers worldwide, are they remaking Point Break?? First released in 1991, Point Break is the story of an FBI agent who goes undercover to catch some surfers who rob banks in their free time. Admittedly, I have seen Point Break exactly one time. It did not impress me. Even to this day, I cannot see Keanu Reeves as anyone other than Ted “Theodore” Logan of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and its subsequent and less impressive sequel, Bill and Ted’s Bogus journey, which I have never seen.
All that being said, this movie is 20 years old. In movie years, that’s nothing. What is up with Hollywood remaking movies that did not suck the first time around, anyway? No one out there has a new idea? I find that hard to believe. I have ideas all the time. I don’t have the attention span to follow them through to the end, but I have them. I could tell someone then they could take it and run with it and send me 10% of the profits and royalties. But no, instead they choose to remake a movie that hasn’t even been given the proper amount of time to settle with the population. What if the original gains a cult following and now there’s going to be a remake and then there are going to be die hard originals fans and die hard remake fans and it will be gang wars like L.A circa 1990. Or maybe not but it’s still stupid.
I wasn’t kidding when I said I don’t want to deal with the Benedict Arnold situation. I don’t want to make a decision or think about it or move forward or backward or have a conversation with her. I’m so non-confrontational, I don’t even know how to begin to process this scenario. I was out doing the Sunday Fun Day thing with one of my other friends and I got a text from her and I purposely ignored it. I feel bad about that still, 16 hours later, I want to apologize or something. But why should I? So anyway, thank you for listening to my monologue about snack foods and Keanu Reeves movies.

This is a little heavy for a Tuesday morning

Blerg…..I’ve been sick the past few days. Not with any kind of discernible illness, just sick. I literally slept on my couch for 2 days only getting up to put a new movie in the DVD player. I’m back at work today but I can’t say that I feel that much better. I could have easily stayed home again today. I hate feeling like that. Like the energy it takes to convert oxygen into carbon dioxide is all that I can muster. Anything more is asking too much.
I’m not really sick though, that much I know for sure. This is the kind of illness that manifests itself in your body because there is no room in your head for it to take root. It’s a sickness that becomes real because you can’t accept that what you really are is pissed off.
Let me back up a little bit. I’m a people pleaser. It’s one of the most ridiculous character flaws I have. I put the happiness of those around me well above my own happiness All. The. Time. Why do I call this a character flaw? Because it often ends in me being terribly unhappy, getting bull dozed, missing out on prime opportunities or in this case, being pissed off. Here’s the synopsis:
I liked this guy, Tom. He worked at one of my local watering holes and I went there every week on a specific day at a specific time, to see him. It was well known to ALL of my friends that I had a thing for Tom, especially because I dragged them along with me on these weekly adventures. It wasn’t just a physical attraction. I really liked him. He’s a smart, funny guy who votes with his conscience. He works hard, likes to read and makes a mean cosmo. All very important characteristics. For MONTHS (I know, I should learn my lesson by now ) I hemmed and hawed over what to do about Tom. I genuinely thought that we would be a good match and I really wanted to test the waters. I never asked him out, though. Never told him I liked him. Came to the bar and sat and talked and flirted but never hit him over the head with it.
He left that bar and I don’t see him much these days because I felt like I had gone out on the limb and if he was interested in pursuing things, he would have met me out there, but he didn’t. I also don’t go out very often so that further limits the possibilities for an encounter. My friend however, goes out all the time. In fact she ran into Tom last week, a tiny fact she failed to mention in any one of the thousands of text messages we exchange per week (no, that’s not an exaggeration). I happen to notice over the weekend that she had a contact saved in her phone that contained the letter Z. (I often save contacts with a Z in front of their name if I want to hide them from someone, including myself). I recognized the camouflage attempt and I asked her about it. She evaded my line of questioning for a while before finally confessing that when she ran into Tom the week prior, he had kissed her, they had exchanged contact info and had been communicating (read: sexting) all week long. Wow, really?
Fast forward to the next day. My Friend and I are chatting and she casually mentions that she hooked up with Tom the night before. She goes on to tell me that in their post-coital pillow talk, she mentions to him that I have a “thing” for him. He says “Why didn’t she ever say anything?” She goes on to tell me that they had quite a lengthy conversation about me but by this point I was sort of tuned out for the following reasons:
1 – My best friend is having a serious conversation about me with a dude she literally just had sex with.
2- Seriously, Tom, do I have to do ALL the work????
3- She is my best friend. BEST. FRIEND.
4- Why does this continue to happen to me?
5- Being that I’m a spineless people pleaser, I should just be happy that my friend is happy. I should keep my mouth shut, listen to the story and get her out of my car as soon as possible.
Of course, I didn’t say anything to her. I laughed and dropped her off, drove home and slept on my couch for 2 days.
So here I am, at work, with a pounding head, an angry digestive system and all the energy of a three toed sloth. In all honesty, I had already started to move past the Tom thing. I had heard through some friends that he was off and on with some chick and I have been attempting to rekindle an old flame (more on that later). But still, I am pretty sure that Girl Code specifically puts at least a twelve month moratorium on hooking up with anyone that your friend is truly interested in. One of the things that really bothers me is had I not seen that contact in her phone and called her on it, would she have ever mentioned it to me?
What’s next? Who knows. Ideally, this wouldn’t even be happening. In a perfect world, my best friend isn’t a selfish asshole without any type of moral compass or socially acceptable personal boundaries. In my utopia, she considers the fact that I would NEVER do that to her. But this is real life, my real life and things like this happen.
The truth is that the dynamic of our friendship has been changing for a while. This is one of many illustrating points that I have been sweeping under the rug for months. Our goals and priorities are different. We want different futures. I’m not saying that this is the end or that we can’t grow without growing apart but I am saying that I am making a conscience effort to put my happiness into this equation.

Uuummm….I don’t think so.

I realize this will be the third consecutive post about my online dating habits but this is seriously bizarre and I HAVE to share it with you!! Humor me.
So, I shared an email that I received from one of the guys on the site the first week I started this adventure. I never responded to that guy because honestly, he creeped me out. I figured my lack of response would relay the real message. That message being: “Do not keep trying.” Apparently, my silence was misinterpreted. A short time later, I received the following message:

Hello,
Your profile caught my eye, liked it.
Was not sure about what might your intent be?
I personally am looking for a companion and a friend, a partner without boundaries, openness without restraint.
I do not judge and my thinking is very broad, every human has a right to happiness. And how you attain happiness is for you to know and others to guess, the matters of passion should be dealt with discretion. Also we should share what we have with others in need.
Would love to have you as my close friend.

Happiness Forever,
Your Discreet Friend.
I did not respond to this message but here are my personal thoughts:
1 – There’s a word missing in the first sentence.
2– This site asks you specifically what types of relationships you are looking for. My profile CLEARLY says “new friends, short term dating and long term dating.” There is no confusion about MY intent.
3 – I have boundaries, man. They may be wonky and transient and pliable at times but they exist. Absolutely.
4 – I am actually fluent in Guy Speak and that line about not judging how others attain happiness…blah blah blah…matters of passion…yada yada…He’s letting me know that If I’m just looking for casual sex, he’s cool with that. How can I be so sure? The signature. “Your Discreet Friend.” Uumm…Right.
5- “Share what we have with others in need” WTF?!?!!??! He is NOT talking about charity.

In some bizarre twist of fate My Discreet Friend seems to think that by not responding, what I’m saying is – elaborate. This morning, I got this message:

Hey,
I get it your point of view and I have dared to engage you and go all in, but here is a quick question for you, What will it take for me to get to know you?
For you my beautiful, talented, smart & intelligent friend, I would do any thing. I messaged you a couple of times and got nothing.
So here is the kitchen sink approach of throwing it all out.
And some of the options I could think of are:
Be your best friend
Be your best lover
Be your hang out buddy
Be your FWB
Be your Hook up friend
Have a NSA relationship
Be your Sugar Daddy
Have a Discreet open ended relationship

I am sure I did not think of all, so you tell me what you would like and are looking for and I will make sure it gets done. Just because you are special and deserve the best, and also because I really will make it happen for you.now the dare for you is are you ready for this?

Will wait to hear from you.

Your Friend
*Note: He actually signed this message with his name and gave me his phone number. Really?!?!
I’m trying to write something about this last message but I’m having trouble finding the right words. I keep typing things then deleting them because I just don’t even know what I think about this. I mean after you get through all the hyperbole at the beginning, then he starts to list all the different types of “relationships” we can have including four that fall under the heading of casual sex and one that’s almost prostitution. His question to me is “Are you ready for this?”
I hope this time, my silence and the fact that he is now blocked from communicating with me, will clearly state – No.

Online Dating, Week One.

Week one of online dating has been interesting. Here is a synopsis of my experience so far.
• A lot of the men I’ve gotten emails from are creepy. There’s just no other way to describe them. They take pictures of themselves shirtless. They use way too much slang and they ask stupid questions.
• There was one person who emailed me a fairly innocent question about an item in my profile picture and I responded because it seemed harmless. He then proceeded to bombard me with an email that contained the word relationship, at least 149 times. I told him that I wasn’t really one to rush into things like that; I have been single for a number of years and was just really interested in meeting new people. He seemed fine with that but after a few more emails he was just kind of getting on my nerves. He claimed that I was “anti man.” I replied “I’m really not; maybe we’re just not compatible. That is when the crazy really poured out of this guy. He responded “of course we’re not compatible, you aren’t compatible with anyone. You’ve been single forever. I didn’t respond. He sent a second reply: “You don’t even know me but it’s fine if you want to judge me.” I still didn’t reply. The next day I got one final email that said “Later…jerkoff.” That time I really wanted to respond because I wasn’t aware that a) you could call a girl that and b) you could even use that term after 6th grade. But I refrained.
• I got propositioned by a couple. No explanation needed.
• Most of the people that the site matches me with are younger than me. For those of you who know my recent dating experiences, go ahead and laugh.
• It makes me laugh to read some of the things people will say to a complete stranger. Seriously. 

I’m sure that this is just the tip of the iceberg and the longer I have this profile the more stories I’ll accumulate.  I’ll make sure to keep you up to speed .

Online Dating Shenanigans

So, I have an online dating profile. It’s on one of those free sites for singles and apparently a few married folks, who are looking for some type of human companionship ranging from love to casual sex. Several of my friends have recently had a lot of success with online dating and I feel like there is less of a stigma associated with the practice now then there has been in the past, so I’m jumping on the band wagon. What could possibly go wrong??
So far, nothing. I did get a seriously funny email from a guy earlier today though. It entertained me so much that I had to send it to my friend who was having a bad day so we could judge this guy together. Below are his email and a few comments from me. Feel free to add your own if you are feeling snarky.
Ho Jun 7, 2011 – 12:59pm
Hello,
Here is a bit about me, i am intelligent, successful and envision a world order of peace, harmony & balance through knowledge and intelligence. I am 36 yrs, 6ft2, live and work in the westend, short pump area, i am of an Asian, Indian descent , i am a senior managment executive on the financial engineering sector.
I read your profile and found it very intresting. I feel our connection will be great.
What do you feel? Let’s get to know each other, who knows …..
1 – I’m pretty sure he meant the subject to say Hi, not Ho. That is a tragic typo.
2 – You can’t start your self description saying that you are intelligent then fail to use correct punctuation or proper capitalization throughout your email. Not on the first one. You can hurry through things later on but you’ve got to proof read the first email.
3 – I thought he was being funny at the beginning talking about a world order of peace and harmony but now I’m not so sure and while peace and harmony are ideal, he makes it sound more like The Stepford Wives movie. Scary.
One other note about online dating, seeing as I’ve been a participant for 24 hours and am henceforth, an expert. It’s making me think a lot about what I’m really looking for. I got an email from a seemingly normal guy who was even moderately attractive but I’m not really interested in him as potential boyfriend because he is Jewish. Don’t start yelling yet, I’m not done. I’m a Christian. I don’t think I could date a Jewish person for the same reason I can’t date Republicans or Yankees fans. Some differences you can overcome, but there are fundamental differences that do not mix well.

Things That Make Me Go :)

First, let me apologize, dear reader (Hi Mom!) for not updating in forever.  I know you have been waiting with breath that is bated, for another installment of “This is my Life. Are You Kidding Me?”  Wait no longer, I am here to update you.  You’re welcome.  Unfortunately, I can’t possibly get into all the reasons why I haven’t been updating you on the roller coaster ride that the first quarter of 2011 has been.  There’s too much detail involved, too much personal stuff and quite frankly, some of it, I just don’t understand.  Suffice it to say, things have been a little bit crazy and while they haven’t really settled down, I am settling into the new rhythm of this craziness.  But let’s cut to the chase.

A lot of the crap I write about is stuff that drives me crazy or makes me mad or is in some ridiculous way, irritating.  Today I am going to write about the things I like.  The things that make me smile.  The things without which, I would be a seriously depressed individual. The following ramble is in no particular order, enjoy!

 It goes without saying that I love my family and friends but, I’ll say it anyway: I love them.  I love VCU. I spent five amazing years at that school and I will be a RAM till I die! I love Richmond.  Never in my life have I ever felt more at home than I do in this city.  I could write a full length novel about how moving to Richmond and going to VCU was probably the best move I could have ever made on any plane of existence, but this list is about quantity.  Before I hang up my blogger hat for good, I will get into detail about these two places that I love so dearly, but not today.  Continuing….

 I like marching bands and fireworks, baseball and sunshine.  I like a glass of wine (or a bottle) on the porch on a warm evening after a particularly grueling day. I like live music and cherries.   I love summertime and beer, swimming pools and mid-day naps. I love fresh flowers (but not red roses, that’s a whole different diatribe though). I like vacations and power outages at work.  I like cupcakes and perfume.  I love my apartment!!!! I love locally owned businesses, unexpected free time and pizza.  I like the beach and that time of day when the sun is setting but it’s still day light, but not blindingly bright. I like people with manners.  I love honesty. I like movies and artwork. I love books.  I like surprises, not like “Surprise, your car just got towed” more like “Surprise, VCU is in the NCAA Tournament!” I love to laugh and to make people laugh. I like knowing the answer or the question if I’m watching Jeopardy! I like volunteering. I like the facts. I like pinot noir and my fuzzy blanket.  I like thunderstorms as long as I don’t have to go anywhere in them.  I love mail that isn’t junk or bills. I like shopping online and tracking my packages  ( I know, that is so random, but it’s like cyber stalking a box and everyone knows how much I like to cyber stalk…not in like a dangerous way, but what else are you supposed to use 10,000 search engines for?????)   

I also love quitting time!! And that just so happens to be now.  Three day weekend ahead, going to see how much stuff on the list I can take in.