Boy, do I have some Tales to Tell...
When I was a wee bit lad, I remember Halloween being held only on October 31st. Not the entire weekend before it; as
he indicates. I remember going out, door-to-door, to ask for candy. I remember being out in the dark. I remember waiting for it to get dark before we headed out. With no adult supervision. I remember only getting dressed up... after school. Not at school.
Things sure have changed.
Then again, that was 25 years ago.
Later.
I understand that there are things that are very stressful in life - family tragedy, loss of partner, moving, new job. And, apparently, we all seem to understand that those things can lead to some stressful moments. What I don't understand is why we still continue to do things that exacerbate the stress. For Pete's sake, stop it. I have a very difficult time dealing with people who cannot focus enough to get the job at hand done. When it comes to stress, I tend to use it to my advantage.
During my junior year in college, I was taking three of the most difficult Electrical Engineering Courses of the entire curriculum. They were always held back-to-back-to-back. It was well-known that this was done to separate the contenders from the pretenders. And it did. The moment of truth for most came during the midterms. The exams were held in the same lecture hall, on the same day, back-to-back-to-back. By the third exam, I had confused material and began using the formulas from the first exam for the third. I realized it after I handed in my exam. I was spent. I was angry. I was devastated.
I headed back to my dorm. It was a dark, cold, and wet night. I dropped off my backpack in my room and cried a little. I changed my clothes and headed for the student cafeteria where I ordered a large order of buffalo wings and a large order of cheese fries. While shoving it all down my gullet, my friend Lucila spotted me and sat next to me. I told her my story. She said that it would all turn out fine. I was not comforted. She asked me if I was still going to work out later. I responded, "Hell yeah. I can't be stupid AND fat."
And there you have it. I learned how to channel stress energy into productive energy. Get a workout in. I've kept the 40 lbs. of fat off. And I've learned how to deal with stressful situations. I don't always go to the gym but I do tend to do more productive things when I am in a stressful situation. I don't understand why others have a hard time doing it.
Actually, what I can't understand is why others do things that make their stressful situations worse. For Pete's sake, STOP! Later.
Everything happens for a reason.
Even if you do believe that, there is still satisfaction in seeing people practically trip over to ask you to do something that you were not even offered the chance to do to begin with. Not that I am a vindictive, jaded bitch... but I am.
But, things do happen for a reason. I love my current job. My schedule is basically what I want it to be. I have the respect of both my Leadership, my peers, and the people that I teach. I won't be changing my situation any time soon. But when you are asked to do something that you wanted about six months ago but were then denied the chance to even interview for it because other candidates were supposedly more qualified, you relish in the fact that those who denied you to begin with recognize that you were the perfect candidate to begin with.
They say payback is a bitch. It is. It's also a bitch to see the perfect candidate say... Later.
I normally decline wedding invitations. I have a distaste for the forced celebration of most of them. I still do. And I will continue to decline invitations to weddings. But, this past Saturday, I attended a wedding of someone who I met through my good friend, U. U. is an old and dear friend of the bride's. He was told that he could bring a guest but was also told to bring someone with some refinement. Guess I was the default.
I am friends with the bride and have met the groom a couple of times. The bride is one of the funniest, most genuine, and most upbeat person that I have met. The groom is just wonderful. When I agreed to attend the wedding with U., I was told that it was black tie. So, I dug into my closet to pull out my best dress-up gear. To respect the couple, I put on a tie for the first time in about 10 years.
To say that the wedding was spectacular would not give it justice. The nuptials were so heartfelt. The couple was so happy. There was nothing cheesy or routine about it. It was just beautiful. The wedding march music was
Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve played by a string trio. They entered the reception to the band blaring
Crazy In Love by Beyonce on their trumpets. There was no cake; just a whole bunch of cupcakes and a plethora of other sweets. I had too many kir royales. I had too many crab legs. I had too much sushi. I had too much fun.
Now, if only they could all be like this. Later.
If I spend hours upon hours listening to clips of showtunes on youtube, what exactly does it say about me? I mean, I also listen to many other performances. Just wondering. Later.
There are moments I become obsessed with certain things. Like, at this moment, I have listened to about 100 versions of
Czardas by Vittorio Monti. I've even watched
Mao Asada skate to it. It's supposedly a standard piece for violin players of all age. I don't care. I love it.
Which has nothing to do with the other thing on my mind.
After spending some days with my "in-laws", I was asked by my husband if I had a good time because he thinks I did. And I did enjoy a lot of my vacation. He asked if there was anything that stood out. I told him that although I had a great time, I found that some of the behavior of his family gets old quickly and is irritating. He responded with, "Your family can be irritating too."
I agreed and reminded him that he asked me if there was anything that stood out. He said that he loved his family. I told him I do too but find certain behavior grating. That's all. He asked.
I always wonder why people ask questions they don't want answered. Especially about their family. Everyone's "in-laws" do things that they find irritating. It's true. I would rather be truthful about how I feel rather than fake. My husband's sister-in-law has atrocious eating habits. She passively acknowledges them. She complains about feeling weak and is always on the verge of a breakdown and attributes it to her poor eating habits... but she never remedies it. She's like that person you know that is a vegetarian that makes a big deal about it but yet consumes so much crap you wonder what the fuck they were thinking when they decided to be vegetarian. You know them.
I find it just stupid and I actually said something to her before we left. I had to get it off my chest but I could tell that neither my husband nor his mother were excited about my thoughts. Oh well. They've known me for a while now. I'm sure it's not new.
Truth is, maybe my concern for Mike's family's behavior that I find irritating is a bit of an obsession. Like Czardas, I have continued to play it over and over again... in my mind. Later.
No matter how pleasant and how much fun I have on a vacation, I always am glad to be back sleeping in my own bed with my cat by my side. South Dakota was nice and interesting. I was glad to see it. Not sure if I would ever want to retire to that area but... to each their own.
The last five days of vacation was a lot of fun. I love that our friends are so easy to get along with. We saw some really
cool places, ate some really
great food, and laughed so much it hurt. We drink too much but... eh, things could be worse.
I'm glad to be home and caught up with most things. I was smart enough to take an extra day off after returning. It's the only way to do it. Later.
Salutations from scenic South Dakota.
What have I done since Saturday, you ask? Well...
...I took a 22-mile bike ride on some not-so-easy trail. Note to self: 3% grade is still hard
...I checked out the buffalo on the range and fed carrots to some wild donkeys
...I hiked up the mountain that my "in-laws" live on and took some great pictures
...I had lunch in Rapid City and went shopping at Target
...I hiked up that mountain again.
I'm staying somewhere between Rapid City and Hill City. It's very peaceful and beautiful but a bit in the middle of nowhere. We leave on Thursday and head for civilization (aka Santa Barbara). I was asked if I could ever live in South Dakota, specifically build a house on my "in-laws" 3.5 acres behind their lot. Can't say I can. I need more metropolitan right now. Later.
