Thanksgiving: The Horror

Yes, all right, it's been a month since I've posted. I am going to add a "Post to blog" task on my "Remember the Milk" list and monitor it via my iPhone. I know, it's hard to believe I don't have time to post since I obviously don't have a life.

So I am one of those people that, when asked by friends and neighbors "how was your Thanksgiving?", feel compelled to really answer. A simple "fine" is not in my vocabulary. And when I stopped to recall this Thanksgiving, it was really quite chilling.

First there was the conversation at Thanksgiving dinner. Somehow I ended up sitting between my dad and my uncle and their conversation was nothing short of macabre. Seriously, all of the following came up:

• Who they know that's dying and of what
• My uncle's friend, the coroner, and a review of "what not to do when contemplating suicide" (including a review of blood splatter clean-up)
• Hunting/ cleaning animals (and I don't mean a bath)
  
• And to round it up, great moments from the movie "Deliverance"

Then on the Friday, I did something I have never, ever done before: I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving. To be clear, I don't like to step in a store after Thanksgiving. Anything that hasn't been bought before t-day gets bought online. But my aunt and cousin (and cute baby!) were there and there were some good deals (seriously, a crock pot for $10?!) so off we went. On the bright side, I didn't trampled by ravenous shoppers, though I did hurt my back holding that crock pot while waiting in line for 35 minutes.

Finally, the real horror: my mom burned the turkey. I can't say enough about how out of character this is (and Lisa, if you mention this to her I will cut you!) and it's not like this made the turkey bad. It's still turkey. It was just... different. And it was done early, so I wasn't that hungry yet. But I still ate too much. It just threw off my whole Thanksgiving experience. For the record, I am aware that I am a big whiny baby.

So please respond and share your turkey stories. Hope everyone had a great holiday! And I'm going to download the iPhone app that let's you post to your blog so keep an eye out for more posts!

An Admitedly Early Holiday Celebration

I was sitting on my couch enjoying my favorite at-home activity: browsing the web while watching TV, when I was distracted by the sound of my first Christmas commercial. Actually it's my first Christmas anything, of the year (FYI it was the "Carol of the Bells" ad with the cash register lights but that's not important). Anyway before I could even work up exasperation I found I was smiling. I should have been annoyed- it's November 5th- but I'm a little impressed they made it past Halloween. I suspect I was also excited by the contrast between carols and candidate attack ads.

So in case you haven't heard your first Christmas song yet, here's a nice one to get you started.

From post-election peace, through Turkey Day goodness, past the classic December traditions, however you celebrate them, and including a very prosperous New Year's...

...Happy Holidays everyone.

Fall Frolicking

Well, I still feel bad about having dropped my class but there's no doubt in my mind that was the solution for me. Things have been much easier without a class to worry about, although I do still owe my professor a project from the Spring. But I am good at procrastinating and having flexibility does wonders for my mood-- so much less stress! Really makes me not want to go back to grad school, too...

The last few nights I've just been home, doing laundry and watching TV. Sure, I still work from home, check email, update Drupal etc., but it's easier now that I don't get home at 8:00pm twice a week.

Tonight I got to baby-sit my niece, Jenny, which would have been nearly impossible when taking classes. I'm not sure she had a great time but we'll give it another shot post-teething and on a night when she's in a better mood.
Tomorrow night I'm considering getting a cheap ticket to the NCSU v. Florida St. football game, blowing off work early and tailgating with friends.
Friday night is improv. Saturday, a wedding (Congrats Amy and Garrison!). Next week: meteor shower, haunted trail, pumpkin carving and Halloween Party. I love fall.

In other news, I got a Mac! Well, work got a Mac and they let me use it; I could never have afforded it myself. I am a visual person so, well... it didn't take long to impress me. I'm not saying I'm a Mac person yet (I don't want to be that) but I would say I'm a little more evenly divided on the issue. And someone asked me the other day if it was hard to go back and forth (PC desktop at work, Mac laptop) and I realized I hadn't even thought about it.

Finally, I may not be a Mac user but I do want an iPhone. That thing is hot. H-O-T. I spent last Friday night sitting on my couch, watching a 30-minute iPhone informational video. I'm dating the iPhone. Sad.

That's it for me. Enjoy the leaves and the crisp fall breezes. Go Canes!

101 Posts

I missed it at the time but "Poli-ticked Off" was post number 100. I can't believe I've been doing this for so long- or that I've managed to stay on this one blog the whole time. It's very amusing, and somewhat depressing, to read my old posts. I'm not really sure how far I've come, but it is kind of nice to have a record of the path. So happy 101. Thanks for reading!

In other news I dropped my fall class today. Work continues to be very busy; our CIO has big plans which sadly seem to require large amounts of work from my unit. Doing school work, and completing my "incomplete" from my summer class, was just too much. I'm kind of ridiculously excited to be free so I definetely think it's the right thing to do. It's putting me way behind on my master's program though.

Preseason hockey has begun (Go Canes!) and it was a lovely 64 degrees today, though rainy. NC State beat ECU in football last weekend, I've already bought my Halloween costume and the new season of "The Office" premieres tonight. I love fall!

Poli-ticked-off

It's politics season. Once every four years my favorite time of year (yeah, fall!) is marred by the Battle for the White House. Ok, "marred" might be too strong a term. I think it's wonderful that we have a chance to select our leaders, locally and nationally. Even though the people I vote for almost always lose I recognize that this is an important process and take my vote very seriously. I always investigate my options and make my voting decisions based on the canidates records and their plans for the future.

But I do think that your political opinions should be just that: opinions. If you want to share them with others, that's fine. Just remember not everyone is going to agree with you! It seems as though some people take their political decisions almost as seriously as their religion (in some cases, more seriously!). When these people hear you're not voting for the canidate they've picked, they seem to take it personally and consider it their mission to change your mind. There isn't much that I despise more than someone not respecting my opinion, and I hate it when those people turn out to be friends and co-workers.

On a semi-related note, I really am tired of the media treating the women differently than the men in this race. It's 2008. The only thing more ridiculous than people telling Hilary to "get back in the kitchen" is the fact that it wasn't reported because it was so prevelant. And now Sarah Palin can't be a mom and the VP? Anyone who questioned McCain or Obama's commitment to fatherhood would be laughed out of the room- why the double standard? In my opinion a woman (or a black man for that matter) is far overdue in the White House and I'm glad to see that, one way or another, advancements will be made.

One more "feminist" point: I don't have that many female friends, but of the ones who are married, I know that two of the three make more money than their husbands (I'm actually not sure about the third). These women have chosen careers in challenging, dynamic industries and they've worked very hard to get there. They are also the breadwinners and, whether they like it or not, they'll always have the pressure to work.
In their case it's considered working hard to better themselevs and their situation and it's the bearing the burden of responsibility for the family's well-being. But when Hilary does it she's needy, controlling and desperate, and when Sarah does it she's neglecting her family. Let's try to have a conversation about Sarah and Hilary as canidates instead of as women, or let's start talking about John, Obama and Joe as men (oh, wouldn't that be interesting...).

The Sighs of the Season

Ah... I can breathe again.

I finally finished my paper for class, completed my presentation at the conference (hungover, no less) and have made it past a number of other work and personal humps. While no means free of stress (I'm hosting a Christmas party in 10 days) I at least feel like I've made it past the worst of it.

My conference was... interesting. I'm assured that I managed to avoid embarrassing myself too much. Still it was the kind of event with situations that leave you raw and emotional. No doubt combined with the "joyous" Christmas season, I find myself exhausted and a little nauseous and that's not the hangover (at least not anymore). People trying to "pair me off" - which has never been in the slightest bit successful - while I try not to think about what I really want and can never have. This was my deadline of sorts. I'm going to make myself "get out there" more in the coming weeks and months. Wish me luck and you really should tune in because this is usually when it gets very funny and very, very sad.

I'm literally posting this on a computer in class (my last class of the semester- hell YEAH!) so I think I'd better be done now.

PS- my hotel in Asheville, the B Renaissance Hotel, was incredible. Great service, nice rooms and decent food.

Busy, busy, crazy busy

God, I haven't written in SO long. Bad blogger!

Quick update:

• work is stressful and busy
• my class is stressful and keeping me busy
• barely made it to Thanksgiving but did get some much needed R&R over that weekend

Coming events:

• UNC CAUSE conference for work
• Christmas parties - including my own
• Christmas shopping and cards (WAY behind on that stuff)

Roommate is making me nuts. There are reindeer ALL OVER. I don't think I can make it through another year living with her. I hate clutter and there is just too much stuff in this house. Unfortunately, I also hate confrontations so I haven't yet worked out how to talk to her about any of this.

Sadly I am even to busy to make this post engaging or fun. This is all you get! I'll try to do better next time.

Headline News in Sucksville

So I'm really pretty positive no one is reading this or will ever read this. But the point has been to keep people I don't talk to that often well informed. So here are the latest news stories in Life o' Marit:

• Brother shaved head, not actually a cancer victim
• Intense work frustration leads to job search
• Heat wave ruins joys of fall
  
• Work stress, apathy leads to academic decline
• Cholesterol Test Wednesday; Panic ensues
  
• Frustration and depression summit this week
  
• 'Caveman' worst comedy since invention of wheel

Have a great week ya'll!

hodgepodge: pick n' choose

My professor referenced an obscure Bare NakedLadies song in order to make a point today in class. I seriously doubt that anyone in that room other than me had even heard of the song. This class has some terrible readings (think 120 pages of stereo instructions) but this prof does a good job of explaining things and he's Canadian so occasionally I get these hilarious and strange references.

My weekend was GREAT- thanks for asking. Both my teams won and the hockey game went to overtime and was wonderful. The weather was incredible, the food and beer plentiful and tasty and the friends didn't make fun of me as much as usual!

I went to lunch with a friend who is moving away in a week or so, to Rhode Island. He was a proprietor of a favorite local hangout and also happens to be gay. He told several stories over lunch of people, recently, who informed him they would not go to a gay-owned store or who actively tried to convince him to renounce his evil, godless ways. It's a tragedy to me that in 2007 we still have so many intolerant people. Even if I didn't approve of the gay lifestyle, what happened to common decency? Why do you purposely seek out and offend people? -any people?

Wednesday Evening, 10pm

I broke my rule a little bit. The 9/11 post was long so here's a quick update my day-to-day shit:

This weekend looks perfect. Football (State) on Saturday and hockey (Canes) on Sunday! Next weekend is the Oktoberfest (yes, I know it's not October- not my decision!). All I have to do is get through the week overflowing with work and class readings.

Speaking of work, I'm getting to do more stuff I want to but not getting to drop the other stuff I have to. I haven't cracked yet but I think the strain is beginning to show.

Roommate is in the throes of new-relationship joy with yet another guy. This one takes her to watch sunsets which I think is probably boring, somewhat suspicious and definitely cheesy. I hope neither of them read this blog.

Several coworkers who have moved since I have are now planning house-warming parties. I think that means time has expired on mine and I haven't done anything to the place since painting part of the stairway 2 months ago. :(

5 points to anyone who correctly guess where I stole my blog title from.

Road Trippin'

As I briefly mentioned in a past post, my office is going through a reorganization. If you've never had the pleasure you should try to keep it that way.

Since the office is ripe with doubt, frustration and misery I'm quite anxious to be distracted. The new car has distracted me beautifully (oh my god, I got into work early this morning because I couldn't wait to get up so I could drive my car. I am lame. That's an actual quote from a friend when I told them that story.) but it can't last forever. My new distraction is the fact that I'm going to the mountains this weekend! Yeah!

Let me interrupt this excitement by saying: I love living in a state where I can drive to both the mountains and the beach in mere hours. I actually went to the beach a few weeks ago and now I'm hittin' the hills. Beautiful. Back to the point.

My excitment is tempered by the fact that this is a trip that has the potential for plenty of trouble. The people I'm going with have some family issues brewing and I'm having a few concerns about the dynamic of group in general. Plus it's camping. The last time I went camping my brother barfed in the backseat (yes, I was in the backseat too) and my parents almost divorced after my dad abandoned the flooded tent for the car. Yeah, the puke car. The tent was really wet.

But I said no more whining plus I really am very excited to get out of town. Lots of drinking and playing cards and spending time with people I like. Did I mention lots of drinking? This camping trip may come with puking too. I'll keep you informed!

Ode to my Honda

I bought my 1992 Honda Accord in September of 2001, (not a difficult time to remember). When I bought it it had 180,000 miles on it and my expectation was that it would get me through my college years. If I recall correctly I paid $3250 or thereabouts; the lean, college years and all that.

Two weeks from now would have marked my six year anniversary with that car (it lasted me two years past a long overdue end of my college career). I hit 225,000 miles on it last week. Both of those are great statistics. My car (Angel) has been all over the south and as far north as Ohio. I have had important conversations in that car, sung songs, cried and sweat (a lot- there was a AC but it struggled in the summer). I left that car with little paint and lots of bumper stickers, a nice and nearly new stereo and a very large and blood-like ketchup stain on the back seat (shout out: Cassie). It was truly a wonderful automobile.

And since the sincerest form of flattery is reusing an idea (or something like that), I traded in my 1992 barely blue Honda Accord for a snazzy, shiny 2001 green Honda Accord. I know, no imagination.

Before I sign off a quick note: I feel incredibly guilty buying this car. Even though it was past time to upgrade, this new car seems like ridiculous luxury and excess. And I'm sure I'm going to crash it first thing tomorrow- if it doesn't get stolen tonight.

Joy to the World

We sit at the precipice of my favorite time of year.
I can't tell you for sure the day it starts, but one day it's just here. We have in front of us a good six months of great sports, activities, weather and more and I love the anticipation of all that's to come...

• Sports: football, hockey, the best of the baseball (what little there is) and then basketball
• Activities: fall parties, weddings, vacations, tailgating, band competitions (don't you judge me!), holidays, Oktoberfest
  
• Weather: cooler temperatures with lovely breezes, nice crisp winter air
• More: Thanksgiving food, Christmas food, fall and winter movies, the leaves turning colors, time with family and friends
  

Of course in return it's back to school; busy and stressful. But the joy alone of knowing that the heat of summer is almost over is dreamy (I live in North Carolina, ok? It's hot here).