Update

This weekend my mom and I walked in the Valley Forge Revolutionary Run/Walk as walkers. It was a beautiful day on Sunday and we did our personal best - a 14 min. mile.

I haven't written about my last class because it still hasn't really hit me that school is over. It probably won't hit me until another semester arrives and magically, I will not have class. Hopefully graduation will also help me realized that I am finished!! We had presentations on our papers last Thursday and turned in our final copy by today. Looking back at the program, I really learned a lot and am excited to really bring it to my work.

I accidentally spent 9.5 hours at work today on my day off. Whoops. I am going to try and take Friday off. My cousin Colleen's prom is that day and I'm doing her makeup, which I am looking forward to. This weekend we also have our 5 year reunion at Etown and I'm volunteering at a local run/walk event sponsored by the charity organization I'm involved in. So things don't seem to be slowing down with the lack of school.

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful spring weather while it lasts!

The best of both worlds

I just finished reading a collection of Jennifer Weiner's short stories, entitled "The Guy Not Taken." Like anything she writes, I was immediately addicted and flew through the stories easily. It was a pleasure to read something not related to blended learning for the first time in a while.

What I like especially about her writing, in addition to the references to Philadelphia, is how accurately it reflects real life. The humor that she brings to any telling, from her short stories to her novels to her blog, make me want to get to know her as a person, because we could be BFFs. Especially reading these short stories, with notes that indicate how they blossomed from her life experiences over the past 15+ years, her life turned out the way I'd imagined mine would when I was 18. Granted, I don't have the Ivy League education, divorced parents (thank goodness), Jewish culture or love of tiny dogs. Other than that, we're like twins.

But my life isn't like that. I didn't do the writing thing, or the NYC thing, or the newspaper thing. I sometimes wonder where I would be now if I had. I often wonder if I could have handled that life and what kind of person I would be now if I'd tried.

The beautiful thing is, I can live that life, through Jennifer Weiner's writing. It is truly a vicarious experience for me. I can live that life, yet still remain content and happy in my own and the avenues that it has taken.

And that reminds me of a poem we had to memorize in 6th grade:

Books fall open, you fall in,
delighted where you've never been;
hear voices not once heard before,
reach world on world through door on door;
find unexpected keys to things locked up beyond imaginings.
What might you be, perhaps become, because one book is somewhere?

Some wise delver into wisdom, wit, and wherewithal has written it.
True books will venture, dare you out,
whisper secrets, maybe shout
across the gloom to you in need,
who hanker for a book to read. – David McCord

I'm proud that I could still repeat the first stanza without a prompt! The power of memorization. It also reminds me that I want to read the new Billy Collins. And now, for my encore...old Abe or the Northern Lights or the old Home and School standby?

Let go of stress

I was all set to write a post on plagiarism due to an episode at work today. I was set to tell you about how it turns my stomach to see professionals stealing the work of folks who make their living by cleverly and properly turning phrases for the enjoyment and edification of the world. I was fully prepared to scathingly berate all those that think copy and paste were invented to take liberties and that if something is published on the Internet, that means it's free for the scalping.

But at yoga tonight, our instructor kept saying, "Let go of the stress you don't need."

She was clear to remind us that there is a stress and a tension that is necessary to life, and that must be maintained. But there is also the excess stress that you don't need, but rather poisons your system and your world.

This, clearly, is stress I don't need. So I am going to let it go, like a solid breath from my diaphragm.

You Are 61% Burned Out

You are very burned out. You need a huge break from your responsibilities, starting as soon as possible. And you need this time to reevaluate what you really want out of your life. Because you're working hard and going no where... and that would burn anyone out!

Are You Burned Out?

Food envy

My name's Jackie. I have a problem.

Food envy.

I just had this epiphany as the aroma of a co-worker's frozen meal wafted in from the kitchen. Now, I know that this tiny little frozen concoction, about the size of an ashtray and full of floppy chicken, runny sauce and mediocre veggies, would not satisfy me. I've had many a frozen meal and they are never enough, nor are they high cuisine. However, just the fact that someone else had food and I didn't made me green with envy.

Granted, I have my own lunch. It is heating as we type. But it won't be good enough, because everyone around me will have something more appealing, just by virtue of the fact that it is not something that I brought in.

This happened all throughout my childhood, mostly with my brother as he and my parents were my most constant dining companions. No matter what he ordered, when it arrived at the table, I would be kicking myself that I didn't think of it as well. I would push my food around on my plate and mope in my appetizer of discontent (who am I kidding? I wolfed down whatever was in front of me, but I was still jealous). I would question by ability to order off a menu, my creativity at combining elements of the meal. Even my beverage choice fell to the inquisition.

It happens at still, at home. If we have food leftover from a meal that I love (especially pizza) I can't let it sit for more than 12 hours. I have to be the one to revel in enjoying the last morsel of whatever it is. No one else will have the pleasure of the last slice, toasted to perfection in the oven with a shake of garlic salt on top. No one.

It happened last night, as Kevin and I went out to dinner at our local joint, Anthony's. We hadn't been there in a while. They'd changed the menu from a laminated cardstock to a beautiful glossy 4-color with photos and reinforced metal edges. The food is always good here, but this new menu promised a rebirth of their offerings. I was excited. I ordered a chicken parm dinner, which comes with a salad (they have the best creamy Italian dressing, so I always get a salad) and a side of pasta (I picked rigatoni; I usually get lazy and order spaghetti, but I put the extra effort into my pasta choice.) I thought I'd done well.

Until Kevin's dinner came.

Folks, he got a chicken parm sandwich and fries, the casual cousin of my traditional dinner. It wasn't that far of a cry from what was sitting it front of me. Sure, there was a different starch, and sure, that toasted hoagie roll crunched divinely as he bit into the savory breaded chicken, but what was wrong with my meal?

That is just it. It was my meal, and not his. Food envy just for food envy's sake.

I just ate the rest of my chicken parm for lunch, as a leftover. It was pretty darn good, the chicken still tender and tasty even after a microwave reheat. I should just be contented with that in my belly.






I think I'll go see if there's anything good in the vending machine.

A few items

My "cousint" Meg had this in her AIM profile and of course I had to swipe it...love you, Meg!!

"A family is more than people related to each other. It's people joined by shared memories and hopes...It's people drawn together by mutual caring and concern...It's people who stand by each other with understanding and support..."

Aw.

A coworker suggested this type of grout for our tile project (yes, we have decided on 8 inches of tile above the counter and then the continuance of the yellow plaster above that to the cabinets). I'm not so sure about how it would affect the resale value of the house, but something tells me it wouldn't help it. I have read that glow in the dark grout is good for things like exterior walkways to help guide the path, and that sounds like a great idea, but putting it in your bathroom is a little silly...unless your bathroom is on a space shuttle or you are the Jetsons. Gosh, I haven't seen that show in forever.

Tomorrow, we are going to do some kitchen work. It is really coming together. Kevin hung the French door the other day and it looks great. Decor is up, we just need to finish that backsplash. We are also going to see the Phils with our friends Greg and Wesley and their daughter Claire for her first ever baseball game. A momentous occasion to be sure.

Final edits on my paper are due in to my professor on Monday by 5 p.m. so I will be making my group's changes this weekend. And I need to write an abstract. I'm not going to post it online when it's done but if you're interested let me know and I'll mail you a copy. It's a good organic sleep aid.

And lastly, in the spirit of Fridays:

Your Stress Level is: 48%

You are somewhat prone to stress, especially when life gets hard. When things are good, you resist stressing over little problems. But when things are difficult, you tend to freak out and find it hard to calm down.

How Stressed Are You?

Road rage

Today I visited my friend Lindy and her daughter Taylor in York. Driving out there on Route 30, I came across one section of road, probably 100 feet, that was closed because road crews were repainting the lines. Now, I hate when they do this kind of work in the middle of the day anyway, but it was a short section of road, so whatever.

The only problem is that they put up signs like 2 miles in advance of the giant flashing arrow that the right lane would be closed. The overly cautious, eagerly law-abiding citizens of Lancaster county all decide to get in the left lane 2 MILES EARLY. This would have been fine, if they didn't also take it upon themselves to block the right lane as well so no one else could pass them there. People were driving their cars down the center of the road, over the line, to prevent people from passing on either side.

WE'RE TWO MILES OUT, FOLKS. They put up the blinking arrows and graduated arrows of all kinds to let you know when it's time to merge. The two-mile warnings are so that you slow down from 70 mph and PREPARE to merge to one lane. And, should you chose to get in the left lane early, don't play cop and prevent everyone else passing you. We don't all have time to go 15 mph in the left lane for no reason.

Anyway, the rest of the trip was great. Back to paper writing...

Ouch.

Ouch.

Sometimes, Scott Adams speaks the truth.

Party like it's...

In the spirit of the wet weather, here's an old-school poem from 1999.

“Above Water”

I love to be
Gasping for breath
And clinging to you

Once again saved from the brink
Of drowning in your soul.

“Try to keep your head above water,” you tease.

When all I want to do
Is duck under your gaze
And swim into your very heart.

To plunge through our love
And feel the exhilaration of it
Against my skin, tiny bubbles of life giving air.

To drown in you
Would be better
Than to swim safely without you.

I have been trying to write something creative lately, to no avail. Rereading my old work seemed like a good idea when I started doing it but by the time I got to the end of the poems that I have on our hard drive, my attitude was more defeatest than anything. It's hard to get back into the swing of it!

So I'm the tortoise, am I?

Slow and Steady

Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment. They expect you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it.

How Do People See You?