For the last week I've been fighting a head cold. I think it might even be a sinus infection. I try to will these things away but this one's hanging on. Then yesterday I felt great. I wasn't lethargic, my ears didn't hurt, and I for once, I didn't have a clogged up nose or sore throat. And I could actually walk without feeling woozy. So this morning really sucked when I woke up to the sinus pain-wooziness again. Just when I thought it was gone for good. After an internal struggle to get my ass out of bed and get to the gym, I got dressed and headed out the door in record time.
As I pulled out of the driveway, I thought I will be fine, the fresh air on the ride in will really help. A few minutes and a big bump in the road later I found my coffee splashing all over the steering wheel, across my sweatshirt - white of course, down my pants - nothing like wet, cold thighs, and dripping onto my new running shoes. I did want to break them in quickly because I hate how white they are, but having coffee spots on them less than 24 hours after I got them wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Not to mention that I just cleaned the coffee grunge out of my car from the last time I spilled it.
So now I'm a whole three-quarters of a block away from home thinking just drive! And as luck would have it, it didn't matter which lane I was in, it was always the wrong one. It didn't take me long to give up any notion of smooth sailing to work so I just stuck it out behind the slow guy not paying attention to where he's going, probably because he has coffee in his lap.
By the time I pulled into the parking structure, I discovered my access card to the lot had slid under the car seat. Trying to dig around for it while in gear is very dangerous for my short legged self. After a struggle that in reality lasted about a second but seemed like an eternity, I was finally in.
A funny thing happens once I get into the fitness center. Everything melts away. Running cleared my head. Watching the sun creep up higher in the sky is so soothing. The seagulls provided extra entertainment as they danced around each other and performed their grooming ritual. It never matters what happens once I'm in that door, I just wish that when the next day comes, I would remember the feeling so I didn't have to convince myself to get up and go all over again. I need to find a way to remind myself...
Jeff and I went out to a company sponsored event. So he asks me what I want to drink knowing very well that the offerings would be limited. I'm thinking to myself, "Wouldn't it be easier to tell me what they have, or even better, he knows what I would choose. Or I would think he should know by now!" So I ask for my usual first choice.
"Do they have Corona Light?" I say.
His response, "No."
"Do they have Corona?"
His response, "No."
"How about Rolling Rock Green Light?"
His response, "No."
I say, "Ok so that must mean no Rolling Rock either."
His response, "No."
I'm thinking I'm tired of playing this game, so I start rattling off the list in the exact order that I always choose them. "So how about Mike's Hard Lemonade, or Fosters, or Michelob Ultra?"
His response, "No."
"Don't you know my pecking order by now?", I say with a half-smirk.
He peers in the fridge and hands me a Heineken. Well now he's thinking! And was that so hard? Why did I have to go through all that? Oh well, I'm sure I will repeat this scene more than once more.
"Do they have Corona Light?" I say.
His response, "No."
"Do they have Corona?"
His response, "No."
"How about Rolling Rock Green Light?"
His response, "No."
I say, "Ok so that must mean no Rolling Rock either."
His response, "No."
I'm thinking I'm tired of playing this game, so I start rattling off the list in the exact order that I always choose them. "So how about Mike's Hard Lemonade, or Fosters, or Michelob Ultra?"
His response, "No."
"Don't you know my pecking order by now?", I say with a half-smirk.
He peers in the fridge and hands me a Heineken. Well now he's thinking! And was that so hard? Why did I have to go through all that? Oh well, I'm sure I will repeat this scene more than once more.
One of my co-workers (I will call her CW) wants me to go on vacation with her. I don't know why. We have absolutely nothing in common. Nothing. For God sakes, she drinks Miller Lite. How boring is that! She keeps mentioning Vegas and I really would love to go there but not with her. She is a very nice woman, she has a great smile, but no fun. I agreed to go with her to a Packer game last fall. It was awful. The game was great, the tailgating was great, but my experience with her - awful.
It started when she was 2 hours late to pick me up. I took the afternoon off of work because we were supposed to leave at 12:30 - this was a Monday night football game. We were going to stop for lunch halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay so we would be ready for some serious drinking. She showed up at my house at 2:30. Plus we had to stop at her bank, gas station, and the post office. And not just any post office, it had to be the 24-hour one by the airport because her local one loses her mail. Plus she forgot the maps so we had to go back to her house. So now we're stuck in the start of rush hour and we have to hurry because the plan was to get to our hotel, check in, and get on their bus to the stadium in order to avoid the congestion and having to drive around in an area we are not familiar with.
We checked in to our hotel and the bus was leaving in 5 minutes. 5 MINUTES! I have to get my snow pants on and my heavy winter gear. As we got dressed I noticed that her stuff was packed in grocery bags. She had off all day and she still couldn't find the time to pack, not to mention, bank, gas, mail... but I digress. We ran to the bus in the nick of time. As the drivers took roll call, we waited with a group of 6 guys. They were funny, flirty, and cute. She refused to respond and kept her head down. No wonder she never gets a date. Did I mention we had noting in common?
We got to the game where we were meeting some of her friends. I know these guys and they are a blast. She forgot the map and looks at me like what should we do??? I tell her to call them on her cell phone. She gets her phone out and dials. She must not have the network following her around because her phone kept cutting her off. She would connect and the call would drop within the first 30 seconds. So she kept redialing. Every time she connected she would whine about the previous dropped call. I finally said, "JUST ASK THEM WHERE THEY ARE!!" She got the information, they told her they were in the parking lot of the curling club. OK. So now she's whining because she doesn't know where the curling club is. I walked up to a guy parking cars and asked. He pointed directly across the street! I'm thinking duh. So there they were, steaks grilling and bloody marys flowing. Yippee!
As we got introduced to some new people in the party I felt an immediate sense of belonging. CW's friend, John handed me a plate full of steak, I headed over to a woman I just met and asked her if I could sit down. She cleared me a place and I proceeded to eat..I was starving since we couldn't stop for lunch. When John handed CW her steak she stood there looking at me whining about where she was going to sit. Did I mention that she can't make decisions? Her other friend, Bill pulled up a chair for her-there were four empty ones so I don't understand why this was so difficult. When I finished eating, I thanked John for the steak and complimented him on how good it was. CW whined, "My steak was cold cuz it took me so long to find some place to sit." Did I mention that she is a complainer?
After we ate we headed into Lambeau. Something happens when you walk in. The energy and electricity flow and you enter a euphoric state of camaraderie with everyone else there. You are even one with the Minnesota fans, believe it or not. CW is now worried...what if we get separated? I reminded her that her seat number is on her ticket and I would end up right next to her. Geez. If you've never been to Lambeau there's one thing you have to be prepared for. You are sitting on steel bleachers. And since more than half of America is very fat, chances are that your little piece of prime real estate containing your seat number will get swallowed up like a twinkie at a fat farm if you don't stake a claim. So we rent the stadium buddies for $5. I prefer renting them to bringing your own because when the game is over you can just get up and walk away. CW is now complaining about the 5 bucks. Did I mention that she never has any money?
So we get to the seats, plop down the stadium buddies over the seat numbers and we're all set. We have four Minnesota fans in front of us and Packer fans all around. Then Brett Favre takes the field. This has the same effect as the Pope entering the church at the beginning of mass. I can hardly contain myself I'm so excited. And the game begins. We trade jabs with the Minnesota people along with some high-fives and some body slamming just for fun. It was even a little on the flirty side. CW just sat there. Everyone is standing, jumping, clapping, cheering, and she just sat there. I started to wonder why she wanted to come. Did she understand football? Not that I'm an expert but I know enough to blend in with the 'fan'atics. I asked her if she was having a good time. All she said was, "It's so crowded and cramped." I joked that it was a good thing, it was keeping us all warm. I think I already mentioned the complainer thing.
We got back to the bus in time and headed back to the hotel. I asked her if she wanted to go to the bar, she said no. OK so all the Packer fans are in the bar and you want to go to bed. Arrrghhh. I can roll with it. I said that it's fine, we'll get up and head to the fitness center, swim a few laps and hit the hot tub. She forgot her swimsuit. Now it was her idea to bring swimsuits. She said she couldn't find hers and kind of ran out of time to look for it. She took the entire day off today! I wondered what she did with all that time.
I knew CW was not a morning person like I am, so I let her sleep, I put on my running gear, grabbed my swimsuit and headed to the fitness center. I ran for 45 minutes, swam laps, grabbed a cup of coffee and soaked in the hot tub. By the time I got back to the room she was getting out of the shower. Perfect timing. I got in the shower and we were off to breakfast by 10.
We headed to the casino in Green Bay to meet up with John and Richie. I am not a gambler. I thought CW was because she really wants to go to Vegas and she really wanted to go to the casino today. I am usually up for an adventure so I thought fine. We got there and she stood there not knowing what to do. Richie turned her by the shoulders and set her down in front of a machine. I think I mentioned the inability to make a decision thing. John was playing some card game and I asked him if it would be OK if I watched. He was gracious enough to take the time to explain it to me so I started to play. CW came to watch. I asked her if she wanted to play and she said she didn't know. I wondered if this was the money thing again.
We left a few hours later and headed home. I really did have a good time but CW wasn't the reason. It's hard not to have fun at Lambeau. And I really believe where ever you go you can make your own fun. But that doesn't mean I am going to go to Vegas with her.
It started when she was 2 hours late to pick me up. I took the afternoon off of work because we were supposed to leave at 12:30 - this was a Monday night football game. We were going to stop for lunch halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay so we would be ready for some serious drinking. She showed up at my house at 2:30. Plus we had to stop at her bank, gas station, and the post office. And not just any post office, it had to be the 24-hour one by the airport because her local one loses her mail. Plus she forgot the maps so we had to go back to her house. So now we're stuck in the start of rush hour and we have to hurry because the plan was to get to our hotel, check in, and get on their bus to the stadium in order to avoid the congestion and having to drive around in an area we are not familiar with.
We checked in to our hotel and the bus was leaving in 5 minutes. 5 MINUTES! I have to get my snow pants on and my heavy winter gear. As we got dressed I noticed that her stuff was packed in grocery bags. She had off all day and she still couldn't find the time to pack, not to mention, bank, gas, mail... but I digress. We ran to the bus in the nick of time. As the drivers took roll call, we waited with a group of 6 guys. They were funny, flirty, and cute. She refused to respond and kept her head down. No wonder she never gets a date. Did I mention we had noting in common?
We got to the game where we were meeting some of her friends. I know these guys and they are a blast. She forgot the map and looks at me like what should we do??? I tell her to call them on her cell phone. She gets her phone out and dials. She must not have the network following her around because her phone kept cutting her off. She would connect and the call would drop within the first 30 seconds. So she kept redialing. Every time she connected she would whine about the previous dropped call. I finally said, "JUST ASK THEM WHERE THEY ARE!!" She got the information, they told her they were in the parking lot of the curling club. OK. So now she's whining because she doesn't know where the curling club is. I walked up to a guy parking cars and asked. He pointed directly across the street! I'm thinking duh. So there they were, steaks grilling and bloody marys flowing. Yippee!
As we got introduced to some new people in the party I felt an immediate sense of belonging. CW's friend, John handed me a plate full of steak, I headed over to a woman I just met and asked her if I could sit down. She cleared me a place and I proceeded to eat..I was starving since we couldn't stop for lunch. When John handed CW her steak she stood there looking at me whining about where she was going to sit. Did I mention that she can't make decisions? Her other friend, Bill pulled up a chair for her-there were four empty ones so I don't understand why this was so difficult. When I finished eating, I thanked John for the steak and complimented him on how good it was. CW whined, "My steak was cold cuz it took me so long to find some place to sit." Did I mention that she is a complainer?
After we ate we headed into Lambeau. Something happens when you walk in. The energy and electricity flow and you enter a euphoric state of camaraderie with everyone else there. You are even one with the Minnesota fans, believe it or not. CW is now worried...what if we get separated? I reminded her that her seat number is on her ticket and I would end up right next to her. Geez. If you've never been to Lambeau there's one thing you have to be prepared for. You are sitting on steel bleachers. And since more than half of America is very fat, chances are that your little piece of prime real estate containing your seat number will get swallowed up like a twinkie at a fat farm if you don't stake a claim. So we rent the stadium buddies for $5. I prefer renting them to bringing your own because when the game is over you can just get up and walk away. CW is now complaining about the 5 bucks. Did I mention that she never has any money?
So we get to the seats, plop down the stadium buddies over the seat numbers and we're all set. We have four Minnesota fans in front of us and Packer fans all around. Then Brett Favre takes the field. This has the same effect as the Pope entering the church at the beginning of mass. I can hardly contain myself I'm so excited. And the game begins. We trade jabs with the Minnesota people along with some high-fives and some body slamming just for fun. It was even a little on the flirty side. CW just sat there. Everyone is standing, jumping, clapping, cheering, and she just sat there. I started to wonder why she wanted to come. Did she understand football? Not that I'm an expert but I know enough to blend in with the 'fan'atics. I asked her if she was having a good time. All she said was, "It's so crowded and cramped." I joked that it was a good thing, it was keeping us all warm. I think I already mentioned the complainer thing.
We got back to the bus in time and headed back to the hotel. I asked her if she wanted to go to the bar, she said no. OK so all the Packer fans are in the bar and you want to go to bed. Arrrghhh. I can roll with it. I said that it's fine, we'll get up and head to the fitness center, swim a few laps and hit the hot tub. She forgot her swimsuit. Now it was her idea to bring swimsuits. She said she couldn't find hers and kind of ran out of time to look for it. She took the entire day off today! I wondered what she did with all that time.
I knew CW was not a morning person like I am, so I let her sleep, I put on my running gear, grabbed my swimsuit and headed to the fitness center. I ran for 45 minutes, swam laps, grabbed a cup of coffee and soaked in the hot tub. By the time I got back to the room she was getting out of the shower. Perfect timing. I got in the shower and we were off to breakfast by 10.
We headed to the casino in Green Bay to meet up with John and Richie. I am not a gambler. I thought CW was because she really wants to go to Vegas and she really wanted to go to the casino today. I am usually up for an adventure so I thought fine. We got there and she stood there not knowing what to do. Richie turned her by the shoulders and set her down in front of a machine. I think I mentioned the inability to make a decision thing. John was playing some card game and I asked him if it would be OK if I watched. He was gracious enough to take the time to explain it to me so I started to play. CW came to watch. I asked her if she wanted to play and she said she didn't know. I wondered if this was the money thing again.
We left a few hours later and headed home. I really did have a good time but CW wasn't the reason. It's hard not to have fun at Lambeau. And I really believe where ever you go you can make your own fun. But that doesn't mean I am going to go to Vegas with her.
I've been thinking about this list I've had in my head for a very long time. It's a list of 50 things I want to do before I turn 50. There was a time I never thought I would get close to 50 and now it's rearing its ugly head. Since my birthday earlier this month, I've been giving that list alot more thought. Maybe I should review it to see how I'm doing so here we go:
1. Get a degree. (almost done)
2. Go to Hawaii. (done)
3. Do Times Square on New Year's Eve.
4. Ride in the Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile.
5. Be one of the racing sausages at a Brewer's game.
6. Learn to ride a motorcycle.
7. Shop on 5th Avenue in NYC. (done)
8. Go to the Democratic National Convention.
9. Take golf lessons. (done)
10. Become a Webmaster. (done)
11. Go to Vegas.
12. Bungee jump.
13. See a Broadway show. (done)
14. Stand at the top of the Hancock Building in Chicago.
15. Touch one of the Green Bay Packers. (done)
16. Learn how to do home canning. (done)
17. Buy a Mercedes. (done)
18. Lose 25 pounds. (done)
19. Learn to dance.
20. Become a regular volunteer. (working on it)
21. Join a board of directors. (working on it)
22. Get a tattoo. (done)
23. Enter a quilt in the Wisconsin State Fair.
24. See a Packer game in a stadium other than Lambeau.
25. See the Eiffel Tower.
26. Get my own Harley.
27. Visit a foreign country besides Canada and Mexico.
28. Spend $300 on a scarf in SoHo.
29. Go to a poetry reading and read a poem that I wrote.
30. Run a marathon.
31. Work on a presidential campaign.
32. Get Brett Favre's autograph.
33. Become a lay liturgist at church.
34. Hike across the Grand Canyon.
35. Touch the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
36. Swim in all the oceans.
37. Publish a book.
38. Take an Alaskan cruise.
39. Learn to knit.
40. Stand at the top of Pike's Peak. (done)
41. Complete a triathlon.
42. Open my own business. (done)
43. Tour the White House.
44. Climb a rock wall. (done)
45. Run through Central Park.
46. Adopt a kitty. (done)
47. Buy Jimmy Choo shoes.
48. Become a travel agent.
49. Start an organic garden. (done)
50. Hand make all my Christmas presents.
1. Get a degree. (almost done)
2. Go to Hawaii. (done)
3. Do Times Square on New Year's Eve.
4. Ride in the Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile.
5. Be one of the racing sausages at a Brewer's game.
6. Learn to ride a motorcycle.
7. Shop on 5th Avenue in NYC. (done)
8. Go to the Democratic National Convention.
9. Take golf lessons. (done)
10. Become a Webmaster. (done)
11. Go to Vegas.
12. Bungee jump.
13. See a Broadway show. (done)
14. Stand at the top of the Hancock Building in Chicago.
15. Touch one of the Green Bay Packers. (done)
16. Learn how to do home canning. (done)
17. Buy a Mercedes. (done)
18. Lose 25 pounds. (done)
19. Learn to dance.
20. Become a regular volunteer. (working on it)
21. Join a board of directors. (working on it)
22. Get a tattoo. (done)
23. Enter a quilt in the Wisconsin State Fair.
24. See a Packer game in a stadium other than Lambeau.
25. See the Eiffel Tower.
26. Get my own Harley.
27. Visit a foreign country besides Canada and Mexico.
28. Spend $300 on a scarf in SoHo.
29. Go to a poetry reading and read a poem that I wrote.
30. Run a marathon.
31. Work on a presidential campaign.
32. Get Brett Favre's autograph.
33. Become a lay liturgist at church.
34. Hike across the Grand Canyon.
35. Touch the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
36. Swim in all the oceans.
37. Publish a book.
38. Take an Alaskan cruise.
39. Learn to knit.
40. Stand at the top of Pike's Peak. (done)
41. Complete a triathlon.
42. Open my own business. (done)
43. Tour the White House.
44. Climb a rock wall. (done)
45. Run through Central Park.
46. Adopt a kitty. (done)
47. Buy Jimmy Choo shoes.
48. Become a travel agent.
49. Start an organic garden. (done)
50. Hand make all my Christmas presents.
MEME OF THE WEEK
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
List up to seven dog breeds that you really like and would consider owning. (And indicate whether you've actually owned that breed before.)
1. Jack Russell Terrier
2. Yorkshire Terrier
3. German Shorthair Pointer (owned)
4. Basenji
5. Austrian Shorthair Pinscher
6. Peagle (Beagle/Pekingese)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
List up to seven dog breeds that you really like and would consider owning. (And indicate whether you've actually owned that breed before.)
1. Jack Russell Terrier
2. Yorkshire Terrier
3. German Shorthair Pointer (owned)
4. Basenji
5. Austrian Shorthair Pinscher
6. Peagle (Beagle/Pekingese)
I know it's way too early to complain... but really, I've had enough. I want to swim in the pool not ice skate on it. I want to walk across the deck barefoot. I want to enjoy the endless of shades of green found in the leaves on the trees. I want to hear the birds chirping and smell the scent of cut grass. I want to feel a warm breeze and the hot sun on my face. I want to hear the sounds of children laughing and playing at the park. It doesn't look like it will be today. Or tomorrow for that matter.
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