The Tower of Babel

Do you ever get the feeling that you and the person you are talking to are speaking two different languages? You're both saying exactly what you mean, but somehow, the message is not getting across? I had a moment like this today. I had made what seemed to be a reasonable request...a yes or no question really, and received an answer that felt like an ambush. There may or may not have been tears as a result on my end...but only for a second.

The truth of the matter is, we each express ourselves in unique manners, and the odds are, at some point in your life, you'll run into a person that communicates and expresses themselves in the polar opposite of you. But what is one to do? Even if you understand that there are differences, and even if you manage to figure out what those differences are, there is still little to be done to overcome them.

I would suppose the only thing to do would be to take a deep breath before every conversation, realizing that it is only going to go so well. Make adjustments to attempt to speak the other language, but know you'll probably sound like a foreign tourist to the other. And make adjustments in your brain to accommodate for the difference as you hear it.

But what I really wonder is, what is God trying to accomplish through all of this confusion? Is there some end result that can be positive? Some days I feel like I'm standing at the base of the Tower of Babel wondering, Does anyone speak my language?

Mental Health

Life had been spinning a million miles a minute. And it seemed that it was harder and harder to try to keep up. I was getting frustrated, anxious, and exhausted over the little things, and my walls were wearing thinner and thinner. So, today, I actively chose to take a mental health day. I could have taken another day filled with anxiety and maybe some tears to try to get a little more homework done or a little more work done. But I chose to put it aside. Since Sunday's were designed to be days of rest anyway, it only felt right.

My parents came up to see me which was just what I needed for a little rest and relaxation. Somehow they always know how to cheer me up, give me whatever pep talk I need to hear, and feed me well. (Who doesn't love the Belmont Truck Stop?) I made the decision that even if we did nothing all day, I wanted to cancel all my other things just to do that. So I did. And I am thankful. It gave me a chance to reevaluate where I'm at and what I'm doing to myself. I needed to reprioritize things.

There are a few important lessons I have gleaned from my reflections today:
1) Family knows best. If they're worried about you, chances are, something's not right. Go with their instincts. Spend more time with them. Enjoy just being with them.
2) Working hard is important, but working yourself to death is ridiculous. Work hard while you can to do good where you can, but leave it at work when you go home. It will be right where you left it tomorrow.
3) Don't allow discouragement to creep in. It's a sneaky little character. You don't really know it's coming up on you until it's nearly devoured you. You will fail at something or other. You can either be brokenhearted and discouraged, or you can take good notes and improve for the next time. This is tougher stated than executed.
4) Take a day and use it for reflection. You can get so far out into your own little world that you lose all perspective of what's really going on around you. Use a day to reflect on reality and go from there.
5) Remember you are human. Humans are not perfect. They do not succeed all the time. They cannot do everything on their own. Rely on others when you need help. Accept the things you can't change anyway. Use positivity daily. Know that God is in control. Cry. Laugh.

As I go to bed tonight, I continue my reflection of recent life. It has not been an easy few weeks. And there's not guarantee that the next few will get any easier. I will just have to take them as they come and pass them on to God. Ups and downs will be all over the road of life. But after every down, there must come an up. So tonight, as I drift away to dreamland, I can smile, knowing the up is on its way.

A Moment of Bliss

At this moment I should be doing my homework, but I just wanted to share one quick thing.

Tonight, I went to a new staff/faculty gathering at the President's house for dinner. I for sure didn't know anyone there, but in my usual fashion, it didn't take long for me to find a conversation buddy (a preacher from Chicago now teaching Greek at the seminary), and then a conversation circle. The food was delicious, the conversation lively, and the atmosphere in the house was light and overall pretty laid back.

For about an hour and a half I spent my time with the new staff members, many of them teachers. I found myself a little out of my element because I was one of the only non-teachers in my particular conversation circle. People began to leave, and I was left without chatting buddies, but I had noticed that Jeff and Dana's babysitter was an RA from campus that I had gotten to know somewhat in recent weeks.

Fairly awkwardly, I asked Dana (who I had only met once before and had never been in her home) if she would mind if I slipped downstairs for a bit to say hi to Sam and to play a little with the kids. Let's face it, although the networking was great, the meal was great...I'd much rather be in a room with a bunch of kids. And the Bullock's have three awesome boys. For nearly an hour we played an odd combination of Hide and Seek, Marco Polo, and Hot and Cold. We wrestled, we tickled, we jumped around like goofballs. And then everyone else went home. I made pretty fast friends with the guys and ended up reading the two little ones bedtime stories and tossing the dog a ball for a bit before I headed home.

Amongst all the sadness and grief around campus lately, tonight was a moment of bliss. A short time to just be a simple, fun-loving, goofy, crazy kid. Why in the world don't we do that more often? I had such a great time, and although it may not have been the greatest first impression for the President and his wife, it was sure worth it.

Strength

Today is what is hopefully the end to a very long, sad few weeks in the UD family. A memorial service commended Lisa's life into God's hands and gave a feeling of finality to the tragedies.

As a staff person on campus, I've felt the need to be strong for those that needed comfort and a listening ear and arms to hug. For the most part I managed to hold together, shedding only a few tears when certain memories come to mind. But today, I began to doubt my strength. I felt myself beginning to unravel for just a moment. And I wondered, What happens when I don't have any more strength to share? But God continues to provide, and in that moment of doubt and fear, He brought a warm smile and an arm around me from a person who knew I would need it. We didn't exchange a single word. She was just there. And sometimes that is enough.

We can't always be the strong ones. We're all only human. But that's the great thing about our infinite God. He already knew there would be times when we would be weak, times we would be scared, times we would want to give up or walk away. And He created others to fit into the spaces we can't fill ourselves. Like a brilliant million piece puzzle, we fit together in times of need, joy, sorrow, love, pain... These divine appointments get us through life, and we must know that it is not by accident.

Infinite God, in uncertain times, we run to You as our certainty. You are the Great Provider, knowing even beyond what I think I need for myself what my needs truly are. I run to You and praise You even when I don't fully understand You. For You are God, and that is all that matters.

The Word Accident

I have had quite enough of the word accident. I have heard it more in the last few weeks that I care to count. It used to be one of those words that you could use in casual conversation with little thought to the potential meaning. Now, it has become a word that shakes me on a deep level, making the world pause briefly one more time.

Today began with the word accident. "Pastor Ethan was in an accident." was one of the first things I heard as I walked into church to rehearse with the worship team. I couldn't breathe. Tears pressed forward as I fought them back. I can't handle any more accidents. Thankfully, he's fine. A few hours in a hospital is nothing compared to what it could have been. I pray thanks for that.

This afternoon a call came in for yet another UD accident. How could there be another one? Our little community cannot handle any more accidents. We all are in a state of shock...trying to pull ourselves together just to be able to function. There just can't be any more.

Through all of these accidents, I was reminded by a co-worker that we have two choices in times like these. We can either question God and be angry with His plan and decisions...claiming that He's not listening to us, not caring about us, not loving us.... Or we can run to God knowing that He is the only one that can provide us with the comfort and love that we need so desperately. We must remember that we don't always get to know or understand God's plan. It would simply be too much for us to handle. But He does have a plan, and it is all for good. We may not understand His plan or His timing, but we must trust that He loves us as His children, and He knows far better than we.

So as I hear the word accident again and again, even as it shakes me inside like few words ever have, I will run to my Father for comfort and care knowing He loves me dearly.

Pauses

Where do I start? How do I begin to write about something as tragic as two accidents, two injuries, and two deaths in two weeks? How can I even reconcile it with reality?

Thursday and Friday, the entire world within the University of Dubuque walls paused...perhaps even stopped all together. Everyone stopped to reflect on lives lost and already so dearly missed. We gave up on work, on some classes, on meetings...We spent time just sitting with one another, just being together. To us, it was perhaps a natural reaction. But a very strange thing happens through all of this...the rest of the world didn't pause. It doesn't stop. It keeps ticking away as it always has. Drivers drive their regular route home through campus and wonder for a moment why more people than usual are sitting together on the quad. Organizations come in for meetings on campus with no notice of the somber mood around them. Performers go about their acts and ask why attendance was low. To us, within the walls, it doesn't make any sense. Reality, for a few days, just can't line up with where we are.

But, eventually, reality and real life will align again. We'll go back to our meetings, our voicemails, our duties. Students will go back to studying and working hard. We're back to normal but somehow never the same. Whether we knew the young people whose lives were lost or not, we mourn for them, for their families, and for our community. We hurt because they are not here. We come together like we didn't know we could.

And that's the one great thing to come of all of this...if any great things can come of absolute catastrophe. What we once knew as colleauges, students, aquaintences are now all family. We talk, we hug, we laugh, we cry, we do it all together, much differently than before. So, as our world begins to come back to reality, I still pause, for just a moment, to reflect on the blessing of family...whatever form it may take. And through a few lingering tears, I can smile.

Where, Oh Where

It is days like this when I truly wonder where the times goes.

Today, I was sitting down in a moment of rest, and a co-worker says, in reference to my act of momentary peace, "And you wonder why you have to put in 12-hour days..." as if somehow I must waste away my days doing very little but sitting around. He laughed, I laughed....but I didn't think he was actually all that funny. I get maybe ten minutes in a normal day to actually sit and rest. I don't think that the average person would be able to keep up with me. And if I'm completely honest, if I really stopped to think about it, I bet I wouldn't be able to keep up with me.

Usually I'm up at some ungodly hour before the sun even dares to peek its sleepy face over the horizon. I am the first to work nearly everyday. The only one who ever beats me is the creepy custodian that is always in my office (another story for another day). It is a more familiar day when lunch is missed due to meetings or just the general scurry of the day than days with a lunch break built in. Many afternoons and evenings are filled with meetings of student groups or events like the Foam Party (also another story for another day). Dinner, if I remember, is usually fried food from the Union or some stale chips and a soda from my desk drawer. And when I finally get home, much after the sun has hidden back away for another night, I have a pile of homework to do....

As such was today's case, you find me here, computer in my lap, just finishing up my day...at 20 to 12....make that 5 to 12. It's nearly tomorrow, and I'm still wrapping up today's happenings. I'm just not convinced that they human body is meant to work like this for long. But I suppose it will for at least one more day. I guess I can sleep when I'm dead...

Enough of the pity party anyway. Despite the exhaustion and complaints, somehow, I still completely love what I do. One day, I guess I just hope to do it a little slower.

Days Like This

Perhaps now I get it a little more that I once did. All the hair-pulling, nerve-wracking, incredibly frustrating, crazy days are made worth it with one day. One day, that although not perfect, was absolutely good. A day that you know undoubtedly that you have changed lives, impacted families, and done good with the time given to you...that certainly makes all the rest worth it.

My Orientation "debut" went off with minimal hitches but rave reviews. Rain or not, didn't matter. Perfect or not, didn't matter. People smiled, mom's cried (it was move-in day after all), sessions were packed, comedians were funny, and dinner was serene (and dry...what a blessing!).

I do my whole job for days like these. I would work my whole life for one more day like this.

But I'm exhausted...and 4:30 is sooo early. No more ear-to-ear smiles for this girly...although I think the smile may stick in my sleep. More on this topic later.

Four O'Clock Hour

Today reminds me of my dad. In fact, it puts me especially in awe of my dad...not that I wasn't before.

The past few days I have been putting in twelve to fourteen hour days, working my butt off, trying to just do a little good. This has been a tough thing for me to cope with, and frankly, after a day like today, you're getting my last few cohesive thoughts that I can eek out. And I wonder how he does it. Every day of my very existence, and probably much longer, my dad has gotten up sometime during the four o'clock hour, worked all day long, come home to do projects around the house or play with us, head to bed during the ten o'clock news, and do it all over again the next day.

I won't pretend to understand what drives him to work so hard, but I desperately want some of that. At some point, you find yourself running on motivation and heart alone. Your body cries for you to just sit down, your mind feels like it has been through a meat grinder a few times, it's all you can do to keep from tearing up at your to-do list, and you begin to operate on some sort of fumes rather than fuel. Tonight I wonder if the motivation is enough to keep a person going, and if so, for how long. For my dad, it seems to be endless, just enough for him to roll out of bed in the four o'clock hour for one more day...again and again. And for me, I'm sure it will be the same. The pressure of being the new kid at work can't last forever, right?

If this post makes no sense, well, blame it on the meat grinder.

Banker Genes

I, quite unfortunately, have not acquired my mother's banker genes, or even my father's business-minded genes. This would not be such a problem, except for my newest job requirement: budgets. And it would probably not be such a problem with one budget to deal with, but there is not just one. There are, in fact, four budgets, each with ten to fifteen different accounts to keep track of, oh, and the one other budget with over twenty accounts that I need to keep an eye on.

Once, I attempted a general budget for my personal life (two accounts-checking and savings)...pretty predictable, pretty simple stuff. But with such a complex amount of dealings to deal with, I feel like I'm the frog in that Frogger video game of old (you know you've played it). Only I'm stuck somewhere in Level 22 where there are twelve lanes of traffic to cross each filled with perils of buses and speeding limos and such.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do actually understand the basic premise of budgeting. Money goes in, money comes out, start with so much, spend so much, end up somewhere near zero, or at least a positive number. Seems simple right? Well, so far, I've managed to take one of four budgets somewhere near $8,000 over. I have only worked in my office for five weeks.

Vrrooommm. *hit by speeding limo*

The Impact of Attitude

This seems to be a lesson I am constantly relearning in life. Attitude has such a profound impact on people in seemingly insignificant situations - it's astounding. In two different positions, at two different colleges, I have seen the catastrophic effect that a negative attitude can have, but I have seen it now, from two very different angles.

While at Platteville, I was slowly introduced to negativity. It wasn't an immediate thing. I started as an annoyingly perky, full-of-life, young and crazy-ambitious person. (What most of you know as me...) But after a while, the edge of my perk had worn a little dull, my glow was a little dim, and my ambition had dwindled with a pure lack of motivation. But after two years, what caused it all to happen? Where did so much apathy and melancholy come from? Without pointing any fingers (because it certainly doesn't matter now anyway) it was the people and the environment around me in which I was forced to interact. And instead of fighting for my very being to thrive and succeed, I conceded to the consensus of the group and became what they already were - negative. And it took me a little bit of reflecting, but I think I've finally figured out why. It was easier. And surely it was. After all, everyone else was doing it. Why not jump in and become what everyone else thought was ok.

But it was a lie. It wasn't who I was, what I felt inside. I fell into a trap and couldn't get myself back out of it. It got to the point where I had to leave....had to...because I felt like I had betrayed myself.

Now, on the other side of the coin, entering a new position at UD, where negativity on some parts was already firmly in place before I ever arrived, I have viewed first-hand just how poisoning it can be. People learn attitudes. They are not born with negativity, grumbling, and anger. You don't see two and three year old children walking around complaining about everything in front of them. It is learned. Just like I learned it at Platteville, others have learned it at UD.

The most unfortunate part of this story is that for some reason, which I have not yet been made aware of, negativity and positivity are so very, very different. A person can pick up a negative attitude in seconds, echoing a single grumble of one that can become the chorus for many. But positivity is looked on with some sort of disdain, as if to say, "What's wrong with you?" As if I should, by nature, be negative which seems to me to be inherently against our nature.

Regardless of the scoffing, the pity-smiles, and all that comes with being markedly different, I will keep pressing forward. If someone can learn a negative attitude, even if it is the easy route, then they surely can learn a positive one, even if it takes a lifetime. A wise woman named Rosemary once said to me, "Never give up your power. It's what they want you to do." At first, I didn't know what she meant exactly, but I've come to understand. They want you to be miserable...to join Team Negative...because once upon a time, they did. But if you stand firm in the things you truly believe in, you hold the power.

So, think about it next time you start to grumble about today's lunch not being all that great or you go to blame someone for something you feel was not right. A few quick works of negativity rub off in seconds, but it could take years to undo it again. As for me, although certainly not devoid of all negative thoughts, I will work to be intentional with every action, word, and even thought, in hopes that one day, my impact will be felt and overcome what has been previously set into place. Not the easy road, by any means, but the right road, the one I truly believe in.

Baptism by....

You know the old saying, "Baptism by fire"? Well, I feel like that has been what my new job at the University of Dubuque has been. In a month, I have managed to pretty much train myself (see Week 2, Done! for more details on my first few weeks), figured out how to manage running daily operations, worked (pretty well, if I do say so myself) without a permanent supervisor, taken the occasional verbal beating, and even (somehow) started some new initiatives (yikes!). And in two and a half short weeks, I will run an entire New Student Orientation four day weekend for the first time in my life.

Baptism by fire? More like baptism by meat grinder...or wolf attack. But luckily, I happen to really like fire, meat grinders, and wolves. Their crazy tactics don't scare me off. First ever UD Homecoming Parade??? Bring it on. Surely you didn't think you could shake me that easily, did you?

Here's a Good One

So, today I stopped by my old stomping grounds, UWP, to talk with Tara (who, by the way, may let me shoot off fireworks...another story for another day), and I ran into who would have been my old boss's boss's boss. Following me? He stopped me on the sidewalk and said, "Is today your last day?" I must have looked at him like one of us was the dumbest individual in the world. So, naturally I replied, "Last day for what?" He meant, of course, my last day at UWP....which was a month ago. Without meaning to I said, "Where have you been?" and he said, "Vacation." Oh, that would explain it. Without that little piece of information, I felt a little under-appreciated or even unnoticed. You know, like nobody would have noticed if I wouldn't have showed up for a month... neat.

I love my new job. :)

Week 2, Done!

Well, it seems that I have survived two weeks of work at my new place of employment. Let's recap:

My employment began with me being the first person to work on the first day...and everyday. Well, today we can count as an exception. I showed up at about ten after eight, and I was the second one there. Did I mention our days technically begin at 7:30? I think I'm ok with that though, although it is typically not my style to be tardy. But I know that as soon as things get rolling here, this is not going to be a typical job. Just overhearing some of the meeting times that will be set up in the fall, I'll be working until 10:00 or after most nights. I had better figure out how to be a night person again.

"Orientation" for new staff members is a term, that I have come to find, is used pretty loosely around UD. I think the working definition that they choose to use is something like throwing new people in their offices and saying, "Go!" Oh well. I had been warned of that in advance, so it shouldn't have shocked me. And for the most part, it doesn't matter too much. I just wander around the office asking random questions to random people until I get a reasonable answer.

Things I had to train myself how to do (so far):
-Logging into and using email
-Phone operations and voicemail
-Working hours and dress code
-Where to get my 40+ keys that I need

Things I was trained on (so far):
-The food in the break room is for everyone
-There's $1 refills for coffee and $5 lunch specials at Sylvia's

Despite the obvious rigors of the training schedule over the last two weeks, I feel that I have nonetheless picked up on a lot of things just from digging in. I have found a ton of files on my new computer that have proved themselves very helpful. I have an intern who knows a lot and is willing to share her knowledge with me. I have figured out some of the budget operations, a major achievement for someone who has never worked with a budget of more that a few thousand dollars. At UD they throw around a couple thousand on a single project, so you can about imagine the amount of money they're trusting me with.

So, all in all, I can say that the past two weeks have been a great experience for me. I'm getting a handle on things, asking questions, meeting new people, and learning new things everyday.

It Reminds Me of Snorkeling

Nothing like swallowing a little salt water to clear your sinuses. There has been a buzz around some circles that the contraption known as the Netti Pot is the way to clear out the crud. So, being as desperate as I was, I decided to try it...

And it probably would have worked fine, but my sinuses were bl-ock-ed! So, most of the salty saline solution just went up my nose and into my mouth...slightly uncomfortable.

It actually reminds me a lot of when I tried to snorkel in Mexico. I was so bad at the whole in-through-your-nose, out-through-your-mouth thing that I drank much of the ocean. A Netti Pot is a lot like that if you're not careful.

Go try it. It's quite the experience.

A Wonderful 4th, A Terrible Cold

Despite feeling a little like death due to a sore throat, what I will blame on tonsils, and a suddenly stuffy nose, that I will blame on allergies, or (if you ask Maggie) a mysterious bouncing virus, it was still a wonderful weekend.

I spent all of yesterday in Madison bumming around in some great spots in the beautiful weather...some of the best I can remember. Peter and I splurged on Michael's Frozen Custard...yum! And then we saw some spectacular fireworks. Today, we spent the day in Spring Green at a pool party getting scorched in the sun, eating junk food, and playing a little volleyball when the inspiration struck.

All in all, the weekend was great. I wish that somehow ever weekend could be that relaxed, that laid back, and that fun. In fact, I do believe the world would be a better place if weekends were used for what they were made for-rest! So what did you do this weekend?

Sitting Outside My Office

I have officially survived the first three days of my new job. And they have certainly been an interesting three days...not that I would have expected anything else.

My week began at my old office cleaning out my cubicle, making lists, tidying things up, all the things that one would usually do when leaving an office. Then we had one last lunch at the Asian Cafe...yum, and discussed the near future. I quickly realized that I was already a helicopter parent...the very thing that drove me out of my mind during registration this year. But when I really stop and think about leaving my "kids" to do their jobs at registration without me, I get all worried and want to be there with them. The Peer Advisors are very capable adults that can do their jobs well, so there is no reason for me to be there. I just wish I was.

But I digress. The very next day, Tuesday, I went to my new office. I was the first one there by quite a while, but, to my defense, no one had told me exactly when to be there, so I just had to guess. And, also in my defense, it is apparently a theme in the office to show up a bit late. But that's neither here nor there. There were some appointments set up for me on the first few days that included lunches and friendly encounters. At some point during day two, I met my new boss for the first time. She's new too, so that's exciting.

And this morning, I sat outside my office for a good two hours because I don't have any keys yet. The secretary forgot to tell me she wasn't coming in today. Mark, a nice guy that I work with, finally called security to help me out.

I will say that there have been some exceptionally positive aspects of the last three days. The first day, I got my photo ID all done, I answered the phone once, and there was a piece of mail in my mailbox with my name on the outside. Day two, I met my boss, took a tour or two, and started decorating my office. And day three, I managed to accidentally stumble upon my email account and I checked it and sent replies. So, I guess, it's all good. More to come on the new job front later.

Head Above Water

Barely. Strangely, it doesn't take much for life to go from normal, comfortable, and settled to frantic, crazy, and unexpected.

Here's an update...more to keep myself up to date that you. I'm trying my hand at dating. That's exciting (right, Peter?). I'm working my last week of work at UWP. I haven't had any time to think about that yet, but I would imagine some time on Friday, my last day, it will catch up to me. So, ask me on Saturday how that went. I'm starting a brand new job on Tuesday. I have no idea what I'll be doing, wearing, or learning, but I'm sure it'll be fantastic. I'm looking for a new place to live in coordination with my new job. I have lots of numbers to call and not a lot of time to call them. My apartment was dirty, now it is clean. My shoes were worn, but not I have a new pair. And my life was nuts...and now it's more nuts.

So there it is. Call me sometime next year. Maybe I'll be sane and calm and settled, or maybe not. Got to love this crazy life! Is it possible to be exhausted and excited at the same time?

*Sigh*

*Snore*

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

Remember back to when I was in high school, and Mitch, and I were home together for some reason, and we found that spider in the closet? You know, that spider that was so big and gross it had made a web that covered the whole darn closet in an hour? That whiteish colored nasty spider that could have straddled a dollar bill and probably could have outrun me?

Now, I know I have a tendency to over exaggerate stories and blow things out of proportion. But I feel like I've got a pretty good grip on reality here. Remember how Mitch and I called you home from work in the middle of the afternoon to kill it because we were too chicken?

Well, I just wanted to tell you that Saturday I met that spider's cousin....in my bathroom. A giant light brownish long-legged thing was just hanging out above my shower. I wanted so badly to call you over to my bathroom to kill it for me, but that didn't seem logical. I thought about calling someone else, but it was 6:00 in the morning. So I went about the task of deciding how I should kill it, knowing no one would come to my rescue. I quickly grabbed the fly swatter, but it didn't seem to have quite enough distance between my hand and the animal hanging from my ceiling. I decided upon the vacuum. Not the little dust buster that charges in my windowsill. (I was told once that bugs can and do crawl back out of those.) No, no. I grabbed the big ol' vacuum and all its attachments. After a quick assembly of the long narrow tube, I stood at the bathroom door staring down my opponent for a good five minutes. I probably would have stood there for the whole day, but that darn thing started "running" toward me through its web like a man on a mission, and I got scared. Kill or be killed was my mentality, so I sucked the beast up.

So, Mom, the moral of this story is, I still need you and Dad. Not just to be my spider killers. I just like to have you around. So, don't stay away too long.

Love you!

Enough is Enough

At what point do we say, "Enough is enough!"? Well, I have a feeling that we've all already far surpassed that point. Think over this past six months. 2008 started out with massive amounts of snow, fog, and other strange and random weather events. The spring was short and fairly uneventful, but now summer is coming in like a raging lion that just got stung by a bee...and stepped on a thistle...and ate rotten meat....you get the idea.

I can never remember a year like this one. And I can honestly say that I've had enough. Today I sat on the floor in an interior hallway for forty minutes or so hiding from the threat of yet another tornado.

And I had to miss my first American Players Theater (check it out: www.playinthewoods.org) with Peter. We were both pretty bummed about that.

Summer is crabby, and so am I.

(Not even joking, as I was writing the last line, my power went--and stayed--out. Not funny.)