No Sleepy Time for Me

Ugh.  I can’t sleep.  It is 5am and I’m still awake.  This sucks.

Running Around & Sleeping in Strange Places

Finding the motivation to actually sit and write something on my blog has been such a struggle. It always seems there is something more interesting to do than to sit and write something that everyone and their brother can read. And I’m happy that is so. I’d find it terribly sad if I was ignoring the joys of life to sit and write on my blog. So I will post a short update on what I’ve been up to.

Last Sunday night we had a big family dinner for my cousin Jake. He left for boot camp with the Air Force last Monday. It was really hard to say goodbye but I managed to hold my tears back until I was in the car and driving towards home. Saying goodbye to Jake was super emotional because it is the last time my whole family will be together for many, many years to come. Military branches and jobs are taking our family and spreading them across the globe. It was just kind of the end of an era (that lasted 26 years).

Last Monday I headed to Dallas with friends to see Muse and U2 live. Muse was sick! I’d pay to see them live again in a heart beat. The show totally left me crushing on their bass player, Chris Wolstenholme. (And yes, I feel like I’m 12 for saying that. But his bass line was amazing!) You know what else was amazing? U2! They are never bad and it is always a fun treat to see them.

We left for home Tuesday and had some car troubles. One of the cars in our caravan got in a bad accident and had to be left in Corsicana, Texas. This left us with fitting six people in the Dodge Charger. It was a tight fit but we all made it home (eventually) safe and sound. Send up a prayer of praise that no one (but poor Steph’s car) was hurt. We made memories that will last a lifetime and are really glad we went.

Wednesday I had tickets to see Muse and U2 again. However, the arthritis in my back was so bad that I couldn’t stand for another 6+ hours. So I, very sadly, sold my U2 tickets to someone and didn’t attend the show. I was really depressed about it that night. Then the next day I was depressed that I let that get me down. How spoiled am I if that is the big disappointment in my life?! There will be other shows I get to see in the future so it really wasn’t that huge of a deal that I missed it.

Thursday I flew to New York to visit family. Travel went smoothly. The planes were busting at the seams with people but we didn’t have any delays and got to New York as scheduled. It was in New York where I spent the next two days super sick. I get bad motion sickness and didn’t take enough Dramamine on the trip up there. So I felt like I had a bad flu. I recovered from it in time to enjoy being with family. We really didn’t have all that much planned. It was just a trip to relax and spend time together. (Which we did, very successfully!) We also got my grandmother hooked up with a computer and internet. It took some time to teach her the computer a bit but she’s picking it up so quickly! I got to play with my cousin, Mulligan, a ton. We bought good, New York apples. I ate some great Italian food, and even managed to sneak in some Beef on Weck before we left. It was a wonderful trip.

Now I’m home and that is nice. I feel like I’ve been running around and sleeping in strange places all week long. I missed sleeping in my bed with my dog. Molly seemed to miss me too. And now that I’m back in my hometown, I must get back to working. I’ve have crazy stacks of work to get to before the end of the month. Hope everyone is well!

Fire

A song to set the mood (thank you early U2):

So there was a fire in my apartment last night.  Not in my building, but  in my apartment.  It was all very dramatic for a one alarm fire.  The highlight for me was standing in a t-shirt and panties, soaking wet from the sprinkler, holding back Molly, and trying to make a phone call to the fire department.

Everything worked out alright.  No one was hurt, items can be replaced, and I eventually got some pants on.    The firemen were so nice.  They even saved my guinea pig, which I found to be very thoughtful and kind.  All is well.  Now I’m off to go survey the damage with my mother.

Happy Anniversary to the blog!

Today marks my 7th anniversary as a blogger.

3 Favorite Blogs

Here are three of my favorite blogs that my friends write.  Enjoy!

1. Erin DeSouza – Erin tragically lost her daughter (and my friend), Maura, to cancer this year.  This blog has turned in to a place where she can talk about her grief and how she is coping.  She also shares how you should treat someone who has lost a child.  This blog is heartfelt, sad, happy, and informative.

2. Evan – Evan is a friend of mine from college who decided one day to pack up all his material possessions and head to Argentina.  I like reading his blog to read things through the eyes of a foreigner.  He is doing well in Argentina and currently engaged to a gorgeous Argentinian.  This blog shows you that true love can even break through the boundaries of language.

3.  The Howell Quints – Ever wondered what it would be like to have five toddlers at the same time?  Well wonder no longer!  This blog shares all…the ups and downs, the laughter and the tears.  I’ve been reading this blog ever since my friend Ellen found out she was pregnant with five.  I spent countless hours refreshing the blog and waiting for news of the arrival of the Quints.  Now Sidney, Luke, Briellen, Mitchell and Ivy are 15 months old and the adventures only get better and better.  This blog shows you that anything can be accomplished when you have love and passion for what you are doing.

Update from Kuala Lumpur

I talked to my mother a few minutes ago.  The trip over there went so smoothly and they stayed very comfortable in first class.  They enjoyed some authentic dumplings when they stopped on Hong Kong.  After 30 hours of travel they finally made it there.

They really, really love Kuala Lumpur.  It is a big city with lots of activity in the downtown area.  In many ways it reminded them of New York City.  They have a huge housing allowance so they can purchase pretty much anything they want.  I know they are really happy about this because they wanted to live downtown right by the Petronas Towers so my father could walk to work and my mother could walk to shops and something.

The people of KL are very friendly and fascinated with my parents since they are American.  English is so widely spoken that my mother said she wouldn’t even have to learn Malay.    Tomorrow they go out in search of housing.

I’ll update again in a few days after I speak with them again.

Reading Rainbow, Depeche Mode, & Malaysian Adventures

It is a slow day at work so I figured I’d blog, since I haven’t done so in a while. Reading Rainbow has come to an end after 26 years. This breaks my heart. I still remember watching LeVar Burton tell fantastic stories while making reading such a magical adventure. In my favorite Reading Rainbow episode LeVar goes to a hat shop and tries on three different hats. Each hat he tries on takes him to a different place. (For example, he tries on a goalie mask and is transported to a hockey game.) To this day one of the books from that Episode, Hats for Sale, is one of my favorite children’s books. It is only coming to an end because PBS doesn’t want to shell out the several hundred thousand dollars needed to renew the show’s broadcast rights. How sad is that? It is definitely the end of a glorious era in the lives of 20 something book lovers.

I went and saw Depeche Mode in Sunday night. It was my third time to see the band and my fourth Dave Gahan show. As expected, it was fantastic. Fletch is still as cool as ever. Martin still has a hauntingly beautiful voice. Dave still has great vocals, even if he seems to be slowing down a bit. His spins and turns weren’t quite as tight as they used to be…showing that even our favorite rock stars don’t stay young forever.

My parents leave to look for housing in Malaysia on Friday. My aunt and uncle are already out of town. My sister will be in Austin at a gymnastics competition. This leaves my 20 year old cousin, my baby brother and I in charge for a week. The thought of that scares me. I think I need someone to remind me that I am an adult and I can handle responsibilities that are left to me. Sometimes I still feel like I’m 13 and I can’t believe I get to do the things I do. Other times I feel like I’m 60, especially when it comes to the medical system. I’ve dealt with it enough that I know how to work the system. Prayers for safe travel for my parents would be appreciated. They literally will be half way across the world.

Their moving to Malaysia does mean that my Malaysian/Australian vacation is on for 2010. I’m super excited about that. I’ve always wanted to go to Australia and Malaysia is just an added bonus. (And it will be nice to see my folks.) Now I just have to decide where in Australia I’d like to go. I’m really leaning towards Brisbane so I can snorkel off the Great Barrier Reef. But, we shall see.

Well, I need to get back to work. Selamat tinggal! (That is good-bye in Malay.)

Another fine moment…

…from Houston’s own Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.

Isn’t YouTube great?

YouTube cracks me up.  There are times when I wonder what posessed someone to post a certain video on the internet.  Other times, I’m blown away by the sheer awesomeness of a video.

Today, I was looking for a song on YouTube, that I was talking about in conversation, that a friend had never heard.  Apparently nobody has ever had the burning desire to post Don McLean’s “Babylon” before.  That was a bit of a frustration…especially considering it has been one of my favorite songs for years.

Much to my surprise I completely forgot that this song was featured in an older episode of Mad Men. (One of my favorite shows on tv right now.)

So that was nice to be reminded of.  However, there was also this video on there:

At first I wasn’t sure to make of it.  I laughed a bit just because it seemed so odd that someone would post it on the internet.  But then I became so glad they did.  It brought a smile to my face and it is a pretty good version of the song…especially considering it is a capella.  Plus, I love listening to men sing.

Now if we could just get the Don McLean version up on YouTube, we’d be all set.

9 thoughts…

Today is Monday.  What better day is there to post random thoughts on my blog?  Here we go…

1. People pulling trailers behind their vehicle should never be in the left lane.  Usually you aren’t going as fast as the other drivers on the road, and if you are, you are crazy and need to slow it down a little.  So kindly pull over a lane and keep us all safe.

2. I’m 25.  I’ve never felt so old.  But I’ve also never felt so young, immature, and unexperienced.  Every single day I realize I have so much growing up to do.  That scares me.  Does the growing up part of life ever stop?

3. I’m 25 and I don’t ask permission to do what I want. I am a grown woman, and I usually make decisions that are reasonably intelligent now.

4. I might be nice to your face, but if you are a backstabbing, social climbing, phony person, I know you are and I am just being polite.

5.  I like the fact that I can have a conversation with other women my age and talk about anything and everything.  It is awesome having close friends that I can feel comfortable with.

6. Speaking of comfort with friends, friends who you can eat Mexican food with in pajamas, while you watch tv, are priceless.  I love them and I can’t live without eating in pajamas with them.

7. I am a terrible saver. If I had saved 20% of my salary over the last 10 years, I would be in a much better position financially!

8. If I were on death row, my last meal would be chicken ‘n’ dumplings.  I can’t get enough of that dumpling goodness.  In fact, I’m having chicken ‘n’ dumplings for lunch today.

9. If I could add 4 extra hours to every day, I would spend 2 napping, 1 reading, and 1 cleaning.