Somebody's Heine is Crowding My Icebox

At work this week, I was trapped in a very loud room with four TVs.  On two of the TVs, people were playing Wii Sports.  On the other two TVs, people were playing Rock Band.

I have only ever played the game Rock Band once or twice, enjoying it immensely but not purchasing it due to my knowledge that my productivity would decrease exponentially if I kept that in my apartment.  However, even with my limited knowledge of the game, I am about 99.9% sure that there are many songs which a person could choose to play.

Unfortunately, every person in that room was unable to be even a tiny bit creative and all chose the same songs.

Things I do not want to hear for the next several weeks, if ever again:

• Say It Ain't So (which is sad, because I really like Weezer.  However, if I ran into any of them today, I might punch them for ever writing this song.)
  
• Enter Sandman
• Wanted Dead or Alive (I've never hated Jon Bon Jovi more.  Seriously.)
• Dirty Little Secret
• Paranoid (too bad again, I also like this one...it wasn't as pervasive, so I may be able to hear that one again sooner.)

Also, as a public service to humanity, here are some things you should think about when playing Rock Band.

• This is a song to be played with your friends and family and anyone else who is contractually obligated to like you.  Total strangers will point, laugh, get angry, and roll their eyes as they sit and listen.
• If you sit and play Rock Band for four days, at least 4 hours a day during the first week of school, you may have a problem that you need to work through.  At the very least, many people will be pointing and laughing.
• Remember: even though you may FEEL like a rock star, you do not LOOK like a rock star.  Stop head banging, dancing, etc, as soon as possible.
• There's a saying that you should dance like no one is watching, sing like no one can hear you, etc.  That is only true if, in fact, no one can hear you.  When 50 people are crammed into a room and many of us are obligated to stay in it, thereby being forced to hear you, you should sing like we can hear you.  And by that, I mean you should sing quietly.  Oh, so very quietly.

Lastly, a little tidbit that I'd like to share, also as a public service.  If your job at an event is to scoop popcorn into little bags in a very slow, low-stress environment, don't complain to others about how difficult it is.  Others may decide to give you a job which is actually difficult, or they may decide that you should be fired.  Just saying...

[/rant]

Grief

I recently was really hurt by something that someone did.  A pretty slimy move by a colleague has left me feeling disenchanted, disenfranchised, and discombobulated.  (Not really the last one--I just like that word but so rarely get to use it.)

Discovering this person/these people's true nature(s) has been like a grieving process, the essential death of the reality I thought I knew.

There are some relatively accepted stages to grief.  I was going to list them, but I honestly cannot remember what they are.

Today's stage: crabbiness.  My apologies in advance to those who will have to interact with me.  

Unfortunate

Things at work have been difficult for the past few weeks.

Today, some really difficult things happened at work that made me feel a combination of sad, discouraged, frustrated, disappointed, irritated, disheartened, ________ (insert your own feeling here).

Tomorrow is a new day, and it had better be different.

The evening was, fortunately, better.  It's funny how life works out.  You never can tell...

Confused

Today, my bishop told me that he recently heard from a high councilman saying that he wanted to know if any of the bishops had anyone in their wards who could serve as stake music chair.

This was confusing for him, because this is my calling, and he and I had recently discussed it.

He replied to the high councilman, saying that he was under the impression that it was my current calling.  The high councilman responded that he had tried to call me, but had been unable to reach me.  The bishop asked what phone number he had for me, and it was the one my bishop has, which is my current phone number....

I've been here.  I haven't been screening my calls lately.  Not sure who he has tried to call, but it hasn't been me.  

If anyone else has been trying to call me, by all means, try again.  Or email.  Email is so much nicer.

Awkward Revisited

After having what I felt was a VERY successful, non-awkward conversation tonight at FHE, I bumped into a neighbor at my apartment complex and ended up in an awkward conversation.

Fortunately, this one wasn't my fault.  It wasn't that she was awkward either, but rather that she asked me about an awkward topic that I wasn't prepared to discuss yet.

50/50 isn't bad for tonight's conversations.  

Somebody's Mother says that I have to keep having conversations, even if they are awkward.  In fact, she quite sternly instructed me that I must say hi to all the people I see.

I have a feeling that if she were present for some of these choice conversations, she might change her mind for the sake of humanity.

Queen of Awkward

I have had, over the past few weeks, a number of awkward conversations.  I am awkward by nature, always sticking my foot in my mouth.  At work, I generally am fine, but for some reason, I can't have any conversations lately outside of work that make any sense.

An example of a recent awkward conversation, which took place with a perfectly nice person:

Me: So, what are you up to this fall?

Him: Oh, I'm starting a master's program at BYU.

Me: Oh, master of what?  

(Nice phrasing, Liz...)

Him: Uh...master of public administration.

Me: (strangely excitedly, due to my interest in that program) Hey!  That's my favorite one!

Long pause...

A few other words are spoken, and the conversation ends.

Today, I bumped into a few ward members that I've met before.  Most of the conversations were fairly awkward, culminating with a choice exchange this evening.

Me: So...you're just sitting around, uh, enjoying...?  (Hmm...enjoying what, Liz?  The scenery?  Text messaging?  The stock market?  That sentence certainly needs an end...)

Him: I'm just a dollar waiting for a dime.

Me: Oh, huh. (Puzzled look...this is a phrase I've not heard before...I figure it means he's waiting for something, or someone...)

Him: Just waiting for everyone to be ready to go.

Long pause...

Me: (Attempted joking) Isn't that just the way it is?  Always waiting for people...

Him: Well, earlier today, they had to wait for me, so...

Me: Well, that sounds fair.

Long pause...

Me: Uh, well, have fun!

From now on, I think I'm just going to walk past people without stopping to talk.  Seems better for everyone.

The Quiet

Life has been pretty busy lately.  My knee has been causing me trouble all week.  I moved into my new apartment one week ago, yet I have not finished unpacking.  Work is bordering on unbearable, and I'm starting to feel the weight of the impending semester.

At night, I come home and sit on my bed, physically and emotionally exhausted.  The quiet of the evening overwhelms me, and I'm alone with my thoughts.  Day turns to night as I evaluate my life.  Directionless, I plug away at work and school.  Life doesn't always turn out the way you planned, and then sometimes, you lose the plan entirely.

Today, I change things up--I go to get the mail.  I pass two people in my ward sitting on the grass, chatting.  My super-friendly ward (more on that to follow) has been a real adjustment for me.  I recognize the chatters--I've met them before.  I may even know one of their names.  If I approach them, they'll probably talk to me.  Fear wins out, and I smile, but say nothing as I walk past.

Alone again, my thoughts race.  I turn on the TV to drown out the screaming quiet, but I feel only slightly comforted.  I decide to continue in my unpacking.  First priority?  The XBox, naturally.

Held

The other day, I checked my mail at my old apartment, only to find that there was nothing in it.  Today, I checked again, discovering that once again, the box was empty.

Except, upon further examination, I realized that there was a piece of paper in it.  It indicated that our mail box was considered vacant, and that our mail was being held by the post office.  I have lived different apartments in Provo for four years now, and this has never happened to me before.   The best I can figure is that we were supposed to somehow label our mailbox with our names, and because we didn't, it is just four pieces of metal that are good for nothing.

It was about 5:35 pm when I discovered this unfortunate turn of events.  I decided that I should head to the post office and pick up my mail.  In some ways this seemed to be convenient because I needed to change my address anyway.

Only problem?  The post office closes at 5:30.  This does nothing for me, because I have to work until 5:30 every day.  Hosers.  Adding to my concern is the fact that the note indicated that we have only until the 21st to retrieve our mail.  Today is the 19th.  I have no desire to get back down there in the next couple of days, yet, sadly, I must.

In some ways though, I suppose that there is a silver lining.  No mail at all means that we also haven't received any junk mail, which is nice.

Opinions

I am not a big spender. When I know that I'm going to be spending a lot of money on something, I like to do a lot of research and pondering.

With that in mind, I'm starting my research for the purchase of my new TV. I want to figure out what kind of TV I want to get so that I can start watching for my chosen TV to be on sale, and then purchase it.

So, what TV should I get? Any thoughts? My brother has a 70 inch TV--that would be too big for me. My parents have a TV that really heats up the room, and I'm not inclined to buy something like that either.

Plasma? LCD? No TV at all? (Just kidding...no TV at all isn't an option. What would I do with the XBox? And the TiVo? Tragedy!)

Happenings

Lots of stuff has been going on. Here is a quick summary, in no particular order:

• I moved this weekend. YAY! Thanks to Somebody's Parents and Somebody's Mother for all their amazing help. I have no idea what I would've done without them!
• Sadly, somehow during the move, I injured my knee. It hurts quite a bit. This is unfortunate timing, as I am supposed to be hiking the Grand Canyon with my parents in three weeks. Yikes. I have a recurring knee condition that is more common in women and in people with flat feet. I am both of those things. Shoot.
• I am the queen of awkward. I have had approximately 45,836 awkward conversations over the past week. If being awkward was an olympic event, I would be its Michael Phelps. Yikes again.
• I am going to get rid of some stuff. A lot of stuff. I have WAY too much stuff for one person. After hauling a bit of that stuff up several flights of stairs this weekend, I'm feeling less attached to most of it.
• I am going to buy a new TV. My TV is wonderful, only cost me $25, and is a fabulous piece of equipment that works like a dream. However, it weighs about 200 pounds (give or take...feels like about 2,000 pounds) and is very difficult to move. It is difficult for me to move because I cannot lift it, so I must find and/or bribe people to move it for me. This last move was the last time I will take it with me. It's just too impractical. Now I'm in the market for a new TV to be purchased before next June when I have to move again. The old TV will be given away to someone who is willing to haul it out--I'm not trying to move that thing again!
• June seems WAY too soon to have to be moving again.
• In my enormous amounts of stress over the past few weeks, I have eaten a bit of candy. It's not good for me, and makes me feel a bit shaky and jittery since I really don't eat a lot of refined sugars. But I still eat it, mostly because I'm in distress and having something to munch on makes me feel better.
• I got an A in all three of my classes this semester. How did that happen??
• I still have to clean my old apartment. I hate cleaning. It seems especially stupid since the people who lived there before me didn't clean it before they moved out.
• This is a horrible time for me to work in a building with no elevator where my daily work is requiring many trips up and down two flights of stairs.
• The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival is coming up in a couple of weeks. I have only been once, but have very fond memories of it and always mean to go back. Maybe I will this year. I should do something fun before school starts again.
• Most of the people in my new ward are school teachers. I know that they all had the summer off of work, but I still feel a sweet sense of justice that they all had to go back to work this week. I know, I've had to work all summer, but it's true--misery really does love company, and I'm glad they're all working again.

And That's How It's Done

Guess who got 100% on her Principals of Information Systems: A Managerial Approach final?

That'd be me.

I think I'm getting an A in that class.  That'll make up for whatever I get in Statistics...yikes...

iGot it

>
And I can blog from it. It's a beautiful life.

Grocery Store Adventures

This evening at Macey's, I walked past an elderly couple.  The man was saying to the woman "...some black beans and some red beans..." as he consulted a list.  Then, about 10 seconds later, I walked past an elderly woman with some teenagers.  As she consulted a list, she was telling them "...some black beans and some red beans..."

Unless it was some sort of senior citizen scavenger hunt, I have no idea what was going on.

Brain Dump

My wallet is ripping in a few places.  I hate to buy a new one, because it seems so silly to spend money on something that I use to hold items that help me spend money...

I've been feeling like I'm having a heart attack for the past 12 hours or so.  Still haven't died, so I'm probably okay, but still...what a pain.  Somebody's mother thinks it's stress.

Yesterday, I told a new acquaintance about a study that I read that said that naps were beneficial for productivity.  He asked me if I believed everything I read.  I told him that, if it was pro-napping, then I certainly did believe it.

If my work schedule induces heart failure, do you think I'd get workers comp for that?

I ate some sour patch kids and lemonheads today.  I'm feeling a bit guilty about it, but they were so good...

The people at Bajio have memorized me.  Two options: go to a different restaurant, or try something different from the menu.  Strangely, I don't feel like doing either.

The Cameo apples are no longer in stores.  I am one unhappy girl.  There are no other apples which suit my needs.  Stupid growing seasons.

I heard that being single raises your rates for dementia.  That's probably induced by the strain of people always asking when you're going to finally get married.

I forgot to pick the squash from my parents' garden while they were out of town for the past 5ish days.  Oops.  It's most certainly overgrown and not tasty anymore.  Shoot.

Naptime?  I think so...

What Not to Wear

More than once in the past week, someone has taken it upon themselves to inform me that I have no sense of style, or am otherwise fashion-impaired.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to inform you all that I know that I have no sense of style.  I get it--I don't look like all the other girls.  And you know what?  I don't care.  I have WAY more important things to worry about.

Maybe, someday when I have a bit more free time, I'll worry a bit more about my appearance.

Until then, please consider me well-informed of this particular shortcoming.

Unfashionably yours,

Liz