Some People Will Do It Anywhere

Sleep, that is. (Now get your minds out of the gutter.) There is this guy who sits outside my chem class every day, just hanging out. I assume he has time to kill between classes, and for some reason he chooses to do so on the floor in the basement instead of sitting on some of the semi-comfy chairs they have a couple of floors up. He must have had a rough weekend, because today he was stretched out out on the cold floor asleep. Headphones on, nothing to pillow his head, not a care in the world. I don't understand how people can do this- at least the second and third people I saw doing this today had the benefit of a bench. What if someone was to come up and steal their stuff- or worse? Insert imagination here...

It's not like I have great sleeping habits, though. I can't sleep without the television on. I don't think it's a good thing that I have trained my brain to do this, but I can't stand silence. I don't even really watch it, since I can't see it without my contacts, just listen to it. A lot of times I'll leave it on the History Channel- they have some interesting stuff on at 3 A.M. Another quirk is that I can't sleep dirty. Seriously. If I haven't showered I will keep waking up and can't stay asleep until I do. I have no idea where I acquired THIS peculiarity....

I'm getting the makeover pictures developed tomorrow. I promise. I had to use up the rest of the roll. But in the meantime, here's some new stuff to tide you over...

The CSI Is Watching You....

For some reason, I had the fun song lyric of "I always feel like somebody's watching me..." stuck in my head today. Cheryl heard me sing it and asked me who I thought was watching me. I inquired who she thought was watching me. FBI? No, why would the FBI be watching me? OK, CSI? Well, Cheryl, first off CSI is a television show. Did you mean the CIA, perhaps? Poor Cheryl, for the rest of our shift she heard, "The CSI is watching me! The fictional CSI is watching me!" I'm so merciless.

It was a gray, ugly, rainy day, a day to sleep in and do nothing. Not for me, unfortunately. Maybe I'm just cranky because both the Chocolate Lucky Charms and the York peppermint patties are gone. I don't know how these things happen. Perhaps I shouldn't keep the Yorks by the computer, since I'm always on it. Funny, with all this practice I'd think my typing skills would improve. But I still type incredibly slow and still look at the keyboard despite what they tried to teach me in elementary school. I suppsoe some habits I will never get rid of, no matter how I try. Like eating chocolate.

She Talks About Us on Her Website

Kiernan is threatening my website. She says she's going to leave nasty comments. I don't know why; I'm always so sweet to her. But seriously, apparently she didn't get scared off and is still reading..Even the archives, apparently she's surprised that I talk about people nicely- including Harmony, whose quote is the title.

When we were discussing this, Jen went, "You talk about the people you work with?" Well, yeah, they are just so entertaining! Case in point: Kiernan and I got around to politics, in a convoluted way. She said, "I didn't like Bush or Kerry. They both sucked." "Well I agree with half that statement." And then we both started laughing. I like to think I have a fair and balanced view on politics- I can laugh at the Bush jokes, too!

I only talk about Kiernan so much cause I know she's reading. "I know where your website is, Nettie...." I hope this isn't a bunch of inside jokes that no one can understand. I think I love my job so much because half the people there are as 'special' as I am. I don't know what the other half are. Or how they go through life without all the fun arcane knowledge like quoting old commercials- I'm partial to Baywatch Barbie myself....

Winter Jam

My lungs are frozen (I forgot my scarf) and my ears are still ringing. Today I took a break from the stimulating pattern of eat-study-work-blog and went to a concert. Winter Jam to be exact, which is a tour of various Christian bands hosted by NewSong (their song "Arise My Love" is the best!) As always, it was an adventure. I walked, since it was only a few blocks down from where I park my car anyway. A woman stopped me on the way and asked me for directions, which I happily gave. After she drove off, I realized I told her to go down a street that's been blocked off for two months. Whoops. I hope she managed to find it.

One of the cool things about Winter Jam is that it's only $10, and no tickets are required. I raided my kitty bank (literally) and got there just before they started. Thus, I witnessed something amazing- an arena full of people searching for the best seats who all stopped in their tracks to pray. It was incredibly moving. The opening acts, Matthew West, Rachel Lampa, and Building 429, were all pretty good, very enthusiastic. I'm partial to Newsong, so I enjoyed their set. They tend to put the harder bands at the end, last year it was Audio Adrenaline. This year's Tobymac and Tait, some of the members of dc Talk, were a little too headbanging and loud for my taste, but it's good that they are targeting their message to people who like that kind of music. The best part of the night, probably, was when they made an altar call. We just stood there and watched all the people file by who made a commitment to Christ- over 400 of them. This from the 2nd biggest turnout they'd had all winter. The whole thing was just incredible.

Footprints

Both literal and figurative- I suppose I'm in a contemplative mood today. At work today, I was looking at the footprints I made climbing the shelves (instead of using the ladder like we're supposed to), and I started thinking about what kind of footprints I leave in life. When Harmony jokingly says she's a heathen and I say there's hope for everyone, does she just dismiss my ramblings, or does she maybe think that here's someone who's a little wacky, true, but has something that truly sustains her and maybe it isn't so wacky? When Heather says she admires me for being a rarity and waiting until marriage, does she understand why I choose to be that way? Does my silly and occasionally annoying personality hide my desire to be a woman of Christ?

I learned a long time ago not to care what people thought of me, both because I'm happy with who I am, and because I know the gospel offends. But when I say I don't care what people think at me, laugh at me if it makes you happy, I want them to understand why I have that attitude. Because if I didn't I'd spend a lot of time being upset because someone told me, "You suck, Bible thumper," or "Wow, you're loud Nettie, don't you ever shut up?" (No). I guess my point is, I've learned to go through life being who I am, most of the time anyway. And hope I can maybe influence some people along the way. I may be young, but I think I have the right idea here, yes?

Soundtrack to My Life

I love music. It entertains me, uplifts me, and I have a TON of it in my head. Today I discovered my manager Jen has the same, erm, gift. I don't remember how we got around to this, it was after closing time and we were talking about nothing. But we ended up singing the most random songs- "Found a Peanut," "There's A Hole In The Bucket," etc. that I never thought anybody else over the age of 10 knew. I think Leslie was a little confused by it all, although she was able to join in when we debated Sesame Street versus Lamb Chop, and their respective songs.

It's unfair, really, anything people say to me is fair game to end up here. Oh well. I was singing to myself as I restocked the shelves, since the Muzak was turned off. Jen said I was like "Our own private little radio station." I can think of more useful talents, like an innate understanding of organic chemistry. But I suppose being able to sing most songs that come on the radio, and always having CDs, and being able to match snippets of songs to almost any conversation, isn't the worst ability to have. My music rules the back room (since the radio doesn't work much), and sometimes people even enjoy my mix of '80's rock and contemporary Christian. And if all else fails, I amuse people. I've always been a good class clown, and if I can brighten people's day by singing "Chicago" and "The Sound of Music" verbatim, at utterly random times... then that can only be a good thing.

Wally World Again!

Chocolate Lucky Charms. They have chocolate Lucky Charms now. Why is General Mills doing this to me? I went down the cereal aisle to get some healthy Cream of Wheat and there they were, staring me in the face. Chocolate and marshmallows- I mean, what more could I ask for from a breakfast cereal?

Yet another thing that I'm grateful for about my job- no police presence. At least not while I've been there. Two of my friends were telling horror stories tonight- Nicole had someone dealing out of the store and the restaurant next to Meka's was robbed and they had weird men harassing them. We have some scary people at BBW sometimes, but nothing like that thankfully.And besides, most of the scary people work there. Myself included.

All right, all right, I confess. When I went to Wal-Mart earlier, besides the chocolate Lucky Charms, I got more York Peppermint Patties. I showed them to Meka (after she got back from the gym, natch) and she's all like, "Those aren't good for you?" "What's your point?" "That IS my point!" Chocolate is good for you, though, good for the soul. Or something.

Slow Day All Around

I need to quit it with the York Peppermint Patties, or I'm going to need to actually take the Alka-Seltzer instead of just singing about it. Of course I could always sing Darlene's version. Hopefully Kiernan didn't get scared off, she's been dying to see what I'm always talking about. And when I finally manage to get the pictures of Anna's handiwork on me up, her official opinion is that I should never do that again. Duly noted.

Grief sucks. And so do rainy days. Correction, stormy days with lightning crashing every few feet as I'm trying desperately to get back to my dorm in one piece. At least neither the electricity nor the cable(which would include the Internet) went out. After all, what would I do if I wasn't able to watch "A Haunting in Georgia"? Which is this really melodramatic story about a real-life Sixth Sense- type kid. Supposedly. (It was a slow TV night, obviously.) Normally, I watch The Nanny and the Golden Girls on Lifetime at 11, but on Mondays they show "How Clean Is Your House?" It's a really disgusting show with people who have pigeon droppings in their air conditioners. And worse. Let's just say I prefer the flashy girl from Flushing...

Tiramisu, Anyone?

It was one of the strangest dinners I've ever had. But I think that's a good thing. It started when Kiernan decided she wanted tiramisu, so she, Melissa, Candis, and I went to Carraba's. It pretty much degenerated from there. Once we made it to Carraba's and not the parking lot of McAllister's, that is.

Of course, the fun was only beginning once we all managed to get to the right restaurant, and the right door. I think Candis was really afraid at first, she doesn't see the humor in anaphylactic shock. I don't know why. I was never worried, since Kiernan "sort of knows" CPR, and there's an EMS station a few blocks down, so no problem. I'm so mean to Candis, I got sick at work and she freaked out, so even though I'm really careful, I can't help messing with her head. She was the one with the trash keys, naturally. So once we got over the hurdle of "Nettie does know how to avoid dying," we moved on to food.

Our waiter was, um, different. But he did do us the favor of splitting Melissa's and mine, and Candis's and Kiernan's entrees, since we weren't that hungry. Plus I'm cheap. As for the conversation? I'll have to skip most of it in the interest of keeping this blog PG....Ian, our waiter, said something to me when I asked for another Coke. I won't repeat that either, but it made someone, Kiernan I think ask if I was going to pray for him. I replied that I would mention it on my blog so people around the world could pray for him. Kiernan at this point was like, "You need to give me the address!" I asked, "Are you really that interested?" "I want to know what you write about me!" Sorry, Kiernan. I did warn you.

It wasn't the evening I think any of us really had in mind, but it was fun, therapeutic even. I think I may have even managed to drive the Alka-Seltzer jingle out of my head- hopefully the rest of y'all will be able to accomplish the same. But Kiernan never did get her tiramisu....

It's Funny. Isn't It?

Last night I was searching online for the Rubber Ducky song to use for my voicemail. I changed my mind and went with Popeye instead. So now anyone who calls me and wants to leave a message gets treated to "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man...." I find this vastly amusing. During my search, I came across a sound clip from some ancient Alka-Seltzer commercial with a funny little voice singing, "Plop plop fizz fizz oh what a relief it is!" I find this hilarious as well. At least I'm easily entertained.

I suppose you could call my day at work interesting. We recently got a full line of makeup, before we only had lip glosses and stuff, so we've all been playing with it. I am a minimalist when it comes to makeup- concealer, foundation, lip gloss, and pink eyeshadow. Maybe mascara if I have time. Everyone is always saying they want to make me over, so today I let them do it. Meka said they must have been really bored by the looks of me, but everyone said it looked good. Not like me though. Kathleen kept asking me if I was uncomfortable with it, but I just thought it was funny. I'll post pictures when I finish up the roll.

The managers have been passing around the same bug for weeks- first Jen, then Harmony, now Kathleen. Poor Kathleen, I think she felt really horrible today and was barely talking by the end of the night. Of course, she couldn't help it that somehow both sets of keys that let us open the garbage compactors somehow got lost. We had to leave these big piles of trash and cardboard in the back because they were nowhere to be found. Hopefully they will turn up soon or else we will soon have a BIG mess on our hands....

Don't Sit Next To The Sick Kid

I don't know what brilliant beaurocrat thinks it's a swell-o-matic idea to paint the science buildings while classes are going on, but it's really annoying. I don't know where it was today, but I could smell it and it was making me really sick. I went on to chemistry, though, and sat in the back coughing, sniffling, the whole bit (I have a cold as well, so my breathing was already screwed up). If you come in late, you have to come in the back, and usually people just sit there if it's vacant. One person sat down next to me, looked at me, and got up and moved to another seat after about 2 minutes. The second one barely sat down and popped back up again. I felt like such a leper.

I really need to quit it with the York Peppermint Patties. I'm on my second bag already. I did manage to get something somewhat useful on my Wal-Mart trip- the new Crest Vanilla Mint toothpaste. It's OK, maybe not up to Emeril's standards, though. I was looking at the box today, and it had a scratch-and-sniff sticker on it. I haven't seen one of those things in years, and on a tube of toothpaste, yet.

I know you are all dying to know what's up with the plethora of deleted anonymous comments on the previous post. They weren't good reading material, I'll put it at that, and got way out of hand, so I trashed them. For now, you can't comment anonymously on here, if I figure out another way to keep those kinds of comments out, I'll restore that capability, cause after all I want everyone who might find this to be able to comment.

I'm currently watching a History Channel special on Iwo Jima. It's the 60th anniversary of it this week. It's sad to think that a lot of the eyewitnesses and participants to World War II are no longer here; I guess that's why it's important for them to record their memories now. My grandfather fought in the Pacific and has never liked to talk about it. But in recent years he has made an effort to, and I love to hear all that he has to say, because it was such an experience, I guess is the word, and the memories should not be lost. Gone but not forgotten.

The Lesson for Today?

Running on concrete is baaad. Unfortunately, I remembered this the hard way tonight at work. Cheryl had gone ahead to the trash compactor and I was attempting to catch up with her. I ended up close to kissing the pavement. At least my left hand took the brunt of it (my right was holding the trash), although I also somehow knocked a chunk of rubber off my left shoe. I'm not having the best week in the world here.

I did have a good day in lab, though. A good day is defined as me not screwing anything up, and I got out of there a full hour early. When we get to have partners, mine basically does everything, since I have an unfortunate tendency to knock the test tubes and spill half our products. But I've only broken one thing so far this semester!

I forgot to mention the Whoppers. To be precise, they are Whoppers in the shape of robins' eggs. Spring is coming, and so is its candy! Although it seems to be a phenomenon here to wear shorts even when it's 30 degrees out. I love the South and it's 70 degree winter days as much as anyone, but do try to adjust on those rare February days where it dips below 50 and spare the rest of us the sight. This is of course why I would freeze to death in a lot of y'all's hometowns- it's actually possible to dress like that even on days we consider cold. Fun, huh?

Allow Myself to Introduce Myself

I'm getting that old feeling again. That need chocolate feeling. I think my body is trying to tell me something. Perhaps along the lines of, "Hey Nettie! We, your body parts, decided you don't eat enough junk food as it is. As such, we order you to consume even more sugar and caffeine for some real fun! And as for that fruit craving? We have NO idea where that came from." In an attempt to shut my body up, I purchased: chocolate daredevil pudding, chocolate chip waffles, York peppermint patties, yogurt with Reese's Pieces, and two kinds of chocolate chip cookies. This is why I should not go to Wal-Mart when I'm hungry.

I am not a self-concious person, and this trait serves me well. Such as when I insisted to my friend Meka that I was OK and wanted to go to the meeting. Now if I were a self-concious person, I would have been horrendously embarassing when I broke down in Meka's arms after someone said the word "cancer." But instead, I proceeded to un-self-conciously lose it in front of everyone. Thank goodness for that trait of mine.

I just can't be serious, can I? Maybe that's a good thing. Actually, I started another blog which kind of has the purpose of being serious. And also has a few pictures, if you are into that sort of thing. I'm too tired to figure out how to link it right now, it's under my profile, and it's all new, at least to y'all. All New and Improved! OK, I need to stop, I'm getting way too corny. And Darlene and Paula, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your families. Love y'all!

The Good, the Bad, and the Funny

Wow. When I came back and saw how many comments I had, I was just overwhelmed. Thanks for that, you guys. I thought I'd summarize the past few days, in that order.
The good:
*Coming back from Dulles last night, I was at the very back of the plane; I could see everything- the lights on the ground, and vast black stretches without any. And as we came into the city, the change from darkness into light. Sometimes, all I could see was darkness and the clouds rolling by. It was all so beautiful. And peaceful, somehow.
*I wasn't able to fly out until Sunday, so I went to work on Saturday. They kept asking me if I wanted to be there, but I said I'd rather be there than at home crying. I don't really cry normally, but I was kind of a wreck Saturday. But everyone was so supportive of me and I think it was the best thing I could have done. I had obligations while I was gone, but they just said not to worry about it. I make fun of those guys a lot, but they were there for me and I do love 'em. So Kristy R, Christy W, Crystal, Adele, Aimee, Kelly, and especially Jen, Candis, and Harmony- if I ever let y'all read this, thanks. For everything.
*I know where Kevin is, and I know that he is safe and happy and he isn't sick anymore. He is with God, and Kathy (his mom) doesn't have to worry about him anymore. He's in heaven, with his Meemaw, where nothing can ever hurt him again.
The bad:
*I think all his loved ones agree, they want Kevin to still be here. The rest of us have to bear the pain of losing him and not seeing him again, at least for a long time. There was so much more he wanted to do with his life that's never going to happen.
*I hated not knowing what to say to Kathy, James, and Alisa, his immediate family. I mean, what can you say? There really isn't anything that will take away the pain. The best I could offer was that people all over the world were praying for her- thanks for that, guys.
*The return to normal life is going to be so difficult. Alisa, my cousin and his sister, is in her senior year of high school. It should be a happy time for her, but with everything going on for the past two years, I think she's had a really hard time. I just hope that, as difficult as the return to life is going to be, that I can somehow help them out, because really, their life can never be normal again.
And the funny:
*On Ash Wednesday, as Kevin was passing, the chaplain was talking to Kathy. She told her not to be surprised if Kevin sent her a sign, like one woman who loved butterflies, and her family saw a huge cloud of butterflies. Kathy replied, "We're in trouble then, because Kevin loved chimpanzees. And I'm going to come home and find a chimpanzee hanging out in my tree!" Laughter in the midst of tears.

My Kevin

Thanks for all the encouragement, y'all. I wish I had better news to share. Those of you who have read my site for a long time may remember me mentioning my cousin Kevin, who has been battling cancer. We all thought, and hoped, he was going to beat it. But Kevin just lost his fight.

I can't believe that my Kevin, the one who gave me stupid presents and tried to teach me to dance, who loved life and fought so hard for it, is gone. He was a Christian, and I know he is with God now, but he should be here. I just can't think straight, I have to get up to Virginia for the funeral. If y'all could pray for his parents, Jim and Kathy, and his sister, my cousin Alisa, I would really appreciate it. And now I'm crying too hard, I have to stop.

She Thinks Her Kids Are All Swell-o-matic

For the past few days, I have had an overwhelming urge to say "swell-o-matic." Why is this? There is an episode of Rugrats that attempts to teach kids not to use bad words. Anyway, the word of the week is supposed to be "swell-o-matic," but Angelica overhears a bad word and thinks that's the word of the week instead. I haven't seen the Rugrats in forever, and I'm not really sure why this particular episode is looping through my head, but it isn't very swell-o-matic.

I know I'm usually pretty irreverent and silly on here, but tonight I'm finding it a bit hard. I won't bore you with the details, but there is something in my life that is driving me absolutely nuts right now. And it's something that I can't really change, although I am doing what I can to make it better. I always come out OK in the end, I have faith in this. I guess I'm just having an off day today...But do stay tuned, I'll bounce back. Y'all stay swell-o-matic, I know I'm trying.

Meaningless Observations

• I hate it when it rains, because they never mop out the science building. There are two sets of doors and a space between them, where the water lurks, tracked in by hapless college students, just waiting to make one of them slip and slide. But someone makes sure to put an ever-so-helpful "Wet Floor" sign up, just in case our college education hasn't allowed us to figure that out.
• Yesterday I was Inspiring Wild Indigo. Today I am Winter Candy Apple. Tomorrow- Vanilla Bean Noel. And next week- who knows? That's why I love Bath and Body Works- between my employee discount and the free samples we get (to "test out" the new lines), I have enough products to last me the next two years. Of course, by that time I will probably have acquired enough stuff to beautify a small town.
• When the little girl in the Bounty commercial is playing with her puppy and spills the water, why doesn't she clean it up? If she is capable of handing her mother the paper towels, why can't she use them? Is there not something wrong with this picture?
• Apparently my sister Janna and I write alike. Her boyfriend Anthony was tutoring me in calculus tonight and in the process he was attempting to decipher my handwriting. He claims he can't read either Janna or Nettie. In Anthony's analysis, my zero's look like two's and the word 'none' is more like the word 'hare'- and this was my good handwriting. Explains why no one ever wants to borrow my notes.

The Three Heads

I'm still playing with the links- if you want yours taken down, or put up for that matter, please email me, and I will be happy to oblige. And now on to your regularly scheduled programming.

My cell and molecular biology class is team taught by three female professors. Dr. Connolly is the one whose name is on all the transcripts for the class and posts everything on the Internet. Dr. Kriezek is small and drives us nuts. In class she can't reach high on the board and has to go down low, where the podium blocks what she's writing. Dr.Vance is the tallest and my personal favorite, since I had her for Biology 101 my first semseter. Normally, one of them teaches and the others prowl around in the back while she does. Yesterday's study session was the first time we saw all three of them in action together.

I walked in a bit late since I had dumped 32 ounces of orange soda on myself and had to run back to the dorm to change. The study session was in full swing and Dr. Kriezek was giving the answers to the practice exam. The others kept chiming in. They had an interesting arrangement- Dr. Kriezek was on the far left, with Dr. Vance in the middle and Dr. Connolly nearest me. They were all scribbling on the board and talking. Then Dr. Kriezek finished going over the practice exam and asked if there were any questions. One girl asked what to do if they didn't have PowerPoint and couldn't see the notes on the website. Dr. Kriezek said she could go to the library. I volunteered that there was a viewer you could download. SNAP! Three heads simultaneously turned to look at me. I then lamely added, "But I don't remember where you can get it." SNAP! Three heads turned back to the girl as Dr. Kriezek said, "Well apparently you can get a viewer for it." I then decided to add, "I got it from a chemistry website." SNAP! The three heads are looking at me again. "But it is free." SNAP! Three heads back on the poor girl who's regretting she asked. Dr. Kriezek says, "OK, so you might want to google that and find out how to download it. Or you can go to the library." No more snapping. Finally.

The test turned out to be just as interesting as the study session. Two of my friends thought they were going to be late for it and were running. I stayed behind and calmly walked in my pajamas. Unfortunately, this caused me to miss the next scene. As you entered the test, Dr. Kriezek was handing out the exams and a male T.A. handed out the answer sheets and told you where to sit. Unfortunately, Ashley missed the second step of this process, forcing the hapless T.A. to yell out, "Purple shirt. Lavender shirt! PERIWINKLE!" Ashley walks on, oblivious to Nicole going, "Ashley. Ashley! ASHLEY!" Finally, the T.A. caught her attention and vaguely guided her to a seat, minus an answer sheet. Once seated, Ashley naturally wonders, "Where's my answer sheet?" Good question.

I assume in the future the exams will be less, um, entertaining. One of the three versions had true and false reversed (mine, naturally.) I don't know how well I did, but I'm sure it was much better after the two burly guys on either side of me left and I was able to actually think about the test and not my serious lack of personal space. Now, what can The Three Heads come up with to remedy that?

If You Give Some Girls a Super Bowl Party

If you give some girls a Super Bowl party, first they have to know how to get there.

So they know how to get there, Jen posts her directions on the bulletin board.

When Jen posts her directions on the bulletin board, Kiernan wants people to come to her party.

Since Kiernan wants people to come to her party, about half of them do.

Since half of them do, half end up at Jen's house in Elgin.

When they end up at Jen's house in Elgin, they want to be entertained.

Because they want to be entertained, Mark turns on the Super Bowl.

When Mark turns on the Super Bowl, most decide they don't care about the Super Bowl.

And since most don't care about the Super Bowl, they need something else to talk about.

Since they need something else to talk about, they decide Nettie needs a boyfriend.

When they decide Nettie needs a boyfriend, Nettie explains about her previous exes.

When Nettie explains about her previous exes, they move on to another topic.

Moving on to another topic, they decide to watch the halftime show.

Watching the halftime show, they get bored and decide to get something to eat.

Getting something to eat, they sit down at the table and yak some more.

Sitting at the table and yakking some more, they realize the game is now over.

Realizing the game is now over, they wonder who won.

Wondering who won, they decide they don't care about that either.

Deciding they don't care about that either, they leave what was once a Super Bowl party.

And this all started because a bunch of girls wanted to have a Super Bowl party.

It's Just A Simple Oil Change!

I love my car. It's a 1988 Buick Century that my grandparents bought and loaned to my uncle. He proceeded to replace the entire engine...and then they made him give it to me. He still wants it back. My grandfather didn't think the Taurus I was driving at the time was safe, cause it had been around the block and back a few times. Anyway, it's in great shape (except fot a small dent in the back- but I didn't do that). My car's name is Harvey, and yes, the car is alive. Harvey has a little quirk; often when the radio is on (which it always is), it starts going louder and louder. I know how to fiddle with it, so it's no big deal. One time, I was driving my friends Meka and Katie and Meka's obnoxious friend Brandon around. Meka was in the front and Brandon was in the back being a horrible backseat driver. I had the local Christian station on, which naturally annoyed Brandon. And the song just kept getting louder....and louder....and louder. Finally Brandon yelled, "Quit messing with it!" Meka immediately defended me, saying, "She's not touching it." I replied, "I'm not doing it. The car just doesn't like you." This scene repeated throughout the night. I found it fun and I'm sure Harvey did too.

I may love my car, but I don't treat poor Harvey right. He's usually dirty, and has loads of food/clothes/books/people being hauled around in him at all times. I'd put off changing the oil for a while, but since I was driving out to the boonies today, I thought I'd better get it done. After all, I didn't want to end up stranded in the middle of nowhere, right? I went to a place I had taken a previous car a couple of years ago. They asked me, "Do you want good sevice, better service, or the best service?" I said, "I want cheap service." They said it would take a while, and I said that was fine. I watched the second half of Ghost Dad, some Full House, and read the paper. After I finished reading, I went up to the desk to ask to borrow a pen to do the crossword puzzle. Reasonable request, right? Well, they couldn't find any pens other than the one they each had. They searched all over the place and couldn't find anything besides markers. I stood there going, "These are the people I'm trusting to take care of my precious Harvey?"

At some point, while I was watching this weird Discovery Channel program, "A Haunting in Conneticut," getting really hungry and cranky, they appeared and said I was almost done. The man then added, "Your tires are really bad. You should get new ones." I said, "I'll have to think about it, I don't know if I want to pay for that." He warned, "While you're here you should. I mean they are really bad." I just smiled and said, "Not today." He sighed, "All right," and walked away, no doubt muttering dire warnings under his breath about what was going to happen to my poor car.

Maybe I need new tires, maybe I don't. But I am smart enough to know that taking care of my car does NOT mean listening to somebody telling me, a young, lone female, that I need something expensive done to it. Especially since my grandfather checked it out at Christmas and didn't say anything about the tires. I'm sorry, Mr. Can't-Find-A-Pen, but I'm not taking your tires. Not today. And I hope not ever.

Chocolatey Goodness

OK, I accidentally lost the post I was just working on. I think it was about how cold I am, sitting by the window in this ancient uninsulated building. But when I talk about nothing so much, it's easy to lose track.

I am currently eating a chicken pot pie. I really want brownies. In the worst way. But I cannot have brownies. Why is this? 1. I don't have an oven, so I can't bake my own. 2. I can't buy them from Wal-Mart or Food Lion or anyplace like that. 3. The places I could buy them from are too expensive for my cheap tastes. I suppose this wouldn't be such a dilemma if I hadn't, ahem, blown it at Old Navy the other day, thereby forcing cutbacks. Sad, isn't it?

I'm at Wal-Mart way too much anyway. Tonight I had to stop for more contact solution and to get some snacks for my manager's Super Bowl party tomorrow. The problem with going late at night is the lines are usually insane; they weren't too bad tonight, though.

Currently, I have P.O.D., "Youth of the Nation," playing. It's interesting how some really good songs came out of the Columbine tragedies. Michael W. Smith has one called, "This Is Your Time," about Cassie Bernall, who is the girl who answered yes when she was asked if she believed in God. She was then shot. I think it's an awesome story, cause I know if I was ever in that position, my body would want to say no, but my Spirit would enable me to say yes.

I'm sitting here looking for a thread to tie my little tidbits together.....sorry, can't find one. Anyone want to send me some brownies?

13 Was My Soccer Number

Yay, I finally took the time to figure out the links! Hope y'all like- if anyone objects to being linked (or to my shameless promotion of my company), let me know and I'll take you down. But BBW stays. I talk about them enough, I should throw them a bone. Tonight I decided to stray away from my usual topic of work and live up to my name- random thoughts. Enjoy.

You don't realize how much you depend on a remote- until you lose one. For several months I was fighting a losing battle with mine, as its signal grew weaker and weaker until one day it finally quit, without so much as a whimper of defeat. For several months I didn't have one, until finally I went to Radio Shack and bought a universal. It had a nifty little feature that allowed it to automatically search for the right code, since I never knew mine and the little booklet they included didn't list ones for TV/VCRS. I set it and went about my business, half expecting it to not work- until the TV suddenly turned off. I now had exactly 3 seconds to capture the code or else go through the whole rigamorale again. Success is very sweet- now when I am sitting on my computer blogging and simultaneously taping endless episodes of Strong Medicine, I don't have to dash up and start and stop for commercial breaks. Such are the small pleasures of life.

Speaking of music, which I wasn't, I love it. We studied in psychology how some people, when they are placed in chambers totally isolating their senses, find it easy to meditate or commune with God. And some people simply begin to go insane. I would be one of the ones to go insane. I always have either the TV or music going, and one of the things I love about my computer is all the music I have on it. I like to think my tastes are fairly diverse ( I can't stand rap, though. Listened to it for four hours, going to Charleston and back, and I still hate it. That's a story for another blog, though). My absolute favorite singer is Amy Grant- I've seen her three times. Others are pretty random- Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Evanescence, Natalie Merchant (despite her left-wing bias), Shania Twain, Destiny's Child, Kelly Clarkson (even though I don't watch American Idol), Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, and, I must confess, the Chipmunks. They are just so cute and funny, and great as voice-mail messages.

OK, how about the fire alarm that's going off in one of the adjacent buildings? Although I am really glad it isn't mine, cause then we'd be outside shivering in the cold, it's getting really annoying. Almost like those weird cicada things can be. They are so loud you'd swear it was electronic. But I have done my share of standing outside in the cold. Last semester some idiot thought it would be funny to pull the fire alarms. At 4 A.M. During exams. Two nights in a row. But they sent South Carolina's finest to investigate. My friends and I were huddled together for warmth, and a brilliant official person came over and asked us if any of us had pulled it. Yes, Officer. I'm going to confess in front of all these exam-crazed, sleep-deprived people that my idea of sick fun is to haul a bunch of people out of their beds and into the cold, cold night. Right.

Well, hope y'all enjoyed the change of pace and the new template. Don't worry, I'm sure after work tomorrow, I'll get back to the ever-continuing drama of BBW. Y'all come back now!

I Sang for Ken Montero

They made me sing for the CEO. I sang Chicago and Celine Dion for Ken Montero. Not the report you were expecting? It was a night of laughter, embarassing stories, and chocolate dreams.

We were all standing in the front of the store waiting for Ken Montero. A huge mass of black huddled together. Then we had to move cause we were intimidating the customers. All the managers from the core stores were running the store. So we stood, waiting, brushing the lint off and wondering. Suddenly the strains of Mi Amore came floating through the mall. "He's coming!" Cheers, wolf whistles, blushing. "Congratulations!"

OK, that's getting way too sappy and poetic. I hope we entertained all the hapless mall customers who stood outside staring openmouthed at the crazy people carrying a stereo and wearing "Papa Ken's Pizza" aprons and those weird chef's hats. They actually did bring pizza, which was taken to the back room. We did introductions and other fun stuff, and then we carpooled to Carabba's. At least they didn't expect us to act surprised.

Two of the high-up-there people were sitting at a table when I got there, and, of course, we didn't want to sit with them cause we'd heard about how strict they were, how everything was going to be inspected, yada yada yada. Well, we ended up becoming the Diva table; if you'd picked the craziest people (myself included) in the store and put them together basically.

They did ask us a few questions about how we liked working at the store, our majors, our management team. We all were honest and gave glowing reports, that our managers aren't afraid to be real, scrub the floors, listen to us telling them what to do. Kathleen was so paranoid about what we were talking about, whether we were behaving. Except for the story about our jobs being on the line, we were actually really complimentary towards her. Poor woman. I wouldn't have wanted to sit next to the CEO all night.

Eventually everyone wondered what all the fun was about and wandered over to our table, even Ken Montero. They had been talking about how I was always "singing as I ripped into the boxes," and asking me to all night. So I did. For the CEO, and my whole store, and a bunch of other VIPs. I don't know how I get myself into these things, but I didn't screw it up.

So it turned out to be a much more fun evening than any of us had anticipated from the horror stories the managers fed us all week. I don't think any of our effort prettying the store was wasted, but I'm also glad we did have fun. The managers' table took the liberty of guaranteeing we'd do it again next year. Urgh. There were a lot of pictures, though, so hopefully I can get my hands on a few and post them so y'all can see these people I'm always talking about. I really do love this company!

Wishin' and Hopin' and Prayin'

They are predicting snow for Thursday night. Oh please, please snow and shut the whole state down. I could really use the break from my Friday classes. C'mon, snow! Ice! Anything!

Tonight was the last of the preparations for the Big Man. We all were getting a little giddy. Yolanda and I got a little bored putting the essential oils in alphabetical order, so we decided to make them in a pretty shape on the floor. As we were admiring our handiwork, Kathleen walked in the store. She went past us, and then did a double take. The look on her face was that of, "What on earth are you people doing???" Yolanda and I were immediately like, "We're being productive, we're alphabetizing them!" Kathleen's next words were, "This is what I have college people for..." Of course. College people are for making pretty egg shapes on the floor with essential oil boxes.

Poor Kathleen. She is so freaked out about this, since she's officially the head manager. Our district manager Glen was really cruel to her today. He called a little after closing time. When Aimee answered the phone, he told her he was Ken Montero (A.K.A. the Big Cheese). Aimee then ran to the front of the store, where Kathleen was standing on a ladder vacuuming the awnings. When Aimee ran up and told her it was Ken Montero, she flipped out even more. She went, "Are you freaking kidding me? If you're not serious, I'm gonna to kill you." She was so P.O.d when she found out it was Glen.

The cover story is that "Papa Ken" (I swear they really call him that) is going to give us a pizza party. Tonight some of us were asking Kathleen about some of the details, and she went, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but he's actually taking the whole group out to Carraba's. but don't tell anyone else, I want some people to be surprised." At which point, we all were like, "Oh, don't worry. We all knew already cause Harmony opened her big mouth."

She then segued into, "Y'all know to be on your best behavior, right? I don't have to tell you that, right? Cause if any associate isn't, let's just put it this way, they won't be getting hours for a month. And I'll deny I ever said that." Normally Kathleen is pretty casual, joking around like we all do (although she is a bit protective of me), but she has just been panicking over every little thing. As have we all....

Ken Montero's coming! Ken Montero's Coming!

....And we all wish he would just hurry up and get here so we could go back to our normal lives. Ken Montero, a.k.a. Papa Ken, is the vice president/C.E.O./big cheese of Bath and Body Works. As a "reward" for being second in the country in holiday sales (behind Columbus, Ohio, where corporate headquarters is, not incidentally), we get to have him "visit" our store. Ostensibly to give us a party, but everyone knows he and whatever crew he bgrings are coming to check us out. We just became a flagship (as opposed to a smaller, less-stuff core) in August, so we are really doing awesome, but still we get inspected. I'm not sure what he can do to us if he doesn't like what he sees, but I don't want to find out.

Those Mr. Clean magic erasers really do work, plus they have a little Mr. Clean face on them. I used one today to clean all the scuff marks off our district manager Glen's door. I want to know what he did to it to make it so grungy, since he travels and isn't usually there, but it's clean now. We even went so far as to paint the bathroom door and some of the posts in the store. They will be gone Friday, and I am looking forward to it so everyone stops freaking out. I don't have to work Friday, and for once I'm glad, cause I don't want to be there on inspection.

Kathleen has dubbed me Sicky, in addition to Nettie Boo-Boo. Guess I deserve that moniker. I always come out all right though, if I can survive anaphylactic shock I can do anything! Seriously, though, I don't have any thoughts of invincibility. I've come close to death too many times for that to happen. Gee, that's a cheery thought, isn't it? But I trust in God to protect me, and so far He always has! So there ya go.