Monday, February 28, 2005

Paranoid clean freak

In response to my DH comment - I swear I'm not a neat freak.



Oh yes. Completely Spic and Span.

A Karin Moment

So during my quest to turn over a new leaf, I decided to continue with my already good routine of having a good breakfast - but still intending to get to work early. I made my oatmeal, took it out of the microwave, and went to go reach for the splenda.

Here's a re-enactment:

Karin reaches for Splenda, but not fully focused on the task at hand (suprise) knocks off the only glass container in the front of the cupboard (a thing of Cumin). Careening down to its certain death, she tries to utilize her cat like reflexes to catch the spice before it crashes and splatters to a zillion peices. While trying to catch it with her left had, she knocks it onto the countertop, meanwhile putting her right hand smack dab INTO her boiling hot bowl of oatmeal.

Her "cat like" reflexes cause her to THROW the bowl onto said countertop (which was full of crap from the wine party still), burn the crap out of her hand and consequently make a HUGE mess. Huge mess caused the maiden to cry for no apparant reason, and then cry some more when she discovered that there was less than one serving of oatmeal left to replace her bowl on the counter.

I'd like to state at this point that had Husband cleaned the kitchen last night like he said he would - the huge mess would have been a small mess and much, MUCH easier to clean up. Have you ever tried to get oatmeal off of toothpicks and paper? Not fun at all. He also said he would clean it Friday night and Saturday morning - trust me, he had PLENTY of opportunities - I only asked that he clean it because I spent most of last Saturday night (while he participated in activities to cause a hangover) and Sunday morning (while he laid in bed nursing said hangover) cleaning my ass off - I figured its the least he could do. This is not the case of a nagging wife here - seriously.

All that being said, I managed to make it to work on time (which in reality, is actually early for me). I ate my small serving of oatmeal and smothered aloe over my hand. Blisters are starting to form though. It hurts quite badly.

A new leaf?

Troy and I decided to make a little competition before our trip to Vegas in two weeks. Whoever loses the most weight (% of original body weight) wins.

Wins what? Well, we haven't figured that out yet. And really, it doesn't matter. I just want to win.

So I'm back on plan (as of Friday) and have decided to kick up the exercise a bit. I've never been an exercise junkie. But I suppose if you are, it works and you end up with a hard body. Personally, I can think of A MILLION other things I would like to do besides spend two hours a night in a gym - but thats probably why I'm 30 pounds overweight. I think that classifies me as obese. Ew. I'm obese!

I've found out that even though it really does suck to get up early in the morning - I do feel a lot more alert and productive at work if I work out first thing. Not like it was a sweat pouring kind of work out - 40 minutes of yoga - but it was movement and stretching, and it felt good. AND it earned me two activity points! My goal is to earn 3-4 per day. I really need to start running again - but at the present time it drives me nuts to run outside and have my nosehairs freeze. I HATE that!

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

One more thing.....

Troy is taking a big step in life and helping me save the world. Remember, Troy and I are complete opposites - I'm a bleeding heart liberal democrat who wants to save the world - he's a hard nosed republican with a penchant for caring for those only in his immediate circle.

We're volunterring tonight at a homeless family shelter.

http://www.alphahouse-ihn.org/

Its something I used to do a lot in college, but have fell out of it as I've grown older and more egocentric. Part of my lenten promise, instead of giving something up, is to do 3 - 4 volunteer projects during the course of lent. I wanted to get Troy involved too, so I chose this as a good intro to the homeless, something Troy hasn't had a lot of exposure to. The alpha house is really just normal people who have fallen on hard times, and are working toward rebuilding thier lives. Compeltely different than the Ann Arbor Men's homeless shelter - which is more like the "stereotype" of the homeless.

I'm quite looking forward to it!

Procrastination Station

Kind of like the conjunction junction - but a lot less productive.

I have a plethora of things to do, however, I choose to not do them and type on this blog. Such is my life. I actually think I have a mild case of SAD (seasonal affected disorder, or something like that) because I haven't seen the sun in a year. I am so lethargic and overwhelmed and such, I don't feel like doing anything.

So, my sister in law Kimmy set up a blog

http://kimberlymariekelsey.blogspot.com

Ah, to be in school again. I wish I could go back and relive the days of being incredibly fabulous, having small problems and no responsibility..........I will admit I'm insanely jealous and live vicariously through her all the time.

With all the pub they've been getting as of late with the impending Oscars - I actually think I might have to see both Aviator and Ray - which is something my inlaws have been telling me to do since they saw them. But alas, the procrastination thing gets in the way again.

Monday, February 21, 2005

Wine Party Recap

The wine and cheese extravaganza was a success this year, even though our snow storm started on the day after, which impeded some travel plans to get home......

Total attendance was approximately 37 - give or take a couple. Final wine count was 38 bottles - two more bottles than last year. Of course, they also killed 1/2 gallon of Yagermeister, a fifth of Captain Morgan AND a bottle of Boones Farm (I really don't count that as wine). I must say, it was a very good time. Most people left by 1AM or so - but the hard core peeps (i.e. some Sig Taus, my brother and Troy's sister) stayed up until the wee hours of the morning. Say, 7:00 AM or so. I think I threw away about 20 empty cans of Red Bull Sunday Morning. Hey, who says Red Bull doesn't give you wings!

I crashed out at around 4 AM, sans any Red Bull - and finally asked them (or rather told them - it IS my house) to turn down the music at about 6:30AM. I think Troy came to sleep at about 6:00AM.

My brother passed out around 1 AM, but then got up again and stayed up late. He was only drawn on after his first passing out. Very funny and creative, those face drawing artists! This is his second weekend in a row being drawn on. He should thank me though. They asked for a sharpie - I gave them eyeliner :)

Not so crabby

So, I'm over most of my crabbiness today. I guess I just get a bit overwhelmed when I have a zillion things to do. And I realize people don't follow standards because they're out to get me. Its mostly plain ol' American laziness - and I can totally relate to that!

MEXICO UPDATE
I talked to Jessica today and she said they are making some progress. They are trying to agree on a 50/50 deal - which would make sense to me :) She said the current hang up is that my salary is currently A LOT more than what the people at the lab make. DUH! I'm living in America?!?! Shouldn't that be the case? Anyway, her tone was optmistic, and she acknowledged my angst with the whole drawn out-ness of the situtation. She said it is taking longer than she anticipated......at least I'm not the only one who feels frustrated!

I know Jessica will call me as soon as she hears anything, but I still feel helpless. I made sure she knew that. I also mentioned if I don't hear from her every 10 - 14 days or so, that I will call in just to check up on things. Call it anal retentive - but even if I am a bit irritating to her because of it I just want to make sure I DO NOT loose this opportunity because they think I'm not seriously interested!

Somehow........I'm beginning to hear mariachi music in my head again......it feels good!

Incredibly Crabby Day

So, what I want to know is - WHY do we have thousands and thousands of standards, if people are just going to do whatever the hell they want to do anyway because they think they are Special and Different and thier project is much more important that all the others?!?!?!?

There is a reason why we have standards for testing and building, you know. Its the same reason why we have rulers that all have the same inches and centimeters and milimeters. If some guy made a ruler in his "inches" (because he thought his way would be better) and he said he had an 8 inch penis, it wouldn't mean a whole lot to anyone else, would it?

It also makes me angry that those that commission a lot of work (i.e. my alma matter, and large contractors) can get away with making thier own rulers because they have all the cash, and people don't want to make them angry because they all want a piece.

It makes me feel like I'm insignificant when I try to educate people and they don't listen.

*ugh* I'm having a crappy day.

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Still no news.......

Sigh. Still no word on Mexico. I've called Jessica (HR person) once a week just to check up, only to hear "No update yet, as soon as I hear something I'll let you know". So I don't want to call and irratate her anymore than I already am.

I'm beginning to think I jinxed myself. It happens to me a lot in life when I get really excited about something and start talking about it - it doesn't happen. I should learn to not blab so much about stuff and just wait until it happens, instead of getting my hopes up.

ugh.

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Happy Ash Wednesday!

For a very long time in my life (essentially since I graduated from college) I’ve been lost. Fallen from grace. Searching. Or maybe just lazy. In any case, I found my previously devout Catholic self suddenly angry at the Church and at organized religion in general.

I’ve forgotten why. And, per the words of my ever-so-wise mother – if you forgot, it must have been a lie. Or at least not important.

I’ve blamed everyone from the Pope to my husband for my lost faith, and realized recently that it was just me. Just my own brain questioning the details of things for no real good reason. I suppose people who believe just for the sake of believing might be on the fast track (Blessed are those who do not see and believe) – but I’m a bit more pragmatic than that.

So here we are five years later. I’m back near the church where I’ve always felt a connection, and I’m beginning to go again. Not every week and twice on Wednesday, mind you, but more often than before.

I’m not sure why I love this church so much – probably because it’s on campus and it tends to be a little more liberal than most, great music, and it has such an awesome eclectic range of parishioners – all ages, ethnicities and social background. It’s such an amazing vibe! And I adored the pastor there, Fr. Tom Firestone. He just recently left the parish, on to bigger and better things, but the new Fr. Tom is pretty darn good too. I suppose you have to be somewhat entertaining to keep the attention of students.

This afternoon, I arrive late (par for the course) so I take a seat behind the altar facing the majority of the congregation (always the last seats to be taken). I’m sitting in mass, waiting to get my forehead dirty and I look – really look – at all the people standing in front of me. They are all here for a reason. To be forgiven. They know they’re not perfect. The church knows they’re not perfect. And it’s OK. They all want to become better people, to make the world a better place, even for just a moment. And being there all together in this church – that is exactly what happened.

And I start to tear.

I’m so touched deep down in my soul that I finally realize that’s what it’s all about. It’s about being there and celebrating life and loving and saving the world and taking time out of your ever increasingly crazy day to just be. The rituals are there to hug you and guide you and carry you through – something familiar and steadfast as things change. The words of the songs not just sung but listened to are beautiful not just in melody but in meaning. The house - the high wooden beams, white walls and majestic steeples are overwhelming and vast and encompassing – just as God’s love.

It's really not about all the details. And I’m not angry anymore.

I’m not running to join the convent or sell all my belongings and move to Vatican City, mind you. But it feels really good – I mean REALLY GOOD to have things click again. Are there still many many things that I disagree with the Catholic Church – You Betcha! A lot of things? YES! But, it’s where my heart is. I really need it in my life.

It feels good to be home.


Monday, February 07, 2005

Blah

Gooooood morning cyber world! No, I'm not in my chipper usual mood today, but I figured maybe I should just post something anyway - regardless of what I feel like.

Did you ever miss a week of work, only to come back and want to run away screaming because of the insane overwhelming amount of catch up to do? Thats how I feel right now. Overwhelmed. But, if I pluck away one task at a time, I'll be semi-caught up in no time. Now, if only I could find some motivation to do that.........

My grandfather's brother Buster passed away Saturday morning, so it'll be another fun family get together. Funny thing - Uncle Don, Granpa and Uncle Buster all passed away within a few months/weeks of each other. They were brothers, but buddies too. There's this great picture with all three of them sitting in front of the cabin, rifles in hand, all wearing some form of red and black plaid heavy wool gear (hats, pants, shirts). Its a great picture taken in November 1999 by my cousin Todd. I'm going to scan it and enlarge it because it completely personifies what my uncles were all about. And it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside from nostalgia. Its a perfect way to remember them.