Karen’s Place

The world as I see it, through the the lens or otherwise…

2007 Blogs

March 14

We had a company wide meeting yesterday at work. We have these meetings about twice a year, they serve a couple of purposes-1) to acknowledge the employees who have worked there 5+ years 2) So we can find out how well we are doing financially and 3) Find out what our goals are for the remaining year and the upcoming year.

As soon as they began asking people to stand and recognized them for 5 years of service, 6 years and so on I began looking for my friend S. Her department was sitting in the row in front of me. I’ll be damned she had deserted me again! She manages to take vacation every single time we have these company meetings. Here we go, 12 years, 13, 15, now it’s my turn. K and S please stand up…19 years. Our CEO didn’t just say it casually though he said it like 19 years! I stood and sat as quickly as possible. I’ve now been left with this very bitter taste in my mouth for some reason.

I’ve been thinking about the past 19 years wondering what exactly I’ve got to show for it. When I started with this company I was a temp. I was just a few months out of high school and had no idea where my life was going. I knew there was no way I wanted to continue my education, although I consider myself an intelligent person, I hated every aspect of school and counted the hours until I could stop. So I ended school with no idea what I was going to do with my future. My Mom had been giving me subtle hints my whole life about going to nursing school, she couldn’t look past my innate need to take care of people and notice I just about fainted at the sight of other people’s blood. My brother himself had been at one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the city for about a year and told me they hired a lot of their temps and it was a great way to get my foot in the door. I ran out and signed up with no less than three companies. I was a very busy girl for several months! Those temp agencies kept me really busy, everything from manual labor in warehouses to high profile jobs on the Country Club Plaza. Then one day I walked in the door of company “X” and apparently never left. I started in the file room. I started with data entry and filing. The company hired me from the temp agency and my salary was raised to $5.10 per hour (my how things change in 19 years!). I began to get bored with that job after about a year and started looking for another job and once my boss got wind of it she asked me to not make any decisions until she and I talked. I was indeed offered a position elsewhere and with that, my boss offered me a promotion and a completely different job. One I would have, at least in various varieties, or the next 12 years. I then moved on to the department I’m in now. I’ve tried on other shoes over the years, but none of them seemed to fit.

When I found out the department I was supposed to manage would be moved out of state my director told me how valuable he felt I was to the company. He said he was working on trying to find me a position that would challenge me because it would be hard to loose me to a different department, but detrimental to loose me to another company. He has made sure my raises reflect that opinion, yet time and again my opinions and judgments are belittled by people I work with. Not everyone, just some. It rakes my nerves to be dismissed and belittled. I was on the ground floor of this company. I was there when there were only 60 employees and now are over 200, yet there are some who treat me like I have no idea what I’m talking about.

This happened to me yesterday/this morning. I emailed someone about an issue that came up to let them know about an issue that came up and her response to me was basically, “it’s been done this way since 2002, so it doesn’t need to be changed” I had provided her hard copy proof it was being done incorrect and she completely dismissed me. She wanted to let it be that way, fine. I needed to choose my battles and frankly I didn’t have the energy for this one. I created a temporary solution to my problem, I was merely looking to her for a permanent solution. When this person emailed me back with her response, she took it upon herself to cc: about 5 additional people. One such person approached me and not only took offense to the email, but happened to agree with me on the matter and came to my defense. Nice. I have yet to hear the result of this discussion.

So, after 19 years of work-what do I have to show? I still need someone to come to my defense because people don’t trust my opinions. Screw um’.

March 17

The good ol’ days

This past year my sister went through great pains to take all of my Mom’s photo albums and scan the pictures. The reason being, should anything happen we will never loose them. I can’t thank her enough for this, it was a long and tedious process. Here are a few pictures of young kaylyn:

I always felt like Evel Knievel when I sat in front of my Mom on her and Dad’s motorcycle. Must of been where I got my need for speed.

Here’s me and my Dad fishing. I hadn’t graduated to a real pole yet, I was still using a cane pole with twine on the end made by my folks. I didn’t catch any keepers with it, but I did catch enough perch to keep me busy. I loved fishing with my Dad. Still do. I wonder why I have the double standard that it’s okay to fish, but not hunt? Humm…

Our lake house…well, at this point it was just a lake camper. Where this camper and cement slab sit, over the next few years my parents built a 3 bedroom house for us to enjoy and for them to retire to. You can see my Dad and my Grandpa in this picture as well if you look closely. I believe my Dad was younger here than I am now. That is so strange to me. As I grew older I felt I missed a lot of my home life by spending so much time down there, but now I wouldn’t trade those years for anything. It helped make me who I am today. I love nature, animals, water. There isn’t much I’m afraid of, except snakes. I still can’t handle snakes. You would think though, watching my folks build their house I would be more handy around my own. Yeah, not so much.

This is my favorite picture to date of my brother and me. Don’t let that sweet smile on his face fool you. This is one of many photos where he is trying to choke me. HA! D and I had a love/hate relationship our entire childhood. Never anything in the middle. We were always being sent to our rooms for fighting, then sneaking over and knocking on one another’s door to apologize. Before my Mom knew it, we were back to playing like nothing had happened. One thing’s for sure, D always did and always will have my back as I will his.

I’d like to post photo of my sister and me, but she has forbidden me to post any pictures of her. So, you will just have to envision two girls, one girl about 12 the other about 8 standing next to each other at the lake holding up fishing rods and a fish we had caught. It is one of the few times I remember just the two of us fishing together. K is four years older than me, she could usually be found in a tree or up on a cliff overlooking the water reading a book or writing poetry. It was always a special time when she took time out for me.

It’s always fun to look back once in a while. Time has a way of playing tricks on you. In my mind I don’t feel the age I am today, not that I’m all that old but in my mind I feel like I’m still in my 20’s. I suppose that’s a good thing.

April 02

Spring has sprung

This is my favorite time of year. The time of year where I can comfortably wear either jeans or shorts. Today I got off work and the sun was shinning so bright along with a warm south wind blowing. I got in the car, rolled down all the windows and immediately cranked the ipod to Amy Winhouse, my new favorite artist, and left for my drive home. As a side note, I really think one of the best things my ex did for me was hard wire that FM modulator into my car stereo. My friends always wonder why I can’t hear my cell phone when they call, they don’t realize it’s because I’m practicing for when they raise the age limit on American Idol.

Once home I headed for the back deck where I spent 3 wonderful hours in the sun. I was able catch up with a couple of friends in IM and watch my dog hunt for snakes in the back yard (her new favorite past time) at the same time. If it could only be this just like this year round…Oh life is good.

April 12

A day at the theatre

Last Saturday I had a triple date with M and L. They brought their kids and I took my niece, A to the musical A Dogs Life. The show chronicled the relationship of man and dog from an accidental beginning to a heartbreaking ending. By the time it was over most of us were sobbing. Actors played the roles of the dogs, but there was no guessing the breed, they did such great jobs. They had the characteristics down pat. Other than the inevitable ending, we were in stitches through most of it. One of the best scenes involved the female dog who was not quite herself because her owner was giving her medication for arthritis. The other dog said to her, “why don’t you just spit it out? We always spit out the pills.” She says to her friends “They put it in CHEESE!”, they reply “BASTARDS!”, then the dogs all agree how cheese is irresistible. Anyone who has a dog will find that funny.

When the musical finished, we ate dinner at Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant. This place was really cool. Each booth had a telephone in which you placed your order, then your food is delivered by an over head railroad car. You really only see the wait staff for your drinks. It seemed pretty efficient. The food was pretty good and really inexpensive. The kids had dessert. D had a brownie fudge sundae that looked bigger than him.

Here are some photos:

What the heck?

It’s April 13th and snow is falling like crazy outside. Something is wrong with this picture!!!! Ugh!!!

April 21

40 a magic number?

It seems more and more lately people seem to feel the need to tell me how close to 40 I’m approaching. As if I don’t know this already. ‘Kaylyn, you’re almost 40′…’Kaylyn, you’re going to be 40 soon’…’Kaylyn, you need to think about these things 40 is just around the corner’. I’m not going to be 40 for a couple more years yet. Come on! Then there’s the thought that 40 is some life changing number.

I’m not sure what exactly is supposed to happen once I turn 40. Will I suddenly wake up June 29th 2009 with some wisdom or insight I didn’t have on June 28th? Does 40 mean I have to stop going out on the weekends and having fun with my friends? What does 40 mean that people feel the need to continue to point it out to me? I’ll have to wait to find out.

Until people started feeling the need to remind me of my impending age, I really thought I was okay with it. Here’s what I’m not okay with. These lines that have snuck up around my eyes. Where did they come from? Now when I smile I have these lines that surround my eyes. Do those creams and lotions really work? I wonder… I’m not okay with the few gray hairs that have started to take up residence on the top of my scalp. The worst part is I don’t see them. Again, other people seem to feel the need to point them out. Makes me question if they are really there. Also makes me question the people I’m hanging out with…

May 07

Fishing, boating and flooding

This past weekend I was able to go visit my parents. This was the first time I’ve seen my Dad since Christmas. The first time I’ve been to their house since Thanksgiving. It was so good to see them again. They’ve been gone all winter. This was the third winter they’ve spent in Mexico. Regardless of what they say, I have a suspicion this is going to become a regular thing. I say good for them. After looking at the pictures they took this time around I can’t say as I blame them. They have nothing but good things to say about the country and the people.

My brother and my niece were down for a visit as well. Unfortunately, my sister in-law had to work and was couldn’t be there. She’ll catch up with us in July. It appears my niece really has the lake bug. She was running a 100 miles an hour and wanted to do everything at the same time. After she woke up at 7:30 in the

morning (ugh!) and had breakfast, and did some gardening with Nanny she decided she wanted to fish. Fish she did! She was so tenacious. It took her quite a while to catch the first one, but when she did. She was so proud. Rightfully so. Check out this smile-

She caught that fish with her Barbie fishing pole (the first of nine!).

Then Nanny caught a fish with the Barbie fishing pole-
Look how proud A was!

It was about 90 degrees Saturday and surprisingly, not a lot of traffic on the water. This allowed us to go for a long boat ride. My brother and A drove the boat giving my Dad a break from Captain duties.

Through the entire day A begged and begged to go swimming. She couldn’t understand why we were all telling her no. All she knew is that it was hot not that it was early May. My brother had finally heard enough of the begging and whining and decided to teach her a lesson and throw her in.

The plan backfired though, because even as she was so cold she had to dog paddle over to the ladder, she insisted she be able to jump in again. When my brother told her no way she was not a happy camper.

Sunday, A and I went for a nice walk along with Katie. She got to climb some rocks, pick some wild flowers and giggle. Good times.

As a side note, being the absentminded person that I am, I dropped my prescription sunglasses on this walk. I didn’t realize it until long after we were home. I asked A if she remembered if I had them when we got home. She said she didn’t remember but she would help me look for them. Sure enough she spotted them right away. That’s my girl!

On a completely different note. Evidently, the weather was completely different here Sunday than it was at my folks house. I hesitate to even complain after what happened in Kansas over the weekend. I guess we got about 5 inches of rain Sunday through this morning. Our city has standing water everywhere, they are calling it the “flood of 2007″. The news has to label everything you know. It stormed and stormed and stormed all night. I kept hearing odd noises, wondering if my gutters were going to collapse under the weight of the rain. I eventually fell asleep (with Katie next to me) buried under the covers shaking in fear. When I got home from work today, my next door neighbor asked me if I’d been in my basement yet. I told him I hadn’t and that I was in denial. He told me I needed to go see my basement. He said he woke up to 8 inches of water in his basement and his basement doesn’t leak and the neighbor across the street had 12. I reluctantly went to my basement to survey the damage. When I got to it, I for sure had standing water in areas, but some areas were already dry. Based on the markings on some of my things, it looks like the water got about 4 or 5 inches high. For sure everything on the ground that was in paper or cardboard is ruined. It was a mess to clean up, but thank goodness I didn’t have to get a pump like my neighbors. I’m also thankful I didn’t see it when it was at it’s highest, I would have freaked out. Sure owning a home is a nice tax write off, but times like this I just soon rent!

May 12< ?xml:namespace prefix = o />

myspace or not to myspace that is the question

I’ve been wrestling with this myspace thing. It seems a lot of my friends have started myspace pages. I don’t know. I wonder is it just for kids and wanna be porn stars? It seems you can certainly tweak it. Better backgrounds, you can do more with your photos and music. I don’t know. I wonder how it is with blogging. humm. I can always keep it private I suppose, but that would force anyone who wants to read it to also join myspace and become my ‘friends’. That’s what spaces does too though in a way.

Something to think about.

May 15

Class of 2007

My Cousin graduated high school Sunday. I remember when she was born like it was yesterday and here she is all grown up, graduated National Honor Society, with honors and headed to college in the fall. I’m so proud of her.

Funniest moment of the day. I told her to have fun Sunday night and to not get into trouble. She and her friends were all headed to project graduation. [They are from a very small town of about 4500 people] She said, “yea were playing board games all night and bowling, this is small town < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />America, that’s how we roll!” Funny, Kayla-funny. Somehow in the middle of all the photos I missed getting one of just her and her Mom. I hope Nancy emails one to me so I can add it (hint).

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As a side note, I should really pay closer attention when I blog. Come on “where” instead of “wear”? Hello???? I’m sure there are more mistakes than that, I just haven’t found them yet. If Thom ever looks at this, I’m sure he’ll find them for me.

From $2.75 to $3.29 in less than a month

I know this is a tired subject, but I’m still amazed. Gas is now up to $3.29!!! I know it’s higher on your end of the country Loofa, but holy cow! When is it going to stop? We have a large amount of farmers in this state and this is just not fair to them. Diesel fuel is just as high. This needs to stop somewhere. No one seems to be complaining about it. Everyone seems to just be accepting it as if the cost of milk went up again and it’s no big deal. Maybe because we feel like it’s out of our control…accept the things you cannot change… Well, this sucks!

Class of 1987

Going to my cousin’s graduation a few weeks ago has had me remembering my own high school life and graduation.

For the most part, I enjoyed High School. My sophomore year I discovered choir and performing arts. It was my niche. I can’t sing a lick now, unless you count my performances in the car, in which case I can really rock. I sound exactly like Pat Benetar, Carol King, and Stevie Nicks just to name a few.

I met the best people in school. Several of which I’m still friends with to this day. It’s a good thing, because with the exception of a couple, I seem to be incapable of making new long standing friends. That is an entirely different blog entry all together. The high school years went by so slow, yet faster than a blink all at the same time. Everything was so dramatic. Hormones were raging. It was as if everything that happened to us had never happened to anyone else before. Life consisted of arguments with my parents, unrequited love, uncontrollable laughter during lunch, and the occasional fight with your best friends that make you feel like your life is over. Way too quickly (in hindsight), my senior year was here. My sophomore and junior year I had been working two jobs and finally I was not only working one job, but I had the cushy hours of Mon-Thurs and no weekends. Yep, more time to party . Okay, I didn’t party that much…(yes I did) but it was nice to be able to enjoy my senior year. On the last day of school, I took my time cleaning out my locker before I headed out to the parking lot for the annual senior class water balloon fight, when I got to my car to grab my ammunition I’d found that my friends had decorated my car with all kinds of messages of love and friendship. That meant so much to me. A few days passed and it was time for graduation. I never thought that day would come, yet here it was and I was going to have to sing several songs along with my choir and graduate. Then figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. That’s a lot for any teenager. It was very emotional. Some of our friends were going to college-locally and far away. Some were going into the military, some (like myself) were staying home to try and find our way in life. Graduation was in a huge church and we sang accompanied by a gigantic pipe organ, it was so beautiful, the music echoed throughout the church. Of course we had to sing the sappiest, saddest song ever. Everyone was in tears.

I think my family waged bets as to if I would trip and fall on the steps walking up to get my faux diploma (the real one came after you turned your cap and gown in), after all my nick name in school was “oops” due to my clumsiness. Everything came off without a hitch though, no slip and no stumble.

My friend L’s Mom had a graduation party for her and me and our two families gathered at her house after for cake and congratulations. Then my parent’s let us have their lake house to ourselves for a week after for a graduation gift.

I look at 17 & 18 year olds now and although most of them look older than me, it just doesn’t seem possible that they are nearly as mature as we were at that age. I wonder why that is. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? I’m not sure.

June 05

It’s official…

Well, it’s official. I may have officially turned into my Grandma. I just tried to do a load of laundry without putting in the soap. ugh!!!

June 26

My summer thus far

Wow, I’ve had a busy couple of weeks. I’d like to think things will start to slow down a little bit now, but I doubt it. That’s the thing about summer, it seems we try and pack everything we possibly can into 3 months and then before we know it, it’s cold outside again.

A couple of weeks ago I went on a float trip. I hadn’t been on one since I was kid, and some how I don’t think I can count it if I didn’t do any of the paddling. I love doing anything possible out doors, and my friend M and I have been looking for a float trip to latch on to for a few years. As it happens, her neighbors annual trip came at just the right time. We headed down to the Elk River and set up our tents that would become our bedrooms for the next two nights. It really was heaven. Don’t get me wrong, it was blazing hot for most of the day, but once the sun went down it cooled off then the stars came out. Ahh, the stars. For those of us living in the city, seeing the stars that clearly doesn’t happen easily so this was really a treat. There was discussion as to whether the cup of the big dipper pointed to the north star, or the handle. The only thing that would have made it more perfect is if someone would have broken out a guitar and we all could have sung Kumbaya. Okay, just kidding on that last one.

Saturday we set our boats in the water and prepared to float the 8 miles of river back to our camp. We were told the river was up by two feet from last year due to the excess rain we’ve gotten this year. These folks have so much fun on the river! They told us to bring water guns; however, we thought it was mostly for the kids. We couldn’t of been more wrong. The entire river participates in one big water gun war. It was so much fun! I was nailed in the back before we barely launched. When I turned to see who got me, I was nailed again in the forehead. I guess they had to break in the rookies. We pulled over several times so that folks could jump off of various cliffs or bridges. Even I jumped off a bridge and I’m not all that found of heights. Talk about being swept into the spirit of the moment. I suppose that might go along with that thing Moms always say “If all your friends jump off a bridge, does that mean you’re going to?” In this case, I guess so. Huh, never thought it would actually happen. Anyway, the weekend ended much too soon. So much so that I asked M if she was ready to turn around and do it again the next weekend. She said maybe not the next one but how about the following.

Last weekend I went to visit my folks. It is so slow paced down there, time almost stands still. Dad’s in the middle of his garden and Mom in the middle of her flowers. Both are less than normal as the deer have gotten some and others have been cut back due to their travels. They facing the inevitable. That is, having to put their 15 year old puppy dog down. This is the dog they got almost on accident and now can hardly see themselves without. She has had a long good life with my parents. She has been my Dad’s best friend since they retired and her only goal for the day is to be petted-a lot! I know how they feel, when I had to make that decision it was the hardest I had to make to date. This will be the second time they’ve had to make it. My poor Dad, he had to do this once before with his other best friend, Lady our dog when we were kids. I hope he comes through it okay. My parents haven’t decided when, they just know it will have to be sometime before the end of summer.

This Friday my friend T is coming into town and she and along with M and my friend L are all going out for a girls night. We are long overdue for one. I’m not sure where we will end up, but I’m hoping for a lot of fun. T will be celebrating her divorce and L and I our birthdays. We may have to draw straws to determine the ‘dd’ .

What would a blog entry from me be without a few pictures?

June 30

The best laid plans

Last night I was to have an old fashioned girls night out with who else, but the girls. Sadly, L had a family emergency and was pulled out of town in the middle of the night Thursday night and was unable to make it. Being as this celebration was as much for her birthday as it was for mine, it just didn’t feel right going out and painting the town without her. I called T and asked her for a rain check and I think she was quite relieved as her ass hole ex-husband was two grand behind in child support and money was a little tight right now anyway (to put it mildly). So as it has been more so than not lately, M and I were each others dates for the evening. We decided on 54th Street Grill and Bar where they have this killer Gringo Dip and Chicken Fried Chicken that melts in your mouth. I have the left overs in my fridge and am looking forward to those! Then they very discretely brought me cake and ice cream for desert with a candle in it. No singing, thank God! Other than a waitress who seemed like we were merely an intrusion in her evening, the meal was fabulous!

We then moved on to one of our many casinos here in KC. They aren’t much to write home about, but it’s cheaper than flying to Vegas. I may have written about this before, but I’m still upset about it. When and Why did they casinos decide to get rid of actual money and go to this ticket system? I don’t understand? I’m sure it’s much less work on their part. Okay, let’s be real. It IS much less work on their part. But come on, the fun of playing a slot machine to see the actual money drop out of the bottom of the machine, pick it up and put it in your bucket. Now days, you but you slide your bills in like a vending machine, it tallies your credits then when you are through, and ready to cash out it makes this fake “cha ching” noise while it’s print a receipt with a bar code on it. What the heck? This receipt is then used to put into the next slot machine, or to go to a kiosk and cash out. What happened to having your hand filthy dirty by the end of the night from handling so much coinage that they needed to supply wipes at the cash cage? Who knew my Harrah’s, Flamingo, Isle of Capri, etc. coin buckets would one day be collectors items! We did discover the penny slots. Which by the way, are not really machines you can play for a penny. Don’t let the name fool ya. You can choose how much to wager for each spin. Sure you can spend a penny, but you won’t win very much if you do. You could spend anywhere from a penny, up to $3.00 per spin on these puppies! I averaged about .30 to .45 per spin as that was still less than I would have spent on the quarter slots. We found the pay back on these machines to be much higher than quarters. Although we both lost what we took, we played for 3 hours on about $20. Which in casino world is almost unheard of.

When we left we headed to the bar areas to see if we could find any live music. We were in luck. One bar was a tribute band playing disco. Can’t go wrong with disco. The other was dueling pianos and what they hailed as a “sing a-long”. We decided to check that one out. We found two baby grand pianos set up head to head with guys about our age playing them. They were taking requests. It seemed the requests attached to the most money got the highest priority. These guys didn’t have recording superstar voices, but they weren’t bad and they knew every song thrown at them. Not only that, but to be able to play AC/DC on a piano. Very impressive. Sure enough, it was audience participation. Anyone who knows me knows I love to sing so there was no better way to end my birthday than with a beer in my hand singing the classics at the top of my lungs. Steve Miller, Prince, Billy Joel, even some country. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, my work eye candy walked into the joint and sat two tables in front of us. Nice! I talked to him for a little bit. M met him. Then later he had a beer sent over to my table. Ahh. Now it was a great birthday. Thanks M for spending it with me.

July 29

Vacation Day 2

I started my vacation Friday at 10:30am. I’m not even sure when the last time was that I took an extended vacation. By extended, I mean more than a long weekend. Was it over New Years? Or was it last July? I really don’t remember, all I know is that it has been way too long.

Currently it’s 7:00 am and I’m sitting on the deck of my parents house watching the water from the lake gently kiss the shore line, and listening to the birds chirp. It’s so peaceful on Sunday mornings down here. The tourists are still nursing their hangovers so they won’t be up and out on their PWCs (personal water crafts) and boats that belong in the ocean rather than a lake (really now, what are the trying to compensate for?) for a couple of hours yet.

I’ll be here until Wednesday, then spending the rest of my vacation catching up on things that have been neglected at home. Tuesday however, my 64 year old Mom has to have her first surgery ever. She discovered the hard way she has 12 gallstones and they’ve put themselves in a position where her gallbladder needs to come out. My Dad and I will take her over to the hospital Tuesday morning for that. The doctor told her it will depend on how she handles the anesthetic as to if she will have to spend the night or not. She told him she will be just fine, she handles anesthesia very well. I asked her how would she know? She’s never had it. She said she has too, when us kids were born. I said in 1969! I don’t think that counts anymore Mom! Ahhh, I love her! I’m sure everything will go just fine. It’s just weird as she never gets sick or injured, so seeing her ‘down’ even for a little bit is very strange. As my Dad put it last night-”Your Mom doesn’t complain about anything, but when she does, she has good reason to”. He’s absolutely right. My Mom has been there for me for my countless surgeries, I only hope I can take as good care of her as she did of me. Hell, I hope she lets me!

I had my annual appraisal before I left for vacation, it was a really good one. My company does the type of appraisals where you check mark “successful”, “successful plus”, so on and so forth. Anyway, throughout all the categories I received the highest possible marking. yay for me. Except for one. This happened to be one that I disagreed with. Here’s where I’m not really sure what to do. The lower marking didn’t affect my overall evaluation, but it and the comments that followed are a part of my permanent record. I’m really torn here. I don’t know if I should chose this as a battle, or just let it go. After all, it didn’t change my over all evaluation. But I do feel strongly about the comments being inaccurate. I did receive a “Perfect A+” so to speak on everything else. I really don’t know. I suppose I’ll struggle with this and mull it over for a while during my time off.

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Well, it’s not morning any longer, and I’ve taken some time to walk around Mom and Dad’s place with my new camera. It seems to be butterfly season down here. My sister is going to go crazy when she arrives next week as taking butterfly photos are one of her passions (with good reason, she’s quite good). I started out wanting to take some photos of Mom and Dad’s landscape, but couldn’t help get the butterflies, they were for sure scene stealers. Here are a couple:

Like I said, I didn’t start out trying to take these butterfly pictures, that’s my sister’s expertise, but when they’re flat out posing for you how can you not?

August 13

From roller coasters to commando

A friend of mine nagged me yesterday about not writing anything lately, so here goes…

I have to say, this has been a really fantastic summer. Trust me, I don’t use the word fantastic lightly. It seems the planets are aligned. Everything seems to be working out for those I love. My cousin, K is graduated high school and is headed off to college. I remember like it was yesterday holding her as a newborn in my arms. Thank goodness I don’t age the way she has! My friend T whose husband left her high and dry a year ago is starting a new job as the manager of the school cafeteria in a couple of days. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it did my Mom well for a lot of years and she’ll be able to work the same schedule as her kids. My friend Thom is on his way to falling in love, or at least deep infatuation. My parent’s are headed off to New Mexico for the hot air balloon races, something they have always wanted to see, and my sister is going to be able to fly out and meet them. My niece A will be starting the 2nd grade. I always equate her age with the year I bought this house. It’s so hard to believe, she’s growing up so fast! My friend L is finally in her last semester of graduate school, we all thought this time would never come. It seems she’s been going to school her whole life! This will be her second masters degree. I envy her, I sure couldn’t do it! I finally got to go on a float trip this summer with my friend M. Something we’ve both wanted to do for a long time. Subsequently we met some great people and wonderful new friends.

There were a couple of not so good moments, my Mom’s gallbladder surgery, which she came through with flying colors-yea! And my parents had to make the heart wrenching decision to say goodbye to their best friend of 15 years. They miss her every single day. My Mom talks about how when they travel the dog used to ride in between them in the R.V. and whenever she would see an animal on the side of the road or getting ready to cross the road she would “WOOF” right in Dad’s ear to alert him. They are a little sad because this upcoming trip is their first without her. I told Mom I suppose it will be her job to “WOOF” in Dad’s ear now.

A couple of weeks ago M and I took the kids (her son D and my Goddaughter S) to Worlds of Fun a friend of ours from the float trip and his daughter T also joined us. We were so lucky, it was hot, but not this 100 degree weather we are having now, and there were NO lines! I’m not kidding. We were able to ride all the coasters with no wait whatsoever. Last time I was there which was a couple of years ago, the lines were so long it was probably a good 45 minute wait for the major coasters. This meant I really had to evaluate how much I wanted to ride them. After all, one of them had a 205 foot drop, and the other was inverted with multiple loops and topped out at 60mph. I decided at that point and time I didn’t want to ride them that bad. This time, not only was there no excuse, but I was totally all for it. I was even able to ride the Mamba (the one with the 205 foot drop) twice without even leaving my seat. It was awesome!

This past Saturday we went to the local pool, actually it was a mini water park. By this time the 100 degree weather had set in, I’m not talking about the heat index either-this was the actual temp! ugh! The pool had some great water slides that we had fun with. I would say, though the high point of my day was when I decided to dive off the diving board with the kids. I grew up diving, so I was excited to get up there and show these kids my stuff. I ran hopped, did a little jack knife (or a 38 year old version of a jack knife), just as I hit the water, the top of my swim suit hit my waist! You may be wondering if anyone saw anything. I have no idea! Thank goodness I decided to go for a deep dive! For about 5 seconds the girls were flying commando there in the water. I will admit it was a sense of freedom, but not one I care to repeat in a public pool. As I struggled underwater to compose myself, I thought dang, I really did almost show them my stuff! As I resurfaced, I casually looked around to see if anyone noticed…it appeared all was clear. Whew! Another K moment averted.

August 16

Pardon the interruption

So my boss has this habit of always finishing my sentences. This is not an acute thing, this is a chronic problem and it is driving me insane!!! I haven’t been able to finish a sentence since at least May. I turned to my co-worker for advice and she said. “Well, when you notice her starting to do it, you just need to talk faster so you can beat her to the end.”

Help!

August 25

Who do we love and why?

While we should have been working yesterday, we found ourselves in a conversation about soul mates. Question rose. Do you think the man we find ourselves attracted to the most, and may eventually think could be our soul mate is such because they remind us so much of our Dads? Not in an incestuous way, but in personality or mannerisms. It seems of the women in this conversation; when forced to think about it, suddenly realized that yes the men they loved were very much like their fathers. I found that quite interesting. There must be a certain amount of comfort in a man who is so much like your Dad. I suppose that would be if you had a good relationship with your Dad. My Dad is a hard worker, outspoken, not always politically correct, smart, and many other things rolled into a great package. It’s funny really (in an odd way); I found out that when I was younger almost all of my friends were afraid of my Dad. They just didn’t know him. He worked so many hours as a truck driver. He left for work early in the morning and a lot of days didn’t get home until after us kids were asleep. Now though, since he’s retired my friends love him and wonder what the fear was all about. If I could find a man who works that hard for his family, I would consider myself very lucky.

- As usual I digress -

Is it the same for men? Do they fall for women who resemble their Moms in some way? I wonder…

Here’s something else I’m curious about. All this talk about ‘online dating’ I suppose a person could be a perfect match (no pun intended) on paper, but what about good old chemistry? That’s not something you can feel through coaxial cable. Case in point. I met a guy through a mutual friend and for the most part we only talk on line. I really found myself attracted to him and thought I had fallen hard for him. It seemed we just clicked. Then we met in person and although the conversation still flowed and we were up half the night talking, there was no spark. To this day we are good friends but we’ll never be anything more.

Is the online thing merely supposed to be the open window in which to be introduced to people you may not have had the opportunity to in the real world? Then, when you meet them you find out if there is chemistry? One friend of mine wants me to enter a profile on line so badly he even called me Thursday to tell me he’d heard that this weekend eHarmony was offering their service for free. It seems someone he knows found his one and only on that service and will be married soon.

I’m in no hurry to be married, although at my age (did I just say ‘at my age’?) maybe I should be. I miss male companionship, sure but I’ve got some great male friends. I know God has a plan for me and I’m a patient person. However, occasionally I can’t help but wonder…

September 05

locusts in summer

I had a friend from out of state visiting me for the Labor Day holiday. After stepping outside the Airport doors she immediately asked me, “what the heck is that noise?”. At first I had no idea what she was talking about. I mean, she could of been referring to the obvious, we were after all at an airport. But then I really listened. OH! The locusts! Once I paid attention, I wondered how I could miss it. It was almost deafening. I said don’t they have locusts in North Dakota? She said no way. She couldn’t believe how incredibly loud they were. I told her they were only like this around this time of year. (Should have seen her face when I showed her a locust shell in the tree in my front yard!)

The next day we were out and about and a bug flew past her…a rather large bug. She jumped and said what hell was that? A guy near by said very casually, oh that’s just a cicada. I reassured her it was just a bug in the same family as the locust. Somehow she wasn’t all that reassured.

I find it strange the things we take for granted like the sound of locusts in late summer. I can’t believe she actually had to point it out to me.

Thanks M.M. Come back and visit soon!

September 06

When I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong…

Wow, who knew there would be such controversy between cicadas and locusts! I have gotten such feedback to not only my blog entry, but from friends I have told the story to. Some thought as I did that locusts made the noise and shed the skin. Others told me they thought cicadas made the noise and locusts were a completely different bug altogether. Then others still told me they thought locusts and cicadas were one and the same. This prompted me to feel the need to Google it. What did we do before Google? Here’s what I found:

What are cicadas and how to identify one

This is a quote from the website:

It is interesting to note that only the male cicadas make this loud buzz which is used to attract the females during the mating season. Each different species produces a somewhat different type of buzz that can be detected by the discerning ear. If you are one of the unfortunate few who have never seen the cicadas, observing this insect can be an amazing experience. The best place to look is in areas that are rich in trees that are used for shade such as elms, oaks, maples or some birch and preferably in a suburban community where there is very little noise. Find a comfortable place to rest and listen until you hear a loud buzzing sound that becomes more intense as it continues, slowly tapering off before it ends. This is the sound of the cicadas. If you follow this sound to the tree and check the tree trunk you will most likely find the skins of this insect that have been shed by its nymphs. This will appear to be a grotesque kind of empty bug shell that is attached to the bark of the tree. This shell will be light brown in color and around one inch in length. Once you discover the cast-off skin search the ground beneath this area for tiny holes that are about the size of a pencil in diameter. The area around the hole will be even with the ground, showing no signs of excavated earth. This is where the cicada nymphs have dropped to the ground and burrowed in to feed on the sap of plant roots while they develop.

You learn something new ever day! Thanks everyone for questioning me enough to cause me to look it up. Especially you, T. You know I always have to be right against you!

September 25

disappointment

Sometimes I can still be surprised by the human race. I’m unsure why after 37 (wow-it’s 38 now) years, but I can.

I’ve recently become friends with a young lady. She turned 15 in June. I met her and her Dad on the float trip I took this past summer. She and her Dad have instantly become a staple in my group of friends. It’s now to the point where it’s hard to remember what it was like before we met them. My 15 year old friend is the most talented, beautiful, smartest young lady I have met in a very long time. She is extremely soft spoken yet excels in debate and aspires to become an attorney-not just any attorney, a prosecuting attorney. Here’s where the surprise comes in. Her Mom has been virtually absent from this child’s life for the past 7 years. Her Dad has for all intense and purposes raised her alone. The more I’ve gotten to know her the more I just don’t get it. If I love spending time with her, how is it that her own Mother doesn’t?

She has a Homecoming dance coming up Saturday. Her Mom called this past Saturday and told her they would shop for dresses Sunday. She waited all day and Mom was a no show. I happened to call late in the afternoon and found them running out the door at the last minute to try and get to the stores before they closed. Dad was visibly upset. Of course he would do anything for his daughter, but after all he is a man and shopping for a dress? I asked if they wanted me to meet them and he jumped at the offer. We picked out a very pretty dress. Something her Mom should have been doing with her, not me. I asked her if she had thought about what she was going to do with her hair. She was unsure, should she wear it up? Just the sides pulled back? Down and straight? I told her all of those were nice, but how did she really want to wear it? She grinned and said she wanted to wear it with lots of curls like she sees the celebrities wearing. She said she couldn’t do it herself and well her Mom… Then she suggested maybe she could go to one of those ‘walk in’ hair cut places. I hated the idea of a total stranger helping her on such an important day. I told her about the salon where my friends and I have been going since we were her age, and if she was okay with it I would ask her Dad if we could get her an appointment. She really liked that idea. I told her to find a photo of the hair style (because quite honestly I had NO idea what she was talking about. I know as much about hair as I do sports, and that’s not saying much!). I talked to her Dad and made very clear I didn’t want to step on his toes and he was happy she was taken care of. My ladies at the Salon were able to get her scheduled and I know they will do exactly what she wants.

I just don’t get it. These