Category Archives: Love/Loathe

Loathe:

* People who switch lanes at the last second at a red light, so they’re half in the one lane, half out of the lane they’re coming from, and then they don’t pay attention to the light cycle. The light turns green and there they sit, blocking two lanes of traffic.

* Also, people who are in an all-fired hurry to pull out into the lane and then don’t accelerate. Of course, they’re the ones who have that bumper sticker that says, “I may be slow but I’m in front of you!” For the record, I loathe that bumper sticker, too.

Love:

* Q-tips. Really. What would we do without them?

* This picture I took of my cats, Tug and Snug. For some reason, it makes me think of those old-fashioned pictures that were taken back in the 1800’s of great-great grandpa Samuel and his wife, Martha. Serious expressions, stilted posturing… so I added sepia coloring and it makes me laugh and laugh. Here you go, Great Grandpa, Tug, and his cat, Snug.

* The quiet time I take at lunch. I usually park under a tree at work (a bit risky with all the crows who hang around there), then at lunch I roll down the windows and just read. It makes me feel refreshed and balanced. One of my co-workers spotted me today in my car, and he peeked in and said with a bit of envy in his tone that I looked really cozy and relaxed, in the shade, in my car, with my book. I suppose that was a fairly accurate description of how I felt. It made me smile.

* My husband, who fixes things. He recently fixed the ice maker in our freezer (yay!!) and the button on my coffee grinder (yay!!).

* We think we solved the Mystery Pooping Cat. It’s been a week now and I’m currently knocking on wood, but there’s been no random poop yet. If it is truly solved, in a couple weeks, I’ll tell you what we did.

One Last Thing:
It’s been a doozy of a week at work. I worked 12 hours on Monday, 13 hours on Tuesday and 9 hours on Wednesday. It was a bit of a war room thing, preparing for a big meeting. The thing I didn’t think about while we were agonizing through the creation of the presentation, was the bond that would forge between the four people who were in that room. One of whom was me.

I mean, it makes sense. You spend a lot of time with people in an intensely stressful and pressurized situation, you’re either going to hate each other or get along with each other. But either way, you’ll have that experience in common.

I’ve felt like I have major jetlag for the last couple of days. I’m definitely looking forward to some sleep. If that mockingbird out there would ever hush up!

Loathe:

* The big, fat zit on the side of my nose. I remembered to wear my sunglasses the other day and discovered that this big, fat zit is exactly where they needed to perch. That was not a happy moment.

* People who are more worried about covering their a** than working as a team player to get stuff done. In these times, I understand why they feel like they have to be that way, but it’s such a waste of time. Really! It’s OK to not know stuff, just ask for help rather than doing it wrong and then throwing everyone who tried to help under the bus.

Love:

* My alarm clock. I think the thing is at least 15 years old, if not older. Even though the CD player on it doesn’t work anymore, I can’t bear to get a new one. Why? Because it has a motion sensor snooze button on it. That’s right! I wave my hand in front of it and THAT is my snooze button.

* Swimming in June gloom weather. It means I have the pool all to myself. I savor these pre-summer days when I have the pool all to myself.

* I finally have my pre-pregnancy figure back. Even though I was only pregnant for 3 months, my body was ready for the long haul… waistline expanded, larger bosoms, etc.. I feel a little shallow admitting this, given the way the pregnancy ended, but it’s nice to fit in my clothes again.

* When our little birdy gives me kisses. It’s so sweet.

* The 4 goldfish we bought seem to be doing well. We put the hospital tank away. That means more counterspace in the kitchen. Healthy goldfish and more counterspace = love.

One Last Thing:

Supposedly the “formal offer” to make me permanent has been approved, it just needs to be signed off by one more person. There’s a couple things I’m concerned about that makes this a mixed blessing for me. But, hey, it’s better for the Money Hump that I’m employed and it’s not like I have any better offers on the table.

Soooo, maybe Monday?

Loathe:

* I am tired. This cold/sinus infection is draining all my energy. Plus! Crackly ears!

* Women who brush their hair and put makeup on while driving in rush hour traffic. If you do that? Please stop it. It’s dangerous.

Love:

* I saw Tick Guy on the freeway yesterday. Driving along and ticking away. I don’t know why, but I was SOO happy to see him. Almost like he was a long lost friend. Or maybe it was more like, “Hey, despite what we’ve been through since I saw you last, we’re both still here, ticking away.”

* Carrot cake cookies and maple cream cookies. Found them in Ross, of all places, and they are so delicious. Or, rather, they were delicious.

* Solitude, books, donkeys and squirrels. But I love elephants more.

* Francine Rivers. Still lovin’ on her Biblical novels. I’ve almost read all of them now. I may have to read them again in a few months. How have I missed knowing her as an author for so long?

* One more day, one more day, one more day to this week.

One Last Thing:
They say they’re going to make me permanent. Three different people have told me that now, in hushed tones, some even behind closed doors. “Close the door, I want to tell you something…” And then they tell me what the other guy told me. OK, I get it. You want me to be permanent. This is good. I really like being wanted.

The thing is, with every conversation, I feel “SHOW ME THE MONEY!” bubbling up from within, and every conversation, I beat it down. Can you imagine if I were to let that loose?

Then last night, I walked out in the parking lot to my car, with the intention of getting in my car and battling through a half hour of traffic to get home. So I could rest my head. My sick, sick head.

So I’m in the parking lot, strolling to my car and I glance down into the island of jasmine planted around a tree in the middle of the parking lot and spotted this.

I continued walking, and got to my car, only to see these in the island of jasmine planted around a tree behind my car.

The first thing I wondered was, if I kept walking, would I find a bartender behind the next tree? The second thing that came to mind was whether the company drives their people to drink… hmmm.

Loathe:

* Negotiating money. I really need to gain a new perspective on this, because I seriously dread this part of the process. Maybe because I never feel like I’m worth the price I’m asking, even though I know my experience and history belies that feeling.

* The Renegade Pooper. One of our cats has decided that the litter box is boring, and would rather put a pile of poop alongside my car in the garage. I’ve learned to look before I step, and I would really like to know who the flagrant violator is, but he doesn’t do it consistently, just… you know, when the urge strikes.

* Now that I’m back swimming, so is the chlorine rash. Ugh.

Love:

* When the heater kicks on in the pool while I’m swimming. Doesn’t matter what temp the pool is, it immediately feels super warm the second it kicks on.

* The gym has three aqua aerobic instructors. I rate them as OK (accompanied by a shrug), Really Good (with a smile), and Excellent (with a fist in the air). I never go to the Excellent class because that’s on Saturday morning at 8 AM. Tonight, the Excellent instructor filled in for the Really Good instructor. I was so happy!

* When Tony and I make dinner together. It’s just a nice feeling to be working alongside him in the kitchen. So homey.

* Watermelon and blueberries, my most favorite treats, are in season.

* I saw someone do something intelligent on the freeway the other day. It was so rare to see that, it gave me hope that there are still people out there who pay attention when they’re driving.

* Star jasmine and magnolia trees are blooming EVERYWHERE. We can almost get high off the scent when sitting in traffic or at stoplights. (That white strip in the picture below that looks almost like snow? Star jasmine… mmmmm.)

Loathe:

* One of the aquatic aerobic instructors at my gym always wants to do 30 minutes of weird balancing and bouncing with fun noodles and handbells. She usually works Tuesdays and that’s why I chose Thursdays for my “early day” at work, to avoid her class. But she’s been subbing for the Thursday teacher and it’s annoying. I still worked my early day today for consistency there, but avoided the class tonight, which made me sad. Better sad than annoyed, though.

* When people send an Excel spreadsheet and don’t preview it to ensure that it will print properly. If you’ve ever received one of those, you know what I mean.

*Mother’s day, as I’m sure you can imagine, was a bittersweet day for me. I should have been feeling my little one kicking me from the inside out, but it didn’t work out that way.

* My body has absolutely no idea what it’s doing. Well, actually, I’m sure it’s doing what it’s supposed to be doing, but I have no clue where I’m at in my cycle. Blood work is normal, non-pregnant and that’s about all I know.

Love:

* Having lunch with my friend, Grace. Everyone should have a friend like her in their life.

* My sister-in-law, Marigold, who gave me a gift on Mother’s Day which touched my heart deeply. It was exactly right for that day, and for where I am in the processing of our loss emotionally.

* Seeing Tony’s east coast brother (and his family). They came out with the intent to see Grandpa, but he passed away before they could get here. It was so good to see them, though, despite the circumstances.

* When appropriate, shrugging things off and saying, “That’s out of my control…” It’s so freeing!

One Last Thing:
It’s been a weird week at work… click to enter your password and continue reading.