in a week or so...

...we'll be working in close proximity to one another.

day 4. all in a night.

What does your night look like?

I come from a family of bs-ers after dinner. We sit around the table after dinner talking about nonsense (and sometimes important things like Kev's major, me moving to MN, and baseball) long after we've cleared our plates. Dad is the only person who isn't a fan of sitting around the table. He'll sit for a little before making his exit. At Christmas, we sit and talk about plumbing and the neighborhood and family. So much so that the dinner table stories made it into my capstone.

I've always lived with table sitters. In college, we'd sit around a table at the cafeteria or, better yet, 012 until it was time for Jeopardy (another key part of my night). In MN, we spent most evenings sitting around the table, singing 3 part harmony to RENT, and talking about the crazy stories from our work places.

All ready for Christmas dinner.

with Gram. Scrabble playing often occurs after a meal.

Sitting around after dinner is important to me. It's when we talk and fight. It postpones doing dishes, a chore that I always get stuck with. The chairs get hard and, if we're lucky, someone will suggest moving to the "soft chairs" and we'll sprawl out on the couch with Jeopardy on in the background or simply continue the conversation. This is where I learn about people, where we catch up on our days, and upcoming plans. It's a check in. And, as I've discovered, is something that not everyone does.

in support of Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols

I've been a Lady Vols basketball fan for as long as I can remember. Pat Summitt has always been one of my heroes. I had the opportunity to see the Lady Vols play in Cleveland back in Chamique Holdsclaw's day. It is one of my favorite experiences.

Today, Coach Summitt, announced that she has been diagnosed with early onset dementia - alzheimer type. My prayers are with her, her family & friends, team, and all who know her.

wherein I freak out enough for myself, all my friends, and the pope

{l}

I tend to be a fairly even keeled person until I freak out. And when I freak out, I freak out good. I'm usually annoyingly calm about making a huge decision (you know...quitting a job, moving to minnesota, deciding what to do after minnesota, etc.). And then it happens. I'm screaming "HOLY SHIT." What am I doing?

I'm known for my freak outs. (See: freaking out about freaking out or when the floor drops out beneath you or rock.paper.scissors.) There are people who have come to expect my freaking out emails. I usually send them either a few days after I've made a big decision or a few days before. A few weeks ago one of my people got a frantic phone call from me. I needed to make a decision about another volunteer year and I was freaking out. When we met up, she immediately asked "What's wrong?"

"I'M FREAKING OUT. CAN'T YOU TELL???"

She actually chuckled at me. (A brisk walk & a 2 hour chat finally calmed me down enough to make a decision).

It's kind of like the first big hill of a roller coaster. I hate that hill and tend to freak out as the coaster is slowly crawling up the top of the hill. I'm convinced we're either going to die or the coaster is going to get stuck and the park people will have to rescue us. I'm gripping the hand rest bar, trying not to look down, remembering to breathe, and repeatedly saying "ohmygod." (I usually sound just like the lady in this video).

 I often wish that freaking out could help me get out of making a decision or stop the changes. It doesn't. I just freak out through them and, somehow, come out alive on the other side.

welcome to my mind.

Imagine these as all one song and you've got what I've been singing all morning.

Specifically: Throw your soul through every open door / Count your blessings to find what you look for / Turn my sorrow into treasured gold / You pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow.

The entire song, but also the dance moves. Because who can sing this song without doing at least part of the dance? I've even added them to the last song stuck in my head.

And, perhaps the most random of all three songs:

Who doesn't love Raffi? I grew up with the man. I could have been a superfan or something the way I listened to his music all the time. (This song is made even better when sung during this episode of Full House. I can't embed this video).



day 3. favorite cast in a tv show

[link]

Confession. I don't watch much TV anymore. Glee is really the only show that I make a point to watch on a regular basis. (There's RHONY, but I only watch that in marathon reruns on bravo and those ladies are far from my favorite cast).

day 2.

Person you have been closest to the longest (excluding family).

This is a hard one. In HS, there were four of us (dubbed the Awesome 4-some). We spent nearly every evening together senior year studying for physics. We spent 4 long years together in band. We've weathered fights, distance, and everything in between. We split up for college - 2 x 2. We're now forging our own lives and leaving the confines of our hometown.

day 1.

There's a thing going around facebook called the 30 day challenge (or something like that). I rarely like to jump on the bandwagon so I've refused to join in on it. I am usually annoyed by it because no one ever finishes it so I'm stuck at staring the picture from day 11.

So, what am I going to do? I'm going to (partially) eat my words and do the 30 day challenge on here. I'm hoping that it will get me into the habit of regular blogging.

1) I must start my day with coffee. 

2) I spent 10 months in MN as a member of a volunteer program and working with a refugee resettlement organization.

3) I'm a diehard Cleveland Indians fan.

4) I put my left shoe on first. Same with pant legs.

5) I'm Irish. Very Irish.

6) I hate spiders, clowns, and snakes.

7) I don't like wearing shoes.

8) I have issues with textures of certain foods. (celery, peas, bananas, etc.)

9) I try to avoid writing with black ink. It depresses me.

10) Taking pictures makes me happy.