It is day 5 of the vacay in SLC and it is HOT. Upon landing, we were told it was a "cool" 97 outside and that THAT was actually 5 - 7 degrees cooler than the previous weeks. Oddly enough, the housemate of my friends (read live in landlord) won't allow the ac to be perma-on because she actually gets cold. I guess one can get used to anything. *sigh*
lol Besides sweating, sweating, and more sweating, I've been having a great time. So far we've caught up on ol' times, brushed up on new times, spent time with the god children, rocked out to some guitar hero (always a blast, even if it DOES make me a huge dork), done some shopping (I needed some sandals in order to assuage the heat gods), ate at a brazilian steak house (called Rizerio [sp?] which was WAY NICE), and even had a freakin' job interview (which went REALLY well, I'm sorry to inform all my MI friends), and there's still three more days! Awesome.
When I get back, I have to report for jury duty, at least presumably. There's, of course, the last minute call in everybody gets, with the hope that something has happened in such a way so as to prevent one from ACTUALLY have to report. Here's hoping.
Well, I'm gonna go lounge in the coolest place I can find. I'll keep ya posted!
A close friend of mine recently passed away. Death is very sad thing, especially when it comes too early. It really stinks. I mean, no matter how much you know you're not supposed to, I just can't stop thinking "If I had only been there more, if I had only reached out (like I had PLANNED to and WANTED to), if I had only this or only that, well, then he'd still be around." I dunno though, perhaps that's a rather vain line of thinking - as if somehow *MY* mere presence would prompt someone to keep on living. Still, I think it's a natural reaction. Last year I had witnessed a similar situation with a friend of mine and a death of some close, albeit closer, to her. Not surprisingly, I have noticed a lot of the same reactions that she had in myself. If nothing else, it's really helped me to relate to her better, though under no pretense to I attempt to claim my loss as equal to even a fraction of her's. The visitation was different, I guess, than others I have been too. Whereas you often see broken down relatives who need comforting, in this case we had broken down visitors who received comfort from the relatives. They've always been a strong family, God bless 'em. His mother asked me to always remember him, and I assured her I would have no problems doing just that. In fact, he's constantly on my mind lately . I'll be doing something - anything, really - and some memory or another of him will pop into my head. We sure had good times. :) Ben, you shall be missed. Know, too, that I loved you always. Farewell my friend.
Hmmmm. Gosh. That last month FLEW by. Sorry for the lack of updates. lol It almost makes it seem like I got too depressed by not making the play that I just quit blogging. Well... such is not the case, I assure you.
First off, I have moved - just from Portage to Kalamazoo, but now we can have 17 back, so that's good. The move went pretty smoothly, but it was hot, and long, taking the better part of two days. There's still a little unpacking to do, but all in all, it's coming along wonderfully. The airconditioning in the new place doesn't really keep it cool but, surprisingly, open windows and a little oscillating fan or two do. Hey, I'm not complaining - that's gotta be better on the ol' electric bill, right? Right. Also, Thea and I apparently moved at just the right time, because just one day after moving out, the basement of our old apartment (where the majority of our stuff had been) flooded. Shew, that was close.
Just before moving, the neighbor's little boy and one of his hoodlum friends threw a rock through the back window of the Storm. *Sigh* Luckily, the neighbors were decent enough people to own up to it and were willing to pay half of it. Well, at least one set of the neighbors was decent enough. The other set still haven't contacted either the first set or me. However, the people who DID pay paid through their Home Owner's insurance, which was kind enough (or mistake prone enough) to actually pay the whole thing. So now they (the insurance company) are trying to collect the other half from the non-responsible neighbors. Either way, I'm happy. Oh, and a big thank you to Kelly and Melissa for helping me out with that whole situation. Thanks. ^^
Secondly, I went on a whirlwind trip to Maine with Geno so he could have a navigator and a comrade (I know, why'd he choose me then, right? =P). He had to go out there for Orientation as he is tranferring to the University of Maine in Orono. The trip took roughly 20 hours, we stayed in Maine for roughly 24 hours, and then it was 20 hours back, so when I said whirlwind, I meant it. lol Gene amazingly drove the whole time with very few breaks. Personally, I zonk out after about 2 or 3 highway hours, so my hat goes off to him. Some trip highlights: unusual bilboards stating "I pooted" and "Look at me, I have a meatbeard", I broke a hotel's television remote by throwing it on the ground (temper, temper Mr. Oatman - don't worry, I fixed it though), and some pretty frickin' cool weather (low hanging clouds shootin' out lightning). Some trip lowlights: gas prices, toll roads galore, a hair in my smoothie from Ben 'n' Jerry's (sigh).
Thirdly, work has been almost tumultuous lately between an upcoming festival, cuts in hours, personnel clashes, and store audits. It's starting to turn around, though, so , well, that's good.
Oh, and I have also started ballet classes now, as well, in order to better serve the school in the upcoming Dracula performance, slated for this October. I hope to see you all there! In the meantime, however, my legs are just KILLING me. Holy crow, is ballet ever a leg workout. Ouch.
