A Bit of Christmassy Goo, But it Gets Better Toward the End :)

As you may know, I have a very dear friend who lives far away (like most of the close people in my life...don't cry for me...Argentina?  Are there countries with 4 syllables to which I have actually been? Stop wasting time, back to the post).  Anywho, I've written about her before, but the gist of what you need to know right now is that we are old lady souls.  We prefer hand written letters when corresponding, the only email I got from her in the last 6 months was a virus (this is to show you she didn't actually email me), and I'll never see her on Facebook.  I'd be surprised if she sees this blog, but miracles do happen.  If we have urgent news, we text, but neither of us will allow abbreviations or text speak to darken our phones (which still flips open Zoolander style for ONE of us :P).  Otherwise when there is something to tell her, I rush home, new pen in hand (I love college bookstores for pens!), and sit down to write my tale.  I'm pretty sure it looks like a snail in a hurry; nose out, hands pumping fast, moving about .2 miles an hour with twitching antennae...is that why they call it snail mail?  Huh.  A gummi word makes sense, for once.  We did try to Skype once, but we were both too awkward.  We didn't speak for months after.  She actually commented it nearly destroyed our friendship, but I didn't know that :)

She married a lovely man from India and goes there from time to time to see his rather large family.  When she does this, she writes a journal to me which she keeps for about 2 years after, continually meaning to scan it and re-read it in preparation for her next journey to the land of whiplash (there is often so much happening, one could crane their neck watching the activity).  The last time she went to India (which was in October, if you're curious), she texted me asking if I could read her last letter and tell her the medicines she reminded herself to bring this time.  I obliged and she was on her way.  Once she got to the airport, she texted that she had a new notebook and pens for the journey, and rather than say something trite like, "I'll miss you," or "have a good flight," we took on a sort of blessing war.  It went something like this:

Me: Travel well my dearest friends, enjoy the trip!
D: May all the mosquitoes in Northern India die before my arrival.
Me: May you find the right number of ripe mangoes so as not to cause stomach illnesses.
D: Amen.
Me: May you be as content as a mongrel dog with hemorrhoids. (this makes sense if you read her letter and saw the drawings)
D: ...Always with a big bright smile on my face!

This went on. And it could go on because we both enjoy older versions of dictionaries and the formality of writing to each other not seen for 100 years (I couldn't really tell you the time frame, but "Old Timey" just doesn't cut it in this instance.  I know I think of the first World War era, so I think you should too).

So I started blessing people in my life (hey, what's one more quirk?).  It definitely makes me feel better when I am annoyed, and they get over the fact that I speak like I just moved to America from Downton Abbey (let's not talk about season 3 until I get a chance to see it, shall we?).  But sometimes I am at a loss for words.  So (stay with me here), I have been finding random blessings showing up on my Pinterest page, and some of them are quite lovely.  I am really taken with the blessings written in the letters of the New Testament.  They take so much hope and propel it out to others, and I just want to make these little good energy balls and blast them at other people.  I came across one this morning that made me want to write this post before work (oh, hey, I might be late today).  So I'm going to share it with you, get over it :) (ZAP!)  This person (I assume it is actually my 2nd cousin, Braelyn, who pinned it originally in this shape and drawing), put it in a Christmas theme, but it is so full of hope and good vibes, I had to share it.  I am now interested in pinpointing blessings and making a collection. I mean, it is Bright Side Blogs, no?

But seriously, that's enough for now.  I am really going to be late for work. Yup.  There it is.

Here's the song of the day, a Christmas song made amazing by the addition of hope and climbing octaves. :)  I  LOVE this song.  "The hope of every heart comes alive in Emmanuel!"  What a great thought.

Oh Wednesday...Here We Go Again

For those of you who are avid readers of my blog and have been without an entry since 2011, I give to you the most vile of all days, another Wednesday installment. If you also follow the Song of the Day, you will see that this post is a direct lead in from the last Wednesday post ("here we go again" is a line in the chorus of that song), which was a typical Wednesday.  But sometimes, SOMETIMES, a doozy comes along and you have to remind yourself that it is only a day, it can only last so long.  So let me present to you this week's experience, with some background (those of you who watch movies with me know I do not relish back story; however it is often a necessary evil, as in the case today).

It has been cold in the land of the frigid north.  Not the normal, Midwest cold, but the kind of cold that makes your fingers hurt inside gloves and freezes your boogers in 12 seconds while you bury your face as deep in your coat as humanly possible.  Like medallion hunting cold; the kind where you go out in it anyway, because there's $10,000 in the snow somewhere in St. Paul, and you hope no one else has the fortitude to be out in it. It has not been above 0 for 6 days, and the wind chills feel like really bad acupuncture; a slight numbing effect, but mostly needle pricks (turns out this windchill is about 16 below.  Surprised you didn't know that).  This is the kind of weather that makes me realize Prarie life is very low on the enjoyment totem pole, and I miss the effect of the Great Lakes.  No wind, just lots and lots of snow to play with.  But with the stinkin' prarie, all you get is wind that blows the snow you do get somewhere else.  It's a lose lose situation.  But I digress.

I also have the added benefit of living on the bottom of a long, steep hill, so when it's so cold that salt doesn't melt the snow and ice, a two wheeled Camry that is 16 years old, if not reliable, struggles somewhat to summit the trek.  She has made it, but the hill was the catalyst for the courageous decision I made last weekend to trade in my lovely, wonderful Camry named Paikea (Pai) for a newer, decked out, fully loaded Jeep named Sofie.  I had such a hard time trading in my reliable Camry with 220,000 miles on it, that I teared up a little, and they threw another few hundred dollars onto my trade in.  In an act of chivalrous gift giving, Captain Awesome had the Jeep paid off and insured within minutes, and I have been enjoying heated leather seats ever since, about 4 days.  I have been keeping Sofie a secret because I wanted to drive her to Michigan and surprise my parents knowing they wouldn't recognize my car.  But between their travel plans, my work schedule, 2nd annual cookie parties and a Norwegian Klub and Rømmegrøt party, I wasn't sure when it could happen (though I want to stress to my mother that I was aiming for sooner rather than later).  So far nothing screams Wednesday, right?  OK, I think we are caught up.
  

So, this particular Wednesday morning I got up early to finish up some work, went to work at my scheduled time (wasn't even late!) and parked up front because no one knows my car yet, I've had her 4 days.  And it was cold.  As I walked into the store I had this sense of foreboding like someone might hit her, or an animal would curl up on her hood because she was warm; I don't know, something.  But I told myself I was just worried because it was Wednesday, and things would be fine. I went about my day dealing with crabby customers, doing my work and writing company Christmas cards to our loyal shoppers.  I stayed late to finish and was looking forward to my 4 wheel drive, heated ride home.  I pulled out of my spot (spotted by a forklift driver, darnit) and started down the lot.  Suddenly she felt like a lumbering beast, storming through the lot with no power steering and blowing cold heat. What's cold heat?  Exactly. I pulled off into an abandoned gas station and called Capitan Awesome.  Wouldn't you know that it is at this time that wandering lemming-like people poured into the gas station, presumably thinking it's open because I am there, when it has been closed since February and gas is still $2.21 a gallon?  Really, people?  Really?  I thought I could drive her to Vroom, where the guys always take really good care of me, so I started over that way.

 It quickly became apparent that I was going to build up some ripped upper arms trying to steer her, and my phone rang 3 times while I was unable to take both hands off the wheel.  It was C.A. telling me that if she hasn't died yet, she will, it's a belt of some kind that no one could see coming, and doesn't light up any scary lights.  So I turned her back into the store lot and let him call the tow truck. I also learned a valuable lesson that I should have learned when I was 4; not keeping gloves and winter items in a car and depending on it for heat is stupid.  Thanks, Wednesday.

At this point the only thing warm was my butt (thank you, Sofie), because the heat also stopped for some reason, so I kept shoving my hands under my thighs to keep them warm on the heated leather seats.  I hid the keys in the vehicle and made the quarter mile trek back into the store to call a cab.  While I was on hold for 7 minutes (no one ever picked up, actually) and waiting for the feeling to come back into my fingers and toes, a coworker with a generous heart said she'd take me home.  How relieved was I?  As I hung up, I made a comment about Wednesdays, and the Harry Potter looking kid next to me said, "I like Wednesdays," with a ridiculous grin on his smug little face (I take it back).  This is where I learned that people expect me to always be sweetness and nice because all I said was, "Shut up," and they were all, "whoa, I've never seen you like this," and "let's not let that happen again," and "I hope you have a better day." Seriously? :P  

So the coworker who drove me home was having some issues with her car, and at this point I felt like a cooler (in the negative cold, so a supercooler) and that her car was next to fail, but thankfully we made it home, where all I could think about was a hot shower before my next activity.  As I stood in the lobby waiting for the elevator, the wonderful Betty in the office called out, "No water! Pipes are broke!"  So there's that.  I ended up drinking a bit of straight rum to warm up, but it didn't really do the trick.  Maybe I should have had more, but last night was a very important lab the week before finals, and since there's less than a week left of the semester and it's THURSDAY, I don't care who knows it. I was able to borrow C.A's truck (now that I know how to drive a 4WD vehicle), and she did well for me.  How exhausting.

So, as all vile days must, Wednesday ended.  Thursday brings a new day of joy and bright sidedness, and hopefully news on Sofie's belt (preferably that it costs very little).  The water is back on and it's hot, my coworker has arrived safely to her destination, exam prep has started, and I have to figure out what to cook for the 2nd annual cookie party.  I did not cry, which shows my Wednesday resilience.  Before you say anything, I will talk to the dealership also, but it sounds like you can't really see this coming, and the belt may have just slipped.  I may have been a little too excited to park on a snow bank also.  Who knows, it's a new day, maybe things will go my way.  I'm doing a lot of rhyming today (anybody want a peanut?).

Today's song of the day is a Christmas song.  'Tis the season, no?  I am rejoicing in the day, because it is not Wednesday.  :)  Plus it's got a fun beat, you can move to it.  Have a wonderful Thursday, everyone (and God bless us, everyone :P)

PS:  If you are wondering how everything turned out with the Jeep, the belts were all fine.  The power steering fluid was almost empty, and the coolant was a GALLON low, so I have no faith in Walser Jeep's ability to perform an inspection that they listed on CarFax.  There were NO leaks. Not one (well, there was a loose clamp on the coolant hose....should have caught that, Walser).  So at the end of the day, as Tony put it, "I won't charge you an arm and a leg today....just a tow."  Oh Tony!  Other than that they love her.  They drove her all day trying to get her to act up and she didn't.  So now my "Ghost car" will have her fluids checked more often.  And to all a good night.

Born Is The King (It's Christmas) - Hillsong