lots of stuff to make up for lots of time
*attempting to write a post after a 2 months hiatus*
Umm......ya......not very enthusiastic about posting lately.
#1 - The fabulous holiday we took for new years/my birthday
As stated, twas fabulous!! We went to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands....I still have the occasional daydream about the beautiful beaches, palm trees and tropical fish....*sigh* Sure beats grungy old New Amsterdam....While there we hooked up with a travel club that offers wholesale travel prices for many, many destinations. We hope to use it to visit San Francisco in the near future, when I finally get off my ass and plan said vacation...but I am apathetic in so many ways.
The resort we stayed at was lovely. Our room was a short walk down the hill from the beach (which, we were told, was the nicest beach on the island) And it was in SMITH BAY!!!
The room was ok, typical tropical island beachy smell. Our balcony had a nice view of the bay and the other islands in the distance. We had many very serious talks about our future and what we want out of life.
By far the best part of the whole trip was snorkeling!!! How I fell in love with all the pretty tropical fish that would swim right up to you and eat dog biscuits right out of your hand! My favorites were the rainbow ones that reminded me very much of gasser marbles from when I was a kid. The angel fish were pretty cool too. I even saw a stingray!!
It was quite expensive, but overall very worth it. And with the travel club our next vacation will be much cheaper.
#2 - Fashion week
Sadly it was quite slow this season what with this recession and all.....JKLD treats me incredibly well and still guaranteed me 8hrs a day for more than a week (usually it's 10hrs) Since I hadn't had much work leading up to Fashion I spent the whole week soul searching, wondering if I still want to work in entertainment. The chatter amongst the electricians around the runways was all about how little work there was. The company lost several clients including their biggest. So I didn't work my ass off, but I still managed to have fun anyways. And make a nice chunk of change.
#3 - Visit home
Just a short one this time, only 4 days. I took the bus again. The cheapest, but not the most comfortable mode of transportation. I did the overnight trip and didn't get much sleep at all! In fact, for several days after I got home I was sore and it felt like my body had been contorted in unreasonable ways.
We had a knitting party!! Nice time....lots of tea and chatter....And Mrs. Apple came!!! The lady from down the street who's name isn't really Mrs. Apple, but that's what we've always called her because of the apple tree in her backyard.
Breakfast with Dan, of course! I love my Daniel....he's mine forever....But I need to be careful about saying that too freely since he has a girlfriend now...One that I very much approve of...not that he needs my approval...but you know...She's someone I've known since I was 6! Grew up together.
Brunch with the family! The whole family in Nana's little living room is always a crazy time, especially since there are 3 children now. Nana was freaking out a little when I got up in the morning and we didn't have anything planned for feeding everyone. I hate it when she worries, but it's better to relax and let it all happen. They're all family, they don't expect a big show. It seems every time I have to spend time with children I become more convinced that I've made the right decision. Even though I love them...they are family after all...I can only handle them in short spurts. It's different when I spend time with Ashley's kids. I know what to expect. They're smart, and Emily can actually have conversations now. Besides they're sort of the closest thing to my kids that will ever be. Ashley tells me all about them.
Went to the Sanderson to chat with folks. Rich is as he ever was...that man will never change. Toddler has way more gray hair than I remember him having! Brian has lost so much weight that he's half the size he was. Since his medical emergency/wake up call he's had a much healthier lifestyle. Proud of him! I didn't see Hewi or Lee or Wayne. I spoke with Michael, the TD since Glenn was made GM. He's an intelligent man and I believe I would like working with him, given the chance.
#4 - "Convenience" friends
Part of my trip home but so much of my thought and consideration went into this that it deserves it's own section.
After asking Ashley I invited a couple of our friends over to her house to hang out with us on the Friday evening. I was hoping we'd make it a whole thing and go all night. I even brought booze. I haven't seen T or A since last spring some time and T has been going to school, so I was really looking forward to seeing them and hearing all about their lives. I contacted them both on Facebook several weeks in advance. I never heard from A but I chatted directly with T and she promised me that she would come. I got to Ashley's and she told me A hadn't made any promises and went on to say that she's been really introverted lately and things are different with her. That's fine, I understand that she's trying to quit all of the vices like drinking and smoking and that's difficult when you're hanging out with people who do. But she said T had basically promised she was coming....so I expected her. We waited, and waited, and I had a great time hanging out with Ashley and Dan. T calls again around 9pm and we're like 'what's going on, it's getting later than I wanted'....she still promised she'd come...We waited some more...and she never showed up. Didn't call giving any reason, didn't say she was sorry...she just didn't say anything. So around midnight I said that I was quite disappointed and I didn't want to waste my time getting my hopes up for someone who wont even do me the courtesy of apologizing. Dan was like, 'hear hear, I'm with you'.
So I got home a few days later and I stewed over it and decided to send her a little message on Facebook. I was nice, I kept it non-confrontational (even thought that's how I was feeling) and asked her about school and what happened on Friday. Hope everything was ok. And I've never had an answer. I know she's been on facebook, so I really think she's ignoring me because she doesn't want to have to explain herself when she knows she was rude and very inconsiderate.
So I'm done with T. Since moving so far away I've been realizing how difficult it is to keep meaningful relationships over long distances. I don't want to waste my time on someone who, clearly, was only ever my friend because it was convenient to see me while Ashley lived in her building. She doesn't want to make the effort to take the bus a short way to see me. I would have forgiven her if she'd just told me she was tired from school, or she had chores that couldn't be put off, or she had family over, or something. Of even if she just straight up apologized for not coming. But she didn't say anything. She's avoiding me like a coward. Rather than cause a huge drama and ruin a bunch of people's day I'm just not going to make any further effort to contact her. Written off, deemed unworthy. End of rant.
#5 - On the subject of worthy friends
Jess is becoming a very good friend. We are akin in some way and I enjoy her company immensely. Last weekend we decided to be all childish, girly and had a sleepover at her place!! he he he he!! First we went to babysit her friend's daughter Eliza. It was fun and she was cute, but yet further evidence of my lack of motherly ambitions.
#6 - Work
Last month was pretty full and next month is filling in quite nicely, but this month I only have 4 days of work!! *sigh* The time off would be nice if I could motivate myself to be more than a lump of flesh sitting in front of the computer or tv. I've been knitting...that's good. And I see a friend occasionally.
and....
#7 - ASL!!!
*kisses fist* I've been into ASL for a few years, but as I move up the levels and become more fluent I'm having even more fun and I look forward to class so much! I started level 5 last Thursday with a new teacher named Paulette. She's really great and I love watching her physical movements while she signs. Next weekend we're going on a road trip to Washington DC to visit Gallaudet University, the only deaf university in America. I'm very excited because it will be 5hrs of uninterrupted travel time with a bunch of signers. GREAT practice!! My vocabulary is much larger, but I'm still having trouble forming ASL sentences as opposed to English sentences. It's a much different grammar structure, that feels more intuitive, but it's hard to break long habits.
#8 - Mum
Her 54th birthday just passed. It's easier now....almost too easy....It's something I've just encorporated into my being. Part of me. I like that I can be empathetic for my friend who's mother has dimentia. I like talking to her about it because it's good therapy for her and it's a good reminder that my own experience was actually very tragic and worth sharing, no matter how distant I feel from it. In talking to other people I realize how emotionally controlled and level I am...Is that just my nature? Have my life circumstances contributed to that? Have I just been lucky that nothing so horrible has happened to unballance me?
When thinking of Mum, I also automatically think of Christy.
#9 - Christy
She's an adult now!! She desperately needs independence!! And it kills me every time I hear about how over-bearing, paranoid, and lecturing our father is to her. He needs her to move away just as much as she does!!
Christy has a new boyfriend. She's dating Evan!! The son of our father's highschool buddy, who we've known our entire lives. We loved going to the Nightingales when we were young. It was always a good time. It's a little wierd that they're dating, but I'm totally for it! He's smart, cute, and interesting. I think this could be very healthy for her.
K, I think I'm done now.
That's all she wrote.
Umm......ya......not very enthusiastic about posting lately.
#1 - The fabulous holiday we took for new years/my birthday
As stated, twas fabulous!! We went to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands....I still have the occasional daydream about the beautiful beaches, palm trees and tropical fish....*sigh* Sure beats grungy old New Amsterdam....While there we hooked up with a travel club that offers wholesale travel prices for many, many destinations. We hope to use it to visit San Francisco in the near future, when I finally get off my ass and plan said vacation...but I am apathetic in so many ways.
The resort we stayed at was lovely. Our room was a short walk down the hill from the beach (which, we were told, was the nicest beach on the island) And it was in SMITH BAY!!!
The room was ok, typical tropical island beachy smell. Our balcony had a nice view of the bay and the other islands in the distance. We had many very serious talks about our future and what we want out of life.
By far the best part of the whole trip was snorkeling!!! How I fell in love with all the pretty tropical fish that would swim right up to you and eat dog biscuits right out of your hand! My favorites were the rainbow ones that reminded me very much of gasser marbles from when I was a kid. The angel fish were pretty cool too. I even saw a stingray!!
It was quite expensive, but overall very worth it. And with the travel club our next vacation will be much cheaper.
#2 - Fashion week
Sadly it was quite slow this season what with this recession and all.....JKLD treats me incredibly well and still guaranteed me 8hrs a day for more than a week (usually it's 10hrs) Since I hadn't had much work leading up to Fashion I spent the whole week soul searching, wondering if I still want to work in entertainment. The chatter amongst the electricians around the runways was all about how little work there was. The company lost several clients including their biggest. So I didn't work my ass off, but I still managed to have fun anyways. And make a nice chunk of change.
#3 - Visit home
Just a short one this time, only 4 days. I took the bus again. The cheapest, but not the most comfortable mode of transportation. I did the overnight trip and didn't get much sleep at all! In fact, for several days after I got home I was sore and it felt like my body had been contorted in unreasonable ways.
We had a knitting party!! Nice time....lots of tea and chatter....And Mrs. Apple came!!! The lady from down the street who's name isn't really Mrs. Apple, but that's what we've always called her because of the apple tree in her backyard.
Breakfast with Dan, of course! I love my Daniel....he's mine forever....But I need to be careful about saying that too freely since he has a girlfriend now...One that I very much approve of...not that he needs my approval...but you know...She's someone I've known since I was 6! Grew up together.
Brunch with the family! The whole family in Nana's little living room is always a crazy time, especially since there are 3 children now. Nana was freaking out a little when I got up in the morning and we didn't have anything planned for feeding everyone. I hate it when she worries, but it's better to relax and let it all happen. They're all family, they don't expect a big show. It seems every time I have to spend time with children I become more convinced that I've made the right decision. Even though I love them...they are family after all...I can only handle them in short spurts. It's different when I spend time with Ashley's kids. I know what to expect. They're smart, and Emily can actually have conversations now. Besides they're sort of the closest thing to my kids that will ever be. Ashley tells me all about them.
Went to the Sanderson to chat with folks. Rich is as he ever was...that man will never change. Toddler has way more gray hair than I remember him having! Brian has lost so much weight that he's half the size he was. Since his medical emergency/wake up call he's had a much healthier lifestyle. Proud of him! I didn't see Hewi or Lee or Wayne. I spoke with Michael, the TD since Glenn was made GM. He's an intelligent man and I believe I would like working with him, given the chance.
#4 - "Convenience" friends
Part of my trip home but so much of my thought and consideration went into this that it deserves it's own section.
After asking Ashley I invited a couple of our friends over to her house to hang out with us on the Friday evening. I was hoping we'd make it a whole thing and go all night. I even brought booze. I haven't seen T or A since last spring some time and T has been going to school, so I was really looking forward to seeing them and hearing all about their lives. I contacted them both on Facebook several weeks in advance. I never heard from A but I chatted directly with T and she promised me that she would come. I got to Ashley's and she told me A hadn't made any promises and went on to say that she's been really introverted lately and things are different with her. That's fine, I understand that she's trying to quit all of the vices like drinking and smoking and that's difficult when you're hanging out with people who do. But she said T had basically promised she was coming....so I expected her. We waited, and waited, and I had a great time hanging out with Ashley and Dan. T calls again around 9pm and we're like 'what's going on, it's getting later than I wanted'....she still promised she'd come...We waited some more...and she never showed up. Didn't call giving any reason, didn't say she was sorry...she just didn't say anything. So around midnight I said that I was quite disappointed and I didn't want to waste my time getting my hopes up for someone who wont even do me the courtesy of apologizing. Dan was like, 'hear hear, I'm with you'.
So I got home a few days later and I stewed over it and decided to send her a little message on Facebook. I was nice, I kept it non-confrontational (even thought that's how I was feeling) and asked her about school and what happened on Friday. Hope everything was ok. And I've never had an answer. I know she's been on facebook, so I really think she's ignoring me because she doesn't want to have to explain herself when she knows she was rude and very inconsiderate.
So I'm done with T. Since moving so far away I've been realizing how difficult it is to keep meaningful relationships over long distances. I don't want to waste my time on someone who, clearly, was only ever my friend because it was convenient to see me while Ashley lived in her building. She doesn't want to make the effort to take the bus a short way to see me. I would have forgiven her if she'd just told me she was tired from school, or she had chores that couldn't be put off, or she had family over, or something. Of even if she just straight up apologized for not coming. But she didn't say anything. She's avoiding me like a coward. Rather than cause a huge drama and ruin a bunch of people's day I'm just not going to make any further effort to contact her. Written off, deemed unworthy. End of rant.
#5 - On the subject of worthy friends
Jess is becoming a very good friend. We are akin in some way and I enjoy her company immensely. Last weekend we decided to be all childish, girly and had a sleepover at her place!! he he he he!! First we went to babysit her friend's daughter Eliza. It was fun and she was cute, but yet further evidence of my lack of motherly ambitions.
#6 - Work
Last month was pretty full and next month is filling in quite nicely, but this month I only have 4 days of work!! *sigh* The time off would be nice if I could motivate myself to be more than a lump of flesh sitting in front of the computer or tv. I've been knitting...that's good. And I see a friend occasionally.
and....
#7 - ASL!!!
*kisses fist* I've been into ASL for a few years, but as I move up the levels and become more fluent I'm having even more fun and I look forward to class so much! I started level 5 last Thursday with a new teacher named Paulette. She's really great and I love watching her physical movements while she signs. Next weekend we're going on a road trip to Washington DC to visit Gallaudet University, the only deaf university in America. I'm very excited because it will be 5hrs of uninterrupted travel time with a bunch of signers. GREAT practice!! My vocabulary is much larger, but I'm still having trouble forming ASL sentences as opposed to English sentences. It's a much different grammar structure, that feels more intuitive, but it's hard to break long habits.
#8 - Mum
Her 54th birthday just passed. It's easier now....almost too easy....It's something I've just encorporated into my being. Part of me. I like that I can be empathetic for my friend who's mother has dimentia. I like talking to her about it because it's good therapy for her and it's a good reminder that my own experience was actually very tragic and worth sharing, no matter how distant I feel from it. In talking to other people I realize how emotionally controlled and level I am...Is that just my nature? Have my life circumstances contributed to that? Have I just been lucky that nothing so horrible has happened to unballance me?
When thinking of Mum, I also automatically think of Christy.
#9 - Christy
She's an adult now!! She desperately needs independence!! And it kills me every time I hear about how over-bearing, paranoid, and lecturing our father is to her. He needs her to move away just as much as she does!!
Christy has a new boyfriend. She's dating Evan!! The son of our father's highschool buddy, who we've known our entire lives. We loved going to the Nightingales when we were young. It was always a good time. It's a little wierd that they're dating, but I'm totally for it! He's smart, cute, and interesting. I think this could be very healthy for her.
K, I think I'm done now.
That's all she wrote.