Updateroo
Last weekend, I conquered one of my biggest fears, and it was exhilarating. Until I nearly got hit by a train.
New biggest fear? Maybe.
Ashley and I decided we were going on an adventure (Charlie) because we were tired of being old women who work 8-5 and go to bed early. We devised a game plan: Mexican food, then meet our destiny ... err, climb onto the railroad tracks and walk out onto the trestle bridge across the Black Warrior. As we munched on our Chimichangas I asked Ashley if we should worry about a train coming while we were up there.
"No," she replied. "I've been up there a whole bunch of times, and I've never seen a train."
Foreshadowing.
We finished up at Los and drove over to the area in Northport where the tracks are tall. Ashley had warned me that, to get onto the tracks, we would have to climb a pretty big ladder, and she wasn't sure I would do it. She said she had been really scared every time she did it, and it had usually taken her about four tries to make it all the way to the top.
If you don't know me, you might not know that I'm pretty scared of heights. Not even heights, really, I'm more afraid of falling from something really high. Put me in a roller coaster, where I'm strapped in, or a tall building, where there's a wall or window between me and the ground, and I'm perfectly fine. Put me on a shaky ladder where I'm the only thing keeping me from hitting the ground -- that's a totally different story.
So I started climbing the ladder first. It was a pretty giant wooden ladder -- didn't really make me feel better about the situation. And then, once I finally got all the way to the top, I would have to step across OPEN SPACE onto the tracks. My first thought on looking at it was that I would never be able to do it, and I would have to feel embarrassed about wussing out. But I gamely started making my way up the thing, which seemed to stretch on forever into the sky. In reality, it was probably 60 feet.
So I start climbing the thing with Ashley looking on and snapping pictures (yeah, thanks, if I fall to my death, I would love to have it documented). Ashley sort of neglected to tell me that the ladder SHAKES. I got about halfway up when I started thinking about trying to step across that space between the ladder and the tracks.
"I can't do it," I told Ashley. "I'm coming down."
I climbed back down the ladder, and Ashley asked if I thought I would be able to do it if she did it first. So she did. Then I felt really dumb standing at the bottom of the ladder while she was already at the top. I started climbing again.
I got a little higher than I did the first time before I came to a standstill. "You can do it," Ashley called down. "It's not that much farther, and it's much easier when you get to the top."
In all seriousness, I was praying. "God, help me, I can't do this," over and over. Slowly, step by step, I made my way up to the top. The funny thing was, getting across to the tracks was probably the easiest part, and it was the part that had worried me the most.
"You did it," Ashley said, still snapping pictures.
"I'm gonna cry." I waved my hand in front of my face to try to hold off the tears. I had just survived one of the scariest things I had ever made myself do.
Once I got over the initial shock of making it up the ladder, I let myself look around. It was amazing. The tracks, the gravel, being above the world. "I don't think I can climb back down," I told Ashley. "Can we walk off the tracks?" Yup. That's what we decided to do.
We started walking toward the bridge, taking photos of the tracks and each other, enjoying the quiet of the height. "The part right before the bridge scares me," Ashley confided. "There's no more gravel, so you can see down through the slats. I'd just be screwed if a train ever came, 'cause I don't think I could run across that!"
Strangely enough, this part of the tracks didn't bother me that badly, but Ashley took her dear sweet time getting across -- it probably took her about 6 or 7 minutes to cross that part of the path. We finally made it onto the bridge and walked out to the center to look at the sunset. Being over the river at sundown was the most beautiful experience. It made the whole ladder thing completely worth it.
After enjoying the view for several minutes, we were beginning to think about which way we wanted to walk off. Ashley looked toward the right. I looked toward the right. She said, "I think there's a train coming." We looked at each other.
"I don't think I can run across," Ashley said. OK, I said, immediately going into emergency mode (I'm not really a panicker; I'm pretty practical during crazy situations, usually). My thought was to get as far away from the train as possible, which wouldn't be nearly as far as I wanted. I sat down on the edge, getting ready to crouch on a metal rail that was actually OFF the bridge.
"No, I think I can make it," Ashley spurted.
"Make up your mind!" I snapped.
"I can make it."
OK. So we take off back toward the ladder. We get to the part of the trail that Ashley hates, and I feel like we're going at a snail's pace. I refused to look behind us, because at that point, I didn't even want to know.
"Go!" I urged. "Go faster!"
It probably took us less than a minute to get back across that part, but it felt like an eternity. Once we got across, we broke into a run. At some point, I guess we wondered why we couldn't hear the train yet, plus we were pretty winded, so we slowed down and looked back.
The train still hadn't made it across the bridge. OK. So should we keep running, or did we have time? We sort of half-jogged, half-walked the rest of the way back to the ladder, no longer concerned with quiet or beauty or being above everything. We scurried down the ladder as quickly as our arms and legs would take us.
"I cannot believe that just happened," I told Ashley, shaky.
Well, as it turned out, the train actually stopped on the trestle. We're not sure why -- it may have been because the engineer saw us and wanted to make sure the tracks were clear. Whatever the reason, I'm glad!
I will probably climb the ladder again now that I've faced my fear, but I will definitely check the train schedule first!
Beyond facing fears and nearly getting hit by trains, last weekend was a good one for the most part. I got to hang out with my friends a lot. The only real downer was that Bobby was visiting his parents, so I didn't get to see him at all over the weekend. But I wasn't too sad, because I knew he would be coming into town Tuesday for a vacation day and to look for a job, so I would get to see him then and spend some time.
Except his boss had different plans. J called him up on his vacation day (which was actually the second day of his vacation) and basically told him if he didn't show up at work that night to help with election coverage, he may not have a job on Wednesday.
Excuse me? You, who approved his vacation dates, are now telling him he has to come in -- in the MIDDLE of his vacation? Seriously, that is way out of line. No normal company would dream of threatening an employee if he didn't come in during his vacation. And the thing is, if J had just called and explained the situation (apparently the new guy called in sick, which is a whole different issue), Bobby likely would have agreed to pitch in.
So this ended up being an awful thing, because Bobby had to leave town without us even getting to see each other, but it was a good thing in that it gave him the impetus to finally turn in a two-week notice, even though he had not found a job yet. We were both exceedingly angry that night, but I guess it turned out OK. It was sort of the last in a long line of wrongs that company has committed against both of us (I previously worked for the same company).
Anyway, Bobby went to work that night and on Wednesday (because somehow his sick days also got messed up ... Bobby says he should still have about half a sick day, the company says he is over on his sick days by one and a half. So, anyway, he agreed to work Wednesday to make up for one of the days, even though he didn't agree with it), then he came back into Tuscaloosa Wednesday night to spend some time with me and so he could job hunt on Thursday.
We had a nice date Thursday night. We went to Swen on the Strip and pretty much just enjoyed each other's company, then we took our friend Chris out for TCBY for his birthday. We also were able to talk to Chris about Bobby moving in with him until we get married, which would benefit both of them. The rent's not bad (less than what Bobby pays now), and the bills would be split three ways, so hopefully that will work out.
While I was at work Thursday, Bobby searched for a job. He dropped off quite a few resumes, filled out some applications in person and online and even interviewed at Longhorn. He would love working there, because it's his favorite place to eat, and I think he would enjoy being around people so much. I think he'll likely hear something back about that this week. We got to have lunch together on Thursday, and we spend the evening cooking (spaghetti with Italian sausage -- yum!) and watching the Troy/Middle Tennessee State game.
On Friday I had to take my car in to get my headlights replaced. I noticed they weren't working on Wednesday night, but I didn't have a chance to get them fixed on Thursday.
I was really worried it was going to be super-expensive, but I took them to a place my co-worker, Carolyn, recommended, and they told me to just go to the auto parts store and buy a couple of low beams, and they would install them for free! So it ended up only costing about $20, which was much less than I anticipated.
Last night I took care of some much-needed cleaning around my apartment. I finally got around to the bathroom, which had been neglected for FAR too long, and I removed a massive pile of laundry from the floor of my bedroom. I also rearranged my living room furniture. I think I like the new layout so far, because it makes the room look much more spacious.
I also spent some time answering questions on ChaCha, which is my newest obsession. Basically, I get paid to answer questions people text to this Web site. I'm up to about $35, and once I get to $100, they will deposit money to my bank account. Pretty cool, I think!
Today I'm working at the food pantry at Vineyard, because Ashley and Benji are going out of town, then Bobby is coming back into town to grill out and watch the Bama/Clemson game (ROLL TIDE!). We invited people over, but I'm not sure if anyone is coming. Should be fun, either way!
Oh, and tomorrow I get to run sound at church for the second week in a row! I had fun with it last week. This week I'm also showing Bobby how it's done. Then Monday is Labor Day, and we're both off! Hooray!!
New biggest fear? Maybe.
Ashley and I decided we were going on an adventure (Charlie) because we were tired of being old women who work 8-5 and go to bed early. We devised a game plan: Mexican food, then meet our destiny ... err, climb onto the railroad tracks and walk out onto the trestle bridge across the Black Warrior. As we munched on our Chimichangas I asked Ashley if we should worry about a train coming while we were up there.
"No," she replied. "I've been up there a whole bunch of times, and I've never seen a train."
Foreshadowing.
We finished up at Los and drove over to the area in Northport where the tracks are tall. Ashley had warned me that, to get onto the tracks, we would have to climb a pretty big ladder, and she wasn't sure I would do it. She said she had been really scared every time she did it, and it had usually taken her about four tries to make it all the way to the top.
If you don't know me, you might not know that I'm pretty scared of heights. Not even heights, really, I'm more afraid of falling from something really high. Put me in a roller coaster, where I'm strapped in, or a tall building, where there's a wall or window between me and the ground, and I'm perfectly fine. Put me on a shaky ladder where I'm the only thing keeping me from hitting the ground -- that's a totally different story.
So I started climbing the ladder first. It was a pretty giant wooden ladder -- didn't really make me feel better about the situation. And then, once I finally got all the way to the top, I would have to step across OPEN SPACE onto the tracks. My first thought on looking at it was that I would never be able to do it, and I would have to feel embarrassed about wussing out. But I gamely started making my way up the thing, which seemed to stretch on forever into the sky. In reality, it was probably 60 feet.
So I start climbing the thing with Ashley looking on and snapping pictures (yeah, thanks, if I fall to my death, I would love to have it documented). Ashley sort of neglected to tell me that the ladder SHAKES. I got about halfway up when I started thinking about trying to step across that space between the ladder and the tracks.
"I can't do it," I told Ashley. "I'm coming down."
I climbed back down the ladder, and Ashley asked if I thought I would be able to do it if she did it first. So she did. Then I felt really dumb standing at the bottom of the ladder while she was already at the top. I started climbing again.
I got a little higher than I did the first time before I came to a standstill. "You can do it," Ashley called down. "It's not that much farther, and it's much easier when you get to the top."
In all seriousness, I was praying. "God, help me, I can't do this," over and over. Slowly, step by step, I made my way up to the top. The funny thing was, getting across to the tracks was probably the easiest part, and it was the part that had worried me the most.
"You did it," Ashley said, still snapping pictures.
"I'm gonna cry." I waved my hand in front of my face to try to hold off the tears. I had just survived one of the scariest things I had ever made myself do.
Once I got over the initial shock of making it up the ladder, I let myself look around. It was amazing. The tracks, the gravel, being above the world. "I don't think I can climb back down," I told Ashley. "Can we walk off the tracks?" Yup. That's what we decided to do.
We started walking toward the bridge, taking photos of the tracks and each other, enjoying the quiet of the height. "The part right before the bridge scares me," Ashley confided. "There's no more gravel, so you can see down through the slats. I'd just be screwed if a train ever came, 'cause I don't think I could run across that!"
Strangely enough, this part of the tracks didn't bother me that badly, but Ashley took her dear sweet time getting across -- it probably took her about 6 or 7 minutes to cross that part of the path. We finally made it onto the bridge and walked out to the center to look at the sunset. Being over the river at sundown was the most beautiful experience. It made the whole ladder thing completely worth it.
After enjoying the view for several minutes, we were beginning to think about which way we wanted to walk off. Ashley looked toward the right. I looked toward the right. She said, "I think there's a train coming." We looked at each other.
"I don't think I can run across," Ashley said. OK, I said, immediately going into emergency mode (I'm not really a panicker; I'm pretty practical during crazy situations, usually). My thought was to get as far away from the train as possible, which wouldn't be nearly as far as I wanted. I sat down on the edge, getting ready to crouch on a metal rail that was actually OFF the bridge.
"No, I think I can make it," Ashley spurted.
"Make up your mind!" I snapped.
"I can make it."
OK. So we take off back toward the ladder. We get to the part of the trail that Ashley hates, and I feel like we're going at a snail's pace. I refused to look behind us, because at that point, I didn't even want to know.
"Go!" I urged. "Go faster!"
It probably took us less than a minute to get back across that part, but it felt like an eternity. Once we got across, we broke into a run. At some point, I guess we wondered why we couldn't hear the train yet, plus we were pretty winded, so we slowed down and looked back.
The train still hadn't made it across the bridge. OK. So should we keep running, or did we have time? We sort of half-jogged, half-walked the rest of the way back to the ladder, no longer concerned with quiet or beauty or being above everything. We scurried down the ladder as quickly as our arms and legs would take us.
"I cannot believe that just happened," I told Ashley, shaky.
Well, as it turned out, the train actually stopped on the trestle. We're not sure why -- it may have been because the engineer saw us and wanted to make sure the tracks were clear. Whatever the reason, I'm glad!
I will probably climb the ladder again now that I've faced my fear, but I will definitely check the train schedule first!
Beyond facing fears and nearly getting hit by trains, last weekend was a good one for the most part. I got to hang out with my friends a lot. The only real downer was that Bobby was visiting his parents, so I didn't get to see him at all over the weekend. But I wasn't too sad, because I knew he would be coming into town Tuesday for a vacation day and to look for a job, so I would get to see him then and spend some time.
Except his boss had different plans. J called him up on his vacation day (which was actually the second day of his vacation) and basically told him if he didn't show up at work that night to help with election coverage, he may not have a job on Wednesday.
Excuse me? You, who approved his vacation dates, are now telling him he has to come in -- in the MIDDLE of his vacation? Seriously, that is way out of line. No normal company would dream of threatening an employee if he didn't come in during his vacation. And the thing is, if J had just called and explained the situation (apparently the new guy called in sick, which is a whole different issue), Bobby likely would have agreed to pitch in.
So this ended up being an awful thing, because Bobby had to leave town without us even getting to see each other, but it was a good thing in that it gave him the impetus to finally turn in a two-week notice, even though he had not found a job yet. We were both exceedingly angry that night, but I guess it turned out OK. It was sort of the last in a long line of wrongs that company has committed against both of us (I previously worked for the same company).
Anyway, Bobby went to work that night and on Wednesday (because somehow his sick days also got messed up ... Bobby says he should still have about half a sick day, the company says he is over on his sick days by one and a half. So, anyway, he agreed to work Wednesday to make up for one of the days, even though he didn't agree with it), then he came back into Tuscaloosa Wednesday night to spend some time with me and so he could job hunt on Thursday.
We had a nice date Thursday night. We went to Swen on the Strip and pretty much just enjoyed each other's company, then we took our friend Chris out for TCBY for his birthday. We also were able to talk to Chris about Bobby moving in with him until we get married, which would benefit both of them. The rent's not bad (less than what Bobby pays now), and the bills would be split three ways, so hopefully that will work out.
While I was at work Thursday, Bobby searched for a job. He dropped off quite a few resumes, filled out some applications in person and online and even interviewed at Longhorn. He would love working there, because it's his favorite place to eat, and I think he would enjoy being around people so much. I think he'll likely hear something back about that this week. We got to have lunch together on Thursday, and we spend the evening cooking (spaghetti with Italian sausage -- yum!) and watching the Troy/Middle Tennessee State game.
On Friday I had to take my car in to get my headlights replaced. I noticed they weren't working on Wednesday night, but I didn't have a chance to get them fixed on Thursday.
I was really worried it was going to be super-expensive, but I took them to a place my co-worker, Carolyn, recommended, and they told me to just go to the auto parts store and buy a couple of low beams, and they would install them for free! So it ended up only costing about $20, which was much less than I anticipated.
Last night I took care of some much-needed cleaning around my apartment. I finally got around to the bathroom, which had been neglected for FAR too long, and I removed a massive pile of laundry from the floor of my bedroom. I also rearranged my living room furniture. I think I like the new layout so far, because it makes the room look much more spacious.
I also spent some time answering questions on ChaCha, which is my newest obsession. Basically, I get paid to answer questions people text to this Web site. I'm up to about $35, and once I get to $100, they will deposit money to my bank account. Pretty cool, I think!
Today I'm working at the food pantry at Vineyard, because Ashley and Benji are going out of town, then Bobby is coming back into town to grill out and watch the Bama/Clemson game (ROLL TIDE!). We invited people over, but I'm not sure if anyone is coming. Should be fun, either way!
Oh, and tomorrow I get to run sound at church for the second week in a row! I had fun with it last week. This week I'm also showing Bobby how it's done. Then Monday is Labor Day, and we're both off! Hooray!!