Diary of a Fruitcake, Take #1 1/2
Long time, no write, huh? To be honest, my original idea was to write weekly diary entries, but . . . Sunday's usually my busiest day of the week. Sorry! *whimpers and frets* Hope this lil'!update makes up for it.
Last week was, well, interesting! The first few days were relatively uneventful, as you know, but I made sure to snag some fun-size choco bars at the LifeTeen Core meeting on Mardi Gras (and just so you know, Butterfinger Crisp bars are teh yum). Ash Wednesday was neat for two reasons: first, for one of the first times in my life I got to attend Mass in the morning and run around all day with ashes on my forehead, and second, I started a temp job--get this--steaming clothes at Levi Strauss! Well, my coworker used the actual steamer, which looked like a vacuum cleaner with an attached water bottle, and I used a steam iron, but it was fun. The guy's name was Petr, and it was great working with him because we had such wonderful conversations; it turned out we had something in common, too, since I once visited his hometown of Prague in the Czech Republic. We also had in common the fact that he immigrated, through marriage, to the U.S. by way of the immigration building where I used to work. But it was especially neat to hear him refresh my memories of the Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, and Golden Street. Small world--literally!
Then, last weekend was hectic. I had to sing in the St. Ray's band for both the Young Adult night and the Life Night (for LifeTeen), which was uplifting but changed the weekend from recharging to downright draining. I was in good voice, though, and our blend was great--whenever Sister wasn't coughing and hacking from her massive cold. Poor Sister . . . she even disciplined herself to cough on the rests! -.-*
This week gave me the golden, albeit frustrating opportunity to show what I'm made of--at light reception work! Aside from handling the occasional mishap, like an employee who hadn't been added to the company's visitor list or a man who had been sent the wrong veggie burrito (neither of which were my fault!), this was great. In fact, an agent from my temp agency called to check up on me and offer another position, and after I chirped, "Thank you for calling XYZ Corp, this is Michelle, how may I help you?" she immediately said, "You sound great!" And I was thinking, "Er, who's this?" XD Believe it or not, this week I'll be going back to Levi Strauss to do some receptioning (which is probably not a real word, but who cares?).
This weekend was liek whoa. I gave myself a bit of reprieve from my "no alcohol" lenten resolution to join my sis and her friends in some strawberry margaritas before my sis and I went down to a bar named Keat's for some karaoke! It was great, with me singing the Dixie Chicks' version of "Landslide" and joining with my sister on the Bangles' "Manic Monday", among other songs. The wait to sing was long, though, which made me hit the sack after 3am. That would've been okay if the following day wasn't the LifeTeen overnight retreat. As a Core member, I stayed overnight, sleeping on the hard stage floor of the St. Ray's school auditorium (though I got to snuggle with my dear Conan plushie!); some girls thought it would be fun to scream like banshees and bust out with show tunes after 3am. Almost feels like recompense for having too much fun on a Friday in Lent. And the running around was insane . . . went to the retreat on Saturday afternoon, helped with set up, led the praise and worship singing with Sister, led a small group, etc., then sang for our Holy Hour in the church, then endured the noise, then woke up at 8am to leave and sing for Fordham's choir Mass, then went with my sis and our not-cousin for his birthday (a whole other story XD) and helped her grade papers at IHOP, and then returned to St. Ray's to sing for the retreat's closing Mass. Needless to say, I'm pooped.
But I have to wake up early tomorrow. How early? Try . . . 4:45am.
Hey, tempin' ain't easy! ^_^
All in all, I'm in much better spirits than I have been of late, and that's saying something. In fact, tonight I ended up spilling much more of my family history to Sister than I'd planned, and she shocked me by saying that I'm remarkably well-adjusted! For someone like me, and those who are like this know what I mean, it's hard to believe that I'm not psycho or just incredibly weak. It's the biggest consolation in the world to be told I'm strong. God is really, really good.
In case anyone's wondering where my Kiss is, here's a confession: it's, er, not ready yet. BUT! I'll take advantage of my free afternoons to beat that deadline and make an exception to the "no Internet" resolution to post it as soon as it's done. I'm stuck again, but I've beat writer's block before. Till next week, maybe? Ta ta!
Last week was, well, interesting! The first few days were relatively uneventful, as you know, but I made sure to snag some fun-size choco bars at the LifeTeen Core meeting on Mardi Gras (and just so you know, Butterfinger Crisp bars are teh yum). Ash Wednesday was neat for two reasons: first, for one of the first times in my life I got to attend Mass in the morning and run around all day with ashes on my forehead, and second, I started a temp job--get this--steaming clothes at Levi Strauss! Well, my coworker used the actual steamer, which looked like a vacuum cleaner with an attached water bottle, and I used a steam iron, but it was fun. The guy's name was Petr, and it was great working with him because we had such wonderful conversations; it turned out we had something in common, too, since I once visited his hometown of Prague in the Czech Republic. We also had in common the fact that he immigrated, through marriage, to the U.S. by way of the immigration building where I used to work. But it was especially neat to hear him refresh my memories of the Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, and Golden Street. Small world--literally!
Then, last weekend was hectic. I had to sing in the St. Ray's band for both the Young Adult night and the Life Night (for LifeTeen), which was uplifting but changed the weekend from recharging to downright draining. I was in good voice, though, and our blend was great--whenever Sister wasn't coughing and hacking from her massive cold. Poor Sister . . . she even disciplined herself to cough on the rests! -.-*
This week gave me the golden, albeit frustrating opportunity to show what I'm made of--at light reception work! Aside from handling the occasional mishap, like an employee who hadn't been added to the company's visitor list or a man who had been sent the wrong veggie burrito (neither of which were my fault!), this was great. In fact, an agent from my temp agency called to check up on me and offer another position, and after I chirped, "Thank you for calling XYZ Corp, this is Michelle, how may I help you?" she immediately said, "You sound great!" And I was thinking, "Er, who's this?" XD Believe it or not, this week I'll be going back to Levi Strauss to do some receptioning (which is probably not a real word, but who cares?).
This weekend was liek whoa. I gave myself a bit of reprieve from my "no alcohol" lenten resolution to join my sis and her friends in some strawberry margaritas before my sis and I went down to a bar named Keat's for some karaoke! It was great, with me singing the Dixie Chicks' version of "Landslide" and joining with my sister on the Bangles' "Manic Monday", among other songs. The wait to sing was long, though, which made me hit the sack after 3am. That would've been okay if the following day wasn't the LifeTeen overnight retreat. As a Core member, I stayed overnight, sleeping on the hard stage floor of the St. Ray's school auditorium (though I got to snuggle with my dear Conan plushie!); some girls thought it would be fun to scream like banshees and bust out with show tunes after 3am. Almost feels like recompense for having too much fun on a Friday in Lent. And the running around was insane . . . went to the retreat on Saturday afternoon, helped with set up, led the praise and worship singing with Sister, led a small group, etc., then sang for our Holy Hour in the church, then endured the noise, then woke up at 8am to leave and sing for Fordham's choir Mass, then went with my sis and our not-cousin for his birthday (a whole other story XD) and helped her grade papers at IHOP, and then returned to St. Ray's to sing for the retreat's closing Mass. Needless to say, I'm pooped.
But I have to wake up early tomorrow. How early? Try . . . 4:45am.
Hey, tempin' ain't easy! ^_^
All in all, I'm in much better spirits than I have been of late, and that's saying something. In fact, tonight I ended up spilling much more of my family history to Sister than I'd planned, and she shocked me by saying that I'm remarkably well-adjusted! For someone like me, and those who are like this know what I mean, it's hard to believe that I'm not psycho or just incredibly weak. It's the biggest consolation in the world to be told I'm strong. God is really, really good.
In case anyone's wondering where my Kiss is, here's a confession: it's, er, not ready yet. BUT! I'll take advantage of my free afternoons to beat that deadline and make an exception to the "no Internet" resolution to post it as soon as it's done. I'm stuck again, but I've beat writer's block before. Till next week, maybe? Ta ta!