Grace? You Think I Have Grace?

Years ago a couple of us were watching a new Seinfeld episode. It was the one where Elaine is interviewing at the publishing house Jackie Kennedy worked at and at one point in the interview the guy mentions he thinks she has grace. Her delivery of the above line was priceless and became a catch phrase between me and my then boyfriend and his roommate after they told me I reminded them of Elaine. I've used it many times over the years as I'm often told I'm graceful. Some get the reference, some do not. Imagine my lack of surprise when I discovered today that I was born on a Tuesday.

Monday's child is fair of face
Tuesday's child is full of grace
Wednesday's child is full of woe
Thursday's child has far to go
Friday's child is loving and giving
Saturday's child works hard for a living
But the child that is born on the Sabbath day is fair and wise, good and gay.

Quotes From Today

I told Agie I said nice things about her on my blog. Her response: "What'd you type? That cranky bitch better get some sleep soon?". Guess I'm not the only one not sleeping.

Asked my friend how things are going with his boy. Talk turned to my boy. Conversation went as follows:
R: i saw where you were grumpy lately
R: and your man rescued you on his biek
R: bike
planb: He can be pretty wonderful sometimes.
R: maybe boys aren't as bad as we thought
planb: maybe :)

I went out pretty big last night drunk dialing Paul late into the evening. I mentioned to him that my head is hurting and it is a hundred degrees in my office. His response: "I amoverwhelemd with sympthy". I detected a bit of sarcasm and let him know what his Christmas present is going to be. A space bar.

Things To Be Thankful For

1. Family - Even though my dad didn't come through with a visit while Paul and I were in California (story to come - still mad and hurt) I can't tell you how great my family is. We have never been a super tight-knit family, even less now that my grandparents have passed and a number of us have moved out of California but man they will be there for you if you need them. I really feel sometimes as though I don't deserve them. Today I found out my youngest cousin is shipping out Sunday to serve in Iraq for a year. I will pray every day that he returns unharmed. He is such an amazing guy and only 18. Okay, next - I'm tearing up here.

2. Friends - I have said this many times and I hope I will continue to say it: my friends are the greatest group of people you will ever be lucky enough to meet. Case in point: I had gotten to the point where I was okay with being alone on Thanksgiving. Paul was with his family, I was originally supposed to go to Cairo with friends but didn't and the friends who weren't in Cairo all went home. Except for Agie, who upon hearing I was planning on roasting a chicken and making a Thanksgiving dinner for one (wow that sounds so sad and pathetic now) decided to drag me along with her and her husband to his coworker's house for dinner. It turned out to be a really nice time. The boys did all the cooking. Three, count them, three turkeys were made. One baked, one fried and one smoked and they were all delicious. And thankfully spaced out over the evening due to *ahem* "fortuitous" planning and various cooking times. All in all a very good meal.

3. Paul - Go ahead and get the schmaltzy "ahhh" out of the way. We good? Allright. I had a lot of time to let my mind wander this past week and one of the things I did was reread some of my old posts and im conversations Paul and I had when we first started dating. It reminded me of how much fun I have with him and how easy and comfortable it is to be with him. I will be the first to say it hasn't been all flowers and sunshine but no real relationship ever is. I would be bored silly in a week if that were the case. I digress. My point here is that I realized (not for the first time and I'm sure not for the last) that for all the times the man drives me absolutely batty, his good qualities far outweigh the bad and honestly some of those things that make me crazy are the very things that make me like him. I know, I know. It makes my head hurt too.

I Am Such A Brat Sometimes

Paul got home Sunday night from being away a bit over a week. I'm pretty sure it's the longest we've gone without seeing each other and it was kinda tough. I really missed the guy. We talked pretty much once a day, texted a lot but it was no fun. I was busy with work and social stuff for a lot of the time so I wasn't mopey or anything, but I was really excited about seeing him Sunday night. I hadn't been sleeping well (see below) and didn't really eat anything that day (hypoglycemia kicked in) so when the first thing he said to me was "can you put lotion on my back?" instead of a hug, kiss, big smile and something along the lines of "it's really good to see you, I missed you" I was a bit grumpy. I tried my almost best to not make a big deal out of it because I was really happy to see him and I knew how badly his back had been itching all day, but I failed. He was good and snapped me out of it without making a fuss (reason 753 why I like him) and we had a great night hanging out.

Unfortunately every morning starting from the Saturday he left to yesterday, I woke up around 4 am and could not go back to sleep. This was just a minor annoyance for most of the time he was gone since I was off work, but man did it suck yesterday morning. From 4 am to 7 am I was stuck on my back or side trying not to move too much since Paul hadn't slept well while he was gone (sucky bed at his dad's). I was miserable. So when Paul got up and was being all cutsey and playful after telling me he wouldn't go 5 minutes out of his way to walk me to the metro it annoyed me (see prior mention of week of sleep deprivation) and I finally just kissed him and said "I'm leaving" and walked out. I was kicking myself while walking (difficult, very very difficult - do not attempt at home unless under the supervision of a trained professional) when who should appear on his bike? My wonderful boyfriend of course. What? You were expecting Aquaman? Please, everyone knows he rides a seahorse. He rolled up to my trying not to smile face, kissed me and said "hey grumpy" (reason 1257 why I like him). So the day was saved and I am once again reminded how lucky I am to have him around.

New Plan

Here's the new plan. I am going to update my blog with the most recent and current happenings and then slowly but surely fill in the gaps with my missing stories (I've been home and broken into [well, my apartment not me] and Thanksgiving and..... and no blog) so I do not fall even further behind. This whole catchup thing has kicked my ass.

Four Letters. Starts With "L"

A friend and I were talking about when and how to say ILY for the first time in a relationship. She is adamant that the female should wait for the male to say it. As a female, I can see her point. You don't want to say it too early and scare the guy off thinking he's dating some ticking child bomb who is just looking for a husband or an unstable thing who falls in love with every guy she sleeps with. On the other hand, I have been the recipient of a premature ILY and it scared the crap out of me and got me thinking that the guy was off his rocker (which, incidentally, turned out to be not true - I am just that lovable).

I think (as I believe the majority of the free world would) that it shouldn't be planned or thought out, but it should happen spontaneously when the feeling strikes you. Now granted, saying ILY for the first time is quite possibly one of the scariest things ever - not only are you apprehensive of the recipient not saying it back (or worse only saying it because you did, not because they mean it) but you are also scared that the recipient will say it back and I do believe that is scarier than the first option. If it is said back in earnest that means you two have broken down each other's walls, arrived at a point where you know each other better than most others (at least enough of the good and bad to know that nothing short of cheating, abuse or killing puppies in fields of dandelions for sport would change how you feel about them) and being that emotionally close to someone is scary, no matter how well-balanced you are mentally. It is one of the best feelings in the world though.

I have never gone into saying ILY with the expectation of hearing it back. I think it takes away the beauty and honesty of it if you go in with motives other than letting that person know what they mean to you. Some of the best ILYs have knocked both the giver and receiver off guard - said in the heat of an argument, during a laughing fit or worst of all, when you realize you are losing that person. I guess it really boils down to this. There are enough games played (both intentionally and unintentionally) in relationships without adding this to the mix. If you love someone, tell them. You never know when you won't get the chance.

Reason 532430 to Hate FOX

Argh. I am beyond upset. This news is worse than the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem fiasco (seriously, The Angels Angels of Anaheim?). Arrested Development gets cancelled and Stacked does not?!?!?! I'm sorry. I don't understand. Perhaps you need to not be nominated for and win multiple Emmys to remain on the tv. Well, that would explain Paul Moyer.

In HIS Shoes

Among the many activities that have kept me from updating my blog was the Annual 17th Street High Heel Race a couple weeks back. My coworker Christine invited a few of us to her soon to be former apartment which overlooks 17th Street to watch the race. Here's the deal for those of you not in the know:

D.C.'s annual High Heel Race takes place each year on the Tuesday night before Halloween, allowing men to dress in short skirts and strap on their high heels while they prepare to sprint down 17th Street between P and Q streets. The race is in its 18th year.

Starting around 6 p.m. people gather to watch the drag queens parade down the street to show off their outfits. At 9 p.m. sharp, a pistol shot begins the race and the drag queens run a two-block dead sprint north towards Q Street. The racers who actually do the sprint finish in about 90 seconds.

Click above for a link to some pictures of the evening.

Mark, You Are So Excited!

"More Aquaman news: The WB will give Aquaman the Smallville treatment, but it won’t be a spinoff launched by the recent fish-boy cameo on that series. The new producers promise that the character “won’t be talking to fish or riding a seahorse,” which will basically reduce him to an above average swimmer who wears orange spandex to class. [Variety]"

Fear the Blog

I resolve to never let my blog get this outdated again. The daunting task of getting this thing up to date is near overwhelming. The more I get behind the more I avoid updating. Vicious circle. Ugh.

Tales of Concerts Part Three

Chris Isaak at the 9:30 Club. It was a spur of the moment decision to go. I emailed some of my friends to see if anyone was interested and Heather replied yes so we went. I am so glad we did. Not only did it afford us the opportunity to catch up (she'd been out of the country for a bit) but we also got to get up close and personal with Chris. He has a tendency to walk through the crowd at his live shows. Good strategy - it keeps this girl coming back for more. It was almost as fun when the accordian player (accordianist?) came through the crowd. He took a drink from someone's beer and a hit off a cigarette. The band is fantastic - same one from his show. They've been together 20 some years and it shows. They played everything from Roy Orbison to ranchero (Mexican polka, not the sauce). One bad thing about the show - and I never, ever thought I would say this - I hate tall people. I actually felt somewhat short. And before you ask, no I don't feel any sympathy for the small people.

Is Anyone Surprised?

Sulu is gay. Scooter will be indicted. Rove will not (as of today).

Tales of Concerts Part Two

Def Leppard and Bryan Adams at Nissan Pavilion. It was an interesting crowd to say the least. This outing was inspired by Paul's friend Jorge's love of DL. Melissa and I enjoy Bryan Adams and DL in a completely casual, hey the song is on the radio and we like to sing along with it kind of way. Chris and Paul went because we ladies were going. So when Paul over stressed how vital it was that I leave work early to get to his house when Jorge got there, I complied. Granted, I was a bit annoyed with how little thought Paul gave to the fact that I needed to leave an hour early from a job that rarely lets me do that, but I did it. So, I left work about 15 minutes later than planned and ended up taking a cab to Paul's because he had me so afraid of making Jorge miss part of this concert only to arrive at Paul's and wait for Jorge for a good 20 to 30 minutes. Needless to say I was not in a great mood at that point. All I needed to do was vent for 2 minutes and then I would have been fine, but Paul was not in a great mood either and when I started to say something he bit my head off and I backed away instead of creating more drama. Ugh. To add to this already bad situation, Paul thought Melissa was supposed to call when they were on the way to the concert. When it was about 20 minutes before the concert and she hadn't called, he finally listened to my suggestion that he call her. They were already there. Okay. So we get there, wait around and find them and miss about the entire Bryan Adams set. Paul and I went to get beer and food (neither of us had eaten which added to our surliness) and I tried to talk to him about it in totally the wrong way. "I think it's interesting that the one person you were making everyone stress out about being on time for is the one who made us all late". Yeah, not really the best approach I admit. So when Paul snapped at me in reply I oh so maturely walked away. I grew up and started acting like a big girl and said "Look, all I need is 10 minutes to be grumpy about this and for you to understand that I deserve that 10 minutes" and then everything was okay and we all enjoyed the show.

More Catch Up

1. Tales of Concerts Part One

Weezer and Foo Fighters at the GMU Patriot Center. Originally, Agie and I were going to take our men along with us to this show. Her husband wasn't able to go at one point, then Paul and I broke up for those two hours in NC and I offered the ticket to Katie, then Agie offered her extra to her friend Cindy who is a hoot and a half, then I thought Paul would still want to go so then Agie offered it to her husband, then Paul thought Katie was going, etc.... When all was said and done Agie, Cindy and I went and I had an extra ticket which really kinda sucked but was 99% my fault and I ended up selling it for $20 or so to a scalper.

The girls and I had the day off from work (Thank you Mr. Columbus for "discovering" our great nation) so we headed out early with the thought of grabbing some grub and tailgating in the lot before the show. We stopped and ate some delish bbq, parked at the Patriot Center and broke open the bottle of wine. Keep in mind Paul had warned me not to drink in the parking lot since it was on a campus. Bringing up my numerous drinking in parking lot experiences I pshawed him...maybe even laughed a bit. During the second bottle of wine, the girls and I were laughing and having a great time. Such a great time that none of us paid much attention to the mini-van that parked behind us perpendicular to Agie's car. Nor did we pay mind to the two people in black hooded sweatshirts that walked up to each side of the car. We each thought they were more of the stadium workers being dropped off. Yeah, no. The woman on Agie's side leaned into the window, slid her badge out from under her sweatshirt and said "I assume you all are of age, right?". Oh, the look of disappointment that crossed her face when we said yes. Our word was good enough for her, but not for the Beer Garden peeps inside.

One of the many drawbacks of seeing a show at the Patriot Center is the way they sell "adult beverages". They have these things called Beer Gardens which are fenced in areas that you go to to purchase and consume alcohol. There are only about 4 or 5 of these prisons in the entire arena. You aren't allowed to take any beverages out with you. Basically, if you want a beer during the show you have to miss the show. It gets better. You get carded by a person at a table in front of the BG. They stamp your hand and put a wristband on you. Then you walk five steps to the entrance where you are once again carded while your wristband is checked. Then you enter the BG (which again, is completely walled in) where upon placing your order YOU ARE CARDED AGAIN. Because the double carding, wristband, handstamping and walled enclosure aren't enough. Sigh.

Anyways, the show was fan-fricken-tastic. Weezer and Foo both sound great live so it was worth any hassle. Weezer played My Name is Jonas and Foo played The One. Two relatively unknown but favorite songs of mine. I like to think they knew I was there. And of course, Buddy Holly, Undone, and Everlong.

At A Loss For Words

Paul has been under a lot of stress lately and very busy picking up extra shifts at his part time job. This has made him a bit grumpy and forgetful (both understandable under the circumstances). It sucks having someone I care about unhappy, plus I don't get to see him as much as I'd like, but IMHO I am being very understanding and non-demanding. The one thing I really like is him calling before going to bed. I like to hear his voice before I fall asleep (which given recent events I don't think is unreasonable - more later) and given what little contact we do have during the day is through im or texting on our phones, one one minute call at the end of the day isn't too much to ask, right? Not hearing the voice of the person you are involved with for an entire day (sometimes more) has an odd effect. It tends to make you forget things like how just a simple interaction with that person makes you feel better about just about anything or how funny they can be or the reasons why you like them. So when I got this im from Paul this afternoon I busted out laughing and smiled, remembering why I like the guy so darn much.

"My day got so much better now that I have underwear".

It's No Aquagirl

But I guess I'll deal.

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Lion FlareYour Superpower is Extra-dimensionalYour Weakness is SnakesYour Weapon is Your Kinetic PitchforkYour Mode of Transportation is Dragon

What's" your Superhero Name?

Small Break

Okay, that should tide you over until Monday when I promise to continue getting up to speed. Things to look forward to:

1. Tales of concerts - Weezer, Foo Fighters, Chris Isaak and last but not least the double bill of Bryan Adams and Def Leppard. No, I'm not kidding.
2. Weekend in NC with Paul's dad.
3. Planning for trip home.
4. Work woes.
5. Wedding bells.

Boston Trip

I had such a great time in Boston. I flew up Thursday morning, got picked up by Paul, his dad (Mr. E) and nieces and then went to the hotel for a nap. Thursday evening we had the rehearsal dinner for Paul's cousin's wedding (hereafter known as S&P). It was nice, small and without a great amount of drama. We rode out with Paul's aunt and uncle with Mr. E following with Paul's brother's family (bro, wife, two daughters). Unfortunately, we got lost.....even with GPS. It was pretty funny to us, but I'm sure Mr. E was about to kill us.

Friday we went shopping at the mall to pick up some stuff (belt for Paul, sweaters for the ladies), had lunch and then went back to the hotel for a nap (hey - I was on vacation) and to get prettied up. I must say Paul and I clean up pretty damn well. About 1/2 an hour before the ceremony I got a text from Agie saying "I'm so sorry". I figured my boss was freaking out about something so I texted back "Why?". Little did I know what it really was.

Turns out a coworker of mine (the one in the office that I had the least amount of good feelings towards) was killed in a car accident in KY. Every year we do a media tour through KY and TN right after our big MV event and she was on it this year. Blind intersection, hill, fast truck. She was killed instantly thank God (for the instant part, not the dead part). Just awful. She was only 28. I pretty much felt like a chump having fun the rest of the weekend.

The wedding was at the family church where Paul's mother's family has all been married, baptized, funeraled (yes, I made that up just now - deal). After the ceremony we headed over to the reception which was at a restaurant on the water. Great view, good food and wine and most importantly, a bar adjacent to the reception room that was showing the Sox/Yankees game. Even with the DJ giving end of inning updates, most of the wedding party (including the groom) and the guests ended up in the bar at some point. We ended up catching a ride back to the hotel with Adam, the bride's brother, and his wife. I was done at that point so Paul put me to bed and went to get food and party with his aunt, uncle and cousin among others. Paul and Adam ran into a bunch of San Diego Chargers in the elevator, which I imagine can be a bit disconcerting when you are drunk.

Saturday was spent recuperating and watching more baseball. We rallied and headed into the city to meet up with my brother, sister-in-law and mother for dinner. After trudging (ahem, strolling) around Beacon Hill we finally got a table at a small Italian restaurant and had a pretty good dinner. It was great spending time with my family and Paul. I miss having fun and laughing with my brother.

Sunday we headed back home but of course no Paul and PlanB travel is complete without some sort of delay/trouble with transportation. Our flight was a bit late bording, then we were told once we had boarded that it would be about 1/2 an hour because one of the a/cs wasn't working. Then we were told to deplane because it was going to take an hour to fix. So Paul was chipper at this point. I hate when stuff like that happens, not because of the inconvenience (that is a pain, but it is manageable) but because Paul can get really, um, what's the word..... pissy. He tends to become very selfish in situations like that. He gets mad, complains and pretty much makes it so I can't be grumpy and mad because two of us like that would be awful. I usually try to make it not so bad, he usually foils my attempts and continues his grump. So it was a delightful trip home to say the least. And we didn't even have the worst of it - we were only three hours late getting back. Paul's brother's family didn't get home until after 1 am. Talk about a nightmare trip!

Stop Bothering Me

I realize I have been remiss over the past month. I am sorry. It has been completely crazy here. Let's go back to the start of it all. Mount Vernon. Ugh. Man that was a long, long week. On Friday the 23rd I ended up getting a root canal which I think y'all know about. Well, I worked that entire weekend out at MV and didn't have the opportunity to fill my prescription for antibiotics. Big trouble in little molar. It was bothering me so badly by Monday that I was sleeping maybe 3 hours total a night. So I went back to the dentist Monday morning where she prescribed Percoset and then rethought giving it to me when I said I would be going straight back to work. I talked her into it (I'm persuasive that way) and off I went. She warned me there would be some swelling the next day, but that the pain would be better. Wow was she right. I woke up Tuesday morning with a small country protruding from my lower right jaw. It was awful. I felt like a mongloid. Anyways, I called the dentist later that morning concerned that it was so swollen (I had a big event Wednesday and a wedding with Paul's family Friday) and he prescribed a stronger antibiotic and a steroid. I worked a good 12 hour day on Tuesday and woke up Wednesday with a smaller, but still swollen jaw. At this point I wasn't complaining because I actually got four hours of sleep in a row and the pain was almost gone. Wednesday I worked a 12 hour day on my feet (ankle seems to be pretty much better - YAY) with about 3 bites of a bad Subway sandwich fueling me and my jaw hurting again from talking so much during the day/evening events. So when my boss decided that 9 pm the night of my 10th day in a row working in pain with 3 hours sleep a night and virtually no food was a good time to chew me out for seating people at his table that he told me to seat at his table I was ready to quit. If I wasn't on vacation Thursday and Friday I probably would have. Ridiculous. Instead I walked away after he told me to sit down and have some food (he always hugs after he hits) and burst into tears when one of my coworkers asked what was wrong. Ugh - how unprofessional of me. Anyways, she took me home and I started my vacation hating my job and boss.

An Entertaining Read

A bit long, but highly entertaining. I do believe I have received some of these spam emails. Too funny. And yes, I do realize I need to do an update. Count on it today or tomorrow!