Because of the crazy weather we've had here for the last month, I had the honor and privilege of mowing my front lawn today. In JANUARY!
Over Christmas week it was really warm, followed by some nice rain, and more warmth. Since we put down lots and lots of fresh grass last summer since the front lawn had to be dug up, we apparently bought some hearty stuff that felt the need to grow.
Last weekend we had snow, and still had a pile of it on the lawn too. Since it 50 degrees (F, that is) today, I decided that I needed to cut my very tall grass. VERY tall grass.
So yes, I felt like an idiot today, mowing my lawn when it should be covered with snow, or at least in a dormant brown colored state like the rest of my neighbors.
That's my "wintery" January story for this weekend.
January 27, 2007
January 25, 2007
That Song Makes Me Sick
I am an eclectic person, particularly when it comes to music. If I use the "shuffle" feature on my iPod, I have to be careful who can hear it, because I can easiliy slip from Tim McGraw to Snoop, back to Billy Joel and then something from System of a Down. (SOAD is definately not work apropriate!)
But on Sunday afternoon as we were driving home in the snow I had a surreal experience. I heard a song that made me sick to my stomach. I literally felt like I was going to throw up. Not a good feeling on a snowy Sunday afternoon.
The song was "Carlene" by Phil Vassar. The song was released in early 2000, and really is a song that I have enjoyed for many years. One of my closest friends is named Charlene, so we have always changed the words just a little.
So why would such a nice song make me sick? Mold. Lots of mold.
When I first bought the CD that has the song "Carlene" I just just been placed into a new building for the business storage company that I worked for. This were so disorganized that we literally shipped 2,000 boxes to a rented warehouse to be sorted and labeled. My job was to do the sorting and labeling. Alone. I worked in that building for four days a week, and worked one day a week at the main office/warehouse.
The company (which I assume is still around) is an Archiving facility. Your business would send non-urgent, but still necessary-to-keep files to our facility. We store it, for a monthly fee, and will deliver your box(es) to you in 24 hours, for a second fee. There was availability of 1 hour and 2 hour delivery, but it was much more expensive, and really only utilized by law firms.
There were some pretty cool companies that used the company to store their stuff. Two big law firms downtown stored thousands of boxes, but they were boring. No need to catalog their stuff, they had staff to do that for them. I did get to catalog x-rays and some other random files, though.
One of the storing companies was the Recording Industry Association (RIAA). They didn't store much, but one day my brother found an original of the Gold Record presented to Bob Marley for one of his records! Pretty cool.
Anyway - the building they stuck me in was disgusting. I assume that the smell was just mold, but it would not come off of my clothes no matter how many times they were washed, and I had to shower as soon as I got home every day, or I could not stand to be around myself. I only wore certain clothes there, and threw them out as soon as I left the company.
I don't know if it was a contributing factor, but just before I got the building that was my own was when I had my Kidney Disease diagnosis. It sure made the decision to leave six months later easier!
When I heard that song on the radio Sunday, it didn't just bring back the mental images of that time in my life, it also brought back to me that nausiating smell/taste in my mouth, and I really did want to throw up.
That's such a waste of a really good song.
Are there songs that you know that bring back other senses for you?
But on Sunday afternoon as we were driving home in the snow I had a surreal experience. I heard a song that made me sick to my stomach. I literally felt like I was going to throw up. Not a good feeling on a snowy Sunday afternoon.
The song was "Carlene" by Phil Vassar. The song was released in early 2000, and really is a song that I have enjoyed for many years. One of my closest friends is named Charlene, so we have always changed the words just a little.
So why would such a nice song make me sick? Mold. Lots of mold.
When I first bought the CD that has the song "Carlene" I just just been placed into a new building for the business storage company that I worked for. This were so disorganized that we literally shipped 2,000 boxes to a rented warehouse to be sorted and labeled. My job was to do the sorting and labeling. Alone. I worked in that building for four days a week, and worked one day a week at the main office/warehouse.
The company (which I assume is still around) is an Archiving facility. Your business would send non-urgent, but still necessary-to-keep files to our facility. We store it, for a monthly fee, and will deliver your box(es) to you in 24 hours, for a second fee. There was availability of 1 hour and 2 hour delivery, but it was much more expensive, and really only utilized by law firms.
There were some pretty cool companies that used the company to store their stuff. Two big law firms downtown stored thousands of boxes, but they were boring. No need to catalog their stuff, they had staff to do that for them. I did get to catalog x-rays and some other random files, though.
One of the storing companies was the Recording Industry Association (RIAA). They didn't store much, but one day my brother found an original of the Gold Record presented to Bob Marley for one of his records! Pretty cool.
Anyway - the building they stuck me in was disgusting. I assume that the smell was just mold, but it would not come off of my clothes no matter how many times they were washed, and I had to shower as soon as I got home every day, or I could not stand to be around myself. I only wore certain clothes there, and threw them out as soon as I left the company.
I don't know if it was a contributing factor, but just before I got the building that was my own was when I had my Kidney Disease diagnosis. It sure made the decision to leave six months later easier!
When I heard that song on the radio Sunday, it didn't just bring back the mental images of that time in my life, it also brought back to me that nausiating smell/taste in my mouth, and I really did want to throw up.
That's such a waste of a really good song.
Are there songs that you know that bring back other senses for you?
January 21, 2007
Maggies First Snow!
Today we have gotten a little more than an inch of snowfall, and since Maggie is only nine months old, that means that this is her first snow! She's been barking at the falling snow all day, but looked right at home in it when I took her out this evening!
Here she is:
Now she's back to barking at the falling snow.
Downside to todays snow: tomorrow is the day before a Presbytery Meeting so I can't skip or go in late, and Anny has a teacher workday to do grades, so she has to go in also. Report cards have deadlines you know!
January 18, 2007
Retreating
It's funny that I worked at a retreat center/camp for so many years and I now dread going on retreats. I think that it's mostly based on the difference between my leading or being a participant.
I have not had many opportunities to be a participant over the years. That's not my personality, I guess. I can remember a retreat in New York City when I was a freshman in college that I participated really well at, but not many others.
My first Presbytery Youth Retreat I picked things up so quickly that I ended up leading a small group. I was supposed to be a participant only, but that changed.
The same was true of my first Synod-Wide Youth Retreat that I was to be a participant at. I ended up joining that committee within a month!
After having worked at Glenkirk/Meadowkirk for so much of my life, it's still hard for me to not pick up and help in the kitchen (though no help was needed/asked). I was still up really early, but stopped myself from going to the meeting room to "greet" everyone. Things have changed out there anyway, and I would not know what is what. The changes are great changes, but changes notheless.
Someday I think I want to go on a fulfilling retreat and be a participant again. It's nice to get away and not have responsibility for anything at all, just to sit back and learn. This retreat was not for that, it was a work retreat, but I hope to find something in the future.
Maybe I'll organize one for my church, but I bet I would be tapped to lead that one too!
I have not had many opportunities to be a participant over the years. That's not my personality, I guess. I can remember a retreat in New York City when I was a freshman in college that I participated really well at, but not many others.
My first Presbytery Youth Retreat I picked things up so quickly that I ended up leading a small group. I was supposed to be a participant only, but that changed.
The same was true of my first Synod-Wide Youth Retreat that I was to be a participant at. I ended up joining that committee within a month!
After having worked at Glenkirk/Meadowkirk for so much of my life, it's still hard for me to not pick up and help in the kitchen (though no help was needed/asked). I was still up really early, but stopped myself from going to the meeting room to "greet" everyone. Things have changed out there anyway, and I would not know what is what. The changes are great changes, but changes notheless.
Someday I think I want to go on a fulfilling retreat and be a participant again. It's nice to get away and not have responsibility for anything at all, just to sit back and learn. This retreat was not for that, it was a work retreat, but I hope to find something in the future.
Maybe I'll organize one for my church, but I bet I would be tapped to lead that one too!
January 09, 2007
2006 Year In BlogView
So I have seen other folks doing their Year in Review based solely on the first sentence from each months first post. Here's mine:
January: (no blog then)
February: Gramps - my grandfather on my dad's side - has very little on his "to do" list anymore.
March: I have what some people call an addictive personality.
April: Nope, not just another week in my book!
May: Now - on to politics!
June: So - I have been fairly anonymous in the blogging world for a while, only posting things from time to time, only commenting on sites of people that I know in the real world.
July: I have had to re-learn what the word clean means.
August: I woul hate to be involved in News Weather.
September: My boss has season tickets to the Washington Redskins, but could not go to last night's game, so My Brother and I got her tickets!
October: Okay, I'll have something more substantive to post by the end of the week, trust me.
November: I'm altogether sick of the political season.
December: We bought the new James Taylor Christmas CD and have not been disappointed!
I had actually forgotten that I will celebrate a Blogiversary next month!
So, that is an interesting project, since some of them mean nothing. (April) Others are still resonating (July)
January: (no blog then)
February: Gramps - my grandfather on my dad's side - has very little on his "to do" list anymore.
March: I have what some people call an addictive personality.
April: Nope, not just another week in my book!
May: Now - on to politics!
June: So - I have been fairly anonymous in the blogging world for a while, only posting things from time to time, only commenting on sites of people that I know in the real world.
July: I have had to re-learn what the word clean means.
August: I woul hate to be involved in News Weather.
September: My boss has season tickets to the Washington Redskins, but could not go to last night's game, so My Brother and I got her tickets!
October: Okay, I'll have something more substantive to post by the end of the week, trust me.
November: I'm altogether sick of the political season.
December: We bought the new James Taylor Christmas CD and have not been disappointed!
I had actually forgotten that I will celebrate a Blogiversary next month!
So, that is an interesting project, since some of them mean nothing. (April) Others are still resonating (July)
January 05, 2007
"Good things happen when you do good."
I hope that by now you have seen the story of the man that saved another man having a seizure that fell onto the Subway tracks in New York City this week. It's an amazing story.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/subway_rescue
I'm really happy that it seems like this story is getting more coverage than other things in the news. We can return to the depressing stuff later, but for now, lets' all celebrate with the "Hero of Harlem."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/subway_rescue
I'm really happy that it seems like this story is getting more coverage than other things in the news. We can return to the depressing stuff later, but for now, lets' all celebrate with the "Hero of Harlem."
January 02, 2007
My New Years Resolution
I am not one for New Year's Resolution, but 2007 will be a special year in my house. My resolution is:
In 2007 I will be better about deadlines, particularly as they apply to readying our house for the Baby On The Way!
The link obviously goes to the blog that Anny and I are keeping as the year winds around to June and our first child! We're both beyond excited.
But I really do need to do a better job about getting things done. I think I might get a countdown calendar with the due date at the end, because I have a lot to get done around the house between now and then!
Do you have a resolution? What is it/are they?
In 2007 I will be better about deadlines, particularly as they apply to readying our house for the Baby On The Way!
The link obviously goes to the blog that Anny and I are keeping as the year winds around to June and our first child! We're both beyond excited.
But I really do need to do a better job about getting things done. I think I might get a countdown calendar with the due date at the end, because I have a lot to get done around the house between now and then!
Do you have a resolution? What is it/are they?
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