Oh yeah. I had a great day at work today. I had ill bodings this morning, but I figured it was just because we’d been super busy all week and today was a Friday…of course, it would be worse today. I had no idea just how much worse. I was not in my favorite position for starters–I was in the slowest, most boring position. I decided to do some stocking, and, while trying to break the plastic on a container (which I had raised to the level of my head), the plastic broke suddenly causing me to punch myself in the face. At first, I was just stunned. Then, I felt the pain. Glancing in the ghostly reflection of a glass, I saw (and was beginning to feel) something on my lips. A co-worker confirmed it–my upper lip was bleeding. You can’t imagine how many "Why would you do a thing like that to yourself?" comments I got.

Actually, that was the funniest part of my day. I’m like that. I guess it’s because of my tomboyish childhood. What wasn’t so hot was after the humor–and bleeding–had faded, there remained the pain and the consciousness of a puffy lip. Fortunately, it isn’t visible (yet) unless my mouth is open, but smiling hurts–and smiling is part of my job. I can only imagine how silly I looked giving my customers a weak, lopsided smile.

Fortunately (in a rather cruel way), I was spared smiling. The rush hit harder than ever. My last two hours, I was put in my favorite spot (just about the rush time). The person in that position before me had not done well in the morning duties, leaving me behind before I started. Then, the rush hit, and I there was no way to catch up. And, as a hard rush usually does (with many customers thinking they’re the only people in existance–and some of the equipment on the fritz), my smile faded into the world of limbo…not totally dead but mostly.

To crown off my day, my manager forgot to let me off and I ended working almost an extra hour–which I didn’t mind so much because I get paid what I work. It wasn’t fun counting money while having to keep my head upright, though…blast this runny nose. Oh yes, and the circulation in my pinky finger mysteriously cut off for my last hour at work. It kind of scared me. I had no idea why it happened; there was just this brilliantly white finger glaring at me. Ick. Creepy. It went back to normal about a half hour or more after I got home. Cre-eepy.

Now, I’m going to do these memes and take a nice, long bath. Oo…

Friday’s Feast 137:

Appetizer
What are you proud of? My writing…it’s my precious.

Soup
What is the best thing you’ve ever won as a prize? People begging me to hurry up and write my next chapter because they’re dying to find out what happens next.

Salad
Name something you do that is a waste of time. Spider solitaire.

Main Course
In what year of your life did you change the most? Either 7th grade or last year.

Dessert
Where is a place you consider to be very tranquil? A special little spot set aside in my mind. I sure miss that spot out in the woods with the creek running through it, though. Mm. Good times.

Five on Friday: Foolish

1. When was the last time you felt at least a little foolish? This morning when I punched myself in the face.

2. What is the most zany thing you’ve done in the name of fun? The first thing that comes to mind is when I got some friends to join me in pretending that we were getting drunk off of Root Beer. It wasn’t really pretending, though, as much Root Beer as we had. Can you say "sugar high?"

3. How well do you receive practical jokes? I usually find it pretty funny–though, I’ll admit, I mostly give rather than receive. ;)

4. Which topics or aspects of life do you feel should be off-limits from jokes? I think everything’s fair game. It depends on the circumstances and the people you’re around.

5. What’s the funniest practical joke or prank you’ve heard about or thought up? My brother and I both favor the peanut butter on your shoe trick. Lick the stuff for a greater audience effect.

Friday Fill-In:

1. I love my … novel!
2. Looking in the mirror, I see … hot stuff. lol.
3. The best thing that happened to me this week was …. going to the library and picking up more mysteries on cassette than I know what to do with!
4. Writing … is one of my favorite things to do!
5. I always have a good time …. (if I said "writing," it might get monotonous…) singing and dancing.
6. I’m looking for … fun this weekend.
7. "Oh, I’m bein’ followed by another adoring fan." LOL!

Well, that’s all. I’m now going for a nice, hot bath…and to debate whether or not I’m really well enough to hang out with my crazy friends tomorrow. It depends on whether or not C4 is doing her play this weekend.

Until Sunday…Farewell. And Shabbat Shalom! 

As usual, I’m all tired out after a fun day with friends. Her Majesty planned a surprise party for C4. We ended up taking all the kiddies, but hey, they’re lots of fun. We had the party at Calev’s; all we really had time for was a great game of Apples to Apples (love that game), which I ended up winning. Then, we were supposed to go to a dance party, but C4’s older sister wanted to visit her, so we all went home (to her parents’). Once there, most of us rollerbladed in the basement until we were exhausted, injured or both. Then, the kiddies were put to bed and we older ones watching Stranger Than Fiction and Lady in the Water. I saw them both for the first time and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Great movies.

Well, by then it was after midnight, and I was falling asleep. C4 decided it was a good time to go home (she had to work this morning, poor thing). During the drive, I told her that Imah was planning to move somewhere around the Washington/Oregon border where most of our family resides–and she’s going to have me come with her! Well, I don’t relish the thought of moving away from my dancing friends. Besides, Imah plans to move near a family member (or two) with health problems to help out a bit. Her need to take care of someone won’t have to be fulfilled by me anymore. And there’s the fact that Imah and I get along like a dog and cat.

So, C4 suggested a good paying job with the Navy–that way I could stay up here. Hey, it couldn’t hurt. I’m going to go for it. 

Unconscious Mutterings, Week 216:

1. Groovy :: lava lamps
2. Jealousy :: possessiveness
3. Watching :: spying
4. Kenny :: I love and miss my Kenny.
5. Games :: Charades
6. Bread :: challah
7. City :: Zion (oo, yeah)
8. Stems :: food (lol! I’m hungry, ok?)
9. Birds :: eagles (I love eagles and hawks.)
10. Listener :: eavesdropping

randomness…feed your mind and your blog Week of March 25:

A Few of My Favorite Things what’s your favorite…..

1. food: Vanilla ice cream

2. movie: Oo, toughy. Probably the Princess Bride–it has a little of everything. Except dragons; it doesn’t have any dragons. Phooey.

3. song: Unwritten

4. color: It was pink, but now I’m undecided between pink and red. And my old fave, green, is taking advantage of that.

5. outdoor activity: running back inside–lol! Um, all I can think of is roller blading.

6. season: summer. Oh yeah.

7. book: that’s just cruel! I can’t have a favorite book!

8. store: Borders (unless Amazon.com counts)

9. car: Hummer

10. animal: White Tiger

Oh, yes. I ran into a little snag in my novel. I started freaking out because I thought I was stuck again after all that outlining of what was to come. I finally came to realize I should just start writing. I thought I should have another scene before a big action scene, but , heck, I don’t need it! Booyah! So, I went straight to the action scene. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to finish it. Maybe today. Maybe.

Well, that’s all for now. I’m tired and I have a headache. And I have to chores to get done. Oh joy.

Ok, I have to be quick. Bedtime comes early (and I mean early) because I’ve been cheating sleep for too long, and I have a long and exciting day tomorrow. Can’t talk about that now, though.

Friday’s Feast 136:

Appetizer
Who is your favorite news anchor/reporter? Why? They have names?

Soup
Name 3 foods that are currently in your freezer. Cranberries, strawberries, hamburger.

Salad
If you were to have the opportunity to name a new town or city, what would you call it? I’d call it plain, old Yaffa. Although, Ashyraville sounds tempting…

Main Course
What will most likely be the next book you read? Patrick McManus’ How I Got This Way. It’s sitting on my shelf waiting for me to finish the book I’m on now.

Dessert
What’s the first thing you notice about the opposite gender? What I really truly notice? The eyes, definitely. I’m an eyes person.

Five on Friday: Idolatry

1. Have you been sucked in by American Idol? Nope.

2. Do you own any albums or songs by former American Idol contestants? No.

3. What kinds of contestants do you find yourself rooting for? Who is your favorite this year? Who do you think will win? What? That show is back again?

4. Which do you enjoy most: the auditions or the finals? Eh…?

5. If the American Idol auditions came to a city near you, would you go? Why? As much as I love singing, I’m not desperate enough to subject myself to some flakey Hollywood judges.

Friday Fiver:

1. What do you dream about? I rarely dream (and then it’s usually a nightmare).

2. Who has been mean to you, lately? Mean? I’ve only had a couple that were mean this week. Rude on the other hand…

3. What makes you tremble in fear? Having to get up for work at 2:30 in the morning. Grr.

4. Tell us something you’ve destroyed: Ha! That’s an awfully long list. My family didn’t call me the Destructo for nothing. (You name it, I’ve probably broken it: furniture, sink handles, expensive lamps…)

5. Do you feel in control over your life? Mostly…

Okie dokie. I’m going to eat some more cookie dough and head off to bed.

Farewell. Laila Tov. And Shabbat Shalom! 

Had a great time yesterday. C4 took me to Puyallup with her brothers. I got some writing done, plus I outlined what’s going to happen for the next two or three chapters. I’m so revved about that.

Sadly, the Pesach (Passover) play C4 has is falling apart; people keep dropping out and the like. (I know what that’s like; I’ve tried to get a singing team together and, boy, did that fall through–they all dropped off one by one.) I think there’s a little too much drama going on from what I’ve heard. (The people at this place do seem to like their drama; it’s people like them that once made me a recluse. After what they did to some other friends of mine–well, I don’t really socialize with them. I just go for Yoseph’s dancing.)

Anyway, we inevitably got bored and left, stopping by the video rental place to pick up some movies to watch at C4’s family’s house. As usual, we were affectionately attacked by the munchkins, because of whom, we had to watch our movies in the basement (the movies were PG-13 & R).

I arrived home by 1 this morning–with Imah waiting to grill me. (Thanks. I couldn’t have left the keys in the door all night without you.) I am now watching another movie I borrowed from my Girls–Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith. Eh, actually, I’ve just finished. I had to put the computer down to watch the final duels. I liked it. It was great. It makes me want to watch the originals again…right now. Phooey. I will own the whole series one day. I must. It is…my destiny.

Unconscious Mutterings, Week 215: 

1. San Francisco :: I left my heart in…
2. Sadness :: mopey
3. Spirits :: angels or demons
4. Harriet :: …Tubman
5. State :: …of the Union
6. John :: …White (my main character, Ellie’s, father)
7. Offense :: trial (coming on)
8. Timeless :: classic
9. Account :: library…
10. Refuse :: garbage

For today’s:

Unconscious Mutterings, Week 135: 

Appetizer
Name two things that made you smile this week. Nice customers. Remembering a camp friend.

Soup
Fill in the blank: Don’t you hate it when ________? …people blame you for something out of your control?

Salad
When you can’t go to sleep, what is your personal remedy to help yourself drift into Lullabyland? Get up and walk around a bit; turn on an audio book.

Main Course
What is something about which you’ve always wondered but have not yet found a good answer? Lots of questions about life and of religion. Probably never to be answered (in this life).

Dessert
What is your favorite pasta dish? Lasagna!

Five on Friday: Soup to Nuts

1. Are you a fan of soup? As a side dish, yes.

2. What is your favorite kind of soup? That spicy, red one at the Olive Garden. Mm.

3. Are you a fan of nuts? Not really.

4. What is your favorite kind of nut or dish containing nuts? Almonds.

5. If you had to eliminate either soup or nuts from your diet for the rest of your life, which would you choose? Nuts. (Grilled cheese sandwiches just wouldn’t be the same without chicken noodle or tomato soup.)

I’m taking opening at work a lot better. For one thing, I’m no longer uttering evil curses for the shift scheduler upon waking at 2:30am every morning. I’m also trying to get up at 3–I made it today, but my hair was wet, my shirt was untucked, and various other piddling details. I just wanted to watch the premier of Raines @10 last night–and figured since I was off work by 11am, sleep wasn’t very important. LOL! I actually did ok until my last hour. Ick. Not cool.

Anyway, opening–it’s ok. I sleep in shifts, and, hey, I’m usually off by 1pm at the latest. The rest of the day is mine. Mine. MINE!!

Oh yes, I got my first professional manicure about weeks ago, and, urged by Imah, got the acrylic nails (today!) because they’re supposed to last longer. I have my doubts. I’m pretty rough on my nails at work. It’s a little difficult typing now, though. The nails aren’t long…but apparently long enough. It feels very odd. And, of course, I’m afraid of mutilating them. I’m pretty good at ruining and destroying. My family didn’t call me The Destructo for nothing.

Tomorrow, I’m going to Puyallup with C4. I’m so excited. I’ve been in a dancing mood since Calev and Josi stopped by last Saturday to give me my new dance CD (and a morbid Valentine’s card–something about a bloody heart; the less you know about it the better, blah, blah–it was perfect!! And they knew it! Todah!) So..dance. I wanted to dance or something today. It was so stinkin’ nice out! What the heck is that? An idea popped in my head. If it’s like this tomorrow–rollerblades, baby. I called C4 up and told her if she doesn’t have her own rollerblades, she’d better borrow her brother’s. I plan on calling her in the morning to make sure she doesn’t forget.

I was hoping that Calev and Josi could meet up with us and (re)teach us some fun dances. Unfortunately, Her Majesty is sick. Get well soon! (I had nothing to do it–this time.)  

Oh, I have to tell this. So, I’m at work this Monday, and around lunch time, a coworker says to me over the headset, "There’s someone here to see you." Believing it to be Imah, I begin imagining all sorts of horrible scenarios. I walk up to the front of the store and this guy catches my eye. "Hey! Good to see you! How are you doing?"

Who in God’s creation are you? I recognized him, I did. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I came right out and told him so. It was crowded and I thought he said something about Calev. Oh! I must have met this guy at one of the dance parties Calev goes to. So, I nodded and smiled and pretended I now knew this guy. My headset then informed me I had a customer waiting, so I hurried away.

The girl with the other headset teased, "Who’s that? He has a nice smile." I gave a flustered laugh, trying to explain that I couldn’t remember who he was. It was a few minutes later, after another coworker (with more teasing) handed me a card on which the guy had written his name and number. I stared at the name, wracking my brain.

It dawned on me. He’d said "camp" not "Caleb." I knew who it was! It was the brother of one of my fellow camp counselors; he was one of the maintainance guys–and he loved what he’d read of my novel. I was so relieved to know who he was. I called him after work and found out he works not far from me; he found out I’m almost done with my novel. (Unfortunately, the computer troubles screwed up my document; I can’t open it right now. Grr. I’m working on fixing it, but it looks like it’s going to set me back.)

So, anyway, I got this crazy idea of inviting him to come with C4 and I. I’m weighing the pros and cons. Our schedule is pretty relaxed; we almost never know what we’re going to do for the day. I’m just afraid of him getting bored. Plus, this weekend, he probably has plans for St. Patty’s. 

We’ll see. Farewell and Shabbat Shalom! 

Too crabby. Going straight to the memes.

Unconscious Mutterings, Week 214: 

1. Contribution :: funding
2. Ryan :: Saving Private…
3. Minimal :: …cost
4. Cleansed :: spa
5. Centered :: self…
6. Arrow :: bow and…
7. Beyond :: …Our Understanding (my novel)
8. Execute :: hang
9. Intuition :: college
10. Apology :: sign of weakness (according to Special Agent Gibbs of NCIS)

randomness…feed your mind and your blog week of March 11: Bookworms

If you’re like me, your a bookworm. I love to read. Whether it be a book, magazine, back of the cereal box…anything. However I do prefer a good long novel. So for this week, lets talk about our fav books.

1. Do you like to read? What is your fav book? author? Love reading! I enjoy Sir A. Conan Doyle, Patrick McManus, and Frank Peretti.

2. Do you hate it when they turn a book into a film?  I hate it when they make changes, and yet I seem to get some kind of pleasure from finding those changes.

3. Has a book ever changed your life? How? Well, Frank Peretti’s thrillers got me interested in the supernatural.

4. Do you tend to borrow books from the library or do you prefer to buy them? I like to get them from the library and then buy them if I like them.

5. Which book are you planning on reading next? My friends have been bugging me to read the Series of Unfortunate Events (or something like that).

‘Never judge a book by its movie.’ J. W. Eagan

Hey, I like that quote. Well, work was hell today, so I’m going to veg out and watch Firefly for the rest of the day.

Shalom and Farewell! 

I awoke to the chirping of an electronic chickadee. My bird clock was informing me that it was 8 o’clock. I groaned and rolled over, determining to ignore the clock. Fifteen minutes later, my phone rang. I let it go into voicemail and reluctantly reached over to grab the phone and listen to the message. It was work. They wanted to know if I could come in a couple hours early.

I agreed. Nevermind, I won’t be able to make it to the library today, extra work is extra money. We’ll be needing that more than ever now that Imah has given her two weeks notice to two of her jobs; she wants to focus on Real Estate. Rats. I was hoping to buy a digital camera. Oh well. I’ll just have to settle with my new nail job–my first manicure ever. Oh yeah. (Of course, without a camera, I can’t show you.)

Friday’s Feast 134: