Randomanda....the telling of time.

While this blog (I still dislike that word) continues to be a work in progress in relation to the overall format, and also to the old posts [many of which] I'm still reverting to draft form because they no longer flow with my current current...I've decided to change things up a little. The first bit, you're used to: Randomanda. The second bit will be called (and later explained): A Little Bertie Told Me. The third: Request & Dedication. And the fourth...I haven't quite settled on a name for yet. The content will have more weight (not as heavy as lead, or metal), and more depth (but not quite a well). And as film once did, I trust it will develop over time. 

Randomanda...the telling of time.

(Photo credit: http://www.cafepress.com/+question-mark+clocks?page=5)

My cell phone died today (read: lost all charge). It's uncharacteristic of me to let this happen, but it did...I did. And so there I sat and there I waited. In a cold, clock-less doctor's office. Aside from having no iPhone entertainment (a tragic first-world problem), I had no idea what time it was or how long I'd been waiting. I'd been seen, had an x-ray, a neb treatment, but still there was time - vats of it. To occupy myself, I began to compare the room to a casino; it seemed a reasonable simile, as well as an activity that might low-light my autistic attribute of counting metal objects or ceiling tiles. I'm not sure I've been inside of a casino (maybe once), but I understand there are no clocks...so there's that (one). Being in a doctor's office - amongst all the sick folk - I figured I was close to playing roulette (two). There were no slot machines, but there was indeed a container with a type of slot (if you will) for depositing contaminated sharps. Close enough (three). As it's been said gambling is a rush, a visit to the doctor is often enough to elevate ones pulse and blood-pressure (four). And (five) there are shot-sized cups nearby; the liquid collected inside is not the nectar one typically seeks in effort to obtain a buzz, but the cups count.

They are both a gamble (doctors - some, not all -and casinos). And similar to the way people are plied to stay and spend more money with free steak dinners - a very cute, very charming, and very married resident - did generously offer me his phone charger for the duration of my stay. 

The outcome? No whammies!! Wait. No. Um, double 7s and a cherry? (I don't know the lingo.) Double bronchitis, leaning toward, but not yet pneumonia. Bronchitis and I have an annual date, though it's not usually bilateral. I'm not worried though; +Kim has promised me one of her lungs should both of mine fail. 

Comments make me happy.  Do it. If you want to, I mean.  

Great big bowls of love..  ~ A

Speaking of which...

"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." ~ Galileo Galilei

"Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it." 

~ Michel de Montaigne

"Actions lie louder than words." ~ Carolyn Wells

And from Robert Frost...

The rose is a rose,

And was always a rose. 

But the theory now goes

That the apple's a rose,

And the pear is, and so's

The plum, I suppose.

The dear only know

What will next prove a rose.

You, of course, are a rose--

But were always a rose.

Lastly, cutting from an e-mail...and quoting my dear friend, Shauntice:

"Love is not supposed to be confusing, angry, hurtful, and it certainly isn't unsure." 

She was spot on with everything she wrote in the e-mail that contained that sentence, which for me, was quotable.  Love will be sure, for sure.  

Signed,

Always a Rose

Hello, my name is Simon...

As previously mentioned, I lost a bet (read: was hoodwinked) which resulted in my having to prepare seven dinners for Jason last week. Thankfully, the bet ended Sunday. Though I was fleeced, I held up my end and did so with a bit of finesse & variety - forcing him out of his usual ground beef-frocked diet of spaghetti and Hamburger Helper. To be fair, we both ate better than we typically do. To be honest, as an unmarried + childless, petless girl...I was a tad frazzled by the more intense, albeit temporary, schedule. My weekdays consist of work + colorguard practice or nursing home duty...landing me home around 7pm. (The beneficiary goes to bed by 8:30pm on work nights.) Eventually, I acclimated; he said he could "definitely get used to this" (as he casually sipped his beer and watched Pass Time on SPEED channel). Not a chance. My married and/or child-ful friends say..."welcome to my world". I say: not yet ;). I may get an apron though and wear it on Wednesdays.

It's in my nature to document, and more so to photograph. As consistently whined about, my camera has been sick. Some of the plates/presentations last week were really quite lovely (especially the last one). As an alternative, I opted to draw the menu for this post. As it turns out, I'm a wretched sketch artist. It's really quite bad. ...But funny-bad.

(Click to enlarge)

 

Original Simon (chalk drawings)...

SNL Simon with Mike Myers...

Pardon the cliche'...

There is someone for everyone. You'll find it/him when you stop looking. You'll find it/him when you least expect it. All things happen in good time. All good things happen in God's time. Walk your own path. What is right for one person, may not be right for another. We each have our own timeline... There is no right answer. There is no wrong answer. Each dark cloud has a silver lining. There is always something to be learned... You'll find him... Your "prince" will come.

Be independent. Be able to change your own tire. Be able to drive a stick shift. Be self-sufficient in all ways. Though you may need to at some point, organize and prepare yourself so that you don't have to depend on anyone for anything. Don't assume you can trust anyone. Keep your guard up. Take care of yourself. Be cautious. Get a pet.

Be sure you're open... Give him a chance. Give it a chance. Don't give up on it. Be patient. Be aware that what you thought you were looking for, may not be what God has in mind for you. Let your guard down a bit... In order to get something different than what you've had, you'll have to do something different than what you've done.

Love conquers all. If you love something, set it free... All is fair in love and war. Love is blind. Love is a many splendored thing. It's better to have loved and lost... Love is a battlefield. Love is just love.

Dammit. 

Birthday-versary

Happy birthday or anniversary to my blog :).

Birthdays are anniversaries.

(Found on Flickr...couturecupcakerymm's photostream)

Tangent: It makes me a litle crazy when people refer to monthly milestones as "anniversaries". Example... We've been dating for 3 months...Happy Anniversary!! Technically, it would be a mensiversary. I realize that doesn't exactly spring to mind or off the tongue...and the latin word "mensis" - for month - makes me think of menses...so then I don't want to say Happy Mensiversary. I've settled on Happy Monthiversary. ...just not Happy Anniversary unless it's appropriate.

Even Steven

I didn't post last Monday...and I didn't weigh. I had eaten nothing but trash and knew I had gained. Though I no longer have [monthly] pyramids, I am convinced my non-existent cycle still syncs up with the ladies in my office (either that, or their hormones leap off of their bodies and onto mine) because I had an insatiable craving for chocolate last week. At any rate, I let myself get away with not weighing until Wednesday...whence-upon I forced myself out of bad/avoidant behavior and onto the scale. As predicted, I had gained the puppy back.

I straightened myself up for the remainder of the week and weighed today like a good Weight Watchers girl. I've lost the puppy again, and am precisely where I was two weeks ago. Splendid. Way to break even, Amanda. Must. Press. On.

In other news....

The drawring (hello my name is Simon, and I like to do draw-rings...) was doodled during a meeting; I have a new found affection for owls. I call this one Henry. Clearly.

When typing the title for this post, I realized I had no idea where the saying came from... This is what I found. Incidentally, I was going to write 'even stephen' as this particular explanation indicates it may originally have been; plus, that's how my Dad's name is spelled. I thought it might throw people though; I decided to go with the safer of the two options.

I had about 4 inches chopped off of my hair on Saturday...I'll post a picture soon.

Grandmama was admitted to the hospital Friday evening; we spent the majority of the weekend with her there. Please keep her in yours prayers/thoughts. ...I'm praying for her comfort and for peace of heart & mind - all things she is seemingly without. It is positively heart-breaking.

Randomanda VII

(Continuing from Myspace...where I posted the first 6 installments with Myspace's blog feature - before I graduated to Blogger.)

*I have no idea what "twice removed" means. I wonder if I have any family members who are removed? I hope they've been re-placed.

*I think the Jimmy Dean commercials with the sun, moon, and fog are actually pretty cute; if unfamiliar watch here. I also like the Comcast turtles/tortoises (I'm not sure which they are)...and still cannot stand the damn Charmin bears.

*I think Strap Perfect is a fantastic invention. I'd like to have one; they come in 3's...I'll split them with someone (or sometwo). I think it's funny that I couldn't remember the name when typing this...and first typed Straptastic. I wonder if they considered that name? It's a little piece of smartly formed plastic; she's probably making a million. I think her first draft was probably one of those little discs that shoot out of toy guns.

*I was deeply disappointed with my Bare Minerals introduction @ Sephora. I've so been looking forward to using the products and looked so...made up. Perhaps we didn't swirl, tap, and buff correctly...but it didn't work out.

*As I sat waiting for my bags @ the airport, I wondered who determined the ideal speed for the belt on the baggage carousel...? Was there an engineer involved...who used some sort of height/angle/lift/average weight ratio...or did they just try different speeds and have the worker who drew the shortest straw run around chasing bags to see which speed fit best?

*I've learned it's very dangerous to eat Jelly Bellies in the dark while driving...not being able see which ones you're eating. I incorrectly thought Santa had placed Tropical Jelly Bellies in my stocking...when in fact, they were regular Jelly Bellies. I ended up with popcorn, pear, and coffee in my mouth all at once...travesty. Either eat them in the daylight or turn on the dome light (which I opted for); this allows you to re-select flavors and toss the brown ones.

*Not to slight the color brown; brown M&Ms are my favorite. Nothing to do with The Wedding Planner...though I do enjoy Matthew McConaughey. Speaking of which...while @ Sephora, I was able to smell him (Dolce & Gabana). Delicioso.

*My friend Patricia and I once signed an online petition to save the pineapple flavored Life Saver. I recently bought a roll of tropical Life Savers (without reading the description of flavors on the side) in hopes of reuniting my palate with the pineapple goodness. The yellow one was banana flavored.

*I really don't have a fixation with tropical flavored candies.

*When flying, I will order/request ginger-ale 99.8% of the time. I prefer Canada Dry.

*I enjoy flip-flops as much as the next girl, but have no desire to place a flip-flop bumper-sticker on my back-shield. I don't understand these stickers. I have little appreciation for bumper-stickers, period. ...Flip-flops enthusiasts though? Whatever blows your skirt up...(the cute t-length one...the one you wear with your flip-flops).

We're not in Wal-Green's anymore...

What the hell...really?! It's necessary to lock up the St. Ives??

I asked a store associate about this...she looked at me like... Well, it's difficult to describe her expression b/c she was more expressionLESS and vacant than anything else, but she definitely indicated the locks were a necessity & not ridiculous enough to merit their own photo. To be fair, this particular CVS does live in a sketchy locale. Hmmm. I must have looked like a drug store tourist.

I left with two thoughts... 1) I wish I needed some liquid Dial; I'd like to see the doors unlocked and then feel a little weird about the fact my body wash came from lock-up. B) I wonder how they determined which soaps qualified for a life behind panes of glass... Probably just anything $3.50 and up, but still... I feel sorry for the soaps didn't make it, and especially the bar soaps below...living a life of suds-less ridicule.

Addendum; Kiki

P.S.

When we arrived at the restaurant for Shauntice's birthday, I naturally asked to speak to Kiki (re: Randomanda). Afterall, we'd had such a memorable exchange over the phone and she had said was looking forward to meeting me as well. Sadly, it was her night off. Blast. The other staff were also very pleasant and offered for me to leave her a note. ...Which I did. Thought to share.

Blog Woes + A Randomanda

Girl starts blog. Girl applies cute (according to her taste) template. It works. Girl gets tired of template and finds another; applies it (also thinks it looks a bit like something she would be willing to hang on a wall in her home). No one can "comment" on posts and girl feels like she is writing to herself; in essence, she is...so this is probably a more authentic approach. Still, she digs the feedback and misses hearing from her friends. Sadly, she deletes her cute template (though she's smart and saved it elsewhere) and goes with one of Blogger's plain-jane templates. Still, the comment function does not work. WTH?! Girl's friends comment on her blog via e-mail and Facebook; she'll have to take it...and be thankful someone is reading. Thanks Trey & Jessica :).

a) When I have time/energy and am improperly distracted from my priorities, I'll start over (template-wise) completely.

b) Once I change templates...I may never change again. You have to go back and change font color on previous posts (which I haven't done more than 5 posts back) if the font color blends into the background... Maybe that's why the smart people always use a light layout. Huh.

Randomanda story.

Shauntice's birthday is this Saturday... Kristin is flying down from DE (we're going to Homecoming - SO excited), and then to see Shauntice and celebrate her presence on earth. I can't remember the last time we did something for her birthday; we used to just do one dinner for all 3 of our birthdays. Anyway. Shauntice picked the restaurant, and I sent the evite. I called yesterday to make our reservation and needed to give my first and last name when paying the deposit. Amanda didn't stump me...but the phonetics of Meigs did. I was speaking to a lovely person named Kiki...

Kiki: Card number?

Me: xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx

Kiki: Expiration?

Me: xx/xxxx

Kiki: First name?

Me: Amanda.

Kiki: Last name?

Me: Meigs. "M" as in Mary...e, i, g..."g" as in.... .... .... ....

Kiki: ....God?

Me: Yes! That works. ...Because all I could think to say was gastroenterology.

...M-e-i-g-"s"...as in Sam.

Kiki: *laughing* I can't wait to meet you; this is the most interesting conversation I've had all day.

Me: Fantastic, I'll see you Saturday.