Living the life of Reilly

Roomdog came to visit and you might as well just call me Reilly, because that's who's life I had. I went to pick up the rental car and they had none of what I had ordered so they gave me a brand new car with 8 miles on the clock and plastic still on the seats. It was a total soccer mom mobile and I loved it. (It must be my age because I thought I was really cool til one of the staff asked who's grandmother came to visit.)

Hanging out with Roomdog is just easy. It was so good to catch up, to be off work and have the freedom to go anywhere. I know that Roomdog will be fine when I spend hours in a shop or take forever to decide what I want to eat. I know that we can talk absolute nonsense or be very serious and it will be the same as it has always been...easy. I knew that when we went up to Stamford to see Randy they would have plenty to say and I didn't need to worry about them getting along or entertaining them and most of all I knew it was going to be fun.

It was.

Thanks little dude from across the sea for the blue skies holiday.

The return of the Roomdog

Roomdog is coming to stay this week for five days. The car is rented, the house cleaned, the shopping schedule is made and the beer is in the fridge, well not actually yet but it will be by Wednesday. I am taking days of work which is almost unheard of for me at this time of year. The world will be put to rights (everyone is out of step except us by the way) and order restored. There may even be a joint roomdog blog.
There will certainly be some stories.

Do you have a message for me?

Years ago my friend Carolanne and I went through a phase of reading things like the Insights of the Celestine Prophesy, The Prophet and the Enneagram. (We had been friends since high school and were bored with being 20 somethings, how funny is that.) We would read parts then try to explain them and how they fit into what was going on our 20 something lives and how they related the future. We had no clue what we were talking about then and I don't claim to now.

One of our favorite passages was about being alert for messages that the universe is sending to you. It went something like...when you meet someone ask...do you have a message for me? This always made us laugh and we did try it out a few times on the wrong side of happy hour, I don't think it was meant to be taken literally.

My mum is a big Enneagram fan and my sister is way into creative visualization. Both swear they work and I notice that when things are not going the way I hoped like lately, I tend to believe them more. I am have written a lot recently about how I am not good with change and about my nostalgia for times gone by. I am bad at change but I am even worse at being down and when I feel like that I start to pick up those books again, just in case I am missing something and I always start to feel better.

In the last couple of weeks I keep seeing Wayne Dyer mentioned everywhere. I mean is it just me? Friends mention him, I see his books, he is on TV, so tonight when I was looking for something to read to get me past the spring insomnia I found this Wayne Dyer quote...

" These are the good old days."

Now if that's not a message from the universe I don't know what is.

Firsts

The last couple of weeks have been the usual spring madness. Work is crazy busy and the sun is shinning and I find myself obsessing about how I hate my clothes and how my house is messy, how I am going to get everything ready on-time for the summer and what color my staff shirts should be this year but none of this is new for me, especially not for April. What's getting me really are all the "Firsts" I have to cope with at the moment.

I am not very good at change, and I thought I was done with all that change business for this year. I started dating Randy, Roomdog went home, I moved house, learned to drive, that's a lot for me! But the change continues. Randy has a new job and is moving to Connecticut. I am very happy for him and think it is a great move but it definitely means more firsts for me.

Once I learned where Connecticut was and practiced spelling it a few times, I realized that I am going to have to drive over a bridge (total fear of mine) to go see him. I thought that if I just passed the test I could get away with driving to Quick Check and Stop and Shop and would work my way up to the Mall and people would get off my back about not having a license but I think I am really going to have to drive...like on the highway. Then I realized that I really am going to live alone for the first time ever.

At work I can look after 400 children and 200 staff, work 20 hour days for weeks in a row, solve crises, break-up fights and talk people into doing just about anything. I can cope with a bus full of kids arriving without warning, natural disasters and no power but don’t ask me to change the font I have been using on my computer for the last seven years. I am slowly realizing that I like the normal things to stay the same. I like the same brands in the cupboard, the same sandwich for lunch and the house to look like it always did. I liked the way it was. I guess life is not really like that and I am going to have to do things for the first time even if I don’t want to.

Tell you what really got me last night though. After six tears of living in the woods, a tic had the audacity to bite me… for the first time.

I'm a driving girl, yes I'm a driving girl!!!!

The State of New Jersey has finally given me a driving licence!!! My boss was very helpful today and did not bring up any stressful topics all the way to Lodi. I managed not to mangle any cones and (despite needing a taxi to the sidewalk when I parallel parked) passed my road test. I know most of the world manages to reach this milestone at 17 but I am happy to say that finally at 33 I am a driving girl. (There is a song here, sing along if you know it.)

With very little in the way of good news at work today I returned to the office triumphant looking for people to share my good fortune with and to lift their spirits. My other boss;
"Good, but you know you are too late to get this into the insurance company today."
Yeah awesome thanks.
The secretary, " Well you know Stella's daughter, crashed the car the very day she passed."
Encouraging.
The Book keeper, " Now you will have a car payment and insurance too, do you even know how much gas costs?"
I was reminded of that SNL sketch " Along comes Debbie Downer" which made me laugh and skipped off to Randy's car to go on an errand I have been meaning to do all week, and now I can!!! I laughed at myself behind the wheel all the way down Macopin Road and managed not crash or even worry too much about the cost of the gas I was burning. No more trips to the supermarket for you Randy and Roomdog, I will pick you up from the airport girl, know why? Cause I'm a driving girl.

Roomdog's New Roomdog

Roomdog has a new roomdog. Well she has a new "house mate" and I feel that it is my duty to provide her with an orientation to living with roomdog. (Roomdog helped Randy out before she left and gave him some useful tips, if I was smart enough do put a link in here to an old post about this, I would) As I will not be in Ireland for a while I thought the following might be useful to you, Lou, just a few tips to get you started.

• Roomdog likes to clean. please do not feel guilty about this, she doesn't mind your mess, she just likes to clean. Don't try to stop her. On particularly manic days she can be found vacuuming walls and searching for imaginary fluff, it's kind of a hobby. I did also find her combing the fringes on a rug one day.


• She is not allowed red wine.


• Room dog is a smashing wee cook, she will whip you up a tasty wee dinner in no time made to specification. Enjoy.


• She hates surprises.


• Room dog is a food snob so please keep your tins of beans or packets of noodles hidden at the back of the cupboard.


• She needs eight hours of sleep but will deny it.


• Roomdog's favorite leisure activities include shopping of any kind, TV and gossip magazines but will tell you she likes to read plays and go for walks.


• She is a little obsessed with laundry.


• Roomdog does not like to carry any stuff with her but will expect stuff like tissues, pain killers and sweaters to be available. This is where you come in.


• She likes funny stories, it's the facial expressions that make her laugh.


• Roomdog would give you her last dollar/pound/euro. She is very generous.


• She likes wee cups of tea and chats and she smokes like a train. She is crazy smart and will give you good non-judgemental advice. She works hard and has mad skills.


• Roomdogs birthday is February 2nd and she likes it celebrated.
  

Hope you have as much fun as I did.

Wish you were here.

Randy is in Cancun, which is apparently in Mexico and not in Vietnam as my mum thought. ("Oh hen what's he going there for?" Took a while to get to the bottom of that one.) He is sitting by a pool, sunning himself and sipping on his all inclusive cocktails, doing young people things and having fun. Not that I am jealous mind you. Oh no I would much rather stay in New Jersey where it snowed last night and rained all day today. I would much rather be at work for the 15Th day in a row. I am not completely bored or anything. It's Randy who is missing out on what has been an eventful few days. Just to catch you up because I know the phone calls cost a fortune Randy here are my stories for the week.

On Wednesday I slammed some doors for a while at work then came home and did more work. I wondered why I wanted chicken soup so badly, made it, ate it then realised I was sick and had a fever. Awesome. Cracked a tooth on some chocolate I shouldn't have been eating anyway and went to bed to sleep not at all.

Thursday's made me take a lot of Advil. I would tell the work stories but I doubt you would believe them and Roomdog and I are saving them up for a book one day. I called Roomdog who made me feel better, went home and took some more Advil and more work.

Friday, Funday! I know all of the emergency service numbers for every possible crisis one could have and am ready to move onto HR standards, which will be featured heavily in the above book and I am sure will be funny one day.

Saturday I start at 8am woohoo!

So you can keep your foam parties and boat rides, conversations and dinners out my friend, I am having a party all of my own right here.

(but I do miss you just a wee bit)

Back to Bootcamp

I wrote this wee poem for my friend Katie who asked how my driving test went on Monday:

There was a young lady from Kirkie,
Who's driving was a little bit quirky,
She ran over the cone
and was promptly sent home,
She'll try it next week at 1.30.

Katie sent this back to me:

Boo boo to the DMV
Up there in Nuevo JersEY
They should have just known
That a car ain't a cone
And let that wee slip up just be.

I am considering giving all bad news in verse from now on...cross your fingers for next time.

Closer to the garbage can soldier!

With my road test just days away, yesterday I had to enroll in Sgt. Randy's Driving School Boot Camp. Randy (my boyfriend and usually a very laid back guy) takes it seriously if he says he will do something, which in this case is teach me to drive. For the last three months I have gotten away with driving now and then to local places and navigating the pot holes on camp but it was time to bite the bullet and learn to parallel park.

My boss has been kind enough to lend me a company car in which to take my test, a totally sweet Audi which I have never driven before and I am under some pressure to pass. In my wisdom I have told everyone I have spoken to in the last three months when it is. (Monday 2pm in case I didn't mention) So it was off to the basketball courts with two garbage cans for cars and two planks of wood to represent the kerb. I made it on my first try but as my eyes were closed didn't feel that was enough and Sgt Randy stepped in. After the first thirty times, I drove to another spot and told Randy I would just park there instead but there was to be no nonsense and I think I got a few extra parking push ups for my smart mouth. I did also accidentally put the window up one time during vital instruction and drive off another time in the middle of a critique and may have had another "couple of laps" added there. Sgt. Randy was strict. I tired easily. Trying to get to of any more practice I told it it was clearly a hit or miss whether I was going to get this right on the test and tried the usual methods of persuasion. Pulling up closer in the car I say...

"You know, I think we should just go and watch some West Wing."

Randy loves West Wing and I had bought him Season four on DVD and he had not had time to watch it yet.

"Yeah as soon as you park that car a couple of more times properly we can do that"

Next time I tried.

"I'm feeling like maybe we should go take a wee 'nap', what do you think?"

This has never failed me in getting what I want but he replied,

"Get back in the car soldier and this time pull up closer to the garbage can like you were told!"

Eventually after not being able to learn this as I imagine normal people do I turned it all into a timed move as if it were dance choreography and it was with this that I had success. I don't know how other people do these things but this is how I drive and remember things. I guess all of those Saturdays practicing the time step and Thursday evenings pirouetting were not a waste of time. Give it a try. Pull up and reverse one two, to the left one two and the right one two and straighten forward one and back one.

Feeling much more confident after a few more successful maneuvers round the garbage cans I pulled round for what Randy promised was the last time. I looked at the clock and realised that we had been out there for several hours then at Randy who was shivering in the wind. I guess it would have been much easier for him to give into me and be comfortable at home on his day off but he kept me going. My big brother Jim told me the last time I was home that if Randy could teach me to drive without us falling out then he was a keeper. He's right. So today I am writing my victory speech for when I finally pass my driving test Monday or not. I'd like thank Jim for his good advice, (It was followed by never get a Dalmatian Puppy but that is a whole other story) Roomdog for being impressed with the written test victory, My parents for paying for the dancing lessons, and Sgt. Randy, for the hours spent driving and explaining, being patient and making me do it. Season five of West Wing is on it's way to you.

A Wummin's Work

I try never to mention my job in my blog as it seems to be the only area of my life work has yet to consume. I live on-site and every conversation I have is about my job. I work with Randy and socialize with work people, read books for work and put in hours that would put Dickens to shame. Today I realised that it has been two weeks since I have written anything and can feel the temperature change today with my windows and doors wide open which can only mean the start of my "busy" season. I am off today but had 19 work phone calls by 8.30am and solved four separate crisis events by noon. So I started to think about what has been going on since my last post. I have been to Europe (mostly for work but also for a little spoiling by my mum) all over the ti-state area (for work) and to the annual conference (to learn things for work.) I could write for days about the negative things about work but I did read somewhere recently that if you don't like what you do and refuse to change it then the only sensible thing to do is practice loving it each day. In that spirit here are some of the highlights of the past two weeks.

• Realising that after not seeing some kids for a year I can pick up exactly where I left off and relate to them immediately. Also that I get to have them back again in the summer.
• Meeting up with some old (work) friends in Europe who have such great memories of this place and also seeing that there is life after.
• Being motivated to work harder by the other people in my profession at the conference. They might be all Birkenstocks and backpacks but they can also be inspiring.
• Hearing Lisa Loeb sing Stay live at the conference...strange connection I know but totally awesome all the same.
• Michael Brandwein's new book Training Terrific Staff Volume two. Yes Roomdog I am in possession of a copy and it is genius as usual.

An old Scot's saying goes "A Wummin's work is never done" which really means that women do everything and keep it all together. This afternoon I dedicate to getting the house work and laundry in order so that maybe, just maybe I will have some time to chill and this "wummin's work" will be done for a while. I also read that if you are what you do, then who are you when you don't . I'm still working on the answer to that one but when I do the answer just might be in my blog which I will try to keep a work free zone.

What I have learned tonight.

In the six hours I have been at Newark Airport tonight waiting for my flight to London I have learned the following things...at a about a rate of one per hour. Maybe travel really does broaden the mind.

1. Buy more than one magazine, the boredom is unbelievable.

2. Bring your own laptop, always, sharing is not fun.

3. Buy candy while the stores are open.

4. People can apparently sleep anywhere, floors seats, standing up, anywhere.

5. There are only so many hours you can spend in Duty Free.

6. I don't really like travelling.

I think I already knew the last one but tonight served as a reminder. Only eight more hours, who knows what I will learn in that time!

What's Cooking?

Since the departure of roomdog my dinner no longer appears on the table magically in time for Jeopardy each evening and I am teaching myself to cook. Coming from the "burn them and turn them" school of cookery this was a major challenge. I turned to the internet for ideas. I came across this website allrecipes.com which has thousands of combinations of chicken and potatoes which even my fussy wee self can manage with an ingredients search and everything. It is genius and my current favorite, after accuweather.com. Even if you don't intend to cook anything it is worth a visit for the entertainment value.

The best part about all recipes is that the ideas are submitted by real people and reviewed by them. For some reason people seem to feel the need to tell you intimate details of their lives along with their recipe for beef stroganoff. "I first made this in June of 1983 when my aunt Mary came to stay for my nephew’s first communion after a thirty years absence." They tell all about dinner parties and romantic breakfasts, family flu's and potlucks. It's like a whole soap opera of its own. One of the most common things to do in a review of a meal is to quote your husband, "My husband Tom will never eat green beans but when he tried this casserole he said "Mmm, lets never eat them any other way again" or your children "Mom these taste just like McDonalds." You also get to rate the recipe using the five star system and upload pictures of your creation. I love the way reviewers explain why they have given this number of stars. "I had to turn the oven down five degrees and had to use extra butter so this only gets 4 stars." It is acceptable to give alternatives, some of which completely trash the original recipe and give a completely different set of ingredients. My greatest success was the white chocolate and cranberry cookies but I will keep making them til I get a good enough quote to put in my review.

What makes me laugh most is who are these people? They are from all over the world and are in their little kitchens surrounded by garlic and baking soda dreaming up creations which win prizes at State Fairs and County Bake Offs. (Where do you have to live to go to a Bake off? I want to go!) Do they really exist because I sure don't know any people like this...except maybe me. I made Angels Famous Stew the other night and Randy said...just kidding. Check it out http://www.allrecipes.com/ (and yes roomdog you can just scroll over and click on that link too.)

What are you clapping for?

My little brother has a MySpace blog which has chilled him out no end. He can get a lttle intense about things like the polar ice caps melting or the amount of effort it takes to get a panda to mate but since he started blogging he has become much more relaxed. He says it helps him to get things off his chest and then we no longer have to listen to his rant of the week. So today I am going to try that little bro, it is time for people to stop clapping.

Being Scottish I often find myself in the enthusiasm minority in the USA. Don't get me wrong one of the reasons I moved here was that I like the American positive energy and the way they get excited about things but the clapping...what is it about? I don't understand why people clap for the following:
Finding the Daily Double on Jeopardy. They don't clap for choosing any of the other questions.
Being old. Why do we clap when someone says "I'm 73 you know." Is it just a well done for making it this far?
Winning a raffle. It is chance people, the winner just bought a ticket, same as you they didn't do anything special.
Clapping in the cinema, you know they can't hear you right?
Deal or No Deal. The whole show is just one big extended clap as is the Moment of Truth. Not that I watch these shows you understand.
Clapping should be reserved for something special, moments of true achievement. I do however appreciate the spontaneous clap, when someone is speaking or performing and the audience breaks into applause because they just can't help themselves, that's the kind of applause I would hope for. Rant over. Thank you little brother now I can return to my Saturday.

Questions

There are many questions which swim around my head, like why do people clap for the contestant who finds the Daily Double on Jeopardy? (More on this later) But my main question today is why are Friday afternoons so long?

It's really not the Carbon Footprint Roomdog

I talk to Roomdog a couple of times a week now on the phone. One of our favorite conversations is about how we adjusting to the changes since she moved away. I was worried about how I would adapt and just always thought that Roomdog would be fine. Well she is. She has a great new job and is moving again but after today's conversation I realize that she relied on me for some things too.

Roomdog is afraid of computers. I taught her some basics to get by and we used to have Publisher tutorials on quiet afternoons. Technology amazes her more than my parents and she is a wee bit scared of it. Today I asked her, "Have you read the blog yet?" She says , "Oh not yet, I am saving it up to read like a book. Can I print it out?" I tell her it is really not that serious it is just for entertainment value for me. She tells me a big long story about what she does when she gets access to the internet. Roomdog doesn't like a messy inbox and has to delete things immediately. She was thinking so much about the wall posts on her facebook page (which I made for her) she had to have me log in for her and delete them. Having known Roomdog for a long time I say, "You don't know what a blog is do you?" I was right, she didn't. So I explain it to here and tell her "I have sent you the link in an email, you know you can just scroll over that and it will link for you." Silence then "Well I don't really do that." Silence " You don't know what scroll means do you?" No. Now I understand the conversation we had a few months back when Roomdog tried to tell me there was nothing really on the internet.

I feel bad. Roomdog taught me to feed myself before she left. She gave Randy a whole tutorial about not taking the last Coke ever and how to look after me. So Roomdog I will be available for more lessons via phone...so you don't have to pretend that your reluctance to use the internet is about your carbon footprint.

If Roomdog was here

Spending time at home tonight. If Roomdog was here I know what I would be talking to her about, the questions going around my head.

1. Why am I suddenly obsessed with baking? Cupcakes, lemon bars, cheesecake, cookies. I am all about the baking. I tried to intellectualize this, is it about measuring or being in control...not so much. I just like stirring and eating the cookies. I even made cookies with the kids today thinking that they would find it relaxing. Not so much. They refused point blank to put the cranberries in and two girls almost came to blows in a teaspoon versus tablespoon debate. I guess not much is relaxing when you are a troubled adolescent. They liked the cookies at least.

2. What is with the fear mongering on the network news? Tonight I have been told to be afraid of canned vegetables, losing my home, a recession, the weather, baby shampoo etc etc etc. And where was the news? Last night's was better. "A play station may just blow up in your pants!" Honest to God direct quote.

3. Why is called a laptop? It doesn't fit on the lap comfortably really.

4. Is Corey Booker running for president? I keep seeing him everywhere. (He is Mayor of Newark, watch "Street Fight" a documentary about his first campaign.) I think he might in the future; he would have my vote if I had one.

5. Why can I not get the spell-check to work?

6. Why did I not go to the pub again?

Randy

My friend Katie asked me the other day. "Who's Randy? He sounds helpful" He is. Randy is my boyfriend and he is good at it. He has a whole bunch of great qualities but something I have noticed more during the last couple of weeks is that he is supportive. As I think about the future he is there to listen and to encourage. He thinks I can do anything.

I started writing my blog when my roomdog left because I had too much stuff swimming around my head which was not always conversation worthy and I didn't want Randy to have to hear it all. The blog is kind of an outlet. Irony is, Randy is the one who reads it. The blog is not really for you Randy. It is meant to give you a break. You listen to what I have to say all day long. You are the one who gets the random conversation pieces when I am tired or mad so you don't have to read it anymore.

It's sweet that you do though.

P.S. When Randy saw this post he wanted it known that he also just did the dishes and made me tea. Helpfulness acknowledged.

Chicken Wings are so Obvious

My sister has a fear which some may find irrational. This fear is of being obvious. It started when my mum sent her to the store on Christmas Eve when she was about 7 for carrots. She was so embarrassed because everyone would know that the carrots were for Rudolf...how obvious! As she got older she dreaded walking home with Christmas paper or buying candy at Halloween, wearing team colors on the day of the Cup Final or being drunk at New Year. I wonder what my sister would make of Super bowl Sunday.

It really takes years to adjust to a new culture. A first you ignore it. You continue to refer to trousers and celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. You argue about the pronunciation and stick to your own traditions. After a few years you begin to get tired of explaining what a jumper is and call jam, jelly just for ease. It takes another couple of years to get into American traditions like holidays and in this my seventh year in the US I am getting on board. I am totally down with Thanksgiving, well not the origins, just the current holiday. One day, no presents, great food and hanging out. I get the Fourth of July thing. Summer holiday, BBQ, hanging out. Still working on a couple of others and this Sunday it is time for me to embrace the Super bowl. I intend to root for a team, eat snacks and drink beer...sorry sis.

The best thing about American holidays and traditions is that they are new. There are no expectations which can't be met or bad memories. No family pressures (other people's families always seem easier than your own) or disappointments, just new fun times. Being away from home is not always easy but it is an excuse to join in fully for your first Thanksgiving or first Hanukah. To be totally obvious.
Go Giants! (Or Patriots)

Superdoopertrooperlooper Tuesday

Being a "Non-Resident Alien" in America I don't always feel that it is my place to voice my views of American Politics. Suffice to say that being from the UK I find that American opinions tend to be a little more right wing than I am used to. While I didn't think that it was my place as a foreigner to impose my opinions in a country where I am a guest, it does surprise me that people here tend to be pretty uninterested or uninformed about what is going on in their country. Teaching a class on current events to teenagers highlighted this for me.

Me: : "Ok, a real easy one to start, who is the president of the USA?"

Student: "Ehhh...Bush Washington?"

I was shocked originally until I watched what passes for news here, Local lies, rumors and hearsay as Roomdog used to call it, where every story is about an individual (or animal) in the local area or if something big is reported then it's "How does it affect your commute" I spent the rest of the year advertising the BBC News and begging the kids to watch it. I overheard this exchange in my class one day...

Student 1: "Why she so crazy about the news man, It's all she talk about"

Student 2: "She just really love the news man, she just love the news."

These two guys went back to writing their response to the role of America in Iraq or something similar. The point is that I have wondered why people find it difficult to get engaged in the political process, to become involved in that which can affect their lives. During this political primary season I have watched and read, listened (mainly to Randy who is all about Obama) and taken in the way the political process is reported here and have come to some conclusions.

At first I started with the network news. If you want to really understand anything, this is not the place to get your information. If you don't have any background information the news will not help. There is no mention of any ideology, manifesto or campaign promise, just of who had their haircut, what they ate today, who fell over or played the guitar. They might talk about poll points but they don't explain what any of this means. Instead they drag up what a candidate did in 1976 or where they went to school. It comes across like an episode of Access Hollywood, or worse TMZ. People this is not Brittney or Beniffer, this is your leadership!

Not finding what I needed there I turned to the Internet. You can find a great deal of information on the internet if you have the patience to look. I think you also have to be wary of who is sponsoring what is said. The adverts and sponsors make me nervous, why are these companies willing to spend money on these messages? So back to the TV I go and to the independent media like NPR and PBS where I like the reporting but have been so spoiled by the high pace of the other stations, I get bored and zone out.

Then I tried the Sunday morning political commentary shows like meet the press and Like It Is and all those ones. I like these shows and they can give you more information but I have a problem with the language. There are way too many metaphors and analogies going on here. There's a lot of mixing of metaphors and miss quoting of proverbs and I usually just feel as if I am intruding on someone else’s conversation. These shows can be a little elitist but if the alternative is Tyra interviewing the candidates, I know which I will choose.

Having taken all of this in using the supposedly "free" media here I make up my mind who I would like to win. Then I returned to my roots and to what my parents told me when I was little. "You have to look at the issue, talk about it and think about. Be suspicious of any message you get too often in the media, think why are they telling me this? Don't be afraid to support who you think represents your ideals and never be afraid to ask the hard questions or raise the difficult issues." Good advice which stays true after 25 years which became the basis of my current events class and the basis of who I will support for President.

Whatever you decide during this season the most important thing is to vote and I think to speak up for the kids who get to inherit what the next administration will leave behind. My dad was very strong on this..."People fought and died for those votes! If you don't take part you don't get a say." So this Tuesday please take the time to vote, and maybe you will speak up for those of us who can't.

I'm Moving Out

The good news I have been receiving recently is helping January pass more quickly. My friend Jules had a lovely new baby girl this week, my sister found out she was pregnant and Roomdog got a great new job. Congratulations to all, I love hearing other peoples good news, it makes you feel more positive about the future.

My news is that I am moving house. I have known this since November and have kind of been putting it off. I am moving two doors down, literally twenty feet away so why does this seem like such a massive task? I came here 6 years ago with all my belongings in a backpack but have collected a truck load of stuff which now needs to be packed and moved. My new apartment is bigger and nicer and I want to go there, I just would like someone else to move everything.

Today is the day I have to start. I have three days off work to deal with this move which I know seems a little ridiculous but it feels important to get this right. I have never lived alone or had to set up for myself. I don't really know where to put anything or how to go about this. I have been planning in my head for weeks with scenarios involving cleaning then moving, making several trips with armfuls of stuff or packing in boxes room by room but so far all I have come up with is that this is definitely an excuse to shop. I feel a trip to Target coming on.

Randy has just stopped me mid sentence to ask me if I am Blogging about driving to Target as I have yet to drive on the Highway and he knows that I really want to go. I have been avoiding this with any excuse I can think of because it is kind of scary with all those other cars. Randy knows however that I really want to go check out the Exclusive Furniture for under $50 collection I have been coveting online. Randy says driving is a life skill which I have to master but I feel that I have had to face a lot of new and difficult things for me lately and it is time for Randy get the benefits of my life skills teaching. So today Randy I am going to pass on the benfits of my life experience. I am going to teach you to shop. Target here I come with credit card in hand and sneakers on. Cleaning the new apartment can wait, I have three days after all.

21st Century Pressure

Quite often I feel this resistance and can't bring myself to do the things everyone else is doing. Maybe it comes from strong feelings of days gone by, like not wanting to be the typical teenager who gives into peer pressure or my post college fear of being pretentious, I don't know but there are some things I have trouble getting on board with.

I like music but refuse to be pretentious about and talk about "only liking a bands early stuff" or saying that a song is "too commercial". I will openly listen to the Pussy Cat Dolls but it took me years to get an Ipod. I was old school for so long with my CD player much to the embarrassment of my teenage niece who told me I really must drag myself into the 21st century and get one. I eventually did (thanks to Roomdog who got it as a birthday surprise!) and by God why did I not do it years ago?

There are many other things I resisted then regretted like getting my laptop, seeing the latest movies (can't stand the hype) having a facebook page and wearing skinny jeans, so recently I felt it was time to let the resistance go and try something new. Last Sunday, I drank water.

Water drinkers annoy me. I have to say you guys are kind of pompous about the whole thing, kind of Superior. I did enjoy that feeling of being a healthy hydrated person last Sunday for a while and I even felt my hangover subside but I found the whole experience time consuming. I drank one large bottle and spent the rest of the day peeing. How the hell do you guys get anything done? All you must do is pee! Flying back from Columbus to NYC I had to go five times! Surely it just must get worse the more you drink. I don't have time to drink water so I will have to just put up with the sneers and disbelief I get for drinking Coke for breakfast.

And for the record I refuse to give into the GMail pressure going on out there. People talk about being a GMail user all the time! They are genuinely shocked when I don't have GMail. I have even overheard conversations on the train which went something like this. "OhmyGod, you don't have GMail? You must get so much spam! Howdoyou put up with it? I don't know what I did before GMail. Gmail is just the next generation, you have to get GMail" Some Gmailers also think that inviting you to become a GMailer is like asking you to be a Godparent or their chief bridesmaid or something. Even signing into blog I get this pressure to get an account...well I refuse. I am keeping my .co.uk address...

Rant Over. I am now off to watch a movie with Randy that came out several years ago that I have not seen and I will drink obscene amounts of Coke and I might not even recycle.

Times they are a changing

I have always been a little weird about change and kind of liked things to stay the same. Roomdog and I used to talk about this a lot. How do you know when a period in your life is over? Why do you stop hanging out in a particular place of which the same people. What happens to make you change you daily routines and old habits? It made me think about other times when things changed for me. When I split with my first serious boyfriend in my last year of college I realised that I couldn't do basic things for myself like order in a restaurant, light a cigarette or open a bottle of wine (he was a control freak!) and my college friends put me on a crash course to being single. It gave me some great stories and experiences and made me think I wouldn't be sad about change any more but I guess I still am. Although there have been lots of times of change since then, I kind of feel now like I did then, over ten years ago. In the last few months times have been changing.

Roomdog was the housewife of the year. She did everything in our apartment. She liked to cook and clean and I didn't so she took care of just about everything. We had a lot of discussions about how I would survive and Roomdog even taught me to cook five meals so that I wouldn't starve or go back to the old Ramen Noodles. I have been trying to cook for myself and Randy with varying degrees of success and must confess even bought a cooking magazine. I have become obsessed with produce and recipes and how many onions I have for some reason. I don't expect that I will ever be Jamie Oliver but I can make a decent meal which makes me feel very grown up.

The cleaning is another story. Roomdog used to stress about cleaning which I never understood. Our apartment was always spotless and she could not relax if one thing was out of place. She vacuumed the walls and scrubbed the floor and always made her bed in the morning. Being naturally messy keeping the house tidy has been the biggest challenge since roomdogs departure. I hate cleaning with a passion but getting a wee lady in to clean an apartment you can barley turn around in would just be embarrassing so I'll have to suck this one up.

I used to swear I would never drive but I am learning and got more a of a kick out of passing my drivers knowledge test than I did out of graduating college. I have taken to the road so drivers beware, learning to drive at 33 is not easy! Randy said to me the other day, "The other cars are not children you are responsible for supervising, you can't watch them all." This was while I waited for 5 minutes at a junction because I was too afraid to make a left turn but I am well on my way to freedom. I can make to the 24 hour store and the supermarket, all I need now is to learn to get to mall and I will be independent...my college pals would approve I reckon.

Randy and I were talking at the weekend about when your life changes. He misses his college friends and his old life since he moved here last year and I found myself telling him that sometimes it is the circumstances you least expect that make the best changes although thinking about it now I might be being selfish. I am very glad about the decisions he made cause he is really great to be around. I was single for a long time and dating made big changes for me but I can really recommend this having a boyfriend thing. He asked me a couple of weeks ago what was the hardest thing about roomdog leaving and I told him it was the small things that I didn't appreciate when she was around like her being able to read my mood or her fixing my toothpaste. (I am a random toothpaste squeezer and she use to squeeze it all from the bottom to even it out.) Now Randy does that for me...he's sweet like that.
Sometimes change is a good thing.

The end of the roomdogs

After six years of living with my roomdog, (Roomdog=roommate and friend) she has finally decided to take the plunge into a real life and move back to Ireland. It was a big decision for her and I think the right one but that is not what this blog is about. Since my roomdog left, I have realised that she had been listening to all the random crap that I talk about on a daily basis. As my closest friend, workmate and roommate, roomdog heard a lot of my ramblings and I am sure saved many others from my wrath, whining, incessant chatter and craziness. I was aware of this at the time but I did not know just how much I feel the need to talk, constantly. It's not that this chatter is anything groundbreaking. In the weeks since roomdog left I have found myself trying to engage my boyfriend Randy (that's not actually his name but he is obsessed with being referred to as "Randy" I guess it is not too much to ask) in conversations about the benefits of concentrated laundry detergent, what colors of ink mean on notes from workmates and whether or not my stomach is flatter or fatter than this time last year, and those are just the ones I have noticed. Now Randy is a nice guy and being from the Midwest he is too polite to say that he doesn't care but I'm pretty sure that the Sephora sale is not what he wants to discuss at the end of a long day so I felt it was time for me to try something else...and this is it. I have decided to put all this chatter out there where it can be read or not but more importantly it will be out of my system. Then I can come home and be interesting. Sorry I didn't think of this years ago Roomdog.