An Ex’s Birthday

Even though we broke up with a lot of bitterness and hard feelings, I still care a little bit about my ex. I don’t ever search him out or try to talk with him, but I do think of him every now and then. I know that his birthday is coming up in two days. I am not going to send him a card or call him up or anything. But I do remember the last birthday we shared together and how special I tried to make his whole day and night.

Unfortunately, he never much effort to reciprocate. My birthday was a huge disappointment, especially since we had celebrated his in November, so he had several months to figure out what to do to make mine special. But he didn’t bother, and to be honest, I think that disappointment was the start of the end of our relationship.

It was then that I realized he wanted all the attention on him and was never going to be as giving or considerate as I wanted in a partner. And I also realized that the only reason he made such a fuss on Valentine’s Day was not because he was expressing his love for me. He was just dutifully buying me thing so he could have a night of great sex. I’m glad I didn’t waste any more time on him than I did, and although I recognize that his birthday is two days away, I no longer care if it is a happy day for him – or not.

Must We Wake Up Already?

Last night was so much fun. I had a blast in the restaurant where a bunch of Facebook friends decided to meet up. We all got together at Puckett’s Grocery downtown. It’s not really a grocery – it s a bar, restaurant and place to hear live music every night of the week from local talent. The food is great and reasonably priced, and it’s a casual, friendly place. I had a blast!

This morning I am paying for it, though. I am SOOOO tired! I think I am allergic to mornings anyway, but this morning it is especially hard to wake up and get started on my day. Ugh. But I have a long list of errands and chores, so I had better get off the computer and get busy. Later, taters!

Halloween Parties for Grown Ups

This weekend is when all the adults get to have their Halloween parties. The clubs and condo party rooms will be full of people in costumes, eating spooky snacks and having lots of fun. Downtown will be especially interesting this weekend, with just about everyone local going out in costume and only the out of towners still in street clothes.

Halloween is actually Thursday night, and next weekend will be too late for grown ups parties. I am glad that I can go out and have some fun with my friends this weekend and then stay home to pass out candy to the kids on Thursday night.

No cups or cans of drinks near the PC

I know a lot of people like to sit in front of their computer for hours and gradually surround themselves with all kinds of creature comforts so they don’t have to constantly get up from their perch. I have seen empty pizza boxes, stacks of plates and bowls, boxes of tissues, all kinds of pill bottles, phone chargers, a fish bowl, hand sanitizer and all kinds of knick knacks.

But remember this one important rule: No cups or cans of drinks near the PC. I’m serious. Because, no matter how careful you are, one day something WILL happen that results in the liquid getting spilled. Best case, it just spills on the desk or table. Worst case, it pours directly into your hard drive or saturates your keyboard. Not only do have a sticky mess that is almost impossible to clean up, but you can short out the electronics and end up with no computer.

I got lucky tonight, the cat jumped up on my desk and knocked over a small can of Arnold Palmer’s Half and Half. The mix of iced tea and lemonade went everywhere, soaking a stack of papers, dripping into the carpet, and little splashes dotted my keyboard. Thank goodness I was able to clean it all up and not lose anything important. I think this must have been a gentle reminder from Mr. Murphy of Murphy’s Law to follow that rule I just mentioned: No cups or cans of drinks near the PC.

Any Big Sales This Weekend?

Sorry to admit this, but the Columbus Day holiday has always seemed the oddest and least celebrated holiday of all the official holidays throughout the year. We all learned a little bit about Christopher Columbus and several other notable world explorers while in school. And there is some controversy about whether Columbus really discovered America or did he land on a Caribbean Island or even Mexico or Central America instead?

But for me and anyone else who works in retail, Columbus Day means one more holiday to have an excuse for a sale and it is the last holiday before the big Christmas rush. I think the Columbus Day holiday has lost some of its shine in modern years and people are no so much interested in any sales during October unless it means they can get an early start on their Christmas shopping.

Do you know of any sales going on this weekend that will be worth going to the mall to save money on something you really need? I can’t think of anything, and I’m not willing to start my Christmas shopping yet, either!

Revamping My Closet This Weekend

Now that it is officially fall, the weather has definitely turned chilly. So, it’s that time of year for me to totally revamp my closet. It’s a chore I dread, because I love summer and I don’t want to admit that I cannot wear all my cute shorts and summer dresses anymore. But then again, getting out all my cold weather clothes is exciting. It is like reconnecting with old friends! Hello, Sweater! I haven’t seen you for, what? At LEAST 6 months!

Another upside to revamping my closet this weekend is that I will need to go shopping and buy a few new things to update my wardrobe. Cleaning out the closet makes room for new stuff! I want to get a couple pairs of new jeans, a rain jacket and this year I am looking for a pair of new boots. Shopping will be my reward for getting this chore done over the weekend.

Public School Report Cards Already!

School has been in session for 5 weeks already, which means that school report cards come out next week for all the public school kids in this area. We do 6 week grading periods, and the first reports are supposed to be parent teacher conferences. I’m not sure they still do that in every school, but I sure used to hate the 6th week of school when I was a kid. My parents would go to the school and sit on these tiny chairs and listen to the teacher bitch about me for 30 minutes, then they would come home and beat my butt for whatever holy sin I had been committing in class, like “not paying attention.”

Then the next 6 weeks would be hell, because I’d have lost all my privileges and was not allowed to watch TV or play outside with friends or do anything except homework or read library books. OMG! I hated my teacher AND my parents for those second 6 weeks.

But then, strangely, my next report card would always “show improvement”” and I would be not grounded any more and life would go back to normal. I don’t recall doing anything different during those 6 weeks except suffering – but I managed to get through it and my parents felt better about themselves for being “responsible parents” and my teacher would get panties out of a knot and accept the fact that not every student is going to be a perfect student.

 

Clever Street Art

Photo of street art with a mouse watering weeds

 

I guess that, technically, this is graffiti, but I think it is a cute example of street art that takes something ordinary, like a tiny weed, and turns it into something whimsical. Can you see ordinary things like weeds and get the inspiration to create something like this mouse watering a weed, as if it is her houseplant? I think it is so clever! And I don’t have near the talent to even draw something like this, much less come up with the idea in the first place!

I wonder if the government would get all upset if little drawings like this started showing up on the street curbs. I really think most people would enjoy them, but I bet there would be some jerk who thinks it is destruction of public property or some other stupid crime. And some people do not appreciate art at all – they like things plain, sterile and ordinary. I’m so glad that I am not one of those types!

August 1 Means School Starts

Today is the first day of school for the kids in the Metro area. A lot of other counties are either starting this week, too, or one day next week. I think it is crazy to start school in August, but this has been a long term effort to change our public schools into a year round schedule.

By starting in August, the schools build in a week of “Fall Break” in October, a two week “Holiday Break” and then a one week “Spring Break.” So the kids don’t really go for a longer school year, they just get more breaks.

Since I don’t have kids, it doesn’t matter much to me. I find is strange to go back to school before Labor Day, as that traditionally meant the end of summer where I grew up. But in the South, the warm weather lasts a lot longer and they have redefined the breaks away from Christian holidays to be more suited to teacher’s needing a break and professional development seminars.

School back in session just means longer drive time in the mornings, as the school buses mess up traffic. I absolutely HATE getting stuck behind a school bus on my way to work. I end up leaving for work 20 minutes earlier when school is in session just so I don’t have to deal with school buses. Getting to work early means less sleep for me and not enough time after I get to work to do anything personal, so I end up making coffee for the whole office and reading the newspaper for 15 minutes every morning. Personally, I would rather get that extra sleep and skip the newspaper, but I’m not willing to risk being late due to traffic. So it is what it is.

Lots of Summer Vegetables Available

I wish there was a Farmer’s Market close to my house. I don’t know of any except the one downtown, and I hate to drive downtown. I end up spending an extra $10 in gas to go all the way downtown and an extra $10 to the trip for paid parking. So the cost of fresh vegetables is already $20 before I even pick out the first one.

The last time I went to the Farmer’s Market, the price of vegetables was not any cheaper than what I can buy at Kroger grocery stores. I’m not sure there is much advantage to shopping at Nashville’s Farmer’s Market other than you are supporting local farmers and local businesses rather than a big grocery store chain like Kroger and whatever farms they decide at a corporate level to buy from.

There is a little place on the side of the road that sells fresh vegetables and fresh flowers on Lebanon Road. I don’t usually take Lebanon Road to go anywhere, but when I know I am going that way, I usually stop and buy a few things. I went by there yesterday and found lots of summer vegetables. They are a little cheaper than Kroger and the owner tells me that all the produce is grown locally. So I don’t mind supporting this guy and his wife.

I tried to grow some tomato plants on my patio, but they did not produce much. The tomatoes are so small and colored funny that I ended up throwing them out. It was nice to find a fresh picked, field grown tomato at the vegetable stand. One slice of their tomato covers the entire piece of bread! So I enjoyed a fabulous tomato and mayo sandwich last night. And I’ll have another one tonight for dinner, with a couple pieces of bacon and some lettuce on top.