The Signs are Everywhere

I am firmly convinced that the answer to all of life's questions lie in front of our faces. Oh, but it's not that easy. Like the most difficult professor ever encountered, life teaches us by the dreaded Socratic Method, asking us the questions and then having us take the evidence presented to us and put it together to devise a sound answer for it all. I would say logical answer, but after much deliberation, I've decided that logic plays a very minor role in the way life works. Life doesn't always make sense, but that doesn't mean you can't try to make sense of it. It's different for everyone, but for me, the first step of the algorithm of life is based in optimism.

My moments of deciding that just maybe everything is going to be all right come from the most incredible situations-things so ridiculous that no matter what is happening at that moment, I can't help but stop and laugh. I consider that evidence that maybe there's something out there telling me "smile-it's not that bad." Maybe it is evidence that there are better things to do than dwell on the negative and not try to find the humor in a dour situation. Whether it be a purloined trash can, a couch with a faulty leg*, or reminders that you're thought of, there's no reason not to take these things as signs at that perhaps starting right now, there are brighter days upon the horizon...or that trash can thieves should be tar and feathered and couches that were practically given away are not to be trusted.


Explanation of the *Faulty Leg

Remember my kvetching about my trip through Missouri? Well, the night that I returned to Murray, after 10.5 some-odd hours on the road, I walked through the door or my apartment, breathing in the familiarity of home and proceeded toward one of my couches. Though quite firm and thus good for the back, one of the 'special features' of the loveseat is a broken leg. It's not broken all of the time...I reattach the leg when it comes off, which is becoming a more frequent occurrence. You can see where this is going, right? With all intentions of sitting down and staring at the wall and enjoying the sensation of not being hurtled down the interstate at 75 mph, I instead felt the leg of the couch buckle beneath me and then collapse, causing the couch to tilt to one side. To pareaphrase Chris Farley in Tommy Boy, "I really could have done without that." I got up from the couch, looked at it for a moment, and then brushed my teeth and went to bed. My couch has been tilted like that for 24 days now. I promise I'll fix it by this weekend.

Facebook Fever

My account for The Facebook has finally been activated and I'm begining to see what all of the fuss is about. Though, let me note for the record that I find it ironic that I'm going though and searching for friends because I can tell you exactly where they are right now.

This is the Last of It

I think I've finally gotten the last shred of broken glass and broken cds removed from the fibers of the carpet. It's all over now. Everything has been packed away and it's time to hold a giant magnet to my head to wipe my memory clean. Battle scars...they're a beautiful thing.

And as I lie in bed at night, those three words that kept the plane from crashing haunt me...and I wish that it had crashed so that I wouldn't have to feel a moment of pain such as this, when I clench my eyes shut tightly and repeat three more little words of my own, willing myself to make it all go away or at least less apparent in the photographic imagery of my mind.

...I can't wait to leave this place and start anew...

Wednesday in Review

12:01am...and I'm hiding in the shrubs outside of the Applied Science Building, waiting to ambush people (Gibson, Mac, Aaron, Evan or whoever else should walk by) with my watergun. Watched Kortni and Misty perform drive by water gun shootings on random boys. Helped Misty with HTML. Ate a damn good chicken salad sandwich (thanks Katie!). Played Super Dodgeball and then went to bed. Woke up. Made business calls. Did internet research. Made more phone calls. Talked to Ames. Bathed and groomed. Monitored computer lab. Mapquested for a girlfriend. Drank some sweet, sweet Raspberry Flavored Dasani Water. Consulted with faculty members. Showed off my mad linguistic skills. Helped deliver an I-Pod Shuffle to the newsroom. Watched all 3+ hours of All-Campus Sing (highlights: Big Dave's Solo, The Sig Eps playing Blues Brothers and winning, The Honors Program kids doing School House Rock better than we could ever have done it). Los Portales with Katie, Lynelle, and Belcher. Walked the big block. Five episodes of Sex and the City. Computing. Computing. Facial mask that smells like burning tires (clear skin, here I come!). Petoria episode of Family Guy. Emails. Super Dodgeball. Bed.

Three Little Words

Enzyme Facial Gel: I should have some arriving in the mail in a few days. At last! I'll once again be washing my face with something that smells so good I'll want to eat it...and it's all natural, so I'll probably try.

Big Block Walking: The great thing about walking during the day is being able to see into cars to see the agape mouths of motorists checking out the jogging girls. The great thing about not being one of those hot jogging girls is that I'm free to stare and laugh at the gawkers without risking eye contact with them.

The Family Guy: New episodes start on Fox...May 1st, is it? Yeah, that'll be cause for a celebration. Right now I'm watching the one where the cigarette company buys the toy factory and makes Peter president. Smmooooooooooooke!

Chicken Fajita Bag: Oh the wonders of frozen foods. Chicken strips, veggies, and tortillas all in the same bag mean that I can now cook fajitas for breakfast. Screw the cheerios, pass the salsa! Tyson foods, how I love thee...

Scholar's Week Presentation: I'll be giving a talk on an ergonomic analysis of a Calvert City company in 9 hours. Skirts will be blown sky high.

All Campus Sing: I'll be there, will you?

Super Dodge Ball: My bedtime ritual now involves washing face, brushing teeth, removing contacts, and playing a few rounds of Super Dodge Ball on Gameboy Advance. Man, I love this game. It helps me sleep.

Weird Smelling Hands: They don't smell bad or anything...just not like they're mine. My hands don't smell like my own.

Oh, The Places I've Gone

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...


Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire /New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island /South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C

Forgiveness

Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.
-- Buddha.

4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

-- Ephesians, 4:31-4:32.

The nobler sort of man emphasizes the good qualities in others, and does not accentuate the bad. The inferior does the reverse.
-- Confucius

Everything Good about the World

I love late nights at Huddle House with my friends. I love playing Simpsons Road Rage and then napping on the couch. I love dancing at Hughes Street with my sorority sisters. I love going to study while listening to jazz. I love late night barbeques. I love it that for every one person that rips my heart out, I have at least twenty others down on the ground with me helping me to pick up all the pieces. I love it that someone cares enough to send me flowers when she knows that life is rough. I love it that today starts a new week. I love it that aside from finishing up these last few weeks of class, I have my Master's of Science degree. I love it that even if I don't get the job I want, I have a solid plan B...which in many ways I think would suit me better than my plan A. I love it how no matter how much I get angry and want to just disappear, I'm brave enough not to, for this is my home and I have every right to be here. And I love it how no matter how bleak things seem, I can always find something to for which to be hopeful.

This past 48 hours have been among the worst and yet simultaneously most amusing/thought provoking I've experienced in quite some time. Granted, a lot of good came out of my epic journey, but damn. Just damn. I was on the road over ten hours today, stopping only for a total of 30 minutes to periodically refuel the Canyonero and take care of other matters in Alma and Hazen, Arkansas and Bartlett, Tennessee.

Time in car Sunday and Monday: 18.75 hours
Miles Traveled: 1000+
States Visited: 4

Tour of Missouri

In a few minutes, I'm making my last great trek of the 'Show-me-State' as I drive to the far corner of it for a jerb interview. It's an interesting state and I just may have to make a quick jaunt through ye olde drive through zoo out on I-44 east of Springfield. I went through it with Mom sometime in 1994 after a day trip to Springfield to see Grandpa!, who was living there at the time. If you've ever heard me talking about the time a llama stuck its head inside our car and I started rolling up the window, this would be the trip when it occurred. I do not forsee having wild life take a peek around my car this trip. But it is Missouri, so you never know...