First "thanks" of the week

This is Thanksgiving week right? In the spirit of giving thanks, I thought I would post some things I am thankful for as they come to me. I am thankful for friends, cocoa, and friends who like cocoa.




I am also thankful for vacation days from my employer that allow me to take a much needed break to spend time with friends and relax. You can tell from my hair it was a good day but it is time for bed.

Breaking up with the weather, that is a different story

My days of religiously following storms in off the Pacific are over. Or are they? I know I am supposed to be breaking up with my break-up and so far it is going well. I removed my Seattle related bookmarks from my computer and my life but not my Seattle related friends. Facebook posts and Twitter tweets from those left behind can suck me back into my Seattle world, particularly when those posts are almost unanimously about the weather.

It is snowing and icing and freezing in Seattle this week. Numerous friends had to abandon their buses and trek through the streets in work attire to get home. For some reason, and this I just do not get, people leave their cars and walk home. Leave their cars - on the side of the road, in the middle of the road, on the freeway, the off ramp, a side street. This morning I read the few plows the city has cannot get through because people left their cars in the middle of the road. Dude, these cars are probably Lexuses (Lexui?) or Audis or other nice, costly, pieces of machinery. How do you just leave them on the road and walk home? I don't get it.

Anyway, this is fascinating because it was just about two years ago that I was stranded in my house for almost two weeks as the city was rendered helpless by snow and ice. Other cities manage in far worse conditions; I don't understand how Seattle becomes so dramatically incapacitated in such a short period of time. It is, clearly, remarkable.

ANYWAY, point being - not my problem! It was 68 here yesterday and will be again today. I went for a hike. I drove with the windows down. The sun is still shining. It is taking me some time to get used to such bright, cheery weather. Admittedly, the weather affects my mood. If it were constantly gray and rainy (or snowy and freezing) I can say my overall affect would surely be much drearier. Following Seattle weather does make me a little home-sick but I am trying to focus on the overall theme of this post - sun = happy = better life for Eme Ashe. Here are some pictures of said life in the sunshine (though you can't tell it was sunny because we were in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Where were you?)

On Pride. Grocery Store Pride.

Let's face it, we all have it. Pride. It's that nagging feeling that often accompanies insecurity and conscience. I'm sure there is a lot to say on the subject but I'll just make one comment today. I had a moment at the grocery store where I realized I have grown.

Back when I lived in the big city, (you know, A LONG TIME AGO,) it was easy to stop on the way home from work to pick up a few things at the grocery store. Just pull the car over or get off a bus stop or two early and hit the store, then continue on the journey home. These days leaving the house is an adventure in itself. A trip to the grocery store is just that, an intentional trip to the grocery store. I'm not going to get in the car and drive 3 miles for the sole purpose of buying a green pepper. Nope, I am going to make something else for dinner or make-do without said pepper. Back in the city, (you know, A LONG TIME AGO,) stopping for one item was not an inconvenience, it was on-the-way.

Tonight I went to the grocery for a few things and when I walked in the door I realized I should buy more than a few things. I was at the store, I had money, I was running out of food at home, and oh right, I WAS AT THE GROCERY STORE. So, I did what few single women do when they go to the grocery store...I grabbed a cart. I know. You can see where this is going...right? No? Keep reading. What were we talking about? Oh right, pride.

You would think carrying around the SW (single woman) basket would hurt my pride but for some reason, it is the opposite. Maybe because on the few occasions I take a cart I tend to fill it up. Suddenly I feel like an impostor, pretending like I have other people to feed, or like everyone is looking at me thinking, "she is going to eat all of that herself because she is alone."

Wow, I did not intend for this to become an "I'm single post" but apparently, it's that too. Huh.

Anyway, like I was saying, I realized I have grown and here was the moment. Tonight, I put my bags in my cart and rolled my cart to my car. Whoa. Normally, I carry each bag, regardless of the number. The plastic stretches and cuts into my fingers under the weight of my SW's half gallon of milk, bottle of wine, and three apples. That's right, you can fit all of that and more into a SW basket.

As I unloaded my bags directly from cart-to-car, I realized how far I have come. Not because I was taking less trips to the grocery store and buying more at one time, but because I didn't care about what I bought or who saw me or how I transported my groceries around the store or to my car. My SW basket carrying, would-rather-carry-every-painful-plastic-bag-than-accept-help-from-the-bag-boy-half-my-age pride has diminished. A little. Enough. For now.

See? I have grown.

Thursday to Wednesday and Back Again

I could not keep today straight, (note that is different than I could not keep straight today. Heh.) I kept thinking it was Thursday, over and over. I would pull up my Thursday calendar, think about what is on TV on Thursday night, and then get excited for one more day of work until my week off.

Then I would remember it was actually Wednesday.

But then I would forget it was Wednesday and get all excited about Thursday again. It was weird. Maybe it was just wishful thinking for the weekend, or maybe I am really tired, or maybe I am losing my mind. I think any and all of the above are possible.

This week I decided to force myself to take walks during my lunch break. My body and mind feel better if I take a break, get some fresh air, and get exercise. Monday I was committed; nothing was going to stop me from taking walk. About 15 minutes before I was to set off, it started pouring. POURING. The rain did not sway me from my self-commitment and off I went. In jeans. With a cotton hat and scarf.

What happened? Well, seeing as I love the rain and love fresh air, I just kept walking. First, I walked all around my neighborhood, then I walked the 1/2 mile to Lake Louise, walked around, and headed home. As I climbed the hill to my street the rain started to take its toll. My scarf was soaked; I could wring the water out of it. My hat was drenched but thankfully kept my head dry. My jeans were wet and cold, the dampness creeping up my leg as I trudged along. It was in the mid-50s, and I was not far from home so I knew I would be fine. But I started thinking about how disappointed Bear Grylls would be in me. No jeans when walking in the cold and rain for an hour. No jeans.

Maybe I contracted a warm form of hypothermia that affected my memory or my ability to tell days of the week. No, that could not be the case because on Tuesday (which is apparently yesterday,) I did not take a walk. I learned my lesson from the day before. Tuesday was gray and rainy AND windy. I looked outside and thought, "Hmm...the last thing I need is to be pierced in the heart with a flying branch while I am soaking wet. I'll stay put." And I did, until today. Wednesday.

A klutzy murderererer

Oh, what a night. First, I smash a porcelain plate on my tile floor, then I murder a spider. It's all in a Friday night's work. Throughout this whole day I kept thinking of things I wanted to say on my blog. Now that is is time to blog, all I can think about is my broken plate and how tired I am. What, who, me? Procrastinate? I don't know what you are talking about.

What a week. I can't stop smiling. :) One more week of work and then I have a whole week off! Woo-hoo! Did I mention that? I can't remember. Oh well, I'm sure it's all I'll talk about for the next 16 days. Ok, 15. Day 16 I'll be lamenting the return to work. Speaking of, I need to get into a pattern. Scratch that, a better pattern. I find myself rolling out of bed at 8:45 for my 9:00 shift. Then I work until 6:00, which sadly is now after dark. Then I am about ready for bed due to the extreme darkness. This is not going to work all winter; I must find the balance.

This weekend will be my first weekend at "home" in awhile. Actually, I have 2 weekends in a row here and I am very excited about that. I'm not sure my lack of weekend jaunts got much mention on the blog thus far. (Ugh, grammar snobs, just ignore that sentence.) In Seattle, taking a weekend trip to visit a friend didn't happen much. Most locations were too far to travel to often and chances are there was no one for me to visit there anyway! Last weekend I went through 5 states in 7 hours. That type of thing does not happen on the west coast. The point being - there are a lot of people and places for me to visit on the east coast and I've been squeezing them all into my first few months.

My car is tired; I am tired. But it is nice to be back east, broken plates, tired tires, and all.

Is this what a soapbox is?

I'm not used to standing on one so I'm not sure.

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day and I just updated my Facebook status to thank our Veterans. I felt compelled to give a shout-out to ALL the Veterans. To quote myself, "Thank you Veterans! Thanks to all the boys and all the girls in our Armed Forces...including all the boys who like boys and all the girls who like girls."

Now, despite all the changes I have gone through in the past decade, including all the changes to my so-called World-View, I'm not little-miss-vocal about things. I'm not a fighter. You can think what you think and I'll think what I think and it's all good. It's ok. Really. Whatever. I'm west-coast chill yo. But this is something I don't get - you're gay so you shouldn't serve in the military? Huh? That doesn't even make sense. That's like saying, "you have blonde hair so you shouldn't be a teacher," or "you like to sing in the shower so you shouldn't be an EMT," or "you like turtles so you are not allowed to do CPR." None of that makes any sense. I mean, really. Who cares? WHO CARES? What is the issue?

Men and women in uniform are serving our country, risking, and sometimes sacrificing, their lives. Who cares if they are checking each other out in the process? Men and women in uniform are hot. They should be checking each other out.

Stepping down.

Rub those legs together

I, um, just don't have that much to say these days. I feel like a failure! I lured readers here with the promise of a dramatic life change and some details on how everything pans out. I moved and then...crickets. Granted, a wrench the shape of that city on the Bay got thrown into my plans and I sort of got tongue tied. I should be posting fabulous photos of my new life and new town. Observations should be fighting for top blogging. And yet. CRICKETS.

Almost every weekend I have left Asheville to galavant across the east coast. That was part of the plan, I know, but man, I am TIRED. I just want to stay "home" for awhile. I have been here for 5 or 6 weeks and don't feel remotely settled yet. I have barely scratched the surface of the city or hell, even my neighborhood. It is amazing how quickly time goes by when you become a full-fledged grown-up. (For example, how is tomorrow Wednesday already?)

I am taking the week of Thanksgiving off, which I usually do. Hey, if you can use 3 days of PTO and have a full 9 days in a row off, you should do it. Every year. I will be taking a trip for turkey to SC to visit with the family but only for part of the time. I am very much looking forward to having a few days in my new place to just relax. It has been a long time since I have lived in a new city. 10 years ago I was just a kid and had all of that, "I am so enthusiastic about life; I can't wait to explore every inch of pavement," joy. Yeah. I'm glad I had that and I'm glad I did but now, I'm old. I'm tired. I want to drink some coffee, read a book, and fall asleep in the middle of the day on the weekends.

Like I said, crickets. I will post some pictures soon so stay tuned. Please? Chirp?

The Difference a Degree Makes

Degree: Master's in I/O Psychology
Difference: While working for a Non-Profit undergoing constant organizational change in a potential double-dip recession? Not much.

Degree: +1
Difference: Ahh. The heater set to 68 degrees in my house is nice and cozy but occasionally I get a chill. Now, push it up a degree, to 69, and it's like cozy, homey, holiday cookie, weekend bliss. Now, I have pretty good windows and insulation so when I turn the heat down or off my house holds its warmth fairly well. When it gets chilly, one degree makes all the difference.

Degree: -1
Difference: WTF?? A nice fall day at 50 degrees can abruptly turn to a freakin', freezing, wintry day when the mercury drops to 49. I'm fine waiting awhile until I hit age 40 and frankly, I'm not interested in seeing any degree that starts with 40 anytime soon. Too bad for me. Today the high was 49 degrees. I went outside, said, "BRR," very loudly, and promptly went back inside to get my coat.

See? A degree makes all the difference. Sometimes.