Dog, Crayons, Books, Plans
The DogWe came home the other night to find a dog on the side of the road in our yard. Head down, unable to stand, no collar but very friendly and obviously well-fed. A golden retriever with large paws and brown eyes. "Crap, this dog looks like it's been hit by a car," we thought, and mulled over what to do with it.
The dog had a companion, a large brown creature of unknown breed more closely resembling pig than canine. When we decided we couldn't stand to leave an injured animal on the side of the road, we bundled her up. Goldie growled, grunted, and whimpered when we hoisted the blanket into the bed of the truck. She stood briefly, dragging a stiff leg before collapsing. Pig Dog started yelping as we drove away, clearly unhappy to be without his true friend.
As I rode in the truck bed with the dog, I suddenly remembered why it was illegal to do so. I twined my wrists into the frayed loops of tie-downs and lay flat, trying very hard not to think about how far I'd fly from the vehicle if we hit anything. Goldie put her paw on me and lay her head down next to mine. My hair whipped up into a big fro of curls in the 80 mph winds.
At the emergency animal clinic, dad and I watched the Olympics in the lobby. When we were called back to talk to the vet, she told us that Goldie was a very old dog. "I don't think she has any broken bones. I think she just has really terrible arthritis. Medications would help." Goldie, now standing perfectly erect and panting cheerfully, walked back outside to our truck with much less help than she needed to get in the door.
"Faker!" I wanted to yell. Why had this dog acted so very pathetic up until the point we blew that money on her? You try to do the right thing, have compassion... and you get a Faker Dog and a Pig Dog in your backyard eating double bowls of dry food and causing Solomon to scream all night through the windows.
The next day they were gone. And then the signs for "Missing Golden Retriever" started appearing around the neighborhood. But what can we do?
The CrayonsMy coworkers have kids starting school. They lament shopping for supplies.
"I always loved shopping for supplies as a kid," I said. "Man, you know what I always wanted? The big box of crayons. I never got bigger than the 24 pack... but wasn't the big box cool? With the sharpener on the back?"
Everyone agreed that the big box was, in fact, the epitome of cool.
And then, a week later, I come to work and one of the nurses plops something in my lap. I look down. It was a 96 pack. All the others had forgotten the earlier conversation, but she hadn't. "Ha!" I squealed with glee, opening it to read some of the color names. There was even a sharpener on the back.
I was so busy that day, I didn't have time to draw her a picture. But I did make a sign using a different unusual shade for each letter reading "Cheryl saved my childhood dreams!" She laughed with satisfaction.
BooksI couldn't remember how long it had been since I read a novel for pleasure.
Sure, I listen to audiobooks constantly. I've probably listened to 15-20 audiobooks since January during my commutes. And I have lots of books on my bedside table that I use for "study". They're dry, dusty old tomes analyzing philosophy or emerging religions or something like that. Not exactly light reading. Not something I usually read cover to cover.
So, I decided to read a few books. To lay my eyes on the words and carry the paper around with me. And then I remembered why I got away from them in nursing school. They consume me.
When I was a student, I spent my driving hours listening to books. I spent my reading hours immersed in schoolwork. After graduation, I never went back to the old way. I think I was imagining that my new system was somehow more "efficient" and "high tech". I'd forgotten that I am an exceptionally fast reader. I never skim or skip over things, I just plow through them so quickly. So I read 6 books this week. Is that not crazy? I'm going to have to slow down. I have a wedding to plan, after all.
PlansSo I'm going to quit my job September 11th, move my things to Austin, come back and freak out for a week, then walk down the aisle September 27th. I had bridal portraits last Saturday, which was fun. (I wish I could post pictures, but you know, wouldn't want to spoil it for certain people.) I'm getting really excited about all this. It's going to be a really huge change for me. I'm not only getting married... I'm moving to a new city, finding a job in a new specialty, fitting myself into an established network of friends... becoming independent (I feel like I am the very last person to do this).
But my feet are far from cold! I'm just excited to think about the opportunities. Doing something totally new. And being with Jeff, who has my heart now more than ever.
Thank You Notes
Finally finished. Then my arm fell off. ^_^
Bridal Shower
I knew these things were about eating cake, standing around in high heels, seeing friends, and opening a present or two.
Cake...
Lara, Mom, Me...
We didn't take many pictures of the guests, here are a few...
But then, whoa...
The gray boxes in the back are filled with dishes. Here are a few of them.
These boxes are stuffed with towels of every hue.
I am absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity.
The Fourth of July
We always travel to Memphis for Thanksgiving and the Fourth. I can't go as often as I used to; work gets in the way. This time, I was lucky. The holiday fell on my weekend off and the manager didn't feel the need to rearrange anything. So we crammed ourselves into the car and headed north. I slept several hours with my mouth open and head lolled to the side. Before I knew it, we were in Memphis again and it was party time. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
I love seeing my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Their house is a fun place. I went to live with them for a summer a few years ago and Lori chased me around the track until my fat ass was in shape.
I distinctly remember going through junkfood withdrawal and the caffeine jitters during those weeks. But it was a good time. I feel sentimental about it.
But for holidays... when you go to the same gathering so many times, how can you write about it? It becomes a ritual so ingrained that reciting the course of events becomes tedious in the way describing one's dental hygeine is tedious. Yes, we went to the Germantown festival and saw fireworks. Yes, we played Scrabble and trash-talked eachothers vocabulary and spelling skills. Yes, we drank wine and laughed and listened to the nonstop twang of fingerpicked guitar.
The only differences were the guests. And also the lack of a traditional holiday play. (Oh well, we're probably too old for that anyway). Anyway, there was this one kid there, Aaron's friend Shu. He was making Lara really angry because he was making so many racist comments. He'd be all "You make C's in geometry because you're just a white boy." and "I can do all that stuff because, you know, I'm Asian." I was getting a little irritated myself because his babbling was nearly nonstop. But then I started laughing once he claimed to be a Kung-Fu master. "Oh yeah," I asked, "what color is your belt?" Shu: "Black... like my skin." Wtf?
We came home Sunday and I collapsed and now I'm back to the grindstone with work.
Wedding plans are coming along. I still need someone to coordinate, someone to mind the music (and announce a couple things during the reception), to book a honeymoon suite, to locate an afterparty spot for the outta-towners, to find a group rate hotel for the outta-towners, to buy some jewelry, to buy wedding bands, to meet with our minister, to print and send invitations, to make some centerpieces and find decorations for the front of the church (oh god oh god please no tulle)... the list never seems to end.
So to unwind lately I've been learning to Irish step-dance with Lara, learning to play "Into the West" on the piano, reading about the history of tarot cards and the dreams of Walt Disney, and buying weird chocolate bars from World Market. For your information, Ritter bars are really good, but blueberry white-chocolate bars start strong and end up a little disturbing.
Peace be with you all.
Jury Duty and Wedding Things
Yesterday I had jury duty. It was painfully boring.
I decided that I wouldn't lie to try to get out of serving since I have no legitimate excuse. But I wasn't going to pretend I was having fun while I was there. I wore black from head to toe and crossed my arms in front of my chest. During the long roll-call picked through my purse to look at my books and my PSP. The iPhone proved to be my most useful entertainment device. (Small, discreet, quiet, and with internet browsing capabilities--I am so thankful that I am an early adopter, since I can see an immanent future where this kind of connectivity is essential).
Because I was grimly determined to serve as I was called, listening to the excuses given by some of the others infuriated me. I can forgive the single working mother who receives no pay on the days she doesn't work. I can forgive the deaf man and the guy on crutches. I can even forgive the felon; he's not legally qualified to serve! But when that one woman came in saying her husband was home alone and she needed to stay home to take care of him because he was "prone to heart attacks", I just wanted to jump up and call bullshit. She had the gall to say "He's had open heart surgery before and has diabetes. He needs me to be there because I am afraid he is just going to have a heart attack any minute." I'm sorry lady, it smacks of foolishness and dishonesty. The fact that you were excused offends me.
Thankfully every one of the 58 cases on the docket was settled outside of court, and we were dismissed in the early afternoon. If I'd been forced to stay through the entire juror selection process, I'm sure I'd have died of boredom. The entire process was wildly inefficient. People had to be "renumbered" mid-morning, and for some reason this was not an automated process. We have computers for a reason, by gods. The building was beautiful and the staff was sanguine, but I wanted to see the paperwork completed in a more intelligent manner.
Today I picked out a wedding cake. I got the simplest one available. The flavor is absolutely delicious, which is my primary concern with everything in this party. But the price is just silly. I guess it can't be helped. If I'd known what I was getting myself into, I'd have eloped.
I also worked on my bridal registry. I'm trying to finish the entire registration process online but it's proving surprisingly difficult. For instance, where most people walk through a store and scan everything they find appealing, I do a search on the company site and sort by price and by brand. The array of options is concisely displayed, but when I go to chose, for example, a toaster, I note with horror that the one I've selected is rated 1/5 stars. "Only 1 star?? What is wrong with this toaster? Why do these people hate it enough to go online and complain about it??" I'd have been oblivious if I'd seen it while walking around the store, choosing only by features and aesthetics. Clearly I cannot register for a one-star toaster. Back to square one.
The information age is a blessing and a curse.
Maybe that's why I've not been writing lately?
