Ahem.

{tap-tap}

Is this thing on?

Yeah. So...um...I've been having a life. Some of it interesting, some of it not. Apparently it's been far too absorbing to type about.

Went out on Saturday night. Had an okay time, but nothing spectacular. Well, only the volume of liquor I consumed, but even that was only spectacular in its predictability. I have made several notes to self though, about not drinking hard liquor at bars. It leads to mixing, which, as we all know, is VERY BAD. Just say NO to mixing, boys and girls.

Work has been okay. Now that Peggy's back from her 2 week battle with pneumonia and things are beginning to get back to normal, life is settling down. I got so far behind in my own stuff while she was away, that it's taken me over a week just to get ALMOST caught back up.

I was off today, but I went in to the store to paint the kitchen display. One of the walls was banged up, and it's been on my ToDo list for a while now to fix it. Last night I had someone patch the drywall, and today I went in and primed and painted. It was actually quite fun. It's amazing to see how quickly you can actually see results when you set to a task. Makes painting these bedrooms look a lot less daunting. I may do that after Christmas. Assuming I am still here in the spring. And I think that's a fair assumption at this point.

I finally bought a bottle of water for my water dispenser. I had forgotten how much I love that machine. It is by far the best Christmas gift I have ever received. Thanks, Kzel. I realized that I have not been drinking nearly enough water for some time now. I tend to prefer hot drinks in the colder weather, and my water machine produces enjoyably hot water. (Also cold, but I don't enjoy that as much.) I have now successfully upped my water intake by about 2 litres per day. Yay me.

In other Yay-Me News--I went to the gym last night. One of hte girls that works in our flooring department was talking about joining a gym. I told her that if she went to Nubody's that I'd love it if we could be gym buddies. I really need someone else's encouragement in order to make myself go. And it worked! Last night was EVIL weather-wise. The rain was flying sideways--the puddles were 3 and 4 inches deep on the highway. My poor little car was like a badminton birdie. But I made it to the gym! Because Heidi was there and I felt obligated to keep my commitment to her. If only I could feel so committed to myself! Anyway--this bodes well for days to come.

I've been trying hard to eat better. It's easier on my wallet as well as my digestive system. I've been forcing myself to eat breakfast every day--although this has, so far, meant that I've been late for work every day that I've had breakfast. But we can't have everything. At least nobody notices when I'm late, as I pretty much live at the store. (Or I appear to--it's all tricks with smoke and mirrors though--just don't tell anybody!)

I was there today painting---and I went upstairs to the office where I keep my stuff. My bag was there, and I wanted a snack while I waited for the paint to dry. (AllBran Bar for those of you keeping track.) Verge--the most lonerific, sad-sack, woe-is-me person I know--asked what I was doing there. I told him, and he said I needed to get a life.

Now, if he had said this in a jokin manner, I wouldn't have minded. But since he's such a down-in-the-dumps kind of Eyeore-like creature, and he said it in such a dirisive manner--I got a little bit offended.

I don't think he's ever wanted anything in his life except a girlfriend. And she has to be perfect. Skinny, pretty, a perfect homemaker. Smart, but not too smart. Independent, but needy. Oh yes, and she has to have "no baggage". For those of you at home trying to play along--this means 'no kids and no ex-boyfriends/husbands--no history at all would be preferable'. He's 38 and has just recently moved out of his parents' home. He tends to like girls in the 23-27 range and is surprised when they don't immediately want to get married and have his babies. Don't get me wrong, he's actually a very nice guy. A bit shallow and insecure, but a very nice guy. He will make some girl a wonderful husband some day. He'll adore her and want to do everything for her.

But he's in NO position to comment on my life.

At this point in my life, I have nobody waiting for me to come home. I have nobody who requires me to launder their clothes, drive them to soccer practice, or even cook their dinner. If I want Cheerios for lunch, I have Cheerios for lunch, and nobody cares or calls the Children's Aid.

What I want right now is to advance in my career. I will never again in my life have the opportunities that I have right now in terms of my own ability to pursue my goals. If you wanted something very much, and you felt that there were things that you could do in order to improve your chances of attaining that goal, would you not do everything in your power to give yourself any possible advantage? I don't feel that working late and spending some extra time at the store is a sacrifice for me, at this point. So because I don't view it that way, I really do not begrudge the time and effort. But I resent being judged negatively by someone who has no life and no goals because I do so.

Verge doesn't appear to have any career plans, aside from the position that he holds now. He doesn't want to move anywhere, and he is very married to his 8-5 Monday to Friday job. His spare time, he spends in his apartment, or in the woods. Yet he laments to me on an aolmost daily basis how lonely he is and how sad his life is because he never meets girls.

I've suggested that he join a club, or pick up a hobby. He points out that he hunts. I asked him how many women he met out in the bush the last time he was in a duck-blind. (yes, the answer--predictably--was zero) He wants the perfect woman to fall into his lap; however, he is not prepared to make any changes or slight alterations to his current life-plan in order to accomodate that. Why do people choose to live in a rut when they see that their chosen course of action is not giving them their desired results? Do we really fear change that much? What a bizarre species we are.

Enough of that. :)

So...question. I may send it over to Mrs.Belle for etiquette week--I need serious help with this one.

My parents had their 35th wedding anniversary last December. They split up permanently in January. My mom's been going through some pretty rough times--and my dad hasn't been making it any easier on her. I know this anniversary is going to be a tough time for her.

What is the appropriate way to deal with this date? Do I ignore it altogether? Do I ignore it, and just call her to chat--pretending I don't even know the significance of the date? Do I send her a (not-quite)random 'Thinking of you' card, reminding her how much she is loved? Do I call her and acknowledge the date and hope it doesn't knock her flat on her ass? I need your help.

Keep in mind, that dealing with my father is an entirely different issue. I will call him, and pretend there's nothing special about the date at all. This way, he knows I'm thinking about him, but he is not given any more ammunition with which to bludgeon my mother and her storm-tossed emotions.

I promise to do better folks. I'm sorry you've been stopping by to see the same sad excuse for a post. If only my computer were faster, this wouldn't be such a time-consuming process! I type way faster than my keyboard/monitor combination will allow me to view on the monitor. And as we've discussed previously, editing is a bitch.

Shalom, and goodnight.