I have had my fair share of ghostly experiences. There were a couple times in college (and no, I was neither drunk nor high for either of those experiences) and then once more recently (this time I wasn't alone and again neither drunk nor high) when I know for sure without a doubt that I was in the presence of ghosts. So today's chosen song is the theme from the movie Ghostbusters.
If there's something strange
in your neighborhood
who you gonna call?
GHOSTBUSTERS!
And those Ghostbusters need to come to the bathroom at work. You think I jest, but seriously something is up in there. Why else would the automatic paper towel dispenser dispense paper towels when there is no one standing any where near it? I can't count the number of times when I have been alone in the bathroom (it has four stalls) and that darned dispenser makes its little whirring noise and dispenses its contents to no one. No one at all. Just the air. And last time I checked the air does not need to dry its hands.
I have joked for years (nearly eight years actually) about the paintings of the old dead guys in the room which houses most of the "offices" (read cubicles) in my department (which we are thankfully moving out of soon). They constantly stare down at us and when strange things happen I blame them for causing it. Jokingly of course. Now I have to wonder if these old dead guys are playing games in the bathroom or if they're just enjoying the automatic paper towel dispenser because they never had such a thing while they were alive. I have no idea what's going on but it certainly is strange.
Of course the logical explanation is that this dispenser is just super sensitive and shadows or something cause the sensor to think someone needs a paper towel. I prefer to think we're being haunted. It's more fun that way.
Also, this bathroom? It was remodeled a few years back (it is now very very very blue). Remember how I mentioned it has four stalls? Well, there's a different toilet in each stall. As in two manual flush toilets at either end of the row of stalls which are different from each other and two autoflush toilets in the middle which are also different from each other. Why? I have wondered about this for years now. Why are they all different? Were they on sale? Did different people buy them? Were they just what the contractor had left over from other jobs? And why do I wonder about this so much?
Friday, November 21, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Break ups
This song popped up on my iPod on my drive home tonight. I'm not sure how it snuck into my shuffle between all the Rent and Christmas songs my iPod thinks I should be listening to the last couple days, but it did and it got me thinking about break ups and how the dumpee feels after being dumped by the dumper.
Today's song is Seeds of A Lifetime by Kristen Hall. I first heard Kristen's music at the student union during my freshman year of college (back when you had to walk all the way up the hill to get there!). I didn't buy her CD then, but I did copy someone's tape. When that tape wore out back in 1999 or 2000 Ms. Ex used this new fangled invention called the internet and helped me find the CD I should have bought all those years before in college. I sort of rediscovered Kristen a couple years ago and picked up another CD which I listened to once and promptly forgot about after loading it into iTunes. So, today's song was a bit of a surprise since I haven't heard it in a while and also because the music is a bit "twangier" than I usually care for even though the vocals are not. Anyway, here are the lyrics:
How can I sit and watch
Let a good thing ride away
Suddenly all is lost
As I search for words to say
But all that comes are a million tears
One for every time I should have told you
Fear burns hard and slow
We've got a long hard row to sow
Seeds of a lifetime, truth and forgiveness
Growing like a grapevine, like nobody's business
Bitter tears we have cried,
But they never change a thing
Suddenly time gets lost
How we spent it now means everything
Tell me, who hasn't searched for words to say when someone is breaking up with them? Who hasn't thought after the fact I should have to her X, or if I'd just said Y....as tears stream down their face? I really think Kristen captured the feeling of a broken heart in the moments after it's been broken. Hopefully I won't ever need "I've just been dumped" music again, but if I do I'm going to remember this song and put it on my playlist.
Today's song is Seeds of A Lifetime by Kristen Hall. I first heard Kristen's music at the student union during my freshman year of college (back when you had to walk all the way up the hill to get there!). I didn't buy her CD then, but I did copy someone's tape. When that tape wore out back in 1999 or 2000 Ms. Ex used this new fangled invention called the internet and helped me find the CD I should have bought all those years before in college. I sort of rediscovered Kristen a couple years ago and picked up another CD which I listened to once and promptly forgot about after loading it into iTunes. So, today's song was a bit of a surprise since I haven't heard it in a while and also because the music is a bit "twangier" than I usually care for even though the vocals are not. Anyway, here are the lyrics:
How can I sit and watch
Let a good thing ride away
Suddenly all is lost
As I search for words to say
But all that comes are a million tears
One for every time I should have told you
Fear burns hard and slow
We've got a long hard row to sow
Seeds of a lifetime, truth and forgiveness
Growing like a grapevine, like nobody's business
Bitter tears we have cried,
But they never change a thing
Suddenly time gets lost
How we spent it now means everything
Tell me, who hasn't searched for words to say when someone is breaking up with them? Who hasn't thought after the fact I should have to her X, or if I'd just said Y....as tears stream down their face? I really think Kristen captured the feeling of a broken heart in the moments after it's been broken. Hopefully I won't ever need "I've just been dumped" music again, but if I do I'm going to remember this song and put it on my playlist.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Ugh.
I had trouble finding a song for this post and think I probably could have come up with something better, but this will have to do. And also, I Google some odd things. Without further ado I bring you Pimple Life by Infected (and no, I have not actually ever listened to this song...I told you I had trouble finding lyrics....)
Rash on face it's so cool
Just because you has been a fool
Pimply life your fate
And you looking at pimple with hate
Have you guessed the subject of today's blog yet? I want to talk about the adult acne that has plagued me for the past two months or so. Well, I'd rather not have to talk about it, in fact I don't even like calling this much attention to it, but I thought perhaps if I put this out there in the Universe my problem might clear up. I have NO idea what happened, but sometime before it officially became fall I started getting a lot of pimples. I was a lucky teenager in that I didn't get pimples. I was a lucky college student in that I really didn't get pimples then either. In fact it's typically a rare thing for me to get a pimple.
Lately however, I seem to have a new one every damn day. And not just little hardly noticeable blemishes. No, these are large, red, painful protrusions that hurt if you accidentally brush gently against them. This is a very uncomfortable (and not very pretty) situation. I've tried changing facial cleansers and that hasn't helped. I haven't changed my diet at all from what I was eating before this epidemic began. I thought perhaps they were stress induced, but now that Maggie is on the mend there's really nothing stressful in my life. Perhaps it's hormone related or maybe my town changed something in the water?
I really have no idea what the heck has caused it, but I'm more than ready for it to be done now. I would like to have my clear, soft skin back now please. I would like to look in the mirror and not wonder when Mount Zit between my eyebrows is going to erupt or when Mount Pimple in my hair line will start gushing when I brush my hair behind my ears. I would like to look in the mirror and think "wow, I'm having a good hair day" instead of "my god! there's another one!" Now I know what those poor 15 years olds with acne felt like back in high school. It really sucks.
Random thought of the day....I wonder why the 50's music station on Sirius satellite radio was playing a song from 1962. Isn't that the wrong decade?
Rash on face it's so cool
Just because you has been a fool
Pimply life your fate
And you looking at pimple with hate
Have you guessed the subject of today's blog yet? I want to talk about the adult acne that has plagued me for the past two months or so. Well, I'd rather not have to talk about it, in fact I don't even like calling this much attention to it, but I thought perhaps if I put this out there in the Universe my problem might clear up. I have NO idea what happened, but sometime before it officially became fall I started getting a lot of pimples. I was a lucky teenager in that I didn't get pimples. I was a lucky college student in that I really didn't get pimples then either. In fact it's typically a rare thing for me to get a pimple.
Lately however, I seem to have a new one every damn day. And not just little hardly noticeable blemishes. No, these are large, red, painful protrusions that hurt if you accidentally brush gently against them. This is a very uncomfortable (and not very pretty) situation. I've tried changing facial cleansers and that hasn't helped. I haven't changed my diet at all from what I was eating before this epidemic began. I thought perhaps they were stress induced, but now that Maggie is on the mend there's really nothing stressful in my life. Perhaps it's hormone related or maybe my town changed something in the water?
I really have no idea what the heck has caused it, but I'm more than ready for it to be done now. I would like to have my clear, soft skin back now please. I would like to look in the mirror and not wonder when Mount Zit between my eyebrows is going to erupt or when Mount Pimple in my hair line will start gushing when I brush my hair behind my ears. I would like to look in the mirror and think "wow, I'm having a good hair day" instead of "my god! there's another one!" Now I know what those poor 15 years olds with acne felt like back in high school. It really sucks.
Random thought of the day....I wonder why the 50's music station on Sirius satellite radio was playing a song from 1962. Isn't that the wrong decade?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Inspiration
Okay, so I'm kind of stretching for the lyrics today. But I had trouble coming up with something more fitting. So, today you get Chicago's You're the Inspiration.
You're the meaning in my life
You're the inspiration
You bring feeling to my life
You're the inspiration
And that's what Maggie is to me, an inspiration. She has not let her recovery from back surgery slow her down. Instead of pouting on her bed because she can't walk like normal she just goes with the flow. The flow may require her to scoot around in a sitting position or maybe she's pushed herself up into a standing position and she staggers around like she's had a fifth of tequila for lunch or she has to wait for me to help her go outside. She's not embarrassed that she can't walk like normal. She doesn't care what anyone thinks of how she's walking or not walking (or how she looks with a shaved back with a four inch scar in the middle of it). She isn't discouraged because she's not getting better fast enough. In other words, she's not like a lot of people who would be whining and complaining about their situation.
Her tail wags and wags and wags. She's just plain happy. She's happy to go outside. She's happy to get a treat. She's happy to do her physical therapy. She's happy to eat her breakfast and her dinner. She's happy to walk around the house. She's happy to get attention from me. She's happy to sniff the cats. She's even happy in the tub when we do her evening "tub time."
I hope never to have to experience first hand what she's gone through this last month, but if I do I hope I have the same happy and determined outlook on life that Maggie has. She is one independent, stubborn, determined and happy little girl. Like the bumper sticker says "More wags, less bark."
You're the meaning in my life
You're the inspiration
You bring feeling to my life
You're the inspiration
And that's what Maggie is to me, an inspiration. She has not let her recovery from back surgery slow her down. Instead of pouting on her bed because she can't walk like normal she just goes with the flow. The flow may require her to scoot around in a sitting position or maybe she's pushed herself up into a standing position and she staggers around like she's had a fifth of tequila for lunch or she has to wait for me to help her go outside. She's not embarrassed that she can't walk like normal. She doesn't care what anyone thinks of how she's walking or not walking (or how she looks with a shaved back with a four inch scar in the middle of it). She isn't discouraged because she's not getting better fast enough. In other words, she's not like a lot of people who would be whining and complaining about their situation.
Her tail wags and wags and wags. She's just plain happy. She's happy to go outside. She's happy to get a treat. She's happy to do her physical therapy. She's happy to eat her breakfast and her dinner. She's happy to walk around the house. She's happy to get attention from me. She's happy to sniff the cats. She's even happy in the tub when we do her evening "tub time."
I hope never to have to experience first hand what she's gone through this last month, but if I do I hope I have the same happy and determined outlook on life that Maggie has. She is one independent, stubborn, determined and happy little girl. Like the bumper sticker says "More wags, less bark."
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Celebration
Tonight's post is quick and simple. I am finally proud to be an American again. I feel like perhaps the country will get back on track with President elect Barack Obama at the helm. So, I'm going to leave it short and sweet this time with a little Cool and the Gang and Celebration.
Celebrate good times,come on! (Let's celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)
There's a party goin' on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you
Celebrate good times,come on! (Let's celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)
There's a party goin' on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you
Monday, November 3, 2008
Snow White
I have these fantasies sometimes, these dreams or wishes that I know deep down will never come true. We all have these dreams I imagine. One of my dreams probably has it's root in a Disney movie, the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Today's song is Someday My Prince Will Come. The lyrics are:
Some day my prince will come
Some day we'll meet again
And away to his castle we'll go
To be happy forever I know
Some day when spring is here
We'll find our love anew
And the birds will sing
And wedding bells will ring
Some day when my dreams come true
Yeah, I know it's about a guy and a girl (who lives with seven diamond mining dwarfs) and me being gay (and not living with dwarfs) and all it's not really all that true to life for me. Work with me on this one people okay?
Anyway, one of my dreams involves the silly notion that some evening I'll be sitting here on my couch as I do most nights and my doorbell will ring. I'll get up to answer it and there she'll be, my princess. She'll have flowers for me and a big smile. I'll ask her why she's here and she'll say she doesn't have a reason, that she just wanted to surprise me. I get all teary just thinking about it now as I type. I think about this dream every time I go to the door to take my dog out to pee, especially in the evening.
I know it's kind of a silly dream. And besides that my cat eats any plants or flowers that I bring into the house so they never last long. But we all have to have dreams right? We all have to have something to hang on to, something to give us hope that some day it will be our turn for our dreams to come true. And really, am I asking for all that much? In the scheme of things I don't think so.
The line that really sticks out in today's song is "to be happy forever I know." I really like to think that I can find someone to be happy forever with. Someone that I fit together with perfectly. I know relationships take work, but I do believe that the work is worth it if it means having a happy and fulfilling life with someone you love. Perhaps finding someone to be happy with forever is an antiquated notion based on the institution of marriage which was "created" by people who's life expectancies were less than half of what ours are today. Perhaps it's just the hopeless romantic in me who believes that "the one" is out there somewhere waiting for me to find her. Who knows. What I do know is that I'm about to take my dog out to pee and as I open my front door to go outside I'll be picturing my true love standing on my steps with flowers in her hands, a smile on her face and eyes only for me. Not such a bad thing to be picturing really is it?
Some day my prince will come
Some day we'll meet again
And away to his castle we'll go
To be happy forever I know
Some day when spring is here
We'll find our love anew
And the birds will sing
And wedding bells will ring
Some day when my dreams come true
Yeah, I know it's about a guy and a girl (who lives with seven diamond mining dwarfs) and me being gay (and not living with dwarfs) and all it's not really all that true to life for me. Work with me on this one people okay?
Anyway, one of my dreams involves the silly notion that some evening I'll be sitting here on my couch as I do most nights and my doorbell will ring. I'll get up to answer it and there she'll be, my princess. She'll have flowers for me and a big smile. I'll ask her why she's here and she'll say she doesn't have a reason, that she just wanted to surprise me. I get all teary just thinking about it now as I type. I think about this dream every time I go to the door to take my dog out to pee, especially in the evening.
I know it's kind of a silly dream. And besides that my cat eats any plants or flowers that I bring into the house so they never last long. But we all have to have dreams right? We all have to have something to hang on to, something to give us hope that some day it will be our turn for our dreams to come true. And really, am I asking for all that much? In the scheme of things I don't think so.
The line that really sticks out in today's song is "to be happy forever I know." I really like to think that I can find someone to be happy forever with. Someone that I fit together with perfectly. I know relationships take work, but I do believe that the work is worth it if it means having a happy and fulfilling life with someone you love. Perhaps finding someone to be happy with forever is an antiquated notion based on the institution of marriage which was "created" by people who's life expectancies were less than half of what ours are today. Perhaps it's just the hopeless romantic in me who believes that "the one" is out there somewhere waiting for me to find her. Who knows. What I do know is that I'm about to take my dog out to pee and as I open my front door to go outside I'll be picturing my true love standing on my steps with flowers in her hands, a smile on her face and eyes only for me. Not such a bad thing to be picturing really is it?
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Its my life
I signed on tonight to write a different blog than this turned out to be. But as any writer knows you can't always control what comes out when you start typing. It just sort of happens. Today's song is It's My Life by Bon Jovi. I've picked the chorus of this song for today's post:
It's my life
It's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life
I have these flashes sometimes that come out of the blue where I realize that this is my life. The emphasis is on different words at different times, but the phrase is always the same.
This is my life.
This is my life.
This is my life.
This is my life.
And sometimes the punctuation is different:
This is my life?
This is my life!
This is my life!
This is my life?
You get the picture.
One thing always strikes me when I have this flash of revelation. Yes, this is my life and it is happening now. Life does not wait for someday. Life does not wait for the time to be right. You cannot pause life or ask for a time out. Life is now. Life happens with every breath we take.
I think a lot of people, myself included, are waiting for the time to be right to do something. We wait and we wait and we wait and we never end up doing things because we've spent so much time waiting. The things we're waiting for (until I have more money, until I have someone to share that with, until I can fit into those jeans, until I have a better job title, until, until, until...), these things don't just happen. We have to work to achieve them. And we have to decide somewhere along the way which are the things that WE want to achieve and which are the things that other people think we should want to achieve.
I spent a lot of years working toward things that someone else wanted for me. Working to get those promotions so that I could have a better job title, make more money, achieve more status. Those weren't the things I wanted out of life however. What I want are meaningful relationships with people who I love. I want a happy home filled with love and laughter. I don't care if I never make a million dollars. I don't care that my dish towels aren't designer. In the end will those things really matter? After all she who dies with the most toys still dies. After I'm gone I don't want people to remember me for the kind of car I drive. I want to be remembered for the kind of person I was. I want people to remember my laugh or my smile or my kindness. Those are the things that matters.
It's the little things that make me happy. Like my dog snoring away on her bed. That makes me happy because as quiet as she is the house felt completely empty for the nine days she was in the hospital. Little things like watching the squirrels eat all my bird seed or long hot showers on cold winter mornings or a short note from a friend who just wanted to say hello, those are the things that make my days worth while. All I need now is to find someone who also enjoys the little things and isn't afraid of a serious committed relationship with me. Someone who understands it's not the price tag on the gift that's important. In fact gifts aren't important at all, it's the time spent with the one you love that's important. She's out there somewhere and I will find her. I would say I'd find her someday, but that would imply that I'm waiting for the time to be right to start looking.
It's my life.
It's my life
It's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life
I have these flashes sometimes that come out of the blue where I realize that this is my life. The emphasis is on different words at different times, but the phrase is always the same.
This is my life.
This is my life.
This is my life.
This is my life.
And sometimes the punctuation is different:
This is my life?
This is my life!
This is my life!
This is my life?
You get the picture.
One thing always strikes me when I have this flash of revelation. Yes, this is my life and it is happening now. Life does not wait for someday. Life does not wait for the time to be right. You cannot pause life or ask for a time out. Life is now. Life happens with every breath we take.
I think a lot of people, myself included, are waiting for the time to be right to do something. We wait and we wait and we wait and we never end up doing things because we've spent so much time waiting. The things we're waiting for (until I have more money, until I have someone to share that with, until I can fit into those jeans, until I have a better job title, until, until, until...), these things don't just happen. We have to work to achieve them. And we have to decide somewhere along the way which are the things that WE want to achieve and which are the things that other people think we should want to achieve.
I spent a lot of years working toward things that someone else wanted for me. Working to get those promotions so that I could have a better job title, make more money, achieve more status. Those weren't the things I wanted out of life however. What I want are meaningful relationships with people who I love. I want a happy home filled with love and laughter. I don't care if I never make a million dollars. I don't care that my dish towels aren't designer. In the end will those things really matter? After all she who dies with the most toys still dies. After I'm gone I don't want people to remember me for the kind of car I drive. I want to be remembered for the kind of person I was. I want people to remember my laugh or my smile or my kindness. Those are the things that matters.
It's the little things that make me happy. Like my dog snoring away on her bed. That makes me happy because as quiet as she is the house felt completely empty for the nine days she was in the hospital. Little things like watching the squirrels eat all my bird seed or long hot showers on cold winter mornings or a short note from a friend who just wanted to say hello, those are the things that make my days worth while. All I need now is to find someone who also enjoys the little things and isn't afraid of a serious committed relationship with me. Someone who understands it's not the price tag on the gift that's important. In fact gifts aren't important at all, it's the time spent with the one you love that's important. She's out there somewhere and I will find her. I would say I'd find her someday, but that would imply that I'm waiting for the time to be right to start looking.
It's my life.
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