A woman and her friend are talking over dinner one evening. The woman says to her friend,
"I have started to name my ex-boyfriends after soda. One boyfriend I call 7-Up, because he was seven inches and was always able to get it up. Another I call Mountain Dew, because when he got to the mountain, he always knew what to do".
"And the third...?" asked the friend.
"I call him Jack Daniels" she replies.
"That's not soda, that's hard liquor!"
"Yep."
19.12.04
Chinese Food & Transiberian Orchestra
For Patrick's birthday (which is actually tomorrow) I decided to take him to dinner at the Capital Grille (our favorite restaurant in Michigan) and to the Transiberian Orchestra as a means of celebration. I made reservations for dinner at 5:30 on Friday and the concert was at 8:30. We decided to leave Ann Arbor for the 45-minute drive to Troy, MI at 4 pm, thinking that this would be enough time to get there, even with rush hour traffic. How wrong we were. We didn't reach the restaurant until 6:30. Our table given away, and no hope of getting another one in time to be able to leave for the concert, we went to the mall that the Capital Grill is located in, in hope of finding something to eat. All the restaurants had an hour to an hour and a half wait. So we went up to the food court and found a semi decent Chinese food place. We sat down in the food court, Patrick in his suit and I dressed up as nicely as I can be (let's face it, this is me we're talking about), and we ate our Chinese food. I felt pretty bad, although it wasn't my fault that we missed the reservation, because this was the first time in two years that Patrick and I were really able to celebrate his birthday together. Patrick kept saying that he was just happy to be with me to celebrate his birthday instead of out on the road or in some FIJI house.
We finish dinner and leave the mall to get to the Palace at Auburn Hills (the place where the Piston's play and where the "Basketbrawl" happened). We arrive just in time and pay $15.00 for parking. $15.00 freaking dollars to park!!! We were outraged. Disney Land doesn't even charge that much! We go in and find our seats on the floor. The concert starts and at first I am pretty happy with the music I hear. But then random people start singing random songs that are set to classic Christmas carols. I tried to enjoy it, but I was expecting one thing and we were hearing another. I was expecting something similar to Manheim Steamroller type music, and there were elements of that orchestral type of music in the set, but I was irritated with the other music they were playing. About 45 minutes into the show a very drunk couple came in and plopped down next to Patrick. They were loud and obnoxious and at one point Patrick was ready to kill them-those of you who know Patrick, know I'm not kidding. They left at the end of the first set, which was about an hour later, and Patrick told them "thank you" for leaving. After this hour and 45 minute first half of the show, my hips were killing me and Patrick was fed up with the little drunk idiots and the guy on stage yelling at us about the band. I asked Patrick if we could leave. I knew I couldn't sit through another half of the show and I really didn't want to fight traffic on our hour-long drive back to Ann Arbor. I think he was ready to go too. We got back to Ann Arbor at about 11. We snuggled on the futon/couch, ate our messy caramel apples (I got chocolate all over the place), and watched TV. It was a much better end to a not so great evening. But at least we were together.
Yesterday (Saturday), I made reservations for the Capital Grille for tomorrow (Patrick's birthday). We are going to leave at noon and explore the mall before dinner at 5:45. We ARE NOT going to miss our reservation this time. Damn it.
We finish dinner and leave the mall to get to the Palace at Auburn Hills (the place where the Piston's play and where the "Basketbrawl" happened). We arrive just in time and pay $15.00 for parking. $15.00 freaking dollars to park!!! We were outraged. Disney Land doesn't even charge that much! We go in and find our seats on the floor. The concert starts and at first I am pretty happy with the music I hear. But then random people start singing random songs that are set to classic Christmas carols. I tried to enjoy it, but I was expecting one thing and we were hearing another. I was expecting something similar to Manheim Steamroller type music, and there were elements of that orchestral type of music in the set, but I was irritated with the other music they were playing. About 45 minutes into the show a very drunk couple came in and plopped down next to Patrick. They were loud and obnoxious and at one point Patrick was ready to kill them-those of you who know Patrick, know I'm not kidding. They left at the end of the first set, which was about an hour later, and Patrick told them "thank you" for leaving. After this hour and 45 minute first half of the show, my hips were killing me and Patrick was fed up with the little drunk idiots and the guy on stage yelling at us about the band. I asked Patrick if we could leave. I knew I couldn't sit through another half of the show and I really didn't want to fight traffic on our hour-long drive back to Ann Arbor. I think he was ready to go too. We got back to Ann Arbor at about 11. We snuggled on the futon/couch, ate our messy caramel apples (I got chocolate all over the place), and watched TV. It was a much better end to a not so great evening. But at least we were together.
Yesterday (Saturday), I made reservations for the Capital Grille for tomorrow (Patrick's birthday). We are going to leave at noon and explore the mall before dinner at 5:45. We ARE NOT going to miss our reservation this time. Damn it.
17.12.04
"Oh".
By this time next week, I will be relaxing at my Dad's house, listening to my siblings bicker about who is meaner to whom, and enjoying the fact that I'm home. I can't wait! I'm looking forward to being in familiar surroundings where I'm not constantly cold (I can't seem to get warm here because of the humidity) and where people say "please" and "thank you".
We still can't get over the rudeness of the people here. I confronted one of the cafeteria cashiers recently because all year I have said thank you to her whenever she scans my card. She doesn't look at me, doesn't even acknowledge that I exist when I say it. It's been a major bone of contention for me, not because she ignores me, but because the simple act of saying "thank you" is so completely lost on her. You would think that saying "you're welcome" to someone who thanks you would be ingrained into her head as a normal part of societal niceties. Apparently not. So, one day a week or so ago, I had had enough. I was tired of saying "thank you" and not receiving the affirming response I felt I deserved (call me selfish). I handed this woman my card, she scanned it and handed it back to me (all without ever looking at me once) and I said "thank you". Again, no response. So I stop, instead of my usual moving on to gather tray and silverware, and say to her,
"Typically, it is common courtesy to say 'you're welcome', when someone thanks you". At this point, she looks at me as though she had never seen me before and starts to get rather flustered and looks a little angry. I'm actually pretty happy about this because I know now that she is human, which up until that point I had been unsure of. So I'm waiting for her response, which as we all know, Michigan students all have an opinion about something, so this would have to be good...right? She says "oh", and goes right back to scanning cards of the people coming in behind me.
That was it. No verbal sparring, no righteous indignation, nothing. I was a little disappointed, but in retrospect, what else could she say? Other than "sorry" which I don't think would have been honest, I guess that the only thing she could say to me was "oh".
I have noticed that since this happened, she has been better about saying "thanks" when I hand her my card and "your welcome" when I say thank you. Progress? Maybe. Not wanting to be called out again on her rudeness? More probable. But I'll take what I can get.
We still can't get over the rudeness of the people here. I confronted one of the cafeteria cashiers recently because all year I have said thank you to her whenever she scans my card. She doesn't look at me, doesn't even acknowledge that I exist when I say it. It's been a major bone of contention for me, not because she ignores me, but because the simple act of saying "thank you" is so completely lost on her. You would think that saying "you're welcome" to someone who thanks you would be ingrained into her head as a normal part of societal niceties. Apparently not. So, one day a week or so ago, I had had enough. I was tired of saying "thank you" and not receiving the affirming response I felt I deserved (call me selfish). I handed this woman my card, she scanned it and handed it back to me (all without ever looking at me once) and I said "thank you". Again, no response. So I stop, instead of my usual moving on to gather tray and silverware, and say to her,
"Typically, it is common courtesy to say 'you're welcome', when someone thanks you". At this point, she looks at me as though she had never seen me before and starts to get rather flustered and looks a little angry. I'm actually pretty happy about this because I know now that she is human, which up until that point I had been unsure of. So I'm waiting for her response, which as we all know, Michigan students all have an opinion about something, so this would have to be good...right? She says "oh", and goes right back to scanning cards of the people coming in behind me.
That was it. No verbal sparring, no righteous indignation, nothing. I was a little disappointed, but in retrospect, what else could she say? Other than "sorry" which I don't think would have been honest, I guess that the only thing she could say to me was "oh".
I have noticed that since this happened, she has been better about saying "thanks" when I hand her my card and "your welcome" when I say thank you. Progress? Maybe. Not wanting to be called out again on her rudeness? More probable. But I'll take what I can get.
12.12.04
A week of reflection
This week, and particularly this weekend, Patrick and I have been doing a lot of contemplation about where to go from here. Out current situation is that I am in a job I hate that I can only work in for another year. Patrick's position with the fraternity only pays him $250 a month but provides him room and board. Unfortunately, neither of our jobs pay us enough to go to afford Michigan at out of state rates (it would amount to $100,000 for three years, for each of us). The cost of living here is awful. It is really expensive-with apartments costing anywhere from $900 to $1500 a month. Since Patrick didn't get into the second career program, which would only take a year, we have found ourselves revaluating our situation here in Ann Arbor. We've started talking about moving back to Albuquerque to finish our undergraduate program at UNM (a lot cheaper and a fine education) and then when we are done, move to wherever we want for a masters degree. This would work a lot better for us because we will have a more marketable skill and will be able to work while getting our masters degrees.
We are also talking about buying a house. We figured an apartment would be more costly in the long run. We would probably be in Albuquerque for at least 3 to 5 years and when we leave to finish our masters we can rent the house out or sell it.
We still have a lot of things to work out and a final decision to make, but I think we are on the right track. Hopefully we will have a final decision by the beginning of the new year.
We are also talking about buying a house. We figured an apartment would be more costly in the long run. We would probably be in Albuquerque for at least 3 to 5 years and when we leave to finish our masters we can rent the house out or sell it.
We still have a lot of things to work out and a final decision to make, but I think we are on the right track. Hopefully we will have a final decision by the beginning of the new year.
6.12.04
A rather disappointing weekend
So the weekend started off pretty good. My progress at Curves was positive, Patrick and I had gone to see Closer and we both thought it was a very well done (although sad) movie. It was just a very relaxing beginning.
Friday night, we spoke to Patrick's mom Lois, and found out that their cat had just died. Herbi was 22 1/2 years old and was a significant part of the family. She was Lois' alarm clock and she kept the elephants away from the house. I guess it was kind of expected that Herbi would live forever. She never slowed down in her activity level and was always keeping Lois on her toes. It was pretty hard on both Patrick and Lois.
Saturday night, Patrick got his letter from Michigan saying that he was not accepted to the second career nursing program. He says that he kind of knew that he wasn't going to be, but it was extremely disappointing anyway. He is going to apply as a transfer sophomore for Umich's Nursing school and see what happens. He's also applying to UNM and UofA's sophomore transfer programs. I guess a bit more waiting is in store.
Friday night, we spoke to Patrick's mom Lois, and found out that their cat had just died. Herbi was 22 1/2 years old and was a significant part of the family. She was Lois' alarm clock and she kept the elephants away from the house. I guess it was kind of expected that Herbi would live forever. She never slowed down in her activity level and was always keeping Lois on her toes. It was pretty hard on both Patrick and Lois.
Saturday night, Patrick got his letter from Michigan saying that he was not accepted to the second career nursing program. He says that he kind of knew that he wasn't going to be, but it was extremely disappointing anyway. He is going to apply as a transfer sophomore for Umich's Nursing school and see what happens. He's also applying to UNM and UofA's sophomore transfer programs. I guess a bit more waiting is in store.
4.12.04
Curves Weigh In & weekend plans
Today I got my Curves report card. I didn't do too badly, total loss of 5 pounds and 11.25 inches. I lost 1.5 inches on my bust, 1.25 on my waist, 1.5 on my hips, 5 on my thighs, and 2 on my arms. My BMI went down by 0.60% and I lost 3.5 pounds of body fat alone. All in all, not too bad for my first month. I got a sticker and a lot of affirmation which was nice too. Patrick is great about this whole thing and is so very supportive. We put my report card on the fridge as part of an incentive for me to continue to do well.
We're pretty excited about our weekend plans. Today we are going to make gingerbread houses and walk around down town to finish up some Christmas shopping. We're almost done and want to get finished as soon as possible so we can send this stuff home.
All in all a good start to the weekend.
We're pretty excited about our weekend plans. Today we are going to make gingerbread houses and walk around down town to finish up some Christmas shopping. We're almost done and want to get finished as soon as possible so we can send this stuff home.
All in all a good start to the weekend.
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