Drama ensues

The darndest things always happen to me: I get locked out of my house this morning at 8:30am (correction, not locked out, lock broke!), I decide to run 2.5miles to my cousin's in attempts to get a key and try to catch her or her husband before they leave for work (luckily I had my tennis shoes on, thank the lord!), she's at work and her house is locked, so I try to steal her bike in the back yard to avoid running the 2.5miles back to my house, I fall down a hill with a bike ontop of me, try to ride the bike with two flat tires, decide it's a bad idea, try to return the bike up the hill, puncture my leg on a very sharp branch, on my 2.5mile run back home I stop at Holy Cross Hospital to use a phone book and phone to call the locksmith, everyone wants to call me back on my cell which is locked inside the house! Finally run back home to see a lovely locksmith waiting there for me! Somehow I manage to get to my 10:30 appointment on time too, whew!

Old People

I'm scared to grow old because of the things some old people talk about. When the talk about their hips and arthritis and how they can't walk up and down stairs anymore or walk through doors, I tremble. When they mention their poodle named "Precious" who died last year and has left them all alone, I shudder. When they mention the piles of stuff that they've collected over the 80 years of life they've been living and their hoarding tendencies, I cry. When they talk about contractors taking advantage of them and running away with one of their retirement checks to Bermuda, I get angry. I don't want to become old and I don't want to talk about old things either.

Pineapples

If you're like me the thought of fresh pineapple is just pure excitement! Juicy, gooey, yellow, sticky, tart, tangy, sweet, pure freshness and goodness... I buy a fresh pineapple about once every other month and the exact same thing happens every other month. I look at it, admire it, and let it sit for weeks because I don't want to deal with the hassle of having to cut off the hard, sharp, dinosaur like skin. I watch the pineapple go from a greenish color, to a yellow green, to lime yellow, to yellow yellow, to brownish yellow, to brownish with white rotting spots... I let my beautiful pineapples spoil because I just can't deal with the thought of having to take the nasty peel and skin off... By the time I finally do get around to cutting the rind off, the pineapple is almost pure juice....the pineapple screams at me...."Why didn't you take advantage of me sooner? Last Tuesday I was perfect for you, and now...I'm all rotten and gross!" I'm always feeling guilty about pineapples...

New Friend

It's funny to find a new friend later in life. A friend you never expected to find. I found mine on an airplane...flying to Cancun Mexico for the first time. The flight was of course, overbooked, and I was not sitting with my husband like usual, instead I was sitting next to a woman wearing sunglasses (on the plane.) It struck me as kind of odd, but not too odd, it was just something I noticed about this particular woman.
We shared the common airplane dialogue at first "So, is this your first time to Cancun?" "Yes, I'm a travel agent and I've never been." "Oh cool, that sounds like a fun job." "Well, I do it for the perks of traveling, I love traveling..." "What about you? First time to Riviera Maya?" "Yes, my husband is from Mexico, but I've never been to Cancun." From there until after take off, we were pretty much quiet. Both of us making silent gestures to our husbands from across the plane.
Then as we soared over the DC metropolitan, simultaneously we both exhaled "Good to get out before the snow!" We laughed, since in fact our flight was one to leave before a huge blizzard was predicted to attack the DC area...one that we would find out later would leave over 56in of snow on the ground! We smiled as we both knew what we were flying out of and could only imagine the tropical bliss we'd be flying into. My new friend explained that her and her husband decided to fly out when they'd learned of the blizzard's arrival and that they would only be gone for about 3days. My husband and I had planned the trip for months, and were also looking forward to getting some sun and meeting up with his family at the beach.
Before I knew it, the 4hr plane ride to Cancun passed in the blink of an eye. My new friend and I talked almost the whole entire plane ride, for four hours straight...which is pretty much a testament to any new relationship! She shared with me intimate private details of an injury she'd incurred about ten years prior, hence the sunglasses, and I was amazed and in awe of her candor. Listening to her was like hearing one of those miraculous stories on Oprah... So and so has a brain hemorrhage, falls in the shower in the apartment she lives in alone, manages to crawl to a phone even though she temporarily loses her vision, calls the police, spends 6 months in the hospital, recovers, and is now a walking/talking miracle! Talking with my friend was just a reminder of how lucky I am and how good life is...things I need to think about and be thankful for!
As we descended into Cancun, our plane decided to follow some bumping and grinding choreography. All of us on the plane were tousled back and forth in our seats, at one point my friend grabbed my hand mid-air as I tried to reach for the seat in front of me. It was such a knee jerk reaction that we both had, it provided some much needed comic relief as we laughed loudly at the incident, both our husbands looking back at their crazy wives.
After we got off the plane, we passed each other in the customs line a few times, smiling. I even explained to her husband that his wife was now my new best friend, and he looked down and smiled at her, not surprised! From there I thought we'd never see each other again... a great plane conversation and that was it...
But then on our way back to DC 8 days later, low and behold...who did I see sitting at our terminal, my friend! I walked over and asked "Hey, weren't you suppose to have gone back like 5days ago?" She laughed, not expecting to see me either and explained that they'd spent the last 5days trying to get back, but couldn't because of the snow. We both laughed, it was great! From there we exchanged email's and said we should keep in touch (since she was sitting in first class, I knew I wouldn't be sitting next to her on the way back.)
Ever since then...we chat almost daily! It's great...I have a new unexpected friend, the best kind of friend!

Rolfing and Accupuncture

After suffering from somewhat chronic neck and should pain flare ups, I decided to try something new this time around after my last dose of pain~ to see an accupuncturist and a rolfer. Wow, I love Rolfing! My rolfer was a small Japanese man who has started his "second" life as a rolfer. Apparently in Japan, people can start their lives basically all over again at the age of 60. Pretty cool huh? So, my rolfer spent two hours with me, studying me, taking photos of my alignment, watching me move, talking to me...I wish I could take a pocket sized version of him home with me!
His wife the accupuncturist was also helpful, I saw her the day before. She helped to get my blood flowing a bit and things moving in my entire system. I was a bit skeptical of her however when she held a crystal over 5 different herb choices to send me home with... she said whichever herb had the biggest movement from the crystal was the one I would take home with me and that my body needed...I don't know how I feel about that medical practice, but of course, not to be rude, I took the one she suggested home with me~ to cleanse out parasites (it was the one where the crystal wiggled around the most) (but I think there was some of her inertia behind that movement, but then again, what do I know?)
Back to Rolfing~ it was so different than what I expected, I'd always thought it was one of those massage techniques that was just super deep tissue and pretty painful...so I was pleasantly surprised to find it completely different (not that I don't like a down and dirty deep tissue massage every now and then) This however was about making space in the body, loosening up muscles by separating the layers, like superficial fascia etc, from deeper muscles...My neck and back feel much more open....I still need to work on loosening them up for sure, but am happy not to be in immediate pain.
I was also amazed by my Rolfer, he spoke like a sage dancer~ encouraging me to listen to my body and work on balance more, and to use the ground more...things I know but I guess have forgotten about....yay, new homework for me!

Social Security Offices and DMV's

Why doesn't the US government hire more people to work at the Department of Motor Vehicles and or the Social Security Offices during this low employment era? I spent 4hrs today waiting for my turn at the SS office. All I had to do was get a letter verifying that I'd changed my married name, which took all of 5mins once I got to the window, and yet waited 4hrs! There were about 6 our of 20windows open servicing customers, the rest were closed shut tight! Why oh why don't more people work at these government offices where hundreds of people need to get helped daily? I just don't understand it! Come on US government, hire some folks! We'd all appreciate it! Spend that stimulus money, go for it!

Being Mad

Don't you just hate it when you're mad about something...really really mad about something, even if it's something stupid and small and yet the people around you won't let you be mad. They want to justify every action so that you don't have the right to be mad. It's so frustrating when you're mad and you have nowhere to go and no one to really talk to about that anger. So, blog...it's you.
I'm mad, maaaaad! I want to punch a pillow or scream really loud! I just did cardio at the gym thinking that would make me feel better, but whenever I remember what I'm mad about, I get even more mad! Ahhhh! I'm mad!
Now I'm really hoping that people don't read this blog because it may just turn out to show too much of who I am and how I am feeling about people and things. I am vowing to be as honest as possible in these writings without actually hurting anyone directly. Hence why the names and faces of the alleged mad makers will go unannounced today. However, I feel quite silly since I actually unfriended the mad culprit on Facebook just a few minutes ago. I guess in this digital age, it's one of the few ways to really get back at someone, as insignificant as it is.
I've only ever madly unfriended two people... So, I guess I don't get all that mad too often. But when I do, boy am I MAD!