2002-12-12 - 7:45 p.m.

I've tried to sit down and write an entry so many times in the past week, but it seems like every time I think about it, I'm about to go to sleep...and, well, there's not a whole lot worth staying awake for lately. I'll be fine one minute and then out cold the next...maybe this is Mother Nature's way of preparing me for the dozens of mini-naps I'll have to squeeze in over the next ever-how-many years. =)

*~*~*~*

Things have been busy but good here lately...I went home again last weekend because I had Friday off for the end of Ramadan (long story), so I took the opportunity to go back to my old college campus and visit some of the people I used to work with. I got up early that morning, took the cats to my mom's house and made it to town just in time for lunch. Linda (my old boss) took me to Jefferson's, where I got to have those infamous corn nuggets and turbo wings. My mouth burned for two days, but damn they were good!

I ran around campus visiting people for a little while after lunch and then met my mom, aunt and cousin for another night of shopping.

Y'all. We didn't get home until 2 a.m. From shopping.

We went to Martin's (well, my mom and aunt did; my cousin and I hit the bookstore next door), the mall and Wal-Mart. That's it. 2 a.m. I was absolutely exhausted, but I'm happy to say that I've only got to get, like, two more things and I'll be done! I also managed to add a few more things to my Wal-Mart registry, so maybe my family will be happy now. (My hometown has neither a Babies R Us nor a Target, and every time a family member asks where I'm registered I have to brace myself for the usual round of, "But why aren't you registered at Wal-Mart? We don't have those other stores!" *sigh* Yes, I know that. I also know that 99.9% of the people saying these things have children of their own, or, at the very least, have been around children and know what they need without me having to tell them. I mean, I appreciate the fact that they want to get me something I want, but it's not like Wal-Mart has the greatest selection of stuff in the world (or at least the ones I've gone to haven't), so it's really just a big long list of random things. They'll probably comment on that too. Grr.)

Anyway...

I did manage to get out of Wal-Mart without threatening to kill too many people, and (and this is the highlight of the night) I found a Chicken Dance Elmo to give Patrick for Christmas! I was so excited, and I only had to do a tiny little baseball slide down one aisle and snatch it out from under a woman to get it. Woohoo!

*~*~*~*

On Tuesday night I went to The Oasis for the karaoke finals. Now, I can honestly say that I had never been there and probably could have gone my whole entire life without ever having to do so, but my friend Staci was in the Round 7 Finals and I wanted to be there to cheer her on. I'm really, really glad that I went, because everyone else ended up bailing on her and she won a place in the Grand Finals next week. Go Staci!

For the next week or so, you can go here and download a clip of her singing "Me and Bobby McGee." Check it out!

On our way home we stopped to get drinks at a gas station. I opted to stay in the nice, warm car while Staci ran in...and boy, was that obviously a mistake.

A car pulled up on the left side of the car, which caused me to glance over, you know, to see what it was. A very scary man in the passenger seat waved at me. I gave him the, "You're a freak, but you waved at me, so here's a faint smile" smile, then turned to look out my other window...and there was a guy standing there. He motioned for me to roll the window down, so I cracked it the teeniest bit and said, "Yeees?" He leaned down, smiled and said, "I'm sorry...I normally wouldn't do this, but I think you're really cute and was wondering if maybe you'd like to meet me somewhere for dinner or drinks or something sometime? You can bring a friend if you don't feel comfortable meeting me by yourself."

I stared at him like he had grown another head and then pointed out to him that we were at a gas station, not a bar, and that he didn't he find it just a little bit daunting that I'm, oh, I don't know, seven months pregnant?!?! He grinned again and said, "Well, I still think you're cute, and you still have to eat, right?"

He got the full-on "crazy man" look for that one.

Then he looked concerned and said, "Oh. Well, are you serious about him? You know, the baby's father?"

I nodded gravely and said, "Yes, yes I am."

He looked disappointed and said, "Oh, really? Is he a good guy"

What?

Before I even thought about what I was saying, I answered, "Well, he was...he's dead."

He took a step back, surprised. "I am so sorry. I didn't know."

I shook my head and said, "That's okay; you couldn't have known...but see, it's just really too soon, what with the baby and all. Understand?"

He nodded and then said, "I understand. Did it happen recently?"

What?

Again, without really thinking, I answered, "No. He died in the World Trade Center."

Yeah, I know.

Do the math.

Because the guy? He couldn't. He simply offered his condolences again and then gave me his number and said to give him a call if I changed my mind.

Luckily, Staci came back to the car at just that moment and gave me the strangest look..so I introduced her to good ol' Bobby and explained that he was just giving me his number. Bobby, being the gentleman that he is, leaned over further and said, "You're more than welcome to join us, you know. My friend Joe over there (*Joe waves from the car*) thinks you're cute too."

Lucky us.

We managed to get away rather quickly after that.

*~*~*~*

It's a good thing I had something to cheer me up on Tuesday night, because on Wednesday my department manager sat down at my desk and told me that one of the companies we have several accounts with is having serious financial problems, which, in turn, affect us, and that we (meaning everyone in the company) weren't going to be able to work any more comp time, effective immediately. That means that I won't be able to save up any more time for the week and a half that we'll be closed for Christmas and I won't get paid for any of those days.

On top of that wonderful news, she added that my boss is also cutting everyone's hours, also effective immediately. It's not much (for now), just a half hour per day or so, as far as I can tell, but man, what a crappy time of year to do it.

And it's eerily reminiscent of the last job I had in Atlanta.

As E. said earlier tonight, "Boy, you sure know how to pick some winning companies to work for."

Tell me about it.

*~*~*~*

I've been thinking about Chaz a lot lately.

A whole lot.

It might be the upcoming holidays...or being pregnant...or just life in general...but I miss him an awful lot right now. =(

*~*~*~*

Okay, time to do some cleaning and then back to bed I go. Chelle, Jackie and Evil Twin Kim are throwing me a baby shower on Saturday, so I've got to get plenty of rest before then. =) (Expect a full update on that—as well as some new preggo pics—next week!)

*~*~*~*

We show our character in nothing more clearly than by what we find laughable.
—Anonymous

previous - next