Seeking Camelot: Random Thoughts

New Home...New Posts

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:11:42 GMT

Just in case you didn't bookmark my new blog, I have new posts up.

http://seeking-camelot.blogspot.com

It's weird not being on Spaces anymore...hmmm...

New Home

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:20:48 GMT

It's official now. I have a new blog home at Blogspot.com.

http://seeking-camelot.blogspot.com/

I'll still be checking in here on a regular basis, but I figured it's as good a time as any to finally get moved in over there.

Guinevere

Just Something Random...Just Because...

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:04:34 GMT

Just because I haven't posted in awhile...because I haven't had time to post in awhile...

Enjoy!

(This is where I work...and the video is funny.)

Simple Life Lessons

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:15:09 GMT

Thursday night working at Rick's, something interesting happened.

I already told the story of the grandpa with the napkin on his head and that was funny, but something else very...well,...bizarre and interesting happened too.

When I first got there, J, the current server on duty, had just taken care of a couple at a booth.

They ordered an appetizer of oysters on the half shell (yuck...but to each his own...).

After eating just a couple, they called her over to their table. After a minute, I heard her exclaim something and start laughing. I didn't think anything of it and she didn't say anything to me about it when was done talking to them, so I dismissed it.

About 15 mins., later, she told me to come over and look at something. So I did.

She was holding something in the palm of her hand.

I looked and all I saw was a tiny, shiny little ball...

about the color of a grain of sand...

Know where I'm going with this yet?

Yes!

The couple who ordered the oysters found a tiny pearl in one of them!!!

Isn't that amazing?

J and I were both laughing and I thought that it was just so awesome!

And later, as I relayed the story to M, I realized a lesson in it.

We should ALWAYS be looking for the pearl.

If you don't find it the first 100 times you look for it, keep looking. It's there.

I don't know how many of you have ever seen the movie 'Cover Girl' with Gene Kelly, Rita Hayworth, and Phil Silvers, but the 3 of them work in the entertainment industry and are always looking for their big break. After every show, the 3 of them go to their regular 'haunt' and order a side of oysters. And they sit and open every single one looking for the pearl.

Their reasoning is that if they find the pearl, then it's a sign of good things just around the corner.

I'm going to take this lesson to heart and start looking for a pearl in every situation.

What about you?

Guinevere

TGIF...Can't Say it Enough...TGIF!!!!!

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:34:33 GMT

I am so thankful for Fridays! If I get on a kick and start complaining about things, would someone please remind me about FRIDAYS?

Once 4:00 hits, I'm a free woman for the rest of the evening. Every Friday. I mean, EVERY stinkin' FRIDAY. I never make ANY plans on Friday nights...unless they're FUN plans. lol

Today, I only worked a half day. I had to take N in for a dr. appt. this morning. Turns out he has a hernia (which we knew) and he's scheduled for surgery (get this!) Monday morning!!! The surgeon is taking off for a month (must be nice) and this was the only opportunity he would have to do it...unless we wanted to wait a month, then have to go through all the pre-op stuff again. No thanks.

I'm still in shock. I mean, how often does THAT happen??? lol N was even surprised, and he's not even really aware of how odd this really is. lol

Anyway, we have that hanging over our heads this weekend. It'll be fine, I'm sure, and this surgeon is good at what he does (he just performed the same surgery on M on Aug. 28! lol Once he realized who we were, he said, "I knew that name sounded familiar!!!" lol

Anyway, plans tonight? Hmmm...sit in front of the tv and catch up on some DVRed stuff. I have so many movies saved, I think it'll be 2029 before I can get them all watched. lol

(Just a side note...that song that I really hate is playing on my coworker's radio. If she wasn't on the phone right now, I'd throw something at her over her cubicle!!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway...)

Today is also M's b-day. Not sure if we're going to do something tonight or if we're going to do something tomorrow. It would be kind of fun to go out for lunch tomorrow while both kids are at work. I'll have to run that by him tonight.

NO plans for the weekend. Just lazing about at home like a sloth, hopefully. Honestly, though, I always have to be doing SOMEthing. As much as I love free time, I have a hard time just sitting and doing nothing. And I think I have RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome), so the longer I just sit...the more I have to get up and move around. I first became really aware of it when I noticed how often I get up and walk around during movies at home. I'm always having to move around. Guess I should ask my dr. about it, huh?

Anyway, with all the craziness from the last week out there, I've totally forgotten everything I was going to post on here previously. Maybe something interesting will happen this weekend that will be blogworthy.

Until then...have a great weekend!

Guinevere

Slowly Returning to the Norm...

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:31:27 GMT

This has been a long week! Let me tell you!!! Yesterday, things were finally starting to feel back to normal...at least for us.

Sunday night, M, A and I went to Alexia's visitation with C, N's girlfriend. N had to work. It was unbelievable how many teenagers were there!!! Most of them were crying and it was almost like they just had to see it to believe that she was gone. You know? I saw several walk up to the casket and just stand there for the longest time looking at her.

It's been hard for us adults to wrap our brains around what happened, can you imagine being a teenager and trying to figure it out???

One of Lexi's friends set up a memorial MySpace for all of her friends from school to post memorials and messages. I kind of skimmed through them and noticed that her boyfriend had posted a message. That's the only one I really read.

I don't know what to think of it.

Seriously.

On Monday, I called both N and A's schools and let them know that they wouldn't be there for classes. The funeral was at 10 that morning.

It was cold, gloomy, and rainy on Monday.

There were over 500 people at the funeral...most of which were either kids from school or Air Force (Lexi's dad is in the AF). The whole left 1/4 of the auditorium was navy blue with a little white! lol

Our pastor's wife gave the message and it was soooooo incredible. She talked about Lexi and all the normal stuff, but then she focused a HUGE part of the message and service at the teenagers who were there. Incredible!!! I just pray that they were listening!

R, pastor's wife, knew Lexi very well and had spent a lot of time talking to her and trying to kind of "break through". But, ultimately, everything had just gotten too heavy and Lexi just decided enough was enough.

One thing I really liked that R said was that she didn't believe Lexi wanted to die, but that she just wanted the hurting to stop.

Her message was so anointed. I cried through the whole thing.

After the service, I, along with some other ladies, headed to the church to get the luncheon ready. Everything went really well and we had TONS of desserts left over!

Yesterday, everything fell back into the tracks of "normal"...for us anyway.

I wish I could say the same for the Salakar family. It's going to be a rough road for awhile.

Please keep them in your prayers!!!

Alexia, we're going to miss you!!!

Guinevere

One Heavy Heart...

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:47:17 GMT

I was prepared to get on here this morning and get everyone caught up on some of the things that have been going on this past week. (Seems like when I finally have some free time, I just can't get motivated to move! lol)

But, last night, after church,...wow.

After church is out on Wed. nights, a lot of times, the kids and their friends (including me and my best friend, Db) will go hang out at BK for a couple of hours. Last night was no different...except for one thing.

Db's phone rang and she excused herself so that she could hear who was on the other end. (Later, she told me that she answered it only because it was our pastor's wife and it's odd for her to call late in the evening like that.)

Anyway, next thing I know, Db is heading towards me fairly quickly. She tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Come on," and motioned for me to follow her outside. (She was still on the phone.)

Once we got outside and she made sure the kids weren't following us, she said,

"Alexia hung herself in her closet. Her mom found her."

Alexia is a 15 year old girl in our youth group. She's an A student. Quiet. Friendly.

I asked her twice, "WHO?"

I just couldn't get my brain to wrap around what I was hearing.

So, our pastor's wife was heading over to their house and asked Db to pray for wisdom and words. While Db prayed with R on the phone, Db and I held hands and I prayed in agreement.

And I CRIED.

Outside BK.

Wow.

None of the other youth know yet...well, that we know of anyway. We got ourselves together before we went back inside. And of course, we got grilled by our kids. But R, pastor's wife, didn't want to let anything out just yet. She wanted to make sure that there's a plan to letting them know. (Of course, most of them will find out today while they're in school.)

But...wow.

Why?

I can remember being 15 and thinking no one understood and the world was against me...but to end everything? Seriously?

The only thing in all of this that makes sense is that, ultimately, God is in control. Even in the chaos.

So, if you pray, please lift up Jeff and Vanessa today...along with their son and Alexia's brother, Josh.

Wow.

Alexia - We'll always love you.

Guinevere

What a Crazy Week!

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:13:47 GMT

For awhile on Tues., I was beginning to wonder if N was going to come home from Orlando or not. I texted him while I was at work and asked what time his flight would be in. He told me it was supposed to be about 5:30 on Wed., but said that the airport was closed Tues. and might still be closed on Wed. (Due to Tropical Storm Fay.)

Well, Wed. morning, I texted him again and he said that the airport was open and they would be flying out at about 2:00. So, I got online and tracked his flight during the course of the afternoon. We picked him up on the way home from work.

The next day, the airport was closed again. Crazy coincidence?

I think not. God knew how badly I wanted my boy home!!! lol

The last 3 days here at work have been something else!!! Every 2 years (used to be once a year), the State inspectors show up to inspect all of our records and labs. It usually takes them 3-4 days to finish up, then they come back a few days later and do an exit meeting with my boss and the other administrators here on campus and at the hospital. (Thankfully, I don't have to go to those meetings!!!)

Directly, their being here doesn't affect me...except that if one of them needs something from our records, I'm here to get it for them.

BUT the atmosphere in our office changes while they're here. They're nice enough guys, but they ARE here to audit us...sooooo...the atmosphere is just a little stressful.

It was great when they left yesterday (about 3:00). My boss, myself, and the other girl in the office all looked at each other and exhaled a huge sigh of relief. We were all thinking, "Praise God it's over!!!"

Then, the other girl suggested we go for margaritas.

My boss actually said, "Oohhh! Sounds GREAT!"

She ran back to her office and told us she needed to send an update to her boss, then we'd just close up the office early and go have a drink.

lol

We closed about a half hour later and headed out. Once we got to Romeo's, I called M and told him that I wasn't at my office and that he could pick me up at the restaurant we were at.

Ok. This part might be confusing, but it has a funny ending.

I told him where Romeo's was because he's not really familiar with the street it's on. Well, it's on a 4-lane, one-way street headed west. He's coming from the east, so that's good. But, after telling him where we were, I realized that it's between 24th and 30th, so when he would get off the interstate on 30th and head over to Farnam to go west, he would already be past Romeo's.

So, I called him and told him that he would need to take 24th over to Farnam THEN head west and it's on the south side of the street. I said, "Does that make sense?"

And he said, "Do you think I'm incompetent? Is that what drinking does to you?"

I said, "Drinking has nothing to do with whether or not I think you're incompetent!"

I thought my boss and the other girl were going to die laughing. lol

M didn't think it was all that funny.

lol

I did.

Guinevere

The End of Summer...

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:24:02 GMT

Wow. The end of summer is just around the corner. The signs are everywhere.

Saturday and Sunday, we actually turned off the a/c and opened up the house to just let it air out. LOVE it! Did you ever notice how "old and stale" your house starts to smell after being closed up for so long. I LOVE getting it all opened up and aired out! Wonderful!

The kids are getting their school supplies. I have most of N's, but A wants to buy her own with her first check. Who am I to argue? Besides, she told me that that way, she can get exactly what she wants. I might surprise her and just add a little extra to the "cause" when it comes time to shop for her school goodies. lol (N doesn't care what he gets, as long as he has what he needs. lol Boys are great!)

N is still in Orlando. He gets back sometime Wed. I'm going bonkers. If it's this bad now, how am I going to survive his leaving for boot camp next summer? YIKES!

Then, the biggest BUMMER, N's driver's license got suspended. Sounds worse than it is. In IA, you don't get a full-blown driver's license until you turn 18. Until then, you get a Graduated Driver's License. And, if you get a speeding ticket while you have your GDL, your license can be suspended. *sigh* Well, guess what? He got a speeding ticket awhile back.

We're going to file an appeal and see what happens. Basically, what happened was he got a different car and the speedometer was reading lower than what the car was actually doing. Since he got the ticket, he's had the speedometer and all of the dash gauges checked and fixed.

By filing an appeal, he'll probably get his license restricted to work and school until he turns 18, but that's the worst case scenario. As it is, he turns 18 a month and a half after the suspension takes effect. We're going to do what we can to get this fixed. He's a good driver overall.

Anyway, that's kind of a downer note, but oh well...it's the end of summer....

and that's a BIGGER downer!!!

lol

Guinevere

Quiet Evening....For a Change

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:56:49 GMT

N is still in Orlando tonight...

A is working at her new job...

and M is going to be taking off soon to work on some computers.

Ahhhhhh....

It's going to be soooooooooo quiet.

I'm not sure I'll know how to behave.

What will I do???

Gosh, I could think of a gazillion things I'd like to get done while I have the house to myself, but I really only have a couple of hours, so...

I'll probably just start working on my lesson plans for N this year.

And put some of our old curriculum up for sale on vegsource.com. (I'm so totally not vegan, but they have the most INCREDIBLE homeschool for sale/swap site ANYwhere! I've sold and bought so much curriculum from other homeschool moms through that site, it's amazing!)

I think I'll make some phone calls and start planning some Missionettes functions and fundraisers that are coming up. Imagine this -

Within the next 3 weeks, we are having a bake sale AND a spaghetti dinner.

The end of Sept., we are having a sleepover with the other churches in our section...and, with me being Sectional Rep, that means I'm doing all the planning and organizing.

In October, we are selling candles for a fundraiser.

Later in October, we are having a jr. and sr. high girls' retreat...which I'm also planning and organizing.

*sigh*

Then, after the holidays are over, we start planning ahead with more functions and fundraisers for the spring.

Makes me tired just thinking about it.

The thing is, I LOVE doing this. It's really where my heart is. So, tired or not, I have to do it. When I don't, I start feeling depressed and like all I do is work and sleep. Even though M'ettes is alot of work, it's work I WANT to do.

Makes a HUGE difference.

Oh, and that reminds me, next Fri. night, the Stars Club girls will be coming to my house for a "work day". They'll finish up some of their past lessons and we'll have pizza as a bonus!

One more thing to organize this week, but I'm also looking forward to it.

Guinevere

Darth Vader....Dances???

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:04:51 GMT

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time! lol

Check this out!!!

Guinevere

More to Come...

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:37:54 GMT

This weekend proved to be just as busy as most of my other weekends, but it was fun at the same time.

Friday night, I worked the waitress job and got off work right around 10:30 (amazing!) and went home with some very good tippage. After resting my feet for about a half hour, I pulled out my book bag of Stars Club/Missionettes records. One of our former Stars was coming over on Sat. to tidy up some things in her activity binder from last year.

On Sat. morning, after eating some breakfast, I actually was motivated to get some things cleared and moved out of my way in the basement where S (the Stars Club girl) and I would be meeting to go over her binder. There was no way the area was going to be spotless, but I did manage to get my work table cleaned off and a reasonable amount of stuff put away. (I didn't want to work with her upstairs because that would mean no one being able to watch tv or hang out in the living room at all while she was there...she's very easily distracted.)

S and I finished ALL of her back work and got her completely updated in about 4 hours...straight! She did very well!

She and A tried to paint Tobi's toenails, but puppy was not having any of that! lol

Right around 6, her parents showed up for dinner. I had decided ahead of time that I'd like to have them over sometime and this was a nice opportunity.

We had lasagne, which I had made up Friday morning and had ready to just pop in the oven. A made some homemade shortcakes while I got my area ready downstairs (strawberries were on sale again, so I bought a 4 lb. package!). I'm so glad she loves to cook! I can usually ask her to fix something like that and she jumps at the chance! I don't think she'll grow out of it either since she turns 16 next Monday. lol

While the girls were playing with Tobi and we were waiting for S's parents to show up, I got the french bread ready.

Dinner turned out really nice. Lasagne with garlic cheese toast, salad, and homemade strawberry shortcake for dessert. Yummmm!

A side benefit was that N got off work early enough to be able to have dinner with the rest of us. On Sats., he usually gets off work too late to have dinner with us.

We had a really nice evening visiting.

On Sun., after church, M and I rushed home for a quick lunch so we could make it to a matinee showing of "The Dark Knight". It was very good...very action packed. Heath Ledger's Joker was very dark and sometimes very disturbing. I'm glad I saw it in the theater, though.

Right after the movie, we had to stop at the church for a VBS leader's training meeting. There were 4 scheduled, but we only had to go to one. Unfortunately, this was the only one I could work into my schedule, so we had to rush back right after the movie. Thankfully, we had no evening plans, so we were able to enjoy a nice, quiet evening at home Sun. night. I worked a crossword and read a little bit while M worked on some things in his den.

Oh, and one really silly, thoughtless, "blonde" thing I did this weekend was A and I went to the library and I picked out 4 audio books to listen to for the next couple of weeks. Only problem is, I don't have a CD walkman OR an IPod to load them onto! lol Sooooooo....tonight, when A and I go out to get some of her birthday party decorations and goodie ingredients at the store, I'm going to stop and see if I can find a cheap one "for now".

Sheesh. I'd lose my head if it wasn't screwed on tight.

Guinevere

Random Events That Make Me Say, "Hmmm..."

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:52:05 GMT

Since I'm home today sick (you don't want to hear the nasty details) and I'm FINALLY feeling a bit better, I decided to FINALLY get on here (after a week's absence) and tell you about a random and most definitely bizarre event that happened on Monday morning at work.

(Oh, sheesh! As a side note, I just looked at the time and it's 3:30!!! Criminy where has my day gone???)

Anyway, back to my story.

Monday morning, I was still tired from a long weekend and not really alert when I got to work. I had been there about a half hour when the other girl in the office came in. (Our boss took Monday off.) Another half hour went by and I was working on something on my computer when I felt someone looking at me, so, not suspecting anything, I looked up towards the office door and saw...

GET THIS...

a CLOWN face peeking around the door at me!!!!

I know the look on my face must've been priceless!

Within a nanosecond, I had run down through all the people I knew on campus who it could possibly be and came up with nothing...so I looked back at my computer to minimize what I was doing and, when I looked back, the clown face was gone...

so I said, "Oooookkkkk....hmmm."

About that second, a hand poked in the door from around the corner and "mouthed" something at me....you know, like the motion you make if your hand is in a sock puppet...

WEIRD.

I was totally freaking out.

(Oh, and I should mention that the whole time this is happening, the other girl is on her cell phone sitting in her cubicle behind me so she can't see what's going on.)

The next thing I know, I hear "It" walking back down the hallway.

I'm thinking, "Oh, good! 'It''s gone!!!" lol

Well, when Mr (other girl in the office) got off her phone, I asked her,

"Do we know a clown???"

She stared at me like I'd just flown in from Venus. lol

I told her what happened and then told her I knew it wasn't Td (Public Safety guy) or Ab (research doc down the hall), both of whom it wouldn't be totally unheard of for them to pull something like this. Anyway, Td and Ab are both MUCH taller than said clown...and "meatier". lol

She agreed that it was very weird, so we both got up and checked down the hallway. We didn't see a clown, but we DID see Ab standing in the hallway talking to someone. We decided to venture down the hall to see if Ab knew anything about the clown roaming the halls, because as Mr pointed out, "If anyone knows anything, it'll be Ab." lol (He's a NUT.)

Anyway, as we approached Ab, I glanced into his lab and....behold, the CLOWN!!!

Said clown turned around and did a mock "jump" and I said, "Ok, I KNEW I wasn't going crazy!!!"

He laughed and said that I did give him a very strange look. lol

That's when I told him I was very grateful that he was a talking clown as opposed to a non-talking clown. Non-talking clowns totally creep me out. (Totally seriously!!!)

That's when he started gesturing and miming. I just pointed my finger at him and said, "Stop it!!!" lol

He laughed and introduced himself...his CLOWN self.

His name is Flip. He has blue hair trimmed nicely into a shoulder length bob. He has a white face, big red nose, and a big red lower lip (no upper lip). (I was going to take a pic of him on my phone, but I have no way to get the pic off of my phone to post here, so I didn't see the point.)

He is a very colorful character. He was giving Ab such a hard time and teasing that Ab threatened to beat him to death. (Oh, should mention here that Ab is from Lebanon and the "real" Flip is Jewish.) That's when Flip told Ab,

"Oh, that would be a great headline: 'Middle Eastern Man Beats Jewish Clown to Death at Catholic University'!!!"

He's a hoot!

On Tuesday morning...again early...a person poked his head into our office and smiled at me. It was Flip...er, Trv...sans makeup. He said, "Good morning!", then he poked his hand in the office door like Flip did on Monday.

We all had a good laugh.

When Jn, my boss got to work, I told her about it and she laughed and said, (get this) "So you met Flip?" lol

She knew all about him! He volunteers to do shows in Pediatrics at the hospital. He also works with other clown groups.

So I guess I can now honestly say that I work with a real clown...in a way.

lol

Guinevere

More Storms...Sheesh!

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:53:42 GMT

More storms...when will this be over???

I was at work for about 20 mins. when all of us had to race to clear as much off of the patio/deck as possible...closing table umbrellas and carting away anything that could blow away. You could literally see the wall of wind and rain coming down the river. It was the freakiest thing I've ever seen. We just got inside the doors and it hit full force. If 2 of us hadn't had a hold of the door I came in, it would've ripped it right off the hinges. The wind hit with that much force.

And then the hail started. All of the employees escorted the customers to the back of the restaurant. The entire dining room and bar area is totally glass all the way around. It was WHITE outside...with rain and hail. It lasted about 10-15 minutes, then stopped as abruptly as it started. There were literally PILES of hail outside the restaurant!!!

Freaky.

Here's some more info about it:

http://www.ketv.com/weather/16730922/detail.html (And the Jonesy's that is mentioned in the article is a place that my husband and his coworkers frequent for lunch meetings. Scary stuff.)

And if you want to check it out, there are some videos. The Qwest Center was damaged and is one of the videos. Some drywall and siding was blown off. The restaurant I work at is very close to the Qwest and we were trying to figure out what these pieces of plaster and stuff were that were blowing over to our property...we found out after watching some of the video footage afterwards. It was just part of the Qwest Center. lol Wow.

I just wish it would get back to normal...whatever that is...

Guinevere

Close to Home...Just Wondering...

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:21:06 GMT

Just wondering...it IS curious, don't you think?

Where are all of the Hollywood celebrities holding telethons asking for help in restoring Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and other places nearby, and helping the folks affected by the floods?

(That's 3 STATES, not just 1 CITY.)

Where is all the media asking the tough questions about why the federal government hasn't solved the problem? Asking where the FEMA trucks and trailers are?

Why isn't the Federal Government relocating Iowa people to free hotels in Chicago ?

When will Spike Lee say that the Federal Government blew up the levees that failed in Des Moines ?

Where are Sean Penn and the Dixie Chicks?

Where are all the looters?

Where is the hysterical 24/7 media coverage complete with reports of cannibalism and shooting at helicopters?

(which never happened in N.O. either, BTW)

Where are the people declaring that George Bush hates rural people?

How come in 2 weeks, you will never hear about the Iowa flooding ever again?

Again, just wondering...

Flooding in Iowa

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:49:11 GMT

I'm putting out a special request for prayer for Iowa and Nebraska.

I've been reading that the reason for all the NASTY weather in Iowa right now is because of the hot, sticky weather on the east coast and the cooler weather on the west coast...and their colliding with one another over Iowa and the Midwest.

83 of the 99 counties in Iowa have been marked as national disaster areas.

Repeating that:

83 of 99 counties in Iowa are labeled national disaster areas.

That means that only 16 counties have escaped disaster in one form or another.

Unfortunately, the county I live in is among one of those 83. Right where we live is fine, but other lower lying places aren't doing so well.

Nebraska has also suffered ALOT of disaster too, but isn't quite as consuming as in Iowa right now...although it's close.

Let's just all agree in prayer that this is the end of all of it so that the flood waters can start receding and people can get back to their lives.

Guinevere

Creepy Stalker Guy...or Just Overly Friendly Patron?

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:40:35 GMT

This morning, after reading Jaysey's latest entry, I remembered an incident that happened to me way back when I was waiting tables in what was officially my first server job...meaning the restaurant actually had linen tablecloths, napkins, and water goblets on the tables rather than folded paper napkins and plastic cups...and meaning I actually made tips.

At the time of the "incident", I was not quite 20. I was also working the early morning breakfast shift (5:30am - 1:30pm). We had ALOT of regulars too. And, by default, you get to know them. Kind of freaky to think back to some of them...a few of them ended up partying with me and my friends from work a few times. lol

In fact, one of them offered to pay for the keg if I invited him to one of my parties! Of course, he was invited!!! Who wouldn't pass that up? And, of course, I knew plenty of my guy friends would be there to make sure he was just looking for a party...and not "looking for a 'party'".

Anyway, on to the "incident"...

Every morning at about 10, things would get really slow. The breakfast rush was over and it was a good hour before the lunch rush would start. So, I would draw doodles on the back of my tickets...the tickets that I would give to the customers to take to the register to pay. Most of the time, it was something pretty simple and I would write, "Thanks!".

After doing this awhile, I came up with a cute, little happy face that I could draw really quick. It's hard to describe, but the most important feature to remember was that it was winking. Another picture I would draw was a picture of 3 heart shaped balloons on strings. The strings were tied to the 's' in "Thanks!".

Anyway...this is what happened...

Like I said, there were alot of regulars that would come in for breakfast every morning. I got to know a lot of them and, yes, just like in the diners in the movies, I would joke around with them and ask them how they were doing...and maybe flirt a little bit (anything to help earn a few more tips...). WELL...

Between THAT and the cute, little drawings on the backs of my tickets....hmmm....I just didn't think about how it would all be taken.

Because one afternoon....right after the lunch rush, but before I was leaving for the day...a woman from the local florist shop came in carrying a rose and 3 heart shaped balloons....

for me.

I was kind of like, "Who would send me these?"

I can't remember exactly what the card said, but it was something along the lines of me making this guy's day by smiling and drawing the cute, little pictures on his tickets.

I know my eyebrows shot up....almost flying off my face....because I thought, "I do that for EVERYONE!"

The other waitresses gave me such a hard time...that I had a secret admirer.

But I was a little creeped out. The next day, I was suspicious of every man I waited on! I kept thinking, "Is that him?"

Anyway, about 10:30, a guy came in and sat at the coffee counter and I walked over to wait on him. Everything seemed pretty normal, except that I noticed he was smiling and watching me the whole time I was working.

And I noticed that, yes, he was one of my regulars...

And I noticed that, yikes, he was OLD...I mean, like 45.

(It's all your point of reference! lol 45 is NOT old to me now, but I was only 19 at the time.)

I got this really bad feeling that the balloons and the rose were from HIM!

So, I brought his food to him, he ate, and I left him his ticket....minus the cute, little drawing. I smiled and said, "Thanks."

And he said, "What? No cute drawings today?"

I said, "Mmmmm....nope. I decided it probably wasn't a good idea."

He got all flirty and said, "Aww...why not?"

I just kind of scrutinized him and said, "I don't know. You tell me."

He said, "So you figured out I sent the balloons, huh?"

I said, "Yes."

He said, "What are you thinking?"

I said, "I'm wondering WHY."

He said, "Well, I figured you go to the trouble of drawing those cute, little pictures on my tickets every morning, I wanted to let you know I appreciate it."

I said, "Ok. Thank you. That was really nice. But I draw those pictures on everyone's tickets."

I'm not kidding when I say that his face looked like it was literally going to slide off his skull. I felt SO bad after I said that.

I said, "I'm sorry. I thought everyone knew that."

Personally, I think everyone DID know that....except him.

He said, "No, I'm sorry. I just kind of assumed... Well, never mind. I just wanted to do something nice for you. You have a great day."

Then he got up, paid his bill, and left the restaurant.

And, with all honesty, I never saw him again.

Thank God.

That was just a tad too creepy for me. But, at least he got it all straight.

It's weird how one person's story can remind you of something that happened to you that you had totally forgotten about. lol

Guinevere

Pffffft! to Stereotypes

Thu, 29 May 2008 15:56:45 GMT

I think we should do away with all stereotypes. Because this whole stereotype that women keep everyone waiting on them when they're going somewhere...or they talk and talk and talk...

Not true.

Either that, or I'm just the anomaly.

In our family, the kids and I are notoriously sitting in the Jeep waiting for M to finish piddling around when we need to go somewhere. We can be on the tightest schedule ever known to man and he'll still piddle-butt around until the very last second we NEED to be walking out the door. He's definitely related to his mother!!! (She'll be late for her own funeral...seriously.)

The other thing about women yak-yak-yakking...so not true in my case. lol I noticed this last Sunday after church that I am usually standing off to the side of the foyer waiting for M to finish chit-chatting so we can leave and go get something to eat. Usually about the time I give up and strike up a conversation with someone, he's done and meanders over, "So are you ready to go? We need to get home so we can eat!"

Sheesh.

So, my conversation is cut short. The alternative is that I continue visiting...but then he'll get engrossed in another bull session with someone else and I'll have to wait even longer. It's easier just to cut it short and go.

And then, the pièce de résistance...

yesterday, when M picked me up after work, he asked me how my day was. I said, "Pretty good. Kind of boring, but oh well..." Then he proceeded to talk about his day....

nonstop until we got home...

20 minutes later.

He didn't quit talking until we had gotten out of the Jeep and were walking into the house.

And then, this morning?

He's driving me to work and guess what?

Yep, he talked non-stop until he dropped me off at my usual spot.

Between these two conversations, I think the only input I actually made was the following:

"Mm hmm."

"Okay."

"Really?"

"Hmmm..."

*yawn*

So, I say we do away with that whole stereotype about women.

I'd be interested to hear if this is common or if I'm just the anomaly.

Guinevere

Just Remembered...

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:37:40 GMT

...something REALLy funny!

You remember awhile back I posted that I was picking up girls for Wed. night church and taking them home? Well, most of these girls live in the trailer parks around here...some of which are very scary to go into at night...let me tell you!

Well, I listen. I'm a listener...not much of a conversationalist...esp. while I'm driving. Of course, I can initiate some conversation from the girls if we hit a lull, but usually 5th grade girls don't need something to "get them going" when it comes to talking.

Anyway, I hear ALOT about life in the trailer parks! One girl routinely gets in the Jeep every week and tells me how she's going to move in with her mom (she lives with her grandma now), but not until her mom's BF moves out...because "he's such a jerk". And then proceeds to go on about how CPS (Child Protective Services) keeps coming to visit them..."probably because Mom's BF called them". Too much drama for a 5th grader, in my opinion!

Well, this post isn't about that...it's about something else entirely.

Something so stinkin' funny that I had to bite my lip to keep from gasping in shock and laughing!

On the ride to one of the girls' homes (I hadn't dropped any of them off yet), S was talking about her brother. She said,...

"Yeah. He's weird. He told me that he smokes some kind of grass with his friends. They call it 'weed'. I don't know what kind of grass that would be!"

Then she looked at me...as they all did...and said, "Do you, Miss J?"

I kind of stammered out an "uh huh" and then tried to redirect the conversation.

lol

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

Guinevere