Not Graceful

Before any man captured my attention, before I adopted Stormy, before I lived on my own, my car was my one and only love. The day I owned her outright remains was one of the happiest of my life.

As much as I love my VW, the trunk of my car has been.... well, not entirely functional. For a while. About a year. Okay, maybe more. Because my Ex was the only person who was able to successfully close the trunk of my car.

So, I've just spent the past year or so not using the trunk of my car. (I haven't wanted to find out how much it would cost to fix, okay?)

"It opens like a DeLorian" I've joked to friends and coworkers about the strange diagonal-angled opening that accompanied the usual unlatching of my VW's storage compartment. "Just use the backseat! We'll hide your things, this neighborhood is safe, no worries!"

Or, on occasion. I'd use the trunk, but caution at its potential lack of usefulness, but add "Hey, no worries, it can be closed safely. Just ... um, give me a moment...." as I wrestled with the pesky corner that generally refused to close properly.

It was with one such flippant remark that I did something remarkable this afternoon:

I shattered my rear windshield.

This was not something I had expected as a possible side effect of having a slightly malfunctioning car trunk.

I had stored two storage boxes, two roller suitcases, a duffel bag and a backpack in the car's roomy trunk. Then asked my Office Spouse, coworker and coworkers husband to step back as I valiantly attempted to wrangle that tricky corner of the trunk closed so we could drive to a meeting.

Clunk...creeeeeeak



"Wait... wait... what's happening?" exclaimed my coworkers' husband in disbelief.

I froze. I stared at the growing spiderweb pattern.

"What IS happening?" asked my Office Spouse, impatient to get on the road.

"I... think.... I think I .... I just .... just ... broke my, my ..." I stammered.

I wanted to cry. My car. My fully paid-off darling girl. HOW COULD I HAVE DONE THIS TO HER?

With a calm that belied my inner fury at myself, (and my inability to take my eyes off the spiraling spiderweb pattern) I said "Okay. Let's unload, lets go back upstairs..."

"... and we'll figure it out from there," finished my Office Spouse.

We rented a car.  As I write this, my coworkers and I are preparing for our meeting. I've arranged for my car to be fixed by a mobile repair unit.

Once things were settled with the insurance company and we were on the road, I called my father to tell him what happened.

"Well, my dear," he said, "That was not very ... graceful of you."

I agreed, and added,  "But hey, I bet you didn't know a trunk could do that to a rear view window!"

Quote Of The Day

“Funny that a pair of really nice shoes make us feel good in our heads - at the extreme opposite end of our bodies.”

~ Levende Waters

Staycation, All I Ever Wanted

Back to the grind and happy to report that my time off from work was lovely and restorative.

No, there was no hiking in Great Falls, drives to the Delaware shore or wandering around Capitol Hill or the the museums.  But, in my own way, I was productive: I took care of doctors visits and cleaned my apartment. I finished two books and started two more (FYI, if you haven't read The Hunger Games yet, you are missing out) and went shopping for a new couch with my parents. And ... yeah, that's about it for my list of activities that did not fall under the category of 'sloth'.

Unless you also want to include conquering my irrational fear of upside-down roller coasters as one of those items..... WHICH I DO!

Don't Danny and Victor look dapper?

I'm still hoarse from screaming with fear and glee.  We rode at least ten coasters, two of them twice, as well as few other rides.  And I loved it!

The day before this trip, I found out that a much-loved coworker lost her battle with lung cancer. It was not unexpected news, but it was still  heartbreaking. I reached out to my coworkers to let them know that I was with them in feeling this tremendous loss, and that I was hugely grateful to have them in my life.  My office spouse encouraged me to go face my silly fear of upside-down coasters -- and to have a wonderful time in the memory of our departed friend.

Which I did. And I can say that it was a good vacation.

Vacation Time Approaches

Early in the summer, my boss started telling me that I had a lot of vacation time to use, and that I should take advantage of it. I smiled and said "sure, I'll use it later in the summer".

I made no plans for taking time off. I just kept along my merry way, working hard, stressing myself out, having the occasional early-AM panic attack about my parents health (Note: Dad is now doing very well, his recovery has been going smoothly, although he claims to still be exhausted by the functions of daily life. But hey, recovery is an individual experience and relative process - if Dad feels like he's still recovering, who can argue?) but generally feeling like I had things under control.

But in early August, I started feeling tired all the time. And occasionally jumping at loud noises (I really wish I were kidding about that) and not feeling my usual cheerful self. Around this time, my boss casually mentioned my abundance of vacation time again. I started to think that maybe time off would be a good idea, after all.

So, despite the fact that I don't have travel plans, I'm taking five days off from work. If you include the Labor Day weekend, that will be seven days of vacation.

Or 'stay-cation'. Other than a day trip to Kings Dominion to conquer my fear of upside-down roller coasters, I have absolutely no idea as to what I'll do with my free time. Besides sleep, read and contemplate my navel. And clean my apartment.


What would you do if you had five days of completely free time and no obligations?

Quote Of The Day

“Don’t agonize. Organize.”

~ Florynce R. Kennedy

A Loss

It should come as no surprise that someone who is an avid reader and writer has always loved English class. From 'reading time' in 1st grade to 'Shakespeare Interpretations' in graduate school, English class has always the one that I loved the most. I don't suppose I would have been an English major, otherwise.

As I've grown, learned (and explored the possibilities of writing in my career) there have been amazing teachers and mentors who have supported and guided me on the way.

One such teacher was Gary McCown. I took 11th grade English with him -- and I can honestly say that it was one of the hardest and most frustrating classes that I have ever had. He was adamant that we all speak in class discussions. He insisted that we take careful notes on everything he said -- which proved to be absolutely necessary if you wanted to pass one of his mind-wrenching exams.

But through that annoying, demanding year, Gary taught my classmates and I how to read the Bible as a piece of literature. He showed us the delicate nuances of argument. He would jump on tables when he got excited about a particular point, whether it was an argument made by Martin Luther King or something from Genesis.. He would make gyrating motions with his hips when we talked about sex scenes - especially those in the Bible that lacked any sexy descriptions whatsoever.

My senior year of high school, Gary offered to write one of my college recommendation letters. But first, he insisted that we sit down and talk at great length about what I intended to get out of my college experience. I don't remember what that discussion included, but I recall how thrilled I was to be interviewed by this dynamo of a man.

During college and after I graduated, whenever I would visit the high school (usually to pick up my sister), I would look for Gary. He was a fascinating character to me and I enjoyed our brief, eclectic conversations. He once suggested that I teach English at the school, "just until I sort things out" when I was job hunting, post-college.  After he retired, I saw Gary at both my 10th reunion and my sister's 5th reunion.

Gary and my sis

I found out this afternoon that Gary passed away a few days ago.  This is not the first of my mentors to 'depart this mortal coil', but it's one I feel enormously. 

(Please excuse errors that I would usually not allow in my writing -- this has shaken me quite a bit.)

Guest Blogging is FUN

Happy Friday, everyone!

Since Emily Jane is off getting married and honeymooning (PS she DID win the contest! Good job, team!!!), she asked a few of her blogger friends if they would guest blog in absence. So, I suggested that my friend Michelle and I write a post together, and ... well, go see for yourself!

One On One