mandaloo

this morning, i came to the conclusion that we need one universal phrase to use when we are having routine, short interactions with people to say “i acknowledge you” … but only shorter. throughout my day, i go through the process of the “hi, how are you?” – “i’m doing fine, how about you?” – “i’m doing fine as well” interaction about 20 times a day i would imagine. whether on the elevator, in the break room, at a store, etc… this exchange goes on to fill dead space and to acknowledge the other individual that comes around. but there’s never really enough time for a meaningful conversation… or even an honest answer for that matter. even on days that i’m less than fine or even flat out feeling crummy, i say “fine” in response to the inquiry of how i’m feeling. i know that others do the same. so that’s my gripe for the week… i think we need something to replace the cordial/polite interchange of words that are exchanged so frequently that they’ve lost all meaning. maybe we should revert back to the days where people just tipped their hat. but nobody wears hats anymore. i dunno. (more…)

two newly hatched snakes are slithering along.  one turns to the other and asks, “are we venomous?”  the other replies, “i don’t know.  why do you ask?” and the inquiring snake replies, “because i just bit my lip.” 

this joke was told to me this morning by a sweet older gentleman while i was waiting to pick bacon up from the vet office.  her spaying came along just great and she seems to be feeling fine.    (more…)

just killing time on a friday afternoon.  my training today went well and i'm trying to unwind from the work week. 

i went to institute last night.  the attendance was just the right size… mainly people from my congregation.  i saw a couple of familiar faces.  the instructor is phenomenal… a really cool lady from what i can tell.  we went over the creation.  something i've heard over and over since i was a wee one but this lesson went on a whole different level and some of the comments from my peers were super insightful.  lots of discussion on why a proper understanding of the creation is important and why satan would want to confuse men about the origin of the earth and the life on it.  it's amazing how god showed his love for us so early on and how everything was already pointing towards christ.  it was just really neat to have a familiar topic discussed in a whole new way.  very inspirational to say the least. 

i don't have much slated for this weekend.  i'm picking bacon up after work.  i'm going to the dallas temple for part of tomorrow, and church on sunday, but that's all that is set in stone.  kinda nice. 

mom called and was upset because two of the puppies that we gave away a month or so ago (they were given away to the same place) had recently gotten really sick and died.  one of them was the one dad wanted to keep, so that's kinda sad. 

it's been super humid today.  i'm not a fan of the humid weather.  somebody really needs to do something about that.

my little brother got a job and he is thrilled.  he starts tonight and he seems tickled pink.  it will be at a photo lab at a drugstore near mom and dad’s… which is super good because he enjoys photography.  i’m hoping it will be a good way for him to start making connections and to earn some money for school or something.  either way, he seems really happy and i’m stoked for him.

i have a coworker that has always been so awesome to work with.  she’s in our accounting department and is in her thirties and recently got married to a man that she had been with for a number of years (they also have children together).  anyhoo, she’s been super happy about being married and getting a new place and all these things.  today, her kids called her up and told her that they couldn’t get her husband up.  when she got to the house, she found that he had passed away.  the guy was not old by any means and all of us at work are just floored.  we all love this coworker and know that it’s going to be a hard blow on her and her children.  i was humbled to remember how fragile this life thing is… not only for me to remember how to conduct my life… but that each day i have with the loved ones in my life is precious.  it was a big reality check for me.  i’ve lost people in my life that i care about before (friends, step grandfather, great grandmother), but nobody super duper close.  and i think i have this false security around me that things are always going to be the way they are.  i was just floored by the news of this man’s death today… just a couple of months ago, we were throwing a wedding shower for my coworker and him here at work.  so unexpected.

i’m going to institute later tonight at church for the first time tonight.  institute is basically an in-depth scripture study class.  a bunch of people from my congregation usually go.  josh was telling me about it during his visit this week and it sounded up my alley.  i really enjoyed the seminary program back in the day and i’m looking to polish up on my knowledge.  i used to be super well-versed and such, but i’ve gotten lazy.  this will be a push in the right direction to properly feast on god’s word.

i had an experience this week in which i found out that i’m perceived completely differently in some areas of my life than how i think of myself.  and it wasn’t a bad thing, but it really surprised me.  and when i was talking to a coworker about it, she agreed with the non-realized-perception, and that threw me even further.  it was just funny b/c it drove home that i can’t assume what the results of assessments or observations will be.  it was a, “hmm…” moment is all.

tomorrow is friday and i have training all day at work.  last year, we got out early, which totally rocked.  i’m hoping for a similar situation tomorrow.  i moved bacon’s spaying to next week due to logistical reasons, but that’s okay.  i don’t think she’ll mind too much.

i remembered to bring yoda into the office today. i don't think my fellow cohorts had quite the level of appreciation and awe that i did over my fantastic purchase, but that's okay. i was called a "nerd" more than usual today. two of my coworkers have also been teaming up and joking with me in an effort to clarify just how gullible i really am. *sigh* as if that needed clarification.

jeromy was sick yesterday – poor guy. but i think he's feeling better today. his new cell phone is not syncing up correctly or something and he can't get his mp3s on there. i don't know the specifics, but i know enough that he worked on it the whole time we were watching batman this evening (which i watched for the first time in my life… i know, lame me).

the flags at the entry of my apartment are down. i don't know what caused their removal. i did some web surfing and saw that a lot of gay pride weeks in different regions take place in june, so maybe the timing coincided with that and now it's all over. i don't know. ironically, i think the cheesy yellow smiley face flag bothered me worse than the rainbow one.

lots of joking around at work today. i laughed so hard that i thought my guts were going to spill out. good stuff. i had a good friend call today and he asked how work was going. my reply… "they keep paying me, so i keep going back." and thus it is. days like today are great. i got stuff done. but had a blast doing it. my yoda is on my shelf and for most of the day, his eyes were half open… so no matter where i was in my cube, it looked like he was staring at me. and it would have been creepy… but it was yoda. and you've just got to love him. we had a fire alarm go off today and they made us evacuate our building. so that killed ten minutes during a slow point of the afternoon.

i had a toastmasters meeting today. we recently had a new member join – an older gentleman that looked up our club online and wanted to join. he has amazing public speaking skills already… i'm like, "can we just give him his certification now?" but anyhoo, the cool thing is that his voice is awesome and come to find out, he's trying to get audition tapes done so he can get a deal doing voice overs or do a radio show or something. it was just really cool to have such a polished speaker.

not much else to report. things are steady.

today is the first day of summer. and i'm glad. maybe it will finally start to warm up now. ha ha ha! *goes to bed as a result of lame jokes*

since my last entry, the two flags that i mentioned were added to.  the apartment complex put up another pole with the management company name and under it, a generic red, blue, and white flag.  the second pole did not last very long, though, as it has been knocked down by this weekend’s storm.  the rainbow and smiley face prevailed, though.  it was funny.  i just shook my head as i drove on.

on friday, jeromy and i just had a nice evening at his place – we picked up some dinner and he bought flight of the phoenix (which we watched while eating).  it was pretty good – mainly, it was nice to just unwind.  jeromy bought a batmobile lego set (that is actually pretty sweet, if i do say so myself), so he spent most of the evening assembling that.  it was funny – i guess we never grow up. (more…)

for the last couple of weeks, there has been a new sight at my apartment complex. on the flagpole right next to the side entrance, there is a rainbow flag and underneath it is a flag with the yellow, 1970's smiley face. and i'm like, "wha?" every time i see it. and the rainbow flag looks much like the ones you see in gay communities. i'm just a little confused by the action of putting it up there. is my complex predominantly gay? if it was, it wouldn't bother me, but still… are the two goofy flags really necessary? i shake my head in confusion.

last night, jeromy and i did absolutely nothing. we ate dinner and watched tv. i don't usually watch tv, and i was reminded why last night as we flipped from one bad show to another. we were each making side comments and jokes with each channel and it was hilarious. i hadn't laughed so much in a long time. all felt right with the world.

tomorrow will be busy. i'm going to the dallas temple early in the morning with pam, her family, and some other people. then, i'm going to ethan's (jeromy's nephew) birthday party. this all will be followed up by my company picnic at the rangers game tomorrow night.

this weekend is father's day and i've yet to find daddy a gift. mom says to just give him money for car parts for the mustang that he's working on, but that's what i've done for every father's day/birthday/christmas for the last three years or so, so i'm thinking about getting him something he can actually open and keep. i took dad to lunch yesterday and i had a really good time. i was able to talk about things going on in my life and he was surprisingly supportive regarding my decisions. i have a deep respect for my father even though we may not always see eye to eye all of the time. he's a hard hard worker and never has malice behind his actions. i can honestly say that he always tries to do the right thing and is always helping people out. and i admire him for that.

the limited time jeromy and i spent apart and broken up was powerful and indicative of what needs to happen with the two of us. it became clear on both of our ends that the solution we had found was not the way to go. certain subjects have been avoided in the past due to fear or other reasons. the decision to walk away was made hastily and with a lack of information. we have come to the conclusion that we are going to actively work on our problem and attempt to build a base of understanding to better use for decisions. the subject of our future will be revisited only after going through this process. we may end up at the same place. we may end up somewhere better. but either way, we have a new route to get there by that will give us each peace in our paths.  so we are back together – but with new goals and a resolve to actively achieve some type of conclusion.

the most surprising thing to me in all of this is how our short parting affected the loved ones around us. my parents adore jeromy and so do my friends. there were tears in more eyes than i would have ever anticipated. there were some inspired thoughts and words that were spoken to me today that touched me and moved me to think about this in a different way and i am forever grateful to those individuals.

the battery has been replaced in my smoke detector, so i am anticipating a good night's rest tonight.