mandaloo

just killing time in my hotel room before meeting my coworker and the driller downstairs. i’ve been in this town since wednesday. i actually spent about five years of my life in this town so it’s kinda cool to be back on old stomping grounds. slept like crap last night. couldn’t fall asleep and couldn’t stay asleep. heh.

yesterday’s work went well… we’re doing soil samples out in areas that are currently pastures and whatnot. in the morning, it rained, so we made a side trip to get some rain coats, which delayed us. the driller had two heads break on him, poor guy, which further delayed us. he got stuck in the mud later on, and we pulled him out. and then the property owner (who apparently didn’t know we were going to be out there) stopped and talked to us. i told her that i thought that the client had communicated to her what we were going to be up to that day. it was an older lady (sixties, maybe) and she didn’t seem too concerned with that. she pointed to the back of her truck and said, “oh – i’m just taking the dead ones out.” i thought, “what dead ones?” i had to look. there were three dead goats in the back of her truck that had apparently been killed by some animal. the driller looked like he was going to lose it. stuff like that doesn’t bother me. she came out and showed the puncture wounds and marks and whatnot. and then we just chit chatted. so, the day was filled with delays, but we somehow ALMOST finished up the amount of samples we wanted to do within a decent amount of time. i’m hoping that things go smooth today and i can get back home within a reasonable hour.

there were lots of cows yesterday… they kept surrounding the truck because they thought we were bringing them food. those jerks. ha. here are some pics from yesterday…

operation blubber blast has not really been followed through this week. between my knee being out of commission (it’s still a nice multi-colored bruise) and being out of town (which does not always promote healthy eating), i’m dreading weighing myself this weekend. *sigh* sad to say, my guiltless chicken platter at chili’s did not do much in the way of making me feel better.

not much on the radar for this weekend. neo and jeromy are going to jeff foxworthy tonight, so i don’t really know what i’m doing. probably unpack and just chill in my apartment. dad’s birthday is tomorrow, so sometime saturday morning i need to scout out a gift for him. just church stuff on sunday.

on wednesday afternoon, i was out with a coworker that i usually don’t have that much interaction with. we’re both on the united way committee this year for our work’s campaign, just like we were last year. and just like last year, she and i made our way to the costume shop for the purpose of finding costumes for upper management to wear that would mirror our theme (pirates) during the kick off lunch. last year, when we were picking up the costomes, this lady and i had a really long and good converstaion. i was going through my mini crisis in my life, having just left my husband due to his betrayal and in the middle of the overwhelming divorce process. i can’t even remember what was said last year to me, but i remember i left the vehicle feeling better than when i got in. and her words meant a lot to me. well, this year, my coworker is going through a rough time. in the last month, her 24-year old son had gotten shot (road rage – they have yet to catch the person who did it), her mother-in-law died, and her father-in-law is not doing so hot health wise. plus a plethera of all sorts of other logistical burdens (her son left behind daughters, he didn’t have life insurance, etc.). so she and i talked. mainly, i let her talk and vent. i don’t even know how to begin with a situation like hers, but i offered some thoughts. when we arrived to the store, we both paused… and i think we had reverse deja vu. she looked at me and said exactly what i was thinking at that moment, “it’s funny – last year, you were going through your big thing and we were talking about it on the way here. and now it’s my turn.” i nodded in agreement. and maybe it’s not a notable thing that happened, but it just made me feel connected in a way. and it gave me some perspective. there were some dark dark days for me during the late summer/early fall of 2005. and now, when the scene is juxtaposed to present time, it’s just amazing to see the difference. i’m happier than i’ve ever been in some areas of my life. and i’m glad that phases of life change with the seasons. it’s encouraging to think that we really can make things happen. we all have the ability to change and shift and move towards our goals. sometimes the starting points suck, but that’s just how it goes.