Nostalgia

As the weather cools, it’s finally starting to feel like fall. And to kick it off, I’m making Chili tonight for the boyfriend. Yum.

But early this afternoon I was remembering a year ago today. It was my last day at a job that I hated. I was leaving to look for new opportunities and I was terrified, but at the same time elated.

Today: I have two business trips this month and I’m just elated.

I was planning the cooking demonstrations with the American Royal Barbecue for the first time.

I’m planning them for the second time, and I’m probably equally stressed, but not for the unknown…

Did I mention I was looking for a job?

Have I mentioned how much I love my job?

I was living in a big house in the suburbs with my two dogs.

It’s just me and Gertrude now.  In our closet-sized apartment. And it sure isn’t in the suburbs.

I was running sporadically.

I’m running three to four times a week now.

 I was married.

You should know by now that I’m not.

I was in desperate need of a cut and color.

Oh, ok, some things never change.

So bring on the fall. Let’s make some new memories!

It would be on a Monday

UGHHHHHH…..bad Monday.

I’m not even going to begin to tell you all of it, but let’s just say I had to visit Ernie today and it was not pretty. 

And then there was some other stuff that sucked.

So I went for a run, which I made myself do, because I really just wanted to skip the run and jump straight into the bubble bath with the bottle, I mean glass, of wine. But I ran, and I wasn’t feeling like it, but I did it. As I was trotting along, Gertie at my side, I felt an odd sensation around my waist. It confused me, until I realized what it was.

It was my shorts. 

They were well below my butt by the time I realized my drawstring had completely failed me. As in malfunctioned. As in it was completely broken. (It has a plastic device that is supposed to lock the string into place, but that piece apparently is shot because it stopped locking and started sliding.)

And there was a runner behind me.

And apparently a biker too, because it went flying by and suddenly Gertie jumped in front of me, which she does when she’s terrified. 

Then I tripped over her, while trying to hold onto my shorts. And her. And not fall.

To top off this fabulous day, I learned, according to a friend’s facebook status that  Jesus is returning soon. (I went to an Christian college, so many of my friends are conservative.) 

If I could have my say in this matter, I would really rather Jesus return on Friday night when I have had a good day and we can have a beer together and laugh about this awful Monday.

Operation Lady Luck

The players: Justin and Stephanie

The Mission: With each player contributing $5, gamble to win enough money ($30) to go see this production of Rent — spin $10 into $30 for two tickets.

The Location: Harrahs Kansas City

The Strategy: A game was selected. In this case, roulette. (My pick because it’s my favorite.) Game was to be played one $5 chip at a time until winnings earned. Our bets were pretty safe — odds, evens, reds or blacks. We learned pretty quickly that anything more risky was, well, more risky.

The Outcome: After 15 minutes of roulette, we’d been up $5, down $5, several times. And speaking of time, it was running out. So a new strategy was devised based on the deadline (7 p.m. show.) Go to the slots. At this point, we were up $5, so now we were playing with a total of $15. We picked our $1 slot machine and started betting max. (Justin informed me there was no time to crank out regular bets. I just wanted to pull the lever, but I settled on the button.) Low and behold, we hit the jackpot! The big $30 showed up on our screen. People around us probably thought we won big based on our reaction, but in our hearts, we had won big. We immediately cashed out and ran to the theater.

The Lesson: Upon our arrival, Justin immediately knew something was up. The kid at the counter didn’t know what we were talking about when we asked purchase our tickets for the 7 p.m. show. Inside we learned that the show had actually aired at noon. And suddenly we were out of luck.

So the moral of the story is, you can bet, you can win, but you always risk losing out. And speaking of gambles, if the U.S. Government wants to borrow the Justin and Stephanie strategy of tripling money, we are happy to lend our experience to the cause. Just don’t come running to us when your movie isn’t showing.

Ahem.

If you came here from there, and you haven’t contacted me yet to volunteer next Saturday, what’s wrong with you? Don’t you want to get into this for free? Don’t you want to support a great cause? Do you not like beer and barbecue?

In all seriousness, many thanks to anyone who is interested in helping out. And to Erin, of course.

eeeeeeeeeeeeee Part III

It came back.

The noise.

So it’s probably my pulley. And I’m going to have to go see Ernie on Monday.

Damn.

In other news, pretty big weekend coming up. The boyfriend and I are attending a pirate party (yar) tonight. It’s his big debut with this group of friends. I’m excited. Then tomorrow night we are going to see the Red Elvises in concert.

And Sunday.

Justin and Stephanie are going to attempt our own experiment to save the economy. Actually, it’s more like an experiment to pad our own checking accounts and pay for tickets to this, in the process. But we feel the U.S. Government might be able to learn a little something from our results.

Stay tuned for the full report.

Update on eeeeeeeeee

At lunch I went home to let Gertie out . (I’m meeting the dog sitter extroidainaire — Ging– and J for late birthday Margaritas after work!!!)

So Gertie is doing her thing, which is stalling out for the most possible walk before she does her business. But I have outsmarted her. Mwahahaha. I have found a special place even she can’t resist.

This place requires that I walk by the office to get back home. The maintenance man (Scott, if you are reading –the one you think is hot.) comes out and asks me if I’m going straight to my car after my walk.

First thought: Oh crap. Did I park in someone else’s spot? (Why do I always think I’m in trouble?!)

Me: Um, yeah.

MM: Cool, well I’ll come out and fix your belt. Meet you at your car.

Me: Stuttering a little. Um, awesome!?

Sure enough, he sprayed some stuff on it and squeaking stopped.

Have I mentioned how much I love my apartment?

Yah, sorry Ernie. No dollars for you.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

That’s the noise my car started making this morning. It’s a cross between the sound of sweet little sparrows twirping and fingernails on the blackboard. Nice.

What did I do about it? I turned up the radio.

Duh.

I’m in denial that something is truly wrong with my car. And, frankly, I think that’s the best way to be. I thought about calling them, but then I’d have to recreate the noise on the phone.  Attempting to make that sound over national air waves would kill any hope of ever rekindling my radio career.

No, when it’s all said and done, I’ll probably have go see Ernie, the mechanic. The boyfriend and I have spent a lot of time and money with ole Ernie lately. (Isn’t that adorable? We have a mechanic!) I think we’ve put at least one child through Harvard by now.

But until I break down (no pun intended) and realize I have no other options, does anyone know of some extra loud music I can play?

Highlights

What a weekend.

I ate.

And ate.

And ate.

And ate some more….

Stephanie flew in on Thursday afternoon. We quickly made our way to The Mixx for salads. I took her on a tour of my office after lunch. Good thing I did because the boyfriend had a beautiful bouquet of a dozen roses sent to my office. (Insert “awws.”) Then, we grabbed Gertie for a stroll through the Plaza. The day was complete with dinner at the boyfriends’ house — grilled eggplant with balsamic, fresh basil and goat cheese.

Friday we had lunch at Lulus Thai Noodles followed by a small shopping spree at Birdies. (If you are going to steal a gal away from her husband for a girls’ weekend, you should send her home with new cute panties. It’s only fair.)

Friday night- dinner at BBsLawnside BBQ.

Saturday – Brunch at eggct… and the Plaza Art Fair.

Saturday night – dinner with my fam at Lidias and the final show at Bar Natasha.

Holy weekend, Batman!!

Over and out until tomorrow…

Company

I love having company. My old roomie, Stephanie (yes, Stephanie) is in town from Virginia to visit me for my birthday. We’ve been doing all my favorite things (except blogging, of course.) So I’ll be back next week, one year older with my usual bloggy disposition. Until then, have a great weekend!

And I’m not talking about Winsteads…

At Three Dog Bakery today, there was a police dog all over Gertie’s grill. I heard the following from the store staff person: 

“He’s all over her milkshake.”

Wow.