Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Riding the bus

I'm on my second 31 day bus pass.  I found that I HAD to buy the bus pass because I have a really hard time buying something and not getting the full value out of what I buy.  It was easy to drive my car to work when my first pass ran out.  Really easy.  Too easy.  So when I didn't have the cash for the bus and the new coffee shop at the metro center sold either 5 day or 31 day passes but not one day passes, well, I am back to the bus.

I missed the 7:45am bus on Monday by two minutes.  I was tempted, oh so tempted, to drive.  But then I thought of the money I had already spent and I waited for the 8:10am bus.  I also missed the afternoon bus by 5 minutes and had to wait 20 minutes for the afternoon bus.  Not my day.

Today I caught the 7:45am bus on time and it was almost full.  I sat down in an empty seat next to a guy who takes after most guys on the bus and was sprawled out across the seat.  The guy in front of me had his seat leaned all the way back, which meant my knees were right up against the seat.  Near the front of the bus was a lady who was clearly anxious about riding the bus.  Another lady had a Costco size box of Sun Chips, a bag and a huge duffel bag.  I sat back and waited for the adventure to begin.

At the final stop before heading over the big hill a lady got on board with her bags, which she left sitting in the middle of the aisle while she finished putting her make-up on.  The guy in front of me kept falling asleep, making his head loll back and forth.  I decided, as I sat there with me knees jammed into his seat because he had to LIE DOWN on the bus, that I wasn't going to feel bad about jamming my knees into his seat...that was a hard step.  The guy next to me fell asleep as well.  The sprawling got worse.  Every time the bus took a corner to the right he would shift closer and closer to me. I was readying my elbow to just jab him a little and wake him up.  The nervous lady at the front of the bus kept leaning forward and then back, forward and then back.  Finally we made it to the major station where 3/4 of the bus emptied out.  I moved up towards the front to let the guy next to me out and have more leg room.  That's when I noticed that nervous lady wasn't wearing any shoes.  There weren't any in her hands either.  She stood up for the next three stops, even though there were plenty of seats and she kept anxiously looking out the window for her stop.  Her stop happened to be my stop.  The bus doors opened and she was out and running, full on running down the street...barefoot.  I walked in the other direction and noticed that everyone I passed was looking beyond me, watching the barefoot nervous lady run down the street.  I don't know.

This afternoon, I arrived at the bus stop a minute before the bus arrived.  It was empty.  I found a place with plenty of leg room and settled back and enjoyed the ride.  The nervous lady wasn't there.  The lady with the make-up was...she kept her bags to herself this time.

Just another day riding the bus.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

New residents

So...do you remember the post about the critter?  The relatives have moved in.

Papa Bear pulled up the boards the other day and washed away the nest that was being built.  I've heard the scritch-scratching in earnest the last couple of days.  *sigh*  I wouldn't mind if it was the chipmunk family taking up residence.  They are cute.  This family has got.to.go. 

I do believe I will be heading to the store tomorrow for some special treats.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Power Suit Guy

New job is in a fancy office building in the Big City.  This particular floor is called a "business center".  Each individual office is rented out by different businesses.  Down the hall from my corner is a computer software start-up company.  Around the corner is Foster Care/Group Home Administration office.  Down that corridor is a CPA and down another hall is an acupuncturist.  I don't know all of the people who have offices on the floor but over the past few months I've gotten to know a few different people and definitely recognize faces.

There is one guy who has been pretty standoff-ish since we moved into the building.  He is always in a power suit, always walking as if late for a very important date and always, ALWAYS has his phone in hand.  Power Suit Guy roams the halls talking on that phone.  I've decided he doesn't trust the other two people in his office and so he takes his very secretive, very important phone in the halls of the office building.  Clearly, no one can overhear your conversation if you are roaming the halls, right?  That may be true if Power Suit Guy didn't persist in standing right outside the door to the women's restroom.

Yep, you read that right.  I thought it was just a one time thing.  I headed to the restroom and there he was, standing right outside the door on a very important business call.  I kind of shook my head and proceeded to enter.  He was still there when I exited.  A day or so later, I rounded the corner and there he was again.  Not right outside the door this time, but definitely next to the women's restroom door.  I think this time we made eye contact, but I am not a human being worthy of his attention and he looked right through me.  One of those guys.

In the last few months I've come to the conclusion that he has decided that the women's restroom hallway is the furthest distance from his office he can get, is away from office doors so his conversation really is private (dream, dream, dream) and so he parks himself, propped up against a wall, outside the women's restroom door.  Propping himself up outside the men's restroom door would be too close to his office, so that clearly would be a bad idea.  The women's restroom door is farther away and thus safer...except it kind of is a little creepy and I find it really ridiculous.  One day soon I'm going to round that corner, look at him and burst out laughing hysterically.  I already don't count in his world, so what does it matter if he thinks I'm crazy, right? 

Yesterday after encountering him two times outside the women's restroom, I had to post something on Facebook.  One friend suggested I post a note on the door.  I came up with "Cell phone free zone, 10 feet in either direction of this door...that means you Power Suit Guy".  J-girl came up with another "Talk on your phone by the women's restroom, I write about you on my blog". 

Done.  :)

Monday, June 11, 2012

Ugh

11pm and I should be in bed.  Except tonight was Bachelorette Night at Fabulous Friend Debbie's house.  I still can't believe I am watching this show, but now I can't miss it!  Who will Emily choose?  How many times will we yell at the TV for the dumb things the guys say?  Why can't she see through these dudes?!  I am so ashamed...

Anyway, as I was leaving Indy the German Shepherd raced out the door ahead of me (with permission), raced down the street and was barking ferociously at something.  Both cats came running to the door, so it wasn't the cats.  It didn't take long before we knew what Indy was barking at.  Polecats, as my Grandpa O used to call them.  How did we know?  We smelled them.  Of course tonight because it was 100 degrees outside and a beautiful night, I drove the race car with the top down and open to the world.  My car was closest to the polecat encounter and it smelled really, really bad.  I came home and immediately threw everything I was wearing into the washing machine because I can't get that smell out of my nose and who wants to chance the smell is actually on my clothes?

 So it's 11pm and I'm doing laundry, express wash.  Hopefully I'll get to sleep sometime before I have to get up to go to work tomorrow.  Eh, who needs sleep anyway?

If you haven't figured out what a polecat is, here's a hint...

 

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Imposter

Creative Guy and Adventure Boy are hanging out with me tonight.  I picked them up on my way home for work.  I hadn't gotten out of the car yet and Adventure Boy was asking me to come help them with whatever thing they were doing.  Eventually, after much confusion and talking and "come, look" moments, I rounded them up and headed for the car.  We were almost there when Adventure Boy looked at me and said "why are you wearing those girl clothes?".  Well, I am a girl...but I get the point.  He's used to the jeans and t-shirt Brittany.  The dressed down Brittany.  Not office girl.  I'm not used to her either.

The other day I was thinking I was looking good, had it altogether, looked down and realized that my shoes were falling apart.  Bought new ones and they looked like granny shoes...granny shoes my granny wouldn't even wear.  Bought a replacement pair and they look awesome in jeans (haven't tried them in work clothes) and make me 6 ft tall.  Literally.  I put an outfit together another morning, turned around to get the rear view and quickly decided a longer shirt was in order.  I.can't.win.  On the upside, the Office Coordinator for the building I work in told me how much she liked the sweaters I wear.  Tiny win.  And my hair hasn't been completely awful, well, after I went to my favorite hairstylist ever and said "Wash the gray out."  I am owning being my Grandma O's granddaughter.  I don't care if my hair is a different color each time you see me, just as long as it isn't completely gray yet.  Can't go there.

I feel like an imposter most days, which just further solidifies that while I'm doing what I'm doing for the moment, it's just not the right thing.   I'm not unhappy, just not settled.  Still wondering what God is up to.


Saturday, June 2, 2012

ANYWAY...

(From Mikey's Funnies...though it's not a "funny")

ANYWAY...

People are often unreasonable,
illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
People may accuse you
of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and
some true enemies;
Succeed anyway. People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis.
it is between you and God;
It is never between you and them anyway.