It’s funny the things one thinks about during the long bouts of insomnia between two and four a.m. Of course lately it has been minute and ridiculous wedding details such as napkin rings and program ribbons (one of which woke me up in a cold sweat Saturday night) but other forms of randomness also work their way into my foggy barely-consciousness:
- Do we have bedbugs? I don’t think we have bedbugs, but something like 90% of people who DO have bedbugs don’t know it. This invariably leads to me grabbing my cell phone to use as a covert lighting source and searching under the blankets for tiny creatures while my love snores peacefully next to me.
- Is that the ghetto-bird I hear overhead? I really want to move, however moving sucks and is very expensive. I also really want a baby, but those suckers are even more expensive.
- If we ever had twins would being twice as happy outweigh being twice as tired? Is it better to be exhausted all at once, or over two different children’s infant stages?
- Why don’t Catholics believe in eternal marriage? If the boy and I make it to heaven I still want to be his wife.
- How do the sparkles in my lip gloss end up all over Corey’s face just from a quick hello kiss? He always looks like he skipped lunch to collect samples of stripper dust.
- How much damask is too much damask when it comes to wedding décor?
- Does Bobbi Brown seriously think that laid off corporate drones can afford to spend $42 on eyeliner?
- Why, when the entire world has joined the healthy eating/green living/animal rights movements, is it still so damn impossible for me to find a vegetarian Lean Cuisine in the frozen foods section of Safeway?
I’ve also taken to creating running lists in my head of all the wedding-related tasks I must accomplish in the next 47 days. Eleventy gagillion tissue paper pomanders must be made. A parasol, an aisle runner, and a tablecloth must be painted with our monogram. Five Manzanita centerpieces must be fitted into bases, adorned with crystals, and shellacked within an inch of their little branchy lives. I must find ties for the Best Man, my Dad, and my brother that match the shade of burgundy I have so carefully tinted in my mind. I cannot afford to import the gorgeous hand-dyed silk ties that I found online from India for $10,000,000 Rupees even though I have no real idea how much that is.
The boy and I have finally come to an agreement on how large our emergency fund must be before we start trying to conceive our first little bundle of joy, and the figure astounds me. How did it come to pass that in two generations what could purchase a house outright is now what one must save just for a rainy day? No matter how many coupons I cut, if I want a baby before I start to deal with the crippling pain of arthritis I’m going to have to find another job. Oh, and the guilt of being laid off has surprised me. I find myself apologizing for it repeatedly although I know that #1- It isn’t my fault, and #2 - Corey would never hold it against me even if it was my fault. This guilt was compounded when the boy decided last week to trade in his elephant sized 4x4 for something that gets more than 2 miles to the gallon and doesn’t take half a month’s salary to insure. This was his last tie to bachelorhood and his one true love before me and watching the boy say goodbye to his beloved truck broke my heart. I cling to the idea that when we both get to heaven I will be sitting shotgun (with an English Bulldog in my lap) in a two ton pickup that I needed a ladder to get into while the radio blasts Hank Williams and my husband runs over all the girly cars in his way. Good thing we’re not Catholic.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Love survey
I don’t normally use my blog for things like this, but what the heck?
♥ What are your middle names? Marie and Michael (we will have the same initials)
♥ How long have you been together? Married? 2 years together – married in 49 days!
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? We had been introduced several months earlier, but didn’t really have a conversation beyond, “Hey, how’s it going?” until our first date.
♥ Who asked who out? A mutual friend of ours suggested I come over and hang out. I didn’t know it was a double date until later.
♥ How old are each of you? I’m 27 (ugh) and he’s 29.
♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? Definitely mine. My brother lives across town and his siblings live across the country.
♥ Do you have any children together? Not yet, but we’re definitely looking forward to being parents!
♥ What about pets? We don’t really have the right setup for a puppy right now, but sooner or later the urge to get an English Bulldog will win out.
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? My health problems.
♥ Did you go to the same school? Nope. U of Arizona and U of Tennessee.
♥ Are you from the same home town? Negative. Although they were both small and everybody was in your business so I’d say they were similar.
♥ Who is the smartest? Depends on the subject.
♥ Who is the most sensitive? Me. I cry. I cry a lot.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? I’m guessing our most frequent stop is Subway, but if we’re talking about a real live restaurant I’d say Coup des Tartes.
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Tennessee is the furthest we’ve gone so far.
♥ Who has the craziest exes? I’ve got one nutjob of an ex that’s unbeatable!
♥ Who has the worst temper? Neither of us have too much of a temper, but he’s definitely more laid back than I am.
♥ Who does the cooking? Me, of course. Sometimes I can get him to flip things or chop them though.
♥ Who is more social? Separate we’re each fairly social, but together we end up like cave-dwelling hermit people. I guess we just like each other’s company.
♥ Who is the neat-freak? While we both aspire to be neat-freaks, the clutter in our house has triumphed over us recently.
♥ Who is the more stubborn? Me. We’ve had contests.
♥ Who hogs the bed? He does. But to be fair, I sleep for about 2 hours each night so it doesn’t bother me too much.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? We wake up at the same time, but I dawdle in bed for a bit longer than he does.
♥ Where was your first date? Buca di Beppo and a terrible movie.
♥ Who has the bigger family? He’s got a ginormous family!.
♥ Do you get flowers often? Often enough that I feel spoiled, but not so often that it’s no longer special.
♥ How do you spend the holidays? We generally spend holidays with my family since they are closer, but we try to split things up when we can.
♥ Who is more jealous? I am, by a mile.
♥ How long did it take to get serious? Ten minutes. Or, more accurately 245 cell phone hours while in different places. Thank you US Air Force.
♥ Who eats more? Corey can eat his weight in pizza. But, if it’s a veggie eating contest I think I could take him.
♥ Who does/ did the laundry? We’re pretty equal with housework. Whoever has more time at home does it.
♥ Who’s better with the computer? I am, since I sit in front of it ten hours a day.
♥ Who drives when you are together? Usually him, which is nerve-wracking since directions befuddle the boy. I will admit that the GPS has helped the situation.
♥ What are your middle names? Marie and Michael (we will have the same initials)
♥ How long have you been together? Married? 2 years together – married in 49 days!
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? We had been introduced several months earlier, but didn’t really have a conversation beyond, “Hey, how’s it going?” until our first date.
♥ Who asked who out? A mutual friend of ours suggested I come over and hang out. I didn’t know it was a double date until later.
♥ How old are each of you? I’m 27 (ugh) and he’s 29.
♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? Definitely mine. My brother lives across town and his siblings live across the country.
♥ Do you have any children together? Not yet, but we’re definitely looking forward to being parents!
♥ What about pets? We don’t really have the right setup for a puppy right now, but sooner or later the urge to get an English Bulldog will win out.
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? My health problems.
♥ Did you go to the same school? Nope. U of Arizona and U of Tennessee.
♥ Are you from the same home town? Negative. Although they were both small and everybody was in your business so I’d say they were similar.
♥ Who is the smartest? Depends on the subject.
♥ Who is the most sensitive? Me. I cry. I cry a lot.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? I’m guessing our most frequent stop is Subway, but if we’re talking about a real live restaurant I’d say Coup des Tartes.
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Tennessee is the furthest we’ve gone so far.
♥ Who has the craziest exes? I’ve got one nutjob of an ex that’s unbeatable!
♥ Who has the worst temper? Neither of us have too much of a temper, but he’s definitely more laid back than I am.
♥ Who does the cooking? Me, of course. Sometimes I can get him to flip things or chop them though.
♥ Who is more social? Separate we’re each fairly social, but together we end up like cave-dwelling hermit people. I guess we just like each other’s company.
♥ Who is the neat-freak? While we both aspire to be neat-freaks, the clutter in our house has triumphed over us recently.
♥ Who is the more stubborn? Me. We’ve had contests.
♥ Who hogs the bed? He does. But to be fair, I sleep for about 2 hours each night so it doesn’t bother me too much.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? We wake up at the same time, but I dawdle in bed for a bit longer than he does.
♥ Where was your first date? Buca di Beppo and a terrible movie.
♥ Who has the bigger family? He’s got a ginormous family!.
♥ Do you get flowers often? Often enough that I feel spoiled, but not so often that it’s no longer special.
♥ How do you spend the holidays? We generally spend holidays with my family since they are closer, but we try to split things up when we can.
♥ Who is more jealous? I am, by a mile.
♥ How long did it take to get serious? Ten minutes. Or, more accurately 245 cell phone hours while in different places. Thank you US Air Force.
♥ Who eats more? Corey can eat his weight in pizza. But, if it’s a veggie eating contest I think I could take him.
♥ Who does/ did the laundry? We’re pretty equal with housework. Whoever has more time at home does it.
♥ Who’s better with the computer? I am, since I sit in front of it ten hours a day.
♥ Who drives when you are together? Usually him, which is nerve-wracking since directions befuddle the boy. I will admit that the GPS has helped the situation.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Changes in Attitude
The boy won. It doesn't happen very often, therefore I will ask for a moment of silence so you all can appreciate the levity of the situation.
...
Okay, that's good enough - he didn't win the lottery or anything.
What he did win was the argument that had been ongoing in our house since I found out my job has been extinguished. I wanted to scrap the wedding plans, cut our losses, and take off to Vegas with my parents while Corey wanted to go on with everything as planned. I argued that if we saved the money we planned to spend on the wedding, our lives wouldn't have to change at all in the interim between my old job and finding a new one. We could still eat at amazing restaurants, plan an abundant honeymoon, and shoe shop with abandon (okay, that's maybe not so much of a "we" thing, but you get the picture).
He argued that if we didn't have the wedding we'd been planning for months, I would regret it. And, as hard as it is to say, he is right.
So, we are now powering on. With two months left until our wedding there are pomanders to be made, aisle runners to be monogrammed, and pocketsquares to be sewn. I have a crisis with the centerpieces, and frustrations with envelope liners, but I will persist.
From this point on I am delving back into my wedding plans with reckless abandon and embracing the stress that comes with being a bride a mere 65 days away from her dream wedding.
It's true that when we write all of our checks and add everything up we won't have as much in our savings accounts as we would have had we run off and eloped, but I guess that's what you save for in the first place: to spend it.
Besides, all that brie and caviar was making it next to impossible to lose that ten pounds that every bride must effort to lose before her white gown is zipped up for the last time. Now that I think of it, this layoff may be a blessing in disguise.
...
Okay, that's good enough - he didn't win the lottery or anything.
What he did win was the argument that had been ongoing in our house since I found out my job has been extinguished. I wanted to scrap the wedding plans, cut our losses, and take off to Vegas with my parents while Corey wanted to go on with everything as planned. I argued that if we saved the money we planned to spend on the wedding, our lives wouldn't have to change at all in the interim between my old job and finding a new one. We could still eat at amazing restaurants, plan an abundant honeymoon, and shoe shop with abandon (okay, that's maybe not so much of a "we" thing, but you get the picture).
He argued that if we didn't have the wedding we'd been planning for months, I would regret it. And, as hard as it is to say, he is right.
So, we are now powering on. With two months left until our wedding there are pomanders to be made, aisle runners to be monogrammed, and pocketsquares to be sewn. I have a crisis with the centerpieces, and frustrations with envelope liners, but I will persist.
From this point on I am delving back into my wedding plans with reckless abandon and embracing the stress that comes with being a bride a mere 65 days away from her dream wedding.
It's true that when we write all of our checks and add everything up we won't have as much in our savings accounts as we would have had we run off and eloped, but I guess that's what you save for in the first place: to spend it.
Besides, all that brie and caviar was making it next to impossible to lose that ten pounds that every bride must effort to lose before her white gown is zipped up for the last time. Now that I think of it, this layoff may be a blessing in disguise.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
I need a stimulus
I wrote this entry last week, but postponed posting it on the off chance that my job quandary was resolved and I was by now happily working away in a new(old) position. Unfortunately, I have the same amount of information, stability and happiness today regarding my employment as I did last Thursday so here is my update on the situation.
I have never interviewed for a job I didn’t get. But, there’s a first for everything, right?
Yesterday I sat awkwardly in a conference room with two people I trained (one of whom would be my boss – ugh), an HR representative, and a person that I clearly couldn’t stand when I was there and who judging by their facial expressions shows the same disdain for me.
“Tell us about a time you had a professional problem and how you overcame it,” they ask.
I want to stand on my chair and shout, “I could do this job in my sleep and pretty much did for a year which is why I was promoted, so let’s just use this time to get me up to speed on things and you can send the other interviewees home.”
Instead I say something I vaguely remember reading about in a pamphlet from high school FBLA mock interviews about patience, and preparedness, and determination. We move on.
This awkwardness goes on for another 20 minutes with the tension now clinging to the walls and the ceiling like smoke from burning bacon and I’m glancing continuously at my blackberry not only because it keeps going off and I can’t understand why I’m in such high demand if they don’t need my position anymore, but also because the clock is there and I’m counting the seconds of silence while they all take notes on me.
Finally, they ask if I have any questions for them (I do not) and thank me for coming in, like I just answered their ad from the classifieds. Unfortunately, I still had business to do in the building, and with one of the people in the interview, so I had to wait downstairs for them to finish talking about me and my ‘skill set’. Twenty minutes later they emerged and the only one that would make eye contact with me is the one I needed to meet with regarding a marketing matter.
I’m going to throw up.
Then, using my amateur sleuthing skills I find out that there are at least three other internal applicants, one who happens to have been with the company for a substantially longer duration than I, and again I feel nauseous.
When the situation was fist presented to me my old position was tied up in a pretty package with a cute little bow and put on my desk like a consolation prize. “We don’t want to lose you so we’ve figured out a solution,” they said.
Then the explanation that even though they had this position for me I would basically have to ‘mock interview’ for it because of HR laws of equal rights. That eventually made its way to the position actually being posted to other applicants and suddenly I was going to have to prove to employees that I literally TRAINED this spring that I could do my old job.
Seriously?
So…anyone need a private chef?
I have never interviewed for a job I didn’t get. But, there’s a first for everything, right?
Yesterday I sat awkwardly in a conference room with two people I trained (one of whom would be my boss – ugh), an HR representative, and a person that I clearly couldn’t stand when I was there and who judging by their facial expressions shows the same disdain for me.
“Tell us about a time you had a professional problem and how you overcame it,” they ask.
I want to stand on my chair and shout, “I could do this job in my sleep and pretty much did for a year which is why I was promoted, so let’s just use this time to get me up to speed on things and you can send the other interviewees home.”
Instead I say something I vaguely remember reading about in a pamphlet from high school FBLA mock interviews about patience, and preparedness, and determination. We move on.
This awkwardness goes on for another 20 minutes with the tension now clinging to the walls and the ceiling like smoke from burning bacon and I’m glancing continuously at my blackberry not only because it keeps going off and I can’t understand why I’m in such high demand if they don’t need my position anymore, but also because the clock is there and I’m counting the seconds of silence while they all take notes on me.
Finally, they ask if I have any questions for them (I do not) and thank me for coming in, like I just answered their ad from the classifieds. Unfortunately, I still had business to do in the building, and with one of the people in the interview, so I had to wait downstairs for them to finish talking about me and my ‘skill set’. Twenty minutes later they emerged and the only one that would make eye contact with me is the one I needed to meet with regarding a marketing matter.
I’m going to throw up.
Then, using my amateur sleuthing skills I find out that there are at least three other internal applicants, one who happens to have been with the company for a substantially longer duration than I, and again I feel nauseous.
When the situation was fist presented to me my old position was tied up in a pretty package with a cute little bow and put on my desk like a consolation prize. “We don’t want to lose you so we’ve figured out a solution,” they said.
Then the explanation that even though they had this position for me I would basically have to ‘mock interview’ for it because of HR laws of equal rights. That eventually made its way to the position actually being posted to other applicants and suddenly I was going to have to prove to employees that I literally TRAINED this spring that I could do my old job.
Seriously?
So…anyone need a private chef?
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