Snow, no Show, yes Snow!!

Oh My Gawd!! I used to hate the snow when I had to shovel it!! hahaha Now I just drive over it!! I'm sure my neighbor who I share a drive way with hates it even more now that I'm not out there plowing the shared part with my mower. Ah well, after blowing up the engine in the last one and then not getting any help from them, fug 'em... *I* and now Frannie can get up the hill in our 4wd toys... pshshshsh

Seriously though. Now I know what all those jeep drivers were thinking while I was white knuckling it home in the snow. I had a nice enjoyable ride home from work, taking my time, not worried if I was going to slip and slide or get stuck. (I took it easy and didn't get cocky, but there is something to driving a vehicle that was designed to handle those situations!)

The real key though (knock wood) is to actually get out of the neighborhood tomorrow. lol That hill is just plain treacherous!! After that, it's pretty much clear sailing. So like Frannie said, if I can get out of the neighborhood, every payment I've made on this vehicle is well worth it!

So yeah, buy a Jeep... they're awesome!

R

The thing we least think of... well most of us - Listen Up!

I was having some conversations lately and was reminded of a little thought about (I presume) but very important thing. Listening to others and letting them know what you think.

A lot of times, we hear what our friends and colleagues are saying, but are we listening to what is being said and sometimes more importantly, what is not being said. I spend a lot of my time listening to people. I tend to be a bit quieter at times and fade to the background, but when I do that, I get to really listen to what's going on around me. You'd be amazed at what is happening and what is being said that you actually tune out or are in too much of a hurry to insert your comments to actually comprehend what is being said around and to you.

Sometimes I guess it's easier not to listen, sometimes it is more important to get your information out there... but you'll have a much more receptive audience if you remember that in order for people to want to have an interest in what you are saying, you have to take an interest in what they are saying.

Besides, how can you really be friends with someone if you never really listen to what they have to say? It's common sense and common courtesy!

R

Why is it...

Why is it that people say one thing but mean another? I'm not talking about normal run of the mill people that you meet and interact with. That's a given. No, I'm talking about people that you've become friends with either at work or not. People with which you've grown to a point that you can confide in them, know them and understand one another with just the briefest of statements. Talking about friends.

It's amazing the number and degrees involved in the "friendship" circles. Close friends, best friends, friends, friends friends and more... it's dizzying and can get confusing. I may be at a disadvantage in this game of friendship as I tend to not make friends, (well close friends - see what I mean?) very easily. I have no problem with work friends, acquaintance friends, friends, friends friends, etc. It seems to be the close friends and best friends areas that tend to mess me up.

Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm the one with the twisted sensibilities and uncommon levels of what, dunno. See to me, I'm normal. I know, right?! Well, that's to be expected. It's just the way it is, we all see normal as a reflection of ourselves. I can even recognize that and in most cases don't have a problem with it. It's just when a friend moves from the good friend alignment to the close or best friend alignment that it becomes an issue.

BTW, how does that happen? It's a mutual thing right? I mean you can't just move someone from one alignment to another without their consent can you? I guess you could, but then they really wouldn't know, would they? And with that in mind, do they need to be told, or is it just an understood kind of thing? lol

So what was I saying? Oh yeah, why do people say one thing and mean another? Is it a using type thing? Do best friends and close friends do this normally? Or is it reserved for the "other" alignments of friends? (shrug) Dunno... I always like people to know where I stand, so I tend to tell them and even with all the different levels of friends, I am more of a 'this is the way it is' kind of person. So, yeah, maybe it is me. Again, Dunno...

Colds....

Gawd I hate colds... Not the flu or something serious you know (well hate those too!) but these lil niggling colds that linger. It really sucks to watch your partner/spouse/S.O. suffer through one of those stinkers, knowing you're next!! UGH!

Then they show up... you wake with that "hang over" feeling of stuffiness, the slight cough that doesn't do anything and the back of the eyes soreness that tells you, yeah, it got ya! Ewwww

You know that on Thursday (if today is Tuesday) that you'll be feeling good again, but just knowing that you have to dive into the Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine (which isn't as good as it used to be) just to get through with a modicum of energy really sucks the big one...

Of course you still have to go to work. That's our society, don't miss work for anything... which means that you are going to spread the damn thing to everyone that you come into contact with... The one sneaky thing about colds though is that usually, by the time the symptoms show up, you're either past the contagious stage or right at the end anyway, so it's already out there.

Yes, I woke up with the symptoms today. ICK Ahhh well, I'll be good by Thursday. lol

Have a great day... C-ya

R

Pulling it out...

OMG!! NO, not like that... Ewww lmao Any...way...

No, seriously, don't you hate having to pull each sentence out of someone? You know, all those null conversational gambits that you have to use. i.e.

them: I was thinking (pause)
me: yeah? (ok, technically not a null bit here)
them: Well the other day (pause)
me: umhmm (null warning)
them: remember that we were over so and so's and we started talking about spring? (pause)
me: (supressing scream) yeah
them: well, how about....

That may not be a really good example, but it's the best off the top of my head... but you know what I mean, right? Grrrrr! That just so annoys me. Say what you have to say and let's move on!

Oh and it gets worse if you put it in the text message arena... Gah!

K, that was my rant for the day. Thank you so much for listening!!

R

Oh and I was thinking... (big pause) lmao!

More shorts...

Well, let's see what's happened recently... Got my current tags and changed insurance on the Harley (yes, still no name) But she's running well and took her out in the neighborhood to terrorize the locals! lol Nice power, great pick up and she just wants to wheelie up when I press her!! (grin) 'course, shouldn't be doing too much of that as I haven't changed the tires yet and still need to rebuild the back brakes which don't work at the moment... lol Yes, it's fun stopping a harley with compression and the front brake... NOT!

Chris and Mis had their baby last weekend, a fine healthy boy. (He - Albert - looks just like Chris without any facial hair!) They're both doing well and should be home by now.

I've been running the shop for the last couple days, on my own which is cool.(well the occasional phone call for pricing and what not...) lol but it has been fun if tiring. Had my second interview with Starbucks yesterday, that went well I think and we'll see if they can use me this coming Friday. Not sure what that will do to my free time, but we'll see how it goes.

K, that's it for now... see you again soon.

R

Chilly Mornings

The weekend ended well even with all the drama (See Fran's blog {Deepwood Art} - link to the right). Helped out a bud with his "S.O.'s" van, at least the first part of it. Got to help out the guys at CR Wings with a computer issue that I overheard they were having and got to kind of sleep in on my second day off with minor interruptions (See Fran's blog again!) lol

It's a nice chilly gray morning, should warm up a bit, but I think the freezing weather is over... but you know how Maryland is. Anyway, turning on the water and I'm going to squirt down the vehicles today. Get all the build up of sludge off. I may even go for a ride if it gets warmer and stays dry!

Short entries are fun aren't they?!? lol

Cya next time...

Waiting...

Why do we always seem to wait on things? Sure, there are some out there that are always gung-ho and running from A to B, but for the most part it seems that waiting is the norm... We wait for better weather, we wait for a pay raise, we wait for the right time or circumstances.

I suppose it's easier to wait. I know I'm less stressed if I wait on things to come along. (Isn't that like going with the flow?) But sometimes, you just can't seem to wait. The waiting itself causes stress and makes time slow down. (Christmas morning, mail order items, a visit from a friend or relative, etc) I'm not saying it's bad to wait, but I do think that too much waiting is a bad thing.

There are times when you need to just stop waiting and take action. Waiting for things to get better in your life, waiting for that last pound to drop. These are things that you can help along. I hear people say all the time, 'If only...' or 'I wish...' that's bad waiting in my book.

I'm kind of a laid back person. I like to hang out, enjoy my time and pretty much take things as they come unless there is something I want or need. Then I act. At this point, you're probably saying that you do too, right? But do you really? I know sometimes I think I'm acting, but in reality, I just changed the parameters or my waiting. My mom used to tell me when I was growing up, "If it is to be, it's up to me". I love that little phrase, but as life moves on I find that I don't follow it as often as I think I do. It's easy to fool yourself into thinking that the things you are doing are proactive and not reactive.

It might be age or experience, maybe just plain old "meh", I don't really know. I just know that it's there and it's real. I do think however, if we as a people, took a more active role in getting what we want or making our lives into the way we want them, there would be a whole lot less whining in the world.

So, what does all the above mean? To you? To me? Dunno, lol but it was what I was thinking about this morning and I'm sure I'll be pondering on it all day long...

Hope you will too!