My Year of Meaningful (2011)

Good LAWD, it's raining blessings!


So just as I was having a mental breakdown about squeezing 400 days of activities into 3 short weeks at home, organizing get-togethers in 5 minute blocks, disappointing people, double-booking and arguing with the Mr. over how much WORK (as in office work) we're probably going to have to do while we're on "vacation".... the heavens open up! A virtual isolated thunderstorm of awesomeness ensues, and all "hail" breaks loose (to paraphrase SC JT) with each fat coconut-sized ball of stupefying wonder going KONK on my head, I realize there's far more to be grateful for than I realize.... and why dont we all just quit the bitchin' and get to celebratin'!! Seriously it was enough to make me want to give myself a spanking for letting stress and nonsense take over.

First of all one of the things I was really starting to sweat was how we were going to get onto Manhattan from JFK when we're arriving before 8am and our 2 friends (KC and Xena) that we want to see during the day we're there both have to be at their respective places of employment at that time and both said "get a cab!" and so I say fine, and then find out... "what the what!? a cab is $45 one way!" (I seem to have to keep reminding people we are spending African bucks, here, meaning essentially everything gets multiplied by 10 for us). That cab also needs to take us back in the evening which means $90 which means before we've even been in the country for one day we've spent nearly a hundred bucks USD... this does not bode well for a 4-week holiday that includes multiple "incidentals" such as this ahead of us. Nevermind the whole part about "what's the story with baby seats in cabs in NYC these days".... And KC warned me about the shuttle taking 2 hours to get to Midtown as well as being notorious for some reasons or another, so we were basically looking at a public transport headache (with luggage) as our welcome wagon into the country.

But then the awesomeness... just another reminder that I sometimes need, that I do happen to befriend my friends for a reason (because they are great!) and that they aren't just ordinary yahoos that I haven't managed to ditch along the way.... KC emails me yesterday "I'm sending a car service to fetch you. Driver will be standing at arrivals with your last name on a card. Just go with that guy. He'll help with yur bags, the car will have a carseat for baby, and he'll bring you straight to my place", and that I must not even attempt to pay for it b/c she's already put it on her Mastercard. WOAH. How freakin awesome is that? That is called true McCartney treatment. And I'm talking McCartney as in STELLAR. All this after she was already leaving her key with her doorman for us so that even though she has to work that morning, we can get to her place, let ourselves in, shower, nap, re-group, re-charge, re-programme the baby and just relax and invite anyone else we want to see in NYC (only 1 other person, Xena, really) over, and come and go as we please until she gets off work. She's also already offered to stock her fridge with baby-friendly stuff like applesauce and yogurt (I didn't even ask) as well as diapers and wipes so that we wouldn't have to tap into whatever source we were packing. As well as leaving her membership card to the Central Park Zoo (which is within walking distance of her digs) so that we could see the exotic red pandas if we so desire. Notwithstanding the fact that I don't believe in zoos, I thought this was super sweet since she is not what I would call a baby person but was clearly thinking in kid-speak for our benefit.

Then there's Uncle Brandong who's packed me up a sweet ass care package that he's mailing to said NYC friend KC, that will contain my USA phone number and recharge card as well as his other Garmin! Fan mail waiting for me on KC's coffee table when we arrive - just like he did for me last time at SheofDC's place when we flew into DC. Crazy generous AND HOW!

Said Garmin of Uncle Brandong is going to help us once we land in KC and pick up the Bwuddaman's Jeep.... which brings me to bless-ed Mister Bwuddaman who as I already mentioned, got his gf to come and meet us at the KC (not the friend, the city) airport that night at 0-dark-thirty and drive us all the way across the greater KC metro area where we get free run of Bwuddaman's apartment as we require for that night and the next day since he's on a work trip.

There was also the issue of transportation running me down. As I had mentioned before, The Bwuddaman's GF (who again I don't know but who was kind enough to offer us use of her car for the whole 3 weeks and she would confiscate her dad's) had to politely withdraw her offer the other day because she had not been aware her sister was coming into town for the majority of th time we're there and had already called dibs on their dad's ride. So I was a bit bummed by that because the way we are back home, there is no way we can survive without a ride as we need to be here there and everywhere ALL THE TIME, and yet again we'd be looking at big time USD in order to rent a car for that long. And VOILA again with the storm of good fortune - the Bwuddaman steps in and says take my Jeep as long as you need it, I'll use a work car. Holy mother of sweet soft tops!! Now that's what you call a winning streak!

THEN one of my friends from back home that I haven't been able to make time to see on any of my trips back since what, 2002, sent me an email asking if it's ok for her to drive allllll the way up from the southern part of the state for an afternoon to see us and bring her 2 cute little girls along because they would all like to meet LJJ and see us. And she says she knows we're probably overbooked so any day we want she will make it happen. That means no driving down there for us (which we were considering doing because that town, SPFLD, is where about 5 of my friends live and it would be fun to see them all at once but DAMN how do I fit it in!?) which means -whew- a few extra hours of relaxation instead.

This followed by a FB message from another of my friends also in SPFLD who offered to also drive up and see us on another one of the free afternoons we have. That's 2 offers from 2 friends to drive an 8-hour round trip just to hang out with us for not even 1 whole day. I'm just shocked and humbled! Not to mention feeling light as a feather right about now because these are 2 people I really wanted to see and was truly suffering under the weight of how to possibly fit it in, and seeing virtually no possible way short of spending 12 hours on the road the day of my fambly reunion because the only day left open that we would be able to swing a road trip down south would be the day before that - meaning one long-ass haul up to the very northeast of the state, from the very southwest of the state, in one go.

Then I had a very auspicious skype conv. with my mother whom, I had been worrying about facing.... wait, make that DREADING... because I was certainly convinced she would have at least 900 expectations of our time and I was sure that this particular conversation would be where it all came out. But rather just the exact opposite occurred and she literally came right out and said the words "Look, I am not planning anything for you other than dinner with the F's on the 1st and the couple hours with the A's on the 4th. I just want you to know that." Wow. I just hope none of those lightning bolts of FANTASTICO didn't hit any of those flying pigs on the way down! Hell, she even encouraged me to leave the hospital where my Gramps is in KC early in the afternoon on the day after we arrive, (I was just SURE she was going to insist I spend the night there to look after the Gran) and come back to the hometown that day. What the...!?

So anyhoo, let it be said I am in top spirits about the upcoming holiday and no amount of work-work that I'm going to have to do (and The Mr. is going to have to do) is going to bring me down as clearly the powers that be are sending me all the signals that say it's all systems go for awesomeness. And the fact that I'm going to be busy hanging out with all of my friends every single day that I am back is NOT actually something to be afraid of stressing me out, it's something to look FORWARD to because let it be said that my amigos are FANTASTICO!!

Labels: mis amigos, trip planning

WOO HOO!!!

I have just finished working on a massive project that has taken up ALL my time for the last 2 weeks and lo and behold I JUST sent it off as the UNBELIEVABLE world cup game between the USA and Slovenia. Holy SHIT what a totally RIDICULOUS excuse for a referee... without going into an unnecessary re-cap, let's just say it was clear to the UNIVERSE that the final score shouldve been 2-3 (USA) but we drew, instead. whatever. we'll get through.

So anyway, I've been so bad at blogging lately I should just dispense with the pretty paragraphs and go with points of interest. So here goes.

1. I have been quite smitten with drinking Malibu coconut rum lately. Mmm. Malibu. With a dash of pineapple juice. Mmm. Still not as delicious as Frangelico with lime juice, but a VERY close second.
2. It is freezing freaking cold here in G-city these days. OMG I can hardly even get any work done when it's my day to work from home because it's so icy cold in my house. I'm making fires in the fireplace before noon every day and it STILL doesnt warm up. Travelling to the Ozarks in July is going to blow my head off.
3. Our trip to the World Cup game on Monday was awesome. I blew that freakin' vuvuzela for 90 minutes straight and still have the busted botox-lips to prove it. OUCHHHH. But we drank some beers with Brad & Michelle and watched a great game and enjoyed spending the night with Ma & Pa P. and it was all good. I didnt get to do any shopping though which sucks because that means I'm still out 1 pair of running shoes.
4. I would LOVE to know where the phrase "DRILL BABY DRILL" went after the Gulf Oil Spill. Freakin Sarah Pain-in-the-ass, where are you NOW?! I have it on good authority from an ex-oil man here that we work with that this freakin BP fiasco should have NEVER happened because every single offshore rig should be equipped with the gear that would've been able to shut this shit DOWN the minute it busted... but he catagorically states that he knows on good authority that they cut corners and that is sick. SICK I tell you.
5. Cannot wait to blow this popsicle stand in a couple weeks... and see all my peeps... and everything!!
6. At the moment I am waiting for The Mr. to get home with Indian takeaway that we will eat while watching MORE SOCCER! WHOO HOOOO!

OK now I cant remember what I set out to post, so I'll just have to re-visit this later.

OK I won't state the obvious (I'm swamped) because that will just put me in negative-complain mode, and we don't want that. But I am indeed having a very hard time keeping up the Spirit of 2010 these days as work has me bogged down, studying has me stressed out, and I have too many damn committments. Committments of all kinds, too. Even the ones including "try and keep yourself happy" committments that I'm not meeting, like "play fetch with the big dog for 10 minutes", "read a book", "invest in the mental stimulation of the 1-year-old", "check in with friends on the interwebs", "go for a run", etc etc.

Normally I would be thinking "how AWESOME is it that I have a 4-week vacation coming up" but now even THAT has got me in a fit of anxiety. I'm already finding myself struggling with the too many people/not enough time debacle that always gets me run down on these trips home... and already suffering other peoples' aggro because we clearly don't have enough time to do X, Y, and Z with people A, B, and C. UGH! I've just sent the cutthroat message to the fam that we are probably even going to miss one day of the reunion because I want to see my friends 3 hours away in SPFLD and there's only 1 day in my schedule left open so I have to just do it then. Waiting for the response...

I must just keep repeating my mantra that *I* am the one spending nearly 40 grand (in our money) to come back home for a few weeks and I will not be guilt-tripped and bullied into killing myself over other people's expectations. Yes, I know everyone wants to see Her Royal TheJoo-ness, but I'm about at the point now where I'm micro-scheduling entire days down to thirty-minute intervals and THAT IS JUST NOT FUN FOR ME. Compounding the problem is the Grandparents, mainly Grandpa who is officially on his death bed and I have recently accepted that this will catagorically be my last chance to see him EVER, so that means a lot of time spent in KC when at all possible. Not the best of circumstances but hey, he's the Gramps and I'm not going to be hassled out of spending time with him just because of people A, B, and C getting their feelings hurt. Unless they start Knockin' on Heaven's Door in the next couple weeks, they're just going to have to be understanding and sympathetic. And if they can't do that, what the hell good friends are they anyway, right? Damn, I know a lot of selfish-ass people!

When we first planned this trip, I knew it might be the "beginning" of the end for Gramps but incidents over the last 2 weeks alone have pretty much pressed the FF button on his life and his body has started literally collapsing on him, organ by organ. I pray that he's even there when we arrive at this point, the way it sounds. He's had about 5 surgeries in 2 weeks and my dad just told me that as of monday he's been moved into a skilled nursing unit and they've pretty much been told that he won't see the inside of he and Gran's house ever again. That makes me feel really sad, as does the fact that this will probably (unless it happens in a certain 3-week window) be the 3rd grandparent I've lost while overseas and not been able to be at the funeral for. Which means to this day I have still not actually attended the funeral of anyone I have ever known personally or even remotely cared about. That's pretty sad.

At this point the highlights of my trip back, so far as I can see them from here, is Adelly's trip to JC (BLESSINGS are upon me because she's friends with Brandon too which means we can all hang out TOGETHER and I don't have to bloody frickin teleport myself between friends scattered randomly across a 50mile radius, but obviously the smashing good times that lie in wait with that combination (B&A) will be stellar); and our 8-day trip to Vancouver to see Podgey, Rach, and Robyn and Abby... which is also a BLESSING because they're the only people i know in Vancouver so no more of this spreading-one's-self-too-thin rubbish. WITH built-in babysitter (that would be either Rach's mom or Robyn) WOO HOO!!

I'm still totally bummed about Dave's band's gig (the one I was going to sit in for) getting cancelled which means likely the only time we can get together and jam with The Garys is during the time my beloved Houstonian visitor is in town.... which, by the by now I find out is the ONLY weekend I have at home the whole time i'm back... how did that happen??? Where did these supposed "3 weeks" go?? But at least the bonus of the last week was that my pickin' fingers got a workout on Sunday when we had a giant winter stew-fest here at our place for all the Hashers after the Hash... Tom brought along his son who's a little younger than me and plays a mean guitar in a band back in Charleston, South Kackalackie (he was here visiting his 'rents) and I suckered him into trying his hand at some bluegrass and we had a mini-jam sesson in the living room here which, much to the delight of the Hashers loitering around eating their stew and drinking their beers, was the first time since Jeremy died that I actually got to play with someone. AWESOME. My poor, itching fingers.
Also last weekend we went to dinner with my Chinese Contractor boys who were in fine form and kept me in stitches for the whole of Friday night (in the back room of a chinese restaurant which so happens to be in a "dry" shopping complex but they provide us wine anyway because the Contractors are in bed with the Chinese Gov't and can pull some strings with just so much as a raised eyebrow.... uhhh, I dont want to know). That was fun times, and I was glad because I'm running low on fun times. Need more fun times.

And Thursday night we had The 2 Swedish Bachelors (our friends both of whose wifes are back in Sweden without them) over for dinner and I had slaved away a day in advance and made a delicious lasagne and then on the actual day managed to UNBELIEVABLY rush home and concoct a real Ceasar Salad (complete with coddled egg and anchovies in the dressing) and garlic bread and a bloody impressive trifle for dessert if I do say so myself. It was a really fun evening and also a damn good excuse to drink wine in the middle of the week.

Last weekend also was the monthly Farmers Market which we always go to and always see everyone we know there, so that was good times (and good food), yay. And the weekend before also saw me and my viola at Frau Meister's place with the Geriatric Quartet which I wish I could say was fun, but it wasnt. I haven't been practicing and FM got all preachy-teachy on me which I did not appreciate and I HATE BRAHMS which is all they wanted to play so that left me feeling totally unsatisfied and coming up with a good excuse to NOT have to play last weekend and this weekend. Well this weekend I DO have a good excuse because we're going to the World Cup game between NL & Denmark on Monday, meaning leaving Sunday.

OK there goes my self-imposed lunchbreak. Now back to the grind stone. BLEH.

Labels: trip planning

the self-imposed Internet embargo due to unusually insane workloads is cramping my style. I need a holiday and how. thank god I have the mother of all holidays coming up... 'cept that ain't helpin me getting all these billion things done!!! I feel list-making on the horizon. serious list making. uggghhh