I'm tired

Get it? Tired? I just got a new set or tires on my car. Get it? You people have no sense of humor. . . Sigh. I also got new brakes in the front and an oil change. Hmmm. . . seems like I'm spending money as though I actually had some. Maybe some day I will.

I'm grateful for Trogdor the Burninator (20).

Ahh weather. . .

If you're reading this and you're in Michigan, I hope you went outside today for longer than it takes to travel between a car and a building. The weather here was exactly perfect by my standards, so perfect, in fact, that I actually left during the Tigers game to go for a walk and be out in the glorious goodness. During the walk, I came down the street that, when I was a kid, my family would walk down on the way back from a trip to Dairy Queen. So much has changed since then that I was surprised that one sight that should have changed hadn't. The house that always had kid toys (big wheels, miniature furniture, plastic slides, and whatnot) in front of it still had kid toys in front of it. Grandkids maybe? Or just a new owner? I don't know.

A little bit farther down the same street and the scent of dryer sheets reminded me of my gooddearfriend. I used to visit her on laundry nights, and the vent for her dryer blew out over the entrance to her apartment, so that scent will probably always be connected to her. It's strange how strongly scent is connected to memories. My sense of smell is probably about as bad as it can be, but still certain smells remind me of certain things. The smell of cedar reminds me of Christmas because the trunks my mom kept all the Christmas stuff in were cedar on the inside. . . I think. . . Maybe what I think cedar smells like is actually some totally different wood. . . Cigarette smoke reminds me of a crush I had in high school. Mildew reminds me of the first apartment I had because I never washed my one and only towel. And dryer sheets remind me of my gooddearfriend. Go figure. I'm sure there are more. But you get the point. Was there a point? Nah. Sometimes I digress just so I can use the word 'digress.'

I'm grateful for smells (20).

OhMyHolyMaryMotherOfWhatTheCrap

So today was pretty good. I slept in latelatelate. I ate donuts. I played with my niece and nephew. I played some online poker. I got a job. I ate pizza. I watched Last Comic Standing and Top Chef. And, did I mention that I got a job? Because I got a job! Igotajob! igotajobigotajobigotajob. I! GOT! A! JOB! igotajobigotajobigotajobigotajob. Breathe. . . I. . . breathe. . . got. . . breathe. . . a job. . . phew. Now that that's over I need to start looking for another job because this one is just part time and I'm not even sure how much I'm going to be paid. But it is a writing job. I am a writer. Actually, I'm a journalist. A sports journalist. Basically, it sounds like the majority of my work will consist of answering phones on high school game nights and getting the various scores and stats from the local teams and then doing quick little write-ups of the games. From time to time, though, the editor says he'll occasionally ask one of us to do a longer piece on some issue (like the big deal with girls' high school sports here in Michigan), some person, or a game that he'll have us attend. So cool. I'm a writer. I've actually got my first assignment. Next Wednesday I'm going to get the contact info for one of the area football coaches, and I'm supposed to do a preview of that coach's opening weekend game. The article will then run on Friday. Cool. Cool. Cool. I'm a writer. I am a writer. WRITER. WRITER. WRITER. Sorry. I just realized that this is the first time I've been able to say that and actually had a credential to back it up. Okay, so it is a part-time writing gig at a small-town newspaper. But that's more than I had yesterday.

I'm grateful for twinsissy who told me about the job posting in the first place (20).

Mr. Crabby Pants

I was in a bad mood today because I was hoping to know whether or not I had a job by now and whether I should start looking for an apartment in this town or intensify the job search and also we've had people staying here for a while and I've been sleeping on the spare bed and so my back has been sore since Sunday night and then this morning we had donuts and I love donuts but when I eat them I feel all sick and heavy in the stomach but I eat them anyway because I love donuts and then I couldn't take a shower because of something having to do with laundry and then people were taking showers and I wanted to take a shower because I'm two and I only want things that other people have but then I got distracted (I get distracted a lot) and didn't want a shower but then I did want a shower but couldn't have one because someone was taking a nap and then I went and pouted at my laptop for a while until I was notified that company would be over in a few minutes which was apparently the worst news I could ever hear because I was really upset that there was going to be company and I wasn't going to have showered and it was everyone else's fault that I couldn't get in the shower and I was completely blameless in my dirtydirty state but I did end up getting into the shower before the company got here so the world didn't end after all and then company stayed for quite a while and then z-man and I went to the driving range and I was really bad and there was some kid younger than my underwear hitting irons longer than I could hit a driver and I didn't like that and I drove home like I was in a bad mood and then when we got home I realized that someone had parked in my spot and that too was a tragedy beyond anything I should ever have to face and I drove like I was in an even worse mood and turned the wheel a little harder (maybe a lot harder) than I should have and ended up popping a tire on the curb and then my brother and z-man helped me to change the tire and it was easier than I thought it would be and went much quicker because of the help but how the heck am I going to pay for a new tire or a whole set of new tires actually because my old ones have been bad for longer than is prudent and then we ate dinner and it was really really good and all the nieces and nephews were around and the adults got to me more than the kids because there were so many don'tdothats and stopits all at once and then so much nothing during similar incidents but then there was dancing and it was fun with kids and grown-ups doing the chicken-dance to the music playing out of a cell phone and then there was fun disco music and laughing and dancing and singing and all around goodness and then the in-town niece and nephew went to their own house and I read books to Elephant and one of them was about interrupting and while I was reading it she said "Excuse me," because that's what the book says you're supposed to say if you need to interrupt someone so she said "Excuse me," and I said "What?" and she said "I love you lots and lots" and I said "Why thank you. I love you lots and lots plus one" and she said "I love you higher than space" and I thought "Why do I let myself get so crabby?" and then she went to bed and Granderson made an awesome diving catch in the bottom of the eighth and then I learned that white wine goes a lot better with donuts than most people would probably think and then Sheffield singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth and then Maggli-OH! and the Tigers won.

And now you know the (ir-)rationale behind my bad mood.

I'm grateful to have a forgiving family (20).

Um. . . okay. . . maybe I lied a bit

On Saturday I promised to have a story to tell today. Well, I have an unfinished story to tell. I thought I would be able to tell you that I either got or did not get a job at my hometown newspaper. Unfortunately, the man I was supposed to meet with had a family emergency, and our meeting has been postponed until Wednesday. However, I did get some good news on the matter. I'm not entirely clear what the job I'm seeking actually entails, as the posting was quite vague and the man I've been in contact with has been quite vaguer, and originally I thought it would be a crap gopher type of job, which I'm willing to do but was hoping for more. But now it sounds like the job is going to require at least some writing. So even if it is a crap writing job, it's still a real writing credential that I can put on my resume and use to get a good writing job if I'm not satisfied with this job. Wooohooo! I'm all atwitter with excitement. To make things even better, it's in the sports department, and I either follow or have followed at one point or another pretty much all of the major sports. Except NASCAR. But we all know that that doesn't really count anyway. So it's not only a writing job, it's a job writing about a subject I enjoy and am interested in. Did I mention Wooohooo? Because I meant to. I know I haven't gotten the job yet and that even if I do get the job, it won't be much or pay much to start with. But it is a start. And for me that's something.

I'm grateful for amazingsunnydays (20).

When children's games go wrong

Good God, no, Simon did not say to do that.

All the nieces and nephews gathered today, and, as kids that age tend to do, they went crazycrazycrazy. When a bunch of kids get together and hyper, it's fun watching the grown-ups try to figure out which of the things that the kids shouldn't be doing they're actually going to try to stop them from doing. They want to pound on the coffee table with wooden spoons and spatulas? Sure. They want to tackle each other then pile on top of one another? I'm sure they won't hurt each other too much. Even though there were a few times when I expected to see them walking around, chanting "Kill the pig!" I had a great time watching the madness.

However, when the tackling and wrestling got to be a bit much and the adults needed a little peace and quiet, I decided to play some Simon says. That worked for a few minutes. Until Simon said to give each other a big hug. Did I mention that a big hug is what had led to the tackling and wrestling in the first place? What was Simon thinking? 'OK kids. Now I want you to stop playing that game where you pretend like you're hugging when you're really trying to knock each other over. Instead, let's play this other game in which I tell you to hug.' Brilliant. It may be the first time in history when Simon has actually lost a game of Simon says.

I'm grateful for Wendy's salads (20).

Soon

I don't have much to write about from today. I should've done more. I can't make any promises about tomorrow. Monday, however, I should have something to write about. I'm not sure if it will be something good or something bad, but it will definitely be something.

I'm grateful the Tigers won one for a change (20).