Stream of Consciousness Post

-Today my new best friend, Ann at the DMV, allowed me to get my car registered and plated without quite the right document. She did warn me that the IRS might ask for the exact document later on, in which case I should respond. I generally think that responding to the IRS is in my best interest and therefore something I'm likely to do, even without prompting from a gracious public employee. In any case, I prayed for favor before I went in, and I feel quite sure that God decided to acquiesce.

-Does everyone know the word "acquiesce" strictly from its use in Pirates of the Caribbean? Cause I do.

-I had to look up the spelling of the word "acquiesce". French-influenced spelling is dumb.

-It's 9:20pm, and right now I'm listening to loud talking and a loud movie from my neighbor's apartment. I think they have to talk loud cause they have the volume on the 'ol boob tube cranked up so high. On the one hand, I want to go tell them to put a lid on it. On the other, I'm quite happy in the knowledge that there's no mentally unstable person over there, about to come beat on my door and ask me to keep it down.

-One of the side benefits of having things stored in a shed for six years is that it gives you a whole new understand of what mildew can grow on. Wood. Paper. Of course, cloth. Plastic. Yep. Did you know that? Cause I certainly did not know that mildew was capable of surviving a non-porous surface like plastic. Please feel free to believe me and not find out through personal experience. The experience route is gross and a little stinky. Or esteenky, as we would say in spanglish. Eez no good.

-And speaking of Spanish, the guy getting his registration next to me had brought in his bi-lingual translator (aka, his brother or nephew or something), which I enjoyed listening to. In my current world, the foreign language that most often surrounds me is Arabic. Know how much Arabic I know? Here are all the Arabic words that I know:

-After my miraculous procurement of shiny new IL plates, I of course put them on Estelle (my new Honda CR-V) immediately. Well, both because they are pleasingly shiny AND because my temporary plates expire tomorrow. Anyway, in the end I made three trips up and down to my third floor apartment in the process. One for a screwdriver. Another trip for a smaller screwdriver (spatial reasoning is not a strong suite of mine). And finally a third trip for a set of wrenches. Now, how much sense does it make for the dealership to affix the front plate with screws and the back one with bolts? Exactly. None whatsoever.

-My first (and so far, only) DeKalb friend is a Greek woman named Mata. Mata is delightful. She's 57 and here by herself until her hubby finishes closing up shop in Greece and moves here next year. The other day we were driving home from somewhere and I was telling her about how I've really enjoyed discovering the joy of Greek yogurt. I turned to Mata and said, "I just want to thank you personally for Greek yogurt." With a straight face, she replied without missing a beat, in her My-Big-Fat-Greek-Wedding accent, "No problem." I like Mata.

-In reading something online today I ran across the phrase, "tempest in a teapot". It means when something little gets blown up into something big, like making a mountain out of a molehill. I like this phrase. It's very pleasing to the ears.

-Someone next door is singing now. Maybe 'singing' is too generous a term. I hope this isn't going to be a common event. I'm going to find my earplugs and go to bed. 'Night!

Boo for Alone

I know, I know. It's been EONS since I wrote. Practically a decade. You have been neglected, my cyber friend, and you deserve an explanation. Here's why I haven't been writing:

-I didn't have anything to say

-I got a new job and moved three states away and lived in a hotel for a week and then doubted my decision and almost had a nervous breakdown but then after much prayer and a lack of other feasible options decided to stay and hope the job works out. Then I had to find an apartment and start the new job and move in with the help of my awesome family and now I'm about to start my third week of the job and I have several hours of free time in a row for the first time since I left Ohio.

The second reason might be more significant than the first. After all, I don't really have all that much to say now, either, but since I had some time, I thought I'd write anyway.

Even before I moved to take this job, I was worried about being lonely. I hate being lonely, which is a shame cause I'm real good at it. I do it well, and I'm fast. I can get lonely in, ummm, maybe 2 hours. Pretty good, right?

But as I said, I don't like to be lonely. I know that, when they are trying (unsuccessfully) to be helpful, sometimes people tell me, "You can be lonely when you're with people, too." And this is true. But it has been my experience that I'm lonely a LOT more when I'm NOT with people than when I AM with people.

It's been nice that since I've been here I've had visitors three times, and I've gone to visit friends once. But tonight, as my sister drove away from my apartment, I realized something.

Visitors are great. I mean, really awesome. But the bad part about visitors is that they leave. No matter how long they can stay, or how much fun you have with them, they have to leave. And then I'm back to my previous state of aloneness.

I don't want my normal state to be alone. I'm tired of alone. I want people. For better or for worse, I want people. To say hi to. To recap my day with. To share funny student stories with. To eat with. To divide chores with. To watch movies with. To make plans with. I want to share life with people. Life is better shared, don't you think?

Boo for alone.