I think I’ll remember my own LIFE

I met Graham freshmen year of college when he lived a few doors down from me.  He was the only reason I passed physics freshmen year…and then I returned the favor sophomore year (somehow quantum physics TOTALLY made sense to me…when nothing else did).  And he was my favorite person to go hang out with when I was drunk and everyone else was annoying me.  He gave me my first set of Mardi Gras beads (let’s not think about how I would have gotten them).  He would distract Joel for me so I could read ahead in his calendar (Joel always hated it if people did that).  He saved the comics for me in the Daily Targum b/c he knew I was too lazy to get my own copy.  He always needed help with the crossword puzzles…but did them in ink anyway and would get annoyed when he couldn’t read the letters anymore.  He always tried to give me his bed if he thought I was too drunk to go home (however, he never changed his sheets so I usually just slept on the floor or his couch).  He was always so protective of all his friends and threatened to beat up someone he thought was taking advantage of me.  He even lent me his car to go to a concert down in Camden without him.  He was always willing to talk and had the most amazing sense of humor.  All in all…he was an amazing person. He was one of my best friends at Rutgers and I wish I had told him that more often. 

Recently, I started thinking about how after graduation we lost touch.  He never went online anymore, we never talked on the phone, but I always thought about him every few months wondering how he was doing, whether or not he was in Iraq or if he was even still in the service.  I even decided I should find his number and give him a call or send him an email…or just do something.

Apparently, I thought this too late.  Or maybe I thought it in time, but was just too lazy to do anything before now.  Today, I received a phone call from his aunt.  Graham shot himself on Thursday night.  I wish I had talked to him one more time.  Even now, just thinking of how amazing he was…I can’t even begin to understand why.  What did we all miss?  He always was so happy and caring and laughing.  What was so bad he didn’t feel like he could go on?    

I just needed to say goodbye to Graham on my own, since I never got to say it in person.   You were an amazing friend and I will always miss you.  I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to keep in touch (but I did think about you a lot) and I guess I’ll keep thinking about you.  I hope you’re at peace now. 

So apparently I spoke too soon when I was saying Valentine’s week was easy this year.  Apparently, when we’re slow, Stephen just finds more and more busy work for us to do.  I assume it makes him feel like he’s making money if we’re busy.  Anyways, I worked 12 hour days for the beginning of the week, and then that moved to 15 hour days towards the end of the week (still better than those 16-18 hour days I used to do).  It also finally got busy the afternoon before Valentine’s Day.  The phones were going crazy and we were all feeling insane attempting to answer them all.  Valentine’s Day itself was just insane.  I don’t even want to remember all the issues of that day…therefore it will never be spoken of again. 

However, today was awesome.  I left early (they were slow this morning so I saw no point in staying) and I went for some retail therapy.  I still had a gift certificate to AC Moore from Christmas (they don’t have those stores in Virginia which makes me sad…) and I bought yarn.  I love yarn.  LOVE LOVE LOVE buying yarn.  I actually bought some yarn to use for myself!  I bought this really pretty wool yarn with pinks and purples and it is so not a normal me colorway…but for some reason I HAD to own it and I decided it would make an awesome scarf.  So, I’m making myself a scarf haha.  I also bought some really pretty purple yarn that matches it perfectly to make into a hat and gloves.  Yarn is the best.  I always feel better after buying yarn.  :-)  (Yes…I AM a loser…and I don’t care…so there).

Then, I drove up to Weehawken and sat in the bookstore up there and just started knitting a scarf (after buying a book of course).  It was nice to not have anything important to do, nowhere to go, or anything like that.  I could just sit and knit myself a scarf.  (I actually got about a foot and a half of it done while sitting there).  Then, I met my aunt at her place and we went to the Turkish restaurant that I LOVE up here (although the yoghurt is kind of upsetting my stomach.  But it was completely worth it hehe)

Tomorrow we are going into the city and we’re going to go for some more retail therapy :-).  She wants to go to find some new bedding and we’re going to go check out a knitting cafe.  How cool is this?  They have yarn stores that have built in cafes were you can sit and drink and knit.  And they’re made for you to do that so nobody looks at you funny when you pull out your yarn and needles!  (like they did today at the bookstore haha).  I’m excited.  Not that I think we’ll really actually sit and knit but I’m always up for looking at yarn :-). 

However, I am now ready for bed.  Yay sleep! 

I don’t really have a lot to say today.  I’m so tired and sore from the flower station (I always forget how tired I am at the end of the day…even when I’m not working crazy hours).  This holiday has been great actually.  We used to have to work like 12 hours a day for 10 days straight.  I only had to work 8 hours yesterday and 9 hours yesterday (that’s like a normal day at work…it’s awesome).  However, the concrete floors are really taking a toll :-).  I stood up this morning after I woke up and I didn’t think my feet were going to hold me up haha.  And my hands are crazy dry from all the water and cut from the thorns. 

It’s interesting being back in New Jersey.  Whenever I’m in Virginia, I always miss being here.  Then I come here and get stuck in a traffic jam…and think…why do I miss it here?  But seriously…I do.  As much as I don’t like New Jersey…I secretly love it :-)  I guess it will always be home for me.  (As hard as that is for me to admit :-P).

Seriously…I think my brain has shut down.  I’m tired.  And cold.  And I just want to take a hot shower.  So…I’m going to go thaw out now.  And maybe actually go to bed at a decent time. 

OK…so I just had one of the most awkward and painful moments of my life.  This may fall under TMI…so just be warned :-P.  I was going to the bathroom and my calf got the worst cramp in the world and it moved up to my thigh (I’ve never had a cramp do that before)!  Now keep in mind, I’m still peeing, and gasping for air while trying to writhe around on the toilet without making a mess.  Oh glaven…that was completely not fun (yes…I DID say glaven…what’s your point?).  And…there were 3 other people in there.  They were like…are you ok?  And they wouldn’t leave until I came out of the stall b/c they were worried (I think they just wanted to know who the asshole was being all spazztastic).  I was so embarassed.  Why do these things always happen to me?  Seriously…who did I piss off in a previous life that takes such pleasure in mocking me in this one?  I am now going to go cower under my desk and hide in embarassment haha. 

But in happier news…I finished the second sock.  I can finally mail out the two pairs!  Woohoo!  (I won’t even begin to discuss why I was able to finish it this morning from 9-11:30 AM…ugh).  I think they both look pretty good and Krissie said last night she likes the pattern…so hopefully Sue will as well and they fit my fat feet…so I’m pretty sure they should fit Sue Not that I think Sue has fat feet…ugh I’m just goign to shut up now. Anyways, the important thing is that both pairs of the socks are done, they should fit, and I never have to look at that yarn again :-).   And that makes me very happy haha. 

However, since I was crazy late to work today…I have a lot of work to do.  So…I’m off to do a new schedule and maybe massage my leg some more :-).

If you are going to have sex in a parking lot…DON’T TURN YOUR CAR RADIO ALL THE WAY UP (unless of course you’re into having people watch you).  I’m just sayin…

OK - random contest.  The majority of my blog titles comes from one source (not all of them…just a lot of them).  Whoever is the first to guess correctly wins a fun prize (and seriously…some of them are super obvious).  Ok I lied, the prize probably won’t be fun, but maybe I’ll make you something (like a hat or a small item of your choice) or I’ll get you a small g/c to Starbucks or something (your choice).  So polls are open

On a completely different note, I had forgotten how much I enjoy people watching in airports.  Last night at Charlotte I was so tired of knitting, I didn’t feel like attempting to boot up my laptop in the 20 minutes I had before boarding the plane, so I just sat and watched the people in the terminal.  There was one guy randomly crawling on the floor (he was using his laptop and needed to keep it plugged in at the same time he was trying to get service on his cell phone).  The really weird thing is that people just kind of walked around him and it didn’t even phase them to see him doing this.  This is apparently now the normal way to act in an airport?  Then, there was this guy who randomly broke into an air guitar solo (A hairband song from the 80s was playing in the terminal at the time…but I can’t remember which song).  He got really into it.  It was super amusing to watch.  Then there were all the people listening to their headphones and kind of moving in time to the music only they could hear, and the nervous people who would sit down for about a second, jump up and pace, then sit back down again for a second and jump back up.  I had almost forgotten how entertaining people can be.

Then, on the plane there was even more fun!  There was a guy sitting two rows ahead of me who was in a branch of service (I feel like he said Navy…but I’m not sure) who was flying back from Iraq.  Apparently he had been flying for about 40 hours and was exhausted and still had one more flight to go after this one was finished.  Anyways, there was this super annoying girl a few rows up.  She was really loud and had a super shrill voice and the most obnoxious laugh (it reminded me of the Joker in the Batman with Michael Keaton.  The one at the end after the voicebox has broken and it’s all shrill and messed up).  He was trying to sleep and the girl would just randomly break into obnoxious, loud laughter and then say something really loud.  Finally, near the end of the flight he broke.  He basically told her to shut the fuck up and that nobody wanted to hear her.  He completely went off on how annoying she is and that she needs to learn to keep her mouth shut in public (ok, he was completely rude and didn’t need to be quite so mean, but it was still amusing, and everyone around us was trying so hard not to laugh…she really was annoying).  The lady sitting next to me (also originally from New Jersey and a huge Eagles fan) and I decided that he had to be from New Jersey.  Nobody else we know would have the balls to say something like that out loud :-).  

On a happy note, I am almost finished with the second sock to make up for the retarded no heel sock.  All I have left to finish is the foot part and toes (about 50 rows).  It should be pretty quick.  If I don’t finish it tonight, definitely by tomorrow.  :-)  Finally!  Can’t wait to get rid of these suckers :-P. 

Hopefully I’m finished with traveling to Indiana for a while…these one day there and back trips are getting to be exhausting!

So I currently sitting in the Indianapolis airport and it is absolutely freezing!  (It doesn’t really help I’m sitting right below a vent and it is totally blowing out cold air…brrr).  They claim our flight is on time, but I’m not sure how much I actually believe that.  the weather here is horribly foggy and rainy and every other flight has been delayed so far…so I assume ours will be as well. 

However, at least our trip this time was eventful and useful.  We had a meeting with a bunch of different vendors (we’re trying to set up an outside pilot plant and we’re needing a bunch of different suppliers and people we’re borrowing the space from…etc).  However, I have never really done any type of project like this before, so it’s been a little interesting trying to figure out what is going on and what still needs to be figured out.  So this meeting was actually kind of interesting seeing all the different aspects that need to be acounted for before production can begin.  The only really bad thing is the timeline we have.  It’s completely ridiculous and it’s being driven by people that no idea what is involved and it frustrates me to no end that they are the ones in charge.  We’re basically installing temporary equipment for a week and a half until the new stuff comes in.  However, the stupid thing is that the extra week and a half we have the temporary equipment…we can’t actually run anything…so we’re basically installing it for no reason.  stupid stupid.  I just get very frustrated hearing this. 

Ok…I am seriously freezing right now.  I kind of wish I enjoyed knitting scarves or blankets b/c then I would at least have some warm knitting to wrap myself up in…sigh.

Maybe I’ll go for a walk…

So, I arrived in Indianapolis without too many issues (slightly bumpy and foggy flights…but nothing I couldn’t deal with :-)).  So all is well.  I’m actually sitting in my hotel room right now waiting to go meet Dave for dinner.  Apparently we are going to an Afghan restaurant.  I always find it kind of weird that they have Afghan/Ethiopian/etc type of restaurants.  I mean, I was reading in the news the other day about how the people in those countries are so hungry they are resorting to eating the dirt.  That does not sound 5-star cuisine to me…but hey…what do I know.  Apparently the food here is really good and Dave is super excited to go…so who am I to hold him back? 

I have also come to the conclusion that there is something about airports and airplanes that make people completely forget the concept of personal space and just regular politeness.  At both airports I had people walking behind me literally up my butt.  And they would try to pass and would hit me with their bags and just keep on running and pretend they didn’t just do it.  Now, I wasn’t walking slow (although apparently they thought I was), and I was walking off to the side so that I would be out of the way of people.  There is seriously no reason to act like that.  Especially if the rest of the hallway is wide open!!!  Just walk in the middle and go around me.  Idiots.  I was so annoyed.  Then the guy in the seat next to me was a complete ass.  He definitely had long legs so I could see how it would suck to be him in the seat…but seriously…there was no reason to sprawl out his legs into MY seat.  I asked him politely to please move his legs and he just kept putting them back.  It was so obnoxious.  I had actually contemplated offering him the aisle seat but he just pissed me off so much I kept it.  And I think I may have stabbed his leg with a knitting needle (I swear it was an accident…he just got in the way).  Then, he was one of those people that put the seat back during takeoff and landing.  The flight attendent asked him to put the seat up, and he waited till she walked away and put it back down.  Same thing with his I-Phone.  I don’t get it.  I mean, yeah, it’s annoying to do that crap…but seriously…we all have to do it.  It’s not like they are singling you out.  Just deal with it.  It’s like 15 minutes at most and I find it so rude.  It’s like he thinks he’s better than everyone else on the plane and the rules just don’t apply to him.  (If anyone does this please don’t tell me (and stop!) because I seriously find it to be so obnoxious and rude and just disrespectful). 

I have now stepped down from my soapbox.  And it is dinner time. 

So I checked into my flight today and actually managed to get a seat (it is entirely possible that about 4 other people will have the same seat…but that’s ok.  I have a seat).  And it’s actually a really good seat.  Woohoo! 

I actually finished the sock I started on Saturday (seriously…quite possible the fastest sock pattern ever!) and even started the second one (I have only finished the cuff…but hopefully I will get a lot of knitting done on the plane).  Then all I have to do is SOAK (SOAK is a weird laundry detergent that you should use on hand dyed yarns that helps clean the yarn and sets the colors so they don’t run in the wash) the two pairs and let them dry…then I can mail them off to their recipients and forget all about the awful socks.  I don’t know what was wrong with the yarn or whatever, but they seriously just did NOT want to be made into socks.  It was such a struggle all along.  I don’t think I’ll ever buy another skein of that yarn (which kind of stinks b/c the yarn quality is actually really good…it’s one of the more popular brands).  However, once I finish this pair I will hopefully finish my sister’s socks (with the fat ankles :-P) then I plan to make my other sister another pair since her feet are apparently larger than I thought?  (Lisa - what size shoe do you wear and can you measure the circumference of your foot?)  I already have the perfect yarn picked out and wound into a ball.  I just need to find a fun pattern.  I may actually remake the first pair of socks I ever made (I really liked that pattern and it’s stretchy enough to fit comfortably even if your foot is bigger than the pattern like mine).   

I’m not really sure what else I want to write right now, however, I’m sure I’ll get bored at some point in the airport today and update the post again.  :-)  I really hate traveling right now haha. 

I slept like a freaking rock last night (I’ve decided that logs are not inanimate enough for me…and rocks mean I slept deeper.)  I really have no idea what I’m talking about…I just don’t like to say sleeping like a log or like a baby…so rock it is.  Even Oscar waking me up early to take him out had no effect on me.  I just went right back to sleep and crashed until about 11:30 (ugh waking up tomorrow is going to suck). 

I’m going to be pretty busy today.  I need to pack for my trip to Indiana, and I need to drop Oscar off at Rebecca’s (again…he’s beginning to think I hate him…) and I need to attempt to finish the new sock I started yesterday morning.  I have apparently found the easiest pattern ever b/c this sock is crazy fast!  It usually takes about a week to finish a sock (unless I am working on it completely non-stop) and I’m already halfway finished this one and I only worked on it for a few hours yesterday.  Actually I think I may be more than halfway finished.  If I can finish this one today, maybe I can manage to finish the other one on the plane and then I mail it off (yay Sue!).  I think it’s pretty…hope she agrees.

I’m also starving (and completely craving a sausage egg and cheese on a croissant from Dunkin Donuts).  I’m trying to decide if I’m going to splurge and let myself eat one today (it hasn’t been a month since my last one), or if I’m going to follow my once a month rule and eat something else instead.  Oh decisions decisions.  As much as I love the fact they built one right down the road…why did they have to build one right down the road?  Every weekend I wake up wanting one.  So bad.  I’m thinking I probably shouldn’t eat it b/c I know when I go up to Jersey in two weeks I’ll probably be eating it for breakfast (it’s the only thing close to where I’ll be).  Sigh.  Yogurt it is. 

Anyways, super hungry.  So I am off to eat my boring yogurt instead of my breakfast sandwich :-(