I think I’ll remember my own LIFE

I am not what you would call a morning person…in fact…I’m probably the complete opposite.  I have to set 3-4 separate alarms in order to actually WAKE up in time to go work (and sometimes…even that fails).  However, I had to wake up at 6 in the freaking morning today (that actually required a 5th seldom used alarm method).  Now, usually if I’m waking up this early, it’s b/c I have a special project at work or a trial or something that I have to do at work that day.  So…that means I arrive at work around 6:45-7ish…allowing me to leave by 4ish.  But…that was NOT the case today.  Instead I had to drag my ass out to the west end and get a freaking oil change so I can drive home this weekend.  I didn’t even make it to work until almost 9:30.  Which means…I’m stuck here until 5:30ish! 

Ugh!  So not only did I have to drag my ass out of bed at an ungodly hour…I now have to stay at work even longer than normal!  This is not a happy situation.  And…I don’t want to hear from all you psychos that wake up at 6 on a normal day.  The only person who has an acceptable reason for waking up at this time is D…and that is simply b/c he has the commute from hell and takes super long to get to work.  (He may wake up earlier than 6…I’m not really sure).  And POSSIBLY those of you with small kids…however, I’m so all about leaving them in their cribs until 7 (OK not really…but jesus…that’s just one more reason not to have kids). 

Anyways, I am definitely bitchy mcbitch today…and I feel kind of sorry for anyone that has to talk to me for any reason.  And to make it even worse…I was attempting to just hide in the lab all day today figuring I could get a bunch of tests done and avoid all human contact…but they’re replacing the goddamn floor in the hallway by the lab.  And it’s the only hallway that leads to the lab…so I can’t get to it!  RAR! Instead…I’m sitting in my cubicle where people are actually coming and talking to me!  Gah!!! 

However, I did actually stand up for myself.  My oil changes are free if I get them at the dealer (which is the ONLY reason I drag my ass out to that side of town (it’s a good 40-45 minutes away) that early in the freaking morning)…but they tried to charge me for it today!  I was all ready to lay down the bitchiness and I asked…”isn’t it supposed to be free?” and the lady was like “Oh! you’re right…I’m so sorry”.  Sigh…she denied me my right to bitch.  But at least I got the oil change for free. 

I’m also finally getting my foot looked at next week.  Maybe they’ll have suggestions on how to walk/run like a normal person instead of on the outside edge of my foot. 

So that is what a normal footprint should look like.  You can see there is a small indent where the arch of your foot is…but you still have a large foot area that absorbs the shock when you step.

This is what MY footprint looks like.  Most of my weight hits the outside edge of my foot and very little weight is absorbed on my big toe side.  This starts to hurt…A LOT…when you are running for longer distances.  And it not only hurts the foot…it kind of spreads up through the shins and knees.  I would like this to stop. 

Even my special retarded feet running shoes aren’t helping.  And the pain is getting worse…so it will be getting looked at next week.  Hopefully I don’t need orthotics (or even worse…orthoepedic shoes!  How unattractive THAT would be!).  However, if they try and tell me I can’t run…I will be ignoring them until September. 

Yeah…anyways, bitchy mcbitch is signing off…

Ok…ok.  Stop your bitching.  I’m posting already.  Gah!  (Or…as my favorite blog person says…Stabby Stab!). 

Anyways, todays post is another cheese fest.  J and L were being mean to me today (as usual) but then decided my topic should be all about reasons I love them.  (blah blah bullshit blah).  However, I really don’t feel like dividing this into two separate posts…so…here we go…twice the love in half the space.  Or something like that.

L

• She bought a big tube of gumballs and left them unattended in her bedroom.  Yumm…(mumble mumble no gum here mumble).  Best gumballs ever.
• She braided my hair for me when she had time (and didn’t yell at me for crying…or try to give me a face lift at the same time).  What can I say?  I have a VERY sensitive scalp (actually…I sometimes feel like crying even now while getting my hair done). 
• She doesn’t mind feet and offers to give me pedicures (for free!).
• She tries to make me beautiful by trying to pluck my eyebrows (I don’t let her…but I know she cares).
• She pretty much ignored me growing up (which was good…I already had one older sister being mean to me)
• When I was in high school she lived at home (I think she was in law school?  I don’t remember) and I hung out with her more.  We went to the bookstore and the mall together all the time.  She was awesome.
• She always used to pay for me in high school and college (even when she had no money of her own).
• Whenever I had problems in college she was the first person I called for advice
• She stood up for me to my mom about basketball. 
• She thought J was torturing me when I knelt on the needle and came downstairs ready to kill her
• She saved the letters I wrote her when she was in college (maybe not ALL of them…but I know of at least one that was hysterical…that she shared with me a year ago). 
• She can’t do math to save her life.  And we won’t mention the dubious science knowledge either (I’ll always laugh at the balloon incident).
• She was fun to go running with
• She tied me to a chair with a jumprope when I was a kid.
• She’s a very fun, caring person that I know will always be willing to help me if she can and she is just amazing. 

J

• Big Baby/Little Baby.  Yeah…that’s really all I need to say about that one.
• She used to play Barbies with me all the time when I was younger.  But she always got to be Ellen…and I was always Dana.  She convinced me that Dana was a big loser and everyone liked Ellen better.  I FINALLY beat her to claiming Ellen one day…and she told me that Ellen was no longer cool and everyone now liked Dana.   
• She wrote me a really nice and sweet letter for confirmation.  I still have it.
• She posts comments on my blog!  I LOVE getting comments haha.
• She’s really fun to go on trips with.  We usually like the same type places so I don’t feel bored or anxious going to different places with her.
• She helped L tie to me to the chair.
• She was there when I knelt on the needle and tried to make me feel better and held my hand in the emergency room.
• She told me she liked hanging out with L more than me b/c they were closer in age.  (which is bullshit since we are all 4 years apart…but whatevers :-P)
• She’s fun to go running with (even though she hates it).
• She hated basketball as much as I did
• She likes the socks I make her and wears them proudly.
• She NEVER has tried to pluck my eyebrows.  However, she has done make-up for me when I was younger, and she used to try and get my hair to curl (it never did).  She also managed to get all my hair tangled up in a round brush…and then thought we would have to cut it all off to get it out. 
• She bought me fun alcoholic gifts when I was in college. 
• She’s a great beer-pong partner.
• She’s really smart and is good at math.  She ALSO knows that 13 x 13 = 13 squared = 169.
• She’s a really fun, caring person that I know will always be willing to help me if she can and she is just amazing

Both of my sisters are awesome and I’m very lucky to have them in my life.  I always hear all these stories about people that hate their siblings and I just can’t understand that.  I have two of the best sisters in the world and I consider them two of my best friends.  I can’t imagine what life would be like without them. 

Yeah…this title has absolutely nothing to do with the post.  It just made me smile so I decided to use it. 

Although I did find this DISGUSTING report that makes me want to just be sick.  I can’t even imagine the levels of perversion that have to be present to even THINK of doing something like this.  It’s so sad.  However, I am insanely confused how they managed to have 3 kids living with the grandparents…and they never thought to question where they came from???  So confused.

Anyways, moving on to happier things.  I finished the ugly socks…and oh my god they are even uglier than I thought they would be (I’m not sure how this is happier…but ok).  I’m pretty sure these are going to be tossed directly into the trashcan (not even pretending to donate them).  I guess we’ll see.  However, they were at least very quick to make so I don’t feel like I invested too much time into a crappy thing.  And, I started a different pair for J and these are LOVELY!  I want to keep them (I always say this…and then never do).  But yeah…I LOVE LOVE LOVE the colors and the pattern is so pretty (although I did mess up quite noticeably but didn’t catch it until like 20 rows later and I refused to go back and re-do those 20 rows…so there is just a big mistake in it) and these are much better and I feel redeemed as a sock maker again. 

I also managed to misplace my phones this weekend.  I swear I would lose my head if it wasn’t attached.  I basically had my cell phone on quiet (I turned it off in the library and forgot to turn it back on when I left), and then left the phone in the car and it fell under the seat.  Then, I still haven’t bothered to figure out how to turn the ringer of my regular phone back on (thank you very much Oscar!).  So, the base of my phone rings…but the receiver itself doesn’t.  So…I had no phone and no way to find either phone.  Ugh.  I finally found my regular phone under my bed (I had been on it the night before in bed and didn’t bother to hang it up after I was finished.  Then Oscar came along and felt the need to hide it…fucker).  Then, I finally found my cell phone under the car seat last night as I was searching for it in the rain.  Ugh.  I so need a freaking tether or something to attach all my belongings to so I stop losing them. 

And with all my non-communicating going on…I should have had no problem finding time to go running like I was supposed to.  But…I didn’t feel like it Saturday (I have a bad underpronating problem and it makes my feet hurt after running all week) and I had a weird chafing issue (thanks sports bras!)on my rib cage that caused a big open cut I wanted to rest, so I planned to do it in on Sunday instead.  And then I was a waste of space on Sunday…so that didn’t happen.  There’s also only 18 weeks left of training.  I feel like such a slacker (ok seriously S?  It was ONE freaking missed day…not that big a deal…and it was a freaking easy run that is only used as a recovery day.  But it just makes me feel guilty).  I think I’ve become obsessed with the training.  I hate it so much…yet I feel COMPELLED to do it simply b/c it’s written down in the schedule (and I want to be able to cross it off as complete).  Is this normal?  

Seriously.  My training schedule is all written out and put into an easy to read excel spreadsheet that has each day with a set number of miles or times I have to run.  And everday, I hi-lite the ones I completed.  However, now my Saturday can’t be hi-lited b/c I didn’t do it…so I’m going to have a random white box and all the rest (hopefully) will be orange and it’s just going to make me sad.  I’m such a fucking control freak when it comes to running and I don’t know why.  I’m not like this for ANYTHING else.  

Even worse control freak moments…it’s taken me this long to realize I don’t have to run the whole thing at one speed.  I can run 2 miles relatively easy at 11 min/mile, but beyond that I start to struggle.  However, I was trying to force myself to freaking run the entire 2.5-3 mile runs at the 11 min/mile and feeling like shit and just ready to die.  Then…I realized…wow…I can totally run the first 1.75 miles at 11 min/mile…and then slow down to about 11:30 or 12 min/miles for the rest of it.  SO much easier.  And I feel good running at this pace.  Why did this take me so long to comprehend?  B/c I’m a freak and I felt that if I started at one speed…I shold finish at one speed.  Idiot.  

Anyways, now that I’ve written a book about absolutely nothing…maybe I’ll go get some work done so I can go running afterwards.  (Gotta get my day hi-lited). 

 

So…I almost got shot and beaten yesterday.  Ok that may have been a slight exaggeration.  However…I really did have a scary incident take place and it totally freaked me out. 

This black guy with braids and in his 20s(?) was driving a VW jetta (I think) and it was that weird hatch-back type wagony type car style… (Does anyone know what I’m talking about?) with a missing front bumper.  (Ok…I gave these details so if anything happens to me you can totally give it to the cops).  Anyways, he’s totally driving like an asshole weaving in and out of traffic, straddling the line and cutting people off then randomly slowing down and speeding up.  He was just being an ass. 

He cut me off like 3 times and then kept getting over into the next lane to try and pass the car ahead of him but he kept getting stuck so he would then either jerk back over either in front or behind me.  He almost hit me like 10 times.  I finally just tried to move out of the lane he was in so he could just have it to himself…except as I had my blinker on and was halfway into the next lane…he sped up and totally tried to go around me in the same freaking lane…almost hitting me.  So I made a WTF gesture as he was driving by (it just happened…not on purpose…but I was freaked out from almost getting hit again). 

He sees me make this gesture and starts making it back then gives me the finger and then starts driving even worse.  He started just kind of circling my car like an asshole.  He would slow down REAL slow and get behind me then ride up on my ass and would suddenly change lanes and get in front and cut me off.  Ugh he was so obnoxious.  I could not get away from him.  I finally get to my exit and he follows me! 

He was still behind me when I got to the light at my complex still tagging (except now he’s on his cell phone so I’m all freaking out he’s calling back-up or finding out where I live or something).  Obviously I don’t go home at this point…so I go to the next light and go to turn into the shopping center (grocery store, gas station…lots of people outside) and he gets into the next lane over (it’s a double turn lane.  He goes into the left lane and I stayed in the right lane).  I was going to call the cops at this point, but then, I just waited for traffic to slow down and pulled back into traffic and watched him make a U-turn and I went to the next shopping center entrance and went in that way.  I didn’t see him again…but I was all freaked out he was going to know where I lived or something (maybe he has friends with access to my driving record and can look up my license plate…who knows).  So I ended up going the back way home and circled around the complex checking for his car before I went inside. 

I was convinced I was going to come outside this morning and find my car all beat up and such but it was ok.

So yeah…Virginia is full of INSANE people and I’m not such a fan right now. 

We have a new threat trying to terrorize Virginia.  The CATERPILLAR!  Oh my God these things are EVERYWHERE.  I’ve never seen so many at one time before…and I can’t even figure out where they’re all coming from!  I honestly don’t remember previous years having such a large infestation. 

I’m not kidding when I call it an infestation.  At work, you can’t walk more than two feet without seeing about 5 caterpillars.  There are dead caterpillars all over the place from people stepping on them and they are smeared all over the walkway.  Its disgusting.  And the parking lot is even worse from people running over them in their cars.  Disgusting!

Even the apartment complex is nasty.  Although the nastiest thing was the other day.  On Sunday we had torrential downpours off and on throughout the day.  During one of the breaks I took Oscar for his walk.  The sidewalks were flooded so we had to be careful where we walking.  (Ok seriously…Oscar would probably drown in a puddle he’s so short).  Anyways, I was looking down and there was this MOUND of dead catepillars.  I’m talking a serious mound.  It was at least 8 inches in diameter and about 4 inches high.  I have NO idea why they all just piled up like that.  I couldn’t tell if they had died in the storm and just kind of got swept away in the flooding waters and ended up in a pile like that…or if someone had killed them and piled them up for fun (the kids in the apt. complex are freaks) or what.  But it was so nasty looking. 

Seriously…the caterpillars are trying to take over. 

But don’t worry, I have Oscar to bark them into submission and he’s doing a fantastic job of it.  Last night was ridiculous.  There were 6 of them on the patio doors (can you really call that thing a patio?) and a few were on the cement pad outside the doors and he was scratching at the door barking hysterically trying to get at them.  He would not go away from them.  I finally went out and swept all of them off the door and off the porch and he still sat at the door growling quietly keeping guard until it got so dark out he couldn’t see.  Then, he would leave for a while and keep rechecking to make sure they didn’t come back.  What a freak. 

So…I finished J’s first sock last night and I am SOOO disappointed in how it came out.  It’s just ugly and retarded.  Sigh.  The cable pattern isn’t as elastic as most of the other patterns I’ve made…so once you’ve put it on your leg it kind of stays stretched rather than returning to the original shape.  The leg looks retardedly fat compared to the foot.  However, it’s not fat enough to stretch easily over the heel so it’s slightly difficult to get on (not so much that it feels like you’re going to rip it…just enough to be irritating).  And it’s just not as soft and comfortable as the other socks I’ve made.  I know a big part is the fact I had to use size 2 needles.  Usually I use 1 or 1.5 size needles…which makes the stitches smaller and closer together and it makes a softer cushiony type sock.  But the pattern called for a size 2…grrr. 
Ok…I made the sock sound horribly disfigured and it’s not.  In fact it actually looks cute once you put them on (although the colors were A LOT different than what I thought they would be).  It’s just not a great success like the other socks I’ve made.  So I’m disappointed.  I’m trying to decide if I even want to bother finishing the second sock.  Although, the more I think about it…the more I think having one random sock would annoy me more than having two ugly socks haha.  So…sadly…I think I have to finish them.  I guess I will finish them and just let J decide if she wants to keep them.  If not maybe I’ll donate them or something.  (I’m pretty sure they will annoy me so much that I won’t want to keep them).  I’m already planning a different pair for J.  So…these shouldn’t be too big a disappointment right? 

Anyways, I’m super excited for this weekend.  I plan to do nothing (well…I’ll do some cleaning in the bathroom and kitchen etc) but nothing major.  And a few books I’ve been wanting to read are coming out this weekend.  And it’s just going to be a nice relaxing weekend.  Woot!  Then, I’m taking a vacation in two weeks.  Super excited!  No work for an entire week! 

Speaking of work…I guess I had best go do some.  Sorry so boring today.

Today was a tutoring day.  Yay Tutoring Days!  However, I have realized I am terrified of the teachers at this school!  I can’t tell if the kids are really that bad thus forcing the teachers to be super mean…or if it’s more a case of the teachers being super mean so the kids just act back at them.  I’m completely serious!  M and I usually sit at the table in the hallway outside of the library (which I think is the 3rd grade hall).  The entire time we’re there all we hear is the teachers SCREAMING at the kids.  I swear they’re trying to scream them into submission.  I seriously flinched a few times from how loud they were being (the teachers…not the kids), and all I could think was if I was in that class…I’d come home crying everyday from being yelled at.  (I don’t handle people yelling at me very well…I cry very easily when that happens).  I didn’t think the kids were doing anything that really necessitated being screamed at like that (but then again, I couldn’t actually see what they were doing…but I suppose it is entirely possible they were being little beasts).  This school is also known for not having the best record when it comes to academics and even behavior (and it’s a freaking elementary school!).  I guess it’s a typical city school.  But I can’t help but wonder about the teachers.  Did they come into the school thinking they could make a difference and then became jaded by the kids which eventually led to them teaching by screaming?  Or was this the only place they could get a job and it made them bitter from the start.  Because seriously, screaming at them doesn’t seem to be working.  Maybe they should try something else. 

Hi Monday…I want my weekend back!

This weekend just FLEW by.  I think we need to start working 3 days a week and have 4 day weekends all the time (I don’t get enough work done in only two days…that is why I requested 3…).  Oooh…that would totally rock.  Just think of all the STUFF you could get done! 

Anyways, this past week was the first week I did EVERY single training day I was supposed to.  (Including Saturday!)  I’m usually a huge waste of space over the weekends and I’ve been having issues doing my training days on Saturdays and Sundays.  So I changed my schedule around a little bit and now I only have to run on Saturday.  I probably could have juggled it so that I had Sat and Sun both off…but later in the summer when I have to start doing my distance runs, I don’t really want to have to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to have enough time to run 10 miles and still get to work…so they will be done on Saturdays.  Anyways, way off tangent there.  As I was saying, I actually did all my training during the week and I actually woke up early on Saturday to go running before the concert we were going to!  I totally rock :-) 

Then we went to the chili cookoff.  It was basically just an outside “concert” with about 5-6 bands and some vendors and beer and stuff like that.  I only knew 1-2 songs from most of the bands there and dude…seriously.  They were all pretty shitty.  Puddle of Mudd was the headliner and they played the 3 songs I know by them as the first 3 songs.  I was trying to explain to my dad who they were…and the only lyrics I could remember was “I like the way you smack my ass”…which needless to say…my dad did not recognize.  However, the song always reminds me of sophomore year when JH used to sing that to me.  (I had some really odd roommates in college :-P).  Anyways, we ended up leaving after they played the 3 songs I knew in order to beat traffic.  But all in all it was a good time, and it was lovely weather so it was nice to be outside.  I also barely got burnt!  Which is a huge accomplishment for me.  I almost always burn no matter HOW much sunscreen I wear.  So yay me! 

Anyways, Sunday was a very rainy day.  (There were tornados all around the area…kind of crazy!).  So I spent the majority of the day on my couch trying to not kill my dog (Oh my GOD I HATE Oscar during thunderstorms).  Why can’t I have a normal dog that cowers in fear during storms?  No…I have to have the dog that gets scared so he tries to intimidate the thunder by barking hysterically at it!  JESUS!  I was literally wrestling him (contemplating sitting on him) to keep him quiet at times.  So annoying. 

However, in between wrestling matches, I managed to work on a pair of socks for my sister.  I finished L’s socks a few weeks ago (L - would you like me to mail them to you or just bring them to the Spag. dinner?).  I loved the pattern I used for L’s socks…but not a huge fan of how the yarn turned out with the pattern.  Although, L tried on the first finished one to make sure these actually fit and she was properly excited about them…so I decided to finish them and then I’ll just make her another pair with prettier yarn.  :-P.  Anyways, this is the pattern I used for her socks:

 

Now are these not an awesome pattern?  I think it’s a pattern that requires plain yarn to really look nice…so…as soon as I buy me some plain yarn (I totally don’t believe in plain yarn…it goes against my love of crazy yarn patterns) I will remake these socks. 

I also started another pair of socks for J.  (I swear I just give all my socks to her.  Usually, I start a pair for myself…but then get so sick of them after working on them for so long that I just want to get ride of them…and they usually get passed to her.)  Especially since L used to be like…I don’t want wool socks.  They’ll make my feet sweat.  Ha!  After trying on your socks I know you kicking yourself now :-P.  I guess from now on I’ll have to start rotating who I give the socks to. 

Anyways, I’m completely rambling today.  So as I said I started another pair of socks for J.  They’re really pretty.  The yarn is called “vino” and it’s a weird mix of colors but oy I love it!  How could anyone not love those colors?

 

Anyways, so I’m using that yarn to make these socks:

Ok…so last sappy post.  I just don’t want mom to get jealous and think I like daddy more than her

So…reasons I think my mom is awesome:

• She never told us annoying sayings whenever things weren’t going our way (aka like my father always did).  She at least understood the last thing you wanted to hear after making a mistake is “well that was dumb”. 
• She signed me up for sports at the age of 3 or 4, and continued to keep signing me up…even when all I did was go dig in the dirt with G.
• She was always willing to drive 45 minutes to drop me off at an hour long practice.
• She makes the nastiest food.  AKA “mexican casserole” which I’m pretty sure no self respecting Mexican would EVER eat. 
• She passed on her love for “crafting” to me.  I was the only five year old I know that was making my own barbie clothes and cross-stitching.  (Even though that barbie clothing eventually led to my knee’s demise).
• She saves the most random things that you don’t even realize you appreciated until 10 years later.  Like my instructions to make a salad.  Which is now saved in the family cookbook for all to openly mock. 
• She scrapbooks.  I have the best scrapbooks of all my trips b/c of her.  We all know I’m too lazy to actually organize stuff like that into a book.  My idea of a scrapbook is throwing pictures/pamphlets/etc into a box, so it’s awesome that I never have to actually make one of my own. 
• She told me I could bring “anyone” home with me and my parents would understand.  I’m pretty sure that meant she thought I was a lesbian and was trying to tell me its ok.  Just to set the record straight…really…I’m not.  But it’s nice to know she’d support me if I was. 
• She could always tell when I was rolling my eyes, even if I was two rooms away.  Such an annoying skill to have.
• She likes me the best.  Which was shown from all the crap I got away with as a kid (that my sister’s NEVER would have been able to do).  I remember the one even my DAD was freaking out about how angry mom would be with me when she got home.  And all she did was give me a hug and tell me not to do it again (all jaws hit the floor :-P).  I always knew I was the favorite :-P.
• She tried to make me not a slob.  She failed…but not for lack of trying.
• She would get angry at me for reading when I was kid.  (Granted…it was bedtime and all…but still…I was READING!)
• She clips wedding anouncements and other newspaper articles for people that I don’t always know and sends them to me in the mail.  It always makes me laugh. 
• She is TERRIBLE at breaking bad news.  Oh yeah…remember your friend from so and so?  Oh yeah…well they’re dead now.  Have a good day. 
• She saved my very first cross stitch I made her for a Christmas gift.  It hung in her sewing room for forever (I’m not sure if it’s still there now that she switched rooms).  This thing was seriously UGLY.  It looked like a blind person attempted to sew the pattern with no thought to whether or not colors matched.  It always makes me laugh when I see it hanging up for all to see.
• The really nice cross stitch I made and framed for her last christmas is still sitting in the plastic wrap and not hung up.  It’s nice to know her priorities :-P. 
• She ALWAYS talks about me to her friends.  Random people I haven’t talked to in about 10 years know all about the fact that I’m an ChE living in VA and I have a dog and other random things. 
• She never once tried to convince me I HAD to be an engineer.  When I was so unhappy at school she was the one to tell my dad that if I really wanted to switch schools, he HAD to let me.  She always just wanted me to do what I was happy doing (except when it came to basketball ;-P) and to not worry about any negative lectures from my dad. 
• She was sad that I was leaving NJ to come to VA, but she completely supported me and wanted me to do what I thought was best.
• She always wanted me to leave home after graduation.  That’s a good thing!  She didn’t want me to be dependent on them for the rest of my life.  She knew I needed to break out on my own and make my own person.  Thanks to her…I have. 

But the best thing about my mom is the same thing as my dad.  I know she loves me and would do anything in her power to help me. 

Ok…enough of this cheese…I’ll be back to my normal, bitchy posts next time :-P 

Ok…since my dad took a beating from my sisters and I yesterday…today I thought I would list some of the things that love about my dad, and makes me think my dad is an awesome dad.  Even the stuff that sounds mean or jerky…just makes me love my dad even more…so don’t be calling him names or anything.  He’s seriously awesome :-P. 

• Life isn’t fair, fair is what you pay to ride the bus.  I can’t even begin to count the number of times I heard that growing up.  All the races to our car where my dad would almost let me win, and then pick me up and put me down behind him so he would win.  Or when I was five and could just throw the basketball high enough to hit the basket…he totally rejected me and slammed the ball back down.  And all the other little trials and tribulations I faced because of this lesson. 
• You have to suffer if you want to sing the blues.  No matter how many times we tried to convince my dad we didn’t want to sing the blues…this would be his response to us being upset over trivial things.  I like to think from this I don’t sweat the small things and I’ve learned to deal with the bullshit life gives you.
• Well that was stupid.  NOBODY can make you feel dumber for a mistake than my dad.  However, it made me realize most mistakes I made were stupid, and didn’t have huge consequences, so just learn and move on.  I know if I ever make a really big mistake with huge consequences, my dad will be there for me (even if he does feel the need to point out how stupid I am :-P).
• He keeps a door-stop I made for him in first grade in his office.  (Well…he kept it in his office when he had an office…).  It is seriously ugly.  It’s made of an old tie stuffed with cotton batting and felt pieces glued on to be eyes and a tongue.  (Arts and Crafts class at St. C was kind of limited).  He also keeps a cup labelled “Daddy’s Red Pens” on his dresser.  Full of all colored pens.  These were the two gifts I gave my dad that I was most proud of.  So the fact that he kept these crappy gifts makes me happy. 
• He tells random facts about us to his friends and colleagues.  I remember one time I met my dad’s old boss.  And he knew that I had just finished taking my Thermo exam and worked at a flower store but was studying to be a ChE.  He also knew I lived in a house with 6 girls and wondered if I still played lax and ran. 
• He tells me I look like my sisters.  Especially after I get my hair cut.
• Growing up he always told me I could be anything I wanted.  I could be an underwater basketweaver if I wanted.  Then got angry at me for not wanting to be an engineer after graduating.  He spent an entire 2 1/2 hour drive lecturing me for wasting my education and that I wouldn’t make enough money.
• The DAY of my graduation he shows up at my apt with all my bills for that month and told me now that I had graduated I could begin paying for myself.  Totally pissed me off at the time (still kind of does thinking about it…but I get the lesson he was trying to teach).  Thanks dad.  (Even though technically those bills came while I was still a student…so they should totally have been his :-P)
• He never tried to talk to me out of moving to VA and coming to work for this evil company (even though he totally thought it was an awful idea).
• He let me live with him rent free and rarely had to pay for groceries for 6 months until I had saved enough money to get my own apartment. 
• He flat out told me that mom and he could never figure out my “style”.  J was the chic one, L was the elegant one (ok those weren’t the exact words they used but I can’t remember what they were…and I think that was close enough to what they said).  I was the unknown one. 
• He gives the meanest/funniest cards.  This has been passed down to all of us.
• He has the lamest sense of humor.  Again…passed down to the three of us.
• His teasing helped me gain a sense of humor about myself.  After all…they only tease you b/c they love you.

Seriously…I think the best thing about my dad is that I know he loves us and would do anything in his power to help us.