Happy Monday!

Good morning from Vietnam!

6:30a.m. That little group of people was doing something to the nets.

I woke early today and went to the beach earlier than usual, so I'm taking time to write an extra post. I'll take my "nghi trua" today, to make up for rising early. (That's Vietnamese for siesta. Except it's not, because I don't know how to add the diacriticals on my computer. There should be a hook over the i, and a mark on the u, too.)

Saturday night was the finale of the International Fireworks Competition: Italy vs. the USA. No idea who won or how to check it. For my part, the Americans were the better show, but I saw a video of the Italian show, and a lot of theirs were lower than the buildings, so we missed them.

waiting for the show to start.

Just a couple of shots. Fireworks don't make great photos. But you get the idea of our view. Most of Da Nang is fairly low-lying.

Next weekend, the Dragon Bridge!

Just for grins and giggles, this amused me. I was too early for most places, but I thought surely the 24-hr convenience store could sell me a can of iced coffee.

Do you think "24-hour" means something different here?
Of course, it is equally possible that this shop went out of business over the weekend.

How was your weekend?

Hodgepodge Beyond the Sea

...Beyond the South China Sea, to be specific.
Today I'm participating in the Wednesday Hodgepodge, which has a New Jersey theme on the homepage. I feel I need to clarify that because my answers may seem off-topic. If you'd care to join me in this blog-hop, click the link below the picture.

Click Here

1. Security or freedom? Can you have both? Explain.
Yes. I just moved from a country with tightly restricted freedoms, and I felt I had to look over my shoulder all the time, and speak in hushed tones just to state an opinion. Very oppressive. I feel much more secure when I am free to speak my mind and go where I want without showing my passport.

2. If you could visit any historical American site what would it be? Why?
Now that I live in Vietnam, I intend to take one of the "American War Tours" offered by certain tourism groups. Maybe the DMZ, if there's anything to that anymore. Also, the northernmost US military base from that war is just north of me, and I believe it is maintained as a museum of sorts. Probably all of that.
 
3. Free as a bird, free reign, be free of, free enterprise, free trip, walk away scot free, free for all...which 'free' phrase can best be applied to your life in recent days or weeks? Explain.
"Free as a bird" or "Free from the daily grind". I am not working right now, and although I'm slowly laying groundwork to start my own business, this tropical lifestyle suits me just fine! Even the work I do,or hope to do, will be done on my own time.

4. Something in your fridge that's red? Something in your house that's white? Something in your view that's blue?
Sting Soda. So help me, God, I love this stuff. It's strawberry, not cherry, and slightly tart.


All the bedding is white. Not my choice. We have a furnished apartment.
 

I look out the window at buildings painted shades of blue, green and yellow. It's such a sweet change from the grey of Beijing!
 


5. July 27th is National New Jersey Day. Have you ever visited The Garden State? If so where did you go? Are there diners where you live? Have you tried Taylor Pork Roll? Do you like to play Monopoly? Salt water taffy-yay or nay? How do you feel about shopping at the mall? Springsteen, Sinatra, or Bon Jovi-you have to pick one.

I HAVE visited the Garden State several times. When I lived in PA, one of my good friends was from there and we went to her parents' house one time. Then I lived in Delaware, and my best friend is from northern Jersey. We stayed with her folks once or twice on jaunts into NYC. Plus, because I was in Lewes, DE, I took the ferry over to Cape May several times. That's a cute resort town. 

No American-style diners here in DaNang that I know of, but many corner restaurants, inside and out. Never heard of Taylor Pork Roll, and I don't eat pork anyway. I think the last time I played Monopoly was when I was stranded in a snowstorm in New Hampshire, maybe 10 years ago? I'm not great at Monopoly. I'm not cutthroat enough.

I can take or leave Salt water taffy, but I often took it as gifts when visiting the midwest. If it's around, I'll eat it, but I don't love it.

Not a fan of malls, but in Asian cities, they make it convenient for us expats!

I gotta pick Bon Jovi. After all, I'm Livin' on a Prayer!


6. Insert your own random thought here.

There will be no Hodgepodge next week on the 4th. That makes me think of July 4ths as an American expat. When I was a kid in Sri Lanka, the US consulate or embassy (I can't remember if we had an embassy there back then) would host a big, traditional cookout with hotdogs, hamburgers, Budweiser and Coke - all luxuries. They'd have a fireworks display after dark.
As a teen in Taiwan, there would usually be some get together with other expats, but I don't recall fireworks.
The last two 4ths, in Beijing - nothing. It's just a day on the calendar.
Here in Da Nang, by coincidence the finale of the International Fireworks Festival will be this Saturday. I will count that my 4th of July celebration for this year!

The Fireworks Festival, as seen from the rooftop terrace of our building.

The Difference a Year Makes

Happy Anniversary to me! 

We have officially been living in China for one year, as of yesterday. 

I meant to post yesterday, but I spent the day in a recording studio 2 hours away, making videos for an online class teaching rhymes and crafts to little kids - making English fun and practical, and not just textbook knowledge. It's a pretty sweet gig; I won't lie. What a difference a year makes!

My view from the makeup room

I've learned to look at these projects from a totally new perspective:

I'm just the on-air talent.
I'm the trained monkey.

I have little say in the script or the crafts, except for the fact that I'm the one doing them. But it was kind of fun stepping back from my typical helpful "let me get that" attitude. You do your thing. I'll do mine.

No more teaching for me, not even drama. I wrote a Christmas play for a private facility, but the jury is out on how involved I'll be with that. What a difference a year makes.

Mandarin homework

We are learning the language - almost 200 characters so far, plus words made up of them, plus spoken words and sentences that we haven't learned characters for yet. Well, we've been taught that many, but how many I actually know is debatable. Anyway, it's a start.

We are stable enough to order in food and pay for it. I am looking to Ikea for ways to increase our limited amount of space in the apartment.

We're definitely in a better place than when we first arrived, and it is fall again: The Golden Season in Beijing. That means all the giant-sized fruits that were available when we arrived are coming back.

Life is just life now. We know where to find things we need, and if we are freezing before the heat gets turned on in November (like last year) we can at least afford to buy another blanket!

Things are still often unpredictable. We found a great place for reflexology foot massages, but half the time I go there, they are closed! I cannot figure out their hours. And the way holidays work here throws Brett off almost monthly.

On the whole, things are better than a year ago. Still, for me, the jury is out on this as a potential long-term home. 

Happy Birthday to Me!

No. No. It's not yet. Please don't state the typical birthday wishes that facebook has us posting to people whose birthdays we would never know if they didn't announce them on social media.

Ever since... adulthood, basically! ... I have declined to celebrate my birthday, or even tell people when it is. My best friend was at one time my boss, and knew my birthday from my new-hire paperwork, so she always says something. My best friend from high school, and a roommate from college, both know my birthday and usually send me a private message through facebook messenger.

I simply don't see the celebration. I didn't do anything to deserve praise or accolades. Birthday? My mom did all the work: celebrate her!

When I started dating Brett I told him I "don't do" my birthday. When I arrived at his house on the fateful day, he gave me a kiss, looked me in the eye and said, "You're sure you don't want a gift?" I said no. He said, "Because I didn't even get a back up gift 'in case'." Everyone told him that no woman wants her birthday ignored. They urged him to get a backup gift, but he took me at my word.

I was so honored that he trusted me over his friends. About me. Who his friends did not know.

ANYWAY. This year, after a long and difficult winter/spring, and recurring/lingering depression, it has occurred to me that merely surviving another year of existence in this treacherous thing called "life" is an achievement of its own. This past year of life has been more difficult than I expected and Damn it! I deserve praise for being alive! 

I still won't post my birth-date on social media, because if you don't know when it is, I don't want the flood of empty wishes. I admit that I give social media birthday wishes, largely so that I don't stand out as "why didn't she say anything" but I'm getting away from doing that. 


I have a summer birthday, so I have informed Brett that this year I intend to do something to celebrate. I even told him what my preferred gift would be. He married a woman who doesn't do birthdays, and I'm changing the game. The least I can do is make it easy!

The Aftermath

I survived!
Like I said before, I wasn't worried that I would NOT survive, just stressed about the event itself.

The dinner I'm referring to happened, what, 3 weeks ago? I'm lax in my writing. Sorry.

It started badly. I shot right by the restaurant, even with my GPS...the signage was all on the other side, on a one-way street. So I was running late now, having to navigate the stupid one-way downtown streets. Almost hyperventilating. But I prevented myself from crying, thankfully.

I arrived later than I intended, but earlier than the guests. One coworker was there,  and the Founder Of The Firm! Oops. He was actually a big help. I think we're bonding. 

And I really think most people are more flexible about time than I am, so no sweat.

People came in, I gave them nametags and explained about the wine (bottles of red were out, but they had to ask for the white, which was still on the chill). Once I was behind my little greeter table, I was quite comfortable, and would have been happy to stay there until I left. But my boss arrived, schmoozed some clients a bit, and came by to check who hadn't arrived, declared they wouldn't be there, and pointed me to a seat between two clients' wives.

Oy. Socializing.
I survived. More than that, I was hailed as the organizer of the event! And both big bosses thanked me for all my hard work. (awww...)

When I felt done, and thought everyone was comfortable with the scenario, I excused myself to my boss, who gave some final instructions, and I left.

The weight of the world was off my shoulders.

Next day, at work, my boss offers me a gift card to this restaurant. Apparently they made a deal to get 2 or 3 gift cards, since we were giving them HUGE business, and everyone felt I earned one of them.

I'm very grateful for that. It is a great restaurant for Brett - a Brazilian steakhouse where the meat just keeps coming. But I don't eat red meat, so $50 a plate is too much for me to spend on a salad bar and a couple pieces of chicken. Now, I get to take him to a fancy restaurant that I would never go to otherwise!

I'm so excited.

We have reservations for this weekend.

He just got *another* 100% on his last class, so we're celebrating that.
And Also? It will be the 1 1/2 year anniversary of the day we met. AWWW!

Guest Posting and What's Up in Iowa

Dudes! I survived the weekend road-trip with my parents!

Actually, I'm not even really here to say that. Adam, AKA DJTrain over at The Train's Whistle was given the Kreativ Blogger Award, and suggested I write it as a guest post. Woot-woot! My first guest post! I have to say, not only did I have fun with it, I think it's some of my best - and indeed most creative - writing so far. Go check it out HERE! (and while you're there be sure to read some of his earlier stuff. It's pretty cool.)

Since I wrote a full post already, I'm just going to share some photos from this weekend's trip, and call it a day. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words!
(I'm including an extra special bonus)

First, to catch you up in general. Last week on Thursday I went out to watch Brett's softball game. I brought along homemade peanut-butter cookies, and before heading to the game...

...we spread them with Nutella, satisfying the debate happening over on Rusty's blog.

yes, there are milk chocolate chips in some of them. I like to experiment.

At the game, I was commissioned to write for The Train's Whistle, as I linked to above.

Here he is: the man, the myth, the Coach DJTrain!

On Friday, my parents, my aunt, and I headed off towards Iowa.

The Amana Colonies are an Amish community in Eastern Iowa.

Iowa is NOT flat! It is gently rolling prairie - well, fields now.

That gets me every time. People who've never been there think Iowa is flat. Not true, people. You are mistaking Iowa for Kansas.

This cracked me up...

You "redeem" your empties for the deposit, but it sounds
as if there's an AA meeting in the back room or something!

Summertime at the lake. Crazy. People with boats tethered together, people on boats with a raft pulled behind, speed boats, pontoon boats...

This isn't even the most crowded part, because I was trying to get all the RVs.

This is the town of my paternal grandmother. We visited a lot when I was a kid. I was delighted to see that the same old death-traps toys are still in the park:

The rolling barrel o' joy.
Or, for those of us with big brothers:
The rolling barrel o' terror.

...and isn't it amazing that we ALL survived these?

The reunion itself was fun. As of course they always are. I won't share pictures of all the family, though. You're welcome!

Sunday we headed back across the state to my Mom's brother's house. When we stopped for lunch, guess whose table number was the Ultimate Answer!!!

(My parents did not understand why this was photo-worthy.)

More proof of Iowa's non-flatness.

For breakfast the next day we stopped at a good old fashioned Iowa local restaurant. Check out this cinnamon bun!

Dudes! It's as tall as a juice glass! That's 3 meals right there.

The Mighty Mississippi. It's really big, dudes. And I'm not even crossing it at a notably wide spot!

Well that's it, really. Not really, really, because all the stuff that you'd have to be family to appreciate isn't here, and that was the whole purpose of the trip. My dad was the youngest of 6. Of the 6 kids, 4 had 5 kids, and 2 had 3. PLUS any living siblings of my dad's dad, and their kids/grandkids come, too. (My dad's dad was the oldest of 6.)

That's a LOT of people. Of all ages. Actually, there are only two from my generation (and my grandpa's branch) that are younger than me: my brother and one cousin. I have cousins who have kids that are nearer my age than my cousins. Heck, I have cousins who are grandparents! So it's kind of weird, still being the young one. But it was fun. And I decided that if our generation is going to continue this, we need to start wearing name-tags. And family tree-tags.

Extra Special Bonus...JUST for playing along and actually reading this lengthy post all the way to the bottom, I've decided to include an actual, CURRENT picture of me:

My Eye.

True, dudes. It was a lot of driving, and somewhere in between reading and napping, I got bored and took an extreme close-up of myself. You're welcome.

And FINALLY finally,
In today's Something to Celebrate:
On this date in 1942, Anne Frank was given a diary for her 13th birthday. It gives you chills, doesn't it?

Where Does the Time Go? Catching Up

Hi there! Remember me?
Yeah, I'm still here. I just saw on someone else's blogroll that I last posted 4 days ago.
WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?
That Red, man, she's such a slacker...

>sigh<
So I'm doing a total cop-out and posting an overall update on what's happening. Okay? Okay.

Most (if not all) of you reading this also read Brett's blog, The Transformed Non-conformist. So you've probably read his recent post that mentioned our day together this past Thursday. We are able to get together about once a week. He's even been over here and met my parents. (Please note that he survived the visit and is still blogging.)

~~~
I have to say, I feel like I'm dating a celebrity. The Transformed Non-conformist has so many followers and awards, and is just so popular ...and yet *I* am the one he chooses to spend his time with. It's like he's talking about someone else when he mentions me in his blog: "Who's this 'Red' person?"
(...I probably shouldn't have admitted that, but it's true.)
~~~

Those of you new to Doesn't Speak Klingon may have missed the fact that I moved to Indiana from Delaware nearly a month ago.(Here is the sort of summary after my arrival, but there's a lot of posts about the whole process.) I'm living with my parents until I get a job and move into my own place. I have no regrets, especially with my mom's extreme gratitude when I help Dad with the dog or the lawn or the gardening. I think she's worried about him overexerting himself. He had a mini-stroke in February, which was the impetus for my move. So I'm happy to help.

I had lived in Delaware for almost 12 years, which is a REALLY LONG TIME...and I was overdue to move, because ...well, one symptom was the fact that I couldn't go anywhere without running into someone I knew. And I need to start over every now and then. So I'm looking forward to starting that starting over process. Right now I'm just "at Mom & Dad's".

But dude, I wish I had a job by now!

So I'm spending a lot of time sifting through the options being sent my way by Career Builder. I have quite a broad search, which means there's a LOT to sift though. See, I want to live close to my parents, but I don't require the same area-code. In Delaware, I was a 12-hour drive away. I figure if I'm within 2 or 3 hours, that's still a do-able distance if something happens. So I'm casting a broad net geographically, and now have two resumes posted with different emphases. 

However, I've been focused on full-time positions. This week I will get a part-time job, so I at least have some money coming in ...and can keep filling my gas-tank to get to see Brett. Because it is still a bit of a drive for both of us.

So I guess technically I'm right on schedule. When I first decided to move here - with no job lined up (which was a radical idea) - my expection was to have at least a part-time job by the end of May, and to be settled into a full-time job and new place before the summer is out. Of course, my hope was to have a full-time position by now, and be able to focus on finding somewhere to live, but I knew that was unrealistic.

Basically, that means my time is divided between job-search, family, and Brett. I have no social life to write about. It never struck me until now, but a lot of my posts in April had to do with goodbyes and packing, and all that stuff is over. And hasn't been replaced.

I'm sure once I actually "start over", I'll have more entertaining things to say.

On another note:
In the US this is Memorial Day weekend - a holiday to remember fallen service-men and -women. But, here is a more random...

Today's Reason to Celebrate:

On this date in 1521, Martin Luther was banned by the Edict of Worms (that's "Vohrms") because of his religious beliefs and writings. Way to go, dude! Free us from that religious tyranny!

The Movie Whore and “Elizabeth” part II…or really, Part I

(please note that, as suggested by Misty I am changing the color of my links.)

A week ago the Movie Whore reviewed “Elizabeth: Age of Reason”. Bozo had provided a list of possible movies to review that are NOT new releases, so that Bozo could participate in the ensuing conversation, but the Movie Whore I the Movie Whore (shut up!) picked up the wrong DVD, only noting that we needed the “Elizabeth” with Cate Blanchett.

We have corrected our mistake. (and “we” are calmly going schizophrenic in the meantime.)

So this is the original Elizabeth (1997?) starring Cate Blanchett and Geoffery Rush.

Once again, the Movie Whore wonders how much is based on fact and how much was Hollywoodized.

Either way, Cate makes a lovely, young Princess Elizabeth. Like with its sequel, there was a heavy emphasis on the romance angle, which really is not the reason I watch a movie, but as the movie neared the end, I could understand the emphasis, since that made her entrance as “the Virgin Queen” more poignant.

A friend of mine - “The Nurse” who you read about here has a total crush on Cate Blanchett. We’ve had fun with that crush, believe me! But the Movie Whore can see the allure. Cate Blanchett brings a warmth and depth to this poor young girl whose half-sister wants her dead, and who is thrust into a leadership role she’s ill-prepared for. It’s hard to believe this is the same person who would later portray Galadriel in the LOTR movies!

The best example of how deeply the actress is entrenched in the role is when Elizabeth is practicing her speech before appearing to parliament. She’s so clearly distressed and concerned about how to get it exactly right. The actress in me loves that scene.

The Movie Whore got very opinionated about the various men involved:

“Finally! It’s about time she got rid of that tool Sir William. Lord Walsingham is much more subtle, and tactful, and actually looks out for her.”

“Ha! I KNEW that stupid Lord Robert was a bad’un! She was setting herself up for disaster all along. It pays to vet your suitors, queenie! Seriously, if my suitor was flirting with my ladies-in-waiting I’d kick him to the curb!”

Darth Inquisitor!

“Hey, how did a Sith Lord get in Elizabethan England?” [spoken about the black-robed Daniel Craig character] “That’s pretty awesome."

Overall, The Movie Whore finds the movie Elizabeth to be beautiful and interesting. It’s slow in parts, but maybe that’s because there’s just too much to get it all in gracefully?

And the Movie Whore LOVES the excellent soundtrack.

What’s that music playing when she confronts Lord Robert after all the others were sent to the Tower? I recognize it…is it Beethoven? I can’t quite place it… It flows seamlessly into the music that plays when Elizabeth enters the court and proclaims herself “The Virgin Queen”, married to her country. Finally it got to a point where I can place it: Mozart’s Requiem. Oooh. Chills.

The score to Mozart's Requiem. I'd add a music file, if I could.

It is no wonder that Bozo loves that scene the most. Music can tell a story that is heard most clearly by the soul. Even the non-musical person can be surprised by their reaction to powerful music. (And classical-style music, more than any, evokes this emotional response.)

So, if you play Mozart’s Requiem, what do you hear?

You hear mourning.

The sounds of sorrow.

Then a dying soul rises above the mourning,

as if trying to elevate itself above the mourners.

You don’t need to understand the Latin of the lyrics to feel the meaning of the music! That mourning? It applies not only to Mozart’s death, but is just as suitable to depict Elizabeth’s “re-virgination” and denial of her true love!

And today's Something to Celebrate:
It's Barbra Streisand's birthday! (70th) Whatever you think of her personal choices, you cannot deny the musical talent that she has!
I think I'll put in Hello Dolly as a movie to pack to tonight, in her honor.

Farewell, my Buddha!

I know I’ve been complaining about having to say good-bye so often, and how I’m so non-social that it’s just exhausting to me. I’m sad to say the “Helpmedrainmyliquorcabinet” party was cancelled because I left work that day with a sore throat and didn’t think that partying and making it worse would be a good idea a week before moving.

…but I had already made a pitcher of “knock-you-on-your-a$$” margaritas. So I borrowed a thermos from my officemate, and brought them in to work. …So that we can hang out after work and have a beverage! (Not for lunch - I’m not that much of a lush, geeze!)

However, last night’s “cookout” which turned into an indoor dinner because of the nor-easter that blew through was the best farewell yet.

Terpsichore
(She doesn't dress like this.)

This friend of mine, who I shall call… I think Terpsichore is the muse of song, so I that works. Anyway, Terpsichore started having occasional dinner parties with a small group of theatre friends and others last summer – or fall…it was after Hurricane Irene which I think was August –  so that’s who this group was. One of the guests – let’s just call him "Buddha" because he’s very zen-like – has a musically gifted son who was there, set up his keyboard and entertained us with live jazz piano! It created a fantastic ambience!

I tried to get video with my phone, but the only one that took is all dark. Apparently for video you can’t change the setting. Weird.

I had brought along a bottle of wine (and was reprimanded for bringing wine to a party in my honor, but I told Terpsichore that I have 4 bottles at home and what does she expect me to do - drink a bottle a night?). A white wine that I had introduced Terpsichore to before, which I remembered she liked. She said she could never remember the name of the wine, so she had me autograph the label and said she was keeping the bottle. Cute. Later, when she poured bubbly to make a toast, she gave me the champagne cork…so I made her autograph it. Now we're even.

Also, I have another RL Secret Squirrel now! (for the story of the Secret Squirrels, click that link) Oddly enough, it’s not the hostess. Since she’s been trying to set me up with a variety of men over the years, and met her husband through an online dating site, I don’t think I could have handled her reaction, positive though it probably would be.

Nope. It’s Buddha!



See? He's even doing yoga!



Buddha is a lovely man (married, so don't worry) who’s been cast opposite me several times. We make a good comedy team because he’s short. He comes up to about my shoulder. Think where that puts his eyes. Funny stuff if a director can work it into the action. He’s…oh, probably about 15 or so years older than me. And very protective of me, which seems to be a running theme with older men in my life. Buddha is the guy who took over from me when I walked away from the theatre a month ago (read about it here and in the comments), and he was very concerned that the director had offended me.

He likes to tell me that he doesn’t understand how come I’ve remained single, and blames it on the men in this county, discounting the fact that I am not a fan of the dating game in general. He is by far my greatest admirer. (Well, maybe just my greatest admirer who has actually met me.) We had an interesting conversation last night. (Please keep in mind that he probably thinks of me more highly than most people.)

Buddha: If I prayed, my prayer, or wish, or vision for your future out there [in the Midwest] would be that you would meet a man who could see and love your beauty, but stop and listen to the beautiful person you are and love that person as much.

~~~How could I leave him hanging after sharing this complimentary vision, and not explain what’s happening?~~~

Me: Well, let me share something with you that only two other people in Delaware know.

Buddha: I’m honored.

Me: I’m going to be meeting someone soon after I get to Indiana, who I’ve been talking to for months.

Buddha: (puts his hand to his heart)

Me: We met online, but not through a dating site, and neither of us really expected anything to happen, but, well, we’ll meet soon.

Buddha: (hands together in a “Namaste” movement) I’m so glad to hear it.

So now there are four Secret Squirrels in my Real Life (plus my father, the Mole), plus all of my blog Secret Squirrels. It suddenly occurred to me that I should not be complaining that Brett’s family doesn’t take me seriously when I’m not even being totally open with everyone in my life about him! So, I’m sorry about that Brett.

I am now down to 4 farewells: Tomorrow night, Thursday at work, Friday at the Symphony, and Sunday after church. Sweet.

~~~

On an entertainingly different note, the Movie Whore may be getting her own avatar. I have several artistic friends and family members and put a call out for an image. We shall see. You know the artistic temperament…or maybe you don’t. Basically I don’t expect quick turn around because they can’t rush their muse.

~~~ 

And today’s Reason to Celebrate:

It’s St. George’s Day! ...I have no idea what is the standard M.O. for this day.

Catholics, a little help here?

Do we all go out and slay dragons, or what?

Senioritis of Good-byes

Somehow everything strikes me funny these days. I think it’s Senioritis. Do you remember Senioritis? That senior year of high school that you’re just chomping at the bit to get on with your life – whatever that might be?

…that was both awesome and annoying. Awesome because of the anticipation of good stuff to come and annoying because – for me at least – I am not a patient person by nature. God’s working on it.

Yeah. I have senioritis bad right now. (If you’re new here, I’m moving in…less than 2 weeks! This post is when I announced it officially, But there’s more here, here, here, …you get the idea. There are more.)

The Officemate and I are howling with laughter all the time lately at random calls that come in, at stuff she or I see on the internet, at facebook. At stuff from SomeEcards. At the idea of drinking our lunch…which we won’t, but when I walked in today and said “how are you?” her reply was “pissed off” if that tells you how stressed she is at the moment.

And then there was this:

Prunes? Again, I ask you, who shares stuff like this?
What do I share? Candy. Always candy.

I keep reminding the Officemate, and Sweetie, and Snarky (have I mentioned her?) that my cell phone number won’t change so they can still send me their “What Would Red Say” questions, or funny things the Officemate sees online that I probably miss because I couldn’t care less about pop culture.

Yeah, things are getting goofy. I haven’t cleaned out my email inbox in days. Most of it doesn’t require a response, or is about stuff happening after I leave anyway, so what’s the point?

~~~

On a side note, the Officemate and a higher-up are at this moment discussing someone’s recent pregnancy announcement, and related issues like fertility, and deciding to conceive. Seriously? I don’t need to know how you came to decide whether or not to bring another human into the world, or how difficult or not it was to conceive! Have some discretion, dude!

~~~

How long until the move? Brett reminded me the actual number of days a couple days ago, so I know that it is…wait...11 days to “wheels on the road”. However, my last day at work is just one week from tomorrow! So which do I count when people ask how much longer?

I am counting “good-bye events”.

There have already been several. Here’s what’s left:

7.Tomorrow: Baltimore (First, a “hello” lunch with Misty of Misty’s Laws. Nice.) Then dinner at a restaurant north of the city. I’ll blow the afternoon at the Inner Harbor. Or IKEA. Whichever. Oh! Maybe a Movie! (shut up, Movie Whore, this is not about you!)

6.Friday: My “Help Me Drain My Liquor Cabinet" Party – I have no idea who all will show up or not. I think some people are afraid. I do have my reputation to ruin consider!

5.Saturday: Meeting friends from my PA days in D.C. Yea! The Smithsonian! And probably an Indian dinner at a delightful South-Indian restaurant with an old friend from Jr. High (which was in India).

4.Sunday: A cookout at a friend’s house – she usually has dinner parties, and the dinner party crowd will be there. It’ll be nice.

3.Thursday I’m not supposed to know about, but they’re doing something for me at work.

2.Friday: Another trip to the Symphony with Aphrodite. Holst’s The Planets.

1.Sunday: A reception at my church …which will end when I put the pedal to the metal and get the heck out of Dodge! (how’s that for a mixed metaphor?)

So I am 7 good-byes away from departure. You probably won’t see me here tomorrow, because I'll be off taking care of one of the good-byes and my first "Hello", but feel free to read some of the archives!

UPDATE: I just got an email from the handbell director at my church and they are going to have a send-off for me at the next rehearsal on Tuesday. My countdown? 8 good-byes until departure!

Something to Celebrate today? The birthday of Lucrezia Borgia! (in 1480) Ooohh…the Borgias. The poisoning, murderous Borgias. Sweet. So let’s toast some dark drink (un-poisoned) to the merry poisoner! (Thanks again, as ever, Cranky&Difficult. What would I do without you?)