Fresh. Exciting.

Today was just as bad as yesterday. I don't really feel like re-hashing all the bad parts so I'll give you a brief rundown. I'm just tired of the junk. I won't be surprised if one of the guys goes off on my uncle in the coming weeks. They're getting really irritated that he's treating me like I should know everything there is to know about everything. We'll see. If it happens, I'll let you know.

I did find out that 1. my uncle did know it was my birthday because he said something to Bryan about it yesterday and 2. he was at the shop at 8 yesterday morning. My train arrived at 915. He could have picked me up. But he didn't.
My aunt texted Bryan this morning about last night and she was apparently IRATE. My uncle has it coming when she returns. I do not want to be around for that conversation!

Tonight would be one of those nights when I wish I had my Flopsy-she was my first dog and my best friend. She was a bassett hound. Whenever I'd get upset and just want to cry, I'd lay down next to her and cry and cry and she'd let me, for as long as I needed. I miss her very much at times like these.

Today, I learned how to build a bike! Bryan taught me how. I'm in the middle of building one now. So hopefully I can post pictures tomorrow night of the finished product!

A really pretty boy came into the shop today! He wanted to buy a bike. Unfortunately, I haven't learned how to sell them yet. Man, if I knew how, I know he would have bought it! But I didn't know exactly what to tell him and everyone else was busy with customers. He said he'd come back. I'm not sure if he did or not. I was busy being yelled at. He was one of those people who really listens to you when you talk. Or at least he looked like he was interested in what I was saying lol. He was very polite. I like polite. After this summer, I will not take polite for granted.

I was told exactly where my place is in this house [according to my uncle] and now I'll tell you.
Uncle
Motorcycles
Aunt
Jenny.
Yes. I should be after my aunt. But motorcycles? Really? No he didn't give me this order specifically. I drew conclusions with the context clues I was given. He said we couldn't go out for my birthday because his motorcycles came first. Whatever.

On a happier note: I got the wedding pictures I ordered! If I'm allowed to post them, I will! They're marvelous. :)

I really enjoy working with Bryan and Dave. They're both entertaining. They make work go by faster and help to keep my tongue in check...whether they know it or not lol.

That's all. Hopefully tomorrow will be fabulous. I get to wear my new tie-dye shirt that Rebecca sent to me! yay. :)

Take The Last Train To Clarksville

Life has been interesting lately. This will be completely random...do you really expect anything less? :)

Up here, people ask me what I have a taste for. Do you know what that means? Well I'll tell you. 

Question: What do you have a taste for tonight?

Translation: What are you craving for dinner?

Why don't they just say "craving"? 

Weirdos! haha

I spent the 4th of July with a true New Yorker! My uncle has godparents. We spent the evening with their son, my uncle's best friend from childhood, and his wife. She's from New York City. She's something else! It was really fun. We went out to eat with them and then we watched the local fireworks show in their backyard. Then I met their daughter. She sleeps with her bearded dragon. He has a place right next to her...so weird. 

I haven't had a 'normal' piece of pizza since I've been here. To me, normal is Dominoes: crust, sauce, cheese and maybe some kind of meet. These people have crust, sauce, a pound of cheese, meat, more cheese, vegetables and more cheese. Don't get me wrong, it's good...but I just want something normal. The guys at the shop make fun of me for calling it normal. That's what it is...it's just plain, normal, pizza.

I had the house to myself this past weekend. It was glorious!

I learned a new slang term. It comes from the italians. Dave taught it to me. He's italian. He won't let you forget it. First I must tell you the story. So this guy came into the shop, luckily I wasn't at the counter when he entered. He talked so fast and with such a strange accent. I had to really concentrate on what he was saying. Apparently, he smokes a lot of weed. I'm not sure how Dave and Bryan know this. Sometimes I think they make that stuff up...they say that about a lot of people. Or maybe marijuana is easy to come by here. Who knows. Anyway. So they fixed his bike. He broke it. Well sort of. So he brings it back and Dave talks to him. Then Bryan talks to him. While he's talking to Bryan, Dave comes over and asks me if I can understand the guy today. I told him that I could better than the previous day but it was still hard. He said "that guy's italian. You know how I know?" and I said "bc he talks funny...?" and he said "no, well yes, sort of. he said momo" I said "momo? what on earth is that!?" and he said "you know 'i'm not a momo mamomo mamoron" I was dumbfounded. Hahaha. That's is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.  So if you think someone might be italian (should I be capitalizing that..?) just ask them if they're a Momo..then they'll think YOU'RE italian. hahahah! And they might shoot you, so only ask italians who look friendly.

The worst thing about this summer isn't that some people are incredibly rude. It's not that I have to wear closed toed shoes all day everyday. It's not that I have to live with the boss. And it's not that I'm not a mindreader. The worst part is not having friends. People I can just go hang out with and decompress. I'm not one of those people who just goes up to others and becomes friendly. I'd love more than anything to be that person. But I'm not. People think I'm stuck up because of it, I'm shy, not stuck up. There are no kids my age in the neighborhood and the church I'm attending is a bust. [I'm going to try a different one soon. Maybe this Sunday.] I just don't feel at home there. Yes, I have my friends from home and from school, but it's not the same. I can't just go sit on their couch and unload. They all have lives and stuff to do. I think I'm friends with the guys at work but I'm not going to hang out with them. And the other friends I have are either my aunt and uncle's age or under the age of 10. It's just hard. I'd like a friend. Although, maybe it's a good thing I don't have friends, I don't really have time right now to hang out with anyone. If I"m not working I'm studying or sleeping.

I'm a sucker for a good chin. Now, I'm not talking Jay Leno or anything. But I like a man with a strong jaw. And a big smile. Sigh. hahah.

Like these:

I own none of these photos

AH! Rebecca, I can't believe I forgot to tell you this, it's quite entertaining. Today I had to answer quite a few phone calls. I think someone was trying to mess with me because a few times it sounded like the same kid asking absolutely ridiculous questions. THEN this guy called asking if my uncle was looking for a talent agent. Weirdest. Thing. Ever. Untiiiiiil I answer the phone:

"Good afternoon, _____ Cycle Center"

"Hey baby girl, how you been?"

"Uh, I'm fine, how are you?"

"I'm good I'm good. So listen, I'm looking for an 18 inch boys bike. You be sellin them?"

"Uh, let me check"

I ask Bryan. Bryan says no

"Sir, I'm sorry we don't sell them here"

"Well *expletive* sweet thang, where'm I sposed be gettin one?"

"They only sell them at department stores"

"No, baby girl they ain't. I done been to all of the ones round herr"

"I'm sorry, the parts are too hard to get so we don't sell them" [Bryan is giving me all this info]

Then he said something unintelligible and [I think] he hung up. Or I hung up on him. Haha.

That was the strangest conversation I've had in a while....well except the one I'm having via facebook right now.

I swear I attract the weirdest people. This joker is about to get deleted and blocked.

Today is my birthday [by the time I post this, it should read "yesterday was my birthday"]

I babysat in the city last night for my cousin. So I had to ride the train into work this morning. I had the option of arriving 45 minutes early or an hour and fifteen minutes late. I asked my uncle what he preferred and he chose for me to be earlier. Ok, no big deal except we barely make it to work on time as it is, there's no way he'd make it to the station to pick me up. So I got to walk. Bryan offered to pick me up on his motorcycle but I didn't get a chance to respond before I was told to do something. 

So I walked to work this morning. It took about thirty minutes.

When I got there, my uncle was already there. It looked to me like he'd been there for sometime. He couldn't have possibly picked me up from the station. No way.

I'm not someone who expects to be treated differently because it's my birthday...but a simple acknowledgement of the fact would be nice. I'd say "well maybe he didn't know" OH NO he knew...his wife's birthday is the same day! She wasn't here today though, she's out of town. Nothing. Even Bryan wished me happy birthday [Dave wasn't there or I'm sure he would have too]. He was rude to me a lot of the time..not a whole lot more than usual. He got onto me about something..then when he left Bryan jokingly got onto me about it and I was like "Seriously, was I wrong?" and he said "no, I would expect you to do exactly what you did in that situation" and I said "ok, just making sure."

To top off the extra poopoo birthday, I ate dinner alone. All day long my uncle kept talking about how he's going to wash his motorcycles because he didn't get to last night. And he kept saying "When we get home, it's all about ME." He said it probably fifteen times. And I kept thinking "When is it NOT about you...?" So we got home, he said "you're on your own for dinner" and he left. I made a turkey wrap and ate it at the counter along with a couple of brownies that my cousin made me for my birthday eve.

No "Happy Birthday Miss Jenn"

No "I'll pick up something while I'm out"

No cake.

Nothing. 

Yes, I know, it could be worse. But so could a lot of things.

BUT on the way home for work, my King showed me how much He loves me. It had been ridiculously hot all day long and then when I walked out of the shop to get on the motorcycle, the weather was absolutely marvelous. The whole ride home was very pleasant.

THEN a bajillion and one of my friends called and cheered me up! Even the one who is on a missions trip to Haiti called! I love them all and I'm so thankful that I have them.

Also on the way home, within a mile, it smelled like fruit loops, fun dip and dead trees. It was so weird.

Well, I supposed I've done enough complaining for the whole country of Uganda. I need to get to sleep so I can function tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Papa's Got A Brand New Bag

I didn't blog last night because yesterday was a bad day. Bad. Think of a cuss word and I'm sure it would describe the day perfectly. Seriously. I've forgotten most of what happened because there's no reason to rehash it....that's why I didn't blog.
The best part though: I saw a woman with a Green Bay Packers license plate holder. :)

Today on the way home, my uncle and I saw a plane flying really low. It looked like it was going to land at a local airport but it circled back around and got even lower. It was so cool. Seriously, I almost cried. I know, that's dumb, but I'm serious. I can't wait to be flying.

I also can't wait for this weekend! I believe I told you about the neighbor girl, Madeline [pronounce madelin, short "i"]. She's 8 and she's so stinkin sweet. She thinks I'm cool too! I might see if she's free if she wants to see a movie on Monday. I think that would be a lot of fun! She asked me to come with her to get her ears pierced!! I felt very honored! :) The first time I met her I had a braid in my hair. I'd been there for about an hour and she went up to her mom and said "Can you put a braid in my hair?" And so her mom tried but the braid didn't hold up to Madeline's standards. So I offered to do it. Because her hair was so short and so fine, I couldn't do it exactly like mine but she was very please with the results. She's so sweet.

This morning I read James 3. There were a couple verses in the passage that were exactly what I needed. It's James 3:10-12: Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring/ My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. The people at the bike shop can really get under my skin and make me want to yell curse words. I can't say that I haven't been thinking them because that would be a lie. This verse reminded me that to not say them is the right thing to do. If I profess to be a Christian and I'm cussing up a storm, who's going to believe me? That hurts my testimony and witness to others. God is good, He knows just what I need and when to give it to me.

I think every pretty young adult male [which isn't many at all] was out and about today. Several came into the bike shop. By several I mean like 4. And that's a lot more than usual. Usually we have maybe one. I stuffed some scrap paper into my pocket in case they wanted me number. hahaha. I'm serious. I did. None of them asked for it...which leads me to my next topic...

GUYS. [yes, I'm aware that there's probably not a male on this planet who reads this blog, but if one happens to, he'll have this nugget of information to pass along to the rest of them!OH! I just remembered you, Cody! :) so pass it along hehehe.] If you think a girl is pretty just talk to her...ask her out..do something..don't just stand there and stare at her. That makes her feel awkward and she's less inclined to want to date you. Most of the young women I know are pretty polite. They won't be jerks if they're not interested. I think that goes for most ladies...now, there's a another category that we won't get in to because that's not my area of expertise...it's actually not my area at all, I'm quite unskilled in that facet of women..ok anyway. I say all of this to say..most of us are not monsters. We won't grow 10 feet tall and gain 7 eyes..we'll politely make up a reason not to give you our number, go out with you..yadda yadda yadda. So, stop staring. We can seeeeeeeeeee you. Seriously. We can. And it gets annoying.

Well. That's all I've got. Today was pretty blah. OH! One exciting thing did happen. My name got put into the computer! I told you about how we have to get the customer's information. Well, when we do that, we print an estimate that tells them approximately how much they'll be paying when they come to pick up their bike. At the top you have to put the estimator's name. I've been putting Bryan or Dave, or if my uncle helps me I'll put his name. Well, today Bryan showed me that they put in my name! I felt so honored!! :) Also, I spent almost all day working at my not-so-benchy work bench! It was great. My thumbs are getting sore from taking tires/tubes on and off of rims all day but they'll live. My arms get tired about halfway through the day so I have to slow down a little but it's all good. :)

If for some reason I can't be a polite, I want to be an airplane mechanic. Ah. I love fixing things. Love love love it.
Ok. I need to go to sleep now. Goodnight all. :) Thanks for checking in! I appreciate those of you who actually read this stuff!

Is It A Full Moon...AGAIN!?!

Geez...today was one of the weirdest days we've had in a while...since the last full moon actually.

So we walk into the shop and do our thing. I have to change my jeans to shorts because I'm not allowed to wear shorts on the motorcycle. When I'm finished changing, I'm getting my stuff together and my uncle asks if I moved any tires yesterday when I was cleaning up. I tell him that I didn't. So I get my stuff put away, go to my not-so-benchy work bench and Bryan says "ok, Jenn, I need some closure so I know I'm not crazy"..I'm thinking "what on earth is going on here..." and he says "Please tell me you moved the tire that was sitting here yesterday" and he went on to describe it. And I said "nope, didn't touch it" and Dave busts out laughing. This tire has disappeared. We can't find it anywhere. No one knows where it could be. Weird. We didn't find it all day.

Then we're all doing our thing and this kid walks in and says "Is this where I bring my bike to get repaired?" and we all say "yea." So he goes outside, gets his bike, parks it in the service center and walks out! Just walks away! We all stand there dumbfounded staring at him walking across the parking lot..and he's booking it too! Like he's got somewhere he's got to be. Now, I know you guys don't know everything that must be done to check in a bike to be repaired, but you must know there's something wrong here...we don't know who this kid is, what he needs done to his bike, or who to call when it's finished! We assume it needs a new pedal because the old one is sitting on the seat..but we don't know that for a fact. So we just leave it there and ignore it. About 15 minutes later the kid calls and says "uh yea, I left my bike there to get fixed, I was wondering how long it would take and how much it will cost. Also my sister has a bike..blah blah blah" and I said "Well, we need you to come back to get your information." He comes in later with a note from his sister telling what needs to be done to her bike. Weird.

THEN I'm helping this one kid, I'm pretty sure it was the kid with the green pants from  a few weeks ago [Cause I Only Have Eyes For Yoooou]. Anyway, I was helping him. Then all of the sudden this woman appears, she's on our side of the counter asking the kid on the other side if he works there! And I said "I'll be with you in a moment." Then she starts looking for her bike. Ok..whatever. My uncle is watching her so I'm not too worried. So I finish with this kid and ask her last name so I can find her bike. I don't see it upstairs. I ask Dave where it is. It's in the basement. Of course it is. I go to the basement and get the bike. I give it to her and she says "Do I just go out this way?" And I said "Yes, but you have to pay for it first" and she looked at me like I'd just cussed her out...and said "No, this bike was not completed" and I told her what was done to it and she started to get loud with me. My uncle came over and handled the situation. Man that woman was nuts. Apparently she brought her bike in for a tune up which entails washing [that's my job] and a complete look over of the bicycle. It costs $83 plus parts. So say you need new tires [which apparently she did], we'll call you up and let you know that it's suggested that you get new ones. You can always say no. Well that's what happened here except she decided when we called her that she wanted us to stop everything because it wasn't worth it. Well, the washing had already been done along with some other things. So her bill was around $38.[she signed an estimate for $117, mind you and she also lives on one of the richest streets in the town..] She refused to pay it. My uncle compared it to going to the auto mechanic and not paying him for the time he's already put in after you've decided you no longer want your car to be fixed. OOOOH BOY that set her off. She said "THAT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!" and ooooh boooy that set him off! They were yelling at each other [for the record, she started it]. And things were getting ugly. I don't understand why she didn't just pay the money. She claimed it was in worse condition than when she brought it in. That's wrong. My uncle told her either she could pay the money or he was keeping the bike. She left the bike and stormed out. Jerk. Dave compared it to going to McDonald's, ordering a burger, eating half of the burger and demanding your money back..it just doesn't work like that. People.

Yesterday we got stuck at the railroad tracks again. Except this time, the stuff on the train was really weird! lol. It looked like parts of a spaceship! I'm not even kidding or exaggerating about that! Once it got towards the end of the train, my uncle realized what it was. Windmills. The propellers gave it away! Lol. It was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen!

My sister texted me today and told me she found a cat in our kitchen! HAH! I found that hilarious. She said she heard something fall, ran to the kitchen to see what it was [because that's exactly what I'd do if there were an intruder...], saw the cat and screamed like a little girl!!! HAHAHAH. The cat ran out the back door. My question was how it got into the house without our dogs noticing...apparently Winston was afraid of the cat. HAHA. Man. I wish I had been there for that!

Some men are pigs. They disgust me.

I've got very little to do on the back of the motorcycle. I can look at the stuff on my left. I can look at the stuff on my right. Or I can look at myself in the back of my uncle's helmet. I've been analyzing myself. What I like about myself...I don't really hate any physical aspect of my body. There a few things I'd change if it didn't cost money and there are a few things I think I really like. Like my lips. I think I have nice lips. See:

They aren't Angelina Jolie's or anything...but they get the job done..what job that is I'm not sure hahah.
I've decided I like everything, from the bottom of my necklace in that photo, up. Everything is grand lol. My nose is fly...my ears are good, I have nice shoulders [especially when they're tanned], my eyes are kind and I have good eyebrows. I think so anyway. Why this analysis of my physical characteristics? Honestly, for no better reason than to occupy my brain while waiting for trains to pass...

Also while waiting for the train to pass, I remember how much I love the video to "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson. Watch it now please. Then I'll tell you why I like it.

Why I love it:
Perseverance.                              [sidenote: this is all observed, it's never actually happened to me...]
Guys these days are discouraged too easily. Yes, I realize that if they continue to "hound" us or whatever the correct term is, they're considered a creeper. But seriously, how sweet is this? He just keeps going after her and doesn't give up. I think it's stinkin cute! I think there a lot of things society has let fall by the wayside: men pursuing women, chivalry, respect for others. We're just not nice. Well that has nothing to do with this video so I'm not going to talk about it. I guess what I'm trying to say is..if a guy was really interested in me, he wouldn't give up after one refusal. He'd keep on and keep on until he'd changed my mind. Yes, I realize that could get really annoying but I think that guys do know where the line is between "no" and "maybe.." and if they can tell it's more of a "maaaybe" than a straight up "no" they should keep at it. Most women want to be waaanted. I want a man to prove to me that I'm exactly what he wants and all that he wants. That I'm worth fighting for. I don't think that's too much to ask...or maybe it is and this is all in vain. Oh well. I hope you at least enjoyed the video. :)


That's all for tonight. My nose is still sniffly. UGH.  

A Hicky From Kenickie is Like a Hallmark Card

I don't have much to say today. But what I have to say is good. :)

1. Did you know that much of the stuff you donate to Goodwill doesn't make it on the rack? It's true. It must be in almost perfect condition to be sold to others. BUT do you know what they do with the stuff that doesn't make it, the reject!? This is COOL! Goodwill has a contract with some company. They send the clothes to this place where they're ripped to shreds then MADE INTO RAG RUGS!!! Isn't that so cool?! I think it's a marvelous idea. That way the old ratty clothes that people donate aren't going to waste, they're being put to good use. So neat.

2. Last night I had a dream that this woman walked right up to me and said with disdain "You're from the South aren't you?" I replied with the best Southern accent I could muster "Why yes I am, how'd you know?" And she blurts out "YOU AREN'T WEARING ANY SHOES!" 

Jerk.

If only Yanks [hahah that's a fun word] knew the way the grass feels between your toes for the first time in the spring. The way the ground squishes a little after a soft rain. Or how it feels to run over hot concrete. Then they'd understand the need to be shoeless most of the year. Yes, I often claim the North as my home because both of my parents were raised there. But going barefoot is one thing I will do until the day I die. I don't wear shoes unless it's required of me.

End of that story!

3. Ugh. Stupid. This morning we got to the bike shop and everything was going nuts. We actually got there early. I'm not sure what's going on but we've been leaving semi on time. It's weird. Anyway, so we get there early. Something has happened to the server our computers are frozen. WOOHOO. Well. As I'm trying to figure out what to do and getting my head on straight, a woman calls. She asks me if her bike is ready. So I look in the "Bikes That Are Ready" binder. No, her ticket isn't there. She says "well, it's supposed to be done today" So I look around the computers, on the "benches" [which I'm still not convinced are actual benches] and the like and still don't find it. I tell her I can't find it. She assumes I mean her bike. "No ma'am, your bike is here, if you dropped it off, it's still here. I can't find your ticket. Can I call you back when I've found it?" The little twirp replies "Well actually I'd like to go on a ride this morning, so I want to pick it up as soon as possible." oooooooook. Let me drop everything I'm doing to accommodate you. Jerk. So I remember there's another binder that has the tickets of people who need to be informed their bikes are ready to be picked up. That's my job [but I had yesterday off, so these people did not get called]. It's called "Dialing for Dollars"...that's what my uncle calls it anyway. I say [usually into an answering machine] "Hi! This is _________ ______ ______ I'm calling to let you know that your bicycle is ready to be picked up. You can come on Monday and Thursday from 10 am to 8 pm, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 am to 6 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. Thank you and have a great day!" oh, ok back to the story. So I look in this binder. Sure enough, hers is the first ticket. I inform her that her bike is indeed finished. And do you know what!? That stinkin hater didn't show up until 530!!! THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE WE CLOSED! I wanted to slap her in the knee! Ugh. People like that make me want to curse. Stupid.

4. On Sunday I bought an air freshener because my room smelled like a sweaty old man. Disgusting. How am I supposed to entertain boys on a bed that smells like a locker room. JUST KIDDING. But seriously, it stunk. So I got THIS. It smelled good in the store. OOOOh but don't be deceived. For those of you who can't click on the link, it's a Febreze Set & Refresh thing. The flavor is Thai Dragron Fruit. So I set it and let it refresh. Man that smell was JANK! I didn't realize is until the next morning though. I tend to like warm smells..and this one was just really sharp...that's the only word I can think of to describe it. I normally sleep with the door closed. I hadthat air freshener on the dresser by the door, and another one plugged into the wall that didn't seem to be working but I forgot to unplug it. Yesterday morning I woke up and I was all kinds of congested and crap. I blame it on that air freshener! I took it in the hall and within like 5 minutes it had engulfed the whole staircase in putrid nasty! I'm pretty sure I'm either A. allergic to the smell in general or B. was infest with those chemicals! I wanted to throw it away and get a new one. But I didn't want to leave it in the trash can in the house. So when my aunt and I ran errands, I chose an outside garbage can and dumped that nasty! Never ever ever again will I by a Set & Refresh. It's like it lets the whole little container go at one time. No thank you! I need gradual refreshing...I'm still paying for that junk with a runny nose! Ugh. Now I've got a renuzit. I know it will do exactly what I ask of it, because those things are the BOOOOOMB.

5. This is the final thing and it's by far the best. A girl whose blog I follow posted this today. It's a love letter from the Civil War. It's beautiful. Since I've been up here, I've been rethinking my thoughts on marriage. haha. Well not really. I've told my mother [and several other people] that I'm never getting married. That's a false statement. I want [almost] more than anything to find a man who wants to spend the rest of his life with me. My life is just discouraging in that aspect. I'm always just a friend. That's really frustrating. I know, I know someday he'll come along. Blah blah blah. I'm just tired of seeing everyone else's somedays happen today. Ugh. So anyway. I want a man like Sullivan. 

Sullivan wrote this letter to Sarah, his wife. They were married 5 years before he died. They had 2 sons. Here's the letter:

July the 14th, 1861

Washington D.C.

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.

Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure—and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me. Not my will, but thine O God, be done. If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready. I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.

But, my dear wife, when I know that with my own joys I lay down nearly all of yours, and replace them in this life with cares and sorrows—when, after having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children—is it weak or dishonorable, while the banner of my purpose floats calmly and proudly in the breeze, that my unbounded love for you, my darling wife and children, should struggle in fierce, though useless, contest with my love of country.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar—that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the brightest day and in the darkest night—amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours—always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again.

As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father's love and care. Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood. Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. Tell my two mothers his and hers I call God's blessing upon them. O Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children.

Sullivan

Just beautiful. My husband will feel this way about me. He will. 

That's all for tonight, folks. Have a marvelous Wednesday.

Ah, I forgot, today I saw a guy wearing tie-dye and thought "awe, tie-dye tuesday." Then I remembered I moved it to Tie-Dye Friday. Don't forget!! :)

No Woman No Cry.

Continuation from last night....


Did you know that McDonald's now has a Rolo McFlurry!? I want to try it sooooo bad! 


My aunt had to get her car fixed because she ran over a curb or something and damaged her rim. 
So she took it to my uncle's best friend's shop. 
He only works on high end cars.
Hers is a Nissan but I guess the model is considered high end. I'm not sure. Anyway. 
Because this happened, we had to have someone from the shop pick us up from the train on Monday. 
He drove a BMW. 
I believe it was the first time I'd ever ridden in one. It was nice I guess..nothing special lol. 
But HE was beautiful. 
He looked like an older version of one of my friends. 
He was in the Air Force for 7 years! 
He's older though...and married...dang.
(I also saw another guy that looked like an older version of the same friend, yesterday at the shop. Beautiful.)

Last week I learned how to change tires. 

That was fun! 

I've changed probably 15 or so since then. 

I'm a pro.

I also learned how to answer the phone.

I'm a pro at that too. :)

I've been meaning to tell you this since the first day.

There's a baseball field that we pass on our way to work.

Every time I see it I think it says "leukemia" but it never does.

The name of the field is Buikema.

Why would you name a field that? 

Why?

On our way home we pass a body shop. 

In the back is a mannequin torso and head sitting on top of a fence post. 

It's so weird.

I'm about tired of being around guys. 

I need some girl friends.

Girlfriends. I've been meaning to talk about this too.

In the North they refer to their friends that are girls as "girlfriends."

I remember listening to my aunt talk when I was younger and being completely confused as to what was going on!

It seems to be the norm here. 

I still have a twinge of confusion when someone say it.

But that twinge doesn't last long.

My aunt and I went for a run/walk the other day and saw thousands and thousands of tiny baby frogs!

They were SO cute! I wouldn't have even noticed them if we hadn't seen a guy trying to catch them.

I think that the subdivision owners (...I'm not sure of the correct term for that) released them to help with bugs.

They were SO cute.

Apparently they just released human breast milk to the public to buy..in the store.

Ew. That's so gross.

The water guy came the other day. 

I was VERY thankful.

The city water felt gross in my mouth and got warm really quick if it just sat out.

Did you know you can buy coffee from Kohl's? 

Yep. Sure can.

Bryan ordered some and it came to the shop.

The guys are so weird.

They think I don't know what's going on.

Like they're talking in code or something.

The other day Bryan says "Hey Dave, you should check out the bar entrance"

Apparently there were 2 "hot chicks" walking across the parking lot toward the bar.

Dave missed them. HAHAHA. 

I couldn't see them so I can't tell you if they were actually "hot" or not.

On the way home from work Thursday, my uncle and I heard the most ridiculous song ever.

You should listen to it HERE.

For those of you who can't listen. Here are the lyrics:

She Don't Use Jelly by The Flaming Lips

I know a girl who thinks of ghosts
She'll make ya breakfast
She'll make ya toast
She don't use butter
She don't use cheese
She don't use jelly
Or any of these
She uses vaseline(x3).

I know a guy who goes to shows
When he's at home and he blows his nose
He don't use tissues or his sleeve
He don't use napkins or any of these
He uses magazines(x5).


I know a girl who reminds me of Cher
(reminds me of Cher).
She's always changing
(she's always changing).
The color of her hair
(color of her hair).
She don't use nothing
That ya buy at the store
She likes her hair to be real orange
She uses tangerines(x6).

Ridiculous.

So we all sit down to dinner the other night. We usually eat at the table except for sometimes we use tv trays and watch the news.

My uncle was sitting down first so he turned the tv on.

I walk over and sit down.

We're watching America's Next Top Model.

Yes. You read correctly.

I thought "Well...ok, I like this show too..."

It was strange. Just strange.

So there's this REALLY cute little bike that I'd want if I was a little girl!

It's made by Raleigh and the name is Jazzi. 

It's got little blue jays and music notes on it the seat.

SO cute!

Well that's all for today. :) I've got to get ready for church now!! :)

Dog Days Are Over

I'm falling asleep. But I promised a post before Sunday containing all things exciting..and Sunday is less than 2 hours away. So here I go.
I'll try to keep them in some kind of order..but we all know how my brain works. :)


I'm pretty sure I haven't told you this before. If I have, I apologize.
My aunt works with this guy who wants to set me up with his son. Ok..not big deal..except this kid is SIXTEEN! Yes, a child. He just recently got his driver's license. My aunt tells me he's "pretty hott"...regardless if this fact is true or not, he's a CHILD. When he's 22 and I'm 28..maybe we'll talk then. But right now, he's jailbait and I'm not down for that. Apparently he hasn't been making the best decisions in the girlfriend department and his father seems to think I'm the one who will set him straight...or something...I've never even met this man. I'm glad he has such faith in me though. He told my aunt "but he likes older women" and my aunt was like "well good for him but the one thing Jenny told me is that she wants a man and he is a boy!"

So I rode the train down for the wedding I was in. It was an interesting ride. I sat next to a girl for a little while who was really nice! Her name was Jessica. AND she is in the ROTC program at her college. I thought that was so cool! So we talked about the military! She's leaving next week to go to a training program. She's really excited about it, but nervous too. I think she'll do fine! She had a good head on her shoulders.

Also on the train I met a beautiful conductor. He was beautiful. I promise. Unfortunately, we didn't get married.

Darn.

There was almost an altercation when I got off the train. It was quite humorous, I thought, 1/2 of the party involved didn't think it was funny at all. I think Mr. Hunky Pants thought it was funny too. He was not only pretty, but also very nice. In case you were wondering.

There was also a drunk woman across the aisle from Jessica and I. That was funny too. She was crazy! Crazy I say!

So, the wedding I was in was fabulous! :) I had a wonderful time. Very stress free. Everyone was easy to get along with.

Wanna know one of the best parts? The punter for the Green Bay Packers was in it too.  That's my favorite team. No foolin. It was really cool meeting and talking to him. He was so nice and just a real person. You know, you see them in their uniforms and you think they're these enormous people when really, they're just regular sized. He was not a whole lot taller than I am. I mean, he was tall, don't get me wrong. But on tv he looks about 7 feet tall. He's not really. My daddy was so excited when I told him I met him and talked to him. He actually sat across the table from me at the rehearsal dinner! He came in late and there was an empty chair NEXT to me that I thought he would sit in but his brother sat there instead. He asked me how I knew the bride, how long I'd known her, when I graduate(d), what I'm going to do now that I'm graduated. [He and his brother were both quite impressed with my career choice!]

Then the groom's father asked about his superbowl ring [he'd just received it the night before]. It's ridiculous! So I hear, anyway. He described it...absolutely nuts!

It has 109 diamonds! 92 for 92 years of Packer existence,13 for 13 titles and 4 for 4 world championships. So crazy. I'm glad I met him though. He's really cool.

I'll tell you what..this has been my year! I've met some really awesome people and done some just as awesome things!

While I was back for the wedding, I stayed with Rebecca. We tie-dyed. The first time we tried it, we rinsed out the shirts like you're supposed to and it completely washed out. Like if you were standing 5 feet away, you wouldn't have even been able to tell that we'd done anything to them. Oh. I was so irritated. So we did them again. She's supposed to be mailing mine. I have no doubt she will. I'm afraid it's not going to look the way i want it to...it never does and that's so frustrating to me. Ugh.

On the way back, I had the same conductor for part of the trip. There's a halfway point and they trade conductors...I was only on for 2 of his stops both times..sigh. Not long enough to procure a proposal...Oh well. Maybe next time. Anyway, the train ended up being 2 hours late by the time it got back to Chicago! TWO HOURS. So I missed my train to the suburbs by like 10 minutes. I had to wait in the metra station for 2 hours. Woohoo. It actually wasn't too bad. I saw lots of Navies. That was exciting. I also found all of the melanin in the city...and talked to some interesting people..

I'm not sure what's up with my uncle...if he thinks his house is just going to disappear or what..Every time we leave the house he closes the garage door, he looks before he pulls to the end of the street to make sure it's closed. Then he looks again while we're at the stop sign. Then AGAIN while we're turning...I want to yell "IT'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!! AND THE DOOR IS STILL CLOSED!!!" it's so weird. Men are weird.

So...I'm really good at finding people on facebook. Like scary good. Ask my friends. So Jennifer asked me to find someone...I'd never seen this kid before and she didn't know his last name..not to mention that he could live ANYWHERE surrounding our hometown. I must admit that I failed at this mission. It would have helped if she'd give me more to go on than "a beautiful black man" and his first name. lol

The people here are WEIRD. We pass 2 houses on the way to work that have the strangest lawn decorations I've ever seen in my life. One has these two HUGE concrete mushrooms on either side of the driveway. And the other has these cage things..like you'd see an oversized bird in. Like SERIOUSLY oversized...one has an octopus on the top and the other is shaped like a cheeseburger. Why on earth would you do that to your yard...it's just so strange.

We pass a place called "Blacks Auto Rebuilders."

I always think it says "Blacks and Rebuilders." 

And I always think "how racist!"

There was a huge storm that came through at the beginning of the week. It torn down so many trees in the suburb  I work. Most people were without power for 3 days. Our shop was the only one on our street open the next day. Apparently we NEVER lose power. We had to take a different route through town because of detours. On this detour, we saw lots of houses that looked the same. Not like in a subdivision same..just..the same. I didn't think anything of it. Then my uncle says "all these houses with the 2 windows at the top are Sears and Roebuck houses" and he went on to explain that people used to order their houses out of a catalog. I'd hear this before. And when I went to tell a friend a while back she totally didn't believe me at all! Ugh! Now I have proof! An entire street in a real town full of them!

Ok. I've got lots more to say but I just can't stay awake any longer. I'm sorry. 

I'm also sorry that it's not very funny. Maybe tomorrow's will be.

goodnight all.