Hotel papers

• If I don’t write this blog entry in bullet points, it’s probably not going to happen at all. For some reason bullet points seem much less daunting than paragraphs. Sad, I know…but the whole point of this blog is to have an outlet and right now, I have a lot to say and can’t seem to organize my thoughts beyond a bullet point

• I’m traveling for work right now and I’m a bit nervous about what I have to accomplish this week. I’ve done it before, but it’s a little out of my comfort zone and it usually takes a day or so for me to get back into the swing of things. I don’t get to hide behind my computer this week and I’m usually much more of a “behind the scenes” kind of girl

• Speaking of traveling, I always joke that the person who works in Transportation Services hates me, because I usually get stuck with a clunker. One of my most comical experiences was from a somewhat local trip (150 miles or so.) I had to drive a gold 1999 Ford Taurus. Oh. My. Word. It was a death trap – it shook when it got to 60 mph and really couldn’t go past 65 mph, even when I floored it - semi trucks passing me on the freeway (totally not safe.) I also remember having to pull over for 10-15 minutes to let the car cool off since it was overheating. I probably should have called AAA, but I tend to be a bit macho about those kinds of things and figured I could get it back in once piece (plus it would have been way more hassle than it was worth…the government makes everything take ten times longer than it needs to take.) Last year I got stuck with a Malibu that felt like a tank and had zero visibility…the driver side door also didn’t like to unlock and I had to unlock it from the passenger side. The “check engine” light kept going on and off during the third day of my trip and continued until I made it home

• This year’s car (a Hyundai Elantra) is okay – it’s not something I would pick for myself, but it’s by far the best car I’ve had for work – the visibility is a bit off, but I realized on my way down that I need new contacts/glasses and I really, really, need to learn how to use my side mirrors. I also heart the XM radio in it. 90s/2000s jams? Yes, please!!!

• Yes, I never learned how to use my side mirrors when I learned how to drive – I remember it drove my dad crazy (he’s primarily the one who taught me how to drive...I still hear lectures about it in my head, but truth be told, it’s comforting at this point.) Yes, I really, really should know how to use them. But, here’s the thing – you’re supposed to look over your shoulder for blind spots anyway, right? Why bother with the side mirror if I have to look before I change lanes? I mean, I use it sometimes, but I feel like I can’t fully rely on it

• I’m really missing my dad right now. It would have been his 68^th birthday on the 13^th… I really don’t have much else to say on this (well, I do…I just don’t feel the need to blog about it…I’m trying to keep it as light as possible at the moment)

• I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad the weekend is over – I nearly had a meltdown trying to pack and get things done for my second job. My house was in a state of disarray and I was generally in a bad mood…I felt really overwhelmed. I’m not allowed to run or workout right now (usually my cure for feeling overwhelmed) so I made a to-do list and a packing list and suddenly all was right with the world again. I got the important stuff done and I’m trying not to stress about the smaller things. God bless to-do lists. God bless lists in general (I realize that Jesus probably has better things to worry about than my to-do lists…but still)

• I got my craft on and made 6 book pumpkins this morning. I have to say they turned out pretty bad-ass. They were a lot more time consuming than I expected, but I don’t like half-assing things (well, I half-ass stuff all the time, but I don’t like to half-ass library stuff.) I hope they look awesome in the display…and I hope we reuse them next year, because I don’t plan on doing this again. Also? Where has spray paint been all my life??!! I had way, way, way too much fun spray painting the pumpkins orange and coating them in gold glitter (I’m sure the paint fumes weren't helping.) I now know why graffiti exists – it’s so much fun (my main complaint about graffiti? If you’re gonna do it, could you at least make it legible and understandable? I don’t know what SHORTBY56GUTZ means.) The world might be a better place of people used glitter paint in their graffiti creations. Martha Stewart would totally approve

• I miss running and working out – thanks to my injury from last week’s half marathon, I’m not supposed to run, swim or walk excessively for the next 4-6 weeks. My leg is in pain and it’s bothering me all day every day, but working out is my stress relief…I love running more than anything. I have a rocky and complicated history with running, but it’s been a life saver for me and I can’t picture my life without it. It’s gotten me through some really, really, rough patches in my life. On a vain note, I feel like I’ve gained 10 pounds (probably not possible, my pants all fit normally and I don’t weigh myself anyway….what can I say, I’m crazy)

• I got to meet my friends baby today – he’s not even two weeks old…he’s so, so, so, so cute and tiny. However, I’m not gonna lie babies scare me and they seem so fragile. Any parent will tell you that they’re not as fragile as you think they are, but I’m still terrified that I’ll break the baby. Scary stuff. Reason 1032 why I probably won’t have kids. Don’t get me wrong, I like kids and babies are adorable, but I could just see myself being the annoying, worry-wart, helicopter parent (on a side note, I do much better with babies in the infant and toddler stage…not nearly as scary J )

• I’m not sure how it got to be so late, but I should probably get ready for bed now…would it be weird to just order coffee and bacon for room service tomorrow morning? Because that sounds positively delightful right now