Life at a Lively Pace

My husband talked me into an mp3 player today. We read a bunch of reviews and settled on Microsoft’s Zune. The features were in line with how I planned to use it, so it seemed to be a decent choice without having to shell out a ridiculous sum of money.

I can’t speak for the device itself. All I can say is that, after multiple attempts at installing the current verions of Zune software (version 3.0 is a nightmare - had to remove file bits at the registry level), we never got the Zune software to install on my laptop. Zune won’t sync with the PC without the software. Zune can’t even sync with Microsoft’s Media Player using the Sync function if the Zune software is not installed. Leave it to Microsoft to create a device whose software won’t install on a machine with Microsoft OS or even sync with Microsoft media software.

My husband is on his way to the store. The Zune will be returned and another mp3 player will replace it.

Ugh. What nonsense!

First things first - thank you for your prayers concerning my niece.  The headache she developed was a direct result of the spinal tap that had been performed several days prior. We still do not have an explanantion for the symptoms that put her in the ER - I suppose it will remain a mystery for now.

The other bit of news is that my job hunt intensity has increased.  We were just informed yesterday that, instead of closing the office on June 30 (as originally planned), plans have been stepped up.  The office will be closing on May 31.  I just lost a 4-week chunk of time to find a job.  I’m beginning to feel the heat.  While I have applied to several jobs in a variety of industries, I hoping that one of my two favorites comes through: production assistant in a multimedia department or tech support role for one of the local universities.

Many people vocalize the things they are thankful for around this time of year. I usually don’t don’t join the fray. It’s not that I have nothing to be thankful for because I most certainly do. While I have a lot of opinions on a lot of topics and will share them, those opinions are on things external and not a part of me. The closer the topic gets to who I really am, the more I am to keep those thought and feelings internalized.

However, I will join the fray this year. Foremostly, I thank God for who He is and what He has taught me in the last year Some lessons were harder than others to learn, but He never let me feel abandoned in the midst of the lessons. One of those lessons is best summed up this way:

If God is trying to teach me a lesson, it would behoove me to pay attention the first time. He’ll keep repeating the lesson in various scenarios and at various times until I “get it” - each occurence a little worse than the previous one. Trust me on this - sit up, pay attention to the whole set of instructions and follow directions. The lesson is shorter and there’s less aggravation.

Here’s my list (in no particular order):

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I’m sitting here, waiting for my husband to get home from work.  Yes, it’s after 11PM and yes, he’s been at work since 8 AM.  His job recently has become hectic as the result of several large national projects occuring concurrently with some rather nasty IT issues that have all but prevented him from getting his work done.  All things considered, it is overtime pay.  While we’re not getting rich, it allows us to get ahead on bills and we are thankful to God for that. 

It just occured to me, however, that there seems to be another side to the blessing. Not a negative, mind you, but an underside/backside.  Just as we get a little excited about being able to catch up on bills, something else comes up that eats away practically all of the extra.  My latest “case in point” entails the last two weeks.  There was plenty of overtime and, theoretically, a decent sized extra to the paycheck which will be direct-deposited at the end of this week.  Until the visit to the mechanic yesterday.  My husband’s car had to have an oil change, get inspected, get new rear brake pads and new rotors put in. 

Given this pattern,  it appears that God sends the circumstances to set up the overtime because He’s providing for a future need before it happens.  While I am grateful, one side of me - the very human side - wants to know if there’s any other way this can be handled.  I would rather have God prevent the need from occuring.  That way, hubbie can work decent hours and we spend time with each other rather than being two ships that pass in the night.  This, of course, is not up to me and I am learning to be thankful in all situations.

Blessings can be a little ironic.

Yep, they won.  The Eagles wiped up the field with the Cowboys today, 38 - 24. Poetic justice - the Eagles proved to T.O. that not only could they survive without him but they could beat his team as well.

I like football but not enough to be considered a fan. Regardless, I will be watching the game tomorrow, somewhere, to see if the Eagles can whoop some Cowboy’s, err…umm, kiester. Particularly, T. O.’s. posterior. What he put the Eagles and their fans through is beyond words. This is what happens when someone lets talent dictate whether or not a player is held to behavioral standards. Let the beatings begin!

On a related note, this can only be described as “ironic”. In the tradition of allowing celebrities to write children’s books, someone let T.O. write one as well. The title? “Little T Learns to Share” . The phrase “do as I say, not as I do” comes to mind …

Country Junction’s claim to fame is that it is “the world’s largest general store”. Though there are several locations in eastern PA, our favorite was the original building on Route 209 in Lehighton, PA. It had everything you could possibly need and then some. Furniture, hardware, outdoor and indoor decor, seasonal goodies, pet store, homemade food, a restaurant and a whole bunch of other stuff you may or may not need. It was an experience to be had. We would go up there even if we didn’t need to buy anything - it was fun just to walk around and look at their wares.

Country Junction started out as a single building and, over the course of time, additions were put on to expand the store. It became a giant, rambling building with a petting zoo that sat on 20 acres of land. Until Tuesday morning.

We awoke to the news that, sometime between 5 and 5:30 AM, a massive fire broke out and the building was destroyed. Though most of the animals in the petting zoo were saved, the pets inside the building were lost. No one has released a statement yet as to the cause. The owners say that they will rebuild. But it will never be the same.

We have become addicted to a game. A game called “Killer Bunnies”. Not to be confused with the Rabbit of Caerbannog, pictured to the left. That rabbit is not to be trifled with and most certainly should not be a participant of any game outside of Russian Roulette. Unless, of course, you happen to possess an extra Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch and can count only to three.

My husband’s family loves to get together and play games, so we’re always on the lookout for something new that a large group can play. We picked this game up at a specialty gaming store at the suggestion of the proprietor. The first game we played left me scratching my head, wondering if we made a mistake in purchasing the game. After the second game, I was hooked. And so was the rest of the family.

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I have waited for this for a very long time. Tomorrow (7/25) is it - the official release of Volume 1! The Animaniacs ran for only 5 years (1993 - 1998), but they were better than any other animated feature then and, should I dare say, since. Antics a child could appreciate with wit and sarcasm that only an adult could understand. Go get it - you’ll be glad you did!

Just as an update to my medical issue, I went and got the testing done yesterday. According to all results, there is nothing of any concern anywhere. Praise God!

While I know that He would have been able to sustain me through anything, my human state took over and, in my overactive imagination, I had myself on the surgeon's table with all sorts of complications.

I wish there was an "off" button for my mind.