Two weeks and counting

Last week I acquired two new injuries at work. I got a scratch across the bridge of my nose when I leaned too close to a piece of veneer traveling down to the grader and a rather painful scratch/bruise combination when I walked into a cart. The bruise has turned green now. It hurt a lot.

In other news, I have only two weeks left until I head back to Pullman. This sudden realization has left me trying to fit as much as I possibly can into these last two weeks. Think Calvin in August. As a result, I have been very busy. And now, I am very tired.

Also, Ariel is in Kalaloch this week and I am lonely. It never fails to be when she is unavailable when I have the most desperate need to talk to her.

Special Effects of Plywood

So there I was, plugging at my plugger and daydreaming as usual. and then, a sudden, loud boom/bang jolted me out of my thoughts. It sounded like a large stack of wood had been dropped from a high distance. I looked up and sure enough, in the distance one could see a large dust cloud had been forced into the air. All the other pluggers heard and saw it too. I saw the foreman running towards the cloud and then all the pluggers jumped down and ran to the site also. Except for me. I work right in front of the grader and he didn't move so I figured I had better stay put also. A few minutes later, everyone came straggling back.

There is a little trough which runs along all the pluggers where the scraps of wood fall. At the bottom of the trough there is a belt which runs all the scraps into a grinder. It turns out that the motor for this grinder blew up. It is completely destroyed. No one was hurt. Some of the pieces which were blown off were so hot that even the heavy duty gloves melted if you touched them.

We kept plugging after the event but we gathered all the scraps of wood into cardboard boxes and then carried the boxes to a dumping site. I've never realized how many scraps I make each day. I hope they turn the scraps into something because if not, there are an awful lot of trees that are being wasted.

Softball

So unless there is a sudden monsoon between now and 6:10(I hope I didn't just jinx it), softball is a go for tonight! I can't describe my happiness...even though it is our last game.

Our Friday Night: Part Four

We watched our movie and all was well. It got out around 12:30. Perfect timing to head over to Barnes and Noble to pick up my book. Most of the crazy people should have come and gone. As we pulled into the parking lot, however, we saw a mob hanging outside the doors. Hmmm, maybe people were having so much fun that they stuck around, we suggested. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

It turns out, at around six that evening, Barnes and Noble handed out a limited number of bracelets to people waiting outside. Only the people with these bracelets could go into the store and pick up their book, regardless of pre-order/reserved copy. I was not pleased. I was under the impression, when I reserved my copy, that I would be able to pick it up when the store began selling the books, which it did at midnight. I heard absolutely nothing about these required bracelets until that night. As I said, I was not pleased.

You disappointed me Barnes and Noble.

After we were unsuccessful at picking up HP 7, Ariel and I headed home. It was an unsatisfactory ending to an otherwise enjoyable Friday night, pushy self-scanner excluded.

Our Friday Night: Part Three

The next stop was the cinema in the mall. On the way over we discussed the ridiculousness of the self scanner. Then I realized that I would have to sneak my grapes and candy and big bottle of GatorAid into the theatre. According to Ali, the people at the new theatres are very persnickety about letting people in with outside food. We were going to buy the tickets then find a bathroom so I could wash my grapes off, but realized that the rest of the mall is closed at 10PM. So, we just walked in and nobody cared. We went into the bathroom and I rinsed off my grapes and shook them vigorously to get the water off. I wasn't satisfied with just shaking them so I stuck them under the hand blow drier, which basically just happened for laughs because it didn't accomplish much.

We then made our way into our designated theatre and wouldn't you know it it was deserted. We got our prime choice for seats (second section, first full row, right in front of the bar). We chatted for a few seconds about how wonderful it was that we had avoided the scary Harry Potter fans then each pulled out our favorite magazine from my Top Foods bag and read in silence. Thanks again Christina. It's great that we don't have to talk to each other when we are together. We are perfectly happy hanging out in silence. I also found our magazines amusing. Christina chose Cosmopolitan and I chose Every Day with Rachel Ray. They are so opposite from each other, and at the same time reflect our personalities which are also opposites.

Our Friday Night: Part Two

I think it has something to do with the tartness, but grapes really do make my teeth ache. Also, whether green or some other color, I can only chew grapes on the right side of my mouth. Grapes are too cold for my left side. It is very odd.

We then headed over to the cashiers to check out, but as we got there, no one was manning their posts at the registers. Luckily, we spotted a little thing that said "Self-Checkout."

I told Ariel we should try it. "It'll be fun," I said. I was sadly mistaken. It looked simple enough. There was the little scanning place and a small monitor with push buttons. I pushed a button that said something along the lines of "Begin Check-out," thinking to myself how easy it would be.

"Please scan your first item," the machine yelled.

"Ariel, how do you turn it down," I asked.

I don't know why I was embarrassed. I think having a machine yell at me just made me flustered. Still, I continued. I scanned my first item, a magazine. "Four dollars and sixty-five cents. Please place item in bag." (I ignored the directions and simply set the magazine off to the side. I was only purchasing a few items and didn't need a bag.) I tried to scan a second magazine but nothing happened."Please place item in bag," the machine loudly directed. It repeated this every time I tried to scan the second magazine. I gave up and put the first one in a bag.

After this, the second magazine scanned just fine. "How did it know," I asked Ariel. She didn't know. By this point, I was thoroughly embarrassed and frustrated. I found it annoying that the scanner yelled out the price of each item as you scanned it, even though the price showed on the screen. And what if I didn't want to use a bag. I shouldn't have to. It was a very pushy obnoxious machine and I did not like it.

Our Friday Night: Part One

As I sat in my van on Aurora Ave. Friday afternoon reading the names of the numerous bars, pubs, and taverns, I saw one of them was named The Chupacabra. I had tried to remember this word a few weeks ago in a discussion I had with Christina and now that the word was fresh in my mind I decided to call and tell her. We chatted for about 10 minutes and I explained to her that we had been driving since 1:00PM and now were stuck in North Seattle trying to avoid the traffic on I-5. We finished up our conversation and I told her I would call her when we finally got home. My mom then asked if Christina and I had any plans for that night. I half chuckled and told her no. Mom asked me why I laughed and I replied "why would we have plans for tonight?" "Because it's Friday night." But Christina and I never do anything on Friday nights other than hang out at my house and watch a movie. We like our mellow nights.

When we finally got home after 7 hours of driving and for me 7 hours of nausea and headache, I called Christina back. We then decided to go to a late movie in Olympia to kill time until midnight when we would drive over to Barnes & Noble and pick up her reserved copy of Harry Potter. I was rather excited and said to mom "Yay! I guess I am doing something tonight!"


When Christina arrived, she stepped out of her car wearing the navy blue Evergreen Swim Club sweatshirt I "gave" to her. I looked at her and giggled "I should wear mine too!" She nodded and giggled with excitement. I ran and got my other matching sweatshirt and she excitedly explained how when we are standing in line we will have to stand next to each other so that together the sweatshirts read "Ariel VanZandt" (she has the "Ariel" one). No one else thought it was funny.

Our first stop was Top Foods as we were in need of sugar and drinks to get us through the night. As we entered we saw a line of Harry Potter freaks fans camping out by the flowers. Turns out even Top Foods was having a midnight release of the new book. We made our way to the back of the store to the candy area. After we had gotten our candy I realized that I really hadn't eaten much that day because of my car sickness and that I now was ready for some "real" food. We wandered over past the bread then into the produce discussing the different options. Christina tried to convince me that a $5.99 piece of tiramisu was "real" food and as tempting as it was I had to decline. I actually decided on some green grapes. As I was putting them into the bag Christina informed me that green grapes hurt her teeth.

It is finished.

I finished reading the seventh Harry Potter book about half an hour ago. I can't say much more than that right now because I fear spoiling it to those who know me well.

I began reading the book at about three this afternoon after it arrived in the mail. I would have been able to start reading this morning when I awoke, but Barnes and Noble disappointed me. I tried to pick up my reserved copy at midnight but since I had not been willing to wait at the doors since six o'clock in the evening, Ariel and I could not go into the store.

To those who waited for the six hours and received their copy 14 hours before me, I applaud your dedication. I wonder what your reaction was to the ending.

I think Harry will die.

First, let me just exclaim, "Harry Potter comes out tonight!"

Now that's off my chest, you probably won't hear from me much over the weekend. I'll be holed up in my room trying frantically to finish the book before I go in for overtime at 3 a.m. Monday morning. Why the frantic rush? Even though I already think I know how the book will end (and I truly hope I'm wrong or else I won't be very happy) I am determined to read the ending for myself. But as soon as the book comes out, it will be like Harry Potter has taken over the world. I won't be able to avoid the story. Thus, I must finish the book before I reenter the rest of the world.

If you aren't a fan of Harry Potter and are looking for some reading material, I suggest browsing through our funny stories.

Continuing my observations ...

As I've said before, all I really do at work is think about things and/or make observations. Some of today's observations:

I work with a Rick, Roy, Richard, Ray, and Ryan. That's a lot of R-names working together in a small vicinity.

I like wearing nail polish to work because it's about the only dressing up I can do. I fell in love with a color Ariel has and bought a bottle of my own. I ate grapes today with my lunch. The nail polish was exactly the same color as the red grapes. I thought it was weird.

I've seen a lot of 3s this summer: Spider-man 3, Pirates 3, Shrek the Third, Ocean's 13, and though technically it was a 5th and not a 3rd, Harry Potter. What's with the 3s?

Today I also reinforced in my mind that I am a nerd. I replay bad/embarrassing/regretful memories a lot more often in my mind than I replay happy/fond ones. I realized this in the middle of a bad memory. I became determined to think about some happy ones instead. What came immediately to my mind, but of course, different moments from debate tournaments. Can't get much happier than debate.

Softball Game Update

Officially cancelled.

I don't mind the rain, unless it's Wednesday. My whole week has been ruined.

Nose Goes

After reading a couple books about personal enlightenment and human evolution I got to thinking...

As a human being you get at least one cold a year, right? And while you have this cold you are usually blowing you nose a countless number of times throughout the day. So, why is it that your nose always gets red and sensitive making it painful to wipe your nose? Especially me, who also has allergies that make my nose run all the time. Why haven't our bodies adapted?

Another part of the human body that hadn't evolved is the tongue. I burn my tongue all the time and yet it never seems to get any tougher. Why is that?

Rain,Rain Go Away

I must play softball today! (That almost works)

It makes me think of the Elvis song "I Feel So Bad"

"I feel so bad
Feels like a ball game on a rainy day
I feel so bad
Feels like a ball game on a rainy day
Yes I got my rain check
Shake my head and walk away"

I hope we don't get a rain check, because then my favorite day of the week will be ruined.

"The Alchemist" By Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist was recommended to me by an employee at Barnes & Noble after I asked the name of the man who wrote The Celestine Prophecy. He said if I liked insightful books I would love The Alchemist. So I bought it. I was, however, slightly disappointed. The book was okay. It definitely presented some interesting ideas, but they didn't get me anywhere near as excited as The Celestine Prophecy.

Here are some of the lines that I found interesting:

"'I've crossed these sands many times,' said one of the camel drivers one night. 'But the desert is so huge, and the horizons so distant, that they make a person feel small, and as if he should remain silent.'"

"'We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.'"

"'Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive...and it has a soul. We are part of that soul, so we rarely recognize that it is working for us.'"

The day before I finished this book sometime last week, Christina and I were lying on my trampoline reading. I had just read a passage in my book about a man whose camel had to carry his books and him, when I said "Can you imagine how many books you would have to take if you had to cross the Sahara? I'd have to take a whole 'nother camel!"

"At least," Christina replied without looking up from her book.

I continued to ponder which books I would take with me, then decided that I would have to spend at least two days in Barnes & Noble picking them out.

Song of the Day

In honor of our 200th post the Song of the Day is...

..."You're My Best Friend" by Queen

Only 19 days left

Recently, I have been pulled off the pluggers a few times to do other jobs around the plant. There are different layers which make the plywood. Besides the sheets of veneer that I usually plug, three other kinds of paper are used in the plywood. I spent the first two hours of today putting the kinds of paper in the correct pattern so they could be combined with the wood. Simply because it was something new, I enjoyed the work. I know, however, the enjoyment will fade as soon as the work becomes routine.

After work I had to go to the union office because union dues were being deducted out of all my checks twice. I am a member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. I got everything straightened out.

Other than that, only one mysterious bruise, two small scratches, a smooshed thumb, and a paper cut from a piece of paper bigger than me. All in all, it was not a bad day at work.

No Smiles Here

We had a code of conduct meeting yesterday morning at work. (It had to occur in the morning, instead of giving us an excuse to avoid the 109 degrees it was in the plant by afternoon.) The meeting was primarily about harassment and mostly sexual harassment. I came away thinking that if anyone ever had any thoughts about asking me out, they surely won't now. I learned at this meeting that it is dangerous for men to speak to, look at, let alone touch a female co-worker. Same goes for women to men but at a lesser degree.

I think it is sad that we have to have meetings where supervisors warn, "even complimentary comments, like telling a woman she looks nice today, can be viewed as harassment." I understand why it has happened. I understand how important it is to discuss what sexual harassment is and to make it known that it is unacceptable. I understand that this meeting, as silly as I sometimes believed it to be (No kissing allowed between anyone on plant property even if married or family members. A brief arm around another's shoulders as a way of parting is, however, tolerated), was necessary. I understand, but I think it's sad.

The Little Mermaid

Last Saturday was the annual Tumwater Family Practice summer party. This year they decided to do a camp out at Millersylvania. I was excited because the parties are always pretty fun and I get to hang out and chat with people. The only downside to these parties is that a few of the mothers always expect Ali and/or me to babysit their kids while we are their. I'm not a fan of babysitting especially when you're not paying me and I'm trying to talk with my friends. The moms always run up to me, ask me to watch their kids for "a few minutes," shove them at me, then run away before I can say no. So then the people I'm chatting with move away because they don't want to be stuck watching a bunch of 5 and unders either. They want to have a good time. Even last year at my graduation party the kids got pawned off on us for a while. It irritates me because it makes me feel like they don't respect me as an adult. They don't realize that I might actually like to have a conversation with someone at least my own age and not have to explain why I don't have my fins on today. I also don't enjoy people being incredibly close to my face and if you've ever been around a child you know that they like to be half an inch from your face while they are talking to you. Not pleasant.

So, as my mom and I were driving up to the party I said "Jennifer and Bridget better not make me babysit." Then Mom said they probably wouldn't because there would be plenty of other kids there to play with them. We got there and said hi to a few people then got some food and sat down to eat and chat. I was starving because I hadn't eaten yet that day and it was like 3 o'clock. And wouldn't ya know it, I hadn't taken two bites when I hear "Ariel!" I looked around and saw the moms coming at be saying "can you watch the girls for a bit?" I turned to my mom and sighed. She mouthed "sorry baby." I looked back at the moms and nodded. Why couldn't I have said "no, I'd like to eat first." But I assumed that they would say in the bouncy house they were playing in (I know right, who brings a giant blow up bouncy house camping?). I went to take another bite when suddenly I heard one of the moms say "Go to Ariel" then three little voices yelling "MERMAID! ARIEL! ARIEL! MERMAID!" Then they were all over me.

I tried to continue eating my burger, but gave up after a few minutes because one of the three little girls was convinced I was the little mermaid and wouldn't stop asking me questions about mermaid life and the other two were basically sitting on top of my food. I stupidly answered her questions like I actually was mermaid Ariel instead of almost mermaid Ariel. Here are some of the questions:

"Ariel?"
~"Yes Gracie?"
"Where are your fins?"
~"I only have them when I'm in the water."
"Ariel?
~"Yes Gracie."
"Where is Eric?"
~"He's at the castle."
"Ariel?"
~"Yes Gracie?"
"Are you wearing a purple bra?"
~"I only wear that one when I'm in the water." The guy next to me loved that one.
"Ariel?"
~"Yes Gracie?"
"How come your hair isn't red?"
~"It turns red when I'm in the water."
"Ariel?"
~"Yes Gracie?"
"Do you have a mean daddy?"
~"No. I have a nice daddy."
"Ariel?"
~"Yes Gracie?"
"Do you have a mean mommy?"
~I looked at mom, then looked back at Gracie and said "Only right now." Of course Gracie didn't get it, so I had to tell her that I had a nice mommy just like her.
"Ariel?"
~"Yes Gracie?"
"Do you know any sea witches?"
~"Only Ursula, but she's gone now remember?"
"Ariel?"
~"Yes Gracie?"
"Can we go swimming?"
~"Not right now." The three girls started whining and begging for me to go swim with then, but I turned on my mommy voice and said no again. They quit.
"Ariel?"
~"Yes Gracie?"
"Why do you collect things?"
~I couldn't come up with anything. My brain was shutting down from exhaustion. I looked at Mom who said "because she likes to learn," and I nodded in agreement. Good one Mom.

Then Gracie ran off and I thought I was free. So naive. A couple minutes later she came back with her mom who said "Yes I know Ariel." Then Gracie ran off and got her dad who said "Yes Gracie. I've known Ariel for a long time." Then Gracie sat back down and continued to ask me more mermaid questions. One of the moms came back and took two of the girls to the bathroom. Mom and I were cold so we decided to go to the van and get our sweatshirts. Gracie didn't want me to go, but I had to leave. I was just getting more and more frustrated with each question. We walked to the van and mom was trying to convince me that they make me babysit their kids because they "trust me." We both knew that was bull, nice try Mom.

When we started to walk back to the camp site I started to get nauseous. I was already feeling a little car sick from the drive, but my anxiety about going back to face the mini-interrogator was making it worse. Mom said we would walk back and get some dessert because I still hadn't eaten much and just try to avoid the little girls. By the time we had gotten up to where the food was I had made myself so nervous and nauseous that I couldn't even look at the food. I told Mom that was going back to the car to read the Celestine Prophecy. As I turned to go one of my friends who I hadn't seen in a while started talking to me. I wanted to stay and talk because that was the whole point of my coming, but I was so nervous that I would suddenly feel one of the girls tugging at my pants that I told him I wasn't feeling well and had to leave.

I told Mom to stay as long as she wanted because my book was getting really good and I wanted to read it anyway. As I walked back to the van I felt like I was on the brink of tears. I couldn't believe how sick I felt and how frustrated I'd become. It was silly. As I sat in the back of the van I saw more people pull in that I wanted to talk to, but I stayed in my place and tried to grasp the various insights in my book.

About an hour or so later Mom came back to the van and said we could go. Then I felt worse because I wanted her to have a good time and I felt like I was ruining it for her. I told her I was fine and she could go back, but she said she was bored anyway and wanted to go home and read her book. She informed me that 10 minutes after I had left, Gracie and her parents went home and the other two girls went to sleep. I was upset, but I let it go because I really had enjoyed my book, so I guess it didn't really matter.

Now the whole clinic knows what happened. Yesterday and the day before I had to wait there for my mom after work because we had carpooled and several people came up to me and asked me where my fins were. It was funny, but then they wanted me to talk about it and had heard from other sources that it pissed me off. I didn't want to admit that it really had made me mad because all three of the moms were in the clinic somewhere and I learned earlier that week that I shouldn't talk about people if there is any chance in the world that they could hear me and I didn't want to hurt any one's feelings. So, I just laughed and said it was kinda cute.

"The Celestine Prophecy" by James Redfield

I read the Celestine Prophecy this weekend and I was hooked from chapter 3. If you've never read this book go out and buy it today. It's worth the $14.

My mom read it years ago and has been suggesting it to me since, but I never had the urge to read it until recently. I wanted an easy summer read that wouldn't bog me down and I was sure this book was going to do just that. Mom assured me that it wouldn't so I decided to give it a try. Now, it's in my top 10.

Along with becoming one of my favorite books, it's also changed the way I look at things. It's almost like putting on a pair of glasses or taking them off, if you will. I've started noticing how my energy/attitude affects that of those around me. It has also made me think more deeply about my dreams/daydreams and about "coincidence" that I notice. My mom says this way of thinking wears off after a few weeks, but I don't think I want it to. I like to feel insightful.

The novel is about a man who travels to Peru to learn about a newly discovered and translated manuscript. The manuscript was originally written in Aramaic, the same language used to write much of the Old Testament. It dates back to around 600 B.C. and predicts how humans will start to evolve in the end of the 20th century. The Peruvian government is working to destroy all copies of the manuscript and publicly denies it's existence for fear that it will affect the church. It is definitely an adventure.

I hesitate to say I had some sort of personal enlightenment while reading this book because that would make it sound deeper and more intense than it actually was. And I'd hate to overuse the sight analogies, but reading this book was like unfocusing my eyes to see the hidden picture in the 3D eye teaser. Once you get the hang of it it's pretty cool.

I can't decide if I want to read the next one in the series because I'm afraid it will go too deep and cause me to lose sight of the picture. Then again it's so fascinating...

Go. Read it. See the picture.

O Hemlock tree

Since I have been working at the plant, the only kind of wood I have plugged is Douglas Fir. There were some good loads and some bad loads, but overall the Fir and I got along. Today, I had to plug Hemlock which is an evil, evil tree. The sheets were covered in knots, the wood was rough, and the ends were split. Hemlock did not make a good first impression at all.

Should find yourself at the mercy of a forest some day, remember this lesson: Hemlock is evil.

One Poor Dog

A show was playing on the T.V. in the background while I was checking my email. After an in depth interview with Daniel Radcliffe about Harry Potter's first kiss, I tuned the show out while I did some facebooking. That was until a story came on that I simply could not ignore. It was a story about a dog that suffered an embolism and whose legs became paralyzed. It was one of those sad/heartwarming tales. They gave the dog a pair of wheels to make it mobile again. Since it was a happy ending, I feel slightly less cold-hearted by shining light on some of the dog owner's crazy comments.

When the dog didn't come home ...

"We weren't sure what had happened. We thought maybe he had been attacked by a cow."

(A cow?)

What did you do when you went to look for him?

"As I ran out the door I grabbed a handful of ice cream. It's his favorite food. I wasn't sure what I would find but I thought at least his final meal might be his favorite."

(Wouldn't her hand get cold? Isn't it bad to give a dog ice cream? At least admitting on T.V. that you give your dog ice cream has to be bad.)

"It's so sad. He could once run 17 mph. He was like the wind."

This merely makes me wonder how fast dogs actually do run. Is 17 mph fast or slow? Is it possible to check a dog's speed with a radar gun?

Update: Only minutes later as the show which came on next went to commercial, "Coming up next, the dog that hops around like a rabbit."

It was a sad day for dogs.

Don't watch Shooter with a shooter.

My cousins came over this morning because they had rented Shooter with Mark Wahlberg and thought my father might enjoy watching it. My sisters and I watched as well. My father couldn't turn off his commentary setting.

"They're doing it all wrong. Where's the sun guard for the gun."

"Why are they running? Do they want to die? They'd be better off staying absolutely as still as possible." (They were running from a helicopter)

"Hey, maybe they did go through sniper training after all. Bound to get something right eventually." (In reference to the placement of the finger on the trigger)

It only continued. This made me remember why I never watch movies about cops, swat teams, drug busts, or snipers with my father.

The movie was a typical action movie, except for a bit more outspoken with the political criticisms. I found it enjoyable but not anything extraordinary.

Tail Between My Legs

I learned a big lesson yesterday at Big 5 (I expect the next four to follow soon). I learned you should never talk about a customer on the sales floor...ever.

This lady had come in to the store with her 5ish kids and was yelling at them so I decided not to ask her if she needed help, because I could see that she was a little busy. She flagged me down though and told me to help her with the skim boards. She yelled at her kids some more then told me that she wanted two of the ones that were on sales but she wanted them to be different colors. She was upset because we didn't have two different colors and that's what she wanted. I apologized and told her that sale items usually sell quickly. I also told her that we had gotten a truck in that morning but all of our new skim boards had been put out on the floor already. She was upset at the news and started complaining about how she had driven all the way from Shelton and they had just left McDonald's and that was a nightmare (well duh) and that driving all the way from Shelton was a big deal for them and she couldn't believe we didn't have the product she wanted. The reality of it was that we, in fact, did have the product she wanted, but she needed two different colors. I apologized and told her that we could either do a rain check or call the Lacey store. She decided to do a rain check. Then barked at her kids to go sit in the car. I told her to have a nice day and walked off to help some more customers.

A few minutes later I walked up to my manager and another sales associate who were in the middle of talking about an irritating customer. I asked them who they were talking about and they described the same lady I had been talking to earlier. I told them that she had been ornery to me too. I told them how she was complaining about driving all the way from Shelton and that I drive from McCleary every day and it's the same distance, but I don't' take it out on other people. The three of us "discussed" it a bit then the other sales guy proceeded to mock her, when suddenly she stepped out from behind him and said "I've decided to call the Lacey store."

My stomach felt like it was going to explode, my heart stopped beating for 2 whole seconds, my jaw dropped to the floor and I stood there frozen like a deer in headlights. My manager said she would call the Lacey store and started leading her back to the front of the store. As the lady passed me she said "same distance as McCleary, whatever" or something to that extent because apparent my brain was in shut down mode too and decided to turn off my ears.

After she left my lungs started working again and I ran to the back room with my co-worker. My manager came to the back after a few minutes and told me that the lady was pissed and acting dramatic (I think, my ears were still shut off). I told her I was going to stay in the back until she left and my manager gave me permission. Then a different sales guy came to the back and told me that Jordan, who was the one complaining with us on the floor, had done it again! He was telling the cashier the story and the lady was right behind him!

Unlike my co-worker I have learned my lesson. I was right though. McCleary and Shelton are the same distance from Olympia.

The mind is a strange place.

I think about many things during my time on the plugger. My mind travels all over the place. Here are some of the places it visited today.

I think it's funny when a man who makes plywood struggles opening a yogurt cup.

"Necklace" and "Neck less" sound exactly the same. I found this odd since someone who is neck less would be unable to wear a necklace.

Something I like about working in a loud environment is that I can pop and snap my bubble gum as loud as I want to and no one notices. How come no one else chews bubble gum at the plywood plant?

One of the graders always throws me a piece of candy when I work across from him. I wonder if he gives candy to the boys too.

Some of my thoughts from past days I'm sure have been more interesting, but those days are gone and I can't remember what the thoughts were so I shared these instead.

"Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned" By Alan Alda

I had never read a book of celebrity memoirs until this one and I must say it was a great way to introduce myself into the genre. The book is separated into three "acts," each representing a different period of his life. The acts are the only thing chronological in the book. His stories jump around depending on the topic of each chapter, which actually makes the book more interesting, because you feel like he's actually talking to you.

I went into the book expecting him to be like his character on M*A*S*H, but he wasn't at all. In retrospect, I'm glad I came into it with this expectation because I think I was able to compare and contrast and see the real Alan Alda instead of reading the biography of Hawkeye Pierce. I was surprised to see that he really didn't use a lot of pages to describe his time on M*A*S*H. This bothered me at first because that's what I wanted to read about. After I passed that part of the book however, I found myself still curious about other issues he was dealing with.

Like his character in M*A*S*H, Alda is witty and loves improvisation. Both contributed to the draw of this book. To put it simply, I loved this book because some of his thoughts are so me. Here are some of the one's I liked:

"My mother didn't try to stab my father until I was six, but she must have shown signs of oddness before that." p.3

"Memory can be a kind of mental taxidermy, trying to hold on to the present after it's become the past. I didn't know this them. Change was coming, and I was going to have to com out of my cocoon soon. But I wasn't ready for the next stage in my ,life, and I hung on to the early times as long as I could." p.24

"This was putting my finger in the emotional light socket." p.27

"Other people's obsessions are boring." p.37

"I had to be careful about bumping up against reality. I could break my nose on it." p.41

"If you can make a nun laugh, can God frown?" p.46

"Don't chew on it. Don't' even let it touch your teeth. Above all, don't let it stick to the roof of your mouth. Oh, God, you did it. You let it happen. God is stuck to the roof of your mouth. How are you going to get Him off? You have to get this off and swallow it. What if it just gets hard and stays there? You can't walk around for the rest of the day with God in your mouth. Oh, God. Melt, melt." p.46

"'You have a plump hippocamus!' she said. I had never received that compliment before, and I couldn't tell if it was what she told all the boys, but I grinned with pride anyway." p.186

"You can tell a lot about people by the way they treat the help." p.220

"[about the last MASH unit being decommissioned]I could have thanked them- not just for keeping alive thousands of wounded, but also for keeping alive that amazing human impulse we have at times to put ourselves in the line of fire to save another person's life: someone we don't know, someone who may never know we were even there. They gave us a look at the finest part of ourselves. Their devotion was, in fact, the finest kind." p.234

I recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of Alan Alda, M*A*S*H, theatre, or comedy, or who needs a good summer read.

July 4, 2007

My grandparents left today before I got home from work. I told them good bye last night after fireworks. Our fourth of July celebration went quite well I thought. We had many fireworks, even more family members, and had to find an extra table for all the food. It's the only way to celebrate Independence day.

This was the first year I didn't do any sparklers. Instead, Ariel and I handed them out to the little ones (although I think she did one). Mostly though, we occupied ourselves with fireworks that were a bit more exciting. I didn't get any burns, only a small amount of Roman candle debris in an eye (stupid wind), and a small hole in the sleeve of one of my jackets. My favorite part of the day was the birthday cake for my great uncle George. I made it. It looked like a flag with blueberry stars and raspberry/cool whip stripes.

I got the day off from work, but had to go in today. I am tired. Large family gatherings and a work day on four hours of sleep will do that.

A Western Wedding

My grandparents are visiting from Wenatchee. They arrived Friday and were already at my house when I came home from work. They are staying until after our yearly Fourth of July bash.

On Saturday Ariel and I went to my cousin's Western themed wedding. As most of the family was busy or dressed up, it fell to Ariel and myself to catch the bride's horse for her to ride in on. We caught it ... and wearing heels. (Me, not the horse)

Today the groom came over to build a ramp onto our porch for my grandmother. I also went to church with my grandparents to make them happy. I haven't been in over a year and going today made me remember why. Some people are just crazy. Others are nice though and it was good seeing them. But the crazy ones ...