rantings & ramblings
The calendar says summer begins on June 20; society says summer starts with Memorial Day; my work says summer starts tomorrow. That’s when our summer hours begin. But before we get to that, let’s look back at the week that was.
Continue reading “Spring Ends; Summer Begins”
After days of rain it’s good to see the sun in the sky. Let’s chat over some coffee. Continue reading “Saturday Morning Coffee”
Hello, Readers! Did you miss me? I missed you, but I know the past few weeks have been crazy with a capital C. I won’t hold it against you if you thought I’d dropped off the face of the earth. Continue reading “I Survived the Holidays”
Pour a cup & pull up a chair; it’s been a while. Continue reading “Saturday Morning Coffee”
Today is my birthday.
I remember birthdays gone by when well-intentioned friends and relatives would buy one present for “both your birthday and Christmas” but the birthday part was often just said in passing or added to the Christmas tag with a carat.
My parents often bought me a Lego set for my birthday, which I loved. In fact, one year my brothers and sister and maybe even a sister-in-law by that time all pitched in and bought me a combined present I didn’t mind receiving: the Crystal Explorer Sub in the Lego Aquanaut series. Of all the sets I received, this one stayed intact the longest, before it was inevitably dismantled and its parts mixed in to the buckets upon buckets worth of Lego bricks I’d accumulated over the years. Looking at the picture, I can say that some of the parts were incorporated into a castle I built, so large I needed 4 green base plates, and other parts (the antennae) became lasers on a spaceship or two. Ah, childhood.
Now that I’m older, birthdays are more or less just another day, with a call from my mom at 7:15 in the morning thrown in. I look forward to that call.
So imagine my pleasant surprise when I found out my choir mate has the same birthday (day-wise at least, not year). Given our mutual feelings for being December babies, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to get each other a birthday present. This year she handed me a bag and said
You’ve got to use this on the last day of exams before Christmas!
It brought some joy and frivolity to a class just ready to be done with the semester. [In case you can’t see it, the hat is a “crying with laughter” emoji.]
Of course, every time I think I have it bad with a birthday on 22 Dec, I have to remember it could be worse:
One of my sisters-in-law has her birthday on 24 Dec., and I have a good friend whose birthday is on Christmas Day itself.
We December birthdays have to stick together . . .
People always want to know what one did on their birthday. As a teacher, I abhor repeating myself unnecessarily, so I’m keeping this list and when someone asks me what I did I can just say:
Check my Blog!
Smokey woke me up at 6:00
I may be on break, but he certainly is not
Then, I . . .
opened Overcast and started catching up on unplayed podcasts
logged into Facebook and played some Scrabble
talked to my Mom and Dad
They call me every birthday at 7:15 AM
typed two blog posts: Teaser Tuesday and Twenty Questions
tried helping Krystal get ready for work
I was more in the way than anything else
went into town dressed like this:
finished shopping for Krystal
OK, I shopped for me, too
Using a gift card, I purchased these books:
Panera Bread gave me a free pastry for my birthday:
Huzzah for the cobblestone!
came home
had lunch
chipotle-barbecue boneless wings from Buffalo Wild Wings
talked to my cousin Eric
he wished me Happy Birthday and told me about crazy people at Wal-Mart getting free wine samples
started typing this list
wrapped the presents I bought for Krystal
messed around some more on Facebook
paid bills online
helped a friend in Canada fix a vibration problem with their iPhone
made some coffee
Dunkin’ Dark – a Christmas present from a wonderful 7th grader who paid attention when a fellow student asked my favorite type of coffee
warmed my cobblestone
coffee + cobblestone = afternoon snack
browsed BuzzFeed while consuming said snack
finished my podcast binge
logged into Netflix to watch X-Files
I’m in season eight which means David Duchovny isn’t around as much as he used to, and the show suffers for it
I’m determined to see it through, though
I want Mulder’s “I Want to Believe” poster
browsed social media
waited for the mailman to come
received a card from an aunt in New York
checked the Goodreads giveaways
switched from X-Files to the BBC show Myth Hunters
The second episode “Hitler and the Spear of Destiny” annoyed me to no end by constantly referring to Charlemagne as the first Holy Roman Emperor
While it is true Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans on December 25, 800, Otto I [Otto “the Great”] was the first Holy Roman Emperor
I’d expect better of the BBC
tracked down my copy of A Christmas Story
texted with David, my best friend since the day he was born
made supper of grilled cheese, Doritos, and Moxie
for my birthday? Yes, you see
Krystal, her sister, and our cousin Alex went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
I have no desire to see Odysseus/Oedipus in Space, so Krystal gave me the best present an introvert can receive: alone time.
Let me repeat:
There is no greater gift for an introvert than planned alone time!
No obligations
No distractions
It’s amazing
Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. I
watched A Christmas Story while enjoying my nostalgic dinner
since I own the DVD, the 24-hour marathon begins when I say it will and is entirely independent of TBS
watched more X-Files
ate all the coconut candies from a box of Russel Stover Elegant Chocolates
brushed my teeth
Krystal is allergic to coconut; no sense giving her a headache or worse
Krystal came home @12:30
switched from X-Files to The Munsters
fell asleep
a satisfying birthday indeed
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Running In My Head 