Manners Suck.

I was in Dover, Delaware recently, visiting my best friend Tory for her birthday. Naturally while I was there, we had to stop in at Dunkin' Donuts to purchase several of the delightful morsels. As we entered the Dunkin' Donuts on North Dupont Highway, there was a sign posted on the door. It said, "Please complete cell phone calls prior to placing your order." I found this to be extremely amusing, so I made Tory get her camera out of her purse so I could take a picture of the sign. I find it comical yet oddly disturbing that customers talking on their cell phones while simultaneously placing an order at the counter of Dunkin' Donuts has become a large enough problem that the manager, or whoever is in charge of the establishment, has had to place a sign on the door in an attempt to eliminate this rude behavior. Now, I myself am one of those individuals who is attached at the hip to their cell phone - but seriously people! Has our world really become one that is completely devoid of any and all manners?

This is for Nici. :-)

Nici, I didn't have your email address to send you these images, so I figured I would post them here and then you can copy them if you like. I immediately thought of you when I saw them on Facebook. Enjoy! :-)

Update on Prayer Request for My Uncle Bill.

I am relieved to say that my Uncle Bill's cancer has not returned. Thankfully, my uncle's doctor was correct in his suspicions. It was my uncle's gall bladder causing his abdominal pain, so my uncle has already had surgery to have his gall bladder removed. The results of my uncle's bone marrow aspiration also came back negative, so it looks like he is in the clear. Thank you to all who were keeping my uncle in your thoughts and prayers!

The Fool Who Ripped Her Pants

Yesterday at work, I was weighing rats when one of them started to jump out of my hand. Instinctively, I went into a squat as I tried to catch the rat and keep it from falling to the floor. Unfortunately when I did this, I heard a distinct ripping sound. Thankfully, it happened near the end of my workday, and the tear was along the back pocket of my jeans, so it wasn't terribly noticeable. However, the pair of jeans I was wearing were one of two pairs I have that actually fit me, so now I am down to one pair of jeans. :-(

Prayer Request.

Please pray for my Uncle Bill. He recently went to the hospital emergency room because he was having severe abdominal pain, and the emergency room doctor's diagnosis was that my uncle's cancer was back, this time in his spleen. However, my uncle's doctor thinks this was a misdiagnosis, and that my uncle simply had a gallbladder attack. My uncle is having a bone marrow aspiration today, so hopefully we will have more information and a correct (non-cancer related) diagnosis soon.

Midewest Earthquake.

Yesterday morning at approximately 5:38a.m., I was awaken abruptly when my studio apartment began to shake. It felt like the entire apartment was vibrating; my futon was creaking and the chandelier in the living area was swaying. At first I thought I was in the middle of a tornado, but my mind quickly reasoned that there had been no severe storms in the weather forecast. My apartment is at the end of the hallway on the second floor, so it is next to the laundry facility. As the shaking continued, it sounded like someone was doing laundry and the washers had gone off-balance and were banging into each other. Then, as quickly as it had started, the shaking stopped. I laid in bed for a couple of minutes, contemplating trying to go back to sleep, my heart racing and my body too paralyzed to get up and look around. Finally I rolled over and switched on the television, turning on the Channel 8 morning news. Minutes after I had turned on the television, there was breaking news about an earthquake centered in southern Illinois. Suddenly everything made sense, and my body finally began to relax. The moral of the story? If I am ever in a catastrophic situation, I will surely be doomed, seeing as how even just the thought of a possible tornado is enough to paralyze me. :-D On a more serious note, it does make me wonder how I would react were a truly dangerous situation to arise.

Where A Kid Can Be A Kid.

On March 24th, I saw one of my best friends from childhood, Allison, that I had last seen when we were in highschool. Allison, her mom, and her three children spent the day in Indianapolis going to the Children's Museum and Build-A-Bear, with their final stop being the ever popular family entertainment center Chuck E. Cheese's. I met them for dinner that evening after I got off work, and it was a blast. :-) I was nervous at first, because you can never really predict what it is going to be like when you see someone for the first time in years, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it was like no time had passed between us at all. It is comforting to know that true friendships do exist, where no matter how much time has passed or what has happened in your life, you can always pick up right where you left off. I have to say, my favorite part of the evening was when Allison and I got up to play some games. Not only is Chuck E. Cheese's a place where a kid can be a kid, but it is a place where an adult can be a kid as well. :-) Here's hoping I will always be able to connect with my inner child.