Kids say the darndest things.

Friday evening, I received a phone call from my niece Laura. She started the conversation by asking if I was working the following day (which is never a good sign when it comes to a phone call from one of my nephews or nieces). Apparently, she had forgotten about the ISSMA (Indiana State School Music Association) choir contest she was required to attend Saturday morning, and needed a ride to and from the contest seeing as both her mom and step-dad were working. My sister's children are notorious for forgetting about events and springing them on you at the last minute. Although I was scheduled to work on Saturday it luckily was not until later in the afternoon, so I told Laura it would be no problem for me to take her to the contest.

Afterwards, I decided to run a couple of errands and take my niece to lunch at Steak 'N Shake before taking her home. As we were leaving the school parking lot, my niece gave me what she tells me is the highest compliment you can receive from a teenager. She said, "You're cool to be seen with in public."

How about that. I'm cool to be seen with in public. :-D

Not a morning person (but not a night owl either).

If you asked, I would tell you that I am one hundred percent, completely and totally NOT a morning person. During the week when my alarm goes off at 6:00a.m. I find myself hitting snooze repeatedly, and by 6:30a.m. I am having to force myself to get out of bed. I would also tell you that I cannot remember the last time I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day (okay, so I CAN remember - it was exactly eight months and ten days ago).

(That would be July 10, 2008 for those of you who are wondering.)

(I know, it's pathetic that I remember the exact date of the last time I actually felt like I got a decent night's sleep.)

(Don't judge me.)

After my alarm has gone off and I am hitting snooze, desperately trying to ignore the fact that if I do not get out of bed I am going to be late for work, I often think about the movie Bruce Almighty, when Jim Carrey's character Bruce is throwing a temper tantrum when he has to get out of bed in the morning. I often have to stifle the urge to start kicking and throwing just such a tantrum myself. (Seeing as how I sleep on my futon, without it being folded out so it is like a couch rather than like a bed, the reality of my throwing such a tantrum would most likely end with me falling on the floor.)

The funny thing is, I know I am more productive in the morning than I am at any other time of day, and most mornings I naturally wake up around 5:30a.m. On the occasions when I actually get out of bed rather than rolling over and falling back asleep, I feel much better than when I have allowed myself to hit snooze. Either way though, I am still generally tired throughout the entire day, and most nights I am ready to pass out around nine or ten o'clock (yet I usually don't go to bed until almost midnight). I find it nearly impossible to wake up in the morning, yet I also struggle to stay up late at night. So, if I'm neither a morning person nor a night owl, what does that make me?

I think it might be time for me to accept the fact that I am meant to be a morning person, and I need to start going to bed earlier.

Up in Smoke.

There was a fire that started downtown around three o'clock this morning. This is a picture of the smoke from the fire almost ten hours later, taken from the top floor of the building where I work.

This is how I feel right now.

Like everything in my life is going up in smoke.

Anitclimactic.

To expound upon my post from Wednesday regarding my social awkwardness......

Last night I was at my middle nephew Mitchell's wrestling meet. While there, I saw one of my favorite teachers from highschool, Mrs. McQuiston. I hadn't seen or spoken to her since my Freshman year of college, when at the last minute I decided to apply for a scholarship and needed a letter of recommendation (with which she happily provided me). At one point, Mrs. McQuiston was talking to someone near where I was sitting in the bleachers (I could have reached out and touched her arm if I wanted to), yet I completely chickened out of saying hello to her.

Why, I have no idea.

Not only was I an excellent student in Mrs. McQuiston's English class my Junior year, I went on to be her student helper. She wrote an entire two pages in my Senior memory book. She also used to visit me in the evenings where I worked at Dress Barn after graduation when she would take her daughter to The Little Gym, which was in the same plaza. And of course, she wrote me that glowing letter of recommendation my Freshman year of college (which yes, she let me read). So you see, I had absolutely no reason to be nervous about saying hello (other than the fact that I'm - well - me).

At the end of the wrestling meet, Mrs. McQuiston walked by where I was sitting once again, and this time I was determined to say hello. I got up from my seat, and the conversation went something like this.

Me: Hi!
Mrs. McQ: Hey! It's been awhile.
Me: Yeah....
Mrs. McQ: So what have you been up to?
Me: Not much. I work at IUPUI in a laboratory now.
Mrs. McQ: That doesn't surprise me. Do you have a brother wrestling tonight?
Me: No, my nephew wrestles for Eastwood.
Mrs. McQ: Ah....

And that was the extent of the conversation.

I wonder if she truly recognized me and remembered who I was, or if she was just bluffing.

A Social Butterfly I Am Not.

Today for lunch one of my coworkers and I decided to go to the Campus Center to eat and do a little shopping. After eating at Mamma Leone's (well, I ate at Mamma Leone's - my coworker decided to get sushi instead), we went to Barnes & Noble. Now, the Barnes & Noble in the Campus Center is not the same size as a standard Barnes & Noble, but it does have a fairly decent selection. With this in mind, I decided to look for the book Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt, which I have sporadically searched for since it was released in September 2008 (and have obviously been unable to find). I am a huge fan of chick lit, and while this particular book falls under that category, it has religious undertones, so it is found in the Christian fiction section of the bookstore.

When I got to the appropriate section of the bookstore, there was a girl sitting in the isle looking at a book. I didn't think anything of it, and went on the search for Miracle Girls. Before I knew what was happening, the girl began speaking to me, causing me to promptly break out in a sweat. She asked me about the book I was searching for, which of course I could only tell her the title and author, having completely forgotten what the book was about (what can I say, I have a never-ending list of books I want to read). She then asked me if I was a student and a part of any campus ministry, and I told her I had graduated from college but worked on campus.

At this point, I had been unable to find Miracle Girls, so the girl suggested a different book and found it on the shelf, handing it to me and giving me a description of the plot. I skimmed the inside cover of the book, and then thanked the girl and said I would keep the book in mind. Feeling sufficiently awkward (and not to mention needing to get back to work), I excused myself, but not before asking the girl's name and telling her it was nice to meet her (I do have at least some manners - and her name was Caroline, in case you were wondering).

Immediately afterwards, I began thinking about my 30 Before 30 List, specifically number 27 - Hold a conversation with a stranger. I think I need to develop certain criteria for this particular item, because I am always turning to Brent (or in this case, my coworker) and asking, "Does that count as holding a conversation with a stranger?" Thus far, the answer I have received has always been a resounding "No." So I have to ask, what exactly should completing this particular item on my list entail?

It really is a shame I am so awkward in social situations, because if I hadn't been so nervous and shy, I could have been on my way to completing another item on my list as well, number 30 - Make a new friend (one not connected to someone I already know). All I would have had to say is, "It was really nice meeting you Caroline and I would love to continue this conversation, but I have to get back to work. How about we exchange email addresses?" I mean, Caroline seemed like an extremely nice person. How hard would it have been to say that?

Damn my tendency to flee as quickly as possible in the opposite direction of anything remotely social.

Shit List.

Doing what I do best at work (that would be procrastinating), I just found the most hilarious item on the website perpetual kid. I present to you the Shit List.

The description on the website reads:

"While everybody claims to have a shit list, there's never been a way to turn the metaphor into reality - until now. Bring the power of organization to your grudges, and find psychological well-being through the mere act of writing grievances down.

You know you have one - now do something about it!"

Other similarly funny lists include the Obscenely Important Memo, Things You Do That Really Piss Me Off, and Things You Must Do To Make Me Happy.

Firsts.

1. Who was your FIRST prom date? Two days before Junior prom I found out my boyfriend had been cheating on me, so my friend Guy saved the day and was my prom date.

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? When you're young and naive, I don't think you are capable of knowing and understanding what love really is. If you asked me do I still talk to the first person I said "I love you" to, the answer is no.

3. What was your FIRST job? My first job was as a receptionist for the hair salon Great Clips.

4. What was your FIRST car? I bought my first car when I was 18-years-old, on December 23, 1998. It was a 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier RS. I drove it almost ten years, until nine months ago when I finally bought a new car on May 22, 2008.

5. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? Brent.

6. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? Brent.

7. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Mrs. Ritchie at W.D. Richards Elementary School.

8. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? When I was 15-years-old and a Sophomore in highschool, I went with my friend Candace and her parents to Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

9. Who was your FIRST best friend and do you still talk to them? My first best friend was my cousin Ryan. I would certainly hope we still talk, considering we are family!

10. Where was your FIRST sleep over? I don't remember my first sleep over, but I am assuming it was at my cousin Ryan's house.

11. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? Brent.

12. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? I was a flower girl in my Aunt Jean's wedding.

13. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? I woke up and got out of bed, duh.

14. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? Mannheim Steamroller.

15. FIRST tattoo? I don't have any tattoos.

16. FIRST piercing? My first and only piercing is my ears.

17. FIRST foreign country you've been to? Canada is the first and only foreign country I have been to.

18. FIRST movie you remember seeing? Ghostbusters.

19. When was your FIRST detention? I never had detention in school.

20. What was the FIRST state you lived in? Indiana is the only state in which I have lived.

21. Who was your FIRST roommate? My first roommate was my friend Jaci (Guy's sister).