Defining Moments

"Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments." ~ Author Unknown

The other night, J and I nestled onto the couch and finally watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you watch it. It's a little weird. It's a little sad. It's a little long.

But it awakened something in me that I hadn't felt in awhile. That desire to live life without apology, to seek out what makes your soul truly happy, to find the courage to overcome the staleness in life and do something. It reminded me to not let go of who I once was and what once brought joy to my life. That age doesn't matter -- it's how you feel that defines who you are.

It may sound like the same ol' "seize the day" mantra that seems to flow superficially through life. But it is so much more than that, at least to me. There is soo much out there that I would love to do, love to experience. Why should I settle into a mediocre pattern in, well, Dullsville?

Doesn't matter who you are or where you are in life, you have the power to change it. To grasp that piece of this world that you cannot live without. New places, new faces -- I crave something to break this cycle of boredom that I seem to be stuck in. I methodically awaken each morning, dress, work, go through the paces of life. I just know there is soo much more to experience than I have been.

What happened to the girl who dreamed of living outside of her small world, taking every opportunity to learn, to experience, to see with her own eyes what others only read about? Still dreaming. Still waiting.

I leave you with my favorite passage from the movie -- read it, grasp it, live it. I know I'm going to try.

"It's never too late or ... too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

Hump Day

"The only thing wrong with doing nothing is that you never know when you're finished." ~ Author Unknown

Maybe because it's Hump Day, but I have the F-its weighing me down heavily. Soo much to get done, soo little care to do it. Think instead I'll turn my "To Do" list into my "I Don't Want To" list ... at least until tomorrow.

1. Clean the litter box
2. Fold laundry
3. Run
4. Finish my presentation for work
5. Bathe the dogs
6. Pay the mortgage
7. Schedule a dentist appointment
8. Call the water sprinkler repair guy
9. Shower

Hope you guys have more motivation today than I do!

Wishlist

With the temps in the 100s here lately, I'm soo ready for fall and everything that comes with it. Including cute boots. Found these vintage beauties on Etsy yesterday. If only they were my size ...

Feeding Time

"Mother knows breast." ~ Author Unknown

I'm giving up on the template for this darn thing ... for now, anyway. I'm sad to say that I'm soo glad it's Monday -- this weekend was a complete doozy. J and I were at each other's throats for most of it, and nothing we had planned worked out quite as we'd hoped. Ohwell, we'll survive.

Because neither of us wanted to cook last night and it was already too late to eat anywhere decent, we found ourselves at Taco Cabana for dinner. Now, I'm a big fan of Taco C, but the people there never cease to amaze / entertain / scare the living crap out of / surprise me. Depends on the day. And last night was no exception.

Inside was freezing so we decided to sit on the small patio. J went inside to wait on the food, while I absentmindly began wiping dried guacamole off the table. Two young ladies -- maybe in their mid twenties -- were sitting at the next table. One had a boy about seven, the other had a baby in a carrier. I tried to drown out the boy's shouting by staring at the passing cars.

I heard one lady say something about feeding the baby. A few moments later I happened to look over, and noticed she was holding the baby against her with one arm and eating queso with the other. It took me a minute to realize that she wasn't holding a bottle for baby. She was breastfeeding. With no blanket. On the patio. While people were eating at tables all around them.

I must have had a sour look on my face when J came outside with the food. Thankfully, he blocked my view. I just couldn't believe it -- breastfeeding in a restaurant?? Sure, we were at a fast-food joint, but still. Have a little respect for those dining around you. Use a bottle, feed in the car, at least don't sit facing the door to the inside where everyone can see you.

Am I wrong to be disgusted?

Why Dell Is Dead to Me

So this blog is starting to aggravate me a smidge.  Seems I can't get the background off completely, so -- for now -- I suppose it'll remain a hodgepodge of stuff.  Not that I update this thing much anymore, anyway.  But hopefully that'll change now that I have a new, more reliable computer.

You may remember the "Dear John" letter I wrote to my Dell awhile back.  Well, after losing EVERYTHING -- work, photos, music -- on it a few weeks ago, I lost my mind.  I called Dell to no avail.  They treated me like complete pond scum since my warranty had already expired.  The guy said I had to pay $129 to be transferred to technical support.  I said this has been an on-going issue that has never been resolved over the million times I called while it was under warranty, and that I didn't feel like I should have to pay.  He was a dick.  "I get callers like you all the time who don't want to pay."  I couldn't believe he said that to me. I explained that I didn't mind paying once the computer was fixed.  He was rude and obnoxious.  I asked to speak to his manager.  He freaked and said he didn't have the authority to transfer me and that I had to pay him right now or he would hang up.  I lost it.  Words flew out of my mouth before I knew what I was even saying.  By the time I hung up, I was shaking.  And my computer was still broken.

An hour later I called back.  Thankfully I got another guy who said he could knock it down to 50 bucks.  Twenty minutes later, I gave up and coughed up the $50 just so I could talk to technical support.  After three freakin' hours on the phone with India, we came to the conclusion that: (a) I was sold a 1GB memory when it takes 2GB just to run Vista alone, (b) a driver on my computer was corrupted from the time I took it out of the box.  

Why they didn't discover either of these while my computer was still under warranty is a little fishy yet not surprising.  The guy tried to reinstall the driver directly from Dell's site, yet it wasn't compatible.  Then he laughed, said there was nothing else he could do, and referred me to someone else.  He said if the next guy couldn't fix it, then I could send my computer in and pay to have it redone.  I was beyond livid and to the point of tears.  I was already behind at work because my Dell kept crashing, then I lost it all anyway and had to restart all my stupid projects.  Just to have it crash AGAIN and lose it all once more.

I politely thanked him for his "help", said I wasn't about to sink another freakin' dime into Dell, hung up and grabbed my car keys.  My palms were sweaty as I gripped the steering wheel, driving 15 miles too fast down the tollway.  I whipped into the Willowbend mall parking lot.  The store clerks at Neimans took a step back as I hurriedly walked past them, my hands balled into fists at my side.  

And there is was, the dim glow of the Apple store.  I didn't hesitate as I walked in.  Five minutes later, a young guy in an azure blue t-shirt and Puma sneakers was mending the pieces of my lost mind.  It was soooo refreshing to talk to someone who was passionate about the product.  Who actually listened to what I was saying.  Who didn't try to sell me things I wouldn't need.

An hour later, I waltzed out of there with a new MacBook Pro, a new wireless printer, a three-year warranty and a head full of knowledge.  There's just something to be said for great customer service.  And if I have a problem?  I can just take it back to the store and talk to a real person.  

Imagine that.

The Paint

So I guess my comeback wasn't really one at all. Ohwell. As for the bedroom, it's (nearly) complete.

I made the mistake of waiting until the day before J came home to start. I had the *perfect* color sample from the paint store. I found the *perfect* bedding at Homegoods for such a bargain. I cleaned out the bedroom and even managed to clear out the ginormous furniture, and finally started painting around midnight.

At two in the morning, I was in tears. The color was SO not the same color as the small sample I had tested on the wall. What was supposed to be an organic brown dried into a stone grey. And the bedding? Metallic blue.

I gave up around 4, with half the room painted and half of my sanity left. I managed to arrange the furniture how I wanted -- making the room look bigger -- and passed out on the couch.

I didn't alert J to the fact that I'd been up to something when I picked him up at the airport. He didn't notice the dried paint in my hair while we ate lunch. When we got to the house, he didn't notice the cans of paint sitting in the dining room. I let him walk into the bedroom first.

"Wow, you rearranged the furniture! That looks great, babe," he said, throwing his bulky suitcase in the corner. I sat on the bed, waiting patiently. A few minutes later, "Oh WOW, and you painted!"

Gee. I would think stone grey would be easy to notice. But at least he helped me finish the next day -- and I had 2 gallons left over. Surprisingly, he loves the color. Me? Eh, it'll do for now.