Conversation Overheard
Uncomfortable conversation overheard in an elevator.....
3 men enter the elevator (along with me) and man A is limping. Man B says "what did you do to yourself?". Man A says "I'm not sure but I'm hoping my doctor will tell me in a few hours." Man C (who is very obviously overweight) says "I had some problems with my knees and went to a specialist. Know what he told me? I needed to lose weight! (Insert big belly laugh here) I told him 'I just paid you to tell me the same thing my regular doctor has been saying for years?'" (insert yet another laugh from Man C.) Man A and B chuckle carefully and avoid eye contact with Man C.
Starbell
party pooper
i am anti-halloween. do i have a friend, or am i the only one?
Down Memory Lane
So much has changed at good ole HPU since I was a student there. I perfected parallel parking my truck on Center street in front of the dorms. Now Center street is closed off at both ends of campus by pretty gates and there is a strip of trees/foliage all the way down the middle. I assume they open the gates on move-in day because otherwise it would be a PAIN to move into the dorm. But other than that, the street is closed to traffic. I must admit, its much quieter and nicer but still, so different! Now there are benches and street lamps, sand volleyball courts, plants and more pretty decorative stuff around campus. And the dorm! OMG Veda is not the same! Now its carpeted - granted its that thin cheap carpet with no padding, but hey its not bad! We used to get carpet pieces for our rooms so that we weren't freezing our feet. And there are snack/soda machines in the laundry room now. That was bare before! Its so nice now - like a little lounge! There are a few things that haven't changed though. It still smells the same. I can't explain what it smells like, but its the same. The doors are the same and the elevator.... still scary! That thing always creeped me out - I usually took the stairs instead! Its still small and slow and creaky. But the stairwell shrunk. I'm serious! It really felt smaller! Somehow I just don't remember it being that narrow and chlosterphobic. The cafeteria is totally improved now - pretty booths and nice tables and a big open buffet style food center. I didn't see the waffle machine - poor thing. We lived off of cereal and waffles in my day. Now there are internet kiosks there too! You can check email or surf the net in Mabee. Fambroughs now has Starbucks. Its a good thing they didn't have that when I was there. OMG I would have spent SOOOOOOO much money! I'm sure they are making a killing. If they charged just $.05 more on everything I'm sure they'd make a nice profit. I don't think they are doinng that but who knows? So many changes - its a great campus now. But Mims Auditorium is still the same. Someday I'm sure that will change and they will replace the hard old wooden seats with nice soft ones and they'll fix the ceiling where there are tons of water stains........ but I'll miss it when its gone. Lot of fun times in Mims - Spring Sing, concerts, Chapel (7 semesters for me!) movie nights, etc. I saw Matt and Holly get engaged there. I saw lots of good speakers there on stage. Many performances and announcements.... and thats where I first heard Dr Newberry tell his story of "The Smallest Jingle Bell". For those of you who are clueless, Newberry was really cool. He was President my freshman year but then moved to Chancellor my sophomore year and then he was gone. I missed out on having him there the whole time, serving popcorn on his porch. But if you have any interest at all, he's done a lot of writing since his HPU days and he's great at it! Dr Don Newberry- just google him! To hear him tell the Jingle Bell story is classic. He's like Paul Harvey!
The funniest thing about Brownwood this weekend was what I have dubbed Starbell. There is little room for new construction in Brownwood, and so Starbucks moved into what was previously the Taco Bell. Same structure - so now the Starbucks sign fits into the "bell" that used to be Taco Bell! I have a picture that I'll post later. But it was hilarious. Great idea though - its a HUGE Starbucks and now they are advertising that they'd like musical entertainment for the weekends. I wish I could be there for that!
I'd love to go back to college. Back to where I didn't have to work (yes I was spoiled and I had a college fund), where I stayed up all hours of the night (because I could) and I had tons of friends to hang out with. I loved my professors, even though I didn't always like classes. I had so many great experiences in college and I would never trade a single day. . . .
HPU Alumni
Had a great weekend! Here I am posing in front of the new gates on Center Street at HPU, more to come.....
Alumni
It still seems weird to think of myself as "alumni" but I am. Tomorrow night I will be attending my 5 year college reunion, good ole HPU! Its nothing big, just a get together in the evening to start off Homecoming weekend. I remember Homecoming when I was in college. I always helped build the float for my class, attended whatever theatre production there was for the weekend, and many other activities. The campus would be all spruced up for the alumni and visitors, everyone would be wearing gold and blue, and it was just a blast! I enjoyed sitting by the band and dancing with the music, cheering with the cheerleaders and egging on the freshman who were going through "Daze of Payne" - they wore beanies and had to "obey" their big brothers/sisters. It was awesome. I still have my beanie somewhere. Ah college. Those were the days. No real world responsibilities, going to class in pj's, late nights at the Kettle or Whataburger, in the early days, late nights at Bosa Donuts (remember that place??), weekend barn dances (literally in a barn), football games, baseball games, movies in the dorm, Bible study at the Schrum's house, Christmas parties, festivals, HPUPalooza, Spring sing, playing Phase 10 at the River coffeehouse, Least of These, Jackson Swing, Big Eugene and the Loose Screws, Spin 490 . . . I could go on but many of you who read this have no idea half of what I'm talking about! But I had a blast in college, I wouldn't trade any of it! I can't wait to go back this weekend and see old friends! Sting 'Em Jackets!!!
Favorite Things
To counter act my last post.......
~ fresh laundry
~ clean sheets
~ rain
~ freshly mowed grass
~ sleeping in
~ brewing coffee
~ OTB fajitas
~ vanilla dr pepper from sonic
~ chocolate
~ when my cats curl up to sleep next to me
~ England
~ scones (real ones)
~ real butter
~ my grandmother's rice
~ horseback riding
~ a field of bluebonnets
~ getting a massage
~ the ocean
~ sleeping babies
~ weddings
~ church
~ tivo
~ spring
~ barefeet
~ fresh guacamole
~ real pina colada's
~ People magazine every Friday
~ pickup trucks
~ dancing
~ theatre/musicals
~ hugs
Pet Peeves
~ people who ask questions as if they are concerned when they really don't care and just want something from you
~ telemarketers who don't take no for an answer
~ the fact that my phone number used to belong to some family called the browns who owned a house and so now I get 10 calls a day from banks and lenders and people calling regarding the browns selling their house
~ people who hum loudly in their cubicles
~ people who chew with their mouth open, or talk with a mouth full of food, and thus spitting bits of food onto the people around them
~ someone who only talks to me when they want something (ie gum, chocolate, money)
~ whiners
~ guys who think "hey baby, wanna get together and have some fun" is an appropriate line to say to a girl they've never even met
~ girls who feel the need to sell their bodies because they think thats all guys want (and by selling i mean having sex on the first date, or even the first meeting)
~ guys who take advantage of above girls and then never call them again because they are "sluts"
~ drivers who are brake happy when there is no one in front of them
~ drivers who don't use their blinkers when turning
~ people who are rude to servers/clerks/grocery check out people
~ cell phone's that ring constantly in the workplace
~ SPAM
~ curse words used frequently in speech in place of actual language
~ curse words in Disney movies
~ disrespectful children
~ parents who let their children misbehave instead of disciplining them because "disciplining may scar them for life"
~ the flu
~ headaches
~ my own disgusting nailbiting habbit that I can't seem to break no matter how much I hate it
~ pointless credit card debt
~ endless credit card offers!
~ smokers who don't respect non-smokers air space
~ my neighbor who has an insanely loud alarm clock that goes off for hours
~ dog poop in the grass by the mailboxes
~ the many taxes on all my bills that I have no idea why I pay
~ construction workers that don't wear properly fitting clothes...... get my drift?
~ people that don't flush the toilet
~ people that don't wash their hands in the bathroom
~ GERMS haha
okay you know what, i could go on forever. i think because i don't feel good today it makes me hyper sensitive to annoyances. but i'm sure i'm not alone in many of these. if you are one who does any of the above, please don't be offended. i'm sure i do plenty of annoying things! but this is my blog so i can cry if i want to!
still alive and kicking
life is TOTALLY boring lately so I keep trying to blog and its a major snoozefest. i am on internet overload. i now have this blog and a xanga blog and recently i got set up on myspace after some friends invited me. yowza! there are so many "internet communities" out there and it would appear that I have multiple friends on ALL of them!!! but i gotta tell you, the whole myspace thing is a bit overwhelming. blogs are pretty standard but myspace is like a whole ton of stuff. and when I started looking there are a lot more people I know on there! anyway other than that the only other somewhat interesting thing thats happened lately is that I went to a baby shower yesterday which was fun. I'm Sooooo excited for my friend who is having a baby although I'm a little worried about her - she's never changed a diaper. EVER!! I mean I was baby-sitting when I was 9..... anyway I think they'll be great parents but they definitely have a LOT to learn. so anyway, sorry my life is so boring lately. i'll be sure to blog about anything interesting soon!!! xoxo
Junk Food = tummy ache
OMG I have eaten sooooooo badly over the past several days and I am soooooooo paying for it!! Not that you all care but I was a good girl on Friday and I worked out at the office despite the fact I was the only girl in there. Then on Saturday I went to a 2 year olds bday party and ate 6 homemade eggrolls and 4 chocolate cupcakes with whipped icing. Then I went to Main Event and played pool where I ate a hotdog and potato chips. Sunday I had tacos and chocolate pudding. And today I've had Starbucks, Olive Garden, a piece of cake and now a bowl of cereal because my tummy cannot handle anything else. YUCKKKKKKKK!!!! Working out again tomorrow. I will be single forever if I stay in this shape!!! haha
My drive home today....
Okay on my drive home today I saw:
~A field of multicolor llamas
~A huge American flag flying in front of a business
~A self defense place called Moon Moo Do
~A drivers ed car with a line of cars backed up behind it
~A tractor driving on the street
~A Toyota Prius
~Trees that are changing color
Today it was in the mid 60's and cloudy and tonight its in the 50's. I'm in my flannel pj's, I put on my flannel comforter and I'm loving the cold!
Owie Owie
At my family reunion over Labor Day, my cousin D brought her 1 1/2 year old daughter R. R is quite the character and it did not take long for her to notice my bandaged toe. Over the course of the weekend R got a splinter in her foot so we shared "foot pains" and she would frequently refer to both our feet as "owie owie". As the weekend went on, she continued to call me "Owie Owie" and at one point saw a picture of me, pointed to it and said "owie owie". I just recieved an email from my cousin D which solidifies the fact that R will probably always remember me as "owie owie". "
R asked "whats that?" while I was typing and I told her it was an email for Jan and she said "owie owie all gone" and and looked at her foot (the splinter) and then said " Owie owie bye bye" and waved at the screen SOOO I think she knows you are Jan and you have an owie. she also checks peoples toe nails for owies. I definitely think you made quite the impression on her and she liked to be able to share something with a grown up even if was a painful something"
Reasons why its okay to be broke
First let me just preface this by saying that its my own fault I'm broke - I got myself into way too much debt all on my own and it has finally caught up to me. But being broke isn't so bad - here's why:1) am forced to count my blessings and be grateful for what I DO have
2) find great joy in small amounts of "extra" cash
3) appreciate free food SO much more (such as samples at SAMS!)
4) am learning to budget so eventually I will be a genius with my financesBecause I am a dope and I went through the insurance to get a new window (*note: do not do this! they mark up the price and charge you WAY more than you should pay!) I have no money. Literally. I had to pay the $200 deductible even though the window should have only cost about $120-$150. The guy felt bad for me, but he said that since the order had already been put through (by dopey me who didn't check prices first) it was too late and he would get in trouble if I cancelled my claim and just paid him the warehouse cost. He was a nice guy -he offered to get me a windsheild for cheap - $80-$100. Of course, I will check this out first. Some people have told me that insurance will pay all of that since a windshield is pretty necessary (more so than a window I guess). So anyhow, the exciting part of my day has been this. Even though I had to pay the full $200 which amounted to the entire contents of my checking account, a friend at work bought some of my VCR tapes (I bought a bunch at SAMS and she only needed 3) and gave me $10. Yay! I have $10! So sad as this may sound, I am going to go straight to the grocery store and buy a half gallon of milk (mac and cheese baby!) and I am going to "splurge" on some chocolate icing (the cheap kind of course) and tonight I am baking the yellow cake I have in my pantry. I am celebrating life. I will NOT let my broke status bring me down! I will not wallow in self pity! I will eat cake! Side note: for those of you reading this who are appalled to know I am broke, namely mom, the friends who were with me this weekend have offered to give me what they can for the new window. I won't be "completely" broke for the next 2 weeks. I'll be fine. :-)
Needlessly Vandalized
Okay I need validation. Something to make me feel like this was all worth it. Because now I'm just thinking, okay what the heck was that for? Are you wondering what on earth happened? Well here's the story. Last night I went downtown with some friends and we ended up at Europa. Now the irony of the story is that at first we went to this club called Seven and paid $5 to park in a business parking lot across from the club. The club itself was cool, but the crowd was not exactly our kind of crowd and honestly we were pretty sure they didn't want us there either. All I will say is that race wise, we were VERY much in the minority. We knew that Europa was close by but we weren't sure how close so we decided to go ahead and drive over there. We found a public parking lot and parked (he sent us in the very back away from the other cars by the way). Well, my friend looked around and was like, hey we were just over there and he pointed across the way. Basically we drove all the way around all these streets just to end up like 2-3 blocks from where we were. Looking back now I wish we'd have known that and not moved! But how could we have known........... Anyway, at the end of the night we returned to my car in the remote parking lot and discover my car window has been busted out. The rear drivers side - but its still locked and nothing was stolen. Not that there is anything in my car worth stealing besides the car itself. But seriously! So I called the police and they said they'd call me back in a few hours with a report number - they'd give me a police report over the phone. NO help cleaning up the glass. Granted I guess that was a dumb though but what the heck do you do with all the glass? I had passengers who had to sit in the seat!! So we got my air mattress out of my trunk and my friend sat on that until we found a gas station with a vacuum and vacuumed the seat. So now I have a ghetto car and the window guy came to fix it earlier but the warehouse gave him the wrong glass - right side, not left. so he will come back tomorrow or Monday. *sigh*. drama drama DRAMA in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
