Bringing the LOLs

I really did laugh out loud, see if you can't.

Lucky or Unlucky?

I've got two pieces of news this week:

1) The County of Albany wants me
2) My mouth had turned against me

Lets cover number 1 first. As I have mentioned before in this blog, it has always been a dream (deluded?) to be a part of a jury. I was pretty sad to get my summons for Grand Rapids a couple months ago, which was well past my residency there. But the heavens were listening and I received my jury questionnaire for Albany County yesterday. I haven't even been a resident a year yet. What are the chances!

Next up 2. My whole life I have never once had a cavity. Sadly this fact ceased to be true yesterday when I was informed I had some small decay on a molar. I guess it's my own fault for not seeing a dentist since July 2007. The news made me feel very deflated. I always thought I was impervious in some way to tooth decay.

On a side note: I really enjoy hearing hygentists and doctors talk to each other as they refer to teeth by letters and numbers. They know I have no clue what teeth they are talking about and I like it that way too.

There are two right behind you

Right now the other two people at my work are sitting in dark playing some shooter computer game.

I really don't know why they need me here half the time.

Lately our apartment has been pretty hot. For those of you who don't know, heat is included in our rent so we have no control over the temperature in our apartment. If we leave the windows closed it can easily get up to 87 degrees. Obviously this is why we try to open windows as often as possible. It usually get to a comfortable 78 or so.

While we have gotten pretty used to this, it's kinda awkward when we go to a regular home. A normal household keeps their thermostat anywhere from 68-73 degrees. This can feel really cold to us and we have to wear extra clothing when we visit other people's houses.

Here we go again

I had a really nice holiday season. Going home to Michigan was really nice. My grandma was pleasant to stay with and loves Brian a whole lot. Being at my old house was just as it should be: relaxing and nice. I also got to see lots of family and friends which is always a blessing. It already seems like a long time ago.

For the new year we cooked some good food and stayed home. Just what we needed after lots of traveling.

We decided we might want to try flying more to Michigan.

I spent more minutes than I like describing, to people at get-togethers, what I do at my job. I feel like I need to make excuses for not doing something better, but the truth is, this job is a job until the next thing comes in my life and I should be grateful to have it. The economy sucks right now.

Things I can appreciate about my current employment:
-I get to go home early a lot without docked pay
-I can surf the Internet all day long
-I can watch movies and TV shows at work
-All the guys I work with are very nice and sometimes funny
-Often I get free pizza or a Quiznos sub
-I have learned a few new skills
-The boss says "thank you" when I do simple tasks

Tis the season to not write a blog

Man oh man I have sucked at blogging lately, sorry.

There finally is some snow in the capital region. Being from Michigan I'm used to snow from November to March...at least. It's hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit without it.

Although after the snow, people were driving 35 mph on the highway. Really unnecessary.

We opened gifts at Brian's parent's house last night. The whole evening was really nice. I got some sweet boots.

We opened present there so early because we are leaving on Friday for a week in Michigan. Hopefully the weather will be on our side. I am looking forward to some time in Grand Rapids. My trips there always feel rushed so it will be nice to have more than a weekend to enjoy the place. I can't wait to see all my friends and family.

My dad brought up a valid point, I did just see my friends in the city. But seeing old friends is always better in the town where you all grew up.

We traveled to the city last weekend for Thuan's b-day and to visit Mema. Both were great.

I may introduce Brian to Steak n' Shake while in the mitten. I feel it might not live up to the hype.

The best of the Midwest

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Recap!

Anna came to visit for a weekend. I had a really great time with her. We went to the mall (of course) and shopped for four hours. I don't think I could enjoy shopping that long with anyone else. We also drank sangria and watched a chick flick. Pretty much the usual stuff. I loved it and Brian tolerated all the giggling.

I came out to my car last week and discovered a flat tire. My little girly arms could not move the lug nuts (I lift weights, so disappointing) so I had to call a tow company to help me. The tow guy said I shouldn't drive to work on the spare so then I went to the shop for a new tire. It all took a long time and was very frustrating. But now I have one shiny new tire.

This weekend we attended a beautiful wedding in Madison, Wisconsin. Congratulations to Maria and Cameron!
The wedding was really nice and it was great to see all of Brian's friends. The food at the wedding made my personal list of top wedding foods of 2008. The dancing was super fun. And the hotel had a whirlpool!
Then came the plane ride back...long story short we didn't get home to Albany until 4am. Brian and I do not stay up that late.

Madison is much closer to Grand Rapids than Albany. So close and yet so far. It looked and felt a lot like GR. The building are much flatter and there is much more open space than in the East. Also it was about 15 degrees out when the sun went down.

Voting

I voted this morning for the first time in the state of New York. I hate to say it, but I think I like voting in Michigan better.

Reasons:

-The old ladies are really nice at my old Michigan voting place
-My name was right next to my mom's (Susan and Sandra) and the ladies would tell me if my mom had voted yet
-The school gym I would vote in is much larger than the tiny room at the senior citizen center
-I had to ask for help to close the curtain
-Punching the paper is easier than the giant machine
-I liked seeing my paper ballot zip into the machine to count my vote
-I did not get a sticker! This reason counts like ten times, the sticker was one of my favorite things.

I even took a picture of one once.


(Side note: I loved that world map back there)

Anyway, Brian and I first talked about Obama in the summer of 2005 at Camp Fowler. We joked about making Obama 08' shirts. I am very excited for the results and plan on watching the news all night long.

I was also incredibly surprised and discouraged talking to my co-worker about the election. He does not believe in voting or really the government. He believes that people in the government, at all levels, are out for themselves and no one else. I felt awful for him. I would hate to go through life believing people are inherently selfish. I can understand feeling like your vote may not mean anything on a national level, but voting can really count for you on a local level. In Grand Rapids I voted in several very close races and for many close proposals (zoo expansion anyone). He needs to snap out of it.