Heat wave

"If I blogged a lot," I told David, "I would totally write about the last thirty minutes." So i did.

David sent me on an expedition after work. Starbucks has these little coupons that entitle you to a free cold drink of any sort.So I set out to deliver them to the people and businesses around our store. I headed to Compass bank first. That is who we bank with, so i figured I would be nice and give the tellers a little present. After that, I decided to go to Goodyear. It is only a block away and they are really nice guys. Plus, mechanics LOVE frappuccinos.
I walked in and the bell on the door startled me. I was in there last Friday, so i should have remembered, but it still took me off guard. I thought no one was in there until a man popped up from the computer. I explained that I work at the Starbucks right over here. We know how hot it is, and we just wanted to give you guys a way to take a cool break. He just looked at me. I explained it a little more then just said thanks and have a good day.
When I walked out, I just turned to the right. I didn't want to be one of those people that looks like they obviously have no idea where they are going. I decided I would just go with it. So I passed a few more out. Then, I was off to Makarios. As I headed that way, I walked by the 2020 building. We used to park there at night, so I wanted to kind of introduce myself.
When I walked up, I got a little nervous. The doors have a very thick reflection on them. I could see myself clearly, and as I approached the door I imagined 15 people on the other side watching me attempt to open a locked door. Luckily, it was unlocked. However, when I walked in, I didnt see anyone. There was a little bell on a counter with a note that said, "Ring for help. Thx Management." Who abbreviates "thanks" but not "management" is beyond me. So I "Dinged" it. It echoed across the glass that it sat next to and all the way through the office. I could hear a man talking, and after a minute or so, he popped his head out of another room.
He just stood there. He never asked me what I wanted. He never said "hello." He just stood there. It was so strange. His mouth hung open and his head leaned forward as if he was about to eat me. He had a sort of pouncing preparation stance. I explained the coupons to him the same way I did to the man at Goodyear. "Yuuh Huuuh," he said with awful smile. I am almost sure the look in my eyes screamed confusion and judgment. I went on to explain that between 4 and 6 this week and next week, we are having a "chill break" with samples of drinks and pastries and just a lot of fun. He said, "so these," holding up the paper i just gave him, "are coupons and these aren't?" I said, "Yeah these are kind of a little reminder slash invitation."
Then the weirdest thing happened. He started to smile and shake his head in agreement with me. I think he started to smile. I couldn't tell because I more focussed on the fact that his bottom lip was being sucked inside his mouth. The more he smiled, the more his head leaned forward, and the more his lip went INTO his mouth. I was afraid he was going to choke on it. I didn't want to be the one to call 9-1-1, so i said 'THX" and got out of there.
I wasn't sure how to process what had happened so I walked quickly to Makarios. I stopped walking so fast when I realized that it was 90 degrees and there was no breeze. The walk up the hill was awful. i walked in the restaurant though, and they were very appreciative. I headed to regions and they loved them. Up until then, I thought I was doing the explaining poorly.
As I walked down 20th, i decided to turn right. I had to avoid the construction in the street, and I also decided to check out that cat vet place behind our parking lot. So I walked over there.
I walked in and they kind of just looked at me. I was super nice. Totally on my A-game. I handed them a few cards and told them to come down there. They said thanks and then I made a boo-boo. There was a beautiful long-haired grey cat sitting on the counter. "You are a pretty cat," I said as I went to turn around. The voice coming from the floor chimed in telling me, "you can adopt him." I said, "oh no, my cat would hate me." She urged me and said, "Your cat will get used to it." I laughed with the fake laugh I make every effort not to use and said, "my cat hasn't really gotten used to the dog I got... in February. But if someone mentions, 'gosh i wish i had a cat.' I will send them over here."
I headed out the door with the upper hand and walked back to our store. i took out my phone and looked at the time. It had only been thirty minutes. I had encountered so many crazies in that short amount of time. I walked back in to our store and david convinced me to write about it. I really think the heat may be melting our brains. Cause when I got back to my car, the Starbucks cold cup I had left in there had shrunk. A lot.

I get to take a Vacation

I get to leave for a little while. And I am incredibly excited. I love Birmingham, but lately I have kind of felt like my days were running together. Everything was the same. I love the people, I love the city, I love my job. But I need to leave and know why I want to come back.

I am leaving On June 20th to head to Atlanta. From there, I am leaving with the church youth group to go on a Mission Trip to Spencer, Tennessee. We are going to do all sorts of service projects around that town. I will get back on June 30th. Words cannot tell you how motivated and enthralled I am.

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I am giving up my car completely. Besides the fact that it emits awful pollution in to the air, I just spent $60 on gas. I cannot do this. I cannot afford to drive. It is just sad.

content

I haven't written in a long time. I think i find myself needing to write when I am upset. But lately, I have been very happy. There are times when i find myself kind of sad and alone, but that is rare, and who doesn't feel that way. I have come to terms with relationships and experiences and my faith. In fact, I think I have grown a lot.

In news...
Nykki and Jonathan got married. It was such a pretty wedding. I am super happy for them. I really like weddings, but they always make me just want to get married. I think I don't until I see the happiness that exists between two people. I see how God has molded two people as individuals and then brought them together. It was such a delight.
The pre-events were a lot of fun too. Lingerie shower. Rehearsal. Dinner. Night before. I am just super happy for them.

My Birthday is coming up. It is on Saturday. I don't know how excited I am. I have never really had an amazing birthday. And I think I am at that age where awesome birthdays don't happen anymore. Last year I had dinner with friends, but a lot of people were not there. Then there was a surprise party that wasn't really a surprise. And I kind of felt silly last year. It seemed like more people were excited about Lee than anything else. We ended up playing the iPod game. On top of that, my grandmother was really sick. This year, I think I am going to play it all nonchalant. Although, in the back of my head, I kind of just want to walk in to a room somewhere and there be a whole lot of people wishing me happy birthday.

My Parents are coming tomorrow. This... I am truly excited about! I love my parents. They get me. When I look at my parents, I see myself. I see how much they have molded me. My parents have taught me so much about who I am. I know I say this a lot, but I just keep noticing it. The way my parents taught me to be independent. The way they taught me to think for myself. My love of literature. My love for theater, and movies, and art. The way I don't throw anything away. The way I am kind of anal about my wallet.

My other thoughts... I have a few hopes and dreams. I really want to fly somewhere. In fact, I am off saturday, sunday and monday, and a part of me just wants to hop on a plane and go somewhere. There is a $400 nonstop flight to chicago. it leaves saturday and gets back monday morning. who is down? Or maybe a sweet road trip. I may just drive and peace out. i just want a vacation. I like being off of work. But I want to get out and have a break. Not just a break from work. I don't know. I need a few rejuvenation days. Or just an awesome weekend. Full of ridiculously fun stuff. Maybe I will go get a tattoo. I kind of want this tree on my back with a verse from 1 John in it. Doubtful.

Grounded in...

I pinky promise this blog is not directed towards anyone, even though several of you are going to feel that I am talking about you.

I've been dealing with a lot of personal issues lately. I talked to my parents about it a lot today. What I realized was that it isn't the fact that people talk behind my back that bothers me. As someone mentioned before, a lot of people do it. I think it is the fact that for a year or so, I have felt judged. Judged by my friends. By friends that act like my friend to my face. Some of them take words that define me and use them in a negative connotation to tear me down. That is what is offensive.
For the past year or so, I have seen people that "love me" and "love other people" tell me that they don't accept some things about me. That hurts. But rather than just letting it go, I find out from other people. This is what hurts. This is what tears me away from Christianity. It has taken me a while to realize all of this. Until I stopped to think, "I am not a fundamentalist Christian." That is where we differ. While our views on who wrote the Bible, the fact that the Bible stays the same but society changes, woman in the church, and homosexuality may be different from each other, one thing should be grounded. LOVE.
Christianity was about love. That is all. We are called to love people. We are called to accept people. We are called to serve and help people. Everything else can move. But the Bible will no longer be a tool of helpfulness if it is being used to condemn and hate. Off my high horse.

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I am about to start volunteering at the Birmingham Crisis Center. I have felt this strong calling to do so. I am really excited about this. I think a lot of people in society feel a sense of lonesomeness and I really want to show them they aren't alone. I hope everything works out for the best.

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I dont have much else to say, except that I should probably sleep. I have to work in the morning.

New glasses!

I got my new glasses today. I look like a doof in this picture, but thats ok. I really like them. I cannot take very good pictures of myself. haha. The more I look at this picture, the more i detest it. I love these glasses though. i don't think I realized how much I couldn't see. My prescription has changed a lot. You forget, even only after a few days, what you used to be able to see. Trees look so nice now.

Friday is totally free today!
I am going to see a dollar movie tonight. One of my favorite activities. I plan on smuggling lots of candy in. One of my OTHER favorite activities. hee hee.

I found out someone was talking about me, my political views, and my general relationships with people in a sort of negative way. It was slightly alarming.

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Dog Park.

I haven't posted these yet.
Just thought I would throw a couple out there.

I am going to make some small wallet type thing for my Starbucks Passport and green apron cards. I need to design it though. I am really excited though. I think it is gonna be super cute. i will post pictures when I am finished.
I want to ramble on and on about some things about work. A part of me just needs someone to listen. I dont want advice. I just want to complain. haha.

My creative juices have been brewing lately. I think it may be a mixture of the Spring air and just bottled up energy. I havent had any form of a creative outlet. I am about to start planting vegetables. We have lettuce, squash, zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, green beans, broccoli, and some herbs. I am so excited. I am about to start turning the ground behind the fence behind the house. I think it will be a great place for a little vegetable garden. I am really excited.

I also have a lot of energy to paint. I have been wanting to make this collaged face. I also really want to finish the face on my wall. It has no continuity. My next off day, which at this point seems slightly non existent, will consist of these things. I need some alone time. Only, unlike last Sunday, I want it to be productive. Last Sunday, I watched several lifetime movies, cried, and ate junk food. It was lovely. But now I need a different form of therapy.

Thats all for now.
I will leave you with this...

Clouds in my coffee

I got new glasses. My others broke this morning. This picture is kind of small, but they are red and fade to a violet. I like them a lot.
http://www.laeyeworks.com/catalogFrames/frame.php?m=PERCY&c=METAL
It was pretty tragic. Joon had chewed on them before. Last Friday, I called Schaefer and set up an appointment for Thursday. I called today to see if they could bump that up at all. So I went in today to get tested and get new glasses. I had to live blind for about a week. yaaaay.



There is also a shooting pain in my back. I like to think it has something to do with the pain in Marty's back. Sympathy pains maybe. Who knows.
So with that, stress, glasses and other things, I had an awful hour this morning.
But my mom came in to town. Marty, Andrew and I hung out. We shopped, ate ice cream, and went to dinner. Then mom and I went to see Spamalot. HILARIOUS. I have not laughed that much in ages.


On other notes, I saw "For the Bible Tells Me So" not long ago. It was a phenomenal film. I wish everyone would see it. It made me laugh and it made me cry. To think there are people so cold hearted like this. I would rather not get in to the debate, but I will say this. We are called to love people. And for us to hate each other for things like this - wrong. I talked to both of my parents about the matter. I told my mom that I know she would love me unconditionally no matter what. I asked her, "How could a parent just STOP Loving their child?" She seemed baffled as well. Watch the trailer for the movie. It is slightly alarming. While I find myself fairly well educated on the fact, I found myself being so much MORE educated. I am not going to preach. I really just want people to watch this movie.

http://www.forthebibletellsmeso.org/index2.htm



"There's nothing wrong with a fifth grade understanding of God... if you're in fifth grade."

"Fear does terrible things to a society."

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