Countdown – 5 days

5 days left.

Let me repeat that: Only. 5. Days. Left.

Okay – now breathe in.  Breathe out…..

Now’s where the mild panic is beginning to set in.  So much to do, so little time.  I need to make sure that I get all my food/drugs/toiletries together.  And I get them packed.

Oh yeah – and maybe some clothes for me??

Oops – almost forgot sheets.  Gotta buy some cheap ones in the next few days.  Make sure I pack a towel and washcloth.  And laundry soap.  And maybe some bags for dirty laundry?

I feel like Santa:  I’ve got to make a list and check it twice.  I know that there will be something that I will forget.  I’m just hoping that it’s not a critical item.  (like my meds or my retainer)

After spending a few hours this evening getting a lot of my gear (re)organized and packed I feel a whole lot better.   However – I haven’t weighed my luggage yet, so that could all change tomorrow!  🙂

Meanwhile – just breathe. (not hyperventilate)

Where I’ve been….

I know that I’ve been very AWOL lately on this site.  I’ve been suffering from a chaotic mix of over scheduling, reclusive downtime and major writers block.

I haven’t been home between 7:30am and 11pm this week.  It’s all “good” stuff – but it definitely keeps me from posting on here.  I have time to hop onto “crackbook” during the day, but not enough time to develop cohesive thoughts into a post.

I have just a few days (8!!) before I leave for Kenya.  So much to do before then! I am getting so very excited, and can’t help but become totally animated every time I talk about it.  I’ll be posting the prayer calendar here shortly – as well as scheduled daily updates while our team is out of the country.  In the meantime, I’m trying to get all major projects at work either updated or completed, and kicking off two ministries this weekend.

In other words – not much going on. 🙂

To explain a little about where I was tonight:

Somewhere under the Detroit River

I have a love/hate relationship with the border.  I live so close to Canada that it’s really not a problem to head on over and visit friends after work.  I was invited to see the Windsor Spitfires game (Ontario Hockey League) where they retired the jersey for #18 Mickey Renaud and then kicked the Sarnia Sting’s butts.  I went with Mark (who is a calendar wizard!  I am so excited for the Kenya calendars!).

We had fun!

No time to worry about focus.

But on the way back – I got stopped by Customs Border Patrol.  You see, since this was a very last minute invitation, I did not grab my passport from home before making a run for the border.  And while it’s not technically a requirement right now, it will be in 2009.  I also didn’t have my birth certificate.  So, I got to spend some fun time with Homeland Security while they checked my very messy car.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m glad that they’re thorough.  But why do I seem to have a lot of problems crossing the border?  I have a lengthy history with both the US and Canada wanting to check me out very closely.  However – that’s a story for another day.

I’ve got to get to bed now – I have another long day in front of me tomorrow (and Saturday. and Sunday!)  But I promise not to be so distant….

More of the same

Remember when I talked about my interview a few weeks ago?

Well, it did actually take place on our second attempt.  But I just found out that they offered that position to an outside candidate.  Bummer.

Luckily, I’m not too upset. A little disappointed, yes – but not crushed.  After the interview, I just started getting a bad feeling about this job.  I can’t explain it, but there was an unrest.  A lack of peace.  I considered meeting with my manager to discuss withdrawing my application.  But, I prayed about it and decided that I would just wait and see what happened with the interview/hiring process before I acted further.

I’m glad I did – since I didn’t get the job anyway.

So, for now, it’s just more of the same here at work.  I’m kind of in a holding pattern right now, but I’m ok with it.

The upside?  I have more time to train internally through a mentorship with my manager and some seasoned reps.  Also – I still get to have casual Fridays.  I would not be rockin’ the Birkenstocks, jeans, and graphic tee if I had the new job.   Somedays, you just have to find consolation in comfortable clothes. 🙂

Have a great weekend – I’m heading up north and will be back on Monday!

Countdown – Day 24

24 Days left until I head to West Pokot, Kenya.

24 days until I get to work with an amazing team of people in some crazy heat.  Until I get to experience the joy of serving alongside my brothers and sisters in helping a remote – but not forgotten – people.

 

The problem is, I’m still here in my life.  In my world.  Caught up in the details and distractions that I face everyday.  What to wear to the office. Where to grab lunch. When will I be able to squeeze in a workout?  Does he like me? Do I want this relationship? 

 

Distractions seem to have taken over my life.  Relationships, job stress, home stress.  My mind finds time to focus on anything but preparations for the trip and quiet time with God.  (um – mostly because I can’t quiet my mind!)

I’m going on a retreat this weekend – to get away from the everyday buzz and re-focus, re-center.   I really just need the strength and willpower to remove myself from the center of my universe, allowing Him to take his rightful place there in my life.

 

Oh – and 24 days until I can have chocolate! 🙂

Oh, Bama!

Now that the heat is really turning up on the ad campaigns, I thought I would share a few items with you that have been entertaining.   No negative programing here, just a little internet fun.

I don’t care what side of the political line you fall on, this is just plain funny.   My friend Beth passed this little jewel on to me earlier this week, and I thought I would share it with you.  I just love mock music videos!

Also, I wanted to share a great post from a new blog.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Donald Miller, I highly recommend his books.  I recently read Blue Like Jazz and wrote about it here.

He has a new blog: DonaldMillerIs.com And he kicked it off by sharing his email correspondance with Sen Obama.  You can read all about it here.

Potty-Humor Me

I don’t have too many pet peeves.  But the ones that I do have really can get under my skin.

One of my biggest irks has to do with workplace bathrooms.  What I don’t get is how women can abuse a place so horribly.  Seriously?  Do they treat their bathrooms at home like this?

My building is an adult-only kind of place.  Due to safety reasons, there are no children allowed.  So all of the issues in the restrooms are caused by adults.  Grown ups.  AKA: People who should know better.  Let’s take a little trip down the row of stalls a girl may come across on an average day.

Stall #1:  The “Nester”.  This is someone who is possibly a germaphobe?  She will stack maybe 10 toilet seat covers on top of the toilet to create the ultimate barrier.  The problem is, that they don’t even begin to flush down the loo.  So, after she leaves, you will walk into a stall with 10 used toilet seat covers topped by a giant wad of used toilet paper.  Ugh.  Next stall, please!

Stall #2:  The “Squatter”:  Basically the opposite of the Nester.  This person doesn’t believe in using toilet seat covers.  Maybe their reasons are environmental, or they just have to pee so bad that they can’t bother taking the time to pull out the seat cover.  Either way – the damage is the same.  This person will leave behind a seat covered in pee.  ew.  They apparently never heard the rhyme: “If you sprinkle when you tinkle: Be a sweetie, wipe the seatie.”  Really, would you leave toilet at home covered in urine and just walk away?.  Move on to the next stall…

Stall #3:  The “Hit & Run”.  This woman is in a hurry.  She has to get somewhere fast and doesn’t have time to make sure that the toilet actually flushed.  We have automatic flushing toilets here, but that doesn’t mean that they always work.  And they certainly don’t have the technology to detect when a second flush is needed. (Or third – if you know what I mean). 😉  How hard is it to take a few seconds to make sure that the auto-flush did what it’s supposed to do?  But I guess some ladies can’t be bothered with the details like that.  And the rest of us get to deal with what she’s left behind in her wake.

Don’t even get me started on people who leave without washing their hands.  I make a mental note of who they are and avoid every item they bring to the bake-sale fundraisers!

I don’t think it’s asking too much to have a little common courtesy and hygeine in the restrooms at work.  The average person spends more waking hours here on any given week then they do in their own home. 

Okay – time to get off my soapbox, and into the loo.  Wish me luck!

Joy Ride

Last night I took my dad to the Tigers game.  My girlfriend, and co-season-ticket-holder, had to work and couldn’t attend.  It was a good opportunity for some father-daughter bonding. We’ve been able to hang out only a few times this year when it was just the two of us.

So all afternoon I was looking forward to catching the game with him.  Then it started raining. Hard.  Highway traffic on the way home from work was slowed due to the heavy downpour.  I called dad and we decided to wait an hour or so and see what it was like then.  The rain stopped and we made the call to get down to the stadium.  As he was on his way to my place to pick me up, I started to wonder what car he would be coming in.

You see, my dad works for GM and he gets to drive fleet cars.  He gets a new one every 6-8 weeks or so.  He usually has trucks, or sedans, and the occasional SUV.  But not this summer.  This year he hit the lottery and has been tooling around in a brand new Corvette convertible since late June.  That’s right:  all summer in a brand new burnt-orange sports car.

It was this color, but had the black soft top. Sexy, yes?

I knew he was due to return it soon, but I was *SO* hoping that it would show up in my driveway in a few minutes.  And it did. 🙂 But, friends, that’s not the best part.

The best part was when my dad got out and asked if I wanted to drive it down to the city.  Me.  Driving. A. Corvette.  The answer, of course, was YES!  Let me tell you, that beast has the sexiest sound when you start it up, and when you accelerate.  A true, deep-tiger-purring Vroom!

Of course I was a little paranoid about getting a ticket, or getting into an accident, so I was extra-careful on the way down.  But that didn’t stop me from enjoying every minute of it.  On both the drive down, and the drive home.  yee-ha!

Oh yeah, and the Tigers beat the Angels too.  A pretty good night in my books if you ask me!

Recovering…

Pain has a name.   And that name is Bart.

I recently joined a new gym – which I love.   It’s just over a mile from my house,  on my way to/from work, and even when it’s “busy” there are still plenty of machines open.

Part of the sign up package included some free personal training sessions.  Last Saturday I had my first one – which included a fitness assessment.  That’s where Bart comes in.  After filling out the prerequisite paperwork, Bart wasted no time jumping into the workout.  The words for the day were: Legs & Abs

*note to self: don’t do elliptical + a 1-hr yoga class before your first personal training session.  It’s just really not a great idea, ok?

We jumped, we hopped on & off the stair stepper, we kicked and punched.  We did lunges and used the hack press to do squats.  We did more stair-hopping.  We did full squat-to-air jumps.  Then came the swiss & medicine ball work for the abs.  We had lots of fun with those as well.

(BTW: “We”  = “me”)

After 30 minutes and approx 500 calories later, we were done and ready to talk about what our next moves were.  The only next moves I could think of were into the sauna, into the shower, into my car and back into bed. Bart thought that 20 minutes of cardio and a second appointment were a better idea.

I have goals I want to reach, and I’m not going to get there by taking it “easy” on myself. 🙂  Trust me, I’ve already tried that plan!  So, I set my next session appointment for this last Tuesday and hobbled home.  I took my shower.  I took my nap.  And then I went to the Tigers game with a girlfriend and slowly made my way up the stadium stairs like an achy octogenarian.

By Monday I was feeling better.  And by Tuesday I was ready for session #2.

Only this time, it was with Carl.  Sorry, Bart, I’m just not ready to forgive you just yet.