spoiled banana

so i was off for five straight days! thur-mon. i don’t think i’ve had that many days off without a plan in a while. usually it’s been for a mission trip or something like that, i can’t even think of a vacation except when i went to japan in college. so this was a big deal.

i spent a couple days in sherman, a couple days in the metroplex and it was so nice. saw some people i hadn’t seen several months, went to a show at the hob with ginger, hung out by the pool with folks in sherman, played ultimate frisbee! and other fun activities.

i realized during the time off, while i enjoy the work i do here, i do miss having a ‘life.’ playing in a sports league, going to a midweek bible study, things like that. so in the next few months when i’m job searching, i think quality of life is going to play a big part. I’d like to think if I’m in a bigger city there will be more options and things to do at more flexible times for my schedule. Maybe I won’t report at all. I dunno.

In the meantime, I’m stuck at home today. Yes, after 5 days off I was actually ready to go back to work. I had a banana this morning that I think was a little too soft and felt queasy and horrible, got ’sick’ and went home from work. How lame is that?!?! It just seems silly that a stupid banana is holding me back so to speak. I had some plans tonight too that are on hold b/cs that.

i guess that’s life. there are certainly worse things.

 

ugh.

i’m exhausted! this month at work has been really stressful… to the point of pushing me over the edge. seriously. bad. then, i woke up this morning to find about 20 bug bites all over my body… i did a story in kind of gross, dingy, areas yesterday so i think i was probably bit then but it took overnight to surface.

ugh. the positive is i can take a nap and hopefully decompress before sunday when it starts all over again.

 

e-matching

so i’m stuck at work killing some time, waiting for a meeting to be over. it’s 8pm and i’ve been here since 9 this morning.

anyhoo…

a friend of mine (and really it’s a friend, not me disguised) set up one of those online dating service profiles. she found this dude and it seemed like they had so much in common!! they both wanted a honeymoon in the same place! they both studied the same type stuff, have similar advanced degrees!! have similar religious views! WOW! it was soooo surreal.

then he came to visit.

upon spending time together, they realized, nah, they actually aren’t quite a “compatible” as the website said.

but honestly, should they really be so surprised that it seemed like a good match at first? Come on! the reason why they met in the first place is they filled out the questionnaire the same way. but just because you both want 3 kids and think a good sense of humor is so important doesn’t necessarily mean a good match. i think it can give a false sense of compatibility. not always, but probably often.

i’m seeing a guy right now… and on paper we probably wouldn’t be the e-match. like different music, have lived in very opposite type places, i had never been on a 4 wheeler before meeting him, etc. but it works. it just works. we do have other big things compatible like our faith and our outlook on life. both like sports, even if we root for different teams.

so i’ll take the real-life match over the e-match! but more power to ya if that e-match was fantastic. i’ll see you on the commercial!

 

talk about bad timing

Williamson Co. shelter stops “Black is Beautiful” promotion

© 2008 The Associated Press

GEORGETOWN, Texas — An animal shelter pulled the plug on a program promoting the adoption of black cats and dogs after criticism that the event would have taken place the same week as Juneteenth, a state holiday commemorating freedom for enslaved blacks in Texas.

The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter planned to reduce adoption fees June 14-20 for black-coated animals to $25 through a “Black is Beautiful” promotion, the Austin American-Statesman reported in its online edition Wednesday.

The shelter had pictures of a black cat named “Midnight” and two black dogs named “Britain” and “Baskin” on its Web site Wednesday.

Eleven of 17 dogs and 12 of 24 cats at the shelter have black coats, shelter director Cheryl Schneider told The Associated Press.

People choose other animals over the black coated cats and dogs for a variety of reasons, including superstition, fears of aggression and complaints people can’t see the animals’ facial expressions as well, Schneider said.

Celebrated June 19, Juneteenth commemorates the 1867 arrival of Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger in Galveston with news of freedom for Texas blacks. The announcement came nearly two and a half years after passage of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Schneider put a stop to the adoption program after learning about the controversy. “It was just bad timing,” Schneider told the AP.

“It’s just a known fact that black cats and black dogs are difficult to adopt,” Schneider said. “I think it is very unfair to the dogs and cats that are here.”

Williamson County spokeswoman Connie Watson told the paper the shelter has offered promotions before when it has had a high number of a type of animal, including a promotion for cat adoptions later this month. The promotion was not meant to be a Juneteenth-related event, Watson told the paper.

Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told the paper the promotion was “not very well planned or considered.”

“In society, we live in small worlds, don’t talk to people, assume things and promote things that have no basis in reality,” Linder told the paper. “I would encourage them to do more outreach on those animals. Talk to people, get some feedback so these things don’t happen.”

Schneider said future promotions will not be so specific.

 

the bucket list

that movie the bucket list came out recently. i haven’t seen it, but in a note from my grandparents they said they saw it and started making a list of their own. cute!

well i made a list of sorts a few years ago:

1. Live in another place other than NE Tarrant County

2. Live in NYC

3. Go to Europe

4. Go on a foreign mission trip

5. Work for a tv company other than TBN (not that it was a bad thing, but you know)

So…. Now I’ve done everything on there except go to Europe and live in NYC. Honestly, the New York part, I don’t care as much if it happens. But it’s scary to think at age 25 I’m one shy of doing everything I want to do!!

So… I’m coming up with some other things. Sheesh! I need some stuff to last at least another 50 years!! At least!

I’d like to publish a book. Don’t know what about, but something really interesting. Of course I’d like to be married and have a family at some point. I’d like to go to Japan while my grandmother is still alive. (She’s 84!) And there are other things I can’t really think of off the top of my head. But they will be thrilling, exciting, and something to look forward to!

what’s on your list??

*edit* as i think of more, i’ll post them… hike the grand canyon is another one!

 

blown over

so is it just me or is it ridiculously windy outside?!?!

like more windy that the usual, “it’s windy.”

this is texas, so wind is really no surprise, but the past few days i’ve been outside, usually wearing heels, and have literally been knocked off my feet. i’m more than happy to be a relatively small person, but geez! yesterday i had small, thin heels so i planted them in the ground so i would blow away during a liveshot. that’s nuts!!

it’s amazing i’m not this big allergy bomb with who knows what flying through the air.

 

soaring

so the other day i was jogging at this park in sherman. it has a large pond/small lake in the middle and they put a trail around it. so it’s pretty nice, naturey.

i finished and was walking to cool down across a levee on one side of the pond/lake, and i saw this bird flying overhead. i am DEFINITELY no animal expert but i think it was a hawk of some sort.

i’ve heard, read, and said isaiah 40:31 for many, many years, but living in urban areas honestly i’ve never really seen a bird soaring like that one. over the water so peacefully. it would glide, slowly flap its arms when needed, and seemed so at ease.

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

my life is definitely easier than others, not going to argue that. but i’ve just been very tired and stressed about some things lately. but seeing that bird really was a visual reminder of the incredible hope. we can’t renew our strength on our own, but it’s this incredible feeling (i hate to say feeling but get my gist).

so i hope wherever you are, God will renew your strength to do what you need to do. life doesn’t stop, but life is meant to be lived soaring even in tough times.

 

whirlwind

i’m pretty cheap with the electric bill, so i’m trying not to turn the air down too low, but i’m burning up here! ugh… and it’s only may…

our may sweeps finally ended last week, so i joined the my family’s vacation already in progress. and it was a hodge-podge of family get together. my grandparents, dad, dad’s youngest brother, his wife, and their 4 kids.

my uncle matt was 5 years old when my parents got married, so he was always the young, hip uncle. well now he’s 40 and has 4 small children. they are ADORABLE but it makes me feel so old! they could be my kids! yowzer. but we had a lot of fun at myrtle beach. and now i’m peeling for some patchy sunburns, and back to reality.

this month has been incredible crazy with golf tournaments, sweeps, and small trips here and there, but i’m so blessed. i was able to spend some nice time in the mountains too a couple weeks ago, and it was so peaceful and relaxing. nice company too. i think oftentimes i get way overstimulated with everything, so it’s really good to decompress.

so yeah, after a month running all over the place, it looks like i’ll chill out in sherman this weekend. there are some peeps i haven’t hung out with/seen in a while in other places, but it will come too. i just have to slow down a little.

maybe i am getting old.

 

rockstar ringings

so in the age of digital technology, there are so many ways people can express themselves.  the skin on a myspace page, all those annoying applications on facebook, even this blog!

one aspect is the cell phone ring. are you coldplay’s biggest fan? have that song between you and your special someone? that song can ring loud and clear everytime your snookie calls.

but the cell phone ring issue is escalating. twice already today i’ve called someone when instead of ringing when i’m waiting for them to pick up, it’s a song! nothing like ‘party like a rockstar’ at 9am.

if you do this, more power to you. but why?! honestly this isn’t the elevator music when you’re on hold. it’s hard to take someone seriously when they answer the phone. maybe that’s what they’re going for! I dunno.

I may choose to party like a rockstar on my own, but the regular old ring in my ear will due just fine.

 

fore!

I’ve  been pretty bad about blogging lately.

I did commentary for a golf tournament last weekend, I’m off to another one in about an hour or so. Honestly, I’m not much of a golfer. It seems fun, I’ve learned some stuff over the years, but it’s not exactly my main sport. But, these broadcasts have been pretty cool. I have the “golf voice” down. It’s kinda funny.

I think bottom line, I can’t wait for summer. In a few weeks I’m going to South Carolina for a big FitzGerald family vacation to stay at a house right on the beach! Lake activities are also really big around here so I can’t wait for that. Last year the fun was pretty much rained out, so I have to make up for lost time!

But this is what I’ve been musing over. So it seems like I’m always looking forward to the next thing. In a way I think that’s good, keeps me motivated at least, puts perspective on life. But sometimes I think I’m looking ahead so much I can (and often do) miss what’s right in front of me.

I guess it’s a contentment issue. I’ve been chewing on that concept for the past few years, and I think it boils down to balance. Recognizing what’s happening right now, but also looking ahead to press on towards what’s next. But then it’s also important, at times, not to worry about the future and focus right now. I guess it depends on the situation.

anyway… for now I need to focus on the eagle or birdie shot, not getting popped in the head with a golf ball… and talking at hushed tones.