Saturday, July 12, 2008
Merry Christmas 2007
So, I finally got J his Christmas present today. I got us tickets to the Cleveland Browns v. Indianapolis Colts game Thanksgiving weekend at the Browns stadium in Cleveland. So, I spent the afternoon planning the trip. I didn't realize there was so much to do in Cleveland! Now I am very sad we are only there for 2 nights, and all of one day will be taken up by the game. There is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame plus the Cleveland Museum of Art has a kick-ass medieval collection. I am really looking forward to the trip! Not that we're going to get to do all that stuff, but I just really enjoy going places where there's stuff to do. I don't really know anything about Cleveland, but I already like it. Plus, I also really, really like planning trips. And going on trips. And going places I've never been. And I can take another state off my list! Ohio - check! But you know what the best part really is? That I get to share something with my husband that he's loved practically his whole life. I'm actually really excited about the football game. I can't wait to share this experience with him. I think it'll be good times!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Top 10 Reasons I Am Excited To Buy a House
10. People can sleep in our guest bedroom when they come to visit us
9. Letting the dog go in the yard - we'll probably still walk him, but it'll be nice to just open the back door and let him pee out there every once in a while instead of carrying him up and down the stairs
8. An icemaker!
7. A bathroom fan!
6. Counter space!
5. Exercise space!
4. Closet space!
3. A garage!
2. More than one bathroom - oh, it's practically heaven
1. No neighbors who call the cops on us when we're playing Rock Band in the middle of the day and bang on the ceiling like they're in a 60's sitcom
9. Letting the dog go in the yard - we'll probably still walk him, but it'll be nice to just open the back door and let him pee out there every once in a while instead of carrying him up and down the stairs
8. An icemaker!
7. A bathroom fan!
6. Counter space!
5. Exercise space!
4. Closet space!
3. A garage!
2. More than one bathroom - oh, it's practically heaven
1. No neighbors who call the cops on us when we're playing Rock Band in the middle of the day and bang on the ceiling like they're in a 60's sitcom
Dream Last Night
I had a dream last night that J and I were on vacation. We were with our friend Ben York, and we also had Toad with us. So, we hailed a cab big enough for us and our luggage, and I got in first with the dog. The driver was that guy from Lost:
When Jonathan walked around to go get our bags, the guy just drove off with me. I was kidnapped! It turns out there was another person in the front seat as well, so now I was really scared. I found a giant (and full!) bottle of Galliano under my seat, and I threatened the driver with it. That didn't really work. I started sending text messages to J on my giant 80's-style cell phone about which directions we were taking, hoping he would start to follow in another cab or call the police or something. Anyway, I ended up in some room. Sans dog, sans Galliano, but with my giant cell phone. There was a tiny area of carpet that looked like it was burning incense or something, and I think I was being drugged. Anyway, I managed to pull myself out of a stupor and use the phone. Ben answered, and was like, "Oh, you're OK. We were really worried. Let me see if I can go find Jon." I asked where they were, and Ben said, "Oh, we just went back to the hotel. We didn't know what to do." So, then I was very, very angry. THE END.
Analysis:
Kidnap: To dream that you are being kidnapped, denotes feelings of being trapped and restricted. Someone or some situation may be diverting your concentration and your attention away from your goals.
Being taken hostage or abducted can represent:
Fear of physical, mental, or emotional attack, or of being a victim of ill will
Feeling or fearing someone or something trying to force their will or motives onto you, or feeling victimized, manipulated, or like someone is trying to limit or take away your personal power
An authority in your real life that feels overbearing or oppressive
Fear of physical, mental, or emotional attack, or of being a victim of ill will
Feeling or fearing someone or something trying to force their will or motives onto you, or feeling victimized, manipulated, or like someone is trying to limit or take away your personal power
An authority in your real life that feels overbearing or oppressive
Bottle
A container or dispenser for liquid (bottle, jug, pitcher, etc.) can represent:
Drinking, quenching, or satisfying
Containment or control
Abundance
The idea of generosity or something "pouring forth"
The idea of flowing, free-flow, or controlled flow
Also consider the meaning of whatever is inside the container, and the role of the container with respect to that.
A container or dispenser for liquid (bottle, jug, pitcher, etc.) can represent:
Drinking, quenching, or satisfying
Containment or control
Abundance
The idea of generosity or something "pouring forth"
The idea of flowing, free-flow, or controlled flow
Also consider the meaning of whatever is inside the container, and the role of the container with respect to that.
Incense
A desire to change one's situation or environment, or perhaps to make it more pleasant or palatable
A desire of the person burning incense to control or manipulate a situation, interaction, or environment
A desire of the person burning incense to control or manipulate a situation, interaction, or environment
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Social Interaction
So, J finally gave in and joined facebook. And he immediately has more friends than I do. I should expect this by now. He is very friendly and doesn't discriminate against people the way I do ("she smelled like soup!"). He also actually wants to talk to people he once knew but hasn't talked to in years. And he believes they actually want to talk to him. But it STILL kind of gets under my skin. I actually feel genuine jealousy. Which is pretty strange since most of the time I'm sitting around in awe at how good I've got it.
Anyway, so I was thinking about how many times since we've known each other that J and I have met someone and that person has remembered J but not me. This happens almost every time we meet someone new for the second time. "Oh, yeah, Jonathan - you're so (insert positive adjective here)! What's your wife's name again?" Or, once, it was even "Oh, yeah, Jonathan, I remember you...but I don't remember her at all." Accompanied by a finger pointed directly at me. You'd think I'd be used to it now, but it hurts my feelings every time. STILL.
This sort of thing also always happened to me in high school when my best friend was the sort of bubbly type girl who everyone wants to have around. I remember distinctly having our first fight and admitting to her how jealous I was of her popularity. Or her personality, really. I was completely flabbergasted when she told me she was jealous of me right back. She was the kind of person who people told right to her face "You're so pretty," "You're so funny," or "You're so great! I love you!" No one ever said that kind of thing to me. Sometimes the creepy guy at the gas station would give me a Big Gulp for free or something, which I guess I was supposed to interpret as "You're so pretty!" But, really, I would rather have had the compliment. I told my friend this, and I remember her saying, "I'd rather have the free Big Gulp."
So, I guess I'm writing this post realizing that my personality is NEVER going to change. I have always been the one people don't remember, and I am consistently drawn toward the people who are remembered, which is only going to exacerbate my little complex. I am also not the friendliest person in the world, and that is not going to change either. I don't like talking to people I don't know. Hmmm. Maybe I should develop some kind of snob factor that makes me feel superior to everyone else. That way, when people don't remember me, I have some kind of snooty default reaction. I'll have to work on that.
Anyway, so I was thinking about how many times since we've known each other that J and I have met someone and that person has remembered J but not me. This happens almost every time we meet someone new for the second time. "Oh, yeah, Jonathan - you're so (insert positive adjective here)! What's your wife's name again?" Or, once, it was even "Oh, yeah, Jonathan, I remember you...but I don't remember her at all." Accompanied by a finger pointed directly at me. You'd think I'd be used to it now, but it hurts my feelings every time. STILL.
This sort of thing also always happened to me in high school when my best friend was the sort of bubbly type girl who everyone wants to have around. I remember distinctly having our first fight and admitting to her how jealous I was of her popularity. Or her personality, really. I was completely flabbergasted when she told me she was jealous of me right back. She was the kind of person who people told right to her face "You're so pretty," "You're so funny," or "You're so great! I love you!" No one ever said that kind of thing to me. Sometimes the creepy guy at the gas station would give me a Big Gulp for free or something, which I guess I was supposed to interpret as "You're so pretty!" But, really, I would rather have had the compliment. I told my friend this, and I remember her saying, "I'd rather have the free Big Gulp."
So, I guess I'm writing this post realizing that my personality is NEVER going to change. I have always been the one people don't remember, and I am consistently drawn toward the people who are remembered, which is only going to exacerbate my little complex. I am also not the friendliest person in the world, and that is not going to change either. I don't like talking to people I don't know. Hmmm. Maybe I should develop some kind of snob factor that makes me feel superior to everyone else. That way, when people don't remember me, I have some kind of snooty default reaction. I'll have to work on that.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Feeling More Positive
Well, since that last post, I have spoken with my mother-in-law who used to work for Ethan Allen and is very good at (and also really enjoys) interior decorating, plus I spoke with a floor specialist who confirmed that our estimates for replacing the floor were correct. All in all, I am feeling much better about this whole process. Plus, I am a HUGE dork, and I made a little floor plan of our #1 choice (fondly nicknamed Blue Carpets). Now I think I am going to be very sad if we decide to make an offer and then we don't end up getting the house.
Fun!
I spent the better part of the afternoon on the Valspar website matching paint colors. Here are the samples I've picked out:
Fun!
House Hunting
Looking for a house is exhausting. No one warned me. Actually, they did warn me that it was exhausting, but no one ever really explained why. Now I know. Here's why:
1) too many unknown factors. Basically you're buying a house you've seen once or twice. The inspector might find a problem or two, but even he can't rip out the walls and check the wiring or guarantee the air conditioner won't break in two months. We're also new at this, so I don't know the right questions to ask, etc.
2)estimating how much all the stuff you want to change is going to cost. The a-holes on the internet don't put the prices per square foot on their sites, forcing you to have to GO TO THE STORE. This makes me very, very angry. All I want is some very basic information, and now I have to drive all over town just to get the most general number possible. I don't even know if I want tile floors - I just want to know if they are a good financial decision, and now I am being forced to enter a place where I have to talk to a salesperson who is going to make me uncomfortable and try to sell me something I'm not ready to buy. And then I'm going to have to shoo the person away and feel guilty for potentially hurting their feelings. Ugh! I have seriously turned into a stranger-hater.
3)the conversations with Jonathan have not been going well. We have different ways of looking at these houses, and they are not very compatible, so I have been getting very frustrated. We're doing a good job of finally getting our points across, but the process is difficult and exhausting. We had a little breakthrough yesterday which actually was great, but it came after over an hour of conflict. We're not fighting, though. I mean, there's no yelling or anything like that. I just feel like we are talking in circles, and after an entire two hours of conversation, we are no closer to understanding one another than we were when we started. I can see that these conversations are actually positive things, but effective communication is always hard work.
So, there you are. I think those are the big things that are making me just want to sit around and pretend I don't see the chores I have to do. I want this to be over SOON.
1) too many unknown factors. Basically you're buying a house you've seen once or twice. The inspector might find a problem or two, but even he can't rip out the walls and check the wiring or guarantee the air conditioner won't break in two months. We're also new at this, so I don't know the right questions to ask, etc.
2)estimating how much all the stuff you want to change is going to cost. The a-holes on the internet don't put the prices per square foot on their sites, forcing you to have to GO TO THE STORE. This makes me very, very angry. All I want is some very basic information, and now I have to drive all over town just to get the most general number possible. I don't even know if I want tile floors - I just want to know if they are a good financial decision, and now I am being forced to enter a place where I have to talk to a salesperson who is going to make me uncomfortable and try to sell me something I'm not ready to buy. And then I'm going to have to shoo the person away and feel guilty for potentially hurting their feelings. Ugh! I have seriously turned into a stranger-hater.
3)the conversations with Jonathan have not been going well. We have different ways of looking at these houses, and they are not very compatible, so I have been getting very frustrated. We're doing a good job of finally getting our points across, but the process is difficult and exhausting. We had a little breakthrough yesterday which actually was great, but it came after over an hour of conflict. We're not fighting, though. I mean, there's no yelling or anything like that. I just feel like we are talking in circles, and after an entire two hours of conversation, we are no closer to understanding one another than we were when we started. I can see that these conversations are actually positive things, but effective communication is always hard work.
So, there you are. I think those are the big things that are making me just want to sit around and pretend I don't see the chores I have to do. I want this to be over SOON.
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