Auld Lang Syne

Attempting another go-round at the blogging concept. I love to write (generally for my own amusement), and blogging should fit that perfectly. Here we go. Auld Lang Syne. A literal translation is old long since. Old Long Since. Sounds beautiful and more meaningful than Auld Lang Syne. Tonight is the night where most of us look at the year gone by, both the happy and painful bits. And (to knock on the proverbial wood) this year has been happier than most. But there have been moments of overwhelming pain. And fear. And doubt. Each year has that, I think. Some more than others. But this year had a balance. A yin for the yang. And I am grateful for it. As I get older I look for the balance. I hope that my resolutions will reflect that. Therefore, this year I am putting it out there: I have to do what is right for me and make my decisions accordingly. I am going to hurt people's feelings. You will feel like I have let you down. But that is part of growing up. And come hell or high water in 2011 I am growing up. Batten down the hatches, kids. It's going to be a doozy.

Tally on a trip to South Side

Had a lovely trip to the South Side today. Ate delightful german food. And as I sat in traffic to leave, I did a nifty little numbers tally in my head:

Number of miles from my house to the South Side: 8.2

Number of times I heard "Empire State of Mind" on the radio: 3.66 (I went through a tunnel)

Number of screaming children I saw (or heard): 3

Number of hooligans on bikes: 11

Number of girls impressed by hooligans: 4

Number of girls not impressed by hooligans: 2

Amount of money I spent in Urban Outfitters: $26.42

Amount that I could have spent given no monetary restrictions: $100.00

Number of times I heard the chicken dance on accordion: 1

Number of people I saw that failed to know how to parallel park: 17 (give or take)

Number of times I thought about how lucky I am to have great friends to drink beer with, shop with, and joke about pop culture with: countless

Ask and ye shall receive

I work with small children. This leads to conversations that teeter between the endearing and the bizarre. That having been said, I had one of the more moving ones of my life today. I took one of my little fellows with me to wait for the school buses to arrive today. For matters of discretion, I'll just say Jay.  He's 5 and has a little trouble communicating with others.  I don't mean verbally, just connecting. It's causing him some troubles in Kindergarten.  As we waited, we played a little game where I asked him a question and then he asked me a question.  It was mainly about food and home. Apparently 2 of Jay's favorite things. One of his fist questions was who lives in your house. I replied that my mother and I do. On his next turn, he asked me where my Dad was? I told him that my Dad had died. His response was "Oh...I didn't know that".  I peppered my turns with questions about food, his room, his cat.  So, I assumed that I had braced myself for his next question. "What did your Dad look like?". Wow. Simple question. Yet, so not ready to answer. And good Lord, why not? Why am I not ready to answer a 5 year old as to what my father looks like? Because, it's not what he looks like...it's what he looked like. Looked. So, without a glance at my 5 year old counter-part, I glibly answer him. "Gosh, tall with grey hair. He wore glasses. Nice eyes. " I glanced at him. He was barely looking at me. "huh" was his response. I asked the same question of him. And his response was easy. He looked at me after he answered and said "Are you still sad?". "Yep" And Jay paused. For a long time. I mean, long enough that I thought he had moved on to another train of thought. And then he said:  "I'd be sad for a long time too."  He's 5. Five!!!!!! That is why I work where I do. This is why I get paid the crap salary. For a child who communicated perfectly when he needed to. I love my job. 

A teeny tiny television rant

I may be the only person who is actually watching the show Life on Mars. I think I've just continued to watch it because I can't really believe that ABC kept this show but threw Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money under the bus. Life on Mars on its best days is confusing. Do you know what makes it even more confusing? When you show episodes of a serial television program out of sequence. This means that a show that is difficult to follow becomes virtually impossible. Sigh. I'll just add it to the list of things I need to remember when I take over the world. Air television shows in order. Do something about that Ryan Seacrest fellow.  The list grows ever longer. 

I am Steeler Nation

So, a rather pompous person that I met recently found out that I am a rabid Steeler fan. "Oh" he snorted. "You're one of those". Those? THOSE???? What the hell does that mean I queried oh-so-politely. "Oh, you know. One of those sheep that just follows the masses." Really. Well, for the record, sir, I am not a sheep but a member of a tribe. A tribe known as Steeler Nation. We wear black and gold proudly. We love our team win or lose. We write songs to express our joy. Swing our towels and drink our beer. Praise and armchair quarterback with equal fervor. We greet each other with a automatic "Go Steelers" to begin and end our conversations. My tribe is strong. My tribe is part of who I am.

I wish I had said any of that. But I didn't. I did the only thing I could think of at the time. 

"Baaa"

A shining hat of hope

The hat truly speaks for itself. Inauguration day? For that, I have no words. I am politically overwhelmed. Bedazzled if you will.  Currently, I am picking myself up and dusting myself off. How are you? 

Fresh

The kids in my group all know my favorite saying. In fact, they tend to recite it with me when annoyed or whisper it quietly when being corrected. "Every day is fresh with no mistakes in it". Fresh. What a wonderful word. Rolls so nicely on the tongue. It makes you think of good smelling things. Of  crunchy apples and clean sheets. So, for me, this new year is fresh with no mistakes in it. No year is mistake free. Hell, I don't think I can get a mistake free day. So this is what I strive for:

To try and think the positive FIRST before going for the negative. 

To read 

To peek out of my emotional burrow and get back into the game

To seek friends who treat me with the same respect I give them

To give my friends more respect :P

To spend more time with family

To travel

And to actively find the funny in the darker moments of my day

If I mess up--well, every day is fresh.