The Office

I recently submitted my personal work evaluation form. As I was filling in my job description, I started thinking about what I wish I could include; however, I highly doubt that my supervisor would think my claims are legit.

Here’s a sampling of what I think my updated job description should entail:

1. Purchasing emergency items for directors as needed.
(Example: my coworker and I were sent on a mission to purchase one director a new dress tie….since he obviously can't dress himself properly, and suffered the ridicule of his peers for wearing a royal blue and white striped shirt with a navy polka dot tie. This involved trying to match up colors via a camera phone photo…tricky.)

2. Detaining annoying and/or controversial workers from interacting with my superiors.
(This is worth a serious raise all in itself....)

3. Personal errand/food runner.
(Which I really don’t mind, b/c it allows me to get out of the office for a bit.)

***A new one to add to the list...
4. Informant in a crime scene investigation...okay, maybe this is a little bit of an exaggeration...but I totally felt like I was part of a CSI episode whenever I got a phone call from an officer last week that went something like this:
"Miss, we're searching through a house that we just obtained a warrant for, and in our search we've come across a girls state basketball championship ring for 2003. We wanted to know if you could tell us who won that year, so we can get a better idea of who we are looking for."
It was definitely a moment that deserved it's own background music.

ACL Lineup

Check out the ACL 2008 Lineup here:
ACL 2008

Here are some artists that I am reaaaalllly excited about:
Foo Fighters*
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss* (can't miss the former Led Zeppelin front man)
John Fogerty* (another "can't miss" for me, considering my love for CCR)
The Raconteurs*
Patty Griffin
Tegan & Sara*
Iron & Wine*
Band of Horses
The Black Keys*
Vampire Weekend*
Ingrid Michaelson* (barely missed seeing her at SXSW, here's my 2nd chance)
Jamie Lidell*
MGMT*
What Made Milwaukee Famous
Eli "Paper Boy" Reed & the True Loves* (should really be a fun show)
The Swell Season*
Beck*
and several more

*bands that I've never seen perform live

My Soundtrack

I couldn't resist filling this out....

Opening Credits: “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles
Waking Up: “Misunderstood” by Better than Ezra
First Day At School: “Hip to be Square” by Huey Lewis & the News
Falling in Love: “Holiday” by Weezer
Fight Song: “Stuck in a Moment” by U2
Breaking Up: “Nothing From Nothing” by Billy Preston
Prom: “Get Down Tonight” by KC & the Sunshine Band
Life is Good: “Good Day” by Jukebox the Ghost
Mental Breakdown: “Cornflake Girl” by Tori Amos
Driving: “On Call” by Kings of Leon
Flashback: “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers
Getting Back Together: “Love You Madly” by CAKE
Wedding: “Heavenly Day” by Patty Griffin
Birth of Child: “Sweet Pea” by Amos Lee
Final Battle: “Trying to Never Catch Up” by What Made Milwaukee Famous
Death Scene: “All I Can Say” by David Crowder Band
Funeral Song: “Hello, Goodbye” by the Beatles

A Practicum in Optimism

I think God speaks to me through children. Maybe it’s because I’m willing to listen to kids without the guards and walls I put up against most peers. I think I’m just too skeptical when interacting with adults. It may sound odd, but I believe it to be true.

Two years ago, I was sitting in DFW airport (impatiently) waiting to meet a coworker for our business trip. There was a large group of people (obviously an extended family) standing in the same lounge area as me, and in that group I noticed that there was a beautiful little girl hiding behind her dad’s legs. She couldn’t have been more than two years old. The girl was dressed in a cute pink outfit, and I noticed that she had a death-grip on a tattered pink blanket. After my short observation, I became immersed in my book once again.

Within a few moments, this little girl appeared right in front of me and tapped me on the leg. So I looked up and smiled; I told her ‘hi’ and commented on how pretty she looked. Her parents walked over to apologize for their daughter’s actions, which I told them was not necessary. We chatted for a minute before they whisked their daughter back to the rest of their family. But the little girl kept coming back to me, and every time she came back she would smile and linger for a moment before leaving her worn blanket on my lap.

Finally, her mother came to me in amazement. She told me that she could never get this particular blanket away from her daughter long enough to even wash it without some sort of struggle. The mother was astonished by the fact that her daughter was willing to leave such a prized possession in the hands of a total stranger. I nodded and agreed with the mother, then returned the blanket to her for the last time. And at that point I actually had to get up and walk away; I did not want everyone around me to see that I was practically in tears at a simple realization.

It hit me that God was using a child to comfort me in a way that I could not have been comforted by anyone else at that time. In His own way He was telling me that I was worthy, that I was being given a gift that I had done nothing to earn, and that He would always comfort me in my times of need regardless of how isolated I felt at a given moment.

In the past few months, God has taken a sledgehammer to my wall of cynicism. I repeatedly am reminded of things that I have witnessed, and I am hesitantly grasping what it means to put an ounce of trust in other people. My transparency unnerves me to some degree though. And I’m even more taken aback with the reaction I get from others when I step out in faith.

I can't see sheep!

I love TLC's show Jon & Kate Plus 8...for those who have never seen it, it's about a couple that has a set of twins [7 yr-olds] and sextuplets [3 yr-olds]. Jon and Kate recently decided that it is important for them to spend time with each of the kids individually…so Jon took Aaden to visit a dairy farm. As Jon was driving them through the farm, Aaden’s in his car seat desperately trying to see out of the window.

Aaden exclaims: “I can’t see sheep!”

Jon promptly asks: “What did you say?”

Aaden (once again) earnestly exclaims: “ I said…I can’t see sheep!”

Jon laughs and says: “Oh, ok, I thought there was a ‘p’ on the end of that…but I just wanted to check.”

So, needless to say, “I can’t see sheep!” is my official quote of the week.
Publish Post

Big Dreamin'

I tend to have extremely random and peculiar dreams. One time I dreamed that I was a man…and not just any man, I was like a mix between James Bond and Batman. I don’t know what that reveals about my psyche…because I haven’t talked to anyone else that has ever had a dream where they were a person of the opposite gender…but it does make for fairly interesting conversation.

On Friday, I had a dream that I was performing in a high school talent show. Sounds normal enough, right? Um, no…this wasn’t just any high school…apparently, I was at Hip Hop HS…the class president was Sean Combs (aka. Diddy, P.Diddy, Puff Daddy, whatever alias he chooses to make up, etc), and my talent show partner was the high school basketball star, Shawn Carter (aka. Jay-Z). But it wasn’t all rap superstars… several of my friends were randomly scattered throughout the dream. It is interesting to note that all of us still had our full-time jobs, but yet we were still in high school.

Throughout the whole dream, I was in a frenzy to find Shawn (which is how I referred to him instead of calling him Jay-Z…but I guess we were just that tight [in my dream]) since we hadn’t really prepared well for our performance. I became increasingly nervous after watching several talent show performances that involved circus clowns, flame-throwers, the Ying Yang twins and acrobats. My anxiety was even more amplified by the fact that Diddy kept harassing me about whether or not my partner and I were ready to perform, so I had to keep stalling for more time.

I decided to take action and actively search for my missing partner. My friend, Jacey jumped in to help me comb the school to find the ever-elusive Jay-Z. As we rushed through the hallways, the school began to take on the appearance of a luxury resort. I finally found Jay-Z making out with a girl (who I distinctly remember noting was not Beyonce) in a private pool area. And here’s how the rest of the dream played out:

ME: Shawn, you have to get ready…we have to do our talent show performance now, or we’re going to fail.

(He barely turns to acknowledge our presence.)

JAY-Z: Nah’….we’re not down for this show (motions like he’s waving me off).

ME: What do you mean…are you saying that you’re not doing this? In order to pass, we have to do this show.

JAY-Z: No…I don’t need this, because I’m on a basketball scholarship (still trying to figure out the logic on this one)...and I don’t do things 2nd rate...

ME: But you’re a singer….I mean, this is what you do! ( I throw my arms up in frustration). Can’t you just get up there and sing...and I’ll just dance around in the background and randomly throw out some background vocals?

JAY-Z: That’s not how I operate. Look, it doesn’t bother me, 'cause it doesn’t affect my job. Sorry if this gets you fired. (obviously not only my grades were dependent on this one performance, but so was my job)

JACEY: Surely, this won’t affect her job review at the UIL (which it interesting to note that I have my actual review coming up this Friday)…she’s worked there for several years, so I doubt they would fire her over this.

(Jacey and I walk away; I’m completely exasperated by the fact that Jay-Z refuses to perform with me in the mandatory talent show.)

ME: I don’t know what to do. Should I go on stage by myself, and just do what I can?

JACEY: No, you’ll be fine…Adam had to miss his performance as well, because he had to go back to the capitol for a meeting. I really think you’ll be ok.

I couldn’t help but wake up slightly peeved at Jay-Z...but I can't say that I blame him for not wanting to take the stage with me.