phone chronicles...

with an anonymous, awesome friend....

my friend was trying to talk me into wearing my hair curly [note: my hair is naturally straight...curls seem to be something beyond my hair's comprehension] for an event this upcoming friday:

me:  "you don't understand...my hair looks awesome for maybe the first hour, but then everything goes awry"


aaf:  "seriously....I'm sure it's not that bad!"


me:  "I'll send you a photo to prove it!"


aaf:  "[long pause].......[snort]...HAHAHAHA.....Ok, maybe it IS that bad!!"


me:  "hahahaha....I told you so! so I think straight hair is the way to go..."


aaf:  "[still laughing] agreed!"

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minutes later, on the subject of guy prospects:


aaf:  "well...I give all your damn bastards the benefit of the doubt."

me:  "hahahahaha....yes, you do...and I'm gonna quote you on that. Plus I think you could add that along with awesome friend and extremely honest (especially in regards to my hair) to your personal resume."

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several minutes after that:

aaf:  "[giggling]....sorry...still laughing about your hair"

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**originally forgot to include this section...
even later in the convo (in the midst of another topic):

aaf: "seriously, what friends were you with that didn't inform you that your hair had transformed into a hot mess??...b/c you really shouldn't be friends with them anymore. [still snickering]"

me: "[chuckling] actually I'm supposed to be a bridesmaid in one of their weddings..."

[laughter interlude]

aaf: "you should rethink that."

grace, for giving

So, it's funny that as I'm reading this book (Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott), I haven't been expecting much. But as I keep trucking along, various statements are striking through me like lightning bolts.

These reflections from a chapter on forgiveness hit me like cold water in the face...

In fact, not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.

The clipping said that forgiveness meant that God is for giving,  and that we are for giving too, and that to withhold love or blessings is to be completely delusional.

Man...the imagery of the rat poison comment alone was enough to stop me in my tracks. I mean, I've been that person...expecting someone else to suffer because of anger/resentment/hurt I've held on to...only to realize that it's only me who's suffering from my own bitterness. Which made me even more thankful for the reminder of grace...

[Grace is] unearned love - love that goes before, that greets us on the way. It's help you receive when you have no bright ideas left, when you are empty and desperate and have discovered that your best thinking and most charming charm have failed you.

It's not a long book....in fact, I've devoured much lengthier reads than this in much less time...but this is one I'm having to take a little slower (mainly because it keeps taking swipes at my precarious walls). Honestly I do have some issues with the book, but there are occasional redeeming kernels of truth that make me stop, think and pray....and those moments just break me a little more (in a good way).

On a sidenote...let me just say: I love God's timing...seriously, He's got great timing. I say that because a couple of friends recommended this book to me several years ago...and it wasn't until two years ago that I actually purchased a copy. I obviously put off reading it until now...but this is when I needed to hear these messages the most.

the illusionist

I'm currently reading "Traveling Mercies" by Anne Lamott, and I just read a couple of sentences that really made me stop, think and re-read. She wrote:

A fixation can keep you nicely defined and give you the illusion that your life has not fallen apart. But since your life may indeed have fallen apart, the illusion won't hold up forever, and if you are lucky and brave, you will be willing to bear disillusion. 

Ugh....how true this is...and hard to live out (to bear disillusion)! I know that when I've been faced with difficult circumstances, I've shifted my focus to something that is more "manageable"....which is ironic considering the notion that I'm actually in control of any situation is a mere illusion in itself.

Oh, that I may be lucky and brave!

say anything

here are some quotable gems I've been saving up:
[af = anonymous friend]


af #1: "you know that song....something about lucy..."
me: " you mean...'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'...?"

(context: trying to casually to break the ice with a group of guys to pass off a phone number on a dare)

af #2: "hey...are you guys from Michigan?" (note: when she asked this, the anticipated response was 'no'....so she could quickly brush off the ice-breaker and pass off the number.)
boy group: Yeah! We're actually all from Ann Arbor!

af #2: "Girls....they really ARE from Michigan!?" (said with a "you've got to be kidding!" look)

af #1: "I like that Dave Barnes song, and surprisingly I don't really have diminishing returns for it"
me: "did you actually just say that you don't have diminishing returns for a song you like?"
af #1: "are you gonna put this on your blog?"
me: "yes...I think I just might"

af #3: "you kill it, you keep it!"
(an interesting dating perspective)

af #4: "patty griffin is good" (said with raised eyebrows)
me: "you're being sarcastic"
af #4: "I didn't say it sarcastically"
me: "no, but your eyebrows were sarcastic"
af #4: "alright, how about this...patty griffin is good" (said with a slow head nod)
me: "ok, your eyebrows weren't sarcastic...but your head nod was"