Flower Power Perplexion

Boss came back to work 2 Mondays ago. In his absence, he left me his phone which I dang near lobed at him while giving him the "never again" glare. He took it in stride and requested a full briefing on all the happenings while he was gone. I proceeded to turbo babble a month's worth of info: house updates, pending closings, people that helped us, hatred of his phone, how he owes me a pony....


Boss - "We should get them flowers!"
Me -  *short pause as I back track to the topic* "Agreed!"
B - "Sounds like they helped a lot. Order them some flowers. Make it so."
M - "Yes, Picard."


I was determined to deliver them myself. In my old SUV. That has NO A/C.

It was worth it.


First stop,


*Gasp* OHMYGOD!! PINK IS MY FAVORITE COLOR!!XD


2nd Stop,


: 3 Awwww! How sweet!


3rd Stop,


Thank you. I really needed a pick me up *HUGS*


. . . 

IDEA!!!

This got me thinking: Spousal unit has been extra helpful recently. I should get him flowers to tell him how much I love and appreciate him.


On my way home, I had to go by Walmart to get some groceries. Since we're in super-saving mode, I figured it'd be the only place I could afford to get flowers. Two birds; one stone, right?


The flower rack at Walmart makes me think of a wounded wildebeest. Don't look to good as a whole, but there's still good parts.


After circling a few times, I spot the perfect bunch. I don't know what they are, but they are dark yellow flowers that are unique and different just like Spousal Unit!


I scoop them up and happily scamper to the check out. I couldn't wait to get them home to Spousal Unit.


When I get home, I open the door and hand him the flowers.


.....


M - "What?..."
S.U. - "Isn't this backwards?"
M - *super sad face* "You don't like them."
S.U. - "No. I like them. It's just odd. Shouldn't I be bringing you flowers?"




~misfoijd

Impressible?

I have a 'matter of fact' way of viewing the world. Because of this, I'm very hard to impress. I guess I take the word almost literally. Unless it leaves a deep impression, your S.O.L.

I fully acknowledge that I'm EASILY amused, amazed, wowed, and distracted. These happen frequently but flits away with the breeze. Still not impressed.

I'm not talking about big wigs or movie stars. They've made their bones in this world and flaunt it everyday. I'm glad for them, but they do not meet what 'true impressive' is to me. I don't know them. I'll never meet them. True impressions should be more .

Truly impressed is very rare for me. It's something that makes me sit back and go "Whoa. They are going places."

A friend of mine never believed me when I told her that she's a talented writer and that she impressed me. She would occasionally ask me to read her work. I'd critique and return it, telling her she's got talent.

I told you all that so I could say this.

She met with Peter S. Beagle (Yes. THE Peter S. Beagle who wrote The Last Unicorn) for a 2 part Writer's Workshop. Yesterday was part one, the one-on-one session w/ Beagle. Here's what he told her: 

“I want you to know this. You’re onto something here. Of all the manuscripts I read for this workshop - and I did read all of them - yours is the one that stuck with me. It’s the one that stayed with me.”

From now on, when ever she feels down about her writing skills or her stories, I have the RIGHT to say:

"Beagle liked you."

I was right :P


~ misfoijd

Found One of My Comics!

Carnival Workers Are Missing Out

Carnivals come to my hometown about 3+ times a year. I generally only attend if I have a huge hankering for funnel cake.

Better with strawberries

On my last visit to the Carnival, Husband & I decided to attack balloons with darts in hope of a stuffed giraffe (at least I think it was a giraffe). There was a pleasantly plumb lady inflating victims in one corner of the booth. We struck up a conversation. She enjoyed being a 'Carnie' with all the travel and meeting new people. The chat shifted to my job....

Me-"I'm a school bus driver."

Carnie- O_O "Oh, God. I could never do that. All those kids...."

M-"Don't you deal with kids?"

C-"Yeah, but I'm in a booth. They stay out there. *waggles hand over the booth's counter* I can't imagine being stuck in a bus with them."

I found this amusing. I guess her & I could never swap jobs. I prefer my job especially now that I'm working for this other district. Man, so many stories.

Want to know some of them? Here's a brief overview:

• Boy walking onto the bus in his boxers
• Kid smashing another kids head against the window
• Random fights for NO REASON
• Kids having sex without discretion
• Boy leaning out a bus window to try and hit his head on a street sign

And that's just from my bus... I have a dozen more second hand ones.

• Coworker nearly wrecked bus when a kid lobbed a D cell battery at his head, knocking the driver out cold.
• Kid threw a rock out a window hitting a windshield of a occupied police car. Bus gets pulled over and the kid arrested on the spot.
• AND MORE!

~misfoijd

Change Is Good.... Right?

It's been too long since I've posted. So much has changed. I've missed you all so much!

Oh the many happy hugs I'd give!

Quick Overview:

• No longer work for the newspaper. (Who saw this coming? *raises hand*)
• Back to being a realtor's assistant for Boss.
• I'm driving a school bus again, but for a the richest one in the county. Last district was pretty rough. New district is in a better place. Less fist fights and more iPhones.
• Back is goobered pretty bad.

Long Overview:

I loved working for the newspaper, but I was delusional to assume the news was black & white like I was trained to believe. I wanted to spread truth; not rumor. 

The publisher also had a ... personality type that baffled me. I'm generally very practical. So when the publisher ordered a new outdoor sign, I understood. The present sign was very old and dated. It was due for an update. Reasonable. But then he had it bedazzled?  He had his graphic designer glue crystals to it, because "it doesn't sparkle enough." The sparkles won't last. The glue won't hold forever. It's a waste of money in so many ways. Maybe I'm just too practical to understand bedazzling signs. 

When I chose to leave the paper, I had to get another job lined up fast. Boss was excited to hire me back. Apparently, I brought him good luck. When I last worked for him, he went from 2 listings to 10. When I left, the listings didn't come in very fast if at all. 

That's all well and good, but real estate goes through dry spells. I need a stable income.

A guaranteed job is big perk of keeping my CDL up to date. Schools will always need bus drivers BECAUSE NO WANTS TO BE ONE. That is until you find the right school (I'll have to do a separate post to cover this). But basically new district is in a better place than my last one. Less fist fights and more iPhones.

Like driving a bus, but multiply by 70.

Ever since last summer, my back has been ... uncooperative. Husband has been nagging me to see a doctor. Boss noticed and made me promise. I saw my doc. X-rays were done. I have 2 points of concern: upper mid-back & lower back. The upper mid-back is muscle based. Powerful muscle relaxers were prescribed. So powerful that I can't drive or stay conscience while on them. The lower back is showing signs of degeneration. The degeneration could be heredity since my mom has it too. Preventative measures are lose weight, maintain good posture, and take calcium. I'll get a 2nd opinion when I can afford to get one.

One problem: the 2 points of pain can't cooperate. Good posture makes my upper mid-back hurt. Bad posture makes my lower back hurt.Can't use the relaxer until the weekends. Makes life....curious.

Here's to a LOT of curious blog posts.


~misfoijd

Nothing Says 'Merry Christmas' Like Headshots

This past week, I've been playing video games as my 'relaxation mechanism.' Generally, I don't play video games unless they have great stories &/or puzzle-based especially ones that involve modifying the average thought process i.e. Portals & Portals 2 (my brain is designed for thinking with portals).


There's only one exception: Mass Effect. Great first-person shooter game with a marvelous story and the last one in the trilogy was just released.


XD


So I wound up exploring various weapons only to fall in love with sniper rifles.

Black Widow (my favorite  :D)

 


I got very good at headshots to the point I could do them in quick succession almost with a rhythm. A rhythm that reminded my of Christmas songs. One song stuck out the most...


"I WISH you a Merry Christmas.
I WISH you a Merry Christmas.
I WISH you a Merry Christmas.
And a HAPPY New Year."


Not a fan of guns in the real world, but in the land of video games.... sniper rifles make me smile.


~misfoijd

L is for Living

     When I first got this job with the newspaper, it was a dream come true. I'd been fighting for a long time to get a foot in the door of the newspaper realm. It's amazing to finally be able to do what I was trained to do, what I went to college for, what I wanted to be. Maybe as cool as an angel playing electric guitar.

    I enjoy working with InDesign and Photoshop (I guess you could tell by the picture). I enjoy that I have a desk to myself that isn't a cubicle. I enjoy my work.

     But there's a issue... I don't get to live.

    My work is an hour from home. On average, I work from 7:15am to 5:30pm for $9 per hour. I understand page designers are lucky to make $12/hr with experience especially working for newspapers. So we afford all the bills, but we aren't able to put much aside in savings. Things pile up during the week so I spend my weekends playing catch up. I don't go to movies, see friends, or much of anything else because after 12 hours (this includes commute) ... I'm just tired.

     I suppose being a morning person is a factor. Michael (aka a night crawler) comes home and bounces around. I come home tired and generally cranky. Think badger...

...except meaner and dressier.

And frankly, I don't like myself when I'm like that. I don't know how my husband can stand me.

NOTE: There's a difference between page designer and graphic designer. On a basic level, it's which program gets used more. I use InDesign quite dominantly while the graphic designer uses Photoshop almost entirely.

EXTRA NOTE: Photoshop focuses mostly on creating images while InDesign focuses on mostly words and arrangement of images. Just so you know....