I want to drive!

Saturday was the county fair demolition derby. I had never been to a demolition derby before and I wasn't quite sure what I was imagining was going to happen... What did happen was the best entertainment EVER. If you've never been before, imagine 16 normal, beat-up, oldcars -- like Crown Vics, Dusters, Cutlasses, Escort wagons -- with a home-grown paint job (a few were very professional, including a General Lee clone). They have local business's (sponsors, I assume) names along side their kids' written in spray paint and each have a random number like 2, 69, 96, 4zn, $1.05, 7086, U24r.

So, they get lined up in a space about a half football field, 8 per end-zone with their rears facing each other. When the flags go up, they try and disable their opponents by smashing into each other. The rules seem to be that you can only go so long without having a crash and you can't directly impact the driver's side on purpose. There are these men running around in neon yellow shirts monitoring the action and occasionally everyone has to stop while firefighters extinguish flames from under hoods. I think it takes more balls to be one of the flag-men than a driver -- they're so close to the crashing. Skid-loaders shove cars back into the ring which is bordered by logs under a lot of mud.

Four rounds (called heats) of this commence with new cars each time. The last four standing in each heat go on to the final. The people seem to have time to work on the cars after their heat and before the final. There's also a consolation heat for people who got knocked out but fixed their cars up before the end and then those four winners can go on to the final too. I was amused the entire 3 and a half hours standing, hands clutching the steel fence and mouth half open, occasionally yelling with glee even in the rain that snuck up for about 30 minutes of our time in Augusta.

When a simple "no" won't do

I asked my honey today if my shoes matched my outfit. He said instead, "They match your panties." I knew he liked the red/white pasley hipsters, but I didn't realize he could remember that I was wearing them when I was fully clothed. I smile inside. It's heart warming when someone else pays more attention to you than you do to your own self. It's even better when their opinion is flattering and I have every reason to believe his comment was pure in this way.

This weekend PEJJM are coming to visit as well as some other members of the Iowa State crowd. It's going to be hot and we don't have air conditioning. We have ceiling fans though and hopefully it won't rain and the outside air won't be too bad.

Kum & Go
Get your mind out of the gutter. Kum & Go is just a gas station chain found all over Iowa. Some call it, "the ol' E&E." I don't much care to think about what the diminutive might stand for. The only gas station downtown where I work is the Kum & Go with it's maraschino cherry red canopy and sign. I always see the same clerk if I go in for a pop or snack. He's a tall, some might call lanky, white guy with short, medium brown hair and side burns. He looks like he should be pimple-faced, but he is not. I visit at least once a week for gas on my way home and pay at the pump.

Although I think pop is bad for you and have been very righteous in my pop abstinance in the recent past, lately I get a craving for it just before I head over the river and through the woods to my house. Might be the heat (though most pop dehydrates you!) Today, as a pop-craving Friday, I needed a cold Diet A&W from the E&E. Usually, I don't have any money (as in cash) and have to bum off of my honey, or I'll put gas and put it on the debit card. But today was special because we had gotten "cash back" by putting all the fireworks on our debit card and getting cash from my mom and uncle for their contribution. I had been spending my phat wad here and there and was fishing for exact change while the clerk rang up my pop.

"Twenny bucks," he says. Completely straight-faced.

I look up and blink a few times in rapid succession trying to re-process the sounds that are not what I expected to hear. He's done this to me before, though I think it was only ten last time. I only got as far as a big smile then as I handed him a mere two dollar bills. This time, I'm in a haggling mood.

I come back with, "OK, that's twenty pennies then."

"Mmmm... five bucks."

"Five pennies?"

"Alright, a dollar forty-three," and he breaks a smile at last.

Even that price seems too high for a 16-ounce root beer, but I verify with the cash register display. One dollar, four dimes, three pennies, and I'm on my way home. Fed up with how our NPR station replays the same local broadcast on my morning commute as when I'm on the way home, I put on Jake's Melissa mix number 3. We're going to see Superman tonight!

For Matt

Today was catching up on Ryan's blog in preparation for seeing him this weekend. I'm sad Matt won't be there.

I'm debating whether to use real names in my blog. Of course I could never use real names for my customers, but I'm not sure what to do about friends and bosses. I think I previously made up names for my boss and coworkers, grasping for a sliver of indemnity in case they read it.

I'm rededicating to writing this, not daily or anything, but maybe a few times a month. If for nothing else than keeping my non-DHS writing skills from getting too rusty. (I had to look up the meaning of indemnity to make sure I was using it correctly -- I think I am.) Matt will help keep me accountable.

You shall be gotten up-to-date:
1. Work is still driving me batty (do you know any poor 3- or 4-year-olds in "rural" Story County?).
2. I'm an old married lady.
3. I don't know if I want to get an MSW or be a nurse. This place has both:
http://www.augsburg.edu/main.html

Tomorrow I start the Road Trip Honeymoon out west to see mountains and desert and my aunt and friends' nuptials.

Today was whiney. The past two weeks have been busy-y.

Overwork is just killing me. I need a new job. Or, I need to go back to school. It might be time to go back to school. I've been looking at nursing programs, especially the University of Washinton's Master's Entry Program in Nursing.

I made a new friend. She took me to see Prince because she got free tickets. She's way cooler than me, but still real. I hope to spend more time with her before she graduates and leaves like all these other fools I've met here in the past couple years. Silly people. Don't they know ich bin das best madchen en das welt and they have to stay where I am?

Last night was frustrating and then delightful and then mad.

Fred's key didn't work in the ignition, but we got a ride home and got our old spare set of keys, which are unwarped by the weight of my wallet and his gobs of office keys, respectively. Had a nice walk to church for our weekly soup supper. We met a Sarah. A soon-to-be-off-to-greener-pastures-in-California friend loaned us her cute old minivan to go back to the scene of the crime and try the spare set of keys on my Cutlass. They magically worked! Drove back to said friend's place to play cards, meet another Sarah, and eat popcorn. It was very fun.

Last night we missed an important phone call and then fought some. That wasn't so fun.

This month has been weddingy. Finally am getting some things put into place. The Maids picked out a dress they like and I think I shall have them order it. I also have a dress, but am in search of sparkley silver sandals. Let me know if you see any. I also need a veil. Sparkley would also be nice, but long and sheer is a must.

Today my car is very stubborn. The key won't turn in the lock. It turns backwards, but not forwards at all. I am sad and awaiting my man to try his key. I'm really hoping it's the key.

The new overwork position is...different. Nice to not be chained to the office. Nice to eat lunch. But, having to deal with more federal red tape is not so fun. Having money, however, is very fun.

Today was errandy. With my new job I'm not chained to my desk. It's lovely.

We still haven't done the dishes. We hosted a going away party for a friend on Sunday night, and there's still dirty dishes everywhere. It's pretty yucky. I cut part of my finger off while chopping onions for said party. Fred and Leslie the Nurse Lady both said that I will live and my finger will not fall off. However, it still means I can't wash the dishes because The Pain! The Horror! The Germs! I miss having a dishwasher. I guess now it's just called Fred.

Today I executed my first home visit. It went just fine. Today Ernie might come to visit. We haven't heard anything yet though...

I didn't expect much out of Cold Mountain, but it was actually really excellent. We saw it this weekend at the mid-priced show. I'm not sure if it was excellent enough that I would see it at the expensive show, but I definitely would like to see it again when it comes to the cheap show.

I have forsaken you lately and you have turned away. There has been tumult; I apologize. I've made a lateral transition at overwork, which is seen as a vertical transition by those that pay me (which is, in result, good for me), so my attention has been elsewhere. I have recommited myself to your graces.



Today there was nothing wacky. We'll try again tomorrow.

No one wants me. Last rejection letter for employment received on Friday. Well, I've decided I don't want any of them... at least not right now. Fred needs to get a real job so I can be content to overwork for underpay. I got an assistant, so that should be nice for while.



I crave apple cider. With cinnamon sticks. I'm a Friendster. Join my legions.

Someone wake me when West Wing starts getting good again. Maybe it really
did always suck and the finale was just so good it ruined it for the regular episodes.



The cats caught a mouse today. Their first catch. Finally starting to earn their keep. Luckily, I wasn't home when this was discovered. Fred left me a voicemail with the news while I was interviewing for an assistant at overwork. Now maybe they can do something about that vole up in the ceiling...

There's a ladybug walking around on my files. A client brought it in and I plucked it off her fuzzy collar. I put it in the trash, but I didn't smash it or anything. So it must have flown out and now it's tooling around my files. It makes me happy. Its one of those spotless orange ones, so I'm not sure if it's really a ladybug or not. I once heard someone refer to the orange ones as potato beetles, so that's what I sometimes call them. However, a little web research indicates that potato beetles are striped. The one here with me looks like this. She's cute.

Today is gooey again. Too much snot, not enough lotion-ey facial tissue. Too much data entry, not enough reliable internet. My stress ball is a blood drop with plastic hands and feet. I like him. I wrote my name under his left foot. I accidentally wrote on him with a wayward pen stroke. Now he has one little hair coming out of the top of his "head," like a desperate bald man. It's time for resting and West Winging and gargling with salt water. Sickness makes me want chicken soup, but I don't think it's in the cards. By the way, I gave up industrial meat. I was already toying with the idea and the first two chapters of Mad Cowboy made it a pretty easy decision. Now, you have to help me stick to my guns!

This weekend was busy. Lots of lugging garbage bags full of clothes downstairs, cleaning out a local clothes closet. Started the process of becoming a United Methodist. Lots of social action activities. Saw Tracy Chapman live for free from the third row. Promoted Dennis Kucinich. Talked with Howard Lyman. See if they're coming to your area: WeThePlanet. And now here I am. Back at overwork. That's what I'm calling my job from now on: overwork. Because what I'm doing isn't just work. It's driving me slowely insane with stress and this time of year, it's only downhill.

Today was sweaty. Grocery shopping in bulk is hard work. And I wasn't even the one doing the shopping! My food pantry bought two van loads of food at the grocery store. It cost $1,600. My feet hurt. My boots + cordless clip-on phone put three more pounds on me. I know because I have a scale. I also know that Nutella is tasty. Even better with pretzels! Pray to the blogger Gods that this post survives the posting.

Fucking Blogger! I just wrote a nice big two-paragraph post telling you about last week and my wonderful birthday yesterday, but now you don't get to hear about it because Blogger timed-out and I'm not writing it all again. Today is pouty!

Today is maddening. I called up the prospective job. Filled. I should receive a letter soon. Wacky proposition did not fly with the one boss, but maybe if I commit to staying longer than "whenever I get another offer," it might work. Today was crazy people day. Or maybe it was just every-mundane-thing-drives-Melissa-crazy day. Hard to tell.

Today is restless. I proposed My Plan to June, the Head Clerk. It entails dropping down to half-time in my current position so that my current boss, can start looking for someone else to do my job. Meanwhile, I pick up a half-time Clerk position and stick around to help my replacement do their job. June thought it was a decent idea, though, honest as I am, she's uncomfortable training me if I might leave for a completely different job shortly after. But, she's going to ask her boss and it just might fly. They love me over there! Besides, still no call for an interview and it's the end of the week.