I'm free

I lost my job on Friday. GRRRR. This weekend was hard. It was hard to just ignore everything for 2 days. I couldn't do anything to better my position during the weekend and even though usually people have fun or relax on weekends I felt guilty that I wasn't trying to find a new job. Despite what happened I did have fun this weekend. I have the best friends. I was surrounded by love. I'm reminded just by my friends that God supplies all our needs. I had all the moral support I could have asked for. Thank God! I am convinced that losing my job was God's will and that I needed something extreme to extremely change my life. I wasn't particularly happy in my job, and I wanted to change, but of course fear of the unknown caused me to hold back. However now that I'm right in the middle of the unknown is really isn't that bad. I have an opportunity to change and I'm free of the drudgery of a job that it's only reward was a paycheck. I don't know about you, but money really isn't worth working for. I'd admit it's a factor so you can have a roof over your head and food in your mouth, but that 2nd latte from Starbucks really isn't worth having the wrong job.

Grumpy Lessons

My child, I have a message for you today; let me whisper it in your ear, that it may gild with glory any storm clouds which may arise, and smooth the rough places upon which you may have to tread; use them as a pillow upon which to rest your weary head…This thing is from ME. -Laura Barker Snow

I posted that at my desk and I read it at least 2x a day.

I love to learn. Now being 25 years old, education has become a past-time for me. I’ve even decided to go back to college to finish some sort of degree/diploma. 5 years ago I never would have thought it possible for learning to be fun. However as an adult I notice that I feel more human with the more knowledge I have of my surroundings. I understand myself better and those around me too. What do I mean about feeling human? As a teenager everyone thinks “No one understands me” or “I am unique and helpless”. But the more you gain understanding the more you realize there really is nothing new under the sun. The only thing that changes is your perspective through the lessons of your life. My most relevant lesson has been that whether you want to or not you’re always learning a lesson and that usually those lessons come from people you don’t like or disagree with. It’s awesome to learn from that really cool professor in college that not only is a fountain of knowledge, but seems down to earth at the same time. But it’s a whole other story when you learn something important from your irritating little brother, or the rude costumer, or ***gasp*** your parents. You only have to remember there is a lesson to be learned. If you don’t remember that you will become angry and disheartened. You will think the world is against you and that you have been forgotten. That is why I have posted that quote I started with, because I am not forgotten. I am loved and am being polished by an all-knowing God. Satan may be saying “Ha-ha, take that!” But God then says, “Thanks, I think I will.”

Does Superman need gadgets?

I was watching Smallville last night, thinking how cool Clark’s best friend, Chloe, is because of her awesome ability to help Clark out with all her cool gadgets, like her blackberry and super cool sleuth ability to find any information, top-secret or otherwise, by just hopping on her computer. Then I started to wonder why Clark doesn’t have his own gadgets, I mean he is a guy right? Men like gadgets. Then I started to think about how Superman needs a legitimate “batman belt”. Batman needs a belt because he has no real abilities. All his coolness and superhero ability comes from gadgets and his desire for revenge. I’m not discrediting Batman as a genuine superhero, but take away that cool suit or the Wayne fortune and we just have an unhappy, vengeful man with no money. Let’s get back to Superman though. Unlike Batman, Superman just needs a tool belt to stay up with the times. With all the new technology don’t you think he could benefit from a palm-pilot that could be downloaded with directions to latest crime scene or a blackberry that his trusted Lois could call him with to update him on her latest crisis. I know he has super-hearing, but can he hear Lois calling from Metropolis when he’s in the jungle, half way around the world, chasing after Lex?

Pat Kelly

I love being an Aunt. I get the benefits of children without all the junk. And believe me there's lots of junk, I was a daycare worker for 3 years. I've been an aunt for most of my life. My first niece was born only a year after me. Not only that but I'm also so close to all my friends that their children feel like family and I am often loving referred to as "Aunt Liz". All of this is wonderful. However now I have this:
My little brother's wife, Janet, is preggers!!!! From the moment Gardner told me I loved our new family member. This feeling is extremely different from all the other babies in my life. Gardner is my little brother. The one that drove me crazy in the back seat of our GMC Safari making horribly annoying noises, the one that would smash all my play dough into a gross gray color, the one I would dress up in girl's clothes. I could go on a on. Fond memories of us growing up together (mostly at each other throats). I love my brother and I love Janet, and now I love this baby. This baby represents all the dreams kids have about being "grownups". I always imagined our grownup life as married and children and a house in the same town we grew up in. And although some of that has and hasn't happened, one thing is for sure this baby will be loved, despite our silly nickname (Pat Kelly) for he or she.

Is chivalry dead?

I often wonder…
I walked out of my second home (Starbucks) the other day and this seemingly excessively happy man held the door open for me. I thanked him and he smiled and declared “Chivalry is not dead”.
Does this prove chivalry? What is chivalry? I think of it like this:

But if you look at synonyms for it they are gallantry, good manners, courtesy, politeness and the dictionary says, “The medieval system, principles, and customs of knighthood”.
Are women allowed to be chivalrous? I hold the door open for people. I think it’s a nice thing to do for other people, but I certainly wouldn’t want to be knighted for it. Were women not allowed to hold the door open in medieval days?
Personally I think being chivalrous means over and above expected proper behavior from MEN. I don’t really expect anyone to hold the door for me, but I am grateful when someone does. However I have seen just as many women hold the door for men as men do for women. If I were to describe a man as chivalrous he would have to open the car door for me or slay a dragon and since we don’t have any dragons in MN maybe protect me from sitting alone in a restaurant.
Let’s be candid here for a moment. Do women need protection? As a woman in the 21st century I can have a career, make money, vote, carry pepper spray, and I don’t walk at night down scary alleys. Most days the most protection I need is from my cat waking me up at 4 in the morning because she’s hungry.

What have I done

O dear I've not only joined the bandwagon, but I named my blog the 2 things people like to tease me about the most. What have I done? I guess I could have called it Preoccupied With Things That Aren't Important, but that wasn't as cute.