My Love/Hate Relationship

Is with my computer. Even after working at a job for 8 hours a day, five days a week where 95% of my time is spent looking at a computer (I even have two monitors) I still come home and turn on my computer, to write or get on the Internet. Almost every day I check my e-mail, Facebook and a handful of blogs.

But my computer can sometimes be very, very sloooooooow. My computer is actually a refurbished laptop that I got about five years ago. In other words, it's old (see photo). It's slow and it's heavy (so I don't normally take it around with me). Some days it's fine, I'm able to have two programs open at the same time. But most days it's slow to open documents, it's slow to load Internet pages, it's just darn slow.

Yes, I'm complaining because I don't get immediate results from my computer but isn't that what a computer is supposed to be? Fast?

I know that at some point in the near future I'm going to have to get a more updated computer, one that costs money. That's what is holding me back, money. Thankfully I haven't encountered any computer virus that have incapacitated ey (knock on wood, knock, knock) so I probably will end up keeping this computer and enduring the slowness until it no longer works at all. It's kind like what my family does with cars. We drive them into the ground until they no longer run. It's the Robinson way.

A Good Friend

I think everyone has a different idea about what this is. For me it’s someone who is going to be there for me during the good times and the bad. Someone who, when they say they want to help, actually come through and help. A good friend is someone who has seen me at my worst and still wants to be my friend. A good friend is someone is going to support me emotionally, spiritually and sometimes even physically as well as someone who will cheer me on in whatever my dreams in life are. A good friend is also someone who will tell me when they think I am doing something wrong, that I’m acting like a jerk or making a seriously bad decision.

Right now I’m struggling a lot with that last part in trying to be a good friend. It’s really hard to see your friends making bad decisions (or maybe it’s just what I consider to be a bad decision). How do you express your concerns without making it seem like you are judging them? And how do you express your concern if you’re not sure your friend wants to or is ready to hear them? I do know that if you do express your concerns, do it once and let it go. Don’t harp on them to that person. They know what you think and how you feel and they can take it or leave it.

I do know that having a good friend and being a good friend takes a lot work, just like any relationship, there is give and take. Are you a good friend if you stand by someone who treats you like crap over and over again because you have a history? And does that make you a good friend or just an enabler to their problems?

I know I expect a lot from my friends (which may be why I don’t have a lot of really good friends) but I’m sure they know that I am fully capable and willing to be a good friend in return. I don’t say things I don’t mean. I’m not flakey about getting together with my friends. And if I have to cancel something, I better have a really good reason and a good apology. And I don’t like to see my good friends being treated badly by other people, especially people who are supposed to be friends themselves. Unfortunately I see that a lot.

So there you go, I’ve put it out there. This is what I expect from a good friend. Take it or leave it. Next to my family, good friends are the most important thing out there and the people I want to share my life with. And to all my good friends out there, thank you.

Meet the Author - Jennifer Weiner

I am really lucky in that Denver has a fabulous independent bookstore called The Tattered Cover. It’s because of this store that authors make a stop in Denver on their book tours. And there have been a lot. I’ve seen Jane Green, Jodi Piccoult, Craig Ferguson (he is just the cutest), Tim LaHaye, Judy Blume (my childhood favorite), Maeve Binchy (she wants me to include her in the dedication of my first book – honest to God), Sarah Ferguson (she was gorgeous in person) and Rick Steves (I asked him for a job) just to name a few.

It’s a really neat experience. The author usually talks a little bit about his or her book (usually the new one they are promoting), reads an excerpt from the new book and then does a Q&A session before signing books. And every single one of them has been super nice. They will answer a question or two, chat for a minute or two and some even allow you to have your picture taken with them. That’s really great consider some of these authors have up to 250 people waiting to sign their book.

So I was at the Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch (one of three locations) last night to see Jennifer Weiner. She was probably one of the first American Chick Lit authors but has grown out of that genre and now writes what is considered Women’s Fiction. One of her books, In Your Shoes, even became a move with Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette. Jennifer is really a veteran when it comes to book tours. She has done them before, knows what to expect knows what to say and is really a very funny person.

Anticipation

How far out from a vacation do you start getting excited about it? For me, it’s as soon as reservations/plans are made. And the anticipation that builds up to the actual vacation is what sees me through. Having a bad day at work can be minimized in knowing that in 57 days I’ll be sitting on a deck overlooking the beach and the Pacific Ocean listening to the crash of the waves and drinking an refreshing alcoholic beverage. Ah…..only 57 more days. You know it’s when bad you start counting down the days. It’s even worse when you start counting down the hours. I probably won’t go that far because I still know what I have to endure before I get my butt into that Adirondack chair that is calling my name.

Yes, there might be some pain before the pleasure. This is a road trip and not just any road trip. It’s a FAMILY road trip, a 1,350 mile (one way) with my sister, my mother and two dogs (Shih Tzus to be exact). I took this trip with my sisters and the dogs last year and it wasn’t that bad (the trip back was worse than trip out because one of the dogs seems to have some anxiety about being in the car and leaving beach – I could TOTALLY understand that). And this year Mom is coming along. I love my Mom dearly but, and all you out there who know her will understand, she talks NON-STOP!!! We are definitely going to have to get her some books on CD and possibly some duct tape.

Also, this is not the most scenic trip either. We go north up to Wyoming, then across southern Wyoming to Utah and this part of the drive is really brutal. There is nothing, I mean nothing, out there but brown plains for as far as the eyes can see. We head northwest through Utah and it’s pretty scenic around Ogden but them it’s flat, nothing, all the way north of Utah, through southern Idaho and north through Oregon until you get to the Columbia River and start heading west. At least you have the river to look at until you get close to Portland.

We aren’t flying to Oregon because my sister wants to take the dogs with her and I can understand that. Last year the dogs absolutely loved the beach as much as we did and were fairly well behaved. And so the road trip is the price to pay in order to see the ocean when you are land locked like we are.

Only 57 more days….

Grease is the Word

It was 32 years ago this month when the movie Grease was releases. It’s hard to believe, 32 years!!!! I was nine years old when I saw the movie for the first time (it was probably the first non-Disney movie I ever saw) and then I immediate had to get the album and spend hundred and hundreds of hours over the next several years listening to it. And I still have that album.

I think it was the music that got me. It was fun and a little over my nine year old head (if you remember, there are some racy lyrics in Grease Lightning). While at that age I did have a crush on Shaun Cassidy, I never thought John Travolta was all the special (sorry, John). I never wanted to be Sandy (although I did like her hair) and I thought, even at nine, the Pink Ladies were too sophisticated to be high school girls.

But I loved the music. I sang the songs with my sister and my friends, knew every word. And who at my age didn’t? It was a pre-Generation X movie, way before John Hughes came along with Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

And, if you hadn’t heard, next month Grease is being re-released as a “sing-a-long” movie. If you don’t know what that means, it’s when the words to the songs are shown on the screen during the songs so that the audience can sing-a-long. And I don’t think I’m going to miss that, a chance to have a fun time and reminisce.

Here’s a link to the trailer if you’re interested:
http://www.fandango.com/greasesingalong2010movietrailer/1_943537/121299

Saturday Morning Breakfast with Dad

This morning I decided to cook myself breakfast. This is something I haven't done in so long I can remember the last time I did it. I even put in on one of my just for company square plates (doesn't food just look prettier on square plates). And although I know that this breakfast (which I tried to make a little health with wheat bread and turkey sausage) will probably consume half (if not more) of my salt intake for the day I did it because it reminds me of my Dad.

When we were growing up my Dad would cook breakfast for my sister and I almost every Saturday and Sunday. Usually it was eggs or pancakes and there was always a little daily vitamins on the plate. If you look closely in the upper right corner of my breakfast picture you'll see bottles of the some of the vitamins I take today. Growing up, during the week, breakfast was usually cereal (now it's usually yogurt and granola). But I always knew there'd be a breakfast for me on Saturday and Sunday thanks to my Dad.

Father's Day was this past week. The day after was my Dad's birthday. He would have turned 67 years old today. Even though it's been several years since he passed away, I still miss him terribly. So this morning I made myself breakfast and remembered all the weekend breakfasts my Dad made. Thanks Dad! I love you and miss you!

Vacation...Had to Get Away

I just got back from a vacation which was actually a mini-vacation because it was more like a four-day weekend but the two days I took off work to take this vacation was spend traveling in a car. Ah, well you take what you can get and I don’t get a lot. I define vacation as any Monday through Friday when I’m not at work. This is how Merriam-Webster defines vacation:

1 : a respite or a time of respite from something : intermission
2 a : a scheduled period during which activity (as of a court or school) is suspended b : a period of exemption from work granted to an employee
3 : a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation (had a restful vacation at the beach)
4 : an act or an instance of vacating

I work in corporate America and therefore get two weeks of vacation (which is actually 10 days of vacation). When I started with the company I currently work for employees got another five days after 10 years. Yes, 10 years! Because morale has been so poor I think that has changed to five years.

And when you think about it that’s not a lot of time off. Especially when you compare it to anyone who works in the education field, and a lot of my friends do. Some of them get as much as 12 weeks off a year and yes, I feel a little bitterness towards them about that. And don’t get me started on anyone who works outside the United States (the company I work for has offices in Canada and Australia and you wouldn’t believe how much vacation time they get!).

I take my vacation very seriously. There are really two types of vacation: the one where you stay at home (and either do things at home or have people visit you) or the one where you go somewhere. Since we rarely get anyone visiting us in Colorado, most of my vacations are spent travelling. And since I have limited time (and even limited money) I have to make the most of them which means I’m not just going to go off on some random trip to somewhere I don’t really want to go and do something I don’t really want to do. And unless it’s Europe, there probably better be a really big body of water nearby.

And I am very fortunately that my next, true vacation (more than two days) will do just that. While I’ll probably have to endure two 12-hour days in a car it will be worth it to spend time at the cottage on the beach in Oregon. Countdown: 79 days until my feet touch the Pacific Ocean again!