A festivus for the rest of us

The TPCC Young Adults rounded up for a fall bonfire last weekend. We even got some wiffleball in! There was a great mixture of new and old friends and a nice way to welcome the fall season.

The next day a few of us headed out to the Irish Fest to pay homage to the Emerald Isle. I enjoyed sitting back and listening to the entertainment. I have decided that Friday is the best night to go. There is more excitement in the air and the dancing/singing is more festive. Still, we had a good time.

Irish Fest gang

Mother Superior reciting her Irish toast. (The guy in the black t-shirt ended up winning the grand prize-all expense paid trip to Ireland) Next year all of us are going to enter the contest and give our best Irish toast. The hard part will be picking a someone to go to the Motherland with when one of us wins!

Barra MacNeil's

This family of six is a pretty amazing group. Kyle, Lucy, Sheumas, Stewart, Boyd and Ryan belted out some great songs. Definitely check out their website (I wouldn't mine owning their 20th Ann. CD)

I've been sick this week. All thanks to a chum of a co-worker I have. I went out and bought a vaporizer and Benadryl and for some reason chocolate squares. I've been camping out in my room watching NCIS and House episodes. My nightstand is currently filled with a combination of OTC drugs, Vick's VapoRub, tissues, crackers, water, Gatorade, etc. (I really want a cup of chicken noodle soup from Panera) I drag myself out of bed in the morning and go to work and set up camp again at night. I look forward to when I can breathe easy and not look like 5 miles of bad road. I do however have a hot "smelly cat" voice when I sing.

Animal mating behaviors and environmental factors

I'm at work yesterday and I get in the elevator to go to the cafeteria for breakfast. Two patients get on (a man and a woman) and they are debating/discussing when menopause begins. The man looks at me and asks for a definition of menopause. I tell him and he starts talking to the woman again. We get off the elevator, the woman hurries out of the hospital and the man continues the conversation with me. (did I mention I was on my way to breakfast?) He asks me if I think that men go through menopause and while I didn't take a firm stance on the issue I did mention that there have been some studies/reports where it has been suggested that men experience something similar to menopause. He just about loses it and went on a tangent about estrogen and testosterone and sexual attraction and talked about the menstrual cycle and peacocks fanning their feathers and environmental factors. All of this was going down in front of the elevators in the hospital. I was patient and professional and listened and inserting a "that's interesting" or "mmhmm" nodding my head and secretly hoping that my pager or phone would go off so I could make an exit. Finally he takes a breath and I excuse myself and chuckle down the hallway at what just transpired. I couldn't believe that I just had a conversation (however one-sided it was) about menopause and animal mating behaviors.

When I return to the lab there is an animal inside. Upon closer inspection and questioning I find out that it is a sugar glider. My manager had brought it in from home. I get along well with critters. I like to watch them and check them out before I handle them. However sugar gliders I quickly found out, glide through the air and will jump at you and land on you. I thought that I had stood far enough away from it that it wouldn't jump but I was mistaken. It jumped and landed on me and I tensed up so fast and must have had the deer in the headlights look because the entire lab erupted into laughter. I'm glad that I was able to provide some comic relief for everyone.

Have I mentioned that I love being an aunt? Because I do!

My nieces and nephews make my world go round. Their laughs are contagious and their personalities are as different as each snowflake. I love spending time with them, rocking out songs, telling jokes and watching them grow up.

to harass or treat roughly with or as continual biting or tearing with the teeth*

I worry. A lot. About things that I can't even control just because it gives me something to do. For example, lately I have an ongoing inner dialogue of conversations that have yet to occur. Yes, it is good to think before you speak, but even I think this is overkill. Right now... I am worrying about work this week. I will be the lead person in the lab during a period of heavy activity. I already have everything set-up for tomorrow (of course) but I am worrying about mistakes and screw-ups that may or may not happen. I am worried that someone is going to want me to do a shipment and I won't be able to do it. I'm worried that the crap is going to hit the fan and I'll be the one that everyone looks to for an explanation. I'm worried about not being prepared enough to handle the volume of work in a short time frame. I worry because I think that if I don't then it seems like I don't care about my work. Maybe that is just what I perceive as what others think of me. (I should have taken that Behavioral Psych course in college)

* This is the first definition of worry listed in Webster's. Interesting.
** I plan on coming back to this and completing my thoughts/discussion; I'm just overwhelmed now and I drank too much sweet tea while typing this post.

It's okay to be green

Finally! I got my coffeecover today as a gift for my birthday from two friends. I couldn't wait to break it in.

Yes, it is on my sweet tea drink. What of it? This is a really great idea. Instead of using the cardboard coffee sleeves that come with your hot drink, get yourself one of these. Not only will you be reducing waste but you can wear your personality on your drink! Check out the website at www.coffeecover.net and order a few for yourself and friends. This baby is going to get a lot of use this week since I'll be living at work. For the sake of humanity Hubbards and Cravens better open on time this week.

Rach and Megs

My friend Rachel and I go back several years. Okay, all the way back to middle school art class when she asked me why I was painting polka dots on my dragon. We also went through Mrs. Murphy's "swivel" lecture in freshman English. We even shared a locker for two years and stuffed it full with peanut butter rice cakes and other munchies to chow on before the 7:15am bell.

Tonight, we went out tonight to celebrate our birthdays. Rachel was born one day before me and at the same hospital too! I'm surprised that we didn't get mixed up in the nursery. We went to Carolina Grill for a nice dinner and then we walked around the neighborhood.

Oh, and I bought my dream house!!

I'm really excited to move in over Labor Day weekend and start decorating!

*no, I didn't by this house or any other house for that matter. However, should this one ever go on the market, feel free to buy it for me :-)