Letters to Inanimate Objects 6/18

from serendipity_02 on iconator.com

Listening to I'm Gonna Be (500 miles) by the Proclaimers on repeat. HIMYM reference. Whaddup?
    It's official! My best friend Corey is now a marine!
    By the way, those exclamation points are completely deceptive. I have never been more worn out in my life. See, on Thursday morning at 2:45 am, I made my way to the Richter household for the longest road trip of my life. We were driving down to Parris Island to for Family Day on Thursday and to see Corey graduate on Friday. He left on March 21 for boot camp and I promised him and myself that I wouldn't miss his graduation for the world.
    And I am not a morning person, so 2:45 am is major dedication. ha ha. Anyways, I had to drive down instead of riding with Daddy Richter because his car was full - his fiancee Kelli, her daughter Amanda, her son Tyler, and his friend Caius, who also wants to be a marine. Corey's brother Brett, one of my close friends, had to ride in my car (and despite what he tells you, I did not almost kill him four times. Maybe once). The trip was insane, and totally awesome because of the sleep deprivation factor. We got there just in time to see the little ceremony before Family Day officially started. We got to spend about five hours with Coco before his liberty was over, then sort of got in trouble for being on an obstacle course (not me - it was Daddy Richter and Corey's Uncle Rick - be careful when those two are together!).
    I also shared a hotel room with Brett, who snored and moaned all night. It was pretty hysterical, but did keep me awake. Then yesterday was Corey's graduation. We sat facing the sun, so I got a good tan goin' while we watched the ceremony. So proud of our Marine!!
    Here are a few letters inspired by the trip:

Dear Pretzel M&Ms,

You're the greatest thing man has every invented. I want to dive into a pool filled with you. That almost sounds painful, but completely worth it. My obsession with you is borderline unhealthy. In fact, not having any in my house right now is kind of freaking my out. It's either withdrawal or separation anxiety... or both.

Dear Adorable Nude Heels,

I am so happy I found you. Your kitten heel is perfect, and you're super comfy for being half a size too small. Just remind me not to trek across Parris Island - or the equivalent distance anywhere else - in you ever again. My right pinky toe is now one huge blister. Cute.

Dear Coco,

You aren't inanimate (although with how dead tired you are right now, you can see how I got confused). I love you so much, and I'm so proud of you. You can't even imagine. Thinking about you as a marine kind of throws me off, but I'm so proud to say that my best friend is a marine. Even though you can't make your awesome raptor noise anymore because you broke your vocal chords by yelling for three months, I still love you. As long as you can still call me a "stupid bitch." (Pardon the french. Watch the video. So funny, and Corey can imitate it perfectly!)

And Then Life Happened

from MagicShyStars on iconator.com

Listening to La Vie En Rose by Louis Armstrong
    I'm sorry. I know I've slacked. For the two of you who probably read this blog, I apologize profusely. It seems that even though I'm on summer break, I'm always so incredibly busy!
    For one, I'm trying to move out. Trying being the operative word. I've found a great place, and have one definite roommate, and one potential. And Potential Roommate says she can suggest other Potentials. It's a two bedroom two bathroom apartment, so it would be a bit squished, but I think we can handle it. The main problem is that it costs money. Money that I don't have. But it's okay; I'm working on that, too.
    I've been writing and editing a ton. If the words I've written in the last week and a half were given measurable weight, they'd crush me in a millisecond. It sort of feels like they already have. But in a good way, if that's possible.
    Next Friday, Corey graduates from basic training, and I'm so incredibly excited for him. I'm planning on driving down to see his graduation with my sister, which should be super fun. Well, seeing him will be. The driving down may kill me. I'm not a fan of the interstate. Neither is my 14-year-old car.
    But I don't care. I promised I would see him graduate, and I am not breaking that promise. Even if my car breaks down.
    Anhoo, here are a few Letters to Inanimate Objects to make up for my slacking:

Dear Pandora,

You know, you really just get me. I feel that this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. I have extremely eclectic musical tastes, but you seem to know me better than I know myself. In one sitting you played La Vie En Rose by Louis Armstrong, then The Hat by Ingrid Michaelson, and then Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer. Well played. Ha, radio pun. 

Dear Future Roomies,

I'm super psyched about potentially living with you. If this blog is any indication, you can gather that I'm super nerdy, and a little bit weird (okay, "a little bit" may be a slight understatement), but I'm fun! And I love Disney. LOVE. 

Dear Summer 2011,

We're going to have a great season. We're going to meet all of our goals, and succeed in every possible way. You're going to use your gloriously bright sun to give me a good tan, and I'm going to use my writerly skills to finish my book and start querying! And it's going to be all Awesome Sauce and Happy Sprinkles! Blog Five! ^5


Sincerely,
Sarah Jane

Calming the Storm

from PlasticSmileRealTears on iconator.com

Beboppin' to The Fox by Nickel Creek. It's absolutely impossible not to smile when I listen to this song. Or think about Old McDonald. 
Cursing the Yellow Plague from the Pollen Capital of the U.S.
    The most awesome thing ever happened yesterday! It started out being really stressful and upsetting, but then God stepped in and calmed the storm (reference to last night's sermon, check). So here's the sitch. I direct a children's choir at my church, 4-7 year olds. The spring concert for all the choirs was last night. And I was scheduled to work.
    This is a problem, right? Well, this past week and weekend has been so chaotic for me that I didn't even realize the scheduling issue until right before church yesterday morning. I'm talking ten minutes before the service started. So I skedaddled out of the church to make a phone call up to my work. Luckily one of my favorite managers answered and I gave him the skinny. The problem was that on the request-off book - which is really just a daily planner - Saturday and Sunday share a box (Figure A). 

    As you can see, I clearly requested for Sunday night off (Figure B), but whoever wrote this week's schedule misunderstood and gave me Saturday night off instead. It's an easy mistake, and I understand; however, even though it wasn't my fault, I was responsible for getting the shift I shouldn't have covered. Insanity, I know. So I asked Manager J-man for some numbers for people who might could cover my shift. He gave me five. Three didn't pick up, and the two who did couldn't cover it. That left me with quite the predicament, which I fretted over all during the service. I shouldn't have, but it was a very stressful situation. All through the service I prayed for God to work it out, because I didn't know what I was going to do.
    So here was my solution for the worst-case scenario if none of my voicemails were answered - which Manager J-man agreed to - I would go to work at four, work until five-fifteen, then leave for the spring concert, then come back afterwards and go back to work. It would be crazy stressful for me, but I was willing to do it.
    By three, I still haven't heard from any of the messages I left. So I get ready for work. Curl my hair so when I took it out of the ponytail and hat, I wouldn't have the hairband-bend and hat hair, and go to work with my clothes to change into for the concert. The thing was, I was pretty sure that Manager J didn't realize how long I would be at this concert. It would've been roughly half of my shift, not the twenty minutes or so I was sure he was expecting. So I knew I needed to explain this to him. I walked in to work right on time and went on a wild rampage to find him and when I did, he goes, "You know [insert name here] is covering for you, right?"

Me: "She is?? She told me she had her brother's graduation party."
Manger J: "Yeah, she's just coming in a little late."
Me: "Well I wish she had told me!!" *laughs shakily*
Manager J: "She texted me earlier and told me she'd cover for you."
Me: "So... You don't need me?"
Manager J: "I don't think so..."
Me: "That's such a relief! I was freaking out!! Oh my gosh, the weight has been lifted!"
Manager J: *laughs awkwardly* "Yeah, you're good."
Manager L: (hasn't said anything through entire exchange.. not sure if she's okay with it) "Good luck with your concert!"

    I was so relieved I was giddy. I headed out to my car and started laughing like a maniac, and of course one of the new managers, Manager A, was right behind me. I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm crazy anyways, but still. Some girl you work with but barely know trotting out to her car and cackling like a serial killer is not something most people are okay with. I didn't care, really. I was, and still am, so in awe of God and how He works things out for His purposes. I shouldn't have worried so much; it was needless stress. I'd already prayed and given the problem over to Him, and just look how he handled it!
    Isn't it great to know we have a God that solves all the little problems that cause us so much strife?