In the Paint

It means that you are in the crucial moments. That all your planning and such can only bring you so far and after that, you have to perform. It can be a wedding that you cater, where you walk into an unknown kitchen, blind, and learn to work without a large pot or enough sheet pans. When you are up to elbows in hot soapy water, trying to scrub the upc code stickers off the shot glasses you bought, because some maladjust thought that it would be cool to put stickers on every.damn.glass.

Or it could be a day like any other, you've got kids to feed, paper to chase, yadda yadda. But then you get a monkey wrench in the form of one of your staff calling in sick. And while you may think to yourself, the next time, they had better be calling in dead, you know you don't mean that. And there is no second string. You are the only string on this violin, so you better tune up and play.

You are in the paint, you have to make your presence felt.

Requiem

We learned not to trust blue skies that day...

There are no words to make the people who were not there understand the fear and confusion of that day. No way to show them the absolute horror of 102 minutes that made you forget your fear of Hell, because you were almost sure Hell was here on Earth. The agony of watching people jump from 80+ floors, wondering how awful it must have been in that building that made them think that quick death was the best choice.

I watch the coverage. I see it every year. It has been a decade since I saw it for the first time. But I can tell you, every year it is just as hard to watch. Every year I cry for those who never went home that night. We have a memorial now...two lovely waterfalls that help us remember the people, the heroes, the courage and the generosity of people who helped people. Even when it cost them their lives.

As if we could ever forget.

Me and My Shadow

My shadow would be the month of August financials for my unit which will not go away. I try to close the month and get numbers that look like I'm breaking the laws of physics, never mind accounting. So this past month has been dogging me, with start-up issues, useless vendors, and a kitchen that, despite all my best efforts, refuses to get below 90 degrees. I just keep telling myself to focus on the food, breathe and relax, but every time I do that, something else happens. So I'm cooking with one eye open for now, until the pressure gets down to a bearable psi. And if I should happen to drop my guard I know that my shadow has got my six.

Just breathe.

Struck Out- In Which I Have a Birthday

Well I recently celebrated a birthday, which is always a blast. My husband came home and my parents came to visit for a weekend and then school started back up all at the same time! Craziness ensued. In an effort to have a good ti
me, we decided to go bowling. Now I have a Wii and I b

owl a crazy game on that thing, but I soon discovered that real bowling is a completely different skill set. Apparently a skill set that I do not have. Guess I won't be putting it on my resume.

Also, there was cake. Made by my friend the Divine Mrs. M. It was gorgeous. Also very tasty. And then my friends at school, who are way too sweet to me, got me a lovely ice cream cake, which was also delicious.

So birthday fun was had by all.

Did Elvis Leave the Building?

Because that must be the reason that I've had nothing to say for 3 months. Not because I haven't done anything, just that I've lacked the inspiration to put it into written words. I've been to New York for a company meeting, learned more about blueberries than I care to know and figured out that is, in fact, impossible to navigate in Manhattan using only an iPhone. It cannot keep up and you will only get yourselves lost again and again. Also, folks in the Bronx do not actually know how to get to LaGuardia. I don't know why.

I've been to Gainesville, GA. If you ever get the chance to go, skip it. And yet I feel like I've only been slogging thru, never really gaining ground. Been spinning my wheels, never doing anything more than get more mud in my tires. The school year is starting soon, and, quel surprise, I'm back where I was. But life is full of these nasty little surprises, you just have to find ways around them. So I know my mojo will come back to me, it always does. Maybe I don't have much enthusiasm but I do have determination. If I'm going to be here another year, I'm going to be successful, regardless of who I have to maim to do it.

Working

It's 27 work days until the school year is done and over. It hasn't yet been decided by folks who know better than me, where I will be next year. If I'll be in a different place or the same one. Presumably, all signs are pointing toward the change that's gonna come. As for me, I'm ready. I think I've hit the law of diminishing returns where I am, where all that will serve is to maintain the status quo. So I'm slogging through my days, washing dishes and cooking food that I really don't even care for anymore and that the kids are tired of, and we while away the hours.

"it's just me and my machine, for the rest of the morning, and the rest of the afternoon, for the rest of my life..."

Lazy Blogger

I've neglected you dreadfully, my friends. I apologize and promise to do much better very soon. More tales of courage and temper tantrums, coming soon...