Rochelle's Blog ::: Subtitles Included

Today’s Friday Five is all about comparisons. Leave a comment if you posted this on your blog too!

What’s something you do more quickly than most people?

Definitely how fast I eat cake. Seriously, I’m like the fastest cake eater this side of the Mississippi. I’ve been known to be handed a slice of cake, and have it finished before the next slice is doled out. It’s quite gross really.

The way I treat my clothes. I can be terrible about how I keep my clothes. Most of the time they are in a pile, and some of that time, that pile is on the floor. It’s an area where I could use some significant improvement.

I run super slow. I’ve played a lot of sports in my life, and I am by far and always the slowest runner. I also look ridiculous as I do it.

I’m a sucker for formatting. Not only is part of my job but it’s at the core of who I am.

I’m pretty good about waiting in the car for somebody to do something. Especially, if I have my iPhone. It must come from the years and years I spent as a child waiting in the car while my parents did stuff. They would never get away with that these days, which I’m sort of disappointed about.

Oh my blog, I’ve been away. That’s because it’s been one completely crazy week.

First…I turned 31!

And here is my birthday portrait, taken with my new lens.

If you look into my eyes you will see that they are actually completely tired. Here’s why…

I tend not to go to work on my birthday. In fact, in most cases, I tend not to be in Colorado on my birthday. But this year, just staying at home and going to work seemed like a great idea. I guess some things were  meant to bed.

Monday

Still reeling from a fabulous Valentine’s Day and excited about my new lens, Monday started great and stayed great all day. It was a really easy day at work. I got to play with camera and snap some pictures, while having a bagel at the UMC.

And then Mike’s daughters came by to bring us all the girl scout cookies they had sold us. Oh my gosh, there was a new buzz around the building, probably a sugar high.

That night at home, I watched massive amounts of Olympic coverage. Man, I love the Winter Olympics. While there, I snapped some pictures of the cats.

It as my last day of 30 and it was pretty awesome.

Tuesday

Isn’t it always strange to wake up on your birthday? There’s a few seconds when you don’t realize that it’s actually your birthday and then it sets in. That’s exactly what happened. And then I realized that it was almost impossible for me to get up and get going, even though I had an 8:30 meeting. That’s where my tiredness began.

The morning started off a little tense at work with some meetings, after all that I barely had time to sit down at my desk and thank people on Facebook and Twitter for all their birthday wishes before I was being carted off to a fun birthday lunch with some of my co-workers. Right after that, I was in three more meetings, all of which I struggled to stay awake in, and not for a lack of caring. I had no explanation for it.

After work, I rushed off to celebrate some more. I went to see “Up In The Air” right after work, which was quite a strange movie to see regarding work a day before things got strange at my own job. And then with Marissa and Johnny in tow, we went to 3 Margaritas at like 8:00 to eat dinner and so I could wear the big sombrero. Sadly, none of the pictures worked out. Except for this cute one of Johnny and Marissa:

And then it was back home for cake and presents.

I could barely stay awake by this point, and so I crashed pretty soon afterwards. It was a good birthday.

Wednesday

As soon as my birthday goodness ends, it begins for my dad. I love that his birthday is the day after mine. My day started out all right, but then things got a little strange. Basically I found out there was a re-org on the horizon and I was somehow part of it, but my part wasn’t revealed until Thursday morning. I was pretty stressed the rest of the day, trying to guess what it could be. That night I went home and got in bed and watched the Olympics.

Thursday

This day was devoted to understanding my part in the reorganization. It was a day of highs and lows. I was confused, depressed, thrilled, curious…everything.

Friday

Another day of re-org attention with lots of meetings interspersed in between. By the end of the day I had much more clarity about the situation and felt so much more hopeful. Change is really hard. But once I could understand the decisions that were made and understand the vision, it was way easier and even exciting! I was able to provide my feedback and recommend tweaks to the situation. And it was nice to be heard.

I came home from work really relieved and quite frankly exhausted. After some scrambled eggs (it is Lent after all…I gave up Soda and of course meat on Fridays), I watched some of the Olympics and fell asleep at like 10, which was way earlier than I’ve gone to bed in days and days and days.

So my long week is over and I have every intention of relaxing this weekend. Monday is a new start, in so many ways.

Did you know that I’ve been blogging since 2001?  I used to pore out my heart in those old blog posts. Like the icky private stuff. Then I started a blogspot account in 2004, and developed a blog that I could share with my friends and family. After that I got new ideas and went forward in a different direction. I changed names a couple of times, and then a few years ago I switched to wordpress because of the privacy options available.

Wanting more from Wordpress, I looked into domains, and doing a wordpress.org installation that would be give me more flexibility and access to tons of free templates and plug-ins.

It’s been a good ride. And while I’m about to do a little more shifting in the coming months with my template and my domain, I decided to look at some of those 2004 posts, which is where this blog begins, and give you a little update on some of the stuff I was talking about in May 2004.

So here we go……

When I walk into work every morning I always have the feeling that people still perceive me as a student. Perhaps it is my “casual Friday is everyday!” attire or my young demeanor.

Not the case anymore. At 30, people can see that I don’t fit in with the student body. Also…I get ma’am’d like crazy these days.

I hate Quark. If only QuarkXPress wasn’t the frontrunner of desktop publishing.

Good news for me, Quark was surpassed by InDesign a few years ago.

I made the mistake of eating half of a low-carb bagel and now I feel like yakking! So nasty.

Eww! I can’t believe I ever ate low-carb bagels. That was probably the last one I ever had.

I spent most of my weekend designing a new web site. It’s called Nine*Poems Creative Outlet, www.ninepoems.com. It is just for fun, but hey if I make a couple of bucks, that’s cool too.

Ha! Even back then I couldn’t resist new websites. Well as you can see, that old creative outlet was retired and you are currently on ninepoems.com. Funny thing is that I’m actually working on something to transition away from ninepoems.com. More to come on that later.

I wonder if my crafty-ness will ever wear off. That’s all I want to do. I go through phases I guess. This happens every now and again, and then it’s back to books, or some other thing to occupy my time.

No update required. Still the same.

I bought some new fonts today, hooray! Of course I had to pick up stuff for other people too, like a Tungsten C and some canned air.

The key part of that text is the Tungsten C. That’s an old Palm device. We thought it was the bees knees. I’m sure one day, I’ll laugh at my iPhone as archaic.

What’s your blogging story?

My dear online friend Jen at True Confessions of a Scrapbooker has nominated me for a “Kreativ Blogger” award. Thanks Jen! You are truly awesome.

In the same spirit as Jen and the people before her, I’m going to nominate a few people I think deserve this award as well.

Ally @ Ally B Speakin. This girl is hilarious and lives in my own backyard. She’s writes truly hilarious posts and deserves this award for simply thinking of the topics that she does. She also treats her pets like children, just like me, and that is awesome.

Amanda @ Magnanimouse. A friend from real life that moved away to Seattle. Get this…she’s an actual artist (for real), an IT whiz, an amazing pastry chef, and a soon to be mom. She is also the queen of snark, and I love that about her.

Danielle @ My Blog, My Life. Another friend from real life that I knew in college. She’s recently started her own Photography business and is an amazing photographer! She’s also a kick ass stay at home mom to two adorable boys. She can also whip up a mean scrapbook page that makes me jealous and eager to imitate.

Jen @ McDougall Photography (A Day In the Life). Jen is my Project 365 hero. She stuck to the program so well and is keeping it up. She’s also one of the best digital scrapbookers I’ve come across. She does all this with three kids under the age of three and a part time job. She is also completely hilarious and I know her originally from my EJami life, where she can make the snarkiest and most hilarious comments on a television show that there has ever been.

Laurel @ A Year With the Yorks. A fellow Creative Memories scrapbooker, Project 365er, and over all fabulous lady. I love her site and to follow along almost every day. Her journaling is great and I love her pictures!!

And now I’m supposed to tell you seven things about myself that you may not know. That’s part of getting the award. Although I’m not sure what’s left to share since I’m pretty out there already. I’ll give it a go…

7 Things:

1. I have a Snuggie and it is one the best things I got for Christmas. I freaking love it and feel bad for making fun of the concept for so long.
2. I once considered becoming a nun. Seriously. It was when I was younger and just entered college. It was actually rather sad and pathetic, and not for the best reasons. I essentially thought that I would never fall in love, so why not just love the church instead of dealing with that rejection.
3. My grandfather and I had a really special bond when I was a kid, and up until he died in 1998. I was unabashedly his absolute favorite grandchild, which was awkward for my siblings. When I think of unconditional love, I think of how he loved me. He also loved to write poetry, and I didn’t know that until after I was writing my own. Strange how things pass down.
4. My female intuition is pretty in tune. I can sense and predict things quite often that those around me don’t, particularly men.
5. Speaking of men, I love them! Not in a slutty way, but I tend to run with boys more than girls. Maybe that’s why I succeed where I work, but it’s always been that way. I am far more comfortable around men than I am around women.
6. That being said, I absolutely hate hate hate the division of the sexes. I do not like “Girls Nights”, or the fact that I can’t participate in a “Guys Night” because I don’t have the right equipment. This tendency in our society (and I’m sure around the world), infuriates me and is a huge point of stress for me.
7. I still have dreams where I have to protect my little sister from serious harm. I used to have nightmares about that when I was a teenager and she was just a little kid and I would have to babysit her a lot.

Here’s some pictures of me from the past decade. Lots has changed and lots hasn’t. Good times and bad and everything in between. Enjoy!

2000 (Age 20-21)

Turning 21!

In Lousiana.

2001 (21-22)

Graduating.

Partying.

Protesting.

2002 (22-23)

My old room. Still so college like.

Moved into my first place where I lived all on my own. How adult!

In St. Louis for my friend Stacey’s wedding.

Halloween at the office.

In Providence for my first work conference. Actually in Boston here.

2003 (23-24)

Turning 24.

In Atlanta visiting Marci.

Right when Brian and I started dating. When we went to the Celtic Tavern the first time.

Me and my siblings (Andy and Marissa) at a Rockies game.

Visit Katie in Seattle.

Moving in with Brian.

Candice’s visit. From L-R: Kim, Jay, Candice, and Me.

2004 (24-25)

Another work birthday party.

At the River House where my mom lived for awhile.

Thanksgiving.

My old office space.

2005 (25-26)

My birthday party at the Celtic Tavern.

Getting engaged!

Going to see U2 in Denver.

And then again in Seattle.

Finding a wedding dress.

Another work conference. This time in Monterey.

At my dad’s wedding, here with my brother.

Halloween as 80s rockers.

Thanksgiving.

2006 (26-27)

Getting married.

In Ireland, after a rainstorm in a pub.

Dalkey, Ireland.

Marissa’s high school graduation.

Being married.

2007 (27-28)

Wedding anniversary getaway.

Trip to Seattle with my dad and sister.

10 year class reunion.

Moving away from the old apartment and splitting up.

New knitting techniques in my new life.

2008 (28-29)

New year, new glasses, newish office.

At the Democratic National Convention, where Barack Obama accepted the nomination.

Marissa receives a Journalism scholarship.

Voting in the 2008 election.

Election night!

2009 (29-30)

Inauguration Day.

Turning 30 in Vegas.

Me and Persephone.

Paul and I before the Rocky Mountain Showdown.

In Bath, England.

On Portobello Road.

In Stratford-upon-Avon.

On the London Eye.

With Candice and Kim.

In the snow outside my apartment.

Reflections on 2009 and the decade as a whole.

Sure I’ve done my “best of” list, but it’s time to put this year, and for that matter this decade, to rest with some final thoughts.

Every year I love to go on and on about what the year meant to me and all that. Somehow, I’m not quite feeling that.

What I do know is that this year was good. I loved this year. Sure it had it’s hard parts, but that’s to be expected.

Let’s summarize shall we about my goals for this year. They were to:

1. Finish my book.
2. Get divorced.
3. Go to Europe.

Well I’m proud to say that I’ve pretty much completed those goals.

Finish my book...

I didn’t do this exactly as was intended, but that’s ok. I made so much wonderful progress and I’ve learned so much about writing this year that I feel great about where it stands. I think I’m in a better position to begin a second draft! Also, I participated in NaNoWriMo and completed the challenge on a whole new story. That also makes me feel like I completed this goal.

Get divorced….

Well I think you know all about that. Any day now I will be signing the papers, but for all intents and purposes this is done.

Go to Europe…

How about England? This is the one goal I thought would be hardest out of reach, but I made it happen and I am so happy.

And so the year comes to an end and I’m here at work, like almost every other New Year’s Eve (becoming a tradition). I thought about listing out all the highlights, but I think I’ll pass. This blog is a testament to everything good and bad that happened this past year. If you don’t know, then you haven’t been reading.

And also the decade comes to a close. It was the first decade of my life where I was an adult the entire way through, yet I’ve grown up so much since it started! It’s not hard to remember where I was ten years ago at this very moment. I know for sure that I looked good! Velvet dress, adorable hair style. The world didn’t end, and we were all drunk and high and happy.

It started off so strong, and we were all so confident, and then everything changed on September 11. I’ve stopped seeing that as a time when we all united, but instead the start of when we all divided. The political climate of this decade has been horrible and angry and intense, and that’s what I will remember most about it. To me, it was some of the darkest years in our history. My hope for the new decade is that we can all start acting rationally again.

Technology has changed so much during this decade. I worked at ITS for this entire decade and it’s crazy to think of how technology was when I first started here. But the pendulum always swings and I feel like we’ve exhausted so many unnecessary technologies, I think we’re headed back to the basics. What’s funny to recall was when I heard a “futurist” speak at a conference in 2002. He said that handheld devices were the future and that people will one day soon expect to have it all on their mobile phones. I doubted that then. It just didn’t seem possible, and yet here I am today with an iPhone that does it all and that I’m never far from. He was completely spot on.

And love has been crazy. I started this decade heart broken and in love with someone who had just dumped me. I fell for a couple of other boys, and that didn’t work out, but that was okay. And then I got on Match.com. Got to date a yummy European boy, but he dumped me too, and then I met Brian. It’s crazy to think that in this decade I met someone, fell in love, moved in with him, got engaged and married, and now divorced. I would have never predicted that. Now I’m in this crazy good place that I think will only get better with time. My heart has calmed down and I’m confident and happy. It’s been a decade of love and heartbreak and that’s exactly how I would have wanted it to be!

This past decade has been all about indulgences. I don’t think that’s terribly unexpected for an American girl in her twenties. But as the new decade starts, I crave simplicity and control. Less food, less stuff, less spending. True and real maturity. I crave good health and good financial health. I feel pretty confident that I can shed the past decade and transition into a healthier more refined space.

So I welcome the next decade! I cannot wait for tomorrow.

So like I mentioned in the previous post, I have been terrible, just TERRIBLE at my Project 365 this month. I mostly blame (besides myself) NaNoWriMo, which I’m using as an excuse for everything else I’m behind on (particularly cleaning). But for what it’s worth, here are some of the photos I did take:

November 14, 2009: Pumpkin Pancakes

I made these delicious Pumpkin Pancakes that I found the recipe for at This Week For Dinner. They were delicious and perfect for the season.

November 15, 2009: Penny

Just a simple shot of my dear Penny cat. She’s such a cutie.

November 17 2009: Water Spots

After a weekend of doing lots of laundry, I noticed these water spots on the ceiling. It freaked me out! So I worked from home and had a very nice maintenance man over, who told didn’t really fix anything but cautioned me from over doing it with my washer. Then he came back a few times to paint over it.

November 18 2009: Rochelle in Curly Hair Form

A self portrait, basically used to show my twitter friends about how I wore my hair curly. I can’t tell you how much I love my current haircut. It is one of the best I’ve ever had. And so for the first time ever I’m going to go back to the girl who cut it. I’ve never done that because I typically have such poor experiences.

November 19 2009: New Moon

Like I talked about in my last post, I went to the midnight show of New Moon with my sister and my friend Michelle. It was such a blast. First Twilight at 9, and then New Moon at midnight. The atmosphere was such a blast!

And that’s about it! Everything after New Moon was all about writing my NaNoWriMo novel!

You know you’ve had one of those weekends when you’ve run the dishes three times and yet there’s still dirty dishes piled up on Sunday night. The kind where you eat really comforting food with people that you care about and they all stay quiet for a moment and say mmmm under their breath. The kind where you tell lots of funny stories that start with “remember when…” The kind that has football, and clean towels out of the dryer, and too many cups of coffee just because you can. The kind of weekend where you feel like you’re coming off a busy week, month, season, and you can finally reset. Reset your routine and reset your expectations. And the kind of weekend when you make new plans, set new goals, and finish the night feeling rather satisfied. Not completely, of course, because there’s still so much to do, so much to worry about, and so much left to desire, but more satisfied than usual.

This was my weekend.

A picture is worth a 169 words.

Today at work there was an ice cream social at the new Information Commons area in the library. They finally made a fun and technologically advanced space for students within the library, with a nice coffee shop, game station, and technology fitted meeting rooms. It’s a nice space. After checking out the commons, we walked through the rest of the library and I found myself in a familiar space where once upon a time I used to study, and where once upon a time I sat next to the boy of my dreams. But that’s a story for another day. I’ll probably make a page of it for my college scrapbook, and now I have a picture for it.

I'm tempted to go up there and study something, anything, just for pleasure.

I did not take a photograph today because I was simply too sad. I continue to feel incredible grief over the passing of Edward Kennedy. I find relief in the sight of his smile on Inauguration day this past January, that he got to be here for that. And I find myself in complete tears when I see the clips of him giving RFK’s eulogy, and all the eulogies he has given since then for the members of his family that left this Earth before him.

Besides this truly heartbreaking time in seeing such a great man pass, another good man passed as well. A colleague of mine lost his life while in the midst of a medical procedure. Someone that I used to work with quite a bit in the past, and who I took for granted and bitched about for no real good reason besides the fact that he worked in a different department. I’m am saddened by the loss of him as well.

Finally, I am saddened over the death of a bird. Yes, a bird! Yesterday morning, while walking into work with Mike, and heartbroken over Kennedy’s passing, I almost stepped on an old fat bird just sitting on the sidewalk. Stunned, I stopped and looked down. It was alive but seemed very old. As if I wasn’t already sad enough, tears streamed down my face as I worried about it getting squashed by the crowd of students that ride bikes and dashes on that same stretch of sidewalk to get to class. Mike, who also has a sensitive heart for animals, told me that he was going to move the bird over to the lawn. So he went to grab a towel from his office. On his way back out we saw the bird hop over to the lawn. Relieved at the sight, I calmed down and we went over to the UMC to grab a drink and a bagel. Sadly, on the way back from there, we noticed that the bird had died, and was resting on the lawn. I quietly cried, while Mike moved the bird and buried it under a tree and placed a little cross made of twigs on top of it’s grave. The bird was so symbolic of what we experienced yesterday, the circle of life. And while I mourn the loss of these two great men, and an old majestic bird, I am comforted by the news that a friend of mine went into labor tonight to give birth to her daughter.

there is no picture from today, but one I took several weeks ago on campus, that reminds me of heaven.