the lush strikes again!

Last tuesday, the 21st, Linda had a holiday gathering at her house. Her husband Bill had smoked a Turkey and the food turned out really well...it was a needed party for her because she needed just to kick back with friends, it has been so difficult for her later. However as with any party with Linda there is always a copious amount of wine involved...which is fine, but when you mix it with "the bug" it always brings out the most ....ahhh...interesting things from her. Now despite Linda telling me that the bug can really drink, after half a glass of wine she is so obnoxious (way beyound her normal sober level of annoyingness) that you just want to beat the woman. After her second glass she was doing that thing, where only really drunk people do, which is ask other people to guard their drink (and militantly guard their drink) when they go to the bathroom. After the third or fourth drink she started butting into conversations with stories that contain wayyyy toooo much information. For example...Isil, Rebecca and I were talking in the corner about subjects pertaining to sex, trading secrets that sort of things, when the bug comes up and announces (and I use that word because the entire room heard it) that she has 2 sex books at home and that I was more than welcomed to borrow them. As she continued I found myself alone with her (I don't know how both Rebecca and Isil managed to get away, but that was really cruel to leave me like that) The bug started telling me stories of how she tried to rekindle her love life with her husband that I suspect that she has never, ever been happy with, but loves the country club status and lifestyle too much to leave him. One story was that she invited him home for lunch and greeted him naked while laying atop one of her Turkish rugs....the strange part of this story was that she placed the rug on top of their bed. I'm sorry but if you are willing to roll yourself out on the rug, the rug should just stay on the floor, how silly is that? Anyway, there are a lot more instances of stories that she told, all equally scarring to my psyche.

but wait, there is more...this Monday "I" took everyone in the office (including Mr.3) out to lunch to meet his daughters. Somehow the 2 of us ended up across the table from the bug. Now her want of properity really bothers me to begin with, but when your boss is taking you out to lunch, the last thing you do is order the most expensive item on the menu...it is common curteousy. Towards the beginning of the meal, Linda suggested maybe sharing a bottle of wine (which is fine to suggest and I know that Linda would have been willing to pay for it if "I" didn't want to go to that expense), the bug literally jumped to grab the beer and wine list out of "I" hand, and then of course she is picking things from the bottom of the list..and on most wine lists that is the most expensive...and maybe it seems silly to complain about it, but if she can't afford to buy it why make your boss? Also keep in mind that this is a lunch and that everyone was going make to work afterwards...but that didn't stop her from guzzling down 3 glasses of wine. (She reeked all day, who knows what students think of her)...of course with her alcohol consumption her level of annoyance goes up and I was ready to kill her by the end of the luncheon. While we were talking, Rebecca and Mr.3 were sharing memories for growing up in Germany and while the bug would ignore them during that time, anytime some alcoholic beverage was mentioned (which happens a lot when you are discussing German festivals and holidays) she would perk right up and ask questions and...ugh....even talking about alcohol and she starts to act like she is already been drinking...the sad thing is that I don't think that I really care if she has a drinking problem or not, I just want her to stop annoying me.

Xmas and a funeral

I know I know, it has been forever.

I had a nice holiday weekend. But let's begin with Joane's funeral...and I know that it isn't nice to trash a funeral...but still...when you are giving a eulogy, most people talk about the person themselves, not their faith in God and how they made sure that her family followed the principles of "the church". In fact I heard more about Jesus than I did Joane, and that isn't fair, she was a wonderful woman. Mormon hymns scare me...there was this beautiful song called "His Hands" that someone sang but when you listened to the lyrics it was graphic descriptions of Christ's cruxifiction...I think that the lyrics would give small childern nightmares. At the gravesite we sang Christmas carols because that was Joane's wish as this is her favorite time of the year. All of her childern wore holiday clothing instead of black...which was very fitting.

Mr.3 came down with me to my parents for the funeral and Christmas. As we were not allowed to stay in the same room together, I had lobbied before hand to be allowed to spend one night with him with lots of silly provisos like we would be fully dressed the whole time, yada yada yada. But honestly, who really wants to get it on when your parents are sleeping across the hall. Anyway, I had managed to secure Christmas Eve, but when we got there, Jimmy announced that I could stay all the nights we were there with Mr.3, which and don't get me wrong, I liked, but definitely wasn't expecting. Jimmy was playing the situation off as that it was something that he was "allowing"us to do, but the reality was that he hadn't cleaned his room and I couldn't of stayed in his room even if I wanted to.
On Christmas Eve eve my Mom's kitchen sink stopped up. Mr.3 spent most of the 24th trying to unclog it, but to no avail. At about 6pm, I could sense that my Mom was going to freak out soon as she had 2 hours to finish wrapping, make the neighbor's gifts, make dinner, and find some way of getting the dishes done. So I took over, Mr. 3 cooked the dinner, Mom wrapped the gifts and the neighbor's stuff, Jimmy delivered the gifts, and I made the main bathroom the auxillary kitchen and washed all of the dishes in the bathtub. Can I just tell you that 3 hours of hanging over the side of a tub on your knees is not a pleasant experience...my back still aches from the whole ordeal. Everything got done, and that was the important thing.

for the next installments to come expect some stories about the bug being a lush at Linda's party...stupid statements made from friends, and unneccasary paranoia...

Super senior, I am not!

So today on the radio I heard the local morning show mention [BG]'s name, as the advisor for the Jordan High drama club, and can I just tell you how happy this makes me. For starters, [B] and I were very close friends in high school, I had a huge crush on him and he knew it the whole time, but we never got together, the friendship was paramount. A couple of months ago I met him again at one of Colin's performances. The entire time we talked he bragged about his kid and kept reminding me of his wife --who was sitting next to him, literally the girl next door who he married less than 2 months after returning from his mission---the same girl who ended up pregnant with a month or 2 of marriage, and how that happened is unknown since they lived in his parents basement when they were first married...anyway, after this meeting I was furious with him, not at any point did he bother to ask how I was or what I had been up to in the past seven years since we left high school. But after this morning, I realized that he hasn't left high school. "Advisor" positions in the drama club were alway reserved for those people who had graduated but still hung out with the club, super seniors as it were...except [B] is a super senior seven times over. How pathetic is that? And yes, I rejoice in this, yes, it can be seen as petty, but it was the icing on the cake for this morning.

In other news, Mr.3 and I signed the lease agreement on Linda's Dad condo this weekend. Most of the weekend was spent with Mr.3 and I passing the same cold between us. However, yesterday I was really sick and had to go home early from work. My fever finally broke about 11:30 last night, and I feel much better now. Also last night, we went to the Marriot so that Mr.3 could sign the job offer letter. He starts next Monday. The evening (even with me being sick) was pretty good with the pre-celebratory nookie and the post-celebratory cheese fries at the Training Table.

This morning, they were working on cleaning the carpets in the office. So with the work being done on the vents in the hallways, the fan for the carpets, and all of the doors being open it is really cold in here. Currently I am typing with gloves on, it is slow going, but it works.

stressful friday

I have had to take a stomach pill this afternoon because of stress build-up, and the dam pill ain't working yet. Not that it has been one particular thing that has been stressful, just lots of other little things....e-grading, lazy professors, model arab league, etc...We had a meeting today for MAL, DJ was extrememly abrasive and if he would just calm down things could be fixed so easily, but no...not with him, that would be the easy way out. And Mushira complained to "I" that I didn't do my job correctly because her staff screwed up...but at least I have proof that I did everything right, thank heavens for copy machines.

Last night I went and saw Beauty and the Beast with Libby's mom. It was good, but I am still in favor of the movie...animation just has so much more energy.

Really the bright spot in my day has been Mr.3, even with him not feeling well. He has caught my change-of-season cold. When I was leaving last night to go to the play, he told me that he loved me and that he knew I had been wanting to say that to him for days. It was a wonderful moment, and even in the face of the grief of yesterday, I think that comment made my year, decade, whatever...because I have been wanting to tell him that, but I worry that it would be too soon and that it would scare him off...so I have kept quiet, painfully so, but I am glad that it is out of the way in the open. It is a weight off of my shoulders, lessened my doubt. Wednesday evening he finally met Libby, while he was in the restroom we were talking about him, obviously. I mentioned that at times I wondered why he was even with me. Libby's response was, "well, why wouldn't he?" That helped too, if anyone was going to be brutally honest with me, it's Libby, and when I need that slap back to reality comment, she is the first to give it. Not that I have low self-esteem, far from it, but I am not immune to those moments of self-doubt.

Joana

Joana, Kelly's mom, died in her home very early this morning. They brought her home last night so that she could be with her family. It is hitting me harder than what I expected, and I think that I am making a valient effort not to cry at work today, but I will be leaving at 11 today so that I can cry very loudly and do that whole wailing thing that women seem to be so prone to. I think cleaning might also make me feel better, so I think that I will do some of that this afternoon, goodness knows that the house needs it.

how many...

friggin' times to have to explain things to that woman! This is the fourth time that she has called me with the same question! If someone is listed under a special topics course, it shows up as having the same course if you take more than one in a semester! You have to call the registrar's office and have them override the system...God, she's thick! Then the bug complains that it shows up funny on the DARS reports, of course, you have to do an exemption for each one of those courses that a student takes in order for it to count on their degree form...she is the academic advisor, this is her job! But no, every single frigging time she comes across this problem she calls me about it, and each time I tell her, go and look at my undergraduate file, Beth had to make the exemptions for me on multiple occasions and she documented everything!
UGH!

it's wonderful!

we saw the condo yesterday and while it is much much bigger than what we need, we can move all of our stuff in and not have to consolidate. Linda is going to give us the condo for $600 a month rent, includes utilities, with a 6 month guarentee that we can live there before they try to sell it. they will also give us a fee for showing the condo when that time comes. So I have been placing furniture in the condo for the past day or so...it will be a lot easier when I see Mr.3's stuff. We can move in at any time, but I think that it is wise to wait until after the beginning of the year...I have to give a month's notice anyway on my apartment so I can take a long time to move, which I like. That month is going to be hectic, moving and starting grad school, on top of the normal stuff that I have....I can't wait!

Joana, Kelly's mom is really sick...well she has been sick for a while...but they only give her a few days to live..and while I like Joana, I am really worried about how this is going to affct my mom and my little brother. Jimmy has never had to deal with a death of someone close to him, and he has already broken down a couple times in the past day or so. Antoher reason that I am glad that I am not at my parent's now, I don't think that I could deal with him at all.

haven't blogged in a while..sorry

This weekend was interesting only in the fact that it was the first night since being an item that Mr.3 and I slept in separate beds. And not much slept was to be had. Later today we are going to look at a condo that Linda is wanting to rent out (it's here father's and he was recently moved into a home), and then there are some other places that we are going to look at. Last night we talked about financial stuff...it was odd...I always considered my debt to be my debt and the idea of someone being willing to help me pay that off...whoa...that is out of this world. I am really excited about the prospect of moving in with him on a permanent basis...I have never been as happy with anyone else in my whole life as I have been with him.

Enough sappy stuff...let's discuss the impending doom that hovers over the head of "the bug" here at the wonderful land of "the MEC". Now, I know that this electronic grading thing is going to be a bitch...we have already had our first problem...a professor left the country, expecting his TA to do the grading...of course, the professor left without granting him access to enter in grades. I am the only one in the department who has been trained, I am the only one in the department who has access to view the grades...but the bug seems to think that one, this is her area of responsiblity and it isn't, and two that she has access to all of this stuff...which she doesn't because I refuse to fill out the forms for her lazy ass. And I just got off the intercom with her, and she called someone who I said I needed to all, and the guy has to fill out some form and fax it to her...fine, but I am just waiting for her to call back asking me if I have the form...dammit, it just pisses me off! I handle grades not her. She won't do her god damn job, pushing her work load onto me, but then she has to take my work!? I don't think so! UGH! I think that she is beginning to make my stomach cramp just like JB did.

toilet paper is difficult for some people

so just a few minutes ago, I'm in the stall, go to reach for some toilet paper, and the numbnuts who used it before me had managed a 12 sheet long strip of toilet paper, but not manage to get a whole sheet of the stuff. Kind of like when cello tape splits. I mean, come on, it is toilet paper, how difficult can it really be?

things are progressing nicely. Last night Mr.3 and I went out to dinner with my mom, Kelly and Doug. It was a good opportunity for them to talk and stuff before the festivities of this weekend with my Dad's birthday party. Both Kelly and my mom have asked if we are going to get married--or well dropped hints at it, and it just reminds me that I have lived in Utah for wwaaaayy to long, I have friends that meet one day and marry the next. So maybe I am not the defunked one here with my 3 week relationships, because any longer than that and people ask about wdding bells. See, conventional in the US is not convential here. Strange strange strange. And, much to my great pleasure and happiness, Mr.3 and I are in the same mind on this issue.

however, earlier today, while typing an email to my mom about my father's opinion on this whole situation I had this incredibly powerful sense of deja vu. It was something about the wording of the email, and the placement of the drink container on my desk that triggered it, but I think that I dreamed about writing that email a long long time ago, somewhere around the time that I first started working here. It's a little creepy.

as predicted...

Mr.3 read my post from yesterday and we talked a little about it, he seems to feel the same way and is pretty sure that I won't mess things up..but you never know..

today has been a fairly boring day at work. Nothing too exciting, although yesterday we received a huge check from SaudiAramco, so hopefully we will be able to get James Baker as a speaker for the lecture series next Spring. "I" was so cute when I handed him the check, he hopped up and down, hugged me, and then ran across the hall to tell Linda.
One of these days I am going to kill the bug. Today she has been giving me little "projects" to do, and just as in the spirit of JB, they take more time to explain to me then for her to actually do. One, early this morning, was a student in which if she had actually listened to what the student had said, she could have handled it all by herself, but she needed to come into me, to dictate and make herself look important. It drives me nuts, because on the hierarchy scale in the office, we are on the same level..nothing changed in that relationship except the things that she is in charge of. And now she wants me to punch holes in four pieces of paper and post them on the board in the hall...which golly gee...I am so swamped that it will have to wait until I am finished blogging. Earlier I was playing with her hole punch and it burst, sending confetti bits all over me. "I" happened to be at my desk talking on the cell phone when it happened and had to hold in the laughing. I think that the most demeaning aspect of being given projects to do is when those projects are so trivial that they take 2 seconds to complete. How is that helpful to anyone but the person dictating for the sake of puffing up their ego over having someone to dictate too? I sense clashes in the future and possible bloodshed, when it gets closer to that time I will be open for bets on the cage fight between the two of us.

weekends are just too short

I enjoyed this weekend, even with the untimely addition of my period added into the mix.
The natural domesicity that I find with Mr.3 is infinitely comfortable, and in such a little disconcerting...he is perfect, his faults are not faults at all but little character points that make me love him more and more. And yes, I said love, that is what is frightening...I feel like I am falling in too fast, I find myself wanting to say things that I know are way to soon to be said. I can imagine him reading this and freaking, please don't, you were warned that this was my head you were entering into, I claim immpunity. I think that I worry that I will screw this up somehow. today would be the 2 week anniversary of our first lunch together, I guess that you could call it a date. My longest relationship was like 3 weeks...but I have never been committed to anything like I am this, and I have never enjoyed every second spent with a person like this.
There was a question about the lipstick and eyeglasses story...it deals with a naughty librarian fantasy of Mr.3's...and it was fun. On Saturday night we got invited to a wine and cheese party at one of the professor's houses in my department. It was nice to socialize, show Mr. 3 off, and have an opportunity to wear fishnets and heels in public.
An odd moment, that was appreciated greatly by me: the "ohh!" of surprise when while taking a shower together I could put my palms on the shower floor.

Chef BoyArdee and Remember the Alamo

This weekend I am staying home, the more time to snuggle with Mr.3. We have become cutely domestic this past week, for example...last night we made a grocery list, today we ate lunch together which consisted of leftover macaroni from the night before, we ate it out of the same container.

I have also taken to showing him off whenever I can. Today we went down to the bookstore (for a legitimate errand) and he met Paul and Becky. I even told Kani about him, although I admit that part of me wanted to spite him, petty I know.
On the subject of Kani, what an awful letter he wrote. I expect the poorly written and rambling op-ed piece to be put up on Kurdish Media. Hopefully they won't publish it, but I suspect that they publish just about anything they get offered, no matter how bad.

Jack still has issues with Mr.3. I confronted him today about it, and part of it is due to Mr. 3 threatening his position in Model Arab League, the other part is in fact, jealousy. Yes Jack is gay, but I am his hag, and Mr. 3 infringes on this territory. I was hoping that it was just an ego thing between the boys and not to do with me, too much to hope. I also lost the bet other Jack's reaction with Mr.3, a favor is due that involves lipstick and eyeglasses..long story