I Really Need to Do This More Often

I just read my last post. OVER A YEAR AGO I PUBLISHED!!! Ack. I can't believe that it's been this long. I don't know where the time goes and what I'm actually doing with it. I miss being here. I miss writing about my life. Ok. Even though it's March, new New Year's resolution: I'm going to write at least twice a month. You heard it here folks. Keep me honest.

Last year was kind of a funky year. I moved schools. Love it, by the way. But things were kind of in a funk. No motorcycle trips. No trips to Mexico. None of that. We just kind of stayed home. The garden wasn't even great last year. So, needless to say, I'm ready to kick 2018 to the curb and leave it there.

We've already made plans to do some clamming. We've got plans for a motorcycle trip this summer. Hopefully we'll make it to the lake.

It's kind of looking up. Although, I'm still in kind of a funk. Maybe as I write I can figure it out.

It's Almost Break TIme

No- Not break dancing. Not Hammer time. Break time. Yes. That lovely week in February that we call Mid-Winter Break. It's a wonderful break after six weeks of dark, rainy, sleepy days. I'm not planning on going anywhere. The Fast One may take some time off, but it depends on whether the units get running or not. Whether or not he does get time off, I'm still going to enjoy the days. A little more sleep. A little less stress. And a few days just for me.

Always

Alan Rickman died today.

And, while I know that he was in many, many movies and played many different roles both on screen and on stage, my favorite character of his is Professor Snape from the Harry Potter series. Snape was always my favorite in the books and Mr. Rickman just brought that character even more alive.

I cried this morning when I heard. I didn't even know this man. Never met him, but I found my chest hurting and my eyes  getting teary every time I thought about it. Someone said it best on my Facebook wall: "It's almost like losing Snape all over again." And it's true. I only saw a few other movies that Mr. Rickman was in besides the Harry Potter series. Snape was the true un-hero. Everyone hated him yet he was a real hero.

Rest in peace, Mr. Rickman. Your absence will be felt, and you will be terribly missed.

Always.

A New Year

I've been challenged by Teenie to write one post a week for a year. I used to write MORE than one post a week every week AND wrote papers for my dumb master's program. What happened? Did I lose interest? Did I get lazy? Who knows. But Teenie reminded me that I missed it. A lot. So. Here it is. Week One Post of a year of posts.

Well... I gotta start slow... can't rush into these things...

My Second Family

Everyone knows by now that I am a CrossFitter. My sister got me started a year and a half ago in a tiny garage box down the alley from her house. I was hooked. My previous coach was really into health and food so I "adopted" the Paleo lifestyle and lost 25 pounds along with gaining a ton of strength and muscle. Most of our morning crew ended up together at our current Box when the coach closed her gym down. Our new coaches are awesome and really pay attention to our form and our overall health. I still have A LOT of work to do on the food end of things, but I didn't get this way over night so this will take some time.

I'm feeling a little emotional at the moment because today I ran a mile. Well. Let's be honest. I didn't "run" the whole thing. Probably 2/3 of it and so slowly that someone walking could have kept up with me easily. I was the last one in but did it in 13:34. The thing that was the coolest is that when I came around the corner, one of my morning crew gym mates was waiting for me in the middle of the street. He knew that I was last. He knew running is my least favorite thing AND the hardest thing for me. But, he waited and ran the last little bit with me. AFTER running the mile himself. When I got to the end, another one of our morning crew was waiting to congratulate me and just support.

I can't tell you what that means. As someone who has been fighting weight issues for most of her adult life to have someone that isn't directly associated with your daily routine or life, do something like that for you is HUGE. And to do it willingly. He/They could have been in the box getting ready for the AMRAP that was on the board, but they chose to run with me.

It makes me feel so proud to be a part of a community that supports everyone in every stage of their process to get healthy and strong. On those days when it's hard to get up at 5:15, I think about my 6 AM crew and know that when I get there, not only will I be supported, but I will also have the best time.

So. Thanks North Bend CrossFit and the 6 AM crew for everything. You guys are the best.

Back on Track

The last few months have not been good ones for me. I'm tired... SO tired and all I feel like I do is work. If I'm not writing papers, I'm correcting work or emailing parents and managing detention. My work outs have been sporadic, and the eating. THE EATING. Holy cow. I'm not quite back to square one, but close. My house is a wreck. I've got laundry everywhere. And with the Husband's racing schedule, we are never home. I feel pretty out of control.

The stress of school is killing me, although CrossFit is helping. A LOT. Lena closed our gym so most of us have gravitated to Riverside XFit with Anthony and Grahame. Love them. They are really great. They have taken our "Bad Ass Breakfast Club" and are up for us at 6 AM every day of the week, except Saturdays which is at 7.  You should check them out if you're interested.

Finally... It's Summer!

It has been a VERY long time since I've posted. I feel terrible that I have not had time to update this blog... It's something that I very much enjoy doing. As you saw from the last post, I've made some pretty significant changes in my lifestyle, exercise program, and even my schooling.

 I'm almost finished with my masters in educational technology- we have two and a half more classes and will be finished the end of September. This is the hardest time... knowing that I am so close to being finished and really not wanting to write any more papers to jump through hoops to finish this program.  I'm learning SO much, but often wonder when I know that I have written a paper that is of quality and gotten full points for it, what other people write to NOT get full points.

This summer I really want to learn more about photography and got a great line on a book to help with that. I want to have a garden, I want to work in my yard... I want to do some "fun" things.  I'm just a bit overwhelmed with all of the "chores" that need to be done around here plus all of the homework that is required. Sigh.

I do plan to write more here this summer... I have some things on my mind that I feel that need to be said... things that I've been thinking about for awhile. And, I want to do a month's worth of photography to practice my skills. So, you'll get to see the progression of that.

Thanks for being patient. Time is something that is very precious at this time... Now that the school year is over, I do have a bit more and hope to do some of these things that I enjoy.

For Teenie

Still I Rise

by Maya Angelou


You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Too Crabby to Pee

This last week has been a long one. We just came off a four day "vacation" due to snow, ice and power outages the week before and started the new school week with a two hour late start. I like when we have late starts because I always get more done than when we have an early release. Not so Monday morning. All my co-workers came in to say hi and chat about the weather and the "vacation". I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, which started the week on a smallish crabby note.

As the week progressed, it kept getting worse and worse. I was SO tired in the afternoons, but couldn't sleep at night and was waking up between three and four AM. They kids were all out of whack from being gone unexpectedly for four days and it was a struggle to get them back on track.

Did I say that we were out of school unexpectedly for FOUR days????

There was a zero hour class to teach, an early staff meeting to attend and forty-seven thousand things to correct. I didn't even have time to pee.

I felt like I was getting sick with whatever yuk The Better Half got before embarking on a business trip to Ohio.

Not to mention fighting an allergic reaction to, of all things, laundry soap that caused an massive rash everywhere.

Needless to say, by Thursday, I was too crabby to pee.

A Lazy Sunday (Write a Post in 8 Lines)

The day starts with the knowledge that I get an extra hour!

I spend most of the day on the couch in my PJ's finishing grading for report cards and conferences.

The laundry machines swish and rumble in the back hall.

When I finally do take a shower, I decide to clean it at the same time and run out of hot water before I finish my own shower.

Because it's a lazy Sunday, left over crock pot lasagna is on the menu tonight for dinner.

Maybe it isn't so lazy today... Ed's outside on the roof of the garage winterizing it.

Probably I should go out and check on him to make sure he's OK...

The bad thing about this "falling back" business is that it's already getting dark and it's only 3:00.

22 Things I've Done

Mama Kat has a great weekly post called "Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writer's Workshop". You can see it here.

One of her prompts was to make a list of twenty-two things that you've done in your life thus far. Here's mine:

22. Got my street bike motorcycle endorsement.
21. Buried four grandparents.
20. Rode 1200 miles on my motorcycle, in Canada, in 4 days.
19. Got my first speeding ticket in Canada, on my motorcycle, when I wasn't even speeding. (Who is going to argue with the Canadian Mounted Police?)
18. Buried three of our own pets.
17. Got married the day before I turned 22.
16. Worked in a dentist office as a dental assistant.
15. Been with my husband since I was 17. (Almost 25 years)
14. Had a nervous break down.
13. Been to therapy.
12. Learned to make bread from my Granny.
11. Learned to make jelly/can from my sister.
10. Grew a garden.
9.  Learned virtually every lyric of every song I know.
8.  Became a teacher.
7. Learned to tile walls and floors.
6. remodeled a kitchen (with help)
5. bought a quad.
4. Been in a hit and run accident. (not me doing the hitting and running...)
3. Been at the hospital when my nieces and nephews were born.
2. Was born in the same town that I still live in.
1. Been married for 20 years.

August 4, 1995

Dear Sal,

Today is your 16th  birthday. And you are DRIVING! (Well... not on your own yet, but, we are stapling notices to telephone poles warning the neighborhood to stay off the sidewalks.) When you were little, I'd let you sit on my lap in the truck and drive it down our gravel road. You've been practicing a long time, so you should be doing great!

When you were born, it was a day very much like today. It was hot and sunny and a beautiful day. You had decided that you did NOT want to be born and were content to stay inside your mom. You were 10 days late and your mom was not having any more of this pregnancy thing so the doctor induced her. You made your grand entrance sometime in the afternoon... late afternoon... and if I were your favorite Auntie, I would know the exact time, except I don't. Sigh. I know. I KNOW! Your dad came running out of the room yelling, "It's a BOY and his feet are HUGE!" Your mom said "his eyes are kinda far apart and he looks like a frog". I thought you were beautiful. We didn't know whether you were a boy or girl beforehand. Your mom didn't have the ultrasound to find out. You were a huge surprise to all of us.

You were the best baby, despite your mom being kind of a freak show about you. It was the middle of August and she had you all wrapped up in blankets ALL the time and then couldn't figure out why you were fussing. You were a warm kid and didn't need all the blankets. Your mom, Munka and I would cart you all over the place. We took you shopping, to antique stores, the pumpkin patch... and I got every Tuesday night with you because your mom worked.

You never complained about anything we ate for dinner. You helped Ed with projects around the house. You'd play ball with Jessie and eat Kiu's food. "It's yummy! Try some!" you'd say.You would slide from the back hall, through the kitchen on your knees and slam into the sink cupboards and get up rubbing your head. When I'd ask you, "How'd that feel?", you would say, "That feeled fine, Auntie." Then after two or three trips of sliding down the hall and me asking the same question, you'd say, "NOT FINE."

Now you are taller than me, a fact that you never let me live down. And that's OK. I figured that some day you would be. I love that you are best friends with your cousins. I love that even though you tease your sisters mercilessly, you adore them.

I love that you still call me Auntie.

Happy, happy 16th birthday, Sal. I'm so proud of you.

Love,
Auntie

13.1

Jules has done them before. She talked about it like it was easy. It's only 13.1 miles. I can do this. Right? So, I signed up. It's been one of those bucket list kind of things for me... to run/walk a half marathon. I sort of ran in high school and liked it, but never competitively and NEVER on any organized team.

I started my training by buying a book by a guy they call "The Penguin" who started marathon running at a later age and did everything wrong. The book had awesome advice and great training programs. I started the walk/run program training and I was off.

I ran/walked two short stints during the week, did two days of cross training and then a long run/walk on Saturday.

By race day, I was nervous. Teenie and Stacey and I rode in together, caught a bus to the start line in Tukwila and wound our way to our corral. I couldn't believe the number of people. They said 26,000 people ran. We ended up in Teenie's corral... Mine was the very last one because I gave myself 4 hours to finish. I wanted the most time possible, knowing that it probably would take me that long. We ran the first mile, walked the next hill, ran down the hill, and began our plan. of choosing an endpoint to stop the running and take a rest.

I'm not sure when it happened, but my right foot began to feel weird. That's the only way I can describe it. It felt like the top bones in my foot needed to pop, like they were sort of grinding together. I began walking to favor the foot, and developed a blister the size of a silver dollar on my left foot. I was a mess. At mile 6, Teenie was really wanting to run, but I knew I was going to be walking the rest so I told her to go... NO, really, GO! She went ahead and finished at around 3 hours.

I walked the last 7 miles favoring my feet... I'm not going to lie... there were LOTS of times that I just wanted to stop at the medical tent and tell them to send a van for me. I wanted to give up. I did. But, I'd get a little farther, and the people were cheering us on and giving encouragement. Apparently, it was enough to keep me going one more mile.

At mile 9 we were routed onto the HOV lanes on the I-90 bridge. Through the tunnel. It was SO hot in there. And loud... some DJ guy was playing music with his speakers turned up to 11 and I couldn't even hear myself think. I began to "tail" a gal just keeping my eyes on her shoes in order to make it through that tunnel. Here's something that I didn't think about... freeways/highways are made for cars. They are crowned so that the water runs to the edges of the road. Have you EVER tried to run/walk on a surface where one leg ends up being shorter than the other? HIGHLY uncomfortable and NOT recommended.

We went up fourth and made a left... at mile 12, we went over the Viaduct. I almost cried. I was thinking that possibly, they would be just going to scoot us around the corner and to the finish line near Quest Field. No such luck. When I got to mile 13, just at the corner of Quest field at Royal Brome (sp?), I only had a tenth to go. I started looking for Ed along the finish line hoping that he'd gotten the texts saying where I was on the course. I saw him very near the finish line, huge grin on his face taking pictures of me. I seriously almost burst into tears when I saw him.

I went over the finish line at 3:39. Not bad considering that I walked the last 7 miles with an injured foot and a blister the size of Texas on the other. They say that you are supposed to continue moving for 20 minutes after you finish. All I wanted to do is sit. In fact, I thought I was going to pass out if I didn't.

They had beer, bands, food and swag. Lots of stuff to do at the finish line. All I wanted to do is go home.

I did learn some things:

• When they say that, in training, if you can run 10 miles, you can do 13.1, they are LYING. I would HIGHLY recommend SOMETIME during your training to try going the full length. Not right before, though.
• I HATE running outside. I am a treadmill girl. I loved going to the gym, getting on the treadmill, putting in my headphones, and reading my Nook. My knees never hurt running on the treadmill, and I could stop and pee if I had to.
• Running outside is WAY different than running on the treadmill.
• I am the slowest runner in captivity. Most people walk faster than I run and I am OK with that.
• I CAN do this when I put my mind to it.

I'm going to keep up the training schedule... leaving out the long runs on Saturdays... except maybe doing the long runs on the treadmill... I felt better when I was running. I slept better when I was running.

So, am I glad I did it? Yes.  I ran for my Grandma. The run benefited the American Cancer Society and I wore my Grandma's cancer bracelet. Will I do it again? NO.

And yes, that deserves all caps.

Can't Kick It

Two weeks ago, I took my 5th graders to their camp experience. Now, this camp experience isn't something that is for the weak hearted. This is full on camp for two and a half days AWAY from home, sleeping in barracks and having school outside no matter whether it's raining sideways or not. Yeah, camp.

I have to say that the first session totally lucked out because the daily weather wasn't rain hitting you in the face in a gale force wind. No, it was actually sunny the first day, cloudy the second, and wet the third. (It rained in the night the second night after we'd gone to bed, but stopped before we actually had classes the next morning.)

The kids (and teachers) come home EXHAUSTED. I mean tired-er than tired. The first session goes up Monday morning early, then comes home Wednesday afternoon. The first session teachers have two more days to teach the kids until the weekend. It's pretty tough, on us and the kids, trying to come back and learn/teach something meaningful.

It was a long week. Our spring break holiday is scheduled right after camp, however, for me it was not a holiday. It was spent cleaning house, moving 20 yards of dirt around the front yard, seeding the lawn with grass seed and finding out my grandma has lung cancer that has metastasized into her brain.

So, there really wasn't any rest. Just rest. We went, went, went ALL week and weekend long.

I'm tired. And I can't seem to shake the bad attitude that has infested my being.

Apparently, I need a vacation from my vacation.

Maybe Not So Stupid...

OK, so on my last post, I said that I had no motivation... That I wanted to quit... That I was a big loser...

Well, guess what? Last night I ran for 8 minutes. WITHOUT STOPPING! All at one time!

Can you believe it? I certainly couldn't.

It was one of those instances where I had the plan of: Run 3 minutes, walk 2 minutes... Run 3, walk 2. But, at that 3 minutes mark, I was feeling pretty good so I thought to myself, "I think I can make it to 4 minutes." At the 4 minutes mark, I was still feeling pretty good, so I decided to try for 5. At the 5 minutes mark, I was all, "Oh, I can make it to 6 minutes!" And I did! So, when I got to the 6 minute mark, I decided that if I could make it that far, I could make it to 8. And I did.

I walked for 2 minutes and then decided to try for another 8 minute 2 minute interval. That didn't work so well, but I did make it 6 minutes. Then I walked 2. Then I ran 4 minutes, walked 2. Then I ran 2 walked 2 and ran the last two. In this 30 minute period, I actually ran/walked 2 miles. With the cool down, it was 2.25.

Maybe I CAN actually run this half marathon in June...

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid

So I did a stupid thing. I signed up for a half marathon. I know, right? What business do I have entering something like that? Sigh.

Julie talked me in to it. (My attempt of making it not my fault.) But, I did have to sign up for it by myself. It's in June, so I have a ton of time yet to train. But it's only been 3 weeks since I signed up and I'm already losing momentum.

My whole body hurts. The thought of running makes me want to vomit. I want to just quit.

Sigh.

It's getting hard. When things get hard, my MO is to quit. But, this time I can't. I have people depending on me.

Oh, motivation, where art thou?

Snow Day

Hello, Internets! It's been awhile, I know. There has been so much going on in the land of Amy's Annotations since I last posted. There is so much, I'm going to just do bullets until you are all caught up. I promise to try to be current in the coming weeks...

• Guess what? I'm teaching 5th grade now! Yep! 5th grade. Science no less... SO loving that I get to play all day and teach kids about science. Our team has 86 kids... I teach the science, David teaches the literacy (reading/writing) and Julie teaches the math. We all teach our own social studies and spelling and social skills curriculum. I can't believe that they actually LET me teach the same lesson 3 times each day. You can see here the blog I keep for the science classes I teach. Loving it, guys. Truly loving it.
• Our septic drain field failed this summer and we had to have it replaced. Ugh. I do have to say that my husband is the best. He kind of has a 6th sense for when things might go wrong and he is so proactive in getting things fixed. The old drain field was completely full of dirt, rocks and whatever so we had to totally move the drain field to the other side of the front yard. Our yard is a disaster, but, really, it's winter now and we'll bring in topsoil this spring and plant more grass. Ed decided to put lids in the yard where all of the lids are on the septic tank and also where the ends of the drain field pipes are so that they can be cleaned easily and we can pump out the tank without having to dig up the yard every time we need it pumped. I'm not to thrilled with the idea of having these lids (6 of them) dotting my front yard, but I'm not the one who does the digging up of the yard to find the lids, so I can't complain. I just want them to be easy to mow around.
• Our back deck also bit the dust. We have this deck that crosses our back yard (about 20 feet) from the garage to the house. Our house sits a little lower than where the garage and driveway is so we need sort of a deck/bridge to get to the back door. We replaced it probably 10 years ago, and we use it everyday so it kind of needed replacing faster than maybe a normal deck. However, this time, we decided to replace it with Trex (sp?) because we DO use it everyday. So, two weekends ago, Ed decided to take apart the deck... WITH A CHAINSAW... and then promptly left for Utah on business. He's been working on it after work and we actually had a huge bonfire last weekend and burned everything up. It still isn't finished because at the moment, it's 8 degrees outside and everything is sitting under 6-8 inches of snow.
• I got a Nook, y'all!!! Loving it. I'm such a book buyer. I was spending so much money on books that it was was more cost efficient to pay $150 for a Nook and then get my books from the library. Oh, it's SO cool... LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. I ended up purchasing one of the "certified pre-owned" 3G, Wi-Fi Nooks. It works perfectly and I paid the same price as I would have had I purchased just the Wi-Fi Nook. It's great. Would HIGHLY recommend getting one if you are an avid reader.
• We bought a "new" truck. Yep, Old Blue is gone. We loved her dearly, but she wasn't as powerful as the new trucks and certainly not as comfortable. (I cried when we left her at the dealership and Ed was all, "Ame, I thought that you wanted to buy this truck?!?!?" and I was all, "Yeah, but this was the first NEW thing we bought together... Jessie rode in this truck...") We got an '08 F350 Superduty. I have to say that it was super hard finding a truck that had a manual transmission. At our house, we don't purchase cars unless they are manual transmissions. Well, unless they are OLD cars... (my mustang is an automatic as well as the Falcon). We are definitely the minority in this case. And we also found out that Ford trucks made in '11 or after will not be made with manual transmissions. It costs a lot and apparently people don't like to drive them. All I can say is that this truck better last us forever because me driving an automatic is NOT pretty.
• We observed the four year anniversary of Jessie's passing. We miss her every day and still haven't had the heart to get another dog...
• We did a quick trip to New Hampshire to attend Ed's Grampa's funeral. He was 98 and lived in the same house that he was born in. How many people can say that they lived in the same house/town that they were born in for 98 years??? Ed was asked to speak at the service and he did a wonderful job. He was also asked to be a pall bearer. The service was really good, as funeral services go. Grampa's pastor has known him for years... Grampa was baptized in that church so he was a member forever. They had a viewing the Friday night before at the farm. Viewings are such an east coast thing. Rarely have I been to a funeral here where there was a viewing. I know for some people, this helps to give them closure. But for me, I did NOT want to see Grampa that way. My last memory of him is a kiss and hug at the airport last May when Ed took him home from spending the winter here. That's how I want to remember him. Grampa was a wonderful man, and we miss him everyday.
• I got a new phone... the Motorola Droid X. Which I love. It's one of those smart phone thingies and it's WAY bigger than my last phone, but I'm really digging it. It's a bit of a learning curve to see what can be turned off to lengthen the battery life, but I REALLY like this phone. The other thing I did, was I bought the phone at Costco. Yeah, Costco! It was time for me to upgrade. I got the same price as I would have gotten if I'd upgraded online, except, that online, I would have gotten a $100 gift card for the $100 mail-in rebate. I got it right off the bat. VERY COOL. Also, they throw in the wall charger, ear buds, and a car charger! YAY! I didn't have to buy that stuff. I still don't know what else I can do with this phone, but at Thanksgiving at my parents house on Sunday, my brother and I found some fun Applications to load. (Driod Fart machine... yeah, I'm completely juvenile...)
• The weather here is NUTS. It's 8 degrees right now and we have like 6-8 inches of snow. This week was supposed to be conference week. We cancelled conferences on Monday because it was snowing SO hard that we were worried about getting home safely. I did two phone conferences and two parents would like to reschedule. I have 8 more conferences from yesterday that need to be rescheduled as there was no school yesterday.

Well, I think that I've gotten you all caught up here. I hope that everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Nikon Nik

This week I turned 41. Yep. I said it. I TURNED 41 YEARS OLD. And, I celebrated my 19th wedding anniversary with Ed.

Gawd.

Nineteen years. We've been together for almost twenty-four, but married for nineteen of them.

So, for my birthday/anniversary present, I got a Nikon D90 that I've named Nikon Nik. I want to start a daily photo portion of this blog so that I can make myself take pictures and practice using Nik. So, be looking for installments of random photos that I'm going to be taking.

Twilight Zone

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the waiting room at Ford of Kirkland.


The large door was open. The blue suited man motions for me to pull forward. The sign says to honk, so I do. The blue suited man grimaces. I turn off the truck and jump out, slamming the door hard. I speak to the long haired lady who asks me to show her what needs to be fixed. She asks for a number to call when the repairs were made. I tell her that I'm waiting.

She looks perplexed. She tells me it might take at least 3 hours. I tell her I have a book and iced tea. I'll be fine.

I move to the waiting area. The door slams behind me like a jail cell in a prison. This is going to be my home for the next few hours. I need to make myself comfortable. There are already people waiting there, each in their own chair. Some texting on their cellular devices, some having private conversations loudly with unknown persons. Some reading the provided reading material on the small side table.

I settle in with my book and tea. People come and go. A small Chinese man named Mel Burke reads a Marie Claire magazine article on make-up. When he sees that I'm looking, he hastily tosses the magazine aside choosing instead "Car and Driver".

A Mexican grandmother comes with her granddaughters. They begin watching the TV... on the Disney channel no less. The Wizards of Waverly place drones on for what seems like hours. The daughter of the grandma comes and hustles everyone out of the waiting "lounge". On their way out, one of the girls tries to open the car door to the mustang inside the showroom and sets off the car alarm. The alarm scares us to death and the honking continues for what seemed like hours.

I listen to the Deli lady gossip with the workers of the dealership. I learn more than I want about many of the people who spend their days selling cars.

I find my eyes getting heavy. The Suite Life of Zach and Cody has it's hold on me. I can't keep my eye lids open.

I feel a touch on my arm. It's the long haired lady. My truck is finished. I jump up eager to be out of the clutches of this "waiting room". I feel as if it almost had me, but I escaped just in time.

Porn Free

We were really only touching shoulders.

Really.