Days of the Dead

It's a Tuesday. Blah. It's been cold. Brian and I both had a crummy day. I've been holding on to a bunch of Hacienda gift cards from a youth group fundraiser we had in May. I decided we should have a random Tuesday evening date at Hacienda. It was great. We both had a lot to vent so over dinner we just talked it out...and it was delightful.

But it gets so much better.

Turns out we're there during the "Days of the Dead" week at Hacienda so they have special events going all week. First of all there was a fun cover band playing. That's always a good time. (So, thank you Trick Monkey for the great music.)

But then the manager comes around trying to drum up participants in a "fun" game - bobbing for skulls. He shows us all the free stuff we can win. And I love free stuff. I mean, I really love it. Have you ever been to a convention or exhibit of any kind where you can walk around the vendor booths and collect free pens and pads of sticky notes? It feels like Christmas to me. I always walk away feeling like a million bucks with my free plastic bag full of free plastic junk.

I digress.

I take a look at that bucket of goodies and I want it. Bad. I look at Brian and say, "You've got a huge mouth. You can totally win this." So I push and prod and hum the music from the Rocky movies. I tell him he has the eye of the tiger. I can feel the victory now. I make him enter the contest. (Dan and Felicia, I wish you were there to help me with this.) He's reluctant but I don't care. It is a little lame and embarrassing to enter a contest dunking for skulls at a Hacienda on a Tuesday evening. I see his point. But I smell victory none the less.

He goes to the bucket. And he is good. Just like I knew he would be. 14 in one minute, 5 seconds. A couple of other jokers enter the contest. One is quite intoxicated. Brian ends up tying with a guy who got 14 in 1 minute, 35 seconds. It goes to the tie breaker round.

One minute of guts and glory dunking. I've got a good feeling. After the coin toss the other guy goes first. (Always the best position to be in so you know what you have to beat.) He gets 10.

Controversy erupts. Turns out two of the skulls had not been placed back in the bucket after a female contestant spit them on the floor. (Also, this was not the most hygienic of games. But when one wants to win, one does what one must.) The skulls are discovered before Brian makes his attempt, and they are placed back in the bucket. The other guy claims he would have gotten more if the two wayward skulls had been in the bucket. I insist that two be taken out because I do not want Joe whining and crying that Brian's victory isn't fair when he kicks this guy's booty. Two skulls are removed.

The timer begins. And I wish you could have seen it. Brian was a mean-skull-diving-machine. Systematically grabbing those skulls and throwing them in the bin on the floor. It was a thing of beauty. He pulls out 13 in no time, clinching his victory. He even sacrifices by diving deep and getting completely wet.

My heart swells with pride. He is made to stand on a chair and a sombrero is placed on his head as he is declared the victor and is handed his bucket of booty. (All while the manager is yelling, "yeah, he's bringing it home for Momma!!!" which I find somewhat strange and disconcerting but, whatever.)

Never mind that the bucket of booty is full of promotional items from beer companies. It's our free booty. And in the bucket is $25 of Hacienda money. Not only that, but they took down Brian's name, number, and address so that he can be invited back next year to defend his title. We'll be ready.

Sweet, sweet victory. All on a random Tuesday evening in Warsaw, IN.

Why Reggie is the Best Dog Ever

On Saturday morning, while sleeping in, I heard a sound familiar to dog owners everywhere. You know, that steady, gagging, sound the dog makes before throwing up. And then I heard the grand finale of puke landing on the carpet. As I contemplated getting up and seeing what havoc was wreaked, I began to hear the sounds of a dog...eating.

Is it wrong that I whispered, "good dog" and rolled over and went back to sleep?

When I got up there was not a sign of vomit to be found. Reggie had cleaned up after himself. This is why he is officially the best dog ever.

And causing me to belly laugh...

Brian and I walk out the back door at 11:00 p.m. last night (to let the dog out) and are greeted by this, proudly standing in our back yard:




And then, a few hours later, upon examining the front yard:



(Why didn't we think of checking there immediately? Idiots.)

Oh you prankstering pranksters. You got us good.

Pretty Much the Grossest Day in Indiana History

It's disgusting out. Absolutely disgusting.

Brian is working late because of inventory (perhaps until 9:00). It's a Friday. What is one to do with a day like today?

Well, I stopped at the yarn store and the library. You can figure out the rest.

Recently Brian took a mancation to Las Vegas. He was gone from a Thursday afternoon to a Sunday afternoon. While I didn't plan on pining away, missing my beloved, I certainly didn't plan on having the most wonderful three days in my recent history. I didn't have any plans and I didn't have to work and this is how the weekend went:

Thursday Night: Made popcorn, a pitcher of __________ (fill in the blank with your favorite beverage), finished my book, took a bath, went to bed.
Friday: Slept in. Discovered Sirius Radio "Coffee House Blend" which became the soundtrack for my vacation in solitude. Drank much coffee in pajamas. Did the dishes, cleaned out my car, blogged, emailed. Watched "Phantom of the Opera." Took a bath, went to bed.
Saturday: Slept in. Drank much coffee in pajamas. Cleaned the house while my Coffee House Blend soothed me. Started a book. Took a bath. Knit. Watched what I wanted on TV. Ran to the store for food. (The trip took only 10 minutes but I found the contact with civilization to be quite jarring.) Watched a movie. Went to bed.
Sunday: Went to church. Came home and inhaled my last few minutes of alone time. Picked Brian up from the airport.
It was like I had been on a spa vacation. I was completely relaxed and rejuvenated. And I was extremely happy to see Brian. But oh, that time alone was good. Although, it does worry me that I simply will not leave the house for one minute unless I have no choice. I fear without Brian, I may become a hermit. (I actually think it was just a nice change of pace. I'm sure a week of that would have made me stir-crazy. I think I'm sure.)
So tonight? I'm getting ready right now to fire up my Coffee House Blend and light a candle.

Well, I had sort of a dry spell with blogging for several weeks and now I’ve got the itch again. But after my “serious” blog yesterday I feel like I should lighten up the situation. Here are some madcap adventures and ponderings for October.

Beginning: October begins with a crazy Monday night trip to Chicago on the train to see the fabulous Ani DiFranco in concert. Heather, Sara, and I left South Bend at 4:00 p.m., ate supper in downtown Chicago, went to the concert, rode the train back, and I walked in my door at something like 4:00 a.m. Along with my sad tookus that I dragged in the door, was the realization that a 31 year old should probably give up pulling all-nighters.

Pondering: Why do men spit? I don’t understand this need to spit. I have asked Brian why he spits and he gave me some song and dance about how he thinks he produces too much saliva. And I’m like, NO YOU DON’T! You don’t sit on the couch watching a movie and all of sudden have to jump up and run to the sink because you can no longer control the drool that is leaking out of the corners of your mouth because you can’t possibly swallow all the saliva your body is producing. And men sometimes spit before using the, umm…facilities, I’ve discovered. I have never entered the bathroom and thought, “ahhh, I’ll just spit in the turlet here before I do my business.” Where does this come from?

Haunted Doings: As a child I was not allowed to celebrate Halloween. As an adult I have fully embraced it, minus all the satanic associations. I love handing out candy to children (it builds community), I love being scared, I love watching spooky movies, I think I would love dressing up again. So, Brian and I hauled, along with Dan and Felicia, all around Northern Indiana to some haunted productions. First we hit the Warsaw Haunted Hospital. Huge DUD! Not scary. Stupid. So we drove to Cherubusco to a haunted school in the middle of rural Indiana. There I confronted my claustrophobia and battled gravity. It was the coolest place. We then drove south to the Silver Lake Haunted woods. You may ask yourself if it is fun to be attacked in a corn field by masked men in the dark. And the answer would be a resounding YES! Bring it on! A corn maze in the dark with people jumping out at you and then a spooky walk through a spooky wood – superb, just superb.

Fondue: We threw our first fondue party. We did a practice run several days before the actual event. We invited our friend Colin over as a guinea pig. He was such a good sport. I learned not to show the cheese any fear. It can smell it, and then you wind up with a glop of cheese laying in a pool of oil mocking you. But, along with the help of my 1970’s age-of-Aquarius fondue cookbook, Brian and I threw a successful party. Cheese and bread, meat and veggies in batter and oil, and then chocolate and fruit. Our house smelled like peanut oil for days (i.e. like the fried food at the fair). Made me hugely hungry at all moments. Thankfully, nobody at the party passed a large painful cheeseball the next day, nor did they suffer from salmonella. I now would like to don some swanky 70’s wear and fondue all the time.

Ending: Well October is going to end with another trip to Chicago. You might never guess where I’ll be going. My dear friend Heather is a huge Madonna fan. So, we’re hauling to our second Madonna concert on Sunday. It should be interesting at the very least. The material girl just keeps going.

Oh and I guess there’s still Halloween (or "the big dance") itself left. I’ll have to let you know how it turns out.

Red or blue...or something in between

Well, it happened. I suspected it. I feared it. I wouldn't address it because I wanted to remain in denial. But then, my sister blurted it out in a conversation and my worst fears were realized.

My mother likes Sarah Palin.

My own dear, sweet, mother who is right under Jesus in the heavenly hierarchy. My own strong mother who planted tiny little mustard seeds of feminism within me. For the love of everything holy - WHY?!?

It's no secret to those that know me well that my political views are, well, quite liberal. (Brian was even called a socialist at work this week...imagine me giggling because that's what I'm doing.) But I try really hard to deal kindly and respectfully with those whose views oppose my own. I'm a big fan of dialogue. But I have a confession.

In private conversations with people who see politics like I do, I'm afraid I'm not very kind to the other viewpoint. (I never blast specific people, just the general masses.) And I'm probably even less kind in my own inner dialogue. (And wow, do I ramble on and on and on in my head sometimes!) I have a tremendously difficult time believing that a rational, thinking, intelligent human being could have anything but utter disdain for Sarah Palin. Really. And I don't like that part of me that so easily dismisses the good brains somebody was born with. So I've been grappling with this ever since my initial rage and indignation subsided just a tiny bit following McCain picking Palin as his running mate. I'm now really curious, and genuinely so, as to why someone would vote for McCain/Palin. And I've been looking for good reasons - not pat answers and not negatives about Obama or the Democrats.

And I've had a revelation this week. And it has cooled my jets, disarmed me, took much of the intensity out of my emotional reaction to the politics of this election season.

You see, I'm scared about the fate of this country. I'm scared of another administration like the Bush one. I'm frightened that we have become so self-obsessed and arrogant as a country that we will squander every bit of good-will we have remaining with foreign nations. I'm afraid that instead of dealing diplomatically with other governments, we will continue to engage in pre-emptive wars resulting in casualties and injury far surpassing simply those that are hurt in the direct line of battle fire. I'm afraid that as citizens, our rights will start to erode as the extreme religious right in this country pushes for a theocracy. I'm afraid that our environment will continue to suffer because, well, we're Americans and we shouldn't have to give up anything that we're used to, anything that makes our lives easy and comfortable. Our arrogance makes it okay for us to use the majority of the world's resources and energy while only accounting for between 5% to 8% of the world's population. I'm afraid for women's rights. I'm afraid about our escalating health care costs. I'm afraid about the economy. I could go on forever.

But, I'm realizing that my friends who see things from a McCain/Palin perspective are scared too. I don't know if I can accurately represent them, but I'll try to sum up what I've been gathering. They fear for our safety, that if we are soft on other nations or pull out of Iraq too quickly it will open us up to attack. They are afraid of not having the strongest military in the world because it would drastically alter the global scene. They are afraid that the government will try to take too much of their money or hurt small business. They are afraid about the economy. They are afraid about the escalating health care costs. They are afraid that morality in this country will erode, that the values they cherish will be considered antiquated and useless (especially regarding abortion and gay marriage). They are afraid that this nation could turn towards socialism. They are afraid that any quick moves, or drastic changes could damage or negatively alter the way of life that Americans hold so dear. They are afraid of things dissolving into chaos. I'm sure I'm leaving some out, but you get the idea.

Once I realized that both sides of the political landscape are afraid - I mean really, really frightened - it took away the "them and us" mentality I was carrying around. (And I'm referring here to friends and to average citizens like me - not corporate executives, politicians, journalists, etc...) And basically, other than on a few really pointed issues, we are scared of the same stuff. The solutions we believe in are not the same, but our desires for our families and for this country match up fairly closely.

When did we let ourselves get so consumed with "issues" - issues like abortion, homosexuality, gun-control, or stem-cell research, that we completely lost sight of the bigger picture? When did those become issues that we would stake EVERYTHING on? (Please do not hear me saying they aren't important because they are important issues...for instance, I would imagine if a loved one could be saved by furthering stem-cell research than it is probably the most important thing in your world. I'm only suggesting that during election time they can be used to distract Americans from working on "big picture" ideas for this nation. I would even suggest the government shouldn't be involved in all the "issues" that they are.) And when did we become so consumed with fear that we assumed complete annihilation of the United States of America and our way of life if the "other" party should be elected to office? When did we become such a nation divided, so focused on the negative that we stopped working together to build up the country?

I'll admit that I am still no fan of McCain/Palin, and frankly, the Bush administration is a scary one by a lot of standards. But I won't see the average citizens who support them as my "enemies" anymore. And on November 4, here's a wish for a prosperous journey, success, and good fortune - godspeed!

And for the Christians among us, who so closely try to link our voting with our commitment to following the way of Jesus, I offer this prayer:

In the weeks leading up to Election Day, pray that we as Christians would respect the integrity of our Christian brothers and sisters in their sincere efforts to apply Christian commitments to the important decisions of this election, knowing that people of faith and conscience will be voting both ways in this election year. (From an author at Sojourners)