Saturday, April 13, 2013
Drunkin' Promises
Drunkin' promises are some of my favorite kind of promises - just ask Val. They have also historically resulted in some of my best decisions (such as the pre-graduation Miami vacation). For this reason, I tend to follow through with my drunkin' promises. Recently, I have found a new friend (read:facilitator) that agrees with this same philosophy and I have made 2 promises that I'm looking forward to. First, we are going to see Fun in concert. I'm very excited since I haven't been to a concert in forever and I really like this band. Second (in the traditional theme of agreeing to trips), I'm going to Greece. It's not finalized, but even after thinking it through I'm even more excited for this vacation. All that's left is to book it now.
Blogging About Blogging
So there are a number of things I've been meaning to share about what an awesome winter I had this year. I just haven't gotten there yet. So I promise along with getting better about keeping you all updated on my current fun times, I will try to post a few flashback posts about some of my winter fun. Get excited.
Friday, February 15, 2013
B&E
B&E (Breaking and Entering) is the official complaint listed on the police report now in my possession. On February 2, 2012 while I was at work someone (or more likely multiple someones) broke into my house in Baltimore. I found out when I got home from work at 1am that day. It was not a fun night.
The first thing I thought when I got home and saw tons of stuff strewn about the floor was, "Damn dog!" I figure he must have gotten into the garbage (it wouldn't be the first time). However quickly after that thought, I realized that the items on the floor were from my purses and entryway table. It only took about one more second for me to look a little further into the room and realize that there was no longer a TV on my entertainment stand. Lightbulb.
Immediately, I dialed 911. Then, I continued to stand about 2 inches from the front door until the police arrived about 10 minutes later. Once they came inside, they took my information and we proceeded to go through the house one room at a time. We discovered that they entered by breaking the locks on my back window and also discovered most of my electronics missing (TVs, cameras, a MacbookPro, a blackberry). Thankfully I don't keep money around the house, because I'm pretty sure that's what they were looking for when they tore apart the rest of the house. The last little miracle was that none of my jewelry was missing; I would have been far more upset about that than electronics. They also did not take my back-up drive, so I still have all the contents, mostly photos, from my stolen computer.
After the police report was filed, I had the pleasure of waiting about another hour for the crime scene investigator to come and dust for fingerprints. That hour gave me plenty of time to cancel the credit cards that were taken - mainly store cards like Limited, Loft, Macy's, etc. Pretty much right as I finished that, a very nice crime scene lady arrived. Again, we went through the house room by room with me showing her everything that had been touched or moved. When we were in the last room she made the lovely comment of, "Don't worry, the dust comes off with any household cleaner." It hadn't even occurred to me that I was going to have to clean this all up. And for the record, fingerprint dust does NOT come off easily. I spent the next 2 hours cleaning each surface about 3 times to get it all off. Finally around 6am, I was so completely exhausted that I passed out.
The meanest part about this whole situation is who in Baltimore takes all of someone's TVs the day before the Ravens were to play in (and win!) the superbowl!
On a strange note, they also left behind all my Christmas gift certificates - Visa, Amazon - that were sitting out. I found that odd, but I'm not going to argue about still being able to use them!
The first thing I thought when I got home and saw tons of stuff strewn about the floor was, "Damn dog!" I figure he must have gotten into the garbage (it wouldn't be the first time). However quickly after that thought, I realized that the items on the floor were from my purses and entryway table. It only took about one more second for me to look a little further into the room and realize that there was no longer a TV on my entertainment stand. Lightbulb.
Immediately, I dialed 911. Then, I continued to stand about 2 inches from the front door until the police arrived about 10 minutes later. Once they came inside, they took my information and we proceeded to go through the house one room at a time. We discovered that they entered by breaking the locks on my back window and also discovered most of my electronics missing (TVs, cameras, a MacbookPro, a blackberry). Thankfully I don't keep money around the house, because I'm pretty sure that's what they were looking for when they tore apart the rest of the house. The last little miracle was that none of my jewelry was missing; I would have been far more upset about that than electronics. They also did not take my back-up drive, so I still have all the contents, mostly photos, from my stolen computer.
After the police report was filed, I had the pleasure of waiting about another hour for the crime scene investigator to come and dust for fingerprints. That hour gave me plenty of time to cancel the credit cards that were taken - mainly store cards like Limited, Loft, Macy's, etc. Pretty much right as I finished that, a very nice crime scene lady arrived. Again, we went through the house room by room with me showing her everything that had been touched or moved. When we were in the last room she made the lovely comment of, "Don't worry, the dust comes off with any household cleaner." It hadn't even occurred to me that I was going to have to clean this all up. And for the record, fingerprint dust does NOT come off easily. I spent the next 2 hours cleaning each surface about 3 times to get it all off. Finally around 6am, I was so completely exhausted that I passed out.
The meanest part about this whole situation is who in Baltimore takes all of someone's TVs the day before the Ravens were to play in (and win!) the superbowl!
On a strange note, they also left behind all my Christmas gift certificates - Visa, Amazon - that were sitting out. I found that odd, but I'm not going to argue about still being able to use them!
Monday, January 7, 2013
New Years Resolution
25 Random Acts of Kindness. The End.
Oh, you would like more of an explanation than this? Ok.
The inspiration for my New Years reslution this year has really been two fold. First, one of my favorite Christmas music groups is the Trans Siberian Orchestra. One of their songs has a few lines that have always resonated with me. The song is "Old City Bar" and the lyrics are:
The final inspiration for this resolution came after the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. On of the ways people were honoring and remembering the victims were by paying it forward. There were many suggestions for small, but meaningful, random acts of kindness to remind people of the good in our society and not just the bad.
Since my idea orginally stemmed from the Christmas spirit, I decided to follow the 25 days of Christmas tradition and pledge to do 25 acts of kindness throughout 2013. I also determined, since I work in a profession where it is my job to help others, that I should state some parameters so I can't cheat and use "I made a kid feel better today". The main guidelines I've created to follow are it doesn't count if it's part of my job description and it can be small but should involve going (at least slightly) out of my way.
What I'm hoping to gain from my resolution this year is a more positive attitude. Helping someone else always reminds me that my day (or week or month) could be worse. It's also very gratifying to see someone's day brightened. Plus, there is always the possibly that I will inspire them to pay my kindness forward to someone else. Hopefully in a small way this year, I will be working to change my corner of the world.
Oh, you would like more of an explanation than this? Ok.
The inspiration for my New Years reslution this year has really been two fold. First, one of my favorite Christmas music groups is the Trans Siberian Orchestra. One of their songs has a few lines that have always resonated with me. The song is "Old City Bar" and the lyrics are:
If you want to arrange it
This world you can change it
If we could somehow make this
Christmas thing last.
By helping a neighbor
Or even a stranger
And to know who needs help
You need only just ask.
These words affect me because in my opinion they hit the nail right on the head. For December, I've always found people (in general) to be more cheerful and social and kind. However for much of the other 11 months of the year, we tend to be more callous and spiteful and isolated from one another.The final inspiration for this resolution came after the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. On of the ways people were honoring and remembering the victims were by paying it forward. There were many suggestions for small, but meaningful, random acts of kindness to remind people of the good in our society and not just the bad.
Since my idea orginally stemmed from the Christmas spirit, I decided to follow the 25 days of Christmas tradition and pledge to do 25 acts of kindness throughout 2013. I also determined, since I work in a profession where it is my job to help others, that I should state some parameters so I can't cheat and use "I made a kid feel better today". The main guidelines I've created to follow are it doesn't count if it's part of my job description and it can be small but should involve going (at least slightly) out of my way.
What I'm hoping to gain from my resolution this year is a more positive attitude. Helping someone else always reminds me that my day (or week or month) could be worse. It's also very gratifying to see someone's day brightened. Plus, there is always the possibly that I will inspire them to pay my kindness forward to someone else. Hopefully in a small way this year, I will be working to change my corner of the world.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Holiday Decor
I think one of the hardest things about moving is finding how all your old stuff fits into a new place. That being said, I have some really nice areas in my new home for some good holiday cheer.
My christmas tree directly in front of a large window on the 1st floor, so it can be enjoyed from the inside and outside.
A couple shelves right by the entrance are perfect for seasonal decorating.
There's a bit more christmas decorations scattered around the house, but those are definitely my most fun areas.
My christmas tree directly in front of a large window on the 1st floor, so it can be enjoyed from the inside and outside.
A couple shelves right by the entrance are perfect for seasonal decorating.
There's a bit more christmas decorations scattered around the house, but those are definitely my most fun areas.
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