Day 6: Coming Home

I got out of work early today. Made the mistake of trying to pick up some last-minute gifts in Portage. Westnedge was ridiculous... clearly a bad choice. I went home, wrapped a few gifts, packed my bags, and left for Frankenmuth. I stopped by Biggby for a coffee before getting on the expressway. When Dan, the guy who was working there, asked me for my order, I told him a soy latte. Flavor? Surprise me. He gave me a neopolitan-- strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate. It was amazing. It kept me awake on the way back to Frankenmuth. I got to my mom's house, put on my prom dress (yes, from my senior year) because I love it, and we went for a drive with my sister Amanda to look at the Christmas lights around town. And if you've ever seen Frankenmuth at Christmastime, you'll know it's the coolest thing ever. Makes me happy that I get to come here for Christmas. We finished our holiday color tour. I'm currently lying on my mom's loveseat (and I'm still wearing my prom dress, but with slippers and a hoodie to complete the ensemble), and Amanda and my mom are on the couch. We're watching My Sister's Keeper, which could possibly be the greatest movie ever. This might be the best night of my life. I love my family and I'm happy to be home for Christmas. La vita e bella.

Day 5: When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

It's a known fact in my family that I hold a special place in my heart for Ireland and all things Irish (and yes, we're German... not Irish).  I've mentioned it before-- my mom gave me a desk calendar for my birthday, and on each page is the date, a photo of Ireland, and some words of inspiration (often an Irish blessing of some sort).  Yesterday's page:

December 21

May the blessing of light be on you--

Light without and light within.

May the blessed sunlight shine on you,

And warm your heart

Till it grows like a great peat fire.

If you've ever been to Ireland, perhaps you've had the olfactory pleasure of smelling burning peat.  It's a very distinct smell, and once you've smelled it for the first time, you will instantly recognize it the next time it's wafting through the air.  It's not a great smell, but it's not a bad smell either.  To me, it's just cozy.  The smell of peat takes me back to the Atlantic coast of Ireland (I stopped by Ireland for a visit in August 2009), where I was taking up lodging at a hostel called "Peter's Place--" affordable and cozy (because Peter, who was a prominent fixture in the hostel--constantly bustling about, fixing things and cleaning things-- burned peat to heat the hostel). 

Ireland is HANDS DOWN my favorite place in the world.  Never before have I traveled to another country and felt so at home.  Every Irish person I encountered lived right up to the typical Irish stereotype-- warm, friendly, good-humored, welcoming, and downright NICE.  Who wouldn't love to spend time in a country full of people like that?  When Irish eyes are smiling, you'll be smiling too :)

O my dear Emerald Isle, I love you and miss you terribly.  Please allow me to visit again.  Soon.  I could use some Irish hospitality, some top-notch Guinness, and a few more photo ops.

Day 4: Every Time a Bell Rings

Tonight's post is going to be short (and yes, I realize it's technically tomorrow)-- but I just got out of work after having worked ALL day long, and I'm whipped.  But I'm going to stay diligent and keep on posting. 

Tonight my sister sent me a text message, and it said this: "There was a bell ringing on TV and Cooper [the dog] perked up, then Gregg asked if he could hear Harper... (because she's in heaven getting her wings)"

I love messages like this that a) make me laugh, b) make me tear up a tiny bit, and c) make me love my family even more.  Leave it to Gregg to call my beloved canine an angel.  That's exactly what she is. 

Miss you, Harper.  Hope your wings are working out well!  If you're not too busy, fly on down here and keep me company :)  It gets mighty lonely without you.

Day 3: What's at the End of Your Tunnel?

I was watching Miracle on 34th Street the other day (seasonally appropriate, right?) with my sister.  If you've never seen the movie, you should-- especially now, while we're in the Christmas season.  There are two versions -- one from 1947, and one from 1994.  Either version is phenomenal, but the 1994 version will give you the pleasure of watching young Mara Wilson in action-- and let's face it... who doesn't love two hours of HER?

The movie is about the eternal debate on the existence of Santa Claus, as well as what he represents in our lives.  But as I was watching the movie, I was (quite easily) drawing parallels to my own faith.  Perhaps it's because I've been thinking lately about my personal meanings for hope & faith...  I've been especially struggling with trying to understand how someone can believe in the existence of "nothing"-- call it what you want (atheism, nihilism, idealism, delusional nonsense, pure genius, whatever). 

Someone asked me a few weeks ago why I believe what I believe (and for the record, I'm a Christian).  I hate to say it, but I wasn't prepared for a question like that, and therefore I wasn't sure how to answer.  I don't feel forced into my faith or coerced into it.  I don't feel like there was any ultimatum from my parents, siblings, or teachers that made me accept this faith.  What would you say if someone asked you "why?"

I simply said: I believe what I believe because it gives me hope. 

Look around you-- this world sucks.  Seems like every time I turn around, the world is spinning more quickly into chaos.  Someone you know is dying from some sort of incurable disease.  We're medicating ourselves beyond normalcy.  Humans are killing other humans to prove some point.  Shows like Jersey Shore are working their way to the top of the charts (and after watching an episode for the very first time the other day, I feel like humanity is done for... if Snooki is all we've got going for us, we might as well just throw in the towel right now).  I feel like there has to be something better than Jersey Shore at the end of the tunnel.

Hope and faith give me reasons to keep on going, all the way to the end of my tunnel.  It seems like there are fewer and fewer reasons to enjoy life in this chaotic, dirty, overpriced, overmedicated, doubtful, synthetic, paved, loud, angry and violent world. 

I'm not going to force anyone to share my beliefs-- if this point hasn't come across strongly enough yet, let it come across now: force should never be an option.  My intention, though, is to serve as an example to others.  And no, I don't think I have all the answers; in fact, I unfortunately have very few answers.  All I know is that I have hope and faith in something greater.  I accept the fact that there's a better life for me waiting at the end of my tunnel.  And I accept that on faith.  No, I don't know exactly how long my tunnel is, what lies ahead of me in the tunnel, or how I'm going to make it all the way to the end.  But I absolutely believe there's a light waiting for me once I make it through.  I hope that you've all got some light at the end of your tunnel as well.  There's no good argument against hope, and no one can (or should) fault you for living with hope.  If we've nothing but a dark, endless tunnel ahead of us, what are we living for?

"I'm a symbol. I'm a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If... you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for a life dominated by doubt." -- Kris Kringle, Miracle on 34th Street

"We have nothing, if not belief." -- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Day 2: Cookie Chronicles: Wired for Success

(Comment for those of you who read my previous blog, Day 1: 50 Things About Me:  I failed to mention that I happen to LOVE my name now; although people call me Lanie, I still love being called Melanie. "Melanie" is a more uncommon name than most, and that's what makes me love it so.  So no worries; the good name of Melanie lives on!)

It's 2:55 AM, so technically this is Day 2 (even though I'm still awake from Day 1, when my last blog was posted).  I'm usually not awake at 2:55, but tonight I worked at Shakespeare's Pub.  Therefore, my workday (night) began at 8:45 PM and didn't end till 2:40 AM.  Have I mentioned that I love it at Shakespeare's?  All the employees there are friendly and HELPFUL (a welcome change from JCPenney) and the environment is just fun.  Never have I enjoyed closing an establishment more than at Shakespeare's.  Kick all the drunks out and it's time for the sober employees to have a dance party while cleaning up.  By the way, if you've ever been to Shakespeare's, you know that they serve popcorn to every table.  Serve popcorn all day long, and serve it to a bunch of people drinking alcohol, and you're likely to find 30 tons of it on the floor at closing time.  HOW could they ever clean that up?  Easy.  If you've got a leaf blower :)  The bouncers use actual leaf blowers to blow the popcorn/ trash from the back of the pub all the way to the front, where they then scoop it up in shovels/ sweep it up with brooms and call it clean.  Pretty innovative! 

It's not always fun to go to work, even if you like your job.  Today I was okay with going in, but I had no idea what I was in for.

Some background:
a) If you haven't read my previous posts about the "Cookies" (cute guys) at work, please do: the links are HERE and HERE.  The rest of the blog may not make sense unless you educate yourself accordingly.
b) Yesterday, I worked up the nerve to walk directly up to the cookies and ask them to go out for drinks with Ariane, Sarah, and me after work.  Again, bear in mind that I've seen these guys nearly every day for the last 8 months and it's taken me about 7 months to say HELLO to them (no joke!) and 8 months to hold any sort of conversation with them.  Yeah... me.  No joke.  So Ariane, Sarah, and I went to meet them at Brewster's, just down the road from Pfizer.  We arrived to find that only two had been able to show up (it was, after all, pretty late notice, so I wasn't surprised).  The two that showed up were Charlie Brownie and an unnamed (for some reason) Cookie.  I was originally very worried that the get-together might be awkward (after all, we came from two very different groups of employees and had never spoken to each other before).  But Charlie Brownie and Tall Guy (as we'll call him) were very entertaining, very funny, and easy to talk to.  Success!  Somehow we got talking about a guy they work with-- whose description matched that of Green Hat (and if you know me well, you know that Green Hat is my favorite Cookie).  By the way-- I had actually spoken to Green Hat earlier in the week and introduced myself for the first time (a HUGE step for me), and learned his name as well.  They mentioned that Green Hat was not only single, but the absolute nicest guy (albeit incredibly shy) that we'd ever meet.  Turns out he wasn't able to meet us for drinks because he was babysitting his friends' daughters (on a Friday night... how sweet is that?)  I decided I liked him even more.

Fast forward to today-- I'm at Shakespeare's and I get a text from one of my coworkers-- who had done some impressive Facebook stalking and learned that Beardie Boy and the Mohican (see the "Cookie list" in this blog) are not only in relationships, but ENGAGED!!! (Note: their recent actions have suggested otherwise, so this was vitally important, breaking news) 

I was slightly peeved that our dear bearded boy and his not-so-Native-American friend (he told us he's actually Mexican) were suddenly off the "market," if you will.  And I was trying to enjoy my night despite this new information. 

Fast forward an hour or so-- I'm walking to one of my tables and who do I see standing at another table along the way?  MR. GREEN HAT HIMSELF.  Yeah, it seemed too good to be true.  It couldn't possibly be him, could it?  He looked at me and smiled (and I nearly melted, he's so cute) and I told him that I was happy to see him (he was there celebrating a friend's birthday).  I don't think he knew that I worked there (how could he know?) so he was probably more surprised to see me than I was to see him.  Long story short, we actually talked-- had multiple conversations-- and I sucked it up and gave him those 10 magical digits (my phone number) and told him to call me sometime.  He was very happy to talk with me after that (which seems promising, right?)  and even hugged me on his way out and said he'd see me Monday (yeah you will!  Bright and early!). 

Imagine my night.  If you work with me or understand my "Cookie" infatuation, you'll know that I was giddy with delight while working-- I'm sure I walked by him at least 200 times and smiled at him every time I walked by.  A wonderful way to end a nearly-as-wonderful day. 

You know how they say everything happens for a reason?  Tonight was a perfect example.  It never made sense to me that I got called for the job at Shakespeare's... and really, I didn't need the money anymore (not since I've been tutoring, anyway).  What made me decide to accept the job?  I don't know.  But I'm gee-golly-happy I did.  Fact.

Day 1: 50 Things About Me

Today is the first day of my 21-day blog challenge.  The last couple days have been pretty crazy/busy for me, so I decided to wait till today for my first post (to make it worthwile to my loyal readers, whoever you are).  What better way to begin this challenge than to write about myself? 

For those of you who know me well, this will likely just be a review for you.  For those of you who perhaps don't talk to me so often or don't know me at all, this will likely help you get to know me better.  Thank you-- all of you who read my blog-- I appreciate the interest, and I welcome any and all feedback (yes, both positive AND negative).  50 things.  Go.

1. When I was in kindergarten, I hated my first name. At my kindergarten graduation my teacher wanted me to tell the audience my name, and I refused to do so.  I wanted to legally change my name at the age of 5.  Since then, I've gotten over it. I guess you've got to pick your battles, huh?  Now people call me Lanie.
2. I don't trust people who look at the ground when they walk. If the rest of us have to face the world, so should they.
3. I absolutely ♥ Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance.  I watch it/ listen to it almost daily.
4. Green is my favorite color.
5. Every day I sport two different earrings at the same time.  Quirky?  Yes.
6. My most-listened-to Pandora station is one that plays film scores.  My very favorite songs (of all songs, not just in this particular genre) are the themes from Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Band of Brothers, Lord of the Rings, Transformers, Edward Scissorhands, Avatar, and Cider House Rules. 
7. I love Taco Bell mild sauce.  I'll drink it straight from its packet.
8. I use hand sanitizer more than is necessary.  On last count, I own 27 different bottles of hand sanitizer (all from Bath & Body Works).
9. I love hot dogs.  I'm vegan, though, so I don't eat them.  But a hot dog is the one meat product that I crave.
10. I don't necessarily care for shopping, but it's like an involuntary motion.  My body MAKES me shop.  I swear.
11. I moved to Kalamazoo in April and I love it.
12. I hate being watched.
13. If I could stay in school forever, I would.
14. I don't think it's enough to simply have time for someone you care about; it means more if you make time for that person.
15. I recently purchased a Honda Civic, and I call it the "Starship Honda."
16. I love to bake.  I love to paint.  I love to photograph anything.
17. I don't tend to hold grudges, and I don't believe in revenge.  But I do believe in karma, both good and bad.  And believe me, I've seen both.
18. I recently had a lab mix named Harper, whom I lost in July.  She was my entire world :)  And I think of her fondly-- every day. 
19. Before Harper, I had a small terrier named Joey.  His papers said he was "unsexed" due to the fact that he was neutered.  So I used to call him my little princess.
20. I live in an apartment with three roommates-- two of them, I chose to live with.  The third one... well... I did not choose her.  But that's another blog, another time. 
21. I love being independent.  Independent people are my favorite people.
22. If you ask my best friends to give one fact about me, it would likely be this: I'm boy crazy.
23. There are a few key traits I look for in a guy: compassion, faith, independence, intelligence, originality, and passion (about anything).
24. Did I mention I love people who go against the grain?
25. I begin celebrating Christmas in October. 
26. I think everyone should know how to do their own laundry by age 15.
27. When I was 7, my dream was to own my own dude ranch.  I called it the Applebee 7 Guest Ranch, and I had drawn out building plans.  It'll probably never happen.
28. I hate heartbreak. Unfortunately, I think it's almost vital to living a young woman's life.
29. I have stories, stories, and more stories.  I've been told a million times that I should write a book.  I started it four years ago.  I'm on my fourth page.
30. By the way, I live for procrastination.
31. I hate liars.
32. I often have a lot to say.  I talk until someone stops me.
33. I'm not sure if there's anything better than a blank, leather-bound book.
34. But George Winston on a rainy day is pretty good too.
35. I cry at every episode of Desperate Housewives.  As well as every Cymbalta commercial.
36. I learn the most by trying new things.
37. I can never make up my mind.
38. I love to dress up, but I also love to lounge around in pajamas.
39. I hate wearing socks.  And it's impossible for me to sleep while wearing them.
40. I love my sisters, and I admire both of them.
41. My worst trait: jealousy.
42. My biggest fear: failure.
43. My 2nd biggest fear: clowns.
44. My 3rd biggest fear: humans dressed as animals (including, but not limited to, mascots).  I'm pretty sure that stems from watching the real-life version of Alice in Wonderland as a child...and being scared to death of it.  Side note: a human dressed as a rabbit will send me into panic mode.
45. My biggest pet peeve: speeling arrers.
46. I work a lot.  I have three jobs: I work for Pfizer, for Shakespeare's, and as a tutor.
47. I love Tuesdays-- always have-- and I don't know why.
48. I miss being a kid.  If I could go back to the summers when I was 7 or 8, I would stay there. Permanently.
49. I enjoy making new friends, but I love my old friends and always will. 
50. My family is the most important thing to me.

Make or Break (a habit, that is)

My Facebook news feed has been blowing up lately with updates from friends who are participating in the 30-day photo challenge-- not that I'm knocking their persistence.  I think it's a pretty cool idea.  It seems like every time I turn around, I see another 30-day ____ challenge (fill in the blank with whatever-- yoga, gym, blogging, etc.) 

Why 30 days?  Try Googling "30 day challenge" and you're likely to stumble across some "30 day challenge" sites.  You'll also see articles like "30 days to form a habit."  There's a few different schools of thought on how long it takes to make something a habit-- ranging from 21 days to 30 to 66, even 90 days.  According to psychologist Dr. Maxwell Maltz, it takes about 15 minutes per day, for 21 days, to form a habit. 

I'm not sure if it's because I want to be different or because I'm kind of a slacker-- perhaps both reasons-- but I'm going to try a 21-day blog challenge.  I love writing, and it doesn't take me too long to crank out a blog.  21 days of writing?  Bring it on.