Mi vida loca

Something ain't right, but first things first

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:40:33 GMT

So now I'm back ... from outer space ...

OK, I wasn't really in outer space. I've just been busy and lazy and bitter and happy and everything in between. Clearly, I'd taken quite a long hiatus from good ol' LJ. And if you're friends with me on Facebook, chances are you've noticed I've been on hiatus there, too. Hopefully I'll be posting on here regularly again and keeping up with you fantabulous folks. As for Facebook, though, I'm doing my best to stay away 95 percent of the time since it usually only makes me depressed to see the fabulous things everyone else is doing. There's been no major changes in my situation since last I posted. I'm still working at the restaurant and trying to find a more permanent job. My parents have bought a house so I'm trying to get a second job so I can afford to get my own place again. I'm welcome to move with my parents, but driving from their new home to work every day will eat up some serious gas money. No thanks, if I can help it.

Speaking of work, we apparently have a thief among our ranks. "Something ain't right" is only scratching the surface. One of the servers had gotten cash from her pocket the other night to make change for a guest. She accidentally left $40 near our computers and when she remembered to go and get it, the money was gone. Her money was never found, or at least nobody came forward with any information. But we have this new guy and he just comes across as shady. And, he's been the most vocal about how lame the thief is and continues making comments about the situation. He keeps saying, "Folks, ya'll know if you have extra money on you. You'd know if you had $40 extra bucks in your pocket." I can't put my finger on it, but something is just not right. Also, this dude has been known to go through people's cubbyholes looking for a lighter. He did it to me the other night and when I asked him about it, he was like, "Yeah, I just had to have a cigarette and I needed to borrow a lighter." Me: "Did you get a cigarette, too???" Dude: "Oh, no, I just needed the um, lighter. Thanks." I am a total Nazi about how many cigarettes I have because they're so expensive these days and I just don't have a lot of extra spending money. If somebody asks to bum a cigarette off me, depending on the person, I'll usually give it to 'em. But steal one even one time and forget it. And after I counted my cigs, I realized dude did steal a cigarette. Jerk. So, I don't trust that guy. Something shady about him. I really hope our managers figure out who stole the money and fire their ass. Stealing a coworker's money is seriously low on the totem pole of workplace ethics.

Where I've been

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:19:18 GMT

My apologies for being MIA for a while ... I've been busy moving and then getting everything set up in the new place. I'll do my best to get caught up on what I've missed.

Blessings

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:17:25 GMT

OK, so this "feature" has been few and far between, but I need to get back in the habit of doing it regularly. So without further ado ...

- I received the nicest compliment from a friend yesterday. Four of us are planning a trip to NYC in October. I don't know if I can get the time off from work and one of the girlfriends said, "If Lyndsay can't go, I don't want to add somebody else." It made me feel wonderful.

- On a similar note, I had a fabulous time sitting at Starbucks for a few hours last night with three of my girlfriends and just chatting and venting and enjoying their company. God has really blessed me with these gals.

- I'm moving into a new apartment at the same complex at the end of August. It has brand-new countertops, appliances and lighting fixtures. And best of all, my rent will be cheaper!

Relient K says it so much better than me

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:02:35 GMT

"When I Go Down"

I'll tell you flat out
It hurts so much to think of this
So from my thoughts I will exclude
The very thing that
I hate more than everything is
The way I'm powerless
To dictate my own moods

I've thrown away
So many things that could've been much more
And I just pray
My problems go away if they're ignored
But that's not the way it works
No that's not the way it works

When I go down
I go down hard
And I take everything I've learned
And teach myself some disregard
When I go down
It hurts to hit the bottom
And of the things that got me there
I think, if only I had fought them

If and when I can
Clear myself of this clouded mind
I'll watch myself settle down
Into a place where
Peace can search me out and find
That I'm so ready to be found

I've thrown away
The hope I had in friendships
I've thrown away
So many things that could have been much more
I've thrown away
The secret to find an end to this
And I just pray
My problems go away if they're ignored
But that's not the way it works
No that's not the way it works

Any control I thought I had just slips right through my hands
While my ever-present conscience shakes its head and reprimands me
Reprimands me
Then and there
I confess
I'll blame all this on my selfishness
Yet you love me
And that consumes me
And I'll stand up again
And do so willingly

You give me hope, and hope it gives me life
You touch my heavy heart, and when you do you make it light
As I exhale I hear your voice
And I answer you, though I hardly make a noise
And from my lips the words I choose to say
Seem pathetic, but it's fallen man's praise
Because I love you
Oh God, I love you
And life is now worth living
If only because of you
And when they say that I'm dead and gone
It won't be further from the truth

When I go down
I lift my eyes to you
I won't look very far
Cause you'll be there
With open arms
To lift me up again
To lift me up again

Insomnia

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:54:43 GMT

What is it like, I wonder, for people to go to bed and actually fall asleep within minutes? Me, I don't get that luxury. No, I try going to bed at decent time (for me) and end up tossing and turning for two and a half hours. So here I am, still awake and not at all tired. Problem is, I'm working 1-9 on overtime tomorrow, instead of my normal 5-1 shift, and I actually need some rest. But my body just won't cooperate. When I do finally fall asleep, I have such trouble getting out of bed when my alarms go off, that I'm afraid of oversleeping. I can't afford to do that tomorrow. Part of me is like, "Hey, you're awake, might as well get some stuff done." But I should be sleeping! If my body would just behave then I could be fast asleep right now. This is ridiculous. I wish this were a one-time occurence, but alas, this is an all too frequent situation. Can't get to sleep, but when I do, man, I don't want to get up when I'm supposed to. Ugh.

I'm open to any suggestions anyone might have for getting to sleep.

Another reason why I love Florida

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:38:00 GMT

OK, so there are cooler things than getting to go swimming in the middle of winter ... like getting to go watch the ol' alma mater play in the NCAA Tournament! DC called me over an hour ago and said he had an extra ticket to tomorrow's game in Tampa and would I like it? Um, duh! Thank goodness Tampa's only like an hour and a half, two hours with nasty traffic, away from Orlando. And since Western is playing at noon, I should be able to enjoy the game and return to Orlando in time for work tomorrow night.

To recap: I am going to watch Western Kentucky take on Drake in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Tampa. I love this state (and good friends, too).

Music suggestions

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:13:29 GMT

OK, folks, I'm going to compile a CD for the road trip I'm taking with DC next weekend. I'm curious what others would suggest. What are some of your favorite tunes for the road? As a note, I'm tending more toward a bluegrass and classic rock mix. Strange, I know, but DC is a classic rock kind of guy and I also think he needs to get ready to visit the Bluegrass State by enjoying some of my bluegrass-y faves.

I've already decided on these songs:

"I Saw the Light" by David Crowder Band
"The Captain" by Kasey Chambers
"We're All Gonna Die Someday" by Kasey Chambers
"You Wreck Me" by Tom Petty
"Running Down a Dream" by Tom Petty
"Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen

Help me out, friends. What additions would you make?

Strange day

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:34:31 GMT

The day began with me getting a parking ticket in my apartment complex. Admittedly, I took the risk of parking illegally rather than having to walk farther to my apartment. And for that I will get to pay $100. Beautiful.

Then, on the way to work, I ran over a shredded tire on the interstate because I didn't see it in time to get out of the way. I feared it would screw up my tires, but apparently all is well. Whew.

Lastly, while I was working on a story tonight, one of the lenses in my glasses popped out! When I went to pop it back in, I realized the frames themselves were broken. I taped 'em up enough to get my work done for first edition. Then, I drove home, put in some contacts and went back to work. I figure I'll go to Lenscrafters and see about getting a new pair of frames for the lenses I have.

Strangeness.

A new project

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:45:59 GMT

In light of all the issues I'm having lately, I've decided to try something new by way of something old. I know that God is asking me to put more trust in Him right now than ever before. Admittedly, I don't like it because it means I have work to do. I can be a hard worker, but for the most part, when given a choice, I choose laziness. I'll choose Solitaire over cleaning the house every time. I'll choose watching a basketball game over reading the Bible. I'm forever seeking shortcuts and ways to make things easier on myself. I don't know if that's a by-product of my parents and myself pushing me through high school and college. Near the end of my college career, I was definitely starting to burn out on working so hard. Once I had a job and started settling into the next phase of life, I quit working hard for other things. Since my job itself comes pretty easily to me, working hard at it isn't difficult. But when it comes to making changes to myself, things that God asks, I balk. I want it all to come easy. Obviously, that's not how life goes. We either work to change or we don't. And if we don't, well, we probably end up where I am right now: Mad that God won't do the work for me and make my life easier.

So I'm starting with something very basic. I'm going to look up the words lazy and work in a Bible concordance and I'll record what the Bible says about those things. I need to see what God's Word says so that maybe I'll learn something about breaking out of these awful habits that affect every area of my life. I'll do my best to keep y'all posted on what God teaches me.

Today's Blessing

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:58:01 GMT

I know this will sound funny to some people, but my cat is an absolute blessing from God. I mean, I took Midnight in as a stray on Easter weekend in 2005 so it's hard to miss the significance of that as far as I'm concerned. Midnight is quite possibly the sweetest animal on the planet. He loves to cuddle, loves for me to carry him around and cradle him. He gets in the bed with me every night when I go to bed. When I take naps on the couch, he sleeps on my stomach. He greets me at the door each night when I get home from work. He is anything but a sterotypical cat. He brings such joy to my life. I adore the little fellow; it's that simple.

Today's blessing

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:42:22 GMT

I am very grateful that God blessed me with Christian parents. They're not perfect by any means, but I am so glad I grew up in a household where knowing the Lord and Jesus were a priority. I look at my cousins and see how differently things can go when you don't grow up with two practicing Christian parents. I don't want to know how I would've ended up if I hadn't been raised to know Christ from an early age.

My surreal life

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 23:35:31 GMT

So Mike Huckabee was at my church this morning ... yes, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. He wasn't there to speak, only to be prayed over by the church. See, our pastor wrote and sent letters to each presidential candidate inviting him/her to visit our church if they were in the area, but only to be prayed over by the church, not to speak. Florida's primary is Tuesday so a lot of the candidates are out and about in the Sunshine State.

Turns out that my pastor attended Mike Huckabee's church in Arkadelphia, Ark., when our pastor was in college and Huckabee was still pastoring. The two men have a few other ties, too. The pastor did ask Huckabee what we could pray for him and Huckabee mentioned two Scripture passages, Isaiah 54 and something from Luke. Basically, he asked for prayer for a hedge of protection around him throughout the campaign and wisdom to discern what the Lord is saying to him.

It was just so strange to see a presidential candidate in person ... I'm usually as far removed from the political scene as possible. My sister can't stand Huckabee so that made for an awkward conversation when I called to tell her he had been at my church. I don't know if any of the other candidates will stop in at any point while in Florida. Guess we'll find out soon enough.

Sneaky Santa

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:05:00 GMT

I just told my sister a lie, but it's for a good cause. :-) Last month, when I asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she said jokingly, "An iPod nano." Well, being the fabulous sister that I am, I decided I would get it for her. Today, though, I called and told her that as much as I wanted to get her the iPod nano, it was too expensive for my Christmas budget. She understood, she said. I said, "I just didn't want you to be expecting it and be disappointed when you didn't get it on Christmas Day." Of course, at that point I had already bought the iPod and had it sitting on the kitchen table waiting to be wrapped! I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning when she opens it.

Big-kid toys

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:09:36 GMT

Way back in the day, as a 5-year-old kid, I remember asking an older girl what she'd asked Santa for for Christmas. I'd say this girl was like 10 or 11 years old. She said, "A keyboard." The 5-year-old me didn't know how to respond. How could any girl NOT want a Barbie or a Cabbage Patch doll?? I asked my mom about it and she said, "When you get older, you'll grow out of Barbies and dolls. You'll want big-kid toys."

She was right, of course. So while I'm slow to acquire all the big-kid toys out there, I do buy them eventually. Yesterday I bought my first MP3 player ... don't ask why it took me so long, who knows? I opted for the $45 SanDisk 2GB player. I love it! I've been listening to it all day after I loaded a bunch of my CDs on it last night. And I'm also in love with the 30-day free trial for Rhapsody. I *finally* got two of Everyday Sunday's albums. I think the player is motivating me to clean, too, and as everyone should know by now, that's a strange phenomenon in these parts. But hey, I'll take what I can get.

Balance

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:56:35 GMT

To balance the melancholy/whiny thoughts I've posted recently, here are two good things that have happened to me over the last two days.

1. By doing what my endocrinologist asked, I lost 11 pounds in three weeks! (The secret: no sugar for that amount of time. I cheated a few times, but otherwise, no sugary stuff.)

2. For the first time in three years, I get Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day off! I'm flying home early on the 24th, and I'm flying back to Orlando on Dec. 27. I don't even care if I have to work New Year's Eve. What a blessing this is. Plus, I got a good deal on my airfare from Southwest.

The brain is important, yes?

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:13:59 GMT

So I started doing laundry tonight; I hadn't done it in a little over a week. Imagine my surprise when I went to put the first load in the dryer only to find the dryer full ... of wet towels! I do not remember washing a load of towels recently, though obviously I did. Neither do I remember putting wet towels in the dryer AND NOT TURNING IT ON!

Would whoever stole my brain return it, please?

The perfect words

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:15:19 GMT

Relient K - "Let it All Out"

Let it all out
get it all out
rip it out remove it
don't be alarmed
when the wound begins to bleed

cause we're so scared to find out
what this life's all about
so scared we're going to lose it
not knowing all along
that's exactly what we need

and today I will trust you with the confidence
of a man who's never known defeat
but tomorrow, upon hearing what I did
I will stare at you in disbelief
oh, inconsistent me
crying out for consistency

and you said I know that this will hurt
but if I don't break your heart then things will just get worse
If the burden seems too much to bear
Remember
the end will justify the pain it took to get us there

and I'll let it be known
at times I have shown
signs of all my weakness
but somewhere in me
there is strength

and you promise me
that you believe
in time I will defeat this
cause somewhere in me
there is strength

and today I will trust you with the confidence
of a man who's never known defeat
and I'll try my best to just forget
that that man isn't me

reach out to me
make my heart brand new
every beat will be for you
for you

and I know you know
you touched my life
when you touched my heavy heart and made it light

Keep the candle burning

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 08:21:03 GMT

The first thing I noticed when I walked in my front door tonight was a candle burning! Doh, I'd forgotten to blow it out when I left for work. Thankfully, it was a Glade jar candle, so I didn't burn down the place.

And points to anyone who knew the subject line was the title of a Point of Grace song :-)

To the radio booth in the sky

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:26:09 GMT

I was saddened to learn when I got up today that one of my favorite broadcasters in the whole world had died. Joe Nuxhall was at one time part of the longest-running Major League Baseball radio team with Marty Brennaman. 'Nuxie,' as he was known, was the youngest player ever to play in the major leagues when he debuted with the Cincinnati Reds at age 15. Except for a few years when he played elsewhere, he spent his entire playing and radio career with the Reds. He was an acquired taste on the radio ... he'd start to call a home run only to realize the center fielder was going to catch it. But the rich stories of his playing days interspersed with what was going on in that day's game made it worth it. In some ways it was like listening to your grandfather ramble on but loving every minute of it just for the joy it brought to everyone. The Ol' Lefthander, another of his nicknames, was 79. He had cancer and beat it at one point, but it came back. He'd been in semi-retirement for a few years, but he always called several games each season. He'd fill in when either Marty or his new partner couldn't be there. I might be wrong, but I think he called games in more parks than any other broadcaster in MLB history. If a new park opened after he retired, they'd bring him in to call those games. Man, I'm going to miss hearing his deep voice and his stories. He was a legend as far as I'm concerned. He wasn't the most polished or even the most accurate, but he knew baseball and I learned tons from listening to him.

Goodbye, Joe; we're going to miss you down here.

Out of it

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:27:14 GMT

I've been in a funk for most of the last week, lazy, lethargic. I have got to get out of it and get stuff done around the house. Maybe then I'll feel better overall. I'm not depressed, I'm just kind of bleh. I enjoy being busy, but I need to do a better job of maintaining a routine so I actually get stuff done ... and maybe even get ahead!

Unraveling, literally

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 01:12:31 GMT

I thought it was a stray string on my sweater, around the neck area. So I pulled it ... but it kept coming until I had separated the neck of the sweater from the collar. I stared at myself in the mirror at work in disbelief. Thankfully, we have a box of extra T-shirts in the office promoting our high school coverage. I grabbed one of those and changed, then I dumped the useless sweater in the garbage. Um, oops?

There IS crying in baseball

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 04:29:23 GMT

In the movie "A League of Their Own," Tom Hanks' character yells at one point, "Are you crying? There's no crying in baseball!" I'm here to disagree with that line.

I am breaking up with the Cincinnati Reds after years of love for them. They hired Dusty Baker as manager and that just breaks my heart. He got fired from his last job, he doesn't work well with young players and he's known for wearing out the arms of his pitchers. The Reds are pretty young and we can't afford to have the few good pitchers we have get ridden so hard their arms are permanently screwed. See: Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.

I don't believe I'll change my mind on this. I can't imagine any scenario where I would actually cheer for a Dusty Baker team. The man is also a Barry Bonds apologist and that's unacceptable. This whole situation is unacceptable.

Well, Reds, we had our ups and downs and I'm sorry it came to this. I've stuck with you through many difficult times, but this is where I draw the line: an idiot manager who has as much business being in the dugout as I do. I'd say good luck, but I don't mean it; my only hope is that Dusty loses quickly and loses a lot. Then maybe we can have another chance.

Oh, variety

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:07:24 GMT

I attended my first Orlando Magic game as a fan last night (Wednesday).

It's actually only the second time I've been to a Magic game; the other time was in March, I think, but it was for work. Anywho, a coworker who has season tickets sold me her ticket for the preseason game against the Bobcats because she had to work.

For the most part, I don't mind doing things by myself. I used to go to baseball games alone all the time in Cincinnati. It allows you to concentrate on the game and to people watch without conversational interruptions. I'll even go to the movies by myself if it's something I want to see and nobody else wants to go or is able to go. I go out to eat by myself sometimes and take a book to read. But I digress.

What a rich people-watching experience the game was! I sat next to a Hispanic couple who were unbelievably nice. They know my coworker from several seasons of sitting next to each other. The guy let me borrow his binoculars during warmups ... I loved seeing the guys so close like that. My seat was pretty good, in the lower bowl, but nothing beats sitting on press row.

Back to the people-watching; it's hard to know where to start. An older woman sitting in my row got into a yelling match with an Indian man a few rows in front of us. I couldn't quite hear what it was about, but afterwards the guy kept shooting her dirty looks and she'd just wave and smile at him. Behind that woman was a heavyset guy and a boy about 6 or 7, I'd guess. I assume he was the guy's son, but I'm not sure. This boy really does scream like a girl ... every time the opponent attempts a free throw, every time they throw T-shirts into the crowd. He apologized a few times, I guess because he saw people around him holding their ears. When a player made a free throw after the kid had screamed, the kid said, "I guess it doesn't work on him." Made me giggle.

There were two college-aged kids sitting behind me. Such inane conversation: "She created all this drama, and I got mad 'cause I was hammered," or "When this acting thing works out, I won't have to pay for my drugs. Ha ha ha." There were two couples sitting in front of me. I'd say they were in their mid-20s. One couple was of the makeout persuasion enough that one of their friends said, "Get a room already." Makeout Girl was wearing a way-too-revealing top for someone as busty and heavy as her. Makeout Guy looked like a Simpsons character from the side. Seriously. A lot of inane conversation from this group. The best, though, might have been, "You know what shows up on my phone when he calls? A photo he took while in the bathroom, and I don't mean of the sink!" Um, what? Gross.

But the best and worst award of the night goes to the guy sitting on my right. When he and his friend first sat down, I thought they might be homeless guys someone had been nice enough to give his tickets to. Right-Side Guy smelled like he stepped out of the shower and instead of drying off with a towel dumped a bucket of cigarette ashes on himself then rolled in the ashes that didn't stick the first time. I spent most of the game leaning far to the left in my seat and holding my hand over my face. It was that bad. And it got worse. He bought some alcoholic beverage and the smell made me nauseous when paired with the cigarette smell. Right-Side Guy made my eyes water. I kept praying he would get up and leave permanently in the second half but he sat there the entire time.

Yes, Virginia, it really does take all kinds.

A Thousand Words?

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:47:56 GMT

Hope you guys enjoy the photos; if you're wondering what precipitated the post, read my previous post. :-)

I love this photo. Last September we went to Wekiva Springs State Park for a friend's birthday party. The water felt so good to soak our feet in.

Care Bear Stare! I was Bedtime Bear at last year's Halloween party, hosted by two of my friends, one of whom works for Universal Studios and borrowed a bunch of props for the party. Amazing time.

Here I am at my birthday party in April, at Mimi's Cafe. Two of my friends made me a fruit pizza for the cake and even brought the candles to the restaurant!

This is some of our group in front of Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween Party this year. We were characters from "Finding Nemo: The Musical," a show at Animal Kingdom. I was the director, and oh how I adored ordering the cast around with my megaphone!

The group again, but all of us this time. And now we're in front of Cinderella's Castle.

See, I told you I loved using the megaphone.

A friend and me on the boat from Fort Wilderness to Magic Kingdom before Night of Joy in September. Night of Joy is a two-day Christian music festival at Disney. Talk about combining two of my favorite things!

That's all for now, though I'm sure this picture post is just the first of many.

Clean sweep, perhaps?

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:12:37 GMT

I just updated my bio on my profile. It had been too long. Plus, life is always changing, so a bio shouldn't really be static like mine has been.

I spent some down time at work making two lists, one for cleaning and another for things I can post about on here. My apartment is disgusting; I should be ashamed to admit that. It is in serious need of deep cleaning and I want to do it, even though I know it will take me ages. See, it's not just about the cleaning. I also want to get more organized. I made a list of all the rooms and I'll just go one room at a time ... and one piece of furniture at a time, one stack of crap at a time. And since I've gotten the digital camera, I want to show people what my apartment looks like. But I can't do that until this place is clean and neat. I never have friends over, but that's because I live way on the other side of town from most of them. I'd like to have that option, though, if anyone ever wants to come over for dinner or to watch a movie. I'd be embarrassed if any of my friends walked in right now. That's bad.

As for the other list, I want to be more involved with this journal than I have been. Since my writing project right now is a Bible study, I need a different outlet for creative things. Not fiction, but I want to write about topics or issues that lend themselves to pondering and playing with words. Us writers, we just can't help ourselves. Some topics you may see come up in the near future: TV, studying Greek, insomnia, cancer, music. Who knows? Oh, and now that I've got the digital camera and a paid account, I'd like to do some picture posts. Unless you're on facebook or have actually met me, you probably don't know what I look like! And you might find some of the things my friends and I have done pretty amusing. I'm feeling pretty spry right now, so I may work on a picture post after this one.

Anywho, that's what I've been up to/thinking about today. Can't wait to see how this all turns out!