Waiting.

I'm waiting for a very important phone call. I jump and my heart starts racing every time the phone rings. I feel sorry for the person on the other end - I'm genuinely happy to talk with my friends and family, and I'm simultaneously dissapointed that it's not this one call. I think the dissapointment is what comes through.

Today I'm Breaking the Rules

• I'm wearing jeans.
• I'm listening to the radio.
• I'm chatting on gmail.
• I'm not affixing my front license plate.

Yup - I'm a rebel. And I've been caught. By the Denver Police - but just for the license plate thing. They don't care that I'm listening to the radio. So I'm busy trying to weed out my registration and proof of insurance and I'm shaaaaaking like crazy. Here's a little taste of what happened next:

Police officer trying to help (i think): "M'am, it's going to be okay, you can stop shaking."
Maria: I'll try. (As if I could turn it off.)
P: Have you been pulled over before?
M: Yes
P: There aren't an warrants out for your arrest are there?
M: Not that I know of (dear god this feels a bit familiar...starting to get paranoid)

[P leaves to write ticket]

P: Blah, blah, ticket, blah. Be careful now.
M: I will. (because I'm just glad you didn't arrest me!) {There was NO reason for him to...just for clarification.}

A Blanket Apology

Why is it that when I'm stressed out I lose any sort of tolerance. Except for maybe alcohol tolerance, maybe. Right now I have a lot on my mind - I'll post about it here in time, for now it's staying off the blog. Since my stress tolerance is completely used up trying not to explode over this issue, my tolerance for anything else is completely non-existent. There is a girl I work with who drives me nuts on a regular basis. Usually I can just brush it off, and for the last two days I barely speak to her civilly. (if that's even a word.) Last night I was trying to give directions to a friend and there were a lot of people trying to help and I snapped - I'm sorry. It was completely undeserved, all about me, and you had no way of knowing.

I'm beginning to see (with help) a bit of what this is actually about deep down. And I'm working that through - slowly. For now I'm afraid I'm taking it out on people around me, and I'm sorry. I'll do my best to apologize when I see it. I don't know that I always do.

Some Observations, In No Particular Order

• Birds in the training room at 8:00 in the morning are not cool.
• I like to think that I don't need to be in the spotlight, but then when people around me insist on being in the spotlight all the time it pisses me off.
• If the little red dot is showing on the bathroom door - don't pull on it.
• Patience, when waiting for big news, is hard to come by.
• I have a lot more inner rage than I'm willing to let myself realize.
• Margaritas are tasty.
• So is rice made with coconut milk.
• There are days I have no threshold for dealing with my own stress - today is one.
• Happy 26th birthday Joy!!
• I heart festival food.

Rave: Sunflower Farmers Market

Sheralee has introduced me to a new grocer here in Denver: Sunflower Farmer's Market. It's in the lines of Wild Oats and Whole Foods only wayyyy cheaper and not entirely organic. What I love the most though is the produce section - it's HUGE! Everything is fresh and cheap! On Saturday I got an entire pound of Strawberries for 77 cents, and the red and orange peppers were only 88 cents each and I really could go on and on. I'm waiting for the sweet corn to go on sale - I've had a bit of sticker shock on the sweet corn here in Denver - 4 for a dollar is about as good as it gets. I remember it being much cheaper in Michigan...perhaps I'm just being nostalgic. The meats looked fresh and healthy and they too were entirely reasonable.

In any case I had a full cart of groceries and my entire bill was less than $50! The people there were extremely helpful and the bagger even reminded me that Wednesdays are double special days - the end of one set and the beginning of another so you can get specials from two weeks! Seriously a new fan of Sunflower Market.

Serving or Servicing

I haven't posted anything about my word annoyances on here lately so I figured it was time for another. Many of the people I work with insist on selling the company's abilities by telling clients that we will service them with top-of-the line equipment, blah, blah, blah.

Why can we not just say we will serve them? The mechanic services your car. Service is slang for fornication. We will serve our clients and in so doing we will offer them exceptional customer service. We will not service them.

I Could Be Allergic to the Midwest

I used to tease my sister that she was allergic to the Midwest - she would sneeze uncontrollably when she came to Michigan for the summer. Today I can not stop sneezing and it's gloomy and rainy out - much like a spring or fall day in West Michigan. Maybe there's truth in these allergies...