Enough Transplanting, I Want Roots!

I'm restless. I figured out the other day that in the past 10 years I have moved 11 times, had 15 roommates (not including when I have lived with family) 3 cars, 12 jobs (sometimes more than one at a time) 5 boyfriends (only one of which lasted longer than 3 months) and have been a member of 7 different single's wards.

At the age of 31 I can honestly say that I crave permanence. I want roots. There comes a time when a daily or weekly routine doesn't sound so awful. At least a routine could maybe help me find some balance. Right now I don't have great balance in my life, but that's another post entirely. I look forward to the day when I can go home to my own place; where I have made the decorating decisions and can leave my shoes by the door. Until then I can dream and save my money so that when the time comes, I can carve out my own little slice of heaven, a heaven with roots.

The Acarophobia Dilemma

I have two favorite seasons, winter and spring. I like wearing sweatshirts and curling up in massive amounts of blankets in the winter, but I also really enjoy the short sleeve and sandal weather of spring. I'm not a hot weather person so I dread the oppressive heat of summer. So far it has been a pretty mild summer and I am totally loving it. However, spring has a disadvantage over winter. It's something that causes me irrational fear and anxiety. Mosquitoes. Such a silly thing to fear, but for some reason that is beyond my recollection I abhor mosquitoes. The very sight of one is likely to sending me running in the opposite direction or screaming like a child in distress and waving my hands frantically around my head. By definition a phobia is an abnormal fear of something that is probably harmless. If by harmless you mean a blood-sucking menace that haunts the pleasant twilight of day. (Incidentally this is why I could never be "Team Edward" despite my personal preference )

My current dilemma is that I now fear a mosquito conspiracy has been enacted upon me. That's right, conspiracy. I have seen but one mosquito so far this spring and after some dancing around and hysterical mewling noises I managed to kill it. And so began the war. I have now woken up to a new mosquito bite somewhere on my body at least twice a week for the past month. Just this morning I have discovered a new one. WHY? I don't kill their kin any more or less than the next person. These sneak attacks are slowly unraveling my delicate psyche. My mother claims it is because I have "sweet blood." The very thought of that tiny insect landing on my skin and taking a part of me while I am unaware makes me shiver in horror. Tomorrow I'm buying one of those new Off! personal mosquito fans that clips to your belt. Be forewarned, I am going to be smelling like insect repellant daily until I can quash the conspiracy and stop the revolution. Vive la Danica!

The Genius that is The Piano Guys

Prepare yourselves for unsolicited advertisement. I have a new obsession. And I don't like using the word obsession because it tends to have be overused and sometimes can have a negative connotation, but in this case the word is accurate.

I ♥ The Piano Guys.

If you haven't heard of them I would suggest you go here to their YouTube page and partake in what will surely absorb you for the next few hours. Go ahead, I'll wait......

Okay, now that you have some idea of who they are I can tell you why I love them so much. I can't even remember how I stumbled upon the first video I saw which was Michael Meets Mozart. But I had some previous knowledge of the pianist, Jon Schmidt, so I knew it would be good. I met Jon Schmidt once back around 1996 when my parent's company was binding his piano books so he could sell them. I had heard his piano music and loved playing it, so it didn't take much for me to gravitate to this video. I will admit I acquired a bit of a crush on Steven Sharp Nelson, the cellist, especially after watching the video "Moonlight." I was thrilled when I found out that he lived in my neighborhood. And even more excited when they covered More Than Words, something that I had suggested in a comment on their videos!

The brilliance of the music these guys are creating is not something that I think I can articulate, but I'm going to try. I have a deep love for music anyway, but I would say that one of the things that keeps me coming back for more of their music is that The Piano Guys obviously love what they are doing. There is a passion for music that bleeds from every note they play. They are able to put so much emotion into the music they play that it makes me want to be a better musician. I want my music to touch people in the way that their music has touched me.

What adds to the beauty of their music is the sweeping views of nature which provide such a fantastic backdrop to already great music. The things the crew does is mind boggling! Simply watch Peponi or the Bourne Vivaldi to see what great lengths these group of men go to to produce exquisite videos.

I have struggled with patience waiting for the next video to appear, anxiously checking YouTube on Mondays for another upload. I believe in what they are doing so much that I am a double donator to the "Founders Club" which has earned me two T-shirts and two CD's. I also purchase the new song from their website every time they release another one. I have to admit that I feel so strongly about this music that I sometimes feel like a hysterical teenager, likely to faint at the mere sight of my idol, only in this case it's NOT Justin Bieber.

Was that enough links for you? Can you see what I used the word obsession?

A Thousand Notes of Comfort

I adore this video and the men that create these videos!

It All Comes Down To Faith

In the last few years I have had the opportunity to go through various stages of life. Single and living at home, single with roommates, single and living with family; but the recurring theme has always been single. My first romantic relationship started at the young age of 15 and continued pretty much until I was 22. After that amount of time there was obviously a lot of emotion involved and I didn't feel like I had true closure until this year. The end of that relationship was pretty tragic and shocking for me and definitely affected me adversely. My state of mind was not improved by the marriages of my best friend and sister within the same month, despite how happy I was for them.

I floundered for a couple of years, after deciding that the way I had been living previously hadn't done my marriage prospects any good, so I tried other things. Things that were basically not good for me which I eventually realized before I did something really stupid. Basically I had lost my faith in good things happening to me. It took me a while but I got to a healthier place. Everyone has their own way of dealing with grief mine was to be blunt and brash. My honesty won me some friends but it could also be very off-putting. Mostly it came from being unsure of who I was and eventually it was that self-discovery that gave me the confidence to date again.

The great thing about finally knowing who I am is that it means I am more open to meeting people and also aware of what I want in a relationship. This also means that I know if someone rejects me it is not the end of the world. It just means that I am not what they are looking for in a mate. Part of that also means that I have faith. Faith that somewhere out there is someone that I am right for, someone who will accept me for who I already am, not some unrealistic idea. What gets me through the day despite an impending sense that time is passing too quickly and that my chances become fewer the older I get, is faith. Faith and hope in a divine plan that is beyond my understanding.

Happy Thoughts

Poor Communication & Etiquette

As previously mentioned I currently pay my bills by making sandwiches for people who pay for them. In this time I have made some interesting observations concerning human behavior. First is that people are rude. Second is that demographics are astonishingly telling. I work at two separate locations and the difference in how people treat me from one location to the other is dramatically different. Both are in affluent neighborhoods but the interesting thing is that the people at Location One are pretty friendly. They know some things about me and I usually know some things about them. At Location Two I am generally treated with disdain and have had assumptions made about my intelligence because of the job I do. Yes, I work for minimum wage but that doesn't make me stupid or not worth treating with respect.

At what point did it become okay to talk on your cell phone when ordering food? It is extremely rude and if I had my way I wouldn't serve you until you were done. I had someone come in last week and stand in front of the counter while on the phone and I continued to sweep and do some cleaning until he was done. When the phone call ended he was mad and asked if I was finally ready. I replied by telling him that I am always ready, just waiting for him. The most irritating part is when their sandwich is done or nearly so and they suddenly realize that something about their sandwich is not what they wanted. Usually this is because they were paying attention to something other than me and don't realize that what they told me and what they actually want are not the same thing. Inevitably they are put out and mad at me even though they were the ones not paying attention.

So my place of employ has what can be called membership cards. On these cards you can earn points that add up to free food. These cards can also double as gift cards so I don't always know which it is. I generally assume that if they hand me money and their card that the card is to add point onto and the money is to pay for their order. I can't tell you how many times that people have been upset with me because the card was actually a gift card and I use the money they gave me instead. Is it wrong for me to assume that if you hand me money at the register that it is to pay for your purchase?

Rant over, you may now continue with your day.