What a Night

I was going to go out with some coworkers yesterday after work, but it was, you guessed it, raining! Some of us went out anyway (though the putt-putt golf that was in the plan will be rescheduled). I know you want to know how I did it; went to work (which was awful because the bridge was closed and my alternate route was flooded), went out with coworkers, and got here in one piece this morning, yes?

One lovely OBC employee offered the second room of her apartment to me. This works well, actually because my dad is off all week. I didn't have to go to bed at 2100, and I didn't have to wake up at 0400. We actually left her home a little earlier than we needed to, but that's ok! It's better than being late! If the rain keeps up (it will, according to the forecast), she said I could stay with her for most of the week. I only brought enough clothes for today, but we can buy some somewhere! Sounds like a good plan to me. I'm still going to try to go home tomorrow and make sailing (hopefully it won't be raining).

I actually haven't been wanting to sail lately. My mother has been visiting my grandmother on Wednesdays, and with Dad on the boat, it's some nice home-alone time (I think I've said so before, about how rarely I get it. I didn't go last week, actually.). And the past couple times I've been out, things have happened that made me feel like some people on the boat were questioning my knowledge or ability. I've been sailing since High School, more than a decade. I'm not new at this. I hate when other people need to make themselves feel good by making me feel inadequate or incorrect. I guess, honestly, it hasn't been an environment that I've been wanting to be in. It's hard to have fun when my abilities are constantly questioned. I guess that means I'd like to stay in tomorrow too.

Never Admit It

Happy birthday, Dad!

Rain Rain Go Away

Oh, what a day! It was gray, it was rainy, the power was too unreliable to keep the computer on for long. I could have played with my new Nintendo DS, but the game I wanted to play was unplayable (it runs in real time, you see, and things were 'closed for remodeling' so there was nothing to do!). My mother and I ended up taking a 2 hour nap, which I needed since I got up at 0530 to check on the cats who were still afraid of the thunder.

This was the first time we have been unable to kayak due to weather.

BOOM!

Ye cats and little fishes! Last night, a dreadfully loud 2-hour thunder storm came through the whole region. I don't usually mind storms, but I really really wanted to sleep!

It showed up in my area around midnight, and woke me up from a deep, dreaming, restful, rejuvenating sleep (you know, the kind everyone should have every night but I only get once every 2 or three years). So, I wandered down to check on the cats, and Miss Luna came running up to me, "MEOW! MEOW!" I held her for a little bit, and she was shaking all over, and purring, and trying to sleep. Her eyes would snap open after ever clap of thunder (which was frequent and house-shaking loud). Callie was alright, but she purred and clawed at me every time the thunder rolled.

The storm passed around 0200. You can imagine, we're all zombies here today!

Summertime!

Happy Litha, Midsummer, Summer Solstice, whatever you want to call it!

So Cute!

There was a little thunderstorm last night. I've never had a cat that liked the thunder, and when we were going to bed, Miss Luna was very unhappy. I took her upstairs (figuring she'd want to be where the people were) and put her on a dresser in front of a window where she sometimes sleeps. Before I could close the curtain, she turned towards the window and HISSED! It was so cute, to see this little black cat trying to scare the loud storm away. She ended up running downstairs, I don't think the storm was intimidated!

One Year More

Happy Birthday, Turtle!

As You Like It

Congratulations Shelly and Jim!

One Year, One Day

Do you remember where I was a year and a day ago?

Yak and Sail

I got to take the kayak and brand-new sail out! It was great, there was plenty of wind, and it really helped that I know a bit about sailing! We were out for a little more than an hour. Jug Bay is the perfect place for a small craft to sail! I hope we'll get a chance to do it again soon! And Fox will need some sail positioning instructions, but that's partially why he comes with us on Wednesdays.

Relations

I've talked about the little group of ladies that I normally have lunch with, right? I came to a realization yesterday.

Usually, our lunch consists of 3 to 6 people (including myself). The smaller the group, the better time I seem to have. I think that's because the table is very small, there is no such thing as a side conversation. Whatever one person wants to talk about will be the conversation for everyone. And some people are conversation dominators who like to fill their stories with a lot of irrelevant information and never let anyone make a comment on content.

Not getting a word in edgewise aside, I've started to realize that this little lunch group is just something to distract me from getting any of my side work done. I don't really contribute to the conversations, in fact I really don't relate to most of them at all. My work situation is mostly favorable, so I don't like hearing people complaining about theirs (it brings me down too, and I don't want to be there. That's reasonable, I think). Despite the talking to we've had in the past, people will still complain about work. Sometimes the conversation goes to houses and apartments. I still live with my parents, other then stating that I can't afford to live on my own because it's too expensive, I have nothing to contribute when the discussion goes that way. Only one other person in the group is without a significant other, so people talking about their husbands/fiancés gets a little annoying. It's kind of like a big spotlight on me with a voice screaming "Airyn has no one, hahaha!" Ok, I know that's not really what they mean, but it's hard not to feel that way. Absolutely every time I'm out doing all the things I like to do, I'm with at least one married (or soon to be) person. Maybe part of the annoyance here is not that I can't relate to them, but that they also can't relate to me. They already have their someone, so all they really have left to do is laugh at my copy of Online Dating for Dummies.

The way I've been feeling lately is probably not from the lunch group, honestly. I like those ladies quite a bit. The fact of the matter is I'm not getting any younger and I'm never in a situation to meet anyone, so any hope I ever had of a family of my own is fast running away. (And all you people who want to say 'you're still young' need to get bent. I'm 26 years old, people my age and younger are already married or will be soon, and I haven't had even a boyfriend since 1999. With no prospects now, time isn't going to stop while I look for one.) I'm really ok with that, except that my one income is not enough to sustain me. I do have a friend who might be able to help me figure out how much house I can afford and then figure out where such houses are. Granted, it probably wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for my refusal to rent. I just can't justify spending all that money and having nothing. Some people can do it, and that's great for them, but I just can't.

I'm going to stop there. This little ranting session was brought to you by a down moment. I really am a generally happy person. Really.

Pow Wows and Sails

Well, the Piscataway Indian Festival on Saturday was more like a neat-things craft fair, somewhat expected but not all that interesting. But I've gone and seen it, so now I don't have to go again.

We didn't make it to the Greek festival on Sunday, but Fox and I did buy sails for our kayaks. I would have tried it out but a migraine came on and grounded me for the night. No problem, I'll play with it next time. Mine is pretty white and silver, and it matches my kayak. Now I have a sail boat of my very own!

Drip Drip Drip

What a night! Lots of wind, long course, and me on the only side of the boat that spent most of the night taking on water. Actually, it was mostly just me taking on water, since the boat has drain holes. The race ended with me soaked, but everyone else was ok! How's that for a good time?