Not a good start to the day...

For reasons I do not understand, my alarm clock didn’t go off this morning. When I checked, it was set for 7:45 AM, like normal. And, yet…nothing.

I woke up at 9:12, and only then because I could hear the Toolson’s yelling at Jet in the driveway.

I hate oversleeping, because nothing makes any sense:

My Brain – “9:12? Why does the clock say 9:12? That can’t be right. I’ll check my cell phone. Hmmmmm…9:13. Wait, 9:13! I was supposed to be at work 13 minutes ago. Sh*t!”

Leaping out of bed in nothing short of a frenzy, I somehow managed to feed the dogs, dress myself, and get my stuff loaded into the car by 9:25. I was at work six minutes later.

And, yet, I am not awake. I think it has something to do with the fact that I was sound asleep in my bed less than an hour ago. My body may be moving, but my mind is still very much asleep. And I have a meeting that starts in less than three minutes that I need to be very much awake for.

Thank goodness for coffee…

One month and counting...

Apparently, the State Fair of Texas will be frying up jellybeans this year.

Ew.

Dude, it's too early on a Monday for stuff like this...

The Cotton Bowl is either on fire or is about to lift off into outer space. I’m not sure which, but the weird alarm that keeps going off is about to drive me insane. Not that I work anywhere near the Cotton Bowl or anything…

…Yeah, whatever.

Anyway, there are these three loud "whoop" noises followed by some sort of prerecorded voice that says something before another three whoops. It almost sounds like Danielle Rousseau’s radio transmission on the TV Show LOST, if that makes any sense.

One of my coworkers just came into my office and told me that if something really is wrong with the Cotton Bowl, she’s out of here. I’d probably be more concerned if I didn’t see a small army of landscapers busily mowing the grass right outside the Cotton Bowl’s walls. Of course, the obvious lack of personnel (cops, firemen, alarm techs, City of Dallas repair guys) IS a little disconcerting. Like that time two or three years ago when the museum’s fire alarm went off following a campus-wide power failure. A day and a half later, two firemen came bursting into the building in full fire-fighting attire asking if we were all okay. The security guard just looked at them, blinked and replied, “Uhmmm, yeah. We’re good. Alarm was turned off yesterday. Glad to know you guys are on top of things.”

Not that I blame the fire department, mind you. They are only as good as the information they are provided. The City, however, is a different story. Grumble, grumble.

And the alarm continues to go off…

Quick Question (or two)...

Is it weird that I want my dogs in my wedding?

I mean, LOOK at them! They are already wearing cute, little tuxes!




Okay, fine. It IS a little weird. But I still want them there. Make fun of me all you want.

I don't suppose anyone out there knows of a nice dog friendly church or wedding venue here in Dallas?

Sigh. Maybe I should look into getting married on St. Francis Day, 2009?

Although, a quick Google search (dog friendly weddings + Dallas) did reveal THIS. Not sure if the information provided is necessarily helpful, but I am glad to know that the Hotel Palomar will loan me “a gold fish companion” if I ever find myself lonely and staying in their hotel.

A quote I can relate to (especially THIS week)...

"People. Can't live with 'em, Can't legally set fire to 'em."

- Sheree Schrager

A Quick Note To All The Crazies Out There…

When calling your local historical society, please refrain from yelling for two and a half hours at the lowly educator. No amount of threatening, screaming or cussing will change the fact that the resident educator most likely loves the subject of history, believes in saving and preserving local memory and thinks that cemeteries – no matter their size or how inconveniently located they might be to your back fence – are amazing genealogical resources that should be protected and maintained.

It is unrealistic to think that you will change the educator’s mind and/or gain the educator’s support when it comes to topics like…I dunno, building on top of the cemetery and/or petitioning local government to prevent a bronze marker declaring the cemetery to one of historical relevance from being installed. Similarly, do not expect the educator to agree or “be okay with” the fact that someone broke and buried most (if not all) of the headstones and markers thirty some odd years ago. Just because someone tried to remove all evidence of the cemetery, does not mean the cemetery ceased to exist or that the local historical society forgot about it. It is, after all, the society’s job to remember such “inconvenient” details like tiny, nearly forgotten cemeteries in local neighborhoods. Guess what? Both the city and the county remember it, too. Why don’t you call them and let your local history educator off the hook?

Please do not be surprised if your local history educator supports efforts to dig up the buried tombstone and marker pieces and try and restore – or, at the very least, DOCUMENT – as many names, dates and relationships as possible to the appropriate burial sites. Those graves were there long before you were a twinkle in your great grandfather’s eye. In fact, like it or not, the cemetery was there for more than a century before you moved in next to it. No one made you live near it. You chose to. Don’t burden your local history educator with all the reasons why living next to a cemetery is bad. If you don’t like it – move. It will make everyone’s life a little bit easier. Especially, your local history educator’s.

And, no. Unearthing bits and pieces of buried tombstone is not the same as disturbing a grave. Your local history educator does not get paid enough to explain this to you again. The first ten times should have sufficed.

Thank you,
The Management

Caution: Read At Your Own Risk!

This is absolutely REVOLTING, but I have to share (you just can’t keep things like this to yourself).

I normally use the restroom located just off the museum’s board room when (ahem) nature calls. My office is relatively close to the board room, and it keeps me from having to leave the secure employee area for the staff bathroom on the far end of one of the museum’s galleries.

However, this morning there was an interview going on in the board room, which kept me from accessing my normal facility. Thanks to two cups of coffee and a large glass of water, waiting for the interview to be over was not an option. Consequently, I opted to head down the hall to the staff bathroom (lest I explode).

Upon entering the staff restroom (which is unisex, by the way), it was clear that someone had deposited a “major package” at some point in the not so distant past. This someone had gone to great lengths to cover up the odor by spraying a whole heck of a lot of air freshener in the small, poorly ventilated room. Despite the overwhelming smell of condensed potpourri (coupled with the unmistakable aroma of poo just below the surface), I appreciated the effort made to disguise what must have been quite the stench.

Without further ado, I quickly got around to completing my business (i.e. peeing). And was in the process of reaching for the toilet paper when I stopped dead in my tracks. On the first sheet/square of toilet tissue - right smack dab in the center - was a perfectly formed thumb print…IN POO.

This discovery was followed by much gagging.

I briefly considered the careful removal of the incriminating evidence for thumb print analysis. Mainly because I really want to know WHO left it there. Because – EW! Whose bathroom etiquette is SO lacking that thumb prints in poo are left behind? That person should be subjected to…well, SOMETHING! A mild beating, perhaps? Or, at least, public humiliation!

In the end, I simply removed the square in question (along with almost half the remaining roll. I didn’t want to risk missing any more evidence!), and flushed it down the commode.

I just hope that whoever left the thumb print washed his/her hands thoroughly before leaving (I know I did!).

Oy, gag, gag, gag!

I swear…some people!

Bueno!

Hi!

I’m back – just absolutely swamped. At work this week, I have literately only been at my desk for just under three hours. Total. I’m averaging less than an hour a day. The vast majority of my time has been spent overseeing museum programs and attending meeting (after meeting, after meeting). Needless to say, I am about ready for a vacation from returning from my vacation. Craziness. Absolute craziness.

Anyway, I figured I’d check in and say hello and let everyone know that I’m back, and that I plan on posting again soon. Or, rather, I have aspirations to Blog again if/when things finally calm down a bit. I have a lot of photos from my trip to Colorado that I want to share with all you metapeeps. Sigh…I wish I was back there now. Nothing makes you feel the Texas heat more than two weeks in the mountains. The temperature in Dallas right now is ridiculous. That’s August in Texas for you, though (grumble, grumble).

What else? Hmmmmm…not much is new. Had a birthday on 08-08-08, which was kind of neat (even if the Olympics did steal my birthday thunder). I spent it hiking in the mountains with my puppies and on a glider ride high above the town of Durango. Very awesome.

Other than that, though, it was a pretty relaxing vacation. Good times with good friends in a beautiful mountain setting.

Oh, and Trevor and I got engaged…