Monday, September 14, 2009

Good Fortune Will Come Your Way

Or maybe I should call this another weird moment. It will be anyway. I have a confession to make. I'm addicted to Panda Express' Orange Chicken. Almost every Saturday for the past year has been lunch with The Panda. The only variations were either getting an egg roll or the veggie spring rolls. The best part (not really) is the fortune cookie at the end of the meal. I saved almost all those fortunes - hence, the weird part. I give you in no particular order, my fortunes complete with commentary.


1) "Your ability for accomplishment will follow with success". Um, duh.

2) "Don't let unexpected situations 'throw' you." Hmm. If you expect them, can you still be thrown by them? (The quotation marks are theirs, not mine.)

3) "You are humorous and cheerful with good friends." As opposed to sulking and surly with not so good friends. Bad friends? Oh let's not go there.

4) "Good things are coming to you." Thanks! I'm anxiously awaiting their arrivals. Please tell me that they aren't C.O.D.

5) "Success will come to your plans." Doesn't this kind of go with the first one?

6) "Good news is coming your way - It will be here any day." I really wish I had written the date on that one. It would have been nice to have recorded the good news to which this refers.

7) "You are extremely generous and always thinking of others." That might sound like a good thing, but not if you never think of yourself. But I am both those things. And modest.

8) "A treasured friend will soon visit you." Again, a date on this one would have been helpful. I'd hate to think I wasted a fortune on a so-so friend.

9) "Your sense of humor will get you through difficult times." It always has. Frequently at the most inopportune times. A funeral or two comes to mind.

10) "A friends success will benefit you." You know who you are... and I'm thanking you in advance.

11) "Stick to the basics, be weary of novelties." Do you think they meant wary? Novelties do make me weary though. Paris Hilton anyone?

12) "You attract cultured and artistic people." And you all should know better by now to stop hanging out with the likes of me.

Wow. Only twelve fortunes. Maybe I didn't eat there every Saturday after all or I threw out repeated fortunes. It's been at least a month since my last Orange Chicken. It's a little harder to get to since I don't work at the Crate anymore. I may have to do a road-trip lunch soon.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

1st Anniversary

It was one year ago today that I published my first blog entry. I wasn't sure what to expect doing a blog... If there would be anybody reading it. If it would prove to be of any value to me (or anyone else for that matter.) I wasn't even sure if I would have anything to say past the first few posts.

But as it turns out, I've had some things to say over the last year. Quite a few things as it turns out. Counting this one, I've had 50 occasions to say something. For those who are keeping count, there are seven that I haven't published. A few of them were variations of other posts. Some of them were just so incomplete that they aren't more than a random thought put down. And the rest came from a place so dark that there isn't any chance of them seeing the light of day.

This blog has seen over 2300 visitors in the past year. The biggest number of hits to anything has been when I posted pictures of Riley from last Halloween. But the posts that have received the most comments from people are the ones where I open up about myself and the places and times that have made me who I am. There was a period of time - almost exactly three months - at the first of the year when I couldn't write anything. I wrote one post during that time that is so dark that I have a hard time reading it let alone subjecting anyone else to it. I guess that statement says even more about the person that I am.

My point is (did I have one?) that I've really enjoyed doing this over the past year. I've received some great encouragement from people who have stumbled on to this blog. I hope those of you who are entertained by my ramblings continue to do so. And I hope to hear from you from time to time over the coming years.

Thank you.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Weird Moments: 2

Years ago, while I was a student (for the umpteenth time) at Ball State, I would get around by bicycle because I couldn't afford a car. It was then that I developed my habit of finding the shortest way from point A to point B. Or point A to points C, M, or W. In this case W was work. I also discovered that the shortest distance between these two points was also the safest for a person on two wheels after a close encounter with an angry driver.

On one of my late afternoon trips to work, a driver decided that she could turn right (in front of me) as I was riding through the intersection. She was in a hurry and apparently I was in her way, which she informed me of after she knocked me over when the rear bumper of her car clipped my bike tire and knocked me to the curb. It was so nice that she took the time to stop her car and inform me of that in some choice words before speeding away to whatever important matter she was late for. Never mind that I had the right of way. So I arrived to work late with torn pants, gravel in the heal of my right hand and a determination to find a better way to get to work.

A few trial runs, some exploring of where parking lots had entrances and exits, and I had my shortcut to work. The trip took me through numerous side streets, two campus parking lots and the rear entrance to a strip mall. It not only kept me off some of the busier streets and out of their intersections, the shortcut also cut fifteen minutes from my time.

On one of those trips is when the weird moment happened. I was riding through the parking lot just east of University Gym (or whatever they call it now) when I heard this strange noise in the wooded area between the lot and the homes abutting campus. It wasn't until I got a little closer that I found out that it was a guy walking through the woods, playing his bagpipes. Thankfully he wasn't in a kilt. Honestly, how often does someone hear the bagpipes outside of a parade route or the occasional police funeral?

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Weird Moments: 1

Yesterday, I took my lunch outside at one of the picnic tables. Just a simple salad, hummus and crispbread. Luckily there wasn't anyone out there and I was free to read the book I had also brought with me. It's one I've been trying to read off and on for years now and I've proceeded further into the story than I ever have before. "A Prayer for Owen Meany" which many people have praised and I've tried slogging through for over some 17 years. And before you ask, yes, I'm liking it better this time. But that's not my story.

It was your typical late Indiana summer afternoon with crickets chirping and the ratcheting of cicadas in the background. Since I was at the back of the building, I wasn't hearing too much traffic noise. The view isn't that great back there. Your vista is out over asphalt lots half full with cars to sun dried grass lots in an industrial park. It was so quiet and peaceful that it was almost like being in the country. I forgot for a while that I was at work and on the edge of the city. In my mind, I half expected a tractor to come grumbling by.

And that's when the weirdness happened. Off from a great distance, the sound echoing through the clearness, came these three words: "TIN ROOF, rusted." Yes, from the classic B-52's anthem "Love Shack." Nothing proceeding those words, nothing after. Weird. And yes, the damn song has been running rampant through my head ever since. Damn it.