That’s the Best Idea You Have?

I just finished reading an article about the outbreak of equine flu in Mexico City. Their flu cases tripled in March/Arpil which they attributed to a late season flu. Then they noticed that people who normally don’t die from a flu infection (20-40 year olds) were dying. So, finally, Mexico decided to send off samples from the patients and it was discovered that it’s a new strain from pigs that humans don’t have any immunity to.

Okay, so now there have been cases in Kansas and Texas and possibly NYC. The interesting thing is what the Health Department in Mexico City (population 20 million) told its citizens to do to prevent infection: “always stay at least 6 feet away from another person”.
Seriously?! That’s the best idea you have? You can’t stay 6 feet away from other people in Mexico City or New York City unless you plan never to leave your home! What about the Subway and buses and taxis and standing on the corner of a street waiting to cross? I guess I’ll just have to hope that the NYC case is not actually this pig flu because if it is, it will only take about 2 days to get us all since we are all so close to one another all the time.

What a great time to be leaving the country. Sorry Meghan, I hope you don’t get it while I’m gone.

 

Groundhog Day

Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you a story about actual groundhog day. Rather, today’s blog is about how eerily similar the last three days have been for me. I planned my work schedule around the Masters so I could see every last second of it. I also had to do 3 weeks worth of school work in these 4 days due to my complete absence from my home in the month of May.

So, every day, I have woken up, turned on the Masters and started reading my psych books, typing up papers and researching studies done on my topics. I usually spend the entire Masters coverage doing my schoolwork (3:30-7:30). Then, when my brain stops caring about addiction, postpartum depression, and body image, I stop and eat some dinner and then watch the Yankee game of that particular day. Then, after my mental break I do different activities including learning how to use my new camera, cleaing out my closet, planning some more of our trip, etc. So, while the ends of my days have been different, the beginnings have been shockingly identical. I bring this up today because yesterday, I had no concept of what day it was. I thought about it and decided it must be Sunday and that I must work tomorrow. But, it was not Sunday and I did not work tomorrow (today). My advice to you, when needing to watch golf and be extremely academically productive, don’t schedule all of these same days in a row. It’s confusing and makes you feel like you are living in a golf/psychology bubble that no one can penetrate and that you can’t leave. It’s a little weird. With that said, I have been extremely productive this odd weekend and am very pleased with my progress. Thanks to my awesome work, not only did I do the work for the weeks Zak and I are in Europe, but I also did the work for the week I am in Oklahoma for Kyle’s graduation. So, the month of May which I thought was going to be all travelling and all school work is now looking to be all travelling and just a little school work-a huge improvement.

So, since it’s not actually Groundhog Day, I wish you all a happy Easter. I hope someone at ham and cheese potatoes and a cadbury egg in my honor since I did not.

 

Today

Okay, this is the second edition of this post. The first one, if any of you read it between 1 and 4 am was a little forlorn and perahps would have made some of you wonder if I was planning to kill myself on my 27th birthday. So, I decided to edit this and make it a little less melancholy.

As most of you know, I do not like my birthday. I will list below the reasons for those of you that don’t know and those of you who need a refresher:

1. 14th birthday: This was a crappy month of March. We had spent the first week of March in Michigan saying goodbye to Grandma Genow since she was dying of lung cancer. Then we came back to Oklahoma to wait for that to happen. So, it’s Friday, the weekend before my birthday. My friends are throwing me a party that night. I’d like to tell you how that party went but I can’t because round about 1pm at school that day, Mom strolls into the principals office to tell me Grandma is close to dying and we are leaving right then to go back to Michigan. So, we get to Michigan (not the best 18 hours I’ve ever spent in a car) and play the waiting game. And why do we have to wait? Because of my birthday. Everyone keeps saying Grandma is waiting to die until after my birthday. And while they say this like it’s a good thing, it sure didn’t seem that way at the time. And instead of the party with my friends, we had cake and opened presents on my birthday in the dining room of my grandmas house, in full view of the living room where she was lying in her hospice bed. (sorry to re-open this wound, family members, but it’s the biggest part of why I hate this day)

2. 22nd birthday: (another bummer, family) In December before my birthday, I had gotten the flu for the first (and sadly not the last) time and it knocked me on my ass. I still don’t remember most of that week. Unfortunately (as I’ve blogged on before) Aunt Marge died that week and I barely remember that trip to Michigan or her funeral. And while not remembering this really sucky event has it’s upsides, it also had one serious downside that reared its ugly head on my birthday. It was senior year of college and instead of being somewhere awesome for my last spring break, I was in Mexico with my nursing class and my least favorite nursing professor working in a border clinic as part of clinicals for that semester. Ugh. So, on top of that crap cake came the following crap icing: Grandma Sally calls me in the afternoon to wish me happy birthday and she asks me who else I have talked to and I list the people but then say how surprised I am that Aunt Marge hasn’t called yet because she always calls so early on our birthdays to catch us before we go to school. To which my poor Grandma Sally has to reply, after a bit of a pause, “Brianne, Aunt Marge is dead”. Yep, imagine getting that news on your birthday and I’m sad to say that it was news. It’s like the fact of her dying had been eaten by the flu virus and I sat there in my sad little Mexico hotel room, crying.

Now, I know these are only two birthdays in the 27 that I have had, but they were pretty bad ones and I just can’t seem to like my birthday as a result. It’s probably some subconscious fear that someone else will be dying on that day that makes me want to tuck my head into my shell (don’t you wish you had a shell like a turtle sometimes?) and wait out the day and then move on with my life on the 18th.

So, my apologies to those of you who like the birthday pomp and have to de-pomp on this day (Lisa). And my many thanks to those of you who have gone above and beyond the call of understanding and provided me with two of the simplest and best birthdays I’ve ever had:

1. Amber for providing me with my best birthday ever, #23 where just the two of us got wasted at Hudson’s while watching March Madness, took our picture with every person in the bar, then went home for some CSI: The Board Game. (don’t mock it, it’s hard).  

2. And Meghan for birthday #26 where we applied fake tattoos (you know, like you do) and had a yummy dinner with some drinking, went to see Horton Hears a Who and then came home to open presents and have cake. Simple, quite, no hats or streamers and nobody died or tried to die or had to tell me someone had died.

Uh, remember in the opening paragraph where I said this edited version was less melancholy? I bet you’re really wondering what the first version was like.

So, a big thank you to all of you for your calls, cards, gifts, texts, etc this day even though I make it hard to do. You’re all great pals. Here are some birthday stats so far since everything is a competition:

First Birthday Text: Mindy Briggs

First Birthday Phone Call: Amber Turley (who wisely thought to call at 11:53 eastern time to ensure that she was on the phone with me the minute it became my birthday)

Tried to be the First Birthday Phone Call: John (who did not realize that crafty Amber was planning for this scenario)

First Birthday Card: Mom

First Birthday Wish in Person: Ezra’s mom who was the first person to see me this day as I was at work last night.

First Birthday Blog Shout-Out: Still up for grabs.

First Birthday E-Mail: Also still up for grabs.

Now, while you don’t actually get anything for being first in a said category, you do get the satisfaction of winning which is plenty for the Brianne’s, Amber’s and Zak’s of the world.

So, I again apologize (particulary to Dad) for this bummer of a post, but now you all understand where my head is on this particular day and why I often screen all calls and look mad when people mention that it’s my birthday.

So, Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Happy My 27th Birthday to you all! (Um, Dad, how old does this make you feel? My guess is ancient!)

 

The End of the End

Ho hum and boo hoo, dear readers. Today is the last day that I will see my good friends Erica and Sean for who knows how long. They are having a final party tonight and then are off on adventures unknown across our fine country for a period of some months. It’s all very exciting and I know they will have a great time, but I am nonetheless feeling that sad feeling you feel when someone you love goes away. However, I will callous up because I have a busy day:

1. Zak and I are seeing Friday the 13th at 11:00 am (yes, early for us night shifters) because it’s only $6 before noon and in these tough economic times it’s the right thing to do.

2. Then home for a nap. (yes, she’s 26 and napping in the middle of the day. she parties hard!)

3. Lisa, Julie and I are going to eat at one of my favorite places, The Tibetan Kitchen. Yes! Veggie dumplings here I come.

4. Then we are headed to Jersey (BOO!) for Sean and Ericas farewell party. The theme is “The End of the End” and it is supposed to be post-apocolyptic themed. However, I am thinking that Lisa and I will dress as if we were going to a funeral. You know, all black with black hats with the black mesh stuff that hangs over your face. I think that will be appropriate for our mood and also I imagine that post-apocolyptic earth will be a bit funereal so I think it would fit the theme as well. Pictures to come tomorrow.

So, a busy day for one and all. And if anyone knows where to get a hat like the one I described above, please let me know.

 

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas Eve is far and away my favorite day of the year. Going to church in Moore or Unionville, singing Christmas hymns, the anticipation of the next day. It’s just such a great day.

Christmas Eve in Moore: when in Moore we watch The Santa Clause and City Slickers and eat our traditional Long John Silvers meal before going to late night church and seeing the worst interpretive dance in the history of time performed by the same not so good dancer to the same wretched song. And yet, it has become such a part of Christmas that I yearn for if when I am not in Oklahoma for it.

When in Michigan: service at grandmas church with the singing of Morning Star and Maren and I singing our own made up words. Then the after party at Aunt Sandras and Snow, Snow, Snow.

Last year in NYC: Zak, Zaks mom and I Christmased here last year. On the Eve we went to see The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular,

went to briannes favorite place in the city, Top of the Rock,

had the best turkey burgers ever (Zak and I still talk about them) and saw Sweeney Todd at the movies.

We had a great time (do these photos of us and our view finder friend look familiar?)

  

I mean, come on, Rockettes, turkey burger, movie musical about a murderous barber and the Target Breezeway?! That’s the dream, right?

Here’s wishing you all a Spectacular Best Day of the Year!

And as this is possible beyond the grave blogging, feel free to remember me happily hugging this metal man atop Rockefeller center. I do so love him and it.

 

The Damn Postal Service!

I mean, seriously, what’s with the every other day stamp increases? Didn’t we just jump up to 41 cents? Did they not foresee that they would be doing this shortly thereafter? Couldn’t they have just made the jump to 42 cents and then left us the hell alone for a while? Stupid Bastards!

It is for this reason that I have been going a little overboard (if you can imagine that I would do that) when it comes to buying the “forever stamps”. You know, those ugly ones with the liberty bell that you can use forever no matter what the price when you bought them or when you use them. That’s right, it’s 2008 and I’ve been stocking up on the forever stamps since late 2007 all with the plan to make the post office rue the day! The best part of my plan is how long term it is. I’m not going to use the 41 cent forever stamps now that the stamps cost one teeny tiny cent more. NO! My revenge will not be taken out one penny at a time.  I’m going to wait….and wait…..and wait….Years will pass. Stamp prices will continue to increase. Half a dollar. A dollar. A dollar fifty…and ever up and up. And then, and only then, when the prices are well over a dollar will Brianne’s Postal Service Revenge Plan go into action. I will then start using my 41 cent stamps with all my mail (and I send a lot of mail)! Ha!

Perhaps some of you are thinking that the post office will never know that I am screwing them over because the forever stamps don’t have the amount paid for them written on them. This is true. This is where phase two comes in. I am going to write on the envelope that I only paid 41 cents for them. Read it and weep postal workers of ten years from now! Read it and weep!

Wondering how many 41 cent forever stamps I have? I’m proud to say that I have 200 in water proof envelopes clearly labeled with the year in which they were purchased and for what price! This is quite a task as they don’t sell rolls of 100 forever stamps because they don’t want anyone to be brilliant like me and take advantage of their idiocy! Well, you’ve under estimated the wrong angry postal customer!

Some people, say my mom, might think this is silly and a sad commentary on the way I think. But I’m hoping someone out there will recognize the planning, organization, commitment to excellence and general awesomeness that goes into a plan that I know will not come to fruition for at least a decade. You know, they do say that revenge is a dish best served cold. And won’t the post office be shocked at this frozen bit of revenge when it bites them in the ass in 2018?

I was originally going to post this the day the stamp price changed, but Meghan suggested I do it now to give you all the opportunity to buy 41 cent forever stamps and to jump on board with my plan to stick it to the post office. Just think about it….Brings tears to the eyes, doesn’t it?