The Best Ones

I love giving out candy on Halloween. Mostly because I love the little ones who come up to the door in the most adorable costumes so that it takes all my will power not to go "Awwwww...cute!" Sometimes I wait til the door is closed and do that anyway! So here are my top 3 favorites from last night.

1. A little boy about 6 or so that I gave a Kit Kat. He turned to his mom on the sidewalk and shouted, "Mom, look! It's my favorite!!"
2. A little ladybug with sparkly boots who got pulled out of her stroller right at the end of my porch. When her mom put her down, she was more interested in using her new-found freedom to try running off the porch instead of coming to get candy. When I got down on her level and offered her a box of Milk Duds, we became fast friends.
3. One little guy who came up to the door with his big brothers and sisters. They had got the doorbell and I was handing out candy, and this little guy wanted more than anything to ring the doorbell! That big glowing light on the door frame was more exciting than anything I could give him. It made me sad he was too little to reach it!! I tried to pick him up to get him higher, but that freaked him out more than anything and he forgot he wanted to hit the button.

Here were the least favorite.

1. Two women who looked like they were in their 30's. No kids with them. Seriously?
2. The teenager who towered over me and when I went put a piece in his bag, he leaned over and looked in my bucket to see what else I had. Hmm.

Things That Make Me Excited

I get to go trunk-or-treating tonight with the munchkins. And this was 5 years ago...but she and her brother are still cute as a button when they are dressed up.

Tomorrow (if the last couple years are a good indicator) we will have a long string of little tykes in costume ring our door bell. Half of them will shout "Trick-or-treat" in chorus when the door is opened. The other half will stare in wide-eyed terror and maybe choke out a whispered "thank you" when they are prompted by their accompanying parent. I love Halloween!

My nephew turns 4 this weekend. And we get to celebrate. It is going to be a good week!

Just For Fun

The weather can't decide if it wants to be Summer, Fall, or Winter. Frankenstorm is headed toward the East Coast. Halloween is this week. I have been reading fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm.

For these, and other random reasons, here is a list of things that are wonderful.

1. Turtleneck sweaters on a cold day.
2. Watching snow fall in front of a window.
3. The belly laugh of a little kid.
4. Warm blankets and a cold nose.
5. Popcorn smells a little like happiness.
6. Hearing a song that instantly makes you smile.

Photos from the Bay

Last week I had the chance to head to California for work. I spent a couple of days in and around San Francisco. In between work, I was fortunate to capture some pictures of one of my favorite cities by the Bay.

Since I can't quite figure out yet how to get my Flickr photos to show up here, this is a shortcut to the album.
 Bay Area Photos, September 2012


One day I'll have this technology thing figured out!! Just not today...

Ode to Dilbert

I don't know copyright law, and that seems like a lot to research on a Friday. So all of the comics I have posted on my cubicle wall will stay there instead of working their way to this virtual wall on the blog. But I have to say that on a regular, frequent, nearly daily basis, the writers of Dilbert make me giggle. Some days its a guffaw. Some days its a belly laugh. I've chuckled. I've laughed so hard I've cried. I think it is because I recognize in them the same sarcastic sense of humor that resides deep in my soul.

Here are some of the lines that make me giggle every time I read them. Context is everything, but these are funny on their own.

• Tell the spiders living in your skull that we'll look into it.
• I wonder what it's like to have squirells living in your brain?
• You sound like an asthmatic rhinocerous rampaging a cracker festival.
• Attention all employees. The stain is on the move. I repeat, the stain is on the move!
• Would you say you worship satan or do you simply respect his no-nonsense approach to discipline?
• Ow! Ow! It's so boring, it hurts my head! My brain is trying to escape through my ear!
• One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough [Dr. Pepper].
• I just lost a good glue stick, but I gained a few hours of quiet.
• I no longer worry about life passing too quickly.

Of Spiders and Saviors

Yesterday was an interesting and funny day. By interesting I mean I pretty much wanted to die, and by funny I mean I got scared enough for my heart to stop just a little.

One of the absolute best things about my job is my co-workers. They are awesome. They are amazing. They take great delight in picking on me. But don't worry, I suppress my natural instincts to be a fragile desert flower and I fight back. Maybe just occasionally, I start the battle.

Yesterday I was working with two of these guys, and we had some equipment to check outside. As they were working, one turns to me and says, "Hey, will you grab my keys and open up that enclosure? It is the key right on top." Being the good little worker I am, I grabbed the keys and went to wrestle my way into this particular box. As I pulled the front off, there about 6 inches from my face is the biggest freaking spider ever to walk the earth.

I'd post a picture here, but I don't have a camera with a wide enough lens. You can use your imagination. At this point a VERY mild expletive escaped my lips. One that I would say to my grandma or my 3-year-old nephew.

So there I am, staring this spider down. And it's winning. The thing is smack dab in the middle of it's web with the lifeless form of a smaller and less fortunate spider gripped in its little pincers, sucking the life out of it. Meanwhile, I have stopped breathing. And I'm afraid to move because spider-zilla might decide I am a tastier treat that what it has already. About the time my heart decides to start beating again, I look up and my co-worker is shaking so hard with laughter I think he's going to hurt something. So I did what anyone would do who has recently come back from a near death experience. I kicked him. When he stopped laughing enough to be able to speak again, he said, "Best. Response. Ever. You just made my day!" And I exercised a little restraint and didn't kick him again.

Story #2

Have you ever been driving somewhere and you don't really want to stop for gas? It just doesn't work well into the schedule. Have you ever pushed it to the limit, and made it to your destination just as your gas light comes on? It is kind of gratifying (and a little scary) when you know your car well enough to know exactly how far you can go. Have you ever made it to that destination far away from your home, pulled in to get gas, and realized your wallet is not with you? That every method of payment or cash you have available is roughly 2 gallons of gas away and you are running on fumes? If you haven't had this experience, then you have also never know the relief that comes from knowing you have someone to call. And hearing them say, "I'll be right there."

It is good to have friends. It is good to be loved!!

Broadway Tunes

I always have a hard time picking a "favorite." Take music, for instance. To me it feels like I am excluding so many good options by saying, "My favorite kind of music is ______." There is no right answer to that. Some days I am in the mood for country. Other days have a more classical vibe. Other days I need to blast back to tunes that remind me of high school days. If I'm cleaning or working out, I might need a good beat to get me moving. How do you pick just one when there are SO MANY good options for music?

With that intro, I have days where I like a good Broadway or musical tune. It can almost be like listening to a story, but one with a good soundtrack. And even though I can't use the word "favorite," here are some songs I love listening to over and over.

Jekyll and Hyde - I get chills every time I listen to "First Transformation" and "Alive." If you know the story, this is where Hyde makes his first appearance. And the very last word of "First Transformation" is the climax that leads right into "Alive" which is why I have to listen to them together.

Notre Dame de Paris - When Disney released The Hunchback of Notre Dame as a kid's cartoon, I boycotted on principle. I have no idea how to take a story so dark and twisted and make it something suitable for children. This music much more closely follows the complex story as written by Victor Hugo. I love "Belle" because all three men sing about the same woman. Their feelings range from infatuation to obsession, and I'm not sure that anyone even comes close to love.

Across The Universe - Not technically a Broadway soundtrack. But I really like some of the Beatles remixes. One of my favorite is "Let It Be." It's more powerful if you have seen the movie, but I'm not sure I would recommend watching all of it just for that scene. An inner city choir sings this rendition, and the main soloist is a cherub-faced boy. If you watched it and weren't crying by the end, you might not be all the way human.

Phantom of the Opera - "Past the Point of No Return." I realize this may not be considered one of the power songs in the lineup. But there is something about the way this particular song blurs the lines between fiction and reality for the characters who are singing.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Alison Krauss is always amazing, and hearing her sing harmony on "Down To The River to Pray" just makes gospel music hit me in the soul!

That's all I have for now.