Stormy Starts...

Today began with a rather nasty storm. It’s been very hot here for the past couple of weeks and also very humid so a storm was not a surprise. It started thundering in the night, tapered off and then started back up just as I was getting ready for work.

It was the type of storm which makes the sky so dark, it seems like nighttime. The lightning was coming down in every direction- bright gashes that stretched from sky to ground. The rain started to pour. I was rather happy about the rain- my garden sorely needed it and watering with the hose just isn’t the same.

The only probably was that I had two rather jumpy dachshunds who are a little schizophrenic when it comes to storms. Sometimes, when we have a storm and I’m home, they run outside at the first sound of thunder and seem to take delight in capering around under the lightning filled skies. Last time we had a storm, Rory ran out into the pouring rain and gleefully came inside, soaked from head to toes just a few minutes later.

Today, however, both dogs were very skittish. Rory followed me around like, well, a lost puppy and Sookie was not far behind. Then Rory did her strange trick of jumping up with all four feet off the ground in front of my knees. This trick means that she wants me to catch her mid jump, scoop her up and cuddle her. It is a little odd, I admit but it’s rather adorable. When I did catch her, she immediately snuggled up to me, put her little head on my shoulder and just let me hold her. Of course, then I had to do the same with Sookie because otherwise, she’ll slink off and sulk.

Naturally, it made it rather hard to come to work. I’d much rather have stayed home and cuddled a couple of pups, kicked off my shoes and watched the storm rain down. Instead, I drove to work, a little alarmed at the intensity of the lightning and arrived just as it really began to rain. I keep an umbrella in my car but it did nothing against the wind and the stupid thing blew inside out as soon as I stepped out of my car. By the time I made it across the 25 yards between my car and the office building, I resembled a windblown, half-drowned rat.

This is not the best way to start the day. I prefer not to resemble a rat at all.

The storm eventually passed but it’s left a nasty, heavy, humid world behind it. The entire day had that heavy sort of feel, in general. It’s the kind of day where I never felt like I really woke up and where time moved slowly. Things are a little stressful in the office. We haven’t had a good couple of weeks. A lot of our candidates have fallen through or quit or been fired for no reason. It’s just the way it is, unfortunately and that’s the peril of working with humans- they’re unpredictable creatures. No matter how much you try to make a jump to a new job easier on them, how much you hold their hand and assure them it’ll be fine, there are always those that decide that they’re not ready to jump and they decide to stay where they are.

We do a lot of counseling against counteroffers. They’re only a good idea if it’s entirely about the money. Most of the time, it isn’t. There’s always an underlying reason for leaving. It can be lack of appreciation for the work you do, it could be because you’re not doing the job you were hired to do or it can simply be because you’re bored and you don’t like what you’re doing. Money doesn’t make that go away. Besides, if you do take a counteroffer, it tends to work against you because your company knows that you can be ‘bought’ and, also, that you’re not as loyal to them as they’d like. It works against you.

My advantage is that I know what it’s like to work in a job where they don’t react well to your leaving and they sort of made me a counteroffer even though it wasn’t a good one. Part of me wanted that. There is comfort in familiarity and the everyday routine of your life. Some people embrace change but many of us like consistency and change is scary. So, it is tempting to stay in the same job if they offer you a promotion both in duties and salary. You think that maybe, just maybe, that means they recognize your value and can’t stand the thought of you leaving.

The sad fact is that your leaving is a huge pain in the rear for them and while there might be some disappointment that it’s you personally who are leaving, much of their desire to keep you stems from their lack of desire to have to replace you. Replacing employees is a pain and way more expensive than just giving a willing drone a little pay bump. If they really wanted you personally to stay because they like you so much and don’t want to lose you because you’re fabulous and brilliant, chances are they would have told you that earlier, not because you’re threatening to leave. It’s like any relationship: If the person you’re with can’t tell you that you’re valuable to them and there’s a reason they like being with you, you shouldn’t have to give them an ultimatum to get them to admit their feelings.

So, you see why it’s hard when someone decides to stay with their company even when I’ve worked hard to find them a better opportunity. It’s worse when they accept my opportunity and then, at the last minute, back out. When you’ve already got a start date, agreement letter and offer in place with a client company, it’s a little embarrassing to tell them that they don’t have a new employee after all and have to start from scratch.

Still, as I’ve said before, it’s the nature of the business particularly one where humans are your resource. Like with my dogs and thunderstorms, I can never predict what they’re going to do. In my dogs’ case, they sometimes frolic amidst the crashes and flashes of the storm and other times they simply want to be cuddled and hid in my lap.

On the plus side, it makes each day a new adventure. On the downside, not every adventure is a good one. Yet I learn something every time and I suppose that’s something, isn’t it?

Happy Thursday!

Accidental Early Starts...DirecTV and Other Weekendness

This has been another of those weekends that has just flown by. It was one where I had few plans other than to stay home on Saturday morning and wait for the DirecTV man to come. Since it was time to renew my contract, I called them up to cancel with a secret hope they'd lure me to stay by offering me some free goodies. Since I bought an HDTV after I'd subscribed to my original service, I was hoping for a free HDTV upgrade. Lo and behold, my threat of leaving their service guaranteed me a free HDTV receiver and free service for 24 months.

Thus, that was my plan for Saturday morning- to stay home and wait for Mr. DirecTV to come. My window of time was 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. I was pretty sure they wouldn't be there at 8 a.m. but, just in case, I planned on getting up by 7:30 a.m. to be ready. Well, that was a fine idea. I set my alarm for 7 a.m. so I could doze for 30 minutes. When it did go off at 7 a.m., I changed the alarm so it'd go off in another 30 minutes. At least I thought I had.

I dozed. Then my phone rang. It was an automated message from DirecTV reminding me that I had someone coming at 8 a.m. I glanced at the clock- it was almost 8:15 a.m.! I flew out of bed and got dressed quickly. I didn't fancy the DirecTV man coming while I was still in my pajamas.

I let the pups out and ran around and cleared up. Then, finally, I sat down. I glanced at the clock in my living room. I blinked. It appeared to say it was not quite eight a.m.

Well, it turned out that Silly Captain Monkeypants had accidentally adjusted the time on her clock rather than the alarm and my dozing which I thought had lasted an hour had in actuality only been about five minutes of dozing. Yes, i had been up since 7:10 a.m.

Mr. DirecTV came at 9:30 a.m. He had a bit of trouble with my old dish. Apparently there was a hornet's nest up there and he was deathly allergic so he didn't want to take it away like he was supposed to. Instead, he put a new dish up and left the old one so now I have two dishes. I think when the weather cools and the wasps die off, I may have them come and remove it just because I really don't want two dishes.

The installation of HDTV took quite a while. By the time he left, I was quite glad. He was a nice enough technician but he had been working outside in the heat and he was a little stinky. Also, he put those plastic footie things over his shoes so he didn't mess up my carpet and he ended up wearing right through the plastic so his shoes were only covered at the top. I didn't care but i thought it was a little pointless wearing the footie things. Also, the dogs were penned up in the kitchen/Tuscan room area and they don't like strangers in the house. Sookie likes to have a good woof. I call it her "STRANGER DANGER" bark.

I finally freed the dogs around noon. I immediately headed off to a local farmer's market. I'd made the mistake of spending the morning reading Bon Appetit and it had a ton of recipes for fresh veggies, particularly tomatoes so I really, really wanted some fresh tomatoes.

In the end, my Saturday ended up flying by and it was Sunday. Today, I spent most of the day getting "Emmy Goes to Hell" ready to be published as an e-book. It's a lot of work because you have to be very, very specific regarding format. The format for e-books is pretty much the complete opposite of print books so it's all rather tedious.

I perservered and the book is in the final approval status by my publisher. Once it gets approved, Emmy will be on sale for the low price of $2.99 on every electronic device out there. It's also available from Amazon as a hard copy, just in case you don't own a Kindle, Nook, etc. And yes, that was another shameless plug.

All in all, it's been a good weekend so far. The girls and I are currently enjoying a thunderstorm that brought some wonderful, much-needed rain. It's been pouring for a while and I can already see that my parched garden is drinking it up and appreciating every drop. Even when you water with a hose, it's never the same as organic rain. I expect my vegetables to grow a little more quickly for a while.

I love weekends like this where I have no real plans. I only really had the plan of waiting for DirecTV and possibly seeing "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" again. I didn't end up seeing Harry but that was intentional. I do want to see it again quite badly but I decided that if I wait another week, I'll appreciate more again because it won't be quite so fresh.

For the rest of the weekend, I plan of spending some time with the neglected pups. They hate it when I sit at my desktop and work because I'm ignoring them and despite her best efforts, Sookie is just not a lapdog. I love having her on my lap but the length of a dachshund is not really conducive to comfort or convenience while trying to simutaneously type on a keyboard.

I also plan to go outside in a few minutes and spend a little time dancing in the rain because it's been so long since it rained and it's just so pleasant to feel those drops falling down and cooling everything down. I think that sounds like a lovely way to wind up a weekend, don't you?

Thanks, as always for reading. I hope you had a great weekend. Happy Monday!

The Power of a Storm

When I was a child, I was terrified of thunderstorms. I would dread them the way some people dread going to the dentist. I would listen to the weather whenever the weather was warm, just in case. I would have little superstitions that I felt warded off storms.

When we did have storms and I was young enough, I'd run to my parents bed and crawl under the covers with them. If they weren't in bed yet, I'd sit with them until the storm was over.

Then came the day when my dad got fed up of me being so terrified of storms and he made me go outside during a storm. I was very frightened but he managed to prove in that moment that a storm was just a storm. After that, my fear abated and I no longer dreaded storms.

Nowadays, for the most part, I love thunderstorms. I love the majesty of them and the power they have to clear the air after a string of muggy days. I love the comfort of being inside when the storm is raging and I'm able to watch the lightning and rain from safety.

Then there are the storms that still have the power to scare me just like the one we had tonight, for example.

I knew it was supposed to storm and when the sky started clouding over, it was obvious we were in for a thunderstorm. Since the pups are a little skittish about storms, I decided to change my routine and hop in the shower before the storm hit. That way the pups and I could sit together and enjoy the thunder.

It's amazing how quickly storms can arrive. I was in the shower when I heard the wind pick up. There was a rather alarming howl that began to echo through the small window in my bathroom even though it was firmly closed. Then the tornado sirens went off.

There's nothing that can put an end to a peaceful moment quicker than a tornado siren when it's fighting the sound of a hungry howling wind.

Needless to say, I was alarmed enough that I finished my shower quicker than you can imagine, hopped out and realized that the storm was not only here but it was a bad one.

The wind was blowing so much that the house was shaking. The tornado alarm was blaring. I didn't know whether we were just having wind or there really was a tornado. It's hard to tell because the sirens go off when the possibility is there. It's a little hard to tell if they're telling you there is a tornado there. Given the sudden strength of the storm and the speed of the wind and the fact that there were tree branches blowing by my window, I decided that it would be safer to act like it was a tornado.

The pups and I headed for our 'safe' room- the little bathroom with no windows in the middle of the house. Just as we got there, the sirens stopped. The wind had dropped a little so I decided to take a chance and turn the TV on.

The signal was spotty but it seemed that we'd had the worst of the storm. From that point onwards even though there was some pretty insane lightning and some rather goosepimple inspiring crashes of thunder, the storm started to die down.

The pups and I cuddled together on the sofa, watching the weather, just in case but the danger was definitely over. In the end, it turned out that we hadn't had a tornado but instead, we'd had 65 mph winds.

I felt a little silly afterwards for my fear. I think that often happens when you get scared- afterwards, you feel a little foolish.

Nevertheless, I'm glad that it wasn't a tornado and that it was just a very severe storm. If it taught me anything it's that no matter how old and wise you feel, certain things have the power to turn you back into a frightened child, even for a moment.

I think there's definitely a lesson in that. Also, I think I'll pick when to take a shower more wisely next time.

Happy Tuesday and thanks for reading!

Deceived by the Weatherman!

When I woke up this morning and turned on my TV, I was expecting Frank Marzullo and the Fox 19 Stormtracker weather. Instead, I got Pat Berry, Frank's substitute. I really didn't mind because I've found that Pat tends to be far more accurate about the weather. Also, he's not so smarmy.

Pat was telling me how we were to expect some severe weather. We were under a tornado watch. For all you non-tornado-state folk, a watch means the conditions are right for a tornado. When it turns into a warning, well, then that's worrysome.

Pat told us that we were going to be getting some major storms from the west with major winds and strong rain. Essentially, we were to batten down the hatches because we were in for a bumpy ride.

I admit. I was excited. We've had a very mild weather time lately. We've had a few storms but nothing for quite some time. We've had breezes but no wind. So, when I went to work, it was with anticipation and a slightly naughty hope that something would happen weather wise.

All morning, the skies darkened. I waited. I sporadically peeked outside to see how the clouds were looking. They grew greyer as the morning progressed yet...no rain.

Finally, by lunch time, I went home to let the pups out and it was raining sporadically. When I pulled into my driveway, it was raining enough that I ran so I wouldn't get soaked.

By the time I let the pups out, the wind had crept up. There was a tornado of leaves. The rain started to pour and so there was this massive cloud of rain. The sounds of the wind was intense- the trees were creaking, the leaves were scattered and there was no way to catch your breath. Needless to say, the puppies ran in pretty quickly.

Then...it stopped. It lasted less than five minutes. It was enough to make the yard look windblown but that was it. By the time I went back to work, it looked as though we'd just had a quick Autumn downpour. Ironically, the tornado sirens were blaring as if there was danger but, by this time, the skies were clearing, the wind had dropped and there was little to worry about.

All afternoon, the skies continued to darken but the most we got was a few heavy downpours and a little wind.

I have to admit, I was disappointed. It's my own fault. I allowed myself to fall for the drama of the weather. Normally, I can resist it. Normally, any time the weather reporters work themselves into a gleeful frenzy and tell us what terrible, awful weather is headed our way, I know to wait patiently and see what really happens.

Today, unfortunately, I fell for their frenzy and I hoped we would have some major weather. I blame the fact that it's been so dry and calm of late that I was ready for a little Mother Nature.

In the end, while we did have a little wind, we didn't get the drama I expected. I'm a little sad by that. I'm also a little sad that at work, our network and software is maintained by our Chicago branch. They had power issues today and so our software was affected. However, my network and software stayed mostly up while my co-worker's didn't. She went home early. My boss was supposed to fly to Chicago but he got stranded at the airport so he went home early.

In the end, I was the lone employee in the office, listening to the slight wind outside and sporadically checking to see if it was raining hard.

Since I like my new job and I still have a lot to learn, I didn't mind holding down the fort. I just hoped that it would be against something more dramatic than the odd thunderclap and gust of wind.

Ah well, what I learned today is that you should never, ever give in to the frenzied energy of the weather reporter, no matter how sincere he sounds. Just because he's got a report that something weather-wise is going to happen doesn't mean it will happen.

Still, I suppose in the end, it's better that there was nothing than something bad...right?

Happy Tuesday!

Close Encounters of the Larry Kind...

We're finally having a dark and stormy night here in Cincinnati, Ohio. Last night, we had the dark part and the storm rumbled in the distance but it never arrived. Tonight it arrived in full force. At one point, I thought there was a tornado in the back garden. The wind was blowing so hard and there were so many leaves blowing down from the trees that it was a little alarming.

Naturally, the puppies were in the midst of it, frolicking amongst the cascading leaves. They aren't afraid of storms at all and quite enjoy running out to see what all the fuss is about any time there's a clap of thunder.

I like storms a lot though sometimes, when they're loud and ominous, it's nice to have the puppies to keep me company. As a child, I was terrified of storms. I would cower near my parents any time there was so much as a clap. If it was night and I was in bed when a storm arrived, I'd immediately scamper to my parents' room and climb into their bed for safety.

As I got older, I began to be less afraid of storms. This is due to a rather harsh lesson in which my dad, tired of my childish fear, made me go out and stand in a storm and see that it wouldn't hurt me. It was slightly traumatizing at the time but it did work.

My younger brother and sister took my place in being afraid of them and when it was a stormy night, they would climb into my bed and we'd cuddle together until either the storm passed or, more likely, morning because they had fallen asleep and I hadn't the heart to wake them.

Nowadays, I love to lie in bed and hear the rumble of a storm. They're cleansing and therapeutic. They come after the tension in the atmosphere has built up to an almost unmanageable level, darkening the skies with a threatening gloom and only, finally, arriving to unleash the storm on the waiting world.

Tonight's storm has brought some much needed rain. The world outside my window is finally shiny with wetness under the streetlamps. The cars are kicking up the water as they drive by. It's been far too long since we had rain like this and it's nice to look out and enjoy it.

Of course, the rain meant the puppies and I couldn't take our evening walk around the neighbourhood. That's become a regular thing. I love it, especially on the cooler nights. We still see some of our neighbours though Larry the Potential Serial Killer hasn't been around much. However, alarmingly, last night, as we walked, he pulled up beside us in his car and said, "Hey Gorgeous! Haven't seen you in a while." I was ok until I realized by the "gorgeous" part, he was talking to me and not to my puppies. For one thing, I don't really feel gorgeous when I'm walking the pups and, secondly, well, it was Larry the Potential Serial Killer. Since when has he called me gorgeous? I was polite, though I made a mental note to make sure the puppies and I continued to avoid him. He wants to 'catch up.' As he got ready to drive up, he shouted out the window, "we have to plan when we can catch up."

Oh dear. By planning a 'catch up' session, this clearly means that Larry The Potential Serial Killer means more than a casual close encounter outside his house. If you've read my blog, you'll know I mean 'close encounter' literally. Larry is, as I've said, an 'up close and personal' talker without that lovely concept of "this is my space, this is your space."

I made an even stronger mental note to avoid Larry and his 'catch up' session. I was quite relieved when he drove off. I seriously hope he didn't think I meant I wanted to get together with him. I have this horrible habit of not realizing when I've innocently said I'd do something with a male friend only to find out he thinks it's a date. Fortunately, I have no intention of getting into that confusion with Larry the Potential Serial Killer. It does, however, alarm me that there might be the rather disconcerting possibility that, uh, Larry likes me. Damn me and my friendly ways.

Ah well, I suppose it should be good for my ego. Besides, it was a brief, if unsettling encounter. The pups and I managed to make it home where Rory, in her tendency to find ways to be slightly naughty even when she's trying to be good, managed to dislodge one of my large plastic flowerpots from its place on my plant rack on my patio. The pot fell to the ground and the dried up wedge of potting soil that had previously been the bed for a rather thriving basil plant bounced out. Rory promptly claimed her prize and grabbed the flowerpot which turned out to be bigger than she was. She scurried off down the garden with it. Seeing no harm, I left her to her own devices. Better a flowerpot than a baby bunny.

Of course, later that night, she decided she wanted to bring her new favourite thing into the house and arrived in the living room, her little mouth firmly gripping the rim of the flowerpot as she triumphantly managed to bring it inside. That's no small feat for a pup when the flowerpot is bigger than she is. I was going to take it away but she seemed so enamoured with it, I decided it was fine. It wasn't making a mess and she was having such a lovely time. She ended up laying on the floor, her head and half her body in the flowerpot for most of the evening. Meanwhile, Sookie just sat there and watched. I imagine, if Sookie were a human, she would spend much of her time, observing her sister, shaking her head and saying, "That Rory!"

This evening, Rory has abandoned her flowerpot. She has, instead, discovered the towel that I use to drape over their crate. She is currently lying on the towel, having a good old chomp while Sookie lays, watching intently, just a few feet away.

Still, given how wet it is outside, playing with a towel is actually a rather smart thing to do, even if that wasn't Rory's intention. It means I can use the towel to try off the girls' feet as they scamper in from being outside, lured by the call of the storm.

I love Autumn.

Happy Thursday!

Stormy Weather...

This has been a very stormy weekend, literally. The days have started, hot and muggy with a haze of smog hanging over everything. Then as the hours have gone by, the clouds have appeared and within what seems like mere moments, the wind has started up, the thunder is rumbling and the rain is pouring.

Yesterday, the storm happened as I went into Target. It had only looked cloudy for a short while and it wasn't until I walked into the store that I realized the sky was suddenly black. Moments later, it sounded as though a million drummers were pounding on the roof as the rain started to fall heavily. The thunder could be heard rumbling as though it were inside the store. By the time I left Target, the storm was over but the car park looked as though autumn had come early with the piles of leaves that had blown in with the storm.

Today, I was luckier; I was at home. I went outside to check on the puppies when I noticed the sudden appearance of the storm clouds. The thunder was already rumbling and then the wind came. Leaves cascaded over me, around me, swirling as though they were something out of The Wizard of Oz. I half expected a house to come cascading down.

The house never came but the storm did. My silly puppies who were once so adverse to getting their precious paws wet have come a long way. They now go out into the rain, hunting any wildlife that might be trapped in the storm. Consequently, they came in soaked. I'm jumpier with the storm than they are. The loud cracks always make me jump even though I love storms. They act as though they can't hear anything.

As a result, even though the storm is over, I now have two rather wet puppies on the floor. They have this rather annoying habit of bypassing the towel that I attempt to dry them with, instead they play their favourite game of "towel" with it, having a tug-of-war that only ends when they get bored. Instead, they'd rather dry themselves on the carpet, lying on their backs and squirming and wriggling until they at least feel better even if they are still rather soggy-looking.

I don't know if we'll have any more storms tonight. I do hope so. I love a good storm. My favourite are the ones that come at night when we're supposed to be sleeping. There's nothing nicer than being in bed, listening to the sound of the crashing thunder and pouring rain.

Of course, that's a few hours away and so is the end of the weekend. It's coming fast and furious, the end of the weekend, much like its own version of a storm. It's been a quick weekend, as always filled with errands mixed with relaxation. In a way, those are the best type of weekends- not so lazy that you feel guilty for not doing anything but not so hectic that you don't feel like you had no chance to relax.

And I did get chance to relax. Rory and Sookie honoured my request to let me sleep today and they stayed curled up by my side until I was ready to get up. Crocodog did not make an appearance. I'm not so sad about that. While Crocodog is amusing, it's not so amusing on my toes which still feel like they have little teeth marks embedded in them.

Now Crocodog is on the prowl again but this time she's stalking her sister and not my toes. She just finished stalking and attacking a cicada bug outside. Those things make a dreadful noise when they're caught. Sometimes, though, Crocodog comes in useful. Last night, we had a rogue cricket in the house. I'm not girly enough to be afraid of crickets but I don't really like them. Last night's was rather large and it was in a dark spot on the carpet where the light doesn't quite reach. I couldn't make out what it was until it took me by surprise and hopped right up, buzzing my chin which had leaned down with the rest of me to see what it was. I squealed because, well, that's what I do when a bug takes me by surprised. No matter though, at the sound of my distress, Crocodog came to my rescue. She managed to corner that cricket within seconds and then...scooped it up in her mouth. I managed to get her to spit it out. It's one thing to suspect your pet eats bugs but to see it happen...well, I'd rather not. So she spat it out. The cricket was dead. I put it in the bin. Crocodog saved me from the nasty cricket.

Crocodog and her sister are currently hunting prey in the wet garden outside. This means they'll come in wet again but, at least, the storm has passed. In the meantime, the weekend has not yet finished passing and I intend to make the most of what remains. I just hope it holds another storm since it's hot out there again. We'll just have to wait and see.

Happy Monday!

Crippled by a Thunderstorm

It was a really, really hot day today. I know I said that yesterday but today had to have been the hottest day we've had all summer. It was supposedly 96 degrees but felt like 112 degrees with the humidity. I can attest to the fact that there was definitely some nasty humidity out there.

We also had what our local weathermen like to call, a "pop up thunderstorm." This means that the sun suddenly goes away, the clouds roll in, the wind picks up and the thunder starts to rumble. Today's storm lasted about 15 minutes. It was long enough to take the power out at work.

Being that we're a software company and most our of products are web-based, there's not a whole lot we can do when the power goes out. Most people in our area have laptops. I do not. This usually means that I have to twiddle my thumbs while everyone who has a battery backup can keep working.

That didn't happen today since the internet was down and so were the phones. It essentially translated into about an hour of twiddling our thumbs until my boss decided it was close enough to the end of the day that we should just leave, especially since it didn't look like our power company was going to get to us in time.

Normally, this would be a moment of, "yay! I get to go home early." Unfortunately, in my case, he made the decision at the time I normally leave for the day so it wasn't so much a reward in my case as the end of a normal working day.

Still, there's something nice about sitting in the semi-darkness with your coworkers with nothing to do. It would have been darker if our emergency lights hadn't kicked on but it was still pretty dark in our area. We all ended up sitting around chatting because there wasn't much else to do. Without our computers, we're slightly crippled.

Of course, while we were sitting around, waiting for the power to come back on, we did realize something. The power was out which meant our phones were off. This may not seem like a realization as much as a "duh!" moment but it really was. You see, we've recently been practicing our office 'emergency drills.' In our case, this means a fire and a tornado drill. For the fire, we meet outside, the tornado, we head to the basement.

When we have a real tornado, the policy is that our HR manager will inform everyone that we all have to get to safety over our intercom system.

Our intercom system is our telephones.

When a tornado comes through, chances are, the power won't work. Thus, our phones won't work. The only way we'd know if there was going to be a tornado is if our HR manager ran around yelling and we all managed to hear her.

Of course, this is also in addition to the fact that the basement to which we must flee in refuge requires a key to get into it. We still only have one key for the basement and it's still on the HR Manager's key chain.

I think the conclusion we all came to was that if there's a tornado, we really hope we're not in the office. Otherwise, we might be in trouble.

Still, all in all, the power outage made things fun. I found it amusing that enough people in the office have read my book that my demon gets blamed for things like power outages. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read my book. It's now available in most electronic formats, including the iPad. You can also order a hardcopy through Amazon or through my website.

Yes, that's a shameless plug.

The best part of the whole thing was that even though my neighbourhood is close to the office, we still had power and it appeared to not even have gone out. Of course, by the time I got home, the storm was over and the humidity was even heavier.

I'm really hoping for another storm, to cool the air. Is it so wrong I sort of hope it happens again tomorrow while we're at work and takes the power out?

That's probably a little greedy, really but it does make for an interesting day. And sometimes, we just need those.

Happy Wednesday

Product Placement and Stormy Weather

We seem to be stuck in a pattern of intense heat that is interrupted sporadically by severe thunderstorms. Today, we were told by Mr. Fox 19 Stormtracker Weather that we would have temperatures in the 90's today with a chance of a pop-up thunderstorm midday.

Well, I'm actually quite amazed to announce that Mr. Fox 19 Stormtracker Weather was right. For once. Yes, it can happen. Right around the time I leave for lunch to come let the puppies out, the sky, suddenly ominously dark, opened up and the rain began to fall. It was the torrential type of rain that saturates everything within seconds and obscurs your view while you're driving.

I tried to wait out the storm but almost an hour later, I needed to liberate the puppies from their crate for an hour and eat some lunch. Needless to say, I got wet.

Still, the storm did pass and the heat came back and the world is calm again.

The problem with that much rain is that my back garden floods. At the moment if I walk on my grass, it squelches. There are puddles with standing water and my flower/vegetable beds are under a layer of water. I had actually planned on mowing the lawn tonight but, alas, I could only do the front lawn since that's on a slope and the water drains off. It was still wet but at least now it's mowed. It was starting to look rather horrendous.

On the plus side, I would like to endorse a product. I highly recommend that Off Mosquito Fan thingy. Being that I provide rather an attractive bait for mosquitoes, I seem to have the added misfortune of suffering from what I've been told is known as 'skeeter syndrome'. This means that my bites swell to rather large red lumps that look a bit like a tumor and they stick around for a couple of days. I've tried all of the spray on repellents and somehow, the mosquitoes still find a way to snack on my blood.

Not today, however. Thanks to the fabulous Off Mosquito Fan, I mowed my lawn and went out to the garden without one bite. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical of the device. It just seemed a little silly- a fan to repel mosquitoes.

Then, when I went to my parents' this weekend, I discovered my mother had one and she said it worked. I borrowed it and then put it to the test- I went walking around their large garden from which I usually emerge with at least three mosquitoe bites. Not with the Off Fan! That thing is bloody brilliant. It has Captain Monkeypant's seal of approval which, given that I'm a bit of a complainer, is a pretty rare seal to earn.

Anyway, this means that on this hot, buggy, humid evening, I am sitting inside my air-conditioned office with not a single new mosquito bite. It doesn't sound like much but given that I've used almost a whole tube of hydrocortisone over the past 3 weeks, it actually is a lot to me.

I'm hoping that the weather cools down tomorrow but I know it's not likely to get any cooler for most of the week. We're supposed to have the possibility of more storms tomorrow which means my back garden will get even wetter. Even the puppies are finding it a nuisance- it's muddy wherever they walk and they come in with wet feet. It doesn't stop them from going out but it does mean they leave muddy footprints on the kitchen floor. They've been a little naughty tonight, anyway. I lost my phone only to discover that Sookie had 'borrowed' it and taken it outside. She managed to dial my younger brother somehow. She called my mother a couple of weeks ago. Sookie really seems to like the phone. I'd be amused if I hadn't been frantically looking for it.

Still, for a Monday, it hasn't been too bad. I buried my head at work today and got a lot done. The conference attendees came back and were somewhat quiet although my coworker couldn't resist telling me about all the connections she made and how many people wanted to talk to her. That's very nice for her. In the meantime, I have my 'silver' olympic medal hanging up in my cubicle to remind me that we had fun last week too.

Here's hoping that tomorrow isn't quite so soggy.

Happy Tuesday!

Driving in a Storm...

As I always say on a Sunday evening, I cannot believe the weekend is already winding down. It always goes by so very quickly.

This weekend started out very sticky and steamy. The humidity was sky high on Friday and you couldn't move without one of those nasty, horrid little mosquitoes zooming in on you and sucking your blood away. As a result, I am covered with horrible little bumps that won't stop itching.

Then the storms came. I was going to leave for my parents' house on Friday night but because I worked late and didn't have the heart to put the puppies back in the crate for the 2.5 hour drive, I decided to get up very early the next day and head out then. We did so, leaving at 5:30 a.m.

This is slightly insane, I know. Yet the truth is, the puppies have made me become a morning person. I won't say I'm happy and chipper first thing in the morning because I don't think that's in my genetic makeup. However, we tend to go to bed early and get up early. I like this because it's fun to be productive at 9 a.m. on a weekend and then come home and have the rest of the day to do what we like. I've discovered that the majority of people prefer to NOT be productive first thing in the morning and so grocery shopping, shopping in general and running other errands tends to take far less time than it would later in the day.

So, even though getting up at 5:00 a.m. is a bit difficult, even for me, once we were up, we were up and it was rather nice to hit the road and have it mostly to ourselves for the whole drive.

Although, I was amazed to see that, around 7 a.m., how many people are up, around and walking their dogs.

We did mostly well on our drive except for the huge storm we hit about 20 minutes away from my parents'. It was the type of storm you can see in the distance and you know there's no way to avoid. The sky ahead is almost black, the road is soaked with the rain that fell earlier because the storm is moving away from you but you're rapidly catching up. Then when you do catch up, you drive into an eerie place. It's so dark, automatically programmed headlights come on because they think it's night. The ground is wet but no rain is falling. Lightning dances up ahead, forking to the ground but so quick that you really only see it as it remains as an image on your retina for a few seconds.

The whole time, you know that you're going to hit a storm but you don't know when. Your body tenses and your hands clench the steering wheel and you wonder if you should stop.

But just as you think that, the storm shows itself. The rain pours down so heavily that the window wipers, at their fastest speed, still can't keep up. The noise of the rain is so loud, you can't hear the audiobook you're listening to. It bounces off the car, a vicious drum. The road is a mass of raindrops, puddles and running water and you debate whether you should pull over but then you realize you can't because you can't actually see the side of the road. You can, however, make out the white line in the middle of the road and as long as you stay on your side of that, you know you'll be fine.

It's scary, no matter how much you might love storms. The thunder crashes, competing with the rain's constant pounding. The lightning flickers and you wonder if it's likely your car will get hit as it suddenly seems close.

Then, just as you feel so tense, you don't think you can take it, you've driven through. The sky is suddenly a strange shade of grey-white, the dark of the storm behind you.

Yes, we hit one of those on the way to my parents'. It was scary and the puppies whined. I would have liked to have joined them but I had to focus on the road. We made it through.

Scary as it was, I'm always in awe of a good storm. It's amazing to watch and witness. It's terrifying but amazing.

The whole day was made up of storms yesterday, each one bringing a new wave of humidity so that by nightfall, it was hard to feel like you could breathe fully.

Finally, in the night, the wind crept up and a final storm came and with it, it brought relief. This morning, we got up and the wind was strong, the clouds fluffy. The ones overhead were white and fluffy but the edge of the storm still loomed in the distance, still grey. But it felt amazing. The sun shone down on the type of morning that only a good storm can bring. The grass seemed much greener, the water in my parents' ponds richer and everything just looked new.

I love days like this. They're beautiful and they almost make up for the humidity with their freshness and cleanness.

This evening, when I got home, we actually went outside and enjoyed the evening air for the first time in a while. There's no humidity. There are, naturally, still mosquitoes but I don't think they're likely to vanish. I get bitten here, I got bitten at my parents. I think it's the penalty for being outside in the garden. I'm tempted to get one of those fan thingies that have Off repellent built in but I'm not sure if they really work or they're a device designed to make you feel like a twit when caught in public, rather like a fanny pack.

Still, even with the mosquitoes, it's a beautiful evening. The puppies are outside, digging new holes in the garden. Monday morning doesn't seem so far away which is a shame but, for now, there's still a few hours left to enjoy the weekend and I intend to do so. I hope you all had good weekends.

Happy Monday!

Panic-Inspiring Weather Reports....

The thing with spring is that it doesn't seem to last very long. You go from winter to spring and then, suddenly, just as you're enjoying pleasant days with balmy breezes and cool nights, summer comes creeping in, far too prematurely and steals away the balm with humidity and dryness.

That's what's been happening here. For the past week, our temperatures have been in the mid to high 80's with a ton of humidity. It means that it's hot outside in the sun and with the closeness of the air, it feels even hotter. It also means that the mosquitoes are already out in full force. I'm horribly sensitive to mosquito bites. Instead of a little bump, I get a mound that sometimes swells as much as up to an inch across. That, sadly, is not an exaggeration. Last night, during my deadly nightshade genocide, I managed to accumulate no less than six bites, all now swollen and inchy. The worse thing is that I was wearing bug spray!

Still, I'm not really complaining that much. There could be worse things. Tonight, we had a major storm, probably the first really severe one we've had this year. It was the type of storm that makes you jump with the ferocity of the thunder and the lightning feels like it's coming in the windows after you.

I was afraid for the puppies just because they tend to startle at loud noises. Ironically, they didn't seem bothered by it at all. In fact, Rory went outside to find out what the noise was all about. Meanwhile, I'm in the house trying not to jump at the thunder. I like storms but I made the mistake of putting the news on. I don't think there's a quicker way to go from simple jumpiness to complete worry than watching the local weather. They interrupt regular broadcast television to bring you "Storm Event Updates". This would be fine but weatherpeople tend to be drama kings/queens. If you're feeling even the slightest bit susceptible to worry, they bring it right out of you and have you convinced that there's a tornado forming outside your window. They breed fear with their dramatic reporting of heavy rain and strong winds. Stupid me was worried we were going to have a tornado before they'd finished their reporting. I began to worry the puppies would get struck by lightning outside because the weatherman kept saying how dangerous the lightening was. Then I was afraid they might drown because we were going to have heavy flash flooding.

The moral of the story is don't listen to the weatherman. For one thing, they're never right. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't know how weathermen/women manage to keep their jobs when they're wrong so very often. This morning, the weatherman I watch on Fox 19 Stormtracker Weather informed us all that we might want to pack our lunches because the weather was going to be horrid around lunch with the storms.

At lunch, the sun was shining and there was blue skies overhead.

Of course, I actually don't watch the morning weather because Frank Marzullo and the Fox 19 Stormtracker Weather might actually be accurate. I've started to watch it because I enjoy the moments of obvious tension between Frank and the morning news host, Rob Williams. There have been several snarky interchanges between the two men where they obviously dislike one another immensely but cover it up with a smile and a tense laugh.

It's sad but I really enjoy those moments. It makes the news more fun. Sometimes, I wish one of them would just completely lose it but I highly doubt they will. Nevertheless, I do enjoy watching Frank get annoyed at Rob because Rob dared say something about the weather. Frank does NOT like it when Rob tries to give a weather forecast. That's when things get tense. For example, Rob said something like, "It's shaping up to be a nice weekend," and Frank's response was, "Oh, are you predicting weather now, Rob?" And then there was a very tense moment of silence when you could tell Rob was trying not to leap across the studio and strangle Frank.

Sometimes, I'd like to strangle Frank. His weather reporting isn't particularly accurate and he loosens his tie rather too much. Also, he's the one with phrases like, "impulses of rain" and "pop-up fog." Still, the annoying thing is that he's become part of my morning routine and being a creature of habit, it's not likely I'm going to start watching something else in the mornings. It's the channel that's set on my TV and at 6 a.m., I'm not exactly coherent enough to channel-surf.

Still, at least he did get it right that we'd have storms at some point today. The storm is over now and the world looks flattened and wet from my window. The humidity hasn't left which leads me to think the storms aren't finished yet. I do like a good storm.

As long as I don't watch the news while they're happening.

Happy Thursday.

Reflections of a Life at Work...

Today started as another stormy day with the sky so dark, it didn't feel like daylight at all. When the rain came, it came down with torrential force. It cleared up eventually but now it's starting to cloud up again and Mr. Weatherman told us that we should expect more storms.

I don't mind a good storm. I find them therapeutic. At the moment, especially at work, I could use therapeutic. It's one of those times in which I'm trying to be zen but each day presents yet another challenge and I have to remind myself of my mantra: "It's only a job, it's only a job."

It is only a job but it's disgusting how much of a bearing our jobs have on our lives. Sometimes it's just impossible to convince yourself it's only a job. After all, for me, at least, I work 40 hours a week. I get 12 days off a year. If you want to be mathematical about it, at 40 hours a week, for 52 weeks a year, that's a total of 2080 working hours. Take away the 12 days off I get, at eight hours a day times 12, that's 96 hours of vacation/sick time. That leaves 1984 hours per year in which I work.

Yes, I used numbers. Scary, I know. But when you stop to think about it, 1984 hours per year is a lot. That's a lot of time to be spending with coworkers and bosses who drive you a little crazy each day. It's no wonder that sometimes its easy to lose perspective as to the fact that it's just a job.

For me, now I have puppies to come home to, it does make work easier. It doesn't make it better but it gives me an escape. I come home for lunch each day and that hour is the best hour of my day. I get to hug my puppies, eat my lunch and escape from my office. Even on the worst days, I've found that this hour can make any day better.

It's all largely due to the puppies who, in spite of their penchant to dig up flowers, rip up paper, eat my books and chew my shoes, are too easily forgiven. They're currently staring up at me as if to say, "hey, lady, why aren't you paying attention to us."

Of course, on the downside, this makes it incredibly hard to write. I tried to get some time in tonight. I got some writing done. I'm working on the sequel to The Reluctant Demon which, I've probably mentioned, is tentatively entitled, Emmy Goes to Hell. I'm stealing a little from Dante and his nine circles of Hell. Oddly, the sixth circle, the first level in which is considered "Lower Hell" bears a striking resemblance to 'Emmy's' office.

I know I'll have to be careful because it's easy to get sued for libel these days. I'm being careful. However, this time around, Emmy's office in Hell often, conincidentally, resembles mine at times. Strange how that happened. I did make the concession that coffee would be worse in Hell though, in truth, I'd challenge that in real life. Sometimes the coffee in our office is so vile, it's like someone sprinkled coffee in a jug of chlorine and called it 'fresh coffee.'

The fun of being a writer is that you can draw from real life without stealing completely. You can use your observations to be creative. It's one of the joys of my life. I try hard not to be passive agressive in my writing though, to call out friends and foes who I feel have let me down or upset me. I know people who have done that and it never ends well. Instead, I try to add a sardonic layer to my writing in which I gently poke fun at people without being malicious. For example, my heroine in "The Reluctant Demon" calls one of the managers "Voldemort" because, to her, he bears a striking resemblance to the Ralph Fiennes version from the Harry Potter movies. Let's just say that I might have projected one of my own thoughts from one of our own managers there.

By that, I wasn't being mean. I just observed that, to me, this manager did look like Voldemort. Of course, now some of my coworkers have read my book, I have had them giggle that they never thought about the manager like that but I "am so right!"

Oops.

But there's a strange pleasure in that. It means people are really reading my book and remembering small details like that. Ok, it does make it easier if you know it's written by me and you work with me and know that there is a manager who looks like Voldemort. Of course, you probably wouldn't have noticed that until "Emmy" pointed it out in The Reluctant Demon. Still, people noticed and it's fun to have them act shocked but amused at the observation.

Whoever it was that said, "The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword," was definitely right. I have to confess that it gives me a lovely feeling of power over my sometimes miserable work situation to know that no matter how much I'm made to feel like Harry Potter, I can retailiate in fiction. It's therapeutic and it makes for some great writing; nothing is more powerful for writing than a bad experience that riles you up so much you have to do something about it. Me...I choose words. I write in a furious frenzy on days like this. If words could throw up dust as I typed them up, my 'office' would be so cloudy, you wouldn't be able to see me.

It's one of the reasons I do love being a writer, even if things on that front don't always go as smoothly as I'd like. There is a benefit to writing, even if it's not in the form of recognition and sales. It's days like this that remind me, once again, why writing is my chosen form of expression and no matter how much I threaten to quit, I couldn't. It's my coping mechanism and everyone needs one of those.

Unless you're a puppy and your coping mechanism is digging up flowers.

Thanks for reading! Happy Thurday!

A Dark and Stormy Day...

Today is definitely a day I would have stayed in bed if I could. In stark contrast to yesterday's bright and breezy morning, today started very...darkly. When my alarm went off, I thought I'd set it wrong as my room was still pitch black and there was no sign of daylight outside. Unfortunately, my alarm wasn't wrong. It really was time to get up.

Today is supposed to be stormy, according to weather reports. One peek outside my window and I could see that, for once, they were right. Though I could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance, we hadn't had any rain in my area.

When I went out to my car to leave for work, the garage was dark. Usually in the morning, the filtered light sinks into the dark space and I can at least see where I'm going. Today, that was not the case. When I pulled out into the road, the only world I can use to describe the world was...eerie. I know I used that word yesterday in relation to the fog. I'm using it in relation to the world before a storm today. I seemed to be the only car on the road, my light-sensitive headlights popped on, under the impression it was still night.

I drove out of my neighbourhood, not seeing a soul. For a brief moment, I felt like I was in one of those end-of-the-world films in which I am the only person left. I did not like that feeling too much.

Finally, I saw other headlights and I relaxed a little. I got onto the interstate and suddenly the skies opened. I've seen some heavy rain but this was some of the worst. It was coming down so heavily, I seriously felt like it was going to dent my car. The lightning flashed around me, followed by the harsh crack of the thunder. The hard part about rain like that is it's more dangerous to stop and try to pull over than to keep going. So I focused on the white line that marked my lane, stayed inside it, slowed my speed and kept going.

Other drivers weren't so cautious. They sped on by, slipping and sliding, cutting other drivers off. Those kind of drivers are dangerous because they act like they're above the weather. They think, "It's just rain." The thing is, it might be rain but it can still be dangerous. My years of driving in L.A. have taught me some things. We didn't get much rain there but when we did, it was heavy and when it came down, the roads were slick. It would be six months of build-up of oil and grease on the road, rising to the surface in the first heavy rain of the season. Yes, it was just rain but the roads are as slippery as if they were coated in ice.

So, I learned how to stop and start with caution, careful not to fishtail at stop lights. I learned to see where the highest part of the road was so that I knew which lane would have the least amount of water sitting stagnantly in it.

I was thankful for that experience today. I kept waiting for a break in the rain but still it kept coming. My body was tense, every part of me concentrating.

Finally, the rain did slow and I relaxed a little. I felt as though I'd won some kind of battle, I have to admit.

When I got to work, the rain had almost stopped and there was no trace of the violent storm I'd just seen. We're supposed to have storms like that all day. Part of me hopes we do; I do love a good thunderstorm. The thing is, I know that if we have them, out there, some poor souls are driving and while I'm inside, enjoying the protection of the four walls around me, they're struggling to see, to keep their cars on the road and fight the storm.

Neverless, from the security of the inside, the storm seems less ominous. The skies are still dark but at least it looks like daytime now. There was something fascinating about that apocalyptic darkness though, that I will say. Still, I could have done without the torrential rains that followed. I can hear the far off rumble of the thunder, even from my basement cubicle. Looks like it really is going to be a stormy day.

Happy Tuesday.

To Dance Party or Not to Dance Party, That is the Question...

I woke up to a very loud thunderstorm this morning. It was one of those storms that was amazing to listen to while lying in bed: The heavy beat of the rain, the roar of the thunder and the constant flash of the lighting. It was magnificent. This is one of the things I missed while I lived in Southern California. The fury of a spring/summer storm is something to behold here in the midwest.

Now I'm in the office and trying very hard to keep up my more positive attitude. Normally, I get into the office and I have the first hour alone. It's a beautiful thing because it gives me a chance to plan for how much I think I can get done that day, see what's on my calendar, drink coffee and just wake up.

Apparently, there's such a thing as a 'summer schedule' for mother's in the office. I suppose it makes sense. Without having to run around, packing their kids onto the bus, they can come in early and leave early. Which means I apparently no longer have my hour of peace. I'm trying to be zen about it. The trouble is when you're not 100% enamoured with your job anyway, every little nuisance factor seems a little magnified.

Still, I'm trying to file it away as one of those things which really isn't a major issue, it just requires a readjustment in thinking. Yay. I have company in the mornings. Whoo-hoo.

Ok, so I said it required a readjustment in thinking. I didn't say I'd be able to render sarcasm out of my personality, did I?

So, now I'm here. It's gloomy and rainy outside. I think it's supposed to clear up later but I've stopped believing in weather reports because they're always wrong. What I want to know is how come weather reporters get to be wrong so often and they still have a job? Most of us would get fired if we gave that much wrong information out. And while we're on the subject, I've always found it amusing when they say there's a "50 percent chance of rain." I mean, seriously. Isn't there ALWAYS a 50% chance of rain? It's either going to rain or it's not. That's 50/50 odds. Of course, I'm not great with numbers but on a simplistic level, that makes perfect sense.

I did get word that I'm supposed to close on my house on Monday. I'm waiting for the scary sheet to be emailed that tells how much I'm going to have to pay at closing. This means a big fat check must be written. This means I have no money. But I'll have a house. That is a good thing....right? I'll be a homeowner. Scary. A year ago I hadn't even figured out where and when I was going to move back to the Midwest. Now I'm buying a house. Life moves quickly, I'm seeing that more every day.

Lately, my blogs have been rambling rather than focused on a specific topic. I have contemplated giving up the blog. I enjoy writing it but I don't get too many people reading it and I wonder if there's much point. Yet it is therapeutic and it is a way for me to get some writing in almost every day so I'll have to think about that a little more before I decide.

Yet, rambly or not, blogging is fun for me. Writing, generally, is fun for me provided I don't get bogged down in the reality of trying to become a published writer. I'm working on a short story at the moment. I have no idea if it's any good but it felt good to write last night. It's been a while since that happened and I'm grateful to have the feeling back.

There's a lot of things I'm grateful for in my life which is why I often feel bad for complaining so much. Hence, on this rainy gloomy morning, I'm going to attempt NOT to complain about the fact that I no longer have my alone time to get work done. Instead, I'm going to ignore the fact that there's anyone here besides me.

I still better not have a private dance party like I sometimes do in the mornings though. It's nice to spin in my chair and boogie to the frenetic tones of Green Day on my iPod. Even if I ignore my coworker, there are limits to how much I can do so. She's not the type to write me off as being wacky and funny. She'd more than likely pronounce me an attention-seeker who was odd for the sake of being odd. She does that quite often. Sadly, I'm naturally odd. I've tried to fight it but sometimes you have to give in.

Dance party it is.

Happy Thursday.

A Grey and Humid Day...

It's a humid day out there today. It's not quite raining though it seems like it wants to. A cloud of steamy dampness is floating everywhere and everything feels just a little heavier than normal. I'm not used to the humidity anymore; very rarely is it humid in L.A. Instead, it's just an intense dry heat that feels like it's drying you from the outside in.

I have a feeling I'll be wishing for that heat come the summer months. I know here in the midwest, the thermometer can read a mild 80 degrees but when you factor in the humidity, it feels like it's 105 degrees out there.

Yet, like everything else, everything seems better from a distance. I know I used to HATE that Los Angeles desert heat. The intensity of it is insane. You can feel the heat beneath the soles of your shoes, sinking up from the asphalt. There are 'heat traps,' areas that store the heat and when you find one, it feels as though you are trapped in an oven. The air takes your breath away and you long for a breeze to make the heat fade, just a little.

Then, when the breeze does creep up, it's hot and sultry and it makes you sweat instead of providing a reprieve from the sun-baked world.

It's the nights the provide the relief in the end. That's the beauty of living in a desert. The days will roast you, turning everything yellow. But the nights are cool, chilly even. It's a sharp contrast and it means that if you leave your windows open, the night air will provide at least a little relief.

That's the different between the heat of humidity and the heat of the desert. There's no escape from the sticky air. Here, at night, it will remain so that without air conditioning, even a thin sheet while you sleep is enough to make you feel as though you're being strangled.

Summer is my least favourite season. It always has been. When I was in school, I enjoyed not having to go to school and having the weeks of freedom that the summer holiday provided. I do appreciate the fact that the world is warm and sunny and the flowers are blooming but I don't enjoy the inevitable onslaught of summer heat, 'the dog days of summer' as they're known. I like the mornings, the dew fresh on the grass, drenching my feet as I walk. I like the evenings when the sun begins to set, the sound of crickets chorusing and bringing in the night. It's the days I don't like. I feel like I should be outside because I can be but then when the heat starts to prickle, the idea of being inside in the air conditioning, a cool drink at my fingertips starts to appeal more.

It's not that I don't appreciate summer. I know a lot of people like the outdoors and love that they can stay out longer and enjoy the warmth. They do things like swim and go camping. I don't like camping. I like swimming though I tend to think of it more as 'flailing in the water.' I like to water dance which means I twirl and float and splash a lot to the rhythm of the music in my head. The trouble with that is that I'm the only one who knows I'm water dancing, everyone else worries in case I'm drowning or they complain that I'm splashing too much.

I do appreciate summer food. I love salads and fruits and vegetables. I love walking barefoot in the grass. I love spraying my parent's dogs with the hose. I call that "The Hose Game." Sadly, now when I ask the dogs "Who wants to play the hose game?!" (with great enthusiasm, I might add), they scurry away the minute I edge towards the hose pipe.

Summer will be here soon enough. For now, I'm going to continue to enjoy spring and hope this humid spell passes. Unless it brings with it a nice thunderstorm to break the air, it's going to get old rather quickly. I don't like days that begin with a grey nothingness; I want them to do something.

Yet, I suppose in a month or two, I'll be wishing for the milder temperatures of days like this and wondering why I was complaining. For now, there's still some Spring to enjoy, the tulips are in full swing and the scent of lilacs hangs in the air. This, I have missed over the past few years. If it comes with a side of humidity, I think I can live with that.

Happy Thursday!

A Dark and Stormy Night...

I am so ridiculously glad it's Friday. It's been a long and strange week, one that I'm actually glad is going to be over. It started cold with snow and ice covering the ground and has ended almost springlike, warm temperatures taking me by the surprise.

I love the seasons. As I've said before, it's one of the reasons I'm happy to be back in the Midwest. Southern California has its beauty and if you like sunshine, it's a great place to live. Yet, if you're like me and you enjoy changing temperatures, vast differences in weather from day to day, it can get old really fast.

Not that Los Angeles doesn't have some weather. This is the time of year when the rains come and the city is drowning under heavy torrents. The streets flood, the water rushing with a furious current to the storm drains. Days like that remind me of Stephen King's novel/mini-series It ; I always half expected Pennywise the Clown to be peeking back at me from the grates under the street curbs. It's probably better that he doesn't. While I enjoy my active imagination and picturing Mr. Pennywise the Creepy Clown, actually seeing him would either completely terrify me or, instead, confirm that I am actually crazy instead of being a slight suspicion in the back of my mind. As you can imagine, neither alternative would be a good thing.

We had thunderstorms last night with the type of lashing rain that beats against the windows so hard that you feel like they're going to shatter. The wind howled through the tiny cracks between window and frame and the thunder rumbled in the distance. It was the type of night that made me glad to be inside yet a small part of me wondered how it would feel to be out in the night, the wind whipping my hair, the rain pelting me and soaking my face. The best part of being out in it is coming in. I love the feeling of changing out of wet clothes into try ones; clothes never quite feel as good as that moment unless they're coming straight from the clothes dryer. To me, that is a small slice of heaven.

I lay awake for a lot of the night. I had a lot on my mind which is probably why I woke up in the first place. Unfortunately, my upstairs neighbours- they whom have disturbed my peace before- were apparently having quite a raucous videogame party. Right above my room. They like to celebrate when they beat each other at the game up there. Trust me, I heard every word. Because I was in that mental place where I wasn't asleep yet wasn't fully coherant and awake, I didn't really know what to do. Trying to be fair, it's not their fault that the walls and ceilings of our apartment complex are thin. They really weren't being that loud but, because they were right above my head, I could still hear them. Of course, one might wonder why, at 4:30 a.m., they're STILL playing videogames but not everyone works 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. like me so maybe they don't get that some people do tend to sleep during the night.

The nice part about the storm was that it was a little noise blocker. The rain fell so heavily and the wind blew so furiously that it drowned them out and, eventually, lulled me back to sleep. I look forward to spring and summer because that's when the truly spectacular storms arrive. The only part that is a little worrying is the fear of tornandos. We have no basement in my building. I'm not quite sure where to go if we do have a tornado. Yet there's no point in worrying about that until it's time.

I'm glad it's the weekend. I'm going to visit my family which is always a good way to relax. I'm hoping to get a little more of my optimism back, to back up a little and not let the jading burn of rejection get to me so much. It should be about the love of writing more than the appreciation of it. I need to remember that because that's why I started writing in the first place. Hopefully next week, my spirits will be renewed and my positivity will return. Thanks, as always for reading.

Have a great weekend.

It's the Small Things in Life....

The clouds are thick in the sky today. As I drove in, I could see the streaky sunrise frozen in its tracks, the heaviness of the clouds taking over the sky. The wind is howling through any cracks it can find in windows and doors. It's going to be a stormy day.

As I said yesterday, aside from snow, there's nothing I love more about being in the Midwest than those thunderstorms. They build up, slowly and steadily. In the summer, they come after days of opressive heat and humidity that make you feel as though you're being pushed to the ground with the pressure. The clouds roll in, covering the sky with a thick canvas of grey and then, from afar, a rumble interrupts the day. The first few rumbles of thunder are usually so far away that you wonder if you really heard them or if it was something else, an airplane perhaps.

Then the storms gets closer, rain begins to scatter onto the ground, the rumbles get louder and the storm suddenly overhead. The rain begins to pelt down, furiously. The thunder turns to a crash overhead, the lighting so quick and sudden that your eyes take in its bright aftermath rather than the lighting flash itself.

I could see those clouds rolling in this morning. The wind is already blowing fairly hard. The temperature is positively balmy outside. On my drive, I was in the middle of town. There are a set of railway tracks that intersect the road at one point. The car in front of me suddenly slowed for no obvious reason. Then I saw them, five deer, running, one by one across the road. They were being aided by a good citizen, who must have found them in his yard and he managed to get traffic to stop so the deer could tear across the road, unharmed. I think they were following the railroad tracks but I can't be sure. I can only hope they get to their destination safely.

It made me wonder if those deer knew something about the storm. It reminded me of those cartoons in which at the first sound of thunder, the cartoon animals of the woods and forest make for cover to sit out the storm. Maybe those deer know that we're in for a tumultous day.

I like a bit of turmolt in my weather. As I said yesterday, there are some days where you feel like you're running in place and you just want something to happen. It's almost like I want to throw the elements that make up my normal day into the air to have them scatter like those pick-up-sticks that we used to play with as kids. I don't want the elements to change but maybe to rearrange, to make something new out of something old.

I don't suppose I really need a storm for that. I could do that any day, if I wanted. It's just that some days, there's comfort in the ordinary. Other days, the ordinary almost makes you feel imprisoned. I've always been a big supporter if finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. For me, today, it was those deer. I've seen them a few times in the field behind my apartment since the last time I blogged about deer. Yet there's definitely something special when they interrupt such a normal part of my routine. Like the squirrel yesterday, those deer today made me pause for a moment in appreciation. That was a moment that I ordinarily would have been stuck in my normal routine of driving to work, listening to whatever CD I fumbled into the player and already thinking about what to make for dinner.

As goes the saying, "It's the small things in life that make it worthwhile." I agree with that wholeheartedly. On a bad day, it's the friends who take the time out to talk to you that make it a better day. It's the fact that I can call my mother any time and she'll always listen to me complain or feel blue and she never tells me to suck it up and shut up. It's things like the fact that I always have McCain Smiles frozen potatoes in my freezer and they make my day just a little better because they're so goofy (and tasty) or watching a Harry Potter movie can take me away from life for a while. It's seeing a squirrel unswervingly scurry across a telephone wire or deer that cross my path in the morning that make a day something more than ordinary.

It's a thunderstorm crackling overhead that reminds us that afterwards, there'll be calm but, for now, there's the spectacular show of weather to enjoy. The little things add up....we just have to stop to appreciate them.

Happy Wednesday.

A Simple Lesson from a Squirrel...

It's a gloomy, dark, rainy Tuesday today. The rain started hammering my windows at around 2 a.m. and though it's slowed, I don't think it's really stopped. It's currently drizzling, the clouds deep and heavy. It's also much, much warmer than it has been. It's supposed to be over 60 degrees today. It's very springlike. It's a nice lull from the cold freezing temperatures and blanket of snow and ice.

I don't think this means it's spring though. Not yet. The grass has reappeared now the snow has mostly melted and it's still that dull, tired brown of winter. The newness of spring still waiting to reveal itself. There are also still patches of snow that loom in the shade. They're melting and, as they do so, the cold of the snow collides with the warm of the air and a hazy mist hangs between snow and sky. It looks like something from a fantasy novel, as though you'd step into the snow patch and be taken to an alien place, a world that exists seperate from ours.

Don't you wish, somedays, that you could do that? I have, even since I was a child. I read books about made-up-lands that appeared at the tops of trees, lands that existed on the other side of wardrobes, worlds where vampires existed, brutally and romantically. Even as I'm older, I still like to read books that take me away, books like Harry Potter where magic truly exists. I'm old enough to know it's all fiction but young enough that sometimes I wish it wasn't.

I think the days that it's easiest to wish that are the days where we feel like we're stuck in a rut. For me, it's when my job isn't exciting and I feel that a trained monkey could do it. Sometimes it's a day when I have the hope of romance only to have it dashed by the reality of emotional baggage. It's also days when my email account holds rejections from agents when I was so certain that one of them would at least want to see more of what I can do. It's days when I sit down to write and all that flows is a regurgitated version of someone else's work rather than an original, extraordinary idea of my own.

I'm having one of those days today. As I drove in, I got stuck at a stop light and I watched a squirrel smoothly hope from one side of a telephone wire to the other. It wasn't one of those scary electical wires that threaten to fry the squirrel but one of those bundled packages that hang high above, the casing around the bundle providing a safe passage from squirrels. I admired that squirrel. He had a place to get so he hopped along to it. He didn't falter, he didn't slip, he didn't even seem to be looking where he was going. He just knew. He trusted his feet to get him there and they did. He reached his goal with nary a thought.

Somedays, I wish life was that easy. The path that lays before us never seems quite that easy to find. There's too much in the way, whether it's real obstacles or ones that exist in our mind. So we don't hop forward, boldy, as the squirrel did. We stop and try to keep looking down and though we might see the path, our caution makes it slippery and uncertain. For me, the path is always shrouded in self-doubt: "what if I'm not supposed to do this?" "What if I'm not good enough?" "Why do I always get rejected?" "Why can't it be easy?"

The thing is, I don't think it's supposed to be easy. As I've said in this blog before, it feels more worthwhile when it isn't easy. If I do succeed with writing or life, romance or my job, it'll feel like I earned it. The hardest part is keeping my feet on the path that lays before me, even if I can't see it. I have to just trust that it's there and go with my instincts and, one day, like that squirrel, I'll have achieved my goal, even if it's just staying on a path and getting to the other side because that, in itself, is a prize and accomplishment.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy this rainy Tuesday. We're supposed to have thunderstorms tomorrow. If there's one thing I love almost as much as snow, it's a good, powerful Midwestern storm. There's nothing like it. Considering I used to be terrified of storms, the fact that I revel in them nowadays is an accomplishment. And, the ironic thing is, I never had to think about it. I just let it happen.

Maybe there's a lesson to be learned there.

Happy Tuesday.