Monday, December 1, 2008

stack o' posts: 1 of 4

I know I promised a new belly pic and it will come. However, M is working on my computer right now (bless her) and I can't get to my pictures, but I have not forgotten. I could just post a picture of a standard three-car garage. That would pretty much sum up how I look in the last round of shots we took. I don't know if it was a bad outfit choice, an excessive water (and everything else) retention day, or if I just look that ginormous but the picture is a little frightening if I do say so myself.

On to the other half of my promise...

AOPB incident #1: At the beginning of November, I went on an out-of-state business trip. The night before I left was election night and M and I went over to some friends' house to watch the returns. As we were leaving their house, I realized I'd left all of my travel documents in my work file cabinet so we stopped by my office on the way home to pick them up. We didn't get home until well after midnight, at which point I began packing and found I'd (a) neglected to bring home the power cord for the work laptop I was to take along and (b) left my cell phone sitting on our friends' coffee table. All of this is very unlike me, by the way. I am OCD to the core. I had to be at the airport at 7am the next morning and taking a detour to pick up the two forgotten items would add an hour to my morning trip. Realistically, I couldn't have picked either up the next morning anyway. It was too late to call our friends and arrange for a 6am visit, and the power cord for the computer was locked in my supervisor's office - the one room in my suite I don't have a key to. M saved the day (night) by sending me off with her iPhone (providing both phone and email communication) and generously agreeing to drive around town after work the next day, picking up my odds and ends so she could bring them with her when she came to join me the following night. I spent the next 36 hours paralyzed with fear that I would leave something else sitting somewhere. I triple-checked that the laptop was in my bag after leaving security; I held the iPhone in my hand, physically looking at it as I exited the plane because I was sure it would fall out of my carry-on if I were to put it somewhere as insecure as a zippered pocket; I nearly had a heart attack when I "realized" (incorrectly) that I had locked the keys to my rental car in the trunk after tossing in my suitcase. Apparently I do not cope well with feeling like a flake.

AOPB incident #2: I am the organizer of monthly potlucks at my office. Each potluck has a theme (Mexican, vegetarian, etc.) but I always tease a co-worker that she doesn't have to adhere to the theme because I just want her to bring the same dish - her specialty - to every single potluck because I love it so much. Well this month, she made a similar request of me. She asked that I abandon the theme and bring in a sweet potato casserole that has received rave reviews in the past. To be honest, I was relieved. It's a recipe I've made for years - you know, the kind you can make in your sleep? (You can see where this is going, right?) The night before the potluck, I prepared the dish and it wasn't until it was already in the oven that I realized I'd forgotten the keystone ingredient (orange juice concentrate, if you must know) and the end result was less than spectacular, which sucks since I was making it by special request. The lamest part of all is that it only has a handful of ingredients to begin with and I read the recipe extra carefully before beginning since I know I've been a bit spacy lately... (See AOPB incident #1)

These two incidents aside, I've been doing okay, I think. (Well, except for the time last week where I forgot how to work our clothes dryer the other day with my mom standing right behind me. As in, I literally could not find the start button to save my life. Very embarassing.)

So, in the time it's taken me to get to this post, I've had several others take up residence in my brain. I'm going to get through as many as I can tonight, so stay tuned!

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