Angela’s Moved Out

One Thursday evening I bounced into my aparment,happily chatting away wit my friend Kristin,  when Angela stepped into my path with these words, “I’m moving.”

Stopping mid-sentence, I told Kristin I’d just heard some vital information. Temporarily providing Angela with my attention, I asked, “You’re what? When?”

Angela was moving to Dallas. Not as a theory, not as a threat, not as a dream, but as a reality. Angela’s company offered her a position as a trainer in Dallas and needed her there October 18th, so she was leaving October 15th

I finished my conversation with Kristin and found the other Emily. All we could do was smile. It was our dream come true.

A bit later, I went back to my room when I overheard Angela crying. I cringed, knowing that I would be escaping the house as much as possible the last 20-ish days she was set to live with me, because seriously, what life change can be drama free with her? I tried to avoid hearing her, but sometimes it can’t be avoided when her speaking volume is piano forte. Angela was on the phone with Rick’s sister, attempting defend her move to be with Rick. In my last post, I mentioned Angela dumped him fifteen years ago for the man who became her first husband. It seems as if Rick’s sister wanted some sort of assurance that this was not going to happen again. Angela was more than happy to provide it. How?

By calling several people and having a conference call with Rick’s sister to “prove her love.”

The first call was Angela’s mother. Her reply to her daughter’s hasty decision to move, “I’m happy for you… for now.” Angela became defensive and said Rick was her true love, and I quote, ‘We will be together for always and forever. Amen.” Angela and her mother went around a few more times when Angela called her father next and announced her reunion with her one true love.

“Well, that’s nice sweetie,” was Angela’s father’s reply. “You have a job, right” Angela explained her promotion and hung up. There was one more call to make: the all important call to Eric to break up with him.

Yes, she broke up with him over the phone. With her new boyfriend’s sister on the line as well. And the phone on speakerphone. I will spare you the ridiculousness of her words and say this… Eric took it well, and Angela attempted to provoke more dramatic responses from him. After this conversation, I’d had my fill. I grabbed my hoodie and took off for Chuck and Irene’s, preparing to hide like this for three more weeks. Angela did me a favor, though. She spared me the drama by moving out much sooner than expected.

Friday morning, I received a text message from my landlord Dolly. “Angela is moving out early. “

“Are you serious?” I replied. “This is even better than Oct 15.” Dolly felt the same way about Angela that Emily Ann and I did.

“This is the 3rd time she has changed her story. First she said she wanted to move because of her grandma being sick. Then it was to be with her long-lost love. Now its because she is so depressed she can’t stand to be here another minute.” Drama much? Dolly and I made plans to show the apartment for Saturday so we could find a replacement roommate faster… or at least be more careful about who was moving in. I floated throughout the rest of the day… my life was going to soon be much simpler.

When I came home that afternoon, Angela was packing. I said hello and we exchanged a few curt words I asked her why she was moving so fast. She told me her job wanted her sooner. I asked about her daughter, how did Katie feel about all of this, now that she wasn’t coming to Colorado Springs. Angela replied that Katie was moving to Dallas next May when school let out. I shrugged my shoulders, and went upstairs to grab some things. Angela didn’t need help packing, so I decided not to be around to indulge her drama. I spent the evening at Chuck and Irene’s again, where I hung out with my friend Josh around the fire pit.  When I came home that night, I found this:

All that was left was her empty room.

I feel like an awful person for saying this, but I was so relieved… Angela was really gone. She left as dramatically as she came, and moved out as swiftly as she moved in. Mercifully, the only word I have received since the move is a rambly voicemail with instructions on what to do with her mail and and a text message with her new phone number, which I immediately erased. When I say I want no contact with her, I mean it.

In other news, my new roommate moved in yesterday morning. She has not displayed any erratic behaviors. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Kristin & Emily’s Night Out & Early To Bed

I was supposed to blog twice yesterday.

Sorry.

Anyway, here is today’s “This Is What I Did Adventure”, possibly one of two.

On Saturday, June 27, after Kristin and  I were burnt into crispy red lobsters,  we went home, changed into nice clothes, and headed out for dinner. After dinner, we roamed around downtown. Kristin and I walked around Temple Square at night.

After that, Kristin and I went home and had some Riesling.

Soon thereafter, Kristin and I slathered ourselves in sunscreen and hit the hay. We were tired ladies and needed to be ready for an early drive to Moab the next day.

Next up: Another Iowa vacation blog….

What’s That Smell?

After Kristin and I were on our way home from Park City, I suggested we stay on the interstate and visit the Great Salt Lake. Kristin, being the adventurous spirit she is replied, “How can I come to Salt Lake City and not go to the Great Salt Lake? Let’s go!”

I must admit, she had a good point.

I pointed out the seagulls once we arrived to the marina of the Great Salt Lake. Kristin shuddered to learn that they are the Utah state bird.

On the way out, I got hit by the sulfuric smell of the lake almost instantaneously. Kristin said she smelled nothing but a sea smell. Once we got close though, it was a different story.

The smell hit Kristin like a ton of bricks. She wasn’t so much a fan.

There also about a million mosquitoes swarming around. My theory is all the bugs of northern Utah stay out of the valley and take up residence at the Great Salt Lake.

With smell, the swarms, and the seagulls, needless to say, we didn’t stay long. We left after about fifteen minutes to get ready for our night out on the town.

Kristin & Emily’s Park City Adventure

When Kristin was in Utah, we paid a visit to Park City.

While there, Kristin’s travel companion Lawndart made friends with Park City’s local bronze bear.

I got reacquainted with the town moose and her latest fashions.

Then Kristin and I stood in line for way too long at a zipline, which we decided was too short for the hour long wait. We also were fried into Midwestern Lobsters.

Oh, well, at least we got to take in a pretty view.

Sunburn, short ride, et al, it wasn’t a total bust. We had a good time. Did I mention the view?

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for another adventure… in fact, maybe tomorrow there will be three!

Kristin Meets Froggy

While Kristin was visiting me here in Salt Lake City,  she met Froggy. Evidently, she found him irresistible, cause I caught them like this…

Sadly, Kristin did have some Froggy smooching to do when she arrived out here, and thankfully, I didn’t need to myself. More about that later…

So how were my two vacations? Awesome! This week, I will be posting one or two blogs a day with a photo of what I have been up to the last two weeks to catch you all up. I will be keeping them short and sweet, because I like said, there will be two a day! So if you keep coming, I will keep these coming!

A Re-teaming

Last night was my first night to really relax in almost a week and a half. Knowing that I only had two days (now less!) before I headed home to Iowa, I decided to watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off so I could swiftly reship it on Netflix. Smack dab in the middle of one of the best scenes (the parade) Angela started blabbing about the new job she started yesterday. When she didn’t quit talking, I gave up and paused the movie. Once her work-related explanation was complete, she held out her hand toward me.

“Slap my hand,” she commanded.

I stared at her warily. “What did you do?” I asked, unable to disguise the maternal-like scolding inflections in my voice.

“Angel and I got back together,” she winced.

“WHAT?” I screeched. “ARE YOU CRAZY?” So much for taking a cool, calm, and disconnected approach with this person, huh?

So what happened? Here’s the story, at least, as best as I understood it. Friday night, her trucking trainer and Angel’s trainer were back in town so she went to visit them. She kept ignoring Angel and he kept staring at her. She gave me some more details about staring and Angel and some other guy, blah blah, but she was in this other guy’s rig and on some country station “their song” (The A-Team Song) was playing. She got choked up, and I think she went to some other truck and ended up hearing the same song on another country station right after it. (If It’s Bless the Broke Road I WILL poke my ears out)

Well, Angela looked up, bawling, and saw Angel staring at him. She flew out of the rig she was in, ran to his and into his arms. It was trucker movie-dramatic! (And nearly induced my gag reflex!) Evidently the two talked and the story is this: Angel is not in an open marriage but he is estranged from his wife. He cannot afford to get a divorce yet. The person he was talking to was ex, apparently trying to convince her to file. However, Angel’s aspirations to move to SLC are naught, cause apparently he wants to stay in Seattle. Angela told me they weren’t likely to stay together, but remain friends. My question was this, then… why are they even back together if they are so sure they are doomed for failure?

“We love each other,” was Angela’s reply. “I mean, we were only broken up for a week…” Angel is gone now, and won’t be back until next weekend. She wants to bring that hairy beast back into my home. At least she didn’t bring him back Friday night. Angela had enough consideration to keep him away from my apartment when Kristin was here. Still, I DO NOT WANT THIS MAN IN THE SAME ZIPCODE AS ME. Emily Ann is in Cali right now, so when she is home I may pow-wow with her and put our feet down: NO ANGEL. I also have the option of staying at Brockas that weekend. I will already be house-sitting there and I could just stay the night.

Pink Ballet Lady Greets You From Moab

The Pink Ballet Lady (who is formally named Minerva) wanted to greet you all from Moab. She got rather bored sitting on my desk at work and jumped at the chance to go to Arches National Park in Southeastern Utah with my friend Kristin and me. Here is our lovely lad enjoying a view of the Salt Valley in Arches:

Minerva is prety tired now, so she might stay at the hotel when Kristin and Emily go hiking at the park tonight. But tomorrow she will greet you with a shot a Delicate Arch!

Blog Surfing

There are some of us out there who enjoy reading a blog or two. And then there are those of us who are obsessed! (Zelzee? Jenni? I am looking at you.) We enjoy having peeks into lives of people different than us, or perhaps we enjoy reading theology, finance, gardening cooking or any other topic under the sun from a more down-to-earth perspective. Either way, people like me are always out on a look for new and interesting content. What does that lead to? Blog surfing!

I have found a few websites that make blog surfing much easier. You can use blogrolls and get reccomendations from blogs you already read. If your blog subscriptions feed into Google Reader, the system will suggest blogs that you can subscribe to based on what you already have subscriptions to. Blogger and WordPress both have blog surfing functions that will take you to a random blog.

I discovered two more websites that will pull random blog content as well.

http://www.alphainventions.com

and

http://www.condron.us

Both of these sites give you a quick peek at the main page of a blog. They both flash the content on your screen for a few seconds then jump to the next blog. Its like flipping through channels on the TV to decide what you want to watch. If you like what you see, you simply click on the blog and browse. If you don’t like what you see, wait a few minutes and it will jump to the next blog. If you are seriously bored, I suggest trying one of these two sites. It can be amusing.

In the meantime, I have a busy next few weeks. The youth group from Maranatha Baptist Church from Grimes, IA will be here this week to put on a Vacation Bibe School for my church. I am looking forward to this because the team is being led by one of my favorite professors from college, Dr. Paul Hartog. Its like a little slice of home coming to me! Kristin, one of my dearest friends, will be here next Friday. And July 2…. I will be heading back to the Iowa! I will make advid use of the new camera and try to blog often. They may be short, but I don’t want the long-winded updates that I gave after Christmas that took forever to finish. Tonight I will try to post a What In the World?… sorry I didn’t post one this week! In the meantime, enjoy blogsurfing… but try not to forget A Shot In The Dark!

It’s Complicated

MyFacebook status is set as a complicated relationship with my dear friend and LutheranMe, Kristin. Its a joke of ours, cause we are very similar people with very different interests. She is a science teacher and loves the outdoors. I am more of a city girl and enjoy the humanities, She is 5′10″ tall, am I am 5′1″. I am a diehard Hawkeyes fan; they are her last resort team. Despite these superficial differences, Kristin and I have a very close friendship. We understand one another, and hold each other accountable spiritually, physically, and emotionally. I am so glad to have a wonderful friend like her to come alongside me and encourage me, especially when guys are jerks or I feel discouraged about things like work or my location.

Kristin and Emily, December 2008

Now, though, I don’t think our joke should survive. Kristin has done and found herself a man. From what I can tell, he seems to be a good man. If he is anything less, well…. I have ideas for retribution.

Vern, you have a good woman. She better not need to kiss Froggy. Also? She is all mine when she comes to Utah. Oh… and welcome to the family.

Still, my job isn’t over yet. And Kristin, with my current work in process, neither is yours. We still need each other. Maybe more than ever.

Always a Bridesmaid…

and never a bride is how the old adage goes. And so how it seems to go for me. But not quite.

A little over a year ago, I was a bride. I was supposed to have my walk down the aisle. Yesterday I internally celebrated my first solid year of singleness after my broken engagement. I told someone at church about the significance of the date. She told me she probably wouldn’t be celebrating; she’d be heartbroken.

And a year ago, I was. I was thoroughly convinced I was indeed meant for this man. I was so sure it was the will of God that having my wedding cancelled was like being hit by a freight train.
Now, here I am a year later, knowing so much more about myself. Even though my former fiance has amazing personality traits, there was a side of him I could not access. I know in my heart of hearts that I desire total intimacy from my spouse one day. My former fiance was unable, and truly, unwilling to deliver that. Truly, the end of that chapter of my life was a mercy from God.

In the last four years, I have been in three weddings. I was the maid of honor for my friend Jenny S and a bridesmaid for my friend Juliet. I was in my friend Courtney’s wedding a month ago as her personal attendant. Last week, I was asked by my friend Zac to be a groomswoman in his wedding set to take place in July of 2010. I stopped short.

 Me?

 Standing up with the men?

Of course I would. Zac is as good as family. We met over three years ago while attending Norwoodville Baptist Church together. Zac’s sister, Laura, died the same summer that I started my move to Des Moines. As I started to attend church at Norwoodville, I bonded with Zac and his sister, Hannah. I had not experienced the loss of a sister, but the loss of my father was still fresh in my heart. I could identify with the pain. Before I knew it, I was being adopted by their family and Zac and Hannah became my “little brother” and “little sister.” Zac’s family began attending a different church and I moved here to Utah. In that time, I remained in contact with Zac and Hannah. I still love them and feel connected to them. Is there any question if I would stand up for Zac? Of course not. Furthermore, I am honored.
I know some of you are wondering if I have to wear a tux…

And the answer is no. (Thank you!!)

Now, I am also going to be in another wedding in 2010, when I am the maid of honor for Jenni R.

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride…. if I am still single a year from now, am I going to be crying because of my lack of romance?

No.

I will be rejoicing that my dear friends have found that special someone they are meant to be with. And, God willing, I will too. The one I am meant for is going to be amazing. I made that post about a note to the men who are pursuing me or may pursue me in the future partially as a joke, and truly, it is my standard. As I wrote, even though it was being portrayed in a comical fashion, I realized I was really revealing the desires of my heart. My friend Kristin was inspired by my shennanigans and posted a similar list. Kristin and I have made a pact to review the potential suitors by our non-negotiables to make sure we don’t get in over our heads with someone who we should not even be giving the time of day. We? Are serious.

Until that day, I will rejoice in the Love of my Savior.  Though I seek and search for that “special person,” I am satisfied. And thankful that God knew better than I; and that despite a devastating heartbreak,  that He healed beautifully and has taught me to trust again. And guard.