Social Faux Pas?

Since I was old enough to reach the countertops, my mom has always told me to take small portions of food to save for other people who may have not had a chance to eat yet. This was the standard rule whether in my home of four children, two parents, two birds, one dog and one cat, or at any social gathering.

Lately I’ve encountered several people who clearly don’t know the rule. Have they changed? Did I miss the memo about encouraged selfishness and looking out for number one?

Another rule, which I could have possibly created on my own, is that one doesn’t take food, specifically prepared for a meeting, before the participants of the meeting have eaten first.

I organize several meetings and classes at work. Many of them are catered either for breakfast or lunch. Yesterday I picked up a delectable selection of breakfast goodies for a law enforcement class. I delivered them to the classroom and made sure everything that would be needed in order to devour a goody was provided. I did not take one of the goodies, though I hadn’t had breakfast and I was quite hungry.

A few minutes later, an administrative assistant who helped make the coffee for the class decided she wanted a hot, sugary goody, and she was going to go get one even though she’d already had a breakfast burrito and the class hadn’t had a chance to touch the food yet.

Even worse, she wanted me to go into the classroom, while the instructor was teaching, and grab her one! I got out of it temporarily by using the excuse that I’d look like a pig if I grabbed two donuts, one for me and one for her. So then she suggested she would top off the coffee, I could go in the room with her, we could both grab a donut, and no one would be the wiser.

While this still goes against my rule, the idea appealed to my biting hunger pains. So I agreed. It went as planned; she topped off the coffee, we grabbed our donuts and fled. While she pranced out of the door, happy she’d achieved her goal; I left the room hovering over the donut hoping no one would see the social faux pas I had just committed.

The donut was perfect. Gooey warmness on the inside, while slightly crispy on the outside with sugary glaze drizzled across the top. I couldn’t enjoy it though; I couldn’t enjoy it with what I had just done. I kept wondering what 25 police officers, who hadn’t had a chance to select one for themselves, would think of me. Who gave me the right to have the choice pick?

I finished my donut, licked my fingers so as not to waste any sugary goodness, and began my day’s work. I probably won’t do it again because I can’t stand the constant guilt, but is anyone else concerned with such things?

What kind of social faux pas have you committed?

Snow!!!

These are my pictures from the glorious Easter Eve Snow Day - one of the most fun days I've had. Sheldon and I slept in, watched snow falling, watched cartoons, watched snow falling, went to Panera Bread for lunch and ate yummy soup, watched snow falling, went to the movies, watched snow falling, built a snowman, watched snow falling, went to church, and watched snow falling! And it's still falling....it's been 10 hours, and it's still falling!

Proof:

Biker-World Initiation

Peeking through the plexi-glass face shield of my helmet I see bikers littered throughout the parking lot. Bodies covered from head to toe in leather and tattoos, one hand busy smoking a cigarette while the other hand holds a cold cup of brew. Laughter, loud pipes and rock music fill the background.

Sheldon and I ride up on our hog, ok, well it's a Honda, but I think it's pretty cool. Eyes follow us until we park our bike. "Who are these new people," they wonder. I imagine myself hopping off the back of the bike with quick and precise movements, like a cat, and when I take off my helmet my blonde locks flow out of my helmet bouncing off the back of my jacket.

Reality check - I got off the bike early, before Sheldon parked it, and I hopped on one leg to avoid getting the other leg stuck on the back rest. Sheldon took off to park on the other side of the parking lot, so I'm chasing after him with my big helmet wobbling around on my head. When I catch up to him, we take off our helmets and our hair is matted to our heads. No flowing locks dancing in the wind, just sweaty bangs stuck to my forehead. This is why people where doo-rags, I think to myself.

We uncomfortably walk through the crowd of bikers and scantily-clad women through the front parking lot of the famed restaurant, Hooters. I never thought I'd set foot in a Hooters restaurant in my life, but Biker's Night was too tempting. We had to see what it was about.

Sheldon and I peruse the parking lot and check out all the bikes. There's everything from custom choppers to stock sport bikes (metric bikes is the term to use in BikerWorld). Tricked out bikes had "ghost" paintings of skulls within the flame paint job of the bike, various colored lights to bring out the paint job of the bike in the dark, and custom pipes that would rattle a house's foundation.

After browsing the bike lot, we stepped through the front door. We were in. A girl in daisy-duke spandex and a tight tank top took us to our table, where another girl in short shorts and a revealing tank top waited on us. After the initial shock of the employee uniforms I enjoyed the surroundings.

Everything was really laid back, the waitstaff was actually really attentive to all of our dining needs, and the manager asked us twice if we enjoyed the food and if everything was OK. I'll have to admit, the wings were actually pretty good. And so were the curly fries. And so was the hamburger. Sheldon and I split everything we ordered, so we didn't bottom out the bike on the way out. :)

All and all, the experience was a fun one. I would definitely go again, but probably just during bike night. Maybe next time I'll be donning more leather and I'll work on perfecting the back bike seat exit.

Freedom of the Road

Since I was about 14, I've been intrigued with motorcycles. The loud rumbling sound of the pipes, the shiny chrome sparkling in sunlight, the feeling of my hair dancing in the wind. I've ridden on the back of Harleys with friends and even braved the occasional dirt bike. I have toy motorcycle models littered about my house and I've had an expensive Harley-Davidson leather jacket hanging in my closet since I was 16.

I took the motorcycle safety course when I was 17 and got the special little "M" class on my drivers license. I've collected Harley-Davidson t-shirts from Fairbanks, Alaska all the way to Tijuana, Mexico.

One of my favorite motorcycle ads is below. The small caption in the bottom left-hand corner, which you probably can't read, says: "There it is: road, sky, elbowroom. Plum for the picking behind the handlebar of your own H-D motorcycle. Hair dancing in the wind. The roar of the engine drowning out the opinions of the world."

This ad hangs in my little grey cubicle at work. It used to remind me that one day I, too, would own a motorcycle. Today it reminds me that I only have eight hours separating me from my motorcycle!!

We did it! Sheldon and I took the plunge and bought a motorcycle. It's a Honda, which is not a Harley, but I enjoy it just the same. Plus it probably rides smoother than a Harley anyway.

Open road, here we come!

Does this happen to everyone?

A good friend and I were discussing the reality of having babies the other day at lunch. We're both planning on having children eventually, but there's always the question of when. And how does one pinpoint when to start such a challenging venture? I can't speak for my friend, but I've planned in the past when my husband and I should start trying to conceive, and when the time finally rolled around, I chickened out.

While I can plan all I want to for the perfect time of year to give birth, what the child's name should be, what kind of school he or she should go to, and watch Super Nanny on a regular basis to learn how to discipline my child, it still frightens the crap out of me to bring another human being into this world.

How do I know I would be a good mother? How do I know when the time is right to have a baby? Will I just be doing it because everyone else is doing it? And most of all, will I lose my independence? Will I just be known as Kate or Nate's mom for the rest of my life? Does my small career I've barely begun fall into a hole never to be seen again? Would I be OK with that if it did?

It's not like time is ticking away at this point. I'm only 25. But will I still feel like this when I'm 27...29...31? I would love to have children some day, I'm just not sure when some day will arrive.

As the cursor blinks...

The daytime drama of a woman, who day after day stares blankly at a white screen, unable to form the words of the story living within her.

Basically I have fallen prey to writer's block also. Maybe it's the spring-like weather outside. I'm too restless to sit in front of a computer and write to my heart's content. I'd rather be riding my bike or walking my dogs to their heart's content. :)

So, I've taken this opportunity to write while I'm stuck at work, and it's too early to begin working. Literally, I got here at 7:10 a.m. because I carpooled with someone who had to be at work before the crack of dawn! I won't name any names...you know who you are.

I look around my desk and wonder what I'll start working on this morning. As I prioritize the projects in my mind, I lose the desire to write down my thoughts. My thoughts consist of work jargon, schedules, research planning, proper forms to be filled out, upcoming meetings. These aren't things my readership would enjoy with a cup of coffee on a Wednesday morning. So why write? Maybe this is why my creative thoughts have soured.

My free time lately has consisted of watching every crime show on television, making supper, cleaning house, and working out at the gym to get that perfect summer body. These aren't things many people would enjoy reading about, I assume. Except maybe if I go into vivid detail about the nightmare that I had last night because of watching CSI before my bedtime. Well, why not, sharing my dreams has gone over well in the past.

Sheldon and I were visiting Alabama for a cousin's birthday in said nightmare. We began the day riding our bikes to a local swimming hole and taking a dive with the rest of the family and friends. I guess we had made the trip to Alabama for more than a cousin's birthday, because we ended up spending the night in a new house.

The new house had been built by a friend of the family's, and he allowed us to stay in the house for a week to try it out...kindof like a test drive. Common with most Alabama summer nights, the clouds rolled in at sundown. It was stormy. We lit some candles to set the mood...the TV-watching, ice cream-eating mood, that is. Sheldon walked in the kitchen to get the ice cream, and noticed something dripping from the wall next to the side of the fridge.

He stooped down and noticed a hole in the wall where the liquid was coming from. He swiped his finger across part of the soggy wall to see what was dripping. It looked red, but he needed to turn the light on to get a better look at it. I strolled in and flicked the light on to see what was taking so long.

"What is that?!" I yelled. Blood was oozing out of the hole, which was jammed with bananas and white t-shirts. Yes, bananas and white t-shirts.

Sheldon pulled the bananas and t-shirts out of the hole, which just made it worse. Clumps of body matter and blood fell out of the wall at a slow, sickening pace. Like bad milk being released from its carton.

Little did we know, the murderers of this obviously destroyed body, had been watching us from the next house. They were staked out in the top floor with lanterns waiting to see if we'd discover the body hidden so discreetly behind bananas and white t-shirts in the main room of the house.

Sheldon seemed shocked. He couldn't move. I said we should call the cops, wait until they got there, then go stay at my mom's house. We called the cops, but I couldn't wait in the house any longer. We stood outside in the pouring rain waiting for them to show up.

The murderers, realizing that we probably discovered the body because normal people don't randomly stand out in the rain, in the dark, awaiting rescue, headed outside to take care of us.

Shaking in the cold rain, holding a jacket over my head, I noticed two men running toward the house. I called for Sheldon, who had run inside to grab a few things.

And then I woke up. Until tomorrow night...

And The Winner Is...

Cancun, Mexico!! Sheldon and I have booked our vacation to be spent in the lap of luxury on the beach in beautiful Cancun, Mexico. Woohoo!

To brag a bit: We're staying in an all-inclusive, five-star hotel right on a strip of pure sugar-sand beachfront. Crystal blue waters will welcome us each morning along with a giant, fresh breakfast. We'll spend the day lounging on the beach, eating, and swimming. We might venture out on an excursion like treetop gliding or swimming with dolphins if we feel the need to remove ourselves from our sunbathing spot.

Restaurants available include Sakura, the Japanese restaurant, Brazilian Rodizio, Grill and Steakhouse, a Spanish cuisine at Tío Pepe restaurant, and Sir Arthur, a gourmet restaurant. Buffets are available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well.

Activities include an on-resort gym, ping-pong, beach volleyball, tennis, windsurfing, catamaran (not sure what that is), snorkeling and scuba diving lessons. Golf courses are close by, and obviously, so is "nightly" entertainment.

To prepare for this trip, after 7 long years of no vacations, I need to fill my closet with certain pieces of clothing. Bathing suit cover-ups, a couple new swimsuits, shorts, tanks, more flip-flops, sundresses...I could go on and on. So, if anyone needs a shopping buddy in the May-June timeframe, I'm there!

I've provided some pictures for your enjoyment. Post-June I'll have several personal pictures to share! For now, we'll just have to settle for the professional advertiser's photos. :)