I had to go shoe shopping today. I hate shopping for shoes! It’s a royal pain because I have one foot longer than the other. So, I have to buy shoes that are snug for one foot and tight on the other. It all works out in the end.
After scribing a few pieces of corner moulding this morning, I headed down to the local shoe shop. I was looking for hiking boots. It took me a while to find some that I was happy with. So, a man in his mid twenties came over and asked if he could be of any help.
“Can I help you, sir?”
“No, thank you.”
“You’ve been back here for a while, so I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t need any help”, he said whilst sorting the inventory of shoe boxes.
“Ah well, you can just call me Oedipus”, I laughingly announced.
“Edipuss?”
“Oedipus, the king. A play written by Sophocles. Anyway, Oedipus means swollen foot.”
“Huh?”
“I have one foot bigger than they other”, I muttered, as the young man looked even more perplexed.
“Oh…….Cool!”
Anyhow, I talked to him about college. He said that he’d think about going back to school. I told him that with education comes freedom to go where one wishes to go and accomplish what one wants to accomplish.
I had to read Oedipus the King in 8th grade, I believe. At college, I did an in-depth paper on Oedipus. I don’t understand why any kid over the age of 10 doesn’t know about Sophocles.
Now, I’m trampling around in a steel toed size 10(EU44) boot! Don’t mess with Davis.
Christmas was such a blur! Only wee bits of it remain in the whacky alternate cosmos that is my brain. The stupid bits remained, while the important one’s dissipated into an alcohol based egg nog.
It all started Christmas eve. I arrived at my grandmothers house fashionably late with presents in hand. As soon as I walked in the door, the Marylanders began berating me with wave after wave of comments and questions about Ireland.
Why aren’t you in Ireland? You chickened out, right? If I wanted to, I could do it, they’d say. What happen’ to the gurl you were dating last year? Are ya ‘tupid? How come ya can’t keep a woman more than a few months?
It was all in good craic. In my family, if the other family members constantly aggravate you, then they really..really like you. Crazy family!!!
“Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee, here comes………..”, my father hollered whilst parading through the entrance like a superstar.
He set the presents down and handed my almost two year old sister off to sister number two. We shook hands and proceeded to grip like we’d never gripped before. Every single time we see each other, we go through this traditional handshake that is really like putting one’s hand in a vice. Whoever can hold out the longest without giving or breaking a knuckle, wins!
He won this time, but only because he cheated by twisting my knuckles in such a way that they stated to grand against each other. Yikes!
After bulling around with the Marylanders and wishing my grandmother a Merry Christmas, I headed to a friends house to watch a movie or two.
Before I knew it, we had watched two incredible 80’s movies and knocked back a bit too much egg nog. I went home and tried to catch some much needed shut eye.
At 2AM, I realised that I had not wrapped some presents. So, I stayed up the rest of the night wrapping presents and reinstalling windows on my desktop. Oh yes, I forgot to mention the hard drive failure, which caused me to lose a lot of files! We’re talking head to platter failure!
Christmas morning, I met my mother at my sisters house to give gifts to my nephew. I got quite a few of my own! I have never seen a lad so enamoured by a skateboard with lettering on it that only a hardcore skater can comprehend. My sister is mad about frogs, so I took one of my coveted shots of a bullfrog and put it in a frame for her. She was thrilled!
Later that day, we went to my other grandmothers for Christmas lunch. It’s always a grand occasion. It’s never as tense as Thanksgiving. Everyone ate way to much. My Uncle went on about his holiday in Florida. He showed off pictures that he had taken at sunset on the beach. My mother got irritated and demanded that my sister go get the picture that I took and framed for her. It was quite humorous.
Anyhew, I showed my uncle how to tweak his images in Photoshop. He was quite amazed at how I can make a picture pop with clarity and colour.
I ended the day on my hands and knees installing base and quarter round moulding around the perimeter of my kitchen. I put in the last bit of new wood flooring today. I believe that I’ve caught the remodeling bug. Kitchen counters and sink are next!
As you all know by now, I’ve been working on my family tree. It has been an amazing journey. I’ve found out stuff about my ancestors that amazed me and confirmed old myths. Some antics of my forefathers made me laugh while others made me sigh.
Yesterday, I found out something that shook me to the core. It wasn’t bad just awe-inspiring. It also affirmed an old myth about my mothers mothers family. I went to the library and checked out two books that told me a story of a great woman. A woman known the world round. The lady in the picture below is my 11th great-grandmother. I am honoured to say that she is part of my family tree. I was humbled by what I found. An inspiring lady, indeed.
Right, I called in last week to check on the status of my application with the orginisation previously stated. I got a bloke that sounded like he was having a bad day. Had a bit of an attitude, he did.
I asked him about the status of the app, and he said that they were not considering new applicants until the first of 2009. I told him that I had a curious question, if he didn’t mind me asking. So, I asked. "I have to take a few medications on a daily basis, so I was wondering if that would be a problem?"
"We generally don’t recommend that people join, if they have to take several meds due to problems of getting them into whichever country you would be selected for", he muttered as the sound of shuffling papers came through my earpiece.
"Does it depend on what kind of meds?"
“If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of health problems do you have?”
I gave him the facts, which I will not publish on the blog.
“To be frank here, why would you join when you have all of these problems.”
“I love to help people…I want to make a difference in this crazy world.”
“That’s very admirable of you, but you can make a difference locally without endangering your health.”
“That’s true, but I’m a rover…I love to travel.”
“They will consider your application with the utmost respect, when they are able to review it. I can give you a website to find community programmes in your area.”
He seemed a bit clueless as to why I’d join the peace corps. I let this wee conversation knock me down in the dumps. I do not like to be faced with my own ailments. I don’t really think about it. So, when I’m slapped in the face with my own mortality, I get a bit melancholic.
I had a realisation Sunday night while out drinking with an old friend. Two young women were sitting across from us at a table drinking (I was drinkin’ Guinness) shots of something. They started arguing over who was comelier. The scrawny blonde told the brunette that she was fat and laughed about it. She got up to powder her nose, and the brunette, with graceful shoulders and lovely mocha eyes, started pulling at her blouse. In my animated mindset, I leaned over and said, “She’s just jealous of your ravishing figure and brilliant smile”.
She pulled loose strands of long and wavy chestnut hair out from in front of her face and smiled.
“Thanks”, she mumbled, as we toasted to her friends nuttiness.
It turns out that we go to the same university. Her friend came back and started talking to the lot of us. She tried to get in with my wingman, but due to him being a hitched (married) chap, that was a no go.
To my point. I will no longer let people pull me down to their level. Words can be fatal, if you allow them to do so. I’ve been called everything that I could possibly be called. What they don’t realise is that I’m Jefferson effing Davis!
Don’t let people push you around. Laugh and walk away or stay and start a fray. Thick skin is grand when one has a warm heart within. Be tough!
