« October 2004 | Main | December 2004 »

November 26, 2004

Help!

I think the guys installing the carpet here in the offices are trying to asphixiate Kate and I. At least that's the way it feels. If we are found dead in our offices... you'll all know why. I've been trapped here in my office for about an hour at least. They are gluing the carpet down now, so I think they're nearing the end, and I'll be able to go make copies. I need to do that to finish my settlement packet for the Michael W. Smith concert on Sunday.

So, I was really excited about going to see Finding Neverland on Wednesday, right? Well, I got to the theater, and they had cancelled the showing. The studio pulled the print and they didn't have the movie anymore. Very disappointing. So, I sent my family into see National Treasure, because I thought it was really good, and I went home and got some work done. Not exactly what I had in mind for the evening, but it all worked out.

Yesterday, Thanksgiving, I woke up with a nasty migraine. Luckily, the wonders of Imitrex helped get rid of it by 9:30 and I was able to leave for home in time to catch some of the Macy's Parade. I also got to watch a nice portion of the Dog Show, after the Parade... I love that.

Now, I am here at work instead of out braving the crowds and shopping, which I would MUCH rather be doing, although I don't have that much money right now anyway, so maybe it's all for the best. I hope to decorate, or at least assemble my tree tonight and get lights on it. That will be festive. Yep, I'm up for festive this year. Bring on the Christmas, darn it... BRING...IT...ON!

Posted by karen at 02:43 PM | Comments (0)

November 23, 2004

Cell Phone Morals

So, have you ever been on your cell phone, and not known that you were roaming, only to find that, when you got your bill, you had spent $300 worth of minutes? Well, that happened to me not long ago. So, being the intelligent girl that I am. I made my way to the Cingular/AT&T store today to switch my plan to a MORE intelligent plan for a girl with a boyfriend in North Carolina. Unbeknownst to me, I should have stayed home, paid more money, and kept my life a LOT simpler. I suppose it will be worth it in the long run. Here's my saga...

I went to the Cingular store, which was formerly the AT&T store, happily, to switch my plan to their GSM plan, no roaming, no long distance charges, and I'll get a spiffy new polyphonic phone...woo hoo! So, all of the nice people are busy helping someone else, so I'm waiting... and waiting... and waiting... for about 20 minutes. Not a problem. I should be at work, but I need this plan switched, so I wait. Finally, someone emerges from the back to help me. This nice man can't find his passcode to log into the computer. He's 'new.' Ok. I smile. No problem. So, I wait some more while he searches for his passcode. He finds it. Good... we're on our way. We choose my plan... 600 anytime minutes with rollover, with unlimited nights and weekends. We choose the phone. A Motorola V180. Nothing fancy. Good, good. All is well. I can keep my old phone number, right? I ask. Yep. Good, good. What is your number? I give it to him. He punches it in the computer. Hmmm.... he says. Uh-oh. This is not a good sign. I can tell. Is this a corporate account? Um... no. Hmmm. Has it ever been a corporate account? No. Hmm. He calls over someone else. They look at the computer screen, puzzled. They punch some keys. Did someone change this to a corporate account? No? Maybe your boyfriend? Uh... no. Hmmm. This goes on for about ten minutes. Finally, they determine they can't help me, and I have to call a toll free number to get my new plan because for some reason, when AT&T merged with Cingular, and they pulled the records together, someone, somewhere, decided that I was a corporation. This must have been because of the $300 phone bill. No one person in their right mind could possibly have had a $300 phone bill. They must be a company.

The saga continues... they call the toll free number, which happens to be the Cingular Business number. I am now on the phone for another 40 minutes, lining up my new service plan with a woman in some other part of the country. She's asking me for all of my information again. I ask her. I can keep my old number, right? Yes... she says. Ok... I'm not holding my breath, but I sure hope she's right. Then, after going through all of the plan information, and we start to talk about the phone. She puts me on hold to find a price for the phone. She comes back and tells me they don't make that phone for Cingular. I tell her I'm looking at the Cingular box right in front of me. I read the model number and everything. She still doesn't believe me, so I give the phone to my nice friend who tried to help me at the store. She won't believe me... I say. He tells her. She won't believe him either. He finally convinces her, about another 10 minutes later. So, at some point, 3 to 5 business days from now, an elf will show up at my door with my new cell phone, all ready to go. Here's hoping.

The moral of this story is... DON'T CHANGE YOUR CELL PLAN! If you do... just do it on-line or something. Or pray that your cell company doesn't merge with another one. There's a moral here somewhre... a good one... I just know it!

Posted by karen at 06:12 PM | Comments (0)

November 22, 2004

I am such a blog delinquent!

Forgive me, my friends! My life has gotten out of control! I have absolutely no time to myself anymore, so I am now blogging at 10 o'clock at night, when I should be home in bed... so I'll make this quick. Let me sum up:

1. North Carolina was AWESOME! BEST WEEKEND EVER!
2. Stacey's surgery went really well. She's at home recovering and Mom & Dad are here taking care of her for another week or so.
3. The Newsboys show wasn't so bad.
4. Thanksgiving is coming up... which means Christmas isn't far behind.
5. Ann's Bridal Shower/Tea was fun... I won Bridal Bingo because I ROCK!
6. I need to clean my house, and I can't seem to find enough time to spend in it to do that.
7. Only 2 concerts to go! WOO HOO!
8. Since I last reported, I saw The Incredibles...Incredible...Polar Express...creepy...The Spongebob Squarepants Movie...funny...and National Treasure...awesome. Finding Neverland is scheduled for Wednesday, and I might sneek in Ray tomorrow night, if I can get out of the office.
9. My next plane trip is Dec. 30, start praying...but more importantly, and MOST excitingly...
10. Robin is coming to visit on DEC. 9! YIPEE!!!

Ok, that's a wrap... It's all I have time for, I'm going to fall asleep on my computer. Peace out, YO!

Posted by karen at 09:51 PM | Comments (0)

November 11, 2004

I'll Fly Away

Tomorrow at this time, I'll be sitting in an airport, or possibly on a plane, preparing to fly for the first time since September 11, 2001, when I swore I would never fly again. It's amazing what a few years and an amazing person will do, isn't it? I'm flying to North Carolina to visit Robin. I've been practicing my meditation exercises. There has been lots of prayer, which will continue into tomorrow, and beyond. I've contemplated the drugs that I can take, but pretty much any option that I have would render me unconscious for the weekend, so that's not really an option at all. So, I'm counting on my prayers and the prayers of my friends to get me through. I'm very nervous. But it will all be worth it. This is going to be a great weekend. I'm a little nervous about meeting Robin's neice Kara. She's the cutest little girl, and has Robin wrapped around her little finger. She means the world to him. Which is awesome, but it also means that I want to make a good impression. She already knows about me and is excited about meeting me, too, so that's a good sign. Just another step along the journey...as we would say. :)

Another thing I have had to contemplate for this trip is how to pack. I'm not a very good packer. I like to have choices when dressing in the morning. When flying on a plane, you can't have too many choices. You need to keep it simple. I'm not really good at that. I spent last night trying on outfits to determine what I could take that might be able to be swapped out for something else. I need choices in my clothing. I've ended up with not too many so far. I still have one more night to pack. Whew. I dress according to mood and comfort. This is all very important, or at least it's a distraction so I don't have to think about the flying.

So, there you have it. I'll be flying tomorrow. The next time I write here, I will have done so. Woo hoo. Pray for me, if you think of it! Thanks!

Posted by karen at 10:19 AM | Comments (1)

November 09, 2004

What?

I feel like I am walking around in a state of "huh?" today. Do you know what I mean? I'm still very sleepy from the weekend and it's like my brain is struggling to try and catch up with where the week is going. It's Tuesday, right? That just doesn't seem possible. I mean, I'm glad it's Tuesday. The sooner I can get this week over with, the better. I'm looking forward to Friday very much. Well, sort of...I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm really looking forward to Friday, because I get to go to North Carolina, but I have to do that on an airplane. Haven't done THAT in a long time. I'm a little, er, a LOT anxious about that. I know it will be ok, I just can't help freaking out about it. Dramamine is out of the question, since I want to be conscious when I arrive in North Carolina, and drinking before noon is just ridiculous any day of the week. So, I'm thinking deep breathing exercises, and then maybe I'll just pass out sometime before the plane takes off. All will be well.

It's cold in my office today. I can't tell if my nails are purple, because I have nail polish on, but I bet they are. I've been on a Jars of Clay kick lately. Ever since I saw them last weekend, I've been listening to their first album. There's just something about classic Jars that I love. I decided the other day, that they are my favorite Christian band. Go figure. I never knew until that moment. But there it is. They are. Good to know, huh?

I can't wait to see The Incredibles this weekend. I've been waiting to see it with Robin. Those who know me know that this is a big deal. I would have been to the theater on opening weekend to see this at least once. I'm glad to do it, though. The anticipation is great, and it will be SO cool to see it with him. :) I am SO looking forward to seeing Boundin' the Pixar short playing in front of the movie. I've been waiting for a year to see this short. It's about a dancing sheep! How cute is that?! A dancing sheep! I can't wait. This is going to be an OUTSTANDING weekend. I can tell.

Posted by karen at 12:52 PM | Comments (2)

November 08, 2004

Third & Independence!

Well, I survived the weekend. For those of you who didn't know, we took a road trip to my friends' wedding in North Carolina. The Outer Banks to be exact. A really pretty area that I would love to return to someday, if given the opportunity. The weather was beautiful, the wedding was beautiful... the travelling... not so much. There was much drama in picking up our friend Rona in Washington D.C. on the way down to North Carolina... let me explain...

Rona was visiting some friends in Washington D.C. and we were picking her up on the way to the wedding. Ann had coordinated with Rona to pick her up at the Native American Museum, or something along those lines. Well, apparently, there are more than one Native American Museum's in Washington D.C. Also apparently, D.C. is a bad place to be on a Friday afternoon, although this wasn't much of a surprise. So, we are driving around D.C., no map, heading to the wrong museum, hoping desperately to find her...somewhere in the city. Imagine us, if you will, spotting the Capitol building, spotting the Washington Monument, knowing we somehow needed to get there, but not really knowing how. So, I called my dad. He lived in D.C. long ago, and he had a map. So, after stopping to ask some non-English speaking construction workers for directions, taking direction from my dad over the cell phone, talking to Rona, who kept moving from one intersection to the next, we finally found her at Third and Independence, which is RIGHT across from the Capitol. Good times, good times.

So, moving on from there, or barely moving, as the case may be, we found our way past the Pentagon (very cool, by the way, and I quote Stacey "Hey what's that big Pentagon shaped building over there?") onto 95 south, and inched our way, about 2 miles an hour out of D.C. There's just something about Virginia and their highways and travelling on Fridays on your way to North Carolina that isn't a good thing. I would know. We made it to North Carolina by about 11:30pm, in time to go to sleep in our cute little hotel, the Island Guesthouse. Fun.

The Wedding was beautiful. The Church was beautiful. The programs were beautiful. Everyone in the wedding was beautiful. The reception was at the Elizabethan Gardens and THEY were beautiful. It was just a great, great event. I'm so happy for Stray and Melody! I'm so excited for them to get back to Lancaster! Our drive home, which came immediately after the cutting of the cake at the reception was fairly uneventful, just really, REALLY long. We dropped Rona off in Georgetown, this time we got to see the Iwo Jima memorial. That was cool. We made our way home by 10:30pm. Whew!

Up on Sunday morning for the Jeremy Camp concert. Crazy, crazy weekend, people. A long, long day. Full of wedding program assemblage, hazer discussions, fraudulent check writers, and lots and lots of coffee. I'm glad the weekend is over. I'm sleepy. I'm leaving work early today to try and get some stuff accomplished. I'm not sure if that will happen or not, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

Our battle cry is THIRD AND INDEPENDENCE! And if that doesn't mean anything to you, that's ok, because it doesn't really mean anything anyway! Peace out, YO!

Posted by karen at 12:59 PM | Comments (1)

November 04, 2004

Betrayed by a Chocolate Chip

Well, what happens when you eat two cookies, chocolate chip cookies, mind you, when you haven't eaten any REAL sugar in quite some time? Not good things, my friends, not good things. My brain is all kinds of confused and fuzzy and annoyed and just plain wrong. Here, I thought I was doing a good, happy thing. How could chocolate chips be wrong?! I ask you! I beg of you to explain! Chocolate chips are our friends, our allies. We look to them in the depths of despair, the moments of elation! The moments of triumph! How could they have let me down? I am at a loss. I turn to my true comrade. Coffee. Coffee will never let me down. I just know it. Tried and true. Full of wonderful caffeine. Ready at a moment's notice. Always there. On edge, at the ready. It will not let me down. It will jump start my poor confused brain back to its necessary place. I'm not sure where that is right now...but COFFEE KNOWS!

Posted by karen at 02:43 PM | Comments (0)

November 03, 2004

Bush Wins!

Well, I'm happy to say that I am currently sitting in my boss' office, waiting for John Kerry's concession speech for the presidential election. I am thankful that my and many other prayers have been answered. I believe that the correct candidate has won the election. I also pray that Bush will do everything in his power to unify the country, now that the election is over. I think that is really important. Winning the popular vote in this election is such a great statement, so I hope as a country, we can move ahead and get past all of the election mudslinging. It's just ridiculous, isn't it?

So, today is a great day. Bush wins the election. I had an outstanding dream last night. I went to Old Navy at lunch time and found the sweater I've been looking for. Birds are singing, rainbows are forming, bunnies are frolicking.

Tonight, Lost is on TV. 8pm, on ABC. If you aren't watching, you should be. This is a bit of a disjointed entry. I can't help it. My brain is going in a bunch of different directions. I just finished the first draft of a short story last night, so all of my directed thinking has been spent for the week. On Friday, Fred, Ann, Stacey, Rona and I are travelling to North Carolina to the Outer Banks for Stray's wedding. How exciting is that? It should be a fun roadtrip. So, pray for us. We have to come back home to do the Jeremy Camp concert. Woo Hoo! Good times, people. Good times.

Posted by karen at 01:18 PM | Comments (2)

November 02, 2004

Election Day Irony

So, is it ironic to anyone else that today, Election Day, is also The Day of the Dead in Mexico? I'm not sure why that would be ironic, but it seems like it should be. I was out bright and early at 8am...well, 8:05 to be exact at my polling station. They changed the entrance, so I was walking around the building, trying to find the correct entrance. Finally, a nice man pointed the way. I walked right in, stood in line behind two people for a brief moment, quickly voted, grabbed my free candy, and left. I was done in less than five minutes. It was beautiful. I had a longer wait at the Turkey Hill to get my coffee. Apparently, everyone went to vote and then go and hang out at the Turkey Hill. There was no milk left in the dispenser. I had to settle for Half & Half. It's all good, though.

I had the day off yesterday. That was a nice break. I took the time to sleep in (go ahead, be jealous...I can take it), and then go shopping in Harrisburg. I went to Target. What better way to spend a day off? I went to Old Navy. I went to Starbucks. Let's hear it for the Lite Frappuccinos, shall we? Nearly guilt free sweets! Woo Hoo! Then I went to Capital City Mall. Haven't been there in awhile, and it was fun to walk around, do a little window shopping, then a little real shopping. My cool purchase of the day was a Carolina Tarheels Sweatshirt. There was a guy in the store who was also buying one and we were discussing the advantages of one style over another. It was fun. Good times...good times.

I had forgotten to eat breakfast or lunch yesterday, so I splurged on a Taco Bell Chicken Border Bowl. It was pretty good. Chicken, rice, beans, lettuce, tomato, etc. etc. It seemed ok. That's pretty much all I ate yesterday. I watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition "How'd They Do That?" It was an extension of the show from Sunday night. What a great show. I can't watch it without crying at least seventeen times during the show. Then, I was tricked into watching the episode of CSI: Miami where my favorite character was killed off. I had never really wanted to watch it, but it was on and suddenly, he was getting shot! I was very upset. I cried again! Silly television shows. Silly emotional basketcase I am sometimes.

I also took a big chunk of time yesterday to start and work on a short story. It's very abstractly about a guy I knew growing up who was killed in a car accident, but it's more of a romantic ghost story. Perhaps some of you will someday read it...perhaps not. Only time will tell. So, that was my day yesterday.

The weekend was good. Nobody got killed at the concert on Saturday. That was a good thing. Sunday was my dad's birthday, so I got to spend part of the day with my family. Small group followed, and I got to end the day talking to Robin on the phone, which was great, of course. So, there you have it. A not so eventful weekend that was pretty cool. I like it when time passes as such. :)

Posted by karen at 12:52 PM | Comments (6)