Out of the Ordinary (for me)

I'm not much for video games but Karaoke Revolution has proven to be a great stress relief, so periodically I will participate. Pretty much my favorite part is actually creating the characters . . . its kind of like playing dress-up . . .

Anyway, since this is most likely a once-in-a-life-time event, figured I would let you all know that I joined Kim for a duet and we performed so well as to earn a perfect score! (Kim manages this quite frequently on her own, but for me, well its more than a little miracle.) Yes, that would be our facsimiles' celebrating a perfect execution of Material Girl. Amazing, huh?

It Tastes Better

Thanks to the many dinners that I've had the privilege of eating at my desk during this busy season, I have determined that Heinz ketchup packets have a better flavor than Hunt's. For serious.

I would say I am someone who truly loves individual packets of ketchup (ever since the two quarter bet with Ron, I've been addicted to this stuff - but only what comes in the little packets!)
I didn't realize the subtle differences until now, but I have found Heinz to be truly superior. You don't have to take my word for it . . . go get some french fries and see for yourself!

Lunar Eclipse

I was on my way home from work last evening (walking west on 51st toward Broadway) and I noticed that everyone was looking at the eastern sky. Glancing over my shoulder I realized that I had inadvertantly left work at the appropriate time (10pm) to see the lunar eclipse - the moon truly did look red.
I don't recall the weather ever cooperating before so I believe this is my first-ever sighting of an eclipse.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Without ever signing up for any of those on-line dating services, I had the opportunity to see what it would be like . . . and now I think it is the craziest thing people ever do!

It began early this morning, while I was working, an instant message from my work email account popped up on the laptop screen, sent by someone whom I didn't recognize. Not knowing what it might be, I opened it and was confronted with a message in Spanish. It was at this moment that I realized that the sender was from the Mexico City office. I saw "hola Brenda" and everything else was unrecognizable to me. I asked Kevin to try to read it (he claims a limited knowledge from high school Spanish class) and we realized that I was erroneously contacted. I replied (in English) that I thought he must have made a mistake. He apologized profusely (this time in my language, though not perfect) and I told him it wasn't a problem. This evolved into an online conversation that made the next couple hours of my Saturday at work a bit more interesting.

I discovered that I have absolutely no interest in ever participating in online dating! Not to give the wrong impression, this guy was nice and fairly interesting (barring the communication issue) and didn't seem to be creepy. But, well - it just seemed strange. This character thought that it was appropriate to ask my age and relationship status! Felt like I was passing out a bit too much information to someone whom I had never looked in the eye. I mean for real, can you really trust someone just by what they write? It would be so easy to embellish the truth or to even brush excessively important details under the rug. Also, it didn't feel like I was communicating with a real person because I hadn't heard his voice or seen his face. The worst part was due to the fact that I am sure he had to use a translation website to understand what I was saying. Oh well. It was interesting. I did have the self-respect to refuse to pass out my phone number, but I slipped with the Facebook thing (never really connected before that once someone knows your name they can easily find you!) Chalk it up to experience and move on, . . . I guess.

Take a Stand

I am an auditor. It is busy season. It is very unfortunate because I work ALL THE TIME! For serious, way too many hours here. But that isn't the point of this post, . . . the point is that I have work friends - a group of fabulous, intelligent, beautiful girls who work just as much as I do (and in some cases, more). We all know each other because we all thought it would be awesome to have a job when we graduated from college and so became accountants . . . selling our lives (ok, just our time) to one of the Big 4. None of us actually work together (nature of the job) . . . and we only see each other at work social events. Through it all, we have become friends. The only thing is that sometimes I feel like a misfit, like I don't really belong because I have this code by which I live (i.e. the Word of Wisdom) and therefore refrain from participating in all the activities. They have never batted an eye or tried to convince me to choose differently. So one way or another, this mismatched friendship has continued.

*

Well, as I mentioned prior to going into that super long spiel . . . we have been incredibly busy at work - all of us at our respective clients. So one of the girls planned a little movie night for us to all hang out and relax. She issued me a special invitation, stating specifically that they all know I don't drink but that doesn't matter to them and they want me there. It was sweet of them to realize that I might be uncomfortable where the setting is less centered around work and to reach out and allay my concerns.

*

Imagine my thoughts when I saw the mass emails flying back and forth, stating the movie options . . . all rated R. Now I know for many this doesn't matter, but to me, well it does. I tried ignoring them at first, thinking maybe there would be a way for me to gracefully bow out. But as I considered my options, I realized that would not be holding true to who I really am, to what I believe to be right. So I decided to follow that Sunday School advice from when I was maybe 14, to take a stand and let my friends know. Over instant messaging, I explained the situation to the girl who planned the event, explaining that I would in no way want to impose my beliefs on anyone else, but that I couldn't forsake them either. I offered to drop off the brownies and leave before the movie started. She instantly replied that she hadn't realized that there was a potential conflict for me - but in no way did she want me to miss out, instead asserting that a movie that all could watch would be shown. She suggested that I send an email to everyone and said that she was sure noone would care what movie we watched - they just wanted me to be included. The overwhelming responses reiterated that sentiment - no one cared about the movie, just to have a chance for friends to be together.

*

How grateful I am that I was taught to stand for what I believe in. And how grateful I am to have friends who may not live by the same set of rules but definitely respect my standards.

The Little Mermaid

Last night, I got off work early (7:30pm) and joined Lyndee and Ashley to see The Little Mermaid on Broadway. It was a cute show but my favorite part happened to be the costumes. They were fabulous! During the deep-sea parts, the actors wore heelys which allowed them to glide smoothly, creating the illusion of swimming. I really liked how they did the mermaid costumes (refer below for a rough sketch). Seeing all of the amazing costumes in this show really made me wish I were working in a costume shop again!