SCREAM!

I LOVE scary movies - I can't handle them as well as I used to but I LOVE THEM. And I LOVE a good scary movie that also makes me laugh. I'm also a sucker for a witty bad guy. For these reasons, I am a big Scream fan. The original movie did a fantastic job of mixing scary with humor while poking fun at the horror genre all at the same time. Scream 2 & 3 were okay but nothing compared to the original and I'm planning on seeing Scream 4. I just have to. And at 30 years old, this time I won't have to sneak in.

You see, Scream came out in 1996 making me just 15 years old and too young to buy tickets. But my friends, Ashley and Gabi and I were resourceful souls out for an adventure and we wanted to see the movie! So Ashley (who was not 15 and could drive) picks us up and we head to the very crowded movie theater. When we discover they are checking ID's (seriously?! come on people!) in a panic, we buy tickets to Evita. It's fine! We'll just sneak in to the theater - surely they won't have anyone checking tickets at the door! We'll wait until RIGHT before the movie starts and sneak in! I'm telling you - we had a plan!

And they had a young guy checking tickets right inside the door. We open the door and bump in to him. Awesome.

Movie Dude: "Can I help you girls find something?"

Us: "Umm....yeah, we were just.... looking for .....the ....pay phones."

Movie Dude: "You're in luck - they're in here."

Us: "Really?"

Cool Movie Dude: "No, but take a seat and enjoy the movie."

And we did! We SCREAMED and laughed and thought we were pretty cool.

Seeing the Scream mask invokes that memory every time. That might be one of the reasons I like the movie so much.

I kept the Evita ticket for a long time. We were going through old stuff and I came across it and I started to smile.

"What's that?"

"My ticket to Evita."

"You bought a ticket to Evita??"

"Well, it's kind of a funny story..."

I've never even seen Evita. :)

But I'll see Scream 4!

Until next time...

I need a drink...

I should never be allowed to leave the house or converse with people. It should just never be done. Ever. I should stay bundled up in my house with my trusty DVR and my dog and become a Hermit. Can you tell it has been one of those kind of days?!

So my before mentioned Big Girl job caused me Big Girl stress which then led to me having monthly massages - something I NEVER thought I would do. Well since losing my Big Girl job, I need to cancel my monthly membership to massage-establishment-not-far-from-home. This is how that conversation goes:

Me: Yes, I need to cancel my membership due to loss of job.

Massage Personnel: Ok, we will need a written document from your employer saying you were terminated.

Me: So I have to contact my past employer who is not always the picture of understanding to have them make a document saying I was let go?

MP: Yes ma'am.

Me: Awesome.

She then tells me I'm going to lose my massage for the month when I cancel my membership so I need to come in before I cancel. I schedule one for 3pm today with someone that is NOT my Masseuse BFF Barbara because Barbara has apparently abandoned me. (The tension in my neck is increasing.....)

So I email my former boss and she emails me a nice little document. I print it up this morning - only there isn't any ink. Of course there isn't any ink. So I get in the car and drive to Best Buy to buy ink only to return home to print the email to get back in to the car to drive back to the Best Buy shopping center for my massage. Yep.

So I arrive 15 minutes early to handle my cancellation. They ask my last name and I get a look - I always do. Having the last name of Christie is apparently a trial. She looks at the schedule and says "Ma'am, we don't have you on the schedule for today." Well of course you don't.

Never fear! "There's an opening at 3 and we'll fit you in. " Awesome. I get all the paperwork squared away and wait. As I'm waiting, the girl behind the counter asks me how to say my first name.

Me: Timberley

Her: Oh - so just how it's spelled.

My eye is twitching.

So I finally go back and God bless the woman - I've never been hurt so much in my life. I'm going to be black and blue for a week! My headache is worse then it was going in! The hour of torture ends and as I'm getting dressed, I get twisted in my camisole and fall over. Hells bells.

I need a drink.

Big Girl Job no more

There has been some recent changes at work that have made me a little bit worried regarding my position. Work was slowing down, we lost a client and my little voice said - "ready yourself". I'm a people reader and I'm receptive so I knew something was coming. My Beloved and I spent the weekend discussing it and I knew it in my bones. And yesterday it happened.

I got laid off.

And it didn't upset my world because I saw it coming. And it was a little bit of a relief to finally know. Waiting and worrying sucks.

So while I'm anxious about what I'm going to do next, I'm excited at all the possibilities. I wouldn't trade the things I've learned in my (almost) year there and I can't wait to see what God has next for me. I hate leaving the people I'm used to seeing on a daily basis but I also think things happen for a reason. And I know I'm going to be okay.

Daniel has Spring Break this week so we will get some time hanging out before I dive in to finding my next big adventure.

I'll say it again - life comes at you fast.

Until next time...

Odds and Ends

The Joys of Pet Parenting: My Beloved had to be at work VERY early on Saturday morning for an event at the school. When he gets up - Atticus gets up so he lets Atti out as he finishes getting ready. When he goes to let the dog back in, it's POURING and he refuses to come to the door. At 4:30am I can hear the dog scratching at the door so I get up to let him in. I get to the door and he is SOAKING WET happy as a Lark! Smiling and wagging his tail saying "Momma, I got to play in the rain!" Grrrrr......

So now I have to turn the lights on, take my wrist braces off and dry the stupid dog off. Which apparently at 4:30am on a Saturday morning equals a game. With his bone in his mouth - he's running (DRIPPING) around the house as if he's lost his mind. Grrrr.....again.

Revisiting Old Haunts: I got to stop by the Rodeo last week to visit my Studio friends. It was nice to walk through the chaos and know I couldn't do anything to help. It was reassuring to me that I still knew the answers to some of their questions and even more reassuring that I couldn't answer some. There's someone in my office - I'm trying to be okay with that.

The Man Child: Travis comes home at the end of this week for Spring Break. I'm kind of excited! His birthday is the 16th and he's going to get to spend a few days with us. I'm looking forward to it. Although the idea of him turning 17 make me anxious and sad, I'll try to pretend it doesn't. (He'll know better though - he always does.)

New Adventures: I have something in mind. It's something I've thought about doing for a while now and I think I can do it! You never know until you try, right?

Until next time....

The Difference a Year Makes

For the first time in six years, the Rodeo is starting without me. And it’s both refreshing and heartbreaking.

If you asked me March, 1, 2010 where I would be March 1, 2011 – I would have told you I have no idea. I knew where I didn’t want to be but I had no clue where life would lead me. I had no clue what skills I had or what I could offer an employer. I couldn’t imagine how I was going to use all of the things I spent several years learning. I didn’t see how they would fit in to anything else. I thought I offered nothing, worried I had learned nothing. Until I left.

I learned how to read people and how to handle several different personalities all at once. I learned when to stick up for myself. I learned how to make forms, organize a Studio, maintain a Tape Library, schedule crews. I learned a little patience and self control(ish). I knew what it was to be a part of something big while working with great people. I learned how to handle deadlines and quick turn-a-rounds. I learned a smile doesn’t hurt and distractions don’t either. I learned my breaking point and that it can be moved. I learned what a great boss looks like.

All lessons I didn’t know I was learning. And all lessons that helped to get me where I am today.

I don’t regret any time I spent there and I don’t regret leaving either. It was time to move on. But as I pass the Stadium every day and I know what’s going inside the gates – I get a little sad. I do miss my friends. :)

Daniel came home last night and asked why I looked sad. I said “the Rodeo is starting without me.” To which he rolled his eyes, took the Lord’s name in vain and had a glass of Jack Daniels. My poor, sweet husband. I promised it was only a moment and won’t last the next 20 days. And it won’t. Because I really am glad the Show is going on without me. And me without it. And I don’t miss the Chicken smell….at all.

Until next time….