Tennis, anyone?

When Jordan was at my place visiting, my friend Becky got to spend some time with us, too. One day the 3 of us were in the car, and we got to talking about tennis, and Becky and I discovered that we had something else in common: a love of tennis. Or you could say it is just another area in which Becky tries to copy me! There was the move to the West side of town, the Honda Civic, etc...

Anyway, we talked about how we should play some time, and I mentioned how I needed to buy a tennis raquet. Then we somehow started talking about tennis balls, and both of us exclaimed almost simultaneously that we loved the smell of a fresh can of tennis balls! OK, so maybe that does sound weird now that I see it typed up in black and white... But there is something unique and strangely pleasant about popping off the lid, pulling back the tab and inhaling that fresh scent. Ahhhhhh!!! You should try it some time.

Jordan just thought we were both insane. I don't know...he might have a point there.

Updated Score: 25 to 3

Yes, I still have crickets. They sprayed inside my apartment again on Monday afternoon and the exterminator wrote me a note about it. He asked me to "be patient and give the spray a chance." I think I AM giving the spray a chance.

See, I had called the complex office again last Thursday -- not to complain about the bugspray not working, but to note that the crickets were still getting in. I mean, since they sprayed the first time, I have seen 17 crickets. Now, don't even try to tell me that I had 17 crickets crawling around my apartment that I hadn't noticed before! I don't think so. Where would 17 crickets be hiding? My apartment isn't all that big, you know. So my call to the office was more a request to ask them to check into the windows, the floor, etc. to see if we couldn't solve the problem by keeping the crickets out. But they didn't listen to me, they called the exterminator and had him come out and spray again, which is not what I asked them to do. So I called again on Monday, and they came out Tuesday and resealed the dining room window. I'm keeping my eye out for more crickets. I have had 3 since they resealed the window.

Over all, I think the spray is working great. It either kills them or drugs them up so that they are easier to kill, which are both great side effects. The point is that I feel like I'm getting new crickets still coming into my apartment, and we still haven't solved the riddle as to how they are getting in. So you can spray all you want, but it's not keeping the crickets from coming in. They come in and die, but the point is they still COME IN! UGH!!

New Rule: Married Men should have to wear their wedding rings!

OK, so maybe this “rule” of mine would never make it in the courts, but I still think it should be a public mandate. I think if you are married, you should identify it and save the rest of us from having to wonder your status. And yes, women should wear their wedding rings, too, but in my casual observations, I must say that I have found more women than man who wear their wedding rings regularly. However, that does not make them exempt from my marriage identification law.

Anyway, there are a couple of men here at work that I have my eye on. I’m not obsessed, in love, stalking or otherwise involved with either of them, but I am curious...curious about their marital state.

One of them spoke in a meeting I was attending about a year ago, and so I know his name and vaguely what he does here. He was an avid user of sarcasm in the meeting, and believe me, I listened intently after the first whammy. I love sarcasm!

The other guy I used to see often in the cafeteria here on-site, but over the last year or so, I’ve been eating outside the company walls most of the time, and so I don’t see him as often. In his case, I don’t know ANYTHING about him really except that I’ve caught him glancing my direction a few times, and I’ve wondered about him. Maybe he is curious about me, too? Or maybe I just look funny, and he can’t help glancing over? HA!

Truth is that this new law of mine would probably not help my situation. If these men are married, then I could remove them from my radar at least. If they are still single, then it doesn’t really change the status quo...I mean, they don’t talk to me or anything as it is, and knowing their status isn’t going to change that. However, maybe I would feel more comfortable about going out of my way to say hello or introducing myself if I knew that I was not going to be seen as the woman hitting on a married man. Now that cracks me up! The idea of me hitting on anyone has me laughing. I’m not sure I’ve ever done that before in my life...it's not really my style. HA!

Adantages to Living in the City

1. Opportunities to see live shows in music, theatre, etc.
2. Chances to see live sporting events
3. Lots of shopping
4. Lots of art galleries and museums
5. Lots of city parks, the zoo, gardens, etc.

Yes, these are some pretty awesome perks.

Yesterday I went to the qualifying rounds of the RCA Men’s Tennis Tournament with 3 of my girlfriends, and we had a blast. It was my 2nd trek downtown to the courts to see the creme de la creme of tennis play. We had fun sitting in the sun, chatting and observing the games and practice time. It was a pleasant day!

I didn’t see any players I knew my name, but then I know like only 2 current tennis players by name. HA! So, would I have known a famous player if I saw him? Probably not.

Book 7: No Spoilers, I Promise!

On a whim, I called my friend Becky on Friday morning and left her a message about posibly going with me on Friday evening/early Saturday morning to wait in line to pick up my reserved copy of Harry Potter. To my shock, she called back and said she was excited about it. So I picked her up at 11 PM on Friday night (which is like 2 hours past her bedtime) and we headed to Borders.

We got there and found hundreds of people ahead of us. They just were handing out wristbands to indicate where you were in line by color. There were 150 people with each different color, and so I got a green band, which meant I was in the 4th group of 150 people. WOW!! And this was just in one of the stores in Indy.

So Becky and I took a walk around the shopping plaza, sat outside in the cool night air and then finally walked around the store while we were waiting for the clock to strike midnight. Then at 12:01 AM, book 7 went on sale. WOOHOO!! When they called for green to start lining up, they also made a call for blue, and then suddenly there were tons of us lined up for the book. At first the lines seemed to move so slowly, but then it starting moving more rapidly and by 1:05 AM, we were headed back to the car. I just HAD to start the book when I got home. I read 2 chapters and headed to bed.

On Saturday, I slept until noon and then ran errands and watched a couple of rented DVDs that needed to go back Saturday night. I started to read the book again around 9 PM, and I read until after midnight and then headed to bed. Well, 4 hours later, I was still wide awake playing book 7 over and over in my head. So at 4:30 AM, I finally got out of bed and headed out to the living room for my favorite chair to read some more. 4 and a half hours later, I realized I wasn't going to make it to the 9:30 AM service at church, and so I kept reading and a hour later, I was done with the book, and it was time to shower and get ready to head to the tennis tournament.

So what did I think of the book? I laughed, I cried, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows lived up to the hype. It was was another excellent reading adventure! I was able to guess at a couple of outcomes in the book, but there were some things that truly surprised me. I would highly recommend it. I would however suggest that you not stay up all night and read it. Get some sleep, but then again, if you are like me, and you get really involved in what you are reading, you might have some insomnia and HAVE to get out of bed and finish the book anyway...

Updated Score: 22 to 3

So I'm still getting an occasional cricket indoors at my place. I submitted another request to have them check that dining room window and wall since I am still primarily spotting the crickets in the dining room. (Fingers crossed!)

Updated Score: 20 to 3

Tuesday and Wednesday, I thought we were cricket-free. Then this morning, I woke up and spotted one in my dining room. He was near death, and so I helped him into the next life rather quickly. But then I got to thinking that I should do a more thorough search again, so I pulled back the blue dining room curtains, and there were 3 more DEAD crickets right there UNDERNEATH the dining room window!

I'm not altogether excited about this latest development. OK, so the insecticide is killing them, but it's not keeping them from getting in. I mean either they are still finding a way inside or all these crickets have been in my apartment for a while now, and they are just good at hiding. That idea wigs me out! Another possibility is that there is a cricket nest in my walls or something...but somehow I just don't want to think about that option either. I'm trying to keep my sanity as long as I can, you know!

Current Score: 16 to 3

The bugman sprayed inside and outside my apartment yesterday, and so I went home last night not sure what to expect. Well, for starters, there was a half-dead cricket on the kitchen floor, who quickly got terminated and flushed and re-flushed. I know my life is NOT a horror movie usually, but you have to be sure that the enemy is dead, and in my mind, that 2nd flush keeps them from fighting the current and rising again just like that additional bullet in the head of a serial killer. Come on, you know what I’m talking about. They ALWAYS come back!

Then I began my hunt throughout the rest of the dining room and kitchen. I found 5 more crickets all alive but obviously affected by the bugspray in the dining room. I quickly disposed of them in short order and didn’t find any more on my search. Could it be the end? Had the insecticide solved my problem? One could only hope...

Well, at around 10:30 last night, I spotted another healthy hopping cricket. He was so healthy that he got away from me and my trusty broom, and I couldn’t get him. If he had survived the insecticide or had gotten in after the insecticide was sprayed, that made me angry. And since I was already a bit emotional this week, I burst into tears. I know that bugs shouldn’t make me cry, but I’m just tired of dealing with them. I’m not afraid of crickets, but I’m not an advocate either, and I just want this to be done and over with. I want a solution already. I want to know how they are getting in, how to stop them, etc. You'd think this would be easier to determine than it has been...

I finally drifted off to sleep around 11:30 PM, and then woke up to use the restroom at 12:30 AM. I decided to do a canvas of my territory before going back to bed, and I spotted a healthy cricket heading into the living room. I destroyed it, and am hopeful that it was the same cricket who had escaped my wrath earlier. Somehow I fell back asleep and woke up without any more crickets this morning. WHEW!!

So, the score now stands at 16-3: 16 executions to 3 escapes. I’m a bit anxious as to what I will find when I return home this evening. I hope to be cricket-free, but I’m not confident yet. I called the maintenance office and have requested they look at my dining room window and possibly make sure it is airtight, etc. I’m convinced that the crickets are getting into my house through either the dining room floor or the window. The bug man says they typically come underneath doors, but I’ve yet to spot one near either of my doors, but I’ve killed most of the crickets right there near the window. Coincidence? Hmmmmm...What do I know? I just live there!

I seem to be a magnet for weird apartment issues, especially when it comes to other species.

First there was the time a bird got into my apartment through the disconnected dryer vent. I came home one evening to find that I had HAD a visitor flying, pooping and making mayhem in my little home for hours, and she was still there. I felt like the 3 bears dealing with Goldilocks. I promptly called the management, and they came over with a butterfly net and blanket and rescued my visitor. They also covered the dryer vent so she and her friends would NOT return. I remember the hours of cleaning afterwards. Armed with my ever-attractive domestic yellow gloves, I scrubbed my apartment clean, washed linens until the wee hours of the morning and carefully checked out all my furniture and other belongings for evidence of bird droppings. I next requesteed that my carpets be steam cleaned. Amazingly, I survived without getting the bird flu.

Now, I’ve never considered myself a biologist or someone who could possibly discover a new species, but I did find myself in the position of having to call maintenance to report that I had bugs living in my fridge and freezer. I know--what kind of bug could possibly live in that environment, right? Well, I still don't have a clue. What I did know at the time was that I had killed several of these strange creatures, and I wanted to know what to do next. So they came over, checked things out and told me that they didn’t see any bugs in my fridge or freezer. A couple of days later, I had killed a few more, and so I called them back to report it again. The next day at work, I got a call from the office. They still hadn’t spotted any bugs in my fridge, but they curiously suggested that I must have been seeing pieces of fridge/freezer insulation floating around, and so they had opted to replace my refrigerator and that should solve the problem. It did solve the problem—no more bugs! But since when does insulation have 6 legs and a pair of wings? A couple of weeks afterwards, I spotted one of the same bugs on my car window...now I thought about collecting he/she as evidence, but I resisted the urge. I decided that didn’t want to have a bug named after me due to my discovery. Besides, I knew in my heart that I certainly had NOT been killing pieces of insulation, and that was all that mattered.

In the next apartment, there was the invasion of the pill bugs or sow bugs. These crunchy little creatures were literally swarming into the large 2-bedroom apartment I was sharing with my sister. Not only did we find them crawling all over our floor, but if you lifted or moved any furniture, you would find several or many of them there, mostly dead. I’m not afraid of the pill bug, but it was the sheer number of them that got annoying. My sister and I were vacuuming almost daily to just keep our floors clear and free of the bugs. We made numerous calls to management to get it resolved. They tried several different types of insecticides, and eventually one of them did the trick. No more pill bugs.

Of course, I have had bird issues in my current apartment as well. Ingenious as they are, these birds have somehow maneuvered a way to live somewhere between my 2nd floor ceiling and the apartment above me. I could hear them regularly during the spring months that year, and believe me, baby birds can squawk rather loudly in the morning when they are hungry. Well, the maintenance office just didn’t believe me. “We don’t have bird problems, Ma’am.” So, I did some investigating on my own one day, and I spotted a small mother bird towing a worm in her beak and going into a tiny outside vent up near my apartment outside wall. So I called maintenance again, and this time they climbed a ladder along the brick wall and sure enough, they found the bird and her nest. They removed the bird and sealed off the vent with a screen. Now somehow I heard that familiar squawk again this spring for a few weeks, but I opted not to call it in.

And more recently, I’ve been sharing my apartment with crickets. Yes, crickets! I spotted 1 in my dining room earlier this week and quickly dispersed of him. Then a couple of hours later, I spotted another in the dining room, and so again, I discarded of him as well. I tried to tell myself that it was just a fluke, but already I had a nagging suspicion that it wasn’t a chance encounter. But then I had a full day without any cricket sightings, and so I started to wonder if it had been a fluke after all. However, I got up yesterday morning, and I had a new boundless jumper in my bathroom. I tried to terminate him, but he escaped his death sentence for the time being. Then last night, before going to bed, I laid 3 more crickets to rest. It had officially become a full-scale operation now. 1 or 2 crickets--seemed like a fluke, and maybe just maybe they followed me in through the door. 5 or 6 crickets--that is an enemy raid! So I’ve called maintenance to report it, and we’ll see what the outcome is.

I’m hoping to have a cricket-free weekend, but don’t hold your breath. And if one more person tries to tell me that having lots of crickets is a sign of good luck, I’m going to scream! If you had large jumping insects hopping all over your furniture and floors, you might just think differently...Trust me!

No Spoilers here, I promise!

Last night, I enjoyed my trek on my own to the theatre to see the latest Harry Potter film. I laughed, I sighed, I delighted in the ride! I know...some people think these movies and books are pure evil. There are people in my own circle that are shocked to learn I am such a big fan, but while I may disagree with their opinions, they are certainly entitled to them.

As for me, I might not practice magic or fly on a broom, but I confess with a twinkle in my eye, that I love the books. I’ve enjoyed reading and re-reading them and am eagerly awaiting the final book in the series, book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Why am I such a fan? Well, the author has such a vivid imagination, and each character is written with such detail and credibility. The events and people in the books capture your imagination just like Tolkien’s characters in Lord of the Rings. You enter that world with the author, and you feel like you are part of the story. You become a fellow student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with Harry, Hermione and Ron.

It feels alive and real to the readers, which is probably one of the biggest arguments I have heard against the books. There is some concern that kids today have trouble separating reality from fiction. Personally, I don’t buy that argument! I think children today are more exposed to violence, fantasy, etc. in every day life, in schools, on the big screen and televisions, in the news and other media, in games and video games. Children are much more exposed than I was as a child, and they were exposed before Harry Potter came on the scene. Sure, there may be some children that struggle with determining what is real or not, but this is not a new problem. And it certainly didn’t start with J. K. Rowling’s books!

When I was a kid, the Smurfs and Dungeons and Dragons were targets of similar debate. Every Saturday, my sister and I would watch the Smurfs and enjoy them along with the other Saturday morning cartoons. For those of you who missed the 70’s and 80’s, there used to be regular cartoon programs on Saturday mornings just for kids rather than all the news shows, etc. Imagine that! So anyway, the Smurfs were lovable tiny blue creatures that were always doing good, working together and fighting against the twisted Gargamel and his feline friend, Azrael. I don’t recall the biggest argument against the Smurfs really. I remember it having to do something with the names for Gargamel and Azrael being evil or representing some dark cause, and then there was something about the Smurfs themselves being part of some secret Communist propaganda. Now that just makes me laugh! It was a cartoon, people, and I certainly I didn’t feel compelled to become a Communist due to my exposure.

As for Dungeons and Dragons, I don’t know much about it at all, and so I certainly won’t go into any arguments for or against it here. However, I do believe that it along with any other game, pleasure or hobby needs to be enjoyed without excess or obsession. But isn’t that just plain common sense and part of personal responsibility?

As for Harry Potter, I admit that the books have gotten darker and more grown up with each new volume, but then, that seems quite natural to me. After all, the characters in the book are growing up as are the readers who have followed them from the first volume. And as for the darkness, well, the truth is that the adversaries in the books are growing in numbers and gaining strength just like the "bad guys" did in the Lord of the Rings series. Things always get darkest right before the end, and characters get stretched to the max right before the final climax when the ultimate battle happens, or all is revealed, etc. It makes sense to me…but then, remember, I’m rather scary myself. After all, I have a twinkle in my eye!

Family Fun

Here is a picture of my 5 nieces and 3 nephews on July 4th this year: Carianne, Janet, Grace, Caitlynne, Caleb, Cera, Jordan and Jacob. It was fun to see all of them on the 4th. I love each of them and their distinctive personalities.

Is it Bad to be proud I'm single?

After all, ANY ONE can make it in a pair, but there are only a few of us that can stand alone.

I caught myself thinking this the other day, and I started to laugh. When did I start thinking that my singleness was a badge of courage? You know, like a badge I keep in my purse ready to whip out at the right moment and say:
Please remain calm, folks. I’m SINGLE. I can handle this. See my badge!

It is a positive thing that I’m not moping about in shame because I don’t have a life partner. Sorry, Jane Austen, but I don’t think I could have handled your time period when it was shameful to be unmarried still at 25 let alone 33. And I must say that I’m glad of my independence. I like living alone and am pleased that I’ve formed my own “family” in the people around me. However, I hardly think I’m supposed to be wearing my singleness like a medal of honor or a pageant sash either. There has to be balance somewhere.

The truth is that I seem to have lost some respect for the institution of marriage, and that’s a bit concerning to me. Somehow being out on my own for 10+ years seems to have warped my view. It’s as if I have taken marriage off the pedestal now, which is not altogether a bad thing since I used to revere it more than I should have. But now, marriage has been thrown to the curb and replaced by something else on the pedestal entirely—PRIDE at the status quo.

LORD, help me to respect the institution of marriage even if it’s not for me!

Visit with Jordan

I did enjoy having my 13-year-old nephew Jordan with me for 5 days. We had a lot of fun. He’s all boy, and so there were lots of action movies. We hit the theatres on Saturday morning for LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. It was pretty good actually, and the fact that I had Bruce Willis to gaze at on the big screen was a plus. We finished up our day of fun with a hike in Holliday Park, where we took a “tan test” photo to demonstrate how we don’t look like we’re related at all...Guess which hand/arm is mine!

My friend Becky and I took Jordan to an Indianapolis Indians game on Sunday afternoon. You Know Who got royally sunburned despite several layers of sunscreen. I just can’t win in the sun…It was a hot day, but Becky, Jordan and I enjoyed the game despite the heat. I found that having 2 frozen icees helped!

One of the Richmond Braves, Doug Clark, really had a great day. He hit 2 homeruns and became Becky’s hero in the process. We always pick our favorite players when we go to a game. Becky did like one of the Indians for about 5 minutes. His name was Russ Johnson, but he was soon abandoned for this Clark guy. It was sad really. She was cheering for the other side most of the game! However, Russ Johnson did redeem himself by hitting the game-winning hit, and so the Indians won their game, which was nice, and Jordan and I were just glad that Clark was on the losing side...LOSER!

On Tuesday, Jordan and I went to Conner Prairie. It was my first visit. I enjoyed touring the old buildings, playing 1886 baseball, learning the history of central Indiana, participating in the Glorious 4th Celebration, etc. It was great fun listening to all the political speeches and patriotic songs as the people in costumes held their own celebration. They read the Declaration of Independence in the 1886 town. It was rather stirring to hear it read aloud and chuckle as they talked about the new states that had joined the union and how the Declaration was only 60 years old. That document is actually rather incredible, and when is the last time you just took the time to read it? So all in all, I liked Conner Prairie; however, I think I’ve been spoiled by the incredible Greenfield Village in Michigan. I love that place, and Conner Prairie just is NOT Greenfield Village.