Conversations With A Woman 2.0

I'm stealing this from MrBob - because I can. ;-)

It’s all in good fun! Answer seriously or with sarcastic humor. It’s your game to play! So humor me…

The idea is to pick 5 and complete the sentences, then pass this little meme on to 3 more of your blog pals! But no tag backs!

If I could be a scientist…
If I could be a farmer…
If I could be a musician…
If I could be a doctor…
If I could be a painter…
If I could be a gardener…
If I could be a missionary…
If I could be a chef…
If I could be an architect…
If I could be a linguist…
If I could be a psychologist…
If I could be a librarian…
If I could be an athlete…
If I could be a lawyer…
If I could be an inn-keeper…
If I could be a professor…
If I could be a writer…
If I could be a llama-rider…
If I could be a bonnie pirate…
If I could be an astronaut…
If I could be a world famous blogger…
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world…
If I could be married to any current famous political figure…

So, if you want, just give me your 5 in comments!

Here's the 5 I chose and put in MrBob's comments:

1. If I could be an architect, I would design a private bedroom on the beach.

2. If I could be a linguist, I'd be a cunning linguist! (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

3. If I could be a musician, I would play the acoustic guitar and sing!

4. If I could be a world famous blogger, I would be Heather over at Dooce, because she tells hilarious stories with heart and she's my hero.

5. If I could be a doctor, I would find my friend MrBob and his Dad and get them completely healthy.

:-)
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...that has been my thought after everything I have been doing at my new job!

::HAPPY SIGH!::

Let me tell you, after not working for 15 months, I am the most thankful and appreciative employee in the world! On my first day, they gave all the newbies a back pack, koozie, pencil, paper weight and a hard back book on the history of the company, and I almost started crying, I was so happy!

I've completed 3 whole days at work and I've almost got where the bathroom, the breakroom and my desk are in relation to each other. I've personalized the wallpaper on my computer, created my outgoing email signature, personalized my voicemail message and made a list of what things from home I want to bring up to work. I'm also the first of the newbies to order my supplies for my desk, which means I got the last 2 hole punch and the rest will have to wait until an order comes in. I have commented out loud to no one in particular how happy I am to be able to look out a window from my desk and I've participated in my first fire drill with my new employer.

To say that I am a happy woman would be an understatement!

::HAPPY SIGH!::

I don't know when I'm going to come off my cloud, and quite frankly, I hope I don't for a long, long time. I hope you'll forgive me while I gush about how freakishly happy I am to be employed!

:-D
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Shelby Before (Fluffy) 
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Shelby After (Nekkid) 
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Needless to say, after finding out about my new job and calling or writing everyone I know to share my good news, I am on "Love Overload." I love everyone and everything and I feel like everyone and everything loves me. I now know what the phrase, "deliriously happy" means!

::HAPPY SIGH::

Every thought that I've has been either, "I may be waking up at 11 today, but next week I'll be happily waking up at 6:30" or "This time next week I'll be being paid for using my brain instead of sitting here watching Days of our Lives!" YAY!

::HAPPY SIGH::

OK...I'm going to take my happy a** elsewhere now!

:-D
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It is my distinct pleasure to announce that after 15 months of unemployment, I GOT A JOB!!!

First off, I want to thank all of you for your support both emotionally and otherwise as I went through this very challenging 15 month journey. Your thoughts, prayers, love, pep talks, dinners, lunches, movies, checks, and cash have been a big part of the reason that I have come through this without being committed!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!!

I start April 25, 2005. I will be doing what I did before, which was paying Short Term Disability claims. I'll be making $1000.00 more a year than I did when I left my last job. The company seems very sincerely customer focused and very sincerely ethical and I'm very sincerely happy about that!

I have waited so long to be able to share some good news with y'all!!!! There were times when I thought this day would never come. I'm so thankful and appreciative for everyone and everything!

OK...I'm going to quit gushing now...

:-)
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I have a friend named MrBob that I met via blogging. He is a retired police officer and tells some really heart wrenching stories of some of the horrors that he had to face when he was an active duty officer.

In addition, he tells great stories about his life and about how things in the news bother or amuse him. On top of that, he comments on the comments that he receives thereby acknowledging the writer and what they had to say. In addition, when he comments on someone else's blog, he is always very kind and caring and often very humorous.

MrBob's last post was on April 4. MrBob rarely goes more than a day or so without blogging. MrBob has 25 comments on his last blog that he has not commented on. MrBob is not answering my emails, and from the looks of it from my fellow commenters on his blog, he's not answering anyone else's either.

Isn't it interesting that I have this person in my life that I've never met face to face that is worrying me (and many others) so much? He's shared a part of his life with me and I'm touched by that, and therefore I truly do consider him (and many other people who's blogs I read) my friend.

MrBob - I pray that you and your family are OK. Please write again soon.
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Yes, I've finally done this! I've had my blog for what - 1 1/2 years now? ;-)

1. My name is Joan
2. My name is pronounced “Jo Ann” even though it’s spelled J-O-A-N
3. I am named after my paternal Grandmother
4. My sister is the lovely and talented “Red” over at “Ramblings of a Redhead”
5. My nephew is the lovely and talented “Eric” of “Lost Somewhere in Texas”
6. I live in Smyrna, GA
7. Which is a ‘burb of Atlanta, GA
8. I spent the first 29 years of my life in Texas
9. I have a beautiful 17-year-old female cat named Fred.
10. No, Fred is not short for anything
11. I have a lovely and spirited 4 year old cat named Shelby
12. She used to be my former roommate’s cat
13. One of my absolute bestest friends is “Jef” of “Cult of Jef”
14. We’ve known each other since we were 20
15. For a short while, I was one of his supervisors when we worked at Target
16. For a very long while he was my indirect supervisor when we worked in insurance
17. I didn’t realize this until recently, but I’m the only one that calls his partner “2F”
18. Everyone else calls him “2F’s” or Jeff
19. I love music of all kinds, except maybe Gangsta Rap.
20. I used to be a music store manager
21. It was my favorite job ever, but paid diddly squat
22. I had to choose between a job that I loved and paying bills
23. Paying bills won
24. I have worked almost non stop since I was 11
25. …that is until I was fired from my last job 1/23/04
26. My first job was as an “inserter” at the newspaper my Mom worked at
27. That meant putting ad papers inside the newspaper manually
28. It was a small town bi-weekly newspaper.
29. My mom was Assistant Editor of the newspaper
30. I used to make out at the newspaper with boys when I worked on Saturdays
31. Then I would go to the skating rink Saturday nights and make out with more boys
32. My friend Jonathan and I refer to that as my “Sluts on Skates” period
33. “Sluts on Skates” was sung to the tune of Duran Duran’s “Girls on Film”
34. I could never skate backwards
35. But I could skate forward like nobody’s business!
36. The first time I wore a tampon was one night when I went to the skating rink
37. Women – I was trying to take out my first ever tampon at a skating rink – ON SKATES!!!
38. I almost had to have one of my friends come in the stall and help me
39. It really hurt!
40. I didn’t use tampons again until I was in my 20’s
41. I lost my virginity when I was 17 going on 18
42. Some girlfriends and I went to Port Aransas, TX after graduation
43. I met a guy named Robert who worked at the Hershey Hotel in Corpus Christi
44. He came to pick me up in a white stretch limousine
45. We drove on the beach in the limo
46. We stopped and walked hand in hand under the moon in the waves
47. No, I’m not kidding!
48. The next night he came back to see me and “deflowered” me
49. He wore 2 condoms – AT THE SAME TIME!
50. No, I’m not kidding!
51. I once had an online/phone affair with a married man
52. I even met him once when he had a lay over on a business trip
53. We made out in my car
54. If his lay over had been any longer, we would have done much more
55. I’m so glad his lay over was not longer
56. I am ashamed that I did that and would NEVER do it again
57. My favorite colors are turquoise, purple and yellow
58. I was drum major of my high school band my senior year
59. I dated a guy my senior year that had the exact same birthday as I did
60. He was the sweetest guy I had ever known
61. We used to joke that we were twins separated at birth because we were both tall with dark hair
62. He went to the same school I did when we were in Elementary school
63. He moved to a neighboring town but we kept in touch
64. He was captain of his school’s football team
65. I said something ugly about him to someone else just as he walked in the room
66. That ended the relationship – both romantic and friend
67. I still feel guilty about that sometimes
68. I LOVE Tex-Mex food
69. I miss being able to see for miles and miles like you can in Texas
70. I also really miss seeing windmills
71. I grew up in small town and I’m very thankful for that
72. However I’m glad I live in a big city now
73. My 20 year high school reunion is this August
74. I went to the North Texas State University
75. It’s now called the University of North Texas
76. I had some of the best and worst times of my life there
77. After my sophomore year, I was asked to leave with a 1.8 gpa
78. I went to Tarrant County Junior College a couple of years after that
79. It’s now called Tarrant County College, I think
80. I left there when I ran out of money and time with a 3.5 gpa
81. I was glad I was able to prove to myself that I was not dumb
82. I am not nor have I ever been married
83. I would like to be married someday
84. I’ve pretty much realized that I am not going to have children
85. I’m OK with that
86. I’m a good sister, aunt, step-aunt, sister-in-law, step daughter and friend
87. Hopefully someday I’ll be a step mom and step grandma
88. I was a good daughter to my parents when they were alive
89. Not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination – but good
90. I’m lucky to have a man who calls me his “Other Daughter”
91. He was my boss when I was 15-18 and we still keep in touch
92. I worked in his ice cream shop and delicatessen
93. He taught me about not making excuses when you’ve done something wrong
94. He also gave me a second chance when others wouldn’t
95. He also taught me about blue grass and country music
96. …and really corny jokes
97. My mom was cremated and didn’t tell us what to do with her ashes
98. One Christmas, my sister, nephew and I took her ashes on vacation with us to Key West.
99. Really! I have the pictures to prove it!
100. I consider the people I’ve met through my blog to be my friends
101. Thank you friends, for reading this!

Ta-da!

:-)
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Unplug my heart
Let the pain flow forth
Until it is diluted and
As clear as water

Sometimes we feel the pain
Will overwhelm us - like
Drowning in a vast ocean
With no one to hear our cries

However our cries are heard
Even before they are uttered

~~~~~~~~~

So many times I want so badly to be validated by others - but yet I do not seek validation from myself, or rather I do not believe my own validation is enough.

The validation that I feel within myself is at the core, validation from God. That deep knowing - that sense of good or bad - right or wrong - yes or no.

Since that is the case, then why am I so resistant to accepting validation from myself (and thus accepting it from God) and not worrying about anyone else? How dare I think that the validation of God is not good enough?

This is something that I must really think about.

****DISCLAIMER**** These are only my thoughts. If what I say makes you think about the question for your own self, then wonderful. If you disagree with me, then that is good as well.

:-)
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Sitting outside a burrito joint
Listening to trendy music du jour
Watching a tattooed man tattoo the walls
The smell of patchouli on the air
From the Rastafarian guy who is sitting
And eating with 2 other guys
Sun playing peek-a-boo
Behind soft fluffy clouds
Sun shining warmly on my skin
Making my eyes squint with the brightness
A woman sitting under an umbrella
Reading and drinking a beer
A bird perched in the tree above me
Orating on some bird topic
Or maybe just saying, "Hey! I'm here!"
Loud laughter coming from the trio of men
As stories are shared and "one-upped"
For some reason I feel more creative here
Is it the Mona Lisa with her smirk
Holding a Margarita as she stares down on the courtyard?
Who knows?
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One of my all time biggest pet peeves, is people who do not return my call. Now, I'm not talking about family or friends that occasionally do not return my calls. I know that people are busy. However if you have a business and I'm a customer of said business, it would behoove you to call me back.

In my humble opinion, I think that calling someone back within 24 hours of when the message was left is very do-able and not unreasonable.

Recently, I called a business every day for 7 days straight and DID NOT GET A FRICKIN' CALL BACK. If I did not need this service badly, I wouldn't continue to call.

So Wednesday night, I sent an email to the person I'm trying to get in touch with. Again, I think a 24 hr. response time is reasonable. Again, I have gotten no response.

I have worked Customer Service before. I understand that "stuff" happens, but GIMME A BREAK!!! If and when they do call back, it's going to be really hard to be civil, ya know?

GRRRRRRR!!!!!! >:-(
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This is old news, but still worth a read. I'm sure our friend Heather over at Dooce would chime in on this one!

:-)
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I just finished reading Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones." It is a story told from the point of view of a teenager who is murdered and then watches from Heaven as her family and friends break apart and then come together again as they grieve her. Toward the end of the book, one of the teenager's friends, who is now an adult, allows the teenager to occupy her body for a short period of time so that she can make love to her first love. The way it is written is really beautiful as the teenager relates what it's like to touch and kiss this boy she once loved, who is now a man, and feel and do things that she has envied watching others do from heaven. Eventually she has to return to heaven and her friend returns to her body.

I finished the book this morning and closed my eyes for a short nap. During that nap, I dreamt that I received a phone call from my Dad and that he said he was coming over to where I was at my friend's house. I got off the phone and related the story to my friend and she said, "But Joan, your Dad is dead!" No sooner had she said that then my Dad has arrived. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight as only my Dad could do.

I woke up from the dream and realized that I really miss my Daddy. I think this is the first time that I've ever felt this way since he passed away September of 2002. I know I cried the day he died and at his funeral, but I don't think I've cried since then - until today.

My Dad and I had a lot of challenges in our relationship, but at the end, we had made peace with each other and were friends. He was so sick at the end of his life that when he did die, it was a relief that he was finally free of his failing body.

Be that as it may, I still wish that I could get a hug from him and hear him call me "Poo Girl."

I miss you, Daddy.
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With a tip o' my hat to Sam at Madlife:

Ask me 4 questions.

Any 4, no matter how personal, private or random. I have to answer them honestly. I have to answer them all. In turn, you post this message in your own blog or journal and you have to answer the questions that are asked of you.

C'mon! It'll be fun!

:-)
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Yeah, that's how I'm feeling, and big reason why I haven't been blogging much or commenting much on other blogs lately. Not for any particular reason - maybe it's because it's been raining a lot - maybe because I'm tired of all the coverage on Terri Schiavo's life and death - maybe because the Pope is about to die (even though I'm not Catholic, it's still sad) - maybe it's a combination of all of those things.

Since I'm not having a lot to say today, but I still want to communicate with you, let me share some things I've found:

Why was Pat Buchanan mistaken for a dry salad?

I wonder if this lady is going to take this sitting down?

I'm not sure how good the movie itself will be, but I'm really looking forward to seeing the cinematography in this flick.

Got a minute? Want to be creeped out? Try this!

That's all from me for now. I'll be back again soon. Just needed to get the ole blogger juices flowing again so I can come up with something a little more entertaining.

In the meantime, have a great weekend!

:-)
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