[Dear reader, I do not know how well this post will turn out as I am just on the heels of the TomKat's pregnancy announcement and the news of the Nick/Jessica split that apparently US Weekly has scooped. please, read at your own peril]
After a stellar run of bad days, some really bad days, and then days that just pissed me off no matter how hard I tried to keep my determined little chin up, things have finally managed to swing in the other direction. Maybe it was that life defining cab ride from Monday night? Kinda like an urban "It's a Wonderful Life" and I'm the modern day George Bailey? Or maybe The Law of Large Numbers finally kicked in and by that, eventually a good day was bound to come my way. Yeah, I'll go with that.
However, I will note it's not like the week began without trying its hardest to keep this girl down.
Monday morning. An overstuffed bus. Unexpected traffic due to a street being closed which later I'd learn was due that street being a crime scene involing the police shooting a guy outside a gin mill the night prior (well, the guy? he did start it). So we sat and stood, smooshed up in each others grills, and inched forward in our public sauna. Overheard were mutterings from passengers to each other like, "what - no A/C because it's October now??" and "this is ridiculous." The windows were fogged up, that was how ripe it was.
Realized sometime during this commute that this is the day I forgot to apply my deodorant. Oops.
At work, found that my backup deodorant stick to be m.i.a. Crap.
Didn't have a moment to "sweat it" though (ed note: sorry, sorry-sorry) as fire drill at 9:00. Had to walk down THIRTY ONE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS. IN HEELS. THESE heels. Fuck. These new heels hadn't been worn yet and thus still a bit slippery and NO, I did not have a pair of flats/sneaks in my desk and the woman who sits next to me is SIX FEET FIVE INCHES and so am pretty sure she didn't have a pair to spot me. Dealt with the razzing from fellow employees as everyone lapped me as I was gripping onto railing and the waves of dizziness started to take hold because it's really like 62 flights of stairs because of all the cutting back & forth.
Tuesday - got into my first (? ok. this is debatable) work phone call pissing match in which my voice was so elevated that once I got off the phone was told, "yeah, had to get up from my desk because I couldn't hear Dan over you. " Ummmmmm...Wellllllllll....dude, needed to be educated and kept a) cutting me off/talking over me and b) saying things that were not correct. or you know, "WRONG". People, I am a very patient person and can usually keep my shit together - but, you know, even I HAVE MY LIMITS. So yeah, I may have raised a voice....a touch.
But THEN - somehow, it turned around. By the end of the day Tuesday, dude called again and next thing you know he was more or less saying the same thing I had been telling him and I believe I uttered the phrase, "so, we're in agreement then?" and just because it was so nice to not have to re-explain it for the 8th time that day , I didn't even play my typical, "Orrrrrr...what I said 3 hours ago" card. I think this is what people would consider "growth". Look at me, all GROWING and shit.
Later, our whole department got the nod to go to the conference room at four o'clock for beer and pizza to watch Game 1 of the Sox series on a 5'+ screen. Let me repeat that: BEER: AT WORK. PIZZA. WATCHING THE SOX - ON THE COMPANY DIME - WHILE DRINKING BEER AND EATING PIZZA. (too bad I got a real sweet seat just to watch Clement give Chicago batting practice. Good grief that was painful.)
And finally, I stopped by my sister Kate's house to hang out. 
This scene is always good for my head. I got to hang out with the kids. Owen, my 4 month old godchild, a very chill kid and nothing like his locomotive sister. He's just content to hang out laughing and making baby noises and and making sure we're all aware that he's got the cute thing wired pretty good. 
Though while I was holding him, I must say he did a bang up job eating his fist and then taking said fist and hitting the back on my hand, thus sliming me pretty good. Was not of fan of this trick of his. And then I held him again later and had just brought him closer to me, his face looking right at me and at that exact moment decided to have a series of large, spattering sneezes. This pleased Kate as she mocked, "well, could be worse; that could've been formula." True, but I was all, "cut it out, O" and from the subsequent sneezes, it appears he doesn't take direction very well. I can see I have my work cut out with him. First order of business: Learn English.
My time with Sarah, who is now three, it also getting more interesting. 
When I got there, the movie The Karate Kid was on and when the movie got to the competition fight scenes she was scared and upset. So I explained to her that karate was a sport, "er, like soccer, see, they have to stay in the box and kick," and after some insights, she was able to take that scene in stride. And then she got scared again so we flipped the channel. When 8:00 rolled around, her "favorite show" Gilmore Girls was on. First of all, when she refers to this show, she calls it "Elmo Girls". Actually, I'll have to give this one to her because in kid world and if you speak with a toddler "accent" "Gilmore Girls" and "Elmo's World" do sound bizarrely similar (go ahead- say it out loud). So I had to keep up with, "GILmore Girls. Gah- Gah -GILmore.....". It took a few tries, but she finally got it. When the show is on though, girl is MESMERIZED. The stare, the slightly open mouth ...as seen here:
Once Sarah was in bed, Kate & I camped out to watch My Name is Earl. I don't know if this is one of those shows that's funnier if you watch it with someone or if this week's episode was that much better than last week, but we were dying. However, the funniest part of the evening came indirectly from the show. The ep focused on getting Earl's 30-something brother back into high school ( as a "transfer student") so that he could get the touchdown Earl had robbed him of when he played for the team. As such, brother of Earl was taking high school classes and in one scene walked out of the school and met up with Earl and mentions to him that his favorite class is science and asks, "hey, did you know we used to be monkeys?"
This is where Kate pipes in:
- You know, the Theory of Evolution can really screw up a 7 or 8 year old's head. [motions] On the one hand, you have Adam and Eve....On the OTHER...Theory- of- Evolution. So I'm like, "they can't BOTH be right." [laughing to the point where I think she is in danger of wetting herself] Oh...did I ever tell you about the time I tried to convert a Jew?
- You. What? Who?
-Ilana Schreiber.
-Really?! Oh. My. God, that is funny. What did you say to her? How old were you?
- I don't know. I was nine. I didn't know any better. And we didn't know any Jewish people when we lived in Massachusetts (ed note: we'd just moved to CT). I thought I was helping her.
-What - you give your "testimony"?? Heeeee. Do, ....do Catholics even do that? What happened?
-Nothing. She just thought I was weird.
-Really, Kate - she didn't convert?? How do I know you this long and not know this story....I can't believe you tried to convert Ilana.
-Yeah, and then years later I went to her Bat Mitzvah.
Man, and I give Tom Cruise grief and here in my own backyard all this time....
Anyway, Shalom, y'all.
Glad things are looking better, Jen. Sisters and 3 year olds can do that sometimes.
Posted by: sarah | October 06, 2005 at 06:41 PM
I hope it's not wrong that I laughed at your story of the sweaty bus trip, missing deodorant, and fire drill. It just sounds so much like something that would happen to me, except I wouldn't be able to tell it with such humor and lightness. :-)
I am glad you are having a better end of the week!
Posted by: Nancy | October 06, 2005 at 07:59 PM
When Sarah asked me to read her a story, the other day, I asked her to go get my reading glasses, from the kitchen counter. We read the story and all went well. Hours later, she started to "read" herself a book...abruptly stopped, went upstairs and came down sporting jazzy sunglasses and continued her book without saying a word. She just kills me!
Posted by: Teri | October 06, 2005 at 08:31 PM
sometimes the talky talkiness of incessant talking on Gilmore Girls puts me in a trance, too. Poor sarah.
TomKat + baby = there is no God.
Posted by: fancypants | October 06, 2005 at 09:10 PM
yeah, I think Kate said she's likes the quick chatter of the show. SHe also likes Rory. Maybe b/c Rory has a baby talk she can identify with.
The TomKat thing? I can't even talk about it. I think this is what they call "shock" (I'm so cold....so very, very cold....")
Nancy - oh, feel free to laugh - I was (tho think they call it "hysteria". heh). Like, you remeber that scene in Forrest Gump where Lt. Dan is on the top of Gump's shrimp boat riding during the hurricane and talking to God all crazy like - "C'mon! You call this a storm?! Blow you sonofabitch! BLOW! " ? that was me as I walked down 60-some odd sets of stairs.
Posted by: OnceMore | October 06, 2005 at 10:39 PM
Oh my God. I'm so disappointed you didn't try to convert me! Ilana told me about this page... She found it by Googling herself!
For more info on me, check out my myspace page: www.myspace.com/samanthasheldon
Posted by: Samantha Sheldon | July 28, 2006 at 04:43 PM