I guess we needed the money so we decided to get a fourth roommate. Her name is Brindley. We went with another girl. I think the hope was that girls are generally cleaner. They are more likely to put their dishes in the dishwasher, keep the noise level down, and squat when they go to the bathroom.
It has been a few days since she got here and it is a little weird. For one, she sleeps in the living room on a special bed. We tried to tell her that we had more rooms in the basement, but she was adamant about being where everyone else is.
So far the other roommates have mixed feelings about the newest one. Number 2 really keeps her distance from Brindley. It could be a jealousy thing, competitive thing or just a fear thing. We want things to be civil so we ask them to coordinate their schedules as best they can. I have seen this kind of thing before and I am sure if we give it time, they will end up being best friends.
Number 3 and Brindley are practically inseparable. Maybe it is because they are closer in age, but those two girls really hit it off. You can see it on their faces when they get up in the morning. They know how to cheer each other up.
Number 1 roommate is a guy so he plays it cool, but I think he wants to be involved with her life just like everyone else.
Everyone in the neighborhood has been really friendly with the new roommate. When they see her on the street, they all immediately come rushing over to meet her. People get out of their cars to come talk to her. One would think we had a celebrity living with us.
So we will see how it goes. I am sure just like any other roommate, she has her good habits and her bad habits.
However, I am a little doubtful on the noise thing. Kind of a high pitched voice. And when she gets mad about something, everyone in the house knows it...
Where I work has this rule about wearing lanyards. If we work there, we must wear a light green lanyard around our necks. It is not a comfortable lanyard. Sure, if I have a collared shirt, it is okay, but I am a developer. We wear T-Shirts. Geek T-Shirts even.
My wife made me an awesome lanyard. Dark blue. Star Wars material on the front sewn on. To top it off, she put in a pen holder. It is comfortable on my neck. I absolutely love it.
I started wearing this new lanyard instead of the company one. They were so jealous of my new lanyard. They start noticing my disobedience. I get brought up in meetings. They know me by name. The guy with the cool Star Wars lanyard is making trouble. I try to defy them, but the pressure gets pretty high.
What do I do? I have to think of something. How do I make everyone happy including myself?
Then, it hits me. At Mardi Gras, does one only wear one set of beads? No. They wear as many as they can... to celebrate!
So I wear them both. One to make them happy. One to make me happy. And both to make someone in charge think: "Are you kidding me?! Now we have to come up with an additional rule stating that only one color lanyard can be worn at a time and it has to be the chosen color?"
I am keeping my lanyards crossed that this does not happen...
I want a collection of something interesting! I have a friend who used to collect PEZ dispensers. My sister used to collect back issues of X-Men comic books. My Grandma collects Barbies and succulents. My Dad collected baseball cards and Mad Magazines.
I actually have something that I collect which is not very interesting, but I have sort of made it my thing. There is this store called Pop N Sweets and they have quite a lot of different styles of Root Beer. Tons of different labels. So as I try out the different brands, I save the bottles.
Most of them are good. As long as they taste like A&W or Dads or Barq's they generally pass the standard taste test. It is the ones that deviate that are the most fun. Having one that tastes like honey has been interesting. Or having a heavy foam is unique. Some are really dry which is cool. I love the variety.
I really dig some of the labels. Dark bottle seems to be the way to go. They typically have good names and a real traditional feel to them.
So where do I display this collection of Root Beer? At work. In my cubicle along the top of the wall, there is glass on one end and a little shelf on the other. My side has the shelf.
I still do not really have that many, maybe 20. But growing up, I never knew there were so many brands. I knew about Dads, A&W, Mug, Barq's, IBC. Those were pretty much it. Now I see Route 66, Cap'n Eli's, Frostop, Dog n Suds, Capone, etc.
I realize this is incredibly nerdy, childish, prudish, just everything imaginable. I am practically totally embarrassed to have it up there. It labels me as such a dork. I could see walking by some other guy's cubicle with this arrangement and asking this question:
Does he think that having a bunch of Root Beer bottles somehow makes him original and cool?
All I can answer to that is that I love Root Beer, collections are fun and I didn't have a place at home to display it without it looking really tacky....
I guess I am not very good at Thank You cards. It has taken me 45 years to figure that out. Not bad. The way it is looking my kids are not going to be very good at them either.
What is so hard about gathering all your presents together, remembering who gave you what, writing down all their names, getting all their addresses, buying $200 worth of stamps, buying stationery, writing out how the item has benefited your life in a non-sarcastic tone, making it legible and getting them out before 12 months are up?
Easy!
Can we send Thank You Emails? How about Thank You Text messages? No. It has to be a card. A small card in a small envelope with a small stamp.
Thank You cards were part of a different generation, a much more formal generation. They did not have all the things we have now. We have way too much going on. How would I fit in writing a Thank You card today?
I give a verbal Thank You to the gift-giver, looking them in the eye. That is enough, right?
In fact, I write a whole slew of virtual Thank You cards to others on facebook every day. For example, if Aunt Suzy got me a bike for my birthday, I would want her to see that I am out riding that bike. What better way than to show a picture of me riding that bike all over town? Or in this case, all over Maui, Hawaii. Or St Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Or even Disney World. True, I cannot ride my bike in Disney World, but I can show you that my bike helped me get there. And everyone can see all the great places that my new bike is helping me to get to.
So why take the time to thank others in that old fashioned way when I can say thank you in my new way?
Then again, I really do wish I would write Thank You cards every time someone gave me a gift. I think it is a fun idea.
Since I did not thank the people with a card previously, I have compiled a list of things which I am truly grateful for. These things come through again and again:
- Years ago, my Mom made me a gigantic, super heavy quilt out of old Levis. It still resides in our freezing basement to alleviate the chill. Thanks, Mom.
- My Dad gave me Grandpa's chop saw which comes in handy every time I have to actually build something. Thanks, Dad and Grandpa. My Dad also helped me put up the Christmas lights one year and somehow I dropped the ladder on his head. Thanks for the help, Dad. (Should we do Sorry cards too?)
- My wife gave me a leatherman pocket knife, which I use for trimming the weed whacker line. It's small. I mostly just use it for that one thing, but it is perfect for that. Also she made me a really cool Star Wars lanyard with a pen holder. Thanks, honey. Oh, and she gave me three beautiful children too!
- My sister gave us some awesome Star Wars pillowcases. All different designs. In fact she gave my kids some jammies with Star Wars iron-ons years and years ago. My son still wears his. The pants are up to his knees. The iron-on is totally faded. Thanks, M.
- My Grandma bought us a welcome mat ten years ago for my apartment and it sits at the base of our stairs in our garage now. Always there. Always useful. Always dirty. Thanks, Grandma.
- My friend, T, gave me a little portable, fold-up plastic fence, which has had so many uses over the years, I can hardly even think what I would do without it. Thanks, T.
- My Aunt K bought my kids this book called The Goodnight Train and it is my favourite book to read to them at night. Thanks, Aunt K.
- My Aunt M gave me this little lap thing which has padding on one side and a hard surface on the other. One can use the hard surface to write on. I still have it to this day. Thanks, Aunt M. (I wonder if she was thinking I would use it to write her a Thank You card...)
