Update... May 2, 2006

Good morning everyone!!!

Wow! It has been a long time since I have sent out a little update on my life… tons of stuff has gone on, so let’s just hit the highlights, shall we? This is gonna be a little short but don’t worry… there is always next time.

I just got back from Toronto on Friday. I was up there for work. I should right a children’s book, “The little coder that could”… “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can… damnit this is hard!” More of a “this is what you have to look forward to” book than anything else. Anyway, I was packing up to leave on Sunday and I have some fall clothes packed. I figure it wont be that cold. Weather.com said it would be 40s and 50s. I am about to leave when I phone my mom. She tells me to go ahead and pack my winter coat. I do so, thinking… it couldn’t hurt. I get off the plane and it is freezing. Last week in April and it is damn cold. The next morning I wake up in my hotel room and turn on the news. They are talking about the weather and how it SNOWED a few towns east of Toronto. Snowed? Where am I, Siberia? I thought I saw a wooly mammoth walk by my window, or it could have just been the bison going by… not sure.

So, I am getting dressed and continue listening to the news. The news in Toronto is very different than it is here. Not in format but in content. They don’t talk about what is going on in Toronto, because there isn’t anything going on in Toronto. They talk about what is going on in America, and the traffic. That’s it. Traffic is bad up there. They actually have a box in the right hand corner of the screen that shows the traffic. The second night we were there disaster struck!! There was a ton of rain that night, and a street collapsed! This wasn’t a bridge, this was a street… the ground from under the street actually washed away, causing a sink hold and taking a 5 foot wide section of the street with it. This was the top story, and they kept going back to the reporter on the scene. I thought that was strange because the rain had stopped, and the street scene hadn’t changed and they were diverting traffic, but the reporter kept saying “Let’s go back to our reporter on the scene to see what is going on now” Well nothing new was going on. The cops had barricaded the street… there weren’t workers out there, there wasn’t a giant gorilla scaling a building, it was just the street… the same broken, washed away street. How many times do we have to go back to the scene in a 30 minute broadcast. So here is what the format of that day was…”Good morning Toronto! Let’s talk about the traffic, and the street you cant use. Let’s talk about the NHL playoffs. Let’s go back to that street, but notice the traffic in that window over there. Let’s talk about American stock market. Hey, how is the street doing? Let’s check in on it, just to make sure no one slipped through the police barricades and fell into the sink hole. Nope we’re good there. Lets talk about the traffic elsewhere. Now we need to check back in on that street before we talk about the Americans some more, then we will tell you what the weather is going to be here and in America and then you can leave for work, but don’t use that street! Enjoy your Starbucks and have a great day Toronto!” I really think they could use some action up there.

It was cold and it was rainy, but overall Toronto isn’t bad. I will tell you for all of the people who shout that they are Canadian proud, every last one of those guys is trying to get across the border into the USA. Trust me, they all told me!! If given the opportunity they would put down the maple syrup and make a run for the border!

As many of you know, and some of you soon will, I just turned 32. Yes, 32! I am amazed at this little fact. How did this happen to me? I have no clue. I don’t feel any older, I don’t even feel that I look any older, but I am currently wondering why I am not in the PTA and driving a mini-van. I thought that is what a 32 year old did. Or at least when I was 20 something that is what I thought. Here is a quick definition of what I thought a 32 year old would be when I was in my 20’s. Granted this is what I can remember thinking, and the old mind is starting to go… so bear with me.

Back when I was 20 (and pretty much persisting thereafter) I was not what I would consider a responsible kid. There was always time to be responsible later. I thought, when I am in my thirties I will be responsible. I relied heavily on my boyfriends to guide me through those reckless years, and not paying much attention to what was coming around the corner. I thought when I am 30 something I will be responsible. I will have a day planner. I will have a routine and definite bed time that is set in stone. I will have an SUV. I will clean my room and make my bed on a daily basis. I will schedule my bills out far in advance and be well acquainted with Quicken. I will not have to rely on my brother Greg for household “honey dos” or for my car concerns. I will have savings, a 401K and be able to splurge when I want. I will have a plan. I will be the essence of 30, but for now I am 20 and being clueless is a-ok.

Now that I am in my 30’s I realize that my clueless-ness had nothing to do with me being 20, or 22, or 25, or even 29. It simply had to do with the way I was choosing to live. So let’s see now… I have no SUV, no kids, no husband, no commitments… no day planner. I actually have put off getting a dog because I don’t know if I could commit to taking care of it. I do have a household plant that my housekeeper keeps watered and looking nice… thank the Lord for Sandra! If it wasn’t for Sandra my life would completely mimic the one that I had when I was in my 20’s. She keeps my little house in order and therefore makes me look good. I still haven’t gotten acquainted with Quicken. For the love of money, I just got my car registered after 4 years of being out of date! I have to take defensive driving for a ticket I got and cant remember when I need to do that by. Where is that day planner? I do have a 401K and my little savings. I like to watch “teeny bopper” movies and chocolate cake as a main course. But ultimately my life is very much the same as it was 10 years ago, but better… I have really great friends to spend my birthdays with and a great family with ten more years of memories to reminisce over. So, maybe it isn’t how I planned it, and maybe I am not the “adult” yet that I thought I would be… they tell you to enjoy your childhood, right? Well, I still am!!!

That is all from this neck of the woods, hope you are all having a great week!!

Peace, love and sink holes!
Martha