Going Postal

If you thought the craziness of the holidays was over, think again my friends! Psychotic behavior still abounds, and I'm even more tightly-scheduled than I was last December. Remember December? Back when I was organizing family holiday gatherings, working my sister's wedding, finishing up year-end business projects, and getting dumped (again) by the person I thought I loved (and did, but I've got that que sera, sera attitude now)? Yeah, that was easy. With Christmas, I was organized. I'd finished and wrapped all my presents by Thanksgiving, and enlisted the help of my besties in decorating. Entertaining Aunt Susie wasn't difficult (she basically only required a warm home and ice for her brandy) and was actually fun-- she's a blast. Ashley's wedding gave me a few premature grey hairs, but she wasn't TOO bad. And as for Ray, well, it's better to have loved and lost and moved on to kissing new boys to fill the void until Mr. Right comes along, and taken a cruise (just a few days to go!) because one's life is plumb amazing even without the presence of a man to kiss (besides-- most the guys I know leave more dirty dishes than you really want anyway). So with hindsight (or time to recuperate), December was a piece of cake. OK, well, maybe it was a bowl of oatmeal. Whatever.
The thing is, life doesn't slow down one bit! Though we are in the heart of evil winter (wind+cold=staying indoors), I feel busier than ever. Maybe part of that is rebuilding all those lost computer files (I'm not making a ton of progress, but blogging is my mental break). Or maybe it's knowing that I won't have a free weekend until perhaps May. Blah.
Of course, busy isn't all bad. I've got a lot to rejoice over. Por ejemplo, this appears to be the Year of Visiting Rachel. Not only did I have Nathan and Andrew for a weekend, but also my friend Kimball and her husband are to come visit in April. So's my good pal Shaz. Nate and Kari already put in an appearance, and I'm trying to bully Sokphal into a stay. Of course, she's trying to bully me into a half marathon in D.C. (I know, you're all rolling on the floor laughing right now), but I may go join her for the 10k. Much more do-able.
Speaking of running, I've decided to RUN FOR THE ZOO! I kept forgetting to tell Lou, but I think she'll appreciate it. I'm starting with just the 5k, because let's be honest: I've never run so much that I got to love it. I like it ok, but I'd rather dance around to burn off my calories. But I'm doing this. I'll likely be dead last, but I can check it off my list. And then perhaps I can work up to the 10k in September with Phal. It'll be a good new adventure.
But back to the busy-ness. Take Wedding Season, for example. You thought it was in June, right? Think again, because if you are/were a member of the Albuquerque University Branch, March is the time for wedded bliss. Four weddings/receptions to attend in March. Check. I'm going, but you can bet I'll not want another bouquet lobbed at my head by the time Mel's wedding rolls around at the end of the month.
And then, there is THE holiday-- Valentine's Day, one of my favorites. Conveniently, I have gotten a bit ahead on that score-- last night some of my pals came over to create some good V-Day stuff... pictures to be posted eventually. Tonight I plan to shower my buddies with love. I'm so glad I still have Crocodile Hunter cards left. Rest in peace, Steve Irwin. Anyway, I'm a bit sad that I'll be missing most of the fun in favor of sitting next to strangers on my way to Barcelona, but what can you do? If it keeps me from having to go out with the odd little boys who've been doing most of the asking recently, that's cool.
Of course, not everyone loves Valentine's Day as I do. And I'm not talking about the sour-faced Mormon girls who are crying in their cocoa because someone hasn't sent them a 7-foot, stuffed gorilla in red-and-white boxer shorts (and everyone knows THAT'S the quickest way to a girl's heart-- not). I mean the bitter man at the post office.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I didn't get to witness this myself, but my mother's account had me rolling on the floor laughing. This was our conversation as I walked into work this morning:

Mom: So I took our packages to the post office on Friday.
Rachel: Thanks so much for doing that.
M: It wasn't a problem, but it took forever.
R: Did you go to the post office in Los Lunas?
M: No, I went to the one in Tome because it's always faster. But that guy who works there was fighting with the customers in front of me for 20 minutes about lost mail. They were screaming at each other.
R: Really? (I was pretty delighted with this story already) That's so weird. When he first started working there I thought he was so nice. I see him at the gym with his kids and he seems like a good guy, but the last few times I've been in there, he's been really grouchy.
M: I bet he's on steroids.

Isn't that the best conclusion? I think I'm gonna work that into my everyday conversation. Instead of assuming that grumpy people just aren't getting enough fiber, I'll call 'em out on the Creatine.
"Yeah... you know how that girl from church was all up in my grill? I accidentally 'stole' another one of her boyfriends, but I'd better watch my back. She's on 'roids."
I actually just thought that with one of the girls from my branch, it really could be true. Ooops.