The End's Not Near, It's Here

 

My Grandpa with my cousin at the cottage

Two short months ago, I never would have thought the day would come where my Grandpa would be taken by terminal cancer. It was an unfortunately quick process. He died last night, at 11:30pm. 

He was a quiet, calm, generous and private man. He kept his feelings to himself, but we all knew he loved us. He was the silent rock of the family - he was our sustainability and stability. You could always rely on him for anything. He was so good to us.

I truly feel it was yesterday that he was all fine and normal. He was always a healthy and strong man, but was so far from that in his last two months. It was just so quick, which means reality hasn't sunk in yet. It was a shock to all of us - we never thought that he would be going anytime soon. It is a reminder to all of us that no matter how healthy we are, we can become unhealthy the next day and our life will be changed forever. It's a good reminder, because we need to think about our lives in the present and conquer all that we want to conquer right now. You never know what's going to happen tomorrow.

However, I am confident that he is in a better place now, as I know that he made his peace with the Lord. He's happier and healthier now. 

Goodbye, Grandpa...I love you and I will miss you so much!

Well...So Much For That!

Referring to my previous post about hoping my Dad didn't see the hard stuff...

This morning, I just realized that there was a shot glass drying in my dish rack.

I'm a winner.

Don't Get Drunk! Ever!

So, I just had a semi-awkward conversation with my wonderful Dad, who is a totally sober minister. He took me grocery shopping, which I so appreciate, since I don't have my own personal traveling machine (not time travel, geez). I knew right away that he was going to eventually go in my fridge and see my beer. Shit. (I'm hoping he didn't see the hard stuff on the bottom shelf!) This is kind of how the conversation went:

D: You have fancy German beer in your fridge.
S: *feeling freaked out* Um, it's actually Belgian.
D: Ohhh, is that right?
S: Um...yeah.
D: So, do your friends drink the beer? Or do you drink the beer?
S: Well, um...I'm not really a huge beer drinker...
D: No, I didn't think you were. (Total confidence in daughter right now)
S: ...but I think I kind of need to ease myself into beer.
D: *nervous laugh* Ohhh no you don't! That stuff is evil (he doesn't actually mean EVIL as in SATAN, he just means EVIL as in TASTE - not to mention family problems with alcohol)
S: Well...it's really not that evil. I don't know. I'm sorry, but I'm just not a goody two-shoes like you. (My Dad drank once when he was 5 - it was beer - and he never drank again)
D: I know, I know...I've know you for a long time...
S: Yeah, and I'm almost 23 years old, so you might as well just get used to it. It's my life.
D: I know, I know...and I know you. I know it's your life and you can make your own choices.

*some different conversation comes in here about the lack of Dutch trademarks in food and beverage*

My Dad gets up to leave and he's at the door and I say...

S: Don't worry, I won't get drunk alone!
D: Noooooooo, DON'T GET DRUNK! EVER!!!!!! (He wasn't yelling or anything, but he was serious - yet kind of nervous laughing at the same time)
S: *nervous laughter*
D: You know, there are just so many problems with alcohol in our family...
S: I know...don't worry...*nervous laughter*
D: OK, I know...alright...well, give me a hug!

We proceed to hug and he leaves.

WOW. I can't believe I survived that. Seriously. I'm a real woman now.

Eggplant, J'taime

I always knew there must be some crazy, irrational reason as to why I love eggplant so much. Really, it's quite a love affair. Rarely do people enjoy eggplant as much as I do...but I don't know why, since it's so damn good. (Hello, Eggplant Delight from My Thai).

However, I now realize where this crazy, irrational love comes from. Behold, Woody Allen in an eggplant costume!

OK, well, it's looks like Woody Allen, so that's what I'm going with. OK, fine, another thing is that I'm not even entirely sure that it's an eggplant, but I'm not really sure what other vegetable it would be, despite the fact that it's not purple. Maybe it's not ripe yet? Whatever, my way or the highway. I'm saying it's Woody Allen. I'm also saying that it's an eggplant. Because of that, I now have more of an understanding as to why I love eggplant so much, and nobody can take that away from me. You know, love for eggplant doesn't just happen randomly. There always is some strange reason as to why something like that occurs.

Case closed.

Bedazzle Yourself

It is my unrealistic dream to one day carry this out on a daily basis.

I am simply enamoured by her (Marina, of Marina and the Diamonds) bedazzled, rhinestone eyes. How many stares do you think I would get on the street if I did this?

1986

On Saturday, while shopping at Value Village with J (taking her Value Village virginity, by the way), I realized that I was conceived in 1986. I had never thought about this before.

This information has rocked my foundation. We never really think about the year we were conceived in. We always think in terms of what year we were actually born in, for obvious reasons. However, I think it is important to acknowledge the year you were conceived as well. For me, 1986 has been ignored for far too long and I am now feeling an extremely strong connection to it.

Since I've ignored 1986 my whole life, I am now going to be spending a significant amount of time learning about the happenings of that year to make up for lost time.

Here are some happenings of 1986 that I should have known for a long time:

• Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, California
• "Chicken Song" by Spitting Image hit #1 on the U.K. pop chart 
• In London, Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey
• Cher called David Letterman an asshole on Late Night on NBC 
• It is reported that Boy George is being treated for heroin addiction 
• "Designing Women" debuts on CBS 

 The list could go on and on, but I simply don't think that I need to continue to prove how magnificent 1986 was.

I'm officially calling for a "Conception Day" on top of having your normal birthday. It will only give us more reasons to party and find potential mates.

One Word: Epic

There were some epic things that happened tonight.

1. I found Norman. (Read blog post below.)

2. I found out that another former co-worker of mine wasn't dead. My friend and I called her at 11:10pm and she was in bed, but still answered the phone. THANK GOD. We were so damn worried about her. She wasn't answering her email. She wasn't calling us back when we left messages on her damn phone. We seriously thought she was dead.

3. I found out that my co-worker is 3rd cousins with Britney Spears. YES. Britney Spears. They grew up in Kentwood, LA together. Britney was here for a week when she was bald. The next time Britney is here, I'm going to be going out with her. Yeah, pretty epic. I have plans of us doing some awesome karaoke. I'm excited.

4. I jumped in snow. There was a patch of snow in a random person's lawn, and I jumped in it. Yeah, I'm pretty much a bad ass. You don't need to tell me!

5. My taxi driver waited until I was in my building completely before driving away. He was very sweet.

The Night of Norman

I never thought that there would be an older man named Norman that would encapsulate me. I think Norman can seem like a boring name. However, my name discrimination was thrown  out the window when I found out the man of my dreams was named Norman.

My friend and I walked into the bar, and there was a man singing. He was singing Stairway To Heaven. Beautifully. In fact, I thought it was Robert Plant for a minute. However, the black hair on his head made me realize that it wasn't Robert Plant. He obviously was an older version of Jimmy Page.

Despite the fact that Norman is not Robert Plant, I still thought that he should probably tour with Led Zeppelin for any reunion tours. He was that good. Also, he didn't just sing Led Zeppelin. He was totally rocking The Beatles later on, and that was sick.

Norman left the bar at around 1am. I was disappointed. I was hoping to spend time with him, despite the fact that he had a girlfriend (who kind of looked like Robert Plant.) In fact, a friend told me to have his babies. I would probably consider it. He was that impressive.

I hope to meet Norman again. Whether that be at Ronny G's, or in my dreams, I will most likely be satisfied.