Time Management

I've been gone awhile. Again. Sorry 'bout that. It's been nutty, and to be honest, I've had other outlets *cough* facebook *cough*

Tonight I devoted quite a bit of energy to answering Kate's question of what we struggle with most in managing our time, and how our days go. I thought I might as well stick it up here and ask you all the same - what do you do? I clearly need to make a few adjustments. On December 15th I start a new job with a much more fixed schedule. We're also going to be moving sometime soon, where I'll have more control over my environment than I have now...obviously a fantastic opportunity to make some big changes! Here's how a typical day goes for me now, and I ask you to tell me what you do, also. Additionally...I'm giving y'all the opportunity to give me some sage advice! Yeah, there's a lot of obvious things I know I need to do differently. Maybe going to bed earlier...folding my clothes right away...gah. I'm a wreck. See for yo'selves...

++++

7:00 - Alarm starts going off and I hit snooze compulsively.

7:45/8:00-ish - Haul self out of bed. Give self pep talk for shower. Take shower. Run upstairs to throw clean but wrinkled clothes in dryer with a wet washcloth...because let's face it, I'm terrible about putting away clean clothes, if I even get them out of the dryer in a timely manner.

8:50 - Rush out of house without breakfast or coffee in desperate attempt to get somewhere by 9:00

9:10 - Arrive at office or client's house. Apologize to client for being late. Client is very accustomed to this.

10:15-7:00 - Drive from client to client, save the world at each domicile, with random interspersed periods spent errand-running, unhealthy lunch-eating, Kate and Rylie lunch dates, and compulsive facebook-checking. Sporadic paperwork productivity.

7:30-ish - Arrive home. Eat whatever Josh's mom made for dinner. Lament that I'm not eating Indian food or lime pepper tilapia cooked in my own kitchen. Yearn for day we have our own place again.

8:00-12:00 - Randomly surf internet, watch Jon & Kate Plus 8 episodes, have Josh and Laura time, generally disregard any necessary prep work for following morning, feel constantly guilty that I'm not doing paperwork.

12:00 - Finally get into bed, read 2 pages of one of five books I'm trying to get through, and fall asleep much too late.

++++

Yes, I think I'm ready for a new job with a 10:00 bedtime. And maybe a life coach. Bring it. But be gentle and/or snarky, because clearly I've just laid bare a very open wound (and I like it when you're snarky).

Well-Traveled

Friends, hello.  I'll be brief, because let's face it, I didn't come to Europe to do the things I do at home (i.e. spend too much time on the Internet).  Just here to give a quick update and post a few photos. 

We had layovers in Chicago and Dusseldorf.  I slept for most of our stay in the Dusseldorf airport (where the woman who came over the PA had a very seductive German voice...bordering on inappropriate, methinks) and the subsequent flight to London.  First, can I just say....I LOVE LOVE LOVE London.  Two days was not enough - I did not want to leave at all.  Josh has, at times, mentioned the idea of getting a job in London after he finishes school (I don't recall for what purpose); I was hesitant before, but I'm all about it now.  Yes, Josh, let's get a ridiculously overpriced flat in Kensington/Southwark/Notting Hill and furnish it entirely from Ikea...you can get a work visa and I'll stay in our flat and have a baby or two.  As soon as the kids have British accents, we can go.  Aren't I silly?  I love this little fantasy, though.  Time will tell, no?

Caught the Eurostar to Paris...whilst in the Chunnel I marveled that somebody figured out how to build a train tunnel under the freakin' English Channel.  Really?  And so many years ago?  How does that even happen?

In Paris, I was very anxious about pickpockets - Josh later lamented over-warning us about it.  It was more of a challenge, not knowing much French and having the sense that they're not all that crazy about us.  But you look around, and you think, "Come on, French!  We've done a lot for each other over the years!  French and Indian War?  WWII?  Statue of Liberty?  C'mon, let's be friends again!"  Nobody was rude to us, but there was certainly a note of impatience at some places.  Saw some beautiful things and woke up an hour after checkout time at the hotel.  Oops!

Now we're in Heidelberg, Germany, staying with Josh's cousin Joel and his family.  It's been so relaxing having more space in a house with home-cooked food and a hospitable family.  We're setting out today, hopefully hit up an H&M for some cheap clothing basics (Josh forgot his hoodie and one of my bra straps mysteriously shredded to nothing...hmmm), and I'm told we're having some cheap, fantastic Indian for lunch.  Here's a few photos, compliments of Elizabeth...because Laura made a couple of tragic mistakes.  First, I forgot the USB cable for my camera.  Second, I accidentally deleted ALL my photos the second morning in Paris while trying to delete just one.  I had a little meltdown on the Tube platform, but I'm over it.  So here you go - 

Okay, we're rushing off and it wasn't going well, so I'll come back to that later.  Cheers, mates!  Guten Tag!

Executioner of the Flies

I know we're all dealing with fruit flies right now...if you feel alone, don't. We've all got 'em this time of year. I found this idea on about.com...I set up my trap about an hour ago and there's probably 10 dead fruit flies in the bottom with another eight chillin' out on top of the saran wrap, hopefully well on their way to a vinegary death. And here, friends, I share this wisdom with you. Vinegar is the most amazing thing, seriously!

Battling a swarm of fruit flies in your kitchen or bathroom? Get rid of them quickly with this simple, homemade trap:

What You Need:

• Apple cider vinegar
• Dish soap
• A jar or small bowl
• Plastic wrap

What You Do:

1. Pour a cup of apple cider vinegar into a jar or small bowl.

2. Add a couple drops of dish soap to the jar.

3. Cover the container with plastic wrap, and poke a few small holes in the wrap.

4. Place in the area where you've seen the fruit flies, and wait for the trap to do its job.

Why This Works:

Fruit flies are attracted to the smell of the vinegar, and will attempt to land on its surface. However, they're in for a surpise – since the dish soap breaks the surface tension of the vinegar, the fruit flies fall in and drown. Say good-bye to that annoying swarm!

Benefits of Using Vinegar:

• no harsh fumes
• inexpensive
• environmentally-friendly

Tips and Warnings:

1) Keep out of the reach of children

2) A bottle with a small neck can also be used. (Plastic wrap isn't necessary, if you use this approach)

RIP

Yesterday, God saw fit to bless us and dropped a tree on Josh's car.









Yeah, I know, normally this is a bad thing...but when both your cars are limping along AND have full coverage...WOOHOO! I'm currently waiting for Mr. Progressive Man to show up, tell us he is indeed going to total it, and hand me a check. Down payment, baby.

Please note the tan steering column in the blue car. Yep. That's classy.

Please, I implore you...

...if you want me to quit whining about apostrophes so much, read this and spread the word. If we could get this into the hands of whomever runs "Cheer's" restaurant on Plainfield, I'd be so happy. Even better, we could take up a charitable contribution to replace his signage. My brother-in-law Adam could design the new logo. Oh, glorious.

Thanks, Diane...from both me and my friend, the oft-maligned apostrophe.

Meh.

Dear Internet,

I am sorry I have not written in so long. I've been busy with stuff, like moving in with my in-laws and scrounging for a bicycle. Rest assured that I have accomplished both with great success and even left the house at 7:15 this morning for a 30-minute trek on the White Pine Trail. Internet, I made it all the way to that overpass that is somewhere between Belmont and Rockford. I don't know what road it is, but it is a good place to find phone numbers, gang tagging, and information about which middle school boys are gay (though I suppose the latter information might be unreliable, given that it is written in Sharpie by other middle school boys). All this, I think, explains why Josh hates Rockford so much.

For now, just know that I am battling hormone-fueled despair over the most mundane topics that would not normally bother me, like how much I spend on health insurance premiums and the way that used-car prices have skyrocketed over the past few years. You'd think a girl with a masters degree could buy a simple Honda Civic. You'd think. Whilst wallowing in such tragedies, I am working hard to fight the temptation to eat the entire contents of the cookie jar upstairs. Given my relationship with off-brand sandwich cookies, I'm doing relatively well.

Have a lovely evening, Internet, and pray for me in my silliness.

Love,
Laura

Even better!

Thanks to Dan Falicki for his mad photoshop skillz.

Josh's Modeling Career

I would like to know where the money from this gig went.

A birth.

This afternoon I realized that the new Plainfield Meijer had opened today. I happened to be talking to Melissa right then and did my usual rubbing-in: "Melissa, I'm going to BRAND NEW SHINY MEIJER RIGHT NOW." See, Melly lives in LA and misses her Meijer desperately. I let her live vicariously through me, but I'm not always nice about it. Anyway, it was decided that I would go and take covert photos. The place was teeming with smiling staff in new shirts, which made the photography endeavor difficult. All the Holt Swimming girls can tell you that Meijer no likey cameras in their store. Somehow I made it out of there without criminal prosecution...



They built the new store behind the old store, which closed yesterday...obviously, they're not using this entrance yet...but soon the parking lot will be a whole lot bigger!



Hello, Hay Fever!



Very covert shot of the "WOOHOO we opened a new store!" balloon sculpture. This shot demonstrates about as much photography skill as what is possessed by my three-year-old nephew, Preston...



Lotsa meat. Satisfactory.




And these two are especially for Melissa...today we decided that the quintessential Midwestern diet consists primarily of hot dogs and chicken pot pies, as opposed to organic arugula (as is the case in LA).


Random. Nice lighting, I guess?



Mission Accomplished! I love my blue "green" Meijer bags.

It was nice, it was shiny, it smelled like fresh paint...but I have to say, I wasn't overly impressed. It was smaller than a lot of the other stores in the area and there wasn't anything particularly special about it. (Aside from the special Pot Pies section, that is.) My current ranking for the area:

1. Cascade
2. Knapp's Corner
3. Caledonia
4. Rockford (this would make #3 if I didn't feel like it was totally backwards)
5. Lowell (It's really very nice! I was surprised!)
6. Grandville
7. Plainfield
8. Jenison
9. Alpine
10. 54th/Clyde Park
11. 28th/Kalamazoo (otherwise affectionately known as "International Meijer")

Honorable Mention goes to Greenville, though I don't really consider it Grand Rapids-area.

And yes...I really did just write a big long blog about Meijer. What's more amazing is that I didn't do it for Target first. Maybe some other time...I'm still hoping that they'll open one in the Knapp's Corner area. Oh, a girl can dream...I love you, big box stores.

Ketchup.

I haven't written anything substantive in awhile, I know...I'm sorry. Things have been a little topsy-turvy at times, and just generally busy all the time. I guess I'll start with the biggest topic...my Grandma R passed away two weeks ago after a very short stint with hospice. S'ok, really. She was 89, and it was time. It really was, and she was ready, both mentally and spiritually. We had a nice memorial service in Rochester Hills last Monday, and it was the first time that many members of my dad's family had been together since Gpa died in '93. It was really a great time...emotional, yes, but very good. Plus, we had Greek food for the luncheon...spinach pie, chicken and lamb kebabs, pita, cucumber sauce...from Gma's favorite local restaurant, The Crazy Greeks'. And and and I reunited with my cousin Lucas, whom I had not seen since 1990. I mean, really. My family is ridiculous like that. I kind of wish I had a big tribute, some sentimental words, some photos...but I don't. Almost doesn't seem fitting. Grandma was a very practical woman, and I think she'd want us all to be a little sad, but then just get on with it...and that's all I have to say.

While all this was going on, I had some very persistent stomach pain that, for awhile, appeared to be gallstones. It wasn't, and it's subsided, but it was still weird and scary. I decided that I don't ever want to have gallstones. My gallbladder stores the bile produced by my liver, and I think it's doing a damn fine job of it, so I'd like to keep it, if that's okay.

Hmm, what else? Today I became the most bizarre kind of grown-up and bought professional liability insurance. Yeah, you know, like what doctors get in case their patients sue them. Because, let's face it...my very livelihood entails that I spend time with some people who...erm...have some problems. And some of these people have the potential to engage in projection and transference and all kinds of other fun stuff that could put my professional reputation in jeopardy, through no fault of my own. Did you know that the State of Michigan considers me a Health Professional? Uh-HUH.

And that is all. (This is how one of my young clients ends every story she tells me. It's cute.)

****UPDATED...FOR JON'S SAKE****

Yesterday I went to the Knapp's Corner Meijer and bought ketchup and Saran Wrap. I went home, put the ketchup in the fridge, and put the Saran Wrap in the drawer. The End.

Regrets are for horseshoes and handbags.

If Josh hadn't gotten to me first, I would happily marry this man, roaming the Lower 48 in his Nissan to do God's Own Work.

Thanks, Anne, for the link!

I think I'm related to the president(s).

Now, way back when, my Grandpa Chipman all but figured out that we had an ancestor on the Mayflower. I got a little off track at work today and found this posting on a surname website. I figured out that if all this is, in fact, true, that John Howland is the ancestor in question. Click his name and go down to "Notable Descendants."

I can't get my head around this today. I called my mom and she said the only piece of info we're missing has to do with my great-great-great grandparents and apparently can be found at the Mecosta County courthouse. We're going to take a day off work sometime and go up there. I thought the Mayflower thing was a big enough deal, but all those presidents? And Robert E. Lee? And Alec Baldwin???? Yowza.

Yet more shameless self-indulgence...

...though cut me some slack, it was decreed by Diane.

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Wendy's bun toaster/dishwasher/put-bacon-in-the-oven-er/Salad Bar guru/Queen of the Pick-Up window
2. YMCA lifeguard/puke cleaner-upper/pH tester/fodder for lecherous old hot tub-lounging men
3. Head Lifeguard/grass mower/fornication patrol for a county park
4. Therapist/world-saver/backstage manager for Jerry Springer-like existence

B) Four movies I would watch over and over (or have watched over and over):
1. Office Space (I own a red stapler...and so does Josh)
2. Best In Show (GENIUS)
3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
4. Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

C) Four places I have lived:
1. Traverse City, MI
2. Saginaw, MI (Marie, did you live there when I was in 2nd grade? Ha.)
3. Holt, MI
4. Kalamazoo, MI

D) Four TV shows that I watch:
1. 30 Rock
2. 30 Rock
3. SNL
4. The O'Reilly Factor

E) Four places I have been:
1. San Francisco
2. Amarillo, TX (home of the Cadillac Ranch and Ricky's Towing)
3. Portsmouth, NH
4. Berea, KY (damn beautiful town)

F) Four people who email [or call] me regularly:
1. Yosh (like that wasn't obvious)
2. My mother
3. My mother-in-law
4. Kimmy
(Honestly, people, it's all about texting and the internet)

G) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Frosted Mini-Wheats
2. Strawberry Edy's Fruit Bars
3. Broccoli
4. Cosmopolitans (YES, they're food!)

H) Four places I would like to be right now:
1. Target (buying new bikes)
2. A salvage yard (searching for that Mazda3 of my dreams)
3. Swimming 1000 SKIPS in a 25-yard-pool
4. Biking the White Pine Trail (see #1)

I) Four things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Going to Miami ("welcome to Miami" - Will Smith)
2. Going to EUROPE!
3. Paying off some STUFF
4. Retiring Patsy for a newer car (that is not rapidly approaching 200K miles)

J) Four people who should/will [respond] post FOUR THINGS ABOUT THEM:
1. Melissa (who, I think, will second that emotion in regards to Amarillo, TX)
2. Anne (who works for Speculum Wealth)
3. Trace (preferably in Afrikaans)
4. Rudi (preferably in Hungarian)

Parental Guidance Suggested

...because I said "dead" once and "meth" twice.

Deadly Sin #6, courtesy of the United States Postal Service

Shame on Melissa for sending me this...but I have to say, it made me laugh hard in memory of our recent conversations, which would be some variation of the following:

Me: Pooky, it snowed thirty-six inches today and the wind chill is a thousand below zero.
Mel: MOVE TO CALIFORNIA!

Productivity

One thing I absolutely hate is lounging around, unshowered and in my pajamas until 4:00 pm on a Saturday (which, I'm embarrassed to admit, is more the norm than the exception). Yesterday was refreshingly different - I went to the new house and painted the first coat on the master bedroom and the bathroom, with the help of Ebeth, Sarah, and Kimmy. Looks good, no? The bathroom color is Dutch Boy's Biloxi Blues and the bedroom is called Bamboo, which is totally suitable given our longstanding Asian decor theme in there :) Kimmy and I are going back today to do the second coat, but I'm worried about how it's going to go, as neither she nor I are gifted with Sarah's exceptional cutting-in skills. Pray for us, por favor.

August 2008

Grand Rapids. London. Bath. London. Paris. Frankfurt. Munich. Salzburg. Rome. Munich. Grand Rapids.

The Von Trapp tour will be commencing shortly, as will the Jane Austen walking tour.

Happy New Year...?

Guess who this stinker is? My dad's so creative. (Didja notice the cloth diaper, huh, Kate?)

I meant to write this 29 days ago, I swear.

I've thought a lot about it, and in recent years I've decided that I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. I mean, it's kind of unrealistic that beginning on Day One you're going to do a total 180 when it comes to your body, your finances, your spiritual life, whatever. (Thank you, Bridget Jones, for so amusingly showing me this in your stream-of-consciousness prose. I love you, even though you're not real.)

I am, however, in support of the symbolism of a new year, of turning over a new leaf, much in the same way that Easter is reminiscent of eggs and rabbits. Okay, maybe not the best metaphor, but bear with me. I'm not a believer in saying, "Starting January 1st I'm going to be 100% better at this, this, and this." I do think, though, that it's a good time to set goals for oneself in the coming year. Do you think, maybe, that goals might keep us going to the gym past mid-February? Maybe...if you haven't set impossible standards for yourself, you're less likely to feel like an utter failure and throw in the towel for the rest of the year, yes?

Our goals for this year include...living in a way that honors our bodies (portion control = good, Krispy Kremes = less so), interacting with our finances on more of a daily basis (including actually sticking to the budget we spend so much time creating), traveling more, and chipping away at some lingering debt.

Now, we're doing fairly well with the first two. Not perfect, no earth-shattering changes, but guess what? I guarantee we'll still be working on them come May. We're making more concrete plans for a Florida trip in May and a Europe trip in August, including money and logistics. (Remind me to apply for my passport!) The debt one, though, is the one I'm going to talk most about today, because I'm really proud of us.

We talked one day last weekend and decided that we need to make some sacrifices toward this one. Not that we have much leeway in our budget, honestly...but we both, uniformly decided to get rid of cable. For our own good. Unilaterally. Oh, how good it felt. We also decided not to join the Y as we'd previously planned...part of the reason being that the "scholarship" they offered us was $74 a month, more than twice what it was this summer. Not affordable right now. But little did we know there was more to the story...that night, a friend of a friend called Josh and basically said, "Hey, my roommate's moving out, I heard you might be looking for a place to live, come live at my house for $200 a month cheaper than what you're paying." Initially, we weren't really about it...we don't know this guy. We don't want to share living space with someone else. No. We're selfish creatures of comfort. The next morning, we both woke up thinking, "Ohhhh, but we could pay off our debt FASTER. We can DEFINITELY go to Europe before we have kids. Hmmm." Josh called the guy, who was on his way home from work. We went over, looked at the place, and talked to him for awhile. Not a red flag to be seen. We felt very comfortable with everything, and after a few days of thinking about it, we decided that we're doing it. It's open-ended - we can decide to move out whenever we want. We'll have the whole 2nd floor (2 bedrooms and a bath) to ourselves...he sleeps in the basement and we'd share the main floor (kitchen, living, dining room) with him. It's a nice, well-cared for house. He said we could paint our rooms if we want. I'm two miles from my office instead of 15 (which I figure will save me alone at least $60 a month in gas). We'll be giving up some things for awhile, yes - the use of all our stuff (some of it will go into storage), total control over our domain, cable (yes, we're sticking to that one!), some privacy, maybe...but it's good. Making steps to improve your life is HARD. You gotta give a little. You've got to be creative and unorthodox sometimes. We're not thrilled about moving in the winter, we're not totally comfortable with everything we'll be giving up. But guess what I tell my clients? The definition of insanity is doing what you've always done and expecting a different result. Change is uncomfortable, but being comfortable isn't really getting us anywhere in this department...so change it is. (Yeah, that's right, I got all therapy on you - THAT JUST HAPPENED!)

We're moving on Feb. 23rd. Wish us luck...and if anyone wants to help paint or help us lug some stuff in or out of a U-Haul, please let me know :) We can't offer you much beyond pizza and love, except we'll get whatever kind of pizza you want and even get you a soda :) Oh, and moving things to and fro burns calories, DID YOU EVEN KNOW THAT? Wow.

Oh, and the newest "Lainey's The Cutest Thing Ever" photo (I made her necklace):

Because everyone's birthday should be a week long...

The photo is grainy and I am regrettably more prominent than The Birthday Girl, but it just captures her essence so well. On Sunday my dear old friend Melissa turned 28...

10. About 5 years ago we realized that we were coming up on our 10-year anniversary of friendship. We talked exhaustively about our big plans for an anniversary date, and (shockingly), that never actually happened. Nor did, for that matter, our 15th Anniversary date.

9. Mel and I have a special relationship...if you see or hear us throwing vicious threats (i.e. "You haven't rented 30 Rock yet? I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!") or, alternately, being a little pseudo-sexual and disturbingly affectionate, don't worry. We both like our boys plenty well. We just have an interesting dynamic that includes a little dirty talk every now and then. Just love us anyway, okay?

8. Speaking of which...Mel has a little habit of talking in her sleep. A few years ago in a hotel room in Anaheim, I was awakened by her mumbling. I said, "What?" She said, "I want to put your butt in my mouth." I said, "WHAT?" (laughing very hard, mind you), and she said, "It's a San Diego thing." Laura: "A SAN DIEGO THING?" Melissa: "Actually, it's a WORLD thing." Best conversation I've ever had with her. The other day I sent her a text message that said, "Happy birthday, Buttmouther."

7. I've called Melissa many nicknames over the years, including Pooky, Sugar, Smelly Melly, Kymmel (which is actually used when referring jointly to her and Kym), and the aforementioned Buttmouther. I think it's a keeper, don't you?

6. In 7th grade we walked home from school together all the time even though she lived just far enough away to ride the bus. Usually our travels took us to DeRosa's Party Store for a Little Debbie and Crystal Pepsi. One day we had gotten only so far as the Crystal Bar when I suddenly turned around and slapped her across the face For No Apparent Reason. She said, "Ow! Why did you do that?" I said, "I don't know, I just felt like it." We both found it incredibly funny at the time...and still do. (I'm so glad that I've learned some basic social norms since.)

5. Melissa has given me some nicknames, too, which include PiPi, Pooky, and Chia Pet. (Ask me about that last one some other time...not for the squeamish.)

4. Melissa and I met in 7th grade...hard to say whether or not it was in band class or in swim club. We competed against each other for first chair clarinet, played Celebration by Kool and the Gang, went to countless swim meets together, spent our summers going for bike rides and runs, got our moms to drive us to the mall for Champion shirts and Bass shoes, went sledding at Dead Man's Hill with trays stolen from Wendy's, watched The Cutting Edge in her basement, ended up college roommates (best time of my life), and I drove with her across the country when she moved to LA 3 1/2 years ago. I never knew that you could have so much fun squished in an overpacked Chevy Cavalier for four days straight. Better vacation than even my honeymoon, I tell you.

3. Back in the day we had another friend named Lisa, who once said that Melissa's sister was actually her mom, her mother was actually her Aunt Frank, and her father was named Larry Bon-Bon. I've been calling Larry that ever since, much to Melissa's chagrin.

2. Have I mentioned that we were WEIRD ADOLESCENTS who ended up surprisingly well-adjusted?

1. Melly now lives in West Hollywood with her boyfriend Ray (who is perfect for her) and her cat Napoleon...she's armed with a fresh Masters in Film and is working on breaking into the film editing industry. I made her promise to take me to the Oscars someday.

I Googled myself...

...would you believe there's several more of me out there? I couldn't believe it.

Well, kids, I've decided to follow Anne's lead and remove all occurrences of my last name from the ol' blog...consequently, this has changed my URL, so I'm sure none of you are even reading this. I'll e-mail ya. Anyway, I'm doing this because it came to my attention that if I were to apply for a new job (IF...not that I would ever do such a thing), someone out there might think to google me, and quite frankly I probably don't censor myself enough on the ol' interweb. Thus, I must go into hiding. I know our last name is our trademark, and it's fun to say and type, but for the sake of being a responsible grown up (blech), I'm going to have to ask you to not use it on this blog. Or, if you must, replace the i with an asterisk or something, as if it were a dirty word (which it sometimes is...let's use it as a verb, no? WITH ASTERISK!)

Sorry, all...

Don't worry...it wasn't us.

I returned home tonight around 8:30, and as I wove my way through the complex, I saw increasingly odd sights. The clubhouse was alit and filled with people ("Okay, not so unusual for someone to rent it out for a party on a weeknight"), then I passed a big ol' Consumers Energy truck sitting alongside the road, doing absolutely nothing ("That's weird, everyone seems to have electricity..."), then I came around the bend...all manner of emergency vehicles in full glory. The building just beyond ours was illuminated with red and white strobes, and a fire truck crane was hovering over the building. A Fox 17 mobile broadcast truck was there, too, satellite dish engaged. I couldn't quite see what was going on (fire? C02 leak? Meth lab?). I went inside, could find nothing on the news, so came back outside with my mom on the phone...still can't tell and don't want to get so close as to be barked at by police officer or similar. Went back inside because it was too cold for other gawkers, who would've been my only source of good information. Finally got the story on the 10:00 news (because at 11, it's history!) Courtesy of WXMI Fox 17 (the only news outlet who cared enough to come all da way out here):

Fire At Gaines Township Apartment Building

January 24, 2008

GAINES TOWNSHIP — About two dozen tentants evacuated a Gaines Township apartment complex Thursday night after a fire broke out in one of the apartments.

The fire started around 7 p.m. at The Crossings apartment complex near the South Beltline and Eastern Avenue.

Firefighters saw flames shooting from the roof when they arrived on scene. They dispatched an aerial truck and knocked down the fire before it could spread.

The fire damaged two apartments, one with smoke and the other from fire damage.

No one was injured, but some residents disregarded the fire alarms that rang through the complex.

"Fire alarms outside activated, some people failed to realize those alarms mean time to get out," said Dutton Fire Chief Russ Jansen.

Fire investigators think the fire may have started on a second floor balcony. It remains under investigation.

Copyright © 2008, WXMI

Thank you, Lord, for yet more affirmation that it is indeed good to be overinsured. Amen.

Happy Birthday, Kym!

Today is my BFF Kym's 28th birthday. Anne beat me to the birthday list, but you can never have too many fun facts about my one-time twin. However, in lieu of the usual facts, I'm going to indulge in some memories:

10. In 9th grade history class, Kym and I convinced Anne that Kym had a cool older sister named Hunter. We kept up this charade for weeks.

9. Kym and I (and our dads) went to tour GVSU's campus together in 12th grade. She'd had some sort of foot issue, and my knee was acting up, so we were both on crutches...we decided to make the most of it by wearing matching outfits. We got a lot of attention from everyone else in the tour group.

8. It has only been in the past two years or so that people have run into me and not said, "So where's Kym?"

7. Kym changes teeth like some people change cell phones. (But that's a sensitive issue, so let's not discuss it any further.)

6. Kym and I encountered each other often in middle school (7th grade Stage Band, 8th grade Honors Algebra) before we finally got acquainted in the aforementioned history class. Thank you, Mr. Spencer, for your marvelous livelong friendship fostering skills. And for teaching us how to make birchbark canoes and rifles.

5. Kym and I decided to be roommates in college despite everyone's warnings that you should NOT! room with your best friend from high school. Boy, did we prove them wrong. We lived together all four years...though our senior year, we decided to "branch out" and not live in the same bedroom...though who were we kidding, our two-bedroom apartment was only so big!

4. Kym and I share a larger than life affinity for Sweetwater's Donuts (one of Kym's favorites is the Sugar Raised), Hunan Gardens Chinese Restaurant, Taco Bell, Target, and the films Evita and Anastasia.

3. Kym eventually plans to have her first name legally changed from Kimberly to Kymberli.

2. I have a notebook FILLED with "notes" from the religion class we took together junior year of college - she and I sat in the back row and played hangman for two hours every Tuesday and Thursday. Many of our hangman messages were related to donuts (i.e. "DONUT FEVER!"), as we always stopped at Sweetwater's on our way home from class.

1. We've both grown and changed over the years, and we now live far apart, but nothing can replace all those years of fantastic memories :) HELLO KITTY! I honestly don't have anywhere near as many inside jokes with anyone as I do with this fine chica. I love you, girl...Happy 28th!