Current Dirt

Today is my 34th birthday and I like to think I don’t look a day over 24. Ha. I say as I pluck the gray hair from my head and wonder, did my skin always crinkle like that?

I look forward to my birthday, to the cards in the mail, emails at my desk, phone calls after dinner. It’s those sweet moments with close friends and family peppered through the day that make it so special. And today someone new was added to that list, my seven year old nephew:

Hello?

Aunt Liz.

Hi guy, what’s going on?

I am calling to wish you a happy birthday.

Heart melting. Birthday happy.

I looked forward to being 33 for so long that I was afraid I would miss it. That things would only go downhill from here. But in the few short hours that I have been 34, I can already tell things only get better.

The memory card on my camera has reminded me of a couple of things to post about. That and my mom. “When are we going to see a picture of Tom’s new car on the blog?”

This photo makes me chuckle because the sales guy was all in our face about taking a photo of us. We finally cut him off after two photos. Just the keys thanks. Tom and I are so happy with our respective cars. He didn’t officially name his car yet, but I call her Shorty, cause she’s the other woman now.

Another post that never happened is that I was on the radio. A friend of mine is the board president of the local Sexual Assault and Crime Victims Assistance Program and they were promoting the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event. They asked my friend to represent the organization on air and she asked me to go with her. It was a seven minute interview in which I said three words. But it was still fun to be in the studio and watch it all go down. And the walk was a huge success and an amazing event.

Last but not least the memory card reminded me about Friday night. The pics from my night out, all of which are very fuzzy in my actual memory, won’t be posted here. Mainly because I just don’t look that good (or sober) in any of them. I was out to win a pair of Madonna tickets to her concert Wednesday at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC. Eight hours into the night, many margaritas later, and with only one friend still standing by my side, I didn’t win. The whole contest was a bit of a disaster. In the sense that it never happened. Rather at 1:30 in the morning a name was pulled at random in which the person selected did not have to be present (not the way I was told it would go down – at all). The night went on way too long to walk away with nothing but a hangover.

Oh wait, I also found this picture of our fat dog Chyna on the couch…

Why am I crying? Tom is at the dealership working out a deal for his new car and the thought of my old car being traded in is making me cry. “Am I going to have a chance to say goodbye to Gwen?” I ask him over the phone.

She is red with a pink trunk and the back seats once black now a light gray, both from sun damage. There is rust here and there and and a thin layer of paint missing from this spot and that. She shows here age around the moon roof where the paint has worn thin from years of brushing off the snow. But looks aside she is mechanically sound. And served me well. She has gotten me from here to there and back again.

At the time my roommate Mickey would recite the “tray tables and seats up” announcement like a flight attendant on a plane as we approached our apartment and I closed the windows and moon roof with the touch of a button.

Tom taught me the beauty of down shifting on curves and ramps.

I played my Madonna cassettes so many times that they just plain wore out.

I got caught speeding at least twice, maybe three times. (And once today in my new Civic.)

I loaned her out so a colleague could teach his daughter how to drive a standard.

Nine years and four months later she is all cleaned out and ready to be traded in to the same place she was purchased from by her original owner. I guess that gives me some comfort. That she has made it full circle. She, my car, has made my life fuller. She has made my life funner.

Goodbye Gwen.

Ever since the bathroom construction and house insulation (which are both done and both fabulous) I have utilized my mornings for more than rolling out of bed and rushing to get to work. During construction I had to be up and alert and ready for my day so as not to get caught in a compromising outfit when the contractors arrived. I don’t tend to be completely dressed until the very last minute of my morning routine. But now that I am not running off to the Y for a shower or getting ready early to meet the contractor about shower walls I still get up a little earlier to use the mornings for myself.

In the past I would show up to work at least 10 minutes late, still half a sleep (i.e. grouchy) and focus only on getting a coffee and something to eat at my desk. Not a real career booster. But now I give myself time at home for a cup of coffee (having a Keurig coffee maker is a HUGE plus in the new routine), a toasted english muffin with peanut butter, and half a grapefruit* while watching the morning shows or reading a magazine. I now get to work on time and ready for anything**.

It’s a whole new way to start my day and my mornings really are good now. So take that Sunday night…you’re not so bad after all.

*This breakfast is 255 calories and has enough fiber and fat to keep me satisfied until lunch. Though I often throw in a mid morning apple so as not to go 5 hours without a little something.

**Shortly after my “get to work ready for anything routine” started my career did get a boost. Coincidence? I think not.