Why I Do My Job

I like my job, but it is sometimes rather thankless. Today I remembered why I do it. I'm assisting on a pro bono case (I do immigration work) which I, of course, can't really go into detail about. Today I talked to the man that we are representing and as we told him what we've done and what we will be doing in the next few weeks, he listened without much comment. Then, as we were ending the call he said, "I want you to know that I appreciate you - the hard work you are doing for me. I have nothing - I can give you nothing. But I want for God to give you everything."

Sometimes my job is wonderful.

Overheard Today At Church...

Between two little boys in the pew in front of us -

Boy 1: I'm part Puerto Rican and Croatian. Me and Vanessa are exactly the same thing.
Boy 2: You and Vanessa are the same?
Boy 1: Uh huh. We're exactly the same thing - Puerto Rican and Croatian.
Boy 2: Are you Asian?
Boy 1: (pause) Well, I'm not sure where Croatia is, so I might be Asian.

Too cute!

The Sick Returns

So I was home sick all day today. I started feeling poorly last night and this morning, after I had tossed what was left of my cookies, Mike refused to take me to work. I'm still feeling tired, achy, snotty and generally gross, although I did watch an incredible amount of television, including all of the episodes of NCIS available on Comcast On Demand and basically an entire season of Nurse Jackie.

Tonight I sent Mike out to spend the evening with our friend, Sergio, because (although it does occasionally feel like it) I'm not dying. Now I'm feeling a little lonely, though. I always miss my mom when I don't feel well. I suppose that no matter how old you are, you always want your mom when you're sick.

I've thought a lot about her tonight and tried to figure out what the odds are that, were my mom living, either she or my dad would be on their way to Chicago. (On a side note - please do not come here, Dad). I laughed and cried at the same time when I thought about how she made Matt and my dad come to spend Thanksgiving with me at college one year because I had to work the day after and couldn't make it home for the holiday. She'd had to work, too and couldn't come down - and I had made arrangements to spend the day with our cousins, but she didn't want me to miss the family and so she sent the family to me and spent the holiday alone herself.

And how the first time she met Furio she made the mistake of trying to get too friendly, too fast. She touched his belly without permission. He never really forgave her and would growl at her whenever she came over. Now Meme treats my father horribly and it's become a bit of a joke - he takes it with good humor. My mother, however, took Furio's attitude as a personal insult and always got her feelings hurt when he wouldn't want her to pet him.

Well, anyway - I suppose I should go to bed and try to rest up. I have a ticket for tomorrow night's Blackhawk's game (thanks to Sergio) and I don't want to be too sick to go. :( That would be bad!

Goodnight.

BBC Earth

So I called Mike from work today to let him know that his amazon order had been delivered to my office. He ordered a new nature documentary (BBC Earth) on blueray. He picked me up at the train today and followed me around until I pulled the disk out of my bag and gave it to him.

I went into the bedroom and changed out of my work clothes. When I came out, I caught him heading through the hallway with these...beer and Cheez-Its.

Then he disappeared into the mancave. That disk has 780 minutes worth of video....

We may never see Mike again.

Today's Conversation

Mike: (making dinner)
Cindi: Can I help you?
Mike: No. I'm good.
Cindi: Smells delicious.
Mike: Yeah - I'm going vegetarian tonight.
Cindi: Very health conscious of you, Pea.
(pause) (Mike stirs)
Cindi: Would you like to share some of my treats? (pause) My big ass Cheetos? Would you like some big ass Cheetos?


Mike: (continues to stir) No, thank you. You said they weren't very good and you know I'm very picky about my Cheetos.
Cindi: (giggles) What about tuxedos! I'll share my tuxedos....mmmm....chocolate creme!
(pause)


Cindi: (while eating a chocolate creme tuxedo cookie) It says that they are great with a glass of milk!
Mike: (still stirring) Mmm hmm.
(long pause)
Mike: (stirring) It would be great if we'd bought milk with them.

Lyric's Birthday Pictures

Dear God

Holy cow - I have always loved this song and I finally found a postable version of it. I stumbled across this song by accident - it's from Mike's favorite angst ridden, goth infused, metal screeching guitar band Avenged Sevenfold. Crazy right? Crazier yet? I just found out that the band's lead singer (who calls himself M. Shadows, by the way) is really named Matthew Charles Sanders. Matthew Charles. Great name...what can I say?

Not a Debate - Just Something that Resonated With Me...

“I understand how difficult this health care debate has been. I know that many in this country are deeply skeptical that government is looking out for them. I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further down the road – to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one more term

But that’s not what the moment calls for. That’s not what we came here to do. We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when it’s hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history’s test.

Because that is who we are. That is our calling. That is our character.”

The House is All Akimbo!

And that's because we're totally mixing it up! We're bringing in a new entertainment center and trying to get rid of extra bits of furniture that aren't needed.

We're also taking our den (which is actually supposed to be our dining room) and turning it into a REAL dining room by making a home for our computer desk in the cubby hole in the living room. This, in turn, will make more room in our kitchen for Chef Mike. The goal is to get rid of (or put into storage) anything that we don't use on a regular basis.

Mike's not looking forward to putting together the entertainment center and moving all of the furniture around, but his sweet little anal retentive soul will love living in our clutter free haven when we're finished.

Well, time for bed! The real work begins tomorrow!! Wish us luck!

What Love Is...

I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you.
-- Author Unknown

Say What?!

I love it when Mike goes to bed before me, because there is a chance that I will jar loose some tidbit of sleep induced wisdom. In other words, he talks in his sleep. Not all the time, but enough to be really, really entertaining.

So last Saturday night, I climb into bed quite late and must have accidentally disturbed Mike from his rest. I heard him mutter something and, thinking he's speaking to me, I said, "What did you say, babe?"

He turns his head towards me and shouts, "I DON'T WANT TO RIDE THE ROLLER COASTER! I'LL BREAK MY GLASSES!"

Classic. Absolutely classic.

History Made!

It's official! We're a part of history!!!

A Quote for Today

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”

- Washington Irving

BBQ 2009

Mike and I haven't been blogging much lately - or reading blogs, to be honest. Our main computer came down with the blue screen of death and has been in the ICU with the Geek Squad at Best Buy for a couple of weeks. They've charged us $200 and haven't fixed it yet. Or so I can tell - I called and sat on hold for literally half an hour and when it rang back to the main switchboard for the fifth time, I hung up. I had a party to get ready for and couldn't be bothered.

Never fear, though - in the meantime, Furio has promised to keep up on all of the blog goings-on for us. If you get a comment that is full of angst and meows - well, you know where it came from.

Meme hasn't been dealing well with my dad coming up for the bbq.

The party went really well, I only took about 10 pictures and all of them were taken before everyone arrived. We had a nice group of people who came - people like Lisa who are there for me every year. She knows it's the same weekend every year, blocks out this day months ahead of time and drives into Chicago to spend the day with me - and I love her for it.

I only gave out a handful of invitations this year. (Although evite added it to my Facebook page!!! I don't think it invited everybody, thank goodness! I'm still not sure how it ended up there, though!) This event is so important to me - therapeutic. I appreciate all the people who "get" how hard this time of year is for me and take time out of their weekend to be with me and help me cope. If I could, I'd hug every single one of them again.

Mike was wonderful - prepping and cooking all the food. He's always such a good sport about it and I know that if it would make me feel better, he'd throw me a BBQ every weekend without complaint. And my dad came in (of course - he'd never miss it) and it's always great to see him.

Anyway, just a few pictures and a chance to publicly say, "Thank you!" to everyone who came to the party - and I'll see you next year. Save the date! :)