Tense Times at the Grocery Store

My Haiku: Trapped in the Kroger

Trapped in the Kroger
Threats of bombs in parking lot
They won't let us out

Yesterday, after cleaning out the fridge and realizing that our edible goods had been reduced to bagels & cream cheese, half a lime, and some vanilla yogurt, I deemed it to be time for a trip to the local Kroger. The part of the story where I buy groceries is boring, so I'll skip to the part where I'm checking out.

The lady in the lane next to me was talking about how they'd been taping off the parking lot as she drove up; sure enough, I looked outside and the whole lot was taped off. An ambulance and fire truck are parked at the front of the lot. At this point, I suspect that it's a medical emergency--it's fairly frequent to see an ambulance around that parking lot, perhaps due to the large volume of senior citizens who do business there. This changes when we discover that they're not letting anyone out of the store. Apparently, a suspicious package has been dropped off beside a white jeep in the parking lot.

Frustrated shoppers line the front of the store, wanting to go back to there cars. No one seems terribly frightened, and the atmosphere is more impatient that worried. Strangers are talking to each other about movies they've seen with similar threats in grocery stores, or about their boyfriends deployed in Iraq, or about how their kids are antsy because they haven't yet been home from school. For a moment, it doesn't matter that we don't know each other. We are all bonded.

The highlight of the scene was when Fire Marshall Rick Jones, a man who I've known since I was very small, came and started to inspect the Jeep, and the small package next to it. He was dressed like this:
Turns out there wasn't anything in the package but a bunch of CDs and "other small items." I don't understand their logic, anyway. They were letting people in and out of the store, provided they were parked in the outskirts of the parking lot. The package was 20 feet away from the entrance, where all of us innocent bystanders were gathered, watching the action. If it had been a bomb, we would have all been covered in shrapnel and / or blown to pieces. We just couldn't get into our cars and drive to safety. Yeah.

Anyway, I survived.

Sunsets

(This is not the sunset that I just saw, but was the closest approximation I could find. Mine was way, way, way, way cooler.)

I spend ten minutes of the drive home from Seminary driving almost due west, which is an unfortunate thing to do at sunset. Consequently, I spent ten minutes of my drive cursing the sun, for blinding me, and making me drive like a maniac who couldn't see the lines on the street-- because, well . . . I couldn't. But anytime there was a tree, or another car, or a building blocking the sun, I could see the most beautiful sunset I have seen in quite some time. After I turned and started heading south, I spent the last ten minutes of my trip driving like a maniac who couldn't see the lines--but this time, because I could not take my eyes off of the sunset.

Texas has some of the most beautiful sunsets imaginable, and on my way home, I could pretty much see the whole panorama of this one. It was breathtaking. So many colors, so many textures. There were long, wispy clouds, and tiny ones, like little cotton balls, and spiky ones like fireworks decorating the sky. There was a patch of deep blue clouds next to a smattering of golden ones. The sky was pink, gold, blue, purple . . . I almost caused a wreck coming off my exit, which does a 180-degree turn at exactly the right spot to see the whole sky--or at least the interesting half of the sky at sunset.

The thing about sunsets is they are so fleeting, and so difficult to capture. My words are woefully inadequate to express the beauty I just witnessed, and even a picture (which is worth what I just said times a thousand) would fail to do it justice. You just have to be there.

That's not all, though. I'm sure that there were hundreds of people who were under that same sunset who weren't even aware of it. Thousands, probably.

I often feel like Heavenly Father gives me sunsets just to make sure I remember how much He loves me, but today I got the feeling it was also an admonition to slow down, to exist in the moment, and to enjoy life as it comes. Because as soon as you blink, the sun is gone, and no description, painting, or even photograph can recreate it. And every sunset is different, so while I'll see many beautiful sunsets in my life, I'll never get to see that one again.

Resistant to Change

I'm going to admit right out that I haven't read HR 3200--not that I think many of you have, because the thing is friggin' 1018 pages long, and written in legalese. So, I don't want to get into a debate about something that neither of us knows about. I don't want to talk about the health care bill itself, but only about my observations of the noise surrounding this infamous bill.

My position is that we, as human beings, are very resistant to change.

Recently at the nursing home where I work, there was a seemingly small change: they put tablecloths on the tables in the dining room, and took away the bibs that the residents used during meal time. This small thing caused somewhat of an upheaval for the residents. "Where are the bibs?!," they would ask. One gentleman even fashioned a makeshift bib from some office paper clips and a piece of ribbon fastened to either end of his napkin. Another threw his napkin (which was to be used in lieu of the bib) on the floor in a fit of rage.

At the same time as the Bib Fiasco, the plastic cups were replaced with porcelain mugs. This, too, caused a stir. For whatever reason, many of the residents were adamant about having these certain green cups, and complained about it to anyone who would listen. Now, however, not two weeks later, the turmoil has subsided, and life continues as usual. Crisis abated.

It is something that shocks me every time Facebook reveals a new update. People complain, they say this is worse than it's ever been, they threaten that if Facebook doesn't change back to the way it was, that they will leave. This goes on for a few months (apparently, the seniors are more easily adaptable than us), and then it wears off, and all is forgotten.

I don't know what our fascination is with maintaining the status quo, nor do I know why it is so difficult for us to simply adapt.

"Change is good," so the saying goes.

The pathway to hell is paved with good intentions.

I got in a bloggy mood tonight, seizing the opportunity of being home alone tonight to post the pictures from our trip that I promised so long ago. Nevertheless, as luck would have it, our finicky internet connection has decided that today is not a good day for me to catch up on blogging--at least not where there are photographs involved.

So, our current life in a nutshell:

*Andy got a job! A "real" job, working at Honda in the financial department. He starts Wednesday.
*Seminary starts on Wednesday, too! I'm really excited this year, and especially curious to find out who will be in my class.
*I love my job. It's really rewarding, and I feel glad to be doing something that I feel is making a difference in someone's life.
*This is my first semester of un-enrollment, and I feel strangely disconnected from anything that has anything to do with school. The fact that people are out buying notebooks and texts and highlighters and swearing that they won't procrastinate this semester seems to foreign to me.

I guess those are the highlights, though I could go on at length on any number of topics right now. We are so blessed, and so overwhelmed by all that is happening in our lives right now. It's not all easy, and we have had our struggles, but these past two or three months especially have been a testimony to the fact that we are never alone in those struggles.

New Bends in the Dr Pepper Float River

This week, Andy and I embarked upon what we called "Andy and Rachel's Totally Texas, Totally Awesome Dr Pepper Foat Road Trip Adventure." This was an event focusing upon two of Texas's most valuable natural resources:

1. Dr Pepper
Do you know why there is no period after Dr in Dr Pepper? In the 1950s, they began using a stylized font, which made the period look like the bottom of a colon (the curve of the "r" looked like the top). Rather than try and fix it, they just omitted it altogether. It's been gone ever since.


2. Blue Bell Ice Cream
Another Texas creation, Blue Bell Ice Cream is the 3rd best selling ice cream in the United States, despite the fact that it is sold in only 18 states. Ask any Texan, and they'll tell you it's the best. Blue Bell was the first to ever invent a "Cookies and Cream" variety of ice cream, and theirs is just divine. Take THAT, Breyer's and Dreyer's!



Our own pictures are soon to follow. Right now, I'm fighting with our internet connection, and I haven't uploaded those pics yet. We also stayed at a Bed and Breakfast Ranch in Brenham, TX, which was pretty awesome--more on that when the pictures come.

In Other News, we got jobs!!! I got a part-time gig at the Good Samaritan, a nursing home here in town. (We got the call on the way back from Brenham, a wonderful end to a perfect little trip!) I'm the activities assistant, so I get to help the residents with art, music, crosswords, and other such fun things. I'm excited--glad to be doing something that I'll actually feel is worthwhile, instead of selling Cutco or vacations packages to Branson. (I respect those who choose to sell Cutco and vacation packages to Branson, it's just not my bag.)

Because it's a part-time position, and I will only come in on certain days of the week, it allows me to work another job, too. So, yesterday, Andy and I pursued another job lead:

That's right. We will be substituting for the Lewisville ISD. We both signed up to substitute in any grade at any school, so it will be interesting to see how that all works out. We got trained and picked up our official badges yesterday, so now we're totally legit. I'm so excited to teach those bratty private school students how to Rock and ROLL! Hardcore. (I know, I just wanted to be like Jack Black. It's a public school, the kids are not bratty, and I will be teaching no rock and roll, unless it's on the teacher's agenda.) It's funny--apparently they want the substitutes to actually teach. I can scarcely remember a time when that happened while I was in school. Usually, it was just, "Okay, here's a video," or "Read silently or work on your homework," or something. I don't know if this is a difference between the school districts, or a change in times, or if it's just something that they set up as the ideal. I'm still skeptical, but I would certainly welcome the chance to teach, especially as I'm somewhat using this as a way to test the waters to see if teaching in a school is something I would be willing to do.

So, that's about it for now. Things are looking up! Stay tuned for pictures from our little excursion.

Hardest Working Man in Show Business

One of those things. I decided to turn to the wisdom of James Brown. I tried to keep it clean, but you know . . . James Brown.

Pick Your Artist:
Hardest working man in Show-biz,
JAMES BROWN

Are you male or female:
I'm Real

Describe yourself:
I Guess I'll Have to Cry, Cry, Cry

How do you feel about yourself:
Say It Loud: I'm Black and I'm Proud

Describe where you currently live:
It's Too Funky in Here

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Escape-ism

Your best friend is:
Sexy, Sexy, Sexy

Your favorite color is:
Ain't it Funky Now

You know that:
Santa Claus is Definitely Here to Stay

What's the weather like:
Hot Pants

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called? :
Get Up Offa That Thing

What is life to you:
It's a New Day

What is the best advice you have to give:
Give it Up, or Turn It Loose

If you could change your name, what would it be? :
Mother Popcorn

Your favorite food is:
For Goodness Sakes (Take a Look at Those Cakes)

I suck . . .

. . . at finding work.


I would like to blame it on the economy, but I am pretty sure that it has less to do with the economy and more to do with the fact that I am not altogether very qualified to do very many things. And the longer it takes for me to find something, and the more resumes and applications I put in without hearing a word back, the less I believe myself to be employable.

But, as my senior English teacher wisely told us: "You can always fall back on liquor and prostitution!"

Hmmm.

I don't see anything for either of THOSE career paths in the help-wanted ads. Maybe, in THIS economy, even my fallbacks aren't as certain as they should be.