Things That Are Hard to do With Just One Hand

1. Type

2. Open a beer bottle

3. Wash a plate

4. Search through a stack of papers

5. Take my bra off. (I can take off someone ELSE's bra with one magical little hand movement... pretty impressive if I do say so myself... but my OWN?? Totally different quest, hehe...)

6. Wash my hair... I have not tried this yet but the moment of imminence is swiftly approaching.

7. Dig through a file drawer

8. Put socks on

9. Button pants... you get the picture; basically DRESSING has become quite a challenge... as well as undressing...

10. Lifting heavy-ish things I'm usually expected to lift at work.

11. Remove, wash, insert contact lenses

Etcetera. Here is what my un-useable hand looks like:

And here is my hand today, sporting this lovely, specially-altered glove which serves several purposes: a- mostly conceals the BRIGHT PURPLE WRAP thereby eliminating many of the inquiries I would otherwise receive. b- protects it from my occasional clumsy bumping of malady in question. c- makes it hard for me to use that hand which is good because I'm not supposed to use it anyway.



The end of this day is slowly approaching and for this I am glad. Christmas is this weekend! Snuck up on me... but I plan on enjoying it.

Feliz Navidad!!

What I Want...

I want to smell a sexy perfume or gentle cologne instead of the locker room smell permeating the air in this warehouse.

I want someone to bring me roses. No one in particular, necessarily, and a mixture of red and white roses would be lovely. With some baby's breath. :)

I want to go home and take the night off... lay down and snuggle with my friend Lori Tab. hehe...

I want the site of my tetanus shot, in my right tricep, to please stop hurting. Please.

I want to just step into peace... to stop worrying about money... which has pretty much dominated my thoughts lately. To just relax and trust that what I need will be there when I need it. Which is, actually, a promise made straight to me from the God of all the universe...

*SELAH* - a musical pause for thought and reflection

Tire-d

Today I had my second flat tire within a week's time. I had a moment. "I'm not tithing anymore; where are the blessings and the protection? I'll just save the freaking money and put it toward my rent." Etcetera etcetera.

I was frustrated.

But I pulled out my spare and my jack and my 4-way lug wrench... and got to work.

After having worked for about 5 minutes, a guy walked up and asked if I needed help. Black guy with long dreds, a baseball cap, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Bud Lite pajama pants, tennis shoes and a windbreaker. I said, "I'm working on this tire. But if you're offering to help, that would be great."

I have learned... to accept help. I know I can change a tire... I know I'm not a wimpy dandelion of a helpless female... I know this... but I don't have to prove that to anyone. And if this guy's offering to help... hey, go ahead. Heh :)

He got my spare on for me. I thanked him with utmost sincerity. As he was walking away, he said, "My name's David."

"I'm Nicole. Thank you so much."

Immediately, once in the car, I started asking God to bless David, to meet his needs, to handle any problems in his life. And it occurred to me... maybe David needed prayer. Maybe that's why God allowed the flat tire.

Maybe?

So I drove and prayed more for David, still resentful that I was about to have to cough up MORE money for ANOTHER tire.

I went to the same used tire place I went before... they are nice, they seem honest, and their prices are great. "Weren't you just here the other day?" (Nicole swallows pride...) "Yep, that was me."

The guy who runs the shop said, "Aw, well if you were just here the other day, we won't charge you for this one."

Further discourse, concluding that I was going to get a replacement tire, mounted and put on at zero charge to me.

I didn't even ask for it. He just offered it.

More profuse thank-you's came out of me.

Humbled.

Wow.

God takes care of me. That was amazing.

Maybe David just needed prayer. And maybe Nicole needed to learn a lesson too.

My Blist

Not "B" list, akin to "B" Movie... Blist, one word, a squeezing together of Blog and List. Kind of like the word BLISS... just ending in a T.

I have been inspired by a blogger friend and shall now post a list of my own.

1. I work with 3 guys. They are crazy and love to brag about sex, watching football, sex, victorious fights, and sex. I think the football stories might be true.

2. I am very sleepy. Granted, it is 7:05 a.m. and I have been up since 4:45. Yes, I slept in today. But I made it to work on time.

3. I get to leave work for a consolidated amount of time today. One of the windows in my kitchen is being replaced and I have to supervise. I mean... I have to be there because it's my residence and the window-replacers are individuals I don't know. 'S alright. Time away from work.

4. I also have to pick up my tire today. Driving to LaPlace to retrieve my cats from the ex, I got a moe-foe of a busted flat tire. I hadn't looked at it and thought maybe it was just a nail I could have replaced. But no... got to the tire place yesterday and the tire was TORN. Seriously. NO idea how that happened. It was the front passenger side tire and I was in the left lane on the interstate when it went flat. No telling. Anyway, I didn't have the money for a whole new tire yesterday so I left my rim with the tire people for them to mount a new tire, and I will pick it up later on. My paycheck cleared last night an' now ah gots MUN-NAY. Though most of it is already designated for others. But, for the moment... haha...

5. I want to take a nap. My boss is out of the office. Maybe... naah. Hehe.

6. This morning, the guys' stories were about their dads' methods of disciplining. More stories of which, also, I question the truthfulness. But it was entertaining. Now they are bragging about fights in high school. Mmm hmm.

7. Ok, gotta stop this and act productive. I'm so glad it's Friday. HOLLA.

And the Cat Came Back the Very Next Day...

Or maybe... the very next month and a half or so... but I have my babies back!! Went and got Hippie and Leroy last night as I am now in my own place again with no cat-eating Westies. So Yay, my family is all together again. :)

A Voice for the Transgendered and Transsexual

Awesome, amazing story. Very worth reading.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/12/11/led-child-who-simply-knew/SsH1U9Pn9JKArTiumZdxaL/story.html

Winding in the Wind

I have been living in my new duplex for 3 days now and am really loving it. Despite all the hurdles I faced at first and the things that are not yet quite as perfect as they could be, I love it. This week has been my dog Luna and me, chumming, chillin, and having a good old time.

On Monday, I discovered my house is a mere stone's throw... or maybe a baseball's throw, but still not far... from the back entrance to the newest dog park in the city. Luna and I walked over there in the rain and hung out awhile. We had fun and walked back to the house... cold and wet, but happy.

Yesterday it was even colder but barely sprinkling, so we headed out again. The walkways in this park... there's something kind of magical and exciting about it all. The long stairsteps up the hill,

the tilted light in the shape of a large copper bowl with moons carved all through the outside...

the artsy indention marks in the cement along the path's edges...

I just love it. It makes me feel kind of like I'm in a magical Christmas fairytale movie.




Yesterday we walked past the dog park, past the playground I would have been so excited to explore as a kid, and spent a minute or so wandering among picnic tables on the hilltop there. It was the early beginning of dusk and the skies were even more gray from the cloud cover. Through a thin layer of trees, I saw a train passing, its lights glittery in the cold weather.

After a brief encounter with a shivering lady walking her Jack Russell terrier, Luna and I crossed Dalrymple Drive and walked further into the early evening's wonderland. The sidewalk curved and turned through trees and park benches. Every few yards stood a wire outline of some figure or Christmas character, laced with Christmas lights that had not yet been turned on for the evening. I made a mental note to return with one or both of my nephews.

Passing the tennis center and nearing the golf club, I was elated to come upon one of my FAVORITE yet least-visited places in the city... the Baton Rouge Gallery! I love this gallery and the variety of art it displays. Working where I've worked and living where I've lived, though, I have not been able to get there before closing time during the week and have not been able to justify using the gas to get there on the weekend.

And NOW I can WALK over there ANY TIME I WANT!!!!!!!! And I get off work in the afternoon/early evening so their early closing time is a total non-issue. That makes me happier than a star watching a meteor passing by. Yes indeed.

Though I did not go into the gallery yesterday. I couldn't justify tying Luna to a tree in the cold while I toured the facility. But I will be back.

So This is Friday... and What Have We Done?

An homage to the late, great John Lennon... and my answer is... a lot more than I had originally intended. haha I was hoping for a light day at work but I got here and had... work... to do, if you can believe... the nerve of these people, right??

Though my check posted to my account this morning, so I guess it's a fair trade-off.

Went to Baton Rouge Water this morning to pay a deposit and start water service at my new place. Turns out the deposit I had to pay was less than I was quoted over the phone... also turns out, my ex and I had a remaining amount due from one of our former residences that I will subsequently be billed for on my own new account. Nice. Good thing is, the ex and I are on relatively good terms nowadays. I texted her and asked her to help with half. She had no problem with that.

Water is turned on the next business day after a deposit is paid. Being that today is Friday, that bumps my start date to Monday. I'm anxious to get into my new place... who knows... I might just scoot on in there this weekend and bring a few gallons of H2O with me. It's time.

My feelings and attractions and crushes these days are mostly held at bay... with emphasis on the "mostly." I delved into a few new online pursuits so we'll see if anything comes of those. Not gonna have much extra money in the foreseeable future so any outings will have to be low-cost... thank goodness for my creativity and openness to new ideas. Anyone I date will need to have those same attributes as well.

27 minutes and I'm hittin the road. More packing and moving... a pretty full weekend, but it should be a rewarding one. God is good.