One of the reasons I started this blog was so that I could always be honest with myself. I thought that because the people who read this blog were strangers, I wouldn’t need to censure my life, or those things I disliked about myself — more to the point, the things I thought other people wouldn’t like about me. Eh, I already wrote all about this here.
The point is — everyone I’ve met through blogging has been great and welcoming, and I really do feel very comfortable and ‘at home’ with each and every one of you. I was very nervous the night of my first happy hour, but since I’d “known” everyone I was going to “meet” for some months prior, it wasn’t so much the “what will they think of me?” kind of fear in the pit of my stomach so much as a nervous “I wonder if I’ll recognize ‘em…” kind of fear. And even the few bloggers who I thought might look down on me from a professional level were totally awesome and accepting.
This weekend I hurt a couple of friends/bloggers. I’d made tentative but firm plans to join them and their family for a BBQ, and I skipped out - I claimed (here, no less) that I’d fallen asleep, but in reality, it was a combination of nerves and unjustified fear that just sort of swarmed over me. Which was stupid because a.) I’d met most of the people I would have been with at the BBQ anyway, and b.) I’d spent a great night with this pair the night before.
So that led me to my post, linked to above. I felt horrible later that night, because I’d been looking forward to the BBQ all week. I say “tentative” because someone else’s drastic need of labor happened to possibly be the same night, and I know I’d want him to be available if I needed muscle on short notice. After that fell through, however, all I had to do was pick up the phone and say, “Hey, I’m coming over.”
But I didn’t, for the reasons briefly mentioned above, and more directly examined in the other post. And that night I just felt like a total ass, deservedly. Here these people were, making room for me, making me feel welcome, and my selfishness trumped all that. It led me to be honest with myself for the first time in several months. I’ve let my friendships slip away, and the ones I’ve made here, well, I know if I don’t take steps now I’ll let the same thing happen.
Then after writing that post … I almost instantly engaged in blog whoring so as few people as possible would read it. What the fuck was that about? I mean, yeah, I post a lot normally, but what’s the point of being honest on your blog if you do your best to make sure as few people as possible read the post you ripped your heart out on? There’s one word for me: moron!
So: here’s to being honest with myself, and with you. To those I’ve hurt, I hope you can forgive me.
My first delivery was to a manufacturing company located in Hunt Valley. L., the friendly middle-aged black receptionist triggered the automatic doors remotely, as she always does when she sees me walk in. “Is it for T.Y.?” she inqured. T.Y. usually places this order: three large pies and a 6-pack of assorted canned sodas.
“Nope, M.K.,” I said, looking at the ticket stuck to the side of the top box.
“You’re fucking me,” L. muttered, “she just left not two minutes ago!”
One thing I don’t like about L. is that her phone/computer hookup causes her to use a “hands-free” headset. This can cause communications issues, as I’m never quite sure when she’s talking to me, or when she’s talking to someone on the phone. Today, she was trying to talk to me and I was oblivious, finally she spoke loudly and forcefully, “You ignoring me on purpose?” I managed a “huh?” then we talked about what we did for the fourth.
(Speaking of what we did on the fourth, not a channel, not a single goddamn channel aired 1776. WTF is with that?)
Long story short, M.K. hadn’t told L. who to contact for the food, nor had M.K. told anyone in her department she’d even ordered food for them. It turned out to be the same department as T.Y., unfortunatly T.Y. is on vacation until Wednesday. Finally, someone in M.K.’s department tracked her down on her cell phone and another person was sent to sign for the food.
M.K.’s order was a delivery for 11:45. I got to the lobby at 11:40. I left the lobby at noon. Some people!
(L. is my favorite receptionist, although she always thinks I work for Pizza Hutt, no matter how often I correct her).
***
Then, pulling back into the lot later in the day, I traded paint with a parked car. With, of course, the owner sitting in the car. He was nice enough about it, and the car was older. There didn’t look to be any body damage, just a blue streak on his white paint job, and a white streak on my own. In my defense, he was parked directly on the yellow line. In his defense, he was parked, and I wasn’t: my error.
I’m going to talk to Bart at the autobody shop across the alley. Maybe he can buff the guy’s paint job into shape in exchange for a free lunch.
***
If you live on Fairwood View, off Cooper, and own the dark blue Wrangler, beware. Your kid took it out joyriding down Cooper, then onto Paper Mill into Cockeysville. Three of his teenage friends were his passengers. The kid in the front passenger seat was dangling his entire leg out of the body of the Jeep. If a cop sees that shit, your son is going to be on the line for the punishment, possibly including reckless endangerment and/or reckless driving. Also, the lack of side-view mirrors on your Wrangler, while usually probably not a huge deal, in such a case I think would merit an equipment violation of some sort. Hey, I’m just sayin’. Personally, the kid-with-his-leg-out-the-door looked like he wanted to have his limb ripped off by a stray tree branch, so who am I to tell you what to do?
A Christian church voted on a resolution concerning its stance on same-sex marriages Monday. This Christian church voted to endorse same-sex marriage.
You may remember this particular Christian church, I wrote about them here, because their controversial tv commerical … well, caused some controversy.
The president of the United Church of Christ said his denomination “acted courageously to declare freedom” when it passed a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage on Independence Day.
The resolution calls on member churches of the liberal denomination’s 1.3 million members to consider wedding policies “that do not discriminate against couples based on gender.” It also asks churches to consider supporting legislation granting equal marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples and to work against laws banning gay marriage.
The endorsement by the church’s rule-making body Monday makes it the largest Christian denomination to endorse same-sex marriage. The vote is not binding on individual churches, but could cause some congregations to leave the fold.
“On this July Fourth the General Synod of the United Church of Christ has acted courageously to declare freedom, affirming marriage equality, affirming the civil rights of same gender couples to have their relationships recognized as marriages by the state, and encouraging our local churches to celebrate and bless those marriages,” said the Rev. John H. Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ.
Roughly 80% of the representatives on the church’s 884-member General Synod voted to approve the resolution Monday, a day after a committee recommended it.
No more perfect day for it, either.
Is anyone else having trouble remembering that today is Tuesday? Because I’m hella convinced its Monday.
