I didn't text you...

Happy first day of Spring! It's kind of cloudy and rainy here right now, but it's been a really lovely few weeks, overall. We're heading into the stormy season in these parts. This winter was so mild that there was not much "winter" in it. I've had my heat off for a while now and even have to sleep with the ceiling fan on at night because it's pretty warm upstairs already. I don't enjoy the stormy part of Spring, but I do love suddenly seeing all the trees bloomed out and being reminded of what color the trees you live around all year really are this time of year. Lots of pretty purples and reds. Beatrix loves the warmer weather because the birds are out all over the place, more and more people are out walking around, and sometimes I'll open the windows and she goes nuts over the wind in her face.

Over the weekend I became an origami crane-making machine. The cranes even flap their wings! I've made many of them. I took a bunch to work and we're going to string them on some fishing line and have them going across the ceiling in a flock. I hope it works! I've got several around my house now, too. I found that the children's section of the library is good for easy origami books. The adult section is kind of complicated. And, instead of going out and buying origami paper, I've just been using these larger squares from a scrapbook paper book that I bought a long time ago when I was into scrapbooking. I'm glad I kept all that paper now. I've been pretty happy with this little origami phase.

What else? Roller derby was fun. There were way more people there in support of Como Derby Dames and the Springfield Roller Girls than I thought there'd be. The price for admittance is higher than I expected, but they still probably had 150-200 people there mostly cheering for the Derby Dames. This was the first bout I'd ever seen for the Derby Dames and it wasn't as fantastic as I was hoping. The only other time I've seen roller derby is in Albuquerque and I think that the teams I saw in Albuquerque might have been pretty amazing teams. That's my hope, because the other option is to admit the fact that perhaps the Como Derby Dames just suck. They didn't seem to all lack enthusiasm...but what they might be lacking is speed, coordination, and teamwork, which is rough on a roller derby team. They kept knocking each other over instead of the opposing team members; they'd get in the way of their own jammer (the scorer for each team); and they just were hardly ever fast enough to be the first jammer out of the pack. There was only one girl who was equal to the quickness of most of the Springfield team. I hope the Derby Dames get better over the course of the season. I thought maybe they were just out of practice and maybe Springfield practices all the time, whereas perhaps Como just...doesn't. At any rate, they should practice a little more before the next bout because they kind of got slaughtered by the Springfield team. Still, despite their lack of talent, there were a lot of supporters and it was still fun to see roller derby in the area.

Last but not least, over the weekend I participated in what will now be known as: the worst decision I've made in a long time. The alcohol experiment is something I will never do again because I really am not a fan of getting drunk. Drinking is not something that I really enjoy, but I figured the experiment would be okay because it was going to be monitored and (most importantly) I'd be paid. Well, it was miserable and I don't think the money is really enough to make up for how awful I felt. I had to drink three vodka tonics in fifteen minutes. I was given 5 minutes to drink each vodka tonic through a straw. It was ridiculous. Nobody does that. By the second one, I was already drunk and not at all wanting to continue down the path I'd agreed to, but in came the guy with the third and final drink and that was really the worst moment. Seeing him walking in with the last drink and knowing I somehow had to drink it. I kept inwardly telling my liver how sorry I was to do this to it and how I would never ever do it again. It was just the worst. I didn't pass out or get sick or anything but I could hardly stay awake and it was just the worst feeling. It took forever to get my BAC levels down to where they'd let me leave the building. There are 201 participants in the experiment and nobody can leave until your BAC is at .12, which is still above the legal limit in Missouri. So, everyone has to have someone pick them up and sign an affidavit that says the driver is taking the participant straight home, without stopping anywhere else. It took nearly five hours for my BAC to get down to .12, and that was with me chugging over 7 bottles of water. It was just ridiculous. I remember watching "The Original Kings of Comedy" while I sobered up and ate pizza, but mostly, the entire afternoon was not something I ever want to repeat. I doubt I can even look at vodka any more without cringing. That's what I'll take from this experiment: a small paycheck plus a disgust of vodka and a love of water.

I will give the experimenters some credit on their preparation though, because they take your stuff when you arrive so you don't have access to your phone or anything while you're drunk. It cuts down on the drunk dialing, drunk texting, and possible drama that would totally impede their experimentin'.

I capture the weekend.

Work has been kind of lame the last couple of weeks. I'm hoping it perks back up soon. People keep throwing me under the bus in situations. It gets to be really annoying. And most of the time, the situations are tiny things that don't matter. But, this week it was a bigger deal. The decision was out of my hands and should have been handled by someone with authority, but that particular person decided that they didn't want to handle it and passed it off on me to take the brunt of the frustration and anger. Which only makes me frustrated and angry as well. So, then you have multiple people frustrated and angry at a situation that neither of them created but both are forced now to deal with because everyone who made the decision has gone elsewhere. It's a pain. Luckily, I've been down this road before and know enough to not be too surprised when it happens. Still, it sucks. The people who do it are often not doing it on purpose. I work with really fantastic people and I think sometimes people just freak out and say or do the first thing that comes to mind and often that is (to my mind) an over-reaction and an immediate attempt to push blame off on someone else. This is silly and totally not necessary. Nobody at work is scary and I have a really hard time imagining anyone really getting into much trouble as far as the things that we deal with in my little area. None of it is do or die, and none of it requires the old 'sacrificing a co-worker for my own mistake' spiel.

Humans are silly animals.

In my continuing attempts to decorate my work area, I'm trying to learn origami. My hope is to make some cranes or some butterflies or something that I can then hang from the ugly florescent light above my cubicle. I promised someone who works in another area that I'd make one for them, too. Assuming I actually am able to get the hang of it. So far, I'm pretty awesome at pinwheels...which is nice, but not quite what I was hoping for. I have one crane, but it's a sad looking attempt. I will get better. One of my agenda items for the weekend is to find an origami book at the library and go to town with this goal.

What else? I have my drunk experiment this weekend too. I mentioned a while back that I was asked to be part of an alcohol experiment. I've had one session already and I have my second this weekend. I fully expect to fail everything this time around. The first time around was not that easy and it was done completely sober. They do indeed make you do math. Without a calculator. And it's timed. And you had to get over a certain percentage (85%) on the entire math section in order to stay in the experiment. I passed, but it was ridiculous. There's no way I'm going to pass a math test after drinking. There's really only a slight chance that I'll give the math questions even half a drunken thought. Math and I are sworn enemies.

I got my Birchbox for this month and it was a big huge winner. I got some great things plus a coupon for money off of an order from Modcloth.com! This makes my week. Yes, I might get thrown under the bus again, but next time I'll be wearing something extra cute from Modcloth. Somebody help that girl in the fabulously fantastic retro blouse up off the pavement, won't you? Don't forget to help her find her adorable little purse, too.

Oh, and Mizzou lost their first game in the NCAA tournament today. Oops. They barely even got to show their faces. Oh, well. They still have had a really awesome season and I'm proud of them and what they've accomplished as we leave the Big 12 and head over to the SEC. Onward!

Last, but definitely not least, my dad makes grissini sometimes and he made it this week. Grissini are small twisty breadsticks. They can be crunchy or kind of chewy, and they can have any number of toppings on them from sesame seeds, salt, or sometimes just plain. I was at his house last night and had to check myself before I would have eaten them all. I stopped at two. He put a buttery pesto mix and salt on some this time around and I think it makes them even more delicious than normal. Grissini are what you get as the pre-dinner munchies at some restaurants in northwestern Italy. Most of that area is heavily influenced by what you might normally think of as French fare and I think probably the grissini is based off of that as well, but with an Italian twist. You don't see this in the Central region or near Venice. It was a surprisingly delicious discovery when we went to celebrate Oxi and Damiano's marriage a couple of years ago in a small town west of Torino. I don't think you can really beat Northwestern Italian cooking, in terms of Nom-iness. Nom nom nom!

Ciao a tutti!