Wow. It's been a while. Sorry about that.
I've been uber-busy opening my current show with my amazing theatre company, but alas, between the show and work, I have had little time to do anything else. That's means no blogging, no hanging out with friends, not eating or sleeping... ya know, the expendable things. Although I try not to get too personal with bloggy stuff, I feel it's time for a personal check-in.
Since I moved to Seattle, I get really antsy about this time every year. It's nearing the end of April and the sun is still that elusive little dot behind the clouds/rain that pokes its head out at random times on random days and then goes back into hiding. The worst part of it is that we are prone to having lovely sunny days for about two weeks in March and then it turns back into the 50 degree gray days that we are so used to in the Northwest. It's like a little sun-tease that gives you hope that we are almost to summer but makes the disappearance of that hope much more intolerable.
It's at this time of the year that my already very low threshold of patience gets even lower. Maybe it's because I'm Southern so my body is genetically pre-dispositioned to crave almost constant sunshine throughout the year. Or maybe it's because EVERYONE living in Seattle gets impatient as well and therefore I am not alone- I am living in a city full of depressed, impatient urbanites whose only saving grace is the cup of organic, fair-trade coffee in their hand and is the occasional five-minute sunbreak. Is this what London is like?
Maybe it's the weather or maybe it's Mercury in retrograde, but people are being pretty intolerable lately. The other day, I was almost accosted by a guy in a huge tow truck (the kind that tows buses or multiple cars) because he tried to change lanes on top of me and I wouldn't let him. What did he expect me to do, merge into oncoming traffic?? He pulled up next to me at the traffic light, leaned on his (extremely loud) horn, rolled down his window and yelled, "Thanks for letting me change lanes, bitch. Didn't you see my blinker?" To which I replied that, because my car was slightly behind the cab of his HUGE ASS TOW TRUCK when he supposedly turned on said blinker, there was no possible way for me to see it and that maybe he should take another look at how long his vehicle actually is before attempting to force other cars off the road in an apparent attempt to "change lanes".
Then I've been treated like an imbecile all week with a certain project because the directions that my supervisor gave me for a specific task were incorrect. He went on to give me the third degree about how I was updating information in the database, as if I was doing something illegal or that I was just stupid... to which I *politely* forwarded him the email he sent me a couple weeks earlier that dictated exactly how I should be handling this specific situation, thus proving that I was doing exactly what he instructed me to do. He was pretty quiet after that.
Yup, I could use a little sunshine right now.
But, oddly enough, it's times like these (when I am forced to take a deep breath and count to ten) that I am most grateful for my life. I think it's just my mind's way of trying to maintain sanity in the midst of constant frustration. People may be acting like escapees from the psychiatric ward, but it sure makes you feel better knowing that you're not that crazy!
For example: Last week, I was waiting for the bus on a normal Friday afternoon. There was friendly and incredibly inebriated old man sitting near me, sipping from a gallon (yes, a GALLON) of whiskey and asking every passer-by if they had a cigarette while coughing one of the most horrendous coughs that I have ever heard. At one point, a gentleman next to him offered him a cigarette if he could have the bottle of whiskey, to which the drunk agreed, thinking that this gentleman was going to take a sip and return the bottle. I watched in comic horror as the gentleman then refused to give the bottle back because the drunk obviously didn't need any more and had had too much already. Drunky didn't take too kindly to that. But, this being Seattle, there was no physical altercation and eventually Drunky got his bottle back and his cigarette. Merry Christmas.
About 5 minutes later (shouldn't my bus be here by now??), a woman blatantly jay-walked across the street in front of oncoming traffic and then yelled at the honking drivers that they should "learn how to f--king drive!" She then yelled at the shocked onlookers at the bus stop, "What, y'all like to stare at light-skinned black women? Cause that's what I am!" An interesting response to say the least.
Angry then walked past Drunky to take a seat and Drunky, in what I believe was a sincere attempt to connect with Angry, said, "It's okay, Sister, it's all good." (Note to the reader: Drunky is white). To which Angry replied, "I'm not your sister, I'm BLACK and you're WHITE. I may be light-skinned, but I'm still BLACK so I can't be your sister."
And thus began the ballad of Angry and Drunky.
I spent the next 10 minutes (where the HELL is my bus???) watching them banter back and forth. Expletives were exchanged as were racial epitaphs- apparently Angry has a SERIOUS hang up about being "light-skinned" as she repeated the fact over and over again- and sexist statements on both sides abound until both had run out of energy and sat in quiet contempt that was occasionally punctuated by a soft, "f--k you" as they waited for their bus. I assume. Or maybe they were just hanging out.
Now, I am not one to laugh at others' misfortune, but by this time, I was laughing hysterically under my scarf and trying not to let them see my response for fear of getting my ass beat down by one or both of them. However, I couldn't help it... it was just too surreal. What is the likelihood of seeing such an exchange of crazy at a bus stop in Queen Anne (a wealthy part of Seattle) at 5PM on a Friday? It was one instance in which a miscommunication and acute overreaction had actually made me laugh.
Ah, Mercury, you are a fickle bastard.
It all brings to mind the belief that bad times in life actually help you enjoy to good times even more than you normally would because you are more likely to appreciate the good times when they appear. Think about it: How many people do you know in your life that have never experienced tragedy or have always had things "handed" to them? Are they happy people? Do they truly appreciate all the good things that they have? Most of the ones that I know surely do not. In fact, some of the most unhappy people I know are the ones that equate real sorrow with not getting a car for their birthday or having to wait in line at the post office.
So, it's times like these that I force myself to step back and say "Thank You" to the gods for my life. Thank you for a good job that pays me enough to live on. Thank you for a wonderful theatre company filled with amazing artists and people. Thank you for good friends who support me and make me smile. Thank you for a fantastic husband that inspires me and loves me unconditionally. Thank you for my family who is a constant source of love.
And thank you for occasional sunbreaks and the promise of impending summer.
I've been uber-busy opening my current show with my amazing theatre company, but alas, between the show and work, I have had little time to do anything else. That's means no blogging, no hanging out with friends, not eating or sleeping... ya know, the expendable things. Although I try not to get too personal with bloggy stuff, I feel it's time for a personal check-in.
Since I moved to Seattle, I get really antsy about this time every year. It's nearing the end of April and the sun is still that elusive little dot behind the clouds/rain that pokes its head out at random times on random days and then goes back into hiding. The worst part of it is that we are prone to having lovely sunny days for about two weeks in March and then it turns back into the 50 degree gray days that we are so used to in the Northwest. It's like a little sun-tease that gives you hope that we are almost to summer but makes the disappearance of that hope much more intolerable.
It's at this time of the year that my already very low threshold of patience gets even lower. Maybe it's because I'm Southern so my body is genetically pre-dispositioned to crave almost constant sunshine throughout the year. Or maybe it's because EVERYONE living in Seattle gets impatient as well and therefore I am not alone- I am living in a city full of depressed, impatient urbanites whose only saving grace is the cup of organic, fair-trade coffee in their hand and is the occasional five-minute sunbreak. Is this what London is like?
Maybe it's the weather or maybe it's Mercury in retrograde, but people are being pretty intolerable lately. The other day, I was almost accosted by a guy in a huge tow truck (the kind that tows buses or multiple cars) because he tried to change lanes on top of me and I wouldn't let him. What did he expect me to do, merge into oncoming traffic?? He pulled up next to me at the traffic light, leaned on his (extremely loud) horn, rolled down his window and yelled, "Thanks for letting me change lanes, bitch. Didn't you see my blinker?" To which I replied that, because my car was slightly behind the cab of his HUGE ASS TOW TRUCK when he supposedly turned on said blinker, there was no possible way for me to see it and that maybe he should take another look at how long his vehicle actually is before attempting to force other cars off the road in an apparent attempt to "change lanes".
Then I've been treated like an imbecile all week with a certain project because the directions that my supervisor gave me for a specific task were incorrect. He went on to give me the third degree about how I was updating information in the database, as if I was doing something illegal or that I was just stupid... to which I *politely* forwarded him the email he sent me a couple weeks earlier that dictated exactly how I should be handling this specific situation, thus proving that I was doing exactly what he instructed me to do. He was pretty quiet after that.
Yup, I could use a little sunshine right now.
But, oddly enough, it's times like these (when I am forced to take a deep breath and count to ten) that I am most grateful for my life. I think it's just my mind's way of trying to maintain sanity in the midst of constant frustration. People may be acting like escapees from the psychiatric ward, but it sure makes you feel better knowing that you're not that crazy!
For example: Last week, I was waiting for the bus on a normal Friday afternoon. There was friendly and incredibly inebriated old man sitting near me, sipping from a gallon (yes, a GALLON) of whiskey and asking every passer-by if they had a cigarette while coughing one of the most horrendous coughs that I have ever heard. At one point, a gentleman next to him offered him a cigarette if he could have the bottle of whiskey, to which the drunk agreed, thinking that this gentleman was going to take a sip and return the bottle. I watched in comic horror as the gentleman then refused to give the bottle back because the drunk obviously didn't need any more and had had too much already. Drunky didn't take too kindly to that. But, this being Seattle, there was no physical altercation and eventually Drunky got his bottle back and his cigarette. Merry Christmas.
About 5 minutes later (shouldn't my bus be here by now??), a woman blatantly jay-walked across the street in front of oncoming traffic and then yelled at the honking drivers that they should "learn how to f--king drive!" She then yelled at the shocked onlookers at the bus stop, "What, y'all like to stare at light-skinned black women? Cause that's what I am!" An interesting response to say the least.
Angry then walked past Drunky to take a seat and Drunky, in what I believe was a sincere attempt to connect with Angry, said, "It's okay, Sister, it's all good." (Note to the reader: Drunky is white). To which Angry replied, "I'm not your sister, I'm BLACK and you're WHITE. I may be light-skinned, but I'm still BLACK so I can't be your sister."
And thus began the ballad of Angry and Drunky.
I spent the next 10 minutes (where the HELL is my bus???) watching them banter back and forth. Expletives were exchanged as were racial epitaphs- apparently Angry has a SERIOUS hang up about being "light-skinned" as she repeated the fact over and over again- and sexist statements on both sides abound until both had run out of energy and sat in quiet contempt that was occasionally punctuated by a soft, "f--k you" as they waited for their bus. I assume. Or maybe they were just hanging out.
Now, I am not one to laugh at others' misfortune, but by this time, I was laughing hysterically under my scarf and trying not to let them see my response for fear of getting my ass beat down by one or both of them. However, I couldn't help it... it was just too surreal. What is the likelihood of seeing such an exchange of crazy at a bus stop in Queen Anne (a wealthy part of Seattle) at 5PM on a Friday? It was one instance in which a miscommunication and acute overreaction had actually made me laugh.
Ah, Mercury, you are a fickle bastard.
It all brings to mind the belief that bad times in life actually help you enjoy to good times even more than you normally would because you are more likely to appreciate the good times when they appear. Think about it: How many people do you know in your life that have never experienced tragedy or have always had things "handed" to them? Are they happy people? Do they truly appreciate all the good things that they have? Most of the ones that I know surely do not. In fact, some of the most unhappy people I know are the ones that equate real sorrow with not getting a car for their birthday or having to wait in line at the post office.
So, it's times like these that I force myself to step back and say "Thank You" to the gods for my life. Thank you for a good job that pays me enough to live on. Thank you for a wonderful theatre company filled with amazing artists and people. Thank you for good friends who support me and make me smile. Thank you for a fantastic husband that inspires me and loves me unconditionally. Thank you for my family who is a constant source of love.
And thank you for occasional sunbreaks and the promise of impending summer.
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