2005 revisited

Again, it's the need to recap. Don't know why...for some reason it's just cool to kind of remember how many great things happened this year. Click the pictures for full sized ones.

January
.: rung in the new year with 3 of my best friends :: went to colorado and got stuck in the snow a lot :: had my first homeowner's insurance claim :: finally painted my living room :: hosted a game night in which rupaul and bloody marys were the stars :: found the dancing dutchman :: spun my truck around in the snow without hitting anything :: wished i had because the truck was starting to die :.

February
.: got carsick on the way to see the david crowder band :: celebrated my friend julie's graduation :: didn't watch the superbowl at the superbowl party :: severe became the new cool :: borrowed a friend's car cause mine finally died :: bought a new one that weekend :: had valentine's day with stefán and caley :: went through focus 1 :: met some incredible people there :: met my friend carl (a quarter of my brain) :: threw jarrod a fabulous surprise party with jessica :.

March
.: delighted by focus 2 :: realized a little bit how lucky i am :: got a professional massage from alissa :: went to encounter and met my friend katie :: had a hellish bout with bronchitis :: saw hitch for the first time :: had a good joke go bad :: learned some new dance moves with my focus friends in todd's basement :: started biweekly lunches with stefán :: did some dogsitting :: celebrated the fact that jesus died and rose again :: drove to parkville with cassie and had gelato on a whim :.

April
.: finished focus 3 :: attended mark and arissa's wedding :: attended stephanie and mike's wedding :: laughed very hard with julia :: got the phone call that my grandfather had died :: went to the dentist :: missed my own birthday party at work :: had the best 30th birthday i could ever imagine :: celebrated a lot of other birthdays :: realized a little bit more how lucky i am :.

May
.: went to south carolina for mother's day :: got my first passport :: fasted (intentionally) for an entire 24 hours :: broke the fast with 40 friends at olive garden :: had our first women's-only gathering retreat :: saw "kicking and screaming" with julia :: danced with kathy and sean :: did my yearly dry cleaning :: alissa had her bachelorette party :: we hosted juyapalooza part deux :: made friends with aaron by reading him a story about poop :: had the best memorial day in my memory with the brain :.

June
.: heard a man in a suit make up a word :: visited julia in columbia and ate some fabulous food :: dyed my hair and had a good night's sleep :: went camping in my backyard and made a bonfire in the grill :: ate sean's famous potroast and special s'mores :: danced to charlie hall at new community :: had a going-away party for rachel spankin hankins :: jon and alissa got married :: made a firepit in the backyard :: got my hair cut :: headed off for nakedn :.

July
.: spent some much-needed time with julia in malden :: made some jewelry in the studio :: taught julia to drive my stick-shift :: learned where tunica is :: found out that ground-up fish heads produce the most fabulous tomatoes :: heard my roommate teach at fusion :: watched holly and seth get married :: met alli rogers and fell in love with her music :: went to mexico :: laughed hard with bert and aaron :: built a roof :: spoke a lot in spanish :: decided to sell my house :: fell in love with a small town called el barro and the folks who live there :: realized how beautiful it is to worship in two different languages at the same time :: stayed up for 24 hours straight :: met dark rooster :: and saw God in a new and incredible light :.

August
.: had a focus reunion and got to see most everyone, even tee from colorado :: helped jon and alissa move apartments :: went swimming and hot tubbing :: started spanish classes :: watch sean play baseball :: saw cj off to alaska :: played the longest game of UNO known to man :: helped with our annual church-wide baptism :: got thrown into the lake :: sat in the chipotle parking lot with julia and sean for hours :: got glasses :: had interview number one with mac for my dream job :: had interview number two with jarrett for my dream job :: started the long and gruelling process of getting my house ready to be sold :.

September
.: gave away or sold at the garage sale over half of my belongings :: took down the fences in the backyard and burned everything :: realized that so very many of my friends are absolute rock stars :: put the house on the market :: quit my job at hallmark :: started my job at REACH :: had an entire week of unemployed bliss :: moved into jolynne's :: was a stand-in for jolynne at the HEMI fair :: got to see my friend danny from mexico :: lost my mind temporarily :: said goodbye to stefán for 4 to 6 years :: got re-addicted to the tv show Lost :: played hungry hippo with my hands :: decided to go on a diet :: decided that a diet was a stupid idea :: moved the rest of my belongings to jolynne's or my new office :: started the newsletter blog :: found my sense of freedom for the first time :.

October
.: did the yearly apple festival thing in weston with sean and aaron :: ate funnel cake and caramel apples and people watched to our hearts' content :: signed the contract on my house :: closed on the sale of the house :: cried a lot as i left it there :: found the incredible upstairs of the old church building that i work in and explored it with my friends shibu, jon, and jason :: went to manhattan with caley :: had the most relaxing weekend ever :: celebrated harold and janine getting married :: fell down on the sidewalk in public :: got razzed about it incessantly :: had the gathering's fallback retreat :: started to witness an incredible change in the direction of my friend michelle's life :: spent a day at the renaissance festival with caley and shibu thanks to my wonderful friend kent :: marveled at God's amazing beauty during my favorite month of the year :.

November
.: had a going away party for sean even though he never left :: helped cari move :: had soup and s'mores with my rockstar of a friend nancy, then talked all night and fell asleep on her couch :: got recruited to lead worship at women at the well (thanks cassie!) :: got to see the david crowder band without getting carsick this time :: went to the second annual elf party :: got the food poisoning :: sang to aaron 4 times at denny's for his birthday :: had 2 thanksgivings and a million (plus) things to be thankful for :: played a lot of scrabble at jonya's :: ate some homemade banana pudding :: had a chocolate bag at mccormick & schmick's :: marvelled more and more at how incredible God is and how thankful i am for this life :: appreciated my friends in a whole new way :.

December
.: celebrated julia's birthday :: memorized blue collar comedy tour :: spent more time than usual in panera :: wore a strapless dress :: spent a fabulous snow day with cari in latteland :: saw chronicles of narnia and cried through the entire thing :: saw the movie millions and smiled through the entire thing :: attended a few christmas parties :: met a dog that was very fond of me :: tried to replace some faucets and just had lunch instead :: flew to south carolina for christmas :: got a sinus infection :: drank way more coffee than i should have :: bought some shoes :: had lunch at nick's with my friend james :: watched clemson win a bowl game :: relearned the piano and realized that violin is not my thing :: got together with the brain for the first time in too long :: love my job :: love my friends :: love my cats :: love my life :.

All in all, 2005 has been a journey of a year—I've changed a ton; I've learned a ton. It's been a difficult, beautiful, interesting, and freeing year. Thank you all for making it what it was, and for teaching me a most fabulous and pertinent word: Irreplaceable. You all ROCK.

nonsense after a week of no blogs

This is by far the most hilarious picture I took while visiting my family in South Carolina over the Christmas holiday. The saddest part is, I passed this sign again four days after I originally took this picture, and IT HADN'T BEEN CHANGED. Either no one noticed that cared, or everyone is snapping pictures and making fun of the Seneca, SC Kentucky Fried Chicken sign on their blogs.

Noteworthy while I was visiting my parents: I decided I was going to refamiliarize myself with the piano. I have twelve years of lessons under my belt, so it came back quickly, even though it's been twelve years since I've played. My determination to remember things long lost in the crevices of my brain inspired my mom to pull out the violin. Heaven help you if you could hear. Mom played the piano, and I squeaked along on the violin. I've only got four years training in that. The cat even walked through, looked at us like, "What are you killing?" then ran off. I'm sure if she'd been able she would've been holding her paws to her ears.

Oh! And upon my arrival home yesterday, I was greeted by the most wonderful thing in the world: a visit from Carl. Yes, THE BRAIN was together last night for the first time since July. All four of us—Caley, David, Carl, and myself. Carl is headed off to Guatemala in fifteen days (or Uzbekistan, Uruguay, or Bavaria according to Jarrod) for six months or so. It was like he'd never left. I love you Carl. I miss you my friend. Yes, already.

I have missed my blog terribly, along with Kansas City and all else that is home. My job, my friends, my cats, my own bed, my iBook, my car, etc. Being away has been quite the glass case of emotion. Welcome home, me! We should all go have a VARIETY BUCKET. What's that, you ask? It's a VARITY BUCKET that can spell.

more fun with the internet

Katie introduced me to Googlism, and personally I thought it was hilarious. As hilarious as when Cari found the perfect Christmas gift: the knick-knack that says, "Home is where your mom is."

Here's the deal. You type in your name, and they (google) return with a list of things that follow your name in various websites. I'm a bit concerned, because I think they know me a little too well.

amy is famous
amy is very happy and wants to show you her butt
amy is so cute
amy is sailor mercury
amy is working on her dungeon
amy is pissed off and wants to leave
amy is the daughter of leo and inez wong
amy is your favoraite?
amy is an 8 year old yorkie
amy is pretty much
amy is a great movie that is both hilarious and also touching
amy is a comedy
amy is outraged at the number of people who can't spell stewart
amy is filled with enthusiasm for the bounty that messengering life has to offer
amy is more nervous that her eviction will be unanimous and campaigns with josh to get his one vote to avoid being humiliated
amy is an american citizen who 'vanished' while aboard a foreign vessel in international waters
amy is asked; jo is not
amy is the best agent in the whole world
amy is cool
amy is distraught when she is only chosen to be third alternate
amy is the youngest member of the band
amy is out in the kitchen with freddy
amy is feeling the isolation and you just wish she would put down those damn cards and go after them with her quick southern wit
amy is being pursued by the treacherous
amy is also the most meaningful and sincere film of the trilogy
amy is certified k
amy is the best
amy is dynamic and changes as the story progresses
amy is the name
amy is still using her law degree
amy is the first animal cloned from adult fibroblast cells
amy is entertainment of the best sort

Seriously, I'm shocked that I have a law degree and am also certified in K, whatever that is. And how did they know about my dungeon? And my quick southern wit? WHERE ARE THE CAMERAS??

one of the best one-liners i've ever heard

Cari and I are currently sitting in Latteland distracting each other from doing work. The music playing over the loudspeaker has been everything from The Muppet Christmas Soundtrack to I'm Dreaming of a White Trash Christmas. Then Ferry 'Cross The Mersey by Gerry and the Pacemakers came on (it took a phone call and an internet search to get the correct information for that sentence) and I sat straight up and said to Cari, "I didn't know this was a real song!"

[Okay, background information here. A couple years ago I dated a guy for a couple of years, and it turned out that six months before I broke up with him he got married to someone else and neglected to tell me about it. He also failed to inform his wife that he still had a girlfriend. Bad idea all around, but that's the way it happened. Turns out that he lied about most everything, just for the sake of lying. I'm pretty sure he was a pathological liar. I mean, he would lie about random stuff. Like, I found out "after the fact" (after ALL the facts, actually) that he actually told his wife that he had leukemia. I know. I question my judgement too.]

ANYWAY. He had this cat named Mary, and he would sing to her all the time, "Oh Mary, cross the Mersey..." (I guess much in the same way that I sing that song "Carrie Anne" to my cat Callie, I'll sing, "Hey Callie Ann, what's your game now can anybody play...") Anyway, I'd never heard the real song, I'd only heard him sing the Mary version to his cat.

So Cari and I are sitting here, she grading papers and I writing some stuff, intermittently talking and making comments. So, when the song came on over the loudspeaker, I was so surprised it was a real song, and I told her that Lincoln used to sing the Mary version to his cat. She said, "That's got to be weird for you." I, over it by now, said, "No, not weird. I just didn't know it was a real song. I thought he made it up."

She said, "No, this is a real song. He made everything ELSE up."

(I laughed so hard I could barely breathe and she said, "Please blog about that. Right now.")

as if my filter wasn't faulty enough as it is

Last night Jake had his annual Christmas party. I really wish that I would remember that I don't drink very often, and that when I do, I shouldn't allow Jake to make my drink for me. Seeing as I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and the food area was so crowded that I didn't want to fight the crowd to get to it, I just kept sipping my gin and tonic getting goofier and goofier by the minute.

Reasons I should never drink with people other than Caley, Julia, Sean, and Aaron:

1. Because I tend to quote movies that people have never seen. And The Blue Collar Comedy Tour. And episodes of South Park.

2. Because when people say, "I love your shirt! Did you get it at Anthropologie?" and I say, "Nope! Got it at Target." Classy.

3. Because I was standing with a friend and a girl that he's enamored with walked in the door, and I elbowed him in the ribs and winked at him. Could you BE a little more obvious, Amy?

4. Because when I'm talking to Shibu and he says, "Why are you giggling?" I say, "Because you're just too good-looking!"

5. Because when Jon walked in the door wearing a black turtleneck, I told him he looked like a sexy Sprocket.

6. Because I took pictures all night and this is pretty much what they all look like:



Okay but this was very, very funny and I must post about it. When Becky got there, I went to greet her and as we went into Jason's room to put her coat on the bed, she asked, "What are you drinking?" I said, "Gin and tonic." She said, "Oh, what's in that?" I studied my cup for a minute and then said, "Gin? And tonic?"

[UPDATE: Tonight Becky said, "You know the reason I asked you what was in the drink was because I couldn't HEAR you. When I asked you what you were drinking, I didn't understand what you said, so I thought if I asked what was in it, I would know what it was." I said, "OH. Well, the reason I was being so quiet is because I had just been reprimanded for being loud five minutes earlier." Apparently a slightly inappropriate joke was enjoyed not only by Jarrod and myself but also everyone within earshot.]

perhaps i smelled of pork chops

This is Lassie. She belongs to Becky. She is a female dog, and has been spayed.

Yet she humped my leg all night long.

It became the running joke. Seriously, with other people she is fine, but EVERY time the dog would come near me, she would whine and almost howl, then start humping my leg. I had no idea I was so attractive. You would never know it, seeing that I don't have a boyfriend—and haven't for a couple years now.

Clearly I am going after the wrong species.

well said

Aaron, on why he fell asleep during church tonight, "Well, Eric just has that voice that sounds like he's announcing golf."

feeling good was easy, lord, when he sang the blues

Tonight I was sitting outside the movie theater with Mac and Aaron when a young man came up and introduced himself. "I'm Bobby McGee." As I shook his hand I said, "For real?" Yes, for real. Who does that? Who names their kid Robert when their last name is McGee? Janis Joplin had that hit in 1971, and this guy was clearly younger than 35, so I KNOW that his parents knew the song.

I can just picture some pregnant couple in the late seventies, their last name McGee, firing one up saying, "Duuuudde. If it's a boy, we'll name him Bobby. Hehhhh. It'll be sooooo cooooool."

Anyway, Bobby talked to me for awhile and when he shook my hand to leave he held it a little too long, and as he walked away Aaron said, "He was totally diggin you." To which I said, "Dude, that's cool. How often can a girl actually say she got hit on by a guy named Bobby McGee?"

Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train. When I was feeling near as faded as my jeans... All together now! Bobby thumbed a deisel down just before a rain, that rode us all the way to New Orleans...

lifestyles of the weird and shameless

This, my friends, is Sir Aaron The Inappropriate. Click the picture for a larger view.

Saturday night I was at work fairly late. Aaron and Sean had been at a poetry reading or interpretive dance or something, and at around 10:30 pm they came by work to get me. (After I had texted Sean and told them to call me when they were done, and he replied with, "Shut up ho." I love them.) Anyway, Aaron was very hungry so we headed off to Perkins. After eating and drinking way too much coffee for that hour, while Sean and Aaron were in mid-conversation, I (in true Amy, I-don't-really-care-what-you're-talking-about form) said loudly, "Let's go to Wal-Mart." I mean, what else is there to do at 1:30 am other than make a trip to your friendly 24 Hour Wal-Mart?

Upon entering Wal-Mart, Sean makes a beeline to the women's clothing, picks up a size medium Tinkerbell t-shirt, and tells Aaron that he should buy it. Aaron promptly strips off his jacket and shirt in the middle of Wal-Mart and dons the Tinkerbell shirt. At which point my camera just CANNOT stay in my purse a second longer and I start taking flash photos. About that time, three teenagers walk into the store and I hear the girl say, "OH MY GOD." They turned around at the video kiosk and walked past again, I presume because the two guys didn't get as good a look as she did.

I wanted to shout after them, "Yes, we are 30, 33, and 36 here. You think you'll grow up, but you are WRONG."

lewis

Um, just saw The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. WOW.

I have never read the book. I didn't know what it was about. I didn't know what to expect. And I sat on the edge of my seat, leaning forward, hands tightly clasped in anticipation, with tears streaming down my face. FOR THE ENTIRE MOVIE.

I think if I'd never read the bible it wouldn't have affected me the way it did. But since I have read the bible, all I could do was see it as a fantastic, magical, beautiful paraphrase. And I was overwhelmed. Y'all, GOD came to EARTH to save us because he LOVED us. He is that crazy. He is that unsafe. He is that beautiful. He is that good.

I don't really have words.

for julia and sean, because it's the middle of the night and i'm slap-happy and think it's hilarious

WHERE ARE THE CHEETOS?!?

twelve degrees and overcast

Today is the first REAL day of snow. It's actually sticking. And it's beautiful.

Three things that are just as beautiful as the winter wonderland outside?
1. front wheel drive
2. garaged parking
3. a window to watch it snow all day

Yes, my friends. Life is good if you just pay attention. Happy first day of snow.

predicting

Guacamole is quite heavenly. I am convinced that heaven will have a plentiful supply of avocados.

happy 26th birthday julia

Thanks for driving to KC for your birthday. Even though you did get a slow start. :) Next year, if we don't do Illinois, we'll go to Canada to see a man about a pot. And we'll take Sali.

Here's to Lake Marie, chocolate milk, Summoner Geeks, purging, and fifty more years of shared birthdays.

Ditto, my friend. Ditto.

this is a very long story but it's worth it for the punchline

Yesterday I called Julia (whose birthday is today, HAPPY FREAKING BIRTHDAY JULIA!) to tell her the horrible news. See, Aaron needed a non-date to go as his date to his work Christmas party. Because when you're a consultant, you don't know any of the other consultants. You know the people you work with, but they work for the company that you're consulting for. So, he needed a date so he'd have someone to talk to the whole night.

So I, being the sacrificial friend that I am, told him that I'd go wtih him. Then he told me that it was formal. Ack. I tried furiously to back out, but then I remembered all the sacrificial things that Aaron's done for me, and figured that backing out would make me a really sucky friend. It is at times like these when I realize that I truly live the life of someone ten years younger than me. Your average 30-year-old woman would have a slew of dresses in her closet to choose from. Not me. I can wear pajamas to work. In fact, yesterday I did. And slippers. And to church, well I could wear pajamas there too. But I usually wear jeans. I own some dresses, but they are all summer hippie dresses, because those are the kind of dresses I like. I do own a couple business suits from my corporate days, but a girl can't wear a business suit to a formal Christmas party.

Truly, I can't remember a time in my life when I've had to own nice clothes of any kind. Except for that time in Junior High that my mom sent me to modelling school kicking and screaming against my will. In college I pretty much would buy khaki pants for a dollar at the thrift store, cut them off into shorts, and pair them with a fabulously funny t-shirt that I'd also purchased at the thrift store and a J. Crew flannel shirt. And J. Crew flip flops. Or gore-tex hiking boots. I know, I'm a freak. Nowadays, I actually wear jeans or pants that fit, but I usually have on a t-shirt of some sort, and if it's cold I'll have on a long sleeved t-shirt of some sort. My rearing in the South did absolutely nothing for my ability to "clean up well."

So Thursday night, I was at Julie, Cari, and Suzanne's house when I happened to mention that I had to go to this THING. So they, being normal women, pull out a slew of about twelve dresses and make me start trying them all on. Then they bring out heels. Hear me loud and clear here: I am thirty years old and do not know how to walk in heels. I have no intention of learning. I put the heels on and just stood there. Julie said, "Come look in the mirror in the dining room." But I couldn't move. I just stood there. I took one step and felt like I was on a tightrope. So Cari gave me some "kitten heels" which I managed to not fall down in. Anyway, about the eighth dress I tried on was a very cute dress, and Julie and Suzanne were like, "Oh my gosh you HAVE to wear that." And I'm all, "But it's STRAPLESS. I can't wear a strapless dress." But they mesmerized me with smoke and mirrors and convinced me that I would be fine without a bra. A bra to me is like a security blanket. I think the only place I've ever gone without one is the emergency room. (Or swimming, or the shower, or other obvious places. But not a PARTY.)

I ended up finding my strapless bra (yes, I had one from prom, which was thirteen years ago) and wearing that. It was highly uncomfortable, but at least I was wearing a bra. Aaron was equally uncomfortable in his monkey-suit getup, so we ate fast and then booked it out of there. It wasn't a bad night, I mean the steak was fabulous, but why couldn't we eat the steak in jeans is my question. I knew no one, and Aaron knew one person, with whom we did not sit. Jason (H.) called in the middle of it and said, "What're you doing?" "Trying to act normal," I said. "Normal?" he asked. I told him where I was and he said, "Mm. That sounds fun." "Yeah," I said, "I think I'd be more comfortable at a Star Trek convention."

Anyway, the reason I've made you read this entire story is because of the comment that Julia made when I called her to tell her of the bad news that I had to wear a strapless dress. I left her a message, "Julia. I have terrible news. This thing I have to go to tonight with Aaron—I have to wear a strapless dress. STRAPLESS. Meaning no bra. But the good news is that you are coming to town tomorrow and when I see you I'm sure that I will forget about the entire bra debacle."

She called me back and said, "I think you mean deBRAcle."

(Wasn't that worth it?)

or perhaps the holiday armadillo

Last night I was working on some stuff for our winter retreat with Julie. As we were doing hotel room assignments, Jason was looking over my shoulder at what we were doing. Noticing that some of our friends aren't actually going on the retreat, I started asking Julie some specifics. "Is Jonya coming?" "Yeah, she's right here." "Oh, is Becky not coming?" "No, she has to work." "Is Cassandra not coming?"

Before Julie could answer, Jason looked at me like I'd completely lost it and said, "No Amy. Santa's not coming."

"Ca. San. Dra. Cassandra, Jason. Not Santa." (He's as bad as Buddy The Elf.)