Our State Fair is a Great State Fair...

The absence of posts is an indication of the busy turn life is taking.

And apparently in my absence my husband has taken it upon himself to post a few videos.

Or 20.

For the world to see.

Although, I’m not sure too many people would actually go to the trouble of viewing that video montage unless you know us.

So, yes, these first few weeks in my new job are a bit strange since I am working our booth at the State Fair of Texas. All of my shifts happen to be the afternoon/evening shift, so I’m not getting home until around 11 or 11:30, making it even more difficult than normal to then get up at a reasonable time in the morning.

On the up side, I love getting to talk to all the people who stop by our booth, and we’re making some great community contacts through this.

Another entertaining aspect of working at the State Fair of Texas is getting to people-watch. I have seen all manner of tattoos, costume, hair color, enthusiasm, exhaustion, dancing in the street…and the fair has only been going for five days now!

I assume every state fair has its fair share (no pun intended) of fried foods and cuisine “on a stick.” I’m out there so often these next few weeks that, after an initial corny dog, I will be carrying my own snacks and meals with me. I’m pretty sure I can live another decade without a corny dog.

This year’s food winners, by the way, are: fried banana split and chicken-fried bacon.

I walk by the chicken-fried bacon stand every time I work and fear for the people ordering that particular item. There should be health warnings posted on the menu.

Not that a fried banana split, deep fried s’mores, fried grilled cheese sandwiches, or fried Texas Jelly Belly beans are that much healthier.

The one fair smell that can really get to me when I’m hungry is funnel cake. Thankfully, there are no funnel cake stands near our booth, so I feel safe that I won’t cave in to that craving.

There are, as the videos clearly show, a multitude of hot tub/spa/Jacuzzi booths around our set-up. I believe hot tubs went out of style at least a decade ago. And, really, when it’s 100 degrees outside who is going to decide they’re at the fair and suddenly need a hot tub?

I’ve not witnessed anyone purchase a hot tub. More realistic purchases seem to be fancy cookware that costs more than our mortgage payment, a brand new vacuum, a telescoping flagpole, or large squeegee. (Yes, I have seen patrons leaving the fair in the last couple days with all of those items.) The cookware people apparently make enough money to sponsor the parade that travels through the fair grounds each evening.

Unfortunately, I am getting my fill of the fair through work, so I can guarantee we will not be attending for “fun” this year. Although, I have to admit that mostly our work out there ends up being pretty “fun” in its own way.

If I am lax in posting, just picture me sitting out in the heat of the fair, watching the Midway rides, the acrobats, the evening light parade, maybe eating one or two more fried delicacies, listening to the cacophony of various music styles coming from different booths and rides in all directions, and telling the L’Oreal people next door “no, I don’t want to go inside the tent for my free mascara/wrinkle cream/lip gloss” for the tenth time as I walk past on my way to visit the restroom.

Working the State Fair of Texas

Two events in the Rogers household--a new job and delivery of a new camcorder--came together this week, which resulted in the following video montage designed for your viewing pleasure.

Confessions

I have a confession. It’s something I did today that I really, really hate when other people do. In an effort to fully disclose (some of) my (lesser) mistakes and to perhaps make myself feel a little better, I figured I’d share here.

On the way from signing a bunch of papers for my employer, traveling to my actual job I saw my exit nearly too late, flipped on the turn signal and started switching lanes before doing the blind spot check. Just as I was being terribly startled by the white pick-up in my blind spot and excitedly veering back into the lane from whence I had come, the driver in the white pick-up was probably having a heart attack trying to avoid me, causing his (or her) tires to squeal something awful.

I can honestly say in this one instance that I completely empathize with that driver. It has happened to me before and I know all about the cardiac infarction, the overzealous vehicle maneuvers, and then the outrage at the ridiculous yahoo (or some other colorful description) who almost killed me.

I further admit that I probably deserve such a description in this instance, and if you are a driver of a white pick-up in the area, who almost got run off the road today, please know that I am very sorry. It was am impetuous thing to do, and perhaps I should not drive before ten in the morning.

Speaking of ten in the morning - I will also just admit right now that I am not a morning person. Oh, how I have tried to love getting up early in the morning so much that I force myself to do it. Yes, I have proven to myself that seeing the sunrise and the early morning light is beautiful, feeling the cool morning air is refreshing, and living in the silence of the start of the day is so peaceful. My head knows it all. My body has never caught on.

If you catch me awake in the morning, it’s best not to try to have any kind of thoughtful conversation with me. Or maybe any conversation. I might not remember speaking to you an hour later. Apparently this affects my driving as well.

What’s most frightening is that I know there are many others out there like me, who take hours for their brain to wake up. In a city this large, with that many cars on the road, I’m sure half of us are not quite all there.

God must be working double time to ensure our safety between the hours of 7 and 10 a.m. There’s just no other explanation for there not being a wreck every twenty feet on the highway during morning rush hour.

Disturbing Details of the Day

Hopefully there will soon be a return to not-so-serious, perhaps even comical posts very soon. It’s just that right now I have a hard time not thinking about this one particular incident. I apologize that the subject is a teensy bit macabre. And since I usually write what’s on my mind – this is what you get today.

I am disturbed when I drive up in the driveway to find several police cars, a forensics van and a huddle of crying people around the front of a neighbor’s house.

The neighbor I speak of is a single man whom we have never actually met. He is not what I would call elderly. I know another neighbor boy edged his lawn briefly over the summer (same neighbor boy who briefly mowed our grass before deciding he wanted none of that). This neighbor never came to a Christmas open house. I thought of going out to say “hi” a few times when I noticed him in his yard except each time he was talking on his mobile phone.

I am the first to admit I am not the best neighbor. This fact is quite clear in my mind after the experience with the police cars and forensics van.

I park my car in the garage and head inside, but I can’t help but watch the goings-on out the windows. Since I do not see the man who lives in the house out on the front lawn with everyone else I assume that something has happened to him.

And, indeed, I get to see a person, covered by a blue blanket, carried out of the house and put into the back of a van. I know it is the neighbor.

(I would never have imagined that someone found dead in their home would just be put in the back of a van. Just like that. I guess I always thought if that ever happened to me I would get driven away secured in the back of an ambulance…or maybe in a nice hearse. Friends and family, keep this in mind: perhaps arrangements could be made to take me away in something more elegant than a police-issue gray van. Just a thought. And, no, I have no idea why this is the first thing that came to my mind when the neighbor was driven away. Nor do I have any idea why I would even care. In all actuality, I will not care.)

Shortly, the police disband, and the group of shocked people leaves one by one, still crying and hugging each other.

What I don’t know is if the neighbor had health problems. Or if there is family nearby. Or what his name even is.

I did check with our neighborhood police officer who assured me there was nothing to be alarmed about and that our neighbor passed away “possibly due to health problems”.

Except it is alarming to me that someone died in his house near us and I’m not even sure how long it took for someone to become aware of the fact. It is alarming how little I know about some of my neighbors. It is alarming that I saw him carried out on a stretcher and I see his car still in his driveway, but I know no one is inside the house.

And isn’t every death related to some kind of health problem? (Apart from murders, which, I am relieved to report, is not the case in this instance. Whew.)

I’m having bad dreams now about death and crime.

Maybe we’ll make a little more effort to be better neighbors, to get to know the people on our street. I’m not sure how. Perhaps I’ll start praying for people to be out in their yards more. It’s not far-fetched; after all, the weather is really nice right now.

Surely less somber events will unfold in the next few days. Stay tuned.

Driving Through a Tropical Storm

Regardless of the warnings about travel we headed to the Austin area Saturday morning for my nephew’s baptism. While there was no weather to speak of in Austin or San Antonio, we were still hearing about the wind, rain and possible power outages that might affect our area of Texas.

The tropical storm warnings seemed to be just east of where we would be driving, so it seemed safe enough. And we really didn’t have anything else planned for the weekend and the possibility of living even a day without air conditioning was not appealing so we decided to go for it.

I’m sure you can guess that the outcome of the trip was positive since here I am writing about it on our blog, but we did indeed drive all the way down south of Austin. I believe the hurricane we experienced in Amsterdam involved more wind and rain. I walked home from a rather distant bus stop after work in that particular storm, so I figured we could driving through a tropical storm. It turned out that we experienced only a heavy rainstorm and strong winds for approximately an hour of the drive. Not bad.

The remainder of the weekend involved hugging lots of baby, talking, outlet-mall shopping, and eating. Oh, and then driving all the way back Sunday afternoon. It was a short trip, but well worth it once we realized how happy my sister was that we had braved the tropical storm and made it down for the baptism.

So, we evacuated to a place where the sun was shining all weekend and there was no danger of the power going out. We came home to a place that saw no wind damage over the weekend and is now enjoying those delicious fall-weather days: no humidity, cool breeze, temperatures in the 70s during the day and 50s at night, blue sky, a few small white clouds.

In fact, this weather is perfect and reminds me of all things perfect: Colorado, Thanksgiving, vacations and the beauty of nature. I want to be out in this weather as much as possible and wish I could become the leaves dancing and singing in the trees, the golden, clear rays of sunlight, or the cool air itself.

I believe the weather in heaven will be like this all the time and I can’t wait!

So, rather than sit in front of this computer any longer, I’m off to think of all the things I can do while enjoying these perfect temperatures!

The National Weather Service has issued the following warning:

We were supposed to go out of town this weekend for my nephew’s baptism. However, the impending storm of the century (cue The Weather Channel crisis music) swirling around out in the Gulf of Mexico may prevent us from traveling south.

In fact, the Contraflow Lane Reversal may even make it impossible to travel in a southerly direction this weekend.

(OK. Contraflow Lane Reversal exercises will probably not be affecting our particular route, nor will they probably be in use by the time we wish to leave town, but I just wanted to throw the term Contraflow Lane Reversal into the post.)

Seriously though, the weather reports claim we will be in a flash flood watch all weekend accompanied by 30-45 mph winds gusting to 70 mph. There is also talk of power outages.

So, while I am not panicked enough to think I need to go shopping tomorrow for supplies to get us through should we need to hunker down during the dreaded storm, I AM thinking that since I had planned to be away for the weekend we may not actually have any food to eat should plans change.

On the other hand, I don’t want to go out and buy a lot of perishable food items just in case we do lose power.

Also, we don’t camp (for me it’s mostly because of the bugs and the dirt) so I’m really not sure how we would cook anything if the power went out. My first thought is to use the barbeque grill, but I’m thinking that might be a fool’s errand in torrential rains and 70 mph winds. Call me crazy.

I am left with the following grocery list in the face of what will be left of Ike come Saturday up here in our neck of the woods:

Peanut butter crackers
Chocolate
Trail mix
Extra chocolate

Oh, and I should probably throw some bottled water on the list, too.

For any loved ones reading this post worrying about our well-being and survival in the midst of possible power outages, flooding, and strong winds, please don’t worry. Even though I was not a girl scout, I do have some survival skills, am generally prepared for most scenarios, and let’s not forget the asset of creativity.

(And, knowing how hyped up and inaccurate the weather forecasters can be, it will probably just be breezy and drizzly.

And we'll have chocolate. We will survive.

Packing

Maybe I'm just an easy traveler.

Maybe I procrastinate.

Maybe I just refuse to grasp the enormity of traveling to another continent for two and a half weeks.

It has come that time when people keep asking me if I've started packing yet.

(I just actually had to look at a calendar to count exactly how long it is until we leave for Africa: 5 weeks and two days.)

In case you're wondering, perfectionism goes hand-in-hand with procrastination. I've worked on this my whole life. Most of the time I can let go of perfectionism enough to organize and plan ahead. When situations are big (like traveling to Africa for over two weeks) the procrastination kicks in again.

On the other hand, part of me likes to think that I'm really trusting God a lot with this whole situation and I know deep down that everything will get done and no matter what I pack or don't pack, God will take care of us and we'll have a great time.

So, like I said, it's either that I'm procrastinating or I'm an easy traveler.

Part of my problem is I'm a little overwhelmed with how much we need to take for our trip. Besides culture-appropriate clothing (of which, it turns out, I have very little since I shouldn't wear shorts), we have a huge list of things we need to bring for the Compassion part of our trip (toys for the kids, gifts for Ronald and his family, etc.), and we also need to bring some gifts to our friends in Ghana who are graciously hosting us for a week.

Ummm. All of the above includes shopping. I really should make a list. As a counselor, I know I should take my own advice: when you write it down your brain no longer has all the stress and strain of trying to remember everything, and it all looks more do-able on paper than floating around in your head.

Ugh. Shopping is not even remotely my favorite thing to do. I'm not sure how I'm going to find some skirts to wear in Africa over the next month. I sure am not paying $50 for a skirt that will most likely get very dirty or stained while in Africa. This is probably the most tricky part of the list: several cheap skirts that fit me, and cover my thighs.

I'll admit, shopping for gifts is more fun. We have almost everything for Ronald and the other kids except a long jump rope, bubbles, and a sheet. I've been thinking hard about a unique gift to take to our friends in Ghana, and I'm open to any suggestions you may have. We've given them a pewter wind chime before, with various shapes on it (Texas, cowboy boots, etc.). I figure two cultures unique to the U.S. are cowboy and Native American, but I've not really come up with anything specific.

So, needless to say I have not even thought about starting to pack. Maybe I should. We have some stuff already gathered in a garage closet. I could just put it in a suitcase.

Or maybe I should just start at least making the list.

Writer's Block

I have been having a horrible case of writer's block. Amid all the preparations for Africa, interviews for my new job (I got it!), various events, and get-togethers with family and friends I have not been focusing very much on blog-worthy content.

For some days last week the weather here was absolutely beautiful! For the beginning of September it was a pleasant surprise to have fall-like weather. The wind was cool, the temperatures were lower than usual, and there seemed to be very little humidity. If only the leaves had been changing color it would have been the very picture of fall.

The weather got me reminiscing about the start of school (blech...I always hated that time of year most growing up), riding my bike in the cool (not freezing) temperatures in Amsterdam with the trees displaying their fall foliage, and the welcome break that Thanksgiving always is. I realize to think on these things at the beginning of September will inevitably lead to disappointment that 1.) the holidays are still so far away and 2.) the temperatures are bound to be back up in the 90s within two weeks. In my defense, the temperatures are only this pleasant for mere days out of the year here in this part of the state, so I have to take advantage when they appear.

Friday night we went with some friends to a Rangers baseball game. We went to the wrong game last weekend. I admit my facts are going to be quite wrong, but as I remember it, we watched the Red Sox score eight runs by the end of the game, including fantastic doubles, multiple home runs, and generally superb base hits. The Rangers, on the other hand, couldn't catch the ball, made at least one error, and had only half as many hits as the Red Sox. Oh, and we scored only one run - a homer in the ninth that we, unfortunately, missed completely because some Rangers lady came by and asked us to get our picture taken for the website in a pose that had us turned with the field in the background. Since that was the only good play made by the Rangers all night, we decided we should have asked for that lady to refund our tickets after having made us miss the play!

By the sound of the crowd and the numerous red shirts in the stadium, there must have been more Boston fans at the game than there were Rangers fans.

(On the bright side, the weather was again gorgeous, so it was a pleasure to sit outside that evening.)

We happened to turn on the baseball game Saturday night and proceeded to watch the Rangers score seven runs in the second inning alone and win that game 15-8. We should have been at the Saturday night game!

Ah well.

We have also been buying and selling on Craigslist. While this is a cheaper way to sell things than Ebay, it is a bit more time-consuming and frustrating since, rather than shipping items (more expensive) we have to wait for the people who email/call to actually show up to collect the items (often they decide not to show up without bothering to inform us). John is a much better (and far more patient and forgiving) salesperson than I am, so I'm pretty much letting him handle all this.

If you have read about these mundane details of life in the last week, bless you. If you have any ideas or questions that I could blog about, let me know. I don't feel the writer's block lifting anytime real soon.

A Place in My Heart

A little boy in Uganda wants to see us.

Today is Tuesday. Today is the day what is left of “Gustav” finally reached our area with heavy winds but unfortunately no rain. Today is the day I had my second interview for a job I really want.

Most importantly, today is Letter Day.

Ronald, the boy we sponsor through Compassion International, wrote us a letter exactly one month ago. Today it arrived in our mailbox.

Among other things, Ronald now wants to be a doctor instead of a pilot. Do you remember those days when you were ten, 11, or 12 and every month or so a different career opportunity interested you?

I wonder how many children in Uganda get to dream such dreams. This is what we pray for Ronald: that the whole world will be open to him, that God will plant big dreams in his heart and then give him what he needs to make them happen.

You can give another little boy or the girl the opportunity to dream big dreams, too. It’s only $32 a month. Less than a daily cup of coffee at the green & white establishment now taking over every other corner in your city.

Ronald also mentioned that he wants to come visit us in our country when he grows up.

My heart is beating fast because little does he know that he will get to see us with his very own eyes in only seven weeks! Compassion prefers we not mention the trip to Ronald “just in case”, but believe me, at this point nothing will stand in the way of us getting over there to hug this little boy, play football with him, and share smiles and laughter.

We wrote him back, of course. But in a month and a half we can tell Ronald in person that he is welcome to visit us anytime when he grows up.

Oh, I am excited to see his smiling face!

I love Letter Day.

Oh, how I wish this were a more entertaining post.

Well, it has been quite a break since my last post.

Any by that, I mean a break in writing blogs, not in any other sense of the word.

Last week was so busy. Maybe more emotionally than physically what with finding out one of my grandmothers is in the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs and is not doing well, getting lab results back from a physical, having a job interview and various other circumstances and situations that I will not ramble on about here.

Fortunately it has been a long weekend, and John has not worked a single hour since Thursday afternoon. We have rediscovered the joy of hanging out with friends, lounging around the house, and actually sitting down to eat meals together.

This weekend is all the more extraordinary because generally when we have a long weekend we are out of town or we have events scheduled weeks or months in advance. Three days ago we had nothing really planned to do this weekend, so we could meet up with friends at the last minute and then continue doing nothing much for the remainder of our time.

Some have asked about updates on the library situation. Because of the extraordinary busyness and stress of last week, we did not end up attending the city council meeting. (Turns out that was a good call because I think the meeting lasted until the wee hours of the following morning.) However, we did watch some of the proceedings online and there was a fine representation of citizens speaking out to save our little library.

It so happens there is a long-term plan (approved several years ago) that will rid the city of our library and one other neighborhood library in favor of three larger libraries for the entire city. Some Library Experts consulted with the city on this plan, so apparently it is the Best Way to handle the library situation.

The problem is…the three larger libraries have not been built yet. Our library was not supposed to be demolished until those other larger buildings were completed. But money talks. And our city has very little of it. Sooooo, the city council decided that eliminating our library now would cut costs (and of course there are no current plans to start any other building since the budget is so tight). We are hoping the city council decided to keep our library open for at least one more year and maybe raise enough funding to stick to the original plan.

I say “we are hoping” because we could not keep our eyes open long enough to watch the last several hours of this marathon city council meeting. Nor can we find the budget results anywhere on the city website. We will have to do more research before bringing the final results to all of you.

I think the remainder of the day will be spent, unfortunately, fighting the Labor Day crowds at the grocery store and watching the continuing coverage of Hurricane Gustav. We had just moved overseas when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, so this is brining back memories of watching CNN International in our hotel room at the Novotel…only, thankfully, this storm seems much tamer.