MORE Tidbits
I don't know. I'm just feeling really random lately.

Bowl Be Gone
I finally broke the bowl cycle. And I don't mean I broke a bowl, although I did break one last week in a freak ice cream scooping incident that sent my bowl flying off of the counter and onto the floor into a bazillion little pieces. Now I have one set of bowls that is no longer 4 bowls. It's only 3.

It's sad, really.

But what I mean is that tonight I had dinner on a plate like a normal human being. No more bowls.

Although I think I'm about to go have ice cream.

I think I'll use a plastic bowl. Safer for everyone.

Laundry
Yesterday I did all of my laundry. LOTS of laundry.

Usually I'll do laundry, then get lazy and leave it sitting around my house for long periods of time. In fact, sometimes I never get around to putting it up before I've worn all of it and it's time to do laundry again.

It becomes a laundry hunt of sorts. I have more than one bedroom, so that means more than one place where I can spread out my laundry. In the mornings after my shower, it's a scavenger hunt to find all of what I will wear for the day. Pieces of the outfit could be in any number of rooms anywhere in the house.

No wonder I am late to work so often.

Tonight I put up all of my laundry that I did yesterday. It's odd, actually. Not seeing laundry all over the house.

I bet I'm late for work again tomorrow. NOT because it takes me all morning to track down my outfit. But because I put everything where it belongs, and now I will never be able to find it.

The Reason I Put Up My Laundry Tonight
Because this morning I came out of the shower and found another big roach-like water bug crawling amongst a pile of still dirty towels.

Thankfully, he did not survive much more than the next 60 seconds. Although I did have to track down an appropriate bug killing shoe to put him out of my misery.

But, this put me into an immediate panic that my clean laundry, some of which was lying on the floor, or on chairs and whatnot, would be (or maybe already had been) contaminated by bug cooties. If I hadn't had to spend so much time tracking down a complete outfit all over the house, I would have put it all up this morning, simply because I cannot stand the thought of a big bug crawling all over my clothes.

Clearly, the clothes are much safer when hanging in the closet, or folded neatly in drawers where bugs can't get them.

Shut up. Bugs CANNOT GET IN CLOSETS OR DRAWERS.

Books a Plenty
I'm in a book phase, which means that any minute now, I may start reading again. For fun.

Watch out.

Over my vacation to Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam, I finished two books. A Bill Bryson book that Friend C loaned me well over a year ago (I figured she's about to move, I should get the book back to her). And Stephen King's first book in the Gunslinger series, recommended to me by Friend California J. I loved it. It's weird, but good.

Now, I just don't know which book to start first. I have 5 new books. They are, in no particular order (please don't laugh, I have very good justification for all of them):

1. Pigs in Heaven, by Barbara Kingsolver (also recommended by Friend California J, and Friend C. I bought it for my trip, but did not get to it.)
2. Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse (recommended by Friend C as a good tool to understanding all the Buddhism we saw throughout Asia. And it was only $1)
3. It's Not About the Bike, Lance Armstrong (because I am obsessed with cycling, and with Lance, and it was only $5)
4. Siam, by Lily Tuck (because it's about both Thailand and Jim Thompson, and I'm obsessed with both, post vacation. I have no idea if it's any good. But it was only $4)
5. Angelina Jolie, Notes from My Travels (because I am obsessed with both Angelina and the genre of world poverty issues, and this book covers both. And it was only $6)

So, I'm torn. Don't know where to start. But I'd better pick one soon before I lose the will to read again.

Potential
Last night I had the pleasure of meeting our potential new pastor.

Then, I had the pleasure of driving her home after dinner. This gave us time to chat. We share a love of Anne Lamott, and graduated from the same college the same year. Not just because of these things, I like this Potential (not of the same "potential" as the "Potentials" of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I will hereby call our potential "Potential" until she is no longer potential).

I sat alone at church last night, and was struck by a slight case of teary eye. The Potential came to church last night for the first time, merely to be there and observe. Not to participate.

She hadn't even been introduced, yet, and already I felt a sense of relief and gratitude. A TREMENDOUS sense of relief and gratitude. The last many months for our church have been rough, carrying on without a pastor, and losing people from an already small community.

While I am so proud of my church, and so pleased with what we've accomplished over the past months. While I am continually impressed with the people who have risen to the occasion of serving in our church and keeping things going when there isn't enough help to make things work. While I am super impressed with how we continue to make ends meet month after month, even though people have left and taken their money along with them. While all of these things and more have proven to me the mark of a church that will make it, and be what it is supposed to be, having come through some tough times, I am SO ready for change.

I am tired.

I am tired of how things have been over the past months. I say that knowing we have done the best we can, and that is not to slight or criticize anything that has gone on, or anyone that has taken charge. The way we have pulled together has been really beautiful. I just really feel it is time for change. Not in who we are or what we do as this community. But, we are all tired. We all need to be fed. We need some stability.

So, last night I was teary. Because the Potential was finally here. Prayers have been answered. Hardwork has paid off. What we've been searching for and working towards for so long has finally materialized in an actual person. A person, I might add, that seems almost too good to be true, considering what all we've gone through to get to this point. She didn't even have to do anything last night, but meet us. And mingle. And I couldn't have been more thankful.

For potential. It's here.

Impatience
I was so impatient to blog tonight that I cut short the virus scan that runs every week on my computer. It slows down the function of my really old, really slow computer.

I didn't really have anything to say.

But I wanted to say it RIGHT NOW.

I hope those last few files don't have a virus.

C.T.