I can't believe Starbucks is closed today!
It's the Friday after New Year's. I don't mind being the only person in America that had to go into work today. All my coworkers took the day off as well, so I can play my radio loudly and surf the internet. But my real consoling thought all week was that I would stop at Starbucks, get a venti something-or-other and a pastry something-or-other, and treat myself well for being the loyal employee that I am.
However...the Starbucks near my work is in a business park and thus closed for the day. The sign on their door said, "As all of our customers have the day off on Friday..." Well, not quite ALL their customers.
So now I'm feeling like a right martyr, what with being at work AND being denied my coffee. Not to mention the fact that the heater guy is at my house right now, doing something very expensive to my heater. On the other hand, I'm thrilled that my house will now be warm! And admittedly, I'll probably take off work early. And I'll definitely stop for coffee on the way home. So things are not all that bad.
I went to a great dinner last night at Suellen's. She's really a talented cook; her mother was a Home Ec teacher, and I guess Suellen reaped the benefits! We were even able to eat in the backyard; I doubt that many other Americans could eat dinner outside in January.
Suellen taught us a new card game...I was kind of hoping for Peanuts, since Stephen and I cleaned up in that game last time, but this was a new one called Oh Hell. I fully appreciated the name, as I was in last place for almost the entire first set. However, I must have suddenly clued in on how to play the game, because I was in first place for the entire second set. Yay me! I have a sincere disadvantage in card games because I never played any growing up and I'm completely clueless. I played video poker in Vegas and I kept forgetting what a flush, straight, full house, etc. were...I pretty much just kept hitting buttons.
One of my pet peeves is playing games with people who are really competitive. I never have fun when the other people take it seriously and talk trash when people lose. Thankfully, nobody was like that last night, so it was a lot of fun. Frankly, we were all a little more interested in the desserts than in winning the hand. Suellen kept threatening, "You don't get pie if you don't finish this set!"
Plus I won, I won, I got the bubblegum.
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
On the one hand, you didn't get Starbucks. On the other hand, your heater was fixed.
You had to work on Friday (bad), but you ended up having a fun New Year's Eve (good).
You don't enjoy games (bad), but you won on New Years Day (good).
To put things in a Seinfeld parlance, I think you're Even Steven.
No, I love playing games. I really do. I've just never had anyone to play with, so I'm clueless about most of them. What, for example, is Scrabble? Something about spelling, as far as I can gather. Cranium, Boggle? No idea.
And I'm absolutely terrible at everything I play. I mean, the worst player anyone's ever seen. And people make terrible fun of me for it. Board games, pool, tennis, bowling, golf...I get tired of being the butt of everyone's jokes. Sometimes people are really nice about it, but when they're not it makes them laugh but it's no fun at all for me.
I know, I know, I need to have a sense of humor. But the ones that tell me that are always the ones that are making fun of me the most!
I would love to play games more, and learn how to play things like Scrabble. I would love to have a group of friends that would get together and play games. But a group that could help beginners learn how to play, instead of making them feel terrible! Too much to ask?
Hey Lesley, I remember doing this poem in school? But I've forgotten the poet. Is it Tennyson? Surfed through your blog a bit. Loved all the opera bits. I love listening to opera but we don't get too much of it out here. Have to make do with CDs. WIll come back and read more. Have a great year ahead! And thanks for stopping by my blog. Do come back :)