Seriously.

I went to the store tonight on my way home to pick up some essentials. You know, OJ, laundry detergent and beer (okay, so maybe this one wasn't so much of an essential, but Ian wanted it). I get to the checkout counter and the lady carded me! The legal drinking age here is 18, do I really look that young?!? Then, I hand her my drivers license and she sarcastically says, "So, you're from California" in a way that she totally thought my id was fake! Come on lady...I am obviously over 18 and DEFINITELY not from here. Oh the joys of life!

I Smell Poo* and Other Random Musings About My Day

I had such a good, yet random day, so I thought I would share some of the highlights with you:

1. I woke up at 2:30am and was never able to get back to sleep. This wasn't a huge deal since I had to get up at 4:30am for work anyway.

2. This regular at my store that I talk to all the time knows one of my good friends in LA (hi Katie). What a small world is it when you meet someone in Scotland who knows your friend in California? Loves it!

3. A certain Scottish celebrity noticed my hair and made a comment about it. I thought that was cool. Of course, he also made fun of his in-laws this morning too! (My thinking his in-law jokes were funny has nothing to do with my feelings for my own in-laws...)

4. There is this man that keeps coming into my store and peeing all over the bathroom. We told him today that if he can't keep it in the toilet, he isn't welcome in our store. On a side note, he never buys anything from us, just uses our toilet. Any of you ever been kicked out of a store for such?

5. I learned that I have more self control than I thought. This guy at my work dumped coffee grinds in our dishwasher (yes, on purpose; no, he didn't think it would break it) breaking it. I got to spend three hours washing it out before it finally started working again. This greatly tried my patience, but I was able to keep my cool.

6. I took a four and a half hour nap today, so will probably never go to bed tonight!

I now realize after putting my day down in words, it shouldn't have been that great of one. But I was seriously in such a good mood today and really having fun at work, so that helped. Now the poo smell, that could really ruin many a days ahead if we don't get it fixed!


* About the poo smell, one whole floor of my store smells like it and we don't know why. I called it in to maintenance today, actually letting them know the problem was "the smell of poo". They let me know they would send someone out to investigate!

My Hair

While I was at home, I parted ways with a good foot of my hair. And, for those of you that care to know, I donated the hair. I must admit, donating my hair wasn't my first thought, but I felt guilty and decided to donate it after someone (oh, you know who you are!) brought it up. But back to my hair.

The haircut has received mostly rave reviews, but some people haven't hid their true feeling about the hair very well. When my mom first saw it, she gave me the most awful look. She has tried to deny it, but I have Chandra as my witness on that one! Anyway, today I had a funny encounter about my hair with a regular customer at my store. This family lives right behind my store and drops in a couple times a day.

Regular Customer (RC): OMG, look at your hair! It looks so great!
Me: Thanks!
Regular Customer's 5-year-old Daughter (RCD): I liked your hair better before.
Me: Ummm, thanks RCD for telling me like it is.
RC: RCD, that's not a nice thing to say. Women like complements.
RCD: But I'm being honest, I did like it better before.

Oh kids, they certainly don't do a good job of hiding their true feelings! And about my haircut, I love it, and isn't that the only opinion that really matters?!?

Toilets

So I came across this toilet in the Chicago airport that has an automatic toilet seat cover on it. You wave your hand in front of a censor and voilà, a new seat cover moves on. Now, this may be my influence from being in the UK for too long, but is this really necessary? Honestly people, if you want to save some trees (well, not in the case of the automatic seat cover, since it is plastic, but you get my drift) and get a work out at the same time, squat and stop using toilet seat covers! In the UK, toilet seat covers are unheard of. But, I also must admit, their public restrooms always seem clean and we all know this is not the case in the states. But still, is it necessary to always use a toilet seat cover? What exactly is it protecting you from? Think about it…when the seat is wet from what someone else left behind, it soaks through your seat cover and the germs are all over then anyway. And, at the end of doing your business, you have to touch the seat cover to get it in the toilet. Then, with the germs on your hands, you grab your purse and leave to wash your hands. Squatting is much easier and much more germ free. But, back to the automatic seat covers. My question is, how do you know you are getting a clean one? What if the little machine just recycles through used ones? What happens when the machine runs out? Oh so many questions for just one little invention.

I would love to hear other peoples take on this. Are you a toilet seat cover user or not? And if so, do you really think it protects you?

Friends

I feel so loved. That really is the summary of my trip home. Reconnecting with so many friends has really been great. I wish I could pack all of you up and take you home with me. Each one of you is special for such different reasons. I have people to be sarcastic with, shop with, chat with; people that challenge me, help me grow and give me someone to lean on. It is so nice to walk into old situations and feel like nothing has changed. To sit down for coffee with friends, and feel no weirdness and just be able to talk. Even though so much has changed, so little has changed at the same time. Sometimes I imagine what life would be like if I was still in LA, but I realize I can’t go there. My life has changed in ways I could never have believed and I have friends that have weathered the changes with me.

Chandra – You are the longest friendship I have and we have watched each other change. I am always amazed about how we have never let anything come in between our friendship. Every time I see you, it feels like I have just seen you the day before. You always let me talk and don’t judge me (at least not to my face) no matter what I say.

Katie – You have really become a special friend to me. When I think about you, I smile. You and I have watched each other walk through some not very fun days, yet somehow talking to you about it always makes things better. You really are the reason I was so on board with the move to Scotland. You give me perspective in life, and that is important.

Kelly – You constantly amaze me. You stretch me in ways no one else can. You help me challenge my own views, which every person needs to do from time to time. Anytime I am with you, I feel like I never left. I always feel comfortable with you and feel safe that everything we talk about will stay between us.

Lisa – Having a friend I both admire and can have fun with is a blessing. I can sit around and laugh with you, talk about the bum on the building across from your office (which, is he still there?) or talk about real life stuff. You always encourage me to move forward in life with a smile on my face.

Laurie – Having a friend that I can laugh histarically with, then pray with is the best. Who else would feed me popsicles and pickles, let me laugh when their kid is in trouble and still talk to me at the end of the day?!?

I feel like I could keep going down the list. There are so many of you that have helped make me what I am and help me enjoy life every day. I am thankful to each one of you. Reconnecting this trip with some friends I hadn’t seen in years was great. I truly feel like a lucky person to have met and connected with such great people in my life.

The Grass is ALWAYS Greener

What is it that makes people think the grass is always greener on the other side? It seems like people think it is "fabulous" to live in Scotland. I am not saying that I don't like my life there because I do, but it is life there just like anywhere else. I still have to clean my bathroom, work and do dishes just like the rest of you!

It doesn't matter where we live, or what we do, everyone seems to think someone has a better, more fabulous life than them. It's as if there is something in us (possibly doubt), that causes us to think our life isn't fulfilling. The problem is, by living this way, we aren't enjoying life as it currently is. We are constantly thinking about how our life would be better "if". I think it's time to change not only my perspective, but help others around me to realize, the time is now. Now is the time to live life...enjoy the radio during traffic by being thankful for a car, enjoy those hard days at work by being thankful for having a job.

Perspective is really what it's all about. And, the power is in your hands. If something in life is making you miserable, DO SOMETHING about it! What's the point in sitting around and complaining when you can actually change your life and fix the problem? Of course, that is assuming you don't like complaining. So here is me, standing up (well, really curled up in a chair) saying...The grass really is greener on MY SIDE!

The New Year

I'm not the type of person to make new year's resolutions. What's the point of trying to change yourself once a year when you should be working on yourself all the time? Though I don't believe in new year's resolutions, I do believe in new beginnings. I also believe in setting myself up for a really good year. Even though I don't predict anything too crazy happening in my life this year, I do have some things I would like to accomplish...

1. Travel - Amsterdam, Disneyland Paris, northern Germany, a European snowboarding trip, New Zealand and Australia. I don't know if there will be time in the year to hit up all those places, but hopefully the list gets checked down a bit.
2. Visits - I am also hoping to have some friends come visit. I know the economy sucks right now, but it is the only time you can have free housing in Edinburgh (even if I do make you clean while you are there...ha, ha!), so think about it, okay?
3. Photography - I got a great new camera for Christmas and a fun new lens, so it is time to learn everything about them and use them.
4. Sleep - My sleeping patters have gotten all messed up working at the 'bucks and it is time that I find some sort of regularity in there and make sure to consistently get good nights sleep. Lets face it, I am not getting any younger here!

See, like I said, nothing too crazy. Though, I am thinking I should make one resolution about being less sarcastic, but there is always 2010 for that one!