Top 10 Pet Peeves

Over the weekend it appears that a good number of my pet peeves surfaced.  Most of them on Saturday as that’s when I ran most of my errands.  Usually these things happen gradually over the course of the week making it easier for me handle and digest, but for some reason it all culminated into two days.

I really need this warning.

1. Tardiness – I am perpetually on time.  I hate being late and if I’m running even 5 minutes late I call and let someone know.  I value my time and others as well and I find it rather difficult and irritating when people don’t value other people’s time
2. Rudeness — Not really going to go into this one because there are so many things that fall into this category
3. People that don’t say “Excuse Me” – I was in Whole Foods on Saturday and was leaning over to pick up some yogurt and this woman reaches in front and clear across me to get some Activia.  She doesn’t say excuse me or pardon me.  Nothin.  So, I in all my irritated state say, “Excuse me, sorry am I in your way?” And she looks at me, turns red as a beet and only then says, “Excuse me.” WTF.
4. Sunday drivers Monday thru Saturday — Enough said on this one.

The Return

This is the first day back to some semblance of normalcy for me since my emergency surgery that was supposed to keep me out of work and off my feet for about a week (a week and a half tops), but as we know nothing in life is guaranteed.

I felt great and was ready to get back to the A to Z Challenge, school work, and even work, which was my plan; but unfortunately my body had other plans for me. A few days after I was discharged complications set in and back to the doctor and hospital I went.  A fever, 101, low enough; but never looks good after you’ve had any type of medical procedure and a bit or rather a lot of vomiting and some other stuff I dare not mention here.

By the time I got to the doctors office my fever had climbed to 102.4 and the decision was made shortly there after for me to head to the hospital for some tests.  Go straight to the hospital do not pass go

Don’t Cry~~

Day 3 of the Blogging A t0 Z Challenge is C = Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke. Click HERE and HERE to learn how I came up with this.

I’m a huge music, but you’ve probably guessed that since I’m using song titles and lyrics as my inspiration for the Blogging A to Z Challenge.  Another one of my favs is Don’t Cry by Seal; which is my D topic on this fourth day of the challenge.

Today, I decided to go a different route and I used the lyrics to tell the story.  I hope you enjoy.

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Don’t Cry

Today I dreamed of you and those memories seem so long ago.  You told me, “Don’t cry because you’re not alone and you’ll always be loved.”

Tonight my baby, I feel so alone.  I hear your voice telling me “you’ll overcome the pain.”

I dreamed of you holding me close, and saying me, “Don’t cry tonight.”

“Don’t leave me now,” I cried.

You wiped the tears from my eyes and said, “my baby, keep me in your memories because you will always be loved.”

Change is Gonna Come

Day 3 of the Blogging A t0 Z Challenge is C = Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke. Click HERE and HERE to learn how I came up with this.

This is one of my all time favorite songs.  Changes come.  They may not come when you want them or they may not be the change you want, but they do come.

I hope you enjoy and please feel free to let me know what you think.

Justin stands atop the narrow rocky summit of Challenger Point with his arms outstretched.

Sandra always felt protective of him.  “Be careful,” she says from below.

“I’ll be fine,” he said tilting his head back a little.  Every Saturday Justin and Sandra climb one of Colorado’s 14ers, mostly for Justin.  He has lived in a fog for as long as he could remember and for some reason climbing helped to clear the fog.  Even though he was ascending into the clouds with every new step.

He took long slow deep breaths and exhaled each one slowly.  “I wonder what it’s like up there,” he said to Sandra.

“Up where?”

“Up there,” he said with his arms still outstretched, bending further back, and opening his eyes.  “Beyond the sky.”

More often than not Justin felt it’s hard living but at the same time suicide is not an option.  Not because he’s religious because he’s not and not because he didn’t know how he was going to carry out, but because he didn’t know what it was like beyond the sky.  And he has absolutely no desire to go from one hate filled world to another.

This time he felt something different.  Some peace.  A tranquility he had never felt before.  He leaned back even further.

He sat down and looked at Sandra.  “You’ve known me a long time Sands.”

“Yup, since we were kids.”

“And you know I’ve never been really happy except for when I’m up here? Right?”

“Yes,” Sandra says looking at him with concern on her face.

“It’s been a long time Sands.  It’s been a long time coming,” he said as he stood outstretching his arms again.

Sandra stands along with several other hikers with worried looks.

Justin looks at Sandra and smiles, “I know what’s beyond the sky now.”

He falls to his knees clutching his chest and says with shallow breaths, “A change has finally come.  It’s been a long time coming.”

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“All These Lives”

Day 1 of Blogging A to Z Challenge is: A = All These Lives by Daughtry.  Click HERE and HERE to learn how I came up with this.

It’s been 10 years now since Drew saw his children.  Alexander would be 22 now; Corrine, 18; and Mikael, 16.

He remembers it as if it were yesterday.  Drew got off work early to surprise his wife, Stephanie, with five airplane tickets to her hometown, Valparaiso, Chile.  When he got home Mikael did not do his usual running head start before jumping on Drew’s back.    Corrine was not in the kitchen helping her mother prepare dinner as she liked to do.  And Alexander was not a soccer practice.  They were sitting on the sofa in the family room.  Corrine was crying and Mikael was asleep.  Stephanie was visibly upset.  She looked more angry than afraid and Alexander didn’t show any emotion at all.

“What’s wrong?” Drew said stepping in the family room.

“Hola Drew.”

Drew turned around to see his father-in-law, brothers-in-law, and three other men he didn’t know in his family room with guns.

“Drew,” his father-in-law said. “It is time for Estefania to take her rightful place.”

“Rightful place? What are you talking about, Josef.”

“It does not concern you.”

“Stephanie, do you know what he is talking about?”

“Estefania,” he says with emphasis on her name.  “Estefania is very well aware of what is going on.  I have tried to reason with her for years, but she would hear nothing of it.  She claimed that she loves you.  Time has run out and she must be delivered to take her rightful place.”

Drew sets off toward Josef, but two of the henchmen stop him before he reaches Josef.

“Drew.  Please don’t make this any harder than what it already is.  Estefania and the children will be well taken care of.  What you are about to do is going to be very hard for you, but it must be done.” Josef reaches into his briefcase, pulls out some paper and the men holding Drew force him to sit at the desk where Josef places the papers. He says, “These are divorce papers.  You will sign them and in process you will also relinquish parental rights.”

“No. I won’t do it.”

“Oh, but I think you will,” Josef says nodding to the third.  He pulls out a knife and places it to Corrine’s throat.

“Daddy!” she screams.

“Okay.  Okay.”  Drew signs the papers and Josef puts them back in his briefcase.  He nods to Stephanie’s brothers and they usher Stephanie, Alexander, Corrine, and Mikael out of the house.

“This really never should have happened,” Josef says.   “I tried to get her to come to her senses long ago.” He starts to leave, “The pain will go away.”

It’s been nearly ten years and the pain has not gone away.  The wound is still open and deep and with each breath and every passing moment his heart breaks a little more.  And as he has done for the last nine and half years, Drew goes to sleep with a bottle of scotch in one hand and his dad’s .357 in the other.

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What does Spontaneous Mean?

What are you more comfortable with — routine and planning, or laissez-faire spontaneity?

Ha! It’s funny that this topic should come up because I was going to write a post about time today.

I don’t usually write about work just because when I leave work, I leave work at the office and the twain shall never meet outside of the hallowed office walls and halls.  I don’t friend people I work with on Facebook.  I don’t follow their Twitter feed.  I don’t go to birthday parties or happy hour — unless it’s company sponsored and even then I gag at the thought.  Don’t get me wrong, for the most part I really enjoy the folks I work with and my job.  It’s just after eight, nine, ten hours of day with you, I’d rather spend my winding down time without you.

So, back to the prompt at hand.  I just got a new