Word Play, or Am I Weird?

Yesterday I made a batch of brownies.  I've made more brownies this year than in my entire life combined hence.  As I was gathering the ingredients, I quickly realized that I was going to use up both the sugar and the cocoa, so I got out my running grocery list and added them so I wouldn't forget.

And as I wrote these items down on the "Sugar Daddy" paper (thank you, Target "Dollar Spot"!), I had a realization that perhaps I do things a little differently than others - but maybe not.  So I'm going to ask all of you reading this blog entry - when making out your grocery list, do you write things normally, or do you try to make yourself laugh?  Is this an odd question? 

I really never made grocery lists when I worked full-time; I just ran in, grabbed what I thought I needed and left.  When I began really taking inventory, clipping coupons and writing thorough lists, I just started writing things in a "Mel" way.  My first thought was that if I dropped my list or accidentally left it anywhere, maybe somehow it would make its way into the "Found" series of books or on the blog.  Or the person who discovered it would think me a total freak.  Either way, the idea was intriguing.  After a while, though, I just started writing the lists my way because I enjoy laughing.  Shocker.

Some of the "odd" things I write are on the lists in the pictures.  For example, "Team Coco" in this case reminds me I need to pick up cocoa; it's not a reference to my allegiance to Conan O'Brien.  When I see  "Anton Chigurh" (pronounced "shi-GUR"), I know that sugar is on my list and not that Javier Bardem was awesome in the aforementioned role in "No Country for Old Men" (if that's not your cup of tea, perhaps you'd like "Suge Knight" better).

As you can see, I also enjoy saying things twice, like "crabby-crab" and "sour creamy-cream" and "coffee-coff".  These things make me laugh.  Try it - isn't it totally fun saying "crabby-crab"?  And you can't just say it in your normal voice, either; shake it up a bit.  See?  Did you make yourself laugh?

I'm sure a lot of you have kids in your life.  My inspirations are my "smooshers" Nat and Mia (my sister Jen's kids) and Brian's niece and nephew Josh and Sydney.  Because of them, I will never say "chocolate" unless I'm out with people who don't know me very well - in my world, the word is actually chockit because that's what Nat called it.  "Noodles" is for suckers; the REAL word is noonles, which is what Josh called them and is infinitely more fun to say.

Also, foreign accents and pronounciations make their way into my list.  My friend Chad took Spanish for years in high school and college, and he used to crack me up by over-emphasizing the difficult "dth" sound which native Spanish-speakers can do with ease.  So, from now on, it's enchiladtha ingredients on my list, which of course I sort of whisper to myself when I'm writing because it's so fun to say.  Conversely, and this may be un-PC, my favorite breakfast staple will forever be known to me as Engrish muffins.  Sorry, but that makes me laugh.  A couple of times I almost got caught saying this in a restaurant as I was ordering breakfast, though.  Oopsy.

Of course, all of these things are said out loud as well - I'm not going to confine them to just my lists!  If someone were to ever bug our house, I wonder if Brian and I would be committed (those of you who know Brian may think he's not silly.  Au contraire!  You just don't have the great fortune of experiencing it like I do). 

I guess my point to this entry, besides exposing one of the odder parts of my psyche to you, is that there are ways of making your world a little more fun and interesting.  Don't enjoy a task?  Then put a spin on it!  If you hate mowing the lawn, try writing a song about how much you hate mowing the lawn, and then singing that song to yourself while you're doing it.  Come on, you know you'll chuckle a couple times - how can you not?  You wrote it!

Your assignment is to try and make yourself laugh today.  Try a new accent when answering the phone at work (if someone calls you on it, just say you have a cold).  Think of your favorite Seinfeld-ism when you're in the bathroom and then try not to laugh so people think you're insane.  Come on, there are a zillion things you can do.  But I guarantee it'll make your day a little more interesting.  :D

Taking a Break

Sorry it's been a while since I've written - I was on vacation.

Oh, I didn't go anywhere, really, but for the last 5 days or so I've been so busy that it feels like I haven't been part of my "normal" life for a good span - and isn't that what vacation is really about?

The last five days have been SO fun!  On Friday I got to spend the evening with my sister Jen, BIL Mike and my nieces Natalie and Mia and talk about their trip to San Diego (and, sadly, say good-bye to their doggie Jo, who they picked up that night to return home).  Saturday we did nothing; I mean, pretty literally, NOTHING.  I guess we all need days like that but I feel so guilty when that happens!  Sunday was Easter, so that was spent with family.

On Monday, Brian took the day off and we spent the day in Sheboygan.  I have the best husband.  The reason we were in Sheboygan was because I have two pieces in the Wordplay exhibit at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.  So we went to see it, and all of the other exhibits as well.  It was a great day.  We also had a wonderful lunch at Field to Fork.  We had our FDL Artists Association meeting at night so there was no artwork done then, either.

Yesterday I did manage to get a few hours' work in in the morning, but then some of my friends and I met for lunch at Park Terrace, a restaurant that's connected to Moraine Park Technical College's Culinary Arts program.  Yesterday's theme was "Turkish", and it was wonderful.  Then my friend Sue and I went to see an alumni art show at the private high school in town with pieces done by some of our friends.  I also finally got to Persimmons in Manitowoc, where I took a copper stamping class with Kim Geiser, the shop's owner.  It was a blast and I got to meet some very nice ladies!  It was 10:30 by the time I got home (it took me over an hour to get home because of all the storms), so no art last night, either.

One great thing about vacations (if you're lucky) is that it allows you to step away from your work for awhile and rejuvenate.  I for one am looking forward to working in my studio most of the day today, because it feels like I've been away for a month.  I miss my art!  And I love that I can say that.

Part of the Team

I can't wait for next Tuesday! We're in the middle of our big move - our newspaper office is closing its downtown building and we're moving into newer digs with the local shopper across town. All of the entities involved are owned by Gannett, so it only makes sense. But for so long we were considered "separate but equal" (not quite true, since the Shopper and the print facility are our money-makers. They had better stuff than we did).

And because we were separate, it was 'us' and 'them'. I think we always fancied ourselves way more fun. We are definitely louder, without a doubt. And now that we're all together (although I don't technically move over until next week), I think we all feel differently about each other. Like now, we're all in this together. We're a team. We're one big happy, dysfunctional family.

And looking back at other jobs I've had in the past, I've felt part of the team at nearly every place I've worked. The first "real" job I ever had was at WBAY-TV, Channel 2 in Green Bay, where I met some of my oldest and dearest friends. In fact, at one point we all lived in the same house, on East Mason Street. Don't tell my mom, but one of us dubbed it, "The Home for Wayward Boys". EEP! Sad but true.

After 2 years, I got a job at WFRV Channel 5, where I met MORE of my oldest and dearest friends, and my first husband Dan. Now these years were truly horrible in terms of the work, at least for me. They put us part-timers on the split shifts, so there were many stretches where we'd work 4 different shifts each day, our day beginning at 5:30 a.m. and ending at 11:00 p.m. But the hours between 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. were all ours, and we definitely made the most of them! Nineteen Ninety-Two was a year in particular that I will forever cherish. Those were some of the best days of my life!

But because of the horrible work conditions, I eventually moved on. I did some temp work for a couple months but eventually landed a job at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. I met even MORE of my great friends there. I was there for three and a half years, and it was my favorite place I ever worked. My first husby got transferred to Fond du Lac so we moved here, and I was heartbroken. For a while I'd just take trips up to visit my work friends, but after a while you have to stop doing that because you realize that, although they're happy to see you, they have moved on and the world didn't end because you stopped working there (although, to their wonderful credit, they made my feel like it would at my going-away party).

I've had quite a few jobs in Fond du Lac, but none compare to the job I currently hold. And it's all because of the people, both at the Reporter and now including my extended 'family'. I'll be working somewhere again where it's loud. And fun. And exciting. And I hope, Lord willing, to be there for a long time. If that's not in the cards, I've made even more life-long friends, and that's worth everything.