My summer has been absolutely amazing. I have learned the value of a dollar. I have learned what it feels like to actually WORK and I have such a great feeling of satisfaction. Also, I have made new friends, rekindled old friendships, and built a father/daughter relationship with all of the men I work with. I couldn't have asked for anything more. I told myself I was going to keep my mind occupied this summer and stay busy...well, it's happening. I'm always busy and I'm always happy. I've learned more about myself and about life this year than I ever have and I know that the learning isn't about to stop.
Painting maintenance shop windows Oxy blue.
Painting cooling tank foundations crimson.
Painting sign poles white.
Painting rails in the Caustic Loading area yellow.
AND, finding wildlife! Anyone who knows me well knows that I love animals. I would live in an aquarium if I could and if I could work in a zoo my whole life and have a substantial income, I'd do it. Oxy has acres and acres of land behind the plant. There are bobcats, cranes, owls and other birds, beavers, snakes, turtles, frogs, ducks, and several other animals that we aren't able to identify.
I often go on Office binges, and yep...I'm on one now. First of all, I love Jim Halpert and I love his relationship with Pam. Secondly, I genuinely love Toby and I hate that everyone hates him. Thirdly(?), I love when Kevin spills chili all over the floor. Fourthly (is that a word), I love every thing about the office.
I wish I worked at Dunder Mifflin. Or at least had a tshirt.
"If you walk away, I'll walk away
First tell me which road you will take
I don't want to risk our paths crossing some day
So you walk that way, I'll walk this way"
-Bright Eyes
Landlocked Blues.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Now...yeah those are both pretty depressing songs. But at the same time, they are empowering.
Most recent creation:
Also, yesterday I went to my grandparents house and had the time of my life. We sat around and looked at pictures from when they were around thirty. Listening to my grandfather laugh and tell stories about all of the pictures filled my heart with the type of joy that can only come from being completely selfless and giving your entire heart to a moment. It could kind of be described as feeling "infinite". After we looked through the pictures, I just examined my grandfather's hands. Some boys only have calluses on their hands from leisurely activities like drumming or playing guitar, but his hands... are callused from actual work. Days spent out in the sun and heat doing nothing but gardening and excruciating manual labor. Working in plants, war time, climbing power poles in the dead of winter to give people their electricity back and much much more that I don't even know. This man, is unbelievable. The time that I spent holding his hands and examining them, told me something. I learned that there are not any men like him left. I thought I had one, but I didn't. I don't think I will ever meet a man who is so selfless that he would give up meals so his family could eat, or a man who is so sensitive to others feelings that he carries a handkerchief in his pocket in case he sees a lady crying, or a man who makes such an effort to remember every one he meets that it tears him up with he comes across someone and can't remember their name, or a man who is as wise and honest. I want to marry a man who knows how a lady needs to be treated, one who even if he doesn't go to church all of the time knows what's wrong and what's right and lives the way God wants us to live. I want a man with hands that tell stories, and someone who is smart enough to know that you wont get anywhere in life unless you man up and work for it. After examining his hands, we talked about hand shakes. He said that you can tell a lot about a man from his handshake. He and my older brother, Andy then showed me their handshakes and how I should shake someone's hand. Andy's handshake that he gives a man almost broke my hand but he said that he often has men tell them that his handshake shows he's respectable. My grandfather on the other hand, wouldn't shake my hand the way that he would shake a man's. I begged him to but he said he was afraid he would hurt me, and I knew he was right. Once, he got a job because of his handshake. After entering a meeting about a job, he shook the man's hand and the man said, " You know, when you walked in I knew you'd work hard for me but with a handshake like that.. I'll find you a job. " I want someone like that.
Clovis Hubbard Fowler.
He would go out of his way to make someone happy, no matter what it took. I hope that I'm wrong about there not being anyone like him left because every girl deserves someone like him.
Happy Fathers Day, Papa.
"You know me, I've always been the kind with easy confidence. Confident enough to honestly believe that nothing out there's stopping me, especially not someone who's not loving me. " -The Avett Brothers
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Oh, Damien Rice.
Happy birthday, to my beautiful Tess! May your day be filled with kisses on your cheeks, winks from dirty French men, shopping on the Seine, and more desserts than your body can handle.
I am happy to say that I made it home safely from the beach with a neat t-shirt, a rested spirit, more freckles, and memories and jokes that will be spoken of for years to come.
This blog post will be dedicated to things I want. Over the weekend I hope to make some cookies and find the things I need to make the things in my last post. But until then, here.
I got a postcard from Paris, France today. I already love getting and writing letters. But a letter from Paris? That's just too much for my little heart to handle.
Tess Davis, I adore you.
Be expecting a letter within the next couple of weeks.
I'm going to make all of those! My summer crafts have already included string balls (or lanterns), an origami bird mobile, and I am in the process of making a collage.
Pine Hill Haints show tomorrow. I can't express my excitement.
