As Always, "Two Things"

1) My Job duties themselves are very uninteresting, but this is why I don't mind my job:

I spent the better part of Friday afternoon basically sitting around eating as we threw a goodbye party for my boss and made it a festive luau. Which means, I spend the better part of Friday morning putting up crepe paper streamers and making Brazilian lemonade. It didn't feel too much like work, and I love my co-workers (shout out). Some time during the set up my friend Tiff made the suggestion that out by the water toys, next to the teeny tiny wading pool we made a sign that said, "No dogs allowed in the pool" (There are about a million dogs at work - much like a kennel). At any rate, that also meant that I spent part of my morning making and laughing about this:

There was a more focused pic, but it was a confidentiality issue.

2. The aforementioned, and promised story: During High School a bunch of us with somewhat relaxed parents spent a good part of our summer sleeping in Cara's basement (on one twin bed I'll add - as many as 4 of us sometimes). I don't know why we preferred there. I think it was two fold. One, Cara was in charge of watching her little brothers and sisters a lot so she had to stay in the house, and two, her room had a lot of cool things in it including a candle on a stick and a working kitchen sink. Whatever makes you happy, right?!

So of course like all teenagers trying to push the boundaries of our independence we'd stay up till all hours of the night and usually awake sometime around 1pm. One morning/afternoon I woke up due to a huge racket. I should also mention that Cara's room was right under some non-carpeted stairs so as I was 'coming to', I realized the sound was someone thundering down those stairs at top speed *Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud*, then a very brief pause, and then what sounded like a herd following the first person erratically and quickly down the stairs *Thud, bang, thud, thud, bang, bang, thud*. We are waking in no comprehension of what's happening.

Cara's door was directly at the bottom of the stairs, and from the other side of the door we heard a scuffle that involved what seem like some hand to hand combat, some grunting and tearing, and then it stopped and there began a huge wailing sob from outside the door. Cara got up angrily (as I recall Cara did NOT like to be awoken abruptly) and flung the door open to stare at whatever was on the other side.

"WHAT IS GOING ON OUT HERE!?!?!?!?!?!?!" She demanded.

*Crying & Sniffing*

"The-They ba-beat me up and took my moooonneeeeeyyyyyyyy!!!!!"

Ever since that's been about my favorite thing to say. So if you hear me ever laugh to myself and mutter, 'they beat me up and took my money' you now know what I'm thinking about. Even just writing the memory I couldn't help laugh out loud. Sorry Beth, for getting such a kick out of your pain, but a mugging in the basement! Who would have thought! And that line... oh man, it couldn't have been scripted any better than that and the precise words I can still here in that pitiful wailing tone. Good times.

I think I learned a couple valuable things that night. One, always lock you wallet in your car before entering the premises. Two, no wonder her parents insisted she not leave the other kids home alone! It would've been like 'Lord of the Flies' if there were any less supervision. Three, Cara wasn't paranoid for buying a big fat lock for her door. Four, sometimes you have as much to fear from the people closest to you as ones you might meet in a dark alley. Enough said.

*The muggers were Cara's two brothers just younger than her, the 'muggee' was Cara's sister just younger than the two of them. Just thought I'd clear that up.