Mosaic Life

That time we got pulled over

So I remembered this incident that happened a couple of years ago and thought I’d share. You know how I mentioned in my blog about my car breaking down that it was my first pleasant experience with johnny law? Well, here’s one of the incidents that was kind of weird/unpleasant.

Shortly after we moved to Atlanta, Brandon and I were driving around the city to get to know the place. The sun was setting when a police car got behind us. It always makes people nervous to have a cop car behind them, even though they’re not doing anything wrong. I mean, if you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about, right?

So after the police car had been behind us for a couple of minutes, the blue lights started flashing. We went over a list of reasons the cop might be pulling us over. Speeding? Nope. Tail light out? Nope. Registration expired? Nope. Buckled in? Yes.

As the police lady neared the window, Brandon unhooked his seatbelt to pull his wallet out of his back pocket so he could get out his license. “Were you wearing your seatbelt, sir?” She asked. We assured her that he was. I was still buckled in. She looked unpersuaded. She then walked around the car, surveying it. When she returned to the window, she said “Are you sure you were buckled up?” Once again, scout’s honor. (Okay, girl scout’s honor. Okay, brownie’s honor.) “Well, okay then.” She left us with that.

What’s funny is that she didn’t even have anything she could say when she let us go. No “be sure to slow down.” No “be sure to get your registration up to date.” Nothing, because we weren’t doing anything. We decided that maybe she was bored, so she pulled us over. Or maybe she really thought in the dim daylight that she could tell he wasn’t buckled up. Whatever it was, I can say that it was the first time I’ve felt a bit ethnic. Good fun.

Summer

So I’m finished with my bachelor’s degree. Crazy, right? I don’t feel like it’s real yet. In the evenings I’m still scrambling around, trying to get stuff done as though I’ll be returning to school soon. It’s weird to have a little more time. Work will be getting much busier soon, since summer is the busiest time of the year for us. But still, going home in the evenings feels strange. Not having homework feels strange. Not being stressed? Strange, too. But I’m really happy to be done.

I know I’ll probably want to get a master’s degree, but I’d like to at least take a year off and go from there. We’ll see how things work out. I think I enjoy school too much to stay away very long.

So, since I no longer have a lot of homework, I have time to read things I want to read, and to take time reading them. I’m starting off with Ulysses by James Joyce. It’s the #1 novel on many lists of best novels of all time, so I figured I should read it so I have a grasp of what those in the know consider to be the best. The second book on many of the lists is The Great Gatsby, which is one of my favorite novels, so I figure they can’t be too far off. Any recommendations for my reading list? Feel free to comment.

So anyway, that’s what’s going on with me. Yay for summer.

Pete!

Meet Pete, our new kitty.

Likes: Napping in laps, playing, pouncing Monster’s tail and running away, and being petted.

Dislikes: Being alone, not being petted, being cornered by Monster.

He’s incredibly sweet, and we couldn’t be happier with the little guy.

Pissing Off Motorists

So Wednesday afternoon I left work and tried to start my car, intending to, y’know, drive away. No dice. It was a cloudy day, so I figured I’d accidentally left the lights on and drained the battery; however, my lights were off. So I flagged over a friend and asked him to give me a jump. He did, and I went on my merry way.

Except it didn’t go down like I planned. I got on the access road to the interstate, and wouldn’t you know it, my car stalled out. Couldn’t start it. Couldn’t even get the hazard lights to work. So I’m like “oh crap oh crap oh crap, undo undo undo.” I’m sitting there with my door open, panicking on my cell phone to Brandon, who immediately left to come help me. Then what? Then I sat there in my car with the door open. Cars could get around me, but it was definitely causing congestion. I thought about what the motorists must be thinking. Stupid girl, she probably ran out of gas. Why doesn’t she have her hazard lights on? Doesn’t she know I’m hungry and that it’s friggin’ rush hour? GET OUT OF THE WAY.

So I called a coworker, because I really had no idea what else to do. Besides, I needed someone to call so that the people glowering at me would know I’m doing something to alleviate the situation. He told me about how in Georgia, if you’re blocking interstate traffic, you can call 511 and they’ll send one of those vehicles to help you get out of the way. But I wanted to see if Brandon could do something before bothering them, so I waited. Not looking up. Just looking down at my cell phone, hoping people would realize I wasn’t just sitting around enjoying myself.

Brandon got there pretty quickly. Of course, it felt like an eternity because I’m not used to angering so many people in such a short amount of time. He tried to jump the battery, but it didn’t work. Then this guy pulled over and tried to help us out, but he couldn’t figure out the problem either. So we gave in and dialed 511. They sent the “get the heck out of the way” vehicle, or hero vehicle, whatever you call it, and a policeman pulled over and helped out as well. They were able to push the car off the access road to a nearby service station.

We ended up getting a new battery, though we’re not positive that was the problem. Apparently the alternator is fine, so there you go. Plus, you’re supposed to replace your battery way before your car is 5 years old, and go figure, our car is that old. So hopefully that was the problem.

Anyway, it worked out. It could have been worse. Actually, everything could always have been worse. But I have to say, it’s the first time I’ve had a really positive experience with johnny law where it was encouraging. The policeman was really nice and helpful, and the “get the heck out of the way” driver guy was really cool as well.

So yeah, that’s my story about pissing off a whole bunch of motorists during rush hour. There’s a first time for everything.

Good News

Brandon got into Emory! We’re incredibly excited that we get to stay in Atlanta. We know that God has blessed us immensely, especially with the steep competition that he was up against. It’s really nice to know that we’ll be in Atlanta for the next 5 years at least, or for that matter, to finally have an answer after months of waiting. Yay, things worked out!

I’ll tell you what I need

Go to Google and type your name and the word ‘needs’, in quotes — as in “Andrew needs” - notice the first 10 intelligible sentences that come up. Here’s what I got (with my responses in brackets):

1. Wendy needs a patient, loving, and committed family who can provide structure. [I kind of have that already]

2. Wendy needs a little time. [I could always use some time]

3. Wendy needs every measuring cup and teaspoon she can find. [Oh heavens, do I ever!]

4. Wendy Needs to Wake Up! [Can…Can they see me?]

5. Wendy needs help to join the US Cavers Forum. [The what now?]

6. Wendy needs Mac help fast. [I don’t have a Mac. But I wouldn’t mind getting a Big Mac. Who’s up for Mcdonald’s? No one?]

7. Wendy Needs a Roommate!! [Yeah, Brandon never pays his rent.]

8. Spendy Wendy needs to Stoppy Shoppy. [Bahahaha. Best. Sentence. Ever.]

9. Wendy needs time and space says McLeish. [Thanks, McLeish]

10. Wendy needs your help! Help me! I’m lost & sick & cold! [Um. I’m thinking maybe this Wendy is a dog that should maybe be put to sleep.]

Good fun!

The next five years

So we’re waiting to find out what schools accepted Brandon for their PhD program. We already found out that he was accepted to one, and we haven’t gotten any rejection letters yet. He had an interview with Emory on Saturday, so now all we can do is wait to hear back (we should know something by next month).

I really hope we get to stay here in Atlanta. I hate moving, I like my job, and I don’t want to be further away from my family. Plus, the New Testament program at Emory is really good. But it’s also uber competitive. Makes sense, right?

But even if we have to move, it’ll be nice to know where we’ll be spending the next five years. For the whole time we’ve been in Atlanta, we’ve lived thinking that we could be moving again soon. We haven’t really planted any roots. So I’m looking forward to knowing where we’ll be.

It’s a weird time right now, knowing that by next month we could know how our lives might change. Or stay the same (fingers crossed). So if you’re the praying type, pray that whatever happens will be for the best.

Hair styles

I’m sure you’ve noticed the popularity of the “bob” haircut, with the back stacked and all that (see former posh spice). The haircut is cute on a lot of women, giving them a much cleaner-cut look. The problem is that it’s easy to slip into a habit of getting your hair cut shorter and shorter. It doesn’t take long with this cut to feel like it’s grown out, so it’s easy to do that.

I think I was getting into that habit. Now I’m trying to grow my hair out a bit, and I must say that it’s really tempting to cut it shorter. But I must prevail. Making this feat more difficult is that I’ve yet to find a hairstylist in Georgia that I like. Yeah, I’ve lived here over two years now. It’s kind of discouraging. Plus, what haircut do I go to now? I mean, there’s always “the rachel,” (and variations of it) but I’m wondering if getting that would sort of be like how women from the 80s are obsessed with having poofy bangs. I don’t want to be a decade behind.

Don’t jump

Last night was warmer than usual, so we had the windows open to avoid running the air conditioner. Monster loves sitting in the window whenever we open it so that he can observe the outside world with a mere screen separating him from the freedom that actually scares him quite a bit. Anyway, I was about to fall asleep when I heard a flapping noise. I suddenly remembered that the screen had come open on the bottom half, and I hadn’t worried about fixing it because it was winter and I assumed we’d have cold weather like normal, silly me.

At any rate, I rushed to the window and threw back the curtain to see Monster standing on the outside ledge, dangerously close to falling three floors. I panicked and yelled to Brandon that the cat was on the ledge, and he ran over and was able to snatch Monster and pull him inside, which was nice because as mean and mischievious as Monster is, I still love the beast and would rather not lose him.

So yeah, no more opening the windows until we fix that screen.

Nearly done with fall semester

Anyone still here? No? Don’t blame you. It’s been really quiet around here.

As of tomorrow I’ll be done with fall semester. I’ve already had my last two classes, now I just have a couple of papers due. It was weird, I thought I’d be really happy on the last day of class, but I was actually kind of sad that I wouldn’t be taking any more classes with those particular professors. I’ve taken four classes with one, two with the other, and I’ve really enjoyed it. They’re both quite knowlegdable on their subjects, and they’re really fair with their grades.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to Christmas, though it won’t be what it usually is. I’m just happy to have a stable life, a husband I love, and a job that I enjoy. So it’s all good.