kapachino

Category: personal

  • Man Plans, God Laughs

    It’s something I’ve been very proud of that I have seen all of the plays and performances that my youngest brother Barry has been in at Texas Tech, where he is in the theater department. Lubbock is a full 9-hour drive away, so that’s not exactly an easy task. This summer he’s involved in a play that is being performed at Tech for a week and then traveling to New Mexico to perform there for awhile. There’s no way I can make it to New Mexico to see him, and when I found out the dates of his performances in Lubbock I was saddened because it didn’t look like I could make it to any of them. I either had exams, or clinicals, or prior obligations that I couldn’t skip. But Barry has been going through a rough time lately, so last week I had a talk with my parents and they decided, “Damn the cost! We’ll fly you to Lubbock!” Barry and I were pumped way, way up.

    The plan was for me to fly up this afternoon at 3 p.m., arriving at 5:20 p.m. My mom and other brother David (who drove up on Sunday) would pick me up at the airport and then we would all drive home together on Tuesday. The one-way ticket on Southwest wasn’t too expensive.

    We only bought the ticket last week, and I wrote it down on my planner and everything (see below), but for some reason I kept forgetting that I was going. I told my boss that I would work on Tuesday, but then had to recant later when I remembered that I would be driving home that day. Then yesterday I told Boyfriend David that I could hang out with him tonight, only to have to rescind my promise. I was glad I had written the Lubbock plans down, or else I might have forgotten to go.

    But I didn’t forget, I remembered. And I was extremely excited. After class today I drove myself to the airport and parked, with much time to spare. When I looked at the departure board, I saw that the flight was delayed 50 minutes. OK, no problem, I can still make it in time. But as the weather worsened and the minutes slipped by, I became doubtful, then anxious, then depressed. The flight was delayed to 4:30 p.m., then to 4:45 p.m., and finally to 5:07 p.m. There was no way I could make the play anymore even if I got on that flight. All of those times that I forgot I was going to Lubbock? Just foreshadowing.

    So I canceled, and my parents got full credit on their account, but tonight I am sitting at home alone with the prospect of schoolwork and packing ahead of me instead of supporting and spending time with my brother, one of my favorite people in the world.

  • Jack and the Beanstalk

    The other night I went with my boyfriend David to meet his best friend Barry and his wife Andrea. They have two children, a 5 year-old girl and a 1 1/2 year-old boy. The girl, Gwen, is a bundle of energy and gets so excited every time David comes over.

    When it was time for Gwen to go to bed, she asked if David would tell her a bedtime story. She requested Jack and the Beanstalk. David whispered to me, “I don’t know if I remember that one, do you?”

    “I think so,” I whispered back.

    “You’d better make it silly!” Gwen warned.

    I started speaking, hoping to inspire David into taking over the story, because his versions are always much more interesting. “Once upon a time,” I began, “There was a little boy named Jack who lived with his mother.”

    “He lived with his mother because he never finished college,” David interrupted. “And one day he found some seeds in his garage, but he didn’t know what they were and he was afraid he might get arrested for them. So he buried them in the backyard, and then a giant beanstalk grew up above the clouds. Do you know what happens when you get above the clouds, Gwen? You’re in heaven. And that’s where Jack found a college degree.”

    About this time Andrea walks in the room, and Gwen bounces up to her and says, “Mommy, mommy, Jack was going to arrest the seeds in his garage because he didn’t know what they were!”

    And oh yes, all of this happened AFTER Gwen requested the re-telling of the story David had told me downstairs about a homeless Vietnam vet he had worked with who had done a lot of recon. Gwen was especially interested in the part where his leg turns black from gangrene.

    I never expected bedtime stories to go quite like that, but I must say that it was entertaining.

  • Driving Difficulties

    I drove to class this morning because I’m not staying at my own apartment and don’t know the bus routes from where I am. There was traffic, of course, and I was exhausted. I really think that driving while tired is probably similar to driving drunk. I felt so unsafe. There was whole periods of like ten or fifteen seconds that my eyes would glaze over or even close, and then I would jerk myself back to reality and a rush of fear would come over me because, really, anything could have happened in those ten seconds. I tried most of the strategies I could think of to keep me awake: I called my boyfriend (woke him up), slapped myself in the face, rolled down the window, turned up the radio, and sang. I eventually made it to the parking garage without killing myself or anyone else, praise God. But THEN, I was so out of it and so anxious to get to class that I just started crossing streets without really looking at what was coming. I almost stepped right in the path of a moving MetroRail train. Thankfully, the pedestrians (who were Metro workers) on the other side of the tracks called out to me and got me to stop; unfortunately I had to stop in the middle of a street with oncoming traffic approaching, which was awkward. Then, as I crossed, the Metro workers proceeded to look at me like I was an idiot. I probably would have too. I’m not an idiot, I just need some more sleep. But while I’m making confessions, I will say that I text while driving too much, and I hereby publicly resolve to quit! OK, and I do on occasion read while driving, which is probably not good either. So there are my guilty pleas; feel free to share your thoughts.

  • Cat Love

    My boyfriend’s parents have a cat named Teddy who is, in my opinion, absolutely the best cat in the world. My aunt and uncle’s cats are a close second, but Teddy is my kind of cat because a) she’s fat and fluffy, b) she lets you pet her tummy, and c) she’s not afraid of people and loves to sit in your lap for hours. She’s very un-catlike in that way. Every time I would come to their house I’d dote over the cat. So Alice, David’s mom, told me that if something ever happened to her that Teddy would go to me because I evidently cared more about her than the rest of the family. So Teddy is my godcat. And I am her godmother.

    That very night that she was bequeathed to me, Alice had an acute gallbladder attack which put her through a lot of pain. One of the first things she said was, “I didn’t think Kathleen would get the cat so quickly!”

    So anyway, I’ve been emotionally invested in this cat for awhile now. Last week, Alice informed me that Teddy is sick. She isn’t eating well anymore, and she is breathing funny. After a series of x-rays, they are pretty sure that she has cancer in two places, one of those being the liver, which is never a good sign. The family had to go out of town for a few days, and Alice didn’t want Teddy to be alone so I’ve taken on another house-sitting assignment. Teddy is looking good so far, although she still isn’t eating much, and she’s no longer as fat. I just hope nothing happens to her while they’re gone.

    Last night as I was going to sleep Teddy laid down by my feet. A couple of hours later she padded her way up to my chest where she snuggled herself in and I put my arm around her. She purred and I fell asleep happily. I love this cat.

  • How Long Will You Live?

    I just took this quiz that estimates your life expectancy. Mine is 89 years! That’s pretty good, but I also found that I can:

    >Add 2 years to my life by lessening my sources of stress
    >Add 2 years to my life by taking 81 mg of aspirin every day
    >Add 4 years to my life by eliminating fast foods from my diet
    >Add 1/2 a year to my life by cutting out unhealthy snacks
    >Add 5 years to my life by increasing my exercise regimen to 6-7 days a week
    >Add 1/2 a year to my life by getting appropriate blood tests annually
    >Add 1/2 a year to my life by getting my blood sugar checked

    If I did all this I could live to be 103.5 years old! Then again, I could drop dead before the end of the day. Regardless, let’s analyze my situation:

    1. My current sources of stress are school and finances. In one year I’ll be done with school and I’ll be making the big bucks. Therefore I will have no more stress in my life.
    2. I don’t think the aspirin really pertains to me at 25 years old. Maybe when I reach 30 I’ll start taking it.
    3. I had McDonald’s last night. But! I had the apple dippers instead of fries and apple juice instead of Coke! So that’s something, right?
    4. Is 5 scoops of ice cream with chocolate syrup unhealthy?
    5. Well I can tell you right now that the 7 days a week suggestion is not going to happen. I’m exercising 3 days a week right now, so maybe I’ll just start with moving it up to 4. Two days with soccer games, and then a day of bike riding and a day of yoga should do it. Yoga totally counts.
    6-7. These two can be combined. I hate having my blood drawn, but I think I could handle it once a year.

    What’s your life expectancy? What’s the major way in which you could increase it?