Short & Sweet – My Wish for 2013

I’m not going to lie. I have not been inspired to write for a while now.  One of my new year’s resolutions is to get back on my writing game because when I write, I feel sharper. 

Here are my wishes:

Climbing the Willis Tower – Skyrise Chicago 2012

For five weeks, I trained for the opportunity to get to the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower, the skydeck with the glass ledges, via the 2,109 stairs versus the elevator.  It was a fundraiser for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago that took place this past Sunday.

Reality Check – Willis Tower is TALL – me? Not so much.

You Nailed It

I’m not sure what I heard as it wasn’t in English but I believe it went something like this.  The person who is doing your pedicure, and has done so, for years with a very nice and consistent tip, is speaking in her language with her co-pedicure doers.  She is pointing at you. She is laughing. Now the tittering becomes a chorus, almost like the “wave” in the stadium as each pedicure lady giggles and stares at me.

If I could flip my middle toe a certain way, I would take a picture right now. Cheers to you!

The Adventures of Self Impressed

My office is shutting down. For those who have followed my blog, you may be thinking this is Ground Hog Day because I wrote the same thing just about a year ago after I was just getting used to my 68th floor view of Lake Michigan but I digress. I’m pretty sure I have the office move process down pat by now.  

As I toss old items and stumble upon old mementos, it reminds me of all of the charming and witty characters that have filled my days with laughter at this place.  One that comes to mind is that of the amusing stylings of SELF IMPRESSED. Just by his name, you know he is smitten with himself.  The King of Quips did have a great singing voice and was in good shape as many were reminded during various muscle flexing sessions. 

We’d be working on a project and he couldn’t remember his password, so he would pause and look at me with complete sincerity and ask,

Prove Those Naysayers Wrong!

Subliminal advertising: I am now on Twitter!  Follow me, you’ll feel better. The blog needs love. We all do!  @reinrantnrave.  That’s easy to remember.

I don’t have many cousins, so the ones I have are on cloud nine with the creative attempts I make to ensure that we stay in touch. 

My maternal side of the family has three cousins and we always had a lot of fun together during our winter and summer visits, despite their living on the Canadian border and I in the northern suburbs of Chicago.

One summer, my grandpa had dropped off our cousins at their other grandparents house.   Alas, the end of our visit would inevitably occur.  Grandpa would always take us to Hamburger Hollow on the way back and buy us an ice cream cone.  After one visit, my brother and I were so sad about losing our playmates, that we turned the ice cream down.  Grandpa was dazed. 

Perky Positivity

It’s been over a week since my last post. I get very puzzled when that happens, as this is such wonderful therapy. I guess the current theme is perky positivity.  Some people are wondering where Lauren went and others are asking for me to bottle up this feeling and sell it.

If I could, I would. I can’t explain to you why I am at peace or, as my chiropractor would say, “in balance”.  In fact, given all that is going on with the uncertainty of my job, the economy, the wicked weather, etc.; I have plenty of reasons to be miserable.

You know, I don’t think I have felt this good since I went to a foot reflexologist at The Heartland Spa last year.  She drained my lymph nodes and I walked around in a “daze” for two months, I think?! To this day, I have tried to find a foot reflexologist to get me to that level of euphoria, but I have yet to find one!  Where are you?!!

Tell Me Why…

Dear Devoted  and Riveted Beyond Words Fan Base! I have missed our wordplay sessions.  I know I have been quiet this past week. The top thing on my mind shall be revealed by week’s end but something weighing heavily is my keyboard has been thwarting me.

That’s right.  My “y” key is misbehaving. Sometimes I press the key  and “y” appears and other times, it is shy and doesn’t want to participate. Do you know how hard it to type riveting information in free-write form when “your” comes out as “our”? It can change the whole story!  Why, “y”, are you doing this to me?!

Another thing that has been bumming me out is the reality that people have taken my information and put it on their websites and acting like they wrote it.  Am I wrong to think that is very uncool? The Rein Rant N’ Rave Umbrella is supposed to protect me from things like these.  

One of my friends, Good Cheer, said she has been reading the blog but a) felt left out and b) had a hard time following it because she didn’t know who the characters were.  I reminded her that there are two things you have to remember with this blog.  1) Read it backwards so you can figure out what is happening.

Understand, that does not mean to take your laptop and turn it towards the mirror and read it.  It means read the first post and then keep going.

2) The whole point of the characters was to NOT know who they are, to give it some mystery.  People who aren’t at work can still get an idea of what these people are like based on their nicknames and what has been written about them.   On the flip side, some people are scratching their heads wondering how can you NOT know who these people are!

I know I could write a character sketch of each one but then where would all the fun be??

Blue Cowboy assured me that he is working hard on creating his debut post for May 13.  The blog community is beyond excited waiting to see what words will come out of this guy!

In other news, my subscription fan base has grown!  Thank you for taking the time to sign up. I know it’s not easy. In fact, I can’t believe how hard it is to subscribe!  I watched one of my friends do it.  Here is a play-by-play.  In case you tried and failed, I can understand how, trust me!!

a) Type in fortunate email address under the Subscribe header and hit enter.

b) Click on the confirmation link that will immediately get sent to the fortunate email address.

c)Check  the box next to Rein Rant N Rave and hit apply or update.

DONE.  Now, let the fun begin as these riveting posts get placed in your email box, moments after they are published! You have just given yourself the gift of free entertainment!

Give Me Paint By Numbers

I Was Always Better At Paint By Numbers

As I watched the Easter greetings cascade down my Facebook home page this weekend,  I thought about my favorite Easter memory. 

Flashback to a couple of years ago, a friend invited me over to paint some Easter eggs.  I have only done this exercise a handful of times in my life.

I was very intrigued.

Not surprisingly, I was drawn to the blue, green, and purple color combo that coincides with the Easter pastel theme nicely.

My friend took this activity very seriously.  She gave us instructions, designated supplies, and we had an egg quota production to meet. Before I knew it, I was painting eggs for the other guests.  My designs were silly but my eggs overfloweth!

Yes, I was always better at paint by numbers as the designs on the eggs clearly show; but it was fun.

Happy Easter. 

Nebulous Glow Show

Lit Up Clouds

27 Days * Kissing 700 Views * Lots of Rain

As I listen to the pouring hail?! on this spring?! evening, it takes me back a to the above photo that was taken by me  in October 2008.  Now, let me stop you, I realize October is not in the spring! But I also realize these clouds are really fascinating to look at. It’s raining and nebulous glows tend to be present during this type of weather.

I love the marshmallow-like quality of the clouds and how they are backlit by the blue in the sky. It looks so calm yet you know there was a crazy storm before this photo was taken.

Perhaps, those clouds could  represent all of my voracious readers who patiently wait until some creation magically pops out of my head and gets translated via keystrokes onto this Blog.

Is it possible some reader has a cat? And the cat just dances on my Blog all day increasing my view count?

Or maybe, there are some toddlers lurking about and they are uncontrollably taken in by the vivid colors so the count keeps going up?

Maybe the characters in my Blog, out of respect to me, force all of their family and friends to read it. But. maybe the characters don’t actually read it themselves.  

My other theory is that people at work throw their stress balls up and down and play catch with their neighbors at certain times, for levity breaks – maybe sometimes the stress ball bounces onto the keyboard where my Blog was strategically placed as a Favorite, unbeknownst to them, and it keeps pulling up my Blog….

Probably not.  

By the way, I just want to let you know that I vow never to use “LOL” on here.  It’s not that I find fault with anyone who uses it but to me, it means “Lots of Lauren” and that would make me seem really arrogant if I kept referencing myself after every funny statement.

At any rate, I shall continue to dig into my creativity chest and find some witticisms to make your visit worthwhile!