April Showers a.k.a. I forgot about hail

"What's your favorite thing about spring?" That was our introductory, get-to-know-you icebreaker in class on Sunday. I think about half the people in class said they loved thunderstorms most of all. At first I was tempted to agree. I do love those huge claps of thunder. I surely like those flashes of lightning that illuminate the sky. Even tornadoes have that excitement factor, if you don't mind your property being destroyed by a whirling cyclone. However, as I lay in my bed Friday night, looking up at the skylight - completely unable to see because I'd taken off my glasses - I heard another sound amidst the thunder and rain. It sounded like popcorn on my roof. Oh yeah, that other part of storms...hail. What the hail. In Oklahoma (as in other places, no doubt) they measure hail in terms of sports things. Golf ball-sized, baseball-sized. Doesn't matter, no one wants any sort of spherical hard thing pelting their cars from the sky. I was so happy listening to the rain that night until I heard that popcorn sound and thought, "oh no, my poor car." That's the part of a storm I can do without, athankyouverymuch. Oh well. I'm back in Oklahoma and that's what I get.

Happy Easter Monday, by the way. I'm celebrating this day by blogging and looking out at the rain falling on the pond in the backyard of my work. Pretty soothing. And by soothing I mean makes-me-want-to-nap.

Where did the time go, by the way? How have I been in Tulsa THREE WHOLE MONTHS as of today? Happy monthiversary to me. I now shall tell you of my weekend. I painted. A lot. My third monthiversary was commemorated in latex paint. That is, I spent a good portion of the weekend painting walls and ceilings and ruining a pair of jeans and getting a big splotch of paint on my hair since I leaned into a freshly painted wall without thinking. Proof:




I helped a friend paint her bedroom, and I helped my church paint someone's house. The latter location is where I picked up the hair paint. And some poison ivy. I blame the shockingly friendly dogs who no doubt frolicked in a poison ivy patch before jumping all over me. Ah, spring.

You know what else is happening this year? My 10 year high school reunion. I am shocked at my own age. I don't feel like I've been out of high school 10 years. Well, sometimes I don't. But apparently I've reached that age. 28. I'm not one to fear getting older. I relish it. Even so, I still have the ability to "feel old". Quit rolling your eyes, people older than I. You know you were there once. Empathize. So yeah, I have that to look forward to in three weeks - catching up with former schoolmates and explaining to everyone what exactly has happened in my life in the last decade. Being a decade older than high school means that my wedding attendance schedule has been whittled down to just a handful a summer, and that my baby shower attendance schedule has ratcheted up exponentially in the past year or so. Eh, works for me. Shopping for babies is much more fun than shopping for adults. Plus, I can't offer to babysit at wedding showers. People look at me weird. Now I give a babysitting coupon book and recipients get emotionally overwhelmed with my generosity and start crying and hug me. Okay, that's a lie, but my offers to babysit are well received when there are babies to sit. Shhhh.

I think now I've been in Tulsa long enough to have finished "settling in." Besides the fact that I really do need to sift through my storage unit and get out some useful items, I'm pretty well set at the 'rents house. I'm slowly but surely learning how to do my job properly, and I've had that first round of friend reunions. Now I'm getting into the routine mode and figuring out what new activities I might have time for...I'm keeping those violin lessons on hold. I did renew my gym membership so I can hate myself for wasting money again. Just kidding. I'm actually using it. But good grief, it sure makes a difference in my fitness when I'm not walking to and from the metro daily. Can we install a metro station about a mile from my house so I can get my accidental workouts everyday, please? Thanks.

I'm done rambling for now. See ya.