Cheers!

SXSW is finally here, and I will be leaving for Austin soon. We managed to book the last available room in all of Austin for tonight, so I’m free to drink as much as I want. And with it being St. Patrick’s Day and all, today is sure to be a good one. There are tons of shows I hope to catch and I’ll be in the best of company.

My rugby game against OU on Saturday was a mess. We won 47-22 which is cool and all, but hitting my head as hard as I did in that game wasn’t. To be completely honest, I don’t remember what happened, I just know I opened my eyes and was on the ground, my head throbbing. I was taken out of the game after only playing 30 minutes. I didn’t have a concussion or anything, just lots and lots of frustration. Good times!

In other important updates, Shane and I will soon be expanding our little Gardiner family. That’s right, we are pretty close to adopting a dachshund at last! A dude came to inspect our house yesterday and determined we would make coherent dog owners. We’re just waiting to hear from the fosters of this little guy:

And we’ll see what happens next.

We also recently added a pistol to our household. It took some convincing, but I gave into Shane getting a gun, like everyone else in Texas. Shane has been teaching me all about it and took me to a shooting range yesterday to make me feel more comfortable with the thing. I ended up really liking it, and feel totally cool about having a 9mm in my house. I also feel bad for anyone who ever decides to mess with me, because I now know how to shoot someone in the face.

Shane’s been off almost a week now and it’s been really nice. We’ve been pretty big bums during the day, and our nights have been filled with our new addiction to watching “24.” I guess we tend to catch onto tv shows 5-10 years later, as we also just finished up
”Arrested Development.”

Now through Saturday we’ll be in party mode though. With the king of music fests in town, Shane, and good friends, I think it’s safe to say I’ll be pretty on top of the world.

Oh, and like every St. Patrick’s Day for the past 8 years, I called my grandma earlier to ask her what time I could pick her up and take her to city hall. Why, you ask? To get our butts painted green of course.

See, that cheesy little joke used to be my grandpa’s favorite line every March 17^th, when he’d call me to ask that very same question. Since he passed away in 2003, I’ve made sure to call my grandma every St. Patty’s Day and pull one over on her. So, in the spirit of tradition and everyone’s favorite drinking day, cheers and down those green beers.

It’s party time!

Back From The Dead

Yes, I know. This is unacceptable. I wish I had a good excuse like I got an awesome new job or a new dog I’ve been training to account for why I took a month-long leave from the internet. In fact, I can’t even really tell you what I’ve done the last month, other than going home to Jersey, playing rugby, taking advantage of Netflix and spinning my way to a hot bikini body.

I have fallen captive to my own pity party, opting to watch episodes of Law & Order SVU on repeat rather than actively search for a job. The lack of actual good jobs around here (i.e. waitress, stripper, bartender) has got me in a rut, wondering why I currently have nothing to show for my Bachelor’s Degree. Yeah, okay, so you can blame it on the economy. I got lucky getting a legit job just a couple of months following graduation. Now that I no longer have it, I feel slightly useless. I’m aware it’s silly, but it’s true. I do not know how to do nothing. It drives me insane, and I have very little practice in the sort of funk I find myself in now. People tell me to relax and enjoy this break while it lasts, which I have not been able to do most days. I know a time will come when I’m back to the nine to five, longing for the days when I had no responsibilities other than cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and making food. But right now, this blows.

Of course life could be worse. I could be dealing with deployment.

Having Shane to have and to hold every day from here on out makes life happy. It’s those hours before and after his lunch that I try to keep busy, which sometimes results in me thinking too much and making myself crazy.

I have started to get my head out of my ass and back on my shoulders where it belongs, though. I finally got my fingerprints done to start substitute teaching, and we’re in the process of adopting a dachshund which will keep me company.

Texas has started to dish out my unemployment benefits, so I’m at least getting paid for working out and watching tv. I also don’t have to feel bad buying concert tickets for a whole slew of good shows coming up (Lady Gaga, Mumford and Sons, Bad Religion, Yelle, Kid Sister, and more…) Going to shows has always made me happy, and with my favorite person in the world here to accompany me, I’ve got a lot to look forward to right now. South By Southwest (SXSW) the biggest music festival of the year in the country (seriously) is starting on Monday, meaning free shows and booze galore. This will be my third year attending, but first with Shane. I am totally pumped, and I know it will be a great time for my mind and heart. Maybe not so much for my liver, but that’s okay.

Shane will have some time off in the coming weeks, which will be good. (Time off, by the way, from his current days of classes on everything from STDs to safety in the home to child development. The Army deems these things important to know for soldiers who have recently returned from overseas). We plan on going to San Antonio for a weekend and maybe even going camping for a few days.

Rugby, my one actual commitment for right now, has been going really well. Shane finally got to see me play a couple of weekends ago, and I didn’t do too shabby. I got to show my husband just how to tackle bitches (that deserves an LOL, but seriously) and introduce him to the 30 new friends I made while he was gone. I am off to Norman, Oklahoma late tonight to play OU tomorrow afternoon. Apparently it’s only a six hour drive from Austin, so we’ll be back late Saturday/early Sunday. This will be my first couple days not with Shane since he’s been home, so I admit I am already feeling a dose of separation anxiety. I’ll try to channel that energy into aggression on the field.

All in all, life is good. I have my days that I feel discouraged in regards to the whole job thing, but I’ve got my health, my husband, a dog on the way, and a whole lot of other things going for me.

So, if I disappear for awhile again, you should be alarmed. It means I am retreating from the world again, and that’s never a good thing. Thanks to those of you who forced me to remember I have a blog, because I remember how much I like to write.

See you on here soon, I promise. For real this time.