I am Not Afraid of Dead Bodies

I am not afraid of dead bodies. I want to make that clear.
Nearly every day, my coworkers will pass my basement office and say things like, “Ohhh. You’re near the morgue. That’s creepy!”

The truth is that it’s not creepy for two reasons. The first is that a morgue is intended to temporarily store the deceased – not the living dead. There’s no one hungry for brains around here.

And second (and probably most importantly) the morgue is no longer a morgue. It’s now used as a storage room for contractors and the maintenance department. The morgue hasn’t been a morgue for years.

So why are so many people afraid of dead bodies and the morgues that house them? Is it an uncomfortable reminder that death catches all?

No Idea About Ikea

Tonight I was lost in the furniture maze known as Ikea. It was Laura’s idea to go there and so I moped along. My feet were throbbing five minutes after we walked through the entrance and I needed a break.

“Hold on,” I say to Laura, “I want to see what’s on the menu.” So she looks at some gizmo while I take a few steps toward the Swedish meatball cafeteria (or whatever they call it).

“Ah,” I say to myself. “Still got those meatballs.” When I turn around, Laura is gone! (In retrospect, I think she took advantage of the 30 seconds it took for me to turn around and glance at the meatball menu. She knew I would complain the whole time.)

So I start walking that stupid path with the arrows, hoping to find her. She couldn’t have gone far, right? And of course everyone’s stopping along the path, admiring the Hoobeenfartens and the Halfabargans and I can’t get through! So I cut through a few of those “secret paths” between departments. (In fact, I’m not sure Ikea is divided by departments. It’s more organized like a mess.)

Anyway, I’m cutting through paths nearly everywhere I see one and before I know it, I’m lost. Laura is nowhere to be found and I’ve seen the same people three times. And I know I wasn’t going in circles since the place is not designed that way. I’m pretty sure I was walking in triangles.

I eventually returned to the entrance and headed out the door. I had enough of the rat maze. I would meet up with Laura later, after I went to Toys R Us. (I had more fun there.)

Two Goals: More Exercise and Increase Sitting

And by “sitting,” I mean writing. It’s really hard to walk and write. I’ve tried.

It’s always a challenge for me to write when the weather is nice, but I want, no, need to make a solid effort to post more often. And, more importantly, I need to define a theme. These posts have been somewhat arbitrary with no real sense of direction, and I’m sick of it!

In fact I may have to create a whole new blog at this point… with a title that defines the theme… the theme that may or may not exist.

This blog dates back to 2007 and, in my opinion, has nothing substantial to offer. And lately I’m posting at an average of once a month! Am I for real with a post once a month? Sounds like I’m still at the wannabe status. If I’m really a writer, I need to step it up.

You may recall the post from January 17 when I considered turning this into a blog about education and social class struggles that I face every day. This is still a possibility as it consumes my everyday life.

Laura will be taking a mini vacation with her sister in a week or so. This would be a great time to let loose and define this (or another) blog.

So I’m going to attempt to get more exercise while sitting on my butt and writing every day. It just has to be a part of my daily routine.

Stay posted.

A Beautiful Book

A colleague of mine has just published her first book, Operation Beautiful. I was so excited to grab a copy that I found my hands pressed to my mouth in anticipation as the sales associate led me to the self help section. I must have looked like a freak, but I was lucky to grab the last one. Yes!

Seeing her book gave me such happiness because I too know the dream… the dream of seeing your book on the shelf.

So if you’re reading this, Caitlin Boyle, congratulations on achieving this awesome milestone. You have earned it!