They made her stronger, faster...

I have tried to update this blog many times in the past few days, but it appears that blogger has decided to explode. So, pardon my delay. Although apologizing for this reminds me of when I had a diary when I was like 10 years old and I would start every entry with, “sorry it’s been so long since I wrote, I’ve been so busy” which brings up several questions. 1) whom am I apologizing to? Myself? 2) Why do I lie to myself, I wasn’t busy, I was just lazy.

Anyhoo, things have been pretty hectic. Here’s the good news, while my grandmother was officially diagnosed with colon cancer, she came through her surgery really well. She was out three hours early (which I am told is a good sign), and while she had to stay in the hospital longer than was initially estimated, she was sent home on Wednesday night and is recovering well. I know she is really relieved to be back in her house, her own bed, and her own bathroom. Never underestimate the importance of being in your own bathroom. Sometimes, when I am away from home, the thing I miss most is my own bathroom. If that makes me weird, then screw you assface.

I’ve also been going out a lot more lately. I am trying to make a conscious effort to see my friends more often, which means I go out more after work. And while I haven’t really been seeing my family any less, there is a certain amount of accompanying guilt. Although, my step-sister almost never visits them and she lives in the area, so I don’t know why I should feel bad. Also, since Bill switched jobs and got really serious with Amanda we hardly ever hear from him. While nobody ever says it out loud, I get the feeling from my Dad like he expects to come over a lot because he doesn’t think I have anything else going on. That is, I’m not married and don’t have a boyfriend, so what else do I have to do. Which, hello, I have a full-time job, other relatives to see (i.e. my mom) and lots of friends I enjoy going out with. But maybe it’s all in my head…

Riding the “going out more” thread of thought some more, I had perhaps the funnest Saturday night ever last week. My friend Carly and friends of ours that I have met through her, did a whole posh night in DC thing and it was awesome. First, we went to see Stomp at the Warner Theatre, which was like an urban Riverdance; if janitors were dancers kind of thing which just kicked ass all over. And then swept up the said ass and put it in the trash can. Then, we went across the street and had dinner at Chef Geoff’s (one of the best restaurants in DC) because it was the last night of Restaurant Week, and the only time we could afford to eat there.

Finally, one of the Carly’s friend had reserved the VIP room at Fur, a dance club, for his birthday and got us all on the VIP list, so we got to chill in this awesome room above the dance floor. And had our own personal bouncer. And could be reminded of how bad white people are at dancing from our vantage point. Seriously, you would think people out in actual club would have some moves. Apparently not. So, for one night, we got to live as the yuppies with money get to live. And it was good. Also, we all looked totally hot.

Currently Reading: Brimstone by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Currently Listening To: Everytime We Touch by Cascada. I know it’s cheesy, but it got stuck in my head!

Guilt All Over My Face

Last night my Dad, Grandmother, and Aunt came over for dinner. One of the best things about having my own place is that I can invite people over and not have to worry about having enough room or what my roommate's (read: Mom's) plans are. We had a really great time last night, joking around and sharing stories about my dad's home improvement mishaps. I think my favorite was him describing the "dance of death." It involved electrocution and a hedge trimmer. That is all I will say. This morning my Aunt emailed me and asked me if I was feeling alright because she and my grandmother had been up all night sick from the pizza I got from Pizza Hut for them. And no, for once my tummy was fine. Then my Dad called me to ask if I was sick since he had gotten sick too.

HAS THE WORLD TILTED OFF ITS AXIS?? I am never the one who doesn't get sick! I'm always the one who gets sick! Has my stomach finally learned to resist food poisoning?? Is the beginning of a new culinary world for Maggie? Y'all this is really exciting.

Except now I feel bad for feeding my family evil poisonous pizza. And I feel doubly bad for not having gotten sick. But, still. I didn't get sick!!

SMASHY SMASHY!

Approximately three weeks ago I had a little fender bender. Basically, the lady in front of me was turning right, and then changed her mind and slammed on her brakes. Since I was checking traffic to see if it was safe for me to turn right as well, I bumped her bumper. We exchanged information, but there was no damage to my car and no injuries. Yesterday I get a fax from the lady's husband with an estimate of the damage to their bumper (not high enough to be covered by my deductible, so I have to pay for it out of pocket). Which ok, fine. No big deal, right? But with my astounding capacity for overthinking I found myself lying awake last night thinking about it and worrying about it, even though I can afford to pay for it with no real problem. I guess the whole thing is just kind of embarrassing. I think of myself as a good driver and so I find instances like this to just be hard to deal with and I beat myself up about it. Why can't I just let this stuff go?

Grandma update: On January 11, my grandmother is having surgery to remove part of her bowel, presumably this includes the part with the mass. I don't think the biopsy results have come back, but it sounds like the mass is large enough that they want to go ahead and take it out. She will be in the hospital for 4 days, but her heart and lungs are strong, and she doesn't seem too worried about it. Thanks to everyone who has sent me (and her) your well wishes!

Also, Happy New Years to everyone! As many of you know, I am not the biggest fan of new year's eve celebrations, but this year I had a really grat time, thanks to my friend Chris who took me to the International Club of DC's Global Gala party at the Adams Morgan Mariott downtown. We had a hotel room and 9 different themed rooms to party in. I played some Texas Hold 'Em in the Las Vegas room (and played very well thx) and danced a lot in the New York room, listened to an Irish band in Dublin and snagged some yummy chocolated in Vienna. It was probably one of my most fun NYE's ever, and I think it must be because I actually went out to a big function that wasn't so much focused on New Year's as it was on having a great time. Our next stop: Atlantic City on January 28 where Chris gets free rooms from the hotels so he will come and gamble. Can a girl have a gay sugar daddy? Because I sure do.

Currently Reading: "Soul Music" by Terry Pratchett
Currently Watching: Law and Order SVU

Mom Quote of the Day
Me: You want to go to a movie on Friday night?
Mom: Hmm. I'm not sure. I'm putting forward a motion for a continuing resolution. I'll get back to you with my decision.
Me: We aren't balancing the budget here you know.