Chocolate

Some something somewhere on my phone or some other electronic device informed me that today is Chocolate Day. Which I totally used as an excuse to eat chocolate, not like I ever need one. But of course, I then had to verify.

A quick Google search informed me that, yes, today is National Chocolate Day but there are 2 National Chocolate days (apparently the US National Confectioners Association knows a good thing when they see it). There is also a World Chocolate day (13 September) and a Chocolate Day (no national about it), on July 7. And then they have days for specific types of chocolate--milk chocolate day, white chocolate day*. So, chocolate lovers, be excited. There are loads of days for you.

But here's the thing I don't get. Why would you choose 28 October and 28 December as national chocolate days? I mean, really. Do they think we aren't eating chocolate in the lead up to Halloween and the post-Christmas goody binge? It makes no sense. We already get it--chocolate is a thing and we should eat it! We don't need a day to tell us that in October or December.

Nah, the answer here is simple. Reduce it to one National Chocolate Day (I mean, 2 is just super pretentious. And confusing. And overkill--and that's coming from a fan) and move it to August. August needs some rockin' holidays. I mean, "start of school" just isn't cutting it, guys. It's the perfect time to have a chocolate holiday.

In the meantime though, happy National Chocolate Day.

This post was brought to you by:

• Whatever it was that brought National Chocolate Day to my attention
• the US National Confectioners Association. Check out all their candy holidays here.
• August. It wouldn't be a year without it.
• Halloween. And Christmas.
• ten typing fingers and the 8th grade keyboarding teacher who taught me to type.

*Does white chocolate really need its own day? One could argue it needs a day more than milk or dark chocolate or even chocolate in general. Maybe it's the only one that deserves a day...

Like riding a bicycle

Way back in the day, when the world was saner (it seemed) and I was an awkward young adolescent (rather than an awkward middle-aged adult), I taught myself how to play the flute. Now, my mom had already taught me how to play the piano, and I learned to play the clarinet in band at school, which I pursued for 3 years. Then my grandpa helped us obtain a flute* and I wanted to learn but was already doing my 3rd year of clarinet in band. So, I somehow managed to teach myself the basics and I saved up so I could attend a week long flute camp at the University. I was really committed. I practiced the flute more than I did my band music on the clarinet, acted like I was having lessons and all. And it was playing the flute that got me blue ribbons at the Music Fest they held every year.

Then at some point, I became less focused on the flute**, just because there was so much else to focus on I imagine. I'd planned to switch over to the flute in band, but ended up dropping band due to scheduling and credits and wanting to graduate and all. Before I knew it, I had a niece who was old enough to be in band who wanted to play the flute, so I loaned it to her and life went on.

But my niece graduated last year and didn't have time for the flute in her college studies and now she's off on a mission, so on my last trip down to visit, I reclaimed the flute. It has been sitting in my room for about 6 weeks and I hadn't touched it except maybe once just blowing in the mouthpiece for 30 seconds. I've had dreams about picking it up and trying to play it and not being able to get a sound out--very realistic dreams, I might add, although I don't think that's why I never picked it up.

Finally, yesterday I assembled the flute and I am pleased to report that I figured out most of the fingerings after a few minutes (not that I could tell you which note lined up with which fingering) and even busted out a tune. I was absolutely able to make a sound, with the exception of one time changing registers, but I got there. And it was kind of exciting!

I would like to say I'm going to start practicing every day but that's not likely to happen in the next few weeks. I've got this test I need to study for that I want to take by the end of the month, a bunch of books I need to make, some trips to take, a couple of stories to write (hopefully by the end of the month as well!), and a bunch of other projects and only a few hours each night to work on them. But, I do hope to tuck the flute in here and there. Hopefully it will keep being like riding a bike.

And maybe now I can stop dreaming weird dreams about it.

*He was always doing things like that, my grandpa. 
**seriously, the story of my life. 

The end of the world as we know it

So, a patron walks into the library and reports that today would be the end of the world. Which is actually a true story and, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, turned out not to be the case. But it did get me thinking that if it were the end of the world, what was I doing at work? Actually, I do think we should have an end-of-the-world holiday once in a while. Then we could all go out and do the thing we'd want to do if it was the day the world was going to end.

Personally, I'd hop a plane and visit family. Or maybe they could all hop a plane and we could congregate in a central location, because there are a few of us and I could never make it to all of them in 24 hours. I think I would want to just hang out with them most of all. Because I always enjoy that and if it is going to be the last day, you should make sure you enjoy it.

Plan B would be to travel somewhere I'd never been. Maybe Iceland--it is on my wish list. Or the UK. Maybe I could merge Plan A and Plan B and we can all meet up in Iceland. That could work.

Plan C might be to just sleep through it. Or maybe I'll bump that down a few letters as the desperation back up plan if all else fails. I expect the end of the world is going to be rather messy, so I'm not convinced I actually want to participate. But that's the end end, not the lead up to the end. In the lead up, I would definitely need to be distracted because otherwise I would get super stressed and then I'd be out in the street shouting at the skies, "Just end it already!!!" I have no patience with waiting for impending stressful events, like the destruction of earth. Just git 'er done, I say.*

Or maybe I'd rent a car and just start driving. Just to get a good look at the world. Although, if everyone is taking the same day to act like it's the last day on earth, traffic is probably going to get bad. So maybe we should stagger our celebrations. We can divide it up somehow--maybe go alphabetically or by birthdays. Or maybe I will just celebrate this myself, and all y'all can just pretend I never pitched the idea. Or we can all just pick a random day to celebrate the end of the world. There are options.

The good news is, it's not the end of the world and I will still get my Saturday.** And,  I suspect many more days to come. But don't be surprised if I take one or two of them here and there to be my last.

*Which is why, if were ever a zombie apocalypse, I wouldn't waste time trying to avoid getting bitten. I'd just get it over with. I just don't want to prolong the stress and anxiety of wondering if/when I'm going to go. Fortunately, I do not believe in zombie apocalypses, so this is really dead issue. Ha ha. 
**When we do hit the end of the world, I vote it come on a Sunday night. No sense losing a weekend. 

Do Over

Yesterday was an awful day. It wasn't anything particular, just the whole day was awful and frustrating and ended in tears (there was just no other way for it to end). Now, if there is one thing I have learned about days like that, it's this: take a nap. Honestly, if you just go to sleep for a little while, things get better. It breaks the cycle of stress and emotion and offness just beautifully.*

I failed to squeeze a nap in yesterday so instead, this morning, I gave myself permission to treat the morning like a sick day. I stayed in bed until my headache wasn't noticeable anymore**. I stayed in my pajamas and wrapped up in a blanket. And I felt soooooooo much better. The headache did come back, and I'm still a little glum about yesterday, but hey, moving on! Life's not all doom! Things are going to be okay! And in a couple of days, the glum-shadow will vanish, the headache will not come back, and I will have had contact with other human beings and moved on to the next crisis.

Isn't life grand?

*This is why, when I unofficially ran for president in 2016, naps was an important plank in my platform. I think it would make a huge contribution towards world peace. 
**Yes, I had a headache yesterday. No, it didn't help. 

Worth getting up for

On Sunday, I noticed a flash flood warning had been put out for my neck of the woods for today. I was super excited about it all day yesterday. At the very least, some rain. At best, a flash flood!*

Yesterday,  none of my coworkers believed my news about the flood potential.**And when I got to work today, it was looking like we might not even get rain. I made it very clear that if it didn't rain--and hard--there was no point in my having gotten out of bed this morning. And whaddya know, by the time I headed back from lunch, it was raining. And then it rained some more later this afternoon. And now, there is a load of thunder and more thunder, and maybe lightning (but I'm inside so I can't tell. I live in a basement apartment). And just now a HUGE clap of thunder! And I can hear the rain pouring down and I can smell it and feel the cool rain air.

Aaaaah. Yep, totally worth getting out of bed for***. Now I'm going to go to bed, so I can fall asleep listening to the rain. Brilliant.

*I have no idea why I want a flash flood. It was probably mostly driven by the hope that maybe they'd send us home from work, which was a long shot. But I think there was also just the lovely thought of wading through rivers of water without a care in the world.
**until we had a 15 minute downpour.
***Although, clearly, not flooding (yet). And I am obviously not sloshing through puddles. But there's always tomorrow. 

Growing old

I hope someday to be a beautiful old person. One of those old folks with beautiful wrinkles who radiates contentment. Not because their life has been perfectly content, but because despite all the sorrows, it has been overall a good life. Because there is so much to love and be happy about. Because the tears eventually faded into solace and one day there was joy again. 

I don't have any noteworthy wrinkles yet, but I do have a few stray gray hairs. They aren't noticeable, because my hair is a fairly light brown and they kind of blend in. And I have no intention of dying them or otherwise hiding them at this point. I have earned those gray hairs, every one of them. there is a life behind them. I'm not saying no one should ever dye their gray hair, or even that I won't ever--who knows what I'll do in another 20 years?! And dying them doesn't erase the life I've lived. Really, I'm just lazy about my hair and dying requires too much maintenance for a lazy bum like myself. 

But I do also kind of like those random gray hairs. And I hope that someday, I have more of them, with a lovely set of wrinkles to match. I hope I become a beautiful old person.