A Quirky Game of Tag

Hooray for Thursdays and another fabulous installment of Larrie’s weekly therapy with her imaginary Doc. For some blog readers, this is what they look forward to—it helps them make it to the weekend.

DOC: Welcome, please sit down.

LRE: So formal.

DOC: I’m trying a new thing.

LRE: What? Acting like a doctor?

DOC: Something along those lines.

LRE: Great; just so long as you’re still imaginary and therefore I still don’t have to pay you.

DOC: Right-o. I’ve got a list of questions to discuss.

LRE: Nah; that’s okay.

DOC: But… but, I put so much time into coming up with these.

LRE: Really?

DOC: Sure, why not?

LRE: K, save them for next week.

DOC: Why? Do you have another list of 100 random things all about YOU?

LRE: No; that requires more effort than your list of questions.

DOC: Fine; what have ya got then?

LRE: I’ve been tagged.

DOC: You’ve… been… tagged…?

LRE: Yes; thanks for repeating it. Katie tagged me.

DOC: Kate did, huh? That still doesn’t explain what you’re talking about. Are you playing freeze tag?

LRE: Not exactly; it’s blog tag and I don’t think anybody crawls under your legs to unfreeze you in this game.

DOC: Blog tag, huh? So we’re expecting some of those hyperlink things where the text is underlined and blue?

LRE: Yes, a few.

DOC: All right, fine. Explain this blog tag then.

LRE: Right. Katie wrote the “rules” on her blog as she had received them from the person that tagged her.

DOC: Of course; you have to have clear rules. And what are they?

LRE: Let’s see… I link back to her (done), talk about the rules on my blog, tell six unspectacular quirks about me, tag six other bloggers and then leave comments on their blogs that I’ve tagged them.

DOC: Interesting rules. And these rules ask you to write YOUR rules about YOUR blog? YOU have rules?

LRE: Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that’s what it’s supposed to mean—talking about the rules on my blog and all—it really means that I need to explain the “tag rules” here on my blog, but I could briefly mention my daily posts as the “rules” for MY blog.

DOC: You mean—there’s more than JUST our Thursday appointments?

LRE: Hate to break it to ya, Doc, but you’re only one of usually six entries a week.

DOC: I’m crushed; I was under the impression that we were exclusive.

LRE: Ha—that would be silly.

DOC: Well, I’m afraid to ask out of jealousy, but what are the others?

LRE: Monday is my “freebie” day, Tuesday is the quote of the week, Wednesday is the cell phone pic of the week, you and I have our Thursdays, Friday is about work and Saturday I try and review a book.

DOC: You don’t sound very committed to Saturdays.

LRE: Yeah; Saturday doesn’t always give me enough attention so I’m not as committed, but there’s also lots of soccer now that it’s fall and I haven’t managed to sit down at a laptop when there’s running and scoring goals to be done.

DOC: Well, I suppose it’s good to know your rules.

LRE: Sure.

DOC: K, so what was next? Six unspectacular quirks about you?

LRE: Yeah.

DOC: Who chose to describe your quirks with unspectacular?… sort of an oxymoron there.

LRE: Almost. I can see your point, but my idiosyncrasies aren’t exactly spectacular—just odd.

DOC: All right; you list them and stop naming synonyms for quirk instead.

LRE: Let’s see… first, I keep telling myself that one day I will master “mind over mattress” but it just never happens.

DOC: I suppose that there ARE people out there who like mornings.

LRE: I suppose so, too, but I don’t really want to hear about that. I hate mornings and each morning, a different Larrie wakes up determined to come up with one reason after another to continue hitting the snooze button.

DOC: That button should never have been invented.

LRE: Seriously.

DOC: K, that was one.

LRE: Right; I better hurry this up as I’m rambling and nobody wants to read long blog entries.

DOC: Do you ever have SHORT entries?

LRE: STOP interrupting me. Number two would be that I hate doing dishes, however, since buying my own little condo, I have NEVER, NOT EVEN ONCE, left a pot or pan in the sink overnight. (But that does not relate to cookie sheets or muffin tins.)

DOC: Don’t tell your mom. She’ll wonder why you didn’t do that at home.

LRE: No she won’t. I was okay at doing my own dishes.

DOC: Hmm… maybe I’ll ask her.

LRE: Fine. Moving right along to number three: I think I’m really funny.

DOC: You’re not supposed to think of yourSELF as funny.

LRE: I know, but the thing is, I don’t think other people think I’m nearly as funny as I THINK I AM.

DOC: Do you really care?

LRE: Course not. Okay, number four would be that I had a really hard time misspelling the word millennium in an IM chat today.

DOC: Why were you misspelling it?

LRE: For comedic purposes, of course. But purposely misspelling is so difficult; ESPECIALLY when you type 90+ wpm and therefore don’t type by letter, but type by word. It really cut down on my typing speed.

DOC: Sounds rough. Okay so on to number five.

LRE: Thanks. For the sake of time, I’m going to say five AND six BEFORE you can interrupt me.

DOC: Oh, good…

LRE: STOP.

DOC: Sor-

LRE: SERIOUSLY, STOP. That wasted four lines. Sheesh. (Speaking REALLY fast now…) Five-would-be-that-I-have-a-crooked-toe-again-and-Six-would-be-that-I’m-really-bummed-I-don’t-have-a-piano-in-my-condo. The. End.

DOC: Well, I think I caught that last bit.

LRE: And I’m done.

DOC: Except you need to tag six more. Pick six that also need therapy, k?

LRE: Don’t we all probably need it?

DOC: Not you; you’re self medicated.

LRE: Saves me money. K, I tag Puck, Nettie, Nichole, Pete, Thane and Laina. Who wants to put money down on which brother actually does it… Pete or Thane?

DOC: I’m not a betting man.

LRE: You’re not a REAL man.

DOC: Don’t you have to post a comment on their blogs now to tell them?

LRE: Yes, but I can’t post comments on blogs at work. I’ll try and remember to do it later tonight.

DOC: Just try, huh?

LRE: Yeah… I’ll try.

Weekend Highlights – Late Night Movies, Late Night Soccer and Nothing Early Morning

Friday: I survived work. It was one of those weeks where this was a MIGHTY accomplishment. Go me. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do that night, though. There had been a possibility of a gaggle of girls at my place, but that fell through because of my inability to actually call anyone. I blame that on my phone dying and the need to break in my new phone before making massive amounts of phone calls. Then there was a possibility of a sleepover with the nieces, but that also fell through. It was also possible that I would watch Jarv’s and Jennie’s kids for them, but they recruited Laina to help out (who has WAY more patience than I do so I’m sure none of the kids were sent to sit in the corner in the garage for time out—wait, I would NEVER do that; they just sit in the corner of the LAUNDRY room, better).

Instead, I coerced my coworker to bring her HUGE deli sandwich left over from lunch over so we could save money on dinner. She came with her daughter who gave the cats a workout chasing after toys. She also took videos on her mom’s cell phone of my ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS cats playing with these toys and sent them to my phone. Cute, right?

After they left, I sat around for a while watching TV and could have taken the opportunity to go to bed early, but that right there would be proof enough that THE END OF DAYS WERE NEAR. Instead, I crashed the little party at Pete’s and G’s where I remembered that I’m mad at my brother for moving out of state and taking his wife with him. Grrr. We semi-watched Enchanted, but I kept on getting up to go and check out things like Pete’s new GPS device, Pete’s and G’s new fireplace, and of course to discuss finances with Pete.

I got home late. (Surprise.)

Saturday: I got up around 9:30, had some quick breakfast and then dressed up for Laurie’s funeral. It was good to see so many people there to pay her respect and offer support to her family. Also, I had NO clue that this friend of mine had an affinity for mooning people. I think if I had found that out while she was still alive, I probably would have found out by experiencing it. The stories were funny enough.

After the funeral: errands. Being an adult is über exciting.

Then it was off to Mick and Tracy’s to watch their brood of five. After pizza, a movie and starting a rock band which performed on Emma’s bed, they all fell asleep just in time for my Mom to come and relieve me at 11:00 p.m. to race to my soccer game.

I LOVE the late, late soccer games. If I didn’t have to sleep, I would run around ALL NIGHT LONG because I have the energy to do it. (Except that lately, my lungs haven’t been cooperating so well, but oh well. Must be getting OLD.) We crushed the other team and I had two easy goals in the process. Thanks Mom for your help!

Sunday: I have my new ward so FOOLED. They think I can sing. Well, okay, I CAN sing, but that really just involves me being able to read music and sing on tune. That doesn’t say anything about the tone of my voice. I AM NOT A SOLOIST. And YET… I am singing a solo next week in church. Permission to laugh now. I know, seriously. I fit just fine in a choir, but our ward choir director asked me to sing the last line of the hymn ALL BY MYSELF. I said sure, because, hey maybe somebody will come up and talk to me afterwards.

Somebody: “That sure was brave of you to sing that solo.”

Me: “Why thank you.”

Somebody: “I hope they don’t ask you to do it again. But it WAS brave.”

Me: “Right… what’s your name?”

After church, it was dinner at the parents’ and a little celebration for Thane’s birthday. This is my cool little brother who used to wear TONS of BYU paraphernalia. That used to be our bond—the cougar fans in the Campbell clan. But his blood eventually turned red and we only had our baby pictures left to bond (and fight) over. So instead, he let me play soccer with him. I suddenly realized that my cool brother was also NICE because he was willing to put up with me on the field.

We then finished out the weekend by watching Step Up 2 at Ster’s. Talk about QUALITY entertainment.

I went home that night and had an Epsom salt bath while I drank chamomile tea and read a book. I AM LIVING THE LIFE.

All Tuckered Out at Disneyland

Look at the fam, all tuckered out from the happiest place on earth…

Note to Internet: If you have plans to attend Disneyland, DO NOT MAKE A CONSCIENTIOUS DECISION TO LIFT YOUR LEGS AT THE GYM THE DAY BEFORE, ESPECIALLY IF IT’S THE FIRST TIME SINCE TOE SURGERY OVER 3 MONTHS AGO.

Currently Living Out of Boxes

I’m recovering from this weekend, but I’m quite certain it’s going to be a slow, long recovery judging by the numbers of boxes in my NEW CONDO. I swear, those boxes multiplied and replenished the 2^nd bedroom while I was sleeping. One day, I anticipate that I will actually know where to find my toothbrush or the kitty’s medicine (one of the boxes ate the syringe).

Larrie is officially a homeowner

Well, make that a condo-owner.

According to Abe, “This place was small, but now it’s a home.”

Finally, I have my own home, even if there are many boxes raising families inside (I start charging rent in June) and pictures leaning against walls where they will one day hang. However, last night, my dad helped me to hang a fabulous and mightily large painting in the living room. I HEART my new place. Seriously.

Boxing for many hours

After closing with the title company on Friday, then grabbing some food at The Dodo with the parents and Maren, the boxing began. At first, I walked into my bedroom and began dancing around on a small footstool with my magic wand, but nothing would fly into the carpet bag on the floor. Turns out, I would have to MANUALLY LABOR to box all of my books and shoes. Eleven boxes later (sometime on Sunday night), the books were off the shelves and into little white boxes. Good thing I have a large bookshelf. One day, those same books will be OUT of those boxes and onto that large bookshelf. On that day, I shall celebrate.

I took a few breaks between boxing. I slept for a few hours on Friday night. I stopped by Jennie’s and Jarv’s new place Saturday morning to scrub the bathroom floor for a bit. I picked up the keys to my new place from the seller’s agent. Ooo, and I went to Lagoon. That was a fabulous break with Maren, Alaska and Joel-in-the-box. The Catapult, I’ll have you know, shoots you very high in the air. I told this to Joel, while we were shooting through the air. Just in case he hadn’t noticed:

“We are SO HIGH!”

By Monday morning, I had shut my last box, just a short time before Todd and Mary Lynn came with their trailer and Mick came with his Suburban. The rain was absolutely fabulous, too! I really wish that the next time I move, it rains on my mattress. It’s okay though, internet, because it was under the tarp while I “helped” James and Joel put it in the trailer. (I put the tarp on and followed them up the driveway. Good thing I work out and have such HUGE muscles.)

Speaking of muscles

Everything—table, chairs, couch, entertainment center, bookshelf, bed, dresser, shoes, books—was loaded in an hour. Clearly, I didn’t do that on my own. The moving crew showed up which consisted of brothers, my parents, their friends and a few friends from my ward (and Jon—who I didn’t forget, but the sentence was getting too list-y and wasn’t reading very smoothly, shucks). Thankfully, all of the muscles came to help.

Just try to imagine: I’m standing inside the dining area of my new home watching as four men are standing on the grass lifting the 6’x6’ bookshelf up over their heads, to the three men standing on my little balcony/porch to lift that same bookshelf over the railing, flip it, twist it and suddenly, it’s inside against the wall. IMPRESSIVE! Within an hour, my new home was filled with the “everything” mentioned earlier and the bookshelf AND entertainment center came in by being lifted up over the railing and in through the sliding door.

Sleeping in my own place

Minyo, Pogi and I slept in my new home last night. Correction: I slept a little bit; Minyo and Pogi investigated all the corners of this tiny new place. I am still in awe with how quickly everything was moved and quite grateful for the help of family and friends—especially the help of men with muscles. (Thanks Mom, Dad, Mary Lynn, Todd, Mick, Abe, Pete, James, Maren, Joel, Lindsey, Loni, David, and Jon!)

Therapy Thursdays: My Bros Rock

Okay kids, here’s a new weekly edition to my awesome blog (we’ll see how many weeks I can consecutively keep this idea going): A little therapy session with Larrie (LRE) and the good doctor (DOC). I did this once in one of my journals the summer after high school and I went off on the poor DOC about being nervous about college and missing D-Dawg (even though I broke up with him)… and yet I still think of my past as the “good ol’ days,” ha!

DOC: Let’s talk about your brothers.

LRE: Yes, let us.

DOC: Okay, how do you feel about your relationships with them?

LRE: I feel a sort of warm fuzzy feeling inside because honestly, how many people have enough brothers to fill all their brother-needs? There’s the big-brother-tease, big-brother-bully, big-brother-goof, little-brother-tough-guy and little-brother-cutie. Don’t tell my brothers that I called ANY of them cutie. They’re all ROBUST, HARDY and MANLY.

DOC: They bully you?

LRE: Don’t sound so worried. It’s normal and if anybody hasn’t dealt with bullying, they’re probably whiners in the real world. And BOO to whiners, ya know?

DOC: Do you see your brothers often?

LRE: After I tell you this, you’ll probably explain that there can always be too much of a good thing, but I could care less to take your advice on this one, doc. Now that all of my bros live here in the city, I basically see them once a week. And then there’s the online stuff, like Facebook, MSN Messenger, blogs, emails, etc. Jarv usually gets the Reply-All emails going that keep us all connected at work. Mick checks in with me in Messenger or the all-new, fancy Facebook chat. And Pete and Jamis text a bunch. Thane’s been busy getting ready for the MCAT so I chase him down every now and then.

DOC: Do you have relationships with them other than the geeky ones?

LRE: Now you’re just not sounding particularly professional there, doc. Course I do. I work out with Pete and James… check out my muscles (DOC is so impressed). I show up at Mick’s at random times to see his kids, bug him about techy-geeky stuff and chat with Tracy about dating and such. I see Jarv when he eats food at my parents’ house and then we dragged my dad along to watch the Jazz game at Mick’s last night. I went over to Thane’s for lunch today. He updated me on his kitty, Mobster who was hit by a car, but is doing much better. See? I have bueno relationships with them. And they all offer me advice on different things: Mick—tech, Jarv—dating, Pete—financial, Thane—soccer/cats, and James—his dating. Okay so Jamis doesn’t really dole out the advice, but I seem to think that I’m big and important and can possibly give him advice about things like getting an F in a math class at mid-terms senior year. (Course, I turned mine into an A, but it’s all about negotiating and if you don’t like your teacher, you don’t really care to spend time in her presence negotiating.)

DOC: So you talk a lot.

LRE: Gee, thanks for your sage advice, mister.

DOC: See you next week.