Natural disasters and such

Yes, I'm crushin' on Fridays again :) I love this day of the week! Like a little reward for surviving yet another work week.

The air quality in our area isn't so great right now. Luckily, I have no respiratory issues. I feel really bad for those that do, though, because it smells like campfire outside and it's really hazy. I can't imagine what it's like to lose your home to a fire. Or any other disaster, for that matter.

I was really worried about my relatives in the Philippines earlier this week. There was a major typhoon that flooded certain areas. Because I'm geographically "special", I wasn't sure if it affected my relatives so I sent out an email asking if everyone was OK. Thankfully, everyone in the family was fine, just experiencing very wet weather and some were without electricity. They told me how some of their colleagues and friends lost everything. Can you imagine? You lose all your appliances, your clothes, your special momentos ... your home. Some of them could barely see their rooftops. I know that people are experiencing that right here in the US, too.

Personalizing everything (which is sometimes good, sometimes bad) I wonder what the heck we're going to do when the next big earthquake hits. We all know it's bound to happen, we just don't know when. We all know, especially in the Bay Area, that is the risk we take for living in such a great area. I mean, many are knowingly living right on top of a fault line! I know I live fairly close to one - most people in the Bay Area do.

I remember exactly where I was when the big 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake hit. I was doing my homework in the family room and my mom was watching TV. Then things hanging from the ceiling started swaying and items around the house started shaking. It lasted for what felt like minutes. Later we found out that while driving on his way to work, my dad missed the collapse of the Cypress (part of the Nimitz Freeway) by two minutes.

OK, enough of being a downer it just makes a person think, you know?

I'm thankful for ...
1. $15/month gym membership: "What?!" you screech. Here's the thing. The Man pays a hefty gym membership so that he can go to any 24Hour Fitness in the Bay Area. He didn't want to just commit to one location because he works far from where we live and wanted to keep his options open. I asked if I could be put onto his membership and we added me to his account for $30/month. Typical me - I didn't end up going to the gym. I felt bad for wasting money so I called to cancel my membership. "Ma'am, would you be willing to stay if we lowered you to $19.99/month?" "Hellz ya!" I replied. OK, not really but I that's what I was thinking. After a couple of months, The Man asked me if I threatened to quit again. I told him no, I had only called that one time. He showed me the bill and I was being charged $15/month. I don't know what the heck happened but that was fine by me! So I pay a $15/month membership ... but a GRIP on personal training. I'll just concentrate on being thankful for the cheap membership.

2. Rum & Diet Coke: 75 or so calories of pure bliss. I had two yesterday with some coworkers (and my boss!) to celebrate the end of the fiscal year. Rum & Diet Cokes know how to take the edge off, let me tell you! And unless I have a whack bartender, they are hardly ever not "effective." By that I mean "provide a nice buzz." I've learned to be careful at the Mexican restaurants, though. The peeps there make them s-t-r-o-n-g. No complaints because I love to get my money's worth. I've just learned I better have some chips and salsa or I'm floored. Or seeing stars.

3. Bill Payer: Bless my little credit union, I love this feature! I am terrible at having stamps on hand and even worse about remembering when bills are due. My bank charges me 25cents for each bill I pay online - cheaper than a stamp! I love how I can decide when I want my bill to be my paid, too. This way I never forget and incur late charges. Suh-weeet.

4. Proximity to my parents: My parents live about five minutes from my home. Yes, they can drive me crazy at the drop of a dime but I also love them to pieces. They have always been so supportive of me. And yes, that's what parents do but they have always supported my decisions, even when they didn't agree. When I was miserable at one of my previous jobs, my dad told me that I should quit. I told him I couldn't quit, I needed to find another job first before quitting. He told me that I was always welcomed in the house and that I would never starve or be homeless. After our conversation, I thought about how he and my mom worked at jobs, staying until retirement, because they had to support their family. And how they probably dealt with way more bull$hit then I have because they weathered through decades of change, bad bosses, bad coworkers and whatever other drama normally occurs at work. It could have so easy for my dad to say, "Buck up! Do you know what I've dealt with through the years!? Do you know how many times your mom and I wanted to quit but couldn't because we had to support you guys?" But he didn't. He just wanted to see me happy. My parents, crazy makers they may be, are wonderful folks and I'm so happy they are close by.

5. Crystal Light: I know, kind of quirky. I do not enjoy the (non) taste of water. When I made the decision to eat better and work out, drinking 64 oz a day was the easiest thing I could change in my life to treat my body better. But how could I stomach that much water and resist drinking the diet sodas that I loved so much? Easy - Crystal Light. And they have those To Go packs now that are just awesome. My favorite flavor? Peach Mango Green Tea. Tastes like Snapple Peach Tea. Yumm.