Spring Makes Me Babble

Aside from the pervasive covering of pollen on every outdoor surface in Jacksonville that results in sneezing, itchy, watery eyes, and congestion, I am super happy that spring has sprung! Bless that little groundhog for being brave and not dashing back into his burrow. I am thrilled to be wearing my Vibram Five Fingers again when out teaching and running agility, not to mention flip flops and t-shirts when walking dogs in the morning. I hate layers and shoes and socks. Warm weather means freedom!!

Last February was a misery of endless days plunging to sub-freezing temperatures. We set a record for this last year. This year on the other hand, it was hitting 80 degrees before February was even over! Now it's March 1st....seriously, how did that happen already?!

My very first post of the year, and my first post in general, said that 2010 was so exciting that 2011 couldn't possibly top it, or even measure up. Buster had other ideas, and so I now find myself being introduced to his friends as "fiance." It has a nice ring to it. The ring is nice too ;)

Another event to look forward to is Buster's graduation from ITT Tech. He is trying to sell himself short and believes that it's not a worthwhile accomplishment. I could not disagree more vehemently. In addition to working his way up in Pepsi (he is enjoying his first week on a taylor-made, lucrative new sales route), he has spent countless hours in class, and more hours beyond that doing homework. For two years he has suffered long days and short nights of sleep to get where he is now. This is his last week of classes and we will be attending his graduation ceremony on April 1st. No foolin!

In addition to that, Buster's grandmother will be visiting from New York to attend the ceremony, and we've decided to throw in another trip to Universal Studios with her. Really, any excuse to go to Universal is good for us. We will also make a trip to St. Augustine with her, as that is another of our favorite local spots to visit when the weather is nice. Since she lives so far away, and in such a different climate, it will be fun to enjoy the novelty of Florida vicariously through her eyes. We are both excited!

Before that, Xander and I have a couple of USDAA shows, one here in town followed by another in Winter Park (one of my favorite sites). Winter Park is outside on beautiful grass and should be absolutely lovely in mid-march. Later in April, we will be taking all the pups to the big show in Perry, GA, as Buster has never experienced the magnitude of the Perry in April show. There will be every dog activity conceivable, from agility to flyball, confirmation to obedience, lure coursing, and shopping! (I won't be spending money, but it's still fun to look!) Our friends Chris and Carol will be coming too, and it is also their first time attending. Should be a party! Kaylee got her first MACH at the Perry in July show back in 2005, so it will always be a favorite site of mine.

I would also like to take the opportunity to mention how much my students rock and how much I love Monday nights. I feel more invigorated on Monday nights than any other night of the week. You've all worked so hard and I love seeing it show! As for myself, I am working on improving my peripheral vision in order to handle courses faster and smoother. Although I managed to trip over the same jump THREE TIMES last night while teaching, I did have some great runs with my kids after class. I am again looking forward to class with Xander Thursday night. Hopefully the weather will be as gorgeous as it was last night.

So although I'm being really good about saving money and paying off debt (my smallest credit card will be paid off in the next four months), there is still a lot of fun and excitement for 2011. Hooray for Spring!!

The Monster Jam

Buster suggested weeks ago that we attend the annual event which showcases the world’s biggest, loudest, and most monstrous of monster trucks known as “Monster Jam.” While I had never before considered attending such an event, and initially had no interest, I decided in the spirit of adventure that I would be open to trying something new and agreed to go. After mentioning this intention publicly, my friend/student Penny offered to donate her tickets to us, as she had a conflicting event at the animal shelter. Buster and I were thrilled to receive free tickets, made even sweeter given that these were Club Seats.

The cosmos tried to warn us not to go. We’d been advised repeatedly to bring earplugs, as this is a LOUD event. Sure, no problem, I can handle that. We ended up eating Zaxbys for dinner at the end of JTB and Phillips in the hopes that the shuttle service, which runs from there to the football stadium during Jaguar games, might be running for the Monster Jam as well. It was not. Having not yet procured earplugs, we decided to pop into the Walmart on Philips heading toward the downtown area. We all know how I feel about Walmart.

The earplugs were difficult to find, but with some help from the Pharmacy, we located them. None of the ten express lanes were open, so I chose a line with a large woman buying groceries, and a well dressed, elderly gentleman. It took close to five minutes for the woman to complete her transaction, and afterwards, the clerk beckoned the gentleman to come forward. Apparently he was blind and his escorts, apparently a young man and woman, had abandoned him in line. After a few tense moments, they returned. The elderly gentleman bought a few items and the disheveled woman wrote a check. Buster and I marveled at the fact that people continue to write checks at all anymore and patiently continued to wait as the approval process was performed. We sighed in relief as the man received his receipt and the $20 in cash he had requested. The woman then decided she needed to purchase a pack of gum. She also wrote a check for this, from a different account. It was denied. They tried it again. Still denied, for a $.96 pack of gum, while the man held $20 cash. Twenty minutes have now passed and we thank our lucky stars that we have money to spend and aren’t in the same predicament. However, if you need to write a check for something frivolous, such as a pack of gum, do you really need to be buying it in the first place?

Finally departing Walmart, after roughly half an hour, we headed downtown. The Main Street Bridge was a nightmare of traffic cones and confused drivers, we among them. The entire downtown area appeared to have been carefully structured with cones and traffic cops to maintain some sort of order as everyone made their way to the arena. As we crept down the road leading to our destination, a parking area appeared on our right. Roughly two miles from the site of the event, and at a rate of $20, we decided it was a best bet for getting in and out quickly. We parked and began the trek to Monster Jam.

Let me pause now to say that I grew up in some rather rough neighborhoods here in Jacksonville. I am familiar with the different demographics and generally try to avoid returning to the areas I spent my childhood in. My parents were little more than teenagers themselves, and exposed me to a great many things I probably ought not to have been exposed to. I spent time in bars before I was ten, hung out during backyard bonfires with my parents’ twenty-something friends, and rode in many cars driven by drunk drivers. My dad drank; a lot. When I was old enough to become aware of the details, I realized he was drinking a fifth of Seagram Seven every night. I knew something wasn’t right from a young age, and was constantly on alert. Our family lived basically on the edge of disaster. My parents could never hold steady jobs and we lived on the generosity and pity of others. While my father adored his family and was never abusive, he was not the same person when he drank. I learned very early that someone who is drunk cannot be reasoned with. They are not the same person they are when sober, and you cannot reach them. My father terrified me more times than he could ever realize simply because he wasn’t the sweet, gentle, caring, always a bit sad and reserved person that he would be during the day. At night, and around friends his age, he became loud, careless, rough and wild. I will never forget the time I was very young and he was “playing” with me near the backyard bonfire by picking me up and pretending that he was going to toss me in. I learned to “play along” so as not to make him mad, but I was hurt that he would scare me so badly and not even remember the next day. He almost never remembered what had transpired the next day.

Given that he was a poorly educated man, raised by an abusive alcoholic himself, it is no surprise he turned to alcohol to cope with life. I am blessed that he was never physically abusive, but after many years of degrading behavior, I finally severed all ties with him in my early twenties.

I personally have never been terribly comfortable around alcohol or people who use it. I never had one sip of alcohol until I was 22, and although now I have learned to drink socially, I am always on “high alert” around others who are drinking. In my experience, people turn into animals when heavily intoxicated, and are dangerous, irrational, and quick to become aggressive. People who are enjoying a vacation in Key West may be harmless when drunk, but the hordes of poor, uneducated, aggressive youths of Jacksonville are not harmless. We encountered the latter in spades at Monster Jam.

We were forced to walk under the raised highway near Metropolitan Park, where people had obviously been tailgating for hours, if not days. It looked like a scene from a movie portraying the post-apocalypse. I have never in my entire life seen so much refuse in the form of discarded beer cans, food, cigarettes, and even furniture. There were unattended fires, canopies, and massive hordes of stumbling, loud, drunken youths. I clung to Buster as we tried to make our way through the volatile crowds with almost no police in sight. After ten terrifying minutes, we made our way into the arena. Amidst pushing, shouting, running, and absolute chaos, we made it to our seats. I was already traumatized at this point, and could not enjoy the gargantuan trucks making their leaps over dirt covered hills with engines roaring. Two small children incessantly kicked the back of my seat, which finally sent me over the edge. Poor Buster could not endure my misery any longer, and although he was really enjoying the trucks, he insisted that we leave.

Bless his decision, as leaving would have been even more dangerous with the 72,000 people in attendance departing simultaneously at the conclusion of the event. Again I clung to Buster while we kept our heads down and tried to ignore the drunken idiots who tried to talk to us about lord only knows what as we left the arena. Once more we made our way through the now virtually deserted post-apocalyptic walkway, which was now completely void of any police monitoring. A few dark subjects lurked among the trash, sending another jolt of terror through my spine as I anticipated being mugged at any moment. At one point, we came upon a young woman and her two very small children. I could only imagine how afraid she must have been and mentioned this to Buster. Given our rapid pace, we soon reached her side and she turned to ask tentatively if we were sober. She pleaded for us to walk with her until they reached their vehicle, and we happily agreed. She explained that her husband would normally have come, but had to work, and as it was her 4 year old son’s birthday, she had promised him they would attend. Her 7 year old daughter was along for the trip as well, and due to the overwhelming number of attendees who were drinking, she had made the same decision to leave early as we had. I do not regret attending, if only to have helped them make their way safely back to her car.

We parted ways with some distance left for Buster and I to cover, and again, I cringed at every person we passed. Finally arriving safely at our vehicle, we passed the stadium on our way to the bridge home, and could still hear the roar of the engines and the announcer shouting over them. I have never been so grateful to get home and snuggle with my dogs on the couch.

Perhaps I was overly sensitive, and perhaps we were not in as much danger as I perceived. However, given the number of drunk drivers who no doubt left the stadium at the end of the evening, it would be a miracle if no one was hurt that night just in that respect. Either way, the next time Monster Jam comes to town, I will be staying at home.

Deep Thoughts, by Bonnie Leigh

I’ve had a twitch in my left eye for the past three days. It’s terribly annoying, and I fear may be a symptom of an underlying psychological malfunction. The spasms increase in intensity when fighting through early morning traffic, particularly after being cut-off by small sedans covered in “save the planet” and “Jesus loves you” bumper stickers. Strangely, while at home reclining on my leather couch, I experience no symptoms.

I work for a healthcare facility, yet I cannot get an appointment with my healthcare provider, who is on site, until March 17^th. In order to see any other provider, I can make an appointment as early as tomorrow; however, they need a referral from my primary care physician who is not available until March 17^th.

My fastest recorded time playing computer solitaire is 50 seconds flat. I have had entirely too much opportunity to practice at this game.

An estimated 89.9% of people in the city of Jacksonville do not know how to park correctly. This is based entirely on my observation and not on any actual evidence or fact.

Mexican food is awesome.

Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor and philosopher who wrote “Meditations,” a collection of wisdom and observations for personal improvement. One such aphorism stated “All good things in moderation.” After repeated personal experimentation, I have discovered this applies to all things, even chocolate.

I think about dogs and/or agility roughly every 30-40 minutes on average.

Birds don’t fly at night. That “bird” I saw while walking Xander at 9:45pm was actually a bat.

I have seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail an estimated 73 times. I notice something different every time I watch it. I would like to have met their moose trainer.

I learned as much from watching reruns of “Saturday Night Live” on Comedy Central and looking up words in the dictionary when I was twelve as I did from my sex education class in high school.

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was the best show ever broadcast on basic cable television, but Barney from “How I Met Your Mother” is the best character ever created for a television series. Neil Patrick Harris has been involved in projects produced by Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy. Neil Patrick Harris therefore is exponentially awesome.

If Supercuts has a sign on the window that says “Walk ins Welcome!” you will be guaranteed to wait 30 mins or more for service.

I am thinking about dogs and agility again right now.

Two Horses Pulling a Cart

In historic, scenic, old world-style cities such as St. Augustine and Fernandina, it is not uncommon to see horses pulling decorative carriages down the cobblestone streets among the cars and motorcycles. Their eyes seem dull and sad as they trudge through the same streets each day, pulling heavy tourists in the Florida heat. Buster hates to see this, and feels empathy for their drudgery, and the lack of any perceivable enjoyment in their lives. Perhaps they don’t know any better, or perhaps they dream of running wild and free through open fields. Who can truly know for sure, but if their souls are akin to ours, I imagine they would prefer the freedom.

After seeing one of these carriages last weekend, it reminded me of a bit of advice I once received, unsolicited, as advice often comes. Buster and I were sitting in our local VyStar Credit Union office, sacrificing precious Saturday afternoon hours in order to open a joint checking account. An older gentleman was sitting across from us as the minutes ticked away into hours. At first, he appeared to be sleeping, but he soon stirred, perhaps due to our conversation. Boldly, he asked if we were newlyweds. After exchanging amused glances, we explained that we were not. This was actually last year, well before Buster had proposed to me, and we had only discussed the topic superficially. Buster and I explained that since we were then sharing an apartment, and the resulting rent, electricity, and water bills, a joint account would make bill paying simpler. We have in fact worked out an effective system where Buster goes to work to earn money, and I keep track of where it’s supposed to go. When bills are left in his hands, they often find themselves shuffled into a drawer somewhere until several days past their due date.

The gentleman nodded understanding and prefaced his advice by stating that although he was not currently married, he’d been married several times, and for several years at a time, and had learned one thing. “Marriage can be great, as long as both horses are pulling the cart in the same direction.”

We smiled and thanked him for his input, and continued with our business. It has been nearly a year since we instituted our joint checking account system, and thus far it has worked very effectively. We each have our duties as part of the cart pulling team, and we each have our strengths and weaknesses. Buster, much like one of those majestic horses, trudges through hours of work and school to earn his pay and improve his knowledge and skill set. He is generally tolerant to large amounts of verbal and physical abuse from customers and management, and never stops moving forward. His strength of mind, body, and will is truly something to behold. Buster is also an incredible cook and often treats me to grilled delicacies and homemade delights. He also contributes to apartment cleaning by vacuuming, wiping down tables, and occasionally washing dishes (although he runs the dishwasher so infrequently that last night he mistook the sound of it running for one of my dogs vomiting). He is however, furthermore banned from doing laundry. Regrettably, his efforts to contribute in this department have left piles of wrinkled clothes, holes in new sweaters after being washed with metal objects, and work shirts covered in ink after pens were left in pockets. While I applaud the thought behind these efforts, my clothes would be safest if he were forbidden from this task. Bill paying, as mentioned previously, is also a task better suited for someone such as myself, who has more free time and organizational skills.

As for myself, I am a horrendous cook and will often cause spontaneous kitchen fires and third degree burns. In much the same manner that Buster is banned from the laundry room, I am banned from performing any duties in the kitchen except for cleaning up. I am good at this. I would also never attempt to build or repair anything, again, for fear of injury or destruction.

Fortunately, we continue to recognize and respect the contributions each of us makes in our daily lives. He never ceases to thank me for providing him with clean clothes to wear, and I never fail to laude his culinary masterpieces. This goes to show that we each do our fair share of weight pulling. As for direction, we are fortunate to have complimentary goals and dreams. We enjoy the same types of activities; share the same aspirations for careers and home ownership, and have agreed not to have children. We appreciate one another’s hobbies and passions, and although we are supportive and involved, we allow each other the space to have individual lives and stories to tell. So far, we’ve had no trouble agreeing to the direction we are pulling, although we are just beginning to discover our strength and speed. No doubt the road will be rough at times in our lives, but I have a strong feeling that with continued mutual respect, understanding, and communication, we can continue happily on the path together.

The moral of the story? Life is hard. Money has to be earned, food has to be cooked, bills have to be paid, laundry has to be done, and a myriad of other tasks are in constant need of being performed just to get through day to day life. One horse pulling a cart is burdened with all the weight of these responsibilities, and is often tired and sad. Two horses, provided they agree to the direction they are pulling, have half as much weight to pull. In fact, two horses that are happy with their teammate are apt to pull the cart so hard and fast that they get the job done in time to enjoy a romp in the field or a leisurely stroll down scenic lanes. I am equally lucky and overjoyed to have such a handsome steed to be joined with in pulling our cart through life. If we work hard enough, we might even have some fancier wheels on our cart and softer saddles on our backs one day.

Everybody's Workin' For the Weekend

This past weekend was a shining example of why I prefer to live in Florida. The weather was absolutely stunning: clear, blue skies and highs in the upper 70’s. When stepping outside feels like springtime, it is hard to remember it’s only February and some areas of the country are still expecting snow.

Weekends tend to be the time I pack as much living as I can into the two free days I am given. During the cold winter months, I am more apt to hide inside and wish the time would just pass quickly. When the sun begins to warm my skin and I can comfortably walk barefoot through the grass, I desire to stay outside as much as possible. I am also more prone to seek adventure, as is Buster, which contributes to our unique compatibility. Our summers are usually spent traveling around Florida to snorkel in the springs, ride scooters in St. Augustine, and dining on the beach in Daytona. We rarely spend our free time hanging around the house, and when we do, it involves grilling outside or engaging in some apartment improvement project. Even though Buster was occupied with school the earlier part of Saturday, we still managed to cram in a quality amount of adventure and relaxation before Monday reared its ugly head once again.

Saturday morning I awoke bright and early (actually it was still dark) in order to drop Buster’s car off for service, take him to school, and make the 1.5 hour drive to Deland, FL. Laurie Dana, a longstanding member of the central Florida agility club, Dog-On-It, arranged a fundraiser for her nephew who was recently diagnosed with cancer. A fairly large group turned out at the home of Gail Waller, who has her own little sanctuary of woods, a swimming lake, and an agility field. I could happily live nestled away in her little slice of heaven, except for the fact that she has no indoor plumbing. That would be a deal breaker.

Kaylee, Kirby, Xander and I all enjoyed several hours of play and practice, while photographer Marty Wyatt snapped some great pictures of all the participants. I rejoiced that it was finally warm enough to sport my Vibram Five Finger “shoes” once again, and the dogs enjoyed a brief swim in the cool, refreshing waters of her little lake. There was puppy playtime for the youngsters, some good contact and weaving practice, and fun was had by all. Filthy from the combination of swimming and frolicking through the woods, I decided to take them to the park for more swimming and a proper bath. We made the drive back from Deland and diverted off to Nocatee, the community between Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach, where we visit Davis Park. A free, off-leash park with a large swimming area and bathing station, Davis Park has long been our choice for off leash fun. While I tend to avoid the area on Saturdays, as it gets too crowded and increases the chances of unfriendly encounters, I decided that late in the afternoon might be safe.

Kirby commenced to his usual whining as we turned down the familiar road. While I lived and worked in Ponte Vedra back in 2008-2009, we spent nearly every day romping in this park. Xander basically grew up there. Signs warn of gator activity, but I have never seen anything more dangerous than an armadillo, and there is far too much activity on a daily basis to make this park appealing for a gator. Pulling into the parking lot, I noticed a disproportionately large number of shelties, and vehicles adorned with sheltie paraphernalia. Two of my students, Mark and Nancy, own three shelties and regularly attend monthly “Sheltie Meet-Up Groups.” I came to find that this month’s location was chosen by Mark, the club’s new coordinator, and I had indeed stumbled into their meeting! It was fun to see that many Shetland Sheepdogs in one place, and to be recognized by Buddy, Cody, and Daisy, my sheltie students.

After 45 minutes of Frisbee retrieving, swimming, and for Kaylee, enjoying the all-you-can eat buffet (in spite of my screaming and hurling the Frisbee at her), we decided it was time to get cleaned up. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that my dog shampoo had leaked out in the supply crate I keep in my car, so they had to settle for a thorough hosing instead of an actual bath. By the time we returned home, I had three profoundly exhausted dogs. Xander was like a small, over-tired child, and yipped irritably until I put him in his crate for a nap. That boy does get cranky when he’s tired.

At this point, Buster returned from his day of school, car servicing, and having his windows tinted. He now has roof racks, new tires, and tinted windows, which almost makes it seem like he’s gotten a new car! In honor of his sporty new wheels, we decided to make an adventure out of the evening. St. Augustine tends to be our go-to for a quick evening adventure, but we decided to go a different direction this time. After a scenic drive up to Amelia Island, we found ourselves at Brett’s Waterway Café in downtown Fernandina, at the suggestion of Chris and Carol who actually live there. While I had seen this restaurant on the water many times while attending the Fernandina Shrimp Festival, it had never occurred to me to actually try eating there. The ambiance was amazing, and the food was even better. There were a number of appealing places along the quaint, downtown street, which should provide us with several more memories in the future!

Sunday morning found me at my friend/student’s house where I groomed her three dogs. This helps me pay for my agility habit. The dogs enjoyed a quick romp in the sun at our school park across the street. After that, Buster introduced me to the world of Nascar, as we watched part of the race, and listened to the remainder while sitting outside at the community grill.

As we relaxed and enjoyed the gorgeous weather, we decided that instead of being married at the courthouse or something along those lines, we would like to be married in a style that exemplifies our personalities: on the beach wearing casual, resort style attire, in April, year to be determined. Now when someone asks me about the wedding, I will at least have something to say to appease them rather than glaring irritably and dodging the question.

Monday morning comes all too soon when the weekend is filled with fun, but at least I have my classes to look forward to this evening. Another week will zip by, and we will find ourselves enjoying another adventure. Next week, Monster Trucks!

Stay tuned!

What Comes Next

After my epic weekend, and the resulting post, it is challenging to think of a “follow up.” The standards have been set high, given that people were excited to hear about our engagement adventure and were overwhelmingly supportive and congratulatory. I feel like anything I write now will be a let-down. However, I have a million thoughts bouncing around in my head as I come down from my recent emotional high, so I think I will use this as a bit of a dumping ground, and then go from there!

Foremost on my mind is the inevitable talk of weddings. It has genuinely surprised me that as early as two days from becoming engaged, people were asking if we’d set a date. Seriously? Do people really make a decision like that so quickly? I am still just getting accustomed to the idea and allowing my face muscles to recover from all the endless smiling. When someone mentions the actual wedding, my joy comes crashing down in a heap of confusion and paralyzing fear. Big, threatening dollar signs dance in my subconscious as though prepared to pounce on unsuspecting prey.  I have NEVER fantasized about a fairy tale wedding. I would have no idea how to even get started. My friend and student, Jen, was awesome enough to loan me a book about wedding planning.  I got about two chapters in before I decided it was all above my head. I have only actually been to a couple in my life, and the whole ordeal seems overwhelming and somewhat exaggerated. I am ALL FOR a big party involving food, gifts, friends, and family, but all the details are more than I want to tackle. Etiquette is something I tend to find outdated and comical, and when someone tells me “it is not proper etiquette to do____” , I immediately have the urge to do ”____.” I am really not good at following tradition, and things that involve rules with no common sense behind them infuriate me.

Buster and I are in agreement that the outrageous amount of money people spend on weddings is far out of our range. While we are getting on the right track now, finally, in our thirties, our lives up until the recent years have been rocky. We both have debt to pay off, and Buster will very soon have large school loans to pay back. We both have car loans, and we really want to save for a house so that we don’t have to spend the next decade in an apartment or rental home. I am tackling my debt with the raw aggression of a starving tiger, but it’s going to take close to two years to pay off the bulk, and another year or two after that to pay off my car. I have no idea how many years Buster will be paying for school but I am thinking it may be many. Many, many. Then we actually have to save for a down payment on the house which may take another year or two, and by then, somewhere near five years has gone by. Throw in a wedding that costs Americans an average of $15,000 to $25,000 and we’re talking something’s gotta give.

Wedding vs. debt payoff/house ownership? One day of fun and excitement (and stress and neurosis) or a major investment that will include a yard to play with dogs in which will improve my daily quality of life? Sorry, but the house wins hands down.

Now, that’s not to say I don’t want to be married. I am looking forward to becoming Mrs. Bonnie Leigh Pruett. I am also looking forward to a honeymoon (or any vacation that lasts longer than two days really) It’s just that unless we win the lottery, or get hitched downtown and forgo the rest, I don’t see how it’s going to happen anytime in the next five years. This could change with unforeseen circumstances, but when someone asks about a date, I am going to say “I’ll get back to you on that….”

Back to our regularly scheduled obsession, I am looking forward to hopefully going to class tonight with the Xan-Man, if it’s not raining, and then planning to go to some fun runs in Deland, FL on Saturday morning. At our last trial, I got the consistent contact performance I was looking for, but now want it faster!(and with less handler influence). We will be going to the same facility where we participated in our first night of USDAA last September, so it should feel like a trial, but with the added benefit of being able to take more risks for speed, to stop and correct mistakes, and to reinforce fast and independent performances! I am also fighting the urge to go on a spending orgy at Clean Run and buy a bunch of books and videos I haven’t consumed yet. I have to admit, agility=also more fun than weddings. I am just a miserable failure when it comes to being “girly.” I do agility.

Note: (In response to some suggestions, I would NOT want my dogs in a wedding ceremony. It’s a cute idea in theory, but I can picture the barking, jumping, food stealing chaos that would ensue. I love my dogs, but they don’t belong in any civilized function. They do agility…)

The Proposal

Ok, ok, I couldn’t leave it at that. Seriously though, I am afraid people will grow sick of hearing my obnoxiously-bubbly-excited-happy-ranting. It sounds like I am bragging, but I really don’t mean to be. I am overwhelmed by how happy and fortunate I am and truly had no idea life could be this good, or have this much magic until I met Buster. So, while I am trying NOT to boast(much) about how lucky I am to have him, I simply cannot help but share the wonderful experience he helped orchestrate.

This weekend was like the Perfect Storm. Sunday was my birthday, Monday was Valentine’s Day, and Universal Studios was kicking off their Mardi-Gras celebration all at the same time. Buster had always been adamant that he would not propose in conjunction with a birthday or holiday, so although I was anticipating a ring in the near future, I was NOT expecting it this weekend. Furthermore, you have to know a little about me, in that I am not the typical girl who has been fantasizing about a wedding my entire life. I really never thought I would WANT to be married at all, until recently, and even then I was in no hurry about it.

As I mentioned previously, our plan to celebrate my birthday involved a trip to the Lowe’s Royal Pacific, one of Universal’s onsite hotels, and a trip to both theme parks. Buster had class Saturday afternoon until nearly 1pm, so I did not see him much that day until we were in the car. He was acting a little strange: quiet, reserved, almost irritable. I decided that his recent school projects and heavy work load had taken it out of him, so I wrote it off that he was just tired. As it turns out, he told me he was rehearsing his speech the entire trip and was so nervous he had trouble choking down the Arby’s we stopped to have for lunch. He did manage to choke down most of the fries though.

We arrived in Orlando to heavy afternoon traffic, and I feared that he might actually run someone off the road in his eagerness to get to the hotel. However, we arrived shortly after check-in time at 4pm and had our car valet parked so we didn’t have to trudge 20 miles from the self parking lot to the hotel lobby. The staff of the hotel was extremely friendly and helpful, and we quickly made it up to our 7^th floor room overlooking the pool/lagoon area. Simply breathtaking. Buster insisted that we bring the camera so that we could have our pictures taken in front of the “iconic” Universal Studios globe outside the park. I chuckled and said “ok, sure.”

The water taxi which runs from the hotel to the entrance of the parks delivered us romantically to our destination. Soon after, we were standing in front of the Universal Globe that rotates in the fountain just outside of Universal Studios. Buster posed first while I snapped his picture. Looking at it afterwards, you can see how stiff and nervous he looked. I was up next, and posed as Buster snapped my photo from about 20 feet away. Afterwards, we began looking for a volunteer to take our picture together. The only people nearby was a large group of Europeans. Buster searched furtively for someone who would speak English until one of the friendly women from that group came over and gestured that she would help us. Buster turned his back to me and tried to explain what he was planning to do. She didn’t understand. I could see him pull something out of his pocket to show her, and she made such a surprised, taken-aback face that I wondered what on earth he was telling her to do. Then, as I began to realize what was happening, he walked over and gave the speech he had so carefully rehearsed. It was perfect. On went the gorgeous ring that he had picked out without knowing for sure what size I was. (I did catch him massaging my hands and fingers one morning several weeks prior. I had accused him of “sizing up” my ring finger then, but of course he denied it). It fit perfectly.

In the large crowd, my instinct was to be reserved, so I kissed him daintily on the cheek while our overseas friend snapped a picture. That was apparently not acceptable as she yelled “No! The other one, the other one!” I shrugged, and then laid one on him. That was apparently what the crowd was aiming for, as they broke out in cheers and applause. It was all background noise to me.

The rest of the evening was spent riding roller coasters, admiring my ring, celebrating Mardi Gras with great live music, incredible costumes, fantastic parades, thirty pounds of beads, and admiring my ring. Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons played and we stayed long enough to hear the opening act before returning to the hotel.

After that, we headed to the City Walk to eat and drink at Margarittaville and to dance and drink at the various clubs along the walk. We were entertained on our walk back to the hotel by a group of drunken party-goers who were stumbling through the bushes and mooning the passing boats. And I admired my ring.

The next morning, I was awake early and we were out of the room by 7am. The morning consisted of a trip to Harry Potter’s Hogsmeade Village, an overpriced and underwhelming breakfast, and a much needed cup of Starbucks coffee. There was more roller coaster riding, ring admiring, and drinking of Butterbeer. We were exhausted by 2pm and headed home.

The corgis greeted us enthusiastically after having been walked by our friends and neighbors, Mike and Ashley, and I hopped back in the car to pick up Xander who had stayed with my friend Lara and her dogs. Wiped out from wrestling with his buddies Sting and Louie all weekend, he was thankfully asleep as early as we were that night, which was about 8:30pm.

My students last night were amazing as always, and no one minded that it was Valentine’s Day and we were out having class. Buster encouraged me to go teach, as obviously we had celebrated enough over the weekend to cover the holiday. When the group asked me if we’d set a date, I said “Whoa! One thing at a time!” I guess I have some work to do.

So here I am, engaged to my best friend. Who knew the little boy I first met 23 years ago would grow into the only man I would ever want to marry? AND he can keep a secret! As it turns out, he's had the ring for a little while and somehow managed to hide his excitement and anticipation from me. I thought he was just tired and stressed out, but really he was just going nuts trying to be patient!

Well, you'll have to excuse me, I have more ring admiring to do. Cheers!