Somehow it's November already, and I'm not sure how that happened. October got away from me in a flurry of busy weekends, job madness, Simming, and all-around... something. There were a lot of things I wanted to mention in here but never quite found time (or rather, spent the time wasting my life away on frivolous exercises).
First things. As likely everyone already knows by now, October began with a surprising turn of events for Joe: namely, Bob Evans in Hamburg closed its doors on October 6, putting my poor cute and all of his co-workers out of a job. Of course, we all know Joe well enough to know that he was employed within 24 hours: as luck would have it, a brand-new Friendly's is opening up by the mall, and they were more than happy to take him on (who wouldn't be?). So he's been training for the past few weeks, getting ready for the new restaurant to open next week. This, of course, being on top of classes and homework and teaching college physics. Did I mention he's also been substitute teaching? Yes, he's the hot sub that wish I had when I was in HS. ;) So, needless to say, he's been busy. (Sleep? Not so much.)
As for me... well, mostly my life goes by weekends it seems. My mom came to visit during Columbus weekend. We went shopping at the Niagara Falls Outlet Mall (which is huge by the way) and I took her to see My Fair Lady at Shea's. I had a great time and I think she did too. We had a very nice talk on Sunday morning, which was so good... we haven't been able to talk much about some things in quite awhile, so it is nice to have the door open again to understanding each other. That was really a great weekend. It was her Christmas present from last year, but I think it was worth the wait!
The following Thursday was my day to "teach" RCIA. That was pretty scary, to be honest. Everyone told me I did a good job which is nice to hear, but I'm not really so sure about that. :P Problem was my topic, "Catholics and Church" -- how generic can we get? There is just sooooo much stuff to cover that you can't possibly hit all of it, so you have to pick and choose what to present. At the same time you have to consider the audience, who the candidates are this year and their backgrounds, because a Protestant convert probably won't need the same information as a Catholic seeking confirmation. Unfortunately, you can't do everything. At the very least, everyone seemed to enjoy the activity I had, and I think they all came away with a clear picture of the Church as a Body, with Christ as her Head. And other than that, I just have to hope that they will read up on things they don't understand, and/or ask questions. I definitely have a new appreciation for teachers. ;) On the bright side, recollecting my own RCIA days... actually, I don't really remember much of what was talked about during the actual sessions (which is rather sad since it was only two years ago!). Most of my learning was, and continues to be, stuff I read or researched on my own time. So chances are that it doesn't really matter what I said anyway, since hopefully the candidates are learning on their own. ;)
Anyway, that was that. The following weekend was Eva's birthday party in Caz, which I DID blog about, so I'll leave it at that. Fun times. :)
Weekend after THAT... Locke's Halloween party. I had borrowed a couple of costumes from my mom's and was planning to go as Minnie Mouse, until it ended up being freezing cold. Joe didn't think he would make it, but his work schedule ended up being such that he could come after all, though we were late getting there. His official costume was "zombie", and if you read the paragraph about what he is doing lately, you'll know that he didn't need to do much acting. ;) I made myself a large weapon out of cardboard and duct tape, and went as a "Hell Bovine", which anyone who has played the Cow Level of Diablo2 should recognize. Indeed, since most of the party guests were gamers, it went over well. :) It was a fun party and we stayed up late into the night playing Taboo. I can tell we're getting old though. The college students there all seemed so young, and the staying-up-till-3 is something I just don't do so well anymore. I knew about half of the people that came and they weren't all young'uns, but the group is definitely shifting. Not the same people we would have seen at a Halloween party a couple of years ago. But, things do change. I'm just glad that good friends still include me in their lives as time goes by. :)
Hmm. Also, I found myself bothered by the underage drinking. Does that make me a prude? Maybe. Sheltered? Well, I won't disagree with that. When I was in college, I don't really remember having alcohol at get-togethers. I guess that must mean I have a poor memory... but really, among the people I spent time with, it was mostly a non-issue. But then again, I wouldn't have been drinking it if it was there anyway. Maybe if I was still a student I wouldn't care so much. I guess now that I see myself as an adult :P I'm just not comfortable with the idea of serving alcohol to minors (okay, they're not minors since they're over eighteen, but they're still not legally old enough to drink). Even if I'm not the one serving it, and I'm not even drinking it, if something happened I was there and that makes me partially responsible. *sigh* Guess I really am old, after all. From the sound of it you'd think everyone was drunk, and they weren't. Just eighteen-year-olds, drinking alcohol. Hiding the bottles for pictures so they'd be safe to show parents.
Anyway, now I'm up to last weekend, the end of the month. Did I do anything last weekend? Oh, yes. Joe and I went to visit Sean and Emily. :) We took them out to lunch at Olive Garden, played some Phase 10, and played with the kids. That was fun. We hadn't seen them in a few months so it was good getting together.
Monday was Halloween of course, but I must confess that I didn't do much in the 'holiday spirit'. In fact, I brought Asher-cat to the vet during peak trick-or-treating time. It was just his annual check-up, and he had no shots or anything, so it was very quick, and the doctor pronounced him to be in perfect health (I know you were worried). She also said he's very handsome, which I already knew. :) Then I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home (and left the cat in the car, don't tell PETA) and thoroughly enjoyed the quiet and emptiness. And Joe came over after work for hot cider and donuts. So all in all, it was a very nice, low-key, peaceful Halloween.
That brings me up to date, so I guess that means it's time to get back to work. :)