Happiness Will Prevail

“Don't ask for help
You're all alone…
Pressure!
You'll have to answer
To your own…
Pressure!
I'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationale,
But here you are in the ninth,
Two men out and three men on…
Nowhere to look but inside,
Where we all respond to Pressure!”

--Billy Joel, “Pressure” from the Nylon Curtain album, 1982.

I have been strangely silent on this site for a while. This is both out of necessity and out of not wanting to stir people up. The necessity is that I have been swamped.

Most people say they are swamped and we all collectively roll our eyes behind their backs. In my case, it is true in the sense that I am teaching a new course at PTHS this year and I am working on wedding stuff nearly every evening with Jen. That does not bother me, as it is fun; but it is time consuming. We want to have a great beginning to our lives together, and we want to have our family and friends share in the moment.

I also have been silent because I do not want to stir people up. Little things have irritated me to the nth degree. I am stressed as we are not going to sell Jen’s house as quickly as we would like and I need to revamp so much in my own. Also, the fore-mentioned wedding is taking up time and stressing me out; as Jen becomes stressed and the cycle continues. We just want everything to be perfect and glitches, which we know will happen, seems to be approaching more and more.

Today I decided to clean out my garage of accumulated items that were either left in my house or stuff I no longer wanted and did not feel like posting on eBay. The sale was going ok, but then I noticed there was no traffic going down my usually busy road. Unbeknownst to me, the town of Normal had a 5K that ran past my house. So for over an hour, I had no customers. Those who later showed did not buy much. Sigh. Off to the curb we go.

After the garage sale, I unplugged my docking station with my hard rock/heavy metal IPOD in it as it was playing. Apparently I shorted it out and it is stuck. I mean, the click wheel is unresponsive, it will not play, and I have tried everything to correct it. Sigh. Any suggestions would be welcomed, as I have a good idea; note to the self: have Jen put it on the wedding registry at Target! Now that’s taking a negative and making a positive out of it. Whereas it is not the end of the world, I cannot live as comfortably without my IPOD. My first one has a battery problem and only works when attached to the docking station or with a charger in my car. The other one is my salvation when working out or needing a break at school and I bought it when my old computer crashed with all my songs. I have bad luck with IPODS.

On a more positive note, today was Jen’s bridal shower and she had a great time. Anna, Sarah, Karen, and Tracy gave her an extremely nice shower, and she was thrilled. I went there near the end to put stuff in my car and there I met baby Alaina, Angela’s beautiful daughter. She slept in my arms for about a half hour and was very sweet. Jen was extremely appreciative of everyone who came and made her feel special. Jen is special, and I am glad others see her beauty.

On a positive note, volume II, tomorrow, some of my groomsmen and I will have a bachelor’s party in Peoria. We are heading up to a Rivermen hockey game. Milt said we are doing that because we are too old or cheap to go to a strip club. He’s right on both accounts.

Three weeks from today, Jen and I pledge our love for one another and we start a new and wondrous life together. That is the most important thing and the other stuff is minor: yep, even the IPOD.

I guess stress is what we make of it, and I will calm down in a few weeks.

By the way, loyal readers—and I know who reads this blog--I hear IPODs make nice birthday gifts as well as nice wedding gifts, especially the 160 gig ones. Music also calms stress, from what my Psychology classes told me. Well “metal” and “hard rock” might not always calm the nerves, but you get the idea.

Quick Follow-up: 10:20 PM Saturday night--the hard Rock/Heavy metal IPOD has now started working again. Saints be praised!
Still, it IS only 120 gigs, and 160 WOULD be better, but enough for now...