Facie’s Ramblings

Even though things are hectic, I really enjoy this time of year. Some people are grouchier than usual, sure. I think people's driving skills seem to denigrate as well. But I tend to see the good in people and the season. I own several Santa hats--a Penn State one, a Steelers one, and a red one. I looked for a Penguins hat over the past few weeks, but no luck. Admittedly, this year I have not worn them much; I think I am still feeling my way around the job/people. But I did break down on a few occasions. First, I  wore my Steeler hat on my birthday a few weeks ago (I did not think my PSU hat would be appropriate where I work), along with a self-promoting birthday pin that I have worn for the past 17 birthdays and a bell. I took the hat off for the picture. At our building Christmas party last week, I again opted for the bell and Steeler hat. I was one of two people (out of around 50, I would guess) wearing something like that, and I was surprised there was not more festive ...

When I first had Jordan, I got a lot of grief from childless people who wanted me to do what I thought were unreasonable things. From taking my baby out to a smoky bar/restaurant to meet people when she should have been down for the night. To waking up my napping toddler to drive somebody somewhere. To entertaining houseguests in my small, guestroom-less house. More often than not, I would give in, because guilt really gets to me. Other times, I would say no, but then feel bad, thinking I was abandoning people that I might not get to see for quite a few months. But in most cases, no matter what I did (or did not do), I ended up feeling resentful. Of course, when those same people had children, things were different. But yet I seem to have forgotten that before I had kids, I had no clue what was involved. I could not understand why my friends would still not go to happy hour. Why not leave the baby home with a sitter or the spouse? I did not understand sleep deprivation and would cal...

This past weekend I went to State College (Penn State) for Arts Fest, which is technically called the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. The first few years after I graduated, I was a fairly frequent visitor of Dear Old State, but as the years went by, eventually just about everyone I knew graduated or moved. And then I had a kid; my last time at Penn State was for a football game in 2002, probably a month before I got pregnant. In some respects, it seemed a lot like it was when I left. Most of the same buildings were there. Students waited in long lines to get into bars. I would walk past a place, and a memory would come rushing back. But, of course, there were many changes. New buildings. Shinier things. Recycling was everywhere. The Loop bus was nowhere to be found (I think there is a different version of it, and it is not blue). A few times, I caught myself missing the college life and wishing I could turn back time and do it all over again. Learning. Going to...

I am spitting mad about the whole Ben Roethlisberger thing. Well, maybe not spitting, but definitely yelling mad. In fact, pretty much every time something about him (and particularly his voice) has come on the radio the last few weeks, I scream, often something like, "@sshole!" Of course, he is not the only jag-off on that team. I have never had a problem with the pay athletes receive. They entertain me, sometimes actually bring me joy, and I don't believe that we all should be making the same amount of money. I am all for capitalism. But as I continue to read about the crap these people (see previous post, from last week) are doing, I am starting to change my stance. I don't buy the whole athletes-are-heroes idea. Teachers, doctors, nurses, firefighters and police officers, volunteers, parents especially. Those people should be heroes. But the reality is that kids tend to look up to sports stars. So when Big Ben, looking all WWE, said he wanted to be a role mod...