More fluffy peppermint goodness.

I have been seeing commercials for those darn Dark Chocolate and Mint Three Musketeers bars for, like, 3 months now. And I had yet to see one in a store so I could buy it and eat it.

But! Today, my darling sister handed me one. And I ate a dark chocolate and mint 3 Musketeers bar.

And I liked it.

I also think that the weather that I drove home in was partially new--I drove in a combination of high winds, fog, and heavy rain. All at the same time. I don't think I've ever had all 3 things plague the road at once. And I hope I never do again! Yuck.

Rolling right along!

Today was a bizarre day. I worked the history job in the morning for a few hours (until I realized I was not needed whatsoever). Then I went home to wrap presents for a couple hours before heading over to the funeral home.

There was a biiiig service there tonight--one with lots of overflow, people parking in weird places, people standing everywhere--it was crazy. And yet, there wasn't a lot that I did that was brand new to me until the verrrry end of the night.

That's when I moved a casket (open, with the person inside). We had to move her from the chapel to a holding area after her service was over. It was a very interesting new experience! It was much easier than I thought it would be, though I can't say I didn't have visions of something happening and it falling over or getting scraped or something. But it allll worked out just fine!

(Oh, and when I got home, I played Super Mario Galaxy! Hooray!)

It's all in the details.

When I got to the funeral home tonight, there wasn't much to do, and there were still 2 hours to go before the visitation was scheduled to start. I didn't really do any big new things, but I still had some brand new experiences.

First, I got my very own funeral home name tag with "Funeral Home Assistant" printed under my name. So that's pretty cool.

Second, I worked a visitation with absolutely no funeral directors still in the funeral home. It was just us part-timers. Innnteresting.

Third, I checked all of the perimeter doors to the funeral home by myself for the closing process.

Lastly, I took down flower cards and cleaned up the room immediately after a visitation.

A pretty calm night, but there's always something new to do!

Big Mac tutorial?

Today was an outstandingly slow day at work. It's the last day the library is open for the semester, and not only is nobody really coming in today, but there's nothing to do. And I mean NOTHING. So, in an effort to actually earn my paycheck, I went back to the (one and only) Mac computer and started playing around with some of the programs and stuff so I can help to create tutorials for all of the poor, sad, non-Mac-experienced people who may want to use this fantastic and marvelous machine in the future.

After looking through a few things, I settled on one program and I created a tutorial on how to use a slide scanner on the Macintosh. It almost pains me to do such a thing, as the Mac is SO straightforward and easy to use, but people are so used to using crappy PCs that they assume things are going to be hard to use, so I have to complicate things by putting them into words to tell them how EASY it is to use.

Just like this entry, you see.

It's a marshmallow world in the winter.

I went all day at work today without doing anything new, and I was a little worried as I was driving home that I would not find anything new to do once I got home, either! But, alas, Trader Joe's came through for me once again.

I stopped there to grab a couple things for dinner and, on my way up to the register, they had out samples of a couple of holiday-type foods. Very excited, I took advantage of these samples and I ate a peppermint marshmallow. Holy goodness, it was fantastic. It would make really good smores if you used chocolate graham crackers. Just FYI. I didn't buy any (who needs a carton of peppermint marshmallows when you live alone and your boyfriend doesn't really like peppermint?), but they sure were good.

Fine place for a party!

'Tis the season and everything, and tonight was no exception. For today's festivities, I went to a party in a funeral home. Granted, it was an employee Christmas party, so it's not like I crashed one or someone had a death party or anything--but I figured it must be a pretty unique thing when the 6th or 7th person said "Wait, the Christmas party is IN the funeral home?" There's a reception hall there, it's not like we drank wine in the viewing rooms or anything. ;)

A (pot)lucky day!

Today, we had our Christmas potluck lunch here at the graduate center. While attending a potluck lunch is no new thing, it was my first potluck at the graduate center.

But what was really new was that I made a cornucopia salad for the lunch! While I have had this salad a few times with my family, I've never attempted to make it on my own. If I do say so myself, it turned out to be QUITE excellent!

Thanks go to Paula Deen for her recipe. ;)

Eggnog and chandeliers.

Today was an odd day. I had to do the history thing and the funeral home thing today, and I started everything off with a trip to Borders, where I bought a sooper sekrit present and tried a Border's cafe eggnog latte. It was okay - the Starbucks ones are better!

Then I went to the funeral home and helped clean a chandelier with Theresa. It was a lot of taking things apart, dipping them in cleaner, wiping them off, reassembling them, and putting them back up. It looked fantastic when we were done!

Oh, I also got a Christmas bonus (from the funeral home) today. I have never, in all my jobs, gotten a Christmas bonus before. This is very exciting!

Bam?

I brought a typical lunch to work today--some chicken and potatoes. But I hadn't really seasoned either one, so I was rooting around in the food cabinet at work for something to add.

Then...

BAM! I used Emeril's Bayou Blast seasoning on my food and OH MY GOD it was so good. YUMZ0RZ.

That silly Santa Claus.

He's still getting ready to come to town! I could technically talk about what I did today that was new, as it's not for someone who reads this blog, but it's partially related to something else I couldn't talk about before, so rather than clutter up this space with even more vague references, I'll just come back and tell you after Christmas. :-)

I Fillmore complete now.

I decided that, for a truly well-rounded education in presidential history, I should listen to old campaign songs. So I listened to some JFK songs, a George Washington song, even a McKinley assassination song. Well, obviously this was nothing new to me. I needed to expand my knowledge.

So today, I listened to a song about Millard Fillmore.

Here are the touching lyrics to "The Union Wagon":

There's right and wrong in parties,
And the right is on our side;
So mount the Fillmore wagon,
And through the nation ride!

The Union is our wagon,
The people are its springs;
And every true A-mer-i-can,
For Millard Fillmore sings!

Wait for the wagon,
The Millard Fillmore wagon;
Wait for the wagon,
And we'll all take a ride!

Our wagon is a noble one,
'Twas made in seventy-six;
'Twas driven by George Wash-ing-ton,
Through stormy pol-i-tics!

Palmetto, cypress, cottonwood,
in spokes and wheels you'll find;
Western oak and Eastern pine,
and Northern ash com-bined!

Wait for the wagon,
The Millard Fillmore wagon;
Wait for the wagon,
And we'll all take a ride!

Thank you, President Fillmore, for providing me with a new thing to do and with such a fun campaign song. I sing for you, Millard Fillmore. I sing for you.

Polishing my skills.

It seems to me that I bring an extra sense of peace to the funeral home, as every shift I've worked has been relatively slow (or so I've been told).

This morning, there were no services, no viewings, no death certificates to be signed or filed... nothing. So, in a fit of boredom and desperation to look busy, I grabbed a can of Pledge and a dustcloth and I dusted and polished pews in the chapel. It was kind of relaxing, save for the feeling of being watched by the nice lady laying out in her casket. (Yes, her eyes were shut, but she and I were the only people in the room. I think she would have approved of my dusting skills, though. I hope so, anyway.)

I also went to Home Depot with a co-worker and I purchased chandelier cleaner. This is not the kind of thing I have ever had the use for (nor do I think I will ever have the use for it outside of the funeral home, but I guess you never know--I could get rich and famous and have a crystal chandelier in my foyer one day).

So, even when there is absolutely nothing to do, there's something new to do at the funeral home, I guess!

Flowers, they are a-changin'.

Another episode of "Morning at the Funeral Home" starring: ME!

Today I worked at the funeral home from 8:30-1. And I:

* Worked a veteran's funeral service
* Exchanged jokes with a Methodist preacher
* Changed flowers in the chapel from one service to another
* Read the employee handbook
* Changed a light bulb in a chandelier

We'll see what tomorrow morning brings!

Wishy washy.

I usually do not purchase suits, because they usually need something ridiculous like dry cleaning, and I usually do not have the time, money, or patience to deal with that crap.

Alas, I had to purchase a suit for use at the funeral home, and I made SURE to purchase a fully machine-washable one.

So, tonight? I washed a 3-piece suit in the washing machine and dried it in the dryer. And (1) It was free to do. (2) It did not come back to me smelling like a mixture of chemicals and smoke. (3) It came out smelling like my intoxicating laundry scent. (For those of you who have not yet discovered just how good your laundry can smell, I use Tide Simple Pleasures Lavender & Vanilla detergent and Snuggle Blue Sparkle dryer sheets. The combination is out of this world and lasts forever, and I don't normally like lavender!)

And the suit did not shrink and it did not ruin anything and it looks and fits just right. Hooray!

Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming.

Ah, another day at the funeral home. I think I must be some kind of curse or something, because every time I work it seems to be a VERY slow day! I'm not complaining--I certainly enjoy being able to take time to get used to procedures without being thrown into things--but it's also hard to learn how to do things when I don't get to do much!

Nevertheless, I ended up doing the following new things today. First, I vacuumed the entire front hallway, from office to chapel. That hallway is huge. This took me almost an hour. Keep in mind that this hallway is only about 1/6 of all of the carpet in the funeral home. Then, I helped to set up flowers around a casket for an upcoming service. That was actually kind of interesting--it made me feel like I was somehow doing something for this person that had died, mainly because they were right there, open casket, etc. Hard to explain, but an interesting job. I also helped load mementos and flowers from an earlier service into the family's car.

Then came the scariest thing of all--I answered the phone about 4 different times! Luckily for me, I didn't get a death call, but every time that phone rang and I knew I had to answer it, I panicked! I also worked the door for a service (which wasn't new) and took home another batch of flowers (also not new). I'll be there 4 more times before Christmas, so we'll see what happens next!

Windshields and other adventures.

So today was one of those days where I knew I would be doing one new thing, but other (smaller) things happened to pop up, as well!

Today, I drove to Alexandria and I got my windshield replaced. That was... really boring. But! While I was there, I also read (most of) a book written by Jimmy Carter. So that was fun.

On the way home (only in the DC area can a 10.5 mile trip take 45 minutes each way), I stopped at Harris Teeter (oh, how I miss this beautiful grocery store) and bought a tiramisu cup for the boy's birthday. Then I went home, wrapped presents, and did all kinds of other secret stuff that I can't write about until after Christmas. :)

While I was doing this secret stuff, I ate some Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints. Why, oh why, do the very best treats only have to come out at Christmas?! These things are amazing.

Then, while Alex and I were shooting zombies, we were awarded the highest grade (an S) for completing a level we'd gone through many times before. This, for those of you who do not play video games, is very, very exciting. :-)

I finally cracked.

Okay... *I* didn't crack. It was my windshield. It had split back in May and I didn't do anything about it because I didn't feel like shelling out the money for a replacement, and the crack was already too big to repair.

Well, I guess it was the snow and ice and overall freezing temperatures we had this week, but the crack finally spread and had almost reached the edges of the windshield. *Sigh*

So, today, I called auto repair shops and got estimates on replacing a windshield.

This did not make me happy. I found out that the cheapest was only $10 less than my deductible and the most expensive was TWICE my deductible, and I had offers for about every price in between. I made an appointment for tomorrow morning to have it replaced, but I am very very sad. I guess it will be good to have a fully intact windshield... and I'm just waiting for the class-action lawsuit to begin, since many, many, MANY drivers of my car seem to have had the same problem!

Fiche and chips.

So, in all of my years working at the library in college and researching for/working with various historical institutions in the past, I have used many a microfilm machine. Twisting through page after page of old newspapers, focusing and re-focusing, cursing the people who photographed the paper so beautifully, save for the one page with MY article on it that somehow wouldn't focus for anything.

Anyhow!

Microfilm was really the extent of my minature-photographed-documents-viewed-on-a-gigantic-machine experience. Today, in my very own library, I loaded and viewed microfiche. Now, let me tell you something--I dislike this stuff even more than microfilm. I can see where people think it's helpful, having tons of pages on one small, flat piece of... fiche... but... no. The pictures are SOOOO tiny, that even the slightest nudge sends you 103 pages away from where you wanted to be. If you sneeze, it's all over.

Do not want.

Greetings and salutations.

This morning, I worked another shift at the funeral home--I think it will be a new thing when I work a shift at the funeral home and don't do something new! Anyway, today I:

* Worked the door by myself, greeting visitors and directing them to the appropriate rooms
* Worked two services at the same time and
* Worked my first traditional American service
* Had a conversation with a Catholic priest about something completely unrelated to religion

It was pretty interesting to see the American funeral--there were about 20-25 family members there, and the priest was just about the nicest, neatest man I've ever met. He was so nice and I heard more laughter coming out of the viewing room than anything else! Had I been working a full shift today, I would have been able to help prepare a body for transportation on a plane--but I imagine my day will come for that soon enough.

Oh, I also e-mailed a school of mortuary science to request information about their degree program. Hmmm....

Going at it alone!

So, Alex and I have been playing a co-op game on the Wii for a couple weeks (Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles). All of our game play has been strictly co-op and we've gone through every level together. We thought we had beat all of the 2-player levels and were just wasting time improving our scores. Well, upon closer examination, we found that there were MORE levels to unlock, but the only way to do so was to play the secret levels alone.

So, today I played through 6 secret levels by myself and unlocked new levels in the game. This may not sound exciting to anyone else, but I thought it was great fun and feel quite a sense of accomplishment that I did it by myself! Yay me!

Santa Claus is STILL Coming to Town...

Therefore yet again, I am afraid I must be vague, as the Christmas surprises continue.

A clean sweep...?

Ahh, another day at the funeral home. It was a VERY slow day today, but we did have a service this morning. After the service was over, I vacuumed the viewing room. Also, I took down tables full of Buddhist funereal ritual items (incense bowls, candles, offerings, etc.). Then I moved flower displays from the viewing area to the holding area for a family to pick up later. I also went into the cemetery office to meet the staff there. And, at the end of the day, I took home some beautiful flowers that a family had left behind for us to dispose of.

I watched a few things today that I will probably be doing myself one of these days, but I don't want to list them as new things since I didn't actually do them myself.

I really like this job--it's absolutely fascinating. It's the first job I've ever had that I cannot wait to get to and where I just wish and wish I had the ability to go back to school to make it a career. Yes, I know I just finished my Master's, but this just seems like such fascinating and rewarding work.

Glued to the... computer?

For quite a while, I've been hearing about the wonders of being able to watch TV shows online.

"Why?" I've always asked. Why in the world would you want to wait for the show to load or deal with the choppiness that can come with streaming video, all to watch it on a smaller screen? I mean, yeah, I guess if you miss a show and need to catch up, it's cool, but to choose to watch TV that way?

Anyway, all whining aside, I had a very nice experience this evening as I watched a full one-hour television show online. (Incase anyone wonders, I watched an episode of Frontline that went behind the scenes at a funeral home since I had heard such good things about the episode.)

It wasn't so bad, but I think that PBS has an exceptional media player, not to mention it broke the episode into 6 manageable chapters. I wouldn't call myself a convert just yet, but I might not resist it so much in the future! :)