Well back to normal her in Sunny SFLA. We were spared much of Katrina's wrath which was very good. My heart goes out to Mississippi and Louisiana. Dealing with my fair share of hurricanes, including Andrew, I still can not imagine what they are going through right now. I just can't believe so many people that lived on the coast stayed and did not evacuate. Some said it was because they had survived Camielle (which by the way killed 255 people), some said they had no were to go (there were shelters), and some said they just didn't think it would be that bad. It was packing sustained winds at 175 mph at one point! With Hurricane season getting more intense I hope this a wake up call to everyone that if a storm is threatening your area, get out! People won't though, after a few years they get complacent. Look at Homestead in South Florida. Andrew was supposed to be a Broward storm and ended up completely destroying the town. They just finished getting rebuilt 2 years ago, and Andrew happened 13 years ago. Katrina was a mere category one headed for Broward, and it ended up heading south and put Homestead under a two feet of water. They said they didn't think a cat one could do so much damage. Next time they said they would be prepared, but wasn't this next time? My point, people never learn, and won't change when facing the same situation. In addition, my prayers and thoughts go out to all those effected by Katrina. With continued hope - Mel.

Wow, dating rituals must have really changed since I first started going to college in 1997. This week I started the fall term at F.A.U. in Boca and I get out of work at 5pm but my class does not start until 7pm. So I eat dinner two nights a week in the cafeteria. I love to people watch. Yesterday I was sitting there and a guy and girl came and sat at the table next to mine. He was about 19 and had an athletic build, she was about the same age and slightly overweight. They had purchased their Quizno's subs and were eating. Shortly after they sat down, I realized that they were on a first date getting some dinner. I guess when you live on campus and don't have a car, it sounds perfectly logical to have your first date in the cafeteria. Now as a women slightly overweight whenever I have dinner with anybody and especially on a first date, I eat very dainty and order slightly less than I would typically order. Not this girl. She dove right into her sub and then committed the worst offense EVER, she started talking with her mouth full of food. The guy could do nothing but stare at her. She then asked him (with her mouth full) why he wasn't eating because she was "hungray" (that's what it sounded like). As they were there eating they started talking about sex. How you can feel comfy talking about sex with someone you are on a first date with while food is in your mouth is beyond me. The sex talk was more on the caliber of the "freaky" things they have done while "getting the groove on". Now they have finished eating and they are still talking about sex (25 minutes now), and he suggests going back to his dorm room before his roommate gets out of class, and she says she is "down with that", and just like that they were gone. No drinks needed to be bought, no awkward is he going to kiss me, and no real time getting to know each other a little bit better. The last thing I heard her say was that since they were "going to get their groove on and get freaky" she needed to at least know his last name. OMG! I was floored! Who moves that fast. They were sitting at the table for about 35 minutes, that's it! I couldn't believe the conversation I had just heard. It just made me thank my lucky stars that I am no longer 19 and don't have to compete with a two bit slut like her! With continued hope - Mel.

Sorry I have not posted in a while! Since taking on cheerleading, my free time has gotten less and less. Now the free time I had at work to post has been eaten up by having to type out schedules and other handouts for cheerleading. So on to the reason for my post today. Have you ever called it off with someone that you truly loved because you knew it was the right thing to do. Then after you did the reasons don't hold up anymore and for the life of you, you can't imagine why you ever called it off in the first place. Grant was that guy for me. We actually dated twice for a combined 4 years! When we broke up the first time it was all me. I started dating him when I was 17 years old and I was 20 when I broke it off. We never fought, but my heart wasn't completely there. I felt like I needed to experience life and make sure that he was the one by dating around for awhile. I guess that is just something we tell ourselves when we are younger that we have to or should do. Then two years later, I was going through a rough time, and I tried to remember when I was happiest and he popped into my mind. I called his old number and he answered it! We dated for another year. We took a vacation together and it all came back to me. I knew we were not right for each other and I explained to him that it was not fair of me to start things up again, when I knew deep down in my heart that it was not meant to be. He was nice about it, no angry words and we told each other to be happy in life and to never settle. He was my first and only true love I have ever had and as such I always look back on him with such fondness. Now the point of this long drawn out story. I was sitting in my television studies class last night. The semester just started and it was the first night. Nothing really exciting was hapining other that the fact I couldn't get over the fact that the professor looked like my friend DB with hair. They could be twins. Well it is an hour and a half into the lecture and we stop for a 10 minute break. All of a sudden there is someone standing to me right and I look up and it is Grant's best friend Craig. He is in my class. A rush of emotions come over me and all I can muster to say is "Uh, hey." We then went into the plesentries and he told me he has been married for three years and has no kids. I fessed up to still be single but I made it sound like it was by my choice and not lack of options. He then said that Grant had just gotten married on July 9th and that he was his best man. I think he knew I wanted to ask about him, but saved me from having to say the words. He also said that they have one baby and another on the way. My heart sank. I said that I was happy for him, which is 100% true. I wish him nothing but the best. I think the reason my heart sank so much is that I secretly always kept him in the back of my mind as a maybe. Maybe some day it would work out between us and maybe whatever was off the first two times would suddenly be right. So selfish I know! Anyways, the whole rest of the lecture was a complete blur for me. To top things off we were matched up into twos and Craig is my partner in the class. Nothing like twisting the knife right! With continued hope - Mel.

Everyday I realize that I work with some real winners in my office, if nothing else they do create some funny moments around the office. Everyday at about 1:00pm I make a new pot of coffee for those who need that afternoon pick me up. I do not drink coffee but as I am the office manager, I make sure that the coffee drinkers have there fill of caffeine. Well today at about 12:45 I hear "C" go into the back and put her Lean cuisine in the microwave as she does everyday. Now "C" has never made coffee here nor has she even at least offered, but today she must have been feeling generous. "C" works for the main partner of the firm and acts like the Queen Bee she thinks she is. I know she decided to make coffee because I can hear the coffee grinder while sitting at my desk. I wait about 2 minutes and I decide to make my way to the back to see if she needs any help and mainly just to see with my own eyes that she actually was making the coffee. As I am getting ready to turn the corner I can hear her scream so I pick up the pace. I enter the breakroom and she sees me and is yelling "Make it stop, make it stop" The coffee is no longer dripping into the pot but rather it is flowing out of the compartment where the grinds are. I yell at her to turn the power off, but before I can get it all out the coffee maker starts sparking and then smoke comes out. I finally shut it off and I go to unplug it when the microwaved then makes a loud popping noise and sparks and smoke comes pouring out of it. See "C" was still microwaving her Lean cuisine when this was going on. I could have DIED! I didn't though! Needless to say we now have a broken microwave, coffee maker, and the outlet does not work anymore. Coffee was everywhere and it took a good 45 minutes to clean everything up. Upon inspection of the caffee maker she had put in way too many grinds and it clogged the opening. Point of this lovely adventure I had today, if you don't enjoy helping out around the office and haven't in the two years you have worked there don't start with coffee, try something safe like getting the mail! With continued hope - Mel.

I am addicted to a new show on TV and I thought I would pass it along for everyone to check out and decide for themselves. It is on ABC Family on Monday nights at 9:00pm called Beautiful People. It is set in NYC and a single mom moves her two daughters there after a divorce from her husband. He had cheated on her with one of the daughters friends. They moved to NYC from Santa Fe, New Mexico. The show is filled with cliches and the one daughter is on scholarship to one of the most prestigious private schools in the city, and the other daughter wants to be a model and is in search of an agent. Once you get past the cliches there is a real good story that takes place in the episodes. This show only started two weeks ago so you have not missed much yet. The show is produced by the producers of Dawsons Creek and at times is very reminiscent of that program.

This past weekend I went to the movies and I saw Must Love dogs and Dukes of Hazard. I liked Must Love Dogs. I felt it was a little slow in some parts of the movie, but others were so funny that two days after the movie when I think of those scenes I still get a smile on my face and a little chuckle comes out. It was appropriate to today's single lifestyle of finding that perfect match via internet dating. Some of the dates she goes on completely remind me of my experiences with internet dating and some are over the top, but I am sure some poor soul had to sit through a date like that. John Cusak was amazing and so was Diane Lane although I am tired of seeing her play a newly divorced my man left me for a younger women al la Tuscan Sun. Now for Dukes of Hazard. As much as it shames me ever so much to say it, I really enjoyed it. I laughed so hard at some of the scenes. Maybe it was because I went into see it and took it for what it was, a stupid comedy, but I thought it was quite cleaver in some parts. The outtakes and the end during the credits were hilarious. Even Jessica Simpson was tolerable and only over acted in about half of her scenes. All in all it was a good evening at the movies.

I also went to Target and purchased the movie Vanity Fair starring Reese Witherspoon. I loved it even more the second time around. Reese plays a wonderful, conniving, gold digger of a girl who is always in search of the next great thing. She is never happy with what she has. If you have not seen this movie yet I suggest taking a trip to your local Blockbuster and renting it.

Mean people suck! So the bumper sticker says, and I have to whole heartedly agree. I work with this lady who we will call "D", and she has too many issues to count. Her son is 26 years old and bi-polar, so she has to take care of him like he was still two which I am sure is rough in its own right. Then there is her white trash, wishes he was in a trailer park, unemployed, beer drinking loser of a man. She also has his mother living with them and his best friend from "back in the day" who was just coming visiting and then 6 months later never left. She has a lot on her plate, and I try my damnedest to listen to her complain and vent about her life. How do I get thanked for the hours of listening to her whine and complain about her life, she constantly berates me at work. Nothing is good for her. If she asks me to do something and heaven forbid it takes me a couple of hours to get it ask to her, she is standing at my desk with her hand out asking where it is and why it is taking so long. Lets not forget I am helping her out and have a ton of my own work to do. Apparently the last office manager they had was in charge of obtaining medical records for all of our clients. When I was hired they decided that the D and C would now become in charge of obtaining their clients medical records as my plate was full enough as it was as I took over up keep of the computers too. So whenever D asks me to help out with getting records, I always say yes, and when she stands there with her hand out an hour later she has to remind me that the person before me it was their job and she never has had to do it in the past and she only asks me to help when she is bogged down. She has this very cutting tone when she ays it and that makes you snap back and then she looks at you like she can't understand why you would snap at her. She has the who me complex. She just gets so mean and rude over the stupidest things and only gets that way to me, the only one who is still nice to her in the office. Here is another example. She had a huge fax come across and it used up all the paper in the fax. Then immediately after another fax came through, and the red light started flashing that indicates there is no paper left. Instead of just putting paper in the fax she calls me to the back and chastises me for their being no paper in the fax and tells me to fill it. I explained that I was busy and hadn't had a chance to go to the back and check but not a problem I would fill it. Knowing that she got a 38 page fax and the machine only holds 40 pages, she went to my boss and told him that I was not doing my job by not keeping paper in the fax. I then got called into his office and after explaining the situation he said that D didn't tell him that and he was sorry for wasting his and my time. Then she was making copies and used all the paper up, so instead of filling it she called me to the back to explain my job to me again. She was the one at the copy machine for 2 hours making copies. She was yelling at me for wasting her time, but doesn't it take more time to call and yell about the paper and waiting for me to fill it than just filling it yourself - AARRRGGGHHH! With continued hope - Mel.

I decided today for lunch I would go to Sweet Tomatoes to eat and grab a salad and some chicken noodle soup. I finished my lunch (which by the way was not very good) and headed outside to go to my car. I was approached by a little old lady who said hello. I, of course said hello back and asked her if she was having a good day. She responded with the usual pleasantness and then pointed out that is was going to rain and to make sure I had an umbrella. I told her I had one in the car. Then she looked at me and told me I was a nice young lady. I thanked her and then noticed her nurse or "helper" was coming and went to tell her goodbye, when she started talking again, I listened so I could quickly respond because now it was getting late and I had to get back to work. Just then she asked me if I had pride in myself, at which point I just sort of stared at her. She proceeded to tell me to have more pride in myself, to which I said excuse me. She them told me that I should put some lipstick on, that young ladies who have pride in themselves NEVER leave the house without lipstick on. Now her nurse stepped in and apologized and told me she does this all the time and she is so sorry. But what I would like to know what does lipstick have to do with pride in oneself. I had a really cute outfit and and actually did my hair today, I did and do have pride in myself, even though I typically only wear lipstick at night. After the nurse told me she was sorry they walked away. I got into my car started it, put my seatbelt on, looked in the review mirror, grabbed my purse, put on lipstick, and drove away. With continued hope - Mel

I started coaching cheerleading, and my first practice is this Thursday. I have received my roster of girls and on that roster is their sizes for their t-shirts and uniforms, and I was disturbed when I saw adult larges and x-larges listed. These girls are 10-13 years of age. How did our kids get so fat. I never got fat until I hit 23. These girls are in for it though, I have created an exercise routine to do at the beginning of all the practices! I will work that fat off and maybe off of me too!

I am sorry I haven't been posting lately. I have been ubber busy at work on top of feeling not so great and when I get home from work I have not been feeling like hoping on the computer. This past Saturday was my birthday, and Liz took me to a great French place for dinner called L'Opera. We had a goat cheese tart served with baby greens, crab and lobster stuffed tomato, chilled corn and crab soup, and fettuccini and wild mushroom sauce. It was really good. Then we headed over to Blue Martini for our fill of free drinks that Liz's husband provides us with! My brother and his girlfriend Jimena came and we had a great time! We were going to head to a great club called Resort, but I was to intoxicated at 1:30am to walk the two blocks to get there! It was a great birthday!