Out of the Wilderness

Jury Duty and March Madness

I’ve been thinking about this all week. Jury duty. I’ve made arrangements at work for the day, or days, I’m missing. But I just realized I don’t know what to wear when I report in. What does someone wear to be a juror? Is my wardrobe part of what gets me selected or dismissed? Full disclosure here, I don’t own a suit. I have a few jackets. I have some dress pants. The day is fast approaching and I’m clueless. For whoever might be reading this, won’t you be so kind as to comment below with your take on courtroom dress code?

Another mystery at the moment…Billy Ocean’s peculiar pronunciation of “caribbean queen” in the chorus of the song by the same name. For the entirety of time since I first heard that song as a young boy in St. Petersburg, Florida, I thought he was saying “Carry you, me!” and I never thought to question why anyone would say, “carry you, me.” Has anyone in the history of everything ever used those 3 words in that order in a song? Maybe I was too busy collecting baseball cards to spend any time on what I must have thought was a trivial pursuit. Ah well, commercials are almost over so time to watch more March Madness.

-Out of the Wilderness

Soaking up the rain and the sun… all in a weekend

Yesterday and today could not be more different. Both amazing in ways I made a point to appreciate. Saturday was rainy and cool. I love running in the rain so I took my running dog Asia to Percy Warner Park in west Nashville. Lots of slipping and sliding (me) and chasing squirrels (her) but we finished the 4.5 mile run safely and exhausted. It was everything I hoped it would be! Sunday, no clouds. Heat. Cool breeze. Piper’s favorite kind of weather. Mine, too. So we both soaked it in and got some vitamin D in the process. It was everything I hoped it would be!

-Out of the Wilderness

Feeling vs. Thinking vs. Saying on Friday the 13th

I feel like people are being overdramatic about Friday the 13th.

I feel like we talked about this once.

I feel like Jason is misunderstood.

This is what I’ve notice recently. People opening a sentence with “”I feel like…” when in reality, the person is saying what they think or believe. It has nothing to do with real feelings. Annoying right? I chatted with a co-worker about it today. Here’s a snippet: (I am A, my friend is B)

11:30 AM
A: Have you noticed how many people are saying “I feel like” in conversations?

11:31 AM
B: I feel like “like” is one of the biggest crutches in the english language.

11:33 AM
A: how so? what context? and… do you feel like that, or think that?
you don’t feel thoughts
you think thoughts

11:35 AM
B: “I was like, ‘why are you acting this way? Like it’s not even a big deal.’ And she’s like, ‘Because you totally sold me out.'” People should say, “I said, ‘why are you acting this way? It’s not a big deal.’ And she said, ‘Because you totally sold me out.'” Like is completely unnecessary.

11:39 AM
A: totally agree
my beef is with the word “feel”
but I suppose “I feel like” is annoying all around now

11:39 AM
B: i think so

11:40 AM
A: unless you’re saying “I feel like a spoiled banana”
I feel like a thief on the run
that would make a whole lotta sense
I like this
I’m going to pay special attention to how I speak this weekend

11:41 AM
B: “I feel like you’re mad at me.” NOOOOO. “I think you’re mad at me.” YESSSSS

11:41 AM
A: ding ding ding
did we do this last week? I feel like we did.
Um, no, you think we did.
memory is not a feeling
thinking is not a feeling
being annoyed…yes, that’s a feeling
did we do this last week? I feel annoyed by that question.
THAT’s a good answer

Unfortunately I’ve caught myself starting a thought off with “I feel like,” but if we ever cross paths and you hear me say that and it’s not followed by “a million bucks” or “making a sandwich” or “putting on a robe after that lovely shower here in this Vegas hotel,” you have my permission to slap my face. Then I will be reminded how feeling something actually feels.

Let’s all say how we’re feeling, what we’re thinking, and what we believe, but let’s not mix it all together and go on as if it’s OK. I don’t believe it is, and I feel like we agree. Wink.

-Out of the Wilderness

My memory is a bit fuzzy

This must be what if feels like to be a parent. Every day when I’m at work I miss my dogs terribly. And it’s not like when I’m here at home with them we do anything extremely memorable, although that does happen. We’ll go on walks, ride over to the dog park, play in the back yard. My favorite moments, though, are rarely any of those. Sitting by the little space heater. All sleeping on the mattress in their room. Making up nicknames and singing them loudly. How they rush to the kitchen when they hear me open the peanut butter jar. Piper plopping down so I can scratch her stomach. Asia standing inches away from my face for minutes on end, waiting for me to engage. I’ll take them on walks, we’ll go dog parking, sure. But it’s the little moments doing nothing in particular that create these fuzzy, or furry, memories in my mind.