Somewhere Over the Rainbow

She was hyperactive. Crazy. Sang ALL the time. Vibratto, even to Alanis. Probably the perkiest person I had ever met.Within the first five minutes of our meeting, I was exhausted. She stole my lobster slippers, held them hostage for weeks, and I finally discovered them in a cooking dish after numerous ransom notes and threats on my door. One time, we sang Acapella Men's choir tunes for 2 1/2 straight hours on a road trip to my house. Somehow, she convinced me to take a 7am aerobics class for an entire semester. We once spent an entire weekend watching the Jerry's Kids Labor day telethon, because it was the only thing our rabbit ear antenna would pick up... AND WE WERE EXCITED ABOUT IT.

She called it like it was. No matter WHAT I said, or DID, she was always there, and after telling me how stupid I was, would help me feel a little better, and encourage me to to the right thing. You have no idea how insane that made me-her ability to forgive me, after anything and EVERYTHING. She was one of my best friends in college.

She'll never know it, but she ended up playing a large part in making me the person I am today. And man, do I miss her.

I still wrestle with that- wondering how it is that me, the child gone wild in college who almost threw away everything, is still here-while everything ended for her in a split second. 12 years later, I still remember her birthday. THAT day. The day I grew up and realized we weren't invincible. The day my parents had to tell me that she was gone, forever. And on the eve of another one, all these years later, it isn't any easier- but I find myself remembering the good times, and even the not so good times, and find myself now thinking how lucky I was to have had her in my life, and even during those short few years, the memories that I will never forget.

So, today I say- Happy Birthday Alissa- I'll never forget you. Thank you for giving me the guts to get my life in order.  To admit that I was wrong, and to do something about it. Thank you for the love, the memories, and the advice from beyond that you will never even know you gave.  I miss you so much, and know that someday, somewhere "Over the Rainbow" we'll meet up, and Dancing Queen will be ours again.

Until then, my friend.

Love,
Melissa

Home and Stranded on the Couch

I know... I know... all those resolutions, and yet here I am... wondering again why it took so much effort to get back on here and post again.

I had knee surgery about a week ago. Nothing too serious, just some repair work that has reminded me that maybe I am not quite as young as I like to imagine I still am. But it has left me fairly immobile-so, here I sit,  six days later- leg elevated on more pillows than I care to admit I own, ice packs lovingly applied, and the continious din of the television in the background. It's a good thing I had plently of work I could do from the couch today, because, just for the record, daytime television leaves a LOT to be desired. No, really... A LOT. I really don't care if you thought he was the father of your child, but he actually was the father of your step-sister, or anything equally as twisted. Nor do I care that this years MUST HAVE item is cosmetics that enable me to match my eyeshadow to my leopard print pumps (not making this up, I swear!!) Netflix was a godsend earlier in the week, and I managed to catch up on all those shows and movies that for years I have thought... "hmmm... I bet that would be good.."

Which leads me to my tip of the day. Watch the movie "Outsourced." What a great flick. While some of the humor is a little off colour, it has a great ending, and I promise, you won't be disappointed.