Hide Your Belongings

I appreciate the Providence Place Mall parking lot for being just a short walk from work, for providing a roof so on snowy days I don't have to brush off my car and for being open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
What I don't appreciate, however, is them leaving a note on my windshield if I have ANYTHING in plain sight inside. "Together we can make a difference! Lock your car. Take your keys. Hide your belongings." Really? Who doesn't take their keys?I am grateful that they're concerned about the potential of someone breaking into my car to steal my things but they are drawing more attention to the items inside by leaving this note.
See the pictures above.
As much as I'm concerned about someone stealing a yellow, plastic hangar or an empty water bottle or a "just came from the dentist" kit - toothbrush, toothpaste and floss - if my car was broken into, these things might cost me a whopping $20 to replace. Clearly, there's no value requirement for these notes to be put under windshields.
I can understand if I left out a wallet or a diamond ring or a baby...but a toothbrush? Really?

Pat

I just returned from the dentist. Good news: no cavities or any other issues...except that I'm an aggressive brusher. Bad news: the dental hygienist called me "Pat".
Attention: dental hygienists, bank tellers and retail clerks! If you see my name written down as "Patricia", if you're not sure of a nickname, just call me as it's written. That is my name, after all!
Over the years, I've been called Pat, Patty, Patsy (my favorite)...none of which I've actually adopted. "Hey, that's a good idea. I'm going to abandon 'Trish' and start going by 'Patsy'!"
The thing that gets me though about my recent office visit is that I've been going to this same dentist since I've developed teeth. The wrong-name culprit has seen me twice a year since I was, what?, two years old. She assisted in many of my cleanings and even during an oral surgery. My mother had also gone to this dental office for years and, while she was in the chair, I was in the waiting room rocking pigtails and reading Highlights...talking to this same lady.
She remembers that I currently live in Rhode Island and that I went to Nantucket for vacation last summer. Why does she remember random details about my life but doesn't even know my name?
I realize that this poor woman can't remember EVERYBODY that walks through those doors, but I think she should at least make a note in my file. It'll take just a few seconds to write in and then I won't give her the stink eye every six months.

I Want My MTV

As I was driving around town the other day, I heard a few songs on the radio that brought me back in time..."Ordinary World" by Duran Duran, "Hero" by Mariah Carey and "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum.
These songs brought me back to my childhood bedroom on Edgewood Road. They brought me back to my middle school days when I would watch MTV in my bedroom and watch music videos while on the telephone with school friends...the same friends that I saw all day in the classroom. I just couldn't get enough of them, I suppose.
Anyways, these songs took me back to a really fun, carefree time in my life. Not since those days have I been on the phone with someone for hours and didn't really even speak to them. Whose idea was it to call a friend, put on the same television channel and just sit there, essentially silent, watching TV "with" them? Why did we do this? How did my parents allow me to tie up the phone line for hours upon hours every single evening?
I long for those carefree days again. I long for a night like that...a night where I wasn't responsible for doing laundry, doing the dishes or going grocery shopping. Back in 1991, my biggest worry was call waiting interrupting the call.
Assuming MTV still played music videos and that houses still had land lines, would these types of behaviors still be happening? Have cell phones and Teen Mom ruined this for all teenagers?
Oh, how times have changed.

Well, That Explains It

I know this might come as a shock to some of you but I've been known to have some pretty wide mood swings. Seriously, though, one moment I'm totally content...and, the next, I recommend you stay away from me. Well, last night I was crowned Queen of the Mood Swings.
I don't really know what caused this. I mean, I had a decent day. It was a holiday so I had the day off from work. I went to the gym, ran a few errands and even scored a free dinner.
Last night, though, I was acting so weird...and I couldn't even find the words to explain what I was feeling or why I was acting so bizarrely.
For most of the day today, I was thinking about why I was behaving so poorly last night. I was being difficult and argumentative for no real reason. And, to top it off, I was overly sensitive and childish. I almost started to cry, for heaven's sake!
I thought it must be because I'm not feeling 100% or because I'm stressed out about a few things.
BUT, good news, it had nothing to do with me at all!
I'm not sure why I'm just learning about Blue Monday now but this HAS to be the reason why I was annoying even myself last night. According to an article I read today, Blue Monday was invented back in 2005 by psychologist Cliff Arnall. At the time, he declared the third Monday in January to be the most depressing day of the entire year.
This makes total sense to me!
Between the freezing cold temperatures, post-holiday debt, and a drop in motivation, I can see why this day has been deemed Blue Monday. According to Dr. Arnall, the "low" is due to "the hibernation effect", which basically means that we're eating and sleeping more and feeling more lethargic.
So, that's the rationalization I'm going with...Blue Monday. As for my next temper tantrum, I'm sure I'll have a valid excuse for that too.

Cuckoo Bananas

Earlier this week, a good friend gave me a banana. At first, I thought this was a very unusual gift. Who sees a banana and thinks, "I think Trish would really enjoy this. Let me present it to her the next time we meet,"?
After accepting the yellow banana with minimal brown spots on it, I recounted a story from when I was a young tot. My parents left me with Uncle John during a trip to the Constitution State. Uncle John was the brother of "Grandpa G", the one and only - Orlando Pasquale.
Anyway, when my parents shut the door and made their way to the car, I, obviously, wailed for several minutes. It didn't take Uncle John long to find some way to amuse a 2-year-old. He grabbed the first things he could get his hands on - a banana and a bowl of peanuts.
It was on that day that Uncle John invented the world's first banana telephone.
He put the banana up to his ear, rotary dialed the phone number in the bowl of peanuts and called my parents and requested that they return to the house. My parents never did come back inside while I was awake but I've been told that poor Uncle John dialed that phone for hours because it kept me laughing.
This story made me think of other banana stories. Yes, there are more.
I remember eating a banana out of the fruit bowl after school one afternoon. When I bent the stem back to peel it, it didn't actually break the peel apart. I wiggled it back and forth and it broke down the front. I used my thumb to separate the peel and I extracted the banana from the peel with my fingers. My poor middle school-aged sense of humor encouraged me to tape the banana peel back together and return it to the bowl on the kitchen island.
Needless to say, when my mother reached for a banana to put into her lunch bag for the next day's lunch, she grabbed said "banana" and it collapsed in her hands. Aren't I a riot?
Nowadays, I use the term "cuckoo bananas" when referring to things or people that are simply ridiculous, like Bjork. People smile when I use this term because they're polite...but, let's be honest, they're smiling because I am cuckoo bananas myself. Perhaps more than anyone else.
In hindsight, this banana was possibly the most perfect gift for me. Thank you!

Proving Stereotypes

Last Friday, I met a friend at Tavolino's in Patriot's Place for some of the yummiest pizza I've ever had, delicious drinks, bread that was as soft as a cloud and interaction with a dreamy waiter. We haven't seen each other in quite a while so it was great to catch up with her.
After dinner, we went into a few shops - Victoria's Secret, Old Navy and Charming Charlie's. After the stores closed at 9pm, we decided to drop our leftover pizza and purchases in our cars and head over to Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill for their live music.
One of the best ideas we've ever had!
I've never been in there before and the very second I was served a Bud Light in a large mason jar, I knew that this was my type of place! I wouldn't say that I'm a huge country music fan but I don't change the station if a country song comes on the radio. I enjoy Sugarland, Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Taylor Swift and others that would, most likely, be considered "pop" by die hard country music fans.
What I can't get enough of, apparently, is country western stereotypes. If you're not sure of what a country western stereotype is, go to Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill...immediately.
Not since the Big E have I seen so many plaid shirts, cowboy boots and John Deere hats.
As we stood on the outskirts of the dance floor, I was amazed as all of the stereotypes walked past me. They might as well have had straw in their mouths. I had no idea that Foxborough, MA, the home of the New England Patriots, was home to so many...dare I say it?...rednecks.
Don't get me wrong. We had an amazing time. The music was great, the venue was huge, the beer was cold and the crowd was just as entertaining as the band.
I wouldn't consider myself judgemental of others but a night like the one we experienced makes it hard to discount those stereotypes. For example, see the photo above. Not only is this girl rocking her white cowboy boots, but she's wearing a white top to match, a short denim skirt and...wait for it...NYLONS! Oh, also, her white belt with rhinestone "PEACE" was worn upside down. For a moment, I thought it said "PEREZ"...but it didn't. I don't think it really matters though.

Why People Go Postal

In late 2011, I became a casual Ebay seller. I'm just trying to de-clutter my life and, recognizing that I'll never have a yard sale, I figured why not get some money for this...stuff...by selling it on Ebay. Since starting in November, I've made a profit of $74.34. Not too bad for stuff I would've just assume throw away or donate.
Anyways, this has put me at the United States Post Office more often than usual. If I need to ship items mid-week, I head to Corliss Street, Providence because they have extended hours. I can stop before work in the morning or swing by on my way home. It's very convenient.
Tonight, I left work a little before 5pm, putting me in line at the post office by 5:10. My receipt for my transaction is dated "01/05/2012 05:18:05 pm". This gave me eight full minutes to take in my next blog topic.
As I walked in the door, there was a crowd around the counter for passports. Apparently, a family waited a bit too long to stop by for their passport renewal and they might NOT be going on their family vacation abroad. Also, I'm pretty sure that when asked how old the son was, he answered, "19...no, wait, 18".
Luckily, although there were many people in the room, not too many were actually in line. I walked up and was maybe five or six people back. Some of the loiterers were looking at the Valentine's Day cards. Some of them were finishing up filling out addresses on their envelopes. Others were cussing at their cell phones because, while trying to find something on the Internet, a "f***in' (word I can't say or even play with asterisks near)" wouldn't stop calling.
This girl, maybe early 20s, was trying to get information off of her phone but some boy wouldn't stop calling her. This infuriated her...but she wouldn't just answer the phone to say, "Hey. I'm busy. I'll call you back when I get through with this."
No, instead she began cussing at the phone causing her mother(?) to ask what the problem was. She, not so politely, told her, which caused everyone in the post office to either look up or make a face acknowledging that they had heard her potty mouth. Sidenote: "Mom" was wearing lovely perfume that reminded me of a Dave Matthews Band concert.
When the cell phone started vibrating against the counter again, "Mom" answered and advised the boy that the girl was in an interview right now and that she'll call him back when she is done. Honest to God, about 30 seconds later, the phone started again. This time she got more details. It was an emergency.
Apparently, the Spanish girl across the street wanted to either buy or borrow her flat iron. This IS a crisis and I don't understand why people started giggling to themselves when hearing the news.
A broken flat iron is no joke.

Big

I dined in the work cafeteria alone today which gave me some time to be bored to tears by news of the Iowa caucus, text a few friends and people watch. People watching is one of my favorite hobbies, mainly because I secretly enjoy being sneaky.
As I was eating, a tall woman with blonde hair styled in a bob and glasses entered the room and asked a coworker if she could join him. She was wearing a brown cardigan over a white blouse and a long plaid skirt to the calf to match. She had on knee-high socks and sturdy brown shoes. In my opinion, it was reminiscent of an elementary school uniform. I think the reason why I felt this way was because she had brought her lunch in a brown paper bag.
For the record, there's nothing wrong with bringing your lunch to work in a brown paper bag. I own brown paper bags and will occasionally transport my lunch from home to the lunch table in said brown paper bag...although, I do have a super cool blue and green lunch bag that I typically use.
I watched as the woman opened up her brown paper bag and took out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
For the record, there's nothing wrong with bringing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to work for lunch. I've done it on a number of occasions. It's delicious. I can't deny it...nor would I have a reason to.
The part that really got me was that she ripped the crust off her sandwich. This is something I may have done in 1984. I just found it humorous that a grown woman in her place of employment would be having the same lunch and be eating it the same way that I did while attending Mittineague Methodist Community Preschool. Apparently, I was ahead of my time.
I started to wonder if maybe this wasn't a live performance of Big, starring Tom Hanks, or 13 Going on 30, starring Jennifer Garner.
Maybe this woman simply wished she was a grown up and she transformed overnight into an adult. An adult with poor eyesight and questionable style.

2011: A Retrospective

As I look back in my weekly 2011 planner, I'm reminded of how many great things have happened in the past year...and how many things I'd like to forget...and how many things I've already forgotten.

Let's take this time to take a quick look back in the past year of my life.

I rejoined the gym and actually stuck with it. As I type this, I'm approximately 20 lbs lighter and several inches smaller than I was at this time last year and I feel so much better about myself. Big thank yous go out to Work Out World, Nicole, Francesca and Javier for whipping me into shape.

My part-time job of seven years closed their doors for good in 2011. OOP! closed their Dedham doors on May 29th. I met some of the funniest and genuinely good people at OOP! Although I complained about working there after a full work day in the big city of Providence, I truly do miss the people and, of course, the extra money.

I dated 14 boys this year...and completely forgot about two of them. Who the hell are Ryan and Steven? (I apologize to Ryan and Steven if you're reading this. Also, I don't blame you if you've forgotten me too!) I got stood up this year for the first time ever in life...stupid Bobby. I also had one of the best dates ever...thanks to my good friend Tristen. On Valentine's Day, I met her for dinner and drinks at a hibachi style restaurant. The food was amazing. We received free roses from the bartender and free drinks. We met a friend while at the bar AND she brought me a whoopie pie from a Boston bakery. Best of all, I had the best company!

I went to Fenway park to see the beloved Red Sox five times and to see one of the most amazing concerts I've ever been to. I've said this before when I saw Dave Matthews Band play at Fenway that it was one of the best nights because so many of my favorite things/people were in the same place at the same time. Well, my friends, I can say that it happened again on June 11, 2011. I saw the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys concert at Fenway with some of the greatest people on Earth. We had a great time and I even lost my voice. Thank the good Lord that I brought my NKOTB whistle!

I welcomed a new car into my life this year - The Grey Lady. I leased a 2011 Nissan Sentra in June and have already met the 1-year mileage limit. Zoinks! You people have to start coming to me!

My family welcomed a new addition as well. Nae'lyn Cecil Song Ginnetti was born on December 20, 2011 to Michael and Marie. Nae'lyn joins the ranks of cutest kids in America along with Mimi Gardenia Ginnetti, born July 15, 2010. I've also watched my friends' families multiply with the births of Caitlyn, Libby, John, Finn and Daniel.

I vacationed to Nantucket, Baltimore and New York City. I enjoyed this time off with friends, new and old; family and 10,000 Santas. I cooked myself on the beach, played in the park and ice skated at dusk.

I've reconnected with old friends and have strengthened relationships that I've had for years. I've spent some great times with "the home team", "Larned ladies" and the bouncers at Coconuts. I've danced until my feet have hurt and have laughed until I've cried.

I've celebrated with friends and family at bridal showers, engagement parties and weddings. I've won bridal bingo, for God's sake! I've seen friends earn promotions, awards and new jobs and move into new homes.

Like all things, 2011 did have it's disappointments and letdowns but I believe everything happens for a reason. Here's hoping that those lemons can be turned into lemonade...or chilled limoncello shots.

With all of the turmoil Mother Nature has dished out on Western Massachusetts this year, I'm just thankful that my friends and family are safe and sound. I know that 2011 has made me stronger as a person and I know I'm not the only one. I know some of the greatest people and they have truly astounded me with their courage and tough skin this year.

Hopefully 2012 will bring along good health, happiness and good fortune to myself and to all of you. Cheers!