my brother, my friend

I haven't been back in a while because I have had extenuating pressures on my work and apartment life that have kept me hustlin' more than writin'

...I am so lame, many of my journal entries begin with an apology and an excuse. How lame can you be? I'll tell you how lame (blog?!?!), I am not going to delete any of this. I figure I am a good two lines into an entry and now is no time to restart. This is a release of the truth and the pressure and the love and, by God, this is how the good Lord made me, excuses and all.

So, onto the blog. This is sort of a test for my eldest brother. Garry is trying to get back into school and I suggested some items for a fun reading list and we'll see which he picks--perhaps this blog will be one! I just want to make a formal web-shout out to all of my family for the times they have stuck together in my absence...or distance, rather. I am especially proud of Garry for swallowing some uncomfortable pills to get himself back to a place where he can focus on his education.

I am proud of David for continuing a long line of military service that runs in our family. He has the nerves, the strength, the education, and the sense of responsibility to serve his country in a time of dire need. If anyone has to be defending me, my family and my countrymen, I am proud and happy it is David.

Finally, I must applaud my mother for keeping herself sane through all of this. While this entry is for my immediate family, I cannot ignore my dad and his family. But to be honest, my mom is still (or moreover, again) a close part of that group as well. She has handled the news of their health issues with grace. She has continued to provide the support that her children need, despite the judgment of others. I know we are all adults. But in all reality, that big four bedroom house needs more tenants than just her and Garry could use a tutor. Frankly, I am a bit jealous. Even if you didn't know me, from the amount that I write about my family that I think of them often and fondly. They are my heart, my roots, and my future.

Here's to you!

Janie-belle

adventures with the phone karma police

This entry could be as long as my fire curtain story was, but I am too 'over it' to try to explain the details.

In short, I hate phones, I have always hated phones, and now phones hate me. I have had problems getting reception at my apartment and office, so I asked my insurance to get me a new phone. That phone should have been called the LG paperweight, because it didn't do a damn thing right!!! I luckily held on to the phone from before so I can actually check my voicemails from the calls I don't receive---grrr.

So, if you have tried to reach me in the last week, you probably didn't hear the phone ring on my end. Don't worry, I didn't either :-P

Often I turn my ringer off, more often my batteries die as my phone searches endlessly for signal. Still I don't know that until I reach in the purse and check; a habit I try to keep at bay. Regardless, you have seen me ignore my phone if I am busy--sometimes at dinner, sometimes at movies, sometimes just because I don't want to hear the thing. Still, I love you, I just also love a little peace now and again. This week that was not the case. I wanted to get the calls and messages as badly as you want and needed me too. I am sorry. ...this time it wasn't personal. ;-)

Pre twitter-tweets

There is something special about the way that my cousins and I can get together, love each other intensely, imbibe quite intensely, laugh intensely, spend every waking moment together until out time ends, then hug and go our separate ways. After each time I see them, I wonder when I will be back in Texas and if I am, if I'd ever be able to spend more time with them than I do now? We got together for my cousin Rhonda's birthday last weekend and enjoyed more fun than it seems we have at any preceding gather. Of course, we said the same thing at the annual reunion my uncle threw a few weeks before that, and the same thing the year before...

I guess for the time being, I have to be thankful for the free time that I can earn from work in Los Angeles that provides for me to travel all over the country, including back home to see my family. I have to be thankful for the cousin and uncle and aunts and grandmother, who, over the years have made happy memories of large extended family gatherings in classic Ogg-fashion. I will not forget the smell of Mo's talcom powder as I sat by her feet at Christmas parties, and I will not forget the warm evenings in Marble Falls where washer clink late into the night. I will not forget the whistle that Scott uses to announce his arrival, and the excitement I get knowing that he is only one of many to follow. Scott and I decided this was the pre-Twitter, tweet. The only tweet I need to know that my cousin is near. I was the baby for 16 years, and it shows. I admire, applaud and cherish my cousins and aunts and uncles who have guided me through life and helped prepare me to be the woman I am. I was the a chippering canary singing for your love and attention, and just as Jonathan challenged his special flock, you obliged my heart.

Most recently, thank you Jhn, for filling your home and your heart with the flutter of your family! We are all tweeting your praise!