One weird thing...

I have this weird habit that people have noticed at work. I am an incessant doodler. Whenever I am in a meeting or a training session, which is a lot of time, I have to have a note book with me and, at least, two good pens. I start out taking notes as does everyone else. But then, I start doodling. My doodles aren't just stick people or funny animal drawings either. They become these elaborate designs that cover the page, one swirling into the next, until the entire page is covered and there are no more notes.

Now, most people, at first, take my doodling as a sign that I'm bored or not listening to what's going on. That's their mistake. Actually, my doodling is somehow directly connected to how intensely I am listening. I get everything their saying and retain the info better than if I was forced to put the pen down. This is somehow connected to how I remember things too. For example, as some of you know, I have done some acting in my life and with that comes the fact that actors have to memorize lines. Sometimes many, many lines. I discovered very early on that I could memorize my lines easily if I wrote them down. So, I would first sit down with a script and manually write out my lines in a notebook. Next, I would go through the script and read my cue lines and then write my response lines in a notebook. By the time I did both those things, I had a "visual" in my head of the words I was going to speak in the play in my own handwriting in my brain. I then knew my lines. Forever! I don't know why this works for me or when I realized it did but it does...even now.

I've always been a visual learner. If you simply tell me something, don' t expect that I will remember it or learn it. Show me, and I can usually get it. If you give me directions, better write them down or I can't follow them. Write them down and include landmarks I can look for? Even better! Perhaps this is why I have always loved visual art so much.

So there you have it - one weird thing about me. I'm sure there are many other weird things about me but that's fodder for another installment of One Little Polish Girl.

With sleep comes the dreams...

I have very strange, humorous dreams all the time. Last night, after not sleeping the night before, I slept like a baby and had one of the funniest, weirdest dreams I've ever had.

In my dream...

I was in charge of a day camp for kids. Before the kids arrived, I had a lot of pizza out for the counselors. We were sitting around eating it when the kids started to arrive. One of the little girls ran over and demanded to have some pizza. We told her that she wasn't allowed and had to go to the area where the other kids were gathering. She became very angry and POOF! turned herself into a piece of cheese pizza. Her parents, obviously very frustrated about the behavior, simply threw up their hands and said, "We don't know what to do with her anymore!" and walked off.

I picked up the piece of cheese pizza and, holding it in my hand, told it/her she would have to still go to where the other kids were and started walking over to that area with her/it in my hand. I got about half way and came upon a grassy area with a large tree. I put the pizza/girl in the grass and said, "Well, you can be a piece of cheese pizza if you want but you can just sit here under this tree and I hope a crow doesn't decide to eat you!" And I walked away.

About this time, Jamey (a friend of mine who was making a guest appearance in my dream) came walking up. I was telling her about the cheese pizza/girl incident as we walked nearer to where the other kids were. We got to a bench and sat down. Jamey asked, "So where is pizza/girl?" I said, "I think you just sat on her/it."

Somehow, the cheese pizza/girl had made it's/her way to the bench. When Jamey stood up the pizza/girl jumped from the bench and into my hands where it/she turned into a tiny, little doll-like girl made of felt. The doll/girl said, "I don't want to be with other kids. I'm too teeny and they won't like me because I'm so different."

Jamey took the doll/girl into her hands and as they walked away I heard her telling the doll/girl, "If you give them a chance, they're doing to like you."

Then I woke up.

I have no freakin' idea what that dreams means and, honestly, I don't want to know. I love that I have these weird-ass dreams all the time. Some of them are so funny I wake myself up laughing. All I can think of is that I haven't had really good pizza in a long time so maybe that's where this came from!

Any analysis is welcomed! LOL

And now for something completely different...

You may now return to your regularly scheduled blogging.

Eurovision from a non-European POV...

A couple of years ago, Alexander's sister Jessica, introduced me to the wildly wonderful world of the Eurovision Song Contest. I had, of course, heard of it before but never had the...erm...pleasure of seeing it for myself. I can honestly say there is no American equivalent to the sheer extravaganza that is Eurovision. I can also honestly say that I love every minute of it.

Every year many countries in Europe hold their own song contests with the winner being moved on to compete at Eurovision. The songs that make it to Eurovision are heavily touted and are usually sung by either the song writer or writers or by some well known recording artist from that country. The winning country gets to play host the following year. The first year I ever watched (live stream on eurovision.tv) I had no idea what I was in for. There were some seriously beautiful songs, some so-so songs sung badly, and then some that can only be described as "WTF was that??" I remember distinctly that that was where I first heard of Verka Serducka from Ukraine. Google it...you can thank me later. :D

This year the contest was broadcast live from Russia. The first semi-finals were on Tuesday, the second on Thursday and the grand finale was tonight. Having seen a number of pageant like shows in the US (again, NOTHING like this) I am pretty amazed that it all runs without too many intrusive hosts and goes from one song to the next quite smoothly. At the end, the "world" aka Europe gets 15 minutes to vote and, here's the catch, you can't vote for your own country. Televoting counts for half of the votes and the other half is from music professionals. They manage to get a winner in that 15 minutes. It takes us months to get a new American Idol.

Norway won this year with a cute song that didn't have a whole lot of substance. There were other countries there who, IMO, had much better songs and better singers but, eh, I can't vote so there you go! The set was enormous. I mean ENORMOUS! And it had more lights than the Vegas strip. Some countries chose to just have the singer sing and leave it at that and others seem to run with the idea that more is more. There were dancing girls, dancing men, dancing BEARS, something that, I think, was supposed to be dancing but I'm not sure, women in short, short skirt, women in long skirts, women in just a sheet of fabric, men in Lycra and spandex and traditional Moldavian costumes and then there was the Russian Army (no...not kidding...they were there) on stage with a hot pink tank and the Russian Folk Ballet and then there was some Greek guy in the tightest white pants I've ever seen and then there was some guy dressed in what looked like a green sequined pickle suit. It was over the top and FABULOUS! I love this show. Truly. I'm hooked. It makes me wish I was living in Europe so I could vote. Cause I totally would.

I suggest you Google this. Better yet...go to Eurovision.tv... you can watch the whole thing right there. Have fun!

Dreams...

I know that I am stressed when I start dreaming about work but occasionally the dreams are so strange and funny that it's almost worth it. Last night I dreamt that I was making a presentation to our agency's executive director. I showed up for this wearing an outfit that can only be described as something one might wear on the red carpet at the Academy Awards. I had with me as many visual aids as one could possibly think to have. I had a Power Point presentation, flow charts, hand outs, wall charts...you name it, I had it. The purpose of the presentation was to show the Big Cheese that since the unit I now currently supervise has grown to enormous porportions, it would make sense that a new position be created just for me. I was asking him to make me the Director of Long Term Care Management. During the course of this well orchestrated act I also wanted to let him know that since I would now be the Director they would have to consider who would replace me as Supervisor. I made an elaborate introduction and then "presented" my current assistant, Jamey, as the most likely candidate. As I said her name, the door to the conference room opened and Jamey entered decked out in her very best Oscar worthy ensemble. I think I even remember wearing a feather boa!

While the idea behind the presentation may make some sense, the sight of the two of us dressed up the way we were was quite spectacular and really funny! Especially since the office we work in is extremely casual. I don't recall either one of us ever wearing a dress to work and, most days, we are in capris or jeans and t-shirts. I almost wish we could record our dreams and play them back for other people to see. They would all get a kick out of this one!

On a separate note, it is hot here. Really hot. Before those of you from other traditionally hotter parts of the world start complaining just remember, I am from Wisconsin. We're not made for this weather! We spend the winter months making sure we have several comfy fat layers to insulate us from our god awful winters so when we hit July and August...well, let's just say, it ain't pretty. Generally, we are all red faced, tired from the humidity and on the cranky side. And if the heat lasts more than three consecutive days we start going outside with less and less clothing on...that's the ugly part. Haha!