Getting asked on a date...at Wal*Mart

Excuse me if this post bores you, pretty people, but I literally don't remember the last time I was blatantly hit on, so I was very surprised by the going ons of Friday night.
Let me take this chance to talk about yesterday in general - it was an odd day.  I will asterick off the general day stuff.  If you just wanna read about me getting hit on, skip to the bottom.

*****
I was talking to a previous member of my group that is now debunct and another previous grouper came up.  We'll call the 1st person Beth and the second Ann...just for fun.  I believe Ann is from Wisconsin and is pretty much the epitome of every stereotype you can think of about Wisconsinites.  Wisconsoners.  Dwellers of Wisconsin.  Whatever.  Beth was talking about rap of some sort and it reminded Ann of a story.  Let's stop right there and dip our toe in the "descriptive" pool for a second.  All 3 of us are white girls.  Very white girls.  Beth does seem to enjoy some rap, but Ann and I look like we couldn't pick Snoop Lion out of a lineup.  I think I could, though.  Not sure about Ann.  Alright, Ann's story, in full Wisconsin accent:

"I woke up really early the other morning, at like 4am and couldn't go back to sleep, so I turned the TV on...and it would up on MTV." (Pause for us to think about her watching MTV and laugh.  We did.)  "So this video was on and it was something like, 'B*tches bad, hos better, ladies good.'  It was like a positive message video and it was shot like a silent film.  It was actually pretty cool!" (Another pause for us to think about Ann bobbing her head along to that chorus and for us to laugh.  We did.)  "And then at the end it said it was dedicated to Paul Reubens who played Blackface."  I furrow my brow and ask, "Who?" as I did not know Paul Reubens had ever painted his face black for a film.  "Paul Reubens...wait..." All 3 of us at the same time: "That's Pee Wee!"  Lots of laughs, tears even.  Anyway, she went back to her office, googled it, sent us the link and declared "Paul Robeson!  I was close"

Very.

 

Close.

After that whole fiasco, I dipped into a sad phase.  I was out of things I could do under the ending contract, and hadn't been trained in the new contract yet.  However, things picked up and I was invited to hang out by 3 different groups...a first group that made plans with me the night before, a second group that texted me during the day, and the last group was my boss' boss asking if I wanted to go have drinks at On the Border after work with a couple of other people from the ending contract.  Anyway, it made me feel special.  So, onto the whole point of the post...
*****
 I got home from work and was tired, but needed to go to Wal-Mart for some stuff.  I decided to take a nap and then go about 11pm.  Jon was close to getting off work and after not being able to get ahold of him to see if he wanted to join me, I headed to Wal-Mart alone.  (For the record, he had misplaced his phone and was freaking out thinking he lost it altogether.)  I got a shopping cart from one of the outside cart returns and was one more aisle away from going in when a truck pulls up to my right (My wedding ring was/is on my left hand, so I'm going to assume that he didn't see it...). 

"Will you be my friend?" was inquired to me by a upper 30's-lower 40's looking redneck kind of man.  Thinking he just needed directions or something I smiled and said, "What do you need?"  "Well...a friend.  Will you be my friend?"  Thinking this was some drunk escapade or someone really not playing with a full deck, I said yes.  Then he asked if I might want to go on a date sometime.  I then told him I was married and got this surprise response:  "You are cute." (I thanked him.) "You are SO CUTE." as he drove away.  (I thanked him the second time, too.)  Add in the fact that I saw a person dressed in a halloween outfit from head to toe as I walked in and I was pretty freaked out.  Then I realized that I didn't know if creep-o was parking to come shop or if he was leaving.  Once I was safely tucked away in the bread aisle, I texted my husband to beg him to come to Wal-Mart.  He found his phone, saw the 2 texts, the missed call, and called me back.  He came to save the day.

I have no idea what the guy was doing.  I don't feel very hit-on-able, so I almost feel like he was trying to compliment me or something.  I was not dressed up.  I pretty much dress down to go to Wal-Mart, partly for this very reason.  I had napped in my clothes and makeup, didn't re-brush my hair, and probably still had drool caked on my face.  I have a hard time believing that people go to Wal-Mart to ask other people out on dates.  Needlesstosay, I shall not be going back to that Wal-Mart unescorted at night again.  Especially so close to Halloween.

A HEALTH Update?

I don't want to jinx anything, but I think I might be getting healthier by going into the Danger Zone (What?  You don't know what that is?  It's where I go every night when I put my flight mask on...AKA CPAP machine...).  It was a gradual change and there are still some nights when I want to rip the mask off and throw it against the wall, but I'm getting more energy.  And I'm keeping wild hours because of my husband's recent work schedule, so I don't think I'm getting MORE sleep, I think I'm getting BETTER sleep.  I have to sleep with the mask on for 4 hours each night (It knows if you are wearing it or just have it sitting on the bed).  Some nights I literally count down until I can take it off.  Other nights, I wear it all night.  The horrible, "rip-it-off" nights are getting fewer and further between.  Tuesday, I took the day off from work and I mowed our entire yard - front and back - after weeks of growth and I've never tackled both sections before.  Granted, I was beyond sore after that (reminded me of my factory days when standing for a shower after my shift was some sore of cruel punishment), but I did it (mowing and the showers).  And I edged around most of the front yard today, which only took about 20 minutes tops - another feather in my cap since it's something I'd never done.  Then the battery died and my company arrived.  I hope to finish tomorrow unless it rains. 

Also, I think my overall mood is better.  I mean, I'm probably not the best judge of that, but I don't feel so bat**** crazy anymore, which seemed to be happening more and more as I got older.  I feel normal.  I feel tired sometimes, but I'm not nodding off at work.  I feel sad at times, but not the deep dark abyss I've traveled to once or 5,000 times.  I feel happy, but not run outside and jog the block once or 5,000 times ecstatic.  My contract ended at my job and I'm not in freak out mode.  Know that I was always told that I had a spot waiting for me, so I never had to worry about not having a job, but that's still some pretty scary stuff.  I guess I'm just trudging through the emotional toll it is/will take on me.  I was in no way prepared to say goodbye to this small group that gave me a shot 8 months ago.  I hadn't realized that we were so close - that we were actually friends and enjoyed each other.  We lost one of our 7 to another company and time will tell how many more.  I'm just switching to another contract, but that means another building, another desk, different people.  Transitions.  But I'm game.  I'm trying my best to wrap up the contract we lost so I can move full speed ahead into my new contract.

I'm better?

The post I've been putting off for too long - tattoos

I wasn't sure how I wanted to go about this, but I have decided to share my designing phase with you.  Behold, I want 3 tattoos:

The logo for Kubota here on my left foot

Still mostly visible in heels

And then 2 acorns, one on the second toe on my left foot and the other close to my small toes on my right foot.

Not sure of exact positioning on toe.  Maybe closer to the nail.

Now, I know that I'm often a fountain of information in most of my posts, but I would rather keep their meanings rather hush hush at the moment.  Just know that, yes, they do hold special reasoning in my heart and honestly, one of them has an added bonus of being hilarious.  I had been wanting a tattoo for awhile, but I couldn't decide on what I wanted and then due to some serious down time at work, I had somewhat of an epiphany.  Anyway, just throwing that out there.  Just keeping you in touch with the life and times of Tabitha.

Unfortunately still an UNhealth update

After a frustrating visit to my CPAP supplier, I came home with a different mask and a different machine than I had used in the sleep study.  I have used it/them every single time I have gone to bed...be it for a nap or for the night...and I am still not used to the dern thing(s).  I must have been some kind of weirdo at the sleep study because they put the full face mask on me and I was out.  I slept for the full 3.5-4 hours until it was time for me to go.  With my mask and machine at home, I only just last night got a 3-4 hour stretch in.  Before that, I was only sleeping 2 hours at a time with the machine hooked up.  The machine freaks me out.  It's like it is breathing with me.  The one at the sleep study just blew the same pressure the whole time (I'm pretty sure, anyway...) and I think that jived better with me.  The machine is pretty good at mimicking me, but sometimes I take a long pause between breaths and it gets mad and starts vibrating and pulsing air.  Nothing like focusing on breathing to soothe you right to sleep...NOT.  I was told that it is supposed to be rather loose on your face so it doesn't hurt you and "some leaks are okay."  Hmm...this sounds like "a little poo in your brownie won't hurt you" to me, so I've really struggled with that concept.  At first I tried to go with the flow, but either last night or the night before I realized that the mask absolutely CANNOT be loose when it hits my pressure range because it's too strong.  The entire mask leaks and sometimes even makes a "balloon losing air" (polite description) noise.  After really torquing it to my face, I slept better.  It either rubs my nose or blows air in my eyes, so I'm currently choosing rubbing my nose.  It's a very annoying commitment, especially when I have yet to see/feel the results.  I'm still tired *literally just yawned* all the time.  I'm going to stick with it for at least a week longer.  Every night is getting better, although I still have those moments when I just want to throw the thing against the wall.  I could give some other details, but the main point is that it's not the overnight turn around I was expecting/hoping for, but I think it's getting better.  PS, just for some visuals here:

Current mask that isn't great just yet and may never be



Mask I tried at the sleep study that didn't hurt me, is 20% lighter, not as wide, and is currently unavailable to my CPAP supplier.

 

Even the headgear would be better for me as the top strap is just straight and doesn't try to fit around the crest of my head...a loose strap in my current headgear situation.



Unhealth Update

Since I last wrote, I have learned more.  I found out that during the first part of my sleep study (11pmish-2am) I stopped breathing more than 120 times per hour (I assume I was told correctly, although that seems crazy high) and I averaged not breathing for 18 seconds at a time, although once I didn't breathe for 59 seconds.  I had a thought so I crunched the math and confirmed my thought that I was NOT breathing more than I was breathing during that time (3600 seconds in an hour and I spent an average of 2160 not breathing...).  Is that even possible?  Doc also told me that "severe" sleep apnea is stopping breathing 30 or more times in an hour, so clearly my 120 meets that criterium.  My uncle had asked which kind of sleep apnea I had and was surprised to learn that I have both kinds - Central and Obstructive.  Not only is something physically blocking my airway (obstructive), but my brain is also not sending the right signals (central).  I'll have to research this some more and figure it out.  My doc ordered me in to get a CPAP machine ASAP  (CPAP-ASAP...ha), so I have an appointment tomorrow to pick one out.  After a long day of fighting with Indians yesterday, I also get to fork over some cash because I didn't play by their rules.  Just thought I'd throw that out there.  But I'm looking forward to getting the best night's sleep of my life tomorrow night.  Let's see if it can make up for the literal years I have missed.