Abigail M. Schilling

It's actually hot, too, not just like "Abigail's exaggerating" hot. The power keeps going out everywhere because the machines are overheating and over 20,000 people don't have power. There are car accidents and spoiled food and my constant complaining. Thank God (really) that our power hasn't gone out. Living in suburbia pays off.

(Speaking of suburbia, the other day I passed a shady blue-collar conversion van with "Sullivan Rattlesnake Control" hand-painted on the side. I wanted to follow it so badly but I would have been late to my destination. But really, rattlesnakes? Here in suburbia?)

Anyway, my complaining is Through The Roof and I've managed to discuss the heat in every single conversation I've had for the last six days. (I should be in sales.) Sometimes, when I've had to cross an asphalt wasteland before getting to my air-conditioned car, I get so worked up by the heat that I must call someone--anyone--and leave a message whining about the heat. Dear People I Call, I'm sooo sorry. I can't help it. It's a coping mechanism.

Aside from the Very Sweaty Monster in the Room, I had a very enjoyable weekend relaxing, watching The Office, and working on some writing projects. I even wrote one of those blog posts that I never finish because I can't seem to figure out what I'm trying to say. I am so complex.

Here's some of it:

I don't like to write about money on my blog because it's such a target judgmental subject. Everyone has views on what money should be spent on, how it should be spent, how it should be saved, etc. And while there are "wrong" ways to do things, most people are making the right decisions for them. Most people are deciding for themselves how they can use money to make a fulfilling life. And it's different for every person. I know and believe all this and I still have a hard time not judging. So I find it hard to open myself up to other's judgement.

And some thoughts on Labor Day:

When I was a kid, Labor Day was utterly confusing to me. I had only heard the word labor associated with childbirth and it was unclear to me why that had a holiday? And why did everybody get it off? Columbus Day, Yom Kippur, and Casimir Pulaski Day all made sense to me. But childbirth? Where did that ever get us?

What did you do on your holiday weekend, besides complain about the heat?