Adventure Awaits: Costa Rica Part 2

Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.
Unknown

Growing up, traveling became second nature. I enjoyed going on trips and seeing and doing things other kids don’t normally get to experience. I rode a bus in Peru up the side of a mountain where the road was so narrow that our bus had to back up several times for a car to continue going down the rocky, rugged road. One slight turn of the wheel in the wrong direction and the bus was going off a cliff with me and the 7 other tourists who were visibly shaking and holding on for dear life. All of this is to pet a herd of llamas at the top of Macho Pichu at a height of 8,000 ft. I learned to row a dugout canoe down the Amazon River on my 13th birthday where out of the blue and in the middle of who knows where another canoe filled with tourists started singing Happy Birthday to me as they rowed passed us. I got to travel to Curacao and Trinidad for sports exchanges once a year throughout middle school playing basketball, volleyball, tennis, and soccer. I was even named MVP for basketball and volleyball in my 6th-grade year. I have traveled by ship, train, air, and car to visit friends, family, and places of interest all over the world. I had not, however, traveled alone to a destination where no one I knew was waiting to greet my arrival. At least not until I decided to go on a Wild Woman’s Retreat in November of 2018. It was the best decision that I ever made. It was the final piece I needed to become whole and fully love myself the way I should have all my life. It allowed me to let go and enjoy all that surrounded me.

The Woman’s Retreat focused on self-love, forgiveness, and after letting go, being ready to move on. We completed hours of meditation sessions daily, but instead of doing them in a class or a living room, we did them in the rainforest or on the beach. We did various exercises to support each other letting go and working on transitioning into the butterflies we knew we were, but couldn’t see. We did this by finding our voices while we chanted and danced, often naked, in the rainforest. We went zip lining. We had massages. We had long meaningful talks about life experiences and listened to each other as we spoke our truths out loud. We had a marriage ceremony where we spoke heartfelt vows to ourselves.

On the last day of the retreat, I went to the beach and put my feet in the water, and talked to the spirits around me about love and how I was proud of who I am and that the right guy will be proud to be with me. I forgave myself for past issues as there is nothing to be done about them now. I promised to never let any one person make me feel bad about myself because the only person who can do that is me and I was no longer going to do that.

I learned that the hardest thing to do, but the simplest thing to do is just ask for help and be honest with others. I learned to let go of expectations of what might happen and just be in the moment. Not as easy for me as it sounds and something I am still working on today. I was able to embrace the imperfections that make me who I am and be proud of my whimsical self.

For my 35th birthday, I decided there was no better place to go to celebrate my mid-thirties and Alejandro’s and my first anniversary than Costa Rica. In April of this year, 2022, I went back to Costa Rica and reclaimed my inner happiness and peace, but best of all this time I was not going there alone, this time I got to share that joy and sense of peace with Alejandro.

It was nice to be able to share such a formative experience with him. I was able to show him where the retreat happened and the beach where I sat on a log with my toes in the black sand staring out into the ocean, sending out to the universe all the things I wanted from myself and the perfect partner. I got to show him Jaco where we spent a day exploring and laughing. We not only got to walk in the rainforests together, but we got to stay in a glass room right in the middle of it. The room had a bathtub out front where one can unwind and enjoy the sounds of nature. It was nice to be able to disconnect and just be one with nature and appreciate all the beauty around us. The best part was I got to do that with him. We have memories we will forever look back and smile about. We swam under waterfalls, woke up to holler monkeys, had a bat fly in our room, and so much more.

My favorite adventure was when we went waterfall repelling for our 1 year/my birthday (Our first date was on my birthday- meeting him was the best gift ever). Everyone was worried for us as we had never gone rock climbing, but I told them we would be fine and we were. We went out with a guide and a few other ladies from Denmark and repelled off 8 waterfalls. The largest waterfall was 80 ft. It was scary at first, but mainly because I am diabetic and did not want my insulin pump to get wet and stop working, as it is my lifeline. The guides were very helpful and gave me their waterproof bag so I could make sure nothing happened to it. My pump ended up being in a waterproof bag within a waterproof bag where it stayed safe and dry.

However, I was not as clever with my test kit. I only placed it in the waterproof bag we got in Florida. Turns out, that bag is not 100% waterproof. I found out when I went to test myself after repelling down the 80 ft waterfall with no hands that my blood glucose monitor had water in it and was no longer working. A truck had to come and get Alejandro and me, along with one of our tour guides that were bitten by an ant and were starting to swell up all over and not able to see. (Yes, he was the one holding the rope as I finished my final descent. Good thing my mother did not know that when they took the picture of me not holding on to anything.) The truck had to come thru mud, mini lakes, and a mountain of rock, to rescue us. They were able to bring us to the pharmacy where Alejandro and I were able to find a blood glucose monitor for $80 (Here in the states it is about $17).

In the end, I am glad we went and we were able to prove my father wrong because no one died. I would rather be out $80 for a blood glucose monitor than end up in the hospital because I no longer have a working pump and no way to get one due to being out of the country. I can’t wait till we go waterfall repelling again, but this time I am triple bagging everything I have in a waterproof bag.

Moral: 1) Sometimes stepping outside your comfort zone is just what the doctor ordered. 2) Continue putting what you want out into the universe because it just may come true 3) Being able to sit in silence and listen to someone tell their story is hard but good for everyone. 4) You, my friends and readers, are amazing. 5) Remain Wild and Free.

Thank you for reading and following my blog. If you have any comments or stories you would like to share you can do so in the comments below or by emailing zsmisadventures@gmail.com.

The Misadventures Continue

The best things in life are the people we love, the places we have been, and the memories we have made along the way.
Unknown

It has been a while since I wrote, so thank you for coming back. I cannot express how much it means. I started this website because I told a friend of all the silly things that happen on the light rail from time to time. That person (Shout out to Rachel) thought it would be a good idea to spread the laughs. Then it became a therapeutic thing for me and a way for me to truly pay attention to the things that were going on around me as I wanted to see if I could use it in my blog. Despite not entering any blogs for a while, I still thought about those misadventures that would be fun to tell. Some of those misadventures were: getting lost in Yellow Stone, turning my hair blue, issues figuring out how a shirt is to be worn, getting offered cashews at a concert to sit down, and hearing about some awful icebreakers on the light rail. All to be explained in future blogs.

My favorite misadventure by far this past year (2021) was meeting someone I am currently in a serious relationship with a few weeks before my birthday on my way home from work. I was completing training for a new job, and we got out an hour early. Unfortunately, I missed the first train that would bring me home and had to wait another 15 minutes. After about 6 stops this guy gets on. My dad told me 5 years ago, that I would meet someone on the light rail when he was selling me the interesting idea that the light rail was the best way for me to get to work. He had a green little square lunch box and was dressed in a dress shirt and tie, black slacks, and nice dress shoes. I thought, “Wow, not only does this guy have it together, but he is good looking too.” I couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit to myself as I thought this is the guy, but now what. He walked past me and sat behind me, but after one stop he moved to a seat next to me. I noticed that he was shaking his head and I laughed. He immediately looked over at me. I thought, “Now I really did it, smooth Z,” So I asked, “Are you thinking the same thing I am thinking,” And we both laughed. I smiled because without even trying I already had an inside joke with this man that I just met, but I couldn’t help but feel silly as we continued to talk. I gave him a hard time as he looked younger than he said. We were both wearing masks, per light rail mandate, so it was hard to tell what each other looked like. I made sure he was an ASU fan, taking the pandemic seriously (which he confirmed by shaking his head at all the people huddled together at the opening of Spring Training,), and by the way he spoke I figured we pretty much had similar values. I never laughed or blushed so much in my life. I felt like a schoolgirl talking to a guy for the first time. Next thing I knew we were at his stop. We acknowledged it was very nice meeting each other and hoped to run into each other very soon and just like that he was gone. I was saddened of course because I thought there went the man I was meant to be with, but I had hope we would see each other again if it truly was meant to be.

I told my parents when they picked me up, I met the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with if I see him again. My mother humored me and made sure I looked nice every day I left for work. She asked everyday for two weeks if I had seen him. The answer was always, “No.” I asked the universe to bring him back into my life if it was truly meant to be. Unfortunately, time was running out. I would be finishing training soon and be working the night shift at which point I knew I would never run into him again. As luck would have it, I missed the train I normally take home from training, and he got on and sat across from me. I was compelled to look over but didn’t know why and then I saw him and at the time he had turned and looked at me. We both said, “Hey nice to see you again.” We talked and laughed. He asked for my number and if I wanted to go out the next day. I told him the next day was my birthday, he laughed as he thought I was joking.

The next day on my 34^th birthday, April 27^th, I met the light rail guy at Cornish Pastry in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. He gave me lollipops as he felt compelled to get me something as it was my birthday. We both pulled our masked down and saw each other’s faces for the first time and I breathed a sigh of relief because he had a goatee, so I knew he was indeed 35 and not in his early 20 years. He also had the greatest smile I have ever seen. Who would have thought a year later I would still be seeing that smile and getting to sit next to him everyday as we ride the train to work? (Side note: I got a different job so I could workdays and no more weekends). When I look back on how we met, I like to think of it like an episode of extreme dating.

After my dad finally rode the light rail 5 years ago, he told me to never date anyone from the light rail, this time I am glad he was right the first time when he told me I would meet my guy on the light rail. Alejandro, I love you and am grateful for you and our story every day.

Moral: You never know what the day will bring so be open to the abundent possibilities.

Please feel free to share your comment below or at Zsmisadventures@gmail.com as it might be mentioned in a future blog.

An Ode To Cutie

Your favorite chair is empty now but the memories of our happy times are mine to keep always.
Unknown

Cutie Melgreen was the most awesome member of my family. Besides being one of a kind, she was the best caregiver I ever had. Whenever I was sick, Cutie would cuddle up next to my chest and lick my nose to let me know I would be okay. On 7/15/2021, I had to be the one to kiss her nose and let her know she was going to be okay as she took her last breath.

Cutie had a thousand ways to always brighten up the most challenging of days. Even my thoughts of her after passing, tend to bring a smile about the good times we had over the past 15 years. She was my wakeup call, so much better than the Choo Choo alarm that my iPhone blasts out every morning. Cutie always made sure to wake me up at 5:00 AM every morning to escort me to the bathroom so I could give her water from my bathroom sink. During COVID, when I worked from home for a week, she got into the habit of drinking the water, waiting for me to get ready, then escort me to the office where we would start our work day. She enjoyed sitting on my lap looking at the computer screen to review my work. She made it a point to be a part of every zoom huddle meeting I had because she was one of us. Once it hit 3 PM she would get up and walk me out of the office to my bedroom for our daily nap. How I miss those naps.

Cutie had a habit of sitting on my dad’s chair whenever he got up. It was almost as if there was an invisible alarm on the chair that went off only for her every time my dad stood up. Then my dad would have to plead with her for several minutes to jump down, but that never worked, in end he would have to tilt the chair up and wait for her to slide off. It was almost like a game the two of them played and it was always a joy to watch.

Cutie loved to be loved, but that didn’t mean she always chose the best times for it. On occasional weekends she would meow at 2:30 AM and keep pleading for me to wake up. When I finally propped up on an elbow, she would stroll over next to me, roll over and meow until I began rubbing her belly. When satisfied, she run off not to be found till the afternoon. On other weekend mornings, she would jump on my stomach and lay down as soon as I finally decided I would get up and do something with my day. I didn’t complain as it gave me an excuse to be lazy and spend more time with her. However, it didn’t help the many times she jumped on my stomach just as I was getting up to go to the restroom, but if she wanted love who was I to ever tell her “No.”

She enjoyed getting on my mom’s chest whenever my mother was preoccupied with reading or playing on her IPAD. She didn’t understand why my mother would want time to herself to relax, so instead she would cuddle her way to her chest and paw at her till she got the love and attention she wanted, then bite my mom’s finger and ask for more pets. That did not always go over so well for her. Most of the time after she bit my mom, she would stop petting her and let her sit on her lap, but most other times, Cutie had to figure out another place to lay.

My family and my friends enjoyed her company and loving way. Now she is back with my other cat, her boyfriend, and playmate, Scooter. I know they are smiling down on us and I am smiling up at them. She was beyond what I could ever hope for, she was more than my cat; she was my fur baby and will forever be a part of me.

To Game or Not Game…

Failure doesn’t mean game over, it means try again with experience.
Len Schlesinger

If someone were to ask me a few years ago if I considered myself a gamer, I would laugh and quickly say, “No.” I would admit to enjoying playing Sonic, Mario Cart, and Mortal Combat when I was a kid, but now I am an adult and I don’t have the desire to sit in my office and fire up the computer to play those type of games or take over the living room TV to play from the couch. Well, it turns out, there are some types of games that I can actually play in silence on my iPad that are quite challenging. I have come to find that my eyes light up when I see the picture above and secretly would love to have a real functioning Nintendo controller in my home. Maybe it is because I see the relics of my youth like Nintendo, Gameboys, CD’s, etc becoming extinct. I have seen phones and computers evolve and it makes me feel ancient. Maybe this is what makes me want to hold on and keep a piece of time alive. I see it fading and to be honest it reminds me that I one day will fade too. It makes me think of all the things that surround me and wonder what will still be around years from now. What will be upgraded or long forgotten.

If asked today if I am a gamer, I would say that I have come to find pushing buttons on a controller can be therapeutic. It is a way to tune out the world and focus on what is going on in front of me. I enjoyed playing Dungeon and Dragons, as long as, I could bring my character to life and not feel like I was restricted by silly rules. I mean it is an imaginary world, I should be able to fly if I want to. Point is, since COVID hit a year ago, I found myself playing games such as June’s Journey and Lily’s Garden for a few minutes daily. I found that it was relaxing and a great way to form a relationship with others who also play. I also learned that some games were a great way to exercise my mental dexterity. I was starting to think that my memory was just going to fade away due to past seizures. My ability, therefore, to retain images and recollections was going to be something I would just have to work around. I was glad to find some games are seen as a way to improve and strengthen my mental dexterity. I have also learned that games have glitches and that cursing out the streaming creatures is a pointless and futile effort. So if you are an adult gamer, be proud. If you have lost a long sought-after level in Candy Crush because your internet connection failed, you are not alone. There is no need to slam your iPad to the floor and watch it shatter across the room. You can express your frustrations here. I believe there are still fun ways to exercise one’s mind and, at the same time, learn the real meaning of patience.

Moral: 1) We all have our own ways to unwind. Find yours and don’t be ashamed to live your truth. 2) Remember a game is a game. It should be set aside from time to time to interact with the real world.

Please feel free to share your comment below or at Zsmisadventures@gmail.com as it might be mentioned in a future blog.

True Crime: Z Edition

“We need more light about each other. Light creates understanding, understanding creates love, love creates patience, and patience creates unity”
Malcom X

I want to begin by thanking everyone for following my blog. I will be starting a new work schedule and am hoping that it will not impact my posting ability. If I miss a few weeks, please bear with me while some adjustments are made.

The last few days have been straight out of a real-life true-crime documentary. I feel I live in a generally “safe” neighborhood. I know there are always complaints about what goes on at a nearby gas station with stories about sex trafficking and drug arrests, but those stories seem to be just that stories, until this week.

Day 1, I was coming home from work and there was caution tape around the outside of one of the entrances to my gated community. There were about 6 cop cars inside the caution tape blocking all access. A man was reported to have been shot in the leg and the gunman was believed to have escaped by climbing the entry’s block wall. The men in blue were searching up and down the streets of my secured compound while a police helicopter circled noisily overhead. Those gates only give a false sense of security. I am not sure if the man was found, but I do know I should have been scared that a gunman was running around my neighborhood, but I wasn’t. Instead, I got caught up in trying to figure out what was going on and wondering why our neighbor with a police scanner was not answering everyone’s queries on Slack.

Day 2, I came home from work to find a firetruck and two patrol cars parked outside the second entrance to our community. My first thought was relief that fewer policemen were needed for this incident. Before I could take that sigh of relief, my mother shouted, “There is a dead body.”

My mother reported seeing what looked like a big pile of trash laying on the sidewalk when she exited our complex at about 11:30 pm and headed to the train station. When we returned, the emergency crew had the area well-lit, and a dead body was stretched out along the curb. The cops and firemen had secured the scene. Again, our news apps were silent. I knew that if I was not working the later shift, I too would not have known that a dead body was found a few hundred feet from my front door. I couldn’t help but wonder if the body in the gutter was the victim in the preceding night’s shooting. The gunman, in my imagination, came back to finish the job. I went to sleep hoping that the person died of natural causes, but I will never know.

Day 3, I went to work wondering what mystery would greet my late-night return. I believe in ‘things come in three’s’ so I was expecting fireworks coming home. The consequences seemed to be mounting and only getting more violent. Unfortunately, the trend continued. I received a text message alert from Valley Metro just as I was leaving work and walking to the train station. The notification was to inform train passengers that my station and the one after mine were closed due to a police incident and that trains would not be travelling through the area. I would have to find a bus stop and take it to a station a few miles closer to home. I thought ‘the incident’ was probably a drug bust. I was wrong. A 14-year-old boy was reported to have been stabbed on the platform during a confrontation between 2 men and a woman. He was DOA at the hospital a few minutes later. If I had left work at the end of my shift instead of stopping to talk to my supervisor for 15 minutes, I would have been on the train and at the platform when it happened. I may have been the one to call 911. I may have been on the train with the man who stabbed the teenager. I may have been the one stabbed because I would not have sat quietly by and watch the man hit his female companion. Now that thought haunts me. It is a good thing too that my office is open 24/7 so I had a place to wait while stranded. The closest bus stop was a mile walk and wearing heels meant it was a mile to far. Luckily, my parents were willing get out of bed and head my way. They were not prepared for the police shutting down a mile of Central Avenue where my high rise is centrally located. After about 30 minutes of driving the back streets, they were able to get within a block of my office.

Everyday events can turn into life-threatening moments in a blink of an eye. One moment you are sitting in a pizza shop enjoying your thick-crusted pepperoni pizza and the next minute a man’s shoe lands in the middle of the tray sending the remaining slices flying like rubble from a blast sight. More on that story later. The point being no one ever really knows what the next moments will bring. It really is important to let our loved ones know we care and try to take some time to think about how we are moving forward. Life really is too short to be wasted being upset over who ate the last donut and better spent laughing with those you love.

Moral: 1) Tragedy is all around us. Learn from it and not let it consume you. 2) Be the light in someone else’s day because you never know what adventures they had to overcome to get to where they are. 3) There is more to life than work.

If you would like to share your stories you can do so in the comments below or by emailing zsmisadventures@gmail.com and your story may be sued in a future blog. Stay whimsical.

My Beloved Parents

Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a mother.
Unknown

Every parent’s mission is to raise

a respectful, somewhat honest, successful child,

34 years ago

You (Claire J. Melgreen)

and

You (Dennis A. Melgreen)

Accepted this mission

and decided to take it in stride

On April 27.1987

A day that will never be forgotten

There was no turning back

Before you knew it

you had a chubby little girl staring up at you

wondering what life was all about

As you looked at her

hoping to be the best parents possible

34 years later

That little girl is still wondering what life is about

and you are still hoping to be the best parents possible

Well this mother’s day, I am here to ease your wondering and let you know that

You are the best parents possible

Hey Siri

It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are.
Clive James

Today it seems that everyone has a cell phone, even my nieces and nephews received smart phones when they were 10 years old. One might wonder what does a 10-year-old need with a phone? The answer depends on the perspective. For the parents it satisfies a safety concern, for the kids it satisfies their addiction to the latest video games. Unlike a computer, the smart phone lets them play anywhere at any time – 24/7.

If I had had a phone at 10, I would have been able to call my mom at Magic Mountain when I wandered away from our after-ride meeting spot. Realizing I was lost, I did the adolescent most responsible thing, I wandered around the entire park looking for them. I checked the parking lot and was happy to see they didn’t leave without me. So I checked all of the other rides. Thinking they might be hungry like me, I check the restaurants to see if they were eating without me. I finally gave in and faced the truth. I was lost. So I went to the Lost and Found booth to see if my parents were waiting there. They weren’t, as they too where busy wondering the park. The officer was able to reach out on my behalf and bring us together.

All could have been avoided had I stayed where I was supposed to wait and had I realized that the people getting off the ride were the people who went into the ride before them. The other solution, I could have just gone on the ride, but then I would not have gotten the Mickey Mouse rain jacket the police officer provided to a scared and rain-soaked 10 year old. At the end of the day when time had soothed the anxiety pains and Mickey was still keeping me warm and dry, I began to think it worked out pretty good for me. I still have a tendency to wander off the beaten path and get turned around, but my trusty cell phone has made getting unlost sufficiently easy to the point that I now am no longer burdened with the ‘I will never be found syndrome’.

I remember buying a 20-foot phone cord that would let me take the desk phone from the office to my bedroom for 14-year-old girl talk privacy. I was later excited when we bought our first wireless receiver. I could then talk anywhere in the house and even on the front porch with just a handheld phone receiver, WOW. Now, my iPhone has advanced from a wallet sized phone that allows phone calls from most anywhere in the world to a small, advanced computer. Even more amazing, I can dictate a letter into my watch and have it sent as a text message and even answer a phone call on my watch. We have advanced to the point where we need on-line classes to learn how to use our phones to monitor our sleep and our wellbeing, how to take and edit photographs and videos from our professional-grade phone cameras, and how to use all of the programs that make life easier.

My dad brought home the newest iPhone 12 ProMax this week. It is a bit heavier, wider, has a better tri-lens camera for landscape photos, has more memory, and a battery that lasts longer. However, the new Siri may need some improvements. My dad decided it was time that Siri got his name right. He felt confident this new Siri on his phone was up to the task.

He asked Siri, “What is my name?” It told him, “Dobson.” It believes my dad’s name is, actually, the name of his place of employment. When my dad asked to change his name, Siri wanted to know the nickname he wanted to change. After dad said, “Dobson.” The phone seemed to go dead. We sat at the table for a minute or more when my dad, thinking he needed to start over, said, “Hey Siri.” The phone said, “Hey Siri,” back. Then my dad’s Ipad awoke with, “What can I do for you.” Every time someone said, “Hey Siri”, Siri, responded with my dad’s new name, “Hey Siri” and it started another device. This went on for about 10-15 minutes before Siri was reprogramed to acknowledge my dad’s name is Dennis and not “Hey Siri” or “Dobson.”

Moral: 1) Be patient as Siri is always learning too. 2) While cell phones are great, don’t forget to take some time to live as if cell phones don’t exist and spend more time communicating in person at a CDC socially acceptable distance.

Feel free to share your stories in the comments below or at zsmisadventures@gmail.com and your story may be used in an upcoming blog. Stay Whimsical.

Everyday Heroes

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
William James

No one knows what any moment will bring. That became very clear this week. We all have our routines: Get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, and do it all over the next day. However, there are those moments when something happens outside of our daily routine. Ever decision we make effects those around us.

My mother is known for jumping into a swimming pool in her jeans and t-shirt when a friend’s child fell in. She is known to gallop on horseback to push me back up on the horse I was falling off of. She has run down the street partially clothed to make sure I was alive after being hit by a car. She has kept an eye on my dad to make sure he doesn’t pass out from having low blood sugars in the middle of the night. She is an everyday hero.

This week I tapped into a family trait of jumping into action when those around us may be in danger. I got off the light rail on Monday focus on the thought that this was the first week of shadowing for my new job. I listened to my tunes while waiting for the cross walk sign to change. All of sudden another light rail was coming my way on the right. I looked to the left of me and a lady was standing on the tracks listening to her tunes ignoring the blasting honking of the train as it was hurling towards her to the stop. I waited a moment thinking maybe she would finally turn around to notice the train, but as the train came closer and closer it become evident that was not the case. It became evident that either I moved the lady or else. I know enough to know that a human can not take on a train.

I yelled, “train, move”, but I hardly heard myself. I leapt and grabbed her and pulled her back. I braced myself to be hit so I moved my head out of the head as I grabbed her around the waist. It only took a split second. The train came past us and the driver pointed to his ears indicating that possibly he was not a fan of headphones. The lady looked at me and in a apathetic tone said, “oh sorry.” She didn’t even see the train go past her. She assumed she just fell backwards into me.

Moral: 1) Never stand on the tracks. 2) Always be alert. 3) Everyone, even a Lady of Scotland, has a chance to be a hero to someone in someway.

Feel free to share your stories in the comments below or email zsmisadventures@gmail.com and your story may be in an upcoming blog.

Being A Grown Up

Birds don’t just fly they fall down and get back up. Nobody learns without getting it wrong.
Shakira

Growing up I could not wait to be an adult. I was excited at the prospect of dressing up in a suit or a dress and sliding my feet into a pair of heels before picking up my leather briefcase and heading off to a job that made me feel alive. I was excited to think that I would have my name engraved in gold leaf lettering on the door to my office that overlooked the city. I was excited to think of the freedom and ability to surround myself with office supplies and art that I could arrange as I saw fit. I thought being an adult meant no more tests and being able to make my own schedule. I thought it meant no more late nights studying for tests. I was wrong on every account.

It was a rude awaking when I entered the corporate world after stacking chairs on the beach, working the line at Jack In The Box, and being a waitress for many years. I was saddened to learn that not everyone gets an office. Instead most get a tiny bit of space to call their own. Rather than a skyscraper view of the city, I was surrounded by neck high carpeted walls. Rather than fine art, I hung production graphs from binder clips that were pinned to the wall with special carpet hooks. They don’t install gold engraved nameplates on the outside of the cubicle. Instead, they pin an index card with your name printed in 24 pt. Times New Roman. This makes for an easy disposal when leaving. I have been able to have my own office space twice and was deflated when I was told that cubicles were the new standard to better utilize space. I was heartbroken to see that most jobs’ dress codes are pants and a nice shirt. While this is nice it took away from the fantasy that I had of seeing my coworkers and I go shopping for fun colorful outfits that projected confidence. Instead, it left me feeling at times as though others may see me as trying to stand out when in fact, I just like to dress like the Avon ladies in the 70’s as it has always given me a sense of pride and confidence within myself. If I dress up, I feel as though others respect that I know what I am doing and are more likely to hear what I have to say. It also reassures me that I am at the job because someone believed I should be there. I learned that I do not get to set my own schedule and in fact, even if I am not working, I tend to find myself obsessing about projects that need to be completed. I found that studying never ends. Tests are just a part of life that is to be embraced so I am grateful that learning has always been something I enjoyed.

I also learned that Heels and the light rail, however, are not two things that go together. Last week I donned my favorite pair of pink heels and when I finally delicately tried to hurry to the light rail stop, the train took off as I swiped my boarding pass. I then went back to the car where my dad cautiously maneuvered through traffic to get me to a stop ahead of the train. I was able to run across the crosswalk with ease. I had learned how to better plant my feet when I run in heels from the time, I twisted my ankle. While trotting in heels, I went down in the middle of the crosswalk skinning my elbow and knees. Embarrassed but grateful my skirt didn’t rip in front of the hundreds of cars backed up at the Central Avenue light.

I made it safely to work on time, the ride home however was more adventurous. When the train stops at the platform before my home station, I like to move down the aisle and down the stairs to the doors. Today, while rehashing the training exercises, I stood up a little late for my walk to the front of the exit door. Halfway down the stairs, the train took off. The zero to 60 seconds take off, flung me backwards up the steps, arms flailing, legs spread out in front of me. As I slid back down the stairs, the spike of my heel caught on a steel clip which stopped my forward progress but not the spike which broke and smacked a sleeping dog, awake. The sudden stop launched my ASU lunch bag with such velocity that I now have bruises where it slipped off my arm. My laptop bag which I carry on a long strap across my body, darn near strangled me as it came loose and caught me around the neck. Luckily only two people saw it and it happened too fast to hit record on their phones. Luckily this time I was not in a skirt. I may become a commuter memory for them as the girl in heels that tried to walk when the train took off, just as I am known to several other passengers as the ‘flying cupcake girl’. I tripped once on my way out of the train. The cupcakes I was bringing into work went flying up the backs of several of my fellow passengers.

Moral: 1) Wear what makes you feel like you. 2) Heels and trains don’t mix, so make sure to wear flat shoes on the train and change into heels when arrived at the final destination.

If you have a story you would like to share feel free to do so in the comments below or at zsmisadventures@gmail.com and your story may be featured in a future blog. Stay whimsical.

Welcome Back

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. We’re so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Starting a new job is never easy. It is a mixture of anxiety and excitement. One may have a bit of guilt mixed in because of the sacrifices needed to be made to make starting the new job possible. This past week, I ventured out of the house and back into the world of office-work feeling a multitude of emotional reactions. Even wondering if what I was doing was a good idea.

Should I have left a job where I had complete freedom because I was trusted, for a step up the career ladder where I would be micromanaged? Should I have left a job where I could work from home for a job out in the still problematic pandemic world. It had been a year since I rode the light rail; would it be the same, would I be safe, and most importantly would I be able to get off at the right stop? I am here to report that the security on the light rail seems to have decreased, but that most people do follow the mask mandate while on the rail. Most people also maintain some distance from those around them. There have been a few instances where I did not feel 100% comfortable because masks were either not worn or taken off once they sat down around me. However, knowing I was vaccinated made me feel a bit more relaxed. If I contracted COVID I would not die, nor would my family, if I did unknowing bring it home.

There was one instance on my ride home that I had to get off a few stops early because police boarded the train to confront a man threating those who did wear masks. He stood on the seats, like a soap box preacher, and proclaimed his belief that the pandemic was a hoax and applauded those who stormed the capital on January 6th as true patriots. He gave the passengers five minutes, or he would remove their masks for them. That did not go over well with the majority of fellow passengers and lead to the call for security. His countdown was drowned out by the people yelling at the man to get off the train. When the uniformed officers of the law entered our car, I got off. Curiosity killed the cat as I recall, and I have a better use of my time. Needless to say, the light rail has not changed.

My first week at the new job was spending time in a classroom learning about the organization and the fundamental information needed to be successful. I was comforted knowing that employee safety was a number one priority, and every measure was taken to keep employees safe in and out of the classroom. Since I had previous experience working with the organization I wasn’t too worried about passing the end of the week test on a plethora of reading and lecture assignments. My personal quirk of never wanting to fail a test lead, as always, to making note cards, highlighting and memorizing all I could, in order, to ace the test.

There was one glaring failure during the week. On Friday the Test Day, construction required that the water to our building be shut off. My discovery meant I did not have access to drinking water, to the soothing sound of the entry fountain where I ate lunch, to water to wash my hands thoroughly for 2 minutes, or to the water that moves my pee and poop downstream. At my reportage, the bathrooms were closed and locked for the day. As a person who needs to drink plenty of water due to constant thirst and being exposed to Arizona heat, this was not something I wanted. I also am someone who when I get anxious, I must urinate frequently. “Test Day was going to be a long day,” I thought.

I discovered the no water situation because I happened to be the first person in the building that needed to utilize the facilities. My stomach was making noises as I entered the foyer. I ran into the nearest bathroom and took care of business. I felt relieved and ready to focus on the day ahead. However, that feeling only lasted for a split second because I soon realized the toilet was not flushing nor could I get water to wash my germ covered hands.

I telephoned the building maintenance department and reported the water outage at the entry restrooms. I was informed about the street construction and that staff was going to post signs and lock the bathrooms for the rest of the day.

I mentioned the imposition to our instructor who suggest we could use a gas station located a few miles away. At 8 in the morning that did not seem like an issue, but by noon the jug of lemon water I drank throughout the morning had been screened for all of the minerals my body could use and, by midday, had some left over to dispose of. Not having a car, getting to a gas station a few miles away seem impractical. I panicked. I reached out to past coworkers to see if I could use the restroom at their office during lunch or if they had the water shut off as well. I was relieved emotionally not physically to know that their restrooms were open. I was able to walk a few blocks to the rail station and jump a ride North two stops to my old office, punch in the secret code, do my business, and then wash my hands. I was back in time for the Friday Test and forgot to worry about passing it because I was so busy minding nature’s call.

As I sat in “my seat” (the first row, first section, facing the direction of travel) I could hear the universe whispering, “Welcome Back Z, to the ‘real’ world”.

For those wondering about the Friday Test, despite having to deal with the added anxiety of no restrooms and walking in the rain to use one, missing an afternoon hydration, and eating lunch on my way home. I did pass with 52/52.

Moral: 1) Don’t take even the little things for granted. 2) Always expect the unexpected.

Please feel free to share your comments below or at zsmisadventures@gmail.com.