Friends are the bacon bits...

in the salad bowl of life. 


It's true. You have life, which is kind of boring, with the lettuce that is work. The croutons which are your family, kind of crunchy and weird, but good. Then you have your friends, the bacon bits, the most amazing part, but maybe not always the best for you. But still awesome. 


I just got off the phone with the girl that I've known the longest, my best friend in the whole world. I've seriously known her since preschool, and we're still friends. How often does that happen? Most people lose touch, but not us. Sure, we don't get to talk to each other as often because we're both busy with work and we live almost two hours apart so I hardly ever see her. But still, We just talked for two hours on the phone. 


Do you have one of those friends who no matter how much time goes by, you start talking to each other like you just saw each other yesterday. Like no time has gone by since your last conversation, since the last time you saw each other. It's great. 


Then I have friends who.. whom.. I met in college and are amazing. I certainly changed when I went to school, becoming more outgoing and comfortable with myself. They got to know the new me, the one that I liked too. We all went through some great times. They're amazing people and I love them all to death. 


I just wanted to write this blog to get my feelings out about my friends and how amazing they are. Sure, they're all spread out now, around the state, country, and the world, but we're still friends. Thank God for the Internet and cellphones because without those things, I'd talk to no one. And I'd be sad. 

Friends are awesome :-)

My dog died today

09/12/93-12/16/11

I've had mostly one dog my whole life. When I was really little, we had a couple and I don't really remember them. But when I was five or six, we got Tedo. He was so small, he fit right into the palm of my hand.

I remember the day we got him too. I was getting a haircut. I was sitting in the barber's chair when my mom walked in with a little black ball of fur in her hand. I squealed, jumped out of the chair and squeezed him real tight.

He was my dog. We had a bond almost instantly. He followed me everywhere. He'd always sit on my lap, lay down next to me, what have you. He was so cute.

He hated it when I sang, though. He'd always howl along, telling me that I was awful enough to make him cry. But I kept doing it and he kept howling. Then, it morphed into saying my name really loud and he'd howl. It was hilarious.

There was one time, in the summer, and I was home from college. I had stayed up super late the night before, like 3 AM, and wanted to sleep in. But my mom came and woke me up around 5AM, telling me that Tedo had run away. He had gotten loose from his chain and wandered off.

We looked for hours. And we couldn't find him. I was devastated. I wasn't ready to lose him yet. I hadn't prepared myself for his death. So, when we had given up our search, I went up to my room and cried. And cried. And cried until I finally cried myself to sleep.

My mom woke me up again a few hours later, telling me that someone had called and told her that they spotted Tedo, wandering around two blocks away. I jumped out of bed, still in my pajamas, and took off. We drove around forever, until we saw him entering a field - mostly weeds and tall grass, and I panicked. I didn't know how I was going to find him in all that grass. But I did. He came walking out about ten feet away from me and just trotted along, like what he was doing was every day business. I yelled at him, told him to stop. He didn't even acknowledge me. I ran right out of my flip flops and caught him. He was freaked, at first. It was extremely hot, so he was disoriented and confused, thirtsy to all get out.

I was elated. I hugged him super tight, just like I had when we first got him. But that's when we realized something. He was going deaf.

Three years have gone by since that time, and he has only gotten worse. He was completely deaf, 3/4 blind, and he was losing weight so fast. We couldn't brush him or give him a bath, his fur would just fall off. We took him to the vet and found out he had diabetes really bad and that no amount of medication would make things better.

I think I was in denial. I didn't want to hear that Tedo was slowly dying. I couldn't believe it. My mom and dad asked me if we should put him to sleep. I said no, and that was the end of it. I wanted him around as long as possible. He was my dog, the one I'd had my whole life. I couldn't just send him to his death. I thought putting dogs to sleep was awful.

Lately, he'd been losing control of his bowels, peeing everywhere. I think he was confused. He probably thought he was outside and he could just pee whenever. He would often just stand around, looking lost and confused. Like he didn't know where he was. Then he would see me and walk over to me, hardly ever leaving my side. (except to sleep, which he did 98% of the time). Though he couldn't really see, he always found me.

I just feel like I let him down, I let him suffer. It was obviously he was in pain. And did I do anything? No. I just pretended that he was okay. And now he's gone. Forever. I'll never get to pet him again. Yell at him. Trip over him. But that's a part of life, I suppose. Life, death, taxes.

I know he's better now, no longer in pain, laying down in the sun patch in the sky. He loved laying in the sunshine, rolling around in the grass, just being weird. He was a good dog. I'm going to miss him. I feel silly for getting so emotional about it, but I can't help it. I hold all my tears and sadness inside until I can't take it anymore and one tear falls, then another, until I'm crying like a baby. But I'll be okay, eventually. Life is just hard sometimes.

Hello Adulthood!

Oh hey you.
How ARE you?
Me? Oh I'm fantastic.
Want to know why?

I'M EMPLOYED!
I might be a little excited.
I can't help it.
And it's a place I like! Whoa.

I am now an employee of the Sumner Gazette
my local, hometown newspaper.
I LOVE IT.
Just sayin.

I get to a whole bunch of new stuff
like subscriptions and working with circulation.
The lady I work with is adorable.

She calls me kid, kiddo..
today she called me tooty fruity.
That was new.

But there are several things I've learned about the newspaper business so far:

1) Everyone talks to themselves. It's like I was meant to work in newspaper. I talk to myself all the time. I hum a lot here, but no one listens to music except the girls that work in the mailroom. They're pretty boss. The press scares the crap out of me though.

2) Always keep a pen behind your ear. Seriously, I put down my pen for a second and I lose it immediately. I need a pen about every two minutes so up there is a safe hiding spot. Especially beneath all of my hair. That thing ain't going nowhere.

3) Everyone chips in. So far, I've edited pictures, proofed stories, layed out pages, designed ads, stuffed inserts into papers, answered phones, ran the cash register. EVERYTHING. It's crazy. I love it .

4) My office is haunted. Okay, they told me it's not haunted but I'm currently in the office and it's 8:06 p.m. and there are noises everywhere. It might be the bar next door that's making all the noise. Still, it's spooky.

5) There is no dress code, really. No one cares what you wear but you. I like sweaters.

So yeah, I really enjoy it. Long hours, but hey, how else do you make money?

No, I'm not becoming a prostitute or selling a kidney on the black market. I'm not that desperate.. yet.

Hey baby, what's your sign?

Ah yes, the ever corny pickup line. But does it really matter? Are certain signs more compatible than others? 


I've done some research and my conclusion is... wait for it.. the suspense is killing me.. 


NO. I know, it's crazy shocking right? Someone people live and breathe based on their "sun signs" and who is compatible with whom (maybe who? Oh hell, I don't know). And I think it's just silly. 


So, say this situation happens to you. You meet someone at a bar/restaurant/club/roller rink/whatever and you get to know them. You find out their birthday and immediately look up their horoscope and if you're astrologically compatible. 


The internet tells you no. You'll end up hating each other because your Taurus sign and his Cancer sign will end up tearing each other apart. Yeah, belief that. You'll end up using your horns and stabbing through his crabby shell. It'll be crazy. 


So what do you do? Do you end things because you're not compatible signs? No. You do not. That would be crazy. If you research it enough, you'll find out that our signs really have NOTHING to do with your lives. You are yourself, your own personality. Your life is not dictated because you were born on a certain day and are a certain sign. 


Sure, you look up characteristics of your sun sign and find that Oh My GOD, they all fit. Well, I did that and I thought that too. But some of those qualities are prominent in a LOT of other people. Not just Cancers. (Yes, I'm a Cancer. The wishy-washy sign. Awesome). I looked up a Scorpio's list and guess what, those characteristics applied to me too. It's crazy! 


I think we each find ourselves in every sign. Apparently, Cancers are the criers of the zodiac community. I know Cancers who don't even cry at funerals. And I also know Cancers who will cry during emotional commercials (that would be me. Those stupid PETA ads get me every time). There is no set Cancer personality. We're all different. 


Don't get me wrong, I got really into astrology awhile ago. I think it mostly had to do with looking up celebrities, finding out their birthdays, then determined if we were meant to be together (Josh Gates and I would make a perfect couple, astrologically-wise anyway. He's a Leo). 


But I don't let my horoscope ruin my day. If it says "You'll experience a great loss today", I'm not going to freak out. It usually turns out that I just lose my favorite pen. No biggie. It's just fun to read. If it happens to be correct, yippie. If not, oh well. I read it just for fun. 


Sorry for the random rant, this was on my mind today. I just recently figured out I was born on a cusp, which is when you're born on the first or last day of your sun sign. So, that's cool. I'm still not going to get a tattoo of my two signs together, like some people have done. That's just silly. 

Happy Election Day!

Oh, you didn’t know it was election day? Well, surprise! I wish it was the presidential election, but sadly no. Just the little stuff. I’m so tired of watching those TV commercials and the debates. I don’t believe any of it. I just go with what my guts says. What does it say? Don’t vote for Republicans. (I’m laughing a lot on in the inside.. Go Dems!)

In case you didn’t know this, I’m currently unemployed. So, what do the unemployed do with their unfortunate free time? 

1) look for jobs 

2) always tweaking the resume and writing cover letters and 

3) doing random things

 Right now, I am doing number three. I’ve had enough of one and two for awhile and I’m taking a break for a day or two. Of course, in my one/two day hiatus, my dream job will become available and then be filled by someone “more qualified” and with “more experience”.  *sigh* don't get me started.. 

Again, if you’re a loyal reader of my blog, you’ll know that I started to write a story. It wasn’t very long –only a few paragraphs – and it didn’t really have much meaning or anything. I’ve been working on it some more in my “free time”, developing a plot, structure, characters, the works. I even have a working title: Gibson, by Morgan Bergmann. Sounds nice, no?

                

Yeah maybe – it’s a working title.

                

Today is the perfect day to write too. It’s cloudy, rainy, and cold. I am currently sitting on my made bed (which I don’t do very often) in my very clean room (first time in a long time), wearing my favorite sweater, with a dog asleep next to me, a laptop in my lap and a cup of hot chocolate (with the little marshmallows) in my favorite gingerbread man mug next to my typewriter (yes, I have a typewriter).

The only weird thing about this is Sex in the City is on TV and I’m watching it. I don’t watch Sex in the City. So yeah, it’s weird.               

A lot of people don’t understand why I’m writing anything. To quote those people:

                

“It’s not going to come to anything” 

or 

“Shouldn’t you be doing something more productive with your time, like job hunting” 

or my favorite 

“Why? That just sounds like a waste of time”.

               

Wow, that makes me feel so great about myself anonymous people. You’re so nice. My answer to these people is this:

                

“I write late at night, from 11-2 in the morning. What should I be doing at that time other than sleep? Should I be job hunting then?”

                

They’re silent . HA! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it. I do a secret checkmark in my mind, chalk one up for Morgan.

                

But yes, unemployment has allowed me to do some things I otherwise wouldn't. I get to write, I get to see my nieces and nephews a lot more, hang out with friends.. The downside? No money. And that's a pretty big downside. 

Anyway, that was all I had to say. So here is an excerpt from my story/book/thingy: 

       My bedroom door was closed and my parents had removed all the posters I had on the outside. Did they change everything on the inside too? Or is it all the way I left it when I was 17? My hand turned the knob and I was immediately transported to my teen years.

      It still smelled the same, like my lavender and vanilla candles, both of which were still sitting on my desk. The corkboard on the wall was covered with pictures. My sister and me, my old dog Rusty, my best friend Beth, our group of friends at a birthday party, all left untouched. Old books were lined up alphabetically on my bookshelf, mixed with the knickknacks that I loved to collect.

     It looked like the seventeen-year-old me could come strolling through the door any moment and pick up where I left off. I didn’t take anything personal with me to college, except for a few photos of my family. I wanted to start completely over.

     A framed picture of Beth, dusty from my absence, sat my by bed. We were so happy then, our smiles innocent and full of life. God, we were so young. I picked it up and held it close. Beth was the reason I left this town. I couldn’t stand the looks, the whispers behind my back. People were judging me for things I hadn’t done. I put the picture down and closed my eyes and

     I heard the screech of the tires, 

     Beth screaming, 

     People yelling,

     A knock on my door brought me out of my daze before I went fully under. My doctor told me the black outs were a result of the accident. He didn’t know if they’d ever go away, a seemingly permanent reminder of what I had done. This trip was going to be harder than I thought.                 

Why Josh Gates is the perfect man

So, if you’re a loyal reader of this blog, you’ll remember a post that I wrote a long time ago (yeah, probably not. I won’t hold it against you if you have to look it up) I had a dream about Josh Gates. We hunted Big Foot together. It was amazing.

You don’t know who Josh Gates is? Well, God invented Google for a reason. Look him up. Quick-like. Okay, if you're too lazy to open a new tab, type in Google (or if you have Google Chrome, it's so much easier! I love me some Google Chrome. Just sayin'), I'll include a picture. 

He’s hot, right? Not like a.. preppy, perfect, metrosexual, manscaped way. But like a real man. Women don’t want a dude who spends more time on their appearance than we do. We (and by we I basically mean me) don’t a guy who is worried about his manicure or how his hair is out of place.

No. Quite a shocker, huh? I love men like Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, and Josh Gates. A real manly man. Who can open jars and reach things up high and beat people up if I need them too (you don’t know when that will come in handy).

I drew this myself. I'm an artist, what can I say? 

Josh is really tall, like 6’3”, and sometimes towers over people. Especially if he’s investigating somewhere with a generally shorter population (cough cough, China). Imagine him walking in a mall in China and just standing a head above everyone else. I’m laughing really hard at the image. (see my drawing on the left) It’s great. And he’s not small either, like.. weight-wise. He’s a good sized guy and I love it. LOVE it.

I hate the producers of that show. Seriously, can we get more opportunities to see Josh shirtless because that would be great. Kthanx. Being the creeper than I am, I looked up shirtless pictures of him on Google. NOTHING! Damn it Josh, just take it off.

Also, a man won’t make it far with a woman unless he has a sense of humor. Josh definitely has one of those. The main reason I watch his show, Destination Truth (DT), is because of his commentary. And the way he interacts with the locals and makes fun of their crappy transportation (is that on purpose or do they just have really bad luck? Because seriously, they always drive the worst cars). His jokes aren't just funny, they’re smart and witty.  And it’s great. He is just so funny, I crack up the whole episode (well, until the end and then I get sad because it’s over).

Don’t get me started on his face. Okay, you did so know I’ll tell you what I think. It’s beautiful. Those eyes.. *sigh*. And that smile of his is just plain adorable. Look at it. How cute is that? He's just so excited to be holding that chicken! His beard? It’s fantastic. A lot of men can’t pull it off, but he can. I love that it’s red. That makes is just that much better.

Okay, this is getting kind of creepy. Well, actually, it got creepy basically in the first sentence. But come on, Josh seems like the perfect guy. Okay, not perfect, but pretty darn amazing. I’d take him in a heartbeat. I could be that girl he comes home to after a long investigation. I can see him coming home, putting his suitcase on the floor, his clothes still rumbled from the flight. I’m in the kitchen, making dinner...

Oh God, it got creepy again.

Is This Heaven?

If you're an Iowan, you definitely know the answer to this question. Or have seen the movie Field of Dreams. You should, it's pretty great. I've been to the FOD twice and it was great both times. 


Anyway.  That's my topic of conversation today. Iowa.

If given a map of the United States and asked to point to Iowa, most people wouldn’t know where to put their finger. First, they usually point toward Idaho. 

Nope. Wrong. Their next guess is usually Ohio. 

Still wrong. “I honestly don’t know. Here maybe? I think I’m at least close. It’s somewhere in this area” And they kind of circle Nebraska. 

Close. They've got the general idea. We are there somewhere. 

I don’t know how you can live in the United States, especially those born and raised here, and not be able to identify all 50 states. I mean, seriously? Did you not pay attention in geography? Do you live under a rock? City people.. *shakes head in disgust*

I think people from states like Iowa feel a sort of pride. Nothing ever happens here, no one really talks about us, so whenever someone mentions us.. we get excited. Or at least, I do.

For example:  I was watching an episode of Criminal Minds the other day. If you haven’t seen Criminal Minds, we can’t be friends. It’s hilarious and serious at the same time. Plus, Derek Morgan (Shemar Moor) is damn sexy. Not just sexy, but reaaally sexy. He has this voice that is just so deep.. and those chocolate brown eyes that stare straight into your soul and pull at your heartstrings.. excuse me a moment. I have to go stand in front of the freezer to cool off.

(yells from kitchen) Does anyone have a fan? My God.  Let’s stay away from the Derek Morgan/Shemar Moore subject before I completely melt.

Anyway, I was saying.. I was watching Criminal Minds and they said they had a case to attend to in… wait for it… Council Bluffs, Iowa! I did a double take. Did I hear that right? They said Iowa! Alright! 

I know it’s a weird thing to get excited about, but Iowa never gets any attention (except around election time, whoopdedo). It just seems strange that a popular TV show would base on of their episodes here in Iowa (they didn’t actually come here, I don’t think. Why would they come here? Have you seen Iowa?)

If I’m reading a book and I notice they say something about Iowa, I like that book a little better.

It seriously might just be me. I love it when people pay attention to Iowa. It’s kind of a great place to live. Sure, there’s not too much to do, but that’s why you have to be creative. Make your own fun (but not like, stupid Youtube video of you jumping off of a building “fun”. 

That’s just not smart at all. People, get hobbies). We Iowans have to be creative or there is a possibility we would go stir crazy.

The people here are nice. I mean, almost too nice. I live in a small town, roughly 2,000 people, and people wave at me all the time. People I don’t even know! It’s… nice.

Iowa is just.. nice. Well, in some places. Others, maybe not so much. But the Iowa that I know is. Fo' sho. 

I even looked up famous people from Iowa. They include: 

Johnny Carson - Corning

Lee De Forest - Council Bluffs. Apparently he invented this thing called the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes weak electrical signals and amplifies them? Good on ya. 

William "Buffalo Bill" Cody - Scott City 

Herbert Hoover - West Branch. Yeah, that's right. The president of the US. 

John Wayne - Winterset

Cloris Leachman - Des Moines 

Laura Leighton - Iowa City. Apparently she's an actress on Melrose Place. Yup. So that's fun. 

Two people from Lost? Michael Emerson and Evangeline Lilly. 

James T. Kirk - I don't care if he's fictional. Still cool. 

Shawn Johnson -  Des Moines 

Tom Arnold - that dude from Roseanne. I don't know where he's from though. 

Dallas Clark - he plays for the Colts. He was my favorite player for the Hawks in his hay day. 

Zach Johnson - the golf dude. He won something once.. 

Ashton Kutcher - Cedar Rapids. And he's hilarious. 

Elijah Wood - No, Frodo! (you would only get that if you watch Elmify on the Youtube) - Cedar Rapids 

Yeah so, that's about it, that I care about anyway. How fun is that? Go Iowa! 

It's not a bad state, despite the rumors. Sure, we produce a lot of corn and it smells like a farm pretty much everywhere you go but you get used to it. 

Next time you fly across the country, don't forget to wave at us! We're the ones in the middle.