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4.23.2013

SUNNY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!


things that are good right now, right this very minute:

▲▲▲ there was a day last week where we spent the e n t i r e  d a y outside. we met friends in the park, we met other friends in the park, we met more friends in the park, i broke in a new pair of shoes (they broke me in let's be honest), and that sun just kept on shining as if it had nothing better to do but lure my freckles out of hiding and cook the tops of our heads to a nice medium rare. it was so good. the sun made my arms itch and i love that feeling!

▲▲▲ my dad amazoned us a dvd of tom sawyer. we watched it last night and oh boy. it is about the worst movie i have ever seen in my whole life but i love it. i think only because i know my dad loves it. sometimes i think about my dad and all the silly ways i take after him and it's just all good. i carry your nose with pride, dad. i carry it with pride.

▲▲▲ lastly. we had this hysterical episode last night regarding brandon's student loan debt. (all the time i want to type "our" student loan debt, but really . . .) it was actually kind of wonderful and now i am going to tell you about it. 

so yes. brandon was checking in on his student loan account when he saw, to his great and astonished horror, that someone had scheduled a payment for the full amount of his student loans. like, the fu-uu-uuuull amount. all of it. the full amount is something like unto the price of a house. a big-ish house. sooo.

so first he sat up really straight and stared at his laptop like it was growing ears. his eyes started shifting about nervously. you could see the panic level rising . . . rising . . . rising . . . yup, there it is. ding ding ding!

then his hands went straight to his hair.

"ohhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyy . . . . . . ." he breathed. and then silence.

and then he became a total statue at his computer. for, like, we're talking a full two minutes here. no moving. real intense eyeballs.

"what happened?" i finally asked. generally in these situations i know it's never as bad as it looks, because brandon is the biggest over-reactor on planet earth. the rule goes, the more freaked out he is, the less likely it's actually any big deal. i felt pretty confident about things, cause he was losing it.

he told me about the scheduled payment and then whispered, "can i borrow your phone?" because by the way, this is the guy who earlier that day left his phone in the bathroom at work and didn't notice it was gone until after he'd left the office for the night. soooo, it was that kind of day for him already.

so the thing is, occasionally this happens. a loan is transferred from one bank to another, and in the process of the one institution paying it off completely and then getting their records straight it shows up looking funny in the account for a few hours. brandon knows this. i know this. we both knew this. brandon hadn't accidentally selected "pay this sucker off, to hell with it," but seeing it happen is different from knowing it happens.

the point is, there will never be anything funnier or more wonderful than the sight of poor brandon holbrook standing nervously over the trash can where my cell phone was charging, with a finger in one ear and the phone to the other, saying "help! help! help! help!" repeatedly at the student loan automated phone menu person who clearly wasn't understanding a word he was saying. and just knowing it was fine, and that we weren't about to be a hundred million dollars broke the next day, and then watching him hang up and say, very casually like i hadn't been there to see the whole thing go down already, "it's okay, i'm not going to freak out."

it was just so funny. and i just love him so much.

▲▲▲ THIS article about sperm trees, and THIS one about puke trees. we have both on our street and let me tell you, YES. on both counts. 

▲▲▲ bee tee dubs, writing this much is exhausting.

37 comments:

  1. this a darn fine post, miss natalie. darn fine. good for you for praising all of the little and big good great grand things. also, yesterday i had an interview for a new writing gig, and not only did i bring you up, but i brought up that huckster of yours when my interviewer began speaking about how she wants to start including stylish little ones, etc, in the clothes section of this magazine. and i said (ready?) "oh! like huck!". just that. and then i was confused when she did not know your blog, and i fear it may not be a good fit for my next writing gig.. ;) thanks for sharing these pieces of your life!

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  2. i accidentally selected 'pay all' with my cc bill one time. not quite as much as my student loan bill, but it felt like it at the moment!

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  3. this summer IS going to be the best, and did you hear what louis ck had to say about sea lions on his hbo special last week? ;)

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  4. oh, natalie. your blog is just the cutest. i just know we'd be real life friendos, if i didn't live a country away.

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  5. Talk about a panicked moment. I would have freaked out...I love the pictures. They are so colorful, and make me excited for the warmth of summer.

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  6. Oh, I love those bright sunny days in early spring, when it's just nice enough for the sun on your back to warm you right up :)

    Some Snapshots Blog
    Jess

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  7. This made me smile, thank you!

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  8. this post just about gave me the biggest smile and it's not been a day that brought about smiles.

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  9. you really are the coolest. i mean, i don't know anyone else who would wonder that about sea lions. made me smile! i love that spring is out for you guys, really. the photos are just faaabulous. i loved loved your stories on your dad + brandon, as always. here's to summer! xo

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  10. Hilarious!! I would freak out too!! When I first was reading this and it said "someone" scheduled the full payment, I thought it was an anonymous donation, which would be awesome! It's happened 4 times on facebook where I've had facebook friends who had someone anonymously pay off their debt.

    Wouldn't that be awesome, instead of awful?!

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  11. So funny!! Lets just say my husband left his phone in the bathroom at work (the hospital) too. Only whoever swiped it left everything switched on so we were able to watch that poor little stolen phone move around for a good 24 hours before the thief got smart and wiped it. I'm so glad the sun is out in NY. I'm doing my best to not cry over the 90 degree weather here in Phoenix!!!

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  12. we have the sperm trees in cincinnati too! and there is nothing more uncomfortable than when someone you don't know very well asks you "don't they just smell like something so familiar? i can't put my finger on it" awk-ward.

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  13. The sperm trees have got to be the grossest, I thought I was a weirdo for thinking that! I looooove posts like these. It's so interesting to hear little snippets of other people's lives. Sometimes I weird myself out because I feel like I know you and we've been friends for years, but we are complete strangers. The Internet is a very creepy place. But so great at the same time. :)

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  14. On Friday me and my 2 yr old went with my husband to work. He goes all over Scotland "checking on computers" and so I thought we'd tag along. The sun was out and it was 55 degree's!!! I think it got up to 60! HEAT WAVE IN SCOTLAND!!! We ended up at the seaside and it was bliss. I got a little pink and we were worn out! I hope more days like that come soon. I'm tired of cold wet Scottish weather.

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  15. Full payment of student loan?! Oh my. That sounds like an April Fool's joke gone wrong. Haha. Hope it gets sorted out soon! :)

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  16. My coworker just had the EXACT SAME experience with her student loan. And we are overseas now, so a full thirteen hours ahead of any representative that might answer the phone. Her frantic calls to the helpline resulted in the recorded "Please call back during normal business hours." OH MY.

    The next day, she got an e-mail, telling her that they had switched companies. And everything was copacetic.

    But this made me laugh out loud all over again, remembering her exact same panic and wide eyes. You can let the holbs know, he is not alone. :)

    PS, you blog how my thoughts sound in my head and I just love it. Keep up the fabulous writing, mama.

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  17. A full payment? Sounds so terrible. I would be freaking out. Hanna

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  18. spending all day outside in this amazing weather is just wonderful.
    I am totally with you on the sea lion thing, I want to be a sea lion in my next life too. Chilling on a rock all day, take a quick dip to cool down... oh what a life.

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  19. Loving this post, I got some looks for chucking out loud! And you tell Brandon he is not alone, I had that same freakout last year and it is THE WORST!

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  20. You are a great writer.

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  21. Yikes! A full payment.. that's a scary thought! Glad it was easily sorted out though. And a full day outside... that sounds wonderful! Still pining for that weather!

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  22. Oh my gosh! Crotch trees! Yes! We have them on our street too, and they lined the entrance of my High School....where they got dubbed as the 'Crotch Tree.' How are those things so popular??? Peeeee-yew!

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  23. Ahhhh this makes me so excited for moving to New York and spending sunny days in Central Park!

    And the full payment?! Holy heck!

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  24. yay for large 6-figure student loans! we have them too, thanks med school. we see the balance about once a year and each time i wet my pants a little. and think about the fact that even after my husband is a doctor and making money, we'll still be living like broke college students. i seem to remember that horrible smelling tree from provo as well??? gross.

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  25. I have a large student loan (not anywhere as big as Brandon's but large for me) and I always wish when I log-in to pay some magical fairy would have already done it for me-or possibly something funny happned and the computer system wiped my debt away. Oh if only!!
    I pine for sunny days in Centeral Park... or at least weeks without some major snow storm.
    Loved the post!

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  26. Huck just looks so darn cute in those pink pants!

    xo Lisa
    Making Life's Lemons

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  27. Oh to be a fly on the wall to see Brandon freak out. It'd be the most calm hysterical episode I've ever seen in my life. I love all the photos you post. Huck and Manhattan look beautiful, as always.

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  28. You are simply a hoot Miss Nat the Fat Rat and I love it.

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  29. I died over the Brandon part! hahahaha Too funny!!

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  30. Wow housing prices sound reasonable where you are from then :) we moved to Sydney, Australia and in our neighbourhood two bedroom semi houses go for 900.000+ and we are not in an expensive area!!!

    Great post, as always!

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  31. Such nice pictures! Huck is adorable.

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  32. Totally random but ...What happened to your book that you're working on?? Any excerpts? What is it about? When can I buy it? Will there be a kindle version?

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  33. Loving Hicks booties, where can I find those! Adorable.

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  34. oh my god that story about brandon - you told it perfectly. hilarious and endearing - glad you won't be a hundred million dollars broke!

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  35. Those photos are amazing what kind of camera do you use? I'm visiting NYC in November, I bet it is cold then - will have to pack my winter warmers - oh wait that shouldn't be difficult since i'm from Scotland. Newest follower. Look forward to more of your posts. Best wishes Laura xx A Scottish Lass

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  36. Hi Nat! We're do u typically shop for Huck? He's so snazzy...always looking for cute boy clothes :)

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  37. Hi Nat! We're do u typically shop for Huck? He's so snazzy...always looking for cute boy clothes :)

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