Tea Bag 2

**Creative Credit to Davonna as well on these stories***

Chamomile's Story

It had been a long time since Chamomile Tisane had seen the mountains. Even longer since she had been in Oolong. She had never lived in Oolong, but she visited her grandmother there many times as a young child. So, after the horrible breakup with her abusive boyfriend Earl Grey back in Pickwick, she decided it was time to move to somewhere he would never find her; Oolong it was.

Chamomile, or Cammie as her friends called her, had answered an add to be a nurse for an older lady who lived with her son in Oolong. She would only be needed for a couple of hours a day during the week, and she would stay there on the weekends. This suited her fine. She wanted to keep a low profile for awhile. The last thing she needed was the hustle and bustle of a crazy hospital with the long shifts and irregular schedules.

Earl was a doctor in Pickwick. They had met working a night shift at the hospital. They hit it off instantly when he had grabbed her coffee and she had grabbed his tea in the dining room. They had a good laugh about it, and spent the rest of their breaks that night talking. He was perfect, on paper. Dashingly handsome, great smile, very popular in both America and England- a doctor for crying out loud! They dated for about 2 months before he told Cammie he wanted to date exclusively. Cammie was on cloud nine! But after that, things went down hill.

Within a month, his true black heart came out. He would cancel dates on her to go out with women labeled as Honey and Sugar in his phone. Earl Grey mixing and mingling with Honey and Sugar made her sick. How could he?? When she confronted him about them, he became enraged and he hit her. Cammie could not believe it. It was then that she said things were over and ran to her home and cried. How could she not see this? What kind of man was she allowing herself to be with?? But Earl would not let her leave without a fight. He tried to tell her he was sorry and would never do it again. He was hard to avoid, they worked at the same place; he would show up at her house and try to get in. She even had to call the cops on him a couple of times. So, after a few weeks, when she could not take it anymore, she quietly put in her notice and left Pickwick General.

It was a sunny Friday when Cammie arrived in Oolong. As she stepped out of the airport and into the sun light she breathed a sigh of relief. It was great to be out of Pickwick. She needed this fresh start. While it was hard to leave her friends, she had to do this for herself. So, as a knot started to form in her stomach thinking about her friends back in Pickwick she shut her eyes and drew in a deep breath and let it out slow, like she always did when she was nervous or upset, then she stuck out her hand and hailed a cab.

"The town has not changed much in 14 years." The 28 year old thought to herself. As the cab pulled up to the house she would call home and work until she found some place of her own, she smiled. It was quaint and friendly looking. The lawn was nicely manicured, the house looked like it was freshly painted. A sign on the fence post read "Sencha Green" it sounded relaxing, and clearly the son was doing work on the house, so at least he was not some deadbeat living with his mother; that was good.

Cammie grabbed her two bags and lugged them up the front porch. Friday, 4:00pm on the dot. She was right on time to be thrown into a weekend of work. She rang the doorbell and waited. When the door opened, she was speechless. In front of her was the most handsome man she had ever seen. "Crap." She thought as she searched for the English language. But somehow that failed her and all she could do was half smile.

What will happen next?? STAY TUNED!

These are the Tea Bags of our lives...

Recently, we have been using a different company at work to purchase our normal orders. Therefore, we have new tea. This is the most dramatic tea ever. So to pay tribute to the pain and strife the people on these boxes seem to go through, I shall begin the:


Tea Bag Saga

We begin the saga with the back story of our Hero...


It was the year 2009, and for one crazy adventurer, Derek Darjeeling, the adventure of a lifetime was about to begin. Derek was a rugged handsome man of 34. His curly hair, muscular build and kind face always made him the center of attention with the ladies. But Derek never really cared about all that. He was a quiet man, always reading about far off lands, and far off times. He yearned for adventure on the seas; battling pirates and swabbing the deck. Or maybe the day when he could climb a peak and live there amongst the elements in peace. A place and time with no cell phones, no computers and no microwaves. He hated microwaves.

Due to geography, and the fact that he needed his job teaching 2nd grade, his adventure seeking took place in the evenings after the school bell rang. Derek could be found in the mountains, climbing and hiking; seeking out adventure in the purest forms possible. He loved the feel of the sun on his face and weight of the pack of supplies on his back. His well worn jeans, that conveniently zipped off into shorts for those extra hot days, and his blue flannel shirt with his lucky beater were his favorite things to put on. They signaled time in his favorite places!He used to only eat what he could hunt or find, but after a very bad run in with some poisonous berries, he decided organic food was close enough, and said it was only sort of cheating to pack Clif Bars. On the weekends he hiked and camped until it was time to do lesson plans and correct papers.

Now, Derek was not a total loner though. He occasionally went hiking with other enthusiasts, and had childhood friends in his hometown of Oolong. He coached track at his grade school, and enjoyed many of his co-workers.

Derek was good teacher. His still vivid imagination made him a favorite amongst the kids. His dashing good looks made sluts out of the students' mothers and nannies. But, Derek hardly noticed. Derek never noticed anyone giving him extra attention. He cared only about finding his way out the small town of Oolong and women were only a distraction for that plan.

You might be asking why at 34 Derek had not been able to leave Oolong, but as with many small town boys, Derek was a total mama's boy. Derek's mother was very sick and still needed a lot of help. Derek, being the good man that he is, lived with her and took care of her... actually he had never lived without her...On the weekends a nurse would come stay so Derek could get away.

Derek had promised his mother he would not leave her side while she still needed him. Of course, he was 21 and about to graduate college then, and really, he thought his mother would have kicked it by now, and was actually quite regretting the promise. (He even tried to trick her saying he was drafted into the army, but she googled the draft and found out it was no longer in place and promptly hid his hiking boots as punishment). So he gave up hope of escaping the doldrums of his small town life, and decided to make the best of it... until one fateful friday.


join us next week for the continuation of The Tea Bag Saga.

Into the Wild

Last weekend I went camping for the first time since, I think, my senior year of high school... and even then I am pretty sure we ended up inside my aunt's house instead of sleeping by the river. Needless to say, it's been awhile since I have roughed it.

So, I flew to Denver, which is seemingly trying to beat the crap out of anywhere in Oklahoma for the most tornadoes this year. Clearly camping in the mountains is a GREAT idea with weather like that. I wish I had fear of situations like this. But, for some reason I think I am invincible. I like to sit upstairs and watch funnel clouds, I like watching the sideways hail pelt against the windows that are inches from my face, hell I am not even nervous driving in torrential down pours. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?? You would think due to how clutzy I am, conditions that could amplify that would concern me... but no.

Anyway, we went up to Black Hawk, CO and camped for 3 days and 2 nights. It was a blast! The weather actually held out for us for the most part. I mean it was cold at night, but otherwise we only had one storm, and enjoyed the weather the rest of our days!

The first day we took it easy; set up our tents, and started making the first campfire... campfire was what we lived for, I swear we spent more time maintaining the fire. EN FUEGO.


Then we made burgers, talked, laughed, drank and made s'mores until ,what we think, were the wee hours... all I know is we decided it was time for bed when I laughed so hard I fell off my chair and hit my head on the picnic table bench.

The next morning I woke up too early. But oh well, I just sat around with the boys... around the campfire... until Darcy woke up and then we all ate and went for a hike. What I love is that we drove to a place called Nederland to hike to Lost Lake. I am convinced that Peter Pan lives in Colorado. I mean those names are PRETTY coincidental, no? Just look at this place:
I believe fairies and lost boys live here. It's gorgeous!! We stayed there for a little while, eating and fishing. The hike was a bit of a bitch for this "flat lander" as Ian's dad called me. My stomach was also doing something interesting, so we had to cut our time up in Lost Lake short to head back to civilization for a lil :D




We may have cheated and gotten pizza whilst in civilization... we MAY have...

We then went back to camp, just in time to get everything stashed and ourselves in the castle of a tent before a storm hit.
So the boys played cards. This is Ian by the way.

Darcy and I napped.

Then the storm cleared and Darcy and I woke up. The boys had started yet another fire. So we made dinner. I was in charge of corn... because I am from Nebraska... it was so good. Then we sat around the fire once again to tell stories and make fun of each other. It was a big "that's what she said" weekend. Many many many that's what she saids.

I think I have about a million inside jokes from the weekend too. And for the 4 others on the trip here is a quick reminder so we have them always:
- And the bear was like, Holly you don't need those bitches
- Give me a pop tart and I am good to go!
- trapdoor
- backdoor
- dirty eagle
-Hunts for Squirrel's nuts

It was a good break from the norm, that's for sure. I had zero cell phone reception up there, so I was very much paying attention to the people I was with. Not waiting for a text or a call or a response of some sort. It was really nice! Now that being said... I TOTALLY MISSED MY PHONE. hahaha. That concerns me a bit... I am that dependent on my phone... hmm. I also need to pay better attention to people when I am just hanging out with them I suppose.

I have also learned that I agree with Darcy, 3 days and 2 nights of camping is the perfect amount, bc anymore and you would just feel too dirty and probs get grouchy. I also learned that babies should not go camping... because they will wake up the PEOPLE IN THE CAMP SITE NEXT TO YOU AT 5AM WHEN YOUR BABY IS CRYING...

All in all. An excellent weekend. I did not trip while hiking, I came damn close! I am proud to say I made it out of the wilderness with only a bump on my head and a bruise on my thigh. I am impressed.

Soccer in the Football Stadium... Wait a Minute... oh, Ha, the Irony

This weekend I had 2 firsts. My first professional soccer match, and my first time cheering for my nation at a sporting event. I have had the chance to do this once before, it was a rugby match, and I chose my favorite rugby team, Munster, over the American Eagles. I am sorry, there was just no way the US was going to win and I learned about rugby in Munster and was brainwashed to love them. So I had no choice.

ANYWAY, The US played Honduras at Soldier field... also my first time in soldier field believe it or not... for a different kind of football... ah ha ha ha ha, I am so funny! Go ahead, take a moment. Breathe... Recover. Ok read on:

My friend Andy and I got totally decked out:
and we screamed and yelled at the tops of our lungs for the entire 90 minutes. As you can sort of see, the stadium was packed, and sadly not with American fans. Andy said he heard a man say that for every 1 US fan there were 3 Honduras fans. I believe it. Honduras fans were decked out in blue and white, US fans wore red. Soldier field was a sea of blue with specks of red. Andy said to me at one point, "Isn't it sad that the louder it is, the worse we are doing, on our home field?" And it kind of was! But none-the-less, it was so fun!! It was fun to actually feel like I could get really really excited about being American! I could cheer and go nuts and lose my voice over the fact that our soccer team is actually decent! We could sing songs, and start chanting and hug loads of strangers around us when we scored a goal! I felt apart of something bigger, and for the first time I was cheering not just for my state, not for a college, not for a favorite basketball team, I was cheering for my country's team. AND WE WON!!! I think I am not alone in this being a weird sensation.

The US is so huge. So many different teams, and 50 states all spread out, you feel like you are walking into a foreign land when you go from say Nebraska to California. We are different. We have different values, we live different lives and have different accents. Going to New York is nothing like going to Texas. To say you have been to the US is pretty vague. I mean jeez, we have Hawaii and Alaska!

Having studied in Ireland for a little while and going back there a bunch, I was totally jealous of the fact that my friends were able to sing songs and get excited about Eire! They made fun of other countries, followed their team to foreign places, and would get ridiculously trashed and party all day in honor of their team. I had nothing to compare to this other than say, game day in Nebraska! (there is no place like Nebraaaaaska, good old Nebraska U!) But, cheering for one school v. another or one state v. another is not the same thing.

Maybe it's because I spent a lot of time feeling somewhat like I had to hide the fact that I was American when I traveled for fear I would get asked a MILLION questions about why I voted for Bush? ( I didn't). Why do we think we know how to do everything? (um, we don't). Why do we have sooo much corruption? (Um HEY look at your own government too, ok??). I was always on the defense. I would try to stand up for myself, but once people found out I have a politician brother, my god, they grilled me. To be fair, when I was going over there a lot, half of my wardrobe said Jim Esch for Congress on it, so yeah I was a sitting duck. But, for the most part, I guess I was always very guarded about the fact that I was American. I love my country and I love what we stand for, but for awhile there, I will have to say I never wanted where I was from high lighted. That's a sad realization for sure.

But, back to soccer, this was the scene afterwards:
It was so fun!! We were all red, white and blue-ed out, clearly, dancing and singing and generally having a blast. I am so glad I went to the match. We kicked ass, and had gloating rites for the rest of the night. Anyone who knows me, KNOWS I am a very poor poor loser, like, just deplorable. I am also an asshole of a winner, so hoorah! I got to be an asshole of a winner!!!

Apparel-ently...

On my lunch break today I decided to do some on-line window shopping. Having perused my usual spots, I decided to look at American Apparel. They have a section on their site where you can check out their "new and innovative ideas". So basically, you can see the things they are currently manufacturing and will be on the market shortly. I will say this, some of their products are just SO innovative, I have no idea what their purpose could be. For example:

ASS-LESS TIGHTS
Now, call me CRAZY, but I am not sure I get the point of these tights. The only thing I can come up with is that someone REALLY enjoys wedgies, and well, this seems to be the solution.


(Really, I cannot think of another purpose... if you do, lemme know, the website did not provide explanation).

The Bow
My mother made me wear bows about that size when I was little... now American Apparel has made it possible for me to wear it in my mid-20's. Awesome. Oh, in case you were wondering, it CAN double as a belt.

I am actually a fan of this store- in doses. Some of my favorite articles of clothing are from here, but um... sometimes, like 83% of the time, I get nervous when I walk in... I mean I see people try on metallic shorts and hott pink and acid wash jeans in there! (and not as a joke, but as a fashion choice!) The 80's died a horrible death, it's like the Titanic, everyone agrees, you should let the tragedy have it's grave and only revisit it for historical purposes... with specialized machinery and robotics... the 80's would have appreciated the robots.

(C'mon, acid wash? harem pants? You people will regret it when pageant hair comes back in and you have to put effort into that shaggy hair cut you are sporting that works so well under your bike helmet... and you will have no one to blame but yourselves.)

One more thing.

MEN SHOULD NOT WEAR SKINNY PANTS. (just for your own health... seriously). My friend CJ said, "The sign of a good hipster is that you cannot tell if it's a he or a she." So, I guess, I mean, in this case go ahead dude, you wear those skinny pants!

I am a theatre kid, I know better than to hinder someone's freedom of expression, BUT WHAT ON EARTH DO ASS-LESS TIGHTS EXPRESS?