I'm Still here & Sorry I Neglected You...

Ok, I've left this too long. I feel guilty. Why..? I'm pretty sure not too many have even noticed I haven't posted. But I should. I said I would. And now I am :)
Work has been CRAZY! For the last 2-3 weeks, our phones have been ringing off the hook! I bet I've taken more calls in the last two weeks that I did in the 2 months preceding. No time to breathe between calls. I admit it makes the day pass more quickly, usually, but when most of the callers are arrogant or have an attitude, it makes me feel like I am back at ACSHell. I'm not. But still. I am losing my respect for the human race. Stupidity seems to reign. How do you come at me with an "I am God, and we'll get along just fine as soon as you acknowledge it" attitude, and then not even be able to do something as simple as add 14.90 to 75.95..?
And what's the deal with social security numbers..? I know it's a bad idea to give your social security number to strangers, but let's look at this...YOU CALLED ME! You want me to give you $1000 worth of equipment, but you don't want to give me, someone YOU called, your social security number so I can verify who you are..? I understand the concept of not giving it, or your credit card number, or bank account info to someone who has called you, unsolicited - that would be a bad idea. But again, let me reiterate - YOU CALLED ME.
This is a utility company that you are asking to provide service to you. You know, like the gas company, the electric company or the water company..? Granted cable is still somewhat of a "luxury" utility, but we also offer phone & Internet. We are an utility company. I'm fairly certain that the person you're talking to (in the case, me) isn't trying to steal your identity when requesting this information from you...THINK once in a while, willya? Do you realize how you appear to be..? Can you say paranoid..? Pathetic..? Pitiful..? In need of medication..?
GRRRRRRRR.....!!!!!!!
Sorry, didn't mean to go there, but there I am *grin*

In other news, I'm fairly certain my car is haunted. No big surprise, or at least it shouldn't be, considering our family has dragons (3), a spirit cat, a civil war soldier's spirit and numerous other entities and beings floating about. Now, what would make a person think (let alone admit) their car is haunted..? Well, I'll present my reasoning, and you can tell me what you think...

I drive a 2002 Chrysler Concorde, Limited. It was top of the line when new, and is still in good shape. Not a hoopdee by any means. Yet my headrest won't stay down. Yes you read that right, it won't stay down. Now, last time I checked, gravity was still an active force on the planet, and things fall down not up. If I raised the headrest, and came out to my car to find it resting on the top of the seat, instead of four inches above it, where I had left it, I would simply put it down to the-car-is-getting-older-and-I-can't-expect-everything-to-last-forever syndrome and gone on about my business. But that isn't the case. No, not my car, that would be too much like right.
In order to raise or lower my headrest, there is a button on the side of the "base" of it that you have to push in. It won't move unless you push the button. I've tried. Hard. No movement at all. Now, I had had the car for a while before I even realized this was happening. But then it started to get warm again, and I could go without a coat. If I am not restrained by a heavy jacket, I like to put one arm up behind my head, resting on the headrest, while I'm driving. It's a good stretch... When I did this for the first time, I realized the headrest was up higher than I usually have it. So when I parked I made it a point to lower it. (This is where I found out it doesn't move without pushing the button.) I put it down and didn't really think much more about it.
A couple of weeks later, I noticed it was back up - not fully "extended" but about 3" above the seatback. I figured my Hunny had done it when he drove the car, put it back down, and promptly forgot about it again. A week later I noticed it was back up. Hunny hadn't driven my car since I put it down. My first thought was the-car-is-getting-older-and-I-can't-expect-everything-to-last-forever syndrome, and started messing with it to see what the problem was. There isn't one. It's not a bit loose. It won't go down without pushing the button...It won't go up without pushing the button...not a bit. Yet, when I push in the button, and lower it to the seatback ('cuz I am a bit short through the body), I consistently come out to my car to find it back up. I put it down, drive home, it's back up the next morning. I put it down and drive to work, it's back up when I get ready to leave.
My next piece of evidence is radio related. I have an FM transmitter that I use to listen to my MP3 player when I am in the car. The radio has to be set to a "static" station - you know, where nothing is being broadcast. needless to say, it tends to be a bit loud when I disconnect the MP3 player and forget to turn it down first. I also use earplug thingys and listen in one ear while at work. When I go on break, and go out to the car to read & smoke, I have to turn the key on, so the radio will show the time (I've killed another watch...that's a totally different story...lol) and I know when I have to go back. I also have to have the radio on because if I turn it off the time goes away. Weird, I know!
So I go out to the car, turn on the key, and turn the static all the way down (cuz I'm listening via earplug thingy). The volume turns back up. Huh..? I turned it back down. It turned itself back up...This happened on several different occasions. Then one day, I went out, turned down the volume, and it switched from radio to CD and turned up. Huh..? Ok, I figgered I'd hit the button somehow. I flipped it back to radio, turned back down, and it immediately flipped back to CD. And turned back up. No way...I musta hit the button again (even tho I KNOW it's on the other side of the radio). Hmmmmm... So I turned it down, carefully so as not to hit any other buttons, and changed it back to radio. I then pulled my hand back quickly and watched it go back to CD. And turn BACK UP. Again. Alrighty then. After 5 minutes of arguing with whatever wanted to listen to CD, I gave up. I tried turning the radio completely off, but that didn't work either. It just came back on. I let it stay on CD, and turned up the MP3 player in my ear. I haven't had any radio issues since I let it play....
So, whatcha think..? IS the car haunted..? I say it is, but I'd like to hear what you think.
Ok, time to go home! WOOOHOOOO!
See ya laterzzzzzzzz!

What Am I Trying To Do

There's something I've really been wanting to blog about, but everytime I have time to do something about it, it flies outta my head...As soon as I can remember what it is, I'll be back...

*sigh*

see ya laterzzzz!

Catch Up

I want to apologize to all two regular readers (I might have two...) for not updating. It's not that I don't have anything to say, I just haven't got any time in which to say it. Sorry.

This is just a quick note to let you know I am still here, and I really do want to post about stuffs. There have been several things I want to write about.

Monday was spent cleaning my boy's room. I have pictures. It was almost a whole day ordeal. I really don't care if his room is messy (I mean c'mon who am I to talk - my room was so messy as a kid my Dad finally threw ALL of my stuff out the back door to make me clean it...really!) It is his room. But when I can't get to the dresser to put stuff up (3 steps from the door, maybe) then we have a problem... So I told him we had to do it! That was as much a chore as the actual deed. But mission was accomplished!

I also had to go to the grocery store on Monday. I've gotten to where I dislike this chore anymore...load up the cart, wait forever to check out, rearrange the stuff the cashier puts in the bags - what kid of logic are they using anyways..? Frozen stuff in with magazines? Meat in with dry goods? I put everything on the belt the way I want it bagged, but does it get done that way..? Noooooo. I really prefer the self-scanners, then I can bag it how I want it, but the Walmart I've been going to doesn't have them, grrrrrr. I'll be glad when the one around the corner (YES! A Walmart within walking distance from home!) opens. I've heard June 11, and I'm counting the days.

So after doing all that, I have to load it into the cart again, now in bags, unload into the trunk, unload FROM the trunk and carry into the house, and then put it all away. Ugh. But, that mission too, was accomplished. Another supposed "day off".

Last night at Karate, he got another band on his belt (that's 4 ! ) and he graduated to a yellow belt! He also got a card, IN THE MAIL WOOHOOO! from one of the instructors saying what a good job he's been doing and keep up the good work. He was thrilled that he got mail, lemme tell ya! It now has a place of honor on his bedroom wall. No pics of that yet.

Ok, I think I've caught you up to date. Work has been crazy, the phones haven't stopped in two weeks, so I haven't been able to post from there, either : (

Okay, gotta get ready for work ewwwww.

see ya laterzzzzzz!

The Banks of The Wabash - Now known as The Fairbanks Park Arts & Music Festival...

Well, yesterday was a busy day (go figger) but in a good way, rather than in a chicken-with-it's-head-cut-off way :)

My hunny took my car to Uncle Mike's early early to do the brakes for me. They were getting scary...anytime you had to slow down, you could have put a glass of milk & ice cream anywhere in the vehicle, and by the time you stopped you'd have a milkshake...the front rotors were just a little bit warped...

About 10:30ish I called him 'cuz the boy just had to talk to Daddy. He wanted to play the new Wii, and I told him Daddy had to ok it (That'll be another post, but apparently we aren't selling or trading it...) So Daddy says ok, and also that the car was done. As I had said yesterday, I think it was yesterday...I planned on taking the boy the The Banks of The Wabash Festival in Terre Haute. Since my car was done, I guessed it was time to get functional (ugh) I set the boy up with the Wii, and proceeded to get ready.

I had asked a couple of different people if they wanted to go, but one had a race party to attend, and the other said she was just too broke (although I think it might have had more to do with her having to get functional before Noon...LOL) So, it was me & my boy for the first leg of the journey, and possibly the whole trip. I had in mind to call Tony & Jayme and see if they wanted to come out with the boys, but wanted to wait until I got my car.

About 11:30ish we climbed in the truck and headed West. I had to stop and get new sunglasses, since I had put mine in my purse, so I would have them, and they got broke. Sunglasses never last around me. When we got to Mike's, Hunny was under the racecar doing something, so we had to wait a minute or two. Then he wanted me to drive my car. I sped down their road and hit the brakes. No more milkshakes! And we were off.

I called the kids, and found that Jayme had to work, but was going to try to get someone to cover for her, they'd call me when they found out. So westward we went. I stopped at Brazil to pee, and give them a call as I hadn't heard from them, and this was where I'd hafta change route if I needed to go out there. No answer. But Tony called me back - after I was already back on the highway. And of course, they needed a ride. But there was a problem. My car will hold 3 car seats and 2 adults...we had 3 adults.

Then they were going to try to borrow Jayme's sister's car. No luck. So I turned around at Terre Haute and went back to Brazil, and out into the sticks, where they live. We ended up having Tony and Anakin ride with me & Shayne, and Jayme & Jordan were brought by her dad. It was a beautiful day for festivaling, and I think a good time was had by all. We ate carnival food (mmmmmmm) and drank carnival drinks. Poor Shayne was kinda restricted in what he could ride, having a broken arm, but he got to go down the big slide with Bubby, he rode the Dragons with Jayme, and the bumper cars with Bubby. He also got to ride in the helicopter - alone, we're all too big to fit :) He got a snake, some new sunglasses, and a cool looking Hot Wheels car with tracks instead of tires.

I got Daddy his name in vinyl for his truck (work truck) door, and a new belt, and I found an acceptable (for now) case for my phone. I also got a new dragon to add to the ones we have...

The ride home was peaceful, for the most part, as Shayne fell asleep before we hit I-70 in Terre Haute, and slept almost to Plainfield. Then he woke up crying, but wouldn't tell me what was wrong. I kept telling him I couldn't help if I didn't know what the problem was, but he cried for a good five minutes before even trying to talk. Then he said he couldn't tell me. Finally he admitted that his arm hurt - why he couldn't tell me that I have no idea. By that point we were five minutes from home, so I told him he could take some medicine when we got home, and it would help his arm. I think that's why he didn't want to tell me...he doesn't want any medicine. I think it's the whole tough guy thing...

We got home, took some medicine (it was 8:30 or so by this time), he played the Wii for a while, ('cuz my boy has power napping down to a science - if he sleeps 10 minutes, he's good for at least 3 or 4 hours...imagine what an hour did for him...) Ordered pizza, watched Underdog on OnDemand, then finally about 12:30ish we snuggled down and went to sleep. (Daddy was racing so he got to snuggle in the big bed with Mommy)

All in all, it was a pretty good day. There were a few moments when I would have cheerfully hogtied my boy and thrown him over a shoulder, but hey - he's five, he can't be an angel all the time...

Ok, gotta go to a cookout at Uncle Mike's.

See ya laterzzzzzzz!

Hillary Doesn't Pay Her Bills, Either...

I am not a political person by nature. I do vote, based on what information I garner during elections and past experience (if any) with the candidates. But now we have Hillary Clinton running for president....Can I just say Ewwwwwwwww.
I lost all respect for Mrs. Clinton while her husband was in the White House. Let me start by saying that I feel whatever happens in a couples personal life should be their business, and doesn't have any bearing on their abilities to do their jobs. So what Bill did didn't change my opinion of his capabilities as president.
But what Hillary did has changed my opinion of her ability to run our country. If you think back to Bill's early days, Mrs. Clinton did an interview with 60 Minutes, during which she made the comment "I'm not sitting here, some little woman standing by her man. I'm sitting here because I love him and I respect him." The comment in and of itself raised a bit of a stink, and there was talk for a while that she had crossed a "line." I lost a little bit of respect for her when she made the comment...Why was she referring to a song that was released in 1968 in the modernized days of the 90s? And what's wrong with being a "Stand By Your Man" woman? Isn't marriage a partnership, where each supports the other? I'm proud to say that I am a "Stand By Your Man" woman! Not only do I say it, but I will do (and have done) it when it becomes necessary. Just like he would stand by me (and has) if necessary. Maybe she felt she didn't need to support her husband, that it was all about her...
And then we had the whole Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinski deal. And we still have a Mrs. Clinton...a Mrs Hillary Clinton. What?!?! But she told the world she wasn't that type of gal...I mean c;mon, if you're this strong, independent, feminist, I-won't-be-walked-on-by-any-man type of woman, and you have announced this to the world, on national TV, on a heavily watched program, why are you still with this man..?
Again, let me clarify. I don't think she should have left him because he screwed around, that's a personal choice. But she declared in front of God and everyone that she wouldn't tolerate that type of behavior. Yet she did.
I guess the bottom line is - do we want a lying hypocrite of a woman running our country..? A woman who has publicly made a fool of herself, repeatedly?
And, I ran across this story today. Apparently she doesn't pay her bills, either...

Indianapolis: Indiana University says it may have to tap into reserve funds to cover a campaign visit by Hillary Clinton.

The New York senator and Democratic presidential candidate owes IU $55,000 from a stop at Assembly Hall. Her opponent, Senator Barack Obama, held a similar rally there, but his campaign paid up their nearly $100,000 bill....

No, Mrs. Clinton will not get my vote. As a woman, I would love to see a female president, but Hillary Clinton is not the woman I want representing my gender to the world, because never doubt, all women will be judged by her actions.... Just my little opinion.....

Protecting Yourself & Property

This was forwarded to me by my father-in-law, and the original can be found here.

I SAY YOU GO GIRL!

Shotgun preteen vs. illegal alien Home Invaders:
Butte, Montana November 5, 2007
Two illegal aliens, Ralphel Resindez, 23, and Enrico Garza, 26, probably believed they would easily overpower home-alone 11 year old Patricia Harrington after her father had left their two-story home.
It seems the two crooks never learned two things: they were in Montana and Patricia had been a clay shooting champion since she was nine.
Patricia was in her upstairs room when the two men broke through the front door of the house. She quickly ran to her father's room and grabbed his 12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun.
Resindez was the first to get up to the second floor only to be the first to catch a near point blank blast of buckshot from the 11-year-old's knee crouch aim. He suffered fatal wounds to his abdomen.
When Garza ran to the foot of the stairs, he took a blast to the left shoulder and staggered out into the street where he bled to death before medical help could arrive.
It was found out later that Resindez was armed with a stolen 45 caliber handgun he took from another home invasion robbery. That victim, 50-year-old David Burien, was not so lucky. He died from stab wounds to the chest.
Ever wonder why good stuff never makes NBC, CBS, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, or ABC news........an 11 year old girl, properly trained, defended her home, and herself......against two murderous, illegal immigrants.......and she wins, she is still alive.
Now that is Gun Control !

Thought for the day:

Calling an illegal alien an 'undocumented immigrant' is like calling a drug dealer an 'unlicensed pharmacist'

Mommy, Mommy, I Have A Loose Tooth...

Is what I heard coming up the stairs a few minutes ago. Yes, we officially have our first loose tooth!

Him: "Mommy, Mommy, I have a loose tooth!"
Me: "You do? Lemme see."
Him: *opening mouth and placing forefinger on tooth to wiggle back and forth "Ight ere ooo ooo eee iiii?"
Me: "Well, move your finger and let me look."
Him: *moves finger* "Do you see it?
Me: "I can't look when your talking..."
Him: "Oh" and opens mouth.

I gingerly placed my finger on the tooth he indicated and sure enough, it moves...I wonder what he did...

Me: "What'd you do to make that happen?"
Him: "I just opened my mouth and bit my tooth and bang it was loose"
Me: "Oh really..? You weren't messing around?"
Him: "Nope, I was eating my cheese."
Me: "Welp, it looks like you're going to lose your first tooth."
Him: *jumping up and down & wiggling with excitement "Wow, it's my final first loose tooth!' (he made a similar statement about his arm - "It's my final first broken arm")
Him: "Why is my tooth loose?"
Me: "Because your baby teeth will fall out and you'll get grown up teeth."
Him: "Do I hafta keep my mouth open so the Tooth Fairy can come get it?"
Me: ??? "No, it'll fall out on it's own, then we'll put it up, and that night we'll stick it under your pillow for the Tooth Fairy."
Him: "Why can't we just go to the dentist and have him pull it out?"
Me: "Nah, I don't think we need a dentist, it'll come out by itself."
Him: "OK"

And off he went to watch some more Diego.

So, we are now awaiting the big moment - when it actually comes out. I've told him to leave it be, it'll work itself out, but somehow I just don't see that happening....

Gotta go to work!
See ya laterzzzzzzzz!

Update Your Crap ! ! !

Again, (still..?) I'm trolling through the blogsphere, and I find myself increasingly disappointed with the available offerings. Can I just say - EITHER UPDATE YOUR BLOG MORE THAN ONCE A YEAR, OR REMOVE IT FROM BLOGEXPLOSION & BLOG SOLDIERS!!!!!!
I really enjoy reviewing the available blogs, when they are current. Blog Soldiers has a blog up that says they have reached 9000 blogs. So why do I keep getting the same 75 or so blogs ( and that's a generous exagerration...) Many of which haven't been updated for months, some for years.
Don't get me wrong, I've been known to go a few days with no post, usually because I'm sick. But weeks...months...YEARS..? C'mon! Either update it or delete it, or at the very least, take it out of rotation...If I understand the process correctly, one has to accumulate "credits" of one kind or another to stay in rotation. That tells me they are still about, racking up credits, but not bothering to update. Is it just lazy..?
I dunno. I'd like to think that if I were to quit posting I would have the common courtesy, towards all the other folks out there, to remove my stuff from the rotations...
Ok, done ranting for the moment, *climbing off the soapbox*
Gotta go finish working (ewwww)
see ya laterzzzzz!!!!

Just Another Day...

Well, here I am, with a little time on my hands, and not much to write about. Oh wait...I did win a Wii at work. That's pretty cool! I was kinda bumming 'cuz I didn't win race tickets (hunny would have enjoyed that) when one of my bosses came to my cubicle holding a Wii. I was on a call, so didn't notice her right away, but then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, and there she was. Apparently I sold the most HBO/Cinemax for week 5 of the contest. I wasn't really trying - I mean c'mon, we have an Xbox, a PS2, a Vsmile, 3 DVD players, 2 VCRs, a computer and four TVs, what do we need another game for? But hey, the only thing better than cheap is free! Hunny has said he'd rather have an Xbox360, so we may try to exchange one for the other.
In other news, I'm gonna take my boy to The Banks of The Wabash (ok, it's called "The Fairbanks Park Arts and Music Festival" now, but it's been the Banks of The Wabash for 25 years in my world, and that's what it'll stay...) this weekend, I think. It's pretty cool for a cheesy little carnival. They offer kiddie rides & have a pretty decent flea market area. I've actually gotten quite a few decent things there over the years. It's been kind of a ritual for the past 15-20 years. Wow...did I just say 15-20 years..? Huh I guess I did, and it's right..! Goddess I'm getting old.
It seems like all that stoopid shit I did as a kid was just yesterday, or the day before - and when I say stoopid, I mean STOOPID. I won't go into great detail here, but it included things like sleeping on the beach of Lake Michigan, and drinking from dawn to dusk and back to dawn again. But when I stop and think, that shit happened almost 30 years ago! Oh my.
It's funny how your perspective affects your "view" What I mean by that is, thinking about things done as a kid seems as recent as yesterday, or at last month, but on the other hand, thinking about all the things I've done and said and been, it seems like I haven't lived enough years to have done all that. Perspective, it's a funny thing.
Go figger...I've sat here the better part of the day, just trolling the blogsphere, pretty much uninterrupted, but let me try to add something here, and BAM! every line lights up and we have 14 people holding...
Ok, gotta go work :(
See ya laterzzzzzzz!

My Day Off

Yesterday was my day off - what a joke! I think I work MUCH harder on my days off than I ever do at work! Two weeks ago I made an appointment to have my car tuned up, 'cuz she really needed it. At that time I didn't have anything planned. Silly me, to think I could just schedule something like that and be able to do it unhindered...
Monday night, my hunny says:
Him: "You know they're registering for Kindergarten..."
Me: "Now..? It's May, school doesn't start until September or at least August..."
Him: "Amy took Alec down to register yesterday."
Me: "So, are you telling me I need register Shayne? Now..?"
Him: "Well..."
Me: "I gotta take my car down to O'Brien's to get it tuned up tomorrow..."
Him: "Yeah, and..?"
Me: "Uhhh... O'Brien's is in Greenwood, school is in Plainfield. And I have no idea how long it's going to take. "
Him: "You'll be fine."
Me: "What all do I have to take to register him, I wonder?"
Him: "Amy said you need birth certificate, shot records and a bill in our name at this address."
Me: "Alrighty then..."
Ok, so the plan is, I take him to Stacey (west side) then go to O'Brien's (south side) then to Health Dept(near norteast side) to get certified copy of his birth certificate, then to Plainfield (FAR west). That's the new plan.
Oh yeah, did I mention Tuesday is Karate..? And apparently I didn't have enough to do, I was volunteered to handle that, too. Goody.
We got moving about 9:30ish. And that was pushing it...I need my morning wake up time. NEED. I am not fit for man nor beast without it.
OH, oh, oh! This is a great opportunity to mention the new addition to my morning routine! I found a great blog, Tom's Hideaway where they have a trivia contest everyday! Trivia rocks! (That would be my inner geek talking - you know, the same one that does crossword puzzles to wake up..? *grin*) This has become a staple of my mornings. Go check it out - he even has a copy of (the only) picture of me as a child up on the site :)
Anyways, I rushed to Stacey', then down to the car dealership. I told Jeff not to worry about the accel hesitation, as I didn't have time to mess with it that day.
While sitting there, I gave hunny a call. It was then that he decided to mention that it was "Bring A Buddy" day at Karate, and that he had arranged for Alec to go with Shayne.
Me: "Huh? Why are you telling me this NOW..?"
Him: "I told you about it."
Me: "No you didn't..."
Him: "You should know what's going on there..."
Me : "This is the first I've heard of it. How often do I go to Karate? Once every two weeks? How would I know that?"
Him: "I told you about it last Tuesday..."
Me: "Last Tuesday..? The day your boy broke his arm..? You think I heard something beyond "Your boy broke his arm" last Tuesday..?"
Him: *laughter*
Me: "Nice...are they bringing him, or do I hafta pick him up..?"
Him: "I imagine we 'll get him there."
We. He means ME.
So let's recap - I've gone 17 miles to Stacey's, then 23 to the dealership, I have to go back to the house, 15 miles, to get shot records, either that or add a trip to the doctor's office (north west side) to my already full day, then go to the Health Dept to get the birth certificate, 27 miles from the house, then out to Plainfield, approx 30 miles from Health Dept, to get him registered. Then back to Stacey's to pick him up, 20 miles from school, back to pick up Alec, who by the way lives 4 HOUSES FROM OUR HOUSE, another 17 miles, and then back to Karate...
I have approx 4 hours to do this. Keep in mind, none of the above includes the time I have to sit and wait at each place, just the drive distance...
At this point, it was already almost 1:00. Karate starts at 5:45, and the only parts of this I have so far accomplished is the tune up. And a side trip to Shoe Carnival...(they had the cutest white shoes that I didn't get last week, and I've been kicking myself ever since, so I stopped in to get them. And they had a Buy One, Get One 1/2 price sale going on, and I'm not one to pass up a bargain, so I figured I might as well get two pair since the second would be 1/2 price...Then hunny realized I was at Shoe Carnival and gave me the 'ol guilt trip "I've been needing new tennis shoes for months" So I picked him up a pair, then I had to get another pair, 'cuz I wasn't gonna waste the 2nd pair half price...*grin*
He was right down the street at Kroger's, so I picked up some Subway and headed over to meet him for lunch. Of course the shoes didn't fit...and I got the whole spiel...
Him: "How many pairs of shoes did you buy..? Don't you already have like 50 pairs..?"
Me: "Hey, I don't wanna hear it - my three cost less than your one pair."
Him: *giving a look*
Me: "I'll be happy to show you the receipt if you want..."
Him: "Whatever..."
Me: *laughter*
We finished eating, he called Alec's dad, and found they weren't home yet, so despite having to go back to my house to get shot records, which is 4 houses from where he is, I can't pick him up yet. So to the house I go. No fax yet. Alrighty. I also tried to print a map to the school where I have to go, no luck. Ok, the new printer is junk too. Great. I unplugged it, gave it 30 seconds and plugged it back in. Still no communication, according to the computer. I did it again. Still no good.
grrrrrrrrrrrr
I rebooted the puter, all is well, go figger. Called the doctor's office and asked them to refax (thanks guys!). Looked for Shayne's birth certificate, as this was the other reason I came all the way home. I knew where it should be, in the box with the cards from his birth & stuffs. But that box was somewhere in the garage - with all the other still-unpacked-since-the-move-before-last. (In our defense, we moved 7 years worth of stuff from a 3500 sq ft area to 1250 sq ft in the-move-before-last. We now have enough room, but it's been either cold or rainy anytime we've had time to do anything with it....) Scary. But I tackled it, and believe it or not, I found it in like 30 seconds...the box that is. The birth certificate was nowhere to be found, which is why I found the box in 30 seconds...
It's now 2:30. I still hafta go to the near north side for the bc, but after calling the school, I found that they are only registering until 2:45. Great, now I'll have to spend ANOTHER day off (*snort*) to do this. I took back hunny's shoes, and found another pair for me at $5, went & got the bc, picked up the boy, went to the house, picked up Alec, and made it to Karate with 3 minutes to spare - damn I'm good ! ! !
So, that was my day off.
Ok, gotta work :(
See ya laterzzzzzzzz!

Youparklikeanasshole

I found this at Rainstorms and felt a need to share, as this is one of my biggest "Things"...

Sick of a car taking up two spaces on the street? How about a car too close to yours? What about the car at the mall parked diagonally? Now you can do something about it. Simply download a notice and place it on the car's windshield. The owner of the vehicle will be informed of their asshole status as well as the proper tips to improve their poor parking techniques. It's time to put an end to asshole parking, or at least to make fun of it.

Youparklikeanasshole

**NOTE: youparklikeanasshole.com does not support making the notices provided into stickers in the intent to adhere said notices onto offending assholes.**

What happened to Kindness & Consideration..?

What to write, what to write... it's not that there isn't anything happening, I just am not quite functional yet. But I feel a need to post here, as I have been somewhat neglectful of my poor little blog. In my defense, I have had a lot going on, what with the broken arm and all, but still.

A lot of my writing here is done from work, but the phones have been ringing off the hook for the last week, and the people calling have been all kindsa nutsos...One of the most common calls I've gotten in the last week goes like this:

Me:"Thank you for calling (da da dum) The Cable Company, this is Jodi"                

Caller: "I pusht da buttons but nuttin is happenin. The box says bypass, and there's no picture in my tv. It's a bran new tv, I know dey ain't nuttin wrong wit it, but da cable inn't wurkin"

Me: *trying to turn what I just hear into understandable English:"Ummm, so your box says bypass, and you don't have a picture on your television..?" *Please note "Bypass" means the box has been turned off..."

Caller: "Yeah"

Me: "Could you please walk up to your box and press the "Power" button for me and tell me what happens?"

Caller: "The button on da box...dere's buttons on da box..?"

Me: "Yes, there's a button that is labeled "power" Could you push that please?"

Silence while the caller goes to investigate the box.

Caller:" Dis button here? Da one dat says "Power"?

Me: "Yes, please press it."
Silence while caller presses button. Extended silence.

Me: *after about a full minute "Sir..? Could you tell me what's on your tv now please?"
Caller: "Huh..? Oh yeah, it's working now, I got a picture and everything. Why wasn't it working.."
Me: *stifling the urge to say Because you didn't turn it on* :"So it's working ok for you now? Are you having any other issues..?"

Caller: "Naw, it's good"

Me: "Ok, thank you for call-..." and that's about as far as I get before they hang up. And what's with that anyways? What happened to manners and common courtesy..? The number of people who call us, with a nasty attitude right off the bat, expecting us to work magic and fix whatever ails them is astounding. But even when you do fix it, there's no thank you, not even so much as a Good-bye. They just hang up. It's rather irritating. Ok, it's a lot irritating. If I have just spent 10 minutes working to get your services back on line, the least you could do is be civil, and have the decency to say Good-bye before you hang up.

We schedule visits from technicians in either a 2 or 4 hour window. When we schedule the appointment, we make it clear that it will be somewhere within that window, and that we don't have any more specific timeframe. Is it a pain in the ass to have to sit home for that period? Yup. But if you want your stuff fixed, that's what you've gotta do. Just like I have to, and everyone else has to....

I had a man call me to "confirm" that he was to have someone out that day. I confirmed that indeed he was scheduled for 2-4 (this was at about 2:45ish) he then asked me when the tech would arrive. I told him it would be sometime before 4. Now, this was an older man, someone who (supposedly) was raised in an era of politeness and consideration.

Caller: "Well, can't you find out when he'll be here?"
Me: "No sir, I'm sorry, we don't have a way of contacting the techs to narrow the arrival time."
Caller:"You can't just call him and find out when he'll be here? I gave up my whole Saturday for this! I've had to sit here all day waiting for this! Can't you find out what time he'll get here?"
Me: *Note: this man was upgrading, adding additional service, not having something fixed. "No sir, I apologize, but we aren't able to contact the technicians. Someone will be there between now and 4."

Caller:*Sarcasm in full measure "You can't call them? Well how do you contact them? You mean to tell me if one of their wives died you couldn't get ahold of them"
Me: *Huh? how is this even remotely the same situation..? "Sir, I am sure there is a policy in place to address that sort of situation, but this is entirely different, and I am unable to contact a technician to determine an arrival time"

The guy hung up. There are so many things wrong with this - Let's start with, based on this conversation, if I could contact a tech and get an estimated arrival time, and I did offer it to this man, you can bet your ass, if the tech got hung up and was 2 minutes beyond that arrival time, this man would be on the phone bitching that the tech was supposed to be here, and he's not here, and why do I have to waste a whole day for this..? And calling back every 5 minutes until said tech arrived. And I can only imagine what the poor tech would have to listen to. And where does he get off saying something like that..? About a techs wife dying..? That is just malicious & wrong.

Apparently, as an employee of (da da dum) The Cable Company, a person is required to become something more, There is no room allowed for unexpected circumstances, and never is something more complicated that it should be. Therefore, you must arrive exactly when you say, do it perfect the first time (oh, yeah, but if it's my stuff, you have to deal with the unexpected, take as much time as is needed, and damn any other people who are waiting for their stuff to be done).

It doesn't work that way people, so how about some human decency and consideration..? You're not the only person on the planet, you're not the only person waiting for something, and dammit, sometimes SHIT HAPPENS.

Now if you can say you never f*ck up, are never late, and you are perfect, then I guess this doesn't apply to you. But since no one can claim those things, get over it and wait your turn.

Hmmmm, where did that come from..? I don't think that was where I meant to go with this, but there it is :)

Gotta take the boy to Mamaw & Papaw's so they can sign the cast...

See ya laterzzzzzzzzz!

More Pointless Drivel

I found this on It's The Journey That Matters, and since I am just sitting here, trolling BlogExplosion and Blog Soldiers trying to drum up readers while awaiting Mamaw & Papaw's arrival back at home so we can go visit, and doing the laundry shuffle every 60 minutes, I thought "What the Hell..?" so here it is :)

1) Where's the person you like right now?
Ummmm....which one - I actually like quite a few people...

2) Last time you consumed alcohol?
About two months ago when we went to The Comedy Club with Mike, Missy, Joe, Sherry, and a bunch of other folks...

3) What were you doing at 8:00 this morning?
Sleeping

4) What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
The laundry shuffle (you know, shuffling dry stuff to the basket to be folded, shuffling wet stuff to the dryer, shuffling dirty stuff to the washer, and shuffling me & the clean stuff upstairs to fold/hang/put away - have I mentioned I really don't like doing laundry..?

5) How do you feel about the person who texted you last?
I'm old, I don't get texted...

6) Have you ever been around someone who was high?
Is there anyone over the age of 16 who hasn't?

7) Do you like your life as of now?
Yep. There is good & bad, but that's true of everything, and when the bad comes around I keep two (one of them corny) sayings in mind - "Don't sweat the small stuff. Remember it's all small stuff." and "This too shall pass" When the good comes around (pretty frequently) I think the powers that be and enjoy it

8 ) Last thing you purchased?
A coke from the vending machine at work, 'cuz my case under my desk ran dry :(

9) Have you ever drank with your number one?
Uhhhh...number one what..? Squeeze? Yes

10) Where are you right now, and how do you feel about where you are?
I’m home, at my computer desk, listening to the race from downstairs and Ben10 from Shayne's room. I love this house, and hope never to have to move again.

11) What are you excited for?
That several of the "Big Dogs" in my company have indicated that a proposal I have made is a great idea, and that it will probably be implemented.

12) How's your heart lately?
Pretty good. It stopped for a minute or two when I heard "Your boy broke his arm" But other than that, it's full of love for my family, and doing a good job of keeping me mobile :)

13) Who was the last person you hugged?
Mark

14) Who was the last person to hold your hand?
Either Shayne or Mark - we're a hand-holding-hugging-kissing-I-love-you-saying sorta family *GRIN*

15) Are you a jealous person?
Not really, flirting is harmless, porn is just pictures, and cybersex is conducted at hundreds of miles distances - (it's also pointless in my book, but hey, whatever trips your trigger) On the other hand, if I am with my hunny and some bitch thinks it's acceptable to try to pick him up, then we have a problem.

16) Did you have a good birthday this year?
I got to host a Superbowl party, Yaayyy (note the sarcasm there...)

17) Are you tired right now?
Nope - which is a switch, I usually am

18 ) What are your outlooks on gay/bisexual relationships?
I think any two people who love each other should be allowed to love each other. If that means they want to marry, regardless of gender, they should be allowed to. I also feel that same gender relationships are every bit as valid as "traditional" relationships, and deserve the same respect and benefits - including things like health insurance

19) Do you chew on your straws?
No

20) Have you ever been called a tease?
Uhhhh, does being a stripper entertainer count as being a tease..?

21) Last Message on myspace from?
Cindy

22) Three days from now will you be in a relationship?
I am currently in numerous relationships - I have friends, family, acquaintances, a spouse, 3 children and 2 grandchildren. I think it's safe to say I'll be in some kind of relationship in three days

23) Do you have curly hair?
Not when it's short

24) Who was at your house last?
Mike

25) Do you smoke cigarettes?
Yes

26) Do you lead people on?
Yeah, you could say I'm a leader *looking innocent*

27) Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
Yeppers

28 ) Have you ever told someone of the opposite sex you loved them and meant it?
More times than I can count

29) Is there something you wanna do?
Yeppers

30) As of today, do you like anyone?
Yep, I like lotsa folks, see answer #1

31) Have you kissed anyone on the lips today?
Yeppers

32) Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
And then some....

33) Is your sister a slut?
Probably not

34) Do you like to cuddle?
Yeppers - as long as I'm not somewhere that is swelteringly hot

35) Last person you cried over?
My Dad

36) Do you cry easily?
Rarely

37) Do you have any siblings?
One sister

38 ) Where did you go today ?
I haven't gone any further than the laundry room so far today

39) What should you be doing right now?
Well, I'd say that since I'm doing what I'm doing, I'm doing what I should be doing *grin*

40) Are you a heavy sleeper?
I slept through an earthquake - literally

41) When was the last time you did the dishes?
Yesterday

42) Name every one that made you smile today:
Hmmmm, live people would be Mark & Shayne, cyber folks - the list is way too long

Details - Conclusion

Ok, where was I..? Stoopid job - interfering with my social life! There it goes again, whew, false alarm :)
So, we got the cast on - did I mention it's orange? No, not just orange, bright fluorescent can be seen coming from two blocks away orange. That's his favorite color. For everything. His sheets are orange...
Anyways, we got the cast on with a minimum of pain - he held up very well - and had more xrays taken to confirm the bones were back in place. They are. We had to schedule a follow-up appointment for two weeks, my little lover had to give all the women good-bye hugs, and we were done with the doctor.
Then we headed to White Castle. My boy loves him some cheese sticks from White Castle! He likes the chicken rings, too. (He won't eat the sliders - he refuses to eat any kind of red meat, apparently instinctively). We got some food, and headed to the house. He stripped down to his underwear (can't keep clothes on him) and planted himself in the Elmo chair, with his "tray," in Mommy & Daddy's room, and settled in top play king. I did convince him to take a dose of medicine to ease the hurt from the "smooshing."
Actually, he's not a bad patient. He didn't really ask for anything that wasn't necessary. After he ate, we snuggled up in the "big bed" and watched Ben10. All of them. At least, all of them that are available On Demand. Eventually, we both napped for a bit.
When Daddy got home, he got to sign the cast first, before anyone :) I was next, then Shayne had to write his name on it. Daddy tried to get upset, but I told him it's his cast and he can do whatever he wants on it.
Things are pretty much back to normal - well, as normal as can be expected with the addition of a fluorescent orange cast to your family - I saw him do a jump kick on his gaming chair the other day. He prefers Motrin if he's having any pain, but I try to get him to take the good stuff at night so he can sleep the night through without the arm waking him up. He hasn't made it all night, but then again in all reality, he is usually up when Daddy gets up for work at 4am ish.
I thought we would have to cancel the Karate, which would have been a bummer for him, cuz he really likes it. But Daddy (sweet man that he is) went by there and talked to the lady in charge, and explained what had happened. The folks at Indiana Martial Arts rock! Anyone in the Mooresville, Camby, Plainfield areas, if you have a little one, this is a wonderful place for them to go. They are going to let him continue to come! Talk about a happy boy! Daddy the hero, again :)
Ok, gotta go work again :(
See ya laterzzzzzz!

Details

Alrighty, I said I would get back here and provide some more details, so here goes...
I was driving home Tuesday night, doing the speed limit...ok, not really, I was doing about 60, which is about as close to speed limit as I get, as my hunny had been told by Uncle Mike that the law enforcement personnel were out and about in force that evening. So, I set the cruise at 60 and headed for home.

Hunny had said he was down at his buddy's house, hanging out while the kids played. No biggie, they live like 5 houses down, and I didn't really think any more about it. As I hit the exit for Six Points Road, basically within 6 or 7 miles of home, I heard my radio beep.
Him: "Jodi..?"
Me: "Yeah Babe, go ahead."
Him: "We're heading to the hospital."
Me: *huh* "Oh shit, what happened?"
Him: "I think your boy broke his arm..."
Me: "WHAT..?!?"

Now keep in mind, hunny is usually pretty low-key when it comes to kid injuries. He'll usually check for heavy bleeding, then assume he's a kid and all will be well. When the boy came out of Karate and tried to jump onto a pole in the parking lot & missed, raising a big goose egg in the middle of his forehead, hunny looked for blood, said (his signature line) "If you hadn't been jacking around..." and home they went. So...if hunny is heading to the hospital with what he thinks is a broken arm, then it's probably pretty serious - maybe more so than what he thinks.
Well, there goes my nice, calm 60mph. I told him I would meet him there, that I was almost to Six Points, and should be right behind him.
Now, luckily for us, there is a hospital about 3 miles from the house. Something tells me this won't be our last visit...I think I made the 10 miles left in about 4 min.
On the way, I got another call.
Him: "I don't have his card or anything."
Me: "Don't worry honey, I'll be RIGHT BEHIND YOU."
Him: " Do they have an Emergency Room here..?"
Me: "I think they do, they said something about opening one when I was down here for my tests."
Him: "I'm not seeing a sign for an ER..."
Me: "Just go in the main entrance and ask someone if they have an Emergency Room..."
Silence.
This a small community hospital. SMALL. They actually DON'T have an Emergency Room, (although it is scheduled to open October 11). They do however, have an Immediate Care Center. I think the main difference is that it's not 24 hour.

So, about the time I finished telling him to go in, I was turning into the entrance to the hosp. I followed the curvy road/driveway in to the main entrance, looking towards the doors for the truck. Not up at the drive-thru. I see it in the parking lot. Empty. So I guess they have some sort of something to take care of 5 year olds with injuries. Good deal. I threw the car into a parking spot right across from the entrance (thank you Parking Gods) and take myself inside.
Me:" My husband just brought our 5 year old in here, do you know where they went..?"
Lady at Desk:"Right that way."

As I entered the waiting area, there was my boy - little rough & tumble, it doesn't hurt, I'll be fine himself, sitting on Daddy's lap, holding his arm VERY carefully, looking pathetic. It broke my heart. He wasn't, however, crying. At least not until he saw me. Gotta be a tough guy for Daddy, you know all that testosterone crap. But when I came in, well, there wasn't a LOT of crying, but he did loosen the grip on the tears a bit.

But he did really well. They took xrays, and determined it was broken. Twice. Well, actually each bone in his forearm is broken once. They sent us home in a splint and gave us the numbers of some orthopaedic surgeons to call the next day. They also sent us home with some liquid Tylenol3. That's some NASTY stuff, even with the "kid's flavoring" added in.

He doesn't want the pain medication. He'll take it at night, that seems to be when it bothers him the most. (Usually about 3:30am...)I can imagine...there aren't a whole lot positions you can get into that are comfortable, when you have a cast almost to your shoulder...poor guy.

We went to see the Ortho guy on Wednesday, he was really good with my little guy! We had a couple of hairy moments when the doc had to straighten the bone. He explained to both me & Shayne exactly what he was going to do, that he had to wrap it with the cast material, then he would have to "smoosh" the bone back into place. He offered to give him a shot to numb the area first, but my tuff guy said "No Thank you" I explained how the shot would work, that it would make it hurt a lot less, but he still declined.
He only cried for a minute or two - he did much better than I would have! I'd have been whining & crying & boo-hooing & bitching like nobody's business! Not my boy! He cried for a minute, but c'mon, they were realigning a broken bone with NO ANESTHESIA! He had every right to cry!
Ok, gotta work now, but will provide more at a later time....
See ya laterzzzzzzzz

Step 3 - We Have a Cast

Again, this is just a quick update, I hope to post more in depth with details later to day. We have a Bright Orange (go figger...) cast up to almost his armpit. He seems to be doing well, and hasn't really slowed down too awfully much - he kept me hopping I can tell ya!

I have a couple of pics in the cast. Hunny and I were talking last night, and both could kick ourselves for not getting pics of his arm without the cast or sling - sheesh, why did we BUY the picture phones..? Doh!

Ok, here's a coupla pics...

Step 2

Well, we're off to the orthopaedic surgeon at 10. When I called my boss (one of the best people on the planet...) to let her know what was going on, and that I might not be in today, or maybe only half a day, she said that her son had broken his arm, and I would probably be there while, and she would just plan on me not coming in at all today.

So, more info as I get it. In the meantime, here's a pic...

Official First Broken Bone...

Yep, that's right. He's only had 'em for 5 years and already he's breaking 'em. My boy has managed to break both bones in his right arm, and it wasn't even the Karate - he fell off a bike...

More to come later....

WOW! ANNE RICE Came To My Blog!

Can I just say WOW! Anne Rice came to my blog! ANNE RICE! OMG, OMG, OMG! Not only did she come to my blog...SHE LEFT A COMMENT! *doing happy, happy dance*
I went upstairs last night to bathe, and figgered I'd take a looksee at my newest posts, see if anyone had been by (Yes, I'm a freak that way - I have issues, leave me alone !) and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a new comment on here. Woohoo! Any regular readers (do I have any of those..?) are aware that comments in general make my day. So I had to go check it out.
I saw the name Anne Rice at the top. OMG! That can't be right! Someone is messing with me...Then I went on to read what was written. OMG! I don't think someone's messing with me, I think ANNE RICE came to my blog! I re-read it. Twice. Then I ran halfway down the stairs to holler at hunny
Me: *kinda bouncing on stairs*"Anne Rice left me a comment on my post!"
Him: "Who..?" *my hunny doesn't read as much as I do....*
Me: "ANNE RICE! The author - Witching Hour, Vampire Lestat, you know the ones I've read until they fell apart then had to replace so I could read them again..? ANNE RICE!"
Him: "No way."
Me: "Way!"
Him: "Why would she leave a comment on your thingy?" (he's not really up on blogs - but then again, like I am...lol)
Me: "I dunno, 'cuz I posted about her..? The one I was doing earlier when you were up there. You see I did a post about another blog, and it kinda led to books, which led to her..."
Him: "No way!"
Me: "Way! Come up here and read it..."

So back upstairs we went, where I proceeded to read him the comment, as well as the part of the post that was relevant.

Him: " How do you know it's really her..?"
Me: "I don't. But I can click on the name and go to the profile..."

I clicked. It's set to private. Go figger...but a famous author would set their profile to private, right? Right..?

Him: *Giving me an "I told you so" look*
Me: "It was her 'cuz I say it was her..."
Him: *still looking*
Me: "I can see why someone would do it to be petty, but they wouldn't have said the things she said in the way she said them..."
Him: *still looking*
Me: "It was HER. I know it was."
Him: *being the sweet, supportive hunny he (usually) is: "Yeah, you've got a point there. Cool! Anne Rice commented on your thingy."
Me: *grinning from ear to ear "ANNE RICE came to my blog! How cool is that..?"

I want to address what she said, and clarify my comments, but it's really hard to type while you're doing the Happy Dance....but I'll be back.
See ya laterzzzzzzz!

Fate's Acquittal

Hey y'all. I know I've been slacking off... between being sick, and "stimulating the economy (read - shopping *grin*) I haven't posted much here in a few days. I have every intention of remedying this lapse...soon...I have tried to keep up on my other blog, as it has a more "structured" layout. I have however, managed to pretty well keep up with the blogs I "follow" - it takes much, much less time to read than it does to write...lol.
One of my favorites is Fate's Acquittal. Now, I'm not a blog reviewer, or even remotely qualified to be one - Hell, I just learned they existed about 2 or so months ago! But, I do read. A lot. A whole lot. On average I read 3-4 books a week. Sometimes more, occasionally (like when I'm sick and can't even see, let alone read) a bit less. I'm also pretty set in what I like - Historical Fiction, preferably very historical, like oh, I dunno, no less than 500 or more years ago..I am also a huge fan of Fantasy, not to be confused with Sci-Fi. If it involves Magic & doesn't contain sky-scrapers or cars, or any of that modern-type stuff, I'm all good. Swords, horses, spells, wandering the world on foot or by boat - these are the things I love. It doesn't have to be "our" world, just so long as there aren't spaceships or lasers involved in getting there.
I also have a affinity for Horror. But finding good horror, that I haven't read, is becoming increasingly difficult. Anne Rice was a favorite for a long time, as was Steven King, but as the years have passed they have both "changed." Now as a rule, change is good, but don't mess with my reading material! King lost me when he "sold out" so to speak. I was sorely disappointed by the loooooong wait for the next Gunslinger book (we're talking yeeeeaaaarrrrsssss here), but he didn't lose me completely until he did the "novelettes." You know, take one good book, turn it into 6 little books, and sell each one for $9,99? Yeah, that was the end for me. I'm a bit of a cheapskate to begin with, especially when it comes to books. Not that books aren't worth it, but to spend $9,99 on something I'm going to read completely in an hour or two..? I don't think so. Don't misunderstand, I buy books - I buy lots of books, but they are nice, thick, going-to-last a-couple-of-days books.
 
*Note: If you look closely, you'll see that almost every shelf on this case has at least two, if not three rows of books on it. This is only the books from one room of our home...every room (even the bathrooms) contains books. I have read 95% of the books I own, the other 5% being reference material, and I have sold, traded or lost, at a conservative estimate, 25 times this many - what you see has been accumulated in only about 5 or 6 years, with a few rare exceptions.


As for Anne Rice, apparently she has suffered some sort of "conversion." Because I loved her previous works, I did buy & read her (at the time) latest book, Christ The Lord : Out of Egypt. While it isn't my preferred subject matter, it was well written. But I won't read the next one. It's no secret that I am not a Christian, but that's really not the reasoning. It is important, to me, to know about many different views and beleifs, but I don't want it in my fiction - I want it where it belongs in non-fiction!
But one day, as I am trolling thru BlogExplosion trying to gain viewers ('cuz I have this need to be read - and acknowledged!) and find interesting stuffs to occupy my mind, I stumbled on Fate's Acquittal and started reading. Now, I'm not what you would call naive - haven't even been close for about, uhhhh 40 or so years...but I fell for it. I didn't know there were such things as "fiction blogs." The more I read, the more I enjoyed Tom & Ed's adventures...those two are nuts! But fun!
What a life! Finding out it is fiction (at least I think it is fiction...) was a bit of a let down, but not much, it's still good reading. And waaaaaay off the beaten track for me. But I keep going back, over and over. And I will continue to do so, as long as he keeps writing it!
Who am I to judge? Take yourself over there and try it on for size. What have you got to lose..? 5 minutes of time..? LOL
Ok, I gotta go. I have a whole bunch to write about - cars & stimulation and faucets, but I am out of time for the moment :( If only I could type as fast as I read, we'd all be in business! I keep hoping KMart will put "Fingers That Know How To Type" on bluelight special so I can get me a coupla sets, but no such luck, so far...So, the physical world calls, and I must answer my Mistress...
See ya laterzzzzzzzz!

Me & My Car(s)

I know, I know, me & my f*cking cars...If it ain't one thing, it's another. Let's start with the fact (and it IS a fact - or Universal Law, I'm not sure which...) that if there's a lemon on the lot, I'll buy it! Oh yeah, I can buy a BRAND NEW CAR, and have it catch on fire, going down the interstate, at 11:30 at night, in December, IN THE RAIN ! True story. Let's start back a little ways, back before the Impala...I think it started with the Sunfire.

It was a 1999 Pontiac Sunfire, I bought it in January of 2001, or thereabouts. It had only 30,000 miles on it. She was purty, all black, even the trim & manufacturer symbols. It had a sun/moon roof, you know the kind you can open the vent, or slide it back into the roof, to open all the way. I got the windows tinted. She was looking GOOD. For a week. Then I noticed the stereo controls on the steering wheel got hot - WAY hot - like burn you if you touch 'em hot...So, to the dealers we went. After working all day. To sit for an hour while they "look at it." The determination was that the controls, along with the entire stereo needed replaced. And the parts needed ordered, so they'd hafta keep it for a "few days" Yeah, whatever...Then we proceeded to the question of what I was going to drive for those "few days". Apparently, it isn't their policy to provide transportation while they fix your car - at least it hadn't been. But seriously I had had the car for A WEEK. They brought me a rental car. Okee dokee.

So three days later, I get a call saying it will be another week before the parts are in. Alrighty, so far, I'm ok, I have something to drive, and they're fixing my car. A week passes and I get a call "Your car is done, come & get it whenever." That day after work, I went back to the dealer's to get my purty new car. I got about, oh, I dunno 5 miles down the road and noticed the front end/steering wheel felt "funny." Not funny ha-ha, but rather this-isn't-how-a-car-should-feel-at-50mph funny. So I turned her around and back we went.

Now I'd just like to say right here, the fact that I have bumps in my shirt does not mean I am an idiot. Not even mechanically. I know a bit about 4 wheeled, vehicular modes of transportation. Probably more than the average bumps-in-the-shirt type person, so don't try to double talk me or feed me a line of shit about my vehicle. I HATE that, it aggravates me to no end, yet happens on a fairly regular basis...

That being said, I pulled back into the service dept and explained why I was back. One of the mechanics took it for a drive, then came back and said that I had "tar on my tires." Huh?!?! I wasn't even blonde then...They were all serious about that being the cause of the wobble/thunking coming from the front end. Uh-huh. On the off-chance that they were right, I figgered I'd take it home & have hunny drive it. Now keep in mind, it has been in their shop for a week and a half - where did this tar come from? And when did they start making invisible tar..?

Hunny drove it and agreed with me that

a) It wasn't right, and

b) there was no tar anywhere near any of the tires.

So, the next day, after working 8 hours, I AGAIN went back to the dealership. I explained to them that I didn't think it had anything to do with tar or tires, and stated fairly plainly that despite their vaunted opinions, I wanted the front end checked out, thoroughly. So again, I sat. This time for almost three hours. The manager dude finally came to tell me that "Hmmm, imagine that...there isn't any tar on your car anywhere, but the front ball joints, the bearings, and the rotors on ALL 4 TIRES were bad."

Really?

So we did the alternate-form-of-transportation-dance again, and he was finally convinced that it was in his, and the dealership's, best interest to again provide a rental vehicle. At this point, we're going on almost four hours, after working all day. Let's just say I wasn't the most pleasant person on the planet right about then - not even close. (And despite the fact that many people who now know me believe me to be a fairly reasonable, mild mannered, easy-to-get-along-with type of gal, that's only because that's what it is safest for them to believe...those who have known me a while know much better) Forty-five minutes later, a young kid shows up in an overgrown roller-skate, and calls it my rental car.

Uhhhh...I don' think so. And I told him I didn't think so, in no uncertain terms. I'd say I made my point, because he left to get a real car, and when he came back, he brought back-up. Really. He had two other guys with him, and it appeared their sole purpose was support, 'cuz all they did was ride down with him & back to the rental car company with us....

Ok, I've had the car for two and a half weeks, of which one and a half was spent in the shop. And now it was back. This time for three more weeks...parts were on back order - go figger.

I did finally get it back in good decent running condition, and kept her for about 6 more months. Then it was time to start thinking "baby" and "bigger vehicle."

Ok, bed is calling, rather loudly I might add, so I am heading that way. We'll just call this "To Be Continued..."

See ya laterzzzzzzzz!

Million Blog List

Hey y'all, just a quickie note to say "Hey! I'm part of the Million Blog List as of today, May 8, 2008! How cool is that? I'll be back to post more soon, now that I no longer feel like I'm dying....

Days Gone By...

On my way to work today, a song came on the radio - well, ok, mp3 player, but it was coming through my radio - and all of a sudden I found myself in 1976. The song was S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night by The Bay City Rollers. Do you remember that song? If you do you're older 'n dirt - like me *grin*

Anyways, there I was, cruising along at 70 mph 60 mph and my mind was 30 some years and several states away...I could remember my cousin and I having a "dance contest" to that song, and my dad was the judge. I thought I was a shoe-in (my Dad was the judge), and I remember how floored I was when he said she was better. I didn't cry (though I wanted to, sheesh I was what..? 7? 8?) but it did motivate me to get better. My Dad was my Daddy. He was God in my world, and to disappoint him was to have the sun struck from the sky.

My dad was, well, he was different from all the other dads. He was in the military, he fought in the Korean War, spent 4 years on Okinawa. He owned a bar/restaurant, he fixed things and made things and built things. He turned an old bowling alley into a supper club - in the middle of nowhere, 2 miles beyond bumf*ck - that was always packed. They served a $30 surf & turf meal in 1976. When they bought that property, the house - an old farm house, two-story, three huge bedrooms & full bathroom up and two more bedrooms, living room, dining room, pantry and full bath down, plus full basemant that went not only under the house, but also under the bar - was attached to the bar. He literally picked the house up and moved it to the back property. He was "Big Joe" and nobody messed with Joe.

He cooked. He was the one who got me up for school, or took me if I missed the bus. He was patient, and smart. He would always have time for me. If the bar was packed, and I came out there (this was WI in the 70's, legal age was 18, and to this day there is no minimum age requirement to enter a bar there. Hell, I was serving drinks before I could see over the bar...lol) he would acknowledge me, take care of me, and take me back to the house. I can remember faking being asleep in the car, as late as 10 ys old, just so he would carry me in. One of my favorite things in the world was when my mom would drive (very rare occurrence) and I could sit on Daddy's lap in the front seat! He took me swimming, fishing, boating. When there were wedding receptions held in "the hall," before it became the supper club, all of us kids would go out into the hall and join in, playing with kids from the party, dancing when the bands played. I can remember standing on his feet and slow dancing with him...LOL. He was always there.

I remember when my sister was born pre-maturely, and my mom almost died from septicemia(sp?) (a piece of the placenta was left inside her). I was seven and really had no idea what was going on. I have no doubt he was in misery, he thought his wife was dying, he had a newborn daughter and a seven year old to deal with, but he came home to be with me every night of those two long weeks.

He'd let me paint the walls he built, he'd let me hammer in nails, and hold the boards. He let me "work on" cars when he still had the garage. According to stories I've heard, he rarely went anywhere without me as an infant. He would drive me around with the music blaring in the car, 'cuz that was the only way to get me to sleep...

I was sixteen when he died. I had been 16 for all of three weeks. I'm fairly certain I broke his heart into a million pieces, I was a wild child, belligerent, independent, a runaway (numerous times), and was in a "girl's school" when he died. I had had a furlough for a week, and had gotten to see him, if you can call it that. Cancer took him. It was an ugly thing, to see the first love of my life (and he truly was - shouldn't all fathers be so, for their daughters?), that strong, vital God of a man, lying in a Hospice bed, down to 98 lbs (he was 6'1", probably 205ish, in military condition, physically), his skin hanging on his frame, yellowed. His hair all but gone, and what was left turned grey. He was 52 when he died. When I had to leave, he hugged me, and wouldn't let go. Like he knew he'd never get to hug me again...

OMG...it still hurts, almost 30 years later, and still the tears have come.

There's so much...he never saw his grandkids. He would have loved this boy of mine - he would have loved all of them, but I think Shayne would have been a favorite - that's just the kinda kid he is. How much different would my life have been, had he lived to an old age? No one will ever know, and honestly, speculation is pointless. I have a good life (now), a wonderful husband, two awesome sons, a daughter-in-law any woman could be proud of, and two sweet grandbabies of my own. But still, Daddy, I miss you more that you could ever have guessed I would...

The anniversary of his death comes around every year, and it is what I call "My Bad Day." Not only is it the date he died, I had gallbladder surgery on that date two years later, and down the road, my mom had 5 heart attacks on that day, and a year later two more, same date. I try to stay home and safe on February 27th, whenever it is at all possible. Hmmmm...another Thing, do you think?

Wow...I'm not sure where all of that came from. Not what I had in mind when I sat down...well, ok, not what I had in the front of my mind and planned to write, but apparently it has been hovering around the back of my mind, and managed to shove it's way out through my fingers, and so there it is.

I hear my bed calling. My sweet boy is already asleep in there. Daddy is racing, so we get to snuggle in Mommy's bed, like in the mornings, but better (so he says).

G'Night!