For the birds

Yesterday, my son and I decided to enjoy the glorious weather and go for a rollerblade/bike ride. The roads aren't too busy on Sundays and it is a perfect time to practice our bike safety rules, hand signs, etc. To get him motivated, I mentioned a nearby playground that he had not had the opportunity to visit since before this he would not ride his bike. So, off to the playground we go, me on my blades and him on his bike.
We arrive safely at the park, where he gets to play on the swingset while I explore the "tricycle" path that this development uses as a selling point for perspective new home owners. I start along the path that is adjoined to the playset. It's relatively smooth, with a few ups and downs so you can easily pick up some speed. Then there is a rather steep hill that leads up to a bridge that overlooks the playset. Oh look, there is the little monkey. "Hi sweetie, mommy is going to go down the hill, come watch" I'm ignored, but that is ok, since I've just now looked down the other side of the hill. It is not a straightaway, but an "s" curve with a severe hairpin curve at the bottom. This is a tricycle path, I'm sure it was designed with the little children's safety in mind.
Here I go. Made the first curve, lets put a little break on..whoa whoa, I'm not going to make that turn, I'm going to skid out...oh oh oh..crash.
I actually didn't skid out, but managed to launch myself over the earth berm at the edge of the hairpin curve. Luckily, the ground must have been watered recently since there was some give upon impact. After finding my glasses, which had flown off my face with my less than graceful landing, I was able to do a visual survey to see no real damage was done. The impact on my knee was on the scar from my last rollerblading accident, so that skin was already toughened up; my wrist seems to be moving ok and the shoulder I landed on just had a few more creaks and pops to add to the ones it already had from the first time I had separated it many years ago.
By this time, my son had wandered over and decided that it would be cool for him to give it a whirl (how Mommy on the ground, groaning in pain, is an incentive, I don't know). He with all the recklessness and invincibility of a 7 year old, went down that hill at Mach 3, missed the turn, did a jump in the air and managed to land safely on the grass some distance away. Was he afraid to go again after missing the turn and almost crashing? Of course not. Off he went again, to go faster around that curve, to prove that he could do it. And he did.

Fall is here

Ah, fall weather has finally arrived here in Texas. We have dry air with temps in the low 70's. I love this time of year. Even though our foliage does not change, it still is a fantastic time to get outside and enjoy life. It makes me want to bike, to run, to rollerblade everywhere. Which means, my blog suffers terribly. So, when you wonder why I haven't post, even though I do have things to say, it is because I'm out living life.

3am wake up call

3 a.m. and this is what I hear:
Knock, knock, knock,knock,knock, knock
plick, plick (stones against a window)
Knock,knock, knock,
plick, plick

What the #@&%?
I get out of bed and look out my bedroom window which faces the street. I don't see anything. I'll go back to bed.

Beebaw ,beebaw, honk, honk, beep beep.

A car alarm now? A rouse myself completely from the vestiges of sleep, puting my glasses on this time. (Without them I really am blind, there was no way I could see anything the first time I looked out the window, but I was still clinging to the thought that I would be able to go back to sleep.)It's my neighbor, the new ones who are renting the house on the corner. The kid sets the alarm off a few more times, knocks on the door and throws some more rocks. It's obvious he has managed to lock himself out of his home. It is not so obvious why he has chosen to not call his home to wake whomever is there to open the door.

I hear my son rustling in his sleep in the other room. Oh no, we are not waking him tonight, he is already short on sleep and I will not deal with a cranky kid in the morning. Hubby woke up too, but he has worked all night and really needs his sleep. Time for me to throw on some clothes. I storm downstairs, grab my phone and stomp over to the kid's car. Is he still in the car, I can't tell ...yes there, he's unrolling the window.
Me: Hi, what do you think you are doing?
Him: Oh hey lady, I locked myself out.
ME: I understand you are locked out, um hm, but you are waking up me and my husband and my 7 year old - cut it out!
Him: I'm trying to wake my Dad up, his bedroom is right there and must be jet lagged 'cause he doesn't hear me.
Me: Did you try to call him?
Him: Oh, no, my phone isn't working
Me: Hear (thrust phone into to his face). Call him.

The kid trys to call, but Dad doesn't wake up. He decides to try to call his brother on my phone, which appears to be long distance, and chats for a bit with him about how his father doesn't hear anything....I'm still standing there, waiting for my phone and the to go back to my cozy bed. The kid apologizes for waking me, gives back my phone, and says he will sleep in his car until his Dad wakes up. Good idea. It's a lovely night out for that, not to hot, not to cold. I head home, crawl back into bed, and stare wide-eyed at the ceiling for awhile. Guess who is the cranky one this morning?

Update: One of the sons used the "car alarm as key" trick again this morning.

Job update

I decided to stay with my old job instead of taking advantage of the fabulous new opportunities that were presented to me. "Why stay in a job you obviously dislike?" you ask. Simply put, my son. I asked him what he thought about going to daycare for a few hours a week and he did not want to go. He told me that he goes in the summer and that is enough, the kids are mean, it is noisy and they don't get to play outside.
Now, I am not a parent that caves in to my child's every whim, however when it may impact his development and progress in areas that he is already struggling with (ie. school)I do listen. Would my ADHD son have been able to do his school work in that chaos? What about when we got home at night, would it be too stressful, what with having to make dinner and do studying he was unable to do while in daycare? When would he be able to just play? When would fun time with us be? I couldn't do that to him. Being a parent does mean having to sacrifice and this is one of those occasions.

Job opportunity

I have a dilemma. I've been offered a permanent job from my sometimes weekend position of house sales assistant. That would mean leaving my current position, where I just received a promotion and there is plenty of room for advancement if I want it. The pro's the new job would have are a 50% pay raise with bonuses, I would work three days a week instead of 4, and I would be away from my current boss. The cons to this new job - it can be very boring, days of no customers coming in, I would be working until 6 pm which would mean my son would have to go to daycare after school. I asked him if he would like to do daycare after school, to see his friends and play. He said "no way". Hmmm. Plus, because it is in house sales, I would not be close to home forever - eventually all the houses would sell and we would move to a new location. I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

Ant bite

Here in Texas everything is bigger, which seems to include insect bites. We have fire ant season, which last approximately 10 months out of the year. If you'll notice, the stuff that you buy at Home Depot to kill these ants says that it lasts a season. I guess it refers to a typical length season since my fire ants, having been gone for the spring and summer, have come back with a vengence and they are seeking revenge.
One teeny, tiny, little ant bit me between the big toe and second toe of my right foot. I can barely move that foot today, it is so swollen. I'm even contemplating calling into work, since it will be difficult to stand on it all day and I'm not sure if I can even get a shoe to fit on my foot. I probably still go in, I have to be really sick not to show up for work. But my foot really hurts and it itches like the devil too!

100 things about me, part II

51. I once stepped on a priceless kaolin pipe that I had discovered earlier in the day.
52. I've always wanted to shave my head
53. and pierce my nose
54. and get a face tattoo
55. Saner folks have convinced me not to do any of those things.
56. I lived in 6 states and two countries
57. I've visited at least 15 states and 7 countries.
58. When I was younger, my sister and I tried to get into the Guiness Book of World Records by see-sawing. We lasted all of an hour. We didn't get in the book.
59. I'm an introvert.
60. I've been told my twin and I had our own language as children.
61. I've always wanted superpowers.
62. Maple walnut fudge is my favorite type of fudge
63. Mowing the lawn and weeding my flower garden is very carthargic for me.
64. Baking brings me joy as well.
65. I am a "swamp yankee" at heart
66. living in a good ol' boy state.
67. Every temp. position I've had has resulted in an offer of a full time position
68. I have "failed" at only one thing in my life, everything else is still in progress.
69. Honda CRX hatchback; my first car, my favorite car
70. My guilty pleasure is to watch UPN "America's Next Top Model"
71. and am embarrassed to admit that
72. I am not a patient person when it comes to ignorant people
73. In emergencies I act, I don't just stand there.
74. I attempted to stop a ring of shoplifters once
75. I was not 100% successful
76. I saw my husband about 3 months out of 12 the first year of our marriage
77. The herb "lemon verbena" is incredibly aromatic and invigorating
78. I went an entire New England winter without once wearing a winter coat (it was cold, I was stubborn)
79. My childhood nickname was "Rocky"
80. My high school nickname was "Foof"
81. My college nickname was Snail
82. Deep forest green and brown are my favorite colors to wear
83. I am a morning person
84. I stay up too late most nights
85. I need one cup of coffee to get me going in the morning.
86. I will not lie to you if you ask me a direct question.
87. I will circumvent the truth and use "lawyerese" if I don't want to tell the truth
88. Seeing my son unconscious after surgery, not waking up easily, was one of the most painful moments of my life. My heart literally hurt.
89. I wore a MIA bracelet until the soldiers body was recovered and I had contacted his family. It was part of my wedding jewelry.
90. I am physically stronger than I look.
91. When I get an idea in my head, I want it done now, not in 5 minutes.
92. My friends are my family
93. I like to think the weatherpixie on my blog looks like me
94. She doesn't really
95. My soul mate thinks I am the smartest person he ever met (I was fishing for something to add to the list)
96. Bad grammar makes me cringe, but I totally understand bad spelling.
97. I like to buy gifts for people for no reason, but will hold on to them until a holiday comes up.
98. I must have a well stocked pantry - at least 3 types of sugar, 5 vinegars, numerous extracts; you get the picture.
99. I refused to change my maiden name when I got married(and it is a doozy to spell)
100. I don't mind strangers reading my blog; but if I know you I have to trust you completely to let you read it. Don't ask me why, it is a complicated thing.

100 things about me, part 1

1. I am an identical twin
2. I used to be an archaeologist
3. and an EMT
4. and a postal worker
5. and a substitute teacher
6. and a medical assistant
7. I want to win a Nobel Prize, I don't care in what subject
8. I have written a children's book; it wasn't published, but not for lack of trying
9. I would like to have some of my short stories published
10. I have broken my arm/hand/elbow three times
11. I am a klutz
12. I love Elvis movies
13. I have one son
14. I don't want any more children
15. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up
16. I finished college in three years
17. I wish I was still in college
18. I met and married my soulmate
19. I love to read
20. If I don't do some sort of physical exercise every day I get cranky
21. I don't exercise everyday, so I am not a nice person to be around
22. If I am your friend, you can count on me to help you as long as you ask for help
23. I don't ask for help
24. I have no regrets in my life, every experience has made me stronger in one way
or another
25. I don't like birthdays
26. I expect everyone to work as hard as I do and am often disappointed
27. I can waste a whole day reading other people's blogs
28. Autumn is my favorite season
29. I've never taken any illegal substances
30. I've been stalked by two different men
31. I always can see the other person's side
32. I believe you are only given as much as you can handle
33. I've been in an art show (literally, I was one of the subjects)
34. My sister used to threaten to kill me when we were kids. She was serious.
35. I have a brother who I don't talk to and I don't know why.
36. I love to gamble with other people's money
37. I was on my college crew team
38. I own a dwarf rabbit
39. I am not living up to my potential
40. My favorite non-alcholic drink besides water is coffee milk shakes
41. I craved crab rangoons when I was pregnant
42. I have yet to find a hobby that I am good at
43. I'm 5'2"
44. I enjoy jobs that require some form of physical exertion
45. I love to rollerblade but have not been able to master stopping
46. Bike riding is also a passion, but only when I lived in New England.
47. I collect fountain pens
48. and cruets
49. I'm growing my hair for "Locks for Love"
50. I procrastinate

doughnut search

"Hey mom, Ive got an idea."
"what?"
"Let's go get doughnuts for breakfast!"
"Yeah, that sound yummy. Let's go. We'll go to Shipley's down the street."

No we won't. Even though our area was spared from any devastation from the storm, we are still in a "recovery zone" and supply trucks have not made it here yet. So business have not reopened. If you forgot to stock up on gas, meds or food, you are out of luck. Our local Randall's grocery store was open, but all dairy and meats were being removed from the shelves and shoppers were not allowed to buy any of it. The bakery had no food, there was no bread. The only thing you could find easily were fresh fruits (no one stocks up on those for a storm).
From a food safety point I do understand why it was done, but it certainly was an odd sight to see. This obviously is what happens all over when a disaster stikes. It was so weird not being able to just go to the store to get my doughnuts and gallon of milk.
We haven't had basic services like mail either. Again, I'm glad our local government took precautions, but it seems weird trying to explain to outertowners why we haven't received letters sent. I never thought of this side of disaster recovery. It makes you realize that victims of storms continue to suffer for weeks afterwards, that they are not even able to get their small pleasures.It is something to remember that next time nature strikes hard.

We made it

I know you are wondering how we faired through Hurricane Rita. Here you go:

Windows intact - check
Trees still standing - check
Power on - check
Backyard lake retaining its banks - check
Roof secure - check. Well I didn't really check since there are still wind gusts of 50 mph and I didn't think it would be a good idea to climb the ladder to look for loose shingles.
Cabin fever - check and double check

There could still be some flooding as the days go by if she stalls, but it looks like we made it through unscathed. Hopefully this will help alleviate some of my son's fears of storms. He can now realize that all hurricanes are not Hurricane Katrina.

We've got some windows to unboard and some sleep to catch up on, so I had best go now.

Hurricane Rita update

It looks like the storm is now a category 5, and we expect to see winds of 120 MPH hitting our home with strong possibility of tornadoes. Luck seems to be with us in that the storm surge should not reach us, although the wind will probably do damage.

Hurricane Rita

I just wanted to let you know that there is a good chance that I will not be posting for a bit. It looks like my area will be hit by Hurricane Rita, which means power will be out. My poor son is panicking at the thought of a hurricane hitting us. He keeps mumbling under his breath "why do we have to get hit by a hurricane, why does there have to be bad weather, it's not fair". We have close friends who lost everything they own during Hurricane Katrina and now he thinks the same will happen to us. I keep trying to explain to him that hurricanes can be "fun".

When I was growing up, I went through a few hurricanes. What I remember most is playing board games by candlelight and sitting outside as the eye of the storm passed over us. The clean-up afterwards was not always fun, especially since it seemed to include a severe case of poison ivy. We had tons of poison ivy around us, in bushes, trees, etc and it would blow down with the storm winds.Inevitably, you would end up picking some up without protection on your hands and *poof* an itchy rash would appear. That part wasn't fun, but it certainly was not the worst thing that could happen.

I do have to admit that I am a little nervous, since it is now forcasted to be a Cat. 4 hurricane. We're just going to stock up on supplies and tough it out.

Cardshark in the making

Today my dear son asked if we would like to play a game of "Sorry" with him, which we agreed to do after dinner was done. As we are prepping dinner we hear shouts from upstairs "I'm setting up the board" "What color do you want to be" and "I've mixed the cards around so don't touch them". "Fine, super, whatever you say dear" are our responses back to him. Yet he keeps going on about how he has shuffled the cards, how they are all set and that we should not touch them. OK, I'm getting a wee bit suspicious. Then we hear him call down "I got a twelve, I'm moving" "Dad, you have an 11, who do you want to switch with?" At this point we call up to him that we are not playing yet, wait to after dinner, then we will play. Oh yes, and put the cards he pulled onto the bottom of the pile. He insists that he can't do this, that he'll just keep them pulled and we can use them when the game starts. Hmm.

We have dinner and are cleaning up with prodding from him to "come and play". Luckily a call from Grandma distracts him for a bit, so we can clean up. Since he is still on the phone with Grandma, I sneak upstairs and shuffle those cards. He finished his phone call and we go play. 12 for him to start with, 11 for Dad, and a 3 for me.
We go another few rounds and he stops and says "hey, what happened to the cards?"
I ask innocently, "Whatever do you mean dear?"
"They are not the same, you're supposed to have the low cards, dad and I get the high cards so we can move faster."
Aha! "So you cheated?"
"No, I just arranged the cards so Daddy and I could win. That isn't cheating. How did you know?"
"Sweetie, I'm your mom, I always know"

Later my husband asks how did I know, since he had no clue. "Come on now," I say, "when someone is intent on you not rearranging cards in a game you know something is up." Dear hubbie looks me in the eye, pause a moment and says simply, "He gets that from your side of the family". True, oh so true. In fact, though I hate to admit it, I felt a little misplaced pride in my son's first attempt at a con job.

Popcorn time

It's that time of year - the leaves are changing, there is a nip in the air, and if you take a deep breath you can smell...popcorn. Yup, popcorn sales have started for the cub scouts in our area and my son is overjoyed about it. Not because he can raise money to support his troup, not because he can earn a patch for his uniform, not because he can display his salesmanship skills; no because he has the chance to earn prizes. Prizes that we could buy in the store at about a tenth of the amount of money that is needed to be raised in order to earn them.
At our pack meeting last night, as the popcorn sale was announced it was my son alone who jumped up, punched his hand into the air and yelled "yahoo". He is bound and determined to earn the lego sets that have in the prize catalogue. What is his goal? To sell $1350 worth of popcorn. This might be possible if we were a family where both parents worked for big companies and brought the order form into work and pushed our fellow employees to buy, buy, buy. We are not that type of family. Hubby and I firmly believe that if he is to learn anything from this experience he must do the selling. Luckily the boy is more than willing to go to all our neighbors and ask if they would like to support the boy scouts. In fact, he is planning on spending "family fun night" going door to door. I don't know how much fun it will be, but it's his choice and we will support him.

1 year anniversary

I just realized I forgot to celebrate my one year anniversary of blogging. I remember when I first started, so young, so innocent. I actually thought that I would faithfully blog everyday and would have a legion of readers following the trevails of my life story. I soon realized (1) My life is not that exciting, and (2) I have to learn how to post pictures to really draw the crowds in. Since I don't have a digital camera, the crowds will have to stay away and I will just enjoy the company of my faithful blogger family. I've also come to the realization that I'd rather read about what is going on in my fellow bloggers lives than come up with something in my own life of which to write. Luckily for you (or not so lucky, depending on how you view it), Wally has pushed me to write more often so I continue to blather on, even when there is absolutely nothing to talk about. I do try to post at least once a week and have on occasion posted several times in one day.

Now I will make the request that I seem to see on all one year anniversary posts. What would you like me to write about?I promise I will give each request careful consideration before deleting it to the trash can. I'm kidding. If you ask, I will write.

Wednesday

I told my boss that he needed to post for the accounting job I've been doing (along with my own by) by this Wednesday or I was quitting. He told me this morning that he posted it, which made me feel a little appreciated. Come to find out, it was my district manager who did it, not him, most likely from the strong suggestions of another manager who actually listens. It is OK, at least it was done. I don't know why I would expect my manager to get the work done - he doesn't listen most of the time anyway. I told him flat out "I do not know how to do this job". His response, "don't be silly, you are muddling through fine". "Muddling through" in an accounting position usually means trouble and audits. This is not something that should be acceptable.
I don't run the place, it is not my responsibility.

Flooding in

I just got back from volunteering at my son's school (I do it every Friday that I have off). There was a flood of refugee families coming in to register their children for school. The district has waived most of the normal requirements needed to register for school, ie. shot records, copy of the last physical, school records, etc., since someone with common sense realized that these people were not thinking about school when they fled their homes. Half of them probably thought that they would be returning in 3 days, not in the months to a year that it might actually take before they are able to go home again.

Most of the parents look worn and tired, with a few showing some stress and frustration, but under control. The children just look shell-shocked. Many of them have a blank look to their eyes, like they are in a dream state. As one child was being led to his new class, he looked around with a panic-stricken face and broke into tears. His mother was barely able to hold herself together as he was led away. Luckily, we have a very good staff of counselors and one of them was able to distract him and get him smiling again.

Some of my relatives up north can't understand why the children are being made to go to school so soon after this tragedy happened. It for the simple reason that these families need a routine, something to cling to, something that is part of a "normal" life. If they are allowed to sit in a hotel room, an overcrowded shelter, or a converted stadium; despair sets in. Giving them something to focus on gives the children purpose.

Rebuilding

So now that New Orleans has been pretty much wiped off the map; when they rebuild can they truck in some dirt so that it is above sea level? Every time a hurricane or tropical storm is predicted for New Orleans, the threat of flooding is real since it is 10 feet (about 3.2 m) below sea level. I know in the past they would not make it level because buildings had been there for centuries and you couldn't build up one section of the city while leaving another part of the city to collect the run off into its section. Now there is no excuse. Yes, it will add to the expense of rebuilding but wouldn't it make sense to rebuild with the idea of not setting yourself up to have to rebuild againthe next time a hurricane hits?

Selfish being

Over the past few weeks I've complained about my job and how I'm underappreciated and about school hassles. The last few days have woken me to how selfish I am. Obviously with the events of the past few days, my little problems mean nothing. We live in Texas along the gulf coast - the refugees from the hurricane are coming to our state. Tens of thousands of individuals are being relocated from the Superdome stadium to the Astrodome, where they will spend months living. Living with no privacy, no private baths, and no possesions. My son may very well have new classmates this next week, because those who have been displaced have to make Texas their home for the next year, at the very least.
On a more personal level, a friend's daughter has been rediagnosed with brain cancer. She is only 4 and has already been through surgeries and chemo from the last occurance of cancer. Her survival chances are not good. Her parents have to decide whether or not to give her treatment and possibly extend her suffering and she still might not survive or let things just take their own course.
It certainly makes me put things into perspective.

Power outages

Well, I had a very long post going about my baking fiasco from the baby shower (I opted to make everything), which if I do say myself, was quite humorous; then one of the worst things that could possible happen in a bloggers life happened. The power went out. *Sigh*. So frustrating. So now you get this lackluster post. Blame mother nature, she's the one who opted to host a three hour lightening storm outside my door, which made it very difficult for any of us to sleep. Our poor little retention lakes even flooded their banks.*Sigh* So this all you get. Good Sunday to you all.

Rise and shine?

My started much earlier than normal today. At 4:00am the phone started ringing - it is my next door neighbor saying "it's time" (I wasn't sleeping too soundly since I still haven't gotten that new mattress). She is pregnant with her 3rd child, so one tends to believe her when she says this. She was calling me so that I could watch her children while her husband drove her to the hospital. In the time it took me to dress and walk next door, she decided she would rather have me take her, since her husband was whining about needing "one more hour of sleep, couldn't she wait that long? Since you should try to avoid stress while pregnant and in labor, she rethought her plans and felt he could stay home while I took her, that way in case she didn't get admitted, he wouldn't miss his precious sleep.

The hospital she is delivering at is about a half hour away, and it is off a road that has been under construction for 2 years and will be under construction for at least another 5 years - it is a two lane highway being converted into a seven lane highway. So every time you travel this road, there is a good chance your exit has moved or that it doesn't even exist anymore. We discovered this as we were driving since last week there were 2 exits that lead to the hospital, but this morning there was only one, and I missed it. So with had scenic detour that added an additional 15min, and with a pregnant woman "who, who, ha, haing" next to me, that was a very long 15 min.

We made it to the hospital in plenty of time, and in fact were sent home after being there for 2 1/2 hours (her contractions weren't strong enough - at least the nurse didn't think so. If you asked my friend she would have strongly disagreed).

So we came home just in time for me to get my son on the bus (luckily, my husband could go in late to his work and was to get the boy going and keep him going), go to my PTO board meeting (it was at 2hrs long and counting when I left), and then off to work (on what would normally be my day off) to try to catch up on all the backlogged accounting work. I didn't succeed, but I did get a little bit done.
Thank goodness it is Friday. Of course, I still have to prepare for the baby shower I'm throwing tomorrow for this same neighbor. I had planned on doing the baking tonight, but I going to be so tired. Let's see if people can tell the difference between store bought and homemade ;)

Games post

Games
envoy-ette did this for me....and now I'm doing for it her! Here's how it works:

1) Put your name in my comments and I'll respond with something random about you.
2) I'll tell you what song or movie reminds me of you.
3) I'll pick a flavor/color of jello to wrestle with you.
4) I'll only say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5) I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6) I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7) I'll ask you something I've alway's wondered about you.
8) If I do this for you, you MUST post this on your blog.

envoyette:

2. "I am woman" Helen Redding - an old one but I can hear you singing it as you tackle your developer.
3. Black cherry - it will compliment our skin tones.
4. Sidewalks are for driving in Southern Italy.
5. She is so funny, I have got to add her to my favorites.
6. Leopard - you are graceful under stress yet are very protective of your brood. Plus you can blend in with whatever surrounding you are placed in.
7. Same question back to you - Where in the Midwest do you reside?

Insomnia

Not much going here. I can't sleep. I hate when this happens. I keep having the same dream over and over, related to some item at work; I toss and turn, until finally I'm forced to get out of bed to putt around the house. Tonight I got to walk down the street to check out why there were 3 fire trucks, an ambulance, and a police car on my street. It was "just" a rescue call, but since we use volunteers around here, everyone comes out of the woodwork, which I suppose is better than the alternative - no one responding to a call.

Of course, that doesn't help my sleeplessness. What would help would be a new mattress. Our mattress is the same lumpy one we've had since we got married. I bought it at the PX, not for comfort but affordability. After all these years and all the moves it's had to endure, I think it is time for a new one. I hate to spend so much money on an overpriced piece of foam and metal springs. I just have to remind myself that this is where 1/3 of my life is spent, so it is a good investment.

Fall out

Well, the joy in my promotion has been short lived. The woman who was passed over quit today. The promotion thing was the straw that broke the camels back - she has has several months of frustration, non-appreciation, and aggravation that has built up to this. So, I'm now faced with having to do her work along with my new responsibilities. Joy oh joy. It will be temporary, but since I've already been stretched quite far as it is, and I'm not elastigirl, I don't know how much more I can take before I break. It should be very interesting come Monday morning (I don;t work there on Fridays). I can't wait to hear how things have turned out

Promotion

Lucky day for me, I got a promotion at work. I'll be doing the same job that I've been doing, only now I have a different title and more money to go with it, plus a little more power thrown in for kicks. That is definitly a positive.
The negative is that another individual at my work should also have been offered a promotion (which she would have turned down) but it wasn't offered to her. Plus, my boss in his infinite wisdom chose not to speak to her first before doing the promotions. So now at work we can all stay cool from her icy gazes. Let me just state for the record that she is totally justified in her anger, but it takes away some of the thrill and excitement for myself and my coworker who was also promoted. We should be celebrating with cake, not tip-toeing around the office.

New neighbor

It looks like we have some new neighbors at the house across the street. It will be difficult for their friends and family to find them, since the street sign/stop sign was knocked clean out of the ground last night. I mention this in relationship to our new neighbor because their garage is showing some indications of a tramatic event as well as their car is showing a rather pole-shaped dent in it. There is also a remarkable lack of any skid marks, which is scary in its own right.

I've only seen one of the people who live there, a businessman by the looks of it. He drives an SUV, not the car that tried to defy the laws of matter. Should I go over and welcome our new neighbors and then nonchalantly ask about the half-raised crushed-in garage door? One thing I defintely know I'll be doing - parking off the street.

UPDATE: It turns out the teenage son crashed into the door this morning when he was moving cars around. There is still a mystery as to whether or not the sign post is the kids work.

First day of school, part 2

The rest of the day went a little better. Although my son did not enjoy his first day, he got through it. He came home saying he had a bad day. To quote him "recess was too short - they kept blowing that whistle. Line up, then go play, line up, then go play, then line up and go inside, no fair". Plus they had some writing assignments to do and he was unable to complete them (he can't focus long enough to come up with a story and write it).
Luckily, we were able to change his bad day to a good day by going out for ice cream after dinner. It was a long standing traditional in my family to go to the local ice cream parlor after first day of school, report cards, dance recitals, etc. and I think it is a nice one to continue. It always put a smile on my face when I was younger and it worked for my son as well - he walked out of the ice cream place saying that ice cream was a great reward for a good day.

First Day of School, part 1

It's the first day of school here and it's already off to a shaky start. Why? Because my dear son, having gotten himself up and dressed early, has now decided to have a meltdown over the placement of the transportation sticker on his shirt. This is occuring even as we speak, while his breakfast of scrambled eggs is getting cold and my patience is getting short. My reiteration over and over again of the phrases "we don't have time for this" and "you need to eat breakfast" is not working, so I felt it was the perfect time to update this blog. Either that or I may need to choke him, which is not a good start to the school year. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.

quote of the day

The best portion of a good man's life are the little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.
- William Wordsworth

Monogamy

I was just reading how Kate Hudson (Goldie Hawn's daughter) does not believe that monogamy is a realistic goal in a marriage, and that if her husband Chris, who is the lead singer for the Black Crowes, cheated on her she would not want to know. She did state that she believed couples have the "power" to be monogamous and that she would not disrespect her husband by cheating on him.

Hmm.

I've often had this conversation with my girlfriends. If your husband cheated on you, would you want to know, or would it be best to never know; and if you cheated on him, would you tell or keep it a secret. This is actually a relevant question for my friends, since many of them have husbands who travel for weeks to months at a time, and some are still in the military, where deployments can make for lonely nights. I have a very good friend whose husband did cheat on her while he was on deployment and she found out about it by emails left on the computer. She confronted him (unfortunately, it is very common to find one of the couple in a military relationship being unfaithful). So every since, she has had that nagging feeling in the back of her head wheneve he goes away, not quite trusting him even though it has been over 5 years and he has been faithful since then.

With that thought in mind, I agree with Kate Hudson and would not ever want to know. As long as it was a "safe" encounter, it would not benefit me to know about it. True, there would obviously be something lacking in our relationship in order for him to feel the need to stray, and I would want to fix that, but I don't think finding out about an adulterous affair would help that. I have a long memory when it comes to injustices and slights I've experienced over the years. I would never be able to trust my spouse again if he did that and I would be forever suspicous when he worked late or was out of town.

Would I admit to an affair? I would probably feel the need to tell, since keeping secrets in my relationship is not something I can do easily, especially ones that are harmful to it, even though I know that it would be the end of my relationship. My sweetie is a very forgiving caring man, but there are somethings he would never tolerate and that is one of them. He has had experiences in the past that would make that sort of action unforgivable. Luckily, he doesn't have any need to worry.

We all have the "power" to be monogamous, it is just a matter of whether or not we choose to use it.

High Cholesterol at age 7

I just got my son's test results back from his yearly physical. His bloodwork shows an elevated cholesterol level- 206 - which I find so hard to fathom. We are not junk food eaters at my house, nor do we eat out that often. Ask my son to choose between a slice of watermelon (or an apple or a peach) and a cookie and he'll choose the fruit every time. Our favorite place to eat out (his choice)- Souper Salad, where you get to choose from many salad items and soups for your meal. When you ask him if he wants to go get fast food, he usually ask if we can stay home instead.

It could be genetics. His father's family has high cholesterol levels on the paternal side. I just found out today that my mother's side isn't that great either. Yet my cholesterol is fine. I don't know about hubby's since he won't call the doctor to get the results from his last blood work (his theory is that they would have called if there was anything wrong).

I feel bad, since he isn't allowed junk food as it is, now we are going to have to focus on those "heart healthy" foods that I thought were for my parent's generation. Anyone have some coupons for Cheerios or Benecol? Looks like we will buying some.

Lost and not found

As you know, we have a wonderful new car. With this new car comes a very fancy key and alarm fob. With it you can program the postioning of your seat, control the windows and a few other things. What you can not do is send out some sort of signal so that it will beep when you have misplaced them. This would be a wonderful add on since my keys were lost on Thursday.

I am a backup babysitter for neighbor, so when she goes out of town, I watch the little girl she normally watches. So on Thursday and Friday I had this 6 1/2 year old girl at my house. She gets along quite well with my son and is normally well behaved. On Thursday, I had to remind her several times to leave my car keys alone, that they were not for playing with. On Friday morning, I was going to run to the post office before she came over, but could not find my keys anywhere. I looked on counters, in drawers, in the dishwasher, in all the toys - they were no where to be found.
So, Lauren comes over and I asked her if she moved my keys. Yes, she admits that she did and that she put them on the counter. Where? The counter near the trash can? Could they have fallen in? Oh no, today is trash day and the bag is already out on the corner - I'll just run out and get the bag. Wait what is that noise, that rumbling sound? The trashmen!!! They don't come until 4 pm, why are they here at 9 am?!?

To cut this story short, I ended up at the dealer on Saturday, having the remaining keys reprogrammed along with my new key and alarm fob. And what did this high tech key cost? $137, and that is at list price with a discount. It would normally have been $164, but I begged and wheedled for some sort of break since we have had the car all of 2 weeks.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Well, got the new Harry Potter book in the mail yesterday and finished it yesterday too. Yes, it is meant to be juvenile fiction, but I figure it is destined to be a classic some day, I may as well get a head start on the reading, since I am so far behind on reading my classics as it is.

Obviously, it was a fast read. This book concentrated more on emotions than action, which is not necessarily a positive. My feeling is that there could have been more details about the daily activites of our threesome, which would have made the story a bit more fun to read. Plus, some of our favorite characters did not get as much attention in this book as they have in the past. We barely get to talk to Hagrid at all this time around. Of course, if J.K. Rowling had done this there probably would have been another 300 pages added on top of the 600 plus that are there already, which would would have made the book more likely to be used as a stepstool rather than read. On the other side of the coin, the story line did move along quickly and I am already waiting patiently for the next tome.

Maxima 2005

I bought a new car the other day - a 2005 Nissan Maxima. For all those of you who have had bad experiences with this car; don't tell me, I do not want to know.
This car was the "surprise" for the sweetie that I mentioned in a post back in January. I have been working since January, saving every dollar to put toward this car. I had originally planned on not telling my husband I was working so that I could buy the car and just put it in the driveway for him. There were several kinks in that plan. One, I had no clue what specific details he wanted in this car, and two, I could not keep up appearances at home while working. So I broke down and told him back in March that I was working for the past three months and had he even noticed.
He said that he had not noticed, although it explained why I was so tired all the time. He did notice a few things around the house. One, that all the laundry was not done by the weekends. He said he thought I was just being less anal retentive about getting it done. He had also noticed the more thrown together striaght from the can meals that we were having, but he thought it better not to mention them. Smart man.

Twister

Today I experienced my first official "non-confirmed" tornado. We had a thunderstorm move in quickly and with it gale force winds. It came in without much warning, and it blew my neighbor's Rainbow playground set (this is the big, $1000+ set made of wood that has the fort, slide, triple swing option) right over, upside down onto it's roof. It was destroyed and shattered part of a plastic table it landed on. The scary part is that my neighbor was weedwhacking around the play equipment when the storm came in and his 7 month pregnant wife was cleaning up the yard toys at the same time. They almost didn't make it inside in time. We were lucky, it just blew our portable shed's roof off and our heavy gas grill went for a small trip into an iron fence.

The reason why we suspect that it was a small tornado that touched down - the neighbor on the other side of me had nothing destroyed, not even the 5 gallon jug of sun tea she had left out on her patio. In fact, a candle she had placed standing up in a plate of rocks was not disturbed in the least bit, it was still standing tall.

My Sister's Keeper

I just finshed reading a wonderfully engaging book called My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. It is the story of a girlnamed Anna who is conceived in order to save her sister Kate through the donation of her cord blood. Only as time goes by, Anna finds herself being asked to give more and more of herself, literally, to keep her sister alive. We meet them when Anna is thirteen and is now being told she has to donate her kidney to her sick sister. We get to see all sides of the family and the author truly makes you understand each member of the family's viewpoint on these events.

As a parent, I can identify with needing to do anything and everything to save your child. As a twin, I know what it is like to be feel responsible for your sister's health, to feel the guilt that goes with not wanting to be self-sacrificing all the time, and the self doubt that you are the cause.

Read this book - it is worth your time!

Independence Day

Monday is Independence Day, were we Americans celebrate our "freedom" from England, with bar-b-ques, parades and fireworks. It is also my son's birthday. From his excitement over the day, you would think his birthday is the reasong why everyone celebrates. He began the countdown to his birthday this Monday and has gotten more ramped up with each passing day and I can't understand why. We are not having his birthday party this weekend, it's next weekend; his dad won't be here, he's out of town for work; and I've told him I have no presents for him since I'm giving him his dream party (more on that in another post, although I do have a small present for him).

Don't get me wrong, we will do something to celebrate the day. In fact, he has already made out an itinerary. First, he had planned on playing legos with his dad (this was before he knew that dad would be gone), then he was going to play a game with me, my choice. We could go rent movies and watch them and then go to Souper Salad(a buffet style salad bar restaurant) for dinner . The only thing is, this is all normal stuff that we do on the weekends. In fact, aside from renting a movie, it is the exact same thing we did last weekend.

It is nice that he does not have wild expectations for his birthday. He is a down-to-earth kid who appreciates time spent with his family. We're still cool in his eyes, although I don't know how much longer that will last. He is already giving me my morning hug and kiss outside the daycare center, rather than allowing me to get them once we are inside in front of the other kids. Still he is a sweet boy and hopefully we will follow his plan for a "fun filled" birthday.

The Second Coming?

Ah, it seems that Tom Cruise has been ranting again about his "knowledge" of Post partum depression and ADHD. I never knew that he was a psychiatrist and a pharmacist. What am I talking about - the interview he gave with Matt Lauer on Friday's Today show, where Tom defends his criticism of Brook Shields, and extolls his extensive knowledge of medications. This man is either the second coming of jesus, or a sad little man going through his mid-life crisis. Run Katie run.

1st Day of Summer

Ah, a new season to enjoy. Well, here in TX it is the same season 9 months out of the year. Looks like we'll have our consistent mid-90's temps for the next few months. All my lording to our New England relatives about the great weather we have during the winter comes and bites me in the ass when it comes to the summer time.
They at least get some partly cloudy skies to dull the heat. Not us -looks like it is going to be one of the driest Junes on record. Time to put some more 45+ sunblock on so I can safely walk to the mailbox without getting a sunburn.

Bark Bark

"Bark, bark, bark." "What the hell is that sound?" I asked wearily at 1:30am this morning. Turns out it was my son with a raging cough from croup. Poor kid couldn't understand why it wouldn't stop. Luckily, I took him outside into the every so humid Texas air and that seemed to lessen it's effects a bit.
He seems fine this morning, other than the lingering cough. Luckily, he's pretty good about getting sick on my days off, which is nice since I don't have to call into work for the day. Yes, I know he doesn't plan it, but it usually works out this way.
Plus, an added "benefit" to this cold, he's lost his voice. He normally chatters on continously, all day long, like the birds twittering outside. Now his chattering just sounds like a bird that is twittering 2 miles away, rather than right in your ear. I'm such a mean mom. :)

UPDATE: His voice is back to normal and is chattering away like a squirrel defending his horde of nuts.

Neighbors

My neighbor's boy just came over to "borrow" an egg. I love that I have neighbors that feel comfortable enough to do this. With the amount of food my neighbors and I have "borrowed" from each other we could have a 5 course dinner plus dessert. Never mind all the sincerely offered shared meals.(These are those times when you are talking to your neighbor and mention that hubby is away or won't be home and you don't know what to cook and they insist that you eat with them.)My hubbie doesn't necessarily appreciate them - he often wonders when we became the neighborhood market. He finds it odd.

I've lived in many different areas, and I've never had this closeness with my neighbors. When I lived on Long Island, I didn't even know the names of my neighbors that lived in the illegal apartment in the basement, and they're the ones who got to see all my clean sundries hanging out to dry. Conneticut's neighbors were better, but I still wouldn't trade groceries with any but one of them.

No, I am truly lucky to be living where I am. Of couse, I say that now - the house across the street is empty and I may be changing my tune when new neighbors move in.

Migraine

Migraine pain is the worst pain I have ever experienced. This includes my experiences with natural childbirth - that was only a 9 out of 10; while the migraine I had yesterday was a 10 out of 10.

I now know what is meant by the phrase "to writhe in agony" as that was what I was doing for several hours yesterday.

Usually I can catch my migraines before they come on full steam, but no luck yesterday. I actually thought I might be experiencing a brain aneurysm. I was going to call 911, but didn't want to walk my son to my next door neighbors house - it was too painful to move. Then I was going to wait until my husband came home so he could take me and watch my son, but that would have involved movement in the car - more pain.
My poor husband came home, found the door locked but ajar, couldn't find my son (he was hiding) and heard me moaning in pain. He was ready to storm the stairs, guns ablazing. His more rational side kicked in and he decided to check things out first. He gave me some cold compresses, more pain reliviers, and got my son out of the house. Luckily, the pain medicine finally kicked in and brought the pain down to an 8 out of 10. With that type of pain, I can use breathing techniques to help get me over the hard part. By about 9pm (6 hours later) I was able to get out of bed and eat something for dinner. I'm still feeling the after-effects today.

My favorite teacher

After reading another's blog, I thought I might comment on a teacher that influenced my life as a child. It would be my second grade teacher, Ms. Terry.
Ms. Terry was a very fair teacher. She did not necessarily have all the extra games some of the other teachers had, but she did have the ability to make every one of her students feel special.
I was very shy as a child and did not speak up much (in fact, there was some question as to whether or not I had a learning disability since I did not speak at all outside of my family), but I did like to write poetry. As a gift to her at one of her holiday parties, I gave her one of my poems. Later on, when the other kids started asking where my gift to her was, she simply told them that I had already given it to her; saving me any embarrassment over the type of gift I had given her.
She did not stop there. She continued to nurture my writing throughout the school year, encouraging me to open my heart and let the words flow. She followed my school career and let my next few teachers know that I had a "talent" that should be encouraged.
What a kind heart she had. I always wanted to tell her how much I appreciated her, but we moved away and I don't know where she is at now.

School's Out for Summer

My son finished school this past Wednesday and we have a long summer ahead of us. Well, not that long since school starts back August 10. We had a very trying year, as I had many battles with his teachers.
He is ADHD, but I did not wish to medicate him, at least not immediately. There are many techniques that instructors can implement that can be beneficial for the troubled student while still being nondispruptive to the rest of the class. Unfortunately, I had to keep reminding his teachers that these would not be temporary fixes, that they had to be continuously enforced in order for them to be successful. I also had to remind them that taking recess away from an ADHD kid is not the brightest thing to do, even if it is to finish school work especially since they can just send the work home with him and know that I would get him to do it that evening. This also applies to taking lunch time away, which is absolutely unacceptable since they don't normally have enough time to finish eating as it is.

Of course, I understand where these teachers are coming from. I know how strict the testing is in this part of the country and that the school district that we live in is one of the top ones around; but come on, let the kids be kids a little longer. He was only in first grade and he had to move from classroom to classroom, switching teachers throughout the day. I would like him to think of school as a positive experience, not a torture chamber.

Visiting home

I get to visit my relatives up north in a few days, just the boy and I (I gave up on trying to get my sweetie to take time off - he works crazy hours and always seems to have something big going on during the times of the year when I want to take a vacation). I had planned on keeping this trip a secret from his family, with visits to my side only, a few trips to the beach and to the casino (the boy will not come along for that trip). I have met some resistance with this plan, since Sweetie insists that I should see his Dad, who misses my son, and visit with the great-grandparents (who knows how much longer they will be arond...). Plus his mom said that she would like to take my son overnight the next time we visit...

I understand the logic of this, but the flip side is that I can't just visit one of them, I have to visit all of them and there are step-relations involved as well. Plus, if I was to go to a backyard bar-b-que with everyone there, it would not be enough. No, I would be asked "When will you come visit at my house?" Am I not visiting with you now? I do love his relations, but they are time demanding.

When we visit up North, we normally stay at my parent's house but we shirk my side of the family to go to the numerous family functions his side has("It's Great Aunt Betty's annual Memorial Day Bar-b-que. No she isn't really your aunt and you've only met her twice but she is expecting you to come.") So, my folks get to see their grandson when he wakes up in the morning, but that's about it. And see my brother??? Never happens.

We'll see how it goes. I really would like to surprise my brother-in-law on his birthday, but I can't count on his 2 1/2 year old and 4 y.o. to keep quiet the next time they see their grandma.

Baby blues

I was out with the girls last night and we were discussing babies, how some want more and others are fine with the number they have. I only have one child, and plan not to have any more. Do I feel bad he doesn't have sibling..sure I do, but I also realize that if I were to have another child, there is a very good chance that I would hurt that baby.

You see, when my son was born, I did not feel any maternal connection to him. In fact, I can honestly say I did not even like him for the first two years of his life. Yes, this is very sad, but at the time I did not realize just how bad things were. I had post partum depression, but blamed it on everything else. We had moved to Ft. bragg, my sweetie was not around much, family was far away...you get the picture.

My husband knew something was wrong, but he thought I just was upset because I was stuck at home and my son was a colicky baby. We also debated long and hard about having children, me not necessarily wanting them but giving in in the end.

We moved after one year to Long Island, NY, where I still was miserable, but this time I thought it was due to the monetary constraints we were feeling at the time, and because I never saw my husband (I worked nights and weekends so that we did not have to pay daycare costs). We never really discussed how I was feeling, but we should have.

So many woman figure they will shake off the "baby blues", but it is not that easy. I wasted 2 years of my sons life, wishing he was never born; when I could have been happy, enjoying his gurgles and coos. Did I think it was a sign weakness to get medication? I don't know. On some level I knew I was depressed, in fact was on the look out for it since it runs in my family, but I couldn't act on it to get help. Now, I have a good support system and friends who will be straight with me and tell me that I need help. Sometimes, it is that push that we need to do something. I share my story with my friends hopefully to wake them up, and let them know that it is OK to look for that extra help, that if you suspect something is wrong, it is and you need to do something about it. No one should "miss" those first few years, especially when they have a great kid like my son.

Crawdads, crayfish, roaches that swim in the ocean

I love seafood...well, most seafood. Tonight my sweetie had a crawfish boil waiting for me when I got home from work. He and my son were out shopping and saw crayfish for sale outside the local supermarket. They tried some and decided to bring them home.

To me, they are not worth the effort. They are miniaturized lobsters that look like they were run on the "high" cycle in the dryer one too many times. You expend more energy cracking them open looking for that 1/2 teaspoon of meat then you do eating them.

And then there is the smell. My house is going to reek for the next week or so, smelling like a rotten sewer or a festering bayou in the hot August sun.

Happy Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day, I am going to let you peruse the "book" my son made me for Mother's Day. The beginning phrases were given to him and he filled in the endings.

My Mom is special because...she always picks me up at my bus stop.

My Mom can do many things! I think she is best at... throwing a frisbee.

My Mom has a pretty smile. I like to make her smile by...getting good notes home (this is a source of constant friction in our house, more on it some other day).

My Mom looks prettiest when ...she's happy (isn't this true for everyone?What insight my 6 year old has).

My Mom is the funniest when ..she's acting like dad (you know who the disciplinarian is in our house).

My Mom is smart! She even knows...hard math (that first grade math is pretty tough:)).

I want my Mom to always remember me...in the snow (I don't know why, perhaps he's missing New England winters).

This is better than two years ago - then I was great because I could paint a bathroom.

The best part of the day - his excitement as he gave me this book. He is so special, and I don't always take the time to appreciate him. Happy Mother's Day everyone.

Excuses, excuses, excuses

Wow, it has been a long time since I last blogged. Well, to be truthfull not that long - I just can't get my post to publish for some freakish reason or another.
Plus, I've been really busy with work, taking extra hours on. Then there is the new job I've got on alternating weekends. I don't have enough time to keep the day-to-day operations of my home going, never mind blogging.

Case in point, when I looked in my freezer yesterday to take something out for dinner I found the following:

1/4 full bag of Mexican blend shredded cheese

1 box of Toaster Strudels (Not a very nutritious breakfast, but good for when we can't seem to get ourselves moving in the morning. Plus, you get a great sugar rush off the frosting)

1/2 a package of Jumbo (and I mean huge) hotdogs left over from pre-World Series.
My sweetie had a craving for those huge hot dogs you usually only get at the ball park. My son and I hate them, which is why they are still in the freezer and not eaten.

2 frozen go-gurts (liquid yogurt tubes)

a tray of very old ice

several boxes of frozen vegetables

True the grocery store is only a few minutes away, but the point is I always have food in my freezer. My pantry is stocked with 4 different types of sugar, 6 various vinegars and three oils. My neighbors know that if they need some staple I have it, or at least I used to. What has happened to me?!?

Driving

My neighbor's son just got his license and is on the road (most of the time, sometimes the sidewalks aren't too safe). When I learned to drive, it was much easier than it is now. Growing up in RI, I never had to worry about getting lost. The state can be traveled in one hour, from north to south. I just drove to the border of the state, usually MA, turned around and could find my way home. In fact, there was a specific gas station I would hit and know that home was only 40 minutes away. They also had pretty cheap gas, so I could fill up before I headed home.

Now, I'm in TX. I could drive for a day and not reach the border. I pity the children around here.

Occupation change?

Today I filled in as a "hostess" at a local home builders office. I was told all I would need to do is greet and pass out facts sheets. Instead, I sold a house. I really didn't mean to, especially since I knew ahead of time that the copier wasn't working to that it would be near impossible to get the documents needed. Nevertheless, it happened and and I have 2 more people coming back in the morning. I thought I would be able to read all day.
Now if only I could get the commission on it.

New edition to the family

I have a new member of my family. S/he is named Speckle. S/he is a dwarf bunny. Before you say anything, the idea of getting a bunny was not my idea originally. A friend's co-worker was given the bunny because the beau thought that she would like a bunny for Easter. Yes, "thought", didn't ask. What single 25 year old womean wants a rabbit? This idiot didn't even realize that she was going away for the weekend. And that is how s/he became ours.

Speckle will probably be called a he until we figure out its sex. I still don't know how you do it and I don't think I want to.

Oh yes, side note, I have plenty of wonderfuly compact fertilizer now. I swear that one teaspoon of food results in one cup of fecal matter. My grass will be the envy of all my neighbors.

For this Monday mornings...

I saw this and thought how many of my dear friends and family would find it valuable. I of course would recommend sending the kid to find the alarm clock, thereby keeping him entertained and me asleep.


LONDON (Reuters) - Can't get out of bed in the morning?

Scientists at MIT's Media Lab in the United States have invented an alarm clock called Clocky to make even the doziest sleepers, who repeatedly hit the snooze button, leap out of bed.

After the snooze button is pressed, the clock, which is equipped with a set of wheels, rolls off the table to another part of the room.

"When the alarm sounds again, simply finding Clocky ought to be strenuous enough to prevent even the doziest owner from going back to sleep," New Scientist magazine said Tuesday.

Pinewood Derby

We finally had our pinewood derby. Our entry was in the shape of a shark. It had fins, google eyes, and sharp teeth (made from a soda can). It wasn't the fastest, but it did win for "funiest" car. I know for a fact that there were several categories that the judges wanted to give it (most creative, most original), but they were limited to one category per car.

We had a blast. I think the scouts liked it best when one of the cars had a blow out on the track. It actually spun out (if you have ever seen a pinewood derby track you know this is tough to do).

Back to the grind part II

Hmm. now Tim wants to charge me for the free sample he sent, at least for the postage. He hasn't sent me a total yet. Other vendors send samples all the time. I think he is just mad.

Back to the Grind

So how was my vacation you ask? Exhausting. Back to work today and I am thankful for it.

One of the silly things I've done recently is volunteer to be coordinator of my son's upcoming field day. This actually isn't too bad, the most stressfull part being the ordering of the giveaways for the event, made more stressful by my going to the wrong company.

I was told to visit company A on th einternet, to just type in a few prompt words and it would be the only site that popped up under those words. I did that and started working with a joyful fellow named Tim who listened to me, didn't pester me with phone calls, sent me a free sample, and just was fun to work with. Then I find out last Friday, after I call him to tell him I am ready to place our order for 1000+ pieces of merchandise that there is actually another company which has the same name, supplies the same materials and is actually the one I am supposed to be using. Gulp.

I had to send an apologetic email to Tim, explaining the situation, and now I feel like the stuff you scrap off your shoes after wandering through an active cow pasture. I have yet to hear back from him since it was the weekend, but I'm sure he will not be happy. So, let me give props to his company, www.appleadvertising.com , and I recommend that you check them out for company give aways, school gifts, etc.

I'm so excited - I get a week off from work while every one else still has work/school. Ahh, time to myself.
Well, not exactly. Yesterday was spent nursing my son back to health from an attack of Strep. Today will be spent redoing a neighbor's downstairs (I owe her since she watched my son over spring break while I had to work. Her son is the one who gave my son Strep. Tomorrow I have to go to my son's school to work on organizing his field day. Thursday I wait around all day for the air conditioner repair guy to come, along with (hopefully) the plasterer to fix the hole in my ceiling from a water leak i hd over the weekend. Friday is my scheduled day to volunteer at my son's school.

Hmmm....I seem to have lost track of where my time is! :)

cannoli

I went to an "Italian" restaurant which goes by the name of "Johnny Carino's"with a group of co-workers the other day. I put Italian in quotes since the food is rather tepid at best.
One of the group had never had a cannoli but having recently seen a television commercial that kept mentioning them, wanted to try one. I knew she was not going to get the full experience when it came to the table bathed in chocolate, in a shell that was strangly looking like a Mexican churro. Unfortunately I was right. After every tried it we all agreed that it was not a true representative of Italian desserts.

Now I'm on search for a good cannoli recipe, one that includes how to make the pastry. Anyone have a suggestion?

Soup and stuff

My sweetie made chicken soup for our dinner and it came out wonderfully. It is not a traditional American soup, but one with pastene, spinach, and chicken with mozzarella on the bottom that melts as you eat the soup. Since he was going by memory from when I made it last, he did good.

It's been over 10 years since I last had this soup. It actually can bring tears to my eyes when I eat it. It is a recipe that is closely tied to my deceased Italian grandfather. Traditionally, we would have a holiday dinner at his house, beginning with this soup, then pasta, then salad, then the main course with its side dishes, with little or no room left for all the delicious desserts.

My grandfather died when I was 9, so I never had the chance to tell him of my adventures in Europe; travelling to his home village, having complete strangers dig around for the marriage records of his parents on their lunch breaks. In fact, I missed the chance to ever really talk with him since I didn't learn Italian until a few years after his death.

Only later in life do you realize the wealth of knowledge that could have been known if only the right questions had been asked.

Found

I was going to delete my last post, but I think there are some important points that need to be made.

First and foremost, they found him, safe and unharmed at a "friend's" house.
I put friends in quotes because of how he got there.

It seems that this "friend" picked up my neighbor and drove him to his house, in a neighborhood about 10 miles away. The neighbor boy is 14, this "friend" was an adult. What would make someone think it is OK to take a 14 year old out of his own neighborhood to another one and not call his parents to let them know he is OK?

I don't know what would have happened if some female friends hadn't stepped up and called all of my neighbor child's friend. She called everyone in his class and tracked him down. She then called his mom, who went to this "friend's" house and picked him up.

This teaches us a few lessons. One, know who your child hangs out with. The mom in this case had never heard of the "friend" before last night.
Two, warn your children, let them know that if they ever go to someone else house they need to call you to let you know where they are.

We are all of the belief that something bad would have happened to him if he hadn't been found last night. No reasonable adult would drive a child out of his neighborhood, at night, without checking with the parents first (the need for permission to go someone else's house is well know amongst his friends, as his parents are strict, and have different customs than Americans do).

We are just thankful he is OK.

Weak with Worry

I've just spent the last 1 1/2 hours searching for my neighbor's 14 y.o. son. He and his mom had an arguement and he ran off.

I've heard the phrase "weak with worry" before, but I'd never actually seen it. My poor neighbor was so worried that she literally could not stand by herself. She kept collapsing onto my tile floor. I just can not imagine the pain she is feeling right now.

The guilt is overwhelming her. He went to the store without asking permission, she found out, took away the chips he bought, he ran off, she tried to follow, he had a bike, she couldn't go fast enough. She is blaming herself for saying "no", for not running fast enough, for everything. Of course, she can't help but think someone has him, is hurting him

He's a good kid, honor student, on sports teams, very respectful. My heart hurts for her.

More taxes

So this tax thing is not going smoothly. I could swear that throughout the year I saved all the important receipts (ie moving recipts, hotel bills, plane ticket stubs, etc), yet when I go to look for them they are missing, gone, disappeared...you get my drift. Just check your canceled checks or your checkbook. Not there either. We were reimbursed for our moving costs, but will be taxed severely if I can't find these silly slips of paper. And I'm the responsible one. Oh bother.

Whoops, did I forget to do that?

Here I am, trying to start my tax paperwork so that I can get my refund ASAP. I find that Turbo Tax is very helpful. You can do it all on line; then say "nah, I don't feel like paying for this", delete it, and you can take to someone else to screw it up for you instead. Truly though, it is helpful. It gives you prompts to remind you of all those deductions that you may not realize you can take.

For me, it was the yearly car registration. Of course, this also prompted me to check to see if I had renewed the cars yet (Feb 1 is the expiration date). So here I am, sifting through mounds of papers, saved through out the year in the hopes that some piece will be my saving grace, my refund magic.

Instead, I found the registration forms, neatly filed away unpaid. Whoops. I remembered receiving them, but I could have sworn I paid for them already. Although that would explain why I haven't received my new registration stickers. Luckily, they have online access for us forgetful folks. They don't do it out of the goodness of their hearts; mind you, there is an additional fee involved (actually 2 different fees). At least it is done. Let's just hope it goes through in time.

Secrets

Have you ever had a secret that you were just dying to tell, but couldn't? That's me. Right now, I am planning something that will completely surprise my man. I'd love to tell you what it is, but he sometimes reads this. It's very involved and will take months to achieve. All I'll say is that everyone but him is in on the surprise.

I feel better telling at least that much.

Secrets of the sink

I live in a new home, just under a year old. One of the benefits of a newly built home is that it is covered by a warranty, and everything is free to be fixed, you just have to call it in. Of course, after the year is up, you are pretty much on your own. So, I went through the house recently and listed every possible thing that I could think of and called Dave, our home repair guy.

The first thing on our list - the guest room sink. It's my son's bathroom and has been leaking for sometime, unbeknownst to me. I had noticed that the toilet paper he used often had a funny color to it, but I honestly thought that it was due to poor aim by him. I don't use the bathroom, so I let it go without investigation. Come to find out, the sink gushed water everytime he put the faucet on high. We store the extra rolls under the sink and they had been dripped on and then leached the color from the woodwork.

The plumbers came out to fix the sink. They decide I needed a new one, and had to take out the old one. I'm in the other room, reading a book, enjoying the first day back to school after break. I hear "Ma'am, could you look at this please? This is a child's bathroom isn't it?" My head races to try to figure out what could be down that drain to make him ask me this. I look over his shoulder, seeing just the pipe with water in it.

"What, what is it, I don't see anything"
"Ma'am, why is this water black?"
"I guess it is, isn't it."

Think, think, think. What has gone down this drain, what could have possible made it black? Then it hits me. My dear son had been painting a few days back and had decided to make a finger painting. It's just the paint washed down the drain. Whew, nothing dangerous. Once I told the plumber, he seemed to visibly relax. I can't help but wonder what he thought it could be.

Join Lightspeed panel

If you notice at the bottom of my blog, there is banner to join lightspeed. I highly recommend this site, since you get to give opinions on a variety of subjects, which gives you points which you then redeem for cash.

Giving my two cents and getting paid for that, well I love it. Plus, they don't sell your info to anyone else. Another positive - when you request you money, it comes within a week (at least the US affiliate does, I'm not sure about the other countries). Yes, it is available to you my worldwide friends!

How to contact any company

For those of you who have ever had trouble with a company or product, but didn't know where to write/call/threaten go to http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/crh/corpormain.shtml
to find the address/phone number.

Corporate America beware: I've got your number and I'm not afraid to use it!

Absolute hell

For those who have lost family or friends in the great tsunami in Asia, my deepest sympathies to you.

At this time, there is nothing that I can to do to help, other than make a donation to a relief organization, such as www.redcross.org , which I have done.

I encourage others to do so as well.

Hug your family and take a moment to appreciate how quickly ones life can be turned upside down.

More holiday snafus

Another Christmas day gone by and I am left with a rumbling stomach. You see, I wanted to start a new tradition this year, since we weren't going to any big family dinners. I figured we could go out for Chinese food. This way, we would not be tempted by leftovers for the next week nor would we feel obligated to eat leftovers for the next week. Besides, the traditional beef or lamb roast does not appeal to me freshly cooked, nevermind as leftovers.

I did not take into account that Chinese restaurants in my part of town might actually be closed. Everywhere else we've lived, we could always count on them to be open on Christmas day, along with the local movie theatewr. We did get to see "Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events", but when we came out of the theater we noticed no cars in the lot of the Chinese food restaurant next door. So, after driving by 4 seperate restaurants, we came to the sad conclussion that dinner was not to be. Instead, we visited friends that informed us jokingly that "hear in the South, our Chinese are good Christians". It does seem to be so. Or it could be that since many of our Chinese restaurants are actually staffed by Mexicans, there may not have been anyone willing to work.

So, as my son chanted "your dreams are gone, your dreams are ruined" (which I thought rather unsettling), we headed back to our house for a less than inviting dinner of hard-boiled eggs and toast. Mmmm-mmm good. Hey, Mary and Joseph didn't have it easy either.

Walgreens - my new favorite store

It is the night before Christmas and all through the house, I am scurrying and searching for those gifts hidden months ago.

I found most of them, but had a bit of a scare when I realized that I had nothing for the stockings. For some this may seem trivial; but for us, stockings can be more fun than present opening. Those empty stockiong looked extra long too. I think someone has been hanging himself on them while they've been hung by our fireplace.

Off I went to my local CVS drugstore, only to find it closed. But what light yonder breaks, but the red flashing sign of the Walgreens up the street. Dashing through the snow (flurries) I arrive to find them not only open but actually stocked with all that I need; from candy to socks, to elctronic gadgets that will end up in my junk drawer before the end of the year. They are open untill midnight so I still have an hour in case I forgot anything else. I think I'm good - I just found the present I had hidden next to my laptop, so with it wrapped I should be done.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.

Baby it's cold outside

Here in Texas we are actually getting some cold weather for a change. This actually helps put me in the mood for the holidays since I am originally from the New England region.

I have a tough time getting into the "spirit" of Christmas, since it just seems like an over commercialized holiday to me. When I lived in Italy, I enjoyed it much more. There was more of a focus on the religous aspect of the holiday, without the hurried commotion of shopping, shopping, shopping for a gift for a cousin you only see once a year. I remember strolling the plaza, enjoying the sights, and just relaxing in the glow of the nativity star (it was about 50 feet long, they do go for some tackiness).

This year is especially tough for me since I will be away from my extended family during the holidays for the first time in 6 years. I do enjoy spending time with them; appreciating how my family can lift my spirits, even when they might not be on my good side. I would skip celebrating altogether if it weren't for my son. The wonder of the season captivates him, and the joy on his face Christmas morning is priceless.

In case you were wondering, Santa does not spoil him. In fact, my son leaves presents for Santa, so that he (Santa) can take them to other boys and girls who are not as lucky as he is. All on his own one day, my six year came up with this idea. I could not not support his generous spirit.

To all of you, I hope the magic of the season captures you and brings you joy and happiness.

You Bastard

Something has been troubling me for a long time, and I'm hoping you, my loyal readers, can help me understand. Let me preface this by saying I have grown up in a family of Italian Catholics. I love them dearly, and have nothing against them.

As you may or may not know, a Catholic is not allowed to divorce per se, but the marriage is allowed to be annulled. In fact this is neccessary if you wish to remarry in the church. My question is: Are the children of that annulled marriage now considered bastards by the church? After all, the original marriage has been made nonexistent.

I would love to hear your answers.

I'm not in a bad mood so stop asking

Have you ever noticed that you can be minding your own business, just thinking of what you are going to have for dinner, when a co-worker, relative or loved one comes up to you and asks "Why are you in such a bad mood?" Your reply is "I'm not in a bad mood" and of course, "No, I can tell you are. What is wrong?" soon follows. By this time you are getting a little peeved, but still deny the bad mood. Of course friends never seem to drop this topic until they do put you in a cranky mood, to which they reply "I don't understand, everytime I see you, you are always upset".
My response now - "I'm in a bad mood because I like the view". It makes no sense, but they stop asking that stupid question.

Stupid blogger

So, I’m thinking of selling ad space on my site. I’m rather curious as to what I could earn. Of course, I would have to post more frequently, with more scintillating topics. Just think, I could earn residuals like people in commercials that run once a year every holiday season. I'd love to get a check in the mail for doing absolutely nothing.
This is assuming that I could post at all, which I having quite a bit of difficulty with as of late. This stupid blog site takes forever to load when it does load at all. Yes, I so enjoy reading the “HTTP 500 Internal Server” error message. That just makes my day. Especially since those are usually the days when my creative juices are really flowing. Stupid blogger.

A nip in the air

Ahh, here in my part of Texas we finally have some cool weather. Temperatures are in the mid 50's, so it is time to pull out those sweaters. Well, if you are a native Texan, you'll pull out your hat and gloves, at least that is what I've observed so far.

I was wondering when this cold weather would come. I've been here in TX for less than a year after coming from up north, and I was getting a little tired of the warm weather. One can only enjoy 80 degree weather for so long. I need season change. Yes, I know if I was up north right now I would be saying "#@$^*#@ weather, I wish it were that warm here"; but it does get tiresome. You should not be able to go swimming in an outdoor pool and be comfortable on Thanksgiving (which for you non-Americans, is Nov. 25 this year). There should be snow, or at least a hint of it. If nothing else, all the trees should be bare of their leaves. Here, the flowers are still blooming. It's just not natural.

The Day After

It's a gray, bitter day here in the midlands. It goes with my mood. I've got a bad feeling about these election results. I hope this vile feeling in the pit of my stomach is not a premonition but just a result of too late a night with too much Halloween candy thrown in the mix.

We needed a decisive win for either candidate, not a repeat of 2000. Maybe I should go hide in an underground bomb shelter for the next 4 years. Will someone come knock on my door in 2008? It should be safe to come out then.

The countdown starts

I just got back from voting and I am just giddy with joy over it. It may be a bit strange, but I approach voting with the same excitement others have for a fun day at the carnival. While at the polling area I had to refrain from breaking out into a song and jig. I love voting. The power that we the people have is amazing.

There was a woman in front of me, a late 20's hispanic, casting her vote for the first time. She is the voter that Kerry and Bush have been chasing (sorry Bush, she voted for Kerry). The "get out and vote" campaign is working. Our polls were full, and people were waiting patiently. Everyone wants to be able to say, "yes, I voted, it counted, I made a difference."

Yay democracy!

If you have problems at any of your polling places, call 1-866-myvote1

Vote or Die

Tomorrow is election day here in the states. Sadly, a turnout of 50% of registered voters is considered a "successful" election. Too many people do not value their right to vote.

I have voted in every election that I could, not just presidential elections. Even when I was overseas, I sent in my absentee ballot. It is too precious a gift to just throw away.

I've actually been involved in politics since I was in my pre-teens. You see, my mother was a local politician (or trying to become one), and insisted that we beome part of the process. I have stuffed envelopes, gone door to door for signatures, and passed out many a flyer in the pursuit of democracy.

I've also worked at the polls, and was even put in charge of maintaining the security of the votes cast. Sadly, I received absolutely no training as to how I was supposed to do this and may have cost the election for some individuals. There were the questions from the other poll workers that I could never answer - such as do we let this person vote; it looks like s/he is registered for the other party, but who could really tell? I always just let them vote, why hold it against the person if s/he voted republican last time. I didn't have the poll open on time, causing individuals to leave before they cast their votes, and when I closed the polls I think that I may have misread or even erased some of the booth tallys.

I say this to bring to light how easy it is to disrupt an election's results, unintentionally or intentionally. Although I truly value our democratic system, I do wonder about its efficiency.

I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

Now what do I have to live for?

Although I don't know if I should actually be posting this, since the game is not over, but "way to go Red Sox!" It looks like they are going to win the World Series. If they do, what do we, the fans, do? Part of the allure of the Sox is their never-ending talent of turning the tide against themselves. Every good fan knows you can count on them to blow it, they always do. Of course, I am breaking every rule of the Sox fan by saying they are going to win this early in the game. As a clarification, until the final out is scored in the final inning, be it the ninth or the fifteenth, it is always to early.

Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I actually feel optimistic. I can't help it.

Don't worry, if they lose you can blame me and my jinx. We'll see how it goes - it's the bottom of the fifth.

Take me out to the ball game

The penant series is heating up and I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. As a native Rhode Islander, I grew up watching the Red Sox. Even though they continously failed, I still believed that they would go to the World Series and blow it in the 7th. The curse of the Bambino is alive- ask Bill Buckner; that is, if you can find him. I think he went into witness protection after his famous world series blunder.

I have been watching their series against the NY Yankees through my fingers (my eyes have been covered the entire time). The Sox play the same, tired or rested, but the Yanks need their sleep and they haven't been able to get it.

Now the rock - I live in Texas now and the Astros are about to go to their first World Series. I would like this team to win too. The fans around here are so energetic. They have "Go Astros" days in school. I know that NY doesn't, nor does MA; at least not whileI lived there during playoff times.

So who do I support? Well, I figure if either one makes it to the World Series, I'll route for them. If both go, I think I'll just have to turn the tube off and get a book from the library.

Sex,sex, sex

I just wanted to up the number of hits to my blog.

Stupid people shouldn't breathe

A person I hold near and dear to my heart asked me "Why do you blog, you don't even like people?" This is true, I do hate people. That is why my chosen profession is archaeology - I only have to deal with dead things. The other choices; if I hadn't gone into archaeology, would have been forensic medicine or county coroner. When I was a child of about 8, I used to wear a pin which said "stupid people shouldn't breathe" (either you get it or you should hold your breathe until I say stop).

Of course, when people first meet me and I tell them "I hate people, I'm not nice and I never claimed to be". I don't try to mislead anyone about the type of person I am. They laugh and say things like "you're so funny" or "you don't mean that". Often times they will bring up my past occupations as evidence that I do like people. One they like to bring up is when I was an EMT on an ambulance. "You have to care about people, look at all the lives you've saved." Not true. I enjoyed being an EMT because those people were suffering, they had a reason to be whiny self-serving idiots. They needed me and knew it. Plus, I didn't look at the patients as people, I looked at them as medical cases. Therefore, they weren't human beings in my eyes. I had a patient come up to me days after an incident to thank me for all my help, and I hade no clue who she was. Why? Because the last time I saw her she was unconscious and naked on a shower stall floor. When she was dressed, she went back to being an annoying oxygen stealing person. I got joy out of the job, but that was from my skills as a medical professional not as a caring individual.

Yes, I come off as a hardhearted bitch, but I'm not going to change. Who needs friends anyway? ;)

I didn't say stop yet.

You asked for it

My search for suggestions has yielded one, although its source is from a paronoid delusional man (his test results, not mine). Seriously, he suggested I mention some of my favorite blogs (yes, that is how I am interpreting the comment).

Although I am lax in updating my blog, there are several which I do frequently visit to get my daily laugh or to just stay informed.

One of my favorites is www.bookofjoe.com . This man updates his site every few hours, so that us compulsive types have something new to read when we don't feel like doing any work. His topics are varied - from medical news to odd facts to modernistic furniture.

A rather nice blog is one that was started for the Olympics but has been continued since then. The main character is a stuffed robin named Robin. There is also Kit who will be marrying in Greece next year and promises to take us along for the ride. Check it out and you'll see what I'm talking about - it is www.Athens2004blog.blogspot.com

There is www.cutto.blogspot.com although he has become rather immersed into the policital scene, he usually has a few insightful ideas. You can also write him in as your candidate on Nov. 2.

Finally there is www.kevinlehane.blogspot.com , a suffering scriptwriter waiting for his big break. You must take him with a grain of salt, but when you are miserable you can be sure that his life sucks more (archenemy The Producer). I can't wait until he has a true success story, we'll be able to use his blog for blackmail.

It's a short list, and I visit most of the sites several times a day, which is why I get none of my work done. You ask and I'll answer.

When the words won't come

It is quite embarassing to check out my favorite blogs and then look back at mine only to see that it has been 2 weeks since my last blog. It isn't a question of topics to discuss, more of motivation to discuss them.

I, like many Americans, have watched the presidential and vice-presidential debates with more interest than I ever thought possible to muster. Perhaps I care more this year since the topics of debate contain several about which I feel strongly. Stem cell research is a necessity for future medicinal developments. In this country alone, there are many resources for those stem cells. In vitro clinics often destroy unwanted embryos, want not use them for science.

I could go on, but the motivation is not there. Simply put, with whom am I discussing these great ideas? If those of you out there want me to discuss anything in particular, let me know.

Going postal

As I mentioned before, there was a time when I worked for the U.S.P.S. This post office was located on an army base in Europe. Besides civilians, military personnel also worked there, which made it all the more fun when something had to get done.
If you never worked in a military environment, you may not realize that the average GI wants nothing more in his day than to do as little as possible. I'm not saying our service men and women do not do a good job defending us, what I'm saying is they want to get away from the day to day crap that has to be used a filler while they are waiting to go do their actual MOS.
While I worked there, I was able to truly appreciate how many ways there are to waste a human beings time. I witnessed one gung ho lietenant assigning mailbox cleaning duties. These were the mailboxes we used to sort mail, the public never touched them. They had to be washed out and made sparkling so that we might dirty them again when the evenings mail came.
I had the luck of being in charge of claims. First, let me explain to you how mail is shipped. You bring your package to the counter and have the postal person stamp it "fragile", with the assurance that it will be treated with care. You might even see it being placed gently in a large bin. What you don't see is the 70lb box that is set on top of it before it is rolled into the back. Let's say it survives that. It gets tossed into a nylon bag along with any other box that is going to that zip code zone. It doesn't matter if it is heavy or light. If it fits in the bag, it's going. That bag is tied up tight and then loaded on to a cart with other bags just like it. Now, it is an overseas PO like the one I worked at, the soldiers load an 18 wheeler with these bags. Think for a moment, what is the quickest way to get those bags in the truck? You guessed it, throwing! We used to have contests to see who could throw it the furthest.
It then gets driven to the airport, where it is off loaded onto large open carts that will be dragged to the airplane. Now, as a person loads the cart, all he is thinking of is how fast can I get this thing loaded so I can get back and go home. These carts often resemble a Jenga tower after 10 rounds. You tell me if you think it makes it to the airplane without falling off.
As the claims person (and one who does all the other stuff as well), I have to explain to GI Smith exactly why that priceless figurine that Aunt Susie sent didn't make it in one piece. I'm the one who had to listen to them rant and rave. Of course, Aunt Susie just wrapped her porcelain unicorn in newspaper with a brown paper overlay, so it doesn't make it safely. That little "fragile" stamp is not a stamp of invicibility.
We had a room dedicated to all the broken merchandise that had outstanding claims on them(claims never took less than 6 months to be completed), from computer monitors to car flywheels. I used to send out notice after notice to people who filed claims, trying to find out if they got their money. They didn't realize that I had to keep every broken piece of crap that came through my doors until I was notified that claim had been paid. What? You ask, "Didn't the USPS notify you?" Now why would it do that? It might save me 5 hours a week doing paperwork follow-up if it did that. How else can it warrant that stamp increase if it can't prove that all this work is being done?
Many a day I was glad that all the weapons were locked up in a seperate building.

My karma is fine, how's yours?

Having just gotten back from someone hitting my car and then driving off,
I'm a bit ticked today. The @#%*@ a-hole rear-ended me as I was driving, signaled that she was pulling over, then sped off once I had pulled over.
The pathetic thing is, I had already decided that I would be nice and tell her not to worry about the damage (there is already some from the last time my care was rear-ended). I realize this individual probably did not have insurance, but she didn't even check to see if I was OK. Where is the common decency of mankind?
Then I go to check on a project I'm working on and I find the new girl trying to take it away from me. She does not even try to hide this fact, just blithely continues prattling on about how she can't wait to start working on it. I was polite and did not tell her to @#%* off.
So it makes me wonder, what I do to deserve this? I gave blood yesterday, I would think that counts as a positive addition to my karma. I guess we all have to have those days where we feel like the world is out to get us.
I think I'll just curl up on my couch, put a heating pad on my back, and hide until tomorrow comes.

What I want to be when I grow up

After looking through some boxes from my recent move, some of which have gone through 6 moves without being unpacked, I came across a third grade "yearbook".
Two things struck me about it:
1. How in the world has it survived literally crisscrossing the world without any damage?
2. How many people actually grow up to be what they to be?

You see, there was a list of students and their future occupation choices. Mine was to grow-up to be a veternarian in New York. Well, at least I lived in NY for awhile, thereby half reaching that goal.

Honestly, my dream job, as it has been since the 4th grade, is archaeology. Unfortunately, I can't find someone willing to pay me to do this. In fact, there was a time where I worked without pay in the hopes that funding would come through. It didn't and I was moving to Italy, so it was a good time for a career change anyway.

That career change was to the USPS, and not one I would recommend to anyone. I truly understand the phrase "going postal" and many days was on the verge of doing so myself.
More later on this.