I have to say this freaked me out.
SHUDDER SHUDDER SHUDDER
And although I can't stand webs I'd still want to see this.
Media quote of the day: I hate spiders - Ron - Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
No connection
I hate, hate, hate when we lose the internet at work. Not only can I not do what I'm not supposed to be doing but I communicate mostly through Email with my general contractors. They seem to respond quicker to my inquiries about payment this way rather than a phone call. Plus I despise being on the phone so it's a win win situation.
I was not a happy camper yesterday or this morning. But we're all good now.
Media quote of the day: I promise not to refer to any as a "class act", a "beautiful person", or a "happy camper"! - George Carlin in Doin' it Again
Now normally I don't use a quote like this unless I've seen the show or movie but I liked this one the best and I like George Carlin so I'm using it.
I was not a happy camper yesterday or this morning. But we're all good now.
Media quote of the day: I promise not to refer to any as a "class act", a "beautiful person", or a "happy camper"! - George Carlin in Doin' it Again
Now normally I don't use a quote like this unless I've seen the show or movie but I liked this one the best and I like George Carlin so I'm using it.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Another Meme
Stolen from Nance. I wanted to do something simple for today so this is it.
1. What are your initials? KET
2. What is your favorite thing to wear? Jeans, t-shirt
3. Last thing you ate? Special K Bar - Strawberry
4. One place you will NEVER eat at? Burger King
5. I say Shotgun, you say: Dammit
6. Last person you hugged? H Ditty
7. Does anyone you know wanna date you? Just H Ditty
8. Would you date anyone you met online? Maybe, probably
9. Name something you like physically about yourself. Hmmm, I used to like my calves. I guess I still do, they're pretty shapely.
10. The last place you went out to dinner to. Chilli's. Last night, we went with one of the chicks that went on the trip to Mexico
11. Who is your best friend? H Ditty
12. What time of the day is it? 7:50 am. - this has changed since I started but I'll leave it anyway.
13. Who/What made you angry today? No one so far, it's too early. - still applies
14. Baseball or Football? Football of course. Geaux Saints!!
15. Ever gone skinny dipping? Nope, came close but didn't go all the way.
16. Favorite type of Food? Simple foods, i.e.: meat and potatoes
17. Favorite holidays: Christmas and Halloween
18. Do you download music: Nope, never have, never will.
19. Do you care if your socks are dirty? Yes and no. If I'm at home don't care so much but if I'm going somewhere then oh hell yeah.
20. Opinion of Chinese symbol tattoos? Silly. I mean, they're cool looking but unless you know and trust the person 100% how do you know it is what it's supposed to be? And even then, do they know how to read Chinese? Probably not.
21. Would you date the person who posted this? Nope. Mainly because she's a chick and I'll never meet her and I just don't swing that way
22. Has anyone ever sang or played for you personally? Well, I guess you could say H Ditty has sang to me but since he's not a singer I can't really count that. Oh wait, way back in '92 when Local H was still just a struggling band playing a few places in Chicago I really wanted a particular song played but Scott (the singer/guitarist) said it was too mellow of a song to play. But in the middle of a set, in between two songs, he played the guitar riff of the song for me. Totally unexpected and I almost didn't catch it.
23. Do you love anyone? Um, yeah, sheesh what a question
24. Are colored contact lenses sexy? Sexy? no but I've thought about trying out the blue ones.
25. Have you ever bungee jumped? Nope and never will. Now jumping out of a plane - I'm all over that!
26. Have you ever gone white-water rafting? No, maybe one day but I doubt it. It's not really a longing of mine.
27. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you? Yeah, when I was 17 & 18 when I worked at the travel stop truckers and plant workers would hit on me all the time. They ranged from my age all the way into their 50's.
28. How many pets do you have? 3
29. Have you met a real redneck. Sure, live in Louisiana you're bound to run into one or 30, whichever.
30. How is the weather right now? Right now it's beautiful. Sunny, with a few clouds and only 65 degrees. But by this afternoon it's supposed to be mid 80's. This has changed since I started, it's now cloudy as all get out like it's going to rain and it wasn't supposed to until Wed.!!
31. What are you listening to right now? Unfortunately Lover Girl by Tina Marie. Blech, but what can I do it's on at work
32. What is your current favorite song? I don't have one, that's kind of sad. But when I'm in the mood for nice loud music I put on Local H's Fritz's Corner or Korn's Freak on a Leash
33. What was the last movie you watched? Superbad, it was pretty good. Better than some of the critics gave it but certainly not top notch in it's genre Oh wait a minute, I lied, it was Bourne Ultimatum. We saw it the day after Superbad. Bourne was good, don't go see it if you get car sick though. It seems like it was worse than the other two for the shakiness. But it fit really well for the storyline. I give it two thumbs up.
34. Do you wear contacts? Yep
35. Where was the last place you went besides your house? Work
36. What are you afraid of? Well, the typical - dying. It's the only thing I'm really afraid of. But spiderwebs creep me the fuck out!
37. How many piercings have you had? 2, one in each ear. Boring I know
38. What piercings do you want? None, I hardly ever wear anything in my ears so I can't see me wearing any anywhere else
39. What's one thing you've learned this year? Hmm, I learned that I can live without H Ditty but that I really really don't want to.
40. What do you usually order from Starbucks? Nothing, I don't go and if I did it would be hot chocolate since I don't drink coffee of any kind
41. Which is better: Facebook or MySpace? Um, couldn't tell you. I know people with MySpace pages but none with Facebook but I've never had one for myself.
42. Have you ever fired a gun: Oh yeah
43. Are you missing someone?: Well, I miss different people at different times. But there's no one I miss all the time.
44. Favorite TV show? Wow, that's a hard one. So I'll do it per category. Favorite 1/2 hour comedy would have to be a tie between How I Met Your Mother and The Office. Favorite 1 hour comedy would be Ugly Betty. Favorite drama would be a tie between Lost and Heroes followed very closely by Jericho (Yay, it was renewed - now watch it people!!). I feel like I'm forgetting something but those are what came to mind first so I'll go with them.
45. Do you have an obsession with World of Warcraft?: No, but H Ditty did for awhile so I had an obsession with getting him off the computer. Heh
46. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celeb? Other people that they know yes, but not a celeb, at least not that I can remember.
47. What Magazines are you reading? Entertainment Weekly, Midwest Living, Cottage Living - I drool over these two.
48. Who would you like to see right now? H Ditty, yeah I know, gag me.
49. Favorite movie of all time? While You Were Sleeping and Elizabeth I - can't wait for the sequel
50. Do you find yourself loved? Um, yeah!
51. Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't suppose to? Of course
52. Favorite smell? Freshly mown grass
53. Butter, plain, or salted popcorn? Butter and salt
54. Have you ever done the celebrity challenge on www.xHuh.com? Nope. Didn't know it existed, now maybe I'll go.
55. Which celebrity does www.xHuh.com say you look like? N/A
56. Has anyone you were really close to you passed away recently?: Yep, just two weeks ago.
57. Our Lady Peace or Nickelback? Neither, but if I had to choose I guess it'd be Nickelback since I know more of their songs.
58. What's something that really bugs you? Rude ass drivers, People who chew with their mouths open, people who piss on the seats, and people who don't bother to wash or at least put on deodorant. Ok, I gotta quit or I'll go on and on.
59. Do you like Michael Jackson? Some of his songs yes, him no
60. Taco Bell or Burger King? Neither, ever
61. What's your favorite perfume? Obsession
62. Favorite baseball team? Cubs - go Cubbies!!
64. Nipple or Nose rings? Neither but if I were going to do it, which I'm not, but if I were it'd be a nose ring
65. What's the longest time you've gone without sleep? I guess it'd be around 26 hours or so
66. Last time you went bowling? Just a few weeks ago with some of the chicks that went to Mexico and H Ditty
67. Where is the weirdest place you have slept? The back of H Ditty's SUV several years ago on vacation
68. Who was your last phone call? A lady from one of the generals we work for saying there's money at the title co. Woo Hoo!!!
69. Last time you were at work? Today.
70. What's the closest orange object to you? An orange BIC brite liner, it's only 3 inches from my left hand.
Since I've already used both the songs I mentioned I guess I'll have to use something else.
Media quote of the day: I've had a really lousy Christmas, you've just managed to kill my New Year's, if you come back on Easter- you can burn down my apartment. - Lucy in While You Were Sleeping
1. What are your initials? KET
2. What is your favorite thing to wear? Jeans, t-shirt
3. Last thing you ate? Special K Bar - Strawberry
4. One place you will NEVER eat at? Burger King
5. I say Shotgun, you say: Dammit
6. Last person you hugged? H Ditty
7. Does anyone you know wanna date you? Just H Ditty
8. Would you date anyone you met online? Maybe, probably
9. Name something you like physically about yourself. Hmmm, I used to like my calves. I guess I still do, they're pretty shapely.
10. The last place you went out to dinner to. Chilli's. Last night, we went with one of the chicks that went on the trip to Mexico
11. Who is your best friend? H Ditty
12. What time of the day is it? 7:50 am. - this has changed since I started but I'll leave it anyway.
13. Who/What made you angry today? No one so far, it's too early. - still applies
14. Baseball or Football? Football of course. Geaux Saints!!
15. Ever gone skinny dipping? Nope, came close but didn't go all the way.
16. Favorite type of Food? Simple foods, i.e.: meat and potatoes
17. Favorite holidays: Christmas and Halloween
18. Do you download music: Nope, never have, never will.
19. Do you care if your socks are dirty? Yes and no. If I'm at home don't care so much but if I'm going somewhere then oh hell yeah.
20. Opinion of Chinese symbol tattoos? Silly. I mean, they're cool looking but unless you know and trust the person 100% how do you know it is what it's supposed to be? And even then, do they know how to read Chinese? Probably not.
21. Would you date the person who posted this? Nope. Mainly because she's a chick and I'll never meet her and I just don't swing that way
22. Has anyone ever sang or played for you personally? Well, I guess you could say H Ditty has sang to me but since he's not a singer I can't really count that. Oh wait, way back in '92 when Local H was still just a struggling band playing a few places in Chicago I really wanted a particular song played but Scott (the singer/guitarist) said it was too mellow of a song to play. But in the middle of a set, in between two songs, he played the guitar riff of the song for me. Totally unexpected and I almost didn't catch it.
23. Do you love anyone? Um, yeah, sheesh what a question
24. Are colored contact lenses sexy? Sexy? no but I've thought about trying out the blue ones.
25. Have you ever bungee jumped? Nope and never will. Now jumping out of a plane - I'm all over that!
26. Have you ever gone white-water rafting? No, maybe one day but I doubt it. It's not really a longing of mine.
27. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you? Yeah, when I was 17 & 18 when I worked at the travel stop truckers and plant workers would hit on me all the time. They ranged from my age all the way into their 50's.
28. How many pets do you have? 3
29. Have you met a real redneck. Sure, live in Louisiana you're bound to run into one or 30, whichever.
30. How is the weather right now? Right now it's beautiful. Sunny, with a few clouds and only 65 degrees. But by this afternoon it's supposed to be mid 80's. This has changed since I started, it's now cloudy as all get out like it's going to rain and it wasn't supposed to until Wed.!!
31. What are you listening to right now? Unfortunately Lover Girl by Tina Marie. Blech, but what can I do it's on at work
32. What is your current favorite song? I don't have one, that's kind of sad. But when I'm in the mood for nice loud music I put on Local H's Fritz's Corner or Korn's Freak on a Leash
33. What was the last movie you watched? Superbad, it was pretty good. Better than some of the critics gave it but certainly not top notch in it's genre Oh wait a minute, I lied, it was Bourne Ultimatum. We saw it the day after Superbad. Bourne was good, don't go see it if you get car sick though. It seems like it was worse than the other two for the shakiness. But it fit really well for the storyline. I give it two thumbs up.
34. Do you wear contacts? Yep
35. Where was the last place you went besides your house? Work
36. What are you afraid of? Well, the typical - dying. It's the only thing I'm really afraid of. But spiderwebs creep me the fuck out!
37. How many piercings have you had? 2, one in each ear. Boring I know
38. What piercings do you want? None, I hardly ever wear anything in my ears so I can't see me wearing any anywhere else
39. What's one thing you've learned this year? Hmm, I learned that I can live without H Ditty but that I really really don't want to.
40. What do you usually order from Starbucks? Nothing, I don't go and if I did it would be hot chocolate since I don't drink coffee of any kind
41. Which is better: Facebook or MySpace? Um, couldn't tell you. I know people with MySpace pages but none with Facebook but I've never had one for myself.
42. Have you ever fired a gun: Oh yeah
43. Are you missing someone?: Well, I miss different people at different times. But there's no one I miss all the time.
44. Favorite TV show? Wow, that's a hard one. So I'll do it per category. Favorite 1/2 hour comedy would have to be a tie between How I Met Your Mother and The Office. Favorite 1 hour comedy would be Ugly Betty. Favorite drama would be a tie between Lost and Heroes followed very closely by Jericho (Yay, it was renewed - now watch it people!!). I feel like I'm forgetting something but those are what came to mind first so I'll go with them.
45. Do you have an obsession with World of Warcraft?: No, but H Ditty did for awhile so I had an obsession with getting him off the computer. Heh
46. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celeb? Other people that they know yes, but not a celeb, at least not that I can remember.
47. What Magazines are you reading? Entertainment Weekly, Midwest Living, Cottage Living - I drool over these two.
48. Who would you like to see right now? H Ditty, yeah I know, gag me.
49. Favorite movie of all time? While You Were Sleeping and Elizabeth I - can't wait for the sequel
50. Do you find yourself loved? Um, yeah!
51. Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't suppose to? Of course
52. Favorite smell? Freshly mown grass
53. Butter, plain, or salted popcorn? Butter and salt
54. Have you ever done the celebrity challenge on www.xHuh.com? Nope. Didn't know it existed, now maybe I'll go.
55. Which celebrity does www.xHuh.com say you look like? N/A
56. Has anyone you were really close to you passed away recently?: Yep, just two weeks ago.
57. Our Lady Peace or Nickelback? Neither, but if I had to choose I guess it'd be Nickelback since I know more of their songs.
58. What's something that really bugs you? Rude ass drivers, People who chew with their mouths open, people who piss on the seats, and people who don't bother to wash or at least put on deodorant. Ok, I gotta quit or I'll go on and on.
59. Do you like Michael Jackson? Some of his songs yes, him no
60. Taco Bell or Burger King? Neither, ever
61. What's your favorite perfume? Obsession
62. Favorite baseball team? Cubs - go Cubbies!!
64. Nipple or Nose rings? Neither but if I were going to do it, which I'm not, but if I were it'd be a nose ring
65. What's the longest time you've gone without sleep? I guess it'd be around 26 hours or so
66. Last time you went bowling? Just a few weeks ago with some of the chicks that went to Mexico and H Ditty
67. Where is the weirdest place you have slept? The back of H Ditty's SUV several years ago on vacation
68. Who was your last phone call? A lady from one of the generals we work for saying there's money at the title co. Woo Hoo!!!
69. Last time you were at work? Today.
70. What's the closest orange object to you? An orange BIC brite liner, it's only 3 inches from my left hand.
Since I've already used both the songs I mentioned I guess I'll have to use something else.
Media quote of the day: I've had a really lousy Christmas, you've just managed to kill my New Year's, if you come back on Easter- you can burn down my apartment. - Lucy in While You Were Sleeping
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Rear ended
I got rear ended yesterday on my way to work. I'm ok though so that's good.
I was cruising along heading West in the left hand lane. There was a sanitary sewer truck a little bit ahead of me in the right lane. We were coming up on a "T" intersection with a green light for us, we were the cross street. The left turn lane's light was just turning yellow when all of a sudden another truck (some sort of larger pickup work truck) decides he doesn't want to sit at his red light anymore and comes on through along with a car right behind him. Luckily I was far back enough to see them and started to slow down. I knew he was going to hit the sewer truck though and sure enough he does.
I slow down even more, almost to a complete stop and glance in my rear view mirror and see a car coming up behind me. I glance to the right lane and debate moving in to it but the two trucks are still there and although they're still moving I don't know for how long and I don't want to take a chance of running into either one of them so I stay where I am. I did notice that the car was slowing down though so I glance back and he's not slowing enough and sure enough he hits me. I had tensed up when I first saw him but when I looked back and new he was going to hit me I made myself relax which I'm sure helped me not get whiplash or anything else. All this took less than a minute maybe even less than 30 seconds. I'm not sure really, just know that it all went very fast and slow at the same time. It seemed like one of those times when you seem to be seeing things as a spectator although you're a part of it.
In the meantime the two trucks are still going forward. When the sewer truck first got hit (it's the kind with a circular tank) it starts to lean to the right. As he's trying to get it under control he starts to head into the left lane (by this time I just got hit myself) and the truck that hit him has continued straight ahead. The sewer truck hits the median (luckily it's one of those real low curbs) and then leans again to the right but not quite as much as before. He continues up onto the median and goes over the other side but he goes over in such a way that he starts to lean pretty far to the left. But he doesn't tip, he gets it back up right and finally stops a couple hundred feet up the road facing West still but now in the right lane of the East side.
Meanwhile the car that was behind the hitter had stopped and luckily didn't get hit by anyone. He or she, not sure which, pulls up on to the median as I do to get out of the way of the traffic. The car that hit me took a little bit longer to follow me up there but eventually we're both up there and out of the way. As I'm driving up on it I hear sirens already. Turns out there was a cop a few cars behind the truck that did the hitting and saw that accident happen. He didn't see mine though since he was watching the trucks.
He by passes us and goes up to the trucks and I consider calling it in but figure he had to have seen us so I don't bother. Plus I'm sure there were other people calling. So I called work instead to let them know I'd be late. Then I called H Ditty to let him know what happened. While talking to work the person who didn't get hit but ran the red light took off. I'm sure they didn't want to take a chance of getting a ticket. Oh well, lucky break for them.
By the time I was talking to HD the cop had come back to us and was talking with the guy who hit me. HD asked how I was feeling, any whiplash etc. but I was good. There was a little tightness on the back of my neck on the right side but I figured that was more from the adrenaline rush or even the stress of the situation but it wasn't bad at all. The cop came up to me and asked what happened. I let him know and he said ok he'd have to talk with the other guy for a couple more minutes and he'd be back. I grabbed my insurance card and license and waited for him to come back and get them.
When he did he said he'd take care of us before going back to the two trucks. But before he was even back in his car there were two more squads coming in. Then a couple paramedics (one for our accident and one for the other) and one fire truck showed up. I let the paramedics know that I was fine, they asked what happened so I told them and then they asked again if I was good and didn't want to be checked out.
I at one point finally checked out the damage but it's pretty minimal. There's a crack in my bumper and one of my backup sensor disks popped out. Which by the way they don't work now, tested them when I got home. And my right turn signal is shot along with the brake lights on that side. Luckily the taillights still work though, so at least they're not all out. But I don't know what got damaged to make the brake and turn lights not work but the plastic covers are just fine, they sit too far up to have been hit.
The guy who hit me though, his car is squished. He has a Nissan Altima and his front end got squashed up and both his air bags went off. Neither of mine did and I couldn't even tell you if my seat belt locked up or not, I honestly cannot for the life of me remember.
I was worried for a little bit though because I keep forgetting to put my new insurance card in the glove compartment so the one I had to give the cop was the expired one. Luckily it just expired on August 1st so it wasn't too bad. When I pointed it out to him I wasn't even finished talking when he told me not to worry about it. If I had been the one to do the hitting then it would've been an issue but since I was the one hit he didn't care. He just wanted it for the info. So that's good. When he gave it back to me along with my license he just told me to make sure I put the new one in by today. Which I have.
So I have to fill out my portion of the report and mail it in. I told H Ditty that he'd have to do it for me since his handwriting is better than mine. I don't have penmanship like most girls, there's now loopy smooth writing coming out of this chick. It's small and completely unsmooth. Even when I print, although it's legible, it doesn't look good. So yeah, he'll have to fill it out for me. We were going to do it last night but went and saw Superbad instead.
The tightness in my neck lasted throughout the day. I had taken some Aleve when I finally got to work and I think that helped some although I had a slight headache on and off for the rest of the day. But today I have no pain anywhere so I think all my neck needed was total relaxation such as sleep provides.
This morning one of my coworkers watched as there was a near collision in front of her. Luckily everyone just avoided it but she was afraid to move for a bit though. We've had some pretty good rain showers/storms going through and last night one of the storms made a lot of lights go out. She was at one of those intersections that had no lights and a lot of lanes including two turning left from all sides. So yeah, a lot of cars which mean a lot of people who feel they deserve to go whether it's their turn or not.
Ok, gotta go, have a better day than I did yesterday.
Media quote of the day: He rear-ended the frigging Queen! - Marge - The Simpsons
I was cruising along heading West in the left hand lane. There was a sanitary sewer truck a little bit ahead of me in the right lane. We were coming up on a "T" intersection with a green light for us, we were the cross street. The left turn lane's light was just turning yellow when all of a sudden another truck (some sort of larger pickup work truck) decides he doesn't want to sit at his red light anymore and comes on through along with a car right behind him. Luckily I was far back enough to see them and started to slow down. I knew he was going to hit the sewer truck though and sure enough he does.
I slow down even more, almost to a complete stop and glance in my rear view mirror and see a car coming up behind me. I glance to the right lane and debate moving in to it but the two trucks are still there and although they're still moving I don't know for how long and I don't want to take a chance of running into either one of them so I stay where I am. I did notice that the car was slowing down though so I glance back and he's not slowing enough and sure enough he hits me. I had tensed up when I first saw him but when I looked back and new he was going to hit me I made myself relax which I'm sure helped me not get whiplash or anything else. All this took less than a minute maybe even less than 30 seconds. I'm not sure really, just know that it all went very fast and slow at the same time. It seemed like one of those times when you seem to be seeing things as a spectator although you're a part of it.
In the meantime the two trucks are still going forward. When the sewer truck first got hit (it's the kind with a circular tank) it starts to lean to the right. As he's trying to get it under control he starts to head into the left lane (by this time I just got hit myself) and the truck that hit him has continued straight ahead. The sewer truck hits the median (luckily it's one of those real low curbs) and then leans again to the right but not quite as much as before. He continues up onto the median and goes over the other side but he goes over in such a way that he starts to lean pretty far to the left. But he doesn't tip, he gets it back up right and finally stops a couple hundred feet up the road facing West still but now in the right lane of the East side.
Meanwhile the car that was behind the hitter had stopped and luckily didn't get hit by anyone. He or she, not sure which, pulls up on to the median as I do to get out of the way of the traffic. The car that hit me took a little bit longer to follow me up there but eventually we're both up there and out of the way. As I'm driving up on it I hear sirens already. Turns out there was a cop a few cars behind the truck that did the hitting and saw that accident happen. He didn't see mine though since he was watching the trucks.
He by passes us and goes up to the trucks and I consider calling it in but figure he had to have seen us so I don't bother. Plus I'm sure there were other people calling. So I called work instead to let them know I'd be late. Then I called H Ditty to let him know what happened. While talking to work the person who didn't get hit but ran the red light took off. I'm sure they didn't want to take a chance of getting a ticket. Oh well, lucky break for them.
By the time I was talking to HD the cop had come back to us and was talking with the guy who hit me. HD asked how I was feeling, any whiplash etc. but I was good. There was a little tightness on the back of my neck on the right side but I figured that was more from the adrenaline rush or even the stress of the situation but it wasn't bad at all. The cop came up to me and asked what happened. I let him know and he said ok he'd have to talk with the other guy for a couple more minutes and he'd be back. I grabbed my insurance card and license and waited for him to come back and get them.
When he did he said he'd take care of us before going back to the two trucks. But before he was even back in his car there were two more squads coming in. Then a couple paramedics (one for our accident and one for the other) and one fire truck showed up. I let the paramedics know that I was fine, they asked what happened so I told them and then they asked again if I was good and didn't want to be checked out.
I at one point finally checked out the damage but it's pretty minimal. There's a crack in my bumper and one of my backup sensor disks popped out. Which by the way they don't work now, tested them when I got home. And my right turn signal is shot along with the brake lights on that side. Luckily the taillights still work though, so at least they're not all out. But I don't know what got damaged to make the brake and turn lights not work but the plastic covers are just fine, they sit too far up to have been hit.
The guy who hit me though, his car is squished. He has a Nissan Altima and his front end got squashed up and both his air bags went off. Neither of mine did and I couldn't even tell you if my seat belt locked up or not, I honestly cannot for the life of me remember.
I was worried for a little bit though because I keep forgetting to put my new insurance card in the glove compartment so the one I had to give the cop was the expired one. Luckily it just expired on August 1st so it wasn't too bad. When I pointed it out to him I wasn't even finished talking when he told me not to worry about it. If I had been the one to do the hitting then it would've been an issue but since I was the one hit he didn't care. He just wanted it for the info. So that's good. When he gave it back to me along with my license he just told me to make sure I put the new one in by today. Which I have.
So I have to fill out my portion of the report and mail it in. I told H Ditty that he'd have to do it for me since his handwriting is better than mine. I don't have penmanship like most girls, there's now loopy smooth writing coming out of this chick. It's small and completely unsmooth. Even when I print, although it's legible, it doesn't look good. So yeah, he'll have to fill it out for me. We were going to do it last night but went and saw Superbad instead.
The tightness in my neck lasted throughout the day. I had taken some Aleve when I finally got to work and I think that helped some although I had a slight headache on and off for the rest of the day. But today I have no pain anywhere so I think all my neck needed was total relaxation such as sleep provides.
This morning one of my coworkers watched as there was a near collision in front of her. Luckily everyone just avoided it but she was afraid to move for a bit though. We've had some pretty good rain showers/storms going through and last night one of the storms made a lot of lights go out. She was at one of those intersections that had no lights and a lot of lanes including two turning left from all sides. So yeah, a lot of cars which mean a lot of people who feel they deserve to go whether it's their turn or not.
Ok, gotta go, have a better day than I did yesterday.
Media quote of the day: He rear-ended the frigging Queen! - Marge - The Simpsons
Thursday, August 16, 2007
RIP Jo - Update
I lost a friend this week.
Several years ago she and I worked together. I had known her for 4 years before that though because she worked at the architects office that the construction company I worked for did most of their business with. I went with one of the project managers when he started his own business. The following year after we had grown enough that I needed help in the office she came on board and our acquaintance grew into a friendship.
She worked there for close to 3 years when she decided to go somewhere else that suited her better. But while she was there she had to have a hysterectomy because she had had a fibrous tissue 1 and 1/2 times the size of a cantaloupe. The surrounding tissues on the cervix were precancerous. Several years later during a routine check at her own home she found a lump on her left breast. Sure enough it was cancer.
She ended up having a mastectomy and chemo sessions for awhile after. Then she was blessfully cancer free.
Then in February at her 6 month check up they found more cancerous cells. She went back in for chemo sessions every Friday morning. In April or May she started having fluid build up in the stomach and would have to have it pumped out. She'd usually go about once a week for that, sometimes more. Then in June because she started going almost every day they gave her some contraption she could use herself to drain it.
We would go to dinner every few months with Emailing quite often in between the dinners. We could go a whole month without talking and then one of us would send an Email and then we'd be going back and forth for weeks before it'd peter out again. My last Email from her was in June and she had let me know her last Chemo Friday was July 20th. So far it seemed like it was working and with another month to go she should be all good.
She was glad that it was almost over because she was getting sick and tired of it all. But it didn't sound like she was tired enough to give up. But she must have gotten pretty darn sick to not have called or Emailed me. Or she didn't want me to worry and/or fuss over her. I can see her thinking she wouldn't want to burden me with it. I'm not angry with her for not letting me know, just very very sad that I wasn't able to say goodbye.
I had a feeling she had either died or at least gotten very sick. I had sent her an Email the 1st week of July and she didn't respond right away like usual. The longest she had ever gone without responding was a week and a half and that was back in February when she got sick again. Then I got busy and didn't send another one until 3 weeks later plus a couple joke Emails but she didn't respond to any of them either. Then last week I sent one to her with the subject line of "WHERE ARE YOU!?!" with the note saying, "You're making me worried. Send something back even if it's an I'm still here but busy." But nothing. I kept meaning to check for an obit but then kept forgetting to. Then the other day I received a confirmation that my last Email was read but the name that came along with the confirmation was a man's name. I knew it then and there but still didn't look for an obit right then because I was actually in the middle of something. Then forgot again later when I actually had time. But turns out that it wouldn't have done any good anyway. Not until today anyway.
Then this morning I received an Email from a girl that had worked with us stating she had just seen her obit in the paper. Her wake is tomorrow so HD and I will be going. There was no mention of a funeral but that makes sense since she wanted to be cremated and she wasn't religious in any way.
She was such a good person. She was several years older than me; she turned 60 at the end of March. She was almost as old as my mother but she in no way acted like it. She had no kids of her own but was like me - a devoted spoiler of an aunt to her nieces and nephews and then great nephews. She was funny with one of the driest senses of humor ever. Her favorite animal was a frog; very odd.
Because of her I have about 6 or so subcontractor t-shirts and sweatshirts. She would threaten our subs not to pay them if they didn't give us a shirt or sweatshirt. The guys in the field and our boss always got them and she said it wasn't fair that we never did so she started threatening and they obliged.
If you're wondering why I didn't just pick up the phone and call her it's because I didn't have her home phone number. She had given it to me ages ago, in an Email no less, after she moved in with her older sister. But after I printed it out I deleted the mail and then proceeded to lose the printout. And because we always did so well with the Emails and dinners we never felt the need to call each other.
Sad, very sad.
Are you--Nobody--too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise--you know!
How dreary--to be--Somebody!
How public--like a Frog--
To tell your name--the livelong June--
To an admiring Bog!
Emily Dickinson (1858)
UPDATE - I talked with her niece at the wake and found out a little more. It seems that right after the last email I had gotten from her in June she went down hill fast. She couldn't keep any food down at all. She was down to liquid foods even. She went into a cancer research hospital in a nearby town for some tests and along with the breast that she had been fighting with the chemo they found a mass on her stomach. I believe it was after they found that mass that the doctor gave her 3 months. After more tests they found several more tumors on her brain. She went in 1 1/2 months.
Her niece said they wanted to try to get a hold of people but she didn't have very many numbers in her cell phone and the company she worked for wouldn't let them access her email contact list for any personal addresses. They wouldn't even right down the list themselves and give it to the family. So people like me had to find out the way I did, either word of mouth, read the paper or go online. I'm glad I did find out that's for sure.
Several years ago she and I worked together. I had known her for 4 years before that though because she worked at the architects office that the construction company I worked for did most of their business with. I went with one of the project managers when he started his own business. The following year after we had grown enough that I needed help in the office she came on board and our acquaintance grew into a friendship.
She worked there for close to 3 years when she decided to go somewhere else that suited her better. But while she was there she had to have a hysterectomy because she had had a fibrous tissue 1 and 1/2 times the size of a cantaloupe. The surrounding tissues on the cervix were precancerous. Several years later during a routine check at her own home she found a lump on her left breast. Sure enough it was cancer.
She ended up having a mastectomy and chemo sessions for awhile after. Then she was blessfully cancer free.
Then in February at her 6 month check up they found more cancerous cells. She went back in for chemo sessions every Friday morning. In April or May she started having fluid build up in the stomach and would have to have it pumped out. She'd usually go about once a week for that, sometimes more. Then in June because she started going almost every day they gave her some contraption she could use herself to drain it.
We would go to dinner every few months with Emailing quite often in between the dinners. We could go a whole month without talking and then one of us would send an Email and then we'd be going back and forth for weeks before it'd peter out again. My last Email from her was in June and she had let me know her last Chemo Friday was July 20th. So far it seemed like it was working and with another month to go she should be all good.
She was glad that it was almost over because she was getting sick and tired of it all. But it didn't sound like she was tired enough to give up. But she must have gotten pretty darn sick to not have called or Emailed me. Or she didn't want me to worry and/or fuss over her. I can see her thinking she wouldn't want to burden me with it. I'm not angry with her for not letting me know, just very very sad that I wasn't able to say goodbye.
I had a feeling she had either died or at least gotten very sick. I had sent her an Email the 1st week of July and she didn't respond right away like usual. The longest she had ever gone without responding was a week and a half and that was back in February when she got sick again. Then I got busy and didn't send another one until 3 weeks later plus a couple joke Emails but she didn't respond to any of them either. Then last week I sent one to her with the subject line of "WHERE ARE YOU!?!" with the note saying, "You're making me worried. Send something back even if it's an I'm still here but busy." But nothing. I kept meaning to check for an obit but then kept forgetting to. Then the other day I received a confirmation that my last Email was read but the name that came along with the confirmation was a man's name. I knew it then and there but still didn't look for an obit right then because I was actually in the middle of something. Then forgot again later when I actually had time. But turns out that it wouldn't have done any good anyway. Not until today anyway.
Then this morning I received an Email from a girl that had worked with us stating she had just seen her obit in the paper. Her wake is tomorrow so HD and I will be going. There was no mention of a funeral but that makes sense since she wanted to be cremated and she wasn't religious in any way.
She was such a good person. She was several years older than me; she turned 60 at the end of March. She was almost as old as my mother but she in no way acted like it. She had no kids of her own but was like me - a devoted spoiler of an aunt to her nieces and nephews and then great nephews. She was funny with one of the driest senses of humor ever. Her favorite animal was a frog; very odd.
Because of her I have about 6 or so subcontractor t-shirts and sweatshirts. She would threaten our subs not to pay them if they didn't give us a shirt or sweatshirt. The guys in the field and our boss always got them and she said it wasn't fair that we never did so she started threatening and they obliged.
If you're wondering why I didn't just pick up the phone and call her it's because I didn't have her home phone number. She had given it to me ages ago, in an Email no less, after she moved in with her older sister. But after I printed it out I deleted the mail and then proceeded to lose the printout. And because we always did so well with the Emails and dinners we never felt the need to call each other.
Sad, very sad.
I think this will fit the best. She always said we made a great pair plus it mentions a frog:
Media quote of the day:
I'M Nobody! Who are you?Are you--Nobody--too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise--you know!
How dreary--to be--Somebody!
How public--like a Frog--
To tell your name--the livelong June--
To an admiring Bog!
Emily Dickinson (1858)
UPDATE - I talked with her niece at the wake and found out a little more. It seems that right after the last email I had gotten from her in June she went down hill fast. She couldn't keep any food down at all. She was down to liquid foods even. She went into a cancer research hospital in a nearby town for some tests and along with the breast that she had been fighting with the chemo they found a mass on her stomach. I believe it was after they found that mass that the doctor gave her 3 months. After more tests they found several more tumors on her brain. She went in 1 1/2 months.
Her niece said they wanted to try to get a hold of people but she didn't have very many numbers in her cell phone and the company she worked for wouldn't let them access her email contact list for any personal addresses. They wouldn't even right down the list themselves and give it to the family. So people like me had to find out the way I did, either word of mouth, read the paper or go online. I'm glad I did find out that's for sure.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
I'm hungry!!
I don't know what to say but I feel like saying something. Maybe I should do one of those free association posts. You know the ones, where you write down whatever comes to mind. But the problem there is that I keep thinking about work. And there's nothing interesting about that, at least not right now.
I'm not angry at anything or anyone right now. There's nothing coming up that is all that exciting. Well, that's not entirely true. We are going to see Weird Al Yankovic (is that spelled correctly?) this Sunday night. Hmm, I better make sure I have the tickets.
I was looking into booking a hotel room in Chicago for Labor Day weekend for a nice romantic getaway. I didn't book anything because the three hotels I looked at were all way too damn expensive. The cheapest was for $189.00 a night. Now granted, they were all by the lake and Navy Pier and all 4 star hotels. So yeah, couldn't really expect them to be cheap, but damn. Turns out it's a good thing I didn't book anything though. I completely forgot that that weekend is the fantasy football draft weekend. We have it at our house every year since H Ditty is the commissioner. I guess a weekend getaway is just gonna have to wait.
HD works 12 hour days. He works today and tomorrow. He works from 6:00am to 6:00pm. When I got to work this morning he had already Emailed me giving me a list of the 3 days he has to work overtime. The 3rd day is no biggy, it's on the 31st. It's his day off but since we're not doing what I had planned that weekend (see paragraph above) it's ok. The 2nd day is this Sunday, the say day as Weird Al. Now, it's not until 10:00pm but Weird Al doesn't start until 7:00. So that doesn't leave much time. I have no idea how long his concerts last but I have a feeling we'll have to leave before it's over. Unless HD is able to go in at 11:00 instead. I've asked him to see if he can but he hasn't answered me yet.
The 1st day is tomorrow. Tomorrow people, after he's already worked 12 hours. He's to work from 6 to 6 and then go in 4 hours later at 10pm and work until 6am. Another 8 whole hours. That doesn't even seem legal. But as mentioned, he hasn't answered me yet so who knows, maybe he's actually getting out earlier than 6pm tomorrow.
Boy, it's a good thing Blogger started this automatic save stuff. My computer did one of those the Internet had a problem and we're shutting it down things. But because of this auto save stuff it was all still there. Blogger can suck sometimes but other times it's pretty damn good. But since it's free who am to bitch about it.
It's now later in the morning. 11:25 to be exact. They had to shut down our Internet for a short while so they could work on it and I just now had a chance to come back.
Update...HD sent me an Email saying he looked at some of the dates/times wrong and that he'd be sending me a corrected list but that was around 9:30ish and I still haven't received anything. But he did say that it wasn't illegal to do those hours. Unreal, it should be.
I'm starving but I still have 35 minutes before I can go to lunch. And I don't want what I brought. That sucks big time because there isn't any place close by that would be a quick in and out except for Mickey D's and I don't want that. Which means I have to eat what I brought. Ugh!
Media quote of the day: Sometimes it's as simple as turning 10:30 in the morning into... lunch time! - Gob - Arrested Development
Why does lunch have to be so dull? - Ron Michaelson - Arrested Development
I'm not angry at anything or anyone right now. There's nothing coming up that is all that exciting. Well, that's not entirely true. We are going to see Weird Al Yankovic (is that spelled correctly?) this Sunday night. Hmm, I better make sure I have the tickets.
I was looking into booking a hotel room in Chicago for Labor Day weekend for a nice romantic getaway. I didn't book anything because the three hotels I looked at were all way too damn expensive. The cheapest was for $189.00 a night. Now granted, they were all by the lake and Navy Pier and all 4 star hotels. So yeah, couldn't really expect them to be cheap, but damn. Turns out it's a good thing I didn't book anything though. I completely forgot that that weekend is the fantasy football draft weekend. We have it at our house every year since H Ditty is the commissioner. I guess a weekend getaway is just gonna have to wait.
HD works 12 hour days. He works today and tomorrow. He works from 6:00am to 6:00pm. When I got to work this morning he had already Emailed me giving me a list of the 3 days he has to work overtime. The 3rd day is no biggy, it's on the 31st. It's his day off but since we're not doing what I had planned that weekend (see paragraph above) it's ok. The 2nd day is this Sunday, the say day as Weird Al. Now, it's not until 10:00pm but Weird Al doesn't start until 7:00. So that doesn't leave much time. I have no idea how long his concerts last but I have a feeling we'll have to leave before it's over. Unless HD is able to go in at 11:00 instead. I've asked him to see if he can but he hasn't answered me yet.
The 1st day is tomorrow. Tomorrow people, after he's already worked 12 hours. He's to work from 6 to 6 and then go in 4 hours later at 10pm and work until 6am. Another 8 whole hours. That doesn't even seem legal. But as mentioned, he hasn't answered me yet so who knows, maybe he's actually getting out earlier than 6pm tomorrow.
Boy, it's a good thing Blogger started this automatic save stuff. My computer did one of those the Internet had a problem and we're shutting it down things. But because of this auto save stuff it was all still there. Blogger can suck sometimes but other times it's pretty damn good. But since it's free who am to bitch about it.
It's now later in the morning. 11:25 to be exact. They had to shut down our Internet for a short while so they could work on it and I just now had a chance to come back.
Update...HD sent me an Email saying he looked at some of the dates/times wrong and that he'd be sending me a corrected list but that was around 9:30ish and I still haven't received anything. But he did say that it wasn't illegal to do those hours. Unreal, it should be.
I'm starving but I still have 35 minutes before I can go to lunch. And I don't want what I brought. That sucks big time because there isn't any place close by that would be a quick in and out except for Mickey D's and I don't want that. Which means I have to eat what I brought. Ugh!
Media quote of the day: Sometimes it's as simple as turning 10:30 in the morning into... lunch time! - Gob - Arrested Development
Why does lunch have to be so dull? - Ron Michaelson - Arrested Development
Monday, August 13, 2007
He's home
So, he's home safe and sound. Snatched him from the airport on Saturday around 6ish (in the p.m. that is). Went home and he showed me all the gifts he bought, including mine. Then we, well, you don' t need to know what we did after that. Heh. Then we went out to dinner. We both were looking forward to getting a nice juicy steak but when we got to the restaurant there was a 45 minute wait. Sh'yeah right, we were too damn hungry for that so we left and went to an Italian restaurant instead. I still got a steak and although it was pretty good it wasn't anywhere near as good as it would've been at the steak place. But that's ok, he got his favorite dish at his favorite Italian eatery (not the garden chain but a local place) and even had some left over for another meal.
I've been wanting a new pendant for my necklace for a while now. The one I've been wearing he gave to me for Valentine's Day way back in 1986 for our 1st V-Day together. It's pretty and it suits me just fine, it's a heart with a rose laying on top of it, but the style is a little outdated. So what he bought me is a circle that half is yellow gold and the other half is silver with a small diamond in it. They're also separated, you know like those hearts that are cut in two and usually "best-friends" wear them. Well, this is made to wear together and it fits with our wedding rings. Our rings are yellow gold and platinum, but still since platinum looks like silver it looks the same. The only thing is I'll have to get a new chain for it to look better. The chain I have is just a little too thick since the pendants are small. Not sure if I'll get a gold or silver chain. I prefer gold but my watch is silver so I may go with that. I don't know, I guess it'll depend on what looks best with the pendents.
Sunday was originally supposed to be traveling to a parent's home or two but that didn't happen. I let him sleep until he woke up on his own which was 1 o'clock, cooked breakfast for us both since I hadn't eaten yet either and was starving by then. And then we lazed around together watching World Series of Pop Culture. He spent half the time on the couch with me and half on the computer working on the photos that he'll be exchanging with everyone this evening.
I'm supposed to be meeting him after I get off of work at the restaurant where they're all supposed to be having dinner and exchanging their photos. They should be done eating by the time I get there but that's ok, I'm not a fan of Mexican food so I'll probably nibble on the chips until we leave. Although they do have fried shrimp and the last time I got it it was pretty good. I don't know, I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
Ok, I gotta get going.
Media quote of the day: He needs to go home, he's calling his people, and I don't know where they are, and he needs to go home. - Elliot - E.T." The Extra-Terrestrial
I've been wanting a new pendant for my necklace for a while now. The one I've been wearing he gave to me for Valentine's Day way back in 1986 for our 1st V-Day together. It's pretty and it suits me just fine, it's a heart with a rose laying on top of it, but the style is a little outdated. So what he bought me is a circle that half is yellow gold and the other half is silver with a small diamond in it. They're also separated, you know like those hearts that are cut in two and usually "best-friends" wear them. Well, this is made to wear together and it fits with our wedding rings. Our rings are yellow gold and platinum, but still since platinum looks like silver it looks the same. The only thing is I'll have to get a new chain for it to look better. The chain I have is just a little too thick since the pendants are small. Not sure if I'll get a gold or silver chain. I prefer gold but my watch is silver so I may go with that. I don't know, I guess it'll depend on what looks best with the pendents.
Sunday was originally supposed to be traveling to a parent's home or two but that didn't happen. I let him sleep until he woke up on his own which was 1 o'clock, cooked breakfast for us both since I hadn't eaten yet either and was starving by then. And then we lazed around together watching World Series of Pop Culture. He spent half the time on the couch with me and half on the computer working on the photos that he'll be exchanging with everyone this evening.
I'm supposed to be meeting him after I get off of work at the restaurant where they're all supposed to be having dinner and exchanging their photos. They should be done eating by the time I get there but that's ok, I'm not a fan of Mexican food so I'll probably nibble on the chips until we leave. Although they do have fried shrimp and the last time I got it it was pretty good. I don't know, I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
Ok, I gotta get going.
Media quote of the day: He needs to go home, he's calling his people, and I don't know where they are, and he needs to go home. - Elliot - E.T." The Extra-Terrestrial
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
The computer will be mine!! Woo Hoo!!
So my head is hurting again but luckily it's not a migraine. It's just a normal every day headache.
Only two days and the hubby is home!!!!!!
I went to check my Email this morning and on Yahoo's home page under the newest news they had this link about Buffalo vs lions vs alligator. All I can say is WOW. I started to get tears in my eyes and then couldn't help but smile them away.
I've been doing nothing much but reading like crazy lately. Gotta get it in before H Ditty comes home and we have to get caught up on all the summer shows that have been recording while he's been gone. Because real soon here all the fall shows will be starting. As I've mentioned a time or two before - we watch too damn many shows.
I'm excited though because when he gets back the laptop he's been using will come to me and I'll finally be able to get on the computer whenever I want now instead of having to wait for a time when he doesn't feel like being on it or hasn't made it home from work yet. That's gonna be heaven!
Man, I am loving the hell out of Swan Song. I mentioned it a couple posts ago with a link to the author's home page for the book. This book came out in 1987. I was 17 and an avid book reader, as I still am, and can remember seeing this sitting on the shelf. The devil's grin calling me to pick up the book and buy without even reading what it was about. Now in the check out line I did and was ever so glad I grabbed it. I couldn't put the thing down. It's close to a thousand pages long and I devoured it in a couple days. For the past 20 years I've read it many, many times. I read it every year for the first five or six that I had it. After that it went maybe every other year or so. But the last time I read it was close to 5 years ago now, maybe even longer, not sure exactly. But once again I'm hooked. When I'm not reading it I'm thinking about when I'll be able to get back to it. I've brought it to work with me every day to read while at lunch. Every day someone has decided they wanted to talk to me so I'd only get about 3 or 4 pages read in the 45 minutes I'm down there. Very frustrating but I don't want to be rude. Oh well, that's what I get for sitting a table long enough to fit 8 instead of one of the bar tables that only fits 2.
Media quote of the day: Here we go 'round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush. Here we go 'round the mulberry bush, so early in the morrrning. . . .
Lights out!!! - The Devil - Swan Song
Only two days and the hubby is home!!!!!!
I went to check my Email this morning and on Yahoo's home page under the newest news they had this link about Buffalo vs lions vs alligator. All I can say is WOW. I started to get tears in my eyes and then couldn't help but smile them away.
I've been doing nothing much but reading like crazy lately. Gotta get it in before H Ditty comes home and we have to get caught up on all the summer shows that have been recording while he's been gone. Because real soon here all the fall shows will be starting. As I've mentioned a time or two before - we watch too damn many shows.
I'm excited though because when he gets back the laptop he's been using will come to me and I'll finally be able to get on the computer whenever I want now instead of having to wait for a time when he doesn't feel like being on it or hasn't made it home from work yet. That's gonna be heaven!
Man, I am loving the hell out of Swan Song. I mentioned it a couple posts ago with a link to the author's home page for the book. This book came out in 1987. I was 17 and an avid book reader, as I still am, and can remember seeing this sitting on the shelf. The devil's grin calling me to pick up the book and buy without even reading what it was about. Now in the check out line I did and was ever so glad I grabbed it. I couldn't put the thing down. It's close to a thousand pages long and I devoured it in a couple days. For the past 20 years I've read it many, many times. I read it every year for the first five or six that I had it. After that it went maybe every other year or so. But the last time I read it was close to 5 years ago now, maybe even longer, not sure exactly. But once again I'm hooked. When I'm not reading it I'm thinking about when I'll be able to get back to it. I've brought it to work with me every day to read while at lunch. Every day someone has decided they wanted to talk to me so I'd only get about 3 or 4 pages read in the 45 minutes I'm down there. Very frustrating but I don't want to be rude. Oh well, that's what I get for sitting a table long enough to fit 8 instead of one of the bar tables that only fits 2.
Media quote of the day: Here we go 'round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush. Here we go 'round the mulberry bush, so early in the morrrning. . . .
Lights out!!! - The Devil - Swan Song
Monday, August 6, 2007
5 Random Questions
Natalie did a meme a few days back where she had been asked 5 random questions and offered to ask 5 questions of anyone else who wanted them. I responded I'd like to do it and she complied. Following are those 5 questions and answers.
1. What is the worst job you ever had and why?
In my close to 30 years of working I've really only had a handful of jobs. I started working at the age 8 when I helped my brothers with their paper routes. I didn't do it every day but I did it at least 2 to 3 times a week. By the age of 10 I had taken over one of them for myself. I did the typical babysitting too. For the summer of '85 I worked in Wisconsin Dells as a bus person. My next one was at a Stuckey's, you know the place - Home of the Pecan Log Roll. Then as the salad bar preparer at a grocery store. Then I got my first office job when I was a couple months shy of my 21st birthday. I've been in the office ever since. Mainly doing the same things which would be a mixture of admin assistant and/or accounting person. I prefer the accounting work to any other office work. None of these jobs were bad in and of themselves. So I can't say I had a bad job, I can only say I had a bad place of employment.
That would be the place I worked at just before my current place. I was only there 5 months but I knew after 1 that I shouldn't be there anymore. The ad gave the impression along with the owner in the interview that most of my work would be on the accounting side. I'd be doing what's called "pay requests" in the construction industry. And then I'd also being some admin assistant work. Turns out I was doing the admin stuff most every and in those 5 months I only did 3 pay requests. I was not a happy camper. Plus the bossman was a total asshat. He was rude and loud. Not only to me but many other people. His own partner I could tell didn't really respect him. Actually, no one seemed to. If you go back and read any of my first few months of the archives you'd see how bored I was also. I'm too lazy to link to any right now so if you're interested you'll just have to go to the links on the side. There were days that I literally did about 30 minutes of work. Those were mostly the days he wasn't there, but there were a few even when he was. There just wasn't any work to be done. I actually considered putting a tally on my sidebar for the hours/days I actually did real work. I think I did more for the restaurant that he owned than I did for the construction company. Hated this place, absolutely hated it. I was extremely happy the day he called me in to his office to say he'd been going back and forth about firing me or not and then I made it easy on him and said I'd been seriously thinking about quitting for the last month. So we mutually agreed it was for the best and I was outta there!
2. If you magically spoke every language in the world and were given the chance to move anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
This one is easy. I'd divide my time equally between Ireland and Scotland with a trip or two to England thrown in from time to time. Basically it started with my love of THE QUEEN, Elizabeth I. But my interest quickly moved over to Ireland and Scotland. I love the way they talk and would love to speak Gaelic. I love their music. I love their landscape. I love their castles and keeps. I love their history. My dream vacation is to go to both these places with a side trip to England. I actually know more of England's history as I have a fascination with it's kings and queens. But I have several books on Ireland and Scotland that I'm in various stages of reading.
3. Who was your first BFF and are you still friends?
Well let's see. This one is kind of hard to say. In grade school I had several girlfriends that I hung out with quite a bit. But it was more like we were all best friends then just one single girl and I. I was good friends with Monica starting in 5th grade and continuing until 6th but there were times that she more than annoyed the shit out of me. But the girl I seemed to have a real connection with would be Theresa. If my scanner were hooked up and working I'd put a picture here of them both but it's not so I can't. Anyway, Theresa moved into the neighborhood in the summer before our 6th year. I met her through a girl I had known for basically our whole lives and hung out with from time to time. She was a little jealous that Terry and I hit it off so quickly and definitely more strongly then they did. I felt bad but at the same time I was ecstatic that I had this friend.
But as so many good things, this was not meant to last. Her father worked for Westinghouse and he'd get transferred quite a bit. They were only there for a little over one year. She was gone before the middle of 7th grade. I didn't get another BFF until the end of 8th. Nope, not friends with either of them anymore. The 1st one moved away, then I was the one to move away. I got two new BFF's in Louisiana and one of them I'm still friends with. Although she lives in Tennessee now and we only communicate every now and then through Emails as neither one of us are phone people.
4. If you had your dream house (and maybe you already do) what would it be like?
Well, I certainly don't have my dream house now, which is a pity. My, or I should say our dream house since we both agree, would be a cabin in the woods on a hillside or mountain on our own secluded lake. Or at the very least a very large pond. It would be a cross between rustic and not so rustic. Wood would be everywhere, including exposed beams. There would be a large fireplace either filling up one wall or an open one between the living room and dining room. The downstairs would be an open space, basically one huge room but each place would be defined. Windows from top to bottom looking out over the lake and another wall of them looking into the woods. There'd be a loft for the computer area. There'd be 3 bedrooms with a fireplace in each and their own bathrooms. Or maybe the two extra rooms would share one between them. The master bedroom would have it's own balcony overlooking the lake. There'd be a library, and well, I could go on and on. But basically that's our dream house.
5. You get one wish but you cannot use it on yourself. You also cannot wish for anything that will influence many people. Who do you bestow your wish upon and what do you wish for them?
This one is hard. I've thought about it on and off ever since I read it back on Friday afternoon. The whole not influencing a lot of people of course rules out anyone "famous" or "infamous" for whatever reason they might be famous or "infamous" for. So it basically boils down to the people in my life. In my immediate vicinity there are a few people that I'd wish things for. One is my mother-in-law. She hasn't had the easiest life and she definitely deserves a good one. H Ditty himself I'd wish to get rid of his psoriasis because it's such a pain in the ass and when it really flares up it bugs him to no end. But for the most part both of them are doing ok. His mom has her own home and she has 3 children and two beautiful grandchildren. HD has a pretty good life and of course ME!
So I guess I'd have to say the person I'd wish my wish on would be my brother Roy. He's the 3rd oldest and smack dab in the middle of us 5 kids. He's the typical middle child. He caused the most trouble in the family and of course the most heartache to our mom. She raised us all by herself. Our dad was a deadbeat dad. At the age of 15 I could count on one hand the times that he spent any significant amount of time with us and he certainly didn't help financially. My brothers could have used a good strong male influence in their lives but they didn't get it. And Roy seemed the one to need it the most. He skipped school a lot, he was the first one to smoke, drink and do drugs. Rather than the oldest influencing the younger kids he influenced the older two and got them to smoke, drink and do drugs. He was 13, at least that I know of, the first time he smoked pot and it went down hill from there. Although he didn't get into heavy drugs until much later he had already ruined his life.
Out of all five of us he was the one with talent. He could draw really well. Not only could he look at a picture and draw it just about perfectly he could do pictures out of his own head. He liked to use chalk and mom encouraged him by buying him sets for Christmas and birthdays along with charcoal and pencils. He'd use them for awhile and then stop. We both told him many times to apply for those schools where you draw the turtle and send it in. But he never did. He also was a whiz at electricity. He did many things around the house when things needed fixing. Sometimes they'd be jury rigged but they were well done nonetheless. He was able to do this without anyone teaching him. So we both of course encouraged him to become an electrician. Nope no go. I can honestly say I don't remember any job he had, besides those paper routes when he was younger, before I moved to Louisiana when I was 16. After that I know he got a roofing job because while on the 2nd floor roof of a house he slipped and fell off it. When he fell he knew he had to do what we're all taught from a young age, immediately roll upon landing. But he couldn't. There was a truck right there that he'd crash into and then the ladder and something else that I can't remember now in the only other direction he could've rolled. So he fell flat on his feet breaking every bone in one of them and just about every one in the other.
He got a really good settlement out of it too, not just workman's comp. But he blew it all on drugs and alcohol. He's an alcoholic and drug addict but he's a really good guy. He lives in Florida now. The last we heard (he doesn't have his own phone or apartment for that matter) he was still working and living with a coworker and friend. But the friend who's number my mom had has been disconnected. She sent a letter to their home telling him to call but he hasn't. He's in his early 40's now. So my wish would be for him to get the help he needs to get himself clean and sober. For him to find a job that he truly loves and can support himself in his own apartment with his own phone. Someplace where he can have insurance and start being able to save so he won't HAVE to work until the day he dies.
I love my brother very much. I'm grateful that he's not like a bunch of other druggies out there. He's not stealing or doing anything else illegal to support his habit. He still works, he's a functioning druggie. But he's still a druggie and he needs help. But he won't let the family help him. He came back and lived here for close to 3 years not long ago. The older brothers along with mom tried to help him but it just didn't work out and he moved back to Florida. I know he's not happy and that he misses all of us. I know this because when he actually does resurface and talk to mom she'll ask him why he doesn't call more often and he usually gets emotional and says it's because he misses all of us, that he's homesick but at the same time doesn't want to live where it's cold. He's always loved the summer. It hurts him to think about all of us up here and how he's missing out on his nieces and nephews. I wish he could have a better life.
Media quote of the day: You know the kinda guy who does nothing but bad things and then wonders why his life sucks? Well, that was me. Every time something good happened to me, something bad was always waiting around the corner. Karma. That's when I realized I had to change. So I made a list of everything bad I've ever done, and one by one I'm gonna make up for all my mistakes. I'm just trying to be a better person. My name is Earl. - Earl - My Name is Earl
This would be a step in the right direction for Roy.
1. What is the worst job you ever had and why?
In my close to 30 years of working I've really only had a handful of jobs. I started working at the age 8 when I helped my brothers with their paper routes. I didn't do it every day but I did it at least 2 to 3 times a week. By the age of 10 I had taken over one of them for myself. I did the typical babysitting too. For the summer of '85 I worked in Wisconsin Dells as a bus person. My next one was at a Stuckey's, you know the place - Home of the Pecan Log Roll. Then as the salad bar preparer at a grocery store. Then I got my first office job when I was a couple months shy of my 21st birthday. I've been in the office ever since. Mainly doing the same things which would be a mixture of admin assistant and/or accounting person. I prefer the accounting work to any other office work. None of these jobs were bad in and of themselves. So I can't say I had a bad job, I can only say I had a bad place of employment.
That would be the place I worked at just before my current place. I was only there 5 months but I knew after 1 that I shouldn't be there anymore. The ad gave the impression along with the owner in the interview that most of my work would be on the accounting side. I'd be doing what's called "pay requests" in the construction industry. And then I'd also being some admin assistant work. Turns out I was doing the admin stuff most every and in those 5 months I only did 3 pay requests. I was not a happy camper. Plus the bossman was a total asshat. He was rude and loud. Not only to me but many other people. His own partner I could tell didn't really respect him. Actually, no one seemed to. If you go back and read any of my first few months of the archives you'd see how bored I was also. I'm too lazy to link to any right now so if you're interested you'll just have to go to the links on the side. There were days that I literally did about 30 minutes of work. Those were mostly the days he wasn't there, but there were a few even when he was. There just wasn't any work to be done. I actually considered putting a tally on my sidebar for the hours/days I actually did real work. I think I did more for the restaurant that he owned than I did for the construction company. Hated this place, absolutely hated it. I was extremely happy the day he called me in to his office to say he'd been going back and forth about firing me or not and then I made it easy on him and said I'd been seriously thinking about quitting for the last month. So we mutually agreed it was for the best and I was outta there!
2. If you magically spoke every language in the world and were given the chance to move anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
This one is easy. I'd divide my time equally between Ireland and Scotland with a trip or two to England thrown in from time to time. Basically it started with my love of THE QUEEN, Elizabeth I. But my interest quickly moved over to Ireland and Scotland. I love the way they talk and would love to speak Gaelic. I love their music. I love their landscape. I love their castles and keeps. I love their history. My dream vacation is to go to both these places with a side trip to England. I actually know more of England's history as I have a fascination with it's kings and queens. But I have several books on Ireland and Scotland that I'm in various stages of reading.
3. Who was your first BFF and are you still friends?
Well let's see. This one is kind of hard to say. In grade school I had several girlfriends that I hung out with quite a bit. But it was more like we were all best friends then just one single girl and I. I was good friends with Monica starting in 5th grade and continuing until 6th but there were times that she more than annoyed the shit out of me. But the girl I seemed to have a real connection with would be Theresa. If my scanner were hooked up and working I'd put a picture here of them both but it's not so I can't. Anyway, Theresa moved into the neighborhood in the summer before our 6th year. I met her through a girl I had known for basically our whole lives and hung out with from time to time. She was a little jealous that Terry and I hit it off so quickly and definitely more strongly then they did. I felt bad but at the same time I was ecstatic that I had this friend.
But as so many good things, this was not meant to last. Her father worked for Westinghouse and he'd get transferred quite a bit. They were only there for a little over one year. She was gone before the middle of 7th grade. I didn't get another BFF until the end of 8th. Nope, not friends with either of them anymore. The 1st one moved away, then I was the one to move away. I got two new BFF's in Louisiana and one of them I'm still friends with. Although she lives in Tennessee now and we only communicate every now and then through Emails as neither one of us are phone people.
4. If you had your dream house (and maybe you already do) what would it be like?
Well, I certainly don't have my dream house now, which is a pity. My, or I should say our dream house since we both agree, would be a cabin in the woods on a hillside or mountain on our own secluded lake. Or at the very least a very large pond. It would be a cross between rustic and not so rustic. Wood would be everywhere, including exposed beams. There would be a large fireplace either filling up one wall or an open one between the living room and dining room. The downstairs would be an open space, basically one huge room but each place would be defined. Windows from top to bottom looking out over the lake and another wall of them looking into the woods. There'd be a loft for the computer area. There'd be 3 bedrooms with a fireplace in each and their own bathrooms. Or maybe the two extra rooms would share one between them. The master bedroom would have it's own balcony overlooking the lake. There'd be a library, and well, I could go on and on. But basically that's our dream house.
5. You get one wish but you cannot use it on yourself. You also cannot wish for anything that will influence many people. Who do you bestow your wish upon and what do you wish for them?
This one is hard. I've thought about it on and off ever since I read it back on Friday afternoon. The whole not influencing a lot of people of course rules out anyone "famous" or "infamous" for whatever reason they might be famous or "infamous" for. So it basically boils down to the people in my life. In my immediate vicinity there are a few people that I'd wish things for. One is my mother-in-law. She hasn't had the easiest life and she definitely deserves a good one. H Ditty himself I'd wish to get rid of his psoriasis because it's such a pain in the ass and when it really flares up it bugs him to no end. But for the most part both of them are doing ok. His mom has her own home and she has 3 children and two beautiful grandchildren. HD has a pretty good life and of course ME!
So I guess I'd have to say the person I'd wish my wish on would be my brother Roy. He's the 3rd oldest and smack dab in the middle of us 5 kids. He's the typical middle child. He caused the most trouble in the family and of course the most heartache to our mom. She raised us all by herself. Our dad was a deadbeat dad. At the age of 15 I could count on one hand the times that he spent any significant amount of time with us and he certainly didn't help financially. My brothers could have used a good strong male influence in their lives but they didn't get it. And Roy seemed the one to need it the most. He skipped school a lot, he was the first one to smoke, drink and do drugs. Rather than the oldest influencing the younger kids he influenced the older two and got them to smoke, drink and do drugs. He was 13, at least that I know of, the first time he smoked pot and it went down hill from there. Although he didn't get into heavy drugs until much later he had already ruined his life.
Out of all five of us he was the one with talent. He could draw really well. Not only could he look at a picture and draw it just about perfectly he could do pictures out of his own head. He liked to use chalk and mom encouraged him by buying him sets for Christmas and birthdays along with charcoal and pencils. He'd use them for awhile and then stop. We both told him many times to apply for those schools where you draw the turtle and send it in. But he never did. He also was a whiz at electricity. He did many things around the house when things needed fixing. Sometimes they'd be jury rigged but they were well done nonetheless. He was able to do this without anyone teaching him. So we both of course encouraged him to become an electrician. Nope no go. I can honestly say I don't remember any job he had, besides those paper routes when he was younger, before I moved to Louisiana when I was 16. After that I know he got a roofing job because while on the 2nd floor roof of a house he slipped and fell off it. When he fell he knew he had to do what we're all taught from a young age, immediately roll upon landing. But he couldn't. There was a truck right there that he'd crash into and then the ladder and something else that I can't remember now in the only other direction he could've rolled. So he fell flat on his feet breaking every bone in one of them and just about every one in the other.
He got a really good settlement out of it too, not just workman's comp. But he blew it all on drugs and alcohol. He's an alcoholic and drug addict but he's a really good guy. He lives in Florida now. The last we heard (he doesn't have his own phone or apartment for that matter) he was still working and living with a coworker and friend. But the friend who's number my mom had has been disconnected. She sent a letter to their home telling him to call but he hasn't. He's in his early 40's now. So my wish would be for him to get the help he needs to get himself clean and sober. For him to find a job that he truly loves and can support himself in his own apartment with his own phone. Someplace where he can have insurance and start being able to save so he won't HAVE to work until the day he dies.
I love my brother very much. I'm grateful that he's not like a bunch of other druggies out there. He's not stealing or doing anything else illegal to support his habit. He still works, he's a functioning druggie. But he's still a druggie and he needs help. But he won't let the family help him. He came back and lived here for close to 3 years not long ago. The older brothers along with mom tried to help him but it just didn't work out and he moved back to Florida. I know he's not happy and that he misses all of us. I know this because when he actually does resurface and talk to mom she'll ask him why he doesn't call more often and he usually gets emotional and says it's because he misses all of us, that he's homesick but at the same time doesn't want to live where it's cold. He's always loved the summer. It hurts him to think about all of us up here and how he's missing out on his nieces and nephews. I wish he could have a better life.
Media quote of the day: You know the kinda guy who does nothing but bad things and then wonders why his life sucks? Well, that was me. Every time something good happened to me, something bad was always waiting around the corner. Karma. That's when I realized I had to change. So I made a list of everything bad I've ever done, and one by one I'm gonna make up for all my mistakes. I'm just trying to be a better person. My name is Earl. - Earl - My Name is Earl
This would be a step in the right direction for Roy.
Friday, August 3, 2007
A short one where I talk about a few books, etc.
This is a nice guy. His name is Harry Potter and he resides in Florida. He'll actually talk to the kids who've convinced their parents to call him up. It's too cute.
For those of you who'd like a few more answer's about the fictional Harry Potter.
Since I finished those books I went back to my Earth's Children series. I'm in the 5th book which is the last one Jean Auel wrote. Supposedly she's working on the next one, she figures there'll be 7 in all. I'm liking them even though she can get a bit wordy in her descriptions of the land and all it provides.
After I'm done with that I'm going back to reread Robert R. McCammon's
Swan Song. I absolutely love this book and have read it a good many times. It's been several years since I did though and I've been thinking about doing it again for close to a year now. If you love a good looonnnggg book this is the one for you. It has several stories that are being told at once and he does a great job of doing it and then they all converge together near the end and he does an even better job of doing that. Love McCammon's work.
Well, I was gonna write more but my food just got here so I'm gonna go ahead and hit publish and go eat.
Media quote of the day, well not so much a quote as the synopsis from the dust jacket:
On the edge of a barren Kansas landscape, an ex-wrestler called Black Frankenstein hears the cry..."Protect the Child!"---In the wasteland of New York City, a bag lady clutches a strange glass ring and feels magic coursing through her---Within an Idaho mountain, a survivalist compound lies in ruins, and a young boy learns how to kill.
In a wasteland born of nuclear rage, in a world of mutant animals and marauding armies, the last people on earth are now the first. Three bands of survivors journey toward destiny---drawn into the final struggle between annihilation and life!
They have survived the unsurvivable. Now the ultimate terror begins
For those of you who'd like a few more answer's about the fictional Harry Potter.
Since I finished those books I went back to my Earth's Children series. I'm in the 5th book which is the last one Jean Auel wrote. Supposedly she's working on the next one, she figures there'll be 7 in all. I'm liking them even though she can get a bit wordy in her descriptions of the land and all it provides.
After I'm done with that I'm going back to reread Robert R. McCammon's
Swan Song. I absolutely love this book and have read it a good many times. It's been several years since I did though and I've been thinking about doing it again for close to a year now. If you love a good looonnnggg book this is the one for you. It has several stories that are being told at once and he does a great job of doing it and then they all converge together near the end and he does an even better job of doing that. Love McCammon's work.
Well, I was gonna write more but my food just got here so I'm gonna go ahead and hit publish and go eat.
Media quote of the day, well not so much a quote as the synopsis from the dust jacket:
On the edge of a barren Kansas landscape, an ex-wrestler called Black Frankenstein hears the cry..."Protect the Child!"---In the wasteland of New York City, a bag lady clutches a strange glass ring and feels magic coursing through her---Within an Idaho mountain, a survivalist compound lies in ruins, and a young boy learns how to kill.
In a wasteland born of nuclear rage, in a world of mutant animals and marauding armies, the last people on earth are now the first. Three bands of survivors journey toward destiny---drawn into the final struggle between annihilation and life!
They have survived the unsurvivable. Now the ultimate terror begins
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Push the damn paper down people!!
How difficult is it to push paper down in a wastebasket?
I only ask because my coworkers are starting to frustrate me. As any good accounting department should, we have a paper shredder. It's the kind that sits on top of a square garbage can so the shredded paper goes directly into the bag and it's all ready to be taken out at the end of the day. With a total of 7 people, minimum, who's using it throughout the day, well you can image how it'll fill up pretty quickly. But here's the thing. Paper doesn't really squish that well, at least not when it's paper pushing on paper. Especially when it's shredded, it gets fluffy so there's all this space in between. When the shredded paper is at the top of the can and I go to use the thing I push the paper down, most of the time I can push it pretty damn far down.
If you don't push it down the new shredded paper takes longer to go through, it comes out all crinkly (not that that's a big deal but still) and the machine itself has trouble because the paper can't go anywhere since it's hitting all the others. There have been times that it's jammed because of this. No one, and I mean no one - this is so not an exaggeration, pushes the paper down but me. Why? Why doesn't anyone else do it? I mean, it takes all of 3 seconds to lean over and push down. And now we have all this nice empty space to fill again.
Ugh!!
How's your day so far?
Media quote of the day: If I don't see a door in my station in 5 seconds, I will personally put you through the shredder. - Randall - Monster, Inc. I love this movie!!!!
I only ask because my coworkers are starting to frustrate me. As any good accounting department should, we have a paper shredder. It's the kind that sits on top of a square garbage can so the shredded paper goes directly into the bag and it's all ready to be taken out at the end of the day. With a total of 7 people, minimum, who's using it throughout the day, well you can image how it'll fill up pretty quickly. But here's the thing. Paper doesn't really squish that well, at least not when it's paper pushing on paper. Especially when it's shredded, it gets fluffy so there's all this space in between. When the shredded paper is at the top of the can and I go to use the thing I push the paper down, most of the time I can push it pretty damn far down.
If you don't push it down the new shredded paper takes longer to go through, it comes out all crinkly (not that that's a big deal but still) and the machine itself has trouble because the paper can't go anywhere since it's hitting all the others. There have been times that it's jammed because of this. No one, and I mean no one - this is so not an exaggeration, pushes the paper down but me. Why? Why doesn't anyone else do it? I mean, it takes all of 3 seconds to lean over and push down. And now we have all this nice empty space to fill again.
Ugh!!
How's your day so far?
Media quote of the day: If I don't see a door in my station in 5 seconds, I will personally put you through the shredder. - Randall - Monster, Inc. I love this movie!!!!
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