Went to WalMart the other night for the obligatory shopping trip. Actually hadn't been in a while.....the last two weeks at work have been insane. I've not gotten home before 9:30 hardly any night, plus had to work one of the Saturdays. So as a result, I've not gotten hardly anything taken care of, and I needed a few things from the store to assist in my day-to-day survival. So, off to Mansfield Mom and I went.
We had been shopping about 4 hours or more, and were pretty tired and ready to go home. Fortunately, we got in Debbie's checkout line. I go to this WalMart a lot, and there have actually been times I've walked up and down the checkouts to see if Debbie is working. Why? Because she seems to be an awesome individual. First of all, she does her job well. She keeps her line moving. And she is always, always, always as friendly as you could want. Much more so than the ones that frown and growl and seem to hate their jobs. She was as chipper as ever that night...Mom commented on how happy she seemed. "Hey, life is what you make it," she said. "They ain't gonna dictate to me how my emotions should go. I'm happy to be alive!"
What an awesome lady.
I don't know if she knows how her attitude is a lift to mine when I go through that line exhausted and wore out from dragging all over the store. But I'm going to write management out there and tell them. Surely they know it, but just in case nobody's acknowledged it....I want to Debbie to know she makes a difference.
Going home we got to talking about the last time our church ladies group made pumpkin rolls. We go to Sam's Club and buy like 400 pounds of sugar and cream cheese and eggs and flour....people stare a lot at us during that trip and about half of the store strikes up a conversation trying to guess what we're making.
Well, last time we had a flatbed full, and I guess I was having a bit of trouble after I had loaded off about half of the sugar and flour and stuff. I heard this man standing in the next aisle handed his items to his son and said "Hold this...I'll be right back." Suddenly the 25 pound bag of sugar I was trying to heave up to the counter was light as a feather as he took hold of it. "Here," he said, "let me get the rest of that."
The kindness of a stranger. I thanked him several times before he and his son paid for their goods and vanished into the world...how often I wish I'd have gotten his name and took him a pumpkin roll. I pray God repays him somewhere in life for his kindness.
Tonight I helped Mammy fling buckets of water out of her pool so we could try and get the hose in it to drain. She helped me get my "new" $35 lawnmower in the trunk of my car and to my house, and move and assemble some furniture to boot. The world seems so much better we all just take a few minutes to help each other out, doesn't it?
So, when I'm feeling grumpy or grouchy or whatever the sour mood is, I try to keep in mind Debbie and the mystery pumpkin roll man. Because if they can take the time to make somebody's day a little better, surely I can too!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The Cable Saga continued...
Well, the cable issue is finally resolved. I guess.
I worked from home Tuesday so they could come fix this leakage issue I'm having. (That does not sound good at all.) So around 2 I was walking through the house and I see the van drive by. But it does not stop. Well, this alarms me....so I go running out the door yelling at the dude that this was the house he wanted.
My neighbors are probably REALLY glad I moved into this place by now..
Anyway, he didn't stop. Great!! So I go back to work, fuming, figuring I'm going to have to fight with them again over getting out here. About 15 minutes later the doorbell rings. Ah...he found his way back. The dude's name is Tim, and he's carrying a little device that is making a noise similar to the sound of a cat in a blender. Not that I've ever put a cat in a blender, but if I were to hear a cat in blender, I would imagine it would sound much like this "EEEeeeeuuuuuuaaaaahhhheeehhauuuauuehehhhhhh" sound that this thing was making.
Very annoying.
So I take Tim all through the house while he points the little thing and mutters a lot. After about 15 minutes he changes some ends to some of the cables, then says he thinks it will be OK but if I get tagged again to call him and he'll have to change outlets. I mention that his little cat-in-a-blender device is still screaming just as loudly as it did when he first arrived. He agrees that could be a problem, but he's not sure that it even works right to start with.
Dear lord....this is never going to end.
So Tim leaves, and I go back to work. Then about 15 minutes later the doorbell rings again. Another dude (don't know his name) who says he just talked to Tim and he doesn't think he did everything he should have, so could he come in and look at my cables. I ask him if he even works for the cable company because there is no identifying marks on him....he pulls out an ID tag, so I let him in.
Then I traipse him all over the house much like I had done with Tim. He doesn't mutter as much as Tim, but does start identifying things that need fixed. So off to work he goes. For 2 1/2 hours. Which means he cut off the cable for a while, and the working from home thing kind of went ca put at that point. Finally he tells me that he's got the Internet back up if I wanted to try it again.
So I come in here and fire up the laptop, and for some reason feel compelled to open my blog site. Of course, the last blog I had done pops up........titled.......I Hate The Cable Company.
Thank God he was not looking over my shoulder!
Then it starts opening multiple sessions, so it's popping up all over the screen. Good Grief! I frantically get it shut down just as he shows up asking, "Is it OK?"
Yeah, yeah....really good. Thanks for asking!
Anyway, whoever mystery man number 2 was seems to have known what he was doing and hopefully has taken care of all of the problems.
For the time being, anyway!
I worked from home Tuesday so they could come fix this leakage issue I'm having. (That does not sound good at all.) So around 2 I was walking through the house and I see the van drive by. But it does not stop. Well, this alarms me....so I go running out the door yelling at the dude that this was the house he wanted.
My neighbors are probably REALLY glad I moved into this place by now..
Anyway, he didn't stop. Great!! So I go back to work, fuming, figuring I'm going to have to fight with them again over getting out here. About 15 minutes later the doorbell rings. Ah...he found his way back. The dude's name is Tim, and he's carrying a little device that is making a noise similar to the sound of a cat in a blender. Not that I've ever put a cat in a blender, but if I were to hear a cat in blender, I would imagine it would sound much like this "EEEeeeeuuuuuuaaaaahhhheeehhauuuauuehehhhhhh" sound that this thing was making.
Very annoying.
So I take Tim all through the house while he points the little thing and mutters a lot. After about 15 minutes he changes some ends to some of the cables, then says he thinks it will be OK but if I get tagged again to call him and he'll have to change outlets. I mention that his little cat-in-a-blender device is still screaming just as loudly as it did when he first arrived. He agrees that could be a problem, but he's not sure that it even works right to start with.
Dear lord....this is never going to end.
So Tim leaves, and I go back to work. Then about 15 minutes later the doorbell rings again. Another dude (don't know his name) who says he just talked to Tim and he doesn't think he did everything he should have, so could he come in and look at my cables. I ask him if he even works for the cable company because there is no identifying marks on him....he pulls out an ID tag, so I let him in.
Then I traipse him all over the house much like I had done with Tim. He doesn't mutter as much as Tim, but does start identifying things that need fixed. So off to work he goes. For 2 1/2 hours. Which means he cut off the cable for a while, and the working from home thing kind of went ca put at that point. Finally he tells me that he's got the Internet back up if I wanted to try it again.
So I come in here and fire up the laptop, and for some reason feel compelled to open my blog site. Of course, the last blog I had done pops up........titled.......I Hate The Cable Company.
Thank God he was not looking over my shoulder!
Then it starts opening multiple sessions, so it's popping up all over the screen. Good Grief! I frantically get it shut down just as he shows up asking, "Is it OK?"
Yeah, yeah....really good. Thanks for asking!
Anyway, whoever mystery man number 2 was seems to have known what he was doing and hopefully has taken care of all of the problems.
For the time being, anyway!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
I Hate The Cable Company
Well, here's the next thrilling update on the ongoing saga of my ignorant cable company and the signal leakage that is threatening to command an airplane to land on top of my house....
At about 7:00 Saturday night, after waiting all day, I got fed up and called the company. The lady proceeds to inform me that someone came to my house and could not get in.
Uhm...I don't think so.
No - I inform her I was here all day and if they had called like they said they would and/or rang the doorbell and/or knocked on the door, I would have let them in. She couldn't tell me what time they came, because apparently there is no accountability as to logging such things when you work for this company. But they did leave another tag on the door.
Uhm...I don't think so.
I go to both doors and look...no tag. Then I kind of blew up on her. I'm really tired of dealing with these nuts. She of course does the obligatory apology and then asks if I want to reschedule for Sunday. The conversation proceeds as follows:
ME: NO....I have Church on Sunday.
Cable Chick: Oh, OK, well, how about next week then?
ME: Excuse me?? I can't sit here all day long waiting for you people to show up again! I have a full-time job!! How do you think I pay for this cable??!
Cable Chick: Oh, I understand ma'am...
ME: NO...I don't think you do!
Cable Chick: Well....I'm not sure what else we can do
ME: I'm sure you're not sure! I suppose I have to try and find a day that I can re-arrange everything for you guys AGAIN! I'll tell you this much, if I stay home all day long waiting for them again, they better break down the door if they have to to get in here and take care of this mess!
Cable Chick: I understand ma'am...
ME: And one other thing....that note they left the other day said my service would be discontinued if this was not corrected. I would expect that under no circumstances will my service be disrupted over this, because if it is I'm going to throw the biggest conniption fit you've ever seen!
Cable Chick: I understand ma'am....I'll be sure to update your file with that information.
ME: .................................(silence because now I'm just too mad to talk at all)
Cable Chick: Well ma'am, while I have you on the phone I would like to tell you about our latest movie channel offer for just $17 a month....
ME: Are you kidding me??!
Cable Chick: Oh, so you're not interested....
I hate the cable company. I really do.
At about 7:00 Saturday night, after waiting all day, I got fed up and called the company. The lady proceeds to inform me that someone came to my house and could not get in.
Uhm...I don't think so.
No - I inform her I was here all day and if they had called like they said they would and/or rang the doorbell and/or knocked on the door, I would have let them in. She couldn't tell me what time they came, because apparently there is no accountability as to logging such things when you work for this company. But they did leave another tag on the door.
Uhm...I don't think so.
I go to both doors and look...no tag. Then I kind of blew up on her. I'm really tired of dealing with these nuts. She of course does the obligatory apology and then asks if I want to reschedule for Sunday. The conversation proceeds as follows:
ME: NO....I have Church on Sunday.
Cable Chick: Oh, OK, well, how about next week then?
ME: Excuse me?? I can't sit here all day long waiting for you people to show up again! I have a full-time job!! How do you think I pay for this cable??!
Cable Chick: Oh, I understand ma'am...
ME: NO...I don't think you do!
Cable Chick: Well....I'm not sure what else we can do
ME: I'm sure you're not sure! I suppose I have to try and find a day that I can re-arrange everything for you guys AGAIN! I'll tell you this much, if I stay home all day long waiting for them again, they better break down the door if they have to to get in here and take care of this mess!
Cable Chick: I understand ma'am...
ME: And one other thing....that note they left the other day said my service would be discontinued if this was not corrected. I would expect that under no circumstances will my service be disrupted over this, because if it is I'm going to throw the biggest conniption fit you've ever seen!
Cable Chick: I understand ma'am....I'll be sure to update your file with that information.
ME: .................................(silence because now I'm just too mad to talk at all)
Cable Chick: Well ma'am, while I have you on the phone I would like to tell you about our latest movie channel offer for just $17 a month....
ME: Are you kidding me??!
Cable Chick: Oh, so you're not interested....
I hate the cable company. I really do.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
The Waiting Game
Today has been an unusual day. I've been home all day. ALL DAY. That never happens. And truth be told, it probably only happened today because I'm being held hostage by the cable company. Again.
I came home the other day and found a little card on my front door that said I had missed my cable appointment. Which was very odd since I didn't know I had a cable appointment. Upon reading the other side, it had this note on there that said they had detected "signal leakage" coming from my house, which was very serious and my cable could be turned off if it were not fixed and they needed to get in the house to do it.
That's one of the weirdest things I've ever heard of.
So I called them and asked them if this was real or if somebody was just trying to break into my house. They claimed it's real. So they give me an appointment of Saturday from 8 to 8. Yes, you read it right....a 12 hour time span to sit here and wait for the guy to show up.
Now, since I've had all day to contemplate this, I wonder...why as a society do we allow them to get away with this? Imagine if we told our doctors..."Ah, I'll be there sometime between 8 and 8. Just hang out until I show up." It's kind of insane. I mean, are re-runs of Friends and documentaries about people going through psychotherapy for obsessive compulsive disorders really worth this?
Apparently they are.
So, I got up and worked a little in the office...and waited.
Then I started cleaning the kitchen....and waited.
Then Mom came by and pulled some of my weeds and looked through my shed, and I continued to wait.
Then she went to Mansfield and I had lunch and fell asleep on the couch while I waited.
Then she came back with a mirror for me and left her Wendy's trash.....and I continued to wait.
And now I blog.
And wait.
And hope I'm not being slowly irradiated by the cable signals leaking out all over my house.
I'll keep you posted...
I came home the other day and found a little card on my front door that said I had missed my cable appointment. Which was very odd since I didn't know I had a cable appointment. Upon reading the other side, it had this note on there that said they had detected "signal leakage" coming from my house, which was very serious and my cable could be turned off if it were not fixed and they needed to get in the house to do it.
That's one of the weirdest things I've ever heard of.
So I called them and asked them if this was real or if somebody was just trying to break into my house. They claimed it's real. So they give me an appointment of Saturday from 8 to 8. Yes, you read it right....a 12 hour time span to sit here and wait for the guy to show up.
Now, since I've had all day to contemplate this, I wonder...why as a society do we allow them to get away with this? Imagine if we told our doctors..."Ah, I'll be there sometime between 8 and 8. Just hang out until I show up." It's kind of insane. I mean, are re-runs of Friends and documentaries about people going through psychotherapy for obsessive compulsive disorders really worth this?
Apparently they are.
So, I got up and worked a little in the office...and waited.
Then I started cleaning the kitchen....and waited.
Then Mom came by and pulled some of my weeds and looked through my shed, and I continued to wait.
Then she went to Mansfield and I had lunch and fell asleep on the couch while I waited.
Then she came back with a mirror for me and left her Wendy's trash.....and I continued to wait.
And now I blog.
And wait.
And hope I'm not being slowly irradiated by the cable signals leaking out all over my house.
I'll keep you posted...
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Fortune Teller
Today I went to the local Chinese buffet for lunch. At the end of the meal, of course they brought out the little obligatory fortune cookie. I don't know why I read those things. I mean, a little slip of paper in a stale little glob of dough that, in my opinion, doesn't even have a right to really call itself a cookie...who came up with this idea?
I wouldn't mind so much if they were actually "fortunes". But mine never are. Today's was "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." That is not a fortune. That's a strange little saying that I'm not even sure really makes a lot of sense. Or maybe it does too obviously make sense. Either way, what am I supposed to do with that??
The worst one I ever got....no kidding....said "You love Chinese food". Tell me really, someone gets paid to come up with these things????
So at the end of every Chinese meal I tell myself I'm not going to read the fortune. Then I read it anyway. Someone should write me a REAL fortune. I can see it now:
"We knew you were going to read this. Now eat your cookie."
I wouldn't mind so much if they were actually "fortunes". But mine never are. Today's was "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." That is not a fortune. That's a strange little saying that I'm not even sure really makes a lot of sense. Or maybe it does too obviously make sense. Either way, what am I supposed to do with that??
The worst one I ever got....no kidding....said "You love Chinese food". Tell me really, someone gets paid to come up with these things????
So at the end of every Chinese meal I tell myself I'm not going to read the fortune. Then I read it anyway. Someone should write me a REAL fortune. I can see it now:
"We knew you were going to read this. Now eat your cookie."
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Old Grind
It's 8:33, and I'm sitting in an office cube in Bucyrus, Ohio. This is not supposed to be. However, there are occassions when you have to get involved in projects that just seem to linger on into eternity, and tonight we're dealing with one of them. I've had a sub with way too much salt and a sweet tea and cupcake with way too much sugar, so my insides are very confused at the moment. I've been staring at a computer screen for 12 1/2 hours now, so my contacts are glued to my eyeballs.
And I forgot to turn my back porch light on at the house again. Drat it all.
I am very ready for this day to be done...
And I forgot to turn my back porch light on at the house again. Drat it all.
I am very ready for this day to be done...
Monday, August 17, 2009
What Are The Odds...
Have you ever noticed how some things in life just always seem to happen a certain way? I find this really perplexing. I just don't get it. For instance, today...I'm driving home from work and realize I need gas in the car. I mean, like....RIGHT NOW. I must have coasted a couple of miles on fumes. (Senility is setting in, I tell you...)
So, I pull into the gas station. There are 2 cars there. Just 2. Not in my way. Just 2 little cars. So I pump my tank full, which takes, what....3, 4 minutes? Hardly no time. Then I go to pull out. Suddenly there are 12 cars surrounding me. Three want my pump. One is backing out at a snail's pace directly in front of me. Two have me completely blocked from every other angle. Others are pouring in from all directions, vying for a position of their own. It's insanity!!
I finally maneuver the vehicle obstacle course, and there's a pedestrian walking directly in my path of driveability. Oh, let me elaborate on that....walking SLOWLY. While they stare at me like they're daring me to run them over. Oooh...fight the temptation.
Seriously - you've been there, right? Why does it always happen that way? It seems completely statistically impossible that this phenomenon of car convergence could occur EVERY TIME I stop at a gas station. Yet it does. How can this be??
Personally, I count it as one of the great wonders of the universe. I remain perplexed...
So, I pull into the gas station. There are 2 cars there. Just 2. Not in my way. Just 2 little cars. So I pump my tank full, which takes, what....3, 4 minutes? Hardly no time. Then I go to pull out. Suddenly there are 12 cars surrounding me. Three want my pump. One is backing out at a snail's pace directly in front of me. Two have me completely blocked from every other angle. Others are pouring in from all directions, vying for a position of their own. It's insanity!!
I finally maneuver the vehicle obstacle course, and there's a pedestrian walking directly in my path of driveability. Oh, let me elaborate on that....walking SLOWLY. While they stare at me like they're daring me to run them over. Oooh...fight the temptation.
Seriously - you've been there, right? Why does it always happen that way? It seems completely statistically impossible that this phenomenon of car convergence could occur EVERY TIME I stop at a gas station. Yet it does. How can this be??
Personally, I count it as one of the great wonders of the universe. I remain perplexed...
Sunday, August 16, 2009
I'm Back!!
Wow....it's been a while. Could that have anything to do with the fact that I've not had a chance to breathe here lately?? I'm thinking it could....
Here's what the past month has been like:
Here's what the past month has been like:
- Closed on and moved into the House on July 23 (Thu)
- Spent Friday and Saturday finishing out the apartment
- Sunday Church all day
- Mon - Fri was Bible School every night
- Saturday spent all day at Cedar Point
- Sunday Church all day
- Mon & Tues - had a couple nights to try and get something accomplished around here
- Wednesday Church
- Thursday - get ready to leave for the weekend
- Friday - Monday - went to Gettysburg
- Tuesday - Ladies Auxiliary at Church
- Wednesday Church
- Thursday - went to fair to get some of the best BBQ ribs ever
- Friday - I don't even remember Friday
- Saturday - had to work
- Sunday - Church all day
It's been nuts!! So, the blogging has fallen by the wayside, but I'm trying to get back in the swing of things here. Hopefully life will slow a little.....
We can only hope!
Friday, August 7, 2009
All Grown Up
I know that I am 37 years old. Oh, wait...38. I forgot I just had a birthday. But sometimes you have this impression of yourself in your mind, you know? You still see yourself as the "young one"....even though you're really not. I mean....Jiminy Christmas....I'm almost 40. 40!! Shew...when did that happen?
Here lately, it's the weirdest things that are just making me feel "grown up". For instance, I moved in to the new house on a Thursday. I got my trash service started, and they delivered an enormous trash bin to me on Monday, and told me that I'd need to put it out Tuesday night for pick-up. So, that's what I do. And as I'm lugging that thing out to the front yard, this overwhelming sense of grown up responsibility overcomes me. Isn't that weird? I mean, I had to take the trash out at the apartment. I don't know why it's different, but it is. Is there such a thing as "grown up" trash?? Is "homeowner garbage" so different from "renters garbage"?? Apparently so....
Another completely bizzare instance of this? When I use the garage door opener. Seriously. I know...I know this is slightly ridiculous. But I tell you, it's there. Just to think I've got my car comfortably tucked away in it's own little place....it gives me chills. (Park your car on the road for 13 years and see how emotional a garage of your own makes you!)
Then tonight I came home and my neighbors were all outside. So I went over and introduced myself. There I stood, on the neighbor's porch, talking about how to keep skunks from habitating underneath my shed just like I had any kind of clue as to actually how to keep skunks from habitating underneath my shed, and it hit again. Wow...I'm talking with this guy about my property. MY property. Dear lord.....I have to take care of all this property.
Cool and a little scary all at once....
Here lately, it's the weirdest things that are just making me feel "grown up". For instance, I moved in to the new house on a Thursday. I got my trash service started, and they delivered an enormous trash bin to me on Monday, and told me that I'd need to put it out Tuesday night for pick-up. So, that's what I do. And as I'm lugging that thing out to the front yard, this overwhelming sense of grown up responsibility overcomes me. Isn't that weird? I mean, I had to take the trash out at the apartment. I don't know why it's different, but it is. Is there such a thing as "grown up" trash?? Is "homeowner garbage" so different from "renters garbage"?? Apparently so....
Another completely bizzare instance of this? When I use the garage door opener. Seriously. I know...I know this is slightly ridiculous. But I tell you, it's there. Just to think I've got my car comfortably tucked away in it's own little place....it gives me chills. (Park your car on the road for 13 years and see how emotional a garage of your own makes you!)
Then tonight I came home and my neighbors were all outside. So I went over and introduced myself. There I stood, on the neighbor's porch, talking about how to keep skunks from habitating underneath my shed just like I had any kind of clue as to actually how to keep skunks from habitating underneath my shed, and it hit again. Wow...I'm talking with this guy about my property. MY property. Dear lord.....I have to take care of all this property.
Cool and a little scary all at once....
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Home Sweet Home
My first pictures of the house!! OK...I'm sick today so my equilibrium must have been off some because I got the horizon crooked on these. (I hate it when I do that!) So, please pardon the downhill slant. The house really is on level ground!
Obviously, this is from the front. See how nicely the little garage tucks my car right in??
This is standing on the patio behind my garage looking across the backyard. The little shed is mine. The toys are not! (The neighbors have grandkids!)
Standing in the backyard by the shed, looking at the back of the house. And again, I've got the slant crooked. (I tell you, I was really dizzy earlier!)
The little shed up close. Kind of. It needs some work. I haven't even been in yet....hard tellin' what I'll find in there!
So, that's the place, from the outside anyway! I'll be getting some indoors photos once I get it looking halfway presentable....hopefully sometime soon!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
America's Roller Coast
If you live in North Central Ohio, you know immediately what the title to this blog means. Ah yes, the joy that is Cedar Point. We spent the day there Saturday. That's right, Saturday. After an entire week of Bible School. After I bought a house. And we moved me in. And had to spend 2 days after that cleaning out the apartment.
I think we've lost our minds.
It was our company picnic. Though it really just amounted to them giving us discounted tickets, because there wasn't really anything company oriented about it. But at the time they offered the tickets, of course we didn't know the insanity that would be our lives, so we took them. So Saturday Mom, Hezzo, Adam, Megan (Adam's girlfriend) and myself headed up north.
Cedar Point is a cool place if you like the big roller coasters. I mean, the BIG coasters. Problem is, I seem to have developed a fear of heights over the last few years. That's not a good phobia to have if you're going to ride BIG roller coasters. That, and I've gotten a bit BIG myself. So, riding is not comfortable....therefore, I don't do much of it anymore. (Maybe if I'd get rid of some of the weight I'd lose some of the phobia too, but who knows...)
So, Hezzo rode some of the rides with Adam and Megan, and mom and I did a lot of people watching. Believe me, you will see all kinds of folks roaming around an amusement park like that. All kinds. Some are scary...some are sad...some are really nice...some are kind of rude...some make you laugh...some make you want to run as fast as you can in the other direction.
It takes all kinds to make the world turn round, right??!
Trust me....you will find all kinds there!
I think we've lost our minds.
It was our company picnic. Though it really just amounted to them giving us discounted tickets, because there wasn't really anything company oriented about it. But at the time they offered the tickets, of course we didn't know the insanity that would be our lives, so we took them. So Saturday Mom, Hezzo, Adam, Megan (Adam's girlfriend) and myself headed up north.
Cedar Point is a cool place if you like the big roller coasters. I mean, the BIG coasters. Problem is, I seem to have developed a fear of heights over the last few years. That's not a good phobia to have if you're going to ride BIG roller coasters. That, and I've gotten a bit BIG myself. So, riding is not comfortable....therefore, I don't do much of it anymore. (Maybe if I'd get rid of some of the weight I'd lose some of the phobia too, but who knows...)
So, Hezzo rode some of the rides with Adam and Megan, and mom and I did a lot of people watching. Believe me, you will see all kinds of folks roaming around an amusement park like that. All kinds. Some are scary...some are sad...some are really nice...some are kind of rude...some make you laugh...some make you want to run as fast as you can in the other direction.
It takes all kinds to make the world turn round, right??!
Trust me....you will find all kinds there!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Moving Day....continued
The saga continues....
We arrive at the bank early for the closing, so we hop over to McD's for some nuggets since I am suddenly starving. While we're sitting there, in walk the sellers. They also are early, so join us for a little snack. It was nice just getting to sit down with them for a little bit before they took all my money. 'Twas a nice little memory.
Pretty soon we're off to the bank, and the flurry of paper signing begins. It was a bit chaotic, to say the least. Actually, I didn't do too bad with it until the very end. I had to set up a bank account because they draw my payment directly from it. A lady came in to explain all of this to me, while my banker was still talking with the seller, and my mom and seller lady were talking as they were heading out to find the bathroom, and banker lady was talking in my ear...and it got to be just a bit overwhelming. So much so that banker lady me actually started laughing and said "This is a bit much right now, isn't it?!" She assured me I could read the literature and understand it later. I pray she knows what she's talking about.
So, we head back into town to start the grand adventure of the move. It has now been 11 days since that all occurred. I pray we never have to go through something like that again! Try this little experiment once....live in a 4 room apartment for 13 years and only throw away 3 things a year. That will give you a bit of an idea of how much junk we had to move. It was insane. I thought we'd get the U-Haul, fill it once and everyone would be on their merry way in a few hours.
HA!
We filled the U-Haul alright....plus about 6 other vehicles. Not to mention the 6 loads mom, Andie and I had taken over before everyone else got there. Not to mention the 7 loads mom, Adam and I brought over on Friday and Saturday when we went back to clean out the "little bit" we left behind on Thursday.
It was embarrassingly ridiculous.
But the wonderful trooper friends I have just kept hauling it out...and hauling it out...and hauling it out. They were beyond great.
Even if the guys did scratch a swath out of mom's basement wall trying to get the couch she was giving me out of it. (I can still hear Simon..."Is there any chance at all that we'll be out of here before your mom gets back??" And Mark's answer...."Eat fast Simon...at least we'll have a full stomach before she throws us out!")
And even if Mark B did make Mark A stand out in the rain while he "thought about" if they should load the couch then or wait until it stopped raining. (While he laughed about it the whole time!)
And even if mom and Adam had to stop in the middle of the road on the way back from Mansfield after getting my washer and dryer because it came a torrential downpour (the same one Mark A was standing in, I believe) to try and cover them up so the appliances wouldn't get drenched. Oh, did I mention they had to do that 3 times? (Apparently the tarp kept blowing off...)
And even if the wall mirror did get broken on the trip across town. (I was thankful it was the only casualty of the night!)
We had one little girl helping....her name is Tessie. She's about 6 or so. She actually was kind of upset that she missed most of the hauling out because she was at Bible School at her grandpa's church, and was very excited that we had to carry it all into the house so she could help. (I'm pretty sure she was about the only one that felt that way at that point!) Her dad was unloading the truck, and he'd put special items down and holler out, "This one's for Tessie to carry". After her 7th or 8th trip with stuff, she looked at me and said..."Man. You've got a lot of stuff!"
Well said Tess.....Well said.
But I'll never forget my favorite moment of the night. I was back in the bedroom and they were all out there hauling stuff in like a little assembly line. I could hear them talking and laughing and carrying on with one another...
And I felt it. It was my home....full of friends and love and laughter. Just what I'd always dreamed of.
It felt really good.
We arrive at the bank early for the closing, so we hop over to McD's for some nuggets since I am suddenly starving. While we're sitting there, in walk the sellers. They also are early, so join us for a little snack. It was nice just getting to sit down with them for a little bit before they took all my money. 'Twas a nice little memory.
Pretty soon we're off to the bank, and the flurry of paper signing begins. It was a bit chaotic, to say the least. Actually, I didn't do too bad with it until the very end. I had to set up a bank account because they draw my payment directly from it. A lady came in to explain all of this to me, while my banker was still talking with the seller, and my mom and seller lady were talking as they were heading out to find the bathroom, and banker lady was talking in my ear...and it got to be just a bit overwhelming. So much so that banker lady me actually started laughing and said "This is a bit much right now, isn't it?!" She assured me I could read the literature and understand it later. I pray she knows what she's talking about.
So, we head back into town to start the grand adventure of the move. It has now been 11 days since that all occurred. I pray we never have to go through something like that again! Try this little experiment once....live in a 4 room apartment for 13 years and only throw away 3 things a year. That will give you a bit of an idea of how much junk we had to move. It was insane. I thought we'd get the U-Haul, fill it once and everyone would be on their merry way in a few hours.
HA!
We filled the U-Haul alright....plus about 6 other vehicles. Not to mention the 6 loads mom, Andie and I had taken over before everyone else got there. Not to mention the 7 loads mom, Adam and I brought over on Friday and Saturday when we went back to clean out the "little bit" we left behind on Thursday.
It was embarrassingly ridiculous.
But the wonderful trooper friends I have just kept hauling it out...and hauling it out...and hauling it out. They were beyond great.
Even if the guys did scratch a swath out of mom's basement wall trying to get the couch she was giving me out of it. (I can still hear Simon..."Is there any chance at all that we'll be out of here before your mom gets back??" And Mark's answer...."Eat fast Simon...at least we'll have a full stomach before she throws us out!")
And even if Mark B did make Mark A stand out in the rain while he "thought about" if they should load the couch then or wait until it stopped raining. (While he laughed about it the whole time!)
And even if mom and Adam had to stop in the middle of the road on the way back from Mansfield after getting my washer and dryer because it came a torrential downpour (the same one Mark A was standing in, I believe) to try and cover them up so the appliances wouldn't get drenched. Oh, did I mention they had to do that 3 times? (Apparently the tarp kept blowing off...)
And even if the wall mirror did get broken on the trip across town. (I was thankful it was the only casualty of the night!)
We had one little girl helping....her name is Tessie. She's about 6 or so. She actually was kind of upset that she missed most of the hauling out because she was at Bible School at her grandpa's church, and was very excited that we had to carry it all into the house so she could help. (I'm pretty sure she was about the only one that felt that way at that point!) Her dad was unloading the truck, and he'd put special items down and holler out, "This one's for Tessie to carry". After her 7th or 8th trip with stuff, she looked at me and said..."Man. You've got a lot of stuff!"
Well said Tess.....Well said.
But I'll never forget my favorite moment of the night. I was back in the bedroom and they were all out there hauling stuff in like a little assembly line. I could hear them talking and laughing and carrying on with one another...
And I felt it. It was my home....full of friends and love and laughter. Just what I'd always dreamed of.
It felt really good.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Moving Day
Thursday, July 23rd. The grand adventure begins. I'm up at 7 scurrying around the apartment doing this and that. Drat it all, it's lookin' pretty dreary outside. That could be a bad thing when you're attempting to move furniture across town on the back of pickup trucks. Fortunately, the metropolis that is Shelby does have a U-Haul rental. So I attempt to make a reservation for their 17 foot truck. This is no easy task. The gentleman there was a bit hard to communicate with, to say the least. He tells me he has one truck. I tell him I will be there in less than an hour to get it. He says OK. Then says I need to remember it's first-come-first-served. I ask him if that means he's not going to hold the truck for me. He tells me, of course he'll hold the truck for me.
Alrighty, then.
I call mom and tell her to get to my place as soon as possible before crazy rental truck guy gives my ride away. Soon we're chugging down the road, and get to U-Haul land. In we go, where rental dude is waiting. We go through the whole rigamarole of who I am and why I'm there again, and then he starts the paperwork. Now, he had told me I'd need $29.99 for the truck. So we get to the money portion of this little transaction and he says, "OK, that'll be $100."
$100??!!
That's exactly what I said. And how I said it. He in turn looked at me like I had 3 heads. Then it hit me that they required a deposit. Which would have been nice if he had told me that before. So, since they only take cash or credit card, I give him my card. This is quite a challenge for him because his little card reader, which had been stuck to the outside of his CPU, had fallen down. Apparently this was pretty perplexing for him, because he starts muttering something that sounds like "whmf ifa crd og jst heerr whitm??"
If you think that sounds ridiculous in writing, you should have heard it in person. It's like the guy didn't believe in vowels or something. I must have really been giving him a look because he looks at me and starts laughing and says "I'm really fluid, aren't I?" Admittedly, I have no idea what it means to be "fluid", but I just agree and tell him I have no idea what he is doing at the moment. Well, by now he's found his little card reader, so life is good again. For the time being anyway.
To be continued....
Alrighty, then.
I call mom and tell her to get to my place as soon as possible before crazy rental truck guy gives my ride away. Soon we're chugging down the road, and get to U-Haul land. In we go, where rental dude is waiting. We go through the whole rigamarole of who I am and why I'm there again, and then he starts the paperwork. Now, he had told me I'd need $29.99 for the truck. So we get to the money portion of this little transaction and he says, "OK, that'll be $100."
$100??!!
That's exactly what I said. And how I said it. He in turn looked at me like I had 3 heads. Then it hit me that they required a deposit. Which would have been nice if he had told me that before. So, since they only take cash or credit card, I give him my card. This is quite a challenge for him because his little card reader, which had been stuck to the outside of his CPU, had fallen down. Apparently this was pretty perplexing for him, because he starts muttering something that sounds like "whmf ifa crd og jst heerr whitm??"
If you think that sounds ridiculous in writing, you should have heard it in person. It's like the guy didn't believe in vowels or something. I must have really been giving him a look because he looks at me and starts laughing and says "I'm really fluid, aren't I?" Admittedly, I have no idea what it means to be "fluid", but I just agree and tell him I have no idea what he is doing at the moment. Well, by now he's found his little card reader, so life is good again. For the time being anyway.
To be continued....
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