Plan "C" Just Isn't As Good As Plan "A"

Today was a plan "C" day.

Originally, we started out with plans to have my brother-in-law, Bill, come for the day along with my brother Jim. I was so looking forward to a day of family, and laughs, and reminiscences, and hopefully edible food.

Stuff happened, and Mr. Bill had to back out of family day. That's ok, on to plan "B", the one where brother Jim would make the trip and all the fun previously planned would still come to fruition. Well, once again, stuff happened.

Jim happens to be on vacation this week, and do you want to know how he's spending his week of vacation? Home, sick. Ugh, that boy sounds absolutely horrible. Needless to say, there was no Jim today. However, the guy is really sick and in no mood to cook. So, if anyone is in the neighborhood of his house, please stop by! He is in need of some chicken soup, or a sandwich, or a hot meal. Something he doesn't have to cook; ready to eat. But, for your own health, leave it in the porch and call and tell him it's there. Sorry, brother. It's the best I can do to help you out from here!

There you go. That's how you get to plan "C". What was plan "C"? Movie day!

It started with Ron finding something to watch on tv while I made us sandwiches for lunch. Air Force One with Harrison Ford (his best movie, in my opinion!) was just starting on one of the cable channels. We watched maybe the first 10 minutes, and decided it was going to be hunker down and enjoy a movie day. But, if we're going to enjoy a movie, I'd rather it not be on a cable channel all chopped up and full of commercials. I happen to own a copy of this movie. Ok, it's a VHS but I still own it!

I grabbed the movie and my newest crocheting project (a whole other story) and we watched the movie from the beginning. Dang, that is one GOOD movie! I almost broke Ron's hand a few times, but we enjoyed the movie.

We did decide to get something productive done between movies. We tore the fish tank apart and gave it a good cleaning. Poor fish. They needed a good scrubbing. Now the fish are fat and happy and clean!

Once work time was over, we were back to movie time. We went through our video collection and chose The Sixth Sense with Bruce Willis as our second feature. Need I say any more about Bruce? Wow.

So, there was our Saturday. I missed out on family day. And, now I'm afraid to fly again and afraid of the dark again. Plan "C" kinda sucked in hindsight.

Feel better, Jim! You were missed!

My Two Cents Worth

Ron and I went to see Gran Torino today, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.

I have been a huge fan of Eastwood's ever since he got out of the spaghetti westerns. I gotta tell you though, this was the worst waste of celluloid I've seen in a long time. This was one piece of crap movie.

Could he have hired ANYone that could act??? Grandma was ok, the rest of the cast should be arrested for impersonating an actor. Geez.

If you haven't seen it, don't. If you have, well, like us, there went two hours that you will never get back.

This has been my two cents worth.

I Actually Won An Argument!

The argument was with two men, in a parking lot. Unfortunately, it wasn't with the two men I live with!

Tuesday was my big out day. I went out all by myself! No driver assistance. C'mon now, once in awhile, a gal has to break free.

First stop, post office. Ok, I only stalled out my car once. I guess I'm not so used to that clutch anymore. Second stop, K-mart. I know, I know, this IS an exciting life!

I walked around K-mart, just trying to enjoy some alone time. I looked at this and that, and even picked up a few things. A few of my purchases was some storage totes. I guess I'm trying to make some order in my life. Nothing says order like Rubbermaid.

I had two 21-gallon totes, plus a smaller tote and a few sundry items. I was in the parking lot trying to put my stuff in the trunk of my car. The trunk in my car is surprisingly large. From the outside, it doesn't look like it would be.

I have my cart, my trunk is open, and I'm trying to do most of this stuff one handed which wasn't working. Two "gentlemen" were walking through the parking lot and both of them felt the need to stop and tell me that there was no way those totes were fitting in my trunk. I said, "really?" Both kinda chuckled that chuckle I've heard before. The "I'm going to humor her until she fails" chuckle.

I don't have much in my trunk, but I did have one item that was getting in my way. I pushed it back a bit, grabbed the totes with two hands, and they both went into the trunk, straight up. The rest of the stuff was nothing with most of it fitting into the totes.

I looked at the two guys and said something like "I guess it's going to fit" and I closed my trunk and went to put my cart in the corral. I got a few dirty looks from them, but no apologies or atta girls or anything. It's ok, I did my happy dance back to my car, proud of myself for going out alone and for fitting all that into my trunk!

I also did a happy dance in my driver's seat all the way home. I unloaded my car, then pulled my car into the garage. I thought it was a good day.

Ron and I were going to go out for lunch today and I said let's take my car! When we went into the garage, we saw that the trunk was wide open.

I know from experience that leaving your trunk open will run down the battery of the car because of that darn little light in the trunk. Sure enough, there wasn't enough power in that car to unlock the doors with the clicker!

Moral of the story is that I might not be smart enough to close the lid on my trunk, but I WAS smart enough to win an argument with two men! So there!

Friday The 13th

I have a great Friday the 13th story!

I got fired today, via the FedEx delivery man! C'mon now, that's a great story!

Yes, today the FedEx man showed up with an envelope for ME. The envelope came from my corporate office in Atlanta. Imagine my surprise as I read that as of 2/11/09, my position was no longer being held open. Hmm. Phone lines must have been down since this is the first I've heard of it.

So what do we have here. I no longer have to look at a boss that has previously hit me with a car and laughed about it. I no longer have to listen to his thoughts on how he wants to kidnap a little girl off the street just for fun. I no longer have to deal with a boss that steals money from me, just because he's the boss and he can. I no longer have to listen to his diatribes on women, minorities, gays, senior citizens or anyone else that isn't a WASP. Aside from the financial thing, how can this be a bad thing?

So now I am brushing myself off, and getting ready to turn the page to get to the next chapter of my life. And, work on healing. Tomorrow will be another day.

But for now, I got fired by the FedEx guy. That's just funny, I don't care who you are.

I Hope It Will Be Worth It

Every week, brother Phil and I have a date at the library. We take books back, we pick up more books. I do love my library.

I have a couple of lists of books that I want to read. Before we go to the library, I will look up a few in the library's system and I can see if what I want is in stock at my local branch. If it is in stock, I can also see exactly where in the library it would be. I love my library AND the electronic age!

If my local library doesn't have one of the books I'm looking for, I can see if any library in the Cleveland system has a particular book. If I can see they own a copy, I can put a hold on a book. Usually, the books I am looking for are not new releases, so I can get a requested book in a few days. I get an email stating my book is ready, I go to my branch and the book will be sitting on a particular shelf with my name on it. Piece of cake.

Once in awhile, I have to get on a waiting list for a book. Again, I have never waited too long to get through a queue to get my requested book. Until now.

I have heard a lot about the Twilight series of books. I guess there are four books in the series, and the first book has been made into a movie. I know, it's about vampires. That is one of the last things I of all people should be reading about. But, the target audience for this series is young adult, so how bad can it be? It seems to be so popular, I at least want to judge for myself if all the hype is true or not.

On January 6, 2009, I put a hold on the first book, Twilight. I was # 364 in the queue for this book! For real? I have to wait for 364 people to read this book before I can read it? It's a good thing the library has a bunch of copies!

It is now February 9, 2009 and I am up to # 100 in the queue!

Maybe I'll get a copy of this book by June. I sure hope it will be worth the wait. In the meantime, it's a good thing I have a gazillion other books on my list I want to read.

Get Your Motor Runnin'

Head out on the highway! Lookin' for adventure, and what ever comes our way!

Can you see me? Born to be wild?

Saturday, the local Harley Davidson dealership had a party. We love parties, so we went. Hey, any excuse for free hot dogs and beer, plus plenty of Harleys.

When we pulled into the parking lot, Ron said to me that he's only looking, he is not buying. I, however, made no such promise.

We went into the Harley dealership, had our hot dogs and beer and met a nice salesman named Joe. We talked, we walked around, and I think I fell in love. Can you just see me on this bike? C'mon now, it's ME!

Ron was fond of a few touring bikes, but this one had my name all over it. My new buddy Joe and I are in discussions regarding formal lessons. Before I spend this kind of money, I should be able to drive one of these things.

As a side note, I did drive one once, but it was MANY years ago and it was after MANY beers, so it was something I definitely should not have been doing at the time. But, I digress.

We continued to walk around, checking out the new bikes and the used bikes and talking about signing up for lessons.

We were at the dealership towards the end of the party. As time got closer to closing time, a handful of the Harley employees started moving a few of the bikes away from the front of the showroom. Another employee started sweeping the floor. Dang, that's one way to get people out! Start working! But, no, that wasn't it.

We watched two more employees struggle to move an arch from the service area to the showroom. This arch was adorned with orange and black bows (Harley colors) and some little piggies (HOGS, get it??!!). There was to be a wedding in the showroom! Hello? Who doesn't love a Harley, but c'mon now!

We didn't stay to crash the wedding, as we weren't dressed properly. Well, Ron did have his leather jacket on, but we had no other Harley regalia with us. We finished our beer, talked again with Joe, and we left. For now.

Like a true nature's child, I was born, born to be wild!

Eggs Update

Well, we tried.

And, we've learned a lot, so maybe if there is a second attempt, it will be more successful!

The eggs, when they are viable, are amber in color. If they turn white, they are no longer viable and the dead eggs will immediately start to develop a fungus. One of the tricks is to get the dead eggs out quickly so as not to infect the good eggs.

We did have a few eggs that hatched , but they never got big enough to call them baby fish! The first thing to happen would be tails sticking out of the eggs. We got to that point!

From what we've read, these eggs would start hatching in three to seven days, depending on water temperature. Sure enough, on day three, we started to see movement in the breeder tank. Every day, it seemed that there was more and more movement.

However, in spite of treating the water and trying to keep the white eggs out, we lost the battle.

It was a fun project though and we did learn a lot. Maybe next time.

25 Random Things About Me

I read a lot of blogs. Sometimes, I borrow ideas from other people to write about. One of the blogs I read recently had a list of 25 random things about this person. Hey, it beats the heck out of those insipid chain emails! Read it or not: In fact, I'm not sure I HAVE 25 random things about me to tell you!

1. When I was about 17, I stole my Dad's new car to take my lazy butt to the store. He wasn't due home from work (as he took the BUS to work every day!) for another 20 minutes or so, so I thought I had time. I drove the eight blocks to the store, the eight blocks back only to find the neighbor across the street had parked his car almost exactly where Dad's car had been parked at the curb! I had to knock on his door, confess to him what I did and beg him to move his car to save my life! I owe him one.

2. I still hate flying.

3. I love seedless grapes. Frozen or unfrozen.

4. My friends, Ruth and Jeff, from Ripley NY came to Ohio to visit me about six year or so ago. We were driving around over by Ohio City when we saw someone had set a bus shelter on fire. Jeff, a volunteer firefighter, calmly pulled over and put out the fire. Nothing to see here; he got back in the vehicle and we drove away. A true, quiet, hero.

5. I tended bar for 10 years.

6. Coincidentally, or not, I dated an abusive alcoholic for 10 years. Go figure.

7. I hate peas. And lima beans.

8. I am color blind.

9. My favorite color is blue. Or at least I think it is. Being color blind I guess I can't really be sure.

10. I love to watch Judge Judy. I think because she looks like my Mom.

11. I hate my feet.

12. I am afraid. All of the time. Of everything.

13. I was almost arrested; twice. The first time, the DUI laws aren't what they are now, and the police officer that pulled me and Maura over for my sitting on the car door half out of the car let us go with a warning. He shouldn't have done that. The second time, a friend and I were filling an acquaintance's car up with snow. The acquaintance was an idiot. The cop was a friend of mine. The cop said if we just walked away, he'd let us go. We walked. I owe him one too.

14. I went to a baseball game at the Astrodome all by myself! Astros vs Cincinnati. The scariest part was finding my car by myself in the parking lot after the game.

15. Right now, my favorite food seems to be Chinese food. I could eat it every day.

16. I love hugs. I can't get enough of them. And foot rubs too! The best!

17. I have a lot of nightmares. And weird dreams.

18. I love reality TV. I seem to add more and more shows to my list every year. This year, I started to watch The Bachelor. I can't tell you why I am watching this, as it's a freakin' train wreck! How could 25 beautiful, educated, supposedly intelligent women demean themselves like this on national TV? How can these women, 2 hours after meeting a total stranger, profess their love for this man and their desire to marry him at the end of the show? Hello??? A train wreck. I just can't look away. Insecurity is a terrible, terrible thing. Nothing like the awesome reality shows like Big Brother, Survivor, Top Chef, American Idol, Hell's Kitchen, to name a few.

19. I have an addictive personality. And, CDO. That's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but in alphabetical order, the way it should be! Pogo pushes all my buttons; that's why I can't stop. I'd be an alcoholic if only alcohol didn't make me throw up.

20. I am easily offended. You may not know it, but I don't forget.

21. I feel better mentally when I can escape reality into the fantasy of a book. My favorite books are police or detective or mystery books. The kind where good triumphs over evil. Yeah, that makes things good in my world.

22. I wish I could dance.

23. I have been blessed with the best siblings, E.V.E.R. A great boyfriend, too! Bonus!

24. I am allergic to eggs; I can't eat them without severe gastric distress. I had two eggs over easy on Saturday and I was sick through Tuesday! But they were some damn good eggs.

25. Tomorrow always scares me. I don't know what's coming, but I am not ready for it. Every night, it hits me that a tomorrow is just around the corner. Scary.

Damn, I could probably go for 50 random things about me! Who knew I could ramble! Yeah, I know. Better question is who didn't think I could ramble!