Friday, September 30, 2005

Don't Cry For Me, Bermuda

Onions.

I love onions. I can cut up an onion and put it in just about anything I make. I buy them by the 10 pound bags. I like the large ones, so I don't have to cut up as many.

The onions I currently have in the pantry are just large yellow cooking onions. Nothing fancy.

I've heard all the stories about onions making people cry. To be honest, I thought that was a bunch of hooey. I've cut up a gazillion onions in my day, and never once have I cried over it. The other day though, I finally found out what they have all been talking about!

It started when I was just peeling the skin back. Holy cow! Immediately, my eyes started to water. It wasn't like crying, my eyes burned so bad, I could hardly stand it. I really wanted three onions in the dish I was making, but I couldn't stand it! I had to stop after two. By that time, my eyes were almost swollen shut! I have never experienced anything like it in my life.

It won't stop me from cutting up the rest of the onions in that 10 pound bag, but you can be sure that when I cut onions, I'll have my glasses on and not my contacts!

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

# 52!

Happy Birthday, brother!

Noisy

Have you ever stopped to listen to the noise all around you? It's never really quiet. They say that absolute silence is deafening. I'd like to try that sometime.

While at work today, I realized just how many sounds are around me. I hear the air conditioning whirring. There is a maintenance room right next to me and something in there is humming. The noise of the traffic outside of my window. My laptop makes a noise when it's working hard. You can actually hear people walking up and down the hallways, even on carpet. The tap tap tapping of fingers on keyboards. Phones ringing. Bits of conversations. Noise everywhere.

The only reason I am so aware of all the noise today is that I woke up with a headache. I've had it all day. It's still there. Maybe if I go to bed early, today will end faster thus getting rid of my headache.

I'm turning out the lights...will y'all hold the noise level down please?

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

BANG!

The office I'm currently working in is on the second floor. We are on the side of the building and we have a window that looks out onto a street that shows traffic driving towards us.

The ventilation in this building isn't the best, so we generally have the window open for a little fresh air. That makes for an interesting day some times, with the sounds from the street.

As I've mentioned before, I am working at a hospital. So, sirens and helicopters are heard all day long. The aforementioned street that we see is one way, and according to the receptionist that looks at the street all day long, people are always going the wrong way on this one way street. That's always good for a few good horn blows and sometimes if we're lucky, a good expletive or two!

Today however was a treat. There was a short burst of squealing tires followed by a BANG! Of course, being the ghouls that we are, we ran to the window to have a look. Believe it or not, a car rear ended a UPS truck! Can you imagine? What? You didn't see that big ugly brown thing in front of you? Well, the UPS guy looked at his truck and realized that little car couldn't do anything to it, so he got back in his ugly truck and left. The poor guy in the car however is another story.

You see, his front bumper fell off in the middle of the street. Now, if that's not bad enough, this guy thinks that something that fits around the front of his car is somehow magically going to fit in his trunk! So, he sticks around for awhile tying up traffic while he tries to bend this bumper into his trunk. He finally grasped the idea that it wasn't going to work his way. He stuck one end of the front bumper in his trunk and let the other end stick out.

Man, I hope he made it home ok.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Blast From the Past



The Palace Theater, downtown Lorain. The place is really beautiful! The Palace Theater has been a place of entertainment in Lorain for 77 years. This has been renovated in the last 10 years and it is really quite a sight. The crystal chandelier is beyond description, you must really see it to appreciate it. Walking into this theater was like walking into my past.

In the days of old, Maura and I spent a lot of our youth in the various theaters of Erie. Mainly the Warner or the Strand theater. Remember those old, luxurious theaters downtown? So many adventures started walking in the doors of those theaters. I remember so well we would sit in the front row of the theater to watch a movie, then we'd hunker down in our seats and sneak a cigarette. Picture that. We're down hill from everyone, in front of everyone, smoking. You know smoke rises. We thought we were so smart though, and we thought we were fooling everyone! This is so funny now to me! We thought we knew it all.

Anyway, The Palace Theater is a venue for many things here in Lorain. Most weekends they also show second run movies, for $3.00 admission. When I was downtown this week, I saw on the marquee that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was playing and I was anxious to see it. I was transported back into time walking into that theater. Remember the old box offices where you'd get your ticket? The small concession stand? The fancy lobby? The huge screen, the long aisles and hundreds of seats? No dancing popcorn boxes on the screen reminding us to throw our trash in the proper receptacles. No previews of coming attractions, just the main event. We even had a film break!

One thing I don't remember is a behaved audience when the film broke. Maybe because it was mostly kids, but when the film broke, it really was pretty quiet for a good couple of minutes. We all just kind of sat there in the dark patiently. After two or three minutes, they did turn the lights back on while they finished repairs. All in all, it might have taken 10 minutes, then it was back to the movie.

I thought I was going to write my review of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but I don't quite know how I feel about the movie. Parts of it I liked, parts I didn't care for. I love Tim Burton movies, but I just don't feel this one had the usual "twist" that his movies have. Johnny Depp I thought did a very good job, but he was no Gene Wilder. The movie held pretty true to the original. What I did like better was the Oompa Loompas! The effects of the Oompa Loompas were much better than the original in my opinion. Plus, the Oompa music was a lot better than the original Oompa Loompa song. Yeah, I liked that part. All in all, I guess I'm glad we only spent $3.00 a ticket. If this is something you'd want to see, I'd say hit Blockbuster and get the original.

Just one more side story here. There were quite a few people at the movie. I would easily say 300 people were there. In the row directly behind us was a family of Mom, Dad, three kids, and an Uncle. The adults of this group I want to say were in their 20s. When the lights came on during the film break, Uncle asked Dad if he could borrow his cell phone. He said something like as long as there was a break, he should check in with one of his girlfriends. He couldn't decide though if he should check in on Suzie, Sally, Jane, Amy or June. HA! This guy was as dumb as we were smoking in the theater! If he had so many girlfriends, what the heck was he doing on a Saturday night at a kids' movie with his brother and his family? It made me laugh.

Anyway, it was a good night that brought back a lot of warm fuzzy memories. I can still smell the popcorn.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

The Host With the Most

I gotta give my guy some props.

We had planned to have a friend of mine from work over for dinner on Friday night. She was going to follow me home from work Friday for a quiet home cooked dinner and a nice evening of conversation.

We didn't leave work as early as we'd hoped, because before we knew it, it was almost six o'clock! Who the heck works until six on a Friday? As soon as we left work, I called Ron to let him know we were running late and would be home shortly to start dinner. Ron said he got home a little early from work on Friday, so he'd be happy to start dinner for us! Hello?? Is that awesome or what!!

It's about a forty minute drive from my office to the house. By the time we got here, Ron had it ALL under control. The table was set beautifully. The salad was made, the dressings were on the table. The pasta was ready and the veal just had to go into the oven long enough to melt the cheese. We had an awesome dinner of veal parmigiana. When I tell you he's a great cook, I'm not kidding! We all ate way too much, but we weren't complaining.

I didn't mean to put all that work on you honey, so thank you so much for taking the ball and running with it. What a fantastic job you did from beginning to end. I just want you to know how much I appreciated all you did. Thank you, honey!

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Reality Update

Last night was the bomb of reality tv watching! Two finales of my favorite shows.

First up was Big Brother 6. The final two that were left were from the "nerd herd" as my buddy Howie (one of the houseguests) called them. If that's what I had to choose from why watch the show. But, a finale is a finale and I love all the pomp, circumstance and hoopla that brings. So I watched. There was some final back biting and dirty looks so all was good in my world! In case anyone cares, Maggie won. I guess she was the lesser of two evils. I swear, I was going to scream if I had to hear Ivette cry one more time. Now it's only nine more months or so until Big Brother 7!

Following on the heels of BB6 was my new favorite, Rock Star: INXS. WOW! Ok, I know it's cheesy, but the music was great and the House Band absolutely was awesome. I enjoyed every minute of what I saw and heard. Ron downloaded songs for me from the show and I listen to them a lot. There wasn't anything I didn't like about this show. The big winner was J.D. Fortune. He might not have been my personal favorite, but he was definitely the right choice for the band. Look and listen for J.D.'s original song, Pretty Vegas, hopefully coming soon. I'm not critic but I loved that song. I will definitely buy it if it's ever released by INXS.

Ok, now what? Last night, I started withdrawals. What am I to watch? What am I to hash over the water cooler? What will keep my mind busy now? Oh my gosh, who is my favorite and who do I want voted out?!? AARGH!

Luckily, I came to my senses. I realized that the new Survivor just started last week. This one might actually be the most difficult season of Survivor. The first week had the survivors starting their stay with an 11-1/2 mile hike through the jungles of Guatemala. The one team almost lost half their team to dehydration from the hike! It was not cool watching Bobby Jon's eyes roll back into his head. Ew. Heaven knows I'm all about reality tv but c'mon. I don't wanna watch anyone dying on me!

And tonight....Martha Stewart's Apprentice! Oh baby! Ok, everyone can quit rolling their eyes right now. I am a reality junkie. I love this crap! Yes, it follows The Donald's format. That's ok though, because that format works. And, the camera likes Martha. She seems to come across very well. She didn't end the show with The Donald's signature "you're fired" but rather "you don't fit in, good bye." Very nice. Martha's signature to the show was as soon as the fired candidate was out of the conference room (please note, no board room this time) she took out a piece of stationary and started a letter to the fired candidate wishing them well and telling them it was nice to meet them. I guess that's the ladylike thing to do. Always send a personal letter!

The best part about Martha's show was the previews for next week! We hear Martha, in her sominex voice telling someone "There is no crying in business, my dear". Can it get any better than that?!!

Monday, September 19, 2005

In Memoriam


Barbara
12/31/47 - 09/19/01

Barbara was my sister.

Her passing has definitely been a defining moment in my life. Her passing is the reason I quit my job, packed up my life, and moved back north. Unfortunately, it was too little too late.

She's gone. I still haven't come to terms with that fact. I have a hard time talking about Barb, I have a hard time even thinking about her. There is so much left unsaid.

So much of what I know, came from Barb. So much of who I am, came from her. I don't think I ever thanked her for that either. I do what I do for a living, and I do it well, because of her. My business background, my work ethic, learned from her. I never thanked her for that.

Since I can't pick up the phone to tell her what I really want to tell her, I will write it here.

Barb,

Thank you for making sure I didn't make the same mistakes you did.
Thank you for teaching me all I know.
Thank you for always listening to me when I needed to talk.
Thank you for believing in me when I felt no one else did.
Thank you for spending time with me.
Thank you for having my back.
Thank you for supporting me in all my dumb ideas.
Thank you for never judging me.
Thank you for loving me.
I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me to be.

I am so angry with you for dying when you did. It wasn't your time. In spite of my anger, I miss you so much.

I love you.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

One of my Favorite Things

Saturdays!

Yes, I love Saturdays. A Saturday is a gift for getting through Monday through Friday. Saturday!

I like to get up early on Saturdays. I want to enjoy every single minute of a Saturday that I can. The possibilities are endless! I never know where a Saturday is going to take me. The best part is you can do anything you want to with no worries. From watching my taped TV shows, to family visits, to shopping, to just about anywhere. No worries about laundry, or dinner, or having to get to bed early to make it to work on Monday. Endless possibilities.

Unfortunately, now it's Sunday. It's been a day of laundry and of planning for the week. Tonight is early to bed for tomorrow we start it all again.

Only six more days to next Saturday.

Scraaape



It's hard to see on the picture, so we even tried to have the blue of my atlas highlight the owie on my car. Someone scraped the corner of my bumper in the parking lot of the hospital I'm working at.

No real damage. There is white paint scrapes all the way down where the blue is reflected on my car. I think they will rub out though. Ron is going to try tomorrow. It was just enough though to really p*ss me off!

The good news is that it's an employee parking lot. So, on Monday I plan on checking out the parking lot for the white SUV that I was parked next to when I got there Friday. I know when I left the white vehicle wasn't next to me any longer. I just hope they have more damage on their car!

** Update: Ron was able to rub out the white paint off of my car! Thanks, honey!

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Threshold

HOLY CRAP!

Did anyone catch that new show called Threshold that just started tonight? It's on CBS. Against my better judgment, we watched the series opener tonight. It was a two hour premier.

This show scared the living crap out of me! I screamed three different times watching this show. I think it was really good in between the scary parts. I'll have to watch it again to make sure of that part.

In case anyone drives by my house tonight and notices all the lights on, don't be surprised. I have no plans on shutting off ANY lights tonight!

And I Paid the Price

Boy, did I pay the price.

From my last entry, we all know I drank a little too much. Perhaps even a lot too much. Had a great time though!

I think I went to bed by 10:30 p.m. When my alarm went off this morning at 5:00 a.m. I don't think my body had enough time to process some of that alcohol. I woke up feeling like crap. And I don't mean maybe. I felt like I still had a buzz too which wasn't helping my cause. My first thought was that I needed to get some food into my system to soak up some of that alcohol. So, I made myself a big bowl of cereal. Rice Krispies, for anyone that really cared to know. I got that down and headed back upstairs to get ready for work. I was running a couple of minutes behind since I stopped for breakfast, but not too bad. I was out the door about 6:05 a.m.

I went to walk out the door and was surprised to see just how hard it was raining. This is the proverbial cats and dogs rain storm. As much as I really wanted to say the heck with it and crawl back into bed and try again tomorrow, I knew I couldn't let my client think I couldn't take it. So, I threw a jacket over my head and made a run for the garage. (All of the umbrellas I own for some reason are in my car. I need to remedy that problem.)

The drive was absolutely horrendous. I could barely see. We were all going slower than normal, but it was still hard to see the car in front of you or beside you. I got lucky and hooked on to a big semi that had a ton of lights around the back. With the lights, he really stood out in the rain. I figured if I stayed far enough back, I could just follow him and stay on the road but if he hit anything or ran off the road, I had room to stop. If you've ever stared long enough at the back of a vehicle, you get mesmerized by it. Between staring at the truck and the pouring rain, I knew I was in big trouble. Luckily I was on the turnpike and I saw the sign for the service plaza coming up. I thought it might be a good idea for me to pull off and take a break.

I made my way to the service plaza and found a parking spot. I thought there is no point sitting with the car running so I shut it off. It's raining so hard, I don't plan on going into the service plaza, I'm just planning on staying in my car. It's only about 6:45 a.m. so there are not a ton of people out and about. I'm in my car, windows up, and it's raining like heck. The sound on the roof of the car is awesome! My body hurts, my head hurts, for crying out loud, my hair hurts. I decided to shut my eyes for just a few minutes. Just to wait out the storm! Yeah! That's it!

Somehow, my seat laid back, and the sound of the rain put me right to sleep. I woke up about 7:30 and the rain had turned into just a little drizzle. I had a 45 minute nap and was feeling a little better. My hair still hurt and my stomach was not happy with me, but I felt like I was going to live.

And live I did. It was questionable for awhile this morning, but I made it.

What should have been a bad day, turned out to have a bright spot. After all, how many of you people got to take a nap on the way to work?

Friday, September 16, 2005

Expense Account

Yep, I have one. Tonight, I used it.

On the audit I am working on right now, I am pretty much in the dungeon. Ok, it's really a basement, but it's dark and kinda dungeony. Especially the room with the files. It's too dark and too cramped in the file room, so to look through the paperwork, I take a dolly, grab a couple of boxes and wheel them out to either the lunch room or the conference room.

That said, I get engrossed in my work. I start my day in the basement, I finish my day in the basement. It is my personal belief that I need to make my presence known to my contact at the audit as well as some of the staff. I don't want to attend a claim meeting on Monday and have a group of people wonder where the heck I came up with all these claims and where have I been all week! So, if not every day, then every other day, I make it a point to go upstairs and make myself seen. I will stop in to people's offices or cubicles, just say a howdy, how you doing, etc. Some times I might take in bagels or donuts or something like that.

Yesterday, I took a walk upstairs and was making my rounds. I was in the supervisor's office and she and I started to just chat a bit. Somehow, we got onto the subject of Margaritas. In case you can't tell from the name of this blog, I happen to love Margaritas. A lot. When I mentioned that to the supervisor, she said "Hey! Let's go have a few margaritas tomorrow after work!" Who am I to say no.

Tonight, we headed to a Mexican place she recommended and put down a pitcher of Gold Margaritas. To make it look better, we even ordered some food! Can life get any better than this? To make it a legitimate business expense, we did talk a little business, and with the information gained from this meeting I have a feeling tomorrow could be a prosperous day for me. I'll have to let you know.

The best part of this Margarita party tonight is that for a few hours, I could forget. I could forget that I was told I was once again passed over for a promotion. I could forget that I was passed over for a raise. I could forget that the other auditor has quit and tomorrow is his last day. I could forget that even HE could find another job, even though no one seems to want my services. I could forget all that.

And, my boss has to pay for my forgetfulness. I guess every gray cloud has to have some silver lining.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Speaking of Books

Let's talk about the Reader's Digest.

A happy memory from childhood is the Reader's Digest. Fighting with everyone to get in the pecking order of who reads the Digest first. Then, the correct way of reading the Digest once it was finally my turn.

It used to be that I flipped through the book looking for the little quips that fill up the pages at the end of stories. From there I'd go to the recurring sections such as the Humor in Uniform, Laughter the Best Medicine, Life in These United States, etc. The actual articles were almost an after thought. Things you read while you waited for the next Digest to show up.

Now, I'm older and wiser. Yes, we still get the Digest and it is a happy day the day the mailman brings the new edition. Only now, no more pecking order. The Digest is immediately placed in its proper place, the bathroom. That way everyone has equal time to read it in the proper place. I've also grown in my appreciation for the Digest. No more do I cheat and read all the jokes first. Now, I'm a cover to cover kind of gal. I start in the beginning and just work my way right through.

Now a bad segue to a joke found in the Digest. This is what we affectionately call a "Jim Joke". You know I love you brother, but c'mon! Some of them jokes! To explain a "Jim Joke" more clearly, here is the one from the September 2005 issue. Tell me that you can't hear Jim telling this joke!

A panda walks into a bar, sits down and orders a sandwich. He eats, pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter dead. As the panda stands up to go, the bartender shouts, "Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my waiter and you didn't pay for the food."

The panda yells back, "Hey, man. I'm a panda. Look it up!"

The bartender opens his dictionary to Panda: "A tree-climbing mammal of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and white coloring. Eats shoots and leaves."

I'm killing me here!

Read a Book

One thing about my family, we all love to read.

Personally, I go for the fiction section, usually some kind of mystery or who-done-it detective kind of story. I never guess the bad guy, but I love the search for him. I do stray from my formula of picking out books occasionally, but this is most of what I read.

You're heard of "writer's block"? I think I am in the midst of "reader's block". The last book I read was the newest Harry Potter. Keep in mind, this book was delivered to my house on the day it was released and I started it that day. I was one of the first to know who the Half Blood Prince was! But, now I am in a quandary.

I don't know if it's because the newest Harry Potter book was so awaited, or so thoroughly enjoyed, but now I am having trouble picking up the next book. There is so much hype about The Lord of the Rings, that I decided I wanted to read that one as well. I borrowed the book from brother Mike and had that in the ready for when I finished HP. I haven't read one page yet. I can't tell you how many times I've picked up the book, contemplated the book, even once went so far as to open the cover of the book. That's as far as I've gotten. I can't bring myself to read one word of it. What the heck is up with that?

So, yesterday, I tried my old friend. The local public library. I went right to the mystery section. There, I slowly strolled the aisles, lovingly stroking the spines of all the stories to be told. But which one would would open this reader's block of mine? I whispered "where are you?" as I felt my way through, finally settling on my choice. The Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell.

And, quit laughing at me! You may pick our your books your way, but this works for me. I'll let you know how it comes out!

Thursday, September 08, 2005

A Visitor

I came home last night to a visitor!

This window is over my sink in the kitchen, and looks out onto my driveway. I had to walk right next to this little lady to get to my door, which is under the awning there on the right. I came into the house and walked right to the sink to put my coffee mug down. HELLO! See what is looking at me at my sink?

I did the best I could at taking a picture of our visitor. She is a good four inches long for crying out loud! I really don't know if I've ever seen one of these in person before. We spent quite a bit of time yesterday, just looking at each other. She didn't seem fazed by me in the least. As a matter of fact, she kept her hands nice and folded. I'm just hoping she was saying her prayers for me.

Ron came home and he knew about the praying mantis, as he had seen her around since the night before. He wanted to know if he needed to take lethal measures towards our visitor. But, once again, I took the high road. I say as long as she was willing to stay on the outside of my screen, I was good with her staying there. Heaven help her if she ever tries to get in though!

She must have gotten a better offer though. I haven't seen hide nor hair nor wing nor leg of her all day today.

It's Not Enough

I've been trying to keep this light. It's not working tonight.

I have something on my mind. I think it's on most of our minds - Hurricane Katrina. We can't look at a paper, listen to the radio or watch the news without hearing about it. Everywhere we turn, people are asking for donations to the hurricane victims.

I have to back up a bit. Call me Cleopatra. I am the Queen of De-Nile. Ok, actually the queen of denial. I have developed a system a long time ago to keep reality at bay and out of my mind. I can go to a safer place in my mind, sort of to my own land of make believe. I'm always safe there, and nothing bad can happen to me. Reality TV is ok, because it's not MY reality.

Then just over nine days ago, Hurricane Katrina hit. Part of my mind has wrapped around the fact that it was absolutely devastating. Well, I know what the word devastating means, but I still couldn't realize just how devastated the people of New Orleans really are. I understand that New Orleans is gone. Period. It's gone. There are thousands of people dead. Thousands more left without homes or any belongings. There has been chaos and mayhem in what is left of New Orleans.

Yesterday, that reality finally hit me.

I was listening to the radio on my drive to work. The radio talked about displaced pets after the hurricane. I thought that was harmless enough to listen to. Then they explained that people were rescued, but the rescue boats would not take their pets. The pets were left to swim. And swim. And swim. The radio show went on to add that now the water is toxic. The water is toxic and the pets are dying from drinking the water of all things. Ok, again, I know what the word toxic means, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the water would now be getting toxic. Once again, I was in the safe place in my mind where all is well with the world.

Last night, I found out why the water is getting toxic. A news show was on last night called 48 Hours. I caught part of it. What I saw is now forever etched in my brain. New Orleans is still under a lot of water. Dead bodies are floating in the water. Read that again. Dead bodies are floating in the water. Damn the news cameras. I couldn't look away fast enough. Like I said, etched now in my brain. They are so busy trying to rescue the LIVE people that no one has been able to care for the thousands of dead in New Orleans. Can we even imagine what that city is truly like? The horrors these people are going through? The people still unaccounted for is staggering.

Another news story from yesterday, out of the rubble came a six year old boy holding a five month old child. Following this six year old leader, hand in hand, were five more toddlers. This SIX year old was taking care of six other children and leading them to safety! Once they were in the capable hands of the Red Cross and fed and cleaned and clothed, the Red Cross went about trying to find their families. Somewhere in a shelter were parents looking for their lost seven children! What are the chances that this had a happy ending! Very little. They found out it wasn't the same seven children they were looking for. Can you believe it? Another group of seven children are missing...and this group has parents that are either dead or perhaps have just abandoned them. I know, this is only one of thousands of stories.

My point is, I feel so helpless. While the door to my safe place was open a little bit, I did what most people are doing. I wrote a check, sent it to the Red Cross. Whoopie. My good deed was done. After learning just how devastating this disaster really is to our fellow man, I feel the need to do more. But what? Send more money? Buy a boat and go down there? Open my house to the homeless hordes? What is the right thing to do? And will it be enough?

I know y'all have heard it from every single media out there. I need to reiterate. Give. Then give again. It won't be enough. http://www.redcross.org/

*Author's note: Here is a link to the news story about the six year old mentioned above. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9230423/

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Busy Weekend

I know it was a three day weekend, but I swear this one went by so much faster than usual.

Saturday was spent playing with Ron's family. The plan was to head to Little Italy for lunch. From what we were told, parking is at such a premium, so we all decided to meet up at Susan and Georgia's and all go on one vehicle.

The first part of my story starts here. Those of you that know me, know how I am with dogs. I swear, they have the largest Doberman I've ever seen. Georgia came outside to meet me and handed me a dog treat to get me in the door. Believe it or not, I actually gave the dog treat to the dog and walked away with all ten fingers. Go me! I walked into the house, even sat down and believe it or not, petted the dog too.

Then we headed out to Mama Santa's for lunch. http://www.pluggedincleveland.com/restaurants/1148+mama+santas.html
They say that some of the best pizza in Cleveland comes from this restaurant. Well, I haven't tried all the pizza in Cleveland, so I really can't say if it was the best. But it was definitely good! And the prices I thought were very reasonable. Out of four stars, I'd give it a strong three. If you go, don't order the soda. Very flat and tasteless. I'd suggest a beer.

From Mama Santa's we took a nice leisurely walk through Little Italy. A lot of cool little shops, a fantastic bakery, just a lot of really neat things to see and do. Plus a little walking off of lunch was a welcome idea as well. Pizza is one of my favorite food groups after all.

We were on our way back to Susan and Georgia's when we drove by Lake View Cemetery. I've never been one that is overly curious about cemetery's, but this one came highly recommended. So, I figured, what the heck. It was brother Wes' gas we were using, so I was all for driving through!

I must tell you, this has to be the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen in my life. There was such a sense of peace over the place, I can't even describe it. I recommend checking out this link to points of interest at the cemetery http://www.lakeviewcemetery.com/interest.html . While you're there, follow the link to the cemetery's famous inhabitants. There was just so many things to look at that I told Ron I want to take my camera and go back again and take my time going through it. Anyone coming to the area, it's worth a drive over there. Awesome.

Sunday was spent almost totally vegging. It was a day filled with playing Pogo and watching Judge shows. Yes, life can't get much better. The evening was spent making a big pot of Mom's chicken soup with homemade halushki. Yes, I know how to suck up to my father!

Monday was the day with my family. Dad and Jim came in and Mike and Mary Jane came over. Thanks to Mike and Mary Jane for providing seating for my party as well as the soup bowls! Perhaps I should rethink my position next time I want to throw a soiree. Perhaps I should make sure I had the necessary items (such as the seating and soup bowls!) before inviting the family!

Dad loved the soup! That was such a success. The rest of us chowed on hotdogs (thanks for cooking, honey!), macaroni salad and baked beans. Hey, it was a picnic after all. We all gathered in the driveway and only had to move our seats a couple of times to follow the shade around. Even our neighbor Stacey joined in the fun. That's one way not to have the cops called to your party! Make sure the neighbors are invited.

It was a great day. Dad and I even snuck to the front of the house together for a great heart to heart chat. It's been a long time since we've done that. I was feeling all warm and fuzzy when he threw me a curve ball. He asked me if Ron and I were planning on starting a family anytime soon! Just when you think Dad doesn't know what's going on, he throws a zinger like that out at me! I told Dad not to get his hopes up too high. After all, I'm 42 years old and I think my eggs are dead. Instead of the love and support I expected to get from my loving father, I hear . . . "Wow....you're really 42??? I didn't think you were THAT old. Never mind then."

A great weekend, but OUCH at the end! Good thing Dad is cute! I still gotta love him!

Monday, September 05, 2005

P.U.

Some days, it doesn't pay to try to save a few cents.

Let's talk fabric softener. I buy only liquid fabric softener. I used to always buy Snuggles, but the scent I liked the most, they no longer produce. So, I've switched back to Downy. The last time we bought fabric softener though, I tried to save a few cents and bought a bottle of Gain instead.

BIG mistake.

Yesterday, I was doing laundry and finished the last of the Downy and had to open the Gain. One of the loads of laundry I did using the Gain was the sheets. The sheets were washed, dried and put right back on the bed. Holy cow, they now stink. I can't tell you how many times I woke up last night, smelling the Gain on the sheets. I feel it smells so much I can now taste it. I don't think I am going to last through this whole bottle. Next trip to the store will definitely find me buying more fabric softener, this time back to Downy.

Sunday, September 04, 2005

He Cheats!

The green monitor had to go.

Since I know so little about so much, I decided the prudent thing to do was to give Ron a dollar limit and my credit card and have him find me a monitor. Ron researched and decided on a fantastic 17" SVA flat screen monitor!



This picture doesn't really do it justice! The viewing area is huge but the whole unit takes up so much less space than the old monitor, I have so much room on my desk now it's unbelievable. This really is way too cool. Trust me, seeing it in person really is much better than this picture.

A few stories now. First, please note what is on my monitor. That is Ron and I playing Gin on Pogo. This monitor is SO big and clear, that even those of us with terrible eyesight can see it. So, Ron and I are in the middle of a heated game, when from over my shoulder I hear him say . . . "HEY! You have all the cards I need!". Yes, that is proof positive. Ron cheats! I always knew it, since he seems to beat me at most games we play. But now I have proof! I don't think from where he sits he could see anything on my old monitor, but now I know my cards are definitely not safe with this monitor. I think we need to stay with backgammon!

The second story I have is this picture.



This is me looking into the camera to see why the flash didn't go off on my last picture. Aren't you glad this wasn't a gun I was looking down the barrel of to see if it was loaded?!? I think I have mentioned at least once or twice before that I am technically challenged. I think I'm getting better, then I end up taking a picture of me looking at the front of the camera. I think this is the best I've looked so early in the morning.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

It's a New Day

I finally got to move on to our next audit.

I am now auditing a hospital. This is a first for me, I've never done one of those before!

A few things about the new audit.

My first day was yesterday. My boss started on site a couple of weeks ago, so he's an old hand here. Our work area is up on the second floor. Some files are on the second floor while others are in the basement. There are forty stairs between the two! Let me tell you, I'm definitely getting my exercise on this audit. Between running up and down the stairs, and lifting and hefting boxes all about, I'm definitely able to cut down on the treadmill time!

Yesterday, my boss took me around and introduced me to the staff. So far, everyone seems very nice and very willing to help in any way they can to make this a successful audit. That is a great thing from the auditor's standpoint. They even provided cookies this morning. Hey, these are my kind of people!

I had to get a security pass. I need the pass to get into the employee parking lot and also to get into the building. I went to our contact and asked her for the pass. Generally, when we do this, someone would go to a Facilities Manager or the like, and get us a fresh blank pass that is usually limited access, only to where ever we need to be. Not in this case! She opened her drawer, and took out three passes of former employees. I had my choice of who I wanted to be for the rest of this audit!! Here were my choices:

1. An elderly woman that looked like she should have retired 10 years before this picture was taken
2. A large African-American woman
3. A tiny, petite Pakistani woman

Hey, at least they were all the right gender! For the record, my name is now Pam, and I am a very petite Pakistani woman!

We have a work table set up for us in a file room. My boss is at one end, I'm at the other. Our laptops have infrared capabilities, where we can send files back and forth between the laptops without having to hook up to the internet and send them via e-mail. Well, I always have the sound shut off on my laptop, while my boss seems to like the bings and beeps and the whistles. Anyway, the way we are sitting, our infrareds are facing each other. His laptop keeps beeping at him telling him my computer is nearby. Mine also is warning me as well, but with no sound, all I get is a little pop up, easy to ignore. For some reason, he was getting perturbed every time he beeped! DUH! Shut the sound off! Well, I played nice and put a pack of gum in front of my infrared eye. Ok, when he's not looking, I pull the gum away until I hear him beep! Then I hurry and put it back and it emits another kind of beep telling him it lost my signal. Then I sit there looking innocent and telling him I don't know why it's picking mine up! Part of the joys of my job is trying to drive him nuts. And I wonder why my job is posted on the internet!

The only down side is that it's a bit of a drive. It takes me just over an hour to get there. With gas prices what they are, it's a darn good thing I'm getting paid mileage.

I know, this ain't much, but it's about all I can tell you about the audit. So far, so good. It's all paper, nothing scanned. I like that. It's much more fun to dig through boxes of paper looking for cool stuff. I can be as nosey as I want, and get paid for it. Some days I can't believe they pay me to do this job.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Owie Update

I didn't think my owie was healing well.

This week in particular, starting Monday, it really started hurting again. It was feeling like something was trying to crawl out of there. To top that off, I have had a lot of drainage again. I know, more info than you wanted! But it's been almost a month and I don't think it should still be draining.

Well, we went back to see the surgeon today. He gave it a good look and told me at least it's not infected! The story is . . . when he cut the tumor out, it left an empty space where it used to be. He closed the skin over it, saying it would fill in on its own. It filled with fluid, which is normal after an injury. The fluid should have been reabsorbed by my body, but for some reason it wasn't. The space was full of fluid and it had to go somewhere. So, my incision split a bit and the fluid started coming out.

At the office, the surgeon took an alcohol pad and worked it back and forth over the incision to soften up the scab I still had. Once it was softened, he took the scab off and even ended up cutting out a stitch! So, here we are.

My healing homework is to keep it clean, and keep it scab free. He showed Ron how to clean it, which we just got done doing. I feel like an idiot going in now. I really thought it was infected again. The pain has been subsiding since Monday though. I guess just the relief of the fluid leaking out and not pressing. Now the scab is off, it doesn't look so icky.

Here's hoping this is the last update on my owie!