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1月30日 Whew!I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger! Sheesh. It seems forever since I sat down at the computer just to blog and blog-walk.
Jury duty 1/22/07: The first of my trips to the courthouse. I reported by 8:00 a.m. to the Central Jury Room and was selected to a "vordaire (sp)" jury from which I was selected to a panel of twelve. I knew I was sunk when they told me I was Juror #3. Blast. There were a coupla other people from my work there so I managed to get a lot of visitin' in while I waited.
Trip to my sister's house 1/26-28/07: I couldn't take Timber with me because we also went to my brother's house on my way home. He's anti-pet-in-the-house and he doesn't have a fenced area so Timber spent the weekend with Genny and her people. I had a good visit with my sister and her kids, then we had a good visit with my brother and part of his crew. My sister met the new babies for the first time. She was amazed by their perfection as are we all. She tries to be kinda aloof or reserved because she has a tremendous fear of being hurt but I know better and I know she loves the family as much as I do but just expresses it differently. Or maybe doesn't express it - I don't know. Because she hasn't spent as much time with the nieces and nephews they don't know her as well as they do me. To love is to make yourself vulnerable and she, like the rest of us, can't help but love each other. She's not fooling me - I know she's a big ol' mush ball where family is concerned. My sister is so much like my Daddy it ain't even funny. Sometimes I feel bad because I know that the kids consider me the ultimate aunt and comparisons are made, and, well, I AM the best aunt in all of auntdom for all time. No brag, just fact. Also, she has kids and I don't so all my attention is centered on the nieces and nephews (which also benefits her kids) while her own kids are her priority. Family dynamics are weird.
Jury duty II, 1/30/07: I went back today for the actual trial that my panel was selected to hear. It was a competency hearing for a guy accused of aggravated robbery. I hated to say but for me to judge someone else's competency is like the pot calling the kettle "black." It took us about fifteen minutes to declare him competent enough to stand trial. It's Texas, for crying out loud - we're famous for not cutting our criminals much slack. Ha! The twelve of us gathered in the jury deliberation room and awaited our escort to court. There was a delay so we sat there for nearly three hours. We were trying to kill time without chatting about the trial as that was a no-no. I desperately wanted to make a good impression on the others but my desire to appear as if I have good sense was blown out of the water when a sock fell out of my sleeve. I had dried my clothes this morning before going to court so I guess the static electricity captured a sock inside my shirt. It was a tiny room and we were all crammed in there so it wasn't likely that the sock falling into my lap would go unnoticed. I figured I might as well own up to it so I laughed and commented that I was glad it wasn't a pair of drawers, but that if anything else fell out to please call it to my attention. Needless to say, I wasn't selected as jury foreperson. The county bought our lunch today at a nice Mexican food restaurant. I was afraid to chow down on the chips-n-hot-sauce because I had on a white shirt, and didn't want to eat too much so I wouldn't have to poop in the courthouse. The juror's bathroom opened onto the jury deliberation room which, to me, would be nightmarish. I don't want to be heard, timed, or smelled when it comes to bathroom privacy. We were done with deliberation by 3:30 pm but I called and left a message on my boss' voicemail that it looked as if I would be on jury duty all the rest of the week, and possibly through the month of February. Haha!
We're in the market for a new football coach. Our guy went out with some work buddies and got a DUI on his way home. Well, there's more to that story but that's a good enough summary for this writing. This is a small enough town that when the guy's awful-looking mug shot was plastered on the front page of the local paper he probably knew he might as well start packing. My workplace is obviously zero-tolerance on bad publicity because the charge was only a misdemeanor and he hasn't even been to court yet. Rehab is good enough for Hollywood and Congress but not for a football coach. Not in Texas. We take this shit realllll serious.
It's past Timber and my bedtime so I'll sign off for now so I can check in with some buddies. Talk to y'all later!
1月21日 Customer Service?Remember back when there was such a thing as customer service? Nowadays you have to pay extra for customer service and then it's still half-assed at best. This morning I went to WalMart because I needed an assortment of items, one of them being a zipper from the sewing department. WalMart had rearranged and I couldn't find that department, so I stopped a stock boy and asked him for directions. He looked blankly around and then said, "They did away with that department" and then briskly walked away. That lyin' little shit. I could tell he was lyin' because of the blank look he gave me at first. Dude, if you're gonna lie play it off from the beginning - don't be so obvious. If I coulda found him I woulda jerked a knot in his tail. So I found the zipper, and went to check out. I had not parked on the grocery end of Super WalMart but that was the only end with any damn cashiers. The tobacco and cigarette aisle was the only one open on the non-food end of the store so I rolled up in there with a buggy full of stuff which absolutely pissed off the old lady cashier. She said they could go faster at the other end. I said, "Look, there's not a limit on items at this register because there's not a sign, and I'm parked on this end of the store." She grumbled and I said, "I'm sorry you don't want to check me out but I guess you should tell your manager to open up another cashier on this end instead of being aggravated with me." She got nicer and we ended up having a nice chat while she worked. Then I rolled my buggy out to the truck and unloaded my own items. As I finished with my buggy a kid walks by with a row of buggies he was gathering from the parking lot. I say (nicely), "Hey, ya want my buggy?" He ignored me. Very obviously ignored me and kept walking. I was pissed by this time so I half-hollered at him, "HEY. Take my buggy." He stopped and just stood there. I shoved the buggy toward him, by now about 15 feet away. He put his hand out to catch the buggy but it still slammed into him, as I intended. He mumbled an expletive to which I replied, "What? You got something to say to me? You wanna go in and tell me and your manager?" He sneered, "No, Ma'am." I hate WalMart. They don't run a/c so they can save money, they have as few cashiers as possible and have even installed "do it yourself" checkout lanes, and obviously hire little shits to work there. I wish we had a Super Target so I could not go to WalMart. It's just so damn convenient to get everything in one place instead of driving to the fabric store, the grocery store, the pet store, and a clothing store for drawers & socks. I got up and went early so I could park closer and have fewer people running into my cart, which put me in a bad mood first thing because I hate getting up early on the weekend. I'm sure I made that buggy kid's day, too. Grrrrr. Definitely grumpy today. Grumpy, gripey, gritchy (gripey bitch).
I have a friend who is terrified to ask for special treatment or send something back in a restaurant. She's convinced that someone will spit in her food. I think it's all in the asking. I understand that it's not the waitperson's fault if the food isn't right so I try to make them my ally. I guess, if they do spit in my food, it's no worse than french-kissing some stranger in a bar. I MIGHT have done that before, you know, back in the 70s...at college. Of course, back then I was as close to being embalmed as a living person can be from all the liquor consumed. Sheesh. I digress.
I have so many things to do this week. I have jury duty, I have to get a plumber to the house to fix the bathtub faucet, I have to finish distributing books to scholarshipped jocks, I'm going to Austin to see my sister, and I don't know what else might come up as the week progresses. Bleah. The dreading is much worse than the actual event.
I watched part of the movie "Oklahoma!" but had to turn it for NFL Sunday. You know, judging by Velvettush's posts, I just can't feature her in a gingham dress singing her way to work everyday even if she is in Oklahoma. Ha!
Y'all have a good week. 1月20日 Birthdays...CeeCee's mom and Addie's dad had birthdays this week - normally referred to in my family as "Birthday Week." The other niece and nephew have birthdays in May and July so they don't have to share a "Birthday Weekend" but the middle two have usually combined. They're thick as thieves anyway so it's not surprising that they opt to celebrate together. It's tradition that I call each niece and nephew on their birthdays. When they were small they liked to hear my version of the story of "The Day ____ was Born." I asked my nephew if he wanted to hear it again this year and he said I didn't have to tell him as he knows it by heart. My niece, on the other hand, had to return my call and the first thing she said was, "What were you doing 33 years ago?" Ha. So we went through it again, ending with her giggle (as always).
After my oldest niece was born I was always the babysitter. I didn't mind. I still think my brother had kids just for me to play with. I was usually their willing "audient." Audient was a word my oldest niece coined because, if there weren't enough people for an audience, one person could be her audient. Then, when her little sister was old enough to play, she was the choreographer/coach/director of all endeavors and I was their audient (or we were all their audience). What imaginations! We went through the Gymnastics Phase - the oldest was Nadia Komenic (sp) and told the little one she had to be Olga Korbut. The little one would cry because she never got to be Nadia and Olga was ugly. My sister-in-law found them hanging from the closet rods, my Mom looked in her rearview mirror one day to find them hanging upside down from the clothes rod in the backseat...right before it pulled out of the side and they fell headfirst into the floorboard. For about a year we saw their little butts more than their faces. They usually wore bathing suits as leotards. We found them another time in the bathroom - the oldest laying in the bathtub with rags laying all over her and the little one, shivering and blue, going from the sink to the tub warming rags and laying them on her sister to keep her warm. They were hilarious. No, let me rephrase that - they ARE hilarious because they've only gotten to be more fun and funnier with age. And now their kids have been born to amuse me.
When my sister-in-law was pregnant with my oldest nephew she had an episode resulting in us thinking she had probably miscarried, but she hadn't. When I relayed the story to my friend's mom she told me she had done the same thing and it had resulted in her daughter's cerebral palsy and mental retardation. I was sick. I was worried. I didn't tell anyone else in my family because I didn't want them to worry. So, as the day neared for Joe to be delivered I became more and more worried that he would not be physically or mentally normal. I knew he would be loved no matter what, but for his sake I worried. During that time I was working at my sister-in-law's daycare while she prepared and then had the baby. The week before the delivery I became very ill. My throat was swollen nearly shut and I ran a very high fever. The day of the birth I had to go to work but was still very ill (I'm sure the mothers of the kids I was keeping would have been thrilled to know THAT). My Mother called me after delivery to tell me the details. I asked if the baby was okay. She told me he was the most beautiful baby she had ever seen (all her grandbabies were the most beautiful she had ever seen). This let me know that he was okay and my fears had not come true. I cried HARD for about 30 minutes. After that hard cry my throat did not hurt and my fever was gone, and didn't come back. Stress had absolutely made me sick as a dog. I had wanted a nephew ever since my brother married. I thought I would be disappointed when the two girls were born first but, naaaah, they were too awesome to be disappointing. My favorite thing was to rock the babies and sing to them. I sang "Coat of Many Colors" to the girls, and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to the boys. It's a wonder the boys don't get drowsy during the 7th inning stretch at baseball games!
The baby nephew was a bonus. The "cabbage-patch nephew" as he was adopted. The first time I saw him he was layin' in a crib with one of those light things on him because he was jaundiced. I was looking at him when he opened his eyes. They were the biggest, bluest eyes I've ever seen. My heart melted and has been melted (for him) ever since. You shoulda seen it. It was very similar to when the Grinch's heart got bigger....and Bigger....and BIGGER. Ha!
I get choked up when I think about my nieces and nephews. I can't imagine being a real mother. If I can be this full of love for people I didn't even give birth to, how does a mother (or father) STAND it? Gosh. Sometimes it feels like my heart will absolutely burst. Oh, it ain't all flowers and roses, but it mostly is.
Our ice melted and we never got snow but it's still raining and it's a tit nipply outside. Brrrrr. Timber has had about a day and a half when he could go outside so that was good. I was trying to vaccuum today but the crazy dog is terrified of the vaccuum cleaner. Then, when I turn it off, he's all over me to be reassured that all is well with his world. I finally had to put him outside. At least he doesn't attack the vaccuum cleaner like my ol' bulldog used to do. Champy couldn't stand the sound of the small motors on things and would grab 'em and bite the hell out of 'em. He nearly lost his tongue one time when he attacked a weed-eater. Sheesh.
I have jury duty on Monday. Blech. My boss pretty much understands that my jury duty will take an entire day, even if I'm released early. Ha!! I've never been selected in the umpteen times I've had to appear. I try to look surly and mean when I'm there. It's not that much of a stretch.
Gotta run. My Aggies are on tv tonight (basketball). Sweet! Especially since the damn Cowboys aren't on anymore. Thank goodness Jerry Jones told Parcells to take his time deciding if he's gonna coach next year or not. As a result of that three coaches have resigned and moved on. I don't blame 'em. They had to git while the gittin' was good.
Later!
1月17日 More bad weather...I got me a snow day. Er, a sleet day. Whatever. It's cold and I'm at home with Timber and we're just about as useless as two warm & breathing things can be. Brrrr. This morning we laid in bed forever. Timber had been still so long I nudged him to see if he was still alive. He had to go outside in the sleet this morning to poop. He did NOT like sleet. Of course, I've coddled and spoiled him so much by keeping him in the warm house that his system isn't adjusted to the extreme temps. I was worried about Genny because she lives with humans who believe that a dog belongs outside blah blah blah. I talked to her alpha owner and he assured me that Genny was in the house on the dog bed that I gave her. I told him that if he got tired of her being in their house to bring her to me so she could stay in. He has a softer heart than I thought because he had allowed his kids to bring the dog in, AND he said that as she gets older the temperature level by which he judges whether she comes in or not has risen considerably. I was much relieved but probably not nearly as much as Genny.
It's official - I DO NOT WANT TO DIE AND COME BACK AS MY DOG. Yes, the pampering and love and attention may be fantastic - but I don't want to eat my own vomit. Timber barfed this morning and before I could get a rag and clean it up he had scarfed it down like it was filet mignon. Gya!!! I'm gaggin' just thinkin' about it. End of story.
Yesterday when I headed to work I was sure that the roads would be treacherous but they were fairly clear. I only live about five minutes from work so I didn't have much argument about navigating the streets. (Shoot!) The only dangerous part of my trip were the three steps on my front porch. Wow! Suh-lipp-er-y. They were covered by a thin sheet of ice. I remembered a partial bag of kitty-litter that I had in the utility room so I sprinkled the steps with that and made it down without incident. (I had insight into my inability to discard certain things when I realized that the cat litter had belonged to a cat who has been in kitty heaven for over five years.)
Discarding things. Hmmph. I've been watching shows like Mission Organization and fantasizing about my house being totally organized and cleaned out. (Ahhhh.) I read an article the other day telling me that a house only needs two sets of sheets per bed, two towels per person, etc. I decided to discard all but what I need and realized that I have an inability to just toss something because I don't really need it. It's a curse that I inherited from my parents. Everytime someone would try to throw something away either my Mom or Dad would say, "Don't throw that away. As soon as you do you'll need one of those and then you'll have to go buy a new one." Of course, we accumulated so much stuff that we wouldn't have been able to find what we needed even if we knew it was there. I've compiled a list of things that I can't seem to throw out: sheets, towels, tenny-shoes, pots & pans, kitchen utensils, plastic cups, lotion, any kind of sewing material, craft magazines, candle jars, and books. I have a system for some things, tho. I've found that, while not being able to throw things in the trash, I CAN pass them on to nieces, nephews, friends. They've learned to thankfully receive the items, wait a couple of weeks, then toss them. Or some things I can take to the Salvation Army and feel good about doing so. But some things are not accepted at the Army, nor appropriate to pass on to family, so I hang onto them. Like old tenny-shoes. They're worn out, I have new ones, but I keep the old ones in case I need to mow or walk in mud and don't want to mess up my new shoes. The problem is that I now have about eight pairs of "work" shoes. Trust me, I just don't do that much work. I'm going to watch the ABC Primetime show tonight to see the feature about "hoarders." I saw the preview and "those" houses look much worse than mine. My crap is still contained in closets and isn't piled in corners or filling up entire rooms. I feel better already...
I've been nervous watching all the frozen trees cracking and breaking on the Oklahoma weather video. You see, it was weather like that we were experiencing when my nephew, Joe, got whacked in the head and was almost killed. He was walking down the driveway when a limb from a pine tree fell and hit him, cracking his skull and making his brain swell. He's fine now (he's Addie's daddy). It was a very scary thing and I was worried that some other unsuspecting person might get hurt. By the way, Joe's "Glad You're Here Day" is coming up in February.
Y'all stay warm! Hopefully East Texas will be open for business again tomorrow because it sure ain't today. We're all in our houses except for a few jackasses that get out and drive on the ice so they can say they did. It's the men. Tell a man the roads are too bad to drive on and you get a "Aaaaagh... they ain't THAT bad" and then they go drive. What's THAT all about? Anyway.....Timber and I are not out driving - we're snuggling in the house. 1月14日 Ice Storm....You know that song "It never rains in California, but Lord, don't they warn you.."? Well, "It never snows here in East Texas, but Lord, don't they warn you..." I think I'm on the edge of all the worst stuff but it's cold enough for me, that's for sure. Brrrrr. My Dallas kinfolks are feeling the colder temps and my Waco and Austin peeps may get a bit of ice, but if the weatherpeople are right I'll get a little sleet and that'll be it. F*ck. No snow day. I loves me a snow day - IF the electricity doesn't go out. Even that beats going to work. Timber and I have tried to stay under a blanket most of this weekend. I did venture out for a bit yesterday for a basketball game but wish I hadn't as we lost in overtime. Grrrr. My friends cinscorner, crazyjeans and velvettush are getting hard-hit, I think, in northeast Texas and Oklahoma. I'm sure that anyone reading this from somewhere in the northern states who are used to snow and ice are wondering what all the brew-ha-ha is about but ya gotta understand that we jus' ain't used to this stuff. That's why we live in the South for heaven's sake!!
I took some grief for raving over my new sheets/bedding, but it gets worse... I bought a new big-ass television. It's awesome. I'm two catheters away from never getting out of bed again. (I would have to have a catheter for Timber, too.) I could move my bed to the living room next to the front door so I could watch the big-ass tv, be so comfortable I can't stand it, and if I get hungry I could order pizza and just lean over to open the front door for the delivery guy. I think it's an excellent plan. Ha!! If that happens I see a guest spot on Maury Povich somewhere in my future when they send the people to cut the front of my house off so they can load me into a U-Haul truck for my trip to some weight-loss facility. Ha!!
Next week will be my least fave work week of every semester. I have to give out books to the scholarshipped athletes. Blech. Sometimes I get books back at the end of the semester that have obviously never been opened. Also, I get pissed because books are such a racket for the publishers. Students pay $100 for a book that they might get $10 for at the end of the semester on a buy-back. Publishers change editions every coupla years so they can justify not buying back books when the only change may be the book cover. Just think of all the trees that are being cut down so that the book companies can get rich? I just wonder who it is getting the kickbacks - high-level college administrators or politicians? Somebody is benefiting from the profits made from gouging the kids, I guarantee ya. If not there would be laws and rules prohibiting the way they do business.
I've been harrassing my boss for months now because he's selfish and stingy about some things. For instance, Chucky and I will bring breakfast goodies or froo-froo coffees but we bring enough to share with everyone. The boss comes in with just enough for himself, so I call him selfish. He has admitted that I am correct and has tried to be more thoughtful. So Thursday he brought me two giant "pigs-in-a-blanket." It was thoughtful. However, I've been trying to eat a little healthier so I was frustrated that NOW he decides to be thoughtful. He can't win for losing. I compromised, though, and ate one of them instead of both so I wouldn't hurt his feelings or impede his thoughtfulness progress. Ha!! That sucker was GOOD, too.
I haven't been posting much. I don't know if I'm burnt-out or if I just don't have much to say. My cyber-heckler would say it's the latter. I've contemplated shutting down my space and maybe starting over later. Some of the spaces I've really enjoyed reading have stopped posting for one reason or another which has lessened my enjoyment of blogging. I'm still mulling it around so we'll see.
Okay, I've seen it all now. I watch my soap opera "All My Children" at night on Soapnet, a tv channel and website that are all soap opera, all the time. They've introduced a new "Soap Fantasy League." You can "draft" soap opera characters and then get points if they do something on the day's episode. Unbelievable. The commercial for it is horrid with two women attempting a chest-bump but just kinda knocking their tits together. Yech. The commercial ends with one of the fantasy leaguers (a woman) letting out a big belch. What the hell were they thinking??? And no, I won't be drafting my own soapstar team. Good grief.
I like the new pants the NFL refs have started wearing - very festive with the stripe down the leg. I think it has been very evident that I have not discussed my Dallas Cowboys since the big implosion in Seattle. Ugh. The starting QB should never be the holder. And, God love him, T.O. said the only smart thing I've ever heard him say after the game when he said that Romo needed to let it go and not take on all the responsibility for not winning that game because it never should have gotten down to that one hold, one field goal attempt as they had many opportunities throughout the game to secure a win. Hallelujah. Somewhere in that ego-swollen head there is a little sense.
I hope all of you are warm and safe. Rest assured that I am. I did ask one of the cute coaches if he could come spend the night with me. He raised his eyebrows and said "what?" I told him it's gonna be so cold that it'll be a two-dog night and I only have one dog and need another to warm my other side. Ha!! Scared the hell outta that poor boy.
1月8日 Catching up...Okay, I'll try not to get all mushy and pitiful in this post but I admit right up front that I'm struggling today. My Daddy died twelve years ago today. I have a tendency to re-live the whole event in my mind every year. I stayed home from work because I've had random bouts of tears throughout the weekend and woke up that way this morning so I just didn't feel like dealing with people's bullshit. I heard on the news this morning that Elvis would have been 72 years old today if he had lived, which was the age my Daddy was when he died. This made me cry, realizing the entire time that crying about that was stupid but I couldn't seem to help it. Plus, it made me sad for Lisa Marie. Believe me, I KNOW this is silly but my emotions are out on my sleeve today. I've always known Daddy died on Elvis' birthday but it's only been coincidental until this year when E woulda been 72. That makes it feel significant. Crazy. One would think I live in a trailer park and have a mullet and a meth habit since I sound like I have a fascination with Elvis. I don't have any of the above. What keeps playing over and over in my head is the last time my Daddy said, "I love you, Baby." The next morning he was in a coma and I never got to hear that again. I still long for it.
I've also shed a few tears for Susan Ford Bales. To all of us a former President was being buried. I just couldn't stop thinking that for her (and her siblings) they were burying her Daddy. No matter how old or how sick a parent is you're never truly prepared for the finality. And, usually, when things go in the natural order, once your parents die that makes us the new "dying generation." You know....we're next. Ugh.
Okay, for those of you who were wondering, the black cowboy guy never showed up at the tournament. I wasn't the only one who noticed but nobody knew the guy's name or anything about him other than he always came to the tourney. The little weird guy didn't show up on the last day, either.
I got new sheets for Christmas. My nieces got me a set of 400 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. With gift cards I was able to purchase a new mattress topper and pillows. OH MY GOSH!! I had no idea quality sheets and pillows could make such a difference. I will NEVER EVER sleep on cheap sheets again (well, at home). Wow. The only problem is that I never want to get outta bed. Neither does Timber. He's diggin' the new mattress topper that feels like down but isn't. It feels like we're sleeping on a cloud with reallllly good sheets. I used to toss and turn a lot trying to pound my old pillows into submission but now when I lay down at night I go "ahhhhhh." Very nice. They've been telling me how wonderful the sheets are but I was a skeptic. They're expensive but soooo worth it.
I'm gonna sign off for now. I'm just writing fluffy nothings to keep from writing what's really on my mind, but the things on my mind are not things I want to share. Y'all take care. |
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