Family Parties and brackets

Don't like family parties? I found the solution. Don't go to your family party. Go to someone else's. I was invited to a friend's husband's brother's 40th birthday party. I have known my friend and her children for probably 10 years, but never met the husband or his family. My daughter and my friend's daughter are very close friends, and I have been walking with the mother for most of a year. We will call her Christine, because, well, that's her name.

She invited me, said there would be good food, alcohol, and a hot tub. What's not to like? It was at a clubhouse in a new condo complex not that far from me. So I figured, go for an hour or two, meet some new people, have fun, go home, right?

I got caught up in it all. I got to know everyone, chatted with the ladies, played with the dog, took the dog and a 3 year old for a walk. The little girl was adorable. She grabbed the leash out of my hand with surprising strength. I compromised with her, and gave her the end, then held it in the middle. She was OK with that. The dog was good, but you never know. So we walked and talked. No wallflower, this child. She is going to be an astronaut and eat the moon and the stars, because they are made of cheese. One of her little cousins, or maybe her brother, dropped his suit and told everyone, loudly, that he was naked. In case anyone didn't hear, he went to every group and displayed himself and announced his lack of apparel. They were all too cute.

Family issues were non-issues for me. People told me family stories since I was a new audience. Christine seemed glad to have a friend along with her in-laws. I stayed almost 8 hours.

Then today I met a former co-worker for lunch. At my request, we went to a Mexican restaurant where they once canned their own peppers for salsa and poisoned 59 people with botulism. It's a nice independent family restaurant.

After that, I took my little beige end caps to the store and asked the clerk who sold me the patio set to call the manufacturer and order me the green brackets I need by Monday, when I plan to entertain on my patio.

It will be my own family, but I have invited Christine, her husband andkids to join us. Maybe she can give me a fresh new view on my family. If I have a table, that is.

Gaskets, brackets, and end caps

My new patio furniture is green. I have it because my broker sent me a check and I could finally get a patio set. I went all over town in June and July, looking for one I thought would be pretty, functional, and most of all, comfortable.

About 5 years ago my daughter was in college sort of part time, working, and had run up a spate of bills. She whined about wanting to return to school full time but knew she had to deal with her unnecessary bills. Finally I explained a consolidation loan to her, and agreed to assist. We went to the bank, and found that she could get a loan for $90 a month for 15 years and eliminate her creditors. But, the catch was, the bank wanted it in my name and to put a lien on my house.

Child assured me she saw the evil of her ways and could handle the small payment with ease. She repeatedly assured me she had a strong desire to return to college full time and pursue her studies. I relented, signed the loan, and crossed my fingers.

She made the first payment. I insisted she pay me, not the bank, and I would pay the bank. I had experience with her by this time. She resented it, but I told her my credit rating was now on the line, and she could hand me the money, and I would get it to the bank. She made the second payment. You can do the math. 14 years times 12 payments plus 10 for the first year - all my responsibility as she refused to pay another.

Included in the consolidation loan was her credit card debacle, money she had borrowed from her dad to pay her past car insurance, the money she owed her dad for her second car, the money to buy her third car, car insurance for the coming year, and enough money to pay college tuition for a year. I wanted her to show me she could put that tuition money in the bank, not let it burn a hole in her pocket, and pay her tuition herself like an adult.

Two months later, she asked me for money for tuition. She had spend the tuition money already on - who knows what?

So when I say that I will not pay for my daughter to finish college, that is why. I already did. Twice, actually. I worked full time and paid my own way, paid for my ex to get a pharmacy degree, put myself through graduate school. She can do the same. Sadly, she hasn't been in school at all now for a few years.

I paid extra payments, and did my best to pay off that loan early. I don't do loans, and wasn't happy to be paying interest. Interest is for earning, not for paying. The check from my broker allowed me to pay that off, finally, too. That loan was a burden for someone dealing with a pension for income. The child? Still partying every night.

The patio set? It came with a broken bracket so I was unable to set up the table. I was assured by the store that the furniture company would replace the part. For weeks I called the number I was given, but could not get an answer. I finally got someone on the phone, and was told it was the wrong number. She gave me the correct number.

I carefully explained that I needed a bracket, a small piece of plastic that screws in on both sides to hold the leg in place, as it had been snapped in the middle before I got it. I was assured of having the replacement piece within 7-10 days.

Yesterday I came dancing up the driveway from the mailbox with a package. Finally, after almost 2 months, I would be able to use my patio set! It's MI, here, people. Summer is over. I can use the patio maybe another two weeks. If I wear a sweater and take a blanket for the second week.

What was in the package? I admit I do not understand a gasket. But I know what a green bracket looks like.

I found 4 beige end caps to put on the bottom of the legs. They aren't open again until Monday.

Embarrassing Moments Redux Part II

Another summer rerun. I just found out I will probably be going to New Orleans the end of next month for a few days. I hope I don't get fodder for a Part III when I am gone!

More Embarrassing Moments

 

My tired little brain has been digging into its dusty old files and throwing more embarrassing moments at me. There seems no end to the list.

 

I went home from work one day for lunch and returned after just over an hour or so. A co-worker looked at my wrists, and laughed. She then looked me in the eyes and asked me how I got the bruises. I didn't know they were there and I just sat there and turned red. I have yet to hear the end of that one.

 

One morning very early my former dog, Maggie, the best dog in the world, got me up early making doggie horking sounds. I had slept nude that night. I jumped up, grabbed the first article of clothing, which was a pink sock. I put that on, and grabbed the other sock. She made a fast dash for the door, so ran down the stairs and through the kitchen, wearing one sock and carrying one. I opened the door, and had to lean out a little to open the screen to release a dog running like her insides were about to spew. She knew ladies don't hork on the carpet. My neighbor was outside, sitting on the back of his pickup, having a cup of coffee. I clutched my sock and shut the door. That manwas outside come snow or rain every morning before 6 AM for about a year after that.

Both of my parents died from smoking related illnesses. They were ill for long periods of time and it was very ugly. I am anti-smoking. I railed on my daughter for years to never start because it is the hardest addiction in the world to kick. She and I were both taking classes at the same community college. My home computer was acting up and I needed to rewrite a program, so I ran into the school at lunch (no ropes involved) and some stupid little teenager tossed a lit cigarette behind her after exhaling, with the butt almost hitting my face and the smoke choking me. I was furious at the rudeness of the girl. I looked up to make a comment and saw it was my daughter.

 

This one didn't directly happen to me. I was babysitting my niece and nephew. My ex-husband was with me. We weren't married yet; he was only 17 at the time. He went to get us some lunch at McDonald's. He was not very comfortable with children, but when my 3-year-old niece begged to go along he took her. While standing in a long line, she suddenly burst out, quite loudly, with "Look, Uncle Jimmy! Look at the fat lady!! Is she in the circus?"  Just to be sure everyone knew whom she was with, she wrapped her arms around his legs and gave him a big hug.

 

Someone pays my daughter to embarrass me. We went on a Caribbean cruise when she was about 12 years old. Who wears a bra all the time in that kind of heat?  We had a nice room with a good-sized porthole, more of a window. It was nice, because no one could be on the other side except another ship far in the distance, so we leftthe shades open all the time. We went to breakfast, and decided to hurry up and go to the pool, so we had to change fast. I ran in first, undoing my shirt and tossing it aside to grab my bathing suit. I assumed she would shut the door.

 

Yes, it is true, I turned around and the door was still open and someone was standing there. However, I didn’t turn around until after I realized why it was a little darker than normal in the room. Apparently the crew was testing the lifeboats and was dropping them down the outside of the ship, with one right outside my window, full of men looking in. That was why I had turned around to face the door.

 

One more.  Remember the nice young man who embarrassed me in the car rental office? We then drove the car more than 15 hours to Key West to a campground. It was well past midnight and we were tired. The campground was small, but we didn't realize how small. We had a little 2-man tent that we erected quickly. My partner was rather repeatedly vocal (screaming) that evening (and again in the morning). In the morning, I woke up, crawled out of the tent, and found a tent full of young British women about 5 feet away giving me the evil eye. Once again, I just smiled.

Embarrassing moments redux

 

                     Embarrassing Moments

 

We all have some embarrassing moments in our past that we can't ever forget, even though we try hard. Some are just small things, like toilet paper stuck to the bottom of our shoes. Some are more eventful, like that poor woman whose picture has been around the internet several times. She reached for the bridal bouquet but her strapless dress didn't budge.

 

When my daughter was about 3, she already showed signs of being clever and outgoing. She always burped after drinking soda, and we used to joke that she would not be able to drink soda on a date when she got older. We were shopping at a local mall, and she had soda with lunch. We were strolling the mall, it was very quiet, and she suddenly let out a tremendously loud belch. No one would believe such a tiny, skinny little girl would let out such a sound, especially after she looked at me and said, Mom! What do you say? Everyone stared at me. What was I to do, point my finger at the cute little child and blame her?

 

I once had to make an emergency home visit on a Halloween night. Since I was on my way to my boyfriend's house for the weekend, I had to take the puppy with me. I planned to leave her (I only had the one then) in the car. After the truck-driving women in the trailer park pointed my way to the intended home, I got out of the car. They were expecting me, and came out to greet me. They saw the baby beagle and insisted I take her in with me. I took little Molly in to discuss the possible physical abuse of their daughter by her father, who didn't live in the home. After about 15 minutes, Molly horked up on the floor. Not very professional, but the family was kind about it.

 

Once before taking a road trip to Key West my bf of that time and I went to rent a car. We lived in different states and had not seen each other for a while. He was very affectionate and was fondling my backside while we discussed the terms for the car. The counter was very high so I wasn't concerned the employee could see anything. He had an amused smirk on his face, though. I heard a loud noise outside and turned around. There was a large plate glass window behind me and he could see us in reflection. I just smiled.

 

Once the daughter and I were in line at the bank. She was just learning to be potty trained. She was nice and quiet for a few minutes. Then she said she had to go potty. I was almost to the window and they were to close soon, so I asked if she could wait a minute. She said yes, then was quiet again. I asked her if she still needed to go. She said no. A little later, I said, What is that smell, child? .. I don't know.. At least she didn't blame me.

Review

In April of 2004 I wrote an entry on 25 things about me. I am reposting it. It's a little different from the one I wrote a few weeks ago. Not by a lot, but it makes me laugh to see the different slants. At least I no longer have the terrible nightmares.

 

25 Things About Me

You either didn't know or don't want to know

 

1. I am terrified of anything that resembles a bee, hornet or wasp.  2. Twice I have dated men 18 years younger than I am.  3. I have lived in Michigan all my life and would love to never see snow again in my life.  4. I was 45 when I decided to get my master's degree since I never finished the one I started at 25. I had to start from scratch.  5. I use having had skin cancer as an excuse for not doing my yard work.  6. I have about 200 pairs of socks. I won't throw them out unless they get holes in them.  7. I love thunderstorms so much I used to make my old dog sit on the front porch with me and watch them. The nastier the better.  8. Every time the sun comes out during or right after a rain I run outside to see the rainbow. I love double rainbows but have only seen one snowbow.  9. I used to calmly interview children regarding abuse and then pull my car over after leaving and sit in a parking lot and cry.  10. I want to sky dive but can't justify jumping out of a perfectly good plane.  11. I want to live in the woods but I want city water.  12. I love cruises because I never have to decide where to go to dinner and no one has to worry about driving after drinking, plus they bring a new island to you every morning.  13. I think coffee smells really, really bad.  14. I live in Michigan and have maybe seen two of the Great Lakes.  15. Canada is south of me. (I am north of Detroit, which is north of Windsor, Ontario)  16. I was originally a math major in college.  17. I saw the Beatles and the Rolling Stones perform live.  18. I love vampire stories and lore.  19. Every time I go to California I secretly hope for a nice, small earthquake.  20. When I visit people's homes and they leave the television on, I feel I should leave so they can enjoy whatever it is they feel a need to watch.  21. I have terrible, terrible nightmares.  22. I have no filing system but can find any paper within a few minutes.  23. I have never really understood what a gasket is.  24. It bothers me that I have no major skill.  25. After I retired I read a whole book every day for a few months. <o:p></o:p>

Change in Email day

Email day will now be Wednesday, since I had to teach spreadsheets this time. Normally I skip spreadsheets and go right into email and internet, since that is what my students are more interested in. I don't see why anyone who has never used a computer before needs a lesson in spreadsheets, but our "boss" was my coach this time and asked me to teach it. So I did. I was gentle, went slow, eased them into the formula thing, but they were still letting out a sigh of relief when it was over. That was my experience in the past, so I skip that chapter and the one on data bases.

So I only get one lesson to teach both email and internet, since we have more "advanced" techniques in Word on Monday.

If you are willing to send emails to my students with pictures, and I have never sent you an email to participate, please let me know, either by comment or email. I also pick one person for them to all send an email to. Last time it was Connie, and we sent her get well wishes. They agree not to take anyone's email addresses home. They are encouraged to send thank you emails to a few people.

The students always love it, and it keeps their attention much better than emailing each other. "Did you get it yet?" "I don't know, did you send it?" "I don't know, how do I tell?"

I just hope I have enough time to teach them to do attachments. They feel very powerful when they learn to do that.

 

 

Is it tomorrow yet?

I used to work full time, go to grad school full time, raise a defiant teenager, a dog, three cats, and take care of my house and my ailing parents at the same time. Piece of cake. Oh, I also went to the gym 3-5 nights a week.

Right. The hours don't add up well, but I never did sleep very much. I got everything done Right Now, and done right and over with.

Now, my attitude is I will do it Tomorrow. Yesterday I swore to myself that I would use today as my Tomorrow. I would work all day on things I have put off for Tomorrow.

Sigh. I did get some housework done, and started in on my newspapers. I will never throw out a newspaper until I read it because I will not miss my comics. How far behind am I? Let's say I hope to finish reading about snow before it comes again.

Obviously, I haven't done my pictures yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Verbal preview

Remember I said my dog walk pictures did not come out? It seems that they did, but some of them went into a new folder all on their own. One of those magical mysteries of computerdom that I do not understand. I guess there is a limit on how many images the nikon file will hold, then it starts a new one. Who knew?

So I do have pictures. But they need some PhotoShop work, and of course it has been so long since I did any that I forget how. I even forgot how to load the program onto this newer computer. I finally got that done, but need to brush up on the skills to edit the pictures.

What we did find, on one walk in a nice, manicured bedroom community was a scummy frog pond, (complete with a frog nose), a dead mouse, a live mouse that got away before I got the camera out, the ugliest church that ever took 10 years (and counting) to build, black walnuts, a swamp, the corner where the idiotic lady almost ran me over because she didn't see me, an octagon house, a rooster, and a house like mine but owned by an architect. I will try and work on them this week. Oh, the dogs are in there too, of course!

Did I mention that I was fooling around with my computer last week or so, found a little plastic tab, pulled it out, and realized that it was a slot for exactly the size media card my camera holds? It works, too. What a nice thing that will be on my next trip. No cords, no battery draining.

In class today, I was demonstrating what storage device would be best for certain things. File and folder management is not the most exciting lesson, so I threw in some visual aids. I had a 5 1/4" real floppy, a 3 1/2" floppy, a CD, a memory stick, and as I dragged the memory stick out of my purse, I also took out my phone. Who would have thought a few years ago that we would be using phones as storage devices? Mine has pictures on it, so I counted it as a storage device. Jaws dropped when I told them they could probably scan and store every tax paper they have ever had - and these are senior citizens - onto one DVD. Even the guy with the portable oxygen machine was breathing hard on that thought. He is one of my best students in this class. Monday will be email day, so those of you who are willing to email pictures to the class, be ready!

BOOM?

Every Sunday morning I meet a friend to walk at a local mall. We choose this mall because it's oval shaped, and we can just walk and walk while talking and not realize that the miles are passing. We have been doing this now for more than 5 years. Occasionally we run into something unusual. Usually, the odd thing is a storm, a lost child, or some people who dress so oddly we can't miss it.

Today was a little different. We walked 7 miles, then stopped to rest and eat. We use the last laps to do any shopping we have in mind. While in a store, I decided to run to the ladies room while my friend browsed some new photo albums. She takes pictures literally by the thousand per trip, and needs some new storage. I left the store, turned left, and ran into yellow "caution" tape.

OK, that's not normal or usual. I asked someone why the tape was up between me and the restroom, and was told that no one knew. I saw a security guard patrolling the blocked off area. I went back to my friend and said part of the mall is blocked off, it's a Sunday, the mall was open for shopping for less than an hour, and it didn't look good to me.

We made our purchases and found another bathroom. We calmly discussed options as to the reason for the cordon. I opted for bomb scare. She opted for someone accosted in a bathroom or dressing room. She figured blood, I figured explosives. At no time did we seriously consider leaving the mall, since we did not see any 'real' cops. We assumed they must be where they were needed, but if the whole mall wasn't evacuated, we weren't concerned.

We calmly discussed what could be so dangerous that they would block off part of a mall, but not dangerous enough to evacuate. No announcement was made, and security guards were not answering questions. It started to bother me that we were so blase about it. Shouldn't we feel some fear? Is this so common now that we take it all in stride?

Eventually a store employee came towards us (why us, I don't know, the mall was pretty full) and told us we should leave, that there was a suspicious package found. She said she thought it was nothing and that the cordon would soon be removed, but she was heading out. She had more white showing in her eyes than seemed necessary to me.

We finally decided that if we couldn't walk the whole mall, we were going to leave. We had almost 9 miles done by then, so we took our toys and went home.

Take me for a ride

Sometimes my students (senior citizens learning computers) get frustrated and want to just give up. I have to cajole them sometimes. Most of you have grown up with computers, but these people are sometimes confronting one for the first time in their lives and are intimidated. The last thing they need is a geek being all techie on them. So I try to make it more fun and more interesting to keep them in the mood to learn something that intimidates them.

It seems to work. Some come up to me after a class is over and ask me what I am teaching next. A shy gentleman who is retaking the class from another instructor came up to me after the first session of this class. "Hello. I am from India. Presentation is everything. You teach a most excellent class." He calls me ma'am. Every day. He doesn't seem to be having a problem in my class, and I doubt he will need to take it again.

One blonde woman is from Germany. She has a heavy accent, and I asked her how long she has been here. She told me that she probably came here before I was born. Her husband was American. This woman, who has been in this country maybe 50 years, is using a German/English dictionary to learn computer terms.

I gently coaxed her to learn the terms in English, reminding her that the terms didn't even exist in German 50 years ago. She was quiet the first lesson, constantly complaining that it was too hard for her. Slowly, with support, she is starting to feel some 'puter power. I always tell them to show the computer no fear. I remind them who is in charge, that they are.

Actually I sat down to write about what I did today. I am finally done with physical therapy. At no time did the PT do a re-evaluation of my progress. He did not ask me if my pain was gone. He just suddenly told me last wee that this week I will "graduate." I don't think my insurance benefits ran out yet, so I am not sure what that was about, but I didn't care. The Vampire managed to give me two massages at work, and he is finally getting some hands-on experience in this country as a therapist.

My doctor agreed to change my sleeping pill to see if it helps my all around exhaustion any. The bad part is, the new one, Lunesta, caused me to get a really nasty taste in my mouth within ten minutes. It is just now starting to go away, 20 hours later. As soon as I take one for tonight, it will be back. Sigh. The doctor had told me that this Rx has virtually no side effects. I believed him so much that I stopped at the local pharmacy and asked for a package insert, and read it all. One third of people get the bad taste, and 20% get headaches. I don't have a headache, but then I never get one from anything.

Perhaps this nasty taste will prove to be a form of miracle diet. I sure don't want to eat much. Nothing tastes right. So far the best description I can come up with is it's like sucking on a tart soapy dime. Ick!

So what did I do today? I had lunch with a former co-worker who has found a new job. She is so excited she almost glows! Anyone who gets out of children's protective services is joyful.

After lunch, I took a drive. I drove some of the back roads of our county. I went around Bald Mountain and the preserves there. I would love to live in that area. Then I came down another similar road, which comes fairly close to where I live now. A deer ran across the road in front of me. It was over 90 degrees out. I drove around probably three dozen lakes; the roads were all winding around each other and the trees were beautiful. It was so peaceful and pleasant. The last time I drove around that area it was to go investigate abused children. This time, it was just me and nature.

Getting the boot

No one my age understands anything about computers, of course. So when I called the cable company to tell them that when I answer my landline or make a call, I get booted off line from my wireless internet connection, they had a laugh about it. They said they never heard of such a thing, but would send someone out.

They sent a nice young man, maybe old enough to shave. This is good, since all people under 7 are electronic geniuses. He also loved my beagles, as he has a beagle/dalmation.

His jaw dropped when he watched my computer screen as I called my house phone from my cell phone. IE and AOL both got booted as I called a few times. He admitted to me that he didn't believe me until he saw it happen. He had no idea of suggestions to offer. He said he would take the issue back to work and would let me know if they came up with anything. His only possible suggestion was that I get a new phone.

So I went online and searched the Netgear website. This is what I found.

Question

Will the MR314 interfere with my cordless telephone?

Answer

If you have a 2.4 GHz cordless phone, then potentially the 802.11b Wireless network and the phone can interfere with one another. In order to avoid the interference, change the channel on the cordless phone or at the access point.

Doc ID:    N100526.asp

Of course my phone is a 2.4 GHz cordless. But the guy was right. A new phone might solve the problem. So might a new router. I tried changing channels a few times. So far, no luck, but I can keep trying. What a weird thing! I have cable so I can use my phone and the computer at the same time, and, well, I can't! I didn't have this issue withmy old Dell router. Too bad it died.

I am *almost* smart

I find things. My friends know this, and will always ask me questions about how to find something, where something is, how much it costs, and on and on. If someone needed a form or information at work, they came to me. Can't get a report? Go see Susan, she probably knows where an extra one is, or will find it.

In April I had a stress test on my heart, which led to a damaged shoulder (yeah, seemingly unconnected, but I wrote about it already), which led to me being in physical therapy since May. After a few weeks of that without much relief, I called my Vampire (massage therapist) who has been coming here for about a month now, once a week, and fixing my injuries up pretty well.

So, I went to PT and told the guy that I have a great massage therapist who has great hands and was a licensed physical therapist in Romania. I praised him tremendously. I started refusing the rather useless and untrained massages I got at PT, telling them that I was getting a professional massage once a week. Eventually, I told the PT that the Vampire could be very useful to him due to his skills, which he could get probably rather cheaply, since he isn't licensed as a PT in the US, just as a massage therapist.

Then, I suggested to the Vampire that my PT needs someone there who does hands-on work. I said he needs another male there. He has been interested in finding work here where he can use some of his considerable skills, but he has said that everyone wants to hire females. I gave him the PT's card.

Friday the Vampire showed up a few minutes late. Instead of casual, he had on dress slacks and real shoes. I immediately asked him if he had an interview some place. Sure enough, he went to see my PT.

Today, I showed up for PT. The PT told me I should let the Vampire know that he is hired, and that I get the first massage.

The Vampire showed up before I left, with his required paperwork.

Why am I *almost* smart? Now that I can get my insurance to pay for my massages, I find that I am 'graduating' from PT on August 8.