Just Keep Marching

R. came by last night to pick up her summons and I had to take her to where she had been staying to pick up her stuff, which she put in my basement with her other stuff.

She had to sort out her stuff and pick out the stuff she needed to take with her. She was offered a job at The Cheesecake Factory, but had to turn it down because she has no place to stay. It hurt like hell to drop her off at the bus station, not knowing where she was going.

Sometimes we just march. We plod. We stare at the back of the guy in front of us and place one foot in front of the other, more out of inertia than intent. No real destination, direction unknown. The journey becomes the destination. The process becomes the intent. As long as we keep marching, things will eventually work out. Determination trumps incentive.

So we keep our head down and march.

Chronic Chaos

Yesterday when I got the mail, there was a summons for R.

She got a DWI last year and is still working through the Courts. I guess she has to show up for something or the other this week.

She got a job offer, but turned it down because she doesn't have anyplace to stay right now, plus has the court date. I am not real clear what happened where she was staying. I am supposed to help her go get her stuff tonight and I'll find out. I'll give her the Summons while I'm at it.

We received notice last week about the "sudden and tragic" death of a co-worker. I had worked with the guy about ten years ago. He was my Functional Manager. Everyone speculated all week long what had happened.

The Services were last Friday, and it was suicide.

He was only 47, and left a couple of kids and a wife. He had this big booming laugh, and seemed find the humor in just about every situation. We had attended some of the same meetings recently, and he seemed to be the same as he always had been. It was a real shock that such a vital seemingly happy guy with friends in many countries would choose to pull his own string. I admit that it jarred me.

His wife got up at the funeral, and without being specific, said that he was carrying some burdens he could not divest himself of, and didn't know how to get help, so he chose the only exit he could figure out.

What a shame.

Attitude

I have an attitude problem this morning.

I got it from Mrs. A.

The dog woke her up at 1:00 wanting to go out, so she got up and took the dog out. While she was up, she noticed that the garbage had not been taken out. I know because she woke me out of a sound sleep to tell me.

I went right back to sleep.

So when I woke up this morning, it was the first thing I heard from her. V. didn't take out the garbage. Before I was even out of bed. She pushed past me and knocked on his door, and in her very best fishwife screech started in on him.

When she came in the bathroom, I suggested that there was perhaps a better way to handle it than screeching, it was like throwiing gasoline on a campfire. It was perhaps not the smartest thing I have done recently. What can I say? It was zero dark thirty and I am not at my best when I first wake up.

When she got around to the part where she always has to be the one to get V. to do anything, I told her that I do my fair share in that department, she claimed sole ownership of the territory, so I asked "So I am a liar as well?"

Once again, not the best move.

Not the way I wanted to start the week.

Busy

I've been in meetings most of the time, or in between meetings, so I haven't had a lot of time to blog or comment.

I'm sure glad tomorrow is Friday, cause I'm about worn out.

I don't think we have anything planned for this weekend, but next weekend will be busy. I have enough chores around the house to keep me busy for months.

Between my oral surgery and having the crud, I haven't accomplished much in the last couple of months.

Sitting here listening to Charlie Musselwhite's "Delta Hardware" CD. Next weekend he is coming to town. I'm really looking forward to seeing him.

Catch you on the rebound.

Getaway

Mrs A. is getting cabin fever. She had it REAL bad when we had all the snow and cold, and is a little better now that the cold and ice is gone, but she just wants to get away.

So I booked us for a weekend at the Lake Quinault Lodge (http://www.visitlakequinault.com/) for the weekend following Valentines Day. I proposed to her at the lodge on Valentines Day, so I figure I will make double bonus points, and a temporary immunity to the honeydo list. Not that I have ulterior motives or anything.

I also agreed to take the condo on the Oregon Coast for a week in September. We will have to figure out what to do with V. for that week, but can always take him along if we HAVE to.

So now Mrs A. has a couple of things to look forward to. She will function a lot better if she has some rewards to think about.

R. came over last night to get some dressier clothes, because she is going to a Government Job Fair today. I sure hope she gets something.

She looked a lot better than she has. Her life seems to be stabilizing. I took her to Chang's Mongolian Grill to eat. She can be such an attractive, personable young lady when she chooses. Or such a hideous viscous bitch. It's like the old poem:

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle
Of her forehead

And when she was good
She was very good indeed
And when she was bad
She was horrid.

BEWARE!

Number One Idiot of 2006
I am a medical student currently doing a rotation in toxicology at the poison control center. Today, this woman called in very upset because she caught her little daughter eating ants. I quickly reassured her that the ants are not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter into the hospital. She calmed down and at the end of the conversation happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant poison to eat in order to
kill the ants. I told her that she better bring her daughter into the emergency room right away.
Here's your sign, lady. Wear it with pride.
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Number Two Idiot of 2006
Early this year, some Boeing employees on the airfield decided to steal a life raft from one of the 747s. They were successful in getting it out of the plane and home. Shortly after they took it for a float on the river, they noticed a Coast Guard helicopter coming towards them. It turned out that the chopper was homing in on the emergency locator beacon that activated when the raft was inflated. They are no longer employed at Boeing.
Here's your sign, guys. Don't get it wet; the paint might run.
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Number Three Idiot of 2006
A man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the Branch and wrote "this: Put all your muny in this bag." While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller's window. So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to the Wells Fargo Bank. After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and, surmising from his spelling errors that he wasn't the brightest light in the harbor, told him that she could not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America.
Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, "OK" and left.
He was arrested a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at Bank of America.
Don't bother with this guy's sign. He probably couldn't read it anyway.
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Number Four Idiot of 2006
A motorist was unknowingly caught in an automated speed trap that; measured his speed using radar and photographed his car. He later received in the mail a ticket for $40 and a photo of his car. Instead of payment, he sent the police department a photograph of $40. Several days later, he received a letter from the police that contained another picture, this time of handcuffs. He immediately mailed in his $40.
Wise guy ... but you still get a sign
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Number Five Idiot of 2006
A guy walked into a little corner store with a shotgun and demanded all of the cash from the cash drawer. After the cashier put the cash in a bag, the robber saw a bottle of Scotch that he wanted behind the counter on the shelf. He told the cashier to put it in the bag as well, but the cashier refused and said, "Because I don't believe you are over 21." The robber
said he was, but the clerk still refused to give it to him because she didn't believe him. At this point, the robber took his driver's license out of his wallet and gave it to the clerk. The clerk looked it over and agreed that the man was in fact over 21 and she put the Scotch in the bag. The
robber then ran from the store with his loot. The cashier promptly called the police and gave the name and address of the robber that he got off the license. They arrested the robber two hours later.
This guy definitely needs a sign.
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Idiot Number Six of 2006
A pair of Michigan robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers.
The first one shouted, "Nobody move!" When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him.
This guy doesn't even deserve a sign
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Idiot Number Seven of 2006
Arkansas: Seems this guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back knocking him unconscious.
It
seems the liquor store window was made of Plexi-Glass. The whole event was caught on videotape. Yep, Here's your sign!
(Please note that all of the above people are allowed to vote) ________________________________________________________________________
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IDIOTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD:
I live in a semi-rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the Deer Crossing sign on our road.
The reason: "Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore."
From Kingman, KS
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IDIOTS IN FOOD SERVICE:
My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the
person behind the counter for "minimal lettuce." He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg. He was a Chef? Yep ... From Kansas City!
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IDIOT SIGHTING:
I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?
To which I replied, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?"
He smiled knowingly and nodded, "That's why we ask."
Happened in Birmingham , Ala.
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IDIOT SIGHTING:
The stoplight on the corner buzzes when its safe to cross the street I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, "What on earth are blind people doing driving?!"
She was a probation officer in Wichita, KS ___________________________________________________
IDIOT SIGHTING:
At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker. She was leaving the company due to" downsizing." Our manager commented cheerfully, "This is
fun. We should do this more often." Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare.
This was a bunch at Texas Instruments.
________________________________________
IDIOT SIGHTING:
I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the sake of her own life, couldn't understand why her system would not turn on.
A deputy with the Dallas County Sheriffs office no less.
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IDIOT SIGHTING:
When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our
car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the drivers
side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. "Hey," I announced to the technician, "its open!" His reply, "I know - I already got that side."
This was at the CHEVY dealership in Canton, Mississippi!
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STAY ALERT!
They walk among us .. and they REPRODUCE!!!
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Well, I declare

Winter to be over.

As of now I have cancelled the rest of winter and declared it to be Very Early Spring.

One of the things I have been known to say, is that I miss Winter, Seattle only usually having two seasons: the warm rainy season, and the cold rainy season. Every once in a while we have a dry season (also known as August). Very seldom do we have Winter.

One of the advantages of living in Latteland is that if you want to go to winter, Snoqualmie Pass is less than an hour away. People strap boards on their feet and go fall down mountains and break various appendages all the time.

But down here in civilization, we generally avoid the symptoms of true winter, like snow and ice except for an occasional temper fit by the Frost Queen or her toady nephew, Jack. Well, they have proved that they have some sway over conditions.

Fine, they proved their point. Now they can go the hell back where they belong.

So I have decided that Winter is over.

At Last!

It din't freeze last night!

Woohoo!

Mrs A. drove herself to work this morning.. I have been taking her in for several days because she is scared of the snow and ice. She panics if the car does anything but what she wants. She gets white-knuckled just riding in the car when I am driving. I must admit that I occasionally blip the gas pedal intentionally just to get her attention.

The other night we were going down the street in Renton, and there wasn't another car in sight. I dropped the car out of four wheel drive and blipped the gas pedal, and we started spinning in a circle. We ended up pointing the wrong way on a one way street.

I think Mrs A. had an accident.

I know, I'm bad.

More of the Same

Well, it's snowing again. It really doesn't bother me all that much, but Mrs A. is about to drive me nuts (short trip, huh?). She is getting very restless.

She is pretty independent, and having to sit around at home, or rely on my for transportation is driving her nuts, so she feels obliged to pass it along.

I brought my iPod docking station/stereo to work today. I have loaded about 70 CDs on the iPod. What used to take up one full drawer of my desk is now taken up by a little black 1" X 3" X 1/4" piece. I have only used less than half of the storage space on th iPod. Gonna have to go CD shopping.

First thing I did this morning was step outside and step on an insidious terrorist patch of ice lurking under some seemingly innocent snow, and next thing I knew I was laying on my back at the bottom of the steps. Pure as new fallen snow? HAH! Beware .

As I lay there on my back with snow falling in my face, I confess to having some negative thoughts.

Nothing is seriously hurt, but I am probably going to have a couple of technicolor bruises.

I am ready for winter to be over.

Any time now.

I'm waiting........

New Toy

I finally managed to break out the Huskies and dogsled and mush down to Fry's to spend my Christmas money.

I bought an iPod Nano 8 gig MP3 player, and a docking station/stereo.

I spent a good part of Saturday recording CD's on my laptop and then on to the i-Pod. I put on twenty some albums, and only used about 1/6 of the memory. Tonight I will bring home a bunch of CDs from work and load those. Then I suppose I'll need to go but some new music.

The only problem with it is that you have to have iTunes to use it, or it has to be compatible. My boom box at work has an MP3 port, but it still won't play my iPod because I can't download iTunes.

I downloaded Jonny Lang's new CD (Turn Around) at home and am listening to it as I type this. I really like it. It is consideraby cheaper to get it on-line than at the store. Ten bucks as opposed to fifteen. I know some think it is stupid too pay anything, since you can download it for free from one of the pirated music sites. I think it is unethical to steal music, and so far I have never done that, although I do copy CD's.

On the other hand, the weather is still freezing. It briefly got above freezing yesterday, and it wasn't as cold last night as it has been. But to counterballance that, they are predicting more of the white stuff tomorrow.

I want to hear about this Global Warming stuff again.

Not too bad

Mrs A. wanted to have a ride to work today, so I had to get up a couple of hours early. The streets weren't bad at all.

Mrs A. knew I was not real happy about having to drive her around when to my perception there really isn't a problem. She promised me a little something special for running her around.

Last night I went out to get pellets for the pellet stove, but the place was closed. There was a sign on the doors that said they had closed early due to inclemment weather. I'll probably wait until Saturday to get more pellets, and get a ton. That will take two trips, but will probably last the rest of the winter (assuming that this eskimo weather doesn't persist).

It's been a challenging week, and I am sure glad it is Friday.

Drenching rain, hurricane force winds, arctic cold.

What the heck is next, a twister?

(knock on wood)

There's No Business Like Snow Business

I want to know what the f*ck we did to piss off the weather Gods up here in Latteland.

First we had November, which set an all time record for rainfall.

The we had the December wind storm that left large areas of Western Latteland without power for several days. It did a record amount of damage.

Last night we had a real nasty snow storm. Mrs A. and I had an appointment at Group Health in Bellevue at 5:00 last night. As we turned off of 405 to head East on 520, I said "I just saw a snowflake!" it was corn snow, and by the time we had gone the couple of miles to Group Health, the road was white.

When we got out, it was a mess. It took us about a half an hour to get there. It took us three and a half hours to get back home.

We have about six inches of new snow this morning. The temperatures are dropping, so tonight all that water will be turning to ice.

Mrs A. stayed home, but I went to work. Lots of empty parking spaces here at the Lazy B. It should be a quiet day.

When I got here I called her to tell her that I had arrived in one piece, she wanted to know if I would come home at lunch time and give her a ride to work.

I bought her a $30,000.00 four wheel drive SUV so she could get around, and she won't drive in the snow. I can't decide whether to be impressed by her common sense, or pissed at her for her reticence.

Well, I got to go sacrifice a goat to the weather Gods.

Generator

So here is the generator I bought last night. When I got to the dealer, they had it serviced and ready to go. Choke it a little, one pull and it was off and running. The showed me how to operate it.

I should show Mrs A. how to run it I guess. On the low setting it will run for 15 1/2 hours on a tank of gas.

It is small and light enough that I can pick it up with one hand. It will come in real handy when we go camping.

There was a light dusting of snow when we got up this morning. I woke up at 4:00 this morning and looked out the window to check, and it was bare. When Mrs A. got up at 5:oo she came right back upstairs and said "Uh, honey, take a look outside."

Sure enough, Jack Frost had crapped in the street.

Luckily, by the time I rolled out, it had pretty much turned to mush.

They are saying it will be pretty cold for the next couple of dys, getting down into the low 20s and high teens at night, and "warming up" into the low 30's in the afternoon.

If I wanted that stuff, I would have stayed in Idaho.

Blog Frustration

I had a very busy day today at work, so time to hit the blogs was at a premium. So of course Blogger was being updated, and every time I tried to comment, my comment just disappeared into the ether. I just gave up after the third attempt.

We are expecting a snowstormm tonight, so I went out and bought a generator after work tonight. I bought a super silent Honda 2000. A little moe expensive, but very small and light. I can carry it with one hand, so we can take it camping, and it's quiet enough that it shouldn't disturb people around us.

I heard fromm R. and she is living in Black Diamond and working for a property management company. It is a temp job, but a lot of times temp jobs can work into something permanent. I hope, I hope, I hope.

Stayin' Home

One of the things I learned this weekend is that I can't take Percocet and still blog. Oh, if it was absolutely necessary, I probably could. I just couldn't work up the determination and concentration necessary. Much easier to just roll over on the couch.

Another thing is that I don't sleep. I kinda float between consciousness and sleep. Not in one world nor in the other. Not a bad place to be, except when the dreams get weird, and you have a hard time distinguishing what is real and what is not. But then, some of us have that problem even without the drugs (like our President, for example).

My face is still pretty swollen, and I am in a moderate amount of pain, but I decided not to take any Percocet.

At least until I get this posted.

I also need to run to the store for smokes. I have only smoked two cigarettes in the last couple of days, and I feel a nocotine fit coming on, so I need to do that before I take any pain medication, because I really shouldn't drive if I take some.

I was watching the news this morning, and there was a film clip of someone in a Tigger costume punching a kid in the face. Of course the parents of the teen are suing. I figure the kid probably had it coming. Way to go Tigger!

TTFN

Disclaimer

I find that if I go very slow, operating the keyboard is not beyond my capabilitiess.

Logic may be a completely different thing.

Percocet makes me dizzy, and a little confused, and shaky. Other than that, I'm doing fine. My lower left jaw is numb enough that it doesn't bother me too much, bt just enough that I know it is there. TV is about as complex as yougrt, so I can follow that, but whats the point.

I took a couple of Halcion before the operation. It was weird. Walking around in a rreal fog. All I wanted to do was sleep. and that's what I did. Came home and hit the rack for severl hours. So dizzy I can barely walk around.

Time to see if I am capable of doing anything else.

Good News/Bad News

Tomorrow I go in for oral surgery. This is the fourth and final oral surgery. Because of my diabetes, I have poor circulation in my gums, which means I am prone to infections. The way to eliminate this is go in and remove some of the gum tissue to eliminate the "Pockets" I have had this procedure done on three of the four quadrants in my mouth.

Tomorrow is the fourth and final stage. The alternative was to have em' all yanked and go with dentures. That's for old people, and I'm only 58. I'll fight to keep what I have. Once they start removing things, where does it stop?

"Mr. Warren, you have an infarcted toenail, we need to remove your leg."

Or

"You have an aggravated bilateral hangnail, the arm needs to go, up to the elbow."

NO. They are mine, I'll fight for them.

So I get a couple of days of laying around, high on Percocet, trying to read. I picked up "Forever Odd" by Dean Koontz yesterday, so if I can focus and put together a train of thought, I'll have something to read.

Sometimes the dreams are wierd.

Who knows what evil?

I am currently reading "Red Dragon", which is a precursor to "Silence of the Lambs". Hannibal Lector is the scariest villian EVER. The book was a Christmas present from V., and he knew how much I liked the latter. And although I had seen the movie, I had not read the book for "Red Dragon".

I love a good scary movie or book. Oh, I don't mean one of the grossout blood and guts cheap immitations of a scary movie. Or as I like to refer to them "Don't go in the Basement" movies.

"Silence of the Lambs" is both a good book and a good movie, and although there are a couple of gory moments, they are not the focus of the movie.

"Red Dragon" is not quite as good, but still better than most.

The absolute best book for giving me the creeps is "Pet Cemetery" by Steven King. I found the book genuinely disturbing. The kind of book that made me so uneasy that I had to ask myself "Why am I reading this?"

After "Red Dragon" maybe I'll go reread a nice Louis LAmour.

Back in the Saddle Again

Back to the grind. Oh well, at least I have a job I enjoy most of the time. I am kinda pissed that I ended up with the crud over the Holidays. I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to get done over the break. The only thing I really accomplished was to get the computer moved over to V's room. I still need to get the room cleaned up and organized.

I did get the tree taken down and the Christmas Town put away.

My New Years Resolution was to not make a New Years Resolution. Which I made, and therefore broke.

Happy New Year

Hope everybody's evening was fun and safe. I quit going out on New Years Eve quite some time ago. Too many crazy people out there.

So we didn't do much of anything. Sat around and watched a little TV. I am playing a Fantasy Strategy game (Heroes of Might and Magic V), so I played some of that on my new laptop.

I am still fighting the crud. Getting up tomorrow and going off to work will be a challenge.

I feel a nap coming on.