But this is a big one, and for good reason.... I LOVE finding a new book by a favorite author. Something I had no previous knowledge about. Maybe it's not even been out long enough to have some previous clue about it.
This time, it's a cd & songbook styled around the teaching songs written about in Anne McCaffery's Pern series. I've got all but the newest of those novels (and only because I'm waiting for the paperback, as I prefer paperbacks to hard-backs because they're so much easier to hold & read), but I wasn't aware that there was a cd & songbook in the works, till yesterday. And evidently it's by a couple of Washington (state) musicians who have a somewhat celtic style (from what I can tell). Well the songbook & cd are only carried by a few stores in the Pacific Northwest, and over in Europe. I got ahold of one of the stores (via email) yesterday, and they got back to me (last night) and said they've got ONE copy left, would I like them to hold it for me???
OH HELL YEAH!!!! So, emailed them back saying yes, please, and I'd get with them on the phone at some point today and actually pay for the book/cd. It was $35.95 INCLUDING S&H to Alaska (through the US postal service). And I can expect my new cd & songbook in the next couple of weeks. *totally giddy*
I just LOVE Anne McCaffery's Pern series. When I was a teen I used to spend hours reading and rereading the novels, and the _Dragonlover's Guide to Pern_ (I have both first and second editions, and if a third edition ever comes out, I'll buy that too). And gazing at the pictures in the _People of Pern_ book She collaborated on with Robin Wood. It's funny, because there's a gentleman that's been coming into the library lately (was "later", just fixed that) that looks incredibly like the portrait of Robinton. It's almost spooky. Except this guy is of average hight, while Robinton's tall. But, facially. Kinda freaky cool! Anyway, so this was one of my book-places to escape to, as a teen, when I needed out of real life. And I'm thrilled that there's now a cd & songbook to go along with the books, and so we can hear how the songs the Harper's taught would sound.
Ooooh, I'm so happy about this new find!!!! And DH was almost offended last night when I asked if I could order it. He kinda commented that I rarely buy stuff for myself, so if I see something I want that badly, just get it. That I don't need to act all worried over wanting it. ESP. if it's the last copy the store has. (And I picked that store because it's in the same town my mom's family is from, and I figured that maybe if the store wouldn't ship USPS, then a family member could pick it up for me, and send it up.)
Ahhh, I love it when things work out so well.
Ok, I'll be sitting on pins & needles for a couple of weeks till my new goodies get here. *sigh* I need to reread my Pern books. I haven't read them in a couple of years. (Heck, some of my copies need replacing, as they've already been read through so many times.)
Have a Blessed Day!
Friday, March 30, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Ten Small Things I Love for No Big Reason
Snagged from Dianne Sylvan's blog.... Feel free to snag it and post your own small things.
1) I love just crawling into bed at night, curling up with my bunny rabbit, pulling the covers up to my ears, and drifting off.
2) I love easter bunnies and I unashamedly sleep with one!
3) I love tagalongs. (Those peanut-butter-cup girl-scout cookies.)
4) I love having a cat climb into my lap while I'm reading, curl up, and start purring so loudly somebody else can hear it across the room. (And, since nobody I know very well has a cat any longer, I haven't had this happen in FAR too long.)
5) I love (and hate) how in March, my body starts getting these almost uncontrollable cravings for fresh veggies of the spring variety: spinach salads, artichokes, asparagus, zucchini, GOOD cucumbers.... *drool* (I hate this feeling because at this time of year these veggies are still rather expensive.)
6) I love looking out the window in the summer & seeing a birch tree with a full, green leafy canopy causing a sun-dappled spot on the lawn. And even better is to go out with an old blanket or quilt & lay/sit under that shady spot & read.
7) I love snuggling with my dogs when they're sleepy.
8) I love long, hot showers, late at night. That's also when I do my best thinking. But most of all because it relaxes me for "thing 1".
9) I love cheese puffs.
10) I love painting my toes in brilliantly unconservative colors. No pink or peach for me.... I go teal, shocking purple, brilliant bronze, sky blue, lovely lavender.....
Now your turn. I won't tag anybody, but let me know if you post your own 10 Small Things You Love for No Big Reason.
Have a Blessed Day!
1) I love just crawling into bed at night, curling up with my bunny rabbit, pulling the covers up to my ears, and drifting off.
2) I love easter bunnies and I unashamedly sleep with one!
3) I love tagalongs. (Those peanut-butter-cup girl-scout cookies.)
4) I love having a cat climb into my lap while I'm reading, curl up, and start purring so loudly somebody else can hear it across the room. (And, since nobody I know very well has a cat any longer, I haven't had this happen in FAR too long.)
5) I love (and hate) how in March, my body starts getting these almost uncontrollable cravings for fresh veggies of the spring variety: spinach salads, artichokes, asparagus, zucchini, GOOD cucumbers.... *drool* (I hate this feeling because at this time of year these veggies are still rather expensive.)
6) I love looking out the window in the summer & seeing a birch tree with a full, green leafy canopy causing a sun-dappled spot on the lawn. And even better is to go out with an old blanket or quilt & lay/sit under that shady spot & read.
7) I love snuggling with my dogs when they're sleepy.
8) I love long, hot showers, late at night. That's also when I do my best thinking. But most of all because it relaxes me for "thing 1".
9) I love cheese puffs.
10) I love painting my toes in brilliantly unconservative colors. No pink or peach for me.... I go teal, shocking purple, brilliant bronze, sky blue, lovely lavender.....
Now your turn. I won't tag anybody, but let me know if you post your own 10 Small Things You Love for No Big Reason.
Have a Blessed Day!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Some *grrrrrr* moments.....
I've been rather frustrated with DH the last couple of days....
First off, (going to put the worst little grrrr moment last in this line-up, for the sensitivity of the few guys that read here, even though it SHOULD be first) I asked DH to figure out what he wanted me to make for dinner when I got home from work yesterday. I work 4-1/2 hours on Sundays, right smack in the middle of the day. We've got plenty of food in the house, all DH had to do was figure out what he wanted for dinner, and take it out if it needed to be thawed. I'd make it when I got home. I get home, and ask him what we're having for dinner. He says "Oh, we've got that lobster in there, I want you to make that." Ok, but what does he want made WITH it??? I mean, it's these tiny chunks of "squat lobster". It's NOT a full meal in and of itself.
No clue. Not a one. "Well, maybe you can make some sort of pasta." *sigh* I reminded him that he's been adamant lately that he's sick of pasta (I buy that boxed Pasta Roni a lot, because there are some good flavors & they're easy to make to accompany a main-dish that takes longer), so I haven't bought any the last couple of times I've gone go the grocery store. He started grumbling about how I should have bought some, so we'd have it on hand, and now he doesn't have ANY ideas what to have with the lobster. So, here it is, going on 7, and I'm online searching for what the hell to make with that lobster. Most of the things take too long, or need too many ingredients that we don't have, or would be rather expensive to buy the ingredients for. Unfortunately, ANY of them would require a trip to the grocery store. It's now going after 8 pm before I've got a decent selection of recipes for DH to pick from. He decides on Lobster rolls, which is fine by me, as it's something I've wanted to try for a while anyway, it's less time-intensive than some of the others, and the ingredients (other than the lobster) aren't expensive. So, going on 9 pm and I'm off to the grocery store for rolls & lettuce for lobster rolls for dinner.
It was almost 10 pm before we finished dinner, then had to get DD to brush her teeth, she took forever (45 minutes, actually) before she finally went to bed at 10:50. *sigh* It was about 5 till midnight before I crawled into bed.
But, don'tcha know, I'm not supposed to be peeved with DH sitting on his bum all day, because he DID figure out what he wanted for dinner. (Regardless of the fact that all he really did is decide that he wanted the pkg of lobster in the freezer with no real thought as to how to prepare it or what to make with it.)
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Secondly, despite the fact that the refinancing market has had the bottom drop out in the last couple of weeks, and the housing market is taking a nose-dive nation-wide, DH is griping YET AGAIN that he wants to refinance our house. He either wants a bigger house, or a garage. He's not being terribly picky! *rolling eyes*
And yet, not 3 days ago he was griping about all our bills (credit card, mortgage, truck payments, insurance, dr's bills) and how we REALLY need to consolidate because we just can't seem to get a handle on getting them paid. I'm all for the slow&steady wins the race plan. And besides, we DID consolidate ONCE through our bank, already. All it did was open up those credit-cards for more spending from DH, while saddling us with NOT just the credit-card bills, but now the consolidated bill to the bank. And he wants to do it AGAIN. THEN he wants to refinance (ANOTHER bill!) so we can build a garage. We haven't even been able to put in a back-yard (it's all mud & gravel back there), when does he think we're ever going to find the time to build a garage?!?!?! Well, if that's not an option, then let's sell this joint & move into a bigger house. (AGAIN!!! We can't pay the bills we've GOT according to DH, does he really think we can afford a larger mortgage?!?!?) And then there's the fuel bill. Up till now we've been lucky to move into a house that gets such economical fuel usage that we only fill up our 500 gallon tank once a year. That has done just fine. Well, our furnace has been malfunctioning all winter (and the furnace guy we had come look at it did a shitty job, and actually seemed to make it run WORSE, but he's the dad of DH's best buddy, so we can't call him on his shitty maintenance). So, we've been burning a hell of a lot more fuel than we should be, and as the temperatures OUTSIDE aren't rising the way they normally do, it's looking like we're going to have to get a hundred more gallons, just to see us into summer. (That's $200 dollars worth of fuel.)
And NOW he's deciding he wants a bigger house?!?!?! I mean, hell.... if we didn't keep so much crap, maybe we'd have room for what we DO have!!!! He insists on collecting base-ball caps, DD & DH have a bin full of hockey pucks, DH & DD have all sorts of sports crap: full set up each of goalie gear & regular gear for DD; DH's hockey skates, helmet, elbow & knee pads, and the 4 or 5 sticks for the two of them; DD's baseball equipment; the baseball equipment DH invested in the last couple of years as baseball coach for DD's teams; they've both got roller-blades & corresponding pads & helmets; and they've both got snow-machine (outdoor, in DD's case) gear & helmets. And I'm not perfect either, with all the books I accumulate (3 large bookshelves), and my craft magazines & crafting supplies (though, in fairness, my crafting supplies fit in a couple of tubs, and a small cabinet).
So, I don't see WHY we should get a bigger house, when what we really should do is organize better & get rid of shit we don't need. (And for that matter, I've gotta stop collecting all my dad's cast-offs, which he seems to think I need.)
Just.... I'm sick & tired of Dh's constant griping about how over-run our house is, and yet he refuses to take care of what we DO have!!!! We need a new oven, as ours seems to be shot (and whomever lived in this house before we did, stood in the middle of the stove-top, bending it, so all my pots & pans slope toward the front-middle of the stove), we could use a new fridge, and we need to clean out behind (and IN) all 3 of the big kitchen pieces (the dishwasher being the third). If we put mirrored cupboards in the bathrooms, and got some simple, metal shelving for inside the cabinets, we'd be able to clean off our bathroom vanities. If we added an extra shelf to the inside all of our kitchen cabinets, we'd use up that extra space & have more room for the utensils that sit on top of our washer & drier in the laundry-room (his George Foreman grill, my pressure-cooker/canner). If we made a file in the filing cabinet for DD's important school papers, they wouldn't keep piling up on the computer desk & everywhere else there's a flat surface. I'm working on consolidating my loose-leaf recipes into folders or blank cookbooks. We're eternally weeding DD's room of old books, toys & clothes, and I seem to do the same for myself (clothes-wise) about twice a year. We just need to keep on top of it, and get rid of stuff that won't get used again (find somebody else to give that base-ball coaching equipment to!).
But, I SOOOOO don't want to refinance. And I told DH that last night; that if HE refinances, don't put my name on it as _I_ don't want to be saddled with a bill we can't pay. And I will NOT fill out the paperwork for him! I think it's a dangerous move, and I won't be part of it!
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Anybody who doesn't want to read probably a little too much personal information, skip this section
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Lastly, I had my period this weekend, and DH had the audacity to come home on Friday, see that I'd used nearly a whole dang roll of TP, and chew me out for not using less. I'm bleeding like a butchered animal those first couple of days, so of COURSE I'm going through a crap-load of toilet paper!!!! And I told him that it's really rather impossible for me to use less, because of that fact! What did DH say??? "Well, just sit your ass on the pot longer, let it all drain into the toilet, then you wouldn't need as much toilet paper."
Yes, I let him live. I don't know why..... Really I don't. I mean, it doesn't get much more insensitive than that! And yet, you KNOW he would have been griping about me not getting laundry and dishes done, if I HAD sat my ass on the pot all weekend. As it is, I did catch up with laundry & dishes, finally. And I made the banana bread. (Though I forgot the pictures. *sigh*)
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Anyway, so there you go. My grrrrr moments of the last few days.
Have a Blessed Day!
First off, (going to put the worst little grrrr moment last in this line-up, for the sensitivity of the few guys that read here, even though it SHOULD be first) I asked DH to figure out what he wanted me to make for dinner when I got home from work yesterday. I work 4-1/2 hours on Sundays, right smack in the middle of the day. We've got plenty of food in the house, all DH had to do was figure out what he wanted for dinner, and take it out if it needed to be thawed. I'd make it when I got home. I get home, and ask him what we're having for dinner. He says "Oh, we've got that lobster in there, I want you to make that." Ok, but what does he want made WITH it??? I mean, it's these tiny chunks of "squat lobster". It's NOT a full meal in and of itself.
No clue. Not a one. "Well, maybe you can make some sort of pasta." *sigh* I reminded him that he's been adamant lately that he's sick of pasta (I buy that boxed Pasta Roni a lot, because there are some good flavors & they're easy to make to accompany a main-dish that takes longer), so I haven't bought any the last couple of times I've gone go the grocery store. He started grumbling about how I should have bought some, so we'd have it on hand, and now he doesn't have ANY ideas what to have with the lobster. So, here it is, going on 7, and I'm online searching for what the hell to make with that lobster. Most of the things take too long, or need too many ingredients that we don't have, or would be rather expensive to buy the ingredients for. Unfortunately, ANY of them would require a trip to the grocery store. It's now going after 8 pm before I've got a decent selection of recipes for DH to pick from. He decides on Lobster rolls, which is fine by me, as it's something I've wanted to try for a while anyway, it's less time-intensive than some of the others, and the ingredients (other than the lobster) aren't expensive. So, going on 9 pm and I'm off to the grocery store for rolls & lettuce for lobster rolls for dinner.
It was almost 10 pm before we finished dinner, then had to get DD to brush her teeth, she took forever (45 minutes, actually) before she finally went to bed at 10:50. *sigh* It was about 5 till midnight before I crawled into bed.
But, don'tcha know, I'm not supposed to be peeved with DH sitting on his bum all day, because he DID figure out what he wanted for dinner. (Regardless of the fact that all he really did is decide that he wanted the pkg of lobster in the freezer with no real thought as to how to prepare it or what to make with it.)
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Secondly, despite the fact that the refinancing market has had the bottom drop out in the last couple of weeks, and the housing market is taking a nose-dive nation-wide, DH is griping YET AGAIN that he wants to refinance our house. He either wants a bigger house, or a garage. He's not being terribly picky! *rolling eyes*
And yet, not 3 days ago he was griping about all our bills (credit card, mortgage, truck payments, insurance, dr's bills) and how we REALLY need to consolidate because we just can't seem to get a handle on getting them paid. I'm all for the slow&steady wins the race plan. And besides, we DID consolidate ONCE through our bank, already. All it did was open up those credit-cards for more spending from DH, while saddling us with NOT just the credit-card bills, but now the consolidated bill to the bank. And he wants to do it AGAIN. THEN he wants to refinance (ANOTHER bill!) so we can build a garage. We haven't even been able to put in a back-yard (it's all mud & gravel back there), when does he think we're ever going to find the time to build a garage?!?!?! Well, if that's not an option, then let's sell this joint & move into a bigger house. (AGAIN!!! We can't pay the bills we've GOT according to DH, does he really think we can afford a larger mortgage?!?!?) And then there's the fuel bill. Up till now we've been lucky to move into a house that gets such economical fuel usage that we only fill up our 500 gallon tank once a year. That has done just fine. Well, our furnace has been malfunctioning all winter (and the furnace guy we had come look at it did a shitty job, and actually seemed to make it run WORSE, but he's the dad of DH's best buddy, so we can't call him on his shitty maintenance). So, we've been burning a hell of a lot more fuel than we should be, and as the temperatures OUTSIDE aren't rising the way they normally do, it's looking like we're going to have to get a hundred more gallons, just to see us into summer. (That's $200 dollars worth of fuel.)
And NOW he's deciding he wants a bigger house?!?!?! I mean, hell.... if we didn't keep so much crap, maybe we'd have room for what we DO have!!!! He insists on collecting base-ball caps, DD & DH have a bin full of hockey pucks, DH & DD have all sorts of sports crap: full set up each of goalie gear & regular gear for DD; DH's hockey skates, helmet, elbow & knee pads, and the 4 or 5 sticks for the two of them; DD's baseball equipment; the baseball equipment DH invested in the last couple of years as baseball coach for DD's teams; they've both got roller-blades & corresponding pads & helmets; and they've both got snow-machine (outdoor, in DD's case) gear & helmets. And I'm not perfect either, with all the books I accumulate (3 large bookshelves), and my craft magazines & crafting supplies (though, in fairness, my crafting supplies fit in a couple of tubs, and a small cabinet).
So, I don't see WHY we should get a bigger house, when what we really should do is organize better & get rid of shit we don't need. (And for that matter, I've gotta stop collecting all my dad's cast-offs, which he seems to think I need.)
Just.... I'm sick & tired of Dh's constant griping about how over-run our house is, and yet he refuses to take care of what we DO have!!!! We need a new oven, as ours seems to be shot (and whomever lived in this house before we did, stood in the middle of the stove-top, bending it, so all my pots & pans slope toward the front-middle of the stove), we could use a new fridge, and we need to clean out behind (and IN) all 3 of the big kitchen pieces (the dishwasher being the third). If we put mirrored cupboards in the bathrooms, and got some simple, metal shelving for inside the cabinets, we'd be able to clean off our bathroom vanities. If we added an extra shelf to the inside all of our kitchen cabinets, we'd use up that extra space & have more room for the utensils that sit on top of our washer & drier in the laundry-room (his George Foreman grill, my pressure-cooker/canner). If we made a file in the filing cabinet for DD's important school papers, they wouldn't keep piling up on the computer desk & everywhere else there's a flat surface. I'm working on consolidating my loose-leaf recipes into folders or blank cookbooks. We're eternally weeding DD's room of old books, toys & clothes, and I seem to do the same for myself (clothes-wise) about twice a year. We just need to keep on top of it, and get rid of stuff that won't get used again (find somebody else to give that base-ball coaching equipment to!).
But, I SOOOOO don't want to refinance. And I told DH that last night; that if HE refinances, don't put my name on it as _I_ don't want to be saddled with a bill we can't pay. And I will NOT fill out the paperwork for him! I think it's a dangerous move, and I won't be part of it!
*******************************************************************
Anybody who doesn't want to read probably a little too much personal information, skip this section
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*
*
*
*
Lastly, I had my period this weekend, and DH had the audacity to come home on Friday, see that I'd used nearly a whole dang roll of TP, and chew me out for not using less. I'm bleeding like a butchered animal those first couple of days, so of COURSE I'm going through a crap-load of toilet paper!!!! And I told him that it's really rather impossible for me to use less, because of that fact! What did DH say??? "Well, just sit your ass on the pot longer, let it all drain into the toilet, then you wouldn't need as much toilet paper."
Yes, I let him live. I don't know why..... Really I don't. I mean, it doesn't get much more insensitive than that! And yet, you KNOW he would have been griping about me not getting laundry and dishes done, if I HAD sat my ass on the pot all weekend. As it is, I did catch up with laundry & dishes, finally. And I made the banana bread. (Though I forgot the pictures. *sigh*)
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Anyway, so there you go. My grrrrr moments of the last few days.
Have a Blessed Day!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Forgetful!!!!
OMG's I can't believe I did it again!!!!! Yesterday was my Mom's birthday (her 50th!) and I forgot to call her and actually wish her a Happy Birthday. I did get her an e-card sent. And I ordered her gift on Monday (which was belated in and of itself, seeing as it's a 1 year subscription to Alaska Mag and it'll take 4 to 6 weeks for her first issue to get to her). But, I still forgot to call her. I can't believe I did that.
I'm SORRY MOM!!!!!!!
Mom's giving herself the gift of learning to ride a motorcycle. She's taking a motorcycle safety course and should complete the course today and be given the certificate of completion that will allow her to get her motorcycle license. She's going to be a motorcycle Grandma. I think that's cool. (Not that I feel like riding a motorcycle myself.) DD just rolls her eyes and goes on about how wierd it is. SOMEDAY she'll think it's cool, too. LOL
I guess my middle sis sent my Mom a Tucson Harley t-shirt, a Harley "do-rag" and a Tucson Harley pin for Mom's b-day. *grin*
I told Mom she needs to learn how to snow-board next. I mean, she already knows how to surf (she's been living in Hawaii for a few years now), and down-hill ski (and cross-country ski, for that matter), she's getting her motorcycle license. She snorkles & goes scuba diving. She's gone sky-diving, and went in a glider plane for her birthday pressy to herself. Now she just needs to learn to snow-board. Oh, and maybe roller blade. (Do you already know how to roller blade Mom???) *wink* Then she'll be able to keep up with the grandkids no matter WHAT they do! One of these days, DD's going to have all her friends going on about how she's got the coolest grandma in the world!!!! And heck, Mom even bakes an awesome batch of Chocolate Chip cookies, and it's HER recipe for Banana bread I'll be using today. She's recently earned her Master's in Social work. (That's why she moved to Hawaii, to finish her degree, then she found a social worker job there.) She even crochets and sews!!!!! Oh, and did I say that when she & Dad met, she was an egress-mechanic on fighter jets in the Air Force??? Not much my Mom can't do!!!!
But, about being forgetful..... I forgot Dad's birthday back in Dec. My middle sister called & left a message & said "oh, did you forget?!?!?!" Yes, I did. So a day late, I ran into town, picked up his gift, a card, and some cake and took it over to his place. *sigh* What IS it with my memory lately?!?!?! I didn't totally space on my sister's birthday, mainly because I had her sent 2 books from Amazon. But I think her card was a bit late. My other sister's b-day is coming up at the end of May. DH is of the opinion I shouldn't even bother with her, as she forgot mine until our middle sis reminded her. And then she called from the resteraunt to wish me a happy b-day. I told him I try to be a nicer person than that, and at the very least I'll get her a card, and hopefully remember a gift as well.
I've also got 2 birthdays for the nephews to remember NEXT month. (I need to check my calendar & find out WHEN the birthdays are, precisely.) I DID remember the MIL's birthday, Great-Grandma's Birthday, and SIL's birthday (all only a couple of days before, but enough time for DH to find them each a card & a gift, and since they all live in town, that made it easier to get them something on time).
It's like forgetting Dad's birthday set off a chain reaction, and now I can't seem to keep track of ANYBODY's birthday well enough to actually get things done in time. LOL And I've got all the b-days written on my calendars, 2 of them. So, that's no excuse either. *sigh* I don't know what I'm going to do. If I'm this forgetful and I'm only 28, how dang forgetful am I going to be at 35, 45, or 55..... *shaking head*
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Went to the Ice Dog's game last night and they lost, by 1, in a shoot-out, AFTER over-time. Actually, by the offical end of the 3rd period we were tied 2-2 with one of the best ranked teams in the division. It went into over-time and there were some incredibly close calls on both sides. Then we went into the shoot-out and we got point 3 on our 3rd shot. Then they got point 3 on their 3rd shot. Then we each went 3 more shots (for a total of 6 shoot-out shots each) before they got a 4th and we didn't. So, they won, 4 to 3. It was a good game, though.
Had some peevish moments when a couple of bone-heads broke the metal ribbing between the glass panels surrounding the actual rink. There were 6 or 7 guys (most of them looked military with the army crew-cuts) with their feet on the glass, down at the base. They'd periodically stand up, grab the top of the glass panels, and shake the shit out of them. Well, eventually they caused the metal (aluminum?) ribbing between two panels to pop off, allowing the panels to seperate. It took several minutes for a ref to notice that there was a piece of metal on the ice. Well, the ref refitted it, told the guys to knock it off, and the game started again. Well, as soon as the puck was dropped, those several jerks started hauling on the glass again, and kicking it at the bottom, and the piece of metal popped off again. Well, this time three security guards came over, and a couple building maintenance people, escorted 3 or 4 of these jerks from the game, and took about 15 minutes to properly replace the metal piece. No LASTING damage was done, but if the hockey players hadn't been aware of the metal, somebody could have been seriously hurt, tripping over it.
As it was, DH was rather peeved to see these guys get escorted from the building, saying they shouldn't get kicked out for that. I reminded him that it's abuse of public property for them to be kicking the window & shaking it so forcefully, and they're lucky that nobody was hurt, and they didn't do any lasting damage. As it is, it's a well known fact that you can get in serious trouble for throwing something on the ice during a game, and after the metal piece popped off the first time, they should have stopped shaking the glass. When they continued, even knowing the fragility, they showed a pointed disregard for the safety of the hockey players, and the disregard for public property, and that's why they were getting kicked out. I think it's perfectly fine. It's my tax dollars and DH's tax dollars that go to replace things that get broken when people are careless with public property. I don't care to have people wasting MY tax dollars by breaking things through their irresponsible behavior. I mean, not to say I want public property to be shitty & improperly cared for, but I wish people would get it through their heads that just because it's PUBLIC property, that doesn't mean they're within their rights to wreck said public property if they'd like.
We need to be reminded that public property doesn't mean you can treat it as you would your own property. Public property means it's there for EVERYBODY'S use, and therefore we need to treat it in a manner that allows it to be used by others in the community.
It happens at my library where teenagers come in and carve on, or write on, the tables & chairs, scarring them & marking them. Sometimes even burning holes in them with lighters or lit cigs. They seem to think that because their mommy's & daddy's tax dollars pay for the furniture, they should be allowed to treat it however they want. Not so. That furniture is there for everybody to enjoy and to use, but it doesn't belong to ANY ONE OF US, it belongs to ALL of us. And therefore we should be especially careful lest it become unusable for ANY of us! I remind the little ones that they wouldn't go into their grandma's house & stand on the chairs, and they shouldn't come into the library & stand on the chairs, or sit on the table, or shake the trees (we've got four 30 year old fig trees in the lobby, which a lot of people seem to love to shake & try to climb on, but they're really rather fragile). And besides, if you carve your intitials (or worse) into a table, that means that the table has got to be replaced, which is like tossing EVERYBODY'S tax dollars into the garbage for the hell of it, and replacing the old furniture with new furniture just for the sake of replacing it. I know I don't like my tax dollars wasted. Unfortunately I don't think these kids are going to see it that way, until they start paying taxes themselves and see their OWN tax dollars wasted by some punk who doesn't give a rat's ass.
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During the first period we'd spotted, across the rink, one of DD's hockey teammates, so during the break between 1st & 2nd periods, we were walking around trying to find S. so that DD could say hello and catch up. Well, we walked right past this couple who was standing talking to a former coach of DD's, and DH looks at me and said "Was that M. and A?" (His cousin & cousin's wife.) I responded that I didn't know, and who was he talking about.... Finally saw who he was pointing at, and yeah, it did look like M. & A. but what the hell were they doing here??? They moved to Conn. a few years ago, and Grandma didn't say anything about them coming to town last time we talked to her. MIL hadn't said anything bout M & A being in town the other day when DH was talking to her, either. So, went over, and sure enough.... Evidently A's brother died a week or so ago, and they've been here for the last several days for the funeral and visiting family. Now, they've got 4 kids, younger than DD. The oldest is about 6 and DD hasn't seen her since DD was about 3 and M & A's oldest was a baby. In fact, seeing as their second child had a birthday this weekend, they decided to celebrate it here in town, and invite all the family. That's today at 1 pm, up in the hills. And DH is at work, and my car hasn't been plugged in, so we won't be able to make it. I'm a bit bummed about this (even though I am glad to still have my day to just be lazy & not leave the house), because it'd be nice for DD to meet these cousins. And the 6 year old also plays hockey, though only her second year, so the two may have something in common.
M & A were astonished at how big DD has gotten, and that she's been playing hockey for 5 years now, and that she's a goalie (it's rare, the child who actually likes playing goalie, and the parents that will actually allow their child to play goalie). They weren't aware that we've owned our own home for 7+ years now. (Well, we actually have 23 years left on the morgage, but at least we're not renters still.)
I wish we could catch up and let the kids meet. M's sister K. also has a boy that's about 2 months older than DD, but we haven't seen them since DD was about 6 months old. Of course K used to be rather snitty toward me, too.... Always trying to one-up me. Actually made a comment when DD was born (everybody kept going on and on about how pretty a baby DD was) that pretty babies often grew into homely kids. *sigh* She was rather jealous that her little boy had "dumbo ears". Then again, so does Will Smith, but I think he's a good looking guy. And I never said anything negative about her son's ears or appearance. I thought he was a right cute little guy, myself. But, back-handed comments like that run in the family. M & K learned it from their mom (Aunt C, MIL's younger sister).
MIL's quite good at making back-handed comments like that, sometimes they're compliments with a bite, sometimes they're just a nice way of saying a nasty thing. SIL does it quite well (her comment when the older nephew was born that NOW the inlaws had a grandson so they wouldn't need to bother with DD any more) also. And after SIL's second son was born, MIL actually had the audacity to tell SIL (in my hearing) that MIL hoped SIL's next child would be a little girl so that MIL would have a granddaughter to dress up. I told DH about this, and he confronted MIL and reminded her that she DOES have a granddaughter, but we don't want her spending all of FIL's hard-earned money shopping for clothes that DD doesn't need. (We did tell her that if she wants to take DD shopping a couple of times a year for a pretty church dress, that was fine, but no more than 3 or 4 outfits a year. As it is MIL spends thousands of dollars a year on new clothes for herself, for SIL, and for SIL's boys. All of them have more clothes than they could ever wear.) This is all part of the reason I'm glad I'm not blood related to that family. I just hope DD grows up without that bitch-bone.
Interestingly enough, neither Aunt M (MIL's older sister) nor Great Grandma (MIL's mom) seem to have that bitch-bone. Or, maybe they just mellowed out of it. When Grandma & Aunt M. give a compliment, they really mean it, and they don't do it in a back-handed sort of way. And when they disagree with something or don't like something, they'll just come out & tell you about it. They don't insist on being catty & back-stabbing with it.
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Ok, enough with the ranting. I really need to stop griping so much. I was reminded the other day, through a series of syncronis events, that I need to avoid harshness in my environment (both chemically, and mental/emotional), and that not only should I work on having a peaceful mind-set and a outlook, but I need to model that peace & calm to those around me as well. It's really hard to do sometimes. And I find myself ranting & griping, and I know I should be focused on the good, and on bringing peace to those around me..... *sigh*
So, for a nice thought..... I'll be baking that banana bread later, who's coming over for a slice??? *wink* I'll try to remember to post a pic of the completed loaves (or, at least one of them) so y'all can wish you were here to share it with me. *BWG* Truly, if you could make it, you'd be invited.
I Hope You Have a Blessed Day.
I'm SORRY MOM!!!!!!!
Mom's giving herself the gift of learning to ride a motorcycle. She's taking a motorcycle safety course and should complete the course today and be given the certificate of completion that will allow her to get her motorcycle license. She's going to be a motorcycle Grandma. I think that's cool. (Not that I feel like riding a motorcycle myself.) DD just rolls her eyes and goes on about how wierd it is. SOMEDAY she'll think it's cool, too. LOL
I guess my middle sis sent my Mom a Tucson Harley t-shirt, a Harley "do-rag" and a Tucson Harley pin for Mom's b-day. *grin*
I told Mom she needs to learn how to snow-board next. I mean, she already knows how to surf (she's been living in Hawaii for a few years now), and down-hill ski (and cross-country ski, for that matter), she's getting her motorcycle license. She snorkles & goes scuba diving. She's gone sky-diving, and went in a glider plane for her birthday pressy to herself. Now she just needs to learn to snow-board. Oh, and maybe roller blade. (Do you already know how to roller blade Mom???) *wink* Then she'll be able to keep up with the grandkids no matter WHAT they do! One of these days, DD's going to have all her friends going on about how she's got the coolest grandma in the world!!!! And heck, Mom even bakes an awesome batch of Chocolate Chip cookies, and it's HER recipe for Banana bread I'll be using today. She's recently earned her Master's in Social work. (That's why she moved to Hawaii, to finish her degree, then she found a social worker job there.) She even crochets and sews!!!!! Oh, and did I say that when she & Dad met, she was an egress-mechanic on fighter jets in the Air Force??? Not much my Mom can't do!!!!
But, about being forgetful..... I forgot Dad's birthday back in Dec. My middle sister called & left a message & said "oh, did you forget?!?!?!" Yes, I did. So a day late, I ran into town, picked up his gift, a card, and some cake and took it over to his place. *sigh* What IS it with my memory lately?!?!?! I didn't totally space on my sister's birthday, mainly because I had her sent 2 books from Amazon. But I think her card was a bit late. My other sister's b-day is coming up at the end of May. DH is of the opinion I shouldn't even bother with her, as she forgot mine until our middle sis reminded her. And then she called from the resteraunt to wish me a happy b-day. I told him I try to be a nicer person than that, and at the very least I'll get her a card, and hopefully remember a gift as well.
I've also got 2 birthdays for the nephews to remember NEXT month. (I need to check my calendar & find out WHEN the birthdays are, precisely.) I DID remember the MIL's birthday, Great-Grandma's Birthday, and SIL's birthday (all only a couple of days before, but enough time for DH to find them each a card & a gift, and since they all live in town, that made it easier to get them something on time).
It's like forgetting Dad's birthday set off a chain reaction, and now I can't seem to keep track of ANYBODY's birthday well enough to actually get things done in time. LOL And I've got all the b-days written on my calendars, 2 of them. So, that's no excuse either. *sigh* I don't know what I'm going to do. If I'm this forgetful and I'm only 28, how dang forgetful am I going to be at 35, 45, or 55..... *shaking head*
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Went to the Ice Dog's game last night and they lost, by 1, in a shoot-out, AFTER over-time. Actually, by the offical end of the 3rd period we were tied 2-2 with one of the best ranked teams in the division. It went into over-time and there were some incredibly close calls on both sides. Then we went into the shoot-out and we got point 3 on our 3rd shot. Then they got point 3 on their 3rd shot. Then we each went 3 more shots (for a total of 6 shoot-out shots each) before they got a 4th and we didn't. So, they won, 4 to 3. It was a good game, though.
Had some peevish moments when a couple of bone-heads broke the metal ribbing between the glass panels surrounding the actual rink. There were 6 or 7 guys (most of them looked military with the army crew-cuts) with their feet on the glass, down at the base. They'd periodically stand up, grab the top of the glass panels, and shake the shit out of them. Well, eventually they caused the metal (aluminum?) ribbing between two panels to pop off, allowing the panels to seperate. It took several minutes for a ref to notice that there was a piece of metal on the ice. Well, the ref refitted it, told the guys to knock it off, and the game started again. Well, as soon as the puck was dropped, those several jerks started hauling on the glass again, and kicking it at the bottom, and the piece of metal popped off again. Well, this time three security guards came over, and a couple building maintenance people, escorted 3 or 4 of these jerks from the game, and took about 15 minutes to properly replace the metal piece. No LASTING damage was done, but if the hockey players hadn't been aware of the metal, somebody could have been seriously hurt, tripping over it.
As it was, DH was rather peeved to see these guys get escorted from the building, saying they shouldn't get kicked out for that. I reminded him that it's abuse of public property for them to be kicking the window & shaking it so forcefully, and they're lucky that nobody was hurt, and they didn't do any lasting damage. As it is, it's a well known fact that you can get in serious trouble for throwing something on the ice during a game, and after the metal piece popped off the first time, they should have stopped shaking the glass. When they continued, even knowing the fragility, they showed a pointed disregard for the safety of the hockey players, and the disregard for public property, and that's why they were getting kicked out. I think it's perfectly fine. It's my tax dollars and DH's tax dollars that go to replace things that get broken when people are careless with public property. I don't care to have people wasting MY tax dollars by breaking things through their irresponsible behavior. I mean, not to say I want public property to be shitty & improperly cared for, but I wish people would get it through their heads that just because it's PUBLIC property, that doesn't mean they're within their rights to wreck said public property if they'd like.
We need to be reminded that public property doesn't mean you can treat it as you would your own property. Public property means it's there for EVERYBODY'S use, and therefore we need to treat it in a manner that allows it to be used by others in the community.
It happens at my library where teenagers come in and carve on, or write on, the tables & chairs, scarring them & marking them. Sometimes even burning holes in them with lighters or lit cigs. They seem to think that because their mommy's & daddy's tax dollars pay for the furniture, they should be allowed to treat it however they want. Not so. That furniture is there for everybody to enjoy and to use, but it doesn't belong to ANY ONE OF US, it belongs to ALL of us. And therefore we should be especially careful lest it become unusable for ANY of us! I remind the little ones that they wouldn't go into their grandma's house & stand on the chairs, and they shouldn't come into the library & stand on the chairs, or sit on the table, or shake the trees (we've got four 30 year old fig trees in the lobby, which a lot of people seem to love to shake & try to climb on, but they're really rather fragile). And besides, if you carve your intitials (or worse) into a table, that means that the table has got to be replaced, which is like tossing EVERYBODY'S tax dollars into the garbage for the hell of it, and replacing the old furniture with new furniture just for the sake of replacing it. I know I don't like my tax dollars wasted. Unfortunately I don't think these kids are going to see it that way, until they start paying taxes themselves and see their OWN tax dollars wasted by some punk who doesn't give a rat's ass.
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During the first period we'd spotted, across the rink, one of DD's hockey teammates, so during the break between 1st & 2nd periods, we were walking around trying to find S. so that DD could say hello and catch up. Well, we walked right past this couple who was standing talking to a former coach of DD's, and DH looks at me and said "Was that M. and A?" (His cousin & cousin's wife.) I responded that I didn't know, and who was he talking about.... Finally saw who he was pointing at, and yeah, it did look like M. & A. but what the hell were they doing here??? They moved to Conn. a few years ago, and Grandma didn't say anything about them coming to town last time we talked to her. MIL hadn't said anything bout M & A being in town the other day when DH was talking to her, either. So, went over, and sure enough.... Evidently A's brother died a week or so ago, and they've been here for the last several days for the funeral and visiting family. Now, they've got 4 kids, younger than DD. The oldest is about 6 and DD hasn't seen her since DD was about 3 and M & A's oldest was a baby. In fact, seeing as their second child had a birthday this weekend, they decided to celebrate it here in town, and invite all the family. That's today at 1 pm, up in the hills. And DH is at work, and my car hasn't been plugged in, so we won't be able to make it. I'm a bit bummed about this (even though I am glad to still have my day to just be lazy & not leave the house), because it'd be nice for DD to meet these cousins. And the 6 year old also plays hockey, though only her second year, so the two may have something in common.
M & A were astonished at how big DD has gotten, and that she's been playing hockey for 5 years now, and that she's a goalie (it's rare, the child who actually likes playing goalie, and the parents that will actually allow their child to play goalie). They weren't aware that we've owned our own home for 7+ years now. (Well, we actually have 23 years left on the morgage, but at least we're not renters still.)
I wish we could catch up and let the kids meet. M's sister K. also has a boy that's about 2 months older than DD, but we haven't seen them since DD was about 6 months old. Of course K used to be rather snitty toward me, too.... Always trying to one-up me. Actually made a comment when DD was born (everybody kept going on and on about how pretty a baby DD was) that pretty babies often grew into homely kids. *sigh* She was rather jealous that her little boy had "dumbo ears". Then again, so does Will Smith, but I think he's a good looking guy. And I never said anything negative about her son's ears or appearance. I thought he was a right cute little guy, myself. But, back-handed comments like that run in the family. M & K learned it from their mom (Aunt C, MIL's younger sister).
MIL's quite good at making back-handed comments like that, sometimes they're compliments with a bite, sometimes they're just a nice way of saying a nasty thing. SIL does it quite well (her comment when the older nephew was born that NOW the inlaws had a grandson so they wouldn't need to bother with DD any more) also. And after SIL's second son was born, MIL actually had the audacity to tell SIL (in my hearing) that MIL hoped SIL's next child would be a little girl so that MIL would have a granddaughter to dress up. I told DH about this, and he confronted MIL and reminded her that she DOES have a granddaughter, but we don't want her spending all of FIL's hard-earned money shopping for clothes that DD doesn't need. (We did tell her that if she wants to take DD shopping a couple of times a year for a pretty church dress, that was fine, but no more than 3 or 4 outfits a year. As it is MIL spends thousands of dollars a year on new clothes for herself, for SIL, and for SIL's boys. All of them have more clothes than they could ever wear.) This is all part of the reason I'm glad I'm not blood related to that family. I just hope DD grows up without that bitch-bone.
Interestingly enough, neither Aunt M (MIL's older sister) nor Great Grandma (MIL's mom) seem to have that bitch-bone. Or, maybe they just mellowed out of it. When Grandma & Aunt M. give a compliment, they really mean it, and they don't do it in a back-handed sort of way. And when they disagree with something or don't like something, they'll just come out & tell you about it. They don't insist on being catty & back-stabbing with it.
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Ok, enough with the ranting. I really need to stop griping so much. I was reminded the other day, through a series of syncronis events, that I need to avoid harshness in my environment (both chemically, and mental/emotional), and that not only should I work on having a peaceful mind-set and a outlook, but I need to model that peace & calm to those around me as well. It's really hard to do sometimes. And I find myself ranting & griping, and I know I should be focused on the good, and on bringing peace to those around me..... *sigh*
So, for a nice thought..... I'll be baking that banana bread later, who's coming over for a slice??? *wink* I'll try to remember to post a pic of the completed loaves (or, at least one of them) so y'all can wish you were here to share it with me. *BWG* Truly, if you could make it, you'd be invited.
I Hope You Have a Blessed Day.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Snow, again!
Well, it's warmed up in the last couple of days, just in time for spring. It's been in the 20's and felt almost balmy. (Yes, Whim, this time of year, that kind of temperature can feel balmy.) Then, it started snowing. Last night after I got home it started coming down, just this fine, powdery snow. And this morning we've got between 1/2 inch, and 1 inch, and it's still coming down. *sigh*
I guess that'll mean a bit longer before I start seeing any spring flowers..... Like, May! *BIG sigh*
Everybody keeps posting pretty spring flower pictures on their blogs, and I'm getting totally envious that everybody else seems to have temps (and lack of snow) that is allowing for pretty spring flowers. And I've got snow.
Ok, done whining now, I suppose.
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Let's see, what else..... I'm making chicken piccatta for dinner tonight. It's been a while since I've made that.
I never did get my menu lists sorted out & make up a master menu calendar. But, even having the list on hand has helped, as it means that when we're stuck for ideas, we just look at the list and hopefully can pick something off of it that we'd like for dinner.
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Really, not a whole bunch going on except the small everyday things. I've gotta get some laundry done this morning. I did all of our laundry & dishes before we went to Anchorage, but since we came back, we've fallen behind. And DH has kept us busy the last couple of weekends.
We went to the UAF Museum 2 weekends back, last weekend we were going to go to Ice Alaska (ice carving park open during the month of March, every year, with ice-art competitions & sculptures & an ice "park" for the kids to play in). It was too windy, though, so we didn't. This is the last weekend that it's officially open, and I don't think we're going to make it this year. They even have a Ice Stonehenge that's supposed to be a realistically sized & plotted out version of the real thing. I really wanted to see that. *sigh*
This weekend the Ice Dogs (our local Jr. A hockey team) is back in town, and it's almost the end of their season, so we'll all be going tomorrow night, then I elected to stay home while DH & DD go to the game on Saturday. I like hockey, but I also like having a day every week to just stay home & do the little things. Like baking. Like watching a movie (one of MY movies, like "Phantom of the Opera" or "Last of the Mohicans") or recorded travel shows. To sit there & crochet or read while watching, and DH & DD are off doing something else.
Oooh, maybe that's what I'll bake this weekend.... I've got a lot of frozen bananas tucked into odd nooks & crannies in the freezer.... I'll make a triple batch of banana bread. One loaf for J & T (the next-door neighbours), one loaf to stash in the freezer for later use, and one loaf for us to eat right away. Or, maybe I'll make 4 loaves, so that DH can have one of his very own without any nuts. We'll see. He's odd like that and doesn't like nuts in anything. (But he'll eat them out of hand.)
I'm rather a homebody, and I get rather peevish if I don't have the chance to just have a quiet day at home every week or so.
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Well, I think that's it for now.
Have a Blessed Day!
I guess that'll mean a bit longer before I start seeing any spring flowers..... Like, May! *BIG sigh*
Everybody keeps posting pretty spring flower pictures on their blogs, and I'm getting totally envious that everybody else seems to have temps (and lack of snow) that is allowing for pretty spring flowers. And I've got snow.
Ok, done whining now, I suppose.
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Let's see, what else..... I'm making chicken piccatta for dinner tonight. It's been a while since I've made that.
I never did get my menu lists sorted out & make up a master menu calendar. But, even having the list on hand has helped, as it means that when we're stuck for ideas, we just look at the list and hopefully can pick something off of it that we'd like for dinner.
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Really, not a whole bunch going on except the small everyday things. I've gotta get some laundry done this morning. I did all of our laundry & dishes before we went to Anchorage, but since we came back, we've fallen behind. And DH has kept us busy the last couple of weekends.
We went to the UAF Museum 2 weekends back, last weekend we were going to go to Ice Alaska (ice carving park open during the month of March, every year, with ice-art competitions & sculptures & an ice "park" for the kids to play in). It was too windy, though, so we didn't. This is the last weekend that it's officially open, and I don't think we're going to make it this year. They even have a Ice Stonehenge that's supposed to be a realistically sized & plotted out version of the real thing. I really wanted to see that. *sigh*
This weekend the Ice Dogs (our local Jr. A hockey team) is back in town, and it's almost the end of their season, so we'll all be going tomorrow night, then I elected to stay home while DH & DD go to the game on Saturday. I like hockey, but I also like having a day every week to just stay home & do the little things. Like baking. Like watching a movie (one of MY movies, like "Phantom of the Opera" or "Last of the Mohicans") or recorded travel shows. To sit there & crochet or read while watching, and DH & DD are off doing something else.
Oooh, maybe that's what I'll bake this weekend.... I've got a lot of frozen bananas tucked into odd nooks & crannies in the freezer.... I'll make a triple batch of banana bread. One loaf for J & T (the next-door neighbours), one loaf to stash in the freezer for later use, and one loaf for us to eat right away. Or, maybe I'll make 4 loaves, so that DH can have one of his very own without any nuts. We'll see. He's odd like that and doesn't like nuts in anything. (But he'll eat them out of hand.)
I'm rather a homebody, and I get rather peevish if I don't have the chance to just have a quiet day at home every week or so.
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Well, I think that's it for now.
Have a Blessed Day!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Random Thoughts.....
Why is it, every time I sit down the computer, one of the dogs feels the urge to come up, stick their nose under my arm, and nudge me for petting. I mean, they ignore me a lot of the time, but they're as bad as cats, in their determination for attention when I'm trying to be on the computer. LOL
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What is it about driving big-a$$ SUV's that makes women absolutely crazy. Of course, that's really steriotyping, as it's NOT just women, and not actually ALL women. On my way to & from work, it invariably happens that I pass as huge SUV or oversized truck, most often with a woman driver (though some men seem to pull this stunt too) and as soon as they realize that this tiny little car (it's actually a '91 buick regal, so it's not a "tiny little car" it's an older semi-luxury car) is actually PASSING their oversized-@$$, they feel the urge to prove to me that they're (or, their vehical) bigger & better and faster than I am. I'm not trying to prove how fast I am to anybody. But, if you're in the slow-lane, doing 57, and I'm doing 60, I'm going to pull into the left-hand lane, pass your @$$ and then pull back in front of you once I'm past. That's just the way it works. There are a LOT of idiots driving these big trucks & SUVS (more often than not, a woman, but not ALWAYS) that just can't stand to be passed by a little car, so they gas it, as soon as I'm along side them, make me push it up to 62 just to get past them. Then once I AM past them, and in the right-lane again, going 60 again, they decide to ROAR past me at 65, then pull back in FRONT of me and slow their asses down to 57 again. Some of these people JUST CANNOT HANDLE being passed by a small car.
As I said, it's not ALWAYS an SUV, sometimes it's an oversize truck. It's not always a woman, it's sometimes a man. And there are SOME women who don't seem to get upset by being passed by a small car. But, for those who DO get upset by me passing them..... I just laugh as they pass me again, because I KNOW they're burning a hell of a lot more fuel than I am, with that stupid maneuver. I get 26 miles to the gallon (good milage, for the my car's vintage) in the summer. They probably get 13 miles to the gallon, on a GOOD day, when they're NOT speeding up to pass me because I passed them in the first place. So, to get peeved, gun it, and blow past me again.... I'm sure they're sucking down the gas.
Just have to laugh over the idiocy of it, sometimes.
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What kind of moron morgage company REALLY thinks I want to refinance my house right now, make the lenders rich, and lose my home because I'm over-morgaged?!?!?! I'll tell you what kind, the kind that called me at 8:07 this morning as I was getting DD her breakfast. I mean, REALLY?!?!? It's been ALL over the news in the last few days, how so many Americans are looking to lose their homes in the next year, because they've got 2 or even 3 refinances on their home loans, and that market just went belly-up, and the home-owner's rates are going through the roof, and most of them won't be able to afford it. What kind of IDIOT thinks that I'm actually aching to do the same to myself & my family?!?!?! DH actually wanted to refinance last summer, but I had my qualms. I'd heard that the housing market was looking to seriously slow in the near future, and I didn't think it'd be wise to risk it. And I just didn't fill out the paperwork to get it done. (My handwriting's nicer, so if we're doing something official like that, DH prefers if I fill out the paperwork.) We didn't refinance, and now I'm very thankful we didn't. We won't be losing OUR house this year, along with the rest of the folks who were led into these loans by their noses. Not to say that things won't get too hard in the next few years, but for now, we're good. (For those who might read this and be in that situation, I'm sorry. Really, knowing how good it can feel to own one's own house. The thought of losing all that money and one's home..... *shudder*)
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I got into work yesterday and found that all of the overflow of books and media that we'd had stacking up last week, has been checked in and is now ready for shelving. YEAH!!!!! No more shelf-reading for now!!!!! We're running just a bit behind, but the kiss-ass came back on Saturday (after being out LAST weekend, then being out Thursday & Friday with a migrain) and saw the pile-up of books, and did nothing but check-in on Saturday. I guess she was rather frantic & wired again, but at least she got things checked in. LOL And I'm glad I didn't have to work with her!!!!! ;)
I actually had taken 2 pics on my cell-phone camera, but then remembered that I've not got internet access on the phone (i'm on prepaid, so I don't get internet access with that), so I have no way to actually share the pics I took, to show off the overflow of books & media. LOL Go figure. I did get to show DH, though. So he believes me now!!!!! *wink*
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The temp actually got up in the POSITIVE 20's yesterday. The snow on the roof wasn't quite melting off yet, but it was warm!!!! And nice!!!!! And I went out to plug in my car with just my boots & PJ's on, no coat & gloves!!!! It's mid-March in Alaska, it's GOT to start warming up soon. Fortunately we don't have a glut of snow this year (*fingers crossed*) so when the temps do finally warm enough to melt the snow, we probably won't have a massively wet break-up.
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I got notified last week that I've got Jury Duty in May. It'll be precisely 2 years since I last served Jury Duty. But, this time I got chosen to come in for GRAND JURY duty. Of course, we'll see if I'm one of the "lucky 18" who gets picked to come back weekly for the duration, or if I get away without my name getting drawn this time. Really, I think it'll be interesting if I DO get picked. And I work for the borough, so I get paid for serving my country in this manner, either way.
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DH & DD talked me into going outside with them & the dogs to "play" last night, and I got hurt. Evidently DH & DD found that the dogs actually LIKE doing what they were both bred (their breeds, anyway, though not the dogs in particular) to do..... Pull a sled. So, they discovered this while I was at work, and after we'd had dinner last night, they just had to show off. So, out we went, and DH would get both dog's leashes in DD's hands, DD sitting on the sled (normal, plastic sled, not a dog-sled) and he'd coax them down the road. Of course, the second time around they weren't as thrilled about the prospect as they'd been earlier in the day, and they'd keep running up into a neighbour's yard, pulling the sled at an angle & dumping DD. She was loving it. Well, I was standing there, watching, and all the sudden, here comes DH running towards me, with the dogs chasing him, 2 seperate leashes making the sides of the triangle I was now trapped in, and DD & sled being the point. I braced for impact, and managed to NOT be knocked on my ass (or head!), but tried to catch the leash with my hand, to keep Jenny from tripping me as she doubled back around. DH was yelling at me to just jump over the leash. YEAH!!! Like THAT was going to happen. I reminded him that THIS white-girl can't jump!
I wound up with a bruised upper left thigh, a bruised right shin (caught the sled with my shin, as I turned around), and a bruised left hand where I tried to catch the leash. I'm very, very sore today. Of course, at the time it was so funny that I nearly wet myself and must have looked funny as I waddled/ran back to the house to use the bathroom before I DID wet myself. Our neighbours across the street MUST have been laughing..... I don't know for sure, but I know that they were watching out the window. Hell, I'd have been laughing. On the other hand, maybe they were shaking their heads at DH & DD's idiocy. And MY idiocy at going out to play with the two of them & the dogs.
Dd told me this morning that if I think they're dangerous doing what they did yesterday, I should see them when they go to one of the out-door rinks for some skating together. I actually TOLD Dh that after getting hurt, playing with them yesterday, I'm NEVER going skating with them. DH told me that he'd make sure I had all the hockey padding necessary before he'd put me on skates again. *grin* Wise man!
Really, though, DH is going to get the harness we bought for Bashy (former dog, also part husky who liked to pull sleds on occasion) that should fit Jenny. It's over at the FIL's house. And we're going to get Puck a harness of his own (he's a lot more muscular than either Jenny or Bashy), and a lead-rope so they can properly pull a sled. Both of them hooked up to seperate leashes was NOT the way to be trying them out for dog-sledding. But the halters will allow them to comfortably pull a sled, and the lead-rope will mean only 1 rope to trip anybody up. *grin*
Of course, neither dog is really trained to pull a sled, so it's not something that we'll be doing in a serious way. (Thank Goodness, we already do hockey in a serious way, we don't need another winter sport!) But, as I said, both dogs are breeds, bred specifically for pulling sleds & sleighs. So, some of it comes naturally to them. And THEY had fun!!!!
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Ok, I think that's all I've got for today.
Have a Blessed Day!
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What is it about driving big-a$$ SUV's that makes women absolutely crazy. Of course, that's really steriotyping, as it's NOT just women, and not actually ALL women. On my way to & from work, it invariably happens that I pass as huge SUV or oversized truck, most often with a woman driver (though some men seem to pull this stunt too) and as soon as they realize that this tiny little car (it's actually a '91 buick regal, so it's not a "tiny little car" it's an older semi-luxury car) is actually PASSING their oversized-@$$, they feel the urge to prove to me that they're (or, their vehical) bigger & better and faster than I am. I'm not trying to prove how fast I am to anybody. But, if you're in the slow-lane, doing 57, and I'm doing 60, I'm going to pull into the left-hand lane, pass your @$$ and then pull back in front of you once I'm past. That's just the way it works. There are a LOT of idiots driving these big trucks & SUVS (more often than not, a woman, but not ALWAYS) that just can't stand to be passed by a little car, so they gas it, as soon as I'm along side them, make me push it up to 62 just to get past them. Then once I AM past them, and in the right-lane again, going 60 again, they decide to ROAR past me at 65, then pull back in FRONT of me and slow their asses down to 57 again. Some of these people JUST CANNOT HANDLE being passed by a small car.
As I said, it's not ALWAYS an SUV, sometimes it's an oversize truck. It's not always a woman, it's sometimes a man. And there are SOME women who don't seem to get upset by being passed by a small car. But, for those who DO get upset by me passing them..... I just laugh as they pass me again, because I KNOW they're burning a hell of a lot more fuel than I am, with that stupid maneuver. I get 26 miles to the gallon (good milage, for the my car's vintage) in the summer. They probably get 13 miles to the gallon, on a GOOD day, when they're NOT speeding up to pass me because I passed them in the first place. So, to get peeved, gun it, and blow past me again.... I'm sure they're sucking down the gas.
Just have to laugh over the idiocy of it, sometimes.
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What kind of moron morgage company REALLY thinks I want to refinance my house right now, make the lenders rich, and lose my home because I'm over-morgaged?!?!?! I'll tell you what kind, the kind that called me at 8:07 this morning as I was getting DD her breakfast. I mean, REALLY?!?!? It's been ALL over the news in the last few days, how so many Americans are looking to lose their homes in the next year, because they've got 2 or even 3 refinances on their home loans, and that market just went belly-up, and the home-owner's rates are going through the roof, and most of them won't be able to afford it. What kind of IDIOT thinks that I'm actually aching to do the same to myself & my family?!?!?! DH actually wanted to refinance last summer, but I had my qualms. I'd heard that the housing market was looking to seriously slow in the near future, and I didn't think it'd be wise to risk it. And I just didn't fill out the paperwork to get it done. (My handwriting's nicer, so if we're doing something official like that, DH prefers if I fill out the paperwork.) We didn't refinance, and now I'm very thankful we didn't. We won't be losing OUR house this year, along with the rest of the folks who were led into these loans by their noses. Not to say that things won't get too hard in the next few years, but for now, we're good. (For those who might read this and be in that situation, I'm sorry. Really, knowing how good it can feel to own one's own house. The thought of losing all that money and one's home..... *shudder*)
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I got into work yesterday and found that all of the overflow of books and media that we'd had stacking up last week, has been checked in and is now ready for shelving. YEAH!!!!! No more shelf-reading for now!!!!! We're running just a bit behind, but the kiss-ass came back on Saturday (after being out LAST weekend, then being out Thursday & Friday with a migrain) and saw the pile-up of books, and did nothing but check-in on Saturday. I guess she was rather frantic & wired again, but at least she got things checked in. LOL And I'm glad I didn't have to work with her!!!!! ;)
I actually had taken 2 pics on my cell-phone camera, but then remembered that I've not got internet access on the phone (i'm on prepaid, so I don't get internet access with that), so I have no way to actually share the pics I took, to show off the overflow of books & media. LOL Go figure. I did get to show DH, though. So he believes me now!!!!! *wink*
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The temp actually got up in the POSITIVE 20's yesterday. The snow on the roof wasn't quite melting off yet, but it was warm!!!! And nice!!!!! And I went out to plug in my car with just my boots & PJ's on, no coat & gloves!!!! It's mid-March in Alaska, it's GOT to start warming up soon. Fortunately we don't have a glut of snow this year (*fingers crossed*) so when the temps do finally warm enough to melt the snow, we probably won't have a massively wet break-up.
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I got notified last week that I've got Jury Duty in May. It'll be precisely 2 years since I last served Jury Duty. But, this time I got chosen to come in for GRAND JURY duty. Of course, we'll see if I'm one of the "lucky 18" who gets picked to come back weekly for the duration, or if I get away without my name getting drawn this time. Really, I think it'll be interesting if I DO get picked. And I work for the borough, so I get paid for serving my country in this manner, either way.
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DH & DD talked me into going outside with them & the dogs to "play" last night, and I got hurt. Evidently DH & DD found that the dogs actually LIKE doing what they were both bred (their breeds, anyway, though not the dogs in particular) to do..... Pull a sled. So, they discovered this while I was at work, and after we'd had dinner last night, they just had to show off. So, out we went, and DH would get both dog's leashes in DD's hands, DD sitting on the sled (normal, plastic sled, not a dog-sled) and he'd coax them down the road. Of course, the second time around they weren't as thrilled about the prospect as they'd been earlier in the day, and they'd keep running up into a neighbour's yard, pulling the sled at an angle & dumping DD. She was loving it. Well, I was standing there, watching, and all the sudden, here comes DH running towards me, with the dogs chasing him, 2 seperate leashes making the sides of the triangle I was now trapped in, and DD & sled being the point. I braced for impact, and managed to NOT be knocked on my ass (or head!), but tried to catch the leash with my hand, to keep Jenny from tripping me as she doubled back around. DH was yelling at me to just jump over the leash. YEAH!!! Like THAT was going to happen. I reminded him that THIS white-girl can't jump!
I wound up with a bruised upper left thigh, a bruised right shin (caught the sled with my shin, as I turned around), and a bruised left hand where I tried to catch the leash. I'm very, very sore today. Of course, at the time it was so funny that I nearly wet myself and must have looked funny as I waddled/ran back to the house to use the bathroom before I DID wet myself. Our neighbours across the street MUST have been laughing..... I don't know for sure, but I know that they were watching out the window. Hell, I'd have been laughing. On the other hand, maybe they were shaking their heads at DH & DD's idiocy. And MY idiocy at going out to play with the two of them & the dogs.
Dd told me this morning that if I think they're dangerous doing what they did yesterday, I should see them when they go to one of the out-door rinks for some skating together. I actually TOLD Dh that after getting hurt, playing with them yesterday, I'm NEVER going skating with them. DH told me that he'd make sure I had all the hockey padding necessary before he'd put me on skates again. *grin* Wise man!
Really, though, DH is going to get the harness we bought for Bashy (former dog, also part husky who liked to pull sleds on occasion) that should fit Jenny. It's over at the FIL's house. And we're going to get Puck a harness of his own (he's a lot more muscular than either Jenny or Bashy), and a lead-rope so they can properly pull a sled. Both of them hooked up to seperate leashes was NOT the way to be trying them out for dog-sledding. But the halters will allow them to comfortably pull a sled, and the lead-rope will mean only 1 rope to trip anybody up. *grin*
Of course, neither dog is really trained to pull a sled, so it's not something that we'll be doing in a serious way. (Thank Goodness, we already do hockey in a serious way, we don't need another winter sport!) But, as I said, both dogs are breeds, bred specifically for pulling sleds & sleighs. So, some of it comes naturally to them. And THEY had fun!!!!
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Ok, I think that's all I've got for today.
Have a Blessed Day!
Friday, March 16, 2007
5 Things You May Not Know About Me....
Ok, Em & Bardouble BOTH tagged me, so I'm just following through. And I say "May not" because I'm sure some people (Mom & middle sis) will know these things.
1) I was 5 months pregnant with my DD when I graduated High School (on time, with the rest of my class). And for the record (because there was a lot of speculation going around about me during HS, and I always feel the need to clarify) her Dad was my first & is my only!
2) When I was a kid, I had a major fixation (and it's not really diminished very much) on pioneer children. I mean, my Mom bought me a dress from the American Girl catalog that looked just like "Kirsten's" school dress. I had a rag doll. I read ALL of the Mandie (Lois Gladys Leppard's little Victorian character) books. I similarly loved the Little House books, and anything else I could get my hands on that included characters living in cabins or traveling in wagon trains. I also now have my Dad's Foxfire books (while not pioneer, a much more rugged lifestyle than what is currently lived by most of our nation) and the Appalachian Book of Foxfire cookery (use it frequently, actually).
3) I've always wanted to learn to play the piano. I actually took 6 months worth of lessons when I was in first grade, and that's the only good thing I recall about the school that I went to at that point. I really wish I'd been able to keep up lessons, but Mom says that our finances were not good at that time, and we couldn't afford it. Mom is now taking piano lessons, and someday I'd like to take piano lessons as well.
4) I have, at times, gotten so lost in day-dreams that I cannot remember what has gone on during points in my life. Esp. third grade. I don't really recall third grade, except that I'd have elaborate imaginary tea parties with a queen (I think the queen of England, but I may not have been THAT specific) at my little cubicle in school. (Went to a private school that separated desks into cubicles & we worked at our own pace from workbooks, with very little real oversight, and no formally educated teachers. My mom is the reason I passed 3rd & 4th grades at all, as she tutored me in the evenings, after school. On my own I'd read through the workbooks, enjoying the stories that accompanied them, but never did the work.) There were similar episodes in HS, where I'd get so lost in my books and my fantasy life, that I don't recall much of what actually went on during those times.
5) I was 23 before I got my driver's license. I had nasty panic attacks & migraines as a teen that scared the dickens out of me, and for the longest time I absolutely refused to drive. I was afraid I'd have a panic-attack/migraine on the road, lose control, and kill myself or somebody else. I even spent the first few years of DD's life relying on family to get her & I to dr's appointments & grocery shopping. I still don't really LIKE driving, and if I'm going anywhere else with somebody who drives, I'd just as soon be a passenger. However, I DO drive, and I have yet to have a migraine or panic attack (I get them again, though not as frequently, and not in conjunction like I used to) that caused me to lose control & kill myself or somebody else. *wry smile*
Personally, I don't think it's a bad thing that I waited so long to get my DL. I mean, I started out with low insurance, I'm a responsible driver. I don't let myself get distracted while I'm driving. To tell you the truth, I don't think it'd be a bad thing to keep kids from getting their DL's until they're 18. Living right beside the local HS has allowed me to see (and participate in) too many accidents caused by teenagers who drive like idiots. Not to say some adults don't drive like idiots, but teens do it as a matter of course, in my experience.
Ok, five things that you may not have known about me. I'm sure my mom knew all of them. I'm sure my middle sis knew all of them. I have a feeling one or two of my online friends maybe knew one or two of these. I'm really an open book, most of the time. It's hard to come up with 5 things that very few people don't know about me.
Have a Blessed Day!
1) I was 5 months pregnant with my DD when I graduated High School (on time, with the rest of my class). And for the record (because there was a lot of speculation going around about me during HS, and I always feel the need to clarify) her Dad was my first & is my only!
2) When I was a kid, I had a major fixation (and it's not really diminished very much) on pioneer children. I mean, my Mom bought me a dress from the American Girl catalog that looked just like "Kirsten's" school dress. I had a rag doll. I read ALL of the Mandie (Lois Gladys Leppard's little Victorian character) books. I similarly loved the Little House books, and anything else I could get my hands on that included characters living in cabins or traveling in wagon trains. I also now have my Dad's Foxfire books (while not pioneer, a much more rugged lifestyle than what is currently lived by most of our nation) and the Appalachian Book of Foxfire cookery (use it frequently, actually).
3) I've always wanted to learn to play the piano. I actually took 6 months worth of lessons when I was in first grade, and that's the only good thing I recall about the school that I went to at that point. I really wish I'd been able to keep up lessons, but Mom says that our finances were not good at that time, and we couldn't afford it. Mom is now taking piano lessons, and someday I'd like to take piano lessons as well.
4) I have, at times, gotten so lost in day-dreams that I cannot remember what has gone on during points in my life. Esp. third grade. I don't really recall third grade, except that I'd have elaborate imaginary tea parties with a queen (I think the queen of England, but I may not have been THAT specific) at my little cubicle in school. (Went to a private school that separated desks into cubicles & we worked at our own pace from workbooks, with very little real oversight, and no formally educated teachers. My mom is the reason I passed 3rd & 4th grades at all, as she tutored me in the evenings, after school. On my own I'd read through the workbooks, enjoying the stories that accompanied them, but never did the work.) There were similar episodes in HS, where I'd get so lost in my books and my fantasy life, that I don't recall much of what actually went on during those times.
5) I was 23 before I got my driver's license. I had nasty panic attacks & migraines as a teen that scared the dickens out of me, and for the longest time I absolutely refused to drive. I was afraid I'd have a panic-attack/migraine on the road, lose control, and kill myself or somebody else. I even spent the first few years of DD's life relying on family to get her & I to dr's appointments & grocery shopping. I still don't really LIKE driving, and if I'm going anywhere else with somebody who drives, I'd just as soon be a passenger. However, I DO drive, and I have yet to have a migraine or panic attack (I get them again, though not as frequently, and not in conjunction like I used to) that caused me to lose control & kill myself or somebody else. *wry smile*
Personally, I don't think it's a bad thing that I waited so long to get my DL. I mean, I started out with low insurance, I'm a responsible driver. I don't let myself get distracted while I'm driving. To tell you the truth, I don't think it'd be a bad thing to keep kids from getting their DL's until they're 18. Living right beside the local HS has allowed me to see (and participate in) too many accidents caused by teenagers who drive like idiots. Not to say some adults don't drive like idiots, but teens do it as a matter of course, in my experience.
Ok, five things that you may not have known about me. I'm sure my mom knew all of them. I'm sure my middle sis knew all of them. I have a feeling one or two of my online friends maybe knew one or two of these. I'm really an open book, most of the time. It's hard to come up with 5 things that very few people don't know about me.
Have a Blessed Day!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The Boss
No, this isn't about that song on American Idol last night. This isn't about Bruce Springsteen. This is about my boss at work.
I talked to one of the computer guys on Monday, asked him what was going on with the systems. He said that it IS just maintenance, and we're switching over systems or something. AND that this change-over was planned for this week because the computer guys knew that all the kids would be out of the schools, leaving the school-systems unused. Which means that 8 of the 10 users of this computer system were going to be down because of lack of users during this week. Ok, I can understand that. Even if it does put an added hardship on us pages and the Circ assistants, I can understand that the schools make up MOST of the users of the system. So to shut the system down while the schools would not need them, that makes sense.
Computer Guy ALSO said (when I commented that I'm not so much bugged by the systems being down, as I am by the fact that we weren't given any advance warning) that the Computer Staff held a meeting with ALL of the Supervisors 3 or 4 weeks ago, and told them precisely when this would happen, and advised the Supervisors to tell all THEIR staff precisely when this would happen, and get us prepared for it.
So, that's where the ball was dropped. Huh! That means my supervisor (Boss Lady, from a previous post) took that knowledge, and went on vacation, and didn't tell ANYBODY. When I got in Monday, I found that KO -our "Senior Page"- hadn't even known in advance that this was going to happen. So, when she was out for minor surgery on Friday, she wasn't called at home by Boss Lady & tipped off. She came in Monday, and as the SENIOR PAGE, was more clueless than I was.
And my coworker/friend CF emailed me on Saturday (and called) to give me a day's heads-up that we needed to check-in like mad on Sunday, to be sure that we had as much in order before the shut-down as possible. She and the rest of my coworkers (who were at work on Friday afternoon for the "official meeting") were under the impression that DB, ME, and I wouldn't know a thing about the shut-down until we got to work on Monday & found out. And by then it would be too late to do any checking in & stock the shelves with a couple of day's worth of shelving. (It wound up being enough books to get us half-way through Tuesday.)
When I got in on Sunday, Boss Lady was there, so I asked her if indeed we were supposed to check-in as many books as possible, in advance of the Monday shut-down of the system. She, of course, wanted to know who'd tipped me off, and I replied that CF had emailed me about it, just to give me a heads-up. (I didn't tell her that CF also called me.)
Well, wouldn't you know it, guess who called CF into her office yesterday & chewed her ass for tipping me off. That's right, BOSS LADY! She is actually ANNOYED that CF felt it wise to tip me off, so that I could clue in the other clueless ones in time to get some checking-in done, so that we had books to shelve. Boss Lady's excuse was that she was in on Sunday, so CF shouldn't have said anything to me about it because Boss Lady was going to do that herself. On the other hand, NOBODY knew that Boss Lady was going to be in on Sunday. She rarely works Sunday. She's not generally scheduled to be there on Sunday.
My respect for Boss Lady has sunk to an all-time low. I'll still be polite & civil, and I certainly won't "rock the boat", but I have no respect for her. I've worked at this library for almost 2 years now, I've worked as a library page for over 4 years total. I'm not a "newbie", I could have been given the heads-up and handled it ok. Most of the other pages have worked at this library longer than me, none of them were given more than a weekend's worth of heads-up. And the "Senior Page" (this is made a LOT of by Boss Lady) has worked at this library in particular for 30 years and she wasn't even given the courtesy of a heads-up from our Boss Lady. That speaks to me of a Boss Lady that has no professional respect for those of us who work under her. She's made it clear to a couple of us in the past that we're NOT indispensable to this library. And as individuals that's true. We're the least trained, the least educated (or at least, need the least education) and we're easily replaceable. AS INDIVIDUALS! But, as a group, that library would fail to work without us. We're the ones who work the check-out desk. We're the ones who check incoming books in, who inspect them for basic damage before passing them on to somebody else or putting them away. We're the ones who put those shelf-fulls of books in order & put them away out in the stacks. Ours may not be a highly educated, highly trained line of work, but it's integral to the library. And often, we're the only staff that the patrons really interact with. We're reminded about how important it is for us to be friendly & helpful to the patrons (as long as we don't help them find the books they're looking for, as we're "not trained enough" to help find the books that we put away in the first place).
But, it's times like this when Boss Lady makes it clear that she has NO professional (or semi-professional, or workplace) respect for US. She sees us as no more important than the computers which were shut down. Than the chairs that the patrons sit in. We're replaceable, and this little move of hers has gone to remind us all that we're NOT IMPORTANT enough to be considered in the coming of a big event.
Nope, my respect for Boss Lady is gone. I'll keep my mouth shut at work, because most of the time I like the details of my job. And someday I'd like to have the opportunity to be back at my neighbourhood library, working for a Boss who does give me some professional consideration. So, I'll keep from rocking the boat at work as best I can. But my Boss Lady won't see any loyalty to her in particular from me. And I'm looking forward to the days when Boss Lady is on vacation, or has her days off. Because that's when I don't feel like I've got to constantly look over my shoulder. That's when I don't feel like I shouldn't ask questions & expect answers. And that's when I know that if I HAVE a concern, I can take it to somebody other than Boss Lady, and actually be listened to. (If she's there, I have to talk to her first, working my way up the chain of command.)
And for the record, I HAVE been telling Patrons what's up, when asked. If Boss Lady (or anybody else) makes a stink about it, I'll tell them that _I_ don't believe people should be treated as stupid. I believe in common courtesy, and not lying out my teeth to my coworkers, my friends, and the patrons I work with, means that I talk to them. I tell them what's going on. If she doesn't like that, tough. I work for them, that doesn't mean they can make me betray my ethics. And I'm union, so I can take my concerns there if I have to.
Have a Blessed Day!
I talked to one of the computer guys on Monday, asked him what was going on with the systems. He said that it IS just maintenance, and we're switching over systems or something. AND that this change-over was planned for this week because the computer guys knew that all the kids would be out of the schools, leaving the school-systems unused. Which means that 8 of the 10 users of this computer system were going to be down because of lack of users during this week. Ok, I can understand that. Even if it does put an added hardship on us pages and the Circ assistants, I can understand that the schools make up MOST of the users of the system. So to shut the system down while the schools would not need them, that makes sense.
Computer Guy ALSO said (when I commented that I'm not so much bugged by the systems being down, as I am by the fact that we weren't given any advance warning) that the Computer Staff held a meeting with ALL of the Supervisors 3 or 4 weeks ago, and told them precisely when this would happen, and advised the Supervisors to tell all THEIR staff precisely when this would happen, and get us prepared for it.
So, that's where the ball was dropped. Huh! That means my supervisor (Boss Lady, from a previous post) took that knowledge, and went on vacation, and didn't tell ANYBODY. When I got in Monday, I found that KO -our "Senior Page"- hadn't even known in advance that this was going to happen. So, when she was out for minor surgery on Friday, she wasn't called at home by Boss Lady & tipped off. She came in Monday, and as the SENIOR PAGE, was more clueless than I was.
And my coworker/friend CF emailed me on Saturday (and called) to give me a day's heads-up that we needed to check-in like mad on Sunday, to be sure that we had as much in order before the shut-down as possible. She and the rest of my coworkers (who were at work on Friday afternoon for the "official meeting") were under the impression that DB, ME, and I wouldn't know a thing about the shut-down until we got to work on Monday & found out. And by then it would be too late to do any checking in & stock the shelves with a couple of day's worth of shelving. (It wound up being enough books to get us half-way through Tuesday.)
When I got in on Sunday, Boss Lady was there, so I asked her if indeed we were supposed to check-in as many books as possible, in advance of the Monday shut-down of the system. She, of course, wanted to know who'd tipped me off, and I replied that CF had emailed me about it, just to give me a heads-up. (I didn't tell her that CF also called me.)
Well, wouldn't you know it, guess who called CF into her office yesterday & chewed her ass for tipping me off. That's right, BOSS LADY! She is actually ANNOYED that CF felt it wise to tip me off, so that I could clue in the other clueless ones in time to get some checking-in done, so that we had books to shelve. Boss Lady's excuse was that she was in on Sunday, so CF shouldn't have said anything to me about it because Boss Lady was going to do that herself. On the other hand, NOBODY knew that Boss Lady was going to be in on Sunday. She rarely works Sunday. She's not generally scheduled to be there on Sunday.
My respect for Boss Lady has sunk to an all-time low. I'll still be polite & civil, and I certainly won't "rock the boat", but I have no respect for her. I've worked at this library for almost 2 years now, I've worked as a library page for over 4 years total. I'm not a "newbie", I could have been given the heads-up and handled it ok. Most of the other pages have worked at this library longer than me, none of them were given more than a weekend's worth of heads-up. And the "Senior Page" (this is made a LOT of by Boss Lady) has worked at this library in particular for 30 years and she wasn't even given the courtesy of a heads-up from our Boss Lady. That speaks to me of a Boss Lady that has no professional respect for those of us who work under her. She's made it clear to a couple of us in the past that we're NOT indispensable to this library. And as individuals that's true. We're the least trained, the least educated (or at least, need the least education) and we're easily replaceable. AS INDIVIDUALS! But, as a group, that library would fail to work without us. We're the ones who work the check-out desk. We're the ones who check incoming books in, who inspect them for basic damage before passing them on to somebody else or putting them away. We're the ones who put those shelf-fulls of books in order & put them away out in the stacks. Ours may not be a highly educated, highly trained line of work, but it's integral to the library. And often, we're the only staff that the patrons really interact with. We're reminded about how important it is for us to be friendly & helpful to the patrons (as long as we don't help them find the books they're looking for, as we're "not trained enough" to help find the books that we put away in the first place).
But, it's times like this when Boss Lady makes it clear that she has NO professional (or semi-professional, or workplace) respect for US. She sees us as no more important than the computers which were shut down. Than the chairs that the patrons sit in. We're replaceable, and this little move of hers has gone to remind us all that we're NOT IMPORTANT enough to be considered in the coming of a big event.
Nope, my respect for Boss Lady is gone. I'll keep my mouth shut at work, because most of the time I like the details of my job. And someday I'd like to have the opportunity to be back at my neighbourhood library, working for a Boss who does give me some professional consideration. So, I'll keep from rocking the boat at work as best I can. But my Boss Lady won't see any loyalty to her in particular from me. And I'm looking forward to the days when Boss Lady is on vacation, or has her days off. Because that's when I don't feel like I've got to constantly look over my shoulder. That's when I don't feel like I shouldn't ask questions & expect answers. And that's when I know that if I HAVE a concern, I can take it to somebody other than Boss Lady, and actually be listened to. (If she's there, I have to talk to her first, working my way up the chain of command.)
And for the record, I HAVE been telling Patrons what's up, when asked. If Boss Lady (or anybody else) makes a stink about it, I'll tell them that _I_ don't believe people should be treated as stupid. I believe in common courtesy, and not lying out my teeth to my coworkers, my friends, and the patrons I work with, means that I talk to them. I tell them what's going on. If she doesn't like that, tough. I work for them, that doesn't mean they can make me betray my ethics. And I'm union, so I can take my concerns there if I have to.
Have a Blessed Day!
Monday, March 12, 2007
We Be Jammin'!!!!!!
Well, as of this morning, my boss & other superiors have put myself & my fellow pages in a tough situation. Some of us had as little as 1 day's notice. The decision was made to shut down the check-in/check-out computers for a total of 4 days to upload some new materials.
So, starting this morning, we will be checking materials out to patrons manually (hand-writing all numbers on pre-printed forms, to be hand-entered at a later date by the circulation assistants), but will not be able to check books in, in any manner. For the next 4 days, we do not have ANY new materials to shelve, and we will be piling incoming books on the work-room table, to be checked in Friday, Saturday, and as long after that as it takes to process them. This will likely back us up for weeks, overloading us with check-ins & shelving till the end of March at the VERY least, possibly even backing us up well into April (it's happened before, not for this reason, though).
The idiotic part is not really that the computers are being shut down for that amount of time. The horrid part is that books have been checked out & stamped with due dates during this week that we'll be shut down. So, these books are STILL going to come up due, without a way for us to get them off the patron's records. That means that when we finally get computer capabilities back, these books will be overdue & continue being overdue until we work our way through the bus-load of books that are going to pile up on us this week. That's unfortunate for the patrons, because once our computers DO come back online (and they'll be able to see this for themselves, by checking their own accounts at home when the computers are back & running) they'll see that the books they turned in during this week are now days, or even weeks overdue.
And we're going to run out of video games & DVDs VERY quickly, being unable to check back in the media that is coming back. Those usually have a VERY quick turn-over rate; often coming back, getting shelved, and going back out in the same day. Without that turn-over, we're going to run out of DVDs by Tuesday evening, most likely. Wednesday mid-morning probably at the latest. That means pissed patrons who can't check-out that next volume of StarTrek or McGuiver or Poirrot as quickly as they usually can. And again, it could have been mostly avoided if we'd given the patrons the heads-up. MOST patrons are a bit annoyed by a delay or disruption of the norm, but they're accomodating if they've got advance warning. Without that advance warning, they start suspecting that we're deliberately holding out on them, or screwing them over. I've seen it happen. Most people are mostly pleasant when know in advance that things will be disrupted. By & large, they're not-NEARLY-so-pleasant when there's no advance warning.
That's unfortunate for us, as well, because it makes us look poorly managed and slow.
The real truth is that we could have been warned a couple of weeks in advance that this was coming (it's to download new materials, not because of some flub-up in the computer system). We could have prolonged check-out-dates on items that would be due this week. We could have given patrons a heads-up that we would be slowed this week by computer maintenance, and that books brought in would not be checked in, in a timely fashion. And we could have voluntarily shut-down internet access for that length of time. It's a hard-ship to patrons, granted, but it'll be a HUGE hardship to US, seeing as patrons are going to come in & expect to find things business-as-usual, only to face longer lines, slower managing of materials, and overdues that shouldn't be overdue.
On top of that, it's spring break. Which means parents bringing in lots of children all at around the same time, for our spring-break crafts & activities. All those families are likely to check-out their requisite basketfuls of books. And there will be even longer lines.
I guess what I hate the most is the dishonesty. I'm not a perfectly honest person, but I don't see the point in not telling people what's up, as a rule. I don't think other people are terribly stupid, and when I'm instructed to lie to them, either deliberately ("oh, that little beep? That's nothing important." when it's really a claim's returned that's STILL on their card.) or by omission. It's annoying to be told by my bosses that I must be deliberately dishonest, when it would have been easier on all of us to be honest & upright about everything in the first place. If we had been honest that this was coming up a couple of weeks ago, many of the snags & snarls we'll see this week could have been avoided.
*sigh* Above & beyond the long check-out lines, the staggering stacks of books, and the disgruntled patrons, we've got maybe 1 day's worth of books to be shelved. The work-room shelves are only about 1/2 full of books to be put out. That means that tomorrow (Tuesday) through Thursday closing will be filled with shelf-reading, shelf-reading and MORE shelf-reading. Not a fun prospect. Granted it's an activity that must be done, but it's best done in shorter spurts. After about an hour, one's eyes start crossing, and one loses track of which book one was on more frequently. Now, today is MY longest day at work (I work 8 hours with a 1 hour lunch break and 2 fifteen minute breaks), where as the rest of my days at work this week will be no more than 6 hours (1/2 hour lunch break included). On the other hand, I've got 3 coworkers that start work tomorrow, facing the likely prospect of 3 of their 5 work-days being filled with NOTHING but 7 hours of shelf-reading and a 1-hour desk shift. The last 2 days of THEIR workweek will be doing probably nothing but desk & check-IN of all those stagnating books.
*sigh* I HATE, HATE, HATE being put in this position. MOST of the time I love my job. I'm not looking forward to it this week, though.
Have a Blessed Day!
So, starting this morning, we will be checking materials out to patrons manually (hand-writing all numbers on pre-printed forms, to be hand-entered at a later date by the circulation assistants), but will not be able to check books in, in any manner. For the next 4 days, we do not have ANY new materials to shelve, and we will be piling incoming books on the work-room table, to be checked in Friday, Saturday, and as long after that as it takes to process them. This will likely back us up for weeks, overloading us with check-ins & shelving till the end of March at the VERY least, possibly even backing us up well into April (it's happened before, not for this reason, though).
The idiotic part is not really that the computers are being shut down for that amount of time. The horrid part is that books have been checked out & stamped with due dates during this week that we'll be shut down. So, these books are STILL going to come up due, without a way for us to get them off the patron's records. That means that when we finally get computer capabilities back, these books will be overdue & continue being overdue until we work our way through the bus-load of books that are going to pile up on us this week. That's unfortunate for the patrons, because once our computers DO come back online (and they'll be able to see this for themselves, by checking their own accounts at home when the computers are back & running) they'll see that the books they turned in during this week are now days, or even weeks overdue.
And we're going to run out of video games & DVDs VERY quickly, being unable to check back in the media that is coming back. Those usually have a VERY quick turn-over rate; often coming back, getting shelved, and going back out in the same day. Without that turn-over, we're going to run out of DVDs by Tuesday evening, most likely. Wednesday mid-morning probably at the latest. That means pissed patrons who can't check-out that next volume of StarTrek or McGuiver or Poirrot as quickly as they usually can. And again, it could have been mostly avoided if we'd given the patrons the heads-up. MOST patrons are a bit annoyed by a delay or disruption of the norm, but they're accomodating if they've got advance warning. Without that advance warning, they start suspecting that we're deliberately holding out on them, or screwing them over. I've seen it happen. Most people are mostly pleasant when know in advance that things will be disrupted. By & large, they're not-NEARLY-so-pleasant when there's no advance warning.
That's unfortunate for us, as well, because it makes us look poorly managed and slow.
The real truth is that we could have been warned a couple of weeks in advance that this was coming (it's to download new materials, not because of some flub-up in the computer system). We could have prolonged check-out-dates on items that would be due this week. We could have given patrons a heads-up that we would be slowed this week by computer maintenance, and that books brought in would not be checked in, in a timely fashion. And we could have voluntarily shut-down internet access for that length of time. It's a hard-ship to patrons, granted, but it'll be a HUGE hardship to US, seeing as patrons are going to come in & expect to find things business-as-usual, only to face longer lines, slower managing of materials, and overdues that shouldn't be overdue.
On top of that, it's spring break. Which means parents bringing in lots of children all at around the same time, for our spring-break crafts & activities. All those families are likely to check-out their requisite basketfuls of books. And there will be even longer lines.
I guess what I hate the most is the dishonesty. I'm not a perfectly honest person, but I don't see the point in not telling people what's up, as a rule. I don't think other people are terribly stupid, and when I'm instructed to lie to them, either deliberately ("oh, that little beep? That's nothing important." when it's really a claim's returned that's STILL on their card.) or by omission. It's annoying to be told by my bosses that I must be deliberately dishonest, when it would have been easier on all of us to be honest & upright about everything in the first place. If we had been honest that this was coming up a couple of weeks ago, many of the snags & snarls we'll see this week could have been avoided.
*sigh* Above & beyond the long check-out lines, the staggering stacks of books, and the disgruntled patrons, we've got maybe 1 day's worth of books to be shelved. The work-room shelves are only about 1/2 full of books to be put out. That means that tomorrow (Tuesday) through Thursday closing will be filled with shelf-reading, shelf-reading and MORE shelf-reading. Not a fun prospect. Granted it's an activity that must be done, but it's best done in shorter spurts. After about an hour, one's eyes start crossing, and one loses track of which book one was on more frequently. Now, today is MY longest day at work (I work 8 hours with a 1 hour lunch break and 2 fifteen minute breaks), where as the rest of my days at work this week will be no more than 6 hours (1/2 hour lunch break included). On the other hand, I've got 3 coworkers that start work tomorrow, facing the likely prospect of 3 of their 5 work-days being filled with NOTHING but 7 hours of shelf-reading and a 1-hour desk shift. The last 2 days of THEIR workweek will be doing probably nothing but desk & check-IN of all those stagnating books.
*sigh* I HATE, HATE, HATE being put in this position. MOST of the time I love my job. I'm not looking forward to it this week, though.
Have a Blessed Day!
Thursday, March 08, 2007
100th post!!!!
Wow!!!! I didn't even realize I was already at 100. Shocking. Not the post I'd meant to make this morning, actually.
My title was going to be "And another one's Gone", and be regarding my baby sis. Mom called (*waves* HI MOM!) last night and asked if K. had called. Of course not, she rarely calls me, unless she's got something to brag about. Well, evidently on K's my-space acct, she'd posted that she & the fiancee have split, and she won't be moving out of state now. Evidently the fiancee has things he "needs to work on" and doesn't feel like marriage at this point in his life. DH suspects (though we've not talked to K. or the fiancee) that maybe the fiancee is back from "over there" and wishing he hadn't gotten out of the military at all. Personally I'm figuring the came back, found himself out of the military, and facing immediate fatherhood & husband-hood to a woman who's very high maintenance (and said woman's daughter, who's equally high maintenance). Facing her premature demands for a dream-home built specifically for her as soon as they get to his home-town, and facing her demands for a high-cost wedding, supposedly to be footed by his parents. As usual, she's been jumping the gun, having "Family portraits" taken with the fiancee less than a week after his return state-side. She's been planning this wedding since the day after they got engaged (the day he headed back "over there", from his thanksgiving leave-time, over a year ago).
They never really dated, before getting engaged. He had the hots for her, she wouldn't give him the time of day seeing as he's not totally hunky. I finally persuaded her to give him a shot, when he came back from "over there" for Thanksgiving. She did, and by the time he headed back (a week early, I might add) they were engaged. He's been "over there" the entire engagement, and the plan was origionally for them to have a civil-service wedding back at Christmas time (and the large church ceremony when they got back to his home-town, in May). That fell through when The Fiancee decided that he was not quite ready. So, then they were just figuring on the big church ceremony in May.
Then in the last couple of weeks, K. decided that if they left Fairbanks on March 14th, as planned, that would get them down to Fiancee's home-town about a week later (allowing for driving time and nasty road conditions). That would leave approx. a month & a half for wedding planning. Dontcha know, a girl just CAN'T have a big church wedding with less than 3 months planning. So, she decided to postpone the wedding, and focus on buying a house as soon as they got down there. (Reminder, they're both now out of work, though he is facing the prospect of returning to the family doors&windows installation business when he gets back to his home-town.) And now..... From what Mom said last night, it sounds like they've split altogether. Dad stopped by K's apartment this morning, to see her. The Fiancee answered the door, and K. was upstairs still asleep. So, Dad said he'd be calling K. as soon as he got off the phone with me.
Personally, I'm still not hating the Fiancee. He's a nice guy, there's no two ways about it. I have a feeling that K. was moving far too fast (and being far too demanding with her wishes & desires for their future) and he just couldn't handle facing a life with that. At least not quite yet. DH's feeling that the Fiancee rather wishes he was back "over there" may be right, and Dad agreed that it could be that he's re-enlisted already, or seriously considering it. (In fact, I can totally picture K. breaking things off, if he chose a return to the military over her plans.) I have a problem hating a guy for getting cold feet & deciding to slow down (or back out altogether), knowing K's aggressiveness toward finding a guy to set her up for life. Seeing how they acted at Christmas, toward each other, I'm really not convinced she loves him. She spent all her time planted on the couch, playing with her little Nintendog on her DS. You'd think, an engaged couple, him just back from "over there" they'd be fawning all over each other. Sickly sweet. Not so. There wasn't any cuddling or snuggling. There wasn't any sweet-talk. I'm not convinced at all that she ever loved him. I think she loved her plans with him. I think she loved the life she imagined he could give her. And I'm somewhat of the opinion that it's not The Fiancee that called things off at all, but K. herself. If she got an inkling that he wasn't going to be able to (or willing to) provide her with the life she wanted for herself, she'd have no qualms breaking it off. Which leaves me wondering if she's mourning the loss of their relationship right now, or the loss of her plans for their future.
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LOL So, my 100th post is all about my baby sis. Go figure.
Wanted to say THANK YOU for all the congrats on the hockey tournament win. DD has been shocked & embarassed by my bragging on her & her team. I've done it here, I've done it at work. And I think she's been somewhat shocked & embarassed that other people that don't know her well, or at all, are so forthcoming with congratulations. LOL She's nine, she's embarassed by the funniest things, sometimes. Then again, I remember being embarassed as hell over the funniest things when I was pubescent, also. So I can't totally blame her.
Well, I think that's it for today.
Have a Blessed Day!
My title was going to be "And another one's Gone", and be regarding my baby sis. Mom called (*waves* HI MOM!) last night and asked if K. had called. Of course not, she rarely calls me, unless she's got something to brag about. Well, evidently on K's my-space acct, she'd posted that she & the fiancee have split, and she won't be moving out of state now. Evidently the fiancee has things he "needs to work on" and doesn't feel like marriage at this point in his life. DH suspects (though we've not talked to K. or the fiancee) that maybe the fiancee is back from "over there" and wishing he hadn't gotten out of the military at all. Personally I'm figuring the came back, found himself out of the military, and facing immediate fatherhood & husband-hood to a woman who's very high maintenance (and said woman's daughter, who's equally high maintenance). Facing her premature demands for a dream-home built specifically for her as soon as they get to his home-town, and facing her demands for a high-cost wedding, supposedly to be footed by his parents. As usual, she's been jumping the gun, having "Family portraits" taken with the fiancee less than a week after his return state-side. She's been planning this wedding since the day after they got engaged (the day he headed back "over there", from his thanksgiving leave-time, over a year ago).
They never really dated, before getting engaged. He had the hots for her, she wouldn't give him the time of day seeing as he's not totally hunky. I finally persuaded her to give him a shot, when he came back from "over there" for Thanksgiving. She did, and by the time he headed back (a week early, I might add) they were engaged. He's been "over there" the entire engagement, and the plan was origionally for them to have a civil-service wedding back at Christmas time (and the large church ceremony when they got back to his home-town, in May). That fell through when The Fiancee decided that he was not quite ready. So, then they were just figuring on the big church ceremony in May.
Then in the last couple of weeks, K. decided that if they left Fairbanks on March 14th, as planned, that would get them down to Fiancee's home-town about a week later (allowing for driving time and nasty road conditions). That would leave approx. a month & a half for wedding planning. Dontcha know, a girl just CAN'T have a big church wedding with less than 3 months planning. So, she decided to postpone the wedding, and focus on buying a house as soon as they got down there. (Reminder, they're both now out of work, though he is facing the prospect of returning to the family doors&windows installation business when he gets back to his home-town.) And now..... From what Mom said last night, it sounds like they've split altogether. Dad stopped by K's apartment this morning, to see her. The Fiancee answered the door, and K. was upstairs still asleep. So, Dad said he'd be calling K. as soon as he got off the phone with me.
Personally, I'm still not hating the Fiancee. He's a nice guy, there's no two ways about it. I have a feeling that K. was moving far too fast (and being far too demanding with her wishes & desires for their future) and he just couldn't handle facing a life with that. At least not quite yet. DH's feeling that the Fiancee rather wishes he was back "over there" may be right, and Dad agreed that it could be that he's re-enlisted already, or seriously considering it. (In fact, I can totally picture K. breaking things off, if he chose a return to the military over her plans.) I have a problem hating a guy for getting cold feet & deciding to slow down (or back out altogether), knowing K's aggressiveness toward finding a guy to set her up for life. Seeing how they acted at Christmas, toward each other, I'm really not convinced she loves him. She spent all her time planted on the couch, playing with her little Nintendog on her DS. You'd think, an engaged couple, him just back from "over there" they'd be fawning all over each other. Sickly sweet. Not so. There wasn't any cuddling or snuggling. There wasn't any sweet-talk. I'm not convinced at all that she ever loved him. I think she loved her plans with him. I think she loved the life she imagined he could give her. And I'm somewhat of the opinion that it's not The Fiancee that called things off at all, but K. herself. If she got an inkling that he wasn't going to be able to (or willing to) provide her with the life she wanted for herself, she'd have no qualms breaking it off. Which leaves me wondering if she's mourning the loss of their relationship right now, or the loss of her plans for their future.
************************************************************
LOL So, my 100th post is all about my baby sis. Go figure.
Wanted to say THANK YOU for all the congrats on the hockey tournament win. DD has been shocked & embarassed by my bragging on her & her team. I've done it here, I've done it at work. And I think she's been somewhat shocked & embarassed that other people that don't know her well, or at all, are so forthcoming with congratulations. LOL She's nine, she's embarassed by the funniest things, sometimes. Then again, I remember being embarassed as hell over the funniest things when I was pubescent, also. So I can't totally blame her.
Well, I think that's it for today.
Have a Blessed Day!
Monday, March 05, 2007
We're BACK!!!!!!! Or.....
We Are The Champions, reprise.
Well, let's just start off by saying that the outcome of the trip was a good one. My daughter now has the distinction of being the goalie for the ONLY team in our league, from our town, to win at this tournament. That we're also the youngest, just caps it.
I don't recall all the numbers (shots on goal, against DD, and all) but I do recall final scores:
First game against the Shooting Stars came to 5-1 in favor of the Icebreakers (DD's team).
Second game against the Firebirds (best team in Anchorage, from the appearance) came to 2-2 tied with the Icebreakers.
Third game against the MatSu Eagles came to 8-0 in favor of the Icebreakers.
Fourth game, and championship bragging-rights, against the Firebirds again, came to 5-1, in favor of our Icebreakers.
Just some shots above to show ya a little bit of the games. That's the girls, post victory lap, posing with the trophy & the coaches, letting the WORLD know who's NUMBER ONE!
There's a pic of DD with the DH, prior to her first game at the tourney. And the other one is obviously a shot of one of her saves. Not the most incredible of her saves, but a good save (a VALID save) nonetheless.
(Grrrrrr!!!!! I was going to link to the dinky little clip in today's paper, but for whatever reason the website for the local paper doesn't want to open. *sigh* Sorry.)
****************************************************************************
Other than the actual hockey, DD got to go swimming at H2Oasis (the only water-park in the state, as far as I know) with the rest of her team, for the birthday of one of her team-mates, who turned 11 while we were there. They had a blast.
We also went to Chuck E. Cheese's, which was a disappointment all around. The food was mediocre at best, the games were "too easy" for DD, and the prizes (the ones that were left, after what was evidently a very busy day) were cheap & fit only for the 5 & under crowd. (I didn't really expect any better, but DD did. As far as I'm concerned, C.E.C's is a casino for kids, and the prizes for winning don't even amount to the worth of one of the tokens for playing the games. But, it had to happen this way. DD would not have believed DH & I about the place, if she hadn't seen it for herself. NOW she knows that she DOESN'T want to go there again, next time we're in Anchorage, and we won't be getting nagged about it any longer. H2Oasis is all she's interested in now. *grin*
We didn't get to the Imaginarium. We ran out of time, and patience with the driving, and just didn't make it to that part of town. Anchorage seems to be horridly designed. Well over 75% of the streets are one-way streets, but that's not marked on the maps, one must figure that out for oneself. And, until you get to an intersection, you don't realize that you simply can't turn right, because that's a left-moving street, you must go to the NEXT intersection, or loop around, or something. It's weird. I'm glad we don't have to visit more often.
We did make it down to the Diamond mall. I found the two stores I was most interested in, "Rainbow Earth" and "Laura's Body & Soul". Saw some nice stuff in Rainbow Earth, but nothing that totally grrabbed me. Nothing that I just HAD to have. So, left there without spending a dime. Found a pretty new hair-pick for my hair at the Anchorage "Bethel" shop (it's glittery, rhinestone hair pins, clips, and combs, some very gaudy, others are somewhat pretty). It's a blue flower 2-pronged pick. Great for french twists. And at Laura's, I went a bit scent-mad. I got 4 bars of yummy-smelly soap (plumeria, coconut, rosemary-mint oatmeal, and citrus spring), and a spritzer bottle of Heather cologne (the scent of heather, that purple flower that blooms on the moors of england, evidently). I also got DD a roll-on strawberry cologne, and a bag of strawberry bubble-bath salts. There is SOOOOO much more in that store that I could have gotten hung up on, bath bombs, bath melts, salts & bubble-baths, sponges, and lotions and oils & essential oils and perfume oils, and incense, and lip & body balms..... Oooh, I love pretty smelly things like that, and a store full of them..... I could just hand them my pay-checks. LOL
Other than that, we had too much pizza, too much fast-food, and not enough REAL meals (I think breakfast would qualify as a REAL meal, and our first night there we ran next-door to a place where we got typical american style fare (biscuits & gravy for me, soup & a sandwich & milkshake for DD, Chef salad for DH). I'll be glad once we can get back in the swing of eatting real meals again. LOL It'll be interesting to see whad DH picks up for dinner tonight.
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Anyway, the hotel was ok. The beds were too hard, the pillows were too firm, and there were no vehical plug-ins. On the other hand, there was a business center (with computers to log onto internet on, but was constantly over-run by girls doing school-work), a pool, a gym, a lavish continental breakfast set-up. Each room had a fridge, microwave & coffee maker, along with the usual TV. Room size was pretty good. And one of the team moms made posters for each door where a girl or a coach was staying, so we knew who was where, and we had purple, black & white streamers on all those doors, too. It was all girls, all the time. LOL
Ok, while I think that sums it up pretty much. Gotta get heading to work.
Have a Blessed Day!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Closing time......
But first off, thanks to Heb, and Em, and Bardouble, and Uncle A.... And Mom of course, for the comments over the last couple of posts. Thanks for the support, and the commiseration, and the lovely compliments.
So, right now, I'm sitting here nursing my mug o' chai, and crocheting on a new hat for DD. She misplaced her only hat yesterday morning on the bus, so she's hatless today. I figured that even if she finds that one today, I need to whip up a couple of hats to have around the house for extras. She's got a horrid tendency to misplacing things. I'm not joking when I say she'd lose her head if it wasn't screwed on as tight as it is. She's just forgetful that way.
Now, not that I'm ACTUALLY closing up shop here. Oh no!!!!! It's much too addictive for that. But, we are leaving on Thursday morning, for a few days in Anchorage. Tomorrow I'm going to be one busy bee, washing laundry & dishes and getting the house in order to leave it for a few days. The dogs are going to be cared for by our next door neighbour, J. He's said that he'll even bring Jenny over to his house for a couple of hours a day, to romp & play with his dog Misha. Misha & Jenny are only about a couple of months different in age (Misha was born in the summer, Jenny was born Oct. 31, according to the pound), so they're approx. the same size & weight & energy, though Misha's a pure-bred German Shephard and Jenny is (we think) a Samoyed/Akita mix. Puck is ok to leave loose in the house by himself (providing he's shut out of the bedrooms, and the livingroom/kitchen are picked up well), so we don't have to worry about him being too cooped up. J. also agreed to check our mail for us, so that's taken care of.
I've been printing off directions to various places to visit in Anchorage. Thus far we've got Chuck-E-Cheeses (DD is looking forward to this), the Imaginarium (hands-on-science museum), and the Diamond Mall (home of the only Arby's in Alaska, for DH; Rainbow Earth, a new-age store I want to get to; and Laura's Body & Soul, a bath & body shop that I have loved in the past). If we get over to the 5th Ave mall (where "The Body Shop" is located) that'll be extra. And I'd like to get to some bead shops down there and see what I can find for inspiration. But, Diamond, the Imaginarium and Chuck-E-Cheeses are all places that are on our MUST DO list while we're down there. J. suggested the Anchorage Zoo, of course, but it's a little cold & snowy to be doing that this time of year. Maybe next year we can get down there when it's warmer and a little later into spring or summer.
But, I just wanted to get on and tell everybody GOOD BYE!!!! I have Wed. off work to do the cleaning, we'll leave Thursday morning, and we SHOULD be back sometime on Sunday, time dependant on whether DD's team makes the championship. Then it's back to work on Monday. I'll try to post a little "I'm back" on Monday, at the very least, though details & recaps will probably have to wait till at least Tuesday.
So, If I don't get by your place tomorrow to say goodbye to all my friends, I'll say it now: See you in a week!!!!!!
Have a Blessed Week!
So, right now, I'm sitting here nursing my mug o' chai, and crocheting on a new hat for DD. She misplaced her only hat yesterday morning on the bus, so she's hatless today. I figured that even if she finds that one today, I need to whip up a couple of hats to have around the house for extras. She's got a horrid tendency to misplacing things. I'm not joking when I say she'd lose her head if it wasn't screwed on as tight as it is. She's just forgetful that way.
Now, not that I'm ACTUALLY closing up shop here. Oh no!!!!! It's much too addictive for that. But, we are leaving on Thursday morning, for a few days in Anchorage. Tomorrow I'm going to be one busy bee, washing laundry & dishes and getting the house in order to leave it for a few days. The dogs are going to be cared for by our next door neighbour, J. He's said that he'll even bring Jenny over to his house for a couple of hours a day, to romp & play with his dog Misha. Misha & Jenny are only about a couple of months different in age (Misha was born in the summer, Jenny was born Oct. 31, according to the pound), so they're approx. the same size & weight & energy, though Misha's a pure-bred German Shephard and Jenny is (we think) a Samoyed/Akita mix. Puck is ok to leave loose in the house by himself (providing he's shut out of the bedrooms, and the livingroom/kitchen are picked up well), so we don't have to worry about him being too cooped up. J. also agreed to check our mail for us, so that's taken care of.
I've been printing off directions to various places to visit in Anchorage. Thus far we've got Chuck-E-Cheeses (DD is looking forward to this), the Imaginarium (hands-on-science museum), and the Diamond Mall (home of the only Arby's in Alaska, for DH; Rainbow Earth, a new-age store I want to get to; and Laura's Body & Soul, a bath & body shop that I have loved in the past). If we get over to the 5th Ave mall (where "The Body Shop" is located) that'll be extra. And I'd like to get to some bead shops down there and see what I can find for inspiration. But, Diamond, the Imaginarium and Chuck-E-Cheeses are all places that are on our MUST DO list while we're down there. J. suggested the Anchorage Zoo, of course, but it's a little cold & snowy to be doing that this time of year. Maybe next year we can get down there when it's warmer and a little later into spring or summer.
But, I just wanted to get on and tell everybody GOOD BYE!!!! I have Wed. off work to do the cleaning, we'll leave Thursday morning, and we SHOULD be back sometime on Sunday, time dependant on whether DD's team makes the championship. Then it's back to work on Monday. I'll try to post a little "I'm back" on Monday, at the very least, though details & recaps will probably have to wait till at least Tuesday.
So, If I don't get by your place tomorrow to say goodbye to all my friends, I'll say it now: See you in a week!!!!!!
Have a Blessed Week!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
A Girl...... And her dogs.
Well, I was just going to post a pic of Puck, and how absolutely pathetic he looks, hiding out in that kennel, but DD wanted a pic of her & Jenny, as well, so here ya go. Puck actually ISN'T shut in that kennel. If you look at that door, you can see it's actually standing ajar. But, that's Jenny's kennel (she sleeps in their at night & when we're gone from the house, so as to keep her from chewing things up, or climbing on the furniture). Puck is in there because Jenny has been hording a little piece of rawhide bone for a few weeks now. And though Puck doesn't want to chew on it (or, not very often anyway), he doesn't want Jenny to chew on it either. So, instead of taking it OUT of the kennel and stashing it somewhere (I eventually find it and toss it back in the kennel & shut the door tight), he's decided to get INTO the kennel with it, and guard it THAT way. He's a very sweet & gentle dog, UNLESS there's rawhide (or any other form of bone) around. Then he's very protective of the bone, and incredibly snap-ish. Which is why he doesn't get them very often. One cannot actually take it away from him, you've got to wait till he puts the piece down then gently kick it away from him, before picking it up and removing it. Otherwise you're liable to get your hand bit. So, as I said, he just doesn't get bones that often.
DD is actually dressed up to go to church with the MIL, but found out AFTER she got dressed that MIL is sick (FIL & SIL were sick all last week, and now MIL has it) and won't be going to church after all. So, she's romping around here petting Jenny & getting her clean clothes covered in white dog fur. *sigh*
Have a Blessed Day!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Just some pictures.....
Ok, the first one, yet again, wouldn't flip right-side up for me. *sigh* I just can't seem to figure that trick out, consistently. Anyway.... The first two pics are of DD's messy room (actually, this is looking pretty decent, compared to how it USUALLY looks). Mainly for Em, who was just ranting yesterday about the subjective blind-ness that his kids seem to suffer from. Em: Don't worry, my DD also suffers from this subjective blindness. Subjective deafness as well, really. But, as I said, her room is actually looking somewhat decent right now as we went through it last weekend, weeding out out-grown toys and clothes and other items that were never used or never came out of her toybox anymore.
The other pic is just a little snap-shot of the pasty I made this morning for breakfast (brunch, by the time DD & I got to eat it. In the cookbook that the recipe comes from (_Prairie Home Cooking_) this is listed as "Kringlor" or a "Danish Puff". Either way, it's yummy. It's a flour/butter/water crust. Then you bring 1 stick of butter and 1 c of water to a boil, pour in a cup of flour and whisk to blend completely (should be whisked till all lumps are gone). Cool for 5 minutes then blend in 3 eggs, one at a time, and 1/2 tsp almond extract. Smooth this topping over the crust, and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, finally topping with an almond flavored powder-sugar glaze when cooled.
It's been quite a while since I've shared pics, I figured it was time to do so.
Have a Blessed Day!
Friday, February 23, 2007
I can see clearly now......
Well, not really. My eyesight is as bad as ever. However, good news from the eye Dr today. DD has "eagle eyes" to quote the Dr. Said her left eye is 20/15, and her right eye is 20/20, that there is NO reason that she'll need glasses likely any time soon. He'd like to see her back in a year, and suggested that what HE sees of her eyes, and the way she was reading the letters on the "screen" would indicate that she gets a bit "lazy" and she tries to jump ahead when reading things, not really paying attention to what she's reading, unless somebody else forces her to slow down & pay attention. However, he did say that in a year, if the reading of letters & numbers hasn't gotten better, he'll be happy to help us hunt down a Dr. to test her for dyslexia. Really didn't seem to think that'd be a problem, though, in the long run.
Mom.... Oooh, you would have LIKED this Dr. He is a cutie!!!!! Oooh, man, JUST the kind of guy you've always commented on. Heck, even _I_ thought he was pretty hot. Glad I was able to come across sounding like a normal person, when talking to him, instead of like a complete & utter idiot. He also told DD that he may see her at the 'Nooks game tonight (she & DH are selling frizbees AND programs, actually) and that if he saw her there he'd buy a couple of frizbees from her. When I mentioned his name to DH, you should have seen the shock on HIS face!!!!
DH goes "M. M????"
Me: Yep. That's him.
DH: Really????
Me: Yes!
DH: Oh, I went to school with him!!!!! HE was the eye Dr. she saw today????
Me: YES!
Too funny.
But, in the long run. No glasses. Dr. M. said that DD may never need glasses for near-sightedness, seeing as how her eyes are starting out just a fraction over into far-sightedness. Of course, I realize that so did Shelli's eyes, and she now wears glasses. So.... Maybe, maybe not. I didn't tell DD this though. She was thrilled that she wouldn't need glasses. Oh, and DD got to have her eyes dialated. She thought it was a funky feeling, and she just HAD to try taking the sunglasses off & look toward the sun, when we left the eye clinic. *rolling eyes* Duffus!
*********************************************************************
Oh, and Mom & Shelli, something else to kinda chuckle over. (Though it sounds mean to say that I'm chuckling, but I am. Just hear me out....)
Dad had to have another blood test yesterday, when he went in for his follow-up on his more recent cholesterol check. Well, when they did the cholesterol check, it took 2 tries to get a draw on him, and it left his arm somewhat bruised. Wasn't an easy experience. (Which, knowing Dad, we all remember how adamant he's always been that needles are NOTHING to worry about, that it doesn't hurt!!!! *rolling eyes*)
So, when he went back to get the results of THAT cholesterol check yesterday, the RN who saw him decided she wanted more labs run, so she ordered another draw. Well, I guess they couldn't get a vein in EITHER of his elbows, so they had to do the draw from the back of his hand. Oooohhhhooo!!!!! He was NOT pleased about that. He was telling me this morning "Gosh, Kati, I thought they'd stuck the needle THROUGH my hand, it hurt so bad. My hand is still sore today. I can't believe how much it hurt to have them draw from the back of my hand!!!!"
THAT is why I was chuckling. He was kinda peevish with me this summer when I was whining about the pain of the IV in the back of my hand. He also got huffy when I had my tonsils out, and when DD was born, because I was cranky about the pain in the backs of my hands on both of THOSE occasions. He's never believed me about how much it HURT. And he FINALLY got to see that it DOES hurt!!!!!!! LOL Yes, I was chuckling! I still find it somewhat ironically funny.
***************************************************************
Last but not least, I dropped "the ball" in a bad way this morning.....
No sooner did I get off the computer earlier, than I got a call from the school. From DD's speach-therapy teacher, to be precise. Oh Crap!!!!!! I was supposed to have DD's EIP (or is it IEP?) meeting with her teacher this morning at 8:30. Guess what completely slipped my mind????? Yep. She called at about 10:30 to ask to reschedual or to do it over the phone. So, I owned up. Said I'd really overschedualed myself today, and that this happened to be the thing that got dropped from my memory. I was terribly sorry, and really hope I didn't waste too much of her time. I was prepared to come back in AFTER DD's eye appt. to meet with the teacher, but we just had a chat about it over the phone instead.
The teacher was of the opinion that DD has greatly improved, and while we didn't HAVE to test her early, to possibly test OUT of the program, Mrs. G. thought it may be an option. Was I interested. I told her that while I could see the improvement myself, I was concerned that if we tested her now, and she tested out of the program (if the child's test scores are over the "line" at all, they can no longer stay in the program, they have to be retested again later if they fall back behind) we might lose the benefits that it's given her when she starts 4th grade. Basically that she's doing well now, but EVERYBODY says how much harder 4th will be than 1st, 2nd & 3rd, and right now she's got the support of speach therapy going on, to help her through some of the rougher parts of her learning experience. If she DID test out of it, it would be that much harder to get her back into it (beaurocratically) and that if we removed that support from her now, she may not have the momentum to keep improving over 4th grade. Mrs. G. understand and agreed with the possibility of my concerns and said that in such case, she's got no problem with keeping DD in the program and testing her at the next schedualed testing time (Dec. of this coming year). So, she'll be staying in speach therapy for now.
However, one of the skills that she's been working on will no longer be a focus. It seems that one of the skills that the speach therapy teacher has been instilling in DD is the ability to read directions & pinpoint the most important details of a set of instructions/directions, and repeat them back. Critical thinking: What is most important in this set of instructions/directions. And Understanding: this is precisely what must be done. But, Mrs. G. seems to think that DD is to the point where she no longer must be made to talk through the directions, turn them around & verbalize the most valuable points of such. For the most part I agree. Then again, there are days when I wonder if she understands directions at all. ;)
**********************************************************************************
After the eye appt. DD and I went to the Shopper's Forum & got me a daily planner (see above comments about dropped balls & forgotten appts) and her a root-beer float. LOL Ok, and I got 2 yummy Macadamia nut/White-choco-chip cookies, too. ;)
Then we came home, I went to pop a freezer pizza into the oven, for dinner tonight, tossed a loaf of garlic-bread in with it, and proceeded to burn the garlic-bread to a crisp. So, we're only getting pizza for dinner tonight. *sigh* I'm still hungry, and really wishing for a salad, though. *BIG sigh* Ah well.
So, WOW!!! Two posts in one day. Mom & Shelli, hope that gives you a bit of an update how things went today. Mom I know that you were esp. concerned about her eyes and the possibility of a learning disorder there. We'll keep an eye on things, but between Dr. A.'s appt last week, and the appt. with Dr. M today..... I think we'll hold off with anything more for now. Let's see how things work, with making the adjustments we know need to be made (St. John's Wort for the mood swings) and keeping an eye on her eyes. Besides, this is going to be a whole NEW crap-load of Dr's bills. *wry laugh*
Have a Blessed Day!
Mom.... Oooh, you would have LIKED this Dr. He is a cutie!!!!! Oooh, man, JUST the kind of guy you've always commented on. Heck, even _I_ thought he was pretty hot. Glad I was able to come across sounding like a normal person, when talking to him, instead of like a complete & utter idiot. He also told DD that he may see her at the 'Nooks game tonight (she & DH are selling frizbees AND programs, actually) and that if he saw her there he'd buy a couple of frizbees from her. When I mentioned his name to DH, you should have seen the shock on HIS face!!!!
DH goes "M. M????"
Me: Yep. That's him.
DH: Really????
Me: Yes!
DH: Oh, I went to school with him!!!!! HE was the eye Dr. she saw today????
Me: YES!
Too funny.
But, in the long run. No glasses. Dr. M. said that DD may never need glasses for near-sightedness, seeing as how her eyes are starting out just a fraction over into far-sightedness. Of course, I realize that so did Shelli's eyes, and she now wears glasses. So.... Maybe, maybe not. I didn't tell DD this though. She was thrilled that she wouldn't need glasses. Oh, and DD got to have her eyes dialated. She thought it was a funky feeling, and she just HAD to try taking the sunglasses off & look toward the sun, when we left the eye clinic. *rolling eyes* Duffus!
*********************************************************************
Oh, and Mom & Shelli, something else to kinda chuckle over. (Though it sounds mean to say that I'm chuckling, but I am. Just hear me out....)
Dad had to have another blood test yesterday, when he went in for his follow-up on his more recent cholesterol check. Well, when they did the cholesterol check, it took 2 tries to get a draw on him, and it left his arm somewhat bruised. Wasn't an easy experience. (Which, knowing Dad, we all remember how adamant he's always been that needles are NOTHING to worry about, that it doesn't hurt!!!! *rolling eyes*)
So, when he went back to get the results of THAT cholesterol check yesterday, the RN who saw him decided she wanted more labs run, so she ordered another draw. Well, I guess they couldn't get a vein in EITHER of his elbows, so they had to do the draw from the back of his hand. Oooohhhhooo!!!!! He was NOT pleased about that. He was telling me this morning "Gosh, Kati, I thought they'd stuck the needle THROUGH my hand, it hurt so bad. My hand is still sore today. I can't believe how much it hurt to have them draw from the back of my hand!!!!"
THAT is why I was chuckling. He was kinda peevish with me this summer when I was whining about the pain of the IV in the back of my hand. He also got huffy when I had my tonsils out, and when DD was born, because I was cranky about the pain in the backs of my hands on both of THOSE occasions. He's never believed me about how much it HURT. And he FINALLY got to see that it DOES hurt!!!!!!! LOL Yes, I was chuckling! I still find it somewhat ironically funny.
***************************************************************
Last but not least, I dropped "the ball" in a bad way this morning.....
No sooner did I get off the computer earlier, than I got a call from the school. From DD's speach-therapy teacher, to be precise. Oh Crap!!!!!! I was supposed to have DD's EIP (or is it IEP?) meeting with her teacher this morning at 8:30. Guess what completely slipped my mind????? Yep. She called at about 10:30 to ask to reschedual or to do it over the phone. So, I owned up. Said I'd really overschedualed myself today, and that this happened to be the thing that got dropped from my memory. I was terribly sorry, and really hope I didn't waste too much of her time. I was prepared to come back in AFTER DD's eye appt. to meet with the teacher, but we just had a chat about it over the phone instead.
The teacher was of the opinion that DD has greatly improved, and while we didn't HAVE to test her early, to possibly test OUT of the program, Mrs. G. thought it may be an option. Was I interested. I told her that while I could see the improvement myself, I was concerned that if we tested her now, and she tested out of the program (if the child's test scores are over the "line" at all, they can no longer stay in the program, they have to be retested again later if they fall back behind) we might lose the benefits that it's given her when she starts 4th grade. Basically that she's doing well now, but EVERYBODY says how much harder 4th will be than 1st, 2nd & 3rd, and right now she's got the support of speach therapy going on, to help her through some of the rougher parts of her learning experience. If she DID test out of it, it would be that much harder to get her back into it (beaurocratically) and that if we removed that support from her now, she may not have the momentum to keep improving over 4th grade. Mrs. G. understand and agreed with the possibility of my concerns and said that in such case, she's got no problem with keeping DD in the program and testing her at the next schedualed testing time (Dec. of this coming year). So, she'll be staying in speach therapy for now.
However, one of the skills that she's been working on will no longer be a focus. It seems that one of the skills that the speach therapy teacher has been instilling in DD is the ability to read directions & pinpoint the most important details of a set of instructions/directions, and repeat them back. Critical thinking: What is most important in this set of instructions/directions. And Understanding: this is precisely what must be done. But, Mrs. G. seems to think that DD is to the point where she no longer must be made to talk through the directions, turn them around & verbalize the most valuable points of such. For the most part I agree. Then again, there are days when I wonder if she understands directions at all. ;)
**********************************************************************************
After the eye appt. DD and I went to the Shopper's Forum & got me a daily planner (see above comments about dropped balls & forgotten appts) and her a root-beer float. LOL Ok, and I got 2 yummy Macadamia nut/White-choco-chip cookies, too. ;)
Then we came home, I went to pop a freezer pizza into the oven, for dinner tonight, tossed a loaf of garlic-bread in with it, and proceeded to burn the garlic-bread to a crisp. So, we're only getting pizza for dinner tonight. *sigh* I'm still hungry, and really wishing for a salad, though. *BIG sigh* Ah well.
So, WOW!!! Two posts in one day. Mom & Shelli, hope that gives you a bit of an update how things went today. Mom I know that you were esp. concerned about her eyes and the possibility of a learning disorder there. We'll keep an eye on things, but between Dr. A.'s appt last week, and the appt. with Dr. M today..... I think we'll hold off with anything more for now. Let's see how things work, with making the adjustments we know need to be made (St. John's Wort for the mood swings) and keeping an eye on her eyes. Besides, this is going to be a whole NEW crap-load of Dr's bills. *wry laugh*
Have a Blessed Day!
Just an update.....
Just to let y'all know that I'm still here.... Just busy, as usual.
The temps have dropped out again. This morning it's approximately -40 deg. F. And ice-foggy. Not terribly bad ice-fog, but it's there, and it's unpleasant, and I've gotta get gas in my car today. *pout* The temps are rising a bit during the day, as the sun rises, then falling again as the sun sets, but it's still not getting warmer than about -15 deg. F. at the warmest part of the day. *sigh* I guess it means I'll be wearing my long-johns to fill up my car.
DD has her second Dr's appointment today. This time it's an eye appt. She's never had one before, and she's nervous that she's going to get glasses. She's had some problems with reading & math, recognising her letters & numbers, and we're hoping that the problem is simply that she's a bit far-sighted and a pair of reading glasses will solve the problem. If that doesn't prove to be the issue, then we'll have to go a little further afield for an answer..... Possibly dyslexia, on a minor scale, or some-such. I don't know. But her teachers, DH & myself, and her reading tutor have all noticed that she has issues recognizing those letters & numbers. It makes it hard to read & perform basic math skills, really. So, we'll see.... Keeping our fingers crossed for as simple a fix as reading glasses. DD, of course, dreads the thought of wearing glasses. But we remind her that it would only be for reading at this point, and at least she doesn't have to wear them ALL THE TIME like I, my mom, my dad, my middle sis, my MIL & FIL, and supposedly my baby sis must. Even my SIL is supposed to wear glasses. She refuses though. DH is actually the only one who mustn't wear glasses at this point. But, seeing as he's 32 at this point, he'll need glasses in only a few more years himself. Certainly by the time DD graduates HS, DH will be getting glasses. Maybe only reading glasses at that point, but it happens to the best of us, that's for sure. So, DD's been assured that it's not only common in both families, but that it's not an absolute necessity for her at this point, at least. I mean, if I take off my glasses, the words on the computer-screen are blury, simply sitting in my computer chair. So, her eyes certainly aren't that bad, at least. She's lucky, as I got my first pair of glasses when I was only about a year older than she is now, and I've had to wear them all the time, ever since.....
Anyway, that is our plan for today.
Then DH & DD have some sort of fund-raiser to go to tonight for DD's hockey team. (I think it's selling programs at a college hockey game.) DH has just informed me I won't be going (or, at least, I won't be driving my car to it, meeting him in town after work) due to the extreme temps. Ok, can't say as I'm sorry about that. My car heats up very poorly (don't know why, it just does, we've checked everything possible to solve the problem and still can't figure it out), so I'm not terribly upset over not sitting in a cold car for two trips to town today.
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Really, other than that, just been busy with work. We had a nasty-crazy day on Tuesday. Evidently between the fact that we were closed on Monday for President's Day, and that all the kids had Tuesday off school for Parent/Teacher conferences, EVERYBODY in town was in the library for books (or to return books). A friend in the children's room at 8 pm had 96 queries on her tally-keeper, for the day. (That's not JUST her, but during the course of the day, on that ONE tally counter, there are 2 at that desk. But that WAS only 8 pm, with still one hour to go before we closed.) She said that the highest she'd ever seen, on what had previously been busy days for them, was about 55 or 60 queries for the day. So, 96 queries at 8 pm, is a lot. And that was just in the children's room. That's not including the patrons at the Circulation desk, or the Reference desk. And they ALL must come through the check-out desk (which is the desk us Pages staff). And we were down by 2 pages on Monday. We only have 7 of us that usually work on Mondays (if Monday is a holiday, I work my Monday hours on Tuesday), and 2 of those people were out. And 4 of THOSE people are only part-timers. So, it started out with only KO, and DB. PW was supposed to be there at 12:15 at the same time I was, and close down with me, but she was out sick. CM was also supposed to be there, except her schedual would conflict with her hubby's schedual, and since he makes more than she does (per hour), she had to stay home with the kiddos (since they don't have a reliable baby-sitter). I got there at 12:15. Then DB got off at 2, at the same time that AH was arriving for work. So between 2 and 6, it was ONLY AH, KO, and myself. Then KO & AH got off for the night, and ME got there to help me close for the night, though normally she would have been there earlier in the day. It was frantic.
Not only did we have loads of patrons coming in, all day long, but all the media & books they were returning, as well. (And, I've gotta say this, at least it was a GOOD day, attitude wise. Even though we were run off our feet, everybody was in a fairly good mood. No real patron problems that day.) I sleeved probably 300 DVDs, during the course of the day. (We keep the DVD cases out on the shelves for perusing, but the actual disks are in number-coded sleeves behind the check-out desk, and are only placed back in the cases once the DVD has been checked out to the patron. Keeps us from losing so many to theft.) And the book-bin overflowed a couple of times. I don't think any of us got any REAL shelving done. (Though AH did do a cart of DVDs & VHS, only because we ran out of room for them on our shelves in the Circ-workroom. Even then we also re-loaded a cart with DVDs but didn't get it shelved.) By the time I got off the desk (for the last time) at 7:30, and did my pick-up (for which I picked up over 30 mags and 90+ books on the first go-round), all the shelves in the work-room had stacks of books on the floor in front of them. Books that wouldn't fit on the shelves above. And all the shelving carts were full of books that had been placed on them for shelving the next day.
Well, got in on Wed. at Noon, and I was up at the desk right off the bat (we generally only take 1 hour shifts at the check-out desks, so that no one person gets burnt out, and hopefully we also get shelving done during the day). So, I went out at my usual 2 to 3 minutes before the hour. (I try to get to my workplace at least 10 minutes early so that I can get changed out of my outdoor gear, get my lunch put in the freezer, chit-chat with my coworkers, etc, and still be a couple of minutes early to start at the desk if that's my first duty of the day.) Well, LG was at the desk, and absolutely frantic. She saw me step behind the desk, looked at the clock & saw that it was actually 3 before noon, and snapped that I was early and I shouldn't be standing there doing nothing. I replied that I KNOW I was early, I wasn't "on the clock" till noon, but I generally try to get out to the desk a couple of minutes early if possible. So as to receive any details about patrons or books that must be passed on with the "changing of the guard". She responded something about how upset our supervisor was about the number of books to be shelved that day, and that she (supervisor) would jump on anyone of us who appeared to not be working, so I mustn't stand around aimlessly. I reminded LG that I was there to take over, and a couple of minutes early no less, so I WASN'T standing around aimlessly. Or, I wouldn't be if LG got out of my way and let me do my job. That kinda shut LG up.
Well, after my shift at the check-out desk (which was considerably less franticly paced than the previous day, but still a steady flow of people, and plenty of books to check in) was over, I was on the schedual to be back-up for the next person at the desk. That usually means that I spend 1 hour emptying the media bin, and checking in that media; helping at the check-out desk if a line of more than 3 or 4 patrons builds; and checking in what books I can, in the mean-time. On slow days, back-up is permitted to shelve (new books, or media, preferably) while keeping an eye on the check-out desk in case things speed up. As we had SOOOOO many books to shelve on Tuesday, "Super" deemed that all of us pages should focus our energies on only shelving books, and not worry about checking in (unless we were currently at the check-out, in which case we usually have a cart of books for check-in if the pace is slow out there) or emptying the media & book bins. The Circulation assistants would pick up the slack there, so that we pages could get as many books shelved as possible. That was certainly fine by me, esp. considering Super made arrangements for us to have help with the other, less essential duties.
Well, LG was rather freaked out by the number of books to be shelved and kept snapping about how NOBODY is supposed to be cheking those books in, or goofing off, if "Super" catches us, we'll get fired..... "Freak, FREAK, FREAK!" (Not that I think that LG actually shelved any books, she was out re-arranging shelves, and kept disappearing to mess with supposed other duties. LG is NOT a supervisor, or even Senior Page -that would be KO- but is a normal Circ page just like the rest of us, and per instructions SHOULD have been shelving, not focussing on her other 'less necessary' duties. But, she's got this idea that she's somehow superior to the rest of us, and because she's such a kiss-ass, the boss generally lets her get away with it.) She was so wired & freakish about the shelving issue, that the rest of us were getting antzy & rather snap-ish, just being around her.
She (LG) actually YELLED at AH, when AH saw the book-bin start to over-flow & stopped putting a cart of books together long enough to unload the book-bin. Reminded AH that if "Super" saw AH messing with the books, instead of shelving, AH was GOING to get fired, and to leave it alone as it wasn't our assigned duty for the day. (Not that AH was anywhere near tears, she was closer to finding a spare shelf & knocking LG over the head with it, instead.) LG actually had the nerve to snap at _ME_ for doing my job the way I've been instructed (by our boss!), and started telling me that oversize books were to be specially set aside for LG herself to check in (remember, we're not supposed to be checking in!) instead of placed on the table with the rest of the to-be-checked-in books. I ever-so-sweetly told her that not EVERYBODY does it HER way, and that even KO and "Boss Lady" have instructed me to do it JUST the way I was. That rather shut LG up, finally.
So, yesterday (Thursday), I went ahead & talked to MeB (the public relations person, who also happens to be a supervisor along with "Super", "Super" & MeB are senior to "Boss-Lady" who is currently on vacation) about LG's attittude the day before. We generally cannot do anything in defense of LG, because "Super" & "Boss Lady" are so blinded by LG's kiss-ass ploys to believe that their darling could be wrong, Ever. But, seeing as how "Boss Lady" isn't there, MeB became the next in line to make a complaint to (not to mention, she's just a nicer & easier-to-talk-to person all around than either Super or Boss Lady) about LG's behavior. I told MeB that LG was so worked up & frantic that she was stressing the rest of us out, that she'd snapped at me & yelled at AH, and that the way she was fretting about Super's directions to shelve instead of check-in, were coming across as a lot more stringent & threatening than Super may have actually intended them. Of COURSE I stressed to Meb that I didn't want LG to get into trouble, but that I though I needed to say something about her behavior, so she could be reminded about how strongly she comes across sometimes. I don't like making waves at work (I really don't!) but too many times LG has gone behind the backs of the rest of us, and brought MUCH pettier complaints to Super & Boss Lady, and wound up getting the rest of us chewed out. But, as I said, Boss Lady & Super are so blinded by LG's kiss-assy-ness that they won't accept anybody else's complaints about LG's pushy-ness & stressing. MeB doesn't think badly of LG, but she's also not blinded by LG's general kiss-ass nature. So, MeB was suitably concerned over hearing about LG's behavior the day before, and she said she'd talk to LG about it later. I'm guessing she'll talk to CF, EC, AH, and ME about LG, see if they noticed LG's attitude on Tuesday, as well. Knowing CF & EC (both of whom have been on the recieving end of LG's bad attitude in the past, frequently) and AH (who won't hesitate to let MeB know what LG was like on Tues.).... I'm guessing LG gets a talking to (even if it IS a nice one) by MeB, and hopefully even Super is made aware of LG's behavior on Tuesday. (Esp. considering LG's frantic reminders to the rest of us about how angry Super was about the over-flow of books, and LG's constant threats that we'd get fired if Super saw us doing anything but shelving. That doesn't make Super look good, either. And it SURE doesn't promote employee loyalty, the constant threat of being fired, even if that threat is coming second-hand.)
Oy, so that was Wednesday. I had hoped, when I went in Wed. morning, that it would be laid back & relatively stress-free, after how frantic Tuesday had been. Thanks to LG, it wasn't. Oh, it was fine once we got out into the shelves with a cart of books & away from LG's raving, but thanks to how high-strung LG was, the whole mood on Wed. was rather stress-full. Thankfully, yesterday (Thursday) was rather laid back. We were still doing a lot more shelving than anything else, but LG had finally calmed down, and Super had commented on how much better our Work-room shelves looked & that we could go back to our other duties as well, as time permitted. But, DANG am I glad to be off today. This week (even being a rather short week) was just TOO stressful.
I remember how quiet & relaxed it was out here at the NPB library, when I worked there a few years ago. My job felt almost meditative most days. And I was generally the ONLY page working (NPB is so small that it needs only 3 pages with only 10 hours each per week), so I didn't have personality conflicts with the other pages. I was often left to myself as my duties allowed, and I was able to get into such a rhythm, that I just automatically knew what would need my attention most that day, and I was able to get a LOT accomplished, without a lot of stress (most of the time). It's nice, having a rhythm. It was nice knowing that Tuesday would be the busiest, after being closed for the weekend. That I'd have a lot of checking in first thing, and would probably only get one cart of books shelved. Then Wed morning would be busy with Pre-school story time, but by noon it would slow down & I could get to shelving another cart of books. Thursdays were always rather laid back, with no programs, and I could get magazines out, new books weeded (once a month), and a couple of carts shelved in my 3 hours. Then, of course, my week was over. But I knew just how it would go the next week. There was that rhythm. Made it the PERFECT first job! And it gave me just enough hours (when I only needed a few hours a week) to come out of my shell & learn to be around people more. It gave me a chance to work on my people skills, without over-stressing me.
Probably why I do better than some of my current coworkers in my personal-relations at my current library position. LG & CF are not really people-people. A kid starts swinging on the directional gates coming & out of the library, and the kid gets yelled at by them. I can generally give them "the look" and ever-so-sweetly remind them that the gate isn't strong enough for hanging on, and please stop doing so before it breaks & they get hurt. (I've gotten compliments on my handling, actually!) And I'm able do to so without hurting the feelings of their parents. And when that pre-teen brat is shaking the tree, just to see what I'll do..... Dang, that's when I LOVE the "Stern Mom look" I've developed. (Unfortunately it doesn't work as well on DD as it does the kids at the library.) And that "Stern Mom Look" is often all I need. I'm happy to say that as much as I tend to be a hermit, I've been told by the library director how welcoming & friendly I appear when patrons come & go. I make them feel like they're welcome to be there, I'm not (normally) afraid to correct behavior when I see it (talking on cell phones IN the library!) but I'm not nasty or overly-stressed about it. And it comes across, evidently. I've gotta say, I'm proud of that.
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I was "invited" to a Women's "Retreat" at Dad's church this weekend. It's supposed to start tonight. The woman from church who called was so desirous that I be there because "Kati, I think this would REALLY bless you, you'd get SOOOO much out of it." Of course, it's 20 dollars to attend (money that I'm saving for Anchorage), it'd be giving up my weekend to sit in church & listen to two out-of-towners talk about my relationship with God. And I'm just not feeling like it. Of course these ladies from church have no idea that my spiritual focus is much more on the feminine these days. I've spent 20+ of my 28 years focusing on the Christian God, to the exclusion of the divine feminine. I can't always get out of going to church with my Dad (keeps him from nagging quite so much, if I go every now & again, when I'm not at work), but I see no reason to give up my weekend to listen to two women that I don't know speak endlessly about my need for a stronger relationship with their patriarchal diety. And these events tend to be much more fundamentalist than even the pastor on a Sunday morning. Which makes it that much harder for me to stomach. Sorry, just don't see how I can worship a God that's made it clear (through such prophets as Paul, and the guys in the old testement) that women are to be subjected to men. That women aren't supposed to teach men. That wives are supposed to be subservient to their hubby's in order to be properly following God's will for our lives. Often espousing such beliefs that I was created for no other reason than to serve my husband and to be mother to his children. (Did I mention that most of the ladies at that church have no idea that I've had my tubes tied after only 1 child??? *wink*)
And, as I said, I'm not spending 20 bucks to go listen to that for both days of my weekend. I've got better things to do. And I'm really not feeling like continuing to build a relationship with an extremely patriarchal diety & abandoning my relationship-building with my Divine Mother. 20+ years focused on the Father, the Mother deserves my attention now.
Not to say that I don't acknowledge & accept the existance of a male diety, but the Christian diety is so contratictory, that even if I WASN'T focusing on the feminine, I am not comfortable focusing on the god that the Christians believe in. The nature of Jesus Christ, whom I certainly appreciate, at the very least -even if choose not to emulate him, and of the god Yawheh, are very contradictory and at odds with each other. And really, I believe that there are probably more gods being discussed seeing as how often El is referenced. Having done some reading (both of the bible and of other texts) I really doubt that the origional old-testement writers were talking about the same "guy" when they talked about El and Yahweh. And the natures of these two "gods" are rather different as well.
Though, not having the reference materials in front of me, and not being THAT well versed, I couldn't really explain how. So don't pressure me. Suffice it to say, the last several years of serious Christian-based Study (before I faced facts that I wouldn't even qualify as "christian" any more) left me very uncomfortable with the way Christians approached God (and Jesus). And when I started discovering more about the Feminine divine, it opened my eyes to how flawed the christian view of God is and how much more there is to discover. And it's not at all "Satanic" as Christians are fond of ranting. Certainly no goddess I've discovered is any more malicious than Yahweh is recorded to have been in the old testiment. At least the Goddesses that DO have an obvious Dark side (Kali, Pele, Diana/Artemis) are wont to be open about their dark natures as their lighter natures. Goddess-worship tends to accept that there are two sides to that coin. Where as Christianity likes to look at the dark nature of God, and talk about eternal damnation if you don't do JUST as he says, but don't like to actually acknowledge that dark nature, instead talking about how God is Light, that their God can't do any wrong. (And again, more contradiction, as Satan is also refered to as the Prince of Light. Makes you wonder that Christians don't see Yahweh/Satan as often two sides of the same coin. And even if Yahweh & Satan aren't just different names for the SAME side of the coin, and El/Jesus are more names for the other side of that coin. I don't know..... So many thoughts & ideas that I toss around in my head, but have a hard time expressing them coherently.)
Suffice it to say, I'm blowing off the darn Women's Retreat tonight. I've got no interest in going. And there's a HUGE part of me that really can't wait till Dad leaves town & I can stop pretending to care about church at all. Because I really don't. At least not the fundamentalist churches. Though I am still curious, at times, about the local UU church. Seeing as my friend from the Children's Room at the library attends the UU church, I'm even more tempted to check it out. I just wish it wasn't so danged far away. It's over on the FAR side of town, almost as far from where I live as you can get, and still be in the same borough. Really wish there was a UU congregation closer to home. Oh well..... I guess I'll just keep on being Solitary then, and keep studying and learning for myself.
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Anyway...... I've now written a book (Ms. Christiansen would be proud!) so I'll stop. I'd only meant this to be an update, but..... Wow. What a busy week. I guess there was really no way to talk about what a busy week it's been, work-wise, WITHOUT writing a book. LOL
I hope the rest of y'all have had a more mild week, and are looking forward to a relaxing weekend.
Have A Blessed Day!
The temps have dropped out again. This morning it's approximately -40 deg. F. And ice-foggy. Not terribly bad ice-fog, but it's there, and it's unpleasant, and I've gotta get gas in my car today. *pout* The temps are rising a bit during the day, as the sun rises, then falling again as the sun sets, but it's still not getting warmer than about -15 deg. F. at the warmest part of the day. *sigh* I guess it means I'll be wearing my long-johns to fill up my car.
DD has her second Dr's appointment today. This time it's an eye appt. She's never had one before, and she's nervous that she's going to get glasses. She's had some problems with reading & math, recognising her letters & numbers, and we're hoping that the problem is simply that she's a bit far-sighted and a pair of reading glasses will solve the problem. If that doesn't prove to be the issue, then we'll have to go a little further afield for an answer..... Possibly dyslexia, on a minor scale, or some-such. I don't know. But her teachers, DH & myself, and her reading tutor have all noticed that she has issues recognizing those letters & numbers. It makes it hard to read & perform basic math skills, really. So, we'll see.... Keeping our fingers crossed for as simple a fix as reading glasses. DD, of course, dreads the thought of wearing glasses. But we remind her that it would only be for reading at this point, and at least she doesn't have to wear them ALL THE TIME like I, my mom, my dad, my middle sis, my MIL & FIL, and supposedly my baby sis must. Even my SIL is supposed to wear glasses. She refuses though. DH is actually the only one who mustn't wear glasses at this point. But, seeing as he's 32 at this point, he'll need glasses in only a few more years himself. Certainly by the time DD graduates HS, DH will be getting glasses. Maybe only reading glasses at that point, but it happens to the best of us, that's for sure. So, DD's been assured that it's not only common in both families, but that it's not an absolute necessity for her at this point, at least. I mean, if I take off my glasses, the words on the computer-screen are blury, simply sitting in my computer chair. So, her eyes certainly aren't that bad, at least. She's lucky, as I got my first pair of glasses when I was only about a year older than she is now, and I've had to wear them all the time, ever since.....
Anyway, that is our plan for today.
Then DH & DD have some sort of fund-raiser to go to tonight for DD's hockey team. (I think it's selling programs at a college hockey game.) DH has just informed me I won't be going (or, at least, I won't be driving my car to it, meeting him in town after work) due to the extreme temps. Ok, can't say as I'm sorry about that. My car heats up very poorly (don't know why, it just does, we've checked everything possible to solve the problem and still can't figure it out), so I'm not terribly upset over not sitting in a cold car for two trips to town today.
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Really, other than that, just been busy with work. We had a nasty-crazy day on Tuesday. Evidently between the fact that we were closed on Monday for President's Day, and that all the kids had Tuesday off school for Parent/Teacher conferences, EVERYBODY in town was in the library for books (or to return books). A friend in the children's room at 8 pm had 96 queries on her tally-keeper, for the day. (That's not JUST her, but during the course of the day, on that ONE tally counter, there are 2 at that desk. But that WAS only 8 pm, with still one hour to go before we closed.) She said that the highest she'd ever seen, on what had previously been busy days for them, was about 55 or 60 queries for the day. So, 96 queries at 8 pm, is a lot. And that was just in the children's room. That's not including the patrons at the Circulation desk, or the Reference desk. And they ALL must come through the check-out desk (which is the desk us Pages staff). And we were down by 2 pages on Monday. We only have 7 of us that usually work on Mondays (if Monday is a holiday, I work my Monday hours on Tuesday), and 2 of those people were out. And 4 of THOSE people are only part-timers. So, it started out with only KO, and DB. PW was supposed to be there at 12:15 at the same time I was, and close down with me, but she was out sick. CM was also supposed to be there, except her schedual would conflict with her hubby's schedual, and since he makes more than she does (per hour), she had to stay home with the kiddos (since they don't have a reliable baby-sitter). I got there at 12:15. Then DB got off at 2, at the same time that AH was arriving for work. So between 2 and 6, it was ONLY AH, KO, and myself. Then KO & AH got off for the night, and ME got there to help me close for the night, though normally she would have been there earlier in the day. It was frantic.
Not only did we have loads of patrons coming in, all day long, but all the media & books they were returning, as well. (And, I've gotta say this, at least it was a GOOD day, attitude wise. Even though we were run off our feet, everybody was in a fairly good mood. No real patron problems that day.) I sleeved probably 300 DVDs, during the course of the day. (We keep the DVD cases out on the shelves for perusing, but the actual disks are in number-coded sleeves behind the check-out desk, and are only placed back in the cases once the DVD has been checked out to the patron. Keeps us from losing so many to theft.) And the book-bin overflowed a couple of times. I don't think any of us got any REAL shelving done. (Though AH did do a cart of DVDs & VHS, only because we ran out of room for them on our shelves in the Circ-workroom. Even then we also re-loaded a cart with DVDs but didn't get it shelved.) By the time I got off the desk (for the last time) at 7:30, and did my pick-up (for which I picked up over 30 mags and 90+ books on the first go-round), all the shelves in the work-room had stacks of books on the floor in front of them. Books that wouldn't fit on the shelves above. And all the shelving carts were full of books that had been placed on them for shelving the next day.
Well, got in on Wed. at Noon, and I was up at the desk right off the bat (we generally only take 1 hour shifts at the check-out desks, so that no one person gets burnt out, and hopefully we also get shelving done during the day). So, I went out at my usual 2 to 3 minutes before the hour. (I try to get to my workplace at least 10 minutes early so that I can get changed out of my outdoor gear, get my lunch put in the freezer, chit-chat with my coworkers, etc, and still be a couple of minutes early to start at the desk if that's my first duty of the day.) Well, LG was at the desk, and absolutely frantic. She saw me step behind the desk, looked at the clock & saw that it was actually 3 before noon, and snapped that I was early and I shouldn't be standing there doing nothing. I replied that I KNOW I was early, I wasn't "on the clock" till noon, but I generally try to get out to the desk a couple of minutes early if possible. So as to receive any details about patrons or books that must be passed on with the "changing of the guard". She responded something about how upset our supervisor was about the number of books to be shelved that day, and that she (supervisor) would jump on anyone of us who appeared to not be working, so I mustn't stand around aimlessly. I reminded LG that I was there to take over, and a couple of minutes early no less, so I WASN'T standing around aimlessly. Or, I wouldn't be if LG got out of my way and let me do my job. That kinda shut LG up.
Well, after my shift at the check-out desk (which was considerably less franticly paced than the previous day, but still a steady flow of people, and plenty of books to check in) was over, I was on the schedual to be back-up for the next person at the desk. That usually means that I spend 1 hour emptying the media bin, and checking in that media; helping at the check-out desk if a line of more than 3 or 4 patrons builds; and checking in what books I can, in the mean-time. On slow days, back-up is permitted to shelve (new books, or media, preferably) while keeping an eye on the check-out desk in case things speed up. As we had SOOOOO many books to shelve on Tuesday, "Super" deemed that all of us pages should focus our energies on only shelving books, and not worry about checking in (unless we were currently at the check-out, in which case we usually have a cart of books for check-in if the pace is slow out there) or emptying the media & book bins. The Circulation assistants would pick up the slack there, so that we pages could get as many books shelved as possible. That was certainly fine by me, esp. considering Super made arrangements for us to have help with the other, less essential duties.
Well, LG was rather freaked out by the number of books to be shelved and kept snapping about how NOBODY is supposed to be cheking those books in, or goofing off, if "Super" catches us, we'll get fired..... "Freak, FREAK, FREAK!" (Not that I think that LG actually shelved any books, she was out re-arranging shelves, and kept disappearing to mess with supposed other duties. LG is NOT a supervisor, or even Senior Page -that would be KO- but is a normal Circ page just like the rest of us, and per instructions SHOULD have been shelving, not focussing on her other 'less necessary' duties. But, she's got this idea that she's somehow superior to the rest of us, and because she's such a kiss-ass, the boss generally lets her get away with it.) She was so wired & freakish about the shelving issue, that the rest of us were getting antzy & rather snap-ish, just being around her.
She (LG) actually YELLED at AH, when AH saw the book-bin start to over-flow & stopped putting a cart of books together long enough to unload the book-bin. Reminded AH that if "Super" saw AH messing with the books, instead of shelving, AH was GOING to get fired, and to leave it alone as it wasn't our assigned duty for the day. (Not that AH was anywhere near tears, she was closer to finding a spare shelf & knocking LG over the head with it, instead.) LG actually had the nerve to snap at _ME_ for doing my job the way I've been instructed (by our boss!), and started telling me that oversize books were to be specially set aside for LG herself to check in (remember, we're not supposed to be checking in!) instead of placed on the table with the rest of the to-be-checked-in books. I ever-so-sweetly told her that not EVERYBODY does it HER way, and that even KO and "Boss Lady" have instructed me to do it JUST the way I was. That rather shut LG up, finally.
So, yesterday (Thursday), I went ahead & talked to MeB (the public relations person, who also happens to be a supervisor along with "Super", "Super" & MeB are senior to "Boss-Lady" who is currently on vacation) about LG's attittude the day before. We generally cannot do anything in defense of LG, because "Super" & "Boss Lady" are so blinded by LG's kiss-ass ploys to believe that their darling could be wrong, Ever. But, seeing as how "Boss Lady" isn't there, MeB became the next in line to make a complaint to (not to mention, she's just a nicer & easier-to-talk-to person all around than either Super or Boss Lady) about LG's behavior. I told MeB that LG was so worked up & frantic that she was stressing the rest of us out, that she'd snapped at me & yelled at AH, and that the way she was fretting about Super's directions to shelve instead of check-in, were coming across as a lot more stringent & threatening than Super may have actually intended them. Of COURSE I stressed to Meb that I didn't want LG to get into trouble, but that I though I needed to say something about her behavior, so she could be reminded about how strongly she comes across sometimes. I don't like making waves at work (I really don't!) but too many times LG has gone behind the backs of the rest of us, and brought MUCH pettier complaints to Super & Boss Lady, and wound up getting the rest of us chewed out. But, as I said, Boss Lady & Super are so blinded by LG's kiss-assy-ness that they won't accept anybody else's complaints about LG's pushy-ness & stressing. MeB doesn't think badly of LG, but she's also not blinded by LG's general kiss-ass nature. So, MeB was suitably concerned over hearing about LG's behavior the day before, and she said she'd talk to LG about it later. I'm guessing she'll talk to CF, EC, AH, and ME about LG, see if they noticed LG's attitude on Tuesday, as well. Knowing CF & EC (both of whom have been on the recieving end of LG's bad attitude in the past, frequently) and AH (who won't hesitate to let MeB know what LG was like on Tues.).... I'm guessing LG gets a talking to (even if it IS a nice one) by MeB, and hopefully even Super is made aware of LG's behavior on Tuesday. (Esp. considering LG's frantic reminders to the rest of us about how angry Super was about the over-flow of books, and LG's constant threats that we'd get fired if Super saw us doing anything but shelving. That doesn't make Super look good, either. And it SURE doesn't promote employee loyalty, the constant threat of being fired, even if that threat is coming second-hand.)
Oy, so that was Wednesday. I had hoped, when I went in Wed. morning, that it would be laid back & relatively stress-free, after how frantic Tuesday had been. Thanks to LG, it wasn't. Oh, it was fine once we got out into the shelves with a cart of books & away from LG's raving, but thanks to how high-strung LG was, the whole mood on Wed. was rather stress-full. Thankfully, yesterday (Thursday) was rather laid back. We were still doing a lot more shelving than anything else, but LG had finally calmed down, and Super had commented on how much better our Work-room shelves looked & that we could go back to our other duties as well, as time permitted. But, DANG am I glad to be off today. This week (even being a rather short week) was just TOO stressful.
I remember how quiet & relaxed it was out here at the NPB library, when I worked there a few years ago. My job felt almost meditative most days. And I was generally the ONLY page working (NPB is so small that it needs only 3 pages with only 10 hours each per week), so I didn't have personality conflicts with the other pages. I was often left to myself as my duties allowed, and I was able to get into such a rhythm, that I just automatically knew what would need my attention most that day, and I was able to get a LOT accomplished, without a lot of stress (most of the time). It's nice, having a rhythm. It was nice knowing that Tuesday would be the busiest, after being closed for the weekend. That I'd have a lot of checking in first thing, and would probably only get one cart of books shelved. Then Wed morning would be busy with Pre-school story time, but by noon it would slow down & I could get to shelving another cart of books. Thursdays were always rather laid back, with no programs, and I could get magazines out, new books weeded (once a month), and a couple of carts shelved in my 3 hours. Then, of course, my week was over. But I knew just how it would go the next week. There was that rhythm. Made it the PERFECT first job! And it gave me just enough hours (when I only needed a few hours a week) to come out of my shell & learn to be around people more. It gave me a chance to work on my people skills, without over-stressing me.
Probably why I do better than some of my current coworkers in my personal-relations at my current library position. LG & CF are not really people-people. A kid starts swinging on the directional gates coming & out of the library, and the kid gets yelled at by them. I can generally give them "the look" and ever-so-sweetly remind them that the gate isn't strong enough for hanging on, and please stop doing so before it breaks & they get hurt. (I've gotten compliments on my handling, actually!) And I'm able do to so without hurting the feelings of their parents. And when that pre-teen brat is shaking the tree, just to see what I'll do..... Dang, that's when I LOVE the "Stern Mom look" I've developed. (Unfortunately it doesn't work as well on DD as it does the kids at the library.) And that "Stern Mom Look" is often all I need. I'm happy to say that as much as I tend to be a hermit, I've been told by the library director how welcoming & friendly I appear when patrons come & go. I make them feel like they're welcome to be there, I'm not (normally) afraid to correct behavior when I see it (talking on cell phones IN the library!) but I'm not nasty or overly-stressed about it. And it comes across, evidently. I've gotta say, I'm proud of that.
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I was "invited" to a Women's "Retreat" at Dad's church this weekend. It's supposed to start tonight. The woman from church who called was so desirous that I be there because "Kati, I think this would REALLY bless you, you'd get SOOOO much out of it." Of course, it's 20 dollars to attend (money that I'm saving for Anchorage), it'd be giving up my weekend to sit in church & listen to two out-of-towners talk about my relationship with God. And I'm just not feeling like it. Of course these ladies from church have no idea that my spiritual focus is much more on the feminine these days. I've spent 20+ of my 28 years focusing on the Christian God, to the exclusion of the divine feminine. I can't always get out of going to church with my Dad (keeps him from nagging quite so much, if I go every now & again, when I'm not at work), but I see no reason to give up my weekend to listen to two women that I don't know speak endlessly about my need for a stronger relationship with their patriarchal diety. And these events tend to be much more fundamentalist than even the pastor on a Sunday morning. Which makes it that much harder for me to stomach. Sorry, just don't see how I can worship a God that's made it clear (through such prophets as Paul, and the guys in the old testement) that women are to be subjected to men. That women aren't supposed to teach men. That wives are supposed to be subservient to their hubby's in order to be properly following God's will for our lives. Often espousing such beliefs that I was created for no other reason than to serve my husband and to be mother to his children. (Did I mention that most of the ladies at that church have no idea that I've had my tubes tied after only 1 child??? *wink*)
And, as I said, I'm not spending 20 bucks to go listen to that for both days of my weekend. I've got better things to do. And I'm really not feeling like continuing to build a relationship with an extremely patriarchal diety & abandoning my relationship-building with my Divine Mother. 20+ years focused on the Father, the Mother deserves my attention now.
Not to say that I don't acknowledge & accept the existance of a male diety, but the Christian diety is so contratictory, that even if I WASN'T focusing on the feminine, I am not comfortable focusing on the god that the Christians believe in. The nature of Jesus Christ, whom I certainly appreciate, at the very least -even if choose not to emulate him, and of the god Yawheh, are very contradictory and at odds with each other. And really, I believe that there are probably more gods being discussed seeing as how often El is referenced. Having done some reading (both of the bible and of other texts) I really doubt that the origional old-testement writers were talking about the same "guy" when they talked about El and Yahweh. And the natures of these two "gods" are rather different as well.
Though, not having the reference materials in front of me, and not being THAT well versed, I couldn't really explain how. So don't pressure me. Suffice it to say, the last several years of serious Christian-based Study (before I faced facts that I wouldn't even qualify as "christian" any more) left me very uncomfortable with the way Christians approached God (and Jesus). And when I started discovering more about the Feminine divine, it opened my eyes to how flawed the christian view of God is and how much more there is to discover. And it's not at all "Satanic" as Christians are fond of ranting. Certainly no goddess I've discovered is any more malicious than Yahweh is recorded to have been in the old testiment. At least the Goddesses that DO have an obvious Dark side (Kali, Pele, Diana/Artemis) are wont to be open about their dark natures as their lighter natures. Goddess-worship tends to accept that there are two sides to that coin. Where as Christianity likes to look at the dark nature of God, and talk about eternal damnation if you don't do JUST as he says, but don't like to actually acknowledge that dark nature, instead talking about how God is Light, that their God can't do any wrong. (And again, more contradiction, as Satan is also refered to as the Prince of Light. Makes you wonder that Christians don't see Yahweh/Satan as often two sides of the same coin. And even if Yahweh & Satan aren't just different names for the SAME side of the coin, and El/Jesus are more names for the other side of that coin. I don't know..... So many thoughts & ideas that I toss around in my head, but have a hard time expressing them coherently.)
Suffice it to say, I'm blowing off the darn Women's Retreat tonight. I've got no interest in going. And there's a HUGE part of me that really can't wait till Dad leaves town & I can stop pretending to care about church at all. Because I really don't. At least not the fundamentalist churches. Though I am still curious, at times, about the local UU church. Seeing as my friend from the Children's Room at the library attends the UU church, I'm even more tempted to check it out. I just wish it wasn't so danged far away. It's over on the FAR side of town, almost as far from where I live as you can get, and still be in the same borough. Really wish there was a UU congregation closer to home. Oh well..... I guess I'll just keep on being Solitary then, and keep studying and learning for myself.
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Anyway...... I've now written a book (Ms. Christiansen would be proud!) so I'll stop. I'd only meant this to be an update, but..... Wow. What a busy week. I guess there was really no way to talk about what a busy week it's been, work-wise, WITHOUT writing a book. LOL
I hope the rest of y'all have had a more mild week, and are looking forward to a relaxing weekend.
Have A Blessed Day!
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