Dear Blog,
Do you remember me? Your random author? I know, I used to take much better care of you before I discovered the addiction also known as Facebook. But don't worry, I haven't completely forgotten about you. I will still be a sporadic visitor.
Part of the problem is I never found your focus. Many of the blogs I read have a specific purpose, whether it's cooking, movie reviews, or family updates. I felt like I was doing you a disservice by not having a specific purpose. But then, I realized that maybe that was the reason for this blog. Maybe you are here simply to catch whatever random thoughts are falling out of my mind. Maybe you exist to capture a moment in time.
So here's this moment-the New England Patriots suck. And now it's time for pie.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Goodbye, Erin Drive
Goodbye, Erin Drive.
You were our first house. You were not an easy house to find; we looked at over 30 houses before we found you. We walked in on
You were the site of many firsts, good and bad. The first place where we were able to paint the walls any color we wanted. The first place where we were responsible when the furnace went out. The first place we were able to stand on our front lawn, look at the house, and feel proud that we took that step. You were the place where we learned what happens when two people drink three bottles of wine in one evening (here’s a hint-I did something for the first time in many years. Cleanup was not fun the next day). You were where we were living when we had to make the decision to put our cat Samantha to sleep.
And the projects! You didn’t need a lot, but we wanted to put our stamp on you. Remodeled bathrooms and kitchen, new carpeting-we made you ours. The effort paid off in the end, as someone else has found you special.
So many good times in this house, it’s hard to say goodbye. But it’s time for us to move on, and we’ll take our memories with us. Don’t be surprised if we drive by once or twice, just to see how you’re doing.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Removal of the Teeth
At my last dentist's visit, he recommended that I get one of my wisdom teeth removed (yes at 36 years old I still have my wisdom teeth). He doesn't do extractions, but recommended me to an oral surgeon. After putting it off, I made my appointment and went in for a consultation. The surgeon found not one but two teeth (one on each side) that needed removal. He was surprised that I wasn't feeling any pain from either tooth.
Friday was the big day. Dr. Bianco (who was really nice and kind of reminded me of my grandfather) had given me a prescription for valium. I took one pill the night before, and the next pill an hour before my appointment. I remember waking up Friday morning feeling really tired, and I told Mike a couple of times that I didn't understand how people could actually like taking the stuff, much less get hooked.
We got to the clinic, and they took me back to the "operating room" and started getting me hooked to the IV. Now, I really hate needles. I always get woozy whenever I try to give blood, and I was hoping that the valium would help with that. The nurse started to poke my arm, but was having trouble finding the vein. I started getting hot and wanted to jump off the chair and curl up on the floor, but instead I told her I was getting dizzy and needed a cold cloth on my forehead. She hooked me up to oxygen first (which strangely enough was cold), and got me a cloth. Once I started breathing I could feel better, and she moved down to my hand and was able to find a vein there.
Then the doctor came in, and took out what looked like a very large needle. He then had me open my mouth and injected local anesthetic in both sides of my mouth. He told me it would hurt, and I remember it hurt like hell but I didn't much care.
Next thing I know I opened my eyes and Mike was standing over me. Apparently I asked him when they were going to start, and he told me that they were already done. That's actually kind of a creepy feeling, knowing that someone had been able to remove parts of your body without even knowing it. They unhooked my IV (or maybe it was already done at that point, I really don't know), and put me in a wheelchair. They gave us instructions, and Mike had a bag of gauze and other supplies. It's a good thing Mike was there because I promptly forgot the instructions as soon as they gave them. They also had a prescription for penicillin and painkillers already called into the pharmacy, so we stopped by to pick them up.
Then I'm back in the car and on my way home. I told Mike about my IV adventures. Then I told him again. And again. And again. Guess my memory wasn't very good at this point. I also don't remember much about getting home. I had an icepack for my cheek. The tooth on the right side gave them some trouble, and that's the side that's still a little sore. I've never been punched in the jaw before but I have an idea about what it feels like now. So I iced my jaw, and then Mike gave me some applesauce so I could get something in my stomach before taking my pills. I was starting to feel a little better, and told Mike he could go to work and I would be fine. All I planned on doing was napping and/or watching TV.
The painkiller they gave me is hydrocodone, which is related to vicodin. There were also warnings about how addictive it could be. Great. I also was given way more pills than I would ever need as well as a refill. One of the side effects was drowsiness, and not long after Mike went to work I went into the office and stretched out on the recliner. I locked the cats out of the room, so first I heard Bootsie's meek "mew, mew" for about twenty minutes. Then Hershey came over and started crying and jumping against the door. Somehow with all that racket I managed to doze off.
After I woke up I decided I was hungry so I made myself some instant grits. I then settled down to eat and watch March of the Penguins. (I wanted something where it didn't matter if I fell asleep or not). Mike sent me a text message around 4 reminding me to take my pills and recommended that I take a pain pill whether I thought I needed it or not. I was a little sore so I went ahead. That caused me to get drowsy again, but by the time Mike got home I was awake. He had stopped at the store to pick up all kinds of goodies for me, including instant rice and apple juice. I had really been wanting juice because I was sick of water, so I had a glass right away. A little later on I was hungry again and he heated up the instant rice for me. It was chicken flavored and pretty good, but it took me forever to eat since I was being really careful.
We then settled on the couch to watch some TV. At some point, my stomach started feeling a little funky. Next thing I know I'm heading to the bathroom and throwing up. Turns out another side effect of the hydrocodone is nausea/vomiting. The apple juice probably didn't help either, what with the sugar. I came back to finish watching the show, but I had to stop because I was falling asleep. I went into the bedroom to lie down and was probably there about five minutes before I realized I had to throw up again. Luckily I made it just in time.
I fell asleep for about an hour, and when I woke up I was hungry again. Mike scrambled some eggs for me, and I drank water. This time, everything stayed down. I decided at that point that the pain wasn't really that bad and I wasn't going to take any more pain pills. We watched some more TV, and then it was off to bed, since we both had a really long day.
Saturday wasn't too bad. My right side was feeling better, even though it's still swollen. I wanted to go grocery shopping and Mike came with me, which I'm glad he did because I started to lose steam after a while. We didn't do much of anything and I took a nap in the afternoon, which is something I never do. I had been restricted from carbonated beverages for 24 hours, and by the evening I was ready for a diet coke. The caffeine definitely helped, and I was feeling well enough to make some pasta for dinner.
Today I feel so much better. My cheek hurts when I touch it and it still feels puffy, but I am up and around and already cleaned the house. In fact, I think the snow has stopped, so I'm going to run out and start shoveling.
Friday was the big day. Dr. Bianco (who was really nice and kind of reminded me of my grandfather) had given me a prescription for valium. I took one pill the night before, and the next pill an hour before my appointment. I remember waking up Friday morning feeling really tired, and I told Mike a couple of times that I didn't understand how people could actually like taking the stuff, much less get hooked.
We got to the clinic, and they took me back to the "operating room" and started getting me hooked to the IV. Now, I really hate needles. I always get woozy whenever I try to give blood, and I was hoping that the valium would help with that. The nurse started to poke my arm, but was having trouble finding the vein. I started getting hot and wanted to jump off the chair and curl up on the floor, but instead I told her I was getting dizzy and needed a cold cloth on my forehead. She hooked me up to oxygen first (which strangely enough was cold), and got me a cloth. Once I started breathing I could feel better, and she moved down to my hand and was able to find a vein there.
Then the doctor came in, and took out what looked like a very large needle. He then had me open my mouth and injected local anesthetic in both sides of my mouth. He told me it would hurt, and I remember it hurt like hell but I didn't much care.
Next thing I know I opened my eyes and Mike was standing over me. Apparently I asked him when they were going to start, and he told me that they were already done. That's actually kind of a creepy feeling, knowing that someone had been able to remove parts of your body without even knowing it. They unhooked my IV (or maybe it was already done at that point, I really don't know), and put me in a wheelchair. They gave us instructions, and Mike had a bag of gauze and other supplies. It's a good thing Mike was there because I promptly forgot the instructions as soon as they gave them. They also had a prescription for penicillin and painkillers already called into the pharmacy, so we stopped by to pick them up.
Then I'm back in the car and on my way home. I told Mike about my IV adventures. Then I told him again. And again. And again. Guess my memory wasn't very good at this point. I also don't remember much about getting home. I had an icepack for my cheek. The tooth on the right side gave them some trouble, and that's the side that's still a little sore. I've never been punched in the jaw before but I have an idea about what it feels like now. So I iced my jaw, and then Mike gave me some applesauce so I could get something in my stomach before taking my pills. I was starting to feel a little better, and told Mike he could go to work and I would be fine. All I planned on doing was napping and/or watching TV.
The painkiller they gave me is hydrocodone, which is related to vicodin. There were also warnings about how addictive it could be. Great. I also was given way more pills than I would ever need as well as a refill. One of the side effects was drowsiness, and not long after Mike went to work I went into the office and stretched out on the recliner. I locked the cats out of the room, so first I heard Bootsie's meek "mew, mew" for about twenty minutes. Then Hershey came over and started crying and jumping against the door. Somehow with all that racket I managed to doze off.
After I woke up I decided I was hungry so I made myself some instant grits. I then settled down to eat and watch March of the Penguins. (I wanted something where it didn't matter if I fell asleep or not). Mike sent me a text message around 4 reminding me to take my pills and recommended that I take a pain pill whether I thought I needed it or not. I was a little sore so I went ahead. That caused me to get drowsy again, but by the time Mike got home I was awake. He had stopped at the store to pick up all kinds of goodies for me, including instant rice and apple juice. I had really been wanting juice because I was sick of water, so I had a glass right away. A little later on I was hungry again and he heated up the instant rice for me. It was chicken flavored and pretty good, but it took me forever to eat since I was being really careful.
We then settled on the couch to watch some TV. At some point, my stomach started feeling a little funky. Next thing I know I'm heading to the bathroom and throwing up. Turns out another side effect of the hydrocodone is nausea/vomiting. The apple juice probably didn't help either, what with the sugar. I came back to finish watching the show, but I had to stop because I was falling asleep. I went into the bedroom to lie down and was probably there about five minutes before I realized I had to throw up again. Luckily I made it just in time.
I fell asleep for about an hour, and when I woke up I was hungry again. Mike scrambled some eggs for me, and I drank water. This time, everything stayed down. I decided at that point that the pain wasn't really that bad and I wasn't going to take any more pain pills. We watched some more TV, and then it was off to bed, since we both had a really long day.
Saturday wasn't too bad. My right side was feeling better, even though it's still swollen. I wanted to go grocery shopping and Mike came with me, which I'm glad he did because I started to lose steam after a while. We didn't do much of anything and I took a nap in the afternoon, which is something I never do. I had been restricted from carbonated beverages for 24 hours, and by the evening I was ready for a diet coke. The caffeine definitely helped, and I was feeling well enough to make some pasta for dinner.
Today I feel so much better. My cheek hurts when I touch it and it still feels puffy, but I am up and around and already cleaned the house. In fact, I think the snow has stopped, so I'm going to run out and start shoveling.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Rant on Racism
Call me naive, but sometimes it really bothers me that racism is still alive and well. The other day, I went to lunch with some coworkers. The place we were at had big screen tvs, tuned to sports and CNN. One of the stories that came up on CNN was about the Muslim family that was kicked off an airplane. One of my coworkers made a comment about it, kind of a "ha-ha, serves them right" type of comment. I must have made a face or shook my head, and she said, "what you don't think they should have been kicked off?" I told her that I didn't know the full story, and she told me that they had been discussing the safest place to sit if a plane blew up. I said that didn't seem right to be kicked off, and she mentioned that other passengers had been uncomfortable. I asked her if she thought they would have been kicked off if a white person had said that. She was quiet for a minute, but then said that maybe they should have had that conversation before they got on the plane.
Which is true. You don't say "bomb" on an airplane and expect that you won't get funny looks or pulled away for questioning. However, I think this whole situation has once again shown the really ugly side of America. Why do we assume that every Muslim is a terrorist? I hate to break it to you, redneck America, but Timothy McVeigh? The Unabomber? Those were white guys. So should we assume that every white male may also be a terrorist? We don't, so why is it ok to assume that every Muslim is?
And what I really resent is that the people who make these statements assume that I would agree with them. Sorry, but I'm a firm believer in "people are people" and don't dislike/fear someone before you get to know them. Don't assume that because I'm white I am as prejudiced as you are.
Ok, I'm getting off my soapbox. I'm probably on a government list somewhere now.
Which is true. You don't say "bomb" on an airplane and expect that you won't get funny looks or pulled away for questioning. However, I think this whole situation has once again shown the really ugly side of America. Why do we assume that every Muslim is a terrorist? I hate to break it to you, redneck America, but Timothy McVeigh? The Unabomber? Those were white guys. So should we assume that every white male may also be a terrorist? We don't, so why is it ok to assume that every Muslim is?
And what I really resent is that the people who make these statements assume that I would agree with them. Sorry, but I'm a firm believer in "people are people" and don't dislike/fear someone before you get to know them. Don't assume that because I'm white I am as prejudiced as you are.
Ok, I'm getting off my soapbox. I'm probably on a government list somewhere now.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
The Fighting Illini. Literally
Last night, Mike and I did something we've been meaning to do since we moved to Champaign. We finally attended an Illini hockey game.
I used to follow NHL hockey quite regularly, and my team was the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeremy Roenick, Tony Amonte, Chris Chelios, and Eddie Belfour were my heroes, and I tried to catch every Blackhawk game on TV that I could. I also didn't discriminate, pretty much as long as hockey was on TV I tried to watch it. I never did get to an NHL game, but we did go to Milwaukee Admirals games. I didn't know the players as well, but we always had a lot of fun.
I ended up with a free pair of tickets to Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan. I figured the chances of us seeing a win were pretty good, as Eastern Michigan was 4-13 as of Friday afternoon, and Illinois was 14-2 (and they were last year's ACHA champion).
It was fairly easy to find the ice arena, and I even lucked into a parking space in one of the nearby lots. The seating at the arena was general admission with bleachers on the upper level. We grabbed coffee and hot chocolate at the concession stand and went upstairs to find some seats. We ended up in one of the corners looking down on the ice. We were incredibly close to the action, and when play started and some of the shots boomed off the glass below us, I really felt like we were in the game.
During the first period we were on the defending side, and we saw Eastern Michigan score one goal. It turned out to be the only goal they scored at all. And the traditions we saw at Admirals games were also observed during the Illini game. When the Illini scored, the crowd erupted in cheers of "it's all your fault" and during Billy Idol's Mony Mony they chanted "hey, you suck!". Can't you just feel the love in the air?
At the end of the first period the Illini were leading 3-1. During intermission, there was a five minute exhibition of the Champaign-Urbana Youth Hockey club. That was a lot of fun seeing all the little kids skating around with sticks bigger than they were. It was kind of like watching someone trying to herd cats. There was lots of falling down and lost pucks, but a couple of goals were scored and everyone had a lot of fun. Then it was time for the Zamboni to come out and resurface, which meant the Zamboni song had to be played.
We stayed in our seats during the second period, and got to see three more goals since Eastern Michigan was defending that side. There were also a lot of crashes into the boards below us, and you could see that some tempers were starting to fray a bit.
At the end of the second period, we decided to go downstairs and secure a spot on the other end in front of the glass. It was colder down there, but we were right in the action. A couple of times the players would come whizzing by, and while there were no crashes directly in front of us, there were plenty nearby. We saw more goals scored and banged on the glass in celebration.
And then, with 1:48 left to go in the third period, all hell broke loose. I think it started by a spectacular crash with a player practically upended. Those two players were thrown in the penalty box with a 10 minute game misconduct, and play resumed. Next thing we knew, helmets, gloves, an sticks were on the ice, and two players were going at it. The refs tried to separate, but couldn't get between them. Then another two started in on each other. As we're watching the two fights, I look towards center ice, and the goalies are going at it! The whole crowd was up on their feet, and the fights just kept going. Finally, the refs were able to break up the fight. The goalies stopped fighting, and in the true spirit of hockey shook hands and man-hugged afterwards. Everybody went to their benches, and the refs started trying to sort out the penalties. I'm pretty sure that the only two players who weren't involved in the fight were the ones already in the box. The annoucer kept trying to call the penalties, but he kept getting confused. In the meantime, the three groups that had been fighting were escorted off the ice. When everything was finally sorted out (and it probably took a good 10 minutes), those players had been disqualified from the game. Yes, even the goalies! At this point we decided to leave, since the score was 9-1. (I checked this morning, and the final was 10-1).
We've already decided that we are going back. Due to winter break, the next home game isn't until January. And I know that not every game will be as exciting, but it was a lot of fun for not a lot of money-tickets are only $7. Concessions are reasonable too (but it's college, so no beer!) If you're in the Chambana area looking for something to do, check out a game. And dress warmly, the ice is cold!!!
I used to follow NHL hockey quite regularly, and my team was the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeremy Roenick, Tony Amonte, Chris Chelios, and Eddie Belfour were my heroes, and I tried to catch every Blackhawk game on TV that I could. I also didn't discriminate, pretty much as long as hockey was on TV I tried to watch it. I never did get to an NHL game, but we did go to Milwaukee Admirals games. I didn't know the players as well, but we always had a lot of fun.
I ended up with a free pair of tickets to Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan. I figured the chances of us seeing a win were pretty good, as Eastern Michigan was 4-13 as of Friday afternoon, and Illinois was 14-2 (and they were last year's ACHA champion).
It was fairly easy to find the ice arena, and I even lucked into a parking space in one of the nearby lots. The seating at the arena was general admission with bleachers on the upper level. We grabbed coffee and hot chocolate at the concession stand and went upstairs to find some seats. We ended up in one of the corners looking down on the ice. We were incredibly close to the action, and when play started and some of the shots boomed off the glass below us, I really felt like we were in the game.
During the first period we were on the defending side, and we saw Eastern Michigan score one goal. It turned out to be the only goal they scored at all. And the traditions we saw at Admirals games were also observed during the Illini game. When the Illini scored, the crowd erupted in cheers of "it's all your fault" and during Billy Idol's Mony Mony they chanted "hey, you suck!". Can't you just feel the love in the air?
At the end of the first period the Illini were leading 3-1. During intermission, there was a five minute exhibition of the Champaign-Urbana Youth Hockey club. That was a lot of fun seeing all the little kids skating around with sticks bigger than they were. It was kind of like watching someone trying to herd cats. There was lots of falling down and lost pucks, but a couple of goals were scored and everyone had a lot of fun. Then it was time for the Zamboni to come out and resurface, which meant the Zamboni song had to be played.
We stayed in our seats during the second period, and got to see three more goals since Eastern Michigan was defending that side. There were also a lot of crashes into the boards below us, and you could see that some tempers were starting to fray a bit.
At the end of the second period, we decided to go downstairs and secure a spot on the other end in front of the glass. It was colder down there, but we were right in the action. A couple of times the players would come whizzing by, and while there were no crashes directly in front of us, there were plenty nearby. We saw more goals scored and banged on the glass in celebration.
And then, with 1:48 left to go in the third period, all hell broke loose. I think it started by a spectacular crash with a player practically upended. Those two players were thrown in the penalty box with a 10 minute game misconduct, and play resumed. Next thing we knew, helmets, gloves, an sticks were on the ice, and two players were going at it. The refs tried to separate, but couldn't get between them. Then another two started in on each other. As we're watching the two fights, I look towards center ice, and the goalies are going at it! The whole crowd was up on their feet, and the fights just kept going. Finally, the refs were able to break up the fight. The goalies stopped fighting, and in the true spirit of hockey shook hands and man-hugged afterwards. Everybody went to their benches, and the refs started trying to sort out the penalties. I'm pretty sure that the only two players who weren't involved in the fight were the ones already in the box. The annoucer kept trying to call the penalties, but he kept getting confused. In the meantime, the three groups that had been fighting were escorted off the ice. When everything was finally sorted out (and it probably took a good 10 minutes), those players had been disqualified from the game. Yes, even the goalies! At this point we decided to leave, since the score was 9-1. (I checked this morning, and the final was 10-1).
We've already decided that we are going back. Due to winter break, the next home game isn't until January. And I know that not every game will be as exciting, but it was a lot of fun for not a lot of money-tickets are only $7. Concessions are reasonable too (but it's college, so no beer!) If you're in the Chambana area looking for something to do, check out a game. And dress warmly, the ice is cold!!!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Birthday Bliss
My birthday was on Black Friday, but the celebrations started Wednesday at work (since of course I took off on Friday). Several of my coworkers brought in food (yum, veggie pizza, chili cheese dip, and even chicken wings!), and my friend/coworker Marla took me to lunch at Applebees (love the shrimp & spinach salad there). While we were at lunch Birthday Elvis appeared on my office wall. I will have to take good care of him until I can pass him along for the next birthday in our building!
Thursday was Thanksgiving, and we took the trip up to Milwaukee to be with family. We haven't done that in a few years, so that was nice, and the weather cooperated. My sister Kelley, who has had all sorts of medical trouble this year, was able to leave the nursing home for a few hours to spend time with us. She wasn't able to eat, so I ate for her :) It was just great having her home, and she is convinced she will be home by Christmas.
Friday morning did not find us up at the crack of dawn to fight the crowds. Mike did some shopping of the online variety, and we met his mom for breakfast before heading back home. Once we returned home, I was kicked out of the house so Mike could take care of my birthday present. I went to the mall and picked up a Christmas present for my mom, and then went to the library to get a new book. Mike wasn't ready for me to come home yet, so I curled up in one of the chairs and read for an hour or so. I've always wanted to do that but never indulged, and it was very nice and relaxing. When I got the go-ahead, and I came home to find my present-a brand new laptop all set up and ready to go! All my bookmarks, files, even my desktop background were all there waiting for me. This was the coolest present ever :) We ended the evening with dinner at Shanghai 1938 and back home where we opened up a bottle of wine. All in all, it was a fantastic birthday!
Thursday was Thanksgiving, and we took the trip up to Milwaukee to be with family. We haven't done that in a few years, so that was nice, and the weather cooperated. My sister Kelley, who has had all sorts of medical trouble this year, was able to leave the nursing home for a few hours to spend time with us. She wasn't able to eat, so I ate for her :) It was just great having her home, and she is convinced she will be home by Christmas.
Friday morning did not find us up at the crack of dawn to fight the crowds. Mike did some shopping of the online variety, and we met his mom for breakfast before heading back home. Once we returned home, I was kicked out of the house so Mike could take care of my birthday present. I went to the mall and picked up a Christmas present for my mom, and then went to the library to get a new book. Mike wasn't ready for me to come home yet, so I curled up in one of the chairs and read for an hour or so. I've always wanted to do that but never indulged, and it was very nice and relaxing. When I got the go-ahead, and I came home to find my present-a brand new laptop all set up and ready to go! All my bookmarks, files, even my desktop background were all there waiting for me. This was the coolest present ever :) We ended the evening with dinner at Shanghai 1938 and back home where we opened up a bottle of wine. All in all, it was a fantastic birthday!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
I'm baaaaack!
And I had a weird afternoon.
A while back when Mike put up new cabinets in the garage, he also built me a recycling center. It's basically a cabinet with an empty space in the middle, and we found some stackable recycling bins to put in this space. When the bins are full or getting close, I take them over to the local recycling center. Today was one of those days, and since it was cold I was wearing gloves. I picked up a bin that had aluminum cans, opened up the dumpster, held it upside down over the dumpster, and felt the bin slip out of my gloved hand into the dumpster. Yep. I grabbed the side of the dumpster and pushed myself up to see if I could reach the bin, but it landed approximately in the middle of the fairly empty dumpster, so I had no chance of reaching it. And this is the second bin I've lost recently. Well, I still have the first one but the bottom is held together with duct tape. I let someone stand on it because he had dropped something in the dumpster he shouldn't have, and I didn't even think about the fact that it wouldn't be sturdy since there is an opening in the front to allow you to have a way to put in your stuff if another bin is stacked on top of it. Of course, that wouldn't be the bin that fell in the dumpster.
So from there I head to the grocery store. I swipe my debit card and it comes back "declined, contact bank". Pretty funny since I'm in the debit card manager at my bank. So I whip out the checkbook and proceed to slow down the line. The store has one of those cards where they punch for how much you spend, and once it's full they scratch it off and see if you won something. The cashier starts scratching my card, then picks up the intercom and announces "we have a holiday cash winner on lane 5". Now, I won $10 last year, and I asked her how much I won. She shows me the card and says that I won my groceries. Whoo-hoo! Of course, the guys in line behind me say "hey she's got more" and start pushing their stuff down. Would that I could, guys. So she hands me my check back, and I go to the service counter to fill out some forms. The manager starts giving me a hard time because I have "hippie bags" from another store, but I sass him back and tell him that I was trying to spend money in his store. They wanted to take my picture too but that was not gonna happen. The funny thing was is I only spent $42 (hmmm...that's the answer to the question of life!), but hey, I'm happy to have it. Now I can use that money to buy some new recycling bins.
A while back when Mike put up new cabinets in the garage, he also built me a recycling center. It's basically a cabinet with an empty space in the middle, and we found some stackable recycling bins to put in this space. When the bins are full or getting close, I take them over to the local recycling center. Today was one of those days, and since it was cold I was wearing gloves. I picked up a bin that had aluminum cans, opened up the dumpster, held it upside down over the dumpster, and felt the bin slip out of my gloved hand into the dumpster. Yep. I grabbed the side of the dumpster and pushed myself up to see if I could reach the bin, but it landed approximately in the middle of the fairly empty dumpster, so I had no chance of reaching it. And this is the second bin I've lost recently. Well, I still have the first one but the bottom is held together with duct tape. I let someone stand on it because he had dropped something in the dumpster he shouldn't have, and I didn't even think about the fact that it wouldn't be sturdy since there is an opening in the front to allow you to have a way to put in your stuff if another bin is stacked on top of it. Of course, that wouldn't be the bin that fell in the dumpster.
So from there I head to the grocery store. I swipe my debit card and it comes back "declined, contact bank". Pretty funny since I'm in the debit card manager at my bank. So I whip out the checkbook and proceed to slow down the line. The store has one of those cards where they punch for how much you spend, and once it's full they scratch it off and see if you won something. The cashier starts scratching my card, then picks up the intercom and announces "we have a holiday cash winner on lane 5". Now, I won $10 last year, and I asked her how much I won. She shows me the card and says that I won my groceries. Whoo-hoo! Of course, the guys in line behind me say "hey she's got more" and start pushing their stuff down. Would that I could, guys. So she hands me my check back, and I go to the service counter to fill out some forms. The manager starts giving me a hard time because I have "hippie bags" from another store, but I sass him back and tell him that I was trying to spend money in his store. They wanted to take my picture too but that was not gonna happen. The funny thing was is I only spent $42 (hmmm...that's the answer to the question of life!), but hey, I'm happy to have it. Now I can use that money to buy some new recycling bins.
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