This is a frequent scenario these days. Me... up at the wee hours or morning. In my normal, former life I have absolutely no problem sleeping. Someone could probably jump on the bed and I wouldn't wake up. I enjoy sleep. Even though I would sometimes have to force myself to actually go to bed, I looked forward to sleep. Sleep was my friend. When I was younger, I was able to function on only a couple of hours of sleep. As I've gotten older I've found that I just don't do well on less than eight hours. With less than eight my body is tired and my mind wanders throughout the day and all I do is dream about my bed. It was nice being on a sleep/work/life schedule. I miss that.
These days I have no schedule and it's absolutely taking a toll on me. I hate that I have none of my personal belongings with me. I'm in a house with all of my Mothers things that yes, I could go through, but don't really have the energy. It's all too overwhelming. I found a bottle of Ambien and this, instead of lovely natural sleep, has become my new friend. I think without it I really wouldn't sleep at all. Some nights I try to fall asleep naturally only to find myself up at 5am. I walk around the house, check my email, read a magazine. I suppose I should be taking the time to dispose of the boxes of coupons and newspaper clippings that my Mother kept for some reason. I think it would be safe to say that no one in the family would want a box of expired coupons. So, to maintain some normality in my life I take an Ambien and sleep the sleep of pill-induced fake sleep. I usually sleep in late, feed the dog and let her out and do the same thing I did the day before. Nothing.
Sometimes I tell myself that I need to force myself to go outside and do something... to go somewhere in Charleston that I love, just walk around, get some fresh air and take some pictures. Then, I think of the fact that I have no income and it would be silly to waste the gas so I end up staying home instead. I worry about the unpaid mortgage. I worry about the past due bills that Mom "forgot" to pay and I worry being able to pay my own bills. For many reasons, I hope to get a job soon... most of all I need a structured schedule.
Today I am supposed to be getting the paperwork from Uncle Chuck and Peggy where they signed rescinding their designation as executors of Mom's will. As soon as I get that I have to fill out the paper of appointment and take that down to the probate office. Traci is supposed to be coming with me. I have no idea how long it takes to be appointed executrix. Hopefully it's pretty fast because I'd like to get as much accomplished as I can before I start working. I'd at least like to get the $11,000 funeral home bill taken care of. That is weighing heavily on me right now. I also need to find out what the proper protocol is for taking care of mortgages of the deceased. Mom's mortgage was due on February 1st and they have already called. I haven't told them Mom passed away yet. I wanted to ask the probate clerk about how I should handle that before making a move. I think eventually we will need to get a probate attorney... as if we can afford that!!
Over the weekend Samantha and I went through all of Mom's kitchen cabinets. The stuff that she had in there overflowed on the kitchen table, the dining room table and the kitchen counters. Why does one person have so much food? There were multiples of certain items. I'm sure she would buy one and forget just to buy another. She had every kind of sugar free item imaginable and multiples of them. Most of the food was expired which was not surprising. I kept what I wanted and then gave the rest to Traci and Janine. Traci only took a few things while Janine took whatever was left, which also was not surprising. I know that there was at least 30 bags of groceries that she left with. Spending two hours with Janine in the house was not fun. What I really wanted to do was hover over her and make sure she didn't take anything else. She asked me for a couple of things here and there, but really, she can't be trusted.
My alarm is set for 9am. I might as well turn it off. In the meantime, maybe I'll go watch even MORE television, or perhaps I'll finally throw away those expired coupons and newspaper clippings.
Decisions, decisions...
Monday, February 23, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Two Weeks
I can't believe that today is two weeks since Mom's funeral. I keep thinking about when Dad passed away. A lot of time had passed and I just didn't show emotion. I didn't cry and my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Peggy actually had an intervention with me... they said that they were worried that I hadn't shown any emotion about what happened. I told them I couldn't. I wasn't sure why, but I was not ready to let it out. When I finally did it was not pretty. With Mom, I can talk about it without crying and I feel bad for that. I'm just angry, I think.
The other day I was flipping through channels (I've watched more TV in the last few weeks than I have all year!) and I stopped at a rerun of 'Little House on The Prairie'. It was an episode where an widowed neighbor lady was telling Charles that the doctor told her that she didn't have long to live. She made him promise that he would do his best to find good homes for her children if she died before she could take care of it. Later that night she sat her kids by the fire and told them that she was going to meet their father in heaven soon than later. One of the kids started to cry. She got mad and kind of yelled at him. She said he shouldn't cry about someone going to heaven and that he was crying for himself and not for her. I guess that is why I haven't... or can't. I would be crying for selfish reasons.
I learned that even if you let it out, the sadness is forever there. It never goes away. You will constantly miss that person and no matter what people say, it DOES NOT get better. I would just be feeling sorry for myself and really, what is the point of that? Sure, I have my moments of tears welling up but I quickly do something to preoccupy myself to take my mind off it all. I'm waiting for the meltdown. Not that I want it to, but it's bound to happen and from experience, once it starts it's all downhill. I am so pissed off that I am only 40 and have no parents! See, that is selfish because I know people who are younger than me that are in the same boat. I try to broaden my mind regarding religion and my belief in God but things like this make me take 10-steps back. It's not looking so good for God right now in the world that is "all things Pam"!
Anyway...
I've slowly been collecting Mom's bills and trying to organize them and figure out what she owes and to whom. I've paid a couple here and there from my last paycheck at Sheakley, but I have to save as much of that money as I can so I can afford food and gas until I find a job here in South Carolina. Mom apparently liked to pay partial bills and I've gotten a few disconnect notices so those are the ones I have focused on. It's been very stressful because I've felt so helpless with being able to do nothing until the executor is appointed by probate. Once that is settled we will finally be able to access bank accounts, cash in the life insurance policy and pay the $11,000 bill I owe them and move forward with settling the estate. It's just beginning and I know it will be such a long process. I really think I might need some Xanax to deal with the situation!
The contents of the house itself is a major project. Since her time off from the funeral Traci has been working close to 60 hours a week so we've not had a chance to go through anything except for the contents of the freezers... yes, Mom has three! Janine took a lot of the food in the house so Traci and I picked what we wanted from the freezers (which wasn't much) and left the rest for Janine and the kids. There is a ton of food there and I'm not sure why Mom was still buying for a family of five. My goal is to get those emptied so I can unplug them. I'm sure they responsible for a huge part of the electric bill I just received! I still have some cabinets to go through in the house and I hope to get to them this weekend. It will forever be a mystery of why Mom needed 20+ jars of pickles! I was pretty excited to find some of my Mom's masterpieces in the freezer... homemade meatballs, baked apples and homemade stuffing. I guess I'll take a chance on how long they've been in there since it will be the last time I will have her cooking!
Today I was attempting to clean up the room that the computer is in. I was feeling very claustrophobic from all the clutter! I finally found the books that belong to painting group that Mom belonged to. I still can't believe that her "friend" Mary Lou asked for them three times in a week! Twice she asked for them before we even buried Mom. Does she think we really want their dumb scrapbooks? And how tacky is it that she asked for them at the wake!! I understand that they need the books back, but really... don't you think that she could have at least waited a couple of weeks before contacting us about them? I certainly won't forget that! I really thought that Mary Lou was one of the nice women in the group, but I guess I was wrong. Mom could not stand most of those women and I once asked her why she went to the group if she disliked most of them (and most of them weren't very nice to her) and all she said was "I love to paint!"
It was hard at the wake because when one of them approached me I wanted to say "are you one of the bitches or one of the good ones??" but I was nice. It was pretty hard to bite my tongue when they all asked what we were planning on doing with all of my Mom's art supplies. I wanted to punch them. They weren't the only ones... It's amazing how people turn into vultures when people die. It's like a damn free-for-all with the belongings of the deceased. Besides the food, this house hasn't changed one bit. My Mom's glasses are still on her nightstand and her clothes are still in her closet. I look at all of this stuff and I think how can I get rid of the stuff that she loved so much? I might think the Victorian lamp and anchor wall clock are ugly as hell, but she loved them.
On Monday Traci is supposed to be coming over to go through some of Mom's things in the garage. Janine can't be bothered to call us so I'm not sure what is happening with that. I will tell her our plans if I can get her to come over to get the rest of the stuff from the freezers. We tried to get together once before but Janine stayed for 20 minutes and then left to pick up her kid and never came back. We really need to start going through this stuff and plan some yard sales. Also, I should receive the estate/executor paperwork in the mail from Uncle Chuck and Aunt Peggy so I'll have to go to Moncks Corner to the probate office to file for appointment. Also, I've sent my resume's to my former employers so hopefully I can land a job soon! Being able to pay MY bills would also be nice!
In the meantime, I've been catching up with long-time friends. I've missed them terribly the past six years and it's nice to only be 5 minutes away from them when we talk on the the phone rather than 10 hours away from them! They've been wonderful support the last couple of weeks. Tonight I went to dinner at Yokoso with Annabelle and Samantha. The food was great, as usual, and we had so much fun laughing together! I'm lucky to have such good friends who always listen to my dumb stories and never complain when I bitch about life. With or without parents, it's nice to know that I'm not truly alone.
The other day I was flipping through channels (I've watched more TV in the last few weeks than I have all year!) and I stopped at a rerun of 'Little House on The Prairie'. It was an episode where an widowed neighbor lady was telling Charles that the doctor told her that she didn't have long to live. She made him promise that he would do his best to find good homes for her children if she died before she could take care of it. Later that night she sat her kids by the fire and told them that she was going to meet their father in heaven soon than later. One of the kids started to cry. She got mad and kind of yelled at him. She said he shouldn't cry about someone going to heaven and that he was crying for himself and not for her. I guess that is why I haven't... or can't. I would be crying for selfish reasons.
I learned that even if you let it out, the sadness is forever there. It never goes away. You will constantly miss that person and no matter what people say, it DOES NOT get better. I would just be feeling sorry for myself and really, what is the point of that? Sure, I have my moments of tears welling up but I quickly do something to preoccupy myself to take my mind off it all. I'm waiting for the meltdown. Not that I want it to, but it's bound to happen and from experience, once it starts it's all downhill. I am so pissed off that I am only 40 and have no parents! See, that is selfish because I know people who are younger than me that are in the same boat. I try to broaden my mind regarding religion and my belief in God but things like this make me take 10-steps back. It's not looking so good for God right now in the world that is "all things Pam"!
Anyway...
I've slowly been collecting Mom's bills and trying to organize them and figure out what she owes and to whom. I've paid a couple here and there from my last paycheck at Sheakley, but I have to save as much of that money as I can so I can afford food and gas until I find a job here in South Carolina. Mom apparently liked to pay partial bills and I've gotten a few disconnect notices so those are the ones I have focused on. It's been very stressful because I've felt so helpless with being able to do nothing until the executor is appointed by probate. Once that is settled we will finally be able to access bank accounts, cash in the life insurance policy and pay the $11,000 bill I owe them and move forward with settling the estate. It's just beginning and I know it will be such a long process. I really think I might need some Xanax to deal with the situation!
The contents of the house itself is a major project. Since her time off from the funeral Traci has been working close to 60 hours a week so we've not had a chance to go through anything except for the contents of the freezers... yes, Mom has three! Janine took a lot of the food in the house so Traci and I picked what we wanted from the freezers (which wasn't much) and left the rest for Janine and the kids. There is a ton of food there and I'm not sure why Mom was still buying for a family of five. My goal is to get those emptied so I can unplug them. I'm sure they responsible for a huge part of the electric bill I just received! I still have some cabinets to go through in the house and I hope to get to them this weekend. It will forever be a mystery of why Mom needed 20+ jars of pickles! I was pretty excited to find some of my Mom's masterpieces in the freezer... homemade meatballs, baked apples and homemade stuffing. I guess I'll take a chance on how long they've been in there since it will be the last time I will have her cooking!
Today I was attempting to clean up the room that the computer is in. I was feeling very claustrophobic from all the clutter! I finally found the books that belong to painting group that Mom belonged to. I still can't believe that her "friend" Mary Lou asked for them three times in a week! Twice she asked for them before we even buried Mom. Does she think we really want their dumb scrapbooks? And how tacky is it that she asked for them at the wake!! I understand that they need the books back, but really... don't you think that she could have at least waited a couple of weeks before contacting us about them? I certainly won't forget that! I really thought that Mary Lou was one of the nice women in the group, but I guess I was wrong. Mom could not stand most of those women and I once asked her why she went to the group if she disliked most of them (and most of them weren't very nice to her) and all she said was "I love to paint!"
It was hard at the wake because when one of them approached me I wanted to say "are you one of the bitches or one of the good ones??" but I was nice. It was pretty hard to bite my tongue when they all asked what we were planning on doing with all of my Mom's art supplies. I wanted to punch them. They weren't the only ones... It's amazing how people turn into vultures when people die. It's like a damn free-for-all with the belongings of the deceased. Besides the food, this house hasn't changed one bit. My Mom's glasses are still on her nightstand and her clothes are still in her closet. I look at all of this stuff and I think how can I get rid of the stuff that she loved so much? I might think the Victorian lamp and anchor wall clock are ugly as hell, but she loved them.
On Monday Traci is supposed to be coming over to go through some of Mom's things in the garage. Janine can't be bothered to call us so I'm not sure what is happening with that. I will tell her our plans if I can get her to come over to get the rest of the stuff from the freezers. We tried to get together once before but Janine stayed for 20 minutes and then left to pick up her kid and never came back. We really need to start going through this stuff and plan some yard sales. Also, I should receive the estate/executor paperwork in the mail from Uncle Chuck and Aunt Peggy so I'll have to go to Moncks Corner to the probate office to file for appointment. Also, I've sent my resume's to my former employers so hopefully I can land a job soon! Being able to pay MY bills would also be nice!
In the meantime, I've been catching up with long-time friends. I've missed them terribly the past six years and it's nice to only be 5 minutes away from them when we talk on the the phone rather than 10 hours away from them! They've been wonderful support the last couple of weeks. Tonight I went to dinner at Yokoso with Annabelle and Samantha. The food was great, as usual, and we had so much fun laughing together! I'm lucky to have such good friends who always listen to my dumb stories and never complain when I bitch about life. With or without parents, it's nice to know that I'm not truly alone.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The Witching Hour
The morning of February 2nd I got an email from my Aunt Peggy telling me that my Uncle Dave had passed away. We had been expecting it since he had been very sick. I was pretty upset and the first thing I did was call my Mom. It wasn't unusual for her not to answer her phone during the day. She usually sleeps all day and stays up all night. She was always a night owl, but it turned to the extreme after Dad passed away. I tried calling all morning and would intermittently call Traci. I knew that getting hold of Traci would take time since she worked nights and usually sleeps in during the day.
Around Noon Traci finally picked up the phone and I told her about Uncle Dave and that I was trying to call Mom but she hadn't answered. Traci said she would stop by Mom's house on her way to work to tell her. I kept trying to call anyway. Around 2pm I called once again and Traci answered the phone at Mom's house and sounded panicked. She immediately said that she found Mom unconscious and had called EMS. I knew it was bad.
I was at work and just sat at my desk and cried. I was really hoping that no one could hear me. First having to deal with Uncle Dave and then feeling so helpless in the situation with my Mother because I was in Ohio. I managed to stay at work for the next hour and 45 minutes. I was getting constant updates from Traci who told me that Mom had flatlined on the way to the hospital. They were in the ER trying to stabilize her. I finally left work when Traci told me that the Chaplain came to see her and said they didn't think she was going to make it. He said that they were trying to find a heartbeat and had her on total life support. I have no idea how I drove home and frankly don't remember the drive at all.
I went home and just waited. I was praying and really holding out hope that it was just another one of her diabetic seizures but in my heart I knew it wasn't. I was too scared to make a move... I didn't know whether to sit tight or begin the drive to Charleston. Traci called me whenever there was a change or an update and around 10pm she called and told me that the nurse said I needed to leave right away because they didn't expect her to make it through the night. I ran downstairs and grabbed my suitcases and literally threw my clothes in them. I had no idea how long I would be gone and packed whatever would fit. I remember it being so cold outside when I was packing my car. I left around Midnight and pretty much drove 90 mph. There were constant updates from Traci who was camped out in the ICU. They had done hypothermia therapy with no luck and they said all of her levels were extremely low. I was exhausted since I had been up since 6am. All I knew is that I just had to drive and not stop for anything.
Around 2:55 Traci called me and said that there was a “code blue” in Mom's room and she had just talked to the Doctor. He said that they would work on her for a max of 20 minutes. I guess there is some state law that says that anything after that would only cause brain damage so that is their limit. At 3:03 Traci called me back and said she was gone. I wasn't even to Tennessee yet.
What do you do when you are driving and have just learned that you have no parents? What do you do when you are so tired and are driving like a bat out of hell to get home just to be able to say goodbye, but you still have 7 more hours of driving left? I had no idea what to do so I called Justin, I called Becky and I called my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Peggy. The four people closest to me. After hanging up I turned off the radio and drove in silence for a while. It was the loneliest I have ever felt in my life.
Mom passed away on the 6 year anniversary of my Father's death at 3am... the “witching hour” - I have a feeling she knew exactly what she was doing. Since that day I have said “I can't believe it” a thousand times... I still can't and I probably never will.
Around Noon Traci finally picked up the phone and I told her about Uncle Dave and that I was trying to call Mom but she hadn't answered. Traci said she would stop by Mom's house on her way to work to tell her. I kept trying to call anyway. Around 2pm I called once again and Traci answered the phone at Mom's house and sounded panicked. She immediately said that she found Mom unconscious and had called EMS. I knew it was bad.
I was at work and just sat at my desk and cried. I was really hoping that no one could hear me. First having to deal with Uncle Dave and then feeling so helpless in the situation with my Mother because I was in Ohio. I managed to stay at work for the next hour and 45 minutes. I was getting constant updates from Traci who told me that Mom had flatlined on the way to the hospital. They were in the ER trying to stabilize her. I finally left work when Traci told me that the Chaplain came to see her and said they didn't think she was going to make it. He said that they were trying to find a heartbeat and had her on total life support. I have no idea how I drove home and frankly don't remember the drive at all.
I went home and just waited. I was praying and really holding out hope that it was just another one of her diabetic seizures but in my heart I knew it wasn't. I was too scared to make a move... I didn't know whether to sit tight or begin the drive to Charleston. Traci called me whenever there was a change or an update and around 10pm she called and told me that the nurse said I needed to leave right away because they didn't expect her to make it through the night. I ran downstairs and grabbed my suitcases and literally threw my clothes in them. I had no idea how long I would be gone and packed whatever would fit. I remember it being so cold outside when I was packing my car. I left around Midnight and pretty much drove 90 mph. There were constant updates from Traci who was camped out in the ICU. They had done hypothermia therapy with no luck and they said all of her levels were extremely low. I was exhausted since I had been up since 6am. All I knew is that I just had to drive and not stop for anything.
Around 2:55 Traci called me and said that there was a “code blue” in Mom's room and she had just talked to the Doctor. He said that they would work on her for a max of 20 minutes. I guess there is some state law that says that anything after that would only cause brain damage so that is their limit. At 3:03 Traci called me back and said she was gone. I wasn't even to Tennessee yet.
What do you do when you are driving and have just learned that you have no parents? What do you do when you are so tired and are driving like a bat out of hell to get home just to be able to say goodbye, but you still have 7 more hours of driving left? I had no idea what to do so I called Justin, I called Becky and I called my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Peggy. The four people closest to me. After hanging up I turned off the radio and drove in silence for a while. It was the loneliest I have ever felt in my life.
Mom passed away on the 6 year anniversary of my Father's death at 3am... the “witching hour” - I have a feeling she knew exactly what she was doing. Since that day I have said “I can't believe it” a thousand times... I still can't and I probably never will.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Charleston Snobbery 101
Today I was chatting on Facebook with an old friend from high school named Cindy. Cindy was in the class ahead of me and I haven't talked to her since 1987. We were catching up on what both of us have been doing the past two decades and she asked the inevitable question of what I was doing in Ohio. She said that she lived in Columbus for 10 years, got married, had kids and then went back home to Charleston. During our chat I shared with her my thoughts regarding Ohio and we chatted about the people of Ohio and their obsession with Myrtle Beach (aka The Redneck Riviera) and she told me something that I found very amusing.
We were talking about how many palmetto flag and crescent moon (from the South Carolina State flag) stickers I see on cars here. I see them all the time and I wonder if the people that have them even know what they stand for. She said over the last couple of years she has been seeing stickers on cars in South Carolina that say "GO BACK TO OHIO"
OMG
At first I didn't believe her because that is just too brilliant so I Googled it. Sure enough there used to be a website that was gobacktoohio.com but sadly, it's now defunct. Apparently Charleston's minor league baseball team, The Riverdogs, even had "Go Back to Ohio Night" at their games! I love it.
This is an article from thepalmettoscoop.com:
GOBACKTOOHIO.COM NOT POPULAR IN BUCKEYE STATE
In most parts of South Carolina, people recognize illegal immigration as a real problem. But there is one group of problematic undocumented aliens that is often overlooked: Ohioans.
So one South Carolinian set out to raise awareness about what he calls the “torrential deluge” of Ohio travelers who “stay far longer than the allotted welcome” by creating the website GoBacktoOhio.com (I’ve linked to them before but failed to show them the proper love they deserve).
So one South Carolinian set out to raise awareness about what he calls the “torrential deluge” of Ohio travelers who “stay far longer than the allotted welcome” by creating the website GoBacktoOhio.com (I’ve linked to them before but failed to show them the proper love they deserve).
The site has been up for a few years featuring directions home to Ohio, theories as to why there are so many Ohioans in South Carolina, and even a CafePress store with a few popular bumper stickers.
The site even teamed up with the Charleston RiverDogs baseball team in June to host a “Go Back to Ohio Night” (picture above). No joke. So you can probably guess how this has gone over with folks in Ohio. Not very well.
I think the thing I have enjoyed the most about this story is the feeling of validation. I knew I wasn't crazy about my thoughts regarding the Ohioan obsession with South Carolina. The dreamy looks I have gotten while people think of their memories of the ocean... all the Myrtle Beach t-shirts I have seen at Ohio thrift stores. I just knew it was not my imagination and now I have proof!Charlie the Riverdog and his "Go back to Ohio" t-shirt
Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning kicking an entire state's visitors out of another state. I mean, I have lived all over the country and am thankful no one told me they wanted me to leave. The snobbery of South Carolinians doesn't surprise me, especially of Charlestonians!
I don't blame Ohioans one bit for wanting to visit or live there. It's gorgeous, it's warm and believe me, after this week I wish I were there too!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Over It
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Ohio? What I hate the most about Ohio is the snow and ice. I hate having to risk my life to go to work. I hate that I have to get up and stare at the news to see if my company has closed due to snow. I hate how stupidly people drive in it - do they think they are invincible?? I hate the fact that it has snowed in Ohio FOREVER and the morons STILL can't make the roads ice and snow free even more than 24 hours after the last snowfall!! How is that possible? You would think they'd have gotten the hang of it by now! I hate having to dig my car out. I hate how the snow traps you in your home. I hate how people tailgate when there is OBVIOUSLY ice on the highway! I saw someone speeding this morning. The roads were HORRIBLE and this car slid into the ditch... I didn't feel sorry for them one bit. Oh yeah... they had Ohio license plates. I would have felt sorry if they were from Florida.
I bet the roads will be no better tomorrow morning. Ugh.
I bet the roads will be no better tomorrow morning. Ugh.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Obamania
I left Middletown around 10am on Saturday January 17th to head to the Inauguration. My intention was to leave in the wee hours ofthe morning but that was wishful thinking. I had not finished packing and the cold made it much harder to carry things out to the car. I kept a check on the weather for my route and things seemed to be looking good for the trip. I wanted to geocache on the way to get more states so I made sure my Palm and GPSr were loaded with cache's.
In all, the trip to D.C. was pretty boring and uneventful. My road trips are usually from Ohio to St. Louis or Ohio to Charleston, which is the same old boring scenery. I had never driven this route before so I at least got to see some new landscape, which was nice for a change. I decided to stop in Pennsylvania to do a cache and the first one I stopped at was at this church on a very high hill. I drove past it at first thinking there might be an access road behind it but the road I was on was also a steep (and winding!) hill. It had just snowed so this did not please me. I went about a mile up the hill and kept looking for a place to turn around. Once I did that I slowly made my way down the hill again. I checked out the hill to the church and it had not been plowed and no cars had been up there since the snow. Even with 4-wheel drive I didn't want to attempt it so I got back on the interstate.
I needed gas so I stopped a couple of exits up and refueled. I checked the GPSr and there was a cache within half a mile. It turns out that it was at the local fairgrounds... a very small fairground! When I got within 20 feet of the cache I pulled over and realized that it was up a little hill and I was wearing clogs. I went to the back of my Jeep and pulled on some other shoes and carefully walked sideways up the snow-covered hill. I just knew I was going to fall on my ass. I got to the cache site and tried to grab it but the case was actually frozen to the tree it was resting on so I had to jab it with a stick to get it free. After grabbing a Travel Bug and signing the log I closed the cache and put it back for the next person. I looked at the hill I had to walk down and tried to figure out how, exactly, I was going to make it down to the bottom and not landing on my butt. I started by taking teeny tiny baby steps and soon, due to a fear of falling and my own momentum, I was soon running (not by choice!) down the hill. I really thought I was going to fall, but thankfully did not!
After this event I wasn't feeling the desire to do another cache... it was so damn cold! On the drive to D.C. Elizabeth called me to give me some bad news. Apparently the guy who lives in the condo above her had a pipe bust and the water was now coming into her condo ceiling and she had no water. All I could imagine was staying at her house for several days without showering and then having to drive home like that. Yuck. I told her that it is what it is and we will just have to cope! I arrived at her house around 8pm and after chatting for a bit we went to a wing place around the corner for some wine and food. I was exhausted and knew that the next couple of days were going to be non-stop so I went to bed as soon as we got home.
The next day was the "We Are One" concert, which started at 2pm. When I woke up Elizabeth’s friend was over and he had somehow found a way to turn the water on – Yay! I was glad to know that I didn’t have to stink the next three days! I made the mistake of sitting around with Elizabeth chatting more so I got a very late start. After driving to the Metro and the long ride in I didn't get there until 2:20pm. The crowd was unbelievable! Even with the cold and miserable weather, there were so many people there. I knew that there was probably no chance in hell of getting close to the Lincoln Memorial so I just walked around, listened to the music and took pictures. Whenever I heard someone I liked start singing or speaking I would just go to the nearest JumboTron to watch. I met several people, including a family from South Carolina. The energy of the crowd was really indescribable. I don't think that I have ever been in a place with that many happy people in my entire life. It was great! Throughout the day the only negativity I saw were the Bible Beating protesters who think Obama is the Anti-Christ. Needless to say, they didn’t really have anyone stay and listen to their message.
On the ride back on the Metro I realized that I had not eaten the entire day and I was starving and very tired. When I got to the car I called Elizabeth and told her that I was on my way home. She asked if I wanted to stop by her friend’s house and initially I said that I was too tired. She said they had made food and then I realized that I had no key to Elizabeth’s house so if I went home she would have to also. The thought of food after not eating all day sounded wonderful so I said I would come. Three of her friends were there, including the guy I met that morning who turned on the water. Also there were his wife and one of Elizabeth’s boyfriends. She had made some sort of beef dish, which I would never have eaten normally (but I was starving, so I did!) and tomato basil soup. We chatted for a while and I found the two guys to be quite nice and very engaging. Her girlfriend kept mentioning serial killers no matter what subject we were talking about. I think she thought she sounded cute but really, I found it annoying. I told Elizabeth that I was tired so she gave me the key and I headed home. I had another long day ahead of me.
Elizabeth had to work on Monday so when I woke up she was gone for the day. I had to be at Congressman Boehner’s office at Noon to pick up my Inauguration tickets. I got on the Metro around 11:15am and headed to the Capitol. I got to the Capitol South Metro station at 11:45 and to the Longworth building at 11:50. I stopped across the street to assess the situation. There were hundreds of people waiting in line! I finally found the end of the line and learned that it went up the street, down another street and back around the block to the door. Why on Earth did I think this would be a quick in and out?? I quickly made “friends” with the girls standing around me who provided comic relief for the next THREE HOURS and 10 minutes! About an hour into standing in line someone behind us magically had Subway sandwiches… how did they get those? I felt like tackling them, I was so hungry. My original plan was to QUICKLY get my tickets, get something to eat and then head to the National Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian. Yeah, this was not exactly how I had planned the day!
While standing in line we saw Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank. He was standing outside of the Cannon House across the street taking photos with some people. That was pretty much the highlight of the three hours. Every once in a while a representative from a Congresspersons office would come outside and yell the name to see if anyone was from their constituency. Sadly, no one from Boehner’s office came outside. The girls I was standing in line with lucked out and someone from their Congresswoman’s office came outside so they didn’t have to wait as long as I did… those bitches. The problem was really getting through security. Some people in line must have just come from the airport because they actually had luggage with them. I mean, that really must have slowed down the security process! Around 3 o’clock I finally made my way into the building and wandered around for several minutes before finding a floor map. I took the elevator to the basement and found Boehner’s office and gave them my name. The girl handed me a manila envelope and I was on my way. I stopped just outside the office to text Rob to tell him that I had the tickets. When I did that a couple of girls standing outside the office asked if I would take their picture in front of the office. Turns out they were from Middletown also. We took each other picture and I made a pit stop at the bathroom. On my way out I got a text message from Rob asking what section we were in. I had totally forgotten to look! We were in Silver, which was the farthest ticketed section from the Capitol. I was kind of bummed, but still glad to even have a highly coveted ticket at all!
I left the Longworth building clutching my envelope. It tried to lick it to seal it because the tickets could easily fall out, but it was either too cold or my saliva is defective and the glue would not take. I had nowhere to put them so I clutched them for dear life all the while imaging that someone was going to run up beside me and snatch them (if Elizabeth’s friend was there she would probably say a serial killer would get them!) Before heading to the National Gallery of Art, I walked over to the Capitol to take some photos of the Inaugural set up. There were thousands of people walking around. After checking things out I walked down the National Mall toward the Smithsonian and was surprised at the lack of vendors. My Mother wanted me to get some buttons and stuff for my nieces but there weren’t many to be found and the ones that were around had such tacky stuff.
Since it was already past three I didn’t have much time to spend at the museum so I did the power tour of the highlights. It has been several years since I was there, but I wasn’t at all impressed with their Collection. There wasn’t one painting that I stood in awe of. Also, I found it strange that they had artists separated into different rooms. One room was all Monet’s, another was all Cezanne and another was Van Gogh and so on. I have never encountered anything like it. It was very odd. In my travels, it is also the first art museum that allowed flash photography. I even asked a docent about it and he confirmed that it was allowed. He followed up by saying “I hope they know what they are doing!” Apparently, they don’t! Before heading out I stopped at the gift shop (always my favorite part of the museum) and bought a couple of postcards and a magnet. My ulterior motive was to actually get a bag so I could put the tickets in something protective so the “serial killers” would not get them!
I left the Gallery and headed home because I had to pick up Rob at Dulles airport at 8:25pm. I headed for the nearest Metro, which was at the Archives. I finally found a couple of vendors and bought some non-tacky buttons from my nieces and nephew. I really should have taken some photos of the stuff they were selling because when I tell you the stuff was tacky, I’m not exaggerating! The funniest thing I heard from a vendor while I was there was from a guy who had printed some calendars on him home computer, which he then laminated. I overheard him telling some woman “… these are laminated, you’ll never get fingerprints on it!” For some reason that really amused me! I got back to Elizabeth’s and hung out for a bit. Her “serial killer” friend was there, also. I kept telling Elizabeth that we needed to leave but she said that I didn’t know how things worked there and that we really needed to wait. All I knew was that Rob was supposed to land at 8:36 according to JetBlue online and it was now 8:25. I told her I was leaving and asked her if she was coming and she said no so I left without her. Thank God for the GPS!! I bought Justin a TomTom for Christmas and used it for the trip and really, that damn thing is fabulous! I must get one for myself! It really navigated me all around that city without once having to write down or print directions! I’m sold! I had no idea how to get to Dulles but the Jane (my TomTom navigating profile) took me right there! Awesome. I quickly picked up Rob and headed back to Elizabeth’s. We were both hungry so we called her and asked her if she was interested in getting a bite. We ended up going back to her condo and then walked to this little Indian place. The food was good but I found it odd that they didn’t have a couple of the most common Indian dishes. We ended up closing the place and then walked a back to her place.
Knowing that we had to get up at the God-awful early hour of 4 o’clock Rob and I headed for bed. When my alarm went off I felt as if I had just fallen asleep. I practically had! I got ready, packed a few granola bars and cookies in my purse and headed out. It was 5:15am and I was not feeling it. We headed down the interstate and got within three miles of the city and there was a police blockade on the highway. The officer asked where we were going and I said to Rosslyn and headed to the Inauguration. He said we needed to exit the interstate. That’s fine and everything, but there was no detour, no police telling us how to get where we were going… just and exit. Luckily we had GPS Jane who gave us an alternate route!! We drove the back roads to Rosslyn where Elizabeth’s office is. Our plan was to park in her garage and then Metro to the city. The TomTom took us to her office but Elizabeth failed to tell us which garage was hers! We tried calling her many times and she never answered so we ended paying $14 to park. Oh well!
The Metro was right next to the garage so we hopped on very slowly traveled into D.C. The Metro was packed with people and there was no room for personal space. There was a couple of people that I met that had purple tickets, which were one section ahead of us and I tried to talk them into trading their tickets for ours but they weren’t having it. I even told them it was my 40th birthday… They told me Happy Birthday, but still no luck! We had planned to get off at Capitol South Metro station and during the ride they would intermittently close stations due to crowding on the platforms. We were able to get off at our station and the crowd was massive. When we got to the top of the escalator I lost sight of Rob. We both went to the open area and just waited until we spotted one another… brilliant minds think alike!
At the Metro there were police officers telling people which way to go according to their ticket colors. We were in a crowd of thousands of people and had to have blind faith that they all knew where they were going. We shuffled through the streets and when the crowd swayed so did we. We were like cattle and the worst part was that we had no clue where we were going. There were no police telling us which way to go, there were no police to control crowd surges! The only police officers I saw were safe inside the barriers when they should have been where the crowds were to help all of us navigate. There was no way to see in front of you because all you saw were people. We eventually turned a corner and saw the sign for the silver gate and I felt a little relief.
We got to a point at the silver gate where an officer told us he was going to let us through and not to push and shove. This was the only time I saw anyone that offered any kind of assistance (not that it really helped us!) We then went to a point at the “gate” where we proceeded to stand for well over and hour. Every once in a while we would move up two steps or so and that’s it. There were all kinds of speculation about why we weren’t moving and why people to the right of us were walking back. Someone said that they were being turned away because they didn’t have tickets. We found this to be amusing because there is no way they could know this information… they were in the same predicament that we were in with no information! I was getting very irritated because the women in back of me kept leaning on me which made me have to lean forward and it started to wear on my back after a while. I bitched to Rob about being molested and joked that I thought I was pregnant… I finally turned around and told the lady that I couldn’t move up anymore and to stop pushing on me. It didn’t work.
After being in the crowd-to-nowhere we overheard someone say that the silver ticket gate was actually to the left. Rob and I made an executive decision to break off from this crowd and head that direction. Within 15 minutes we were inside the silver gate! We got to the security area and I had to give them my purse to search. We had to open our jackets and get frisked and then they sent us on our way! They didn’t even check tickets!! We proceeded to walk around the area to find the perfect spot to watch the festivities. We initially tried to enter the crowd from the front but thought better of it and walked to the side and went in sideways until we had a perfect view of the Capitol and of the JumboTron. It was about 9:30am.
Rob and I had both prepared for the cold… or so we thought. We were both wearing long underwear, two pair of socks… multiple layers of everything and hand warmers – but it wasn’t enough. I really do believe it was the coldest I have ever been in my life. Before the Inauguration ceremony it was hard because we had to entertain ourselves. Because we weren’t preoccupied it was hard to not think about how cold it was. I had been walking around non-stop for two days prior so my body was also aching. AND I was officially an old lady that day being 40 years old! Thankfully the JumboTron was showing pre-Inaugural action of the motorcade and the entrance of all the politicians. The crowd would erupt with cheers when they showed Michelle, Sasha and Malia Obama on the screen. We were watching the celebrities arrive and I wondered where Oprah was. I knew she wouldn’t be too far behind and then they finally showed her. I kept looking for Bill and Hillary and was excited when they arrived. When the music started I knew we didn’t have too much longer to go. You could definitely feel the excitement in the crowd begin to swell.
After announcing Congressman and Senators they started on the former Presidents. We could see them walking down the hall of the Capitol on the JumboTron. When they announced President Bush I think everyone in our area, besides Rob and I, started booing. We just looked at each other. I was pretty surprised because I thought of this crowd as a little more enlightened and insightful… a crowd that was supposed to be filled with hope and an attitude for change. We all know Bush was a shitty President. I mean really, give him some respect as our President for the next 45 minutes and then we never have to worry about his ass being in office again!
Needless to say when they announced Bill and Hillary the crowd went nuts. They are rock stars. Enough said.
On a side note, why on Earth was the whole Bush clan wearing purple scarves? It IS a cult, isn’t it?!
After everyone of importance was seated we could see Obama coming down the hall. I think the crowd didn’t know whether to cheer or be quiet. All I could think about was what could possibly be going through his mind at that exact moment. What did he think when he walked out that door and saw all of us crazy people standing on the Mall in support of him? I can’t even imagine being in that position (and you all would be in trouble if I were!)
Once the ceremony started I was so into watching this historic event happen right in front of me that I barely noticed how cold it was! During the ceremony I didn’t really pay attention to Pastor Rick Warren, because he’s a complete tool. I absolutely loved hearing Yo-Yo Ma and company perform and I loved the piece they played. I thought Aretha Franklin was um, interesting… Everything else happened pretty quickly and the next thing I knew Obama was our President! When Obama said, “So help me God” and the Chief Justice said “Congratulations, Mr. President!” The crowd went nuts! Being the patriotic baby that I am I was in tears, which I had warned Rob about and just so excited! The people were hugging, crying, jumping up and down and I really wish I could have bottled that moment in time or somehow captured that emotion to keep forever. It was truly amazing.
By the time poet Elizabeth Alexander started reading her piece many people in the crowd started heading out. I turned to Rob and said, “I guess people don’t like poetry!” We waited until the whole show was over and the band started playing. Many people in the crowd were dancing which was awesome to watch. We walked up toward the Capitol and then decided we wanted something to eat. We tried to get out of the Mall on the opposite side that we came in but there were barriers everywhere! You would walk three blocks one way and be blocked in. Then, you would turn and walk three blocks the other way and it would be blocked again. We didn’t have a map of the areas that weren’t blocked so we really felt trapped. I kept telling Rob that I felt like a rat in a cage. We actually saw one woman having a complete meltdown because she was to tired of walking aimlessly and was cold and tired. It was awful. There were no food vendors that we saw and we were so cold and tired. After walking with no luck or chance of escape we went inside the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. It was like a refugee camp in there! Hundreds of people were sitting on the floor to rest and keep warm. Rob and I found a spot under the Lockheed U-2 and planted ourselves for the next hour or so. Rob was on the floor and I was laying on the platform next to the space man. The only thing that could have been better was if we had food and if I knew how to turn off the U-2 Television infomercial, which I was beginning to memorize after hearing it so many times!
After warming up we headed out to the Mall again. We found a hot dog vendor and waited in line for a very long time while listening to some teenagers bitch. The wind was blowing and we were just frozen to the bone. When we finally got to the beginning of the line we both got one hot dog (almost $4 each!) and decided against drinks. There was no way I wanted anything with ice in it!! Rob grabbed some mustard and asked me if I wanted some. I told him that it was too cold to take my gloves off and I was going to eat my hot dog so fast that I probably wouldn’t even taste it! And… that’s exactly what happened!
We decided to make an attempt at escaping the Mall area yet again. We both knew that the Metros were going to be packed. We thought about walking to Rosslyn, which was about 2 miles away, but I wasn’t quite sure how to get there and I was so tired that I didn’t want to walk unnecessarily. We decided to head to the L’enfant Plaza Metro area. There were thousands of people waiting in line for the Metro so we kept on walking. We saw a Starbucks and got in that line. I told Rob that if I got to use the restroom AND have a coffee I would probably have a private moment. The line at Starbucks had about 30 people in it and I wasn’t feeling it. We walked in one door and out the other into the L’enfant Plaza Holiday Inn lobby. I attempted to use the women’s restroom but there were way too many people in it so we went back to the lobby. Luckily we found two empty seats, which served as our home for the next couple of hours!
I took a nap in the Holiday Inn lobby and woke up around 5:30. It was getting dark outside. I was finally able to use the restroom! We decided to head back to the Metro and was able to get on without much trouble. We made it as far as the Foggy Bottom stop and there were so many people on the train that the doors wouldn’t close. The driver warned us that if the doors would not close he would evacuate the train and shut it down. He made four more attempts and that’s exactly what he did! We all had to get off the train and the platform was already filled with people waiting for the next train.
Most of the people there were waiting for the Orange line so I told Rob we should take the Blue line. We had to make our way to the front and some girl turned around and said “Please don’t push me into the train!” Damn! She foiled my plan!! That’s exactly what I wanted to do! Ugh! When the blue train came we got on and only had one more stop until freedom from the hell that was D.C.! I was never so happy to see my car in my entire life! We had no problem getting home from there, which was nice.
When we arrived at Elizabeth’s house we found that she made chicken divan, which was perfect comfort food after a very long and cold winter day! After a couple of glasses of wine and conversation we went to bed. Rob had to be at the airport at 6am!
We woke up bright and early once again and made our way to Dulles. I decided to leave after dropping Rob off so I could get home at a decent hour. At the beginning of the trip I was completely exhausted and all I wanted to do was nap. I promised myself that at the first rest area I would do just that! The first one was Maryland, but it was snowing and I didn’t want to get caught in it so I had to wait until Pennsylvania. I ended up sleeping from 10am to Noon! I’m so glad I brought a blanket and pillow! Being so tired on the way back I had no intention of doing any geocaching!! I ended up getting home around 5pm. I was never so happy to see my bed in my entire life!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
I woke up today feeling horrible. I called in to work with the intention of going to the doctor because being sick for three weeks can't be good. I tried calling the doctors office for two hours. I thought maybe they were closed on Tuesdays, which would be weird, but there was no answering service. I finally gave up and drove to the office. They had a waiting room full of patients so they were definitely open. I told the receptionist that I had called for hours and she said "Hmmm. That's strange!" Yes, I agree.. and it's also bad that a patient has to drive in the rain when they are not feeling well to make an appointment.
Anyway...
She gave me an appointment with my doctor for 2:45 today. In the meantime I did a couple things around the house and tried to keep warm. I saw that the phone message light was blinking and I scrolled through the caller ID and saw that it said that "US Capital (202)226-9928" called yesterday at 4:40pm. That was right after I made my phone calls to the Senators and Congressman!! I listened to the messages and one from Congressman Boehner's office. A girl named Erin telling me to call her back! I called immediately and asked for Erin. My throat was sore and it hurts to talk, but I knew this was a conversation I wanted to have!
When Erin got on the phone she asked for my information. I gave her my address, phone number, email address and the whole time all I wanted to do was ask if she had tickets! She said "How many tickets do you need?" and I said "Two" and she said "I can do that for you" and I said "What??" and followed up with "You have tickets??" and she said "Yes" and I said "And you're going to give me two??" and she laughed and said "Yes" and I actually started to cry! I have tried everything I know to get tickets to this thing!! She said that she would follow up with a confirmation email and I told her that she made my year!! I think she thought I was a bit nutty because I was so excited - sick and all!
For the next fifteen minutes I kept refreshing my email like someone with an OCD! I didn't want to tell anyone until I at least had some sort of confirmation in hand! I finally received it about 30 minutes later. Behold the glory!:
----- Original Message -----
From: Satzger, Erin
To: pam513@cinci.rr.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 1:12 PM
Subject: Inauguration 2009
Dear Pamela,
I am pleased to inform you that we were able to accommodate your ticket request to attend the inauguration of our nation's 44th President, Barack Obama on January 20th at noon.
Tickets to the Inauguration Ceremony will not be distributed to Congressional Offices prior to Monday, January 19th. Therefore, you must pick up your tickets in person from my Washington DC office on Monday, January 19th between 12pm and 5pm, or we will also be opening the office on Tuesday, January 20th at 7:00 am, Inauguration Day. Given expected crowds, I strongly encourage you to pick up your tickets at your earliest possible convenience. Please note, in order to receive your tickets you must present a valid photo ID.
The 8th Congressional District Washington office is located at 1011 Longworth, on the ground floor, next to the C and New Jersey Streets, SE, entrance to the Longworth House Office Building (Longworth). The office is easiest to reach using the DC Metro System (commuter subway), at the Capitol South stop on the blue/orange lines. If you enter through the main entrance of Longworth on Independence Avenue, once you pass security screening turn left and go down one flight of stairs. On the ground level, turn to the right and proceed to the end of the corridor. My office is the second to last one the left.
Additionally, information regarding inauguration security measures and ceremony entrances has been enclosed.
Should you for any reason be unable to make the trip to Washington, please contact our office as soon as possible so my office can redistribute your tickets to constituents on a waiting list. I encourage you to keep up with Inaugural Day updates by using the official committee's website at http://inaugural.senate.gov/. If you have any further questions or problems, please contact Erin Satzger in my Washington, D.C., office at (202) 225-6205. Sincerely,John A. Boehner Erin M. SatzgerStaff AssistantRepresentative John Boehner (OH-08)(202) 225-6205
Now I'm just praying for no snow or bad weather that week!!!
Anyway...
She gave me an appointment with my doctor for 2:45 today. In the meantime I did a couple things around the house and tried to keep warm. I saw that the phone message light was blinking and I scrolled through the caller ID and saw that it said that "US Capital (202)226-9928" called yesterday at 4:40pm. That was right after I made my phone calls to the Senators and Congressman!! I listened to the messages and one from Congressman Boehner's office. A girl named Erin telling me to call her back! I called immediately and asked for Erin. My throat was sore and it hurts to talk, but I knew this was a conversation I wanted to have!
When Erin got on the phone she asked for my information. I gave her my address, phone number, email address and the whole time all I wanted to do was ask if she had tickets! She said "How many tickets do you need?" and I said "Two" and she said "I can do that for you" and I said "What??" and followed up with "You have tickets??" and she said "Yes" and I said "And you're going to give me two??" and she laughed and said "Yes" and I actually started to cry! I have tried everything I know to get tickets to this thing!! She said that she would follow up with a confirmation email and I told her that she made my year!! I think she thought I was a bit nutty because I was so excited - sick and all!
For the next fifteen minutes I kept refreshing my email like someone with an OCD! I didn't want to tell anyone until I at least had some sort of confirmation in hand! I finally received it about 30 minutes later. Behold the glory!:
----- Original Message -----
From: Satzger, Erin
To: pam513@cinci.rr.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 1:12 PM
Subject: Inauguration 2009
Dear Pamela,
I am pleased to inform you that we were able to accommodate your ticket request to attend the inauguration of our nation's 44th President, Barack Obama on January 20th at noon.
Tickets to the Inauguration Ceremony will not be distributed to Congressional Offices prior to Monday, January 19th. Therefore, you must pick up your tickets in person from my Washington DC office on Monday, January 19th between 12pm and 5pm, or we will also be opening the office on Tuesday, January 20th at 7:00 am, Inauguration Day. Given expected crowds, I strongly encourage you to pick up your tickets at your earliest possible convenience. Please note, in order to receive your tickets you must present a valid photo ID.
The 8th Congressional District Washington office is located at 1011 Longworth, on the ground floor, next to the C and New Jersey Streets, SE, entrance to the Longworth House Office Building (Longworth). The office is easiest to reach using the DC Metro System (commuter subway), at the Capitol South stop on the blue/orange lines. If you enter through the main entrance of Longworth on Independence Avenue, once you pass security screening turn left and go down one flight of stairs. On the ground level, turn to the right and proceed to the end of the corridor. My office is the second to last one the left.
Additionally, information regarding inauguration security measures and ceremony entrances has been enclosed.
Should you for any reason be unable to make the trip to Washington, please contact our office as soon as possible so my office can redistribute your tickets to constituents on a waiting list. I encourage you to keep up with Inaugural Day updates by using the official committee's website at http://inaugural.senate.gov/. If you have any further questions or problems, please contact Erin Satzger in my Washington, D.C., office at (202) 225-6205. Sincerely,John A. Boehner Erin M. SatzgerStaff AssistantRepresentative John Boehner (OH-08)(202) 225-6205
Now I'm just praying for no snow or bad weather that week!!!
The Golden Ticket
I am SO TIRED of being sick. Justin came down with pneumonia last month so I fumigated the entire house with Lysol and took some natural immune boosting pills, but it was no use. I got sick over the holidays and have been sick ever since. Right now I have this horrible post-nasal drip...constant coughing, scratchy throat and sinus pressure. It wakes me up every night which is a pain because I normally don't have trouble sleeping. I'm quite miserable, really.
On top of all of that I went to the doctor last month to attempt to get a grip on my diabetes. There have been changes in my body (besides losing 85 lbs. without trying!) that are scaring me and I don't want to end up dead from something that I could have had control over. I did some fasting labs and on my return visit the doctor wanted to put me on insulin and I said no way. I told her that I really wanted to attempt one last time to control it with oral meds and watching what I ate. For the last two weeks I have had nothing that has sugar in it. I went cold turkey and it has been hard as hell - especially over the holidays. We had "food day" at work and I can't even tell you how hard it was to not have sweets - especially chocolate! I didn't even go to the table to see what was there. I had nothing. Not even a cracker! I didn't even want to look at it because of the temptation.
Since going on my medicine again it has been a constant roller coaster. My body doesn't know what the hell is happening and there are days when I crash and feel horrible and days when I feel great. I can't wait until I finally reach that happy medium and the meds become regulated in my system. Last week I was at work and started feeling weird and shaky. I checked my blood sugar and it was 83. I'm sure that it hasn't been that low in years! It really should be between 90 and 110 so that was not good. I tried to convince my coworkers that it was okay for me to eat cake (it was someone's birthday) but they weren't having it and I knew I would feel guilty if I did so I just went and warmed up my lunch and had that. I told Diane that if I passed out to make sure they didn't send me to the hospital until after 4pm or else I wouldn't get paid for the holiday, which was the day after.
So, with being sick comes the irritability. If one more person at work mentions weather to me I'm going to go nuts. Everyone knows that I don't like snow. Everyone knows that it scares the crap out of me to drive in the snow. I listen to the weather, I watch the news so, YES! I know when it's going to snow!! When I'm at work and it starts snowing I get this stream of people that take joy in walking by my desk to report to me that they have seen a snowflake. It's so irritating. I get the little pats on the back with people saying "It'll be okay" like I'm mentally challenged. Yes, people actually do this. I always tell them that I'm not worried about my driving, I'm worried about all the assholes in Ohio that think they are invincible and drive like maniacs (namely, them!)
Sorry, just venting.
Speaking of snow (or hopefully lack of!)...
Weather and finances permitting, I'm attempting to go to Obama's Inauguration in D.C. I like to think of it more as Obama's Inauguration/Pam's 40th birthday celebration. Can you imagine a better place to spend your 40th birthday? After Obama's kick-ass landslide win, I contacted both Ohio Senators and also my local Congressman to put my name on the list for tickets. A couple of days later I received an email from Senator Voinavich saying that I might as well hang it up and that all the tickets were spoken for. A couple of days after that I received an email from Senator Brown saying that my name was put into a lottery and if my name was chosen they would contact me. They even sent out follow-up emails with updates. In the end I wasn't selected so I was pretty bummed. I never did hear from Congressman Boehner's office.
I've been reading up on the events of the inauguration and trying to figure out how I'm going to navigate my way through the city. I will probably drive to work with my friend Elizabeth and trek to the city from her office, which is 2 1/2 miles to the Capital. I'm pretty familiar with D.C. so I just need to figure out which Metro stations are going to be open to shorten my walk! They said that if you go you should choose between being at the Mall for the swearing in or on the parade route because the possibility of doing both will be slim.
Today, on the way home, I called both Senators offices and asked them what happens to the tickets that people don't pick up. The girl from Senator Voinavich's office said that they have a list of a couple thousand people and only a couple hundred tickets so there will be none left over (that's kind of sucky!) When I called Senator Brown's office the girl said that they have a strict follow up procedure to ensure that all people that are issued tickets come and pick them up. I didn't question it... why bother?!
I decided to call Congressman Boehner's office to find out what was happening there and the guy who answered the phone was the most helpful out of all of them and actually gave me a bit of hope! He said that all the tickets were spoken for but they have had an occasion where someone has to cancel plans and can't go. In that case there is a list of stand-by's so he put me on the list and said I should hear something within the next week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I can't tell you how bad I want one of those damn tickets!
I feel like Charlie Bucket looking for the golden ticket! Thankfully I don't have to look through all those chocolate bars - I definitely would have been in trouble then... unless they were sugar free, of course!
On top of all of that I went to the doctor last month to attempt to get a grip on my diabetes. There have been changes in my body (besides losing 85 lbs. without trying!) that are scaring me and I don't want to end up dead from something that I could have had control over. I did some fasting labs and on my return visit the doctor wanted to put me on insulin and I said no way. I told her that I really wanted to attempt one last time to control it with oral meds and watching what I ate. For the last two weeks I have had nothing that has sugar in it. I went cold turkey and it has been hard as hell - especially over the holidays. We had "food day" at work and I can't even tell you how hard it was to not have sweets - especially chocolate! I didn't even go to the table to see what was there. I had nothing. Not even a cracker! I didn't even want to look at it because of the temptation.
Since going on my medicine again it has been a constant roller coaster. My body doesn't know what the hell is happening and there are days when I crash and feel horrible and days when I feel great. I can't wait until I finally reach that happy medium and the meds become regulated in my system. Last week I was at work and started feeling weird and shaky. I checked my blood sugar and it was 83. I'm sure that it hasn't been that low in years! It really should be between 90 and 110 so that was not good. I tried to convince my coworkers that it was okay for me to eat cake (it was someone's birthday) but they weren't having it and I knew I would feel guilty if I did so I just went and warmed up my lunch and had that. I told Diane that if I passed out to make sure they didn't send me to the hospital until after 4pm or else I wouldn't get paid for the holiday, which was the day after.
So, with being sick comes the irritability. If one more person at work mentions weather to me I'm going to go nuts. Everyone knows that I don't like snow. Everyone knows that it scares the crap out of me to drive in the snow. I listen to the weather, I watch the news so, YES! I know when it's going to snow!! When I'm at work and it starts snowing I get this stream of people that take joy in walking by my desk to report to me that they have seen a snowflake. It's so irritating. I get the little pats on the back with people saying "It'll be okay" like I'm mentally challenged. Yes, people actually do this. I always tell them that I'm not worried about my driving, I'm worried about all the assholes in Ohio that think they are invincible and drive like maniacs (namely, them!)
Sorry, just venting.
Speaking of snow (or hopefully lack of!)...
Weather and finances permitting, I'm attempting to go to Obama's Inauguration in D.C. I like to think of it more as Obama's Inauguration/Pam's 40th birthday celebration. Can you imagine a better place to spend your 40th birthday? After Obama's kick-ass landslide win, I contacted both Ohio Senators and also my local Congressman to put my name on the list for tickets. A couple of days later I received an email from Senator Voinavich saying that I might as well hang it up and that all the tickets were spoken for. A couple of days after that I received an email from Senator Brown saying that my name was put into a lottery and if my name was chosen they would contact me. They even sent out follow-up emails with updates. In the end I wasn't selected so I was pretty bummed. I never did hear from Congressman Boehner's office.
I've been reading up on the events of the inauguration and trying to figure out how I'm going to navigate my way through the city. I will probably drive to work with my friend Elizabeth and trek to the city from her office, which is 2 1/2 miles to the Capital. I'm pretty familiar with D.C. so I just need to figure out which Metro stations are going to be open to shorten my walk! They said that if you go you should choose between being at the Mall for the swearing in or on the parade route because the possibility of doing both will be slim.
Today, on the way home, I called both Senators offices and asked them what happens to the tickets that people don't pick up. The girl from Senator Voinavich's office said that they have a list of a couple thousand people and only a couple hundred tickets so there will be none left over (that's kind of sucky!) When I called Senator Brown's office the girl said that they have a strict follow up procedure to ensure that all people that are issued tickets come and pick them up. I didn't question it... why bother?!
I decided to call Congressman Boehner's office to find out what was happening there and the guy who answered the phone was the most helpful out of all of them and actually gave me a bit of hope! He said that all the tickets were spoken for but they have had an occasion where someone has to cancel plans and can't go. In that case there is a list of stand-by's so he put me on the list and said I should hear something within the next week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I can't tell you how bad I want one of those damn tickets!
I feel like Charlie Bucket looking for the golden ticket! Thankfully I don't have to look through all those chocolate bars - I definitely would have been in trouble then... unless they were sugar free, of course!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sick Moist Box
I had today off so I wanted to do something fun and productive. I recently signed up to be a volunteer for Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness. I was a volunteer for several years, but got tired of the bitchy and demanding people who requested photos of their loved ones so I took a break. I haven't received any requests since I've signed up so I went to Find A Grave.com to see if there were any requests there. I printed off a couple of request pages that I thought I could find and Justin and I set out for Hamilton.
At the first cemetery, St. Stephens, we didn't have much luck finding the graves that the person requested. We were in the right section and found some markers with the correct surname but the first names were not the ones she indicated she needed. After walking the section several times we decided the people did not have headstones and moved on to the next cemetery, which happened to be just down the street.
I had been wanting to come to Greenwood Cemetery for awhile because Ray Combs from Family Feud is buried there. I love a celebrity (no matter how small!) grave site! Unfortunately we didn't have the section number for him so we continued with our original mission and drove to section C. We walked around for over an hour and although we didn't find the grave (again!) I did find something that amused me.
At the first cemetery, St. Stephens, we didn't have much luck finding the graves that the person requested. We were in the right section and found some markers with the correct surname but the first names were not the ones she indicated she needed. After walking the section several times we decided the people did not have headstones and moved on to the next cemetery, which happened to be just down the street.
I had been wanting to come to Greenwood Cemetery for awhile because Ray Combs from Family Feud is buried there. I love a celebrity (no matter how small!) grave site! Unfortunately we didn't have the section number for him so we continued with our original mission and drove to section C. We walked around for over an hour and although we didn't find the grave (again!) I did find something that amused me.
There were actually a lot of "Sick" people there, but sadly not the "Eversole" person we were looking for. We did find a very close match and I took a photo and emailed it to the person requesting the picture in hopes that she got the birth year wrong.
I highly enjoy finding grave markers with unusual last names. This is one that I took at Woodland Cemetery in Dayton. It is, by far, my favorite! I love it so much I do believe that I have a photo of it during every season!
MOIST... Every time I see it I have to take a picture of it.
When we got home Justin decided that he was feeling pretty ambitious and decided to drag our fabulous BLACK Christmas tree out of the basement. He bought the tree last year when we decided that we would be cohabitating so this would be the first year of putting it together. I let him have a go at it while I went and watched the last DVD of "The L Word" (I don't even want to discuss the finale from last season - ugh!) Later on I was beckoned to come look at his masterpiece of a tree and it is quite lovely.
When he opened the humongous Rubbermaid box filled with the ornaments that would be adorning the tree we found this stuck to the lid:
As a public service announcement, Justin and I would like to remind everyone this holiday season... please do not put your small children (or pets in our case!) in Rubbermaid storage boxes!
Just sayin'!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Melissa
My friend Jackie, who lives in Charleston, emailed me today to tell me something that I have been waiting years to hear. She said that on the morning news they announced that the South Carolina Supreme Court had set the execution date for Joseph Gardner, the man who killed my friend Melissa back in 1992.
Melissa and I met while I was working at Piggly Wiggly in North Charleston. I was a bookkeeper and she was one of the cashiers. She worked there for a while and we would go shopping or out to dinner from time to time. She was engaged to a guy named John who was a jerk and they lived with his parents who were complete assholes. At one point, after a fight with her boyfriend, she lived with our friend Amanda and her family for a couple of months. Melissa ended up quitting The Pig and went to work at the tanning salon in the same shopping complex. It was convenient for her since it was just down the street from her house and she could walk to work.
One day I walked into work and my friend Sarah met me at the door before I could even clock in. I'll never forget our conversation. Sarah said "You know in the news they have been saying that they found that woman that was shot and no one knows who she is?" and I said "Yes" she said "Well... it's Melissa." I remember attempting to process what she just told me and then I walked out the door and went home. Thankfully I wasn't fired for leaving.
I had been following the story in the news. It was HUGE news in Charleston and soon would be all over the Country. All I could think about was how from time to time Melissa would come to work with a black eye or a bruise here and there thanks to her "loving" boyfriend. She would say that she "fell" off the motorcycle or something stupid like that but we never believed her.
I called the investigator handling the case because at this point I'm thinking the boyfriend went too far and the officer told me "we already have the suspects and we are looking for the gunman."
At work the next day and saw Harvey "Dusty" Poole, who did the fingerprinting for the North Charleston police department. He was in every piece of news footage I had seen coming out of a moblile home carrying a box. He knew Melissa from shopping at The Pig and we chatted for a bit about the case. I asked him what was in the box and he said it wasn't good, but since the case was still open he couldn't tell me.
The story was that Melissa had gotten into a fight with John (imagine that!) and was drunk and started walking home. A police officer picked her up and brought her to her house and left before she was actually in the house. Whenever we would go out we would always have to wait to until she was in the house because she wasn't allowed to have a key. I'm assuming that when she knocked on the door the boyfriends mother didn't let her in... something she liked to do since they didn't really get along. Melissa then started walking the short distance to the Piggly Wiggly shopping center and was in the wrong place at the the wrong time. She was picked up by Joseph Gardner and Matthew Mack and I believe one other person.
In the trial Mack and Gardner said that Melissa was prostituting herself for drugs, which I have a hard time believing since she had a problem with our friend Amanda dating a black man. I can't possibly imagine Melissa ever getting into a car in the middle of the night with three African Americans!
They took her to a trailer park in N. Charleston where they proceeded to spread the word that they had "captured a white woman" and if anyone wanted to take turns to come over... this is eventually why they were caught. They weren't exactly discreet about it all.
Soon the story was on CNN, Hard Copy, Montel... you name it. It was the same year of the Rodney King verdict so there was plenty of racial unrest in the community. People were so afraid that there would be protest and violence that they pretty much stifled any information that it was a racially motivated hate crime. It went from being National news to not news at all. It's amazing that this can happen when 8 people publicy state that they are sought revenge to teach white people a lesson "for 400 years of black oppression."
They caught Joseph Gardner a couple years after the murder in Philadephia and immediately brought him back to South Carolina for trial. I went to the trial as much as I could. The courthouse was an hour away and I was working days at the time. I remember sitting in back of Melissa's parents hearing testimony from Matthew Carl Mack about everything they did to her IN DETAIL. As a friend I was having a hard time listening to all of it and I can't possibly imagine what her parents were thinking. I introduced myself to Pat and Clare Mclauchlin one day just to let them know who I was and that I thought about Melissa often. I wasn't able to be there the day of the verdict but watched as they read it live on the news. Joseph Gardner had received the death penalty.
This December will the the 16th anniversary of Melissa's death. Over the years I have thought about her and what she had to endure that night in North Charleston. She wasn't my best friend and I hadn't known her for years, but for some reason what happened affected me deeply. Over the years, every once in a while I would Google her name or the name of Joseph Gardner to attempt to get information on his appeals from death row. I could never find any information besides horrible lies from white supremacist web pages so I contacted the Lieber Correctional Institute, home of South Carolina Death Row. Lieber directed me to The South Caroline Victims Assistance Program.
When I contacted S.C.V.A.P. I told them the situation and that I wanted information on Gardners appeal status. They took my information and put me on a notification list after obtaining approval from Melissa's parents. At the time Gardner had received another stay of execution and had a couple more appeals. I had no idea how long the process to and never imagined it would take so long!
Last month I called S.C.V.A.P. since I forgot to update my information when I moved to Middletown at the beginning of the year. The person told me that they had just mailed me a letter and it was returned for a bad address that same day and it was ironic that I happened to call that day. She told me that Gardner had lost his final appeal and that the case was now with the South Carolina Supreme Court. They would give the go ahead and a date would be set. She said that she expected the execution date to be sometime in late November.
So, today I get the email and wonder why they have not called me to let me know... then, by noon I received a phone call from S.C.V.A.P. telling me of the execution date. I asked Sandy Wofford if Melissa's paren't are going. She said that she had talked to Pat earlier and they are undecided. They apparently allow 3 family members to view the execution. Wow.
I was thinking today, if given the opportunity, would I go and watch. I remember when my father was dying and we decided to take him off life support we had the choice to stay in the room or leave. I chose to leave because I had no desire to witness the last breath of someone I loved so dearly. I knew that if I heard a strange sound or an odd breath it would haunt me forever.
Would it be the same with someone that you have absolutely no love for?
Gardner has the opportunity to pick between lethal injection or electrocution. Would seeing his body convulse and then go lifeless have any effect on me mentally? It's such an odd thing to think about when you prize life. The things that this person did to Melissa are heinous and unimaginable... but should I be happy to see him die? I'm not even sure what to think about it all. He had no mercy so I ask myself why I feel a tinge of guilt that his life is ending in a couple of weeks. I can't possibly imagine the feeling he must have had when his attorney told him the outcome of his final appeal and eventually the date that he was scheduled to die. What do you do in those final weeks? You would think that the weeks going into your execution and the fact that you are left there alone with only your thoughts would be torture enough.
Since getting the news today it's all I can think about. How do you come to terms with your own death? What must his family be thinking? How do they say goodbye? I've had to say goodbye to two people due to terminal illness. It's the most heart wrenching thing one could possibly have to do.. to say goodbye knowing you will never talk to that person or see that person again... then you have to walk away. How did I turn my back and walk away without totally collapsing?
This has been such a waste of two lives!
When I spoke to Sandy Wofford at S.C.V.A.P. I told her that I would like to extend the invitation to speak with Melissa's parents. She said that they are aware of me and are updated on my status as well. I told her to give them whatever information they wanted if they would like to be in touch. Hopefully they will take me up on my offer.
The last time I saw Melissa was at Trident Hospital (oddly enough where my Father died). Our friend Amanda had gotten into a car accident and I went to go see her. As I was walking toward the the hospital entrace I saw Melissa sitting on the bench. It was a happy moment because we hadn't seen one another in a while - she was all smiles... that is how I'd like to remember her.
Melissa and I met while I was working at Piggly Wiggly in North Charleston. I was a bookkeeper and she was one of the cashiers. She worked there for a while and we would go shopping or out to dinner from time to time. She was engaged to a guy named John who was a jerk and they lived with his parents who were complete assholes. At one point, after a fight with her boyfriend, she lived with our friend Amanda and her family for a couple of months. Melissa ended up quitting The Pig and went to work at the tanning salon in the same shopping complex. It was convenient for her since it was just down the street from her house and she could walk to work.
One day I walked into work and my friend Sarah met me at the door before I could even clock in. I'll never forget our conversation. Sarah said "You know in the news they have been saying that they found that woman that was shot and no one knows who she is?" and I said "Yes" she said "Well... it's Melissa." I remember attempting to process what she just told me and then I walked out the door and went home. Thankfully I wasn't fired for leaving.
I had been following the story in the news. It was HUGE news in Charleston and soon would be all over the Country. All I could think about was how from time to time Melissa would come to work with a black eye or a bruise here and there thanks to her "loving" boyfriend. She would say that she "fell" off the motorcycle or something stupid like that but we never believed her.
I called the investigator handling the case because at this point I'm thinking the boyfriend went too far and the officer told me "we already have the suspects and we are looking for the gunman."
At work the next day and saw Harvey "Dusty" Poole, who did the fingerprinting for the North Charleston police department. He was in every piece of news footage I had seen coming out of a moblile home carrying a box. He knew Melissa from shopping at The Pig and we chatted for a bit about the case. I asked him what was in the box and he said it wasn't good, but since the case was still open he couldn't tell me.
The story was that Melissa had gotten into a fight with John (imagine that!) and was drunk and started walking home. A police officer picked her up and brought her to her house and left before she was actually in the house. Whenever we would go out we would always have to wait to until she was in the house because she wasn't allowed to have a key. I'm assuming that when she knocked on the door the boyfriends mother didn't let her in... something she liked to do since they didn't really get along. Melissa then started walking the short distance to the Piggly Wiggly shopping center and was in the wrong place at the the wrong time. She was picked up by Joseph Gardner and Matthew Mack and I believe one other person.
In the trial Mack and Gardner said that Melissa was prostituting herself for drugs, which I have a hard time believing since she had a problem with our friend Amanda dating a black man. I can't possibly imagine Melissa ever getting into a car in the middle of the night with three African Americans!
They took her to a trailer park in N. Charleston where they proceeded to spread the word that they had "captured a white woman" and if anyone wanted to take turns to come over... this is eventually why they were caught. They weren't exactly discreet about it all.
Soon the story was on CNN, Hard Copy, Montel... you name it. It was the same year of the Rodney King verdict so there was plenty of racial unrest in the community. People were so afraid that there would be protest and violence that they pretty much stifled any information that it was a racially motivated hate crime. It went from being National news to not news at all. It's amazing that this can happen when 8 people publicy state that they are sought revenge to teach white people a lesson "for 400 years of black oppression."
They caught Joseph Gardner a couple years after the murder in Philadephia and immediately brought him back to South Carolina for trial. I went to the trial as much as I could. The courthouse was an hour away and I was working days at the time. I remember sitting in back of Melissa's parents hearing testimony from Matthew Carl Mack about everything they did to her IN DETAIL. As a friend I was having a hard time listening to all of it and I can't possibly imagine what her parents were thinking. I introduced myself to Pat and Clare Mclauchlin one day just to let them know who I was and that I thought about Melissa often. I wasn't able to be there the day of the verdict but watched as they read it live on the news. Joseph Gardner had received the death penalty.
This December will the the 16th anniversary of Melissa's death. Over the years I have thought about her and what she had to endure that night in North Charleston. She wasn't my best friend and I hadn't known her for years, but for some reason what happened affected me deeply. Over the years, every once in a while I would Google her name or the name of Joseph Gardner to attempt to get information on his appeals from death row. I could never find any information besides horrible lies from white supremacist web pages so I contacted the Lieber Correctional Institute, home of South Carolina Death Row. Lieber directed me to The South Caroline Victims Assistance Program.
When I contacted S.C.V.A.P. I told them the situation and that I wanted information on Gardners appeal status. They took my information and put me on a notification list after obtaining approval from Melissa's parents. At the time Gardner had received another stay of execution and had a couple more appeals. I had no idea how long the process to and never imagined it would take so long!
Last month I called S.C.V.A.P. since I forgot to update my information when I moved to Middletown at the beginning of the year. The person told me that they had just mailed me a letter and it was returned for a bad address that same day and it was ironic that I happened to call that day. She told me that Gardner had lost his final appeal and that the case was now with the South Carolina Supreme Court. They would give the go ahead and a date would be set. She said that she expected the execution date to be sometime in late November.
So, today I get the email and wonder why they have not called me to let me know... then, by noon I received a phone call from S.C.V.A.P. telling me of the execution date. I asked Sandy Wofford if Melissa's paren't are going. She said that she had talked to Pat earlier and they are undecided. They apparently allow 3 family members to view the execution. Wow.
I was thinking today, if given the opportunity, would I go and watch. I remember when my father was dying and we decided to take him off life support we had the choice to stay in the room or leave. I chose to leave because I had no desire to witness the last breath of someone I loved so dearly. I knew that if I heard a strange sound or an odd breath it would haunt me forever.
Would it be the same with someone that you have absolutely no love for?
Gardner has the opportunity to pick between lethal injection or electrocution. Would seeing his body convulse and then go lifeless have any effect on me mentally? It's such an odd thing to think about when you prize life. The things that this person did to Melissa are heinous and unimaginable... but should I be happy to see him die? I'm not even sure what to think about it all. He had no mercy so I ask myself why I feel a tinge of guilt that his life is ending in a couple of weeks. I can't possibly imagine the feeling he must have had when his attorney told him the outcome of his final appeal and eventually the date that he was scheduled to die. What do you do in those final weeks? You would think that the weeks going into your execution and the fact that you are left there alone with only your thoughts would be torture enough.
Since getting the news today it's all I can think about. How do you come to terms with your own death? What must his family be thinking? How do they say goodbye? I've had to say goodbye to two people due to terminal illness. It's the most heart wrenching thing one could possibly have to do.. to say goodbye knowing you will never talk to that person or see that person again... then you have to walk away. How did I turn my back and walk away without totally collapsing?
This has been such a waste of two lives!
When I spoke to Sandy Wofford at S.C.V.A.P. I told her that I would like to extend the invitation to speak with Melissa's parents. She said that they are aware of me and are updated on my status as well. I told her to give them whatever information they wanted if they would like to be in touch. Hopefully they will take me up on my offer.
The last time I saw Melissa was at Trident Hospital (oddly enough where my Father died). Our friend Amanda had gotten into a car accident and I went to go see her. As I was walking toward the the hospital entrace I saw Melissa sitting on the bench. It was a happy moment because we hadn't seen one another in a while - she was all smiles... that is how I'd like to remember her.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Revision
Today in Freecycle news, it looks like "loverboy3027" had a bit of bad luck when trying to give away his "Church Puss" from last week. I noticed in today's email a revised ad for "church PEWS."
I love how "PEWS" is in all caps!
Sadly, it looks like no one informed him that he spelled "they" wrong!
----- Original Message -----
From: loverboy3027
To: FreecycleMiddletownOH@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2008 4:58 PM
Subject: OFFER: church PEWS
we got 6 12 foot long thay are in good shape
I love how "PEWS" is in all caps!
Sadly, it looks like no one informed him that he spelled "they" wrong!
----- Original Message -----
From: loverboy3027
To: FreecycleMiddletownOH@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2008 4:58 PM
Subject: OFFER: church PEWS
we got 6 12 foot long thay are in good shape
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Freecycle Madness!
Every once in a while someone posts something on Freecycle that makes me laugh. Becky and I always joke around about the one woman that posted an ad that said "Wanted: Gift for husband"... that's all she wrote. Like she really didn't care what the gift was, just as long as she got one!
This gem was posted recently and made me laugh out loud:
***********************
----- Original Message -----
----- Original Message -----
From: boxerluvr03
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2008 10:15 PM
Subject: Wanted: Jesus things
want Jesus things 45044
***********************
"Jesus things"? What kind of "Jesus things"?? Do people have random, unused "Jesus things" laying around the house? I wonder if some nice folks contacted this person to give them some "Jesus things"? I'm tempted to email them to find out!
This is one that someone sent this afternoon. It came over while I was at work. I nearly spit the mouthful of water I had out when I read it!
***********************
----- Original Message -----
From: loverboy3027
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 4:23 PM
Subject: offer: church puss
there are 7 or 8 of them thay are in good shape thay are 16 foot long
***********************
What the hell is a "church puss"?
At first I thought that someone was giving away a kitty that had been adopted by a local church but as I read the description the ad certainly wasn't for a stray cat... stray cats are usually not 16 feet long!
Did they mean church "pew"? How did they get "puss" confused with "pew"? Granted, the word "pew" is a funny word and quite honestly one of those words that you look at and question to yourself "is it really spelled that way?" One would think that if there was the slightest question there would be hesitation about posting it to a public forum for thousands to read.
Another point is that they can't spell "they" correctly. Why would I expect them to spell "pew" correctly? High expectations, I know!
Oddly enough this post was from a person named "loverboy3027". Hmmm. What's a person named "loverboy3027" doing with all those church pews?
Lastly was this post.I'm not even sure what to say about this...
***********************
----- Original Message -----
From: Jen
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 12:26 AM
Subject: Wanted: Used LapTop
I know this is a long shot... but my daughter (who is 2 1/2) wants to be like mommy and daddy and get on the computer at night.... we have toddler games for her but we don't want her to mess up our computers (2 year old can be rough)... can anyone help.
**********************
This email just conjures up a vision of family bonding time, doesn't it?
I think this was probably posted by the young woman that Justin and I saw walking out of Wal Mart a couple of nights ago when it was around 30 degrees outside. The woman was conveniently wearing a warm jacket but the baby in her arms was dressed as if it were Summer. Justin and I just looked at each other in disbelief.
Why is that 2 1/2 year old child playing on the computer at night when Mommy and Daddy are playing on theirs? Shouldn't that child be in bed?
Where's the hot Super Nanny, Jo, when we need her?
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Provisional Pam
Justin and I woke up extra early this morning to head to our designated polling place. I have never voted in Ohio before and I was curious about how different it would be from my voting experiences in South Carolina and Illinois. Our polling place was not in a very convenient location. It was at some hall in some strange little neighborhood a couple of miles away. The parking lot wasn't full so things were looking good.
We walked into the hall and there were only two people in front of us. In front of them were four women discussing the fact that the person's address was different than the address listed in the voters registration book and there seemed to be a lot of confusion about it. I knew at that point that I was in trouble since I still have an Illinois drivers license. Just in cast I had brought my pay stub with my current address for verification. I was hoping there would not be a problem but I was wrong!
When it was my turn I handed the lady my license and she called over to another lady who was walking around frantically. The frantic lady took my license. I told her that I had a my paycheck stub with my current address on it. She took my paycheck and asked if it was recent and proceeded to open it. I grabbed it back from her because my financial information is none of her business and told her the stub was dated 10/10/08. One of the ladies found me in her book but the other ladies said I was not listed in their book. Apparently their book was more important because it had each voters signature.
The frantic lady said that because I was not in the book I would have to fill out a provisional ballot and to follow her. I started asking why, if I registered the same time my fiance did, was I not in the book. He was in it... why not me? I asked why I had to fill out a provisional ballot and the frantic lady looked at me and said "Don't question it!"
Um... what? All I could think about was "Wasn't it Ohio that fucked up part of the election in 2004?"
The frantic lady handed me two very long ballots and two envelopes and told me to go sit at a table and fill out the ballot. I was pissed! Justin was already in the process of doing his electronic ballot. When he was done he came over to see what I was up to and to say goodbye since he had to take off for work. I proceeded to take my anger regarding the disorganization out on all those little circles I had to color in! I don't think there has ever been a better filled in ballot in the State of Ohio!
When I was done with my ballot I went back up to the table and said to the four ladies "She (while I pointed at the frantic lady sitting a few feet away) told me not to question it, but I want an explanation of why I have to fill out a provisional ballot that won't be counted and why am I not in the book!" The one girl looked at me and said "I don't know... what is your name again?" I told her my last name for the fourth time and she opened her book again... the important book with the signatures. She flipped through pages and all of the sudden I saw something I recognized. My signature!!! I pointed to the signature and said "That is me!" she said "Oh... you are in the book after all!"
Really? So I said "I have wasted my time filling out this ballot because you simply overlooked me in the book??!! I was livid!!
At that time the frantic lady came over and said "what's wrong?" and the girl pointed in the book and said "this is her... she's in the book and you made her fill out a provisional ballot." The frantic lady said "Oh, you can just give me that and we will file it for you" and I told her that I will be voting electronically and not with a provisional ballot. She said I still had to give her the ballot because she had to turn it in to the Board of Elections. I told her it had my private information on it, including my voting preferences and that I didn't feel comfortable giving it to her. She assured me that it would be confidential. Yeah, right.
I finally made it to the voting booth, cast my vote and left the polling place in disgust. How many other people did they do this to that DIDN'T question it? Those provisional ballots won't be counted and God knows where my paper ballot went!
So, I'm sitting here watching the returns. The last two elections have made me skeptical and I have been trying hard to not be too optimistic. I hear friends bitch, whine and moan and get on soap boxes about both candidates. I keep reminding myself that there is no perfect candidate so I must choose between what is handed to me.
It is what it is.
In my eyes those people that are bitching really don't do shit to better the country. All they do is complain in an elitist manner with a holier than thou attitude. Ugh. Get over yourself and be positive about something for once instead of constantly raining on everyone's fucking parade. We've had enough bad news over the last eight years. How do you live with yourself in such a constant pessimistic and miserable state? It must really suck!
I am happy that for once I live in a state where my vote actually counts. I want nothing more than to wake up tomorrow morning with good news! My 40th birthday falls on Inauguration Day and I can't imagine a better present than seeing Barack Obama being sworn into office. Hell, I might even take the day off!
Ohio, by far, was the most unorganized place I have voted in 22 years but I'm glad just to have the opportunity and privilege to vote. It is most definitely something I do not take for granted. Unorganized or not, I'm excited and filled with hope for change.
Thanks for voting everyone! Good luck with whomever your candidate is!
We walked into the hall and there were only two people in front of us. In front of them were four women discussing the fact that the person's address was different than the address listed in the voters registration book and there seemed to be a lot of confusion about it. I knew at that point that I was in trouble since I still have an Illinois drivers license. Just in cast I had brought my pay stub with my current address for verification. I was hoping there would not be a problem but I was wrong!
When it was my turn I handed the lady my license and she called over to another lady who was walking around frantically. The frantic lady took my license. I told her that I had a my paycheck stub with my current address on it. She took my paycheck and asked if it was recent and proceeded to open it. I grabbed it back from her because my financial information is none of her business and told her the stub was dated 10/10/08. One of the ladies found me in her book but the other ladies said I was not listed in their book. Apparently their book was more important because it had each voters signature.
The frantic lady said that because I was not in the book I would have to fill out a provisional ballot and to follow her. I started asking why, if I registered the same time my fiance did, was I not in the book. He was in it... why not me? I asked why I had to fill out a provisional ballot and the frantic lady looked at me and said "Don't question it!"
Um... what? All I could think about was "Wasn't it Ohio that fucked up part of the election in 2004?"
The frantic lady handed me two very long ballots and two envelopes and told me to go sit at a table and fill out the ballot. I was pissed! Justin was already in the process of doing his electronic ballot. When he was done he came over to see what I was up to and to say goodbye since he had to take off for work. I proceeded to take my anger regarding the disorganization out on all those little circles I had to color in! I don't think there has ever been a better filled in ballot in the State of Ohio!
When I was done with my ballot I went back up to the table and said to the four ladies "She (while I pointed at the frantic lady sitting a few feet away) told me not to question it, but I want an explanation of why I have to fill out a provisional ballot that won't be counted and why am I not in the book!" The one girl looked at me and said "I don't know... what is your name again?" I told her my last name for the fourth time and she opened her book again... the important book with the signatures. She flipped through pages and all of the sudden I saw something I recognized. My signature!!! I pointed to the signature and said "That is me!" she said "Oh... you are in the book after all!"
Really? So I said "I have wasted my time filling out this ballot because you simply overlooked me in the book??!! I was livid!!
At that time the frantic lady came over and said "what's wrong?" and the girl pointed in the book and said "this is her... she's in the book and you made her fill out a provisional ballot." The frantic lady said "Oh, you can just give me that and we will file it for you" and I told her that I will be voting electronically and not with a provisional ballot. She said I still had to give her the ballot because she had to turn it in to the Board of Elections. I told her it had my private information on it, including my voting preferences and that I didn't feel comfortable giving it to her. She assured me that it would be confidential. Yeah, right.
I finally made it to the voting booth, cast my vote and left the polling place in disgust. How many other people did they do this to that DIDN'T question it? Those provisional ballots won't be counted and God knows where my paper ballot went!
So, I'm sitting here watching the returns. The last two elections have made me skeptical and I have been trying hard to not be too optimistic. I hear friends bitch, whine and moan and get on soap boxes about both candidates. I keep reminding myself that there is no perfect candidate so I must choose between what is handed to me.
It is what it is.
In my eyes those people that are bitching really don't do shit to better the country. All they do is complain in an elitist manner with a holier than thou attitude. Ugh. Get over yourself and be positive about something for once instead of constantly raining on everyone's fucking parade. We've had enough bad news over the last eight years. How do you live with yourself in such a constant pessimistic and miserable state? It must really suck!
I am happy that for once I live in a state where my vote actually counts. I want nothing more than to wake up tomorrow morning with good news! My 40th birthday falls on Inauguration Day and I can't imagine a better present than seeing Barack Obama being sworn into office. Hell, I might even take the day off!
Ohio, by far, was the most unorganized place I have voted in 22 years but I'm glad just to have the opportunity and privilege to vote. It is most definitely something I do not take for granted. Unorganized or not, I'm excited and filled with hope for change.
Thanks for voting everyone! Good luck with whomever your candidate is!
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