Moving

I've decided to move over to a wordpress blog. Adios.

Brisket

I bought an over 5 lb. brisket at Wegmans tonight. We're not Jewish, but we do like a good brisket. I plan on cutting it in half, and freezing half for later. It's way too much meat for two people. I'll probably do it barbecue style with noodles.

It looks to be like a lonely week for me. Ed is going to be working crazy hours for a tent sale at work. I may get some extra sleep, though. That is one advantage. I am still so tired from our busy season.

Next Day

Of course, I was right about yesterday. The shipment and paperwork were found in the warehouse today. So, it was my fault that it went missing? I think not. I argued the point that it was much more likely that something would be lost in a 40,000 sq. ft. warehouse rather than in my 8 x 10 office space, but it fell on deaf ears. And, did I get an apology of any form today? Of course not.

"Survivor" begins tonight. I'm going to DVR it like always, so Ed and I can watch it together when he gets home tonight. It's so cool and gloomy outside that I almost feel like napping before he comes home. Maybe I will.

Stress

It was a very stressful day at work today. It always is when boss lady runs the open order report. I felt like fingers were pointed at me for missing paperwork, when I am quite positive the loss occurred in the warehouse.

Tomorrow's another day, I guess.

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

Patrick Swayze died yesterday. It made me very sad. My favorite movie of his is "Dirty Dancing". If it's on, and I see that it's on, I will sit down and watch it. I've seen it over and over. I bet I even know the dance steps to Jennifer Grey's finale dance, if hard-pressed.

He was only 57, I think. Pancreatic cancer---it must suck to die that way. He had never quit smoking, because as he explained it in an interview clip that I saw, he had his priorities. He knew one or the other, smoking or cancer, would get him. He figured out which one would get him first. So, he never quit smoking.

RIP Patrick Swayze

Work Dreams

I think it comes with working longer hours, that I dream more about work. I had this strange one right before I woke up this morning. I was dreaming that I was at work, except the office just looked like a small bedroom somewhere. We all had makeshift workspaces, and my boss was working in the corner on a little Fisher Price desk.

Suddenly, this woman comes barging into the room, and it's obvious that she's a customer of ours. The weird part, of course, is that in reality we are a mail order business, and for the most part, only deal with customers over the phone. Anyway....she came in and said "do you have any P240's in stock?". I told her we were sold out, but that I would call her if we got more in. I asked for her phone number, and she said it was "610-354-gibberish gibberish...etc. So, I got closer to her and asked her at least two more times, but I could not make out what she was saying for the last four numbers.

Finally, I was almost up in her face, asking again, "what is your phone number????". With that, she gets this maniacal look on her face, reaches her hands out and locks them around my throat and begins strangling me.

With that, I woke up. Yeesh!!! Work can sometimes be bad, but I'm glad it's never been like my dream.

Sweet Victory

Ed and I just got back in from the casino. I walked in there with a $95.00 voucher and walked out with one for $178.25. Not bad for a couple hours on the slots.

The house in Maine fell through. The guy was very insistent on a $400 security deposit, and I was just as insistent that I would not pay it. We have never had to pay a security deposit on a weekly rental. It's just an excuse for the owner to pocket some extra money. The guy just gave out bad email vibes, anyway. It's just as well.

I watched three of my "thirtysomething" episodes last night. It's amazing how well they hold up. It's fun to see the fashions of the 80's again. The shows bring back a lot of memories for me.

Soup

It's not quite soup weather, but I'm trying out a new recipe tonight. Hamburger soup with barley. I hope it's good!

I did not have to work today, so I got up and colored my hair, and waited for Ed to come home from a short work day (he just had to do a delivery). We went shopping at Wegmans together. Ahhhh, love and togetherness.

We have already decided on a rental for next summer in Maine. Click here:

http://web.mac.com/oxygengroup/maine/Welcome.html

9-11

This date has always had a significance for me, long before 2001. My parents were married on September 11, 1954. They were both finishing college, with my dad going on to grad school with the eventual completion of a doctorate degree in chemistry. They were dirt poor, and sacrificed a lot to survive in those early years of their marriage. I was born on May 14, 1956--their first born child.

Today, I was thinking about my mom all day. I was wondering what it must feel like on your first wedding anniversary without your spouse. I know she wanted to go sit at the cemetery today, but the weather was not cooperating at all. I called her on the way home from work, and she sounded fine. I know she will never tell me how sad she is. She knows how much I still struggle coping with his death, and she will never say anything that would make me even sadder.

It seems like this year, there was less media attention given to the tragedy of 2001. I remember in past years, the radio stations had moments of silence at the exact times when the two planes hit the world trade center. Today, I didn't hear any mention of it on the radio at all.

Time seems to contribute more to healing than anything else. I have been discovering this as I deal with the death of my dad, and I think as a country we are also beginning to get over the events of 9-11-01. Never to forget, but with the knowledge that we all must move onward and forward.

Maybe This Weekend

Maybe, just maybe, I won't have to work on Saturday. I've been busting my butt to make that possible, and I feel like I'm on track.

Ed lost his temporary bridge today, and he had to go back to his favorite place to get it put back on...

Final HOH on BB tonight.

Tales From The Chair

Hi, Guest Blogger here. Well, the owner of the blog wanted to take a day off. That's OK with me. Interested about the title? The guest blogger spent 5 1/2 hours at the dentist today getting started on a 5 tooth bridge. And it is the first one that Dr. A. has done. Man, I feel good about that. J. knows that I hate going to the dentist, and this was going to be major work (and will continue to be with two more visits). Nothing like the sounds of drills, saws and brushes bouncing off the back of your head. Stuff flying into the air, and that constant gag feeling. The end result is that I have a temporary bridge in, a schedule to get one tooth ( couldn't be saved) removed, and a new bridge in three weeks.

The only way I could have tolerated this is that fact that J. loves me, and the dentist is pretty good and recognizes that I have a problem with the process. After this event, I think the next one should be easier.

Guest blogger signing off for today. J. will be back on Thursday.

Tuesday Feels Like Monday

Tuesday always feels like a Monday the day after a holiday. I'm hoping that even though it's a short week, that I might be caught up enough at work to not have to work Saturday this week. For one thing, I've worked the past four Saturdays, and even though the pay is time and a half, it's not fun. With the holiday on Monday, if I do end up working Saturday it will be paid as straight time, since I'm not working 40 hours this week. We'll see how it goes.

The golden girl emailed me today that she was so "bombarded" with her workload that she wanted me to take care of one of her salesman's requests. Of course, I just did it, because boss lady freaks out if anything is said about golden girl. So, I responded to the salesman and said I was emailing a bunch of confirmations to him, and that he should check the pricing. Two minutes later, I get an email addressed to me and the salesman, copying golden girl. Boss lady said, "G printed out your confirmations and they went in the mail on Friday, couldn't you wait until the mail comes????". So, I get chastised for responding to a request that wasn't my job to begin with....

Ed bought me the first season of "thirtysomething" on DVD. I'm so excited! It was always one of my favorite shows, and I can't wait to watch them and relive the 80s.

Indian Summer

Yesterday was like a perfect Indian summer day, yet today I feel like fall is right around the corner. It's much cooler today, with almost a chill in the air.

Labor Day is such a perfect holiday. There are no gifts, no decorations, nothing special to do at all, except it's a day off from work. The name of the holiday has a certain irony, though, doesn't it? It's to celebrate the efforts of all the workers in the United States, yet instead of laboring today, we all have the day off from work.

As it gets cooler, I know I'm going to think about my dad more and more. This time last year, we were making pretty frequent trips to see my parents, because my dad really couldn't get around too much. If he was feeling somewhat strong, we would go out to eat, and if not, Ed and I would stop at Wegmans and pick up something to grill. I still have no desire to ever go to an Outback again. It was the last restaurant my dad was in. He liked the lamb chops there, and I remember the last time we were there he wanted a taste of my mom's margarita.

He would have been 78 on November 1st, but he died on last December 5th, and was buried on December 8th. I love you very much, Daddy, and think about you all the time.

Garlic Festival

Today, Ed and I went to the Pocono Garlic festival. It was being held at the foot of the Shawnee Mountain ski resort. The website really hyped it, and I was expecting some huge event. It took us forever to get there---traffic backed up on route 209 for miles. We finally get there, and there is a $10 admission for adults.

Can I just say that we were underwelmed? There were a dozen food stands, all selling foods made with, you guessed it! Garlic. There were a couple of entertainment tents, and there were a few craft booths, and that was it. On the way in, I overheard a woman say, "it took us longer to get here than it did to walk around the festival". In our case, it took us the same length of time it took to consume a shared can of Budweiser.

We then took an alternate route home along the Delaware river and had a late lunch at a place called TK's Bar and Grill. The sandwiches were just, eh... It was a beautiful day, though, and at least we got out and did something.

And the recession is over?

The "guest blogger" requested to post today. In over 13 years at Brown-Daub, one of the top auto dealers in the US, we failed to sell a car, suv or minivan today. THAT has never happened before during my experience at Brown-Daub. After the Sat. AM meeting, Jim S., been there 15 years, asked me what we would sell (he didn't agree with the GSM count at 10: he thought 5 would do it) , and I wrote down the magic number: "O". At the end of the day, in the process of leaving, Jim remembered that. Doesn't bode well for the rest of the year. Anyway, the "guest blogger" is finished.

Conversation

I finally broached the subject of my inheritance with my mom tonight. I already knew how things were going to be split--not equitably in my opinion. But, I'm happy to say that we didn't really argue about it, and I understand her reasoning more as a result.

I went back and forth on bringing it up, and I finally started the conversation by saying, "now don't be mad", and she said, "I might be". From there, it really went okay, and I really really needed to say something to her about it again, even though she knows what I think. I find that I just let things eat at me, and it's not a healthy way to live.

I hate being a worrier and a fretter.

Eviction

It's eviction night on Big Brother. I would really like to see Jeff in the final 4, but I don't know if he can be saved at this point or not. I don't know why I care about this show so much.

I spoke with my mom on the phone last night, and did not bring up some things that are bothering me. Probably better off that way....

I'm soooooo tired. Working these long hours really takes it out of me. I'm too old for this.

Thirty Something

I saw a commercial this morning that said the first season of "Thirty Something" was available at Target. I neglected to hear that it's not available until September 5th, so I sent the guest blogger on a bit of a wild goosechase today...

The guest blogger gets to write again! Yeah! Yes, I rather felt like an idiot when the Rt. 248 electronics guru punched in the title of a TV series I didn't watch, and he came up with nothing. Oh well, maybe this store didn't have it yet. On the next new Target on Airport Road....again, nothing. Back to home, started the search and came up with a release date of 5th of September. No wonder the guest blogger had no results.

Point being: what you do for love. Anyway, the "30 Something" series, which I know J will watch, I will get for her.

Oink

Iron Pigs won 3-2. We had a great time at the old ball game!