Monday, August 27, 2007
Five Memorable Nights
Saturday, August 25, 2007
It's been a full week since the... toilet incident. Discussions over when it happened and who it happened to have finally died down.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
No, this is not the promised post about my five memorable nights. Nor is it the promised post on my new job at the Casa de Insurance.
Sometimes, more frequently for some than for others, you have a moment when you think to yourself, "Really, isn't this more humiliation than a person should be expected to deal with?"
The following is a true story...
So I'm at work today, because it's Friday and because the vacation time I have available for the remainder of the year is dwindling, and because we need the income and the health insurance. It's a typical Friday at the Casa de Insurance. I'm working diligently at my new job, trying to formulate a response to a complaint that just won't go away. I'm tired. It's been a long week, and I haven't been sleeping well because... well... my husband's an idiot, but that's another story.
I go to the bathroom. This in itself is not an unusual occurrence.
I unzip. I sit down. I lean back and close my eyes for just a second because people, I am weary at this point in time...
And the toilet comes lose from the wall and crashes to the floor.
Thankfully (and surprisingly), water did not come spewing forth from the wall. Also thankfully, I was the only one in the bathroom at the time. I zipped up and ran.
The bathroom is now closed, and us ladies have to hike to the other end of the building right now if we need to go. The workman are in there now fixing it.
Did I tell anyone?
No, I did not.
And I'm not ashamed of this.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Working, working, working
Thursday, August 02, 2007
If I smell, I apologize
We have no water. In the house, that is. Nothing is coming out of the taps right now. We haven't had water since last night, which means we haven't been able to flush the toilets and we weren't able to take showers this morning. I cleaned up with baby wipes this morning... BABY WIPES!
And whose fault is this?
You guessed it. My FATHER-IN-LAW'S!!!!!
He was over yesterday, working on some small household projects with the husband. During all of this, he decided that the husband needed a lesson on where the main water shut-off for the house is located and how it works (because we're so stupid we can't figure out how to turn a knob). Instead of just pointing to it and saying 'Here's your main shut-off', he pointed to it, said 'Here's your main shut-off', gave a brief talk on when we might have to use it, and turned the knob to demonstrate how it works. After my husband confirmed that the water was off, the father-in-law turned it back on.
We had supper and chatted. The husband cleaned up the dishes and started the dish washer. The father-in-law left. The husband walked down the hall to go the the bathroom, past the utility closet where the main water shut-off valve is...
... and stepped in a puddle of water.
Obviously, there should not be a puddle of water on top of the carpet in the hallway.
Knowing now where the main shut-off was, the husband leaped into action, threw open the utility closet doors to shut the valve off... and found water spewing from said main shut-off valve. He got it shut off, and we got most of the water cleaned up, but when he turned it back on water started spewing again.
Something in the valve apparently snapped when the father-in-law gave his demonstration. Of course. Granted, we probably would've had to have gotten this fixed eventually, but we've lived here almost 10 years and haven't had a 'water emergency' that necessitated turning off the water at the main valve.
The plumber is here now... the plumber that does work for the father-in-law's condo complex and does side jobs under the table... he has to drain the water heater (40 gallons) and take it out so he can get to the valve to replace it... it's going to cost about $400.
At least the father-in-law had the sense to offer to pay for all this.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
I love the people that read my blog. You all are the bomb.
Twyla tagged me to write about the five best nights of my life. Keep watching for my answers!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Good Girl?
Yes, I am overweight.
Yes, I am diabetic.
Yes, I am trying to loose weight by being more diligent about what I'm eating and by sweating my ass off on my elliptical machine 45 minutes a day at least 6 days a week.
I don't hide or ignore the fact that any of these statements are true. I don't pretend to be someone I'm not (Note to all the other fat girls out there: If you have a roll of fat around your middle so pronounced that it actually hangs over the waistband of your pants, PLEASE do not wear a belly shirt. It's NOT attractive. We thank you in advance for your attention to this.). The fact that the above statements are true, though, does not give you the right to patronize me. If you patronize me, you'll only end up pissing me off.
Here's how the scene unfolded this past Friday...
The new department that I'm in (By the way, I got a new job. Never fear, I'm still at the Casa de Insurance, just in a different department, but more on that in another post.) was gearing up for one of the infamous 'Casa de Insurance department reorganizations' (i.e. everyone was moving to a new desk), which was fine with me because I'd been here almost two weeks and was still sitting in a temporary desk. Management knew this was going to be a completely unproductive day, so they decided to show their appreciation for our understanding by buying us lunch. Pizza was to be delivered at noon. It's always either pizza or bagels with these people, which makes it surprising that our asses aren't permanently wedged into our chairs.
A new job in a new department means that I'm no longer directly across the aisle from Right-Wing-Conservative-Girl (henceforth known as RWCG) - YAY!! BUT, a new job in a new department means that RWCG is on the Casa de Insurance-approved instant messenger program to me FIRST THING EVERY MORNING - BOO!!. The conversation last Friday morning went something like this...
RWCG: Good Morning! How was your evening?
Me: It was okay... just the normal stuff.
RWCG: Good! Are you eating lunch with us today in the cafeteria, or staying at your desk since they're delivering pizza down there? (Side note: Lunch is a very big thing around here. It's almost like a social event, which is irritating. Sometimes I just don't feel like eating lunch with the crowd, but you always have to come up with an excuse. I spend gross amounts of money at Wal-Mart, because it's close and 'I need to pick up something at Wal-Mart' is a good excuse for getting out of the building at lunch time.)
Me: No, I'm not eating the pizza. I brought a big salad from home - trying to watch what I'm eating since I'm getting back on track with everything.
RWCG: Good girl!
Okay, back the truck up, Nellie. "Good girl!"? What the hell is that? I wanted to say, "Pardon me, but I'm not 10 years old and I'm not a dog." I wanted to say, "Do you really think that's encouraging? Because if you want to know the truth, it's not. It's irritating and condescending and rude" but I didn't, because I knew at that moment there was nothing I could type that would come out well, that wouldn't tell her exactly where she could go and how quickly she could go there, and because sometimes you have to choose your battles, especially when you see the person daily, and especially when you sit directly behind their boyfriend in the new department that you've moved to. Instead, I said nothing, shut down the instant messenger, and ate lunch at the big cafeteria table with RWCG and all the other ladies that are the lunchtime regulars.
Good girl? Screw you.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Please keep my friend Lori (see her link on the left) and especially her parents in your thoughts and prayers. Her dad is in the hospital right now, and it looks like he's going to lose one of his legs from the knee down due to complications from a blood clot. They're awesome folks, and taught me a few things during the (large amounts of) time that I spent at their house... everything from cooking (add a can of Pepsi to your chili, you would not believe how much better it tastes) to parenting (if you don't like what your child is doing in their room, take the door off the hinges and put it in the garage for a few weeks). Though the future looks bleak now, I know they'll get through this and get back to as close to normal as they ever were (and Lori, you know I mean that with all the love in my heart!) very quickly.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Dear Miss Manners...
I'm very disturbed at what seems to be a growing trend. I work in a rather large office, 400-500 people in my building. More and more while I'm in the ladies room, I hear other ladies talking on their cell phones while they're in the stall doing their business!! Personally, I find this quite distasteful, not to mention rude to the person you're speaking to. I'd be mortally offended if I were speaking to someone and suddenly heard through the phone the WHOOSH of a flushing toilet!
I know, however, that this is the 21st Century, and understand how important the electronics are to us, but please tell me, Miss Manners, is this behavior appropriate??
Eagerly awaiting your reply...
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Ah, sweet poetice justice...
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Dear Miss Manners,
Is it appropriate for the check-out girl at the grocery store to adjust her chatchkes while she's ringing up my purchases? I don't mean just a small flick of a strap that's strayed down a shoulder, I'm talking a full hand-inside-the-shirt adjustment, followed by an over-the-shirt full-on from-below boost up of both girls.
And, after witnessing such an action, was it appropriate for me to say, "That must feel better"?
I eagerly await your advice...
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Words I Never Wanted to Hear My Mother-in-Law Say...
Seriously, people... I do NOT know how many more of these encounters I can take.
The husband and I have been together for 11 years now, married for almost 10. You'd think after all this time, there would be little that the in-laws could say that would make me want to run from the room screaming, YET they are still managing to come up with new material.
So...
We went to the in-laws' place on the 4th for a little patriotic family time. The mother-in-law and I sat down to watch 'Charlotte's Web' (the live-action version that came out last year - very good, by the way. I highly recommend it.) while the father-in-law, the husband and the son did some male bonding. After that, we sat down to dinner.
As we were eating, the husband was recounting bits of a Bill Engvall special we'd watched a few days before on Comedy Central. His junior high-age son had just gone for his first school sports physical, and was understandably devastated by the turn-your-head-and-cough portion of the exam. Bill held up his index finger towards his son and said, 'Wait 'til you get to be my age.'
- Insert laughter here -
The father-in-law made a few jokes at the husband's expense, because he'll be forty in December, etc., etc. The conversation could've ENDED THERE, and it would've been fine.
But no.
My mother-in-law then had to pipe up with...
"Well, it can't be as bad as having one of those internal ultrasounds, like I just had to have at the gyno!" (Note: if you don't know exactly what the internal ultrasound is, use your imagination. I'm sure you'll get it....) Then she continued with...
"It's like having them stick a dildo up your privates! And it's always a woman that does it! Why do they have a woman sticking something like a dildo up inside you? At least if it was a man doing it maybe it wouldn't be so embarrassing."
What?
Okay - I unfortunately have had to have two of these procedures over the years. Trust me, they're embarrassing regardless of the gender of the ultrasound technician. I can only imagine the idiotic look I had on my face as she was saying this, and all I could think (but somehow managed not to say out loud) was
STOP SAYING DILDO!!!!!
I don't know what else to say, other than Ewww!!!
Yes, another new template. What do you think? This probably won't be the last change, which is why I haven't updated the links, so please don't take offense.
I know it's annoying to find something different everytime you visit. I feel as if I'm in a state of flux right now, and I'm trying to find something that just screams RUTH!!!!
Does the red background make it hard to read? And I'm not hip on all that empty space to the right, although it lets the pattern of the template show through nicely.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Could it be?
I know you all are on pins and needles, waiting anxiously for another update on the boy's potty training progress.
I, however, am ready for this task to be OVER.
I am happy, nay OVERJOYED, to FINALLY be able to say that MY SON HAS USED THE POTTY!!!!
Don't get too excited. He's still got a ways to go before being COMPLETELY potty trained, but we have at least broken through the first barrier. And, oddly, he's refused his reward of Hershey's kisses for his triumphs. Go figure.
If I knew more about HTML code, I'd put a counter for the pees & poohs that go in the potty over in the sidebar.
Heaven help me.
