Sheesh!

So, I've had nothing to say that past couple of days. Sunday, we went shopping which is always a good time but didn't really get anything interesting. The best thing about it was dinner out at Al's French Frys. YUM but very not good for you. That's why we hardly ever go there but sometimes you just can't resist. Know what I mean?

Yesterday was special however. Bob, my m-i-l's husband stopped in for dinner last night. He's here hunting bear but without much luck. Too bad he's not here for turkey because I've seen about 40 of them over the last two days in the field by our house. Anyway, we had a nice dinner and a nice visit.

Now, I'd like to rant for a minute if I may and I may because this is my blog. Most of you already know about my recent run-in with XM Radio. Well, I was listening to it this morning and on two different channels I heard two different commercials. One was for Proactive and the other was for some real estate thing. WTF?!?!!? I thought the whole freaking point of XM Radio was that there were no commercials and that you could get it anywhere since it's satellite. Neither of which seems to be the case anymore. We live in a mountainous region so our reception can be spotty at times and now with the commercials, I may as well be listening to the regular freaking radio for free. I am soooo NOT a happy customer. As a matter of fact, I'm checking out the XM website right now and this is what they say they offer:

Commercial free music playing each genre

Direct quote from their website. Is that or is that not false advertising, the freaks?

Oh! AND, I got a call this morning from the woman from the at the rental management company confirming our appt this morning. Ummm...That was last Tuesday you schlep. And then she was like, "Oh. I was wondering why we made that appt a week out." Yeah, you dope. We didn't. Then she has the nerve to ask if I would like to reschedule. Lmao. Yeah, right. I actually have another appointment in 15 minutes with another rental management company and then I have a showing scheduled tonight for 6, lol. No calls for a showing for a month and then the very week I plan on taking the house off the market, we get a call. Ironic, eh? So, I gotta get ready for my appointment. Till next time...

Customer Service Woes

I must have a higher standard when it comes to sales, customer service, and product quality than most people. I was infuriated by XM Radio, irritated by bad Chinese, and I refuse to shop at Walmart for a lot of reasons one being that they sell inferior products. Yesterday's experience with Jiffy Lube and Black Inc. Realty was no exception to me bringing out my measuring stick.

First off, I had set an appointment with Black Inc. for them to come out to the house so that we could discuss them managing it as a rental. The appointment was for 9:30 and they no show/no called me. These are the people that we had considered allowing them to watch our house, collect rents, and deal with any maintenance problems that should occur since checking on the house from N.C. on a regular basis would be impossible. Then they don't even bother to show for the appointment. This does not instill a feeling of security in me at all. How am I supposed to consider them to be reliable and at 12% of the rent we'd have to pay them monthly for their services?

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon when I took the 4Runner in for an oil change. I hit the Jiffy Lube as I was pressed for time. They had me in and out in less than 20 minutes complete with an oil change, new air filter, top off of the other fluids, air in the tires, vacuum the floors, and they even showed me how to reset the maintenance light and all for about $60.00. Now this is service. Am I wrong here?

This is what I expect from any place of business where I'm about to spend any amount of money. Not long-ass lines where I'm standing there for 20 minutes at one of two open lanes in a store (Walmart) that has 20-something check out lines, and not rubbery Chinese food, and not to be harassed via multiple phone calls from undereducated idiots.


I'm sorry to have such high standards but if I wanted to throw money away I'd flush it down the toilet myself. And by the way, Walmart could be a whole post unto itself but I'm not in the mood for a Walmart rant this morning.

A Disgusting Issue

Why am I choosing to discuss something disgusting this morning? Well, because I can. People tend to leave the disgusting issues alone all the while wondering about them. Decorum says that you shouldn't discuss disgusting issues in mixed company or just in public at all but I've never been one to allow society to dictate how I should behave. Hence why I also don't believe that children's sports shouldn't keep score, why you shouldn't cry if you don't get a gift bag at someone else's birthday party, and why I also think it's a little on the ridiculous side to make a child who is 8 years old still sit in a booster seat in the car. I happen to follow that last rule just because I don't want to have to pay a ticket if I were to ever get pulled over by the police.

So, what's my disgusting topic you're wondering? Musty nose. At least that's what C and I call it. You know what I'm talking about and I'm not referring to a wine connoisseur's term. I'm talking about that disgusting odor that sometimes manifests after somebody sneezes. What the heck is up with that?!?!?! And what causes it?? And it lingers worse than some other disgusting bodily odors that shall not be named in this post. I just don't know. I was watching Oprah a few weeks back, which is something else I usually avoid doing because of societal standards, but this was an interesting episode. She had a guest doctor on the show that was answering all the embarrassing questions that people are usually too afraid to ask. Why one would choose to do so on an internationally syndicated talk show is beyond my understanding but there ya go. Anyway, musty nose never came up. Everything else under the sun did, but not musty nose. And I know that this is an issue that a lot of people have because you can't hide it and I've been a witness to other people's mustiness.

There you go. My disgusting discussion topic of the day. I think I should make this a weekly feature for those of you too afraid to bring these things up in polite society.Hmmm...

New Management Does NOT Equal Better Management

I decided to try out what used to be our favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch today. It used to be the Dragon Phoenix when we first moved here and they had decent food at really great prices. Then, they got into some trouble for having an underage party in their back room and closed shortly thereafter, heheh. A few months back they reopened under new management and a new name (I can't remember what it is) so I thought I'd grab some take out and give it a try. It was baaaaaad! Over cooked and cold. Needless to say, I won't be going back and as we've tried another Chinese place in town here and they sucked too, I'll have to put my Chinese food cravings on hold until we move. I'm not willing to take any more chances.

I also drove by some new apartment buildings they're constructing in Montpelier. They look really nice but totally out of place since they're modern looking and everything else in Montpelier is Victorian. The contrast is really noticeable and the buildings look incongruous. I bet the rent is astronomical too.

Oh! And last night's new recipe was a huge hit with the whole family. It'll definitely be added to our list of faves. Fun, fun.

Weekends

You ever notice how weekends can seem like a refuge? It's a 2 day vacation away from the real world. The kids are out of school and most people have Saturday and Sunday off. It's time to spend with your kids and spouse as a family, time to go out with friends, time to do some leisurely shopping, or it can just be time to veg out with games or a book which is what I did. I'm reading Kathy Reichs' book, Cross Bones and after I finish that I'm going to read her latest, Break No Bones. Since I found out that the television series Bones is based on Reichs' books, I have become an avid fan. Forensic anthropology is actually very interesting. It would be worth a second look as a career if I could get past the smell and bugs that are involved with the dead. Maggots and the smell of putrid flesh really turn me off. Once, I bought a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and when I opened them, they had turned and the smell was awful. This was about 4 years ago and I still can't stand the thought of trying to eat that variety of chicken. Also, I once bought a can of tuna fish and when I opened the can there were fish bones and scales in it. It was about 7 years before I ate tuna again, lol. That's just the way that I am and why I'm pretty sure I would have no future in any field of forensic science.

I also bought Dean Koontz's book, Odd Thomas. I've always liked his books but this series has really been getting him rave reviews and I can't wait to get it started. I've also ordered J.D. Robb's newest book which I think will be here sometime this week along with Nora Roberts' new Circle trilogy. I've read the first one and can't wait to read the last two. The 5 1/2 books I'm planning on reading should last me until the weekend, lol. Do you think a person can read too much? I've wondered that about myself. I think my books, however, are going to be a necessary way to lose myself in the coming weeks. I'm not the "Calgon! Take me away!" type of person. Give me a good book and I become totally absorbed. It annoys my kids and the hubby when they try to talk to me and I don't hear them though. Which doesn't bother me cuz I find it funny.
Now, I have to get the house straightened so that I can devote the rest of my day to finishing up Cross Bones.

Shhhh!

I have a horrible headache that has been ongoing for what is now three days. It is hindering my ability to think of something to post. I can't even think of anything else to say right now. So that's it. I'll be back to normal in, hopefully, a day or two. Later.

I Almost Forgot

This is the three year anniversary of my blog. Yup. Three years ago this November I started my blog as a way for friends and family to keep up with our relocation to Vermont. It has evolved somewhat over the years but you have to admit, it's still a blog. Hmm. I don't really know what else I would like to say on the subject. I just figured that keeping up with this for three years was sort of momentous and deserved some sort of recognition.

So, here's to me and the hope that I'll find something more interesting to say over the next three years and beyond!! Cheers!

Outrageous

If I've ever seen anything in poorer taste, I don't know what it would have been. This is the absolute, most disgusting thing I've ever seen. I've never had an opinion of Bill Maher one way or the other before this photo, but I can now see what a complete and total idiot, ass, moron, slimy, revolting piece of filth he really is. There is a special place in hell for him and may his karma get him fast and efficiently.

Weird, Strange, and Mysterious

About 3 hours ago the strangest thing happened. It was so extraordinary that I couldn't even figure out what it was at first. All I could tell was that I was being vaguely irritated by something. It seemed sort of familiar, like maybe I had seen it before or maybe it was Déjà Vu. It took me a minute to even figure out where this mysterious thing was coming from. I glanced around the house, I started walking around to see if I could find the source, and finally! It struck me! The sun was shining!! I could barely believe my eyes. I'm not even sure I remember the last day the sun was out here. And we'd better enjoy it while it lasts because we're supposed to get rain and snow all day tomorrow.

Technological Fun Facts

I was watching Things We Love to Hate on the Discovery Channel this morning and they did a show on e-mail and a show on cell phones. I thought that I would share some of the more interesting facts and statistics that I learned from the show...

E-Mail

• People spend an average of 3 hours a day on frivolous e-mails.
• Ray Tomlinson, the inventor of e-mail, sent the first e-mail message in 1971.
• The first e-mail message read as follows: QWERTYUIOP. The top row of your keyboard.
• Charles Bechner committed suicide due to spam.
• In London, you can attend an e-mail dance party where people wear iPods, MP3 players, or Walkmen and dance in the street to their own music.
• Teens voted e-mail as one of the top inventions of the 21st century for making life easier.
• King's College conducted a study which showed that people who regularly e-mail have a 10% drop in their IQ scores.
• Spam is 75% of all e-mail.

Cell Phones

• Dr. Martin Cooper from Motorola placed the first cell phone call in 1973.
• Cell phone addiction is a medically documented form of OCD and there are clinics where it is treated.
• Cell phone usage is 6th on the list of driving distractions.
• There are 170 million cell phone users in the United States and 2 billion world wide.
• Cell phone use lowers the IQ more than smoking marijuana does.
• 30% of Americans believe that cell phones cause cancer.
• At the turn of this century, cell phones replaced cigarettes as the top addiction among teens.
• In 2005, Australian doctors diagnosed the first case of carpal tunnel syndrome that was caused by excessive text messaging.
• Having a Bluetooth capable phone could equal having a stalker.
  

Disgusted

I've been trying to think of something positive to post for days since I've been whining so much lately, but life keeps getting in the way.

Last night I happened to notice that MTV's True Life was on and the title of the episode was, "I'm a Civilian Again" so of course it caught my eye. It was a total mistake to watch it however. They profiled a kid from the Army National Guard who had lost his legs in the war and two Marines. The one Marine, it seemed as if they went in search of the biggest loser they could find to represent what life is like after the military. The guy couldn't manage to type up a resume, he was drunk almost 24/7, he got kicked out of one living situation and at the end of the show was getting ready to be evicted from another for excessive noise and one of his friends who had also gotten out of the Marines said that the military "breeds alcoholics". Geez! How one-sided can you get? The other Marine was living with his wife and baby in their parents' house until they could save up enough money to be out on their own. The only one that was making it on his own was the disabled Army guy and to be totally un-PC and insensitive, it was probably only because of the mega money he's bringing down from the government as a disabled Vet.

I understand that the media, television, news, and radio consist of mostly left-wing Liberals so True Life was naturally portraying the military and the war in the most negative way possible, but as a documentary-type show that is supposedly trying to educate young adults about different social issues, they should have had an obligation to tell all sides of the story. And I'm not saying that the military doesn't have it's share of losers and drunks but there are more losers and drunks who aren't in the military. I'm also not saying that a lot of people have a hard time adjusting to civilian life. After all, if you've only been trained as a grunt, that doesn't translate to too many civilian jobs. But after having a husband who's been a recruiter for almost 3 years now, I happen to know that these kids, no matter what they say, know what they're getting into when they sign the contract.

I try very hard not to be political. Politics is frustrating, full of indecisiveness, deceit, and backstabbing. But this really made me angry and I knew I should've just watched Miami Ink instead. I hardly watch MTV at all anymore since it totally sucks and they should take the "M" out of the name but after this, I'll probably stop watching it altogether. I'd rather watch HGTV anyway.

Friendship

When you're in grade school and you have a fight with your best friend, it usually involves name calling, stomping, and pouting. Then you're friends again the next day. In high school, fighting with your friends varies little from grade school fights with the exception of the fact that the name calling becomes more colorful and instead of fighting over who's "it" you're fighting over boys. As an adult, what ends friendships? Are the issues more mature or just as idiotic as a third grader's issues?

Since I've been an adult, I've only outright ended one friendship and looking back, it could probably be considered for petty reasons by some. A year later, I still would have done the same thing though. However, there are some people that I've been acquainted with over the years that I wish that I weren't but didn't know how to say, "I don't like you. Go away." So, instead of being forthright about the situation, I became "unavailable". How childish, right? I'd stop taking their calls. "Oh. The battery on my cell keeps dying. Don't know what's wrong with the darn thing." I'd block them on IM. "I haven't seen you online lately." "Oh. Well, I just haven't been in the mood to sit at my desk." Things like that and we just eventually lose touch. I currently have a neighbor that I don't like. She's ok, but he's an ass and their kids are snobby and bratty. My solution? I stopped sending my kids down to play and I don't wave when we pass each other on our road. Is it more mature to evade or to tell someone they're asses?

This brings up another issue: Is it possible to be friends with someone when you don't like their spouse? I've been in this situation a few times and I still don't know the answer. I don't think I'm as close with the people that I don't like their spouses as I am with the people that I do like their spouses though. I think it's hard to form a close bond with someone when you have such a huge barrier in the way because you can't be completely honest.

Luckily, I'm not currently in a situation where I'm trying to get rid of a "friend". It's probably because I haven't seen any of my friends in 3+ years with a couple exceptions, lol. But this is my thought for the day. Opinions? Just don't ask me to clarify because I refuse to name names and to be specific.

::Sigh::

Two disappointments in one day. Does life get much better? So, here's how it went...

The realtor that showed our house this morning said that it showed really well but that the people said it "wasn't what they were looking for". Fine, ok. I talked to our realtor today who said that a couple who had seen our house listed on the internet was interested in more info. He called them this afternoon and it turns out that they had driven by this weekend to check it out and the guy really liked it but his wife didn't like the location. What's not to like?!?! We live a block from the county police station, 2 blocks from the best elementary and middle school in the area, we live on a dead end road that's still maintained by the county, and we have open fields all around us with great views. The only thing I can figure is that maybe she feels that it's too isolated. Maybe she's like me and thinks that the country is creepy. Even though I think the country is creepy, I still think we have a great location. We have cable and high speed internet. What more can you ask for?

So, that's two "no's" in one day and the only interest we've had in the house in almost 2 weeks. This does not bode well. It's really disappointing. And it's weird to come home and know that you weren't the last person in your house. It's similar to the feeling I had when our car was broken into 4 times in 3 weeks back in Cali only more intense. Now I'm sitting here being all critical about my home. What can I do to make it more appealing? Was it clean enough? Did the cat drop a bomb while I was out and the smell turned them off? Should I buy a house plant? Should I find something else to paint? When is it going to stop raining/snowing so that I can finish the front porch? Am I going to be stuck in Vermont for the rest of my life? It's all so stressful.

On a positive note, at the grocery store today, I picked up some Smoothie Tums and they actually don't taste that bad. They're the smooth dissolve too so they're not that chalky. It's a great find for me since I've had heartburn for days now. Coolness, eh?

Picture Blog

I created a new blog this morning that will be specifically for pictures. I'm not going to promise how often it will get updated, but you are responsible for checking. I'm not going to nag about it. There is a link under "Links to Check Out" in the sidebar as well as the one below to get you started.

What're You Looking At?

First Snow

This is the scene that we woke up to this morning. Not too much snow and it's about normal for this time of year here. It started snowing about 6pm last night so it could've been much worse and it was, in fact, in parts of Vermont where people got about 5 inches and lost power. So we lucked out. They're forecasting more snow for us tomorrow through Thursday. The kids might end up trick or treating in their ski pants this year, lol.

As for yesterday, I didn't start up the picture blog or play Ricochet. I installed the Sims 2 and played that instead, heheh. I also watched some shows that I had DVR'd from last week. I'm boring, I know. But when it pours down rain all day, what the heck else are you supposed to do? OH! And the big news from yesterday...Drumroll please...No call from XM Radio!! YAY!!

So, there ya go. An early morning post from me. I'll probably post more later in the day. 

Try This

This is a very simple, in that it's not a graphics heavy game, yet difficult puzzle game for if you get bored tonight. I've made it to level 18? I think. I'm stuck there. How far can you get? Click the link below and try it out.

Road Block

What to Say

I have nothing to say today. XM hasn't called yet so I have nothing to bitch about. The kids are behaving, the animals are behaving, the husband is on his way to Hartford, it's been raining all day, and that's about it. I've been entertaining the idea of setting up another blog specifically for pictures though and linking it back to this one. Maybe that's what I should do today. I'm also thinking about playing Ricochet so we'll see what happens. Sorry for the lack of anything to say.

What All The Best Dressed Dogs Are Wearing

We were trying out winter gear since it's actually supposed to snow next week. Bailey got caught in the crossfire. 

I Knew Better Than to Hope

Yes. That's right. XM called me again this morning. ::Sigh:: I just don't know what I'm going to do about them. The girl who called me this morning got another earful from me and then I hung up on her. I seriously think they have my account flagged. There's probably a notation on there that reads something like this:

*This customer is a real number. We've been harassing her for over a week now and each phone call is funnier than the last. She's really irate. Let's make sure and call her at least once a day to see how mad she gets. I really think she's close to having a heart attack which would just be icing on the cake. GO TEAM!!*

I really don't think XM staffs anyone that actually knows how to do their job. Probably nobody there has an education better than a GED. I've been promised for three days in a row by three different people that I would not receive any more calls but no go so far. It's not like I freaking asked to have my credit card number stolen for pete's sake. But you know, this is probably customer service karma coming to get me since I used to work for GTE and I harassed people to pay their phone bills. That's probably why I have such bad luck with customer service reps.

An End to the XM Harassment???

After they called and hung up tonight, I called back. Yes I did. Some poor girl was unfortunate enough to answer my very irate call this evening. I asked to speak to a supervisor but she didn't want to go that route so I told her that I was more than willing to yell at her if that was the way she wanted it. I won't go into the details of the call but to say that it's completely confirmed: XM Radio is staffed with morons. We've had the service for about 10 months now and up to this point, I've had no complaints. The girl promised that I would get no more calls but I'm keeping my fingers crossed cuz my blood pressure, acid reflux, and tension headaches can't take much more of this. I can take solace in the knowledge that their karma will get them eventually though. I'm hopeful that this will be the last post regarding this topic. Who says that I can't be stupidly optimistic when the occasion calls for it?

The birds...THE BIRDS!!!

I had a scary experience yesterday afternoon. I was sitting at my computer which is at the back of our house when I heard this really loud banging. It was loud enough that it scared the dog and the cat. My first thought, because I was going for the reasonable before the outrageous, was that the oil guy was delivering oil because the pipe is at the back of the house. When I looked out the window, however, I didn't see anyone at the pipe so my next thought was that someone was trying to break in the back door. I looked out the front door and that's when I saw the source of the noise: Crows. There had to be 40 or 50 crows out in the yard and I could see more on my neigbors' roofs so that's when I figured it out. I texted C and told him crows were banging on the house and he thought that I had lost my mind, lol. I never understood why the movie The Birds was so scary but seeing how swarms of crows behave in real life, I can totally see it now. And there were so many of them in the trees along our road this morning that they woke me up with all their racket. Also yesterday, they attacked another type of bird and left it for dead in our front yard. It's still out there too cuz I'm not picking it up, lol. Rural life is totally crazy.

Word Verification

Not that anyone ever leaves a comment, but I had to add the word verification for comments to my blog because I had a couple unwanted ad comments tonight. Just a heads up.

I'm Beginning to Hate XM

After I paid the freaking bill and had to speak to Idiot on the phone on Sunday, he said he'd restore our service. Well, the radio is in C's gov so we had to wait until Monday when he went to work to see if we actually had service. Sure enough, we didn't. So, I had to call the Idiots back and see what the heck. Also, after I checked my bank account to make sure the payment went through, not only did they charge me the regular 3 month payment but an additional payment of $13.73 was charged as well. I didn't authorize that and had no idea what it was for. While I'm on the phone trying to get the service restored, I ask about the charge. After speaking with TWO Idiots, neither one of them could explain the charge and agreed to credit my account. Well, YEAH YOU ARE!!! Then, THEN, I get a freaking hang up call from XM this morning. WTFreakingF?!!? Stop calling me!! I paid you!! I actually think they might be worse than AOL's customer service. All I know is they better stop harassing me or I'm gonna cancel the service and make them eat the damn radio. SHEESH!!!

On a happier note, C and I got a UPS delivery today and it is SWEET!! I'm not telling what it is cuz I don't want to have to hear about it from people who think they have a right to say something but OH YEAH BABY!! It is ever so cool. I'm off!

The Caravan

Came and went. Geez. It was totally nerve wracking for some reason. There were about 20 realtors in all and they were all polite and whatnot. They really liked the gray paint and the blue color in the girls' rooms. It's "crisp and pops" was how they described it. I hope we start getting people out now. Oh, and they commented on how clean the house was which is completely laughable. Do people really show their homes to realtors dirty and messy?

I just about killed myself sanding the front porch yesterday. I sanded for about 4 hours and I would only call it about 1/4 of the way done. My arm, hand, and shoulder hurt so bad I don't think I slept more than a couple hours last night.

And I've been meaning to mention how smart my dog is. I know a lot of people train their dogs to do tricks and call them smart also. Bailey can do tricks; sit, lay down, catch, shake, and we're teaching her the Lady and the Tramp trick with the treat on the nose. But in addition to all that, she can recognize music. I have the alarm on my cell phone set to go off at 8:40 in the morning and at 3:10 in the afternoon and it plays Dare by the Gorillaz. When she hears it, she immediately goes to her crate. She doesn't do it for any other ring tone on my phone, just the alarm. And if you're thinking she just knows the time of day, which would also be smart, we tried just playing the tone randomly this past Saturday and she recognized it. Smart dog, right?

Well, I'm going to try and relax for the rest of the day. It's supposed to rain until Thursday so the porch is going to have to wait to be finished and the house is spotless so I'm good to play the part of a slug for at least a day. Woohoo!

More Power, House Woes, And XM Radio

More Power:

I acquired my very first power tool yesterday. We have other power tools, drills, saws, etc., but this tool was bought specifically for me. I got a very nice handheld sander. Woohoo, heheh. I'm redoing my front porch. It's the whole curb appeal thing. Even with the sander, it's not as simple as I thought it was going to be. When we bought this house, the front porch was painted a peeling dull green. I guess it was supposed to match the dark green shutters on our house. My plan was to sand off the paint and stain it a nice cedar color. I think wood looks nicer when it's a natural color rather than painted. But, I don't think I have enough time to do all that so I'm just going to sand off the majority of the paint and re-paint it a nice dark green that will actually match the shutters and the front door. I think it'll look nice when it's all done. At the very least it'll look better than it was.

House Woes:

The rest of our weekend was pretty busy. Saturday we made another trip to the Salvation Army with the 6+ boxes of toys we gave away plus another box of clothes. It's ridiculous the amount of crap we had sitting around that we had no use for and there's more in the basement that just needs to be thrown away. Then on Sunday we fixed the water filter, put up a carbon monoxide detector so that we're in compliance with Vermont laws now, sanded some of the front porch, and mowed the lawn. I was so tired last night that I went to bed at 10 which is just unusual for me because I don't normally do things that make me feel old, lol. Tomorrow I have a realtor caravan coming first thing in the morning. So, I get to kill myself cleaning my already clean house since I'm completely OCD about it now and it never seems to be clean enough. We also bought a book this weekend about selling your house so I get to obsess over the multitude of things we've already done wrong.

And XM Radio:

Their customer service department is as bad as AOL's. I had to cancel my credit card recently because the number was stolen. This was the card that I was using to pay the XM bill, but because it normally gets paid automatically each month, I forgot to change the account and it didn't get paid on time this month. They called me on the 11th and I explained the situation and that I would go online myself and pay the bill. The girl told me that she'd give me until the 16th to pay it, no big deal. Please take note that today is the 16th. Anyway, C told me that he had no service on Friday, the idiots, and XM proceeded to call me at least 4 times a day sometimes letting the phone only ring once before hanging up. I paid the freaking bill Thursday but that didn't stop the stinking morons from harassing me. Finally, they called yesterday, once was a hang up and the second time I was able to answer the phone in a very belligerent tone (you gotta love caller ID), "What?" The guy was all flustered and explained to me that my service was interrupted and he would like to help me fix that. I told him, "I paid the freaking bill. What more do you people want, blood?" And he was all, "You paid the bill?" And I'm like, "Yeah and you people have proceeded to call me 4 or 5 times a day despite that, sometimes hanging up before I can answer the phone." And he stutters a little and says, "Oh. Well, I apologize for that. Would you like me to restore your service now?" WTF?!?!? No. Please don't do that. I like paying for things that I'm not getting. FREAKING IDIOT!!! Where do they dig these people up??? But our service is back on and I hope to the gods they're done calling me cuz the next time won't be pretty.

So, that was my weekend. I lead such an exciting life and you're jealous, I know. I bet you're wishing you could kill yourself fixing up a house that you won't ever get to enjoy too. Too bad. I'm not sharing.

Correction

I have to amend my earlier ranting at my house's listing. The only one I saw that day was at one website. My house is listed at 2 additional websites and the other ones show pictures of our view. Still no good ones of the floor, but whatever. So anyway...

I talked to the housing office at our next duty station yesterday. No go there. There isn't a waiting list for the units we'd be living in but they only have 1080 sqft. WTF?!?! This is 3 bedroom, staff NCO housing. How in the world is anyone actually supposed to fit all of their stuff into that little itty bitty space?? The master bedroom is only slightly bigger than my kids' rooms right now. I'd be able to fit, ummm....my bed in there and that's it. I guess that's the essential piece of furniture for a bedroom but we have clothes too. Geez! The kitchen I have now is smallish and not an eat-in kitchen at all. The kitchen in base housing is smaller than the one I have now and there is no room labeled as "dining room". Where are you supposed to eat? If it could have been just like the housing we had in San Diego it would have been perfect but it's missing a few hundred square feet. And the lady told me that the 4 bedroom houses have the SAME SQUARE FEET! How is that possible? Where did they put the fourth bedroom? I just don't know.

Did you all hear about the snow that Buffalo got last night?? I shouldn't laugh because my karma will come back around and get me but 2 feet in the second week of October is just funny. Now that I said that we'll probably get a massive snow storm the day we're supposed to move and get snowed in.

Last night's Grey's Anatomy was just kick ass as usual. I hope Mer sticks with McDreamy's decision. Nuff said.

I had more stuff to say but it all went out of my head. I haven't eaten yet today so that could be my problem. I'm gonna go find a late lunch.

Sometimes Technology Can Be Scary

I just bought a new headset deal for my computer. You know, the headphones with the microphone. Anyway, I'm sitting here listening to music real loud because they're pretty awesome headphones. Buried Myself Alive by The Used comes up on shuffle and I'm singing at the top of my lungs cuz I can't hear myself and nobody else can either since I'm home alone. And then I totally scare the crap out of myself when one part of the song comes on and I thought the noise was coming from behind me. I whipped the headphones off and jumped out of my chair faster than I've moved in recent memory, lmao. Then after I laugh at my own idiocy, I went and locked the front door just to be safe cuz I made myself paranoid, lol. Geez. I'm telling you, living in the country for the last 3 years has made me more weird than I usually am. I lived in San Diego by myself for 6 months while C was deployed and would sit at night with all the lights off, the doors and windows open, watching scary movies and was never as creeped out as I get here in broad freaking daylight. I think I've seen Children of the Corn too many times or something. Everyone knows that evil lurks in corn fields not on city streets, heheh. And now because I'm sitting here thinking about it too much, I had to turn the music off and take the headphones off so that I can hear if anything creeps up behind me to slash my throat.

Zoloft of Paxil anyone??

I just had to vent a little. What better place than my very own blog.

I saw the listing for my house for the first time this morning and I don't like it. You can't see the one of the dining room because it was backlit. That freaking hardwood floor took freaking MONTHS to put in. I want the damn thing shown on the listing. Know what I mean? And another picture is basically of a wall and the hallway. Wtf?? And NO pictures of the view. Our view is great. The pizza delivery people and the UPS guy always comment on our view. Put up a freaking picture of it!!! They're only allowed 6 pictures. I get that. But if one of them is a picture so dark you can barely tell what you're looking at, why use that one and not a good one of the view? I wonder if it would be ok if I talked to my realtor about this. The best pictures were of the kitchen and our fireplace. We have an awesome fireplace. I hope we start getting people wanting to see the house soon and many offers soon after that. Keep your fingers crossed people!!!



A picture of the view from my front porch.

My dining room. Disregard the dog's head and the paintings on the floor. I can't decide if I want to hang them up or not. The pictures, not the dog's head. 

Now You Know You're Old

I was at Myspace this morning checking things. Anyway, I ran across the profile for a girl that I used to babysit for back when I was in high school. She's 23 years old now. Sheesh!!! I may as well go out and dig my grave cuz I'm done. I feel ancient. It's really pathetic.

The Information Age

Why is it that some people are more interested in technology than others? And I know that it's not an age thing. I was talking with this woman that I know who's my age and says she never touches the computer and has never shopped online. I do about 80% of my Christmas shopping online and buy something at least once a month online. I'm on the internet several times a day and don't leave the house without my cell phone. If not for my Palm, I'd forget a million appointments. And although my iPod doesn't really serve a purpose, I love how small it is and how many songs it can hold, lol. I just can't understand people who have no use for or just don't like technology.

In my opinion, they have no idea what they're missing. If I didn't have my computer and access to the internet, my life would fall apart. Well, at the very least, my bills wouldn't get paid on time and my checkbook would be a mess. I do absolutely ALL my banking online and pay all my bills through my bank's web bill pay. I've had the same box of checks for 18 months and am only on the second book.

Technology is our friend people!!! For those of you resistant to it, you really should consider changing your ways because it's not going anywhere. It's in your cars, on your highways, in your house, in your children's schools, it's freaking everywhere. You can't escape it so you may as well give into it and educate yourself on how to live efficiently in the 21st century.

Strange People

On my way home from the grocery store today I saw the tackiest thing in my neighborhood. Somebody had a lawn flamingo dressed up like a turkey. I had to laugh because it was so silly looking but I wouldn't be caught dead with such a thing in my yard. I prefer shaggy grass and bicycles.

My cat just caught a fly mid-air and ate it. Isn't he talented?

It's Done

Our house is officially for sale. The sign is in the yard and everything. It's a weird feeling. As soon as the realtor left, I felt like the house is no longer mine and essentially, it isn't. From this point on, complete strangers have access to the house until someone decides to buy it. I can't stuff dirty laundry in the closet to hide it or leave the bedroom doors shut to keep people out. Our life, as far as our house is concerned, is an open book. It really feels invasive.

I also forgot to mention in my first post for today that they are forecasting snow showers for us Vermonters on Friday. Isn't that nice?? 70's today, snow on Friday. ::Sigh::

I'm going to go and relax for the first time in a month.

Neighbors...They're All Evil

Up until this point, I haven't specifically targeted anyone in my posts. People may have taken a thing or two personally, but that was unintentional on my part. Tonight, this post is specifically directed at a person or persons: Bad Neighbors. If you've been a bad neighbor in the past, a pox on you and your karma will get you if it hasn't already.

What's the point of this, you ask? Well, I'm sitting here in my house with all the doors and windows shut (it's only 46 degrees outside) listening to my neighbors' live band. Yes. You read that right: LIVE BAND. I can hear it well enough to tell you that those people don't need to be performing for anybody at all. THEY SUCK! And the bands they are covering should put out a contract on them. The point of this party? Someone had a baby. Apparently, newborns like loud, sucky bands and beer. Things must have changed in the last 7 years since I've had a baby last.

Am I just being uptight? Well, you could say that I am, however, this isn't the first live performance that I've been subjected to by these neighbors and this particular band. Their suckiness is one of kind that's how I know it's the same band as the last party. They've been going at it for 6+ hours now and counting. Last time they didn't pack up until almost midnight and I had to listen to my kids complain about not being able to get to sleep and then to their irritableness all the next day from lack of sleep. They are also having their guests park along the street turning it into a one lane obstacle course and they're also parking in the fields behind our houses that's owned by the city and leased by a private company where there are signs stating no vehicles.

Oh lord. They're butchering Mississippi Queen. It's just awful. I wish I had a way of recording them and posting some audio on here so you all could share in my good fortune.

So, if you've been a bad neighbor in the past, repent and confess your sins. If you're currently a bad neighbor, STOP IT and learn to be considerate of other people who are paying out the butt for property taxes to live next to your nastiness.

In the end, remember that I've never claimed to be a people person and have the right to hate all neighbors. Also, they just completely murdered Turn the Page by Bob Seger. That should be illegal.

Discouraging Day

I met with our realtor today. While he said that our house was very nice and had several features to make it desirable, in order for it to be competitively priced with similar houses currently on the market, we'll have to ask $8,000 less than we had originally planned. This is very upsetting to me for several reasons that I don't feel like going into on here. One house that we actually looked at when we were looking to buy sold for $3,000 more than we were going to ask but it was on the market for something like 430 days. Ummm...We have 90 give or take a day or two. At this point, I don't know what to do. And if anyone tells me not to worry about it, that things will take care of themselves, I'll have to beat you. A) That's not true. And B) That's not what I want to hear right now. I'm wallowing. Allow me to wallow.

One good thing is that my house is so spotlessly clean that you could eat off of any of the floors. Another bad thing is that he said we should have our carpets stretched and that I should strip and stain our front porch. ARGH!!!!! Is that going to give me an additional $8,000 dollars?? Is all that really worth the time and considerable money?? I just wish all this would go away. I hope Pierre rots in hell the freaking spawn of the devil, whoremongering, biotch.

Anyone have $8,000 I could borrow interest free?? ;P

Music Critics Corner

I'm going to start with Gnarls Barkley. Not only is his name ridiculous but his song, Crazy, is annoying and repetitive. What, exactly, is that song trying to say and with a name like Gnarls Barkley, do I really care?

Next, Nelly Furtado. Her breakout album was Whoa, Nelly back in 2000 with the song, I'm Like a Bird. This year, she released Loose featuring songs like Promiscuous and Maneater. She has received a lot of negative reviews saying that she sold out in order to become more popular and make more money because she started out with a more folksy style versus the mainstream dance music on her newest album. Personally, I like her wearing both mantles. You can either mellow out or be really hyped up with her music. I think that the people criticizing her latest musical effort do so out of jealousy because she is really cleaning up. Right now, Maneater is #12 and promiscuous is #30 on iTunes so her songs can't be all that bad.

And last for today, Jibbs' song Chain Hang Low. That is the most fun song to sing along to playing on the radio right now. I suppose if you're not a fan of hip-hop you wouldn't think so, but I have a diversified interest in music and like most genres. And even though I'm a child of the 80's I'm not stuck on the 80's hair-band music, lol. :P Chain Hang Low is just a really fun song and it totally gets stuck in your head but in a good way.

Oh oh!! And before I forget...C and I got to hear 50 Cent and Eminem's new song last night via channel 93.3's website out of San Diego. It was pretty cool considering that 93.3 was the only station in the country to have the song and we got to hear it here on the east coast before everyone else with the exception of all the people in San Diego that were listening too. I listen to that channel a lot on my computer since our one and only Top 40 station became a classic rock station recently and it also happened to be the only station that I could get on my stereo in the house, the little buggers.

Anyway, that's it for today.

Blog Issues

I think I have blog issues. Why, you ask? Because I'm constantly composing entries in my head all the time. In fact, while I was at the mall today, I was thinking of something to post and that's when I decided I had issues and that I needed to post about that, heheh. I'm disturbed in the head. If I'm not being obsessed with which side of the oven to put my spice rack, I'm thinking about stuff to post on the blog. You're probably thinking that if this is true, my posts would be more interesting and better composed, lol. Maybe I should take a break. But then, if I don't have something semi-constructive to focus on, I worry about what sort of centerpiece to put on my dining room table or if there are spots on the walls that I need to touch up or if my pantry looks cluttered instead of just full. These are seriously the things I'm worrying about these days with the realtor coming tomorrow to get the process started on selling the house. I watch too much HGTV and I'm constantly rearranging things around my house and I think about the blog too much. I need an intervention or something.

Ok. I'm going to go clean something now.

Chapter...Ummm...Of the Mouse Saga

As some of you know, we had a mouse problem a couple months back hence why we now have Cal in our family. Well, before we rescued Cal, we tried mouse traps. You know, the ones where you put the bait in the middle and then they go inside and it twists shut on them. Apparently, we had clever mice. I was cleaning behind our microwave today where we had a trap set and the label on top that hides the bait was all chewed up, the bait was gone, and there were mouse droppings freaking ON the trap where the little buttheads had sat eating their treat!!!! Freaking waste of money traps. We bought four of them and did not catch one single mouse in them. How funny, huh?

Anyway, back to cleaning for me.

My Favorite Things

I was putting on my perfume and was inspired to write this...

• Ralph Lauren's Hot perfume. Yum.
• The smell of freshly cut grass in the summer.
• The ocean...It's sounds, smells, and views.
• The absolute quiet there is when it snows at night and you go outside to stand in it.
• Bailey and Cal.
• San Diego.
• My sister.
• Sleeping in a freshly made bed.
• Mexican food from the dive in Borrego Springs.
• My friends that I never get to see.
• My 4Runner, lol. I don't care that it's a gas guzzler and not a friend to the environment.
• Reading.
• My iPod, laptop, cell phone, and Palm.
  

The kids and hubby go with out saying. They are above and beyond being my "favorite things" that why they don't need to be on this list.

Nerves!!

I just set the appointment with my realtor to get our house on the market. Sheesh! Now I'm all nervous and excited at the same time. I'm hoping he tells me that we'll have no problem selling the house in our time frame and for what we want to ask for it. If not, I don't know what we'll do. I've spent the entire morning up until now, 1:20, cleaning. And it's not the dusting and vacuuming-type cleaning it's the tear everything apart and put it all away and then deep clean-type cleaning. I'm also trying to find a happy medium between bare walls and cluttered walls then I'll have to fill in holes and do some touch-up painting. Busy, busy, busy.

Did anyone watch Barbara Walters' interview with Terri Irwin Wednesday night? It was one of the most heart-wrenching things I've ever witnessed. I cried right along with Terri. I think that's the first interview that I've ever watched Walters conduct in it's entirety and I didn't realize how fake she comes off. She nodded her head at the right times and had a real sympathetic look on her face but anyone with a heart would have shed a few tears listening to Terri and I don't care how much of professional you are supposed to be. I think it's safe to say that I'm not a fan of Walters at all and she can stuff The View. I can't believe that show has been on for ten years. Just goes to show most of America has no taste.

Did you all catch Grey's Anatomy last night?? Is it going to be McDreamy of McVet? I'm voting for McVet because I like looking at Chris O'Donnell, heheh, and I think Derek is an idiot. But oh well.

Well, I have more cleaning to do and I have to fit in a shower before I go to pick up the girls from school so I'm off...

Top 10 Driving Pet Peeves

I found this list while surfing Google this morning. I thought it was pretty funny. I'd have to consider myself a Piggybacker, Space Invader, and Road Rager, heheh. I've had to deal with almost all the rest of those drivers on the road though. How about everyone else?

A U.S. Insurance company recently completed a poll of it's customers to determine the things that really tick them off while driving.

---

1.	Distracted drivers talking on cell phones (Motor Mouths)
2.	Slow drivers in the fast lane (Turtle Racers)
3.	Pushy drivers who tailgate (Piggybackers)
4.	Drivers who weave through traffic to gain one of two car lengths (Wacky Weavers)
5.	Obnoxious drivers who speed up to keep you from changing lanes (Gap Snatchers)
6.	Hasty drivers who change lanes without signalling (Space Invaders)
7.	Road Rage (Road Ragers)
8.	Motorcyclists who race down the middle of a lane, between cars (Speed Racers)
9.	Women applying makeup and men shaving (Driving Divas)
10.	Drivers who leave their turn signals on for miles (Morse Coders)

Advil and Homework: The Great Circle of Life

I don't know what was up with Blogger yesterday, but it certainly wasn't up to par. The fact that I only had 2 visitors yesterday, I can figure it was the same for everyone else. Everything seems to be running smoothly today though so here we go.

Since we moved into our house almost 18 months ago, 7 houses have been for sale on our street and around the corner and the eighth went up for sale yesterday. This is really making us sweat getting our house sold since our house will make the fourth house for sale on our street. If you've ever gone through the process of buying or selling a house, you know that closing on it takes months and that's if everything goes smoothly with the loan, inspections, and so forth. So, if we don't get a buyer within the first month, the girls and I won't be moving Jan 2nd as we plan on doing and we'll be left in C dust since he doesn't really have a choice as to when he has to move. Can anybody say, "Tension headache?" I've had one for 2 days now. Ugh.

Did you ever figure that once you graduated high school and college that you'd be done with homework? I'm currently on hiatus from taking classes until we get moved and I still spend about 2 hours a day doing homework, the kids' homework. It's amazing what you forget over the years such as what a rhombus is or concave and convex. Last night M had grammar homework and she was also working on her book report. I get more stressed out over their work than I ever did with my own.

Is anyone enjoying the new tv shows this season? I like several of the new shows this season which means they'll all get cancelled. That's me being the eternal optimist that I am.

Evel Knievel and Other Things

I forgot to mention this past Friday that I saw the end all, be all, dumb driving stunt on my way to pick up C from work. I decided not to post about it, however, because it was such a crazy thing nobody would believe me and my credibility where the other incidences are concerned would be shattered. So, I'll just have to leave you all guessing as to what I witnessed.

On to the "Other Things" portion of our program...

I am so sore that I could barely sleep last night. I spent all day yesterday making home repairs and painting primer on the girls' room walls yesterday and now I can barely move. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that I get to lounge around until I feel better. I have errands to run today that I didn't get to do on Friday because of the cable guy being so late and I have to actually paint the girls' room today. They had to sleep on the pull-out last night because all their furniture is stacked in the middle of their room. And something that I found to be odd is that while primer is thinner than paint, it's impossible to wash off. I'm covered in it because I had such a limited area to work in that I got it all over me and in my hair and I can't get it off! C was supportive enough to tell me that I look diseased, lol.

So we're down to 6 days before we put the house up for sale. I can't believe we're down to the wire on moving. 3 years goes by so fast even it it's three years of hell.

Well, I'm off to start my very long day. Wish me luck that I get everything done.

You Only Get What You Pay For

I'm a firm believer in my title. There are just some things in this world that buying cheap gets you nowhere.

• Lucky Charms. Magic Stars knock off just doesn't come close.
• Paint brushes. I bought a cheapo brush from the Home Depot and it was a piece of crap. I then went out and bought another brush that I had to pay a little more for and it was worth every cent.
• Windshield wipers.
• Canned soup. If it isn't Campbell's it sucks.
• Shoes.
  
• Crayons.
• Dog and cat food. If you don't believe me, feed Bailey some of the cheap stuff and see if she doesn't run you out of the room in a matter of minutes.
• Cars.
  
• Cheese.
• Tools.
• Laundry Detergent.

That's all I can think of right now.

Tech Support

So, I had to call the cable company yesterday because one of my DVR's isn't working properly. It was zapped by an electrical storm a couple weeks ago but I wasn't too concerned about getting it fixed since all that was on tv was reruns. Yesterday, however, there were three shows on at 10 last night that I wanted to watch so I had to record two on my other DVR and watch the third on the living room tv. Not really a big deal, but a sign of things to come. I broke down and finally called the cable company yesterday to see if I could just exchange my DVR for a new one or if I had to go through the whole troubleshooting process over the phone. Which one do you think I had to endure? Yeah. I was on the phone with tech support for 15 minutes which really isn't that bad considering it normally takes them 30-60 minutes to tell me they don't know what's wrong. I really hate it when they treat you like a moron. The first thing she asked me is if I had unplugged it to reset it. Ummm...DUH!! That was the first freaking thing I tried. Geez! Then she tried "sending the DVR a signal" twice to see if that helped and it didn't so now I'm sitting here waiting for a service person to come and look at it personally. My fix-it window is from 10am-2pm. If they don't show up till 2, my whole day is shot. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll be here closer to 10 so I can run errands today. Anywho...

Did anyone watch Grey's Anatomy last night? OMG! I absolutely love that show and it was totally worth waiting the whole summer for the new season to begin last night. I watched season 2's finale the night before and bawled my eyes out worse than I did the first time I watched it. I don't want to give out any details of last night's episode in case anyone has it recorded and waiting for them but MAN! It was great and I'm already excited about next week's episode, heheh. I'm addicted.

Anyway, maybe I'll be back later with something that's actually interesting to blog, lol.

Enlightenment

I think that I have finally found the religion for me. (No. This isn't the religion post. Sorry Dana.) Upon surfing the blogs that I read daily I found an entry that I couldn't resist checking out for myself. See for yourself: Church of Holy Avitableness

Is it funny or what? However, as with most religions, there are certain tenants to which I don't hold. Example: Under "Sins of Blogging"

#1: Mommyblogging: Blogging about your children's daily lives instead of your own, is a mortal sin, and all mommybloggers go immediately to AOHell.

I do that from time to time. Since this blog started out as a way for our family to keep up with us, I think I should be excused from this sin. Another thing I don't agree with is the Veronica Mars thing. I have never seen an episode of it and couldn't tell you what day of the week it's on or what channel for that matter. Other than that, I'm on board!! I knew I'd eventually find someone who could spew a religion that I could follow along with.

Template Changes

In the place of a scathing post which I seem to be full of lately, I decided to add a music video thing to my blog. I actually stole the idea from another blogger whose blog I find nifty. The third video is a song by Jack Johnson who is one of my favorite artists. It starts out like a behind the scenes thing but if you drag the progress bar so that it's in the middle of the stop button and the previous button, that's where the song actually starts and it's one of my favorite Jack Johnson songs. Just thought I'd give a heads up. Also, I'm going to try and keep it updated and change the videos every so often so that we don't tired. I don't take requests either, LOL. I'll put up what I'm in the mood to be listening to at that moment.

I also updated the calendar. Can't forget to watch the second season premier of Meerkat Manor, heheheh.

Anyway, I have lots of house prep cleaning to do today so that's it for now.

Boring, Boring, Boring

That was my weekend, hence, no updates. Even as I'm sitting here I'm having a hard time coming up with something to say. I've had my nose stuck in books all weekend. I think I read 3 or 4 Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. Nothing like funny bounty hunter stories to pass the time. C had dep'ers and shippers to take down to Mass. last night so it was just me and the girls. The girls have no school today cuz of one of those teacher work day deals so they've been bugging me since 8 something this morning and now they're fighting over who gets the last of the pizza we had from Pizza Hut the other day. I think I might settle the argument by eating the pizza myself and they can find something else. Don't I have the best parenting skills? Yummm. Nothing like cold pepperoni pizza and ranch dressing for brunch.

I have a topic I would like to discuss but I'm seriously hesitating bringing it up as it would be a sensitive subject to almost everyone I know. Since I enjoy speaking my mind and do so much more freely on my blog, I know I would piss off A LOT of people. Should I leave it alone or walk the dark path to hell? And while we're on this subject, I have something I'd like to say.

I have been told in the past that I'm "mean" and too brutal when it comes to my opinions. From this, I have drawn the conclusion that when people ask for advice what they're really wanting is to hear that they are right. I have actually been told this by someone almost word for word when they came to vent to me about their life's screwups. If you go to someone for advice, you should do so honestly wanting to hear what the other person has to say. If you only want to hear what you want to hear, start having conversations with yourself in the mirror and save other people the trouble of being drawn into your problems where they really don't want to be in the first place. Secondly, if I actually said all the things that I wanted to say, most people I know would not just be thinking that I'm mean, but they'd end up crawling off crying dragging along what little dignity they had behind in their wake. And also, so some of you people know, when I don't speak my mind to the fullest, I feel like I'm being two-faced so I always have this little debate going on in my head before I say things: Should I tell them the truth and hurt their itty bitty feelings or tell them what they want to hear and be dishonest? Maybe some of you should think about that the next time you're considering going to me or someone else for advice. Bottom line is you should ask yourselves if you like hearing the truth or if you like living in your fantasy world bubble of self-righteousness. I bet half the people reading this can't even be honest enough with themselves to answer honestly. And lastly before panties get too much in a twist, when I vent or go to someone for advice, I do want to hear the stinking truth or else I wouldn't have asked at all. There was this one time I got a haircut I didn't really like. I asked C if he liked it and he said yes. I found out like 3 or 4 years later that he lied cuz he didn't want to hurt my feelings. Yes. I was still mad about it even all that time later.

Man, I have a lot of pent-up hostility.


Okay, okay okay okay. I'm just going to say it. No, I'm going to think about it a while longer. Geez. See what you people do to me?

3 Days and Counting

I swear I'm not making this stuff up. I observed another "Dumb Vermont Driver" incident this morning while dropping the girls off at school. At the school, there is a one lane driveway that is specifically for dropping off students at school and there are signs stating "No Parking". Does this stop people from parking there? Nope and this morning was no exception.

I pull around and I'm the fourth car in line dropping of kids. The lady in the first position has parked her car to take her children inside so the rest of us schmucks all waiting for her to get back so we can leave. She gets back and goes to open her car door and about falls on her butt when her hand slips off the handle because she has LOCKED HER KEYS IN THE CAR!!! I tell the girls to go ahead and get out of our car and go inside so they're not late to school and I'm sitting there laughing my butt off at her idiocy. Maybe, just maybe, her karma was coming to get her for parking her car in a drop off zone and not the parking lot which is a mere few feet away. Anyway, the rest of us had to go off the road to get around her so we can leave the school while she went inside to call a locksmith, heheh.

So, it wasn't even 9 in the morning and I've already had my good laugh for the day.

Already Need to Add to My List

I think it's safe to say that people, in general, annoy me. I'm not one of those people who can take a leisurely drive. I like to get from point A to point B in a timely and efficient manner, period. People in Vermont make that an almost impossible feat.

This morning I was driving C to work. It's about a 20 minute drive round trip. Anyway, I'm on this road that's three lanes; one lane headed north and two lanes heading south. In Vermont, when you have two lanes headed in the same direction, one is a driving lane and one is a passing lane. Well, I get behind this yahoo this morning that was deliberately swerving between the two lanes trying to keep me behind him and he's only going somewhere between 30-35 mph in a 40 mph FREAKING ZONE! Wtf!! When I finally get the chance to get around him, I end up having to go 60 mph in a 40 mph zone just so I won't get run off the road. What's up with people? And then!! Last night on the same road on the way to pick C up from work I'm in the passing lane, ya know, passing somebody, and someone idiot coming north up the hill starts crossing double yellows and is headed straight for me. Luckily, the slow poke I was passing was clear behind me and I was able to jerk myself into the other lane before getting into a head-on collision. I looked behind in my rear view and said idiot was driving in the passing lane going in the wrong FREAKING DIRECTION!! Does Vermont breed idiot, slow-ass drivers or what?? And don't get me started on how they handle construction zones around here. Oh oh! And I almost forgot to mention something else that happened this morning. To get to C office, we go down this road that's actually an alley way type deal. Anyway, one side goes in one direction and the other in the opposite direction with big huge "Do Not Enter" signs to help idiots figure out which way they should go. Well, we're headed down the road and some dork drives right past the sign and goes the wrong way down a one way road. I swear.

Now, it's not even 8am and I'm already stressed out and pissed off. I hate people.

A Few Changes

I decided to simplify and change my template a bit. I was sort of tired of the busy waterfall scene but am not sure if this template is too simple. So, I'm giving it a trial run to see if I likes or not.

Stuff that Pisses Me Off or is Just Annoying

In no particular order:

1. Liars and cheats. Should go without saying and doesn't need further explanation.

2. People who don't leash their dogs and allow them to pee and crap all over the neighborhood.

3. People who don't drive the speed limit and complain when they get tailgated. Hey, if you're going to go 40 in a 45 you deserve to have my SUV up your butt.

4. Having too much importance placed on party affiliation. Calling yourself a Democrat or a Republican shouldn't automatically mean you believe in one thing or another. It's like it turns off one's ability to make a decision and have an independent opinion.

5. People who have the right of way at an intersection but let other people who don't have the right of way go before them. I really hate polite drivers.

6. Drunk calls. I've made them myself in the past and thought it was hilarious but realize now that they're just stupid and make you sound stupid and I don't like being on the receiving end of them at all. Have proper phone etiquette for pete's sake. Call me sober or don't call at all unless you need a ride home.

7. Neighbors who let their dogs bark from dawn till dusk.

8. People who make excuses as to why it's ok to smoke pot.

9. People who judge the cleanliness of somebody else's house. Just because there are backpacks and shoes out and about at my house and some dishes that should be in the dishwasher but are in the sink instead doesn't mean it's dirty. It means we live here. Get over yourself.

10. Friends who say that they don't want to be a bother by calling or coming over. We must not really be friends if that's how you feel.

I'm going to stop at ten but reserve the right to add to or amend my list. Also, before anyone makes snap judgments here, I'm in a really good mood and have had a good day. I just felt like having a little fun on my blog.

P.S.

I just realized that my blog doesn't view correctly if you're using Internet Explorer. Well, I use Firefox so I don't really feel inclined to fix it, lol. Firefox is a free download, and in my opinion, superior to IE. So, there ya go.

Judgment

This topic could have elements of religion added to it but for the time being, I’d prefer to leave religion out and keep this strictly opinion.

This is a topic that I see in a different light since having taken a class on ethics. It’s not so black and white as many people think it is.

Most often, being judgmental or passing judgment only has to do with some negative aspect. Example: Susie stays with her husband who is a deadbeat. Her friends and family shake their heads, cluck their tongues, look down their noses, and wonder why she’s ignorant enough to stay with a man who is “good for nothing”. Susie’s family is negatively judging her. Everyone is familiar with this type of judging. We’ve all done it whether or not we like to admit it. Some of us claim that they don’t judge at all, to each his own, and it’s none of my business. You may honestly believe this about yourself but as long as you have the ability to observe people and the environment around you, you can’t help but pass judgment in some form or another at some point.

Ponder this side as well…Have you ever considered that when you see something or someone as good, you’re passing judgment? Example: Johnny came home from school with straight A’s on his report card. His family is so proud and congratulates him on a job well done and grandpa slips him some cash as a reward. Johnny has just been judged as a good student worthy of praise and reward.

Everyone passes judgment whether in a good way or in a bad way all the time. Doing so is in the human nature. You could almost say it is a trait of humanity. Unless you live a completely isolated life, it is impossible to escape this trait and even then you’d probably judge yourself and how you’re coping with your solitary life.

So, this is my view on being judgmental. Everybody does it, everybody has been judged, good or bad, and nobody is exempt from either. To say you don’t, won’t, or haven’t is a lie, or fib if you will. Lie seems like a harsh and judgmental word here.

Okay. All this being said, blah, blah, blah, I saw the saddest thing on an episode of Miami Ink. I’m not going to go into the details of what the show is or the characters. You’re on the internet. Look it up. Anyway, Kat, one of the artists, was feeling blue and homesick because she didn’t feel like she fit in with the people of Miami. As they videotaped her walking down the street, people were staring with shock and derision. It was horrible to watch. Just because of her tattoos and the way she dressed, you could see people judging her as a freak. From what you see of her on the show, she’s a really “normal” person with friends, family, and a good job. One of the oldest clichés is never judge a book by its cover. In light of today being the anniversary of 9/11 and the fact that people look and make up their minds about people without getting to know someone, this is one cliché we should all take to heart.

Goodbye Steve

As I'm sure you've all heard by now, Steve Irwin who was better known as the Crocodile Hunter died. You can read the story in the above link if you're some sort of weirdo who's been living in a hole all day and haven't heard the news.

I remember the first time I ever saw him doing a show and it was something like the 12 Deadliest Snakes or some such and I thought he was a complete whack-job. I learned, however, that he was a brilliant conservationist and friend to all of Earth's creatures.

It's strange to be moved by the death of someone you don't even know in person, but I will really miss Steve and his shows. I feel for his wife and children and they are in my thoughts.