A Drinking Induced Damaged Garage

Today we had a rummage sale at my daughter's place. She rents the lower half of a duplex owned by her ex's mother who lives in the upper of the duplex. My daughter always comments on the many empty boxes of wine that are taken to the garbage weekly and the many beer bottles in the recycling bin. I guess I sort of poo-pooed her comments thinking as long as she is not bothering anybody, oh well.

Then this happened.

She drove her car right into the side of the garage right up to the windshield. Then she backed it out and just left it right where it is sitting in the photo. I'm pretty sure there is structural damage since the corner of the garage is all ripped apart. The garage door is just hanging by one single cable. If it falls, someone could really get hurt.

So now I have nightmares of my grandchildren getting run over by her. Luckily, my daughter keeps them away from her when she is drunk. Which seems to be all the time. She gets in that car and drives off in that condition all the time. My daughter has decided that she is going to report it to the police next time she see her getting ready to drive off drunk. The results could be life or death. The problem is actually being there when she drives off. Usually she gets in the truck during the day while my daughter is at work so she doesn't witness it.

The woman definitely needs help.

My Pity Party

I've never considered myself lucky. When I say that I'm talking about the big things. Like my father dying at 53 and my brother dying at 26 and my grandson' s death at 2 months and 11 days. Those are the big things. I get that there are others that have suffered through more tragedy than I have seen but when I throw in my inability to find a job for the last year and a half which definitely leaves us in a perpetual state of financial insecurity, I really feel unlucky.

It doesn't help that I've been diagnosed with congenital degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis and osteoarthritis. Even if I had a job, I don't think I could handle it. I can't sit for more than an hour without my tailbone going numb. Using my arms to do computer work is very limiting. I can usually get in an hour of computer time before my chest, arms and shoulders hurt. I can't even drive for more than 20 minutes without my arms aching. The pain meds help my situation but it also takes away my ability to concentrate and my attention to detail. So the idea of full-time work seems utterly impossible so maybe in that regard, it's for the best that I can't find a job.

But then there's the money thing. I have medical bills. So many medical bills with no income. I started to sell things that I don't use anymore on eBay. That sure helps buy a few groceries but does nothing to put a dent in the medical bills. There is also the student loans I can't repay. It's to the point that I've stopped losing sleep over any of them; it's just not worth it. I totally understand what hopelessness feels like.

To help ease my disease, I've had lumbar fusion and cervical fusion. These surgeries have certainly helped to alleviate my symptoms but they did not fix everything. I used to have no feeling in my feet and now that I've had lumbar fusion, my feet go numb/throb if I over-exert myself. I can also feel my arms after the cervical fusion but I still have a clutching pain around my rib cage.  I've spent a year in physical therapy only to end up with so many restrictions that I wonder if any of it was worth it. I can't run anymore, getting on a motorcycle is definitely out of the question, even picking up my grandchildren is absolutely out of the question. I can't bend, lift anything more than 10 pounds, or turn my head as far as I should. Every day is hard. My brain wants to be productive but my body makes that limited.

I am terrified to drive. In fact, I've bumped a bumper and a tree from not navigating the gas/brake pedals properly. Since I cannot turn my head, I can't see what's in the lanes next to me. I have somewhat adjusted to using mirrors more but they are not totally reliable.

My pain level registers at a consistent 7 but I try to keep from taking many pain meds. They are taxing. I would rather spend an hour doing something followed by an hour lying down which gets the gravity off my body. It's a more natural way of dealing with pain although it is tough to get anything accomplished.

I do volunteer web design work which is how I know I can't work for more than an hour. I have tried but just can't do it. I can't even keep up this blog like I used to. Other things I miss are gardening, biking, cooking, painting, sewing, writing, walking, reading, travel and golf.

I need a miracle. Or maybe just a little luck once in a while.

Happy Festivus!

Funny how some things in pop culture stick around for a long time.  Like the concept of Festivus. The whole absurd idea of a festivus pole and the airing of grievances that the fake holiday is known for, is really a fun concept. So I think it's time to continue that tradition with a list of my own.

For 2013, here is my list of grievances:

• People who comment on Facebook posts without actually reading said posts. They make themselves look like fools making me have to fight the urge to correct their idiotic statements.
• Speaking of Facebook, people who share tons of junky pages of crap that they like. Doesn't anybody have personal status updates any more? I like knowing what you are up to today.(I gotta stop doing this too!)
• The new on-off ramp from I-94 that was completed recently and is practically in my back yard which makes it impossible to get in and out of my neighborhood now.
• Grocery shoppers who don't know the difference between the express self-service lanes and the full self-service lanes. The store had to actually put up signs that say '20+ items' in the full self-service lanes for those who do not have a full grasp of the English language.
• People who do not have a full grasp of the English language.
• Doctors' offices where the staff is proud of themselves for the doctor "ONLY being 45 minutes behind today". Isn't that something they should be ashamed of?
• Pinterest. It makes me feel inadequate because I know I am never going to use all those ideas I pinned.

Thank you Jerry Seinfeld, however I never really thought you were all that funny. I think this might become a new tradition for me. I feel so much better now that I've aired my grievances.

Happy Festivus!

Out of gas

Just as I was heading out the door at the end of the work day, Jeff calls. When the phone rang, I decided I was not going to answer it until the caller ID registered his cell phone number. It was out of character for him to call me knowing I would be heading home already. So I picked up expecting him to say, “How about we meet somewhere for dinner?” but instead he says, “I ran out of gas,” Great. He goes on to say I need to get a gas can, fill it with gas and head out towards Highway T where he is in the far left emergency lane facing east.

So it’s rush hour, I am downtown and between here and Highway T, don’t know any place on the way where I can get a gas can let alone the gas. And all I can think of is, how am I going to be able to pull over on the busiest stretch of interstate highway during the busiest time of day? I head out and stop at the K-Mart in Bay View where I get a clearance 5-gallon gas can for $13.96. It’s a little out of the way, but it’s not unknown so I know exactly where a gas station is from here. From downtown, I only know of two gas stations, one is a block from work where I could go but I didn’t have the gas can yet and the other is in a really bad part of downtown. I’m just not stopping there. I stop and fill the gas can with about 4 and a half gallons of gas which means I’ve spent another $13. I can barely lift the thing into the car.

As I’m getting settled on the expressway, Jeff calls. “How far out are you?” he asks. He is worried about having a County sheriff pull up but none have so far. I tell him the traffic is terrible and the normally 10-minute trek will probably be more like 20. He is fretting about the cops but I am doing the best I can. I felt a little guilty about him running out of gas. He asked me how far he could get in my truck and I told him I didn’t really know how to answer that. Normally I can get 280 miles on a tank for sure but Bailee put $20 worth of gas in it so the mileage calculation would be off. Plus I meant to fill it the day before knowing he was taking my car today but I just forgot. My routine is to normally get gas on my way to work so I wasn’t thinking about it last night.

I am heading west on I-94 when I call him to see what my options are. Do I get off the exit after the point he is stuck and get back on to pull up behind him or do I pull over in the left lane to get directly across from him? He didn’t know how far back he was from the exit so I decided to get into the left lane and get across from him if possible. Amazingly, at the moment I located him, there was no traffic behind me so it was really easy to just pull off into the emergency lane. I got out to find him standing waiting. I open the back car door to lift out the gas can. It’s large and heavy so I have to heave it over the cement retaining wall that divides us. The first thing he says is, “How come you got so much? A gallon would have done it.” My response, “That wasn’t in your instructions and I have never filled a gas can before or ran out of gas before so how would I know?” I’m thinking a thank you would have been nice.

I asked Jeff if he needed anything else – should I stay? And he says no so I got a big break in traffic, hopped back in the car and got moving. The next exit was not far up the road and I got off the highway and hopped back on heading east. Jeff was still pouring in the gas as I rode by. I was hopeful he wouldn’t be there too much longer. It was 3:50pm when he called me at work and it was now 5:45pm.

Jeff got home at 6:30, about 15 minutes after I did. I felt a little traumatized by the whole event so he offered to take me out to Mia Famiglia for a nice dinner. I readily agreed. I wanted to try this place for a while and even though I wasn’t all that thrilled about going out, after being stuck in a car for the last two-plus hours I liked the idea of unwinding and letting someone else cook dinner. The dinner was fantastic then Jeff asks me if I can pay the bill. Didn’t I just bail him out big time? Arrgghh. There goes $67 more I did not plan on spending. But since I have him in a sort of charitable mood, I suggest we go over to Steinhafels Mattress Store and see what they have since we have to get something for our new guest room. He agrees and we pick something out. We got a good deal and I got this off of my to-do list.

At the end of the evening I was feeling partly guilty for not filling up my gas tank and partly irritated that Jeff let it get so low that it ran out. As we tried to unwind from the unexpected events of the evening, he peruses through the latest Farm & Fleet advertisement. He says, “Geez, you could have gotten that same gas can for $5.99 from here.” OK, so now I am less guilty and more irritated. A thank you would have been nice.

My pity party

Today BJ called to tell us his plans have changed. He was supposed to be moving to San Diego in a few weeks. He was in the process of leasing a one-bedroom condo 10 blocks from the beach in Oceanside, CA. It sounded wonderful. After almost two years in Winterhaven/Yuma he was a little tired of the desert. The job opportunities in Yuma weren't great for Lauren so I'm sure they both looked forward to a larger metropolitan area.

So in a quiet way he stated that the company decided that they didn't want to send him to their San Diego project. For a brief moment I was worried that he would be out of work, considering the economy these days. Then he dropped the other shoe, they were sending him to Oahu instead...wow. How incredible. He would be leaving April 5th to start work on April 6th. We were both so happy for him. Both him and Lauren were excited about heading to paradise.

After chatting for a while, we hung up and both Jeff and I were enjoying, more like basking in BJ's success. It's so thrilling to see our kids happy with how things turn out for themselves. We are lucky that all our kids have these great attributes and have good lives.

It wasn't even 5 minutes later when the phone rang. Our neighbor, Sharon wanted to stop by to show me a letter she got from work. We both worked for the same company until she was fired. Apparently she stays in contact with some of her coworker friends who keep her informed of things going on at work. She took the opportunity to call work and try to congratulate someone on a new opportunity. They didn't like her calling, thought it was weird and reported her. So she got a cease and desist letter that she wanted me to read.

It was terrible for her. She didn't understand the ramifications of her actions. Even though she was trying to be nice, the fact that she got fired made people uncomfortable about taking her calls. So she came over for comfort. Plus she just found out she wasn't getting the job she recently interviewed for. At that moment I wished I could have fixed everything for her. She is trying so hard yet she failed to get this new job. To top it off her son was fired from his job, so there's even less income in her household. I hugged her then she left.

One moment we are celebrating a success another we are comforting a failure. The mood in the house changed so rapidly, the feeling was palpable. For a second, I felt like the bad things were happening to me...and I have enough of those. As I wallowed in my own self-pity the guilt kicked in for being so selfish. But really, why can't we just enjoy some happiness for a little while longer? Why does it never last?

Early trick or treat

I checked the paper for the trick or treat time for our area and I was surprised to find that my town (Oak Creek) and neighboring South Milwaukee both have trick or treat on Sunday, October 25th from 4 till 6. Every other town in all of southeastern Wisconsin will do trick or treat at varying times on Saturday, October 31st. What a concept, trick or treat on halloween!

I imagine the dumb asses on the Oak Creek celebration committee thinking about how trick or treat is always the Sunday before halloween. How ridiculous when halloween actually falls on a weekend! So every surrounding town will bring their children to Oak Creek for double the fun, yes, some kids will trick or treat twice.

At least it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the temperature mild considering it is October is Wisconsin. Jeff and Bailee sat on the front porch and handed out candy. I bought my usual giant bags of goodies. The difference this year was as expected, I almost ran out. Most years, I break out that last bag and have most of it left but this year there was just a handful left. I'm sure my prediction was right, the kids from other burbs were in the neighborhood. In fact, I'm sure of it since my sister brought her kids over from their Milwaukee home.

The neighbor's daughter (who lives in South Milwaukee) brought her son over in costume. Jeff asked her why she wasn't handing out candy at her house. She said South Milwaukee changed their plans and moved trick or treat to the 31st like everyone else. So there's another group coming in from another area. Geez. Dumb Oak Creek city planners.

Even though I didn't get why it was early, I have to admit, I'm glad trick or treating is over for another year.

It's a bad day when...

You know it's gonna be a bad day when:
1. You're too drug induced from all the allergy medicine you took the day before to go to the gym first thing in the morning.
2. Because you don't get up early to go to the gym, you oversleep and end up running late.
3. Because you're running late, you don't check your pantyhose before you leave for work.
4. Because you're in a hurry, you don't see the kitty barf at the bottom of the steps so you walk in it.
5. Because you didn't get up early to leave for work, the traffic is horrendous.
6. Because you didn't check your pantyhose before you left work, you now discover a big run in them as you're heading down to the cafe to get your morning coffee.
7. You put on your spare pair of pantyhose only to make a run larger than the one in the hose you just removed.
8. While putting the old pantyhose back on, you make another run in them.
9. You discover that your planned work schedule for Thursday is cancelled, leaving you scrambling.
10. You are having the best hair day of your life, only to find that you have a haircut appointment tomorrow.
11. A coworker kindly brings you candy for your candy dish and you can't stand the smell of it.

...And it's only lunch time.

A Call to Microsoft or Welcome to India

I had to call the Microsoft help desk tonight. All I wanted to do was register my MS Office Professional that I just finished installing on a brand new computer. Because I installed it on my old computer, it required a phone call, it would not allow me to activate over the Internet. So here’s how the conversation went:

Tech: “Good evening, welcome to Microsoft. Are you calling regarding Office Professional 2003?”

OK, apparently the number I dialed is directly linked to MS Office Products, good job Microsoft!

Me: “Yes. I need to activate my software.”

Tech: “May I have the first 6 digits of your activation ID?”

Me: “011014”

Tech: “011?”

Me: “Yes, zero one one zero one four.”

Tech: “014?”

Me: “Yes, I mean no..well sort of... zero…one…one…zero…one…four.”

Tech: “011?”

Me: “YES, ZERO…..ONE…..ONE…..ZERO…..ONE…..FOUR!”

Tech: “OK.”

Me: “May I ask your name?”

Tech: “My name is Shamaramu.”

Is it because Animal House has been on HBO at least 10 times in the last week or did I really just hear him say Shama- lama-ding-dong?

Tech: “Is this software installed on another computer?”

Me: “Yes, it’s on my laptop and now I want to put it on my new computer.”

OK technically I lied, I want to put it on Jeff’s new computer and I know that Microsoft doesn’t allow you to share software among family members, but I am a user of this computer so I say no harm no foul.

Tech: “Did this software come with the new computer or did you purchase it separately?”

Me: “Well actually, neither. I am a beta tester for Microsoft so they sent me the software for free as a thank you.”

Tech: “Did this software come with the new computer or did you purchase it separately?”

I think he’s reading a script. I bet he can’t really even speak English. Pick one of the two answers, dummy.

Me: “I purchased it separately.”

Shama: “OK. I will give you the activation ID number 6 digits at a time. Please type in the appropriate boxes… nnnnnn-nnnnnn-nnnnnn-nnnnnn-nnnnnn-nnnnnn.”

This took 5 minutes because he talked so slow. I thought I would never get through it. I wish I would have written it down, I had enough time!

Me: “The numbers are in I clicked next.”

Lama: “Please click next.”

I KNEW he was reading a script.

Me: “OK.”

Ding-Dong: “Please click finish.”

Me: “OK. It’s working. Thank you.”

Tech: “Is there anything else I can do for you.”

Me: “No, thank you.”

Tech: “Have a good evening.”

That must be confusing there since it's gotta be close to morning there.

Harley repairs

Last night I dropped Jeff off at the Harley dealership so he could pick up his bike. They've had it pretty much since June 2. The conversation with the repair clerk went something like this:

Repair Guy: "We think we have it fixed this time. Let me get the bill."

Jeff: "Bill?"

Repair Guy: "Yes, you owe the $50 deductible for the warranty work."

Jeff: "But I paid you $47 the first time I had the bike in. "

Repair Guy: "Yes, but the first time we cleaned the sensor and the speedometer cables which was not covered under the warranty so that was different. This time we did warranty work."

Jeff: "But you didn't fix it. I paid $47 for nothing."

Repair Guy: "You paid $47 for the cleaning."

Jeff: "But you didn't fix the problem. So why do I have to pay twice?"

Repair guy: "Harley is very strict about what is and isn't covered. The cleaning wasn't covered. But the replacement of the speedometer, which we did the second time was covered so you owe the $50 deductible."

Jeff: "Fine. So can you guarantee that you fixed it this time so I don't have to pay you again?"

Repair Guy: "No. We could not re-create your problem. We did every diagnostic test possible. My guys have 6 hours logged in trying to figure out what the problem is. And since they didn't figure it out, we don't get paid."

Jeff: (Thinking how is that my problem whether you get paid or not?) "Did you take it for a ride?"

Repair Guy: "No, we don't have enough time or man hours to do that."

Jeff: "I rode the bike to work which is 28 miles and rode it the 28 miles back home. On the ride home the speedometer started acting up again. So it would have taken you less than an hour to find the problem if you took it for a ride."

Repair Guy: " We don't have the manpower to do that."

Jeff: (Thinking you just said you spent 6 hours doing diagnostic work.) "So what is my recourse if this happens again? You know it's not safe to ride when this happens."

Repair Guy: "You can ride without the speedometer and it is perfectly safe."

Jeff: "First of all you can't use the cruise control with the speedometer needle bouncing all over the place. It makes the bike jerk into different speeds to compensate for the reading. Plus the bike won't idle like this, plus the intercom system and the radio doesn't work. These things are all tied to that sensor you supposedly cleaned. Anyway, it is not safe!"

Repair Guy: "Hopefully this will work."

Jeff: "I certainly hope so."

Can you hear me now? ...NO!

I want new cell phones but I can't get them. Actually I shouldn't say I can't get them. I am not willing to pay for them. I have a very old cell phone plan. It gives me 400 any time minutes to share with my daughter. I pay $29.99 for my phone and hers is an extra $9.99 charge. There is no cell phone plan that even remotely comes close to this. And the number of minutes don't really matter, the average usage for both of our phones is 15 minutes a month. So realistically I am paying an outrageous amount of money for little cell phone time.

My daughter's phone doesn't work anymore and mine is just old and ugly. My obsession with the color pink brings the new Razr phones onto my radar screen. I want one. I also want my daughter to have a phone. Her diabetes is always a concern and I like to know that I can find her when I need to. There's less worry when I know she's just a phone call away. So at the very least I need to get her a phone.

As I reviewed the available phones my carrier has to offer, I made the decision that since I am not under contract, I would be willing to sign a two-year agreement if I could keep my present plan just to get a good deal on the price of new phones. My daughter and I trekked down to Verizon on Saturday morning to make the deal. She picked out the phone she wanted and I picked mine. The pink Razr was $79 and her Samsung was $29. A reasonable amount to pay under a two-year deal.

When the sales rep looked up my account he discovered that there was nothing he could do for us. He said he could only make deals on the phones with contracts that start at $35 a month. In fact he said that share plans today start at $79 a month. Quite a bit more than my plan. He gave me a number to call and said they could get us the phones we wanted.

Today I called the number. I love the little tip he gave me. He said, "When you get the automated voice just press *00 and that will bypass the system and get me directly to a customer service representative. " It worked like a charm. I wonder if I can get that to work for any automated system. I will have to test that theory.

The customer service rep I called was quoting right from the book. He called up my account and told him that I wanted new phones and no change in my plan. I gave him the brand names and style numbers for the two new phones. He quoted me prices in the $400 range. And I mean for each phone. Not total for two, each phone!

I said, "That's insane. And considering my phone usage I see no reason to upgrade my plan."

He apologized and said he could not help. I asked him why the rep at the store told me to call him. He suggested that the rep did not want to be the bearer of bad news. So there was nothing they could do to help me.

This is when the rep says, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Hmmm....right out of the book.

My response, "But you didn't help me yet. What do you mean anything else?"

He said, "I know, and I am sorry."

Thanks for nothing.

He offered me refurbished phones but not in the styles that I requested because they are too new. When I asked more questions about refurbished phones he blew me off. Must have been an option that they didn't really want to waste time on. Now I have to decide. Do I cancel her phone since hers doesn't work at all? Do I get her a refurbished phone and just keep mine? Do I cancel the entire plan? I just don't know what to do. Part of me thinks it's all a waste of money anyway and another part of me thinks I shouldn't give up this great deal because I'm never going to get it back. I just don't know.....

Self-serve...really??

I don't know why I get so irritated the moment I step into a store. Today I went to Lowe's and everything was ok especially since I had a specific list of items so all I had to do is pick them up. I even bought a can of paint and the clerk was pleasant and very quickly mixed up my order and I was on my way. It did help that it was early in the morning before the many throngs of people were up and about.

Then I got to the checkout line. I really love the concept of self-service checkout. Too bad its only a good concept. Reality is something very different. Every time I get to these checkouts a clerk jumps into action in an overly helpful way. And I do understand that they are only trying to help. But how am I ever going to learn how to use these things when they never give me a chance? Here's how it went:

Computer: Choose Language.

I chose English.

Computer: Scan First Item.

I scanned my gallon of paint and set it next to the bagging area.

Computer: Scan Next Item.

I scanned paint roller covers and threw them into a bag.

Computer: Scan Next Item.

I scanned a small package of washers and threw them in the bag.

Computer: Bag item.

Clerk: Presses button on screen before I can read what it says.

I say, "What just happened?"

She says, "Just scan your next item."

I scan another small bag of washers.

Computer: Bag item.

Here comes the long arm of the perky clerk in my face to push the buttons so I cannot read what the screen says again.

I say, "What just happened?"

She says, "Just scan your next item."

I frustratedly scan another small bag of I don't even remember what anymore because I am too annoyed.

Computer: Bag item.

I say, "What just happened?" Only this time I'm blocking Perky's arm from reaching the screen so there's nothing left for her to do but explain it to me.

She says, "When you put the item in the bag, the computer is weighing it and since those little packages have no weight it's not registering. And the computer keeps track of your items by weight.

Now that makes sense.

So this time I let her hit the override item so I can move on. Now was that so damn difficult? I mean, I may be blonde but I can follow instructions if I am allowed to even read the instructions.

Computer: Scan Next Item.

I scan my new grill cover and since it's a pretty big package I'm tempted to throw it back into the cart. But I now know that if I do, the weight of the item won't register so I throw it next to the bag so the computer can give me my next instruction.

I choose the button to check out and the total is calculated on the screen.

Perky is standing by just in case I'm too stupid to read.

I choose the debit card button.

Computer: Scan card.

Here comes Perky....I quickly scan the card before she catches up with me just so I can prove I don't need her.

Computer: Transaction Approved.

I yank my receipt before Perky can grab it and hand it to me, pick up my bag and I'm out the door.

She says, "Thank you, have a nice day!"

I say under my breath, "Shut up."

Not Vegas

One of my co-workers (I will call her CW) wants me to go on vacation with her. I don't know why. We have absolutely nothing in common. Nothing. For God sakes, she drinks Miller Lite. How boring is that! She keeps mentioning Vegas and I really would love to go there but not with her. She is a very nice woman, she has a great smile, but no fun. I agreed to go with her to a Packer game last fall. It was awful. The game was great, the tailgating was great, but my experience with her - awful.

It started when she was 2 hours late to pick me up. I took the afternoon off of work because we were supposed to leave at 12:30 - this was a Monday night football game. We were going to stop for lunch halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay so we would be ready for some serious drinking. She showed up at my house at 2:30. Plus we had to stop at her bank, gas station, and the post office. And not just any post office, it had to be the 24-hour one by the airport because her local one loses her mail. Plus she forgot the maps so we had to go back to her house. So now we're stuck in the start of rush hour and we have to hurry because the plan was to get to our hotel, check in, and get on their bus to the stadium in order to avoid the congestion and having to drive around in an area we are not familiar with.

We checked in to our hotel and the bus was leaving in 5 minutes. 5 MINUTES! I have to get my snow pants on and my heavy winter gear. As we got dressed I noticed that her stuff was packed in grocery bags. She had off all day and she still couldn't find the time to pack, not to mention, bank, gas, mail... but I digress. We ran to the bus in the nick of time. As the drivers took roll call, we waited with a group of 6 guys. They were funny, flirty, and cute. She refused to respond and kept her head down. No wonder she never gets a date. Did I mention we had noting in common?

We got to the game where we were meeting some of her friends. I know these guys and they are a blast. She forgot the map and looks at me like what should we do??? I tell her to call them on her cell phone. She gets her phone out and dials. She must not have the network following her around because her phone kept cutting her off. She would connect and the call would drop within the first 30 seconds. So she kept redialing. Every time she connected she would whine about the previous dropped call. I finally said, "JUST ASK THEM WHERE THEY ARE!!" She got the information, they told her they were in the parking lot of the curling club. OK. So now she's whining because she doesn't know where the curling club is. I walked up to a guy parking cars and asked. He pointed directly across the street! I'm thinking duh. So there they were, steaks grilling and bloody marys flowing. Yippee!

As we got introduced to some new people in the party I felt an immediate sense of belonging. CW's friend, John handed me a plate full of steak, I headed over to a woman I just met and asked her if I could sit down. She cleared me a place and I proceeded to eat..I was starving since we couldn't stop for lunch. When John handed CW her steak she stood there looking at me whining about where she was going to sit. Did I mention that she can't make decisions? Her other friend, Bill pulled up a chair for her-there were four empty ones so I don't understand why this was so difficult. When I finished eating, I thanked John for the steak and complimented him on how good it was. CW whined, "My steak was cold cuz it took me so long to find some place to sit." Did I mention that she is a complainer?

After we ate we headed into Lambeau. Something happens when you walk in. The energy and electricity flow and you enter a euphoric state of camaraderie with everyone else there. You are even one with the Minnesota fans, believe it or not. CW is now worried...what if we get separated? I reminded her that her seat number is on her ticket and I would end up right next to her. Geez. If you've never been to Lambeau there's one thing you have to be prepared for. You are sitting on steel bleachers. And since more than half of America is very fat, chances are that your little piece of prime real estate containing your seat number will get swallowed up like a twinkie at a fat farm if you don't stake a claim. So we rent the stadium buddies for $5. I prefer renting them to bringing your own because when the game is over you can just get up and walk away. CW is now complaining about the 5 bucks. Did I mention that she never has any money?

So we get to the seats, plop down the stadium buddies over the seat numbers and we're all set. We have four Minnesota fans in front of us and Packer fans all around. Then Brett Favre takes the field. This has the same effect as the Pope entering the church at the beginning of mass. I can hardly contain myself I'm so excited. And the game begins. We trade jabs with the Minnesota people along with some high-fives and some body slamming just for fun. It was even a little on the flirty side. CW just sat there. Everyone is standing, jumping, clapping, cheering, and she just sat there. I started to wonder why she wanted to come. Did she understand football? Not that I'm an expert but I know enough to blend in with the 'fan'atics. I asked her if she was having a good time. All she said was, "It's so crowded and cramped." I joked that it was a good thing, it was keeping us all warm. I think I already mentioned the complainer thing.

We got back to the bus in time and headed back to the hotel. I asked her if she wanted to go to the bar, she said no. OK so all the Packer fans are in the bar and you want to go to bed. Arrrghhh. I can roll with it. I said that it's fine, we'll get up and head to the fitness center, swim a few laps and hit the hot tub. She forgot her swimsuit. Now it was her idea to bring swimsuits. She said she couldn't find hers and kind of ran out of time to look for it. She took the entire day off today! I wondered what she did with all that time.

I knew CW was not a morning person like I am, so I let her sleep, I put on my running gear, grabbed my swimsuit and headed to the fitness center. I ran for 45 minutes, swam laps, grabbed a cup of coffee and soaked in the hot tub. By the time I got back to the room she was getting out of the shower. Perfect timing. I got in the shower and we were off to breakfast by 10.

We headed to the casino in Green Bay to meet up with John and Richie. I am not a gambler. I thought CW was because she really wants to go to Vegas and she really wanted to go to the casino today. I am usually up for an adventure so I thought fine. We got there and she stood there not knowing what to do. Richie turned her by the shoulders and set her down in front of a machine. I think I mentioned the inability to make a decision thing. John was playing some card game and I asked him if it would be OK if I watched. He was gracious enough to take the time to explain it to me so I started to play. CW came to watch. I asked her if she wanted to play and she said she didn't know. I wondered if this was the money thing again.

We left a few hours later and headed home. I really did have a good time but CW wasn't the reason. It's hard not to have fun at Lambeau. And I really believe where ever you go you can make your own fun. But that doesn't mean I am going to go to Vegas with her.

Smokin' bowling

Bowling last night was great. BJ was back on his game and Jeff had two great games. Too bad for Khan though, he was consistently 20+ pins below his average. And I had the best night of the entire season. My first game was a 200 and it could have been better if I wouldn't have opened in the tenth frame. I really struggled in the second game but still pulled off a 171. We lost that game to the other team and emotions were low since we weren't sure we would take first place with this loss. The third game was much better, in fact, it was my best. I bowled a 216 and even at that it could have been better but I got a nine count on my second shot in the tenth frame. This score meant I took over the top women bowler spot - unless someone else bowled better that night. BJ did some quick math and it looks like I will also take high series for the league. We congratulated each other BJ said, "Next season let's change the team name to X-outs." I responded, "So you want to come back and do this again. That's great!" The banquet is in two weeks and it should be sweeter because we'll take home the big prize.

This morning I woke up with the after effects of spending a few hours at the bowling alley. I don't mean drinking. It felt like there was a huge weight on my chest and I coughed a deep, hacking cough. The second-hand smoke has poisoned me to the point where I've been wheezing all day. Taking a deep breath is hard, at least as the day goes on it's getting easier as my lungs clear.

This made me think about the smoking laws and the ban some cities are placing on public places. Since I truly hate the smell of smoke I would be happier if every place banned smoking. I hate having to shower when I get home or tie my hair up in a pony tail just to sleep in order to keep the rank odor from getting in my face. Those type of effects although annoying, are somewhat bearable but this hacking painful cough is something else. The last thing I want is some life-threatening disease because of something I can't stand in the first place.

The city of Milwaukee is proposing a smoking ban in restaurants and bars. I really hope it passes. I get a kick out of the denial tactics of smokers. They respond with their ridiculous remarks as if they have a shred of validity which is ludicrous.

Argument #1: Second-hand smoke is harmless. It is a fact that one in every eight people who die from lung cancer is a non-smoker that suffered the effects of second-hand smoke.

Argument #2: Restaurants and bars will go out of business. The fact is profits were up 23% in the Madison area when the city went smoke free.

Argument #3: Alcohol and tobacco are legal substances so why persecute smokers. Alcohol is legal but you will be ticketed if you drive drunk. Maybe we should change the laws so you don't get a ticket for drunk driving, might as well make drinking and smoking OK anywhere.

Argument #4: The government should spend more time worrying about regulating food since there is an epidemic of obesity. This is my favorite excuse. But the reality is that an overweight person can lose the weight and be healthy. A thin person who smokes will have black, carcinogenic lungs forever.

Employee appreciation

I got to the gym this morning even though we are still one car short. I made BJ get up at 5:30 and drive me to work. He did appreciate how light the traffic was at the early hour. Getting in the gym first thing is such a mental cleansing for me. Physical health benefits aside, the emotional strength it gives me is worth more. Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to get home.

So today I will calmly try to figure out how to get my music moved to my new drive. And take my time about it. Also on the agenda for this week is getting my taxes done, balancing my checkbook, and cleaning up my home office. And I'm going to the UWM game on Tuesday and the Bucks game on Wednesday - something fun to look forward to. Thursday is a trip to St. Vinnie's to feed the homeless.

It's employee appreciation week at work and they waste their money on such junk. We all have balloons tied to candy bars on our desks. Thanks for the sugar and fat that I won't eat. You can bet I will find more sweet crap every day this week, again, thanks for nothing. How about a diet Coke, or a cup of Starbucks coffee? They also offered 10-minute massages on a first-come-first-served basis. Of course they are all filled up, a co-worker put it eloquently when he said, "It's like Communism, they make you stand in line to offer you something they don't have. " Hmmm, interesting analogy.

It's the little things

So Friday I notice that there's this hanger lying on the floor of the coat closet. I never use the coat closet because there's a smoker who uses it and when she hangs her coat in there everything stinks. So I can see this hanger when the closet door is closed because part of it sticks out from under the door. Now I'm wondering will anybody ever bend down to actually pick it up? I am now on a mission to see how many people will walk by, hang up their coat, and just let it lay there. It's the tragedy of the commons just like the 4th floor refrigerator full of science experiments. On a slow work day it's nice to have these little distractions to make the day more interesting. What am I saying?!? It doesn't make the day more interesting, it makes it just bearable. (Yawn)

Part of the problem

If you complain about the complainers around you are you part of the problem? I work with people who are constant complainers. Funny thing is they complain about each other. If only they understood that they live in parallel universes but none would say they are even remotely like the other.