sassysheisme

Posted on June 2, 2003 by sassysheisme

BLAME IT ON THE RAIN… OR LACK THEREOF…

Tonight, it finally rained on the southeast coast of Texas… everywhere but Houston. It rained (monsooned) in the counties north, east and west of Houston, but not in Houston. My car used to be a nice berry color, but now my car classifies as dusky fawn or dusty beige metallic. I’m in the “Why bother to wash it?” phase. After all, I do work next to the freeway, so every day, my car gets a fresh coat of dusky fawn and dusty beige metallic residue, in addition to the lovely pollen, ash, and other pollutants that the Houston smog has to offer. Granted, when Houston does receive it’s weekly 4 to 5 dibble dops of rain, or I accidentally park my car next to a hidden sprinkler, the drops make the dusky fawn look like it’s been shot in about four places, but better that than washing the car only to have the satisfaction of seeing it dustless/clean for approximately 5 hours.

The salvage guy came and towed away Jene’s car, Sheila (you’ll have to ask her), on Friday. Sheila was declared officially “totaled,” and Jene’ will receive compensation for Sheila tomorrow, which she will deposit into a car fund (after she buys a bus pass). Fortunately, Houston has an adequate public tansportation system and she works about a mile from home. Church is a quick bus ride down Westheimer. Wal-Mart, more than one grocery store, and Sam’s are all within a reasonable walking distance for Jene’. I also still have transportation (that without a/c resembles more of a sauna with wheels and a radio of which the volume cannot be adjusted…). Jene’ is not one to whine or mope, so she waved goodbye to Sheila and now my dusky fawn car takes up our two spaces so Sheila’s spot doesn’t look so empty.

I will fast forward in this story (after Sheila’s departure) or rewind (it’s all about perspective, isn’t it?) to Saturday night in San Angelo, where Jene’s nephew, Josh, graduated from high school. I had wondered how the entire family was going to be able to attend, let alone sit together, but I was assured that since the ceremony was outdoors that would be possible. OUTDOORS?! Affirmative. Outdoors… at 8 p.m. in West Texas, where, though it was still in the 80’s, the humidity is low enough that the air wasn’t that bothersome. Over 700 calm and surprisingly well-behaved seniors sat on the far side of the field… a sea of blue that grew exponentially larger as the time approached 8 p.m.

My own graduation (in 1987) featured over 460 people in rented dorky silver and maroon gowns and it took almost four hours. Girls wore the caps on the back of their heads, perpendicular to the floor, to make room for their big tidal wave bangs. JoEllen sang as the graduation band played Night Ranger’s Goodbye. Several other songs were sung and more than one speech was made. Graduates received a Bible of their choice and when the prayer was uttered, it was definitely to the one true God and nobody had a problem with that.

At one point early on in the ceremony, a prayer was uttered that began with a vague “Holy One,” and continued with a list of vague spiritual references and a general sense of, well, vagueness that led me and several people in my general vacinity to whisper, “Does anybody know who she’s praying to?” I shook my head. The trouble with vagueness in this case is that though the prayer is uttered upward with good, inclusive and tolerant intentions, the prayer falls quickly to the ground, and the thud that follows sounds like the door to heaven slamming shut in disgust. I think God was pretty clear when He told Moses to pass it on to the rest of us, “You shall have no other gods before me.” I’m not going to preach on this, but this instance was a reality check. I now live in a world where God isn’t at the top of the list anymore… though He’s still on the list, He’s getting shuffled down the list in the name of tolerance, inclusiveness, and good intentions. I suppose this move allows the Christians then to also pray, but one wonders which is better — an all-inclusive, vague prayer, or none at all? Of course, if a Christian complains, she’s hateful and intolerant and her house gets egged. If a Buddist complains, his brother gets to lead his own prayer/meditation the next year when he graduates. Ok…I’m going to get off my soapbox now. Just chew on it.

As I was saying, we were sitting in the bleachers high above the football field on a warm, dry night. I was sitting in between Jean (Jene’s mother) and Julia (Jene’s sister, who is my age). Julia’s husband, Jeff, recently returned from duty in the Persian Gulf, sat on the end of the row with Grant, their 3 month old son. I could list all the other members of the McClellan/Speciale clan that had gathered to watch Josh graduate, but I need to keep this a small blog if I can (ha ha). Just trust me, Josh was well represented in the stands.

At my graduation, families were asked not to scream, applaud or anything else until everyone’s name had been called. My graduation was in a gymnasium and the screaming would have meant extra pauses between 460 plus names and graduation would have taken 5 hours… in an open football stadium… well, those noisy airhorns and cowbells were ringing and blasting all over the place, including in poor little Grant’s ears (while I was holding him). He did not take too kindly to the blasts. I did not take kindly to the blasts on his behalf, but as we’ve established in previous blogs, I’m learning that it’s not about me, so I passed Grant down to Jene’ who was further down from the inconsiderate blast-er and I let the blast-er live until his graduation.

This graduation lasted under two hours. I was amazed. Several faculty members teamed up to recite over 700 names. Some kids danced as they crossed the stage, one kid did a flip, and two sign language interpreters signed each and every one of those names… and it was over in under two hours. We even got out of the parking lot with relative ease and were home in minutes. I had to keep reminding myself I wasn’t in Houston and we didn’t have to wait fifteen minutes to get to the street and then another half hour to clear traffic and then home — all to go five miles. No, we were far away from Houston and I rather enjoyed the pace, thank you very much.

The next day, Jene’ and I got back into the Toyota Camry to drive home, and we arrived after 10 p.m. Somewhere in the weekend, Jene’ found a Big Lots and more dishes, all the while escorted by her PARKING ANGELS. Apparently, when Sheila left, the parking angels did not. I still don’t have parking angels unless Jene’ is in the car…

…but I digress… and now it’s time for some sleep…

weather

Posted on May 30, 2003 by sassysheisme

HOTTER THAN…

We’re about to leave in a rented Toyota Camry for our 6 hour drive… and I just had to tell y’all it’s 102 degrees! (Heat Index 104)

BYE!

weather

Posted on May 30, 2003 by sassysheisme

BYE, BYE, BYE…

Of course, we are not leaving town at the time we planned, but we’ll hopefully get out of town before RUSH HOUR. Jene’ at Enterprise picking up the car and will be home shortly. I still have to cool down from the drive home (it’s 98 degrees right now with a heat index of 101 degrees, BUT it’s only 30% humidity, so it’s not quite the sauna today) so I can even entertain the thought of eating lunch. We also have to clean out Jene’s car before we leave… they are towing it away today. (sniff, sniff)

Wait… now it’s 99 degrees. This is not typical May weather, even for Houston. It hasn’t rained since EASTER Sunday. This weather is August weather and this does not bode well for the rest of the summer. By the time I’m finished with this blog, I do not doubt it will be 100 degrees.

Pray for us while we are on the road! We have a six hour drive to San Angelo, and it’s a steady incline all six hours so my ears will be popping! Houston is below sea level… San Angelo is not… you get the picture. Pray that the other drivers will be paying attention as we drive!

Talk to y’all later…

commentary

Posted on May 29, 2003 by sassysheisme

CRASH! BANG! BOOM!

… was what I heard and witnessed as a silver Saturn hit my roommate’s car last night. I was following her in my car (we had met somewhere and I was following her home). I won’t bore you with all the details, but she was turning right onto an eight lane street (4 each way). I was watching her turn… a habit I have had for nearly 15 years, because my little brother was notorious in high school for hitting people from behind because he saw them start to turn, then rear ended them because they stopped and he was already looking at oncoming traffic for his opportunity to peel out… I mean, turn. So, I got into the habit of watching and waiting until the person in front of me is gone before I take my turn.

Anyway, after Jene’ had completed the turn and was fully in the lane and a good car length or so down the street, a woman hit her from the lane next to her on her driver’s side. The bang was so loud, and I saw Jene’s driver’s side get hit and then she got knocked up on the sidewalk and came to a very abrupt halt. I didn’t know if her car had been hit in the door or fender and my entire body tensed up (I have sympathy whiplash, lol) because I thought she had been hit mortally (I know, drama, drama, drama). Then, as I turned into the parking lot next to the sidewalk where Jene’s car had come to a stop, she got out of her car so I could see she was okay. I started breathing again.

Jene’s front left fender was smashed and the other car’s front right headlight and hood was damaged. At the angle the damage suggested, the woman entered the lane Jene’ had already occupied. Jene’ said the woman’s silver Saturn was not in her lane when she turned. I believe her. I did not see that part. I was watching my roommate turn as per my habit and it would be very awkward to run into the back of your roommate’s car because you weren’t paying attention… so whenever I am following her I pay extra special attention.

Here’s where the story turns UGLY. I knew when the woman got out of her car Jene’ was hosed… silver Saturn woman was tall, thin, blonde and had big u know what’s. Jene’ asked her (she’s a nurse, she has to) if she was injured, and the girl said, “so you are saying this is your fault!” which told me she already knew she was wrong (there are other juicy details, but I will not post them…). Her version, however, stated that she was in the far lane and Jene’ was pulling out and she hit her while Jene’ was turning and that she “tried to get out of the way as best she could.” Ahem…the damage (and even if I hadn’t been there to see that Jene’ had already completed her turn and was already down the street over a car length) said otherwise.

Silver Saturn woman called the cops at 5:30, about fifteen minutes into exchanging policy numbers and phoning insurance companies and after Jene’ wouldn’t admit fault. Jene’ and I hadn’t really discussed what happened, I asked her if she was okay and I told her that I didn’t see where the silver Saturn had been, I just saw where it ended up and what it did to Jene’. Then I went and sat in the shade by my car and since I felt left out of the phone call marathon, I called Amy and told her what happened and to have my small group pray and then I called Elizabeth, who laughs at me when I’m stressed and talking and venting and her laugh makes me laugh…

We waited over an hour for Houston’s finest. The silver Saturn woman kept saying that she was behind Jene’ and tried to get out of the way but couldn’t get stopped. Get out of the way? Well, I decided that since I had my camera with me I should use it, so I handed it to Jene’ and let her take pics. :p The silver Saturn woman got back into her car, put up her windows and got on the phone again. About twenty minutes later, a man about her age (she was in her mid twenties) shows up with a camera, which I thought was funny. If she uses those pics, they could work against her…

Houston’s finest show up at 6:38 p.m. Two nice, young officers. Jene’ and I looked at each other. We knew how this was going to go. Though both of us are well endowed (lol) we are not tall, (well Jene’ isn’t) and neither one of us is a skinnie minnie. To make it an even better experience than it already was, they even ticketed Jene’, because the girl’s statement was that she hit Jene’ as Jene’ was turning and the law says that if you are leaving a stop sign or light and are involved in a wreck (they also said that all four lanes have to be clear before you pull out, according to the law, to not get ticketed if a wreck happens) you get a ticket.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Jene’, it’s that no matter how much you are being hosed in any given situation, sometimes it’s better to keep your sarcastic mouth shut, so I did (esp. when the hose-er has a badge and a car with pretty lights on top). It was quite obvious to me that the police did not believe me. Yes, I am Jene’s roommate and yes, she’s my best friend, but what they don’t realize is that Jene’ does not lie… not about her age, her hair color, her weight, ANYTHING. Jene’ told me that all she wanted me to say was what I saw, which is what I intended from the beginning anyway. I cannot lie creatively under pressure anyway (lol… just kidding) and the truth is the best route, because you can remember the truth, but it’s always tough to keep your lies straight. Silver Saturn woman will learn, even if not an outcome of this situation, that the truth will set you free.

Policeman A took my statement, and as the ONLY witness, it struck me as odd that he listened to me for less than thirty seconds and didn’t write anything down. Then Policeman B (a trainee who was taking orders from A) took my license number and he wrote down one sentence, that I said that the turn had been completed and she was more than a car length down the street. Then, A & B explain that they are giving Jene’ a ticket and yes, she’s getting shafted, but that’s what the law says, blah, blah, blah. Again, I keep my sarcastic mouth shut and count to ten. Jene’ handles herself as she always does… calmly, with deep breaths and a look of resolution on her face. I knew this would not be handled on the street but later with the insurance people.

Ah, the lovely insurance people. I have nothing but good things to say about Geico… Jene’s company. They were nice, thorough and explained everything quite nicely. Now, Progressive, who represented the silver Saturn woman tried to twist every word I said. The man treated me like a dumb woman. In a very patronizing tone he said, when I told him I was watching my roommate turn… “Are you sure? Because we all know NOBODY watches a car turn, they pull up and are looking the other way to see when they can turn.” I said no and repeated myself and he sighed. Hey, what can I say, I’m unusual. And then, to make my testimony more convincing, when he asked me what kind of police showed up (what kind of question is that?) …I was tired, and I hadn’t eaten and this guy was ON MY LAST NERVE so I asked Jene’, “It was HPD, right, not Metro…” and she looked like she didn’t hear me and I laughed and said, “No, it was the one’s in the blue car, so it was HPD.” They have me on tape saying this. Yeah. So I sound like a dumb roommate to top it all off.

Oh, the joys of car wrecks…And what does my roommate have to say about all this? “That’s life.” I was more angry on her behalf at the injustice of it all, but like she said, if she’s not upset then I can’t be…lol… and as Mary Ann said today, “there’s no grace in that.” All day people asked me what I thought God was trying to teach her (I could detail the calamities of last three years for both of us and we could both legally change our names to JOB, but Jene’ more than me). I told Jene’ that it’s all my fault (kidding) because it’s what God’s trying to teach me that I’m not getting… because, obviously she’s getting it (“that’s life”).

I’m calmer tonight. If I had blogged last night there would have been a gratuitous use of some words and way too much drama… but I realized today that Jene’ has the right idea. Again this goes back to her parenting, (read previous blog). She’s found so many silver linings today (even after the ins. adjuster declared her car totalled, and her car being an older, she will get NOTHING for it — thus leaving her car-less) that she could forge a ring. Nobody got hurt, her car is just a thing, I kept my sarcastic mouth shut, etc…

Things happen. We may never know why bad things happen to good people…again… and again…and again… but they do. What can you do? Like Jene’ often tells me when I’m mid-rant — why waste energy over something you have no control over and cannot change? In mid rant… I have to stop and admit to myself she’s right and not finish my beautifully sarcastic and witty rant. UGH. Is God sovereign or isn’t He? Is God in control or isn’t He? Can God provide or can’t He?

Now, before you draw a halo over Jene’s picture… she’s not dancing around the apartment (she’s too sore anyway) rejoicing over her loss. She’s not calling people and telling them in a joyful tone, “Praise the Lord! Guess what! Today the funniest thing happened… this tall, perky blonde girl hit me and her story doesn’t match up and my car is totalled… and I’m so happy that I don’t have a car anymore and between the two of us the car with air conditioning is now gone and I’m so happy!! WOO HOO!!” No, she’s not happy, but, as she just told me, “The old lady just can’t waste any time on this.” And (blankety blank), she’s right.

So, I’ll end with that and give you a few helpful hints about what to do in case of/or to prevent/or to prepare for an accident…

* First and foremost, always watch the car in front of you turn to make sure they are out of your way. It’s just smart driving. Just ask my brother.

* Put a disposable camera in your glove box for such a time as this… or in case you see Elvis pumping gas off Hwy 36 at 3 a.m.

* If you are in an accident and you don’t look like a runway model but the person who hit you does, prepare to be hosed. Just know it’s going to happen. Be calm. Fight another day. If you look like a runway model — praise God and don’t use your looks to be deceitful. Remember, the truth will set you free and you need to know this because one day you won’t look like a runway model and you need to know how to act when that time comes… because even if you aren’t ready to admit your hoochie days are over but everyone else can plainly see they are, it won’t matter what you think.

* The car really is just a THING. I was driving a buddy’s car (about a year and a half ago) and a sixteen year old kid hit me, and promptly admitted it to his insurance company (then I spent fifteen minutes on the phone with his mother trying to convince her he was indeed okay). I called my buddy to tell him about his car and I expected at least a little anger, blame, something (from past experience with others) and all he said was, “Are you okay? As long as you’re okay, that’s all I care about. The car doesn’t matter.” Though I should have trusted my friend’s character and known he would have reacted that way, that response really taught me something. Jene’s actions over the past two day only reinforced that it’s just a car.

* It’s not about me. It’s not about Jene’. It’s about God… and she’s been able to say, “Well, I’m just going to trust God,” and be a light to an insurance agent. FOCUS.

Jene’ is renting a car to drive to West Texas tomorrow… and I’ll keep you posted. If life lessons keep happening at this rate and I actually keep paying attention… I might have to check and see if my soul has stretch marks. (Yeah, I’m wondering how one goes about that, too).

Yahweh's fingerprints

Posted on May 26, 2003 by sassysheisme

A GIVING LEGACY

My roommate is amazing. Jene’ does so much against incredible adversity… and yet she would be the first to say, “that’s life.” I could list her adversities, but they are not important to the story. We all have our adversity. Granted, she has more adversity than most people I know, but she lives in such a way that most people forget what she’s up against, and that’s how Jene’ wants it.

The important part of her story is what she does in spite of her adversities. Take today for example. Jene’ volunteers for Lifehouse, an organization that helps young, unwed mothers. Jene’ (a nurse) volunteers as a birthing coach for these teenage girls. Jene’ took over the holiday weekend shift because the volunteer on duty had a family emergency. While I slept, Jene’ left and one baby was delivered. She came home, slept about an hour and in her delirium had a dream that I had eloped and left her a note on my bed and did not say who I was eloping with (since I am not dating, I don’t know who that would be either). I just had to throw that in… and I claim it as prophecy. Anyway, I heard her leave again right around 10 a.m. This particular 15 year old had gone into labor 2 months early. By the time it was all said and done and the doctors had done everything they could, Jene’ ended up holding the baby boy until he quit breathing.

To be honest with you, I don’t know if I could have done what she did without completely falling to pieces. She came home, very tired, and tearfully relayed the story to me. I cried, too, knowing how much she had to be hurting physically, emotionally and not to put too fine a point on it, spiritually. There are some things on this earth that I’ll never be able to wrap my brain around, and I know this was one of those moments for both of us, but especially Jene’. Hopefully, she’s sleeping now, resting up to go back to work tomorrow.

I realized today why Jene’ can give so much, and why some people like me have difficulty with even simple ways to give. Jene’s “give” tank has been filled constantly since she was born. She was told there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do by parents who not only believed that, but embodied that belief in everything they did themselves. Jene’ was taught life skills, coping skills, loving skills and giving skills by the people who brought her into this world. They prepared her for life by preparing her to give back, and I realized today my give tank level is horrendously low. One reason is because I have given a tremendous amount, but the problem is, I haven’t stopped to figure out how to refill it. I have also realized that the way I learned to give is in total detriment to self, a martyr style of service — that was my model. I also was never taught how to receive, but that’s another blog.

I will not turn this into a pity party. I don’t feel sorry for myself, I’ve simply had this epiphany. I used to compare myself with Jene’ a lot in this area of giving and wondered how she could do so much, and now I know why. The deficiency in my give tank isn’t an excuse not to serve, but it brings some things into focus for me. I realize why some people get burned out. Sometimes, it’s a balance issue, when some people don’t rest or give back to themselves or an avoidance issue — busy-ness rather than facing issues in their own lives. At other times, people who were raised in the martyr style of giving wear themselves out and never discover the joy of giving and therefore burn out easily. I now know why, however, that some balanced, healthy people get burned out. Their give tanks either were never full to begin with or they emptied their tanks without knowing how to refill them. I’m not saying Jene’ never gets tired or burns out, but she knows how to refill her give tank and she knows how to rest. She was not born with this quality, she learned/absorbed these skills from two people I am also proud to call family — her parents.

Do I throw up my hands and say, “it’s too late!” No. It’s never to late to learn giving skills and fill up a give tank. The best way to learn is to surround yourself with people who have these skills and give of them freely, watch, learn, and then DO WHAT THEY DO. It’s a proven pattern of learning in other areas of life. It seems silly, doesn’t it? Learning how to give? Giving should be as natural as breathing, right? Trouble is, most people are centered inward, and giving is always centered outward. Not only is our nature centered inward, if we are not taught or shown how to give, then we won’t. It’s that simple.

Jene’ has blessed others because she continues her family’s legacy of giving. If I ignore this opportunity to learn and fill my give tank (and all other tanks for that matter), I’d be a fool, (and I don’t suffer fools gladly). With God, there are no accidents –of timing, placement, proximity or otherwise — it’s just sometimes I walk around with my eyes closed and my ears plugged. And heaven help the person whose give tank overflows… what a waste. I don’t see that happening in Jene’s family — ever.

Sleep well, Jene’.

random

Posted on May 24, 2003 by sassysheisme

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WHEN…

…you start referring to yourself as the Princess of Shaenovia. I think I’ve watched The Princess Diaries one too many times! It also proves I don’t have much of a social life… ha ha… but it’s very rare that a movie can make me laugh out loud even after I’ve watched it this many times! All right then. Now that you know all about my secret identity, you don’t have to bow the next time you see me. If you see a really cool tiara on sale anywhere, though, let me know.

Item one: No one interrupted or disturbed my sacred Saturday morning. Starts off my extended weekend well.

Item two: I did laundry today in my jammies.

Item three: There’s nothing on television on a holiday weekend… except The Princess Diaries and some sports.

Item four: My roommate’s nap has lasted for a few hours and it’s time for me to go check for a pulse.

Well, that’s the extent of my exciting day. A day in the life of the Princess of Shaenovia… I think my kingdom would be more fun if I had some royal subjects. I need to go recruiting!

I promise my next entry will be more exciting and insightful. My brain is mush today!

music

Posted on May 21, 2003 by sassysheisme

RUBEN! RUBEN!

I’ve watched only two episodes of American Idol… and I’m addicted. I knew it would happen… which is why I didn’t watch it before now. I watched last night and I watched the last 15 minutes tonight. Ruben is struggling through his big solo, but I can understand he’s very emotional… I’m not sure I could sing at that point either. Last night, he was like buttah. I will still buy his CD. I’m so sad it’s over…

random

Posted on May 17, 2003 by sassysheisme

SACRED SATURDAY SLEEP-INS

If you’ve known me for very long, you know that Saturday mornings before 11 a.m…. well, let’s just say it’s my sacred time. I’m often up late on Fridays and I like to sleep in. I like to wake up lazily and read before I get out of bed. I like to stay in my jammies (and do laundry – ha!) as long as possible. It’s the one day I schedule nothing until at least noon. Down time. Me time. Zzzzzz time.

This morning, at 8:26 a.m., there was a light knocking at the door, which became a hard, obnoxious knock at 8:27 a.m. I stumbled downstairs and opened the door. The two guys from the Salvation Army had arrived to pick up the broken washing machine we were discarding. Originally, we were supposed to call them between 8 – 8:30 a.m. to find out when we were scheduled for pickup, which obviously hadn’t happened. Apparently, we were scheduled for pickup at 8:26 a.m.

I remembered mumbling instructions for the guys to come around to the back of the apartment. This meant that the annoying back up warning beep on the truck beeped all the way back to the main street of our apartment complex and all the way back down the backside of the apartment. (My roommate, meanwhile, was still in bed and heard the beep and wondered why she couldn’t get her alarm clock to shut off). I’m sure all of the other apartment dwellers on our block were not pleased by the noise, either.

Jene’ comes downstairs at this time, mumbling to herself, that she couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t get her alarm clock to shut off. I mumble back that I have to move my car (did I mention I’m still in my jammies?)… yes, I had to operate heavy machinery at 8:32 a.m. before my brain was fully operational. I had to back up my car so we could get the washing machine out of the back gate. I pulled my car back into its parking space as the Salvation Army guys pull away. Jene’ is standing in the doorway wondering why they came before we called to find out when they would come… or something like that.

Back to bed. Sigh. Am all clammy because it’s already 80 degrees and humid outside. My heartbeat slows and I doze off until…

My phone rings at 9:32 a.m. Everyone I know knows the no phone calls on Saturday before 11 a.m. unless someone is bleeding, kidnapped or dead (or having a baby). It’s a woman with a thick accent asking for Reverend P. and that she got my home number from the number left on the message. (Reverend P. was the former user of my former cell phone number, and he hasn’t had that number for over two years because I had it). I tell her she has the wrong number and hang up, wondering how she got my home #. Then I slowly remember that as my old cell phone battery was dying in January I changed my message to include my home # so people could get in touch with me until I got a new phone. I gave that phone back to my employers at the end of January and assumed that the message would cease to exist as soon as the cell phone was deactivated. Granted, there was some confusion about the cell phone and in March I was contacted and asked about it, but even then, I assumed when it was finally deactivated that the message would cease to exist. Au contraire. I called my old cell # and was able to change my message to, “This was Sharon’s phone, but now it’s not. Consider this a wrong number.” So, I e-mailed the proper people at my old job and told them what happened that they might want to check whether it was ever deactivated or not. After all… why keep paying for it when no one is using it? Of course, it could be that the phone was deactivated but the message was not, but in either case, I wanted them to check.

UGH. So, I tried to go back to bed and read, but I couldn’t so I went down and ate some Cheerios and tried to wake up. Then I felt conscious enough to apply some Garnier Nutrisse #101 to my hair and shower before this other guy came to pick up the old dryer. Such a busy Saturday morning for me – ha ha… busier than usual anyway.

Now I have to help figure out what we are going to do with all the things (including the vacuum cleaner) that we used to store on top of the broken washing machine. Have a good evening!

random

Posted on May 15, 2003 by sassysheisme

I CAN NOW DO LAUNDRY IN MY JAMMIES

Jene’ purchased a used washer and dryer and we hooked it up tonight. She got an incredible deal (who’s surprised, she’s the bargain diva) and both units are in great condition. In fact, Jene’ is doing laundry right now. The washer is fairly quiet and the only reason I know the washer is on is… the lights are blinking all over the house (it’s a strobe-like blinking). We live in an apartment complex that is over 30 years old, so the wiring leaves a little to be desired, but we’re not worried.

Granted, the lights only blink when the washer is agitiating, so the blinking is only for a few minutes at a time. I haven’t had the use of a washer in my home since 1999, and let me just say, I will never take doing laundry inside my own home for granted again. I am so thankful I can now do laundry in my jammies again… that I will learn to ignore the strobe lights or I’ll put in some 80’s music and start dancing. Thanks Jene’!

Jene’ just yelled upstairs, “I’m very happy. I just did a load of laundry and I’m not wearing pants!” Ah, yes, the joys of laundering inside your own home.

random

Posted on May 15, 2003 by sassysheisme

LUNAR ECLIPSE

Did anyone else happen to catch the lunar eclipse that happened in the last half hour? It was pretty cool. Haven’t seen anything like that in a long, long time.