Oh Mr. Blog.
Will I survive this Christmas?
People keep asking me,
"What about your kids?!"
Well.
I'll tell you what Mr.Blog,
they either don't have a fourteen year old son
or forgot how they were when they did.
Every day I wonder who kidnapped my darling Teddy
and replaced him with this giant, sassy, monster.
The eyes look vaguely familiar
as he cruises through the kitchen
looking for feed.
I tried to ship him off when when he fell asleep last week
but he came back stamped,
"Additional Postage Required."
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
12/20/2010 Pros and Cons of Working on a Cruise Ship
Yikes Mr. Blog!
This job application work ate up ALL
my Christmas card, wrapping and decorating time.
Luckily Terry started vacay today so we can put up
our Christmas tree in a few minutes.
Like every woman in the world,
I have analyzed the pros and cons of my new job
relentlessly and this is my list of Pros so far:
1 No laundry
2 No dirty dishes
3 No cleaning
4 No shopping
5 No cooking
6 No dragging kids to the dentist/orthodontist
7 No reminding kids to do chores
8 No listening to boring post office stories
9 No looking at a house that no one wants to improve/decorate
10 No looking at a yard that looks like a homeless person camp
I don't have any cons so far except that I'll miss
my bed but I might think of some later on.
I guess I really couldn't have legitimate cons until after I'd
been on the ship for five months.
Then I will know what's up with that better.
Ciao!
This job application work ate up ALL
my Christmas card, wrapping and decorating time.
Luckily Terry started vacay today so we can put up
our Christmas tree in a few minutes.
Like every woman in the world,
I have analyzed the pros and cons of my new job
relentlessly and this is my list of Pros so far:
1 No laundry
2 No dirty dishes
3 No cleaning
4 No shopping
5 No cooking
6 No dragging kids to the dentist/orthodontist
7 No reminding kids to do chores
8 No listening to boring post office stories
9 No looking at a house that no one wants to improve/decorate
10 No looking at a yard that looks like a homeless person camp
I don't have any cons so far except that I'll miss
my bed but I might think of some later on.
I guess I really couldn't have legitimate cons until after I'd
been on the ship for five months.
Then I will know what's up with that better.
Ciao!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
12/19/2010 My Top Ten Fears About Working on a Cruise Ship
Good morning Mr. Blog!
I dreamed I was working on the ship
and having a marvelous time.
Hope I don't start dreaming of delivering mail on-board!
So last night as I was falling asleep I was thinking
of my worst fears about my new job and wanted to share
them with you for your analysis. Here they are:
1. I'll fall overboard
2. I won't be able to make a friend
3. I'll get fired in training for making a silly joke
4. I'll be late to work and get fired my first day
5. My supervisor will hate me for being older
6. My cruise director will hate me for being older
7. I'll accidentally walk into the captain and get fired
8. I'll see a wharf rat inside the ship
9. I'll get seasick and sent home
10.I won't get a letter from anyone
Ciao!
I dreamed I was working on the ship
and having a marvelous time.
Hope I don't start dreaming of delivering mail on-board!
So last night as I was falling asleep I was thinking
of my worst fears about my new job and wanted to share
them with you for your analysis. Here they are:
1. I'll fall overboard
2. I won't be able to make a friend
3. I'll get fired in training for making a silly joke
4. I'll be late to work and get fired my first day
5. My supervisor will hate me for being older
6. My cruise director will hate me for being older
7. I'll accidentally walk into the captain and get fired
8. I'll see a wharf rat inside the ship
9. I'll get seasick and sent home
10.I won't get a letter from anyone
Ciao!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
12/18/2010 Coast Guard Physical For Job
Good evening Mr. Blog!
Well!
That was some day yesterday!
As usual I woke up at six and played possum
until seven thirty when Terry left.
Much to my surprise, when I got upstairs
and looked out the window, sissy's roof was solid white.
for a minute I thought it was snow,
then realized it was ice so
I went and peered out the bathroom window
at my thermometer on the front porch and was
shocked to see it was only twenty-eight degrees out.
I had to hustle my bustle to get ready
and decided to start my van before my shower
to thaw it out.
Mummy's wheelchair ramp was like a ski slope
so I was extra careful sliding down the ramps.
I decided that breaking a leg on the way to the doctor's
appointment would add too much excitement to my day!
The door was frozen shut, but after much tugging I
got it open and the motor started.
I dressed in thin,
royal blue with white-dotted batiked summer pants and top
and added a gray wool blazer
with my little white penny loafers.
Terrible outfit.
Luckily the fashion police weren't across the street at Starbucks!
I fetched Brenny at Joan's in Wedgewood and cruised over
70th to Roosevelt and vaguely remembered it turned into
Westlake. For someone born in Seattle
it is hard to remember where anything is anymore
and only a few of my old landmarks remain
from the sixties and seventies.
Brenny was cranky as all get out
and if I looked bad, she looked worse!
Thank God we didn't run into anyone we knew!
We looked like two crazy old ladies that had
put everything from Goodwill in a blender
then dressed in the dark.
Brenda spotted Denny Way and we found the
US Medical clinic and parked and it was then
that I noticed it was sunny out.
We went in and I got my twenty-five pages of
Coast Guard medical forms
and almost left then and there.
It looked too big to me but
I couldn't wimp out after
I dragged Brenny along for confidence.
She began her tired chatter and I tried
desperately to tune her out and concentrate
and just when I was thinking I MIGHT have to
ask my best friend of thirty-seven years to step out,
she got up and said she needed to find a mailbox!
Whew.
Close one.
I wrote answers and marked the one hundred boxes
at top speed and finished in a half hour and Jared
checked to make sure I filled in everything.
The nice man helping me in the back
didn't have on a name tag and
didn't introduce himself so I just did whatever I was told
starting with the urine sample.
Well, that didn't work out because I seemed low on that account
after being totally stunned to see a toilet with six chains
around the top and duct tape over the paper towel holder.
He told me to drink loads of water and I told him that
he needed to weigh me first!
He refused and I knew I couldn't punch him
without jeopardizing my new career but
every woman knows a half gallon of water
weighs four pounds!
He put me on the scale and I weighed one hundred and fifty-five
pounds which would have been fine if I hadn't fibbed
about my weight and wrote one forty-five
when I was really one-fifty!
I didn't think I'd get a physical for
at least two weeks!
I will cry if they don't take me for being a big
Fibbermagee. I'm so honest about everything else!
I argued with him to take off eight pounds for the water
and heavy winter clothes but he would not
budge one inch.
Easy for him.
He HAS a job.
Once I gave up arguing I decided to make the best
of it and it turns out he had been on LOADS of
cruises and told me all kinds of interesting
facts about being on a ship.
I was so happy listening to his cruise stories
that I forgot I was even at the doctor.
My blood pressure, vision and hearing were fine
and he turned me over to the nice young woman doctor.
I immediately tried to talk her into changing my weight
because of my dreadful water intake situation.
She told me my BMI was 28 and lower than hers
so not to worry about it.
Easy for her, she HAS a job.
She had me do some odd range of motion movements
and when she finished
I asked her what she thought
and she said, "I'm passing you."
I nearly fainted right there on the table!
All over the top of all the forms were places
for the doctor to mark, Fit For Duty and
Not Fit For Duty.
I was SO relieved, I can't tell you!
So I thanked her and she left and my darling
unnamed man came back and took a gallon of blood
and sent me back to the chained up toilet for
another go at it.
He looked at me with concern and when he handed me the cup
he marked it with a line and told me
that was how much was needed.
Talk about pressure!
I got back and he had the two Coast Guard UA
vials on the little counter in the hall
and I held my breath as he filled up the first one
and then the second one.
It went EXACTLY to the mark
and I exhaled with a whoosh and he said,
"That was close."
I thanked him and smelled cinnamon rolls baking
in the clinic and went back to the front desk
where Diana helped me call Miami with my sample number.
Camille at the Miami clinic was so cheerful
that I wished her a happy holiday and went
to find my Brenny.
It looked like the most glorious sunniest day
in Seattle history as I strolled merrily to my
mini-van.
Brenny came walking up and I told her I was starving
to death. I craved going to a little cafe out of the
big city but she asked if I wanted to eat at her
very favorite place two blocks away.
I DID not want to but I kept my lips sealed
and thought to myself,
"There is no one else in the world that would
give up a half day to go to a clinic when they
are exhausted and worn out from family holiday
shenanigans, except my Brenny."
I pulled my great big Brownie smile out of my pocket
and walked over to her and looped my arm through
hers and said,
"I'd be delighted."
Ciao!
Well!
That was some day yesterday!
As usual I woke up at six and played possum
until seven thirty when Terry left.
Much to my surprise, when I got upstairs
and looked out the window, sissy's roof was solid white.
for a minute I thought it was snow,
then realized it was ice so
I went and peered out the bathroom window
at my thermometer on the front porch and was
shocked to see it was only twenty-eight degrees out.
I had to hustle my bustle to get ready
and decided to start my van before my shower
to thaw it out.
Mummy's wheelchair ramp was like a ski slope
so I was extra careful sliding down the ramps.
I decided that breaking a leg on the way to the doctor's
appointment would add too much excitement to my day!
The door was frozen shut, but after much tugging I
got it open and the motor started.
I dressed in thin,
royal blue with white-dotted batiked summer pants and top
and added a gray wool blazer
with my little white penny loafers.
Terrible outfit.
Luckily the fashion police weren't across the street at Starbucks!
I fetched Brenny at Joan's in Wedgewood and cruised over
70th to Roosevelt and vaguely remembered it turned into
Westlake. For someone born in Seattle
it is hard to remember where anything is anymore
and only a few of my old landmarks remain
from the sixties and seventies.
Brenny was cranky as all get out
and if I looked bad, she looked worse!
Thank God we didn't run into anyone we knew!
We looked like two crazy old ladies that had
put everything from Goodwill in a blender
then dressed in the dark.
Brenda spotted Denny Way and we found the
US Medical clinic and parked and it was then
that I noticed it was sunny out.
We went in and I got my twenty-five pages of
Coast Guard medical forms
and almost left then and there.
It looked too big to me but
I couldn't wimp out after
I dragged Brenny along for confidence.
She began her tired chatter and I tried
desperately to tune her out and concentrate
and just when I was thinking I MIGHT have to
ask my best friend of thirty-seven years to step out,
she got up and said she needed to find a mailbox!
Whew.
Close one.
I wrote answers and marked the one hundred boxes
at top speed and finished in a half hour and Jared
checked to make sure I filled in everything.
The nice man helping me in the back
didn't have on a name tag and
didn't introduce himself so I just did whatever I was told
starting with the urine sample.
Well, that didn't work out because I seemed low on that account
after being totally stunned to see a toilet with six chains
around the top and duct tape over the paper towel holder.
He told me to drink loads of water and I told him that
he needed to weigh me first!
He refused and I knew I couldn't punch him
without jeopardizing my new career but
every woman knows a half gallon of water
weighs four pounds!
He put me on the scale and I weighed one hundred and fifty-five
pounds which would have been fine if I hadn't fibbed
about my weight and wrote one forty-five
when I was really one-fifty!
I didn't think I'd get a physical for
at least two weeks!
I will cry if they don't take me for being a big
Fibbermagee. I'm so honest about everything else!
I argued with him to take off eight pounds for the water
and heavy winter clothes but he would not
budge one inch.
Easy for him.
He HAS a job.
Once I gave up arguing I decided to make the best
of it and it turns out he had been on LOADS of
cruises and told me all kinds of interesting
facts about being on a ship.
I was so happy listening to his cruise stories
that I forgot I was even at the doctor.
My blood pressure, vision and hearing were fine
and he turned me over to the nice young woman doctor.
I immediately tried to talk her into changing my weight
because of my dreadful water intake situation.
She told me my BMI was 28 and lower than hers
so not to worry about it.
Easy for her, she HAS a job.
She had me do some odd range of motion movements
and when she finished
I asked her what she thought
and she said, "I'm passing you."
I nearly fainted right there on the table!
All over the top of all the forms were places
for the doctor to mark, Fit For Duty and
Not Fit For Duty.
I was SO relieved, I can't tell you!
So I thanked her and she left and my darling
unnamed man came back and took a gallon of blood
and sent me back to the chained up toilet for
another go at it.
He looked at me with concern and when he handed me the cup
he marked it with a line and told me
that was how much was needed.
Talk about pressure!
I got back and he had the two Coast Guard UA
vials on the little counter in the hall
and I held my breath as he filled up the first one
and then the second one.
It went EXACTLY to the mark
and I exhaled with a whoosh and he said,
"That was close."
I thanked him and smelled cinnamon rolls baking
in the clinic and went back to the front desk
where Diana helped me call Miami with my sample number.
Camille at the Miami clinic was so cheerful
that I wished her a happy holiday and went
to find my Brenny.
It looked like the most glorious sunniest day
in Seattle history as I strolled merrily to my
mini-van.
Brenny came walking up and I told her I was starving
to death. I craved going to a little cafe out of the
big city but she asked if I wanted to eat at her
very favorite place two blocks away.
I DID not want to but I kept my lips sealed
and thought to myself,
"There is no one else in the world that would
give up a half day to go to a clinic when they
are exhausted and worn out from family holiday
shenanigans, except my Brenny."
I pulled my great big Brownie smile out of my pocket
and walked over to her and looped my arm through
hers and said,
"I'd be delighted."
Ciao!
Friday, December 17, 2010
12/17/2010 I'm So Nervous!
I'm so nervous Mr. Blog!
I'm in tip top shape
but what if I have some
weird illness or health problem
that comes out in this
Coast Guard medical exam?
There is so much riding on this
one little hour long exam.
All the classroom teaching jobs
have got warm bodies in them for
this school year
and if I can snag this job
I'll be able to pay off every single
Nixpix business start up cost.
Then on to Gin Latin!
I just have to remember to breathe
which sounds easy,
but when I'm really nervous
I tend to hold my breath.
Breathe, breathe, breathe.
Just gotta remind myself!
Ciao.
I'm in tip top shape
but what if I have some
weird illness or health problem
that comes out in this
Coast Guard medical exam?
There is so much riding on this
one little hour long exam.
All the classroom teaching jobs
have got warm bodies in them for
this school year
and if I can snag this job
I'll be able to pay off every single
Nixpix business start up cost.
Then on to Gin Latin!
I just have to remember to breathe
which sounds easy,
but when I'm really nervous
I tend to hold my breath.
Breathe, breathe, breathe.
Just gotta remind myself!
Ciao.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
12/16/2010 The Lady Who Was a Mailman, Flight Attendant, Schoolteacher, Then Decided to Work on a Cruise Ship
Oh Mr. Blog,
I am so tense.
It took all day to download and scan
and send another batch of forms to Miami.
She processed the twelve pages I faxed her
yesterday already!
So I'm scheduled for my Coast Guard physical
tomorrow and I'm worried sick.
Lifting forty pounds seems heavier to me at fifty-four
than it did at my post office test in 1977
when I was twenty.
So, all my jobs have had ups and downs.
I can tell you more in a few decades
when my kids are older.
Don't want to scar them with
crazy postal worker stories
or saucy airline stories
or eye-opening teaching stories.
Right now I have my eye on the prize:
Five months on The Pride of America cruise ship
circling the Hawaiian islands.
It's a dirty job,
but somebody's got to do it.
Ciao!
I am so tense.
It took all day to download and scan
and send another batch of forms to Miami.
She processed the twelve pages I faxed her
yesterday already!
So I'm scheduled for my Coast Guard physical
tomorrow and I'm worried sick.
Lifting forty pounds seems heavier to me at fifty-four
than it did at my post office test in 1977
when I was twenty.
So, all my jobs have had ups and downs.
I can tell you more in a few decades
when my kids are older.
Don't want to scar them with
crazy postal worker stories
or saucy airline stories
or eye-opening teaching stories.
Right now I have my eye on the prize:
Five months on The Pride of America cruise ship
circling the Hawaiian islands.
It's a dirty job,
but somebody's got to do it.
Ciao!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
12/15/2010 My Limp Noodles Are Barking
Oh Mr. Blog.
Ouchy, ouchy, ouchy.
I have started preparing for the Coast Guard
medical exam and training and
my limp noodles are barking.
Connie called and when I filled her in
she suggested I increase my arm weights
when I do my aerobic exercises.
I increased from three to five pound barbells.
Ouchy on the armsies.
I can barely lift my arms now, see?
*arms dangle down limply*
At least I finished the first batch of
what seems like a zillion forms.
I will get them notarized and faxed off tomorrow.
I was hoping to finish my Christmas cards but
now I can't lift my noodles to address the envelopes!
Ciao.
Ouchy, ouchy, ouchy.
I have started preparing for the Coast Guard
medical exam and training and
my limp noodles are barking.
Connie called and when I filled her in
she suggested I increase my arm weights
when I do my aerobic exercises.
I increased from three to five pound barbells.
Ouchy on the armsies.
I can barely lift my arms now, see?
*arms dangle down limply*
At least I finished the first batch of
what seems like a zillion forms.
I will get them notarized and faxed off tomorrow.
I was hoping to finish my Christmas cards but
now I can't lift my noodles to address the envelopes!
Ciao.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
12/8/2010 The Joy Factor
I'm having a fake it 'till I make it day
Mr. Blog.
When I'd get cranky on the twelve hour flights
between Honolulu and Sydney Australia
after about eight hours with four to go,
I asked my friend Janet how she
coped so well and she told me to,
"Fake it 'till you make it."
She said if I formed my face into a smile
even if I didn't feel it,
people couldn't tell
and would smile back
and then I would feel joy
in my heart and
my smile WOULD reflect it.
I didn't believe it,
but I tried it,
and she was right!
So now, since she gave me that tip
in 1988,
anytime I see another human being,
I put my smile on whether I feel it or not
and when they smile back,
it turns on my
joy factor.
I know I have told you this before so
thanks for listening.
It gets so lonely stuck at the house.
I'm so used to carrying mail and flight attending
and subbing, that it is hard for me to
not have a place to go.
Although I do love our dumpy little house,
you know how much I hate housework.
I'd much rather work
and hire someone to clean.
So my Auntie Lois died last month.
She was my mom's step-sister and I didn't
have as much time with her as mom's sisters,
but she was always kind and I loved her.
In my job hunting frenzy
I did not get sympathy cards in the mail
so I am going to do that.
Right now.
I'm famous for my pity parties
but just because I'm underemployed
does not mean there are not people
that need love.
And compassion
and attention.
So, I will put one foot in front of the other
and remember Mr. Rodgers
and cope.
Because making other people feel good
is my specialty.
Doesn't pay very well,
but that's okay.
Ciao!
Mr. Blog.
When I'd get cranky on the twelve hour flights
between Honolulu and Sydney Australia
after about eight hours with four to go,
I asked my friend Janet how she
coped so well and she told me to,
"Fake it 'till you make it."
She said if I formed my face into a smile
even if I didn't feel it,
people couldn't tell
and would smile back
and then I would feel joy
in my heart and
my smile WOULD reflect it.
I didn't believe it,
but I tried it,
and she was right!
So now, since she gave me that tip
in 1988,
anytime I see another human being,
I put my smile on whether I feel it or not
and when they smile back,
it turns on my
joy factor.
I know I have told you this before so
thanks for listening.
It gets so lonely stuck at the house.
I'm so used to carrying mail and flight attending
and subbing, that it is hard for me to
not have a place to go.
Although I do love our dumpy little house,
you know how much I hate housework.
I'd much rather work
and hire someone to clean.
So my Auntie Lois died last month.
She was my mom's step-sister and I didn't
have as much time with her as mom's sisters,
but she was always kind and I loved her.
In my job hunting frenzy
I did not get sympathy cards in the mail
so I am going to do that.
Right now.
I'm famous for my pity parties
but just because I'm underemployed
does not mean there are not people
that need love.
And compassion
and attention.
So, I will put one foot in front of the other
and remember Mr. Rodgers
and cope.
Because making other people feel good
is my specialty.
Doesn't pay very well,
but that's okay.
Ciao!
12/8/2010 The Long Wait
Not used to seeing me at midnight are you
Mr. Blog?
Insomnia.
I stared at the phone all day.
Picked it up to make sure it was working
every ten minutes all day long.
The long wait.
I'm happy either way Mr. Blog.
I love my dear bed.
I'd love my bunk on my cruise ship more,
but I love my dear bed.
I just want to know.
That's all.
Ciao.
Mr. Blog?
Insomnia.
I stared at the phone all day.
Picked it up to make sure it was working
every ten minutes all day long.
The long wait.
I'm happy either way Mr. Blog.
I love my dear bed.
I'd love my bunk on my cruise ship more,
but I love my dear bed.
I just want to know.
That's all.
Ciao.
Monday, December 6, 2010
12/6/2010 Skype Job Interview From Miami to Seattle
Well, I survived Mr. Blog.
It was a close on though.
I worn the waist cincher Marta gave me with my spanx
and didn't get to breathe for an hour.
Her mom had bought it for her but it was too big
and now I know too big for Marta is size six.
My ribcage is still barking.
Sure was weird doing my hair and make up
and putting on a suit to go to my living room.
I thought about wearing my PJ pants
for fun
but decided I needed to feel that interview stress rush.
I was going to wear my slippers
but decided I needed the pain of my high heels
to get in the mood.
I spent all day yesterday making a set on my vendor table.
I covered it with the olive green tablecloth Marta gave me
and all the scout and Hawaiian crafts I'd made.
It looked really nice behind me on the tiny picture I could
see of me.
I made a list of questions she asked me for the
youth staff job on the cruise ship:
1 What do you know about our company?
2 Tell me what your favorite age of children is to work with and why?
3 We have rooms for age 2-5, 6-8, 9-12 and teenagers.
Tell me what activities you would plan with each
of these age groups.
4 Tell me about a difficult child you have had to work with.
5 Have you ever worked with special needs children?
6 Do you have a current CPR and First Aid Card?
7 How do you feel about having three roommates in a
room the size of a postage stamp?
8 How does your family feel about you going away?
9 Why would you want to take a huge pay cut per hour from what you are earning as a school teacher?
10 Would you have the stamina to work ten hours a day
seven days a week for five months?
11 Do you have a Hawaiian nick name or can you think of one you'd like?
I had great answers but I'm not getting my hopes up.
At least I have had a full week of fantasies
of cruising the Hawaiian Islands and
organizing games and activities
for the little rascals.
It was worth the time and effort
undergo the interview procedure for that.
Ciao
It was a close on though.
I worn the waist cincher Marta gave me with my spanx
and didn't get to breathe for an hour.
Her mom had bought it for her but it was too big
and now I know too big for Marta is size six.
My ribcage is still barking.
Sure was weird doing my hair and make up
and putting on a suit to go to my living room.
I thought about wearing my PJ pants
for fun
but decided I needed to feel that interview stress rush.
I was going to wear my slippers
but decided I needed the pain of my high heels
to get in the mood.
I spent all day yesterday making a set on my vendor table.
I covered it with the olive green tablecloth Marta gave me
and all the scout and Hawaiian crafts I'd made.
It looked really nice behind me on the tiny picture I could
see of me.
I made a list of questions she asked me for the
youth staff job on the cruise ship:
1 What do you know about our company?
2 Tell me what your favorite age of children is to work with and why?
3 We have rooms for age 2-5, 6-8, 9-12 and teenagers.
Tell me what activities you would plan with each
of these age groups.
4 Tell me about a difficult child you have had to work with.
5 Have you ever worked with special needs children?
6 Do you have a current CPR and First Aid Card?
7 How do you feel about having three roommates in a
room the size of a postage stamp?
8 How does your family feel about you going away?
9 Why would you want to take a huge pay cut per hour from what you are earning as a school teacher?
10 Would you have the stamina to work ten hours a day
seven days a week for five months?
11 Do you have a Hawaiian nick name or can you think of one you'd like?
I had great answers but I'm not getting my hopes up.
At least I have had a full week of fantasies
of cruising the Hawaiian Islands and
organizing games and activities
for the little rascals.
It was worth the time and effort
undergo the interview procedure for that.
Ciao
Sunday, December 5, 2010
12/5/2010 All I Want For Christmas is a Full Time Job
All I want for Christmas
is a full time job
a full time job
a full time job.
All I want for Christmas
is a full time job
so
I can have some fun.
Ciao
is a full time job
a full time job
a full time job.
All I want for Christmas
is a full time job
so
I can have some fun.
Ciao
12/5/2010 Preparing for my SKYPE Job Interview
Hi Mr. Blog,
I've worn myself out preparing for
my job interview tomorrow.
I can't really talk about it yet.
I have tried for six and one half years
to get hired as a classroom teacher
and I've been rejected for hundreds of positions.
I'm not giving up,
BUT
I love to work.
I just love to work.
So, for now,
I'm going in a new direction.
Wish me luck.
Ciao!
I've worn myself out preparing for
my job interview tomorrow.
I can't really talk about it yet.
I have tried for six and one half years
to get hired as a classroom teacher
and I've been rejected for hundreds of positions.
I'm not giving up,
BUT
I love to work.
I just love to work.
So, for now,
I'm going in a new direction.
Wish me luck.
Ciao!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
12/1/2010 Note to Self: Put on Glasses BEFORE Operating the Microwave Oven
Holly Jolly Mr. Blog!
Ahhhh. The reason for the season.
If I didn't have faith
I would never be able to cope
with this chronic joblessness.
So I went to make my oatmeal,
the way I do nearly every morning,
And what a mess!
Remind me to put on my glasses before
operating the microwave oven!
I must have hit 300 instead of 30
because the entire microwave oven
was coated with oatmeal.
And guess what?
When I took the saucer off the bowl-
it was empty!
Ugh.
Ciao!
Ahhhh. The reason for the season.
If I didn't have faith
I would never be able to cope
with this chronic joblessness.
So I went to make my oatmeal,
the way I do nearly every morning,
And what a mess!
Remind me to put on my glasses before
operating the microwave oven!
I must have hit 300 instead of 30
because the entire microwave oven
was coated with oatmeal.
And guess what?
When I took the saucer off the bowl-
it was empty!
Ugh.
Ciao!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
11/30/2010 Whadya Mean I Can't Drink Gravy and Lose Weight?!
I had such a marvelous time on Thanksgiving,
throwing my dietary caution to the wind.
I rolled in, basked in, basted myself in
and guzzled gravy.
Whadya mean I can't drink gravy and lose weight?!
It did take me two months to lose those five pounds.
Rather shocking it could all return in one day.
It was worth it.
Seeing the delighted faces of my sister and brother-in-law
and my marvelous children and my adorable husband,
all around the feast
giving thanks for our blessings.
It's not like I have a gravy habit or anything.
"Hi, my name is Gretchen and I'm a gravyholic."
Okay, I do have a gravy habit!
But I have come out of denial
and that's the first step.
Right?
throwing my dietary caution to the wind.
I rolled in, basked in, basted myself in
and guzzled gravy.
Whadya mean I can't drink gravy and lose weight?!
It did take me two months to lose those five pounds.
Rather shocking it could all return in one day.
It was worth it.
Seeing the delighted faces of my sister and brother-in-law
and my marvelous children and my adorable husband,
all around the feast
giving thanks for our blessings.
It's not like I have a gravy habit or anything.
"Hi, my name is Gretchen and I'm a gravyholic."
Okay, I do have a gravy habit!
But I have come out of denial
and that's the first step.
Right?
11/30/2010 Sledding on Thanksgiving
Happy Holidays Mr. Blog!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Mr. Blog because
of the snow. Rare thing here.
Last snowy Thanksgiving was 1985.
Terry and I went sledding with the kids.
They even invited us to go to their special hill.
Well, I learned that special, to a sixteen year old,
means STEEP.
Not just any steep, but
HAIR STANDING ON END STEEP!
Terry, having been a teen boy
trying to kill himself when he was young,
didn't even walk up the golf course to see their hill.
I got up there and Teddy said, "Right here mom."
It was your basic cliff.
My sons hate me most of the time for making them
do chores so I desperately wanted to bond with them,
but I wanted to live too.
So I backed up the trail about twenty feet and crawled
under the golf cart trail rope
and swallowed my pride.
I sat down in my little plastic toboggan
and gripped the sides for dear life
and flew down the cliff
screaming with terror!
When the worst was over and I only had twenty
feet to go
I relaxed my grip.
Bad move Mr. Blog.
My toboggan flipped out from under me
and I basically body surfed on my stomach
down the end of the course.
Brrr. I'm cold still thinking about it.
Troy came over and managed to get me out of
my face-plant position
and once vertical again
I could see the shining respect in the eyes
of my sons for a few seconds.
So I'd say the bruises were worth it.
There will come a day when
I can no longer manage
"The special hill."
But until then,
"Look Out!"
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Mr. Blog because
of the snow. Rare thing here.
Last snowy Thanksgiving was 1985.
Terry and I went sledding with the kids.
They even invited us to go to their special hill.
Well, I learned that special, to a sixteen year old,
means STEEP.
Not just any steep, but
HAIR STANDING ON END STEEP!
Terry, having been a teen boy
trying to kill himself when he was young,
didn't even walk up the golf course to see their hill.
I got up there and Teddy said, "Right here mom."
It was your basic cliff.
My sons hate me most of the time for making them
do chores so I desperately wanted to bond with them,
but I wanted to live too.
So I backed up the trail about twenty feet and crawled
under the golf cart trail rope
and swallowed my pride.
I sat down in my little plastic toboggan
and gripped the sides for dear life
and flew down the cliff
screaming with terror!
When the worst was over and I only had twenty
feet to go
I relaxed my grip.
Bad move Mr. Blog.
My toboggan flipped out from under me
and I basically body surfed on my stomach
down the end of the course.
Brrr. I'm cold still thinking about it.
Troy came over and managed to get me out of
my face-plant position
and once vertical again
I could see the shining respect in the eyes
of my sons for a few seconds.
So I'd say the bruises were worth it.
There will come a day when
I can no longer manage
"The special hill."
But until then,
"Look Out!"
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
11/23/2010 The Advantage of Growing Up in Holly Park Housing Project
I'm starting to run down from chores Mr. Blog,
might need a nap.
I forgot to tell you earlier about the advantages
of growing up in Holly Park Housing Project.
My mom was so broke she could never follow recipes.
She couldn't afford ingredients.
To this day,
I only own one cookbook.
Why use recipes anyway?
What a waste of time!
Right up there with clothing, hair and make up
for time wasters in my mind.
But my mom was a genius at stretching her
welfare checks and here are a few of her tips:
Tomato soup can be stretched by doubling the water called for
if you ad a quarter cup of milk and a dash of pepper.
Tuna fish can be quadrupled if you use cottage cheese salt and pepper.
I wish my mom was still alive and young.
I thought she was such a horrible, critical person
until I had children.
She just wanted us to be nice people Mr. Blog.
That's all.
Ciao!
might need a nap.
I forgot to tell you earlier about the advantages
of growing up in Holly Park Housing Project.
My mom was so broke she could never follow recipes.
She couldn't afford ingredients.
To this day,
I only own one cookbook.
Why use recipes anyway?
What a waste of time!
Right up there with clothing, hair and make up
for time wasters in my mind.
But my mom was a genius at stretching her
welfare checks and here are a few of her tips:
Tomato soup can be stretched by doubling the water called for
if you ad a quarter cup of milk and a dash of pepper.
Tuna fish can be quadrupled if you use cottage cheese salt and pepper.
I wish my mom was still alive and young.
I thought she was such a horrible, critical person
until I had children.
She just wanted us to be nice people Mr. Blog.
That's all.
Ciao!
11/23/2010 Scorched Soup
What a pretty day Mr. Blog!
The snow is so pretty on a sunny day.
If I didn't have a million chores I would so be sledding.
So I can't believe
I scorched my soup.
Ugh.
My first two rounds each fall are terrible.
You can't rush your soup Mr. Blog.
I'm sure you know that.
You need a good three days to make soup.
Elixer soup is very elusive.
Now I have three gallons of this disgusting
mass of bleh to eat.
Ever since Sandy Johnson's mom took us to River Ranch
in 1967 during Spring Break
and our teenage camp staff had trouble
starting a fire during a rainstorm,
I have hated scorched soup.
I remember shivering in the hut
at the top of a hill
waiting for hot tomato soup
and being handed the most
vile scorched soup in history.
At least I can put my two soup pots of goo
on the kitchen deck
in the snow
and not waste
refrigerator space.
Ciao!
The snow is so pretty on a sunny day.
If I didn't have a million chores I would so be sledding.
So I can't believe
I scorched my soup.
Ugh.
My first two rounds each fall are terrible.
You can't rush your soup Mr. Blog.
I'm sure you know that.
You need a good three days to make soup.
Elixer soup is very elusive.
Now I have three gallons of this disgusting
mass of bleh to eat.
Ever since Sandy Johnson's mom took us to River Ranch
in 1967 during Spring Break
and our teenage camp staff had trouble
starting a fire during a rainstorm,
I have hated scorched soup.
I remember shivering in the hut
at the top of a hill
waiting for hot tomato soup
and being handed the most
vile scorched soup in history.
At least I can put my two soup pots of goo
on the kitchen deck
in the snow
and not waste
refrigerator space.
Ciao!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
11/17/2010 Two Left Shoes! Or How I Applied for my Homeland Security TWIC Card
Well! What a kettle of fish
I found myself in this morning Mr. Blog!
I was sitting in my green Lazy-Boy recliner,
drinking coffee and looking online for sub jobs,
and an icky one for senior high English
at Bothell High School popped up and I
was just about to take it when
I looked at the date.
November 17th.
A bell went off in my head and I looked over my
shoulder at my giant calendar at the 17th and it
said, "TWIC 11:00AM."
I jumped up and realized that
I thought it was tomorrow and panicked.
I called Brenny and she said I'd be just fine
and that the drive would be safe and easy.
Thank goodness I had all my documents ready.
I jumped in and out of the shower and
started working on my hair to get it cute
for the picture with my curling iron
and burned a big spot on my forehead.
It took a few minutes to curl my hair
over the burn mark and my scalp was killing
me from having the curling iron too close to it with the
hair dryer on high at the same time.
I fried my brain.
Literally.
I was all ready to go when I looked down and realized in my haste
that I had on two left shoes!
I KNEW they felt weird.
I solved that problem and shot out the door.
It was cold and rainy and I told myself to remain calm
as I drove up Lake City to 145th and cut over to highway 99.
It was scary driving through the Battery Street tunnel.
Every monster from 'I Am Legend' to '28 Days'
was up in the ceiling ready to drop on me
so I had to really concentrate and be ready.
Once I got out of the tunnel it was pleasant to see
the waterfront and all the ships and ferries.
Made me thirsty for a cruise ship job for sure!
Once I got to Georgetown I had memorized the streets
to pass so I'd find my left turn.
Well, the streets didn't all go through because of the
railway yard right there,
but I noticed I was on the right hundred block and
took the next left.
I was in front of the Georgetown morgue!
It said KUBE Haunted House on the side and I thought
of Michelle Moyes. She told me at the Duchess tavern party a few
weeks ago that she went there with her son and some friends!
What a small world. I love her.
When we lived in Holly Park housing project,
there was one other white family in our little square and
the mom's name was Sandy Cole and
she had a son my age named Steven.
When she moved out in 1960 to West Seattle,
she would call my mom to meet her for bowling at the
Georgetown bowling alley. We went there for years
until we moved North to the University Village area in 1966.
So it was fun to be there in Georgetown and remember my mom.
Thank goodness I was a half hour early because the
winds were blowing about 60mph!
By the time I got inside the building from a block away,
my hair was standing straight on end from all the hairspray
I had applied to the carefully coiffed curls earlier.
THAT didn't work out too well for me Mr. Blog!
I got to the ladies room and nearly passed out when
I looked in the mirror.
Like I had stuck my finger in a socket.
I brushed like crazy to get it to lie down a little
and went and waited.
I sat next to the nicest man that had gotten hired by
Northern Pacific Railroad as a conductor!
Imagine that!
He had been and electrician twenty years and the business
moved and he needed to start a new job.
I learned that so far the trains and cruise ship people need TWIC cards
but the man, Dan, told me eventually all travel industry people
will need them.
I chatted and waited a half hour until I got my turn.
I had my $132.00 cashier's check and my passport
and had applied online in advance so it was pretty fast.
I had socks older than Dan, the TWIC man,
but he was charming and friendly as he processed me.
They had an awesome infra-red hand and finger scanning device
right out of a Star Trek episode.
I kept waiting to get beamed up but I didn't.
I hope I get my Transportation Worker Identification Credential.
There were some really weird questions on the additional
form I had to fill out there related to terrorism.
I think I'll be okay.
It was 11:30 when I cruised North on East Marginal Way
and downtown looked really dramatic with the dark purple
storm clouds behind it.
It looks nice except for all the new buildings.
They are all ugly as a baboon's backside!
The only pretty one is the Smith Tower.
When I was a kid we were so proud to have the
tallest building West of the Mississippi!
When I drove up on the Alaska Way viaduct the
view of the water was amazing!
Purple and churning and
the ferries in Elliot Bay were being tossed around
like ping pong balls out there!
All I could think about was working on a cruise ship
and sailing all over this planet.
I just love Earth.
It is SO pretty.
I got up to 80Th and was faint with hunger so I went
through the Taco Bell drive through for a few soft tacos.
I tried to eat while I was driving but got covered with
cheese shreds and tomatoes and lettuce
so I pulled into K-Mart on Aurora and 130Th.
Pam and I used to shop there years ago and I remembered
why I quit shopping there.
They have no greeters or floor sales people!
Poor K-Mart.
All they needed was floor staff instead of remodeling
and they'd be packed like Nordstroms all the time.
I had to go all the way back to lay-a-way to find out if
they still carried housecoats.
House coats were like casual dresses that snapped fast
up the front that were popular with housewives in
the fifties and sixties.
You could be dressed fast, but not dressed up enough
to go past the mailbox or anything.
Mostly for drinking coffee in and I had worn my last one
out five years ago and just been throwing on a muumuu.
Well, I decided a housecoat would be perfect for the
crew quarters on the cruise ship for lounging.
Only snag was, they were all ugly as sin.
I found the least ugly, with a paisley handkerchief
pattern but couldn't decide on salmon or turquoise.
I asked a lady nearby which on she liked better and she
said she liked the teal.
I'm not sure about teal or turquoise or how they are related
but I have no fashion sense or interest so I
took the teal.
It was an exciting thought to add that ugly housecoat
to my growing mound
of cruise ship gear in the side of my closet.
Packs of gum, snorkel gear, new shoes.
Now all I need is to get the job!
I found myself in this morning Mr. Blog!
I was sitting in my green Lazy-Boy recliner,
drinking coffee and looking online for sub jobs,
and an icky one for senior high English
at Bothell High School popped up and I
was just about to take it when
I looked at the date.
November 17th.
A bell went off in my head and I looked over my
shoulder at my giant calendar at the 17th and it
said, "TWIC 11:00AM."
I jumped up and realized that
I thought it was tomorrow and panicked.
I called Brenny and she said I'd be just fine
and that the drive would be safe and easy.
Thank goodness I had all my documents ready.
I jumped in and out of the shower and
started working on my hair to get it cute
for the picture with my curling iron
and burned a big spot on my forehead.
It took a few minutes to curl my hair
over the burn mark and my scalp was killing
me from having the curling iron too close to it with the
hair dryer on high at the same time.
I fried my brain.
Literally.
I was all ready to go when I looked down and realized in my haste
that I had on two left shoes!
I KNEW they felt weird.
I solved that problem and shot out the door.
It was cold and rainy and I told myself to remain calm
as I drove up Lake City to 145th and cut over to highway 99.
It was scary driving through the Battery Street tunnel.
Every monster from 'I Am Legend' to '28 Days'
was up in the ceiling ready to drop on me
so I had to really concentrate and be ready.
Once I got out of the tunnel it was pleasant to see
the waterfront and all the ships and ferries.
Made me thirsty for a cruise ship job for sure!
Once I got to Georgetown I had memorized the streets
to pass so I'd find my left turn.
Well, the streets didn't all go through because of the
railway yard right there,
but I noticed I was on the right hundred block and
took the next left.
I was in front of the Georgetown morgue!
It said KUBE Haunted House on the side and I thought
of Michelle Moyes. She told me at the Duchess tavern party a few
weeks ago that she went there with her son and some friends!
What a small world. I love her.
When we lived in Holly Park housing project,
there was one other white family in our little square and
the mom's name was Sandy Cole and
she had a son my age named Steven.
When she moved out in 1960 to West Seattle,
she would call my mom to meet her for bowling at the
Georgetown bowling alley. We went there for years
until we moved North to the University Village area in 1966.
So it was fun to be there in Georgetown and remember my mom.
Thank goodness I was a half hour early because the
winds were blowing about 60mph!
By the time I got inside the building from a block away,
my hair was standing straight on end from all the hairspray
I had applied to the carefully coiffed curls earlier.
THAT didn't work out too well for me Mr. Blog!
I got to the ladies room and nearly passed out when
I looked in the mirror.
Like I had stuck my finger in a socket.
I brushed like crazy to get it to lie down a little
and went and waited.
I sat next to the nicest man that had gotten hired by
Northern Pacific Railroad as a conductor!
Imagine that!
He had been and electrician twenty years and the business
moved and he needed to start a new job.
I learned that so far the trains and cruise ship people need TWIC cards
but the man, Dan, told me eventually all travel industry people
will need them.
I chatted and waited a half hour until I got my turn.
I had my $132.00 cashier's check and my passport
and had applied online in advance so it was pretty fast.
I had socks older than Dan, the TWIC man,
but he was charming and friendly as he processed me.
They had an awesome infra-red hand and finger scanning device
right out of a Star Trek episode.
I kept waiting to get beamed up but I didn't.
I hope I get my Transportation Worker Identification Credential.
There were some really weird questions on the additional
form I had to fill out there related to terrorism.
I think I'll be okay.
It was 11:30 when I cruised North on East Marginal Way
and downtown looked really dramatic with the dark purple
storm clouds behind it.
It looks nice except for all the new buildings.
They are all ugly as a baboon's backside!
The only pretty one is the Smith Tower.
When I was a kid we were so proud to have the
tallest building West of the Mississippi!
When I drove up on the Alaska Way viaduct the
view of the water was amazing!
Purple and churning and
the ferries in Elliot Bay were being tossed around
like ping pong balls out there!
All I could think about was working on a cruise ship
and sailing all over this planet.
I just love Earth.
It is SO pretty.
I got up to 80Th and was faint with hunger so I went
through the Taco Bell drive through for a few soft tacos.
I tried to eat while I was driving but got covered with
cheese shreds and tomatoes and lettuce
so I pulled into K-Mart on Aurora and 130Th.
Pam and I used to shop there years ago and I remembered
why I quit shopping there.
They have no greeters or floor sales people!
Poor K-Mart.
All they needed was floor staff instead of remodeling
and they'd be packed like Nordstroms all the time.
I had to go all the way back to lay-a-way to find out if
they still carried housecoats.
House coats were like casual dresses that snapped fast
up the front that were popular with housewives in
the fifties and sixties.
You could be dressed fast, but not dressed up enough
to go past the mailbox or anything.
Mostly for drinking coffee in and I had worn my last one
out five years ago and just been throwing on a muumuu.
Well, I decided a housecoat would be perfect for the
crew quarters on the cruise ship for lounging.
Only snag was, they were all ugly as sin.
I found the least ugly, with a paisley handkerchief
pattern but couldn't decide on salmon or turquoise.
I asked a lady nearby which on she liked better and she
said she liked the teal.
I'm not sure about teal or turquoise or how they are related
but I have no fashion sense or interest so I
took the teal.
It was an exciting thought to add that ugly housecoat
to my growing mound
of cruise ship gear in the side of my closet.
Packs of gum, snorkel gear, new shoes.
Now all I need is to get the job!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
11/16/2010 The Smell of Friendship
Oh Mr, Blog,
Thank God you're here.
I'm so lonely and depressed.
I got my errands mostly done and went to
Third Place Books to avoid another
Maeve Binchy withdrawal and do you know
what I smelled?
The smell of friendship.
It was coming from the commons area where friends
were meeting for lunch.
A combination of lovely food odors
mixed with wet wool coats and hats.
Musky dirt from heavy boots
and sour milk from baby bibs.
Paper from books and newspapers
and lilting dirty hair.
I was so filled with envy and longing.
Retirees meeting for lunch
and young mothers with their babies.
And I fall in a gap.
Too young to retire.
Too old to have a baby.
Just the odd man out.
Again.
Thank God you're here.
I'm so lonely and depressed.
I got my errands mostly done and went to
Third Place Books to avoid another
Maeve Binchy withdrawal and do you know
what I smelled?
The smell of friendship.
It was coming from the commons area where friends
were meeting for lunch.
A combination of lovely food odors
mixed with wet wool coats and hats.
Musky dirt from heavy boots
and sour milk from baby bibs.
Paper from books and newspapers
and lilting dirty hair.
I was so filled with envy and longing.
Retirees meeting for lunch
and young mothers with their babies.
And I fall in a gap.
Too young to retire.
Too old to have a baby.
Just the odd man out.
Again.
11/16/2010 The Cure
Hi Mr. Blog,
Boy am I groggy.
Terry was nagging me about being jobless
again last night and I had trouble sleeping
from worry.
I read that counting the under-employed,
there are nineteen million Americans without
jobs right now.
The technology that was supposed to make life easier
backfired and put everyone out of work.
So, you know what Mr. Blog?
I can only put one foot in front of the other.
I can only try to wake up.
I can only get a job if there is one.
But for now,
I have to find the cure to wake up.
Coffee.
Boy am I groggy.
Terry was nagging me about being jobless
again last night and I had trouble sleeping
from worry.
I read that counting the under-employed,
there are nineteen million Americans without
jobs right now.
The technology that was supposed to make life easier
backfired and put everyone out of work.
So, you know what Mr. Blog?
I can only put one foot in front of the other.
I can only try to wake up.
I can only get a job if there is one.
But for now,
I have to find the cure to wake up.
Coffee.
Monday, November 15, 2010
11/15/2010 Time to Cowboy Up!
Ahhh, Mr. Blog.
Thank God for you.
I've nearly worn out the knees on my PJs
from being on my prayer bones so much lately.
I finally got the nerve to cowboy up and
schedule a meeting with a local principal
to get some look-see time on my resume.
The fact that I get requested to sub
tells me that the teachers trust me
so I must be doing SOMETHING right.
Right?
It is a dreary looking day but making that call gave me the
inspiration to blast through my housework and get a move on.
Ciao!
Thank God for you.
I've nearly worn out the knees on my PJs
from being on my prayer bones so much lately.
I finally got the nerve to cowboy up and
schedule a meeting with a local principal
to get some look-see time on my resume.
The fact that I get requested to sub
tells me that the teachers trust me
so I must be doing SOMETHING right.
Right?
It is a dreary looking day but making that call gave me the
inspiration to blast through my housework and get a move on.
Ciao!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
11/11/10 My Birthday Part Two
Wow, Mr. Blog,
I am having a serious nap attack.
After I saw you yesterday, I had an e-mail
from Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
that my application had been PROCESSED.
Being processed is so much better than being
REJECTED!
Woo hoo for being processed.
I heard a commotion outside and the department of
corrections was weed-eating in front of our house.
I went out and offered them coffee or Kool-Aid but
they didn't want any.
They didn't know our house was there and they were supposed to be
working in front of the park but you know what?
They worked for another hour in front of our house
hedge trimming and raking!
Our house looks so spiffy now!
It was hot and sunny of all things and when Patty called
she said she had time to go for lunch and coffee.
Brenny had sent me $25.00 for my birthday and
so Patty and I could go to Toshi's for lunch.
I had the beef shish-ka-bobs and they were so good.
Then Kim, the owner, came over and gave me a bouquet of
the long stem Korean candies.
She said, "I think it is your birthday soon."
I told it was today and she gave me a big hug and smile.
Then Patty and I went and sat on the patio of the
Kenmore Starbucks and had huge fancy drinks.
I love the gingerbread one and Angela had given me
a Starbucks card for my birthday.
We basked in the sun and drank coffee for hours
and it was so pleasant.
When I got home I dug right in calling retirees for
JoAnn's union presidency run.
I got 36 confirmed votes before the kids came home
and it got too loud to make calls.
Pam and Al came over and they brought two
pumpkin pies and sang me happy birthday with Terry.
I let the kids go visit friends 'cause I like
the peace and quiet sometimes.
We had a lovely pie and hot tea party and when I blew out
my candle I did wish for a cruise ship job.
Brenny says I get special birthday powers this month
and I hope she is right!
I got great presents: my fav pink Dove soap from Pam
and an apron to die for from Suzanne and handkerchiefs
and a cool box from JoAnn.
I am such a freak Mr. Blog.
I put my Dove soap and new hankies
in my closet with my cruise ship supplies.
I have a huge stash of gum and other things
that are brand new to take along.
After Pam and Al left I made Terry watch,
'Fried Green Tomatoes' with me and I had forgotten
how sad and traumatic parts of the story were.
I went through three hankies!
The kids came home and I asked them to watch TV in the
basement so Terry and I could have a nice date.
Now this morning the weather was back to gray and cold!
I made the Ts all waffles and eggs and then started getting stuff
ready for the Saint Brendan's Arts and Crafts Fair this weekend.
At noon, Terry and I drove to Lynnwood to use the IXTAPA
Mexican restaurant gift card Angela had given me
and that was lovely.
Fun to have a date with my darling husband once in awhile.
We zipped down to Aurora Village and Terry let me pick out
some sneakers for my birthday gift.
I had never seen Dr. Scholl's brand shoes but they
were so comfortable and all leather in white.
You'll never guess where I put them Mr. Blog?
In my closet of cruise ship job goodies!
I won't even take them out of the box until
it is time for my first shift.
I know, I know.
How do I know if I'll get hired?
I don't.
But thinking about just the possibility
gets me out of bed in the morning.
I swear to God it looks like it is going to snow Mr. Blog!
I looked all over the internet trying to find out when
the earliest snow in Seattle happened
but I couldn't find out and gave up.
The earliest I can remember was the Thanksgiving
of 1963. I was seven years old and we had dinner with
all my aunts and uncles and cousins at my Auntie Ann's big
house in Laurelhurst.
A few flakes started down and I was going with cousin Care
and little Boo and baby Danny back to Cougar Mountain
and when we got out to Cougar Mountain the snow
got deeper and deeper and my cousins fell asleep
but I was watching out the front window between Uncle Frank
and Auntie Jean and as we started up the big hill
it got icier and icier and steeper and steeper
and it was so dangerous and thriller.
Then near the top, someone had made a snowball and it
started down the hill and got bigger and bigger until
it was the size of a garbage can and
I thought it was going to hit us!
Funny that I don't remember what Uncle Frank did,
but we all lived and got up to their house way
up near the top of Cougar Mountain.
So, Mr. Blog, do you know when the earliest snow in
lower Seattle has ever fallen?
I really, really need to know!
Ciao!
I am having a serious nap attack.
After I saw you yesterday, I had an e-mail
from Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
that my application had been PROCESSED.
Being processed is so much better than being
REJECTED!
Woo hoo for being processed.
I heard a commotion outside and the department of
corrections was weed-eating in front of our house.
I went out and offered them coffee or Kool-Aid but
they didn't want any.
They didn't know our house was there and they were supposed to be
working in front of the park but you know what?
They worked for another hour in front of our house
hedge trimming and raking!
Our house looks so spiffy now!
It was hot and sunny of all things and when Patty called
she said she had time to go for lunch and coffee.
Brenny had sent me $25.00 for my birthday and
so Patty and I could go to Toshi's for lunch.
I had the beef shish-ka-bobs and they were so good.
Then Kim, the owner, came over and gave me a bouquet of
the long stem Korean candies.
She said, "I think it is your birthday soon."
I told it was today and she gave me a big hug and smile.
Then Patty and I went and sat on the patio of the
Kenmore Starbucks and had huge fancy drinks.
I love the gingerbread one and Angela had given me
a Starbucks card for my birthday.
We basked in the sun and drank coffee for hours
and it was so pleasant.
When I got home I dug right in calling retirees for
JoAnn's union presidency run.
I got 36 confirmed votes before the kids came home
and it got too loud to make calls.
Pam and Al came over and they brought two
pumpkin pies and sang me happy birthday with Terry.
I let the kids go visit friends 'cause I like
the peace and quiet sometimes.
We had a lovely pie and hot tea party and when I blew out
my candle I did wish for a cruise ship job.
Brenny says I get special birthday powers this month
and I hope she is right!
I got great presents: my fav pink Dove soap from Pam
and an apron to die for from Suzanne and handkerchiefs
and a cool box from JoAnn.
I am such a freak Mr. Blog.
I put my Dove soap and new hankies
in my closet with my cruise ship supplies.
I have a huge stash of gum and other things
that are brand new to take along.
After Pam and Al left I made Terry watch,
'Fried Green Tomatoes' with me and I had forgotten
how sad and traumatic parts of the story were.
I went through three hankies!
The kids came home and I asked them to watch TV in the
basement so Terry and I could have a nice date.
Now this morning the weather was back to gray and cold!
I made the Ts all waffles and eggs and then started getting stuff
ready for the Saint Brendan's Arts and Crafts Fair this weekend.
At noon, Terry and I drove to Lynnwood to use the IXTAPA
Mexican restaurant gift card Angela had given me
and that was lovely.
Fun to have a date with my darling husband once in awhile.
We zipped down to Aurora Village and Terry let me pick out
some sneakers for my birthday gift.
I had never seen Dr. Scholl's brand shoes but they
were so comfortable and all leather in white.
You'll never guess where I put them Mr. Blog?
In my closet of cruise ship job goodies!
I won't even take them out of the box until
it is time for my first shift.
I know, I know.
How do I know if I'll get hired?
I don't.
But thinking about just the possibility
gets me out of bed in the morning.
I swear to God it looks like it is going to snow Mr. Blog!
I looked all over the internet trying to find out when
the earliest snow in Seattle happened
but I couldn't find out and gave up.
The earliest I can remember was the Thanksgiving
of 1963. I was seven years old and we had dinner with
all my aunts and uncles and cousins at my Auntie Ann's big
house in Laurelhurst.
A few flakes started down and I was going with cousin Care
and little Boo and baby Danny back to Cougar Mountain
and when we got out to Cougar Mountain the snow
got deeper and deeper and my cousins fell asleep
but I was watching out the front window between Uncle Frank
and Auntie Jean and as we started up the big hill
it got icier and icier and steeper and steeper
and it was so dangerous and thriller.
Then near the top, someone had made a snowball and it
started down the hill and got bigger and bigger until
it was the size of a garbage can and
I thought it was going to hit us!
Funny that I don't remember what Uncle Frank did,
but we all lived and got up to their house way
up near the top of Cougar Mountain.
So, Mr. Blog, do you know when the earliest snow in
lower Seattle has ever fallen?
I really, really need to know!
Ciao!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
November 10, 2010 My 54th Birthday
Ahhhhh, Mr. Blog!
It's my birthday!
I haven't been home for my birthday in five years.
Brenny would buy me a ticket to visit her in Hawaii
and I'd pay her back later with my sub money
or Terry would buy me a ticket to get me out of his hair.
My kids think I'm 49!
But you know what Mr. Blog?
I feel twenty-nine!
Now that I'm sleeping for the first time in seven years
I feel fantastic.
Those stupid hot flashes all night nearly killed me
because I'm a big sleepaholic.
I've always slept ten hours a night.
Now that I'm older I only sleep eight
but feel good. No.
I FEEL GREAT!!!
So Brenny called and I was telling her how Terry and I
watched 'Second Hand Lions' a few nights ago
and that the story starts when the old men die
and goes to flashbacks of their youth.
I told Brenny that we needed a batch of better
adventures if we were going to have some really
good memories when we are ninety-two.
She reminded me of some of our adventures that
I had forgotten about
and I decided to write them down.
Turns out I love to write.
When I finally get hired by Holland America
to be a librarian, I'll get a few sets of good books
for my reading club.
I cut out the reviews of books I want to buy
and save them in a binder.
There are some I really, really, really want
badly but can't afford them.
That one about the London Tower
and the dust bowl and the history of salt.
I just got so spoiled working at the Post Office
and the airlines.
I could buy all the books I wanted
and I did!
When I was flying I switched to used paperbacks
so if I forgot them on a plane or at the hotel
I wouldn't care.
I read all the Louis L'Amores and
tons of little romance novels.
So it is a blazing sunny day!
I am so happy.
I'm going to finish calling people for
JoAnn's election,
go out to lunch to Toshi's
and Patty is coming over later to go to Starbucks!
Sissy is bringing over a pumpkin pie later
for a family singing
and you know what my wish will be when I blow out
those candles!
A TEACHING JOB.
I don't care where.
I just want to use my degree Mr. Blog.
I feel guilty wishing for something for myself.
I really want all the people in the world to have good health
and happiness and prosperity the most
and that should be my first wish.
But I love my husband and
our kids are eating us out of house and home!
So tonight I'm making Terry watch
'Fried Green Tomatoes' with me!
He HATES chick flicks
but it is my birthday
and as long as I tickle his feet
he'll be able to stomach it.
I'm just so happy Mr. Blog.
We have perfect health
and a great house
and loads of fun together.
YOU have a great day too!
Ciao!
It's my birthday!
I haven't been home for my birthday in five years.
Brenny would buy me a ticket to visit her in Hawaii
and I'd pay her back later with my sub money
or Terry would buy me a ticket to get me out of his hair.
My kids think I'm 49!
But you know what Mr. Blog?
I feel twenty-nine!
Now that I'm sleeping for the first time in seven years
I feel fantastic.
Those stupid hot flashes all night nearly killed me
because I'm a big sleepaholic.
I've always slept ten hours a night.
Now that I'm older I only sleep eight
but feel good. No.
I FEEL GREAT!!!
So Brenny called and I was telling her how Terry and I
watched 'Second Hand Lions' a few nights ago
and that the story starts when the old men die
and goes to flashbacks of their youth.
I told Brenny that we needed a batch of better
adventures if we were going to have some really
good memories when we are ninety-two.
She reminded me of some of our adventures that
I had forgotten about
and I decided to write them down.
Turns out I love to write.
When I finally get hired by Holland America
to be a librarian, I'll get a few sets of good books
for my reading club.
I cut out the reviews of books I want to buy
and save them in a binder.
There are some I really, really, really want
badly but can't afford them.
That one about the London Tower
and the dust bowl and the history of salt.
I just got so spoiled working at the Post Office
and the airlines.
I could buy all the books I wanted
and I did!
When I was flying I switched to used paperbacks
so if I forgot them on a plane or at the hotel
I wouldn't care.
I read all the Louis L'Amores and
tons of little romance novels.
So it is a blazing sunny day!
I am so happy.
I'm going to finish calling people for
JoAnn's election,
go out to lunch to Toshi's
and Patty is coming over later to go to Starbucks!
Sissy is bringing over a pumpkin pie later
for a family singing
and you know what my wish will be when I blow out
those candles!
A TEACHING JOB.
I don't care where.
I just want to use my degree Mr. Blog.
I feel guilty wishing for something for myself.
I really want all the people in the world to have good health
and happiness and prosperity the most
and that should be my first wish.
But I love my husband and
our kids are eating us out of house and home!
So tonight I'm making Terry watch
'Fried Green Tomatoes' with me!
He HATES chick flicks
but it is my birthday
and as long as I tickle his feet
he'll be able to stomach it.
I'm just so happy Mr. Blog.
We have perfect health
and a great house
and loads of fun together.
YOU have a great day too!
Ciao!
Monday, November 8, 2010
11/8/2010 Trying to Stay Calm
Oh Mr. Blog,
The sweet torture of it all.
I was surfing the internet a few hours ago
of all the cruise lines and what should I find?
Several are HIRING Christmas cruise extra staff!
I nearly died!
When I think of Christmas hiring,
I think of the post office or Bon Marche
or other retail stores catering to shoppers,
not cruise ships.
I just counted over two dozen extra holiday cruises
on the Holland America website!
I need to calm down because I just got
requested to sub tomorrow and I need to sleep.
This morning right before I woke up,
I dreamed I was on a Holland America ship in
the Club Hal and I and I was leaning over some kids
at an arts and crafts table
watching them make bracelets out of old buttons.
Funny thing is, I have never seen a bracelet
made from buttons.
So I call Brenny and she said she just saw one
Sunday morning at the Mu'ku'u market!
Isn't that wild?
So, thanks for letting me talk about it.
Get it out of my system.
I did drop off an updated resume at Holland America
week before last on my way back from
my Norwegian cruise line interview.
I just want to teach Mr. Blog.
I don't care where.
The sweet torture of it all.
I was surfing the internet a few hours ago
of all the cruise lines and what should I find?
Several are HIRING Christmas cruise extra staff!
I nearly died!
When I think of Christmas hiring,
I think of the post office or Bon Marche
or other retail stores catering to shoppers,
not cruise ships.
I just counted over two dozen extra holiday cruises
on the Holland America website!
I need to calm down because I just got
requested to sub tomorrow and I need to sleep.
This morning right before I woke up,
I dreamed I was on a Holland America ship in
the Club Hal and I and I was leaning over some kids
at an arts and crafts table
watching them make bracelets out of old buttons.
Funny thing is, I have never seen a bracelet
made from buttons.
So I call Brenny and she said she just saw one
Sunday morning at the Mu'ku'u market!
Isn't that wild?
So, thanks for letting me talk about it.
Get it out of my system.
I did drop off an updated resume at Holland America
week before last on my way back from
my Norwegian cruise line interview.
I just want to teach Mr. Blog.
I don't care where.
11/8/2010 I Want to be a Church Lady
Hi Mr. Blog,
I am so sore from bowling yesterday.
Someone told me after the tournament last
year they had, "Bowling Butt."
Hahaha. That is so cute.
So I had a message on the phone machine last night from
Lynn Pearson at the church and called her back.
She asked if I was interested in a volunteer job
next fall on the nominating committee.
I told her I wasn't but I really am.
But you know what Mr. Blog?
As much as I miss being a scout leader
and PTA volunteer,
I have promised myself that I will not do
ANY volunteer work until I have a full time
paid job teaching.
Whether on land or on sea,
I want to work.
Work for cash.
I WANT to pay taxes!
I love our roads and parks and
everything single thing about America.
I love how I can be a church lady soon
without someone wanting to shoot at me for not
following the popular religion.
I love my freedom.
Brenda says we are both freedom freaks
and I suspect she is right.
SO, the minute I get a job
I'm calling Lynn Pearson
and I'm saying, "What can I do?"
Do you remember when Dana Carvey used to do that
Church Lady skit on Saturday Night Live?
That's how I want to be.
The Church Lady.
I am so sore from bowling yesterday.
Someone told me after the tournament last
year they had, "Bowling Butt."
Hahaha. That is so cute.
So I had a message on the phone machine last night from
Lynn Pearson at the church and called her back.
She asked if I was interested in a volunteer job
next fall on the nominating committee.
I told her I wasn't but I really am.
But you know what Mr. Blog?
As much as I miss being a scout leader
and PTA volunteer,
I have promised myself that I will not do
ANY volunteer work until I have a full time
paid job teaching.
Whether on land or on sea,
I want to work.
Work for cash.
I WANT to pay taxes!
I love our roads and parks and
everything single thing about America.
I love how I can be a church lady soon
without someone wanting to shoot at me for not
following the popular religion.
I love my freedom.
Brenda says we are both freedom freaks
and I suspect she is right.
SO, the minute I get a job
I'm calling Lynn Pearson
and I'm saying, "What can I do?"
Do you remember when Dana Carvey used to do that
Church Lady skit on Saturday Night Live?
That's how I want to be.
The Church Lady.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
11/7/2010 Bowling for Muscular Dystrophy with Branch 79 Union
Whew Mr. Blog,
that was some tournament!
I am a beat dog from bowling and helping Marta
move stuff for six hours yesterday.
Ugh.
At least JoAnn asked Jodie if I could be on her team.
Thank God!
She and I are possibly the worst bowlers in the history of
Kenmore Fifty Lanes.
She started working at the Bothell Post Office in 1987 right
after I quit.
She is really good friends with JoAnn and carries mail with her up in
Mill Creek.
I got to see some of my old pals that I carried mail with in Bothell
from 1980 to 1987. Mary Constanza and Fernando and of course
Brooks and JoAnn.
I told Jodi I was very worried about JoAnn's run for Branch 79
Letter Carrier Union presidency over Rick Horner
and she said not to worry
that JoAnn the election in the bag.
That's what we thought last time and she lost by four votes
and had to go back to carrying mail after running the union for fourteen
years. She was so good at that job and when she gets a paper cut
she bleeds union blood.
I volunteered to call the 500 retirees but it is slow going
without the phone numbers. I have to go on the internet and
look up each name individually to get the numbers from
the reverse directory from the address.
So there weren't as many teams bowling this year and that made me sad.
Muscular Dystrophy is a terrible illness and usually people are
born with it and they don't ever get to walk.
The young gal the union sponsors was there in her wheelchair.
She is only about twenty and is in a wheelchair.
I hate that.
It is so unfair.
I just can't understand people having wasteful things like...
I don't know what.
But wasteful things of some sort
when there are awful things like muscular dystrophy and
cerebral palsy and ALS.
I'm not sure what ALS is but my pal Jenny Dwyer talks about it
and Jennifer Donahue works to cure pancreatic cancer.
That is terrible too.
Oh, sorry. I get sidetracked when I think about suffering
and don't know what to do.
I didn't even have money to pay my entry fee
but Jodi covered me. I told her I could
write her a post-dated check for my paycheck but she
didn't want me to.
Well, I am more inspired to get a job now than ever so
I can pay for Jodi's entry fee next year!
She is such a little pussycat.
The kind of person that if you got shipwrecked with
would say something like, "Wow, look at all the coconuts,
this will be so fun!"
I'm not even kidding Mr. Blog.
Jodi Olsen in one nice cookie.
And that little Mary Constanza!
She is such a firecracker.
She was having such a tough time raising those two kids
alone when I met her. Little Tony and Julie.
But what a marvelous job she did!
I think a lot about all the mail carriers.
They are out there year round in that brutal weather
with those awful supervisors needling them.
They are my heroes.
Every last one of them.
I couldn't do it.
The managers were so mean that I nearly had a
nervous breakdown working there.
Now the sisters that were on our team
were a hoot and a half.!
Donna D'Ambrosia was a shop steward with Terry
for awhile and then transferred to Mill Creek
and she and her sister Susie were so cute I couldn't
stand it.
How I longed to have a fun sister that
wanted to do things with me.
But I just pretended they were my sisters!
Jodi and I had really good games too!
I bowled 68 these first two and then 106!
I was so thrilled.
Plus, JoAnn's little sister Val was there.
She is probably one of the best people God made.
Val Pyle is just one of those people that after you
talk to them, you wish you could be half as quality of a person yourself.
She is a fancy-pants bowler too when she does this fancy foot
up in the air thing.
Mary has a wild fancy style too!
Very exciting to watch!
Oh, and Carlos' dad Gene came too!
He is really really good.
He has played on leagues for years and years.
Coby Jones showed up and I had met him last year
bowling. He is so funny and cheerful.
It got really fun as time progressed when people started shoving
cash in the neck collars every time anyone got a strike or a spare.
Mary did a really cute booty shake dance and had about
twenty dollars hanging off her back jeans' pockets!
We laughed and laughed and cheer each other on until we were hoarse
AND made another $50.00 for muscular dystrophy.
So that was fun.
I had dreaded it so much because I am a terrible bowler.
But you know what Mr. Blog?
I had one of the best times of my life.
that was some tournament!
I am a beat dog from bowling and helping Marta
move stuff for six hours yesterday.
Ugh.
At least JoAnn asked Jodie if I could be on her team.
Thank God!
She and I are possibly the worst bowlers in the history of
Kenmore Fifty Lanes.
She started working at the Bothell Post Office in 1987 right
after I quit.
She is really good friends with JoAnn and carries mail with her up in
Mill Creek.
I got to see some of my old pals that I carried mail with in Bothell
from 1980 to 1987. Mary Constanza and Fernando and of course
Brooks and JoAnn.
I told Jodi I was very worried about JoAnn's run for Branch 79
Letter Carrier Union presidency over Rick Horner
and she said not to worry
that JoAnn the election in the bag.
That's what we thought last time and she lost by four votes
and had to go back to carrying mail after running the union for fourteen
years. She was so good at that job and when she gets a paper cut
she bleeds union blood.
I volunteered to call the 500 retirees but it is slow going
without the phone numbers. I have to go on the internet and
look up each name individually to get the numbers from
the reverse directory from the address.
So there weren't as many teams bowling this year and that made me sad.
Muscular Dystrophy is a terrible illness and usually people are
born with it and they don't ever get to walk.
The young gal the union sponsors was there in her wheelchair.
She is only about twenty and is in a wheelchair.
I hate that.
It is so unfair.
I just can't understand people having wasteful things like...
I don't know what.
But wasteful things of some sort
when there are awful things like muscular dystrophy and
cerebral palsy and ALS.
I'm not sure what ALS is but my pal Jenny Dwyer talks about it
and Jennifer Donahue works to cure pancreatic cancer.
That is terrible too.
Oh, sorry. I get sidetracked when I think about suffering
and don't know what to do.
I didn't even have money to pay my entry fee
but Jodi covered me. I told her I could
write her a post-dated check for my paycheck but she
didn't want me to.
Well, I am more inspired to get a job now than ever so
I can pay for Jodi's entry fee next year!
She is such a little pussycat.
The kind of person that if you got shipwrecked with
would say something like, "Wow, look at all the coconuts,
this will be so fun!"
I'm not even kidding Mr. Blog.
Jodi Olsen in one nice cookie.
And that little Mary Constanza!
She is such a firecracker.
She was having such a tough time raising those two kids
alone when I met her. Little Tony and Julie.
But what a marvelous job she did!
I think a lot about all the mail carriers.
They are out there year round in that brutal weather
with those awful supervisors needling them.
They are my heroes.
Every last one of them.
I couldn't do it.
The managers were so mean that I nearly had a
nervous breakdown working there.
Now the sisters that were on our team
were a hoot and a half.!
Donna D'Ambrosia was a shop steward with Terry
for awhile and then transferred to Mill Creek
and she and her sister Susie were so cute I couldn't
stand it.
How I longed to have a fun sister that
wanted to do things with me.
But I just pretended they were my sisters!
Jodi and I had really good games too!
I bowled 68 these first two and then 106!
I was so thrilled.
Plus, JoAnn's little sister Val was there.
She is probably one of the best people God made.
Val Pyle is just one of those people that after you
talk to them, you wish you could be half as quality of a person yourself.
She is a fancy-pants bowler too when she does this fancy foot
up in the air thing.
Mary has a wild fancy style too!
Very exciting to watch!
Oh, and Carlos' dad Gene came too!
He is really really good.
He has played on leagues for years and years.
Coby Jones showed up and I had met him last year
bowling. He is so funny and cheerful.
It got really fun as time progressed when people started shoving
cash in the neck collars every time anyone got a strike or a spare.
Mary did a really cute booty shake dance and had about
twenty dollars hanging off her back jeans' pockets!
We laughed and laughed and cheer each other on until we were hoarse
AND made another $50.00 for muscular dystrophy.
So that was fun.
I had dreaded it so much because I am a terrible bowler.
But you know what Mr. Blog?
I had one of the best times of my life.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
11/3/2010 I Love Basketball!
*Walks in jauntily*
Good morning Mr. Blog.
I am thinking about basketball this morning.
I got e-mails from the kids' coaches that practices
are starting this week
so of course I'm excited thinking about the most
EXCITING SPORT IN THE WORLD.
I wanted to go see a Seattle Storm game so bad
in person but couldn't afford a ticket.
That made me so sad.
Must be nice to have a job and get to go to see
sports and concerts and stuff.
When I carried mail and was a flight attendant,
I went to stuff all the time.
It was awesome.
I wonder why I am being so stubborn about getting a job
related to my teaching degree anyway?
It's really not like me.
So back to basketball.
It is the perfect game.
I think I'll write a poem about it:
Watching Basketball
Running, shooting, feet of thunder
cheering crowds
go down under
finding joy and screaming loud
basketball
feel so proud.
Sons that run and shoot and pass
not like home
where I hear sass.
basketball
Well, time to dash off to Brookside
and earn some Christmas money!
Ciao!
Good morning Mr. Blog.
I am thinking about basketball this morning.
I got e-mails from the kids' coaches that practices
are starting this week
so of course I'm excited thinking about the most
EXCITING SPORT IN THE WORLD.
I wanted to go see a Seattle Storm game so bad
in person but couldn't afford a ticket.
That made me so sad.
Must be nice to have a job and get to go to see
sports and concerts and stuff.
When I carried mail and was a flight attendant,
I went to stuff all the time.
It was awesome.
I wonder why I am being so stubborn about getting a job
related to my teaching degree anyway?
It's really not like me.
So back to basketball.
It is the perfect game.
I think I'll write a poem about it:
Watching Basketball
Running, shooting, feet of thunder
cheering crowds
go down under
finding joy and screaming loud
basketball
feel so proud.
Sons that run and shoot and pass
not like home
where I hear sass.
basketball
Well, time to dash off to Brookside
and earn some Christmas money!
Ciao!
Monday, November 1, 2010
11/2/2010 That Deformed Twix Bar Was the Best Thing I Ever Ate!
*Bounces in merrily and plops on couch.
Oh my goodness Mr. Blog!
My day kept getting better and better and better.
I'm surprised Holland America didn't call and hire me to
work the librarian position on the 14 day Hawaii loop that leaves Sunday!
After I left here I dashed down to rotate the wash and when
I looked in the machine I could see a mangled candy wrapper.
I fished it out and it was a slightly deformed mini TWIX!!!
This was the first time in FIFTY years that a piece of candy didn't
cross my lips on Halloween and I was feeling darn smug.
I had just finished my lasagna at noon and that
DEFORMED TWIX BAR WAS THE BEST THING I EVER ATE!
I ate it standing right there in my cold,
ugly but clean, utility room.
I ate it SO SLOWLY!
I used to think they were disgusting
like the candy plant was cheaping out
adding a wafer inside.
But not anymore!
The chocolate was of a high-tasting quality
and the wafer was delightful.
And it tasted really, really good!
You know, I think there might be a dash of caramel inside.
Patty called just then and wanted to go to Starbucks
and I told her two o'clock
and then ran like a madwoman upstairs
to do my Jane Fonda tape,
get my shopping list made
and then race to shower and dress.
I was so happy I didn't even care
that it was the ugliest day I ever saw!
I dropped off my prescription at my beloved Rite Aid
and dashed over to the Kenmore UPS store.
They have the cutest cards in the world right there!
Right in downtown next to my beloved Toshi's Teriyaki.
Did you know that the owner Kim was also born in 1956?
Her birthday is in July so that makes her three months older than me.
Little rascal.
And I mean little too!
I guess Korean people are pretty short.
She is so cute!
I had seen the great Halloween cards last week when I was in making
color copies of cub scout and carnival games
I had made for cruise ship applications.
I wanted super-cute special thank you cards for the ladies
that interviewed me for Norwegian Cruise line last week.
They aren't thank you cards but I wish I could show you one.
It's a picture of a ten year old witch girl from the back with
her hands on her hips in that sassy style girls get sometimes
and she is looking at a wall with eight different styled brooms and
inside it says, "Sometimes you just have to accessorize."
Man, if I had a job I would have so bought every single on of those
to mail to all my home girls.
Broke my heart that I could only buy two!
So after that I dashed in the rain to Kookmore Safeway
but only saw three kooks on the way.
That was disappointing
but, Safeway had everything I needed and
GUESS WHAT?!
My favorite checker Michelle said her brother works for
Holland America! AND...
HE IS WORKING THE WORLD CRUISE I WANTED TO WORK ON!
I couldn't believe it!
I cried and cried September 25th
when that ship left without me.
I had practiced Russian, Japanese and Chinese greetings too.
Her brother is a guitarist so that is what he gets to do.
Man, playing guitar on a cruise ship.
I'm so jealous I could just spit!
I'm writing him a letter with my phone number so when
he gets home I can buy him coffee and hear all about it!
I can't wait!
When I got home Patty pulled up and we went straight to Starbucks
and frolicked over our coffee for hours and hours.
We got armchairs next to the fireplace!
I know.
I told you it was my lucky day.
She has a JOB INTERVIEW tomorrow and I am so jealous.
I will put her on my prayer list when I get
down on my prayer bones in a few hours.
Her interview is at one tomorrow down at the Bellevue Macy's
so I'll pray then too.
You know I have seen a few miracles
and I really believe in divine intervention.
Well, I need to get back to mending Terry's favorite shirt.
You would not believe this nasty green rag of a tee-shirt in a million
years Mr. Blog!
And the smell!
Even after washing it makes my eyes water to work on it.
Thank God I have chronic sinusitis.
Besides the headaches behind my eyeballs
that make it feel like someone is stabbing me with an ice pick,
it is a really good thing!
Bye bye.
Oh my goodness Mr. Blog!
My day kept getting better and better and better.
I'm surprised Holland America didn't call and hire me to
work the librarian position on the 14 day Hawaii loop that leaves Sunday!
After I left here I dashed down to rotate the wash and when
I looked in the machine I could see a mangled candy wrapper.
I fished it out and it was a slightly deformed mini TWIX!!!
This was the first time in FIFTY years that a piece of candy didn't
cross my lips on Halloween and I was feeling darn smug.
I had just finished my lasagna at noon and that
DEFORMED TWIX BAR WAS THE BEST THING I EVER ATE!
I ate it standing right there in my cold,
ugly but clean, utility room.
I ate it SO SLOWLY!
I used to think they were disgusting
like the candy plant was cheaping out
adding a wafer inside.
But not anymore!
The chocolate was of a high-tasting quality
and the wafer was delightful.
And it tasted really, really good!
You know, I think there might be a dash of caramel inside.
Patty called just then and wanted to go to Starbucks
and I told her two o'clock
and then ran like a madwoman upstairs
to do my Jane Fonda tape,
get my shopping list made
and then race to shower and dress.
I was so happy I didn't even care
that it was the ugliest day I ever saw!
I dropped off my prescription at my beloved Rite Aid
and dashed over to the Kenmore UPS store.
They have the cutest cards in the world right there!
Right in downtown next to my beloved Toshi's Teriyaki.
Did you know that the owner Kim was also born in 1956?
Her birthday is in July so that makes her three months older than me.
Little rascal.
And I mean little too!
I guess Korean people are pretty short.
She is so cute!
I had seen the great Halloween cards last week when I was in making
color copies of cub scout and carnival games
I had made for cruise ship applications.
I wanted super-cute special thank you cards for the ladies
that interviewed me for Norwegian Cruise line last week.
They aren't thank you cards but I wish I could show you one.
It's a picture of a ten year old witch girl from the back with
her hands on her hips in that sassy style girls get sometimes
and she is looking at a wall with eight different styled brooms and
inside it says, "Sometimes you just have to accessorize."
Man, if I had a job I would have so bought every single on of those
to mail to all my home girls.
Broke my heart that I could only buy two!
So after that I dashed in the rain to Kookmore Safeway
but only saw three kooks on the way.
That was disappointing
but, Safeway had everything I needed and
GUESS WHAT?!
My favorite checker Michelle said her brother works for
Holland America! AND...
HE IS WORKING THE WORLD CRUISE I WANTED TO WORK ON!
I couldn't believe it!
I cried and cried September 25th
when that ship left without me.
I had practiced Russian, Japanese and Chinese greetings too.
Her brother is a guitarist so that is what he gets to do.
Man, playing guitar on a cruise ship.
I'm so jealous I could just spit!
I'm writing him a letter with my phone number so when
he gets home I can buy him coffee and hear all about it!
I can't wait!
When I got home Patty pulled up and we went straight to Starbucks
and frolicked over our coffee for hours and hours.
We got armchairs next to the fireplace!
I know.
I told you it was my lucky day.
She has a JOB INTERVIEW tomorrow and I am so jealous.
I will put her on my prayer list when I get
down on my prayer bones in a few hours.
Her interview is at one tomorrow down at the Bellevue Macy's
so I'll pray then too.
You know I have seen a few miracles
and I really believe in divine intervention.
Well, I need to get back to mending Terry's favorite shirt.
You would not believe this nasty green rag of a tee-shirt in a million
years Mr. Blog!
And the smell!
Even after washing it makes my eyes water to work on it.
Thank God I have chronic sinusitis.
Besides the headaches behind my eyeballs
that make it feel like someone is stabbing me with an ice pick,
it is a really good thing!
Bye bye.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
10/30/2010 Cruise Line Job interview
*Walks in bouncily and lies down*
My goodness Mr. Blog!
My wish was granted this week and I had my
first cruise ship job interview downtown Tuesday.
I found it by surfing cruise line career websites.
If I get picked, I start work in Hawaii February 1st
for five months. Twenty seven day cruises.
Bonnie offered to drive me to Elliot Bay which was
shocking, but her husband doesn't want her to work
outside the home and she likes to leave their rural
home for a big adventure once in awhile. Lucky me!
She arrived at 7:30 and I had just finished
pouring myself into my Spanx-like undergarment
and suit. I was a very naughty kitten at Louise's
party Thursday night and paid dearly for it by not being able to
breath the next seven hours!
It was a brutally windy, rainy morning
and Elliot Bay looked like a vanilla milkshake!
I saw an interviewee get dropped off and in the time
it took her to cross the road to the hotel,
her hair looked like a Don King look a like.
I asked Bonnie if she didn't mind driving down
and turning around to go under the hotel entryway
and she did not mind one bit.
I hated to be a princess but this hairdo
put me back one hundred clams!
I got in and found the lower lobby of the Marriot
and it was around 8:30. Two people had just arrived
and one man was already inside our conference room.
I took my time starting my make up and hair touch up.
There was a magnifying mirror on an extensible arm
that was dandy. Wish I had one at home!
After primping for a solid hour I thought I might
be able to pass for forty seven or eight!
I went in the room at 9:30 and got a seat in the front
and about a dozen people had come in.
I chatted with the ladies behind me.
One was applying for youth staff and one to cook.
At 9:45 the lovely interviewer ladies came in and
greeted us and they were around my age.
The first thing she did was give us all silk leis!
That was inspirational since it was freezing outside.
One went to the lobby to sign in people while
the other set up her laptop spooled into the projector.
First she told us about the job and details
of the itinerary and Hawaii.
Then she said that if we did not have one year's
experience in the job we sought we need not
stay since there is no on ship job training.
I was so relieved since I've taught for six years.
After that she told us about the TWIC card we needed.
Transportation Worker Identification Card.
After the 9/11/2001 Bombing of the World Trade Centers
in New York, America strengthened its homeland security.
The TWIC card would allow us access to get to our ship.
Then she talked about the Coast Guard physical
and said not to worry, if she could pass it so could we!
She was really warm and friendly and funny.
I was shocked that half the people showed up
in blue jeans, with piercings or black nail polish.
There were about one hundred of us.
After an hour I was called with the first group of ten
to wait in the hall for a one on one interview.
I was very happy!
My last interview to get in the UW teacher college had
five people interviewing us!
At the airlines it was common for three people to interview
you and I did over fifty of those interviews.
I was called in by the other lady and she was so gracious.
I gave her my paperwork and she frowned slightly and said,
"I see you are a teacher. We want to entertain the children
more than teach them."
I felt like the floor was opening up to swallow me
when she said that and I started hyperventilating.
I told her I brought something to show her and very
slowly reached down to my tote bag on the floor
and brought out my Kwakiutl and Ecuadorian masks I had made.
I told her that I was a cub scout leader for ten years and
knew all kinds of games and arts and crafts.
She broke into a huge smile and started scribbling all over
her interview sheet. Then I told her as a PTA volunteer that
I had organized the school carnival for ten years
and she scribbled even more frantically.
I closed my mouth and smiled a small smile and
she looked up and said, "If I could hire you on the spot
I would. The youth staff director hires her staff.
Here is my business card and if you don't hear from her
within two weeks, e-mail me and I'll call her."
I asked if she could jot down the other nice lady's name
so I could send her a thank you card and she had
the biggest smile!
Then she put a tiny blue post it note on the top
of my application and I stood up and thanked her
and shook her hand and left.
Well you know I have been beating myself up lately
Mr. Blog for using all my extra energy volunteering
instead of getting a master's degree or something and
this interview made me realize that I had done what I loved.
I had helped people have fun
and feel good about themselves.
That is what I am really good at but I don't think of it
as a special skill set of any kind.
But maybe it is?
When I subbed the following day I was so excited to
get to work I was way too early.
I told the office manager about my interview
and she said she had been on a great cruise
with Royal Caribbean. When I got to the classroom
I looked at their website and there was a full page
ad that said, "Wanted: Imaginative Youth Staff!"
I was shocked and happy because I learned so much
at the interview about what they are looking for
and you know what Mr. Blog?
It is me.
I must have a thousand games and arts and crafts
rattling around in this old brain of mine.
So all day yesterday I dug through photographs of
fun scout games, carnival games I'd built etc.
I dashed to the UPS store and had them color copied
on sheets of paper that looked terrific.
Then I updated my cover letters and got them
all in three clear plastic folders for
Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean.
I put them in card stock priority mailers
and made it to the post office at 4:45.
The truck comes at five.
I got home and put away all the papers and pictures
and folded up my table and tucked it away.
Now you and I both know I am fifty-three Mr. Blog.
Several decades past the age of most new hires.
But now I have a dream.
The latest a full time teacher ever gets hire is October.
For the last seven Novembers I have spent the first
week in bed crying because I didn't get hired to teach.
I will tell you my dream.
I am standing at the door way of the Explorations Cafe.
The ocean is out the window of both sides
and I am all dressed up in a navy blue suit
greeting a middle-aged couple
and asking them,
"How may I help you?"
My goodness Mr. Blog!
My wish was granted this week and I had my
first cruise ship job interview downtown Tuesday.
I found it by surfing cruise line career websites.
If I get picked, I start work in Hawaii February 1st
for five months. Twenty seven day cruises.
Bonnie offered to drive me to Elliot Bay which was
shocking, but her husband doesn't want her to work
outside the home and she likes to leave their rural
home for a big adventure once in awhile. Lucky me!
She arrived at 7:30 and I had just finished
pouring myself into my Spanx-like undergarment
and suit. I was a very naughty kitten at Louise's
party Thursday night and paid dearly for it by not being able to
breath the next seven hours!
It was a brutally windy, rainy morning
and Elliot Bay looked like a vanilla milkshake!
I saw an interviewee get dropped off and in the time
it took her to cross the road to the hotel,
her hair looked like a Don King look a like.
I asked Bonnie if she didn't mind driving down
and turning around to go under the hotel entryway
and she did not mind one bit.
I hated to be a princess but this hairdo
put me back one hundred clams!
I got in and found the lower lobby of the Marriot
and it was around 8:30. Two people had just arrived
and one man was already inside our conference room.
I took my time starting my make up and hair touch up.
There was a magnifying mirror on an extensible arm
that was dandy. Wish I had one at home!
After primping for a solid hour I thought I might
be able to pass for forty seven or eight!
I went in the room at 9:30 and got a seat in the front
and about a dozen people had come in.
I chatted with the ladies behind me.
One was applying for youth staff and one to cook.
At 9:45 the lovely interviewer ladies came in and
greeted us and they were around my age.
The first thing she did was give us all silk leis!
That was inspirational since it was freezing outside.
One went to the lobby to sign in people while
the other set up her laptop spooled into the projector.
First she told us about the job and details
of the itinerary and Hawaii.
Then she said that if we did not have one year's
experience in the job we sought we need not
stay since there is no on ship job training.
I was so relieved since I've taught for six years.
After that she told us about the TWIC card we needed.
Transportation Worker Identification Card.
After the 9/11/2001 Bombing of the World Trade Centers
in New York, America strengthened its homeland security.
The TWIC card would allow us access to get to our ship.
Then she talked about the Coast Guard physical
and said not to worry, if she could pass it so could we!
She was really warm and friendly and funny.
I was shocked that half the people showed up
in blue jeans, with piercings or black nail polish.
There were about one hundred of us.
After an hour I was called with the first group of ten
to wait in the hall for a one on one interview.
I was very happy!
My last interview to get in the UW teacher college had
five people interviewing us!
At the airlines it was common for three people to interview
you and I did over fifty of those interviews.
I was called in by the other lady and she was so gracious.
I gave her my paperwork and she frowned slightly and said,
"I see you are a teacher. We want to entertain the children
more than teach them."
I felt like the floor was opening up to swallow me
when she said that and I started hyperventilating.
I told her I brought something to show her and very
slowly reached down to my tote bag on the floor
and brought out my Kwakiutl and Ecuadorian masks I had made.
I told her that I was a cub scout leader for ten years and
knew all kinds of games and arts and crafts.
She broke into a huge smile and started scribbling all over
her interview sheet. Then I told her as a PTA volunteer that
I had organized the school carnival for ten years
and she scribbled even more frantically.
I closed my mouth and smiled a small smile and
she looked up and said, "If I could hire you on the spot
I would. The youth staff director hires her staff.
Here is my business card and if you don't hear from her
within two weeks, e-mail me and I'll call her."
I asked if she could jot down the other nice lady's name
so I could send her a thank you card and she had
the biggest smile!
Then she put a tiny blue post it note on the top
of my application and I stood up and thanked her
and shook her hand and left.
Well you know I have been beating myself up lately
Mr. Blog for using all my extra energy volunteering
instead of getting a master's degree or something and
this interview made me realize that I had done what I loved.
I had helped people have fun
and feel good about themselves.
That is what I am really good at but I don't think of it
as a special skill set of any kind.
But maybe it is?
When I subbed the following day I was so excited to
get to work I was way too early.
I told the office manager about my interview
and she said she had been on a great cruise
with Royal Caribbean. When I got to the classroom
I looked at their website and there was a full page
ad that said, "Wanted: Imaginative Youth Staff!"
I was shocked and happy because I learned so much
at the interview about what they are looking for
and you know what Mr. Blog?
It is me.
I must have a thousand games and arts and crafts
rattling around in this old brain of mine.
So all day yesterday I dug through photographs of
fun scout games, carnival games I'd built etc.
I dashed to the UPS store and had them color copied
on sheets of paper that looked terrific.
Then I updated my cover letters and got them
all in three clear plastic folders for
Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean.
I put them in card stock priority mailers
and made it to the post office at 4:45.
The truck comes at five.
I got home and put away all the papers and pictures
and folded up my table and tucked it away.
Now you and I both know I am fifty-three Mr. Blog.
Several decades past the age of most new hires.
But now I have a dream.
The latest a full time teacher ever gets hire is October.
For the last seven Novembers I have spent the first
week in bed crying because I didn't get hired to teach.
I will tell you my dream.
I am standing at the door way of the Explorations Cafe.
The ocean is out the window of both sides
and I am all dressed up in a navy blue suit
greeting a middle-aged couple
and asking them,
"How may I help you?"
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
10/19/2010 The Older Lady From Nordstroms That Got Picked
*Dashes in and perches on the edge of the armchair*
Oh, I forgot to tell you why I feel so cheery Mr. Blog!
I woke up remembering an Alaskan Airlines flight attendant
interview that I went to down at the Sea Tac Red Lion Inn
around 1982.
There were hundreds of us well-groomed women in the lobby
and I sat in a circle of ten and we were chatting.
The oldest lady in our group looked to be around forty-five.
She was wearing a classy red and white stripped dress
instead of the obligatory navy blue interview suit
that the rest of us had on.
She was warm and friendly and said she worked at Nordstrom.
At the end of the interviews I noticed that she was one of
the handful that made it to the second round of interviews.
And I thought about her and Nordstroms and why women pay
double to shop there.
It is because of their, "The customer is always right." policy.
And that lady seemed to really represent that kind of background
of excellent customer service.
When I interviewed with the airlines and was rejected
dozens and dozens of times over five years,
I was a mail carrier.
Now a mail carrier is sort of a customer service job
but not like working at Nordstroms and
certainly not working as a flight attendant!
So at this interview,
I get to be the lady from Nordstroms.
The older lady that gets picked
because she knows all about excellent
customer service and how to give it
because I was a FLIGHT ATTENDANT
for eight years!
My pals at Continental used to tease me and call me
Connie Continental because I was so serious about
passing out pillows and blankets and magazines.
The food had to be hot
the drinks had to be cold
and the people had to feel special.
I felt like every flight I worked was my home
and I got so excited for my guests to arrive!
I couldn't wait to see them
and take them on vacation or to work
whatever they needed to do
I was there for them.
So next Tuesday, a week from today
I am going to be that older lady from Nordstroms
and I'm going to get picked!
Ciao!
Oh, I forgot to tell you why I feel so cheery Mr. Blog!
I woke up remembering an Alaskan Airlines flight attendant
interview that I went to down at the Sea Tac Red Lion Inn
around 1982.
There were hundreds of us well-groomed women in the lobby
and I sat in a circle of ten and we were chatting.
The oldest lady in our group looked to be around forty-five.
She was wearing a classy red and white stripped dress
instead of the obligatory navy blue interview suit
that the rest of us had on.
She was warm and friendly and said she worked at Nordstrom.
At the end of the interviews I noticed that she was one of
the handful that made it to the second round of interviews.
And I thought about her and Nordstroms and why women pay
double to shop there.
It is because of their, "The customer is always right." policy.
And that lady seemed to really represent that kind of background
of excellent customer service.
When I interviewed with the airlines and was rejected
dozens and dozens of times over five years,
I was a mail carrier.
Now a mail carrier is sort of a customer service job
but not like working at Nordstroms and
certainly not working as a flight attendant!
So at this interview,
I get to be the lady from Nordstroms.
The older lady that gets picked
because she knows all about excellent
customer service and how to give it
because I was a FLIGHT ATTENDANT
for eight years!
My pals at Continental used to tease me and call me
Connie Continental because I was so serious about
passing out pillows and blankets and magazines.
The food had to be hot
the drinks had to be cold
and the people had to feel special.
I felt like every flight I worked was my home
and I got so excited for my guests to arrive!
I couldn't wait to see them
and take them on vacation or to work
whatever they needed to do
I was there for them.
So next Tuesday, a week from today
I am going to be that older lady from Nordstroms
and I'm going to get picked!
Ciao!
10/19/2010 Rhetorical Questions Don't Need Answers
*Walks in jauntily and lies down*
Hi Mr. Blog,
I shouldn't feel this cheery but I do.
A few days ago I was talking to Brenny on the phone
and I asked the rhetorical question,
"I wonder if the cruise lines practice
blatant age discrimination like the school districts?"
And instead of just listening to my worries and doubts
she answered me, "Why the heck do you think they'd want you
when they could have some cute young twenty-five year old?"
I was crushed.
Because I know she may be right.
Funny thing is, despite being plagued with self-doubt,
I'm working twice as hard on my resume
and craft samples that I'm taking along.
I feel cheery and full of self-doubt at the same time!
Ciao!
Hi Mr. Blog,
I shouldn't feel this cheery but I do.
A few days ago I was talking to Brenny on the phone
and I asked the rhetorical question,
"I wonder if the cruise lines practice
blatant age discrimination like the school districts?"
And instead of just listening to my worries and doubts
she answered me, "Why the heck do you think they'd want you
when they could have some cute young twenty-five year old?"
I was crushed.
Because I know she may be right.
Funny thing is, despite being plagued with self-doubt,
I'm working twice as hard on my resume
and craft samples that I'm taking along.
I feel cheery and full of self-doubt at the same time!
Ciao!
Monday, October 18, 2010
10/18/2010 The Bobble-head Doll Wife
*Skips in again and plops down*
Whew, I didn't think I could divert Terry
that time Mr. Blog!
I have to have two cups of coffee
before ANYONE talks to me so I came up
with a very effective strategy to deal
with his WAKE UP FULL OF ENGERGY
AND BLABBERMOUTHNESS.
On his day off during the week,
when the kids are gone,
I let him talk to me in the morning.
It is SO BRUTAL
but I love my husband
and want to stay married
so I came up with a strategy last year that
REALLY WORKS!
I leave in my earplugs when I hear Teddy leave for school
and I come upstairs, get my coffee and sit on the couch
next to his big daddy recliner
and I put up the footrest built into the couch
and pretend to listen to him for TWO HOURS!
Aren't I a genius Mr. Blog?!
I can't really hear anything he is saying
but it doesn't matter
because it is all about the post office
which would kill me from boredom if I could hear it.
I just stare at him, smile, and bob my head up and down
the entire time.
He is so happy! AND I get to stay married
and it is only two hours each week.
I am the bobble-head doll wife!
Ciao!
Whew, I didn't think I could divert Terry
that time Mr. Blog!
I have to have two cups of coffee
before ANYONE talks to me so I came up
with a very effective strategy to deal
with his WAKE UP FULL OF ENGERGY
AND BLABBERMOUTHNESS.
On his day off during the week,
when the kids are gone,
I let him talk to me in the morning.
It is SO BRUTAL
but I love my husband
and want to stay married
so I came up with a strategy last year that
REALLY WORKS!
I leave in my earplugs when I hear Teddy leave for school
and I come upstairs, get my coffee and sit on the couch
next to his big daddy recliner
and I put up the footrest built into the couch
and pretend to listen to him for TWO HOURS!
Aren't I a genius Mr. Blog?!
I can't really hear anything he is saying
but it doesn't matter
because it is all about the post office
which would kill me from boredom if I could hear it.
I just stare at him, smile, and bob my head up and down
the entire time.
He is so happy! AND I get to stay married
and it is only two hours each week.
I am the bobble-head doll wife!
Ciao!
10/18/10 My Marriage is Like Making a Souffle and I Can't Follow the Recipe!
*Skips in merrily and plops on couch*
Wow, that was one long pity party I had Friday night
and Saturday and yesterday!
Whew!
Glad that is over with.
They can take their half day kindergarten job
that they gave to a intern graduate and
go fly a kite with it! There.
Feels so good to let it go and move forward.
So I noticed lots of my friends have had relationship
problems and failures and I was thinking about how
I had terrible problems with relationships
until I met Terry.
My "just right" husband.
But there are so many times that I feel like
my marriage is like making a souffle and I
can't seem to follow the recipe!
Like how on earth can he enter and leave the house
without kissing me and saying, "I love you."
I have been trying to train him to do that
for twenty-four years now without success!
And how can he expect me to feel romantic
when he spent the entire previous day nagging
me about money and not having a job?!
Like I forgot everything he said?
I had to remind him of what our marriage counselor
in 1994 told us. He said,
"Always sit down for discussions and make sure
the TV is off and pretend Jesus is sitting there."
That image alone removes any mean words
and has been very effective.
But why does it have to be so hard Mr. Blog?
Caio!
Wow, that was one long pity party I had Friday night
and Saturday and yesterday!
Whew!
Glad that is over with.
They can take their half day kindergarten job
that they gave to a intern graduate and
go fly a kite with it! There.
Feels so good to let it go and move forward.
So I noticed lots of my friends have had relationship
problems and failures and I was thinking about how
I had terrible problems with relationships
until I met Terry.
My "just right" husband.
But there are so many times that I feel like
my marriage is like making a souffle and I
can't seem to follow the recipe!
Like how on earth can he enter and leave the house
without kissing me and saying, "I love you."
I have been trying to train him to do that
for twenty-four years now without success!
And how can he expect me to feel romantic
when he spent the entire previous day nagging
me about money and not having a job?!
Like I forgot everything he said?
I had to remind him of what our marriage counselor
in 1994 told us. He said,
"Always sit down for discussions and make sure
the TV is off and pretend Jesus is sitting there."
That image alone removes any mean words
and has been very effective.
But why does it have to be so hard Mr. Blog?
Caio!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
10/16/2010 I Am A Potato Bug
*Walks in and lies down*
I am a potato bug Mr. Blog.
I crawl around under the fringes of society
where I am invisible most of the time.
When I crawl out
I get stepped on.
Over and over and over again.
Sometimes people notice me and step over me
and look down and poke me.
Over and over and over again.
I curl up in my armor
and try to survive.
Then they decide to
just step on me.
Well, I have sat on the pity pot long enough Mr. Blog.
I'm off to run errands in the sun.
I hope I don't get stepped on!
Ciao!
I am a potato bug Mr. Blog.
I crawl around under the fringes of society
where I am invisible most of the time.
When I crawl out
I get stepped on.
Over and over and over again.
Sometimes people notice me and step over me
and look down and poke me.
Over and over and over again.
I curl up in my armor
and try to survive.
Then they decide to
just step on me.
Well, I have sat on the pity pot long enough Mr. Blog.
I'm off to run errands in the sun.
I hope I don't get stepped on!
Ciao!
Friday, October 15, 2010
10/15/2010 Mary Gutterson's TheNovelLive Book Writing Event
*Skips in merrily and plops on couch*
Good Morning Mr. Blog,
That book writing event yesterday was probably in the
top ten oddest things I have done this year.
I can't believe it took me four years to get over the
death of my mother and father and able to frolic again.
Of course Lisa Martinez is to blame for all my wild behavior
at this ripe age of fifty-three.
She was such a little rascal at Bryant when I met her
in 1966. We were in the after school bamboo dancing club
and girl scouts together.
Oh how I LOVED bamboo dancing.
I was such a fearless little thing and Mr. Hakola, the Vice Principal
even let me design the crisscross pole dance when I was ten.
Instead of dancing down and back through six sets of poles
we had two sets criss-crossed and we danced around
in a circle pattern until we built up the nerve to cut
through the middle!
Can you imagine that?!
Four poles slamming together that could potentially
break your legs if you weren't fast enough.
I was fast.
A childhood of being an unwanted little sister
helped me build up great speed.
If you are annoying, you'd better be fast!
So anyway, um. Lisa, odd things, over grief.
Lisa and reconnected all us Roosevelt people together
through Facebook and I started going to socialize.
Little did I know I would go to book readings and
high teas and other activities that I would
normally not know about.
But getting over my grief last winter
was like waking up.
So you know I have been going to BINGO most
Wednesday nights with Pam, Margo and Michelle.
A month ago I was at Third Place Books
down in Lake Forest Park and I saw a big poster
on the information desk for The Novel Live.
I look at everything and read everything in public places.
I noticed on the poster it said something about
The Seattle Seven.
A little light bulb went off inside my little brain
and I remembered reading about that group in
The Seattle Times book review section.
It is a wonderful book review section and I have
dozens of clippings of books I want to buy
when I get a job someday.
What caught my eye when I was reading about
The Seattle Seven, was Mary Gutterson's name.
I didn't even know she was a writer!
So anyway, I was at Lake Forest Park, looking at the poster
and they had a basket with invitations to this book writing
at a place called the Richard Hugo House.
I went home and googled The Novel Live
and was so excited to see Mary's name on it!
I called Margo right away and told her that Mary was
writing a book with thirty other authors
at a big event downtown.
She sounded excited too so I took the invitations
to BINGO and passed them out and we talked about it.
We had never heard of Richard Hugo or Hugo House,
but we love Mary and would do anything for her
so we decided to go.
Now that was where we had to do some serious planning
since all of us moved out of the crowded part of Seattle
when it filled up with awful skyscrapers and too many people.
Margo and Michelle are both in Shoreline and I'm next
door in Kookmore. Where the kooks are.
None of us remembered how to drive into Seattle
or where to park and didn't want to
so Margo had the brilliant idea of Michelle and me
to take her access bus with her.
Margo fell off a loading dock and broke her
back and hips and is waiting for a hip replacement
so she is in one of those electric wheelchairs.
Well, she got the arrangements made and Michelle and I
met her at her house yesterday at two PM.
It was a fine sunny day with just a little nip
in the air that got nippier and nippier as the day went along.
The van came and we met a nice lady going downtown to the doctor
that had had foot surgery.
We got into downtown and the traffic was
horrendous but we got to do some serious people watching
so we were quite happy to have to park in
the middle of downtown
while we off-loaded the nice lady.
It started misting of all things as we approached
the Richard Hugo House.
I thought it was by Lake Union but it was
on Capital Hill instead.
We found the wheelchair ramp and got inside
and it was the most wonderful old Victorian House
you ever did see!
I used to shop at the REI near there as a teenager
and bought my first backpack there in 1969
with my babysitting money.
We would sleep overnight on the sidewalk to be the first ones
inside to get the discounted down sleeping bags
that no one earning $1.00 an hour babysitting
and mowing lawns could normally afford.
So we go inside the building and it is darkish
and full of rich wood floors and furniture
and my blood pressure dropped like a rock
and I felt all kumbiiyaish.
The nice young lady showed us to the caber at stage
and there was an attractive young lady on the
stage typing!
Well!
I had never seen such a thing and I
was mighty impressed as you can imagine.
I mean, when I go to bed every night around eight,
I read for two or three hours
and I often wonder how writers can sit there and write
and there I was as an EYEWITNESS to this
novel being written.
Once we had our table, we wandered around a little and
guess who we found?!
MARY!
Margo said Mary had been ill with a cold
but she sure didn't look it.
If a human were to be labeled as a specimen,
like lazy, fast, slow, et cetera,
Mary would be labeled as vigorous!
She just plain exudes vigor and vitality and
warmth and friendliness.
She was happy to see us and let us take
a few pictures with her before she
went to the green room to study
what the twenty-two previous authors
had written.
The girls had coffee and I looked at all the
merchandise for sale
and dreamed of having a job
so I could buy a cute
The Novel Live t-shirt.
Mary had on the black and white one
and she looked so magnificent
with her still-girlish figure
and wild, dark curly hair.
And her smile.
A smile that would soften even the cruelest heart.
After browsing the merchandise,
I explored the building further
and happened upon The Green Room.
When I saw Mary sitting at the long table
covered with papers I tried to
inch back out quietly so I wouldn't disturb her.
She spotted me and yelled for me to come sit next
to her for a minute,
which I was disinclined to do
since she was scheduled to go on stage in five minutes
and I certainly didn't want to distract her.
She just laughed when I told her that
and I could tell right then that she was the
consummate professional.
She had already read the previous chapters
and was raren' to go.
She looked like a cat would look
if she were surrounded by a floor full of
open cans of tuna fish.
Happy, relaxed, full of Sudafed
and eager to dig in.
She was called to go out
and I glanced at the wall covered with butcher paper
outlining the plot and the characters.
It was fascinating!
Who has ever seen
the brainstorming for a novel on butcher paper
up on a wall. A twenty foot long space of wall
covered in ideas.
I just marveled at it.
I dashed out to snap a few photographs of Mary
getting settled in with the technology people.
They had hooked up an author-cam for the five day
event so people could see them typing and read
what was being typed at home on their computers.
Once Mary was settled in Michelle, Margo
and I sat at our table eagerly watching her
every move.
She typed like blazes Mr. Blog!
We were stunned!
We could just barely read what she was typing
before the screen scrolled up to a new page.
And brilliant.
Talk about Brilliant with a capital B.
I had been working the two previous days
so I didn't know what the plot was
but apparently the protagonist, Alexis, a teenager,
had been locked in a room by the evil Richard
and had to get out.
She saw her murdered friend's crow out the window.
We were SO EXCITED.
Mimi Castillo showed up a minute before our bus arrived
and Mary's parents and other friends were there too
and also her hot new boyfriend with a sexy accent.
When we slipped out to jump on our bus it was
really raining. Not pouring, but cold and wet.
We got on the bus and met the other rider, Swan,
that had just moved here from Chicago
and had a pleasant ride out of the
claustrophobic city out to Margo's house.
We were so excited about what Mary was writing
that we all had ideas of how we wanted Alexis to
escape from her twelfth floor prison.
Michelle wanted the crow, Habib, to somehow make a
parachute with the other crows to carry her off,
and Margo wanted Mr. Kenji to kick in the door and save her
and I wanted her to jump into a dumpster in the alley below.
Margo has a small machine called a Blackberry
and she was able to find Mary on the internet
and read us what she had typed.
When we found out Mary had all the crows enter the
building and cause pandemonium,
we all cheered.
We cheered so much we fogged twenty feet of
windows on the Metro Access van!
Well, I won't tell you more Mr. Blog because
I want you to buy the book when it comes out this spring.
The proceeds fund literacy in Seattle and
what more noble cause is that?!
Of course the advent of video games
has led to a nation of youth
that don't have to read for entertainment.
When I was little, TV was black and white
and had three channels and the remote control
hadn't even been invented yet.
But even as technology expanded I was engrossed
with the written word.
Especially character driven stories.
I loved Mary's book, 'Gone To the Dogs.'
It made me laugh and cry and I would call it poignant.
So after we made it to Margo's and parted
from each other with sorrow
and promises of future fun together,
I drove home in the miserable drizzle
and found my sons and Carlos
all snuggled in playing those awful
video games I can't stand.
But I woke up wondering
who on earth was Richard Hugo?
So I did some digging and found out he was born in
White Center of all places in 1923
and got a master's degree in Creative Writing at the UW
before moving to Montana to teach that subject
at the University of Montana.
He was a very famous poet and did some other writing
too and I would like to read, 'The Real West Marginal Way.'
We roamed that area as kids with my mom and her
boyfriend Bill Ravet in the late fifties and early sixties
when we lived in Rainier Valley and later, Beacon Hill.
Bill took us fishing in the Duwammish River along there
and around Harbor Island in a small boat.
And we'd eat fast food along Marginal Way.
Seems to me that was where there were some
Buildings that looked like Cowboy boots.
In 1997, Linda Jaech, Frances McCue and Andrea Lewis
decided Seattle needed a center for Seattle writers and readers
to congregate and they created the non-profit
Richard Hugo House, named in his honor.
Besides the cool cabaret area that Mary worked in,
there is a theater, art gallery, library and
meeting rooms.
It didn't look 16,206 square feet but it is!
What a good idea!
With three hundred and forty-seven cloudy,
gloomy days a year, Seattle is the perfect place
for writers and readers and artists.
It is far too miserable to go outside most of the time
so many people have time to live in their heads.
Then when a rare ray of sunshine comes out
the inspiration of life is a very heady experience.
Gets those creative juices flowing.
It was so nice to see Mary in her literary glory
and I hope she feels better today.
I hope she feels triumphant
but I know sometimes people can be
self-critical.
I'm an expert on that.
Well, I have a million and one chores and errands
so have a great day Mr. Blog!
Good Morning Mr. Blog,
That book writing event yesterday was probably in the
top ten oddest things I have done this year.
I can't believe it took me four years to get over the
death of my mother and father and able to frolic again.
Of course Lisa Martinez is to blame for all my wild behavior
at this ripe age of fifty-three.
She was such a little rascal at Bryant when I met her
in 1966. We were in the after school bamboo dancing club
and girl scouts together.
Oh how I LOVED bamboo dancing.
I was such a fearless little thing and Mr. Hakola, the Vice Principal
even let me design the crisscross pole dance when I was ten.
Instead of dancing down and back through six sets of poles
we had two sets criss-crossed and we danced around
in a circle pattern until we built up the nerve to cut
through the middle!
Can you imagine that?!
Four poles slamming together that could potentially
break your legs if you weren't fast enough.
I was fast.
A childhood of being an unwanted little sister
helped me build up great speed.
If you are annoying, you'd better be fast!
So anyway, um. Lisa, odd things, over grief.
Lisa and reconnected all us Roosevelt people together
through Facebook and I started going to socialize.
Little did I know I would go to book readings and
high teas and other activities that I would
normally not know about.
But getting over my grief last winter
was like waking up.
So you know I have been going to BINGO most
Wednesday nights with Pam, Margo and Michelle.
A month ago I was at Third Place Books
down in Lake Forest Park and I saw a big poster
on the information desk for The Novel Live.
I look at everything and read everything in public places.
I noticed on the poster it said something about
The Seattle Seven.
A little light bulb went off inside my little brain
and I remembered reading about that group in
The Seattle Times book review section.
It is a wonderful book review section and I have
dozens of clippings of books I want to buy
when I get a job someday.
What caught my eye when I was reading about
The Seattle Seven, was Mary Gutterson's name.
I didn't even know she was a writer!
So anyway, I was at Lake Forest Park, looking at the poster
and they had a basket with invitations to this book writing
at a place called the Richard Hugo House.
I went home and googled The Novel Live
and was so excited to see Mary's name on it!
I called Margo right away and told her that Mary was
writing a book with thirty other authors
at a big event downtown.
She sounded excited too so I took the invitations
to BINGO and passed them out and we talked about it.
We had never heard of Richard Hugo or Hugo House,
but we love Mary and would do anything for her
so we decided to go.
Now that was where we had to do some serious planning
since all of us moved out of the crowded part of Seattle
when it filled up with awful skyscrapers and too many people.
Margo and Michelle are both in Shoreline and I'm next
door in Kookmore. Where the kooks are.
None of us remembered how to drive into Seattle
or where to park and didn't want to
so Margo had the brilliant idea of Michelle and me
to take her access bus with her.
Margo fell off a loading dock and broke her
back and hips and is waiting for a hip replacement
so she is in one of those electric wheelchairs.
Well, she got the arrangements made and Michelle and I
met her at her house yesterday at two PM.
It was a fine sunny day with just a little nip
in the air that got nippier and nippier as the day went along.
The van came and we met a nice lady going downtown to the doctor
that had had foot surgery.
We got into downtown and the traffic was
horrendous but we got to do some serious people watching
so we were quite happy to have to park in
the middle of downtown
while we off-loaded the nice lady.
It started misting of all things as we approached
the Richard Hugo House.
I thought it was by Lake Union but it was
on Capital Hill instead.
We found the wheelchair ramp and got inside
and it was the most wonderful old Victorian House
you ever did see!
I used to shop at the REI near there as a teenager
and bought my first backpack there in 1969
with my babysitting money.
We would sleep overnight on the sidewalk to be the first ones
inside to get the discounted down sleeping bags
that no one earning $1.00 an hour babysitting
and mowing lawns could normally afford.
So we go inside the building and it is darkish
and full of rich wood floors and furniture
and my blood pressure dropped like a rock
and I felt all kumbiiyaish.
The nice young lady showed us to the caber at stage
and there was an attractive young lady on the
stage typing!
Well!
I had never seen such a thing and I
was mighty impressed as you can imagine.
I mean, when I go to bed every night around eight,
I read for two or three hours
and I often wonder how writers can sit there and write
and there I was as an EYEWITNESS to this
novel being written.
Once we had our table, we wandered around a little and
guess who we found?!
MARY!
Margo said Mary had been ill with a cold
but she sure didn't look it.
If a human were to be labeled as a specimen,
like lazy, fast, slow, et cetera,
Mary would be labeled as vigorous!
She just plain exudes vigor and vitality and
warmth and friendliness.
She was happy to see us and let us take
a few pictures with her before she
went to the green room to study
what the twenty-two previous authors
had written.
The girls had coffee and I looked at all the
merchandise for sale
and dreamed of having a job
so I could buy a cute
The Novel Live t-shirt.
Mary had on the black and white one
and she looked so magnificent
with her still-girlish figure
and wild, dark curly hair.
And her smile.
A smile that would soften even the cruelest heart.
After browsing the merchandise,
I explored the building further
and happened upon The Green Room.
When I saw Mary sitting at the long table
covered with papers I tried to
inch back out quietly so I wouldn't disturb her.
She spotted me and yelled for me to come sit next
to her for a minute,
which I was disinclined to do
since she was scheduled to go on stage in five minutes
and I certainly didn't want to distract her.
She just laughed when I told her that
and I could tell right then that she was the
consummate professional.
She had already read the previous chapters
and was raren' to go.
She looked like a cat would look
if she were surrounded by a floor full of
open cans of tuna fish.
Happy, relaxed, full of Sudafed
and eager to dig in.
She was called to go out
and I glanced at the wall covered with butcher paper
outlining the plot and the characters.
It was fascinating!
Who has ever seen
the brainstorming for a novel on butcher paper
up on a wall. A twenty foot long space of wall
covered in ideas.
I just marveled at it.
I dashed out to snap a few photographs of Mary
getting settled in with the technology people.
They had hooked up an author-cam for the five day
event so people could see them typing and read
what was being typed at home on their computers.
Once Mary was settled in Michelle, Margo
and I sat at our table eagerly watching her
every move.
She typed like blazes Mr. Blog!
We were stunned!
We could just barely read what she was typing
before the screen scrolled up to a new page.
And brilliant.
Talk about Brilliant with a capital B.
I had been working the two previous days
so I didn't know what the plot was
but apparently the protagonist, Alexis, a teenager,
had been locked in a room by the evil Richard
and had to get out.
She saw her murdered friend's crow out the window.
We were SO EXCITED.
Mimi Castillo showed up a minute before our bus arrived
and Mary's parents and other friends were there too
and also her hot new boyfriend with a sexy accent.
When we slipped out to jump on our bus it was
really raining. Not pouring, but cold and wet.
We got on the bus and met the other rider, Swan,
that had just moved here from Chicago
and had a pleasant ride out of the
claustrophobic city out to Margo's house.
We were so excited about what Mary was writing
that we all had ideas of how we wanted Alexis to
escape from her twelfth floor prison.
Michelle wanted the crow, Habib, to somehow make a
parachute with the other crows to carry her off,
and Margo wanted Mr. Kenji to kick in the door and save her
and I wanted her to jump into a dumpster in the alley below.
Margo has a small machine called a Blackberry
and she was able to find Mary on the internet
and read us what she had typed.
When we found out Mary had all the crows enter the
building and cause pandemonium,
we all cheered.
We cheered so much we fogged twenty feet of
windows on the Metro Access van!
Well, I won't tell you more Mr. Blog because
I want you to buy the book when it comes out this spring.
The proceeds fund literacy in Seattle and
what more noble cause is that?!
Of course the advent of video games
has led to a nation of youth
that don't have to read for entertainment.
When I was little, TV was black and white
and had three channels and the remote control
hadn't even been invented yet.
But even as technology expanded I was engrossed
with the written word.
Especially character driven stories.
I loved Mary's book, 'Gone To the Dogs.'
It made me laugh and cry and I would call it poignant.
So after we made it to Margo's and parted
from each other with sorrow
and promises of future fun together,
I drove home in the miserable drizzle
and found my sons and Carlos
all snuggled in playing those awful
video games I can't stand.
But I woke up wondering
who on earth was Richard Hugo?
So I did some digging and found out he was born in
White Center of all places in 1923
and got a master's degree in Creative Writing at the UW
before moving to Montana to teach that subject
at the University of Montana.
He was a very famous poet and did some other writing
too and I would like to read, 'The Real West Marginal Way.'
We roamed that area as kids with my mom and her
boyfriend Bill Ravet in the late fifties and early sixties
when we lived in Rainier Valley and later, Beacon Hill.
Bill took us fishing in the Duwammish River along there
and around Harbor Island in a small boat.
And we'd eat fast food along Marginal Way.
Seems to me that was where there were some
Buildings that looked like Cowboy boots.
In 1997, Linda Jaech, Frances McCue and Andrea Lewis
decided Seattle needed a center for Seattle writers and readers
to congregate and they created the non-profit
Richard Hugo House, named in his honor.
Besides the cool cabaret area that Mary worked in,
there is a theater, art gallery, library and
meeting rooms.
It didn't look 16,206 square feet but it is!
What a good idea!
With three hundred and forty-seven cloudy,
gloomy days a year, Seattle is the perfect place
for writers and readers and artists.
It is far too miserable to go outside most of the time
so many people have time to live in their heads.
Then when a rare ray of sunshine comes out
the inspiration of life is a very heady experience.
Gets those creative juices flowing.
It was so nice to see Mary in her literary glory
and I hope she feels better today.
I hope she feels triumphant
but I know sometimes people can be
self-critical.
I'm an expert on that.
Well, I have a million and one chores and errands
so have a great day Mr. Blog!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
10/13/2010 I Love My Hairdresser
*Walks in and lies down*
I probably shouldn't come in at night Mr. Blog
because I usually get tired and then the
jobless blues set in
but you know what?
My hairdresser just called me.
She is so wonderful.
She is going to let me write a post-dated check for
my hair so I can go in Friday.
It's bad enough being old and fat and
feeling like a jobless loser,
but having bad hair
just adds insult to injury.
Janet Ferris is not just my hairdresser,
she is my friend.
I probably shouldn't come in at night Mr. Blog
because I usually get tired and then the
jobless blues set in
but you know what?
My hairdresser just called me.
She is so wonderful.
She is going to let me write a post-dated check for
my hair so I can go in Friday.
It's bad enough being old and fat and
feeling like a jobless loser,
but having bad hair
just adds insult to injury.
Janet Ferris is not just my hairdresser,
she is my friend.
Monday, October 11, 2010
10/11/2010 Columbus Day
*Strolls in and lies down*
Hi Mr. Blog,
My sore throat is finally gone
and I feel much better.
Happy Columbus Day!
I'm glad he found this beautiful country we live in
and I appreciate so much about it.
Fifty united and wonderful states.
The same language and money uniting us.
Freedom to go to all the states without border patrols.
This day is fraught with controversy though.
It is a scientific fact that Asian people
crossed the land-bridge up
where Alaska nearly meets Russia ten thousand years ago
and there is some evidence that the Polynesians
crossed from Polynesia to South America
AND there is also evidence of Vikings
cruised the North American coast to.
There were about one million Indians living in
North America when Italian explorer Columbus,
working for Spain, brought his ships,
the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.
The Europeans did not know the land was here
and wanted Columbus to find a short-cut to the
spices of Asia.
Didn't know there was a giant continent
in the way in 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
When I was a little kid
Columbus Day was always celebrated on October 12Th.
It was a big deal in school too.
I went to Van Asselt elementary on Beacon Hill
and we'd have poems and make those newspaper sailor hats
and have assemblies.
Then when I was thirteen, in 1971, it got switched
to the second Monday in October and
made into a Federal Holiday.
Most county and state offices are open on Columbus Day.
I can remember when they made it a federal holiday
there were huge Native American protests across the country.
It was big news.
They were like, "Um, we were already here jerks."
Well, that's how people are Mr. Blog.
Discovery, colonization, Manifest Destiny.
Whoever holds the purse-strings gets to do
whatever they want historically.
But you know what Mr. Blog?
I love living in America
and I love all people in the world
and want them to all have safe, happy lives
but today I'm saying,
"Thanks Columbus!
g
Hi Mr. Blog,
My sore throat is finally gone
and I feel much better.
Happy Columbus Day!
I'm glad he found this beautiful country we live in
and I appreciate so much about it.
Fifty united and wonderful states.
The same language and money uniting us.
Freedom to go to all the states without border patrols.
This day is fraught with controversy though.
It is a scientific fact that Asian people
crossed the land-bridge up
where Alaska nearly meets Russia ten thousand years ago
and there is some evidence that the Polynesians
crossed from Polynesia to South America
AND there is also evidence of Vikings
cruised the North American coast to.
There were about one million Indians living in
North America when Italian explorer Columbus,
working for Spain, brought his ships,
the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.
The Europeans did not know the land was here
and wanted Columbus to find a short-cut to the
spices of Asia.
Didn't know there was a giant continent
in the way in 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
When I was a little kid
Columbus Day was always celebrated on October 12Th.
It was a big deal in school too.
I went to Van Asselt elementary on Beacon Hill
and we'd have poems and make those newspaper sailor hats
and have assemblies.
Then when I was thirteen, in 1971, it got switched
to the second Monday in October and
made into a Federal Holiday.
Most county and state offices are open on Columbus Day.
I can remember when they made it a federal holiday
there were huge Native American protests across the country.
It was big news.
They were like, "Um, we were already here jerks."
Well, that's how people are Mr. Blog.
Discovery, colonization, Manifest Destiny.
Whoever holds the purse-strings gets to do
whatever they want historically.
But you know what Mr. Blog?
I love living in America
and I love all people in the world
and want them to all have safe, happy lives
but today I'm saying,
"Thanks Columbus!
g
Sunday, October 10, 2010
10/10/10 Beard Trimmings
*walks in slowly and lies down*
I'm back because I forgot to tell you
what Terry did last week Mr. Blog!
For twenty-four years I have been trying
to train him not to leave his beard trimmings
on the bathroom sink ledge.
So last week on his day off we are
in our downstairs bedroom
and he finishes buzzing around
with his beard trimmer
while I am sitting on the edge of the bed
putting on my sneakers
and he says proudly,
"Look honey. No trimmings."
He goes outside to look at the pool
and when I finish tying my shoes
I walk in the bathroom and am shocked
that there is NO HAIR on the edge of the sink!
Then I look down
and see he has
wiped it all off the edge of the sink
onto the floor.
I'm back because I forgot to tell you
what Terry did last week Mr. Blog!
For twenty-four years I have been trying
to train him not to leave his beard trimmings
on the bathroom sink ledge.
So last week on his day off we are
in our downstairs bedroom
and he finishes buzzing around
with his beard trimmer
while I am sitting on the edge of the bed
putting on my sneakers
and he says proudly,
"Look honey. No trimmings."
He goes outside to look at the pool
and when I finish tying my shoes
I walk in the bathroom and am shocked
that there is NO HAIR on the edge of the sink!
Then I look down
and see he has
wiped it all off the edge of the sink
onto the floor.
10/10/10 Foot In The Door
*Walks in slowly coughing and lies down*
Cold and flu season Mr. Blog.
The unexpected side effect of subbing.
I can't believe how germy my little customers are.
I treat them all with dignity and respect
so when I introduce myself, I always shake their tiny,
sticky hands
Bad idea.
No matter how many times I wash my hands I get sick.
Probably from the point-blank coughing and sneezing
that coats me for seven hours a day.
So yesterday Patty saw a job advertised under one of
her office worker searches and e-mailed it to me.
It was for a receptionist job down at the Holland America
corporate office headquarters
that we went to last week
on our way home from the job fair.
I met all the requirements except working a ten line phone line.
When my sister Heimy called she said she did that job once
and it would be a piece of cake for me.
So I went online and applied but it didn't seem like my
application was uploading to the website.
So do you know what I did Mr. Blog?
I whipped up a cover letter and updated resume
and raced out to the mailbox to make
sure Anthony got it for snail mail.
I tossed in a copy of my new job-seeker picture
in my nautical navy blue suit so they can see
that I take looking professional seriously.
I was thinking that if I could memorize
ten thousand addresses for mail sorting and delivery
at Bothell Post office in the eighties,
and the safety and security and service procedures
for eight different aircraft configurations at
Continental Airlines in the eighties and nineties
and all the math, science, Language Arts and
ten thousand years of history to be a school teacher
that maybe I could work a ten line phone line.
I hope so!
I am totally absorbed with going back to the
hospitality industry.
I love to serve people and make them happy.
And, while I love to teach, it is TOTALLY hazardous
to my health!
Cold and flu season Mr. Blog.
The unexpected side effect of subbing.
I can't believe how germy my little customers are.
I treat them all with dignity and respect
so when I introduce myself, I always shake their tiny,
sticky hands
Bad idea.
No matter how many times I wash my hands I get sick.
Probably from the point-blank coughing and sneezing
that coats me for seven hours a day.
So yesterday Patty saw a job advertised under one of
her office worker searches and e-mailed it to me.
It was for a receptionist job down at the Holland America
corporate office headquarters
that we went to last week
on our way home from the job fair.
I met all the requirements except working a ten line phone line.
When my sister Heimy called she said she did that job once
and it would be a piece of cake for me.
So I went online and applied but it didn't seem like my
application was uploading to the website.
So do you know what I did Mr. Blog?
I whipped up a cover letter and updated resume
and raced out to the mailbox to make
sure Anthony got it for snail mail.
I tossed in a copy of my new job-seeker picture
in my nautical navy blue suit so they can see
that I take looking professional seriously.
I was thinking that if I could memorize
ten thousand addresses for mail sorting and delivery
at Bothell Post office in the eighties,
and the safety and security and service procedures
for eight different aircraft configurations at
Continental Airlines in the eighties and nineties
and all the math, science, Language Arts and
ten thousand years of history to be a school teacher
that maybe I could work a ten line phone line.
I hope so!
I am totally absorbed with going back to the
hospitality industry.
I love to serve people and make them happy.
And, while I love to teach, it is TOTALLY hazardous
to my health!
Friday, October 8, 2010
10/8/2010 Okay, You Will NOT Believe What My Husband Said to Me Monday
*Drags in coughing and lies down gingerly*
Ugh Mr. Blog.
I don't feel good. Headache, sore throat.
Bleh.
I think it's from stress.
Job hunting is very stressful.
Especially when you spend forty thousand dollars on a college
degree and feel like it is getting you exactly
no where.
So on Monday, I decided I liked my husband
but you will not believe what he said to me.
I spent THREE HOURS making his favorite meatloaf
from my grandmother's secret recipe.
I made garlic roasted red potatoes and corn
and ran out of time to make Apple Brown Betty.
I just baked the fresh apples with butter, sugar and cinnamon.
So Terry eats it all up like a horse
then he goes and lies down on the couch to watch TV.
I get in my nightly spot to tickle his feet and you know what he says,
"I'm surprised you didn't put the crust on the Apple Brown Betty
like you usually do."
I just smiled but I was seething inside thinking
about my great grandmother's Ex-Lax meatloaf recipe.
It came out in 1930 in The Lady's Home Perfect magazine
to help with pompous husbands.
That's all I have to say about that Mr. Blog.
while I spend the next hour doing dishes
Ugh Mr. Blog.
I don't feel good. Headache, sore throat.
Bleh.
I think it's from stress.
Job hunting is very stressful.
Especially when you spend forty thousand dollars on a college
degree and feel like it is getting you exactly
no where.
So on Monday, I decided I liked my husband
but you will not believe what he said to me.
I spent THREE HOURS making his favorite meatloaf
from my grandmother's secret recipe.
I made garlic roasted red potatoes and corn
and ran out of time to make Apple Brown Betty.
I just baked the fresh apples with butter, sugar and cinnamon.
So Terry eats it all up like a horse
then he goes and lies down on the couch to watch TV.
I get in my nightly spot to tickle his feet and you know what he says,
"I'm surprised you didn't put the crust on the Apple Brown Betty
like you usually do."
I just smiled but I was seething inside thinking
about my great grandmother's Ex-Lax meatloaf recipe.
It came out in 1930 in The Lady's Home Perfect magazine
to help with pompous husbands.
That's all I have to say about that Mr. Blog.
while I spend the next hour doing dishes
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
10/6/2010 With Enough Hair Spray I Can Too Defy Gravity or How I Went to the QWEST Field Job Fair
*Skips in cheerily and plops on couch*
Ahhhh, Mr. Blog!
You'll never guess who feels like a million dollars today!
Wow. You are good.
So after my pathetic pity-party yesterday morning I
jumped around with my Jane Fonda tape
and hopped in the shower to get ready to go.
I spent FORTY-FIVE minutes on my hair!
Can you believe that?!
Well, I did.
Hadn't spent that much time on my hair since 1987
when I went to SFO for my Continental interview.
Got hired 'cause of my good hair that day and was hoping for a repeat.
I sprayed and used my curling iron
over and over and over again until...
I was FIVE FOOT EIGHT!
I know.
I am so silly.
No wonder no one will hire me.
With enough hairspray I can too defy gravity!
I feel more confident when I'm taller.
Patty said she didn't even recognize me standing by the
side of the road waiting for her.
She had never seen me in my interview attire
and I clean up fairly well.
Good practice wearing my Spanx-type gear
and squeezing into my size twelve navy blue
double breasted interview suit.
I think the pain was worth it
because I looked very nautical.
Patty started shouting at me when I got in her van,
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God Gretchen!
You look like you work on a cruise ship!"
I just said, "Dress for success baby."
We popped into Kookmore Starbucks and I put a coffee for her
on my business charge card.
I hated to do it but she was a living doll to drive us
down there to QWEST field.
It was a gorgeous sunny day without a cloud in the sky!
The kind of day that people see when they are on vacation here
and then move here and realize there are only ten of those a year.
We jumped on I-5 and there was a big crash so it was
basically a giant parking lot.
Patty has a million good stories so I didn't care.
I especially like her Aspen Colorado stories
because I was based in Denver sever years and flew over it lots.
So we get to the parking lot and they want ten dollars to park
but I only had five and he directed us to the garage which is only
five dollars. They built a cool new ramp to get in it.
Patty couldn't believe I slept overnight in my van there when
I sold my driving games at the RV show in February.
She said that since I am afraid to leave Kenmore, she couldn't
imagine me doing that.
Well, I set her straight Mr. Blog.
I'm not afraid to leave Kenmore,
I just don't like to.
Unless it's to go work a 120 day world cruise.
THEN I like to go.
We got to the job fair and it was really fun.
We split up and I went to all thirty booths to find
out what jobs were hiring.
There were no school districts or cruise lines there
but I met some really nice people!
Plus I got thirty high-quality pens and loads
of candy and even a cool, clear red ice scraper
from Wells Fargo banks.
I got Teddy a camo lanyard from the Army booth for his keys.
I was interested in Sky Marshall and Border Patrol
but the age limit was thirty-seven for those two.
Patty and I finished up at one-thirty and gorged
ourselves on mini-candies as we walked to the garage
down Occidental.
We admired how they have fixed up Pioneer Square so much
since we were kids.
Back in the sixties it was really run-down looking.
I got up the nerve to ask Patty is she wouldn't mind
driving up Elliot Avenue so I could drop in on the
Holland America building corporate headquarters.
I could spot it right away from Brenny's mom's description.
Plus they are a classy company and it had an
old world meets new world charm about it.
Not all glass and brassy looking.
I was in so much awe when I went in.
They had the giant Holland America logo
right on the wall past the glass doors that lead
to the reception area.
Well, I guess it was silly to think Stein Kruse would
be walking through and hire me on the spot
but I was certainly wishing so.
In the mission statement video he says,
"WE DON'T JUST DO THINGS RIGHT.
WE DO THE RIGHT THINGS."
Don't you just love that Mr. Blog?
He was born in Norway so he has a cool accent.
Must be hard work to run an entire cruise ship company.
But you know what Mr. Blog?
They really do do everything right.
Most of their ships aren't so huge that the passengers feel anonymous
and they are decorated tastefully so even people that
can't live fancy can enjoy the elegance for a week or two.
His statement refers to all the charities they donate to
and the deck walks for Race For The Cure and more.
Geez, I got so off topic.
So I get to the desk of the young receptionist
and tell her that I really want to work for
Holland America and that I had applied online and
hadn't heard anything back yet, so I
decided to hand deliver an updated resume.
She said that I couldn't talk to anyone
without a previous appointment
and of course I'd seen too many movies
where people just barge into the executive offices
and demand to be seen, but that is not reality.
She said she would be delighted to put it in the
inter-office mail!
I just about died when she said that I was so happy!
She picked up the big yellow envelope
with lines of names crossed out and slid
my clear plastic folder into it and wrote
the name on it. You know those envelopes
that are made from that heavy paper and they have a
tiny brown circle fastener with a string
they wrap around?
They use those at the school districts too.
So Patty and I drove home and got coffee at McDonald's
and went back to my house.
It was chock-full of teens but I didn't kick them out
'cause I was in such a good mood.
Patty took a few pictures of me in my interview suit
since the cruise lines require it with your application
and Teddy came home from the school bus and snapped a cute
shot of us together.
To remember all our fun times being jobless together.
Ciao!
Ahhhh, Mr. Blog!
You'll never guess who feels like a million dollars today!
Wow. You are good.
So after my pathetic pity-party yesterday morning I
jumped around with my Jane Fonda tape
and hopped in the shower to get ready to go.
I spent FORTY-FIVE minutes on my hair!
Can you believe that?!
Well, I did.
Hadn't spent that much time on my hair since 1987
when I went to SFO for my Continental interview.
Got hired 'cause of my good hair that day and was hoping for a repeat.
I sprayed and used my curling iron
over and over and over again until...
I was FIVE FOOT EIGHT!
I know.
I am so silly.
No wonder no one will hire me.
With enough hairspray I can too defy gravity!
I feel more confident when I'm taller.
Patty said she didn't even recognize me standing by the
side of the road waiting for her.
She had never seen me in my interview attire
and I clean up fairly well.
Good practice wearing my Spanx-type gear
and squeezing into my size twelve navy blue
double breasted interview suit.
I think the pain was worth it
because I looked very nautical.
Patty started shouting at me when I got in her van,
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God Gretchen!
You look like you work on a cruise ship!"
I just said, "Dress for success baby."
We popped into Kookmore Starbucks and I put a coffee for her
on my business charge card.
I hated to do it but she was a living doll to drive us
down there to QWEST field.
It was a gorgeous sunny day without a cloud in the sky!
The kind of day that people see when they are on vacation here
and then move here and realize there are only ten of those a year.
We jumped on I-5 and there was a big crash so it was
basically a giant parking lot.
Patty has a million good stories so I didn't care.
I especially like her Aspen Colorado stories
because I was based in Denver sever years and flew over it lots.
So we get to the parking lot and they want ten dollars to park
but I only had five and he directed us to the garage which is only
five dollars. They built a cool new ramp to get in it.
Patty couldn't believe I slept overnight in my van there when
I sold my driving games at the RV show in February.
She said that since I am afraid to leave Kenmore, she couldn't
imagine me doing that.
Well, I set her straight Mr. Blog.
I'm not afraid to leave Kenmore,
I just don't like to.
Unless it's to go work a 120 day world cruise.
THEN I like to go.
We got to the job fair and it was really fun.
We split up and I went to all thirty booths to find
out what jobs were hiring.
There were no school districts or cruise lines there
but I met some really nice people!
Plus I got thirty high-quality pens and loads
of candy and even a cool, clear red ice scraper
from Wells Fargo banks.
I got Teddy a camo lanyard from the Army booth for his keys.
I was interested in Sky Marshall and Border Patrol
but the age limit was thirty-seven for those two.
Patty and I finished up at one-thirty and gorged
ourselves on mini-candies as we walked to the garage
down Occidental.
We admired how they have fixed up Pioneer Square so much
since we were kids.
Back in the sixties it was really run-down looking.
I got up the nerve to ask Patty is she wouldn't mind
driving up Elliot Avenue so I could drop in on the
Holland America building corporate headquarters.
I could spot it right away from Brenny's mom's description.
Plus they are a classy company and it had an
old world meets new world charm about it.
Not all glass and brassy looking.
I was in so much awe when I went in.
They had the giant Holland America logo
right on the wall past the glass doors that lead
to the reception area.
Well, I guess it was silly to think Stein Kruse would
be walking through and hire me on the spot
but I was certainly wishing so.
In the mission statement video he says,
"WE DON'T JUST DO THINGS RIGHT.
WE DO THE RIGHT THINGS."
Don't you just love that Mr. Blog?
He was born in Norway so he has a cool accent.
Must be hard work to run an entire cruise ship company.
But you know what Mr. Blog?
They really do do everything right.
Most of their ships aren't so huge that the passengers feel anonymous
and they are decorated tastefully so even people that
can't live fancy can enjoy the elegance for a week or two.
His statement refers to all the charities they donate to
and the deck walks for Race For The Cure and more.
Geez, I got so off topic.
So I get to the desk of the young receptionist
and tell her that I really want to work for
Holland America and that I had applied online and
hadn't heard anything back yet, so I
decided to hand deliver an updated resume.
She said that I couldn't talk to anyone
without a previous appointment
and of course I'd seen too many movies
where people just barge into the executive offices
and demand to be seen, but that is not reality.
She said she would be delighted to put it in the
inter-office mail!
I just about died when she said that I was so happy!
She picked up the big yellow envelope
with lines of names crossed out and slid
my clear plastic folder into it and wrote
the name on it. You know those envelopes
that are made from that heavy paper and they have a
tiny brown circle fastener with a string
they wrap around?
They use those at the school districts too.
So Patty and I drove home and got coffee at McDonald's
and went back to my house.
It was chock-full of teens but I didn't kick them out
'cause I was in such a good mood.
Patty took a few pictures of me in my interview suit
since the cruise lines require it with your application
and Teddy came home from the school bus and snapped a cute
shot of us together.
To remember all our fun times being jobless together.
Ciao!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
10/3/2010 Reverend Stephen Tarr's Inspirational Sermon
*Walks in and lies on couch*
Hi Mr. Blog,
That was such a good sermon this morning.
Reverend Tarr did a bang up job on his
"I heart ____." sermon.
The scripture was Mark 14:3-9
which is when a woman comes into the room
where Jesus is sitting with the disciplines
and anoints him with expensive oil.
She is criticised for doing so and others say
she should have sold it and given the money to the poor.
Well, there is that horrible should word Mr. Blog!
If every person in the world could focus on their own behavior
and eliminate the should word we'd be
so much better off!
So anyway, Jesus defends her to make her own choices.
Jesus tells everyone that it is right to be accepting
of the choices that other people make.
Pastor Tarr went on to talk about
All the I heart ---- bumper stickers.
He said that all people need to contemplate
what they love.
Find their passion.
Follow their passion.
Be invigorated by following their passion.
I was pretty inspired by that sermon.
It picked up on the sermon Reverend Laura gave
last week nicely.
It was about how people can stand out and be different
and go around wearing a sign that says, "Free Hugs."
I was so inspired by her sermon I almost made a sign like that
and then I remembered I already have a reputation for being a little
odd and I'm trying to shake it off.
I am so amazed at what a great job that Stephen and Laura do.
My step-dad was a minister and followed the liturgy
of the church for his sermons.
He was a great singer too.
It was outstanding when we were singing the closing hymn
'Be Thou My Vision' and pastor Stephen had his neck microphone
turned up and was singing harmony.
He is an AWESOME singer!
Unfortunately, after the first verse he turned his
microphone down.
Too bad since the chancel choir had left and without
them the rest of us sound so bad that I sometimes wonder
if we'll have our toes toasted over some hellfire
for corrupting the beautiful hymns so badly!
So, I'm off to follow my passion today.
I'm signing up for a CB radio class
which is something I have always wanted to do
and later on I'm going to the swamp for reeds
to make some miniature Nile River basin rafts.
One of Holland America's Grand Cruises
goes up the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal
and I wanted an ancient Eygptian craft
to lead on the ships.
I'm thinking an antique map replica of the world that can be rolled up
and then little poppets with costumes and gear for each country
would be fun to make.
Have a great day Mr. Blog.
I'm off to find inspiration in my laundry baskets!
Ciao
Hi Mr. Blog,
That was such a good sermon this morning.
Reverend Tarr did a bang up job on his
"I heart ____." sermon.
The scripture was Mark 14:3-9
which is when a woman comes into the room
where Jesus is sitting with the disciplines
and anoints him with expensive oil.
She is criticised for doing so and others say
she should have sold it and given the money to the poor.
Well, there is that horrible should word Mr. Blog!
If every person in the world could focus on their own behavior
and eliminate the should word we'd be
so much better off!
So anyway, Jesus defends her to make her own choices.
Jesus tells everyone that it is right to be accepting
of the choices that other people make.
Pastor Tarr went on to talk about
All the I heart ---- bumper stickers.
He said that all people need to contemplate
what they love.
Find their passion.
Follow their passion.
Be invigorated by following their passion.
I was pretty inspired by that sermon.
It picked up on the sermon Reverend Laura gave
last week nicely.
It was about how people can stand out and be different
and go around wearing a sign that says, "Free Hugs."
I was so inspired by her sermon I almost made a sign like that
and then I remembered I already have a reputation for being a little
odd and I'm trying to shake it off.
I am so amazed at what a great job that Stephen and Laura do.
My step-dad was a minister and followed the liturgy
of the church for his sermons.
He was a great singer too.
It was outstanding when we were singing the closing hymn
'Be Thou My Vision' and pastor Stephen had his neck microphone
turned up and was singing harmony.
He is an AWESOME singer!
Unfortunately, after the first verse he turned his
microphone down.
Too bad since the chancel choir had left and without
them the rest of us sound so bad that I sometimes wonder
if we'll have our toes toasted over some hellfire
for corrupting the beautiful hymns so badly!
So, I'm off to follow my passion today.
I'm signing up for a CB radio class
which is something I have always wanted to do
and later on I'm going to the swamp for reeds
to make some miniature Nile River basin rafts.
One of Holland America's Grand Cruises
goes up the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal
and I wanted an ancient Eygptian craft
to lead on the ships.
I'm thinking an antique map replica of the world that can be rolled up
and then little poppets with costumes and gear for each country
would be fun to make.
Have a great day Mr. Blog.
I'm off to find inspiration in my laundry baskets!
Ciao
Friday, October 1, 2010
10/1/2010 My Son Wants to Be A What?!
*Cartwheels in sixteen, lands on couch and
morphs back to fifty-three.
Oh Mr. Blog!
I feel great today!
Nothing like having a bit of work
lined up and under my belt.
I just love to work, work, work!
So a few days ago I told Troy that
now that he is a junior in high school,
it is time to seriously think about his future.
He said, "Don't worry mom. I already figured it out.
I want to be a building demolitionist."
I looked at the house and thought,
"Perfect. He already has sixteen years
of experience for the job!"
Of course I don't want him blown up,
but when I think of how they blew up the Kingdome
it seems like there could be SOME job security.
The explosion took one minute
and looked awesome,by the way,
but the concrete removal took months!
So we got a post card about
career exams coming up next week
and two of them cost money
but the military one is free.
He said he'd take it
and it says that it screens the student
for career aptitudes.
Dollars to donuts his comes back saying,
"Scored highest on Building Demolitionist career."
Have a great day Mr. Blog!
Ciao!
morphs back to fifty-three.
Oh Mr. Blog!
I feel great today!
Nothing like having a bit of work
lined up and under my belt.
I just love to work, work, work!
So a few days ago I told Troy that
now that he is a junior in high school,
it is time to seriously think about his future.
He said, "Don't worry mom. I already figured it out.
I want to be a building demolitionist."
I looked at the house and thought,
"Perfect. He already has sixteen years
of experience for the job!"
Of course I don't want him blown up,
but when I think of how they blew up the Kingdome
it seems like there could be SOME job security.
The explosion took one minute
and looked awesome,by the way,
but the concrete removal took months!
So we got a post card about
career exams coming up next week
and two of them cost money
but the military one is free.
He said he'd take it
and it says that it screens the student
for career aptitudes.
Dollars to donuts his comes back saying,
"Scored highest on Building Demolitionist career."
Have a great day Mr. Blog!
Ciao!
Monday, September 27, 2010
9/27/2010 The Bad Dancer
*Walks in jauntily and plops on couch*
Ahhh, Mr. Blog.
How are you today?
Well, I was certainly a naughty kitten last night.
After a lovely dinner at Goutback Steakhouse
we watched a movie I found at the Pawnshop called,
'So I Married an Axe Murderer.'
It was hysterical and Teddy watched it with us.
Then I hopped in bed and finished the entire second half
of 'Quentins' by Maeve Binchy.
It was so awesome because she had all the old characters
from 'Tara Road', 'The Scarlet Feather' and 'The Evening Class.'
You know, if Holland America would hire me as a librarian
I could VERY EASILY lead the book discussions.
I did it when I was subbing in English up at
Shorecrest High School.
So it took me until two AM to finish
which means I am two hours behind for my Monday chores.
My floors. Not easy since my vacuum cleaner died then the
old one Faithy gave me died last week too.
Ugh. Vacuuming with an electric broom takes FOREVER.
Funny when I carried mail for the post office from '78 to '87
that I thought my friends home with kids and housework had it easy.
No wonder all the moms in the fifties drank vodka all day!
Motherhood and housework are the most thankless
jobs in the world!
So I had forgotten all about the time I told you about
yesterday, when Terry and I were dancing all night
at the Kalaloch parachute party
and when I went to bed I remembered why!
He is the worst dancer you ever saw!
He gets his viewing of 'Saturday Night Fever'
mixed up with his basketball moves
and it is the most hideous thing
you ever saw in your life!
Now, you know I don't drink much
if at all, but I need to knock back a few
to been seen with him on a dance floor.
Funny thing is, I love to dance!
I remember in Holly Park housing project
in 1959, our black teenage babysitters
would teach us all the latest dances.
The radio stations had started to play
something that was called Rock and Roll.
They told us to move to the music
and let the music move us.
They delighted that at three and four
I could mimic all their moves so well
and it made them laugh.
Obviously my darling muppet of a husband
has never learned to move to the music.
It's like watching Larry Bird and Arthur Murray
in after a splice job.
Terrible.
Awful.
Scar you for life.
So we danced at our wedding, at Kalaloch
and at Marta's fiftieth birthday party three years ago
and that's it.
Because it's just not fun dancing with
The Bad Dancer.
Ahhh, Mr. Blog.
How are you today?
Well, I was certainly a naughty kitten last night.
After a lovely dinner at Goutback Steakhouse
we watched a movie I found at the Pawnshop called,
'So I Married an Axe Murderer.'
It was hysterical and Teddy watched it with us.
Then I hopped in bed and finished the entire second half
of 'Quentins' by Maeve Binchy.
It was so awesome because she had all the old characters
from 'Tara Road', 'The Scarlet Feather' and 'The Evening Class.'
You know, if Holland America would hire me as a librarian
I could VERY EASILY lead the book discussions.
I did it when I was subbing in English up at
Shorecrest High School.
So it took me until two AM to finish
which means I am two hours behind for my Monday chores.
My floors. Not easy since my vacuum cleaner died then the
old one Faithy gave me died last week too.
Ugh. Vacuuming with an electric broom takes FOREVER.
Funny when I carried mail for the post office from '78 to '87
that I thought my friends home with kids and housework had it easy.
No wonder all the moms in the fifties drank vodka all day!
Motherhood and housework are the most thankless
jobs in the world!
So I had forgotten all about the time I told you about
yesterday, when Terry and I were dancing all night
at the Kalaloch parachute party
and when I went to bed I remembered why!
He is the worst dancer you ever saw!
He gets his viewing of 'Saturday Night Fever'
mixed up with his basketball moves
and it is the most hideous thing
you ever saw in your life!
Now, you know I don't drink much
if at all, but I need to knock back a few
to been seen with him on a dance floor.
Funny thing is, I love to dance!
I remember in Holly Park housing project
in 1959, our black teenage babysitters
would teach us all the latest dances.
The radio stations had started to play
something that was called Rock and Roll.
They told us to move to the music
and let the music move us.
They delighted that at three and four
I could mimic all their moves so well
and it made them laugh.
Obviously my darling muppet of a husband
has never learned to move to the music.
It's like watching Larry Bird and Arthur Murray
in after a splice job.
Terrible.
Awful.
Scar you for life.
So we danced at our wedding, at Kalaloch
and at Marta's fiftieth birthday party three years ago
and that's it.
Because it's just not fun dancing with
The Bad Dancer.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
9/26/2010 The Wedding Anniversary
*Skips in merrily and plops on couch*
Good afternoon Mr. Blog,
how are you today?
So today is our 18th Wedding anniversary
and I know I'm always whining about Terry
so today I'll let you what I do like about him:
1 He's kind
2 He's compassionate
3 He's funny
4 He's generous (sometimes)
5 He looks like a serial killer so no one
bothers me when I'm with him
6 He let's me do whatever I want
without asking questions
7 He lets me win at basketball
8 He lets me plan on any vacation I want and
then goes with me and pays for it
9 He looks like a giant muppet when sitting so if
I have earplugs in I can listen to him blather on for hours
10 He goes to work every day so I don't
have to live in a card board box
I guess those are the main things Mr. Blog.
At least I found a man without the BIG FOUR addictions:
Booze, drugs, gambling and cheating
and that is not as easy as it sounds.
I just got home from church and guess what?!
My pew-buddy Mary is going on a Holland America
cruise the last week of April
out of Fort Lauderdale through the Panama Canal.
I am SO going to bid to work her cruise!
I know lots of people from the Bothell senior center
from carrying mail out of Bothell for ten years
and from church and stuff
so it would be funner than fun to work the trip
they are going on!
I'm pretty excited about it and I'm going to print
her trip up and study it tomorrow.
I found a kid that does home repairs to come
fix my printer tomorrow for cheap.
I am very mechanical but when I called one repair
place and asked if I could do it myself
he told me there were many computerized features
inside to watch out for.
I decided to let the professional take care of it.
God I hope Troy's grades hold until he fixes it tomorrow!
Straight As in the three classes posted is phenomenal for him
and I can't wait to print the grade sheet to show Terry.
We just love our little baby to pieces
even if he is over six feet tall now.
So you wouldn't have believed the
Bothell United Methodist Church choir this morning!
I was a little late and snuck in as the kids were
leaving for Sunday school
right before the choir started.
I forget the song but Nola was playing the piano
and my room mate from the women's retreat, Jeanne,
was playing the trombone!
She is obviously the most talented musician on the planet!
I got big tears in my eyes because it sounded like
heaven.
I could see myself climbing the stairs to the Pearly Gates
and they were all above on the higher clouds singing
and playing
and I was so filled with joy that
I'd get to see my mom and dad
and all my aunts and uncles
and cousin Steve
and Patty Boyle and Val and Leslie Clark and other high school pals
that can't go to the reunions
because they are in heaven waiting for us.
It was a very emotional time for me this morning.
After the song my pal Mary whispered to me
that she played trombone in high school in
North Dakota and was not very good at it
and in the winter at a football game
she was marching around
and it was so cold her slide froze up!
Hahahaha. It was so hard not to laugh
during the joys and concerns when she told me that.
Troy gave me a dollar and I went to the Kenmore Dollar Tree
and found an anniversary card for Terry and
his favorite candy bar. Milk chocolate with caramel
inside.
The card had a pale blue blank bottom
with a couple on the beach holding hands at the top.
I found the picture of us together at Mammoth Hot Springs
and cut and taped it perfectly to the bottom of the card
and inside after the pre-printed stuff
I wrote, "All my best and worst times have been with you."
It was 100F at the hot springs and we hiked up
the mountain at least 1,000 stairs to see
a mud puddle sized hot pool.
We laughed and laughed afterwards.
We also nearly got drowned at Tofino in 1987 in the
canoe when the afternoon tides came up and we
didn't have life jackets and we had paddled ten miles
from the town.
Then one time off Orcas Island's Beach Haven
resort we paddled around a cliff
and a tanker went by
and we got stuck in a kelp bed and the waves
we pushing us near the rocks to die.
Terry kept yelling, "Steer around the kelp!"
That was in '88 and we still say it
when we need to avoid anything dangerous.
So Terry and I have had so many wild adventures
on vacation together than I can count.
One time when Kalaloch campground was full in '89
we went and camped in my old truck at the South Beach
parking lot.
We went on a late beach walk and saw these lights
a few miles up the beach and you'll never believe what we saw.
Some people had put up a giant parachute roof and gotten
electricity down to the tent thing
and had a live rock-n-roll band
with giant speakers and a bar
and everything!
We had drinks and danced all night with these
people we had never met before.
Man, the adventures I've had with
Terry.
See you later.
We are going up to the Bothell
Outback Steakhouse for dinner soon.
I sure miss the Kenmore Keg and
Clifford's restaurants
but who knows,
maybe someday someone will take that
skanky Cozy Inn tavern and put in a nice
restaurant with a view again.
It's a great spot over-looking Lake Washington
and Kenmore Air Harbor
and there are always lots of boats and planes
and eagles to watch from there.
Have a nice day Mr. Blog.
Good afternoon Mr. Blog,
how are you today?
So today is our 18th Wedding anniversary
and I know I'm always whining about Terry
so today I'll let you what I do like about him:
1 He's kind
2 He's compassionate
3 He's funny
4 He's generous (sometimes)
5 He looks like a serial killer so no one
bothers me when I'm with him
6 He let's me do whatever I want
without asking questions
7 He lets me win at basketball
8 He lets me plan on any vacation I want and
then goes with me and pays for it
9 He looks like a giant muppet when sitting so if
I have earplugs in I can listen to him blather on for hours
10 He goes to work every day so I don't
have to live in a card board box
I guess those are the main things Mr. Blog.
At least I found a man without the BIG FOUR addictions:
Booze, drugs, gambling and cheating
and that is not as easy as it sounds.
I just got home from church and guess what?!
My pew-buddy Mary is going on a Holland America
cruise the last week of April
out of Fort Lauderdale through the Panama Canal.
I am SO going to bid to work her cruise!
I know lots of people from the Bothell senior center
from carrying mail out of Bothell for ten years
and from church and stuff
so it would be funner than fun to work the trip
they are going on!
I'm pretty excited about it and I'm going to print
her trip up and study it tomorrow.
I found a kid that does home repairs to come
fix my printer tomorrow for cheap.
I am very mechanical but when I called one repair
place and asked if I could do it myself
he told me there were many computerized features
inside to watch out for.
I decided to let the professional take care of it.
God I hope Troy's grades hold until he fixes it tomorrow!
Straight As in the three classes posted is phenomenal for him
and I can't wait to print the grade sheet to show Terry.
We just love our little baby to pieces
even if he is over six feet tall now.
So you wouldn't have believed the
Bothell United Methodist Church choir this morning!
I was a little late and snuck in as the kids were
leaving for Sunday school
right before the choir started.
I forget the song but Nola was playing the piano
and my room mate from the women's retreat, Jeanne,
was playing the trombone!
She is obviously the most talented musician on the planet!
I got big tears in my eyes because it sounded like
heaven.
I could see myself climbing the stairs to the Pearly Gates
and they were all above on the higher clouds singing
and playing
and I was so filled with joy that
I'd get to see my mom and dad
and all my aunts and uncles
and cousin Steve
and Patty Boyle and Val and Leslie Clark and other high school pals
that can't go to the reunions
because they are in heaven waiting for us.
It was a very emotional time for me this morning.
After the song my pal Mary whispered to me
that she played trombone in high school in
North Dakota and was not very good at it
and in the winter at a football game
she was marching around
and it was so cold her slide froze up!
Hahahaha. It was so hard not to laugh
during the joys and concerns when she told me that.
Troy gave me a dollar and I went to the Kenmore Dollar Tree
and found an anniversary card for Terry and
his favorite candy bar. Milk chocolate with caramel
inside.
The card had a pale blue blank bottom
with a couple on the beach holding hands at the top.
I found the picture of us together at Mammoth Hot Springs
and cut and taped it perfectly to the bottom of the card
and inside after the pre-printed stuff
I wrote, "All my best and worst times have been with you."
It was 100F at the hot springs and we hiked up
the mountain at least 1,000 stairs to see
a mud puddle sized hot pool.
We laughed and laughed afterwards.
We also nearly got drowned at Tofino in 1987 in the
canoe when the afternoon tides came up and we
didn't have life jackets and we had paddled ten miles
from the town.
Then one time off Orcas Island's Beach Haven
resort we paddled around a cliff
and a tanker went by
and we got stuck in a kelp bed and the waves
we pushing us near the rocks to die.
Terry kept yelling, "Steer around the kelp!"
That was in '88 and we still say it
when we need to avoid anything dangerous.
So Terry and I have had so many wild adventures
on vacation together than I can count.
One time when Kalaloch campground was full in '89
we went and camped in my old truck at the South Beach
parking lot.
We went on a late beach walk and saw these lights
a few miles up the beach and you'll never believe what we saw.
Some people had put up a giant parachute roof and gotten
electricity down to the tent thing
and had a live rock-n-roll band
with giant speakers and a bar
and everything!
We had drinks and danced all night with these
people we had never met before.
Man, the adventures I've had with
Terry.
See you later.
We are going up to the Bothell
Outback Steakhouse for dinner soon.
I sure miss the Kenmore Keg and
Clifford's restaurants
but who knows,
maybe someday someone will take that
skanky Cozy Inn tavern and put in a nice
restaurant with a view again.
It's a great spot over-looking Lake Washington
and Kenmore Air Harbor
and there are always lots of boats and planes
and eagles to watch from there.
Have a nice day Mr. Blog.
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