Facebook ate my brain
Well, hello there. Facebook didn’t really eat my brain… I’m just too lazy to keep updating my status there and keeping up with the blog. But I promise I’ll do better!
So, it’s Christmas. The first Christmas without Mom, which I’ve already decided will totally suck. It’s not that Mom ever did anything to make the holiday super-special or anything, but she knew it was my favorite time of the year. She always went WAY OVERBOARD with gifts, and while the gifts are not the important part, I always loved that she got me so well… she just always knew what I would like, even if it wasn’t something that I asked for. I will never again, for the rest of my life, get gifts as good as the ones she’s bought me over the years, and that just sucks. I’ve been so spoiled!
I went shopping for Christmas presents tonight – this was my first real shopping trip this year. I went to the mall, and wow. Talk about memories.
- I went to Macy’s first – we didn’t have Macy’s in Indiana when I was growing up, but we shopped every year at L.S. Ayres or Carson Pirie Scott. Dad got new cologne, maybe a wallet, and always clothes. Walking through the perfume department made me think of Mom.
- I stopped at the Hickory Farms kiosk – we used to get Dad a gift basket every year, so I bought one for old time’s sake. I remember picking them out with Mom when I was a little kid.
- Next stop was Johnny Rocket’s for something to eat. As I took off my coat, I realized how hot I had been, and how cumbersome it is to carry around a winter coat in the first place… and then I remembered how we always rented a locker at the mall so we wouldn’t have to carry them around. Do they even have those lockers any more?
- Finally, I went to JCPenney. We almost always shopped there for Dad’s clothes, because you could buy big & tall in the store rather than having to order it online. And picking up gifts at the catalog department!
It was just a crazy evening. It was like taking a little trip to Christmas past, minus the ghost to guide the way. Though I guess she was there, in a way.
Filed under blues | Comment (0)Staycation
So, it’s been a long while since I’ve felt inspired to post. Really, since I’ve felt inspired to do much besides sit on the couch and let my brain melt by watching too much television. Since I last posted…
- The flies have gone. I still get the occasional fruit fly, but the big house flies are under control.
- Moses and I have been spending time at a local dog park meeting new people and new dogs. He’s trying to make friends… it’s hard to run with the small dogs; they last much longer in the field. Moses is lucky to make it 45 minutes.
- Moses and I have also been to obedience class – our last class is this Thursday evening. He’s doing well, not that he really needed it to begin with. I’m the one that needed it – I have a much better feel for timing, and have learned some nice tips and tricks.
- Dad was here for a visit last week – he bought a new Sprinter, and flew in to pick it up and drive it home. He seems to be doing alright without Mom, but I know he’s lonely down there by himself. I’m trying to convince him to move back here, and I think I may be wearing him down. He injured his knee while he was here, and it occurred to him after he got home that if he has to have surgery, there’s really no one down there to take care of him. Gee, the car accident in April wasn’t enough to convince him of that?
That’s kind of it. My life has been boring: work is boring, home is boring… I need a change. Not sure what that might be yet, but I’ll figure something out.
Filed under blues, me | Comment (0)Flies, redux
Warning: If you have a weak tummy, you probably shouldn’t read this post…
I think Mother Nature must not like me very much. I really hate bugs… bugs of all kinds, and yet I keep finding them. In the last week I’ve killed three small cockroaches in the garage (and then I heard an Orkin ad on the radio say “It’s cockroach season, Indiana!” Ya think?), dumped about a teaspoon of fly pupae out of an outdoor trashcan, killed two fuzzy spiders, and tonight was just the absolute kicker.
I decided I needed to fill the birdfeeders – I have one finch feeder and one that I use for a sunflower/safflower mix. I store the birdseed in old Tidy Cat containers, and up until recently that has worked just fine. The finch food is fine – no problems with it – but I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the mix was kind of funky looking, and there were moths in it. I figured the birds would appreciate the live food, and just filled the feeder. Well… tonight, I opened the container and took a look, and it was NASTY. It was like the seeds had just fermented and become disgusting. I stirred around a little bit with the scoop I use, but decided I needed to go buy new birdseed. I loaded Moses into the car and we took a trip to Pet Supplies Plus.
When we got home, I thought I’d dump the old seed in the trash and bleach out the container before putting the new seed in it. When I went to get it, I noticed that there were – worms? – crawling on the scoop, which was laying on top of the container. Hmm. Not worms. Maggots. Which means that the seeds I had stirred up before I left to go buy new? Also full of maggots. In the airtight container.
For the time being I’m storing the new bag of seed in the laundry room, and I’m going tomorrow to find a new storage bin. When I left the finch food was fine, but I may just dump it, too… it’s almost gone, anyway. I just don’t understand… Dad stores his seed in the same type of container on his freaking back porch in HUMID coastal Georgia and has zero problems. Maybe he goes through it faster than I do? Or maybe the flies have just decided to congregate here? It’s going to be the Amityville Horror, or whatever movie featured a whole lotta flies. Save me, please.
In other, non-bug related news… I found a funny thing the other day while browsing the intranet job listings at work. Here are the job requirements as written by HR:
Education/Qualifications
A minimum of an Associate’s degree required.
Candidate must be an expert in Adobe InDesign.
Strong skills in Word, Excel and Powerpoint needed.
Strong attention to detail neccary.
I just thought it, you know, necarry to share that with you. In case you needed a laugh.
Filed under indignities | Comment (1)
