Life and Other Things I Don't Understand
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Wee Spot o' Moonshine, Anyone?
Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance...
Posted by Hello
Funny, the original pic shows a few stars, too (which I was thrilled to be able to capture... the night skies here are magnificent). I guess Hello compresses things a whole lot (which would explain why they always seemed to appear more softly-focused on the blog, too).
Was that eclipse not an incredible sight last night?
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
On Raising a Good Human Being
I got this email last night from one of Mason's teachers.
Stephanie,
I overheard a student talking about your son and I wanted to let you know what was said. Apparently that student did not have any lunch money. Since he and Mason were both in the nurse’s office, apparently they were talking. Mason gave the kid some lunch money so he wouldn’t be hungry. Wasn’t that a nice thing to do? I just thought I would share with you because Mason is really a generous person. Sometimes parents only hear bad things.
I hope this made your day good.
As much as he vexes me, as much as there are times that I wanna choke the living shit out of the kid for being such an acrimonius pain in the butt... I guess we must be doing something right, after all.
*happy sigh*
Sunday, October 17, 2004
He Had His Doubts...
.
Posted by Hello
...but I didn't. After all, the man was told he'd never walk unsupported again, either, and look at him now.
Sure, last year he set state records for his powersports lifts for his age group (40+), and this year (yesterday, actually), although he was kicking himself for not being able to quite meet those record weights, what he has accomplished post tendon-reconnection surgery still astonishes me. (Having a great surgeon, of course, helped tremendously. Thanks, Doc!)
For the third year in a row, my 'Big Ed' is the New Mexico State Powersports Champion for his age/weight category. Powersports are not the same as bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is about sculpting and how the body looks. Powersports are for what one can do with those muscles, and my favorite man is strong in both body and spirit.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Why Am I Not Surprised?
I patiently waited the allotted two business days for an adjuster from Farmer's (the other driver's insurance company) to call me... nada.
I called the national claims number Thursday and inquired; after all, they told me I'd hear from an adjuster within those two days. It was still an unassigned claim, I was told, and I'd be hearing from someone soon.
Well, soon turned out to be this morning. And it's not good news.
I was informed that there were 'coverage issues' (read it like the adjuster said it, with two hissing "S" sounds... doesn't sound too promising, does it?). He refused to reveal more than that about the standing of the policy. All he could add was that the issue (again with the hissy teeth) should be determined by Monday.
Methinks the guy wrote a hot check for October's premium and I may be stuck dealing with Discount Tire's as-yet-unnamed insurance company.
Smooth and easy? For me? Nope, I get the crunchy bits. *sigh*
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Want a Dent With That?
My car desperately needed new tires. Knowing how long it normally takes to get them installed, I stopped at Target first to pick up a few things and a new book to read while I waited. Along the way, I cruised through McDonald’s for a Diet Coke and some french fries (my idea of lunch).
Arrived at Discount Tire, picked out some tires, and settled in to happily munch fries and dive into that new book while they did their thing. Much to my surprise, just half an hour later, they tell me my car is done and it’ll be brought to the front door for me in just a moment. I rose from the steel mesh chair in the waiting area, looking at the tech as he explained the road hazard warranty, and followed him to the door.
Through the glass, I saw my car, stopped at a weird angle, like the driver had started to pull forward after backing out of the service bay and then stopped. I assumed he’d dumped the clutch and stalled the car when he shifted from reverse into first gear.
Wrong.
The first thing I heard when I opened the door: "Did I dent it?"
Seems that as the tech went from backing up to moving forward, someone had pulled out from a parking space behind my car and backed right into the rear passenger door.
It’s a small dent, and the door still opens, but still...
The manager sort of made himself vacant, telling me to exchange insurance information with the other driver. Huh?
My insurance should not need to come into play here. Besides, what could I tell them? I was reading a book when it happened and I have no knowledge? That I went in for tires and left $200 poorer and with a brand spankin’ new dent in my car?
Two hours of phone calls later (to the police, who wouldn’t come out to make a police report for the insurance company, because it was on private property, and the occupant of the private property wasn’t requesting the report; to my insurance company, to the other drivers’ insurance company, and finally to the district manager of this Discount Tire store), I’m home and have a claim initiated with the other drivers’ insurance carrier.
The fries were sitting like a clot of mud in my stomach and I wished I’d spent a couple more dollars per tire and gone to Sears.
Friday, October 08, 2004
Having a Looong Stretch of...
just wanna pull the covers over my head and stay in bed.
In the beginning of the summer, we got a new store manager (again! I think we're the training store... he's the 5th one in the four years since this store opened). He's not only overstressed and overwhelmed, he's got a real knack for tuning people out and insulting them in small (but obviously very intentional) ways. Nasty little nearly-mumbled offhand comments, such as the one he made when I told him I'd have to switch my come-in-extra-early day for doing processor maintenance from Wednesdays to Saturdays, as Mason has missed the bus on that day more than once because I wasn't there to make sure he was ready and out the door.
First, the maintenance day has always (before him, anyway) been the head of the department's choice... as long as it was one day each week and the machine cleaning took place, it didn't matter. I know of some photo department heads at other stores who just show up early one day every week at random and take care of it. We just work an extra-long day and that's that. Second, Mason has rather severe ADHD, and until those meds kick in, he's constantly off-track and has to be redirected to task over and over. Thirteen he may well be, but time-watching just has always been elusive for him. He can't help it; he gets distracted and off down the garden path he goes. It's far better than it used to be, but I don't have the expectations of him that one would for the average thirteen-year-old. His focus just isn't there yet.
I was informed that "he needs to grow up and be more responsible. It's not your responsibility to make sure he gets on the bus, and it's not your problem if he misses it."
WHAT??
Luckily, I was on my own time when this little discussion took place. Can't be insubordinate if I'm not on the timeclock, now can I?
I told the *ahem* that it was, indeed not only my problem, it was my responsibility, and one that I didn't take lightly. More or less a verbatim quote here: "Mason has severe ADHD, and he loses track of time until the Adderall kicks in, right about the time he gets to school. It'd start working sooner if he got up earlier, but that, too, is a problem, mostly related to the meds that get him through the day. The helpful effects wear off after about twelve hours, but it still keeps him awake far later than he ought to be, so he's hard to awaken in the morning. Furthermore, until he's an adult, he's going to be my responsibility, and his problems are my problems. This is not my career, it's just my job. I work to support my family, not to abandon it. But what would you know about that, being divorced for six years without custody of your two children? I can always find another job that better suits my schedule, or maybe transfer to another store where the manager isn't so autocratic."
I don't think he expected that. He immediately said that Saturdays would be a perfect day to clean and do machine maintenance after all.
I could go on and on, detailing how he asks me the same exact question six times in a day about whether or not a task has been done (I'm tempted to ask him, 'round about the fourth query, if someone has undone the work I'd finished the day before), or how he asks a question and then walks away as I respond... but that'll just piss me off even more, and I don't want to go to work in a lousy mood. This was enough venting for one day, I think.
