Friday, June 30, 2006

The ADD Strikes Again

Dudes.

I'm totally trying to post something, but I'm suffering from some serious ADD and Superstar is on so I can't concentrate. I. Must. Watch.

News:

Brenda's been working on a communtiy Blog about The Project.

I bought a Journal today. It is not fancy. It is black. There are no flowers or hearts or anything foofy like that. I don't like foofy stuff. I was thinking about decorating it, but I am waiting for the good ideas to pop into my head. (Don't suggest scrapbooking stuff. I don't do that.)

Remember when I thought Mac got third in the meet on Monday? I was wrong. She actually got second but the first-place chick DQ'ed so she slid right in to FIRST PLACE. WOOT!

(Hmmm. Competitive much?)

Two people stopped by my office today to see if I quit after last week. I told them I was thinking about it. Then Beth called and she told me she loves me best so I didn't.

I have dead flowers in the front and dead flowers in the back. Virginia hates me.

Mackenzie should not watch Clerks.

I had to remind Dillon that he lived here because last night at about 11:04, I realized I hadn't seen him in, like, days. So I told him to come home, uncharacteristically thought up some Mom-type rules and doled them out:

  1. Home by 10 on a week night so I can go to bed. I have to work in the morning. Exceptions will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

  2. Some meals should be eaten here.

  3. No smoking. (Really, I think this one should have been obvious.)

  4. Bedroom & bathroom shall be cleaned daily before leaving. (He already broke this one.)

Wine. I need wine.

Sometimes, when I get nervous, I stick my hands under my armpits and than I smell them like this! ~Mary Katherine Gallagher

Thursday, June 29, 2006

And I Didn't Even Have To Flash Anyone

So! Turns out one of the benefits of being the Punching-Bag, Bitch-To, Phone-Answering Goddess at my Homeowner's Association is that when you call the roofer to fix the 11 roofs that are leaking in the neighborhood (including yours), you (Me), get roofers on your roof before anyone else. They showed up this morning while I was in the shower. I walked out of the bathroom naked to find a 25 foot ladder propped up against my bedroom window. Luckily there was no actual Roofer on the ladder, because I don't believe the Grandma Sheers would have protected my innocence from his bugged-out eyes. And now my roof is fixed.

Also, you can move yourself up on the Roof Replacement List. Muahahahaha!

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Waterlogged

So when I got home yesterday, I saw all the forest animals lined up, two by two, behind my house, hailing a cab. Apparently all the Arks were full.

And there was a squirrel surfing in my gutter.

And because of all this water, everyone is on edge here and about 15% of my neighborhood has something inside their home as wet as the outside (ceilings, windows, basements, you name it). And they all call me to come fix it, like... yesterday.

And after 3 days of this, I totally lost it at work today. I won't bore you with the details, but it consisted of a homeowner getting unnecessarily shitty with me over email, and me saying FUCK a lot and reminding the maintenance man how much I hate them all, and responded in my own email, pointing out what an asshole he was. Judging from his wife's email back, she agreed. I've been working my ass off for the past 3 days, putting out fires, taking calls after hours, and don't you DARE suggest that I'm not doing enough. My FUCKING roof is leaking too, and my drainpipe is at the END of the queue to be snaked.

After my tirade, the maintenance man turned to me and said, "Are you a Leo?"

Was it that obvious?

Overachiever

She took first in the 50 Free on Saturday, and DQ'd the 50 Backstroke,

she took first in the dive meet yesterday (By 12 points! She OWNED that meet!),

and she took first in the 50 Breast and first* in the 50 Back tonight.

And is breaking Personal Bests everytime she gets wet.

But she won't learn Butterfly.

Just so ya know.

*Originally published as third, but I was wrong, she actually came in second and then the girl who came in first DQ'd and she took ALL! Muahahahaha!

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Totally Happened:

"So... you got a new hickey to match the one on the other side?"

"I swear to God, this time it's not a hickey."

Mom-stare.

"Ok, maybe it is."

The Rules

1. After you receive The Journal, you have 10 days to make your mark on 1 or 2 pages before it must be passed on. Writing, drawing, photos... create!

2. You must include, on your page, a general idea (city or state) where you are.

3. You must include a scrap of something personal. But nothing gross. (ie. Anything with DNA or that you pick off your body.) (Really, I think that should be self-evident.)

4. You must email Paige when you receive The Journal, and again when you put it back in the mail.

5. You must never listen to Barry Manilow or Olivia-Newton John while writing in The Journal.

6. You must never wear plaids and stripes together while in the vicinity of The Journal.

7. Journaling may take place anywhere, including especially the Scrub-A-Dub.

8. You must confess any and all Drunk Journaling.

9. Any meeting of Blog-Spawn Journalers deserves an extra page. Create!

10. You must take a photo of your page(s) and email to Paige (you may also post the photo on your blog - as you see fit).

11. Any behavior non-compliant with the rules will subject you to a spanking (Betty. Annie. I'm talking to you.)

12. You must have fun.

Monday, June 26, 2006

And ON With the Show!

OK! We have a plan:

We're going with the Journal - add a photo, write an essay, draw some art, anything you want to do, and pass it on to the next person. Be creative and represent yourself.

I will organize a Mail-Tree (actually, it'll be more like a Mail-Ray) so that each person on the Tree/Ray gets only the name and address of the person they will forward The Journal to. If you are uncomfortable with anyone knowing your address (besides me, acting in my capacity as "Managing Director of Idea Collection and Entertainment Implementation", which I will not abuse, because you know I'm too lazy to stalk anyone; I barely put any energy into parenting), I have no problem with having The Journal come back to me and I'll forward it to the next person on the list. Please let me know.

We need to establish a "Rules" page. Please add any suggestions in today's comments.
- I'm thinking we should establish a 10-day limit on Journal-holding. That way, the Procrastinators (HI! My name is Paige, and I'm a Master Procrastinator!) have a goal. And email me when it's sent, so we can track it and the next person knows when to expect it.
- Take a photo of your page before you send it on
- And I still like that No Barry Manilow Rule.

We also need a "Project Name". Ditto on the suggestions. Have fun with this and don't be shy... (ie - "Operation Collaboration"... or "Project Bloggers Unite"... or "Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal" (unless we have a boy want to join - which is FINE! Boys welcome! I love boys! Ew. But not in that LeTourneau way. Men. Men are nice. ) AN.Y.WAY! or... Project Add-A-Thought... Operation Snail-Mail Unification... I know these suggestions are lousy. Maybe some wine would help? Anyway, you know, whatever. Work it, people!)

My goal is to get it out by next Monday so anyone who wants to be included should email me your address at cartwheels at mac dot com.

The Ultimate Mailing Matrix Ray:

aka Brandi
Brenda
Jes
Carolie
Annie
Betty
Brooke
LeahPeah
Omm
Bec
Other Paige
Stephanie
John
Nina
Amy
Singing-Lisa
Brooke's MIL
Sarah
New Brooke
Stacy
Gary
Erica
Bridget
Melyssa

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Overheard

Mac, referring to M*A*S*H,: "Do you know 'The Incubator' or 'Five O'Clock Charlie'?

Me: "No."

Me, realizing, actually, I did: ""'The Incubator' is about them needing an incubator for growing penicillin (penicillin? chicks? babies? I forget why). 'Five O'Clock Charlie' is about a rogue bomber who hits at 5pm every day.... ... ... I'm a little bit embarrassed about that."

Mac: "Huh. You are to M*A*S*H what I am to Friends."

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Inappropriate Parental Reaction

The first Dive Meet is tomorrow. So for the past few evenings, at Mac's request, she and I have headed over to the pool for a couple hours of one-on-one practice with Mom-as-coach (again, her request - let's make that perfectly clear). She's doing great, despite the fact that she gave me heart palpitations when she cleared the board on an Inward by only about 4 inches. I asked her to stop for a little while. Watching your child smash her head against the board is not on my list of Fun Saturday Activities.

So she switched to Forward Somersault, Pike Position. They were gorgeous. High, and pikey and controlled. She did this a few times until she decided to switch to Forward Dive Pike Position. And she caught some great air off the board, and touched her toes...It was fabulous!....

Right up until the moment she forgot what she was doing and tried to whip her legs around in a somersault. She didn't get very far, ended up in a backbend, and the sound of her back smacking the water is still reverberating across Northern Virginia.

As is the sound of her friends and I laughing hysterically.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Brainchild ala Betty and Brenda

While I was blissfully idling the afternoon away, playing at the pool with Mackenzie, a Category 5 Brainstorm was occurring in yesterday's comments section. A sprout of an idea took shape and before I knew it, I was volunteered as Managing Director of Idea Collection and Entertainment Implementation (I created the title myself as Bitch-To Girl and Phone-Answering Goddess leave me lacking in Self-Esteem) (Though that "Goddess" one is fun.).

Betty & Brenda have me a little confused as of yet because every time I read their exchange, I crack up laughing and forget what the whole point is (HI! My name's Paige and I'm Easily Distracted!)

We have a few suggestions:

1) a shared postcard - add a thought and pass it on...

2) add another postcard to an envelope and pass it on...
Suggestion from Brenda: "Homemade postcards, store bought postcards from where you live, fabric quilted postcards, pictures of your family, pets..etc, on a postcard... and of course, a description or how the card was produced, or a funny story."
3) Or, I could buy a blank journal and each person that gets it leaves their mark on a page - writing, art, photo... and then pass it to the next, return to me, I'll make copies of each page (maybe scan it) and reproduce the book for everyone who participated at the end.

Ideas! Good or Bad, we need them! Please leave us a note below...

Also, if you'd like to participate when we get a plan, email me your address to cartwheels at mac dot com. Or click on that link over there on the right that says: "Email Me". Duh.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Because Everything Is Fair Game. Just ask Dillon and Mackenzie.

Actual mail received:

(on a postcard addressed to "Brandi")
"Hi. I'm at the 'Scrub-a-Dub' :) washing my throw rugs I've been carrying around in my trunk for several months. :{ I really don't know why I'm washing them. They will only get dirty again! :) That's all!!"

xxxxooo Omm

This is what I love about my mom, Omm. She spent 39 cents to tell me she was at the Scrub-a-Dub washing rugs. And then followed it up with letters to Dillon and Mackenzie informing them that she was at the Scrub-a-Dub washing rugs. Unfortunately, she loves them more than me because they each got $5.

OR maybe she did give me $5, but it got separated from my postcard. Maybe I should call the Post Office. They probably found it.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Things That Make You Go, Ewwwwww.

Did y'all hear about this? Where that 33-year-old man married the 104-year-old woman in Malaysia? It's her 21st marriage.

Now. I'm all for a backup plan. You never know when the light of your life is going to get hit by a bus crossing the road, or catch Ebola Virus, or accidentally get decapitated whilst sticking his head out the window looking at geese in a v-formation. And if you have a backup plan, it eliminates all that awkward first date tedium. But how does one have 20 backup plans? And if she actually outlived 21 other men, do you really want to be the 21st to throw your hat in the ring (Or, you know. Throw your whatever into the whatever)? I mean, the Odds. They're not so good. I just can't imagine that Wook (that's his name) is so hideous that he couldn't get a nice age-appropriate girl to marry him.

I wonder if they plan on having kids....

Monday, June 19, 2006

Tidbits & Miscellany

My daughter is faster than.......................... (Quick! What's a really fast fish?) .............. Nothing?

Well, how about faster than last year. By SECONDS! Last year, her fastest 50 Free was 42.53. This year, 38.42!! Last year, her fastest 50 Back was 57.50. This year, 50.60!!! Last year, her fastest 50 Breast was 58.30. This year, 53.58!!!! Don't even ask about Butterfly. She doesn't like it and figured she wouldn't be swimming it in the first meet anyway, so why waste her time. That's my girl.

I always hoped that one of the kids would be a swimmer. Dillon simply wasn't interested (I know... Go figure.). But I think this has turned out to be Mac's thing. Last year was her first year and she spent much of it in the slowest of the slow lanes. After the first week of this summer, I showed up at the end of practice and found her in the fast lane. The fastest lane. Yay!

To finish off the Day of Sports Fun, we went to the Washington Mystics basketball game with Beth. Her two friends that have season tickets with her couldn't go and gave them to Mac and I (Thanks Sheila! Thanks Joyce!). We had such a great time! And since the girls won, we will be allowed their tickets again the next time they can't make a game. :) I hadn't been to a women's basketball game in years and forgot how much I enjoyed it. Mom and Dad always used to take us to a Purdue Women's game when we went home for Christmas. But it's been years since we were home for Christmas, and years, in turn, since we've seen a game.

Sunday was reserved for Laundry and a Movie. Not quite as fun as Dinner and a Movie, but with more sense of accomplishment. Mac, Beth and I went to see The Lake House. Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves... Who doesn't like that? And the movie wasn't bad either.

The rest of my time was taken up cleaning about the place. Why, you ask? Why would Paige be cleaning instead of working in her garden or lounging around the pool eating bon-bons and reading smutty novels in her off hours?

Because RACHELLE is coming tonight! She emailed a few days ago and asked if they could crash here tonight. ("Uh, YES!") They accept their house in Pax River tomorrow morning and have to go sign the papers and stuff. Torrey's staying here with us and going to Mackenzie's last day of school* with her. It's just a show-up-for-the-talent-show-and-go-home day. Two hours tops.

*Yes. My kids are still in school. HOW STUPID IS THAT? Are anyone else's kids still in school? My nieces have been out for 3 weeks already. Gah!

Really. I have to go. I still have to put my sheets on my bed.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Prom 2006

I could get all gooey and sniffley writing this post, lamenting my advancing age and Dillon's imminent independence, but instead I'll just show you how STINKIN' handsome my Man-boy is in a tux. Behold...

Dillon and Kim










Link-Loved

When I woke up today, it was already a good day, it being Friday and all. And as I was in such a good mood, I got showered and dressed quick like a bunny and jumped on my computer to see who had done what overnight. I checked in on my real-life girlfriends, Annie and Jes, and rock-star Dooce and super-fun girl CityMama, and imagine my surprise when I saw my very own CartwheelsAtMidnight included in her Friday Link Love Post! She digs me! Which is very cool, because I heart her. Thank you, CityMama!

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Daily Dive, Tux Position

I finally solved the Colossal Roof-Replacement Debacle at work. Beth will be so proud. She should give me a raise. (Hi Beth!)

And then I had my teeth cleaned. There was mucho scraping (apparently my saliva is rich in calcifying minerals (*insert dirty joke here*)) resulting in marginal bleeding. But now my gums are fine and my teeth are so slippery!

Then Dillon sent me a text message: "Need a tux. Prom Friday. After school?" HOLY FUCK! How can the prom be on Friday?! Didn't I just pick him up at pre-school last Friday? Weren't we just reading "Go, Dog, Go" together? Aren't I too young to be tearing up while my baby sticks a corsage on a teen-age girl's chest while trying not to touch her boobies?

So I took him to the tailor, a super-cute old Korean man, in an out of the way office in a non-descript complex. As we walked toward the door I told Dillon, "If all they have is powder-blue polyester or tails with gold lame cumberbunds, then give me the high-sign and we can bail." Ok. It was a plan.

But when we got inside, the tailor was so happy to see us, and he had a book full of gorgeous tuxedos and he helped me out by updating me on the new hip tux trends. Apparently 2 buttons bad, 3 buttons good. Cumberbunds extinct, your choice between bow-tie and regular tie. Added on a vest (at an extra charge) and shoes (extra large). While he measured Dillon, he asked if I had other kids, recognized that I must love my son very much, told me how handsome he is and then showed us a photo of his two boys ("Tall like your boy"), and then gave us a discount and thanked us about 5 times on our way out the door. I got the distinct impression he didn't get much teen-age traffic in there and was thrilled to see us. I liked him too and will take my next pair of pants that needs to be altered to "freakishly short" to him.

Then we ran a couple of errands and while that itself wasn't notable, we had a great time together, something that seems to be more and more rare with each passing day.

Later, as I made my way through the throng of tween girls in the pool locker room, trying to pick my wet curly-head baby out from the other wet divers & swimmers, a giant smile caught my eye. Mackenzie. "Guess what I did today!"

"What?!"

Grinning and suspense... "An INWARD! Four times!"

Squealing and laughing! "I was so scared, but I did it! I can do it!"

So we went to find her coach, who was smiling and just as proud of her as I was. "Mackenzie's got a special gift. Other people can't locate their body in space and while they are ok divers, will never be great divers. She can do anything."

And so ended a day of triumph and pain and melancholy and laughter and pride. It was just a regular day, but sometimes even regular days can be Great.

Monday, June 12, 2006

A Flower is Worth a Thousand Smiles

I worked for hours in my garden today. And just in the nick of time. It was forlorn and abandoned.

I hadn't spent any time out there in about 6 weeks except to go out and pull the weeds that were threatening to choke out the flora. I hadn't added annuals for color or pinched back the new growth or executed my yearly schizophrenic plant rotation, where I take a plant that's perfectly fine where it is, and just when it's starting to thrive, pluck it up, leaving half it's roots behind, only to reposition it somewhere else that will end up being as temporary as it was in the whole entire first place (Part of my OCD, I think, though I come by it honestly. (Hi Mom!)). I think I murdered an Alstroemeria in this very manner today.

ANYWAY, I couldn't figure out what was causing this uncharacteristic apathy towards my garden. And then tonight, knee-deep in Vinca, Miracle Grow and mud, I figured it out.

We're moving.

I'll only see one more spring here as we plan to leave next June.

And we may never come back to this house.

And even if we do rent it out and return someday, the tenants are sure to make a bloody mess out of this very thing I love most about our house. The very thing I've invested hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars making Mine. My teeny-tiny patio garden.

And that makes me heartbreakingly sad.

But not nearly as sad as walking past a neglected patch of dirt and weeds that, with a little bit of effort, water, sunshine and love can make me smile with every coming and going.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Weekend At Brandi's

I got home from work Friday afternoon to find this massacre. I didn't take it as a good sign of the weekend to come:



But then I checked the front porch. And I got my shirt from Fussy! She promised it would make my tits look huge. It did:



And Friday passed without incident.

We woke up to a beautiful, if chilly Saturday morning. It called for coffee and Scrabble:



And it was really nice, until we decided we were hungry and looked in the fridge. Gross. So we cleaned it:



There were enough inedible, furry leftovers to have fed a small third-world country since Easter*, but for some reason, I had stocked up Y2K-style on string cheese. Accept invitations with care for the next few weeks.



*Which is not to say that if I was in charge of feeding a small third-world country that I would make them eat furry inedible food abandoned in the fridge since Easter. I believe all third-world countries have as much right as any first- or second-world country to eat non-furry, edible, fresh food.

Then while I was on the phone with the Unforgettable Annie, Noodle found this in her backpack:



It's my Mother's Day Present. It's a COW. Get it? Which leaves me wondering... How can a ceramic tile survive in a 5th grader's backpack for over a month and not get broken? Hmmm.

And also,

What to do with leftover sticky rice? Make Onigiri! A perfect plan for a girl-baby who was just saying how homesick she was for Japan:





And look! Dillon came home to feed!



And while he ate, we talked and the conversation came around to the weird kids in school. I told him he should be nice to them and talk to them. And he said, "I've tried. They don't talk back. And I've heard if you point at them in the hall and go, 'Pow!', they make light-saber sounds and motions."



And I said: "Oh. Ok. Well, at least you tried."

Friday, June 09, 2006

Jackie-O, We're Not

The kids filed in one by one. Sixth grade girls in black skirts and white blouses, fifth grade boys in navy blue pants and white oxfords, fourth grade girls in black slacks and white t's. And then came Mackenzie. She was wearing a white t-shirt with denim shorts and pink flip-flops. She was laughing when she walked in, taking her place on the risers and flashed us the peace sign, while mouthing, "I feel like a redneck." Tater and I busted up laughing at The Girl Who Was Her Mom.

The last thing Tater had said before we left the house for her Spring Chorus Concert was, "Is that what you're wearing?"

"Yes. Our teacher said white on top, dark on the bottom."

"You're wearing blue jean shorts."

"Well, they're dark-ish. Besides, my legs are tan."

And I jump in as if it will help: "Yeah. It's not like they're singing for the Queen of England. It's a bunch of parents on a Thursday night in the cafeteria. She's fine."

(Looking back on this, my tendency to wear jeans/shorts Everywhere, my refusal to wear panty hose Ever, and my general feeling that everyone needs to just Relax should have sent up a red flag and exempted me from voicing any opinion.)

So he conceded.

Only to give me that look, an hour later as the kids all file in wearing their fancy duds. You know the look. The one that says, "When are you going to grow up and act like a Mom? This is yet another example of your 'Alternative Parenting Style' gone awry."

So she sang her way through 7 or 8 songs, looking slightly uncomfortable, but not any more uncomfortable than the kids wearing their Sunday (Funeral) Best, and as the teacher dismissed them, she took the mike and told the parents, "Your child may have left something in my room they need to get. Otherwise, you can take them from here."

Tater turned to me and said, "She probably needs to go get her beer and cigarettes." Causing me to laugh louder than socially acceptable.

And making our Mills Family Spectacle complete.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Canned Happiness

She won't give up the Tinker-Toys. About twice a year, we go through her bedroom and gather up all the toys she doesn't play with anymore and haul them off to Goodwill, saving the Legos and Brio train and assorted basket of action-figures, McDonald's toys and garage-sale Weebles for my baby-nieces visits.

Each time we make a pass through her room, I pick up the giant, tube-like can and ask, "What about this?" and every single time, she answers, "Ummmm, no, not yet" and I return it to the floor of her closet, where it is easily accessible should she yearn to construct a disk-and-rod swingset or a ferris-wheel or a big, giant, spoked circle. I haven't seen her touch the Tinker Toys in years. I don't know what magic they hold for her. Maybe she's waiting for the maturity and dexterity required to actually construct something recognizable. Maybe she and her girlfriends secretly play with them during those mysterious Tween Sleepovers. Maybe she's waiting for Tater and I to grow old and senile and she's going to fashion a Parental-Head-Bonking-Device as payback for all the trash we made her take out, the dishes she had to load, and the poop she had to scoop.

But that doesn't sound like Mackenzie. Really, the reason I think she is reluctant to part with the Tinker Toys is that stored safely in that blue paper-and-plastic cylinder is the Memory of Dillon playing with her on the floor. They used to spend hours sitting on the living room floor, surrounded by sticks and spools and giant sheets of instruction. She would watch, earnestly, while her big brother would create a playground out of nothing. Then she would add Tiny Spiderman to a swing or Happy Meal Pooh to the ferris wheel. For days after, we would all have to circumnavigate the tiny little world they made together, until I had to vacuum or planned a dinner party and it would all be scooped up and returned to the can, waiting for the next time her Hero looked at her and said, "Hey, Mac, you want to play Tinker Toys?"

Monday, June 05, 2006

SUCH A Cop-out. But...

I still don't feel so hot and all I can think about is how it feels like I just drank a can of hydrochloric acid and wondering when it'll go away and realizing that I forgot to post my "Weekend At Brandi's" Photos so here are a few:

Of my garden...































































Mac gets busted karaoke-ing at Jeff and Singing-Lisa's house.







Stanley's new house.









Tater, preferring I not take his picture at Jeff & Singing-Lisa's.

And I Made This Saturday...

Triple-Chocolate Pudding Pie

Except I omitted the espresso powder and put cinnamon in the pie and the cream. Mmmmm.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

So You Have A Giant Filet of Salmon and You Don't Know What to Do With It?

Do this:

Salt and pepper both sides of the fish and..

In a small bowl, whisk:

6 T of olive oil
3 T prepared white horseradish
3 T soy sauce
1 T lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t salt
1 t pepper

*(measurements are a guess-timate. I just pour stuff in a bowl.)

Baste while grilling fish. Mmmm. I did this the other night and may I just say, I CAN COOK!

Friday, June 02, 2006

Live This Week! Intestinal Revolt! Opening for Ambiguous Stomach Bug!*

Well. The title of yesterday's post was so very inappropriately named.

When you call in sick to work, you should be prepared for the giant bitch-slap you receive the next day. You should not be lulled into a false hope that things are settling down and the Crazies have better things to do than harass you. You should not take a Tranquil Wednesday as indication of a Genial Friday.

Because apparently, yesterday they forgot to take their medication...

And I had seventeen messages on my machine when I got in this morning. And fifteen emails. All not including the twenty-or-so calls I received from 9-1.

Apparently, it became an emergency yesterday that Mr. H, who lives in Florida, know whether or not his gutters have been cleaned out this spring. He called me 4 times. And once today.

And Mrs. R has a broken limb hanging over her brick patio wall. She needed it removed NOW. She called me twice and then the Property Management company's office once, telling them that I had told her to call them (But I didn't. I was not there yesterday. LIAR!) While I was listening to her two messages on my voice mail, my call-waiting beeped. It was her. She wanted to know when the limb would be removed. I told her we would get to it ASAP. She wanted me to call her back to tell her when it was done. I said, "Well, no. When you look outside and don't see it, then you'll know it's done." (I might have gotten a little shitty with her. But she's a LIAR.)

Mr. L, who lives in an adjoining neighborhood, and who dumped a ton of raked up leaves onto our property which subsequently caught fire this spring, burning down his fence, is still harassing us, looking for a reason to sue. I let him know we knew about the leaves and that probably would have exacerbated the blaze. He stammered around a lot. And blamed a contractor.

Two women on L********t Lane. apparently had brown water coming out of the faucet and low water pressure and wanted to know if we were doing anything to the water. (OH, DAMN! Is that what that big knob in the bathroom is for? For Christ Sake, people! Take some freakin' responsibility and call the Water Company! I mean, DUH! How many Homeowner's Associations do you know of that have control over your water?)

Another Mr. H had a freakfest of the hugest kind when he came home to see his trim painted white and called me all-shitty-like to tell me that white was not the color he had asked for and he expected it to be repainted NOW. He called me back today to say that it was primer and to disregard his two messages. (He didn't mention how assholey he was when he left the messages.)

And, finally, but not-by-a-long-shot last in the list of Irritations, Crazy Grass Lady. On Wednesday morning the maintenance man laid an entire $50-bag of seed around her building. That afternoon, she came and got another bag from him with the understanding that he needed to put down some seed later and would be stopping by in a few hours to pick up the remaining seed. When he got there, she informed him it was gone. She had used the entire bag. One hundred dollars worth of seed in one day. Later that day, a friend of hers called to request that we seed. I told her we didn't have any but as soon as we did, we would come over and seed her front lawn. "But 'my good friend, CGL, down the street got seed today."

"And she took it all. That's why it's gone."

And then she tried to defend CGL, "Well, you should know that she has spent much of her own money over the years on the common areas around her house."

She should know that CGL has gotten on my last nerve and there is no defense left for her. "Yes, but she used $100 worth of grass seed in one day and we don't have $100 to spend on seed for each of the 73 buildings in the neighborhood."

Silence.

You should know that CGL has taken advantage of me, the maintenance man, and the Association more times than anyone knows. But I am on to her and it is O.V.E.R.

So today. She calls to offer me a check for $48.50 for the bag of grass. Her friend had told her what I said. "No, CGL, that's not necessary, but I will be less generous in the future." She refused to recognize that there were actually 2 bags of seed strewn around her house totaling $100. She also turned it all around to act like we were paying too much for grass and she called the manager of Home Depot trying to find out if we could get a discount but we couldn't unless we bought in bulk and that I should call Home Depot and talk to the manager and that if we bought seed from the nursery down the street then we'd save in gas. I told her that it was none of her business and that I would handle it. She also said that she would appreciate it if I kept HOA business to myself. (Are you REALLY going there?) I informed her that the reason I told her friend was that her friend had called looking for grass and after I told her we didn't have any, she acted like I was lying because CGL had gotten some just that day.

Really, I don't mean to drone on and on in a most boring "she said, she said" manner, but I cannot express how INCREDULOUS I am over this woman's behavior and all of the insane things she has done, most of which I haven't shared. And I know I've said it before, but my patience with this woman has been exceeded and abused and there is no more. Things will only get uglier from here on out. (Hi Beth!)

*Credit goes to Annie.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Dudes. I totally called in sick today. (Hi Beth!)

Or... I would have called in sick if there was anyone to call. But as my boss (Hi Beth!) was on vacation (How's Ohio?), there was no one to call so when I took Mac to school, I stuck a note on the door:

"Good Morning, Paige isn't feeling well today so the office will be closed. We are sorry for any inconvenience*. (Signed) The HOA."

We are so sorry there was no one to irrationally complain at that the playground mulch was put in front of the fence at the maintenance yard and not by the property line.

We are so sorry there was no one to hear you whine that the landscapers missed a portion of the common area when they put down weed killer (Crazy Grass Lady).

We are so sorry I wasn't there to answer the phone when you wanted to argue about whose responsibility your chimney cap is.

*But actually............ I'm not.

In my defense, I honestly felt like crap and was up much of the night. I thought maybe our steak was bad last night, but I was the only one with Intestinal Revolt. But then the more I thought about it, I realized that for the last couple days my entire brood has felt a tad queasy so now my official story is "Ambiguous Stomach Bug".

And, things have actually been pretty slow around there. Slow enough that I'm actually getting caught-up. As caught-up as possible, anyway.

The belly's still a little gurgly, but I have to go to work tomorrow (Yay, Friday!) to finish my report (Hi Beth!) that has to go out tomorrow (You thought I forgot, didn't you? I didn't.).