June 2005 Archives
This is another one of my paintings from a while back. It is watercolor and gouache on heavy paper and the interesting thing is that the whole thing was painted with Q-tips and a cut up kitchen sponge. It is a huge painting. The story behind it is that my friend at the time (my first year in college) told me the story of how she was with a bunch of people swimming in a lake with a floating dock, they were tipping people off the dock and someone managed to hit her in the head and she went unconscious. She actually drowned, but was revived, of course. The painting was my view of being under the water with all those people around. I have not gotten started painting again yet, but perhaps this weekend. Things have been so busy with getting used to Cody's treatment and all.
In other news, I had a great day at work today; I got a commendation from NASA, which is always good. The surveillance cameras seem to be working well after one bout with a defective 9 volt battery. I know, it is illegal to point cameras at a neighbor's property, but they are really pointed at my sidewalk and mailbox, you can just see their house in the background, and I can't help it if they can be seen too. HA! I am starting to think there actually could be a meth lab across the street. I saw one of the guys carrying a container of either acetone or paint thinner into the house today. There is no way those lazy fucks are using it for any good purpose; they can't even be bothered to take out the trash, so I am sure that they are not painting or anything. I will be watching their every move.
As messed up as it sounds, lately it seems as though I have to go to work to relax. It is just all the stuff with the drug dealer neighbor across the street, and having to deal with Homeowners Association crap. Andy is the president and I am the secretary/treasurer. The vice president of it, Brian, is really out to get a few homeowners, and I just really don't care anymore. All of the things he is nailing people for are completely valid, and not nit picky or anything, but I still just don't care. I guess having the drug dealers across the street has beat me down into apathy. Brian writes the letters to the homeowners with violations, but then wants me to send them by Certified Mail, return reciept requested. He doesn't know how to do it. It is a tremendous pain in the ass, especially when you have a whole bunch of them to send. Luckily for me, there is a teeny tiny U.S. Post Office on the space center. It is located in the NASA headquarters building and is nearby for me when I am at work. I am able to go over there at lunch time. It is still a pain in the ass to mail the letters. In addition, we can't get the association lawyer to return our calls. She is a brand new lawyer, and apparently does not care about keeping our business. One more thing to worry about.
I don't want to do this association thing anymore. I am tired of dealing with people who act like infants. This should be the last year we will be involved. I am so over it.
Dealing with Cody's diabetes has been difficult so far. I am not so sure his dosage of insulin is just right or that I am giving the shots correctly. He seems very lethargic and is still peeing himself. Poor baby. He is on his new diabetic diet and he likes the food, but doesn't like the fact that the amount he gets is limited. He looks so hungry and he lays over by the food bowls like he does when he runs out of food. It is so pitiful. That part is bad, and so is the fact that the other two dogs can't have their food bowls left out or Cody gets into them. They are not used to eating on a schedule- they are accustomed to free feeding, where they can nibble all day. Each dog wants the food that another dog has, so it is true chaos at feeding time.
Andy has to take Cody back to the vet early tomorrow morning to have his glucose checked before he eats and gets his shot. I will be back on first shift tomorrow, so I won't be able to go. I will be back to getting up at 5:00 in the morning. It is going to be rough for the first week or so, but I think it will be for the best. I am planning on giving Cody his food and shots each morning at around six AM before I leave for work. I read that insulin reactions usually occur from five to eight hours after the injection is given, and if I give the shots that early, Andy will still be home during that window where Cody could have problems. That means I will have to get up that early on the weekends too, so that he gets his shots at the same time every day. The things we do for our pets!
Look at this cool leaf I found on the sidewalk while on my walk this afternoon. I spotted it right away. It's too bad it doesn't look like the Virgin Mary or I could put it on eBay and sell it for thousands!
...because I don't understand. Why can something as inocuous as French's mustard have a nice little lift and peel tamper seal so that you don't get your hands all messy...
...while some thing horrible and dangerous like MURIATIC ACID has the crappy seal that you have to tear open with your finger or cut with an instrument and get acid all over the place.
I just don't understand.
I picked Cody up from the vet a little while ago. They taught me how to inject him; we practiced using saline that wouldn't hurt him. I think I can do it. We have to bring him in again early tomorrow morning to check his glucose one more time and I will be giving him his shot under their supervision to make sure I know what I am doing. That will be Cody's fourth trip to the vet this week. He does seem like he's feeling a little bit better already, although he is tired due to his rough day. He is resting comfortably as you can see in the photo above. He likes to lay on the tile floor because it is nice and cool.
The security system people came out and talked to us; it sounds pretty cool, but I want to call a few other companies before I decide. The camera monitoring was way too expensive, but I ordered two wireless indoor/outdoor color cameras with night vision to install myself. I found them online and they were fairly inexpensive. All I have to do is mount them outside and then hook up the recievers to the TVs and presto, instant views of what is going on outside without having to peep through the blinds.
The spa was nice and relaxing as usual. I had a new girl that worked on my hair (the old one quit) and I think she did a good job. I love having my hair done there because it is so serene and peaceful. There are never more than three people in the salon, and it is great. I had to go to a different place last time because my previous hairdresser quit suddenly on the day of my appointment. It was so hectic and harried at the other place that I actually came out of there more stressed than I went in. I would gladly pay more for the relaxing environment. By request from GlitterGlamGirl05, here is a picture of my highlights.
Also I would just like to say "thank you" to all of my readers (especially those who have linked to me or blogrolled me), I read and really appreciate all of your comments. I can't believe I actually have readers. Isn't that a great feeling, that people want to listen to (or actually read) what you have to say? I love it!
After all the drama the night before, last night was pretty quiet. I came home early from work (just before dark) because I didn't want to leave the house unattended with those creeps across the street, and because I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. One of the regular drug buyers drove up around ten o'clock and went in for a few minutes and then came out to her car. The guy that had been taken to jail the night before came out of the house in pajama pants, no shirt, and no shoes, beer in hand, and got in the girl's car and they drove away. That was all I saw last night.
Early this morning I had to take little Cody to the vet to start his treatment. They have to keep him there all day to monitor his blood glucose. They said it is called a "glucose curve"; they have to determine what his highest glucose level is during the day by feeding him a little bit, then testing him, waiting a few hours and then repeating the process. Andy is picking him up at 4:30 or so, then I have to bring him back early tomorrow morning again. Andy will have to take off work to go get him today, and I might take tomorrow off, if they start his insulin to be able to monitor him in case he has a reaction. I am also going to ask my boss today if I can go back to first shift on Monday so that Cody won't be alone for more than two hours while we get him started on his medicine. I just don't want to give him a shot and then leave him for nine hours; who knows what could happen? Andy is still on second shift for some months, so he would be there with him in the morning, so it should work out okay. I think my boss will have no problem with it, so that is good. I miss poor little Cody already, I hope he is doing well at the vet and isn't too scared.
Back to the topic of the criminals across the street- last night at work I told my co-workers what had happened and they thought 1. that I am crazy and could have been killed, 2. that I should have a security system in the house, 3. that I should have a gun in the house and know how to use it. I think the security system is a really good idea and I am going to start working on that. Ideally I would like one equipped with a couple of cameras in addition to the alarms, and would like to be able to go online and monitor the cameras from anywhere. We talked about guns, and I was advised that I should get a revolver as they are simple and it is easy to see if they are loaded or not. It should be at least a 38, because any less than that and the attacker might keep coming after me after being shot. It should also have a medium to large frame, so that it does not kick back as much.
I have always been a little afraid of guns, so if I were to ever get one I would have to take gun safety classes in order to feel comfortable with it. I was shocked to hear how many people I work with pack heat on a regular basis. One guy said his wife carries her gun all the time; she has a specially made purse with a breakaway holster or something and even the leather strap of the purse has a steel cable running through it so someone couldn't cut the strap and take it away from her. Another guy sleeps with his gun on the nightstand and his wife has hers under the pillow. There is another guy at work who has literally hundreds of guns, and cabinets and cabinets full of ammo. Every gun he buys, he gets two of, one to shoot and one to look at and keep nice. I think I am the only one I work with that does not have any guns. I guess I need to get with the program. Do all of you out there have guns too? I am really the only one?
Recently I have noticed that my ten year old toy poodle, Cody, has been having some problems. He has gained some weight see "The incredible disappearing tail", and he has been drinking a ton of water. He also has been having some weakness in his back legs causing him to drag them along the floor instead of standing up t o walk, but I think most of that is due to the weight gain. I have noticed a couple of times when I have picked him up that he has been wet underneath, but the liquid was clear and didn't smell like pee. One of those times was yesterday afternoon, and I made an appointment with the vet for Cody for this morning.
Dr. George examined him and said that the wetness I was finding was urine, even though it was clear, it was just that he was drinking so much. He said that Cody has all the symptoms of having diabetes. That didn't really surprise me too much, because it was kind of what I was thinking it might be. He took blood and we will find out tomorrow the results of the lab work. If he is diabetic, we will have to give him insulin and give him a special diet. It should help his weight problem and his tail might even come back out from hiding in all that fat. Diabetes is not a good thing, but I will be relieved to know what is wrong with him so he can be treated, and at least that is a treatable disease. I have a really strong feeling that is what it is. I'll let you know tomorrow.
UPDATE: Cody has diabetes. He starts his insulin tomorrow morning (Thursday) at the vet's office. I am confident that we will take good care of him and get him back to normal and he will live a long and happy life. Thanks to everyone who worried about him for me, I really appreciate all of your comments.
This painting is oil on Gesso-ed plywood. It was done from memory of one of my favorite beaches in the Virgin Islands. Many times when I visited that particular beach there was one local pervert that would hang around, so that it who the person is.
Ho hum, it is Monday again. There is so much to do, and so little time. I am looking forward to Friday when I have an appointment to get my hair cut and highlighted at my favorite place, La Bella Spa. It is so relaxing there.
I think I need to hold a little garage sale or an eBay garage sale soon. It seems like the house is getting a little overrun with crap, and I would really like to nip that one in the bud. Maybe that would be a good project for me this week in the mornings. Another benefit is that if I can get rid of a lot of crap, I can clear a nice spot for me to start painting in. My eventual goal is to finish an attic room right off our bedroom into the perfect studio space, but that will be quite an undertaking. The hardest part about that is that the trusses would have to be modified, and we would have to have a structural engineer come in and show us what to do so that we don't end up falling through the floor. So it is still something we want to do, it is just that the cost is a bit prohibitive right now.
This is a charcoal on paper drawing I did of my dear old dad, when he was a little one. I drew it from a photograph; wasn't he cute? Happy Father's Day, Dad. I am sure that Mom will show this post to you when she reads it. Of course I sent a card, and plan on calling tonight as well.
I am still going to get back to painting, but I haven't quite gotten started on that one yet. Soon. I couldn't bring myself to spend the day inside when it was so so nice out. I spent the afternnon split between cooking my three hour Island Black Bean soup and swimming. I took a little timer outside with me, and whenever it beeped I knew I had to go inside for a minute and add some more ingredients. It is one of those soups where things are added in stages. It turned out pretty good, but I think it was little bit better the last time I made it. Oh well.
Andy worked on the cabinet he is building out in the garage today. It is a beautiful pine hutch with a domed top that is going to go on the back porch and house all of our pool equipment like chemicals, test kits, towels, etc. We picked out a weatherproofing stain for it at Home Depot this morning as well as some polyurethane for the inside. It is looking really good, and the only things left to do on it are to add the shelves to the interior and get a sheet of copper for the top of it- the roof is covered in copper, it looks really cool. I will definitely post pictures when it is done.
I hope everyone has a happy Father's Day. All of you good fathers out there really deserve it.
This is a watercolor self portrait where I am sitting beneath a huge suspended wooden propeller. Notice that due to a knothole in the wall behind, my shadow is in the shape of a bird. This is also watercolor on paper.
I used to be an artist, but I have abandoned it for some time lacking the necessary inspiration, but I think perhaps it is coming back to me (I hope so) and I can create again, YAY! I have posted some of my older artwork, mostly from college, and will see if I can dig up some more. I used to be quite prolific, believe it or not. I am off to take some more pictures.
This is a still life of aviation related items in watercolor on paper.
This one is acrylic paint on illustration board.
This is a monochromatic still life watercolor on paper.
It's Friday, and I have been waiting all week for it. I went on a nice walk this morning of a little more than three miles in the blistering heat, and then came back and cleaned the pool filter and added chemicals so it will be perfect and sparkly for the weekend. It had been getting a little cloudy due to the torrential downpours we have been getting lately. It has been hotter than hell in the mornings, and then about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, it starts just dumping.
Speaking of the rains, at work the other night when it was pouring, water started running down one of the walls, and when it hit the light switch a blue spark shot out and all the lights on the circuit went out. Some of our buildings leak like crazy- that building in particular is a relic from the Gemini era, and it definitely shows it age. Sometimes I think we should get hazard pay just for working in there.
Well, tonight at work something sort of interesting happened. I serve on two levels of awards boards at work, groups that decides who gets awarded cold hard cash and fancy trophies based on their work on the shuttle program. The highest award we give out, at the end of the year is $10,000, so we are not talking chump change here. Most of the awards are about $500, though. Well, tonight in my e-mail were links to some of the nominations for this month, and I noticed right away that Andy's name was among them. He works in a completely different area than I do, out at the launch pad, which is about eight miles from where I work, but it is still the same company. I read the nomination and it is actually very good (of course I am biased). The nominations are all strictly confidential, so I am not allowed to tell him, and that fact is going to just about kill me because we tell each other just about everything. I can't ever surprise him for Christmas or anything because I cannot keep a secret worth a damn. So it will be interesting to see if I can keep my big mouth shut that long. I would like it to be a surprise for him, but it is going to be tough.
I only have a short amount of time to post before I have to go to work today, so I will have to make this quick. Fortunately, I am going back to first shift in three more weeks. I like second shift okay, I just can't get over feeling like I am rushed in the morning, instead of being able to relax on my time off. Andy will still be stuck on second shift for quite a while longer, so that will suck, but we will manage.
The homeowners association crap that Andy and I are having to deal with is starting to be a real pain. I guess it always is this time of year. I think that we are the youngest homeowners in the neighborhood, and we have to be the ones to make people pay their lousy $120 a year dues. People will actually go so far as to having liens placed on their houses before they will pay up sometimes. It is a wonder that these people don't default on their mortgages. I am starting to tire of these grown men and women that act like children. If they can't be responsible, then they shouldn't be homeowners.
It seems like this post has started to turn into a rant, and that wasn't my intention. I just have gotten increasingly frustrated with dealing with idiots and people who don't return phone calls, etc. I know I sound like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, but I didn't. I just let other people's stupidity get to me too much. I'll work on it. I hope everyone else has a nice day.
I went in to the hand surgeon today to discuss my MRI results for the lump in my hand that has been there forever. I fully expected him to say it was some kind of cyst or something like that. He didn't. The MRI ruled out a bunch of things, but he still doesn't know what the lump is. It is not fluid filled, it is not a ganglion, it is not a lump of muscle tissue, it is probably not a blood vessel tumor. Chances are about 99.9% that it is some kind of benign thing, especially due to the fact I have had it since I was a kid, and it has not really changed, but he said that the MRI couldn't rule out the possibility that it could be something bad, so he wants to chop it out. Lovely. I was given that option, or the option to go to a tumor specialist in Orlando for a second opinion. It is unlikely that the specialist would be able to glean anymore information from the MRI than the hand surgeon, but it is an option. Having the lump removed seems like it would be easier, and be done with the whole thing. Fabulous.
I know there have been a lot of posts lately about dogs, but I just have to post this, it is too funny, and I need something lighthearted after hearing about Sierra. This post is dedicated to the amazing story of Cody's disappearing tail.
Here is Cody, about five years ago, and you can see he has a tail here, although it is a small one. I don't like the fact that they dock dogs tails, and I would never do it, but Cody came that way from the breeder.
This is Cody around the same time and though it is hard to see, the tail is still there.
Here he is a couple of years later- tail still there.
Here he is again and as you can see, the fat of his butt is starting to suck his tail in.
And here is his butt now, notice that there is no trace of a tail. Gone! Disappeared like magic.
Closer examination reveals that the tail is actually still there, it is just that the fat has engulfed it completely and the tail can only be seen if the fat on either side is held back.
Poor Cody, when he wags his tail now, his entire butt just flutters. How could a dog's butt get that fat? He swallows his food whole and packs himself solid with it until he is almost ready to rupture. We have to leave food out for the dogs to nibble at or Ollie, the old dog will waste away.
My mom e-mailed me today that last night, my sister's dog, Sierra, got out of their fence and was hit by a car and killed. They had her six years and I am sure are distraught without her. This picture is of Sierra as a puppy of about eight or nine months. Poor girl.
My oldest dog, Ollie, is currently seventeen and a half years old, and has gotten quite feeble. He has gone completely deaf over the last couple of years, and he does very well with it; He doesn't seem upset by it at all. The thing is, I feel bad for him because he probably thinks I just stopped talking to him. I have always talked to my dogs, just as if they could talk right back to me and I hope he doesn't feel left out since he can't hear me anymore. I have instituted lately a sort of "dog sign language" and when he does something good, I'll still say "Good boy," even though he can't hear me (maybe he can read lips?) and then I also give a thumbs up and smile at him. He probably doesn't understand, but I am doing the same thing with the other two dogs now as well, and in the event that they go deaf as well, maybe they will understand.
Sorry to everyone out there, but I have finally been tagged! So now you have to see some stuff about me. 28Goingon40 has selected me (woo-hoo, I was chosen!) and now I must pick 5 of the following questions and then complete the sentences. Then pass it on to 3 more of my blog friends (No tag backs allowed.)
If I could be a scientist?
If I could be a farmer?
If I could be a musician?
If I could be a doctor?
If I could be a painter?
If I could be a gardener?
If I could be a missionary?
If I could be a chef?
If I could be an architect?
If I could be a linguist?
If I could be a psychologist?
If I could be a librarian?
If I could be an athlete?
If I could be a lawyer?
If I could be an inn-keeper?
If I could be a professor?
If I could be a writer?
If I could be a llama-rider?
If I could be a bonnie pirate?
If I could be an astronaut?
If I could be a world famous blogger?
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world?
If I could be married to any current famous political figure?
If I could be a painter?
Well actually I am, or used to be. I need to get back to it sometime soon. Here is one of my little paintings.
If I could be a gardener?
I would grow lots of beautiful and exotic tropical plants and create almost a rainforest around me.
If I could be a librarian?
I would sit on the floor of the library and read books for hours (I love doing that!).
If I could be a chef?
I would cook lots of yummy stuff in 30 minutes or less just like Rachael Ray- she rocks!
If I could be an astronaut?
I wouldn't; I'd be too scared. That says something if you know where I work! Besides being scary, the idea of peeing and pooping in a zero gravity environment is way too gross for me.
That was fun, now I tag Rebecca , because I think she is the only one who regularly visits my blog that wasn't named in the same tagging as I was! Sorry it isn't three.
I just had a pleasant surprise. I called the customer service department of a company and had the most painless conversation ever. The FM transmitter for my iPod, called the iTrip made by Griffin Technology has been behaving strangely lately, and has something rattling around inside of it. I purchased it from Mac Mall online about eight months ago. I e-mailed Griffin last week about it and they e-mailed back to call them during business hours and gave a number and the times. I had been putting it off, because normally whenever I have to call customer service it is a complete nightmare and I get nothing accomplished (See post Dell is Hell). This time however, the rep asked what was wrong with the iTrip, what model of iPod it was for, what my address was, and said a new one was on its way and there would be instructions on how to return the defective one in the same box the new one would come in. To this I said, "That's it? That was too easy!" I was quite pleased and will happily recommend Griffin products from now on. A company that stands behind their products- what a novel idea!
Do you ever think about retirement? I do. And I wonder if it will ever be posssible for people in my generation with all the skyrocketing healthcare costs. $4,372,392.00 is the number that the calculator on the Vanguard web site says my husband and I need to save to retire at 55. That is an awful lot of money. We save 20% of our income now, in our 401Ks, but four million still seems like an unreachable number. There is a man that I work with now who has worked at the space center since the Apollo era; he has been there since about 1962 or 63, and he can't retire. He was in the hospital yesterday for an angioplasty, but he will have to come back to work soon. He will have to keep working until he dies, because his family pisses all of his money away. It is really sad, and he is only one of many in the same situation.
Andy and I are currently looking for some other investments to get into, like real estate, to supplement our 401Ks, and maybe give us a better chance of being able to retire one day. Our biggest investment right now is our house. Back in 2001, when we were engaged, we had money for a wedding, but I saw that the interest rates were low, and talked Andy into looking for a house. We used the money intended for the wedding as our closing costs and such to purchase our house in May of 2001. The house was, at that time 9 years old, and had appreciated about $10,000 since it was built. Well, it just so happened that there was a boom in the local real estate market, and now, four years later, our house has tripled in value. So that turned out to be a smart decision. We would not be able to afford our own house at today's prices, so it is a good thing that we got in to the housing market when we did. We had a modest wedding in the backyard, and have no regrets whatsoever about it- it was all family and was great. But that brings us back to investments. The real estate market around here is untouchable any more so we are looking for the next big thing. I have been looking at properties in the Bahamas that are still reasonably priced, but that is going to need a lot more research. It is so hard to guess what investments are going to be the big winners before it happens. But like I have heard many times before, land is usually a good investment because they aren't making any more of it.
I went for my first MRI yesterday afternoon. Nothing is really wrong, I just have a lump on my thumb joint at the base of my hand. It has been there since I was a kid and I am not really worried about it, but my regular doctor wanted me to have it looked at. Sure, whatever. No big deal, right? Wrong. It was just my hand, so surely I could just stick my hand in some kind of machine and be done with it, right? Nope. Wrong again. I had to go in the tunnel, lying on my stomach arms straight out, Superman style, and stay perfectly still for over 45 minutes while a loud jackhammer-like sound went on. They gave me headphones with music to listen to, and the station was some easy listening kind of crap, so I asked if the station could be changed, and thankfully, it was changed, because if I had to listen to that crap for 45 minutes it would have doubled the torture. After the first ten minutes or so, my arms started to go tingly then numb, so it was really hard to tell if I was keeping them still. Part way through, they injected some kind of crap in my arm for contrast and after that, the last half of the procedure was the worst because my muscles started to get tired from being in that uncomfortable position and my shoulders were just burning. I knew it was close to the end, and I couldn't move, though, so I was toughing it out. Then my nose started to itch. AAAHHH! I just kept saying to myself, "don't move, don't move, don't move." Finally it was over, thank God. What an ordeal. If I would have known how invloved it was going to be, I might have just let well enough alone.
This morning I awoke to the sounds of my little black dog retching. Lovely. I ran over there and put his head over the tile of the bathroom floor as it is easier to clean puke off tile than carpet. He puked up a little bit, and then I got him to go downstairs to go outside. As I was coming down the stairs, he puked a little more by the back door. I said "eeeewwww" and from the covered bird cage across the room, I heard Charley say "eeeewwww" just like I said it. I had to laugh at that one.
This morning I listened to the messages on the answering machine, and there was one from an angry homeowner in the neighborhood who just received his notice of past due Homeowners Association dues. As the secretary/treasurer (my husband is the president), I sent the late notices out on June 1st, and he was angry because he said he never recieved a first notice. I sent those out over a month ago, and one was addressed to him, and it was not returned to us, so I assume it was delivered to him and he threw it out or something, who knows. I called and left a message, and he called back almost immediately and proceeded to be one of the biggest assholes I have ever spoken to. He wanted to know why we hadn't come to his house and introduced ourselves, why we didn't check in on him after the hurricanes last year, why we didn't come down and tell him his dues were due instead of sending a letter. I explained that by law we are required to send letters, as it is the only way that there is any record of it, and that we do not have the time to go around knocking on people's doors and chit-chatting. There were seventeen late notices I had to send out, and I crtainly have no desire to track down all those people. Most people (myself included) would see it as an invasion of privacy to have someone constantly coming around knocking on their door, interrupting their dinner, etc. It is not part of the job either, which, by the way is an unpaid volunteer position which we are doing because no one else wants to. We did walk around the neighborhood after the hurricanes to assess any damage- there wasn't much to speak of, even though it is not our job. I am not going to knock on someone's door (who is an able bodied person) and see if they are okay when there is one shingle out of place on their roof. The guy kept up, kept going on about his old neighborhoods and how they were (not like I care) and I wanted to tell him to move back there if it was so great. I was getting really mad at this point because he kept cutting me off, wanting only to hear himself piss and moan. I told him that we are not a welcoming committee, just an association and we have our meetings every year in May, as posted at the front of the neighborhood, and he is welcome to discuss it then. He got even more assholish and said he was going to have to talk to the president or the vice-president about this, and I said "You want to talk to the president? HERE HE IS!" and I gave the phone to Andy and walked away. He was still yapping when I handed the phone off. Andy is better at dealing with jackasses than I am, because he was in the Army and because I just want to say "Fuck you, you fucking dick" and hang up. The guy bitched to Andy for another twenty minutes and got the same replies from him as he got from me. Go figure. He is supposed to come down here to drop off his check later and I would like to take all of the Association stuff and throw it at him and say "Since you know so much about how things should be done, here- it is your job now. I QUIT, YOU FUCKING JERK!!!!" See if you have time to go prancing around the neighborhood knocking on doors. See how many get slammed in your face! Mine will!
So, I am still toughing it out on second shift which means I leave work at eleven pm. It is very dark, as my job is located on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, as I have mentioned before, and it is teeming with life. The hardest part for me, especially these last few days when it has been raining a lot, is trying to drive down the road and not run over the frogs. There are frogs everywhere, like a sea of them and I weave carefully down the road dodging them. Sometimes they jump when my Jeep is right over them and you can hear them hit the underside of the vehicle. It is awful to me because I have always had a soft spot in my heart for frogs (and toads) and I hate to see them get squished. So, [to the frogs] if I have inadvertenly hit any of you guys, I am terribly sorry and didn't mean to at all. Please stay off the road!