The Adventures of Being Me

Took the cats out as usual and the light outside my door is out. A paper falls from the doorknob to reveal the frustration of the apartment managers of violations of their pet rules. Yeah, well a rule is only as good as its enforcement. It stressed renters are to sign a pet agreement, pay pet deposit, and monthly pet fees with their rent. Violators will be evicted. Then it continued how dogs are to be on leash at all times outside their apartment, waste is to be picked up, please call office if pet station needs new bags or basket emptied, and pets are not to be left unattended outside on porches or balconies (define unattended) nor tethered to their porch railing. Fines will be placed upon violators. After our half hour on the staircase and 2 minutes outside in the cold, I waited for my father to call to say where my Mom was located. She had her surgery today. Had to get going to my sister's house so I left. Dad called sister's house. She sounded awful on the phone and was in ...

Packed up my Christmas decorations to place in my storage facility (parents' house) and went over to my brother's house to get my taxes done. I stink in the math department so I prefer someone good in math doing them for me, plus someone who understands lawyer talk that confuses me (and customers I rent cars to). The standard deduction and tax exempt amount went up so I got more back than last year from the Feds. I broke even with State because they do not mail refunds for $1, but at least I don't have to pay. With my tax refund I think I'll get a pet, perhaps ferret or hedgehog. Yes, I know I have 2 cats to love but since no guy wants my love and affection, I'll surround myself with animals who desire my attention. I'm happy. Cats are happy, especially when I come home. It was such a lovely day yesterday I put on a lighter jacket rather than my heavy winter coat. Cats didn't want to go back inside. Then this morning I wake up to flurries outside the window....

The FBI has arrested a woman in Michigan for soliciting a hit man on craigslist to kill the wife of a man she met through an online college course and physically met for 2 days in Reno. Their only other comminucation is through phone and email (not much of an affair if you ask me). The posting was vague as a freelance job and only people emailing her were told she was offering $5000 to eradicate a female living in California. She gave phone numbers along with work and home addresses. Gotta watch out for those vague job descriptions. The article on msn.com stated prostitutes have been noted advertising on find work sites and a Minnesota woman was killed responding to ad for a babysitter. Gotta be careful about people you meet on the internet, they might be crazy. And learn to do background checks. I met a few weirdoes on myspace.com offering tongue lashing or a good time (neither man had a profile beyond age and city listed, or pic of themselves), and a woman with a link to look at nake...

Took the kitties for our daily walk outside and I could hear the ice melting, cross between a snap and pop. Then a loud ka-boom wush wush sound of ice chunks ran down the gutter pipes (or whatever the terminology for the pipes than run from the guttered eave to the ground). It made the cats jump and race back inside. OK, the first time Precious jumped out into the snow and got his paws all wet. Poor dear. The second and third time both cats ran inside. Then we met a dog and the cats hid behind the door and me. Then another dog came outside and gained the interest of the first dog so kitties crept outside until the ka-boom wush wush down the gutter pipe. Cats ran upstairs to go home. Precious grabbed at Frodo to play on the steps, but Frodo wasn't ready for play. He hates going outside from his fear of people and any moving object bigger than him, but he hates being left behind in the apartment. I can hear his lonely yowl all the way downstairs when he refuses to come out and I get ...

Had a guy call up asking if I was (my company name) at the airport. I answer, Yes I am (my company name) at the Des Moines Airport, How may I help you. He asks again if I am (my company name) at the airport. I answer again I am (my company name) at the Des Moines Airport, How may I help you. He yells, Lady! I'm asking you a question!, Are you (my company name) at the airport. One more time, Yes I am (my company name) at the Des Moines Airport, How may I help you. Excuse me, it is not my fault his cell phone keeps cutting out. He asks again if I'm in a airport. Yes, I'm in the airport in Des Moines. That established, he tells me he has one of our cars and the GPS he bought from us is a piece of shit. They almost got into a car crash following the instructions. It says they located at the Houston Airport when they are really in the parking lot. I say, OK. This is piece of shit. I say, OK, what can I help you with. He says I'm not listening and asks if I'm in the Houst...

Yesterday, I dumped out the kitty water bowl to get fresh water and the water is shut off. I melt snow in the microwave in order to give the kitties fresh water. We go out for our walk and come back to hear the toliet tank filling up so turn on all the faucets to remove the air from the pipes. And frighten the cats when the water spits out. Refill water bowls cause the cats are accustomed to chlorinated water. Hours later I go to wash my hands and the water is shut off again. Damn these people. Do I need a bottled water supply for the repeated shutting off the water? I rinse my hands in a kitty water bowl and melt snow to refill it. This time there is a note on the front door that was not there last time announcing the water was shut off. A water main leaked needs to be fixed to get our water back and note says not to drink the water for a couple of days. Wonderful. Does that include cooking and brushing teeth with bottled water too? I go pick up my niece from daycare and do laundry at...

I sent out a care package for my niece in college. She just got it today. It was very hard finding prepackaged food for a diabetic. Looking at the sodium content alone freaked me out. I don't want to get her diet plan stuff like Slim Fast or Lean Cuisine that would imply she's fat and insult her. I got her single serving soup and macaroni and cheese, cereal bars, Crystal Light packs for water bottles (0 calories), sugar free candies that are 5 grams of carbohydrate or less per piece (as long she doesn't eat the whole bag she'll be fine), microwave popcorn, some Conversation Hearts and Hershey Kisses (she can have a little sugar), purple mug on sale, new fashion magazine, and pink teddy bear. Niece loves her package. If I picked a flavor she doesn't like, she can share or just toss it. I love doting on my nieces, even if I have to be careful not to dote too much or too much becomes the expected. Though in my browsing I noticed single serving cakes and brownies that y...

One thing is for sure, we won't have a drought this year from all the snow that keeps falling this winter. It was snowing when we went outside for our daily walk and is still snowing. During rush hour, they were reporting cars sliding around and it is very slick out so stay indoors. Long list of cancellations on the TV. At nightfall is was suppose to get blizzard windy and unsafe to drive. I couldn't tell how windy sitting inside playing with the cats. I'll have fun wiping off my car tomorrow. I did a little cleaning. It needs more but it's a start. Precious is driving me nuts meowing to go outside. I open the balcony door for them. Two minutes sniffing the snow and they want back in to meow again 15 minutes later wanting out. It's still cold and snowing. I got my first Valentine from my aunt. I tried to take a picture of Frodo looking so cute spread out on his back on the floor, but the battery was dead. By the time I got a new one in the camera, he was curled up o...

I babysat my niece tonight so my sister could go to a meeting. My niece cried her eyes out because she wanted to go with Mommy. Then my sister got stuck backing out of the driveway, it is very narrow and I hate it. My niece and I were going, What is that noise? We looked out to see my sister running her tires but not moving. After 15 minutes she got unstuck with help from a neighbor, she hit the side going into the yard. And she was off. She still refuses to poop in the toliet so my sister has switched from rewarding when she does with stickers to punishing her by not allowing any niece programs and movies until she does. After 3 days she is getting use to reading her books and playing with her toys more. She didn't eat any supper saying she wasn't hungry so about 7:00, when I needed a snack, we had some popcorn and granola bars. I thought they were more nutritional than cookies. We played kitchen with plastic food until my niece said she was full, played flashcards, Cinderella...

Oh how lovely, I hit one of my boss's cars while backing out to go home in my personal car. Didn't turn fast enough. I didn't have manager's number on my cell so I called her from home. I didn't feel a thing, just heard a crunch and thought oh shit. It is just red scratches and a crack on it. My car is the same with white scratches on the rear bumper (suv I hit was white). It hit the same place a white car scratched me years ago when we parked in the employee lot. I don't know who own the white car but everybody I know had white scratches and dings on their cars and the reason we stopped parking in the employee lot. I didn't look at the license plate, but remember the stall number. I wans't sure if it was ours or another city's, but thinking about it I think it is another city's because I gave away our suv to my reservation, so it has to be another city's. Manager said she'll call the morning person and I can fill out a damage report when...

I had an usually slow day for a Thursday, but the problems never stop. I extended a rental originally prepaid through Priceline and the guy asks to extend under the Priceline rate. Sorry, to get that wonderful rate he has to make a new reservation for it through Priceline, any extension of a rental is under our rate no matter how much customers dislike it. Another phone call from a guy complaining how his tire pressure warning light and the oil change light came on. The car drives just fine, but he wants us to know that. The moisture in the air often sets off those microchipped warning lights. I didn't go into the fact that mechanics don't always reset the oil change warning light after changing the oil and cold temperatures make tires shrink setting off the tire pressure light. I explained that if he feels uncomfortable driving the car, he can come in to exchange them. He answers back that his car is suppose to be prepared when he picked it up. I bet he would not like me comin...

Move over meth. Step aside computer keyboard cleaner. Drop dead morning glories. Good-bye strangling yourself til you pass out. A news report just had a story of grocery stores noticing huge amounts of poppy seeds in the spice section being stolen to the point it is now behind the counter in Des Moines grocery stores and must be asked for in order to purchase. If you are uninformed, poppy is translation for opiates or narcotics. Opium, morphine, heroin, codeine, etc are best known pain killers with addictive personalities. In the American determination to get high, pounds of poppy seeds are believed to being brewed into a tea that can get the drinker a high. A boy north of Des Moines was reported dying from drinking this tea. I guess sniffing airplane model glue or spray paint is just too past generation's cheap high. Today teenagers need an unknown addiction their parents won't suspect. Post later. Bye!

In the category of I'm sure you don't care, I have baby news from work. I heard about the 2 fathers to be found out the sex of their babies. One is having a boy and one has a girl, if I recall correctly. Then I found the newly adopted foster kid of someone who not longer works at the car rentals had a her 2nd birthday party (I think, maybe 3rd) and got her little brother taken away from the same mother recently. The boy is about 4 months old. Apparently the mother is still on drugs. I also received compliments on my sweaters that I have been wearing all winter. One guy was sure he hasn't seen me wear it before and asked if it was a Christmas present. No, had them for a year or two. I did get 2 new fuzzy sweaters the day after Christmas cause they were on sale. Maybe they recall me showing off my new sweaters (the fuzzy ones) and thought they were the same one. We had a thick fog last night when I drove home from my sister's house. I could barely see the road signs or th...

Such a lovely day today (or rather yesterday since it is now officially Monday) that I had to carry the cats back in after they ran away when I opened the door. Naughty kitties. I hope it snows soon. Anyway, thanks to the caucauses last week our cars are so crowded in our lots ready for washing and half need oil changes, that not much is getting done. I am sure a truck or two will be coming this week to carry off our overflow of other cities' cars that we send one way to other cities needing cars. They can have the oil change ones. Better still, a couple flights got diverted here but the rest to Cedar Rapids were cancelled instead of diverted. Damn them, I want to get rid of these cars and unsqueeze the squeezed in cars. Though I only got one w/out reservation person going to Cedar Rapids. Then she wanted a free upgrade and claimed she was a club member demanding that discount. That bitch didn't have a membership in the computer and if she doesn't like my price she is welco...

Hey there. The cop dating a car rental gal next door stopped by to chat with us since his woman was busy with a customer. He told a story of a woman talking on her cell phone at the front of the airport, realized his squad car was stopped in front of her, and crashed into him. She quickly got off the phone and after their conversation about her not paying attention to cars in front of her, she got back into her car and dialed up her cell phone and started talking on it again. He gave a sarcastic, Sorry to interupt your conversation but you just ran into me. Funny people. Post later. Bye!

Happy New Year everybody and for those in Iowa, Happy Caucaus. I spent the day shopping and got Christmas stamps out of the machine at the post office, usually they are the most boring stamps like a flag or bell. Watched Shrek 2 on TV and then Dick Clark's Rockin Eve. It has been tradition since childhood to watch Dick Clark. I started putting Christmas decorations away while listening to the music. Will take down the outdoor lights, tree, tree skirt, and bubble lights tomorrrow. I leave up the winter decorations like snowmen, sleds, angels, and ballerinas up. Even though I stopped going to church and often claim to be an atheist, I like surrounding myself with angels cause it reminds me that deceased loved ones are not that far away. The cats are enjoying their last naps on the fuzzy tree skirt. As the clock on the wall struck midnight, I wished my Precious strecthed out on the couch with his paws on my leg and Frodo under the blanket cuddled on the floor a Happy New Year and kiss...