So, today my power got cut off - and through no fault of my own. Apparently, the gods at DTE didn't see fit to follow the proper procedures to get our name and account at the house properly and the previous owner owes $2200+. The best part? Some of these charges are current, and WE'VE BEEN PAYING OUR BILL. So, of course I had to empty my fridge and bring it all over to my in-laws' so the food wouldn't go bad. Of course I had to pack up my kids, and of course we're staying at my in-laws' for tonight at least so the kids can have dinner and breakfast and what not. The best part? Not so much the current charges and the fact that we've been paying our bill. The best part is that DTE isn't scheduling field visits until Monday or Tuesday NEXT WEEK. And it's HOTTER THAN HELL. And I may be stuck here until then.
Dear god(dess), save me.
10 July 2007
02 July 2007
Poetry
It's been a very, very long time since I wrote much of anything that wasn't for gaming or pseudo-professional - this was written a week or two ago and lives on my myspace profile for now, though if (when, whatever) I write again it'll get moved to the blog there to make room for the new piece.
I am an astronaut
I am a saint
what luck that what I am
is exactly what you ain't
I am a person
I am a scholar
in a land where good grammar
isn't even worth a dollar
To make you listen
to make you see
I compromise things that are of value to me
but I shouldn't
but I needn't
(or so they all say)
what is it that
you'll be taking today
Look at my stanzas
my A-B-C-B rhyme
it's structure we need
but this structure ain't mine
Why, we all ask
and still we all do
what it is we think other people
are expecting us to
and
and I
and I said
To make you listen
to make you see
I compromise things that are of value to me
but I shouldn't
but I needn't
(or so they all say)
what is it that
you'll be taking today
I am an astronaut
I am a saint
what luck that what I am
is exactly what you ain't
I am a person
I am a scholar
in a land where good grammar
isn't even worth a dollar
To make you listen
to make you see
I compromise things that are of value to me
but I shouldn't
but I needn't
(or so they all say)
what is it that
you'll be taking today
Look at my stanzas
my A-B-C-B rhyme
it's structure we need
but this structure ain't mine
Why, we all ask
and still we all do
what it is we think other people
are expecting us to
and
and I
and I said
To make you listen
to make you see
I compromise things that are of value to me
but I shouldn't
but I needn't
(or so they all say)
what is it that
you'll be taking today
19 February 2007
You Know What's Great?
Facing intimations of child abuse from the in-laws. Seriously. GREAT way to spend the weekend, guessing and second guessing what it is that someone who's pretty tight into the inner workings of my family sees that makes her think it's okay to say that kind of shit.
Oh, and even better! Notes that tell me I'm out of line, and that being upset about this - not even the first time, mind you - is unacceptable, and that I'm blowing things out of proportion or taking them out of context or something like that. Yeah, it makes my day.
I'll let you know when thinking about it doesn't make my face pale and red at the same time. Yep, I'll tell you when it can come into my head without making me shake.
Oh, and even better! Notes that tell me I'm out of line, and that being upset about this - not even the first time, mind you - is unacceptable, and that I'm blowing things out of proportion or taking them out of context or something like that. Yeah, it makes my day.
I'll let you know when thinking about it doesn't make my face pale and red at the same time. Yep, I'll tell you when it can come into my head without making me shake.
17 February 2007
Friends and Family, Moving, Settling and Pianos
So, there are a lot of things I don't understand. I don't understand Geometry or how to conjugate Latin verbs. I don't get why reality TV is popular or how the Grammy people thought Continuum was a pop album. What Hollywood thinks is entertainment these days, what the hell's going on in Washington . . . mind boggling. But the thing I don't get most of all is the people I know and deal with on a day to day basis, or near enough, at least. They . . . well, they're a mystery to me. Why is it that people I've never met face to face, people who live on other sides of the country or even in other countries are better friends to me - at least on a moral support level - than the people in my real life? Why is it that I connect better with people I'll probably never see as more than a still image from a digital camera than I do with the people next door, down the street, the ones I'm related to, the ones I've known for years?
We moved recently; there are still boxes all over my new home, but at least they're mostly boxes we've started bringing up from the basement. Some old friends of Jerry's helped us with this move, along with his sister, her husband, and his parents - some other friends of ours helped too. Thank god for Michael, Ruth and Erich, I tell you, or I'd never have made it through the moving proceedings. Regardless, we moved. Now, let me give a little background for those of you who aren't as familiar with the situation as others; we first looked at this new place the day before Halloween. We signed a lease dated to start on December first. We could finally move in shortly before Christmas - there was this whole old-tenant drama that I won't go into, but acquiring this place wasn't pleasant or easy. I tell you, the things parents will do to get their kids into a decent school system. Anyway, aside from all the hassle with the old tenant, I have two kids at home - kids who need their toys and clothes. I have a kitchen to run and I need my kids to be able to do things that keep them out of my hair for a bit every now and then. Needless to say, after about the tenth time of packing and unpacking in two months, I gave up. The old house wasn't anywhere near as clean and organized as it should have been to move - which is my fault, yeah, I get that.
But people - meaning family and old friends-not-Michael-Ruth-or-Erich - didn't need to give me shit about it and go on about how the place should have been ready to go when they got there and they're never helping us move again. For one thing, there's a reason we didn't ask them to help in the first place, and that was pretty much it. For another thing, take a look at the situation at hand before you open your big, nasty mouth and start spewing shit. It's hateful and hurtful and I've known you're not my friends for years. Jerry started to get it a while ago too, about when you traded him in for his sister. Yes, it's a huge favor to help someone move. Yes, it's a pain in the ass if shit isn't ready to go. Yes, I had a long time to get it ready, and yes, I'm home all day when Jerry's working in an office at least forty hours a week.
Sorry, last I checked, being a mom twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, was a bit more than forty hours. And I DON'T GET PAID, OR THANKED, OR JACK SHIT. So fuck off with your insinuations that I should be doing everything. If you have a houseboy (who also works at least forty hours a week, I should remind you) and full time daycare, you have no place to talk. If you're married and have a third to help you pick up and pack and all that shit, you have no place to talk. If you're not in my house all day, every day, seeing what's going on and what I'm doing, you have no place to talk.
Anyway. Thanks for helping us move, we really appreciate it. And yes, Jerry did say thank you, as many times as I did. Whether or not you chose to listen is your own issue.
And again, anyway. We're settling in quite nicely, and I love how moving into a slightly smaller space with considerably less storage space gives the impetus to get rid of shit we should have gotten rid of years ago. It'll be nice to not have so much crap, and the kids sure as heck don't need as many toys as they have. It's nice to have Michael and Ruth right up the street, and Erich and the school only a half mile or so away. Morgen's already ridiculously excited about her new school (her first school, really, but far be it from me to correct her), and going on a tour of it after the parent orientation meeting only enhanced that excitement. Every other day, she asks if she gets to go to school tomorrow; I love that she's so into the whole idea, but man. My baby's going to kindergarten in the fall, and I've been married for almost eight years. It's not the fact that I'm nearing thirty that makes me old, it's those other two things.
Now, for the most exciting part! Erich's mom's old upright piano is sitting in my dining room as we speak. It's beautiful with the carvings and the wood and . . . it goes so nicely in this flat. When we buy a house in a few years, I'm so going to have to make sure it's got woodwork that matches the baby . . . and man, it's great to hear the kids or Jerry playing that thing. I may even pick up a fake book and start learning a bit, because yeah - how do you have a piano in your house and not play? I love that there's always music in my house. I wouldn't know what to do if there wasn't.
We moved recently; there are still boxes all over my new home, but at least they're mostly boxes we've started bringing up from the basement. Some old friends of Jerry's helped us with this move, along with his sister, her husband, and his parents - some other friends of ours helped too. Thank god for Michael, Ruth and Erich, I tell you, or I'd never have made it through the moving proceedings. Regardless, we moved. Now, let me give a little background for those of you who aren't as familiar with the situation as others; we first looked at this new place the day before Halloween. We signed a lease dated to start on December first. We could finally move in shortly before Christmas - there was this whole old-tenant drama that I won't go into, but acquiring this place wasn't pleasant or easy. I tell you, the things parents will do to get their kids into a decent school system. Anyway, aside from all the hassle with the old tenant, I have two kids at home - kids who need their toys and clothes. I have a kitchen to run and I need my kids to be able to do things that keep them out of my hair for a bit every now and then. Needless to say, after about the tenth time of packing and unpacking in two months, I gave up. The old house wasn't anywhere near as clean and organized as it should have been to move - which is my fault, yeah, I get that.
But people - meaning family and old friends-not-Michael-Ruth-or-Erich - didn't need to give me shit about it and go on about how the place should have been ready to go when they got there and they're never helping us move again. For one thing, there's a reason we didn't ask them to help in the first place, and that was pretty much it. For another thing, take a look at the situation at hand before you open your big, nasty mouth and start spewing shit. It's hateful and hurtful and I've known you're not my friends for years. Jerry started to get it a while ago too, about when you traded him in for his sister. Yes, it's a huge favor to help someone move. Yes, it's a pain in the ass if shit isn't ready to go. Yes, I had a long time to get it ready, and yes, I'm home all day when Jerry's working in an office at least forty hours a week.
Sorry, last I checked, being a mom twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, was a bit more than forty hours. And I DON'T GET PAID, OR THANKED, OR JACK SHIT. So fuck off with your insinuations that I should be doing everything. If you have a houseboy (who also works at least forty hours a week, I should remind you) and full time daycare, you have no place to talk. If you're married and have a third to help you pick up and pack and all that shit, you have no place to talk. If you're not in my house all day, every day, seeing what's going on and what I'm doing, you have no place to talk.
Anyway. Thanks for helping us move, we really appreciate it. And yes, Jerry did say thank you, as many times as I did. Whether or not you chose to listen is your own issue.
And again, anyway. We're settling in quite nicely, and I love how moving into a slightly smaller space with considerably less storage space gives the impetus to get rid of shit we should have gotten rid of years ago. It'll be nice to not have so much crap, and the kids sure as heck don't need as many toys as they have. It's nice to have Michael and Ruth right up the street, and Erich and the school only a half mile or so away. Morgen's already ridiculously excited about her new school (her first school, really, but far be it from me to correct her), and going on a tour of it after the parent orientation meeting only enhanced that excitement. Every other day, she asks if she gets to go to school tomorrow; I love that she's so into the whole idea, but man. My baby's going to kindergarten in the fall, and I've been married for almost eight years. It's not the fact that I'm nearing thirty that makes me old, it's those other two things.
Now, for the most exciting part! Erich's mom's old upright piano is sitting in my dining room as we speak. It's beautiful with the carvings and the wood and . . . it goes so nicely in this flat. When we buy a house in a few years, I'm so going to have to make sure it's got woodwork that matches the baby . . . and man, it's great to hear the kids or Jerry playing that thing. I may even pick up a fake book and start learning a bit, because yeah - how do you have a piano in your house and not play? I love that there's always music in my house. I wouldn't know what to do if there wasn't.
10 January 2007
Wow
So, hey, I stumbled across something weird on the friend-of-a-friend-who's-now-also-my-friend's (Hi Tracy!) page the other day - a Nathan Fillion (of Firefly, Serenity and much more fame) myspace. Being the cynical sort, I assumed it was set up by some secretary or manager (or whatever - showbiz is a mystery to me if it's anything bigger than community theater) to drum up interest in the man and his projects. That is, of course, until I nosed around his site (and some of his friends' sites - see Emma Caulfield, Ryan Reynolds, and many others) and figured out that wow, it really seems like these are the real people. And like cool people, even - not because they're celebrities (okay, not just because they're celebrities), but because hey, it'd be cool to sit down with a few bottles of wine and talk about politics, music, philosophy . . . all the fun stuff with them
If it's a publicity thing, it's a really good one - I'm really not that gullible. I don't think.
For some reason, like much of the public, it doesn't hit me that these are real people with families and the like - sometimes, I just don't want to know. But in this case (or these cases, really, if one concentrates on grammar), I love that Mr. Fillion has a brother, who also has a myspace page, and he leaves jokey comments on said brothers page. I love that Ms. Caulfield replies to the comments random people leave on her journal. I mean, I can only imagine how time consuming it must get to wade through the hundreds of 'thanks for the add' posts and 'OMG UR SO KEWL' comments they must get in a couple hours, let alone a day. Adding random people is cool in a way too, I think - it garners the attention you may (or may not) want, but this is (apparently) their personal space. And they're sharing it with us, instead of just their real friends and families or whoever.
Also, just because Ze Frank isn't as famous doesn't mean he isn't just as cool - you celebrities out there, if you take the time to read other people's blogs, you should check him out. He's totally win.
And, on a more personal note . . . people keep dying. I've run out of fingers on one hand to count the people related to my husband (by blood or marriage) who've died between shortly before Christmas and now. Prayers (or whatever) for the families involved would be appreciated, kthnx - it's gotta be rough.
The holidays . . . yeah, I hate them. But, on the up side, Greg and Amanda are super cool, and I'm glad they're part of the family I married into. Hurry up and get married already! (Morgen'd make a great flower girl. =D ) What else?
Oh yeah, moving and the new house. I hate living in an upstairs/downstairs flat situation already - especially with wood floors. Every move they make upstairs, I can hear, and I'm always hushing my kids so we don't disturb the neighbors. How do people who live in apartments do it? I mean, I've lived in a duplex before, but it was newer and a side-by-side. I don't think sound traveled as well, but I could just be forgetting. Regardless, yay good schools for Morgen! Yay, close parks (with pools for my little fish) and libraries and organic markets and creole restaraunts and so forth! It makes me happy. Now, if only we had an asian market . . . all would be right with the world.
I hope everyone is doing well, and that most people's holidays were more enjoyable than mine. Onward, towards winter revel (please say I didn't miss it in the moving mess)!
If it's a publicity thing, it's a really good one - I'm really not that gullible. I don't think.
For some reason, like much of the public, it doesn't hit me that these are real people with families and the like - sometimes, I just don't want to know. But in this case (or these cases, really, if one concentrates on grammar), I love that Mr. Fillion has a brother, who also has a myspace page, and he leaves jokey comments on said brothers page. I love that Ms. Caulfield replies to the comments random people leave on her journal. I mean, I can only imagine how time consuming it must get to wade through the hundreds of 'thanks for the add' posts and 'OMG UR SO KEWL' comments they must get in a couple hours, let alone a day. Adding random people is cool in a way too, I think - it garners the attention you may (or may not) want, but this is (apparently) their personal space. And they're sharing it with us, instead of just their real friends and families or whoever.
Also, just because Ze Frank isn't as famous doesn't mean he isn't just as cool - you celebrities out there, if you take the time to read other people's blogs, you should check him out. He's totally win.
And, on a more personal note . . . people keep dying. I've run out of fingers on one hand to count the people related to my husband (by blood or marriage) who've died between shortly before Christmas and now. Prayers (or whatever) for the families involved would be appreciated, kthnx - it's gotta be rough.
The holidays . . . yeah, I hate them. But, on the up side, Greg and Amanda are super cool, and I'm glad they're part of the family I married into. Hurry up and get married already! (Morgen'd make a great flower girl. =D ) What else?
Oh yeah, moving and the new house. I hate living in an upstairs/downstairs flat situation already - especially with wood floors. Every move they make upstairs, I can hear, and I'm always hushing my kids so we don't disturb the neighbors. How do people who live in apartments do it? I mean, I've lived in a duplex before, but it was newer and a side-by-side. I don't think sound traveled as well, but I could just be forgetting. Regardless, yay good schools for Morgen! Yay, close parks (with pools for my little fish) and libraries and organic markets and creole restaraunts and so forth! It makes me happy. Now, if only we had an asian market . . . all would be right with the world.
I hope everyone is doing well, and that most people's holidays were more enjoyable than mine. Onward, towards winter revel (please say I didn't miss it in the moving mess)!
17 December 2006
Update
He's not dead yet. Apparently, the argument about whether or not to keep the breathing tube starts today; he wanted to live to his next wedding anniversary which is June 10th, after his 90th birthday. However, he only wanted to be resuscitated, not kept alive by machines - the problem being, he didn't make this as clear to the doctor as he should have, though apparently he did to the family. I have no idea how all this works, though I know he's in a bad way and has been in pain for a long time - so I kinda wish everyone would just let him go if he's on the machines. It seems more humane to me.
16 December 2006
Death and the Holidays
My husband's grandfather's heart stopped earlier this evening; he's on some device or another for a while, though no one's under any illusions that he's going to last for long. Thoughts, prayers, well wishes and the like would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Thanks.
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