Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Demolition!

I think I like demolition. How did I come to find this out? By helping my dad completely disassemble the guest bathroom in his home.

My parents have been away on vacation for over a week and I was in charge of checking the house and retrieving the mail. Oh, and feeding the darn fish! Since I had just been at the house on Friday to retrieve some information for my dad, I did not feel the need to visit the house on Saturday. However, upon waking up Sunday morning I couldn’t remember if I had fed the fish on Friday. So I planned my day to start with a visit to the parents’ house to feed the fish and then to go run my errands.

Upon entering the house I could hear a strange “hissing” noise. I wasn’t sure what it was so I worked my way to the back of the house. When I went to step into the guest bathroom to turn on the light I walked right into a puddle of water! Upon turning on the light in the bathroom I could see steam coming out from under one of the sinks in the double vanity. When I opened up the cabinet, I could then see where the water and steam coming out from the valve.

Of course when I called my dad he didn’t answer his cell phone. So I called my grandparents home. My grandfather informed me that they were all at church so I asked him for help. He told me to find the main water valve in the house and shut it off. So getting off the phone with him I went to search for this valve. Luckily I found it pretty quickly as I went straight to where I knew where the meters were.

After being able to turn off the water I went back in to assess the damage. There was water all in the bathroom, invading the living room and beginning to seep into the back hallway. Fortunately my parents’ house is mostly tile or linoleum flooring. Of course the cabinet where the water was coming from was the one that housed all the towels so I went out to the shed to get some towels to put down and then left to go back to my place for more towels.

By the time I reached the apartment my dad had already called and I told him I had it under control. I was able to reach my co-worker Lisa to borrow her wet vac. My friend Joy came with me over to the house and for several hours we vacuumed the water up and proceeded to begin tearing out the flooring in the bathroom.

I spent Monday washing all my mom’s towels because they had gotten wet and stinky! Then when my parents finally made it home around 5 pm, my dad and I proceeded to take everything out of the bathroom. We removed everything down to the studs. It was hard work but it was kind of fun. But that was probably because we were able to destroy things!

But I learned that I am not ready for the worry and financial responsibility of owning a house. This is something that can happen at any time. And while it was ok to handle for someone else, I am sure it would have been an entirely different experience if it was my own home.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Dancing with....Joey?

Dancing with the Stars came to town. My sister had gone to see it a few days before in her city and had said it was a lot of fun. So I called up my trusty friends Joy and Celestine to see if they wanted to go. After a "Hell No!" from Joy, I called Celestine. Celestine gave a squeal and said "Of course! That's my favorite show!"

So on Friday evening I was online trying to get us tickets to Dancing with the Stars! I was quite successful. They weren't floor seats but they were pretty good.

We started Saturday evening off with dinner at a local italian restaurant and leaving with 45 minutes left to show time we thought we had plenty of time to get downtown. Boy were we wrong. Who knew that so many people would be going that it would back up the interstate?

We finally arrived after missing just the opening act. Not too bad. We had a really good time seeing the professional dancers and then of course the performances of the stars: Joey Fatone, Joey Lawrence, Joey McIntyre, and Drew Lachey. The best part was when all 4 of them did a tribute to the rat pack. Who knew Joey Lawrence had an awesome voice!?

Joey McIntyre was promoting a new CD. A collection of oldies. Its quite good. So Celestine and I both bought a CD and had them autographed after the show by Joey. Ahhh! I felt like I was back in college when we used to go to concerts and then go out afterwards and meet the singers! It was nice to be nostalgic for just a few minutes! LOL!




Thursday, June 21, 2007

Reality Television

Remember the days when all that was on TV were re-runs of the shows that were on during the fall and spring? Gone are those days. Now these shows are replaced with reality television.

Shows about cougars and kittens. Women in their 40s (cougars) going after a younger man and women in their 20s (kittens) going after an older man. Former celebrities trying to make a come back by appearing in shows about weight loss or trying to find love or just about their every day lives.

As I was watching one of these shows one evening, two commercials for upcoming shows for the summer were shown. These commercials made me stop and think about the state that things are in that someone would actually consider watching these shows or that these shows would even be of interest to anyone.

The first show is called “Rock Love”. Most people have heard of the show “Flavor of Love”? Well, it’s a take off of that. But the man in this show is going to be Brett Michael, lead singer of Poison. Has Poison even put out an album lately? Is Brett Michael trying to prove that he still appeals to the young woman?

The second show is called (and I may not have this quite right) “Scott Baio, 41 and still single.” If you can’t tell from the title, the show is going to center around Scott Baio (best known as Chachi from Happy Days) who is obviously in his 40s and still single and never married. From the commercial you deduce that Scott hires a life coach and they are going to discover why it is that he has never been married.

Seriously, what executive thought that these concepts are good ones? That is just crazy to me. And these shows are going to be on music channels. What happened to showing music videos? Now if you want to see the video for a song, you have to turn to the internet.

If I wanted to watch reality, I would tune in to my own life. But I am trying to escape the reality and that is why I watch fiction on television!

Monday, June 18, 2007

Bonus!

Bonus Time! I love this time of year, when we get our bonuses! I am putting ½ away for a future trip and I am paying off one bill and the rest will be for me to do whatever I want!

1) Hi lites for my hair! Desperate need of that! Had my hair colored this weekend and Saturday I am going in to have it hi lited. I can’t wait!
2) Pedicure! I am going to indulge in a pedicure. I have been giving myself pedicures. While it gets the job done it just isn’t as enjoyable when someone else does it!
3) Some new clothes! Not a lot. Just a few things. Maybe some shoes too! Most definitely some new stuff for my upcoming convention. I want to look cute when I meet my friend!
4) New CDs. Bon Jovi and Kelly Clarkson.

Just a few things that I don’t ever do for myself because I am always trying to be self-conscious with my money. But I am actually going to splurge just a little bit. I took care of business and now I am going to take care of myself plus tuck some away for a little while later. Hopefully for a trip to Virginia or maybe home to Nebraska. I’m not sure! But I am actually going to have some fun!

Hodge Podge

So another one is leaving. This time, the newest girl. That’s right. Once again another member of the team has decided that she just can’t take the “heat”. Ok, so she was never really part of the team. She was different. She just didn’t care. She didn’t have any pride in her work I guess you could say. Although I have to say, it did drive the boss crazy. He didn’t know how to react to someone who just let everything roll of her back.

I wonder who the next person will be. It’s been discussed and agreed that this time, more consideration needs to be taken when choosing someone to fill this position. We shouldn’t just take someone to fill the position. That’s the theory anyway. Originally we were going to have till August to fill the position. But now it seems we only have 3 weeks before she leaves. She upped her leave date by a month.



Father’s Day was Sunday. Not a very eventful day for me as my father was out of town for the 4th year in a row. Oh, we did presents and made breakfast for him last weekend but it wasn’t quite the same. I was lucky to be able to reach him by cell phone though. I spent the day taking a walk by the lakes, lying out by the pool, cleaning, and doing laundry. A very quiet Sunday.



Oh, exciting news. I now have baby birds. A dove who has taken up residence in one of my hanging plants now has some baby birds. They are so incredibly tiny and have white down all over them. Luckily I have not had any problems with still using my balcony. Although now the mother bird gets all puffed up when I come out on the balcony she has not resorted to pecking my eyes out. Now I wonder how long it will be before the birds are old enough to fly away so I can water my plant once again!

Monday, June 11, 2007

Catching Up

So exciting! My new furniture finally came in! I now have my nice new bed, nightstand and dresser with mirror. Now there were a few glitches like the mirrow is not connected to the dresser yet because the screws weren't with it and that on the first day the mattress was on the floor because the slats didn't arrive also. But now, the bed is up and ready to be used and the dresser will be next! I'm just happy to have some new bedroom furniture. I had had the old furniture since I was 15! I also got some new stuff for my bathroom and have included the picture of my new shower curtain. It's so pretty!



This past Saturday the girls and I took a little road trip to Vacherie where we visited Oak Alley plantation. We did the tour of the house. Walked around on the grounds and visited the gift shop! It was one of the hottest days so far this summer but we didn't complain once that we were all sweating buckets! We then went down to the Quarter for a late lunch at Remoulade's and then proceeded back home. It was over all a very good day!

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Will he or won't he?

One of my faults is that I trust my friends absolutely. If they say something I believe that they are going to follow through on what they say they are going to do. So, when that person fails to do what they say, I am crushed. I’ve learned over time to not to get my hopes up when someone says they are going to do something but it’s hard to do that at times.

Right now my hopes are very high that a friend of mine, who I have not seen since last August, will be coming for a visit in June. More specifically that he will be joining me at the hotel where I will be staying for my convention. I have a lot of free time with this convention so it will be a nice opportunity to visit, catch up, and relax. Now, he says that he will come but will he? He’s a really nice guy with really good intentions. His follow through just isn’t that great. For example (I am sure I am going to get a “whipping” if he reads this! LOL!) when he says he is going to call me soon, that usually means within the next 2 months. And if he says he will call tomorrow, that means next week. Now that I understand this it doesn’t irritate me or get me angry anymore. Well, back to the point of this narrative, he says that he will see me at my convention and that he can’t wait. HOWEVER, life happens. I understand that. And he hasn’t been home since August. There are his kids and family he needs to see too.

I am right now planning that he will be there. I have my appointment made to get my hair cut and colored before the convention. I am going to go to the tanning bed so that I am not so white. Well, the tanning bed is not entirely just to impress him. I received a bad sunburn at my birthday weekend and instead of tan lines, I have tan splotches. I need to even out! I am going to get some cute new outfits to wear. Ok, like any woman has to have a reason to go shopping! It just makes it easier to justify spending the money!

There are 23 days until my convention. A little over three weeks. I think that I will be on pins and needles those entire 23 days. Not because of my convention. The convention doesn’t worry me. It will be whether or not he will come and if he does come, how will things be different? We originally didn’t start out as friends. We were friendly but it was not the relationship it has evolved to today. He has become a very dear friend and while I don’t count on him being there for me, at least physically in my presence, I know that I can always drop him an email or a letter and he will read it and respond with kind, encouraging words of advice and absolutely no judgment. Plus he is always good for a laugh. But I haven’t physically seen him since August, August 8, 2006 to be more specific (I just found some pictures of him and my dog from that day and that was the date on the picture). That’s a very long time. How have I changed? How has he changed? We’ve been basically pen pals since that time.

I probably shouldn’t worry about anything. With the luck that I traditionally have had, basically being no luck, he won’t be able to make it. I’d like to schedule a trip to visit him but he has to check to see if they will be out to sea at that time. Unfortunately due to the priorities I have, I can only travel this summer. Once Fall starts, I will not be going anywhere due to football season. LSU football is a top priority plus it’s a time to visit with friends who come back home from out of town to see the games. Not that he isn’t important to, but you can’t get LSU games on tv there!

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Home At LAST!

He has finally come home. Well, as close to home as he is going to get. He is back in Virginia. I feel such a great relief that he is back and on land and he is well.

I got the call last night. We were able to speak for about 40 minutes. A real conversation without having to be guarded and careful of what we say. It was nice to start to catch up. We made plans to visit each other this summer. He will join me at Beau Rivage when I am there for my convention and I will go to see him in Virginia over Labor Day weekend. I’m quite excited!

He starts leave on the 15th. However, he needs to find a place to live as the house he was renting before he gave up. He is now living on the boat. Poor thing! No one was there to greet him when they arrived and now he is still living on the boat. He also has to get a new cell phone number. He has a lot to do. Hopefully though, he will be able to come visit me when I am at Beau Rivage. If not, I understand. He has kids he needs to see. That is more important than just a friend. Plus his mom and dad. And a visit with the ex! Rumor has it she still has the hots for him and wants to meet with him when he is back in town.

I’m just happy that he is back. Nervous too. We’ve been pen pals for almost a year now and I wonder whether the friendship will last. It moved beyond the one night stand so long ago but I can’t quite figure out why or what caused that or when it happened. Or why he would want to be friends with someone as crazy as I? But to lose him would be upsetting as I tell him anything and everything.

I can’t wait to see what this summer holds!

Monday, June 04, 2007

Out with the old, in with the new.....

Out with the old and in with the new. How appropriate. Recently I have been “cleaning house.” Literally and figuratively. I have cleaned out items in my home to make room for new items and well, just in general, room (more space). I have also cleaned out my personal life. I have removed my self from situations which were dragging me down. I can tell a difference. Especially in my work life. Ok, I admit, I still don’t like my job but I don’t have that horrible sinking feeling when I go to work.

Last week was a short work week but a good one. All employees were given a bonus. An unexpected bonus. It was because the company had had a good year. That was just absolutely fantastic. Ok, I admit I have spent it already by the time this weekend was over but that’s what it was for! I was both good and bad. I purchased a new bathroom set which I am waiting to come in this week! I also paid off a credit card! One more monkey off of my back!

I spent this weekend cleaning. I know, I seem to be doing that all the time but this time I was removing everything from my bedroom furniture. On Sunday my father came over and we hauled my dresser, armoire, and bed out to the dumpster. I am getting ready for my new bedroom set to be delivered. It should be here by Thursday! So for right now, I am living out of suitcases and have a mattress on the floor! How very college like!

I have so many things that I want to do this summer. I just don’t know how or when I will be able to do it. I need to plan a trip to Austin, Houston, and Virginia. Not to mention some trips to the beach too! I don’t think that any trips will take place till after June.

It is the first full week of June. For me, that means that Ron will be coming home. I can’t wait to get the phone call or email saying that he is finally home. Ok, well, as close to home as he can get since he is stationed in Virginia. I can’t wait to see him at the end of this month. That is if they let him take his leave then. I can’t wait. Not just for the presents but to just see him and be able to have a conversation with him! Well, a conversation that lasts longer than 20 minutes! Or a few sentences on an email!

Speaking of conversations, my friend Jason called me yesterday to wish me a belated happy birthday. Shocked me. I hadn’t spoken to him since about Christmas. We are “holiday” friends. We speak only at major holidays and birthdays! LOL! He is in Miami and has been there for the past 5 years or so. He was talking about coming back for some football games this year. He wants me to meet his girlfriend. It must be serious. I’ve never met any of the other girlfriends he has had. This should be interesting. But if he does come back for some games, it will be like in the old days when we were all together for games, Jeff, Stacy, Jason, and I. Of course now there are the kids and girlfriend to be added.

Now begins a new week and I am interested to see what it brings!