Don’t You Just Love It

Posted on October 9, 2003 by Frog

Don’t you just love it when someone tells you something stupid? VDOT was painting the line on the back road to my house. There is only one line-the yellow line. We live on a secondary road. So, Mr. Painting Man when you stop traffic after 4pm on a weekday afternoon to tell each of us that you are painting the yellow line we know already. It is the only line you could possibly be painting.

Don’t you love it when you are trying to hand correct change to a cashier and they snap at you “wait a minute”? Wait a minute while I shove this change down your stupid neck. Before anyone jumps on my stuff, I’ve worked retail. And, I’ve worked retail where my shop was one of the last shops that people could stop in before the amusement park’s gates slammed shut. I worked that job, pleasantly I might add, even after working a double. So don’t tell me I don’t understand what it is like to deal with the public.

Perhaps, I’m extra cranky because we finally have an answering machine again. Let the non-stop calls begin!

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Skyview Roof?

Posted on October 9, 2003 by Frog

I just saw one of the new Nissan Maximas with the “Skyview Roof”. What rocket scientist thought that one up? So you can look out of the roof but how does that help you navigate traffic? Oh, yeah, in case Elroy Jetson does a fly-by you can see him.

If the roof can’t be opened and the people in the back and front seats have to pull the sun shade across, doesn’t it seem more of a hassle?

I have a moonroof and love it. I had one in the RIP boogamobile and loved it. But I love it because I can open it.

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Can’t Find

Posted on October 8, 2003 by Frog

I checked out Emily Post when I got home regarding laying a teacup on its side to indicate that you want tea instead of coffee. Here’s what I found out: some very interesting table manners tidbits but not one thing about the teacup. I had to admit defeat. Does anyone know?

Here’s something else I am spending time on…organizing the files for this website. Yes, when this thing was started I gave no thought to organization–Hey, its a Blog, let me write something! Now that we’ve updated to v. 2.64 (not really sure what I’ll be able to do differently) I realized that all the images I’ve posted are just hanging out there willy-nilly in one folder. I totally need to work on that. If by chance you are scouring the archives and run across a broken image link, please drop me a comment. I really do have a “grip” I know no one but me checks out the archives.

I also promise to finally get some House Proud stuff out there. I know ya’ll are dying for some images of hideous 70s wallpaper.

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Tea vs Coffee

Posted on October 8, 2003 by Frog

I went out to lunch with my friend J.P. and afterwards she emailed me with a very interesting question. I can’t seem to find an answer on the web and have promised to check the Emily Post when I get home (yes, we have a copy of it).

Does anyone know the answer?

Is it possible to indicate to the wait staff that you want tea instead of coffee by resting your teacup on the side?

If Emily has the answer, I’ll be sure to post.

Ok, that was a pretty funny pun and completely unintentional.

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Beware of the Uniform

Posted on October 8, 2003 by Frog

Yesterday at lunch the better-half and I sat in a booth next to members of the Central Va Boy Scout council. The restaurant is within walking distance of their building. Some of them were wearing the uniform (at least the adult version). The entire time we sat next to them their conversation (which had to have entertained everyone in the small restaurant) was about sex and how much they’d had, who they’ve had it with, whether or not they’d ever had it in a moving vehicle and what kinds of girls go to the clutch of colleges in the Lynchburg area. I guess as long as it is sex between members of the opposite sex it is OK to make it public knowledge while eating lunch.

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Please, Please, Can I Get One?

Posted on October 7, 2003 by Frog

When I was a kid and got to actually set foot in a Toys R Us (which was only a few times a year), I would skip over all the dolls and Barbie stuff–what could she do really–and head straight for the area that held what I hoped would be robots. I had a serious need for anything that remotely looked like a robot and it was even better if the robot actually did stuff. Alas, unless you counted tiny plastic replicas of R2D2 there weren’t such things back in the day. I never gave up hope.

We have one of those 18″-24″ high R2D2s that actually walks, dances and responds to questions. But, aside from the amusement factor, he doesn’t really do anything. So, he sits quietly in the den waiting for Enlightenment.

Neiman Marcus is offering something wonderful for Christmas. But, I really don’t think Santa has that kind of cash to spend.

One day, kids, one day, I’m going to live in the future and vacation on the Moon.

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septentrion

Posted on October 7, 2003 by Frog

septentrion=the north. That’s my word of the day. Pretty cool. I’ve never heard of it before. How does this fit in with the rest of my entry this morning? This is what I wanted to say to the dweeb at Bamboo Cafe who put his cigarette out on their floor last night “Take Off You Hoser”…heh.

The Bamboo is a small bar with big drinks. And lots and lots of smokers. What I want to know is why does the first light of a cigarette smell so good and then after that it smells so bad?

We used to go to the Bamboo and drink like fiends but now that we live more than 30 minutes away instead of 30 steps away we have dinner and a couple of drinks. The food there is great but if you live in Richmond pretend like I didn’t say that because I don’t want to have to wait for a table while all you West Enders brave the big bad Fan.

Here’s a disturbing revelation I’ve recently had. I think I’m slightly allergic to Bass Ale. I get all stuffy headed when I drink it. Last night I had Rolling Rock and even though there wasn’t a bit of fresh air in the bar and I was practically high from all the smoke, I hardly had any stuffy head feeling. Saturday I drank a couple of Bass on my screen porch and could hardly breathe through my nose. That’s not the first time I’ve noticed this problem. What’s a girl to do when her favorite beer makes her have the sniffles? Blow her nose that’s what.

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The Cubs

Posted on October 6, 2003 by Frog

I’m not a fan but even I knew about the hard-knocks of the Cubs. Way to go fellas.

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Trees and Bees

Posted on October 6, 2003 by Frog

On Saturday we attacked some of the trees that came over in the hurricane. One of the hickories in the backyard was laying in the yard and was making it difficult to walk past. It is now a mere stump. I acted as the resident mule again and while the better-half chain-sawed I held onto the tree with a rope to keep it from bouncing into his face. Of course, towards the end of the cutting and during the most dangerous part, I’m struggling on the end of the rope only to find that our hammock post is actually holding the tree off the ground. The tree was just resting on the very edge of the top of the post. Who knew that post was so tough and so strong.

We also cut an oak down that was leaning over the driveway. It was still alive but we play no games with stuff blocking us in or out so the tree came over. When it thudded to the ground (just like in the movies), I yelled to the better-half “Sweet”. We also cut down a pine that had died and it needed to come out of the little stand of pines because we’re afraid that it was killed by pine-bark-beetles. They get in one tree and you can kiss the others goodbye. Hopefully, we won’t have that problem.

Speaking of bugs, I am not a fan of bees. Any kind of bee is only bettered by it dying. I guess some can live so we can have honey and pollinated plant life, but, by and large, I want them to die. I was once attacked by a swarm of bumblebees as a child and it really did scar me for life. I’ve also had the misfortune of running over a yellow jacket nest with the lawn mower. I raced into the house with bees hanging off me.

On Saturday while we were cutting wood out at the driveway, I whined about all the yellow jackets. The better-half had a rational explanation that they were there for the sap and they weren’t interested in me. As I was dragging branches and tree trunks into the woods I realized that I had walked right into a swarm of yellow jackets. I delicately dropped the large branch I was dragging and took a deep breath. Then I slowly backed out of there — which was really hard because I had to walk (backwards) over all the branches and sticks that I had previously piled up. I then pointed out the huge swarm to the better-half. He said that we must have stacked the brush pile right on top of a nest. Great…I’d been walking in yellow jacket hell for over an hour and didn’t even know it.

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120 Spam on the Wall

Posted on October 6, 2003 by Frog

So I opened my hotmail account today and saw that I had 120 pieces of Junk Mail. Only one of those was from a company I’ve dealt with in the past. I didn’t read their email and flushed the entire contents away. I also had 2 other pieces of crap in another folder. The good news is that the calls at home have dwindled…so I’m only getting repetitive sales solicitations through email and occasionally through the USPS.

Speaking of dwindling calls, our answering machine (clever segue, eh?) died during the hurricane and we haven’t replaced it yet. It has been a little bit liberating. Yesterday we did look at BJ’s to see what they had in the way of machines but all of their machines are bundled with portable phones. Our phones are still relatively new and so we are another day without a machine. The way I look at it is that if you really need to get in touch then you try me again or send me an email.

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