Fun Customers

Many weekends are somewhat mediocre when it comes to my Pet Nutritionist Consultant job I do on weekends. Meaning, I don't really talk to that many people, I don't give out a lot of coupons, and in general, walk around bored for four hours. Sundays are typically the worst culprit, but then many people are in church tip 11 or so then often go out to lunch before doing any shopping or potential pet adoption.

And then I have random days or weekends where I get some great customers to talk to. Customers that have great senses of humor and joke around with me.

Much like today. A gentleman and his wife came in and were in my dog food aisle. He saw me and asked if I happened to have any coupons available. I only had the $2 off the bagged food, and I told him as such, adding that I had already given my $10 off coupon away earlier in the day.

He said, "That's a bummer. But I do appreciate even the two dollars off." Bonus? The food he was buying was already on sale through the store for $10 off. My coupons are in addition to the sale price. So really, he still got $12 off the normal price. Not a bad deal.

He asked me if he could get a shirt like mine as he loves the food that I represent, and promotes it like crazy at all the dog competition things he goes to. I told him I'd email my DM and see what I could do for him. We laughed about the shirt and a the fact that he was not the "early bird to the worm" with the coupons. His wife joined in with us and as they were leaving I told her I had doggy scarves to hand out as it was an adoption weekend sponsored by the food I represent. She picked a color and they went on their way.

About 10 minutes later, the pair of them are heading back towards the dog food, with an empty cart. I said, "Either you forgot something, or you lied about loving my dog food and thought you could get past me with another brand of dog food in your cart."

They laughed then said that after they loaded everything in their truck they realized the canned dog food they bought had been on sale for only 30 cents a can (which is like  dirt cheap) so they came back in for more. He loaded up and then as he started to walk way he began again about the shirt he wanted. He made sure to tell me his size and asked if I'm at the store every weekend and if I might have a $10 off coupon for him. Then he saw the scarves in my hand and realized I had been "holding out on him" and asked if he could have one. I told him "of course he could!" and to pick a color, stating I also had a orange in the bag.

His eyes lit up when I said orange, and he asked if he could have an orange one rather than the green one he had originally picked out. Of course he could, so I grabbed him one and officially said good-bye until the next time he needed dog food.

It's customers like that that I really do enjoy. Most customers, while nice enough, don't really invest much time joking with you and creating a rapport with you. They usually just ask some questions, and you send the on their way. But customers like this guy and his wife are good fun customers because they actually take a moment to joke around with you and brighten up your day.

I do wish I ran into more customers like that. Makes my day go by a bit faster.

Girls Weekend

Just after the 4th of July, I set off after work for the Bay Area which is where BFF lives. While I love spending time with BFF, I abhor driving down there. It's about 4 hours from Redding, for starters and the traffic is terrible. Not to mention to get to her place, it feels like I have to change freeways a dozen times, when in reality it's only 3 or 4 times. The things you go through for your BFF.

She has been telling me for years that I should go to her fair as it's the "most awesome fair ever". This year she clenched it by telling me that the band that sings my all time favoritist song ever will be playing at her fair. My all time favoritist song is "Fishin' In The Dark" by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and has been since it came out in 1987.

I asked for a Saturday off and headed down on Friday afternoon. I made real good time, so BFF gave me directions to her office so I could see where she works now (she started working for a school district about a year or so ago now). I'm jealous - she has her own office.

That evening we decided to hit the fair since BFF said there was an exhibit she'd like to see. Well, the little brat, she never told a soul, but she entered a short story to the fair. What she found out earlier that week from a co-worker was that she had won FIRST PLACE. What she didn't know until we got there and I had a screaming fit is that she not only won first place, but she won BEST OF CLASS as well!!!  We spent about a half hour standing admiring her ribbons and taking pictures and hugging. I am so proud of her. She's a talented writer and would love to write a novel. I think this is a step in the right direction. Besides, now she is an "award winning author". hehe.

After the excitement, we grabbed a bite to eat - her from the Greek stand that she loves and me from anything that wasn't Greek or vegetarian. We rode a couple rides and then watched the nightly fireworks. What was extremely cool about this fair is that admission was $16 (which seems steep, but wait . . .) which includes your rides. Meaning, you don't have to buy tickets or wristbands to ride the rides. The drawback is that the lines are pretty long. Also? Any shows they put on that you want to see? Included in your admission. So all the concerts, shows, etc. you don't have to pay for. All you pay for is food and souvenirs. And they do fireworks every night at 9pm. So after our couple of rides, we each grabbed junk fair food and plopped down by the pond to watch the fireworks. It was so cute, there was a little boy (maybe 4 or 5 years old) sitting in his mom's lap, and as the fireworks started he yelled out, "Yaaaaay! July 5th!!" Everyone around him started laughing, and I told him, "Exactly right! I'm pretty sure something important happened on July 5th!"

Later that evening, back at BFF's apartment, we managed to stay up til 3am talking and catching up on everything. So we slept in til about 10am the next morning.We got up slowly, taking our time, grabbed a bite to eat and then went to the fair again. We were a few minutes late to the concert because we wound up having to park in BFE (literally). We got to the Nitty Gritty concert and it was standing room only. I found it hard to believe simply because they haven't released anything since the late 80s and I figured the Bay Area was anti-country music. Especially old country music. I was wrong. We stood in the back and enjoyed the show. They were funny and played all their old goodies and a few I hadn't heard. 

I about lost it when they finally did play "my" song. I was so happy. Also I couldn't believe it took me 26 years to hear "my" song live. I nearly cried I was so happy. I loved it. I absolutely freaking loved it.

We left the concert shortly after "my" song to go watch the Chinese Acrobats. BFF said it was a very popular show and that they constantly turn people away once they reach capacity, which is very quickly. We just made it in. (whew!) It was a very entertaining and cool show. I don't know how those people do such things, really, so amazing.

After the show we rode a few more rides and then met up with BFF's cousin and her cousin's partner so we could show them BFF's ribbons. It was so wonderful to finally meet them as BFF talks about them all the time. At BFF's story and ribbons more hugs and pictures ensued and as the two ladies are professional photographers/videographers they wouldn't stop until they got it just right. (lol) Once pictures were done, we all grabbed a bite to eat. BFF went to her Greek food stand again, and the cousin and partner went somewhere, and I went (again) to anything not Greek and not vegetarian. We rode some more rides and then grabbed some more junk fair food to plop down and watch the fireworks again.

All in all, it was an excellent girls weekend.

My Not-So-Mundane Midweek Day Trip With Boyfriend

Boyfriend and I wound up with Wednesday off this week, so I don't have boring work details from the mid-week. Instead, we went on a little day trip to see some sights that Boyfriend has never seen. When he lived in the area previously, he was only here for about a year or so which didn't really give him much opportunity to go to the outlying areas to see some of our beautiful natural wonders. So I decided that today we would take a "Sunday Drive" on our day off and I would treat him to the sights.

Our first stop was Burney, which is where my parents grew up. We stopped at The Alpine, which is a little burger joint on Main Street. If you're ever in town, it's the only pink building on Main Street, seriously. And if you're in town, you really should stop there instead of the McD's down the way. The burgers are effing awesome and you get a pile of food that will fill you up. And if you're in the mood of some ice cream or a milk shake, they make good ones, too. Trust me on this. Every time I drive through Burney, I really try to be hungry so I have a reason to stop in and treat myself to a burger and fries (which isn't all that often, sadly).

After lunch we headed to Burney Falls, which I know I've written about before in previous posts (although I'm too lazy at this point to link back to those posts). The cool thing about the falls is that it is fed by a natural spring that surfaces about a half mile from the falls, pushing about 100 million gallons of water over the falls every single day.

We opted for the shorter trail to the falls, which is all fine while you're going downhill but that walk back up is a complete bitch. Just sayin'. The cool mist off the falls at the bottom felt fabulous on a hot day. No matter how many times I visit Burney Falls, I find it peaceful and amazing and am always in awe of its beauty. And just for bragging rights, Teddy Roosevelt called it the "Eighth Wonder of the World".

After breaking a sweat walking back up the trail, we hopped back in the car with the a/c on full blast to head to my old hometown, Old Station, to see the Subway Cave. Another little thing to stop and see if you're ever in the area - especially in summer as the cave is always nice and cool. It's an old lava tube, so the ground is very uneven, but it's just plain cool. 

The entrance to the cave.

After the cave I showed Boyfriend where I grew up - the restaurant my parents owned, the house we lived in, where we camped all the time . . . that sort of stuff. Then it was off to home where we picked my Granny and G for dinner in town. All in all, it was a good day and Boyfriend enjoyed seeing the sights. 

 

Our Lazy and Fun July 4th

Since the 4th of July fell on a Thursday this year, no one had any real plans to do much of anything. It was going to be hot (shocker, I know) and seeing fireworks meant having to put up with massive crowds at the Civic Center.

Boyfriend and I invited my parents to go out on the lake instead, where we could jump in to avoid the heat. Also, play on the tube that Boyfriend bought to tow behind the boat. He and I discovered, that while it's tons of fun once you're on it, getting on it is mostly a lot of aggravation. Which only made Boyfriend want the more expensive two-seater tube even more.

So, Mom and I made sandwiches and loaded up the ice chest with sodas, water, and food. Boyfriend got the boat hitched to the truck and ready to go. We loaded everything up, and headed for a gas station. We decided on Safeway as they sell both gas and diesel (and Boyfriend needed both, diesel for his truck and gas for the boat) and Mom and I wanted to get more sunscreen and bought a few candy bars on a whim. She and I decided to try the spray on Banana Boat. Don't waste your $8. Seriously. Don't. Do. It. The spray was $8, which was the same price as the cream/lotion. Turns out, she and I were the only ones who used the nasty stuff and we used up most of it in one sitting. It didn't smell all that great, it made us feel all nasty sticky, and it got all over the windshield of the boat, which didn't make Boyfriend overly happy. The only good thing about it was that it was cool on your skin when you sprayed it on, considering it was 100* (F) by noon. Just stick with the lotion version, because you're $8 will last you so much longer.

Boyfriend decided we'd launch at Whiskeytown Lake instead of Lake Shasta, where we normally go because he bought a season pass for an arm and a leg. Lake Shasta is way bigger then Whiskeytown so the water is typically more calm even if the lake is busy. Whiskeytown is mostly a resevoir for drinking water and some local ag water. Shasta Lake is water that will be used to fill the Sacramento River and also to send water to So Cal (you guys are welcome, by the way). Shasta Lake can get scary low for the latter reason, which it already is. Even a month ago boat launches were closing because there was no water in that arm. Each time we go out (which is pretty much every week) there are new islands popping up.

We decided that the launch at Whiskeytown was absolutely awesome because the boat ramp was not steep (nor a 20 mile hike on a 20% grade), you had three "lanes" in which to launch your boat (meaning it's not as crowded), and the day use fee was only $5 (versus $10/day at Lake Shasta). However, Whiskeytown Lake is much smaller and water quite choppy and much cooler, and it's also quite windy. Six of one, half dozen of the other, really.

My Dad hurt his ribs trying to get on the tube. He has very bad ribs and the slightest pressure or oddest movement seems to "pop" them out of place, which of course, is very painful. So he never got to ride the tube, and even if he had gotten on it without hurting himself, he would have been hurt just from getting bumped around on the tube. Mom got on it however, and enjoyed herself on it. We found the easiest way to get on the damn thing was to find a bit of shore (not easy) and the tube rider would swim to shore with the tube and the boat would tow you off the shoreline. Much easier and less aggravating.

We found a little cove to swim in to be relatively undisturbed by other boaters. We enjoyed our lazy afternoon cruising around the lake, snacking away on the food, and taking turns on the tube.

We ended our lazy 4th of July by grabbing Burger King on the way home and spending the evening at home.

Father's Day Weekend

First of all, a Happy Belated Father's Day to all the Dad's out there. Hope you enjoyed your weekend with your families.

Father's Day for my family is kind of bitter-sweet.  The date of Father's Day this year happened to be the date we buried my Granddad (my Dad's Dad) two years ago. It will always fall around Father's Day, and the last couple years we've kept them pretty low-key.

And being that my parents usually host some sort of Father's Day event, usually a BBQ of some kind, I figured my parents were due a break. Since Boyfriend bought himself a boat with some mad money he had a couple months ago, I thought it would be a good idea for us to take my parents out on one of the two big lakes near us, Shasta Lake. We had taken his Mom out with us for Mother's Day and she enjoyed herself. My parents hadn't been out on the lake in about 20 years. The friends they had known with boats had drifted away and they had never owned a boat themselves.

They agreed to go out on the lake, and Boyfriend and I both had Saturday off, so we went out on Saturday. Boyfriend wound up doing boat prep by himself as I wound up with an impromptu girls night out, which he told me to take. My parents bought deli sandwiches, potato salad, cole slaw, chips and salsa for lunch (and dinner lol), and away we went.

The boat launch we went to turned out to be closed, even though the website said it was open. But it was closed because the lake is so damn low, there was next to no water in that arm of the lake. So we went to find another boat launch that was (fortunately and for the time being) open.

Boyfriend got us out on the water and we cruised around the Shasta Lake, going to parts none of us had ever been to. We stopped periodically and jumped in the lake. Boyfriend's answer to my parents question each time of "how's the water?" was always "it's fine." Well, the first time, that was true for Boyfriend and myself and I think Dad may have lied a little to her because when Mom first jumped in, she called us all assholes when she came back up for air.

Overall it was a great day to be out on the lake, everyone enjoyed the lazy day on the lake.

Me & Dad

Mt. Shasta from Shasta Lake

Me & Boyfriend (usually he smiles lol)

 

Sunday was a good day

Yesterday I drove to Redding for delivery of my grandparents publication. I got all my errands done - on my list was buying The Hunger Games on DVD. Yeah, I know. Anyway, I got to meet up with my BFF by chance as she was in town with a couple of her friends. They were all visiting from the bay area for the long weekend. We met up at a frozen yogurt place that's fairly new in town. This place was awesome - the frozen yogurt was delicious and you could pile on the toppings until it fell over and all for one low price. It was awesome. The four of us sat there and laughed for 3 hours. That was even more awesome.

Then I met up with my parents at a new restaurant in town called Famous Dave's BBQ. We were eventually joined by an aunt and uncle and my mom's parents. This place was freaking delicious. Dad ordered the boneless chicken wings, I ordered ribs . . . and we shared. As far as restaurant ribs go, these are by far the best I've ever had. Of course, they don't beat out Dad's ribs, but nonetheless, they were sooooo good.

We had lots of good laughs. It was a bit hard to hear most conversations unless it was with the person right next to you because the place was rather loud.

Mom rode with me on the way home, and we wound up having a fit of laughter that not only caused our faces and full tummies to hurt, but our backs to start spasming. And I'm sure I nearly wrecked my car once or twice, too. My aunt had texted Mom saying that they were "at home depot with the giggles". Mom tells me this and says, "I'm going to ask her who the Giggles are." We started giggling ourselves, then went on to remember other names my parents have made up . . . usually during camping trips while drunk with the friends and getting in trouble with the rangers. (hehehe) So then Mom and I started laughing over that. And we couldn't stop. Literally. Then Mom decided to ask my aunt if "the Giggles are related to the Weebils" (of the Weebils wobble but they don't fall down variety) and which made us laugh even harder. Then we started laughing over our pain from laughing.

And a Miss Posey update - she's doing awesome! She's quite active and wants to play now and she also has the little "Buddha belly" the vet wanted. She still weighs next to nothing, as evidenced by the fact that she just walked over the keyboard and none of the keys moved. LOL She's now playing with a sticky note that is nearly as big as her. Libby wants so badly to play, but Posey still needs to get bigger to really play with Libby. But she's curious and wants to play. And she's found her little motor, too. She likes to sit on your shoulder and purr. She's just too freaking adorable. (And just so you know, if she pounces on the keyboard, then the keys move. LOL)

7 Deadly Sins of Reading

I stole this from The Frisky Virgin. Well, okay, I didn't really steal - she told me I could take it.

1) Greed - What is your most expensive/least expensive book?

Most expensive? Hmmm . . . Probably Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, hard cover for around $20? Next might be Catching Fire and Mockingjay, each around $18 in hard cover. (Of course, I could cheat and list a few text books from college . . . lol)

Least expensive? Not sure, something I would have picked up from the bargain table at Barnes & Noble or something.

2) Wrath - What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?
Yeah, I really haven't got a clue on this one.  Maybe Alice Sebold - I loved her book The Lovely Bones, but Almost Moon was not one I really liked. I haven't read anything of hers since.

3) Gluttony - What book have you devoured deliciously over and over with no shame whatsoever?
Pride & Prejudice, also the fan-fiction continuation of the story by Sharon Lathan. Also? The Hunger Games books and the Harry Potter books.

4) Sloth - What book have you neglected to read due to laziness?

Anything I had to read in high school. Seriously, unless I was forced to read it in class, I didn't read them. Usually it was John Steinbeck - I had to read Grapes of Wrath. Yeah, never made it past the turtle chapter (which is like Chapter 2 or 3); I kinda read the cliff's notes. Kinda.

5) Pride - What book do you most talk about in order to sound intellectual?
Um, Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte? lol

6) Lust - What attributes do you find most attractive in male/female characters?
I love when a book can make me laugh out loud; situations the characters find themselves in, things they say, etc. I love being able to connect to a character in even just one small way, or in several ways.  For example, here are two reasons why I have fallen in love with the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich:

Ranger says, "I ran into him two years ago and he was operating an all-night dog grooming and cockfighting operation. The cockfighting didn't involve poultry." Stephanie thinks - took me a couple beats to figure that out. And even then how the heck did the guy go about it? Was it like thumb wrestling? It took me about 20 minutes to stop laughing enough to continue reading.

Stephanie thinks: "in my mind I cook a lot. I make a lot mental turkey dinners, bake pies, roast tenderloins, and whip up rice pudding. I even own a mental waffle maker." Lmao! That is soooo me.

7) Envy - What book would you most like to receive as a gift?
I honestly have no idea.

Four Things

4 current shows I watch:

1. The Glades - I just watched the first two seasons . . . I love that show.

Because, seriously, this guy? He's sexy.

 

2. Psych - Best. Show. Ever.

3. Top Gear - I enjoy both the BBC and the American versions, but the American one is way more hilarious. Those boys have had me spazzing from laughter.

4. Bones - I have moments where I understand nothing, yet understand everything.

4 things I'm passionate about: (in no particular order)

1. Reading

2. My work

3. Friends & Family

4. Getting to the Harry Potter Park ;o)

4 phrases I use a lot:

1.Dude

2. Really?

3. My thoughts, your words

4. Um . . . ooookay.

4 things I love to eat:

1. Hamburgers

2. Pizza

3. Saucy-eggs and toast (eggs over medium, I love to dip my toast in the yolk)

4. Popcorn and M & M's

4 movies I could watch over and over and over:

1. Pride & Prejudice (the BBC miniseries)

2. The Princess Bride

3. Real Steel

4. Any of the Harry Potters

4 books I love:

1. Pride & Prejudice

2. The Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich (sorry, I seriously cannot pick just one!)

3. The Jane Austen Marriage Manual

4. Sarah's Key

4 bands/artists I never get sick of:

1. Rascal Flatts

2. Eric Church

3. Josh Groban - here's one of my faves

4. Lady Antebellum

4 places I'd love to visit:
1. England

 2. Italy
3. Ireland
4. Disney World

4 things I'm looking forward to:

1. Talking on the phone with my BFF on Saturday

2. The next postcard

3.The stack of books I still get to read

4. My next trip to Redding

April Blog Challenge: F is for Funny Shizz

Today, I have some fun stuff for you. These are images I've saved over time, often when my friends share them on Facebook. Some I've stolen from Damn You Auto-Correct. They usually bring a smile to my face or just make me flat out laugh. So, enjoy some fun stuff.

April Blog Challenge: B is for Birthdays

This weekend I came home for three things: My parent's birthdays, to hang out with my BFF, and to see the Hunger Games. As I write this, two of those items have been checked off my list. I will be seeing the movie tomorrow.

I had dinner with my BFF Saturday night, and she was finally able to give me my birthday present - two months late. We were out for about 4 hours, just chatting and having lots of great laughs.

Dad's birthday was Thursday, and Mom's is today (Sunday). While Dad did some fence work after breakfast, Mom and I went to Costco to try to return my TV - which made a loud POP! about a week or so ago and promptly dropped dead on me. I got it three months ago for Christmas. That's exactly what I was thinking.

So, off to Costco we went. What a way to spend your mother's birthday to drag her to town when she wants to stay at home in her pj's, right? Especially at the first of the month when everyone goes to Costco.

We go up to the "member's counter" and hand the receipt to the lady, and she proceeds to shake her head. She looks it up on the computer and says it's past the 90 day return policy and they can't take it back. Hands us a Costco Concierge card to call and figure out the next step. 

Next we ran to WinCo for horseradish. I know . . . what odd errands we run in this family. But it was for a good cause - my deviled eggs I made. Adds a nice little kick. You should totally try it. After that, I activated a $50 pre-paid Visa I received from my bank for completing a goal that I never knew about. But why would I turn down a free Visa? Exactly.

We decide to run over to Barnes & Noble so I can find the next two books in the Hunger Games Trilogy. As we're pulling into the parking lot, a song came on the radio by The Tractors - something I hadn't heard in years. I turn it up and say, "Oh my God, it's The Tractors!" We start singing and dancing in the car until the song is over. In the end, I got my two Hunger Games books, a new Kathy Reichs book, a new bookmark, and bought Mom a book.

After that, we hit Kohl's, where she bought me shirt with her $10 off coupon she received from them for her birthday. And a few other shirts.

After that, it was homeward bound where I called the Costco Concierge number and wasted about 20 minutes of my time. In the morning I'll be calling Hanspree directly to figure something out. During that time the three of us were snacking on chips and deviled eggs while Dad started prepping the chick for the BBQ.

So really, I gave Mom the best present for her birthday: hanging out with her kid. We don't have much time for that anymore, just me and her, since I moved to Sticksville and my time in Redding is usually limited. But for a few hours, it was just us chickens, hanging out and singing in the car in front of Barnes & Noble.  <3

Donkey Basketball

I kid you not, folks. I. Kid. You. Not. This truly exists.

Last Friday I was sitting on the couch playing some horrifically stupid yet addicting Facebook game around 4:30 p.m., when I got a text from our new vet, Dr. A saying, "are you going to donkey basketball at the school tonight? we are coming over and then having dinner if you're interested."

I kind of just stared at my phone for a minute. Donkey Basketball?! WTF? Are the donkey's playing basketball? Are people playing basketball on donkey's? Is it real donkey's??

So I sent a text back saying, "donkey basketball?! never heard of it!"

She replied with, "ffa fundraiser at 6:30."

Of course I replied with "see you there." I mean, who would not go and witness a possible total absurdity. It's not like you'd see something like this in the big city.

I drove to the high school (whose initials are SV which totally works for my made up town of Sticksville!) at 6:30 which is just a few blocks from my house and drove by it to find parking and saw a line out the gym door. There wasn't a place to park for three blocks in some cases. I found one about a block away. I paid my $9 to get in and found Dr. A and her friend L. A couple other gals from work were also there, E and C. Oh, and for those of you who are unaware, FFA stands for Future Farmers of America; it starts in high school and there's also a collegiate form as well, promoting ag education and all that jazz.

The gym was full. They had to set up folding chairs on the small stage for people because the bleachers were full. And there were still people standing. Evidently, this is quite the popular event, but I don't think it's necessarily advertised very well. I guess this happens every year, a basketball game between girls/boys varsity and the faculty and it's an FFA fundraiser.

The basic rules were thus: One person from each team was in the center circle - they had to keep at least one foot in it at all times. A player could get off the donkey to get the ball, but had to take their donkey with them (which is much harder than one thinks, trust me). To shoot the ball the player had to mounted on their donkey.

And then it happened. A side door opened and in trotted donkey's with high school kids and faculty. And thus the laughter began. And continued until the game was over. I laughed so hard I cried.

 

Oh and you bet your blogging asses I took video. Even though my phone battery was dying, I totally took video. Unfortunately, you'll hear me and L laughing our butts off (okay, so it's probably mostly me). And don't worry, the donkey's had rubber cushions attached to their hooves so they couldn't slip on the gym floor. This first one is mostly the warm-up lap.

Now, this second video will feature a, um, "cheerleader". In fact, in the first half of the game, he was part of the pooper-scooper team (one carried a shovel, and the other carried a broom to sweep the gym apples and they wore ponchos and sombreros. I'm so not kidding. The second half was a bit wilder than the first . . . in the sense that the antics from the folks in the center circle, as the pushing got a bit rougher, and then cheerleader guy started trying to mess with the faculty guy in the center, so that the students would win the game.

In the end, the students one, 24-22.

After laughing so hard my stomach and my face hurt and my face was also streaked from the tears of laughter, four of us went to dinner - myself, Dr. A, E and L. Where we laughed even more. I'm so proud of myself for having two social engagements last week. They are pretty much the only two I've had since I moved up here that were technically not work (i.e. cattle vet office) related. I had so much fun!

And I'm sooooo going again next year!

 

Postcards and Music

For those that sent me addy's via my email, all of the postcards have officially been mailed! Whoohoo! I do have to give Mynx and Hazel some trouble however, as their postcards actually took some work. It's now blatantly obvious that this extremely rural county that I live in does not often see international mail. At all. Nor are they well stocked in postcard stamps in general. It took a bit of work for the poor gal covering for the Post Mistress to figure out the stamp price just to send one to Canada. Australia and Northern Ireland, however, were far beyond their capabilities in my tiny town. It's as if there is some kind of issue if it has to cross very large quantities of water, like say, an ocean. In the end, I had to make a special trip to a larger post office in Town and the guy was still flummoxed. Clearly these folks need to see more international mail. But don't worry girls, your postcards were sent today (Monday), and as long as it moves faster than an actual snail, hopefully you will both get them before September rolls around. lol

As for whose turn it is next month to send out postcards, I've decided to go with the order in which y'all agreed to participate. Which means Average Girl is next up for September!!

Now, if you guys would like to make it go a bit faster and have two people sending postcards, just let me know. It was something I just thought of, considering it's already a growing group. I'm excited to say that, including myself, there are now 10 people joined up for the Great Postcard Campaign. I think that is an absolutely awesome start, and I've practically purchased every postcard in town that I can so I'm prepared for when it's next my turn.

I will also be adding the names of all those who are participating to the Postcard Campaign page. If you have a blog, your name/blog name will show up as a link. Just some minor blog pimpin'.

And in the name of mailbox happiness, I have to give a shout-out to my BFF for sending me some. She made me a CD after our last visit in Redding when I told her I actually missed listening to the hip-hop and alternative stations I was always forced to listen to at my old job in Sacramento. So, she made me a "mixed tape" so to speak, and now I can't wait to listen to it. Including a song she introduced me to that day, which was absolutely hilarious, and which I will be so kind as to share with all of you. I must warn that the artist uses the "f" word a few times, so if that's not your cup of tea don't take a listen.

Now, I should probably get back to cleaning up my house.

The Great Postcard Campaign: Mailbox Happiness

Thus starts the first month of the Great Postcard Campaign. Right now I have a total of 5 wonderful bloggy friends who have been so kind as to join me on my quest for some mailbox happiness.

I will go ahead and kick start the who shebang for the month of August. If you wish to join up, all you have to do is shoot me an email and provide a mailing address. I will not do anything with your mailing address except send you a postcard. When it's the next person's turn, I will provide them with your address to send a postcard. This is on the honor system and therefore, anyone who abuses this will be cut out of the "circle". You are only asked to send one postcard to each blogger on the list. You can spread them out, or send the postcards at once. When you receive a postcard, you can share it on your blog and if possible, link to the blogger who sent you the postcard. I do ask that you link back to me, and hopefully we can get more to participate in the campaign for mailbox happiness. Just grab the button and link to me.

If you wish to be a part of this, please email me! We'd love to have more join us!

I have an idea - but will it work?

I shall toss this idea out into the blogoshphere even though I have no idea if anyone will jump on the bandwagon. Or exactly how it will work. I just know that I've thought of it before, and after a couple days ago, I've been thinking about it every day. And I will gladly take your input.

The other day I got my mail. It was all a bunch of crapola. Most of my bills I either pay online or in person anymore. My rent and utilities are graciously paid for by my employers (aka, my grandparents). So in my mailbox was all junk mail. I didn't keep a single thing. I ripped it up and shoved it in the trash. It's freaking depressing, folks. Anymore, the only thing I have to look forward to is a DVD from Netflix, or on the off-chance I've made a purchase online, a package from whatever website I splurged on.

That's just sad, people.

I've written in the past about pen-pals I used to write to. I mean, actual physical letters. I was put a stamp on it, and mail it. And waited on pins and needles to get a reply. And believe me when I say, I always smiled when I got mail. Now, I started writing to pen-pals when I was in the 7th grade. And back then, that was the only mail I received at that age. After I moved out, I got bills which didn't make me smile. But what did were the letters I received. I even wrote these letters not using an email. After awhile, I would type the letters instead of handwriting them because I was usually typing an essay or research paper for my professors - so why not write a letter while I was sitting there. But I would always sign my name. It was the least I could do, right?

These days, I'll get a birthday card, or a Christmas card in the mail. That's about it. And that's only two days out of the year that people take time out to send someone else a card.

Here's what I propose: Some sort of letter campaign. Not even really a campaign per se. Devoting time to a lost art of sending something in the mail, just knowing that when that person opens their box, they get a smile. Postcard, letter, a simple card that just says "hi". Something simple. It doesn't have to be a 10 page letter unless you want it to be. There could be a rotation of some kind - one month it's my turn. Next month it's your turn. Of course, this only works if we are willing to hand over our physical/mailing addresses. I wouldn't ask anyone to post their information in the comment section - sending it via email would preserve some amount of privacy. And when you get a postcard, letter, or regular card from so-and-so, you can share it. Tell us what state it came from or something.

Anyway, I know that postal rates differ if we're mailing over our borders, but buying a stamp or two to send a card to someone across the pond or something can't be all that bad, right?

So, that's my idea. I'd love your feedback on this. Even if I just get a couple of people who want to do it, that's okay, too. So tell me what you think.

Is this proper dinner conversation?

Well, this was technically post dinner and I believe post dessert discussion, but either way . . . it was funny and probably not found at the average dinner table.

I really have no recollection of how this topic came up, but at some point we ended up on Eskimos. It started off innocent enough, and then it turned into them gnawing on things. So, K's brother said, "A good Eskimo wife would chew on her husbands boots to soften them up for her husband in the morning." 

Someone said they call their boots "mukluks".

That's when Papa D looked at K and asked, "Would you chew on my mukluks tonight?"

There was a pause from all four of us and then sheer laughter. Papa D laughed and said, "That didn't sound right, did it?"

K's brother started say something about mukluks, but nearly spit out what sounded like "muknuts", which sent us into a tizzy. K had to dab her eyes she was laughing so hard.

So, um, we're just going to refer to those things as boots, okay?

My Weekend Off and My Blogoversary!

I apologize for lack of posting around these parts. I was kind of in a funk last week. Like an "I really don't want to play on the internet" kind of funk. As much as I enjoy being up here, I was really looking forward to seeing friends and seeing Harry Potter. So the week just seemed to drag. And drag. Father Time's sick joke.

Anyway, funk is over! Yay!

I drove to Redding Saturday after work. Sunday I had lunch with a good friend who lives out of state (the angelic college roomie versus the pyshco one), and bonus - my BFF was there to join us for lunch! My old roomie brought her little girl, who is absolutely adorable. Like her picture is next to the word adorable in the dictionary. Us three girls had a good lunch. For my BFF and Roomie it had been about 8 years since they'd seen each other. After lunch, BFF and I hung out for another couple hours and did a wee bit of shopping. And because it was so dang warm, heaven forbid should Penny's have their air conditioner on. I broke a sweat shopping. Later I spent an hour in Target cooling off. Then it was a nice dinner with Granny.

Monday was Harry Potter day. Well, afternoon really. I enjoyed the movie, and cried like a baby. If you've read the book or seen it already, I'm pretty sure you know where I was crying. So the last Harry Potter thing I have to look forward to is Part 2 coming to DVD. However, I'm sure in 20 years or so some genius will get the bright idea to remake them all. And my future children will be embarrassed that their mother would be camping out to get a ticket to make sure the future genius didn't ruin them. Yeah.

Anywho, it's back to work as usual. The next big thing to happen around these parts will be the fair next month.

And because of my funk, I missed blogging on my one year Blogoversary! Sunday marked my one year. I can't believe I made it this far. And y'all are still here. And I haven't had to pay any of you. Which means y'all are flipping awesome. So, to commemorate my Blogoversary, I'm adding to end of this post my very first post, which I'm going to guess many you haven't read because it's buried in the archives and you guys have jobs and blogs of your own and such.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Stainer Conversation


Have you ever been sitting at work, doing your job, when suddenly a conversation pierces the radio you're listening to? And that conversation makes you stop, roll your eyes, shake your head, and almost start talking to yourself? Out loud. Where your co-workers could possibly hear you. The other night, at work, this very thing happened. Although I may have mumbled a few things out loud . . . hopefully not loud enough for anyone to actually overhear said mumbles. Here's the set up:

Two ladies are hollering at each other over machines in regards to a stainer that stains blood smear slides. For anonymity's sake, I shall call them Lady 1 and Lady 2.

Lady 1: Is there something wrong with your stainer?
Lady 2: I don't know. Is there something wrong with my slides?

Lady 1: There's something wrong with your slides. I think there's something wrong with your stainer.

Lady 2: I don't know what's wrong. What's wrong with my stainer?

(At some point Lady 1 comes to Lady 2 to try to figure out what is wrong with said stainer. Turns out, the stainer was out of Methanol, which fixes the blood to the slide so it won't wash off when the slides go through the actual stain cycle and the rinse cycle. There was a long pause in this conversation because apparently neither lady knew where the Methanol was stored if it wasn't in the magical cabinets within our department. When they find some, Lady 1 has Lady 2 refill the Methanol in her stainer, and the conversation proceeds . . .)

Lady 1: You're slides are still messed up. Did you prime the stainer?

Lady 2: Is priming cleaning?

Lady 1: Yes. Cleaning is priming.

Lady 2: How do I prime?

Lady 1: Just prime the stainer.

Lady 2: So priming cleans the stainer?

Lady 1: What? No. Priming isn't cleaning.

Lady 2: So what is priming?

(Now mind you, at least three people who are hearing this conversation know the difference between "cleaning" and "priming". For starters, there's a button that says "CLEAN". And there's no direct button for priming. Also, these three people -including myself - are chuckling to ourselves because this all sounds totally ridiculous. They are literally hollering to each other over machines. And any one of us could easily have walked to the stainer and shown Lady 2 the difference and how to do it. Yet . . . we didn't. And finally Lady 1 comes back to the stainer . . .)

Lady 1: We need to prime the stainer. It's washing the blood off the slides.

Lady 2: I've been telling you I don't know how to prime. Isn't priming cleaning?

Lady 1: Oh . . .no, it's not. I have it priming, just clean it when it's done.

Lady 2: What do I do to clean it? (Oddly enough, she actually does know this, but by this time I'm not sure she could find the stainer, which sits right next to her, considering Lady 1 has her turned upside down).

Lady 1: Just clean it once it's done.

Lady 2: It won't let me clean it, I have to prime it again.

Lady 1: Why are you priming again?

Lady 2: You want me to clean it after priming?

(By this time, I'm ready to either burst out laughing or scream in frustration.)

Lady 1: (back at stainer) I'm cleaning it. Stain some slides when it's done and I'll check to see if your stain is ok.

Lady 2: So you don't need me to clean it?

Seriously. Almost sounds like a horrific version of "Who's on First" to me. Yes, granted, I could have stopped it. Two others could have stopped it. However, we were busy. And though it was annoying as hell, it was also quite entertaining. Because at some point it really hits you as to who is having this conversation.



They're your supervisors.

It's my 200th Post!!

I have reached another milestone in the blogosphere, my 200th post! And in a couple weeks, I'll be celebrating my one year blogoversary. Another milestone I reached not too long ago, was my 1000th comment - which I believe was the Queen of all Snarkiness, Empress over at The Ranter's Box.

But, this is my 200th post and I'm taking it easy. So, first off, I'm throwing a big ol' party and blog  pimpin', and foolishness. I've got us a DJ, some finger foods (the only rule is no double dipping in the dips!), and I even splurged for some good old fashioned liquor for us all. I'm making some mean margaritas, who wants?

So, here's a few videos about partying.

So what are y'all waiting for?! Y'all come on over, shake your ghetto booty, pop a top, pimp out your blog, and have a good time.

Just don't mess with the bull.