For about the 4th year in a row, I did not partake in Black Friday. My primary reason: I hate the fact that it has an 'official' name now. Back when I did go as a young adult with my dad and later with various family members and/or a boyfriend, it was just known as The Day After Thanksgiving. That's all you needed to say. "Hey, are you going out the day after Thanksgiving?" or "Wanna go out with me the day after Thanksgiving?" It was inferred that it would be at 3 a.m. for the 4 a.m. store openings.
I'm a traditionalist so I'm not sure how I feel about the midnight starts now. I was intrigued to go out to my local large mall where 22 of the stores (plus the Starbucks cart in the middle of the mall) were opening at midnight and enjoy the 'ambiance' but instead, I was fast asleep by this time, spent from doing my "Day After Thanksgiving" shopping online in which at least one of the businesses had their Friday specials on Thursday night online. One such website (which shall remain nameless in case the recipient reads this) was offering sales and then the use of a promo code via their e-mails and then on top of that, offered free 'ship to store'. Considering I'm near this store 5 days a week, I can easily go there during lunch or after work to pick up the said package. All in all, I saved $84 (and I swear, absolutely nothing on this order was for me).
When I'm notified about how much I'm saving, the slight pessimist in me wonders how much the things were marked up to begin with. This becomes more prominent at a store like Kohls which routinely has sales and then additional percentages off if you use your Kohls card. I bought this really great sherpa fleece throw for $21 with this kind of combo recently. The original price on the sticker was $54. It's a nice throw but who would spend that much when it only seems to cover your midsection (my lone complaint...I guess I'm a bad judge of how little 40" x 60" will actually cover me. Math was never my strong suit)?! Just doing a quick Google of 'sherpa fleece throw', it seems the prices are generally in the $16-24 range anyway. Although to the credit of my Kohls purchase, the other side is a nice microfiber and not something like a thin cotton or regular fleece (nor printed in a manly print as found on the Cabelas website).
I do miss going out the day after Thanksgiving and being among the hubbub in a remote way where I am guaranteed not to get pepper sprayed (It's official. Those Walmart shoppers are crazy!) and just sit and watch while enjoying my midnight Starbucks hot chocolate. Despite complaints about the midnight start and the employees that have to work at that time (Target warns potential employees from the get go about that day being mandatory to work), I'm sure they will be back next year. This time, I will partake!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Murf's Trip to DFW: Part 1 - Spirit...or the lack there of
After packing most of my stuff in my carry on bag the night before, I sat down at the computer to check in via Spirit's website and to get my boarding pass. It was within the 24 hours prior to departure so when I couldn't find the button to press to check in (and even after going to the website via the e-mail that I had received earlier in the day), I called the customer service number that I finally found after about 15 minutes of searching their website and then finally Googling it and discovering a website that has all the 800 numbers for all airlines. I pressed 1 for English and then waited through all the options until I got to press 6 which was pretty much for miscellaneous items.
After pressing 6, a man with a very distinctive Indian accent answered and asked for my name. I gave it to him and he then asked what I could do for him. I told him that despite it being within 24 hours of departure time, I was unable to check in. I stressed that the link or button that was necessary was not there. He then asked me something which between his thick accent and the background noise on his end, I had him repeat about 3-4 times before realizing that he was asking something about the browser I was using. I knew that wasn't the issue and told him as such. He then said something else that I couldn't understand and after making him repeat it 3-4 times, at which point I was getting frustrated, I finally caught on that that he was asking for my confirmation number. He then told me to speak up since he was getting some static on the line so by this time, I was clearly yelling which made Big A come to see what was going on. Eventually he told me to check the website again in an hour. I hung up never so frustrated but yet feeling good that I could yell at him for more than it being due to my impatience with his thick accent and his reading from the Spirit Customer Service notebook binder I'm sure was in front of him. At the end of the conversation, I got the sales pitch about applying for the Spirit American Express card and even though I didn't quite understand the two questions about it, I knew I was safe in just saying no.
Afterwards, I gave it a couple of hours before trying it again and lo and behold, there was the necessary button for me to check in which then went smoothly.
At the Spirit gates in Detroit when I was departing, I was confronted with a lady at booth along the walkway to the gates again pushing the Spirit American Express card. Again, I said no thanks.
The flight to Dallas with a 2 hour layover in Chicago went smoothly. However, on the way back, I was confronted with the same issue with not being able to check in within the 24 hours of departure so I called the 800 number again. This time, I went a different route and tried the technical support. Again I pressed 1 for English and was presented with a man with a thick Indian accent. After hanging up with him, I realized that he didn't ask me for my confirmation number like the previous one did so I called back and went back to Option 6 and spoke to an Indian woman. Much like the person who I talked to when I flew out, she asked the usual stuff but then threw in that it might be due to heavy traffic on the website (I still don't think that was it) and to try again in an hour and then she tried to push the Spirit American Express card on me which, even though I still didn't understand what their second question was, I still declined. Lo and behold, an hour later, there it was and I was able to check in and print my boarding pass. I'm not sure but I have a feeling this may have been a candid camera-type thing and I will be featured on an upcoming episode of 'Outsourced' on NBC.
I'm not sure what I did to get tagged with Zone 1 (maybe it was my window seat...maybe it was my carry on bag) but for all 4 flights, I was at most the 6th person on the plane since they called Zone 1 or people that need extra time boarding first. I wasn't nearly as cranky when arriving in Dallas as I was when arriving back in Detroit. I'm not sure if I grew taller during my 4 days in Texas or if suddenly the leg room of 18A is less than what was found in 17A (which was where I sat during the Chicago to Dallas route) but I discovered that Spirit has a metal rod through the top of the pouch on the seat in front of me. I'm a bit long-legged to begin with and there was nothing I could do to get comfortable where that metal rod wasn't pressing right against my patella. On top of that, the water that I had purchased when I blew the last bit of my dough at the "newstand" in DFW when departing didn't not fit in that pouch. I've always been able to stuff whatever I needed in it so I wouldn't have to worry about semi-bending over while seated to try to get my backpack under the seat. When did they start doing away with elastic and inserting metal rods?!?
On the flight from Dallas to Chicago, the flight attendants became the pushers of the Spirit American Express cards. I heard one of them talking to a girl behind me about it and the free miles that you get when you sign up and the other future flight perks. The first year there is no annual fee. After that, it's $59.99...but she could cancel it before then. I kept thinking to myself "Doesn't opening and closing credit card accounts affect your credit score?!?" not to mention just remembering when the year is up before they charge you that annual fee. She ended up getting one, unfortunately.
In Chicago, I had a 4.5 hour layover so I made myself at home in one of the more open areas (whomever said that O'Hare was one of the busiest airports in the world has never been out to BFE where the two Spirit gates are located as shown in my photo) and started to read the book I bought. I thought 4.5 hours would fly by. It didn't.
Eventually I boarded again and because I picked the same freakin' seat as the previous flight, again met up with my old friend - the metal rod. This was a tad bit more bearable since the flight was only about 52 minutes long. Also I discovered a great way to get your mind off of a metal rod pressing into your patella - turbulence. I think I may have actually prayed on the first part of that flight. According to the guy behind me, the Detroit to Chicago flight is rarely smooth. It made me wonder why...until we bounced more and I returned to praying and asking God not to kill me while sitting next to an irritating Jamaican woman who blatantly had her Kindle on during take off and is chewing gum that smells like that horrible St. Joseph's baby aspirin that I was forced to take as a kid and which still resonates with me and is the basis of my dislike of fake orange flavored things.
As you can see since you are now reading a new blog entry from me, I guess it wasn't my time. The only thing I am left wondering is...if I had pressed 2 for Spanish when calling the Spirit Customer Service number, would I have understood the person better? For the record, I don't know Spanish.
After pressing 6, a man with a very distinctive Indian accent answered and asked for my name. I gave it to him and he then asked what I could do for him. I told him that despite it being within 24 hours of departure time, I was unable to check in. I stressed that the link or button that was necessary was not there. He then asked me something which between his thick accent and the background noise on his end, I had him repeat about 3-4 times before realizing that he was asking something about the browser I was using. I knew that wasn't the issue and told him as such. He then said something else that I couldn't understand and after making him repeat it 3-4 times, at which point I was getting frustrated, I finally caught on that that he was asking for my confirmation number. He then told me to speak up since he was getting some static on the line so by this time, I was clearly yelling which made Big A come to see what was going on. Eventually he told me to check the website again in an hour. I hung up never so frustrated but yet feeling good that I could yell at him for more than it being due to my impatience with his thick accent and his reading from the Spirit Customer Service notebook binder I'm sure was in front of him. At the end of the conversation, I got the sales pitch about applying for the Spirit American Express card and even though I didn't quite understand the two questions about it, I knew I was safe in just saying no.
Afterwards, I gave it a couple of hours before trying it again and lo and behold, there was the necessary button for me to check in which then went smoothly.
At the Spirit gates in Detroit when I was departing, I was confronted with a lady at booth along the walkway to the gates again pushing the Spirit American Express card. Again, I said no thanks.
The flight to Dallas with a 2 hour layover in Chicago went smoothly. However, on the way back, I was confronted with the same issue with not being able to check in within the 24 hours of departure so I called the 800 number again. This time, I went a different route and tried the technical support. Again I pressed 1 for English and was presented with a man with a thick Indian accent. After hanging up with him, I realized that he didn't ask me for my confirmation number like the previous one did so I called back and went back to Option 6 and spoke to an Indian woman. Much like the person who I talked to when I flew out, she asked the usual stuff but then threw in that it might be due to heavy traffic on the website (I still don't think that was it) and to try again in an hour and then she tried to push the Spirit American Express card on me which, even though I still didn't understand what their second question was, I still declined. Lo and behold, an hour later, there it was and I was able to check in and print my boarding pass. I'm not sure but I have a feeling this may have been a candid camera-type thing and I will be featured on an upcoming episode of 'Outsourced' on NBC.
I'm not sure what I did to get tagged with Zone 1 (maybe it was my window seat...maybe it was my carry on bag) but for all 4 flights, I was at most the 6th person on the plane since they called Zone 1 or people that need extra time boarding first. I wasn't nearly as cranky when arriving in Dallas as I was when arriving back in Detroit. I'm not sure if I grew taller during my 4 days in Texas or if suddenly the leg room of 18A is less than what was found in 17A (which was where I sat during the Chicago to Dallas route) but I discovered that Spirit has a metal rod through the top of the pouch on the seat in front of me. I'm a bit long-legged to begin with and there was nothing I could do to get comfortable where that metal rod wasn't pressing right against my patella. On top of that, the water that I had purchased when I blew the last bit of my dough at the "newstand" in DFW when departing didn't not fit in that pouch. I've always been able to stuff whatever I needed in it so I wouldn't have to worry about semi-bending over while seated to try to get my backpack under the seat. When did they start doing away with elastic and inserting metal rods?!?
On the flight from Dallas to Chicago, the flight attendants became the pushers of the Spirit American Express cards. I heard one of them talking to a girl behind me about it and the free miles that you get when you sign up and the other future flight perks. The first year there is no annual fee. After that, it's $59.99...but she could cancel it before then. I kept thinking to myself "Doesn't opening and closing credit card accounts affect your credit score?!?" not to mention just remembering when the year is up before they charge you that annual fee. She ended up getting one, unfortunately.
In Chicago, I had a 4.5 hour layover so I made myself at home in one of the more open areas (whomever said that O'Hare was one of the busiest airports in the world has never been out to BFE where the two Spirit gates are located as shown in my photo) and started to read the book I bought. I thought 4.5 hours would fly by. It didn't.
Eventually I boarded again and because I picked the same freakin' seat as the previous flight, again met up with my old friend - the metal rod. This was a tad bit more bearable since the flight was only about 52 minutes long. Also I discovered a great way to get your mind off of a metal rod pressing into your patella - turbulence. I think I may have actually prayed on the first part of that flight. According to the guy behind me, the Detroit to Chicago flight is rarely smooth. It made me wonder why...until we bounced more and I returned to praying and asking God not to kill me while sitting next to an irritating Jamaican woman who blatantly had her Kindle on during take off and is chewing gum that smells like that horrible St. Joseph's baby aspirin that I was forced to take as a kid and which still resonates with me and is the basis of my dislike of fake orange flavored things.
As you can see since you are now reading a new blog entry from me, I guess it wasn't my time. The only thing I am left wondering is...if I had pressed 2 for Spanish when calling the Spirit Customer Service number, would I have understood the person better? For the record, I don't know Spanish.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Finally Putting My College Degree to Use
I may not ever use it for employment purposes but my B.S. in Sociology still comes in handy as I try to figure people out as an unpaid hobby. The current group of people I am intrigued by are retirees of the auto industry. Let me state for the record that I've never been in a union and I question the need for them nowadays. Now that I have made that disclaimer, back to the story.
This very recent interest came about when my cousin's ex-girlfriend, who took an early retirement buyout from Ford a few years ago, had a Facebook status lamenting the new UAW-Ford contract that eliminates the Christmas bonus for retirees and trying to "rally the troups" to get other retirees to e-mail their displeasure to the UAW president. A few of her fellow retirees left comments supporting her status and one said how they were "swindled" into taking the buyout, etc. After reading this and having a momentary "WTF?!?" moment, I too left a comment saying "You're retired. What do you need a Christmas bonus for?". It's not like they are no longer offering you health benefits. IT'S A CHRISTMAS BONUS! An innocent enough question, I thought. It captured my non-union confusion without being argumentative (although Big A said it was rather passive-aggressive but really, I am just curious as to why these people think they way they do). The answers that came back were:
I'm not aware of the intricacies of the UAW-Ford talks or what had happened in the past that made these people choose the buyout but I've been wanting to point out to them just that - they chose it. If they didn't, I'm not sure what the alternative would have been. Maybe laid off. Maybe a decrease in their wages but either way, it was their choice.
Then I got to thinking in more general terms...how could any business afford to support their retirees in the same way that they support their current employees such as the Christmas bonus. It's impossible. Also, what perks do the the current employees get for being a current employee if the retirees get the very same thing while being able to sleep in and ride motorcycles to Florida and back whenever they want?
Maybe in the end I will never understand this mindset but until then, I'm going to keep trying until I get un-Facebook friended, dang it!
This very recent interest came about when my cousin's ex-girlfriend, who took an early retirement buyout from Ford a few years ago, had a Facebook status lamenting the new UAW-Ford contract that eliminates the Christmas bonus for retirees and trying to "rally the troups" to get other retirees to e-mail their displeasure to the UAW president. A few of her fellow retirees left comments supporting her status and one said how they were "swindled" into taking the buyout, etc. After reading this and having a momentary "WTF?!?" moment, I too left a comment saying "You're retired. What do you need a Christmas bonus for?". It's not like they are no longer offering you health benefits. IT'S A CHRISTMAS BONUS! An innocent enough question, I thought. It captured my non-union confusion without being argumentative (although Big A said it was rather passive-aggressive but really, I am just curious as to why these people think they way they do). The answers that came back were:
- We earned it.
- They promised it.
- Alan Mulally gets a $19 million bonus (I should do a blog entry about what I thought of Herman Cain's comment last weekend about people choosing to be rich or not).
I'm not aware of the intricacies of the UAW-Ford talks or what had happened in the past that made these people choose the buyout but I've been wanting to point out to them just that - they chose it. If they didn't, I'm not sure what the alternative would have been. Maybe laid off. Maybe a decrease in their wages but either way, it was their choice.
Then I got to thinking in more general terms...how could any business afford to support their retirees in the same way that they support their current employees such as the Christmas bonus. It's impossible. Also, what perks do the the current employees get for being a current employee if the retirees get the very same thing while being able to sleep in and ride motorcycles to Florida and back whenever they want?
Maybe in the end I will never understand this mindset but until then, I'm going to keep trying until I get un-Facebook friended, dang it!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Update to Thursday's entry
While grinding my teeth at the injustice of it all, I ended up buying the ticket via Spirit airlines AND buying the actual seat on all 4 flights (the one from Detroit to Chicago was only $5 leaving a day earlier than when I walked through the process on Thursday!) AND paying for the carry on which strangely enough, was only charged once each way. Why not put a charge on that for each leg of the trip instead of a flat fee for each way? I'm sure they are thinking of ways to do that in the future.
I made the mistake of reading customer reviews about Spirit Airlines. The reviews weren't so much about on time arrivals and departures but more about the rude flight attendants and how the seat pockets weren't cleaned out between flights. Oh the horror of having to read an anonymous person's old People magazine along with the Skymall catalog. In the past, I've always left my magazines there for the sole purpose of hoping the next person in that seat will enjoy the surprise. I'm a pretty independent flyer - I don't demand an alcoholic drink made to very specific specifications or ask for something like orange juice/Coke mixture. I ration my fluid intake and stay away from unknown or spicy foods prior to take off to alleviate the need to use the plane's bathroom so whether or not a flight attendant moves for me in the aisle (which was one of the complaints), doesn't really matter. Once I sit, I'm in for the duration of the flight.
As for the cleanliness of the plane itself (something that was also commented on), I won't be taking my shoes off and I never eat anything that has fallen on the floor so as long as no one has urinated, defecated or vomited on my seat itself before I get there, whether or not the floor has been mopped or the bird poop wiped from the outside of my 18A window is irrelevant (although it would be a bit sad to have my view of Lake Michigan or St. Louis blocked by the bird poop).
From the comments and the low price of the tickets even with all the extra charges, this should be an interesting trip. I'm thinking it might be comparable to Sage's trip to Vietnam, if not worse.
I made the mistake of reading customer reviews about Spirit Airlines. The reviews weren't so much about on time arrivals and departures but more about the rude flight attendants and how the seat pockets weren't cleaned out between flights. Oh the horror of having to read an anonymous person's old People magazine along with the Skymall catalog. In the past, I've always left my magazines there for the sole purpose of hoping the next person in that seat will enjoy the surprise. I'm a pretty independent flyer - I don't demand an alcoholic drink made to very specific specifications or ask for something like orange juice/Coke mixture. I ration my fluid intake and stay away from unknown or spicy foods prior to take off to alleviate the need to use the plane's bathroom so whether or not a flight attendant moves for me in the aisle (which was one of the complaints), doesn't really matter. Once I sit, I'm in for the duration of the flight.
As for the cleanliness of the plane itself (something that was also commented on), I won't be taking my shoes off and I never eat anything that has fallen on the floor so as long as no one has urinated, defecated or vomited on my seat itself before I get there, whether or not the floor has been mopped or the bird poop wiped from the outside of my 18A window is irrelevant (although it would be a bit sad to have my view of Lake Michigan or St. Louis blocked by the bird poop).
From the comments and the low price of the tickets even with all the extra charges, this should be an interesting trip. I'm thinking it might be comparable to Sage's trip to Vietnam, if not worse.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The New Racket in Town
I always thought that the biggest racket in the world are colleges and the publishers of their textbooks and the bookstores that all seem to be in cahoots to sell a 500 page Intro to Geometry book for $200 and to sell it back to the same bookstore mid-year when there shouldn't be any huge publishing changes (and really, isn't the world of Geometry pretty much set in stone anyway?), you get $25. This week, I found a bigger racket that even that.
It has been about about 2.5 years since I've last flown anywhere so recently while looking for a flight for next month to visit family in Dallas, I was surprised to see how it has all changed. I had heard about the check bag fee and actually paid it the last time I flew. However, despite the warning from the Southwest baggage guys on their commercials, I was surprised to see that airlines are also charging for a carry on bags.
While searching for flights, I was tickled pink that Spirit airlines was nearly half the price of Delta or American even though it had a stop in Chicago (which I actually kind of looked forward to). While going through the motions of getting a ticket, I realized that they charge for a seat. $10 per flight so for a flight to Dallas with a layover in Chicago, that is 4 seats I would need for an additional $40. A total of $80 for the full trip just for that one seat on 4 different flights. I then made the mistake of expanded their Taxes & Fees section. For everyone's enjoyment, I saved a screenshot:
The price for a non-stop flight on Delta or American is $451 without cost of a carry on or a checked bag (Sidenote: The aforementioned Southwest for all its talk about no baggage fees is $446 with a stop both ways in St. Louis). Even though it's still more than Spirit, I feel like paying that just for the mere fact that they aren't nickel and dimeing me for just a seat. I am planning on shipping my clothes out beforehand though. Take that, airline industry! As for how I will get my actual body there, I have yet to figure that one out.
It has been about about 2.5 years since I've last flown anywhere so recently while looking for a flight for next month to visit family in Dallas, I was surprised to see how it has all changed. I had heard about the check bag fee and actually paid it the last time I flew. However, despite the warning from the Southwest baggage guys on their commercials, I was surprised to see that airlines are also charging for a carry on bags.
While searching for flights, I was tickled pink that Spirit airlines was nearly half the price of Delta or American even though it had a stop in Chicago (which I actually kind of looked forward to). While going through the motions of getting a ticket, I realized that they charge for a seat. $10 per flight so for a flight to Dallas with a layover in Chicago, that is 4 seats I would need for an additional $40. A total of $80 for the full trip just for that one seat on 4 different flights. I then made the mistake of expanded their Taxes & Fees section. For everyone's enjoyment, I saved a screenshot:
The price for a non-stop flight on Delta or American is $451 without cost of a carry on or a checked bag (Sidenote: The aforementioned Southwest for all its talk about no baggage fees is $446 with a stop both ways in St. Louis). Even though it's still more than Spirit, I feel like paying that just for the mere fact that they aren't nickel and dimeing me for just a seat. I am planning on shipping my clothes out beforehand though. Take that, airline industry! As for how I will get my actual body there, I have yet to figure that one out.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
September 11th
10 years ago:
I had quit work and returned to school full-time for a certificate in web design. I didn't have a class until the afternoon so I was puttering around with Good Morning America on in the background when it all happened. I called my older brother who lived in California at the time since I needed to hear a voice. It helped a little bit to talk to him but the overwhelming feeling I had was that I was glad my parents weren't around to see this happen.
That afternoon as I headed to class, I remember how eerily quiet it was between the somber people that I passed and there being no airplanes in the sky.
Today:
I tried to avoid the saturation of 9/11 info on the TV stations for the most part and instead, celebrated the start of the NFL season by actually seeing the Detroit Lions win (however, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost) while starting the coinciding Bad Food Sundays with fried chicken.
The reason I tried to avoid all things not hosted by ABC's David Muir (who I'm really developing a crush on) is because I think, while a tragedy, Americans have the luxury of wallowing in these memorials on every anniversary and carving out areas of the country for tributes that cost millions of dollars which is sickening to watch while these things happen on a more regular basis in other countries and people grieve and continue living their life, never knowing when the next car in the village square will explode as they are doing their grocery shopping. I don't think we, as a country, learned anything of value from 10 years ago.
Did I mention that the Lions won today?
I had quit work and returned to school full-time for a certificate in web design. I didn't have a class until the afternoon so I was puttering around with Good Morning America on in the background when it all happened. I called my older brother who lived in California at the time since I needed to hear a voice. It helped a little bit to talk to him but the overwhelming feeling I had was that I was glad my parents weren't around to see this happen.
That afternoon as I headed to class, I remember how eerily quiet it was between the somber people that I passed and there being no airplanes in the sky.
Today:
I tried to avoid the saturation of 9/11 info on the TV stations for the most part and instead, celebrated the start of the NFL season by actually seeing the Detroit Lions win (however, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost) while starting the coinciding Bad Food Sundays with fried chicken.
The reason I tried to avoid all things not hosted by ABC's David Muir (who I'm really developing a crush on) is because I think, while a tragedy, Americans have the luxury of wallowing in these memorials on every anniversary and carving out areas of the country for tributes that cost millions of dollars which is sickening to watch while these things happen on a more regular basis in other countries and people grieve and continue living their life, never knowing when the next car in the village square will explode as they are doing their grocery shopping. I don't think we, as a country, learned anything of value from 10 years ago.
Did I mention that the Lions won today?
Monday, August 8, 2011
More of Murf's Facebook Adventures
Most recent un-Facebook friending: My aunt. It was heading in that direction but I finally had reached my limit. She originally had un-Facebook friended me a year ago over a video that I had posted that was funny that she didn't find funny. She then felt she was missing out on my Murf-ness I guess and added me back as a friend. I let her simmer before I finally accepted though. This time around, it was a culmination of a lot of things - lack of seeing me in person mainly. She drives by and see's my brother and sister-in-law quite often. I guess 30 minutes is too far for her. I decided that I had my fill and that if she wants to know me, she can e-mail me since she is now computer literate. She doesn't get the ease of knowing me and what is going on in my life via Facebook. I also didn't really like her 'carpet matches the drapes' comment that she left to one of my status updates. I'm all for double entendres but you have to know the time and place to use them. That wasn't it and I told her as much. She couldn't believe anyone would find that offensive.
Most recent Facebook friending: Mr. Connell, my band teacher from grades 5-8! I had looked for him sporadically since I joined Facebook but never found him. I got lucky over the weekend. In the friend request, I asked if this was my favorite band teacher. His response on my Facebook page was 'Is this my favorite cornet player?' That is probably a bit much. I use to always like to linger in the middle of the cornet/trumpet section. I had zero urge to be first chair. I actually had zero urge to be in the band but it was a family requirement up through 10th grade. I met it and then I quit. During the time I was in band with him, I remember feeling a bit awkward and bashful around him. It's hard to know if I had a crush on him or if it was just me 'coming of age' and realizing he's a guy.
Since I found him on Facebook, I had the urge to go through my old junior high yearbooks. I can't think of junior high without thinking of the true (very unrequited on his part) love of my life - James Sandlin. It's probably just as well that he basically ignored me. He turned out to be a huge burn out in high school, got held back a time or two, and went on to be arrested in Kentucky a few years ago for 'ethnic intimidation' for getting into a fight with a black, off duty policeman in a bar with a few of his friends. I found all this online during one of my random Google searches for him. He seems to have disappeared again though. Below is a shot of our 8th grade band's Spring concert (which I always enjoyed thanks to the natural light coming through all the gym windows...which are now boarded up, I think) with Mr. Connell doing his thing at the front, me doing my thing in the middle and, as I had dreamt at the time, James sitting with the chorus (I'm pretty sure he lip synched) watching me.
Names and arrows courtesy of me circa 1985. I also drew hearts around his actual yearbook picture in 7th grade but no one needs to see that.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Hot Days Gone By
This really hot week never fails to make me think of two things:
Another fond memory was calling my dad at work (in air conditioning) and see if he wanted to meet us for dinner on his way home so that we could enjoy a little respite from the heat. The restaurant of choice during that era was usually Bill Knapp's with maybe Big Boy as a lesser alternative. As you can see, we weren't too 'out there' with our meal preferences. While most of the meals on the Bill Knapp's menu are just fond memories, the local grocery stores do still carry their great chocolate 2 layer 'celebration' cake. It's still great but there is something missing it when you aren't eating it in a restaurant that looks like your grandmother decorated it surrounded by people your grandmother's age (Bill Knapp's was quite the place with the silver foxes).
One of my favorite things during my A/C-less stint was taking a warmish shower right before bedtime and falling to sleep with the fan on and a wet head, leaving a damp pillow that always felt cool when you turned your head. I still do that sometimes if it's warm but not as hot as it has been and we leave the A/C off. This week, if I got it, I'm using it and being thankful to use it....and maybe a tiny bit less thankful when next month's bill arrives.
Stay cool!
- Central air was the best purchase I ever made as a homeowner. It's not my best purchase of all time though. That would be Hooch who cost a mere $95 at the humane society. Central air would definitely be second on that list.
- Remembering my youth which was spent in a air condition-less house. We did have a window unit one summer and we lived with the pocket door closed between kitchen and the living area. As a result, I wasn't all the keen on going into the kitchen which, now that I think of it, is a great diet plan. I'm not sure why that window unit never made another appearance.
Another fond memory was calling my dad at work (in air conditioning) and see if he wanted to meet us for dinner on his way home so that we could enjoy a little respite from the heat. The restaurant of choice during that era was usually Bill Knapp's with maybe Big Boy as a lesser alternative. As you can see, we weren't too 'out there' with our meal preferences. While most of the meals on the Bill Knapp's menu are just fond memories, the local grocery stores do still carry their great chocolate 2 layer 'celebration' cake. It's still great but there is something missing it when you aren't eating it in a restaurant that looks like your grandmother decorated it surrounded by people your grandmother's age (Bill Knapp's was quite the place with the silver foxes).
One of my favorite things during my A/C-less stint was taking a warmish shower right before bedtime and falling to sleep with the fan on and a wet head, leaving a damp pillow that always felt cool when you turned your head. I still do that sometimes if it's warm but not as hot as it has been and we leave the A/C off. This week, if I got it, I'm using it and being thankful to use it....and maybe a tiny bit less thankful when next month's bill arrives.
Stay cool!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
What is that strange feeling? Could it be...optimism?!?
After being laid off 4 years ago and after about 2 years of no unemployment benefits which made me the sole breadwinner, a second pay check is now coming in! While Big A searches for that ever elusive graphic design job, he did find a job working for one of the 'Big 3' as a test driver. This job is considered a temporary job and could end at some time (during which he could then always be called back), but in the meantime, it's a lovely feeling to have the funds to get caught back up on things and perhaps get us back on level ground.
This past Friday, his first full 2 week pay check was direct deposited and after checking the bank account online that morning, I skipped off to work with a lighter weight on my shoulders. Today, Big A even went along with me to my weekly free cooking class at Williams-Sonoma (granted, the topic was 'Homemade Ice Cream') and we did a little mall shopping for the first time in what feels like forever. To keep the strange and wondrous feeling alive, we paid cash for the external hard drive that we purchased at the Apple store.
There is one drawback - we are still living with one car which we have made work since he is working 3rd shift and I was able to move my start time at work back a little bit. When he gets home, I 'tag' him, climb into the car and head into work as he heads to bed.
While I have a job application floating out there for which I have interviewed for and he keeps applying to graphic design jobs, hopefully one day very soon we will be back to 'normal'. That light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.
This past Friday, his first full 2 week pay check was direct deposited and after checking the bank account online that morning, I skipped off to work with a lighter weight on my shoulders. Today, Big A even went along with me to my weekly free cooking class at Williams-Sonoma (granted, the topic was 'Homemade Ice Cream') and we did a little mall shopping for the first time in what feels like forever. To keep the strange and wondrous feeling alive, we paid cash for the external hard drive that we purchased at the Apple store.
There is one drawback - we are still living with one car which we have made work since he is working 3rd shift and I was able to move my start time at work back a little bit. When he gets home, I 'tag' him, climb into the car and head into work as he heads to bed.
While I have a job application floating out there for which I have interviewed for and he keeps applying to graphic design jobs, hopefully one day very soon we will be back to 'normal'. That light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Murf's Adventures with Public Transportation
It has been slightly more than a year since we became a 1 car family. Since Big A was in school full-time, a second car wasn't necessary nor something we could afford so once the lease on his Chevrolet Impala expired, we turned it in and stuck with just my Saturn Vue.
The past year has gone relatively smooth. Yes, having 2 cars is ideal and having 1 requires a bit more scheduling but it wasn't anything unbearable. When the Vue needed work done on it, I took it to a highly recommended place near work and a coworker would pick me up and/or drop me off.
However, after not being completely satisfied with this mechanic, we switched to one closer to home who is great (and worthy of me baking cookies for and bringing them in, I think) but due to it's location, it has enabled me to ride public transportation twice. In a previous entry, I mentioned that the bus company and my employer have some sort of agreement that enables the employees to ride the bus for free. Just slide your employee ID through their reader, it beeps, move to your seat.
The first time I rode it from work to the transit center was back in late April and I was met by Big A and Hooch in my brother's 21 year old Ford Econoline Van that we store in our driveway over the winter (and used mainly for tailgating at U-M football games and transporting freshly cut Christmas trees back home). Now that he has it back, today I decided to take public transportation all the way home - the #6 that goes from work to my city's transit center and then the #10 that takes me about a block from home.
There is a bit of a layover at the transit center before the #10 shows up. The schedule indicates only about 15 minutes before it shows up and another 15 minutes before it leaves there. Today it showed up at the time it was suppose to leave so it enabled me to people watch longer than planned. Normally when I pass the transit center, everyone seems a little shady and it's in a questionable area near a strip club. However, during my 25 minutes of standing there, I saw a police car go by about 5 times and the bus company hired a security company to loiter around the people waiting for the bus.
Other things that I noticed:
I feel bad about my recent bout of self-pity and what I will do when Big A gets a job which will mean there is a chance that I am carless to some degree because of it until we save up for another car...and how lucky am I that the possibility of a second car, not to mention having one car to begin with, is somewhat attainable? I keep thinking of this older woman on the bus that reminded me of a shorter, grayer version of what my mom might look like today if she was still alive and just feeling sad that she had to ride the bus with her two plastic bags of groceries. Or the older ladies in the wheelchairs or the men that obviously had some mental issues (which one was attempting to fix by sneaking in drinks from a vodka bottle on the bus before a lady in the seat between us tapped him on the shoulder) that probably prevented them from getting a drivers license.
Living with one relatively small income has been a learning experience. It's stressful at times when you wake up and your first thought is your small bank balance until the upcoming Friday pay day and then there are times that usually hit me during inclement weather or seeing people who really are in predicaments and realizing that I'm still quite lucky. Having a car really is a luxury that most of us take for granted. Having 2 is decadent. 3 or more is just crazy.
Sidenote: It took me an hour longer to get home than it would if I drove and I've been exhausted every since. I wonder if my fellow bus riders will also sleep well tonight.
The past year has gone relatively smooth. Yes, having 2 cars is ideal and having 1 requires a bit more scheduling but it wasn't anything unbearable. When the Vue needed work done on it, I took it to a highly recommended place near work and a coworker would pick me up and/or drop me off.
However, after not being completely satisfied with this mechanic, we switched to one closer to home who is great (and worthy of me baking cookies for and bringing them in, I think) but due to it's location, it has enabled me to ride public transportation twice. In a previous entry, I mentioned that the bus company and my employer have some sort of agreement that enables the employees to ride the bus for free. Just slide your employee ID through their reader, it beeps, move to your seat.
The first time I rode it from work to the transit center was back in late April and I was met by Big A and Hooch in my brother's 21 year old Ford Econoline Van that we store in our driveway over the winter (and used mainly for tailgating at U-M football games and transporting freshly cut Christmas trees back home). Now that he has it back, today I decided to take public transportation all the way home - the #6 that goes from work to my city's transit center and then the #10 that takes me about a block from home.
There is a bit of a layover at the transit center before the #10 shows up. The schedule indicates only about 15 minutes before it shows up and another 15 minutes before it leaves there. Today it showed up at the time it was suppose to leave so it enabled me to people watch longer than planned. Normally when I pass the transit center, everyone seems a little shady and it's in a questionable area near a strip club. However, during my 25 minutes of standing there, I saw a police car go by about 5 times and the bus company hired a security company to loiter around the people waiting for the bus.
Other things that I noticed:
- An ingenious businessman took a nondescript building across the street from the transit center and opened a well-placed liquor store. He knows his clientele.
- People just want to get where they are going. The man standing right next to where the bus would be if it was there more so than anyone else. He kept asking what time it was.
- The bus drivers seem to have been hardened over time. None of them make eye contact or smile and say hi.
- I am quite normal which was very eye-opening to me.
I feel bad about my recent bout of self-pity and what I will do when Big A gets a job which will mean there is a chance that I am carless to some degree because of it until we save up for another car...and how lucky am I that the possibility of a second car, not to mention having one car to begin with, is somewhat attainable? I keep thinking of this older woman on the bus that reminded me of a shorter, grayer version of what my mom might look like today if she was still alive and just feeling sad that she had to ride the bus with her two plastic bags of groceries. Or the older ladies in the wheelchairs or the men that obviously had some mental issues (which one was attempting to fix by sneaking in drinks from a vodka bottle on the bus before a lady in the seat between us tapped him on the shoulder) that probably prevented them from getting a drivers license.
Living with one relatively small income has been a learning experience. It's stressful at times when you wake up and your first thought is your small bank balance until the upcoming Friday pay day and then there are times that usually hit me during inclement weather or seeing people who really are in predicaments and realizing that I'm still quite lucky. Having a car really is a luxury that most of us take for granted. Having 2 is decadent. 3 or more is just crazy.
Sidenote: It took me an hour longer to get home than it would if I drove and I've been exhausted every since. I wonder if my fellow bus riders will also sleep well tonight.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Movie Review: Everybody's Fine
When I added this movie to the Netflix queue, I assumed it was another lightweight movie that was made with the intent of removing the viewer from their real life for 90 minutes (kind of like Steve Martin's Father of the Bride movie) but in fact, this movie really disturbed me 30 minutes into it.
Robert De Niro plays a man whose wife dies 8 months before and he's trying to gather his 4 grown kids who live scattered across the country together back at the house. For a variety of reasons (which all turn out to be lies), they cancel so he goes around the country surprising them with visits. He learns that all those years when the kids call home and talk to their mother, his wife has not been telling him the truth about what is going on in each kid's life. The part about calling home and saying 'Hi Dad. Is Mom there?' really hit home because that's what we did when we moved out. He eventually asks his one daughter (played by Drew Barrymore) why they didn't want to talk to him. She tells him that mom was a good listener and he was better at talking and putting pressure on them to do and be better and they didn't want to disappoint him.
I was thinking of my dad throughout this movie. He was much the same way. He was a little 'old school' in his belief about majors in college. You better have a good answer when he asks you what you will do with something like a sociology degree after college if you want to change your major to something like that. I know when I knew I was going to have a bad grade on a report card, I would rather have my mom break the news to him than myself. Not so much because of his reaction (well, maybe a little bit) but for the disappointment.
The timing of seeing this movie is also interesting. Just yesterday, my brothers and I had a few email exchanges in which they mentioned about all those mornings being driven to high school (we were lucky to get rides in the a.m. on his way into work but not so lucky on the way home which was usually the school bus) when he wouldn't say anything other than when you arrived at the school and you got out and he said 'Bye' or 'Have a good day'. I couldn't believe that my older brother was actually complaining about this. I replied by saying something to the effect of who wants to hear blathering that early in the a.m.? I never minded those quiet rides or waking up and going out to sit in the darkened living room as he listened to a popular local AM radio station (to which I still can hum the DJ's theme song as well as remember the horrid song sung by Sammy Davis Jr. as a tribute to Detroit), drank his coffee and never really speaking then either (although we were both probably dozing in our chairs until the telltale music came on that it was time to get ready). I would always choose 'companionable silence' over small talk any day. Obviously my older brother didn't find that silence to be so companionable.
As with most movies like this, it did end on a rather happy note and it also made me wonder at what kind of relationship I would have had with my dad if my mom had died first. We may have never talked much, but I don't feel there was anything left unresolved. He was who he was. I just wish I had talked to him when I called sometimes.
If you too would like to have Sammy Davis Jr.'s 'Hello Detroit' in your head too, here it is in all it's late 1970's finest:
Robert De Niro plays a man whose wife dies 8 months before and he's trying to gather his 4 grown kids who live scattered across the country together back at the house. For a variety of reasons (which all turn out to be lies), they cancel so he goes around the country surprising them with visits. He learns that all those years when the kids call home and talk to their mother, his wife has not been telling him the truth about what is going on in each kid's life. The part about calling home and saying 'Hi Dad. Is Mom there?' really hit home because that's what we did when we moved out. He eventually asks his one daughter (played by Drew Barrymore) why they didn't want to talk to him. She tells him that mom was a good listener and he was better at talking and putting pressure on them to do and be better and they didn't want to disappoint him.
I was thinking of my dad throughout this movie. He was much the same way. He was a little 'old school' in his belief about majors in college. You better have a good answer when he asks you what you will do with something like a sociology degree after college if you want to change your major to something like that. I know when I knew I was going to have a bad grade on a report card, I would rather have my mom break the news to him than myself. Not so much because of his reaction (well, maybe a little bit) but for the disappointment.
The timing of seeing this movie is also interesting. Just yesterday, my brothers and I had a few email exchanges in which they mentioned about all those mornings being driven to high school (we were lucky to get rides in the a.m. on his way into work but not so lucky on the way home which was usually the school bus) when he wouldn't say anything other than when you arrived at the school and you got out and he said 'Bye' or 'Have a good day'. I couldn't believe that my older brother was actually complaining about this. I replied by saying something to the effect of who wants to hear blathering that early in the a.m.? I never minded those quiet rides or waking up and going out to sit in the darkened living room as he listened to a popular local AM radio station (to which I still can hum the DJ's theme song as well as remember the horrid song sung by Sammy Davis Jr. as a tribute to Detroit), drank his coffee and never really speaking then either (although we were both probably dozing in our chairs until the telltale music came on that it was time to get ready). I would always choose 'companionable silence' over small talk any day. Obviously my older brother didn't find that silence to be so companionable.
As with most movies like this, it did end on a rather happy note and it also made me wonder at what kind of relationship I would have had with my dad if my mom had died first. We may have never talked much, but I don't feel there was anything left unresolved. He was who he was. I just wish I had talked to him when I called sometimes.
If you too would like to have Sammy Davis Jr.'s 'Hello Detroit' in your head too, here it is in all it's late 1970's finest:
Monday, May 2, 2011
And then there was four...again.
Nothing feels better than being right especially when that naysayer is your spouse. All during lil' A's life, Big A kept sayin, "He is my last cat." I normally would give him the o.k. sign and say 'Riiiiiggghhht. I give it 6 weeks' (6 weeks was the length of time between his first cat and lil' A) but he kept insisting this would be his last.
Speed ahead 5 weeks and 6 days after lil' A died and guess who is going to the humane society "just to look" (this after a couple of weeks of viewing the available cats online)? Me and Big A.
We enter the humane society and Big A fills out the form and gets the card that enables us to go perusing the cats. We venture into two rooms that have individual cages and it is kind of heartbreaking as they walk up to the cage door and start rubbing their faces on it. One in particular got me - his name was Carmine and he was born with a deformed rear leg so basically he was a 3 legged cat but we ventured on down the hall to the 'community rooms' where some cats get to hang out in a big room with wooden blocks on the wall to climb on and hide in and also a door to a fenced in outdoor area. As we walk in, an orange tabby named Toby walked up to Big A and as soon as he saw Big A reach down as if to pet him (which he was), he dropped onto the floor and rolled over so that his belly was exposed. Big A was in love. Toby even let Big A pick him up and hold him much in the same way that lil' A liked to be carried. The only drawback - Toby was 9 years old. A senior cat. Big A was hemming and hawwing about it because he was older and then I told him "Just get him. You know you want him". There was no need to tell him that twice.
After filling out paperwork which nearly took as long as buying a car, we left with Toby. For the next two nights, Big A slept in the man cave with him with a baby gate at the steps just to slowly ease him into the meeting of the Hooch. They finally spotted each other through the baby gate - Toby's tail puffed up about 3 times its normal size and Hooch did the funniest doubletake I've ever seen.
Day 2 we decided to put away the baby gate and just let them figure it all out since eventually they will have to learn to live together...and it didn't take them long to do so. Lo and behold, Toby seems to be the cat buddy that Hooch has only dreamed about these past 8 years and 2 cats. He still seems to act sometimes like the abused wife such as yesterday, Toby was sitting in the hallway and Hooch refused to pass him (thinking he would get swatted at like he did with lil' A) but eventually he walked up next to him and sniffed his head (which luckily I captured a photo of). He even once was caught giving the top of Toby's head a quick lick. I guess it also helps that 2 days into having Toby, we discovered that his previous owners had him front declawed. Somehow Hooch must sense that.
So far, Toby has fit in relatively easily and has already taken to sleeping on top of the blanket at my feet (which I hate more than nearly anything) but doesn't seem to mind my constant squirming much to my increased irritation. It's nice to have a cat around again and their cat-like qualities and he's a good guy (sleeping arrangements aside) but he's no lil' A.
Speed ahead 5 weeks and 6 days after lil' A died and guess who is going to the humane society "just to look" (this after a couple of weeks of viewing the available cats online)? Me and Big A.
We enter the humane society and Big A fills out the form and gets the card that enables us to go perusing the cats. We venture into two rooms that have individual cages and it is kind of heartbreaking as they walk up to the cage door and start rubbing their faces on it. One in particular got me - his name was Carmine and he was born with a deformed rear leg so basically he was a 3 legged cat but we ventured on down the hall to the 'community rooms' where some cats get to hang out in a big room with wooden blocks on the wall to climb on and hide in and also a door to a fenced in outdoor area. As we walk in, an orange tabby named Toby walked up to Big A and as soon as he saw Big A reach down as if to pet him (which he was), he dropped onto the floor and rolled over so that his belly was exposed. Big A was in love. Toby even let Big A pick him up and hold him much in the same way that lil' A liked to be carried. The only drawback - Toby was 9 years old. A senior cat. Big A was hemming and hawwing about it because he was older and then I told him "Just get him. You know you want him". There was no need to tell him that twice.
After filling out paperwork which nearly took as long as buying a car, we left with Toby. For the next two nights, Big A slept in the man cave with him with a baby gate at the steps just to slowly ease him into the meeting of the Hooch. They finally spotted each other through the baby gate - Toby's tail puffed up about 3 times its normal size and Hooch did the funniest doubletake I've ever seen.
Day 2 we decided to put away the baby gate and just let them figure it all out since eventually they will have to learn to live together...and it didn't take them long to do so. Lo and behold, Toby seems to be the cat buddy that Hooch has only dreamed about these past 8 years and 2 cats. He still seems to act sometimes like the abused wife such as yesterday, Toby was sitting in the hallway and Hooch refused to pass him (thinking he would get swatted at like he did with lil' A) but eventually he walked up next to him and sniffed his head (which luckily I captured a photo of). He even once was caught giving the top of Toby's head a quick lick. I guess it also helps that 2 days into having Toby, we discovered that his previous owners had him front declawed. Somehow Hooch must sense that. So far, Toby has fit in relatively easily and has already taken to sleeping on top of the blanket at my feet (which I hate more than nearly anything) but doesn't seem to mind my constant squirming much to my increased irritation. It's nice to have a cat around again and their cat-like qualities and he's a good guy (sleeping arrangements aside) but he's no lil' A.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Evolution of Murf's Music Listening Devices
- Since I don't have a record player anymore, I've used the first ever record I ever purchased (which came along with a poster of him that was the first ever poster I ever hung in my bedroom). That ol' Raggedy Ann record player got quite the workout before I took over my brother's much "cooler" record player.
- The Sony Cassette Walkman with AM/FM. I still actually use this on occasion despite the ribbing I get from Big A for doing so. Still inside the tape player: a mixed tape from back in the day.
- The Sony CD Walkman. I don't really remember using this a lot. It seemed rather big and bulky. I should've been working at Apple during this time because they must've been thinking the same thing.
- A faux Walkman with a remote control. As you can see, this was never used.
- The 1st Generation iPod from back in the day when owning an iPod meant something - it meant you were cool and hip and had a Mac since it wasn't yet Windows compatible. Oh those were the days. Not long ago I accidentally left this charging in my cubicle at work overnight. The next morning, it was still there. Being Mac-only is also a security feature!
- The 4th Generation iPod Shuffle. This is my newest acquisition since my 1st Generation iPod is a) embarrassingly large at the gym where everyone is wearing their new tiny iPods strapped around their biceps and b) dying a slow death (I currently can't update it anymore. *sigh*).
Missing from photo but definitely not forgotten: My 2 cassette deck Panasonic stereo with detachable speakers. I miss the days of taping songs off the radio and silently cursing the DJ's as they talked over the beginning or my foray into mixed tapes. Speaking of mixed tapes, this is a great book that really captures the appeal of making mixed tapes. Unlike him, I didn't save mine though (other than the one that remains in the Sony Walkman with cassette player).
Monday, March 28, 2011
Murf and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
After 3 weeks of wondering why he wasn't eating and trying every possible way without going to a veterinarian school to have him sliced open by professionals who may or may not find the answer, our cat, Lil' A, died Friday afternoon.
It started with a hairball on March 2nd. When a few days passed when he didn't eat, we noticed that his food was slightly different than what he was use to. When I brought home the correct kind, he ate it with gusto but the next day, he was back to not eating. Then we tried hairball paste in case there were more hairballs. After a few days of no change but in which he was still vomiting liquid matter, we made a vet appointment.
The same day of that vet appointment, Big A noticed that he was yellow - the whites of his eyes, his skin, the inside of his mouth. The vet diagnosed him as having fatty liver syndrome which happens when especially larger cats stop eating. All the extra fat they have is being processed by the body due to not eating and it congregates in and around the liver and the liver ends up not being able to process everything and starts to shut down. To reverse that, we had to force feed him from a syringe a high protein canned cat food that's only available through the vet.
A week later, we took him back in for his follow up visit and the vet was not happy to see that Lil' A was still not really interested in food. We decided to give it one more week before we made any larger life decisions. That life decision ended up coming 3 days later when overnight, Lil' A continued to vomit what little food he was fed and the rest was stomach bile and again in the morning as I was getting ready for work. Most disturbing was that he was no longer purring and seemed to prefer to be by himself. Those two things were definitely out of character. Big A made the appointment for the next day - this past Friday.
On Friday, I had the afternoon off which I spent part of with Lil' A - I took him outside so he could eat grass and chase leaves blowing down the driveway. Then he sat on one of the bricks and just watched everything. When we went back in, he climbed up onto my lap and accidentally urinated on my leg as he did so. This was the first time he had ever done that. I'm not sure if he knew he did that or not as he proceeded to lay down on my lap. I wasn't about to move him. I can change pants later.
After a few minutes of pets, he got up and headed to a nearby chair. He laid down in the middle and tucked his front legs under him as he has done in the past. Other than the lack of purring, he looked like his old self again. How could we end his life now?
As the time approached to put him in the carrier and leave was one of the worst times of my life. As Big A put him into it, I just wept at how he didn't know what was going on. This would be the last time he left the house. I wanted to think that him being like his old self (minus the purring) was a turnaround...but deep down I knew better. I was just being selfish and wanting him with us longer.
The vet came in to chat with us a bit and like the usual visit, Lil' A got comfy on the examining table and while a bit on edge at where he was at, seemed to enjoy just being around people talking. The vet agreed with our decision and started the procedure. I was in the lobby when Big A had to deal with the death of his previous cat so this was a first time for me. While I could pet him and talk to him and make the little noises I made that made him know it was me from whatever room he was at without much problem, I couldn't bring myself to look at his face as the sedative took affect and then the last shot. I'm glad that Big A was there to hold his head through it all. Even the vet who has probably seen a lot of these in his 10 years of being at this clinic was sad.
We brought him home and dug a hole for him. We gave Hooch a chance to sniff him in hopes that by doing so, he would understand where that little antagonistic a-hole went and while the previous cat was also an antagonistic a-hole to the poor 80 lb dog, he missed her and I'm sure he will miss him as well (although why he never barked and set those cats straight so they would quit picking on him, I will never know).
On Saturday as I was catching up on washing bedding, I dropped a few clean, soft, fuzzy blankets on the bed to be folded later and I thought "I can leave these here for later now that there is no cat who will discover these clean, soft, fuzzy blankets and make it his new home for days on end." It was a very bittersweet moment.
I miss him more than those three words can express.
It started with a hairball on March 2nd. When a few days passed when he didn't eat, we noticed that his food was slightly different than what he was use to. When I brought home the correct kind, he ate it with gusto but the next day, he was back to not eating. Then we tried hairball paste in case there were more hairballs. After a few days of no change but in which he was still vomiting liquid matter, we made a vet appointment.
The same day of that vet appointment, Big A noticed that he was yellow - the whites of his eyes, his skin, the inside of his mouth. The vet diagnosed him as having fatty liver syndrome which happens when especially larger cats stop eating. All the extra fat they have is being processed by the body due to not eating and it congregates in and around the liver and the liver ends up not being able to process everything and starts to shut down. To reverse that, we had to force feed him from a syringe a high protein canned cat food that's only available through the vet.
A week later, we took him back in for his follow up visit and the vet was not happy to see that Lil' A was still not really interested in food. We decided to give it one more week before we made any larger life decisions. That life decision ended up coming 3 days later when overnight, Lil' A continued to vomit what little food he was fed and the rest was stomach bile and again in the morning as I was getting ready for work. Most disturbing was that he was no longer purring and seemed to prefer to be by himself. Those two things were definitely out of character. Big A made the appointment for the next day - this past Friday.
On Friday, I had the afternoon off which I spent part of with Lil' A - I took him outside so he could eat grass and chase leaves blowing down the driveway. Then he sat on one of the bricks and just watched everything. When we went back in, he climbed up onto my lap and accidentally urinated on my leg as he did so. This was the first time he had ever done that. I'm not sure if he knew he did that or not as he proceeded to lay down on my lap. I wasn't about to move him. I can change pants later.
After a few minutes of pets, he got up and headed to a nearby chair. He laid down in the middle and tucked his front legs under him as he has done in the past. Other than the lack of purring, he looked like his old self again. How could we end his life now?
As the time approached to put him in the carrier and leave was one of the worst times of my life. As Big A put him into it, I just wept at how he didn't know what was going on. This would be the last time he left the house. I wanted to think that him being like his old self (minus the purring) was a turnaround...but deep down I knew better. I was just being selfish and wanting him with us longer.
The vet came in to chat with us a bit and like the usual visit, Lil' A got comfy on the examining table and while a bit on edge at where he was at, seemed to enjoy just being around people talking. The vet agreed with our decision and started the procedure. I was in the lobby when Big A had to deal with the death of his previous cat so this was a first time for me. While I could pet him and talk to him and make the little noises I made that made him know it was me from whatever room he was at without much problem, I couldn't bring myself to look at his face as the sedative took affect and then the last shot. I'm glad that Big A was there to hold his head through it all. Even the vet who has probably seen a lot of these in his 10 years of being at this clinic was sad.
We brought him home and dug a hole for him. We gave Hooch a chance to sniff him in hopes that by doing so, he would understand where that little antagonistic a-hole went and while the previous cat was also an antagonistic a-hole to the poor 80 lb dog, he missed her and I'm sure he will miss him as well (although why he never barked and set those cats straight so they would quit picking on him, I will never know).
On Saturday as I was catching up on washing bedding, I dropped a few clean, soft, fuzzy blankets on the bed to be folded later and I thought "I can leave these here for later now that there is no cat who will discover these clean, soft, fuzzy blankets and make it his new home for days on end." It was a very bittersweet moment.
I miss him more than those three words can express.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
In honor of tonight's Oscars...
...a little revamping of a movie that is up for a few nominations, True Grit (or in this case, it should be called True Murf):
I think this girl should have been cast as Mattie Ross but the one they ended up with did a great job and I'm hoping she wins. It is on nights like this that I miss the 300 cable channels I had back when we were a two income family. No E! pre-Oscar red carpet fun for me. I'm relegated to waiting until 6 p.m. when ABC might start covering it.
I think this girl should have been cast as Mattie Ross but the one they ended up with did a great job and I'm hoping she wins. It is on nights like this that I miss the 300 cable channels I had back when we were a two income family. No E! pre-Oscar red carpet fun for me. I'm relegated to waiting until 6 p.m. when ABC might start covering it.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Murf's Morning Starbucks Encounter - A One Act Play
Act One
Scene 1 - Our heroine pulls up to the speaker at the drive thru of a local Starbucks at about 6:15 a.m. on a Thursday morn.
Disembodied Starbucks worker voice: Good morning! This is Debbie. Would you like your hot chocolate or is it coffee that you usually get?
Murf: Uh...er....hot chocolate. *looks around to see where Debbie could possibly see her since the drive thru window is flush with the building*
Debbie: That's what I thought but there is someone else that looks like you that gets coffee.
Murf: *still puzzled and slighhtly scared* Nope. Just a venti hot chocolate.
Debbie: Would you like anything else to go with that?
Murf: No thank you.
Debbie: Ok. I will have your total at the window.
Murf pulls up to the window which Debbie immediately slides open and takes the proffered gift card.
Debbie: Doesn't your husband usually drive you when you come? I normally see you in the passenger seat.
Murf: He does but I'm not lucky enough to be chauffeured this morning.
Debbie: Would you like a receipt?
Murf: No thank you.
Debbie: Your order will be right up. You want the stopper in the lid, right?
Murf: Yes please.
Debbie closes the drive thru window.
As Debbie turns her back to the window, I scoot forward to see how in the world she knew it was me at the speaker. Above the cash register, I see a monitor that shows the drive thru. I can't see if it shows the people up close or just the car with maybe the occasional glimpse of the driver. Our heroine makes a mental note to check out the surroundings on her next visit to try and spot exactly where the camera is located.
Debbie returns with the venti hot chocolate and puts the stopper in the sippy hole.
Debbie opens the window.
Debbie: Here you go. Have a wonderful day.
Murf: Thank you. You too.
Our heroine drives away still puzzled by the encounter and chuckling to herself.
Scene 1 - Our heroine pulls up to the speaker at the drive thru of a local Starbucks at about 6:15 a.m. on a Thursday morn.
Disembodied Starbucks worker voice: Good morning! This is Debbie. Would you like your hot chocolate or is it coffee that you usually get?
Murf: Uh...er....hot chocolate. *looks around to see where Debbie could possibly see her since the drive thru window is flush with the building*
Debbie: That's what I thought but there is someone else that looks like you that gets coffee.
Murf: *still puzzled and slighhtly scared* Nope. Just a venti hot chocolate.
Debbie: Would you like anything else to go with that?
Murf: No thank you.
Debbie: Ok. I will have your total at the window.
Murf pulls up to the window which Debbie immediately slides open and takes the proffered gift card.
Debbie: Doesn't your husband usually drive you when you come? I normally see you in the passenger seat.
Murf: He does but I'm not lucky enough to be chauffeured this morning.
Debbie: Would you like a receipt?
Murf: No thank you.
Debbie: Your order will be right up. You want the stopper in the lid, right?
Murf: Yes please.
Debbie closes the drive thru window.
As Debbie turns her back to the window, I scoot forward to see how in the world she knew it was me at the speaker. Above the cash register, I see a monitor that shows the drive thru. I can't see if it shows the people up close or just the car with maybe the occasional glimpse of the driver. Our heroine makes a mental note to check out the surroundings on her next visit to try and spot exactly where the camera is located.
Debbie returns with the venti hot chocolate and puts the stopper in the sippy hole.
Debbie opens the window.
Debbie: Here you go. Have a wonderful day.
Murf: Thank you. You too.
Our heroine drives away still puzzled by the encounter and chuckling to herself.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Murf's rant
If you didn't see this commercial during the Super Bowl, take a moment to watch it and then we'll talk afterwards.
Post video watching commentary
The next day, Facebook was abuzz with people coming out of the woodwork about how this commercial makes them proud to be from Detroit. Hello? You're from the suburbs! Also, I find it funny when people talk about this video and Chrysler and seem to forget that Chrysler is owned by an Italian company despite including them when referencing 'The Big Three'. Chrysler hasn't been what the hardcore union autoworkers would call an American car (i.e., the profits stay in the U.S.) since Daimler bought it. Does that mean that it's o.k. for the profits to go to Germany or Italy but not to Japan which is always their retort about why Americans shouldn't buy Toyotas or Hondas even though they are built in this country?
I really can't wait until Fiat gets their models built and on the roads here and what the hardcore 'Buy American' believing folks will think then.
Post video watching commentary
The next day, Facebook was abuzz with people coming out of the woodwork about how this commercial makes them proud to be from Detroit. Hello? You're from the suburbs! Also, I find it funny when people talk about this video and Chrysler and seem to forget that Chrysler is owned by an Italian company despite including them when referencing 'The Big Three'. Chrysler hasn't been what the hardcore union autoworkers would call an American car (i.e., the profits stay in the U.S.) since Daimler bought it. Does that mean that it's o.k. for the profits to go to Germany or Italy but not to Japan which is always their retort about why Americans shouldn't buy Toyotas or Hondas even though they are built in this country?
I really can't wait until Fiat gets their models built and on the roads here and what the hardcore 'Buy American' believing folks will think then.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Roller Derby Recap
As mentioned in the previous entry, I did make it to the roller derby match. Prior to that though, I had a lovely trip around Detroit which I actually don't get to much despite being only 40 minutes away. David basically grew up going to Detroit so he knew his way around really well (plus he drives a 10 year old Dodge Neon 'Sport' so I wasn't worried about any carjackings although if it happened, I would be going with the carjacker since the passenger side door only opens from the outside). We started at the main public library which is a beautiful old building followed by a quick snack across the street at the Detroit Institute of Art's cafe (which you can visit without having to pay for admission) and looking at the free art that is hanging on the walls on the way to the cafe.
From there, we headed into the predominantly Polish city of Hamtramck for a good ol' Polish meal. His idea of how to get there was a little foggy so he ended up getting off of the expressway about 4 exits too early and driving around looking for an abandoned factory that he remembered seeing. Who knew that Detroit had so many abandoned factories?!? I was nervous once when he turned on St. Aubin street and I remembered a massacre that happened there back in the 80's. My built in GPS could tell that we were headed north but what we needed was to go west which he eventually did and finally found the abandoned factory he was thinking of (as opposed to the handful that we encountered which were not the ones he remembered).
Once there, we had the choice of going to a Polish restaurant located in the basement of a building or something more wide open and less personal. Since I was a newbie, I let him decide. He went with the basement one - The Polish Cafe. When we walked in, one lone 2 person table had just opened up which we quickly grabbed. After finally getting a waitress to notice us, we ordered and just sat back watching all the other people come in and line up as they waited for tables to open. As I ate my pierogi and potato pancakes, I just watched more and more people arrive and the basement renovator in me thought, "The one main exit is blocked and I see no egress windows. I hope there's not a fire." Once we ate and paid the bill, we literally had to push people out of the way and up the steps to get out. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen. Our 2 person table would do none of these people any good because they all seemed to be in parties of 4 or more. I wonder how long they waited outside, standing on steps for their table.
From there, we headed down to Cobo Arena for the roller derby doubleheader. This was the first time I've seen such an event in person (I have seen the movie Whip It which was filmed in my neighborhood). They demonstrated the rules once for the 2,500 people in attendance and then the first game began between the Devils Night Dames (which would have been a cooler looking team if they had their face painted like skeletons as they did in the program) and the Grand Prix Madonnas. One of the members of the Grand Prix Madonnas is a friend of a neighbor and they both are nurses. It was fun watching her (roller derby name: Cindarailya) skate - this little slender girl really was able to rack up a lot of points so the game was a little lopsided but fun to watch. I was surprised to see that it didn't seem as 'angry' as the roller derby in the movie or from what I've heard. In between rounds, the two 'jammers' could be seen talking at the line. Where was the anger and the trash talking?!? Another thing I didn't like was that this was a flat track. I like the banked track version better...at least from what I saw in the movie.
Below are some pictures of the event:
The chaos ensues. I enjoyed watching the judges located in the middle of the track. In the program, they all had pictures from when they were kids and at the match, they all wore items reminiscent of the photo like one had a pillow tied around his waist like in his kid picture, one had on a plaid skirt like in her childhood picture, etc.
A little bumping and banging.
Cindarailya's turn as the jammer (she's the one in the purple helmet with a star). She was amazing for such a little thing.
Do you see the judge with the pillow tied around his waist?
Coming around the corner
Cindarailya gets pushed off the track while the girl in the middle demonstrates that big girls can skate backwards too (skating backwards is mandatory to make it on the team)!
The final, lop-sided score. The second match was closer but for some reason, seemed more boring so there are no photos of that.
From there, we headed into the predominantly Polish city of Hamtramck for a good ol' Polish meal. His idea of how to get there was a little foggy so he ended up getting off of the expressway about 4 exits too early and driving around looking for an abandoned factory that he remembered seeing. Who knew that Detroit had so many abandoned factories?!? I was nervous once when he turned on St. Aubin street and I remembered a massacre that happened there back in the 80's. My built in GPS could tell that we were headed north but what we needed was to go west which he eventually did and finally found the abandoned factory he was thinking of (as opposed to the handful that we encountered which were not the ones he remembered).
Once there, we had the choice of going to a Polish restaurant located in the basement of a building or something more wide open and less personal. Since I was a newbie, I let him decide. He went with the basement one - The Polish Cafe. When we walked in, one lone 2 person table had just opened up which we quickly grabbed. After finally getting a waitress to notice us, we ordered and just sat back watching all the other people come in and line up as they waited for tables to open. As I ate my pierogi and potato pancakes, I just watched more and more people arrive and the basement renovator in me thought, "The one main exit is blocked and I see no egress windows. I hope there's not a fire." Once we ate and paid the bill, we literally had to push people out of the way and up the steps to get out. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen. Our 2 person table would do none of these people any good because they all seemed to be in parties of 4 or more. I wonder how long they waited outside, standing on steps for their table.
From there, we headed down to Cobo Arena for the roller derby doubleheader. This was the first time I've seen such an event in person (I have seen the movie Whip It which was filmed in my neighborhood). They demonstrated the rules once for the 2,500 people in attendance and then the first game began between the Devils Night Dames (which would have been a cooler looking team if they had their face painted like skeletons as they did in the program) and the Grand Prix Madonnas. One of the members of the Grand Prix Madonnas is a friend of a neighbor and they both are nurses. It was fun watching her (roller derby name: Cindarailya) skate - this little slender girl really was able to rack up a lot of points so the game was a little lopsided but fun to watch. I was surprised to see that it didn't seem as 'angry' as the roller derby in the movie or from what I've heard. In between rounds, the two 'jammers' could be seen talking at the line. Where was the anger and the trash talking?!? Another thing I didn't like was that this was a flat track. I like the banked track version better...at least from what I saw in the movie.
Below are some pictures of the event:
Coming around the corner
Cindarailya gets pushed off the track while the girl in the middle demonstrates that big girls can skate backwards too (skating backwards is mandatory to make it on the team)!
The final, lop-sided score. The second match was closer but for some reason, seemed more boring so there are no photos of that.Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Advice from the Peanut Gallery
Subtitle: Facebook has struck again!
A friend from way back, David, resurfaced a few years ago on Facebook. We had kinda dated back in the day but at the time, my mom was dying so there really wasn't much enthusiasm for a relationship on my part but he was fun to go out and do things with to get away from what was going on at home.
Over the last 11 years, we parted ways only to remain in contact via email and that was really not much contact but the lines of communication were there (i.e., our two email accounts). About 2 years ago, he got a Facebook page and somehow found me so we've been Facebook friends. We finally met up for the first time in 11 years last month and had a late lunch and did some Christmas shopping. It was fun and since then, I've been tagging along with him on his mortgage appraisal jobs as a sidekick - taking pictures of comparable houses if they were on my side of the road, gettign him to these houses, etc. I've had a blast.
A few weeks back, he and I decided to get tickets for a roller derby match in Detroit this upcoming Saturday. However, since then, he has began seeing someone and has told her that this weekend he is having a 'boys night out'. She has no idea that he has a friend named Murf. He has also warned me to not tag him in any photos from our evening out (who goes to a roller derby and NOT take pictures?) because she will see it. Keep in mind that through all of this, Big A has known where I am and who I am out with and is fine with it all. I can't help but feel like David is ashamed to know me and I feel like I was just "filler" until someone better came along...but then I reflect on pre-Facebook days. Back then, I would take pictures of us and send them to him or print and give them to him. There was no need to "worry" about pictures being seen by the wrong people.
I've currently reached my 'David' limit. I just have nothing left to say to him, no urge to reply to his last email as the idiot tries to find the photo of me in which my scarf was tagged as him.
What does a girl in a Facebook world do? Am I making a big deal out of something that isn't? If I am, how can I still overcome the residual feeling of him being ashamed to know me then?
A friend from way back, David, resurfaced a few years ago on Facebook. We had kinda dated back in the day but at the time, my mom was dying so there really wasn't much enthusiasm for a relationship on my part but he was fun to go out and do things with to get away from what was going on at home.
Over the last 11 years, we parted ways only to remain in contact via email and that was really not much contact but the lines of communication were there (i.e., our two email accounts). About 2 years ago, he got a Facebook page and somehow found me so we've been Facebook friends. We finally met up for the first time in 11 years last month and had a late lunch and did some Christmas shopping. It was fun and since then, I've been tagging along with him on his mortgage appraisal jobs as a sidekick - taking pictures of comparable houses if they were on my side of the road, gettign him to these houses, etc. I've had a blast.
A few weeks back, he and I decided to get tickets for a roller derby match in Detroit this upcoming Saturday. However, since then, he has began seeing someone and has told her that this weekend he is having a 'boys night out'. She has no idea that he has a friend named Murf. He has also warned me to not tag him in any photos from our evening out (who goes to a roller derby and NOT take pictures?) because she will see it. Keep in mind that through all of this, Big A has known where I am and who I am out with and is fine with it all. I can't help but feel like David is ashamed to know me and I feel like I was just "filler" until someone better came along...but then I reflect on pre-Facebook days. Back then, I would take pictures of us and send them to him or print and give them to him. There was no need to "worry" about pictures being seen by the wrong people.
I've currently reached my 'David' limit. I just have nothing left to say to him, no urge to reply to his last email as the idiot tries to find the photo of me in which my scarf was tagged as him.
What does a girl in a Facebook world do? Am I making a big deal out of something that isn't? If I am, how can I still overcome the residual feeling of him being ashamed to know me then?
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