Retraction

Pedro and Ortiz did make it to Disney. I'm still ticked at Schilling for not keeping his mouth shut.

Parade today. Have fun and be safe Sox Nuts!

Mickey Mice

I mean Mickey Rodents. Six days, three rodents...

Last Saturday my neighbor ML called me to ask if I had looked in her backyard yet that day. A kind of strange question but my deck overlooks her yard, and yes, I had looked. Nothing appeared out of sorts. As we spoke, I looked again. "Oh yes, I see that your trellis has fallen over, and... Oh my God..." A squirrel had been caught between the pavement and the trellis and broken it's neck. I'd post the photo but it's not pretty. Instead, you can go to the link http://homepage.mac.com/adam_corey/PhotoAlbum16.html .

Monday evening I was thinking about what to make for dinner when I noticed a burning smell coming from the vent in my oven. Checked the oven and the stove top--all were off and not warm. I look at the vent again, smoke is coming out of the vent. Crap. I pull the oven out, noticing how dirty it is under there, reach for the plug, and unplug the thing. It stops smoking. Maybe I accidentally hit the oven cleaner button and unplugging it will reset the thing. I wait a few minutes, plug the thing back in, it starts smoking again. Sh*t. Now what? It's pushing 9 pm and I still haven't had dinner, my 3 year old oven has an electrical short, I have no idea who to call or if I have the paperwork on an oven I didn't purchase. Toast makes a nice dinner and I found the paperwork.

I call the company with my warranty. THEM: It only has a one year plan. ME: But no, I have a booklet that says certain things are covered until five years. THEM: Oh, that is only Gibson, not Frigidaire. ME: My book say Frigidaire. THEM: It's the same manufacturer but the warranty is different. ME: You make a habit of packing inaccurate warrantee information with all your products? How do I find out what my warrantee is? THEM: Let me put you on hold and check. ME: This is the worst hold music I have heard, EVER. Finally... THEM: My manager says to show your repairman the warrantee you have and they will honor it. Thanks for calling. ME: Hold on a second. Could I have your name and extension.... Sucker, I am coming after you if this doesn't work out!

Thursday, the repairman finally shows at 1:00 pm (though he's supposed to be there between 8 & noon, but he does call at 12:15 to say he's on his way). As I describe the story to him, he turns to me and says, "Sounds like something furry got caught and was eletrocuted." Of course I am thinking about the impossibility of this (see post below Open Houses SUCK!) because my house is soooo clean and it just can't be true. I hear the "aha" and then "could you get me a plastic bag" and I know it is true. Upon asking if he got it, I am told, "Some of him but there are a couple more pieces to get." Great. Best $124 I ever spent. I didn't have to touch it or see it.

Wednesday night Pedro and Ortiz shout that they are going to Disney World. Great. I wonder how many shout it but don't go. Guess what? Those two didn't go but I bet they were paid well to say it. Who did go? The GW Bush-pushing, Born-again-Christian Schilling. The question is, who gets paid more? The ones who say they are going and don't or the one who actually shows?

Shout Outs:
A big hug to ML, whose dog had to be put to sleep on Wednesday due to lung cancer. It was a sudden development and very sad. Clara was a great dog and we will miss her... even Ranger.

Happy Belated Birthday to BCK, aka Mike Kaminski.

Happy 4th Anniversay to McGoo and Scott.

Open Houses SUCK (at least when you are the seller)!

Have you ever cleaned one room so well, and were so proud of it that you actually stopped going into it for fear of it returning to its former state? That is my entire house, everyday....

I should start off by saying that my house has been for sale since the second week in July and it is now October 27th; we have had an open house almost every Sunday. Had an open house Sunday and had a realtor's open house Monday night. This week people are coming to look almost every day, which means I have to run home, clean up dog hair and drool, pick up any magazines or toilet paper rolls he has eaten, and get him out of the house for about an hour--an hour when he usually eats dinner. I'm not saying I'm not happy about the sudden spunkiness of my realtor (which is another story soon to be highlighted) and the interest of potential buyers, I AM HAPPY, can't you tell? All of this means I have to keep my house excruciatingly clean for an unreasonable amount of time. Usually the minute the people leave on Sunday afternoons, I can hang up laundry, let the mail pile up, leave papers around the office, not wash my cereal bowl until I do the dinner dishes, and have until the next Sunday morning to start the cleaning process all over again.

Then a woman on the elevator tells me the other day, "Houses never sell at an open house, it's a proven fact!" Yeah, well where's your proof? I mean, you don't just say that and saunter off the elevator. I thought maybe I should do some asking around. I know I would never have looked at my house (the place I am trying to sell) if I hadn't driven by an open house sign. The two offers we've had so far have been from open houses.

Anyway, open houses SUCK! Keeping your house so clean that you are afraid to even shower for fear of making spots on the chrome SUCKS! Having strangers walk through your house looking in your closets SUCKS! Did I say open houses SUCK? Except when you are the buyer. Stay tuned for open houses are GREAT! Coming soon, I hope, to a blog near you!

Groveling and Voting

Sorry I haven't written much lately, however, I do have a few things in the works. For now, I leave you all with the following websites and urge you all to vote next Tuesday!

http://www.bushrelativesforkerry.com

http://www.librariansagainstbush.org

http://www.republicansforkerry04.net/

And, although I love them, the NY Giants suck!

Highlighting Blogs

I've seen some pretty crazy, funny, and just plain strange things by hitting the "NEXT" button at the top of my blog. They seem to come up random and lots are in foriegn languages; however, I have seen quite a few that I'd like to remember, so I thought I'd highlight them occassionally. For blogs that I read regularly, see the right column. For the interesting selection(s) of the day, see:

http://crimeinthelibrary.blogspot.com/

I am wondering, why? how? Oh, nevermind...

Breakfast in Bed (or Burger King)

Okay, I am afraid of clowns, which has always put Burger King higher up on my list of fast foods I'll eat if I have to. This has been the case since I was a kid, except back then my favorite fast food was Red Barn. I digress.... Now that I have seen the commercial where a guy wakes up, and laying next to him is the "Burger King," with a huge plastic head, I'll have to say I'm no longer a fan of things regal! What the "F" people?!?! Waking up to that is supposed to make me run to BK to get a greasy, heart-attack-on-a-bun for breakfast? The ad agency that came up with that must have lost its best people to another firm.
I officially swear my greasy, egg sandwich-eating allegiance to the Dunkin'!

I Know, I Know...

Where to start? There have been no postings because of my crankiness due to various factors....

Okay, I lied. Well, it isn't actually a lie but I do have more than 20 days left at work. (I'll get back to this.) Why, you may ask... Because the jack-asses who made us an offer on our house pulled out! Let's start off by pointing out that I live in an 1870s Mansard roof, Victorian home. Apparently they were not ready for the responsibilities for home ownership. They actually thought they would have to replace all the old windows because some were new and some were old (all of them do work). They're called brand new storm windows people! They also were not sure they could handle the pressure of changing the filter in the forced-air heating system. Then you better remain renters because you should change those things regularly wherever you live. There were of course other small items they were freaking about related to the fact that the house is old. Let me repeat: I live in an 1870s Mansard roof, Victorian home! It's one of things most people notice before they even come inside.

Back to "work." Since my house is not sold, it makes no sense for me and my 100-pound dog to join my husband in his studio apartment in Washington, DC. Although it might be amusing for 7 or 8 minutes, odds are only one mammal would be living by the 2nd day of this arrangement.

Anyway, I continue to "work," between conducting interviews for my replacement. Not sure how I got suckered into that job. The list of projects that my "library" would like me to complete gets longer as the days pass. I'm thinking of taking my nameplate off my door, keeping it closed, and not returning e- and voice-mails. Perhaps that's a project for next week. Let's see, I gave my notice August 3 and no one bothered to post the position until September 27th-ish. This place is lightening-quick. Jill gave notice before me and they haven't replaced her either. (That is a story for another day.)

Good news is a matter of perspective, and from mine, I do have a small piece. I will be working 4-day weeks until I leave this place, and some weeks I will only show up 3 days. Hey, it's something.

Other contributions to my general crankiness as of late are sure to follow. Check back soon!

HAGC