The Post wherein Stef rants about the way people drive

so... you have been warned!

--begin rant--

I went to WalMart this afternoon, after my trip to IHOP. When I was leaving the parking lot, I noticed I was parked next to a rather large pickup, so as I am backing out, I honk my horn several times in case there was someone approaching that couldn't see that I was backing out.

There was someone. Her response to my warning was to honk back at me and mouth the word "bitch".

And here I thought I was doing a good thing by letting her inattentive ass know I was backing out of a blind spot.

But that wasn't all...

I finally get to the way out of the parking lot and there is someone stopped just before it to let me out (a good driver! yay!!!); There was no traffic in the other lane, and had to wait for the traffic going in the opposite direction to let up enough for me to get in, because that is the direction that I need to go.

Finally, there is someone going in that direction who wants to get into the parking lot I want to leave. I thought that they were going to let me pass so I can merge into traffic. Their response was to make their turn anyway, which, had they completed it, would have taken out the entire passenger side of my car. They decided to let me pass, and honked their horn-- and it wasn't a friendly gesture either.

Maybe I was wrong, I don't know. But I know that if I get into an accident in the Beretta, then it's bye bye Babydoll. And, the other person will not have either of these two things that makes you legal in the state of Oklahoma: a driver's license and/or proof of insurance.

That's just way that my luck runs. So I'd be out one car and no way to get a new one. Not to mention a trip to Midwest Regional with the resulting injuries, and by some stroke of bad luck, I'd see Dean there (he practices out of that hospital).

--end rant--

So, how was your day? :)


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Sing to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It"...

There's a hornet in my car, get it out!
There's a hornet in my car, get it out!
There's a hornet in my car, you know I ain't going far
When there's a hornet in my car
GET! IT! OUT!

I hate when flying stinging insects hitch a ride in my car. I am deathly afraid of those damn things. So, somewhere between IHOP and CVS, this little annoyance got in and couldn't find its way out. I heard it buzzing, and it took me back to a time in my past, when all of my boys were young, when one got into this decrepid station wagon Jon had bought (we called it the "John Deere" because it drove like one of those tractors going down the city streets in Virginia). There was a hole in the tailgate where a rear window wiper had been, and the kids and I were freaking out.

Back in the present, I opened both windows (Berettas were two door cars. Four door version was the Corsica), hoping the little bugger would find its own way out. After about ten minutes or so, it finally got a clue that there was a way out and left (at least I hope it did). I drove home, relieved that my little stowaway was gone off to polinate flowers somewhere far away from me.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

If I'd known I'd be driving all over the damned Metro for this movie...

I'd have bought the damn thing at the first place I went to.

Or... "In Search of When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts"

Yesterday, I called about three Blockbusters stores looking for this movie. I'm doing an extra credit paper in my English Comp class, and watching this movie during spring break is what I'm writing it on.

At the fourth store, in Del City, I found, I thought.

When I get there, turns out that they only had it for sale. I didn't want to buy it, just rent it. I asked them if they could call one of their nearby locations to see if they had it for rent.

The Blockbuster guy called a couple of places, and found it at a store in Oklahoma City. They agreed to hold a copy for me.

This place was just about 4 miles down SE 44th from where I was, so I drove over there. Babydoll behaved herself, and we got there and home okay.

So now I have until next Saturday to watch the movie... all four hours of it! It was a documentary on HBO last summer, and was surprised it was even on DVD.

I think I'll watch it Monday afternoon. I'll let you know how it was. After all, it's about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It's not going to be easy to watch. I wonder if this is going to be the video version of a book I've never been able to finish because I get so pissed off at the government's malaise about taking care of a "problem". Same thing with Hurricane Katrina. It took so much time for the federal government to respond, as if the Gulf Coast was unimportant.

I better stop. The subject of Hurricane Katrina and that moron living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue still makes me mad.



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I'm such a ditz sometimes...

I'm at WalMart shopping, and I went out to the car when I'm done. I go into the wrong row, and think I see my car.

I walk up to it and see that there's something wrong with the back bumper. I'm thinking what the hell happened to my car? As I'm looking at it, I see a Kelsey Briggs sticker on the back window. It's in the wrong place, I think, then I realize that the car I'm at isn't my car! It's another Beretta that is almost the same color as mine, probably the same year (89), and the license plate has the same letters on it, but not the same numbers.

The Kelsey sticker on the car I went to is high up on the back window. My Kelsey sticker is in the lower right corner on my back window.

My car is two rows over in the same position. Duh! And, despite the paint peeling off on just the left side, my car looks better.

The other one probably drives better, though.



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I got the best sleep last night...

I was drugged out on NyQuil, but I slept well. I wish this cold would just run its course and leave me alone. I hate feeling like crap because of it.

But man, did I have some weird dreams!

Conventional wisdom dictates that I should have stayed home today. But I have too much to do to do that.
===

The car's running really well lately. I haven't really done anything to it to fix it up beyond what has already been done. I wonder if that's a bad sign.

She can't break down until next week. I absolutely forbid it!
===

Happy Birthday. You know who you are. Hope your day is grand!



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

It's March already?!

Yep...

My rent and electric got paid today, I'm going grocery shopping later, and I have an essay to write for Monday.

Other than that, there's really nothing going on in my life that anyone would be interested in. The car is behaving herself, I have money saved, and I bought a baking pan last night, so sometime over the weekend, I think I'll make enchiladas.

I know, I know... not exactly mind gripping stuff here.

Ask me at the end of the month, and I'll have a different story. There are three birthdays jammed up there that I'll have to get prezzies for.

Oh, and that one that's in about a week and a half... I don't know if that person even wants to remember they have a birthday, though, much less presents.

I think birthdays are a big deal, I don't care how old you're going to be.



so, you up for 50 swats there, cowboy? i'll be gentle... i promise






That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

So much stuff, so little time

Or so it seems to me the last couple of weeks. Maybe this is the real college experience- tons of homework and little sleep.

Maybe I need that coffeemaker after all.
===

I may have no choice but to replace the windshield on the Beretta. It looks as though the cracks get bigger every day. Who knows if I'll even have a windshield when I go out to the car next. Better get on the horn to the insurance folks and see if my policy covers owner stupidity. After all, it was really stupid of me to open the hood on a windy day like we had last Friday.
===

A nap sounds really good right now, but I have so much other stuff to do. Maybe I can put a nap off long enough so that I actually fall asleep when I go to bed tonight.
===

It's so nice outside, I may just do my homework out there. Let me think on that a while.

Naaah. It's windy again. Don't need my English Comp essay blowing all over Del City. It's due tomorrow!
===

thanx for peeking

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

What the wind did yesterday (grrrr!)

(above) View from the inside

(below) View from the outside

This kinda ticks me off. And the whole trip to keep that appointment yesterday was all for naught.

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

If it weren't for bad luck, baby, I'd have no luck at all...

From the Beretta's Being A Bitch Dept.:

I kept my appointment today (the one I postponed from last week), and the car overheated just as I got there. I was there for a while, so the car, I thought, had had a chance to cool off.

Wrong.

I got to the Sunnylane Exit on I-40 and she stalls out. Overheated again. Several people came over to assist me in getting the car out of the line of traffic and into the parking lot of a long closed and torn down gas station. I get out of the car to open the hood, put up the rod to hold it up, and the wind catches it and blows the hood back towards the windshield. This cracks the windshield and tears up one of the wipers.

Oh. Great.

So I drive her here to the public library, and she sits outside until I'm sure she's cooled off. So if that means I'm here for an hour or two (or three... who knows at this point), then so be it. It's B Week Friday, so I have no classes today anyway.

If this problem had happened in Edmond, I'd probably still be sitting wherever I stalled while people drive around me and don't even bother to help.

Now I know what Larry means by "snooty Edmond".





That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Put another candle on my birthday cake, I'm another year old(er) today

Wee.

So far today, the Beretta is being a bitch, and I've had to postpone an appointment for today because I don't know right now if the car will make it there without doing something undesirable (like stranding me in a really bad area or something). I have to write my entire essay for English Comp this weekend, as it is due Monday. I may as just move into the Rose State library, because I'm going to spending a lot of time here this weekend.

Awww, c'mon, man... it's my birthday! Gimme a break, just this once. Any other time of the year, I wouldn't care. Just not this weekend.

It's not even 1pm yet, what else could possibly happen to me today.

Well, I did get out of my last class early, I guess that's good.


I have a little over a month to figure out how to get in 50 swats... hehehehe




That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

First B-week Friday: felt like Saturday

Even though I knew better, it still felt like it should have been Saturday.

I did go up to my mom's in Edmond on Friday, after I put some power steering fluid in the car. Once she steered better, I felt I could go anywhere, so that's what I did. I took I-40 and I-35 with few problems. Even the gas gauge seemed to work right, and I was pleased to see I still had about 3/4 of a tank of gas.

I showed up at Mom's, and as soon as I rang the doorbell (since I no longer had a key), I heard the phone ring. Mom got the call first, because she was expecting a call from her doctor.

Pinky was pleased to see me, and that set her tail a-wagging.

Jeff and I went over to the Goodwill store on 15th and Broadway and he bought the only TV they had. I also bought a lamp. Then we went back home and Mom wanted to go for Chinese. She actually wanted to go to a restaurant and sit. We went to the only Chinese place like that in Mom's neighborhood. I was a little disappointed. They had more stuff on their take out menu than they did on the eat in menu.

I ended up spending the night, and Mom and I went out to breakfast and grocery shopping before I went home.

I had some studying to do.

After I got home, I realized that I couldn't get the TV out of the back seat of my car by myself. It required flexibility skills that, at almost 43 years of age, I no longer possessed. So Daniel drove all the way out to "da hood" (aka, where I live, in his humble 23 year old opinion) and helped me out. I felt kinda foolish about that.

It seems to be my week for feeling foolish. And on it goes...

Four days and counting...

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

What IS it about this winter weather?

This is the kind of weather I'd expect in Boston. This time last year, it was quite warm, and so dry that there was a state wide burn ban.

So today, it's snowing. Yesterday, I had to chip the ice off my car before I could even leave the Rose State parking lot. Fortunately, someone took pity on me and helped me out.

I was kinda nervous this morning driving BabyDoll to school. I haven't driven her in this kind of weather since before I moved from Lawrence, MA in 2002. But everything went well and we got there with no trouble.

Tomorrow is supposed to be worse, with temps in the teens and twenties. I'm supposed to go up to Edmond tomorrow and see Mom, but if the roads are bad, she'd be the first one to tell me to stay home.

That reminds me, I need to go to the store and get groceries.

At least I have no classes tomorrow (it's "B" week Friday. Next week is "A" week and I'll have classes that Friday... on my birthday, no less!)

Wee.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I feel like I've been driving a Mack truck

...but even a Mack truck probably steers better than BabyDoll at the moment.

I think all that the Beretta needs are the following: power steering fluid and anitfreeze. For right now. Those are things that I can get for her. As I mentioned in the last post, the car needs a lot of TLC. Even I realize that she's probably not long for this world, unless someone wants to help me pay to return her to her former glory (or at least as she was when I bought her in 1999).

The thing with her fuel gauge is driving me nuts! The fuse is not blown. A blown fuse was usually the reason the fuel gauge wasn't working properly. Popular opinion (Daniel and Jeff) seem to think that because the car sat for so long that the electronics that control that and the temp gauge are messed up. After all, BabyDoll is 18 years old!

(I have a car that is old enough to vote and get drafted!)

Then there are other little problems that I need time and patience to work out.

A very auto-centric post today.

(thanx for peeking. hope all is okay with you.)


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I'm blue (as in it's friggin cold out there!)

I stayed up way too late last night reading a book not related to school.

I am so tired now, but I have a study session at 1pm for two hours, so I can't really go home and catch a quick catnap.

I haven't slept very well since I started school, and it's catching up with me. I go to bed at a decent hour, but my mind is reeling with so much information, so many thoughts, so many stupid little worries. I actually got up before my alarm went off, and still couldn't believe it was time to get started for the day.

And this weather is so crazy, it's maddening. Tomorrow it's calling for snow again. Great. That's all I need.

At least I won't be walking in the snow to school. Hope Babydoll behaves and starts right up like this morning. It's good to have my own wheels again. But she needs a lot of TLC right now.

And, yikes! My birthday is a week and a half away!


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Murphy (of the Law) came to see me this weekend

or, if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all!

First off, my POS television, the one I got for free when Saon left it behind over four years ago (before I moved to Oklahoma), finally died. I was in the kitchen doing something when I heard a pop from the living room. That pop was the picture tube getting fried. I had no picture at all, and a lot of high pitched noises.

Well, great. That's all I need.

I called over to Mom's to ask Jeff if I could borrow the one he got for Christmas three years ago that I've never seen him use. I expected him to say no, but he said, "sure, I guess so."

Then he had an idea. He'd buy me one from the Goodwill store for like $20. He just had to see what his schedule for this week at work looked like. Probably won't get today off. I don't know. I haven't talked to him yet.

Next, my cell phone is doing weird things, like hanging itself up in the middle of a conversation when I haven't changed location (in other words, it wasn't because I wandered away from the cell tower) and not putting thru text messages. Jon called me all pissed off because I didn't immediately respond to his text. I told him I never got a text message from him. I ended up hanging up on him because he was being unreasonable ("I did too send you a text, you should have received it!" etc. He's pulled this crap before. He's worse than a two year old sometimes!).

The only good thing is that I got my tag for the Beretta and drove it to school today.
===

If it's going to be cold, then let it be cold, dammit! None of this freezing our asses off one day and 60 degree temps the next. It's a wonder I haven't gotten sick yet with all this weather nonsense.
===




That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I have no idea what to call this post

The "things I have to do before New Year's"?
"Things I have to do after New Year's"?

Suffice it to say that I still have a lot to do to make living in my apartment, paying my bills, and driving my car a lot easier.

I just shelled out a bunch of cash to get my car insured so I can get the title and tags for it. Actually getting the tags will have to wait until Tuesday now, because the tag agency is just a little too far to walk to.

But at least I don't have to worry about car insurance for six months.
===

I don't have any real plans for New Year's Eve. Maybe I'll go over to Mom's and see her new chair that was a family Christmas gift to her.

I don't know. New Year's Eve partying has kinda lost its cache for me. I don't drink, so that would make me a party pooper in some people's eyes. I'd just like to spend it with a few friends. There is someone I'd like to spend it with, but the chances of that happening are remote at best.
===

I think I'll go home and have some hot chocolate. The weather is kinda drizzly.

Have a Happy New Year! Bring on 2007!



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Gobble, gobble

Happy Turkey Day!

I braved the crowds of last minute Thanksgiving feast preparers at Wal-Mart to get a grand total of three oranges for the cranberries I made. The place was packed! There were still turkeys available, but no fresh cranberries. Daniel bought some at his store the other night.

Other than that, I didn't get a whole lot done today.

My interview was pushed back to Monday @ 11am. No problem. After the interview, I'll check out some apartments and talk to someone at Rose State about what classes I need. I think I can squeeze that all into one afternoon. Maybe I'll add a trip to an auto parts store to price batteries for the Beretta. Seems that my local neighborhood Wal-Mart auto center doesn't carry them.

Another expense I wasn't counting on. Tires, wiper blades, and fluids... yeah. A battery? Nope.

*sigh*

Guess I will watch the parade and the dog show tomorrow, then head over to my sister's. Have a great Thanksgiving!


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Why I'm not doing NaNoWriMo this year, apartment hunting, and Babydoll

NaNoWriMo: I had already decided not to participate this year due to my not having my computer in Wyoming with me. Since I'm back in OKC, I've got so many things going on now, that I just don't have the time to write anything. Usually, I would have had a clue as to write about by this time, but I don't. And, it's probably more important to find a place to live and a job, than it is to attempt to write 50k words in 30 days.

I'm taking the year off to collect myself and get things back on an even keel. In retrospect, I should have taken last year off, too. I was busy with finishing up broadcasting school, then Daniel got appendicitis, and the novel I wrote last year was not my best work. I barely got to the 50k mark.

Let's see where I am next spring before I decide to participate in 07.
===

Tori drove me around on Friday to see apartments in MWC and Del City. The first place in MWC was nice. I was shown a couple really nice ones, a one and a two bedroom. The one bedroom was cozy (read: small), and could very easily meet my needs since it will just be me living there. And the gal who showed me around was very nice.

The second one I saw was okay, but the gal who showed me the one bedroom there was a bit standoffish, like she had better things to do than show me an apartment.

We then went to Sonic near Tori's house because Joey had speech therapy at 1:30pm. Scott tagged along because Memorial was having conferences on Friday, so there was no school. Then we dropped Joey off at the elementary school and Tori took me and Scott back to her house while she went back to the school to pick up Joey.

Scott was doing homework, so he stayed home and awaited Marc and Amalia's return from school. Tori debated leaving Joey with Scott, but decided to take him with us, in the hope that he would fall asleep in the car as we drove to Del City to see the last apartment I wanted to check out.

Of course, he didn't.

We kinda got lost on the way to the last place. Tori got disoriented and we ended up going in a big circle, but we finally found it. She asked me how I knew my way around Del City so well (she kept asking me where Sunnylane was, and it was away from where we were headed). I only said that the broadcasting school was near where we were going.

The apartment at the last place had already been rented, but the gal there asked for my name and phone numbers and told me she would call me if something was going to be vacant in December. I'm going to call her in about a week and inquire as well.

The place in Del City is right by I-40, but I can deal with that if that is where I end up.
===

Babydoll is sitting in Tori and Dean's garage, waiting for me to tag and title her. I think Im going to take some of the stickers off her windows and the back bumper. She needs a lot of cosmetic work done (paint job, redo the pinstriping, maybe replace the passenger side rearview mirror where someone in Methuen opened their door into it about 5 years ago...), but that will have to wait. She really needs fluids, windshield wiper blades and tires more than a new paint job.

But, she runs! I wish I knew in 2003 that all she needed was a new fuel pump. I'd have probably taken care of it then instead of letting her sit for three years.

Tori asked why I wasnted to hold on to this car that needed all this work done. I told her that Babydoll was the first major purchase I made after Jon and I separated, and that she's paid for.

What I didn't tell her is that Babydoll represents freedom to me. Life is a highway, and I wanna ride it all night long...
===

That "Yes yes no no" and "No no yes yes" thing? Daniel explained it to me last night, and it make a little more sense. But just a little...


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Guess she forgot about me

My sister and I were going to look at a couple more apartments this morning, but I guess she was preoccupied with something else.

I called her, but I got her voicemail.

*sigh*

And-- it looks like Jon will pay for my tags and title here for the Beretta. He said when I told him I was going back to OKC that he would take care of that, since the car was in the shop at the time. So sometime after the tenth, he's going to send me the money. I'll believe it when I'm holding the check in my hands.

Insurance is up to me. And I have to have insurance. It's the law in Oklahoma.

Halloween was okay. It was kinda cold Tuesday night, so we didn't get a lot of visitors. And that was fine because we ran out of candy early.

I took pictures, but I won't post them. I have pics on that roll from Wyoming, and I might post those. If my old hunk of junk will cooperate, that is.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Waiting game....

and I don't really do that very well these days.

I bust my ass to get things done, then I have to wait for replies, mail, answers, and the whole nine yards.

My problem is, I don't wanna wait!

I want to get Unemployment, a job, an apartment, my security deposit from Wyoming back, my car tagged and titled here RIGHT NOW! Immediately if not sooner.

I used to be so patient *sigh*...



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--