The fact that you have to make a special trip to the store for the one ingredient the receipe calls for that you never have, never use, and will never use again?
Or.....
Ghhhrrrrr!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
I'm One of the Cheapest People I Know.
What's the bigger pisser.........
The fact that you forget to peel off and use the dollar off coupon on said item?
Ghhhrrrrr!
Ghhhrrrrr!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Ode To Sonny Bono
What's dumber than tripping over raised sidewalk while running in the dark?
Walking with your head down, trying to figure out why your Garmin isn't connecting to the satellite and colliding with a tree. A very large tree. With a very solid trunk.
Took a second or two to even realize what had happened. Didn't even hurt initially. The clue that something was wrong was Alicia saying "Oh my God, are you OK?" I think I asked what happened. "You ran into that tree". I look up at the tree. Run my tongue over my front teeth checking for chips because the blow to the top of the head caused my teeth to bang together.
I wonder if I am ok. I flash back to Sunday's 49ers / Cardinals game. Kolb took a knee to the back of the head and was taken out of the game with a concussion (and he had a helmet on). Could I have a concussion? Should I take myself out of the game?
I'm not dizzy, it's possible I'm a little disoriented, but I'm not in that much pain....and my teeth appear to be intact. I will continue with my run and see how I do.
This by the way is the same run I tripped on the sidewalk a couple of weeks ago. I was very careful to make sure I picked my feet up while running on that street, my knees are still scabbed.
When I got home I picked the bark out of my hair, asked Denny to check my pupils, and felt a little nauseated, which can be totally phychosomatic (not an easy word to spell....still wondering if that's correct), cause I've heard nausea can be a symptom of concussion. I tried to stay awake long enough to watch the Biggest Loser finale, but kept dosing off. I wondered if it was the possible concussion, or if I was just tired.
When I woke up this morning I figured I must be ok.
Although I think maybe I rattled my brain a bit.
Geeze, Me vs Tree......tree wins.
And that's why I don't ski.
Walking with your head down, trying to figure out why your Garmin isn't connecting to the satellite and colliding with a tree. A very large tree. With a very solid trunk.
Took a second or two to even realize what had happened. Didn't even hurt initially. The clue that something was wrong was Alicia saying "Oh my God, are you OK?" I think I asked what happened. "You ran into that tree". I look up at the tree. Run my tongue over my front teeth checking for chips because the blow to the top of the head caused my teeth to bang together.
I wonder if I am ok. I flash back to Sunday's 49ers / Cardinals game. Kolb took a knee to the back of the head and was taken out of the game with a concussion (and he had a helmet on). Could I have a concussion? Should I take myself out of the game?
I'm not dizzy, it's possible I'm a little disoriented, but I'm not in that much pain....and my teeth appear to be intact. I will continue with my run and see how I do.
This by the way is the same run I tripped on the sidewalk a couple of weeks ago. I was very careful to make sure I picked my feet up while running on that street, my knees are still scabbed.
When I got home I picked the bark out of my hair, asked Denny to check my pupils, and felt a little nauseated, which can be totally phychosomatic (not an easy word to spell....still wondering if that's correct), cause I've heard nausea can be a symptom of concussion. I tried to stay awake long enough to watch the Biggest Loser finale, but kept dosing off. I wondered if it was the possible concussion, or if I was just tired.
When I woke up this morning I figured I must be ok.
Although I think maybe I rattled my brain a bit.
Geeze, Me vs Tree......tree wins.
And that's why I don't ski.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Unexpected
I'm not the best navigator. I take the wrong turn more times than I care to admit. So often in fact that when I'm going somewhere for the first time and I find it without making a wrong turn it is a pleasant surprise. I must also confess I have even been known to take the wrong turn when I'm going someplace I'm familiar with, like home.
When the kids were young we had a couple of exciting adventures because of thisflaw trait. Like the time we got lost in the hills of Fullerton and found glow sticks glowing on every corner, after we picked some up we realized they were markers guiding party goers to the party house. Worked great, led us to the party...unfortunately we hadn't been invited. We would have put them back too if, you know, I was a better navigator....cause darned if I could remember which way we came. Hope everyone found the party, sorry about that.
Or take last night. After working all day, and a meeting in the evening, I stopped by Tamara's on the way home. When I left her place for home it was about 8pm. I'm traveling north on East street (no wonder I get confused). Usually I'll hop on the 91, but I missed it, I don't know why, maybe a little tired, maybe cause I was talking on the cell phone and slightly distracted? Oh well, I figured I'd hang up and just stay on East, it's heading in the general direction and I'll figure it out eventually, right?
Then East changes to Raymond, no problem, I'm still heading in the right way. And then the unexpected happens. Just after crossing Chapman I find myself in a residential tract. Uh Oh, this is how I usually end up lost, I'm so glad I have Survivor set to automatically record on the DVR.
Just as I was getting ready to click "go home" on my GPS, I see something to the left, just off Nutwood. And then something up ahead. What is that? I've never seen anything like this before. This is pretty darn amazing. I need to drive around a bit and get the full effect. THIS IS SO COOL. I call Tamara and tell her she must get in her car and come see this. "What is it?" she wants to know. "I'm not going to tell you, you have to see it for yourself, I don't want to spoil it. I'm going home, but if you come and see it, tell me what you think".
About 15 minutes after I got home she calls and says "Yeah, that's pretty amazing".
I'm not going to say what it is, but if you are in Fullerton in the evening traveling north on Raymond, just after you cross Chapman, start to look for it....on the left at Nutwood.
When the kids were young we had a couple of exciting adventures because of this
Or take last night. After working all day, and a meeting in the evening, I stopped by Tamara's on the way home. When I left her place for home it was about 8pm. I'm traveling north on East street (no wonder I get confused). Usually I'll hop on the 91, but I missed it, I don't know why, maybe a little tired, maybe cause I was talking on the cell phone and slightly distracted? Oh well, I figured I'd hang up and just stay on East, it's heading in the general direction and I'll figure it out eventually, right?
Then East changes to Raymond, no problem, I'm still heading in the right way. And then the unexpected happens. Just after crossing Chapman I find myself in a residential tract. Uh Oh, this is how I usually end up lost, I'm so glad I have Survivor set to automatically record on the DVR.
Just as I was getting ready to click "go home" on my GPS, I see something to the left, just off Nutwood. And then something up ahead. What is that? I've never seen anything like this before. This is pretty darn amazing. I need to drive around a bit and get the full effect. THIS IS SO COOL. I call Tamara and tell her she must get in her car and come see this. "What is it?" she wants to know. "I'm not going to tell you, you have to see it for yourself, I don't want to spoil it. I'm going home, but if you come and see it, tell me what you think".
About 15 minutes after I got home she calls and says "Yeah, that's pretty amazing".
I'm not going to say what it is, but if you are in Fullerton in the evening traveling north on Raymond, just after you cross Chapman, start to look for it....on the left at Nutwood.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Ouwweeee!
And that's why you should be extra careful when running in the dark. Careful to lift your feet up, cause you can't see that little raised area of sidewalk, and when it catches the toe of your shoe it disturbs your momentum just enough that your body starts to fall forward. But your legs can't quite catch up. And while you try with all your might to right yourself, feeling every muscle fiber in your legs trying to keep you upright. But sometimes its just not enough.
And you fall. And end up with bloodied knees and scraped up palms.
That'll teach you.
And you fall. And end up with bloodied knees and scraped up palms.
That'll teach you.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Zip Away!
One evening after a run we were discussing doing something crazy and out of the box. Someone suggested parachuting. Then bungee jumping. Those are insane ideas....we just wanna do something crazy, not insane. We finally settled on zip lining. Someone said a zip line had just opened on Catalina Island, cool, local, yet not next door. And this was going to be a "two fer", we would do something crazy and cure John of his fear of heights at the same time.
A day or two after this discussion a "deal of the day" for round trip to Catalina Island was advertised....obviously a sign, we are meant to do this. Several people purchased the deal (myself included) so now we just needed to decide what day we were going to get crazy and zip. The Catalina Flyer tickets were good until November 30th, we bought them in April, plenty of time.
In mid October we started to organize the trip. Just like everyone else who purchased the Catalina Flyer Deal of the Day and procrastinated till the last minute to take their trip. We would have to go stand by, plenty of seats going to the island, zero returning. We decided on Sunday November 13th. We actually managed to get reservations for the return trip due to cancellations, obviously another sign that we really are meant to do this.
We arrived early at the dock and checked in. After about a half hour or so someone came out of the ticket office and started calling the names of those who were on standby and lucky enough to get on, he called a lot of names. Once everyone who was waiting was told they made it on the boat, he announced we could begin boarding. Crap, we should have been paying attention instead of watching the guy call the stand by names. Now we have to walk to the back of the line. Note to self, next time get in the line right away so we get to sit wherever we want.
Since we were some of the last to board the boat we were stuck at a table at the rear (what is this starboard? aft? port?). Not only are we on the second level, in the rear, Julie, Monica and I get to sit backwards. I have been know to experience a little nausea riding the train backwards.....the water must have been choppy cause a lot of people were throwing up. Luckily, since I was sitting backwards, I didn't witness any of it. Until we were leaving the boat. On the way down the stairs a woman and her small son stopped mid way down while she held a barf bag under his chin and he retched into it. We just moved to the right and walked on by....holding our collective breath.
Thing number 23, stepped foot on Catalina Island.
Our zipline reservations were for 1:30pm, so we had plenty of time to kill. We decided to have breakfast.
Thing number 24, drank a Bloody Mary, you can drink before noon when you are going zip lining and not be considered an alcoholic....it's like vacation.
After breakfast we still had time to kill so we decided to putt around the island in a rented 6 seater golf cart. We were given a map (similar to the kind you get at Disneyland, kind of cartoony). The lady drew arrows on the map highlighting places of interest. She also told us not to take a particular road because it was closed due to falling rocks.
We elected Mason to drive the cart since he drives one at work. Cara was the navigator. Monica sat in the middle and Julie and I rode on the rear seat....facing backwards. My first thought was it's like when you were a kid and you rode in the last seat of the station wagon...you know, the one with the wood panels on the sides. I intimately remember several summer excursions to the beach riding like that. Was fun on the way to the beach, not so much fun on the way home, hot, sweaty, sandy, salty, sunburned.
Julie and I buckled up for the ride of our lives....even buckled our purses in too. Crap, I held onto the side of that golf cart the whole time my fingers practically had to be pried off that thing. I'm sure it was much more exciting seeing where we had been than seeing where we were going, cause we were able to let our imaginations run wild. Like when a Ford Explorer came up behind us (most of the vehicles on the island are of the golf cart variety due to space limitations), but of course one of the few full size vehicles on the island gets behind us, so we can imagine that his brakes will fail and he will plow into Julie and I, crushing our legs.
Or when we began to see rocks on the road.....had Mason taken the closed road?
Or how it seemed like he was driving soooo fast, and we might tip over. Julie said we would still have to run on Tuesday even if we were bandaged like mummies....with slits for eyes. Gawd we were laughing so hard (it helps to squelch the fear). Something I imagined but couldn't put into words (instead I just visualize it in my mind and hang on a little tighter), as we round a curve, Mason loses control of the cart, we begin to tumble down the hillside, everyone else jumps from the cart, but I'm strapped in with the lap belt, unable to locate the release button, legs flailing about, items spilling from my purse, tumbling farther down the hill, end over end, with me hanging from the rear seat attached by my belly the whole time.
Thing #25, rode backwards on Catalina Island on a 6 passenger golf cart.
We returned the cart having had an amazing ab workout from laughing so hard and headed up on foot to the zipline check in. On the way we stopped to pee at the Casino Building, which interestingly is not and never was a place to gamble, rather a place of entertainment, built in 1929 it played host to big bands like Glenn Miller and Harry James in the 30's and 40's. Next time I go I think I'll have to tour this building.
From the Casino Building we walked to Descanso Beach Club, where the zipline check in is. We had to sign waivers, I didn't read it, but I'm sure it said something like I or my heirs would not hold the zip lining company liable in the event I plummet to my death. Next we each had to step on a scale and be weighed.....I don't really understand why they had to do this, other than to humiliate those of us who could stand to lose a pound or two. The website specifically said you must weigh between 80-245 pounds.
Someone said we would not be able to go to the bathroom for the next 2 hours once the tour started. I decided I better go for a quick pee. Ignoring Mason's look that said "What? You just went 5 minutes ago." As soon as I hear that a bathroom is not available I have to go, not to mention I'm experiencing some serious anxiety and that gives me the urge to go too. I ran to the bathroom and trickled a little more.
When I got back to the check in area I couldn't see any of my zip line buddies....where did they go? Oh, there they are, all suited up with hard hats and harnesses. Wow, I didn't think I was gone that long. Cesar introduced himself, slapped a hard hat on my head, had me step into the harness, buckled me up and then hands me a large metal thingy. What? I have to carry this? the whole time? Are you kidding me? It's attached to my harness and has handles. It probably weighs 10-15 pounds. It's the trolley that I will be hooked up to the zipline with. I feel like it is some kind of mechanical umbilical cord. Unbelievable, what, have I gotten myself into? I laugh, it's something I do when I'm scared. The scareder I get, the more I laugh.
We then have to sit through an orientation/safety presentation by our tour guides, Cesar and Charles. Cesar starts first. He speaks very quickly and is using terms that I am unfamiliar with. I laugh throughout his entire presentation. He is using acronyms that I do not understand. W.O.D. what is that? He's said it twice now, it must be important. Julie looks at me with a confused look on her face, I think she is having as hard a time understanding what he is saying as I am. He is saying when we climb the platform he will clip us in for safety. Then he will attach the trolley to the zipline. He will then open the gate, we are to climb down from the platform, but whatever you do, do not go until he tells you it is safe. He must unclip you from the safety line, or you will experience W.O.D (wedgie of death), whew, well at least that mystery is solved.
I am dying, I cannot stop laughing, I can't believe I am really going to do this.
Cesar goes on to explain that when he tells us it is time to go, we must jump from the platform being sure to clear it, or we will hit our asses on the wood and will probably suffer some serious splinters. OMG, I am so glad I went pee that second time.
Next up is Charles. Charles is all business and very serious. He begins his talk with safety being first and foremost. We can die out there if we don't take this serious. If we get out there and he determines we are too drunk to understand or follow his instructions he will end our tour. Uh Oh, I think maybe he thinks I'm drunk. I'm not drunk, yeah sure I had that Bloody Mary, but that was over an hour and a half ago, and we've walked like 20 minutes of it. Dude, I am stone cold sober and scared outta my mind. I occasionally express my emotions improperly, I am not drunk, trust me.
Charles is easier to understand, and not nearly as funny as Cesar. He is also using terms I'm unfamiliar with, but explains them right away. When you begin your zip you are to "cannon ball", lean back, and pull your knees up to your chest. You can enjoy the first two thirds of your zip, but the final third you must pay attention to Charles who will be at the other side. He will be watching, and listening to the sound of the zip. He will then determine if you are traveling too slow or too fast. If you are zipping too fast we will give you the star fish, lifting and spreading his arms above his head and spreading his legs. If you see him do this you are to come out of the cannon ball position, pointing your legs down and spreading them (I don't remember if you are supposed to do something with you arms or not......how could you? cause you are supposed hold onto your trolley at all times).
As you get closer to the end you MUST get back into the cannon ball position to avoid breaking your legs on the platform. Charles will lift his knee to his chest very quickly to signal that you do not have your legs up enough, get them up when you see him do this!
Do not worry, you will hear a loud noise as you connect with the brake (a piece of wood with a rope attached to it that Charles will pull to stop you). What the hell am I doing here? Who's idea was this anyway, and how the hell did John weasel out of it?
They also go over what will happen if you do not go out fast enough and you stop in the middle of the line. They will throw a rope at you, you are to catch the rope, then pull it to your harness connection and hold it with the harness. You must hold it like this, otherwise it will not work, Charles will then pull you in. If you miss it the first time, he will throw it a second time. If you miss it the second time, you are on your own and will have to shimmy in. Cesar demonstrates "The Catalina Shimmy".
Please God, don't make me do the Catalina Shimmy.
My mind is on overload, it is too much to remember.
We board the shuttle. We travel up that same hill we rode up in that "Mr. Toad's Wild Golf Cart Ride" On the way up Cesar asks if anyone is scared. I laugh. Julie and Monica point me out, and tell him Cindy is.
As we exit the shuttle the driver asks if it's anyone's first time. She tells us we will have a good time. She sounds like she has zipped before. She appears to be much older than me. Because of this I am hopeful that I may survive.
We descend the stairs to the platform. Charles and Cesar give us some last minute instructions and reiterate all the important stuff, cannon ball, starfish, how to hold the rope assuming you are able to catch it, beware of W.O.D, don't hit your ass on the way out, don't break your legs at the other end.
It is time to zip. Cesar tells us the person that is the most scared needs to be the first one to go, cause the longer you wait the scarier it will be. I do not make eye contact. Charles prepares to zip across. Cesar looks at me, I look away. He asks my name, I tell him, he says alright Cindy you go first. Charles is all hooked up and ready to go, he looks at me and says something like "you are the most afraid, you have to go first". I say, "well I don't want to be the first one, I want to go after someone". He pushes himself off, and says, "you can go after me". I try to think of an argument as I watch him zip to the other side....like I wanted to go after someone else in the group, just a regular person, not an expert.
It is futile, I succumb to the fact that I have to be first. I go up the 3 steps to the staging area. Cesar hooks me to the safety line. I step down as he opens the gate. He does the 4 point check (I don't really remember what these were, I just remember that his job was to check these 4 things so I don't die). I stand on the edge, holding the handlebars of my trolley. Trying to get the nerve up to jump off. My mind goes over all the things I've learned, cannon ball, starfish, splinters in my ass. How the hell do I jump off this thing to avoid the splinters!
I take some deep breaths. Have you unhooked me? I don't want a W.O.D. I try to get the nerve up. I notice some people above us on the road looking down finding the whole scene below them very comical. I try to get the nerve up. Splinters in my ass. Cannon Ball. Starfish. W.O.D. More deep breathing. Just do it. You can do it. Just let go. Cannon Ball. Splinters. Starfish. How do I hold the rope. Catalina Shimmy. Breath Deep.
Go.
And I am sailing through the air.
Am I screaming?
I feel the wind. I hear the cable. I'm holding on for dear life. I keep my eyes on Charles at the other side. I'm trying to pull my knees as close to my chest as I can.
Feeling the air.
Charles appears to frantically make the knee to chest sign, my knees are as close to my chest as I can get them dammit! Don't want to break legs. Hear the wood hit the trolley. See the brake rope. Beginning to slow. Keep Legs Up.
I made it.
Charles unhooks me, tells me I did great. I'm smiling like a fool. I weakly walk down to the waiting area and watch the others zip across. Besides the 5 of us, there were 2 couples although I can only remember one of their names. Rhoda, she sounded like Cyndi Lauper, with a Boston accent. And she was just as scared as I was....dammit, why did I get stuck going first, oh well at least the worst is over.
Thing #26, Zip Lined.
We have 4 more zips. Each one is a little easier and more enjoyable. Charles lightens up, and I think he realizes I am not a drunken adrenaline junkie. At zip number 2 they tell us to scream as we zip across, because there is a whole new crew of people preparing to zip on line one and we want to scare them. At line number 4 we are told we can get a little creative. We can zip sideways, let go with one hand, and wave to the others as they wait to zip. Line 5 is even more relaxed. It's a little bouncy, watch out for the splinters, we can go side ways, move our feet like we are peddling a bike, act like a princess ballerina, do a little dance thing, and just have fun with it. By line 5 we were relaxed enough to have a little fun.
Dang, would be so cool if we could go back to the start and do it all over again. Would totally be able to enjoy the whole thing now! Oh well, will have to come back and do it another day.
Charles and Cesar tell us soon these lines will be operating at night. They say we have to come back and check it out in the dark. I'm not so sure it would be so much fun, but I definitely want to do it again. I'm hooked.
The zip line ends right where it starts, back at Descanso Beach Club. We have a little more than an hour till the boat departs. All that is left to do is eat a Buffalo Burger. Catalina is famous for it's Buffalo (or Bison as kill joy Charles refers to them). They were brought over in 1924 for the filming of a silent western movie "The Vanishing American". Fourteen were brought over originally and over the years the herd grew to as many as 600. Such a large herd was detrimental to the island so the Catalina Island Conservatory now keeps the herd down to approximately 150.
Thing number 27, ate a Buffalo Burger, tastes just like chicken....not really, tastes like beef.
A day or two after this discussion a "deal of the day" for round trip to Catalina Island was advertised....obviously a sign, we are meant to do this. Several people purchased the deal (myself included) so now we just needed to decide what day we were going to get crazy and zip. The Catalina Flyer tickets were good until November 30th, we bought them in April, plenty of time.
In mid October we started to organize the trip. Just like everyone else who purchased the Catalina Flyer Deal of the Day and procrastinated till the last minute to take their trip. We would have to go stand by, plenty of seats going to the island, zero returning. We decided on Sunday November 13th. We actually managed to get reservations for the return trip due to cancellations, obviously another sign that we really are meant to do this.
We arrived early at the dock and checked in. After about a half hour or so someone came out of the ticket office and started calling the names of those who were on standby and lucky enough to get on, he called a lot of names. Once everyone who was waiting was told they made it on the boat, he announced we could begin boarding. Crap, we should have been paying attention instead of watching the guy call the stand by names. Now we have to walk to the back of the line. Note to self, next time get in the line right away so we get to sit wherever we want.
Since we were some of the last to board the boat we were stuck at a table at the rear (what is this starboard? aft? port?). Not only are we on the second level, in the rear, Julie, Monica and I get to sit backwards. I have been know to experience a little nausea riding the train backwards.....the water must have been choppy cause a lot of people were throwing up. Luckily, since I was sitting backwards, I didn't witness any of it. Until we were leaving the boat. On the way down the stairs a woman and her small son stopped mid way down while she held a barf bag under his chin and he retched into it. We just moved to the right and walked on by....holding our collective breath.
Thing number 23, stepped foot on Catalina Island.
Our zipline reservations were for 1:30pm, so we had plenty of time to kill. We decided to have breakfast.
Thing number 24, drank a Bloody Mary, you can drink before noon when you are going zip lining and not be considered an alcoholic....it's like vacation.
After breakfast we still had time to kill so we decided to putt around the island in a rented 6 seater golf cart. We were given a map (similar to the kind you get at Disneyland, kind of cartoony). The lady drew arrows on the map highlighting places of interest. She also told us not to take a particular road because it was closed due to falling rocks.
We elected Mason to drive the cart since he drives one at work. Cara was the navigator. Monica sat in the middle and Julie and I rode on the rear seat....facing backwards. My first thought was it's like when you were a kid and you rode in the last seat of the station wagon...you know, the one with the wood panels on the sides. I intimately remember several summer excursions to the beach riding like that. Was fun on the way to the beach, not so much fun on the way home, hot, sweaty, sandy, salty, sunburned.
Julie and I buckled up for the ride of our lives....even buckled our purses in too. Crap, I held onto the side of that golf cart the whole time my fingers practically had to be pried off that thing. I'm sure it was much more exciting seeing where we had been than seeing where we were going, cause we were able to let our imaginations run wild. Like when a Ford Explorer came up behind us (most of the vehicles on the island are of the golf cart variety due to space limitations), but of course one of the few full size vehicles on the island gets behind us, so we can imagine that his brakes will fail and he will plow into Julie and I, crushing our legs.
Or when we began to see rocks on the road.....had Mason taken the closed road?
Or how it seemed like he was driving soooo fast, and we might tip over. Julie said we would still have to run on Tuesday even if we were bandaged like mummies....with slits for eyes. Gawd we were laughing so hard (it helps to squelch the fear). Something I imagined but couldn't put into words (instead I just visualize it in my mind and hang on a little tighter), as we round a curve, Mason loses control of the cart, we begin to tumble down the hillside, everyone else jumps from the cart, but I'm strapped in with the lap belt, unable to locate the release button, legs flailing about, items spilling from my purse, tumbling farther down the hill, end over end, with me hanging from the rear seat attached by my belly the whole time.
Thing #25, rode backwards on Catalina Island on a 6 passenger golf cart.
We returned the cart having had an amazing ab workout from laughing so hard and headed up on foot to the zipline check in. On the way we stopped to pee at the Casino Building, which interestingly is not and never was a place to gamble, rather a place of entertainment, built in 1929 it played host to big bands like Glenn Miller and Harry James in the 30's and 40's. Next time I go I think I'll have to tour this building.
From the Casino Building we walked to Descanso Beach Club, where the zipline check in is. We had to sign waivers, I didn't read it, but I'm sure it said something like I or my heirs would not hold the zip lining company liable in the event I plummet to my death. Next we each had to step on a scale and be weighed.....I don't really understand why they had to do this, other than to humiliate those of us who could stand to lose a pound or two. The website specifically said you must weigh between 80-245 pounds.
Someone said we would not be able to go to the bathroom for the next 2 hours once the tour started. I decided I better go for a quick pee. Ignoring Mason's look that said "What? You just went 5 minutes ago." As soon as I hear that a bathroom is not available I have to go, not to mention I'm experiencing some serious anxiety and that gives me the urge to go too. I ran to the bathroom and trickled a little more.
When I got back to the check in area I couldn't see any of my zip line buddies....where did they go? Oh, there they are, all suited up with hard hats and harnesses. Wow, I didn't think I was gone that long. Cesar introduced himself, slapped a hard hat on my head, had me step into the harness, buckled me up and then hands me a large metal thingy. What? I have to carry this? the whole time? Are you kidding me? It's attached to my harness and has handles. It probably weighs 10-15 pounds. It's the trolley that I will be hooked up to the zipline with. I feel like it is some kind of mechanical umbilical cord. Unbelievable, what, have I gotten myself into? I laugh, it's something I do when I'm scared. The scareder I get, the more I laugh.
We then have to sit through an orientation/safety presentation by our tour guides, Cesar and Charles. Cesar starts first. He speaks very quickly and is using terms that I am unfamiliar with. I laugh throughout his entire presentation. He is using acronyms that I do not understand. W.O.D. what is that? He's said it twice now, it must be important. Julie looks at me with a confused look on her face, I think she is having as hard a time understanding what he is saying as I am. He is saying when we climb the platform he will clip us in for safety. Then he will attach the trolley to the zipline. He will then open the gate, we are to climb down from the platform, but whatever you do, do not go until he tells you it is safe. He must unclip you from the safety line, or you will experience W.O.D (wedgie of death), whew, well at least that mystery is solved.
I am dying, I cannot stop laughing, I can't believe I am really going to do this.
Cesar goes on to explain that when he tells us it is time to go, we must jump from the platform being sure to clear it, or we will hit our asses on the wood and will probably suffer some serious splinters. OMG, I am so glad I went pee that second time.
Next up is Charles. Charles is all business and very serious. He begins his talk with safety being first and foremost. We can die out there if we don't take this serious. If we get out there and he determines we are too drunk to understand or follow his instructions he will end our tour. Uh Oh, I think maybe he thinks I'm drunk. I'm not drunk, yeah sure I had that Bloody Mary, but that was over an hour and a half ago, and we've walked like 20 minutes of it. Dude, I am stone cold sober and scared outta my mind. I occasionally express my emotions improperly, I am not drunk, trust me.
Charles is easier to understand, and not nearly as funny as Cesar. He is also using terms I'm unfamiliar with, but explains them right away. When you begin your zip you are to "cannon ball", lean back, and pull your knees up to your chest. You can enjoy the first two thirds of your zip, but the final third you must pay attention to Charles who will be at the other side. He will be watching, and listening to the sound of the zip. He will then determine if you are traveling too slow or too fast. If you are zipping too fast we will give you the star fish, lifting and spreading his arms above his head and spreading his legs. If you see him do this you are to come out of the cannon ball position, pointing your legs down and spreading them (I don't remember if you are supposed to do something with you arms or not......how could you? cause you are supposed hold onto your trolley at all times).
As you get closer to the end you MUST get back into the cannon ball position to avoid breaking your legs on the platform. Charles will lift his knee to his chest very quickly to signal that you do not have your legs up enough, get them up when you see him do this!
Do not worry, you will hear a loud noise as you connect with the brake (a piece of wood with a rope attached to it that Charles will pull to stop you). What the hell am I doing here? Who's idea was this anyway, and how the hell did John weasel out of it?
They also go over what will happen if you do not go out fast enough and you stop in the middle of the line. They will throw a rope at you, you are to catch the rope, then pull it to your harness connection and hold it with the harness. You must hold it like this, otherwise it will not work, Charles will then pull you in. If you miss it the first time, he will throw it a second time. If you miss it the second time, you are on your own and will have to shimmy in. Cesar demonstrates "The Catalina Shimmy".
Please God, don't make me do the Catalina Shimmy.
My mind is on overload, it is too much to remember.
We board the shuttle. We travel up that same hill we rode up in that "Mr. Toad's Wild Golf Cart Ride" On the way up Cesar asks if anyone is scared. I laugh. Julie and Monica point me out, and tell him Cindy is.
As we exit the shuttle the driver asks if it's anyone's first time. She tells us we will have a good time. She sounds like she has zipped before. She appears to be much older than me. Because of this I am hopeful that I may survive.
We descend the stairs to the platform. Charles and Cesar give us some last minute instructions and reiterate all the important stuff, cannon ball, starfish, how to hold the rope assuming you are able to catch it, beware of W.O.D, don't hit your ass on the way out, don't break your legs at the other end.
It is time to zip. Cesar tells us the person that is the most scared needs to be the first one to go, cause the longer you wait the scarier it will be. I do not make eye contact. Charles prepares to zip across. Cesar looks at me, I look away. He asks my name, I tell him, he says alright Cindy you go first. Charles is all hooked up and ready to go, he looks at me and says something like "you are the most afraid, you have to go first". I say, "well I don't want to be the first one, I want to go after someone". He pushes himself off, and says, "you can go after me". I try to think of an argument as I watch him zip to the other side....like I wanted to go after someone else in the group, just a regular person, not an expert.
It is futile, I succumb to the fact that I have to be first. I go up the 3 steps to the staging area. Cesar hooks me to the safety line. I step down as he opens the gate. He does the 4 point check (I don't really remember what these were, I just remember that his job was to check these 4 things so I don't die). I stand on the edge, holding the handlebars of my trolley. Trying to get the nerve up to jump off. My mind goes over all the things I've learned, cannon ball, starfish, splinters in my ass. How the hell do I jump off this thing to avoid the splinters!
I take some deep breaths. Have you unhooked me? I don't want a W.O.D. I try to get the nerve up. I notice some people above us on the road looking down finding the whole scene below them very comical. I try to get the nerve up. Splinters in my ass. Cannon Ball. Starfish. W.O.D. More deep breathing. Just do it. You can do it. Just let go. Cannon Ball. Splinters. Starfish. How do I hold the rope. Catalina Shimmy. Breath Deep.
Go.
And I am sailing through the air.
Am I screaming?
I feel the wind. I hear the cable. I'm holding on for dear life. I keep my eyes on Charles at the other side. I'm trying to pull my knees as close to my chest as I can.
Feeling the air.
Charles appears to frantically make the knee to chest sign, my knees are as close to my chest as I can get them dammit! Don't want to break legs. Hear the wood hit the trolley. See the brake rope. Beginning to slow. Keep Legs Up.
I made it.
Charles unhooks me, tells me I did great. I'm smiling like a fool. I weakly walk down to the waiting area and watch the others zip across. Besides the 5 of us, there were 2 couples although I can only remember one of their names. Rhoda, she sounded like Cyndi Lauper, with a Boston accent. And she was just as scared as I was....dammit, why did I get stuck going first, oh well at least the worst is over.
Thing #26, Zip Lined.
We have 4 more zips. Each one is a little easier and more enjoyable. Charles lightens up, and I think he realizes I am not a drunken adrenaline junkie. At zip number 2 they tell us to scream as we zip across, because there is a whole new crew of people preparing to zip on line one and we want to scare them. At line number 4 we are told we can get a little creative. We can zip sideways, let go with one hand, and wave to the others as they wait to zip. Line 5 is even more relaxed. It's a little bouncy, watch out for the splinters, we can go side ways, move our feet like we are peddling a bike, act like a princess ballerina, do a little dance thing, and just have fun with it. By line 5 we were relaxed enough to have a little fun.
Dang, would be so cool if we could go back to the start and do it all over again. Would totally be able to enjoy the whole thing now! Oh well, will have to come back and do it another day.
Charles and Cesar tell us soon these lines will be operating at night. They say we have to come back and check it out in the dark. I'm not so sure it would be so much fun, but I definitely want to do it again. I'm hooked.
The zip line ends right where it starts, back at Descanso Beach Club. We have a little more than an hour till the boat departs. All that is left to do is eat a Buffalo Burger. Catalina is famous for it's Buffalo (or Bison as kill joy Charles refers to them). They were brought over in 1924 for the filming of a silent western movie "The Vanishing American". Fourteen were brought over originally and over the years the herd grew to as many as 600. Such a large herd was detrimental to the island so the Catalina Island Conservatory now keeps the herd down to approximately 150.
Thing number 27, ate a Buffalo Burger, tastes just like chicken....not really, tastes like beef.
I love rock and roll, so put another dime in the juke box baby....
Ran the L.A. Rock and Roll Half Marathon on Sunday October 30th. Tipping the race mile tally past my goal of 50 miles this year for a total of .....56.66 miles, yeah baby.
Since I've been so neglectful in posting I'm just gonna make this a mini recap.
Met my race buddies earlier than the crack of dawn to carpool to LA. One of our buddies didn't make it to the meet up location and had to drive solo due to an accident on the 60 freeway. She said the freeway was shut down and she saw a helicopter medivac the injured away. Of course my mind immediately thinks, "Dang, Denny didn't come home last night, and while I knew he wasn't coming home, I wish I knew where he was", cause of course I'm picturing his car crumpled on the 60 while he's splayed out on a stretcher getting his first helicopter ride.
This was my first Rock and Roll race, and I'm very impressed with how organized they were. Although....much of the race was "out and back", so while they promoted the race as something like "a band every mile", turns out you just run past the same bands a couple of times.
At about mile 10 I started having the calf cramping issues again. So frustrating. I was careful to make sure I was adequately hydrated hoping to avoid them, but ended up hobbling in the last couple of miles. I think I'll try vitamin supplements in the future.
As we were walking to the car from the finish line we passed the final "featured" band, playing...."I love rock n roll". It sounded so good (the other bands on the route were "local" and frankly were a little disappointing, and while I love "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Hey Jude" neither are not my idea of music to run by. I didn't realize it until later in the day, but it was Brett Michaels singing I love Rock N Roll at the finish, shoot, no wonder it sounded good. I'd have hung around and watched a bit if I wasn't so darn tired and if I had known who it was.
On the was back from LA Denny texted me, "Whew, at least I know he wasn't the one medivaced on the freeway this morning."
We all came back to town, and had lunch at a local mexican restaurant. Celebrating with margaritas....what better way to end a race?
Since I've been so neglectful in posting I'm just gonna make this a mini recap.
Met my race buddies earlier than the crack of dawn to carpool to LA. One of our buddies didn't make it to the meet up location and had to drive solo due to an accident on the 60 freeway. She said the freeway was shut down and she saw a helicopter medivac the injured away. Of course my mind immediately thinks, "Dang, Denny didn't come home last night, and while I knew he wasn't coming home, I wish I knew where he was", cause of course I'm picturing his car crumpled on the 60 while he's splayed out on a stretcher getting his first helicopter ride.
This was my first Rock and Roll race, and I'm very impressed with how organized they were. Although....much of the race was "out and back", so while they promoted the race as something like "a band every mile", turns out you just run past the same bands a couple of times.
At about mile 10 I started having the calf cramping issues again. So frustrating. I was careful to make sure I was adequately hydrated hoping to avoid them, but ended up hobbling in the last couple of miles. I think I'll try vitamin supplements in the future.
As we were walking to the car from the finish line we passed the final "featured" band, playing...."I love rock n roll". It sounded so good (the other bands on the route were "local" and frankly were a little disappointing, and while I love "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Hey Jude" neither are not my idea of music to run by. I didn't realize it until later in the day, but it was Brett Michaels singing I love Rock N Roll at the finish, shoot, no wonder it sounded good. I'd have hung around and watched a bit if I wasn't so darn tired and if I had known who it was.
On the was back from LA Denny texted me, "Whew, at least I know he wasn't the one medivaced on the freeway this morning."
We all came back to town, and had lunch at a local mexican restaurant. Celebrating with margaritas....what better way to end a race?
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Race For The Cure
In September I ran the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure. It's a 5K, and brings my total race miles to 43.56. It's more of a fundraising event than a race. Thanks to some of my generous friends I raised a total of $350.
I saw my former running coach Julie and her new runners early in the race. That was enough to give me some motivation to run a little faster.....wouldn't want any newbies running their first race to kick my butt.
After the race I visited the Survivor Tent. To honor the years of survival each survivor receives a necklace of pink beads for each year of survival. I received 13 necklaces. Then I was given 13 raffle tickets. There were gift baskets to be raffled. I quickly scribbled my cell number on all 13 tickets and then started to randomly drop the tickets in the boxes for the individual prizes. There was a lady putting her tickets in the boxes at the same time. She was checking out each prize and choosing very carefully which boxes to put her tickets in....I don't think she had as many tickets as I had. The most thought I put into it was I noticed one basket that had what looked like a mop in it:
Because there are so many participants they have 2 starts. I ran the first race. My sister ran....well....walked the second race. She was walking with a team of women that she went to high school with. They were all participating in honor of a classmate who recently passed away from metastatic breast cancer.
I wanted to watch them pass the start line. There were thousands and thousands of participants for the second race. While waiting for Lorrie's team I received a text message that I had won the raffle:
What is the average American woman’s risk of developing breast cancer?
The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program has published its SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975–2007 (1). This report estimates that, based on current rates, 12.2 percent of women born in the United States today will develop breast cancer at some time in their lives. This estimate is based on breast cancer statistics for the years 2005 through 2007.
This estimate means that, if the current rate stays the same, women born now have an average risk of 12.2 percent (often expressed as “1 in 8”) of being diagnosed with breast cancer at some time in their lives. On the other hand, the chance that they will never have breast cancer is 87.8 percent (expressed as “7 in 8”).
In the 1970s, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States was just under 10 percent (often expressed as “1 in 10”).
Maybe I'm splitting hairs here. But they seem to neglect saying "at some time in their life", which is usually later in life, like in their 80's.
I do find it offensive that in October, referred by some as "Pinktober", some companies will stick a pink lid, or a pink ribbon on their packaging and sell yogurt, cookies, chicken or any number of things all in the name of breast cancer. This "partnering" had been referred to as "pinkwashing". And when you consider that ingesting some of these products are not the healthiest choices........
In all fairness, I do recognize that Komen has been the force that put breast cancer on the map. They've brought it to the center stage, and people have taken notice, from the medical community to the general public, and there is no doubt in my mind that I have benefited from their efforts, and for that I am grateful.
After picking up my basket I went to the finish line so I could watch Lorrie's team, or actually Alejandra's Team cross the finish line.
As for race miles......6.44 miles to go to complete my goal of 50.
I saw my former running coach Julie and her new runners early in the race. That was enough to give me some motivation to run a little faster.....wouldn't want any newbies running their first race to kick my butt.
After the race I visited the Survivor Tent. To honor the years of survival each survivor receives a necklace of pink beads for each year of survival. I received 13 necklaces. Then I was given 13 raffle tickets. There were gift baskets to be raffled. I quickly scribbled my cell number on all 13 tickets and then started to randomly drop the tickets in the boxes for the individual prizes. There was a lady putting her tickets in the boxes at the same time. She was checking out each prize and choosing very carefully which boxes to put her tickets in....I don't think she had as many tickets as I had. The most thought I put into it was I noticed one basket that had what looked like a mop in it:
And I thought "If I win, I hope I don't win the one with the mop".
Because there are so many participants they have 2 starts. I ran the first race. My sister ran....well....walked the second race. She was walking with a team of women that she went to high school with. They were all participating in honor of a classmate who recently passed away from metastatic breast cancer.
I wanted to watch them pass the start line. There were thousands and thousands of participants for the second race. While waiting for Lorrie's team I received a text message that I had won the raffle:
Turns out the "mop" is really a scarf.
This is the second time I have won a raffle at a race. A few years ago I won a $100 gift card to Snail's Pace at the Brea 8K. Winning!
I need to be sure to enter all race raffles!
I've been thinking about this post for awhile now (ever since I ran the race). There are times when I feel like the Komen foundation has become a fund raising mega star. And maybe they pull a little too hard at people's heart strings. Like before the second race the announcer tells everyone to look to their right and their left and think about the fact that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Maybe I'm a little too sensitive, but the actual fact is:
What is the average American woman’s risk of developing breast cancer?
The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program has published its SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975–2007 (1). This report estimates that, based on current rates, 12.2 percent of women born in the United States today will develop breast cancer at some time in their lives. This estimate is based on breast cancer statistics for the years 2005 through 2007.
This estimate means that, if the current rate stays the same, women born now have an average risk of 12.2 percent (often expressed as “1 in 8”) of being diagnosed with breast cancer at some time in their lives. On the other hand, the chance that they will never have breast cancer is 87.8 percent (expressed as “7 in 8”).
In the 1970s, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States was just under 10 percent (often expressed as “1 in 10”).
Maybe I'm splitting hairs here. But they seem to neglect saying "at some time in their life", which is usually later in life, like in their 80's.
I do find it offensive that in October, referred by some as "Pinktober", some companies will stick a pink lid, or a pink ribbon on their packaging and sell yogurt, cookies, chicken or any number of things all in the name of breast cancer. This "partnering" had been referred to as "pinkwashing". And when you consider that ingesting some of these products are not the healthiest choices........
In all fairness, I do recognize that Komen has been the force that put breast cancer on the map. They've brought it to the center stage, and people have taken notice, from the medical community to the general public, and there is no doubt in my mind that I have benefited from their efforts, and for that I am grateful.
After picking up my basket I went to the finish line so I could watch Lorrie's team, or actually Alejandra's Team cross the finish line.
Here they are in the midst of all the thousands of walkers, towards the back with the big sign with a picture of Alejandra.
As for race miles......6.44 miles to go to complete my goal of 50.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thank You Mrs. Roosevelt
The LA Rock'N'Roll Half Marathon is this Sunday. As is the case with most races you have to pick up your bib at the expo a day or two before the race. The problem is this race is in LA. And so is the Expo.....downtown LA to be specific, at the Convention Center.
I've never been there before.
I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how, and when I was going to get there. I have tickets for the matinee performance of "Riverdance" so my time is limited Saturday.
Several of my running buddies planned on riding the Amtrak or MetroLink, or some other form of public transportation to the convention center on Saturday, but I'm afraid to do that due to my time constraints.
What I really wanted to do was go to the expo on Friday. I had decided I was going to leave work early and drive on over there. But as usual things don't always work out like we plan. Turned out I needed to stay at the office until 5.
The problem is I'm so afraid to drive to LA after work.....alone. Afraid that I will be there in the dark.....alone. Afraid that I will be driving around aimlessly trying to find the place.....alone....in the dark and dangerous big city.
I really can be a wuss. And once I get something in my head it can kind of take over my ability to reason. And I am a little bit of a control freak. And this feels very much out of my control.
I had decided that I would just have to go Saturday morning because I was just too darn afraid to go Friday evening. But that causes me stress too because it could conflict with my theater plans. What to do, What to do.....
Finally, after much angst and inner battle I came to the decision that I needed to put my big girl panties on and go. I mean come on, would they really keep the expo open until 7pm Friday night if it were that dangerous? And really, I've printed maps, directions, I have gps on my iphone, and I have a Garmin in the car.....how lost could I possibly get?
So I did it.
And have lived to tell it.
It was fine. I found the convention center very easily, right off the freeway, and parking was a breeze (although....as I was driving to the parking structure I did hear a rabid pit bull or rottweiler barking incessantly but I never did actual see it).
When I walked into the building I was sorry I didn't have more time to explore. I would have liked to check out the architecture, was wishing it was still daylight outside so I could see the exterior.
I got my bib, technical tee shirt, and swag, felt so safe and comfy I even toured the expo. Even bought some stuff! A new water belt that feels so comfortable.
And:
― Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living
I'm glad I bite the bullet and did this.
Thing #22, drove to LA Convention Center, alone, knowing it was going to be dark soon.
I've never been there before.
I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how, and when I was going to get there. I have tickets for the matinee performance of "Riverdance" so my time is limited Saturday.
Several of my running buddies planned on riding the Amtrak or MetroLink, or some other form of public transportation to the convention center on Saturday, but I'm afraid to do that due to my time constraints.
What I really wanted to do was go to the expo on Friday. I had decided I was going to leave work early and drive on over there. But as usual things don't always work out like we plan. Turned out I needed to stay at the office until 5.
The problem is I'm so afraid to drive to LA after work.....alone. Afraid that I will be there in the dark.....alone. Afraid that I will be driving around aimlessly trying to find the place.....alone....in the dark and dangerous big city.
I really can be a wuss. And once I get something in my head it can kind of take over my ability to reason. And I am a little bit of a control freak. And this feels very much out of my control.
I had decided that I would just have to go Saturday morning because I was just too darn afraid to go Friday evening. But that causes me stress too because it could conflict with my theater plans. What to do, What to do.....
Finally, after much angst and inner battle I came to the decision that I needed to put my big girl panties on and go. I mean come on, would they really keep the expo open until 7pm Friday night if it were that dangerous? And really, I've printed maps, directions, I have gps on my iphone, and I have a Garmin in the car.....how lost could I possibly get?
So I did it.
And have lived to tell it.
It was fine. I found the convention center very easily, right off the freeway, and parking was a breeze (although....as I was driving to the parking structure I did hear a rabid pit bull or rottweiler barking incessantly but I never did actual see it).
When I walked into the building I was sorry I didn't have more time to explore. I would have liked to check out the architecture, was wishing it was still daylight outside so I could see the exterior.
I got my bib, technical tee shirt, and swag, felt so safe and comfy I even toured the expo. Even bought some stuff! A new water belt that feels so comfortable.
And:
I just had to have this....love it!
I stayed until they turned the lights down at 7 sharp. Found my car right where I had left it in the structure right away. Only missed one or two turns on my way to the freeway to go home (thank you Garmin). Was a little freaked out because at one point I'm driving next to a train or metrolink and that was a little disorienting for me.....and there's this weird yellow light that flashes "train, train" in the left turn lane which seemed distracting to me......but I resisted the urge to turn left into the train.
I'm so glad I overcame my fear and went. Driving to LA I thought of a quote by Eleanore Roosevelt "You must do the thing you think you cannot do".
The entire quote is: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living
I'm glad I bite the bullet and did this.
Thing #22, drove to LA Convention Center, alone, knowing it was going to be dark soon.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Things Aren't Always As They Appear
Today at work I thought "Oh, I have to blog about that!".
I think I'm safe here, because I do not believe I've told anyone at work about this blog. And even if I have mentioned it, I'm 99.9% sure I never gave the web address or anything.
Someone is standing in my office, about a foot or so from my desk, and has just handed me paperwork, and is now discussing it. Then he picks his nose.....in the middle of the conversation. Not one of those discrete picks with a tissue....no, full on finger in his fricken nose pick.
This is one of those times when my mouth is saying one thing but my brain is saying something completely different. My brain is saying "Dude, WTF?" "Hello? do you not see me here, looking right at you?", "Are you seriously going to stand there and pick your nose right in front of me?", "And if you get anything out, what the hell are you going to do with it? Leave it here?...... in my office?
This is the same guy who was out sick the previous 2 days. And now he is standing in my office picking his nose......WTF.
No wonder I have this obsession with washing my hands.
And then my day got even more exciting.
Driving home from work I was going to stop at the library. This particular street is in the "downtown" area. It's 2 lanes on either side and not wide enough for left hand turn lanes. I'm in the left lane, as I approach the car ahead of me I see the left blinker on and that he is stopped, waiting to turn left. As I come to a stop I hear the car behind me screeching, trying to stop. I watch in my rear view mirror and cringe at the sound and how fast it looks like she's coming, crap, is the car gonna stop? I ease up on my brakes and roll a foot or two forward just to try to give her more room, but don't want to get too close to the car in front of me so I'm not propelled into him.
And then she hits me.
We turn left into a parking lot and as soon as she gets out of the car she apologizes. She says she will pay for it. I say "Well you have insurance right?" She looks at me and says no. I look at my car, the bumper is pretty messed up (the same bumper that I lovingly protected from getting scratched by those bicycle handle bars that time I stole those bikes (allegedly)), man this is the second time I have been rear-ended in this car. And I tell her that. I tell her it can be pretty expensive. She tells me she knows someone who can fix it. I look at her and think "I have been watching a lot of Peoples Court lately and that never works out well".
I don't really know what to do. If she had insurance we would just exchange information. I feel badly for her because she seems genuinely sorry for what she's done, but that's not going to fix my car. I end up calling the police because I'm thinking I need a report in order to file a claim with my insurance. She asked me several times "please don't do that, they will impound my car". But really....is it my fault she's driving without insurance? And as it turns out without a license? At least she speaks english somewhat.
While waiting for the police to arrive she is talking on her cell phone. I cannot understand what she is saying. She gets into her car and starts writing something down. I start to worry that maybe she is going to just drive off. So I take a picture of her rear license plate (turns out the insurance company loves this...although they would have loved it more if it was a picture of her front bumper with license plate instead). While I'm checking out her rear bumper I see that she has a lot of damage there, so much that even her trunk lid is tweaked. So I start really looking at her vehicle. It is all beat up. Front, back, sides, what has she been doing, playing bumper cars?
The police come, a report is filed, he tells her he cannot let her drive away because she does not have a license. Says that she needs to call someone to come and drive the car for her, otherwise he will have to have it towed.
So here's the deal.....I am licensed. I pay my insurance premiums, have paid them since I purchased my first car. And now my uninsured motorists coverage is going to pay to repair my car. This seems so unfair to me. Why do some of us have to follow the rules and yet others do not? And the consequence for not following the rules in this case is you don't get to drive away from the scene of the accident, you must have a licensed driver come and drive your car for you.
I go to the library and get what I need.
When I leave I realize I am very hungry. I was planning on going to the store after the library, but now it's late and I really don't want to go. I run through the options.....decide the last thing I want is fast food. I see "Fresh And Easy" and decide maybe I can just do a little grocery shopping.
I choose a few things and then go to the register. And then I remember why I don't come to this store. You have to scan your own groceries and bag them. Crap. I scan my groceries, it take a long time because unlike the trained professionals I do not know where all the bar codes are and I have to search for each one, scan the item, put it in the bag. When the bag is full I remove it and place it in the cart. The machine starts saying "an item has been removed from the bagging area". This is why I do not like to do this. I feel like the stupid machine is harassing me.
When all the groceries are scanned, bagged, and placed in the cart, I pay. The damn machine tells me over and over again to give it cash or a debit card. Finally I managed to shove my $20's in the slot. The whole time this is happening, I'm noticing that there are 7 or 8 people standing around chatting. Some are wearing green shirts and some are wearing blue shirts. One of the blue shirts comes up to me and asks if she can have my receipt. "?"
I look at her, she says for every $20 spent they can turn it in and receive one dollar for the school. I'm thinking..... "come on, I've had a crappy day. First someone picked their nose in my office. Then I was rear-ended by an unlicensed, uninsured, limited english driver. I'm hungry. I've picked out my groceries and now I've had to scan them and bag them myself, while all 8 of you stand around and chit chat, while I'm doing your job."
What I say is "What school?" She tells me the name and then begins to tell me where it is located. I tell her that's ok, yes she can have my receipt, and I hand it to her. She thanks me. And then I ask, "so do I have to scan my own groceries and bag them everytime I come here?" She says sometimes there are people who will scan them at the front registers. I say "I have to tell you, it's a little annoying for me when I have to scan them myself while there are 8 of you standing around chit chatting"
She then tells me that she doesn't work there. Everyone wearing a blue shirt is volunteering for the school to collect receipts. Only the green shirts are employees. "Oh, well then, you don't have to scan my groceries for me". Geeze, is the day over yet?
I think I'm safe here, because I do not believe I've told anyone at work about this blog. And even if I have mentioned it, I'm 99.9% sure I never gave the web address or anything.
Someone is standing in my office, about a foot or so from my desk, and has just handed me paperwork, and is now discussing it. Then he picks his nose.....in the middle of the conversation. Not one of those discrete picks with a tissue....no, full on finger in his fricken nose pick.
This is one of those times when my mouth is saying one thing but my brain is saying something completely different. My brain is saying "Dude, WTF?" "Hello? do you not see me here, looking right at you?", "Are you seriously going to stand there and pick your nose right in front of me?", "And if you get anything out, what the hell are you going to do with it? Leave it here?...... in my office?
This is the same guy who was out sick the previous 2 days. And now he is standing in my office picking his nose......WTF.
No wonder I have this obsession with washing my hands.
And then my day got even more exciting.
Driving home from work I was going to stop at the library. This particular street is in the "downtown" area. It's 2 lanes on either side and not wide enough for left hand turn lanes. I'm in the left lane, as I approach the car ahead of me I see the left blinker on and that he is stopped, waiting to turn left. As I come to a stop I hear the car behind me screeching, trying to stop. I watch in my rear view mirror and cringe at the sound and how fast it looks like she's coming, crap, is the car gonna stop? I ease up on my brakes and roll a foot or two forward just to try to give her more room, but don't want to get too close to the car in front of me so I'm not propelled into him.
And then she hits me.
We turn left into a parking lot and as soon as she gets out of the car she apologizes. She says she will pay for it. I say "Well you have insurance right?" She looks at me and says no. I look at my car, the bumper is pretty messed up (the same bumper that I lovingly protected from getting scratched by those bicycle handle bars that time I stole those bikes (allegedly)), man this is the second time I have been rear-ended in this car. And I tell her that. I tell her it can be pretty expensive. She tells me she knows someone who can fix it. I look at her and think "I have been watching a lot of Peoples Court lately and that never works out well".
I don't really know what to do. If she had insurance we would just exchange information. I feel badly for her because she seems genuinely sorry for what she's done, but that's not going to fix my car. I end up calling the police because I'm thinking I need a report in order to file a claim with my insurance. She asked me several times "please don't do that, they will impound my car". But really....is it my fault she's driving without insurance? And as it turns out without a license? At least she speaks english somewhat.
While waiting for the police to arrive she is talking on her cell phone. I cannot understand what she is saying. She gets into her car and starts writing something down. I start to worry that maybe she is going to just drive off. So I take a picture of her rear license plate (turns out the insurance company loves this...although they would have loved it more if it was a picture of her front bumper with license plate instead). While I'm checking out her rear bumper I see that she has a lot of damage there, so much that even her trunk lid is tweaked. So I start really looking at her vehicle. It is all beat up. Front, back, sides, what has she been doing, playing bumper cars?
The police come, a report is filed, he tells her he cannot let her drive away because she does not have a license. Says that she needs to call someone to come and drive the car for her, otherwise he will have to have it towed.
So here's the deal.....I am licensed. I pay my insurance premiums, have paid them since I purchased my first car. And now my uninsured motorists coverage is going to pay to repair my car. This seems so unfair to me. Why do some of us have to follow the rules and yet others do not? And the consequence for not following the rules in this case is you don't get to drive away from the scene of the accident, you must have a licensed driver come and drive your car for you.
I go to the library and get what I need.
When I leave I realize I am very hungry. I was planning on going to the store after the library, but now it's late and I really don't want to go. I run through the options.....decide the last thing I want is fast food. I see "Fresh And Easy" and decide maybe I can just do a little grocery shopping.
I choose a few things and then go to the register. And then I remember why I don't come to this store. You have to scan your own groceries and bag them. Crap. I scan my groceries, it take a long time because unlike the trained professionals I do not know where all the bar codes are and I have to search for each one, scan the item, put it in the bag. When the bag is full I remove it and place it in the cart. The machine starts saying "an item has been removed from the bagging area". This is why I do not like to do this. I feel like the stupid machine is harassing me.
When all the groceries are scanned, bagged, and placed in the cart, I pay. The damn machine tells me over and over again to give it cash or a debit card. Finally I managed to shove my $20's in the slot. The whole time this is happening, I'm noticing that there are 7 or 8 people standing around chatting. Some are wearing green shirts and some are wearing blue shirts. One of the blue shirts comes up to me and asks if she can have my receipt. "?"
I look at her, she says for every $20 spent they can turn it in and receive one dollar for the school. I'm thinking..... "come on, I've had a crappy day. First someone picked their nose in my office. Then I was rear-ended by an unlicensed, uninsured, limited english driver. I'm hungry. I've picked out my groceries and now I've had to scan them and bag them myself, while all 8 of you stand around and chit chat, while I'm doing your job."
What I say is "What school?" She tells me the name and then begins to tell me where it is located. I tell her that's ok, yes she can have my receipt, and I hand it to her. She thanks me. And then I ask, "so do I have to scan my own groceries and bag them everytime I come here?" She says sometimes there are people who will scan them at the front registers. I say "I have to tell you, it's a little annoying for me when I have to scan them myself while there are 8 of you standing around chit chatting"
She then tells me that she doesn't work there. Everyone wearing a blue shirt is volunteering for the school to collect receipts. Only the green shirts are employees. "Oh, well then, you don't have to scan my groceries for me". Geeze, is the day over yet?
Sunday, October 16, 2011
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