Let the signage commence!

This is what gave me the idea for my project – I pass by this pretty often and am always delighted/amused by the elaborate sign for an auto seat cover replacement place (they also do boats).

1 comment April 11, 2008

scared straight

I have had one hell of a day.  It actually started last night, with the dog pacing, pacing, pacing, from about 1-2 am because of the thunderstorm.  So I woke up late (I don’t even remember if I set the alarm) but still managed to get out of the house on time and set off on the highway to get to work, which I knew would be busy because we’ve got both the elections and tax preparations going on this morning.  Unfortunately, as I puttered down the highway under more rain, my windshield wipers stopped, mid-wipe.  I should say that this happened before, last month or the month before, maybe, but it wasn’t so much raining then as it was just a dirty windshield, so I didn’t exactly deal with it like I should have.  But, now that it is actually raining, I didn’t have a lot of choice.  I got off the highway and went to call work to tell them I’d be late, only to realize that my phone had been shut off sometime in the last 24 hours because they need my money.   SO, there I am, in a part of town that I’m not totally familiar with, wipers paralyzed and no way to call anybody to tell them anything.  I can’t even just pay the bill over the phone because my account is jenky for some reason and the automated system won’t take my money.

So I get back to an area I know and for some reason my wipers start working again.  But the forecast says rain on and off all day, and I sure as hell don’t want to be driving back from work, in the dark and in the rain, and suddenly they stop again, so I go to a place I’ve taken my car before.  They tell me they don’t have the schematics for my car and suggest I go to a dealership.  The guy was nice, though, and let me use the phone to call my work.  THEN I went to the dealership way far south and sat there for about 3 hours, after being warned that a) if they were currently working they might not be able to figure out what’s wrong, and b) the diagnostic test is bare minimum 100 dollars.  After the 3 hours it turned out they figured out and fixed the problem and charged me the 100 dollars, no more, no less.  It was so frustrating though, sitting there, not able to call my dad for reassurance that I was doing the right thing, so I had to deal with this phone situation, another thing I’ve been pushing to the side.  So now I have a new contract, a new phone, and a new number and hopefully I won’t have to deal with the phone issues for awhile.

By the way, I did not get the job that I was wishing for.  Which is sad.  Apparently I was practically a shoe-in until they interviewed this mysterious outside person who shocked and awed them.  I really just wish that one of the interviewers hadn’t been going around telling people (like my boss’ boss) that she was 98% sure I’d be the one – it got my hopes up way too high.

3 comments February 5, 2008

New Year, New Stuff

Time for a list of things to do and be for the coming year:

HEALTHY:  This means going to the doctors I’ve been putting off like a) an optometrist, because I’m fairly certain I should be wearing glasses at least some of the time, b) a dentist, because I probably don’t need to be wearing these retainers that I’ve had in there since I got my braces off, and c) an orthopedic guy, because ever since the 1/2 marathon my knee has been jacked up whenever I run, which has resulted in me being lazy and my butt increasing in circumference.  I’ve been putting off these things because I don’t know how much they’re going to cost, but it’s time to suck it up and deal with them.

A BETTER FRIEND: To my family and friends, because I completely suck at phone calls.  I’m just bad.  And I want to be better, because there’s people out there that I love and miss, and they may have no idea because I don’t call and tell them that.

CRAZY ABOUT MY JOB: I put in for a different position at work, one in collection development that I think would be so rad.  I told my boss I was going to bid on the job, and she wished me well and said “well, you’ve lasted longer than most white folks here.”  Which kind of made me feel like crap, like I’ve gone and lived up to her low expectations.  But it’s not about leaving where I am, it’s about doing something I actually want to be doing, and I’m really very sure I don’t want to be a manager.  I can’t take the constant vigilance that it requires – you relax for one second and the punks start to think they can take over again.

So those are some pretty big goals.  Wish me luck.

2 comments January 2, 2008

add this to my title

along with my many other accomplishments, you may now add “bird fighter” to the list.  i say this because tonight marks not the first, but SECOND time i have had to wrangle what i think is perhaps the very same wren out of my damn house.  this one took longer than the first, because the bird found the perfect hiding spot, namely my closet.  so who knows how many of my clothing items he/she has pooped on.

many of you know that i am not fond of birds.  i mean, eagles and such are very pretty and interesting, but only squirrels creep me out more than a fluttery bird (and not by much).  you never know which way they are going to go, all jumpy and twitchy.  my throat is a little sore right now – so now i have to be concerned that the damn bird might have given me bird flu as well.

and i really do not understand why this bird comes in ONLY when i am the only one home and the only one to deal with the thing.  the dog is no use at all – she just kind of looks and moves on.  so there i am, with my swiffer sweeper and my novelty hockey helmet, cursing the bird as i chase it around the place, crashing into windows and doors (the bird, not myself).

Add a comment November 30, 2007

A Plain St. Paul

I am here to tell you that sometimes newness is not all beer and roses.  Sometimes it’s just something you haven’t tried before.  Like the St. Paul.

I found out about the St. Paul from my library coworkers the other day.  A couple of them had gotten Chinese from a nearby restaurant, and I must have looked puzzled when they caught me staring at the sandwich one of them pulled out of the bag.  They explained the sandwich, and how it’s ‘probably’ just a St. Louis thing.  I would say definitely. 

And the thing that surprised me was that it’s not an advertised local specialty.  Chicago can’t shut up about it’s pizza and hot dogs.  Memphis will tell you all day about the dry rub.  You can’t walk five feet without someone shoving a po’boy in your face in New Orleans.  But St. Louis is keeping the St. Paul a secret.  And I’m here to blab it.

Ingredients:

2-Slices White Bread, the squishy kind

1-Egg Foo Young Style Patty (which you can get with pork, shrimp, veg, chicken, beef, or plain)

And of course the condiments: lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayonnaise. 

So we got some greasy Chinese food from the place down the street for lunch today.  I have to say that I was fascinated by the whole idea and absolutely had to order myself a plain St. Paul.  The verdict: not terrible.  The mayonnaise was kind of a shock though. 

So here it is, with a side of veg fried rice:

2 comments July 1, 2006