Characters, food, weather...
Jun. 22nd, 2008 04:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altarflameI had to meet a termite guy over at the new house this morning for an estimate on tenting. While we were there, the lawn guy I was also supposed to call happened to show up (he lives a couple of houses away and saw someone was home). Rarely have I seen people that could better be described as "characters".
The termite guy had his Terminex polo's collar turned up, copious oversized gold jewelry on, and was an Italian named Tony. If you can hear the following in his intense Sopranos voice, it will be better:
"Listen, I can't compete with Shield, but we ain't Shield, see? Terminex is Terminex, not Shield, Terminex has been in business since 1920, Terminex is in every state, every city, we're nationwide. Shield wasn't around in 1920. Once that tent comes off, what have you got but a guarantee? We can do a guarantee - " etc.
While he was measuring my house, Al the Lawn Guy pulled in. I'd only previously heard of Al from Grant, so I just pictured him as some generic faceless sort of young guy with a lawn business. Al is actually a retired man with a beer in his hand, a large German Shepard hanging out of the back window of his old car, and his shirt unbuttoned down to his belly button to show his extremely copious silver body hair. He talks in what I'll call "loud going-deaf guy voice", and the first thing he wanted was to know if he could get an advance of $20 or so in cash because he needed gas. When Mr Tony Terminex walked up with the estimate papers filled out and started to talk to me, Al actually got between us and (as is his default) yelled, "Hey, I was here first, you mind waiting for our business to be over here?" He apologized when I quickly stepped in and said Tony was actually there first, but for a second there I thought they were going to scrap on my porch. Apparently the yard work really is done well.
Ananda, Aaron and I sat around in the barren tv-room-to-be after they had gone, hungry, thinking how nice it would be to call room service like at the Westin. The Westin Diplomat, with it's maids, and pools, and beeeeeeeeeeeeds.....
Perk: I was wearing a brand new outfit that I feel good in.
We ended up going through Farm Stores (drive thru convenience store) for lunchables and waters - not exactly the brunch of champions but it was getting desperate - on our way to BJ's.
Where I ran into another, uh, character.
We have this...religious group...down here...that I know through a variety of connections both past and present, that is relocating out of Florida en masse to avoid a statewide, devastating flood that their leader has been predicting for awhile now. I've only heard this second-hand through the aforementioned connections; it's big news in a small town when a major place is going out of business because the owners are fleeing from impending doom. But then today I run into this nice middle aged lady who is a part of that group and I used to see in their business...
"Oh hi! Oh look at you, are these all yours now?! Wow, you look like such a great mom, the kids are so beautiful - they're going to need a good mom to make them smart for this future we're expecting. I hope you're teaching them CPR, and lots of first aid. They're going to need a lot of CPR and first aid."
*blink blink*
"There aren't going to be any ways out of this, I've been dreaming about it. We're trying to get out as soon as we can, it's hard to sell ______ with the economy the way it is now, as soon as we offered it up the market crashed and it could be any day, we're really worried - the dreams, you really need the CPR, these floods are going to be so severe..."
I noticed Ananda starting to look nervous and extricated myself...she was actually yelling after us as we walked off, but there was just no. polite. way to get out of this conversation - I tried. *sigh*
We got a lot of good stuff, including a bonsai to keep on the dining table. I'm tired of flowers dying. And it's good to have a meal plan for the next few days again, so we don't get stuck eating lunchables from Farm Stores. It's really satisfying, shopping at BJ's and getting bulk so it actually lasts a few days, I LOVE how they're starting to stock a lot of Kashi and Nature Valley snacks and more organics (eggs, milk, yogurt and some produce and juice regularly!) We quit shopping there altogether for about a year and a half because we just couldn't buy anything we'd normally buy there. Not so anymore.
So. Treats in the BJ's parking lot (600 lb gorilla ice cream sandwiches between cookies - that brand is incredible all natural stuff, and so tasty, the ice cream sandwiches are even handmade). Came home and all helped unloading and then cleaning out the van, including vaccuming, it was a big job. Kids watched a movie with Patrice and Nadia, who had shown up, and I made shrimp and lobster we had bought scampi style in the oven for the boys and I, while Elise and Ananda devoured oversized packages of blackberries and blueberries. I discovered a new LJ I really like -![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lapsedmodernist. She's more liberal than I am, only one baby, and has (to me) cryptic and uninteresting userinfor, but a LOT is public and her photography is amazing. And we share a certain big business angst, and she is just really interesting all around, with some hilarious comics, good videos, interesting articles, all that jazz. Answered LJ comments, talked on the phone with my sister, got Elise down for a nap, and then -
Went to Publix (still in new outfit I feel good about!) for the rest of my grocery list all by myself, while Grant Sr sat with the kids. This is a weird new thing. He doesn't mind at all and actually acts kind of offended that it took me so long to "allow", but I really didn't want to add to the load since he and Teresa always have Mindy's kids. It just seemed like he was doing enough for us without childcare. Though Isaac responds pretty well to him and the rest of them are easy - when I came back he was smoking on the front porch with the door cracked so he could peak through at where they were all playing. There were only minor characters at Publix; free sample ladies hocking wines, all over the store, and my cashier who asked me if I'd remembered to buy water.
"What?"
"Did you remember to buy water, I said?"
"Um, no...Is there a hurricane out there?"
"Oh no! I just always try to remind customers of things they might have forgotten, because I usually forget something."
*speechless*
As soon as I walked back in the door and started putting THOSE groceries away, cue screaming. Ananda let Jake up on her bunk, Isaac got mad and pulled Jake down from the top bunk by his leg, laughed at his misfortune, and then ran out to tell me Jake was hurt with a big grin. *deep breath* This is the third incident I can recall where Isaac has actually intentionally harmed Jake in a way that could have ultimately resulted in death, if not serious injury. The first time he lept onto his belly with an angry face, knees first, when Jake was a little baby. The second time, he fed him about half of a bottle of homeopathics one by one until we found him and flipped. I'm choosing not to count malicious hockey-stick to the head incidences. Jake is alright, you can see some small marks on his lower back but he calmed quickly...but I had to call my mother for moral support and it was one of those times that I had to send Isaac to his bed mainly to get him out of my sight before I beat him senseless. Since then G and I have had "stern talks" with him and are trying to collaborate on some kind of lasting punishment - he still just seems to think it's funny that Jake fell and got hurt, he can't even manage shame at his own actions, let alone empathy :/
Anyway...we packed up a little bag and I put my hair up with my cool scarf and we started walking to Spellbound Books for Open Mic night. Last night was Game Night and I saw my old friend/acquaintance Daniella, who was newly blond and newly Christian and said she was going to be there to sing a song she wrote about God and her daughter. Shaun was supposed to be coming to play, too, and my sister was talking about going. So off we walked, and it was feeling good to walk far even though the sky was half gray...right up until we ended up stranded under the roof of my old OB while a massive thunderstorm raged around us. For half an hour. It's the outdoor roof, the office was closed (Thank God, I so don't want to deal with anyone there). I called Shaun and Laura to see if either was close enough to come pick up my keys from me and drive my van over, but neither were, so we waited for Grant to get there - which wasn't too bad, it was around the time he gets off. They're good at amusing themselves, anyway, and so I took some pictures.
They made up a game of "holding back" and then rushing forward, arms outstretched, to shove the clouds away, while I called people.
Ok, I swear she started this as soon as I started taking the picture and I made her quit right after the flash. I'm glad I have it on record, though, because ANYTIME THERE IS A PUDDLE ANYWHERE, SHE WANTS TO DO THIS. And there are a lot of puddles around here.
Grant was in no mood for chasing toddlers around a bookstore and I was in no mood for going home, so we went up to Target. Took back some things I needed to and got a couple of things I'd been meaning to. The way there and back was a long conversation about how frustrating it is to know there is no break for me, unless *I* break - if I'm hospitalized for surgery, help will materialize. Otherwise - ? How he feels the same way. If I'm at Publix shopping by myself, that's still an errand I don't even feel like running, with my cell in my purse in case anything happens, and I rush the whole time to get back soon. There is no REAL break, there's no way to simply not be a mother for an hour. How bizarre it is to love each child so much and enjoy being with them so much, and feel so blessed and laugh at their antics and hug them everyday, and still feel like you're drowning in the undertow even as you're sad that it goes by so quickly. Balance, I guess, highs and lows...How are we supposed to raise all of them well, give them everything they deserve, and find time for me, and time for him, and time for us as a couple, and do everything that needs to be done on the house and make all the money that needs to be made, and keep this house clean...it's interesting to me that everything can't happen at once, it's simply impossible, and yet the days continue to pass and we find our way through - it's interesting to analyze and figure out where our priorities lie, and what falls by the wayside. G and I definitely don't sleep enough, it's never clean enough, we're absolutely disgusting about appointments, meetings and coorespondence outside the house. There is always reading and nursing and conversation and patience, there is usually very good food and plenty of affection.
I'm sure I had more to say but it's also almost four am - this is the first time I've seen this time in almost a week, I've been doing really well with going to bed earlier...
The termite guy had his Terminex polo's collar turned up, copious oversized gold jewelry on, and was an Italian named Tony. If you can hear the following in his intense Sopranos voice, it will be better:
"Listen, I can't compete with Shield, but we ain't Shield, see? Terminex is Terminex, not Shield, Terminex has been in business since 1920, Terminex is in every state, every city, we're nationwide. Shield wasn't around in 1920. Once that tent comes off, what have you got but a guarantee? We can do a guarantee - " etc.
While he was measuring my house, Al the Lawn Guy pulled in. I'd only previously heard of Al from Grant, so I just pictured him as some generic faceless sort of young guy with a lawn business. Al is actually a retired man with a beer in his hand, a large German Shepard hanging out of the back window of his old car, and his shirt unbuttoned down to his belly button to show his extremely copious silver body hair. He talks in what I'll call "loud going-deaf guy voice", and the first thing he wanted was to know if he could get an advance of $20 or so in cash because he needed gas. When Mr Tony Terminex walked up with the estimate papers filled out and started to talk to me, Al actually got between us and (as is his default) yelled, "Hey, I was here first, you mind waiting for our business to be over here?" He apologized when I quickly stepped in and said Tony was actually there first, but for a second there I thought they were going to scrap on my porch. Apparently the yard work really is done well.
Ananda, Aaron and I sat around in the barren tv-room-to-be after they had gone, hungry, thinking how nice it would be to call room service like at the Westin. The Westin Diplomat, with it's maids, and pools, and beeeeeeeeeeeeds.....
Perk: I was wearing a brand new outfit that I feel good in.
We ended up going through Farm Stores (drive thru convenience store) for lunchables and waters - not exactly the brunch of champions but it was getting desperate - on our way to BJ's.
Where I ran into another, uh, character.
We have this...religious group...down here...that I know through a variety of connections both past and present, that is relocating out of Florida en masse to avoid a statewide, devastating flood that their leader has been predicting for awhile now. I've only heard this second-hand through the aforementioned connections; it's big news in a small town when a major place is going out of business because the owners are fleeing from impending doom. But then today I run into this nice middle aged lady who is a part of that group and I used to see in their business...
"Oh hi! Oh look at you, are these all yours now?! Wow, you look like such a great mom, the kids are so beautiful - they're going to need a good mom to make them smart for this future we're expecting. I hope you're teaching them CPR, and lots of first aid. They're going to need a lot of CPR and first aid."
*blink blink*
"There aren't going to be any ways out of this, I've been dreaming about it. We're trying to get out as soon as we can, it's hard to sell ______ with the economy the way it is now, as soon as we offered it up the market crashed and it could be any day, we're really worried - the dreams, you really need the CPR, these floods are going to be so severe..."
I noticed Ananda starting to look nervous and extricated myself...she was actually yelling after us as we walked off, but there was just no. polite. way to get out of this conversation - I tried. *sigh*
We got a lot of good stuff, including a bonsai to keep on the dining table. I'm tired of flowers dying. And it's good to have a meal plan for the next few days again, so we don't get stuck eating lunchables from Farm Stores. It's really satisfying, shopping at BJ's and getting bulk so it actually lasts a few days, I LOVE how they're starting to stock a lot of Kashi and Nature Valley snacks and more organics (eggs, milk, yogurt and some produce and juice regularly!) We quit shopping there altogether for about a year and a half because we just couldn't buy anything we'd normally buy there. Not so anymore.
So. Treats in the BJ's parking lot (600 lb gorilla ice cream sandwiches between cookies - that brand is incredible all natural stuff, and so tasty, the ice cream sandwiches are even handmade). Came home and all helped unloading and then cleaning out the van, including vaccuming, it was a big job. Kids watched a movie with Patrice and Nadia, who had shown up, and I made shrimp and lobster we had bought scampi style in the oven for the boys and I, while Elise and Ananda devoured oversized packages of blackberries and blueberries. I discovered a new LJ I really like -
lapsedmodernist. She's more liberal than I am, only one baby, and has (to me) cryptic and uninteresting userinfor, but a LOT is public and her photography is amazing. And we share a certain big business angst, and she is just really interesting all around, with some hilarious comics, good videos, interesting articles, all that jazz. Answered LJ comments, talked on the phone with my sister, got Elise down for a nap, and then - Went to Publix (still in new outfit I feel good about!) for the rest of my grocery list all by myself, while Grant Sr sat with the kids. This is a weird new thing. He doesn't mind at all and actually acts kind of offended that it took me so long to "allow", but I really didn't want to add to the load since he and Teresa always have Mindy's kids. It just seemed like he was doing enough for us without childcare. Though Isaac responds pretty well to him and the rest of them are easy - when I came back he was smoking on the front porch with the door cracked so he could peak through at where they were all playing. There were only minor characters at Publix; free sample ladies hocking wines, all over the store, and my cashier who asked me if I'd remembered to buy water.
"What?"
"Did you remember to buy water, I said?"
"Um, no...Is there a hurricane out there?"
"Oh no! I just always try to remind customers of things they might have forgotten, because I usually forget something."
*speechless*
As soon as I walked back in the door and started putting THOSE groceries away, cue screaming. Ananda let Jake up on her bunk, Isaac got mad and pulled Jake down from the top bunk by his leg, laughed at his misfortune, and then ran out to tell me Jake was hurt with a big grin. *deep breath* This is the third incident I can recall where Isaac has actually intentionally harmed Jake in a way that could have ultimately resulted in death, if not serious injury. The first time he lept onto his belly with an angry face, knees first, when Jake was a little baby. The second time, he fed him about half of a bottle of homeopathics one by one until we found him and flipped. I'm choosing not to count malicious hockey-stick to the head incidences. Jake is alright, you can see some small marks on his lower back but he calmed quickly...but I had to call my mother for moral support and it was one of those times that I had to send Isaac to his bed mainly to get him out of my sight before I beat him senseless. Since then G and I have had "stern talks" with him and are trying to collaborate on some kind of lasting punishment - he still just seems to think it's funny that Jake fell and got hurt, he can't even manage shame at his own actions, let alone empathy :/
Anyway...we packed up a little bag and I put my hair up with my cool scarf and we started walking to Spellbound Books for Open Mic night. Last night was Game Night and I saw my old friend/acquaintance Daniella, who was newly blond and newly Christian and said she was going to be there to sing a song she wrote about God and her daughter. Shaun was supposed to be coming to play, too, and my sister was talking about going. So off we walked, and it was feeling good to walk far even though the sky was half gray...right up until we ended up stranded under the roof of my old OB while a massive thunderstorm raged around us. For half an hour. It's the outdoor roof, the office was closed (Thank God, I so don't want to deal with anyone there). I called Shaun and Laura to see if either was close enough to come pick up my keys from me and drive my van over, but neither were, so we waited for Grant to get there - which wasn't too bad, it was around the time he gets off. They're good at amusing themselves, anyway, and so I took some pictures.
They made up a game of "holding back" and then rushing forward, arms outstretched, to shove the clouds away, while I called people.
Ok, I swear she started this as soon as I started taking the picture and I made her quit right after the flash. I'm glad I have it on record, though, because ANYTIME THERE IS A PUDDLE ANYWHERE, SHE WANTS TO DO THIS. And there are a lot of puddles around here.
Grant was in no mood for chasing toddlers around a bookstore and I was in no mood for going home, so we went up to Target. Took back some things I needed to and got a couple of things I'd been meaning to. The way there and back was a long conversation about how frustrating it is to know there is no break for me, unless *I* break - if I'm hospitalized for surgery, help will materialize. Otherwise - ? How he feels the same way. If I'm at Publix shopping by myself, that's still an errand I don't even feel like running, with my cell in my purse in case anything happens, and I rush the whole time to get back soon. There is no REAL break, there's no way to simply not be a mother for an hour. How bizarre it is to love each child so much and enjoy being with them so much, and feel so blessed and laugh at their antics and hug them everyday, and still feel like you're drowning in the undertow even as you're sad that it goes by so quickly. Balance, I guess, highs and lows...How are we supposed to raise all of them well, give them everything they deserve, and find time for me, and time for him, and time for us as a couple, and do everything that needs to be done on the house and make all the money that needs to be made, and keep this house clean...it's interesting to me that everything can't happen at once, it's simply impossible, and yet the days continue to pass and we find our way through - it's interesting to analyze and figure out where our priorities lie, and what falls by the wayside. G and I definitely don't sleep enough, it's never clean enough, we're absolutely disgusting about appointments, meetings and coorespondence outside the house. There is always reading and nursing and conversation and patience, there is usually very good food and plenty of affection.
I'm sure I had more to say but it's also almost four am - this is the first time I've seen this time in almost a week, I've been doing really well with going to bed earlier...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-06-22 11:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-23 12:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-26 10:10 pm (UTC)Anyway, yeah, they're going to California, which seems kind of counterintuitive to me if you're worried about floods...they say Texas will be underwater with us. I don't know, man.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 05:39 am (UTC)The preparing and moving, it's apparently a trend. People everywhere are digging in or relocating to places where they can be self sustaining, and preparing for... something. I admit I've got some of the inclinations myself but no money to do it. Perhaps it's the extended wars and the rising prices and the sudden realization that "hey, global warming might be real after all" *rolls eyes*... makes me wonder.