Monday, January 28, 2013

Escape to Paradise

I’ve filed my 2012 tax return so hopefully my refund will find its way to the bank soon although the IRS apparently doesn’t start looking at returns until Wednesday.  I can’t wait to buy my tickets, it’s been so long since I’ve seen my husband it’s almost more than I can bear.  I found something cool this weekend at Target that we can use for Ashley to sleep on in Mexico since we won’t have a bed for her.  It’s called an EZ bed, and it’s basically an air mattress with a fitted sheet that has a comforter attached to it.  It has horrible reviews, but as long as the thing holds air for 2 weeks it’ll have been well worth the $15 bucks I spent.  It’s really kind of cute.



Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Just give me a push

I am often amused by the males of our species and today I witnessed something that ranks pretty high on the usual scale.  I was walking back to my desk from the kitchen, minding my own business, when I walked past a window and became engrossed in the drama unfolding in our parking lot.  Exterior scene, nearly empty parking lot at mid-day.  A scruffy-looking man in his mid 20’s and his car, a Honda hatchback that has seen better decades, is visible through the window.  It appears that he is having car trouble.  Enter the curious employee.

‘Scruffy’ had the door on his car open and was pushing the disabled vehicle across the parking lot.  The end destination was apparently the very busy street right in front of the building.  He pushed the car into the street, jumped in the driver’s side seat and attempted to start the car.  When nothing happened Scruffy seemed more concerned that the engine still wouldn’t turn over instead of the amount of traffic whizzing by mere inches from his bumper.  After wildly gesturing his frustration at the willfulness his car was demonstrating for one and all, Scruffy got out to push the car back into the parking lot.  It was at this time a male coworker noticed the disabled vehicle and rushed over the help push the car back into the parking lot.  After a few moments of discussion, Scruffy and his new apprentice pushed the car across the parking lot and back into the street.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Good Day/Bad Day Routine

I hate to say it but this whole good day/bad day routine is getting old really fast.  One day will be really good and many good things will happen, the next day an equal amount of bad things will happen and make me want to cry.  Today has been a bad day.  This morning my car attempted to go on strike by almost not starting, but it gave in to my demands easily.  I managed to get Ashley to Preschool without incident and make my way to work.  Since my headlights come on automatically the only reason I use the switch is to see my gauges on the dashboard.  Since in the past two years I have required a jump-start approximately five times, I try my hardest to check the status of my headlight each and every time I get out of the car.  My car, a German import that inspires an episode of rage each time I think of how much I’ve spent keeping it running, does not have a signal indicating that you left the lights on.  So you see I need to think about it as I get out of the car which can be difficult when it’s no longer dark enough to need my lights when I pull into the parking lot.

I’m sure you guessed by now that I left my headlights on and drained my battery today.  My battery was dead with not enough juice to use my remote to unlock the doors, so I went back inside and got the only supervisor who was still in the building. She came outside with me and we got down to the business getting my car started, but unfortunately her car just wasn't warm enough to jump-start my car in the balmy 11 degree (fahrenheit) weather we enjoy during the winter here on the frozen tundra.  Defeated by the dastardly car battery, I went back in the building to call my mom for help.  We have a new group of cleaners in our building, so when one of them heard about my problem, they offered to use their van to try jumping my car.  We went outside and got the vehicles hooked up, at which point I apparently set my keys on the driver’s side seat and shut the door.  My car has a ‘feature’ where if you use the fob to unlock your car, the doors will relock after 30 seconds.  This irritates me to no end because I have left my door open to run back in the house for my lunch bag, the doors relocked, I got back in the car without thinking about it and had the alarm blaring when I turned the key in the ignition.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Home and Hearth

I’m alive and its Friday, which means the next two days, will be spent mostly at home doing laundry.  @#^%!  I’m sure I’m over-reacting, right?  I mean I do get time to myself, granted I’m never awake to enjoy it, but that counts for something right?  I want what my mom wants, some quiet time where I can sit and read a book should I so desire without interruption.  I’m seriously considering getting a hotel room for me and Ashley to have a mini-vacation.  We could have French toast for breakfast, a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, and popcorn with a movie; if it came with a Jacuzzi tub, a bodice-ripper romance novel, and a complimentary hour of child-care it would be a restorative dream come true.

I need a little escape, but I can’t afford that little bit of relief, especially now.  My mom said something on Tuesday that I have never heard before, “I went to go put gas in my car and I wasn’t sure if my check would bounce.”  My mom may have spoken of financial hardship in the past, but never like this.  She’s spending three times what she normally did for groceries that don’t last half as long as before.  My brother has yet to pay her the rent he’d promised and they aren’t helping much beyond using the WIC coupons that Carol has.  The electricity bill is through the roof just like the other utilities and my brother’s main concern seems to be where he’ll find his next economy-size bottle of Bacardi and does it come with a complimentary can of Kodiak (chewing tobacco).  I just doubled my rent payment because I need to do something, anything, to help out.  I’m also going to start extending my exercise schedule after working at FedEx so I can shower at the YMCA 5 days or more a week.

I’m putting an immediate halt on all unnecessary spending and I’m counting the days until I can file my 2012 tax return.  I won’t get as much back as I have in other years, but I will get something.  I just hope that something is enough for 2 tickets to paradise for me and my favorite girl.



“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads.  Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.”
Rosalia De Castro



Ciao

Monday, January 7, 2013

Remember When

I was driving on the same route I take to my full-time job Monday through Friday when I was assaulted by memories.  It was so painful that I thought about filing charges, but the police would think I've lost my mind.  I've driven that same stretch of highway so many times since Alberto left that I couldn't possibly count.  The memory itself was probably triggered by the fact something appears to be wrong with my car yet again, big surprise, but the incident that came to mind is from about 7 years ago...

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Open Enrollment

Today I received paperwork to enroll Ashley in Kindergarten.  I was excited, then sad, and now I'm just a mess.  I'm just so angry and depressed that I want to hide in my room for the next week and a half.  Alberto has missed out on every single milestone in the life of our daughter; her first smile, haircut, tooth, steps, day of preschool...  EVERY.  SINGLE.  MILESTONE.  Now I get to enroll her in kindergarten, alone, as I have been every other time something big has happened.  So today I feel bitter, and no quantity of sugar-coated Hallmark sympathy cards from Wal-Mart is going to change that.