5 on Friday

1. What natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunami, volcanoes, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes/typhoons/cyclones, floods, landslides, etc) is your area prone to?
I live in an area more prone to tornadoes, floods, and snow/ice storms.
2. What natural disasters have you experienced firsthand?
I've been in tornados (no tornado hit my house or anything, but I've been close enough the funnel cloud was visible over the horizon),  and some very minor earthquakes-- but nothing to cause damage, just feel mild shaking. (I actually slept through  them!). I've also been in a few blizzard/ice storm situations, which were probably the most personally inconvenient of all of these.
3. Have you ever been evacuated due to a natural disaster?
No.
4. Have you made/do you make any special preparations in case of natural disaster where you live?
Not much besides some bottled water, first aid kit, etc.. Come to think of it I should probably keep some cash  as well.
5. What type of natural disaster scares you the most?
Seismic disasters (earthquakes, tsunami, volcanoes) because there is no reliable or timely way to predict them. Storms generally come with advance notice, even if it's only enough time to get into a basement after hearing a tornado warning siren, and floods and fires usually have contributing factors that at least give a community warning they could be possible in the near future. It's stressful to know that earthquakes, etc, don't have a season and can occur at any time of day in any weather.

Perspective

Sometimes when I get down about my life, I have to stop and remember the past. Like some of the bad jobs I’ve had over the years. For instance, when I was in high school, I worked at this dry cleaner and laundry. The cleaning was done on site, and it was like a  furnace in the summer. I’ll probably end up posting about this place again. It was full of blog fodder.

It didn’t take me long working at this place to figure out that anytime somebody brought in something in a bag, it was bad news. Like Spidey sense, the Vomit Alert would sound, and that was the best case scenario. One time a guy came waltzing in who had $hit not one, but FIVE pair of pants. (What was the thought process there? “Oh, I $hit my pants. Oh, I $hit another pair. Oops, there’s the third…” )

And those old Wisk ads about ring around the collar? That’s real. It was our job to scrub it out. And I’m telling you, there are a lot of greasy bastards walking around in dress shirts.
We also had to check the pockets of all trousers. Once, I found tiny, frilly panties in the pants pocket of a bible beating pastor--married to a large and formidable woman. Generally, condoms were commonplace. Tissues, loose change, phone numbers, and Certs. And one day, there was a little plastic hand giving the finger.

Now, the trouser press was this huge, metal machine that had what looked like a foam ass on it. The pants would be hitched over the foam ass, and steam would blast through them, inflating them like a balloon. The press was operated by a creepy little guy, named Frank, who guarded this job with his life. He had a ridiculously pronounced nervous twitch that would go out of control when he was agitated, his left shoulder jolting upward. One day Frank arrived at work to find the plastic hand giving the finger firmly wedged between the cheeks of his foam ass. He flew into a rage, his shoulder firing into the air. Somebody had messed with his ass, and he vowed that we would all pay the price. For weeks, many articles of clothing would go missing, and as an irate customer chewed us out, Frank would be off to the side with his ass, chuckling and twitching.

So, when I find myself facing frustrations, I have to stop and think of the good old days. Oh, how I don’t miss them.

Safe 2 Pee

The wonder Google has given  me an interesting bit of knowledge. There is an actual  site dedicated to bathrooms across America where it is safe for all to pee. It's geared toward the transgendered crowd, looking to avoid the bathroom hassle. I’ve never had to think about it, but that is probably quite a dilemma. I’m amazed at the stuff I don’t know about because it’s not part of my daily experience. Who knew?

PeePlaces 

  Do I have too much time on my hands? 

Good Things

Fear less, hope more;
Whine less, breathe more;
Talk less, say more;
Hate less, love more;
And all good things are yours."
-Swedish Proverb

Happy Birthday Becca

WTH

Over the Labor Day weekend a few hundred kids broke into the vacation home of a former Patriots player. They partied hard and caused tens of thousands of dollars damage. Then the little dummies posted photos on twitter and instagram.
The owner went ballistic, created a website and started posting pictures of the damage, as well as the tweets from some of the partygoers -- and those tweets ID'd the kids. He said there was evidence of drugs at the party including crack and meth. And a river of alcohol.
Now the parents are furious and are threatening to sue him because their poor widdle kids have been exposed and it may hurt their chance to get into college. Some say their poor delinquents are being harassed at school.
I say the kids need to be hauled over to the party scene and be forced to clean it up. Pay for the damage and apologize to the owner. Along with some public service. Maybe in a drug rehab or working with homeless.
What the heck ever happened to personal responsibility?
When did you stop having to answer for your mistakes?
What is wrong with these parents?
How will these kids turn out if the lesson is not taking responsibility for your actions?
Where is this country headed with parents like this ?
Here is a link to his website: HERE

5 on Friday

1) What is your favorite mode of travel? (Car, train, plane, etc).  Car. I get the most sense of having traveled whatever distance we've gone that way, and I have the most control in what I do along the way. But flying is fine, too. I just hate being stuck next to some chatterbox or some hyperactive kid.

2) Where is the northernmost place you've traveled? I have been several places in Canada. The southernmost? Key West

3) What is the last place you visited for the first time? San Diego.

4) Of all the places you've traveled, which is your favorite? I can't decide! I'll go with Key West Or Myrtle Beach Or California.
 
5) Where would you most like to travel to next? Australia and Alaska

Insomnia how I hate you.

Problems

I live in a big old two story house. It was, in fact, the town hotel in its hey day.  It is in the county historical registry and was built in the 1860’s.  There is a lot of history in these 4 walls for sure.  It sat downtown, about 3 blocks east of here, and was moved to this location on logs pulled by horses.  There are 5 large rooms down and 4 large rooms and a very large wide hallway up.  The up rooms are 3 bedrooms and a bathroom with the little dressing room converted to a laundry room . It just made sense when all my boys were at home.  The down rooms are a very large living room with open stairway, formal dining room, kitchen, den and sun room with a half bath. It all sits on a full basement.
Now that you have an idea of my set up. Here is my problem
I have COPD, I am on oxygen 24/7 and since it is a degenerative disease it is getting very hard to navigate the stairs.  Then there is my stubbornness, my pride and my shame of my condition.  I do manage to get up and down the stairs by sitting and resting every few steps but it is exhausting.  I am finally coming to the realization that it is stupid for me to stress my body, my energy and my mind by being proud and stubborn.  So a few weeks ago I started checking eBay and Craig's list for a stair lift.  You know those handy little chairs you sit in and it safely takes you up or down the steps.  Well I found one in Waterloo but it was on the wrong side of the steps. More searching turned up one that sounded perfect in Noblesville.  With out going into detail I will just say it did not work out after wasting 2 days of gas and time.
Yesterday I ordered one. It will be custom fit and delivered  to my door in 3 to 5 business days. 
Since I am on disability I had hoped that Medicare would help pay for it.  It does not. They say it is a luxury. But they will get me a scooter. HA. It is a big expense for me, but it will allow me to remain in my home for a good long time I hope. Life is looking up.

5 on Friday

1. Are you a likeable person?
According to who? If you are kind and decent to me, I am generally kind and decent to you, and in most cases that makes me likeable. If you are honest, even if what you say hurts me, I treat you with respect, which also makes me likeable. If you need help that I feel I can provide, I do it, which also makes me likeable. If you are dishonest, mean for no reason, selfish and greedy, abuse my good graces, or are intentionally hurtful to me or someone I love, watch out.


2. What do you feel is your worst personality trait?
I am stubborn. This is a stumbling block in many of my relationships. There are many things I am utterly inflexible about - often with good (to me) reason - but it can ruin otherwise good relationships
 
3. What is your best personality trait?
I am stubborn. This is a good thing in many of my relationships. If I wasn't so intent on keeping in touch with people I value, my best friend would probably be a faint memory, and I'd occasionally wonder where they are, having no real idea what happened to them.
 
4. Are you a social person or more of a loner?
I'm an introvert; I do like being around people when I'm prepared to be around them, but I need regular alone time like I need food or sleep. I tend to be a loner, preferring solitude to the tediousness of the presence of someone I don't really like. I'm not the type to go out just to be with people, and I rarely get lonely. There are only a handful of people whose presence is a consistently an improvement on solitude. One of the best things about the internet is the ability to have company and still be alone. 
 
5. If someone you respect points out a flaw, do you work on changing it or do you expect them to accept you as you are?
It depends upon the source, but if someone I respect sits me down and says, "I noticed this thing about you and you really should think about it", I will. It depends on the flaw. If it's something that I agree is a problem, I'll work on it, or at least in contexts where I understand it to be a problem. If it's something that I think they are being overly harsh and nitpicky about, I ignore them.

Never Forget 09.11.2001

R.I.P. Barley

Best dog ever

5 on Friday

1. Describe a recurring dream you have and what you think it means. I rarely dream, actually. Last night I had the only kind of dream that I usually have, where everything I’ve been thinking about turns into one huge conglomeration: nuns, Notre Dame, pilgrimages, the Pope. It was a weird one.
2. What do you like to daydream about? I’m not a huge daydreamer. I’m not sure I ever have.
3. What’s your scariest dream you can remember? I dreamt once about being attacked by spiders and woke up screaming. Not a good night.
4. What would be a “dream come true” for you? There are many things that would be a dream come true, the first thing that comes to my mind is better health
5. Best dream you’ve ever had: I dream so rarely and so strangely that I can’t say any of them has ever been particularly enjoyable.

We could learn from this