hula hoops and hampster wheels

Right now I'm living in this new world. Everything is now on a spectrum - before and after my dad died.

Funny things like a mounds bar can bring me to tears -- just because it was his favorite. Or today I had to take my car in to get an oil change -- this is something my Dad used to do for me since he knows I hate to wait around.

So I go to Slim's. I've never been there myself but my car is there almost every 45-50 days for it's oil change (yes, I drive that much -- sad isn't it?) But today I had to take it in myself -- last month my mom did this for me -- but she was busy today so voila -- I took a day off of work to hang out with my sister who is in town and my mom made me an appointment.

SO I get to Slim's park my car -- pull the seat back since no one but my sister could possibly sit in the drivers seat with it being pulled all the way forward.

I push it back -- and go inside. There is a older gentleman behind the counter -- his patches on shirt read: Slim's Motor Clinic on one side -- and Slim on the other. I go up to the counter -- say I am here for an oil change appointment and give my name. He's asks if I'm Randy's daughter and proceeds to tell me how sorry he is for my loss -- and that he knows it's hard and that he liked my dad and thought he was a real charachter. I hand over my keys and he says he'll get things started right away.

After sitting and waiting -- he pulls up the file in the computer and asks me what car it is -- I tell him and he wants to know which one -- he has two in his system -- I state the 06 - and that I traded the 04 in on a whim -- he's like that's right your dad said that. After my oil change he puts out his hand to shake -- I shake his hand and say nice to meet you. He said he missed my dad but it's nice to meet me and said how nice it was for him to take care of me by bringing my car in. I smile -- on the verge of tears as I leave.

So with Dave's hectic summer schedule -- weird overnight shifts at work and summer car show madness -- we've been having Sunday date nights. Tonight -- we are going out for dinner and to the IMAX theater to see the new batman movie. I'm excited -- we've been staying in lately -- nesting -- watching tv on the couch - making dinner not going out as much as is bound to happen with any relationship, but tonight -- I'm going to girlify myself -- possibly put on make up and try to do something with my hair to make it cute. My brows and upper lip were waxed yesterday and I feel a little more ambitious to be pretty.



However -- I suggested that I come over a little early -- so we could take a nap together, go out for dinner and then go to the movie -- he was more in favor of plan B --me coming over at 4:30 waking him up from his slumber and going out to dinner. He must really need a nap -- don't want to have a cranky Dave on my hands.



I was then informed that I would be driving, I don't mind really - He puts up with my driving and lack of direction, I prefer to have him drive but he likes to be a passenger once in awhile and I'm okay with that. Ok - so I needed to clean my car up a little bit-- I found lots of random things, a picnic blanket from XYZ Fun day -- which I have yet to blog about -- and several cds and a candy bar wrapper from when I was feeling my blood sugar drop while driving into work -- nothing says good morning like a 3 muskateers or some gummi lifesavers. I wiped up my diet cokes spills that are all over the center cup holders... I"m not very graceful at all let alone with beverages in the car. Dusted if you will the dashboard and doors -- got out the windex and did the mirrors and windows.

Now, It's time to think about what to wear --- right now I'm in this super comfortable -- although not so fashionable blue tee shirt and jeans... I might get a wave of ambition to go to the store and find a new shirt -- although that's probably not going to happen -- I need to pack my overnight bag but my work clothes are still in the dryer -- I think I"ll just slap on some make up and try to fix my hair.

I got a hair cut yesterday -- and it looked fantastic when I left -- and then this morning I tried to replicate that -- and I look more like a poodle than anything. I'm at the weird length -- I can't wear a proper ponytail, my hair is getting curlier -- and the humidity -- well the humidity is making it extra poofy.

Whatever will I do...

So I won't include all the details -- since we have a trip to Chicago coming up and I need to have a good story to tell. But it was worse than expected and I wish I would have had the huztpah to just RSVP -- I'm busy, and send a gift card.

PS. I need a car with cruise control - my poor ankle was swollen last night.Or maybe I'm growing a cankle? The judge and jury are still out on that.

Pss. The baby is cute, and gross -- at the same time. I did hold and coo at the baby and I got to feed it and it didn't puke on me, the baby had the best manners out of the three of them -- shocking but true,

Psss. One thing is for certain --- I am not gun-ho for having a baby and this little trip did prove to be excellent form of birth control. I like the simple things in life -- sleeping through the night, not having to wear a badge of vomit on my shirt, the only butt I need to wipe is my own, yep -- the simple things in life.

Pssss. Also -- her boyfriend is pretty much an A hole and I think that he will be a horrible father and or human being. His name is Chris -- let's just be glad it isn't Kris like that dude from the camping adventure, but yeah -- his braniac idea - was to take the baby new born on a road trip to Boston in the coming weeks - so he could go to a baseball game at Fenway -- cause the tickets on ebay were only $1. Does he understand the premise of ebay?

If you thought she was emotional in the past -- just multiply that by 100 -- yep I should have just mailed a gift card. PS. The long drive, the annoyance of Kate, allcombined drove me to start smoking again -- so I get to start quitting all over again tommorrow. Wish me luck.

So at work -- we have this medicine/first aid cabinet. And a couple weeks ago I was suffering from sever nasal congestion and discomfort. So I decided to use the freebie work stuff until I got myself to walgreens or cub.

Well -- I started taking the drugs as directed - with water, every 4 hours, 2 pink pills. Then the next day - to keep my relief on a more even kilter, I've decided 1 pill every two hours would be the better plan. I keep this up --- and on my way home I start to notice, that I'm not exactly sure how I got to where I was, I notice that I'm leaving my turn signal on an extra long time (which btw is my pet peeve and I rarely do such and unthinkable thing) I chalk it up to several of the other issues at hand: pms, quitting smoking, tiredness, the angles of the moon and anticpation over the recent eclipse, the decrease in caffine in my system the nasal decongestant did not come to mind until --- I met Dave for dinner.

We met at PF Changs and we had a little bit of a wait, and we were talking and I was getting loud, louder than my usual boistrous self, and much more animated, I bit my tongue, I was extra affectionate and extra goofy. I had a fit of laughter, uncontollable , unstoppable laughter --- about nothing, I am amused by everything, I feel drunk. I haven't had anyhting to drink, I've removed diet coke from my diet -- (Now I'm drinking it for the sole purpose of caffine -- I much prefer non- diet sodas now... shocking I know -- but I don't my ass and thighs to expand past the point at which they are so I have to suffer with the horrible taste of diet coke -- anyways.... onward) So we are finally seated and we order our beverages -- Coca Colas, and chicken lettuce wraps and crab wontons for appetizers. We wait, we talk, I'm still a little giggly, Dave thinks this is very amusing.
We order food, we talk, i giggle, we eat, I take a litle pink pill after I'm done eating. He asks me what kind of drugs taking since it's in this bright orange paper. He reads the drug information. Turns out I shouldn't be taking this drug due to a thyroid condition, this warning has been on other things and I haven't really paid much to it, but it makes sense - so I promise to discontinue use.
Dinner ends, Dave walks me to my car. Dave likes to park in the furthet possible spot from the door, so I've parked in what I consider the furthest possible spot -- he has parked in the other direction so it is agreed that I will take him to his car if he walks me to mine.

I drive him to his car and exit the Arbor Lakes twisted roads that lead to shopping. Dave goes his way -- and I go, well I go... the wrong way --- somehow - I get myself turned around, going the wrong way, leaving my turn signal on for I don't know how long, I get myself int a neighborhood that I thought connected to the road I pass on my way to work --- nope it was a similar name, so I drive around a couple blocks a couple times. It's dark and I'm stuck in the inner circles of suburbia purgatory --- where every street is the same name except the lane, ave , ct, circle keep changing. WHY can't it be alphabetical like everywhere else! Finally after a near breakdown -- I notice my turn signal is on and I turn it off. It must have been my lucky switch cause once I turned it off -- I found my way to a road I knew I could cut through to find the road that I know will lead me in the right direction, I'm still a ways from being found-- -so I turn the corner, cross the street, what's this? A roundabout? I didn't know there were roundabouts out here! yielding, yielding, straight and then taking my next right, I find myself -- and continue AND finally I am on the road I know, I am finally found -- I call Dave, tell him I got lost and he talks to me until I'm almost home.

So as mentioned earlier - I had to have my brake switch replaced on my car. But voila I got a car wash out of the trouble --- can you tell a week later? Nope. The good news however - is that it might have motivated me to get it washed on a more frequent basis -- maybe...

However, those drive through car washes -- are not for me, I get dizzy like dinasaur, and nauseus like a hungry hungry hippo who ate too many marbles -- ok i'll stop this analogy; as is getting out of hand...and I'm sure I can picture a few people telling me to shut up already... and I wasn't clever enough to come up with something about Operation or Candyland ---) but none the less the drive through washes -- not for me. I thought they were really cool when I was a kid, but no more. Just the thought of the blue flaps attacking me or even just the hot water swooshing over the windows is too much to handle (ps. I don't like driving in thunderstorms either)
The other alternative --- is to go to a "wash it yourself" place or get the hose out and do it in the driveway. This doesn't appeal to me either for obvious reasons -- #1. I'm too lazy. #2. Yes, I'm too lazy. #3 I know I'm going to end up soaking wet because the Klutziness always rules "not in my favor", you wouldn't want to see me hurt would you? #4. I know as soon as my car is clean, it's going to rain, snow, sleet or I'm going to park in the migratory pattern of ducks, geese, robins, tweety birds, all of birdkind and be covered in flecks and speckles #5 and... if that by chance does not occur, it's going to be bugs and icky things --- and I'd end up angry and needing another car wash -- so as you can see the best possible solution to the problem is to not wash it at all, or not think about it at all -- until I'm going insane over the dust, salt, poo and dirt and the forecast is calling for rain, yes that would be ideal.

So I took today as a floating holiday -- I've stored and stashed plenty of vacation time up and I had some things I needed to do today so ta-da the magical floating holiday was used.

I slept in -- got up at 8:30, that's later than average for me. Normally I'm up during the week at 5:15 and on the weekends, 7:30 and I'm wide awake. Granted - I like to go to bed early, I'm old that way.

So I slept in, I took a bubble bath, played online, worked a little on plotting for the book -- poor Gladys is still so skeletal in her development as a charachter - I'm a really good procrastinator - -to illustrate this -- for my procrastination - I decided to reorganize my closet and drawers -- I have a crap load of clothes -- I usually wear the same 12 outfits but I found in my cleaning today some items that have been missing. I folded, hung items on hangers -- I gave up once it was time to match socks... another day.

I vistited with my mom, We talked about my Great Uncle Hank who is now in hospice care - and when we are going to try and visit him - maybe this weekend. I dread the goodbye visits -- but even worse is not having the oppertunity to say good bye, both of my grandfathers passed before I could say goodbye and my maternal grandmother too. I sent her flowers and she got them, but by the time I bought my amtrak ticket she had passed. So this news about my Great Uncle isn't shocking, but he's my favorite Uncle, and I'm worried about my Auntie Helen since they've been married for 65 years.

My mom got ready for work and left and my dad, did his fatherly duty and took my car into get an oil change-- ( I don't like to wait around for things like this) Well he came back and it turns out -- I don't have brake lights. It's not the fuse - it's not the bulb so I have to take it in to the dealership since it's covered by warranty. So I get my Dad to follow me there, and on the way we pass Ramsey Elementary School. Buses are loading, the speed limit lights go on, it's 35 miles an hour, and there is a crosswalk sign and lady in neon in the middle spinning her stop sign like a baton, it's not facing any one direction, I have slowed down below the speed limit, there are no children or crossing traffic, so I do what everyone would do, proceed to go through- do to the spinning nature of the stop sign it was not pointed at any one direction it was being twirled around and around. The lady in neon obviously wanted her spinning stop sign to be directed at me, so she put her little flag in front of my now stopped vehicle and began yelling at me--- so I do what any good commuter with a healthy dose of road rage does, at first I apologized as her directions were unclear and she continued yelling at me -- so I told her to get the hell out of my way and to learn how to do her job. My dad who was right behind, and also experience the twirling stop sign first hand and second hand-- also gave her his x-rated version of the same speech -- along with his vibrant hand gestures, and choice demeaning phrases. This lady needs to get fired, and join the circus so she adequately perform her baton moves. So today, for once my dad is my hero, normally he just the cantankerous asshole I live with that never has anything good to say and spends most his time complaining about politics, and the lack of the TV guide in the Star Tribune. But today, he's my hero --

We continue toward the dealership, I'm ahead by a couple cars, and I get stopped by a train, I wait the arm goes up- the car in front of my goes through -- and I go through and then the arm goes down again. I hate train tracks --- mostly since college and the dishboy I worked with at Sammy's got killed by a train -- and the ones on 47 have had several deaths associated with them -- I'm already nervous since I'm driving without brake lights, I had an encounter with lady in neon and now this... so I look down and see that I'm almost out of gas! What next! So by now my dad is stuck behind train number two and I'm on 169 now, pulling into the holiday station. I get gas -- brr it's fricking windy and then I carry on, back on track to the dealership. I get there, pull to the service door, give my info the guy in the nylon pullover my information and dispose of 4 empty coke cans in the nearby garbage. Meanwhile they guy is trying to convince me to get my 30K mile check up and that it's on special for $950 and that it's soo crucial that I get it done, and what better time than right now. I say no thanks and ask about the minimum 30 special only $350 --- mind you I'm not at 30K miles yet, I have a good hearty 3k miles to go -- the guy continues, saying he can throw in an oil change for free today with service --- Umm I just got an oil change, that's how I found out about the brake lights -- weren't you listening? And another note -- I really like this current situation where I give my dad a blank check and he goes to Slim's Motor Clinic for my oil changes and tire upkeep -- I prefer not to deal with the dealership except for warranty crap - and I really think women are over charged for not knowing crap about cars, so I like that my dad --- who had a carreer as an RV technician and although autos are not his speciality -- he can go in and know what's what - and nobody is going to give him any bs. Plus aside from being a cantankerous asshole -- he has a great bullshit detector and my little dad doesn't take crap from anyone. A little Napoleon complex maybe... but that's aside from the point. So I go out and meet my dad and we bitch about the lady in neon and then I tell him about the sales pitch I got at Morrie's Hyundai -- he was furious and he wants to have words with the dude in the nylon pullover. Then we stop and I get him gas for his troubles and top it off with a Mounds bar, his favorite. So anyways, that's my vacation day, pretty lame and uneventful -- but my dad got to be my hero today.