The Laptop is GONE!

OK..so 5-7 days..thats not so bad, I'll have it back by next week. I came home today to find a box propped inside my back door with my recycling bin. Sure enough, both the software AND the box to ship back the laptop came today. I packaged it up and I was ready to head over to where the DHL dropbox is when I decided to call and see if I could get it picked up. No problem, today, before 8 pm..ok...great! So I head out to the neighbors to get some packing tape..since I'm out of it. I'm not there FIVE minutes and I come back and DHL is WAITING for me! Talk about service!! Well..no lappy for now..hopefully there will be no snags between now and it's return!

Wilco is coming to Penn's Landing! Oh Yeah!

Did I mention how much I love Wilco?? I just went to their webpage and it turns out they are coming to Penn's landing June 23rd!! Yay for Wilco!! I can't wait!

I should also mention that my spanky new Dell has to go back to Dell for a Motherboard replacement. More to follow on this developing story when I get my laptop BACK..sucks..but it couldn't have happened at a better time. It works OK, its just very minimal right now, and my USB ports don't work at all...god damnit! Just as I was getting all into audioscrobbler!

Oh well..I'll have it back sometime next week!

National Kids Don't Go to School Day

No, really, it isn't called that, but it really should be! Today is National Take your Child to Work day. Isn't that wonderful? It means that I have 10 out of 22 kids in my class. If only I hadn't found out about this on MONDAY..I could have been doing more exciting things and left my students to a substitute teacher for today..considering tomorrow is Spirituality Day (no school), another day planned a few weeks ago, which I wish was planned EARLIER...I could easily miss that as well! Ahh well, everything happens for a reason. At least I have an easy few days....Is it summer yet? Did I mention there are only 30 days of school left? I just put up the May Calendar and it looks as if I don't really have that much more to do. I'm getting things in order for a room switch and preparing things early so that it isn't hectic that first week of June! Soon enough! Soon enough I will get to bask in the sunshine at the beach weekly, kayak, bike, and do whatever suits my fancy all day long!

Phenomenal women..distant...

I received a forward from a friend of mine. Here is a snippet that I thought was perfect for the occasion ...

Maya Angelou said this:

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or howbad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow."

"I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one."

So if I seem like I haven't been around lately, wonder no more..your answer is here..

Enjoy!

The Dominos Fall DOWN!

Ok..so over to Erin's tonight...its 10:15..quite a bit of drink has gone down..we decide we want food..Well, it seems as if most of the REAL pizza places have closed, which leaves us with Dominos..seems simple enough, right?

10:25 - we order the pizza..they had the wrong address for the phone number, we should have known this was going nowhere...

11:20 - the pizza FINALLY arrives..I'm the first to grab a slice..then Lauri grabs one..wouldn't you know it, her piece looks like it has this NASTY hair hanging off it. So there are 6 of us examining the pizza to see if this is really a hair and not just some stringy cheese..My piece is still in my hand quite untouched..

11:25 - Lauri takes it upon herself to call Dominos, to tell them about the hair, the need for a new pizza, AND the need for something extra to compensate for their inadequate service.

Now, Mind you, Lauri is new..we *think* she's going to be sweet and innocent..but damn, she layed down the line! Hearing her on the phone for nearly 40 minutes, and the Dominos guy wouldn't even give her his NAME! He was being quite a prick..lieing to her, telling her that a regional manager from corporate was coming to look at the pizza. Then he put her on hold..for a while! She hung up, called back, as far as we knew, 2 pizzas were coming our way.

Joe called to verify and we were told the same thing. an hour and a half later, there was no pizza on Erin's doorstep..and it was getting late, 1ish, so Joe and I decided to head out, pizza in hand, as we just happened to be passing the Dominos on the way.

We drive into the parking lot. The guy sees us pull up. He comes to the door and then scurries quickly behind the counter when he sees we have pizza box in hand. Obviously..we were the ones! I go in and explain to this guy that it says in plain English on the box "Complete Satisfaction : We will make it right or refund you the money" It's 1:15, we wanted pizza 3 hours ago, NOT NOW and that I want a refund.

"OK, please have a seat"

Ok..........hrmm...this is odd..sitting..watching him toodle around..wait..wtf??

"Excuse me, why do we need to WAIT for a refund?"

"I'm making you another pizza" (mind you, the two pizzas were on their way nearly 2 hours ago!)

"No no no..we wanted pizza 3 hours ago, not now, we just want a refund"

Sure enough, we got our refund, tip included which I was willing to bite, because it wasn't the delivery guy who messed up. The counter guy paid us from his own pocket which leads me to suspect that he wasn't going to report the dissatisfaction. None the less, success!!

The Handicapped...

So after school today, it's raining. Joe calls and says Savoys! Happy Hour!

Alright! I think, sounds great!

We go, usual crowd we hang with..and a new girl who is very cool..They are all drinking, I'm happy to drink my soda and chat..but then it gets down to the END of happy hour and what's next..Erin's house! Movies and alcohol! So I'm tired, thinking ehh..Joe wants to go..if I can just come home (right now) and chill for a few, I'm good to go..

Joe calls Erin, we are coming..then there is me..the handicap.."I have soda, if thats ok, we have this beer and that beer and this alcohol..blah blah" I don't like to drink out..am I some kind of handicap?? That's ok...really, soda is fine..no need to fuss over the one who doesn't drink outside the comfort of her own deck when she has to drive..and unbeknownst to many of them, I could probably drink them under the table in shots! LOL! So what to do??

The answer is simple..celebrate by "other means" before leaving the house to go out..I can have my fun too ;)

Flurry turns Blizzard!

So..being such a beautiful afternoon, I found myself taking advantage of it on my bicycle riding around town. Today was school budget elections, so I rode over to the school to cast my vote. Then, on the way back, I ran into an old neighbor from the apartments and we ended up walking about 5 blocks as she had no bike but needed to be somewhere. On the way back, I stopped across the street to play with Sammy and Caroline and their hose and got just a little wet ;) Then, I headed home. Joe had forgotten to go vote, so he suggested we ride over there and then on to Phredo's for Lattes..Sure! Sounded great! Mind you, the last time we did this, Phredo's had closed early for the night so we walked an extra mile up to Starbucks...gotta have a quality latte, you know ;) Anyway, we weren't in luck tonight either! They had taken their hours off the door so we aren't even sure if they closed early, but it left us on our bikes riding up to Starbucks. We got there, and realized that McDonalds was across the street. Now, I'm not one to normally head for Micky D's over Starbucks, but being nice, the idea of a Flurry sounded wonderful to me and he wanted a milkshake anyway. We head across the highway and walk into McDonalds. The girl taking our order promptly answers her cell phone and is talking as she is taking our order. Ok..not exactly professional, but who am I to expect that out of a high school kid working for peanuts at a crappy fast food joint? She puts a cup on the milkshake machine, and apparently hits the wrong button. I watch it promptly overflow as if it were a Sundae and NOT a milkshake. She fills the Flurry cup, and pours the m and m's into it. I watch her stick the spoon in and give it a lacking whirl. In the meantime, another slack ass worker takes the overflowing milkshake and throws it out! Yes, I know, a complete waste, but this isn't UNLIKE McDonald's anyway. So cell phone girl hands me the flurry and assumes that we had the milkshake already. I asked if the Flurry was stirred properly, as I did not see her do it, and I wanted to give her a chance to redeem herself. She says yes, I say whatever..In the meantime, the wasteful slacker who threw the other milkshake away, proceeds to mouth off to me, telling me "She SAID she stirred it!" Alright..now you are pushing your luck. I asked if the Flurry machine was broken as I did not ask for simply icecream with topping. She says "All you had to do was ASK to have it stirred with the machine!" Wait, am I missing something here? Isn't that the proper way to make a creamy Flurry? Was this whole process impeding her cell phone usage? I said "I DID ask!" So slacker starts to ARGUE with me..now I'm near fuming but I'm not going to push the issue...it isn't worth my effort. I start to turn around and she says something snippy under her breath, where I proceed to swing around and loudly proclaim, "EXCUSE ME, but do I NEED to speak to your manager?" I think she was a bit stunned..the manager realized what was going on and promptly scolded the slacker worker..I didn't push the issue..I just walked out..Maybe I should have, but really, it was just a creamy dessert! I know better now..All I wanted was a latte..I should have followed my initial hunch!

Mom...

Five years ago today, I found myself wandering around in a daze. The night before, I had come home from the usual weekend in South Jersey, gone in for my regular weekly chat with my mom on her bed..and headed into my room to check email across the hall. Not an hour later, I found myself walking into her room to find her on the floor. After breaking into hysterics shouting through the house to everyone home to call the cops, my brother and I took it into our own hands. Her skin was blue..how long had she been there? I had heard a crash a little while earlier..was that it?? My brother, in a fit of tears, prompted me to help him do CPR..He took the compressions, I guess in my mind, that was scarier than giving breathes. We tried so hard..EMS arrived..it was too late..they knew right away..my house turned into a very weird place that night..I don't know that I got a full hour of sleep..It was about 7 am when I went into my brother's room to sleep on his couch...because I couldn't be alone, across the hall, from what had just gone on. It was Palm Sunday...a day that I'll never forget. The sounds I heard that night, they were so vivid at first. The sound of air going in and out of her lungs right below me...but they fade..I know there were sounds now, but I don't remember them as clearly as I did that night.

I think my mom waited for me. She had told her best friend on the Friday before that she had a hard time and didn't know how much longer she'd make it. We had our last talk..I'd seen Phil and Friends the night before...they played Brokedown Palace and Unbroken Chain..and I haven't seen Phil and friends since where they *haven't* played Unbroken Chain.

Its crazy to think it was five years ago.. but anyway, Mom, I know you are out there somewhere..looking down on me....I miss you..5 years..long time..please just know that I'm doing the best I can..

Love,
Me

Crazy Whale!

Two days ago, I was watching the news. They seemed to be covering the most peculiar thing! A whale! In the Delaware River! So of course, we have been following the story closely. When else will we have the opportunity to say that a whale passed within a 1/4 mile of my house! It headed up to Trenton on Monday, where many fisherman saw it. My friendly DARE officer mentioned that many of them drink while fishing. He gave me this look like he was looking at the bottle..looking at the whale..looking again at the bottle..and giving up drinking. It may have been there for at least a week to make it ALL the way up to Trenton..

The whale is a 15 foot Beluga whale. It is an adult. They are normally found in the artic waters up north. Scientists say it may have followed a school of herring up river..or for that matter, Shad! The Shad season is in full bloom! The whale has been making its rounds, amusing people, including myself!

Yesterday, I was at the post office. The buzz in town was that the whale could be spotted from the Bordentown beach so I promptly rushed down to catch a glimpse. Sure enough, off the shores and on the other side of the 295 overpass, you could see the whale surface.

The world sure is a mysterious place some times. Hopefully, our whale will make it back to sea safely!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

I've known Rachel for several years. Once a PB, always a friend, and always with quite an amusing blog! She is the big 3 0 today..so go on over and send her birthday spankings! ;)

Spring is really REALLY here!!

Have I mentioned how much I adamently HATE winter?? Today, I spent almost all day outside gardening. I got up, showered real quick, and headed to Lowes for mulch and flowers..I spent my day moving some hostas, planting perennials, a few annuals, and mulching the garden. I truly see the fruits of my labor!! The grass is starting to grow and the sun is shining! It really couldn't get any better than this. Now if only it would stay this nice, it would be grand! I can't wait for summer next! Did I mention there are less than 50 days of school left yet??

Have you seen this guy?



known for:
making you laugh hysterically at any given time
being excessive
having a button

If you see him, be sure to look out..he's a sneaky guy and is known to get you when you least expect it!

...and it was!...

Wow..spectacular time this weekend!@ It's always fun to have friends around for a few days..Seeing Brooke, Marc, and Wren was alot of fun as was the Duo, yet again! A little rainy in Philly, but we certainly made it back in one piece. I think I'll head off to NYC this week to catch them again! Can't seem to get enough ;)

On another note, I'm certainly not looking forward to break ending..really, its officially over now, isn't it?? I am staring blankly at my plans, thinking I shoulda finished this last week!! Ahh well..I guess I will survive..

:)

It's going to be a good weekend!