Suzanne Calling

I started this blog with a short post. Here we are, 1329 posts later and blogging has been more than just a passing fancy. It's a way of life. If I haven't posted by 10pm, I'm antsy, because it is so ingrained to post every day. I'm a month away from two solid years. Along the way, I've met some wonderful people and found some great bloggers to follow. Four years ago, I'd never have a clue that the my most popular blog posts would involve getting banned from a Disney message board, a picture of Jim Carrey in a women's bathing suit, a post about my foreclosure, and pictures of My Stupid Leg (trademark pending) in an Unna Boot. To those who have joined me on the journey, THANK YOU! Way back when, there were probably a half dozen. Now, there's usually around fifty people a day-some from places far, far away. I'd write anyway, but knowing that there are people paying a visit every day feels pretty darn good. Thanks! The celebratory rainbow sherbert...

Does this happen to you? I'm sitting at the local Rita's yesterday, enjoying my ice and borrowing their bandwidth to complain to a friend on Facebook that she LIED, because this location didn't have the Caramel Apple Cream Ice. As I'd just finished work for the day, I was dressed in business attire. A gentleman comes in and wishes to use a coupon that has expired. When the young lady behind the counter apologizes that it is no longer valid, he appeals to me to allow him to use it. Yep, it's happened again. I've been mistaken for someone in authority or as having some skill I do not possess. It happens a lot. Just last week, I was mistaken for a medical professional, because I know how to triage a medical situation. Nope, no training-just well versed in what doctors and nurses need to know, thanks to my own health issues. The person only realized that I wasn't one of the pros when I put a blood pressure cuff on backwards. On the college campus, I was en...

Remember last week's post about creating a rubber band ball? As the week progressed, I worked on the ball, little by little. It was a source of amusement for my seatmates, and even the boss had a good laugh. (I was still answering questions while I kept adding to the thing). Friday morning, I succeeded in finishing it before we were released from training. Part of the effort was to stave off boredom, part of it was because I didn't want to carry the box they came in. See how much space I saved? Now that training is done, I'll be working for about two weeks. Of course, on the first day, I would come up with one scenario we didn't cover last week. At least it keeps me on my toes!

This week, my friend Dan put up yet another video on Facebook that made me think of this week's topic: excellent lyrics. It sprung to mind, thanks to Steely Dan's 'Reeling in the Years', a song I've always enjoyed. As it is with many songs by Fagen and Becker, the turn of phrase is sometimes what grabs me first. Best line in the song "You've been telling me you're a genius since you were 17, In all the years I've known you I still don't know what that means." Sometimes, an artist has great abilities to write music, but the lyrics make you go WTH? Springsteen and McCartney as the prime examples of this phenomenon. Some artists write so-so words in an effort to fit the melody. I don't know if the lyrics I consider the best are because they spoke of something I can relate to, or they're witty or cunning or if the words are really that brilliant. Suffice to say a good song can be considered excellent by the addition of those well...

I spent the day on the couch. It's probably a good thing Jane decided that she wasn't up for a visit to the hospital, because I'm not, either. I had a pulled muscle act up, on top of the other issues and didn't feel like going anywhere. For those keeping score at home, three of four limbs have some sort of issue causing pain right now. Yippee. So, I've been back and forth between Farkle, making the Chef Jr specialty paninis, reading message boards, listening to choral music, reading for class, listening to a web cast for class, getting dinner in the oven (rice pilaf and marinated chicken legs), reading some more for class and playing more Farkle. Ed's mom is still confused, which is why we didn't visit the hospital today. She won't know the difference. I gave the authorization for an MRI late last night and it was supposed to be done today. A neurologist visited her today, but didn't call us as asked. It sounds busy, right? No, it was nice an...

This morning, while Ed was over at his mom's to give her medication (which he does every morning and evening), she fell and had another seizure. She's at the hospital, where they've admitted her for observation after doing a CAT scan and running various tests. It looks like the plans are going to change a little bit. Instead of spending the next few months culling through their belongings, then moving them into some sort of assisted care, they will probably move first and then we'll sort through stuff. Ironically, I was supposed to take Jane to look at another facility today. We looked at one last month that both of us really liked. If these seizures are continuing despite medications that are supposed to control them, then I can't in good conscience place Ed's mom there. She probably needs skilled nursing care instead of the assisted we had anticipated. As long as we can hold off until open enrollment to get her a better medicaid plan, we should be better...

Since purchasing my Beetle, the car has been serviced at three different dealers: the one it was purchased from across Tampa Bay, Brandon Volkswagen, which opened six months after I bought the car (and where the majority of work has been performed on it), and the local VW dealer, who has only seen the car for a recall campaign. I got this email recently and it was good for a chuckle. Wanna see? It's a bummer that they didn't happen to catch this momentous occasion that I recorded in picture and posted on the blog. You know, the one where my VW Beetle turned its first 100,000 miles? The saddest part? The last time that dealership serviced my car was at 75,000 miles! I know it's not the dealer sending out these emails, it's VW. You'd think they would actually tie in the service record information to generate those emails. Psst, Volkswagen. I'd be worried if people only drove the car 5,000 miles a year. It would mean it isn't fun to drive! Though I will ...