If anyone needs me...

...I'll be outside.

Mar 31 Today: Sunshine and a few clouds. High 73F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.

Carey is in charge until I get back.

Tid Bits

--Kimmie Meissner, Maryland's own 16 year old ice skating sensation won the World Championships last night in Calgary! As I posted here right before the Olympics, Kimmie lives about 15 miles from me. Way to go, Kimmie!

--I resisted the urge to spend. *pats self on back* I'm on a budget and have tried to be good, but I saw something on eBay yesterday that I have been coveting for months. As much as I was tempted to, I did not bid. The auction ended last night and I am happy to report I saved myself at least $150 (because I bid to win and refuse to lose--not a good trait for someone on a budget). Yay!

--Monsty will be happy to know I have returned to my original beach siggie on OT. I will continue to pull out the Mrs. Keith Urban siggie *waves to Arkie* but I felt it was time to get back into the beach mode, complete with bouncing drink.

--According to the Weather Channel next weekend should be perfect weather to start my spring gardening. Hallejuah! This year I have decided to dedicate myself to the yard and produce the best flower beds and planters we have ever had. Prepare for lots of pictures.

--Opening day is one week away! The sweetest thing about opening day is everyone starts equally and no matter what happened last year the dream of making it to post season play is alive and well. Sometimes (sadly for me, most times) we can't say the same thing come the All Star break in July, but come April the dream is alive.

Why?

Why is Gilmore Girls another rerun? And why do I have to wait two more weeks for a "fresh episode"?

Why is The Amazing Race on at 10pm instead of 9pm? I can't stay up that late.

Why has the price of gas gone up 30 cents in a week?

Why was January so warm, and now March has been colder than normal? Does this have anything to do with the price of gas?

Why have my legs become so dry? Icky, flaky, yuckky dry? I've never had this problem before.

Why is my cat staring at me? He's sitting there in the middle of the floor, staring.

Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Why do I have the lyrics of an oldies song in my head?

Hmmm? Why?

Gas trauma

I usually keep my gas tank topped off, not letting the needle go below half. This is mostly because of the gas prices, and buying half or a quarter tank of gas is less painful then buy a full tank of gas at one time. Yes, over the course of the year I am still spending the same amount of money for gas, but $20 once a week is easier to bear than $40 every two weeks.

I know...it's not very logical, but not once have I ever called myself logical. Or sane.

For some reason this week I let the needle get closer to "E" than I have in a very long time. Not sure why because I drive past a gas station (the infamous WaWa, the gas/convenience store that I adore--best coffee anywhere) every day going to and from work. Guess I was extra lazy this week.

Anyway, driving home from work yesterday I knew I finally had to fill up...that nasty, annoying "check gauges" light came on and I knew the car was running on fumes. I figured since I had time I would stop.

Background information: I work on an Army installation. It's huge. There are a lot of people who work there, civilian and military. It's a restricted installation, meaning you have to work there, live there, or otherwise have a valid reason (official business, etc.) to be there. There are only two entrances to the base, and both are guarded (by men in uniform *swoon*). The gas station I go to is about a mile outside one of the entrances.

As I turn into the gas station I see that every other employee of the army base has decided to also get gas. I figure I didn't have any pressing engagements I could wait. No big deal. There are 8 pairs of pumps, so at any point in time 16 vehicles can be getting filled up. Shouldn't take long, right? Yeah. Whatever you say, Augie.

Almost each car/truck/SUV has someone lined up behind them, so I find the one pump where there is only one car and get behind it. The driver is not there, so I figure he/she is inside paying for the gas. This is a "pay first if you're using cash" station. Sure enough, after a few minutes here comes a guy. He looks to be about early 20's or so. He proceeds to put the hose in the car and stands there putting gas in the car. I'm sitting there waiting, having a good time listening to my iPOD. I love my iPOD. It's one of the best passengers I've ever had in my car. I'm grooving, not concerned about the wait, not even really paying attention to the guy in front of me.

Oh look! He's done. Yay! He takes the hose out, replaces the gas cap. I'm getting excited. It's almost my turn. Woo Hoo. {sing song voice}I'm first in line. I'm first in line.{/sing song voice}

But wait. He heads back into the store. Hmmmm. Odd. Well, maybe he needed to go get someone who was hanging in the store. Yeah, maybe that's it, because if he was truly done getting his gas and needed to buy something from the store--like milk or a ham sandwich--he would have moved his car from the pump to the huge ass parking lot beside the store. Right? Right!

I wait. Still no guy. Another song ends on the iPOD. I wait. Then another song ends. Now I'm getting irritated. The people who were waiting in line when I first pulled up are leaving because they'd had their turns, and more people are lining up in their place. Another song ends. At this point I am contemplating actually getting out of my car to go get him. I'm getting really irritated. Dude finally appears. You want to know what was so freakin' important that he had to go back into the store and leave his filled up car at the pump?

You want to know?

A pretzel.

A freakin' soft pretzel. Just one lousy pretzel. Not even a drink to go with it. Asshole punk fucker was so weak from hunger that getting into his car to move it would have just drained him completely and left him in a puddle of Tapped Out. Grrrrr!

He never once looked at me. Not once acknowledged my car, me, or the other cars lined up like cattle going to slaughter. He did it on purpose. No doubt in my mind he did it to be rude. "Yo dude, you wanna hear how I fucked with this lady at WaWa today? It was great." I would never, ever, ever keep my car at a gas pump after I had filled up just to go get a snack. If I was that hungry I would move my car out of the way and then go back into the store. Fucker.

I was so completely pissed off that I was speechless. By this point I'm thinking to myself that are absolutely no random acts of violence. All seemingly random acts of violence all have a very valid reason. And if this guy had been shot at the local WaWa by a complete stranger yesterday, it would have not been random. Asshole deserved it. Luckily for him I do not own a gun. I hope he realizes he tempted fate yesterday and won. This time. Jerk.

So, after waiting through about 15 songs (probably a slight exaggeration, but I'm pissed) I finally pull up to the pump. As I get ready to turn off the engine and get out of the car I realize something.

Something very important. *sigh* I'm on the wrong side of the pump. *sigh* The gas tank is on my passenger side and I had pulled up behind Asshole with the pump on my driver's side. Gah! I'm facing the wrong direction. The hoses are not long enough to pull it across the car, and I don't have room to maneuver my car to get the tank close enough to the hose.

The only thing I could do was to pull out and get in another line. ACK! I had to wait AGAIN!!!! Now my blood pressure is at the boiling point. Not only did I have to sit through Rude Dude's little stunt, it was all for naught.

The sad part is I don't think since I've owned this car I have ever gotten confused as to which side the gas tank is on. Never. Until yesterday of all days.

*points to self* Moron.

You gotta laugh, right? Cuz if you don't laugh you'll commit a randon act of violence that lands you in the slammer for 20 years.

One more thing. I'm off today and have all the time in the world to do errands and get gas. Why didn't I wait until today to get gas? Why? Because yesterday the weather forecast had us getting snow and/or freezing rain this morning. Yesterday afternoon it was sunny and kind of warm. I'm much rather stand at a gas pump in the sunshine than in a rain/snow storm, wouldn't you?

As I look out the window this morning there is no snow. No rain. No clouds. The sun is shining, the sky is crystal clear blue. Not a cloud to be seen. Not a snowflake or raindrop anywhere.

Those bastards at the Weather Channel should be glad I don't own a gun.

Spring Cleaning

Does anyone do an actual "spring cleaning" anymore? My mom did one every single year, and when I say "spring cleaning" I mean spring cleaning. She polished and waxed all the wood floors, moved all the furniture and inspected behind and underneath each piece, flipped the mattresses, aired out the house, cleaned all the windows inside and out, swapped out the linens, scrubbed/dusted/washed/scoured/polished/buffed everything else. When she was done the house sparkled. Of course my mom was so dedicated to cleaning that the house sparkled all the time anyway. She also did a "fall cleaning" but as far as I can tell the concept never caught on past our house.

Sadly I did not inherit my mother's penchant for cleaning. Truth be told I'm a less than enthusiastic housekeeper. I keep up with the dirt well enough, but my philosphy is if I can't see it, it doesn't exist. Move the dresser to look for dirt? I think not. Any dirt that escapes behind the dresser deserves to live there in peace and harmony. Who am I to disturb the dresser dirt colony? Don't get me wrong...if I find a rebel dust bunny, I am more than happy to suck it up with my Swiffer Vac, but I don't go on search and destroy missions. They come after me? I fight back, but I prefer to live peacfully with my dirt. I'm sure my dirt wishes to live peacefully with me.

In fact, if all those dirt colonies ever got together and staged a coup, I'm sure they'd win. Heck, I know they'd win. And I'm okay with that.

Soon.

Winter will be over soon. At least I hope--no--I pray it will. The first day of spring is March 20th, or so the calendar tells me. By this time each year I have serious doubts that the earth will ever warm up and the plants will awaken from their winter sleep. In order to convince myself (and you!) that spring will come, no matter what, here is evidence of past springs in my area:



Tulips




Daffodils



Dogwood tree



More daffodils

Very Important Update

I am eating Starburst Jelly Beans. Very tasty!

The orange, cherry, grape, and strawberry ones are my favorites.

Yellow and green suck ass. I throw them out.

If you would like some I will share, but please do not reach into my bag and help yourself. I will pour some out for you.

That is all.

PS I am not supposed to be here. I am at work. We can't do blogs at work. That being the case, please do not read this blog entry until I am home from work tonight. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.