chase_acow

I am the sorest girl is sore town. But this story starts one week ago.

Some of y'all might remember a post a couple of months ago where I just needed to vent about an absent mom and heavily unequal effort in our relationship. She did finally text back, and without really opening up about her thoughts and her life, apologized and did actually invite me over at a specific time with a specific activity planned. And she did try a little harder to text and call back and forth in the meantime.

On Tuesday, I loaded up the dogs and off we went. We got idk, 9.5/10th of the way there before the car started clicking and decided it was done. Very busy highway and I am suddenly doing 30 mph - I'm imagining I got flipped off quite a bit. But there was a nice little rest pull out, and I waited for Mom and Carl to come out and drive the rest of the way with me just in case.

Long story, still kind of long - I have to replace the engine. WHY ARE ENGINES SO EXPENSIVE?!?

I still actually had a very good visit. And she tried really hard to be present and do things.

( Blue Heritage Spring Center near Eureka Springs pics )

Rented a car to get back home for work because they don't expect my car to be done before Friday, and Enterprise gives me a brand new Camry with a thousand miles on it. I looked at it and immediately suspected a trap. I finally figured out the A/C, then I finally figured out the bluetooth, eventually I figure out the cruise control. This car is so much smarter than I am. It was fun to drive, but also, little terrified of messing it up.

On Sunday, I grab the car keys to go to work, and it isn't until I pull back up the driveway that I realized I forgot to grab my house keys which I had not added to the GIANT car fob.

Alas.

So I gotta break into my own house. Okay. How hard can it be? I don't lock any of the windows, and I have some tools and a ladder. I go around the backyard, because I don't really want this to be a neighborhood slapstick show, and pick the window for the utility room because there's less stuff to break in there. I pop the screen and the poorly fitting glass out, wedge my little spade under the window and leverage it up several inches. This house has a crawl space, so it's up. I say this because it's also a very old wooden window I haven't tried to open in the last three years.

( the set up )

I heaved. I struggled. I worked one side, and then the other. I bent at the knees, straightened my arms out and used all my strength . . .

and I still didn't have a chase_acow sized opening. But I could see the cats* sitting in the doorway watching my increasingly pathetic attempts. They do not seem to care.

Both my guy-friend dispatchers are on nightshift, so I wasn't going to bother them in the middle of the afternoon. My other dude coworker is currently on duty in his black pajamas, so he's a last resort. But I do have neighbors with teenagers. I usually try not to bother them because except for their dogs during the day, and when the 23 year old makes the 13 year old cry, they keep to themselves and mow their yard. Unfortunately, mama redneck (affectionately) rouses the 23 year old and sends him over, beggars can't be choosers, and he does manage to wedge the window up another four inches before he declares that's it and heads back to his nap.

All right, it's now or never.

I first try head first. There's an end table under the window to help stabilize my weight while I wiggle in. I get to my waist, realize how much it'll hurt and how impossible it will be to change my mind once I commit. I back out and study the situation again. I grab a smaller wooden ladder, get up on the top rung and swing one leg through while balancing on the other leg and . . . I don't know how to keep going. But all my weight is on one leg which is quickly letting me know that it's struggling.

Oh no. I'm too high to duck my head and upper body through the window. I have probably less than a minute before my other leg gives out. I am now regretting every single decision the universe has ever made that has led to my birth which has led to this day.

Luckily, lightbulb comes on. I step down one rung while clinging to the window so I don't overbalance, this gives me room to duck through and I am now standing inside my house! \0/

I immediately went to attach my house key to the car fob. And two days later I am still so sore in such weird places!

I took the neighbors chocolate chip cookies to thank them, and so they'll help me the next time too.


*more about the cat status later!

As part of my plan to escape this year’s holiday slog in December, I drove out to Arkansas for my mom’s birthday last month. She is not really an outgoing person, she’s got some other stuff going on, and she stays up late and sleeps a whole lot. I wasn’t that interested in waking up early to let the dog out and then sitting in the kitchen by myself. So I asked her if she wanted to go on a float trip, and three days later she replied to my text with a ‘sure’.

That wasn’t enthusiastic enough consent for me, so I shrugged and packed an extra book.

On day two of my my exile into the hot land where the air conditioner never turns on, there are no comfortable seats, and no real food, mom wanders in about noon, and says - “So, when are we going on the float trip?”

facepalm

But, okay. So I find a place. Easy trip, kids and dogs welcome, 4-6 hours for an 8 mile stretch. The start point was about 40 mins away. I thought, yeah this one. Granted, I don’t think I’ve been outside for a combined 4-6 hours since I started night shift in Feb. But I went and bought two new bottles of sunscreen.

So, the good news is, I didn’t get sunburnt.

The bad news is, I’m the proud owner of a roughly used, broken rental canoe.

( We had 7/8ths of a real good time. )

So, guess who has shingles. Yeah, that'd be me. So far I have a small rash on the right side of my forehead, and a huge swollen bump all the way down to my jaw. It affects nerves, and right now it's just a constant ache, but the doc said it'd probably get worse over the next couple of weeks before it gets better.

Anyway, I'm having trouble concentrating on anything for very long, but I did get several good ideas on my request for requests post the other day. Feel free to swing by and drop a couple more ideas for me if you're so inclined. I've got a couple of ideas for posts, but I could always use more. : )


Thanks for being so interesting, F-List, especially while I haven't been. I hope your weekend starts out better than mine did!

I was in a wreck today. Everyone was okay, it was her fault, and she had three little kids in the car. I woke up to hear them screaming, and that's something I never want hear again.

It's been a long time since I had to peck on the keyboard. My right wrist is bruised and swollen so I've got some frozen broccoli on it. I didn't go to the ER or anything, I did lose consciousness for a bit, but I'm no worse for the wear. My truck on the other hand, is totaled. The wrecker guy said it was probably fixable, but I'm not going to hold my breath, even if I did have the money. This just sucks so much, especially now.

On the other hand, I'm just so thankful that no one got seriously hurt. I had my seat belt on, which sometimes I don't do. My dog was going to be with me but at the last second she wouldn't come in from outside. I'm so glad about that, because her poor little head would have been splattered across my dashboard. It could have been so much worse.

Question: Do I email the fic-a-thons I'm in and tell them that I may be a little later, or do I give it another day or two just to see? In theory I could still get everything done before the 11th.

Also: Go Pokes.