Yikes! So $10 for the license and the orange stickers later, plus $900 a year more in insurance, guess what we have? A new driver! Yikes. So it begins. They picked M up at 6:30 for a refresher course and then had her in line early at the DMV. In fact she texted me the telltale: WOO before her appointment time had even arrived!
So that was a bit of a relief as we were worried about what would happen if she did not pass. I was worried about her coming home alone and moping all day, and then being afraid to face the world. I also worried about how we would ever schedule her next appointment, as she is having to miss school for these college visits already in the first month or two of school. And also because she had to go back to pick her sticker up, so she can park in the lot.
We received a letter that said she had to come in to pick up the sticker, and gave her a two day window, yesterday and the day before. I called and said she had to work, and anyway wouldn't have her license till today. The assistant principal assured me that this was the only time she could come, and also that she should just bring her permit (which was what the letter said) to get the sticker. I was minorly annoyed that they wouldn't accommodate our work schedule, but I wasn't going to rock the boat so we both told our jobs we'd be late and we set out early to wait on line.
Power freaks that they are, the secretaries made everyone wait out in the hall until at least 8, although they weren't doing anything but puttering around and talking on the phone. I went outside when I noticed I was the only parent there (most of the kids could already drive). Ten minutes later, M came out without the sticker! She was told that they didn't know where she got that information, but it was wrong. I was so incensed that, as soon as she got the license and subsequent sticker, I wrote a letter to that guy and told him what had happened. Whether or not this was what they intended, once they had it written in the letter it should have been honored. And this particular secretary is just a nasty one. We've dealt with her for years, beginning at our old school. She wields an awful lot of power for a secretary, if you ask me. And I finally just had had enough. In this case, they were wrong.
So see if it did me any good. He'll probably ignore my mail and M will not be welcome in the guidance office again :/
But one good thing came of that visit. She got her schedule, and on it her new guidance counselor was listed, and it's her school swim coach. So that was nice to see. Her old counselor had to go back to teaching after the budget cuts and she had always wished she could switch the coach but never had a good reason. So now she doesn't have to.
She does have a problem with her schedule though. She is in an AP History class that she put down as a second choice to Economics and she doesn't want to take it. So she has to try to change that, but they don't want them changing anything until the first day of school. I am really, really hoping B can last the whole four years at his school. I don't want to have to go through any more time in this district's public schools than I have to!
Anyway, in other news, one more week left of summer. I left work both yesterday and today around 1:30 and took B to the beach club. It was beautiful today, but there was a lot of garbage in the water, which is terrible. You see a lot less of that on the beach down where M is working. This weekend will probably be beautiful too, although they say it will be hot on Sunday. I have been loving this cool air! Windows open!!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
planetary misalignment
Fortunately, M made it back home in one piece. There was some confusion because the flight before theirs was delayed and they ended up taking off a little late as well, and this time only had less than an hour to land, get off the plane and change terminals for the next one. They sprinted through DFW but they made it and their plane even landed a little early. So M had a ride home and we went to a work party. A little awkward because most of the people I feel I know the best didn't go (!) but it was pleasant enough that we stayed for three hours.
So M is home. She forgot her retainers, and left them in a plastic bag on the bathroom sink. She had texted about this situation earlier in the week, and I, not wanting anything to happen to them, had put them on a shelf in the bathroom closet. Fast forward to last night, and me with a headache and stiff neck on the couch, and she can't find them. Annoyed, I dragged up to show her what a fool she can be, always unable to find anything, even when it's right in front of her face. Only it's not there.
And at the same time, I have B telling me he left the $50 he got for his birthday on his dresser and it's gone and I'm thinking, just great, I have this cleaning lady that I'm not all that happy with, they use more cleaning supplies in one day than I think I have ever used in a lifetime of self-house-cleaning, they dumped a bucket of bleach-cleaner on our blacktop driveway, and now they are stealing money and throwing out retainers? But fortunately I did find the $50 in his top drawer, although he had "already looked there."
But no such luck with the retainers. Not good. I cannot even imagine how this happened, as these cleaning ladies have no business in that closet anyway. Did the bag get knocked to the floor and thrown out? Did they knock it down or did one of us? Did the dog get hold of it? But why is it just nowhere? Of course garbage is already collected. M happens to have what was supposed to be a regular checkup on Tuesday, but now I am going to have to call and find out what happens in this case. As if it's not bad enough that she forgot and didn't wear them for a week, now they are gone and can't be worn until they're replaced. I hope they don't need to take new molds, but they might. I'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out. Not the end of the world by far, but what a nuisance. And let me not talk about the cost :-(
As for B, he is done with camp. He has two weeks until he starts school and one book left to finish for summer reading, but he has all of them to review. I wish they would give them assignments over the summer instead of tests. It's much easier to judge preparedness when there's something he has to turn in than when he just says, yeah, I read the whole book. I'm trying to find tests and study guides online but not all of the books are commonly used, so I have only found help for one or two of the four.
M has a bunch of school stuff going on, too. She has to go this week to get her parking spot assigned, and she goes Friday for her driving test ::fingers crossed::. She missed a meeting for one of the clubs she is in and I'm annoyed about that because it was on a Tuesday and she could have gone. They did a makeup but of course that was last week and she wasn't here. And there's an orientation she is supposed to work due to her being in the club, and she won't be able to get off work at the beach for that, since she's already had so many days off and most of the college kids are out of the rotation by now. Plus she has packets of work for her AP classes that she hasn't finished, as well as the common app, which I think she needs to get started on, just in cases she decides to love one of these schools she will be visiting over the next two months and has to apply quickly.
But in other news, my job limps along. I don't hate it, so that is good, but sometimes it can be ridiculously unmanageable and other times unbearably slow. I did get a small raise but that's sort of had the effect of my being told to take time off when I need it! :-) Hopefully this will change after the summer ends, and the workload will stabilize and/or pick up. I need to start increasing my income! Oh, and sadly I will be officially resigned from my substitute teacher status effective next week. I couldn't string them along, as they would notice that I'm never available to work. Molly is hanging in there with her health although it is coming up on time to have her tested again. Another expense.
So M is home. She forgot her retainers, and left them in a plastic bag on the bathroom sink. She had texted about this situation earlier in the week, and I, not wanting anything to happen to them, had put them on a shelf in the bathroom closet. Fast forward to last night, and me with a headache and stiff neck on the couch, and she can't find them. Annoyed, I dragged up to show her what a fool she can be, always unable to find anything, even when it's right in front of her face. Only it's not there.
And at the same time, I have B telling me he left the $50 he got for his birthday on his dresser and it's gone and I'm thinking, just great, I have this cleaning lady that I'm not all that happy with, they use more cleaning supplies in one day than I think I have ever used in a lifetime of self-house-cleaning, they dumped a bucket of bleach-cleaner on our blacktop driveway, and now they are stealing money and throwing out retainers? But fortunately I did find the $50 in his top drawer, although he had "already looked there."
But no such luck with the retainers. Not good. I cannot even imagine how this happened, as these cleaning ladies have no business in that closet anyway. Did the bag get knocked to the floor and thrown out? Did they knock it down or did one of us? Did the dog get hold of it? But why is it just nowhere? Of course garbage is already collected. M happens to have what was supposed to be a regular checkup on Tuesday, but now I am going to have to call and find out what happens in this case. As if it's not bad enough that she forgot and didn't wear them for a week, now they are gone and can't be worn until they're replaced. I hope they don't need to take new molds, but they might. I'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out. Not the end of the world by far, but what a nuisance. And let me not talk about the cost :-(
As for B, he is done with camp. He has two weeks until he starts school and one book left to finish for summer reading, but he has all of them to review. I wish they would give them assignments over the summer instead of tests. It's much easier to judge preparedness when there's something he has to turn in than when he just says, yeah, I read the whole book. I'm trying to find tests and study guides online but not all of the books are commonly used, so I have only found help for one or two of the four.
M has a bunch of school stuff going on, too. She has to go this week to get her parking spot assigned, and she goes Friday for her driving test ::fingers crossed::. She missed a meeting for one of the clubs she is in and I'm annoyed about that because it was on a Tuesday and she could have gone. They did a makeup but of course that was last week and she wasn't here. And there's an orientation she is supposed to work due to her being in the club, and she won't be able to get off work at the beach for that, since she's already had so many days off and most of the college kids are out of the rotation by now. Plus she has packets of work for her AP classes that she hasn't finished, as well as the common app, which I think she needs to get started on, just in cases she decides to love one of these schools she will be visiting over the next two months and has to apply quickly.
But in other news, my job limps along. I don't hate it, so that is good, but sometimes it can be ridiculously unmanageable and other times unbearably slow. I did get a small raise but that's sort of had the effect of my being told to take time off when I need it! :-) Hopefully this will change after the summer ends, and the workload will stabilize and/or pick up. I need to start increasing my income! Oh, and sadly I will be officially resigned from my substitute teacher status effective next week. I couldn't string them along, as they would notice that I'm never available to work. Molly is hanging in there with her health although it is coming up on time to have her tested again. Another expense.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
marinated cat, anyone?
So, who read the news on the cats last week? Poor cat, ill-tempered, greedy, wasteful, and ungrateful, was marinated and packed into the trunk of the car. Of course this story is not funny, but the thing is that the cat looked just like Rusty! I can't seem to resist the urge to suggest to Rusty that perhaps he would get me some salad oil and some crushed red pepper. To which he usually responds with a murr and jumps up onto the bathroom sink just as I am about to take out my contacts, demanding that the water be turned on for him.
I'm also tempted to leave my vacuum cleaner plugged in, just to see if he can turn it on and if any neighbors will call 911!
Anyway, on to the more mundane. We bought a car today! Kevin has been obsessed with VW Jettas for years now, and they have the cutest little miniwagon which suits all of our needs and guess what? It was being offered at 0% financing!! So we haggled a little, always a horrible experience, and we were ready to walk out when, lo and behold, they came back with an offer we couldn't refuse (so we were probably robbed in the end, but left feeling as if we were the robbers).
We have only driven it on one adventure, and we were almost killed when a fool turned right into the lane we were in, I guess she didn't see us down so low, from where she sat up in her SUV. But it handles so well that we were able to survive the misguided driving. Now all that's left to do is to return the Honda. What a pain. I hate leasing cars.
Tomorrow begins M's big week away at camp in Colorado. She has an early morning flight and won't be back till late Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, the cough has gone on its own and she is ready for the challenge. And she just lined up her third college 'official visit,' so that's about all I think that we can fit in. These visits are going to eat up entire fall weekends, Fridays included, and although they're an important part of this process, they also take away from her study time.
And in other news, B enjoyed another week of tennis camp, and I took Friday off from work, which was much enjoyed. My boss is away and things were very slow. Of course I don't get paid when I don't work, but the thought of sitting there for five hours just trying to stay busy seemed incredibly unappealing after two days of cleaning up loose ends. I was just done with it all, and I needed a brief respite! So I hung with my friends, Molly and Pompom, and M and B were both home as well.
I'm also tempted to leave my vacuum cleaner plugged in, just to see if he can turn it on and if any neighbors will call 911!
Anyway, on to the more mundane. We bought a car today! Kevin has been obsessed with VW Jettas for years now, and they have the cutest little miniwagon which suits all of our needs and guess what? It was being offered at 0% financing!! So we haggled a little, always a horrible experience, and we were ready to walk out when, lo and behold, they came back with an offer we couldn't refuse (so we were probably robbed in the end, but left feeling as if we were the robbers).
We have only driven it on one adventure, and we were almost killed when a fool turned right into the lane we were in, I guess she didn't see us down so low, from where she sat up in her SUV. But it handles so well that we were able to survive the misguided driving. Now all that's left to do is to return the Honda. What a pain. I hate leasing cars.
Tomorrow begins M's big week away at camp in Colorado. She has an early morning flight and won't be back till late Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, the cough has gone on its own and she is ready for the challenge. And she just lined up her third college 'official visit,' so that's about all I think that we can fit in. These visits are going to eat up entire fall weekends, Fridays included, and although they're an important part of this process, they also take away from her study time.
And in other news, B enjoyed another week of tennis camp, and I took Friday off from work, which was much enjoyed. My boss is away and things were very slow. Of course I don't get paid when I don't work, but the thought of sitting there for five hours just trying to stay busy seemed incredibly unappealing after two days of cleaning up loose ends. I was just done with it all, and I needed a brief respite! So I hung with my friends, Molly and Pompom, and M and B were both home as well.
Monday, August 9, 2010
back to the working world
That's how it was this morning for all of us: Kevin back to his job, M and I to ours, and B to his tennis camp again, for the next two weeks. He is wiped out, as am I. My boss has only a vague understanding of my outside responsibilities, so when I told him I would leave at 2:30, he chose (as usual) that time to give me a list of the things he still needed done, and then to close his door for a meeting with a colleague. Anyway, I managed to get out at 3, got gas and got to B around 3:15 or so so that wasn't too bad. Tomorrow M has a doctor's appointment at 2:30 so I have already told him I MUST leave at 1:30. I think B is going to do the extra clinic after camp so I won't have to get him until 6.
As for M, she has developed a cough, because of course she would do that before heading off to the high altitudes of the Colorado mountains for the week. She claims she feels fine but we'll see what the doctor says tomorrow at what was supposed to be a regular checkup.
Otherwise to report on the weekend travels, one of the schools emerged as a favorite while we were up there in Boston. But it's still early and lots can happen to change that so I won't get too excited or report on anything definite just yet. But everyone there was very nice, the campus was nice, and the coach was as well. So M will head up for a visit with the team later on in the fall. Now we have to visit a couple of Pennsylvania schools. Nothing south of that Delmarva area ever ended up working out, and for now there are enough to keep us busy. If nothing pans out by November, we'll broaden our horizons a bit. For now, it's the greater Northeast.
This is about all that's been going on lately! Trying to choose colleges and plan for college and decide which car to buy or trade in have been the dominant themes outside of Molly's status, which is still unchanged so that's a good thing. The Honda dealer crashed my car into a parked car while it was in for an oil change so they had me bring it in to be fixed which was a whole debacle because their loaner system is substandard as was the cleanup job they did on the car after they repaired the dent, which doesn't really make me want to buy another Honda from them! Although we are considering buying this out at the end of the lease. We'd pay for the car for eight years total but the payments would be less than $300 a month.
And in other news, it is time for me to fetch M from her beloved job in the swells. The surf has been rough lately with the tropical storm heading up the coast, and we went down for an hour yesterday to look at (and some to go in) the waves. It's been beautiful down there these past several weekends. I have been enjoying my morning strolls along the boardwalk every Saturday and Sunday! I'll miss those while she is away next week.
As for M, she has developed a cough, because of course she would do that before heading off to the high altitudes of the Colorado mountains for the week. She claims she feels fine but we'll see what the doctor says tomorrow at what was supposed to be a regular checkup.
Otherwise to report on the weekend travels, one of the schools emerged as a favorite while we were up there in Boston. But it's still early and lots can happen to change that so I won't get too excited or report on anything definite just yet. But everyone there was very nice, the campus was nice, and the coach was as well. So M will head up for a visit with the team later on in the fall. Now we have to visit a couple of Pennsylvania schools. Nothing south of that Delmarva area ever ended up working out, and for now there are enough to keep us busy. If nothing pans out by November, we'll broaden our horizons a bit. For now, it's the greater Northeast.
This is about all that's been going on lately! Trying to choose colleges and plan for college and decide which car to buy or trade in have been the dominant themes outside of Molly's status, which is still unchanged so that's a good thing. The Honda dealer crashed my car into a parked car while it was in for an oil change so they had me bring it in to be fixed which was a whole debacle because their loaner system is substandard as was the cleanup job they did on the car after they repaired the dent, which doesn't really make me want to buy another Honda from them! Although we are considering buying this out at the end of the lease. We'd pay for the car for eight years total but the payments would be less than $300 a month.
And in other news, it is time for me to fetch M from her beloved job in the swells. The surf has been rough lately with the tropical storm heading up the coast, and we went down for an hour yesterday to look at (and some to go in) the waves. It's been beautiful down there these past several weekends. I have been enjoying my morning strolls along the boardwalk every Saturday and Sunday! I'll miss those while she is away next week.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
slow down please!
Time is just moving way too fast now! With M and Kevin just back, now she has to work a bunch of days in a row so I can take her up to Boston to look at some schools at the end of the week. I will have to take off two days myself, which is something I really haven't done in months, aside from when we went to Florida. I'm actually nervous about that part, and it's also time to start thinking about how much money I will actually make in the fall when I increase my hours.
Anyway, she was absolutely wiped out (of course) because they decided to go back to finals and stayed beyond the end of it, so they didn't get home until 1:30am. We went out for dinner last night, which was nice but it's packed in the summer, and a bit of a drive, so that also was tiring. And now she has to get up and do it again today. At least she was in bed by 10, but when I went to my room, she was on her laptop.
B thoroughly enjoyed his week at the tennis camp, wants to go back to it again. It costs more than I make in a week, so maybe one more week when M goes away will work. He still has a bunch of work to do to get ready for the return to school and I have to make sure he has all the clothes he needs. He has grown probably close to three inches this year, we'll see tomorrow because he has a doctor's appointment. I measured him last week and he was 66 1/2 inches, last year he was 64, so if the doctor's scale is in agreement that will be 2 1/2 inches. But this was a few days ago, and it could be the full three by now!!
Molly is also hanging in there, right now there has been no change. She is taking steroids and they have brought her appetite back without making her overly thirsty. I don't know if this will last, and I'm running low on the pills. I might cut her to half the dosage and see if that changes anything. Then she has to have the $300 test again :-(
And in other news, the laptop battery is about to die. I hear M is awake upstairs and I must get dressed and ready to drive her to work. Although the day had been supposed to be rainy, this has now been altered to a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. I was actually hoping for a bit of a gloomier day so I would stay in and get some things done! And it seems like every time she works, the sun is relentless. I think there have been two stormy days all summer so far.
Anyway, she was absolutely wiped out (of course) because they decided to go back to finals and stayed beyond the end of it, so they didn't get home until 1:30am. We went out for dinner last night, which was nice but it's packed in the summer, and a bit of a drive, so that also was tiring. And now she has to get up and do it again today. At least she was in bed by 10, but when I went to my room, she was on her laptop.
B thoroughly enjoyed his week at the tennis camp, wants to go back to it again. It costs more than I make in a week, so maybe one more week when M goes away will work. He still has a bunch of work to do to get ready for the return to school and I have to make sure he has all the clothes he needs. He has grown probably close to three inches this year, we'll see tomorrow because he has a doctor's appointment. I measured him last week and he was 66 1/2 inches, last year he was 64, so if the doctor's scale is in agreement that will be 2 1/2 inches. But this was a few days ago, and it could be the full three by now!!
Molly is also hanging in there, right now there has been no change. She is taking steroids and they have brought her appetite back without making her overly thirsty. I don't know if this will last, and I'm running low on the pills. I might cut her to half the dosage and see if that changes anything. Then she has to have the $300 test again :-(
And in other news, the laptop battery is about to die. I hear M is awake upstairs and I must get dressed and ready to drive her to work. Although the day had been supposed to be rainy, this has now been altered to a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. I was actually hoping for a bit of a gloomier day so I would stay in and get some things done! And it seems like every time she works, the sun is relentless. I think there have been two stormy days all summer so far.
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