So I was up way past my bedtime last night. And this morning, when we woke up, we found that there was a vandalism spree in our neighborhood!! One sort of expects this living in a more urban setting, and prepares to protect against it. But sometimes there is nothing worse than drunken spoiled suburban kids with too much time on their hands.
Our mailbox was ripped out of the ground and tossed onto the lawn. Some of the flowers were also destroyed around it. I had a small lighted sign with our house number on it, and that was gone, possibly up the road on a neighbor's lawn. Kevin just took a quick ride around the block to see what else had gone on, and if he could retrieve it. The mailbox next door had some pretty flowers climbing all over it, they've been growing all summer, and they were torn to shreds and tossed aside as well.
Kevin is just back and says that it was a major mailbox vandalism spree. There is one kid who I and another neighbor squealed on for speeding and passing in a no-passing zone on a 40mph road, and sure enough, his mailbox is fine. But you wouldn't think he'd strike so close to his own home, and he really didn't target anyone specifically.
The most infuriating thing is not knowing who did it, and knowing that there's always a good chance that it was kids who we know. It's difficult to say, since we have only been here two years and don't know a lot of the families in the development. Oh, the joys of Burbtopia.
In other news, Megan's fair was indeed rained out, but they went back to a friend's house and watched Michael Phelps steal the gold in the 100 fly. Thank goodness that race was only 2 laps, I don't think I could have stood it for any longer. Today, Megan and I are getting out hair cut (finally) and then she is going to the Jonas Brothers concert This will be my first time back to the guy who butchered my bangs months and months ago. I had them corrected by someone else, but unfortunately, this guy seems to be the only one who can give me a really good haircut, and the same with Megan.
Showing posts with label idiots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label idiots. Show all posts
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Beginners Luck?
So yesterday I tried to cram a lot into one day. Since C had asked to ride a go-kart, I figured we could take him down to ride one. Just in case, we brought along our waterpark bag as well, but it was starting to get crowded with long lines, so we left. I think we will save that for this afternoon if it clears up, or for tomorrow after swim practice.
The go-karts were fun, I didn't let Brian on, but I probably could have. There were a couple of idiots on the ride, two guys in particular who seemed drunk or something, they kept trying to ram each other and one of them kept getting stuck on the wall, which caused the operator to cut the cars all to about half power, and walk out and fix the guy's car. After that, Brian and C played some games in the arcade, and then we went to the race track. Here is a picture of the board after C's first bet:
He had #7 to win. Brian had him to place. When the horse walked out for the race, he looked deranged, with his eyes all wild, and his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, on the wrong side of the bit.
Then we had friends over for dinner, again Patrick, the one who C really got along with the other night at dinner. I saw C talking a lot more, and laughing and clapping his hands during basketball games in the driveway. He also does love his video games, and spiderman. At the end of the night, he and Patrick were standing side by side wrapped in their spiderman towels. It was cute. I suggested to my friend that maybe they should host C next year!!! I am still not sure of the cause for the not talking. I may never be able to figure it out. He smiles and looks happy pretty often, but he just barely speaks unless spoken to, and even then, he is a boy of few words.
Megan is off to her day at the school, and I am heading up to wake the boys. Brian has to see the orthodontist, who's going to order the two eyeteeth to be pulled within a couple of weeks from now. Afterwards we will see what the weather says. Either I'll take them to the Y to play basketball, or to the water park, or maybe to the beach; although that's where I plan on spending most of the week, in this predicted heatwave. I didn't really want C there with riptides and the giant waves sent ashore by Bertha.
In other news, Megan won two events at the meet she went to yesterday, although her times were not impressive. It was a small and fairly non-competitive meet, and she had missed most of the recent two weeks of practices, between her ear problem and then our trip. Now she has just this week and next of practices, before heading off for long course nationals in Maryland.
The go-karts were fun, I didn't let Brian on, but I probably could have. There were a couple of idiots on the ride, two guys in particular who seemed drunk or something, they kept trying to ram each other and one of them kept getting stuck on the wall, which caused the operator to cut the cars all to about half power, and walk out and fix the guy's car. After that, Brian and C played some games in the arcade, and then we went to the race track. Here is a picture of the board after C's first bet:
He had #7 to win. Brian had him to place. When the horse walked out for the race, he looked deranged, with his eyes all wild, and his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, on the wrong side of the bit.
Then we had friends over for dinner, again Patrick, the one who C really got along with the other night at dinner. I saw C talking a lot more, and laughing and clapping his hands during basketball games in the driveway. He also does love his video games, and spiderman. At the end of the night, he and Patrick were standing side by side wrapped in their spiderman towels. It was cute. I suggested to my friend that maybe they should host C next year!!! I am still not sure of the cause for the not talking. I may never be able to figure it out. He smiles and looks happy pretty often, but he just barely speaks unless spoken to, and even then, he is a boy of few words.
Megan is off to her day at the school, and I am heading up to wake the boys. Brian has to see the orthodontist, who's going to order the two eyeteeth to be pulled within a couple of weeks from now. Afterwards we will see what the weather says. Either I'll take them to the Y to play basketball, or to the water park, or maybe to the beach; although that's where I plan on spending most of the week, in this predicted heatwave. I didn't really want C there with riptides and the giant waves sent ashore by Bertha.
In other news, Megan won two events at the meet she went to yesterday, although her times were not impressive. It was a small and fairly non-competitive meet, and she had missed most of the recent two weeks of practices, between her ear problem and then our trip. Now she has just this week and next of practices, before heading off for long course nationals in Maryland.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Crime Solvers
So today we took C to the beach and kept him there for several hours. Again, he seemed to have fun, and was quite a novelty. He loves the sand, and comes home covered in it. So far he has gotten through the day without falling asleep. Hehe.
Anyway, on our way home from the beach, we passed an ambulance out on the main road. On the ground on the side of the road, some people had spread out a blanket, and there was a small girl sitting on it, and another standing nearby. There was an ambulance there, too, with its lights flashing and the back open. I wondered about it, and thought, well maybe she had a seizure or something and they brought her out and called 911? Still, it didn't make sense.
So we came home and started showering and getting ready. Kevin came home and my friend dropped off her son (who thankfully chatters enough to make up for C's selective muteness), and we headed out for dinner. As we were driving up the road, a Chinese woman flagged us down. She was carrying an infant and asked if we had seen two small blonde girls walking. She didn't make a lot of sense, but said she was living in her friend's house and they had gone looking for their mother. We said no, but went to drive around to look for them.
Suddenly I said, hey! Weren't those two little girls by the ambulance blonde? So we turned back and went to the Chinese woman. She had said they had left half an hour earlier, but we had seen them twice that long before. Kevin then called the police station with the woman outside the car, and sure enough, they had the girls. So we told the woman they would bring them to the house, and she told us she was the nanny. Then she asked us if she would get in trouble. :X (Ya think?) Anyway, it was bizarre. The police told her to go back to the house, and they would come.
In other news, so this was my second post of the day. I still hope C is having a nice time, although it is sometimes tough to tell. He was certainly worn out yesterday, but he slept till after 10 today, I think it was about 10:45 when he finally came downstairs. Brian is now all worked up because apparently C plays terribly violent games on his playstation at home, and I made Brian put the violent games away. I'm just a little disappointed that he is not giving anything back -- he smiles once in a while and is surely still polite, but he conserves his words to the point where he may be bordering on rude if he keeps it up. Hopefully he is just uncomfortable in a strange world; but I think I may know why his last years' family didn't sign back up ...
Anyway, on our way home from the beach, we passed an ambulance out on the main road. On the ground on the side of the road, some people had spread out a blanket, and there was a small girl sitting on it, and another standing nearby. There was an ambulance there, too, with its lights flashing and the back open. I wondered about it, and thought, well maybe she had a seizure or something and they brought her out and called 911? Still, it didn't make sense.
So we came home and started showering and getting ready. Kevin came home and my friend dropped off her son (who thankfully chatters enough to make up for C's selective muteness), and we headed out for dinner. As we were driving up the road, a Chinese woman flagged us down. She was carrying an infant and asked if we had seen two small blonde girls walking. She didn't make a lot of sense, but said she was living in her friend's house and they had gone looking for their mother. We said no, but went to drive around to look for them.
Suddenly I said, hey! Weren't those two little girls by the ambulance blonde? So we turned back and went to the Chinese woman. She had said they had left half an hour earlier, but we had seen them twice that long before. Kevin then called the police station with the woman outside the car, and sure enough, they had the girls. So we told the woman they would bring them to the house, and she told us she was the nanny. Then she asked us if she would get in trouble. :X (Ya think?) Anyway, it was bizarre. The police told her to go back to the house, and they would come.
In other news, so this was my second post of the day. I still hope C is having a nice time, although it is sometimes tough to tell. He was certainly worn out yesterday, but he slept till after 10 today, I think it was about 10:45 when he finally came downstairs. Brian is now all worked up because apparently C plays terribly violent games on his playstation at home, and I made Brian put the violent games away. I'm just a little disappointed that he is not giving anything back -- he smiles once in a while and is surely still polite, but he conserves his words to the point where he may be bordering on rude if he keeps it up. Hopefully he is just uncomfortable in a strange world; but I think I may know why his last years' family didn't sign back up ...
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Poolside Post
It's Memorial day weekend! It is summer!!! Currently playing: The Wall (Pink Floyd)
I am sitting out by the pool. I had a headache all day, but I watered my shrubs and it went away significantly, so I had a glass of wine and it is totally gone now. Here is the thing: I went to church, and thought how nice it would be to sit where the sun was coming in the window. So I sat there, and it ended up being too sunny, and the sun made me squint, and by the end of church I had a terrible headache! (plus, I don't think it is 'The Wall' after all, but it is definitely Pink Floyd)
So my funny bloggable story is that when I woke up, I thought, Ok, this exchange student thing is really getting to me, I am going to try to put it out of my mind for the time being. Maybe I'll get some sort of message at church as to whether or not I am meant to do this. So off we go, because Megan was wearing the white robe on the altar today. As I sat down and waited for the service to begin, as I always do, I browsed through the bulletin. Below the listing of all the sick and prayers needed, and birthdays and anniversaries, was a new entry. Guess what it was called? Are you sitting? It was called...THE MESSAGE!!!! =:-O!
So I read it. Well, basically, it said that you can't worship two gods at once, because you will end up hating one. what does that mean? I can't have an exchange student, because I will end up hating either her or my own kids? Anyway, I tried to pay attention to the sermon in between the vibrations of my phone when Kevin would send me a text. It seems that the two gods are God and Money. You can't have them both. However, what I took from this is that it is perfect to want to be like Christ. But I suppose what he was saying is that it is the same thing to want to want to be like Christ. So, like, if you have lots of money, but wish you didn't really have it, because Christ says the rich will be the last and they can't really get into heaven any more easily than they can fit through the eye of a needle, then you are actually OK and it is the same thing.
I was watching this lawyer and his wife, who rarely come to church now that their kids are grown, but who live in a multimillion dollar home in the next town over from us, and I swear that I saw them heave a dual sigh of relief when the priest said that it was just the same to want to want to be like Christ. Anyway, I told Kevin and he said that was good. He wants to give more money to the YMCA. I said, so go ahead. So, we're in.
But, sadly, I was unable to take away any relevance to my exchange student ponderings. I guess on that front I will just have to wait and see what happens over the next couple of weeks. I did find out that the woman who is too busy to call us back works until 4pm and make $126,000 a year. I definitely answered the wrong calling in my college days.
So that was my epiphany for the day. Yesterday we did go to the beach for the opening of Surfrider. It was a little chilly, not too bad. It is, after all, the beach. As long as there are no biting flies and no hypodermic needles on the beach, how bad can it be, right? And there were already two captured kittens! It was so sad. One of them, the one lying inthe litterbox, has yellow coming out of its eyes. I wanted to take it home and cure it. But, no. Four cats is enough and Puff the Beach Cat is the most expensive free kitten I have ever heard of, once we got rid of all the ailments she came with.
Well, Kevin informs me his creation is complete. He bought some unidentifiable hunks at Costco today, and just cooked them on the grill. They looked to me more like something you'd put in the oven, but as long as I didn't have to cook 'em, who really cares. I'll post more on that if I remember, and if I survive.
In other news, Megan is babysitting next door and Brian has been running around pretty much all weekend with random local boys. We had to drag him from the beach yesterday, and he wasn't trailing Megan, so that can only be a good omen for the year to come. Megan has a whole gang to run around with; and he is 'too young' to be included. So thankfully, he is finding himself some other buddies. And anyway, I dropped off her application to work in the extended school year program for the special ed kids, so hopefully she will get that and will work three days a week anyway, as a volunteer. They need 100 hours by their senior year, for the National Honor Society. Oh, yeah. And our phone is broken. It's been broken since Wednesday night. Ridiculous. (Disclaimer: post not proofread)
Currently playing: Burning For You (Blue Oyster Cult) :-)
I am sitting out by the pool. I had a headache all day, but I watered my shrubs and it went away significantly, so I had a glass of wine and it is totally gone now. Here is the thing: I went to church, and thought how nice it would be to sit where the sun was coming in the window. So I sat there, and it ended up being too sunny, and the sun made me squint, and by the end of church I had a terrible headache! (plus, I don't think it is 'The Wall' after all, but it is definitely Pink Floyd)
So my funny bloggable story is that when I woke up, I thought, Ok, this exchange student thing is really getting to me, I am going to try to put it out of my mind for the time being. Maybe I'll get some sort of message at church as to whether or not I am meant to do this. So off we go, because Megan was wearing the white robe on the altar today. As I sat down and waited for the service to begin, as I always do, I browsed through the bulletin. Below the listing of all the sick and prayers needed, and birthdays and anniversaries, was a new entry. Guess what it was called? Are you sitting? It was called...THE MESSAGE!!!! =:-O!
So I read it. Well, basically, it said that you can't worship two gods at once, because you will end up hating one. what does that mean? I can't have an exchange student, because I will end up hating either her or my own kids? Anyway, I tried to pay attention to the sermon in between the vibrations of my phone when Kevin would send me a text. It seems that the two gods are God and Money. You can't have them both. However, what I took from this is that it is perfect to want to be like Christ. But I suppose what he was saying is that it is the same thing to want to want to be like Christ. So, like, if you have lots of money, but wish you didn't really have it, because Christ says the rich will be the last and they can't really get into heaven any more easily than they can fit through the eye of a needle, then you are actually OK and it is the same thing.
I was watching this lawyer and his wife, who rarely come to church now that their kids are grown, but who live in a multimillion dollar home in the next town over from us, and I swear that I saw them heave a dual sigh of relief when the priest said that it was just the same to want to want to be like Christ. Anyway, I told Kevin and he said that was good. He wants to give more money to the YMCA. I said, so go ahead. So, we're in.
But, sadly, I was unable to take away any relevance to my exchange student ponderings. I guess on that front I will just have to wait and see what happens over the next couple of weeks. I did find out that the woman who is too busy to call us back works until 4pm and make $126,000 a year. I definitely answered the wrong calling in my college days.
So that was my epiphany for the day. Yesterday we did go to the beach for the opening of Surfrider. It was a little chilly, not too bad. It is, after all, the beach. As long as there are no biting flies and no hypodermic needles on the beach, how bad can it be, right? And there were already two captured kittens! It was so sad. One of them, the one lying inthe litterbox, has yellow coming out of its eyes. I wanted to take it home and cure it. But, no. Four cats is enough and Puff the Beach Cat is the most expensive free kitten I have ever heard of, once we got rid of all the ailments she came with.
Well, Kevin informs me his creation is complete. He bought some unidentifiable hunks at Costco today, and just cooked them on the grill. They looked to me more like something you'd put in the oven, but as long as I didn't have to cook 'em, who really cares. I'll post more on that if I remember, and if I survive.
In other news, Megan is babysitting next door and Brian has been running around pretty much all weekend with random local boys. We had to drag him from the beach yesterday, and he wasn't trailing Megan, so that can only be a good omen for the year to come. Megan has a whole gang to run around with; and he is 'too young' to be included. So thankfully, he is finding himself some other buddies. And anyway, I dropped off her application to work in the extended school year program for the special ed kids, so hopefully she will get that and will work three days a week anyway, as a volunteer. They need 100 hours by their senior year, for the National Honor Society. Oh, yeah. And our phone is broken. It's been broken since Wednesday night. Ridiculous. (Disclaimer: post not proofread)
Currently playing: Burning For You (Blue Oyster Cult) :-)
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Spring is in the Air
OK, so I am a damn fool. I realized that there is a link to this blog in the admin area of the swim team site. So, since now anyone who has access to that page has access to my blog, I have had to make 'life goes on' private. Now I will have to fomulate a list and actually invite people. Oh well, at least I won't have to watch what I say anymore. Never trust the internet.
I had originally linked to the Y page, but then deleted that link as soon as I realized that, in so doing, I had linked them to me as well. But the link on their site stayed, for some reason. I am surprised that it took someone this long to finally click on it. Now I'll just have to never enter the building again, or find a new swim team for Megan, or something.
So it's finally feeling like spring. Sometimes. Yesterday was a beautiful warm day. Today - not so much. But it's at least warm enough to go out in a sweatshirt, and it's good weather for walking, or it would be if I didn't have to work all the time!!
On Friday, I thought I had the day off. Well. I was mistaken. They called for me to work AM, so I thought that was not so bad. At 7am, the phone rang, and it said 'Middletown School'. Thinking, as I always fall for the same trick, that it was Megan, I picked it up. It was not Megan. It was the daytime sub caller, the woman at central office. I felt bad for her, she was begging, so I agreed to go to the farthest school from my house in the entire town, just for the afternoon. Turns out the teacher burned her hand on an iron, trying to protect a dog she was petsitting.
You know you're in trouble when the other first grade teacher comes in and tells you you are going to have a rough afternoon. The kids didn't listen at all. They were not terrible, really I have had worse. But they were definitely worse than my original plans for the 80 degree afternoon; as I had expected when I got dressed that morning! And then another sub at the morning school said she had turned that one down when they called her. So I wasn't even their first choice for the torture! But I did manage to get through it; and I know all they expected was that, so it's all OK.
Yesterday we went out and picked up some more garden items, a rhododendron to replace the one that died last summer, and some hanging plants. Oh, also a lighthouse! I'll try to remember how to put the pictures up here, once I figure out where we're going to put it. We will have to get electricity run through the yard, to the other side of the pool, but we actually needed that anyway. I am just plodding my way through the design of the yard. I don't know if Kevin appreciates it, but that is sort of too bad right now.
(haha. Since Kevin is one of the only readers now that I have had to make this a private blog!)
In other news: Brian is off to a baseball game with the Knights, his travel team. The Mets, his rec team, are awful. They lose every game. The Knights are 1-1. They're headed up North somewhere today for their game. Megan has to go to her 'God class' from 4 till 8 this evening, so I am going to try to get some spring cleaning done, after I go to Acme to get some food, of which we have none. This week, so far, I have a day and a half of work lined up. An AM only tomorrow, and all day on Tuesday. So that should not be too bad, at least I am not expecting it to be. hah.
I had originally linked to the Y page, but then deleted that link as soon as I realized that, in so doing, I had linked them to me as well. But the link on their site stayed, for some reason. I am surprised that it took someone this long to finally click on it. Now I'll just have to never enter the building again, or find a new swim team for Megan, or something.
So it's finally feeling like spring. Sometimes. Yesterday was a beautiful warm day. Today - not so much. But it's at least warm enough to go out in a sweatshirt, and it's good weather for walking, or it would be if I didn't have to work all the time!!
On Friday, I thought I had the day off. Well. I was mistaken. They called for me to work AM, so I thought that was not so bad. At 7am, the phone rang, and it said 'Middletown School'. Thinking, as I always fall for the same trick, that it was Megan, I picked it up. It was not Megan. It was the daytime sub caller, the woman at central office. I felt bad for her, she was begging, so I agreed to go to the farthest school from my house in the entire town, just for the afternoon. Turns out the teacher burned her hand on an iron, trying to protect a dog she was petsitting.
You know you're in trouble when the other first grade teacher comes in and tells you you are going to have a rough afternoon. The kids didn't listen at all. They were not terrible, really I have had worse. But they were definitely worse than my original plans for the 80 degree afternoon; as I had expected when I got dressed that morning! And then another sub at the morning school said she had turned that one down when they called her. So I wasn't even their first choice for the torture! But I did manage to get through it; and I know all they expected was that, so it's all OK.
Yesterday we went out and picked up some more garden items, a rhododendron to replace the one that died last summer, and some hanging plants. Oh, also a lighthouse! I'll try to remember how to put the pictures up here, once I figure out where we're going to put it. We will have to get electricity run through the yard, to the other side of the pool, but we actually needed that anyway. I am just plodding my way through the design of the yard. I don't know if Kevin appreciates it, but that is sort of too bad right now.
(haha. Since Kevin is one of the only readers now that I have had to make this a private blog!)
In other news: Brian is off to a baseball game with the Knights, his travel team. The Mets, his rec team, are awful. They lose every game. The Knights are 1-1. They're headed up North somewhere today for their game. Megan has to go to her 'God class' from 4 till 8 this evening, so I am going to try to get some spring cleaning done, after I go to Acme to get some food, of which we have none. This week, so far, I have a day and a half of work lined up. An AM only tomorrow, and all day on Tuesday. So that should not be too bad, at least I am not expecting it to be. hah.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
A Victory for Idiots
Isn't it wonderful? Apparently, up till now in New Jersey, idiots have not been allowed to vote, under constitutional law! But that has all changed. Any idiot can now vote. Unfortunately, I think most idiots have slipped through the cracks and were either voting, were on the ballot themselves, or both.
And yet there will be no stem cell research. Always a concern when you're actually facing a neurological condition. I guess $450 million was just too much to spend in support of Michael J. Fox. I'm a little disappointed, I know that some people have had amazing results with stem cell transplants for certain conditions. Of course, this had to be done in Belize, which most of us can't afford, even in a last-ditch effort to prolong our lives.
So those were the main points of the day. Other than preserving green acres, which thankfully is important to anyone who has ventured out onto the Garden State Parkway and witnessed the sprawl.
My full day sub job turned into a half day job last night. After showing up at school, I found I was barely needed...most of the meetings had been cancelled and they no longer needed coverage. As my ears are always open, I overheard the secretary on the phone saying they were shorthanded for classroom aides. I volunteered and was switched to a full day job with a multiply-disabled child. A whole different day, it makes you very happy and very sad all at the same time. These children are so happy with such little things, it's very cute until you remember that for many of them, they will remain exactly at this level for the rest of their lives.
And they will never be able to vote.
And yet there will be no stem cell research. Always a concern when you're actually facing a neurological condition. I guess $450 million was just too much to spend in support of Michael J. Fox. I'm a little disappointed, I know that some people have had amazing results with stem cell transplants for certain conditions. Of course, this had to be done in Belize, which most of us can't afford, even in a last-ditch effort to prolong our lives.
So those were the main points of the day. Other than preserving green acres, which thankfully is important to anyone who has ventured out onto the Garden State Parkway and witnessed the sprawl.
My full day sub job turned into a half day job last night. After showing up at school, I found I was barely needed...most of the meetings had been cancelled and they no longer needed coverage. As my ears are always open, I overheard the secretary on the phone saying they were shorthanded for classroom aides. I volunteered and was switched to a full day job with a multiply-disabled child. A whole different day, it makes you very happy and very sad all at the same time. These children are so happy with such little things, it's very cute until you remember that for many of them, they will remain exactly at this level for the rest of their lives.
And they will never be able to vote.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)