Est Songs

I was driving down the road the other day and "Space Oddity" by David Bowie came on the radio. And it hit me again, as it always does when I hear this song, that this is probably one of the saddest songs I have ever heard. That poor guy. So I got to thinking about other est songs. The funniest song, which I guess wasn't really a song, was one that my brother Tony had when we were young. It was on a 45 and was called "The Golf Game". I guess it was kind of R rated, but it was really funny. Another funny one is the Hannukah song, the original one, by Adam Sandler. The slowest song, one that you wonder if it is ever going to end, has to be "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly. And, almost anything by Jim Morrison - The Doors. Their songs seemed to drag on forever. The sweetest song is "Sad and Deep as You" by Dave Mason. After I had discovered the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I realized that "Ramble On" by Led Zeppelin was one of the coolest songs. And, in that same vein, "Tired Angels" by Mountain, where it mentions Gondor. The ugliest song (but for some reason I seem to like it) is the one by Nickelback about the girl on her knees. I forget the name of it. The longest song that is worth listening to the whole thing is, of course, "Echoes" by Pink Floyd. I love the crescendo-decrescendo theme throughout the song. The darkest song, well there are two. One is called "DOA", and I don't know who it is by, but the guy is dead. The other dark song is "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. That song used to scare me, especially the video. So, saving the "best" for last, has to be "Stairway to Heaven". I never get tired of hearing that, and how many songs can you say that about.

Party Girl

Last Saturday I signed up to become a Southern Living at Home consultant, which means that I will go into people's homes and give parties to sell these products, which are really nice. I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm a little nervous about it. I went to a party in August, and then I had a party on Saturday. So I've been thinking about doing this for a while now. I hope it works out. If anyone reading this wants to have a party for me, let me know. So far I have four parties booked and about three maybes. There's a lot to learn about it.

One problem I had. I emailed my cousin Jeff in Raleigh to see if he wanted to do a party. His house looks like the Southern Living magazine anyway, so I thought he might want to. Well, he did! So I'm going to Raleigh on November 19th to do his party. The problem is this. All the literature I've gotten says things like "Hostess Rewards" or "Hostess Information", etc. So I asked my sponsor if they had anything for hosts instead of hostesses. She got back to me and said no, that we would just have to go with the hostess stuff and hope for the best. I felt bad about this. I emailed Jeff back and told him. He emailed me and said, "Ok I'm calling it off!! HOSTESS indeed!!!!" But he was just kidding. I'm glad he has a good attitude about this. So, wish me well!

It Pays To Have Connections

Before I get into my story of last night I'll catch up a little bit since the last post. Bennie and I spent a fantastic week at Virginia Beach a couple weeks ago. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. I enjoyed riding the bikes the hotel gives us (which saves a lot of money), and of course we walked a lot. So we got a lot of exercise. Virginia Beach is a great place for walking and for bike riding with the 3 mile boardwalk and bike trail next to it. Plus there are a lot of bike trails that leave the beach and go out into the outlying areas. One morning I rode across the inlet over to the "rich" section. There were nice houses right on the beach. They may have sold for $175-200,000 around here. One was for sale, and I asked the yard guy how much they were asking. He said "1.4". It wasn't much bigger than our house, and it was actually across the road from the beach. One day we took off and drove down to the Outer Banks - 1 1/2 hours away. I had never been there. That was fun seeing what it looked like. We walked up "Kill Devil Hill", I guess is the name, to see the Wright Brothers Memorial. We drove down to the Bodie lighthouse. We crossed some really long bridges and ate at a great restaurant. Then came "home", back to our hotel. The only problem with staying gone a whole week is that I still feel like I'm behind on everything. I have about 20-25 hours of TV recorded that I still haven't seen.

Okay, so on to my story. Last night some of the women at church planned a night at the fair. I have done this almost every year for 15 years probably, always with different women going each year. We usually plan to go on the night of Priesthood session because the men are at church. So last night, after some cancellations, we ended up with three of us going. We knew that Clemson was in town playing Wake Forest, and parking might be a problem. So we waited until well into the game to get there so there wouldn't be the traffic. We got to Winston around 5:00. Well, half a mile from the stadium we started seeing cars parked all over the place, on both sides of the road and every available grassy space. It was jam-packed. As we got closer to the fairground and coliseum, all the lots were closed and had "lot full" signs on them. So, now we were starting to worry. As we went by the huge parking lot at the coliseum, it was also full, plus cars were stopped in both lanes coming from the other direction, trying to pull into that lot. So, I told the other two girls that my brother worked at Freddie B's, a bar across the road, and maybe we could park there. So we drive up by FB's, and the lot was blocked with two blue barrels in the entrance. Also it looked to be full. So, now there seemed to be no hope of parking anywhere. The cars going in the opposite direction were just sitting there with nowhere to go. So Kristen Branch, who was driving, pulled into a convenience store to see what was there, but no spaces. She turned around to pull back out, and I suggested that I run down to FB's just to see if Jimmy was there and if he could help. So, that's what I did. When I got to the bar, there was a friend of Jimmy's, Jon Hoots, outside sitting at a table. I went up to him and asked if he could hook us up with a parking place. He said yeah, come on in. So I went back to the street and waved Kristen to come in, while Jon went and moved the barrels. There was one space left that he let us have. He put the barrel back and told me that he had been charging $10.00 a space for parking there, but we got it for free! It was just really cool the way that worked out. I went in and said hey to Jimmy, then we went on to the fair.

I had put in my fudge, but it only won second place this year. But, I also put in chocolate cookies, which won second too. And I saw Will Moore driving around in a Pepsi golf cart. He said to tell everyone hello. He is living in Winston now.

Also yesterday while I was gone I taped the Virginia Tech/West Virginia game and watched it this morning. Marcus Vick rules! He threw 15/17 and ran for a TD. I think the Vick brothers are going to greatly overshadow the Manning boys in a few years.

The Vick Brothers

For the last year or two I have really enjoyed watching Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons play football. He is one of those players that always surprises you. If you don't know, he is the quarterback, but he can run with the ball better than anybody on the team. So when it is third and long, he will try to pass, but if no one is open, there he goes! And he usually makes the first down. So last week I watched his little brother Marcus play, and he has the same kind of style. He is the fastest runner on his team (Virginia Tech), and he throws the ball better than Mike. Today I saw them play Duke, and Marcus threw three TD passes. He has this style of throwing a really long pass like the ball is just up there floating, and then it falls right into the hands of the receiver. They are both a lot of fun to watch.

It was interesting to listen to the announcers today. I was pulling for Va Tech, but the announcers were Duke guys. So it was all Duke. It's kind of like when you watch a Panthers game on the local channel, and the announcers are all about the Panthers. But if you see it on ESPN they are more neutral.

BTW Starmount's football team is bad this year. I mean the bad that means bad, not the bad that means good. BUT, they will have a great basketball team! They have another Puerto Rican. He's a 6'5" junior. And he can also dunk the ball. So they will be fun to watch.

Satellite vs. Cable

(Note I put on our front door this morning)
"Cable guy, Please put the receiver on the porch swing. Thanks."
(Added to note when I got home this afternoon)
"OK Beautiful, if you'll give me a big kiss! Larry"

This is how it went down. I went to our local cablevision company last week and ordered cable TV along with the recording equipment. We would be paying less for a year, then it was going to be a little higher, but we would have the recording stuff, which we wanted. So on Wednesday the guy came and put it in. I had a really hard day at work and didn't really notice much while he was here. So when Bennie got home we tried it out. I wanted to cry. It was terrible! The picture was grainy, and nothing was clear like it had been. Plus there was a lot of junk every time you changed a channel. I just absolutely hated it. So yesterday morning I went to the cablevision office and told them about the poor picture quality. They said that the guy must not have put it in right, and they would send a technician to our house between 3:00 and 5:00. Okay. But it just nagged at me. It wasn't what I wanted anymore. So around lunch time yesterday I got on the phone to Direct TV (or DirecTV) and asked them about their recording stuff. I talked to one guy and happened to mention that we were thinking about switching to cable. So he transferred me to this other guy who was sweet as honey. He started making me all these deals. I finally fessed up and told him what we had done, but that I didn't know if the technician guy could fix it or not. He told me that no, he wouldn't be able to fix it because cable just wasn't the quality that satellite was. Which is true, I have found out. So, to make a really long story not as long, he offered us two recorders which were $148 each for $99 for one with $100 rebate, and the other one for free. So we made a dollar. Plus he took off $5 for six months on the HD package and $5 for a year on our total package. SO, we would be paying $10 less and having two recorders! Well, this all sounded good, but the tech was still coming between 3 and 5. So the guy gave me a new number to call and said he would put all of our deals on the computer if we wanted to stay with Direct TV.

Okay, so then the tech shows up, actually two of them. I explained about how the picture quality was grainy, and right away one of the guys said, "Yeah, there's nothing we can do about that, but it is only on Channels 2 through 70," like that was okay. And these were the main channels we would be watching! Well, it was NOT okay with me, and I told them so. They still tried to talk me into staying with cable (and I did feel bad because everyone had gone to so much trouble for us), but I held firm. I said that I wanted what I had before and didn't want less. So, they finally packed up the cable stuff, and one of them actually went out of his way to hook back up our satellite, which we hadn't turned off yet.

So, I called Direct TV as soon as they left and got us the sweet deal. I am so happy!

As for the beginning of this post - when the cable guy came on Wednesday he had to take one of our receivers with him as a trade off for switching, so he was supposed to bring us back the receiver today. I had to leave, so I left that note. Bennie is a lot of fun to live with sometimes!

Me and Haley Joel

If you haven't heard, Haley Joel Osment (the Sixth Sense kid {and Forest Gump kid}) is starring in a movie being filmed in North Carolina called "Home of the Giants". So last Wednesday I went down to Hanes Mall with my photo and pen and stood in line with a few other wannabe actors and actresses. Some of these people were real pros. They carried 8x10 black and white head shots to turn in with their form. I just had a digital pic that Bennie took at lunch time that day. When it was my turn I turned in my form and picture and talked to this guy for a little bit (my interview I guess). He said the most important thing they were looking for was availability and asked when would I be available to work. Because I work at home now I was able to say, "anytime". So, we'll see what happens. The guy told me that on another movie they had 1700 people apply for 200 spots. And, they mostly wanted teenagers and young adults. I don't really have my hopes up, especially with gas now, but it would be fun.

Today I went and signed us up for cable TV. We have had satellite now for almost ten years, but I liked Justin and Vanessa's set up with the recording thing. So Bennie and I discussed it and decided to go with it. The only con that we both had was that we won't be getting BYU anymore. But a big pro was that we will be paying less. So, now to learn the instructions. And I don't have much time before the FALL SEASON starts!

I Thought You Were Lance

I watch Young and Restless every day. Well, I tape it every day and then watch it when I can. Something happened this week that I wanted to comment on. There is an actor, John McCook, who plays a guy named Eric Forrester on The Bold and The Beautiful. This show is produced by the same people who do Y&R, and so they have crossovers sometimes in their plots. So, Eric Forrester came on Y&R for a little guest spot this week. The thing is, the actor John McCook used to play a guy named Lance on Y&R years ago! It was just weird. There was Lance, but he was Eric.

I have a lot of shows on tape that I have trouble finding time to watch. I don't know what I'll do when the FALL SEASON starts!

Hotlanta

This weekend we went to Georgia to see Justin (Chris) and Vanessa. We had a great time. We left here around 9:00 a.m. on Friday and went straight to Madison, GA. That is a cool little town with a lot of historical stuff. Apparently when Sherman went through burning everything he had some family in Madison, so he left that town intact. So today there are still the houses and stuff. But what I liked was just walking around the square downtown and going in all the shops. A lot of antiques and old books. Then we went on up to Athens about the time Vanessa got off work. We got lost, so she had to come get us. Then we followed her to their apartment - which is a really nice apartment. I think that is the largest kitchen I've ever seen in an apartment. Then around 7:00 Justin came home from work, and we ate homemade pizza for supper. It was really good. We went out for ice cream for dessert. (I know, but who diets on vacation?) The next morning (Saturday) we left for Atlanta. We parked the car somewhere and rode the MARTA (subway?). It was a little scary I thought. I was just glad to get to our destination. Which was the CNN building. We were right downtown. There were a lot of people around. We ate lunch in the food court on the bottom floor, then went on a tour. This was fun. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. We started off riding up an escalator which went all the way up eight storeys. It was right next to the food court, and when we got almost to the top I happened to look down. Big mistake. We were WAY UP THERE. It was scary. So then we were on the tour. We walked around and learned different things about the news, and then we were taken to the actual room where they were filming CNN News. You could see the woman primping, and then the camera was on her and she was announcing the news, then they would have a shot somewhere in the world, and the woman started primping again, and then it would come back to her. There were a couple hundred desks all sitting around with computers and monitors and stuff. Then we went down a floor or two to see the Headline News desk. It was a smaller version of the main one. I just thought it was a pretty cool tour, and I don't even like tours.

After we got done there we walked five blocks to Underground Atlanta. It was okay but really crowded. Then we got back on the MARTA and rode back to our car. The back trip was a lot better I thought. On the way in there was a crazy guy sitting close to us carrying on a pretty loud conversation with himself the whole way, so that was a little scary.

Then we went out to supper back in Athens at a place called Buffalo's. Then back to the apartment and just sat around talking. The next morning we went to church (Athens 2nd Ward), then packed up and came on back home. I loved the weekend, but it was nice to get home again. Justin and Vanessa are great hosts. I just wish they lived closer.

One other story. Last week the corn was in at the Branch farm ($1.50 a dozen), and I had thought about getting some to freeze. But with so much going on last week (my two nights of classes, and a church activity on Wednesday), and with getting ready for our weekend I had decided not to get any this year. I had just put it off, and last week was the last week you could get any. And then on Wednesday I was sitting at our church supper and swim party with Meredith Cozzens and her dad (Meredith's grandparents had the corn), and they started talking about the corn and how good it was. So I decided to, after all, try to get some. So Thursday morning I called to see about it, and they said I could pick it up at 6:00 p.m. My class started at 6:00, so they said to just come after that, that they would still be up. So, at 9:15 p.m. Thursday night I went over and picked up five dozen ears of corn. Last year when we got corn from there it was already shucked, but this wasn't. So, I brought the corn home, thinking to just shuck it on the back porch, because it was dark, and I really didn't want to bring all that into the house with all the bugs and worms and stuff on it. But, the porch light was really dim, and it was really hot, so I bit the bullet and brought in one bag at a time to the laundry room. I started shucking it over the trash can, but of course it was flying everywhere. And I tried to keep killing the little bugs as they were making their way to my kitchen. It was bad. Especially the ones with the worms. Finally Bennie came home from Winston and helped me, and then REALLY helped me by cleaning everything up while I started the blanching/ice water process and bagging them up. I finally got done around midnight, but our freezer is full of corn now!

FINALLY!!!

Something happened yesterday that I have been waiting for all of my adult life. A letter came from the Surry County Sheriff's Department calling me to JURY DUTY!! I have never been asked to do this before. Bennie has been on a jury several times, and I was always so jealous. So, I am to report September 12th. I hope it doesn't last longer than a week though, or even the whole week, because that Friday we're heading to the beach. Also, this is CRIMINAL court - the good stuff. So, we'll see how it goes.

Day of Bittersweetness

Did I just make up a new word? Anyway, this has been a bittersweet day. I was released today as Young Women president in our church (12-18 year olds). This was the fifth time I have been called as YW president. I have really enjoyed this calling, as I have every other time. I'm going to miss it. That is the bitter part. The sweet part is that I have a new calling as Activities Director. That will be fun, because I enjoy the social part of church, and I hope we can have a lot of activities. One every month would be fine with me, but that might a little much for the others.

Anyway, especially after reading my daughter-in-law's blog (she just got called as YW president in Boone), I've been remembering a lot of experiences in YW I've had over the years. Some good and some bad. And some really funny.

My first time was in Boone also. I had four girls - Jennifer Welsh, Kim Hess, Rachel Larson, and Melissa Willis. After about a year I had Shannon Willis and Marsha Woods. And there were two less active sisters, Loudermilks I think was their name. Anyway, one of the worst experiences was being at church one Saturday for an activity with the young men. I was involved in one of the games we were playing when a very irate mother came in, did I say irate?, a very IRATE mother came in and came right up to me, and in front of everybody asked why her daughter was sitting outside in a parked car with one of the young men. I had no idea she was out there. But I learned from then on to ALWAYS know where the girls were. Another time I had taken the Boone girls horseback riding at Valley Crucis, the Cook farm. We were having a really good time, and I didn't pay a lot of attention to the time. So when we got back to church one set of parents had gotten tired of waiting and had gone back home, and I had to drive their daughter about ten more miles to take her home. I didn't mind that as much as her father, a man I really respected, giving me this really disappointed look that made me feel bad. I learned from that also - to be back on time or call.

Now for good times. Every time I have been YW Pres, I have done this activity that is really good for your self esteem. Especially mine. I guess I'm pretty selfish, but I enjoyed this. I would give out pieces of paper to all the girls, and we would all write our names at the top of the paper, then pass them to the person beside of us, who would write down a sentence or two about the person who's name was at the top. The rule was it had to be true, and it had to be something good or nice about that person. Then you would pass it on to the next person. So by the time you got your own paper back it would have all these really good things written on it about yourself. I think I've kept all these papers over the years. I always had a good time at Youth Conference and Girl's Camp. Those were the times where you really got to know the girls. I would always take my Pit cards and other games. I remember staying up late at night just talking, about anything and everything. It has been fun just watching the girls grow up and mostly doing really well - marrying in the temple and having children.

Some funny things - It seems like the funny things always happen at Youth Conference, like the time the kids from another stake put shampoo in the fountain at Catawba College, and there were suds everywhere the next morning. (Was that Morganton?) And another time at Youth Conference one of our girls got caught standing at her third floor window one night flashing the boys outside. Well, maybe this should have gone under the worst things, but I guess I just thought it was funny. So the next morning we were called in to talk to the Stake President. It was scary being in on that conversation. And there were always certain girls you had to keep your eye on. One in particular was always giving us trouble. One night we were at a dance in Winston, and this girl had met this guy from Greensboro. I really had to keep an eye on her, so when it got time to leave she told me that she was just going to go say goodbye to him. So several of us were watching from our car as she walked across the parking lot. They talked a minute, and then kissed. She came back, acting like nothing had happened, and then asked why all the other girls were laughing. She didn't think anyone had seen her, but she and this guy had been standing right under a street light. Anyway, maybe you had to have been there. And at girl's camp one year we were staying at this 4H camp near Hanging Rock. There was a four storey lodge and then several cabins. So the older girls were all in this lodge. Well, about 3:00 a.m. the dinner bell, which was on a high pole outside this lodge, starting ringing. So all the leaders ran out to stop the girls from ringing it. When they got outside the ringing had stopped, and there were no girls around. So the leaders went back inside. About ten minutes later the ringing started back again. Same thing. The leaders all ran out but no one was there. What had happened was that some of the girls had rigged up some twine from their third floor window and were ringing the bell from their room. It was a great prank.

So, I guess I'm about done. I just have a feeling that I'll probably never have this calling again, but it was fun while it lasted. It's a great calling to have.

Redneck Heaven

I love to watch fireworks, but Bennie doesn't like to go, so I usually don't get to see them because I hate going by myself. But yesterday Quentin agreed to go with me. So, I picked the closest place to go to watch them - Mountain Park. I had no idea what we were getting into. We parked half a mile away on the side of Mountain Park Road (just short of the ditch) and walked up just as it was getting dark. It was almost 9:00, and I was afraid we'd be late. Well, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. They didn't start until 9:55.

So Quentin and I got up to the school and got amongst the couple of thousand people there. All rednecks. Bigtime rednecks. I only saw one person I knew, a girl from church who pretended she didn't see me probably because she was wearing very inappropriate clothing. Which brings me to the next point. Maybe I don't get out enough, but I've never seen so much skin before. And the bigger the girls, the less clothing they wore. Why is that? Don't they have any pride?

So, me and Quentin went over to listen to the band. The worst I've ever heard. They tried to do rock but didn't have a clue. When they sang Pink Floyd this was the way they sang it, "All in all, you're just a brick in the wall". I wanted to scream "A - nother!" And they tried to do Elvis. It was pitiful. And then it started to rain. So Quentin and I go down to the field and get into the dugout - with about five redneck teenagers playing with firecrackers. That was a lot of fun.

Finally the rain stopped, so we got out and walked over to the fence, waiting for the show to start. It was now about 9:30. So we watched some little kids playing in this huge mud puddle. Then, around 9:45, it started raining again - hard this time. I wasn't about to go back into the dugout from hell so we went and got under a big tree. Right beside some smokers, who HAD to just blow their smoke right in my face. Why is that? I don't care if people smoke, but can't they just TURN THEIR HEAD when they blow the smoke back out? Is that too much to ask for? So, finally, the fireworks start. They were beautiful like I knew they would be. The only bad thing was listening to the blow by blow from the rednecks in our little group describing every one. I had just as soon watch them quietly. But anyway, all in all it was worth going for. And I really appreciate Quentin coming and going with me. It's always fun being with him.

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was our 31st anniversary - of our first date. Bennie and I met in early June, 1974, but he didn't ask me out until June 24th. We have always celebrated this day. Actually we are celebrating tonight, because I was at Youth Conference yesterday. Being at YC always brings up memories of our dating years. I guess because they talk about it so much at all the classes and seminars. At one point yesterday afternoon two of the girls from Dobson and I went to swing during one of the free times. There were three swings pretty close together hanging from branches of huge trees outside of the art building on the Wake Forest campus. One was especially fun because it hung from a really high branch, so you just seemed to glide forever. Anyway, one of the girls and I got to talking about my past. She was curious and asked me what I had been like as a teenager. I told her some things - my marijuana-scented jacket, the skinny-dipping hitchhikers, etc. Then we got into me and Bennie and how we came to be members of the church. And then we talked about our attraction to each other, and I guess about how come we still have a strong marriage. So I was trying to explain to her about things she should be looking for in a guy. She is fifteen and spent a lot of time the last couple of days on the phone to her boyfriend. So, I was saying how it is easy to look at someone on the outside and just see a good looking guy, but you have to be looking for more. I said that may last for a few years, but people's bodies change over time, and you don't want to end up with a really boring person. Which brings me to my original thought when I started updating this blog today. Bennie is not and has NEVER been a boring person. He has always interested me in so many topics. He makes me laugh, and he is the easiest person in the world to talk to. I always tease him that he has an answer to every question I ask, whether he knows the answer or not he will give one. I have a good time with him, and I'm glad I have him as my eternal companion.

Attack of the Hummingbirds!

This has never happened to me before. I was sitting on our porch swing yesterday watching this one hummingbird at our birdfeeder. He would come and sip a while and then fly away. Then he would come back for more. He was cool. At one point he was so still that I wasn't sure he was even drinking until I saw a bubble float up the bottle. He was mostly black with a red striple around his neck. At one point after he few away a different hummingbird came and started sipping from other feeder. We have two on a post right next to our front porch. He was gray and not as pretty. So, in a couple seconds the first one came back. So I was watching the two hummingbirds on the two different feeders, and I remember my mother telling me once that if two or more hummingbirds are together there is a "boss", and he will chase everybody else away. So I was wondering about this when all of a sudden the new hummingbird flew up and at the other one, and they both took off, RIGHT TOWARD ME! I was just sitting there when these two small creatures came at me 1,000 mph. Before I could even put up my hands to shield myself they were gone. They flew between me and the chain on the swing. It reminded me of the space motorcycles or whatever they're called in Star Wars, the 3rd one.

BTW, my job is going well. I'm still struggling with the accents, but it is getting easier. I got my picture made Friday for the practice's website. When it is updated I'll put a link on here.

Last Day at Dr. B's

This was it. My last day! It was bittersweet. After you've spent time with people 32-40 hours a week for over five years it's hard to just leave, knowing you'll never have that friendship and closeness again. But, on the bright side, I'm excited about working at home again. I was treated very well today. Dr. Bokesch bought lunch for everybody and let me pick out the place (Cross Creek Country Club!), and then on top of that he gave me a $100.00 GC to Belk's. AND, he said if things didn't work out at home to let him know and I can come back any time. Now why wasn't he this sweet all this time I was there?

Storytime. This afternoon Pat and I had been outside our office talking, and then we came in and Inez went outside to smoke. I had just gotten back to my desk and started typing again when Inez opened the door (there were no patients there this afternoon) and yelled for Pat to come out. Well, I went to see what was going on too. You know how "curious" I am. So me, Pat, and Inez were all outside watching this big truck in our parking lot. It was a shredding truck. They had gone next door to pick up a big plastic tub of papers and put it in this truck. It was kind of like a garbage truck. He pushed this button and the plastic tub disappeared up inside the truck where, I assume, the contents were shredded, and then the empty tub came back out. It was cool. So Pat and Inez were talking about the merits of having a service like that come to our office to do the shredding, and we were all watching this truck as it started to leave. As it went across the parking lot the top of the truck caught hold of a cable and pulled it off the roof of our office. As it came off, this wooden piece came flying through the air with it and hit my car busting my windshield and denting the hood and door. Wow, what excitement. Pat went running out to catch the guy, waving her arms and stuff, and I whistled really loud to try to get his attention, but he didn't see or hear either one of us. He just pulled out in the street and kept on going. The wire was lying in the street and in the trees. So, to make a long story short, I called the police, they came, called the guy back, and I guess I'll get my car fixed tomorrow or Monday.

New Job Part II

Okay, this is, as Paul Harvey would say, The Rest of The Story. I started working on my new job last week at night and over the weekend. I had three people's dictation to type. One doctor was hard, one doctor was medium, and the PA was good (kind of like the three bears). And sure enough the one guy who was hard was REALLY hard. I could hardly understand anything he said, and I missed a lot, so I had to leave blanks, which I hate to do. It actually took me 3 1/2 hours to do three reports, which I should have done in 30 or 40 minutes. So I was kind of depressed because he was so hard, and I wasn't going to be making much money doing him - because I get paid by how much I do. But I kept telling myself to be patient, that I would get used to him. Except I didn't believe myself.

So, today I took my stuff back to turn in, and the other woman who does transcription at this office asked me how it went. I told her about what a hard time I had had with this one doctor (who BTW is from Romania and has a really heavy accent). And guess what she said? She said for me not to worry about him, that she would just do his and I can do the other two. I don't know if I can describe the huge weight that just lifted off me when she said that. I was thrilled. And felt very blessed. Now, if I can just get used to the Hungarian guy.

NEWJOBNEWJOBNEWJOB!!!!!!

I got a new job! I am thrilled. And very nervous. I actually have two jobs, although one won't start until August. So, I will turn in my resignation on Monday to Dr. Bokesch and work for Blue Ridge Cardiology. I will still be doing medical transcription, but I will again be working AT HOME! I loved working at home before, but the work dwindled down, and I had to pay my own taxes. Now I will have my taxes taken out, plus I get a really good benefits package. I feel really blessed. The bad part is that two of the three people I will be doing are very hard to understand. It will take me a while to learn them. And, I also agreed to teach a medical transcription class at Surry Community College this fall, two nights a week. I am really nervous about that. I've never even taken a class in this. So, we'll see how it goes.

Unsettled Feelings

That is just how I would describe myself right now. I went yesterday for my yearly evaluation at work and learned that some things are going to be changing about my job, and not for the best. I feel like I'm too old to start a new career. Well, to be honest, I've never had a "career", just a lot of different jobs, but still. I hate looking for a job, going for an interview, and actually starting a new job. I am comfortable where I am, even though I don't especially like what I do. So, I guess to look on the bright side I should be excited about finding something I would enjoy doing, right? Right. I just have to SIU and have faith that everything will turn out for the best.

Just a note about my dear husband. He had an accident last night with one of our brand new Cutco knives. Nothing serious, but he did find out that Quentin was right - they are VERY SHARP. I think Bennie would recommend these knives to anyone now - HANDS DOWN. I think he would say that they are on the CUTTING EDGE of technology. He would probably give a THUMBS UP to them. He would say A STITCH in time saves nine (what does that mean anyway?). And LBNL he would probably CUT TO THE CHASE and say that they are TEARrific!

No Daydreaming Today

I have a problem in church sometimes, well, a lot of times. I find the meetings kind of boring and find myself thinking about everything in the world except what someone is trying to teach me. It is something I seem to always be working on - trying harder to pay attention. Especially in Sunday School. We have been in a lot of different wards and branches over the years, and Sunday School seems to be the most boring class ever. Usually I find some excuse to stay out in the hall or in the library - anywhere other than the chapel where we have our adult SS class. Well, today was different. I went because we had a substitute teacher, and I wanted to show my support. As I told him later, this was the best class I have ever attended - ever. I can always judge how well a teacher is by how much I daydream in class. Today's was the first I can remember not daydreaming at all! He was interesting, he personalized the scriptures, he told stories, and he was hilarious. I will tell one thing he told us. He was talking about people going to church and criticizing things about the church, and how they should find a church they agreed with and go to that church. Then he said, "There are doors all over this building." He then went on immediately to another topic, and it took a few of us a couple seconds to realize what he had just said. You could see people's shoulders shaking with laughter. It was a very enjoyable class. I wish he was our teacher every Sunday. So, have you guessed who it is yet? I'll give you a clue. The very first time I met him I was working at a pizza restaurant. He came up to me as he was leaving and asked what time I got off. I was thrilled, thinking he wanted to get together afterwards. I said I got off at midnight, and he said, "That's past my bedtime," and walked out.

I Got A Bid!!!

I am taking an Ebay class at SCC. So last week I put two things on Ebay, then last Tuesday night, at the end of the auction, I had no bids on either one. I was really disappointed. So this week I put three different things on, and last night I looked, and one of them had a bid! I am excited. It is just $9.99, but still. I am having trouble learning about putting pictures on there, and now, of course, I will have trouble with shipping. So, wish me luck!

If anyone wants to see my stuff, one is a Jesus clock, one is a praying hands figurine made out of slag glass, and the other is a gemstone ashtray in the shape of Texas. You can probably find this stuff. I just see it on "My Ebay". Mom gave me this stuff. I need ideas of other stuff to put on. Any suggestions?

Say It Ain't So Eric

Boy was I wrong. All this time I have been pulling for Eric Rudolph. I thought he probably did the abortion clinic bombing, but not thinking anyone was inside so as not to hurt anyone. But the Atlanta stuff I was absolutely sure they had the wrong guy. After they arrested Richard Jewell for it, and then realized he was innocent, I thought they just said it was Rudolph because no one could find him and he was easy to blame. So I was hoping they would never find him and he could just keep on living in the mountains - free as a bird, thumbing his nose at all the G-men looking for him. Now that he has admitted it, and especially today after saying, "I certainly did," and being so arrogant about everything, I hope he rots in prison. And one other thing. How can someone who is so against abortion because he believes in the sanctity of life commit these crimes?