Hurricane Ian 2022

Talk of a hurricane heading our way started early. I broached the topic over the weekend, hoping to jump on top of things early instead of last minute. I don't know why I bother.

Tom: "I'm not worried."

Me: "I understand that. You're never worried. But don't you think we should at least be prepared? Do we have wood?"

Tom: "No. But get food if you want."

Darcy came for a couple of days since she had work in our area. She tried to get Tom on the bandwagon too. It went over as well as my attempt.

Every day brought more worse news. Schools closed. I purchased food provisions. The Tampa area was going to get hit. Tuesday morning Tom work me up on his way to work.

Tom: "You should pack up things and drive to Indiana."

Me: "WHAT? Drive to Indiana? Why are you telling me this the day before the hurricane? Drive? What about the dog? I tried to get you to deal with this over the weekend. I could've flown out of here!"

This went on and on with Darcy joining the fray. She got on him about his lack of attention until the last minute as always. 

Darcy: "You do this every time! Why would you tell her that now? Why not three days ago? We're stuck here now. And you need to board the house!"

Tom: "I can't do everything! I have to go to work."

He left. Darcy got up Madison and began telling us what to do before she headed off for her job.

Darcy: "Madison, call Lowe's and ask if they have wood. Mom, go down and see the neighbors and ask for their truck. I'm going to work. I'll come back when I'm done but I've got to get to my house and take care of things there too."

Lowe's had wood but it was going fast. Maddy and I walked down to the neighbors and asked if they could help. The wife volunteered her husband, told us to get the wood, text her, and she'd send him down.

We dressed and left for Lowe's. Darcy joined us when her job got cancelled. We were in line for sheets of wood that ran out to the people in front of us. We moved on to other sheets, but the Lowe's guy talked those people out of the heavier wood, and we got it. We loaded it, purchased it with other supplies, and went outside to wait for the neighbor. The Lowe's guys working outside were impressed three women were handling this job.

Them: "Are you going to put it up too?"

Madison: "We are."

Them: "Do you know how to do it?"

Madison: "We're going to YouTube it!"

They helped my neighbor load it into his truck, and his son came down and unloaded it at my house. Then, Maddy and I took a break. Darcy headed to her house to batten down the hatches there. After some food and coffee, we measured our windows. Everyone in the hood was boarding up. My neighbor across the street had just finished doing his, and he came over and offered his electric saw and his muscle. We took both. It took us the rest of the day to board six windows. The three of us were pooped at the end.

Me: "And FYI, you did not help us when this story is related to Tom."

Neighbor: "Got it!"

When Tom came home, he was quite impressed. H wanted to know how we got the boards transported from Lowe's to our house. We told him on the roof of my car. He wanted to know how we got the boards up. We told him YouTube. Eventually, we told the truth. He was still impressed.

Darcy and her roommate got their apartment taken care of and got their food. We all sat down to wait for the storm to blow apart our lives.

It turned.

Thank you, Ian. We spent the day with our front door open watching the storm. It poured. We had a lot of wind. Usually, we lose power, and this time we didn't even lose that. We did lose Internet. My neighbors across the street lost power. Ian trimmed our oak tree, but that was it.

Not so for the neighbors south of us where Ian came ashore and hit. I belong to a writer's group there, and most everyone there lost a house or a vehicle or power or water. It was horrible. We felt guilty for escaping yet again.

We gave the neighbors our generator when theirs failed to work, and then had them over for dinner the next night, so we were able to give back to them. While we ate, their power came back on. 

I later heard this story about an Indian tribe in our area. They burial grounds are along the water from north to south in our county, and they blessed this sacred space, thus saving the area from storms. I like it. I'll take it.

But it is good to know if I had to do it again, I could manage--with my neighbor's help. We had them over for dinner the next night since they had no power. 

Maddy: "Because we can't do everything!"

Yep, that's our new slogan until at least the end of the year.

 

Roger Federer G.O.A.T.

 

What a great send-off to the legend! I cried as much as he did. But what a way to go out--on his own terms! Well done as always. True G.O.A.T. on and off the court!

I will miss him. 

Grammy is 92

 We celebrated Grammy all week with parties and luncheons and brunch! Happy Birthday, Mary Anne!

First family wedding

The first next-generation wedding on my husband's side of the family happened this past weekend in Chicago. The five of us, and Grammy, flew there, spending five days of hilarity, love, and togetherness. Of course, chaos reigned. How could it not when you have twenty-one people family members together in one place?

• We left early in the morning. My SIL told us to get Grammy a wheelchair. FYI - the wheelchair kiosk isn't staffed that early. We had to simply take one, hoping the wheelchair stamp on Grammy's ticket would get us out of an arrest. 

• Ohare is a HUGE airport. I feel we walked the entire place looking for the car rental. With all of our baggage, plus Grammy in the wheelchair, half of us took elevators while the other half took the escalators. Eventually, a nice airport worker assisted us with minimal eye rolling. We had to hop a tram that drove us miles to another section of the airport. We hiked through the cold garages and secured our van.
• Nancy whipped up a gourmet salmon meal. Grammy had legs cramps (she insisted it was from all the sitting) and she drank pickle juice. I almost vomited watching her drink it. We then turned her over to her other son and his husband for the next several days as we were staying in different locations.
• My nephew had a soccer game that night. He's the goalie. Several people went off to watch that.  
• There were several scheduled events starting the next day. The first was a ladies only outdoor bridal luncheon. Before the men dropped us off for that, my nephew broke his wrist at his Saturday soccer practice, and we had to chase down his father so he could meet him at the urgent care.
• At the luncheon, I was at the table with Grammy, who got stung by a bee. Having watched General Hospital all these years, I was able to save her. I went to the kitchen and asked the chef for a bowl of baking soda, mixed it with water, and pasted it on Grammy's finger. The other guests, including the doctor bride-to-be and her doctor bridal party, were none the wiser that a medical situation was taking place.

• Earlier in the week, we had a discussion on people thinking Maddy and Darcy are twins. Madison told us that ever since her UNC days when she was mistaken constantly for a red headed girl on campus, she got in the habit of pretending she knew people. At the luncheon while people were arriving, this woman walked in and immediately went to Madison, exclaiming loudly how great it was to see her. Maddy played along, and Darcy and I, forgetting her earlier comments, tried desperately to place this woman. Right as they went to hug each other, the woman realized she didn't know Madison. Turns out, it was my SIL's good friend. She thought Maddy was Olivia, Maddy's red haired cousin.
• The second activity that day was the rehearsal dinner. We volunteered to decorate and with the amount of people, had it done in ten minutes. There were tons of people indoors and outdoors and the waitresses had a hard time getting people to take the appetizers, so they would bring them to me because I sat in a corner far away from germs. The cousins all came to me for food. Later, we had a rousing game of cornhole. My team won.
• Somehow, we managed to dress ten people with only three bathrooms and get out the door in time for the wedding. It went off without a hitch. Mark and Em are now married! Darcy made us all line up to take photos outside for our Christmas card. If you're on the list, you'll see those come December.

• The reception was tons of fun. I changed into sneakers. Best thing I did! The dance floor was never empty. Grammy found a piano and people thought she was part of the entertainment during the appetizer portion of the reception. She danced with the groom. We ate filet mignon that was as big as my fist. Cocktails flowed. After we left, well after midnight, Tom ran through a McDonalds because the youngsters were hungry! How???

• The next day there was a pizza luncheon. We were late to that. No one was very motivated to get moving for pizza after Big Mac's at one o'clock. I just wanted to watch the start of Sunday football. But we made it, crammed into tables with strangers, ate pizza, salad, and pasta, and took photos afterward.

• The next day we lounged, enjoyed breakfast, and then accepted Grammy again and headed to Ohare. Grammy refused a wheelchair this time and walked. She did not have leg cramps that evening. The flight back was uneventful. We all agreed it was a fabulous weekend!

Congrats to Mark and Emily! May you have a wonderful new life as a couple!

A typical Saturday morning

I had several family items to discuss this morning, and since the main two were available, we sat in the living room to begin. We ticked off items one, two, and three, but got hung up on item number four which required information from a password-protected account.

Tom: "I don't have that password."

Me: "You do."

Tom: "I don't know where."

Me: "Okay, I'll go get it."

I went to my messy desk and dug through some papers on top of my file manager. As I did, my back scratcher--an essential utensil in my life--fell behind the desk. Now, my desk is huge and heavy and isn't moveable. Since I needed to keep the family focused, I opted not to climb under the desk to retrieve my back-scratcher. 

Instead, I woke my computer to retrieve the password in a file. Out of two monitors, only one obeyed. The main screen was dark. 

I gave up.

Me: "Forget it. My monitor isn't working, and the file thingy is on that screen, and I don't know how to move it to the other screen. Why are things always so difficult?"

Tom: "Is the light on?"

Me: "No. That's the first thing I checked. I turned it on and off. No light."

Tom: "Is it plugged in?"

Me: "Why wouldn't it be plugged in? I just used the damn thing yesterday. How would it come unplugged?"

Tom: "Things happen."

However, he got up and came into the office to assess the situation. Madison, seeing her chance, disappeared. 

Me: "Before we start, I know my desk is a mess, so don't start in on that."

Tom: "I didn't do that."

Me: "No, but you always do that, so I'm nipping it in the bud first."

He messed around with the cord, unplugging from the screen and plugging it back in. He got down on his knees and tried to find the cable behind the desk. There is only one portal in which you can get behind the desk. I have that blocked with a paper shredder, which he didn't move. He assumed he had no access, and annoyed, he got back up and leaned over the desk to peer behind it.

Tom: "I can't even get to the power strip."

Me: "That's because you didn't move the shredder. Let me go under the desk to get it. I have to get my back-scratcher that fell there too."

Tom: "This desk is a mess."

Me: "I told you not to start with that."

Tom: "I'm just getting it out of the way. Plus, I have to move all this shit to so that I can work."

We stopped to yip and yap at one another about desk cleanliness. That ended when I threatened to go into his desk to point out his issues. He went back to working on getting the cord, and I started cleaning. 

Me: "What happened to that grabber thing of my mom's? I used to use that in situations like this, but you did something with it. Did you throw it away?"

Tom: "It's in the garage somewhere."

Another time out as we went back and forth until Tom located the grabber by his desk. He unplugged the monitor, took it off my desk and carried it to Madison's desk.

Tom: "The next thing is to plug it into another outlet. But I can't do that here because this desk is a mess! All these desks are full of shit."

He said this while spinning in a circle between the three desks, monitor in both hands. I may or may not have chuckled.

Eventually, he succeeded with his plan, and the monitor came on.

Tom: "See that light? That's the light I was talking about."

Me: "Yes, I knew what light you meant. It didn't come on."

Tom: "It's on now."

Me: "I see that. But it wasn't on when you tried it either while sitting on my desk."

Tom: "Is the power strip on?"

Me: "Why would it be off? You saw how hard it is to get to it. How would it turn off? You think the back-scratcher did that on its way to the ground when it fell?"

Yup, folks. That is precisely what happened! And I could not stop laughing.

But I did, and then Tom discovered he had the password all along--in his phone. But that wasn't until after we broke into email accounts to okay the usage of the password manager to even find the password we wanted.

Which he had the entire time.

And my friend wonders why I can't leave the house on time!

Call the dog

Since the pandemic, Elliot has had people in the house. Now while we're down to the two of us, he likes to know where I am twenty-four-seven. If he doesn't, he goes into my bedroom and cries until I call for him.

Yesterday, he came into the office and alerted me that it was dinner time. Typically, I save my work for the day, feed him, and begin prepping the family dinner. This time, I didn't. I fed him and returned to work. 

With his head stuffed into his dog bowl, he didn't see this, and when he finished, he went searching for me. I'm sure he checked the kitchen first because he knows the routine. Who knows where he went next, but it wasn't the office.

Suddenly, I hear this noise. I stop and listen. It's Elliot howling like his life has ended--in my bedroom. That's clear on the other side of the house.

So, I did what all parents and dog owners do when they know their children/pets won't hear us shouting.  

I picked up my cell phone to call him and alert him to my location.

Yep. I did.

Lesson learned? Elliott needs a cell phone.

Why do we have to act like grown ups?

Before Sharon arrived, I told Oleg how her husband doesn't like being around us when we're together. 

Me: "He thinks we act like children."

Sharon arrived, and it was some time before she remembered she should shoot off a text to let her husband know she'd gotten to us safely. He responded immediately with information on what he and the kids were planning for dinner and entertainment, and then he ended the text with, "be safe and watch your back."

Sharon: "What the hell does that mean? Watch your back?"

Interview with a boyfriend

Darcy: "How would you feel if I went on a solo trip to Arizona?"

After what she calls "getting kicked out of Alaska," my youngest needed an uplifting experience. 

Darcy: "Everyone works to save money to travel when they're older. Then when they're older, they can't travel because of age, ailments, or something. I'm reversing that. I'm going to work to make money and travel, and then I'll come home, work, and make more money to travel again."

I encouraged her because I was a scaredy cat at her age. Heck, I'm still a travel whimp. Of course, I suggested she go somewhere I had a Wyndham, and she did--Sedona, AZ.

Because she flew out of Orlando, I decided to stay in the city while she was gone because a minimum two-night stay is required when booking. She was only going to be gone for four. Why stay, leave, and come back? I called it a writing retreat.

Then I called my friend Sharon to visit me.

Then, Oleg, who had made plans to take Darcy to the airport, decided he'd stay too. 

It was his first time meeting Sharon.

Darcy: "You know how I am with Sofie? That's Mom and Aunt Sharon times four."

We showed the kid a good time. 

Sharon: "So, tell me about yourself. This weekend is all about me learning about you. It'll be up to me whether or not you work out with Darcy. You have no idea how much pull I have with this family!"

Sharon cooked for us one night. She entertained us with stories about her adventures in scouting. The woman hikes millions of miles in all sorts of mountains, etc. 

We explored the Wyndham, played mini golf, and tried TikTok trends in the hallway.

We stayed up way too late and drank lots of wine.

When she left, I thought she'd given Oleg a passing grade.

Oleg: "Not really. When she talked to Darcy last night on the phone about being the flower girl at her wedding, she said, "I don't know if it will be with this guy or someone else," so I don't think I've passed yet. Who knows?"

Sharon does!

Happy Birthday Tom 2022

Every year, I ask Tom what kind of cake he wants for his birthday. Because, unlike most people, he isn't partial to one flavor or type. What he does enjoy is a cake I wouldn't put on a top ten list.

For a few years, it was an ice cream cake. I'm not a fan of combining the two. If you want ice cream with your cake, put a couple of scoops beside it on the plate. But, it was an easy cake to purchase.

One year, he asked for a chocolate chocolate chip cake. Not a chocolate chip cake, but a chocolate chocolate chip cake. In this house, Darcy and I are vanilla. Madison is chocolate. Tom is whatever he feels like at the time. A lot of times its carrot. 

Cakes are not meant for vegetables.

I searched high and low for a recipe that fit his description, which included glaze. I found one, and I made the damn cake. And it was delicious. Another time he asked for an upside-down fruit cake. Neither of us can remember the fruit, but this year he decided on an apricot upside-down cake.

I couldn't tell you the last time I saw an apricot. I just know I don't like it, probably having been forced to try one as a child. I suggested alternatives like peach or apple.

Tom: "It sounds so good."

I looked up recipes. He vetoed them.

Tom: "Here's one--a caramelized upside-down apricot cake. Delicious."

I whined. He gave in and decided he'd like a pie from the Village Inn down the street.

A pie? 

Not that this birthday was about me, but pie is not cake. Cake is a traditional birthday treat. It is the LAW! Unless the pie is Village Inn's peanut butter pie. Then, it's okay.

He asked me to pick up a berry fruit pie, and I agreed. Only, the morning of his birthday, I was so intent on getting outside to join my neighbor for our walk, that I completely forgot to wish him a  happy, happy. 

I decided I'd make it up to him by baking the damn apricot cake.

It wasn't bad.

But then, we also had a strawberry rhubarb pie for those not interested in my cake because Tom picked that one up on his way home from work.

Darcy: "Gee, I'm sorry I missed it...NOT!"

Happy Birthday big guy! You do put up with a lot from the women in this house!

Shaking my head at the kids today

SueG's daughter is a senior. She's deciding on colleges, and I volunteered to travel with them to Orlando to visit the University of Central Florida. That was not one of the state colleges we toured with my girls, and with Maddy down with COVID, I agreed they needed my expertise in any and all things college related.

Plus, I have the Wyndham! 

We opted to spend a few days there. Unfortunately, I was a paranoid COVID/monkey pox worrier. The pools were packed. No one wore masks. I preferred to stay locked away in our room until we absolutely had to venture outside.

Like for the college tour. We were up early, unsure how long it would take us in the Orlando work traffic. We were at IHOP right when they opened, and with bellies full, we continued to the campus. 

Sydney had instructions, which included paying for parking, and since that lot was one of those we could leave our car in, we did so. It was right across the street from where we needed to go first, so off we went.

As we walked to the crosswalk, I noticed a baby opossum in the road on the opposite side. He wasn't quite in the middle, but he was close, huddled into himself and frightened. Off to the side stood a girl attempting to coax the animal from death.

Now, Sydney attends high school at a veterinarian school where she will soon have her tech license. She zoomed in on this situation, and the two of us watched as we crossed the street.

Me: "Okay, first of all, that is a nocturnal animal which leads me to believe it is not healthy. Monkeypox!"

Sydney: "What is she doing?"

Me: "She's trying to keep it from getting run over."

Syndey: "No, what is she doing now?"

I turned. The girl had entered the road and was nudging the animal with her foot. Syndey and I were lucky we weren't run over ourselves since our attention was totally on this and not the road.

Then the girl knelt AND STROKED THE OPOSSUM'S TAIL!

I was beside myself, muttering about how monkeypox started with an animal and how these UCF kids were not the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree.

Syndey was outraged!

Syndey: "I'm going over there to educate her. You never touch a wild animal."

Too late. Now, the girl was petting the opossum like a cat. ON ITS HEAD!

SueG: "No one is going anywhere. We're ignoring this and going where we need to go. She is a dumbass. Keep walking."

Me: "If she comes on this tour, I will tell her to wash her hands."

Syndey: "I really need to go over there."

But her mother shut down that request, and while we did keep walking, Sydney and I both kept watching. As if it could get worse.

It did.

The girl PICKED UP THE OPOSSUM and carried it to safety. 

Sydney went nuts. I went nuts. SueG kept telling us to keep walking. 

The girl did not come on the tour. Nor was she wounded or dead on the side of the road.  

There, also, was no opossum--probably because the student took her as a pet.

UCF is at the bottom of my list for Sydney.

Syndey: "Why? I can only help these idiots by coming here."

Good point.

COVID and we all fall down

Several days before Oleg's birthday, I had nose drainage. The kind that slithers its way down the back of the throat, pooling until you can't help but cough. I had the throat tickle. I felt lousy in the evenings. But no fever, no body aches, no loss of taste. I continued going about my days, including spending a stint with Grammy in the ER (she's fine). I still mask and rarely go out. 

I know my body. I suspected I was well on my way to a sinus infection.

But, just in case, I quarantined. Truth? I thought doing so would get me pampered. Ha!

I stayed in Darcy's room, aka the guest room, and slept on a blow-up mattress. Saturday, we got the news Oleg had tested positive. Not long after that came the text from Darcy in Alaska. Her group tested before boarding their trip's cruise phrase, and guess who came back positive? Again, with no symptoms. She was coming home.

Immediately, Madison and I took the home test. Both of us came back negative. Still, I moved into the Steelers' room while Darcy took her old room. 

And then Tom fell. 

Maddy moved temporarily into Darcy's apartment because she had a planned vacation in a few days and didn't want to chance it.

Tom stayed in our bedroom. He did not test himself.

Tom: "Why? I'm sure I have it."

Me: "Uh? So you're sure?"

I, meanwhile, had a telavisit with a medical professional who agreed that my sinus pressure symptoms, significant headache, and loose cough with gross fluid sounded like a sinus infection. She gave me an antibiotic. Within three doses, the headache and pressure disappeared. Still, it took ten days and then some to feel a hundred percent. Did I have COVID on top of sinusitis? Who knows? I held on to that one negative test.

Tom missed a week of work. Darcy never had symptoms. She and I shared the pool, one going in first, the other after because we were over our four walls.

Although, I must say the Steelers room was top-notch. I had everything--refrigerator, computer, television, couch, futon. Okay, the futon sucked after the second day. By day five, I released myself and repeated the sinusitis diagnosis if anyone asked. I did wear a mask.

We all survived. Then, Madison returned from her vacation. On her first day at her new job, she tested positive for COVID at a walk-in clinic where she hoped they'd treat her for a sinus infection.

Oops.

This time I ran away--to Orlando!

Oleg's Bday 2022

Oleg's birthday was a hit from the Russian restaurant to Madison's homemade attempt at the Hungarian cake Oleg always gets when home. 

We ate too much food. We had presents, including Darcy's gifts and well wishes from Alaska. We learned English and Russian for words like fork, spoon, knife, plate, glass. We laughed. We celebrated.

Happy Birthday, Oleg!

Encountering brick walls

There is a lot in acclimating Oleg's family to the U.S. Everyone has jumped on the wagon train. SueG handles the medical aspect. I research whatever Oleg needs, including schooling information and finding English classes for his grandmother. Oleg runs around doing everything else, including teaching his mother to drive in our large city, etc. Unfortunately, it hasn't been so helpful outside our friend/family circle.

His brother will attend high school in a couple of weeks, so I called the school and discussed the enrollment process with a woman who was not very welcoming. I brushed that off--everyone has a bad day. Then I gathered the necessary papers and signatures, including taking my MIL to a notary to sign a residency affidavit stating the family lived in her house. 

Armed with this paperwork and necessary documents, Oleg, his mother, and his brother went to the school and met with Ms. Jay (name changed). Her disposition hadn't gotten any sunnier. She wasn't pleasant and then sent them away. Despite having an affidavit and a utility bill, the school system needs more proof of my MIL's ownership of her property. Please explain how having a copy of the cable bill helps here? 

But that is what I took to Ms. Jay later that morning after she dismissed Oleg and the crew. First, I took his mother to my bank to have the other side of the affidavit notarized. Something I was told the school would do as they have a notary on property.

The bank notary took the paper and documents.

Him: "Do you have an account with us?"

Me: "I do, yes, several."

Him: "But she doesn't?"

Me: "She's from Ukraine."

Him: "I understand that, but our policy is you must have an account--"

Me: "Who's to say she won't open one at this bank depending..."

To his credit, he shut his mouth and notarized the paper. But he talked around Oleg's mother as if she weren't there, which annoyed me. But we were in and out in less than five minutes, so I let that roll off my back.

Who knew the shit storm that was about to blow me over at the school.

First, we entered the building and stopped at the glass partition. There was a small hole for talking and a bell on a ledge. Behind the glass, a woman stood facing me directly. We made eye contact. I smiled. She didn't. I said hello. She stared.

I rang the damn bell.

She asked if she could help. I explained our previous morning visit and that we had the papers Ms. Jay required. She unlocked the door, let us enter, and sat us at a table with three chairs. I attempted idle chit-chat. 

Me: "The school colors are red and gold?"

Her: "Maroon."

We waited. 

When Ms. Jay appeared, she wore a ponytail to the side of her head and hatred on her face.

I've never seen anything like it.

She acted like I was trying to pull one over on her, although I haven't a clue what that would've been, seeing as I was only enrolling a student. She was nasty. She was rude. She refused to look at Oleg's mother and his brother.

Ms. Jay: "Does mother speak English?"

Me: "She does, as does her son."

When I told her I had done what the website suggested and downloaded and filled out the paperwork given to students on the first day of school--

Her: "You'll have to fill them out again. Those are color-coded. How is Mrs. Blah supposed to know I have them? And was this the county website or the school's website? We have over 100,000 students. I can't be expected to remember to get her those papers."

When I asked her about classes--

Ms. Jay: "We will put him in standard ninth-grade classes."

Me: "And if he took some of those classes already?"

Ms. Jay: "We would need proof of that. Not a report card. We would need official documentation from the school. We can't just take your word for it."

Me: "Ukraine is in the middle of a war."

Ms. Jay: "I understand, but we need it."

When I asked her about speaking with a counselor--

Ms. Jay: "Maybe, but I don't know if they are working right now. This is vacation time for them."

Me: "Can you tell me who the ninth-grade counselor is?"

Ms. Jay: "Ma'am, that goes by the first initial of the student's last name!"

I waited. She stared at me.

Me: "So, you want me to find that on my own? Is that on the website?"

Nothing.

She tried to act as though Oleg hadn't been there earlier, asking for all the paperwork again. I shut that down, reminding her she had made copies of all that documentation. Oleg's mother opened her huge file, one of many she carried in her backpack for hours as she crossed into Poland. When she pulled them out one by one, Ms. Jay rose to "check."

She returned with the file. By the time we finished, I was livid. 

Ms. Jay is a tech data person assigned to give out a password and username so students can enter the system online. This is who the school has as the face of welcoming new students? 

Yeah, no wonder this county school system gets flack. I don't know if anyone would care to hear my story, but I haven't given up telling it. If the superintendent or school board doesn't know how things work in the real world, how are they supposed to make changes? Ugh. I'm still deciding how to go about alerting them.

But assigning a worker who has issues against foreign citizens, isn't it. 

I can only hope the experience goes upward from here. 

Alaska bound

Darcy accepted a job working for three weeks in Alaska. She will be one of fourteen interpreters on an Alaskan vacation adventure, including a seven-day cruise to British Columbia. She and her mentor flew from Orlando in the early morning, and I suggested we spend the night because I did not want to awake and drive I4 at 3:30 a.m.

Hubby got perturbed at the idea, ranting along the lines of entitlement and wealth until I reminded him of my Wyndham albatross. 

Hello! We make payments whether we use these damn points or not!

Good thing he didn't come with us because Wyndham upgraded me from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom in a unit larger than my house. 

It was an enjoyable evening with pizza, wine, and fireworks on the roof of the owner's lounge.

The following day, I dropped off the two interpreters and their excessive amount of luggage at the ungodly hour of six-thirty. Then, because Wyndham requires a two-night minimum stay, I spent the day writing while Madison explored the resort.

Madison: "I found where the sales pitches happen. A very nice area. So, I explored. I went up this large staircase and peeked into rooms with tables and chairs. They had little refrigerators with waters and sodas and snacks. No one was in the offices, but as I wandered, I heard footsteps. I had nowhere to hide. This guy appeared and asked if I was being nosy, and I told him I certainly was!"

It poured that evening, so there was no firework display. Instead, I continued writing. Madison exercised by skipping from one end of the unit to the other until she eventually got tired and settled down to do some work for the upcoming school year. About ten o'clock, I threw in a load of laundry.

I always overpack, and every trip, I say I won't, and then I do. So, this time I didn't.

Me: "I'm taking the clothes I'm wearing in the car and one other outfit. I'll wash them in the unit. Well, unless something happens to the washing machine. Then, I'm screwed."

Oh, foreshadowing.

I showered, wore my Presidential Wyndham robe, wrote, and realized I didn't hear the washing machine. Thinking it complete, I went to shift the clothes to the dryer. Unfortunately, the washer was still full of water, and still not comprehending, I figured I'd disrupted the cycle and started the machine again. 

But I did stand there. When the machine started a series of clicking noises, I knew I'd jinxed myself--at eleven o'clock at night. I texted the Wyndham support number and explained that if they didn't want me checking out in my birthday suit the following morning, they'd better send someone to help.

They did. Maintenance arrived at eleven thirty and had the issue resolved before midnight! The lock on the machine was broken and only needed replacement.

No nudity happened the next day, thank goodness. 

But I think I shall keep overpacking. 

Chalk up another girls' trip toward my resolution!