Jamilyn's Journal - December 2005


	Date: 31 December, 2005 Time: 12:24pm Subject: So Long...Farewell... * * * * * Well, as most of you know, I am leaving this blog for greener pastures. I've been test-running my new blog, and haven't found a reason to jump over there permanently. So change your links and come start 2006 with me at Adventures in Park Hopping jlm, 12.31.05, 12:28pm \| Date: 30 December, 2005 Time: 2:38am Subject: The E.A.G. * * * * * My cousin Jenn once remarked that our family has an "easily amused gene." And it is so true. We can laugh for hours about the dumbest stuff. I think my E.A.G. is more exaggerated than some other family members' - after all, I have perfected the art of sitting and staring into outer space and just letting my mind wander. My mind, I guess, amuses itself. Oh yeah - and Scott will probably have "ooh...shiny" engraved on my tombstone...because shiny things fascinate me! Anyway, another facet of my E.A.G. is being irrationally proud of really stupid things. For instance, when I get all caught up at work and have a minute to sit and stare at the screen and I realize that things are running smoothly because I haven't screwed them up, I'm proud. When I finish my shower and there's still hot water left, I'm proud. And tonight, I did something I'm so proud of I felt compelled to blog about it: I set 5 stations on my car radio all by myself! This is obviously not a huge accomplishment...for a normal person. Ever since I got my car back, I have had to know how many times to click the tuner to go from station to station (5 clicks from 104.1 to 105.1, then 8 clicks from 105.1 to 106.7, then 5 more from 106.7 to 107.7), and I stopped listening to 101.5 completely because it was too far away to click to unless I was at a red light. So this weekend I mentioned to Scott that I needed him to reset my radio buttons, and he told me all I needed to do was hold in the number while the radio was on that station. Wow...is that all? What a fool I've been! So now I have all five of my favorite radio stations set. Of course, the radio holds something ridiculous like 12 presets, but I don't think there are even 12 stations in the Orlando/Tampa market that aren't Spanish, Contemporary Christian, or Country! So here's my short list: Real Radio 104.1 (the greatest talk station ever) Mix 105.1 (as the name suggests, a little bit of everything) 101.5 - The Point (all 80's music, out of Tampa) XL 106.7 (Orlando's Top 40 teeny-bopper crap station that accidentally plays a good song every now and then) Magic 107.7 (easy listening, which also accidentally plays a good song on occasion. Magic also plays nothing but Holiday music from Thanksgiving to Christmas) Now if only I could learn to set the clock... jlm, 12.30.05, 2:45am \| Date: 29 December, 2005 Time: 1:01pm Subject: Darwin Matthews * * * * * I just had a lovely conversation over AIM with my darling friend Darwin Matthews. He was the "Matt of Honor" in my wedding, back when we still worked in the same place. He has since moved on to dispatching for RCFD, and I of course have moved on too. I miss him like crazy. Last time we saw eachother was probably October of '04. I hate it when I lose touch with people like that. There's always just "something" that comes up and prevents us from making plans. Anyway, he has inspired my 2006 New Year's Resolution: Stay better in touch with friends and family. Last night, I tried to ignore another sign that this should be my resolution - Disney released Spin & Marty on DVD. I know someone who definitely needs to own that. jlm, 12.29.05, 1:06pm \| Date: 28 December, 2005 Time: 10:15pm Subject: Blowing Out the Candlelight * * * * * This evening was my final Candlelight Processional of the year. I picked up my certificate and pin when I handed in my music, and was pretty happy to be throwing my robe in the bin for the last time after the show. Don't get me wrong - I've had the greatest time - but after being crammed in with 70 of your closest friends, under stage lights, trying to keep your knees from locking and your voice from cracking on the high notes, you need 10 months off!! We spent the afternoon in Epcot with Mom and Pastor Bob and Janet. Janet's birthday was on Monday, so when I made the reservations for lunch (at Coral Reef...again) I put "celebrating Janet's birthday" in the comments. Imagine all of our surprise when she was presented a personalized menu at the beginning of the meal! I think maybe we'll go there for my birthday next year! They also put a candle in her dessert, which had a chocolate scroll screen-printed with Happy Birthday. And there was no obnoxious singing...which is also a definite "plus." Unfortunately, it's the week between Christmas and New Year's, and the park was packed. Don't believe me? There was a 45 minute wait for Journey into Imagination. That's usually a walk-on. We didn't even bother trying for Soarin' because the tip board had it posted as a 130 minute wait. Ugh! So we ended up not doing any rides at all. That sucked a little, but we had a fun time regardless. Scott and I were talking tonight about going to see Fantasmic some time next month once the people have all gone home. We're also contemplating Sea World passes for next year. I guess we'll see how that goes. What I really want...more than anything else...is a nice long cruise. I want to eat all night and lounge all day, and I want to be completely stress-free for 4 days or more. Is that so much to ask? jlm, 12.28.05, 10:32pm \| Date: 27 December, 2005 Time: 11:15pm Subject: Negative Nancy * * * * * There's a new girl at work (and by "new girl," I mean 50-something woman who's been there about 3 months) whose negativity has been a recent source of angst for me. We shall call her Nancy because it sounds good paired with the word Negative, not because her name is Nancy. I work with an actual Nancy who is just as sweet as can be...but we'll just ignore that fact for right now. Anyway, Negative Nancy is the sort of person who has trouble saying nice things. She has said so many things recently that have offended my sensibilities that I've started writing them down. She is a constant reminder to me to be nice and positive as often as possible, almost like a "don't try this at home." Here's a sampling of some of the past week's Nancyisms... One of our partners sent over 8 huge trays of sugar cookies to us on Christmas night. Upon tasting them, she said, "they're bland. maybe they sent them to us because they messed them up." Lesson: don't be ungrateful. She walked into the break room while we were watching the tail end of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and had three things to say: "what's this week's sob story?" - "I wonder what the resale value of the new house is." and "when are they going to fix my other house in New Orleans? one of you should write a letter and ask them to do my house next." Lesson: don't complain that your other house is in shambles in front of people who don't even have one house. She called the help desk and I answered the phone. "Oh Jamie...I don't think you'll know this...I was hoping for Robert." Lesson: don't insult the person who is about to help you. Side note: she asked me something that I knew without looking up...that she should have known too. A few of us were talking about different Christmas activities in the area, and Nancy had to throw her two tarnished pennies into the conversation. "I've never done any of that, and I'm certainly not going to this year. This place has sucked out all of my holiday spirit." The rest of us had to work on Christmas, too. But we either suffered silently or made the best of it. Lesson: don't bring down the morale of the entire team. Remember kids, don't be a Negative Nancy. If you can't say something nice (or at least funny), don't say anything at all. jlm, 12.27.05, 11:24pm \| Date: 27 December, 2005 Time: 1:42pm Subject: DVD Purchase * * * * * I had $15 in Columbia House "fun cash" to spend before the end of the year, so I went on a little freebie spree today. I got City Slickers for free with my fun cash, and then in a separate transaction bought the Jurassic Park Adventure Pack (all three movies) for $19, got the extended 2-disc set of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for free (gotta love 'buy one get one free' sales), and then bought The Story of Us for $9.95 because if I bought 3 movies I wouldn't have to pay the $7 shipping. On today's agenda: clean, clean, clean. Possibly a trip to Target (I hear their pre-lit trees are 50% off...) to spend my $20 gift card from Secret Santa. Possibly a trip to the movies to see Memoirs of a Geisha. Possibly not leaving the house at all. It's hard to say at this point. jlm, 12.27.05, 1:50pm \| Date: 26 December, 2005 Time: 2:26am Subject: Oof! * * * * * Have you ever had searing gas pains so bad you thought maybe it wasn't actually gas but your appendix, and couldn't remember which side your appendix was on, so you decided to just sit really still and wait until death or the fart, whichever came first? Oh...no? Me neither! We had a pot luck at work tonight, and as with all potlucks that came before it, I over-did it. This was actually a finger foods potluck, so there were lots of crackers and dips, chips, chicken tenders (home made, and woo-WEE were they good!), and two different people made meatballs - one italian, one sweet n sour. So I ate lots of crackers and dips, chips, chicken tenders, and meatballs. And then I thought I was going to die. And then I had .6 hours of overtime. And now I'm home...but as a humanitarian gesture to my darling husband, I'm trying to stay out of our bedroom for a little while. ahhh... jlm, 12.26.05, 2:32am \| Date: 25 December, 2005 Time: 11:53am Subject: Christmas Puzzle * * * * * I got this in my brown paper bag stocking at work, and thought it was fun, but more thought-consuming than I could handle at work (what with tracking Santa and all...). Enjoy my (re-)gift to you. :o) What's the Real Title of These Christmas Songs?* 1. Bleached Yule 2. Castaneous-colored Seed Vesticated in a Conflagration (this isn't the real title of the song...it's the first line) 3. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior Incisors 4. Righteous Darkness 5. Arrival Time: 24 hrs - Weather: Cloudless 6. Loyal Followers Advance 7. Far Off in a Feeder 8. Array the Corridor 9. Bantam Male Percussionist 10. Monarchial Triad 11. Nocturnal Noiselessness 12. Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers 13. Red Man En Route to Borough 14. Frozen Precipitation Commence 15. Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle 16. The Quadruped with the Vermillion Probiscis 17. Query Regarding Identity of Descendant 18. Delight for this Planet 19. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings 20. The Dozen Festive 24 hour Intervals Answers are in the comments for this entry jlm, 12.25.05, 12:02pm* \| Date: 25 December, 2005 Time: 1:51am Subject: Christmas Spirit, part 2 * * * * * "It is a waste of energy to be angry with a man who behaves badly, just as it is to be angry with a car that won't go" -- Bertrand Russell So...this quote in my e-mail wasn't quite a sign from God, but it worked its magic. I decided there was no sense being all ticked off at the world and going on and on about Scott's managers "ruining Christmas" because ultimately the only one who could ruin it was me...or maybe Scott. And when it comes down to it, I like presents any day of the year. So we had our Christmas in the morning on the 24th. We tore up some paper, ate some candy (because chocolate and salt water taffy are the perfect Christmas Eve breakfast!), and went babysitting before work. At work, I kept track of Santa's progress (spotted over Cape Canaveral at 22:10 Eastern!!), which everyone seemed to enjoy. And tomorrow while Scott is away, I'll play his new video game. Nah, I can't back that up. But my library book came in today, so maybe I'll start reading that. Tomorrow I have a Christmas puzzle I'm going to post. Until then, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! jlm, 12.25.05, 1:59am \| Date: 23 December, 2005 Time: 11:46am Subject: Christmas Spirit * * * * * My balloon of Christmas Spirit suffered a major pin to the side this morning. Scott has been trying for a few days to get his schedule nailed down (why is it so hard to do? last-minute changes, of course). Finally this morning he has gotten the next two days figured out. And it sucks for us. Tomorrow (Christmas Eve, need I remind you!) he's working 6pm until 2:30am. Then Sunday he goes in at 9:30 to 6pm. And since I work 4:30pm to 1am, the only time on Christmas that we'll be together is the 6 hours he's home inbetween shifts. You know, the six hours he should be sleeping. So when's Christmas? I just don't know. Maybe I'll have to break down and have it tomorrow during the day since we'll both be home. I just hate not opening presents on Christmas...it feels like you didn't try hard enough to make it happen. But I also know that rushing to get through them all at 3am isn't very special either. We're screwed either way. Luckily for all of you, I did the Weekend Assignment last night before I learned that there are Grinches lurking about enjoying stealing Christmas from deserving young families: Weekend Assignment: Write a holiday haiku On any subject. Went to Post Office to pick up some packages, left with a headache Wrapping Christmas gifts in paper of red and green makes Jamie happy! Chocolate chip cookies Peanut butter cookies too Smell great when baking 500 lights strung on a Christmas evergreen make the season bright I miss seeing snow But I don't miss slush or sleet Florida is fine. jlm, 12.23.05, 12:01pm \| Date: 22 December, 2005 Time: 1:50pm Subject: Done! * * * * * I finished shopping yesterday. And I finished wrapping this morning. Of course, I have to stop at the post office (didn't I just say I wasn't going back there???) to pick up something Scott and I ordered for someone else. I guess that means I'm not completely finished wrapping. So close, and yet so far... jlm, 12.22.05, 1:52pm \| Date: 21 December, 2005 Time: 12:39pm Subject: Yesterday...and a little today * * * * * We had the best time yesterday. Scott and I spent the day with my Mom, Aunt Rose, and cousins Alicia and Aubrey. This is the first time Scott has met the girls, and we really had a lot of fun. I haven't seen Alicia since Laura's wedding in August of '01, and we picked up right where we left off. Anyway, we spent the day at Epcot (I hear they have some kind of Christmas show there...). We didn't go on enough rides (only Soarin' and Mission Space), but we had two full meals (lunch at Marrakesh and dinner at Coral Reef) and they watched Candlelight. I have my voice back - I'm sure everyone out there was really concerned about that ;-) Yesterday was one of those days where I laughed so hard I feel thinner for it. Sadly, they were mostly "in the moment" things that just aren't even worth writing down and explaining for a broader audience. Although I must say I will NEVER again walk around the park with leftover shrimp pasta in my bag. The little girl behind me going on and on about salami and someone who "ate bad onions" almost had me in tears! Of course, I had some pictures that we took at the Coral Reef. Unfortunately, the one of all of us that the waitress took didn't come out at all. But at least we're all represented below. Me, Mom, Aunt Rose, Aubrey, and Alicia There was no alcohol involved in the taking of this picture. Scott maybe enjoyed the plastic dolphins on the sides of the glasses a little too much! Aubrey and Alicia bask in sisterly glow. We really had a great time yesterday, and I can't wait until next week when we go down to Ft. Myers to see the rest of the family. Woo hoo!! Today I shall finish my Christmas shopping. I have to get Scott's stocking stuffers and some Secret Santa stuff for work, plus cheese & crackers for our finger foods potluck on Sunday. jlm, 12.21.05, 1:08pm \| Date: 20 December, 2005 Time: 11:55pm Subject: Decked Halls * * * * * Monday Photo Shoot: Show me the decorations! Yes, time to pimp your seasonal decorating bug, folks. Show us what you got. Though our decorations are sparse, you don't have to ask me twice to show them off! Our collection of Holiday Disney plushes atop the bookshelf - the Eeyores belong to Scott and the Mickey and Minnie are mine. My 23-year-old Advent Calendar. This picture was obviously taken a few weeks ago. I haven't missed a day yet, and now the tree is almost full!!! "The stockings were hung..." on the wall with pushpins. Again, Scott's is the Eeyore one and mine is the Pluto. The two little ones are new additions this year, one for each cat. Speaking of cats, here's Milo enjoying his new snack of evergreen bough. He and Kilo had some fun adjusting to their first (and last?) live Christmas tree. Our Christmas tree, which really isn't as bare as it looks in the picture. I've decided that next year the lights will be white, since these make it really hard to white balance the picture. Hopefully said white lights will be on a nice pre-lit artificial tree. Thanks for taking Jamie and Scott's tour-de-Christmas. And be sure to check out the Twelve Days of Christmas, Theme Park Edition over on my other blog!! jlm, 12.21.05, 12:27am \| Date: 19 December, 2005 Time: 12:14pm Subject: Important Life Lesson * * * * * This morning I woke up at 10:00. Not bad, considering I went to sleep sometime after 3:30. Of course, the alarm woke me - no way I was doing that on my own! Why the "early" morning? Well, my darling Auntie Rose and the girls are coming up today for a short two night visit, and I told her I'd sign them in when they get here. The problem: we never established any sort of time frame. And Lord knows if I had slept until noon, they would've gotten here at 10am. That's the way my life works! So I got up, showered, dressed, and took off for the Post Office. After all, I still had a pile of 31 cards destined for Walter Reed sitting on the desk. Slacker! And now, the important life lesson I learned, which I shall impart unto you: unless it is a matter of life and death, do not under any circumstances set foot in a branch of the United States Post Office the week before Christmas. The place is scary! Actually, I guess it wasn't as bad as all that. I only waited in line 10 minutes. And the people who work at my local branch are really nice. They were even nice today. I bought a padded envelope, sent it Priority Mail, and got a sheet of Muppets stamps for under $10. I also had a question about a missing package (by the way, did anyone send something addressed to me through the mail?), and the lady actually went to the back to make sure it wasn't sitting there. When I left, the line was almost twice as long as when I got there. After the Post Office, I decided to swing by the rental office for Take 2 of attempting to pick up this package. We got a slip in the mailbox on Saturday saying that I (yep...in my name) had a package at the office. So, having just been there picking up 2 other packages, both sent FedEx, I called the rental office and asked if she also had something else for me. Nope. Well, the lady at the Post Office confirmed for me that there's no way a USPS carrier would be delivering anything with a Fed Ex label (duh...but I'm covering my assets). She also gave me the phone number of the supervisor of the carriers. She said he might be able to help me track it down. It's just strange - I haven't ordered anything else, and nothing Scott has ordered would be addressed to me. So that's the mystery of the package slip. I'm guessing the carrier somehow screwed up and put my name on the slip for someone else's package. That would totally not surprise me. jlm, 12.19.05, 12:29pm \| Date: 18 December, 2005 Time: 11:37am Subject: Life Rant * * * * * Scott's getting sicker and sicker. He's toughing this one out on his own though no matter how much I tell him he needs antibiotics. Plus, last night he worked 6pm-2:30am OUTSIDE and then went in for his regular shift at 9 this morning. Yep, he's an idiot, but I love him anyway. Speaking of sickness, one of our two overnight people is very sick and will probably not be in at all this week. How does this affect me? Well, there's only two overnight people, and the other one's days off are Sunday/Monday. So I may be working some overtime the next few days. Since I started this job, they've mostly covered the overnight shifts by having the 4am person come in at midnight. I think it's because the manager who makes those decisions doesn't know me from a hole in the ground. (there's more, but this is a public journal and I rather like my job!) But one of the morning people has also been taking a lot of sick time, and I doubt they can spare another one. I e-mailed two different managers and told them I could work 'til 4. Let's see if they listen... Of course, that was a pretty stupid decision to make, considering I've got family in town Monday and Tuesday. Oh well...I guess I'll sleep on Wednesday...allll day. Good thing my Christmas shopping is done, huh? jlm, 12.18.05, 11:45am \| Date: 17 December, 2005 Time: 1:56am Subject: El Camino * * * * * I've had a love affair with the El Camino ever since the movie The Mexican, in which Brad Pitt takes a trip to Mexico and insists on being given a rental car that's more exotic than the Ford (or whatever) they were trying to give him. So he gets this broken old P.O.S. car and spends a lot of time throughout the movie just saying "El Camino" with different inflections when there's no other dialogue in the scene. It was funny...and it stuck with me, even though almost nothing else from the movie has. Fast forward to last year. On nights when I worked late, I sometimes had to park in the lot over in the "ghetto" section of the complex. There was a beaten-up El Camino permanently parked in the lot, and whenever I had to park over there I'd park next to "my friend" the El Camino. And if Scott asked where I was parked, I'd say "next to the Elll Camiiiino." I don't know if I ever bothered to explain to him why I said it that way...maybe he just thought I was weird. OK, I am weird. And it is fun to say. But I really was quoting a movie! Fast forward to present. The last time I had to park in the ghetto, my friend the El Camino was gone. I don't know if the owner finally got it moving, or if the owner moved. Either way, I missed it. Imagine my delight tonight when Jim called at the end of his shift to tell me to pass the following message on to the duty manager: There is an orange El Camino in the front parking lot. It's been in the same spot for two days, and there are all sorts of sharp tools like a pitchfork and an axe unsecured in the back. Since it was in the same place two days in a row, I went over to look at it and saw that the keys are in the ignition. So at the end of my shift, Kay and I went out to the lot to take a look. This car is beautiful - much older than any other El Camino I've ever seen, and if it has been abandoned, I want to claim it! Since it's rather distinctive, we both think we would've noticed if it was there at the beginning of our shifts. So she left a message for the morning duty manager to check and see if it's still there. They are some magical cars, those El Camino's. jlm, 12.17.05, 2:06am \| Date: 16 December, 2005 Time: 1:19pm Subject: Amoxicillin * * * * * When I went to the doctor, she had asked if I'd ever had penicillin before. I said I might have, but couldn't remember. So she says she's prescribing amoxicillin and I said, "oh yeah - I had that when I was little - tastes like bubble gum!" She said, "that's the children's version. no bubble gum for you." Why is that? I had plenty of tasty medicine when I was little. Why can't they give me the same stuff? Instead of bubble gum liquid, I get giant yellow horse pills. Back when I was sitting for Reyna's kids 5 days a week, Autumn was taking something that smelled exactly like bananas. Have you ever smelled Nyquil? As a kid, my catch-all medicine of choice was orange Triaminic. It tasted like orange drink. Have you ever tasted Robitussin? What a rip-off! This has been yet another example of why growing up is awfuller than all the awful things that ever were. jlm, 12.16.05, 1:24pm \| Date: 15 December, 2005 Time: 1:48pm Subject: Back to Work * * * * * Today is my first day back at work. I really am feeling better...but I'd rather not be going back. I would take my last free day, but since there's usually only 3 of us at night anyway, I would be a total ass to not go in today. I'm packing some drugs and tissues, just in case. jlm, 12.15.05, 1:50pm \| Date: 14 December, 2005 Time: 11:31am Subject: Narnia * * * * * Yesterday afternoon Scott and Shirley and I went to see Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Before I get to my review, I wanted to mention a few other things: Scott and I did some online shopping last night and knocked two people off the Christmas list. I believe we'll be finishing the last of our "from both of us" gifts today. Then we just have to wait for ordered things to arrive so that I can wrap them. (everything already in the house is wrapped. now Scott has no chance of peeking at his gifts) All I have left to buy is stocking stuffers for Scott. That'll be pretty easy. Tomorrow I'm going to do possibly the most gratifying thing of the year: make the final payment on my car. Hallelujah! I'm doubling up on the final payment just to finish it up so that starting in January I can put an extra $200/month into savings. Back to work tomorrow. I don't think I mentioned that Scott has moved locations and was lucky enough to keep our same days off. The trade-off: his shift is 9-5:30. I'm sorta looking forward to having time by myself to watch girl movies and not fight over the computer. But we're still trying to figure out when we can open Christmas presents, since we'll only be home together 1:30am to 8am. I feel an early morning coming on! I had high hopes for The Chronicles of Narnia. Having just read the book, I was very happy that they stayed close to the original story. The scenes that were added had definite merits, and I can't mention anything off the top of my head that was missing. I loved the kids (although they all seemed to have Angelina Jolie's lips), loved the sets, loved the animals, and I still love the story. I'm wondering whether they're going to attempt the other stories in the series. I almost hope they don't, because this is definitely the best story of the bunch. This movie was absolutely beautiful to watch, and I was awestruck the whole time. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. And I'm giving this movie my first ever rating of JJJJJ out of JJJJJ. An added bonus at the beginning of Chronicles was the trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Oh WOW am I excited about that one! But alas, 6 more months to go. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised to see the trailer, considering they're still filming. Well, I guess that's enough gushing over the Disney Studios for one day. Time to do some grocery shopping. jlm, 12.14.05, 12:16pm \| Date: 13 December, 2005 Time: 11:26am Subject: A Different Perspective * * * * * Well, I'm pretty much on self-inflicted house arrest for the next two days. I'm not doing either of my Candlelight performances...which is a bummer...but since I'm still not talking well I'm not going to push myself to stand outside in the cold and lip-sync. And while locked in the house, I'm seeing the world from a new perspective. Check out some alternative views of various tourist photo-ops... That's right - Cinderella's Castle and Epcot's Spaceship Earth as seen from outer space. The satellite image isn't exactly up to date - there's a whole bunch of stuff at Disney that's changed in the last 3ish years, and our apartment isn't there - but it's quite impressive how much you can zoom in. You can actually see the people walking down Main Street USA! Here's another one - this is where I work: Well, that's my public service for today, seeing the world from a different point of view. jlm, 12.13.05, 11:36am \| Date: 12 December, 2005 Time: 10:30am Subject: Monkey Shoot * * * * * Your Monday Photo Shoot: Show us a series of pictures with a theme. "A series" in this case can mean "two" but three or four would be good. The theme could be anything you want, although it being the holidays, something holiday-oriented would be a good and easy thing to do. I'm so excited for an excuse to show off my monkey pictures! When Scott and I were at Disney's Animal Kingdom last week, we watched this pair of monkeys go all the way across the ropes to their little pavilion on the other side of the lake. Of course, I think I did this photo shoot a couple of days ago when we were trying to take our Christmas picture. Scroll down to December 7 for a little slide show of our out take pictures. Or go all the way down to the 1st to see a series of pictures of the damage the idiot mechanics did to the inside of my car when they were "fixing" my transmission. :o) jlm, 12.12.05, 10:36am \| Date: 12 December, 2005 Time: 10:12am Subject: Lung Update * * * * * Yesterday (during the day...not at 3am when I wrote my last entry) I felt better than I had in at least a week. That didn't stop me from calling in, and I did end up going to the doctor. Basically she didn't hear anything in my lungs, but called it bronchitis because it's been going on so long. I walked out with a prescription for 10 days of amoxicillin and a decongestant/expectorant. She told me to rest my voice as much as possible because my throat was also super-irritated. Last night when I went to sleep, I actually thought I'd be going back to work today. And then I woke up at 9am coughing and coughing...and coughing. And my throat hurts more today too. Lovely! So I woke up and popped a couple of pills and called in. Maybe tomorrow I'll be human again. I'm really spending today doing nothing strenuous...except I promised Scott I'd do some laundry. blah jlm, 12.12.05, 10:22am \| Date: 11 December, 2005 Time: 2:59am Subject: So much to say, so little stamina * * * * * I have had a rant building inside of me for days. Unfortunately, last night when we got home, a) the smoke detector in our bedroom was chirping, shredding our nerves until the maintenance guy came out and ripped it out of the ceiling for us, and b) BrightHouse is on my poo-list because our internet connection has become intermittent at best. This is the first time in 48 hours I've been able to view web pages from home. "Why art thou ranting, Jamitha?" Remanufactured Transmission has officially taken the position that they are incapable of fixing the damage they did to my center console. Only one of the AC knobs actually functions, so I had to pull the other two off so that I can go back to using the pliers to adjust the temperature. And the vents are still broken. And they lost two of the clock buttons. Mike actually said to Scott today, "there's only so much we can do." LIKE FIX THE DAMAGE THAT YOU DID TO MY CAR!?!?!?!? And so we followed up by asking if they were going to pay the dealership to fix their damage. Mike said we should have the dealer call him when they have an estimate. Apparently he's worried about being ripped off! And let's not forget that December is a ridiculously busy month. I don't have a full day I can spend at the dealership, and I can't go without a car now that Scott is unsure what his schedule is. So my current plan is to write a very detailed letter to Mike and Eric at Remanufactured Transmission reminding them of exactly where their "service" has failed me, and explaining that they will pay for the repairs to my console or a copy of said very detailed letter along with the pictures of the damage and the vandalism incurred in their lot will be forwarded to the Better Business Bureau, along with every media outlet in Central Florida and any state bureau that might be interested. I'm going to send the letter certified mail, just as a CYA, and then I'm going to wait until January when life has slowed down a little bit to take my car in and get it fixed. That's right - I'm going to go a whole month using pliers to adjust the temperature inside my car because all of Mike's horses and all of Mike's men couldn't put Humpty together again. This, of course, is in addition to the month I was without my car because I had to come up with the money and the extra week's worth of days that they have had the car because of some lame excuse or another. I'm not really sure when I'm going to have the chance to write the letter, but when I do, you can be sure I'll post a copy of it here for posterity. Tomorrow I'm babysitting for Reyna's kids (a new weekend gig...did I mention I'm sitting for them again? well, I am...but only 'til January when Reyna's new days off kick in). Before that I'm hoping to go over to the new urgent care clinic down the street from us. I'm really concerned that this cold I can't get rid of has morphed into something truly awful. I feel mostly ok, except for my lungs. I've been coughing for the better part of 2 weeks, and it's getting worse. Plus now I'm losing my voice. I can't sing at all. Hell, at this point I can barely talk. Two people at work who started out with the same bug were diagnosed with pneumonia, and while I really don't think that's the case for me, I'm fairly confident it's bronchitis, maybe with laryngitis thrown in, and that I need some antibiotics to help me beat it. So yeah - really not planning on working tomorrow or monday - but we'll see how that goes. Well, I almost feel that I have ranted enough. Damn Mike! Damn Eric! Damn phlegm! ...now I'm good. Time for some Nyquil. jlm, 12.11.05, 3:23am \| Date: 9 December, 2005 Time: 12:12pm Subject: Tell you what I want, what I really really want... * * * * * Weekend Assignment #89: Money is no object: What do you really want for Christmas/Hanukkah/The Seasonal Celebration of Your Choice? Shoot for the moon, here folks. Share the thing you'd want to get if everyone you knew was a billionaire and wanted to spend money on you. One caveat: Don't ask to get celebrities or other people for the purposes of, well, you know. We're trying to keep things PG around here. Also: wishing for world peace is all very nice, but come on. Treat yourself. One thing you didn't see on my 2005 Wish List that I want more than anything else in the world is a house. Since we're shooting for the moon, I picked out this house. For a mere $1.3 million, you could pamper me with this Jamie Dream House. Located in Windermere, FL (home of Tiger Woods and half the doctors in Central Florida), it is a Victorian-style house with 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, hardwood floors, a killer kitchen, a winding staircase, wrap-around porch, and some great climbing trees in the front yard. But let's be serious. I can't expect you to buy me anything worth $1.3 million. Let's scale down a bit. I'd be ecstatic if you'd just make the down-payment on this house. It's only $145,000 - absolutely in our affordable range - and is less than 15 years old. And aside from the tiny kitchen (10x5 - is that enough room for all your major appliances?), it seems acceptable. Extra Credit: Seriously, what would you do if someone got you that thing? Well I really don't know. Cry? Say 'thank you' about a million times? Frankly, I have no idea what I'd do with such generosity. jlm, 12.09.05, 12:43pm \| Date: 8 December, 2005 Time: 11:48am Subject: Back to Work * * * * * Well, we go back to work today. I really feel like poo, and am coughing up a lot of scary-green phlegm, but I'm still going. I want my four hours of OT and if I call in, it'll revert to straight time. No one wants that! We took my car back to the transmission place yesterday afternoon. He said it should be done before we have to leave for work today, but we'll see. I made sure I pointed out all the stuff that was screwed up in that center console (vents, knobs, clock buttons), and also told him about the gunk on my windows, which we have decided was egg. I also told him I thought I was missing a pack of CDs that were in my glove compartment, but wasn't 100% sure that's where I left them. He promised that they'd keep my car inside the shop overnight if possible, or at least lock it up. Scott pointed out that my car was there over Halloween, and may have been victim of some sort of Mischief Night prank. Let's follow that line of thought and contemplate the wacky teens who opened up my car and egged the inside of it and stole my CDs. Do you really think they are running around town listening to Phantom of the Opera or Chicago? I somehow doubt that very much. But I like the idea that they saw my car with the PR-tinted windows and grabbed the CDs without looking because they assumed the tunes would be more palatable to their young ears. Oh well - I guess everyone is eventually a victim of a car break-in. Ryan once had a pair of new sneakers (in the box) stolen out of his trunk, along with the debit card he left in the center console. I guess I got off easy. Although I'm not foolish enough to leave anything really valuable in there. Well, Scott is making me matzo ball soup. I'm going to lay semi-comatose on the couch until it's ready. jlm, 12.08.05, 12:02pm \| Date: 7 December, 2005 Time: 6:33pm Subject: Behind the Scenes * * * * * What goes into making one simple holiday card? Apparently way more than I realized when we started out! All I wanted was one good picture of Scott and me in front of our Christmas tree. Twenty pictures later, we each had wounds - his from running into a box on the floor and mine from Milo's oh-so-sharp teeth - and I can still see the flashbulbs in front of my eyes. Oh well, I hope everyone enjoyed the final product...and the outtakes! jlm, 12.07.05, 6:37pm \| Date: 6 December, 2005 Time: 9:28pm Subject: Happy Anniversary To Us! * * * * * Two years...where has the time gone? In case anyone was wondering, we had breakfast (erm...brunch...) at Cracker Barrell, spent the day at DisneyQuest, and then had Carrabbas for dinner. Tomorrow I'm going in to work for 4 hours. It's the holiday celebration for the Help Desk, and I'm being paid 4 hours of OT to go and play. I'd be skipping the celebration if not for the overtime. What can I say? I'm greedy! I saw something that bummed me out a bit over at Janette's blog today. Apparently some people have decided that it's appropriate to include death wishes in get well cards for wounded American soldiers. Along with the article, she included the address where you can send a whole packet of "Dear Soldier" cards. Scott and I decided to embrace this project whole-heartedly. So family and friends, please don't be offended if you don't get a card from us this year. We do love you...but it's possible these folks could use the Holiday Cheer a little bit more. And just in case you want to do the same... Red Cross Walter Reed Army Medical Center 6900 Georgia Avenue NW Heaton Pavillion 3EO5 Washington, DC 20307 jlm, 12.06.05, 9:38pm \| Date: 5 December, 2005 Time: 8:59pm Subject: Sooo Not Good * * * * * I'm sick again. It's hard to say just how sick I am. I feel ok most of the time...except when I breathe too deeply or try to talk or swallow. Other than that, my quality of life is great. I'm trying not to complain, but this is the ONE time this year I've taken more than three consecutive days off, and this is how my body thanks me - by falling apart. We finished up the Christmas tree last night. I took pictures, but none of them came out. Apparently well-lit trees are very hard to photograph. I'm still working on it. Tomorrow is our two-year anniversary. We're not on a cruise. And I can barely breathe. Sounds like fun, don't it? Poor Scott - maybe our on next anniversary things will go right. Third time's a charm, right? jlm, 12.05.05, 9:05pm \| Date: 4 December, 2005 Time: 5:23pm Subject: Vacation Day One * * * * * Yesterday was Day 1 of our mini-vacation. We started out at our favorite Chinese place for lunch with Dave. Then we headed to Downtown Disney for some gifts for my Secret Santa at work, and then we went over to Animal Kingdom for one reason: to take a picture of Expedition Everest. Really, the architecture is gorgeous. The small parts of the coaster that are visible from the front are the lift, part of a big drop, and a banked curve. I've already started begging Scott to ride it with me. (not that it'll work...). We also rode the safari ride, avoided Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade, window shopped, and checked out the animals in the asia section. We watched the monkeys... The last time we were in the park, the little one was still clinging to its momma. As you can tell, it's pretty mobile now! We also saw the tigers, which were much more active than I've ever seen them... After dinner, we watched Sleepy Hollow, which was way better than I was expecting it to be (JJJJ out of JJJJJ). Perhaps tonight we'll watch Goonies before Sunday night TV starts. As for Day 2, we decorated for Christmas, including a very fragrant Douglas Fir from Wal Mart. I've got the lights on it, and the angel is on the top, and I think that's about all that's going to get done tonight. Did I mention the smell? I just can't get over it. Anyway, we'll probably take some pictures of the tree tomorrow. jlm, 12.04.05, 5:34pm \| Date: 3 December, 2005 Time: 11:02am Subject: The Future is Now * * * * * Weekend Assignment: Talk about something people have today that you wished you had when you were a kid. Note this doesn't have to be a piece of technology -- it can be anything that's around now that wasn't around when you were a kid. Looking around our apartment at the digital camera, PC, high-speed Internet, CD and DVD player, cable, and PS2, it's hard to pick just one thing. And actually, what I've decided on isn't even a piece of technology - it's a piece of legislation. Florida (and lots of other places) has taken great strides to be un-smoker-friendly. All restaurants and other indoor locations (except for bars) are smoke-free. Think about it - when I was a kid, was there anywhere you couldn't smoke? Now at Disney World there's only a handful of places where you can smoke. I think the whole idea is making the whole state more pleasant for children and other non-smokers. Extra Credit: Rocket car to the moon or robot butler: Which do you want more? Actually, I want a robot maid. But I'd take the butler and reprogram it to do all of the cleaning! jlm, 12.03.05, 11:11am \| Date: 2 December, 2005 Time: 11:45am Subject: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Uglier, and the Ugliest Subtitle: A Rant by Jamie * * * * * The Good: My car is home, and with my $100 coupon and the fact that the estimate was about $50 high, the bank account isn't completely deflated. Total cost: $1811. The Bad: The car isn't currently going anywhere. The battery is old and died after a month of non-use. The transmission place jumped it so that I could get home. Scott stopped on the way home to buy a battery (how hard could this repair be? last time I replaced it myself!). Unfortunately, there's a bolt at the bottom of the battery holding it in place, and he doesn't have a tool to reach said bolt. After fussing with it for a half hour before work yesterday we gave up. He is currently back at Wal Mart looking for a tool. The Ugly: The center console of my car is ugly. Apparently they had to remove it to do something to the car, and they didn't put it back on properly. my AC vents don't move, two of the knobs on my temperature control are sitting under the console, and won't snap back on where they belong. Plus, the car is filthy. There's grease or mud or something caked on almost all of the windows, muck on the dashboard, emergency break, steering wheel cover, etc. I have to bring the car back next week for them to check for leaks, and at that point they're going to fix the console. I'm going to attack the grime with some cleaner before then though...it's just gross! The Uglier: When we got home, I parked in the grass in the middle of our parking lot so that it would be easier to move around the car to change the battery. I got out of the car to tell Scott about all the crap wrong with the inside, and noticed that my left foot was on a fire ant mound. And they were pissed. ouch ouch ouch After wiping the offending beasts off of my foot (and dancing across the parking lot), I ran upstairs to clean and cover the bites, knowing that the top of my foot is going to burn and itch for the next 3 days. The Ugliest: As I was in the bathroom rummaging for neosporin, I caught a glimpse of the top of my head in the mirror. And then I pulled a gosh darn white hair out. When Scott came in, I showed it to him and absolutely melted down. Yep...I'm officially o-l-d. I don't think I was really crying over the gray hair...although it certainly felt like that at the time. Come to think about it, maybe I was. After all, my foot still hurts, but I know it'll heal. The car is in shambles, but I know it'll get fixed. The gray hair is here to stay. And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to help my husband put Humpty Dumpty back together again. UPDATE with pictures (12:50 pm): The car now works. Yay! And in case you were wondering whether or not I was exaggerating the filth... (L) The rear window, which looks like it has crumbled drywall beneath it (R) The rear passenger window/door looks like it was raining glue at some point My knob-less center console, complete with blackened gear shift. Click on any of the pictures to see the larger, dirtier image! Sadly, the doctors never found the lower half of Scott's arm. The car seemed to digest it before anything could be done! jlm, 12.02.05, 12:06pm \| Date: 1 December, 2005 Time: 1:02pm Subject: Home Coming? * * * * * I got a call yesterday from Mike at the transmission place. He said the car is ready. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to get the car or I would've been late for Candlelight. So we're going to go over this afternoon before work. More on this story as it develops. Now that it's December, I need to dig out my Advent calendar and hang it up. Despite my complete and total lack of money (disregard that $1700 in checking...it'll be about $50 by the end of today), I'm really starting to enjoy the holiday season. jlm, 12.01.05, 1:05pm \| Go back to November.