american idol tonite 8 - 10!!

That chihuahua has the same look on his face the guys all used to have when we got together to go drinking & dancing on Saturday nights...we'd all be out on the dance floor in miniskirts, high heels...and the guys used to just hang around at the sides of the floor...watching (dreaming!). Well...at least the dog has the guts to try!!

My last post was kind of a bummer...I just need to tack something on. I'm honestly surprised I was diagnosed so quickly, without even having to have a spinal tap. Oh...I guess that would be like a left-handed compliment, huh? The reason it only took 2 or 3 months, was #1..I had really GREAT doctors...especially my primary care dr that sent me for all those tests. When I went back to him after I found out it was ms, he just sat down in the chair in the room, and buried his head in his hands, & just shook his head for a few..&, #2...from everything I've heard & read about diagnoses, the average time takes approx 3 YEARS!! So here's the left-handed compliment...it was diagnosed so quick, because my mri was COVERED with 'brain scabs'! Well...that's what they are...let's call a spade a spade! My second neurologist told me from the way the mri looks, I've had this since I was a teenager!! Thank God I never had ANY symptoms til I was 29 & 11/12!! (happy 30th birthday, Libby!!). And, even though I trusted the first neuro, I did go to 3 other ones for more opinions, here in town, OSU hospital, and I finally found a dr I like .a lot at the Cleveland Clinic. And I get up there for my checkups, 2 or 3 times a yr. They originally tried to schedule them 4 a yr, but it's a 3 hr drive, & Kev has to take off work to take me...he gets FMLA for that, but I told Dr Stone, "Tellya what...if they find a cure, just call me and tell me. Otherwise, I think a couple times a year is enough, okay?"
I'm going to go to the place Tiff works tomorrow (Kev's dad'll probly take me), and she's gonna give me a haircut again, and it really needs thinned!! And then she's gonna color it back blonde. I've heard that as you get older, your hair tends to get darker...at least there's no gray (yet)! The big thing I miss this time of year is tanning beds! I used to go 3 or 4 times a week, but, heat makes you feel like SHIT with ms. And, hey, here's a stupid liittle fact,,,like, a hundred years ago, if ms was suspected by your dr, they would have you sit in a hot bath, & then see how your disabilities were affected...that's how they diagnosed it then! Oh...I mean, see how crippled you were when you got out (you know it's so funny to see the reaction you get when you say 'I'm crippled' :-D ). Okay...Everybody Loves Raymond is on...gotta go watch...
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

more about old job, & the best prank i ever saw at work

Does anyone know this person?? If so, please call 1-800-DUMBASS immediately!! Seriously! Would you feel safe riding in a car with your kids next to him??

This is how I amuse myself all day...look for the stupidest pictures on the internet...I'm acquiring quite a collection...
Holy Crap!! I'm listening to Arena Rock on the Digital Cable channel, and I just heard the 'Damn Yankees'!! Now it's 'Quiet Riot', Bang Your Head!! I have a feeling there'll be beer in my future tonight...

Yeah, okay. I quit my last produce manager job in August of 1994. That was the one up in Findlay, that had the great boss, the one that I cried to when I told him I was going to take the office job in my town, and blubbered "Vic, I don't WANT to take this job, but I feel like I have no choice!" So, I only had time to give a week's notice, because they had me scheduled for training (which would be 6 weeks!). I started the new job here in town, which was better on the daily finances, since it only took 20 minutes to get to, as opposed to the hour it took to get to Findlay...but, at that time, gas was only about $1.30 (& we bitched about that!).
I went through the class, it was all computers & how to help customers with stuff when they called in with questions (remember, we were still GTE, that knew about good customer service! & realized it counted!!). Once, a couple weeks later, I was home after work doing the 'Buns Of Steel' workout tape, and one of the things you had to do was this thing where you were on your hands and knees and all you were doing was bending one knee at a time...all very well and good with my left leg, but when it came time for the right leg, I tried, and it bent up by jerks. I couldn't make it move smooth no matter how hard I tried! Kevin was in the other room, and I called him to come in & LOOK AT THIS BULLSHIT!! Seriously, it looked like I was doing it on purpose or something (heh... wish...)I We figured I should call the dr and at least go in, cuz I'd been having some dizziness (no comments here) and losing my balance sometimes a little. I thought maybe "ear infection", but...This was after I'd 'graduated' from the training class, & my class was the first class in years that had to be started at part-time. Boy, did I bitch (here, not at work), because not only did I take a huge pay cut and have to join a union (bleeaahhh...they can't do anything for me that I can't do for myself!....personal opinion, ya understand), now I was gonna get 20 hours at work a week, AND, with having a late birthday, which was how they split us up, as to when you'd work.....I got the 2pm to 7pm hours!! However, I had no idea at that time what a Godsend that was for me. My dr made a whole shitload of appts for me at every other dr you could imagine, from ear, nose,throat, all the heart tests, even a stress test, echocardiogram (or whatever). The only thing he didn't have checked was my prostrate!! And when he handed me the paper with all the drs & appt times, they were all in the morning, and there was no problem making them! The last on the list was a neurologist. I looked at that, and said to Kevin, "I'm scared. That's the one that'll find something, I bet." By the middle of October I'd gone to all the other drs, and everytime they said "Nope, nuthin', you're fine", all I could think of was the neuro in November. Went to him the week before Thanksgiving, he did an mri on Friday...went in to get the results Monday, and, well, here I am. But I did still go to work that day. I think a lot of the reason was so I'd solve other people's problems, not have to think about mine! Hmmmm...maybe that's why I'm still so fuckin' bitter about it...

Anyway, I kept working there until Sept, '98...I may touch on some of the people later....however, I saw the VERY BEST practical joke EVER played on a woman out at GTE! (you know who this is for, right doc??). An older woman sat at a computer in my row, and she was very crabby, very bitchy, I think she's the kinda person unions are meant for. She pissed off the guy that sat next to me, then when she go up and went to the bathroom, he....took the ball out of her computer mouse!!!! Oh, I rolled around laughing while she called systems, and bitched them out!!

BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

funny shit (to me, anyway!) that was Kim's week so far!!

Hahaha! I think if I drove a truck, I'd want it to be this one!!
Kim's last couple days have been 'hell days'!! She called me last night and told me that she had to tell me about this stuff, and she wanted me to blog about it!! So, everybody, yes, I have total permission from Kim to blog anything (except the stuff we've agreed goes to the grave with us!).
Kim's grandma (her mom's mom) livess with her mom & dad. Gotta be an uneasy situation for her dad, cuz he's the one retired and home all day, also because he's had a kidney transplant. Meanwhile, Kim's mom still works as a realtor in this town, and I guess she's pretty good at it. And, right now, Kim's mom & dad are in Las Vegas for a realtor's meeting, and the grandma is home at their house...also with their dog, which is supposed to be a purebred black poodle, and if you ask me....that would be a big pain in the ass! I'd just want to sit there and read books all the time!! But, that's me...
Anyway, the last few days, Kim's days have been full of taking Grandma to all kinds of doctors, because, of course, Kim's mom made all dr appointments for the time she & J would be in Vegas! So they went to all the drs. and Kim had to be home in time to take her youngest boy to his own dr appt, cuz he has some bone issues to get taken care of.(long story.....may do somethling on that later). When Kim took her grandma back to her mom & dad's to drop her off and take her son out to the dr, Kim said she walked Grandma to the front door, and up the steps. She opened the front door, and like, almost had a fucking heart attack!! (Kim, not Grandma!). She told me the dog must've eaten something it shouldn't have, because there was shit all over the house! And we're not talking regular dogshit, Kim said it was ALL black and runny, there was nothing solid in it at all! She said it looked like sewer sludge or something!! And it was EVERYWHERE IN THE HOUSE!! So, she actually cleaned it up, while Grandma sat on the steps!! She said she used a lot of newspapers, all the paper towels, (which Grandma bitched at her for not leaving some for her, in case she wants some later!), and a lot of water and cleaner, every kind of cleaner they could find in the house, and a big brush...holy shit (oh, I guess that's an appropriate response...,). And, trust me, the house still stinks to high heaven!! I told her if it was me I would've chickened out the minute I opened the door, and called ServPro to take care of it!! She said I'm not putting any money into their house! Kim even left the bucket with the gross water & gross brush in it in the garage!! Then she took Grandma in the house, and called her mom & dad in Vegas & bitched them out for the dog! Because they won't let anyone keep the dog outside, cuz it's a 'purebred'! I started laughing..."So, all the shit you cleaned up was purebred shit, anyway..." Then I tried to make her laugh too, and told her that her mom's buttcrack is famous now, anyway...she did laugh then...of course, maybe that was because she was home, and clean, and on her third beer! And, no, AJ never got to the dr that day...
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

stuff i can't believe we did...

I just LOVE the confused look on this kitten's face...human babies get that look too, when they're, like a month old, and people come over to see 'the baby!', and they pass it around the room, and the baby smiles (gas pains), and everybody screams "Oh, look! She smiled at me!"...and then the baby lets a big one rip...and all of a sudden, the smile isn't all that cute any more, and the baby gets passed all the way straight back to the mother, & the 'not-so-new' mom that thinks she knows everything about babies, says, "Oh, I think you better change her" with a cute little 'if you know how yet' giggle. Sidetracked...
Have you ever done something really stupid, and, as an adult, looked back and thought "Holy SHIT!! How did I EVER get out of that one??" No, don't lie, I KNOW EVERYBODY'S done that!! I'm gonna have to humble myself here & say again that, yes, I did get fucked around on when I was 15...didn't everybody? Once, when Kim & I had been out all night, running around, drinking & partying (oh, no, I forgot! We were at Kris's house! Yeah, that's it!!)...we met in front of my boyfriend's house at about 5 in the morning, and walked back to the back of his house to his window. We stood on each other's backs to reach his window (this was the first kevin...the dirtbag), and banged on it, to see if he'd answer. Knock 4 or 5 times, finally the window opened, and his best friend Terry, looked out to say he stayed overnight, and kevin was still asleep. Then he must've laid back down & fell asleep, and left the window open. Kim & I were kinda at a loss as to what to do, because, obviously, it was way too early to go back to my house! We were just standing there looking at each other, kicking the dirt/grass/mud which was their yard, and all of a sudden, I kicked something that was half buried in the mud. It was a fucking used rubber!!! We just looked down at it, and looked at each other, me thinking 'kevin, you really ARE a fucker!' and I'm sure Kim was thinking the same, if not with a little 'haha, toldja so!' added! Well. what would YOU do????
I had to pick the damn thing up...and say 'eeeeewwww!', and throw it at Kim, of course! She batted it down to the ground, and we stared at each other for a second. Then looked up at the open window. It was one of those windows that's high up in the house, and opened outward, and there was no screen on it (now we know WHY!!). So, without even thinking about it, I picked the thing up, and tossed it in the window, in the direction of kevin's bed. Then we took off running and laughing!
One more story for the ages...

BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

destruction...

Kim & I always had fun, even if it was stupid destructive shit! This is another picture of my room in the attic of our house that was built in the late 1800's. This is the kind of craftsmanship that's just not seen in houses now!!
Okay, back to destruction. When Kim & I were at her house, they had that big outdoor pool with a big separate bathhouse, that we always hung out in, and had parties where people brought beer over. And they got it in, because the bathhouse was about 500 yards away from the house. There was a great big living room with 2 or 3 couches in it, a kitchen, and a few closets, a bathroom. Thinking about it, why the hell didn't Kim LIVE out there?? Oh...no tv...well, once when a bunch of people came out to party and brought beer, I drank WAY too much, and vaguely remember trying to get in the bathroom to puke...howEVER, there was a guy in there peeing! How fucking inconsiderate of him!! He's a GUY for heaven's sake, and we were in the country...he coulda gone outside and peed his name in the snow, for heaven's sake!! (Kevin brags about being able to do that...he says ALL guys do it!!! But I'm sure it's a lot easier for Ken than Kevin! Length...of name, dummy!). So I crawled out the front door (GRRRRRR), and puked in the snow, right off the porch (cement slab....not real high). The next day, Kim's dad came out there and stormed in,..."Who threw up in front of the door??" Ewwww...I bet that looked bad. I don't know...I went out the other door by the pool!
A few months later, it got to be swimming weather, and we had a BLAST!! A diving board, everything!! One day we were out swimming, went inside cuz her mom made us sandwiches for lunch before she left for work (we were totally spoiled!). Came back out, bringing the sandwiches, then sat down on the couches & ate. Well, when we finished them, I looked around, and saw that there were a lot of flies buzzing around inside! I pointed them out to Kim, and we decided that they had to die!! Man, we were bad. Kim grabbed a croquet mallet, and started chasing them around while I pointed them out. So, you understand, I had NOTHING to do with it! I NEVER touched the croquet mallet AT ALL!! And, no, she didn't hit flies on the sliding glass doors that faced the pool!! But, she did get the flies that were on the ceiling, that's for sure!! She looked up and saw a lot of them up there, and pounded them one at a time, until she got them all, while I just rolled around laughing at her!! Unfortunately, we didn't think ahead at all, and when she was done, we looked up, and #1, there were flyguts all over the ceiling...#2, every time she had hit the flies, there was a dent on the ceiling tile! And you also have to realize, Kim missed many times! We left that day before her mom & dad got home from work, and I don't think I've been out there since!! (I've talked to them since, but...)
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

hmmmm....Mar 6? oh...Monday!

Damn, I don't even feel awake today. well, I guess it IS only....5pm...grrrrr....
Maybe it's cuz I was on the phone with Kim for at least an hour or hour and a half when she called around 2pm. I actually think that woke me up more than anything else! (but I have been up & around since 9 am!). We were discussing our parents. (yes...the dysfunctions of our childhoods!). After I had called my dad the day he was home, and talked to him (errrr....listened to him) for fifteen minutes, I went to the back of the house to do laundry, scoop poop outta Tru's box, etc...then the phone rang, so I came back to the dining room to get it. I looked down at the caller id on the phone...it said "Lewis Funeral Home". Holy friggin' shit!! My first thought was that it would be my mom calling from there...then I didn't know what to think! Picked it up, said hello, then the guy said "Oh. I guess I have the wrong number." I hung up, and just sat here for a second. Wow...blew my mind. And no, I've never told anyone in my family about that. But I just had an evil thought....wouldn't it be fun to have that show from your phone when you made a, oh, say, prank phone call! hahahahaha!! Naaahhh...with my luck, the person I called would have a fuckin' heart attack and sue me or something!
Then Kim said something about her mom, and it all of a sudden made me remember the time I stayed with her, and we were sitting in her kitchen, after we ate our cereal for breakfast. Her mom got up & came out in the kitchen, said Good Morning to us, and we grunted back (as ANY self-respecting teenager knows, that IS the appropriate response to a parent in the morning). Kim's mom turned around and bent over the oven and opened it. Then Kim grinned at me, and reached over & gave her mom a shove in the butt, and said "Push the wicked witch in the oven", kinda singing it. Of course, I laughed, but all of a sudden Kim grabbed her hand up and ran to the sink, screaming, "Eeeeeeewww, eeeeeewww, gross, gross!! You don't have any underwear on!!!" cuz she had a nightgown on. And I looked over & Kim was pointing at her mom's butt, and the nightgown was stuck up the crack of her ass! Oh, crap! I'm laughing too fuckin' hard at that now to type anymore!
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

wonderful telemarketing tactics..

Okay, lemme ask everyone.......have you ever been really fuckin' busy (even laying around sleeping or watching tv constitutes as 'busy', you know?), and the phone rings, and it's a telemarketer, trying to get you to get another credit card, or invest, or buy something? I got that today, and when they asked for Kev, I said he's not here, who is this? (even though I knew damn well what the call was for...). She gave me her first & last name, but didn't tell me what company she was calling for. Then she said, "This is a courtesy call for XXXX Company." I interrupted with, "Hmmmm...if you were really interested in being courteous....you REALLY wouldn't be calling me right now, wouldja?" Then SHE hung up on ME!! Problem solved...
Okay, I talked to Sharon in Australia last night for an hour...it turns out...she can stay till Apr 6!! How cool, and she's gonna stay here! But, she said only if she gets to cook dinner for us a few times. Hmmm...I'll hafta mull that over for a while. NOT!!!! I didn't even like to cook before I got ms, now, Kev doesn't WANT me to, cuz he's afraid I'll fall into the stove or something! Shut UP!! You never know, I just might...anyway, she is a VERY good cook, always wanting recipes and stuff. I just told her there are 2 things I don't want...vegemite-she TOLD me what's in that!!...and, kangaroo. [no, they don't eat that]). However, did you know that there are more kangaroos in Australia than people? True! Sharon said they're all over there, almost like squirrels here!
My next-to-last job I had...very small grocery store in Findlay, OH. Also closed now, boo!! That was a cool store. We had mostly older people that shopped there, and they were so nice! Very different from anyone I'd ever dealt with. Either they were too poor to be nice (like the first store), or they were too rich to be nice to us paeans (like the store in Delaware!). These people were great! I was always getting customers that made stuff, like bread, salsa, etc. and brought it in to give me!
I got along really well with everyone there.The girl that ran the office up front went with me to the Barry Manilow concert (I know, I know!). I got along well with the guys in the meat dept too. The meat mgr used to be a nut! Once when he had turkeys on sale, I went back to the breakroom for a smoke, and all the seats were taken. Dave looked at me, and patted his leg, "Here, babe, sit here!" So I started to walk over there to sit on his leg, and all of a sudden, looked twice at his red apron...I swear, that coulda been his dick hanging out from under it!! I just looked at his face, and EVERYBODY started dying laughing!! It was a fucking turkey neck!!
The store manager that had asked me to come up there to work all of a sudden got a real attitude against all the employees. We all got together to figure out who oughtta go talk to him about it. Of course, it was me, cuz I had known him longer. Grrrrr! I asked what was up, he said nothing (you know...he IS a guy). The rest of us talked about it for a few months, then decided to call the big guy at the main office, we did, he came down, talked to all of us, talked to J, and...a few days later, J was somewhere else, and the mgr I like the best of ANY boss I've ever had was there! (He used to be here at the 'Indian store' too.). And the day I had to give my week's notice to him, I bawled like a baby, cuz I sobbed "Vic, I don't know why, I just have to take this job, even though I know I'm gonna hate it!! It's a desk job, for God's sake! Making LESS money!!" So, I was gone to GTE, now Verizon, a week later...
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

better day...Mar 2

Well, yesterday was the twins' 5th birthday, and everybody went over there for a party last night about 8! Those kids got EVERYTHING!! And they each had their own cake! A (the boy) had a little Superman cake, & M (the girl) had a little pink & purple Dora cake!!
And, when we got home, there was a message for me on the computer from my friend in Australia, and she's coming here after she has to be in DC!! I don't know how long she can stay yet, but still!! That is SO cool!! This'll be the first time she's ever been to America. Most of the reason is for her government, but...she's also gonna see Ohio. Woohoo *heavy sarcasm here*. Kevin's already volunteered to take the day off work so we can pick her up at the Col airport. This'll be great! We've been emailing & instant messaging for 5 years now! We met on an ms site, and she's about as smartass as me!!
Well, back to the work stuff. In 1993, the store actually had to close, because it ran out of money...actually, the assistant store manager embezzled it all (little gay fuckhead! who used to come in to work with hickeys on his neck!! eeww!). When they closed, I went job hunting. And the first place I went (don't know why!) was the lumber store across the road/street. Believe it or not, they hired me!! It was a really good store, and a fun job, but...I missed working produce, something I KNEW! Then I applied at a Kroger store about half hour south of here, and got that too. So I worked part-time at both places for a while, then ran into another manager from the store I worked at here (the new grocery store that had to close), and he called me a couple nights later and asked me to work for him at the store he was at then, up in Findlay. I was kinda big on doing that, cuz it sounded like a neat store, small, a little bit like the first store I worked at. And I went there, and worked, & got to quit both part-time jobs! I loved that job in Findlay too! But...con't tomorrow...boring, I know...
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

last day of February!!!

Man, I sure hope that means it's gonna get warmer, I'd even be happy with the high 50's!! At least it's SUNNY today!!
Kat & Benji's kids, the twins I always write about (not identical though...one has a penis & the other doesn't!) are gonna be 5 tomorrow!! I just cannot believe that! Already?? Kevin & Tiff went out last night and got presents for them.
And...my dad was taken Sunday afternoon, and admitted to the hospital...and, did ANYONE call me & tell me? Uhhhh, no. No, I can't drive out there, but he's my dad!! Sorry...I know some families have a 'black sheep'? Well, I've progressed beyond that. To the GRAY SHEEP!! My mom never calls me, anyway...she calls Tiff on her cell phone...sorry, I'm just a little bitter. Why?? Well, they only live about, well, I don't know, but it's way less than maybe 1/4 of a mile across town. In the same town! Yes, I know all the stuff I wrote before about when I was in school & older...but, as far as I knew, we made our peace with that, and we still talked...before I got ms. Now, it's WAY different. Mom or Dad will call Tiff (on her cell) and ask her & Zach over for Sunday dinner. Which is great, I love it that Tiff's still close to my mom, she's not really with my dad. Anyway, my mom finally called here Sunday a little before noon, & Kevin got the phone (I wasn't up yet!). She told Kevin about my dad, but mostly she told him about my uncle & his wife that came down for dinner Saturday night with her after Dad was in the hospital, and what a good time they had..To me, & Kevin, that's just plain weird! I know my dad's 88 years old, and of course, Mom's going to expect health problems. But I don't think one oughtta become quite so 'blase' about it! Dad's blood pressure was over 200 Saturday when he went to the hospital! I called Mom Saturday after Kev woke me up, talked to her for a little bit (again, mostly about her brother & his wife!), then I called Dad at the hospital & talked to him, then he said someone would call me Monday, after someone looked at the cat scan. No, nobody ever called. So I called their house today, Dad answered the phone...yadayadayada...what else is there to say? Hmmmmm...
All right. At least I got that shit off my chest. Usually I'm writing stuff that's funny on here...not today...
Droops... Libby

continued...feb 27

After I quit the job with the asshole manager (remember? UFW!!), well, actually, I interviewed for my new job before I quit. It was an interview like none I'd ever seen before! It was in a hotel room here in town..I thought that was almost too weird, cuz it seemed almost like a telemarketing interview being in a hotel room! But it was the normal questions/answers for the departments. When I was called up to talk to the produce supv from Lima, he acted like we were old buddies or something! Then he asked if I recognized him. Because he had been in my department in Bucyrus checking it out a couple days before! So I got hired...but the produce supv had really fucked up before he interviewed me. He had already promised the produce mgr job to the produce mgr at another one of the company's stores! But that was okay, he told me that, and I said ok, then he told me I'd be making a lot more than the mgr of the dept, and he wanted me to do most of the ordering, paperwork, etc..that was gonna take some tact on my part (& all the supvs!) to deal with the guy who thought he was gonna be the boss. Oh well, it was ok till a few weeks later when he found out I made more than him...
So I gave a week's notice at my job with shithead boss, (and, yes, I did get my week vacation pay mailed to me before I left!), and my last day there was 1 year & 1 day after I'd started there! And the new store here had a store meeting the night before I quit my old job, but I went to it too. The new store wouldn't open for a week or two, but they wanted us to meet each other, and get the store set up! The meeting ended, I went over to the stairs, to clock out and go home, I heard somebody call my name. Turned around and looked, and it was the 'ex-girlfriend from hell'! She'd be working there too, but, luckily, she wasn't in my dept!! But, she did tell me she'd do anything she could to get me fired...haha, like I was worried! We co-existed in that store till it closed in 1993...and avoided each other like the plague!
This was the Indian ghost store....
Lots of fun stuff happened there, but right now, I remember one of the first hilarious things that happened, and made me really good friends with the customer svc girl at the front. She was in charge of renting the videos out and taking care of everything up front. One time, this really pretty woman came in and was looking at the movies, and M (my friend) was putting returned movies back. The woman looked over at M, and held a popular movie up, and asked if she knew if it was good. M looked at it, and said "My kids just got that the other night & watched it. They liked it, but there was a white woman with a black man in it, & I don't like that too much." (BTW, M's kids were 13 & 15).The woman said "Mmmm...", looked at some other movies, got the first one, and left. About an hour later, the manager came downstairs & told M that woman had called back & wasn't happy, cuz she is married to a black man! I laughed my ASS off at M for that!! So, see? My big mouth isn't the worst one in the world!! Even the store manager made fun of M for that!~! Nobody was making fun of the woman & her husband, just of M's customer svc skills!! But we were great friends after that (I wonder why..). She & I even took Tiff and her kids to Cedar Point the next summer. And after we got home we read a story in the paper the next day that explained why the big roller coaster was closed while we were there...a guy had been fucking around on it, and lost his arm...
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!
BTW....>>> a great website!!! http://www.dontdatehimgirl.com/home/

Friday!!

When I left that new produce market, I got the new job in a town about 1/2 hour north of here. It was a pretty nice store that was in a rich area of town (I think...they acted like it, anyway!).The other department mgrs were pretty nice, and the cashiers were too. In a very short time, I realized why the place seemed like a prison on 24-hour lockdown!!
It was pretty much a store where the manager was, well, a little fucking prick to all his employees! He wanted all of his department managers to always act professional, and walk around like they have a stick up their ass or something! Which, because of the money, we did...however, I think that's probably the reason we all got along so well. Example: he was a short little fat Italian guy that thought he was the best manager in the world. He always parked his car right outside my produce door, which had a window in it, so we were always checking to see for sure if he was there. The girl/lady in charge of receiving looked out one day, noticed his license plate, and it started out with UFW... she looked over at me, and said, "I always remember that by...you fuckin' wop." ROTFLMAO!! He had the habit of always taking a cart around the 'perimeter' of the store (a manager's job/habit,whatever), and I had to be there at 7 am every day, (well, Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat.). And I'd try to get my dept looking good enough that he didn't stop and say shit!! Because he WAS very picky, and if he thought something was in the wrong place, he had no problem telling you you should come in on your day off (w/out pay!!) and fix it!
All that shit went on, month after month, and I was going nuts, checking the want ads every day, whining to Kevin, blah blah blah! I did have some fun at that job, mostly because we had a few times we had to go to the warehouse in Fort Wayne, and I liked that, because I drove by myself. I even took Tiff once and we went to the mall over there, and spent a couple hours watching the people at the ice skating rink in the middle. And I got to introduce Tiff to the people that I talked to every day to give my order to. Now that was fun!
A few weeks later, the store mgr was walking down the produce aisle one morning, and looked at me and said, "Hi Blondie.", but in a totally shitty, snotty way, just trying to piss me off. I got totally pissed, but just grinned at him and said hi. Yes, I held my attitude in check (for once), and thought about what to do. When I saw him go up to his office, I followed him in, and told him I had to talk to him for a minute. He said sure, and shut the door, and I just said, "Don't call me Blondie anymore...I don't call you 'short, fat, Italian', do I?" So that talk only took like 2 minutes...but it was truly the best 2 minutes of my life (well, almost...).
After that is when I read about the store that was going to open here in my town, you know, the one with the Indian ghost...so, I waited to quit so that my last day was the day after I'd been there 1 year exactly, so I'd get my week paid vacation, which I had called the woman at their main office and told her I'd be leaving in a couple weeks, would she mail the check for that to my house, cuz I didn't want the manager to do anything with it, like, it might get 'lost', or something.
I was SO friggin' happy to get the hell outta there!!
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

Thursday Feb 23

I really miss some of the people I used to work with, when I worked in produce...I know, you're tired of hearing about it...so what? Quit reading then.
After Kevin and I got married, the people up in the main office didn't seem to like it...we think maybe a lot of it was because our jobs weren't all-consuming to us anymore (you all KNOW WTF was!!), and we had stuff to do after work, instead of stay at work & try to figure out ways to make our sales numbers better...sales per customer, % of the store's business that was our department, shit like that...so, about a month after we got married, Kevin took a job at a different store as meat manager, with more money than our store paid him. He liked it, but it wasn't the best store to work at. The owner was, like, one of the biggest crooks this town's ever seen! But, no, he didn't rip off Kev, he was paid well...
After Kevin was outta there, all of a sudden...it was boring to show up at work, cuz I wasn't seeing Kevin be-boppin' around the corner through my department to say hi on his way to his department. :-( . Even though the store here in town had moved to a different location, & I loved my new produce dept, the fun wore off, ya know?
So, my brother, who has a construction company, was remodeling a building on the other side of town for a man from Lima, Ohio, who wanted to open an all produce market, cuz that's the kind of warehouse he owned in Lima. When my brother told me about it, I thought "Well, shit, I'll try!" And, keep in mind, the absolute only company I had EVER worked at in my life was the one I worked at then...starting as cashier! My next day off I told Kevin I was gonna go try to get hired there, and he said 'Good luck!'
I drove to that building, and it was deserted looking except for a big 'old man looking' car in the parking lot. I parked my car & walked around the building, looking in the windows, and then,* 'bingo! there's the old man that belongs to the car!'* I went up to the front door, which was glass, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Walked toward him with my right hand out to shake his hand, and said 'Hi, are you JD? I'm Libby X, and my brother is XXXX, he's been telling me about this place! It looks like it's going to be great!" He's all smiley and friendly, and telling me what he wants to do with this room, that room, etc. And I stood there smiling & nodding, then said, "Wow! It sounds like you're in need of a produce manager, aren't you!?" And he said, "Well, matter of fact I am!" And he said come on in the office, we'll talk about money." Then he asked where I worked now, why I'm leaving, etc...then asked how much I made an hour..I told him, he said okay, he'd give me xx more, I said ok, we agreed I'd start next week, cuz I wanted to give a week's notice. And, bam, I had a new job! How easy was that shit?? That place wasn't open yet, but it only took about a month to open it...unfortunately, it only took about 8 months to go out of business...(which was NOTHING to do with me!! I wasn't there anymore! Had been called by a 'headhunter' to interview for another job in a different town, which I took, cuz I saw how business was going). But, man, do I miss working there! J was a big old gruff, scary guy to most people. But, really, he was nice...as long as you stood up to him.
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

closing the store in town at night before i transferred up north...

I know I'm bouncing around on subjects lately, but...I get distracted, for heaven's sake!! And I always think of the most brilliant, heart-wrenching, thought-provoking thing to write right before I fall asleep every night. And it's gone when I wake up...just think of all the pearls of wisdom you've missed!
I must have been trustworthy to the store back when I was still just a cashier (not that I'm NOT trustworthy, you understand!). Actually, think about it...it's kind of amazing that MORE employees of that store weren't thieves (we had some)...a lot were single, trying to raise their kid or kids, and we were paid $3.35/hour, until minimum was raised to $3.50/hour! Okay at the time for an after-school job, but, for raising even ONE kid, + renting an apartment!! Lots of people asked me, "Couldn't you get more if you stayed home and got on welfare?" Like that is something to aspire to?? Jesu*!! What an example that would have set for Tiffany!! Kevin and I even told Tiff when she was looking for a job, we dont care if you're a stripper, as long as you don't grow up to be a welfare bum!! ('bum' is the operative word here, some people are on welfare without wanting to be!). I told Mom that...she didn't find any humor in it...
So after I had worked at that store for about 6 or 8 months, I started working with the head cashier between customers, learning how to do the books, and once I knew that, and they knew they could trust me (BTW..the manager used to put $50.00 extra in the safe once in a while, just to make sure we were honest enough to say that the safe had too much money!), I got to be in charge of the store here from 3 or 4 to 9 pm.Now THAT was fun!! We always (well, okay, usually...) had to make sure the whole store was cleaned up & the trash was taken out (hey Jill! ask Ken about the time he DIDN'T!!). And then, of course, had to do the turning off of the lights & everything. One night, one of the high school stockboys (Phil...I talked about him before), went back to get the lights turned off. Well, okay, a cashier & I were standing there waiting for him to do it, & come back up front, so we could lock up & go home. Hmmm....tap, tap, tap, call him on the intercom "PHIL!! UP FRONT!!" Nuthin'! So, I went huffing & stomping back to that back room to look for him...and he was in it, all right...swinging around on the big pipes up by the ceiling, going, "Oooooh-Oooooh, Eeeee-Eeeeee, look at me, I'm Curious George!" Oh my God, that was hilarious!! Too funny to yell at him for fucking around!
After I got the deposit ready to go, it was pretty much like it would be at the other store, the cashier went home, and I took the deposit to the bank and dropped it off. One night when we were closing, Phil asked if I could take him home. Turned out, he lived with his mom & dad in a great big house right across the street from mine & Tiff's apt. So that was really good, that way I had a great big "bodyguard" when I took the money to the bank at night (it was DARK, ya know?) After we dropped the deposit off, we'd go pick up Tiff at her babysitter's, about 3 blocks away, and go home. Oh, and that was also the bank that Kev & Ken's mom worked at, a couple blocks from ny apt!
After we got Tiff & we all got out of the car to go in our houses, Phil would walk across the street, singing real loud, "weeeyeeeeheeeheee..." blah, blah,blah, 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight...". I will NEVER, EVER, hear that song without thinking of Phil...
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

second post for Monday....first one is below...

Name:	Libby
Birthdate:	December 17, 1964
Birthplace:	Massillon, Ohio
Current Location:	central Ohio
Eye Color:	green
Hair Color:	blonde/red
Height:	5'3"
Weight:	110 lbs
Piercings:	ears twice, bellybutton
Tatoos:	no guts (yet)
Boyfriend/Girlfriend:	Kevin (husband!)
Overused Phraze:	SHIT!! (usually yelled as I'm losing my balance)
FAVORITES
Food:	tacos, burritos
Candy:	twizzlers bits, m&m's, gummy lifesavers...is there a limit on this question?
Number:	37
Color:	dark blue
Animal:	cat
Drink:	Coke
Alcohol Drink:	Bud lite
Bagel:	no thanks...I just had 2 bowls of Froot Loops, so I'm kinda full
Letter:	who has a favorite letter?? well, ok...A
Body Part on Opposite sex:	hands...the bigger the better...
This or That
Pepsi or Coke:	Coke
McDonalds or BurgerKing:	Big Macs
Strawberry or Watermelon:	milkshake? hmmm...hafta be strawberry
Hot tea or Ice tea:	neither
Chocolate or Vanilla	chocolate
Hot Chocolate or Coffee:	hot chocolate
Kiss or Hug:	from who?
Dog or Cat:	cat
Rap or Punk:	punk, i guess
Summer or Winter:	summer
Scary Movies or Funny Movies:	scary
Love or Money:	can I have both please? no? ok, love, as long as its good!
YOUR...
Bedtime:	1:00 am
Most Missed Memory:	this is dumb, but...when I was a kid, on the way home from Grandma's at night after playing on the farm, sleeping in the backseat of the car...
Best phyiscal feature:	butt
First Thought Waking Up:	hmmm..a new day...where to cause trouble first
Goal for this year:	move to a one story house...(yuk, I SURE don't want to!! It's gonna be WAY too small, no matter what ANYBODY says!!)
Best Friends:	Kim & Kevin...Tiff when she's in a good mood...
Weakness:	who says I have any?? I'll kill 'em...problem solved
Fears:	wheelchairs (a serious answer for once)
Heritage:	Transylvania, Romania, German
Longest relationship:	16 years
HAVE YOU...
Ever Drank:	hah!
Ever Smoked:	am right now...have since I was 15!
Pot:	yup...I don't have the ms pain, so it does nothing for ms...but it would make me not give a shit that I have it!!
Ever been Drunk:	yup...not in about 16 years, tho...
Ever been beaten up:	well, yeah, once...in 8th grade
Ever beaten someone up:	somewhat...
Ever Shoplifted:	yes...(God, please forgive me?)
Ever Skinny Dipped:	yeah
Ever Kissed Opposite sex:	I have a kid, for God's sake!!
Been Dumped Lately:	no...
IN A GUY/GIRL
Favorite Eye Color:	brown
Favorite Hair Color:	brown
Short or Long:	long, preferably
Height:	6' or taller
Style:	smartass
Looks or Personality:	both please...but a good personality helps
Hot or Cute	hot, of course!
Drugs and Alcohol:	nahhh...I have enough problems of my own...I don't need any more baggage!!
Muscular or Really Skinny:	muscles rule!!
RANDOMS
Number of Regrets in the Past:	none at all
What country do you want to Visit:	only this one
How do you want to Die:	peacefully...not in front of anyone...what if I look stupid while I'm doing it?
Been to the Mall Lately:	no, & haven't missed it
Do you like Thunderstorms:	yeah
Get along with your Parents:	now...
Health Freak:	hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha....
Do you think your Attractive:	sure...
Believe in Yourself:	absolutely!
Want to go to College:	no
Do you Smoke:	I already answered this...(tap, tap, tap of foot)
Do you Drink:	sometimes
Shower Daily:	yes
Been in Love:	yup...luckily its with the same person I'm married to
Do you Sing:	not when anyone's around to hear...I'm not THAT hateful!
Want to get Married:	didn't till I started going out with Kevin...
Do you want Children:	already have the only one I want...always tell people 'if you got the perfect one the first time, why do you need more??
Have your future kids names planned out:	no, but I'm still trying to talk Tiff into Rhiannon for her daughter if she ever has one
Age you wanna lose your Virginity:	are ya kiddin'? how do you think I have my daughter? immaculate conception??
Hate anyone:	nahh...not worth it...
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Monday, Monday...

Well, my email friend in Australia instant messaged me from work last night, (she works for the Australian government in Canberra), and she has to come to Washington DC at the end of March, so she wants to try to get up here then for a couple days too! Yeah, I know it's her, we've been writing & talking for about 5 years! She has ms too, and she sent me a tv clip of her testifying to her govt about ms! Really cool!
Other than that...
When it was just me & Tiffany, & I worked in the store an hour north of here, all the department managers had to trade working on Sundays, cuz nobody EVER wanted to work on Sunday!! So, since I was, like, greedy, and needed the money (at least I had the Honda Civic, and gas was only .98 a gallon...remember those days??), I volunteered to work every other Sunday. And absolutely nobody ever had any kind of problem with THAT!!! Especially since I took the last half of the day, 3 pm to 9 pm. And that was because I liked to drink (beer & tequila!) and always went out to a bunch of bars with all my friends, to Findlay, Tiffin, Bowling Green, Toledo....(hence, I haven't been drunk since, ummm, 1989...I think I must've drunk my fill), and we always went out on Saturday nights and stayed out all night. Tiffany always stayed with my mom & dad overnight that night. They would pick her up at the babysitter's house Saturday afternoon, and I'd pick her up at their house Sunday, ummm, after I woke up? No, it was usually before noon. Then Tiffany and I would usually play with her puzzles, and other toys Sunday. But when I had to work at 3 pm, Mom & Dad babysat her again, cuz her regular babysitter didn't do Sundays (don't blame her.........would you?). But she did watch her Monday thru Saturday. I'd leave for work at 2 pm Sunday afternoon, work from 3 to 9, and I was the one in charge. Had the safe combination, the store keys, and 1 cashier to run register. We would get everything done in the store, get the money counted, and in a deposit bag, and the cashier would go home, I'd take the bag of money (like, $30,000!), and drop it off in the bank's deposit thingy on my way out of town, cuz it WAS right on my way out of town. At that time, it really wasn't a big deal to me, it was "nuttin' but a thing". I was about 22 & 23! Now when I look back at it, I'n like "Holy Shit!!". I remember there was a bar across the street that mostly Mexicans went to...a big sign in the window said "Cerveza". I think that's Mexican for beer? I dunno, I thought so, anyway. Then I'd drive back here, & pick Tiffany up, go back to the apartment, read with her, and put her to bed. By then it was usually 10:30 pm, and I'd go sit on the couch and make all the new price signs for the next week in produce. I always had the tv on VH1, listening to, maybe 'The Soul of VH1'? When I'd get done with the signs, I'd go tuck Tiff in again, grab one of my Stephen King books, put everything that I needed to take back to work leaning against the door so I didn't forget it, then I'd go to bed too. And read for an hour or two. And then get up and go back to work Monday morning, leaving at 6:45 am. Which meant I was up at, ummmm, 5:30 am !! How did I do it??? No wonder I sleep a lot now! Got a lot to catch up on! Anyway, it worked well. Lots of fun, but lots of bullshit with one of the guys I dated, but...live & learn, right?
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

cold...

Damn, it is too cold today!! Okay...yesterday it was 60 degrees & sunny...today it's...well, right now it's 30 degrees! And last night overnight, it was SO fuckin' windy...I was sitting in here at the computer around 3 or 4 am, all of a sudden, I heard something on the front porch banging around. Turned out, it was all the brooms, shovels, + anything else that wasn't "nailed down", flying against the wall, the railing, OMG, you can imagine picking a snow shovel up and just hitting a wall with it as hard as you can! At 3 am, when people are supposed to be sleeping! (not me, of course...rules don't apply to me!) I think the winds last night were like, well, I dunno, but I do know we were under a high wind warning, and if you looked at a map, there was a tornado 'watch box' in Indiana!!
But, before all that, it was a really nice day. Kevin took the day off for our anniversary, and we just kinda loafed around all day. He always describes his part in that as "gonna hang out with my wang out" or "gonna rock out with my cock out".
We got together with his whole family and went out for dinner, like we always do on our anniversary, because his mom & dad's 42nd anniversary was Feb 15th. We actually just went to Bob Evans restaurant, whose food I totally love. They thought about going to Applebee's, but I'm really kinda glad we didn't, I'm not really a big fan of their food.
At 6:30 pm, Kevin and I pulled up to the side of the restaurant, and Ken motioned out the window for us to wait a second...then he came out to the car carrying an umbrella (Mary Poppins?), and he and Kevin got my walker (well, it's actually a 'roller'!) out of the backseat, and I got out of the car...we're all heading to the door in the rain (that was when the weather started to suck!), Ken first, then me and my walker, then Kevin behind me. He always walks behind me, cuz he always has his finger through my belt loop, in case I fall. And Ken was carrying the umbrella over my head. That's very sweet & careful, but...I've told him if I ever DO fall, that'll rip me in two!! And probably make a total mess... :-( . We're just trudging toward the door, and maybe I slowed down or something, but all of a sudden I see Ken and the umbrella walking on ahead of us to the door. I just started dying laughing, cuz here he had come out with the umbrella to be a gentleman (!) (brothers-in-law aren't s'pozed to do that!), and he didn't even think again after we started walking! Funny as hell!! We get inside, and had to wait around for a table, cuz there were 11 of us!! When we were getting ready to leave, Kevin's mom gave me & Kevin a heart-shaped box of candy, and we were laughing about the fact that she had gone and gotten it half-price the day after Valentine's Day. Then she said 'Remenmber when...' and that got it started. We joked about the fact that back in 1990, when we got married, she was like everybody else (including me), and was totally surprised when we had been on the news, & Kevin told central Ohio we were getting married for Valentine's Day! When we got back to town after we were on the news that night, Kevin stopped at his apt first, checked his messages on the answering machine while I waited in the car, and then he came tearing out to the car saying 'You take your car & go pick up Tiffany, I'll meet you at your apartment. I've got to go see my parents for a minute.' Turns out that she had left a message , with her sounding all upset & crying, and everything, but she only did that as a joke. But it worried the SHIT out of Kevin!! I even remember when we first started dating, I woke up one morning and rolled over in bed to get up. I looked out the window, like always, and Kev's mom was driving past my house to go to work (the bank she worked at was only maybe 4 blocks down that main street in town, and my apartment was on a corner). And Kev's car was parked right under my window next to where the main street was! That was back in December, way before the wedding! She told me later that she saw his car there every morning for a long time, before he even told her we were dating!
And, Tiffany got hired at another salon yesterday! She is SO gone from Fiesta!! She starts at Fantastic Sam's tomorrow!! She's been having to close at night all the time...by herself!! And go deposit the money and everything! I did that at the grocery store all the time, but that was back TWENTY YEARS AGO!! You just don't make your employees do that now!! Especially when it's a young girl! Sam's never will have only one employee working! Wee-Haaw!
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

story i got in email today

Yup...I'm a customer...


http://www.wketchup.com/news/060216.php

Wow. This kinda floored me. I thought the only 'newsworthy' thing that happened over the last 2 or 3 weeks was an accidental hunting shooting in Texas. Huh...who knew?

Libby

ghost stories, etc...

Okay, everyone...I think maybe she might be part of the continuing interest on my behalf in ghosts. This is one of the most famous pictures of a ghost you can find. She's in a castle in England (of course...aren't they all?), but, most importantly, she is an ancestor of Kev's mom!! And yes, I did put time into finding that out, by researching it (c'mon! I don't have a job!! Gotta do SOMETHING!!). I'm gonna write about another 'encounter' I had with a ghost? creepy feeling? I dunno what it was, but the whole thing weirded me out! But first, I hafta write about yesterday. Kev & I were doing the whole whatta you want for Valentine's Day? Whatta you want for our anniversary? I said I truly don't want anything but a card...I don't wanna spend a bunch of money we really don't have. We already did that for Christmas.. :-)
So finally I said...well...chocolate covered raisins & chocolate covered peanuts. And he said ok...Then we decided to get one thing together for our anniversary. One of the Tempur-pedic beds! I'm excited!! So that's anniversary. I still accuse him every year of us getting married 2 days after Valentine's Day, so all he ever had to do for our anniversary was go to the dumpsters of all the flower shops, and get the stuff they threw away after Valentine's....makes sense to me! No, he asked me on Wednesday the 14th, we decided to do it Friday the 16th, because we worked at the same store & took vacation together that week, just to hang out. But we got married for Valentine's Day instead! Took the weekend for a honeymoon (Tiff stayed with my mom), and went back to work Monday! :-/
Okay, here's one of my other stories about "ghosts I know personally".
In about 1991, I was working in Bucyrus, Ohio (produce, at a grocery store), and saw an ad for a new grocery store that was being built in our town. So, that was only gonna be in a plaza about 1/4 mile from my house. I went & applied, interviewed, & got the job (yup...produce mgr...). I totally LOVED that store! Everything was big & new, for anyone who is familiar, it looked like a Cub Foods. After a few weeks, I was in the back room of produce, with about 2 of my assistants, and we were just loafing, and bullshitting because we were running ahead of schedule. So, instead of going up to the front of the store and upstairs to the breakroom, we just lit cigarettes in the back room, we're leaning against the wall and ice machine, when all of a sudden, I felt like somebody grabbed the hand I was smoking with. Nobody did, but I got that cold chill people always talk about. Dave & Steve weren't even looking at me, they were still talking. I dropped my smoke on the concrete floor and stepped on it and went back to the table where I was trimming some stuff (I used to be GOOD with knives!)(actually, I guess Kev's better, he had to cut up pigs, cows, chickens...eeewww). About 30 seconds after I did that, one of the top bosses from Lima walked in through the cooler (it went through from my back room and there was a 'back door' to the cooler that went through to the long hall that went to the other side of the store), and Dave & Steve were standing there talking, laughing, smoking..and I was over at the table, minding my own fuckin' business, chopping away. John (boss) just stood there looking at them with his arms behind his back...to make a long story short, they got to hear about it, but kept their jobs.
Then, a few months later, I was by myself working in the backroom, around 8 pm. I was cutting all kinds of melons & kiwi & stuff for fruit salads. I got about halfway through, then got a really creepy feeling, like someone was staring at me. I just glanced over to my left, and I felt like there was someone standing there, but nobody was! I went back to chopping, then looked over again, and I saw an Indian standing there, with his arms crossed over his chest, and I do remember that he had no shirt on, something like shorts on, very long black hair, with a band around his head (no, no feathers!), and he really wasn't looking at me, but he was standing there staring straight ahead, not moving. But it probably was only 10 seconds or so. Still, creeped me out! I went up front, upstairs, to my office, and just sat for awhile.
Okay, fast forward...I found out a few years after that, that part of the plaza had been built over Grave Creek, which had been filled in and covered up for the construction. Grave Creek? Hmmmmm....that was an ancient Indian burial ground...
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

eBay shopping today...

I was "browsing" (shopping) on eBay today, and, damn I really WISH this would've been around 20 years ago!! Do you realize how cheap baby stuff would've been??
Anyway, I've been reading a book of people's true ghost stories from all over the United States, they were collected by USA Today. And, okay, they might be true (a lot of 'em), but there were also a few of 'em that I could've written. So I was sittin' on the couch this morning reading & remembering what used to happen at mine & Tiffany's second apartment.
We lived there for about 4 1/2 years, and it was the BEST apartment anyone could ever imagine! First of all, it was just the upstairs of a plain old house, which I like SO much better than an apartment complex...those have no character!! The downstairs was already rented to a guy who had been in there for years!! He was about 40 or so, & as we were moving in, he came running up the stairs & said "Hey, I'm Henry, the landlord said you're divorced & you have a baby girl...so, if you ever have any trouble with him coming over & causing trouble, I'm right underneath you, so jump, yell, scream, if you need help!" OMG!! I'll never forget how great that was!! The stairs to that apartment were outside all the way up the side of the house, but nothing covered them, so they got rained & snowed on all the time!! Didn't matter...was still worth it. There were probly about 10 or 15 steps, but real solid, with a big banister. The apartment was...a big living room that the door opened into; straight through was my huge bedroom with a closet; from the living room to the left was Tiffany's room (she was still in her CRIB!!), and the big front window that looked out at the main street in town was in there; and, if you went to the left when you came in the door, there was a little hallway, with a big bathroom and clawfoot bathtub & shower, then if you went straight down the hall, there was a HUGE kitchen that had a stove, refrigerator, big pantry at the end, 2 big windows, a china cabinet...keep in mind, this apartment cost me $160.00 a month!! My God, was that place great!! (a little bit haunted, but great!).
Some of the times, I'd be in bed, getting ready to fall asleep, and I'd hear somebody walking up the steps outside, & then just stopping outside the door. But I'd get up real quick & look outside, and.....nuttin'! There was also a teeny little square, like an opening to an attic in the living room, but, it couldn't be an opening for any person to go upstairs, cuz it was maybe a 12" X 12" square!! Even I couldn't do that!! Every once in a while I'd hear something like light, Tiffany-size footsteps running around up there! But I'd go around the corner & look, and she was just in her new 'big bed', snoring away! Besides, the square was like 9 feet up, on the ceiling!! So, back to bed for me...
Still, to this day, Tiffany says her bed used to shake a lot in the middle of night, and wake her up!! I know that she used to wake me up crying in the middle of the night every couple weeks, screaming, "Mommy!!! My bed's shaking!!!" So I'd wake up and go in her room & we'd sit there hugging on her bed, & saying prayers for her, so her bed would stop shaking! (no, I never felt it, but...would a 3 or 4 year old lie about this?). The big kitchen was always kinda creepy, too. There were always big shadowy places that the overhead lights couldn't get to.
Oh, hey, I forgot to mention one of the most hilarious things I used to do with Tiff when we first moved in there, before she walked perfect, and if you set her down to keep her occupied with something, it'd actually work! The best thing to do to keep a single, bored baby busy is...make a roll of scotch tape, and then stick it to her hands!! Funnee!! Okay, and I think that came back to bite me in the ass. Cuz, of course, I had a Rubik's cube, like everyone did then, and once, when Tiff was 3 or 4, she brought it to me, and it was totally done, one color on each of the 6 sides!! "Mommy, look, I did it!!"..yeah...she told me when she was about 12, that she had a lot of fun with that thing...peeling each color off, and sticking each color on a different side!!!
It's so lucky I didn't have ms (that I knew of, anyway) back then. I never could've kept working or living there with the steps. Once in about 1986, I lost all my peripheral vision...which really isn't good if you're driving an hour a day to work, and an hour home at night. But I went to an eye doctor, he checked my eyes, completely, nothing wrong, he said it's probly stress...at that time, who was I to argue? So it went away in about a week, so I forgot about it...till 1994, when I learned that that's one of the first symptoms of ms!
Kevin & I got married Feb 16, 1990 (holy shit!!~ anniversary's coming up!!), & we all lived there till August that summer when we bought this house. I still miss that apartrment, though...
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

i dunno...

Does everybody beLIEVE this shit?? This is a TRIM,, that Kathy gave me today!! Tiffany was at work all day today, and said before she left that she didn't care if Kat did my hair today, so I called Kathy, and she said she & the twins would come over this afternoon for it, and look at all the hair she had to take off. Just to trim it!! I've even tried to donate my hair to 'Locks of Love', which makes wigs for little kids that have cancer, and have lost their hair. But, they only can take it if it's 12 inches long!! And I really can't do that. It does grow long, but it mostly grows too thick, (out!) and I always have to have it thinned before I can live with it!!

Has everybody done something really stupid (albeit funny) with someone's car?

The first thing that was done involving my car, was when I worked as a cashier at the first store. My former best friend, Joe, knew exactly which parking place I parked in, and one day when I was off, he went to the store, and drew an outline of a person in that place, like somebody had been murdered there. So I came in the next day, and wondered what happened. But, there were no "crime scene" tapes over it, so I parked there anyway! And when I walked in the door, everybody was laughing, cuz Joe had been at work that day earlier, and told everyone about it. And it was really strange, cuz it was only drawn with white shoe polish, which always comes off with water (so it's also great to "soap" someone's car windows with, if anybody needs that helpful information). But that 'dead body' outline was there for MONTHS!!

Then there was my friend, the cashier that found the guy trying to steal cigarettes. She drove a WAY teeny car, even smaller than my Honda Civic. The guys that worked as stockboys at the store picked her car UP and lifted it and set it down on the sidewalk, which was about 6 inches higher than the parking lot! She couldn't figure out how it got there!

After I transferred to the store up north, the meat manager up there had one of those little cars (I forget what kind it was...) that had a plug that he used to pull in the back door of the produce room, and plugged his car in the outlet over my big sink! So here's Todd's car, with a big orange extension cord stretched up into the back door! I actually think it only needed plugged in in the winter, when it wouldn't start...I dunno. Anyway, I do know that there was snow on the ground & it was really cold outside, cuz I bitched at the store manager when he came back to the produce room for something..."Terry! I'm freezing to death!! My hands are always wet with this job, and they're gonna turn into icicles! If I have to go to the emergency room, this company'll be sorry!!" ha, what a whiner I was! Terry said, "We can take care of this easier...c'mon!" We went outside, and Terry unplugged the car under the hood, but left it plugged into the wall, so if you looked at it inside, you didn't know anything was different. Then we took the car around to the other side of the building, and parked it over there. Came back to the side where it HAD been, and tossed the 'car' end of the cord up to the roof. Then went back inside, dusting our hands (phew! job well done!). And, OMG, you should've seen Todd's face, when he unplugged the car from the wall, and took off out the back door to go home!! "How did my car get on the roof?? What's going on??" I'm STILL laughing about it!!

BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

old stuff that happened at work...

The first time I got a job, (the very first! what a lazy fuckin' bum, huh? no, I was supposed to study!) Anyway, I was 19, had taken Tiff right before she turned one, and left the first guy that got me pregnant in high school, & first I was stupid and married him, then realized what a true bum he was and left him (after all, he WAS 27 & I was 18...all I can realize now is 'he mustve been really immature!').
So after we left, we moved in with Mom & Dad (for like a week, that's all I could take!). One of my friends brought me an application for the place she worked at, which was the grocery store around the corner, and said they really need more cashiers. Filled it out, took it over, took an honesty test, and got hired right then! I was SO happy!! (it was a ticket out, ya know??).
I worked there, and begged for as many hours as I could get. Remember, this was around 1985..minimum wage was $3.35 an hour...try telling your kids that one!! But Tiff & I did ok, with the exception of the devil-worshiping signs painted on the wall in the attic at our first apartment...that always did tend to creep me out. And my bedroom looked straight out at the door. Luckily, it had a sliding latch/lock on it. I never thought to wonder why till now...hmmm...
I got a babysitter, that was back when they had a gov't program to pay the babysitter on a sliding scale for working moms, & that worked well! (God bless Ronald Reagan!!).
I made lots of friends among the other cashiers there. We had a lot in common (we all hated the boss like poison!). That store was not in the worst part of town, but it just seemed like the worst people shopped there! Not because they were minorities, or on food stamps (for heaven's sake I was too, for a few months!). But because a lot of people that came in had one thing on their mind...THEFT!!! And, of course, it was up to us, as cashiers at the front of the store, to catch any shoplifters!
We had the cartons of cigarettes on a pegboard wall in the front of the store, across the store from where the registers were. This place was a shoplifters dream!! Bags of candy hung from the pegboard on the other side of the cartons of cigarettes. One of the girls I worked with (she's younger than me, and we still call & write all the time!) saw a big black guy crouched down in front of the candy when she went down that aisle, she looked a little closer, and realized that he had his arm sticking all the way through to where the cigarettes were. She walked up behind him, tapped him on the shoulder, and when he jumped & turned around to look, all she did was smile and say, "Can I help you, sir?" He just took off running, and we all just about died laughing!
One evening, we were closing (at 9 pm), and I was walking the aisles with the assistant manager to just try to put back misplaced items to straighten the store, and Doug walked down the aisle next to mine. All of as sudden, he yelled "Eeeww, Libby! C'mere, something stinks, and I can't figure out what it is!". Then I'm getting ready to go around the corner, and he yells "Found it!!". Keep in mind, it was August, and the a/c wasn't really good...he'd pulled a pack of sausage out from behind a box of cereal, and I have no clue how long it had been there, but it stunk SO BAD!!! And it had tons of maggots crawling around all over! This is where being a girl is a HUGE advantage!! I could yell, "I can't touch that!!". HAHA!!
One other time when we were closing, we always turned off every other aisle's lights, so customers got the idea that we were closing (even though there was a huge sign on the door...). This one older lady was just leisurely walking along shopping, studying labels, etc...so one of the stock guys went back to the back room and shut off half of the lights that were still on...all of a sudden that lady actually looked up at the lights questioningly, then opened her purse, and took out a penlite flashlight and went back to reading labels!!
...more later...
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

Here are my results!

Advanced Global Personality Test Results Extraversion 80% Stability 63% Orderliness 16% Accommodation 36% Interdependence 30% Intellectual 36% Mystical 56% Artistic 30% Religious 56% Hedonism 83% Materialism 70% Narcissism 36% Adventurousness 83% Work ethic 76% Self absorbed 70% Conflict seeking 43% Need to dominate 50% Romantic 50% Avoidant 23% Anti-authority 70% Wealth 43% Dependency 50% Change averse 23% Cautiousness 23% Individuality 70% Sexuality 70% Peter pan complex 63% Physical security 83% Physical Fitness 64% Histrionic 36% Paranoia 23% Vanity 36% Hypersensitivity 30% Female cliche 50%

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posted by orders from Kim yesterday...

Kim called me yesterday afternoon, and she had all kinda shit to fill me in on! Some is shitty & sad, but then it went to where we were both laughing so hard we couldn't even breathe!
Kim's grandma (her dad's mom) died at the hospital a couple weeks ago. Kim & her dad were sitting there with her, and talking, and Kim said she just quit breathing and died. It wasn't a surprise to them at all. She had been in a nursing home, because her dr had told Kim's dad that he should move her to a nursing home, instead of her own apartment here in town, because she had kidney problems, breathing problems, and was getting dementia. So she had been at the nursing home, but then got bad enough to go to the hospital, and died there.
Then Kim told me about what happened Wednesday afternoon...her other grandma (her mom's mom) has been living with Kim's mom & dad for at least the last year, and she's not in the best of health either. She got admitted to the same hospital Wednesday night, and when Kim & her mom & dad went with the nurses to get her settled in the room she was given, they all realized...it was the same room her dad's mom died in a couple weeks ago!! And it's not like this is some teensy-weensy little hospital, it's regular size, has 4 floors (I know that's not tons, but...big enough for a different room, right?).
Yesterday afternoon, Kim took her dad up to the Cleveland Clinic for a checkup on his kidney transplant he got a few years ago, then to the VA hospital up there for something else. While her dad was in the bathroom, Kim was leaning against the wall in the hall waiting, and she said an old man came up to her and said 'don't I know you? aren't you one of those girls on the news?', and she said she just laughed and said, 'well, i probably oughtta be,as much as I talk! but, no, i'm not....I just talk for free!' :-O ;-)
Kim was driving her mom & dad's Cadillac home. She & her dad were talking, joking, etc. All of a sudden Kim noticed her dad had a weird look on his face. She asked him what was wrong, and he said he thought he was gonna get sick, cuz he'd felt kinda bad all day. Then she pulled over to the side of the road, so he could, like, lean out & puke. He's trying to get the door open, and I couldn't really understand it (cuz we were laughing too hard??), but it was something about how the door wouldn't open unless the car was in park or something, and she was like, Dad, Dad!! And he's saying the door won't open, lemme out! Then he's just trying to get the automatic window open...he's pushing the opener in the right direction, she's pushing the one on her side in the other direction, cuz it is his car, she's not all THAT familiar with it! We finally slowed down on the laughing, and I asked, "So...did your dad just finally have to puke straight AT the window??" Yuk...no, they finally got the doors open (after her dad told her how....)
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

blah, blah, blah...

Yesterday Kim said that I had such a better time in my life than she did. Truthfully, I guess she's right. She also got married right out of high school, and she's still married to him, they get along good, but it's a life I could never live. She never worked after she got pregnant, and has never wanted to. She and her family live out in the country, right next door to her mother & father-in-law, on the family's pig farm, and her husband & all his brothers run it & work for it. And, no, before anyone asks, they are not rich! She actually used to bitch about being a 'one-income family of five'! Can anyone except me see the irony in this? We kinda 'grew apart' after high school, mostly because I got pregnant in my senior year and got married in April, & had Tiff in Oct (yes, I did graduate!), and Kim was very, extremely jealous of the fact that I had Tiff. She's told me that since then. But Kim was my maid-of-honor...I wasn't even asked to be in her wedding, I'm still trying to remember if I was even invited...
Be that as it may...since then I tried to tell her it wasn't all heavenly getting married in high school, having to take your baby girl & leave him, and get a job, get an apartment, a babysitter, and then volunteer to work as many hours as you could, just to be able to pay your bills. Yeah it worked for me...but, dammit. only because I made it! One time when she was talking about how broke they were, I said why don't you just go get even a part time job? I got "Well, I could go to Delaware or Bucyrus...". I'm like, WTF are you talking about?? There's places here! Turns out...she didn't want anyone seeing her having to work! I don't know where that shit came from...not me, that's for sure. I think it's because they live out of town (she acts like anyone that lives in any town lives in a ghetto!). And the school her kids go to is the one that all the "rich people's kids & doctor's kids" go to. Aaaaauuuuggghhhh...
Anyway...after I was on my own with Tiffany, we started talking again, and we were back to being on the phone every night. She always wanted "details, Libby, details!" from every date I went out on, every night I went out to a bar partying with my friends from work (every Tuesday & Saturday night). So...I'd call her the next day & give her details. I think she always lived her life vicariously through me! Oh, yeah, she mentioned the time that my mom took the phone pluggy-thing out of my room, cuz we were on the phone after 11 pm. We wanted to call someone at midnight, so I sneaked out to the closet with the ironing board in it, got the phone with its wires, brought it back to my room, & Kim & I sat on the floor trying to figure out how to do this. Finally I looked at the wall and saw there were wires in there too, so I told Kim, "Hey, maybe if you twist that color wire with the same color in the wall...". She said "Okay!" She started messing around, and she was 'oh, I think I've got it!'...all of a sudden, the wire went "ZZZZZZZZZT!" and knocked Kim back on her ass!! Now THAT was funny!!
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

...at Dale's request...errr...demand....read after yesterday's post...

...I DID have the rest of this story posted at the end of it, but blogger must've erased it. Maybe it didn't like my 'punishment'.
Continued from yesterday...
anyway...what happened...Mom said "We were worried!! (Meanwhile, my dad was still in bed snoring away, he'd never been up!) Where have you been?? I even called Kevin's house to ask if they'd seen you! And that was, to me, amazing! Because she never, ever even wanted to talk to Kevin's mom, because Kevin had dropped out of school in 9th grade, they lived 'across the tracks', his brother taught karate at his house for a living, his dad worked, but also had a gun shop in their garage (even had a sign on the door for it)...so, according to my mom, "They're just not our kind, dear." Holy mother of God!! Where did I come from?? I wonder that every day, because Mom's favorite saying is "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." The last time she said that to me I was 23, and told her "That's funny. I've always prided myself on the fact that I've never HAD to!!" So...to this day, that's just a little bit how we still get along....
So, no, Kim was still my bestest friend, she never opened her 'yap' about where I was. Mom woke her up about 3 am & demanded to know where I was. Kim sat up, stretched, looked at my bed, and was, "wow! I never even knew she was gone. I wonder where she is?" Then she laid back down, and put her head under the pillow, waited till she heard Mom go downstairs, & I'm sure she laughed her ass off, even though she still says she didn't.
When I got home I just got a 'talking to', and sent to bed & it's never been mentioned again. Nope, no, no grounding, or anything. And I saw Kevins mom & sister the last time I went to Kroger with Tiff when I was still driving, and they both hugged me and told me they miss me. His sister even gave me her email address, which is funny, cuz she's older, & always hated me, thought I was a snobby little spoiled rich bitch (i was!).
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!