Mother Fu*&#r!

I don’t know what the freakin’ deal is between me and tires, but I’m getting sick of it.

When I tried to leave work today, I discovered that my front passenger-side tire was flat. It wasn’t flat when I returned from lunch earlier, so I don’t have a clue when or what happened. You may recall that I had two separate tires go flat on me back in May, so you probably understand my frustration.

When the guy from Roadside Assistance showed up and took off the flat tire, I saw the problem clear as day…another damn screw. I swear I must drive cars that are magnets for those.

As soon as the spare tire was on, I went the closest tire repair shop by my work. I walk in and tell the guy I need to get a tire patched. "We can't do it" is all he said. I just stared at him, then he continued, "we close in five minutes; we can't do it." What an asshole! It's a good thing I was too tired to tell him how I really felt.

I just drive all the way back to Alvin on my little donut tire and took it to Wal-Mart. They took care of it, but I didn't make it home until almost 8:30. My original plan for the evening was to finish packing all my major items and do laundry. That's going to have to wait until tomorrow night now.

Expensive

Work has been so hectic lately, but that's the way I like it. The only downside to that is that I'm too tired when I get home to work on my packing. I still have a lot to do before the movers get here on Friday. Moving can be expensive. Even when I think I have enough packaging supplies, I end up running out and have to go to the store and buy more.

On a good note, only 37 more days until the Aeros home opener!

Spoiled

I know my cat is spoiled, but this is ridiculous.

I have a small dinette table that I only use to give Ariel her cat treats. Since my move is less than a week away, I took it apart and packaged it for storage. The next time Ariel wanted some treats; I put them on a plate and set them on the floor. She wouldn't even go near them, and just walked away. Later that day, I tried again to give her the treats on a plate. And again, she walked away.

I decided to try something else, and moved an end table from my living room into the kitchen. I put the treats on top of the end table. Ariel jumped right up and ate them.

She's such a spoiled diva.

Hard To Say Goodbye

I had my last appointment with my psychiatrist today. I didn't want it to be my last appointment, but he's leaving his practice to concentrate on his consultation work. I hadn't seen him seen my last appointment back in May, so I had plenty to tell him. I think he was in shock after hearing about everything I had gone through over the past few months. Towards the end of our session, he told me that I was a very strong woman. I never really thought of myself that way, but it was nice of him to say that. We hugged right before I left, and I could feel eyes filling up with tears. He's the only psychiatrist I've ever had, so it's going to be weird when I see a new one in October. I decided to go with another doctor that works out of the same office that he does. Since all my records are already there, it just seemed like the easiest thing to do.

Motivation

My boss cracked me up at work today. This morning, he was on his way out to a training class. I was heading across the hall and told him that I was on my way to make sure his direct reports submitted their weekly reports on time. Then, he told me that if I wanted to bring in a hockey stick to help motivate them, to feel free to do so. He's just too cool.

Office Politics

I'm still enjoying my job. There's some office politics going on that I don't want to be involved in, but it seems that I'm in the middle of it. It's not really a big deal, just some confusion about who is my direct supervisor. It actually started a couple of weeks ago, when the office manager approached me about some complaints she received about me. It was petty BS stuff, so I just blew it off. She also went on to tell me that I was the only secretary that our location had, which really confused me. As far as I knew, I was only the secretary for one project team and its client. I just let her talk and didn't dispute anything she said. It wasn't worth the trouble. It did make me wonder who my direct supervisor at the Dee Park location was. So, I emailed my manager, who is located in the Houston office. He called me shortly after I sent the email and we had a great conversation. He told me that I report to the project manager, which is what I originally thought. I decided not to say anything about it to the office manager, since I didn't want to cause any unnecessarily trouble.

The shit almost hit the fan this past Thursday, when the office manager confronted me for leaving an hour early on Wednesday. I told her that I was asked to work 6am-4pm that day and that's why I went home at 4pm instead of 5pm. She asked me if it was for the project and I told her it was. Then she told me that the clients were still there at 4:20pm, and I told her that I checked with them before I left. At this point, I still had no idea why she was making such a big deal about it, I just let her talk. She said that I needed to let her know when I left early, and I admitted my mistake of not telling her and gave her my apologies. I guess that wasn't enough, because then she tells me, "You report to me!"

It took so much restraint on my part not to tell her that she was wrong. I had a noon deadline to meet, and it was already 10:20am. I didn't have time, or the patience, to deal with her issues. So again, I just let her ramble on. Since I'm such a reactive person, I surprised myself by remaining calm during all her blabbering. Of course, as soon as she was done, I had to take a walk away from my desk and have a cigarette.

I just hope things get better this upcoming week.

Packing

It's less than two weeks until I move from my wonderful abode. I'm not as upset about it as I was before. I realize that it's a necessary change. I much as I hate to admit this, there's really nothing left for me in Alvin. I'm already tired of packing, and there's still so much to do!

Thank you, Meredith!

Meredith made my day today by informing me that my favorite Aero player of all-time, Curtis Murphy, is coming back to Houston! He was in Russia last year, and was in Milwaukee the year before that. It’s going to be so awesome to see him play again. I’m just excited!!

Just My Luck

I was supposed to get my first paycheck this past Friday…but it didn’t happen.

It seems that they tried to deposit it into the checking account that I had recently closed. After going back and forth between the Payroll Department and my bank, I still have no idea when I will get my check. It just sucks.

Butterflies

I have to give a presentation tonight, and I'm getting so nervous about it. I've given presentations before, but it's never been to more than 20 people. I'm not sure how many will be there tonight, but almost 30 have already RSVP'd.

Thank Goodness It’s Thursday!

It’s just so cool to say that. I think my body is finally getting adjusted to working 10-hour days. It’s great to always have a three-day weekend.

On Tuesday, I attended my first project meeting at work. At the end, the project manager went around the table to see if anyone had anything to add. It came to my turn. I know what I wanted to say, but didn’t know if I would get in trouble for saying it or not, so I hesitated. Then, the guy who sits on the other side of my cubicle said it for me:

“59 More Days!”

I started laughing so hard. The others in the meeting were puzzled and asked what the heck that was about. Now I now that my cube neighbor has been paying attention, since he told them, “Only 59 more days until the Aeros Home Opener.” They got a chuckle out of it, so I would say that it was a good meeting.

They Done Good

I guess my letter to Walgreens' corporate office worked. The Deer Park location called and apologized for screwing up my prescription and had the missing pills ready for me to pick up at my convenience. They are back on my good list now.

Three Weeks

I knew it wouldn't be long before I locked my keys in my new car, and I was right. It only took three weeks. I'm sure I'll do it again…and again.

The Family Plots episodes were great tonight. I love watching Chuck, this tough guy, talk "kitty-talk" to his cat, Sugar.

It Makes Sense

I saw a great bumper sticker the other day:

"Drive like you're NOT on the phone"

Amen!

Damn Pharmacy

I have to get medication refills every month. I normally use the Walgreens located in Alvin and never had a problem there. Since I got the new job in Deer Park, I figured it would be more convenient to use the Walgreens located less than a mile from my office. That way, I could drop-off and pick-up my prescriptions during my lunch hour.

On Tuesday, I dropped off my Adderall prescription at the Deer Park Walgreens. The technician working the drive-thru went to check to make sure they had the medication in stock. She returned to the window and said they did and I could pick it the next day. I picked up my medicine during my lunch break on Wednesday. I got back to my office to discover that only 34 pills had been given to me. My prescription was for 120 pills. Even when I dropped the prescription off on Tuesday, I told the technician that my insurance only allows me to get 100 pills per prescription, and she said that was fine. She never once told me that I would only be getting 34 pills, nor did anyone mention this to me when I picked up my medicine. I called the pharmacy and left a message for them to call me back. This was at 11:22am. I never received a return call.

If the pharmacy didn’t have the quantity of pills I needed, they should have advised me. This would, at the least, given me an option to take the prescription to another pharmacy. Adderall is a schedule II controlled substance. Therefore, I will have to contact my doctor to get a new prescription written and go to his office to pick it up. I will also have to pay another co-pay. It is just such a pain in the ass.

I’ve already submitted a customer complaint to the Walgreen’s corporate office. Since I never bother to do anything like that, it should give you an idea about how pissed off I am.

64 Days To Go

Yesterday, I had to do something that was just depressing.

I had to turn in a letter to the management office of my apartment complex and tell them that I would be moving out at the end of the month. It just sucks. I don’t want to move, but I haven’t really been given an option. I keep telling myself that it’s for the best, but it doesn’t seem to help much.

I’m going to be moving in with my dad for a while so I can catch up on debts. My dad and I haven’t lived together since before my parents got divorced, which was in 1986. Almost 20 years later, we’re going to have to live together. Since our personalities are identical and we both have ADD…it’s going to be very interesting.

I was given the option to move in with him or to move in with my mom and stepdad. Since my dad is by himself, and has a bigger place, I decided to move there. I’ve already started doing some packing. It still depresses me.

On the other hand, the job is still going great. The project manager returns from vacation next week, so it will be the first time I’ve seen him since he interviewed me almost two months ago.

Here’s more good news….only 64 days until the Aeros home opener! I’m so excited!

Family Plots

I'm addicted to this quirky show on A&E called Family Plots. It's just too funny not to watch. It's was a little confusing at first. I think the key to enjoying it is to understand the relationship and history between the characters. I know that should seem obvious, but it's true. After I watched one episode, I went to the show's web site and read about each person. I was hooked. I always look forward to watching the next episode. It comes on every Sunday night at 8:00 p.m., with an older episode airing at 8:30 p.m.

Now I just need to find someone else to watch this show so I have somebody whom I can talk to about it. It's just that damn good.

Covered

I got the official letter on Saturday?my appeal to the Texas Workforce Commission has been denied. It's unbelievable. The company didn't even bother to call in for the hearing, and I still lost. I have no clue how I'm going to pay for my August rent yet. I chose not to worry about it over the weekend because I was just too upset to deal with it.

The State of Texas just never ceases to amaze me. During both my terms of unemployment during the past year, it hasn't done crap to help me. Now, if I had children, was pregnant, or had a "disability", then I could have gotten more help. But, since I have been (somewhat) responsible, I get screwed. The whole system is just messed up.

There is good news. As of today, I now have health insurance again. Yea!