Yet another gripe

A few days ago my ex sent the police to my house. Yes, you heard me correctly. The waste of space that is my daughter's father actually called the police department and fed them a line of shit about being concerned for our "welfare", so the police came to my house to check on me, do you believe that?

When I called him, to confront him about this incident, he lied to me and said he was worried because he hadn't heard from me in a week and he had no idea if we had made it back to Utah all right. He had spoken to a friend of mine just days before, and confirmed that we were indeed home safe and sound. What an asshole.

I just wanted that on record, he's an asshole, a bullying one at that.

Okay, I'm done griping now.

Nobody reads this anyway

I'm up...still. It's almost four o'clock in the morning, and I can't sleep. I haven't had a bout of insomnia like this is a couple of months, guess I was due for one, huh?

Have I mentioned the fact that I fell deeply in love with someone once. Not just the kind of love where you think, "Oh, how sweet." But the kind of love that conusmes every fiber of your being. I fell for someone like that once upon a time. I was thinking about him today. I miss him.

I've moved on in my life, forward movement is always a good thing. But every now and then, I come back to him in my mind. And I know...well honestly, I'm not sure what I know. Except that sometimes, when it's late at night and I close my eyes, I can still see his face.

That's all, nothing else to say really.

Maybe I'll try to sleep again.

Just for the sake of argument

I'm going back to college in the fall. I don't think I've mentioned that in here, but yeah, biting the bullet, going back to college, and then.....well then I will have to get a realy job, with responsibilities and all. No more crappy call center jobs for me. God, I can't wait.

I have been toying with the idea of placing more of an emphasis on my English degree, switching majors actually. I think I would like to go abroad and teach English for a few years. Take the kids to live in another country, have the ability to see Europe because, well because we live there. Alexandria's father would have a CANARY, but oh well, screw him. After I do that for a few years, I could get a job editing or something, which, anyone who knows me will tell you, would be a dream job for me. I would esentially be getting paid to read. And to then make what I'm reading a perfect as it can be for other readers to enjoy. Hell yeah, sign me up for that.

On a totally different subject....I took my daughter to see Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants the other day, and I have to admit, it was a cute movie. I only mention it here because it made me want to see Greece. I have relatives there that I have never met, and I would like to meet them. I would like to give my daughter the chance to know her heritage. That and who could refuse the sun and the beaches....right now, that would be the thing I would look forward to the most.

Well, enough daydreaming for now, my mundane little life calls to me. There are dishes waiting to be done.

T-Mobile and the case of the mysterious Overdraft fees

April 13, 2005....I notice that I have and overdraft on my savings account ( which I use to make scheduled payments via EFT or ACH) so, naturally, I call my credit union to inquire what it's for, since no payments were scheduled to be made. The nice woman on the other end of the phone tells me that T-Mobile attempted to take a payment from my account. Odd, I think, since I've already paid my bill via debit card. I thank her and hang up.

The next call I make is to T-Mobile Customer Care ( right.....customer care MY ASS) and the clueless girl on the other end tells me after almost an hour, that I must be mistaken, they don't show any record that they tried to access my account. So apparently, since they didn't show it in their systems, it never happened. Although my credit union shows a clear record of the attempt. Hmmmmm.....odd. I can see it, I'm looking right at it, says T-Mobile right next to it.

Then the following Monday, guess what? It happened AGAIN. That's right dear readers, T-Mobile made a SECOND attempt to withdraw funds from my account. So I call again, thinking, perhaps a bit naivley, that surely NOW they would do something about it. But NO! They still insisted that because they didn't SEE it on their records, it never happened, and that I was mistaken. Then I'm told that all I need to do is fax them a copy of the statement showing the attempt and they would be happy to take care of it for me.

It is now THREE MONTHS later. I have now refused to pay T-Mobile another dime until this is taken care of, and I am requesting that I not be made to pay my bill for the month due to the serious inconvience and lack of care taken in this matter. I have, in total, faxed the same information to T-Mobile SIX, count 'em, SIX times. And today? Well today I get told that I need to prove how much they tried to withdraw, the moron on the phone even went as far as to suggest that perhaps I was trying to get out of something by saying, "Maybe you were making a payment for someone else."

Do not trust T-Mobile my friends, a company that will try to get out of something like this, is not to be trusted with your money or your patronage. The next step for me is to write to , call or email, every single media outlet that I can and to take the relevant information to my local authorities. If you have T-Mobile...switch now. Get the hell out of there! Run!!

Jobless and pissed off

Well today, for thefirst time in my working life I got fired. What did I do you ask? Did I spit at my boss? No. Did I call somone a stupid bitch for thinking that children who claim to be molested are most likely lying? ( Yes, an employee at Harland ACTUALLY said that? No, that wasn't it. What was my act of indiscretion that was so horrible, so heinous that I had to be dismissed from employment?

I missed one hour over their alloted 16. Not because I had been out drinking and just didn't feel like going in. Not because I made it a habit to be late or not show up. I missed one hour to many because the night before I had been driving for 18 hours and when I got home and fell asleep I simply forgot that I was supposed to be at work an hour early. I was on time for my scheduled shift, in fact I was twenty minutes early and was logged in and ready to go before any one else in the class.

John H Harland tells people that it cares about it's employees. What they should be saying is that they care about their employees after 90 days have passed and you have PTO....until then, if you want to work for this company....be sure to put all possible crisis situations on hold. Get out the crystal ball and be sure......be very very sure to kiss ass to the training staff. Oh, and try not to be to smart. It scares them.

End of rant.....................

One

There was an article in Time a few weeks back and it talks about how to end world poverty. It's about a new book by Jeffrey D. Sachs. It was a provacative article, and I plan to purchase the book. Now there is a group asking for people to sign a petition to get the United States government to pledge one percent of it's budget to ending poverty.

Look at the website, sign the petition, and read the book....it's called "The End of Poverty". People, even one at at time, can make the biggest difference of all, if we simply remember that tomorrow, it could be us, or our families in need of comapassion from a world that to often looks the other way.

I'm BAAAAACCKKKK

It's kind of like Poltergiest that way. I have internet at home again, finally *insert eye roll here* So I thought I better come in and just say hello to everyone. Let you all *all thee and a half of you* know that I am indeed still alive and writing.

More later.

Exploding Toads????

Yeah...you heard me..exploading toads. I got to work this morning and turned on my computer and the first thing I see on MSN is the headline "Exploding Toads Puzzles German Scientists". Well who in the hell wouldn't be puzzeled by expoding toads? I mean honestly, if a toad just suddenly exploded next to you, would you look at your friends and say, " Oh look, another exploding toad." ?? NO...you would FLIP THE FUCK OUT!!

It's almost biblical, like a sign from the divine. "Knock off the crap, or I'm gonna start blowin shit up!"

Careful people, it could be us next. You could be sitting next to your date and BAM!!!! Nothing but goo. Like a bad horror movie don't you think? Weird shit starts happening in nature, no one listens to the geeky scientists and the all hell breaks loose.

That's it, I'm getting a cabin in the woods.

Ryker and Squidward

I called to talk to Stephanie the other night and she was talking to Ryker. Ryker had asked about my health and well being the other day. I was touched by this. So I decided to dedicate this post to Ryker and his fondness for Spongebob and all things Squidward.

I think that we can all agree Spongebob is freakin hilarious, but most people do not yet appreciate the importance of Squidward.

Ryker, I looked for a Squidward page to link to this post...but alas, I am at work and the IT department here has blocked sites they deem inappropriate. Apparently, Spongebob and Squidward have been deemed a threat to cooperate America. I did however manage to find a great picture of him, so I linked it to the post title.

Vive La Squidward!!!!!

Vive La Bikini Bottom!!!!!

*raising arm in triumphant glee*

I'm off to cause havoc in the corporate world now!

Has it REALLY been that long?

Wow....almost a week since my last post....well when you have no internet at home, that's what happens. You lose control of these things.

Have I told you how much I hate moving? If I haven't, let me fill you in. I hate moving with a fiery passion that just will not die. I hate the packing and the shuffling of shit from one place to another. Never knowing where anything is, tripping over boxes...Oh, and this time I moved from three bedroom house BACK into a two bedroom apartment. Now I suddenly have way way to much shit and nowhere to put it. So this means even more shuffling of shit ...one funny thing is , my house now looks something like the Library of Congress. There are books EVERYWHERE.

Did I mention I'm a bibliophile? Books are my passion. I collect them, and certain books I collect more than one copy of. I have fourteen copies of Alice In Wonderland ( my favorite book) and I have several different versions of the Lord of the Rings set. Each one from a different printing, each one with different cover art...I even have The Hobbit in German. I can't READ German, but it's COOL.

I'll have to get a camera and take a picture, let the world see just how far this book thing has gone. It's wild.

I'm going back to college this fall, that should be an adventure. I haven't been inside a classroom in almost ten years, I think I'll probably have to retake a lot of the classes I took, just because most of the knowledge is probably outdated. But I am looking forward to it. I was teasing Stephanie the other day...told her we should join a Sorority. We can be Sorority girls...( Okay, for those of you who KNOW me, you should already be snotting Coke out your noses at this point, for those of you who DON'T know me, just take my word for it....I am SOOOO not a Sorority girl..and Steph, well, I think she could make a go of it, until one of them pissed her off..then it would be kind of like one of those horror movies? Yeah, dead soroity chics EVERYWHERE...good times!!)

Later folks!

Gushing about Stephanie

I've decided that I need to dedicate an entire post to gushing about Steph. I do this not to cater to her ego ( Okay, well maybe a little) but mainly because it seems like when I write lately I'm always putting in things about her.....maybe that's because after some recent ugliness in my life, she is the one person that shone throw with glorious color. Her friendship never waivered, she never faltered in her support of me even though I had been a through ASS. In short she was everything you always dream of having in a best friend. She is that person that you know you will still be talking to and laughing with in thirty years.

And she is the person I have discovered I ALWAYS have fun with, no matter what we are doing. We can just be sitting watching movies and I laugh and laugh...it makes me feel good to be around her.

I have decided that she is the role model I'm going to hold up to my daughter. Not because she's famous, not because she's rich, not because she's thin....but because she is the kind of person I want my child to be. She has had problems in her life. She has made mistakes. But she holds her head up and continues on. She isn't afraid to say that she is angry or hurt and she has a style all her own and she doesn't care if it matches the crap in Vouge.

She is, in short, the type of person I try hard every day to be.

I don't know if you know this or not Stephanie, but with all kidding aside, Thanks for everything you do for me. I admire you!

Sting and the Amazing Stehanie (part two)

Where was I? Oh, yeah...we made our way back to our seats......

Phantom Planet....the opening act. Skinny white boys with guitars....Excellent. Oh, and the music was good too. Seriously...check this band out. http://www.phantomplanet.com Better yet....surf past the bands website, check out the blog they keep..interesting guys. (Steph....if we had been there earlier, we could have MET Sting....read the post in the blog about the SLC show....*grrrrr*)

Moving on....

They played a nice set...interacted with the crowd....I enjoyed it.

BUT WAIT...now I have to tell you about this chic that was sitting in front of us. Yeah....we're waiting for the show to start and this yuppie group from HELL stops at the seats in front of us. There were the prerequisite trophy women and the over tanned, over gelled men.....and the couple that sat right in front of us? Oh....let me tell you about them. This woman was wearing jeans that looked like she had to jump from a great height to get into them, and carrying the most ABSURD purse I've ever seen. It was literally only big enough for a tube of lipstick and a breath mint..I mean honestly, how about wearing pants that aren't so skin tight and putting the breath mint in your pocket??

When Sting hit the stage, this woman bounced out of her seat and started to dance...badly. This woman wouldn't have been able to find the beat if someone had handed it to her in a paper bag...even scarier than skinny white chic dancing badly? Her boyfreind thought it was sexy. He was fondling her butt, shoving his tounge into her mouth. Get a room.

Moving on ....

Sting was FABULOUS.....I'm so glad I got to go. The guitar player, Shane, he was funny AND talanted....here's what I mean. He is a WICKED guitar player...but the man dances like a chicken. Too funny for words. Another example of people being themselves and not caring. He was having a great time on stage, just doin' his thing, and it just added to the overall experience of the concert.

I have to say though, I have never...and I mean NEVER in my life been to a concert where the crowd sat that still. It was like the Stepford Audience. Stephanie and I were some of the only people just diggin the music and letting go. Everyone else just sort of sat there and yelled at the appropriate intervals. What a waste of good rock and roll.

In a nutshell...a VERY LARGE nutshell.....there you have it....Sting and the amazing Stephanie. ( please refer to next post)

Sting and the amazing Stephanie ( Part One)

And the music played.....

So last night was the Sting concert. I have to say that it was, well.......KICK ASS!!! I know, I sound like a fifteen year old, but WOW...Sting puts on a great show. Here I haven't been to a concert in years..and now, two in the space of a month....

I went with Stephanie, who, as we all know by now, is about the coolest person on the planet? ( What? You didn't know that? I'm shocked..I shall have to post seperatly about this coolness) Anyway, originally the tickets were purchased as a birthday gift for someone...but then that someone turned out to be completly undeserving of such an awe inspiring birthday...so I decided that the best way to get the most out of that concert was to take Steph with me, and damn if I wasn't right.

We noshed a bit before the show. Laughed at the obviously cracked out woman wandering aimlessly among the tables. Talked about, well just general crap. I've noticed that even general crap with Steph turns into major laughs...a good time had by all.

After the din din we meandered our way through the fashion challenged folks in the mall and found our way to the Delta Center....and we had very good seats...side of the stage, not to high up...it was set to be a killer evening.

Then Steph decides she has to pee...so off we go. Mens room. Mens room. Mens room....wait I see a pattern here......seriously we walked by SIX mens rooms in a row before we got to ONE womens room...and there, outside the womens bathroom was the parapehnallia stand..and Stephanie forgot that she had to pee. Two hats, two autographed books and a t-shirt later ( oh and let's not forget the matching pins) We make our way back to our seats......And I'll just tell you the rest later.

Suspense is good for digestion.

Hitchhikers
I've been watching the previews for this and getting pretty excited. This is one of my favorite books. I think Douglas Adams was a genius. The series that the BBC did in the eighties was funny as hell....I hope they didn't screw this up to bad.
I am, of course going to have to reread the books JUST before I go and see the movie.

Just remember....DON'T PANIC!!!!!

Test Taking

I feel like I'm back in the days of spit wads and note passing. Have I mentioned yet how much I detest taking tests? We just got done taking one, complete with essay questions and better yet, it's a freakin FRIDAY morning. Yeah, isn't that fun?

On the bright side, I did finish first, so fair play to me. Now I'm just sitting here eating my pretzles and drinking my Adreniline Rush.

I have a new friend. Her name is Michele, she's fucking AWESOME....just wanted to mention that. We're gonna hit the thrift stores together. So, YAY...shopping buddy. I need to introduce her to Stephanie, then we can all do the hangin thing. Wow, check it out, three musketeers..scary? I think so. Fun? Even more so.

Joe Bob is back...got an email from him last night..I'll keep you posted on that...should prove to be interesting, Joe Bob always is.

Last but not least....*waves* Hello Patrick..just in case you pop in to check this out!!

Training

Wow....it turns out the IT department here isn't any good at their jobs either. There is actually one whole computer missing..I mean they left the MONITOR, but sheesh. It looks good sitting on the desk though.

So yeah, now I get to be bored learing about the software I'm going to learn, which I'm sure will take all of about ten minutes and we will spend the next six days discussing...YAY!!! This is so much fun! I'm so glad I got up early for this.

Later boys and girls

The reasons why.....

This is my second post tonight and it's something I promised to put up last week, and then never had a chance to do.

The following is the list of reasons Stephanie is my sons god mother.

(1) Cares more for others than for self, would be likely to help instill that value in Jareth

(2) Is open minded and non-judgemental.

(3) Will be able to help Jareth continue on a path of solid spiritual growth, providing him with guidance and allowing him to question when he needs to.

(4) Understands the importance of being true to your word and the importance of standing by your own moral values, even when others may ridicule you for them. (This one was VERY important)

(5) Has a strong sense of family, that I believe she will help pass on to my son, making him feel loved and valued.


These were the five reasons I chose you to be Jareth's godmother, Steph. Other friends have some of these things, other friends have different qualities. But these are the five things I think you will give my son, adding value to his life, enriching it and making it better.

An open letter to.....

Okay class, pay careful attention to what I am about to say:

It is NEVER okay to treat people like they are expendable.

It is NEVER okay to use someone until YOU feel they have no further value for you and then toss them off like old Kleenex.

It is NEVER okay to engage in gossip mongoring, rumour spreading or embellishments of the truth to make yourself look like LESS of an asshole.

These things were not okay when we WERE children, they certainly aren't okay now.

Now, to be more specific, yes, this post is directed at someone ....well more than one someone actually....

In the last little while, I have been reminded why I do not have a wide circle of "friends". People dislike it when you decline to be the simpering sycophant they are looking for, and they tend to tell people things like you're a bitch , or just out right crazy.

I can handle this when it is directed at myself. I could honestly care less what the tiny little minds of people like these, the people that feel the need to degrade, demean or otherwise mistreat other people in order to make themselves feel big and important, think. However, I do take offense when this maliciousness is targeted at my friends. Particularly when the friend in question has never been anything but kind, open and friendly. You ahould be grateful for people like her.

People like you....and by now, I'm sure anyone reading this knows who I am talking about.....People like you are throwbacks to a time before we all learned what it meant to treat others with common human decency, to not backstab, lie or otherwise engage in what is generally considered bad behavior in a five year old child.

People like you make me naseous. You are what is wrong with the world today. You cower behind your lies and your bullshit and you bluster and banter and puff out your chests with self created, self deluded bravado, and underneath it all, you are nothing more than a social bully...and worse, you are cowards, to scared of taking it like an adult to actually admit that you have treated someone callously or in bad taste.

I do not think, not for one minute, that you will change simply because I have said these things. Sadly, in this world, there is no shortage of people who will crave your attention and allow you to behave badly for the rest of your life. There are always going to be people just like you, that will smile and be kind to your face, and then tear you apart as soon as your back is turned.

I feel sorry for you, because you will never know what it means to actually have a real friend.

You are pathetic and not worth the time it took to write this, but the anger I was feeling at how you have treated her has been sitting and festering like a poison. So now I have said my piece...no one got into a fist fight, no one is bloody, I feel better and now.....


You are nothing.

Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?

Frank

Have you seen Donnie Darko yet? If you haven't you should...and if you have, click the link above and go play around on the website...it is seriously fucked up! Fun for all!!!

Just a little something to think about

"Think as I think," said a man,
"Or you are abominably wicked;
You are a toad."

And after I had thought of it,
I said, "I will, then, be a toad."

- Stephen Crane


That's all I have to say right now. And just so everyone that reads this knows.........I am a toad!!


(Check out the link, The Poetry Connection is a great online resource for poetry.)