Life Changes....
Ahhhh, my little bloggy friends, I have been amiss in my blogging faithfulness, and for that I apologize.
So much has happened, so much has not happened. Maybe I have become complacent in life....and lazy.
Where to begin?
I received a notice in the mail from The City of Birmingham, addressed to me as the registered owner of a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado.
It was for non-payment of a $60 parking ticket.
You see, the problem is, it was issued on a date while we WEREN'T IN BIRMINGHAM. The notice also informed me that due to non-payment (for this mysterious ticket that I knew nothing about), if I didn't pay within a week, a Warrant would be issued for my arrest.
Well, being the hard-headed person that I am, and knowing full well that I was NOT in the 500 block of 19th Street North on October 15th, I refused to pay it.
After numerous phone calls to some of the most WONDERFUL, CARING, CONCERNED, AND KIND City Employees (insert Sarcasm here)... It was determined that:
1. "We can't find a record of the ticket, so I wouldn't worry about it." (Phone call #1)
2. "Oh wait, here it is...Oh no, my computer system just shut down. Can you call back tomorrow?" (Phone call #2)
3. "I don't show any record of a warrant for your arrest. I would recommend that you call back the day AFTER the deadline and see if one has been issued." (Phone call #3...I was SPEECHLESS...)
4. "Oh, here it is. You claim that it's not legitimate? Well, you'll need to call the Ticket Office and take that up with them. We can't help you." (Phone Call #4)
5. FINALLY, after a phone call to the Citizen's Advocacy Office for the City of Birmingham (also known as "The MAN got you down, well we can help" Office), I spoke to a wonderful gentleman who agreed to get it fixed. (Phone Call #5)
It was finally determined that the ticket was issued to a RED TOYOTA, not a Blue Chevrolet, and they dismissed it, with apologies.
What is horribly terrifying is that, due to a small mistake by a meter maid entering in the wrong tag number, had I NOT received the notice (mailed to old address, but forwarded by USPS to Huntsville), the next time I got stopped/pulled over, I would have probably been arrested!
--------------------------------------------
Let's see, what other "drama" is happening around here?
Tristan is in Houston this week. Her mom sent her a plane ticket, and she went to spend a week or so with her.
In the meantime, Grandma is in the hospital getting her knee replaced (Surgery #1 on her "Fix-It" list). She's doing ok, but not recovering as well as expected. I think at 78, it would probably be pretty tough on me, too..
I took the kids to the Hospital to see her the other day. Gabriel loves her SO MUCH and didn't understand why he couldn't climb up in her lap and love on her. So, instead, he raised the lid on the portable potty chair in her room, sat down in it, scrunched up his face really tight, and announced, "Look. I'm old, and I'm going poop!"
The rest of the visit was spent making balloon animals out of rubber gloves.
Looks like she will go to a Rehab facility tomorrow for about a month. I've got to get with her Case Worker and figure out which one. If she ends up in a total DUMP, I'll never hear the end of it. Better yet, if she starts with me, I may just LEAVE HER THERE!
--------------------------------------------
So, in the absence of Wife and Grandma, I have taken some time away from working and am finishing cleaning the house.
I don't feel like there will ever be any PEACE (both physically and spiritually) in this house until it is under control. The JUNK removed: Old bad memories, clutter, dirt, filth, and whatever else I find.
This is what I removed in the first 24 Hours ALONE:
So, now the City of Huntsville Garbage collectors hate me.
Found amongst the "goodies":
1. Colt .38 Special Police Issue (about 50 years old). Turns out that everyone has been looking for it for years. One brother accused another of stealing it, and the whole time it was wrapped up in a brown paper bag in the bottom of the closet, buried under 400 pounds of clutter. (Gun NOT loaded, by the way.)
2. 1981 Hot Wheels "Pacer" car, in original packaging. Yes, the infamous "Pacer." That car that EVERYONE wanted....along with the Pinto and Gremlin.
3. VHS Porn. Apparently someone was into "Swedish Erotica" at some point in time.
4. Approximately 400 empty Wal-mart plastic sacks. All folded very neatly. I did my part to the contribute to the demise of our Environment and threw them away. For all you "recyclers" out there, who I fill no doubt catch some crap from on this one: OK, you come get them and take them somewhere. I don't have the time, I'm a little overwhelmed here.
5. A 1940's Monroe adding machine. Weighing in at about 80 pounds, this behemoth didn't even have eBay value. The Salvation Army got that one.
6. A Columbia metal desk from the 60's or 70's. Remember those old "Steelcase-type"desks that your teacher had in elementary school? Weighing in at approximately 350 pounds, I somehow managed to strong-arm him (by myself) out of Grandma's bedroom, down the hall, through the den, through the kitchen, out the door onto the Carport, and into the back of my truck. Salvation Army got that one, too... And, NO, I didn't offer to help unload it.
7. A dress, complete with tags and 1970's Belk Department Store box. All one piece, quilted bottom, red velour top (that feels like the material they make Airline seats out of), with shiny buttons. $14.00 on clearance back then. Found this one a couple of days ago, before Tristan left for Houston, and she INSISTED on modeling it for me. Tris is going to kill me for this one, but here it goes:
I LOVE my wife. She totally could have been on Ozzie and Harriet with that one!
8. Tax Returns dating back to the early 1960's. Does the IRS even AUDIT that far back?
9. 5 VCR'S. Sorry, sports fans, no Betamax, just good old fashioned VHS.
10. 6 Airline pillows. Who steals 6 Airline Pillows?
So, that's about it so far. Next project is to haul everything salvageable into the attic via the pull-down stairs in the hallway, which are conveniently missing the bottom rung, making life just THAT MUCH MORE FUN!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm going to donate Platelets this week. I found out that you can give Platelets more often than regular blood. It just sucks a little worse, as it takes a lot longer.
And Lifesouth has a deal with Huntsville Hospital where you get $20 worth of Movie Theater (your choice) Gift Cards every time you donate IN the Hospital. I think I can donate about 25 times a year if I give platelets. So, with $500 worth of gift cards, I figure I can take about 60 of my closest friends to the movies by this time next year!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life is good. Church is good. Friends are INCREDIBLE...very "transparent," which in turn causes us to become transparent. But, if you know me at all, you pretty much already know that I don't have issues in this department!
So much has happened, so much has not happened. Maybe I have become complacent in life....and lazy.
Where to begin?
I received a notice in the mail from The City of Birmingham, addressed to me as the registered owner of a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado.
It was for non-payment of a $60 parking ticket.
You see, the problem is, it was issued on a date while we WEREN'T IN BIRMINGHAM. The notice also informed me that due to non-payment (for this mysterious ticket that I knew nothing about), if I didn't pay within a week, a Warrant would be issued for my arrest.
Well, being the hard-headed person that I am, and knowing full well that I was NOT in the 500 block of 19th Street North on October 15th, I refused to pay it.
After numerous phone calls to some of the most WONDERFUL, CARING, CONCERNED, AND KIND City Employees (insert Sarcasm here)... It was determined that:
1. "We can't find a record of the ticket, so I wouldn't worry about it." (Phone call #1)
2. "Oh wait, here it is...Oh no, my computer system just shut down. Can you call back tomorrow?" (Phone call #2)
3. "I don't show any record of a warrant for your arrest. I would recommend that you call back the day AFTER the deadline and see if one has been issued." (Phone call #3...I was SPEECHLESS...)
4. "Oh, here it is. You claim that it's not legitimate? Well, you'll need to call the Ticket Office and take that up with them. We can't help you." (Phone Call #4)
5. FINALLY, after a phone call to the Citizen's Advocacy Office for the City of Birmingham (also known as "The MAN got you down, well we can help" Office), I spoke to a wonderful gentleman who agreed to get it fixed. (Phone Call #5)
It was finally determined that the ticket was issued to a RED TOYOTA, not a Blue Chevrolet, and they dismissed it, with apologies.
What is horribly terrifying is that, due to a small mistake by a meter maid entering in the wrong tag number, had I NOT received the notice (mailed to old address, but forwarded by USPS to Huntsville), the next time I got stopped/pulled over, I would have probably been arrested!
--------------------------------------------
Let's see, what other "drama" is happening around here?
Tristan is in Houston this week. Her mom sent her a plane ticket, and she went to spend a week or so with her.
In the meantime, Grandma is in the hospital getting her knee replaced (Surgery #1 on her "Fix-It" list). She's doing ok, but not recovering as well as expected. I think at 78, it would probably be pretty tough on me, too..
I took the kids to the Hospital to see her the other day. Gabriel loves her SO MUCH and didn't understand why he couldn't climb up in her lap and love on her. So, instead, he raised the lid on the portable potty chair in her room, sat down in it, scrunched up his face really tight, and announced, "Look. I'm old, and I'm going poop!"
The rest of the visit was spent making balloon animals out of rubber gloves.
Looks like she will go to a Rehab facility tomorrow for about a month. I've got to get with her Case Worker and figure out which one. If she ends up in a total DUMP, I'll never hear the end of it. Better yet, if she starts with me, I may just LEAVE HER THERE!
--------------------------------------------
So, in the absence of Wife and Grandma, I have taken some time away from working and am finishing cleaning the house.
I don't feel like there will ever be any PEACE (both physically and spiritually) in this house until it is under control. The JUNK removed: Old bad memories, clutter, dirt, filth, and whatever else I find.
This is what I removed in the first 24 Hours ALONE:
So, now the City of Huntsville Garbage collectors hate me.
Found amongst the "goodies":
1. Colt .38 Special Police Issue (about 50 years old). Turns out that everyone has been looking for it for years. One brother accused another of stealing it, and the whole time it was wrapped up in a brown paper bag in the bottom of the closet, buried under 400 pounds of clutter. (Gun NOT loaded, by the way.)
2. 1981 Hot Wheels "Pacer" car, in original packaging. Yes, the infamous "Pacer." That car that EVERYONE wanted....along with the Pinto and Gremlin.
3. VHS Porn. Apparently someone was into "Swedish Erotica" at some point in time.
4. Approximately 400 empty Wal-mart plastic sacks. All folded very neatly. I did my part to the contribute to the demise of our Environment and threw them away. For all you "recyclers" out there, who I fill no doubt catch some crap from on this one: OK, you come get them and take them somewhere. I don't have the time, I'm a little overwhelmed here.
5. A 1940's Monroe adding machine. Weighing in at about 80 pounds, this behemoth didn't even have eBay value. The Salvation Army got that one.
6. A Columbia metal desk from the 60's or 70's. Remember those old "Steelcase-type"desks that your teacher had in elementary school? Weighing in at approximately 350 pounds, I somehow managed to strong-arm him (by myself) out of Grandma's bedroom, down the hall, through the den, through the kitchen, out the door onto the Carport, and into the back of my truck. Salvation Army got that one, too... And, NO, I didn't offer to help unload it.
7. A dress, complete with tags and 1970's Belk Department Store box. All one piece, quilted bottom, red velour top (that feels like the material they make Airline seats out of), with shiny buttons. $14.00 on clearance back then. Found this one a couple of days ago, before Tristan left for Houston, and she INSISTED on modeling it for me. Tris is going to kill me for this one, but here it goes:
I LOVE my wife. She totally could have been on Ozzie and Harriet with that one!
8. Tax Returns dating back to the early 1960's. Does the IRS even AUDIT that far back?
9. 5 VCR'S. Sorry, sports fans, no Betamax, just good old fashioned VHS.
10. 6 Airline pillows. Who steals 6 Airline Pillows?
So, that's about it so far. Next project is to haul everything salvageable into the attic via the pull-down stairs in the hallway, which are conveniently missing the bottom rung, making life just THAT MUCH MORE FUN!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm going to donate Platelets this week. I found out that you can give Platelets more often than regular blood. It just sucks a little worse, as it takes a lot longer.
And Lifesouth has a deal with Huntsville Hospital where you get $20 worth of Movie Theater (your choice) Gift Cards every time you donate IN the Hospital. I think I can donate about 25 times a year if I give platelets. So, with $500 worth of gift cards, I figure I can take about 60 of my closest friends to the movies by this time next year!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life is good. Church is good. Friends are INCREDIBLE...very "transparent," which in turn causes us to become transparent. But, if you know me at all, you pretty much already know that I don't have issues in this department!
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