Angie’s Drama

Looking at my last post–sheesh, I guess I was a little pissy. My allergies have eased up and I’ve gotten some great sleep lately, so I promise I’m a little more optimistic.

Does anybody else have the joy of a walnut tree? I’m happy to say ours is branched out over our roof and specifically our bedroom. The sound of four of those suckers hitting the roof instantaneously is enough to scare the ever lovin’ crap out of me. The dogs seem to find it funny as they just look at me blankly while I’m doing the African Anteater Ritual. You would think I’d be used to it by now, but nope, still scares me everytime. It reminds me of being little and my grandmother nearly having a heart attack anytime the phone rang. Are my nerves really that shot? I’m too young for that. At least let me go through the mid-life crisis before I loose my nerves. It’s only fair that I get to have the red convertible sports car first.

Rudeness is probably my absolute number one pet peeve. The whole ‘treat others as you would like to be treated’ has always been my motto. Not so with the majority of folks I’ve been coming in contact with. Of course, I seriously lack patience which probably makes the rudeness more glaringly obvious to me.
Examples:

#1: To the person who honked at me after the light turned green for less than half a second, screw you. My foot was pressing down on the gas as you honked. Why did I go 30 mph the rest of the way? Because you honked.

#2: To Ms. Congeniality at McDonald’s last week, speaking to your customers is allowed and somewhat encouraged. Opening the drive-thru window, handing me my order and closing the door without ever saying a word is RUDE. If you notice, I will always say thank you even if all you did was hand me a bag. Thanks for not responding. See, I’m even thanking you for being rude.

#3: To the brainiac at Walmart covering the automotive department without any knowledge of the automotive department, thank you for ‘forgetting’ to call someone to help Rob get a car battery. The twenty minutes he spent in your presence waiting for said “expert” to arrive wasn’t a hint that you forgot to do something?

#4: To the wonderful woman who cut me off to pull into the parking lot I was waiting for, thank you. You confirmed for me again that I should be the one inconvenienced, not you.

#5: (Minor annoyance, not necessarily an act of rudeness) Why do people bring their children to a bar/restaurant for Sunday afternoon football. We were sitting with a group at such a place for the Bears game and crammed next to our table was an entire little league team. There’s smoking, drinking and cursing going on (as the Bears and Viking fans were colliding) so why bring the kids in? Wouldn’t a pizza place such as Monical’s be a little more ideal? We left because we were so uncomfortable with the situation.

#6: It’s a football game. Why are men so apt to start a fight regarding their team when they’re drinking? I don’t get it. It makes everyone uncomfortable but hey, you proved your point, right?

#7: Really, it’s okay. I’ll stop in the middle of Knoxville so that you can cross from Walgreens to the other side. Don’t worry, I know how ridiculous it is to cross at the light. What were those pesky lawmakers thinking? And don’t lose any sleep over the fact that I was almost rear-ended as a result. I’m sure that guy fully understood your adversion to the cross walk as well.

#8: Because I work in the communications industry, feel free to bitch to me about telvision, radio and print media. I enjoy being balled out for something another medium did to piss you off. That, of course, is always their intent.

#9: If I’m in line at a store with a cart full of items and you have very little, don’t worry. I will more than likely always invite you to go in front of me in line. It’s courtesious, I know. You don’t need to expect me to do that when you have just as many items as I do. Really? Does that usually work for you?

#10: Carts? Why would you want to put them back in the cart corral? Once again, don’t worry. It’s just my car that gets dinged. As long as you were saved the miracle mile walk to return your cart, no worries. I understand.

-The third season of Arrested Development is HILARIOUS! It was actually a gift from Molly since we constantly talk about the show. Tear drop to it being cancelled. At least we now have all three seasons to watch. Over and Over.

-I picked up a prescription at the new Walgreens on Western yesterday. How much more ‘in your face’ can they be to Alwan Pharmacy? However convenient Walgreen’s may be, it sucks that the family owned pharmacies have to suffer. Tear drop to the Koffee Haus that used to be there. They had such a great breakfast.

-Weirdest Thing To Happen At A Wedding Ever. The groom’s mom had a straight pin in her mouth, helping someone out, someone patted her on the back and she swallowed it. She made it through the entire ceremony (can you say trooper?) but had to leave immediatley after to get to the ER. They were able to remove it. That’s a story you’ll never forget about your wedding day.

-Bar Louie is a fun spot to hang out, but watch what you order. We were there with a group between a wedding ceremony and the reception. For two rounds of drinks and two appetizers five people and a round of drinks for two, the bill came to $120. Granted some people were drinking martini’s and mojitos and some just drank beer, but that’s still pretty pricey.

-I really don’t like the idea of building a new hotel adjacent to the pcc. There are plenty of hotels/motels downtown. Sure, the Holiday Inn City Center could use some help but I really think the Embassy Suites Hotel is going to steal our thunder regardless. Why did they close and demolish the Jefferson Hotel in the first place?

-Cameras for Nebraska & Wisconsin and Sheridan & McClure? Bring it on… I hope they help deter criminal activity and mob action. Really, who is comfortable being at a stop sign with a group of ten to fifteen guys lurking around?

It’s me. I have to apologize. Again.
My husband went hunting two weeks ago.
He forgot that he had leftover duck and geese in the garbage can.
He asked you to please take the entire can. What a waste of a new garbage can.
I hope you read the note and heeded the warning to not open the lid.
If you did, I’m sorry.
Really, we’re not white trash even though you’ve taken away many o’ carcass from our cans.

P.S.
Bet you can’t wait until deer season.

While I think Mercedes Restaurants is correct in reformatting Bud’s back into VOP’s, I think the damage has been done. Truth be told, I’ve never been a huge VOP fan. I always found the food to be okay. Nothing earth shattering and nothing I had ever craved. Always a decent place to meet up with a group but truth be told, it always seemed to take a while to get a drink. And, that was knowing the bartenders. It is, however, the perfect place for a large group since everyone can find something to their taste. No offense, but the first thing I think of when I hear VOP’s is a large group of ladies having lunch, exchanging presents, requesting separate checks for their chicken salad plates and ice water with lemon. Of course, that may just be the server in me. We all have different perspectives. So, while I understand trying to re-invent the place, I think that especially with the older crowd, the damage may already have been done. I also think it rubbed people the WRONG way when they failed to notify the staff of the changes and closing and gave them no notice. So, while from time to time friends want to meet at Alexander’s and I’m sure soon at VOP’s, I in no way want to monetarily support the company except for the occasional outing. I always think of the “The Grill-Sonoma Cucina-The Grill” fiasco. When businesses get greedy, regardless of the bottom line, it’s the staff-the heart and soul-that gets the shaft.

How about the saturation patrols (the city is so proud of) target Cubs on Knoxville? In just one week, I’ve read several reports of crimes being committed in the parking lot or the alley adjacent to the building. It absolutely scares the crap out of me because there are many evenings that I stop by on the way home to grab dog food or a bottle of wine. Since I don’t work conventional office hours, I’m there anywhere between 5-10pm. I’ve worked with the management before and I know they’re doing what they can but can the Guardian Angels or another group start hanging out there? It really is such a shame. I’ve shopped there since day one even when people started calling it the ghetto-Cubs. I’ve never not felt safe shopping there even when I’m in line with guys buying 40’s behind me. Since we’ve already essentially lost Sheridan Liquors to the thug life, let’s not let that happen to Cubs.

After reading another article on a person missing from a cruise ship,
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/11/missing.tourist.ap/index.html
I have to wonder why anyone would want to go on a cruise?

Trust me, my knowledge of the cruise industry is mainly based on things I’ve watched on the Discovery Channel, the Travel Network and the Food Network. Okay, and Love Boat, CSI Miami, Without a Trace, Investigative Reports and Court TV. It seems like the biggest problem is that while in international waters it’s difficult to ascertain which nation’s laws are in effect.
In addition to somehow managing to loose track of passengers, there’s always the risk of catching a “bug”-but that usually includes at least a hundred of your fellow passengers too. Then there’s the possibilty that the ship may overturn or hit an iceberg. Both very rare instances but well documented. It always made me nervous on Love Boat that couples were sipping fruity cocktails and leaning over the rails of the ship, now I know why.

I just finished reading Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven by Fanny Flagg. I love that most of her books have the same characters but you don’t have to read all of them to understand the essence of the the characters. I also re-read Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein series in anticipation of the final book in the trilogy. Also watched the movie featuring Parker Posey and Adam Goldberg. It left off where the first book did, so it was a little disappointing. I really enjoyed The Husband, also by Koontz. For awhile, I had read all of his books but then the character development started lacking. I’m happy that the last few books I’ve read have been far superior. Currently, I’m reading Play Poker Like the Pros by Phil Helmuth Jr, Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder by Steve Hodel and Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems by Cesar Millan. Like most people, I have no problem reading several non-fiction books at the same time.
I’m also realizing that I have an annoying habit of falling in love with television shows long after their initital debut or even after they’re in syndication. Examples include Dawson’s Creek, Veronica Mars and now Gilmore Girls. With Everwood (since cancelled) airing on the Family Channel in October, I expect I’ll fall for that show as well. Yesterday, I bought Season 5 of Gilmore Girls. I watched 4 of the 6 dvd’s. Obsessed? Yes. Addicted? Yes. Did Rob watch with me? Yes. After the game. Will he admit it? Probably not.

This weekend marked Sophie’s 10th birthday. The little one has just as much energy as she did when I brought her home from the pound at eight weeks. It’s clear that if she remains as fit and sparkling as she is, she could be around for years to come.
Vito, on the other hand, has quickly become the LAZIEST dog known to man. He just sleeps on the couch, regardless of where Rob and I are. Sometimes, he’ll actually come into the bedroom and crash on the floor but he never really goes downstairs if Rob’s down there. He really doesn’t like the television in the kitchen. I think it has to do with the lack of a couch in the room. He also has this HORRIBLE habit of doing a combo moan and howl when he wants something. The sad thing is we know exactly what he wants. The Dog Whisperer has nothing on us (I did just start reading his book though). He either wants a) to go outside b) more water c) food d) a chew or e) a face/ear rub. It’s a really annoying habit that doesn’t seem to be going away. Oh well, you only have so long to enjoy your animals so you may as well spoil them as much as possible.

Last Saturday, Rob and I were standing in front of the church waiting for the wedding to begin. We were chatting with some folks and I thought about getting some water before the ceremony.
Rob: “Oh, there’s a cooler in the Explorer with water in it.”-Rob was hunting the day before
Angie: “Okay, I’ll be right back.”
I walked to the car, opened the back and grabbed a bottle from the cooler, began to shut the door and,
Angie: “AAAAHHHHHH”
I walked over to the group with my ice cold bottel of water.
Angie: “How many doves did you say you killed yesterday?”
Rob: “Two”
Angie:”They’re still in the back of the truck.”
Rob: “Ooops”

In my ideal world, when attending a formal function, I love to have a clean car-inside and out. Now I’m just hoping the car isn’t full of dead animals.