Angie’s Drama

This afternoon, I was coming down Knoxville and had just passed Glen when I saw a white bronco/explorer start weaving in the lane. I slowed down (it was showering a bit) and changed lanes. I saw what looked like newspapers fly out and all of a sudden the vehicle started spinning in 360 turns, ran up on the sidewalk (just past the Hines School lights) spun again and finally stopped. I pulled over (along with several other cars) in time to see the driver’s head had shattered the glass of the windshield. The driver looked to be getting out of the car and since their were plenty of other cars that stopped to help, I continued on my way. The whole time I kept thinking wow, if I had been a few feet closer, I would have been apart of it. I sincerely hope the driver wasn’t injured and he just lost control of his vehicle. And everyone gives me shit for being a cautious driver…

So, I’ve been noticing itchy red bumps on my legs and arms. At first I was think mosquito bites from Jamaica. Everyone got bit down there. But, we’ve been back far too long for them to still be bothering me. Then I noticed that they were about the size of a dime…bigger than any bug bite I’ve ever gotten. Rob kept telling me that they were from a brown recluse-cause he knows that would freak the ever-lovin’-crap out of me. So, I went to my doctor this morning and low and behold…they’re spider bites. Not a freaky spider like a brown recluse or black widow, just a spider. He told me every spider has venom and they usually bite once crawl a little bit more and bite again. As to why Rob doesn’t have any bites…apparently I have less fur. And I smell good. Who knows. But, those brown recluse comments are gonna bite him in the ass since he’ll be pulling out all the bedroom furniture and dusting from top to bottom tonight. And those dogs will be thoroughly wiped down before coming inside. Spider bites. Ewwwwww.

Rob’s foot is doing much better. It’s still bandaged and swamped in antibacterial gel but it seems to be healing. He claims that he may at some point be ready for another go at Easy Mac, but he’ll be in charge of it. Honestly, it’s just so much easier to make the ‘real’ stuff anyway. Did I mention that until Rob met me, he had never had mac and cheese from a box? His mom always made theirs casserole-style.

We got a ton of plants this weekend for all of our planters. We got some really unique flowering plants in different colors. I’m once again trying out the Gerber Daisies. We have only one side of the house that gets full-sun, so sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.

We attempted to play poker Monday. Rob and I were both out early. Looks like I’m a bit rusty…We grilled and had dinner outside. It was a pretty fun day.

Papa Walker’s dog Chief, may have gotten into some rat poison. He was at the emergency vet yesterday because he was coughing up blood. Today, he seems to be doing better and has even gone a big walk. He still has to go to the vet to see if he gets a clean bill of health. Rob’s Lab Auggie passed away as a puppy from chemical poisoning but it looks like Chief’s going to be just fine.

Everyone’s familiar with Easy Mac?
While I don’t endorse it as a healthy meal, it does come in handy as a quick fix. Rob and I got home last night and I put two packs in a bowl for us to split and put it in the microwave for however many minutes the instructions said. Rob and I got to talking about something so after the microwaved beeped, I waited a little longer before I opened the door. I grabbed the bowl and…HOLY CRAP WAS IT HOT!! Out of instict, my hands let go of the bowl and macaroni and water went flying everywhere. Especially on my leg and Rob’s foot. Yooow. First, we immediatedly put our appendages in the sink under water. Then, I grabbed some aloe for myself because Rob didn’t even want to touch his foot it was so raw. We got the mess cleaned up in the kitchen and decided to go with a kilbasa since it didn’t involve a microwave. As of today, Rob’s blisters are peeling and he’s gauzed up his foot. I have little blisters on my lower leg and foot but I’m not in any pain. I did learn a very valuable lesson. No more Easy Mac.

I thought it would be interesting to see where the seat belt checks were located this holiday weekend:

Let me know where you see them.

Thursday: Noon-Walmart in East Peoria (on the drive into the complex)

If you’re really craving Taco Bell, stay away from the one across from Cubs on Knoxville. A few weeks ago, I pulled up during the lunch hour. After waiting for several cars in front of me to place their order, I pulled up to the intercom. “How are you?”, “Fine thank you.” “Go ahead with your order” “I’d like two soft shell tacos and a medium diet” “Two hard shell tacos and medium coke?” “No, two soft shell tacos and a medium diet” ” Two hard shell tacis and a medium coke?” “No. Two-soft-shell-tacos and a med-ium diet!” “YOU DO NOT NEED TO YELL AT ME!” “Excuse me?” “YOU DO NOT NEED TO YELL AT ME. CONTINUE WITH YOUR ORDER.” Considering that I’m a woman in my thirties who was just “reprimanded” by a Taco Bell employee, hell no. “You have a great day” as I pulled away without completing my order. I was BOILING. Really, I don’t think a single person can attest to me yelling at anyone, let alone someone in the service industry. Ninety-nine percent of the time everyone asks me “Huh? What? Sorry, I couldn’t hear you” I’m not a shy person, I just don’t always feel the need for EVERYONE to hear my conversation. Everyone in my extended family growing up had hearing aids or hearing issues. EVERYONE got to hear when Angie had to go to the bathroom or every embarrasing situation imaginable. There were no secrets. It’s simply not in my nature to scream at a stranger and THAT pissed me off.
I got home and told Rob the story. He said that he had been their one afternoon and had to bang on the drive-thru window because no one answered him at the intercom. So, another friend was relaying her ‘horrible fast-food service’ experience with me the other day. I recounted my blood-boiling Taco Bell experience to her. She asked, “The one on Knoxville?” I affirmed and she said, “Yeah, they must have something wrong with their speaker because the EXACT same thing happened to me. She told me I didn’t need to yell and I told her she needed to fix her headset before someone really yelled at her.” Why couldn’t I have thought of that?

By Chef Kevin:Five Reasons I Blog. Ummmm, well…How about I mix it up a little…

1. I don’t blog because I have any knowledge about most things the average blogger knows. No html angel over here. Hell, I’m still having issues uploading pictures. My programming skills suck and I’m still trying to figure out what the heck a Technorati is.

2. I blog because I swear the drama finds me wherever I go.

3. I blog because in my professional life I write very formal-AP style. When I blog, I write the way I have a conversation. Casual and informal. Plus, I once had a creative writing teacher tell me it was perfectly okay to do so.

4. I blog because I don’t have a chance to see or talk to everyone regularly. My friends can pull up The Drama and find out what I’ve been doing or what’s bugging the crap out of me.

5. I really enjoy the blogging community. I’ve been lucky to meet some great people.

Okay, now I’m going to tag: Britt, Kriss, Cory and Jeep 2000

Who knew it could rain every day in Jamaica? I’m pretty much guaranteeing that the minute Team Walker left Jamaica, the sun came out and is still shining. It’s a curse that we bring everywhere we go.
So, we got to the resort and after an annoyingly long ‘welcome to the resort here’s some champagne while we copy your credit card’ mumbo jumbo thing, we still had to wait a few hours to get our room because of the monsoon pouring out of the sky. At least there was rum. Once we got our room, we quickly realized that we were amazingly close to the piano bar and swim up pool where we would spend the majority of our days and nights. We were the last of the sixteen people to arrive so that meant what? More drinks. And shots. And drinks. And shots. The next day was Wedding Day. Always a good sign when the bride and maid-of-honor have no hot water. So, thus we began the experiment known as Wedding Day Hair. If you know me, you obviously know that hair is not my thing. Make-up…yes. Hair…no. But, the resort wanted $150 to do it and best friend code of conduct clearly states that you shall do whatever it takes, no matter what, to make your best friend happy on her W-day. Thanks to Kriss we had step-by-step photos laid out on the bed. Much to my shock, it turned out perfectly. Perfectly. The sun was out and the ceremony was very pretty and very short. Good thing, since the rain didn’t want to hold out much longer. Our private reception area was actually moved to a covered space that was very private and perfect for the occassion. Then, it was back to the bar and the pool. According to the pictures, no one was feeling any pain. And that shot of Colleen’s mom and I doing our Fabulous Baker Boys impression lying on the piano, I remember that. Sure. The next day everyone, in all their hungover glory, managed to get out to the beach and get some sun for a few hours. Our trip to Margaritaville was a little disappointing. Really, could you play one Jimmy Buffett song? Does it all have to be reggae? I’m watching the video screens so I know it’s there and available to listen too. The only other people there were some hammered college students frolicking in the water and on the water slide. Back at the resort, we made plans for dinner. Since it was everyone’s last night together before people started leaving, we wanted to have dinner together. Jim’s best man was able to arrange a beautiful dinner on the beach complete with candles, torches and tea lights. It was sooo gorgeous and absolutely memorable for everyone.
Memorable Notes
**Duncan-the bartender
**The Duncan Special-ice cream drink made with a whole banana, dark rum, coconut milk and soft serve ice cream.
**Duncan stood up with the wedding party during the ceremony
**Frozen Drinks-Rob’s answer to everyone’s constant hangover
**900-estimated calorie count of one Duncan Special
**Oh-Blah-Dee, The Gambler, Leaving on a Jet Plane-songs Angie greatly encouraged everyone to sing at the piano bar. Every night.
**Your Cruise Director, Angie-nickname given to Angie by Rob due to her great enthusiasm at the piano bar.
**Have you been to the gift shop?-Question Angie asked immigration when questioned how a t-shirt, coconut, magnet and necklace could add up to $200.
**Holy Shit!-exclamation from Rob when he realized it only took ten minutes to get our luggage from the Peoria Airport.

blogging from Jamaica. I know at least one person will have a laptop and I’m hoping the ultra-swanky resort will have at least a couple computers with internet acccess. We’ve decided that we’re gonna start the party once we get to Atlanta. I can’t do early morning drinking or else I would probably start on the Peoria flight. We have four dvd’s for the plane ride and about 100 magazines. Seriously, did I really need to bring this month’s Consumer Reports? Could have just left that at home to peruse when we get back-but noooooo-I’m too anxious to check on the front loading washers and the laptop picks. Wow. When did I become an uber-dork? And with sixteen people we know going down for the big Jamaican weddin’, won’t we be talking the whole time? Oh, here’s the best part about Wednesday, the actual day of the big Jamaican weddin’. We’re going to start on Colleen’s hair around 9:30am or 10:00am, have the wedding, enjoy the hour long private reception and then, go upstairs and take out all five hundred hair pins securing her hair so she can go swimming. You know, part of me thinks that I should make her and Jim take them out since every other bride in the history of the world has had to do it herself.
So, if I can, I’ll try to blog. If not, see ya when we get back.

I just saw the sign today that ANOTHER OB/GYN is buiding on the site formerly housing Thompson’s Food Basket on Knoxville. This part of Knoxville is henceforthe renamed: OB/GYN-Title Loan-Payday Loan-Fast Food-Random People Running Across Four Lanes of Traffic-Why Can’t Someone Open a Decent Place Where Mister Donut Used to Be aka Tandor Hut-Chinese Restaurants I Won’t Try and One Brave Realtor Row.
Back when Knoxville had more homes on it than businesses, it used to be a pretty good looking street. Catch a movie at The Beverly, run to Thompson’s for milk or ice cream, look in the window at Leo’s to see the latest display, stop in Mister Donut for a blueberry donut on Sunday, go to Pizza Hut after a game, sit at Lum’s on the weekends and hit Hardee’s on the way home from downtown at four in morning. But, if I really, really, really, really need cash, I’m straight. And if I were pregnant, jackpot!