Drama at Lee Terrace

There has been a lot of drama here since Thanksgiving. A woman (who was very nice and hadn't lived here very long) was found dead in her apartment the day after Thanksgiving. Her brother was in the hospital. I didn't think too much about it at the time (people die here all the time) but it turns out there was much more to the story.

Apparently drugs were involved. She died, her brother went into the hospital AND her caregiver went into the hospital as well. The police have been here umpteen times since then and they are searching everyone's apartments with drug dogs. For those of you who don't know when you move into section 8 housing you have to sign to give consent for them to enter anytime they want. The haven't searched my apartment yet but I think by the time they are finished they will have searched every apartment in the building at least once.

Now this Thief had BALLS! We have a policeman who lives in the building. Apparently someone stole his car! Not the cruiser but his personal car. It is even more confounding because the parking lot is on camera so I can't figure out why in the world they don't know who took it????

Now for the true humor of the week. One of our residents who shall remain nameless apparently went off her rocker last week. People started coming to me and telling me that she was running down the middle of the road chasing her little dog. This was amazing to everyone because she usually has problems walking and most of the time she has someone walk her dog for her.

Then I heard someone else talking about how she went off on him. She told him that she "hated fags and if he didn't get away from her she was going to take her belt buckle off and cut him. She also told him he was an abomination against God and he deserved to die. He told her to get away from her before he did something she would be sorry for but she kept berating him until he was forced to walk away. I guess I should tell you that she is over 60 so there wasn't much he could do but be completely bumfuzzled by her behaviour because she is normally so nice and mellow and he couldn't believe what he was hearing. I was quite amazed when he told me who said it to him myself. I though it was the crazy woman on the fourth floor but it was....

Then I went to get on the elevator and there was the little dog running around the lobby with no leash. So I knew something major had to be wrong. I turned toward the elevator and there was... and the preacher. She was smoking on the elevator!!! I was flabbergasted. I exclaimed,"....you're smoking!" She started to laugh and told me they had posted a memo and if you smoked Pall Mall Lights then you were allowed to smoke." (this is a no smoking in public areas building by the way) Then she invited me on the elevator with her, the dog, the preacher and the cigarette! For those of you who don't know I am on oxygen and getting on the elevator with a cigarette would be completely out of the question.

I had forgotten what they told me about her losing her mind until that moment. One of the other residents grabbed me by the arm and told me, "she's cuckoo." Then I remembered they had told me she was off her rocker but it was still amazing to witness the change in her. I thought she was dipping into the other old lady's meds that she lives with but it turns out she is bipolar and she had thrown her meds away. The preacher spent the day talking her into going into the hospital and as far as I know she is still there getting her meds regulated.

Life is never boring around here.

I should mention that I had my stress test yesterday. Eddie spent the day taking care of me and I seem to have recuperated nicely. It seems it is time for me to increase my activity levels some more.

Yah!

He Bragged about his 99 IQ

One day my boss and I were standing in line waiting for weigh - in.(Weigh - in is where you take the dogs to check them in before the races. They are weighed and their tattoos are checked to make sure that you have the right dog.)

Brent started to brag to me that he had a 99 IQ. I just looked at him while he prattled on and on thinking surely he was making a mistake. The more he bragged the more he kept mentioning the 99 IQ. Finally I could resist no more. I asked him if he was making a mistake about the number. He insisted that his IQ was 99.

I asked him why in the world would he brag about a 99 IQ. He informed me that the IQ scale went to 100 and he was one point from perfect!

I let him have it...

I told him that he was mistaken that the IQ scale went up to 200 points! That if he had a 99 IQ then his IQ was one point below average like Forrest Gump's IQ was one point below retarded!

EVERYBODY LOST IT!

THEY STARTED CALLING BRENT "FORREST". Everywhere Brent went that day people were shouting "Run Forrest Run!" completely humiliating him. That night they put a sign in front of our kennel where Brent parked the truck that said "Stop Forrest Stop!" When he pulled up he got out of the truck and ripped the sign to shreds. It was HILARIOUS!

"I don't know. I can't read!"

I walked into my brother's office one day to find my 5 year old nephew writing his ABC's. He was about halfway through them. I was so proud of him because even though I knew he could recite his ABC's with the best of them, I was not aware that he knew how to write yet.

I walked up to him and happily asked, "Arny, what are you writing?"

His distainful reply was, "I don't know. I can't read!" And then he shot me a look like "why in the world would she even ask me such a stupid question."

If I hadn't been pleased as punch over his accomplishment, I would have shriveled up on the spot with the look he shot me out of the corners of his eyes before he went back to the task at hand.

DEFIANCE!!!

When I lived on my 100 acres among the many dogs that I had was a liver-spotted dalmation named Smooches. She was named Smooches because she ALWAYS wanted to kiss me. Unfortunately she was not nearly so affectionate with the other animals on the farm.

One day I walked outside to see Smooches snapping at something about halfway up the side of the hill beside my house. I couldn't quite see what it was though. I kept looking and what I saw really surprised me. Smooches had a field mouse cornered. That poor mouse knew that it's life was on the line and it was fighting back with everything that a mouse can muster against a dalmation. I watched as that tiny mouse jumped up and snapped at Smooches' nose! Then it did it again. I could see that Smooches was actually enjoying this game of "cat and mouse" but it was going to be just a matter of time before she finished the "game."

I started up the hill as fast as I could. The whole way up I was screaming at Smooches to stop but of course she wasn't listening to me. She kept pouncing and barking and swatting at the poor mouse but the mouse never gave up. It kept jumping and jumping and I could see it snapping at Smooches' nose. (this was about a 2 foot jump for that mouse!) When I finally got to Smooches I grabbed her collar to hold her back. The poor mouse collapsed, lying on the ground, probably frozen in fear. Smooches was all worked up and it took all my strength to hold her back. At the same time I started stomping the ground to try to get the mouse to move away. It still didn't move! It just looked up at me with a pleading look in it's eyes (I could see that the poor creature was completely exhausted!)

About 5 feet away was a lawnmower that I had left earlier in the day. I dragged Smooches over to the lawnmower and I grabbed it. Then I dragged it up the hill to where the poor mouse lay. I parked the mower over top of the mouse. Then I let Smooches go. She spent the next hour or 2 trying to get under the mower to get that mouse. I plopped down on the ground tired from having to run up the hill and hold Smooches back. I was worn myself from the ordeal.

Finally Smooches got bored and came to me. Later that day when she was distracted with some other great dog project I went and moved the mower. The mouse was gone.

That fight for a mouses life was probably one of the greatest moments of courage that I have witnessed in my life. I will never forget the sight of that little mouse jumping up to fight back that big dalmation. It reminds me of that poster that was so popular in the seventies. You know the one with the eagle swooping down on the mouse and the mouse giving the eagle the finger! The title of the poster was "DEFIANCE!"

My Pet

That was my pet name for a greyhound I used to train named My Petunia. She was a spooky little dog that was so afraid when she first came to the kennel that it took me 3 days just to touch her for the first time. I would walk into the turnout pen and she would gallop in circles the whole time I was in there eyeing me distrustfully. To get her to her crate I would have to open the gate to the pen after opening her crate door as far as it would go to make sure she wouldn't run into it. After opening the pen up I would walk to the far side so that she would dart through the gate and into the kennel to get away from me. She would cower against the back wall and I would use the door to her crate to block the hallway and then when I would make my way behind her she would run into her crate and cower against the back of it until I shut the door and she felt safe again.

I spent weeks crooning "My Pet" to her in baby talk and just getting her used to my touch. I didn't think she had a chance of making it at the track because of her disposition. She had a little running ability but didn't look to be anything special. It turned out though that once she began to trust me she started to fly. When I had to take her to weigh in I would make sure I walked her in alone, even if I had 10 other dogs in that night and I would talk to her the whole way. I also made sure that I picked her up after the race was over which was hardly ever my job. I usually made sure that I took jobs that were mainly kennel work and I would hire someone to pick up my races. I knew that she depended on me to be there though.

Much to my surprise she made it into the finals of a stakes race and she even had a good shot at winning it. That is until the pee catcher came out and told me what he had done to her. Pee catchers catch the pee of the dog that wins the race and one random dog in each race and then test it for drugs. Dogs usually go to the bathroom after the race (running puts a strain on their kidneys) but they don't always go. If they are walked until the next race and they don't pee they just let them go. My Pet was so afraid of people that she wouldn't pee after the race. She also didn't pee before the race either, so they never got a pee sample from her.

The night of the finals of the stakes race the pee catcher comes bragging to me that he finally got a sample from My Pet. I asked him how and he laughingly told me that all he had to do was stomp his foot at her. I went through the roof! It was the only time that I ever lodged a complaint against track personnel. Not only did he literally scare the pee out of her but he did it on the night of the finals of the stakes race which is tantamount to fixing the race.

Needless to say she ran last that night. She was a shivering mess when I picked her up. The track just gave the pee catcher a slap on the wrist and told him not to do it again. She got over what happenned but it took awhile to get her running like herself again.

What the Hell is a Chi-hooa-hooa?

My sister and I were playing a game of trivial pursuit once. She was in her second year of college supposedly as an English major. She asked me this question: What famous bandleader is known for holding a chi-hooa-hooa under his arm?

Completely bumfuzzled, I asked her, "what the hell is a chi-hooa-hooa?"

She said, "I don't know, answer the question or you lose your turn," in a most unmerciful tone I might add.

I asked to see the question and at first she wouldn't let me but finally she relented. The actual question was: What famous bandleader is known for holding a chihuahua under his arm? answer: Xaiver Cugat

Bring on the herring

Bring on the herring

My friend, Eddie, is always talking about eating "salt fish." I never knew what he was referring to until the other day. Apparently they are hard to find in our area. He was excited because he had found some and he called me over to try them.

The fish he was referring to was herring. I tried one and I loved it. Unfortunately it is obvious that the salt content is way to high for me to enjoy them very often. He even soaked them and drained the water a couple of times before he cooked them. But I am a convert.

Bring on the herring

It seems great minds think alike and also eat the same fish!

Bring on the herring

Do These Things Happen to All Middle Aged Women or Is it Just ME

This morning I tweezed an eyebrow hair that was almost 2 inches long. I don't understand this because I am one of those strange people that usually tweeze too much. How did that one get by me? I have blonde eyebrows and they are hard to see but still....

Who would ever imagine that an eyebrow hair could ever get that long except for on an old man?

The really sad part is the strange feeling of satisfaction I got from observing it for about 5 minutes.

Yesterday I was at Fruth. I was coming from the back when one of my regular female customers waved frantically for me to come to her. She was squatting in the floor beside the wine bottles. At first I thought she must want some brand that we were out of but that was not the case.

SHE HAD TO PEE! SHE HAD TO PEE SO BAD THAT SHE WAS AFRAID THAT IF SHE STOOD UP SHE WOULD PUDDLE UP RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AISLE.

I asked her what she wanted me to do.

"Bring me a commode." She said to me seriously. I told her I would if I could but that didn't seem to be a realistic solution to the problem. So she suppressed a smile and I realized that my sick sense of humor was seriously misplaced right now. One good chuckle and we would need a mop bucket!

So I started to calm her. I told her to take her time and we could just talk until she felt like she could make it to the bathroom. I wasn't working so I had plenty of time to kill. So we talked and she calmed down until she was able to walk to the restroom. When she came back she thanked me for telling her about the men's room.

I knew it was first and I didn't want her to think she needed to walk past it if she couldn't make it. So she did her business and a crisis was diverted.

I haven't been in quite that bad of a situation but I have been to the point where I thought my eyeballs would float out of my head if I didn't get to a bathroom in time. Especially since I have to take fluid pills now. I actually get up and take them at 4am because I want the effects of them to be over so I can start my day without any unseemly interruptions.

While I'm on the subject...

I have learned that if I need to puke then I can't just go to the bathroom anymore and pray to the porcelain god! Now, when I throw up I have to sit on the toilet and up chuck into a bucket because every time my body strains to puke my bladder sends a stream of equal proportions out the other end.

THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN HAVING TO CLEAN UP A BATHROOM FLOOR FULL OF PISS EVEN THOUGH YOU MADE IT TO THE BATHROOM IN PLENTY OF TIME TO UP CHUCK IN THE TOILET!

THANK GOD I NOT BULIMIC!

Welcome to the Neighborhood

This is what happened when I moved into Lee Terrace:

I pulled up to my building with my first load of stuff and a woman comes running out yelling, "Do ya need some help? Do ya need some help?"

I thought to myself, "well, how nice," and I smiled at her and I said, "that would be really nice of you, yes, I can use some help."

She says to me, " I won't even charge you much."

I looked at her while thinking to myself, "surely not."

I say to her, "well that's good, because if it's more than nothing then I can't afford it anyway." and I laugh.

She says, "Five dollars, what's five dollars."

So I tell her that $5 is more than I have and I can't pay her.

She turns around a walks away! Didn't even pretend to want to stay and help me.

Happily I have met nicer people (and better neighbors) since moving in.

She did it again

My mom and I were talking about my pepaw brennan the other day. He was a mean, nasty drunk but like most people he had his good side. Unfortunately I never saw his good side until I was an adult. We learned at a young age to stay out of arm's reach of the couch because of his pinching and biting and toe popping. (I cringe when I hear someone pop their fingers to this day)

My mom commented that he never did any of that stuff to us because she wouldn't allow it. When I told her he did do it and that he would also hold us down and blow his beer breath into our bodies until we would pass out she insisted that nothing like that ever happened to us.

That is what she had always done from the time I was a child until now. She never has been a supportive or defensive mother to either me or my brother but one peep from my sister and she is a mama lion. It's always been that way. I guess that is why I am always ready to stand up for the underdog, because I have always had to stand up for myself.

I remember the time the old man next door felt me up when I was 14. I was in complete shock when it happened because he was like a grandpa to me. It took several hours for me to go to my mom. When I did, she made me go and face him and tell him that I had told her what he had done. He immediately came over and talked to her privately. Later, she told me that I deserved it because I hadn't been wearing a bra. The fact that I was flat as a fritter didn't matter. I didn't even need to wear a bra until I was around 30. Even then I wore those "nearly A cup" sizes.

I also sent her a copy of my story that was published in the Gazette for Christmas. You know the one about the little girl that didn't have a Christmas. She was upset that I would let a drunk paw over a little girl while I was around. It didn't matter to her that there was nothing sexual in his attentions to his daughter and that I had done all I could to keep him away from her when I was around during their visit.

That episode happened when my health was at it's absolute worse after my heart failure diagnosis. I was going in the hospital every few weeks and I was homeless and renting rooms from people that I had never met - including the man who rented me the room I was living in over Christmas that year. You would think I would be living with my family (especially my mom the nurse) but when I went to her and told her I was going to be homeless because I couldn't work enough to support myself, her response was, "you deserve to be homeless because of the choices you have made in your life."

I ended up having to leave that man's house and many of my belongings because he allowed another man to steal my food and threaten me. I couldn't even return to get my stuff and I was too sick to get any help about the situation. My mom's response to that situation was that he must have wanted to get rid of me because I didn't pay my rent. My rent was paid in advance by the way. I guess she has to tell herself something because she didn't help me.

There were even relatives calling her and asking her to help me to no avail. Of course they didn't help me either so they weren't any better. I should point out that right after I got sick, before I was evicted from my home (the first time in my life that had ever happened) she did show up on my doorstep and she paid my rent, car payment and car insurance for one month. She told me she was "buying a month of my life" and that was all she would do. She pointed out how pitiful it was for a 44 year old woman to be in that kind of position. It didn't matter that I hadn't been able to work for almost a year before she even knew I was having a problem and couldn't understand why I didn't have a 3 month cushion to live on.

All together she gave me about $1100. Which I will be forever grateful for but she had to do it in a way that completely stripped me of my self esteem. She didn't want to "throw good money after bad after all." I repaid half of it because she wouldn't allow me to repay the rest. Now I have to listen to her brag that she got such a good deal paying $1100 for 2 couches but to spend that money on me was a waste. "Priorities" I guess.

Comments like that are the reason I only go to see her a couple or three times a year. If I keep my visits to a minimum then she is grateful to see me and we have nice visits. Any more than that is just an invitation for a full on verbal assault.

She Spit in My Face!

I couldn't believe it. That nasty little twit actually spit on me! Of course, my immediate flash of rage was to run her down and kill her and she knew it! She took off running like a bat out of hell and I would love to finish the story by saying that I ran her ass down and stomped her into the ground but that's not what happened. For the first time in my life I was held back by my physical limitations but I did manage to pick up a gallon of antifreeze and hurl it at her head. It would have been a perfect shot too but she turned the corner just as the jug flew through space where her head had been a fraction of a second before.

She was so scared that I would kill her that she actually busted through the double glass doors that didn't have time to automatically open because she was running so fast! My squeals of rage followed her as she ran to her car, screaming the whole way for her friend, "GO, GO!!!" He was standing by the gas pump wondering what in the hell was happening but seeing my outraged face and her obvious state of fear for her life he jumped in the car and sped away.

I stood there completely frustrated because for the first time in my life I wasn't the fastest and baddest woman around. I was actually going to have to just "suck it up," and that wasn't a feeling I was used to. I also had to wonder how I was going to explain the broken doors to my boss but fortunately a coworker had seen everything that had just transpired and was telling me that he would tell the boss that the customer was completely out of control.

Here is what lead to that crazy situation:

I was working at the TA Truckstop at the fuel desk. It was very busy and I was the only one there. While I was waiting on a customer at the trucker's fuel desk a woman came in and threw some change on the gas pump desk and told me to turn the pump on. She left. I tried to ask her what pump she was at but she was gone (and on a cell phone) before I even got the question out. I couldn't see the pumps from my vantage point so I continued to wait on the customer I was waiting on to begin with.

After a few minutes the woman came back in and told me to turn the pump on again. Once again she walked out and left (still talking on the cellphone) before I could find out where she was, so once again, I continued to wait on the customers who were standing in line. I had no way of knowing which pump she was at without walking outside to look and i just didn't have the time.

Finally I was finished starting the pumps for truckers and I walked over to the other register where her couple of dollars in change was strewn across the counter. I picked up the change and was going to the door to see if I could see the woman when she came in. She started to cuss me and berate me for not starting the pump.

Once again I asked her what pump she was at but she was too busy throwing a first class tantrum to answer me. Finally I tired of her abuse and laid her money on the counter and told her to go somewhere else and buy her gas. "I don't need your business that bad." I told her, "and if you would take a second to conduct your business and get your ass off that phone the whole damn situation would have been avoided!"

The next thing I knew she was pursing her lips together and hurling a wad of spit straight in my face...hence the beginning of the story. I still can't believe to this day that someone could actually behave that way over a couple of dollars worth of gas.

top 10 life changing events of my life (good and bad)

1. my dad kicking me out - my dad kicked me out when I was 18. Sure I was old enough to make it on my own but I went from being a pampered princess to nothing with no notice. I should have been able to handle it but I was still too immature (which I didn't recognize at the time). This led to a distinctive downward spiral in my life which continued until I...

2. meeting Bobby Jeffrey - Bobby was my husband. He was my best friend and soul mate. We had a wonderful marriage until the day I left him after 13 years of marriage.

3. first job in the dog business - I started working at the dog track when I was 25 years old. I knew from the first time I stepped in kennel that I was where I was supposed to be for the rest of my life.

4. divorce - I left Bobby after 13 happy years of marriage. I gave him 2 more years to get his act together because we had such a good marriage. I divorced him after 15 years when it became obvious that he couldn't change (drugs). It was my 36th. birthday.

5. my dad's illness - my aunt Robin left me a note at work telling me my dad was seriously ill. I left as soon as I found out and went to the VA hospital. I found out what room he was in and took the elevator to his floor. As soon as I got off the elevator there was a pitiful little man using the wheelchair rails to slowly wheel himself to his room. It was my dad. I was in shock as I stood there looking at this once vibrant man who was a mere shell of himself. I stayed by his side until he died 3 years later.

6. my heart failure - I was working 3 jobs and trying to start my own farm. I kept gaining weight (at the rate of about 20 lbs a month) but I didn't know why. Finally I was so huge and so tired that I couldn't even breathe without coughing. My lungs were full of fluid because I was in complete heart failure. I am still here 5 years later and fighting to do as much as I can every day. I only work part time now and I wouldn't be able to work that much if I didn't have such an understanding employer.

I am finally accepting that things won't get much better but I am surprised at how good they are some times. I am alive thanks to the United States government. I would be dead now without healthcare and disability and other benefits they give to people in my position. It took a long time to get help. I was sure I would die before I would get it. I live in a building full of low-income disabled people and seniors. People complain about the people drawing benefits but there are many who are deserving of what they get. Also they seem to die off fairly quickly usually so they don't get benefits very long.

Firsts

1. First Love? Oscar Kirk

2. First Crush? Ricky Irvin

3. First Car? Chrysler Horizon

4. First Husband? Bobby Jeffrey (only)

5. First Boyfriend? Can't remember his name - he was cute though

6. First Friend? Suzanne Mathis...there was a little boy in Tenessee that lived in the yard next door. I can't remember his name but we used to play on the swing and eat raw spaghetti.

7. First Engagement Ring? red,yellow and blue plastic Crackerjack ring. Stevie Goggas gave it to me under the front porch where we were playing cars with sticks.

8. First Memory? I can remember a row of grey and white rooftops. My mom says they were the houses on the way to the hospital to pick up my sister when she was born. I was almost 3.

9. First Job? Burger Chef. Sis says this job led to my downfall because of the kind of people I was exposed to. I say I led to my own downfall but there must be something to what she said because my parents never made my brother or sister get a job.

10. First Award? I know I had plenty of them in school but none of them stand out now.

11. First College? Ohio State

12. First Time? Back seat of a Chevy Malibu (I think)

13. First Blog? damnpamn...about letting go of hard feelings

14. First Dog? Cleopatra Floppyears Brennan - a beagle

15. First Cat? I think it was Willie Akers. My mom accidentally ran over him in the drive way.

16. First Nightmare? A black woman's head on my nightstand, staring straight ahead, smacking her lips. I buried my head under my covers and when it didn't go away I ran to my parent's bedroom. I was around 3.

17. First Greyhound? Cheyenne Queen. I had lots of pets but she was the first one we owned.

18. First Kennel? Liberty Kennel at Tri State Greyhound Park

19. First Monumental Screw Up? Most people would say leaving Ohio State. I say robbing Star Market.

20. First Vacation? We used to camp at Summersville Lake when I was in grade school. The first time we went to Florida I was 12.

21. First Book? I was a voracious reader. I especially remember my mom letting me read "Love's Tender Fury" when I was going in the 7th. grade. It was one of the first historical romance novels that are still popular (and have the same basic story) today.

22. First Favorite Food? I used to have beef stroganoff for every birthday. I also had Rave Reviews Coconut Cake.

23. First Favorite Color? Pink...still pink

24. First Favorite Singer? Bobby Sherman but I can remember singing "I Think I Love You" by David Cassidy on the front porch.

25. First Happy Memory? Flying a kite and picnicing in our huge backyard in Tennessee. (around 3)

I am NOT a fan of Best Buy right now

As some of you know I bought a computer last week. I had it 2 days and I had to take it back to Best Buy. To further complicate things I got sick so it took a a week for me to take it back. What the salesman neglected to tell me when I bought the computer is that he sold me a demo. So surprise, surprise, it broke. At least it broke well within the 14 day return period and I got a full refund.

I still wanted a computer though.

I asked if they had another I could buy for the same price. (299 dollars). They told me the only other one they had was another demo. Being in my sick state of mind, I asked if they generally had any problems selling demos. I have bought other demos in the past with no problem. They assured me that my problem was an anomally and so I bought the other computer. When I got home I didn't even get out of the truck because I wanted to see if the wifi would pick up outside like the other one did.

THE COMPUTER HAD A FREAKIN' PASSWORD ON IT AND THEY HAD GIVEN ME ZERO PAPERWORK!

So I called them and asked for the password. The girl told me I had to bring it back that they had forgotten to erase the data from it. So I turned around and went right back and got my money back again. By this time I was completely worn out because I was still recuperating and feeling completely dejected because it would have been so nice to have a lovely new laptop during my convalesence.

My original Toshiba was on sale by the way for $399. I didn't want to pay that much. Translation...I couldn't afford that much. But I couldn't get the computer off my mind, so I called Best Buy on Saturday night and asked when the sale ended. The girl told me that night. I at least had enough sense to ask what the original purchase price was and guess what... it was $399. Turns out that Best Buy was advertizing a fake sale as so many retailers these days do. It's supposed to be illegal to do that but they all do it anyway. So, if I wanted my lovely Toshiba then I could get it anytime. I didn't have to kill myself to get back out there on Saturday night.

Today I swung by Kmart out of curiosity. They had the same computer for $529. So it looked like Best Buy's $399 really was probably the best buy. I had to go to Walmart to return something. I decided to check on their laptops while I was there. I was just about to leave and go to Best Buy because they had the best deal when I happened to spy a computer in a box, locked in a cabinet, but not on display. It was only $298.

Eureka! Could this be what I wanted. I went to get the salesgirl and she assured me that it was indeed a brand, spankin' new computer that was still in the box and had never been opened. I bought it. I now have a brand new HP computer. Hopefully this one will work.

After all that is all I'm looking for....a computer that will work.

It's been a DOOZY of a week

I don't mean in a good way either. I have been sick as a dog as they say. I caught a virus at work. I know where I got it because I have been selling my customers medicine for it since before Christmas. In fact I had it before Christmas but it was under control. I just couldn't quite kick it. Then last Sunday I ran out of my cough medicine. I have one from the doctor because my stomach can't handle most medicines.

I thought it would be no big deal to wait and get it when I went into work on Monday night. BIG MISTAKE. By Monday afternoon at 2 I was calling in sick and going in to get the cough medicine anyway. I tried to call my doctor but he was out for the holiday so that had to wait a day. I finally got in to see him on Wednesday. He gave me all the usual meds that you get for heavy duty chest and head congestion but I was still unable to function until Friday. I was still very weak until today. I will try to go back to work tomorrow.

More to tell but I gotta go... see ya later with the rest of my crazy bad news of the week. Let's just say I am not a fan of Best Buy right now.