Breakfast at Charly’s

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Don’t taze me, bro!

Don’t taze me, bro!

Originally uploaded by Breakfast at Charly’s

Yeah, okay. Found on some old dude’s car.

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I hate this feeling

Today is one of those days where I alternately feel like crying just a tiny bit or uncomfortable anxiousness. This morning I was feeling mushy and now, probably partially due to the coffee I’ve consumed, I feel incredibly anxious.

There are times when I start to feel so unorganized, both in the environmental and cognitive sense, that it affects the melon. We’re getting closer to moving and we’ve been busier than normal lately so the house is at the height of clutter and it’s starting to feel as if it’s closing in on me. Yes, logically speaking I could just stand up, grab something and create order but it’s overwhelming enough to paralyze me a bit and somehow, without dialog, convinces me to embrace avoidance. I’ve never claimed to make sense.

Some loose ends that need tying up are also biting at my heels but along with the overwhelming cognitive clutter, I’m also a master procrastinator. Actually, I think they are simply close cousins who both seem to visit at the same time with far too much luggage and don’t have the courtesy of calling first.

I have the lease addendum to tweak, sign and return but because my connected printer’s toner is 99.7% gone (leading to streaks and faint print) and my new printer is still packed, I’ll have to save the document on my USB drive and head up to the library. I have books to return anyhow but it’s still a pain. I also have the large-ish job of organizing and figuring out the paperwork from soccer. My goal was to have that completed over the weekend but being as I was feeling pretty nasty for most of it, I didn’t get to finish it. I did, however, put together a great deal of the website I want to publish for the program. That was easy and simply consisted of me sitting here in the recliner moving this and that around until it was aesthetically pleasing and fairly grammatically correct. I want to get that up so that I can create some marketing materials and spread the word. That gives me time to run some late registration for the fall and have enough uniforms and coaches by then. From what I understand, those who know about the program found out about it in some convoluted way and even the special needs program that is maybe 100 yards away from the field had no idea until just recently that we existed. How is that even possible?

This afternoon will be filled with running around that I wish were another day but you know how that goes. First it’s to gymnastics we run and then to the string concert where I’m hoping Iz will behave reasonably well. By the time we get home it will be late and I’m not exactly sure how dinner will fit in.

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Happy Birthday, Gracie!

Yes, I’m going to be cliche and exclaim, “Where the fuck did the last seven years go?!” We could also ask about the last nine (Iain’s age in a little over a week) or 15 (yes, 15 years married). But yeah, where is it, y’all?

I’ve come to the conclusion that I did not, in fact, have the flu but whatever it was/is does not like me and wants me rendered useless from the waist down. I’m on the better end of things but the day, she was not easy like Sunday morning. Nope. That is where I’ll end with that.

Being the stellar mother I am, I did manage to saunter around Toys ‘R Us twice with Gracie to find her gift but we ended up at Target. The grandparents capped off the day with a cake and the Happy Birthday song and it was all good.

We’re doing things a little different this year since planning a party in the middle of move time would have proved to be enough to move me to violently dismember something. They get to pick where they want to eat for dinner and pick out a toy and later in the summer, they can have a friend or two over for a sleep-over. They seem to be great with the idea so I don’t anticipate extra therapy bills for that year which they shan’t mention.

Here’s to tomorrow being better than the weekend. Gracie’s string concert is tomorrow evening and that should be interesting, bless her heart.

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The flu? What the hell?

Yes, I have the flu. At least I’m pretty sure I do. I ache like crazy, am hot and cold and my appetite is meh. Jeff came home early from work and took over this afternoon. I managed to take Iz to preschool registration but by the time we got home, I had to drive up to the school to pick the kids up because the few blocks we walk on nice days was too much for me. I drove to McDonald’s to get them lunch, came home and laid on the couch. I couldn’t muster the energy to do anything. I was out.

I finally woke up around 7pm and despite taking 800mg of Ibuprofin, I’m still aching and go from hot to cold to hot to cold bla bla bla. Iz won’t stay in bed and I think, if I had the energy, I’d go apeshit crazy. It’s waaaay past her bed time and I think at this point she’s overtired.

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Let this not be an omen

Let me begin by stating that I understand it’s stressful to be a landlord. Let me state that I understand lease provisions that protect the property owner. Let me add that I realize after a bad experience one tends to be more cautious.

However . . .

I hope this doesn’t mean that we will bear the brunt of our LL’s nervousness about renting. When I read the lease I feel like we’ll get our hands smacked if we do anything but sit nicely on the sofa. Now, the lease is reasonable and I’d have said something if it wasn’t but I still feel like I’m going to be watched like a child because she made a foolish decision renting to 20 year-olds last time. I thought she had lived there recently but apparently she thought that renting to three guys in their early 20s with a dog was a good idea. And then she’s worried about the kids and the carpet? I have a feeling I’ll kiss that security deposit goodbye and not because the kids will ruin the place. Maybe it won’t be that way but after her addendum to the lease that included our paying only by cash or money order, I’m anticipating her being a pain in my ass who I’d rather avoid. Let’s just hope she’ll relax and realize that we’re not going to trash her house. My addendum to the lease? A written receipt. Nothing personal.

Speaking of all this, I’m going to have to get her to sign allowing us to install a satellite and to paint. She orally agreed to the satellite but in the lease it states that everything has to be written and that oral agreements weren’t binding (or something to that effect). It’s probably there just to cover her in case someone misunderstands and thinks she said yes to knocking out a wall when in reality she was simply answering her daughter asking to go potty. I picked up some paint samples to stare at that I’ll ask her about. She said it was fine to paint as long as we stick to neutral colors that weren’t super dark. I can understand that. And if we do paint, she just asked that we return it to the colors she painted initially. See? Reasonable. Why am I painting? The paint she used is like a semi-gloss, including on the ceiling and that? That will drive me bananas.

I think it’ll be fine but she seemed kind of nervous and I think she’s gun shy so I’ll go about my life, live like the immaculate human being I am and try not to worry about it.

I started working more on the paperwork aspect of the director position and my head was spinning after awhile. I have to figure out exactly who is playing in Spring, who returned from the Fall, who wants to stay in the loop, who isn’t interested anymore etc. I did some emailing today to touch base with those who I’ll be working with on a regular basis and I’m going to develop some things to make keeping everyone informed a bit easier. Wish me luck!

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links for 2008-05-14

• Tumblr

  To make a simple analogy: If blogs are journals, tumblelogs are scrapbooks.

  You can also look at tumblelogs as slightly more structured blogs that make it easier, faster, and more fun to post and share stuff you find or create.

  (tags: blogs.platforms)

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Now, where did I leave the tape?

We went to meet the woman who owns the house (and who I think is her husband) and let her check us out. Apparently we cut the mustard because the Realtor called shortly after we left and it seems we’ll be getting the keys on June 1st. What’s nice is that there’s a possibility we can buy the place down the road. She’s not exactly sure what she’s going to do with the house but selling could be in her future and I wouldn’t mind being the buyer. It depends on some circumstances with her almost-adult daughter and some this and that that she vaguely explained whilst I glazed over. I was getting hungry; sue me.

We went out to dinner after meeting with the Realtor and the landlord and I sat there wishing that the Realtor would call us sooner rather than later. It turns out that my phone didn’t ring and she left a voice mail maybe 10 or 20 minutes after we left. Now, anyone who calls my cell can attest to the fact that I don’t reliably check my voice mail so it was just out of coincidence that I came across a message from her that came in while we were at the restaurant. Sometimes, if we’re too close to the shore, my phone will roam and pick up Rogers Wireless from Canada. I may have set my phone to not work on that network to save myself international roaming charges which would explain the phone not ringing. Of course when I called her mobile she didn’t answer but not too long after she called and gave the good news.

I have to meet the Realtor tomorrow to get the paperwork so that Jeff can sign when he gets home from work tomorrow night. He won’t be home until almost midnight so I told her I’d take the paperwork, have him sign and then return it to her with our deposit on Thursday. We’ll get the keys on June 1st and I think we’ll be moving in on the 13th. The kids get out on the 12th so we can do this without having to worry about trying to incorporate getting ready for school with everything else. Even if Jeff works that day, the movers can take care of what needs to be moved and he can put things like the beds together when he gets home. I could do it but I’ll concentrate my efforts on trying to get things unpacked and settled. Boy, won’t it be nice unpacking in an empty house without some nutjob following me around muttering complaints under her breath! It’ll also be nice to be settled somewhere and move on with life.

Tomorrow is game two of my reign as Heir Direktor of the special needs soccer world (football for you foreigners). The jersey situation is such that we won’t have anything for the new kids until the Fall. I guess there have been problems with people not returning uniforms so our supply is tapped out. Next year I’m going to implement a sign-out procedure along with a $5 refundable deposit requirement so that we at least motivate some to return the equipment. We charge 75% less than the rest of the AYSO program so turning in jerseys helps keep spending and costs in check. My next challenge to tackle will be awards and an end-of-season party. I’m still waiting for the former director to email me back about that. I know this is bad but I’m really hoping that the impending storms expected tomorrow will wash out our game and gain me some time to catch up and get my bearings.

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America’s Next Top Renters

Tomorrow we meet with the landlord to get the once-over to see if she likes us. I guess we’re auditioning for the home and while I understand she wants to make sure she gets a good vibe, I still am not looking forward to it. I guess she’s nervous about the wear-and-tear on the carpet since we have three kids. I told the Realtor that we’d take full responsibility for any accidents that might happen and the Realtor said she pointed out that that’s what a security deposit is for.

She’s new to being a landlord and I know I’d probably be uneasy taking the risk of trusting strangers with my investment. I put the kids on high alert — good manners, pleasant attitude, shoes off at the door, no fighting or whining etc. I don’t want this woman to think we’re the parents of destructive monsters. She can find that out on her own. (Kidding!) One nice thing is that the Realtor told her that she liked us and that we looked “clean” and nice (whatever that means).

All that’s missing is Tyra Banks making odd faces and other potential tenants fighting over an M&M and a cigarette.

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Rest In Peace Irena Sendler

Back some time ago I saw the story of Irena Sendler on The Today Show. Her story touched me so much that I wrote her name on my kitchen white board, fully intending on looking her up when I got a chance. Months went by but her name remained until one day last month I decided to google.

The first result I viewed was on Wikipedia and despite the fact that I had read the page, the tab remained open for a long time. I wanted to write about her in my blog so I kept the tab open as a reminder. Today I clicked on the tab and decided to google her again to see if there were any books about her. Much to my dismay, at the top of my Google results I learned that Irena Sendler died today in Warsaw, Poland at the age of 98. While she lived a long life, my heart still sank at the news. The world lost a special woman today.

Rest in peace, Irena. You made this world a better place and despite the fact that you believed otherwise, you are still a hero and a saint in my eyes.

Additional links about Irena Sendler:

• Irena Sendler at YadVashem.org
• SavingJews.org
• Irena Sendler at HolocaustForgotten.com
• IrenaSendler.org Project
• Holocaust Rescuers Bibliography
• “Irena Sendler for Nobel Peace Prize” initiative
• Pole who saved WWII Jews honoured, BBC News Online, 14 March 2007
• I’m no hero, says woman who saved 2,500 ghetto children, Guardian Online, 15 March 2007
• (German) Dank an Irena Sendler, German TV report, 29 May 2007
• (German) Schindlers unbekannte Schwester, Der Spiegel online

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Kind of a busy week

This week has been a busy one. Jeff’s hours have picked up so it’s been all me all the time. I’m not complaining in the least, though. Extra hours mean extra money in the bank to offset the weeks when OT is scarce.

Wednesday Izzie’s class had an adorable Mother’s Day party for the moms. Nothing like getting a decoupaged baby food jar with a votive candle and ice cream sundaes before 10:30 a.m. I’m telling you, nothing says “I love you!” more.

We found a house we were interested in looking at that I visited with Iz on Thursday. They were offering land contract so it was worth a look considering owning is still better than renting if you’re not upside down in your investment. I looked it over and on first pass it showed potential. I did find things that would require our bidding quite a bit less than they were asking. You could tell there had been water issues at one point and there was some mold and efflorescence on the basement walls. Aside from that, lots of cosmetic updates were in order but cosmetic touches aren’t deal breakers.

I made an appointment to return to the house the next evening so Jeff could take a look. With flashlight and tape measure in hand, Jeff nosed around checking cracks and crevaces that I didn’t seek out on first pass. I was more interested in the general condition of the home and checking that out before dragging Jeff in to take a look.

The flashlight tells all. It’s no coincidence that you see them whipped out on every show that has any variation of CSI in the title. We came away disappointed but were better off not getting mixed up in that property. We found a part of a wall that was soft and coincidentally both above and below we found problems on the outside as well as the basement foundation. I’m not builder but being able to push my thumb into plaster doesn’t seem like a good thing.

Friday was the day that I became the director of the special needs division of the AYSO in my area and it’s been a baptism by fire. I was supposed to take over in the Fall and learn as I went this Spring with the former director showing me the ropes. It didn’t end up happening that way. Friday she gave me all the stuff and Saturday I was taking registrations and trying to find uniforms that fit the kids that started this weekend. The problem was that I only had youth small or extra smalls and the kids are a touch larger than that. I have to get a hold of the former director and get some things straightened out. We need larger uniforms including one for Iain since I’m pretty sure we turned his in last Fall. I also need to order trophies and organize an end-of-year banquet. I need to figure out how many kids are signed up and make sure I have enough hard liquor on hand to get me through it. It’ll be fine in the end but I wasn’t expecting to have to take over so quickly and with no training whatsoever. This seems to be a theme in my life. Just about every job I’ve ever had has offered me little training with high expectations. I’m a quick study but damn, people.

Yesterday was a very long day. It started with the soccer game and people approaching me as if I knew my ass from a hole in the ground to getting my hair done to my father-in-law’s 70th birthday party. The party was fun and the food was good. I reminisced with my high school boyfriend’s aunt and caught up with how she and the family were doing. I really liked her when I was dating my boyfriend and she’s still the same as she was 17 years ago. In fact, I more than liked her; I think she’s pretty damn terrific and remember wishing she would have been my boyfriend’s mother rather than the less-than-pleasant woman I had to deal with years ago. But? That’s how it goes. I’ve actually known her since I was in first grade since she was my lunch lady in my grade 1-8 school career. I went to school with a couple of her sons and they were nice kids. I got to be buddies with her daughter-in-law back in the day and I guess she had been asking about me recently. It’s nice to be missed and loved.

Iain started losing it at one point in the party so he and I decided to leave. I had arrived separately because I had to go to the salon so we had a car with which to escape. By the time we got home I think we were both ready to decompress and even go to bed. I sat down in the big chair and cuddled up with my beloved laptop to catch up with my pretend life. I have a saved search on Realtor.com and a sub to the RSS feed to that search so if any new properties pop up for rent, I know about them right away. Guess what? Yup. New property to check out.

By the time I saw the new property online, I had changed out of my clothes and thought I was settling in for the night. I called the office with which the property was listed on the off chance that an agent might be there. The last rental I called about I called nine at night and I was only expecting either a recording with the office hours or the chance to leave a message. An agent picked up and actually startled me. This time I was able to leave a message. I wanted to see the place in person so I got dressed and Iain and I took a little drive.

Pulling up I thought it looked good and the yard was a nice size. I also noticed that along with the realty sign there was a generic “For Rent” sign with a number different than the one I called earlier. I called and bingo — Realtor.

We saw the house today at five and once we submit the required paperwork and whatnot, we’ll be enjoying the luxury of a roof over our heads that isn’t the icing on a shithole cake. It’s the second oldest house in the city (take that, Kelly and Mike!) and very cute. There’s a master suite in the basement with its own entrance and two and a half baths. The counter space in the kitchen is probably three times what we have now and I don’t think I’ll know what to do with it all. I know this sounds stupid but the fact that we’ll have a bathroom on every floor makes me giddy like a little school girl. The owner used to live in the home but has moved a couple blocks over so this isn’t a serial rental and you can tell. I also did right by calling right away because the Realtor had a few other calls after us; we got first dibs. So, for now we have the next step figured out and we move on in our adventure. The kids gave it their seal of approval so if everything goes smoothly, we’ll have the keys on June 1st.

Oh, and if you’re reading, Krystn — if you walk out your front door, cross the street, walk down the alley and stop at the sidewalk, you’ll be at our house. In fact, our address is almost identical to yours. Scared yet?

P.S. The above, while near me, is not my house. We can pretend it is, though.