gas station

While getting gas at the local gas station, a red car pulls up across from me. There is a heavy bass beat eminating from the car. In fact that is what makes me look at the car in the first place. The overwhelming bass pulsating the air around the gas pumps. The car is a beautiful cherry red, long, four door, white top, possibly a cadillac? The wheels are chrome and gold with the gold part of the hubcab spinning. The car looks like it is breathing, the bass whoofers vibrating inside.

I wait for the driver to emerge from the car. I assume that the driver will be a black male, probably dressed very nicely in a suit or even a Nike jogging outfit. Probably a tall male, possibly football player size. But as the driver door slowly opens, I am surprised to see a tall blonde, slightly heavyset woman exit the vehicle.

V from DC

I happened to click the button that says "next blog" on my blog and found this cute and entertaining blog. Check it out. http://thecountdownofv.blogspot.com/

Dave is boring me to death. (not really). He has been typing on his MAC Report Online articles ALL DAY. Sheesh. But the upside is that I was able to finish my Patricia Cornwell mystery about the medical examiner, Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Thinking about starting my J.D. Robb mystery soon.

A good day

Day at work:

Wake up at about 6:45 a.m. - crawl out of bed, half a sleep, make Dave's lunch.
6:50 - crawl back into bed to sleep so more.
7:50 - wake up, crawl to bathroom, then go to office. Dial phone number to switch Intrascript phone number to forward to my home number.
Make bed
Take medicine
Put hot water on for capuccino.
Log into Microsoft Outlook and check emails that have come in over the night.
Respond to important emails. Take note of ones that need more thought or research.
Log into vpn and the pcanywhere to check Atlanta computers - make sure programs are running. Restart programs if necessary.
Log out of that, log into other three vpn computers - do the above.
Make coffee
Through out the day, answer client calls regarding problems, answer emails, research problems, try to write update help files, go to the bathroom at least 5 times, talk to Dave either through email or phone, etc.
4:00 - switch phones back to boss's house (Intrascript)

This week I was on call for an extra four hours Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. My boss called me one day and I said that my computer was running slow...that I probably need a new one. He asked if I wanted him to order a new one from Dell in lieu of paying me overtime pay and just because I am doing such a good job. I said sure. I would be glad to get a new one. Later he emailed and asked what my current address was. So....I think I am getting a new computer. We will see if he is as good as his word. But I do love working for this company. It is the best job I have had.

Dave got a bonus and used some of it to buy himself a new laptop. It was much needed. It is lighter and will be easier for him to use at the media tables at games.

House - the TV show

When House first came on the television, I thought it would be a good show. I watched one, maybe two episodes, and probably would still be watching it, but Dave also watched one or two or parts of one or two. He noted that in every episode someone has a seizure. I then started noting the same thing, and even the commercials for the upcoming shows had the seizure scene in it. Now Dave calls it House of Seizures.

I am allowed to watch Bones. He hasn't found anything real wrong with it, yet.

But the star of Bones was in a movie called, Boogeyman. Emily Deschanel. She is interesting to watch.

Valentine's Day - bah humbug

I am so tired of all the hipe and commercialism. Dave and I didn't buy into it this year, which I am thankful for. Who really believes that a man will be miserable for the rest of the year if he doesn't buy his wife or girlfriend a 3-karat diamond ring?

gruesomeness

Dave and I do not watch much network TV. Mostly Dave has control over the remote and I either read or dose while he tries to find a show that we both can agree on. This is not an easy feat. I refuse to watch big time wrestling and he refuses to watch "lifetime" type movies. So, here is a list of the shows that we tend to watch:

• Cops
• Forensic files
• Untold stories of the ER
• Animal cops
• Intervention
• Dr. G Medical Examiner
• Monk
• Dog Whisperer
• Most Extreme Challenge

I am sure there are more, but you see the trend. Monk is the only show that isn't "real". I love his obsessive compulsiveness. Dr. G is so funny as she cuts up dead people. Intervention reminds us just how selfish addicted people are. The dog whisperer is very cool. Dave and I are learning how to be "calmandassertive" around dogs. A lot of the techniques used to control and handle your dog can be also used with humans.

I know we are weird.

scratchy throat update

Well, I have been sleeping on the couch, so as not to bother Dave at night. I am taking all my asthma medications, increasing the inhaler, and drinking lots of fluids (mostly water, Kari). I hope to have this "cold" just run its course as any normal cold would. I am crossing my fingers that this will not go the course of the last cold.

I don't want to call the pulmonologist because she will tell me that I got sick again because we still have the lovebird. But I really do not think that is it. What happened is that I sprayed the shower curtain with mildew remover and didn't wear my surgical mask. I think I have a reaction to certain chemicals.

Well, enough of this silliness. Let me see if I can figure out something else to talk about.

scratchy throat

Darn. I have the scratchy throat, upset stomach, headache, and tiredness that I had last fall which started the 10+ week asthma flare up. I hope that it doesn't get worse. I have been taking all my medications and it makes me mad that I am getting the same symptoms again.

Super Bowl

If I close my eyes, I can pretend that I am on the sidelines of the Super Bowl. Having been on the field (sidelines) at Ford Field for the MAC Championship and for the Motor City Bowl, helps me be able to sort of "know" what it would be like to be there today at the Super Bowl.

Being a left-handed wiper

Does anyone know how hard it is to be a left-handed wiper in the world of right-handed wipers? Extra weight adds to the difficulty. Yesterday I had to go to the restroom while we were shopping before the concert. The stall at the Mall was barely wide enough to allow me to turn around. I had a package to hang up and I had my leather coat on, which is kind of long and has to be held up while I sit. Also on my back is my purse (back-pack style). Now I should have taken my coat and purse off and hung them up, but I was in a hurry and there really wasn't enough room to manuever taking off the purse and coat. Well, I finished my business, which was more than I had expected to do, and suddenly realized that the stall had one of those large toilet paper rolls attached to the right side of the stall. The kind that takes up most of the area next to you as you are sitting on the throne. Well, I am a left-handed wiper that needs to lean to the right. Sometimes I need to lean to the right a lot. I tried, but I had my coat hiked up around my waist, the pants around my knees (trying not to get them dirty from the floor), my purse straps constricting my arm movements, and the toilet paper roll holder blocking my way so that I could not get a good lean. I won't tell you how I actually got everything handled, but I will say that I finally found a solution, and was able to leave the stall in one piece. But I was worn out and very testy for a little bit afterwards, feeling like I had just finished a round of boxing with a midget.

Blues

We went to Monroe Community College to see "4 on the Floor: Songwriters in the Round". This was a free concert.....donations accepted. The Monroe County Library System is having a Black History Month Blues Series and put together these four artists. They had never been on the stage together, so it was interesting watching them get comfortable with each other's style. As the evening wore on, they started to participate in each other's songs. Each one had a chance to perform a song and the others were encouraged to join in. We had seen both Guy Davis (second from the right) and Rev. Robert Jones (first from the right). They both are awesome. Usually they both do traditional blues. Guy is my favorite. Dave has interviewed both of them.

Robert is from Detroit and has an active church, the Sweet Kingdom Missionary Church. He did a song about his grandmother which made me cry. What is bad is that I have that album and have cried before when listening to the song. So I tried not to cry, but there is one spot in the song that catches you off guard. Here is a small video of him singing the song: Robert Jones

Guy is the son of Ozzie Davis and Ruby Dee (most younger people do not know who I am talking about, but if you are my age, you will know - two beautiful people, actors both). Guy taught himself the guitar (never having the patience to take formal lessons) - (kind of sounds like me, I have no patience for formal training). He was on TV as One Life to Live's Josh Hall. Now he goes all over the world performing his blues music. It is pretty close to the traditional blues and he has a wonderful sense of humor. This is a small video of him playing the banjo: Guy Davis

But it was nice "meeting" EG Kight and Ellis Hooks. EG is the woman. She had a voice that was a clear as a bell, a sense of humor, and had some smokin' riffs on the guitar. Ellis was notable for his energy and passion that he puts into his music. He seemed like a really nice guy.

After the show we had planned to go out to eat for our anniversary. Dave had found an Italian restaurant. We were hoping that it was not closed at the late hour that we got out of the concert (9:30). It wasn't and it was a very nice place. I had the pasta trio and Dave had the gnocchi. If we are back in the area, we will probably go back.

one more thing

I forgot. Last night we went to see our friend Mike Katon and his band. He was playing at the Northfield Roadhouse. We didn't get a chance to really talk to Mike, but his drummer Johnny came and sat with us during the breaks. He is always fun to talk to. He is a construction worker in his real life and an awesome drummer when he can fit in. The band, minus Johnny, since he has to work, will be going to Europe on Tour. Katon's band is pretty big in Europe. Another drummer will be taking Johnny's place (Johnny Bee). But Johnny was telling stories about some of their escapades in Europe that had us laughing until we almost fell off our chairs. I still chuckle when I think about it.

Dave sent Mike an email and this is Mike's response.

Hey Dave & Debbie,
Thanks for coming last night!...It was good to see you...I wish I could have talked to you a little more but we never took another break!...I think the last set was over two hours! We got some shows soon after we get back from touring...I haven't posted them yet but check my site and you can see when they are.....Are you ever gonna have a 'Blues Site/Mag' again?....I always though you were a good writer and honest reviewer man!...........It would be cool if you could do something in that capacity again.....
The drummer that is going on tour with me'Johnny Bee Badanjek's son is the publisher of 'Real Detroit' mag....maybe I could make a connection there to see if they need a new columnist something...Let me know what ya think.......Later Gator (and Gatorette)

We hadn't seen Mike in almost a year and so it was nice to be able to see him perform again. So now our ears are ringing still. Mindy and Joanie, do you remember when you heard him at the Beats and Eats Festival? If you want a brief taste of his style of music, go to www.katon.com and you will hear a small clip of Rip It Hard.

Anniversary

Our anniversary is today. Two years. Wow! I have enjoyed every minute.

Yesterday, Dave was feeling generous and said we could go to a Chinese restaurant, since we had never been to one together and he knows that I like Chinese food. We found a local one (they are everywhere and it is hard to know which one will be a good one). We were pleasantly surprised. It was clean and the atmosphere was very quiet and comfortable. Good service. I steered Dave toward the sesame chicken, as I thought it would be spicy for him and have the last amount of vegetables in it. It was offered as either mild, medium, or hot. The waiter said that hot was way hot, so Dave went with medium. He was glad he did. He loved it. He is still talking about it. I got the sweet and sour shrimp, which also was very, very good. Probably the best I have eaten. But of course we could not eat all that was there and have leftovers for tomorrow. I think next time we will order one meal (sesame chicken) and share. The waiter said that we could have the sesame chicken mild for me and the hot sauce on the side for Dave. Perfect.

We went to breakfast at Baker's Square. Soon we will head down to Monroe for a blues concert with Guy Davis and Robert Jones. We might check out some outlet stores or something on the way.

Tomorrow, we will chill in front of the TV and watch the superbowl.