Monday, January 26, 2009

going batty

the phone rang about 45 minutes ago. considering it was almost 9, i knew it had to be steph.

here's a little back story on steph. she can't STAND creepy-crawlie things. they had a mouse problem for a while, and one got caught in a trap by just its tail and one leg. her solution? put a paper box top with an iron on top to keep it contained until her sister got home to deal with it. not quite sure how she's my child, since creepy crawlies don't bother me in the slightest, except for the bite factor (i don't handle snakes because my hands are tender enough without throwing bites into it).

so, i answer the phone, and she's SQUEALING. not in a good way. "THERE'S A BAT IN MY BEDROOM!" "where are you?" "UNDER THE COVERS!" "well, dummy, get out!"

she hadn't been feeling good, and had been in bed since she'd gotten home from work. she was calling me from under the covers. she had been lightly dozing when she heard what she thought was a mouse, so she thumped on the floor to scare it away. instead she heard wings!

i finally talked her into getting out of the room, amidst much squealing, giggling, and half-crying (yes, she's that scared). i called the humane society/animal control, and the lady told me that steph was going to have to keep a visual on the bat until they got there. i told her that wasn't going to happen, because she'd practically had a panic attack while calling me. finally, i told the lady i'd go over and keep an eye on the bat until they got there. she told me that since this was considered an emergency, we would be next. however, the officers were already out on a call.

i called steph up and told her to tell me how much she loved me, because i was going to come over and keep an eye on the durned thing. i went over there, and discovered she'd turned the light off. "how am i supposed to watch the bat if the light's off?!?" i turned the light on, and she screamed "don't let it out!" "would you s hut up! that's why it's flying around, you've got it all worked up!"

i got her to shut up, and it actually decided to land on the window sill at the top, and there it stayed until the officers showed up. i decided i could watch it by opening the door every few seconds, and that worked. i honestly think the poor little thing had gotten worn out, and since the nuttiness had died down, it needed a nap, lol.

So, the officers show up. They're both GIRLS, and both around steph's age. she was thoroughly disgusted, lol. I opened the door enough for them to go in and get the poor little guy, and steph fled to the kitchen.

We had to sign paperwork waiving rabies testing, but steph is positive it never touched her, so the officers didn't seem concerned.

The whole thing took about 45 minutes, from her call to the little guy being deposited in the container (which was a commercial-sized sour cream container with holes cut in the top, and what looked to be a paper towel sticking through the lid).

i'm still just struck over how much of a puss steph was over the whole thing, lol.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

amazing

i was unable to watch the inauguration today. i had to take my mother to the dermatologist to get a small thing on her forehead removed. (no biggie, i think it took longer for them to numb her forehead than it took to remove it). i tried to find a tv. walmart had theirs focused on their own internal network (big surprise there), and burger king just down the way didn't have one (some do, some don't).


so i sat in the car, and i listened. and i cried. not tears of sorrow. i don't know if i would call them tears of joy. tears of hope. such overwhelming emotion. bigger than me. bigger than all of us as individuals.


today is a milestone. not just for democrats. not just for african-americans. for all americans. "all men are created equal." indeed.


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

outrage

i know, i seem to be pissed alot lately, but this one is justified.

sometimes political action groups have a place. however, the ones who 1) target seniors and 2) fear-monger are #1 on my shit-0-meter.

here's the story. my dad was a big one for small donations to these political action groups. when he died, my mom continued to receive requests. she donated in the small quantities that my dad had. did this for years. i know this. it's her money, and it wasn't hurting her to do so.

until recently. i got a call from the bank today, saying that her check to the IRS (she pays quarterly) was going to bounce because she only had $19 in her checking account, and there wasn't enough in her savings to cover it.

WHAT THE HELL??????

my mom is comfortable. she can buy what she wants when she needs it. she's loaned money to me and my kids and my brother, and not been bothered by the amount.

so i told them we'd be in as soon as i could pick her up. i called her, told her to get out her duplicate checkbooks (thank god for those, it helped me figure out what was going on), and i'd be right over.

i looked at them as she was finishing putting her coat on, and realized that the "small" donations she'd made in the last month were more than my car payments! i'm not going to give figures, but it made me very, very angry. i asked her what she was thinking, and she couldn't tell me. she got angry with me, until i told her that this was causing problems with her bank, and that this point, i wasn't even sure if she had enough $$ to go grocery shopping! that made her pause.

we went to the bank, and after going through all kinds of paperwork, we were able to place a series of stop payments, to at least stop the hemmorage of $$ from her account. we were able to cover the IRS check, and leave her with $$ to live on until her next checks came. we did eventually end up going to the grocerystore.

when we got back, she grabbed some letters that she had set out for the mailman totake (he hadn't been yet) and brought them back in with her. she said to tear them up and throw them away. i looked at them first. the "small" donations they used to ask for were,apparently, a thing of the past. the smallest "minimum" donation they were asking for was $100! this was with 3 different committees! kind of explained a few things.

one was asking for money because sure as shooting, Obama and Ted Kennedy were not going to protect her social security and medicare rights, and try to socialize health care, etc, etc, etc. (my mom's a republican, can you tell?) i'm not sure my mom would be able to make it if it weren't for medicare (she has numerous health issues that have her at the doctor's on a regular basis).

FEAR MONGERING! run, be scared, give us money so we can scare the shit out of you! that's what i read.

Traditional Values Committee
National Committee for the Preservation of Senior Rights
American Seniors Rights Committee

that was the 3 i saw today. these people were terrifying my mother, and as tiny and old as she is (she's 4'8" and will be 81 on the 30th), the only thing she thought she could do is give them $$.

i think i've found a new cause.

my mom has promised not tosend $$ to these people any more (and i have things in place to monitor this more closely than before).

but she's going to still get the mail for them. i've asked her to save them for me, and i'm going to do some investigating. finding out who is legit, and who isn't. and i'm going to act. contact my congressmen. my governor. my attorney general. i'm going to stop these fuckers. stop 'em hard.

i'm done.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

i can't believe this

Ok, gang, we all know that charity crafting is near and dear to my heart. However, there's a movement going on that i just became aware of, that may put it in jeopardy for me.

This legislation will prohibit the sale of children's products without costly, intensive testing. This just might be the the straw that breaks the camel's back for so many people. All those WAHMs who do small things to help supplement their income making simple things for children from safe products who can't afford this kind of testing.

i know i'm being kind of incoherent, but this pisses me off so much i can't stand it!

why not have the suppliers of the materials (who usually do this in massive quantities) sustain the costs of the testing, rather than making each individual do it, and drive them out of business. Admittedly, it will drive up the cost of the materials, and maybe cause these companies to cut back on some of their inventories, but i'm sure most of the people buying for their own businesses could increase their prices as well, and still be able to be IN business. one $500 test for a material that the company sells 10,000 pieces for breaks down to FIVE CENTS per item.

FIVE CENTS, people. where as Judy's Baby Binkies (hypothetical here, folks) may only make $500 a month on her blankets.

i know, this act is in response to the toy recalls of the last few years, but those were from toys manufactured OUTSIDE THIS COUNTRY. (lookin' at you, China!). What this legislation will do is drive the toy-makers (and other kids' items crafters) who people turned to when all those toys were recalled out of business. Which turns us BACK to those SOB's who weren't using safe practices with our children in the first place!

Anyway, go. check the link out. follow some of the suggestions made. I'm definitely going to write to my congressmen.