Saturday, January 19, 2002
According to this article, none of America's 25 "fattest cities" are in California. However, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Jose and Long Beach are among the 25 fittest cities. FYI: I'm not in any of those places.
Posted by TI Anne at 2:54 PM |
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Sisters and other strangers
Thursday was my nephew's birthday. I sent him a card but I have no idea if he got it. Heaven forbid my sister let me know. Adam, my nephew, doesn't live with my sister but visits on weekends. I assume he got the card last night or today. It should have arrived before then. Sure, Adam's 12 now and he could have e-mailed me himself to let me know he got it. A thank-you for the $12 would have been nice, too. But I blame that on his mother.
There was a similar situation with relatives when I was growing up. I have six cousins on my dad's side of the family -- my dad's brother's kids. The youngest is 2 years older than I am. My brother, sister and I were fairly close to them until I was 8 years old and they moved to a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y., a little less than two hours away. After that, the only time we saw them was when my dad decided to take a trip up there to visit his aunt, who lived with them. We'd send birthday and Christmas cards. They never did. They never sent thank-you notes either. Never even called. OK. I suppose I'm making it out to be a little worse than it was. We saw them at weddings and funerals and during the Erie County Fair. Several years ago, I got to be friends with the cousin that's closest in age to me when I dated his best friend (who I met at the fair). But when he and I broke up, my cousin and I did, too. The oldest cousin, who is eight years older than I am, gave being a family a shot for a while -- while he was working on the family tree. His wife still sends my mother a Christmas card that says to wish "the kids" happy holidays. "The kids?" Her oldest daughter is 25. How did my brother, sister and I become "the kids?" And hey, Deb! Who the heck did you think it was with the same last name sending those Christmas cards to you? How many Annes do you know with the same last name as yours? I gave up about five years ago. I have no idea if they noticed.
The point of this ramble/rant is that it's their parent's fault we're not close today. We gave it every effort. But there comes a time to give up. I hope that time doesn't come with Adam. It's a bit harder to stay close to him now that we're 3,000 miles away. Before I moved, I was at least able to see him when he visited my mom. Now, who knows when I'll see him again? I'm hoping that if I perservere, he'll eventually start thinking for himself and realize I'm a pretty darn good aunt.
Posted by TI Anne at 11:29 AM |
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Friday, January 18, 2002
Irresponsible people
My friend was supposed to have today off, but because the person who was supposed to open the store didn't show up he's working until that person gets there.
I know kind of how he feels. When I managed a convenience store I went through similar situations for a few months. The store was supposed to open at 6 a.m. I didn't have to be at work until 9 a.m., but I'd wake up at 5:30 a.m. everyday and wait for the phone call that said "Anne, your store's not open." I'd rush to the store, open as fast as I could (and I got good at opening fast) and get everything ready for the day. This is a job that takes between 30 and 45 minutes to do properly, but I could get most of it done (at least the part that affected customers) in about 10 to 15 minutes. That happened 2 to 4 times a week for a few months, until I finally hired two women who actually cared about their jobs enough to show up on time.
What amazed me the most about the whole thing was the attitudes of the people who didn't show up. I'd call them to find out why they weren't there and I'd get excuses like "Oh, sorry. I overslept because I was out drinking last night." "I forgot to set my alarm." "I wasn't paying attention to the time." It goes on and on. And they never had the slightest bit of guilt or remorse in their voices. Forgot to set the alarm? Wasn't paying attention to the time? Gimme a break! Yeah, it's a minimum wage job and, for the most part, it sucks. But it's a job. Someone's paying you to be there at 5:30 a.m. so, dammit, get there at 5:30 a.m. No excuses.
I'll never be able to understand why people who are getting paid to do a job think they can take all the liberties they want if something doesn't fit into their plans. The world doesn't stop because they don't feel like getting out of bed. People still needed their gas, their morning coffee, their newspaper. I'm sure those women who just didn't feel like opening the store never stopped to think how many people they were inconveniencing. If they did, they probably wouldn't care. That's why I didn't care when I had to fire them.
I guess there will always be people like that in this world. But thank goodness there are people like my friend who care enough about their jobs, their families and their customers to go above and beyond the call of duty. It gives me hope that the American work ethic is still alive and well. I guess you just have to look pretty hard for it sometimes.
Posted by TI Anne at 11:32 AM |
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 | My anthem is
"I Choose", by The Offspring.
I live life like there were no tomorrow, but I know when to keep my nose out of serious trouble. I may seem pretty childish to some people, and I won't deny that I am. But that's why everyone loves me.
Find out what YOUR anthem is HERE! |
Posted by TI Anne at 11:15 AM |
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I'm sure Nick will laugh and/or shake his head at this test result. I'm Pop-Tarts -- full of sugar and god-only-knows what else, you've been masquerading as part of a complete breakfast for years. Shame on you.
Take the Which Breakfast Food Are You? Quiz.
Posted by TI Anne at 10:55 AM |
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I've been meaning to do this for several weeks, but I always seem to forget until Sunday. So, now that I'm remembering on Friday, here's my Friday Five.
1. What do you have your browser start page set to? The Bakersfield Channel
2. What are your favorite news sites? USA Today, Court TV and Today's Issues.
3. Favorite search engine? Google
4. When did you first get online? November 1997. I bought a WebTV because I had to find out what all the fuss was about the Internet. It didn't take long before I was hooked and needed more than WebTV. In early 1998 I bought my first computer.
5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? I'll probably hang out, watch tv and some movies and try to recover from my kidney infection.
Posted by TI Anne at 10:39 AM |
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Thursday, January 17, 2002
Beating myself up
My kidney infection is back -- with a vengeance -- and it's my own stupid fault. I've been battling this for months with the most effective weapon being water. If I drink enough water my skin and hair look better, my muscles and joints don't ache and I generally feel healthy. Most important, I have no kidney or back pain. But for some reason during the last couple of weeks I've been really bad about drinking enough water. Even prodding from the water Nazi didn't help. Now I'm paying for it. Fever. Aches and pains. Dizzy spells. Unmentionable gross stuff. In short, it sucks.
I haven't always been bad at drinking water. In fact, it used to be my drink of choice (except in college and a few years after, but we won't get into that). When I had my first few jobs as an adult, water was the only thing that quenched my thirst. Working in a restaurant is hard. There's lots of running around. It's hot. Despite the free coffee, water was what I drank most because it work best to refresh me. Working in a convenience store that sold gasoline makes drinking water practically a necessity. The gas fumes permeate every fiber of your being. Water is the only thing that washes it away. I drank gallons of it. Then came my job at the newspaper. The water in the water fountain had an awful chemical taste, so I couldn't drink that. They didn't sell water in the vending machines. So, if I didn't bring water with me -- and most of the time I was in too much of a rush to remember it -- I drank soda or tea when I drank anything. Oftentimes, I opted to not drink anything, or drink very little. I never knew what kind of story I'd be working on. I could have been sent to a fire out in the middle of nowhere with no restrooms in sight. I could have been stuck at a meeting where I couldn't excuse myself to use the restroom. I could have been at a lecture, a concert .... You get the idea. So, I got used to ignoring my thirst for the sake of convenience. I did that for five years. That's about how long I've had back and muscle pain.
It wasn't until a few months ago when my kidneys sent me a very messy, ugly message that I made the connection. I drank water and cranberry juice until I felt as if I was going to explode. But little by little, I started feeling better. I wasn't in pain. I was sleeping better, feeling better, looking better. Unfortunately (and shame on me for this) I'm a backslider. I did really well with my water consumption for a while. Then, as I said earlier, I got really bad at drinking enough water. Maybe I thought it wouldn't happen again. Actually, I don't know what I was thinking. But what I'm thinking now is I don't want to have to go through this again.
Well, I've been up too long. I'm starting to feel dizzy again. I really need to take a shower, but there's no way I'm going to be able to do it if I don't rest for a few minutes. This sucks. Drink water.
Posted by TI Anne at 2:11 PM |
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Wednesday, January 16, 2002
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
It's cold here today. Damn cold. That's saying a lot for someone who lived in Northwestern Pennsylvania for nearly 41 years. You get used to it living there. It's just a way of life. Boots, scarves, mittens, shovels, ice scrapers for your car are all necessities from October to April. (Yes, it was that bad.) And heaven forbid you don't have at least half a tank of gas in your when the temperature dips into the teens. More than likely, you'll be walking to your destination.
When I first came in contact with Nick and found out he was from California, I had an image of a surfer dude who hung out at the beach in his free time. Isn't that what all young guys in California do? After I got to know him I found out he's hours from the beach and it does get cold here. At first I didn't believe him when he told me about the cold. (An e-mail exchange from about a year ago went something like this: Me: It's cold here. 19 degrees Nick: It's cold here, too. Me: Cold there? C'mon. You probably don't even know what a wind chill factor is. Okay. We were a little shy. We got over it.) But Mother Nature has made me a believer. There really is a wind chill factor here! It hasn't gotten below zero yet, and I pray that it never does, but it's cold.
But there's no snow. I haven't seen a flake since I've been here and I couldn't be happier about that. I can see it on top of the nearby mountains and, know what? That's good enough for me. People who tried talking me out of moving here told me I'd miss winter in Pennsylvania. Are they nuts? Do I miss shoveling my sidewalks until every muscle in my body aches? No. Do I miss my car slipping and sliding on snow that's turned to ice on the roads? No. Do I miss having wet feet all day because I accidentally stepped in puddle of slushy snow on my way to work? No. I hate snow. It's pretty on Christmas Eve. That's it. That's the only time I ever liked it. Why the heck would people think I'd miss it?
Most people from the East Coast don't think of cold when they think of California. Granted, at least here, it's a different kind of cold. But I'll take it any day.
Posted by TI Anne at 9:23 AM |
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Here's what you've all been waiting for: My results of the latest online tests!
Which drink am I?
A pink lady -- I warm the heart and look cute, but am really toxic.
Which mu$ic biz whore am I?
Madonna
Which Addams Family character am I?
Uncle Fester
I decided against posting the test graphics in my blog anymore because #1.Most of the them are too big and screw up my tables. #2.Some of them just ain't pretty. #3.Sometimes you get broken images from them and they look bad.
So, for people who like to see the graphics, you can go here.
Posted by TI Anne at 8:53 AM |
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Tuesday, January 15, 2002
Missing Mom
Some days I miss my mom more than other days. Today is one of the "missing her" days. When I moved to California from Pennsylvania in May/June (I left there in May; got here in June. Amtrak) I knew missing her would be the hardest part about leaving. I've never lived more than 45 minutes away from her in my entire life. Except for six years, I either lived in the same house or a house less than a block away. Living more than 3,000 miles away takes some getting used to. More than I thought it would. I cried more than she did when I told her I was moving. I thought for sure it would be the other way around. But she loves me enough to let me go. She knew it was something I had to do and she knew she if I stayed she would be the only reason.
At first, I thought not being with her during her medical problems would be difficult for me to deal with. I just knew I'd feel guilty for not being there. I was there for her heart attack, her breast cancer, her stroke. I was there every step of the way -- from the E.R. to radiation treatments to a brief stay in a nursing home to home sweet home again. My brother and sister live several hours from her (although still in the East) so everything related to Mom's health always fell to me. No one really said it should be that way. It was just assumed and understood. In fact, my sister and I had an ugly argument about it when I insinuated I needed help. My Mom had her stroke around Christmastime a few years ago. Granted, it's a busy time of year for someone with a child (my sister). But here is what my sister said to defend herself when she said she couldn't visit for Christmas: "I have a family." So, being the bitch I can be sometimes, I said to her (this was in ICQ, by the way): "Imagine Adam (her son) is 30 years old. You're in the hospital for what could possibly be your last Christmas. But when Adam is asked to come and visit, he says 'I have a family.'" Well, that hit home with her and she managed to fit Mom into her busy schedule.
Since I've been here Mom had another scare -- she's having some kidney problems -- but the rest of the family pulled together and got everything taken care of. No need for me to feel guilty. I still do, a little. But there's no need for it.
So, I've come to a realization. An epiphany of sorts. I like hanging out with my mom. She's fun and interesting to talk to. She's up on current events -- and current gossip. She tells great stories about when we were all younger. She's just plain fun. When you're growing up "they" always say you'll eventually be friends with your mother. I never believed that. But in the past few years Mom and I have gotten to be friends. That's what I miss.
Posted by TI Anne at 2:37 PM |
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My blogger code is:
B2 d t- k s+ u- f i o x-- e- l+ c++
Posted by TI Anne at 1:13 PM |
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I've been reading this great book that Shell's husband suggested. It's The Talbot Odyssey by Nelson Demille. Remember when Russia was the biggest threat to the U.S.? Well, this book is about espionage, murder and not knowing who to trust. I really can't tell you much more because I still have a lot left to read. But I will say the beginning of the book is really eerie considering it was written years ago. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was written Sept. 12. If you like mystery and suspense, do yourself a favor and check out
this book.
Posted by TI Anne at 11:07 AM |
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Monday, January 14, 2002
Uh oh. Better not tell Prince Harry about this =>Brewer Hopes to Give Liquor More Bite.
Posted by TI Anne at 3:41 PM |
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What does your birthday color say about you? Mine says "You are calm, but easily stressed out. You get jealous easily, and complain over little things. You can't get stuck into one thing, but you have a capable personality for everyone to trust you and like you." For the most part, that says it.
Posted by TI Anne at 10:42 AM |
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Sick
It hit me all of a sudden Saturday night. One minute I felt fine. The next minute I felt a little oogy. Everything was kind of surreal, like when you have a fever. The next minute, I was laying on the couch because I didn't think I could hold my head up for another minute. Then the coughing started, and a sore throat, and coughing, and muscle aches, and coughing, and joint pain. Did I mention coughing? Anyway, the fever comes and goes. When it's gone I feel almost fine. When it hits, it almost knocks me out. This is the worst part and, I'll admit this, it doesn't make sense. I'm hungry, but thought of actually eating anything makes me sick. Yesterday, it took me a couple hours to eat a bagel. That's all I ate (except for the little bit of leftover chocolate frosting from the birthday cake I baked for Shell). Today, I ate Pop Tarts. Bad idea. Nick had a similar illness last week. It feels like it's on the verge of flu, but just won't get full blown. I wish it would either just go away now or do its business, knock me out then go away. This lingering, I-feel-good-I-feel-bad-I-feel-good-I-feel-bad thing really sucks.
Posted by TI Anne at 10:24 AM |
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Sunday, January 13, 2002
Happy birthday Shell!
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