File This Under...This Could Only Happen To Michele...

OK, SO I went car shopping this afternoon. I showed up at the Toyota place around 4 this afternoon intent on getting a new car. I meet a very nice salesman named "Sam".
I explain to him what I want and what the situation is with my current vechile.
We do the typical back and forth back and forth...let me get my manager ...
SO the manager comes over and after looking at the numbers shows me a set of figures that I was prepared to shell out for my dream 4Runner. No, I have no money...does the $4 dollars I have in my bank account help?
No money down...rollover 4,000 from my current car...
We figure out the logistics. So Sam says you haven't even driven one yet or picked out the color you want. I have this this and this is that model.
He brings over a black SR5 4WD so nice. I decide to take it for a ride.
Now at this point it has been 2.5 hours and I have officially missed the BBQ at the Yanoff's.
I am driving along and mention that I am hungry. Sam looks at me and was like "I will get you dinner". I was like "no that's OK". He is like like, :seriously, I will get you dinner". I was think OK, take out something like that while we wait for them to process my paperwork. He was like when we are done I will take you to dinner.
UMMMM...OK.


So now I am stuck at the car dealer, at the mercy of the "manager" waiting for my car to be finished. I get called in and am told that they had made a mistake with the numbers and that the payment would be 100 dollars higher than I had expected.

I was like screw this. So I asked for my keys, annoyed that I had at that point wasted 4 hours of my life at the dealer. I was getting a headache and just wanted to leave.

I still had things to do like dye my hair for my date tonight.

SO I go out and get my keys from Sam. He asked me what had happened when I tell him he tells me to sit down he would try and take care of it. Oh, and that we were still going to get dinner.

Going to get dinner is the last thing I want. I want to go home. I want the BBQ I had missed. I want my 4runner...I smile and say ok. I have a problem . I can not say no.
Not that there was anything wrong with Sam. He was a nice enough. Older gentleman, with no family here in the states. Works a lot since he has nothing else to do. Lonely. But nice.

So I sit down and wait. 20 minutes go by in which I spend talking to Jarret about how going to eat with this man is the last thing in the world I want to do. Finally Sam comes out. We go eat.

As we are sitting there having dinner I realize that Sam is a very nice man. Interesting. Old enough to be my father but nice dinner conversation. Until he says..."I really like you, you are a nice girl. You have my number, I would really like to see you again, we could go out once or more than that if you wish".
My eyes BULGE out of my head. I was like I think I should go now.

I finally regain my composure and say that as flattered as I am that I am seeing someone. He says no problem. I am trying not to offend him..Then I say "You can still find me a car right"?

I went there for a car damn it. This is the guy that is supposed to get me a car. Not my fault that he asked me out.

Channeling My Inner Lobster

I am so sunburned.
I think I overdid it yesterday at the pool.
I decided that I could forgo my usual SPF 50 and use a SPF 4.
I think I left my brain in the trash can at work.

Two Lines Mean your Pregnant One Line Means Pathetic

OK, Don't read this posting if you are afraid of TMI.
But if you know me at all you get TMI all the time.
My friend Maggie had helped make me neurotic, notice I did not blame it all on her.

Back Story-
Me; I am on the pill. For my skin for two months now.
I have been hanging out with an old ex from time to time.

Madigan; Is pregnant and likes to read up on certain aspects of the pregnancy. I mean every single aspect of the pregnancy. She can tell you exactly what the baby is making at any given moment. Fingernails, Toes, Blood...you get the picture. I am not knocking this I think it is great.

OK, So my period is really really weird this month. I was starting to get a little concerned and I mentioned something to Maggie. Maggie, who knows everything about pregnancy mentions that it is probably some sort of shedding and I might be pregnant.
I dismiss this idea because I don't want it to be true and it is some sort of period I am having...right?

So a week goes by and I am getting a little more worried. My "real" period has not shown up and I again talk to Maggie and she still insists that it could be ovarian shedding and that I could be pregnant. I had messed up my pills and maybe it is just the pills but I should take a preggers test just to be sure.

So I go to work and I am freaking out a little because a baby is certainly not what I need at this point in my life. I have 20 dollars in my bank account.

Babies cost more than $20.00

So I drag Sonya to CVS with me to buy a stupid test thinking this could be the end of the world. I mean it is like I am 16 again...I mean 18 again ...

I go back to work and Sonya and I wait for the magical stick to either ruin my life or make my day a little better.

One line, One distinct line...wheeeewho.
No babies for me.

So I throw the stick in the trash. But me being me can not leave well enough alone...what if it changes. What if I did not wait long enough for the preggers part to penetrate (hahahaha) that part of the stick.

So, like two hours later you find me in the ladies bathroom at my office. A bathroom which is a shared bathroom...with my arm in the trash...all the way up to my elbow digging around for this stupid stick to make sure it hasn't changed.

Can you imagine if someone had walked in and seen me. The trash is right by the door.
I finally found the stick. Still one line. No babies for me.
I threw it away again. Washed my hands/arm.
Went back to work.

HELP

My ass is officially embedded into my couch.
I have a stupid migraine that only 4 consecutive hours of project runway could even begin to cure.
Well, not really. It is over and I still have a headache. My eyes feel like they are gonna pop outta my head they hurt so bad.
This was not meant to be a bitch session it was supposed to be about how lazy I was...

Crash.

Well yesterday I received a phone call from my sister letting me know that my grandfather had been in a serious car accident.
Apparently he did not see a stop sign and ran it. He tried to avoid hitting an on coming car which I don't think he managed to do and ended up crashing into an embankment.
Apparently he is going to be OK. His face is really messed up but his CAT scan came back alright.
His brother Grant was in the car with him and he did not make it out so easily. He sustained multiple broken ribs, broken sternum, collapsed ling and several other minor injuries. They are both in the Glens Falls Hospital. I believe my grandfather is being released today but Grant is still in ICU.
I will keep you posted with any updates. Keep them in your thoughts.

Gwenner..

I apologize in advance if this comes across a bit "preachy"...

Five years ago this past Saturday, Gwen Saltis, who was just 26 years old, died while leading a crew working on fire rehab after the McNally Fire in
the Golden Trout Wilderness. Those who knew Gwen won't forget this day --
or what an amazing and talented person she was. In honor of Gwen and her
family, I wanted to keep Gwen present for all of us who do the sometimes
dangerous work of "caring for the land and serving people".

There are many hazards we all must be aware of -- most are not obvious or
truly predictible. Gwen was killed by a tree as she slept -- an unburned
tree with a rotten root structure over one hundred feet away from her tent.
She and her crew had keyed in on the dangerous situation with burned trees,
and had carefully and intentionally chosen this as a safe spot away from
those trees. While it had been windy the evening before, the weather was
calm the morning of her death. It's impossible to know how predictible was
the hazard that killed Gwen. What IS predictible is the feeling of
devastation for the families -- parents, siblings or surviving children --
friends, and fellow employees, when someone they care for is suddenly torn
from their lives.

Gwen's mother, Carol, who of course still grieves, once told me this:
While Gwen's death is hard to accept, if her loss is used as a reminder to
others, so that if even one other family doesn't have to experience such a
devastating loss, she would feel that Gwen's life (and early death) was not
in vain. This was part of the reason that Region Five developed the Hazard
Tree Awareness presentation, dedicated to Gwen's memory, which you have
(hopefully) seen if you work in forested areas. Carol's request is why I
share Gwen's reminder with you now. Many others have died in our chosen
lines of work -- before and since Gwen. We should keep these in mind as
well.

We've all heard it before... Look up; look around. Know what's out there,
and try to plan for the unpredictible. Remember that situations that seem
safe can have hidden hazards. Truly safe conditions can change
unexpectedly. Stay aware, and share your awareness with those around you.

Do it for your family. Do it for yourself. Do it for Gwen... and her mom.




> Thanks! marty
>
> Marty Hornick
> Trail Program Coordinator
> Travel Management Project Co-Leader
> Inyo National Forest
> mhornick@fs.fed.us
> 760-873-2461 (Office)
> 760-937-3008 (Cell)

Rocket Man

So I just returned from a quick jaunt to Burlington VT. My Arse is dragging today. Good thing we have a softball game tonight (cue clown music).Oh wait !!! Make that a double header...
Yesterday was Maggie's birthday and we went to see Sir Elton John last night. He was so good. I had so much fun, it really was a great show. This show marker the 50th state he had played. The venue was great. Chaplain Valley Expo. Grandstands. It was pretty quintessential VT. Bessie, Andrew, Madigan and I all went to the Bearded Frog for dinner, which was so YUMMY. Thanks Bessie !!