Adventures in the big apple

 JHC do I need a week of straight sleep to recuperate from the trip.  I am still trying to process it all.

Our flight left on Thursday.  It was a sold out flight and everyone was seated on time so we got a little bit of an early start.  We ended up at the luggage carousel 30 minutes before our flight was scheduled to land.  My suitcase was one of the first to come out.  My sister B and BIL S got their bags pretty quick and we headed to the taxi area.  The hotel is less than 10 miles from the airport but it took well over 45 minutes to get there.  It wasn't even noon yet, luckily they had a room ready for me.  I was really surprised with how big the room was.  I expected to get a tiny room but it was a normal size room, probably bigger than some apartments there.  I was told before we left that S has a thing where he has to go to every Hard Rock I suggested we get it out of the way, it was about half a block from the hotel and I was getting hungry.  So we ate at the bar, split 2 appetizers and they each got a drink.  My sister made a comment at the airport that S had asked her if I was on drugs because I had lost so much weight and I needed to try and eat or he was going to force me into rehab.  Looking back on it, that was fucking hilarious but I'll get into that later.  I told her that I don't really drink anymore and that I can either eat or drink but that the obstructed stomach thing makes it hard for me to eat and drink at the same time.  Anyway, while we were sitting there we talked about what we were going to do that night.  They decided we needed to go to the Empire State Building.  I had told them that I was terrified of heights and wasn't looking to do tall buildings but I agreed to do it as long as we could go at night because it isn't as bad for me.  For whatever reason their phones wouldn't connect so I bought the tickets at freaking $79 each plus whatever fees you are forced to pay.  So it was $300 for something that I really didn't want to do and we would be done within an hour max.  While we were sitting there S said he had taken 2 gummies on the plane and he thought they were a lot stronger than what he thought he had taken.  It was fine, he was funny and laid back so no big deal.  He offered me a portion of one to get me through the ESB visit but I had my Valium.  

After lunch we walked to the Hudson.  Saw the Titan but didn't go on because it was almost 3 and it closed at 5.  We hung out there for awhile and started to head back to the hotel.  A few blocks from the river S decided we need to go into a bar.  OK, they needed to be back to check in at 4 so we didn't have a lot of time to do anything.  I actually got a drink or two.  They had something called strawberry baroness made with vodka, peach liqueur, some kind of citrus and muddled strawberries.  It was yummy!!   We got to talking to the bartender and turns out he is from the Tulsa metro.  His dad graduated high school at the same high school S went to and was like a year older.  He hooked us up and by the time we got back to the hotel I was feeling pretty happy.  We go to my room to get their bags and in his gummy haze S somehow lost track of his suitcase.  Turns out someone turned it into security instead of getting the NYPD bomb squad out to get it.  I was an anxious wreck between that and the apprehension of  going to the 106th floor of a building.  There was a Target across the street and my allergies were flaring so I made the comment that I was going to get some pataday for my eyes as I had ran out that morning.  B wouldn't let me go by myself, which kind of infuriated me.  By the time we got the Target run out of the way and unpacked it was time to meet up for ESB.  We decided we were going to walk around a little and get street food for dinner.  

It was really tasty.  

I thought it was so neat how you could see Times Square glowing like the Las Vegas strip

I stayed about 3 feet from any of the windows.  

After that we headed back to the hotel.  There is an Applebee's right off the hotel so they wanted to go in and have a drink.  I ended up sitting at the bar with a couple of empty stools next to me.  There was a pair of people, I hesitate to say couple as I think they were siblings, anyway they sat right next to me and proceeded to get cut off by the manager and still tried to order drinks from the bartender.  I really didn't want to be around that because I didn't want them falling on me and I sure as hell was over hearing the dude tell the bartender how beautiful she was and making her super uncomfortable.  We were all really tired so we were back in the room by 10:30.  I got showered and into bed but it took me awhile to wind down.  I did think to bring a fan because I thought it might be loud but other than sirens it wasn't bad.  

Friday we had tickets to the natural history museum. We had plans to meet up at 9:30 to get a cab to the museum.  I ran into the little shop and picked up a muffin and orange juice, have to take advantage of my $18 daily credit.  It was a pretty good grab and go pastry.  By the time I got back out to the lobby B & S were at the bar, S with a bloody mary and B with a mimosa.  Cool, whatever, it's vacation.  When I went to DC the dinosaurs exhibit was closed so I missed out on that.  So I spent a lot of time at the dino area.

 We hung out there for a few hours then walked to Central Park.  B wanted to go to Tavern on the Green, S wanted to go to strawberry fields.  I didn't care since we didn't have anything until dinner reservations at 6.  S did the navigating and B started to get really bitchy.  She was cussing him somewhat under her breath and calling him an idiot.  I told her to chill.  We ended up at strawberry fields and I thought there was going to be a murder.  Probably didn't help that I told her that she could have given the directions.  I ended up grabbing a pedicab and we went to Tavern on the Green.  It was well passed lunch by then and we knew we had dinner plans but she was determined.  We couldn't even get a spot at the bar.  I just wanted water but they both got drinks.  S got a double and ended up downing 2 in the short time we were there.  We were pretty far from the hotel so we were going to grab a cab when another pedicab guy picked us up 

bridge and rock from ELF

The pedicab driver was Irish so S decided we need to go to an Irish pub.  We split an appetizer and more drinks were had by the dynamic duo even though the undercurrent of snipping was very evident.  I know he had at least 2 more doubles.  They said when they were in Ireland they had a thing that they stopped at every 3rd Irish pub.  I thought that was funny...at first.  It wasn't a joke.  We stopped at every fucking third pub.  The things we could have done instead blows my mind.  It was supposed to get really cold and rainy the next day and I left my coat in my car so I planned on stopping at a store in times square to get a jacket.  Unbeknownst to us there was a huge Palestinian/Israel protest and they closed all the stores.  That was disappointing, but  the weather was still nice so it wasn't a huge deal.  I did stop at a souvenir shop and picked up a poncho and a sweatshirt for the next day.  I tried so hard to get my sister to go back to her room but she wouldn't let me go out alone, super annoying.   Did we stumble right in the middle of the protest?  Maybe, but it was peaceful.  I even pulled out my mask because it was crowded and there was a lot of screaming.

We didn't stick around long, it didn't feel like we should be there as tourists as most people there have a serious cause they are fighting for and I don't feel informed enough to have a viewpoint.  We headed back to get ready.  It felt very voyeuristic 

S was pretty close to black out drunk at this point.  This place served family style so we were trying to decide on food and S kept saying he wanted meatballs and some kind of shellfish.  Well I am allergic to shellfish but I don't care.  B was aggravated at S and we were trying to get stuff to share.  We ended up getting the meatballs, stuffed mushrooms and chicken piccata.  S ordered 2 Stella's and downed one pretty quickly.  He stumbled to the bathroom and I told the waitress to please refrain from asking him if he wants more.  He was stuffing whole meatballs in his mouth and being generally belligerent and embarrassing.  He got lost on his way back to the table from the restroom.  He finally gets up and said he was going to walk back to the hotel.  I tried to discourage it, I told him if he gets mugged he won't be flying home on Sunday.  Like most drunk people he didn't want to hear it and just walked off.  I told both of them that the entire trip was planned around going to a broadway show and I wasn't going to risk being late because of his choices.  We went to the show without him.  

 It was magnificent.  They guy that developed Schitt's Creek developed the show and it was so funny.  It is supposed to tour starting next year and I would go see it if it comes close.  Very much worth it.  We went right back to the hotel after the show to make sure S made it back.  He was sound asleep.  

As promised, the next day was cold and rainy.  We thought getting a cab would be harder than it was.  I stopped in and got a chocolate croissant for the ride, it was really good too.  On the way there B announced that S was back on the wagon and was going to be in a mood.  Our tickets were for 10 and we got there right on time.  It was a little surreal.  I felt a little rushed but for the most part I kept to myself and tried to take my time.  While we were at the show the night before I told B that since the weather was going to be gross we I was going to go to another show and she/they could either join me or do their own thing.  She decided since S ruined the night before he was going to buy us tickets to a show that night.  We ended up with tickets to the Lion King.  We had both seen it several times on the tour but S had never seen it and it was neat to see the difference in the tour and resident shows.  Anyway, after the 9/11 memorial we walked a few blocks in the pouring rain to see Hamilton's gravesite.

 

I had an appointment on Sunday to go to the piercing place but we decided given the weather we would try to move the appointment.  They were pretty quiet so we started walking that way.  Granted it was cold and raining but S was walking like he was on a mission.  It didn't matter what direction we were going, he would walk with the light, regardless of what direction we were supposed to be going.  I'm sure there were at least 2 bars squeezed in.  I finally gave up and got a cab the rest of the way.  Should have done that in the first place.  While I was at the jewelry store you will never guess what the other 2 did.  Yup, they found a bar.  

I spent a lot more than I planned but I really liked the black diamonds!!  It didn't help that my sister kept coming over to see what was going on and pressuring me into spending even more money.  I do love them but I hope they hold up well.  The top black one is the new piercing and I didn't even feel it.  It is kind of bad because kept forgetting to clean it.  It is a little swollen today but it is still one of the easier ones.  

From here S said he needed a nap and I wanted to go to Zara shopping since we don't have one here.  I had mentioned several times that I wanted to go but you know how that goes.  B wanted to get something to wear to the Lion King.  She tried to pressure me into buying a coat.  I told her that I didn't want to deal with it.  I have a brand new coat I bought at the end of the season last year that I have never even worn.  I just need something to get me through the night.  Did she listen?  Nope, she found a coat she liked and bought it and told me to wear it while we were there.  Fine.  It was a fine coat but not anything special and there were definitely more affordable alternatives.  The drunker she got through the night the more she brought up that fucking coat.  At one point she told me to just keep it.  I don't know why I found it so irritating.  I didn't buy anything.  I just didn't really see the sense it spending money at Gap, H & M or other places I have here.  Anyway, after the shopping trip we went back to the rooms to dry off, warm up, and get ready for the Lion King.  We decided just split appetizers at the hotel since we didn't have any reservations.  Our original plan was to go eat at the place we went the first day and get kobe burgers because it was right next to a comic-con and the people watching was prime.  

 

The show was great but by the time we left my sister was trashed.  S was more or less guiding her through the street to keep her upright.  She decided we needed to stop and get another drink.  S and I decided we should probably get some real food in her stomach besides wine.  I reminded her of the people that got cut off at the applebee's the first night but she decided to risk it.  We got a table instead of going to the bar, which I am not sure she could have pulled off.  She was still being really snippy and horrible to S and calling him an idiot.  I was just 100% over it.  She got on some tangent about how everyone forgot about the OKC bombing and that it was all bullshit that it got overshadowed.  I was like, first of all, shut the fuck up saying shit like that in a public place, second not a competition.  I was more or less mortified.  She would go from saying we live in a shit hole town to 3 seconds later defending it because "it's trying"  I was dizzy.  It got to the point that B drunkenly knocked her wine glass off the table and shattered it.  The staff were over very quickly to clean it up but B was saying that she threw the glass off the table because she was mad at S.  It was well passed time to go home at that point.  

This brings us to the final day.  I decided I wanted to walk down to World of Hershey and make my own peanut butter cup.  They opened at 10 and I got there right after they opened.

While I was out B called to see where I was.  I told her I was about to walk back to my room.  She said she was wanting to get out so I was like, cool.  Her plan was to walk to Saks.  It opened at 12 and I had to be checked out at 1 (they got a 2 checkout).  After we had been walking for well over 30 minutes I asked her how much further it was.  Well, she was going off of memory.  I was like good job magellan, we have just enough time to catch a cab back.  

I had most of my stuff packed up already so it didn't take long to get out of there.  I got a text that they were sitting in their room watching football if I wanted to hang out.  UM, NO I don't want to watch football when I am home.  I ended up finally getting to go to Zara!  It might have been a good thing I didn't have more time.  I found a really cute full length dress coat that I was able to have shipped home.  There was more drinking my both B and S.  I don't know how they do it.

The flight home was fine, we ended up getting back early and I was home in my pj's before 10.

My sister is already talking about us going back in the spring to see the Outsider's.  

In summary, I am glad I went but mistakes were made.  I should have bought tickets for a show on Saturday regardless of what they had planned.  Lion King was good but it wouldn't have been my first pick.  I also would have just done what I wanted and not told them what I was planning.  I kind of felt like I needed to check in with the protests and stuff but it was all fine.  I probably wouldn't have gone by myself but I totally would now.  I realize that I am a west coast type of person and that I like NY style pizza a lot more than Chicago. Broadway is everything I had hoped it would be.  

I took off work until Wednesday and got my hair done one day.

The hair niece sold her salon and started working booth rent again.  She made the comment that she did that to hide behind their pricing structure and hours.  Her prices increased a lot.  I want to hate my hair so much but realistically I know that I won't find anyone else that does the quality she does any $$$.  I wonder how things will change once she has her baby.  I think she is due sometime around March?  I hope that going lighter will allow me to go longer between appointments.

For some reason I have kind of started looking at cars.  I had to take my mom to the eye doctor on Wednesday and played on my phone and found a 2021 Nissan Murano with like 40K miles fully loaded.  It had hail damage so it was considered wrecked.  It was a hell of a deal.  I got the VIN number and before I could even get the results back it had sold.  He had a couple of more but I wasn't as blown away as I was by the first one.  He is supposed to call me if he comes across another one.  He has a 2018 platinum series now but meh.

Friday we got a message from the strike team that they are looking for people to go to Hawaii 24 November - 24 December.  I put my name in but they had it filled.  They have me tentatively schedule to backfill starting 26 December.  I am not going to hold my breath.  

Friday night I met a group of friends from college for dinner at a board game cafe.  It was a good time considering we all drank water and home by 10.  Our younger selves would have hung our heads in shame.

 And I leave you with Ms. Olive taking her spot on my suitcase.  

vaca countdown

Today is the last day of work before I start my vacation.  I really should have just taken today off but I have to lead training for a national program on my first full day back so I really need to get everything set up and as close to ready as it can be.  Brooke is off work today and I should be able to fly through stuff but the focus is just not there.  Instead I have been reading y'alls updates.

My mom ended up getting pretty sick with a horrible cough.  My sister's boyfriend, who we call Dr. boyfriend (DR BF for short) went by on his way to my sister's house and gave my mom a 'rona test and listened to her lungs.  He said her lungs sounded fine and the test was negative.  I really wish she would go to the doctor and get an x-ray because she still has a vicious cough.  I have a hard time trusting the judgement of anyone who drives almost 2 hours one way everyday to be at my sister's 😏 He did prescribe her some cough meds and that at least helped her sleep a little.

I don't think much really happened last week.  I got a call from DVIS earlyish friday for the rape crisis center.  I obviously can't go into details but they told this poor girl that in order to be treated she has to file a police report.  That is most definitely  not the case.  We got her in the SANE room from the ER about 10 and we were there until 2.  I was able to work flex that day and just worked when I got home.  

The week was pretty chill.  Nothing really stands out.  Since my mom was sick I didn't go over on Saturday like I normally do.  I ended up going to a few stores to see if I could find some jeans.  I came out empty handed.  The places I looked didn't carry my size.  Dennis was at his mom's doing some work so I called and asked if they wanted me to drive thru a chicken place that MIL loves and bring lunch as it was almost 1 at that point in time.  I also had some pants I had bought that needed hemmed.  I ended up sitting and talking to her for a few hours.  I found out that both Dennis and her think they have seen FIL in the house.  I love the idea of ghosts but I'm not sure I buy into it.  FIL did die in the house but he didn't seem the type to want to hang out there long term.  Who knows.  If it makes them feel better that is all that matters.  

Monday was a holiday so I went and checked on my Mom.  She said she felt better so I took her to lunch.  We went to a place called Nelson's that is only open for lunch during the week but has the most amazing chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes around.  I never get to go for obvious reasons so I was hyped.  I ate almost my entire meal 😋I took a picture and sent it to Dennis because I knew he would be shocked. That was about all my mom had energy for.  I spent the rest of the day working on some stuff that I wasn't able to get to on Friday for the training.

I am in the office today but the distractions are making it difficult to get much done.  I may have to put my huge over ear headphones on.  I don't like to wear them too long because they make my ears hurt after awhile but I may not have much choice.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring.  I kind of need to make a last minute trip to Target to pick up some travel stuff but there is a Target across the street from the hotel and it might be easier to just get stuff there.  We have a lot of the tickets purchased already so we have a chunk of the days planned.

Thursday we leave at 7 am, should land about 10 eastern time.  We will go drop off our bags and walk around Times Square.  I have an appointment at 5:30 at Maria Tash to have my ear curated and a new piercing.  I want to get a new earing for my conch piercing.  They are one of the only places I am aware of that has real gemstones and I kind of want a black diamond stud that looks like a spider web.  We are going to have dinner at a place called Balthazar that is supposed to have the best french fries.  My sister said they are french fries so amazing no amount of ozempic will silence them.  We always split an order with a strict no fry left behind policy.  There are a few other places in the area we want to check out, including a Fluevog store 💞 My plan is to spend my shoe money at MT so we will see how that goes.

Friday we start off the sanctioned fun at natural history museum at 10.  We have dinner reservations at a place called Tony's Di Napoli before the show - & Juilette.  

Saturday we are doing the 9/11 museum in the morning.  We were going to do a ferry trip but it is supposed to rain so we might move that up to Thursday.  

That is pretty much it for the firm plans.  I might try to sneak in another show with rush tickets or not.  I feel like we have a lot planned but writing it out it doesn't seem as bad as I thought.  I am not the type to really want to plan a lot, I would rather play it by ear.  I know there will be some shopping and probably a lot of food and drinks.  My sister has been before so I am trusting her to kind of plan it out.  I am not the kind of person who needs someone around to have fun so if they want to do something I don't want to do I will just do my own thing.  My sister isn't the type to get offended by that so it should be a really fun trip.  I literally have butterflies I am so excited.

OK, I really need to up my focus game and get some stuff done.  The day is quickly getting away from me.

SO CLOSE

Not even gonna lie, I was looking forward to a little furlough vacation.

I didn't want a 35 day furlough but a week would have been nice.  Especially since they passed a bill that when they try and play these games with our livelihoods we are guaranteed back pay.   The least they could have done is give us a day in exchange for all the shit they put us through.  

Since I stopped doing allergy shots I have started having a lot of trouble with my eyes.  The end of last week my eyes were really swollen and red.  I went to see the ophthalmologist on Friday and got some steroid eye drops.  It has helped a lot.  I need to decide if this is the hill I am willing to die on with the allergy doctor.  I contacted the other clinic in town but they say it is their busy season?  Not sure how long it will take to get an appointment.  The allergy clinic I have been going to is already booked up for shots this week and I wouldn't be able to get in until Monday.  It is so inconvenient.  HMF goes to or went to the same clinic and she stopped when they started requiring appointments for shots too.  I hope they can transfer the serum to the new clinic since I paid for it but I have a feeling I am going to have to start all over again.  I had very similar reactions when I was growing up and the biggest trigger was cats.  We all know my kitties aren't going anywhere so I will have to figure out the allergy clinic nonsense.  

Speaking of HMF we went to the first show in the broadway season on Sunday.  

The first show was Aladdin.  It was fine, not one I would be in a hurry to see again.  It was funny and the effects were cool.  I went home and googled how they made the magic carpet fly.  The costumes were gorgeous.  The genie doesn't have as big of a role as in the movie, which is a good thing because I can't imagine them trying to match the energy of Robin Williams.  We went to lunch before the show and watched A's hockey game, they are undefeated.  All of his games are in the Dallas area so I haven't been able to see him in person.  HMF is trying to talk me into going with them the end of this month for the last games.  She sent me a screenshot of the hotel reservations showing she made hotel reservations for a double queen suite.  I am not sure I want to stay in a room with her and A though.  I don't think I would enjoy all of the togetherness.  I need some downtime.  It is just an overnight trip so we will see.  I do really like watching him play.  

Things are kind of imploding with the in-laws.  Dennis told me last night that he isn't going to participate in the holiday crap this year.  I have felt like they treat us like an afterthought for a very long time but I haven't said anything and sucked it up to go along to get along.  He is starting to see it that way too.   When FIL was put in the hospital in December SIL borrowed FIL's car because they gave one of theirs to their lazy overgrown child son (he's in his mid 30's).  They didn't plan on him coming out of the hospital so when he did go home MIL told SIL that she needed to get the car back.  That pissed her off and she ranted to Dennis about how she still needed the car but he didn't engage.  They couldn't afford a car blah, blah, and all that.  Fast forward to summer and not only have they bought a new car but they had a pool put in.  Dennis is very suspicious about where the money came from.  FIL asked Dennis to be the executor of his will but no one else seems to want to honor his wishes and just let MIL take everything over.  It's a big mess.  There are 4 kids in his family and 2 have kids.  FIL set up his will so that the kids get the inheritance and if they want to give some of it to the kids that is up to them.  Dennis knows that MIL is sending cash in the mail to the one grandkid that lives in Kentucky so there is no record.  He said that he is pretty confident that she will draw up a will leaving everything to the grandkids and go against everything his dad wanted.  It doesn't help that favorite grandkid is pregnant.  They had a get together the weekend I flew back from Florida but Dennis said he had no desire to go.  I think he reached his breaking point after the big storm we had on Father's Day.  I went over and helped clean up and fix the fence panel that blew down.  Not one of the grandkids or siblings even asked if she needed help.  As an added bonus, while we were cleaning up his sister and her adult kids and his brother and his adult kid all went to the Bahamas.  They do an annual vacation and have never asked us to join them.  I know it hurts his feelings.  His niece still does my hair but since she is the one that is pregnant I think I will probably try to change stylists.  She sold her salon and is going to start working at a salon paying booth rent. The new place is over by my office so it's on the other side of town from where I live.  It is so hard for me and my big mouth to not just go off on how they treat Dennis (I really don't give a shit about being left out of things, one less thing for me to make excuses to get out of) and how they don't help out with MIL.  

The weather is finally supposed to turn fall like this week.  I am so excited for hoodie weather.  I really thought about taking a day off and going to the fair but I really don't need to spend the money this close to vacation.  I haven't been to the fair in several years and I am sure there are lots of new fair food I would need to try.  Best to save my money for NEXT WEEK 😮8 days until I leave for NYC!!!

I leave you with a picture of Mango hiding out in a grocery bag.  Dennis told me he brought something back from the store for me.  Me being the gullible idiot I am thought he really did bring me something and Mango Monkey jumped out and scared me.  He thought that was pretty funny so he hid in the sack and jumped out every time I walked by.  It's a good thing he is cute because he is a whole mess.   

More of the same

 I haven't heard any new hurricane forecasted so things at work are pretty calm, other than the normal year end review stuff.  That will get worse as the people waiting until the last minute to start their yearly detail input and finding out they don't have access.  I'm that lucky person who gatekeeps the access.  We were supposed to start a new reporting system that would have came down to the wire for it's release.  Luckily we found out the day before they opened the input period that we were going to stick with what we currently use and move to the new system next year.  It would have been a nightmare.

My mom got a call from her internet provider that they wanted to upgrade the wiring in her house on Saturday.  She doesn't like to be alone with strange people in her house like that so I offered to come over and sit.  I told her if she wanted to run him off I would bring my little 45 pound menace to bite him.  She said no Bailey was necessary.  It took him 4 hours.  We went to lunch at the bbq place by my office and she liked it 🤯even though she complained that the fries were cold...20 minutes after we had been served.  I got a smoked chicken potato and it was so good.  They have lunch specials during the week and the potato is the Thursday special which is good information to have.  I seldom leave the office for lunch because it's a nightmare, but that might be worth the occasional exit.

Sunday was odd.  I stayed up late watching Master Pancake Theater (Sound of Music and the Nun).  Dennis doesn't like MPT but he had never seen Sound of Music and it was so much better with the commentary from the comedians, but I digress.  I ended up sleeping until 1 Sunday afternoon, which is unheard of.  I felt like I wasted the day and was just off the rest of the day.  I ordered a pizza for dinner.

Not sure where the week has gone.  My plan was to go in on Wed. and Thurs., I even bought a cake to take in for our end of year weekly lunch.  When I woke up on Wed though it was storming and I really wanted to destroy my alarm.  So, rolled over and went back to sleep.  I will have to go in tomorrow but AP will be out so it won't be too bad.  I have a shit ton of work that needs to get done but have been busy with other stuff.  Brooke is off the next two days so I won't have her to distract me with our usual teams banter.  

Look at that sweet little tongue 💖

I did make it to the office on Thursday, it was oddly quiet given the time of year I am not complaining at all.  I had a hard time getting my ass out of bed though and might have been a little late 🙈.  I also left early to pick up a plaque the office ordered.  

Finally remembered to let DVIS know I was back in town for awhile and got put on the call out schedule.  I volunteered for the weekday shifts because it is probably a lot easier for me to leave work than it is for a lot of people.  I have my work cell phone for calls and teams messages but the SA crises room is in an old bomb/tornado shelter area of the hospital so service is spotty.  We are eventually going to move across the street but like most things, who knows when that will be.  They are trying to get volunteers comfortable enough to respond alone as lots of the employees are starting to take off for holiday and end of year activities.  

The tattoo artist I have been fangirling over is finally taking appointments starting today for returning clients 😟 and tomorrow for new clients 🙋.  He was supposed to open them a few weeks ago but had to have emergency surgery on his neck because he was losing feeling in the arm he draws with.  It must have gone well.  I have been on this guys list for about a year and it's still not a guarantee that he will take you.  His FB and insta are under Artist Kyle Chaney if you want to see why I'm obsessed.  He does a lot of really big pieces and I don't want anything bigger than my hand.  I still want to do the UP theme, only requirement is Dug has to be in it in some way.  I showed Dennis a few ideas and he asked me how much it costs.  This guy is obviously not cheap and I don't really want to think about how much it is going to be.  Dennis told me to wait.  So I'm waiting until Friday to reach out, lol.  I have been waiting!!  This midlife crisis has a limited time offer with this guy.  Anyway, I will send him my idea and the size I want and he is good/.busy/popular enough to pick and choose.  I have doubts he will want to do something the size I want but it is worth the try.  He is out of OKC which is only an hour and a half away and he comes to Tulsa to work the expo that my artist hosts, hopefully the planets align.

Not much else is going on.  I hope to make it by a new little gourmet store tomorrow with my mom to pick up some premade meals.  They look like they have some really good options.  I hate going with my mom because I can hear her now about prices.  I have looked it up and they aren't bad but like a lot of older people she seems to think bread should still cost a nickel.  I bought some frozen protein waffles and pancakes and maybe I can eat that a little later in the morning and be able to eat a premade dinner.  I am never hungry for breakfast and end up eating lunch late and not hungry for dinner.  I have to do better.  

Dennis and I are going to Costco when I get off work and I will peruse the aisles.  I am out of my air fryer pizzas and he needs to go get his card.  I am thinking about changing the dogs food to the kirkland brand too since they opened the store closer to me.  I'm still not sure I want to start feeding them food that I have to get from one specific place with limited hours.  I feed them Wellness now, which you can get at any pet food store so that makes it so easy.  Plus, Costco is going to get crazy in the next few weeks and I don't know that I want to deal with holiday shopping crowds.  Yes, I put way too much time and effort into researching dog food.  

* I wrote the above post on Friday and never posted it.  Instead of deleted it all I am just going to add to it here*

The Costco run was a success in that Dennis paid for groceries, lol.

I went to my mom's on Saturday.  I think she was aggravated at me because I didn't rush over there.  I wasn't in the mood to rush anywhere.  I got there before noon and took my sweet time with the fur babies and getting ready.  It makes for a much more tolerable visit.  Wednesday I watch the new episode of Reservation Dogs and recognized the area of town they were in.  Ironically it was the area I needed to go.  They were in a diner that I had been to and really liked, but is strictly a breakfast and lunch place that closes at 2 so I always forget it is there.  Again, my mom didn't have anything negative to say!  They let me or order a kids meal, which earns them another point.  My mom said her stomach was feeling gross so she ordered a cup of stew and cornbread.  We got out of there for around $10 and had a little leftover for my mom to take to her spoiled ass dog.  When I was paying I asked them how it felt to me famous.  They dug out a picture of Ethan Hawke and Sterlin Harjo sitting at a booth playing a guitar.  They said everyone was super nice and I continue to kick myself for passing on the extra gig.  

After lunch we stopped at the market I have been wanting to try.  It is a small storefront with fresh bread and premade meals.  One of the restaurant groups opened this up so I have high hopes.  The bread is amazing!  I got 2 meals, a homemade hamburger helper and an alfredo dish.  Hamburger helper is one of my comfort foods.  I never make it because it is so unhealthy and I will literally eat the entire box and make myself sick.  We are going to make it for dinner tonight so we will see how it measures up to the heavily processed real thing. 

My friend Linda came into town on Sunday from TX.  Her SIL's sentencing hearing was Monday and she wanted to be there.  The entire situation is a nightmare.  To recap, her husband's sister was arrested for stealing well over $100K dollars from the mom.  She had a stroke and needed a caregiver and SIL, her boyfriend and the son took a large portion of her savings and left her to live in a house that was falling down around her.  The in-laws hate my friend Linda so when they came to town they stayed at a hotel and they met up at a restaurant so they had no idea how bad it had gotten.  The nephew got 1 year probation and 100 hours of community service, the boyfriend got 1 year probation and $5,000 in restitution, both in plea deals.  The sister refused to take the deal because she was going to have to repay $70,000.  The judge held that up and gave her 7 years probation.  Linda said it was deferred which means it won't show up on her record as a felony until she screws up and violates her probation.  I have no doubt that will happen sooner rather than later because she isn't going to pay that back.  It would require her to get and keep a job.  All of that to say we met up for a late lunch/early dinner on Sunday.  We went to the restaurant we used to visit all the time when she lived in Tulsa.  She lived on that street and she couldn't believe how much it had changed.  It was always the trendy part of town but it is getting increasingly bougie.  Our restaurant hasn't changed.

The tattoo is a no go.  The guy said he "doesn't do small tattoos"  I wanted something about the size of the one I got of Olive/Ninja.  I could tell pretty early on that he wasn't interested.  I am really disappointed but I half expected it.  I put a few pictures in the group message that anyone that reads this is a part of.  He is already booked up for 2024.  I sent a message to the girl who has done the other tattoos to see if she wants to do it.  It will probably be close to my birthday before I would have time to get it done.  For now I will have to settle for the piercing appointment I have at Maria Tash in NYC.  

I have started to try and burn through some leave for work.  I have about 4 weeks I need to take before the end of the year or I will lose it.  I took off early yesterday and got my nails done.  They are amazing.  

I told her I would order stickers or stencils and she told me nope, she will hand paint them.  It took 5 hours and she way undercharged me.  Her boyfriend came in towards the end and told me she had been practicing.  I am trying to talk her into hand painting press ons and selling them online.  She is just do freaking good.  

OK, I need to get back to work.  I promised one of the rangers I would assist them with the aforementioned data base on a module that did get pushed through so I need to go through and make sure I know how to use it. 😬

Feels Good to Be a Gangster

So glad I didn't have to fly to St Paul this week.  That being said, the task we were supposed to do virtually isn't being done.  I am ready to ditch this PDT all together.  The national manager is super smart, like off the charts smart, which turns into more of a hindrance than anything.  He is in the guard and speaks several languages, including farsi and all of those Persian languages so he gets called up on some super secret spy stuff all the time and leaves us hanging.  Last time he was gone for a year, this time it is supposed to be a month.  I am just tired of having a half finished program with no training and a revolving door of field contacts.  I guess that is par for the course when you work for the feds.  

I finally got in to see the new rheumatologist on Monday.  My old one left over a year ago but apparently there is a shortage here?  I have been seeing a PA or NP in the meantime.  I like the assistant I normally see, the jury is still out on the new doctor.  He is older with Einstein hair and a thick german accent and isn't one for long discussions.  My appointment was at 9:40 and I was rescheduled for my quarterly follow up, checked out and in my car by 10:15.  My weight was up a little but I wore my shoes and jacket and was still 98 pounds.  He is taking me off one of my medications and increasing another one to see if that helps with the sudden appetite change and weight loss.  I was in to see the assistant in June and have lost 10 pounds from that visit.  Other than that he looked at my hands, which is what triggered the diagnosis in the first place, asked me a few questions and was on his way.  Not sure what I expected but it seemed the last doctor was just more engaging I guess?  That being said I have had more stiffness in my fingers and still having stomach issues.

My sister sent me a text yesterday saying "27 days" That is just crazy.  When we made the plan to go to NYC it seemed like the date was so far out.  I made a hotel reservation with the plan on making another closer to the date using my points.  I knew I had travel coming up and wanted to make sure I had as many points as possible to cover the stay.  I didn't pay a lot of attention because I knew I was going to cancel the original reservation.  Well when I went in to make the reservation a few days ago I accidentally hit the Hilton Garden Inn instead of the Hilton Times Square and tied up the points at the wrong hotel.  I got that one cancelled but had to wait for the points to process back into my account.  I looked at the reservation I had and the total for the hotel was over $1,500 for 3 nights.  Now don't get me wrong, I love to be bougie but I am not about to spend more than my house payment on a 3 night stay!!  Luckily I got it fixed and had enough points for the stay and 2K left over.  There will be a resort fee but I can live with that!!  I didn't really expect to get enough points to pay for the entire stay but fell so much better that I did.  Especially with Dennis not working.  I almost cancelled the entire trip but he insisted I keep my plans.  He got unemployment and is going to try to get on disability.  We really don't mingle finances much anyway.  

Baby Daddy is becoming a fixture at my house.  Dennis is getting really attached to him.  I teleworked yesterday and he came really close to following me in the house.  He has not been tested for FIV or any of the other diseases 'feral' cats can carry so I really don't want that to happen.  If we decide to try and integrate him, we will get him tested.  We obviously don't know how old he is but he is really starting to settle in and wants to play a lot.

He is also less interested in food and more interested in attention.

He was at the door when I left this morning.  

I finally took Olive in to my vet to get her shots.  Even though we treat the animals for fleas and ticks, fleas have been a serious issue this year.  We have never had this problem but we have never had a stray cat living at my house either.  Poor O has been so itchy at the base of her tail that just touching it will cause her to react.  The vet said that Frontline and Revolution isn't working like it used to and put her on Bravecto.  Since she had never been to my vet we had to get her seen and weighed (12.6 lbs) before they would let me have it as it is prescription.  This is the first time I have taken her out of the house since we brought her home just a little over a year ago.  She is usually so quiet but she let me know she wasn't happy with this plan at all.  She really did well but she was so mad at me when we got home.  She still wanted to be in the same room but as far away from me as possible.  I guess she got lonely because the next day she was even more clingy than usual.  I got cold so I sat in the chair and covered over with a blanket to work and she decided she needed to be in the middle of my work.

My little assistant 

I would have never thought that I could ever love a cat as much as I love that girl.  She didn't even want me drinking my water, she wanted me to have my hand on her.  The vet tech asked me what Bai thought about her and I told her that they are typical siblings, he doesn't want to share and if he is sitting with me he will let her know it is his turn.  Oh to be the pet of any of us.  What a life.  

Food has been hit or miss this week.  For some reason Wednesday I felt really hungry.  I had an onsite meeting that provides lunch and they catered deli boxes.  I ate about half of the sandwich and a few chips.  Later Dennis asked if I wanted to eat and I told him that I was oddly starving.  We went to a Tex-Mex place and I ended up eating a couple of chips with salsa, one corn tortilla, and one chicken enchilada.  I really went in thinking I was going to clean my plate but that is still better than normal.  Since then my stomach is doing it's usual game.  I wasn't hungry at all yesterday.  About time to go to bed I swore the trash smelled.  Dennis said he couldn't smell it but it was to the point that it was making me gag.  There wasn't much in the trash and the only thing that could have smelled was the can of cat food we had fed the cats just a few hours before,  but we got it taken out.  I slept like crap last night and O was pretty upset that I wanted to sleep balled up and not flat on my back so she could sleep on my chest.  I had dreams that I couldn't wake up, that I was at work and couldn't hold my eyes open.  It has made for a brain fog of sorts today.  Stomach wasn't much better this morning as I got the ick brushing my teeth.  It is about 10 am now and I am still not even interested in the thought of food.  All week I was looking forward to going to lunch at a bbq place by my office for lunch today but I'm thinking that isn't going to happen.

We got a message earlier this week looking for volunteers to work remote for Hurricane Lee for one of the New England Districts.  I said I would do it but I don't think anything will come of it, the hurricane mission, I mean.  They ended up getting someone closer to the impacted area.  I probably make almost as much from per diem as I do the OT so my first choice is to do a TDY but I won't turn down 44 hours of OT a week.  It is getting close enough to the trip that deploying would be risky.  They like us to do 30 days and the way our system is set up we don't get true time and a half until we work the 31st day and then it is for the entire period.  I don't pretend to understand it but I do work my ass off so they ask me to extend so I get that fema $$$.  

I broke down and ordered some clothes from Shein.  I am not a big fan but I don't want to spend a lot on clothes that I probably wont be able to wear for long.  I thought about signing up for NUULY, which is one of those closet rental type places but I just can't bring myself to do that.  Besides, if I take any of those clothing items on a checked bag and they lose the bag am I responsible for the replacement cost?  I think I would rather do Threadup and fast fashion.  I went to the mall and got some jeans on sale at least.  I normally buy jeans or Sam's but they don't carry my size and again I don't want to spend a fortune on stuff knowing that the weight I am at is not sustainable long term and as soon as we figure out what is causing the issue I will no longer be able to wear it.  Dennis told me to shop in the kids department because I am short and the stuff is cheaper.  That might not be a bad idea.

That being said, my weight has been holding around 95.

Ok, my computer has decided to not recognize the wireless keyboard so I am going to go office space.... 

Bi-coastal travel hell

The last few weeks have been more than a little hectic.  I have had more than my share of delayed flights and horrible rental car experiences.  I have vowed to drive to just about any location that is 8 hours or less away.  However, for now I am ready to stay in one place for awhile.  

The first hell trip was to Lake Sonoma, about 2 hours north of San Francisco.  I planned my flight for the afternoon so I wouldn't hit SF traffic on the way from the airport.  My first flight was more or less on time but we got delayed in Phoenix.  My flight was supposed to be in at 8:30 but that didn't happen.  
When we finally landed and got to the rental car counter it was a 2 hour wait for a rental car.  Last time this happened I was able to just uber because the meeting was just a few blocks from the hotel, I had no choice but to wait here as I was staying in Santa Rosa 2 hours away and the meeting was another 30-45 minutes north of there.  By the time I got the rental car and made it to the hotel it was almost 2 am.  I sent a message to a girl I know in the group and told her that I would most definitely not be there at 8.  I don't trust the people over this program to not try and throw me under the bus though so I think I was maybe and hour late at most.  I was very cranky.  

The area is really pretty.  For some reason I really like that part of California.  I didn't expect to have fun but I did.  I met up with someone that was new to the group and her and I got along really well and split off from the old hags and did our own thing for the most part.  We did go to a group dinner the first night at a place called Stark's.  I got a steak salad and the steak was so tender!!  I am not a leftover person but I took what was left and had it for lunch the next day and it was just as good.  There were enough of us that we had to split up and sit at three different tables.  I don't know how I got so lucky but I sat right across from the old hags aka the toxic twins.  It shows on their menu that they don't split checks and that there is a service charge for back of house.  As far as I'm concerned I was ok with that.  Apparently the hags saw the other tables get separate checks and thought they got better service than us so they weren't going to leave the waiter a tip.  I was furious.  I sat next to my new friend and we made sure he got at least 20% from us.  I don't like tip culture but I hate cheap hags that look for a reason to stiff their waitstaff even more.  I ended up using what little cash I had for that.  On my way to the airport I got 2 alerts that my debit card had been used twice at a Panera in CA somewhere.  I called the bank and they reversed the charges but they also cancelled my debit card, that left me with very little money.  Thankfully I had brought my personal credit card and was able to use that and just pay it from the bank account immediately.  The whole thing was just a nightmare.

 

The area is absolutely gorgeous.  

Wednesday  we got out of the meeting a little early so me and my new friend ran back to the hotel to change clothes and eat at Francis Ford Coppala's winery.  It wad very pretty there too.

The food was pretty good and we had a great time.  

Thursday we wrapped up about noon and most of us were driving back into San Francisco and staying the night there to be closer to the airport.  I dropped off the rental car so I wouldn't have to pay to park it at the hotel.  As I was about to get off the tram I realized I left my work phone in the rental car so I had to get back on the train to see if I could get it.  I bumped into Kat, the new friend from the meeting.  If I hadn't I am not sure if I would have done much but we ended up going to eat and hanging out.  We had some great Peruvian food.  Oh, and on my way to the airport I stopped at the Fluevog store on Haight and bought some shoes 😏

They shipped them back for me so I didn't have to make room in the suitcase.  

I took the 6:30 am flight out and made it without any issues.  

I got to sit at home 3 days before hurricane Idalia interrupted my plans.  Monday I got an email asking if I could be in Florida the next morning for the strike team.  So, I started washing my EMO shirts and digging out my deployment ready bag.  The new team I am on is a lot different than anything I am used to, we set up the orders for people to deploy and manage that whole mess.  Luckily Idalia turned out be be a bust for the most part so I wasn't thrust into the role to figure it out along the way.  I ended up flying back home on Saturday.

Again, the flights were terrible.  My original flight was supposed to take off at 1 but they kept pushing it back.  The third time they delayed it I called the travel agent through work and just rebooked on a different flight.  The first flight was fine but there was a maintenance issue on the second flight (fire extinguisher) and they had to sign off on it to fly with that malfunction.  Once they got that taken care of people were getting up out of their seats so we couldn't take off.  We were more than 2 hours late coming in.  We landed a little after midnight and the guy at the rental car counter pretty much told me I was shit out of luck because the car reservation was for the previous day and he couldn't get it to pull up and he was going home.  I ended up just going to the Hertz counter and getting a car through them.    Again, I get like 3 hours of sleep before I have to be out the door for work.  Luckily the hotel was 3 blocks away from the office.  I did drive that first day though because the hurricane was going to hit that day and we had no idea what to expect.   Idalia ended up being a bust, good for the residents bad for my bank account and I was heading home on Saturday, so I wasn't even there a week.  Since my vacation starts October 12 I think I will be stuck at home again if we do get something significant making landfall.  

I got to leave a little early on Friday and went to Jax Beach.  My flight home was in the early afternoon on Saturday so I found a shopping area that was really neat.  It was going way too smooth, flight was on time from Dallas to Tulsa and it looked like we were ahead of schedule to land.  We were all loaded, doors closed, aaaannnnnndddd mechanical problems that if they could be fixed wouldn't be fixed that night.  I called the travel agent again but as she was looking for alternative flights they came over the intercom and told us they found another plan and we were going to have to move gates/planes. 

I think we were an hour and a half late landing.  Not too bad all things considered.  I was so freaking tired though.  My mom went to my sister's house on Sunday and I took her a watermelon and she made sure to tell me that the dark circles under my eyes were terrible.  Thanks mom.  

I was supposed to go to St. Paul next week to plan out a curriculum for a new training one of the teams I am on is developing.  We decided to do it in person because nothing really gets done on webinars.  The full team isn't on the sub-team and there were only 3 of us that were going to go.  We figured with that few of us we should be able to adapt to virtual.  We are going to give it a go.  The thought of renting another car and being stranded while they clean cars or whatever they were doing is just enough to cause major anxiety.  Our FY starts in October and more than likely we won't be traveling much.