Pages

Monday, June 15, 2015

Hurricane Whining Party

OK, perhaps I exaggerate. It's just a "tropical wave," with an 80% chance of developing into a tropical storm. Headed right for our waterlogged state. Just an inch of rain yesterday triggered flash flood and river flood warnings, if that tells you how wet things are already. Sigh.

School does not start for another two months plus a week. But who's counting? Oh right. Me.

For Albatross #2, I have to give a report at a big meeting on Friday, as to why we are suspending our work. I do not anticipate this will be received well. (AW) My fellow albatross wranglers are an immense help in crafting what I will say.

How's the weather where you are? Kathy a, I wish I could send this tropical storm your way.

Whine away, pixies!


47 comments:

kathy a. said...

Wishing you luck with the announcement, Esperanza. Is this a situation where, if the sound reasoning of the albatross committee is rejected, it is possible to say: "OK, smarty-pants; it's your problem now?"

Um, that's an unbelievable amount of water, too. Sure, we'll take some! We actually had a tiny bit of rain last week, and the book of visages lit up with locals saying, "I heard this strange sound outside, and it's wet out there!"

kathy a. said...

For reasons unknown, replacing the radiator on son's truck went smoothly -- no mess, no swearing, the repair worked right away. He just wanted to hang out for several more hours -- mostly with dad, since I'm still infected. Nice.

esperanza said...

I was unaware that a car repair could be completed without swearing. Hm. I learn something all the time around here.

The audience actually doesn't get a formal say-so in the albatross decision. The powers-that-be have decided it, and we are just informing the audience of said decision. Even so, it would be good if the audience could see our reasoning and agree with it, to avoid further fireplace-ups (fireplaces-up? how would you say that?).

kathy a. said...

Extrapolating from usage of the word that fireplace replaces, "fireplace-ups" sounds fine.

kathy a. said...

My good college friend is now ward of a teen nephew, at least for now. Her sister is mentally ill, and child protective services gave the sister a choice between foster care or care with the boy's aunt. Think it was a fraught day, but the nephew started talking on the way home, and he likes animals -- of which my friend has many. Fingers firmly crossed for everyone. xoxo

esperanza said...

Animals are a good mediator of communication and relationship. Many hugs to your friend. And the teen nephew--how hard his life must be right now.

W: Mr. Tropical Storm Bill is forecasted to track right over us. We, though a good 100 miles inland, are under a Tropical Storm Warning. If I become silent later this afternoon, it will be because we have lost power. They're predicting 50 mph winds, 3-6" rain, subsequent flooding and river flooding (now that we live near a river, I've learned to distinguish between the two), possible tornadoes.

W: and you know what all that means: cooped up Baboos. They wanted to play outside yesterday, and I let them, though it was 158% humidity.

Sue said...

Lots of prayers for your friend kathy - that must have been a difficult day for everyone. Thank goodness for animals!

Oh esperanza, I do hope the storm tires out before it reaches you. Sending lots of prayers and good wishes your way.

AW: Great weekend! Fun! Family! Celebrating All the Things!

W: So. Dang. Tired. I slept 11 hours on Sunday night. I was off yesterday, which was good since I moved through the day like a W@lking D@ad extra.

AW/W: Six more weeks to vacay.

Also, I hate my hair right now.

esperanza said...

So far...nothing. It's cloudy.

I also hate my hair. The hair cutter person got a bit over enthusiastic yesterday.

kathy a. said...

Sue, glad you had a great weekend, and a good rest after!

Esperanza, also hoping for fizzling of the storm.

Might finally be losing the cold. Slept a straight 6 hours before the first waking, which is amazing!

esperanza said...

Glad you're feeling better kathy a.

1 pm update: still boring. A sprinkling of rain. Intermittently breezy.

Liz said...

(((Esperanza))) (((Sue))) (((Kathy's friend)))

AW: I had a great conversation with a certain pixie last night, said pixie is a GODDESS and deserves kudos. coughKATHYAcough

kathy a. said...

Because of all the robocalls and SIL bill calls, I often am not Ms. Friendly answering the phone. And still Liz likes me. ;) Kudos to a great candidate.

kathy a. said...

The Donald's hat is in the ring. It seems insanely early, but looks to be an entertaining year and some in Big Politics, because -- my fuzzy ducklings, I only wish Molly Ivins was still here to do color commentary on the race.

Sue said...

Pixie Goddess phone conversation - that makes me so happy.

esperanza said...

Oh, Molly Ivins, you may have been the best thing this state has ever produced, at least in politics.

6 pm report: it's raining. Finally. "The sky is falling" all day long, and now it finally starts raining. Non-impressive wind.

kathy a. said...

This is a hilarious website about "waffling" various foods: http://www.seriouseats.com/tags/will%20it%20waffle

There is also a book called "will it waffle," which my friend was thinking about for her son in college (but still living at home), but really I think the website covers all the basics except the need to put batteries in the smoke alarm.

esperanza said...

Morning After Weather Report: The center passed about 30 miles to the east of us, which means we are on the "dry" side of the storm. Despite multiple warning phone calls, we have received 1/2" of rain. I am weary of the enforced panic. Supposedly more rain to come, but it looks like it's going to the east also.

Sue said...

I'm glad the storm missed you esperanza.

I'll check out the waffle site later today kathy... sounds, interesting. :)

kathy a. said...

Glad the storm missed you, Esperanza. Glad they give warnings, too, because a direct hit is a very bad thing; and even that amount of rain could have been bad given the recent abundance. Darned storms, so temperamental and unpredictable...

I sent a box of excess books to an online friend, and thought that was a good start on thinning the herd. She sent back 9 (NINE) mini-loaves of pumpkin bread, PLUS more books than I had sent her! This doesn't seem like a fair deal. Good reminder to haul some of the excess bookage around to those cute Little Libraries, though.

esperanza said...

W: Charleston.

Liz Miller said...

Yes.

Sue said...

Yes.

Liz Miller said...

There are things I was going to whine about but...I don't feel like it anymore.

esperanza said...

I know. Once I read about the 5 year old girl playing dead, I just can't complain about my 5 year old girl, who I'm sending to church tonight without a second thought.

kathy a. said...

So horrifying, what happened in Charleston. We lived there for several years. It is really hard to imagine such a thing happening -- this beautiful church is right in the middle of town, in an area popular with tourists. Charleston is in general much more progressive and welcoming on racial matters than many other parts of the state.

The suspect is from Columbia, 90 miles away. So bizarre.

kathy a. said...

AW: my daughter called to ask questions about safer parts of town for an out of town person (who will attend a meeting with her work). And then her boss got on the phone and was singing daughter's praises as a hard worker and so good. Wow.

esperanza said...

Thanks boss. Now give her a raise!

kathy a. said...

That's what my daughter says!

esperanza said...

Is this the quietest week ever on WW?

I don't know about you, but I'm still pretty stunned over the events in Charleston. My book of faces post was inadequate, at best. But I have seen exactly ZERO remarks, reposts, or anything at all from local (almost all Republican) friends on the subject. So I was pleased when a quite a few of them liked my post. Maybe it's a start to a conversation. It's a weird place. There are no school boundary lines; for the most part everyone goes to school together, and develop cross-racial friendships. But it's the "well, but my friend isn't like the rest of them" phenomenon. I have edited Sunday's sermon accordingly. I wish more than 4 people would hear it.

I will be at Big Chunky Meeting giving my Depressing Report tomorrow and Saturday, but feel free to keep whining through the weekend.

kathy a. said...

Wasn't it just a few days ago that The Donald broke out his presidential announcement with racial denunciations, including the stunning theory that "they" [Mexicans, in his example] are taking over and raping women? Isn't the confederate flag still flying high on the grounds of the South Carolina state house; aren't there still a lot of race-based hate groups spewing their filth; does South Carolina itself not have a history strongly involving the defense of slavery? Does anybody have a good theory about how this could have happened *without* the easy availability of guns?

My heart breaks. And in the face of this horror, the families of victims responded today with incredible grace. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/06/19/i-forgive-you-relatives-of-charleston-church-victims-address-dylann-roof/

There must be ways to pick this mess apart, and make it harder for something like it to happen again. xoxo

esperanza said...

Albatross report given. Predictable negative feedback received, as well as some positive. Glad to be done. Even gladder that no one invited me to supper with them, and I am sitting, in my pj's, eating pizza in my hotel room, very happy with my introverted self.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I've been very quiet all week! A few of those days have just been spent in horror at the events in Charleston, reading way too many news stories. You know how it goes. (And like esperanza, I've been noticing too much that, the closer my friends live to there, the less likely they are to say anything about it.)

But here are the petty whines about how my week went:
1. 2 straight nights of insomnia. During the second one, Mr. Q made it worse by saying "Well, you need to get caught up on sleep before the weekend, because we're going camping!"
2. The stool softener that the doctor gave E mostly made her painfully gassy, and the day after I took her off of them (they're only for a week), she's constipated again. But she slept better last night than she did all week, because gas pain wasn't waking her up.
3. We're going to sleep in a tent, with E in a trailer next to us (with the in-laws), in the yard of extended family's farm, and this is so far outside of E's routine that I'm extremely anxious, and that anxiety is now far worse because...
4. OUR BRAKE LINE BROKE, ON OUR WAY HOME TODAY. The brakes stopped working. While we were driving with my baby. In rush hour traffic. We got home, and now I need to get the car towed to the mechanic on Monday.

AW: my MIL is lending us her car, for is to drive up to the farm.

Oh, and now it just started hailing heavily! I sure hope our car isn't getting damaged right now.

kathy a. said...

I just yelled at a person making a solicitation call. I answered my office phone with my name, and she asked for Mr. or Mrs. [husband's last name]. And I asked who was calling; and she asked if I was Mrs. [husband's last name]. When I said I was married to a Mr. [husband's last name] and why was she calling, she asked why I didn't have his last name. Then she got all huffy when I advised rather loudly that I KEPT MY OWN NAME.

AW: My son got the job!

kathy a. said...

((( QWP )))

esperanza said...

QWP, that's all bad enough, and then I gasped out loud when I read about the brake line. Man, I'm glad y'all are ok.

Yay about the job, kathy a. And stoopid telemarketers. I have spoken unkindly to the same person twice, for calling me after 9 pm local time, which I'm pretty sure is against the rules. If he does it again, I'm asking for the supervisor. Surely your computer can keep track of time zones, buddy.

Liz Miller said...

OMG QWP!! No brakes! In traffic!!!

Re: Charleston. I've been trying hard to just repost my AA friends posts, with a few exceptions. I want to lift up their voices.

Sue said...

Hugs and love all around Pixies. It's been a tough week for everyone, I think, just trying to process all the horror.

kathy, that's awesome on the kids & jobs front, for both your daughter and your son. Yay! That's so weird to be pressed about why you didn't change your name, though. That's still a problem for people??? Sheesh.

QWP!!! I held my breath too when I read about the brakes. I'm so glad you're all okay.

esperanza, I'm glad the report is done and happy that you could claim some introvert time at the hotel.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I spoke too soon about my friends who live in the Carolinas, you guys. Today, I'm noticing a lot of activity: especially reposting from AA voices, and sharing petitions demanding that the confed flag be taken down. I think they just didn't know how to voice their horror, at first, just like a lot of others.

Kathy, that's very good news about son getting a job, and daughter doing as well at hers. (Give her a raise, you guys!)

We need to keep a cluestick close to Kathy a's phone. For pity sake.

W: I had a panic attack this morning. I just couldn't get out of bed and start getting ready for this camping trip. Between worries about getting E to sleep in a trailer, and worries about my own sleep, and forecasts for thunder storms, and residual stress about the drive home without brakes: I just broke. I'd this wasn't for a special birthday celebration, I'd be forcing us to stay home.

AW: Mr. Q eased off on the preparations, and said we can wait until this afternoon. We'll only need to deal with one night, and no naps, up there. Drive up during this afternoon's nap, drive home during tomorrow's.

kathy a. said...

So glad you got home safely, QWP, but that is so scary. Hope the kidlet finds all the relatives so entertaining that she hits the pillow snoring tonight. Yuck on panic attacks. xxoo

Esperanza, one albatross down. Yay! (Being alone in a hotel room is one of my secret pleasures.)

Thanks, Liz, for passing those posts along at the other place.

My son's sweet girlfriend got into a FB fight with her uncle and some other jackass, both of whom responded to her mother's post about Charleston and guns with a load of "libruls R stoopid" garbage. What is wrong with people?

Happy Fathers' Day to everyone celebrating. Here's to a quieter next week.

xoxo

Anonymous said...

Hugs to everyone!

Just wanted to say hi, and glad you are ok after the brake failure, QWP, and so sorry for the anxiety. FWIW, camping, under any conditions, has seemed to make for excellent memories for my kiddos. Even when the tent leaked, etc.etc. So, fingers crossed for you.

Boo on telemarketers of any kind, and YAY for your son's girlfriend, Kathya. for fighting the good fight against numbskulls.

My parents are in town. My mom's memory is so so so bad. It makes me very sad. And my dad. Well. He is just a handful on a good day.
Last day of school Wednesday at my school, Monday for my kids. Parents leave Thursday.

AW: My son (11) has spent his day playing with my mom-- first outside passing a basketball, and then inside with connect four, which she cannot remember how to play from one game to the next. Sweet kid kept encouraging her, and didn't bat an eyelash when she said, OK is the score 1-1? He just says, "Okay, want to play again?" Sorry for kvelling, but my kids are SO much better dealing with them than me. Plus, my husband who deserves a medal has kept my dad with him most of the day.

Hugs to all, and lots of love. I am thankful beyond words for this community.

--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

((( NL ))) Oh, your kid deserves all the kudos! And you, too -- because he's an apple who didn't fall far from the tree of kindness that you model every day. (And he doesn't have all the baggage of your particular relationship with your parent.)

My, but sounds like a lot going on! But soon you'll be singing School's Out For Summer!

xoxo

p.s. -- son's GF's mom responded with "we're just not going to agree," plus "do NOT mess with my daughter." Love them both.

esperanza said...

((NL)) Sweet NB is about to make me cry. I'm so sorry about your mom's troubles, but how wonderful that he has found something they can enjoy together, and how wonderful that he is so patient. Somebody's parents have done a great job with him.

KLee said...

I, too, am heartbroken about the events in Charleston. Those of you who know me a little more in depth know my city is much like (and fairly close to) Charleston. I hate what happened so much, but I hope it is a chance to start the healing process. It is horrible to contemplate the hate that would drive someone to invade a church and take lives. I just have no words.

I had other things to say, but they seem so petty and unimportant in comparison.

kathy a. said...

((( KLee ))) Yes, your city is very like Charleston. xxoxo

kathy a. said...

To clarify, Charleston and KLee's city are gracious and generally more progressive, and very beautiful, port cities -- considered much more welcoming and much less redneck than other areas, what with a history of many visitors from all over. Both still attract many tourist visitors, as well. Racial hatred does not fare well in these cities, although progress is not finished yet. (The suspect in Charleston came from a more retrograde city 90 miles away.)

Sending love to any and all who aren't that into forced-march hallm@ark holidays. xoxo

esperanza said...

Forgot I was hosting this week. Oops. No awards show, but hugs for everyone.

Sue said...

((((NL))))

(((KLee)))