Midweek catch up here

A couple days ago I lamented the cable outage in my bedroom, which happened rather abruptly late Saturday morning. When I left home to set up at church that day, the TV was working fine, but when I got back later, it was out. Not a cloud in the sky or wind in the trees, and no storms since the window rattler on Thursday. Hmmm.....My friend, Gayle's husband got an appointment set up for me on Monday. Dick is in a management position at Comcast and has some pull evidently. Gayle called me twice that day to keep me informed as to the status of the service call and such. Wow! My scheduled time was between 2 and 5 pm which was fine with me, since it sure beats Thursday!, and in fact, I stayed home all stinkin' day long! I needed a day like this. Actually addressed some items on my desk and worked on thank you notes for the helpers at Sunday's event, etc.

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Gayle used to work in Customer Service at Comcast and she was saying to me that she would not have stood still for an answer like "no one is available until Thursday...". Gayle told me she would have gone higher and higher in the food chain until she got results. I told her, "That's what I did, too! I called you!" which made her laugh. I am not sure what time the guys showed up but Connie called me from downstairs to report they were on the way up. As I stood in the door watching for them eagerly, the one guy, the lead tech, looked at me and then walked the other way. I yelled, "Hey!..." and he turned back this direction, saying, "Just teasing..." My kinda guy! He made a comment to me along the lines of my having some 'pull' and he described me as being a VIP. Evidently he was sent specifically to my job, personally selected by his superiors. Oh, yes, I am big crybaby VIP who can't sleep without her TV on!!!! His helper trailed behind, more like a step-n-fetch than actual tech, I believe. We had to slide my desk over so they could access the jack inside the cabinet, and I am so glad to have wood floors to make that easier.

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The tech was getting no signal at all from the wires coming out of the cabinet which meant the problem originated outside, on the back of the building. Before they arrived, I was watching rain showers in Mandarin as they seemed to come across the river, but it was full sunshine on the pool side of the building. I was hoping they would not get rained on, too, while working down below my windows but the rain never made it all the way over here. At one point the helper came up to report that they were working on the wires downstairs, trying to sort it all out. I thought that was very nice of him. Later he came back and we had to turn on the family room TV to let the guy below know when we had signal in there and when we did not. After some time, the lead guy came upstairs again and hooked up his machinery to the cable and ta da!!!! We had a signal! He hooked up the little box on the stand where the TV is and I was back in business, including now accessing HGTV and Lifetime in my bedroom.

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I made the remark to him that I was glad to see the green light was solid and not flashing anymore, even though I know Comcast is using that to spy on me. I told them I always change my clothes in my closet but it would serve them right if they caught me on their camera. The guys laughed and said, "No one can see you through this box..." I am not totally convinced!

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Yesterday, which would have been my 36th wedding anniversary, began at the pool with water aerobics and then some lounging with Ellen. We made plans to go today to have lunch at the Beach Cafe which is located where Truffles used to be in Mandarin. My friend, Dena, who made my beautiful birthday cake one year, has a bakery in the same strip mall so I might pop in there to say 'hi'! After I made the plans with Ellen, Martie asked me if we could have breakfast or lunch today. Rats! Breakfast won't work with water aerobics but we certainly have room for one more at Beach Cafe! She will not come to aerobics though as she is not fond of the water, although one time she did get in and really enjoyed it! She said she misses me and I certainly do miss her. Her job, and grandkids really use her time these days, especially in the summer when they are out of school. So, I am looking very much forward to lovely repast in Mandarin with a couple of my lady friends, Maggie O. is likely coming, too, and, of course, spending some time with Martie!!!

Ellen took this photo of me Sunday with her cell phone, which is why it is sort of small. Good thing it is! The noodle makes my arms look fat, though!

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After the pool time, I got dressed and headed to Bealls to do some birthday shopping for Justin. I have neither seen nor heard from him since last Thursday's lunch after Bible study, but still decided to buy him a present or two. There were huge banners promoting a senior discount that day, which would be great to take advantage of. Up to that moment, I was a senior discount virgin, except for one time when accidentally getting the lower priced ticket at the movies, without my asking for it. Twila and Jean got theirs at the senior rate and the cashier simply did the same for me. Nice! Even after I pointed it out, she told me to just go ahead. So, anyway, I got what I wanted, having an additional discount on all housewares, which is where I was shopping. When I got to the check-out and began the process, I asked the lady if I could have the senior discount of 15%, too. She looked up at me and said, "That's for people 50 and older..." so I had to prove my age by showing my driver's license. She made my day---minus 15%!

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Julia did not need any lunch so I got myself a drink and stopped at Great Hang Ups for a bit. She commented that my hair was getting so light, and asked me if I dyed it that color. Nope, it must be from the sun or the pool water bleaching it out. When Dee came in, she also remarked about my hair turning lighter, both of them complimentary. Last night I got a message from my friend, Michelle, who had seen my pool photo on Facebook and told me I was so cute, especially with the red hair. Red? Okay, which is it---red or white?