That's the brakes

This morning I foolishly scheduled an appointment, at long last, for an oil change and tire rotation. The soonest I could get in was at 9:30 so I grabbed it. This worked out okay since it rained during the time I would have been in the pool with the class. Sadly, the fellow reported that my brakes were worn down and rotors needed attention. Hmmm....I am just not sure about this. These were not my usual guys with whom I have dealt so my eyebrows are up.

I have contacted my 'friend', Vince, who checked out my transmission and such for free not terribly long ago, to see if he can take a look at them for me. If he thinks they need work, and is not more expensive than the other place, he can do the work. I trust him! And, don't want to be ripped off OR put myself in danger. What a dilemma, to be at the mercy of mechanics!

                                 
While waiting for my car, I was cold so told the fellow I was going to sit at the picnic table while I waited. He said it was not too hot out yet, and I explained I wanted to be hot. But, then he warned me the table was rickety and to be careful sitting on it----yikes!!! There was NO WAY I was going to put my bulk on what was left of the benches. It needed to be hauled off, not sat upon! 

The appointment was made for me to return on Friday for the brake work, which leaves me time to get another opinion on them. I took the earliest appointment, 8:00 a.m., when the brake technician comes in. My comment was that I should make the appointment for later so I could sit at Aron's Pizza to wait. The guy said, "You could make it for 11:00 when they open, but you don't want the first pizza of the day; you want to wait for the second or third one..." Immediately I replied, "I am getting the first brake job of the day by coming at 8:00!" and everyone laughed. I guess it's okay to have the first brake job (life vs. death) rather than the first pizza out of the oven....

Like old times

This morning I heard Justin leave for work---nice to have him back and in his routine again. If it was not for the sound my kitchen door makes when being opened, I would be nearly unaware of his comings and goings when my bedroom doors are closed. He did not wake me, I was already this way.

An upsetting dream left me feeling sort of anxious, but it was not a 'bad' dream necessarily. Those early morning ones are the worst for me, it seems. This time, the dream began with Justin and me in the backseat of my bro-in-law, Harvey's, car with my former spouse as the passenger. The streets could have been those of my hometown, crowded with cars as we were making our way to a theater to see "The Phantom of the Opera" show!!

At one point, Harv bumped the car in front of ours, heard metal crunch, but in his earnestness to get to the theater on time, kept right on going. He is quite proud of his cars so this was a big deal for him. At last we arrived and parked in this huge field, sort of like a county fair instead of theater-type parking. My sister, Lynn, was then with Justin and me, searching for the right door to go into the building. We were behind stages, not the right ones, asking for directions but not getting good answers. Not sure about our tickets (I think at some point the men found us and had the tickets in hand), but before we knew it, the play/show was on intermission before we even found the right theater. Around every corner was more confusion, and it was a relief to wake up and hear Justin leaving for work!

***

Late morning I went outside to enjoy the pool, finding only one lady out there. She lives in my building and walks back and forth in the pool to exercise. She said the water was perfect (my opinion was different) but was not bad when the sun shined on us. I did a few rounds of the pool and then got out to call my mom. I had almost finished my soda and was glad to see the life guard come down to unlock the cabana. Though not officially open, we can still get sodas and snacks as needed. Danny gave me a soda and I settled in to chat with Nancy who had come to swim some laps. Cindy had also arrived and did some laps as well.

As Nancy, Cindy, and I were chatting, I pointed to the sky at the dark clouds. We knew it wouldn't be long before things changed but wow!, it came by storm! Ha ha! 

Since I didn't have shoes on, I had to proceed more slowly on the slippery brick walkway back to The Palace. On the other side of the pool, branches were falling down from the palm trees with a thud. Danny was running around trying to gather up pool toys and such, and close the umbrellas so the tables wouldn't flip. 

Once more I was chilled to the bone, but my house was nice 'n warm since we had to turn off our A/C due to pump repairs. The rains continued and before long, I heard the door open. Justin had gotten rained out again today, this time right after noon! Usually it's later in the day. He said they, too, were taken by surprise at how quickly this storm came up.

After getting showered, he got busy in his room, organizing and straightening, etc. He asked me to fold his clothes and put some on hangers for him. My pleasure! So very badly I want his room all set up. My living room table is yet laden with his belongings, and hopes to soon get that cleared away. He is asking his friends to come by on Friday night after his birthday dinner so that is his goal, to clean off the table!

                                  

Saturday we had gone grocery shopping. We bought some chicken, which he marinated for making teriyaki chicken and fried rice. He did so tonight for dinner, wishing to time it just right so it was done in time for "Jeopardy!". "Like old times..." he said. Yes, like old times (three months ago). He has also said he missed watching part of The Five with me, sitting in my room in my office chair to do so, and also missed watching "Jeopardy!" while we eat dinner. And then, O'Reilly....

Sunday's update

Justin's original plans for moving back home were to do so today, but he actually decided to pack his car on Thursday night and move back home for good. He allowed me to help him unload the car, making several trips up and down the elevator with arms laden primarly with his clothing. (Why did I buy him clothes for his birthday???) Justin gave me the privilege of carrying what he described as his most valuable possession, NOT his Packer stock certificate, but rather, his gold laurel wreath which I brought back from Santorini for him in 2007. It is his most valued possession in several ways! (I just spent far too much time in my photo archives looking for a picture of him holding the wreath when he opened his gift that Christmas...)

He was busy in his room when I left for Bible study, as I told him prior to his coming back that I needed to see the floor this time. No more of that mayhem, please. I can't bear having a 'swirling vortex of entropy' in his room. Thank you for the quote, Sheldon! 

During Bible study, I noticed my phone was nearly dead so sent him a text message to please grab my charger, which he did, plugging it in to recharge during worship. My job today was to collect offerings at the door for the Befriend a Mission donations so after worship, he fetched my charged phone for me, and then left to go off with his friend, Jesse.

Judy had more family in town because of a friend's wedding so we had a nice group going to Chili's for lunch. Terri T. and her family were going their own way, however, as it is her birthday. She was missed but certainly enjoyed her time with her peeps. Summer has been hard on our church family lunch gatherings, however.

Upon getting home, I immediately changed clothes and got into my swimsuit for pool fun. At last I had a chance to tell Ollivan 'thank you' for the lovely lovely card she sent me during the week, for the cheese curds I brought back from WI. Her comments about me in the card just choked me up, and as I told Linda, really give me something to strive toward, to live up to her compliments to me. Plus, Ollivan sent me two gift cards to Mojo's BBQ, to boot! She was concerned that I had not gotten the card but I just had not seen her to thank her for them, and had not mentioned it to Lee at all. 

The sun played peek-a-boo with us who were floating about in the water. At one point I was getting gooseflesh when the clouds took the sunshine away, and made my way out of the pool to dry off. Lee knew it was going to rain, but said she wouldn't run for it until the last moment. All of sudden the wind let loose, and we could tell it was time to depart. (My friend, Kelly, formerly from church, wrote about a water spout which occurred about this same time further south on the river....). Got back upstairs and out of my cold, wet suit, and then could not get warm again for nothing!!!

When Justin got home from his outing, he got busy again in his room. He asked me to tackle the folding of his clothes and put the hanging stuff on hangers for him. Only then did warmth return to me, which was a good thing. He had a coupon to use before expiration from Papa John's pizza and instead of paying for delivery, he drove up to Fleming Island to get them. Yes, he bought two, because he likes leftover pizza. The ones he got are thin crust, not my first choice, but hey, if he's buying and flying, he gets to choose!

                                 

He also took the time this a.m. to assemble a gift he brought me---another battery-operated vacuum cleaner! This one is more like a "bust duster" with a beater bar on the end of it, on a stick! I had originally told him about the one Mom got with a bust duster attachment, but this one with the beater brush will not work well for cleaning up the whisker mess from ones' sink. But he is also watching out for my poor aching back, and since the battery is good for 15 minutes, that is only the length of time I need to expend. He is so very kind to me, and I love that about him!

Crazed vandals strike!

Friday, Michael C. sent me a text message with these photos attached. It seems some one saw fit to ruin our church sign plus that of the church down the street from us. What saddened me, besides the sign being damaged, was that the apparently very strong vandals used one of the statues dedicated to Timmy's memory to do so.

There lies the little boy reading a book statue between the two glass walls of the sign. It is quite substantial, and was a gift to us from the Douglas' family. Michael wanted to leave it in there until all the paperwork was handled but someone else evidently reached in and extracted it, putting it back in place. What possesses people to do such damage? Shame shame shame!

Rain, rain, go away!

This late morning I went out to the pool which was fairly deserted, strange for a Friday. Only one lady was sitting out at a table, already eating, so upon ordering my food, I joined her. Cindy was having the lunch special of Shrimp Louie, a favorite of many. I ordered my usual of a cheeseburger with pasta salad as the side. 

                                       

I had had a brief chat with Cindy a couple days earlier as she reconnected with a former co-worker of hers, Pat G., with whom I was having lunch. That was fun to listen in on, retracing their steps after being apart for so many years. It was good that she came again so we could visit with each other by ourselves.

She felt quite comfortable bringing up the topic of faith in the Lord with me, asking me about mine, etc. It seems her husband and she had talked about me at home, and were fairly certain I was 'in the Lord', as she put it. He is in me, but I was not about to argue that point. 

We talked at some length about how the Lord's hand directs our lives and paths. She had been dedicated to caring for her ailing elderly parents and lost them both as of last November, missing them greatly. She said she has good days and not so good ones, and asked me if I had them. I told her I have bad moments, usually not entire days, and reminded her the tears are for me, not for Timmy. She actually knew of Timmy, since she was a teacher at St. Johns at the time. Knows Justin better, of course. 

Her grief is compounded and much more new than is mine, but she assured me she knows where her parents are and takes comfort in that fact. Glad to know she has this comfort to help her get by. Also glad I could help in whatever small way I could. A good friend told me once that you can't go wrong with good Scripture text (or a memory to spew it forth when called upon!)

After she left, as if on cue, my new friend, Nancy, arrived at the pool. She had already eaten lunch but did order a Shrimp Louie meal to-go. We chatted a bit, and she told me had gotten my message Wednesday night when I had to break our date. I now have her phone number and she mine, so we don't have to go through bartenders to convey information!

We were in the pool a short while before we noticed the grey clouds moving in. Nuts! The wind changed, and we could sense the rain was coming. Both of us got out of the pool, grabbed our stuff and dashed for our respective homes. Hope she got her Louie before she left though! This is happening far too often now and I am tired of it! I got upstairs and out of my wet swim suit, and put on my cotton knit housedress instead of getting dressed.

Justin came home from work and settled in his room for a rest after taking a shower. I heard the doorbell and dashed to see who was there. It was my new airbed, parked outside my door. I had to wrestle it in out of the rain, not wanting the box to get wet and weak. 

Later, just as The Five was wrapping up, I heard the doorbell yet again. I dashed out to see who it was, finding Debbie, my upstairs neighbor, waiting at the door. She asked me if I had plans for dinner and if not, would I like to join them. Sure!!! Justin declined to come along but that was fine. I told Debbie I would hurry up and get dressed, which I did, showing up at their door in less than 10 minutes!

First I looked at Dick's photo book from a safari he'd been on, and then off we went. They had not entirely decided where to go, thinking of a sushi-type place in Oakleaf Plantation. By the time we would have gotten out there, we figured there would be a line, so at my suggestion, we ate at Koko's! 

                                               

They were nice and busy, like in the old days, with some folks even waiting to be seated. Due to our small number, we were seated immediately and served by AJ, our 'old' waitress from Koko days. We enjoyed a great meal, their treat!, and wonderful conversation. We are on the same page in many ways, which works out great! Debbie gave me her leftovers, too, for Justin. They got a kick out of my plans to be buried in a foam to-go box, perhaps even one with the brand name of HEFTY stamped in it! "Oh, Kim, you're too much!"

U-Verse Part II

Let's see--- we left off with the second visit from Scott in one day, leaving behind the white contraption for Justin to install at a later time to boost the signal to my room....

Terri had been keeping up with me via text message and Facebook as to what was going on, signal strength and all that, like a good friend and customer service person that she is. Wednesday I went out to the pool for water exercise class as usual, complaining the whole while because of cold water mixed with hide 'n seek sunshine. No sooner did I pop out of the pool than did my phone ring---it was Connie! I could see her on the deck at The Palace.

She told me I had two gentlemen callers from ATT, some VIPS's, waiting to speak to me about my service. Wow! I had no idea they were coming so I scampered over there, dripping as I went. (Hopefully, Marlena had written down my lunch order already!). These two fellows, nicely dressed, were the area supervisors and had been made aware of my situation. Thanks, Terri!

I showed them where the modem was located and why (proximity to where service came into the house and to where no extra cable had to be run). Also I showed them the white box left by Scott #1 last night for my son to hook up. They were also made aware that my son had a wireless device, and was able to pull it up on my computer to show exactly what he had. They could see my weak signal strength on both machines and were brainstorming as to different places to put the modem should Justin's solution not work. 

"Mike" had opened the phone jack in the kitchen to check it for something and when he tried to put it back on, the anchor fell into the wall space. Nuts! The other fellow teased him about forgetting what real work is like, but assured me a new screw would be coming that day yet and would be installed for me. No outlets left open! 

                                   

Justin came in after work, found his wireless device and placed it on top of the curio cabinet in the dining room. Almost out of site, but enough so that I could see the lights were lit. I like to see the lights! It worked! The signal is now full strength on both my computers and enough for Justin's purposes (as far as we know) in his room. 

I was told someone would be here before 6:30 but Scott #2 called to say he was running late, which seems to happen alot!, and it would be closer to 7:30 pm. My original plans had been to go to Happy Hour and meet my friend, Nancy, new to the pool and Club. But, since 'their best man' was coming over to fix that open outlet, I wanted to be here to show him our improved signal and all that. So, I called The Club and left a message for Nancy about my change of plans.

At last, Scott #2 showed up. He was a friend of Terri's stepson who also does installs and had trained this man. Nice! All in the family! He had to use a different type of plate to cover up the hole and managed to get the phone jack closed up again. He took a picture of it to brag to his boss who had lost the screw in the first place. Scott #2 was also impressed with Justin's booster and signal strength, and took the box along that Scott #1 had left here. 

Justin said it was like the joke "How many ATT people does it take to get Ms. Kim's Uverse connected?" It took four people five visits but it was Justin who saved the day! Thanks, my dear!

Contacting you from Uverse

Things have been a bit hectic around here, especially with the comings and goings of the Uverse guys. Sounds like something from outer space, but it's actually from just down the street! It seems ATT has a shop just across Kingsley Avenue near the new entrance to Moosehaven. Good thing it is so handy for the guys to get their equipment, etc.

Because Justin 'needs' more signal strength than my existing service allows, he agreed to cover the cost of upgrading to a faster/better Internet program. We decided that U-Verse was the way to go, and a young lady from church, Erin, was able to help me get set up. Terri, also from church, was extremely instrumental in getting the ball rolling as well, making sure the supervisor for the job was ready for dealing with the likes of me!

My "VIP" status got me set for installation on Tuesday between 1:00 and 3:00. I made sure I was upstairs from the pool and had my desk plus surrounding area clear of stuff to allow the fellow ready access to my equipment. That, however, did not prove to be the work area---oh, my! 

The first order of business, once the guy, Scott, arrived closer to 4:30, after being contacted about the delay, was for him to do something at the terminal out at the street. Then, he had to come inside and locate ALL the phone jacks in the house. This meant he had to have access to them first. Oh, boy! I had to wrest furniture around the spare room, which had been moved in there rather indiscriminately to make room across the hall. Oh, heavenly days! Not only that, but there were three phone jacks mounted in there!!! The previous owners had their office back in that room, accounting for all the jacks. 

Then, in Justin's room, climbing between plastic bins which had been pulled apart in the search of my extra set of keys (he later found them in a pants pocket once he got to his father's house!!!), and move a bookcase out of the way. I don't work that hard in a month, and did it all in one day!

(As an aside: Scott had told me that his son had also requested to come back home to live, so was sympathetic to my situation of living in upset. The difference is---Scott lives in a one bedroom apartment! That is going to be tough.)

Scott got it hooked up, leaving the modem device on the bookshelf in Justin's room, which saved running cable anywhere, nearly impossible to do so without it showing. See, I have concrete block walls here, so it is difficult to add modern conveniences such as Ethernet cable or whatever it is. He got my computers connected with the new modem info, etc. and was on his way to yet another job. 

                              

BUT, as I shared with Terri, the signal strength to my little laptop was extremely low, and had trouble connecting at all. I had only two 'bars' of connection at best, more often only one. I found myself lifting my laptop up into the air, like the Lion King lifting Simba to the gods!! Good strong arms for this, or from this...Terri got hold of the supervisor who had Scott turn around and come back to my house. I sure did not expect him due to the lateness of the hour.

                     

Scott brought along a hard-wired booster for Justin to hook-up the next day. Justin had already told me he had a booster which would do the trick, and was wireless but I accepted Scott's device anyway. I felt badly that he had to come back, but while he was here, he got a phone call saying he was not to go to his next appointment. It seems that those in charge of scheduling vastly overbooked the installers and the powers that be wanted to make a point with the schedulers. At the expense of the customers, as I pointed out to Scott. 

My desktop computer worked fine though had a diminished signal and probably my little laptop, used from the bed, would have worked better in the river room or family room, but, we will never know! At least my forearms were getting stronger raising my computer to the signal gods.

More later....