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Matt arrived on Saturday. He’s seven years old and terribly sweet. Whenever the front door opens he thinks it is time to go for a walk and starts doing the “greyhound hop” around my living room.
He has an allergic condition that has thinned all the hair on his hindquarters to reveal a rash on his exposed skin. I’m suspicious that his previous owners may have given him up because they weren’t able to afford the vet bills to treat his condition. He raced in another state where he was adopted, his owners moved here, then they decided they needed to release him back to an adoption agency. Visited with the vet today to get him a check-up, bloodwork, and shots — Matt was so well behaved! Hopefully the lab results will give us some clues as to what’s going on.
In the meantime he’s settled in well as part of the household. He loves curling up in the office while I work on the computer. I fell asleep on the couch last night watching a movie, and when I awoke he was snuggled up next to me.
Will this be the time that I fail the “foster test”? I know that wherever he winds up, he’s going to make his new family very happy.
Illusionaire
Crafty geek with a soft spot for technology experimenting with a lot of DIY projects
Mom and I have decided that shopping is not to be pooh-poohed as a frivolous pasttime, simply because of the diverse range of skills required to shop successfully…
- Endurance
To be able to make it from shop to shop without collapsing from exhaustion - Physical Strength
So you can carry your purchases home - Time Management
Knowing the hours of your favorite stores… and how much time you should spend before moving on to the next! - Sense of style and color
Ensures that you are buying stuff that will work well with you personal sense of style - Financial Prowess
Knowing the difference between a good deal, and a good investment. Sometimes shelling out a bit more from the get go will save you money in the long run. Plus, knowing how to balance your budget so you know how often you can shop. - Navigational skills
Helps you to find out of the way shops or get from point A to B in labyrinthine shopping centers. - Social Skills
Butter up that salesgal so she can show you the best deals in the shop! Also good to be diplomatic in the dressing room when your friend wants your opinion on how that trendy yet unflattering outfit looks. - Crowd Management
Know how to position yourself at the front of the crowd in mob-sale situations - Negotiation skills
Know how to haggle for the best deal… or walk away when you know you won’t be able to get the seller down to the price you believe the item is worth.
Mom and I both found our outfits today for Rob’s wedding –hooray! One less thing to worry about!
Josh and Rana’s wedding yesterday was beautiful. Wonderful to catch up with so many family members I haven’t seen in a while.
Discovered some incredibly cool hook and loop lettering kits on clearance at Target. Picked up as many as possible because I think they will be fun to play with at Rob’s wedding. I kind of screwed up my first shirt (and my iron) because I wasn’t as careful in the application as I should have been. Still looks cute, albeit in a tacky counter-culture sort of way.
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My other favorite trick these days is to apply my favorite stickers to magnetic sheets and cut them out – instant fridge magnets! I used to love having bumper stickers all over my car, but I don’t really do that anymore, so it is much more fun to have them in my kitchen instead. Besides, I have the vintage white metal enamel cabinets in my kitchen, which means I can cover most of my kitchen in tacky magnets!
Shown here is my Mudsharks sticker, a set of vice stickers from Accoutrements / Archie McPhee, and my Aviation Sparkplugs sticker. Next to be made into magnets are my sticker replicas of vintage luggage labels.
I think there must be a bad moon on the rise. In the checkout line at skanky Safeway…
Me: Pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia frozen yogurt and a container of coffee creamer
Gal behind me: Two pints of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream
Gal behind her: Gallon of brownie sundae ice cream, gallon of cheap red wine, and a tin of cat food
All of us were about the same age and shopping alone. Made me wonder if this was the designated time for gals to pick up their comfort food.
I had to take a detour to get home earlier today because there was a fire truck between my house and where I turned off the main drag. Took the dog for a walk when I got home (best way to find out what’s going on around my block!) and it turned out that my neighbors’ smoke alarm was going haywire for no apparent reason. I’m getting really tired of coming home or waking up and seeing fire trucks. I don’t like needing to dial 911, but I’m happy that the fire and police department have really good response times in my neighborhood.
Some days my neighborhood amuses me greatly.
This has been a week where I’ve noticed myself doing things that are very… well… perceived as being northwestern!
We’ve had fabulous fall weather where the rain came back with a vengeance and my world has been shrouded in a the northwestern-y mist I love. Sunshine is nice, but I prefer the rain and mist. (Until it gets to be April and May. By then I’m usually more than ready for the sun to come back.)
Went out to breakfast at Zell’s Cafe on Tuesday, admiring the drizzle when leaving the house in jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved T of a favorite microbrew. No make-up. (I love living where if you bother with make-up, it is usually so naturally done that it doesn’t look like wearing any at all – why isn’t it like this everywhere?) Listened to Ten and Nevermind in the car on the way there. Didn’t occur to me to bring an umbrella because umbrellas are for wimps. I haven’t carried one in years.
I could only have felt a bit more stereotypically NW if I had worn a flannel shirt and Doc boots*.
Last night I went by the smoke shop in my Public Broadcasting shirt and jeans wearing socks with my sandals. (No, I don’t normally wear socks with my sandals, but I was too lazy to find my tennis shoes and my feet were chilly.) The smokes I bought were pure tobacco with no additonal additives. (Nat Sherm MCD’s) Scary that even though I am buying a poison for my body, I am still buying the better poison for my body.
I’m a beer snob. I expect there to be vegetarian options wherever I dine. (And I’m not veggie!) I listen to public and community radio. I own a compost bin. When I finish a soda my first instinct is to look for a recycle bin.
The longer I live here, the more stereotypically northwestern I feel. I recently heard the term “born again Oregonian” and I would classify myself as one, but I would never put that bumper sticker on my car.
What do you notice about your actions or habits that are typical for the area you live in? How has your life been altered by where you are living and the people who live near you?
My brother is getting married in just over six weeks.
I’m searching online trying to find a better car rental rate because I’m reserving a minivan to ferry people and wedding paraphenalia all over the place.
Dollar has lots of pretty graphics splashed over their homepage announcing a sale on minivan rentals. I click and enter my information only to get…
NO RATES QUALIFY WITH REQUESTED PARAMETERS
To me, this could mean many things, such as:
The dates you entered do not fall within the time of the promotion
This promotion is not available in this market
All cars available for this promotion have already been rented
There are no cars of that type available for rent at this location
This promotion is not available at the airport, but we will honor it at our rental office downtown
We put this promotion up to see how many people would click on the pretty graphics. SUCKER!
A click on help does me no good, as it states:
The following fields are required to check a rate:
Pick Up Location
Return Location
Pick Up Date and Time
Return Date and Time
Car Type
Once you have completed the form please select “Check Rates” to continue.
I have all that information entered! Why aren’t they more specific in their error messages? I also tried checking rates for a Jeep Wrangler, and got the error message, “Unable to retrieve rate at this time.” I suspect there aren’t any of those cars available for rent at that location, but the error message is incredibly vague and suggests that their rate retrieval system is down.
Somewhere during this surfing excursion, I notice there is a way to chat online with one of their representatives. I get mildly annoyed when I have to install two plug-ins in order to enter the chat, and the subsequent launched window is not resizeably-friendly. I explain my dilemma about the confusing message to the chat operator, and they explain that message means there are no cars available through that promotion, and I need to remove the promo code in order to get a regular rate.
WHY DIDN’T THEY JUST COME OUT AND SAY THAT IN THE ERROR MESSAGE? Why did I need to install two apps and talk with a customer service rep in order to get that information? If I need to remove the promo code in order to get a regular rate, a friendly note stating that would be optimal. Why not have a message stating, “We’re sorry, that rate is no longer available. Here are the regular rates for that market.”
No matter how pretty and snazzy their team made the site, there is no substitute for clearly communicating your message with specific details as needed.