Wednesday Stuff

Boy, I really need to get back to blogging on a regular basis ... I've lost the creativity for titling my blogs!

We'll start by getting the Star Trek stuff out of the way, LOL. I wonder how many hats I can wear in Starfleet? All the "jobs" I listed in my last blog, PLUS the opportunity to command my own "ship". Ya, me a Commander of a Starfleet "vessel". Well possibly. I will know more tonight after their meeting. Seems they have a ship, but no commander. No one wants to take the position either. It's a small club, barely half a dozen people. Now, one lady may do it, IF it's not too involved of a position. If she doesn't then I will be asked to do it to keep the chapter from dissolving. As Single Son is currently the Vice Commander of our region, a chapter going into solvency isn't a good thing. Besides, we do a lot of things together, this chapter and my chapter. I'd hate to lose that. Luckily for me (or I wouldn't even consider the Commander position) I can still be in my current chapter, too. As well as doing all the things I do currently.

Okay, enough Star Trek.

Wednesdays for the past month or so have been a day for me to head on up to my folks house and do odd jobs. Cleaning, shopping, whatever Mom needs me to do that day. She's not been feeling well, so the help is welcome. I'm only there a few hours, I don't stay for dinner usually. Mom cancelled today's shopping session. Not sure why. Too much mother/daughter bonding as of late? LOL.

Married Son still hasn't moved in completely. Not sure why. Don't really care, to be honest. I'm enjoying the quiet while I can. I'm sure soon enough it'll be loud and chaotic here once again. Oh, and loud it gets. DIL has NO volume control!

I don't see Alien or Butterball a whole lot. However, DIL was visiting them last night and texted me that Butterball's first tooth has poked through the gum! So far he's had no issues with teething. I hope it stays that way! Butterball is the best name for him, too. He's six months old now, and weighs 22 pounds!! At this rate, the kid'll be one hell of a quarterback by the time he's in middle school!

Oh, and we've had a gremlin sighting! He's been coaching the squirrels once again in the fine art of destroying the phone lines! It's an annual thing, really. But I thought we were done for this year (that's what I get for thinking). AT&T has already been out about a month or so ago to fix it, and now it's the same problem, but only in a different location on the wire. AT&T really ticks me off at times. I called repair today to report the problem. Half an hour on their stupid prerecorded message system (press one for ... ) and I end up back where I started. Finally, somehow I got a human being. A male (nothing wrong with males working call centers), BUT he seemed to think I didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about. Hello? I've had this freaking problem 14 of the 16 years I've lived here. Give me a break, I know what I'm talking about and what the freaking problem is. And it's only the men at the call center who give me shit when I call. I was told it'd be looked into and fixed before Saturday - in his words, IF we find a problem with the outside wires. I swear one of these days I'm gonna *IF* these know it all male call center fools. What they need to do is bury the phone line. They say it's MY responsibility to pay for burying lines. I tell them no way. They can keep coming out for repairs then. I offered THEM a cost saving solution to THEIR problem!

So, in the meantime, we have intermittent connections. Makes using the internet a test of our patience.

Gotta love technology.

11 PM. Well, they decided to disband the other Star Trek club. Their members will come aboard our "ship". I have mixed feeling about this. One the one hand, it was the oldest chapter around, they were a huge help to us when we joined Star Fleet some eight years ago. Ah well, it was their decision. We can only welcome their members with open arms. Then on the other hand ... there is one member I'd rather set the phaser to stun than to deal with. Talk about a Trekkie. Nothing else exists to this person. He has hundreds (literally) of awards and certificates from StarFleet and carries them around with him in a four inch thick three-ring binder! He sort of reminds me of the British Comedy "Keeping Up Appearances" character Hyacinth Bucket and how she shows pictures of her Sheridan to anybody and everybody. And he's LOUD. My gawd he's loud. Makes DIL look like a soft spoken individual.

Add aspirin to the medical kit, Doc! I'm gonna need it!

Trekkie

I should warn ya'll now, this is a Star Trek themed blog. If Star Trek isn't your thing, you may want to beam out now!!

On Sunday, we had a meeting of the Star Trek group I belong to. Single Son, our Commander, asked that I bring my computer with me. Seems I've been drafted to the position of meeting Secretary. No problem. The problem was the table at the restuarant where we hold our meetings was too small for me to set the computer up to take minutes. Because I hadn't thought to bring a pad of paper with me, official minutes were taken on the back of a Chinese Zodiac placemat. I'm sure Roddenberry would be turning over in his grave - a Trekkie using a placemat to keep Star Fleet minutes on! Oy!

I did have the computer set up for a presentation though. Since it was before the waitress had brought appetisers or our meals I had room for the laptop (whoever said it was a good idea to hold meetings at a Chinese restuarant whilst eating sweet and sour chicken and brown rice NEVER owned a laptop). However, because of seating arrangements, I did the presentation pretty much upside down - looking at the laptop from above and trying to navigate through it all with the touch pad. It was quite an accomplishment for me, I tell ya. I have to admit I was sort of ticked off at one gal whom I had asked to navigate for me while I spoke. She got all huffy (she's thirty something) and had quite a little fit. "I don't touch computers with Microsoft product on them". And she didn't either! Well excuse me!

But the presentation went well. It was for a friend and fellow Trekkie who is running for the position of Commander of StarFleet. He was at the meeting, but we kicked him and Single Son out of the meeting room whilst we discussed their platform and took a vote as to if we will officially nominate them as candidates, or if we'd nominate another team as candidates for the upcoming election. Needless to say, I think you know who got our unanimous vote. LOL. And yes, Single Son was kicked out because he will be part of this person's cabinet.

I have volunteered to help with the campaign in any way they can use me (provided it doesn't involve coding websites).

I also have the honor of planning the annual summer picnic. Fun stuff. We have our date all set, just not the exact time or a place yet. That's this week's assignment, find and reserve a picnic site (hopefullly with a pavillion or other shelter should the weather not cooperate). But, it has to be central to all members. There's my problem. We have members all over lower Michigan, and even some members in Canada. Could prove to be quite a chore. LOL. Oh, and the menu will be Star Trek based. Yes, there are Star Trek recipes out there. I just have to figure out some Trekkie games we can play! If anyone has creative ideas how to Trek-ify a game or two let me know please?? OMG! I just had an idea. No, I'm not hurt ... something with Tribbles. Amy ... got any ideas for games using Tribbles?

Oh, and I finally got a promotion in rank. Only took a year, and a lot of work on my part. LOL. So, I'm now officially an Ensign. The lowest of commissioned officers, but by gum, I made it!

I also volunteered to fill a vacancy in our "ships" Security division. I'm now the Security Officer, Communications Officer, Ship Historian, Secretary and ... Star Trek Picnic Planner. Oh, and campaign volunteer for my friend.

In other words ... I HAVE NO LIFE!

Some Tuesday Thoughts ...

The heat of summer is definitely here. I wish it'd go away. Really. I'm swearing that I need to find a nice summer home somewhere cool, like in the Arctic. Ya'll can be snowbirds, heading south to escape the cold of a Michigan winter ... I'm built the opposite, give me the cold! And it's "only" 82 degrees today. I just can't wait to see what the hot months will do (besides melt me).

My status over on facebook read "I. Hate. Heat." My dear cuz really blasted me saying "weren't you just whining about how you couldn't wait for summer". Um, NOT me, dear Cuz. Not me.

Even the cats are hating this heat. The two little ones are laying in front of the floor fan, literally hogging MY breeze. How dare they? At least it's too hot for them to be running around. Oh wait, they saved that for last night while I was trying to sleep.

So, let's see what's been going on in my life lately. Hmmmm, not a darned thing. Life would be totally mundane if it weren't for the occasional drama the kids send my way.

Single Son has taken it upon himself to keep me jumping (literally). He loves to sneak up behind me and yell ... doesn't matter what, just a "hi" even ... just so I will jump out of my skin. Claims he's helping to strengthen my heart. Didn't know my heart needed the exercise (at least not that kind of cardio workout). However, you know if I were to sneak up behind him and scare the wit outta him, he'd not take kindly to it.

Married Son's semi broke down just the other side of the Canadian border. He had to make arrangements for his load to be picked up, then needed a tow back across the border to the repair shop. I'd hate to have seen that tow bill! But he doesn't own the truck, so it's not his bill. LOL. Last I heard he'll be a week off the road whilst they fix the truck. He's stewing because no work, no pay. He really needs to get away from the owner of his semi and buy his own ... this guy lacks so many skills as a boss (and human, but that's another story).

Funny thing happened when Married Son was at a truck stop in Canada before his truck broke down. He was talking with another driver. How he found out the man has the same last name as I do is beyond me, but he did. They started talking and it appears this trucker and I could be related (which makes him related to Married Son, lol). Son and I spent literally hours texting back and forth comparing info between this guy and what I know about the family while they dined on truck stop cuisine (yum). So, email addresses exchanged, it will be fun to fill in some of the many blanks this branch of my family tree has. Provided we can prove he is related and not just a coincidence we have so many common names in our trees.

The only time I hear from Alien is when she needs something. Last week it was gas money and cereal for the baby. I know I said I would not help them out financially at all ... but if my grandson needs food, then dammit, I'm gonna get him food. So, instead of giving her cash that I know that loser she's with would only spend on cigarettes and pop, I told her to meet me at the store. I did put a few dollars of gas into her car, but only enough to get her home and to her doctors appointment the next day. Then we went into the store where I bought baby cereal. Like I said, no way I'm giving her cash with that loser around. This way I knew it went to baby cereal for my Butterball.

Oh yeah, remember all the stink from a few years ago ... Bubba taking me to court for custody, the whole Alien running away ordeal and all the tears shed by me for Bubba's demanding she move in with him? Well ... he moved out of his own house because he can't stand that loser she's with. My question is why he let the jerk move in in the first place. Not my house, not my problem. So Bubba recently moved in with his girlfriend. I wonder how long she'll take his crap? LOL! Not my worry. But at the same time, now Bubba refuses to give them money, pay the bills for his house (they've been without gas for about three months, electric will be shut off any day now), but won't develop the pair needed to remove the loser from his home. The funny part is loser is in violation of his probation, he never reported a change of address with his parole officer. Alien did however call me about a month ago asking me if they could move in with me after she had a fight with her father. She said he was trying to break up her family, but of course Bubba never followed through with his threats. I said no way in hell. She thought the grass was greener on that side of the fence. Now she's seeing everything up close that I fought so hard to prevent. Oy. Talk about drama, eh? At least Alien's now 18 and I am no longer forced to deal with Bubba. And you know I pray the day comes when that loser is gone too.

Not much else going on. My life is rather dull ... it would be perfectly dull had I not had children to entertain me in my old age (okay, middle age). The only *excitement* is that my hand still is bothering me. I cannot use the pinkie and ring finger on my right hand. I can't feel them, the fingers curl under like a bad case of arthritis. At least there's no pain involved. I can't even open a simple package of ramen noodle seasoning (Single Son came to my rescue). Typing is a challenge, but we see I've obviously overcome the challenges of typing with an injured *paw*. I know I really should see a doctor, but being I'm once again without insurance I can't see a doctor in my future anytime soon. The free and low income clinics around all pretty much have a year waiting list - and that's if you're already a patient, new patients have up to a two year waiting list - they will not take into consideration any pre-existing conditions like my gimpy hand or the fact I'm a diabetic. My *good* neighbor works in a free/low income clinic and is trying her darnedest to get me in. Wish us luck.

On that, go rest your eyes. I'm gonna go rest my hand.

Chung's Restaurant

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Chinese
Location:	4187 Highland Road, Waterford, MI 48328

A great place for Chinese, Szechuan, Cantonese, and Japanese food. This is a family run business that's been around since 1940 (the last 12 years in their present Waterford location). They take great pride in their restaurant and it shows.

Home of the famous Chung's Egg Rolls. Definitely the best egg roll I've ever had!

The food is always delicious, and served in generous portions. The staff is friendly, the service is excellent.

I highly recommend Chung's to anyone in the area.

http://www.chungsrestaurant.net/index.htm

Last blog entry on college.

So, college days are officially over for me, for now anyway. I need time off. Still not sure if I'll end up going to the University to get that Bachelor's degree or not. That's a decision I won't contemplate for at least a year. Like I said, I need time off to rest the ol' brain.

Commencements were at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Nice place - if you're in the stands. The back hallways where we had to get in alphabetic order were nice, LOL, but the standing for over an hour on concrete floors in dress shoes really played hell on my feet and legs (four days later I'm still feeling it). I'm glad I wore flats, all those women in high heels had to have really been feeling it worse than me! But once we finally got moving things went smoothly.

The only two professors that I saw there that I knew and had classes with just happened to be my favorite and my worst profs. And of course, the worst prof was all friendly ... shoulder bumping me every time he passed me in the crowded hallway. I so felt like saying "look, I didn't like you when I was in your class. What makes you think I want to be all buddy buddy now? Jerk". But I didn't' say it. I did however, position myself between two students so that he couldn't shoulder bump me further. What a moron. And Coach was there - my fave prof. I've blogged about her in the past, the stress management prof. Great lady. The things I learned in her class will definitely be with me for the rest of my life. Unlike the Jerky Prof, I can't say I even remember much more than his bad teaching (certainly not what the lessons were).

So ... the ceremony was nice. A little long, but what ceremony isn't a bit on the longish side? The keynote speaker especially. Half an hour (so I'm told by Single Son) of whatever it was he was saying. He did "bird hop" a lot - what my family calls when someone jumps quickly from one subject to another, then back to a prior topic again. It made it hard for me to try to keep up with his speech.

I did notice there was a huge percentage of women graduating. Much more than men. I'd love to see the stats on exactly what the ratio was. I'd also love to know the attendance figures. The Palace was absolutely packed!

Single Son and DIL were both there with their cameras. Single Son had his hands full with Dad in his wheelchair, and Mom and Aunt Silly both walking with canes. So he wasn't really able to get many photos during the ceremony. And the handicapped seating was so far up in "nosebleed city" that they were literally in the shadows. Thankfully DIL had a little better seating and was able to photograph the ceremony for me. She has yet to send them to me, but I will post as soon as I receive them. Single Son was able to get photos after the ceremony at least. Which is good, I really wanted photos with my folks and favorite aunt.

Me, Mom, Aunt Silly and Dad

Graduation 2010

Me, Mom, Aunt Silly and Dad.

OCC Graduation Ceremony at Palace of Auburn Hills. More photos to follow soon.

Butterball's Birthday

Start:

Dec 3, '12