Well ... It's Official ...

My days of unemployment officially end on Monday, December 5th at 9 am!! Yay!!

I can't say the least five years of unemployment have been a joy entirely. Yes, spending time with the family, as disFUNctional as we can be, has been a joy for the most part. It's the poverty I won't miss!!

Granted, I'm not being paid a lot, but any money is better than none!! Besides, it's a start until I get on the road as a delivery driver and make the "real bucks".

Speaking of which, I may be on the road sooner than even Married Son anticipated. There's talk of a cargo van that's for sale as we speak. It's owned by Single Son's boss (at FedEx) and is being held as a personal favor until Married Son has a chance to look it over. Since he's home this weekend, he'll be making the time to go check it out. After that, IF he decides to buy it, it'll be a matter of weeks before I'm delivering stuff locally. It'll only need his mechanic to go over it with a fine tooth comb, a new paint job (can't have FedEx painted all over it!) and the little matter of me getting my chauffeur's license.

I'm a little apprehensive about starting a driving job in the winter - in a large vehicle I'm not familiar with!! I've voiced this to Married Son, who assures me that if weather conditions are such, I do not have to take a delivery run. Since I'll be contracted to a local trucking brokerage, it's not like they wouldn't be able to find someone who could deliver whatever. I just have to be careful to not refuse too many deliveries, LOL.

On top of that, I'll still be doing office work (via internet if I'm on a "run"). Alien finds out tomorrow her employment with the company is being terminated. She's made just too many severe data entry mistakes ... thousands of dollars are missing on paper. Honestly, mistakes like these in any other work place would have resulted in termination a long time ago.

I feel bad, in a way, that I am her replacement. But at the same time, if she can't handle the work, and she definitely couldn't, she needs to find another line of work. She is a huge liability to the company. She was way over her head by even agreeing to do the job (a case of what was Married Son thinking when he hired her for data entry?). She gets enough state aid (medical, cash and food assistance) that losing the income will not hurt her (her paychecks went to that idiot of a husband of hers car).

*****

Star Trek ... be warned!!

Still no word on who won the elections! Maybe they're waiting to make the announcement for the December meeting? Grrrrrr ... the suspense is killing me.

What's going to be interesting, IF I win the election, how I'm going to handle work AND Star Trek stuff. There's a huge possibility I could be sent all over states east of the Mississippi and into Canada.

We'll see how this develops.

*****

I can't believe that tomorrow is Butterball's second birthday!! Where does the time go? Alien will have a party for both boys in mid-January.

It'll be nice to really FINALLY afford to buy them a few gifts for their birthdays!!

Thanksgiving

Poor Married Son never did make it home for either his birthday or Thanksgiving.

*****

Thanksgiving went okay. It was a rather small gathering, compared to what Christmas is usually like. We actually had more chairs than butts to cover them, go figure, LOL. That is rare!

The boys (grandsons) were very well behaved. Even the Knight in Rusty Armor was tolerable. Yes, he was there. Seems this week they're "working things out". Oy ... too much drama for me.

We didn't have the normal holiday menu. Instead, there was chicken and ham, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, waldorf salad, dinner rolls. There were also deviled eggs, but the two and a half dozen Cuz's daughter had made never made it to the dinner table. We ALL are guilty of sneaking an egg or three before dinner. Hehehe.

I didn't eat half what I normally would have, so I totally avoided that "ate too much Thanksgiving food as usual" feeling.

Since Cuz and her daughter wanted to hit the Black Friday sales starting at 10 pm and since Single Son had to work early in the morning we called it an early night.

I love my family, but I was ready to come home. Just something about four noisy kids (three under the age of two) that really wears ya out!!

Hope my Thanksgiving celebrating friends had a good holiday.

Now it's on to BAH HUMBUG season!!

Thanksgiving 2011

Weird Day Here ...

Starts with a text from Married Son early this morning, who is stuck in Laredo, TX awaiting a shipment that will hopefully have him back home for his birthday on Wednesday, and Thanksgiving on Thursday. So far, no luck. He's sitting "stranded" in a truck stop in Texas. Such is the life of a trucker.

Anyway, his first request is for me to come up with a slogan for his company, "One Time Express" (O.T.E.). Easy enough request. My slogan? "One Time. Every Time." He loves it!! Since I'm not officially on the payroll yet, I persuaded him into buying me a nice dinner (no chinese buffet this time) in "trade" for my brilliant slogan. The second request is to come up with a logo. DIL was supposed to have designed one THREE months ago, and has yet to come up with even a thought, let alone a rough sketch. So he has asked me to design that, too. All I can think of so far is an analog clock (hands showing 1 o'clock), with "One Time." over it, and "Every Time." under it. For the life of me, I can't come up with where the business name "One Time Express" will play into this!!

Later in the day, after Married Son called Single Son about some business stuff, Single Son comes into my room to tell me Married Son will be calling me shortly, and he's not happy!!

Oh great! What'd I do now?

Only it wasn't me!!

He's furious with Alien. She's been doing data entry - entering his receipts into a spread sheet, and then forwarding it via email to Single Son so he can do the books and file taxes for O.T.E. Except, there's an eight thousand dollar mistake in her records somewhere. And she has no idea where. Son had looked over her spread sheet and can't locate the error either. So it'll take a full "investigation" of her work to find it. And I've been asked to be the one to locate it.

Can we say she's no longer working for O.T.E.?

Single Son is supposed to pick up her computer (O.T.E. property) and all of her files within the next day or two and hand them over to me to find the large error. And take over as secretary for O.T.E.

Which we all saw coming. First her screw up with Butterball dismantling the computer, then a few minor errors and a lot of misfiling receipts into the wrong categories. It's made for more work for Single Son, work he shouldn't have to be doing (and with his many other jobs, damn near impossible to find the time to search for her mistakes).

So I have about a month to find the money that's missing (missing on paper anyway), and correct it. All this while starting Married Son's training for drivers (including basic vehicle mechanics), learning the Dept of Transportation regulations, certifying for my chauffeurs license, kicking DILs ego wherever I can, all my Star Trek "responsibilities" and the daily crap that needs to be done around the house. LOL ... it's gonna be learning to use MY time constructively again.

That, and I'll have to figure out how to be the office secretary while I'm on the road as a delivery driver. Think I can figure that one out? As long as I have a cell phone and internet connection it should be possible. No, not while I'm actually driving down the road ... but when I'm stopped for the night or back home.

So this is my last week of unemployment. Finally. Five loooong years finally behind me! Yay!! And sort of in a field that my degree is in ... business management. Only, according to Married Son it'll be a while before I (or any other employee besides Single Son who already is management) work our way up to management. Nice to know there's no favoritism here, LOL.

I feel bad that Alien got fired, but in all honesty, with her lack of knowledge in even simple book keeping (she's never so much as had a checking account even), and data entry ... I'm somewhat surprised she lasted this long.

*****

My afternoon at the folks condo was productive. Climb a ladder to put some of Mom's prized antique stuff on a display shelf. Climb ladder again to take white lace curtains down so she can wash them. Pull dead flowers out of garden. Ohhed and ahhed over Dad's new computer ... it's a pretty machine. New monitor (he's not adjusting well to a flat screen monitor he says), and a sleek new keyboard. Pretty, pretty!!

I'm not the greatest with heights, so the climb to get the curtains down was a little nerve wracking. Looking out the window I got a little weak kneed, the view of the lake they live on was spectacular, however, that ground being a full two stories under me was what got to me. Especially when I see my jokester of a mother's reflection in the window making like she's going to push me out of said window! Damn near fell backwards off the ladder whist telling her "not funny, Mom"!!

I have to return next week to put curtains back up (yipes!!), get Christmas stuff moved from the basement to their den, and heaven knows what other jobs she'll create for me.

Not that I mind. I don't. As long as she doesn't succeed in pushing me off that blasted ladder anyway!!

Oh really??

My dad's computer crashed again, so he has Brother Deere take it to their computer geek. Dad gets impatient waiting for it to be returned so he orders a new computer!! Geek friend not only transfers the data from the old computer to the new, but he totally restores the old computer, too.

Dad offers me the old desktop, knowing I'm only using a laptop right now. I told him I'd love to have it and would then be able to give the laptop a much needed rest.

I'm telling Single Son all this (with DIL close by) and of course she pipes up "Good, we're buying Grandson a desktop for Christmas but I need a new computer. My laptop is toast. I just need the tower, I have the monitor and keyboard. When can you pick it up for me?"

Hello?

I guess DIL has this overwhelming sense of entitlement ... and it's pissing me off!!

You live here freaking free ... I sure don't count the toilet paper (or dish soap, laundry soap, paper towels and garbage bags) that I MAKE you "donate" for living here (since you consume the most of these products anyway, it's ONLY FAIR to buy what you use) ... and you think YOU are entitled to jack squat.

Did I ask if YOU wanted it? No ...
Do YOU work? Yes ...
Can you save part of YOUR paycheck to buy a computer? Probably ... if you didn't piddle your money away on useless crap you don't NEED.

I'm on my way shortly to the folks house to run some errands and do some chores for Mom. Dad really wants the old computer out of his condo, but I'm going to ask him to store it for me for a while longer. At least until after Married Son is home and I get to talk to him about this crap.

What, oh what, will I blog about when DIL is history?

I know ... my new sense of freedom ... my new job ... my life being so dull without the DIL complication.

I can't wait!!

What a dork!!

I can't believe that both Single Son and I totally forgot about yesterday's Star Trek junkies meeting!! Luckily my friend Chicken had called both Son and I to find out what time the meeting started. Had he not called, it'd have been a catastrophe! And after all that Chicken didn't even get to the meeting  - something about he thought he was having a stroke - I'd be concerned, except for the fact he's a major hypochondriac!

And I'd have missed the meeting where my peers cast their votes for their new XO (Executive officer) had Chicken not called so many times yesterday.

We have to send the ballots to our ballot-counter up in Canada, so we won't know the election results for about a week.

But from the general gist of the mostly hushed conversations around me, I'm pretty sure I won. Besides, my opponent lives in the state of Wyoming. How can he really do his job from such a distance away??

And believe me, there's a lot to this position, most of which I've been doing for over a year now in the absence of the gal who is supposed to be our XO.

So, just think, if I win the election, you'll get to hear all about the events I'll have to plan ... and probably a lot more venting about all things Trek, too.

LOL ...

Lucky you!!

When MIL ain't happy ...

ain't nooooooobody happy!!

I used to have a t-shirt that said just that ... with one very pissed off bunny on it. Oh where is it when I need it?

So what exactly started the tirade I'm about to relate to you?

I went to get something out of *my crisper drawer* in the fridge (yes, I keep stuff in there, stuff she knows NOT to touch - mayo, lunch meats, ,whatever) and the damned thing was STUCK shut. On further investigation, someone had spilled a sticky liquid (probably one of many drink boxes) all over the fridge and LEFT IT for someone else to clean up.

After an hour of cleaning, tossing out, and organizing the fridge has been reclaimed. Gone are her two dozen eggs with the sell-by date on the cartons of May 2011 and December 2010! Gone are six bread heels that got shoved to the back - behind her large inventory of drink boxes - and left to mold. Gone are three opened and GREEN packages of bologna left in their crisper drawer. Nasty shit, nasty. I've never seen so much waste in my life as what DIL creates. Sad ... so sad.

I'm sure she'll be furious once she discovers that I cleaned out her crap, too. Oh freaking well. My fridge, she's lucky she gets as much space as she does for six cases of drink boxes (two cases were actually empty and sitting in the fridge still) ... dozens of fruit cups and snack packs of puddings that I have collected and put in her drawer ... it was in my way, dammit. Now it's not!

Then I decided that since I was there, I'd tackle organizing the freezer, too. I don't have a shelf in the freezer, so stuff gets piled up and fast. I adapted a shelf from an old wire rack I had saved for some reason from my old freezer. Organized "hers" and "mine" - of course being the bitch I am, I gave her the smallest area (the ice bucket and trays take up a third of the space) and made a sign saying "Mom's food" and "DILs food" with another sign saying "any food placed in MY section I WILL EAT". I'm tired of her thinking she is going to move our (Single Sons and mine) stuff if it's in her way. It's my house ... my stuff ... your shit is in my way, then watch out. I'm FED UP!

And as long as I'm bitching ... what is it that she moved a large pot from the drying rack (in her way obviously) and put it on the counter - the cupboard for the pots is directly under where the pot sat on the counter. She's been half-assed putting dishes away ... cups in the dish cupboard, dishes on the counter, pans on the stove, strainer in the oven (plastic strainer - luckily I checked the oven BEFORE I turned it on or the house would have stunk to high heaven with the melting plastic) ... I could go on and on.

There's more left to do in the kitchen - like reclaiming my cupboards and counter tops (she can keep the largest pantry ONLY because it stores Grandsons food) ... and just too freaking bad if she's unhappy!

*****

Deciding I had earned a shower as my reward, I set my way to the bathroom. It's a nice chilly day outside, and a hot shower seems in order after my time in the kitchen.

What's this? HER laundry piled up, covering the heat vent? Hello? I grab it all, throw it on her bed ... oh, oops, there's clean clothes there, too! mybad ... I hope she figures out the clean from dirty ... if not, not my problem if she goes around smelling like stinky socks!!

Finally, I'm in the shower. I actually sit down in the tub and just let the shower water take my stress away. Well, for a few minutes anyway. DIL came home as I'm showering, so I didn't hear her come in. I lost most of the water pressure in the shower and could hear the washing machine below the bathroom fill with water. I'm pissed. Not even turning the shower water off, still wet I put on my robe, storm downstairs to the laundry room where I practically scream at her "Did you NOT hear the shower running?" "Yeah" ... "And you can't wait until the shower is off to start your damned laundry? How inconsiderate!!"  as I turn the washing machine off. "What are you doing? You're out of the shower I can do my laundry now" ... "NO YOU CAN'T ... I am not done with my shower" ... and I went back to my shower.

She's since stormed off. Don't know where she is. Don't care. She's probably called Married Son by now, complaining about what a bitch I'm being. He's already told me next time she does call him, he's going to tell her "you probably deserve it". He's fed up, too. And he can't stand his peace on the road being interupted by the selfish, inconsiderate, childish "it's not my job" brat he married.

And when she gets back I'm going to finish this argument with a review of the rules of the house. Starting with not abandoning her laundry for Single Son to finish, leaving utensils in the sink (she'll wash only the dishes, leaves utensils, cups and pots for me), not tossing MY stuff around if it's in her way and many many more bitches I have that have yet to be resolved after weeks and weeks of being the Mother In Law from Hell.

If it kills HER I will have total control of this house by the end of the month.

And I have begun to end every argument with "My house, not yours. My rules, not yours. Don't like it? You know where the door is. Feel free to use it".