No snappy title tonight

Today was a bad day and I’m tired.

When Cameron woke up Wednesday morning, he wasn’t feeling well and although I’m hoping it’s just a really nasty cold, he had an extremely bad time of it tonight. My sister, Cameron and I were sitting on the couch and all of a sudden Cameron started coughing horribly, it was awful, no matter what we did he couldn’t stop and then he started vomiting all over the floor and his poor little nose started to bleed. I don’t know what’s wrong but I’m really worried about him. I don’t know if his doctors office is open because everything is a fucking mess down here but if they’re not and he isn’t better by Monday, I’m taking him to the ER because I know the damn hospital is open.

Christie came home today and it helped to have someone to talk to because I couldn’t possibly explain how lonely I’ve been. Plus, I had $60 that my mom sent my way but now I’m down $30 which I have to save for gas (Christie waited in line to get gas for over 3 hours today) because I used the other $30 for food and some over the counter medicine for Cameron, I haven’t collected a paycheck since Oct. 18th, they just announced that the schools will still be closed Monday and Tuesday next week and I don’t know if we’re going to be able to go back to work on Monday because there’s still no power there, I’m supposed to call and find out for sure tomorrow. Oh and they said on the news that they’re thinking of postponing Halloween in South Florida because of all the damage to Broward, Dade and Palm Beach Counties. And they’re right, it is too dangerous right now but it sucks because even that small piece of normalcy is being tampered with. Christie doesn’t give a fuck though, today she brought home two big and two little pumpkins and said, "Halloween is Monday and we’re going to carve our pumpkins tomorrow like we always do." But there may be no trick or treating for Cameron and that makes me sad.

You know, I’ve been trying to stay positive because there are people that have it so much worse but staying positive has been pretty hard to do lately.

And admitting all that just pisses me off because I’m stronger than that, dammit.

Sigh.

Stranded in South Florida...

And I'm not kidding.

As of 4:19 AM, my power and phone service were restored but there are still a mess of problems such as food, water, gas, money, work -- the list goes on -- that plague me and my family. But we're all alive and though we're weary, we're still in one piece and when it comes down to it, that's what matters. The other shit will just take time.

And those of you that left comments here or tried, in one way or another, to contact me, thanks. Knowing that people care means everything right now.

Love,
Aimee

Angie's Post

Aimee, Christie, Cameron, Drew and the rest of your friends and family: Hoping and praying that you're ok. Remember, things can be replaced - people can not.

Love ya,

Ang

Outside the rain begins...

...and it may never end...

Okay, okay, I'll stop.

Whoo boy, I'm beat, this moving shit is hard work and I didn't even go anywhere, well, not really (I used to occupy the master bedroom upstairs but now I'm occupying the dining room down stairs). And moving is pretty much all I've done this weekend, well, aside from hurricane preperation (again, every other fucking week). So I don't really have anything remotely interesting to talk about. Ah, well, that's the breaks.

Alright, I'm out but before I go, I ask all of you lovely people to please pray for my power (pretty please?) because if it goes out, I'm going to be one miserably cranky camper. And it certainly wouldn't hurt if you said a little prayer for us period because as that fine gentleman from the National Hurricane Center said, "The folks in Broward County haven't experienced a storm as bad as this one is going to be for them in about sixty years." Yee Haw.

Night all.

Wiiilllmmmaaaaaaaa...

...if I hear that classic line from the Flinstones one more time, I might actually strangle someone. I'm serious. It's annoying.

Anyway...

T.G.I.F. Most definitely. It's been such a long week and I'm SO ready for the weekend. But then again, with Christie finally moving in, this weekend will be extremely hectic. So maybe it's next week I'm ready for. Sans Monday, of course, because unless some unforseen thing steps in and changes things that, hopefully much weaker, monster of a hurricane will be crossing over us.

And God, as much as I want this week over, today is just not a good day for me. I'm mopey and sad and weepy and conflicted. It was three weeks ago that I told Drew I wanted to separate and I do, that hasn't changed but because (contrary to popular belief) I'm not a cold hearted, unfeeling bitch, when he told me that last night would be the last night he slept at the house, it hurt. Drew doesn't want to believe that, but as much as this separation is something I believe we need, I have slept beside that man almost every night for over six years and I love him. Of course I'm hurting, I'm human, I feel. And what I feel right now, is pain. I have a feeling I'll be "Sleepless in South Florida" tonight.

But I hope you all have a great Friday.

Whatcha think?

At Cameron's school they do this thing called "Literary Character Dress Up Day" and you have to pick a character out of a book and come to school dressed as that character on Halloween (which will aggravate Cameron to no end because he's itching to get into that Robin from Teen Titans costume).

So, any suggestions?

Aimee's Entry -- Sigh.

Is that not the loopiest forecast track you've ever seen? But who knows, that's only the 5 day forecast track so Wilma still has time to change her mind. And it's funny because typically, I'd be bitching about the possibility of another hurricane hitting Florida but honestly, this time, I'd rather it hit here than go out into the Gulf and hit one of the states already devastated by Katrina and Rita. They've had enough already. So, either way, we'll roll with it.

Currently on the personal front, my life (and my mind for pitys sake) feels precarious at best. I don't know, I just feel like I'm being pulled at from so many different directions. Andrew is dragging his feet because he doesn't want to move out and Christie is antsy and starting to get aggravted with me becasue she paid half of the rent and she wants to move in. I believe her words last night were, "I know it's not your fault, Aimee, but I don't like paying to live somewhere that I can't even start moving into." And she's absolutely right. On top of that, my mother has been putting on a bit of pressure also because Christie and Sarah are staying at her house and everyone is starting to feel a bit crowded. The whole thing is a clusterfuck and I'm at the core of it. I know I have to take control and I am but hell, I'm so tired.

Oh well, c'est la vie.

And this is totally off topic but I finally checked the price for House, Season 1 on DVD. Now my mission is to convince one of those lovely people in mi familia that profess to love my scatter brained ass to go ahead and buy it for me. Wish me luck.

Have a good one, all.

Aimee's Entry

Well, Saturday started off with a bit of bitching because I was supposed to be at my moms house "early" and apparently (according to Christie, at least) 11:30 isn't early. I lovingly informed her that, on a Saturday morning between breakfast, the dog and getting myself and Cameron ready to head out for the day, 11:30 is indeed early. Anyhow, after we agreed to disagree about what time is or isn't early, we headed for the salon.

And had a blast. Seriously. Ah, it was great. Christie's make-up came first and I laughed my ass off while Christie engaged in a verbal tussle with the make-up artist over what colors to use on her eyes. Christie wanted a smoky eyed look using black and other charcoal colors and the make-up artist wanted to do a smoky eyed look using different shades of brown. Christie happens to be one of the most hard headed women I know, she wants what she wants when she wants it and that's that but amazingly after a few go rounds, she relented and let the make-up artist do what she wanted to do. And it looked incredible. After make-up, Christie went off to have her hair done and I jumped into the make-up chair, I didn't bother arguing because I knew since Christie was paying, if she didn't like it or she felt I didn't like it, she'd make her redo it, which she did, sort of. I didn't have my hair done so after she redid my eyes and touched up Christie's make-up, we headed back to my moms house to finish getting ready.

The dinner dance was at the Sheraton Bal Harbour which is about an hour drive from my moms and we were supposed to leave at 5 because cocktail hour started at 6 but since all of us seem to have a slight problem with punctuality, we didn't leave until about 5:30 which had us arriving smack in the middle of cocktail hour. We (Christie, Jason (our step-brother) and my mom) all headed for the bar while Kelly (our step-sister) and Robin (our step-father) went off to mingle. After we got our drinks (rum and coke (me), Corona (Christie), gin and tonic (Jason) and a Coors Light (mom)) we headed outside to check out the pool/beach area. God, that place is gorgeous (I'd love to stay there sometime but from what I hear the room rates are a bit high). And, I fell completely in love with these beautiful bridges they had going over the pool. Sigh.

But cocktail hour was just about up so we headed for the ballroom where we encountered a wee bit of a problem. Since the tables were all reserved, Robin strolled the room but he couldn't find our table so we all separated to circle the room a few times, but try as we might, we could not find the table reserved for the Porter Family. Robin cornered the lady who put the whole thing together and she insisted that he had a table because she set it up herself. She led us to "our" table but it was already full. She started getting all flustered and insisted that was our table but the "Reserved For The Porter Family" sign was no where to be found. Robin was slowly getting pissed because she was telling him that she'd have to split us up and seat us at other tables because she couldn't move the people that were already seated there. I believe he was about to lose his cool when one of the women at the table asked my mom, "Oh gosh, did we take some ones table?" And my mom whose temper was beginning to fray as well cooly said, "Yes. You did." Long story short, they ended up moving them but not before they'd eaten half the appetizers as well as taken half the etched wine glasses, bud vases, programs and union pins that were at each place setting (they did eventually bring replacements). And amazingly, we found the "Reserved For The Porter Family" sign shoved underneath the table. How 'bout that.

Dinner was good (a big ass steak with a baked potato and some vegetable I didn't pay attention to) but they hired this comedian/impersonator to entertain us during dinner and God, he was awful -- really, really awful. Wine was served continuously during dinner which I hate but Christie loves so needless to say, by the end of dinner, Christie was completely toasted (and whoo boy, it showed). After dessert, I grabbed my second and last drink (which was supposed to be a rum and coke but it was basically just a shit load of rum with a very minute splash of coke) and headed back out to the pool area where, among other things, Christie proceeded to flash me (and I'm fairly sure various other people) her ass numerous times (LOL). Ah, it was great. Anyway, after a while we headed back inside because Christie wanted to dance. And while we were dancing Christie leaned over and whispered, "You know, I think I've had too much to drink?" To which I replied, "Really? You don't say."

It was over somewhere around midnight and we all headed back to my moms to hang with each other for a bit before going our own way.

So, it was a nice night, all around.

And Sunday I speant just hanging out with Cameron. We painted ceramic pumpkins together which didn't really come out looking all that great but then again none of our crafts really come out spectacular looking. But it's okay because we had fun doing it and that's what matters.

Nothing much going on today but work. Tonight, on the other hand, might not be as quiet because Drew is supposed to be all moved out by Tuesday but he has yet to start packing and Christie is getting antsy staying at our moms house. So, who knows...

I hope you all have a good one.

Saturday night...

...was a blast, I'll tell you all about it later.

Christie and Aimee...

Robin e-mailed this to me this morning, it was on his digital. If I get any more, I'll post them.

Aimee's Entry -- Drifting away.

Mm, I’m currently having overindulgent fantasies about crawling into bed, closing my eyes and letting myself drift. It'd be so lovely. I don’t know why but I’m extremely sleepy today and by the looks of things outside, the skies are about to open which will only make me sleepier. Oh well, in a minute I’ll just recline my office chair, prop my feet on my desk and recommence the fantasizing.

Hanging out with my mom and Christie last night was fun. The three of us rarely get together at the same time and I didn’t realize how much I missed it. It was nice, we had dinner and then just sat around talking while my mom and Christie shared a bottle of wine. And it was hilarious because when my mom was walking me out to my truck, Robin (my step-father) followed us out and not-so-subtly asked my mom, “Aimee’s alright to drive, right?” My mom laughed and said, “Rob, she had three cups of coffee and a sparkling water but no alcohol. You know she doesn’t really drink but she will Saturday night. Won’t you?” I winked at her as I looked over at Robin innocently and said, “Of course I will. I’m going to get completely trashed and embarrass the hell out of you.” To which he replied, “Nah. I’m going to be the only guy accompanying you girls and with all that attention, how could I be embarrassed.” Oh, he has no idea… But while I make no promises, I shall try and behave myself.

Anyway, while we were sitting around talking last night, Christie and I got into a debate about which one of us has the nicer set of breasts (why, I have no clue but she started it, dammit). And I know it’s ass backwards, but I was for Christie having the nicer pair and Christie was for mine. Shrug. Everything from breast size to breast shape, from nipple size to nipple color was argued and while there were convincing arguments coming from both sides, sadly, it ended in a stalemate as neither of us would back down and my momma said there was no way she was getting in the middle of that one. Hmm, I'm thinking we’re going to need a neutral party to preside over the matter.

God, tomorrow is going to be such a hectically fun day because Christie and I will be spending a good part of the day at the salon primping like a couple of giddy girls. And amazingly, we have never done that together before. I can’t wait!

And I do believe that’s all for me today. Have a good one.

Aimee's Entry

You know, when I walked into her office earlier my pal Kim asked, "How's it goin' there Twisted Sister?" And do you know what that was? It was a crack on my hair, dammit. I answered, "Look, I can't help it that it looks like I've got a rabid poodle perched on the top of my head." And she said, "Yeah but I just don't understand why you have it." LOL. "Umm, cause it's my hair? What am I supposed to do? Shave my head?" To which she answered, "I don't know?"

And for those of you who've never seen it, I have an extremely unruly mass of curls atop my head. It's extremely obnoxious and sadly, no matter what I do it refuses to calm down. So, what am I gonna do, huh?

Anyway, I'm having dinner with my mom and Christie tonight and since Cameron is already there with Robin, I have to stop off and pick up Sarah from preschool on my way. And I love picking her up because she's so darn cute. When I walk in she always yells, "It's aaaiiimmmeeeeee. My Aimee! I can go with you?" Sigh, I just love her to pieces.

And other than that, I'm not really doing anything tonight. Kind of like last night and the night before and the night before and... you get the picture.
I hope you all have a lovely.

Aimee' Entry

Did I happen to mention that my mom was taking me shoe shopping last night? Yes, I do believe I did. Well, I found a pair and gosh, they’re so pretty, they make my feet look sexy. And it comforts me to know, if nothing else, at least my feet will look sexy. Go me. As for the rest of me? Eh, we’ll see.

But my sister (who is too gorgeous for her own good) will undoubtedly look incredible (she always does). I got a peek at her dress yesterday and it’s so perfect for her.

It was funny because before I got to see it, my mom and I were talking on the phone and she asked, "Have you seen the dress Christie bought for Saturday?"


"Nope, not yet but she told me about it."

"Oh Aimee, it’s gorgeous and I swear that kid can get herself into things you and I couldn’t dream of wearing."

Sigh. "I know."

"It’s disgusting."

"Isn’t it?"

But it’s okay because we love her sexy ass.

Moving on...

Whoo, work was a killer today. Kim was looking for something specific that we thought got filed away a couple years back so we went upstairs to look through the boxes of old files and they were all torn to hell from being moved so many times that we ended up spending most of the day re-boxing them. And we never did find what she was looking for.

After work, I took Cameron out for a pizza and now that we’re home, he’s laying on the couch engrossed in the newest episode of Teen Titans. And I think I might go read a bit of ‘Blue Smoke’.

I hope you all have a good one. Night.

Aimee -- Come one, come all...

You know, my life sort of resembles a three ring circus right now and I swear, if people don't stop adding to the pressure, I think I might go ahead and have that fucking nervous break down I was fairly certain I'd successfully diverted.

I was just chatting with Angie on Yahoo about the obstacle course that, before last night, was my living room. Good God, my sister has a LOT of stuff and the lot of it is currently strewn across my living room in no particular order. Sigh. It's crazy, Drew hasn't even begun to move out and Christie is 80% moved in, it's enough to crack what small pieces of sanity I've managed to hang onto.

And to add to the chaos, Drew was supposed to share a house with a couple of people in Boca for $600 a month but something or other happened and he's not sure he wants to do that now so he's going to look at a one bedroom apartment in Pompano for $500 a month tonight (I think). The problem is, the house in Boca was fully furnished and the utilities were included but the apartment in Pompano is unfurnished and he has to handle his own utilities. So, if he does that, I told him to go ahead and take all of our bedroom set except the armoire, the TV and we decided to split up the living room set so he has some furniture but since the electric and phone are in his name when he transfers those to his new apartment, it's going to be a bit of a hassle for me. Oh well, I'll deal with it.

But hey, there is actually an up to an otherwise down day, my mom is taking me to get a sparkly pair of shoes to go with my outfit for Saturday night. And I'm looking forward to it because it'll be nice to do something completely stress free for a little while.

Oh yeah before I forget, I mailed out Halloween stuff to certain people today. I know it's early but with the state of my house (and my life) at the moment, if I didn't do it now, it'd be Christmas before you got it.

And I'm done. Have a lovely.

Angie's Entry

I'm not sure why I'm posting, I have absolutely nothing of interest to say. Basically I'm bored at work and can't find anything else to hold my interest for more than a few minutes at a time.

I have four people with Birthday's this month. My mom, Nicole, Jill and my niece Peanut. Oh, there's my "dad" too, but since the last time I talked to him was when we moved my brother - well.

I left work early on Friday to go have lunch and hang out with my brother and my mom. Brother was in town, passing through on his way to his alumni swim meet out in Point. So they called me to see if I could leave for lunch and since I was bored out of my mind, I asked to leave for the day.

I'm doing my stupid training tomorrow with my friend Amy for the receptionist crap. I'm trying hard to not be really pissed off about it, but if Amy is hardly at the front desk, then I shouldn't ever have to be up there. Since there's three other people in front of me for them to call to cover. But I think what's going to end up happening is that our receptionist now is going to be moved up to our photo department and then their going to need a new receptionist and since they know that payroll is a part time gig, I have the feeling their going to try and move me into that. But let me assure you - that will never happen. Ever.

The shady thing is, is that they won't just come right out and say it. Super Slim Shady and this chick ain't goin for it. They can kiss my white ass.

So I'm actively looking for a new job. I did apply to one last week, I haven't heard back yet, but that's ok. The right one will come along - I hope.

So that's about all I know.

I'm going up to my cousin's house on Saturday for dinner, we all are. She's making chicken and dumplings and invited the whole fam. It will also be interesting, cause it will be the first time my niece A will be with all of us since the incident. I think my approach to her is going to be how utterly disappointed in her I am. That I love her but any trust I had in her is completely gone. And that while I am angry with her, thinks that she owes everyone, especially her mother an apology and an explanation, she has no idea how disappointed I am with her.

I think going that route with her might have more impact than yelling at her and telling her awful she is. Because she's not responding to that. She refused to apologize to her own mother and she doesn't want to be lectured by any one.

I got together with my mom last week and she had gotten together with my Aunt the night before and more of the story unfolded. In a nutshell, my niece needs a hard lesson in respect and manners. She needs to learn that there are consequences for her actions and that she is still a child and has no business talking to the adults in her life the way she is.

My restraint with her attitude is quickly diminishing and if she doesn't watch her step around me, that kid is in for the surprise of a lifetime. She'll learn real quick how bad a mouthful of Ivory soap tastes. I learned my lesson the hard way a few times like that, no reason she can't too.

Anyways, that's about all I have for today.

Have a good day!!

"Public Service Announcement"

Witch-hunt:

An investigation carried out ostensibly to uncover subversive activities but actually used to harass and undermine those with differing views...

Or

Tormenting by continued persistent attacks and criticism...

Or

Any search for a perceived or hidden enemy, with the same connotations of hysteria, prejudice and injustice that accompanied historical witchhunts...

FYI...

You are wasting your time here. We can't nor won't help you to execute the public lynching you're apparently longing for.

A & A

Aimee -- Blah, blah, blah and more blah.

And I'm tired.

But with that said, I'm actually in a half way decent mood today. Go figure.

We, being Drew and I, after a slightly rough start yesterday morning put on our happy faces and took Cameron to Wannado City. You know, I'd never been there before and that place is frickin' cool. Seriously. It's like a miniature city just for kids. It was so cute. Cameron had a blast and made himself a good amout of money (Wonga Bucks) at his various jobs. And with his money, he bought himself some bling at the jewelry store (LOL) and had himself some fun at the "Wannado State Fair". All in all it was a really good day.

As of right now, today hasn't been near as great but it hasn't been bad either so I can't complain.

Christie is coming over after I get off work to drop off some of her boxes and what-not (a whole lot of what-not from what I hear). And it should be interesting seeing as how I have absolutely no idea where I'm going to put any of it at the moment. Oh well, we'll figure it out.

And that's it. For now, anyway.

Have a good one, y'all.

Aimee

Earlier in the week, just before I morphed into some strange zombie-like entity that walked around in a fog and felt, oddly, absolutely nothing, I had decided to take a break from well, just about everything. I didn’t want to talk, I didn’t want to hear, I didn’t want to feel. I didn’t want anything.

So, what’s changed between then and now? Well, the fog that was clouding my brain suddenly (and somewhat ruthlessly) dissipated and I was forced to do all those things – talk, hear, feel – that I was vehemently avoiding. In being forced to do those things, I had to accept that every action has consequences and I can’t just set something in motion and then slink back and expect it to work itself out while I cower in the corner. Life doesn’t work that way. I’m an adult and I need to start acting like one.

I’ve been a bit cryptic and basically refused to acknowledge, accept or talk about the things that are happening in my personal life at the moment because honestly, I didn’t want to deal with them myself (which is childish because we wouldn’t be dealing with anything if I hadn’t pushed). And there are some people that are wondering what’s up?

To that, I say... a little bit of this, a little bit of that and a whole fucking lot of just about everything.

Long story short, Drew and I are currently in the process of separating (there are reasons, both good and bad, that brought us to where we are right now but I can’t nor won’t be discussing them because there are two sides to every story and he’s not here to tell his). And it hasn’t been easy on any of us but I don’t guess it’s supposed to be, is it?

Life as we’ve known it for the past 6 years is about to change for Cameron, for Drew and for me. And I’m not too proud to admit that I’m scared but while I’m scared, I also know that this was something I had to do for Cameron and for us.

The other day my sister asked me the same question I’ve asked myself a thousand times since we made this decision, "What about you and Drew? Where do you go from here?"

I don’t know? Maybe we’ll make it and maybe we won’t. Maybe we’ll rediscover and deepen what we’ve lost and maybe we won’t. I have no answers right now. I guess only time will tell where we go from here.

As for my hiatus... One of the reasons I decided not to post anything here while Drew and I are working through this was because I didn’t feel that anything I have to say right now would be productive or remotely happy (and honestly, I still don’t) and I didn’t figure that anyone wants to read a bunch of depressing shit (and honestly, I still do). But I’ve decided to post anyway because lately I’ve felt the need to purge (kind of like therapy). I’ll try not to be all maudlin, all the time but I’ve been having some bad moments lately (like last night when I had to sit Cameron down and explain that his daddy is going to be living somewhere else. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do and I couldn’t fully express how painful it was for both of us) and when I have those bad moments, my posts aren’t likely to be very pleasant but I’ll sincerely try to be as happy as I can be as often as I can be.

And last but certainly not least, Angie and Evan, aside from family, you two are the only ones I felt comfortable enough to talk about any of this with before now and I hope you both know how thankful I am for your support, your ears (well eyes), your love and your friendship. It means everything. Truly. I love you both infinitely.

Numb

Going Numb ~ NO MOTIV

Why can't I
just feel something besides
just some numbness?
No pain
no happiness inside
I can't feel at all
I can't seem to
grasp what's going on
without going into
some kind of trance
it's so bizarre
I can't feel at all
I can't see at all
No sign of emotion
nobody is listening to me no
no nervous reaction
Just another
blank expression for me
what's wrong with me?
Senses dull now
staring at the wall
it must be a defect
Going numb and
I can't feel at all


But it's starting to wear off.

I know I'm not but God, I feel so alone.

And so I creep (in)... yeah.

Sorry, this one's out of left field, hell, it's out of the ballpark completely but Angie will get it.

Anywhoo...

While I'm busy wading through my own personal hell, we got a dumb ass, stupid, ignorant, self important cunt (with nothing better to do, obviously) jumping someones shit for what she considers "flaming" (when it was clearly not "flaming" for fucks sake, it was nothing more than someone saying something she didn't like to someone she does like). Fucking bitch. What is it with that shit, huh? Is she really so lost in her "power trip" that she'll jump someone for any fucking thing?

Maybe someone should take the time to explain to tweedle dumb exactly what flaming entails.

Whoo, I feel better now.

Angie's Entry

The conclusion: I called the optical store and questioned why my order was changed.

"Well the doctor based your prescription on the lenses he saw you in, when you came in for your eye exam."

"Hm, that's funny cause I came in with my glasses on and had he explained to me at the time he offered me the TRIAL pair of Focus night and day and EXPLAINED that that's what he was writing on my prescription, I would have stayed with the Acuvue Advance lenses that I've been wearing for the past 6 years. I had to pay an extra $60 out of my own pocket for an updated contact lens exam, what difference does it make what brand or style of contacts I re-order? A valid prescription is a valid prescription my doctor has no right to tell me what kind of contacts I want to wear."

"If you don't want the Focus night and day, you'll have to come back in so he can update your prescription with the lenses you want."

"So I have to pay another $60 when I just had an eye exam seven months ago? Because he didn't tell me that if I put this particular contact in my eye, that would be the only one he'd allow me to refill? Are you serious?"

"The focus night & day are the lenses he gave you your exam in and he'd be liable if your wore different lenses and something happend. In terms of the fee for the exam, that would be up to the manager."

"Is the manager there?"

"Not yet, he should be in later today if you'd like to talk to him then."

"Great thanks a lot."

"You're welcome, have a good day."

"Yeah, you too."

No, I didn't call back and talk to the manager, I had run out of steam and I needed contacts. So I called the online store, told them to go ahead and send through my order. Focus Night & Day are great lenses even at $53 a box. And I of course am not blessed with having my eyes be close enough together to get away with ordering only one box for both eyes. No, I have to order two, one for each eye. But these lenses last me six months each pair so I've got a good two years out of this order. I'll make sure and go back to my regular eye doc in February and keep my prescription current so I don't have to pay a fee again.

So life goes on.

OH!! I almost forget to share one bright thing in my life, I FINALLY QUIT SMOKING!!!
Yup, I sure did. It's been seven days today that I had my last cigarette. During the day I'm fine, it's at night, sitting at home watching TV that gets to be hairy. I find myself eating a lot of salty products. One, because I'm bored and Two because I still need to break the habit/routine of having something in my hands and mouth. Get your mind out of the gutter!! Geez!!

Other than that.

There's a few jobs out there that I might apply for. I got cornered yesterday about training for the receptionist crap again. I agreed but I'm not happy about it at all. I should march back into the HR guys office and tell him, I changed my mind, no. I won't do it. It's not in my job description and since they ASKED for my help instead of TELLING me I have to do it, the answer is no. I hate being a receptionist when it was my full time job and that's why I haven't done it since. If they need back ups and break people, then there's plenty other people they can ask besides me. But for some reason they keep harping on me.

Oh well. I really don't want to be here much longer.

They keep saying that by the time the holidays get here that gas prices will be up around $4/gallon. And that will make a twenty mile commute each way everyday not so fun. So if I can find something closer to home, with more pay and keep my part time job on a want to not need to basis, it might help my financial situation.

Well that's about all I have for today. I'm having dinner with my mom again tonight and she's going to update me on the A situation. Sounds like there's been developments.

I did get the nicest compliment from my mom the other day while we were emailing back and forth about how to handle A. She said "Ya know, you hit the nail right on the head. Scrappie has a really good mom with really good mom instincts! I’d love to see A with you for awhile – it would make a huge difference."
Isn't that a cool thing to hear from your mom? I never though of myself as having good mom instincts. Katie said she thought I did too. Cool huh?

Alright, this time I'm really gonna go!

Angie's Entry

Aimee says I'm susposed to entertain you all while she's on hiatus. Sorry, folks, I'm not an entertainer.

It's another dreary day here in the midwest. It's been raining since yesterday, it's susposed to rain all day today with falling temperatures. It's 68 now and going down to the upper 50's by this afternoon.

I'm more than a little irritated this morning.

I re-ordered my contact lenses (which I had to have a separate "fitting and prescription" for) online cause if any of you wear contacts, know that they are about half the cost in some cases. So I got online last Friday and reordered my contacts with the sixty some dollar prescription I HAD to have.

Well this morning, there's two emails from said online service, which said this: "Your doctor’s office has informed us that your prescription is not valid for the lenses you have ordered:Focus Monthly Visitint. However, your doctor also informed us that you are prescribed to wear Focus Night & Day. For your convenience we have cancelled your original order and replaced it with a new order containing Focus Night & Day. This order will ship to you in 3 business days. The additional cost of $59.08 will be reflected on the new order."

Brining my new total to just over $100. Now, yes I have a reimbursement plan through my work, and this company does not charge my account until they actually ship - but excuse me!! That's MY prescription! I paid for it!! I have every right to order WHATEVER contact I choose!! My doctor isn't paying for my lenses out of his pocket is he?! Then where the hell does he get off saying I can't order a certain type of lenses?? Contacts are contacts!!

I've never had this problem before. EVER. The only reason I went to a chain optical store was because it was cheaper to have the "contact lens exam" done!! Otherwise I would have gone through my regular optometrist!! Which, looking back, is exactly what I should have done.

I'm so angry right now.

I've been wearing my glasses for over a week now and I'm ready to throw them in the trash. They are giving me a headache and one side of my bow is rubbing my head wrong. Of course if I take them off, I can only see about two inches in front of my face. As I type this, I can't see the letters on the keyboard and am doing it off memory. Scary.

I just tried to call the optical store and there is no answer yet. They probably don't open until Nine, but when they do - lemme tell ya!! It's on!!

Grrrrrr! ! ! ! !

Aimee

Fade to black...

For a while anyway while I work through some things.

But no worries, Angie will continue to entertain you in my absence.

I'll miss you all and it certainly wouldn't hurt if you missed me a bit too (*wink*).

Well, 'til we meet again...

(Now scroll down and read Angie's post)

Decompression Period ~ Papa Roach

Here today, gone today
Hurry up and wait
I'm never there for you or me
Can't you read the story of our lives
Death to me and life for you
Something isn't right
And I need some space to
Clear my head to think about
My life

And I can't be alone

I just need some space
To clear my head to think about my life
With or without you

We fight it out
We work it out
Give me some time to unwind

I must confess
I'm falling apart
Breaking your heart
Crying with you on the phone
We're walking on thin ice
I hope it doesn't break

Mile by mile we're farther apart
And it's one empty bottle
And two broken hearts
Night after night we are falling apart
Now it's two broken bottles
And four empty hearts

Decompression
Depression period

Angie's Entry

My weekend was quiet. For the most part.

I took the dog for a walk on Saturday morning then spent the next four hours cleaning my house. The only room I still haven't tackled is my second bedroom. It just keeps getting more and more ridiclous in there and it's going to take me hours to clean it up. Someday soon, I'll get to it.

Satuday night I went over to friend Teresa's apartment and we watched "Bill Cosby: Himself". In my humble opinion, that is THE funniest comedy concert ever. The dentist is the funniest bit I have ever seen. I laugh so hard, I can't breathe when he does that!!

Sunday was quiet too, Brother was susposed to call. He's having a really hard time in SD. He's used to being around people, always something going on and SD is not like that at all. My mom called me on Friday and told me to call him, he broke down into tears while he was talking to her. I feel so bad for him :(

So I think my Niece should be one of those girls that goes into that boot camp for kids thing.

I was sitting home last night, watching TV when my Aunt called me and asked if I'd talked to or seen my niece, we'll call her A. Nope. I was then informed that she and her mother 'Sista2', my cousin, got into a huge fight and 'Sista2' got into the tub. When she got out, A had left.

So as of Sunday night around 6:30, my niece decided to runaway. So when I get this phone call last night at 8 p.m., I'm wondering what the hell is going on. I got off the phone with my Aunt and called my mom to see if she had anymore information.

She did, apparently A wanted her mom to take her to the mall so she could buy a new pair of sneaks. She had babysat for my other cousin, 'Sista' the night before and had some money burning a hole in her pocket. 'Sisita2' said no, a fight ensued and A took off. A did not show up for school Monday and no one in the family had heard from her.

I chatted with my mom a few more minutes then got off the phone in case my niece did call.

I'm not a sit by and do nothing kind of person, no one is our family is. When something comes up, we automatically sprng into action. I immediately started thinking of where she could be, who she could be with. Do I go sit at the mall and watch for her?

My mom called me back a few minutes later, she called my Aunt back and said, it's been over 24 hours, we should consider her missing and tomorrow (Tuesday, Today) we should all get together and start putting up posters and getting the word out. Turns out, when A had babysat for 'Sista', she' d gotten paid $80 for the new shoes she told 'Sista' she wanted. Well, a fourteen year old and $80 in cash? You do the math. My first thought was, she could be anywhere by now. She had been talking with my mom a while back about how she wanted to move out. She was/is waiting for someone to ask her to come live with them. Well, one, that is not going to happen, can you say overstepping the bounds of family?

Anyways, being the reourceful and law enforecment connected person my cousin 'Sista' is, she pulled out all the stops. She called everyone she knew, and believe you me when I tell you that the police, sheriff's office, highway patrol, firemen, paramedics, jailers, corrections officers and the like all have this special network among them. They are constantly working together and pull together when one of there own is in need.

So 'Sista' called a few local law enforcement people she knew, told them what was going on and what my mom told me was this - if A calls you, don't jump her, don't let on that you know anythig unusualy is going on. Find out where she is and tell her your coming to get her. Then call 'Sista' and the police will be picking A up, tranporting her down to the local JDC (juvenile detention center) and she can spend the night there if she thinks she has it so rough.

Which, and this may be harsh, is exactly what she needs. My niece sent a girl in her school to the hospital last year. She has some rage issues and she hates her house. More to the point, she hates her stepfather. She has no discipline from her mother who, by her own admission, treats her more like a friend than her daughter, and that has caused this lack of boundaries.

As a fourteen year old child, she has far too long been treated by her mother as an adult. Even with the rest of us objecting to fake nails, makeup, jewerly and hair treatments that would cost the rest of us $200, if her mother won't enforce the rules, or at least set some, then there's nothing the rest of us can do. And that is very unfortunate.

So last night was very tense around these parts, waiting to hear anything.

My mom then called me around 11, just as I had finally fallen asleep. 'Sista' had called one of A's friends who sounded a little shady on the phone earlier with 'Sista2'. This friend, who is seventeen btw, finally caved under 'Sista's' interrogation and said that A was there.

'Sista' and her partner asked one of their neighbors to watch their kids, then they went down to A's old neighborhood, where this friend lives, and picked A up and took her home to 'Sista2'.

So all ended well, but with A acting out more and more, shes going to get harder and harder to handle. If I had the means to have her live with me, she'd find out how much discipline sucks!! Unfortunately, her dance lessons and her school are both 20 miles away from my house and with my other job, it just isn't a feasible situation. So, we'll see what happens from here.

Aimee -- Ouch...

My feet hurt.

Sigh. Yesterday I had what I refer to as a "killer migraine" and because my head felt like it was going to break into a million tiny pieces of jagged glass at any minute, I wasn’t thinking straight. And in my altered state, I stupidly let some 12 year old goad me into forgetting that I’m no longer young and spry.

It went a little something like this...

I was standing outside minding my own business, silently thinking that if I could just remove my head from the rest of my body everything would be just peachy. Cameron was standing next to me transfixed by these two kids trying to outrun each other.

"What are they doing?"

"Huh?" I shook my head to clear the fog and immediately winced because that shit fucking hurt, "What?"

He pointed at the two kids as they flew by us again, "What are they doing?"

I squinted because I’m blind as a bat and tried to focus on what the two kids were doing, "Oh, they’re racing."

"I want to race too."

"You’re too little to race them, Cameron."

"Can I race you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, I want to race too."

This is probably a bad, bad idea but then again... "Okay, I’ll race you Cameron."

And out of the blue one of the kids stepped into the picture and asked, "Can I join? I’ll run backwards if you want."

"You’ll run backwards?"

"Yeah, you know, to give you an advantage."

Excuse me? Come again? Did he just say he’d give me an advantage? Oh, it’s on.

"Oh right, cause old folks run really slow, huh?"

He smiled, "Yeah."

Smartass.

"Alright, you can join but I don’t need an advantage, okay."

He shrugged, "Okay."

So, I kicked off my flip flops (which is why my feet hurt like a fucking bitch today) and proceeded to whip some 12 year old ass. It was actually fun. And because it was, I refrained from smacking their heads together when he looked at his friend and said, "Can you believe I just got killed by an old lady?" To which his friend replied, "Yeah, but I ain’t ever seen an old lady run that fast."

I did race Cameron too, by the way. He won, of course.

Today we had to go to a birthday party at Boomers. God, that place is crazy on Saturday but Cameron had a blast so it was worth the return appearance my headache ruthlessly made. But I’ll tell you, I have no desire to fold myself into one of those little go-carts ever again. Seriously. And my mom, the evil woman, stood there on the sidelines and giggled the whole time.

After Boomers we hit the mall because my mom still hadn’t gotten a dress to wear to the dinner dance in a couple weeks. But in the end, I got a new outfit (it’s rather pretty) and she decided to just wear the dress that I was going to wear.

And I shouldn’t laugh but my mom and I had the most hilarious conversation earlier. I was bitching about the trouble I have reaching orgasm during sex so she started telling me about this position she heard is almost certain to make a woman come. Sadly, I had to tell her that as good as some woman say it is, I’m not a big fan of reverse cowgirl. If I’m gonna ride, I’d rather ride cowgirl.

Anyway, I headed home after our shopping expedition and now I think I’m going to go to bed because there ain’t much happening around here.

But before I go... HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF!!! I hope it’s all you want it to be and more! XoXo.

Night, night.