One of the 'joys' of working in retail is watching how parents treat their children. I've seen angry parents, annoyed parents, hippie parents, unreasonably strict parents, parents who don't know how to be parents (oddly enough, these were almost all, without exception, women in their mid 30s), rasta parents, parents who couldn't pay attention.
I had not, however, come across the...I don't even know what to call her. She had two kids, I'd say they were 4 and 5, she was heavily pregnant with #3. So anyway, the younger one tripped over her own feet and started crying and wouldn't stop. Mom then asked what happened and the older one said 'She let go' (apparently they were supposed to be holding hands). Mom then attempted to soothe the little one, not by say, cuddling her, but instead telling her she was fine, etc. Okay, a little cool, but who knows what kind of day Mom's had, y'know? And then she said, and I shit thee not, she said,
"Remember what I said, just be in your consciousness. Be in your consciousness."
...
...
Be in your mfing consciousness?? Really??? Because it seemed to me that little girl was in her consciousness, she was upset and crying. I mean, how much more 'in her consciousness' did Mom want her to be?
And what the hell does that mean, anyway??
~*~
Did y'all catch Community (Hulu)on ABC? I thought it was quite funny. Right now I'm watching Strictly Come Dancing on the Beeb*. So different from the American version. I mean, you wouldn't hear a judge call someone's dancing "as if you had both legs down one hole in your knickers" on ABC, would you?! Let's see...also watched The Cut, which is the BBC's version of C4s Skins** [loaded with spoilers so don't read beyond top paragraph], soon to be remade by MTV. To which I say, good luck with that. Somehow I don't see full frontal nudity, drug use, death, sex, gay teen sex, and sex with [redacted] happening on US tv. Just sayin'.
~*~
Oro out
* there will be BBC...Mr Oro will soon be releasing a program to allow people to, er, watch the BBC, STV, and ITV on their pc's. Y'all do know you can rent Eurosport for like, $10 a month, right? Because let me tell you, that's where I'll be watching the Olympics.
The end detached from the inner bit between pockets. And the worst part? It's not even sewn in! The feckin' thing was glued in...for this I paid $100?? So I called the store where I bought it from and they were all like, Oh, that's terrible, how about an exchange or we can send it in to be repaired.
And at first that sounded like the bomb. But then I got to thinking - won't they just glue it back in, when really, it needs to be sewn? How long will it take?? Now I just want to find a leatherworker with a needle, y'know?
~*~
In other news, Mr Oro and I decided that if FET 2009 (maybe FET 2010 since I haven't gotten my period back yet) doesn't work, we're probably going to adopt.
Wow, it feels weird to type that.
It'll probably be through the foster care system as it's free in Vermont. (I think).
It's a relief to finally discuss it with Mr Oro, to know that he's on the same page...funny how we're both assuming FET will work, though. Hmm. If it does, just how infertile does that make me?
But I've decided to post instead. By bulleted list, because I really do need to sleep and it's going to be a good hour before then and I'm up early in the A to the M.
a piece of my car fell off yesterday. I think it might be part of the muffler...
no, the lefty indie bookstore does not, and will never, carry any books by any member of FOX news.
all the wheat I'm eating is making me bloated, my dandruff worse, my acne icky, my exhaustion more exhausty, and my stomach crampy. Yay for poverty!*
that new Peter Robinson book was extremely disappointing
but I will be ordering Mel's new book for the store, 2x, one for me, one for the 'staff picks' shelf
I have decided to get back to writing, although when I'm going to find the time, I do not know
I need other viewing recommendations for tv/movie watching from the internet
I am desperate to eat fruit, but cannot afford fresh and will not eat canned (damned BPA liners)
yes, I must write, anyone interested in doing a community writing blog? I'm thinking of maybe doing a forum instead of a blog...
we haven't lost power yet at the house, yay!
we have yet another mouse, boo. Seriously, #4 in less than 2 months?
turkey makes me fart
I hate stupid drivers. If the speed limit is 50MPH, that does not mean you have to do 35MPH, braking before every corner or every time another car comes your way
it was cool to move, with fellow drivers, the tree that had toppled into the main East-West highway after that wicked windstorm aka I love living in the boonies
can you believe it's December already?
i have a long rant about a coworker who's also my bff's bf, but that must await for another night
have you watched The Dark Knight? Talk about bleak...
...Tropic Thunder was less funny than I thought it would be, but still amusing
the new Dr Who isn't really for children, is it...and Torchwood, good grief.
What new tv shows should I be watching, not including the Mentalist, which couldn't gain my interest?
Oro out
*please, we could so much more be worse off it's not even funny
Day three and I am still in training at my cashier's job for an International Supermarket Chain. I think I've racked up close to 8 hours on the pc, watching informational videos and taking tests - which the supervisors have to sign off on! - and bagging at the end of the aisle.
Today I watched little videos about being a cashier, and now my head is 'splodey. I figure if high school students can do this job, so can I...right? Even with the lack of sleep?
I have new found respect for supermarket cashiers, is what I'm saying.
Haven't decided whether or not I'm going to work weekends, but here's the catch, my other part-part-time job pays $2 more an hour so, if I can work that job longer more frequently, I'll earn more...does that make any sense? I'm not so sure it does, but I'm tired and on orange juice...
...and with that note, I'm off to do work stuff. Or something.
Had to return discs 3 & 4 of The Wire this afternoon - disc 5, the *(&^$ season finale, was out at the video store - and watching people shop downtown was interesting. I'd forgotten what it's like not to shop during Christmas when you lack money.
Not that I've ever spent thousands (or even a thousand) on gifts and the like, but I do enjoy buying stuff I think friends and family would like. Except the years when I was working in the bookstore, which is when everyone already knew what they were getting, natch. I feel very out of the social loop, even though none of my friends, with the exception of the parents, are buying diddly this year.
Which isn't to say that I haven't bought Christmas gifts, I did...in
October. When things weren't so dire. Anyway, for all of us I bought
the box sets of Life On Mars and Afterlife
(like Medium, but better), two candles for my mom, and an ornament. Mom
bought me two pairs of barrettes, one pair inlaid with some sort of
shell. I know that sounds cheap, but internets, they cost $30,
y'know? And mom's had some major outlays in the past few months, she
might have to borrow money from us to get through the January tax
season.
Money is desperately tight. When you balk at paying for a head of iceburg lettuce (people, it's $1.99 a head. A head, for iceburg!!!) you know you've got problems. But, faced with a minumum of $800 a month outgoing on old medical bills alone (haven't paid the OB in 2 months) and then getting physicians or lab charges on top of that plus being unemployed, every little bit helps. I would enjoy eating a vegetable I didn't have to boil**, however. Still, January's outlays include:
$609 - homeowner's insurance for 2008 $250 - July ER bill (down to $2100) $200 - July hospital stay (down to $1300) $240 - Nov. L2 scan ($480 w/ 49% uninsured patient discount, normally $1000) $240 - minimum amount of CC bill $500 - approx. for Nov-Dec OB visits $27 - for phone we're not using $21 - 'leccy for house and fingers crossed the pipes don't freeze this winter
Total: $2087
Well hell, it's more than I realized. By about $1000. Maybe Mr Oro will get paid for this latest job (yes, one of the ones he originally quoted for way back in August/Sept and completed in November) in January, that would be nice. Worst comes to worst and we'll be heading back to Scotland to live.
I don't think I could do that at this point.
I don't mean to sound like we're on the verge of bankruptcy or getting Christmas dinner at the food bank, but damn, it's hard to go back to living with small pleasures and no monetary cushion to fall back upon. And by small pleasures, I mean renting dvd's and going out to eat a couple of times a month.
Things will improve, of that I have no doubt. It'll be easier when we move back home and get out of the psychological pressure of living in town with, y'know, stores and shit. Downtown back home is the post office, the church, the meeting house, and the inn. The college is three miles away, the elementary school 2 miles away, the 'corner' store about 4 miles from the center of town. We'll have to spend come cash with the garden and seed stock (I got a thing from Burpee in my email yesterday), but at least that'll be recouped in July.
It is, of course, all worth it in the end. It's just the middling bit that's difficult.
Moving on. For your listening (or reading) pleasure, here's Tom Lehrer's classic A Christmas Carol:
Ladies, riddle me this: should I spend $162 on two underwire bras that might have a possibility of fitting but will save my shoulders, or should I spend $55 on one soft cup bra that might have a possibility of fitting but will kill my shoulders? I've worn underwires for years and really don't want to go back to a soft cup, but, y'know, $162 is a lot of money...
Oh Mammy, I just love the ol' black and white minstrels, and apparently, so does the Dept. of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Wait, where's my bronzer...
You mean, I might lose a man because I gaspshockhorror decided not to share my vagina?!
I don't care if you're having a baby, adopting a baby, or babysitting - it's a goddamned minefield out there when it comes to taking care of one. I knew there was a reason (besides fear)(and terror)(of you-know-what happening) why I haven't exactly explored the world of baby items, and good god, just going on Ebay to look at stuff is making my head spin.
Apparently, I don't know what the hell is what. Frex, I thought that bassinets were basins you wash your kid in (okay, we actually planned on using the bathroom sink for this, cuz it's really big, mostly because I ordered the wrong size), but I am wrong, wrong, wrong. It's a world of froufy crap, frills and lace and canopies - honestly, who cares? That's just more stuff for dust to get on, if you know what I mean.
Maybe I'm too pragmatic? I just don't see the point...I, I am clearly doomed.
Dooooooooooomed, I tell you!
Of course, I was the same way at my wedding. We got married at the Aberdeen Registry Office for a whopping $160 (pub crawl afterwards was $500). To be honest, I wasn't happy with the fit of my outfit, my TMJ was unbelievably painful, I hated being the center of attention and quite honestly, I would have been happier signing a contract in a lawyer's office. Mr. Oro looked fantastic in his kilt, though!
Oro, the overwhelmed
ETA: speaking of Scotland, here's the Starbucks I used to go to frequently. There were two in downtown, but this one (first floor only, alas) had the better view. I used to sit on the couch next to the window to the left of the door and watch passersby. And here's Dunrobin, the Disney Castle. Trust me, it's far more fantastic on the inside than on the outside. Crathes Castle, about an hour (by bus) outside of Aberdeen, is the most homey, comfy castle I've ever been in, the only one I could happily live in. If you get the chance, Cawdor Castle is lovely, too, and there are gardens everywhere you go. I never got to Eilean Donan, but surely it's got to be one of the most romantic, I mean, look at it!
Internets, I went on a wee spin looking at cribs, seeing as there might be a real baby next year, and let me tell you, that's not going to happen again for quite a while.
$1700? For a crib? Are you freakin' kidding me? At least they throw in a mattress, but nothing else. It was made of painted metal with a little canopy doohickey thingie over the center. I guess it was trying to be all Victorian and shit, however, these people obviously didn't do their homework, otherwise there would be tie-downs and bottles of gin and/or laudanum to keep the little tykes quiet.
And that was enough for me. It's going to be Wa$mart for this kiddo, none of this 'it's so cute!' nonsense. Now, I don't have anything against anybody who wants to spend heaps on their little darling...I just don't see the point of spending the college money that early. Which reminds me, still haven't seen hide nor hair of my hospital bill...makes me nervous, y'know? For the moment, I shall continue to live in 'maybe they forgot!'-land.
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