Hot Like Ebola!!!: July 2005

Alright, y'all, this is my last post before I head to L.A. for 3 action packed days of visiting my sick nana, seeing my brother's new place, going to a wedding, hanging out with Bill Sperry, attending my home church, visiting my sister (hopefully), and heading back to Spokane!

from now until I step foot on SoCal soil (well, concrete), I am cleaning up the house, showering, working from 2:30-9, driving to Deer Park to help Lacey clean, either staying at her apartment or driving back home for 2-3 hours of sleep, driving to the airport at 4:30 in the morning, parking in the econo lot, trying to get Matt's guitar through the carry-on screening, and sitting in the Spokane airport for 2 hours till I board the plane. Whew! I am so thankful that Alaska now has direct flights to L.A. from Spokane.

Well, if you are L.A. folk, I'll try to see you. If you are Spokane folk, I'll definitely see you. If you are folk from somewhere else in the country, I wish I could see you but probably can't, unless you buy me a plane ticket.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 7:49 PM | link |

26 July 2005

Heigh-Ho

2 pathogens detected

Well, Dr. Mike informed me that in order to become a WA resident, I need to be working 20 hours a week. So, it looks like I will be staying at the pet store. Sorry, L.A. friends. No jumping ship and spending a month down there after all.

On the plus side, I am working a 9 hour shift today.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 7:10 PM | link |

2 pathogens detected

Long hair is considered bohemian, which may be why I grew it, but I keep it long because I love the way it feels, part cloak, part fan, part mane, part security blanket.
-Marge Piercy

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 12:46 AM | link |

25 July 2005

Depends on the Math

3 pathogens detected

Tonight, after a meeting at work, two of my coworkers and I went to Big Daddy's for drinks and cards. Now, before I go any further, let me get two things straight:
1. I think that gambling is pretty ridiculous. And when one becomes addicted or does it in an effort to make more money, it is downright dangerous. Mostly, I went to hang out with these two girls.
2. I think slot machines are ultimately stupid. I really don't see the allure. At all.

Anyway, I had a great time. I am not a good card player. After a long day and a rum and coke on an empty stomach, I'm even worse. But depending on how you do the math, I either won $3 or lost $.75. I played with $38, made $41, but the ATM there (I forgot/ was unaware that I needed cash) charged a $2.75 service fee (if you're wondering about the strange amounts, I did withdraw $40, but my drink was $2). I am now pretty good at Texas Shootout, good at PaiGow Poker, and moderately poor at Dakota something-or-other (I don't remember that one).

It was fun, but I really don't see where an addiction would form unless one became convinced that one could beat the house on a regular basis. And if one could do that, the casino would be out of business.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 7:22 AM | link |

24 July 2005

The Lord is Gracious and Compassionate

1 pathogens detected

A woman called me and left a message saying, "Hi, I think I have your wallet... call me." Lo and behold, she had been driving on Nevada and seen a red wallet with everything dumped out. She pulled over and, in an uncommon act of kindness, risked her own safety to pick up everything she could see and stuff it all back in. So I drove out to Tum Tum and picked up my wallet from her, which had everything except the cash and the debit card for matt and my joint account. Yay!

Two weird things:
1. The part of nevada where she found my wallet was not a part I was driving on, which confirms the "stolen" theory. Also, she said my wallet was empty and the contents were scattered wildly, suggesting someone had taken them out before dumping them.
2. She got my number by calling 411 and asking for the number connected to the address on my license. When I explained to her that I didn't know my wallet was missing until I got to the rodeo, she said, "Oh I wish the address was linked to your cell phone! We found your card on the way to the Deer Park Rodeo! We were there, too!"

Thanks, Jesus.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 9:45 PM | link |

Sigh.

0 pathogens detected

So, I lost my wallet again. Again. You know, people will occasionally tell me, "you just need to be more careful" or "you need to hold on tighter to your stuff" or so on, as though I intentionally say to myself, "Oh Jeni, you've had your wallet for awhile now... let's lose it!" I promise that when I am remembering to hold onto my stuff, I do. There are just these blank spaces in my consciousness where I literally am not aware of my actions for about 30 seconds or so. Have you ever been driving home or some other familiar place, and you get there and realize you can't remember the drive home? You just kind of drove, and you know you obeyed all the traffic laws, but the memory is a blank. That's how these gaps are for me.

Today, for instance, I stopped to get gas, took my wallet out at the pump, paid for the gas, waited for it to pump, got back in the car, and drove almost to Deer Park before I realized I didn't know where my wallet was. Unfortunately, the gas station guys don't, either. And as the attendant said when I went back tonight to look for it, "The customers here aren't usually very honest people." So again my wallest is a combination of lost and stolen (unless I put it on top of my car and drove away, only for it to be deposited at an unknown location). And AGAIN, this happens less than a week before I am supposed to board an airplane. Oh, well. It's not like the airport security has any reason to be tight right now.

Pray for me, please.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 6:44 AM | link |

22 July 2005

Warning: This Post Uses The Word "Crap" A Lot

5 pathogens detected

So after this morning, when by my post you could tell I was feeling up and ready to face the day, I went to work. I looked at the book and saw that I had six dogs scheduled. This is usually okay, except 5 of the dogs were doom-hairy (3 Golden Retrievers, 1 Newfoundland, and 1 Samoyed). So, I start working on the dogs, and the other bather walks back into the bathing area and says, "Oh Jeni, I just booked you these 3 walk-ins." WHAT?!?!?!? I was already going to be late, then 3 more dogs?!? Anyway, these dogs were all shorthaired (1 Pug, 1 Miniature Pinscher, and 1 American Staffordshire Terrier (aka Pit Bull)).

So, I figured while the medicated shampoo was sitting on my first golden, I would wash the pit bull. I wash her, and she is very sweet. I put her back in the kennel and finish washing the golden, then get out the Samoyed, who promptly bites me. As I'm getting a muzzle, I walk past the kennels when the scent of dog crap hits me. I look down, and my pit bull has crapped all over herself. After I finish the Samoyed, I get the pit bull back out and wash her again, then put her back in the kennel. I wash the pug and min pin with no egregious episodes, but as I'm walking them back to the kennels, the odor hits me again. Yep, the pit had crapped again. So I wash and dry her again, tether her in the grooming area (because I figured the kennels were making her nervous), then call her owner to say, "Hey. You need to pick up your dog, because she's so scared she's crapping herself."

As I'm making that call (to no answer, which drives me nuts. Honestly, when we ask for a number we can reach you at, we mean it. We won't just call to chat.), Tricia says "Oh, Crap!" Well, she's right. Again. But this time, it's bloody, explosive diarrhea. I struggle to maintain composure, but as I am cleaning it up, I lose it and run into the back to puke. Sorry if that makes me seem weaker, but that's the way it is. Anyway, As I'm harfing in the back, I realize that the symptoms this dog is experiencing are very, VERY similar to the disease Parvo, and I become very worried. Parvo is highly contagious, and the dogs in the salon are not required to be vaccinated against it. So I stop everything and tell the salon manager, who calls the vet in to look at the diarrhea. The vet says, "this looks like a Parvo dog." So now everyone is freaked out, and we mop everything in bleach and use a spray disinfectant to boot (my throat is still burning from the spray). The store director just stands there, looking annoyed, and yells, "Someone! Put that dog in a kennel!" Well, some brave soul (K___) picked up the diarrhea-covered dog and tried to get it in a kennel, at which time it let loose another explosion- all over that associate. She actually took off her clothes in the back and hosed herself off right there. She didn't puke, though.

At this point, it is 5:15, the three goldens (of which I have washed 1) are due out at 6:15, and I am wigging out. I call their owners and beg for an extension. I then wash the other two dogs (after doing almost an entire body shave on one because the mats are so bad) and dry them. Their owner walks in just as I am finishing, and they go. Now it is 7:00 and I have an hour to finish the samoyed and the newfie. I am so frazzled that I forget to call the newfie's owner, who shows up at 8 to a dog that is still soaking wet. I am able to dry and finish it by 8:30 (a miracle), at which point I return it to the kind and understanding owner, who gives me a ten-dollar tip. That was the good thing.

I look around for the groomer who is supposed to close with me just as the store director walks in. "Oh, H____ left about 35 minutes ago. She said you could handle it by yourself. This place looks like a mess!" Just so you know, the closing chores take two people about an hour to do. There is one of me and half an hour. I do the best I can (at this point so frustrated that I don't really care about leaving it a mess), and leave. I bring home a bottle of disinfectant, stand in the shower, and pour it over my fully-clothed self. I don't think that stuff is really meant for hair or skin contact, as I think about it. I rinse of, use 1/2 a bottle of lotion, and type this post.

Yeah, I'm in a great mood now. Someone kill me, please. Just follow the smell of disinfectant.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 5:12 AM | link |

21 July 2005

What Jeni Does When No One Can See Her

2 pathogens detected

Alright, since Matt left yesterday for L.A., I have become aware of many things, all of which boil down to two things: 1. I am pathetic without human interaction, and 2. I miss Matt.

Yesterday, I dropped him off at the airport. I was home by 6, and I took a "nap" until 11:45. Yep. Then I took a shower, straightened my hair, finished Harry Potter and the HBP for the second time, and went to work at 2:30. I got off work at 9:21, went home, and went to sleep. Yes, since the 10:30 p.m. on the 19th, I have gotten 27 hours of sleep. I then woke up, studied math for awhile, took a 1.5 hour nap (make that 28.5 hours), talked to Kendall (she had her baby), talked to my mom, and here I am.

At this point I should mention food. At the time Matt left, we had numerous gastronomical delights, including fresh bread, cold meatloaf, pimiento cheese spread, and 1/2 gallon of sweet
tea, all homemade.

Since 9p.m. on the 19th, I have had 1 pepsi and several glasses of water. I just can't eat. Anything. However, I did all the dishes.

It's not like Matt and I haven't been apart before. Sophomore year, we went several months at a time without seeing each other! I think it's the combination of that and the fact that no one is around right now. Mary is in Seattle, Lacey is in Montana, Matt is in L.A., even the one coworker I kind of am friends with has been off shift. I literally have seen nobody I know.

I'm considering quitting my job and driving to L.A. for the next several weeks. Thoughts?

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 9:05 PM | link |

17 July 2005

No Spoilers Here. Yet.

3 pathogens detected

I finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince less than 12 hours after it came out, with at least 6 hours of sleep in there somewhere. It was great, and I was devastated. Matt told me "Jeni, you're freaking me out" when I sat around the house for three hours crying after I read it. That is all I will say.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 3:08 AM | link |

15 July 2005

Had It, Ate It, Etc.

1 pathogens detected

Here's Matt with the cake I made! Chocolate butter cake with homemade cinnamon buttercream frosting. Very easy and very tasty. If anyone wants me to bake for them (locally) then let me know!

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 5:30 AM | link |

12 July 2005

0 pathogens detected

Pray for my nana. She had to have emergency quadruple bypass surgery today.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 6:59 AM | link |

09 July 2005

Quotes

1 pathogens detected

Sorry I'm a hobo. Here are some quotes to see you through.

"Oh, I've been wondering where north was."-Beth

"I know where that smell is coming from... It's a little smell-jar."-Matt

"Can I call you Grouchy Stray?"-Lacey
"Well, can I call you Little Fluffy Buns?"-Jeni

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 6:30 AM | link |