Okay, so government just passed the $700 B package.

NC pledged their assistance of x% monies from their coffers.

NC is getting it from many places, such as the Community College system.

Ms. W is an instructor in the Community College system.

Guess who received notice that it’s likely she won’t receive a contract next semester?

Yeah…good times.

Highlight of today’s sale:
An old pickup with dubious muffler and safety inspection pulls up and blocks driveway. Old woman with about eight teeth climbs out and walks through the sale. After a quick glance, calls out to old man with about five teeth, “Don’t bother lookin’, it’s all junk.”  Ms. W was just HOPING that the old woman found something she did want…Ms. W was going to jack the price 75%-100%.

We really didn’t have much in the way of “big ticket items.” We did get rid of a couple Little Tykes things, like a castle slide we had in our front room, and a wagon. We also got rid of a tricycle that was rather big. Things we didn’t think would sell did sell, and things we thought would go in the first couple hours ended up being packed for Goodwill or for next Spring’s sale.

Overall, we did okay. Got rid of a lot of stuff, and then just started giving stuff away to the migrant worker groups that came through. We just wanted it GONE, and some of the old clothes have been through 3 years worth of these community garage sales.

We didn’t see Palin implode, and Biden didn’t say anything to make the democratic party’s butt pucker.  (At least in my view.) Although I also didn’t see much actual debating.

Lots of quotes for the media, though.

As a left-leaning Independent, I didn’t hear much that would swing my vote either way.  Too many sound bites.

Poor Cheese

Because I missed the Friday Sundries:

My ankle seems to be going back to normal…still a little stiff, but not looking all ripped up anymore.

Work Sucks…but pays the bills.

Cheese made me happy this morning by having a normal poop…then he ruined it an hour later by having a rare “two-fer” day and needed a bath.

Ms. W is getting stranger and stranger with her music taste. Not that it’s bad, but she’s now into The Velvet Underground and The Feelies. Yup…she’s gone from the ’80s punk/new wave scene to ’60s/’70s underground bands.

I need 45 more minutes of music for my upcoming DJ gig…what a pain in the ass. I need some booty shakin’ music that’s “Kindergarten Friendly.”

Ms. W was thinking of going back to teaching full time…then she remembered that she’s only one class short of carrying a full schedule and is already freaking. Ten years and two kids do seem to make a difference.

Our garage is still clean…five days is a record.

People say that men hate grocery shopping. I love it…as long as it’s in the evening, during the week, and I’m by myself. Weekends and kids tend to ruin it.

Last night, the bagger tossed a 5 lbs. bag of sugar on my loaf of bread.  I didn’t notice it until loading the car.

Nothing makes a project manager’s butt pucker like being in a meeting with the customer and finding out that each side has different project documentation. Every couple minutes was, “Uh, we took that out of our requirements…didn’t you know that?” Tends to make one start drinking early in the afternoon.

S went to her first “official” school dance this weekend with some gal pals. From the sounds of it, they hung out by the snack bar the entire time and “dished.” Not related to the dance, but she’s been invited by her boyfriend to her first hockey game.

Since I’ve started making my own sodas (raspberry was delicious, by the way,) I’ve cut down my caffeine intake to almost none. Last night I had a Pepsi while shopping. I buzzed pretty good for a couple hours, then at 10:30 PM, I crashed…hard. I rarely go to sleep that early.

I was pretty excited about the upcoming yard sale this weekend.  But now?  Now, not so much. I’m liking the fact that we’re getting rid of old stuff (toys, clothes, etc.)  It’s just a royal pain in the patootie.

Yay!: Putting the garage in order such that we can now get in one or possibly both cars.

Boo!: In the process, tripping on a kids toy and stepping on the outside of my ankle in an abnormal way causing it to now somewhat resemble a bloated and bruised roadkill animal.

What pisses me off is that this was not one of my “oops, I’m clutzy,” moments.  I was moving planting supplies to one side of the garage and reshelving our camping equipment so it was all in one place. Ms. W and the girls were working on toys, and getting stuff ready for a garage sale next weekend. Somehow, as I was getting a bag of potting soil down to move, an oversize playground ball ended up behind me, so when I stepped back, my foot just rolled on the ball. I know it wasn’t there before because I would’ve had to step over or around the ball to get to the shelves where the potting soil was set.

No one owns up to it.

it HOWLS!

Realizing that these types of bikes have probably been ridden hard and possibly chopped or other nasties, to get a couple “brand name” mountain bikes for little more than the cost of shipping seemed very attractive, even when I had to put a new seat and tire tubes onto them.

Until today.

We went for a family bike ride today. We had plans of trying to get K to ride without training wheels. (For the record…didn’t work…she still has them on the bike.) As soon as Ms. W pulled her bike into the road, the chain broke…a link completely shattered. I gave her my bike as I pulled hers back into the garage and replaced the link. I finally caught up to them and we went up the the running track at the elementary school.

During the riding:
My rear gear shifter stripped. Luckily, it was in a middle gear, so I could still ride.
The bearings in the rear axle on my bike gave way. I could still ride, but the rear wheel was really wobbly.
Ms. W’s rear gear shifter got stuck in such a way it kept shifting between gears by itself.
The afore mentioned chain issue.
I think one of her tires has a leak.

The thing is…rebuild them myself or donate to a bikes for kids charity that has the time to do it right?

I hate following someone’s directions for a web setting that “don’t seem quite right,” and end up crashing the freaking computer for the better part of a day.  I should’ve known better.

Well…If I can come up with enough crap to call this a post.

Yeah, this week was one of “THOSE” weeks.  It had me re-evaluating what I want to be when I grow up, maybe it’s time to change careers, North Carolina isn’t “all that” so maybe it’s time for a move.  Then I remembered something…it costs money to make changes like that.

Speaking of money…I’m not sure how I got lucky, but a few months ago I changed around my retirement investments. This past week when the markets sunk, I actually made money. Go figure. If only I could do that with money that’s NOT tied up for another 10-15 years.

The girls still don’t get that I work during the day.

Ms. W has renewed her interest in music, and true to nature, she’s well off the mainstream. We’ve been listening to some STRANGE punk and indie bands. Luckily for her, NCSU’s student station fits her need for odd genres. I’ve renewed my interest in The Beatles.  How do she and I ever get along?

We’ve been getting ready for a community yard sale. Against my normal “Pack Rat” nature, my mantra has been, “Get it OUT of the house.” I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m freaking tired of the clutter.

I started orchestra this past week. I play ONE piece in the first concert. I was sooo pissed. Not because of the low amount of play time, but because I rehearsed that one piece at the beginning of rehearsal, and sat through the rest of the 2 1/2 hours thinking I had another piece to play.  When it came to that second piece, I found we’re only playing the third movement, which I have as “Tacet.”

The Cats are all doing okay. We haven’t had any issues with Cheese since the operation. (Well…pee issues…we still deal with his inflammatory bowel.)

Ah, Hell…I’ve run out of things.  Well…have a good weekend, everyone!