Shelby

I went to Zoo Lights Friday night with my Mom and sister. It was a perfect night for it -- not too warm, not too cool. They had the zoo decorated with light sculptures and giant lighted trees. There were a few animal exhibits open, but not many. The polar bears appeared to be highly annoyed at the disruption of their schedule and I felt a little bad for them.

My mom really had a good time. She doesn't get out much for things like this so it seemed like a real treat for her. When we do take her out for things like this I realize how old she really is. I always worry about her tripping over an uneven spot in the concrete or over a curb. Getting into and out of the tram that ran the perimeter of the zoo was tough for her. She's not really feeble but she's pushing 80 so she's no spring chicken, either.

It's weird to see your parents get old. Dad died in 2003 and he had Alzheimers so a disease took his life. He lost his faculties before he really aged to point of having to be cared for. Mom is pretty healthy in most respects, but she's just getting old.

I hate it. But this is the reason I moved away from Florida and back to Memphis. To be near Mom and to help her as she gets older so I guess this is what I signed on for. I suppose instead of dreading the inevitable I should savor this time that she can go with me to do things like this.

Anyway, here's some photos of us at Zoo Lights.



Mom & Me


Mom and Sandy (my sister)

I leave tomorrow for Chattanooga. I'm taking a class called Mastering Unique and Complex Properties. If it sounds dry, that's because it is. After I get this one behind me, I will have 2 more classes and one 7 hour update class to take. I have to make myself start meeting with my sister one night a week to start working on appraisals in order to get competent. So far most of what I have behind me is education and not experience. I need to flip that at this point and it's going to be hard to do with working full time at a totally unrelated job. I'll just have to squeeze it in somehow.

I can't keep working where I am. I'm bored out of my skull there and can't imagine working there in the long term. The pay is good and the benefits are way above average. However, sitting there day after day doing nothing is making me crazy. I was actually relatively busy yesterday because another person was out of the office and it made the day go by so much more quickly. But those days are few and far between!

I would like to be able say this time next year that I'm working for myself and it was a good decision. We'll see.

It should be a beautiful drive to Chattanooga up in the mountains this time of year. I think I'll go early tomorrow and take my camera.

"M's" not-sick daughter is at the office again today. I guess because there's one more can of whipped cream in the fridge to be conquered.

On a completely unrelated note, I am wearing a keffiyeh at work today.



I was traveling back from Vegas last year from a work conference and one of the pilots I was traveling with saw a kid in the airport wearing a jeans, a t-shirt and a keffiyeh. He went ballistic and ranted the rest of the way to the gate about how Americans should be shot for wearing pro-Palestinian items of clothing blah blah blah.

So, naturally I bought one off ebay. I had actually forgotten about it but I saw it in the closet this morning on the top shelf and pulled it down and wrapped it around the neck of my black sweater. He hasn't seen me yet. Can't wait to hear what he has to say.

Funny, I don't feeeeeel Palestinian.

There is a woman I work with. I think she's a vile human being for a variety of reasons. We'll call her "M." She is always bringing her "sick" kids to work with her and they seldom appear to really be sick. Her daughter is about 8 years old and she's enormous. It just breaks my heart for this kid and it infuriates me because it doesn't have to be that way. I've pretty much surmised that "M" drinks her dinner at night and doesn't give a shit what her kids are into after she's sufficiently tanked in the evenings. I surmise that because she's actually said, "I usually have a few drinks at night and tell the kids to go do something and not bother me unless the house is on fire." Nice. Apparently her daughter is into the unsupervised mass consumption of Twinkies and doughnuts.

Today her daughter is here at the office. Again. My cubicle is next to Kate's and we are in close proximity to the kitchen. Earlier, we could hear a can of whipped cream being squirted for a very long time. Kate emails me with a "WTF?" Then we hear the fridge open and close and more spraying of whipped cream. I'm talking a long time -- enough time to completely empty a full can. So I email Kate back with, "Seriously? Jesus, are they just eating it straight out of the can?" "M's" cubicle is on the other side of Kate's so she could hear what was going on, too, but she didn't say a word.

We later find out that it was "M's" daughter. She was filling up a giant to-go cup with whipped cream and eating it. Great parenting skills there "M." Your daughter will be really grateful to you when her self esteem hits rock bottom when she's 16 and being taunted instead of being asked out on dates. Sober up and be a parent you reprehensible douchebag.

I just love Halloween. I bought three pumpkins at Easy Way today. This is the first one I finished carving. I LOVE the stencils you can download now. I'll carve the last two tomorrow.




Amazing how it looks like nothing until you light the candle.

Eric isn't home and hasn't been since Tuesday. He doesn't wear any cologne or aftershave. Ever. Yet all afternoon long I've smelled a masculine cologne/aftershave-y smell on the quilt and in the recliner in my den. Did some man break in, sleep in my recliner under this quilt all night and then let himself out before I woke up this morning? What the hell? I hate it when I don't have an explanation for something peculiar.

I've posted this to Facebook so those of you who see my Facebook have seen her already. I got Hank a girlfriend back in June. Her name is Minnie. I had to have her because she looks JUST like Hank. He's a mutt and they were born in different states so they aren't related but they clearly have a similar breed mix.

He loves her. He thinks she's the greatest thing since sliced bread, or dog biscuits.

She's much more of a hound than Hank. He never left a trace in my back yard that I had a dog but since I adopted her they've destroyed my back yard and trashed my patio but I don't care because they are so happy while they're doing it.

I need to do some traveling. Take some pictures. Eat at roadside greasy spoons and diners. Yep, I need a road trip.

I'm not sure what Twilight is all about. I just know that girls all over, including my grand niece, are giddy over the vampire, Edward. the cake has various items from the book jackets. I have no idea what they mean.

She hasn't seen her cake yet. The surprise party is in 2 hours.