Mother's Day

I got a really nice gold heart shaped pendant on a delicate chain for Mother's Day. I have a really cool kid. Nate is in the National Guard, plus he works for the National Guard through the week as his 9-5 job. He's a go-getter. We just learned that he probably won't be going "over there" until 2009. I pray...

I'm enjoying this new blog I've started. But it seems that this is such a self-absorbed activity. I suppose an on-line journal is by its nature a self-absorbed activity. If I can watch Charm School and be captivated by the self-absorbed antics of "reality tv" denizens, then why not post a self-absorbed blog? Really, it's just a how-to book on finding one's own path. After spending 50 years living with others and being somewhat defined by those relationships and my career, I find this to be a helpful tool for me. I've either been a child, a daughter, a roommate, a wife, a mother, and a roommate again. I'm still a mother, but the boys are grown. I blinked and things changed 180 degrees. From now on my life is exactly what I will make of it. No more excuses, such as having to work, pay the mortgage, blah, blah, blah. There is nothing at the end of all that effort that will be a suitable recompense for the time spent. I really don't care how high the grass grows--capice? LOL

Right now I'm basking in the glow of a satisfying meal of a Burger King veggie burger. I was running lots of errands and decided a treat was due. I have a bunch of jewelry findings to try out in my new people-sized jewelry designs tonight. This is a little break while the dishwasher finishes its cycle. Plus it was time for a Heineken, a vegan beer. Yup, I'm a born-again vegan. WWJE?

I own being a cantankerous, old, mean customer! I visited five stores today. I walked out of two, and was a little annoyed with one but we still conducted business. Let's start with Office Depot. It's close to Nathan's apartment where I am hanging out, so I started there with my bag of spent inkjet cartridges. All they had on the shelves were multi-packs and they would only let you turn in one cartridge per package, period. That seemed like such a rip-off that I just left. I was going to buy copy paper and packaging tape, but no matter. Off I trotted to Walmart just down the way. I thought I'd look at their jewelry findings, even though it is at least a half mile walk to that department. Sheesh! I dread going in that store sometimes. But I found a bunch of potential charms and findings on sale (findings are the metal connectors). I probably had $50 worth of stuff in my arms, plus a pair of lightweight khakis to extend my meager wardrobe a bit. I searched for a register and the lines were horrendous. There were six 7-10 items only lanes, and two regular lanes which is what my stuff qualified for. I stood, and stood, and stood in that line and happened to notice that the cashier was moving in s-l-o-o-o-o-w m-o-t-i-o-o-o-o-n, literally! I could not believe it. She painstakingly folded each item in current customer's pile, and I couldn't believe it, even though this is the second time I've seen a deliberate work slowdown in at a Walmart cash register. Am I the only one who's seen this behavior? I've been a cashier and only a nutcase would drag the day out like that. I used to pride myself on actually working with a little teensy bit of self-respect. So I just walked out without a word and left all the stuff on the counter. Normally I would have said "if you have that much time on your hands to work so slow, then you have time to put all this shit away." But I've mellowed a bit over the years. >^;^<

I head on over to JoAnne's, where I find oodles of findings on sale. I stocked up, made my purchase, and it was a pleasant, efficient exchange. They didn't even ask for my zip code! Yeah! Staples is right next door, so I turned in all 13 spent cartridges for $3 coupons good for 90 days on ANYTHING you buy in the store, not just cartridges. Wow! The cashier took three of them off right there. I have $30 left, usable 3 coupons at a time. I'm SO GLAD I WALKED OUT OF Office Despot!!! The very patient and efficient cashier was able to simultaneously convince me to sign up for the "bonus card" thing again, because it's good for a 10% rebate on cartridges and paper products every 90 days. I can handle that. And she didn't bother me for my zip code!

After a quick run into the big Post Office at Southeastern, PA, picked up two packages I bought on Ebay and mailed the miniature bracelet. Next stop, after a mad dash through King of Prussia, was Michael's, another craft store. I found most of what I needed and a bit more besides, then of course the cash register debacle over a zip code commenced. I either say 90210, or "no" when asked. I wish they'd just stop it already. Please, please, please leave my zip code alone. My goal is not to have a freaking zip code already. Yep, I'm getting older and more cantankerous by the minute. Office Despot is off my list permanently, and Walmart I'll just keep having fun with them, but not very often. I get most of my clothes and books at the thrift stores or flea markets, and pretty much everything else on Ebay. I just waited too long to get the cartridges. Sometimes you need it now.