Fortunate

I think it is finally setting in. At this point in time I would just like to say THANKS FOR EVERYTHING MICHAEL! I believe it was J.Mayer who say we have lost part of our DNA. That is how I was feeling for the last couple of days. But now i am just pleased to say that I have been extremely fortunate.

Fortunate to watch Motown 25 over and over again before and after school. Fortunate enough to see my pregnant mother moonwalk and spin. Fortunate enough to have a collection of buttons, cards, a red leather jacket and glitter socks. Fortunate enough to watch video premieres during primetime television. Many people of this generation have been privy to Michael Jackson, love him or not we are fortunate.

The nerve!

My thoughts...

I really don't know what people's expectations are. They do you dirty and then ask you what's wrong like you are the one with an unfathomable problem.

The level of moral and mannerisms of people is unbelievable. Sometimes I wonder how big insults are covered by meaningless apologies; when grand gestures are overdue.

Sometimes sorry is just not enough. Knowing that forgiveness is not always an option may smarten people up. Make them think twice about committing certain acts.

Just for future reference in the event you feel the need to lie, withhold pertinent info, or just be plan malicious; think and know that forgiveness may not always be an option!!!

Yeah I am talking to YOU!

Ring the ALARM!

Some of you know that I have been looking for a new family doctor for a while now. Since my wonderful physician died 4 years ago, I haven't had a replacement. Working in the hospital has spoiled me; whenever I felt like I was coming down with something or aching anywhere, I would just walk over and see one of the doctors I worked with.

Finally I found one, she is approachable, professional and most importantly she is attentive. On our first visit she sat me down for us to get acquainted and adjusted to one another. I pulled out my “list of concerns” and she pulled in a little closer to read the list beside me. I pulled that maneuver with another doctor before and he got agitated.

After the initial visit I was impressed and confident that I found myself a new family doctor. She set me up for a physical and I was good to go. Or was I?

My appointment was scheduled for Thursday afternoon. I left work early to head to the appointment, which I believed was scheduled for 3pm. I arrive at the doctor's office at 2:20 only to be told by the clerk that my appointment was at 5pm. I was confused so I pulled out the appointment card, and what I interpreted at 1500hrs, was actually the 9th of Aprill 500. There were 2 bloody L’s in APRIL! And it was written close together. What the heck!?! I have gotten so use to military hours so I assumed it was 1500=3pm. The clerk acknowledges the error and he tells me that the doctor is not in until 5pm, so I agreed to come back.

I went to my second half of work. I did a couple of things, called a cab and pack up to leave. As usual my departure from work is long, when the patients are awake there is always a chorus line waiting to say good-bye. I make my way to the staircase and then I spot another patient. I decide to head in the other direction towards the elevators. I get to the elevators and spot a patient who is heading down. We both get into the elevator and get to the ground floor, when all of a sudden the lights blank out. HUH? Seconds later, the loud buzzing of the fire alarm sounds. OH GREAT! So there I am in the elevator with an over anxious patient STUCK!

If it wasn’t for the patient panicking I think I would have panicked and fainted. She was confused, nervous and scared. I felt real bad for her. As soon as she calmed it was announced that it was a false alarm. The elevators doors finally opened and we rushed out.

By the time we got out my cab left. I had to take the stairs back up to get onto my floor. The alarm was sporadic; it was going on and off and driving me nuts. I finally got to my desk and called the doctor’s office to let them know I may be a few minutes late, and the number kept getting redirected to a medical emergency “help line”. I ignore it and call for another cab.

This time I take the stairs. AND MAN AM I OUTTA SHAPE! I was taking those bad-boys DOWN and I was out of breathe! That’s madness. I was bitching walking down the stairs, all the while I was telling myself I need to get into shape ASAP!

I spot the cab coming and I run to the front desk for a “taxi chip” so I can get back.

I run, or I should say limp outside to catch the cab and I notice someone climbing in. OH HELL NAW! I was not letting this cab go. I walk up to the door and look at ol’ boy from the Maintenance Department getting comfortable in the seat.

“Excuse me, is this cab going to --- Avenue for ‘Jinx’?”
Driver – “Yes it is”
“This may be my cab”
Ol' Boy – “Oh I am sorry I just got in, but I am going to --- Avenue too”
Driver – “well I can take the both of you”
I hesitated for a little, then hopped in.

Apparently ol’ dude was going to #230 and I was going to #500. So the driver decided to drop him off first. I insisted that I should be dropped off because I had an appointment I needed to get to; it was 4:30pm and it was a 5-minute drive from where we were. But the driver insisted that ol’ dude should get dropped off first because he was closer. But he wasn't, we had to turn down all kinds of one-way streets to get to his destination.

He was dropped off, then from behind us sirens started ringing. Next thing I know 3 fire trucks blaze past us and stop right in front of us.

We were stuck. No one was moving. I couldn’t believe it.

I was just watching the minutes roll by. I kept calling the office and getting the “hotline” It was driving me nuts.

I didn’t spot a fire, but the trucks were obviously blocking the road for a reason. The cab driver was able to find a way out onto the main road.

It was 5:20pm by the time we made it to the doctor's building. I was not impressed. I was defeated and decided to head back to work.

All this, for what? I don’t know.

I didn’t make it to my appointment, I got back to work to have a patient drool all over my shoes, I was spent, agitated, and miserable. The fire alarm sounded at work for the next 2 hours, which I failed to notice beside I got accustomed to the sound.

Got Change?

I feel awful, and I know it’s a real silly thing to feel bad about. From the beginning, this wasn’t suppose to be a charming day. I had an interview this afternoon that I was not all too excited about, and I guess I paid for the lack of excitment with the events of my day.

I woke up this morning with an outfit in mind. Planned out the day with all kinds of mundane activities. Stretching, seasoning fish, calling a couple of folks, bitching at my phone company, as well as getting ready for the interview at a set time and meeting my "The Little Mexican" for lunch.

It started out well. Everything went according to plan except for the little pitfall. The clothes that I had picked out didn’t fit! I have gained a bit of “winter” weight. Of course I did not anticipate my clothing looking awkward and ill-fitting. I couldn’t even get my pants up my thighs! Putting a damper on things I had to find something else to wear. Of course it was not what I really wanted to wear, but I had to settle. I hate settling.

So I head out with an outfit that I am not comfortable in. I think it had something to do with not wanting to make a first impression in ‘this’ outfit. It wasn’t bad, it was just there. Anyhow, I head out, walk over to the bank machine to get some cash only to get rejected. Not in service! No worries, I will go to the next functioning bank machine. Hmmm where is the next functioning bank machine. NO ONE KNEW! I asked everyone! Not to waste anymore time, I quickly head to the subway station, via my feet in some tight shoes.

I finally get to a bank machine, retrieve some money and stand in line at the subway station. For some unforeseen reason there was a huge lineup. At this point, I am pressed for time. I rush over to the other side and it wasn’t too bad. Except for the foreign couple having problems with directions. Patiently I stand as the teller gives directions to the couple. Of course if I didn’t need to purchase a pass I would have been on my merry way. (Hmmm I just realized something!)

So I wait and wait, they finish, then the next couple same thing! They took a good 3minutes cackling with the teller like it was a damn joke standing up in that line. Then the women in front of me! I swear she was walking right through and then she stops. I don’t know if she recognized the teller but they both start talking in their dialect. So me, BraveStar, decides to drop in a quarter and walk thru.

Trust me when I say this is not something that I do. Even when I know that I won’t get caught. But I lost my patience. I wasn’t even scared or concern about the consequences. I did it with not a care or fear in the world. And for someone like me with nervous energy, this even caught me by surprised.

So of course the teller bangs on the window and yells after me. He started barking about me only dropping in a quarter. I deny it of course.

I should have told the truth. But for some reason I couldn’t. I don’t know why I did that, but I did.

He started yelling at me to come back thru the line, and me the dummy, obliged. I went and stood in the long line like a real jackass! I finally get to the window and yell at him. Yes I was at fault, but I didn’t want to admit it. What gets me is that I boldly looked him in the eye and lied! I told him that I drop the correct amount of $2.75. He corrected me by saying I only dropped $0.25.

Impatient and embarrassed, I decided to get mouthy. So after telling him a couple of choice words I reach into my bag, and sadly find change lurking in the bottom of my bag! ARGH! If I only knew! I didn’t even realize I had CHANGE! About $8.00 or so in change. And of course my temperament got the best of me and I dropped it all in.

I feel like a jackass... The interview fell thru, I called and cancelled; cause not only was I running late, I was pissed. I didn't want to go in angry. It would have been better if I went in with the ill-fitting clothes, then to go in angry.

Next time, if there ever is one, I will have to exercise patience and fessed up when I am wrong. And I was wrong. Hmmm... I guess there are more things that I need to learn.

OH and the thing that I realized while I was typing this... is that I could have went to the stupid machine and purchased a pass from there!!!!!! I KNOW I KNOW!!!

What you looking at?

Finally!

I finally got my plumbing problem fixed this afternoon. It only took a month. My poor neighbour downstairs had to endure the leakage for all this time, and he was real patient about it. I don’t know if I could have been that patient, waiting on someone to fix a problem so I could go on with my life. It was even stressing me out and I wasn’t directly affected by it.

Well the plumber came this afternoon, and discovered that the spout needed a little corking. Could you believe that? After 2 plumbers and estimates up to $4000, corking fixed the problem. My landlord called it, but no one listened. Well anyhow this plumber was real odd. I don’t know if it was in a good way or not. He stared… real hard.

He came in with the superintendent and commented on how “cool” the set up of the place was. He then went into the washroom inspected the damage both up and downstairs, and within minutes diagnosed it and fixed it. While he was fixing it, he came to me to ask for some paper towel, so I gave him a whole roll. He took it and stared at me with this weird look, like he was confused about something. So I asked him if it was good enough and he said yes then walked away.

Five minutes later he comes into the kitchen where I am washing the dishes. He tells me the problem is fixed and that I shouldn’t use the shower for a couple of hours. Then he stares. I tell him thanks and he just stands and stares. He finally walked off with a pissed off look on his face like I said something nasty to him.

As he puts on his shoes, he randomly says, “Do you like dogs?”

“Huh?”
“Do you like dogs?”
“Ah, yeah I guess”
“You do or you don’t?”
“It depends, I like medium size dogs that don’t bark too much”
“Oh”
“What about you?”

He stares! He stood there and stared! It was then that I thought, he must have a condition or something so I shouldn’t take it too seriously. But it was weird. He didn’t answer my question and he left.

I went downstairs to express my relief for finally having the shower fixed and the plumber walked in and stared. The superintendent asked him if he was all done. The plumber nodded and walked away. Only to stand outside to peer through the window to stare.

Weirdo!

Freezing to my bones!

Today is so darn cold that I swear someone out there is mad at us. Well I cannot complain too much... the groundhog did say that we are expecting 6 more weeks of winter. But this cold is uncomprehendable. The weather is so flip floppy its worse than a woman with an hormonal inbalance.

But what would we do without complaining about the weather? How would we spark up conversations with random people standing at the bus stop or traffic light? Sometimes I wonder how else would I meet or attract "wholesome bunch" of individuals?

Last week when the weather was nice and comfortable I decided to walk to work instead of hopping on the streetcar. At the traffic light this random woman comments on how wonderful the weather is; I agreed and smiled and kept on moving when the light changed. As I was making myself across the street I notice that the woman was trying to catch up to me. It wasn't until I heard "Winners and found a great coat" did I notice that she was talking to me.

I slowed down, and asked her to repeat herself. Next thing I know, I am walking blocks with this woman who has divulged all of her activities in the last couple of days and what she had planned for the weekend. We finally parted ways as I told her that I had to make a stop in the opposite direction. So after 20 minutes of listening to jabber I walked away from her.

Fast forward to today. Cold as heck outside! There was no way I was going to walk so I made my way to the store to purchase some tokens. As I was leaving the store, I jail-walk to the other side of the street to the stop, and noticed a lone woman standing there. I didn't look up at her until I heard "It's real cold out today" As I look up to reply, did I then notice it was homegirl from the other day. GREAT!

"Yeah it's cold" Hoping that she wouldn't remember me from the other day. But she did.

What was even more wonderful is that she was getting on the same streetcar! I waited for her to hop on first, but she was fiddling with some change and it was too cute to be standing out in the cold. I got on and she followed.... right beside me! There were sooo many seats, but she choose to sit right next to me! Imagine that.

She talked my damn ear off! And she didn't even pause to take a breath. She asked me what direction I was going in and I told her "I don't know" just so I wouldn't have her tagging along. I asked her where she was going and she told me the subway. So took that opportunity to say that I was not going that way. You think that would have shaked her off? No... she followed me off the streetcar and onto the bus... I decided to get off a couple of stops early and told her that I had to walk a couple of blocks to my run a couple of errands. I was so upset because I knew it was too cold to be frolicking.... but I needed to escape.

She finally wished me a good day and said "well next time, when the weather is nice"

Happy Birthday... C!

Happy Birthday C!....

I am going to only leave it at that. I think you have grown out of the Chubbs era... and the title now belongs to the little one.

I hope that you have a wonderful day. May it be filled with love and warm memories. Considering that I am only a "couple of months" older than you. I wish! I think as the oldest there are a few things that I can pass on to you.

1. Men never change, unless they feel the need to
2. The other girl is always more hideous
3. The other girl is always fatter
4. Men without jobs should only be booty calls!
5. The saying "its better to have love and lost" does NOT apply to us
6. The grass is never greener on the other side
7. Men are emotional creatures
8. We can always do better!
9. We should never settle!
10. God loves us all... no matter how bad the circumstances
11. A woman should always have enough money to be able to move out on her own. Even if she doesn't need or want to.
12. A woman should know how to fall in love without losing herself.
13. Every battle is not worth fighting
14. Embrace every emotion... good and bad
15. It can't always be good.

16. You are a blessing in disguise
17. You are a wonderful mother
18. You are a great woman
19. You are flawless even with all your flaws
20. You are one of the strongest woman I know
21. You are doing a great job in life... even if you don't think so
22. You are going to accomplish even more greatest than you already have
23. You are going to be free
24. You are always welcome and free to contact me... my door is always open
25. You are one of my greatest treasures
26. You are family

27. You are one FIERCE BAD BITCH and I love you for that!

Have a great day... and keep banging those heads up!!!!