Going Postal Over Stamps

I left work at 2:15 today and had one errand to run. I needed to buy stamps for my wedding invitations. Simple right? Think again.


I decided to go to the post office to buy the stamps for my wedding invitations because I wanted pretty ones. You can get regular stamps anywhere but the post office has a wider variety of designs. Usually.  In fact the post office is known for selling stamps. Usually.  I drove straight to the post office from work and waited on line for about 5 minutes or so. When it was my turn, I walked up to the gentleman at the counter and said I needed to buy stamps for my wedding invitations. he looked at me, shook his head, and said they didn't have stamps. Yes, you read that right, the post office ( at least this particular one), didn't have stamps. Now , in my 47 years on this Earth, I have never heard of such a thing. 

I walked out, grumbling under my breath, got in my car, and proceeded to drive to the nearest UPS Store. They had stamps, yay! But not pretty ones, so I thanked them and once again got in my car. This time I decided to try one more post office before I started pulling my hair out of my head.  At the next post office, not only did they have stamps, they had pretty ones. Finally, mission accomplished!  Two hours, two post offices, and one UPS Store later, I finally went home. Of course by the time I got home I was too exhausted from buying stamps to start working on my invitations. I will do that later tonight after I rest up from The Great Stamp Debacle of 2013.

 Lucky thing I didn't go postal over this. Buying stamps at the post office, what a concept!!

Full Moon Fever

A full moon is coming.  Seeing how the kids in our class are behaving this week confirms this, besides the fact that I looked it up online.  When our kids start acting crazier than usual, I know there is a full moon somewhere on the horizon.

I have been working at an elementary school for 13 years. It never fails that the kids seem to get wilder than usual around the time of a full moon. Although it is four days away, the behavior of all the kids at the school supports my theory.

As the full moon approaches, even the best behaved kids start to act up , leaving us even more stressed than usual.  The teacher and I just look at each other in disbelief.  Throughout the day looks pass between us that seem to say," Oh my God, we'll never make til dismissal."  And once dismissal has come and gone, we drag ourselves back to the classroom drained dry by the little demons that have seemed to replace our kids.

There is nothing we can do about this phenomenon. We just do the best we can until the full moon is over and things start to calm down.  We are lucky in one respect: at least none of the kids has turned into a werewolf. Yet. But I swear, if they start howling, I'm heading for the hills!

Valentine's Day: It Was Some Engaging Evening

Valentine's Day has come and gone once again. Gifts of candy and flowers were given to friends and loved ones. For some lucky ladies, it was the day they got  engaged. I am one of those lucky ladies.


 Although Steven and I had known each other for a couple of years through his sister Debbie,things between us didn't take a romantic turn until two months ago when I told Debbie how I felt about him. She relayed my feelings to him, and we've been together ever since. We started talking about marriage early on in our relationship and finally decided to get engaged. And we decided to do it on Valentine's Day.

Steven made reservations at a fancy restaurant called Vienna Cafe. The food was amazing, the atmosphere, romantic.  After dinner we went back to Steven's apartment. It had started raining, but we made it back before it got too bad.  I turned on the lights and sat down on the sofa to relax. Steven came in a few minutes later. He walked over to me and told me he had something for me. He then reached into his shirt pocket and by accident brought out a cough drop. We had a good laugh about that. He put the cough drop back in his pocket and produced my actual Valentine's Day present- an engagement ring. He got down on one knee in front of me,, and asked if I would do him the honor of marrying him.  I wanted to answer him immediately but he had other ideas. He started to kiss me before I had a chance to answer. When I did finally get the chance, of course I said yes!

I called my parents to tell them the news,and then my closest friends, including Steven's sister. Steven made phone calls to his family as well. The evening passed in a flurry of phone calls, texts, and congratulations. 

This year, for me at least, Valentine's Day was definitely an engaging evening!

I Had My Day In Court...Sort Of

As some of you know, I received a summons recently.  I consulted my boyfriend's lawyer who told me to go to my car insurance agency. I went to my car insurance agency and was told they wouldn't help me due to the fact that I'm not covered for what the people are suing me for.  I then paid $50.00 to the Broward County Bar Association to be referred to another lawyer only to find out that they couldn't help me either, and time was running out.

On the summons it stated that I had 20 calendar days from the time I received the summons to have a written response filed with the Clerk of Courts and with the other party's attorney.  I've spent most of the 20 days trying to find help, and affordable help at that. Well today was the 20th day, so I took it upon myself to draft a response, take the day off from work, and do what I had to do. 

This morning I went to the courthouse, and after setting off the metal detector with my belly ring, I filed my response with the Clerk of Courts. I was pleasantly surprised to find out there was no fee to do so.  After leaving the courthouse, I went straight to Office Max and faxed a copy of my response to the other party's attorney. At least I have shown the court that by filing my response, that I am a responsible person and am not ignoring the situation( unlike my scum of an ex who could care less about the whole thing).  Now all that's left is to sit and wait for what happens next. In other words.....Stay Tuned!!!!!

When It Rains, It Pours

A couple of weeks ago I received a summons,and I've been working on finding legal representation. I have one week left to file a written response to the aforementioned summons before they put a default judgement on me. While I'm working on that, I also have to have a physical and TB test for work in order to send a Certificate of Good Health downtown to the Head Start program for which I work in conjunction with my elementary school and this certificate is due January 31st.

I'm taking next Tuesday off to go to the doctor,and hopefully meet with a legal representative providing I find one. On Thursday I'm working til 11:15, then racing to my doctor's office before they close at 12:30 to have the TB test read. Once they check me out and the doctor signs my Certificate of Good Health, I can then fax it to where it needs to go then bring it to work the next day to give to my principal.

I've never had so much going on at once, and my head is spinning. But such is the life of an adult, and I have put my big girl panties on and am dealing with it all.

" When it rains, it pours," and I'm in the middle of a monsoon.

That's What Friends( and Family, and A Wonderful Boyfriend), Are For

 

 

 

" That's what friends are for."  It's not just a song , but a truism.  My life recently took a turn for the unexpected and I'm learning just what family and friends are for.

 

Three years ago my ex-boyfriend, henceforth known as " the scum of the earth," or any name of your choosing, had an accident with my car. I had let him use it one day because his mode of transportation wasn't working. He dropped me at work in the morning and was supposed to pick me up that same afternoon. He called me a little while before he was supposed to come get me to tell me about the accident. I, of course immediately asked if he was okay( like a good girlfriend should do). He assured me he was fine but needed to get the car towed home. I got a ride home from the teacher I was working with at the time and met him there.

 

A week later he broke up with me and I moved out. Not too much longer after that, I received a letter from the insurance company used by the people involved in the accident. I called the insurance company and answered their questions, gave them the info they asked for and even filled out and returned forms that they mailed to me. After that I didn't hear from them again and figured the insurance companies had taken care of things. I figured wrong.

 

This past Saturday I was served with a summons seemingly pertaining to the accident three years ago. I called my ex ,( the scum of the earth), after receiving said summons ,and from our conversation it was clear he wasn't going to do anything to help me. I have a wonderful new boyfriend named Steven  who spoke to his lawyer on my behalf. The lawyer asked Steven to have me call him, which I did,and I'll be calling him again.

 

My friends have also been there for me, wishing me well and being angry at  my ex,(the scum of the earth ), on my behalf. They have been giving me all kinds of welcome advice and generally " have my back," in all of this. My family also supports me as I make my way through this.

 

Being there in my time of need, supporting me,and " having my back." That is indeed what friends, family and a wonderful boyfriend are for.

 

 

 

 

 

If The Shoe Doesn't Fit, Go Shopping!!

That's exactly what I did after work today, go shopping. Shoe shopping to be exact.


I was on my lunch break this morning when one of my sandals decided to break. I've had them for almost a year and got lots of use out of them so I can't complain. However, after my sandal broke, it's a miracle I made it through the rest of the work day without breaking anythings else, like bones. Once my lunch break ended, I slowly made my way back to my classroom. Walking was tricky, and I adopted a limping sort of gait. I started forward with my right foot( which wore the good sandal). then slid my left foot( which wore the broken sandal) forward. That worked well until I left the staff lounge( which is situated inside the cafeteria), and had to walk on concrete, which wasn't conducive to sliding my left foot. I had to carefully pick up and put down my left foot, which was easier said than done. Several times as I lifted my foot, the front of the sandal would bend under my foot , causing me to trip. It's a wonder I didn't fall at some point!  I made it back to the classroom in one piece, and continued on with the rest of my day while garnering looks and giggles from my coworkers.  It was kind of funny after all.

After I was done for the day, the REAL work began. I had to get new sandals, and get them quick. I tried Marshall's and Ross to no avail. I then decided to continue with my original plan and go to the mall for one-stop shopping( I also had to get a new chain for my Star of David. Don't ask).  I got a new chain and continued on my quest for sandals. after trying Sears, I went to the Payless Shoes in the mall and struck gold, rather, I struck purple. I found the same exact sandals I already had but in a funky , glittery purple. As soon as I saw them, I knew I had to have them. The only thing was, the shoes were a girl's size 4. They didn't have the purple in adult sizes ( I wear a 5),so I tried on the size 4's and cha-ching, they fit!!  The saleswoman was nice enough to throw out my old sandals, and I walked out of the mall in my brand-spanking new purple sandals.

So , ladies, the moral of the story is this:  If the shoe doesn't fit, go shopping!!!