Summer's Second Chance

If you would have told me last week when it rained for 8 days straight that we'd have 8 of the most beautiful days of summer afterwards... I would have gladly put my rubber boots on and waited.  It was so nice out yesterday... not a cloud in the sky and a beautiful 75 degrees... and it's supposed to be like this until next Tuesday.

It felt good to get outside yesterday and get some work done.  The Marriott had been pretty battered from the rain with wet leaves everywhere and things growing out of control.  It felt so good to cut everything back and clean it all up and watch everything have a second chance at growing... it was only a month ago that everything was dried up and half dead, and now things are blooming again.  With planting some Mums, dealing with the leaves and getting everything trimmed, I didn't get all the grass cut, so I'm off this morning to get that finished up.  This is the time of the year that I love.   My contract goes until the end of November, so now I will just be cutting grass as needed and chasing leaves around the parking lot.  I've already been awarded the contract for next year... and now, with the trailer I just bought, I'll be getting a bigger mower and expanding next year.

Incidentally, I lifted this pic from a new reader... GardenGuy.  It kind of looks like me, minus all the muscles and plus some facial hair.

Wide Load

Over the last month... I've been shoveling in the junk food... McDonald's, bakery items, candy, ice cream... at an alarming rate.  Somehow, I'm only 175 lbs, which is 10 pounds more than my lowest, back in May.  I've been guilting myself over my eating habits and that I haven't been to the gym in months... so I finally went today.  For me, actually leaving the house and getting to the gym is more than half the battle.  I only did an hour of a workout since I felt like I was going to throw up and have a heart attack... but at least my fat percentage was still at 16%.   I hope this is a leaf I'm turning over... not only for better physical and mental health (it's almost depression season), but especially since I have another one of the Body Electric classes (this time I'm an assistant, not a participant) coming up the first weekend of November... you know, the ones where you learn to accept your body as it is... so I have 4 weeks to get back into shape so I can accept my body exactly as it is.  Geez, I'm stupid. 

I Love Jake Ryan

The weather has been pretty crappy but, fortunately, I've been loaded up with shows on my DVR and watched a few movies over the weekend, including Sixteen Candles with Molly Ringwold.  Looking back, I remember how popular she was... and how I loved her movies.  It brought back a lot of memories of the mid-eighties... a time when life was a lot more simpler, although filled with teenage angst, I doubt I thought that at the time.  Even back then, I remember how I was starting to feel things for guys and Jake Ryan, the object of Samantha's obsession in the movie, was the epitome of everything that I wished I could be... handsome... great hair... body hair... great matching sweaters... money... a great car... a girlfriend with perfectly-feathered hair... he had it all.. and he turned out to be emotional... which was a huge turn-on for me.

I had two girl obsessions in high school... one was Cindi Phillips, daughter in a rich construction company family.... and Kim Maloney.  Both had snow-white blonde hair, feathered much like that of Princess Diana's.  At one point, my friend Julie moved next door to Cindi's house and I can remember how excited I was to maybe catch a glimpse of her, perhaps in her back yard washing the car... you know, one of those moments where it seems like the whole thing is in slow motion.  Her perfectly-feathered hair bouncing (yet somehow holding it's form) and her yellow terry cloth shorts with the white piping and matching tube socks, beconing to a young freshman like myself.

Everyone in the Phillips family looked like they were carved out of cream cheese... they were so perfect and beautiful... especially Cindi's brother, Jake.  Jake Phillips (I loved just hearing the name) was, of course, a football star... tanned, toned and definitely the most popular guy in the school... and that's where I remember the confusion coming in.  Even then, I remember falling in 'love' with him on the back of falling in love with Cindi.  Did I really love Cindi... or was she the gateway to my real love... Jake?

In such a troubled time for me trying to figure out what was going on in my mind and underpants, I knew, even then, that it was love that I wanted.  I never had lustful thoughts about Jake... either one, really.  With Jake, in the movie... the moment outside of the church where Samantha comes out and the cars in the street clear and there's Jake, leaning up against his red Porche... I knew then that I wanted and needed a prince in shining armor to rescue me.  It gave me hope that even scrawny little kids like myself could have a chance to be swept away. 

Now, in my mid-forties, I know that it's probably never going to happen... that guys like that aren't out there any more... and wanting that lifestyle or a red Porche is the farthest thing from my mind.  It's funny how we change.

I'm still waiting for my Jake.

Tids and Bits

About a month after I started my Aunt's landscaping project (a.k.a. attack of the house of bees), I finally finished it yesterday. Because she doesn't have a lot going on, she tends to fixate on things and adds a sense of urgency on the task for something to do... a typical thing for older people, I think.  One of her favorite things is the set of hard-wired landscaping lights and a separately-wired statue of a black man (in the sambo style) holding a lantern, which, her having it (in and of itself) could be a whole 'nother blog post... but I digress.

If you've ever installed these lights, you know what a pain it is to hook them up... the connectors are very tempermental... you have to squeeze them just right to get them pierced so they make a connection... and they almost always go out periodically, either at the connection or the bulb. Eight lights in her bed... you do the math on how often I go over there to fix them, not including the timers (which need adjusted every time the electricity goes off).

I figured that I would just replace them, so I pulled out the old wires from the ground (which is what upset the bees to begin with) and laid new wiring and connected 10 new lighting pods.  When I turned them on, only one of the ten actually lit, which meant that I had to dig up the connections and play with the intricate connectors and wiggle the bulbs... about ten minutes or so each... which wouldn't have been bad except it started raining midway... and there was no way that I was stopping and having the project delay any further (i.e. having to go through another round of "when are you coming over... when are you coming over").  Five bee stings... 16 5-gallon buckets of weeds and clumped dirt... raw fingers... muddy shoes (and ass... I fell)... and 10 bags of red (ugh) mulch later... it was done.  Another nagging project off the board.  Nothing is ever simple.

I went to pick up the utility trailer that I found on Craigslist which was about an hour away in no-man's land.  the retired guy that had it was very nice and helpful... of course nothing was easy with that as well... my trailer hitch was rusted and wouldn't go in... the hitch ball was the wrong size... I couldn't find an ATM machine out in Amish country... we had to go to this trailer park with this odd woman to transfer the title and, lastly... the hitch lights didn't work when I connected them.  I got the trailer home and have been working on getting the lights to work... I have to take the car to have the wiring looked at today.  It's a nice trailer... it tilts for easy loading, has a third wheel... a wench... and the sides are removable... which I will have to rebuild higher so that I can put mulch and leaves in it.  It's perfect for what I need... and for building my business nextSpring... I'll probably get a riding mower now and expand with bigger jobs.

Autumn is upon us... It's been raining so much that it's hard to enjoy the Fall... but it is much cooler, which I love.  I used to have a kayak years ago but sold it when I moved, so I bought another one the other day.  I got a great deal on it... and I like that it has two dry compartments.  And despite my fear of deep water and drawing toward being solitary as I grow older, there's nothing I enjoy most than being out in the middle of a lake by myself where no one can get to me.

It's fall festival time as well... and October is a busy time for me with the ones that I usually attend.  With the break in the rain, next week looks like 7 days of sun and 60-something degrees... and with peak foliage color change about to happen, I have decided to head up and see Sean in Albany (Idle Eyes and a Dormy).  I'll leave on Monday and come back on Friday... and will be stopping in the Poconos at one of my favorite places... Bushkill Falls.

If You Don't Laugh, You'll Cry

Sweet Day

This morning, I treated myself to my favorite breakfast place... California french toast (tender raisin bread dipped in a vanilla batter topped with bananas), then went to my favorite gourmet donut shop (one rasberry lemonade and one chocolate chip cookie dough) and then stopped at the coffee place to get my syrups for my homemade iced coffee (cupcake, apple, almond, butter rum and Italian eggnog).  I love my tastes and smells.  The rest of the day, I intstalled the radio I originally bought for the truck since the one in Terry sucked.  After taking apart the whole dashboard, somehow, I got it all back together again and it works.

After a long summer of reruns and crap TV, the new season is finally here.  My double DVR has been set for maximum recording and I'm not ashamed to say that I love it.  I love having all my shows sitting there waiting for me at the end of the day.  Some of my favorites are no longer running, but they've been replaced by a bunch more.  New this year are a few that are quicly becoming my new favorites... especially Revenge and 2 Broke Girls. 

Wickedly Terrifying

Friday night, I went to Wicked.  I bought the ticket back in May... I was excited.  It was much better than I expected... a lot more funnier.  I liked the way they tangled the two stories together, which was more seamless than the musical score, which didn't seem to have much flow... I like Defying Gravity... and For Good... but the rest of them really weren't cohesive.  Some of the jokes were really funny, especially the ones that the audience had hindsight of the original story... and I liked that there was a happy ending after all... if not a door opened for a future story.

Almost falling prey to my social bass-ackwardness, I hopped in the car and drove 3 hours up to Sandusky, Ohio to Cedar Point Amusement Park.  I haven't been there since I was 18, so I was excited.  My friends, Matt and Keith, were already there.  The park is doing Halloween weekends up there, so it was pretty packed and all decorated.  In the 8 hours I was there, I only got to ride 5 or 6 rides with the lines being long, but, oh... what rides they were, each more terrifying than the next... to me at least.  A lot of people can't deal with being upside down... or spinning... but mine is heights.  I can't think of anything more horrific than the slow ascent up the first hill... that connection to the chain where it goes backwards before it goes forwards... then makes that clanking sound as you slowly climb... in this case, over 400 feet up.  Since my shrieking started at or around 25 feet, it felt like an eternity before we were thrusted down the other side.  The ride I was on was the Millennium Force which is the number one rollercoaster in the country and I have to admit, I don't remember much beyond the 25 feet... I think I was in shock.  The Maverick, Wicked Twister and Disaster Transport were some of the others... each better than the one before.  I'm surprised I have a voice today from me trying to rationally explain to the ride operator to please stop the ride... I may have used a few explicatives.

After a fun day... the best ride of all was in Terry on the way home.  I got about 29 miles to the gallon and the ride was so smooth... and, best of all, gas up there was only $3.20 compared to $3.69 here.  I may have screamed a little in the car as well.

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

1996 Teal Nissan Pickup Truck 75k miles at time of purchase October 2009:  $4,500
1996 Teal Nissan Pickup Truck 105k miles Kelly Bluebook value September 2011:  $3,300
1996 Teal Nissan Pickup Truck (totaled by stupid kid), payoff by insurance company:  $5,800
Driving said pickup truck for two years, accumulating 30k miles and making $1,300 in the end:  PRICELESS!!

Having already purchased the Subaru last night and picked it up today, I was a little worried about whether or not they were going to total the truck or not... and if so, how much they were going to pay to me, especially since I bought it solely out-of-pocket cash.  I would have been a little upset with $2,500... expected $3,000... and would have done cartwheels for $3,500 (Given the KBB value wasn't even that)... so you can imagine my shock and awe when the guy handed me a check today for $5,800.  I actually squealed a little when he told me... and I rushed to the bank before they changed their minds.

All I could think of over the last couple of days was how much I'm going to miss that truck and what a good truck it was.  Let me tell you, if I knew what they were going to value it at, I would have run it off a cliff long ago.  A nice settlement check helps ease the pain of a broken heart just like an alimony check on the first of the month.  Bye bye, Marriott Chariot.... hello Terry.

You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine...

A few weeks ago, I did a post about my friend, Adam, in Germany.  At 24, they discovered a brain aneurysm and they went in and did surgery, which went fine... and short of a shaved head (at least his blonde moments weren't so apparent when he had no hair), he came through the surgery and was recovering fine.  They decided to move him from Germany to Poland to recover with his family.  Today, I learned that, while in transport, he had a cerebral stroke that was probably caused from the rough transport to Poland.  He is paralyzed on his left side, but the doctors told his family he will get better with time.  He had another surgery, and is slowly recovering, but it is a long way for him until he is fully recovered.

When I first met Adam through other bloggers, I was taken back by his stark honesty, his veracious sexuality and his overall optimistic attitude.  There were a few times where I had to edit or censor his responses... he definitely says what's on his mind.  At first, he was like a bee... you're so tempted to swat at him, but then you realize what a good person he is in this world... and the 'sweet honey' (sunshine) that he makes and brings... and the 'pollen' (positive energy) that he spreads to everyone is so innocent and rare in people... and I've grown to love him and I can't imagine my day without him in it.  Ok... that analogy could have been taken sexually... which I think he'll get a kick out of... but you get my point.

This kid doesn't deserve to be in a hospital bed with all this happening to him.  For all the sunshine that he brings to everyone else's life, please show him something in return.  I'm sure he'd love to hear from all of you... his sister will be reading him emails, bedside.  Leave him a message on Facebook (Adam's Facebook Page) or, preferably, send him an email to.... sirlaid@googlemail.com.

Adam... you are in my thoughts.  If there's anyone who can recover from this, it's you.  Stay strong... get your rest... enjoy this time with your family and get better.  You're going to be just fine, blondie!!

Love,
Pezzy Baby

Meet My Lesbian Car, Terry (Whoop-de-do for my Subaru)

Today, after cutting grass at the Marriott and another client's, I stopped by a few dealerships.  Fresh with excitement for my new path towards buying a small car instead of a truck, I spotted this 2003 Subaru Forester.  It has a 2.5L 5 speed manual transmission that a lot of get up and go, but will deliver mpg in the mid to high twenties... it's all wheel drive, it has new tires and alloy wheels, the engine and body are clean and it's loaded with every option except a sunroof... it even has a roof rack for my kayak and a tow hitch so that I can attach a trailer for my lawnmower (I may not even need a truck then at all)... and I figure I can put the seats down and sleep in the back of it on my next big trip if need be.  It's the perfect car for my active lesbian lifestyle.  The only bad thing about it is the high mileage... 112,000... but in these foreign cars, you can get a couple hundred thousand miles out of them easily... and it looks well-maintained.  I've made an offer and they've accepted it.  I pick it up tomorrow.

YUM !! (Barefoot Summer Is Gone)

Are All Car Salesmen Named Donny?

Today, I drove from one end of Pittsburgh to the other... over 100 miles total... looking at car lots... and oddly, the three guys that I wasn't able to avoid on the lots were named 'Donny'.  I haven't found anything that works... mostly everything I've seen is either not in the range I want to spend ( less than $10k) or a piece of crap.  It's unbelievable how big they make trucks nowadays... there must be some small-dicked designers looking to overcompensate at the auto makers... not to mention the guys that buy them. 

I'm actually to the mindset of maybe buying a crappy truck and buying a better car... especially with these trucks getting 15 mpg or less.  The actual amount of time that I use my truck for work (other than March through May) is one day a week.  Even my old truck got about 18 mpg.  I can save $1,700 a year based on my miles and the price of gas between 15 mpg and 30 mpg.  I'm torn.  Tonight, I'm going to look on Craigslist... and tomorrow, off to more lots.

It's Got to be the Morning After...

As a follow up to every one's comments... I feel fine this morning... a little stiff (don't even go there) and achy, but fine.  Being a massage therapist myself... I'm aware of how it works and made sure I drank a bunch of water, iced it down and did some stretches.  I called off work tonight so as not to agitate it with moving fast behind the bar, just as a precaution.  And yes, what a great friend I have in Robin... she's been a live saver on more than one occasion.  I am very grateful to have her in my life.

I just got a call from the car rental place... they're giving me a Dodge Ram 1500 all for my $25 allowance... it's a much bigger truck than I had.  One good thing I thought about was if I get a newer truck, I can get a snowplow and use it in the winter doing jobs to keep busy... and... if I do get a trailer to tow around... I'll get a truck that could handle the load better (somehow this post has sexual innuendo all over it).

The other people were fine... the kid that was driving got out with just socks on and put his hands on his head and jumped up and down a few times at the condition of his car, saying that he had it sold to someone just that day... never asked me how I was.  The radiator in his car was leaking, but he drove it a mile down the road to his apartment.  His girlfriend was OK as well.  We were all fortunate.

R.I.P. My Truck... And Almost Me

Earlier today I posted about deciding not to buy the trailer at gay camp... then this afternoon, I was running some errands and was sitting at a light... the light turned green... and I proceeded out into the intersection and a young kid and his girlfriend broad-sided me on the driver's side at 35-40 mph, not paying attention to their red light.  Because their vehicle was low and my truck higher up, the impact zone was head-on along the frame and back wheel, which both were bent to undrivable and, most likely, unrepairable.  The truck will probably have to be totaled.  Fortunately, it wasn't my fault and even more fortunate was that a client of mine was in the lane next to his as he flew past him while stopped, and he was front and center for the whole thing, so I have a witness.  After the tow truck came to take the truck away, my friend Robin swooped in and saved the day... she picked me up, took me to talk to the auto body shop... took me to my client's house to get his info... took me to my house to change... took me to get something to eat and then took me to the hospital where, while I was being checked and was getting some X-rays, she called my claim in to my and the other insurance company and set up my rental car appointment for tomorrow.  Robin works for a large insurance company, so she knows the whole process... otherwise, I would have been lost... she's a life saver!!  I ended up with strained back, so I was fortunate.

The funny thing is that I bought that $120 part to fix the check engine light problem and put it on an hour beforehand... and it worked.  What a waste of money and effort, in hindsight.  And, sadly, with my truck being a 1996, I will probably not get very much for it, even though it was in excellent condition.  It was worth more to me running than demolished.  I'll have to go looking for another one soon...  Good thing I didn't buy the trailer... I'll need that money now.

I'm going to miss that truck...

Change of Heart

Yesterday, I posted that I bought a trailer... and after thinking about what I could do with the money, not only to buy it, but the $2,000 additional for lot rent per year, I decided not to go through with it.  I keep trying to get back to a place at camp where I truly enjoyed it... before I knew everyone there... before my massage business... before the bartender job incident... before the owner throwing me in the bushes in a stupor last year... before meeting a few boyfriends down there... and before my social phobia.  I just can't seem to find that enjoyable and peaceful state down there any more, short of my friends Scott and Ricky being down there and getting to see them.  It has a different meaning for me at this point... and it only takes me about two days for a wave of unhappiness to hit me and I can't wait to get out of there.  I thought that buying the trailer would help me push through some of those issues, but then it hit me that I don't have to prove anything to anyone, so I just don't want to put myself in that position any more.  I also realized that, in anticipation of winter coming, that I was also doing it because I thought that it would keep my mind occupied and maybe I wouldn't get as depressed.  I'll still go down every once in a while to see Scott... but that's probably about it.  I also want to stick to my original plan of getting a small trailer (like the one in the picture) that I can pull around the country... so that played a part as well.  I also would rather take my excursion vacations than sit in one spot every weekend.

On a therapeutically-positive note, I wasn't scared shitless in the tent this time... pushing myself to face my fear really helped.

More Tids and Bits

What a bitch today was... first, I stepped on a two inch jagger from a stupid tree we have in the parking lot at work and it went right up through my shoe and about 3/4" into my foot.  Ouch!... then, after trying to get as much cut in between raindrops last week and not getting it all done... and then to have it rain 7 days straight... the grass was so high, it felt like it was spring again..  I have been cutting on setting 3 over the last month or two... and today, I had to boost it to the highest level so that the lawnmower wouldn't gag itself out.  I will say, with all the rain, everything is growing beautifully... almost overgrown, especially the annuals.  Some of the leaves are beginning to fall off the trees already... time to chase leaves all around the 12 acres property.  There are more pictures below.

I can remember back when I first started blogging and I got so excited when I hit the 1000 mark of hits on my blog... now, I'm well into the 30,000's... I can't believe it... over 30,000 just from the U.S. alone.  It's crazy how much it's taken off over the last year.  To quote the fabulous but always brooding Miss Sally Field in her acceptance speech... "you like me, you really like me".

I've had to disable 'anonymous' comments again... I can tell that my stalker is lurking around again from the comments I'm getting.  It's odd how I can tell it's him from his postings... he comments like we've known each other for years when we met one time for coffee... talked about our common foot fetish... and after an altercation outside of his store telling him to go the fuck away, he rears his head every so often making my life miserable.  It's really pathetic, when you think about it. Really dude?  You  have nothing else better to do than to bug someone that wants nothing to do with you?

On my way home from 9 hours of cutting today, I stopped at my Aunt's house to tell her that I wouldn't be back to finish her small landscaping area for a few days since I've decided to (literally) run away from home for several days... and she cornered me about a flourescent light that's been blinking for several months now but every time I suggested that I fix it, she's said to forget about it.  Apparently, now... she can't forget about it... and neither can I, as she absolutely cannot spend another day without it being fixed... by me... all while, I was trying to get out of here to go camping... the weather is supposed to be good and there's a trailer that came up for sale for $2k that I may look at while I'm there.  Add $2k for the yearly rent at the campground, and while it's not a huge investment, it's still more than I'm ready to jump into... especially not being able to get it off the property to tow it around (it's blocked in by the deck and roof now, so it'll never be able to be moved)... and it's at gay camp... a place that has caused me some stress over the last couple of years.  When you buy something there, you feel compelled to be there all the time... I don't know if I want that any more.  I have some thinking to do about it.  Anyway, I hope to leave in the morning for a few days.  If there's a post tomorrow, then I backed out of going... if not... then chances are I'm gone... maybe for good.  A girl can dream, can't she?

Tids and Bits

It was a crazy week this past week.  I spent most of it trying to get my '96 truck inspected and then when it failed with a 'check engine' light, I've been trying to figure out the codes and get the replacement sensors.  I installed one and I'm waiting for another to come in the mail.  I'm not logistically stupid, but I'm not mechanically inclined... I can do plumbing and electrical, but work on a car??  Forget it.  I have the basic knowledge to figure out what's wrong with it when something happens, but to point those parts out under the hood, ah.... no.  It's a great truck, so I can't complain when I have to put a few hundred bucks into it... it's paid for... but this is why I always had new cars... so I wouldn't have to do maintenance.

My Aunt decided that the few sprigs that were sticking up above the hedge line was cause for an immediate major landscaping overhaul, so I trimmed every bush and tree in her yard, and bought her new Malibu lights since the ones that were in the ground for 15 years didn't work more than they did.  She never understood the timer, so every time the electricity went off for more than a few hours... and, subsequently, they didn't go back on at the normal time, I had to ride over there and fix it.  As I was pulling the wiring out of the ground, some how, when I was trimming the bush next to it and nothing happened... I must have unearthed a house of bees.  I started feeling this stinging and couldn't figure out what it was... then I knew.  I'm sure the neighbors got a kick of me running through the yard swatting bees and screaming like a little girl who just got her first Barbie... jumping up and down and sprinting around the yard to escape them.  I don't know how the Honey Badger does it when they attack a nest for the honey, but it hurt like hell.  The score:  Bees +5, David -5.  I got stung at least 5 times.  After 6 cans of bee spray, I was able to pour gas down the hole, catch it on fire and eradicate the house of bees.  Final score:  Bees -400, David +400.  Then I went over to finish off the nest at my Uncle's... and had 5 nests at work in the handicapped signs the week before.  It's definitely the year of the bee... and after seeing a documentary on how if the bees were extinct, we'd be dead soon after, I feel bad killing any, let alone the hundreds I have killed on the latest spree.

It was a busy weekend at the bar both nights.  There was a drag show last night that was pretty funny... they did the Wizard of Oz... Dorothy looked a little more like Bette Davis than Judy Garland, especially with the cigarette.  I got 3 hours of sleep Friday night and I slept until almost noon today.  The Assistant Manager quit last weekend when I wasn't there, so they approached me on taking the job.  Probably more hassle than it's worth, I'm going to continue to just go in, do my thing and get out of there unscathed and unresponsible, except for my drawer. 

The rain will be out of here today and the next 6 days are supposed to be beautiful... 75ish during the day and 60ish at night, so I have a few projects to do... cleaning out my garage... finishing up at my Aunts... a plumbing job for a friend... but what I really might do is go camping for a few days while it's nice... since I didn't do anything for Labor Day weekend.  It's been so hot all summer long... then so rainy... I haven't felt like being outside at all.  I make up for it in the fall, having a few small trips that I need to plan and then something in the winter.