Apparently fabric swatches must be stored at freezing temperatures

This week our manufacturing facility is shut down. This is a regular occurrence... the week of July 4th and the week of Christmas every year... so no, we have not had some sort of industrial radioactive spill forcing us to stop production until we can sweep it under the rug. All of the plant employees and about 80% of the office employees take their vacation during this week, so it's pretty quiet around here. The Customer Service Manager thinks there's going to be a lot of samples to be shipped this week (something I highly doubt at this point, but it's still early), so she wanted someone back here to do the UPS and mailing... and since no one knew how to use the UPS website except me I volunteered. So I've shifted from one Black Hole to another... manning the Literature Department and the shipping during shut-down. It's about 30 degrees in here, and it's in an even more hidden corner of the building. In my cube, I get people walking behind me somewhat regularly, on their way to the copier or the break room... but back here, there's no one. Kinda eerie... if I don't pay attention to the clock I might be forgotten at closing time!
So I'm killing some time. I know, I know, why am I complaining when I volunteered for this special corner of hell? Well I guess it's really not bad... I can read (A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, my favorite author) or write a blog, or surf the web for a used-yet-functional muffler for B's Civic (it sounds like a pissed-off bumblebee trapped in a Snapple bottle, and at high speeds it vibrates so much I feel like I'm going to be spitting out my fillings when we stop), or write a grocery list for the supplies I need for tomorrow's company picnic. (I'm trying a new recipe for "Spicy Black Bean Potato Salad" that sounds yummy!) So it's kind of nice back here... if it wasn't so cold.

Cold drinks + High humidity = sticky shoes

Last night was a good time! I admit, I was a little hurt that I was the last to find out about the night out, but I know I shouldn't take it personally. After all, my cubicle is in the Pit of Despair, an absolute black hole that few venture into. But after I got my head out of my ass and went anyway, I was really glad I did. Social time is limited for me (sometimes by choice, sometimes not) so getting out was definitely good. The people I work with are a ton of fun to hang out with, and it's good to have those kinds of friends again!
The best part was establishing myself as the resident heathen. Not whore, heathen! In other words I can flirt like hell, talk all sorts of smack, have a horribly dirty mind and do my best to drag everyone around me into the gutter as well, without being all slutty. It's fun, and a side of me that hasn't been able to come out in a while. My co-workers have a new perspective of me, I'm sure! And if B had been able to go, I'm sure it would have been even more entertaining for the people around us... when we're both in that sort of mood, we play off of each other and have all sorts of fun. (He was studying for finals though.)
But dammit, I feel kinda old! I wasn't out very late (I was home by midnight) and I only finished two drinks (I dropped one, and accidentally knocked Nikki's out of her hand... I'm blaming the slippery, condesation-coated plastic cups!!), but lordy am I tired today. Of course I haven't been sleeping very well lately anyway, and last night I kept waking up every hour or so for no real reason, so that didn't help at all. B left for Indiana a little bit ago though, so I'm going to nap, read, eat Skinny Cows, and relax.
Tomorrow when B gets home we're driving to Cleveland to visit a friend who's home on leave from Iraq, maybe visit ArtFest if there's time, and celebrate the mom-in-law's b-day/late Father's Day. Busy... but then next weekend we aren't planning on doing a whole lot of anything besides sit on the porch with the hose to prevent the hoodlums on our street from burning our house down with firecrackers. (Hate. The hoodlums and firecrackers, both.)

But I LIKE it, I really do!

I drive a 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander. It's a great car, just the right size for hauling a big snotty dog, groceries, luggage, plants, etc., with all-wheel-drive to get me through the un-plowed Toledo/SE Michigan roads in the winter, and somewhat okay gas mileage (22-25 currently, but I'm using a fancy fuel additive that should improve it soon). It's comfortable to drive, it's pretty, and even as a used vehicle it got decent reviews from Consumer Reports.
But I apparently got a bad apple. I bought it in November (and still think I got hosed on my trade-in), and in February it started making some crazy noises. I could hear a funny growling/rattling, a low-pitched whine like a jet engine, and sometimes a high-pitched squeal like metal-on-metal. Not happy noises! So I visted my neighborhood Midas and asked them to listen to it. They hoisted it up and stood underneath to determine where the noises were originating... the rattle/growl sounded like the tension arm on the serpentine belt, they said, but the other two were the tranny.
Oh god, the T-word.
So off I go to Aamco... $2000 and 2 weeks later I get my car back after replacing some thing or other and cleaning metal shards out of my other thing. Drove the dog to the vet that same night... and there's the damn noises again! So... they fixed whatever they found was wrong, but it wasn't the source of the squealing/whining.
Back to the shop, and another week later (and no additional $$ thanks to a warranty on their work) I have a new bearing and no more squealing.
But the rattle is still there, because I never did have Midas order the new tension arm, what with one thing or another (like 2 grand in my tranny). And the last time I had my oil changed they tested my battery, and mentioned that I should get a new one soon. And now my fan is kicking on at strange times, and whirring sporadically like it's getting power surges or something.
I loved my old car, my little Mazda3 hatchback, but man did it suck even in the lightest snow. There was no way I could still drive it in the winter here. And I really DO like my Mitsi, but good god it's sending me over the edge!
I'm off to get a new battery tonight and see if that cures the surges with my fan. If not, I might head directly to the Honda dealership.

Call me Sidney f-ing Bristow

So last week we added another four-legged critter to our menagerie, albeit temporarily. We dog-sat B's family pooch, Bailey the 90+ pound Yellow Lab. The dog doesn't have a mean bone in his body, but he is the most stubborn creature on the planet, and his training is somewhat limited despite his intelligence. But he and the Jakester get along wonderfully, so he stayed at our place for a week while the in-law's were on vacation.

So mom-in-law dropped off Bailey Beans on the Thursday before their trip, but she failed to give us any details about when they would be home and what we would need to do at that point (if she was picking him up or if we were dropping him off, what day, what time, etc).

First, that same weekend B & I had a wedding reception to attend outside Cleve-hole, and since that is the general area that the in-law's live, we decided the best course of action was to drop off both pooches at their house to chill while we were out, and then B & I would probably stay the night there in the guest apartment and make the 2-hour drive back home the next morning. Good plan, right? That is, until we realized 1 hour and 45 minutes into the drive to Cleve-hole that we had forgotten the keys to their house. B is somewhat skilled at the art of b&e however, so we weren't all that worried about it. (And no, my husband is not a felon... he was bored during the year spent in the Sandbox and taught himself how to pick locks so he could fuck with his buddies by leaving bottles of KY Warming Sensation in their footlockers.) ('Cuz we all know that it's a BIG hit with our troops.)

So upon arrival I manned the dogs while he found a way in... (details not included... you can never be too careful). Dogs ensconced, we headed to the reception and the rest of the weekend was fine.

So the following Thursday we gave the mom-in-law a call and got the scoop... they were returning Saturday, could we bring him home please. No prob! B would be out of town but I could take care of it. That is, until 1 hour 45 minutes into the drive when I realized, FUCK! I'd forgotten the damn key again. One call to B for instructions, an hour of sweat and swearing later, and I'm in. I felt so fucking empowered, it was amazing!

Oh, but it doesn't end here. Ooooh no.

I headed back to Toledo early that same afternoon, leaving Bailey on his own until the folks arrived home around 5 that evening. Not a big deal, just a few hours, right? I got home, worked in the garden, ate some dinner, read a book... then checked the clock and realized, it's 8:30 pm and they haven't called yet. So I called their house, no answer. So I called their cell.

"Hi Mom! How was your trip?"

"Oh it's so beautiful! Next year we'll all have to come up here together."

"That would be great! So you made it home okay?"

"Oh no, we're still in Boston. Our flight isn't until tomorrow you know."

"....really."

"Is everything okay?"

"Um, no... B said you had told him your flight was today."

"Oh no, tomorrow." (not realizing the impact of this yet.)

"I took Bailey home this morning."

"Oh. OH. Oh dear! I'm so sorry!"

So I loaded Jake into the car and drove the 2 hours back to Cleveland, let Bailey out for the longest pee ever, gave him his dinner about 6 hours late, and drove home again the following morning.

At least that time I remembered the key!

I was really hoping to NOT go to Cleveland again anytime soon, but we're on our way there again tonight for a concert... but at least this time there are no dogs involved.

Back in the Windy City again...

... this time for NeoCon, a gi-normous interior design trade show. I went in to register today & maybe walk around... okay first, the show takes up around 8 floors of this building, and there must have been over 200,000 people milling around this place (half of them in line for the elevators). No thanks. I grabbed my nametag & a guidebook and headed back to my hotel to forge a plan of attack for tomorrow.

On my way to the show I noticed one street blocked off by cops and a rather large crowd gathered. I'm not a rubbernecker, but it didn't seem to be an accident or anything bad going on so I stopped to see... and they're filming a movie! It's Public Enemies, a gangster film about John Dillinger, so they'd re-done a bunch of buildings with 1920's facades and there were a bunch of cars and motorcycles from the era driving up & down the street. I looked up the movie on IMBD when I got back to my room, and discovered that Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Giovanni Ribisi are all in this movie! Holy crap! Not like I'd get to see any of them (they had the street blocked off several blocks down from where the filming was happening) but it's still pretty cool.
Otherwise this trip is okay so far. I went to check in to my original hotel this morning & they were oversold, so they moved me to Hilton Garden Inn which I think is probably a bit nicer than the other one (The Silversmith), but I'm not really that picky. I'm in a wheelchair-accessible room actually, which is kind of neat because the bathroom is big enough for a wheelchair to spin donuts in (and considering my hotel last week had bathrooms that even MY ass couldn't turn around in, that's definitely exciting) and the shower is a roll-in type with one of those cool overhead showerheads. The bed is like a faux "Sleep Number" with dials on each side to adjust the comfort level, which is interesting. I'll definitely be experimenting with it to see what my back really likes. It can't seem to decide whether soft or firm matresses are better... so far both have given me kinks & made my arms fall asleep!

I can't wait to be home for a while though. I only get to see B one day this week before he heads up to Michigan to do Army stuff, so I'm kind of bummed about that... plus we're still dog-sitting Bailey, my in-law's stubborn as hell Lab, and he and Jake are pretty obnoxious together. My next trip after this is mid-July out in Boulder, which is going to be friggin awesome! Partly because the seminar is held at this swanky resort (St. Julien's) but mainly because I get to see my BFF Kelly while I'm there! I haven't seen her in about 2 years and I miss her a ton.

My dinner is not sitting well, so I'm off to drink some water & read a book. 'Nite all.