The real estate agent, Patty, and I went out to my father's house this past Saturday.
In preparation for our visit, I asked for the new keys along so that we could get in. My father has a set. I also had Patty let TheLoser know that we would be there Saturday evening.
The key that was supposed to get us in the front door did not work. Fortunately, I am neither stupid nor without resources. We went around to the side of the house. TheLoser only changed the locks on the front door; I am still able to get into the house through the garage.
There was a bunch a stuff piled inside the garage in front of the door leading into the garage. I pushed and shoved and got in anyway. I noticed a strip of wood on the floor, but I did not think much of it (more on this later).
There appears to have been some damage done when TheLoser moved in as there are some holes in the walls that were not there before. I asked Patty to make a note of it and have the handyman produce a separate invoice for the repairs so that we could charge TheLoser for the damage.
I pointed out the final repairs that need to be made; there are not many. Patty took back her silk plant, which TheLoser had appropriated as his own.
We then turned off the lights and exited the home via the garage. I wondered aloud why there was a strip of wood on the floor. I stepped on it by accident, and felt a nail go clean through my shoe into my foot. If you heard any screams this past Saturday, that would have been my howls of pain.
I checked my foot; it was not that bad. There was only a little blood and I just finished the antibiotics my Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor gave me so I am not too worried about infection.
We limped over to the neighbor's house. This is the minister who lives in the property behind my father (not to be mistaken with TheLoser who is also a minister), and is interested in buying the property. We told him the house was for sale.
He is a nice man, but rather chatty. He and Patty talked a bit about Jumbo Loans and Upside Down Mortgages. We were there well over an hour because the conversation totally went onto a tangent. I am glad he is interested in the house, but my foot hurt and he kept chatting away about inane matters. I kept trying to leave and he kept cutting me off when I gave my "I'm about to be outta here," speech. Finally, I escaped. Hopefully, I was not too rude in my bid for freedom.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Scary Happenings
I encountered something Friday night while I was driving home from work that truly shocked me. I was less than a mile from my home, when I saw several boys (perhaps 5 or 6) beating up on one other young man. There were several adults standing around staring at the fight and doing abosultely nothimg.
I slowed down my car, honked my horn, and screamed that I was calling the police. That seemed to have little concern for the bullies as they just kept pounding away.
Having been the victim of several school yard pranks as well as having been tormented by the "mean girls" on several occassions, I have very little patience for bullies. Six against one is unfair and really angers me. I struggled with whether or not I should get out of my car and try to break the fight up. Unfortunately, I don't think the odds of one woman against a bunch of young teenagers are very good so I stayed in my vehicle.
I called the police who asked me eleventy million questions (although, in reality, I may have been on the phone with them two minutes or so) before they sent out a squad car. The whole thing was quite upsetting and does not give me much faith in other adults.
I slowed down my car, honked my horn, and screamed that I was calling the police. That seemed to have little concern for the bullies as they just kept pounding away.
Having been the victim of several school yard pranks as well as having been tormented by the "mean girls" on several occassions, I have very little patience for bullies. Six against one is unfair and really angers me. I struggled with whether or not I should get out of my car and try to break the fight up. Unfortunately, I don't think the odds of one woman against a bunch of young teenagers are very good so I stayed in my vehicle.
I called the police who asked me eleventy million questions (although, in reality, I may have been on the phone with them two minutes or so) before they sent out a squad car. The whole thing was quite upsetting and does not give me much faith in other adults.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Next time, I'll ask
A few weeks ago, I attended a birthday party for a coworker of mine that I have become good friends with.
The party was a potluck (not something I have done since I was fresh out of college, but everyone's financial situation is different), and was held in the condominium of the birthday girl's bestfriend. People were assigned everything, and I do mean everything, to bring right down to the paper napkins and the cheesy picnic table cloth. The hostess supplied an enclosed room with a carpeted floor, electricity, running water, and not enough chairs for every butt.
The first problem came as I walked in the door. I walked the 2006 Los Angeles Marathon. The training left me with some injuries. One of which, a heel spur, makes it quite painful for me to walk in bare feet. I need to wear my orthotic insert. Most of the time, when visiting someone, I will remember to ask about this as I will not step foot in a house where I cannot keep my shoes on.
The hostess had a no shoes policy. Not only that, but I was required to remove my trouser socks (thank God that I believe in keeping my pedicure current at all times.) and put on those damn cotton things with the individual toes that I hate. Seriously, why was this even a requirement? I don't see how nylon can damage a carpet that, from the style, was installed in the early 1970s. The carpet in my town home is old too, but you do not see me demanding that people levitate across it to keeping from mussing it up.
I arrived just in time for the dreaded sales presentation. In addition to having us supply the food for her bestfriend's birthday party, the hostess (and I use this term loosely) also intended for us to fund the gift. The hard sale was on for the guests to purchase a collective amount of $x dollars in product so that the hostess would get a bonus she could then use to purchase a birthday gift for her bestfriend.
It's my pet peeve when people invite me to a party and then spring a sales presentation on me. People who cannot afford to host a party - and I am aware rising gas prices along with the declining housing market are crunching many a budget - should not throw parties. I also think that people should be upfront about what something is. If I want my friends to help fund my colored lint business, then I'll invite them over for a sales presentation to hawk my goods and not disguise it as a housewarming party.
Fortunately, I left my checkbook at home and I am not in the habit of handing my credit cards over to just anybody. As I also carry limited cash and am allergic to cheap crap, I had to politely decline the opportunity to purchase anything. This decision was met with much eye-rolling. It's as if the hostess equated spending an evening eating my own food, wearing footwear I detest, and sitting on the floor in a cramped space with a night at the Bellagio Hotel and decided to charge us accordingly. Bah!
Next year I am going to skip the party and take my friend to lunch.
The party was a potluck (not something I have done since I was fresh out of college, but everyone's financial situation is different), and was held in the condominium of the birthday girl's bestfriend. People were assigned everything, and I do mean everything, to bring right down to the paper napkins and the cheesy picnic table cloth. The hostess supplied an enclosed room with a carpeted floor, electricity, running water, and not enough chairs for every butt.
The first problem came as I walked in the door. I walked the 2006 Los Angeles Marathon. The training left me with some injuries. One of which, a heel spur, makes it quite painful for me to walk in bare feet. I need to wear my orthotic insert. Most of the time, when visiting someone, I will remember to ask about this as I will not step foot in a house where I cannot keep my shoes on.
The hostess had a no shoes policy. Not only that, but I was required to remove my trouser socks (thank God that I believe in keeping my pedicure current at all times.) and put on those damn cotton things with the individual toes that I hate. Seriously, why was this even a requirement? I don't see how nylon can damage a carpet that, from the style, was installed in the early 1970s. The carpet in my town home is old too, but you do not see me demanding that people levitate across it to keeping from mussing it up.
I arrived just in time for the dreaded sales presentation. In addition to having us supply the food for her bestfriend's birthday party, the hostess (and I use this term loosely) also intended for us to fund the gift. The hard sale was on for the guests to purchase a collective amount of $x dollars in product so that the hostess would get a bonus she could then use to purchase a birthday gift for her bestfriend.
It's my pet peeve when people invite me to a party and then spring a sales presentation on me. People who cannot afford to host a party - and I am aware rising gas prices along with the declining housing market are crunching many a budget - should not throw parties. I also think that people should be upfront about what something is. If I want my friends to help fund my colored lint business, then I'll invite them over for a sales presentation to hawk my goods and not disguise it as a housewarming party.
Fortunately, I left my checkbook at home and I am not in the habit of handing my credit cards over to just anybody. As I also carry limited cash and am allergic to cheap crap, I had to politely decline the opportunity to purchase anything. This decision was met with much eye-rolling. It's as if the hostess equated spending an evening eating my own food, wearing footwear I detest, and sitting on the floor in a cramped space with a night at the Bellagio Hotel and decided to charge us accordingly. Bah!
Next year I am going to skip the party and take my friend to lunch.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Weight Check - Feb. 23, 2008
Weight Loss: 3.5
Pounds Lost To Date: -0.5 pounds
Pounds from Goal Weight: I think not
Pounds Lost To Date: -0.5 pounds
Pounds from Goal Weight: I think not
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Ghost Hunting
In keeping with my goal to make sure I maintain fun social activities in the midst of managing my father's chaos, I went on my much anticipated Queen Mary Paranormal Ship Walk Tour this past Sunday. We were originally planning to go in January, but a bout with the flu (my first week at my new job!) took care of that. Thank goodness. The tour starts at 8:00PM and lasts 3 hours and is not available on Saturday evenings. We were scheduled to take the tour on the Sunday of a long holiday weekend. That meant no rising early for work the next day. There's nothing like rolling out of bed at o'dark hundred with only a few hours of sleep to remind me that I am no longer a spry twentysomething and need at least 7 hours of sleep to be intelligible for work the next day.
I finally remembered to take my digital camera, but there are no pictures of this tour. Why? I was trying to catch orbs, a physical manifestation of the ghostly presence, and my camera was aimed less at people and more at the area where our tour guide (a psychic) said she could sense the ghostly presence. Other people on the tour did get photos of orbs. Unfortunately, I was not successful in my attempts. Photos of rusty doors abandoned storage rooms are not nearly as exciting without an orb in them so I deleted them from my camera.
Some background on the Queen Mary and why it is known as one of the most haunted places: The Queen Mary was built in 1934 and was named for the mother of the current ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth II. It could carry a passenger load of 3,000 with a crew of 1,000. It could hold twice as many people as the Titanic.
During World War II, the Queen Mary was painted grey (the Grey Ghost) and was used during the war efforts. She carried up to 15,000 military personnel and prisoners of war during a single trip.
Other than slicing through one of the ships escorting her during the war effort, the HMS Curaçao, the Queen Mary did not see a lot of death. Our tour guide explained that many of the phenomenon that has been experienced over the years is due to psychic imprints. This is when a memory of something is left behind and will occasionally replay like a projection. It's about as ghostly as a showing of Pollyanna at the drive in movies.
However, there are known "hot spots" that are haunted by actual ghosts (there are said to be about 150 ghosts). There are even signs posted around the ship designating areas in which there have been ghostly sightings. It's these areas we visited on the Queen Mary Paranormal Ship Walk Tour.
Our first stop was at Cabin B340, which is haunted cabin on the ship. It is said to be haunted by a murdered purser, and is a spot of poltergeist activity. As such, guests are no longer allowed to stay on here. It's one thing to spend the night a room that is haunted. It's another to be rudely pulled from the bed and knocked about.
Our guide gave us the spiel about the room. We turned the lights off, and we waited. Nothing happened and I did not feel anything particularly supernatural. Neither did our tour guide or anyone else in the group.
Our next stop was Boson’s Locker, which is several feet below sea level. Boson’s Locker is the site where the Queen Mary once sliced through the HMS Curaçao. The Queen Mary was not permitted to stop for survivors, and the 348 men onboard the HMS Curaçao drowned.
The path to Boson’s Locker is quite creepy. It's rather dark - you are encouraged to bring flashlights for this part of the journey - and you go down several flights of stairs through old storage areas to get down to Boson’s Locker. This area is way below deck. Anything you hear down here (e.g. footsteps, pounding) is not going to be someone from the living world because you're too deep below deck for that.
Once again we turned off the lights. This time, our tour guide felt more than one presence. A female nurse and a male. There was also lots of knocking, which would be the ghosts of the sailors of the HMS Curaçao pounding on the ship to get in. Several women felt something brush up against. My mother was among a few that saw a strange light. Lot's of people got pictures of orbs.
I saw nothing and felt nothing except a strong urge to run my finger across my stepfather's cheek while we were sitting still with the lights off to see if I could fool him into thinking it was ghost. I also got no orbs in my photos. Pity.
After Boson’s Locker, we went to the First Class Swimming Pool and the Dressing Rooms. The history of this area is funny because both first class and third class used the same swimming pool, but not at the same time (second class had their own pool). After third class finished, the water was drained, the pool scrubbed down, and then was refilled so that first class passengers would not get third class cooties.
The First Class Swimming Pool is reportedly haunted by the ghosts of two women who drowned there. People have reported the sounds of splashing (there is no water in the pool) and have seen wet footprints leading from the deck to the changing rooms. People have also reported seeing the ghost of a young girl, Jackie, who drowned in the pool during the ship’s sailing days.
When we walked into the First Class Swimming Pool, there was doll in a red dress sitting near some shelves. People bring toys for Jackie to play with; the doll belongs to her.
We split into two groups because there were too many people for everyone on the tour to visit the Dressing Rooms at once. One couple walked into a storage room and ran out screaming when some metal railing in the room started rattling with no one nearby. They were quite shaken.
Once the first group to visit the changing rooms came out, we told this story and they went running off to investigate. They also noticed that the doll was gone. A quick investigation uncovered that no one had taken the doll - or would confess to taking it - despite dire warnings about karma and the tackiness of stealing from a child (even a dead one).
The changing rooms near the pool are the source of negative feelings detected by numerous psychics. You're supposed to go into a stall (the doors have been removed) and have a seat while they turn the lights off. Coward that I am, I decided to squeeze into a stall with my mother (yes, I know I am lame) and hold her hand.
The changing room is not considered an actual haunting. Our guide referred to it as a vortex, and said that there are rumors that it contains some type of doorway into another reality. Apparently, it also allows ghosts to move from one area to another. The room is very dark, even with the lights on, despite the fact that it's painted bright white.
We did not get an explanation of what caused this vortex, but people have reported seeing the outline of a male and female ghost as well as shadow shapes (dark patches in vaguely humanoid form moving through the darkness). The only dark shapes I saw were of the other people on tour. I did not see or feel anything in the changing room, but I did realize that this would be a good place to hide and jump out at someone if one were so inclined.
After we came out of the changing room, we walked up to the second level of the pool to make our way to our final destination. That's where we came across the missing doll. It was on the floor in the corner, as if someone had dropped it while running.
Our last stop was to the engine room. This room is haunted by one of the famous ghosts on the Queen Mary, John Pedder. John was quite the practical joker, and it is this trait that lead to his death at the young age of 18 back in 1966. He was crushed to death playing chicken by a watertight door during a routine drill in 1966.
His bearded, coverall-wearing spirit is seen often near the door, walking through the adjacent corridors. There is lots of knocking on the walls, flickering lights, and the sound of an elevator running. There certainly is a working elevator, but it was not in use during the tour. It also ran for a lot longer than one would expect it to take an elevator to go up three floors.
The tour was enjoyable even though I experienced minimal psychic phenomenon. I am thinking of going back for GhostFest if I can get anyone to go with me. There are way more haunted areas aboard the Queen Mary than the few spots we visited, and this is exactly my kind of fun.
I finally remembered to take my digital camera, but there are no pictures of this tour. Why? I was trying to catch orbs, a physical manifestation of the ghostly presence, and my camera was aimed less at people and more at the area where our tour guide (a psychic) said she could sense the ghostly presence. Other people on the tour did get photos of orbs. Unfortunately, I was not successful in my attempts. Photos of rusty doors abandoned storage rooms are not nearly as exciting without an orb in them so I deleted them from my camera.
Some background on the Queen Mary and why it is known as one of the most haunted places: The Queen Mary was built in 1934 and was named for the mother of the current ruler of England, Queen Elizabeth II. It could carry a passenger load of 3,000 with a crew of 1,000. It could hold twice as many people as the Titanic.
During World War II, the Queen Mary was painted grey (the Grey Ghost) and was used during the war efforts. She carried up to 15,000 military personnel and prisoners of war during a single trip.
Other than slicing through one of the ships escorting her during the war effort, the HMS Curaçao, the Queen Mary did not see a lot of death. Our tour guide explained that many of the phenomenon that has been experienced over the years is due to psychic imprints. This is when a memory of something is left behind and will occasionally replay like a projection. It's about as ghostly as a showing of Pollyanna at the drive in movies.
However, there are known "hot spots" that are haunted by actual ghosts (there are said to be about 150 ghosts). There are even signs posted around the ship designating areas in which there have been ghostly sightings. It's these areas we visited on the Queen Mary Paranormal Ship Walk Tour.
Our first stop was at Cabin B340, which is haunted cabin on the ship. It is said to be haunted by a murdered purser, and is a spot of poltergeist activity. As such, guests are no longer allowed to stay on here. It's one thing to spend the night a room that is haunted. It's another to be rudely pulled from the bed and knocked about.
Our guide gave us the spiel about the room. We turned the lights off, and we waited. Nothing happened and I did not feel anything particularly supernatural. Neither did our tour guide or anyone else in the group.
Our next stop was Boson’s Locker, which is several feet below sea level. Boson’s Locker is the site where the Queen Mary once sliced through the HMS Curaçao. The Queen Mary was not permitted to stop for survivors, and the 348 men onboard the HMS Curaçao drowned.
The path to Boson’s Locker is quite creepy. It's rather dark - you are encouraged to bring flashlights for this part of the journey - and you go down several flights of stairs through old storage areas to get down to Boson’s Locker. This area is way below deck. Anything you hear down here (e.g. footsteps, pounding) is not going to be someone from the living world because you're too deep below deck for that.
Once again we turned off the lights. This time, our tour guide felt more than one presence. A female nurse and a male. There was also lots of knocking, which would be the ghosts of the sailors of the HMS Curaçao pounding on the ship to get in. Several women felt something brush up against. My mother was among a few that saw a strange light. Lot's of people got pictures of orbs.
I saw nothing and felt nothing except a strong urge to run my finger across my stepfather's cheek while we were sitting still with the lights off to see if I could fool him into thinking it was ghost. I also got no orbs in my photos. Pity.
After Boson’s Locker, we went to the First Class Swimming Pool and the Dressing Rooms. The history of this area is funny because both first class and third class used the same swimming pool, but not at the same time (second class had their own pool). After third class finished, the water was drained, the pool scrubbed down, and then was refilled so that first class passengers would not get third class cooties.
The First Class Swimming Pool is reportedly haunted by the ghosts of two women who drowned there. People have reported the sounds of splashing (there is no water in the pool) and have seen wet footprints leading from the deck to the changing rooms. People have also reported seeing the ghost of a young girl, Jackie, who drowned in the pool during the ship’s sailing days.
When we walked into the First Class Swimming Pool, there was doll in a red dress sitting near some shelves. People bring toys for Jackie to play with; the doll belongs to her.
We split into two groups because there were too many people for everyone on the tour to visit the Dressing Rooms at once. One couple walked into a storage room and ran out screaming when some metal railing in the room started rattling with no one nearby. They were quite shaken.
Once the first group to visit the changing rooms came out, we told this story and they went running off to investigate. They also noticed that the doll was gone. A quick investigation uncovered that no one had taken the doll - or would confess to taking it - despite dire warnings about karma and the tackiness of stealing from a child (even a dead one).
The changing rooms near the pool are the source of negative feelings detected by numerous psychics. You're supposed to go into a stall (the doors have been removed) and have a seat while they turn the lights off. Coward that I am, I decided to squeeze into a stall with my mother (yes, I know I am lame) and hold her hand.
The changing room is not considered an actual haunting. Our guide referred to it as a vortex, and said that there are rumors that it contains some type of doorway into another reality. Apparently, it also allows ghosts to move from one area to another. The room is very dark, even with the lights on, despite the fact that it's painted bright white.
We did not get an explanation of what caused this vortex, but people have reported seeing the outline of a male and female ghost as well as shadow shapes (dark patches in vaguely humanoid form moving through the darkness). The only dark shapes I saw were of the other people on tour. I did not see or feel anything in the changing room, but I did realize that this would be a good place to hide and jump out at someone if one were so inclined.
After we came out of the changing room, we walked up to the second level of the pool to make our way to our final destination. That's where we came across the missing doll. It was on the floor in the corner, as if someone had dropped it while running.
Our last stop was to the engine room. This room is haunted by one of the famous ghosts on the Queen Mary, John Pedder. John was quite the practical joker, and it is this trait that lead to his death at the young age of 18 back in 1966. He was crushed to death playing chicken by a watertight door during a routine drill in 1966.
His bearded, coverall-wearing spirit is seen often near the door, walking through the adjacent corridors. There is lots of knocking on the walls, flickering lights, and the sound of an elevator running. There certainly is a working elevator, but it was not in use during the tour. It also ran for a lot longer than one would expect it to take an elevator to go up three floors.
The tour was enjoyable even though I experienced minimal psychic phenomenon. I am thinking of going back for GhostFest if I can get anyone to go with me. There are way more haunted areas aboard the Queen Mary than the few spots we visited, and this is exactly my kind of fun.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sharper than a serphents tooth...
What started off as a promising day ended so badly.
On Saturday, I took the 2007 tax paperwork for myself and my father to my accountant. My taxes were, as usual, done in no time flat because I am a anal retentive nerd and I keep my records current all year long.
After a long conversation with the accountant, we filed the taxes for 2007 for my father with an extension and I left the office determined to get the documents I needed to complete his taxes for 2005 and 2006.
I then ran my other errands and then stopped my father's house to make a note of the final repairs that needed to be done before the house was ready to sale.
The home was filled - and I do mean full - with furniture. There was clothing and appliances and sheets and towels and lots of furniture.
Imagine my shock in entering a house that I had worked so hard to clear out only to find it full again. For a second, I thought that I stepped into a time warp and found myself in the past. Then I actually looked at the stuff and noticed it's a lot better quality than anything my dad ever had and realized I was still in the present.
Imagine my further surprise when I checked the locks, and found that they were all secured. The keys were recently changed and I had not yet dropped off the new set to my father. I had no idea how this stuff got into the house.
I walked outside (I had no idea whether some random person would be entering the house) and called my father. It turns out his friend, Gary, wants to purchase the house and moved right in despite the fact that the house has not gone on the market and that I have not finished clearing it out.
The stupidity in selling a home not to the highest bidder but the only bidder is staggering. Not to mention it makes it infinitely more difficult for me to clear the house out when I have to work my already crowded schedule around a tenant.
I decided that this, added to the long list of other problems, is reason enough to rescend the power of attorney and let my father wallow in the storm of drama that he seems to enjoy so well.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Weight Check - Feb. 16, 2008
Weight Loss: None (I gained four pounds)
Pounds Lost To Date: -1.5 pounds
Pounds from Goal Weight: I think not
Pounds Lost To Date: -1.5 pounds
Pounds from Goal Weight: I think not
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)