Screaming Banshee

Screaming Banshee
Make Sure You Laugh When There Are Days Like This!!!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The 24-Hour Whirlwind - The Day Of

*BEFORE READING THIS, PLEASE SEE "THE 24-HOUR WHIRLWIND - THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM" - IT WON'T MAKE SENSE WITHOUT IT*

Thank goodness for my service contract with BGE Home, they told me they could come out on Friday, and it would not cost me a thing to have the problem diagnosed. They would do the annual inspection and cleaning at the same time which might fix the problem. *Awesome!* Wouldn't that be great! Thanks!!!!

I put in the request to work from home on Friday so I could wait my turn for the tech who would arrive at some point between 8:00 & 5:00....way to narrow it down! A rather sympathetic understanding of the need to address the situation led to the approval of working from home. See, I work with people that have also had the pleasure of "home-ownership drama". It just sucks, and we all know it! I went to work knowing that I didn't have to worry about the A/C for the day. I could put it aside, and know that it would be waiting for me to deal with on Friday.

At least I could focus on work.......not so much! The afternoon of Thursday, April 8, I was told that my grant ended in November 2009 (which I knew), and there is no further funding for me (which I didn't know, but was scared of). My contract that goes through June 30, 2010 will not be renewed. My skills, and the things I do are not a fit for the work needed to be done. There aren't enough full-time, project-manager level tasks to justify my employment during times of budget cuts and lost grant funding.
I DO NOT HAVE A JOB PAST JUNE 30, 2010. Well, that sucks!

Sucks though it may, I didn't feel the need to throw myself on the floor and cry, panic, scream. That was a bit more energy than I felt needed to be expended. Good thing I held back.....

When I got home, the kids told me that the downstairs toilet had backed up which led to a water/sewage flood. When you walk downstairs, there is a landing/foyer area, with a powder room straight ahead. To the right, behind a closed door is the finished basement. When you go down the stairs, to the left, there is another door which leads to the laundry room and storage area. Sooooooooooo............ the sewage back-up was in the powder room, foyer, and a portion of the laundry/storage area.

WOW!!!!!!!! My A/C busted, I got laid off, and came home to shit in my basement in less than 24 hours...........now that's a bummer of a day!!!!

*PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER IN "THE 24-HOUR WHIRLWIND"*

Monday, April 12, 2010

The 24-Hour Whirlwind - The Calm Before the Storm

In our lives, there are certain events, or series of events which suck. They are upsetting, stressful, ridiculous, etc. Some of these incidents cause friends to say, "well, you'll look back at this in 5 years and laugh". But, have you ever had a series of events occur in a 24 hour period that would be too much to handle over the course of a year?

Well, let me tell you about a 24 hour period that was so full of shit that you won't believe me. You literally will not believe me! You will think I'm exaggerating, embellishing the truth, or flat out lying. I assure you, my friends, the following is all true. No creative license has be taken to embellish the truth.

After being pounded with chains of blizzards and feet of snow, the Mid-Atlantic region broke yet another weather record. We broke the high temperatures last week by getting into the 90s in early April. It became ghastly hot on Tuesday, April 6th. I had not used my heat in a month and wasn't even CLOSE to ready for the air conditioning, so I refused to turn it on. I put on a fan and peeled off outer layers. I made it through the night, and toddled off to work the next morning feeling proud of my success. Wednesday was another ghastly hot day. When I got home from work, it was 80 degrees in my house, and the afternoon sun was beating through the windows. On Tuesday, it had been just me, but the kids were home on Wednesday.

When the temperature got up to 84, I broke and turned on the air conditioning (henceforth, to be referred to as the A/C). A cool-down was forecast for Thursday evening and Friday so I knew we would be able to head back toward saving electricity for the good of the planet, and my big-ass electric bill.

About an hour after turning on the A/C, I noticed that it didn't feel much warmer. Checking the temperature revealed that it was still 84 degrees. My wonderful son, Drew, checked the fuse box and reset the breakers for me. Thank God that was an easy one.....But, Wait!!!! No, the breakers tripped every time the A/C went on. That was one HOT night! Fans and light clothing wasn't really enough.....little did I know this would be the least interesting, stressful, or difficult thing that would happen to me in 24 hours.

*PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER IN "THE 24-HOUR WHIRLWIND"*

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Big F-U

Yeah....F-U....I said it, I meant it. Sometimes, there is no other option. There are days, times, incidents, issues that just warrant an F-U. Right?

They annoy, stress, push, frustrate, or maybe even scare you; so, the F-U must be pulled out. It doesn't matter who else is involved, or who else is around. The F-U may be caused by family, friends, co-workers, boss. Everyone ends up getting an F-U at some point, and most of the time...they really deserve it!!!! You may be worried that you could get in trouble for pulling it out. But, you might find that everyone else wanted to put it out there and just didn't have the "oomph" to do it. Taking that initiative may actually change others' opinion of you.

Don't act surprised, don't act mortified, disgusted, uncomfortable. Close that slack-jaw!!!! There is nothing wrong with telling some that you may need to Follow-Up. Never be afraid of the F-U, it might just make your day!!!!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Are You There, God? It's Me, Helen.....


So, I'm beyond the point where my friends have all started their period or I must increase my bust. But, why hasn't Judy Blume come up with the follow-up (other than "Wifey"), and created a guidebook for future phases of life.

And, what about the authors of "What to Expect When You Are Expecting"? What happened to the follow-up versions, "What to Expect When They Are Out"?, or "What to Expect When They Talk Back"?, or "What to Expect When They Grow Up and You Wish They Needed You As Much As They Used To"?......

So, do I have to do this myself? Hmmmm.....my sister is an editor/publisher/author advisor....etc. Mayhaps I should propose this? I can even add in the aspects of dealing with IEPs, 504s, Docs, medical thrills......I've got some personal experience and educational background there.

Regardless.......Please, please, please God....... don't turn me into the parent of teenagers.