Category Archives: Life

by | February 3, 2015 · 1:04 pm

Twilight Zone Tuesday


I think I entered The Twilight Zone when I woke up this morning. It’s been a day of VERY unusual occurrences. Here’s my evidence:

 

  • None of my usual programs worked this morning when I first logged into my work computer. I had to shut it down twice before it would work. Guess it needed virtual caffeine…
  • Publisher’s Clearinghouse (or is it “Clearing House?” … whatev’s) called me mid-morning (on my cell phone, from a local number) to tell me that I’m one of 5 finalists for the $2 million cash prize! (Yay, me!!) And that I’d be getting FREE $500 to spend at ANY of my local stores (Wal-Mart, Target, etc. – how about Barnes & Noble!!), AND I get 6 magazines OF MY CHOICE!! The ONLY thing they need from me, is S&H. When I started to ask why I have to PAY for something FREE, the guy hung up on me. (Was it something I said???)
  • About an hour later (is this a conspiracy??) I get a call from ANOTHER local number (cell phone again, male caller) asking to speak with “Hayden, please.” Well, Hayden is my son, but he has his own phone number, so….what??? The conversation went something like this:
    • Me: This is his mother. Why do you need to speak with him?
    • Caller: Oh. How old is he?
    • Me: (!!!!! Why is an unknown male calling me asking for my son’s age????) He’s a minor.
    • Caller: Well I need to know his age, so I can cancel this loan.
    • Me: What loan???
    • Caller: He applied for a loan using this phone number…
    • Me: He’s a minor. You can cancel the loan.
    • Caller: So how old is he? 16?
    • Me: Why does his age matter? I already told you he’s a MINOR; he’s UNDER 18. WHICH age under 18 shouldn’t matter.
    • Caller: But what’s his age?
    • Me: His AGE doesn’t matter, he’s UNDER 18. Cancel the loan.
    • Caller: But…
    • Me: Seriously? *CLICK*

See what I mean? 😮 :/

 

I think the next call I get to my cell phone from an unknown local number will start with me answering: “Hello. You should know I work in Law Enforcement, I have a brain, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

 

 

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Filed under Blogging, Family, Life, Musings, Random, Writing

by | October 23, 2014 · 10:34 am

The Staple’s Hostage; Or, My Alternator, the Electric Welder


A staple held my car hostage early this week.

Yes, you read that right: a staple. The kind you put into the top left corner of a sheaf of papers to keep them together.

This little, unassuming staple packed a big punch. A punch big enough to shut down my vehicle.

Sunday morning, when I started my Honda CRV so my son and I could leave for church, I heard an unexpected sound: a hesitant engine when I turned the key in the ignition. My heart sank. I heard it again when starting the vehicle to drive home from church. Monday morning, when I attempted to leave for work, it wouldn’t start at all.

My battery has a 3-year warranty and was purchased less than a year and a half ago. I still have the receipt (Yay me!) so if it was the battery, it wouldn’t cost anything to replace. The battery is self-contained & sealed (meaning, it doesn’t need water periodically). I checked the necessary fluids (oil, power steering, etc.) and all were fine. I’m now out of ideas. I called my brother who was on his way home from his shift as a Palm Beach County Firefighter/Paramedic, to let him know I would need him to take a look under my Honda’s hood to see if he could figure out the problem. His best guestimate: either the battery or alternator needed to be replaced. Perfect. He jumped my battery and I drove to my parents’ house, where I left my poor, dying vehicle and borrowed my father’s SUV, my parents being out of town at the time and not needing a vehicle.

When I returned to my parents’ house Monday evening after work, my parents had arrived home from vacation, and my father removed the battery from my Honda so we could have it tested at the local Auto Zone. Diagnosis: battery is alive and well. So it was the alternator, which gave me visions of dollar signs dancing OUT of my checking account. Come to find out, alternators themselves aren’t expensive to replace; it’s the installation fees that’ll get you.

Tuesday afternoon, my father had my Honda towed to our mechanic – he attempted to drive it, but I guess I forgot to warn him about my impassive alarm system that keeps the vehicle from being started if you don’t unlock it with the remote. (Umm…Oops.) Wednesday afternoon, when I called my dad to find out the prognosis and cost, he said: “You lucked out, and there’s NO CHARGE.” (Whew! Praise Jesus!!)

The strange story: At some point in the week leading up to Sunday morning (the first time my Honda complained), a staple lying on the road launched itself up into the undercarriage of my SUV, attaching itself to my alternator, right on the spot where it communicates with/contacts my battery. The alternator then acted as an electric welder due to the heat it generates (14.2 volts & 20 or 30 amps), causing the staple to almost completely fuse to my alternator, and disrupting the alternator’s “communication” with my battery, forcing my battery to power my vehicle ALONE, until it ran out of charge. Once the mechanic removed that pesky tiny staple, my Honda ran like a charm.

This little scenario will probably have a cameo in one of my books someday, so be on the lookout. 🙂

Now, if that’s not the STRANGEST story you’ve heard all week, I’d like to hear yours.

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by | October 8, 2014 · 5:00 pm

In Pursuit of the Perfect…Soap


Sandalwood is my favorite fragrance. I rarely use perfumes. To me, most of them smell too sweet, too floral, or down-right icky. Instead, for the past half dozen years or so, I buy a vial of sandalwood oil at my local Annual Renaissance Festival and use that in lieu of perfume. One 1/2 oz vial usually lasts me an entire year.

A few years ago I discovered another marvelous sandalwood item: bar soap. The all natural, no animal by-products, cold-processed, etc. type of bar soap. I was in aromatic heaven!

Lately, though, the places I previously could find sandalwood bar soap in abundance seem to have stopped carrying it. Instead I’m seeing sandalwood mixed with patchouli (which I’m not particularly fond of, but bought anyway because of the SANDALWOOD ingredient), or fragrances like tomato or mint. I want to smell mysterious, not edible.

So while in Europe the end of September, I was on the look-out for soap stores or shops that sell soaps, in hopes that EUROPEAN stores would stock the elusive sandalwood bar soap. Alas, all my efforts came to fruition in the form of one small bar of sandalwood/ylang ylang soap. (Sigh.) Yes, I bought it. Still haven’t decided whether or not I’ll actually use it…

Upon returning hoPlantlife sandalwood soapme, determined NOT to mourn sandalwood bar soap, I tracked down the company (Plantlife) that makes the soap I like the best. It’s in stock!! YES!! I will be ordering several bars come payday.

I’ve decided that while on future vacations, whether in the USA or overseas, I’ll continue to be on the lookout for sandalwood bar soap. Because while it’s good to know I can order it online, I still prefer the joy of discovering said bar of sandalwood soap on the shelf in a store, picking it up and deeply inhaling the wonderful musky aroma. 🙂

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