I flew 8 out of 9 days just to get 6 days off for my 60th Birthday! Note to self: DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!! I was pooped. I drug myself into my car in the employee's parking lot & began the long schlep home during rush hour, These early sign-ins all but killed me this month. Getting up at 0430 each morning sucked! Luckily we got the later trip back next month.
As I rounded the corner of my street & drove up to the house, Doris had balloons all over the place & flowers everywhere. She had the RV in the driveway with the doors open, a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" banner draped across it & flowers inside with a balloon tied to the middle door! A happy birthday table cloth cover the side patio table with balloons & flowers. A Happy Birthday Happy Birthday Happy Birthday banner was strung across the garage with balloons flying in the breeze of the back yard table & Doris was standing there waiting for me!! I was SO tHRILLED! I forgot all my troubles from the plane & began celebrating my birthday weekend! The weather was SO beautiful & I felt special.
The next day 5/23 (Daddy's birthday!) went to Sears & bought a big Diehard battery for the van. Then drove to Derricks to give him a birthday card & a $100 bill. (Doris' oldest child is 48 now!) He had redone the electricity & wiring when I was flying. Now he put in freon for the air conditioning. We then went to a few stores & get some groceries, as we were planning to go to the Poconos the next day for my birthday!
Well the Van wouldn't start & when it finally did, we went straight to Sears to replace the new battery. Then home where she cooked dinner! Afterward, when I went to gas up the van & get ice, the damn battery was dead again. Doris guessed it was the Altinator. The next day we went to find Derrick & low & behold he & his family was moving, so we helped him. He would come to our house to put it in the next morning. We went to get him the next morning, but he had gone to get a truck with Will in South Jersey. They would drive to our house on the way back in 45 min. They didnt get there till 500p. Tried to buy the car part, but it had to be ordered & would come in the next day. Derrick would come the next morning & fix the motor.
If all this sounds bad, it was. But I just went with the flow & felt grateful just to have the time off... not to mention Derrick is so great a fixing cars! The only time I lost my cool was when we had to go meet Davion to give him money for his prom that night on my birthday. Doris even told him she'd drive him there that night if he couldnt find a ride. (He had wanted her to rent a limo for him but she didnt have the money. Thank God... But when she said she'd drive him I went ballistic saying that is my birthday night...) The next day when we met him, he'd found a ride with a friend so I needent have gotten crazy.
Even though nothing was working out the way I had imagined, I was still groovin' on my birthday. I didn't worry, I stayed cool, I just enjoyed being with Doris. We ate at all our favorite restaurants! It was wonderful to have 6 days off in fabulous weather. My flying partners had sent me a huge box by FedEx, inside was a huge bag with 60 small presents each individually wrapped in bright colored tissue papers & bows, fabulous cards, a $60 Appleby's card & one left a halarious Happy Birthday song message on the answering machine! Outrageous! Others called & emailed! Doris' cards were beautiful & touching!
Finally, the 5th day the altenator was fixed! We hi-tailed it to the Beach! To Ocean Grove, our favorite! It was SO fun! We were both so thrilled to be in our RV at the beach! You know there is nothing better than driving around with a toilet & a bed! We went to Nagels & had dinner, then back to our little home on wheels read the newspaper, relaxed on the bed & gazed at the ocean & the people! Went home that night & drove to NYC the next day & had hot dogs on 8th St. Came back home & had Barbecue out back. I had eaten so much all week. I could barely zip my pants up the next day to go back to work.
I am 60 now. I haven't been this happy in a long time.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
On Turning 60
So far 60 is GREAT!!! It's been 7 days now, haha!
Seriously, the 50's did NOT thrill me.
It was too chock full of shocking body changes, hot flashes, weight gain & no energy.
It was one year into the next of frickin' issues & stress, trying to hang on to status quo & convince myself that attempting to age gracefully wasn't the biggest crock of bull pookie Madison Ave ever tried to shove up our (un)consciousness.
Now with that decade of frenzie & panic,
(all the while telling myself to remain calm & not to scream from the fright of settling reality,
not to mention those woefully painful glances into the f%@king mirror (lest somebody commit me to the nearset asylum for agravated acute screaching banshee syndrome) under my (ever expanding) belt...
I feel that I can now roll peacfully & happily into 60 with a sigh of relief!
Phew!
Altho' most women this age have been able to retire I shall try to patiently wait for 2 more years & enjoy the time left with many Flight Attendants I do love working with.
I am grateful Doris & I are still in good health,
not to mention Fine Silver Foxes entering our "Act III" with a vengeance & suvivor's victory!
Pass the next issue of AARP, fire up the RV & we'll drive into the sunset of our next adventures! (With maybe a few naps here & there. Ha!)
All in all, I am so happy!
The 60's were really good back when we were living through them into the 1970's...
I have a feeling being 60 is going to be GREAT as well!!
Seriously, the 50's did NOT thrill me.
It was too chock full of shocking body changes, hot flashes, weight gain & no energy.
It was one year into the next of frickin' issues & stress, trying to hang on to status quo & convince myself that attempting to age gracefully wasn't the biggest crock of bull pookie Madison Ave ever tried to shove up our (un)consciousness.
Now with that decade of frenzie & panic,
(all the while telling myself to remain calm & not to scream from the fright of settling reality,
not to mention those woefully painful glances into the f%@king mirror (lest somebody commit me to the nearset asylum for agravated acute screaching banshee syndrome) under my (ever expanding) belt...
I feel that I can now roll peacfully & happily into 60 with a sigh of relief!
Phew!
Altho' most women this age have been able to retire I shall try to patiently wait for 2 more years & enjoy the time left with many Flight Attendants I do love working with.
I am grateful Doris & I are still in good health,
not to mention Fine Silver Foxes entering our "Act III" with a vengeance & suvivor's victory!
Pass the next issue of AARP, fire up the RV & we'll drive into the sunset of our next adventures! (With maybe a few naps here & there. Ha!)
All in all, I am so happy!
The 60's were really good back when we were living through them into the 1970's...
I have a feeling being 60 is going to be GREAT as well!!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
An Early Birthday Present!
My birthday is coming up on thursday the 24th! 2 weeks ago we went to a RV show where there were so many beautiful, huge & expensive ($80thou-$300thousand) fabulous motorhomes. We always wanted one since camping with our vans back in the 80's. My Mother & her dipshit 2nd husband drove here to visit us when we bought our modest little house 12yrs ago in her brand new ROADTREK & they stayed in the driveway which was GOOD since there was no room inside. That was SUCH a wonderful & cool RV! I knew from the moment I stepped inside that I would make it my goal to have one.
So I was complaining to Doris while stepping down from one of a hundred TravelHomes that even the smaller ones were too big. I wanted one like my Mother's that you can just park in any parking spot, nothing giagantic or too wide. A woman stepping up into the same RV heard me & said, "We have an '89 ROADTREK we're selling for $5000 with 99,000 miles if you're interested!..."
I could hardly contain my excitement! I didn't have $5000, but I knew I could borrow from my credit union! When I f i n a l l y saw the RV I was real dissappointed... The stripes around the outside looked corroded & pale, & the toilet didn't have it's own bathroom with a sink, it was in a closet that you can hang a few clothes in, altho' when you open the door it goes across the aisle to the kitchenette side for privacy. And the dashboard was just plain metal.
BUT the double bed in the very back was good & makes into a table & booth if needed! The polished wood kitchenette in the middle has a sink with running water, 2 burners that run on butane, a microwave & half size refridgerator! (with the toilet/closet across.) Screens are on the windows, there are 2 captains chairs in front & 2 seats behind with a hole in the floor for a small round table to dine from! Best of all the upolstry (altho not as nice as my mother's) is PINK velour!!!!!!!! YAY, PINK!!! Doris said the engine was good (minor detail.) And it's only 19ft long.
Soooooooooo...... I bought it!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! What a good 60th birthday present to myself!
The credit union loan will take $250/mo from my paycheck which is hard since I'm barely making it from month to month. Perhaps I shall start sellinghouses again. I shall definately have to figure out something. I just knew that I would more than likely NOT find a ROADTREK for $5000 anywhere again!
Good thing I couldn't afford to retire, ha ha!
Doris has been working hard, cleaning it, spiffing it up while I was on my last trip & it looks GREAT!!! We are excitied! She hooked up a small 13in TV on the rotating TV table, covered the bed with a pink velour blanket & threw pink pillows around! I got new plates yesterday & I'm hoping to get the insurance card in time for a little trip on the days off coming up for May 24th! My favorite day of the year!
So I was complaining to Doris while stepping down from one of a hundred TravelHomes that even the smaller ones were too big. I wanted one like my Mother's that you can just park in any parking spot, nothing giagantic or too wide. A woman stepping up into the same RV heard me & said, "We have an '89 ROADTREK we're selling for $5000 with 99,000 miles if you're interested!..."
I could hardly contain my excitement! I didn't have $5000, but I knew I could borrow from my credit union! When I f i n a l l y saw the RV I was real dissappointed... The stripes around the outside looked corroded & pale, & the toilet didn't have it's own bathroom with a sink, it was in a closet that you can hang a few clothes in, altho' when you open the door it goes across the aisle to the kitchenette side for privacy. And the dashboard was just plain metal.
BUT the double bed in the very back was good & makes into a table & booth if needed! The polished wood kitchenette in the middle has a sink with running water, 2 burners that run on butane, a microwave & half size refridgerator! (with the toilet/closet across.) Screens are on the windows, there are 2 captains chairs in front & 2 seats behind with a hole in the floor for a small round table to dine from! Best of all the upolstry (altho not as nice as my mother's) is PINK velour!!!!!!!! YAY, PINK!!! Doris said the engine was good (minor detail.) And it's only 19ft long.
Soooooooooo...... I bought it!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! What a good 60th birthday present to myself!
The credit union loan will take $250/mo from my paycheck which is hard since I'm barely making it from month to month. Perhaps I shall start sellinghouses again. I shall definately have to figure out something. I just knew that I would more than likely NOT find a ROADTREK for $5000 anywhere again!
Good thing I couldn't afford to retire, ha ha!
Doris has been working hard, cleaning it, spiffing it up while I was on my last trip & it looks GREAT!!! We are excitied! She hooked up a small 13in TV on the rotating TV table, covered the bed with a pink velour blanket & threw pink pillows around! I got new plates yesterday & I'm hoping to get the insurance card in time for a little trip on the days off coming up for May 24th! My favorite day of the year!
Friday, May 04, 2007
Exhausted Again
Landed in turbulence yesterday that was SO bad it shook up my brains again. Seriously, that's how it feels - not to mention I was SO green, really thought I would throw up... so many psgrs were barfing on the floor, then throwing the blankets over it. Yuck, think about that next flight you complain you don't have a blanket in your seat!
I'm worried about work this month because they took away the late lax sign-ins at ewr, hence I have to fly the EARLY trips. Gotta get up at 0400a ea morning & I am realizing that I may well get sick because my resistance is compromised not getting enough rest. At any rate, that is just how it is for now so I have to find a way to deal with it! Because it has been over a year since I had to get up at the crack of dawn, it's unbearable. But perhaps I'll find a way to get used to it (NOT) since there is no other choice if I don't want to drive over the bridges 3hrs to JFK. Patience & practice, One day at a time here.
Because I had been on the sick list last month, my paycheck is L O W. I wish I made more money. Ah well, don't we all.
And I'm eating too much. What the hell is my damn problem, after loosing 52 lbs I am having a hard time maintaining it? It's hard to not feel sad I can't eat alot more, I feel deprived! Clearly I am missing something here.
Why does life always feel like such a struggle, waaa waaa waaaaaaaa.
Okay enough bitching & feeling sorry for myself. It's a beautiful day & I have 2 days off. I'm taking a nap.
I'll be more positive after some rest!
I'm worried about work this month because they took away the late lax sign-ins at ewr, hence I have to fly the EARLY trips. Gotta get up at 0400a ea morning & I am realizing that I may well get sick because my resistance is compromised not getting enough rest. At any rate, that is just how it is for now so I have to find a way to deal with it! Because it has been over a year since I had to get up at the crack of dawn, it's unbearable. But perhaps I'll find a way to get used to it (NOT) since there is no other choice if I don't want to drive over the bridges 3hrs to JFK. Patience & practice, One day at a time here.
Because I had been on the sick list last month, my paycheck is L O W. I wish I made more money. Ah well, don't we all.
And I'm eating too much. What the hell is my damn problem, after loosing 52 lbs I am having a hard time maintaining it? It's hard to not feel sad I can't eat alot more, I feel deprived! Clearly I am missing something here.
Why does life always feel like such a struggle, waaa waaa waaaaaaaa.
Okay enough bitching & feeling sorry for myself. It's a beautiful day & I have 2 days off. I'm taking a nap.
I'll be more positive after some rest!
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