Filed under: Words Words Words | Tags: Ypsilanti, car accident, pearl, tree, cockatoo, bird woman, what the what, driving on sidewalk
*Yawn, it’s morning…stupid, boring, nearly winter weath–ERRRRRRRRR, CRASH!!! GRRRRRRR, VRROOMMM, BOOM!!
WHAT THE WHAT!!? That’s our lawn!!!
Overheard: “You didn’t have to do that! I’m here for you, it’s OK, just let me know and we can talk anytime. There was no reason for that” *big hug*
RETRACING THE TRACKS….
the neighbor’s car…whoa
and the neighbor’s lawn
OK, now let’s gawk at the car on our lawn again:
Smile for the birdie!!
OK, so, here’s the sequence:
The SUV person drove through our neighbor’s yard (to the left of our house), plowed through our neighbor’s car (blue) in their driveway, skidded through our yard, hit our tree and bounced back about 2 meters from the impact.
The airbags deployed. The driver (not shown) and the cockatoo (shown above) were OK.
Let the Tiger Woods jokes begin…
Filed under: Words Words Words | Tags: 1999 buick century, car accident, half year model, karma
Our car woes continue. We’re lucky to have something to drive, for sure, but that doesn’t mean karma should go around creating obstacles for us. When I spend all morning at a funeral, then get into a car accident that afternoon on the way home, I think it’s bad karma overkill. I was in a four car pile up–second in line from the front. The person in front of me had a trailer hitch attachment which blasted a hole into poor Alan’s already battered front end. No damage to the back. I’ve got a touch of whiplash and an attitude.
I’m still waiting for my own car. In the last update given, we were told the $400+ in parts that I bought don’t fit. My buddy Kurt believes my car may have been created in the early half of its release year–then, halfway through the year, they created new parts because blah blah blah, words words words, my car sucks.
I swear I’ll get back to the heart of the matter concerning this site. I just needed to vent again. I’m seriously going to talk about The Flaming Lips in a few days. Then we’ll get into some Monsters of Folk or The Duchess & The Duke, alright? Phish tickets, for Cobo Arena in Detroit, go on sale this Saturday at 10am. Set yourself a reminder. OK. Peace.
Filed under: Words Words Words | Tags: balloon boy, big lebowski, billy mays, halloween, octomom, swine flu, teabagger
Halloween is right around the corner. I have a couple of parties in which to attend…but, what should I do for a costume?! Should I go topical or traditional? The last successful costume I attempted was about 3 years ago. Alan and I had a party and dressed as old people. Gray hair, canes, saggy boobs, and attitudes. The year before, we went to a party as a murder-suicide couple with bullet wounds in our heads. It was really creepy but the concept was probably the easiest thing we’ve ever done. This year, Alan is considering either God (long white hair and a bath robe) or John Goodman’s character from The Big Lebowski. So I’m left to my own devices.
I Googled it. As usual, traditional costumes for females mostly revolve around seductive kitties or leggy Bo Peeps. Topical costumes are so much easier for guys–I’ve seen several “balloon boy” options, Billy Mays, Michael Jackson, etc. Nothing for the ladies, however, unless you think people still care about Sarah Palin or Kate from Jon & Kate plus 8. I know I don’t. Octomom would be fun and easy. I just want something that people will naturally want to laugh at.
Topical unisex options include: teabagger, the swine flu, or the dreadful “public option” healthcare zombie. I have less than two weeks to prepare!! Frightening!
Images courtesy of the Huffington Post.
Swine Flu--get it? lolz
Octomom
The Public Option
Teabagger
Filed under: "When I forget how to talk, I sing" | Tags: 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, Beatles, first concert, garth brooks, Jonas Brothers, miley cyrus, R&B
Recently, Alan’s little sister (12) attended her first concert. It was a Miley Cyrus show. I won’t be critical…my first show was Luther Vandross. Certainly, young girls need to find their own musical road to follow. Alan’s first show was Garth Brooks. He’s not much of a “new” or “young country” fan now, but I can see how that type of rough-and-tumble music influenced his current tastes.
It makes me wonder what type of influence Miley will have on Lauren in the long run. Will she always be attracted to bubbly pop, or will she rebel against her younger self and become a heavy metal goddess? In the 80’s, I only listened to what my folks liked–Rick James, Michael Jackson, 70’s R&B, and what ever was force fed to me by MTV (yes, they actually played music videos at one time). I listened to a lot of R&B in the 90’s and early 00’s as well. I happen to think that era was the rebirth of R&B–En Vogue, Babyface, Jill Scott and tons of R&B boy bands like Boyz II Men. Now, it’s all too fluffy for me. None of the newer R&B artists make as much of an impact in my world as they did then. But I realize I’ve changed a lot since then…
So, maybe I’m just getting old? If rock n’ roll enthusiasts were stifled by naysayers in the 50’s, we would have lost out on a lot of great music. So, by trying to push the youth away from the teenscene machine are we just delaying the inevitable?! Will the kids growing up today consider the Jonas Brothers to be the Beatles of their generation!? Ahhh, nooo, make it stop!!!!
Next: The Flaming Lips — Embryonic
Filed under: Words Words Words | Tags: cardiac arrest, death, Medicare, rehab, stroke
So, ever since the accident, my great-grandmother has been in and out of rehabs and emergency rooms. After the stroke, she was weak and unable to walk on her own. There was no one in our family that could care for her properly so we left it up to the professionals. When she was unable to progress at the rate expected by Medicare (the speed of light), we had no choice but to place her into a “nursing home”–we couldn’t afford continued rehabilitation on our own. Unbeknownst to us (and the doctors, surprisingly), she’d developed a blood clot in her leg which traveled to her heart last week and caused a cardiac arrest. EMS arrived to keep her stable. Her heart stopped 4-5 times total before she was revived and placed on life support at the hospital.
She was in and out of consciousness for over a week; we were told the hospital could only keep the ventilator tube in her throat for 10 days. Yesterday they took it out, after which their goal was to make her “comfortable” by pumping drugs into her system to slow her breathing and prevent distress. She passed away this morning. She was 94.
She was totally awesome, and I’m going to miss her dearly.
Filed under: Words Words Words | Tags: Buick, car, deer, walnut tree, walnuts
Sometimes I wish I lived in an area where at least 90% of my necessary daily destinations were within 10 feet of me. But, alas, I need reliable transportation in order to remain a productive member of society. I bought a Buick from a car auction a couple of years ago. It lasted about a year and a half before the fuel pump assembly broke. I was in school, I had no rainy day funds or disposable income, so I let it sit in the driveway for about year. I’ve recently graduated and now my priority is to regain my transportation independence.
Which brings me to this week. I finally got enough funds to fix my car! Or so I thought. The $350 quoted to me last spring for installing a new fuel pump assembly has nearly doubled due to my neglect. The fuel lines are rusted ($200), the filler neck is corroded ($80), and the battery, I’m guessing, is completely dead ($70). The shop will still fix it for me but I may have to wait until next payday to get it back.
Anyway, I’ve been sharing a car with “Alan, the boyfriend” for almost a year now! Sunday his car stalled. It may have been a battery, starter or alternator issue, who knows. It all translates to more money being plucked from our money tree to make sure the problem is completely solved. I blame autumn.
Monday we got it working again. Yaaay! I don’t recommend it, but all we did was bang on the starter with a wrench.
Tuesday, he hit a deer on the freeway. Boooo. The driver side front quarter panel is dented, the left headlight is FUBAR, and the ripple effect also put a dent in the door.
Have we finally insulted the car gods to the point of retribution? If so, I guess it’s not unwarranted. Do the 500+ walnut pods falling from our neighbor’s tree (incessantly pounding our cars) have anything to do with this series of unfortunate events? I bet they do. It acts as reminder: when it rains it pours.
Filed under: Words Words Words
So, apparently, instead of sitting at home teething on my blanket, some folks think I should be blogging!
Well, OK, I will.
Sorry for the delayed post. So many things going on. I will update you very soon…*inappropriate evil laugh*
Here’s a hobby: I collect art. I bought myself a flat file last year and it’s filled with posters and prints collected from concerts, online art sales, trades, and EBay. I joined a site five years ago called ExpressoBeans.com–it’s a place to share my obsession with (somewhat) like-minded individuals from all over the world. It’s a sickness. Whenever I attend a concert, I lineup an hour early, and I rush directly to the merch table upon entering the venue to grab a gigposter. I get at least 20 separate email newsletters from my favorite artists each week!
The White Stripes--Lyon/Villeurbanne, France, 2003
Just like my music interests, the prints and posters I collect vary. Of course, I love to get gigposters from the concerts I attend, but sometimes I’ll buy a poster for a band I don’t like just because I love the artist’s work or the imagery. Print-wise, I don’t know yet. There are certain genre’s I enjoy (Pop Surrealism, Urban Art, etc) but I haven’t quite nailed down my tastes. I’m still a noob.
I don’t just collect for the sake of collecting, I like to frame prints as well. It’s an all inclusive hobby that’s getting more expensive by the day. Take the band The White Stripes, for instance. If you were lucky enough to buy a poster at a show in 2003, it would have cost you around $30-40 bucks. If you decided to buy it on EBay the next day, it would have cost you $100-150. If you want to find it today, expect to pay at least $400-700. The rarest items from this era will set you back $2000-2500+…
Filed under: Words Words Words | Tags: bats, hummingbird, owl, possum, raccoon, urban, Ypsilanti
I was born and raised in Detroit in an east side urban area where the only animals around were squirrels, birds or common household pets. Now, I live in a former historical-ish home in Ypsilanti that has been converted into 5 apartments. We’re about half a mile from the EMU campus in what I still consider to be an urban area. We have a decent sized backyard with lots of foliage, a few trees and a shed. What amazes me about the backyard is the amount of animal activity. When I step outside late at night, it sounds like I’m in a rainforest! The chirps, clicks and blinking bugs startle my senses. As far as furry creatures are concerned, I’m not a fan of zoos so there isn’t much I’ve seen up close. Forgive my naivete, but here are some backyard highlights:
Skunks: rancid, smelly skunks. Late summer nights are the worse! We can’t keep our windows open for fear of the permeating stench.
Opossum: Here’s a story for you. A couple of months ago I noticed some kids huddled together on the other side of the fence near the corner of my backyard. I approached the group and at their feet was an opossum who had just died while giving birth. With the help of those kids and their guardian, the joeys were plucked from the mother’s pouch, put in a shoe box, and later given to the Humane Society for care. Cute, huh?
Rabbits: Awwwwwww!
Bats: Ahhhhhhhhhhh!! Seriously?!
Raccoons: They’re annoying! They tip over our garbage cans and tear apart the bags on a weekly basis. A former neighbor once told me she awoke one morning to a baby raccoon in her bedroom…she’s on the second floor! Apparently, it crawled up the pillars on our back porch and clawed through her window screen to get inside.
Groundhogs: Not the worse things to have around, I guess. I don’t have a garden nor do I play golf so it doesn’t matter much to me. Usually, they run and hide as soon as I step out the door.
Birds: A hummingbird was literally a foot from my face last week! I was so excited, haha. Cardinals are common, bluejays, woodpeckers, etc. Our most recent visitor was an OWL! I’ve never seen an owl in the flesh. As soon as I walked through the backdoor to the yard, I saw the renowned three quarter head turn, and I was in love. I hope it comes back–it would have plenty of food to eat…opossum, raccoons, skunks…
Filed under: Words Words Words
It’s been over a week since I’ve posted! I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m really busy–I’m within the last week of school (still lots to finish up) and work is getting more and more out of control. Alas, I’ll be leaving town tomorrow for a day or so. What am I thinking?! It’s not my fault, Krause, really. I talked so much about a certain band I like that my, ummm, boyfriend decided to take me to see them using the tickets that I, ummm, bought…a couple of months ago…
Poor planning as usual. I’ll work it out in the early AM.’s to come.
“Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting!”
