Author: Sharon

I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard the helicopter hovering over the house. I thought it was maybe the shock trauma helicopter, but I didn’t hear the distinctive whirring sound that copter makes. After I few minutes I was curious enough to go see what was up. I hadn’t heard anything going on and my dog wasn’t barking, so it couldn’t have been much.

I looked outside to see cars converging across the street and armed officers spilling out of the vehicles and swarming the house. Then I noticed the copter searchlight shining one house over and saw them all go stalking off that way. Shortly thereafter, I saw them ‘escorting’ a man to one of the police vehicles.

Most of these vehicles were undercover, none were running their lights or sirens. One had come to a stop on the wrong side of the road and what I thought had been flags attached to the windows, actually separated themselves from the vehicle and ran off into the night. I watched until they came back, standing on the vehicles running boards and holding on to the side of the car. I have a feeling they were looking for one other person.

So, that kinda cured my sleepiness and I stayed up for a bit longer. I watched from my office and saw vehicles zooming into my neighborhood and searching for then next two hours. I haven’t seen anything in the news, so I have to hope that they caught whomever they were looking for.

Monday, my car was ransacked. Someone got in and looked through every part of my vehicle, tossing aside cd’s and tools. (No one but me would listen to bagpipes in the car!!) They didn’t take anything, not even the change in the change cup, and didn’t harm my car, so I didn’t report it. Maybe I should have.

On the one hand, it freaks me out that there was a manhunt in my neighborhood. On the other, the amount of officers, the quiet way they handled it and the apparent success of their endeavours makes me feel better about the ability of my local police force.

How would you feel?

YESS!!

There really has been far too little of it here this Spring. I’m glad to see some this morning. Makes me want to get out my shovel and turn some dirt and plant some seeds and mow the grass and pull some weeds and go for a walk and… oh wait…. that darn boot is still on there.

No walkies for me..   bummer, dude. Hey, did you know that during the civil war there were groups of men that were sent off to go forage and pillage plantations for food for the northern army that were called bummers? I’d imagine this is where we get the term “bum” for someone who wanders around looking for handouts. How cool was that little piece of useless trivia, eh?

K, so here is the lowdown. I’m in the dumb boot for the rest of the summer, or just about. For anyone who was looking for an update, I WILL be in England in my lovely high fashioned footwear. Look out Trafalgar Square, here comes……….hmmmm… a catchy name fails me. I guess this will be your challenge.. try to come up with some super-de-duper catchy name for me. Pegleg Pete has been taken, and Hop-a-long is just too blase. Do it! I dare you.

On another note (yuk, yuk) the chorus is just too darn popular. (yay) We are completely sold out with a wait list for at least another 35 seats. We can’t do two concerts this Spring since the venue is booked up. I know we would have easily sold out both days, since we did in the winter.  I’m really glad that so many people want to come see us on Mother’s Day, but it is frustrating to have to tell them that I can’t give them any more tickets. If I could figure out how to legally and not painfully suspend people from the ceiling, I would. I had a family offering me large sums of money last night if I could just find them a few extra seats. Tempting… but not honest or fair, so I said I’d put him on the wait list. He declined.

Yesterday, I got a package in the mail. I thought it was for Hubby, but he told me to open it up. That sweet man of mine had gotten me a book that he thought I might like to read and a micro sd card. Huh? The book I get, but a teeny tiny little 8gb card? Does anyone else get the feeling there may be more to this than I’m seeing right now? Gotta love ‘im.

I’ve noticed a trend.

Long ago a friend joined Yahoo 360. She told me to join, so I did. I told her brother to join, so he did. Well, sorta. I hacked his page because he never put up anything fun and then eventually he started posting some things there. She also got her mother on board.

Then she gently encouraged us with her whimsical quips and witty repartee into blogging. Made us feel terrible that *she* was writing things and thus, so should we. So, lemmings that we are, we complied.

Yahoo 360 was abandoned by it’s creators and we all had begun to despair over it’s buggy framework, so “The Mom”, who had become quite the blogger, found a new home for her writing. I followed and then the original network organizer.. let’s call her JG… followed suit. Her blogging had become less and less, but we all LOVED to read her stuff. Her brother, Doc, followed over to Multiply as well and there we were all happy for awhile.

Each of us gathered some new friends. The Mom kept writing, I wrote, JG wrote less and Doc wrote even less.

I’d had this page for awhile, since my daughter used to use one here as well. I’d never used it much, just kinda kept tabs on her while she was active here. Then she discovered Facebook and decided to switch her loyalties to them. Again, I hopped over there and registered as well because where she has a page, so do I.

Now, it seems, the latest “hop” in the lemming world is over to Facebook. JG, who has had a page there but it was pretty inactive, is picking up steam. The Mom is there now as well and the Doc, I see, has also made the leap.This lemming effect went through my immediate family as well.. my sons, hubby and daughter all had MySpace pages and then Facebook pages. Really? How many pages do we need? And as if that weren’t enough, we are all twittering away as well.

Stop the insanity!!

The problem is that once you stop morphing and mutating to all the different platforms that are the “network du jour”, you lose touch with the people you care about. No one writes a letter anymore, and heck, a phone call or a personal visit is even a difficult thing to arrange, so unless you just don’t care about what is going on and you don’t mind losing contact, you kinda have to be a social network lemming. And as you gain more friends on these networks who aren’t in lemming mode, you also then find yourself visiting 3 or 4 social networks just to keep up with everyone, the whole time refreshing your page to see if you got a tweet. O. M. G.

At one point JG had made it her personal vendetta against the IT world at her work to figure out a way to still see her tweets because she was missing so many during work hours it was driving her crazy! And Doc logged on after months, only to realize that no one is writing blogs anymore. I could have told him that if he were still talking to me.. lol.

A few thoughts.

First.. what happened to chat? What happened to AIM or Messenger or any of the other chat networks? Do they not work anymore? I mean, you could just make a chatroom and invite all the people you want to pop by and make comments at random intervals and never have to worry about being shut down for an hour because you refreshed your page over 70 times in 60 minutes to “keep up” with a conversation you were having in a platform that was never meant for extended conversations, but was just supposed to be a status update. A quick witty blurb about what you were doing. Heck, they even limit the amount of characters you get!! Talk about stunted communications!!

Do I still go pop over there now and then to see what’s up? Sure! But I also still write blogs, too.

And what’s with Skype?

The whole thing is enough to make your head spin.

I guess with social networking, like with friends, you grow out of certain sites, or the grass looks greener on a new interface. Dunno… they all have things I like and don’t like about them, but some of the sites feel more like friends than others do, so I guess there are some places this lemming just won’t follow to.

You know, while I was writing this, I got notification that someone friended me, I got a comment on my status, my blog was viewed and I got an email. Lol! Guess it’s time to make the rounds.

One down and one to go!

Concert weekends, that is.

I really liked the repertoire this time. There are so many songs I enjoyed and the chorus did a fantastic job on the music. Hopefully, I’ll be allowed to post a few songs, but the powers that be are determining what their policy is towards such a thing. Personally, I think posting a few things would be a great way to expose people to the awesome sounds this group of singers and their director can produce, but I understand that there needs to be some control over content. No one wants the pieces that weren’t ‘just right’ posted willy-nilly on the net.

Hubby and I were team Black and Blue this time. The official color for the oldest group of singers is a Royal Blue. A few years ago, we produced some awesome looking music bags for our students that were a combo of royal blue and black. Ever since then, it’s seemed to stick as the colors of choice for things related to the chorus. Hubby and I frequently wear these colors to events. Since I’m in the background, and never 100% sure where I’ll have to go, I wear my Chorus Ninja black and Hubby – since I’ve made sure he’s the ‘front man’, wears some form of the royal blue. Being the goofy people we are, we now refer to ourselves and Team Black and Blue.

I guess Chorus Ninja Black is really effective. At the end of the concert, the boss said some very nice words of thanks and then, during the applause, I saw people swivelling their heads around looking for me, even though I was sitting right there amongst them. Yes! I’m invisible now!!

However, when I showed up at the reception, I was chastised. Bing, bang, boing… three parents in a row asked me why I hadn’t stood for my applause.

BUSTED!

I usually can quietly hide away in the shadows, but apparently, I’m not going to be able to do that anymore. I’m not really sure how this makes me feel. In one way, I really appreciate the compliments and thanks, but in a much larger way, it makes me feel so strange and uncomfortable. I don’t do this job for the thanks.. though it’s nice to be thought kindly of… I do the best I can do because my name is attached to it and it’s something I care about.

I have a saying on my fridge that all my children have read and know:

” A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”     -Proverbs 22:1

I believe this. It’s not about money or fame.. it’s about doing the best you can do, because in the end, it’s who you are and what you did that you will be remembered by, not what you had.

So, one down and one to go, and I’m sure I’ll don Chorus Ninja Black again this coming weekend and Hubby will be in his awesome royal blue and we will tease each other through the radios we use to keep everything rolling and maybe, just maybe, I’ll stand this time!  Hey, it’s all about what they want, right?

Is it wrong to get annoyed with your child when he calls you to see if it’s “ok to ditch Mother’s Day to go to an Amusement Park?”

Granted, I work on Mother’s Day, so going off to do your own thing doesn’t really irk me. What does irk me is that my 4 grown children, do not plan anything together for their parents. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries.. nothing. Last year I ended up planning my own birthday breakfast and guess what??? I paid for it, and them, too! They didn’t even think to offer.

WTF? I’ve done parties and given to them and somehow, they haven’t gotten the concept of giving back.

Ok, hold up here. I have one child who on her own has gone out of her way to bring me flowers or send me cards, so this rant is unfair where she is concerned.

I guess the annoyance isn’t really that he wants to go to the amusement park, it was more the total glee he expressed when he thought he was “getting out of” a family event, and my knowledge that not one of them has given a thought to getting together at all. Mom will plan her own holidays.. PHOOEY… Mom will go out with Dad and forget the rest.

Ok, I think I’ve had my petulant rant today. I can stick my lower lip back in and put the smile back on my face. My kids love me and they tell me all the time, so who cares if a card company picked a specific day for them to show they care. They all show it in their own ways and believe me, for as cranky as I sound, they are actually all very expressive.

Sigh… ok. I’ll go and count my blessings now. I have great relationships with my kids who are all good people and are independent and thriving individuals.

What was I cranky about?? I dunno.. I think I forgot.

Love you, Heather, Frank, Sean and Liberty!!

Have you ever noticed that you don’t really notice the passage of time now and then? Being so focused on what we have to get done during the day and what is due at some fixed point in the future, sometimes makes us allow the here and now to buzz on by in anticipation of the there and then.

I’ve had my lovely, high fashioned foot wear on for a little over 2 weeks and I have a little over 2 to go, and I KNOW, already, that my gray buddy and I are not going to part ways at that point. I distinctly remember the Dr. saying, “You will be wearing this for longer, the question is just how much longer.”

How do these two statements relate? I have been forced to remember the present through discomfort and inconvenience.

Is it all something I can deal with? OF COURSE! Heck, it’s not like it’s the worst thing in the world to endure, but it is uncomfortable. I walk differently, so my other leg is dealing with the adjusted gait. My heel and calf are constantly pressing up against something, so that the skin and tissue become irritated and today, at 92 degrees, I felt like my leg was in an oven. So even though I’m getting ready for upcoming concerts and our tour, these discomforts are reminding me of now. *Now*, it’s difficult to do certain things. *Now*, I’d like to take this off and SCRATCH. *Now*, I’d like to sleep without dreaming of having a foot encased in concrete.

BUT!

Today, I went to a bridal party. Because I was clumsy, I stayed put in my chair, or chose to eat my cake standing. Normally, I would have been the person in the farthest corner scoping out the joint, but instead, I had to be kind of “in the way” and I talked to  quite a few nice people. (And managed not to burst into flames or wither away.)

When I got home, I noticed my lilac bush was in full bloom, so I got a vase and went out to collect some blooms. My dog likes to dig little ankle-breaking holes in the backyard, so I had to pick my way carefully to the bush, dodging holes and trying to keep my balance on uneven footing. Because I was so slow, I stood at my lilac bush for longer than I normally would have, smelling the beautiful fragrance and choosing the best blooms. (Yes, it is ironic that I “stopped to smell the flowers”)

On my slow trek back to the house, I saw the neighbors adorable 4 year old daughter inspecting a frog that he had found in the clover. We talked about toad houses and bugs and then his 2 year old bundle of boy came over to tell me, “Bees, Worms, Ants!” and then to race away to collect a large rock to show me. How sweet is that?

Don’t get me wrong.. I’m not enjoying the discomfort that tends  to remind me to slow down and LIVE my life some, but I think I am grateful for the reminder.

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And I got defeated!!

Last night Jenny came by for a game of Scrabble. Not just any kind of Scabble, but drunken SUPER Scabble. (because we are such rebels, you know.)

Frank actually whupped BOTH of us, but I was in third (read last) place.

This makes the second time in a row that I’ve been defeated. What gives? I must be distracted or something, because normally, I’m pretty good at this game.

Guess I’m going to have to go for a re-match.

Hey! Did anyone else notice the new editor for blog posting? Cool!

This will probably be a boring blog, I’ll warn you right now. I’m tired and stressy and my foot is bugging me and my throat is sore and WHINE, WHINE, WHINE…. I’ll take some cheese with my whine.

I have quite a bit of work to do. That annoying kind of odds-and-ends-that-need-to be-taken-care-of-but-somehow-like-to-play-hide-and-go-seek-in-your-mind-so-that-you-are-busy-doing-stuff-all-day-long,-but-you-never-really-get-done-what-you-set-out-in-the-morning-to-do, kind of work.

On the way back from an appointment, I decided to take myself to Denny’s for my breakfast. Now this is odd. I don’t usually EVER go out to eat by myself, and if I do, it’s to get something to eat in my car. But I felt like living on the edge today, so I went to a restaurant and sat by myself and had some brunch. It was definitely different to not have to focus my attention on one person and to allow my mind to pick up conversations, examine them and then move on.

There was a small boy who played peek a boo with me through the glass divider. That made me smile. The place was packed. There were some gangsta’s in the corner across from me and a large group of elderly gentlemen who were having a church meeting next to me. Flitting back and forth between the two conversations was interesting indeed!

When I finally got here, emails and questions stopped me from doing what I felt needed to be done and then it was time for rehearsal, which bring another set of questions and needs that have to be addressed right away or shortly after returning home.

Needless to say, my head is swimming and the thought of my pillow is looking really good right about now.

This weekend looks like it may be fun, but starting next week it will be nothing but concert prep, concert rehearsals, concert performances. concerts concerts concerts – GAH!!

So, I’m off to bed now and hopefully, I’ll wake up with a clear head and be rip roaring to get all my chores done. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz falling asleep in my chair…lol

g’nite

Gremlins abound!

A while ago I signed up for Verizon FIOS. April 1st to be exact.

Duh. Last time I sign  up for a service on April Fool’s Day. It’s been the gift that keeps on giving!

I was so happy when I signed up. A potential monetary savings, better connectivity and a return to the company my father had worked for his entire life. The sales person was polite and informative and the installation was set to occur a week later…… the first time……..

My house is a newer house in an older neighborhood, so most of the wiring is above ground, but all of my stuff is buried.

I had called Verizon to see if they realized this, since I hadn’t seen anyone come out to mark the utilities. They told me everything was fine and that my tech should be at my home later that week.

He showed up. He looked around. He told me he couldn’t do anything because they hadn’t buried my line yet. Duh.. didn’t I tell them that earlier in the week? Ok, ok.. I understand how this could have occurred. It’s not that big of a deal, so they scheduled a crew to come run a line under the street. Within days I saw people marking the water and electricity and so on. Yay! Progress!

Then a crew showed up and started digging. They ran the wire through my yard and began to dig in the street. It took them all day, but eventually they left and I thought all was well, because I got a phone call asking if I wanted to reschedule my installation for the next week? Sure thing!

That day the rain was pouring down. The second tech began installing the box on the exterior of the house and bringing it inside. Then I heard my name.

I went to see what the problem was and he told me that there still had been no wiring done under the street. My county had come along and halted the digging in the road because the contractor didn’t have a PERMIT!! Yikes.. ok, so what’s next? I was told that the permit should pass on Friday and that the construction company was set to come as soon as the permit passed and would finish the job, with a guarantee that all work would be done by the 19th.

Monday, the 20th, it rained, Tuesday it was glorious and today, it’s off and on rain again. I heard a rumbling outside and thought it must the the installation techs truck. Nope, the construction contractor is back again, digging on both sides of the street. Huh? I thought they were done…

I called the company and got a few people, who all assured me that everything was on schedule. Um. No. This was my third installation and yet again it seems as though the construction is not complete!!

My tech shows up and is a nice man. We chat about cats and such and he goes to check out what the hold up is. Seems they buried the conduit last week, but never pulled the wire through. Sigh. They were trying to find the other end of the conduit but were digging and since it’s been raining, the hole keeps filling with water, making it difficult to find the conduit.

Now I have a supervisor, a construction crew, an installation tech who is late for his second install and still no Fios. In fact, I found it rather ironic that the tech came in to tell me that they finally found the conduit.

6 feet under.

Just like my FIOS… dead! lol

Since the sun is beginning to peek through the clouds, maybe this is the break in the situation and I’ll indeed get my FIOS.

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Have you ever met someone or been in a situation, and been truly duped by how sweet and kind or great they are in the beginning, only to slowly find out they are not what they represented themselves to be?  Even though these guys are “cuter than expected” the real thing to remember is that they are still the “army of darkness”.

Words to remember in these troubling times.