Now Hiring

Oh, only Part time? I was looking for something closer to 40 hours a week. And mom said my teaching degree in time travel wasn't practical....tsk tsk.


Or maybe its a time machine PART of the time and the other half its a blowdryer.

engineerin'

I would like to take a moment to spotlight a creative individual who is at large in our community. If you could take a moment to look at the picture to your left. Someone has affixed a flag to a snow shovel. Now, what we have here is a multipurpose tool for all seasons. In the Summer its god bless america, but in the winter its game on for snow shoveling. Or maybe its so you can show your pride while shoveling. Whatever the reason, shovel that snow proud american.

ode to summer

Hello Summertime. I know some people are happy to see you and for me it's bitter sweet. I do love the long days, and the smell of fresh cut grass. However, I don't do well with the heat. Those of us with fair skin are somewhat frightened of the sun. We tend to hide and only venture out in necessity.

In my earliest memories of my Grandma she drove a silver dodge omni. It was a boxy little car and I remember siting in the front seat singing all the way to rolla with my Grandma. My Grandma has always taken great pride in her cars. She is in love with each and every car she owns, which is why shy buys seat covers for them.

I've never actually seen a car seat wear out. I guess it is possible. Maybe the seats need to be rotated every 3,000 sits, or maybe some people have especially abrasive rears ends.

Anywho. The seat covers my grandma chose for this car were made out of black vinyl. What sort of sick person makes seat covers out of vinyl?! In the summer the seats would heat up to the temperature of molten lava. My little legs would melt into the vinyl and would sizzle. She would put a towel down to protect my legs but it was too late.

I have seen various versions of the seat cover phenomenon. Like the stretched t shirt over the bucket seat. Honestly I think its weird to dress your pets like people- but even WEIRDER to dress up your car in clothes. Did you know barbie clothes fit bananas? and Did you know your dads shirt fits the escort? Yeah, go figure.
My Step dad covers all seats with towels. This is the seat covers ugly cousin, the seat towel. What does a towel have to do to become a seat towel? Is it so cheap and rough that is banned from the house to spend all eternity in the car? Or possibly it is an upgrade. "Towel, you have served our people well. No longer will you have to touch naked people. You will now live a life of luxury in the Buick. Go in peace"

So what happens when you go to sell your car? DO you do a little unveiling of the seats? Like, hey look, I've managed to keep these seats in MINT condition all this time. Never have I heard someone say," ya know. I wasn't gonna buy this omni but those seats have changed my mind."

I wouldn't wish this process on anyone. Its a terrible feeling to be homeless. I am a creature with out habitat. My ecosystem has been removed and I am restless. There has been alot of time spent in my car. Not just driving the extended commute, but also taking naps and eating. Where do YOU eat your drive through? At home? At work? And when you have about 2 hours to kill, what do YOU do?

They are now at work rebuilding the house. It seems like eternity since I lived there. What was at first estimated to be a month long rebuild has now turned into 2 months. There were a few setbacks involving insurance and contractors. There was a 2 week stalemate where no work was done at all. However with that behind us I am hoping that we will pick up speed and will get done ahead of schedule.

I went to check progress and they are hanging drywall. It looks like all of the ceiling has been hung and they are working on the walls. Next will be to mud and tape and then to blow insulation in the attic. I asked them to move a few light fixtures and they were able to do that quite easily since there were just bare rafters above.

When I go to check on the I am there for just minutes. The place that I love and I don't like to be there. Everything has been packed up and moved out to a storage unit in Jefferson City. It has proved to be quite an inconvenience. The weather has turned cold and we have no warm clothes. I don't have the charger for my camera, No heels for fancy outings, No spare car keys, and the list goes on.

Mike has moved over to his parents house. He doesn't sleep well anyway, let alone on an air mattress. His parents still live in the house he grew up in and he feels safe there. He now has access to all of the sports channels and his mom packs his lunch for him everyday in a superman lunch box. It's a comforting feeling to be with your mom and dad- I don't blame him. I am with my mom and my fur children and that seems to work for me. I miss Mike terribly. We schedule dates to see each other. We go out together more now than we ever have. But the dates are short and when they end we leave to go to separate houses. And every time I cry. He is my best friend and I miss him.

Mike's boss layed him off work. This was additional stress we definitely didn't need. When I called my friend Carrie she said, "what kind of shit storm are you in?" However, after a couple days of despair, his boss decided to come to his senses and keep Mike on staff.

I could care less about Halloween this year. I had bought new Halloween decorations at the end of the season last year. I'm sure they didn't survive the flooding. There will be no Halloween lights, no candy bowls, no carved pumpkins, and no trick-or-treaters. We never had that many trick-or-treaters, but those 2 or 3 made a killing on candy.

I find the fall weather comforting. Fall marks a passing of time and that is exactly what I'm looking for. The changing leaves are beautiful. I've been driving the back roads to my moms house at night just to see the trees. It's just more time to spend in the car.

A glimmer of hope

Act II

I took the week off work. It looks like I need to be ready to battle and I can't do it with all of the stuff happening at work. They pile too much of their stress on me, usually I can deal with it but I was close to breaking at this point.

The rest of Sunday was a blur. We went to my Mom's house and I took a super hot shower. I smelled like musty clothes and I was still partially frozen. We decided we would live at My parents house in their basement. They have an extra bedroom and bathroom next to their family room. They are also a pet friendly space. I was not about to leave my fur babies.

No one knew quite where to sleep. I took the full size bed, Mike the recliner, Gus next to me and Wally inside the cabinet. This configuration changed several times in the night, and I don't think anyone slept much.

Monday was a new day. Mike and I met with the claims adjuster around 1. I got there first and the Aerodry people were already hard at work. They had cut out the carpet in the back living room, pulled out the whole ceiling, and piled all of the furniture in a heap. They had big blowers everywhere and the whole sight caught me really off guard. It was no longer my house.

I cried. Tears and tears. Mike and the adjuster soon came. We went room to room and pointed out the damage. It wasn't any better the morning after. Emotions were still really raw. Or at least mine were. It mad me sick at my stomach and frankly just seeing all of my stuff ruined made me angry all over again. I'm not the best at expressing my emotions, so I think it came out through smart ass comments.

Towards the end my Insurance agent came and introduced herself. The whole meeting boiled down to that my insurance will cover everything. What a relief, huh? Since we were in the middle of putting a roof on, we would have to continue the roof out of our pocket. We figured that was the case, and this point it was a small price to pay. My adjuster said that they would go after the roofer and get their money from him.

Called my mom and I went to Wal-mart. I bought the nicest air mattress they had to offer. Now we can all sleep together like one big refugee family.

Next I called Biggins. Told him we needed a roof and we needed it pronto. He called me back and said, "no problem". Again, what a relief, huh?

I don't even remember the rest of Monday. Tuesday, more of the same. Go to the house and Aerodry had done more work. Shannon and the roofers were hard at work. They were able to use the remaining supplies for work that day. They finished all of the sheeting and tar papered everything. They accomplished more in one day than the other roofer did in a whole week. Went to the Blue Beagle for a little relaxation. Back to moms house, ate Katie's home made pasta salad, and then to bed.

Wednesday I woke up early to meet Biggins at Lowe's at 7:15 AM. I had been awake since 4 so this wasn't a big deal. Lanny met me up there. He is always excited for a trip to Lowe's. It's not that I don't like Lowe's, but it always seems to cost me a fortune every time I go. This trip was not a cheap one, but it included my shingles. 30 year architectural baby!

Left from Lowe's went to Jen's for a quick bathroom visit. (thanks jen) Went to my house and everything was packed in boxes. Its like being evicted and no one told you. I knew there would be packing, I knew things had to be moved, It just caught me off guard to see it. It's unnerving to think that strangers went through your stuff while you weren't there.

It's all been very chaotic. Most of it is a whirlwind of meetings with adjusters, roofers, contractors, and being available for questions. My phone has rang non-stop and I'm wore out. Looks like I will be the proud owner of new ceilings, new flooring in every room, new walls, new paint, and some new furniture. Some of the stuff I was itching to replace anyway. Looks like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This is just the hard way to go about it. Aerodry is estimating about a month before I can live in my house again. I know we will survive a month but it seems like forever.

I'm really sad that I won't be able to put up my Halloween decorations. Honestly, I don't even know if my Halloween and Christmas stuff even survived the basement flooding.

Its raining men

Act I

My roof was in poor shape. Occasionally I had a trickle of water in the window trim in the front living room. I talked to my step dad about patching it and he recommended a whole new roof. When we bought the house the inspector warned us that the roof only had a few years left in it. It was already double layered and it would need to be stripped and started over.

My parents graciously offered to buy us a new roof as a gift. This gift would account for a years worth of presents for us and we were ok with that. They would take care of the whole sh-bang. My step dad complied bids from all the roofers he could find. When it was all said and done he decided on a roofer by the name of Gatten. His bid was right in the middle of all of them and he seemed knowledgeable.

Thursday, my step dad met with him and gave him a check. The check was a deposit and would go toward supplies. The following morning there were 2 guys on my roof striping shingles off. I was really excited to see them so soon. They worked for maybe 2 hours and left. Next day same thing. Sunday, no work. Monday through Friday same story. Just a couple hours of work a day. They had stripped off all of the shingles and almost all of the sheeting. They had replaced SOME of the sheeting but it was mostly just open roof. Just rafters.

Saturday it was REALLY starting to get cloudy. My neighbor came over and expressed concern of the upcoming storm. I agreed and called my family and told them to contact the roofer. The roofer assured us that the roof was adequately covered. My family drove from St. James to Rolla to double check, and there was absolutely NO covering up there what so-ever. They placed a second phone call and he said he was on his way over to put more plastic on it.

Mike and I had previous engagements. I went with Jennifer over to a sick friends house and Mike and his buddies went out to a friends for a bonfire. Then- it started to rain. And rain. I was certain that everything was dry and ok.

I got back home around midnight. Jennifer came inside with me. When I opened the door I was hit with a wall of water. Every room got worse. Water was pouring in. Not dripping, pouring. I'm not sure if hysterical is the right word. But let me just say that I was frantic. I started calling everyone I knew. The first person I got ahold of was my brother in law, Bob. He was first on the scene.

I called my parents house over and over until someone answered. Mom said they would call the roofer and grab as many tarps as they could find. Next person to arrive was Allen. And the the roofer. They scaled up on to the roof in the middle of the storm and layed tarps out. It was pouring and the lightening flashed. My parents soon followed. I grabbed anything I could get ahold of that would hold water. Trashcans, totes, bowls, buckets, and all of my towels and blanket were sprawled out. We were still taking on alot of water and there was no end in sight. Jennifer kept calling Mike and all the guys out at the bonfire, still no answer.

The time is all a blur, but soon Mike showed up. He knew exactly what was going on when he pulled up. He jumped out of his truck at a dead run. He made a bee line toward the roofer and I started yelling, " Don't put your hands on him, Don't touch him!!!" Mikes eyes were glazed over with rage and I wasn't completely sure if I could snap him out of it before he broke the roofer in half. Other friends flew over and before long there was a whole army of friends and family to lay a patchwork of assorted tarps on our roof. However, the damage was done.

Those of use on the inside ran from tote to tote dumping water and placing towels. We unplugged everything we could and pulled all the furniture away from the wall and water. Water was pouring out of the fuse box, so there was no way I could just flip the breaker. We flipped the bed up on its side to avoid more water and started moving the TVs. Jennifer took down the shower curtain and threw it over Mikes big screen. She also grabbed my camera and took pictures of the occurring damage while I called the 1 800 number for my insurance.

Meanwhile, outside the roofer was getting a vicious butt chewing. Mike gave him an hour long verbal beating. I didn't get to hear the whole thing, but what I did hear was wonderful. What flowed out was eloquent and well worded. Mike never raised his voice and never sweared, but he make that guy feel completely worthless and the guy confessed that he didn't have insurance.

By the time everyone cleared out it was somewhere around 4 am. Everyone was exhausted and soaked to the core. Mike and I decided to stay the night at the house in the basement. Water was just starting to seep into the ceiling in the guest bedroom. We figured we could make it until morning and no one was about to go to sleep anyway. After I put on dry clothes and finally un-thawed, I slept for maybe 2 hours. I woke up and I just knew everything would be a dream.

Gus and I sloshed through the basement and went upstairs. The ceiling in the back living room had completely fallen down and was laying in pieces. It had stopped raining at that point but it was still dripping in. My insulation was so soaked it was still draining out. All of the light fixture were full of water and I was scared to turn them on. The ceiling hadn't fallen down in the front living room and I sat there with my animals in complete dis belief. I'm not sure who was more upset, me or them. Not knowing what else to do I grabbed the phone book and started dialing. I called my insurance agent at home. No answer. Left a message for her at her office. Looked up "water damage" in the yellow pages and I came across 2 businesses.

I called the first one and I was not impressed. He spoke rather frankly and I wasn't in the mood. The next number I dialed was for AeroDry. I transferred myself to their emergency number and they were so nice to me. Turns out that they work for American Family and they provide the exact services that I was so desperately needing. He said they would load up and be on the way.

Jennifer and Thom brought over breakfast from bread company. Katie and Bob came shortly after and took our dirty laundry. Mikes dad came some time in there too. AeroDry came around 1:30 with guns a-blazin'. They were such a welcome sight. After a brief walk thought they went to work. By the time my mom arrived around 2:30 they had the back living room all picked up. Mike and I grabbed what supplies we would need for a few days and headed out. It had been an exhausting night and we needed to leave.

I will continue this story in act II

Just another night

My cat, Wally, would not get off the counter. He was going nuts. I would yell at him and set him down and He would jump right back up there and run back and forth. I listened a little closer and I could hear a scratching noise. Wally was trying to tell me that the whole time. Mike and I decided it was a bug or a mouse in our exhaust above the stove. We turned on the fan and could hear it smacking the object, satisfied that we had killed whatever it was we went to bed.

The next morning I slid open the screen to expose the exhaust fan. I slid it really slow, expecting a mouse to jump out at me. Nothing fell out and I couldn't see anything up there. I left it open. If it was a mouse or bug it had to come out so I could kill it and so it wouldn't decompose and smell like death. I left Wally inside that whole day as an assassin.

I know a lot of people don't care for cats and I'm not sure why. They are really self sufficient and entertain themselves. I rarely have to change the litter box- he would rather go outside. He is very loving and I love his little white feet.

I adopted Wally from my former landlord. He was turning into a nuisance at her home, however if I was wally, I would have slit her throat with my tiny claws. She had a huge Labrador that would pick up the cat by his head and carry him around. Later the cat would retaliate and pee on the dogs bed. They took him to the vet and had him fixed, or broken, depending on how you look at it. Wally still would destroy things. So she took him to the pound. Afterwards she came to my house crying and I caved in and told her to rescue him and I adopted him.

He immediately took to clawing the stuffin's out of my furniture especially the underside of my bed. He would chew the screens and claw the arm of my beautiful new couch. So I took him back to the vet and had him de-clawed. They shaved his little white feet and he looked so funny. Vet said not to let him jump around because it would crack the surgical glue and he would bleed. He was jumping and running the second I brought him home. He never slowed down one bit.

It's amazing how a cat can still destroy things without claws. One day he slipped outside and I was terrified that he wouldn't come home. But after about an hour he was yelling at the backdoor. I let him outside every night after that and he is waiting for food first thing in the morning. He lays on the back of the couch all day and he lets me pet his white paws. In the winter he sleeps on my cold feet. Sometimes he kills little mice and rabbits and leaves them on my back porch as presents. Love my little meow meow kitty.

I hear scratching again, this time in the living room. I tell Mike to turn down the TV and he doesn't hear it. "I really hear something", I say. He says, "Where does it sound like its coming from?" I tilt down the halogen lamp above my head. Mike very calmly says, "ok, stop. Set the lamp back up and get off the couch." I get up and I am still very confused. I knew it was a tarantula. I just knew it. Mike says, "Ok now I'm gonna need your help because there is a bat in the lamp. I saw it's face looking at me when you tilted the lamp." There was absolutely no way I was going to help in any bat removal. I put my sandals on to go get the neighbors. Mike assured me I was to play a small role in the bat process. I got a small blanket out of the closet and he threw it over the lamp. I unplugged the lamp and opened the door. He walked the lamp outside and I closed the door. Gus and I watched as the lamp fell over and the bat rolled out in the yard. It broke the lamp and I think knocked the bat slightly retarded. The bat was gone in about 20 minutes and I eventually let Mike back in the house.

The bat had snuck in through the exhaust fan. It was a bat not a mouse or bug. When we had turned on the fan to kill it we must have been beating his little pointy ears over and over and over. I realized the dust bunnies on the floor probably came from the bat flailing around in the ceiling fan. I also realized that Wally was not the trained killer I thought he was. He's a lover not a fighter.