Disturbed

I heard a news story this morning about a baby that was killed by the family albino boa constrictor. It seems along with being suffocated, the poor child was also bitten in the head.

So I ask you... What is the lure of keeping these exotic animals as pets? Please tell me what would cause someone to want to have a snake that can crush you (or your child) while you sleep - or toxic spiders, scorpions, etc. With High Def animal planet and the Science Channel, are we not close enough???

Tropical fish aside, wild animals are meant to be in the wild. Did we learn nothing from the freaked out chimp that ripped that woman's face off?

*sigh*

What A Year

It has been an insane year of working three jobs... One part time job for the court doing some legal secretary work to help put food on the table, another pseudo part time job doing web work, and then my own webdesign business work. Meanwhile I continually received calls from folks in Fayetteville that needed work done and I'm not there to do it.

Florida is great, but it's expensive. If you don't have the money to live here, living here can be quite frustrating. They don't pay what your worth and the housing market is horrible - Paying 1,000 a month in rent for a house that would be going for 700-800 in Fayetteville is insane.

So what's a girl to do? Head back to Fayetteville... I'm putting a bunch of stuff in storage and moving the things that I can't live without and heading to where I can actually survive (and go to School).

I'm not a huge fan of Fayetteville, but sometimes you just have to go where the money is. I'm already planning my next trip back here. (And it includes Disney).

Once again, packing... once again moving... (This time sans "professionals". At this point I'm a pro mover anyway!)

Favorite Videos

These are HYSTERICAL. I had them listed here on the blog at one point but somehow they disappeared... I'm not sure how, but I've lost various posts from the blog. Weird... But anyway, here they area again, a moment of zen:

Ooh Girl – An Honest RNB Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc8tPTVBRSc&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsirenkimmie%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded

The First Semester of Spanish Spanish Love Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsirenkimmie%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded

Feeling the Economic Crunch

The one good thing about living in a military town was that the military really kept the economy going. You don't seem to feel the crunch as much (Sure your gas prices are still going to be the same as everyone, but the local economy seems to be humming along so long as a good number of soldiers and their families are still in the area).

With this move I've heard more than one time "it's a horrible time to be moving to Florida" and "no one is hiring." Despite my initial comparisons of the economies in both states being equal on paper, when you hit reality - that's another story.

You hear about inflation, high gas prices, foreclosures, etc. Meanwhile employers think it's acceptable to pay in kibble (While they continue to charge the same or more for their services, turning their own nifty little profit) - Don't get me started on the amounts of money executives are raking in at Fortune 500 companies.

Just a bit of venting...

Moving STINKS - This ones long but worth the read.

We all know that moving stinks. I've done it enough in my life to know and I was NOT looking forward to it. So I figured that hiring a mover was a good idea. They're pros, they know how to pack things so they wont break, they'll pack my furniture so it will be safe from any extreme damage... I mean you'd think with the high price of moving that this was a good idea right?

So I did my research, I checked BBB and I went through a "broker" who found a mover for me at a decent price, and was ensured that all movers held the necessary licenses and such. All of the reviews for this company were glowing so I had no reason to believe that it would be anything but 100% pro.

The movers were scheduled to show up Friday August 1st. in the morning. I was told that they would call me 24/48 hours before they arrived. Being a bit anxious I called closer to the 48 hour mark than 24. I was told they'd be there Friday morning to pack and Saturday they'd load and take all my stuff to Florida. I'd meet them in Florida on Wednesday as planned.

Thursday evening I get a call letting me know that the movers were running behind. they'll be there on Saturday to load AND pack. I figure they know what they're doing so OK...

Saturday morning I'm waiting for the movers to show up (thinking they'll be there by 9 a.m.) At 10:30 I call only to find out that they're in South Carolina unloading. The person they moved before me had 4,000 pounds more than expected so it's taking longer. They'll be to my place by 4 PM. 5:00 comes and I get another call. It's the driver. Would it be okay for them to show up at 8:00 and pack through the night. (See I had planned on leaving Sunday morning to drive down to Florida so they were attempting to work within this schedule). I told them no... I wasn't going to sit up all night with them while I needed to get sleep to make the long drive. So I postponed my own plans and decided to leave Monday. I explained that they needed to be at my house by 6:00 AM Sunday and needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

I woke up at 5:00AM in anticipation that the movers would be there. I called them at 9:30AM and they were at Lowe's getting boxes. Uh huh... They'll be to me in 45 minutes.

I had already packed as much as I could with my own boxes. I also started to just leave things behind because I was just tired and wanted to get out of there. they arrived at around 10:30 a.m. and began packing. They were grateful that I hadn't packed all my sheets and blankets, because this would be great for packing breakable items - It seems Lowe's didn't have the large dish barrels, any wardrobes or larger boxes. So they had small and medium boxes to work with (remember this because it comes into play later). They didn't have any mattress covers, no mirror boxes... you get the idea.

The movers, all three of them, were from Bosnia (all related), and the only reason I bring up birth origin would be that one of them, a young family member (14?) didn't speak a whole lot of English - to include writing things on boxes that left me scratching my head as to what could possibly be inside -- never mind I don't believe was old enough to be on the payroll of the moving company. They began packing and I let them do their job, believing they were experts and would pack things safely and securely.

Now comes the part where the boxes tie in. On my estimate I had a list of what boxes I would need. I read this off to the lady at the moving company and she was to provide this list to the driver/packers. Unfortunately since they came in on Sunday morning and nothing was open early they went to Lowe's and could only get what was available. So there should have been six wardrobe boxes, I believe 7 dish barrels, some mirror boxes, etc. After they finished packing I was informed that they had packed ten more boxes than was estimated. Being that they charge, I believe he said $50.00 per box to pack (and for materials) I was a little freaked out - do the math here folks. Then as I thought about it over night I got on the phone right away with the moving company. Considering my estimate included 6 wardrobe boxes - which would equate to about 3 of the small boxes, that would be about 18 boxes alone. So I informed that I wouldn't be paying ANY overage on the boxes considering it wasn't my fault they didn't have the proper sized boxes. Anyway on to it...

They finished around 8:30PM on Sunday and as they were getting ready to pull out they realized that they had left all of their electronics plugged into the outlets causing the battery to die. Apparently this isn't the first time this happened because the driver indicated they "do this all the time". Once their truck was jumped they were on their way.

Now the delivery. After rushing around Wednesday morning to get a certified check (because I don't carry that much money on me, and they don't take debit or personal check), to be home by 1PM when they said they'd be there, I get a call... "Do you think we can come later because it's really hot" - Mind you it was cooler in Florida than it was in North Carolina when they loaded the stuff. I said "OK" and they said they'd be there at 5PM - at least this way I wouldn't have to buy them lunch right? Because yes, it's protocol that you buy lunch for your movers. Plus it's just nice to do because they work so hard. This also gave me time to do some other things - so I wasn't too miffed by this.

But, you guessed it. 5:30PM rolls around and I call to find out where they are. "Kim, do you mind of we do this tomorrow morning?" At this point, while frustrated I was actually already expecting this to happen - They expressed their complete joy about coming down to Florida so it was my guess that they had been at the beach all day and were just too tired and/or were looking to party. Okay so 9AM was the newly scheduled delivery, and they promised I wouldn't be charged more because of the extra day. (UH yeah I swear they said that!!!)

9AM rolls around... No go... 10AM rolls around... I call... "Kim I'm sorry we're late. Our truck is over heating and we had to take it to get some antifreeze added" I didn't mention how antifreeze is to avoid FREEZING - not overheating, but I decided not to get into semantics. I wanted my stuff!!! They promised to be there in a half hour. They arrived after noon - and I had already had my lunch and had decided, I'll be damned if I'm buying them anything to eat OR giving a tip. (Because yes it is also customary to give a tip).

They began unloading things right away and then took a break within the hour. Back to work they went and around 1PM the driver asks me if there are any restaurants that deliver, preferably Chinese. I told him, being new to the area that I didn't know of anything. Then he asked if anything was in walking distance. I told him there really wasn't and the best I could do would be to find a pizza place. At first he balked about Pizza (I'm sure they get this often in the business but hey, it's easiest for folks to do in the middle of a move). I explained that I had already eaten at noon - so I gave him the number, he ordered what he wanted and they paid for it themselves.

After they completed bringing everything into the house I had to ask them to put the mirror on the dresser. They didn't put the spare bed together (I had already put my own bed together) and they didn't put the desk back together. They had me sign the sheets that said I received everything and wanted me to sign a sheet that said nothing was damaged. I asked "How do I know if anything is damaged when everything is still packed". "Well you just contact the company" they said. Instead I wrote "No VISABLE damage" and signed my name.

Finally, after they had already left and I began unpacking my stuff I found box after box that was packed half full. Clearly fragile items wrapped in nothing but a pillow case at the bottom of a box. Fragile wine glasses on the very bottom of a box with a pillow over the top of them and then items packed on top of that (heavier than the very fragile wine glasses). So far one hurricane lamp is shattered and one tall glass candle lamp in shards. Not to mention a large 1/4 inch by 4 inch scratch across my priceless hutch (the one thing I told them they needed to be extra mindful of) and they TAPED the doors shut on the pine wardrobe - when the tape was removed, wood came with it... (Pine is very soft people!!!) They put my computer monitor in a box with no padding... same with my printer... but yet left other things un-boxed. (cuz hey lets put the monitor in the box when we get paid a lot per box right??)

Needless to say I've taken pictures of the half filled boxes, the damaged items and I've made a complaint to the broker. They're in the process of seeing about getting me some compensation. Uhhh Yeah.... You better!!!! If I'm not satisfied I'll be naming names here people!!!!

Lesson - Pack your own items. Get your own large U-Haul and hire day laborers to pack your stuff. You'll get better quality because you'll pack your stuff with the tender care it deserves, and you can ask the labor company to send you folks that have experience in moving. You'll end up spending less and a hell of a lot less frustration!!! BIG LESSON LEARNED!!!!

It was Inevitable...

I'm constantly dropping my phone. Aside from being totally clutzy and letting it fall from my hands, it's fallen out of my purse and out of my pockets on more than one occasion. There have also been two attempts at having it wind up in the toilet as it fell out of my pocket while pulling up my pants...

The day before yesterday it happened. Thankfully the potty was already emptied and the water fresh, but either way - moisture and phones do not mix. I was surprised at first to see that it was still working. I quickly dried the phone off in hopes to avoid any major damage. I then noticed the water seeping in the LCD screen and started to take it apart as much as I could with no tools handy (I am in the middle of a move after all). But it totally died. The sad part is, the phone isn't even a year old. And we all know how expensive phones are when you're not in the bargaining position of being able to renew your contract and get a new phone.

The good news is. I let it sit under a fan all night and by morning it was semi working. I only had to remove the battery and sim card one time to reboot it before it was back to normal. THANK GOODNESS!!!!

Okay stopping now...

After you watch this of course:

And Then Sometimes It's So Easy

Why can't it always be like this?? Word of mouth brought me someone that wanted a one-page brochure style website. I met with the potential client, who had no real design suggestions, other than they wanted something simple and affordable. I contracted with them, they give me half up-front, and within two days I have a mock up of a website to propose. They love it. A day later I have it completed and they are totally happy. The next day they send me final payment. Done... Tah Dahhh... Why can't it ALWAYS be this easy???

http://www.commercialsweeping.net

Seriously?

This is what one teen thought was appropriate attire for her high school prom. Worse, her parents paid to have the "gown" custom made. (The train seems to encompass the majority of the fabric used!!!) Needless to say she was not allowed to enter the event. Apparently she was also taken away in handcuffs. (It seems she got in an serious "argument" with the powers that be and then local police). Essh... I fear for our future...

How to GET PAID. I'm asking!

Folks out there working the daily grind of 9-5 have fantasies about working for themselves and not having to answer to "Da man". I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to have good feelings about cubicles and supervisors. Mostly because 1) I work more hours for myself than I ever did working for someone else and 2) People seem to think it's okay to pay me on their own schedules. The corporate world folks get their checks handed to them every Friday without fail and don't have to waste hours upon hours of their lives chasing down clients who put you on there "to be paid last" list.

So what's a gal to do? Institute late fees you say? Well what happens when you do exactly that and you STILL don't get paid?

And the way I look at it... If you dont' have the money to hire a web-designer then you simply wait until you do. Why hire someone, have them do the work and then make them chase you around for two or three months!?! It makes NO sense! And you bet your tookus if I owed THEM money they'd have bill collectors buggin' in the first thirty days!!! *sigh*

I'm off to send out SECOND late notices (which follows the two reminder notices I sent to begin with) with SECOND late fee charges. What else can I do???

Because EVERY BIT Helps!

This is a nifty site for locating cheap gas throughout America. I admit that I suck and go to the station that is on the way to where I'm going. But I'm paying attention now!

When buying gas, make sure you only buy gas at the cheapest stations, which forces higher priced stations to lower their prices to compete! With your help, we can fight high gas prices.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/

And some quick tips:

1	Avoid High Speeds	As your speed increases, your aerodynamic drag increases in an exponential fashion. Driving 62 mph (100 km/h) vs 75 mph (120 km/h) will reduce fuel consumption by about 15%.
2	Do Not Accelerate or Brake Hard	By anticipating the traffic and applying slow steady acceleration and braking, fuel economy may increase by as much as 20%.
3	Keep Tires Properly Inflated	Keep tire air pressure at the level recommended by your vehicle manufacturer. A single tire under inflated by 2 PSI, increases fuel consumption by 1%.
4	Use A/C Sparingly	When the air conditioner is on it puts extra load on the engine forcing more fuel to be used (by about 20%). The defrost position on most vehicles also uses the air conditioner. THOUGH THIS WAS DISPROVED ON MYTHBUSTERS - I actually read that it depends on the car - newer cars it isn't as big a factor. It's suggested that you try it out, run your car with the air on and see what your gas mileage is and then run it without and see...
5	Keep Windows Closed	Windows open, especially at highway speeds, increase drag and result in decreased fuel economy of up to 10%.
6	Service Vehicle Regularly	Proper maintenance avoids poor fuel economy related to dirty air filters, old spark plugs or low fluid levels.
7	Use Cruise Control	Maintaining a constant speed over long distances often saves gas.
8	Avoid Heavy Loads	Remove the sand bags from your trunk in the spring and pack lightly for long trips.
9	Avoid Long Idles	If you anticipate being stopped for more than 1 minute, shut off the car. Restarting the car uses less fuel than letting it idle for this time.
10	Purchase a Fuel Efficient Vehicle	When buying a new vehicle examine the vehicle's rated fuel efficiency. Usually choosing a small vehicle with a manual transmission will provide you with great fuel economy.

A few other suggestions that I had been forwarded to me by my step dad:

Pump Gas early in the morning (before temperatures rise) - The warmer the gas the more it expands.

Pump gas on the slower setting - more air is created when you pump it on the high setting which causes more evaporation and more "air" (or something scientific like that)

Splenda is NOT Natural!

"Splenda comes from sugar so it taste like sugar." Bull!

First, after having grown up with a diabetic grandmother and having tasted pure saccharine at a young age (Because hey, it's a sugar supplement and being a kid why WOULDN'T you try something sweet.) Sips of Tab and other equally nasty tasting sugar-free soda's available at Grandma's helped to hone my tastebuds and their sensitivity to any kind of sugar substitute. When my mom was going through her "no carbs" phase she continually tried to get me to taste various things that contained Splenda. "Taste this. It doesn't taste fake!" I'd try it, make a face and say "Ack!" Even when attempting to pass something off without telling me I instantly recognized the fake sugar taste - all of which remind me of those saccharine tablets from my youth. Nothing with fake sugar EVER tastes like sugar. Period. I don't care what anyone says.

Finally, Splenda is NOT natural! While it might originally "come from sugar", it's final product is created in a lab and is in the category of "artificial sweetener". Its clinical name is sucralose. Concerns have been raised about the effect of sucralose on the thymus, an organ that is important to the immune system. Chronic consumption may lead to thymus shrinkage or other side-effects. The sucralose molecule is an organochloride (or chlorocarbon). Since some organochlorides are known to cause adverse health effects in extremely small concentrations, critics of sucralose feel the extra-high burden of proof is warranted.

Now am I against Splenda in general? No. If your diabetic or need to lose weight and must use a sugar substitute, this is a wonderful alternative to saccharine. But what bugs me most is their commercial campaign that leads the public to believe Splenda is sugar. Or that it's all natural because part of it is derived from sugar. There were even lawsuits about this across the world. (An undisclosed settlement out of court in America-of course. A French court made Splenda change their marketing tag lines.)

Be aware of what you're putting into your body! Don't trust a company who actually makes a profit off of your purchase!

Yeah I felt like bitching today! Maybe it was just because I woke up to trash all over the front lawn. Animals got into it and fire ants were involved. So there's me running around in my robe trying to pick it all up in time for the trash man. Fabulous! Two ant bites on notwithstanding. Sure it's funny when you're not the one carrying around a tube of Benedryl cream! Sheese....

Oil Change = Boredom

So I'm sitting (actually standing) here at waiting for the oil to be changed on my car. The last time I had an oil change it was a huge fiasco. It took like 3 hours. (They didn't have the proper size socket to get the filter casing open, then couldn't figure out how to put it all together. Then after it WAS together, it was together wrong causing my check engine light to come on as I pulled away). These folks gauranteed me that it wouldn't take three hours. Here's hoping!!! At least these folks are giving me a discount because I've brought my own filter (Most folks don't have them in stock). The last place should have paid ME for the education I gave them on how to change the oil on a Mini Cooper (since I got online in this same type of fashion and drug them to the computer terminal so they could look at the instructions that I had found online). This time I was wize. I left the instructions already printed on the front seat next to to the oil filter. Um hmmm.

Let it be noted I started blogging this at 3:45. I'll update if it gets ridiculous. For now I'm going to go "watch" through the little window they provide. At least I was the first in line here, so hopefully it actually WILL be a quick dealio. Wish me luck!!!

Goodbyes...Memories...Something Like That.

This evening my Mom and I went through my Nana's jewelery box. Nana loved jewels. Some of her favorites were worn often and as we pulled each item out of the curio I could picture her wearing them. As we gazed upon the various rings, necklaces, and earrings I envisioned them on her hands, neck and ears. It was a very odd feeling. A reminder that she's gone but something for us to hold on to as a memory of her. Coming "home" and her not being here is equally strange. Living away I could pretend that she (and Gramps) were still here alive and well. But when I'm home and they're not here it's painfully clear that they're gone. I miss them a lot! I know it's all a part of life, but we still try to make ourselves believe that we, along with our parents, grandparents, siblings, have forever on this planet. And we don't. One thing I can say is they knew I loved them. I told them frequently. I'm so thankful for that. And I'm so glad that I was lucky enough that my grandparents all lived long enough for me to know them long into my adult life. But I still miss them!

House Hunting Sucks

House hunting stinks. What's worse is house hunting when you have a finite time in which to find a suitable home. After a day of stressful traveling... You know how this goes... lay over in Atlanta which forces you to run from one end of the airport to the other so you can get your connection on time - then landing in Tampa only to find that a previous storm that caused planes to delay and/or circle were now taking up all of the gates. To conserve fuel the pilot requested that vents be open and window shades closed while the plane was turned off to conserve fuel. This is akin to hoping that your a/c keeps your car cool for a half hour in the blazing hot summer sun. I was feeling a bit trapped to begin with, shutting the windows only made this worse. And while I usually don't get motion sick, when I'm "warm" while in motion I get quite queasy. Enter the stop and start circular taxiing that felt as if it was being done just for fun. Meanwhile mom was waiting for me as she drove around the airport multiple times - we had planned to look at two houses on the way home from the airport (being that they're on the way and all) and we had folks waiting for us.

The first house was on a lake, which is pretty darn cool, but it was an older home and they were asking way too much for it. The second was in what I would consider a boating community. I don't have, nor do I ever intend on having a boat, but it was still a neat area. The only problem with this home is that the property manager lives right across the street. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not planning on having any big orgies or anything, but I just don't like the idea that I'm being "watched" you know? So two no goes right off the bat.

Today was a wonderful set of events. First mom decided to accidentally take two of her heart pills. We called her doc and they said that she should be okay but that we need to monitor her heart rate to make sure it doesn't go too low. (Meanwhile we're supposed to be meeting a real estate agent to take us to some houses in New Port Richey - Mom calls and says we're "running late because she accidentally took too may pills". We're pretty sure this gave a wonderful first impression!) After ensuring that it was okay for mom to be out and about (and taking her portable blood pressure cuff with us) we head on over.

Now, my initial impression that the housing market being horrible, and the high cost of homes down here in Florida would allow me a lot more rentals to choose from (Folks who can't afford their homes getting into cheaper homes and renting out the ones they can't afford kind of thing - or folks forced to rent out their homes because no one can get a damned loan to buy their homes). Unfortunately the only ones making any money off this horrible market are the jerks that already have too much money than any one person should and are buying up all the homes dirt cheap and banking in a few years, when/if the market improves, they'll be making a huge profit.

Out of the, oh, say 20 houses on my list, there were only 5 that had not already rented. Again, folks are having a hard time getting loans so there are a lot more renters out there. To say that I was frustrated would be an understatement. Add to this the fact that 4 out of the 5 houses were quite Stepford, and at least two of them I felt as if I could stick my hand out the bathroom window and have my neighbor pass me some toilet paper. Another had neighbors in an almost cul-du-sac back yard as if we'd all want to hang out and bar-b-que together. The third was a bit better but that the back yard was right on a main road. Trees attempted to obscure the view but did little to block the sound. Both front and back yards were almost non-existent.

So, wouldn't it figure that the first house I looked at today wound up being the one I like the most. (But that didn't stop us from driving through every neighborhood from New Port Richey to Clearwater to look around). After a tiring day I have chosen my next residence... I'll give a description:

A nice large yard - with a huge patch of trees as neighbors to the rear, a beautiful large grapefruit tree in the center of the backyard and a weird looking wooden jungle gym thing in the right/center that is just BEGGING me to break my but on. The back is all fenced in with chain link fence which i usually don't like but I realized that what I usually don't like about chain link is it's sort of cold industrial feeling and this then tends to be a focal point in a yard. But because of the large number of trees taking most of the focus, the fence is actually pretty nifty. The front yard has two very large oak trees and a medium sized pineapple palm all of which sheds quite a bit of shade on the home (which should greatly assist in the a/c bills). The neighbors are a decent distance away on either side. The place has all new carpet which is cool, but the kitchen has those dark wood cabinets with the lines in them - kind of reminding of paneling with those large black door pulls on them. You know, quiet 70s, so I'm feeling very retro at this point. The kitchen does have wood laminate flooring which is actually very pretty. And what I found really cool? There is a hand mixer hanging on the wall - like some sort of "charging hand mixer thing". Now it's a rare occasion that I USE a hand mixer, but it's still neat! (Again very retro). There are no walk in closets so it's a good thing I got rid of a bunch of clothing, but all of the closets have neat built in shelving. There are three bedrooms (one going to be my office of course) and two bathrooms - both of which have patterns in the tile (one a star and another something I can't quite describe, both very cool looking). The house was built in 1981 so you can get an understanding of what we're dealing with here.

So the morale of the story? I could have chosen a "beautiful" house inside with no yard and became entrenched in the goings on of everyone in the 'hood, or I could get the retro 80's house with the kick butt yard. I chose the yard. And I think my search is done... :)