Where do I live?

I got onto our local newspaper's website yesterday, and read that North Whitehall is doing the trick or treating on the 1st of November, and South Whitehall is (was) doing theirs tonight. Now, we just moved to this house in June, so at work today I asked everyone if my neighborhood was North or South. The general consensus was that I live in North Whitehall. Ok... I have time to buy some candy, right? I work til 5:30, and head right home, figuring I have a week to buy stuff. You know where this is going. I wasn't home for 10 minutes before my doorbell rings, and I hear the shouts and laughter of many children. I felt like a heel! I had to explain that I thought it was next week. I had no candy, no spare change, nothing! I felt like the Grinch who stole Halloween! Word spread fast, and the doorbell didn't ring again! I wonder if the parents in our little cul de sac decided to have their own trick or treat night. I need to buy a map to figure out where I am! Sheesh!

We took a ride to Wal*Mart. What a mistake. All I wanted was a new tablet (I am addicted to paper and pens... I have yet to finish a whole tablet!) and some Halloween candy. It was extremely crowded... the frustrating kind of crowded. You couldn't move. I went to the stationary section, and guess what they put right across from the writing paper? All of the Halloween costumes. There must have been 50 people in that row, tearing through the costumes. I stood there at the end of that row, with a sad, longing look on my face, and decided that it was against my best interest to attempt to browse the paper. Just as I resigned myself to no paper, Bill came around the corner and said that the computer games were all messed up and you couldn't find anything. We made the mutual decision to just go far away from Wal*Mart. Everytime we leave, we always wonder why we tried going there in the first place!

We saw a car with the most stupid bumper sticker... "My Kid Can Beat Up Your Honor Roll Student". Why would someone put that on their car? In a world that's already dangerous for kids, why would you promote violence like that? Kids aren't safe as it is... now you have a parent who would think it's cool that their kid is a bully.

I went into Panera Bread today... not to work, but because Bill and I wanted some bagels. I bought a baker's dozen with some sun-dried tomato cream cheese, and some hummus. I have found that I am addicted to hummus. I love it with pita bread and olives! Yum! Anyway, a few of the people who actually like me were there. One of the nicest ones, Michelle, gave her notice and tomorrow is her last day. She is a very nice, true, and honest person. She was friendly to me the moment I started working there. I like people who are like that. I try to be that way, but I am a little reserved at first. As soon as I feel that you are honest and don't have ulterior motives, I open right up. Michelle and I hit it off right from the start, and I will miss her. Another girl told me that everyone is leaving. The reason is that the only nice manager gave her notice, and tomorrow is her last day. She was "one of the guys", so she got along with everyone. I don't know... it doesn't seem like that bad of a place to me yet. I see the aggravation, but it really hasn't touched me that much yet. Plus, I also know that I can walk away any time I want... I don't have a family to support solely on my income.

It makes me think of the worst job I ever had. My father's good friend, Billy J. (may he rest in peace), opened a little roadside hamburger/hotdog restaurant. He had never owned or operated a restaurant before this. He asked my Father if I would work for him in the daytime during the lunch hours. I said I would. I have restaurant in my blood, so waitressing isn't that difficult for me. My first day, we were very busy, and I was the only waitress. I handled it well, and some people gave me extra money for the sympathy tip (because I was alone). Billy had my put all my tips into a big oversized pickle jar. At the end of my shift, which ended up being about 5 hours, he hands me $25. I stood there waiting for my tips, and he said that I don't get them... that is how he was going to pay the dishwasher! WHAT??!!!! I argued with him for a bit, but then I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere, so I just went home. I told my Father what happened, and he immediately called Billy and gave him a piece of his mind. I had already decided that I wasn't going back, so I was just going to write it off. Later that night, Billy sent his wife to our house... she was teary-eyed and apologetic about what happened. She said that they never owned a restaurant before so she didn't know the proper way of doing things. She handed me what she said was in the jar... it was only about $19! I knew that there was alot more than that, but I wasn't going to push it. What a cheap way of doing things!

I also worked for Service Merchandise in Camp Hill. I am not sure, but I think all of the stores have gone out of business. The work wasn't hard, but the ringing of sales was a major pain in the behind! Before you could do any sort of transaction, you had to enter the customers phone number. It was a way for the company to put that person on their mailing list. There was no way around it. Alot of people refused to give you their phone number... and caused a big stink over it (I don't blame them... I wouldn't want to give my number out either!). The customers would yell at the associates as if we programmed the system to do that! It was too stressful, so I didn't stay there for very long!

I walked the Ironton Rail Trail today with the dogs. This time, I went the long way around... the loop around south Whitehall, and along the Lehigh River. This was a 6 mile walk... the longest I have ever taken the dogs, and our first time going this way. Some areas were a little desolate, and as the sun started to sink into the west, the tall trees cast alot of shadows that played havoc with my overactive imagination. I did return closer to civilization, and the walk became very pleasant. We walked along the backyards of homes, and you could tell the people loved the trail! Some people planted flowers long their portion of the path, while others hung American flags and other patriotic items from trees or short flagpoles. One house decorated the trees with Halloween decorations... a life-sized glow-in-the-dark plastic skeleton hung from one tree. Very creepy, but it must look cool from the house at night as it glows from the moons illumination! I met up with a Grandma and Grandpa pushing their 10 month old grandson along part of the trail. The little boy was pleased to see my dogs, and I enjoyed my conversation with the older couple. They said I should not be so nervous while in the more out of the way areas of the trail, because in the years that the trail began, there were no problems at all with crime. That's good! I got back to my car, gave my dogs some water I had brought with me, and was proud that I walked so far. My ankle is slightly sore... I had twisted it during another dog walk a month or so ago. Now I think it is destined to be weak. Once I twisted it, I seem to always step on a rock that causes me to twist it again! OUCH!

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I thought about alot of things as I was on the trail for two hours. One of the main things that I thought of was, despite all of the crap that seems to be happening to Bill and I lately, I'm still very happy and at ease with the world. Things just feel right... I'm content. This may sound weird, but usually walking with my dogs makes me feel this way. It could be that I am doing something that I enjoy, and that makes all these feeling come out of their hiding places inside me.

A sad thing did happen to me this week, and I thought of that alot during my walk, too. A very good friend of mine has decided to not be my friend anymore. Slam, just like that. I never said I was perfect, and I should never be put on a pedestal because I will be forgetful and make mistakes. Friends are supposed to work through these things, and through that process, become better and closer friends because of a new level of understanding that is found. I don't have a switch or a valve inside my body that can just turn off my friendship... I'm not made that way. I don't know how some people can do that. I have had many good and special times with this friend, and I will cherish them. I thought I would be a friend of this person for the rest of my life. It's funny how suddenly things change. Will I miss this person? Yes, I will. Very much. Am I sad? No. I'm sorry it ended, but I am not sad. I'm actually strangely emotionless about it. I was very upset the first day, but that has passed. I don't know if I can explain why... If that person can cut me off so quickly, how deep were that person's feelings for me in the first place? I don't understand. I guess because I am not like that, I will never understand.

This was a drawing my father asked me to make while I was still in college. He was very happy and proud of this. The original idea was to put the image on t-shirts to sell them. But after learning how much it would cost to put a full-color image on the t-shirts, we decided that we probably wouldn't sell many t-shirts for the price we have to ask for them. Pete took my drawing off the wall... he said it was only temporary, that someone gave him a new photo that he had to put up. I was surprised to not see it hanging on the wall. It's like my little contribution to the Coney Island Lunch... I hope he re-hangs it.

Here's one image of the restaurant. Alot of the time, people just give him baseball items to hang on the walls!

Bill was off from work today, so we decided to take a drive to Scranton to visit and have lunch at my brother Pete's restaurant, Coney Island. A free lunch always tastes good! HA! Bill likes the fish sandwiches that Pete makes. Anyway, Pete has turned the restaurant into a shrine to baseball. It wasn't like that when I worked there, and was a partner in the business. But now, it can be a museum! He eats, drinks and sleeps baseball, and all the memorabilia on the walls is testament to that! I took some photos with my digital camera and it's wide angle lens for his website. I will post one here after I resize it. He has a new photo hanging on the wall that freaked me out.... a photo of Babe Ruth, obviously naked, lying face down on a table, with just a towel over his rear end, getting a massage from his trainer. Now, those of us who know baseball, knows that ol' Babe wasn't the most handsome of men. He had the face that only a Mother could love. Combine that with the stark white image of a lone butt cheek, covered in what appears to be a brownish lotion, and I nearly lost my lunch! I suggested that Pete hang a "view at your own risk" sign in front of it! Yikes!

I bought Bill a "Rally Monkey" yesterday! He is so happy that "his" Anaheim Angels are in the World Series! I was shopping yesterday, and I came across stuffed monkeys... they have the skinny body with the small head, and the racoon-like markings on their face. The hands have velcro on them so you can hang them wherever you'd like. All the Angel fans in the stands have the monkeys, so I knew that he would like one! This is the first World Series for the Angels, so it's important!

I've never done the Weekly Wrap-Up, but I found these questions on the site, and liked them so much, I thought I would do them! I love pet questions!

Weekly Wrap-Up #24 - Pets
1. What's your earliest memory of having a pet? If you didn't have pets, what's your earliest memory of wanting a pet? My earliest memory of having a pet was Fluffy the Cat. I think she was around before I was born. She was a sweet cat, but she really wasn't "mine". We also owned harness race horses, and I spent alot of my youth at stables and racetracks around horses. I also used to take horseback riding lessons a few times a week, which I loved. My first pet, that I chose, was a black and white beagle mixed dog named "Taffy". She was a very smart and friendly dog. She was the only one of her litter who survived.

2. What kind of pets have you had in your lifetime? What is the largest number of pets you've had at any one time? If you didn't have pets, describe a friend or relative who had a lot of pets. I've had lots of pets over the years. I've had gerbils, fish, dogs, cats, rabbits and horses. I killed my gerbils... I left them in their Habi-Trail on top of the refridgerator (I didn't think that it would be too hot for them there! Yikes!). I had 11 dogs (still have two now), 9 cats, two rabbits, one pony, and 5 horses (besides the race horses my father owned).

3. What kind of domestic pets have you wanted? Why? Which ones have you avoided? Why? I've always wanted dogs, love to have horses (but don't at this time), and can put up with cats. I've avoided ferrets, because of the smell; mice (I was in a pet shop once and saw mice cannibalizing another mouse, and it freaked me out. I have never wanted rodents as pets after that); and snakes, because they scare me.

4. If you could have any animal in the world as a pet, what would it be? Why? I would love to live on a farm, where I would keep horses and goats, chickens and ducks, and as many dogs as I want. Why? Because I love animals, and I know that while they are in my care, they would have a good and safe life.

5. What are some of your pet-related pet peeves? Why do they bother you? I don't have any that I can think of. I used to work for a vet, and I couldn't stand owners who couldn't handle their dogs. Or cat owners who think their cats are the sweetest angels in the whole world (cat's usually become hostile as a defence mechanism when they are out of their home environment). I don't like owners who don't curb their dogs. It's more of pet-owner peeves than pet peeves!

I'm trying to figure out what to do about Halloween. I live on a cul de sac, and out of the 10 houses here, I'm the only one with no kids. Each of my next door neighbors have 5 kids. On a good day, there are about 30 kids playing outside! Halloween can be a problem. As much as I love the holiday, I am hoping to not be home. The reason: I don't know what to do with my dogs. My dogs love the kids, and everytime a kid sees my dogs, they run up to them and want to pet them. My dogs now whine and bark excitedly when they see any kid. My dogs also bark and whine excitedly whenever the door bell rings. There is the problem. The door bell will ring all evening. The dogs will go nuts. The dogs will want to run outside to see the kids, and it will be a big fight just getting to the door. Bill said to leave the dogs outside. Well, that will cause the them to bark constantly, because I am sure there will be alot of kids roaming around these parts. Bill is more excited about Halloween and the kids than I am. He is worried that the neighbors will think we are weird if we don't participate. I, on the other hand, don't really care what the neighbors think of me (well, sort of). As long as I don't keep my refridgerator on the front porch, and keep beat up, wheel-less cars on cinder blocks in the front yard, then I think I'm doing ok! Hmmm... what to do, what to do!?

Today was my first bad day at work. It wasn't because of customers. There have been alot of posts in various blogs lately about customer service in stores and restaurants. I'm the kind of person you want to wait on you. I'm always amicable... I always have a smile... I try to make you feel welcome. It's because I truly like dealing with people. It's very rare that a customer upsets me. Today, it was a 17 year old co-worker. I have never treated her badly. For some reason, she has decided to not like me. I don't understand it, but I was majorly p-o'd. No one calls me an idiot in front of a customer. No one complains to other associates about how stupid she thinks I am. It takes me a long time to get angry, and I was there. I don't know what I did. I have to keep telling myself that she is just a kid and to ignore her. I like what I am doing there... I don't know how long that feeling of "like" will last, but I do want to enjoy my time there, and not have to put up with such asinine things. It seems wherever I work, there is always one person who drives me crazy. At the vet's office, it was V., the bossy know-it-all. At Kauffman's Department Store, I was practically stalked by a co-worker and her husband (one night, around 3 am, in the middle of winter during a particularly snowy time, my dogs started barking, and I heard a strange noise outside. I looked out the window, and there was the girl and her husband, shovelling my driveway! When they finished, they ran up the street to my neighbor's, where they had parked their car, through the shovels in the trunk and drove away! I didn't ask for that! Another time, right after having surgery, they invited themselves over to my house, and then wouldn't leave! UGH!). The good thing is that I don't have to work until Friday... so I can stop thinking about it.