True Story Tuesday ~ 02/09/10

Hey y'all!  That IV line is out and I'm back to feeling somewhat like my old self again.  So even though the day is almost over, I thought I would link up with Rachel & Mr. Daddy and add my true story to the list of all the others.  Check it out and link up.  Surely there's something that's happened in your life you want to share.

Most of you know that I used to live in Texas before I move to Louisiana. When I lived there I worked for a law firm whose offices were in a house built in 1915.  It really was a pretty cool place if you didn't include the jackhole I worked for.  

The house was built by an architect from the East Coast for his niece and her husband, Elizabeth and John (?) Gilbert.  It was a huge thing that everyone in town called "The Barn" because it wasn't like any other house in town.  I just remembered I had a picture of it in the Myspace albums.  Here is it all decorated for Christmas:

(My office was on the lower level,  far right...the one with the wreath on the window)

One time a client saw a shadow crossing the floor in front of her.  She said it was a man with a big, round belly and wearing what looked like a cowboy hat. She asked if other people had mentioned it because she said she was sensitive to things like that.  The baby attorney (that's what we call 'em when they're fresh out of law school) who was talking to her said he had never experienced anything but the girls in the office all had some kind of encounter with something that just didn't seem normal.  We didn't think much of it because she was kind of crazy but then a guy I went to school with became a client. He asked if the place was haunted and immediately I asked him why he wanted to know.  He said he felt someone/something was there in the room with him when he was meeting with the jackhole, and that he once lived in a house that had a spirit and it gave him the same creepy feeling.   Now if it had only been Crazy Client I would have thought maybe she overheard us girls talking one day and was trying to screw with our heads but this guy - this was the first time he had been to the office and I hadn't seen him in over 24 years.  

We had an older attorney come over to the office once and he told us how when he was a young child, his father brought him to that house when Mrs. Gilbert died.  He told us how she had lain in state right there in front of the big picture window and he wasn't scared at all of a dead person but what he remembered most was all the empty highball glasses around the casket.  When Baby Attorney told him about the client seeing the shadow cross the floor and described it to him as a man with a big, round belly  he interrupted and asked "Was he wearing a hat?"  Somewhat surprised he told him yes and he told us that was Mr. Gilbert.  Mr. Gilbert never went anywhere without his hat.   Things were really starting to make sense now.  

When we first moved into the building, Tish (the office manager) and I spent almost an entire weekend up there hooking up computers, unloading boxes, you name it.  We were there late that Saturday night with our two girls when Katiebug and Tiffany screamed and then came running down the stairs where we were.  A wooden light house with an octagonal place fell off the shelf it was sitting on, stayed on the floor for a moment and then rolled over to where they were sitting on the floor.  It had an octagonal base - it couldn't roll on its own.  We tried to tell the girls it was because the floor was uneven.  So we tried rolling it to show them. Only it woudn't move.  They didn't go back up there the rest of the night - even with us.  

It seemed Mr. Gilbert would visit all the time.  Once I was standing on the landing of the stairs with one hand on the wall - not really leaning on it but just resting it there when all of a sudden something/one pushed my arm and my arm flew backwards almost knocking me down.  The other girl talking to me rushed into her office, covered her eyes rocking back and forth, saying, "Please don't hurt me....please don't hurt me..." That was so funny I didn't really think too much more about the staircase incident.  

Those stairs were mighty active I'll tell you.  There was one step on the stairs that everyone fell from and when I say everyone, right now I could probably name three or four attorneys from Beaumont and one from Houston that all fell during a couple of weeks worth of depositions and all from the same step.  Two of them right after each other. 

One night Tish and I had gone out to eat and stopped back by the office so she could put her leftovers in the fridge.  She wanted to leave them there that night because she just knew she would forget them at home like she had a tendency to so.  Anyway, we stopped by the office and she went in.  I was sitting in the car and saw her walk in headed straight to the kitchen. Only she stopped midway, turned around and came back to the door and turned on the light, then headed back to the kitchen.  I couldn't imagine what she was doing because she was going to cause the alarm to go off.  We had the alarm set with quite a long delay to allow the baby attorney who worked there to get to the kitchen before it started going off as he had CP and walked with cuff crutches.  She threw her food in the refrigerator, slammed that light off and the door shut and locked it.  When she got back into the car she looked at me and said, "That was some scary sh*t." It seemed as she walked through the first office, someone started laughing. A lot. 

My office was downstairs and if I was working late at night I would hear footsteps walking back and forth. It got to the point where I would call out "Mr. Gilbert I'm still here but I'm leaving in just a little bit" and I promise you they would stop.  Also my office did not have an AC vent and was always very stuffy & hot...except the time there was a tower of cold air right in the middle of my desk. I made one of the other girls see if they could feel it and they could. When one of the attorneys tried, he felt if warm up as he put his hand there. 

There were a lot of illegal, crazy stuff that my boss was doing and I've always heard that spirits are more restless and agitated when there is evil going on. The strange thing is when he stopped living upstairs in the office and moved into a town house ~ all those things stopped.  Until his son moved in and was smoking the ganja on a nightly basis.   That reminds me...I'll have to remember to tell y'all about the time I found it and flushed it down the toilet.  And then the toilet overflowed the next day and I had to call a plumber out.  

I still can't say with 100% certainty that I believe in ghosts.  I do know that there were a lot of spooky & creepy things that went on in that office.  And I'm not just talking about the stuff jackhole was doing.   

Letter of Intent ~ 02/05/10

Today is that glorious day of the week that not only signifies the end of the work week but also marks that day of therapy that is free to all who participate - Letter of Intent hosted by Julie.  Hop on over to her place after you finish here and read all the other letters people have linked up to share.  You may have one of your own simmering below the surface, or bubbling over as the case may be.  So why don't you link yours up and get it off your chest?  That way there'll be nothing keeping you from enjoying watching the New Orleans Saints in this weekend's Super Bowl.

Dear Bacteria-laden shrimp I had for supper this week, 

First, thank you for all your deliciousness you offered me at supper this week.  The crisp coating on your glorious butterflied body and sweet, sweet succulent meat was as wonderful as That Man's company that night.  It was such a treat having you for a meal since having only eaten chicken and baked fish since November or so.  You looked so beautiful resting atop that bed of french fries.  I couldn't let those last two of you go to waste and we all know you don't reheat that well so even through I was stuffed to the gills (no pun intended) I finished all of you off.  It was a wonderful night.  Or so I thought.

You see, the very next morning I woke up only to find swelling under my jaw on the right side of my face.  So much that as the day wore on, I began to lose any definition in my jawline and it appeared my cheek ended about three inches down my neck.  I couldn't imagine what it could be and then That Man reminded me of my tooth that had lost part of its filling last week.  That perhaps I had gotten something down in there and it was irritating it.  So I did what any person would do - searched my medicine cabinet for any left-over antibiotics.  Not having any I then rinsed my mouth with peroxide several times yesterday and last night before I went to bed.  After all, all the Google articles said that rinsing your mouth with peroxide was one way to treat an abscess until one could get to the dentist.  Since I can't get in there for another week or so I thought no harm, no foul.  This will clear it right up.  Or so I thought...again.

This morning's facial examination proved even more interesting that before.  Today, the swelling on the right side is down somewhat but now it's traveled to the left side and has also decided to sit at the base of my throat and form a nice little lump.   I went to work today and after looking at my face, the boss suggested I go ahead and go to the doctor.  Today. As in how fast can they get you in.  

I went to the doctor thinking I would get some antibiotics, possibly a shot to help it start working faster but never in my wildest or most frightening dreams would I think that doctor would tell me I had a potentially fatal infection.  That if I had not come in when I did, I would have ended up in the ER or worse this weekend.  It appears I contracted something called Submandibular cellulitis, or Ludwig's angina.  It is a "severe expanding cellulitis causing swelling of the floor of the mouth, tongue and submandibular region, thus resulting in a possible obstruction of the airway and in a rapid progress in deep neck soft tissue infection and mediastinitis with potentially fatal consequences."  Seriously???  

So after having one IV dose of antibiotics administered I received the admonition that I was to be back at 10:00 tomorrow morning for yet another IV dose.  Then I received not one but two mega-strength antibiotics to take by mouth.  We were discussing what could have caused this little intrusion in my life (and my mouth) and came to the conclusion that you, my lovely crustacean friend more likely than not dumped whatever bacteria harboring in you into my mouth.  And apparently it didn't have to be through my compromised tooth although that's probably how it happened.  No, it appears you could infect someone if they happened to oh, I don't know...poke their mouth somewhere with your tail or part of your shell.  

So after $195 at the doctor today (and probably 3/4s of that again tomorrow a.m.), who knows how much at the pharmacy because they can't tell me what my insurance will pay until they process the 'scripts through the computer and no doubt another prescription for thrush or a yeast infection (because we all know what antibiotics can do to a girl), that $13.95 shrimp dinner has become one of the most expensive things I've ever eaten.  

In closing, let me say that your nasty, funky little infection you left behind had better respond to this gorillacillin and not mess up my Super Beauxl plans, you got that?

One might angry seafood lover, 

Me

PS:  And here's a picture of what I'm having to adapt to and deal with for the next 24 to 36 hours.  I understand it is preferable to death but not exactly in the plans I had made.  Thanks again.  

True Story Tuesday ~ 02/02/10

I didn't think I was going to have a True Story Tuesday post until I read Kmama's post today.  I'm still not sure whether it's a good thing her post reminded me of this little 'blast from the past'.  Either way, I'll tell y'all about it and then make sure you head over to Rachel & Mr. Daddy's place to read all the other stories linked up.  You may just have your very own TST you've been waiting to share with the world.  

My story happened in May 1981 when I was a sophomore in high school.  I did not have a car to drive myself to school but instead carpooled with another girl and this one particular day I realized that I had left my homework at home for my first period class ~ which I believe was a math class.  This teacher was relentless about turning in your homework.  Picture the Soup Nazi if you will.  What?  You forgot your homework - "No grade for you.  Zero. Come back tomorrow...we try again."  I starting freaking out like you wouldn't believe...on the verge of crying I was so distressed.  A friend, not my carpool friend but another one altogether, said, "Take my car and then come right back.  You might be late for class but all your get is a tardy."  This girl was brilliant!   She handed me the keys to her 1976 Dodge Dart and I headed to the parking lot.  I found her car, got in and started on my 2 mile round trip voyage ~ except I didn't get that far.  Nope.  Not.At.All. 

At my school, in addition to the parking lot the students also parallel parked in front of the school...perpendicular to the parking lot exit.  Which meant, oncoming traffic could be hidden until it was basically right upon you...or into you as the case may be.  Yes, I pulled right out into an coming car...spinning me around in that Dodge Dart and flinging me right back into the parking lot.  Where I happened to total the grand sum of 3 cars ~ two of which were parked.  Yep. I totaled that girl's buttercream colored Dart and the aforementioned two parked vehicles.  Oh, did I mention it was Senior Awards Day and all sort of parents were showing up right about that time?  And that when the school called my mom to tell explain to her I had in a wreck it freaked her out so bad she had to have her boss drive her there?  Her boss  went on to become a Congressional Representative and whenever I've run into him at different events, he still remembers that one day back in 1981 when I totaled 3 cars, 2 of them parked.  

Dart-Girl was a little peeved at me to say the least for totaling her car because she thought she was going to get in a TON of trouble for loaning out her car.  And she might have.  All I remember is she got a new car - a 1981 MUSTANG because of me.  Now that I think about it, I don't remember her ever thanking me for that either. Excuse me ~ I must head over to Facebook and write a little message on someone's wall.  Remember - go visit Rachel & Mr. Daddy and check out the rest of the True Story Tuesdays!

If You'll Be My Dixie Chicken...

This post is going to be all about food so if you're hungry and haven't eaten it isn't going to help your situation much but if you're like me and hate to see something go to waste just because you're tired of eating it, don't go anywhere.  I'll tell you all about my delicious chicken stew, or as my cajun family calls it "Chicken Fricasse" (free ca say).  I'm going to go on record and say it was the best evuh!  In fact, I just had another bowl for lunch today.  Can't. Get. Enough!  

You see, last weekend I went to That Man's house to watch the Saints beat the Vikings and earn a chance to go to the Super Bowl and eat some delicious steaks he grilled.  Since he was going to have the grill fired up and ready anyway, I brought over a ton of chicken for him to cook so that we could both have lunch and supper prepared for the week (cause I'm the best girlfriend in the world).  Well, after eating chicken twice a day for five days, I was starting to get a little weary of grilled chicken but I still had about half a gallon Ziploc bagful.  Well, it was so dreary Saturday I was wishing I had some chicken and sausage to make a gumbo but all I had was that grilled....then it hit me!  I would use the grilled chicken.  I made a roux, added enough water to make a thick stew and then threw in the chicken I chopped.  It was seasoned just right with lots of red pepper and Tony Chachere's so it didn't require much more ~ just enough to season the stew liquid itself.   I cooked some rice and had a big bowl for lunch Saturday and it truly hit the spot.  Then yesterday I remembered I had the remains of a can of Rotel tomatoes in the refrigerator that I had used part of for another recipe.  That Chicken Fricasse became Chicken Sauce Piquant in the blink of an eye (and the ceremonial dumping of that glorious tomato/chili mix we worship here in the South).  I froze half of it so next time there is another cold, rainy day like we're having today I can pop it in the microwave to defrost, make a pot of rice and forget all about the cold world outside.  

Now that I've told you of a glorious gastronomical treat, let me tell you about a horrible disaster last Thursday.  You'll never believe it.  I don't think my words could do it justice, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

If you take a can of these:

Drain them and toss them with a little of this is and heat in the microwave:

(good gravy! my hand looks like a small ham...gah.)

They're really good and have hardly any calories at all for the whole can...yes,  the whole can. 


Lunch is really good until you notice this:

Can you see the date?  DECEMBER 2007!!!  How did I not notice that when I bought them last month?  I would have brought them back to the store but I didn't notice the date until I was finished with the entire bowl and cleaning up my mess in the kitchen.  I'm still here so I guess I'll survive but for a minute there I thought I was going to have to call 911 to come pick me up because I ate expired green beans.  But then I thought that Brian  would get wind of it and write about me and how I was off the Dumas chart.  Luckily nothing really bad happened but I can assure you I don' t know when the next time I'll eat green beans will be.  My bet is not any time soon.  

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night!

Now I'm sure some of you young whippersnappers out there have no recollection or knowledge of the song by the Bay City Rollers, but when I think of Saturdays that is what comes to mind.  

Sorry I've been a MIA this week but it's been crazy with a capital "C" at work this week, not to mention all that was going on with my Daddy so for those who so graciously offered up prayers for him I would like to say thank you on from the bottom of my heart.  There is power power power in prayer!  He went through the procedure fantastically!  That first night was pretty hard on him (DUH!) and he had to have pain meds every 4 hours but he was doing so well they let him go home the next day.  He had one last infusion of factor, the component lacking in his blood that lets it clot, and then was able to head on back home.  There was an issue with the home health nurse coming out to do his daily infusion but finally that was straightened out.  The hemophilia clinic ordered all his factor in advance and had it sent to the house so that it was there waiting for him when he got home but the home health company would not come out because their contract with his insurance carrier said they could not do administer any treatment unless they ordered the medicine themselves.  WTH???  My mom tried to remain calm for as long as she could and then finally lost it!  She said she asked them if they realized this was a life or death medication, and at this point there was a conference call between a nurse case manager in another state and the home health company.  Needless to say all is now well.  So well in fact that when I called last night, he was out walking the dog.  I asked if he should be doing that and mom said the doctor told him to do whatever he felt good enough to do, and if my furry brother, Murphy, wants to go for a walk then Daddy's taking him.  Again, thank you so so so much for your concern and well wishes. 

Let me go on record saying it's official:  I hate my job.  It's been coming on for a while but after yesterday I had enough. My boss makes the comment that things have to change around there but never says specifically what it is. Yesterday I had heard it enough and said, "Do I need to find another job?" and he said it's looking that way.  See, he had been closed up in his office for the last week working on a brief and I did everything I could to get all the W2s, W3 report and last quarter tax reports done but apparently anything I do will never be good enough for this man.  I should have realized it the first time I asked a question and he looked at me like I was a frickin idiot.  I cannot stand second-guessing myself and for the year I've worked for him I've done that at every turn.  In fact so much so that I know I've made mistakes because I didn't trust my instinct.  Oh, there's one little tidbit of information that's necessary to understand the depths of my frustration:  I've never, ever, never, ever had to do W2s, W3 report and all that crap.  Even though I've been an office manager for a few firms, handling accounts payables and payroll these functions were ALWAYS handled by the accountant.  Always.  So basically for the last week I've been winging it with researching on the IRS website (now that's a reader friendly site if I've ever seen one) and utilizing a new friend I've met at the gym who works for a CPA firm.   So since he had to leave early to pack and head to Houston for his daughter's volleyball tournament, I've got to meet him at the office tomorrow morning so that we can get all this taken care of.   I'll write more later about just what is causing all these issues but suffice it to say that it's nothing that warrants my spending the day trying to figure out & correct something that after I spent over an hour and a half with tech support yesterday and they told me because of our obsolete payroll program, there's nothing that can be done.  I even called the CPA who does our taxes and talked to her about it and she agreed...it is something that she will have to come by and do herself because the program we use does not explain it step by step simply enough for a lay person to do it.  Yippee-ki-yi-ay.

I called That Man to vent to him and while we were talking I went online and searched the online version of the newspaper.  I found an ad for a position for a corporate executive looking for a personal assistant with paralegal experience.  Fifteen minutes later I had updated my resume and faxed it to them.  Yep, 6:15 on a Friday night.  So, I've got my fingers crossed.  Not that I'm putting all my hopes on this one position but more that I'll be able to find something.  It's always easier to find a job when you have one but I don't know how much longer I can keep going into this job.  We fired the receptionist (my assistant) back in August and since then I've taken on all her responsibilities in addition to my paralegal tasks.  All without an increase in pay so yes I am a little bitter.  Bitter and stressed out.  

I'm sorry y'all.  I did NOT mean for this post to turn into a bitter rant but hey, it's cheaper than therapy and since there's been no raise...well, you get it. 

I'm determined to leave you on a much happier note so here's the song that reminds me of  being 12, 13 and your biggest worry was making sure you were going to be able to meet your friends at the skating rink.  Life was so much simpler then, wasn't it?  Enjoy the rest of the weekend y'all!

True Story Tuesday ~ 01/26/10

Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of True Story Tuesday brought to you by the wonderful folks over at Once Upon A Miracle. Rachel and Mr. Daddy do a wonderful job hosting this little carnival of hilarity so you really should give them a visit. Who knows ~ maybe you'll be the one able to help Rachel determine what the statute of limitations is on destruction of property.  Then link up and share your own true tale.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Katiebug's dad and I did not have the most amicable divorce.  With that being said, while we were going through this nasty process, then presidential candidate Bill Clinton was going to be at what was at the time Chennault Air Force base in Lake Charles, Louisiana and my mom was taking my Grandma to see him.  Well, I decided there may not be another time that Katiebug would be able to see someone involved in the presidential race in such an up close manner, so we decided to make it a four-generation field trip. 

When you are in the process of getting a divorce and are under orders that neither party is to take the child out of the jurisdiction of the judge, this means you cannot leave the state with said child. {Oops - strike one.}  

Lake Charles is about an hour, hour & a half from Beaumont. Katiebug was 4 at the time.  Four-year old bladders are not prone to being able to hold it for very long as has been well-documented over time.  At some point, we definitely had to find a way for her to "pay her water bill" so I located the little girls room and headed off in that direction...only to be stopped by a Secret Service agent telling us that the area where the restrooms were located were off limits and that she would have to wait until they had cleared the area.  Now this agent must not have had a child or been around many children because as we all know, when they have to go THEY HAVE TO GO! When you have a four-year old little girl who's been potty-trained since 18 mos. dancing around about to lose her ever loving mind because she HAS TO GO, it's funny how it can change a person's stance regarding protocol.  With that said, little Miss Katiebug made it to the restroom and was able to do her business, after which we went back to our seats.  

Now everyone around us were holding signs as you can imagine and Miss Katie Scarlett did NOT want to be left out.  My mom and I looked around and finally found an 8x10 piece of what appeared to be part of another sign and made her a little sign to hold.  She said she wanted it to say "Texans for Clinton" and she waved it and waved it like it was an American flag. 

Remember how I said we weren't supposed to leave the jurisdiction of the judge?  Well, guess what precious little 4-year old with the biggest red, white & blue hairbow you'd ever seen ended up all all three local news stations in Beaumont and CNN that night.  Katiebug you say?...yep, you'd be right.  {Oops - strike two.} Thank goodness her father was a Clinton supporter at the time or else I might have been able to determine if orange really isn't my color as I've long suspected.   

PS:  On a more serious note, if any of you have some prayers you wouldn't mind offering up,  my family and I sure would appreciate it.  My dad was diagnosed with HCC, a form of liver cancer last week.  It's caused by 1 of 2 things: alcoholism or Hepatitis C, and Daddy was diagnosed with Hep C in '91, just about the same time as Naomi Judd if you remember back then.  It's been in remission for the last 12 years or so I guess, but in December his liver loads came back a little wonky so they did more labs and an MRI where they found a 4cm tumor.  As I type this, he is undergoing a TACE procedure which is where they go in by way of the groin (femoral artery) and inject the chemo directly into the tumor in order to shrink it so that he can be put on the transplant list.  He's also having a transjugular biopsy of the liver and it is just what is says ~ they biopsy the liver by way of the jugular vein.  This method is used when the more traditional means of biopsy is not feasible.  You see, in addition to the liver cancer, my dad has hemophilia so all invasive procedures are avoided if possible.  Sorry for ending this post in such a somber note but I've been a little sad & worried this morning.  Thanks in advance for the prayers!  We're all staying very positive and like my friend Doug emailed me today: "Odds are meant to be broken - after all, look at your Saints!"   

Oh When The Saints Geaux Marching In....

Well, they did it.  The New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl bound for the first time in the history of the franchise.  And can I just tell you that game last night was the most intense thing I have ever witnessed.  Between That Man yelling, cussing, hollering and beating up the arm of his chair and the penalties that should never have been called against them, I thought I was going to either have an anxiety attack or start throwing up right there.   I couldn't even watch the field goal attempt.  I had my face covered with a pillow and said about a million and a half Hail Marys.  When That Man jumped up and yelled I still wasn't sure we'd won until I heard the words "OH YEAH - SUPER BOWL BABY!"  

Being the nerd that I am, I tried to take a picture with my Blackberry of Garrett Hartley on the television screen while he was being interviewed after kicking the game winning field goal in sudden death.  I snapped the picture and this is what I got:

When I looked at it my first thought was, "Ah, I missed it" but still thought it was a pretty cool shot after all of the stadium and the NFC champion wording.  

Then I looked a little closer.  Can you see it?  Look again.  Can you see the face that's there with the crowd scene?  Nope, that's not the Shroud of New Orleans...that's Garrett Hartley!  Apparently I snapped the picture just as they were changing graphics and I caught both images.  Pretty cool, huh?  Well that is if you're not a Favre or Vikings fan.  

And since I'm in such a good mood because of the Who Dat Nation making it's inaugural trip to the Super Bowl, I'm going to tell you about a cool give-away.   Go check out Kmama's because in recognition of reaching 100 followers, she's going to bestow a blog design make-over for one lucky reader.  Or don't.  I told her I really would like to keep the entries down to a minimum in order to better my chances but since that's not very nice I'll let you all in on it.  That way if I don't win, hopefully one of you will.  Good luck to everyone.  

Especially those New Orleans Saints.  Who Dat!