Head Injury

So, Robert had a little accident at work today. He was working at Mesquite pulling cable in this small crawl space, and when he went to get up, he cut it a little short and gashed the top of his head. Roger calls me and wants me to look up the closest PrimaCare facility in Mesquite. Yeah, it didn't take me long to figure out that someone got hurt, and it must be Robert. So, 7 staples in his head later, with NO LIDOCAINE and no prescription pain pills, here is what the top of his head looks like.

Just glad he didn't have to have his head shaved into a mohawk or something.

Friend's Quandry

I've already posted this to 2 of my Mom's groups, but I'm hoping there's someone who reads this who can give me a piece of advice to give to my friend.

Ok, so I have a real sad story to share, and I don't know how to help her.

My best friend, Robyn, who lives in San Diego (where I also lived for 13 years) was with this guy, Mark, for 12 years. He is originally from England. They have been together all this time, and then all of a sudden, he "plans" leaving her, and did so. Here's all the really really sad stuff. She has lots of health issues currently. He leaves her $50 on the table and tells her he is making a trip to England to help his parents move. Then he calls her when he gets there to tell her he's never coming back. She has been completely dependent on him for quite some time due to health issues. They had previously moved from San Diego to Delaware where they lived for a few years. When in Delaware, they worked for this very eccentric, very odd, very rich woman cleaning her house for her. I think Mark (Robyn's boyfriend) also did her landscaping/yard work, while Robyn busted her ass cleaning all these massive rooms, including rooms that were never even used, but the woman insisted on her cleaning them every day. As in bathtubs, etc., that were never even used. Huge house. Ok, so all that is beside the point. Just giving you some background. They moved back to San Diego probably about a year ago. In November timeframe, Robyn's pancrease literally exploded and she was hospitalized for a few weeks. She is now taking morphine pills and I think she said oxycontin. Both are for the severe pain she is in . They think that her pancreas has more cysts on it. She is getting medical care through the state I believe, and she's not paying anything for it. Bottom line is, this guy decides to PLAN his departure, and leave her $50 on the table. They have a $900/month apartment close to the beach. He left her his beat-up truck that is still in his name, so she doesn't know how to go about selling it without getting in trouble. He also left her with $2000 credit card debt that was mutually charged. He had planned the whole thing ahead of time, which she has found out bits and pieces since then. For instance, he packed up anything of value and shipped it back to England before his departure. Not that they had much to speak of anyway. She said they had sold most of their stuff anyway before moving back to San Diego from Delaware.

Anyway, I'm at my wit's end trying to help her. I don't even know what to tell her. She has applied for various things (not sure what) and has been turned down because she doesn't qualify. She is pretty much stuck in San Diego because of her health reasons, and is afraid if she tries to move (like here???) that she wouldn't get the health care for free. Her family is no help. Her sister basically told her tough shit. Her brother committed suicide about 15 years ago (another tragic story).... her mom is dead, and her father has just been diagnosed with prostate cancer and lives in Virginia, plus they always had a terrible relationship anyway. So, she has no family she can rely on.

OH, and get this. Mark also passed around a lot of bad shit about her before he left. What a good planner he is. So, the one person I thought might have the means to help her in some way told her he's sorry, he can't help her. Well, Mark used to work for him in his asphalt business. So, Mark and him, being buddies, yeah, you get the picture. I am so disappointed in Bob Lorts for doing that to Robyn.

Does anyone know of any suggestions you can give me for her? They had paid first and last month's rent when they moved in, so she already told the landlord to use the last month's rent for next month. That gives her another 30 days to figure something out. She is in excruciating pain with her medical issues and can't work. Do you think a woman's shelter would help her out? Any thoughts? I would have her move here, but I don't have an extra room and she'd be sleeping on an airbed in the living room. That would get old real quick for all involved. She does house-cleaning and also would make a great live-in nanny. I wonder if Parkland Hospital would give her health care. Do they have a waiting period to establish residency before giving benefits such as that? Would she have to be here 6 months before getting benefits?

I am so afraid she's going to end up on the streets. She can't get a "real" job. She was completely dependent on him. I cannot believe someone could do this to another person.... and not to mention, he spreads the word about her to other friends of ours, so that they won't help her. What kind of person would do that to another person? I've known Robyn almost 20 years. She is the most sweetest kindest person. I don't care what sort of shit they had going on in their personal lives. There is no excuse for leaving her high and dry like this.

Please, someone, give me some advice I can give to my best friend of almost 20 years. I am so upset for her and don't know what to do to help her.

Yes, I know I'm way behind...

I have just had a busy week since getting back from Mexico. Preparing for the Divine Consign sale mostly. Then, we celebrated Robert's birthday and my Mother's birthday with a party at my house last night. It was a great party. I drank way too much. Had a blast! :)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Mexico.

Tyler at the waterpark. This waterpark is right on the premises of the Mayan Palace. We basically just walked out of the building and it was right there!

Tyler running in the sand on the beach. I wasn't sure if he was even going to make it down to the ocean at first. As soon as his feet hit the sand, he started crying. It was something new to him, and he didn't understand it. But as you can see, he did get used to it, and had a blast!

Me and Mother.

Tyler and Mother making sand castles.

Tyler's very first sucker ever! Does he look happy?

Well, I am trying to add more pictures, and blogger is being a pain in the ass. Why does it do that sometimes? I go through the whole thing with uploading the pictures, and it doesn't put the HTML in my post. I've tried 3 times. Screw it for tonight. I will try to post some more pictures tomorrow.

No Receipt?

So, this just isn't my week. I went to Wal-Mart this morning to return some clothes that Tyler got for his birthday that were too small. Of course, because it's a gift, I didn't have a receipt. Apparently, I have maxed out my "returns with no receipt." You are only allowed 3 per year. So, she had to call over her manager to approve it. She then proceeded to tell me that that is my last return until one of them "rolls off" meaning sometime next January. **sigh**

To top all this off, I'm cramping right now, just in time for our vacation to Mexico Sunday. Isn't that just peachy?

Majorly Pissed

WARNING: There's probably going to be a lot of WOAH IS ME crap in this post, because that's just how I'm feeling right now, so if you don't want to hear it, then don't read it. I'm PMS'ing, and I know it, and that's just the way it is.

Ok, so I've been told I need to update this thing (this isn't why I'm majorly pissed, I'm getting to that.) I guess I don't update this that often because no one reads this crap anyway (except for my Mother and maybe Kami), so what does it matter? I'm not saying they don't matter. Of course they do! It's just that I am never going to be the "popular" sort, so why should I think it will start now? I'm not linked anywhere (not that I really want to be - why would I be linked anywhere when it's such a bunch of boring crap anyway). Yeah, so what. My life is boring. Ok, I'm beginning the PMS thing here, so just live with it. I'm not in the best frame of mind. Which leads me to why I'm majorly pissed. I give you three reasons today.

So, I've been needing a mattress for some time now. I bought one on Sunday. It is a Simmons Beautyrest with a pillowtop. I have back problems. I have been to visit numerous other mattress places, and I made the mistake of listening to one of the salesman I came in contact with. He convinced me that with a bad back, you probably need a soft mattress because then your body conforms to the mattress. All your pressure points conform, blah de blah. So, then I laid on some mattresses, and of course, they all felt great. So I started thinking, yes, he's right. I need a softer feel in a mattress. Even though "everyone" always says how you need a "firmer" mattress with a bad back, I thought I was right in laying on a softer feel. So then, last Sunday, Mother and I went to Room 2 Go because they were having a big sale - $477 mattress with boxsprings. I sat on the $477 one and there was no way. It was way too soft. Then I sat on a $677 mattress which was (is) the Simmons Beautyrest. That included the boxsprings. I thought that was a great deal. I have laid on the same mattress elsewhere, and loved it. I laid on it there too, and loved it. Of course you can't really tell until you sleep on something all night. I asked the guy if they had a "comfort guarantee" and he said they didn't have something like that per se, but that if I needed to exchange it, his manager would probably "work with me". Long storry short, I've slept on it two nights now, and it is not working for me. It is too soft. My back is killing me just as bad as it did with our old mattress which was sinking in the middle. So I went there right when they opened this morning, and I found the salesman. He contacts his store manager. He comes back and tells me they won't do anything for me at this time. They want me to sleep on it for more than 2 nights. I guess I can understand this, but at the time, I'm getting majorly pissed.

So, I asked the salesman if I can talk to his manager person, and he says, sure. I talk to him, and, he tells me they like for someone to sleep on a bed for 14 consecutive days before they’ll do anything. I had already told them that I’ll be out of town next week. So, this means that I have to endure this week, which is cancelled out, then next week I’ll be gone, then the 14 days will start from that point. Well, I got all red in the face talking to them and said that “I should’ve never come here.” and the store manager says, “Why is that?” I said, “Well, I should’ve known when he (pointing to the salesman) said that you didn’t have a “comfort guarantee” that I was in trouble.” I was SO pissed. Of course they have a point that PERHAPS it takes awhile to figure out if a mattress works for you. But all I wanted to do was exchange it for something that was less soft. In other words, no pillowtop! And we’ve only had it for 2 days. Anyway, it was NOT a nice experience. When I get back from my vacation in Mexico, I will need to be tortured, sleeping on this thing for 2 solid weeks before they’ll let me exchange it. That is what really sucks. I feel like I’m sleeping on a mountain range or something. This mattress is probably a wonderful mattress for someone who loves a soft mattress, but I just can’t get used to it. I was tossing and turning from 2 a.m. with this thing last night. When I told the manager that, he was like “I’m sorry.” Yeah, right, jerk, if you’re so sorry, then let me exchange it right now. I should’ve known better when the salesman told me they didn’t have a “comfort guarantee”. I’m just so pissed right now, you can’t imagine. I hope that they are right in the long run, that it takes getting used to, but with the back problems I have, I don’t know if I want to endure all that torture every night.

Ok, so that was thing #1 that pissed me off. Now to thing #2. So then I went to Sears to return a toaster that my Mother had bought me for Christmas. She had not been able to find the receipt, but luckily, Robert had found the box up in the garage. God only knows what would’ve happened without the box. So, get there, and the woman asks me when I got it. I said December. We are only talking about a month here, and it’s just a TOASTER for cryin’ out loud. She says that they can’t exchange things without a receipt and I started to lose it. This was after the Rooms 2 Go incident above. I started to get rather loud, telling her it is a TOASTER, not a CAR or something I’m trying to return (or exchange), and this thing is a piece of crap, that I have to hit the button 10 or 20 times just to get a piece of toast to stay down in the damn thing. She calls her manager. They go back and forth numerous times with her manager calling her back on the phone. Meanwhile, I’m telling her how I’m NOT happy, and how I’m going to calling SOMEONE abou tall this... and how Sears has always been so good about their return policy. She tells me that their return policy has changed in the last year or so, and proceeds to show me how it reads. Basically, the fact that I didn’t have a receipt, and that I had USED it (yeah, when I could finally get the thing to toast a piece of bread, I used it), that would make it so they would decline the refund or exchange. Well, I guess I raised enough hell so that they said they would refund my money “this time” -- yeah, well, thank you very much. The damn toaster is a piece of crap and doesn’t work, so you all SHOULD be taking it back.

Ok, so then the third thing that pissed me off today is so minor compared to all this, but I have to ask what the fuck is up with these jerks on these high-speed motorcycles? First, the guy gets behind me right on my ass, then ZOOMS around me real quick. Now, come on here, I’m not driving like granny here. I’m driving the speed limit, and I have decent (V6) acceleration from a stoplight. There is just no need for this. Then, we get to the next light, and he is sitting there all weird like. This is one of those merge lanes onto the access road for George Bush (190) freeways. So, he has ZOOMED past me to get to this point. Then we get there, and he’s sitting there, not going, so I honked my horn. He waves me past, like go on ahead.. so I do… then he ZOOMS past me, going like 80 miles per hour, just to prove a point that he can go faster than me in m SUV. Ok, Asshole, yeah, you can go faster than me. But why do you have to? I just don’t get it. I’m not impressed.

So there you have my day. I’ve had way too much red wine, so if there are typos here, blame it on the wine. Or blame it on whoever you want. I’m just not in a good frame of mind tonight, so kiss my ass if you don’t like it. Who am I kidding, I don’t get any readers anyway.