Hemorrhaging Wallet

This has been the Week from Poverty. I just picked up my ten year old car from the repair shop ($1700+). It took six days, so that meant a car rental. Then there was a $499 bill for vancomycin treatment when I got staph in the hospital after hip surgery a year ago!!!!! It takes forever to get medical bills straightened out.

Back to the car...Boy, is it weird driving a different model when you're so used to your own. I gave up on the radio stations...all rock and roll, or whatever they play today. What turned out to be fun was the key gimmick that flashes a light and locks and unlocks the doors. Gotta have one! It was the only way I could find the car, since I never could remember what kind it was, except silver colored.

The other fun thing was the clean trunk. Like, empty. All my stuff was locked in the Toyota. I had to make one trip to get my uniform for hospital volunteering, but I forgot to drag out the collapsible basket-on-wheels for groceries. No matter. I'm eating up all the 50% off goodies I bought when our local mom 'n pop store, Ooka's Supermarket, closed.

And that's the news from Lake Wobegon.

Cleaning Kabuki Dance

I'm in the midst of a cleaning kabuki dance. The two guys arrived half
an hour ago, and they've successfully blocked me from one room at a
time. I did have the foresight to use the john, but aimed poorly at the
food supply and came up with blue cheese and dried fruit for lunch. The
crackers are unobtainable. They'll be here three to four hours, to
scrub, water-vacuum, dry, wax, dry, wax, polish, buff etc. Geez....no
john, no food. Dare I go to McDonald's and leave them here? Can I get
to my purse? Can I speak Tongan?

A Day In the Life Of

Yesterday I walked to Ooka's to get coffee. There was practically nothing on the shelves. They will shut down permanently June 30 unless they sell out first. My new neighbor, Judy, says they're having a 50%off sale Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. We're going to scope the place out this afternoon and be there tomorrow...frozen food, steaks, etc.

I understand the Uptown Service Station (corner of Main and Church) will have a MinitStop, which will be of some use. Their place is totally torn up. They closed the "service" end but will still sell gas. Also they'll have a car wash, according to the scuttlebutt.

See how exciting life in Wailuku can be?....Right now (6:33 a.m.) the Idiot next door is making strange noises. Night before he was talking to someone at 4 a.m. He also has taken up smoking cigars. (His hairdresser gave him a humidor)???????I'm thinking of running my noisy new shredder mid-morning, when he will be (?)sleeping? I can't figure his schedule at all.

Say It Ain't So

People (including yours truly) are annoyed by Bush's mispronunciation of "nuclear." Well, he ain't the only one. Lou Dobbs just pronounced "de rigeur" as "duh RIGG-er." Only on national television (Moneyline.) Doesn't anybody read the script first? Aaghh, or whatever Snoopy says. Or is it Charley Brown? There. I'm one of them. I'll bet the Canadian guest was horrified. Even if he didn't live in Quebec.

HUMILITY, HUMILITY !

The email said the guy had read my Haleakala Times "Silver Streak" column about Maui's jet setters. His non-profit organization was looking for famous people to grace their upcoming fundraiser. For a moment my massive ego reacted with "What would I wear? What would I do?" Then the truth dawned. They were hoping I could put them in touch with real celebrities. Thank God I didn't respond with "I'd love to come." Maybe patience isn't the only virtue I lack.

Tables Vs. Chairs

I LOVE my new table, but the chairs give me a backache. Three different pillows; no help. No pillow, same thing. What's a girl to do?

Buy A Shredder

I haven't bought one yet (heck, I'm still in my jammies.) But it's on the "to do" list. Yesterday I went to a lecture on Identity Theft, taught by a former "spook" from Army Intelligence. People can piece together your trash and find out enough to clean out your bank accounts, run your credit cards out of sight, and have your billing address changed while they're doing all this, so it's weeks or months before you realize you've been flummoxed. (He says you can get a shredder for $20. Stay tuned.)

Patience, Patience!

Boy, did I get a lesson. The table and chairs finally arrived, and would be delivered "some time between nine and eleven tomorrow." Yeah. Sure. You know how that goes.

Nine and eleven came and went. I was starting to freak out about how the whole day would be ruined, when the phone rang, The delivery guys were downstairs. "What apartment are you in?" Aha! In five more minutes I'd have new furniture.

I waited. And waited some more. What the heck was going on? Fifteen minutes later I was about to call the store, when the doorbell rang. Those wonderful guys had been putting the stuff together ("Some assembly required.") I could have kissed them. Assembly is not my strong point. I always wind up with a few extra thingamajigs and a wobbly piece of furniture. I gave them a nice tip and went out to buy some paste wax in anticipation of future spills. Impatience is not my only vice.