Walking through a Rite-Aid store today and I saw this in a package in the party favor section…it stopped me in my tracks because I used to have it push-pinned to my bedroom wall when I was a munchkin…. and it was the same design/print/image.

~*Sigh*~ Nice to know that some things are still good enough for the kids today, even if it is over 40 years old.

Finished cooking dinner, eating it and was settling down with some yogurt and fresh tangerines. I thought that since we weren’t going to watch a movie tonight on our big screen (the spouse is busy killing Nazi Zombies with ray guns), I’d take a chance and flip through the channels.

I usually just cycle through my “favorites” only, because even though we have cable, we don’t like 90% of the channels that come with the package we have – we only wanted a select few, but you can’t get what you want without all the rest of the dreck.

Wow! I don’t think I should have done that.

Just to give you an idea of my pain – In order of their appearance:
The Best of Times
Foxy Brown
The Brothers McMullen
My Fellow Americans
Shanghai Noon
Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo
They Live
Apocalypto
The Hollywood Knights

I wouldn’t have minded Apocalypto except that I was eatiing, and Foxy Brown is okay if you are in the right mood to watch it – which was not this evening for me. Maybe it’s the networks idea of saying “If you are at home and still awake on a Friday evening, then you are either a loser or should really be asleep by now.”

Needless to say, I settled on watching “Planet Earth: Deserts” again….

…except for that distinctive slimy layer of mud/film that always stays behind after flooding. Not that I’m complaining, because I’d rather have that in our parking lot than 8 feet up a wall inside what used to be a house. I’ve helped clean up after flooding like that – back in 1994 when the N. Fork of the Coeur D’Alene River flooded one of our shops and one of our owner’s houses.

Nothing like trying to figure out where a 12′ diameter steel half-dome mold went (to this day it was never found – we think it’s in the bottom of Lake Coeur D’alene), or bringing back 12′ long by 36″ round steel mandrels back up from the train tracks 3 blocks away, or realizing your back porch is now at your neighbor’s house.

And sqeegee-ing mud out a door for days on end, not knowing if it’s really going out or not because the moment you push a pile out, it fills right back into where you just thought you cleaned.

Nope, I don’t envy any of the folks who have to clean up after this mess… Been there. Done that!

This is the view of our middle parking lot this am after all the 1/2″ and hour for three days rain we had. Compared to some years, this is nothing! The creek in front of the other building has even subsided a bit as well as the overall size of this puddle really. Last night it was up past the green van in the bottom right corner of the picture.

Of course, the rivers have not finished cresting yet – that won’t be until Saturday – and they have 20 miles of I-5 closed for at least 5 days (same spot as last year), oh and 43 streets in downtown Seattle are currently blocked, but HEY! It could be worse!

Stay dry!

For those of you who only saw or read about the recent snow storm fiasco in the Emerlad City, here’s a great little poem I received in today’s random emails.

Made me laugh! Wish I knew who originally wrote it…I’d give them credit for certain.
——–
Twas the Week Before Christmas….(in Seattle)

“Twas the week before Christmas, and next to the Sound,
Not a creature was stirring, for all were snowbound.
Greyhound busses quit running, no matter the fare,
And the mail men and garbage said they just couldn’t get there!
The children were sliding Queen Anne Hill on their sleds.
While roofs were collapsing on old people’s heads.
And mamma in her boots and I in my cap,
Were stuck in the snow and ice and such crap.
When at the Home Depot there arose such a clatter,
I trudged from my car to see what was the matter.
A group of sad souls were waving their cash,
They couldn’t buy shovels, they’d sold in a flash.
Tires were spinning and just wouldn’t go,
And chains lay broken in the dirty old snow.
Then, what to my surprise did my eyes look over and see?
Eight representatives of SDOT,
With a fat politician so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it was Mayor “Salt Nick”.
More rapid than gun bans, his excuses they came,
“To save our environment the roads stay the same!
On Broadway! On Boren! On Yesler and Denny!,
To clear off these roads would cost such a penny!
Sliding down Thomas and onto a wall!
The busses hung over I-5, ready to fall!
Still, he insisted it wasn’t his fault,
As the world’s greenest mayor he wouldn’t use SALT!
That stuff’s corrosive, could hurt the fish.
(But the Puget Sound’s SALT WATER you ignorant kish!)
So snowy Seattle continued to stew,
But Mayor “Salt Nick” just hadn’t a clue.
While I stood there astonished, on nearby TV sets,
I saw the airport was packed, no de-icer for jets.
Since others couldn’t get down the roads to the ferry,
The city decided to close Denny and Cherry.

Police cars and fire trucks were highly impaired,
Citizens got no impression that Mayor Salt Nick cared.
A house that caught fire, or a rape in progress,
Was less important than “going green” in Seattle – I guess!

An accident closed the I-90 bridge,
And people couldn’t drive down Phinney Ridge.
Shovels, and salt had just flown off the shelf,
And I laughed when I heard him in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
He tried to convey we had nothing to dread;
He spoke many words, but did little work,
Yet Seattle knew they should never have elected this jerk.
Then thumbing his nose at his citizens’ plight,
He turned to the crowd and exclaimed “We’ve done right!”,
And then to his limo refusing to yield,
He left to get solar panels installed on Qwest Field.
But I heard him exclaim, as he skidded past me
“Happy Christmas to all, heck, I give myself a ‘B’ “.

My spouse listed a spare bike frame on one of those “in your neighborhood” type free sites yesterday. Today, he received a snotty response from a supposed employee. Don’t know about you all, but let’s just say we have not gone to this establishment for a few years ago because of this type of attitude….looks like it still prevails. Talk about an intersting sales prevention technique (would you buy from this joker?)

First (unsolicited) email:
Thanks for the laugh.

My sales buddies here at greggs greenlake always have a laugh on Mondays, you sir top our list of overpriced shit.

Bravo.

Spouse’s First Response:
Perhaps free would be easier for a bike shop employee to afford.

Second email:
No, I have enough bikes, and a 20+ year old frame would make my other bikes vomit.

Spouse’s Second Response:
Thank you for letting me know where I shouldn’t bring any of my Mercx collection for servicing.

Third email:
Wow your neat…

I have an imaginary gold and platinum collection that trumps your imaginary Mercx collection.

We have your email posted up in the back of the shop, and we all waiting with baited breath for your next email gem..

We have a pool going on now too, do you want in for $5.00

The winner gets a bathroom hand-job!

Spouse’s Third Response:
I’m sure the Better Business Bureau will appreciate the level of professionalism at Gregg’s Cycles.

Fourth email:
Omg, Dan won the pool.
I thought you were going to go with the f-you route.
One other guy picked that you would not respond.
Another picked that you would say you were going to come in and beat his ass.
And the last gal picked that you would try to impress us with your other imaginary bikes.
Dan gets the hand job, I will send your congrats to him, post haste.

Spouse’s Fourth Response:
Wrote a letter, printed out all the above (with email addy’s included) and mailed it to the company President’s residence (he’s also an attorney).

Maybe he should work on the caliber of employee’s if this was indeed from an employee at the shop. For their sake – I hope not. Unfortunately, this person 1.) does not know the correct info regarding this bike frame and 2.) erroneously assumes my spouse is lying about the other items currently taking over our spare room/office.

Apparently, this little snot is unaware of “The Rule of 10′s” in the business world. Kind of like those old Breck commercials (she told two friends, and they told two friends and so on).

If you hear a movie title and immediately know what the “surprise” is gonna be without seeing a full trailer or the film and then read the spoiler on Imdb, only to have it completely vindicate what you thought…does that mean you are psychic?

Maybe it just means that it’s a formula film…or that I paid attention when I worked at a video store for 4 months after high school.

Maybe it’s just that I enjoy trying to come up with some really fun run on sentences…maybe…

I love our condo BoD – I mean it, no really, I do!

Did you believe that? Was I convincing enough? No? Okay then fine, I won’t try to keep up the charade any longer.

Many of you guys know we had some snow this week…which was okay except that it has yet to melt…and we have flat roofs…and it’s been kind of warming up enough to rain/snow/sleet…and then refreeze…did I mention our building has flat roofs? Oh yeah, and it’s stair stepped down…and oh yeah, ours is the only building out of 4 that DOESN’T have roof access anywhere. Oh an we also don’t have a ladder on site that would make it easy for a person to get on the roofs… need a 40′ and we only have a 25′… oh and all the down spouts are draining, but have snow piled up in front of them…and did I mention we HAVE FLAT ROOFS with 6-8″ on snow on them?

So Wednesday at 9:45am, I emailed the BoD and the management company a copy of the special winter weather advisory as a hint asking them to pay special attention to the second paragraph…which read…

“TODAY THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CHANGE OVER TO RAIN LATER IN THE DAY. TONIGHT TEMPERATURES WILL ONCE AGAIN DROP TO NEAR OR BELOW FREEZING. THIS IS A BAD COMBINATION FOR ANYONE WITH A FLAT ROOF. SNOW ALREADY PRESENT WILL SOAK UP THE PRECIPITATION TODAY THEN FREEZE TONIGHT ADDING WEIGHT AND PUTTING ADDITIONAL STRESS ON THE STRUCTURE. THIS PROCESS COULD REPEAT ON CHRISTMAS DAY WITH SNOW SHOWERS IN THE FORECAST. HIGH TEMPERATURES ON CHRISTMAS WILL BE A COUPLE OF DEGREES ABOVE FREEZING SO THE MELT FREEZE PROCESS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN THURSDAY NIGHT.”

The only response I received back from them was a “Thank You!” from the maintenance guy (who really meant it and does give a shit) on Weds and this little item from one member of the BoD “am i in any better shape if i am on the bottom floor? lets pray for no major problems.”

So guess what has been happening? The praying didn’t work. The unit for a pal that I have been fish sitting for…her ceiling sprung leaks in 4 spots as the day went on…I put out towels and buckets and took pictures, let the management guy know and emailed the BoD. When I returned it had gotten worse, and then as the night has progressed, two additional units now have issues… the direct neighbor for my pal – his bathroom ceiling is falling in, and my higher, next wall neighbor has 6 wet spots she can see/feel and her ceiling is also soaked….

The maintenance guy will be here sometime around 9:30 am supposedly… with a 40′ ladder…. he knew about the one unit, he’s gonna freak when he reads his emails in the am and finds out there are two more.

I don’t like being the only proactive one… I swear. It’s not like they had the maintenance guy on the roofs of all the other buildings dealing with the downspouts and making sure those were draining ’cause one unit had a leak. They couldn’t do that to ours… no access and no ladder…oh well!

Like I said, it’s not like I emailed them a warning or anything!

Yes, it’s true – I was gone an hour with my mom to do some shopping while the snow had stopped… and when I returned, my spouse had decided to show the rest of the neighbors what can be accomplished in and hour with a shovel.

Can you tell which space I got to park in? Can you also tell who is originally from Southern California? No more excuses for those who say “I can’t get out of the driveway.”