Category: Uncategorized

It took Rebecca and me forever to exit the parking garage after Mommy & Me today.  I would expect this after a concert or something, but not at 2:00 on a Thursday afternoon!

One fact you need to know up front is that, in the garage we use, you get a token when you enter and when you return you pay at a machine on the first floor before going back to your car and exiting with the paid token.  Today, as we approached the exit, the cars just were not moving.  There was really nowhere to go, so we sat and waited with about six other cars.  Which Rebecca was thrilled about.  She fussed because it was nap time, and she wanted a bottle, and she needed her diaper changed, and Mommy you promised me all these things when we got home and why aren’t we going home?!?

Eventually the driver from the car in front got out and started talking to the people in the cars behind.  When she got to me, she explained that the machine would not let her out because her token wasn’t paid.  Really?!?  There are signs everywhere indicating that you need to pay at the machines on the first floor before you exit!  “I know,” she said, “but those machines only take credit cards and I’m not using a credit card when I only owe fifty cents.  I want to pay cash.”  Great.  And you really thought the best course of action was to take your unpaid token to the exit and hold up traffic?  Did you think there was an “I Only Owe Fifty Cents And I Want To Pay Cash” button next to the token drop?  You didn’t think talking to the attendant before blocking the exit might have been wise?

I understand wanting to use cash for such a small amount.  I thought the whole “credit cards only” thing was weird the first time I parked there too.  But I suck it up and use the plastic because that’s how this garage works.  If you really want to pay cash, the garage across the street takes cash.  Of course, it also charges $3.00 an hour instead of fifty cents, but you can pay with cash.  It’s up to you.

© 2013 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

A little over a year ago, I wrote this post about disaster preparedness, and set a goal for myself to get our family prepared.  On this anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, it seems as good a time as any to revisit the topic and evaluate my efforts.  Plus, tomorrow is “The Great California Shake Out“.  The program encourages Californians to participate in a “drop, cover, and hold on” drill at 10:18 am on 10/18, as well as practice what to do after the shaking stops and take steps to get prepared for an earthquake.

Sadly, I haven’t done as well as I had hoped and we still have a ways to go to be truly prepared.  So it is with renewed vigor that I again share this information and discuss how we’ve prepared ourselves and where we could still use some work.

Disaster Plan:

• have at least two escape routes to exit your home  We actually have three escape routes.  However, they are all from the ground floor and if you are on the second floor the stairs are your only option.  We should get some emergency window ladders before checking this one off. 
• keep a pair of shoes and a flashlight under each bed in case you need to evacuate at night
• have two designated meeting areas, one near the house and one within walking distance in case the neighborhood is evacuated
• have an out-of-state emergency contact to let family/friends know your status (long distance lines are usually fixed faster than local lines)
• know the location of the gas main and other utilities and know how to turn them off  I know where/how to shut the water off, but not the gas.
  

Some of these planning items are really simple and easy to do quickly, so there is no excuse for not having done them.  In other words, I should get on that.

Household Safety:

• have fire extinguishers on each level of your home and know how to use them  We have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, but we don’t have one on the second floor.  As for knowing how to use them . . . I know I’ve looked at the directions before, but it’s not like you can practice or anything to make sure you are doing it right!  So I think that’s the best I can hope for.
• make sure your smoke detectors (and as of July 1, 2011, CO detectors) are functioning and change the batteries every 6 months
• make sure all heavy furniture,  such as bookcases, hutches, or media centers, is properly secured to walls
• don’t hang mirrors or heavy pictures/artwork above beds or sofas where they can fall on people; make sure all wall hangings are properly secured with a closed hook
• secure books and knick-knacks on shelving with non-skid surface material or putty; store heavy items on low shelves
• be sure your house number is visible from the street so emergency services can find you 

Technically we haven’t done all these things.  Some items are bolted to the wall, some are not.  Some wall hangings are on closed hooks, some are not.  But honestly, I look around the house at wall hangings and knick-knacks and such, and there is nothing that concerns me that would fall and hurt someone.  This may not be the best way to think about it, but I think for us, finalizing our emergency plan and making sure we have all the survival items we need is more of a priority.

Disaster Kits:

• water (1 gallon per person, per day) and non-perishable food items; can opener; plates, utensils, and cups
• first aid kit  We have a first aid kit in the house, one in the garage, and one in the trunk of my car.
• flashlight or battery operated lantern and extra batteries We have a lantern you wind with a hand crank.
• battery operated radio and extra batteries  We have a solar/hand crank powered radio. 
• copies of important documents and phone numbers
• warm clothes/rain gear/hats
• blankets
• work gloves
• dust mask
• liquid bleach and an eye dropper (for water purification and sanitation)
• hygiene items (toilet paper, paper towels, moist towelettes, feminine products, hand sanitizer, soap, etc.)
• heavy duty plastic bags and a bucket (for waste and sanitation)
• emergency cash (including small bills and change)

I struggled with whether or not I should cross more items off this list.  We actually have every single item on it, but the items are not all in one location in “kit” form, save for the ones I did cross off.  We also haven’t prepared “go bags” in case we need to leave the area quickly.  Since the whole point of having a kit is to have everything in one easy-access location (and we might not be able to get to items in certain areas of the house if there is major damage), we need to get duplicate items and put them in a centralized location.

I hope you all out there are more prepared than we are.  If you are not, get to work!  Take a look at my prior post for  links that were helpful to me in learning about disaster preparedness.  I also encourage you to check out shakeout.org, which has information about how to participate in the Great Shake Out in California and in other regions, as well as information about getting prepared for an earthquake.

© 2012 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

This morning I received a call from someone in Blue Shield’s prenatal program.  She said she needed to ask me a few questions so she could “close out” my file, whatever that means.  I haven’t been a Blue Shield subscriber for several months, but she said it would only take a couple of minutes.  I agreed, mostly just to satisfy my curiosity as to exactly what they needed to know.

Frankly, it was dumb stuff that had me wondering if these people ever talk to each other.  “How many nights did you spend in the hospital?”  One, for which a claim was submitted and you paid.  “Did you have an epidural?”  Yes, you paid for it.  “Did you go in for a six week follow up appointment?”  Yup, you paid for that too.  Seriously, I have seen the line item claims the hospital made, and you guys have all this information already!  I wonder how much of my premiums went towards paying people to call subscribers and ask them stupid questions.

© 2012 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

Today, I called my mom to lament about the size of my ever-expanding baby belly.  Specifically, I was upset that the jeans I wore all day on Friday without incident were feeling extremely uncomfortable and tight when I put them on on Sunday.  I could tell it was going to be a short conversation because I could hear my 2-year-old niece, Allison, in the background saying “Dinosaur Train!”  Clearly, my mom had her hands full.  I pressed on anyway. 

“Mom,” I said, “I got fat in a day!” 

“Fat in a day?” she responded. 

Suddenly, the background noise changed:  “Fat in a day!  Fat in a day!” 

Thanks, Allison. 

(c) 2012 The Beehive All Rights Reseved.

We spent New Year’s Eve with Steve’s boss and her husband.  The short version of the story is she needed help with her computer and he was the man for the job.  I ended up watching a movie with her husband while the two of them worked on the computer, and then we all went out to a delicious dinner. 

When Steve told me the situation just a few hours before we left the house, I remarked it was a good thing we didn’t have any New Year’s plans.  He said she initially asked what time he needed to be home so we could do our thing, but he told her we had no plans.

“‘Cause we’re big fat losers,” I replied. 

“Yeah, but we’re big fat losers together.” 

Happy New Year!

(c) 2012 The Beehive All Rights Reserved.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned to my mom that I need to find some new blogs to read.  I usually read a little online in the morning while I’m eating breakfast.  A (non-news) substitute for the morning paper I suppose.  Most of my friends with blogs do not post daily (nor do I, obviously), and a couple of the good ones I’ve been reading for years have become less frequent posters.  The few I read that seem to have consistent new posts I’m ready to move on from.  Let’s just say it’s not my cup of tea when grown-ups frequently describe things as “adorbs.” 

So back to my mom, and my lament that there are mornings when I have nothing worthwhile to read on the queue.  She says to me, “Maybe you should start your own blog.”  What a great idea!  Except . . . I already have one.  Nobody reads it.  Not even my mom. 

(c) 2011 The Beehive All Rights Reserved

I say “Rant of the Moment” rather than “Rant of the Day” or even “Rant of the Hour” because it seems I have something to complain about pretty constantly.  Usually it’s about stupid people, so it’s not surprise that this rant is about stupid people.  Or maybe I should give them the benefit of the doubt and say normal people who are acting stupid in a momentary lapse of judgment.

To set things up a bit, I am just finishing a semester of school where probably 90% of my work has been group work.  Now, all the instructors say they do so many group projects because in the “real world” we will always be working in groups.  I think it’s because they don’t want to grade as much, but that’s just me.  In the “real world” when you are working in groups, your group members sit down the hall from you from 9 to 5 (or whatever your office hours happen to be), are typically there to do the group work all day long, and get fired if they don’t do their jobs and do them well.  So to say they are trying to mimic the “real world” doesn’t really work for me.  But I digress.  The bottom line is, my last group projects were due yesterday and I was glad — ecstatic, really — to be done with these groups. 

Imagine my dismay today to receive yet another email (I have literally hundreds in my inbox) from one of my group members.  (Ug, I thought I was done with this and would finally get some peace!)

“Our final is on Monday at 9:40?  I vaguely remember hearing the instructor saying it was earlier.”

Considering the final exam time is printed on the instructor’s course schedule and in the catalogue of classes, I thought this was a stupid question that she needn’t have bothered me with.  But, my Grandma Heaton used to say, “you can always be civil,” so I responded politely with a flip remark about how the instructor does not have her act together and can’t be trusted to tell us the correct time, but yes, it is at 9:40.  I thought that would be the end of it, but shortly thereafter, she responded.

“I’m going to email the instructor to ask.”

Really?!?  I expressed no uncertainly whatsoever about time, suggesting to me that she would have asked the instructor regardless of what I answered.  Which begs the question, why did she bother to ask in the first place?  I threw up my hands, but again figured that was the end of it.  Not so.  At this point, our third team member, also copied on these emails, chimed in.

“hmmm . . . . I thought it was Monday at 9:40?”

Let me remind you that this is published in two places and I had just confirmed it to be my understanding as well.  I was at the end of my rope a week ago and this was just more than I could take.

“yeah, that’s what I just said.  if anyone is still confused, I suggest checking in the schedule of classes.  over and out.”

Perhaps a bit too harsh and not well thought out.  But I don’t think totally undeserved.  Is it so hard to just open up the schedule and check, rather than go back and forth over email like this?  We’re not finished yet, though.  Team member number one has to have the last word.

“Ladies, were (sic) done . . . . . . . . . . . . it’s just Monday and it’s open book.”

. . . followed by a link to some stress relief breathing exercises.  Now, I don’t dispute that I could probably benefit from some sort of stress relief program.  However, in this case, I think my stress would be significantly relieved by not having to deal with these people any more.  We’re all adults here.  Is it really too much to ask that we take some personal responsibility for our own schedules rather than expecting others to keep track of it for us?  Apparently so.  I will be glad when this is over — for real — on Monday.  I’m sure I will shortly be blessed with another group of annoying, stupid people to deal with in some other arena, but I will savor my time to myself in the meantime.

(c) 2011 The Beehive All Rights Reserved.

This morning, as I sat at my computer checking my email and doing a thousand other time wasting things that people do on the computer, I noticed a post-it sticking out from a pile of papers on my desk.  I pulled it out and saw a list I wrote a couple of weeks ago of things I wanted to write about on the blog.  One of the items was “this is what happens when you procrastinate.”  I cannot for the life of me remember what I did or saw that made a good story about the perils of procrastination.  The mystery list item does, however, provide another apt example of why you shouldn’t procrastinate.  If you don’t get to your to-do list in a reasonable amount of time, you’ll forget what your notes mean.

© 2011 The Beehive All Rights Reserved