Month: May 2008

High School (Survey)

/ ronni, survey

Lifted from Helen, the source for all good surveys.

1. Can you sing the fight song?
No.

2. Who was your favorite teacher?
Miss Wheeler. Most of the teachers were hell bent on beating us down. She worked her butt off to lift us back up.

3. What was your school mascot?
Rebels

4. Did you go to the Prom?
I actually did go to Prom. I decided two days before, borrowed a dress, and went solo. I danced and took pictures with all the other girls’ dates.

5. If you could go back, would you?
No, no, a million times no.

6. What do you remember most about graduation?
Taking pictures, it being dark, a girl named Jen yelling “PAULLLL”, cameras flashing, Pomp & Circumstance, and my father cheering.

7. Where were you on Senior Skip Day?
I am not sure if my school had an official skip day….

8. Did you have a job your senior year?
Yes. I worked in a deli at a grocery store.

9. Where did you go most often for lunch?
The senior lunchroom. Every day I got two grape juices and chocolate milk with my meal. For graduation, I got two free grape juices. 🙂

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Shenanigans

/ shenanigans

June 15th, American Airlines will be charging $15 for the first checked bag. Here is what is on their Web site:

June 15, 2008
Customers who purchase domestic economy class tickets on or after June 15, 2008, will be charged $15 each way for the first checked bag and $25 each way for the second checked bag.

Exceptions to this policy include customers who purchase First or Business Class tickets, AAdvantage Executive Platinum®, AAdvantage Platinum® and AAdvantage Gold® members as well as customers who purchase full-fare tickets in Economy Class.

OK, anyone else think it’s shady that the people who can afford the baggage allowance (First, Business Class, etc.) are the ones who DON’T have to pay the extra? Seems like it should be the other way around to me.

And another thing. Everyone is going to start bringing those roller bags on board. I have been on many flights where they started wailing that there wasn’t room in the overhead compartments and forcing people to check their roller bags. So, not only are the economical people going to have to pay extra to check a bag, they might be FORCED into it by the flight crew at the last minute because EVERYONE will be switching to carry on. I, for one, don’t want to have to carry around an extra $15 just in case my roller bag doesn’t fit on the plane.

Please note that one carry-on personal item does not count toward the checked bag guidelines. You may bring up to one bag onboard the aircraft with you, provided it meets Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The FAA mandates that all carry-on items must fit under a seat or in an enclosed storage compartment. Our gate or flight personnel may need to further limit the amount of carry-on baggage for a particular flight depending on the cabin storage capacity of the aircraft type and the expected number of passengers.

They have every right to change their policies, but I have every right not to follow them. Anyway, I’m jaded by American, United, and all those other airlines that give all that special treatment to certain passengers and not to others. I mean, come on. Do they REALLY need a red carpet at the boarding gate? Give me Southwest any day, where everyone is treated the same and the flight attendants make jokes.

I don’t plan to ever fly American again.

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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More About Little Lucy…

/ lucy, sad

Thank you all for your kind words yesterday. I feel a little better this morning, a little more accepting. Still hurting, though. I miss her. But I realize that I miss the healthy Lucy. The one who would plant her butt firmly on my keyboard when I was in the middle of typing an email or a LJ entry. The one who would stick her nose all the way into my mouth until she was satisfied that she learned what I had for dinner. The one who would wake me up at 2am because she had decided to pull my hair for whatever reason. The Little Lucy who wanted to get pet and darn it, she was GOING to get pet no matter what I was doing that I thought was so important.

I have never lost a major pet before. I always had fish and hamsters, and although I was sad that they left, it wasn’t like this. I had a dog in high school. Darby the Dog. He ran away while I was away at school, and although deep down I know that he probably didn’t survive, I like to believe that someone saw how awesome he was and took him in.

Lucy hadn’t been doing well ever since she moved here. At first, I thought it was stress from the move, that she needed a bit of space and would come out when she was ready; that was how she’d done big changes in the past. But this time she never really bounced back. Instead, she started eating less and less, drinking less and less, and then she wasn’t eating or drinking at all. She was always a little cat, but she was down to 4.5 pounds. She could barely walk without collapsing. Her liver had basically shut down, and she was dehydrated. It would have taken a week in the hospital to MAYBE get her better, and there is no way she could have handled that. She was always a delicate little thing, nervous and skittish. Even if it was just the two of us, any sudden movement would send her running to hide under the bed or behind the toilet. The stay in the hospital would have been far too traumatic for her. The vet said that given how sick she was, this was something that had going on for a while, and the stress from the move might have helped trigger it. :(

I’m slowly coming to terms with having made the decision to put her down yesterday. It was one of the hardest choices I’ve ever made. But when I held her in that office for one last time, and she was looking away, I knew that she had already said good-bye.

I feel so many things right now. Heartbreak, grief, emptiness, guilt. I knew that one day I would lose her, but I honestly expected at least six more years with her. To have her gone so suddenly is a shock.

I miss my little Lucy.

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Saddest Day…

/ lucy, sad

Pretty Little Lucy
In Loving Memory….
Little Lucy
August 2001 – May 2008

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Crazy Day Pt. 2 | Shopping Adventures

/ ronni, shopping

The thing is… once upon a time I used to LOVE shopping. I used to love hitting the malls and the stores, trying on clothing, and getting new stuff. These past two days, however, have been grueling. I returned the suit I’d bought at Filene’s Basement because it really was too big. Then I went to New York & Company to see what they were all about, as Kelle Belle suggested it. There shirts were AWESOME. They fit right, and were made for someone built like me. The pants were another story. Size 2 petite were too baggy and long for me. I don’t have time to get pants tailored, so those went back on the rack. I got great shirts there, but not so much for the pants. 🙁

Went to Old Navy… no luck. Didn’t even have anything for me to try on remotely close to my size. Went to The Limited (I knew The Limited or Express would have pants that fit me) and got two pairs of nice pants. Expensive (sigh) but I know they’ll last me and I know they will match the other Limited stuff I have in my closet. My other choice of pants is the Editor pant from Express. I am not sure where an Express is in Chicago yet.

My other big purchase was some bath bombs and that Ring of Roses stuff from Lush. That was something I promised myself I’d get once I got a job. I got two free bath bombs too, thanks to coupons and a special.

At any rate, today was exhausting. I got some stuff, and I am hoping and praying that this place doesn’t require suits all the time. I can’t find anything affordable that looks good on me, and I will have to wear the two I have over and over for a while. I am hoping the nice shirts and nice pants will be professional enough. I’ve been living in the business casual world for so long, I have no clue how this professional dress stuff works. And on top of that, I felt GUILTY for buying stuff, even though I need it for work. I’m so used to not spending this much money at once, and I just felt uncomfortable hearing those totals. But these are one offs, and because they’re decent quality, I shouldn’t have to buy too much more. I still need brown shoes and a bag. *sigh* Maybe next week.

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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