If only I compared my stress level this week to that of a soldier in Afghanistan during the heated summer uprisings! Monday I threw papers because of the stress. 1) car had to go to the mechanic for the check engine soon light (turned out to be a loose gas cap) 2) stupid telephone call at work 3) trouble signing up for the payroll deduction of parking fees 4) had to drop the dogs off at the groomers for an appointment and the address was wrong on the gift certificate. 5) I got a call to pick up the dogs so he could make a 2:30 appointment and my son thought he’d get gas first. YIKES!
I found a screw in my tire at the post office while shipping 2 boxes to the troops. Funny that I just had my brake pads checked the day before. Hmmm! could I have picked it up at the garage? Wednesday I went to a tire dealer to remove a screw and ended up getting all 4 new tires. Not only was there a screw in one tire, there was slow leak in another, and a dangerous slash in another. All had low tread in the yellow zone of his measuring device.
Monday evening I missed the VFW meeting because I was stuck on the phone with Hewlett Packard support. It’s the hard drive going out. I ran a back up to my external drive. I have an extended service pack on the computer but the fellow in India said there was no record of it in his database. So after placing the order for a new hard drive, I was transferred to someone who could fix their records. Meanwhile he said he’d call same time the following day. Ah! I spoke to an American. How do I explain to her that the folks in India don’t have my care pack in their database without being too ethnic?
Tuesday after work I picked up some chicken dinners for my son and myself at the VFW under the pressure of knowing I may have to be home in time for and important call from India on my HP computer’s hard drive problem. I made it in time for the call.
On the way to work, I travel the new MacArthur Blvd extension between Springfield and the interstate which is lightly populated. There’s a cop that sits at an intersection to nowhere because they may want to make a road there in the future. It’s a 35MPH zone and just fields that people commute in a hurry on. That’s easy revenue in speeding tickets. Meanwhile there are thieves steeling copper to recycle from the air conditioners of homes and businesses that the thieves get a few bucks for but the owners have to pay 20 times to have repaired after the vandals.
A dear coworker announced that she’ll be retiring in 2 weeks and moving to S Carolina after selling her house. Wow, it was a surprise. She said she needed to be near her mom. She plans to go to culinary school. I asked to have her stand up workstation. Looks like I’ll be picking up some more duties too.
The tomatoes in the garden are flourishing now. They seem smaller because of the lack of July water and heat.
Thursday I skipped an ABATE meeting to go to a lecture at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential museum on the 1st Battle of Bull Run. It was very interesting comparison between the advantages/disadvantages between the N and S. Especially bad was the gray uniforms worn by Wisconsin regiments and friendly fire. They got hit twice when they retreated. Duh! The egos of the leadership played a factor in how they followed directions as well. The S had better discipline but the N had better resources.
Friday I took a half day off of work to nap for a late night of volunteer work at the state fair beer tent. I didn’t get much rest however. I did learn that during the day shift, Bill Peters, signed in for duty and collapsed and died. It was hot and a good walk from the parking area. Mr Peters was a member of the Catholic War Veterans and leader of the Interveterans Council. We had a moment of silence for him at our briefing for the evening shift. I ended up in the Miller tent. We had a good youthful band from Chicago play. They even played the latest from Lady GaGa. After I got off duty at midnight, I went quickly to a little theater showing the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It’s an old theater that had recently reopened and has known ghosts that haunt the place. Needless to say I got home late and had to get up at 6AM to help with the Run for the Fallen at Washington Park. Both of my sons were involved as well. My son that works at the vet center was at the starting point and registration. My other son and I manned a water table at the 1 mile mark. It was wonderful to see the first runners come by in their camo tee shirts that were issued for the run. Then, to my surprise, came the walkers who were gold star families carrying flags. As they went by I clapped in an encouraging way and was moved to tears. Now I see why the event was not publicized much. It was intended to be intimate for the local gold star families, many whom I’ve met at many of the veteran events that I attend. That evening, I recalled the day’s run with tears. I now understand why the publicity was limited to veterans organizations. The run was set up at the pavilion on Palmatier Road, named after KIA Jacob Palmatier. His wife walked this event.
Sunday morning I rode my little motorcycle to church. I was the second reader. In the evening I went to the Muni to see a play of the Wizard of Oz. It was a great show and singing. I saw my coworker, Dave and his family get a golf cart trolley drop off from the parking lot to the front row area. At intermission I had a small visit.
There’s a gentleman that may be interested in buying my Piaggio MP3 400 that I have advertised. He just wanted to call on Tuesday to see if the warranty will be honored. Crossing my fingers.
Monday evening I took Bentley to the vet for a follow up. He had a little cist that I had the doctor look at. She needled it and out came water. No big deal except for the money part.
Ok, so I tried some chocolate covered bacon leftover from the state fair that was brought to work. Not bad.
Though Styles has been in business only since January, she already has an extensive history of charitable activities. She has conducted fundraisers for cystic fibrosis and breast cancer, and even turned down a potential major investor who wanted her to spend less time and money on her fundraisers. 
