Booze @ MindSay

Last weekend, my landlord calls me up and says, "Hey... these girls want to look at apartment #9. I'm out of town. Can you show it to them?"

Sure. No problem.

So I spend a whopping 15 minutes of my day showing them the place. They like it.

Then on Thursday, I'm walking from work to the hardware store to pick up a couple things, and I bump into my landlord. He thanks me for taking the time to show the place to the girls. "How much did I say I'd pay you for that?"

"We didn't discuss it," I say. "And don't worry about it."

"Well, I want to give you something, and I'm sure you can always use an extra fifty bucks."

Well, yeah... in fact, I could desperately use an extra fifty right now. Still, I say, "Sure, but it's really not necessary."

"Do you like wine?" he asks.

Now... he asks me this every year, because it's his tradition to give his tenants a nice bottle of wine as a holiday gift. The first year, he asks me, and I tell him I don't. So instead he gives me a two pound box of chocolate truffles. This happens the second year, too. This past year, I get both the truffles and a bottle of wine. That's fine... I have friends who like wine and I keep some on hand for them. But he asks me again, and again I say, "Not particularly." And I elaborate.

He says, "So what you're saying is you just haven't found a wine you like, yet."

I admit this is true. So he asks if I've ever tried thus-and-such wine. Nope. "I'll bring you a bottle. Trust me, it's amazing."

I'm thinking, Fine... though I'd really rather have the cash. "And I'll get a nice crisp fifty for you, too."

Today he calls me up and says, "Well, I let my wife do everything. She put a bottle of booze in your locker. Dunno what it is. But thanks again."

Yep, she put a bottle of booze in there. A fifth of Hennessy. And a thank-you card with a check for fifty bucks tucked inside.

Sweet.

A fast update of a bit of everything. 

 

1.  I have started getting my mail on an every other day biases!  My moms is sooo proud of me!  I started because I was waiting for checks to come in for the kids and various First Communion presents from all the family and "pagany" friends that sent to them.  Now I am waiting on my checks to come in.  So now that I have gotten in the habit we can start actually "writting".  Craftywench dear, I need you to email us full addy and your mini me's name and your name again.  DeLaney said she won't promise any decent letters (they just got done with proper letter writing at school so she is burnt out) but she will write!

 

2.  I was very upset with my TKD Academy instructor Monday and ran into Aj's wife yesterday and told her why.  It looks like my cousin's wife has been talking and the owner/instructor is beleiving every word she has to say about me.  Which is funny as hell cause the stuck up bitch doesn't KNOW me, doesn't talk to me outside of saying hi, and thinks I am "white trash" cause I don't dress in brand name clothes.  Carrie is upset over this cause she had to deal with my cousin's wife talking shit about her last year.  AJ is going to talk to me Friday cause he is worried that after we get our black belt at the end of this year beginning of next year instead of stickign around that we will leave the Academy.  AJ knows that I don't put up with this type of shit but I am also not going to play highschool bull shit games, I'll call the instructor and cousin's wife out and be dayumed any family fall out.

 

3.  After 7 years (i though it was 5 until my moms counted back) I actually took myself to my hair stylist and got my hair colored.  The kdis and I got our hair cut Wensday or Thrusday last week and I splurged on hair color yesterday.  I think I look kick ass hot with my new do.  The bottom half of my hair is a purply reddish brown and the upper layers are reddish brown.  So when I put my sides up you can see the purple and when I actually blow dry curl my bangs you can see it also!  My hair stylist instead of charging me for my length which at the moment is short and thickness of my hair (usually takes a lot of dye for my hair even when short) she charged me just for shortness for two different dyes even though the bottom dye she used a full bottle of it she said!  I was very happy over not paying close to 100 for my dye like normal!  It was closer to 50!

 

4.  I don't know if I told you all about the plan I had in plotting progress but I started it.  At the end of May when my kdis get out of school, instead of taking them on their first camping trip, they will be staying with Pappo and Mammo (Unless daddy is home those two days) while Mommy is bettering herself.  I registered for 1 of 6 classes to start my certificate/licensing process to become a Certified and eventually Licensed Drug/Alchohal (sp?  can't ever spell that word) Counselor!  The total amoutn of classes is $1300.00 but you only pay for the class your taking.  And if the class that is scheduled doesn't fit in your schedule you just wait for the next one to be listed, it doesn't hurt you!  It is through the Lincoln Medical Center and a program called TAP out of Lincoln.  The series of classes are held every 6 months.  Sometimes on the Western/Central parts of the state and the other times on the Eastern/Central part of the state.  Right now they are in the Western/Central parts of the state but I am going down to a weekend class in Lincoln the day my kdis get out of school for the first class.  I have NOT told Randy yet, because Randy told NOW would come up with a way to sabatoge my plans and he wouldn't even realize it.  Once it comes closer I will inform him and he will get over it.  My parents and my sister (and one friend) are stepping to the plate to help with the kids especially when it comes to the week long classes coming up.  After I do the classes I have to intern at 1 of 4 places near me or try to get on at the IHS out paitent clinic.  Once I get that over with I can get licensed and work anyplace in NE as a counselor.  I am going to hold out for the IHS Drug/Booze Dependency Unit to be up and operational to get on with the Tribe/Gov't.  They are in the process of building it now right next to the new IHS hospital my moms works at!

 

5.  My garden is tilled and my onions planted.  I have to find my other seed to get the other cold weather seeds in, my herb garden needs one more tillign and then I can plant that, and Coltin's room is about done with the fixing of cracks so I can paint!

 

6.  Randy has been an ass lately so when he is home this week we will hash that out.

 

Over all life has been good.  I even wrote gwydionjim a letter while he is at boot camp.  He might even get another one here when I mail out the last of the kids' thank you cards for all their First Communion Presents!  Yes I make my kids do snail mail thank yous!

For the past few years, I and many other ppl have been feeling like we have been living in a increasing Communist Country.  Our various freedoms and the right to do the most basic things has become illegal or taxed the hell out of.  Did our Founding Fathers NOT start this country to get away from gov't rule and stupid assinine lack of common sense?

 

But US Citizens do not dispare!  We are NOT alone in how our gov't is becoming a Communist Rule and telling us what we can do, how to do what they tell us we can do, and all that jive!  The Britions are no better off then we are!  Only difference is their anal retintive gov't calls their taxes and stupid ass laws "Sin Taxes".

 

The UK not only went after smoking but now they are going after drinking.  And cars!  Hey at least they are being fair if you ask my opinon on that!  Not only are they making it illegal to kill oneself with smoke by making it almost unattinable to smoke anywhere but your house, now the UK is hiking their already HIGH booze tax up another 6%.  They are now trying to do away with the "pub" scene.   The car issue is along the lines of SUVs and bigger vechiles.  For many US Citizens they have no clue exactly how expensive it is over in the UK. 

 

Case in point when us US Citizens were bitching about paying 1.70 plus a gallon on gas the UK Citizens were already paying about 3-4 bucks a gallon for gas.  So just imagine what they are paying now with US Citizens paying about 3-4 bucks a gallon for gas.  They are looking at almost a 10 dollar a gallon gas fill. 

 

Many British Citizens are speaking out on these "Sin" Taxes.  Baisc enjoyment for many ppl of drinking, smoking, and driving vechiles they already paid otu the ass on are now "SINS" and they will be taxed for it.  Citizens over in the UK have pointed out that their ecomony is just as shitty as the US's and the gov't is stupid ass hell for hiking these taxes because it will NOT stop ppl from drinking or smoking.  If a person wants to drink and smoke they are going to.  It won't stop them from driving their vechiles anymore than US Citizens have stopped driving big vechiles.  All it is going to do is cost the Gov't money by loss of revenue. 

 

And once our lovely gov'ts tax basic enjoyments to death and cause the majority of citizens in their country to stop doing what they enjoy, and cost the gov't revenue they will start taxing to death basic everyday living items even more than they already do.  Because we all know that it isn't the gov't that keeps our countries running.  It is the citizens and how they are taxed to death and then told we have no say in anything.  We are told how to live our lives, what we can and can't do.

 

Saying this to anyone in our gov'ts can consitute a treason act if we act against it.  Even when the US Consitution says the US Citizens have the right to rise up and clean out our own gov't.  If we should do this we are committing a treasonist act even though we have a consitutional right to do so.  In otherwords, if the Citizens of the US finally wise up and stop their bitching and act, we are dayumed.  If we continue our bitching and do nothing we are dayumed.  At least the US Citizens have a small recourse with our Consititution.  I am not sure what the British Citizens have for recourse. 

 

Got to love our Communist Gov'ts that use the guise of democrocy to beat down their citizens.

            I’m back after taking a little break last week to study for exams and combat the flu.  I passed all my exams and redeemed myself for that disastrous last semester at ECU ten years ago, and now I have only a slight cough I just can’t get rid of.  To celebrate my success and semi-recovery, Angie and I ventured to Raleigh Sunday for an afternoon of theatre.

            We went to Theatre in the Park for Ira David Wood’s annual one-man performance of Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory.  It was a very touching story, and I believe that it was the best theatrical performance I have ever seen.  Since we’re only a week from the day, I thought I’d pull up a memory or two of my own.

            Believe it or not, spending Christmas Day at the police department isn’t that bad.  I spent six of the eight Christmases I was employed with the TPD sitting there in the dispatch center.  Aside from actually being expected to work on Christmas, it was a rather enjoyable day that I could spend the bulk of reading or watching TV.

            Sometime mid-morning, the whole squad would gather in dispatch to exchange gifts with our sergeant.  The first call of the day never came in until around 4, when someone who’d been hitting the booze all day finally had just enough to foul everything up for me and their family.

            I really loved Christmas when I was little.  I always hated kids who insisted there was no Santa Claus, and I still do.  Adults who “don’t want to lie to their kids” are even worse.  I remember being in a church service once when the preacher’s wife proclaimed that Santa Claus did not exist, and then proceeded to assault our ears with her rendition of “Mary Had a Baby.”  I briefly questioned the existence of God, let alone Santa Claus, after listening to her caterwauling, but then I came to my senses.  I don’t think God minds Santa Claus if you keep him in proper perspective.  You’re in the minority; get over it.

            I’ll have you know Santa Claus came to my house every year, and one time there was some red fur on the wood in our fireplace where he had torn his pants.  He left numerous apple cores and orange peels behind on the table where I’d put them out for him.  He even left me a nice letter once explaining why he wasn’t able to leave the toy I’d asked for as proof of his existence for a little jerk in my class.  So what if Santa’s handwriting resembled my mother’s?

            Shame on me, I hated it when Christmas fell on a Sunday and we were expected to go to church, but I did always enjoy the Sunday night services before Christmas when there was a church-wide carol fest.  There were special numbers in addition to congregational singing, and one little girl in my class played the Air Force song on the piano.  Puzzling to me also.

            My family always had our big dinner on Christmas Eve, and then we’d open one gift before going to bed.  We’d get up Christmas Day, open the rest of the presents, and then have country ham biscuits for breakfast.  Sometime after noon, we’d visit the grandparents.

            When I was little, Santa Claus filled a stocking for me at my Granny Lewis’s house too.  She always had a table full of ham and turkey, and every dessert imaginable.  In later years, as the family swelled with in-laws, she just cooked a huge pot of vegetable soup and a few desserts, but truth be told, after stuffing myself with ham and turkey on Christmas Eve, just a month after doing the same on Thanksgiving, the soup was a welcome relief.

            This Christmas will be different.  I’m going to Sparta to see how the in-laws do it.  It’ll be my first Christmas away from Tarboro since 1992, and my first away from home ever.  I went to Sparta a few days after Christmas last year, and I was able to take part in one of their traditions that was right up my alley: going to the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, to see a Christmas play.  Last year we saw It’s a Wonderful Life, and this year we’ll take in another version of A Christmas Carol.  It should be fun.

            Since I’ll be away, I’ll just wish you a Merry Christmas now...and thank you for doing the same.  Don’t wish me Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings.  It’s Christmas.  Have a merry one.

 

© 2007 by J.D. Lewis

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21123039/

 

First yes I am a smoker.  Second got to read this article and laugh your ass off!

 

Now my question...........Can us smokers turn around and sue city, county, and federal gov't over the price of our smokes?  If we can't, then why are you all allowing boozers to get pissy over the price of booze specials?

 

I say it is about time the gov'ts start hammering those who drink like they do to smokers!