Strangeness @ MindSay 
I've known B. and her hubby R. now since waiting tables in a local Etna restaurant. As a customer at the restaurant she was someone that was always nice enough but very whiny .... and honestly I believe it is just her overall nature and I can deal with that.
One night she and her husband came in ..... she ordered a 1/2 carafe of wine. A glass was normal for her ..... and he doesn't drink. They ordered their dinner ..... she with normal hold this and can you add that requests ..... him with his simple plain cheeseburger and fries. And upon returning with the water pitcher and carafe she asked if I would take their picture .... this was a special evening.
Anniversary? Birthday? I asked. No .... she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was having surgery next week. They wanted a picture of their last night out together before ...... before surgery, chemo and everything else that goes with recovery ..... or not.
I left the restaurant shortly after that. Did not see B. or her hubby R. for a while. I ran into B. one morning early .... she looked thin and frail. She said was doing ok. Tired. She was on her way to Medford for one of her weekly trips for Chemo.
The next time I saw B. she looked amazing. She had color .... still frail .... but her hair had come back in ..... very very curly ..... and she just looked adorable ..... even through all that had gone on. But she wasn't one that liked to be told that as I found out. In her mind you were making light of what she had been through. It made her cry and she became defensive. And that was not the case ..... at least for me and I'm sure for anyone else who made the error during that tender period of recovery of letting her know she looked pretty wonderful. In my mind it was a testament to her strength.
The next time I heard from B. was the phone call to moms phone asking how to get hold of me ..... she needed a driver / housekeeper. Would I be interested?
And the rest is history ...... I really like B. She is a very funny lady but has some strange quirks ..... and is very um, for lack of a better word .... cheap (not paying me for driving I might add .... generous in that regard, no complaints). I never expected anymore than a $1.00 tip from them at the restaurant no matter what the bill. You got no more no less ..... and everything she buys is a price debate .... "now I know you can sell this for cheaper" ..... it bothered me at first ..... I'd just kind of turn and walk away while she played the whats the best price you can give me game on a head of lettuce ..... and usually she gets her way ..... I'm sure just to get her out of there. And whiny is her norm .... before and after cancer ..... it is just her, I don't know how else to put it .... even when she is at her happiest she is whiny ..... and it can be grating .... but as I said I really really like B. Just a different breed.
Today she did something that I think is very BIZARRE .... and correct me if I am wrong and you have actually heard of people doing this before ..... because I HAVE NOT ..... !
I loaded up her two dogs today to take them to the groomer. She came along too, obviously ..... we drop off the dogs and as we walk out the door she turns and says to the groomer .... "oh, and remember to save FuFu's (yes, that is the dogs name) hair!" And me being me .... knowing that I could be sorry for asking .... asked .... "why are you saving the fur?" "I've been saving FuFu's hair and having it spun so that I can have a scarf made out of it .... "
Yep ..... Yep ..... uh huh ..... swear ..... I do not make this shit up ..... but it gets better .....
We pick the dogs up ..... the groomer hands her the bag of dog hair and says .... I do the same with my cat hair .... my mom is spinning it and I'm having a sweater made ..... a sweater people ...... made of freaking CAT HAIR ..... ****cough, cough ...... HAIRBALL!****
At the drugstore yesterday ..... on the counter ..... three boxes of sugarless gum samples ..... B. was off looking at cards ..... I asked the counter lady (not the one I wanted to deck a few weeks ago Jen, a different one) if I could take a couple samples .... she said sure! In a matter of a split second ..... B. is there .... "samples? Are they free?" ..... now, I had taken one of each .... B. reaches in and literally takes about 1/3 of each box ..... and while loading up saying she just loves to send this kind of stuff to her grandkids in cards. Again, after the first handful out of each box and then going back for seconds .... I just turned .... embarrassed. And I just don't think it even phased her ..... it was like they put those boxes out there just for her. lol ......
Anyway ..... save your dog and cat hair people ..... you don't have to go naked anymore ..... and if you need someone to spin that hair for ya, apparently there are some folks around here that would be happy to do just that.
Peace. J.
Have you ever seen something so random that you just had to stop and laugh? It happened to me today at the shops. I was just walking by (as you do) after getting all my shopping done and I walked past this busker setting up his guitar.
He looked like one of those guys you see in documentaries, sitting at a roadside cafe in Rome, drinking an espresso with his mates. He was about 60-ish and quite short and round with a face that sad "I've worked hard in the fields for many years" . He had a tanned, leathery face and was not the kind of guy you expect to see playing a guitar, let alone busking. Then again neither is Tom Waits I guess.
That's when he did it: he opened his mouth to sing and began to play. I couldn't believe my ears, this old guy was playing serious rock tunes and his voice was like a 25 year-old rocker!! I stopped and turned and thought "What the fuck?" I had expected to hear a droning voice trying hard to carry some meaningless christmas carol but there was none of that. I found myself chuckling and shaking my head as I walked off to my car.
Some days people will surprise you in good ways. No boobies tonight, sorry.
The weirdest thing happened to me on the way to work this morning. I was taking a short cut through a parking lot (I was five minutes late for work) when a big black crow almost flew right into my face! I immediately stopped walking to stare at this wacky bird and, coming at me from the direction the crow came, a semi truck crossed my path. If I hadn't stopped to look at that crow and wonder why it was flying so low to the ground, I would not have stopped for the truck. Now crows aren't all that afraid of humans, yet they don't normally just come flying out of nowhere in your face! I am relieved that the crow flew by and a part of me thanks the Gods for sending it my way, coincidence or not, it saved my life!
The other weird thing I have to report is, while working on a store window display, some old guy walked up to the window while I was in there dressing a mannequin and he started yelling, "They crush your balls! Crush the balls! No one can stop them from crushing my balls!" I think he had Tourette Syndrome. I'm familiar with this disorder because my brother has a mild case of it, so I walked out to see if the guy was still there, only to find he disappeared as soon as I got out of the store. Weirrrrd!
As for other goings on today, I recieved a strange phone call from my brother around 5am. He called to tell me he had just gotten out of the hospital after he experienced a bit of an emotional breakdown. He swears he wasn't suicidal, but I have the strong feeling that he was thinking about it. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much and this whole day has me reading into things...
Oh, and last night I found something that I didn't know was missing! It's been a month since I last walked into the media lab here at UWSP (last time I went was to make slides for my portfolio) and, just on a whim, I stopped by to borrow a scissors. As the lab assistant was busy helping someone else, I saw a painting of mine posted on the wall. "Hey, that's my work!" I cried. "Are you sure?" the lab assistant asked. I could tell that she liked it and wanted to keep it there, but the painting was part of a book my friend Andrew and I were working on. The lab assistant gave it back to me, but I shudder to think it lost forever if I hadn't of stopped by yesterday. Still, it's nice to know someone liked it enough to display it prominently in their workspace. For copyright reasons, I can't show the painting here, but I can tell you that it was an illustration of the Little People of Beaver Island, Michigan.
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