interesting week

baby bird

On Thursday, Rachel went to work mid-day and then came home to go to sleep at 2. She screamed something is alive in her fireplace! You could hear something in there behind the cover.

after, looking sassy!

Before, looking skunky

When Bill came home, he opened up the cover and saw 2 baby birds clinging to the sides of the chimney. They didn't have many feathers and eyes were not open. Part of a nest was on the floor of the fireplace. He picked them up with this towel and put them outside. They clung to the towel like superglue. In the morning, they were still there. I had thought the parents would show up and take them away or at least feed them. I tried giving them bread soaked in milk, but they wouldn't eat. I eventually put them in a nice box with leaves and put them in the shade. Sadly, when we came back from dinner, they were dead.
The big thing this week is I had my hair cut off. I'm sick of coloring it. So, I had my stylist give me a style that will let the grey eventually be the dominate color. The long hair is gone for a while but after the colored hair is completely gone, the long hair will be back. When I told Rachel I was getting my hair cut off, she was shocked.

Lazy Sunday

Louise taking a much needed nap

 Louise is beating me at Solitaire

Unhappy Chip, can't sit in Bill's Lazy Boy Chair

It is is quiet out there today. Louise was taking her nap and then I left the couch to finish laundry. When I came back, she had her paws on the I Pad. She seems to be thinking very intently about her next move.

Since I had Bill's chair cleaned, Chip is no longer allowed to sit in the Lazy Boy. He is not thrilled. Look at that face. He is staring at the chair.

This afternoon, Rachel breezed in and asked for some cash. Which I don't have. Not even one dollar. So, I went into the Wells Fargo website and showed her, she had 2 bucks, I had one and she had 1.76 in her savings. She asked me to transfer the savings to her checking so she could get a gallon of gas to go to Tybee Island with her friends. Half an hour later, she calls me. Why can't she get $20 out of the ATM? WTF? Did she NOT see what we had in our checking accounts? Is she smoking too much p*t? Who knows. I told her better luck tomorrow...

Parking problem

Burnt recycling container

What's the matter with my parking?

This recycle container down the street had a fire. Now, why would something flammable be in there? There is a long list of what can and cannot be put in the container. Glass, aluminum, newspaper and plastic go in. Trash, garbage and fire do not.

Saw this genius parking job on my way to coffee this morning. It has 2 busted rear tires and I think a busted rear axle. It is half on the sidewalk and half out in the busy section of Montgomery Street. When I went by later in the day, it was gone. I'm sure it wasn't driven...

Luck

OMG! Who knew? I got off the phone with my mechanic and nearly died. He said it wasn't a clutch cable on the Subaru, it was the clutch and the throw-out bearing, too. WTF? He could sell it to me for cost $800 but the labor was a killer. Dave is such a good guy, he told me to check to see if it had any warranty left or if Subaru had any recalls. I called Chatham Parkway Subaru but they were in a "meeting." So, I dug through my files and ... FOUND IT!

My warranty is 5 years - 100,000 miles (and covers rental) with a $100 deductible. It expires on, get this JULY 20, 2012! Talk about LUCK. I had thought it was 5 years or 60,000 miles and since I have 67,000 figured it was long gone. Well, at least I'll have my wheels back soon, with a nice new clutch.

I will say though, as I was reading through some posts on line, the newer Subaru s are running into problems with clutches... In over 30+ years of driving stick shift including 5 Subaru s, I have only replaced one clutch.  Forums show 2005+ are running into problems. I'm not liking the sound of this.

Bad day

Damn. This is bad.

This was not exactly a good day for anyone. I drove by the 37th St. Connector and saw this. Turns out it was a double fatality.

I never heard back from the attorney about the job so I guess that is that.

Then this afternoon, the clutch went to the floor. Damn it all. Now it is at the mechanic's shop and I'm out $$... Crap.

MMM, Not so good.

 Every wonder what would happen if you took one of those microwavable mac 'n cheese containers, put it in the microwave.... and FORGET to put water in it?  Well, wonder no more. The girl wonder, Rachel, must have smoked a little too much. The house reeks of burnt macaroni. Nice.

Saturday

Had a final in Legal Research and Writing today. What a fiasco. We were told originally we were to turn in our legal paper and then we would take the final. Then...
He decided to have a review for the final at 1:15. After half an hour, I was more confused than when I walked in the door. Then, he told us to study in a group for another half hour and then work on our brief again for half an hour. WTF? My brief is on my laptop AT HOME. I was working on it right up to the minute I ran out the door to get to class! It turns out, he didn't have the final done. While we were "studying" in class, he was making up the final!  Much as I tried to study for it, I know I only got about a C. I talked to another girl as she and I were leaving at the same time, she isn't even sure she made a C. AND... we are allowed to use note cards.... Nothing printed, it has to be in our own writing. But whatever you study, just seems like you never "get" what is on his test. One class, we spent an hour on the verbs LIE and LAY. Yes, we had a test on it, too. No, it is not English class, it is LEGAL research and writing.

Started cleaning the apartment next door. It was $300+  for the carpet cleaning. In 13 months, they had NEVER vacuumed the carpets. The pic on the left, that is from ONE room. I filled the vacuum bucket up 5 times. By the time I did the last room, my vacuum cleaner was burning up. The filters were all clogged. I hate those people.

I told Rachel if she cleans all the windows, I'll give her $20. Better than just giving her money for nothing. She can do the insides of all the windows and the outside of the ones in the kitchen and front since it has both front and back porches (and is on the second floor). Bill will need to fix the back porch step and hopefully paint the place. Meanwhile, I still have tons of cleaning to do before I sleep, and tons of cleaning before I sleep.....

JUST ONE ROOM

Grime

Monday morning

I saw Captain Heron, of the SCMPD, our former captain of Bull Street. I had wondered what happened to him. Said he moved over to Internal Affairs. It must have burned him to hear that one of the officers in Bull Street was "not arresting family."

This afternoon we are off to Georgia Southern University for a tour. Rachel wants to go there, but we really don't have the money for her to live off campus. As a dual enrollee, she wouldn't have to live on campus. Oh well...

We plan on meeting Lila (Allie) this afternoon when we are done to pick up that Bob Mackie gown Peg sent down. I'm sure she will look great in it. I'm planning on taking some pics of her in it.

Friday Trash Talking

On Thursday after 4, I could see the excessive trash next door had not been picked up. I called the city before closing time. I got the sanitation supervisor on the phone. He called up a truck and the driver said they picked up the trash already. I told the supervisor, that is not true, I am looking at it. So, the truck came out.
When I saw the truck arrive, I went out the back gate to "talk trash." Oh yeah, I said that is all from 310 W. 35th street. They wouldn't touch it until the supervisor arrived. He took one look and then he took pictures. Said $250 would be added to the water bill. Nice.

City Workers picking up the piles

Broken step

Louise destroyed the bunny

This morning, I saw the last tenant from upstairs. I told him I had not gotten the keys. Also, the trash on the front porch needed to be removed and I informed him of the $250 charge to remove the trash. I told him that would be coming out of the security deposit. Then, he told me the water was shut off. I asked him, weren't you staying behind to finish cleaning? Must be hard without water... All he could do was agree.

Later, I checked the alley again to see how much more trash the guy had put outside. The recycle bin was full of garbage. Great. That won't be emptied. Then I noticed one of the back steps was broken. The girls downstairs told me they had been throwing things, including the furniture down the stairs. OK, I'm charging them to fix the stair, too.

This afternoon, I went out for less than a hour. When I came back, Louise was very animated, bouncing around. Chip was acting strange, with his head down. When I walked into the living room, I saw...the reason. The bunny was Dead...I know it was Louise. The bitch. Now there is no more funny bunny...

Trash Day

The SCAD'lings Graduation Day was Saturday. Now they are moving out. And look at the trash they leave behind.
The tenants next door threw out a ton of trash and garbage as well as a bed, couch, table, and even a stereo. Now, here's the best part. I called the city and there is a charge of $250 for them to pick up all that crap. It is added to the water bill. But, what happens if the tenants don't pay it, because maybe they move back to CHINA, then Bill ends up paying for it! Isn't that lovely? Plus, the tenants had bed bugs and they never vacuumed the carpets in the whole year they lived there. Nice.

I saw the Tranny hooker  again. I had thought they were all arrested but I guess the he/she didn't stay gone long. That is one nasty thing.

200 block of 35th street

Tenants crap next door

Tranny street walker on Jefferson

Wednesday June 6 2012

Those among us who don't believe in ghosts, I'm sure will have a perfectly good explanation for what happened this morning... I on the other hand...
At 6:30 am, I got the leashes off the hook next to the back door and prepared to take the dogs out for the first walk of the day. As I walked away, I heard a noise behind me. I looked and my light rain jacket was on the floor. The coat rack is on a different wall from the hooks where the dogs' leashes are. Why did it fall on the floor? Hmmm. I picked it up and placed it back on the hook. I walked out the front door with dogs. Damn. It was sprinkling out.  I went back inside and got that light rain jacket. Good thing too, because by the time we were half way through the walk, it was pouring out! I think my "friend" was looking out for me.

Currently I am in Environmental Studies Law class on Tuesday nights at 6 pm. Shortly after class started this quarter, there was a forum at Savannah State University to discuss the findings of the Ogeechee River Fish Kill. In May 2011, 38,000 fish died in the Ogeechee River after the point where a chemical factory has a discharge pipe. I asked my teacher, since the forum was being held on the same night and same time as our class, if could we do a "field trip." The forum was interesting and frustrating at the same time. We learned that King America Finishing had a permit for one pipe into the river. However, 6 years ago they put a second pipe into the river and had pumping out residue from fire retardant chemicals. After the fish kill, EPA/EPD analyzed the river water before and after the company pipes. Before the pipes, the water was acceptable. After the pipes, there was hydrogen peroxide, ammonia and formaldehyde. Due to the severe drought, the river was not a full as normal so the discharge was not diluted. This caused stress on the fish and the entire ecosystem.
Fast forward to May 2012. Just before Memorial Day, fish started dying again. Next Tuesday night (June 12) the EPD is having a meeting to discuss giving a permit to King America Finishing to allow them to have the second discharge pipe. I am planning on attending.
Each student in my Environmental class is supposed to present a project to the class on June 12. Because I planned on attending the meeting next week, I requested to present my project last night. I worked on my presentation for weeks. I cut out 380 fish to represent the 38,000 dead fish. I made an awesome PowerPoint. I brought my 3 dead gator heads, plastic snakes and frogs. I was animated and made a powerful presentation. At the end, I read from the newspaper about the hearing next week. Now everyone is motivated and wants to attend.
Only thing, that is the last class before finals. That means, no one else is going to give a presentation.... What the heck? I guess I was a little too persuasive....

Tuesday June 5 2012

Read this yesterday. I think more people need to read and heed...

What politicians and policymakers really ought to be telling struggling Americans is this: You're on your own. The government is running out of money and is borderline dysfunctional besides. Instead of new policies that will make the economy more fair, we need more self-sufficient workers who aren't looking to government for answers.

The trick is figuring out what ordinary people can do to make themselves better off. To do that, it helps to understand the real problem, which isn't income inequality in itself. It's a decline in economic mobility which means it's getting harder for people to boost their earnings, move up the socioeconomic ladder, and improve their living standards.

The economy is changing rapidly, and it's not completely clear why it's gotten so much harder to get ahead. But there are certainly clues. Education has a lot to do with it: There are very limited opportunities these days for people who don't have a college degree, or whose training is outdated. Technology is another factor. People whose careers are tied to the digital revolution enjoy the good fortune of working in a burgeoning field, while many others work in shrinking fields being decimated by new technology. Workers able to ride the wave of globalization, at companies that do business around the world, have an edge others don't.

Attitude is another factor. Too many American workers rely on somebody else for their livelihood, without the grit that it takes to adapt and recover when something goes wrong. This is the natural byproduct of a long era of prosperity in which living standards rose for nearly everybody, just because the economy was booming. It didn't take extraordinary fortitude to get ahead. Often, all you had to do was show up.

Things are different now, and the bar for success is higher. Instead of arguing over the abstract causes of income inequality or hoping for miracles from Washington, national leaders ought to be sending this message to America's workers: Get smarter. Work harder. Go where the opportunity is. Prosperity isn't going to trickle down from the wealthy, or arrive in the form of a government check. The only person looking out for you is you.

Rick Newman is the author of Rebounders: How Winners Pivot From Setback To Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman.

Monday June 4 2012

"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. "

-- Plato, Philosopher 

About 10 this morning, I called the city about trash left on Brady Street. I guess the neighbors had already called. Then this afternoon, I walked by with Chip and Dang! the stuff was already picked up.

I had a phone interview with Progressive Insurance. All those questions about how do you handle a customer ... how did you do something that .... What a pain. I did the best I could. Decision in about 2 weeks about whether I get an in person interview.

On the other hand, I did go ahead and called back the guy about taking pics of foreclosures/pre-forclosures. Get paid a whopping $4. Well, it is something.

Saturday June 2 2012

Fairly quiet out there. Friday night crack 'n crabs is just not the same with Dirty South Records closed and now Montgomery Liquors closed, too.
Malcolm told me something interesting about good old Hiyah. Seems the felon tried to pass off a fake $20 bill at David's Crabs. When the cashier wrote on it with the special pen, she could tell the bill was bad. Hiyah threw a hissy and the girl ended up giving him back the bill. Malcolm was pissed. He let the cashier know, next time, keep the bill and call the police. Damn, that would have been good. Put old Hiyah back in the big house.

Last night, SCAD alumni held its annual free concert in Forsyth Park. I hadn't heard of the bands before plus I had so much homework to finish up so I didn't go. Rachel went with a few girl friends. She managed to slink on home at 6:30 am. Hmmm. She took a short nap and then the girls went to Tybee Island. Must be nice.

When I took Chip for a walk along Brady Street, I saw this large pile of crap. Not sure if it is a SCAD student(s) trash or if someone was maybe evicted. I'll be calling the city about it on Monday. That has gotta go.

trash on Brady Street

Friday June 1 2012

I didn't go to the hearing for the liquor store yesterday. I had already left my comments with the clerk's office 3 weeks ago. This morning I see Montgomery Liquors is NOT open. That is a good thing. Malcolm from David's Crabs told me it was shut down. While that is good news, he said the people that run the BP station want to open up the liquor store. I hope the hell not. Malcolm also told me that earlier this week there was a stabbing at the BP station. That's the next damn thing that needs to GO!

Rachel is now thinking about completing her last 2 high school classes at Savannah Tech as a dual enrolled student in the fall semester. Then, she would look into going to Georgia Southern in the Spring as a freshman (but not dual enrolled). That isn't a bad thing. She is looking at renting a place on the islands with some friends. I'm not sure how that will work... Time will tell....