I stopped by Publix and got one of those friend chicken subs featured in their commercial on TV and headed to the airport with lunch in tow. I hated spending money on lunch when I can eat free on my break at work but thought if I powered up with the sub as soon as I got to work could go the entire shift without breaking.
It was slow when I got there so polished up some glasses, silver and finished my opening side work quickly and scarfed down the sub in five minutes. Even brought some brownies I made last night at home and in six minutes felt fueled up and ready to go.
The sub was huge so shared it with the bartender (insuring drinks for my tables would be made post haste) and besides that like the guy and could have never eaten it all anyway, even on a bet.
I was starving but actually the sub was pretty good. Not as good as it looked on TV but then again, TV made Larry King good looking enough to get his own show.
Things started popping around four o'clock.
Seems the Atlanta Falcons are playing another NFL team in London and plenty of people who have money to throw away were flying across the pond to see them (probably lose) over there.
I think every table I waited on with two exceptions were headed that way.
Had a couple seated at my table tonight when the bartender whispered "You got another celebrity at your table."
It was Eric Ogbogu, former NFL player and spokesman for Under Armour.
DUH...
The famous UA logo was on everything he was wearing from his hat to his shoes to his neck pillow for the flight.
He was a very nice man and the conversation was light and friendly. He first commented on how I greeted them.
I asked how they were doing, replied they were fine and asked how I was doing?
I think I said "Absolutely wonderful".
He said, "I like that answer!"
My buddy the bartender said to call him by his nick name "Big E". I didn't at first but after a couple of hours when they asked for the check said "Okay, Big E...do you need to know my kid's sizes or are we just going to do an open ended gift card?"
He laughed, tipped me over thirty bucks and took off for London.
I had no clue who he was when he sat down but can always kind of tell when it's "somebody". He was very unpretentious and a pleasure to wait on.
The peeps kept on coming in and coming in and coming in. We had to go on a wait, didn't get cut til nine o'clock but walked out before ten three hundred dollars richer...or as I should say, three hundred dollars less poor.
It's not like I make three Bens every shift but certainly the best job I've ever had.
Woke up on my day off and got so much done it was borderline ridiculous. I'm still wondering how I managed to work so much for so many years without completely losing what little sanity I have.
I came home from running errands and started dinner. I had tried to call my sister a couple of times while running around and when starting dinner got a text from her.
"In Newnan hospital. Harvey in anaphylactic shock after bee sting."
She text back he was better but had been a close call.
I turned the oven down and got in my trusty Ronnie Ranger and went straight to the emergency room, the hospital was only five minutes from my house.
Bossed my way in as usual and went straight to the room. Harvey looked puffed up as a marshmallow, lethargic but alive.
Cin was in her paint clothes sitting in a chair next to him.
Harve was cutting grass and a Yellow Jacket stung him on the bottom lip. Recently finding out he was allergic went straight back to the house where my sister was leaving for a paint job and told her they needed to get to the hospital.
Just like us, they fretted over which car out of gas to take. At least they had two cars out of gas, we only own one but were borrowing yet another one from them.
She said by the time they were less than five minutes from the house he said he couldn't see. She pumped the gas pedal. By the time they made it to the closest gas station he was unresponsive, slumped over in the passenger seat. She called 911 on her cell and ran inside to buy a bottle of Benadryl and bottle of water. She asked if a cashier could help her but they said both registers were busy at the moment. She took the bottles and ran to the car where Harvey sat foaming at the mouth. 911 was still on the phone with her and said they had dispatched an ambulance. She told them she couldn't wait and jumped back in the car. She drove through a school zone going seventy dodging buses and ran the next two lights. She thought Harvey was dead for sure but suddenly his eyes popped open and she screamed into the hospital emergency entrance waving her arms for help.
His blood pressure was flat when they hooked him up but somehow he made it and by the time I got there a couple of hours later was almost back to normal. They probably should have taken my sister's blood pressure!
Needless to say an Epi-Pen will be on their next list of "must buy" items to purchase. It was a close call, that's for sure.
They wanted Harvey to stay overnight, he was still groggy from the morphine but Cin and I thought he'd be fine at home and would save them hundreds and hundreds of dollars. The nurse agreed all his vitals looked great but since the doctor had already admitted him if they chose to leave would have to sign an AMA (against medical advice) and insurance wouldn't cover the visit.
"Have a nice night Harvey, we'll see you in the morning."
Needless to say he stayed.
Just a reminder how fragile life can be. One tiny Yellow Jacket almost took him out. Kind of ironic, he graduated from Georgia Tech.
Went back home and finished dinner and ran the ole Hoover for a while. I'm not sure how my family stood me working so much, the house stayed a mess and the bathrooms were borderline disgusting.
I've cleaned out every closet and cleaned every bathroom. The laundry stays caught up and am back to cooking several nights a week.
Life is good.
Fast forward a couple of days...
TJ caught a ride home with me from work on Sunday after both worked a day shift. I had been running late that morning and had to park at the International terminal. Twelve bucks is a lot for me and hate having to do it but saves me twenty minutes to and from work. It wasn't overly busy but scratched out well over a Franklin and TJ paid for my parking since I was hauling him home.
We got off the shuttle bus to the parking deck with two male passengers, not with each other. We all clomped into the parking deck elevator. I was first in so stood by and punched the floors we all needed. One guy was getting off on 2 and us other three were all going up to 4.
When the doors opened on level two, I said "Second floor, Ladies Lingerie."
The guy getting off kind of stopped not sure whether to exit as he looked at me with a puzzled look but finally wheeled his suitcase out and left. The other man started laughing as the doors closed again. TJ shook his head, looked at the other man and said "She'll say anything to anybody."
He's about right.
(Let's move on to the next another day)
So April 11, 2013 I made the first payment of a thousand dollars down on a 2002 Volvo station wagon. All it needed was a transmission and would be ours for three thousand dollars. The body was in great shape.
After that my husband lost his job again and were right back where we started. I paid fifty bucks here and there, sometimes a hundred when we could scrape it together and my brother kicked in more than he should have but I let him and will be eternally grateful.
October 27, 2014 it was finally ready after we also paid for a new engine. I only owe $700 more for labor but wasn't paying a dime of it until I knew the car ran great, as it should for the over four thousand we've eventually spent.
I went to the tag office today to get the title in my name and buy a tag. I still had a hundred bucks in my bank account and figured being a 2002 model would be around seventy bucks. The unfriendly woman behind the glass told me to swipe my debit card after saying it would be (what I thought she said was $74.40) and swiped to clean my bank account down to twenty bucks and change only to see the key pad said $474.40 and please hit "enter".
WHAT!?
I thought she had said it was for $74.40. She had actually said Four hundred seventy four and forty cents.
For Pete's sake...they've changed since I last bought a tag and now go by a one time fee of ten percent of the value and just twenty bucks each additional time you renew.
That'll help us in a year or two but hurt like a hang nail today.
I told her I'd have to wait til I got paid on Thursday, thanked her (NOT) for her time and left.
Went back home and Tim and I decided to use part of our mortgage payment due Friday and pay for the tag and half the labor on the car today.
Went back and stood in line again but at least left with a tag.
Got to work ten minutes late but had called two hours earlier and told them I was at the tag office with issues and told me it would be fine to come in thirty minutes later.
On my way up the escalator to the restaurant I repeated the waitress mantra:
"PLEASE let it be busy today."
...BINGO!
Yes I had to stay until close but what's an extra hour to walk out with well over half a car tag payment?
I've waited, sweated and worried for over six years to feel the relief I have now.
I've finally found my groove. I feel pretty confident that although still have a lot to learn and will...am actually pretty good at this.
We had a lot of late night flights to London, Dubai and Amsterdam. It wasn't crazy busy but nice and steady all night. I made $240 after tip out and walked out with eighty extra bucks in added gratuity.
God loves me.
Yeah I didn't get home til midnight and have to get up at six thirty for a day shift but will be off by five and home long before the sun sets...driving my new/used car, with it's new tag.
We are bounding ahead. Unfortunately we were years behind, but can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.
As long as it's not headlights of an oncoming train, we'll be just fine.
"True THAT."
Wow...this blog only covered a few days of my crazy life. Just reading it exhausts even me.
Tumbling into bed, propping my bum shoulder on a flat pillow, crawling out of bed again in four hours and doing it all again.
Stay tuned, it's never dull around here.
Til next time...COTTON
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