A step back to 1972

and Pan's third grade year. He's the one that looks like a young Anton Yelchin, so I am sure you will have no problem picking him out, LOL.

 

I love that a friend of his found and posted this on FB so that we can pass it on to later generations of our family. Will have to also mention to Pan that one kid in the class can pass for a young Howard Wolowitz. He'll know what I mean.

Reusable People

   Pan and I were at dinner the other night and talking about general things in our lives. Surprisingly enough, even after 20+ years, we still can find tidbits of our lives that we had not shared before. This night he was telling me about houses he had seen.

    First was the one when he was young. A house downtown was being remodeled. It was an older home 2- or 3-story home and some of the window shudders were on the ground being painted while others were in the process of being placed back up. Not real interesting, huh? That was until he told me that later that year when they were traveling up north, he saw the same house in the same state of repair.

   Then there was the house when he was in college. He went to college in Atlanta and he said there was a house a couple of blocks from the apartment that looked just like his parents house. Even to the extent that they used the same Christmas lights. Okay, everyone who decorates probably uses nearly the same kind. So what? Except one year his dad changed out the multi-colored lights for all blue and the house in Atlanta did the same thing....in the same year.

   Okay, now it is getting a little eerie. Pan believes that the world is reusing things for his benefit (I don't know that I would use benefit, but....) and that is why when he meets people he is sure he has seen before that they are just reused people.

It shrank

Or at least that is what Pan swears happened when he decided that I needed to buy him the "One Ring" to replace his now much smaller wedding band. Actually he bought it and then told me it was my Christmas gift to him.

 

Fortunately ddpuppies decided she needed a picture of it. I don't know why I didn't think of the same, but I am grateful that she did. (personally, I think it was just a chance to practice more with her new camera).

Pan's tribulations

Today's post brought to you by Pan

Ummmm right.
I guess if I have a tribulation lately, it's been the two community pools for our HOA. When we shut them down last year, they drained in just six weeks to the point you could walk in the shallow end without getting your feet wet. We knew they need work, but obviously they needed more than we were aware of. So I contacted a leak check company. Sure they could check it without our having to spend the money to fill it again (just to drain it again for the repairs). At least until I took a day off to meet them, then it was, "Oh no, you have to fill it up to six inches above the light fixture." So we get the company that maintains them to do that, but they don't tell me when they're done. I call and oh yes, they did that two weeks ago. I take another day off, leak check people come out, different person, the pools have turned green in the time since the water was put in and I don't blame him for not wanting to get in with the dead frogs, but then he tells me "It needs to be completely full and operational" Great, now I've had three different descriptions of what they wanted before they'll do a leak check. Once again we call out the maintenance folks and they clean and fill the pool, but again don't bother to tell me when their done. When I check it, it's full but once again clean. One more call to get it cleaned again, and another day off to meet the leak check folks and finally they do the check. Still to come at that point, getting three quotes for all the repair work that needs to be done, getting a loan for the repairs, and signing the contract.

Spring Blossoms Collaboration (c)various artists; template by Raspberry Road Designs

Applicants step right up

Poor Pan. Just after the holidays the employee manning the help-desk quit. He's now having to interview to fill the position. Those of you who live down south can understand the problems associated with this. First you are either going to get applicants who are not qualified at all or over-qualified. Then the economy down south is on the lower end of the financial statement, so to speak. On the up side the cost of living is lower too. But when people decide to move here for the lower cost of living, they still want what they were making prior. Ain't ever going to happen. Still he has high hopes that the position will be filled this week. Cross your fingers for him, will ya? Thanks

Season's Greetings (c)Rose Li Padoveze and Sweet Digi Scrap

The Tribulations of Beer and Dartguns

First you need to read Roses post here. I got such a kick out of reading it, that it reminded me of my wedding day to Pan.

The reception had to be rescheduled at his parents house so there was a lot of last minute maps to be given out. Still we had quite a number of people show up, one of which was Pan's supervisor... Mr. C. He is a darling man and I just think the world of him and his wife.

Anyway, Pan's sister and I have a pretty good relationship going on and I hid one of those dart guns with the rubber suction cups behind my bouquet and I as turned to throw the bouquet I shot off the dart gun, which completely missed the sister and hit the boss square in the middle of the head and stuck. I was dumbfounded and Pan was sure that he was going to be fired.

Mr. C said that he would think twice about accepting a dinner invitation from us.

Tribulations of a Doomed Date

Bug of One Happy Dog Speaks and Pan use to be best friends, through part of middle school, high school and beyond. And although they had done a lot together they never did actually date and the following may be an indication of why. In fact, Pan didn’t’ date at all until he graduated from high school.

Pan and Bug had planned on going to D&R’s apartment for a party one evening when he was home from college on break. As he was leaving his parents home, he told his mother that he would be picking up Bug and taking her to the party.

This party was your typical home from college break party, but on the way they passed a Shakey’s Pizza Parlor. Bug spotted the vehicle of a friend of hers and wanted to stop in and say hi since she had not seen them for in a while. Pan could never deny her anything back then, so they stop. She introduced him to the others and then they mentioned going to a dance club and would the two of them like to come along.

Bug, still being Bug, walked out with Pan and asked him if he would mind too terribly if she went dancing instead of the party. According to him it was no problem as that meant he could stay at D&R’s and drink instead of being the designated driver. So back into the pizza parlor they go wherein Bug proceeds to tell her other friend that she is going to catch a ride to the dance club with them. Her other friend, still being polite, asks why she doesn’t ask Pan to join them. Her reply (now this is priceless) is, “Oh, no, he’s too good of a friend to do that to!” When Pan said that it was kind of hard to keep a straight face given the stunned look on the other guy’s face to this comment, probably hit the nail on the head.

Bug, still being Bug, walks Pan back outside to this car and he advises her that when she gets back in, she may want to explain the remark, meaning that Pan can’t dance (ever seen Forrest Gump dance? Well you got the picture then) and she didn’t want to subject him to just sitting there while everyone else was having fun.

Now one would think this is sufficient to be a doomed date, but no, there is more and after what follows, I can well imagine that Pan gave up any ideas of dating Bug again. So here in his own words, Pan tells the rest of the story:

“Oh well, it would have been nice to hang out with Bug a little longer, but I knew she’d almost certainly enjoy dancing more than the party we had been on the way to, and now I could have a drink or ten (I was not particularly good at moderation at that point in my life, but I did avoid having to drive if I was going to be drinking). Being a somewhat considerate child, after I had been at the party for a while and, had enough that I realized I did not need to try and make it back to my parents, I called home. My mom answered the phone. I told her I had been drinking, and felt it would be better if I just stayed the night there.

Long pause ….. FINE! (Ouch! I got some frostbite on my ear). Now I’m really puzzled. Mom had never gotten upset about my drinking with friends any other time I had been home on break, as long as I told her whether I would be coming home that night or not. I had already had a few, so maybe I didn’t say it very well. Maybe there was too much noise in the background. Maybe I just needed another five or six drinks, what the heck, Mom had already hung up on me. Not much more thought about that (or anything else for that matter).

The next day, mind, we are definitely NOT talking about morning, early in the afternoon; I make it back to my folks house. Say hi to Mom. I don’t exactly remember the greeting, but the frostbite this time just about cost me a couple of fingers and my nose. I apologize for not making it home, and try to point out that I did call. Mom explodes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this mad before and it is certainly the maddest I can ever remember her being at me, at least until years later when I told her what I got my wife for mother’s day. Tink can explain that one.

Mom wasn’t mad that I got drunk and stayed at D’s, she mad that I got drunk and made poor Bug find another ride home. As soon as I get the chance, I explain that we had a change of plans wherein Bug went dancing with other friends and I went to the party by myself. Thank god for the quick thaw before I lost any toes."

Tribulations of the Water Kind

This is one of my mom’s favorite stories. It is one of Pan's family favorites as well, at least now it is. Pan’s dad was in the Navy. Yep we are a big military family here. He was transferred to NW Florida and they decided to buy a house. Pan was 4 at the time and the youngest of 5 children. All of the others were old enough to help with the unpacking, but not Pan.

It was a pretty hot day and after a while someone thought to ask Pan to bring them a glass of water. Yippee, something he could do to help. It is hard to be 4 years old and not to be able to help out. Off he runs and comes back with a glass of water. Soon everyone wanted a glass of water, and this 4-year was happy to oblige.

After a while he had to tell someone he couldn’t bring him or her any more water. When asked why not, he told them the toilet bowl was empty. According to him, he would like to know where they expected a child his age to get water. He couldn’t reach the sink. Everyone really enjoyed it until they found out where it came from, then they all turned green.

They were just lucky he hadn’t figured out how to flush the toilet or think about the other two toilets in the house. He guesses the ceramic bowl helped keep the water nice and cool.

Tribulations of a Bodacious Pinocchio

A trip to Olive Garden seems to bring out the humorous side of my dh.

Several years ago we had stopped off at one and they were having a wine tasting. One of the wines was a pinot grigio. Poor dh couldn’t remember the name so kept calling it the Pinocchio wine.

Then this past Saturday evening we decided to go to the new Olive Garden they built fairly close to our home. I had ordered the Bottega Vinala pinot grigio and being the bright man of the evening, dh decided that it should be called Bodacious Pinocchio. He figures he could remember that.

So next time you visit an Olive Garden be sure to try out their Bodacious Pinocchio.

Tribulations of an Affair

Haven’t we all, at one time or another fantasized about having an affair? Not that we would really do it. I know I wouldn’t, I truly love, like and care for Pan and would not do anything to hurt him. But the fantasy is there. Even for him. So we play at it. Not as much lately, but it is fun.

But this isn’t about him, and me but about an affair I didn’t have. Got your attention now, don’t I?

After Pan and I married, I moved from my town to his town and had to find a new job. I found one rather rapidly as a construction secretary. And I worked there for about 5 years, then they decided sale and the new owners already had someone to replace me. So it is off to job hunt again.

And I found one. They hired me even before the attorney called and told them I could read minds. Again this isn’t about the jobs but about the affair I didn’t have. Had to lay some ground here.

In my new office was a young woman, probably 15 years younger than I. Very prim and proper was she, who thought I was having an affair. Prim and proper she might be but closed mouth she wasn’t. Of course, it didn’t help that a friend of Pan’s would call me at the office from time to time, disguising his voice and giving fake names. The others in the office knew it was the same guy each time.

I was getting a wee bit weary of the all the whispering behind my back so Pan, Mr. E and I orchestrated a lunch. Mr. E and I met at a restaurant next door to where I knew one of the other employees was going to be. After lunch, sure enough, pretending to be washing a window was my nemesis #2. Mr. E walked me to my car and then bent me over backwards to place one great big kiss on my delicate lips.

Off to the office raced nemesis #2 to let everyone know what was going on. I made sure to go back to the office with a great big smile on my face.

That afternoon, Pan stopped by the office to inquire how my lunch with Mr. E went and did our plan work, making sure that everyone in the office could hear.

After he left prim and proper came out to inquire who he was and when I explained he was my husband, she got all red in the face and apologized. He was who she thought I was having the affair with.

And Pan, you still got it.