Trespasser

I woke up yesterday morning to a trespasser on my email. For some reason, Yahoo thought it would be okay to have ads placed onto my inbox page. It took me quite a while to figure out how to opt out of this intrusion and some of the ad companies have no opt out choice. Who gave Yahoo the right to blatantly put ads onto an account that I thought was private? With all of the privacy issues and disclaimers that have now become part of our daily lives, how was this allowed to happen? There was even an explanation of how these ads were specially tailored to my demographics. Whose business is it how old I am or if I am male or female. Again, I thought that this info was private. Obviously, we were all lied to. I feel like my security has been compromised and I am not happy about it. Yahoo has become boohoo.

Easy Rider

Today at work, we are having a pizza party for one of my receptionists who is leaving after six years. I called the Italian restaurant down the block to order 2 pizzas. I wanted one regular sicilian pie and one chicken parmesan sicilian pie. The girl that took the order said they do not make a chicken parm sicilian pizza. I asked if they make a chicken parm regular pie. She said yes. I asked if they make a regular sicilian pie and she said yes. I asked why she could not make a chicken parm sicilian pie. She said she couldn't. Now, I started to order like Jack Nicholson, in the movie Easy Rider, when he wanted an egg salad sandwich on white toast. I said, "Make a round pie, with thick crust, add the chicken parm and then shape it into a square". She said, "Ok". I had her read the order back to me before I hung up. She read, "One regular sicilian pizza and one regular round pie, thick crust with chicken parm, shaped into a square". The order arrives at noon. I can't wait to see what I get.

What If

There are two types of people. They are the "what if's" and the "don't worry's". The "what if's" worry and the "don't worry's" don't care "if". I was brought up to be a "what if" and I have passed that mindset down to my children. A "what if" will think of a situation from every angle. We make contingency plans. We cover every variable that can go wrong. Since I am not a psychic, I cannot look into the future and know that everything will be fine. That is why I make plans. The "don't worry's" may not always have problems, but somewhere along they way, they realize that they needed to plan better. Now, I will get to the point of this blog. Yesterday my son made a big backyard party. The weather forecast all week was for a mostly sunny day. He thought to himself "what if it rains"? Everyone told him "don't worry". He decided to go with the "what if" theory and buy two tents. The tents would cover 200 square feet of his patio. Enough coverage to seat 40 people under it. Guess what? In the middle of the party, it rained. No one even noticed because we were all seated under the tent, eating and talking. "What if" he didn't have the tents?

Party Day

This morning we will set up my son's backyard for a 30th birthday party. My daughter in law looks more like 18, but tomorrow she will turn 30. We will be erecting tents and setting up tables and chairs to look like an outdoor venue. The weather is a cloudy, sunny mix and I hope it does not rain. My daughter in law has looked forward to this party for months and I know that her expectations will be met. All of her family and friends will be there. I will put on my cordial happy face when I say hello to some of them. There are a few sour grapes in the bunch that I will try to avoid. The food will be catered in from a wonderful Italian restaurant and some of the "mavins" will like it and some will not. They will compare it to their own home cooking and rate the sauce. My theory is "it's free food, so eat it and keep your comments to yourself". If you cannot do that, then stuff up on the chips and leave more food for others. She deserves a beautiful party, a happy birthday and a wonderful life.

Tables and Chairs

It takes a village to have a party. Specifically, if you want your guests to sit down. Throughout the years, one thing has remained the same when I entertain. The big question is, "Do we have enough tables and chairs?" The next big question is, "Who can we borrow from"?  My daughter in law is turning 30. She has planned a big outdoor party for this occasion since she moved into her house. The party is Sunday and yesterday my son started the "chair hunt". He got tables from his in laws. He got tables and chairs from me. This morning he is getting tables and chairs from my sister. The rule is that each item has to be labeled with the owners name so that at the end of the party there is not a mix up. According to his calculations, everyone should have a seat. If not, he has brick steps.

Smiley Face

For many reasons, this has not been the greatest summer. It felt different. It did not have that happy summertime feeling. Family members have not been feeling well, so how could summer be carefree and happy? It is time for a smiley face. That is what I do when things seem bad. I look at my calendar until I am drawn to a date. That will be the day when everything will be good again. I put a smiley face on that date and turn back to today's date. The last time I put a smiley face on the calendar was May 20. My daughter in law had a rough pregnancy and I told her that she would be fine and smiling on May 20. We never expected a premature baby and while he was due June 15, he was born on April 18 and he came home May 20. Coincidence or prophetic? This morning I am putting 3 smiley faces on my calendar for three people that are important to me. When we reach those dates, things will be well again.

Have It My Way

While driving home from Cape Cod, I made a rest stop in Mystic, Connecticut. It was lunchtime, so I went to the counter to order some food. I ordered one hamburger from the dollar menu, one 4 piece chicken McNuggets from the dollar menu, one small fries from the dollar menu and a small chocolate shake. The cashier says, "That will be $10.43". I said that I ordered 4 items from the dollar menu, so it would be $4.32, give or take a few pennies for tax. She said the shake was $2.29. I said that would make the order about $5.60. She said it would be $7.43. I said the price was wrong. We agreed upon a little less than $6 and then she rang up a sale for $8.43. I said she did it wrong and she agreed. I gave her a $20 bill and she gave me change of $13.50. By now I didn't care if I overpaid because I was hungry and tired and just wanted to go home. She started to put the order on the tray and she places a Happy Meal down alongside the bag with the hamburger, fries and shake. I said that I did not order a Happy Meal. She agreed and said she would "get the rest of the order". She returned with another 4 piece chicken McNuggets, placed it on the tray next to the Happy Meal (that I never ordered) and pushed it towards me and said, "Here is your order". I gave up and took the Happy Meal and all of the other items and sat down to eat. I am now the proud owner of a Smurf action figure.