4-22-13 Monday (There’s No Use Crying Over…)

First I need to catch you up on some photos I had in my phone:

Above: Concord Walmart’s parking lot.  I wonder what the back story is on this? 

Above: At the same Walmart, this was the sign on a food bin. They spelled hungry as hungary and instead of reprinting the entire sign, they simply edited it.

Above: Yeah, that’s me.  I spotted some milk on the floor in BJ’s and asked Jim to photograph me.  I posted this on Facebook and some people didn’t understand at first.  I hope you get it.  This blog entry’s title is a hint.

Remember our Roomba woes.  You know, when it ran over Dasher’s dog shit?  Jim found a knock off version at Walmart.com.  It was only a little over $100 so we figured we’d give it a shot.  I ran it about 4 times.  Not impressed.  One day it got tangled up on a throw rug.  Back to Walmart it went.  We’re gonna cash in some credit card points and buy a new Roomba.  Life is too short to vacuum.

Above: The imposter.

More miscellaneous stuff:

Above: Here’s our newest campsite.

While in Augusta, we went downtown:

Above: Cool old ex-doorway.

Above: Jim in front of an antique store.

Above: Garret

Above: Garret

Above: An old ex-doorway with the hardware still intact.

Above: I custom (obviously) ordered this sign which is at the front of our campsite with a solar powered spot shining on it.  This picture is from the website. 

4-16-13 Tuesday (Dress Up)

As you know, our RV is parked in Augusta.  It’s our weekend getaway.  The last time we were there was November.  When we signed our lease, we knew that our site and several others are located partially in Georgia Power and Light’s easement for powerlines.  We had to provide the RV park owners a key so that if they were forced to move our RV, they could.  It happened.  They had to move it to a new site.  We really expected them to just retract the slide and the jacks, unhook the lines and park it.

We decided to take off Friday and enjoy Augusta. We took off for a few reasons. 1- It’s an old motorhome and always seems to have issues so being there on a weekday would give us access to stores that might normally be closed or something.  2- We can’t go our typical Friday night.  We need to setup in the day light.  3- We can setup, unwinterize, fix any problems and still enjoy the weekend without all of that cutting into our fun time.

We arrived at the RV and liked the new spot.  Trees at the back of the spot are shading the windshield.  In the summer, that will be very awesome since in the summer, it gets extremely hot at the windshield.  Someone had setup the site for us.  The slide was out, the jacks down and level, sewer and electric connected.  It was awesome.  We found out who had done it and bought them a Publix gift card as a thank you.  We’ve tried several times to give it to him and say thanks but he’s been out and about or at work.  We’ll try again next visit.

Our new RV site neighbor told us foxes come to the back of the property.  A lot of the RVers feed them bread and such.  It would be awesome to see them while we’re there.  He said we could help ourselves to his back deck whenever we’d like.  A sweet gesture for sure.  He has some sort of light up skull back there so Jim decided to prank him by getting a tiara and a tutu and “decorating” it.  I don’t know if he figured out who did it.

While we were out there I spotted a fox.  It was approaching the deck.  We kept our movements to a minimum.  As usual, I had my camera in my pocket and started snapping pictures.  It got closer and closer.  Meanwhile, another showed up.  Eventually, they met in the middle and rubbed against one another.  It was so cute.  Jim went back to the RV and grabbed some tortilla chips.  We gave them a few.  It was awesome to watch them.

 

A couple of other photos from our trip:

Above: A cool building we saw… born 1887.  Here’s its history.

Above: Snake in some neighborhood we were driving around in.

It was a great weekend! 

On Monday, I found out I received my lending authority.  That means they trust me to make decisions on loan approvals/denials.  On Tuesday, I received my appraisal authority too!  I can trustily review an appraisal.  I also won a contest they had at work.  It was separated into 2 groups… seasoned underwriters and newbies.  It was based off of how many files I underwrote with point deductions for errors.  OK, I’m done patting myself on the back.

4-8-13 Monday (Do You Have The Time?)

Wow. It’s been almost a month since I last blogged.  So here’s what happened…

My grandmother (mom’s mom) aka, Nanny, was in a nursing home and had been for some time.  (You can tell by the past tense that she died.)  My mom said she was talking even less, had coordination issues, and wasn’t able to chew her food very well.  All a sign that she probably won’t be with us much longer.  We booked a flight to Florida for mid-May figuring it might be the last time I see her.  On April 2nd I got the call.  She’s gone.  92.  I’d say she lived a full life at that age.  To be honest with you, over the years there’s so many times we didn’t think she’d be around much longer.  In fact, on every cruise we booked since 2003, we got the insurance… just in case.

My company is so awesome.  5 days max bereavement (paid time away from work that doesn’t even count as PTO).  Jim’s company recognizes domestic partners and gladly gave him 3 days.  Airfare for both of us would be about $650.  We decided to drive.  That was much cheaper and we brought Dasher so we didn’t have to worry about someone pet sitting.  It was an 11 hour drive, 12 with pee-pee and food stops.  Jim and I chitchatted and listened to music so the trip there was 100% bearable. 

We departed/arrived on Wednesday.  We checked into a hotel that Jim booked via Priceline.  He landed us a 2 bedroom suite, 2 baths, kitchen and living room for $70 a night.  That setup was only $10 a night more than a regular room so what the heck.  The hotel had it’s issues which is unfortunate since it’s only 13 years old.

Above: One of the bedroom clocks.

Above: We turned the dishwasher one before we left and hours later it was still running.  The dial had gotten stuck.  Escaping steam has taken its toll on the underside of the counter top.

I took several other photos of moldy faucets and such.  I’ll spare ya.

The service was Thursday.  Nanny is at peace.  Nanny outlived 2 of her sons who were taken early from AIDS related fatalities (shown below).

Above: July 2005: Uncle Mike, Nanny, Uncle Alan

The reason for being in Florida was sad, but we did have a nice time visiting with family and friends.  Jim got to see his family as well so it worked out to be a good trip.  There’s friends we didn’t get to see but there just wasn’t enough time!

As I said, going there was great.  Getting home?  Not so much.  We hit traffic.  The near-stand still type.  We switched from regular GPS over to WAZE GPS (amazing app!) which is designed to utilize user-driven reporting to warn and recalculate driving routes due to police, accidents, or whatever.  It took us off the interstates and put us on backroads.  We agreed that even if it only saved a few minutes (sometimes 15), it was worth it to have that feeling of actually moving.  Going through the small towns and such was really cool too.

We’ll be back in mid-May, the flight we booked to come see Nanny is still on. Although I was “too late” to see her, my Mom said it was best since she wasn’t herself toward the end.  She was like an empty shell.  That flight on Allegiant Air was so cheap.  It cost us $200 for both of us roundtrip!  A Friday to a Monday.

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On my last blog entry I talked about getting “lending authority” and how I got it and then it was stopped due to an error.  On my return to work, I signed the paperwork again.  I won’t be first but I’ll be like 3rd or 5th or something like that.  I can live with that.  Once again, I have to NOT mess up for this to stick.  LOL.  Other than that, I simply love my job.  I couldn’t be happier with it.

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I finally got confirmation from my boss that my requested time off for the cruise is a go.  The only reason it was so complicated was because it ran into Labor Day weekend which is naturally a busy time for people to take off.  The excursions are booked.  Highlights include a helicopter ride to a glacier where we’ll be dog mushing.  Mush!  Mush!  We also get to visit with the dogs.  It sounds fun.  

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Such a great big thank you to Bette who sent me 2 more Pysanka eggs this year.  Aren’t they gorgeous?  I have to figure out a nice way to display the 3 of them.  For right now, 1 is in the holder I bought last year and the 2 new ones are in a crystal dish.

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A couple of animal pics from our Florida trip:

Above: My mom’s cat, Oreo.

Above: Jim’s mom and Morgan’s newest adopted pet: Rusty

3-22-13 Friday (Great Job! Oh, Nevermind.)

I’ve never only shared the good stuff that has happened to me.  I’ve often shared the bad stuff and poked fun at myself.  Even when the bad is embarrassing in ways.

Thursday at work, I received a really huge compliment and an hour later it was shattered.  So let me explain.  You know I’m a home equity loan underwriter, which I’m very new to doing.   An underwriter reviews loan applications, assesses risk by reviewing income, liabilities (credit report), value of the home, and all sorts of other facts to form an opinion about whether or not this is a good or bad risk for the bank.  Right now, I have no “lending authority”.  That means that when I make a decision on a file, it is reviewed by someone else and they agree/disagree with my decision and point out errors I’ve made. 

So what happened?  Well, I trained for 6 weeks.  No previous experience.  I have officially underwritten for only 13 days.  On the 14th morning, I was approached that I needed to sign a paper and I was most likely going to receive my authority.  Wow!  Already?  I had underwritten a lot of files.  I’d be the first in my class of 15.  I’m competitive so that’s a really big plus for me.  BUT it’s not final till it gets approved by some big wig which will take 24 hours to 1 week.  Wow, lending authority means no big brother looking at every file.  Only random files will get pulled as spot checks.  I pat myself on my back and gloat.  Damn I’m good. 

No, we don’t use stamps.

An hour after I’m all excited, I receive a fail.  I’m told that my authority has been put on hold and that I have to get some more “pass” files.  I’m bummed.  At the end of the day I receive another fail.  I’m devastated.  

I’m over it now.  I made a list of pros and cons of what getting lending authority would mean to me personally.  It’s really better for me and the bank if it goes slower.  Catch the mistakes now before they impact my job later. BUT I really wanted (I might still be) to be the first.  It’s that status. 

On Friday morning, at work I was mopey.  A few hours into the day I realized that the most important thing in all of this is that I love my job. I’m not in sales anymore.  No more customer service.  I talk to maybe one customer a week.  My work space is deafeningly quiet.  I like that.  I take a break when I want to.  I take lunch when I want to.  Every file is unique and interesting.  The people I work for are awesome.  What more could I want?   Oh yeah, to be first. 

3-12-13 Tuesday (Non-Attentive Attendants)

Saturday night we went to Beth’s house for a birthday dinner that her sister perfected. Stuffed mushrooms… divine. Homemade spinach fettuccine noodles... spectacular. Homemade chicken Alfredo with a side of shrimp to mix in… delectable. I’m not even saying all of this because she’s going to read this. Fact is, she doesn’t know how to read. No, no, just kidding. She doesn’t read the blog; I don’t even think she goes onto the Internet. Neither does Beth for that matter. Anyway, it was all so delish.

I’ve kind of been itching to see Oz: The Great and Powerful. So… we went. Studio Movie Grill was offering free admission with the donation of 2 canned goods. We brought 2 bags worth of stuff. We figured that would be worth the 3D admission. What’s so great about Studio Movie Grill? Well, it’s in the heart of Uptown Charlotte. It has a full bar. The seats are far apart from one another and has a table that swings out like a school desk chair arm. The seats were comfortable and roomy.  I liked the movie!  How about you?

Above: Stock photo

Above: There’s not many seats which is awesome.  You can reserve your seat online.

Above: In case you wondered… Yes, I wanted to skip it. No, I didn’t.

On the way to see the movie, we got rear ended… and not in a good way. Jim’s rear bumper had very slight damage.  A little cracking of the paint on the lower end of the bumper.  We decided not to pursue.  The guy apologized profusely and even offered us cash but we declined.  My neck started bothering me a little later and then I was starting to regret our decision.  By the next day I was fine.

We went to Moe’s before dinner.  I had never eaten there previously.  Jim has once. The burrito making guy had the personality of a gnat.  I think their guacamole sucks and their chicken burrito was dry.  I think the chicken was old. I prefer Salsarita’s.

Jim parked the car while I was getting the tickets.  He parked at some lot run by Preferred Parking, a pretty popular company in Uptown.  Parking was $5, Jim only had a $10.  The guy didn’t have change but said he’d have it by the time he returned.  When we returned there was no attendant.  Jim called and talked to an answering service.  Some guy called back and asked Jim to call back Monday.  Jim told him to have them call him.  Monday no return call thus far.

After all that excitement for the day, we went food shopping. First stop, BJs.  We passed a Mercedes Benz SUV parked in a handicap spot (it had a placard) with a screaming infant.  There was no one in the front seats.  We took a closer look, like real closer, like when you have to cup your hands to see in because of the glare, and saw a 5 year old with an infant.  The kid rolled down the window with one of them fancy switches, and I asked where his mom was.  He replied, “in the store”.  I asked what his mom’s name was to which he replied “Ebony”.  I tracked down a BJ’s employee who radioed a manager and agreed to page this woman.  In the meantime I called 911.  The first of 2 cops arrived.  He asked for my name, address, phone, DOB.  He talked to the kid who turned out to be 6 and agreed that was too young to be left alone.  I went inside but noticed a woman running toward the exit.  I had to follow.  It was the mother.  Glad she could run with that handicap placard and all…  Anyway, that was it.  Just another thing to make my day fabulous.

On Tuesday, Jim was able to resolve the parking change issue.  The lot had been rented out to a church or something so Preferred Parking said they weren’t responsible.  They said they didn’t have their number.  Jim persisted.  If you rented to them, how could you not have a contact?  He called the church who took a message and had someone call him back who apologized and it taking care of it.