Laurie and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

Car problems, car issues don't even begin to cover this week.

In the course of one week we have experienced 3 unrelated doozies.

Tuesday June 23 - Grants Mazda 626 will not go into any gear. Great. Transmission trouble. Get under the hood and discover that it is the plastic piece that connects the shifter to the transmission is gone - shattered. We are able to fix it with spare parts dad has lying around.

Thursday June 25 - I am in Okmulgee in my Blazer. I get in the car to head home - no juice, no start. Try to jump it off Grandmas station wagon, no dice the negative pole is UNDER the firewall. Oi! Call AAA. They jump it - life should be good, tow truck driver ASSURES me that by the time I hit BA it will have charged up. I don't believe him, I have been in this situation before. Guess what I cant get it to restart once I get home. Work on it till 1AM. Cannibalize the Vega for a battery to get to work. Buy a new Battery Friday. $80.00

Monday June 29 (Anniversary) - I work late, realize I need gas, since the fuel gage has been broken for 3 years I just put a full tank in every 300 miles. Hop back in the truck to head home. Truck tries to stall, I go a mile and it happens again as I try to merge on to 169S, then it backfires. I make it the 20.0 miles from the gas station to my parents drive way with 2 more almost stalls. Get into the drive and it dies. No gas - no moving. After much diagnostics it is the fuel pump $400.00. Coincidentally the fuel pump also has the gas gage parts attached to it, this is why it is so expensive. Even better news, I must drain the gas tank (17gallons) to repair the truck. Oh, and I did not get to spend the evening with Grant.

7

7 deadly sins?
7-Up?
7 pounds?
7-11?

Nope, 7 years.




7 years ago at about this time I was walked down the aisle by my Uncle Richard Allen. A brief ceremony began, followed by a lighthearted reception.



And it was time to start a new chapter. The wedding was over, I was married.



No regrets, everything has happened for a reason. The bad times have made us stronger. The good times would never be traded for anything.

My heart is with the people of Iran

Please note, I say people. I do not name a political candidate, nor do I single out the government. My heart is with the people.

My heart has been with them so long as I can remember. As a child I feared what would happen to the people of Iran. You see - my family, we had friends there. Friends who feel like family. We prayed for safety and peace in Iran nightly. Our friends were well off, at one time had ties to the Shah. Once the Shah was overthrown we prayed for our friends safety. We had met them when Bagher came to the US to study Architecture. He was the room mate to my uncle. One year later he returned with a bride, Nahid. Bagher and Nahid spent weekends, holidays and daily life with my family until the time came for them to return to Iran and start a family. Once there they could not return to the US - for over 20 years they waited for a safe time to visit. This time did not come. It was not until 1999 when they moved to Canada that we were able to see them and for me to meet them for the first time. The day I met them face to face I knew - these people were more than friends - they were family. The boys, they are almost like brothers to me. My husband has come to know these people as family as well.

I eagerly awaited Iran's election, as I do every American election (what can I say, I love watching politics in action). Since the time that the result was announced I have watched these events unfold. I have seen the recount denied, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declare Ahmadinejad victorious and the scenes that came after. People detained after silent protest, women and men shot for peaceful assembly, security forces beating protesters with clubs. Each of these thing I have seen only by grainy footage shot by cell phone and sent on in hopes that the world would see. All press has been shut down, only the will of the people of Iran brings this to us.

At last the people of the west are seeing the people of Iran as I do. As people, people just like you find in England, Germany, or America. People who deserve a voice that has been denied to them too long. People who have been so utterly over looked by the world at large it is maddening.

For to long the government of Iran has done as it pleases with no regard for the people it governs. This situation is about to be put in check. For the first time in my life time I can say, the world is in fact watching, the WORLD not the leaders the people of the world. This will not be forgotten. The Angel of Iran will not be forgotten - Neda how fitting a woman whose name means 'voice' in her native tongue should be the one who gives voice the injustice of this.

I await a resolution, one that I fear is far off.

My heart is still with the people of Iran.

dayqil / nyquil - ZOMBIE

I am of the firm opinion that having a cold in the winter is far better than having a cold in the summer. The summer heat mixed with a stuffy nose just plain sucks.

Lucky for Grant and I we are in the process of dealing with this monster.

Cold meds do weird things to me. Dayquil makes me feel like a zombie, I type EVERYTHING wrong on the first try. I am dizzy, and just generally BLAH.

And to put the icing on my week the transmission in Grants car is failing to engage. So last night I was out in the hot garage trying to deal with that. Today will be more of the same.

bah humbug.

Calling all books

I am currently working on my summer reading list. Please send me suggestions! I do have some requirements.

- no religious reads,
- must be light hearted (I read what I will readily admit is fluff lit in the summer, and summer ONLY. heavy stuff I read in the winter to further define the fluff statement if it is something a teacher would assign I will not read it)
-must be out in paperback because I abuse the hell out of my books.

So there you have it - send me some suggestions. My hammock is begging for use!

a funny thing happened .....

It hit me this week.

Since the start of my derby retirement I have found one thing to be true. As each day passes I hate my cell phone less and less.

Now don't get me wrong, I am still not a fan of the damn thing. However I am far less likely to verbally assault the air at the slightest chirp it makes. Today's project may be reevaluating ring tones for something a wee bit calmer to help with this shift.

I really think with derby I was just feeling too - responsible, stressed, and tired. It was hard to see at the time. I still love the sport, but some things are better loved at a distance. Just like bears.

Some times you can care so much about something that it consumes you (Pun intended). It starts to almost become your identity, not a part of your personality. At this time I am fighting to once again find my identity. A well rounded representation of who I am. My personality finger print.

big happenings at our house!

and no, I am not pregnant.



Grants band Drive By Sonata has been selected to be on the 2009 Edge Tulsa Homegroan Album as track #3. w00t!