Carol's random babble

Yesterday, I took Cayla into town. I had to return a video (The Phantom Tollbooth - Cayla loved it, Amanda didn't watch the whole thing). We went to Taco Bell so she could try a taco. She wasn't happy. It costs 10 cents more than Taco Tico, they charge extra for tomato (which is cut into pieces instead of sliced), she didn't like the taste and she said her tummy hurt. After Taco Bell, we went to Walmart to get ingredients for spaghetti. As soon as we were done getting the stuff (at the self-serve checkout), Cayla got a nosebleed. She went to the bathroom, I stashed out stuff with the Service Desk and went to buy a box of kleenex for her. When I got to the bathroom, her nosebleed was over. Then she got the hiccups Cayla blames the nosebleed and hiccups on the Taco Bell taco. So, then we went to Taco Tico for a taco that she would like. She was mightily pleased. We dropped off the video and headed downtown to see what was going on with the RAGBRAI festivities. We p...

I watched this new show tonight - The Days. It's an interesting show - at least the pilot is. All about this family and the things that are happening to them. There's a line from the show where the father tells the mother, "I suddenly find myself unemployed." We're in a similar situation here. Kent got a call Thursday that basically told him that he doesn't have a job. Since I don't want to screw up his chances at unemployment, I won't name names, but I find it odd that about 3 weeks ago, a new person was hired, the previous site supervisor was let go and the new person was made supervisor. Just this last week, another new person was trained, and Kent is let go. The really coincidental thing is that the new site supervisor apparently knew this new person because they worked together at their previous place of employment. I wonder how many more friends the new supervisor has and will they also be applying to work there. The good news is, that...

My new time-waster is Kingdom of Loathing . I spend too much time on this game. It's funny and different - you will have to see for yourself. Amanda's birthday was yesterday. We went to the library for a magic show with Allen Roen . It was pretty cool. We went home for awhile, I took a nap, then we went to a nature program at Kennedy Park and to Pizza Hut for supper. (Kids eat free on Tuesday nights) Amanda's friend Tabitha gave her a couple of books about horses - instant hit. Cayla and I picked out a small Magnetix kit for Amanda. She loves it. I think I'll get her a bigger set tomorrow when I get paid. I just noticed that on the side of the box it tells you what color the pieces are - we got her yellow, but her favorite color is red. I want to get her a set that has more kinds of pieces.

Rock, Paper, Saddam is pretty funny. :) There is a bit of profanity. I ran over a skunk on the way home from work tonight. I don't think I hit it, just ran over it. However, I did scare the crap out of it, so to speak. I didn't smell anything until I got out of the car, then I smelled a faint skunk smell. It seems to be getting a little stronger. I've had Gmail for over a week and still no invitations to share.I promised to share my first invite on Hatrack and haven't been able to keep my promise. While at work tonight, I heard a call on the scanner about a 10-50 (accident) involving an ATV. The first call said it was at 400 Rake Street in Otho. Subsequent messages from the LEC dispatcher said it was on Highway Street next to the park. Highway Street is one block west of the park, which is bounded by Rake Street on the west. So, the first address was right. They got it right eventually. Sunday I was at work and asked Kent to tape "The Music Man" ...

The Otho fireworks were pretty awesome this year. I love having a digital camera to capture the moment. 

Otho fireworks 

I broke the driver's seat in my car Thursday night. It's broken inside, near the lever. So I am very careful about how I sit. I don't lean back too hard. Yesterday, on the way to work, my odometer rolled over to 278,000 miles. I don't lock my car any more (except last night) because when I do, the front passenger door tends to not unlock. This forces Mom to sit in the back seat when I drive her places, and she won't/can't use the seat belt in the back. Last night I left work and went to Hy-Vee. During my shopping trip, I realized how tired I was and called Kent to ask him to come into town and pick me up. He and the girls came to get me. I parked my car in the Big Lots parking lot away from the store, and locked it. We haven't gone back to get it yet. I had to go into town this morning by myself because I found out we were completely out of toilet paper. I thought we had some in the small bathroom, but found out I was wrong. I wanted to have Kent...

That's Cayla's sound of frustration. That's what I said when I found out my emails had been disabled by my esteemed ISP. Yesterday I called to cancel Frontier Choices since I'm not using the options. They offered to take $20 off my bill for six months if I would keep it for that time. I agreed. Several times during the conversation I repeated that I wanted to keep my DSL. Today I checked my email and found my accounts were disable. My web pages were gone. I called tech support. They said I asked to delete my account. NOT! GRRR. It's all back, I think. I have to go to work, so I can't follow through and check on everything. GRRR. Customer Service.

There used to be a tv commercial (and magazine ads) for some cigarette brand where you would see a person with a black eye declaiming "I'd rather fight than switch," showing their loyalty to that brand. Internet Explorer users might want to take that as a good example - if you consider how bad cigarettes are for your health. I am tired of popups and don't want spyware on my computer. I'm not important enought to warrant hacking, but the whole thing is just getting out of hand. I like surfing the Internet and popups are like hidden rocks in the water. Don't mind me - after all, this is my random babble .

I'm still (slightly) amused by these commercials. I haven't gotten tired of them ... yet. Maybe by tomorrow morning. The four of us went to supper at BK tonight. I discovered they are promoting The Simple Life 2 - Road Trip . I can't begin to express the level of thrill I am feeling. Remind me not to eat in the dining room at BK until this is over. Every time I hear Paris Hilton's name, I recall that her great-great-grandmother (Conrad Hilton's mother) was Mary Laufersweiler. As in Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home in Fort Dodge, Iowa. And, I can't help but wonder why they don't have a season of The Simple Life in Fort Dodge. Paris could visit her Laufersweiler cousins and learn all about the funeral home business. I bet they would be thrilled.