September 26, 1996
My Granny (last Grandparent), Murley Altic, died on Tuesday. Oh man.... I dearly loved that Lady. But, she had had so many strokes and minor cerebral acidents that when she died, she had been unresponsive for weeks. God's mercy...
What a cool person. I used to visit and encourage her to just free-associate and ramble on about things she had done and seen. I love History, and listening to her tell stories about her life made the past come alive with sights, sounds, smells, textures. You got the feel of what it was like. How floors creaked, what using a real icebox was like, how different people were back then, how different society was back then. She was an honest soul who had had her share of knocks, and never got bitter. She lost a child to sickness, was married to (and buried two) three husbands. Had a raunchy streak that would shock the hell out of you and was just the neatest person you ever wanted to meet. Retirement homes should be guarded like Fort Knox because of all the gems contain. I will miss you Grandma. All my love.
The Cascades are out today in a big way so I think I must travel closer to see them before the rains come. Lookin out my window ain't makin it. Crap, I'm getting nasty-grams from friends about not letting them know where I am, on who's server I now reside or what my *(*^(*^%*^ email address is. Sheesh! Can't ya move 3500 miles and be given a break? I ain't had the time! I just found out where to get my Driver's License yesterday cause the moronic phone company doesn't deliver yellow pages. You don't even GET one. Cheap.
This I have to share: Since I got my phone number, I have been getting calls for Mark and Chris. "What do you mean they aren't there? I just spoke with them!" "How long have you had this number?" Oh, about 5 days. Why? "Well, I just spoke with them!". Yeah. You told me that. So I'm getting this sneaking suspicion that the cheesy phone company this apartment complex contracts our service to gave me somebody's number just after they terminated service. But I can't prove it. Until yesterday that is....
Yesterday, aside from those annoying Carol-something mailers, the only thing in my mailbox is an envelope from the groovy people at the phone company - TPC...
And, yes, it has phone calls from weeks before I moved in on it. And yes, after calling TPC, I find out I have been given a recently deactivated number, which they will switch for me at no charge. Are you nuts? I make my living off the phone, I haven't gotten around to giving it to everyone (which in this case works in my favor), yadda yadda yadda. I say no thank you. They say they won't charge me for the calls I didn't make. I say thank you. I ask them again why I can't choose my long distance carrier, cause, like, isn't that a right granted everyone by Judge Harold Green about 20 years ago! "Well, uh, you see, I'm going to now tap dance all around that question and try to dazzle you with some bullshit about how were a different kind of company not bound by the FCC, and that we don't give a rat's ass whether or not you are happy, that you can't use your worldnet.att.nett account cause you don't officially have ATT as your long distance carrier, yadda yadda yadda. Humma humma humma. Ahhhh.....just bite me.
So, I'm very proud of myself. I lost no cool. I very polite (cause, really, I'm not an ***hole) to underpaid office person, who is being really nice to me, and who really could care less what happens to my phone. And the Cascades are REALLY out now so life is good. Damn I feel good after that <rant>. It almost makes up for the Mall going up across the street and the leaf-blowers outside my window.
My Stylewriter 1200 is out of ink. Again. At $26 a pop (yes I've tried the refill cartridges but I don't care for the results) I am putting off making a run to OfficeDepot to get a new one or two.
I haven't had a cigarette in 12 days. I am going @$^(#@$ climbing the walls crazy. That chrome-metallic nicotine-addict taste in my mouth is just starting to fade, and I would still fire one up right now if I had one. "Oh no Judge", says the B&W Chief Attorney; "Oh no Judge", says B&W's CEO; "Oh no Judge" they say in unison...."Nicotine is not an addictive substance". @$#%&@$ liars. The bitch of it is.....I really like to smoke. I can't stand the way it makes my clothes or apartment smell but my brain really likes nicotine.
I have this friend in another state who ran for State Senator as a Democrat. Not a professional politician. He funded his campaign himself for under $1000. I think it was more like under $500, but I wan't to be accurate here. Anyway, he got 15% of the primary vote. I think that is so absolutely cool I can't see straight. Until I get his permission, I can't say what the SOLE plank of his platform was, but it wasn't your average one. And he still got 15% of the vote against one other person. For under $1000. Cool.
I / You / We CAN change things and make a difference.
It's only the rest of the world saying we can't that can stop us.
Screw them.
Be cool.
Drew
</RANT>
Copyright ©1996. Andrew T. Green. All Rights Reserved. <------Love this bit....Sooooo official.....
