Sunday, May 28, 2006
Good n Bad n Whatthefugever
Whee doggies, as Uncle Jed, my personal Yoda, used to say.
Back on the roller coaster.
My friend died on April 29. She drank herself to death, literally. It's awful and it's sad and it's not that unusual, unfortunately. She left a nice man and two great kids behind, one of which was a 17-year old high school junior. They're coping. Sort of.
I'll have more advertising crap to bitch about next time I blog. I can't remember if I bitched about a certain computer company or not. If not, I'll get to 'em.
I've been being a good little citizen. Helping people who need help, giving a bum some food (he asked for money), spending hours scanning pics of my late friend's photo albums and burning CDs for her family. Probably a good thing I'm doing it now, too, because some are fading with age.
I had a burnout day recently, and took the day off for myself. Went surf fishing, which I haven't done in years, then went fishing out in the river, spent a lot of time thinking, which isn't my best trait, and working out some plans for the immediate future, re-sorting priorities. Brain stuff. Had to take a Goody Powder, which often happens when I try to think a lot. Caught a bunch of fish, too. Threw 'em all back. Probably should have kept some and eaten 'em. Some study I read said fish is brain food. Too bad. Next legal size trout I catch, he's lunch.
Did I mention last post that I finally weighed my obese self and have lost forty pounds between October and April? It is to celebrate! Yay! Ok, that's done. Now I need to lose around 60 more. I'm on my way, at least. Still on the infamous Miss Lanie Pretzel Diet, but at least it's working!
Now, the thing I've been wanting for ages is
handle it.
I decided an above-ground pool is the way to go. Compared to getting a "real" pool, the expenditures are minimal. There are a variety of sizes, depths, shapes, peripherals. I found the one I wanted on the internet. $800. Since I'm not interested in diving, but having something to both swim for exercise and chill out and play in, I don't need a deep pool. Also, I'm only 5'6", so I REALLY don't need a deep pool. This pool is four feet deep. It's twelve feet wide, 20 long, has both a ground cover to put it on and a leaf cover to protect it, has a pump, ladder, cleaning tools and startup supplies. Further research had the same pool on other sites, one for $50 more, one for $100 more. None of the prices included shipping.
Wayull....I have a membership with one of those discount warehouse places. Whenever I need something in bulk, or certain items, membership is worth it. I also get gasoline cheaper than street prices, which IS nice, especially now.
While perusing the place recently, amidst heavenly music and confetti flying through my mind, lightbulbs springing on, there it was: My Pool. Actually, three of my pool. Box longer than I am tall, about as wide as me, and even thicker. Everything included in the box. $400. When I announced it among my friends, volunteers sprang forward to offer their help in clearing the jungle I call a yard, dig out the dirt and help rid it of sharp opjects and even it out it for my pool. I have offers to help put in the sidewalk and build the partial deck, as well as the PVC frame I'm putting over it. Not only have they offered, but some have already showed up and done incredible work on my/their behalf. I did a careful check of my finances, and determined that I can buy this thing without major damage to my finances. I put it on a credit card, but I'll have that card back to zero in less than a month.
I used one of their heavy duty carts to get it out to my pickup. I nearly strained my arms getting one end into the bed. A few attempts to get more of it in didn't work well. I decided to push the cart closer, perhaps get it higher into the pickup. Instead, it slipped out the back of the cart, wedged itself under the handle, and left me worse off than I was. As I was dragging it around trying to reposition it so I could muscle it back on, two very large healthy young men came by and took over the project. I thanked them profusely. I could have done it without them, but what took them 3 minutes would have taken me half an hour, with possible physical injury.
So, to the "I have a hot tub, fountain and landscaping" pool crowd, I guess I'm still po' white trash. On the other hand, I'll be swimming and playing for less than a grand. I can't see me caring deeply what they think.
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