Well - tonight's blog was supposed to be about Christmas in Seattle - I took pictures from my office building today. That has been put on the back burner due to an unexpected visit from L - these never go well. Before I start in on tonight's events I need to let you know that she called me at work today just to bitch and complain about how she has no control over her own money - how her grandparents tell her that they are just doing what her Dad told them to do - she then proceeded to make some rather disrespectful remarks that I don't think I will post here. I stayed calm throughout the conversation until that point which is when I told her that that was enough - I wasn't going to get involved and she needed to talk to her Dad and her grandparents at the same time.
This now brings us to this evenings events. She called me when she got off work and asked what I was doing -
just hanging and decompressing after work -
are you cooking anything for dinner -
no -
do you have any leftovers I can have I'm so hungry -
no -
Have I gotten any mail lately -
yes you have two magazines here -
can I come by and get them -
OK. (L's part of the conversation in blue and mine in green!!) So she got to the house - got her magazines and kinda just planted herself on the couch. She dropped quite a few hints about only having 1/4 of a tank of gas - she may have to call in sick to work because she may not have enough gas to work - hope she has enough to even make it home. I didn't fall for it - I just ignored it. She then helped herself to some cereal and yogurt - as usual she left things on the counter and after she left I realized the used bowl was sitting on the couch. But before she left she called her Dad - I only heard one half of the conversation but it was mostly the same things she tells me when she calls - how she is stressed because she doesn't have control of her money - it's her money - she may not have enough gas to get to work especially seeing as she has to drive uphill both ways and that uses more gas ( hmm uphill both ways - all she needed to add was 3 feet of snow and she would have had a story just like Papa's!) Anyways - from what I could hear it sounded like Alan was trying to stand his ground and was doing a pretty good job at it too. Then the waterworks started - big tears - heavy sobs - she sounded so pitiful. I have had an opportunity over that past two years to grow a thick skin to those tears - mostly gained in the last month she was at home. Alan hasn't had as much practice so I think he gave in a little - I'm not sure - but I did hear L tell her Dad that her grandparents will do whatever he says so could he just call them. Not sure how it was resolved but she was off the phone shortly after that. Of course one thing she never mentioned to him was the conversation I overheard her having with her friend Amber and the fact that she gets paid on Friday so they can do - you know - the same thing they do every weekend. I am sure this was "code" for smoking weed or more and I am sure she has been paying for it all which is why she has no money for gas.While she was on the phone with her Dad I hung out in the kitchen and did some baking - my stress reliever! Finance Department gets muffins tomorrow!
As she was leaving she made a remark about only being able to last 2 more weeks - if she has to stay longer she will die. Of course - is she doing anything to work on getting out of there - Nope - still waiting for someone to swoop in and rescue her. Not Gonna Be Me.
I am watching Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer right now which is helping me to destress - Mom - I thought of you - I hope you stayed up to watch it. I didn't know it was even on tonight until I turned on CBS to watch a different show.
Muffins are done and I am headed to bed. Tomorrow - barring anything unexpected - I will share pictures from my office and my theory on something from Fringe on Tuesday!
De
agine written in script down through it. It's in the same purple and black colors as her "sweet" tattoo. All I could do was shake my head. I asked her how much - $80. I asked how she was able to get the money from her grandparents and she told me she hasn't been home since she got paid on Friday - which means she has had her whole paycheck all weekend. Hmm - wonder how much of that paycheck she has left. I know she called me on Friday to get directions to Bellevue Square - so she went shopping on Friday and got a Tattoo today. I'm guessing about half of that paycheck is gone.
t to Macy's is Westlake Center where the city's Christmas Tree is all lit up - looking like it had been decorated with the kisses of angels and the glitter of fallen snow. And throughout the city all the trees lining the street had white lights in them to shine all around. Standing in the darkness of my office looking down at this scene I took a deep breath - This is the magic of Christmas.
article that came up was - Mother's Cookies Abruptly Shut Down!!! They abruptly closed down production and went out of business back in October!! No more Gingerbread Man Cookies - Circus Animal Cookies - Iced Oatmeal. It's like losing a part of my childhood. I remember when my sister and I were in High School - our parents went on a ski vacation and left us home alone. Mom left us money for groceries during the week. Both Colleen and I took some of the money and bought a big bag of Circus Animal Cookies each. We hadn't told each other we were going to do that so we each got our own bag. I did find a website where you can order some cookies before they are all gone. They are filling orders right now so you need to check back on Dec 5th to see what is still available. Of Course - no Gingerbread Men and the Circus Animals have limited availability.
