Socialized Medicine

My family travels quite a bit.

I was lucky enough to take my first overseas trip at 14 and I have never looked back.

This week Mom and the Dr.,Dr.,Dr. are in Exeter (that's in England Y'all) at some writers thing. They travel constantly and it is usually a writers conference or a French Medieval conference. It sounds boring and I'm sure some of it is but a lot of it is really cool. Plus one of the Dr., Dr., Dr.'s many books is dedicated to little old me :) which is really neat.

Well this morning I got a slightly alarming email, Mom has a fever. I know, it's just a fever but she's not young and she has not had a fever in years. When you get to a certain age a fever is nothing to play around with.
She says she's just going to go to Boots (its the English version of Walgreens) but seriously all they will do is throw some codeine at her. Yes, you can get codeine without a prescription, it is a truly civilized country. I say she needs to call a Doctor.

Now I am not going to get into a debate about socialized health care here, I'm just trying to make sure my Mom, who is in a foreign country and sick, feels better, ok.
The lovely thing about my mother being in the UK at this particular time is that they do have socialized health care and she can see a doctor without too much hassle (I SAID I did not want to hear it.......thank you)
For those of you who have never been ill in a socialist country allow me to explain.

I was very ill on a trip to Paris. I LOVE Paris, with all my heart and I was not about to spent the three precious days I had there with my head in le toilet. So I did what any "stoopid americiane" would do and asked the concierge to call a doctor. What, you thought I was backpacking or something, darlin I was on the black cards dime, I traveled in high style back in the day.

Within the hour a lovely young Physician was in my suite taking my vitals and various bodily samples. He determined that I had nothing more than a simple stomach bug and gave me some little green pills. He also had room service bring me a fizzy licorice flavored alcoholic beverage to calm my tummy. That's why I love the French, when in doubt, throw booze at it. Well it worked, I was fine the next morning and was able to enjoy the beautiful world that is Paris.
How much did this little house call cost me.......approx $30.00 including the little green pills!!!

I do hope my Mom has seen a Doctor today and I hope she feels better soon.
I don't know why, but when someone you love is ill away from home, it just seems worse.

Update: Mom has not gone to the Dr., still has a fever and now I can't sleep. She says she's going to grab something homeopathic..........for her fever!!

guilty pleasure

A guilty pleasure of mine is crap horror movies (think Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, its a classic) and conspiracy documentary type shows. Last night I stumbled upon this gem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Y1Qg10pys

It gets a little crazy, but the first 10 minutes are brilliant!!! Apparently the Catholic Church has a little thing going on with little green men from space......who knew.

You got a purdy mouth

I have always prided myself on having emotional baggage that fit neatly into an overhead compartment.

Look, when you get to a certain point in life we are dragging crap around. The key is to make sure your crap is at least color coordinated and fits in a weekender. If you got a steamer trunk and some mismatched duffel bags, you might need to "talk" to somebody.

A few years back my nice little weekender exploded into a full blown storage unit of s*&t. I know, everyone has the bad break up that caused some serious collateral damage, but this one has been known to silence a room. It was bad.

All I will say is there was an engagement, then nothing. No break up, no phone call, not even a text, just nothing. I found out later, through mutual friends, that he had married another woman quite suddenly and three months after the wedding..........................he died of a heart attack.
That's the short version, the long version is.........even uglier and paints him in a pretty horrendous light. The guy is dead and his widow was only married for three months. I was angry and hurt but I still have a heart. Airing his dirty laundry is not necessary.

The damage of said break up was me not dating. It's not like I became a hard bitter person, I just stopped dating. I don't see when men are flirting with me and I don't respond to said flirting. I don't mean to, it's just that part of my life sort of shut down.

There is this QI practitioner who talks about emotional blows. He said there are times in ones life that hit them so hard they are forever changed. Complete parts of their personality can disappear. I guess that's what happened, I no longer viewed myself as desirable, so I had no desire.

Things have been shifting recently. I've seen some things that have made me think, "well he might make for a fun weekend" but I am still very closed. This past week however, has been interesting and this morning was just shocking.

I had a gentleman tell me how pretty my feet were. Which for the record is a little too personal when dealing with a stranger. Yes, we ladies decorate ourselves to attract men. We paint our nails and put glittery things on to call attention or improve our self esteem. However, when you zoom in on one part of the package, its creepy. Especially if its feet, that's just gross and I don't want to think about where your brain just went when you saw and then thought and then blurted out "wow, you have really pretty feet.". EWWWW.
I am all for letting your freak flag fly but there are some things that should be kept private until two people are kinda grooving on each other. Know what I mean.
I had another guy tell me my lips were sexy. Again, WHAT!!!! Maybe I am just a little conservative but "do I know you!?!".......come on man. What happened to "you have beautiful eyes" or "a nice smile".  I was really starting to think I may just have to go back to my little hidey hole because I'm starting to feel like a steak ...............and then Jose showed up this morning.

Jose has been working on the condo next to mine for a few weeks. Y'all this boy is young, he is barely 20 if he's a day. As I was dragging out to my car, he comes rushing down the path and is holding in his gorgeous brown hand a small purple flower!! "You are very beautiful Senora. I hope you have a good day"
Holy crap........really. I think I said thank you or what, I don't know. It was so unusual for me and so unexpected that I probably hurt the poor child's feelings.

 Damn those Latinos know what they are doing.

I don't know if I am ready to let my walls down just yet, but I do know that I have been staring at that little flower all day.

PROMOTED!!!!!

I got a promotion!!!!! Finally

Property management was not my career of choice. I had a great career with  a huge international company where "membership has it's privileges". I would not say it was a dream job, but it allowed me to travel the world and make a nice amount of pocket change in the process. Until a little over four years ago.

We all knew things were changing. It was like watching those National Geographic shows. You know when the heard of gazelle gets really jumpy right before the lions pounce. People were just, scared. We made it through the 2008 fiasco but things were still not back to normal. These second cuts started slowly without much fan fair. Suddenly Jen in accounting was gone, then the IT dept was cut in half.

When I was "let go" I had that uneasy optimism "everything will be fine" "I've always been able to get a job" "this is just a temporary set-back".
Well kids, I couldn't find a job. It was terrifying. I was applying everywhere, in all states. For the first time I realized why families separated for work. Why I had friends who's husbands were working in Texas while they were here with the kids.

I pulled the 401k and the inheritance from my Dad's death and started paying bills with it. Things were really bad. I finally got a nibble in Greenville so I needed to meet with my landlord about possibly breaking my lease.
You know how they say timing is everything.......well that is absolutely true. The day I walked into the office to discuss my lease was the same day the assistant gave notice. The pay was not even close to what I was used to, the industry was insane to say the least and I would be at entry level. However, it was a job and I had already tightened my belt so tight, adjusting to the reduced salary was not that bad. In addition, I got a break on my rent......bonus. I have learned the business over the past few years and I have had some small victories but still, things have been............tight financially speaking.

I realize my story is a very typical one these days. There are a lot of us. I don't look like I'm broke, I drive a decent car, fully paid off; I own my own condo, purchased a 628sq ft foreclosure for 44K to stabilize my housing costs,  I shop, even on occasion at Whole Foods. But if you look closely, you see it, I don't have a smart phone, my "ipod" is an old Motorola and I have not had cable in years (that one is never coming back.......only a sucker pays for that crap). I have my hair done at a really sweet ladies home for a huge discount. It's the little things, but if you look, it's there.

Friday I got a big promotion and an ever bigger pay raise. It will be difficult, I am basically taking a three level leap and to be honest, I don't know if I can do it. It's a lot of responsibility in an industry where I am still learning the ropes. What I do know is I can breath for the first time in years. I got in my car Friday after work and just cried. Not a sad or joyous cry just, relief, like the weight of the world has been lifted. It is still a far cry from my previous income but it will start the process back.

JEJU

There is a magical place among the strip-malls of Pleasant Hill Road and it is called JEJU

www.jejusauna.net


It's modeled after a traditional Korean bathing house. Admission is $25.00. For this you get a very stylish unisex uniform (those crazy Koreans), a wrist band so you don't get lost, access to the hot, warm and cold saunas, steam room, dry sauna, healing rooms and a salt water swimming pool. That's right $25.00. Oh and it's open 24 hours a day!!! They even have a sleeping room if you want to spend the night!

There are a few things to keep in mind before you go......the non-coed areas are nude. Buck ass nekkid is more like it. If you have a problem with your nudity or someones else's, you will not be comfortable here. If however you are fine with having little old Korean women beat on you and wash your hair while laying next to 20 other naked women (or men, never been to that side but I imagine its very similar) getting the same treatment..........welcome to nirvana.

If you want said little old Koreans to beat you into submission, you have to pay extra but it's soooo worth it.

Now, when you enter the naked zone you will have a brief moment of panic. Everything is fine, this is normal, no one is staring and everyone else is just as naked and out of shape as you are.

I feel the need to pause here and explain some things to my international friends. Americans have a really hard time with just plain old nudity. We talk a good game about boobs and sex and we are currently obsessed with Jon Hamms package, but when it comes to a simple naked body, we are the six year olds of the world. We can't handle it, its naughty and wrong and if you are not going to f$*k it or use it to sell some product, it should just be covered up.

Now that you have gotten over the brief moment of panic you will notice several hot tubs, an infrared light area and doors (these are the steam rooms). To your right you will see several elevated slabs with naked people laying on them, this is the treatment area. No it's not like that fancy Buckhead spa, there are no private rooms with plinky plunky music and a water feature in the corner. This place is bright and loud and there are no fluffy towels or big enveloping bath robes and.......it doesn't matter one bit. The result is still you drooling and not remembering one damn thing :). Once you have decided on the treatment (I recommend the body scrub and massage combo) you put the number on your wrist band on a bulletin board and go sit in a hot tub or sauna, whatever floats your boat. Oh, pay attention.....one of the hot tubs is actually an ice bath. It will say cold above it in really tiny letters but you will miss this sign, trust me. At some point you will hear the number on your wrist band called. A woman will point to a vacant elevated slab, go lie down on it, face down.

You will begin hearing words that you do not understand, unless you speak Korean. Suddenly warm water will be thrown, yes thrown, onto you from, I suspect, a bucket. It feels AMAZING!!!! You will then have your skin scrubbed off. Although this sounds painful and there are some spots that smart a little, it too feels amazing. You are then soaped up and more buckets of warm water are thrown at you. You are then flipped over, soaped up some more, more buckets and then........SHE WASHES YOUR HAIR! I think I had some lotion type substance put on my after this but I was gone. When I was finally told to get off the slab, I honestly don't think I knew my own name. "You go now!"

To be bathed as an adult is luxurious. There is something within us that responds to this act. Maybe it is that distant memory that we have long ago forgotten, or maybe it is just the energy that is passed when one human touches another. I don't know, but I know that I have not felt this calm or clear headed in a very long time.

Oh and they have a Korean restaurant. You can get Bimbop, cause it's fun to say "I'll have the bimbop please" or just have something to drink between drool sessions. It's an amazing place and I highly recommend it if you are in the area.

I'm gonna kill my cat

I'm not really going to kill my cat but I am very worried that I may accidentally kill him.

I've had Max since he was 6 weeks old. He is actually one of those cats that even dog people like. I know, everyone says that but it's really true in his case. He is very social and has a personality. Hence, the worry. He has always been a character and he loves to get into trouble. When I bought the condo last year he figured out how to get into the duct work!!!!

When Max was a baby he loved to get into the refrigerator. I don't know why but several groggy mornings I would grab the creamer and accidentally close him in on the bottom shelf. He always cried as soon as the light went out so I found him. Luckily he grew out of this fascination,  but as he enters his old age (he will be 13 in August) he has started going into the fridge again!!

Many of you may be saying "well Tat, just get him out before you close the door." Let me explain myself in the morning. I don't really function in the morning.

I can do it, I can be up and clean and dressed at any hour needed........but I don't wake up until 10am, period. I can get on a plane, I can be in a meeting, I can even get to the Summerfest 4am pack in, but I am not AWAKE until 10AM, ever. That being said, I don't see Max when he scoots past me and jumps in there while I'm blindly reaching for whatever it is I need at whatever god awful hour it happens to be. I'm really starting to worry that I am going to close him in there.....................................yikes.

Maybe I'll put a bell on him, that'll teach him ;)

The kindness of strangers

Yesterday was an incredibly beautiful day here. Not too hot, not too cold, sun shinning, all around great day.
So you can imagine my disappointment when I pulled onto Monroe to head over to Dale's 50ISH birthday and my car did not want to go. It just died. No announcement, no lights, no smoke, just dead.

Luckily, It started up again and I was able to get it back to my humble abode without incident. But now what, I can't drive this thing and have it cut out at 60 miles an hour on I-85 (ok 80, who am I kidding, truckers don't call Atlanta The Watermelon 500 for nothing).
So now the task of finding an open garage on Sunday...................................................................................................................................


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.........


Yeah, not gonna happen. So onto phone calls. You know when you call someone and you are in need and they are already on their first beer and settling in for a great Sunday.
"well, do you NEED me to come get you? "
"I'll come get you if you NEED me too, but I mean I'm already at the lake and............."

No, don't come get me, it's fine. I'm safe and the car is safe and everything is fine, enjoy the lake. Although that was through a grit toothed smile.

So, now I punt and it works. Not one, not two but three complete (and I am talking complete) strangers came to my aid. A neighbor gave me the number of another neighbor who took my call and agreed to look at my car Monday.

Yay, progress started, now I can relax

So I go about my day and head down to The Park......beautiful.......beautiful day. I live in a walking neighborhood so it's actually nice to be without a car.

Susan was kind enough to take me on an errand run and then we sat in front of the big house drinking wine. It turned out to be a great day after all.

BUT ITS GETS BETTER. At around 7pm I get a text from an unknown number it says "is your car the red ford?" Yes, yes it is. Apparently it has spread through the grapevine that my car has died and a past gentlemen friend of mine has sent over a young man with a mobile garage. This guy changes my spark plugs. cleans out the fuel injection system right there on the street! Even he says "its just a band aid and you need to find out why it cut out" but still, such a nice thing.

To boot, mechanic number one just called and will be picking up my car around 1ish today!!
How many mechanics do you know that make house. Apparently I now know two :)
Did I mention, I have never met any of these people. They are not old buddies are pals, these are just total strangers helping another total stranger in a time of need.

You know what they say, if you expect good from people, that is what you will find and I have certainly found some wonderful people recently :)

You are the sum...............................

So last night was strange................
I was duped into a road trip. It was a friends birthday and I am always up for celebrating another year. It starts to become more of  a "we made it!" as you get deeper into your 40's. Shit I'm going to a 50ish b-day party today..........sidebar....................apparently I know a lot of Taurus's.

Anyway, I was told it was close to Duluth. That was a bold faced lie and you owe me (you know who you are;)). I drove my ass all the way out to Winder GA!!! Now I love Winder, most of my people are from Winder. For my friends not from the south "my people" refers to my family. I grew up riding horses and playing in the creeks of Winder Ga. That being said, I do not have time to drive out to Winder on a Saturday night without some pre-planning.

It all worked out, there were a few designated so I relaxed, tied a few on and B delivered the Ford as promised before 10am this morning (kisses B).

But that's not why the night was strange. Now ya'll, I am not a beauty queen or a "hottie", don't
misunderstand, I'm a pretty woman, some even consider me beautiful but I'm not "DAMN" know what I mean. But I have discovered something, married men with small children find me fascinating. Maybe it's because I don't have children, maybe it's because instead of getting married in my 20's I went overseas and basically stayed, I don't know. But here is what I do know.....I am NOT attracted to married men with small children and I certainly do not appreciate being followed around a party by one.

Guys, there is one thing that most men don't get about real women. The hottest thing in the world, is a man who loves his woman AND SHOWS IT!
A few years back I was at a child's B-Day party and my dear friends three year old smarted off and hit her. Well, Daddy marched over; we've all seen that march; snatched that little boys arm and stated "YOU DON'T HIT MY WIFE!" Let me tell you something, every woman at that party stopped cold, that was hot.

So to the "gentlemen" that ignored the beautiful, amazing mother of his children last night to regale me with stories about how cool he was whrn he was 20......really.

You see, that women  who has been with you through all the crap, given birth to your amazing kids, cleaned up after you, cooked for you, supported you, cried with you, laughed with you, succeeded with you, failed with you......THAT woman is a Goddess!!
Oh and after finally shaking you I was able to spend some lovely time chatting with her. She's an amazing lady and we are having lunch next week......you're not invited. (d%*k)

blackbird singing in the dead of night...........................................

It really is funny how little we know about one another. You can know someone for years and still find out new and interesting things about them.

Like this..................................................

A newly engaged couple came in to see me this week. This was there first apartment together, to say they were excited is an understatement. It was cute.

We toured the property, I showed them a few floor plans, it was fun and uneventful.

As we started to head back to the office the girl turned to me and said "So do you have any buildings that don't have trees near them? I hate the sound of birds chirping in the morning"

Now ya'll, there are not a lot of statement that cause me to stop and think "WHAT!?!" but in all my years on this planet I have never....never heard anyone say they hate the sound of birds chirping in the morning!

The sad part was the look on her poor "soon to be husbands" face. This was new information about his beloved, and apparently he was as shocked as I was.

He started stammering and saying "what does that even mean".

He then started talking about the car situation. Apparently, there was a "discussion" before they got to my property about his car.

She just looked at him and said "I don't like noise in the morning and don't like old cars" And let me tell you, the period at the end of that sentence was audible.

I just turned, shut my mouth and pointed out the pool and grilling area.

This poor boy was about to spend the rest of his life with a bona fide drama queen and this was all news to him.

I hope they make it. (but I'm not so sure)

JailDogs

I know, I know, I blather on about this program to everyone but it really is amazing.

Update - Blossom had her surgery yesterday and she is doing great!!!

www.jaildogs.org

Squirrel and Rat

Today was a strange day........strange and exhausting. I woke up late but made it to work on time (how does that happen), found "lost" money in my purse and one of my residents flipped out..........

For those who do not know, I am in property management. It's a good job, really social and this time of year the money is great. Most people think I just drive around in a little golf cart showing apartments and talking up the pools and fitness centers all day. Well, yes, that is part of what I do. What no one realizes is I am always carrying a 1million volt stun gun "just in case" and that apartment I just frantically ran into with my walkie talkie blaring has an unconscious (please God, let her just her be unconscious) woman laying on the living room floor. And for the record, when I take you out to look at an apartment and I keep your ID in my desk.......that's for the authorities, in case you don't bring me back. Not to mention, flooding, ceilings falling in, water heaters blowing up etc, etc. Yup, its a crazy business. I like it though, everyday is something different. There are many days I feel like I am auditioning for a reality show but I also feel like there are times when I'm really helping people. Today was a little of both.

When I got to work this morning there was a strange message from one of my older residents. He's a sweet old man, in his early 70's. He gets gout really bad so I try to check on him every now and then. His message said something about squirrels in his ceiling fan! Hmmm, I think I need to make a house call.

When I got to the apartment, the door was unlocked. He was sitting in his lazy boy in front of the TV. I could see two empty Heineken bottles and an unbelievable amount of prescriptions on a TV tray next to the lazy boy. The apartment was a little disheveled but nothing alarming at this point (other than the prescriptions). He started to tell me a story about a rat and a squirrel. Apparently he was awoken by a squirrel scratching his back and a rat was hanging from his ceiling fan! OK.

Some people would begin giggling at this point or have a look of shock and dismay on their faces but.....I've seen this before, he is having delusions. I don't know if he is having a true mental break or if the vast amount of prescription medication he is taking has caused his sweet brain to melt down. As far as he knows, he WAS woken up by a massage giving squirrel and he DID SEE a rat swinging from his ceiling fan, and I'm here, so I'm on this ride too.
I go through the apartment with him and thoroughly inspect where he thinks the squirrel is living and where the rat got in. I have seen rats and squirrels living in housing and I know the tell-tell signs.....there are no rats or squirrels in this apartment. I tell my sweet little old man that I am going to get my maintenance crew over immediately and I head back to the office to ring his next of kin, NOW!!!

But it's too late.....by the time I get back to the office, his neighbor is already on the phone saying he is screaming and throwing "snakes" out of the window. My call to his family turns into a call to Dekalb crisis. The family has to be the second call now. It takes crisis 20 minutes to get there. In the meantime he is not letting anyone in his apartment. He is so worried that someone will get bitten by "one of these demon snakes". I told you, he is just a sweet, sweet man. In his terrifying delusion, the only thing he can think is how to protect the rest of us.

To watch another human deconstruct is one of the most painful things I have ever witnessed. It is unfortunate that I have seen it more than once.....and I'm not even a shrink!
I don't know his condition tonight but I hope and pray that he is better and I hope, at some point, he regains the ability to come home.

Hello World

Welcome to my blog......ugh, what a horrible statement!
I'm going to write some stuff on here, some of it you may like some of it you might not, but everyone seems to be doing it so.........why not.

Today was amazing. it was one of those days that reminds me how the beautiful the world can be.

I was able to sleep late and after shower and lots of coffee took a walk down to O Park. This is such a great little space. Its tucked into a residential neighborhood and unless you live here, you would never find it. It's small, with a little playground and a great trail. You actually have to walk down into the park. It is a physical and mental transition. You move from the bustle of cement and cars to this beautiful green world. I love walking there.

So the walk wasn't really the "ah ha" moment of the day.

I am about to lay out some pretty hippie dippie statements on you but, it's been that kind of day. I have been told that the energy you put into the world comes back to you. I know, we've all heard this but there are those days when this drivel does actually make sense. Today was one of those days. I was just open today. I was happy and smiling and you know what happened........at Trader Joe's I ran into a guy that I have not seen for years. "Yeah and" the sceptics among you might say, but wait, this particular man is a carpenter. "OK"
Hold on.....this is significant. Last week I was thinking I have got to get that number of that guy that fixed Suze's cabinets. Well.....this is the guy, right here at Trader Joe's buying some Wasabi Almonds

mmmmmm, wasabi almonds..........................................................................

 Anyway, we exchanged numbers and set a meeting to get that project started :). New kitchen cabinets!!!Coincidence, maybe, but I have another theory....open.

You now those days when you have to be in the world but you don't want to be. You miss a lot on those days. You don't see people that are right in front of you, you miss cool stuff that other people seem to see, you are off and closed. But when you are open, you see people, people respond to you. You smile and things happen. For instance my next stop, a juice shop that I frequent in the neighborhood. I see the guys there all the time. Well today I struck up a conversation with MJ and he invited me to his yoga class! Now, I'm not a big yoga person but its a free invite and he is a lovely person. Who knows, I might learn to like yoga.

So what is my lesson for today......be open. It will affect every aspect of your life and things will change. When you come across someone who may be a little grouchy cut them some slack, they are just closed today, tomorrow may be the day the store opens.

Oh and for you cynics out there........I have my "the world sucks" days too ;)

HONY

This is one of my favorite sites, the portraits are wonderful

http://www.humansofnewyork.com/


Enjoy!!