Sassy Black Friend

Lost and found and lost again

I seem to have developed a serious personality disorder recently. I’m not sure what the clinical term for it is, but basically I can’t keep an eye on anything. I’m losing everything.

In the four hours I’ve been awake today I’ve lost my car keys, my glasses, and a cat toy. The glasses are lost for the tenth time this month. Right now I’m thinking of buying a bunch of pairs of cheap eyeglasses so I can have one in every room of the house and our cars.

The problem seems to be every time I pick something up and take it to a different room, it’s gone forever. I found the keys and managed to lose them again right away. Sigh.

Gold I say

I’m not a big jewelry person, frankly. Most of the nice pieces I own were gifts from family. But a friend was asking me about the whole cash for gold thing, so I looked into it. I’m impressed. It seems a lot of people have a ton of pieces (chains especially) that are either not their style or not in good condition. Instead of just keeping this stuff, you can trade them in tons of places for cash. In person or online mail-in stores. It’s a great way to make some extra money, and in this economy, the price of gold is actually very strong, so it makes sense. Check those jewelry boxes.

Just call me research Sally

Not really. And I don’t know why I picked “Sally,” it just worked in my mind. Anyway, as I’ve mentioned before, research is a huge part of my work, so people are constantly asking me to look into things for them. Neighbor wants information on progesterone side effect numbers. Little Mama needs a wide range of pregnancy facts. Dad asks for stuff about one of his eight hundred hobbies.

The thing is, I almost always say yes. I can find what they need much faster because I know where to look, and when it’s for someone close to me, I know what’s going to be helpful and what won’t. The boyfriend says I shouldn’t do it so often, but I really don’t mind, and sometimes I get to learn interesting things that might be useful for me eventually.

Emails from my mother

Convincing my mother to use email was clearly a bad idea. Here are three messages I got from her this week.

Hi, it’s your Mom.

I know you said you have a busy week, but do you think you can find time to go door shopping with me? And come measure the front door first? And look on the Internet for some door prices? If so, just let me know. But call me don’t email me. Please.

[All those pleases are supposed to give the impression I have a choice about doing what she asks. I don't.]

Hi again,

I forgot to tell you what to look for re: the door. I need a new screen door. It should be 34 inches and have a retractable screen. Oh, and see how much the delivery is, too. I don’t care if we try Lowe’s or Home Depot. I’m sure they charge for installation too. See how much that is. If it isn’t on the website you can call I guess.

[I'm 1/2 daughter, 1/2 personal assistant. She doesn't understand that just because my work hours are open doesn't mean I never have things to do.]

Hi, it’s Mom.

Sorry to bother you so much. Thanks for the door information. I have a few questions but will call you later this evening to go over them. In the meantime, do you and Paul want to come over for Easter? You could make a ham or whatever you want. Judy will be in town and I’m sure Pat will want to come. Let me know today if you can, so I can make plans.

[Yes, my mother invites me over for holidays and wants me to do the cooking. She usually tells me exactly what she wants, too. We spent 20 minutes on the phone talking about doors. Like I know anything about doors.]

Still trying

Calling all everyone. I’m still trying to help my friend out with his job search, so if you have a line on any sales jobs, please send them my way.

In other news, summer vacation plans are coming together and it looks like we’re going to be very busy.

Also, J is writing a book and I’m lobbying to get her to dedicate it to me. Please offer support, bribes, whatever you have that might help.

Know your ish

Everyone’s been all up in arms about new things going on in DC lately. Which is fine. Politicians do a lot of talking around issues that matter a lot to people, but in ways that rarely make sense.

The only solution is to educate yourself. For example, if you don’t know much about social security disability insurance, there are a million places to find out what you should know. Not to become an expert, but enough to understand what’s going on, what your choices are, and what to do when issues arise. (Real life example)

Being an informed consumer and citizen is incredibly important, especially considering how complicated life is.