Trapped

While on my trip last week, I got trapped in the bathroom of my hotel room. I thought I'd share a bit more of the details.

We stayed at a Hilton in San Francisco, just a standard businessy hotel, with an executive level room. We had a fabulous view of the Bay and the room was just as we usually expect from a Hilton. The one thing that I hated was the bathroom door. I hated it from day one. Instead of a standard swinging door, it was a wooden door on a sliding track. I can see how this creates tons of floor space and it seems much less cramped than a door that opens up either into the small bathroom, or out into the entry way of the room. I get it. But this was not a pocket door, it was an attempt to be "like" a built in pocket door. The problem was that since this was added to a door that used to be a standard swinging door, the track rested on the outside of the wall. A typical pocket door disappears into the wall - also, when it is closed there are no gaps.

The door at the Hilton had gaps. BIG gaps. The door would slide in front of the bathroom opening, however it was not flush against the wall (if it was, it would not slide easily). Granted they designed the sliding door to be wider than the opening to the bathroom, but still, it did not lay against the wall, so if you are standing near the door you can pretty much see in the bathroom. Catch the gap at an angle and you can look right into the shower.

Nakedness is no secret between married folk, but there are some things are just better left 'unHEARD'. And believe me, if there is a gap there is NOT a sound barrier. This bathroom offered very little privacy and I was constantly wondering if Hunk was playing peeping tom through the gaps. Though I am a delicate flower, sometimes flowers have to poop, or toot, or a combination of both. This lovely door left a gap that allowed all sights, sounds and smells their freedom to run amuck. I HATED this bathroom door.

Apparently, it hated me, too. I was in the room alone in the afternoon and decided to shower. Was expecting Hunk to be back in two hours to go to an event. So, I bolted the hotel room door with the swinging bolty thing. I went into the bathroom and slid the door closed. I heard it click because I slid it a bit too far and left a crack, who cares, I'm alone. After my shower, I tried to slide the door open and it would not budge. I had wet hair and was in a towel trying to move a solid wood door that was HEAVY. It had fallen out of the track. It fell when I slid it too far, and only the part that slid out fell - meaning it was at an angle and it was jammed into the carpet. I tried and tried and could not move the thing. It is definately an odd thing to be flexing and lifting and groaning - while naked. At least if you are trying to move a door.

I eventually tried getting some leverage at the bottom of the door by using a hairbrush. It helped a bit, but then broke under the weight/pressure of the door. I managed to push the bottom of the door outward so that I could at least reach the bolt on the room door and unlock it to let management in to help me. I was twittering and getting advice on what to do. I figured it was pointless (in the beginning) to call the hotel because the room door had the slider bolt on - they could not get in the room. And, hello, I was also in a towel. Once I got an opening large enough to reach the slider I called for help. Before help arrived, I was able to continue to push the bottom of the door until I created an opening large enough for me to climb out.

I ended up breaking the header thing across the top of the door by pushing it out. When the hotel staff finally arrived, the guy was all confused as to what I had exactly done to the door. He had to rehang it and get the header repaired. I tried to explain that I had been trapped in the bathroom, but honestly, he didn't care. Just fix it and move on.

I took a photo of the door after I got out. It was the weirdest experience I've had in a while. I was in no danger, but just the dilemma of calling for help while naked, or waiting it out a couple hours and hoping that Hunk could save me. Luckily, I used my skills to get out on my own and thankfully I had my phone with me so I could call for help if needed. And no, I don't normally take my phone with me to the bathroom, but I was hoping to get a call from my daughter and I didn't want to miss it. It's hard to connect when your kids are on the opposite coast and have busy schedules!

Define Homeless

Yesterday, MSN had an article about a young blogger. The title was something like, Homeless Blogger lands great job at Elle Magazine. Intrigued, I clicked through and read the story.

Apparently this young woman, while homeless, wrote a letter to the editor of Elle about her search for a job and pulled some heartstrings. She mentioned her blog about being homeless and Elle took notice. The magazine ended up giving her a small job, and then in the end it has turned into a paid blogging gig. They are branding her as "the new face of the homeless" - meaning that homeless people aren't all dirty and uneducated, they can be tecnologically ept and have electronics to boot. I can agree with this, to an extent.

The thing about this girl is that I don't think that she was technically "homeless". She was living in an RV in a Walmart parking lot. She spent her days in Starbucks using free wifi and refills while she was job hunting and blogging. Correct me if I'm wrong, but an RV has a roof, walls, floor and BED, not to mention a bathroom/sink/shower.

I would not want to be in this girl's situation, however, walking down the streets of almost any major metropolis area can give you a completely different definition to the word homeless. There are people who have nothing, no where to go, no where to sleep and nothing to eat. Generally, I don't pity the homeless, I see many shelters and agencies that are willing to help them get back on their feet. Many of them just have no desire to do more with themselves. It is a choice that some of them have made to stay homeless - whether it be depression, drugs, alcohol, whatever. But the fact of the matter is, the girl in the article was FAR from homeless. Not only did she have an RV, she had an option to live with her mother, which she choose not to do. She had SOMEWHERE to live, she just didn't want to live there. She took to living in her RV at a free parking spot at Walmart by choice. But, still, the RV was her home. She had somewhere dry and secure to go every night. People on the street don't have that luxury - if the shelters are full, they are out of luck. The people on the street literally have only what is on their backs. They can't claim any property or structure as their own. To me, that is a much better definition of homeless.

So, this girl didn't have a job and (probably) got pissed at her mom, she choose to live on her own in a free RV in a free parking space and blog off the kindness of Starbucks wifi on a computer that she owned. But OH MY, let's all see this as a heart warming story of the saving of the homeless!!

While I hate to see so many people in bad financial situations due to job loss or economic strain, this just doesn't strike me as a great story. She got lucky by being the first person to use this spin on her situation, but to many people who are truly homeless, the girl had it made. I feel for her being in the situation she was in, but just because you don't live in a brick and mortar structure does not automatically drop you into the homeless category in my book. Kudos to her for landing a job, but call it what it is - and it isn't homeless.

Japantown

Pimping Out Anissa

Anissa is giving away a free printer, so go check out her blog and get all the details.

But don't win, because I totally need this printer for my living room, so I can hide in my bedroom with the door locked and print out directives to my children. Wireless is a wonderful thing......

And today, I pack....

I'm going to San Francisco next week, therefore I must begin packing now. I LOVE to pack. Packing is like a zen fest for me - as long as I'm not being hurried. I like to pack and prepare for trips weeks in advance.

We went on a cruise a few years ago, the first cruise with kids. We were travelling with 3 other families on a Caribbean adventure and we all got together and planned our big excursion 6 months in advance, and yes, 6 months in advance was when I began packing for that trip.

I don't like to overpack, so it would seem that packing so far in advance would lend me time to accumulate too much stuff, but it works the opposite for me. If I have enough time I can plan out every possible scenario and then plan the easiest, most compact way to deal with it. This is the part that I love so much, trying to think of everything, and then trying to be prepared for it. It sounds OCD, but I'm really not. I like to be in control, but I'm not obsessive about it - most of the time. It is more of a challenge to have everything I need, or to know exactly where the closest retailer is, so that I might purchase the item of necessity.

I think this stems a lot from being a mother. I absofuckinglutely hate to see a kid having a melt down or throwing a tantrum. I do NOT agree with giving a kid a reward in such a behavior, so NO, I'm not packing cookies for my screaming child. I fully believe that my kids fear my tantrum & wrath much worse than their own, therefore they learned to behave. BUT, I did always have things on hand to be prepared to steer around situations which could lead to a meltdown. Most kids go nuts because someone waited too long to let them rest, eat or be comfortable. And then some kids are just spoiled rotten piss heads. I can't remember a time when I had to deal with either of my kids for a public meltdown. We had a few at home, but that was mostly due to me ignoring requests for help (mom of the year!!). We are WAY past those years now, but I look back and have memories of my extrememly well behaved children. And I do not look at the world through rose colored lenses, so I'm pretty sure my memories are accurate. My kids are well behaved and polite, and anyone who knows them will agree......*cracks the whip*. I also suffer back pain from the back of tricks I constantly carried around. :) My oldest daughter loves to proclaim that I am the most prepared woman on earth. I like her the most.

I remember the days when I carried diaper bags. I had a different diaper bag for every occasion and the sole reason was so that I could rePACK a damn bag every.single.day. I got so much joy from neatly tucking little things in pockets and flaps. I special ordered several bags because of their compartmental attraction. I had everything that my baby could possible need. I was prepared!

So, I'm beginning to pack today, and I actually feel a little behind because I'm leaving in 5 days. I'm usually farther along by now!

Anyone in San Francisco? I'll be solo for most of my journey as Hunk will be working and entertaining. I'm so very excited to be going, if I didn't have a fear of earthquakes I would move to SF tomorrow. Of course, can you imagine how FUN it would be to pack an earthquake preparedness kit. OMG!

Missing Cat

My cat is gone. The cat I got when I first got married (our first child!), Ashley. She was a lovely little Russian Blue with beautiful gray hair. She has been a daily part of my life for the past 16 years and 2 months. Ashley was an indoor cat up until June of this year. She had no interest in stepping outside of the house, but suddenly she was streaking out of the house every time there was a crack in the door. She would push her way through and leap out into the yard. It was all really weird, but after a week of trying to discourage her she became an outdoor cat. She would come to the back door and bang the screen door to get my attention. She would act all frantic as if she were a starving orphan (when she ate not 20 minutes prior) I would open the door and she would race through the house to the front door (where the food was) and persistently exclaim that she was HUNGRY! And she did not want to eat inside the house, she demanded that her food be served on the front porch. Weirdo.

I brought her in the house every chance I got and she would claw her way back outside. She simply decided that she was now an outdoor cat. And her personality changed completely. Our other cat (Emmie) goes in and out of the house as he pleases. He has been the ruler of the universe for many, many moons. But as Ashley gained her new independance she became very fiesty. Ashley used to watch Emmie steal her treats and sit quietly by, but outside she became the Queen of Everything and suddenly Emmie was taking a backseat. I watched in astonishment as Ashley would literally push Emmie away from the food as she took the lion's share of whatever she wanted. It was like Bizarro Cat World. Everything was totally backwards and opposite.

Until Saturday, August 8. Hunk was awake at 4 am, not sure why. He said Ashley was at the back door. Nothing unusual, she was waiting for breakfast. When I awoke around 7 am and went to feed her, she was not there. She hasn't been back since. I have worried and searched for that cat everyday since then. I have come to the realization that she is probably not coming back.

I've made flyers, visited Animal Control, etc. I know that no one would let her stay inside their house because she shits everywhere (she is old and had lost a lot of control), also her insistance to be outdoors. We had our house carpeted in puppy pads for her problems, so when she decided to take it outside I admit we were a bit happy. I have a hard time believing that she was just old and died in her sleep, because of the tenacity she was showing the day prior to her disappearance. I would like to think that she just died of old age, but I have visions of her meeting a coyote, or getting hit by a car (not TOO likely, we live in the sticks) and it just haunts me. I HATE HATE HATE to think she might've suffered, or needed help and felt all alone. But she is an animal, she was equipped to handle herself (she had her claws) and she WANTED to be outside.

At times I feel irresponsible for letting her go outside, but then again, I feel like it is the right thing to do to let her be where she truly wanted to be. We have a LOT of land, and while I can't control the animals I feel that she was completely safe from any man-made dangers. I felt better that Emmie decided to stay outside once she was out there - they were fierce friends and I felt that *maybe* they would look out for each other. Emmie continues to look for her everyday, he is lost without her and he has not left the front porch since she has been missing. He absolutely will not come inside the house - I guess he thinks he might miss her if she returns. He is no doubt a sad cat.

I just miss her. Not knowing is just the WORST part. I keep looking at the back door, expecting to see her little gray face getting all frantic as if she hadn't eaten in months. I'm longing for the way she got underfoot to swirl between my legs to let me know that I was indeed "her person". I'm just sad.

I went to Davelanta and all I got was a lousy VIRUS!

OK, not really a virus, though there was a lot of touching and sharing and such. Really, my computer pissed out on me and therefore I have been unable to post my wonderful experiences. It wasn't a virus, but more of a short circuit - which, in retrospect, fits the bill for my point that Davelanta was a mind altering experience.

I am sure you have all been there, seen that with the photos, but I do have one with the Almighty Dave and my Hunk, so I look like a ham sandwich. Not a bad place to be, except we had all been baking in Atlanta for the better part of the day. I even took the boys through Dillard's and encouraged them to be complimentarily (is that a word?) sprayed with Versace', but they didn't, they are boys. And I stand my ground, boys are weird. And I live with one. By choice.

They also did not choose to get their hair freshened up at the flat iron cart, but can you see how nice and smooth my hair is? Take THAT Atlanta humidity!! I am a very curly girl (think Monica in Barbados).

I really did have a great time and even met some new people. I'm a rather quiet girl, so while I should have jumped out of my shell and made some rounds at the table, I stayed in my seat like a loser and didn't get a lot of quality face time with some people. There were some wonderful people there, like Heather and Diana (who will soon be admitted into the Saints Hall of Fame for her selflessness), Anissa, Kim, Val, Muskrat & the Mrs. (who I hear may have fabric?, hello, I'm a total fabric hoarder, call me!) and Julie. Realistically, I had two pink lemonades of the alcoholic sort and I really could not get off of my stool, I'm not a total tool. I just can't hold my alcohol.

I'm still amazed that I ever agreed to meet up with total strangers, I'm more than a rather quiet girl, I'm ass backwards shy. But sometimes, it is so totally worth it to step out of your box!