It Worked Out =)

I don't know why or how, but the kid's dad texted and told me to go ahead and put them in basketball. He said we will work out the visitation later. After I researched it, I realized it would only be for 8 weeks (so 4 weeks were going to be a problem!)


So I am happy that I found something that I can put the kids in.


A bit surprised that he did not complain more, but hey....I will take it. Even better, he texted, so I have proof that he sent it. He typically tells me things and then later screams at me saying he never said (whatever) it was.


So the boys will be going to a basketball "skills" assessment thing this weekend so they can join the league!

Meanwhile, I am having this problem with the camp Josh was in back in Columbia before we moved. They autodrafted my checking account weekly for camp, the week BEFORE he was going. I signed up for 6 weeks. I signed him up for random weeks, but they drafted my account for 6 consecutive weeks since he was going 6 weeks over the summer.

They drafted the 6 weeks. I have been done paying them for 6 weeks. Heck, Josh hasn't gone in over a month.

Last week, they drafted my account again.

I politely emailed and told them there was an error. I want my $90 back.

I got a response saying they saw he only went 5 out of 6 weeks, so I still owed them. Of course I replied with the fact that I have bank records showing that I paid every week for 6 weeks. He did miss one full week I signed up for, but I still paid for it as I had said I would.

I am a bit anal about my check book. I will look for an hour for the 3 cents I lost. I am just like that LOL. So I KNOW what it is and is not right about my checkbook.

Never heard back from them.

I wasn't too thrilled, but the camp was through the Boys and Girls Club. It is a good organization. I figured I would let it go. They can have the $90 as a donation.

Until this week, when they drafted me again!!!

I was REALLY mad then. I emailed again, telling them it is illegal to keep taking money from someone's checking account without consent and they do NOT have my consent. I want the entire $180 back NOW. (I am not so friendly with the donation now LOL.)

No response.

So, I found the website and found the Vice President of Finance. I emailed THAT guy my situation. Told him I have tried emailing the address that told me I was drafted. I got one reply and none since.

I am thinking that guy can do something about this mess.

I also suspect whoever has decided to just ignore my emails MAY have some explaining to do.

Most importantly, I think I will get my $180 back!

Well, I better get my $180 back LOL. As a former banker, I know there are things the bank can do to force the issue. I hate going that route, but my connections at the bank will sort this out if I don't see the money pretty quick like.

Who am I kidding? At least a response from the organization would be a grand start at this point!!!

Bethany v/s The Boys and Girls Club of America!

Gotta love that!

First Custody Issue

Since I homeschool the kids, it is tougher for them to meet other kids. They both LOVE basketball, so I figured if I could find a basketball league for them it would make this move easier.

Well I found one today. They have to show up for a skills assessment this weekend. Practice is one time a week with games on Saturday's. Perfect. I think they would enjoy it.

So I was quite pleased with this until I remembered....uhuh. They are supposed to be in Columbia with their dad every other Saturday. No way can they sign up and miss every other game.

I figured their dad, who really was never an active father and doesn't do a lot with them, will work with me on this for the couple of months of basketball season.

So I call him.

He bitched at me. "I WILL be seeing my kids on my weekends."

"I know that and I am not trying to take them from you. But you know the kids love sports. They would enjoy this."

"There is NO way I am driving up to Charlotte for this every time on my weekends."

"I didn't say you had to. Maybe we can work it out, some weeks I will just drive them to you. Maybe some weeks you would want to see your kids play and you can come. Other weeks, we can meet in the middle."

(Let me point out...I hate the meeting option. He is always late. Jerks us around with the time, place, etc. So we try to avoid that. As of now, the plan is for me to drive the kids all the way to Columbia on his Friday's during the day and he brings them all the way to my place Sunday nights.)

He then had the nerve to tell me he doesn't like this because it is such an inconvenience to him.

"This is NOT about you. It is about the boys. You know as well as I do that they will want to do this. I love the kids but I also value my weekends off especially since I am with them all the time homeschooling. However, I will sacrifice because this is best for them."

"I don't like it. Find out what time the games will be and I will decide."

"You don't find out the times of the games til they sign up and are assigned a team."

"Well, I will think about it. I will call you later tonight to discuss it."

"Mike, the kids and I have plans, so I will call you when we are done."

Slimy bastard. Spends thousands on his friggin hobbies....can't even buy beds for his kids to sleep in while they are in the house that we all lived in. He turned one of their old rooms into a workout room....makes them sleep on the floor and a horribly uncomfortable couch....and now is going to attempt to block them from doing things here because it is "inconvenient" for HIM. This from a man who barely went to any of their games when I was married to him. He stayed in bed on Saturdays and I took the kids to their games. Every now and then he would go....if it was a late game mind you. So...really, I shouldn't be surprised. Always puts himself above everything else. Gee...could it be why I am not married to him anymore LOL.

Sadly, as I sit here....if I told the kids....hey you can play basketball, but you would not see your dad for 2 months....or give up basketball and still see dad....

They would choose basketball. Heck, they have said if something happens to me....they want to stay with Mike.

Ah....this is the bad part of moving. And it is only the beginning. We have years of the kids making other plans and him getting ticked off and trying to make it tough.

Don't get me wrong. He is their dad. I want him to see his kids. But geez....work with us a little. He drives all of the time for the hour and half to see his girlfriend and her kids in Greenville. Can't do it for his own kids.

Sad. It is just sad.

9 more years of custody issues and then I am done LOL.

The Move, The Secret, and My First Outing

Having been in Columbia for most of my adult life, I have to tell you....I definitely took somethings for granted. It is so strange moving and having no idea where you are. It is the little things.....which side of the road do you need to be on to get back on the highway? Which side of town is the "not so good side?" What is the news channel that everyone watches? (WIS in Columbia ;) What is the radio station? (I miss Steve FM ;p). Is there a Vista type place here that is not in downtown Charlotte or is downtown Charlotte the Vista place here? (I guess the Epicenter is that type of place in Charlotte.) Where can I go to get my haircut without it being cut so bad I cry for a week? What are the good local bands to go listen to? Where is the Corner Pocket here? And more importantly, does that Corner Pocket have a drinking club with a reading problem LOL.

Mike said he had the benefit of me when he moved to Columbia. You know we met a week after he moved there and were inseparable from the getgo....so I showed him anything he needed to know. Now, we are both here.....no clue LOL. I guess it is no clue together, so that makes it better =)

I gather it just takes time to learn all of this. I have to wonder when it will be more like home though. How long does that take? A month? 6? A year?? At what point do you associate yourself more with where you are then where you came from????

So, The Secret.

I had heard about this book, but never got around to getting it and reading it. While moving, Mike found it in his stash of books. I guess someone gave it to him. He said it seemed like a book I would read. You know, the self help, analyze your life to death sort of thing LOL. So I read it by the pool Tuesday and Wednesday. (I am a fast reader and it was a quick read.) Pretty interesting concept. I think it is basic psychology, but it is easy to forget the basics when life gets in the way.

The gist....whatever your thoughts are focused on that is what will happen. I guess sort of self fulfilling prophecy. If you focus on negative, you will bring negative to your life. Then the reverse is true. It says you can think yourself into being rich, thin, etc. I am not quite sure about that part. However, the thinking yourself into happiness despite the situation you are in. That I can grab onto. When you realize that YOU control your own happiness and do not depend on others to give it to you, I think that unlocks many things in your life. Sure many situations suck, but you can learn to be content despite the situation. Take the lessons you need so that you can move on.

Shoot...that whole theory got me out of the crappy abusive marriage I was in (well that and a lot of money on therapy ;) But it also got me what I wanted. I knew what kind of guy I wanted and what I expected out of a relationship (something I had no clue about when I was young, stupid and married to my ex). I got everything down to every little detail. Knowing what I wanted, expecting no less, settling for no less....and I now have the fabulous Mike to show for it.

Hmmm....maybe you can think your way into good relationship. I rubbed the genie lamp of life and Mike came. If I can rub that genie lamp and win the lotto.....I will try and let you all know ;)

My Outing.....I think the real miracle here is that I found the place and returned home without getting lost. I had no need for GPS in SC since I knew where things were. Mike insisted I would need it here, so he got me the GPS thing. Damn thing had a "lost signal." So the piece of crap would not direct me. It had the directions on the screen, but wasn't telling me where and when to turn. Shoot....I could have mapquested and printed the friggin directions for that. I was less than thrilled with GPS at that point.

After a couple of "Damn....turned to soon. How do I get back?" I figured it out. Not only that, but I got there early and first. You know me.....punctual. I have to be punctual. So I was pleased with myself for having no clue where I was, without much help from GPS, and still got there a little early.

So friggin early in fact, I wasn't sure I was at the right place. Where were all of the cars? Eh....turned out I am just really anal about being a little early, so I got there before most people. Well, everyone except Erica....but it was her house =)

Regardless, I can report back that yes Vodka is cool with the group. As a matter of fact preferred. So that is good news ;) I am thinking I should have worn the elf hat too....you know dive right in, but decided against it. Have to wait for Chris to come to town next weekend so Huntersville can get the full effect of the Elf Hat Posse! (Kidding.....kind of.....)

Side note: Mike and I went to the Irish Fest in Charlotte last weekend. I said to Mike, "Hey, I can wear my elf hat!" Mike said, "I am not sure about that. Those people may think you are making fun of them and we don't want to get our asses kicked out first weekend in Charlotte."

Hmmm....good point.

So we go.

Damnit.

Should have wore the elf hat. Most of those people were so drunk, I would have fit right in with my elf hat. Hell...I would have been the hit of Charlotte with that bad boy on! But, I was tired, hurting from unpacking, and just plain exhausted. Really wasn't in an elf hat mood. So next year.....Irish fest in Charlotte....the elf hat goes.

Frankly, I think Mike is hoping that hat will just disappear someday LOL. Chris and I worked long and hard to get those hats though......for those that don't know....the elf hat thing is a huge family joke and a funny ass story I will have to share. Here is a link to my brother and me in our hats though......

Elf Hat Posse Come on, tell me those things aren't cool LOL.

So back to the outing. Everyone was right. Bunco is really easy to play. Not that I was any good, mind you =)

It was grand meeting new people. A bit strange as I have no idea where I am, so when they talk about places, schools, etc....I have no idea LOL. I guess after hearing those things repeatedly in different situations, I will eventually catch on. With that, and all of the names. I suspect over the next few months as my head spins with all of this new info, I will be apologizing a lot for forgetting names. I am thinking all of that will click into place soon enough as well.

I guess the big thing was that I had moved here less than a week and was all ready out and about looking for people and things. Some were rather impressed with this. Shoot....that is just me though. Dive right in and find the adventures. I will never learn about the area or meet people if I don't dive in. So good, bad or indifferent, I will just dive in ;)

Liked the women, seemed like a fun group (and as I pointed out....if vodka is good with them, how bad can it be LOL.) So I will definitely do bunco again.

As for now....if I can figure out what lane to get into to get back on the highway just for my exit....I will be ok. Maybe that is my goal for today. Learn that, so it is second nature ;)

Baby steps, right?

Fantasy Football and Bunco

Mike has played Fantasy Football with his family for awhile now. Last year he did not, because he had moved from Illinois to the south. He was also busy with work.

This year someone dropped out of the league, so his brother repeatedly asked Mike to join. Mike kept saying no due to the distance and he is still really busy with the move.

Now I know that until the move to SC, Mike had lived near (within a few hours) of his family for his entire life. He had been doing this with his brother until he moved. I wanted to encourage Mike to do what he could with his family. This would force him to interact with his brother fairly often, thus helping their relationship since Mike can't see his brother as often as he used to. I kept telling Mike to do the league.

His brother gave one final call to Mike. I told Mike if he did it, I would help him. We would do it together.

Mike agreed.

Now I know nothing about professional football. So this requires me learning it. But, it gives Mike something to do besides work and his hobby of me LOL. I wanted Mike to have something....

So I will be busy this week trying to figure out who the players are because the "draft" is this Friday night. I guess Mike and I are going to join via phone. Should be interesting ;)

As for Bunco....I have never played that either. I had heard it was a lot of fun and always meant to look into it while in Columbia. Didn't get around to it.

So I move here and stumble upon Huntersville moms that play Bunco once a month. So I am going tonight. I have never played, really have no clue....but they have assured me it is easy and I will be fine.

I have not met any of these women yet. It gets a little tricky. We are supposed to bring an appetizer and a drink to share. Appetizer, no problem. I will throw something together.

The drink is a problem though. I have ran into this before LOL. What do you take? I have never met these people. Is it a Sprite sort of drink or vodka sort? Take sprite and they meant booze....I look like a chump. Take the booze and they all have vodka....I look like a friggin lush!

Oh what to do LOL.

I have 7 hours to figure it out. I will let you all know how it works out.

I will either be known as "that lush of a homeschooling mom" or "boring no drinking homeschool mom." Which is worse?

You all know me....boring isn't in my vocabulary LOL.

Wish me luck!

Adventures in Huntersville

As I blogged about yesterday, we took the boys to the restaurant in Huntersville that has Josh approved chicken with an ice cream shoppe inside. Josh was in an odd mood.

A) He slept most of the way as we drove from Columbia to Huntersville. Andrew was so excited to see his new home and see new things, he was wide awake. Josh is always awake. So I knew something was up. (Sure enough he woke up the next morning with a fever....so I was right with that!)

B) Josh is just quirky anyway. I think it is part of the Asperger's, part DNA, part personality. He gets in these moods and we know it is not going to be a "good" day for Josh.

So Mike and I figured, we better eat and get out of that restaurant quick like.

The waitress asks, "What would you like to drink?"

Josh says, "Rootbeer."

Andrew says, "I would like a sprite please."

Josh looks at him and says, "When did you get so polite and nice?"

Andrew generally is polite. Josh....well there is room for improvement. Lots of room. He doesn't quite get the "small talk" and "niceties" of our society sometimes. Asperger's is part of that as well.

So we eat with little problem, which surprised us. At the end though, Josh tells us we should tip the waitress $15. We have no idea how he came up with that number.

We ask why?

"She is our first waitress as we move to Huntersville."

Josh had just gotten $5 from his visit with his dad for some reason during the weekend.

So we sort of jokingly tell Josh if he wants to tip the girl his $5, we will give $10. Frankly the bill was going to be enough a $10 tip was appropriate anyway. We didn't expect him to do it.

The kid did.

After our bill came and we paid, he walked up to the girl and gave her his $5. He thanked her and told her she was our first waitress since we moved to Huntersville that day. She was surprised as she had just gotten the tip from us.

Josh was happy because she then offered Josh a balloon. She put the helium in it and he was thrilled. I am sure he was thinking....if I keep tipping, I get free stuff LOL.

As Josh walked off, I stopped to tell her that was his own money and that he wanted to do that for her. She was mighty impressed.

I must admit I was too. Josh looks out for Josh. It is rare he does things like that. So I was proud of him.

Unfortunately, by the time we walked to the car in the parking lot, he had lost his grasp on the balloon. We watched as it floated away into the sky!

So Josh lost his reward for being so nice.

But I suspect that girl will remember Josh. The restaurant is within walking distance of where we live, it has good food, so we will be there a lot.

So maybe he will get another balloon another time!

Basically Settled In

As promised, the movers packed everything and delivered it Thursday. We were exhausted by 10 PM. We all ready had a hotel room reserved in Huntersville, so we went there and crashed.

Friday, we organized. We actually got a lot done and made the place livable. Mike promised to take me to see the Traveler's Wife Friday night (I had read the book), so we ventured out. We REALLY liked the area the movie theater was at. It is a nice outdoor sort of mall. Fountains everywhere, lots of people walking around....just a nice area. The movie theater was very new, stadium seating. No Fandago ad though (if you have seen a movie with me...you get that lol.)

Saturday we did a little unpacking in the morning, but decided to go exploring more. We had breakfast at a restaurant that we could walk to from our apartment. We were really pleased with the place. Sort of a family restaurant with an ice cream shop built on. They had "Josh approved chicken" (if you know Josh, you know about his chicken!) We knew this would be a place we would go to often.

We drove for about 30 minutes to Concord. Our GPS took us through some backroads. Needless to say, we had no clue where we were.

Once we made it there, we found all sorts of things. For those in Columbia....it seemed to be Harbison times 10! It took us a bit, then we looked over the horizon and saw Great Wolf Lodge. We kicked ourselves because we went there a couple of months ago and ate at the crappy overpriced buffet, when right outside the Lodge just a little distance away is all sorts of great restaurants. Live and learn.

We were starving, so we settled on a Mexican restaurant. On The Border. Had never heard of it. We were REALLY happy with that place. They had awesome guacamole that they made at your table. I could have ate that all day! I figured we would be driving the 30 minutes every so often to go back for that!

Til we left and found the mall that is closer to home. Lo and behold.....On The Border is there too! So, we will be there often as well =) Less than 10 minutes from our place, 5 minutes from Mike's office.

In Concord we found the areas SuperWalMart. 30 minutes to commute for our groceries is a bit far. We have 2 grocery stores right outside where we live (again, we can walk there), but sometimes you want a SuperWalMart so you can pick up the random stuff and groceries at the same time. We resigned ourselves to not having that anymore. Figured it was the only problem we have had.

Then we saw it.

Super Target. Less than 10 minutes from home!

I didn't even know there were Super Target's. Mike and I were so happy LOL. We decided to go in, just to make sure it really was what we wanted. Turned out to be a great place. New, clean, big aisles....better than SuperWalmarts we have been to recently.

I know Mike and I looked like total hicks walking around that store with big goofy grins on our faces! And the our favorite part.....

So long SC blue laws. We could go there Sunday morning and shop for whatever we may need. None of this roped off the general merchandise crap. LOVE IT!

So Sunday, we finished organizing. We wanted the apartment to be ready when the boys came here for the first time.

We made our way back to Columbia to pick them up. They were pretty excited....

They turned out to be just as thrilled as we are. Their eyes keep popping out as they see all of the stuff we can do around here. They love it. We all agree that we like this apartment more than the last one....and the one in Lexington was really nice.

Meanwhile, Mike went back to work today. Took him 10 minutes to drive there. I am not sure what he is going to do with all of his extra time since he doesn't have to commute anymore. He even came home for lunch LOL. He is beside himself LOL.

So....all in all. It has been a great move. We just need my Bonus Son's approval and it will be official. Danny will be here in a few weeks. Shoot....there is so much to do here, I am all ready excited for next summer to be able to take the 3 boys to all of the places since Danny will be here for several weeks then.

Right now....I am trying to figure out how to make that stupid guacamole dip from the restaurant LOL. Mike got all of the ingredients, but I had no idea the amount of stuff to put in. I tried and let's just say....it is not so edible =) So if anyone has a great guacamole recipe....email me.

The Move

We had gotten everything organized and were told the movers would be here at 8am. We weren't sure what to expect, but right before 8 we got the call that they were here.

A guy gets out of the moving truck and is limping. I kind of look at Mike with the "WTF?" look. This guy is moving us?

The next guy gets out. He tells us he has a blood clot in his leg that is healing.

The next guy is just older than dirt.

So we have oldie, clottie and the gimp.

Geez.....this will take til next Thursday to move!

So the guys go in, look around.....and clottie (who I realized is the ringleader here) asks Mike what kind of big wig he is. Big wig? Um....we are both divorced, we barely own anything. I wasn't too sure how he got that analysis from our apartment. The guy then tells us that the company had told him many times that Mike was a VP for his job.

Ah, some kind of work thing. I didn't really see what that mattered.

Regardless, Mike says, "Well yeah I am, but that is work. It's no big deal."

The guy tells us about some of the other crappy VP's he has met, and how they are snobby basically, but Mike is cool and down to earth (one of the many reasons I love him.)

The guy then tells us that he is one of the top moving guys in the country. He is only used for big wigs.

What????

He explains that he has moved Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Carrol Campbell, Janet Jackson, the Baltimore Colts (when they went to Indianapolis move...I guess this was a big thing when it happened.) In other words, this guy tells us that we are in good hands. I didn't see why we got such great treatment til Mike explained to me LOL. With him being in Human Resources, his department oversees a lot of relocations. That company wants to make a good impression so Mike will get the company to keep using them. Ah.....makes good sense. Whatever...all we care about is getting our stuff there in good condition!

So Mike and I sit around for a few minutes and wonder what we should do. So we ask clottie.....
"Anything we can do?"

"Yeah. You can go out and get me some coffee."

Now, I have to explain the tone. He was a nice as he can be. A funny guy. Super nice.

Frankly, we were thrilled to just have something to do. I think he may have just wanted us out of their hair!

He told us that we were free to run errands, so whatever we needed....to not worry, they will take care of everything. Furthermore.....

"Do you want your stuff delivered tonight?"

We said that would be fine, but it was not necessary. We know this is a big job.

The guy said, "If you tell me you want it all done today, we will have you completely moved today!"

Mike and I looked at each other....
The guy said, "Tell me to get it done today."

So Mike meekly says, "Ok, I want it done today."

"No problem! We will have you moved into your new apartment by tonight."

So we leave to get the coffee. Still wondering if the guy is smoking something as we are not sure they can do all of this today.

We get back with the coffee.....

Geez...those guys are champs. That apartment is torn apart, boxes everywhere.

I guess they know what they are doing and I no longer doubt. We will have our stuff in our new apartment tonight.

That my friends is how to move lol.

I will keep you all updated. I am sure there will be more to the story =)

Funny Things

2 things of interest to the funny bone.

1) We went out last night with a friend to play Bingo. While there, another friend saw us. Our friend had not met the kids before, so Mike and I introduced the boys to him. The boys politely said their names and that was the end of that. We told our friend that we were moving to Charlotte.

At the end of the evening, we got up to leave. We debated about going back over to say good bye to our friend again. He looked busy with his other friends, so we left.

We got to the parking lot, and apparently our friend noticed we were leaving, as he raced out to say goodbye to us one more time. Josh, who had drank a lot of sprite, walked up to our friend as we were saying goodbye and said, "Yeah, yeah....goodbye. We gotta go because I drank too much sprite, my tummy hurts and I got to dump a turd."

For those that know....this was our friend ROB....our buddy the bartender. Rob about died laughing. I think all of us died laughing.

Josh looks at Rob and says, "You look like my Uncle." Rob sort of favors my brother. Rob says, "Well I guess I am since we are family." The joke with Rob and some of our other friends is that we are all related.

So we get in the car and we are reprimmanding Josh. "Josh, you don't say things like that to people you just meet. Those comments are reserved for family."

"Well you said he was family mom....."

Damn kid.

2) So I am taking all of the pets with me in the car to Charlotte tomorrow. The guinea pigs in the back seat (in their cage), the fish in a tiny aquarium in the back on the floor, the parakeets in their cage on the front passenger seat, and the 2 cats just roaming the car as they please. One cat thinks he is a dog, so he will look out the window from my lap for awhile I am sure.

Mike has to beat to me Charlotte so he can sign the paperwork for the new apartment, so that we don't have the animals just sitting in the car while we get the new keys. So we figure he can leave 30 minutes or so before me.

What in the world do I do for 1/2 an hour with all of these animals in the car????

Ah....

I can go get lunch.

Can't you see it now? After I place my order through the stupid speaker.....I pull up to the window with my zoo on wheels?

Entertainment my friends. Pure entertainment.

I will blog about the experience to let you know how it goes!

Meanwhile, we are almost ready. Have some last minute things to get done today. The kids go to their dad's for the rest of the week. Mike and I will get up at the crack of dawn to meet the movers.

And....

my new life in Charlotte will begin!

Getting Ready

Little by little we are preparing for the move. Since we have the benefit of a moving company to come pack everything, we really didn't have *that* much to do. We just had to organize things to get it packed.

Of course then there is the cleaning of the apartment. The kids and I are going to work on that tomorrow afternoon. I only work tomorrow morning then I am officially finished with Carolina First so that I can go start the new life in Huntersville.

Getting the kids motivated to clean should be interesting. I went home at noon for lunch and Josh was still in his underwear playing on the computer. At least Andrew gets dressed. Being 13, there is no way he is walking around in his underwear. Josh, he wears his clothes backwards and inside out 1/2 the time, so he doesn't care LOL.

The pets have been tricky for us. How do you move guinea pigs, fish, birds and cats. I will have the zoo on wheels to Charlotte. We are putting the pigs (in their cage) in my backseat. It will take the entire back seat up. The fish are going on a miniature aquarium on the floor in the backseat. We are hoping they make it through the move. The birds are going in their cage on the front passenger seat. The cats....well they will roam around. I guess if they get really hungry, they will have themselves a nice meal LOL. Nah....they will be mad at first, then will sleep most of the way. Mike's family started calling him Noah because of our pets. My family has commented that I am now Noah's wife....who never was named. Not sure if that is good or bad!

So all in all...we have a plan. It is just finishing some last things before we leave. The movers are hoping to start packing early, so they can get done and then meet us in Charlotte later that afternoon. Talk about a long day!!!

I will miss Columbia. Of course I have been here so long, I really don't know any differently =) I will miss my friends, but will be close enough that I can visit and still come back for various events or parties. I will miss not knowing where I am. It's nice knowing all of the backroads or where the library, etc is. I guess in time I will learn that.

Ah...the start of a new adventure. Not sure what the future holds, but I am pretty excited to find out.

The Banking World

Since I am leaving the bank next week, I thought I would write about some of the things that I wish I could say to some of the client and some of the things that I will miss. We will start with....

Things I Wish I Could Say:

1) Listen you jerk...you are overdrawn because you spent too much money. This is not my fault, nor is it my problem. Learn to add and subtract moron.

2) Please, for the love of all good in the world, brush your damn teeth. Your breathe kills us. We aren't moving away from you to look at the scenery behind the bank, pal. Some floss might not hurt either.

3) One word. Deoderant.

4) No we will not roll your thousand dollars worth of change for you so you can avoid the 8% coinstar fee.

5) If you don't know your own damn address, you *probably* shouldn't have a bank account.

6) If you don't know how to write a friggin check, you *definately* shouldn't have a checking account.

7) Telling me you only were 35 cent in the negative so it isn't fair you got charged $34 won't fly. Again...learn how to subtract moron.

8) It is not my problem that you forgot to make your deposit 3 days ago, so you bounced checks.

9) It is not my fault someone cashed a check you wrote BEFORE your friggin paycheck was direct deposited. Moral....don't give people checks before you actually get paid.

10) I am working with someone else's account right now you nosy prick. No need to walk up to my desk and just stand there. If you do, I am going to work that much slower so the people who were behind you get their transactions done quicker by my coworkers.

11) If you ask for your balance and it is $10, then you run to buy 2 packs of gum for $1.....there is no need to come back to the bank to ask for your NEW balance. We all just laugh at you when you leave, fool. Thanks for moving to Irmo (lol....my banker pals get that.)

12) We are lying when we tell you that we don't mind that you come in 1 minute before we close to get 3 official checks and redeem 4 savings bonds. It really pisses us off.

13) I swear....the safety deposit boxes are safe. Nobody has access to them without your key. So please do not accuse us of either taking your stuff out or allowing someone to take your stuff out. You can take off the tin foil hat now pal....

14) Robbery jokes aren't funny to us. It should be obvious why.

15) If you have a common name, refuse to give us your social security number and do not know your account number, don't get bitchy with us when your money gets deposited in the wrong account. Moral....bring your own deposit slip and you won't have that problem.

I am sure my fabulous coworkers can think of more. I will blog later about what I will miss.....

Yikes!

So I am a week away from moving. I haven't really done squat to prepare for the move. I am going to start organizing today.



Of course we have our herd of pets to move. The boys will be going to their dad's next week while the movers pack our things and then the boys will be with dad all next weekend. So I will be moving the pets. There will be me in my car with guinea pigs in the back, the parakeets in the front passenger seat, the fish in their miniature aquarium on the floor in the back and then the cats will be allowed to roam the car. Talk about a zoo on wheels! Should be interesting to see the looks I get as I drive to Charlotte! I am sure that ordeal may be a blog of it's own!



Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Mike and I do not have a lot of things. Both our exes got most of the material things in the divorces. We knew we would be moving, so we haven't accumulated too much stuff.



Poor Mike has been commuting to Charlotte daily for work, so he will be glad when we live there. Of course now that we are leaving, we are going out with friends so we can say goodbye. So he is up at 4am and then I have him parading around town visiting people after work.

A New Start

I used to blog a lot. Had quite the following. Life got in the way.....ok going back to work got in the way ;) I am leaving work next week to move to Huntersville, so I figured I could start back with my love of writing. It keeps me off the streets and out of trouble and never ceases to amuse my friends (sometimes educates them). So....good, bad, or indifferent.....here goes my tale as I begin to move to NC to my so called new life!

I am thinking of positive things about this move. So, not in any particular order, here are some:

1) I visited Charlotte this past weekend. I was SO happy to be walking around a Target at 9:30 on a Sunday morning LOL. Mike and I wanted to buy a notebook to start organizing a list of things to do and/or buy as we move.....lo and behold, Target was open. You could have blown me over with a feather! Here in good ole Columbia...at least Lexington, things are closed until after 1:30. I have yet to test the buy alcohol on Sunday theory. I will soon enough and get back to you all =)

2) Things to do. My bro and I are all ready planning to go to the Breakfast Club as soon as we can. My bro lives in the mountains past Asheville. We love to go dancing. The Breakfast Club is a club that plays only 80's music, complete with the 80's decorations. People even dress 80's when they go there. Chris and I are all over that! (We will post pics lol.)

Even so, just the theater, outdoors events.....just lots of things. I am looking forward to that.

3) I have lived in Lexington county most of my adult life. So I was married and divorced here. I must admit, it will be nice to go somewhere where I was never known as "Scott's wife." It will also be nice to go someplace where I was never known as a "Bible scholar" either. My strange theology after my trip to Israel is confusing. I really don't want to debate it with people, so I hate running into people that knew me when I was very involved with the church. They want to debate it all. In NC, I can avoid that....for awhile at least.

4) The airport. I love to travel. Charlotte airport will get us to more places easier than the Columbia airport will.

5) The weather. Sure, it is in the south still....but geez, Columbia is the armpit of South Carolina. Hot, humid and miserable.

That's all I can think of off the cuff. I am sure over the next week, I will think of some more. Or better yet, you can think of some and help me out =)