"bring floopy" M texts to me 2 minutes before her school starts. I'm thinking floopy, floopy, is this some stuffed bunny rabbit? OH, the floppy disc she has her latest report on. Now, I COULD have had it to her before school started, if she felt her father would allow her to call me, instead of having to wait until she's dropped off at school and then while in the locker room, secretly text me....... actually, they are allowed cell phones before and after school. I only got myself a cell phone so that she could have one; it's paid off several times she's felt a need to hide to contact me from her dad's. Sigh, she shouldn't have to go through that.
M remembered she was to have her Paul Revere monologue typed for Monday, and printed out. The cartridges for our printer, last I checked a few years ago, were over $30. a cartridge, ah, nope, sorry, would rather eat this week or otherwise spend that amount of money per cartridge even. The monologue gets typed, in Wordperfect 5 (told you this was old), and I copy it into an e-mail I send to the teacher, Mo. M goes off to school also with a disc of the Wordperfect document, happy to report later that it converted nicely into Word which is what's at school. Mo, bless her heart, told M not to worry about us not having a printer at home, Mo will just get M a memory stick that M can take back and forth. I knew Mo would understand, M is happy, but lol, only because I have a younger technologically more with it boss do I have a clue what a memory stick is. I told M that I doubted it'd work, checked the sides of the hard drive and the monitor, nope, no appropriate-looking holes, also verifying with my boss what this is. Yep, a bit like a smaller thing he plugs into his computer each day to take home data with at night, as if an additional disc drive (called a flash drive or gig stick or, apparently a memory stick). Really cool:) NOT workable on our ancient pc, however, it having been manufactured back in the late dinosaur age of computers.
So today, 2 days later, I find the floppy disc after I'm texted, but not positive it's on THAT disc, and bring another, checking them quickly. Ugh, "the" disc keeps prompting a message that it's unformatted, do I wish to format it now? Hmmm, a bunch of stuff on there, I'm positive. Or, it was. I clean up another disc I'd grabbed and copy the e-mail body onto the disc, in Word:) M was happy when she saw me, just done with lunch into the afternoon activity, "I'm going to drink beer today!" She then leans in closely and whispers, "It's really worcestershire sauce." (Somehow, the two taste nothing alike to ME but hey.) She's wearing some apron or cotton dress which I'm happy to realize is a costume and not what she was sent in, lol. I tell her what happened to the first disc, and how it's on the other one... "In WORD? Oh, I want THIS one then." lol Not clear how her presentation and monologue on Paul Revere has now become her joining with others but in female clothing pretending to drink ale. Interpretive history apparently.
I talk with Beth about the cd's and M texting me. She's noticed more the latest item that many at Gallaudet seem to be using, from all the recent news there. Beth uses a pager now, but was curious what M and I use. Basic cell phones for us. I really liked the full keyboard phones I saw while helping chaperone a school trip to Gallaudet a couple years ago. Heck, they had video telephone booths, how cool is that?! Beth really needs something better, also. Besides, then she could just text me instead of needing a computer (she has a cochlear implant but otherwise, essentially deaf. I even have a duel TTY/TDY and regular phone as our main phone at home, if the TTY/TDY portion is needed).
Doug calls me twice, the first time as I'm pulling into M's school, then later when he got online, trying to decipher his phone bill. Dad's phone is on the same account and Doug's been paying for it, but there's a problem with the latest bill. THAT's why he calls? I talked w/ Doug from Dad's house just yesterday, and Doug had completely forgotten the plumbing problem. Heck, today he was reasking me details of the whole phone thing. He has a lot going on, the phone details are forgettable as he basically knows I haven't touched his, and took care of Dad's. But, wtf is up with the plumber? ARGH.
I'm still talking with Doug as I pull into the grocery store to get Dad his groceries. It's "my" store, cheaper prices overall and I'm hopeful it'll mean a less expensive bill for him, plus, it's closer to my office. I've not looked for these items before in this store, however, and it happens to be a store organized in a way that sure seems illogical to me, heck, bread is in two completely different sections even, and canned fruit. The cashier is real nice and real slow. It's almost as if I hear the minutes ticking by in my head. Chatting with her seems to speed her and keep her, and me, happier. Pay for M's and my groceries, fine, go to pay for Dad's, not authorized. The cashier tells me that on her screen, it says overlimit, so that could mean just for that day. Interpreting this, hmm, did someone get access, did his mortgage check clear electronically and they are counting that against his daily limit? "Do you have another form of payment, say, a check?," she offers. I smile and just tell her that I'll pay for it on my own checkcard, then, and I do.
Last month, a couple weeks of Dad's groceries I paid for, but after he got paid, I did cash those checks. I can't afford to stay doing this, however. I check his account online -- the mortgage cleared, gas payment cleared, etc. About $10 left yikes and $12. check outstanding for the newspaper, so I'll add money but gosh. I'm thinking, food stamps, other assistance? Doug calls back about mail of Doug's sent to Dad's house "Why didn't someone call me about this?" well, sheesz, I'm telling him now, right, less than a week later, and it's not urgent and what is up with a plumber....... I find his mail, and the forms I'd gotten for Dad for assistance. Doug's ready to have Dad and him split the phone account into two, "he'd only have to mail in a payment." Um, no, Doug, I will have to pay it for him online, so if you cancel your portion, change the passcode on the overall account to something I can remember........
Dad calls and we talk about what's going on, and when he gets his social security check again. We'll still write to his mortgage company -- it's one of the predatory ones -- his check was mailed the last week of the month, as I didn't get there the 3rd week to put it into the mail, and yet Nov. 2 they sent a notice for foreclosure for not having gotten October's payment, yet it was cashed and cleared. This is ridiculous. I'm hopeful that the payments will go down, too, once the property tax credit is applied for 2006, too. I wanted it set up electronically.....
Dad wants to wait on calling a plumber now, as he has no money to pay for one. I wish I could. I'll have to contact my church tomorrow, I suppose.
I'll have to bath Dad myself, too, for if he showers, the water will leak into the kitchen below as it was doing yesterday. I want him in decent shoes and socks even, which yes is connected as I'm thinking bathing his legs and feet. Last night, I walked around the department store for a bit, not feeling a needto buy, I was wearing my new birthday top, just looking at the new displays up for Christmas sales after paying on my bill. Checking out girls long pants eh, not sure M would like this poor selection, albeit girls holiday dresses are 40 or 50% off already and on a Tuesday which isn't a typical sales day. I check out tops to match the skirt M and my mother got me, which is theee exact same one I bought this summer while in Maine but decided to return, lol, not that I've gotten around to that yet, so guess it looks like me. I pondered over shoes for Dad. He says he's a size 11.5 but some only go up to size 12, so wouldn't size 11.5 be big? I don't know anything about mens shoes. This one doesn't have any arch support, hmm, neither does that, or, wait, is it my mother or father who has a high arch? Heck if I know, other than that both M and I do. One pair is real nice, dock shoes so easy to slip on and off yet look decent. I find myself rubbing the leather........ then wake up to reality. These are light brown LEATHER, as in, not washable. UGH. Another day.
Now, he has no money well, I could charge them. What did we ever do with electronic gadgets? Drink real ale and not pay nearly $4. a gallon for cows milk, and snail mail our communications, I suppose. Oh, and Dad hit with bounce fees. Not now.
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