rachelpink rides the bus

Happy Mail

After the animal shelter (and a delightful scrubby shower) I headed in to the office. It was a panicky time as I tried to get a week's worth of work done in 5 hours. Oy. BUT, there were two happy-making packages waiting for me. First, a care package from Tammy full of arts and crafts and pink things. Second, my Threadless t-shirts. I bought them during the spring cleaning sale, so they were a delightful bargain. I don't know which one I love more. Being green, Mr. Stabby has the advantage.

I Just Want A Nap

Yeah. So while I was waiting for our plane to board at Minneapolis, I called my mom. She was upset, grandma was doing badly. . . no good news.

And that's why I'm taking the first plane out to Phoenix on Monday morning. I'm going to be out there for a week, and it looks like I'm going to miss my company's sales conference (ironically enough, it's happening in Tuscon). I am so not ready for this.

Today I signed my lease and ordered my couch, and last week I got all of the utilities set. I'm moving on the 17th. The bed comes on the 16th. The couch comes on the 18th. The cable guy comes on the 17th. I can get my keys a little early. Hopefully, I can paint, clean, whatever I need to do.

New assistant starts on the 14th. Author tour #1 starts Monday. Author tour #2 starts in a month.

I could use a re-boot.

 

Color Help

So I need a little help.

I've ordered the sofa and bed for my apartment. They're both shades of green (surprise!), but now I'm not sure about a paint palette for the bedroom and living room.

Here's the new couch:

The color is "pear" and you can get a better sense of it it here.

And here's the bed:

Now I could get a new quilt, but I kind of like the one I have. It's a deep turquoise.

Any thoughts? For the bedroom and living room, I have lots of pictures to hang--and they're all in black frames. I have a bright green writing desk (grask green) for the living room--and not much else in the way of furniture.

The New Hood

Today I signed my lease. . . and then I took some pictures. The first three were taken around my new complex. And then, a street shot.

Minnesota--A List of Good Things

1. Even though it's crass and insane, the Mall of America is worth the trip.

2. The downtown architecture is lovely.

3. There are lots of creepy statues, including one of Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat in the air.

4. Fresh clean air.

5. At Hell's Kitchen they make their own peanut butter. And it is delicious. Jane and Michael Stern agree.

6. The food at The Black Forest Inn is delicious, and pitchers of cider (6.5 glasses full!) are only $14.50.

7. Nice, nice people. They don't honk or try to run you over.

Headed back home tomorrow. I'll miss the midwest.

Shame, Shame, Shame

So a few years back I lobbed off a certain limb of the family tree with a delightfully angry letter. It was a well-deserved lobbing and I've not regretted it since.

Flash forward to now. Dad just called to let me know that a certain member of my cut-off family is flying out to see my grandma.

Nice? Right?

Well, it might have been nicer if the person in question had visited my Grandma at some point in the last thirteen years. THIRTEEN years. No visit. Even when my Grandpa died and Grandma needed all the help she could get. Hell, I flew out there and helped her buy a house while she was in a state of extreme grief and confusion. I probably wasn't the best person to it, but I did.

Tomorrow, my mom will get on a plane and try to get things in order for my grandma. She'll visit. She'll pay her bills. She'll straighten out what she can. This isn't easy for my mom, and she has to do it all alone. I'm on a business trip. Donny has a family. Kevin--well, who knows? Dad can't go because he can't breathe. So it's all on mom's lap, the whole big terrifying mess. Grandma's friends will dart around my mom, no doubt, and tell her she needs to get grandma out of dodge and back to New York. They will act like they know what's best, but they don't know. No one knows, but I'm certain that the church ladies who've known my grandma for a short spell can't crack this nut.

And then the cut-off limb will swoop in. He's betting Grandma is on her death bed. He's betting he's going to cash in. I'm betting he won't be able to find her house because her development is a tricky course of twisty roads and it takes an expert navigator to hit it right.

It is bad to be bitter and angry and full of bile. I want to go to Arizona now. To shield my Grandma from this busted limb and let her recover and heal in peace. But I can't go. I have to keep myself in one piece and be here for my mom and dad and for my grandma from afar.

Still. I'd like to take the limb and feed it through a wood chipper.

A New State

Tomorrow I'll be in Minnesota. It's for business, but there will be time to go to the Mall of America. When in Rome. . .

Of course, the impending move leaves me broke, so I'll be window-shopping. And people watching.

Bahhhhhh

Lamb stew is bubbling away on the stove and the whole apartment smells wicked good. Lamb courtesy of Ottomanelli's. Recipe courtesy of Martha.

This morning, I helped some animals. Tonight, I'll eat some.

Happy Easter

I'm spending my Easter in Queens so I can team lead at the animal shelter. I'll be slow-cooking a lovely lamb stew while I'm out. My mom is looking forward to pumpkin pie and bacon as she prepares to head to Arizona to figure out the Grandma situation. Donovan will be eating eggs. Delaney will be wearing her "cocoa-dot" dress with a matching "cocoa-dot" purse. An eclectic Easter for us all.

Link via BoingBoing.

Ok, ok. I went to Brooklyn. I never go to Brooklyn. But for the sake of some cats and dogs I sucked it up trekked over for a mobile pet adoption project. It was a beautiful day, and it was also my first official team lead experience. Being in charge was scary and good. I had 3 fabulous volunteers, and we helped get 2 dogs and 1 cat adopted in under 2 hours! And a few lucky dogs got to go for long walks in the sunshine. I'm tired from standing in the cold, but it was worth it--I talked to some great people, worked with some great people, and got to pet loads and loads of dogs. Now I need to rest up--tomorrow I spend my Easter with the kitties and pups at the animal shelter. I have lots of food for them, thanks to Lisa!