These Boots Are Made For Walkin' ..... Funny.

See these boots? 

 (No, that's not an orange spot on the top of it, that's the flash!)

They were my latest awesome find at Value Village last Friday night, while the boys and I were killing time, waiting for our 'meet and greet' with Col. Hadfield.

LOVE THESE BOOTS! 

Or ... I did, until I was ready to go out the next night, put them on, and couldn't get my foot into the left one.

Strange.

I tugged, and pulled and twisted and made a few noises I hadn't made since trying to get into a pair of jeans back in the 9th grade, but finally ... got it.

I only took a few steps across the room, before I realized that, yup, these boots are made for walkin' ... funny.

I sat back down, and picked up that left foot to look underneath, and then compared it to the right ... damn ... it was TWO SIZES SMALLER.

Now, before you ask, yes, they were 'together' and being sold as a pair.

Yes, the tag on the bottom of them said, 8.5.  

However, the printing on the bottom of the boots said, "39.5" on one, and "37.5" on the other one.

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!??!


No, I did not notice the small gold printing under the big white sticker that said 8.5.  

My fault.

Did I wear them anyway?

Yup. For a short period.

Was it uncomfortable? Yup.


So there they sat.

My awesome new boots I couldn't wear.


Until almost a week later. 

The same thought had been going through my head for days; 'What if the matching boots are back there.  Back at the store'.

It was five days later.  Long shot?  Maybe.

Did I go anyway?  Yup.

At lunchtime, I left work and hit the store.

I made a beeline for one of the boot sections, where I'd found the original pair.

Quick scan ... no match to my boots.

Turned around and walked the few feet to the other, larger boot section.

Scan ... scan ... scan ... wait!  WHATSTHAT?!?!?


Is it?

Maybe?

Looks like them.  Same colour. Same style.

Flipped them over ... no size printed on the bottom, other than the white store sticker.

Damn.


Scan ... scan ... scan ... wait!  WHATSTHAT?!?!?


Is it?

Maybe?

Looks like them.  Same colour. Same style.

Flipped them over ... "37.5" on the left ... "39.5" on the right.

BAM!!!  YEAH BABY!!!


I hugged them, yes, literally hugged them to me as I immediately made my way to the checkout.

When my turn came, I laid them on the counter, looked at the cashier and said, 'Wanna hear a funny story'?

She looked at me, uncertain, then said, 'Sure!'.

So I told her what had happened with the boots I'd bought Friday night, and that I wanted to bring them in, give back the left one, and take this other left one, swap the 37 for the 39.

She said sure, no problem, to bring them back that evening and just look for her since she'd be working, then she put them under the counter and I went back to work.


Later that night, back I went with the boots, headed right for the same lady, standing behind the same checkout she'd been at earlier in the day.

She had her head down, looking at something when I came up to her 'closed' counter and said, 'You're in the same spot'!

She looked up surprised, then recognized me and said, 'Haven't moved all day'.


We did a quick, simple exchange, and voila ... the boots are BACK, Baby!!!


It's not often I get burned on a purchase like that, but that one hurt, cause I really, REALLY LOVE THOSE BOOTS!

So now ... I'm happy again, because they finally ARE made for walkin'.  PERIOD!


And yes, from now on, I will always look for the actual size, written somewhere on the shoe/boot itself!  

Lesson learned.  The hard way!


K. 

It's OK Mom, Everyone Makes Mistakes!

Some days, for all my trying to be a good mom, to teach, do, speak the RIGHT things to my kids … some days, I still just suck.

Today was one of those days.

Around lunchtime, Adam called me from school. He said he had either lost his lunch money or forgotten it at home, but that the school could give him ‘cafeteria bucks’, and I would send money with him tomorrow to pay them back.

At first I suggested he go home, to see if it was there, but he replied that he would end up missing all of lunch if he did that.

So, I said, ‘Sure, go ahead, get the cafeteria bucks and get your lunch’. He had me confirm with the school secretary that that’s what he was going to do, then hung up.

About an hour later, I got a call from the school secretary.

She said she wanted to give me the ‘heads up’ that the cafeteria lady had come into the office and told her that Adam hadn’t lost or forgotten his money, he had spent it at nutrition break.

In response to her, I said, ‘Oh REALLY? Thank you very much for letting me know! I appreciate that and will discuss it with him this evening!’

She replied that, again, she was just wanting to give me the ‘heads up’.

In my HEAD however, I was thinking, ‘GGGGRRRRRR HE LIED TO ME!!!!!’

I. WAS. PISSED !!!

What I should have done, was calmed down and waited a few minutes before doing anything.

Unfortunately, that’s not how my reactive brain works.

What I did instead, was react immediately, by sending Adam a message, accusing him of, and blasting him for lying to me.

This is what popped up for him, all of a sudden, in his inbox:

“Well ... now I know why you didn't want to go home and see if your money was there. BECAUSE YOU SPENT IT ON NUTRITION BREAK!!!!!! Don't call me at work and LIE to me!!!!!! NOT FREAKIN COOL ADAM!!!!!

Get out of bed, and GET YOURSELF SNACKS for school if you're hungry!!!!!! There are apples, oranges, and other snacks at the house, we're not freakin foodless. TAKE IT! And DON'T LIE TO ME AGAIN!!!!!”

Yeah. Not exactly a ‘mom of the year’ message. But I DON’T want to be lied to, and my kids know that.

Not five minutes later, my phone rang. It was Adam.

The first thing he said was, ‘I didn’t lie mom, I didn’t spend any money in the cafeteria on nutrition break! I’m sure I forgot it on my desk when I went to get my socks! I ….. ‘

I didn’t even give him a chance to say anything else.

I immediately replied with, ‘Well that’s not what the secretary just called and told me! She said the cafeteria lady came in and told her that you had spent your money in there at nutrition break, and DIDN’T leave it home or lose it.’

‘That’s not TRUE, Mom!’ he cried.

Again, I cut him off with an angry, ‘Well, I can only tell you what the school told me, so if it’s not true, then you’d better go down to the office and TELL them it’s not true!’

He gave me a quick, ‘k’, and then hung up without a goodbye.


I just sat there for a minute, staring blankly at my monitor.

I had heard the disappointment in his voice. I could tell he had been holding back the tears.

What if?

What if that money WAS sitting on his desk?

What if the cafeteria lady had been mistaken?

What if he HADN’T lied to me?

CRAP.


Before even really thinking about what I was doing, I threw on my coat, grabbed my purse and left the office.

I was heading home, a la Nancy Drew, to see if I could solve the mystery of the missing money.

If the money wasn’t on his desk, then … well … I couldn’t really prove anything.

If the money WAS on his desk, however, I would owe my child a HUGE apology, since it meant he hadn’t lied to me at all, and the money was exactly where he thought it was. And I had blasted him for no good reason.

I couldn’t let this wait until the end of day.


I got home, went straight to his room and what did I find on his desk?

Yup. His lunch money.

A big ol’ pile of ‘YOU SUCK!’ disguised as a couple of toonies and a loonie.

CRAP!

He hadn’t lied to me. He HAD forgotten his lunch money. He hadn’t spent it in the cafeteria on nutrition break.

I suck.

I reacted before finding out the REAL truth. I took what I was told, and reacted on face value of that.

Yeah. I suck.

So, I had to fix it.


I turned around, left the house, got back in the car and went straight to the school.

I went into the office and asked the secretary to call Adam out of class, without explaining why.

When he walked through the door, I pulled him to the side and said, ‘I’m going to ask you one time, and I want you to tell me the truth, did you spend any money in the cafeteria at nutrition break.’

He looked me in the eye and said, ‘No mom, I didn’t.’

With that, I turned to the secretary and said, ‘So, based on your phone call, and what you were told, and what you told me, I immediately sent Adam a message, and accused him of lying to me when he called earlier and said he forgot/lost his money. He said he hadn’t. I then went home and checked Adam’s room, and do you know what? We owe this boy an apology!’

I pulled his money out of my pocket, opened my hand and said, ‘ … because HERE is his money!’

She just stared at the money in my hand.

I clarified why I was there.

‘Because you called me, based on what the cafeteria worker said, and told me Adam had NOT lost his money, but spent it at nutrition break, I accused him of lying to me about losing/forgetting the money when he called me.

That wasn’t right.

His money was home all along and he had told me the truth in the first place.’


Without waiting for a reply from her, I turned to Adam, put my hands on his shoulders and said, ‘I’m SO sorry. I accused you of lying to me about the money, and that wasn’t right. I’m really really sorry about that.’ And gave him a hug.

The secretary looked at me and said, ‘I’m sorry Mrs S. I was just going on what I was told ….’

I told her I understood, and I was sure it was a misunderstanding, but that I wasn’t the one owed the apology.

Adam was.

And she did. She told him she was sorry.

She also called down the cafeteria, to try and reach the worker who had passed on this misinformation to her, but she had gone for the day.

She promised both Adam and I that she would speak to her tomorrow.

And that was it. He went back to class, and I went back to work, feeling somewhat better.


I still think I suck.

I accused my child of lying to me, and reamed him out for it, before knowing ALL the facts.

When Adam called after school, I apologize again.

He simply brushed it off with a, ‘It’s OK, Mom, everyone makes mistakes.’

He has no idea how those words brought me to tears, in the cube.


If nothing else, I’m extremely thankful that at least ONE of the good things I’ve taught my boys has stuck.

Forgiveness.

For all. Even his Mama, when she sucks.


K.

An Open Letter To Car Buyers On Kijiji

This is an open letter to car buyers on Kijiji.

 

Dear Kijiji car buyers I have dealt with in the past two weeks,

YOU SUCK!

 

I could simply end this post right here.  Because that’s really all I have to say about car buyers on Kijiji, given my personal experience.

 

But I suppose I should clarify one thing.

 

Not ALL car buyers on Kijiji suck.

 

Only the ones involved in this apparent SCAM to buy Canadian cars and ship them overseas.

 

 

Ever since Christmas, I’ve had my eye on a vehicle that was for sale.

 

Not a new vehicle.  Not by a long shot.

 

But it was something I wanted.  Really, REALLY wanted.

 

 

So, I decided to put my car up for sale on Kijiji, to see what happened.

 

I wasn’t trying to make a lot of money off the sale.

 

I simply wanted to make enough to cover the cost of the new-to-me car, and pay for its registration and taxes.

 

 

OH.  MY.  GOD!

 

I had NO idea it would be such a time-wasting, frustrating, want to punch someone in the head, experience!

 

All I wanted to do was sell a car.

 

A Toyota Camry.

 

 

Never … EVER … again!!!!

 

 

At first, I was worried I wouldn’t get any replies.

 

As it turned out, that was the LEAST of my worries.

 

I got replies.

 

I got a shitload of replies.

 

I also got offers.  Without even seeing the car.

 

At least I was smart enough to take THOSE with a grain of salt.

 

Such as this one, that landed in my mailbox after I’d posted the ad a second time:

 

“You still have it. Is something wrong with it. How's mechanically. Any accidents or damage. I am willing to offer $5000 cash for AS IS and will buy immediately. I am from Toronto and serious. Thanks and let me know.”

 

Right.  Well guess what, Dude?  I’m from Halifax, and I’m serious too.  About the fact you can kiss my ass!

 

The fact he offered me almost double what I had asked for the car was bad enough.  But to throw that snooty ‘I am from Toronto and serious’ part in there?

 

THAT just pissed me off!  Yes, even MORE SO than I already was that day!

The day I thought I'd actually SOLD the car!

 

 

It turns out, there is some sort of car buying scam going on in Halifax.  And yes, I call it and consider it nothing but a SCAM!

 

I was contacted by MANY people, the majority of them with names in their email addresses that I cannot pronounce.

 

And I don't say that to be 'snooty' or nasty.  Not at all.  I'm simply stating a fact.

Four of these people openly admitted that they wanted to buy my car to ‘ship it overseas’.

 

Why do they ship all these cars overseas?  No idea.  I didn’t ask.  I really don’t care.

 

What I DO care about, is the fact that 99.9% of the people who contacted me and made OFFERS on my car, wanted it for this specific purpose.

 

Did they take the car?

 

No.

 

THAT is how I know about this overseas scam.

 

When it came time to actually SEE the car, every single one of them … EVERY SINGLE ONE … said ‘I can’t buy this.  It has a V6 (engine) and I can’t ship V6’s overseas’.

 

Excuse me, but …. WTF?!?!??!?

 

First of all, I had NO idea that so many cars from Halifax were being shipped overseas.  Second, why the heck can’t they take cars with V6 engines?

 

 

At least the majority of people told me up front, they didn’t want it because it was a V6.

 

The others, however, gave me the run around.

 

Such as, Emmanuel Adeola, ‘I’ll be there by noon to get your car.’

 

Or Chijioke Aroghalu, ‘I want your car, but can’t get it until Tuesday, will you accept a deposit?’

 

Both of these men completely disappeared after making these statements.

THESE are the Kijiji buyers who SUCK!!!

 

 

Why waste my time, AND YOURS, if you KNOW you’re not going to take the car?

 

Oh … I know … cause YOU SUCK!!!!

 

 

But they weren’t even the worst.

 

Oh no.

 

The worst person I ran into, trying to sell my car, was a man by the name of Ray MacDonald, who said he was a car dealer in Salisbury, New Brunswick.

 

 

The first time I posted the ad for the car, Ray sent me an email, made a low offer, and left his phone number.

 

I’ll be honest in saying I didn’t call him, because he left me a New Brunswick phone number.

 

No … I’m not calling you long distance, to find out you don’t want my car!

 

 

After dealing with the ‘want to ship the car overseas’ people for a week, I pulled the ad off Kijiji, and re-listed it again.

 

 

The FIRST response I got, was from Ray.  Again.

 

He said he was ‘very interested in buying’ my car.

 

I gave him my phone number and he called me at work.

 

 

I made it VERY clear to Ray, the issues/troubles I was having trying to sell the car.

 

I made it VERY clear to Ray, that the majority of people I had dealt with so far, were only interested in shipping the car overseas, and could not send a V6, so wouldn’t take the car.

 

Ray was very sympathetic.

 

He even told me about how he himself had been ‘screwed’ by people, wanting to buy cars to ship them overseas.

Said he had been contacted by people who were "mostly students, wanting to ship the car to Africa".

 

He then stated that he wanted to buy my car.

 

We settled on a price.

 

We settled on a place to meet.

 

In Truro.  Almost an hour’s drive away.

 

I told him I had no interest in driving to Truro, unless it was a 'Done Deal'.

I made it VERY clear to Ray, that if he screwed me over, I’d hunt him down.

 

He reassured me that he certainly would NOT do that to me!  He definitely wanted to buy my car!

 

 

The ONLY reason I agreed to meet Ray, was because he said the sale was ‘a sure thing’.

 

It would just be a matter of exchanging cash for car.

 

Since the new car I wanted to get was actually in Truro, this worked out PERFECTLY for me!

 

FINALLY, this sale was going to happen.

 

Or so I thought. As did all my co-workers, who were hearing my end of the conversation.

 

 

You see … Ray the car dealer from Salisbury New Brunswick LIED to me!

 

He said HE wanted to buy the car.

 

He said HE would be meeting me in Truro.

 

He said HE wouldn't make me go, unless it was a sure thing.

NOT ONCE did Ray EVER say he was actually the MIDDLEMAN, and had NO INTENTION of either meeting me, or buying the car himself.

 

NOT good, Ray.  NOT GOOD!!!!

 

 

So, I take the afternoon off work.

 

Wash the car.

 

Put gas in the car for the trip, then headed to Truro, a VERY happy girl!

 

 

We were scheduled to meet at 4:30pm.

 

I had also made arrangements to pick up my new-to-me car as soon as the old one was sold, and where I was picking it up closed at 5pm.

 

Buddy pulled into the parking lot next to me at 4:26pm

 

I say ‘Buddy’, because I could tell just by looking at him, that this was NOT Ray, who I had spoken to on the phone earlier that day.

No, I had not actually seen Ray.  But I KNEW.

 

 

As I got out of my car, those were my first words to Buddy.

 

‘Who are you?  You’re not Ray!’

 

And instead of giving me an explanation, Buddy looks at the back of my car, and immediately says, ‘This is a V6.  I’m not buying this.’

 

 

Now that I look back at the incident, I’m VERY surprised nobody called the police on the crazy woman who was yelling at some dude on the front lawn of the Robie Street Irving, in Truro.

 

No, this particular meeting did NOT go well.

 

As soon as he said he wasn’t buying the car, I asked him again, ‘Who are you?  Where is Ray!’

 

Without hardly even looking at me, Buddy says, ‘I’m Ray’s friend’.

 

 

I was NOT impressed!

 

NOT.  AT.  ALL!

 

And to make matters worse, Buddy kept saying to me, ‘Listen DEAR …’

 

I lost it.

 

BIG TIME!

 

So much so that I finally told him to stop talking and listen.  And with voice raised, and finger in his face, I told him VERY CLEARLY that I WAS NOT HIS Dear!  Stop calling me that.  NOW!

 

 

We argued back and forth about why he SHOULD be buying this car.

 

He got Ray on the phone, and informed him he would not be buying the car, because he didn’t have any clients for it.

 

UH … right.  I CALL BULLSHIT!!!!

 

You mean you can’t ship a V6 overseas, to your client, Asshole!

 

 

I looked at Buddy and said, ‘Give me the phone.  I want to talk to Ray, myself.’

 

He did.

 

Ray apologized profusely.

 

I didn’t care.

 

What I DID care about was the fact I was lied to.

And the fact this jerk didn’t have the decency to tell me the truth, that he was only the middle man.

 

I told him , ‘The ONLY thing that will make this right, is for Buddy to pay me for the car, and since you SAID you’re a car dealer, and that YOU were buying the car, YOU pay him back and figure out who you’re going to sell it to!’

 

Ray asked me to put Buddy back on the phone.

 

Silly me.  I thought he might actually be telling him what I had said.

 

Right.

 

Buddy gets off the phone with a, ‘I’m not buying the car.’

 

 

After a few more heated exchanges, and no resolution, I simply drove away.

I went to the Bestie’s (who lives in Truro), and called Ray immediately.

 

I repeated my initial claim of what would make this, ‘better’.

 

All I got from Ray was, ‘Did he at least give you 50 bucks for gas money?  He told me he’d give you gas money.’

 

No Ray.  No gas money. Nothing but a waste of my time.

 

 

The only thing I got from Ray MacDonald, car dealer in Salisbury New Brunswick, was a load of bullshit.

 

And lies.

 

You, Mr Ray MacDonald, ARE one of the Kijiji car buyers who SUCK!

 

And … you don’t honour your word.

 

I suppose this shouldn’t surprise me, for a car dealer.

 

But it was still disappointing.

 

And infuriating, because he'd sent me the EXACT type of person I'd told him had been screwing with me.

Someone wanting to send the car overseas.  Someone with a 'client'.

Before I hung up with him, I DID warn him, that he’d pissed off a chick with a big mouth.

 

Now I’m using that mouth to get the word out.

 

And to warn people.

 

Both about this scam to send cars overseas, and about how Ray MacDonald, car dealer from Salisbury New Brunswick DID manage to screw me over, when he’d promised not to.

Are you REALLY even a car dealer, Ray?

 

 

I still have my Camry.

 

I’ve given up hope on selling it and getting my new-to-me car.

 

I did list it again, yesterday, but I put this line at the very top, “Please note!  This has a v6.  So if you're looking to buy the car to ship it overseas, don't contact me!”

 

Guess it worked, since I’ve only had ONE reply since posting the ad yesterday.

And it's had 245 views. 

 

 

I WILL continue to post things on Kijiji.  It’s still the easiest way to sell items.

 

But, I also think, that the people who DID contact me about the car, and wanted to sell/ship it overseas, and SPECIFICALLY Ray MacDonald, who pretended to be the ‘nice guy’ and ended up screwing me over anyway ….

 

YOU ALL SUCK!

 

K.

 

P.S.  I considered leaving Ray MacDonald’s email address in this post.  So you could all let him know what you think of his underhanded business skills, but … even I’m not THAT mean!

Lucky for you, Ray.

Here In Halifax, We Take Our Challenges, Texts, And Metal Health Seriously!

On the way home from work one night, as I do EVERY night, I stopped at my local Tim Hortons.

The woman in the drive-thru took my money, and while handing me my change and coffee, the conversation went something like this:

Tims Chick: Are you EVER cranky?

Me: Blink. Blink. Blink.

Tims Chick: Every night you come through, and you're ALWAYS smiling, happy and nice. I've NEVER seen you cranky!

Me: THANK YOU!!!


It was VERY nice of her to say that. And completely unexpected

If only she knew.



Yes. I am a smiling and happy person.

Most of the time.

And the times I’m not?

I hide it. Usually, very well.



I would never say I ‘suffer’ from depression. Or anxiety for that matter.

But NOBODY has ANY idea, how many times I’ve hidden myself away in my bathroom, and cried.

Long and hard.

By myself.



When you’re a single parent, there is nobody to talk to at the end of the day.

Nobody to complain or vent to.

Nobody to tell, that something/someone at work pissed you off.

Or that you were almost run off the highway that morning/evening.

Or that you’re just not sure HOW that bill is going to get paid this month.



It’s not like I can talk to my kids about any of this.

These are grown up problems.

My problems.

Not theirs.

So I don’t talk.

To anyone.



Except maybe my mom.

But even she, who has known me longer and better than anyone, doesn’t know everything that ‘bothers’ me.

I don’t tell her.

I can’t.

It’s bad enough I have to worry about stuff. I don’t need my mother worrying about the fact I’m worrying.



Then, there’s my best friend of 20 yrs. The Bestie.

She knows me, in some ways, even better than my mom.

I tell her almost everything.

Almost.

But, not necessarily about the stuff that makes me cry in my bathroom.

I don’t tell anyone those thoughts.

Those are mine, and mine alone to deal with.



But I’ll be honest.

Having nobody to talk to at the end of the day, for almost ten years, and holding some things in for that long, can sometimes make me a little cranky.

Not really that cheerful, happy person everyone ‘sees’ and thinks I am.

It all takes a toll on the heart.

And mind.

And sometimes, a good cry is the only thing that will help.

So would talking to ‘someone’, I suppose. But thankfully, I don’t feel I’ve ever reached the point where I would have to seek professional help.

Aside from the cry, having a good heart to heart with my mom, or a good laugh with the Bestie, is usually the only cure and meds I need.



Unfortunately, many people who DO need help, don’t seek it. This is for various reasons, but for many, it’s because of the stigma attached to mental health issues.

They don’t want friends, family and especially employers to know they may have ‘problems’.

This is sad. And so very wrong.



It’s 2013!

The world is FAR from perfect, and neither are the people living in it! We HAVE to stop trying to appear as though we are!

1 in 5 Canadians will experience some form of mental illness in their lifetime.



Do you have five friends?

One of them is suffering right now. Did you know that?

No. Probably not.



Awareness is slowly being raised, and the stigma removed, thanks to brave people like Canadian Olympic champion, Clara Hughes.

But it’s not happening fast enough.

We have an entire generation of people suffering through issues such as depression and anxiety and so many who have gone undiagnosed, because of the fear of ‘coming out’ as possibly having mental health issues.

This stigma HAS to stop!



Because … SURPRISE! … anxiety and depression isn’t only a ‘grownup’ problem.

Our kids, as young as 12 (and I’m sure even younger), are feeling it too, and we now have the stats to prove it!

For the first time, in 2011, one of Canada’s largest school boards surveyed the students on their ‘emotional well-being’.

The results were shocking, and hopefully a wakeup call to society, that our youth are struggling with feelings of worry and anxiety, much more so than anyone ever thought!

These results are VERY scary.

Our kids NEED to be encouraged to TALK, without consequence.



Yesterday, was Bell’s Let’s Talk day, where $0.05 from every text, tweet, Facebook share and long distance call made, would be donated to mental health initiatives.

 Pic taken from here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=555619561124267&set=a.379614712058087.94866.202220023130891&type=1&theate

This is a good thing.

A lot of money and awareness was raised.

$4.8 MILLION to be exact!

But, is it ever enough?



The city where I have lived since 1990, Halifax, Nova Scotia, took the challenge seriously yesterday.

And we broke a world record in the process.

Because of Bell’s Let’s Talk day, over 1000 people gathered in the Halifax Metro Centre, and sent a simultaneous text.

Not only did each of those texts raise $0.05 each for Mental Health, we also broke a Guiness World Record!



Sure, the haters are calling it simply, ‘cheap marketing’ by Bell.

But it got people talking, and raised almost 5 million dollars. Didn’t it?



Yes, here in Halifax, we take our challenges, texts, and metal health seriously!

Now, it’s time the rest of the world does also!



Get talking, People!

Someone’s health and happiness may depend on it.

Maybe, even yours!


K.

Mama's Flyin' The Geek Flag HIGH and PROUD Today!

As a single mother, I learned very quickly how to do things for myself, and the kids, that I perhaps wouldn't normally have had to.  Or wanted to.

Like mow the lawn.  (Keep in mind, the boys were 4 & 8 back then.  No lawn mowing yet).

Or hoist Christmas trees on the car roof, put lights on the house, and bail gallons of water out of my basement.

And of course all the 'manual' stuff that comes with each season lol.


Then, there's the other stuff.

The more mentally challenging stuff, that I have two options on how to tackle.

A) Send 'it' to a repair person, or  B) Attempt to fix it myself.


Well ...  of course I'll always try option B) first.

With the help of a little friend I like to call, YouTube.


My most recent triumph (until last night) was ... changing the headlight in my car.

When I bought the bulb, the Walmart automotive dude told me he would install it for $10.

I said, 'No thanks.', came home, watched this video and changed it MYSELF!

Sure, he's a bit monotone, and dry in presentation, but .... EFFECTIVE and got his point across!

It was EASY!  

Maybe not a big deal to those of you who do this on a regular basis, but you know what?  I was DAMN proud of myself once the mission was accomplished!

So much so, I even broke out the Tim the Tool-man grunt!
  

Arrgh Arrgh Arrgh!!!!

Pic taken from here:

http://www.figueroafinancial.com/2011/08/29/more-power-for-your-finances/

My latest challenge came last night.

Adam's laptop stopped working earlier this week.

Technology issues have to be one of my top ALL TIME biggest peeves, because NO, I DO NOT want to shell out $50 every time something goes wrong, and they simply reformat the hard drive.

No ....no .... NOOOOO!!!!!


But, the laptop had the dark screen of death.

Similar to the blue screen of death, but ... black.

The system would boot up, it SOUNDED like windows was loading, but the screen was totally black.

GREAT!  Another $50 gone, and a reformatted hard drive on the way.

Not to mention a cranky child until he got his laptop back.


I've been sick all week. Didn't want to deal with it.

But, last night, I finally decided to take matters into my own hands, and sat down with my good friend Google.

Then we invited our other Bestie to the party ... YouTube.

It took me three different videos, many attempts to get the freakin' 'FN+ESC+Power' keystroke combination right, before the machine started beeping at me, and minimal cursing, but ...

I did it!  I FIXED IT!!!!

I learned how to do a Flash BIOS, and got the laptop to start from the flash drive instead of the regular system BIOS, and .... it worked!!!!

Screen was BACK!


I pulled out the flash drive.

Still worked.

I pulled out the power cord.

Still worked!

I brought the, now working, laptop upstairs to Adam, handed it over and asked, 'WHO is DA BOMB?!?!??!'



Yes, there was much WooHooing and high-fiving!

I had a VERY happy, and I think, maybe even, somewhat IMPRESSED boy.

Then he asked the loaded question.  'What happens when I turn it off?'

'DON'T!', I said.  

'Just ... not right away.  I'm not sure what's going to happen when you shut it down, so just ... ENJOY it for tonight!'


He did.

Until it was time for bed and then he did what he does automatically every night.  

Closed the laptop!

He gasped.  

I gasped.

'I closed it!' he groaned.

'I know.', I replied softly.

Well ... no time like the present ...  

'See what happens when you open it.', I said.


He held his breath.

I held mine.

He flipped up the laptop cover.

It booted up ....

Login window appeared.

BAM!

OH.  YEAH. BABY!!!


So yes, I can say I fixed it.

And yes, Mama's flyin' the Geek Flag HIGH and PROUD today!!!!

Once again, not a big deal for all you OTHER geeks out there, who do this on a regular basis, but for me, yeah, another proud, 'I am MAMA!  Hear me ROAR!' moment.

Now ... if I could just figure out how to fix my power steering ...


K.