and ... guess what we did TONIGHT?

Not to be confused with what we did last night ...

In February, I got a speeding ticket.  I believe it was speeding ticket no. 6,553.  Yes, I collect them.  And to keep said ticket off of my record, I opted for traffic court.  And because I procrastinate, I opted to wait until closer to May 20th (the date all of my paperwork was due back to City Hall) to complete the course.  I came up with excuse after excuse as to why I would need to wait a week and then another week and, yes, another week.  And month.  Or two.  I procrastinate but I do get 'er done.  Eventually.

So... May 17th came and I decided that that was close enough.  I sat down at my computer and began the L O N G six hour course in traffic etiquette and what to do if your brakes fail.  Traffic school almost never addresses speeding.  But, alas, I was forced to finally sit and do.

One hour completed on Friday and then dinner out with Rick sounded much more appealing.  Five more hours completed on Saturday and then all I had left for Sunday was the final exam.  If I could get college credit for all of the traffic school final exams I've taken, well, you'd be able to call me Dr. Kahle.  Twice.

So, Sunday comes and I aced my test.  I should, I've certainly had enough practice at these exams.  I got a 95%, in case you're wondering.  I guess that's not technically acing it ... but I did only miss one question.

Here, let me ask you the question I missed.  What does B.A.C. stand for?  Yep, that's the question I missed.

I had my choice of:

a) Blood Alcohol Content
b) Blood Alcohol Concentration
c) Bacardi, Alcohol and Cappucino
d) Bad Alcohol Combination

What exactly would you answer?  And why on earth does this matter to my speeding ticket?

Well, I answered A.  Because that's what I've always heard it called.  That's what the news calls it.  That's what it is.  Right?  Nope.  It's B.  Even though I've never, ever heard it referred to as that before.  Yeah, I'm not bitter. 

So, anyway, I finished my test and ... and ... the stinkin' certificate, in the state of Texas, must be mailed to you.  Other states?  You can turn in a computerized copy.  But not in Texas.  You must have the original and it must arrive by mail and you must hand deliver it to city hall.  Yeah, I knew it wouldn't get to me by Monday the 20th even if I had had it overnighted to me.  Nope, I would have to wait this one out.  And I did.  And you know what?  I didn't really worry.  The weather was bad and it was only two days late and hey, who was really watching anyway?

Welp, City Hall was.

I turned everything in today and you know what?  They take that sort of thing a bit seriously.  Just a bit.

My court date is set for June 19th at 2:00 pm.

Just another fine example of my tax dollars at work.  A. COURT. CASE.  For a traffic school certificate arriving late.

Good grief.
.

Guess What We Did Tonight...

This man with the lampshade on his head?  This man who is absolutely passionate about his illness, Lupus?  This man who once spoke to congressional leaders on Capitol Hill about more funding for Lupus research?  This man who gave a book on Lupus to the President of the United States?

This man above ... took on City Hall tonight.

 

 

Yes, he did.  This man made an appearance at the city council meeting tonight and ... took them on?  Well, no.  But he did receive a proclamation.  Yes, the mayor (pro tem) of Frisco and his council invited Rick and the Lupus Foundation of America up onto their stage tonight. 

 



 

The only mistake they all made tonight was to put a microphone in his hand.

 

Just kidding.  Rick was awesome.

 

And ladies and gentlemen ...  May is now ... Lupus Awareness Month in the City of Frisco.  Yes it is.  In the city of Richardson, too, but we left that proclamation up to some "lupies" who live in Richardson.  We could only handle Frisco.  And Capitol Hill.  Yes, we will be returning to Capitol Hill in June, God willing.

 

So that was our night.

 

The biggest surprise of the evening?  My friend Patty warned us that we'd have to speak at a podium and that that might be rather nerve-wracking.  I see no podium.  I only see a stage.  Thanks, Patty.  You failed to tell us that Frisco makes you GO UP ONTO THEIR STAGE. 

 

I thought it best that I remain in the front row ... and take pictures ... since there was no podium, you know.

 

MAY ... LUPUS AWARENESS MONTH

 

See Rick for a purple bracelet.  We have literally HUNDREDS now.

Who's On First?

The following piece of dialog actually took place today, between Rick and I.  And, I dunno, it seemed perfectly clear to me ...

Do you have therapy today?


No. Yes. I think.

What time?

What time for what?

Therapy.

Is today Monday?

I think so. A huge nnenshgirfffhsdk… just arrived?

What arrived?

Yes.

Yes, what?

Yes, it’s here.

What is? A package?

I don’t know. But it’s huge. From FED EX.

Is Elizabeth in it?

She did? Wow.

She did … what?

Therapy’s at 1:00.

So, you have therapy today?

FED EX.

So Proud ...

I'm just so proud.  A tear has even slipped from my eye.

I look adorable in that crown, don't I?

And, uh, there's no chance that I'm gonna get a big head ... 'cuz that golden crown is a bit oversized.  Lots o' room for my head to still swell up.

Mahjong, anyone?

.

Say What?

What about this just doesn't look right?



This is a page out of my daughter's daily calendar.  Her daily 'to do' list that she sends me each week.

Is it just me ... or to the two events of the day rather contradict each other?

And should I be offended that my daughter was having sex on the stairs ... ON MOTHER'S DAY???

;)



prodigal daughter returns !

So, now that we've gotten Elizabeth to Florida, we need to get her home.  Yes, she's homeward bound now.  Fortunately, I don't have to continue paying rent in Florida though!

In case I haven't shared this yet, Elizabeth has decided to end her internship as of May 31st.  She had the option of picking up a second "college program" and staying in Florida until August 8th or ending her tenure at Walt Disney World and then applying for a "professional internship" that will take place in January.  She has opted for the latter choice. 

But ... before that decision was made, I spent countless hours on the telephone trying to find her a suitable apartment to live in since she would need to give up her dorm room.  And "dorm room" is a loose term.  It was actually six girls crammed together in a two bathroom apartment. 

Elizabeth will be returning to Casa de Kahle in Frisco, where she'll have an entire second floor to herself (except for the comings and goings of her cat) with three bedrooms and two baths and a media room.  Poor kid.  It'll take some time getting used to all that space, I'm sure.

 Rick and I told her that she would need to pay us rent.  Not much, but some rent nonetheless.  She balked at it.

"EXCUSE ME????  I've just paid $800/month for an apartment that you weren't even living in, Missy!"

Oh, wait.  Don't tell her about the conversation I just had with that area manager.

.

hi ho, hi ho

In order for Elizabeth to take on that college internship at Walt Disney World this past January, she would have to leave her one bedroom apartment in Tucson, Arizona.  Nearly $800/month we had been paying and were going to have to continue paying, but we wanted her to experience this internship.  Not too many people get opportunities like this.  It almost didn't matter that she couldn't break the lease.  Almost.  Not that I didn't try.  Yes, we had definitely tried.  Believe me.

I did, however, figure out that if we switched Elizabeth to a 4 bedroom, 4 bath unit, the rent would be less.  A lot less.  Like half.  And that was more palatable than paying nearly $800/month while she wasn't even there.  Yes, we had tried to sublet her one bedroom apartment without any luck.  So, that's when we decided on the move.  The office staff charged us $200 to make that switch (sweet of them, eh?) but that was still better than paying $800/month.  They also continued to charge us $25/month for the cat, even though the cat was now living in Texas.  I was told that whatever was written on the lease in the beginning would have to remain on the lease now.

We actually couldn't get Elizabeth out of that apartment fast enough.

So, off Elizabeth went, with all of her belongings in hand ... and she bid a somewhat fond farewell to Arizona.  And then a hearty hello to Orlando.  It was a costly adventure but a fun one, nonetheless.

And I picked up the tab for that new 4 bedroom apartment... while Liz picked up the tab for the new apartment in Florida.  And all was well.  Until I got behind on the rent. 

And the late fees racked up.  Apparently $25 or $35 per day that you are late.  Before I knew it, I owed a ton.

I was plum fed up with it all around March, but I kept on paying.  In April, I'd had enough.  Especially since I was told that Elizabeth didn't even have a room in the complex.  We had been notified that she was being assigned to an non-usable apartment that was just storing extra beds and such since she wasn't around anyway, and we were to let them know if she was coming back so they could clean it out.  Uh, seriously?

So, behind in fees and angry that my daughter didn't even have a space that we were paying for ... I had had enough.  I went over the apartment complex' head and called the parent company to the apartment building.  I didn't quite know what I would say that hadn't already been said, but I just had to voice my concerns that I was paying for a room that didn't even exist.   And so, I called.  Oddly enough, the parent company is located in Texas.  However, I was transferred to Phoenix, Arizona, where I reached the area manager.  And I told my story.

For every complaint that I voiced, the area manager had a quick comeback, a quick answer as to why I was paying what I was paying.  And she was in no mood to listen to a grumpy mom who didn't like paying that rent.  I griped and she fought back.

When we got to the part about how I was paying for a room that didn't even exist, her tone changed.  "She is, too," she snapped.  "She's in room  911C."

"Well, that's news to me," I said.  "First I've ever heard of it.  Last room I knew about was her one bedroom apartment in 816."

"She was never in 816," the A.M. quipped. 

"Oh yes, she was," I argued. 

"Are you sure?"  I was. 

"I helped move her into that apartment," I explained.  And then the other end of the phone line grew strangely silent. 

"Mrs. Kahle, I'll need to call you right back."  And within five minutes, I was back on the line with Ms. A.M.  She couldn't apologize fast enough or loud enough or long enough.  And she thanked me over and over for calling.

"Say what?" was all that ran through my mind.  That and "What just happened here?"  Apparently what had actually happened in that silent five minutes was that the A.M. had discovered that apartment 816 had actually been rented out in January.  We hadn't known.  I'm also thinking that room 911C was also rented out.  In fact, I can't help but think that the area manager had happened onto something, something that reeked of illegal-ness and smacked of a lawsuit.  I'd had no clue, of course, about any of it so I had never planned to take any action.  I just wanted to quit paying that stinky ol' rent.  Instead ... we no longer have to pay rent at all!  A N D ... we are getting all of the money back that we've been paying since January.  Late fees included.

I couldn't wait to tell Rick. 

Know what he said?

"Why did you put her in a 4 bedroom apartment?  We couldn't even afford the one bedroom apartment."

I didn't even try to explain that one.  I'll just present him with the check when it comes ... and let him try to figure it out then.

,

Thank you, Facebook

Thanks to Facebook ...

... the little girl on the left is friends with the little girl on the right, again.  The little girl on the left adored the little girl on the right and hunted for her through Classmates.com and Facebook for a number of years.  Then, all of a sudden, the little girl on the left got a message from the little girl on the right, asking if she remembered her.

Heck yeah!

So, the little girl on the left (me) and the little girl on the right (Sharon) even managed to get together again... in the great state of Florida, of all places.

Yes, it is a small world.  But I'll never admit that because I don't want to have that song stuck in my head all afternoon.

Oh, shoot.

 

 

Here's those two little girls now ... although you may not recognize them because they've switched places.  The little girl on the left is now the big girl on the right.  And the big girl on the left used to be the little girl on the right.  I explained that because you might never have figured that out by yourself.

 

Anyone know where the little boy in the center got off to?

 

.

Please vote!!

That little girl on the left?  My adorable cousin Courtney.  She has always dreamed of becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.

That cute girl on the right?  My adorable cousin Courtney a few years later.  She has just made the finals for the squad!  Yes, Courtney is trying out to become a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader!  But ... we need your help.  Please vote ~ and help Courtney win an automatic spot in the camp. 

It's already a great honor to have made it as far as she has... but hey, let's send her over the edge!

Here's the scoop:

Please go to: www.dallascowboyscheerleaders.com 
Then go to "You be the Judge!" 
Scroll to "Vote Here."
Find Courtney's face and drag her photo to a white box on the bottom, then click "vote!"
(You add your email and zip code.)

Thanks!!

Oh, ONLY VOTE FOR COURTNEY *please*

look who graduated!

 

 

 

Doesn't Elizabeth look cute in her pink robe?

 

Oh, wait ...