Today is international mermaid day. To celebrate, here is my offering. Mermaid hair, don’t care. I also have mermaid leggings, but I think that’s paradoxical to what mermaids are all about. You know, the fishtail and everything. Also, if there are any Mermen out there, I’m not sure when your holiday is, but you’re welcome to celebrate today. 🧜🏻♀️🧜🏻♂️
I don’t remember being five. My house was chaotic and traumatizing. I can only assume I didn’t want to be like my father when I grew up.
I thought of this song for this post – because of a particular lyric, and because it’s a fantastic song:
“Been Caught Stealing“
by Jane’s Addiction
I’ve been caught stealing;
once when I was 5…
I enjoy stealing.
It’s just as simple as that.
Well, it’s just a simple fact.
When I want something,
I don’t want to pay for it.I walk right through the door.
Walk right through the door.
Hey all right! If I get by, it’s mine.
Mine all mine!My girl, she’s one too.
She’ll go and get her a skirt.
Stick it under her shirt.
She grabbed a razor for me.
And she did it just like that.
When she wants something,
She don’t want to pay for it.She walk right through the door.
Walk right through the door.
Hey all right! If I get by, it’s mine.
Mine all mine!We sat around the pile.
We sat and laughed.
We sat and laughed and
Waved it into the air!
And we did it just like that.
When we want something,
We don’t want to pay for it.We walk right through the door.
Walk right through the door.
Hey, all right! If I get by, it’s mine,
Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine…
You don’t always have to drive as fast as possible to get to a destination. Try leaving earlier instead. Keep your temper in check. Nothing is worth rage. If you die tomorrow and you were angry today, will you be angry for eternity? Maybe. I’m not willing to play those odds. If you treat others poorly, whether in business or personal endeavors, expect to be treated the same way at some point in your life/business dealings. Be a good person, help people, and get your face out of your phone. And slow down.
I dropped off Koko at the body shop this morning. I waited for the Enterprise guy to come pick me up. He shows up in a long, black coat and ushers me out to a waiting Buick Enclave. He opens the rear passenger door and I very ungraciously get into the luxury vehicle. I feel like paparazzi are going to appear from behind the various cars in the lot waiting to be repaired. (I will not discuss how far away I had to park from the building, and I hope that Koko is safe out there.)
So I’m sitting like a child in a large chair in the back of the Buick, sliding around on the leather seats on the turns and the guy tells me that they have reserved an Audi Q3 for me.
If I hadn’t already been sitting down, I would have fallen down. I have a Honda. I’ve only had mid-range cars. Ever. Even rentals that I’ve had before have been Toyotas or something similar. My first thought was this rental is going to cost me a fortune. My second thought was this rental is going to cost me a fortune.
When we got back to Enterprise, and I saw the car, well…
I filled out the appropriate paperwork, etc. and we did the standard walk around the vehicle. Then the guy told me to get in the car – and that’s when technology hit me in the face. It took me 10 minutes to figure out how to adjust the side mirror. It took another five to figure out how to turn on the radio and adjust the volume. I realized I was driving one of “those cars” that the engine turns off when it is stopped. It is very annoying to hear on other cars, and it is still annoying when you’re driving one. It sounds like the transmission is about to fall out, which is never a good sound to me. I don’t know how it saves money on gas, either, but whatever.
As I neared home, I didn’t really want to stop driving the Audi. I was thinking of names for her while I have her for two weeks. I backed into my driveway per usual, and though it was not my best effort, it’s OK – there are six cameras on the thing to let you know where you’ve gone wrong. I got out, walked around her and decided what her name is.
Her name is Katerina.
My flowers are starting to come alive now that we’ve sprung into Spring. I’ll have a post about my favorite tree – the Eastetn Redbud – coming soon, but until then, please enjoy these photos of what’s happening around here.
Cherry Blossoms – a poem about my mom and her beloved tree.
Ashes To Dirt – a poem about spreading my mother’s ashes underneath her tree.
©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved
*sigh*
What if – and this is a big what if – my job is technology?
If your goal is to wake each morning, crack open Jetpack and smile to yourself, knowing this day is going to be wonderful because of the insightful prompt…
You may want to consider sleeping in.
Purple Shamrock (oxalis triangularis)
Top of the mornin’ to ya.
I’m finally taking my car to the body shop to get her bumper replaced Tuesday. She’ll be in there for at least two weeks. I was wondering what kind of tank they’re going to give me at the car rental place, and I was thinking about my car’s name. She was given this name on the day. I drove her off the lot. It didn’t come to me immediately, I had to study her and drive her to know that she is a refined vehicle that sits high and proud and has a smooth ride that purrs. Her name is Victoria and her nickname is Koko. Yes, she has a nickname. I only use her full name when she is driving sluggishly and I need her to get the lead out (ha!).
Some of you might think I’m strange, but yes, I routinely name my cars. My car before this one was a black Mazda2, and her name was Buttercup. She was a spitfire. She liked to race sport cars, and win. She liked to take turns real tight, almost obnoxiously so. She was afraid of no one. She wasn’t named after the weed known as buttercup, she was named after the toughest Power Puff Girl. I still miss that car.
My naming of cars goes back to my mother who started the habit. She named her first car Happy. She had many cars over the years, and I can remember a few of their names.
The raspberry red Dodge something-or-other was named Bob, i.e. Bucket of Bolts. Bob didn’t have a long life with Mom. He was a lemon, despite his beautiful raspberry color. Her Toyota Echo was named Sassy, and her final car, a Toyota Corolla, was named Darwin.
Does anyone else name their cars? If you do, let me know their names in the comments!
I’m sure you don’t remember
That day when I saw you at the grocery store
It was three years ago
I had just seen you somewhere else
Sometimes I like to spend quarters
At the gumball machines
(High stakes finance these days)
I was trying to get a real gemstone ring
(They’re real to me)
But I kept ending up with plastic
Claddagh
Puffy hearts
A slug (?)
And initial rings that looked like candy
I was concentrating
Crouched in front of the gumball machine
Turning the silver knob
Hoping for the gemstone
Just like when I was a kid
And I got a real mood ring
Anyway
I heard
“Two times in one day?“
I knew your voice instantly
I turned my head to look at you
Standing there with a grin
As you blocked the egress
And old ladies tutted you
You were oblivious
Your cart filled with toilet paper
“I’m busy getting a gemstone
And you’re blocking traffic“
I couldn’t help but smile
My tone fake stern
The people behind you were forming a 15 person queue
You left and I went back to spinning the silver dial
Kind of like Russian Roulette with quarters
Anyway
The next spin got me a puffy plastic blue initial ring that looked like candy
It was your initial
I had no more quarters
I went to my car and loaded it up
I saw your car still there in the parking lot
A thought popped into my head
I giggled and grabbed the ring
I ran to your car
You were surprised
Out of breath
I said
“Here, this is for you
It’s a real gemstone”
You were perplexed, but took it
I turned to run back to my car
Smiling
You yelled after me
“Hey, does this mean we’re engaged?”
I turned around
Far away now
“Yeah!” I yell-laughed
I giggled all the way back to my car
Maybe we should get married
At the playground?
©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved
“It's Amy,” I said. 