I have a headache the size of Montana, but I haven't updated this crazy thing for awhile...so here I am. Aren't you thrilled? Today was a rough day, Mondays are usually hard, but Mondays after a long weekend are even harder.
I ended up in Ohio this past weekend instead of Colorado. There was supposedly a snowstorm where I was going ( although this has yet to be confirmed), I didn't want to be stuck here all weekend, so I journeyed home. I figured if I could drive nine hours west, twelve hours east wasn't that much further. I didn't tell my parents I was coming which made it all the more fun. I basically just hung out at home, saw a few people, cried over my terribly sick cat. I had a hard time leaving on Sunday, but I had to be responsible and come back to my job. I will get to go home again in about a month.
My drive both ways was relatively uneventful, except for my trip through Indianapolis. Those of you who know me know that I hate to drive in cities. Indy isn't that bad, but I still wanted to get through it as quickly as possible. I wasn't really paying attention although I wasn't going terribly faster than anyone else. I passed a truck that was annoying me, and in the process passed a cop without realizing it. Well the cop noticed me and pulled me over rather promptly. He was really arrogant and tried to make me feel as small as possible. I was too tired to truly be upset though, and I just answered his questions. He wanted to know if I could explain why I was going seventy-two in a 50 (I had to write out the first number because I just realized that my seven key doesn't work...bummer) I told him I wasn't paying attention which was the truth, I wanted to tell him that I could guarantee that no-one else was going anywhere close to 50, but I kept my mouth shut...He let me off with a warning. But as I drove on I thought of many other responses that would have been much more creative. Maybe not the smartest, but at least interesting...
I could have blamed it on birth order, I being the oldest am very competitive. I need to be first at everything, and it's only natural that I would pass everyone else.
I could have explained that I was researching the effectiveness of state highway patrols. I had been going 80 since Ohio therefore making both Ohio and Indiana's patrols very ineffective...that would have gone over well I'm sure.
I could have questioned his committment to the speed limit. I seriously doubt that he would go 50 in a 50, especially when there's six lanes to choose from , and ample room to drive.
And I also could have gone to the old standby and try to convince him that I was in labor...although that wouldn't have ended well since I most likely wouldn't have been able to produce a child....
I was very polite, and did what I was told. I didn't cry which is good for me! I was very calm as a matter of fact. He told me that the fine for what I did was $150 and unless I could afford that, I needed to slow down...I said thank you and told him to have a good day, but what I was really thinking was...thank you for the financial advice, now get away from my car.
So that was my only adventure on the road. It took me just under 12 hours to get home then I had about an hour to recover before jumping into a birthday dinner for Molly. That wasn't so bad, but I was exhausted and had to fake a smile for most of it. It's so hard to believe that she's one...time flies!
Okay, I really need to rid of this headache and I don't think it's going to happen while I'm sitting at my computer.



posted by Tracy 20:03

From the award winning Leavenworth Times...

Blast spews 120-pound manhole cover
By JOHN RICHMEIER, Times Staff Writer
A short in a power line apparently sparked an underground explosive force Thursday morning, blowing off a 120-pound manhole cover, (that would hurt...) officials said.No injuries were reported. Power was lost to much of the downtown area for about 30 minutes.
Water (Damn water!) is blamed for shorting out a primary line that feeds power to smaller lines. (and they were starving to death!) "That knocked out power to the circuit," said Karla Olsen, spokeswoman for Westar Energy.
About 800(very angry) customers were without power. The outage was reported around 11:20 a.m.(right in the middle of Judging Amy) The primary line runs under a portion of Third Street. The short apparently (although this is still under investigation..it could also have been the Leavenworth Troll who is miserable with a cold and had to sneeze) sparked an explosion that blew off a manhole cover in front of the Ramada Inn,(Good morning!) 101 S. Third St. (Leavenworth KS 66048...just in case you want to send a card or something) The cover broke when it crashed onto the street.
Smoke could be seen rising from the open (uh yeah!) manhole after the incident, but firefighters never saw any flames, (but that doesn't mean there weren't any now does it?) said Battalion Chief Mark Baustian,(Ooh all hail to the chief!) Leavenworth Fire Department.He said the smoke may have come from insulation burning off the power line.(that sounds safe...) He said Westar workers waited for the smoke to clear before attempting to repair the line.
The 100 block of South Third Street was closed to traffic following the incident,(Thank God we live west of Third...) and remained closed during the afternoon hours as Westar employees worked on the line. Westar employees could also be seen working on a nearby utility pole( I was so there, I took pictures!) Baustian said the Leavenworth Fire Department provided equipment to monitor air quality (How considerate!) as Westar employees went into the manhole. (I'm goin' in!...actually the kids and I went down there as a field trip I thought an adventure under the streets of Leavenworth was Tres Unique!) Olsen said the bulk of customers affected by the power outage had their electricity restored by 11:50 a.m. But the Ramada Inn remained without power for much of the day. (Sucks to be a guest at the Ramada!)

So you're walking or driving whatever down third street and all of a sudden this 120 lb. manhole cover flys off the sidewalk with a big boom and lands in the street. Wouldn't that scare the crap out of you? It would for me! It would suck even more if instead of landing in the street it landed on your head or car....I would be a tad ticked off. Now I'm scared to go walking down the street, I didn't realize that I had to worry about exploding manhole covers....just thought I'd share our bit of exciting news for the day. To be honest I didn't know it had happened until I read that article about 45 minutes ago...what's even scarier is that I was out with the kids. I had picked Jimmy up from school around that time. We took 5th street today, but every once in awhile when I'm feeling adventurous or just trying to avoid traffic or something I will take 3rd and go past the Ramada. That would not have been cool to be there at that moment.

My other story of excitement happened Thursday morning. I was sorting my laundry and getting ready to take it downstairs. I moved my laundry bag and this mouse jumped out of it. I didn't scream, I just gasped, swore and jumped on my bed. It was the tiniest little critter, he was terrified and couldn't move. I laid on my bed looking down at him trying to figure out what to do. Jimmy was completely unaware of what was going on, he was watching The Wiggles or something to that effect. I think I stared at him for half an hour or something, I named him Ronald and tried to reason with him. I explained that although he was very cute, he could not live in my room. We were not zoned for mice...I finally snuck across the room (surprisingly he did not move) and emptied my box that holds my LOTR Cds. It's a good sturdy wooden box that was the perfect size to catch him in. I blocked off all his exits as best as I could, he still could have gotten away I think. I put one side of the box behind him, and startled him with the other side so he backed right into the half behind him. Then I just closed it off. I carried the whole shebang out to the backyard and put him in the grass by the fish pond. He didn't want to leave the box, he clung for dear life as I said "I bestow upon you freedom! Be free!" and then he fell beneath a leaf. I returned to the house thinking I was pretty cool. I got rid of a mouse all by myself! Wow...I hope he survived out there...it was pretty cold and he was just baby....

I'm venturing to Colorado next week to visit Estacia. Could be interesting, I'm really excited though. It will be good to see Estacia, and Colorado Springs is gorgeous! It will also be great to get out of Leavenworth...seven months....or something like that....



posted by Tracy 23:54

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