Rambling » Quirkster33

New Veteran License Plates

Dec 182012

av2 When I was deployed to Iraq my license plate was up for renewal. My buddy Rich said that his wife works at the BVM and could get a good number on a Hoosier Veteran plate. Up until that point I hadn’t given much thought into getting a Hoosier Vet plate. I guess since I was in Iraq I felt like I had earned it. I relayed the information to Mom who is my power of attorney. I was pretty pleased with the design and look of the plate. I was in the Indiana Army National Guard so I liked that it had crossed American Flag and the Indiana State Flag, and Army branch of service. As silly as it sounds I kind of held my head a little higher when driving my Jeep with the plate.

This year September it was time for me to renew of plates again. I looked on the BMV website and found out that I was getting a new plate. I didn’t know the plate design was changing until I left the BMV. I was kind of upset by the new design. It now had the Army Seal and no flags. It had been changed from having Hoosier Veteran to Army Veteran.

I am proud to have served in the active duty Army in Iraq. I am also proud to have served in the Indiana Army National Guard. The National Guard is great because you get to serve your local community. As well as any state that would need help with a natural disaster. I was actived in the winter of 2004 after a huge snowstorm came through. In Evansville we had 22inches of snow and the surrounding areas were hit hard as well. I was activated to help in the Vincennes area with flooding. I was a 88M(mike) Motor Transport Operator, which is Army speak for a truck driver. The job I was assigned was to drive a tracker trailer full of sand bags to river. We made made countless trips from INDOT to the river. The scariest moment was driving down a road closed to public because of the high water and ice on the road. I wasn’t driving but as an Assistant Driver you still have to be alert and know what’s going on. I look into the mirror and realize I can’t see the trailer in the mirror. I look over to Ambrose who was driving and ask him where the trailer was. He said over here. I then realize we are sliding and the about to jack-kinfe into the water. We both held our breath and hoped we wouldn’t end up in the freezing cold water. The truck stopped about 6 inches from the waters edge. After we had made it safely across the road we both joked around about what we would have done if we went into the water. Ambrose told me he was pretty close to bailing out and jumping over me to get out of the truck. We worked day and night until the situation was under control.

The reason I initially was upset with the new plate was because it didn’t recognize my serving the state of Indiana. I’m proud to have been able to help my community in the harsh winter storm. I’ve since realized that it doesn’t really matter, I’m a Veteran and that’s all that matters. I recently started taking advantage of my VA benefits. I got my card in the mail making it all seem official.

First World Problems

Rambling No Responses »

Nov 012012

I was listening to radio the other day and they were talking about first world problems. I thought it was pretty funny/sad. The following are serious first world problems many are often burdened with.

Google Maps told me the wrong exit number.

My TV show isn’t in HD.

One grilled cheese isn’t enough but two is too much.

The barista at Starbucks spelled my name wrong.

The battery went out on my Brita faucet so now I have to drink regular tap water.

My new phone is so thin that I can’t hold it on my shoulder while talking.

I have money to do laundry but it is not in quarters.

I went through the drive thru and didn’t get a straw for my drink.

The closest restroom at the mall is closed and I have to walk to another one.

The commercials are louder than the movie so I have to adjust the volume every commercial break.

I clicked the Close All Tabs instead of Close Current Tab.

My iPad is too big to carry around but my iPhone is too small for my fingers.

My shirt is hand wash or dry clean only.

I can’t use my iPhone because it’s updating to a new iOS.

My coffee is too hot to drink

I have too many grocery bags to carry in at once.

I accidentally clicked on the pop-up ad.

The ice in my drink watered my Coke down.

My McDonalds drink is too big to fit in my cup holder.

I lost one of my ear buds so I can only listen to my iPod in one ear.

Someone took the last Kleenex and I have to get another box.

I forgot to charge my iPhone and now I can’t play Angry Birds.

I got into the shower before the water was hot.

I filled my cereal bowl too much and it overflowed when I added milk.

My toaster doesn’t have a bagel setting.

I bought skim milk instead of 2%

The keyless entry battery is dead and I have to use a key to unlock the doors.

I have to wait 5 seconds to skip the ad on YouTube.

When I order a Coke and the waitress asks if Pepsi is ok.

The free wifi is slower than my data plan.

The new iPhone has an extra row of apps so I have to get used to the apps new locations.

When the public restroom toilet doesn’t automatically flush and I have to do it.

The mouse I’m using doesn’t have a scroll wheel.

I had to take my recycling in addition to my trash can out this week.

It took a minute to download my video.

I’ve used too much data and I’m buffering.

I want to go to bed but my wifi connection is good in my room.

I left my favorite song off my new workout mix.

My microwave doesn’t have a spinning plate.

My five hour energy drink only lasted 3 hours.

Rotten Ecards

Jokes, Rambling No Responses »

Sep 262012

This morning when I was checking all my social media websites I saw my brother had posted something from a site called rottenecards. I thought the picture was funny so I decided to check it out. It is very similar to the ever popular someecards. If you have some time to kill rottenecards.com is worth checking out. Viewer discretion is advised, a good deal of pictures have cuss words in them or suggestive language. I am trying to stay away from bad language but I will say a well timed F-bomb can be worth it.

The Guardian

Rambling No Responses »

Sep 202012

On Tuesday afternoon I came home from work to find The Guardian parked directly across the street from my house. The Guardian is the Evansville Police Department’s newest tool to aid in crime deterrent. The Guardian as it states on the side is a neighborhood surveillance unit. As I’ve blogged about before Evansville like many other cities has a meth problem. The idea of the ‘The Guardian’ is to park the vehicle in high crime/drug areas and it will deter criminals from doing things in the area. The vehicle is very hard to miss parked in your neighborhood and that’s the idea. The vehicle has cameras to record all activity in the neighborhood good and bad.

When I first came home and saw it parked across the street, my first thought was take a picture. Yep, I’m going to take a picture of you taking a picture of me. I then sent the picture to my boyfriend saying, “I don’t think this is a good sign.” He and I joked about why it was parked where it was, and that they police had finally caught on to my crazy criminal ways.(For the record that’s not true) I did find it particularly funny was there because just a few days earlier my boyfriend said that he didn’t think my neighborhood was that bad. He said I was probably exaggerating the drug activity. Of course, I was right (as usual) and my neighbors are druggies. I have kind of mixed emotions about it being there. On one hand it confirms my fears about the drug activity in my neighborhood. Then on the other hand it is reassuring EPD is aware of the problem and working to fix it. I will say I have felt better going to bed at night and my neighborhood has been very quiet for a change.

Last night I came home after dark and got to see the night features the truck has. When I drove passed it to pull into my driveway spot lights were shined on my car. I thought oh that’s cool there are motion lights on it. I got out and watched for a few minutes to see what all it would do. As it turns out they weren’t motion lights. The truck has spot lights on at least four different places and the lights cycle around the truck every few seconds. From what I can tell it makes it so the ‘The Guardian” is always visible. It has been parked on the street since Tuesday and I wouldn’t mind it being there for a few more days. I’m sure now that I’ve said that it will be gone when I get home today. There’s hoping that my neighborhood will improve.

Light in the dark

Rambling No Responses »

Sep 112012

September 11, 2001 is not a day I will ever forget. Most American’s can tell you where they were when the first tower was hit. The horrors of that day are unspeakable. I don’t know that I have any words of wisdom that can make people feel better or hurt less as a result of 9/11. What I do know is that I can make the most of today. I can embrace the joys of freedom and enjoy life. I can try to be positive and make people feel a little better on a small-scale. My way of doing this at work is by putting a candy bowl out. I know some might say it’s too early for Halloween decorations. I scuff at the nah sayers. I think if it’s after Labor Day it’s fair game. I think having the candy bowl brings me as much happiness as the people who receive the treats. Seeing a few smiles today is the light in the dark today needs.

Thanks Grandma

Rambling No Responses »

Sep 052012

My boyfriend and I were sitting at a stoplight waiting to turn when he starts laughing and tells me to look in the mirror. I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. I’m going to guess and say the woman is the boy’s grandma. Here’s how I imagine how this pair ended up behind me. Jonny asks his grandma, “Can you give me a ride to Billy’s house?” “Sure Jonny, I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes.” Jonny would then go outside and waits by Grandma’s car. Grandma comes outside and walked by the car and to the garage where the moped is parked. “Hop on” she’d say. Jonny would weigh his options and decide he didn’t want to walk. He would just have to chance it and hope that no one saw him on the back of a moped with this Grandma. The icing on the cake is that Grandma is dressed in her favorite pink camo outfit with matching headband and no teeth.

If you’ll notice in the pictures the boy has his head down. I took a few pictures and in each one of them his head is down. This leads me to believe my account of their day is correct. Damn I’m good.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Rambling No Responses »

Aug 212012

I’m not usually one to complain. Ok scratch that I’m not usually one to complain to the right people. I’m sure if you asked my boyfriend he’d say I complain a great deal. I’m not the type of person to file a complaint if I get bad service. I chalk it up as a loss and either won’t go to the place again or make an excuse like, “they must be new.” I’m not really out to get someone in trouble at their job. I worked in customer service for too long to do that to someone. That being said, I’m horribly unhappy with the service from Wow Way Cable in Evansville,IN.

This past weekend I was packing to go out of town for a wedding when my cable and internet go out. I had noticed earlier a Wow van out in front of my new neighbors. I had been kind of peeking out my window to see what he was doing and I could hear him under my house so it was hard to ignore. When my services go out I immediately go outside and tell the man working on the line. He tells me he’s not working on my line. I explain I understand that but my cable and internet were working and when he started working it went out. He says ok he’s going to check on it and I walk away. After a little time goes by I go outside and ask him about it again. He tells me he’ll call it in and continues what he’s doing. Being a Wow customer I would have thought he would have tried to fix the problem quickly for me. Nope. After a little more time passes I go outside once again. This time I see that the worker has broken the glass that covers the crawl space and is in the process of throwing the broken glass aside as though he hasn’t done anything. I decided not to confront me about the glass (which I now regret) and again explain my cable isn’t working and tells me he’s called it in.

I go back inside fuming mad. I have errands I need to run before leaving town, my cable and internet aren’t working, and the glass is now broken. I try to gather myself and take pictures of the broken glass trying to decide what to do. I’m so angry at this point that I don’t want to talk to the worker again. I decide I’m going to leave and tell the worker to make a note that my services weren’t working and I would have them come out again when I had time. (After all they were not supposed to be working on my line anyway.) I go over to Wow van and before I have a chance to say anything he shouts at me, “it’s working.” I turn around and go back inside to check. My internet is back on but no cable. After messing with the cable boxes I realize they need to be reset and get them working again.

I gather my things and leave to run my errands. Due to my blood pressure level, and knowing myself, I decide it would be best for everyone involved if I didn’t talk to the worker anymore because I might flip out. He had cut off my service and acted as though it was my fault. He then broke the glass cover and doesn’t say anything. I call my step-dad who owns the building and explains that the Wow Way guy had broken the glass and did not say anything that I am aware of. I told him I was not home but the neighbors were and the Wow guy that still there. I wanted him to see if they could maybe get things taken care of. Today my step-dad calls Wow about getting the glass fixed. Apparently the worker says the glass was broken when he got there. As you can see from the picture the glass is broken and shards are placed next to it. So what the worker is saying is that he removed the broken pane of glass, moved the shards of glass out of the way, and then crawled over the top of where the broken glass just was sitting inside the crawl space. Then crawled back out, replaced the broken pane, and set the shards down again. Seriously, that doesn’t even make sense. Now I’m going to have to find a new service provider now.

After reading this you’re probably thinking I’m a whiner and just like to complain but that’s not true though. I have a bright shiny side too. I have a story about great customer service to contrast my terrible Wow experience. One day I was complaining to my boyfriend as I do from time to time, about a pot hole in my neighborhood. When he said I should call the pothole hotline and they will fix it. I thought he was making fun of me but there really is such a thing in Evansville. The city does a “pothole blitz” to fix the holes every few months. It currently was not a blitz time so I decided to email someone in the city department to see what I could do. I sent my email at 3:36pm by 3:41pm I had received a response. The exchange of emails went as follows:

To Whom It May Concern: I would like to know what is needed to do to have a pot hole repaired in my neighborhood. I live onEast Main Circle. The pot hole is in the middle of the intersection ofEast Quirk StreetandEast Main Circle. If I could have the phone number or email of whom I should request the repair to it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sarah Quirk

I will write up a work order to have the pothole inspected. If our inspector determines that the pothole needs patching, he will send the work order to our Street Maintenance Department to have it patched. If you have any other concerns, please feel free to contact me at 436-4982. Thank you. Sharon Evans, Secretary, Department of Transportation & Services.

I came home from work the following day and the pothole had been filled. Within five minutes I had gotten a response and within 24 hours the problem had been solved. I believe this is outstanding work by the city employees. I can’t believe how quickly they fixed it and what a nice job they did. It is paved smoothly and I drive now drive over it with ease. I’d be lying if I said I don’t smile a little sometime when I drive over it. Now when I see five city workers standing around the one guy doing actual work I won’t care. I guess there really is a method to the madness.

What Would You Do?

Rambling No Responses »

Jul 182012

A few weeks ago I was out to dinner at Hacienda with my friends Jill and Darryl as we do most Sundays. I see a man walked in and sit down at the table behind us. The waiter greeted him; he ordered water and began to devour the chips and salsa on the table. The waiter came back with refills and asked if he wanted to order. The man replied that he was waiting on someone and he would wait. He then went back to eating the chips and salsa at which point he started using his finger to spoon the salsa into his mouth. It was at this point it became obvious what was going on. The man was homeless and had come in to get out of the heat and get some free food. He proceeded to eat three baskets of chips and then walked out. After he walked out Jill asked if we thought he was homeless. We all agreed that he most likely was. Jill is a kind and gentle person and always sees the good in person. She said that she felt sorry for him and that he must be starving ate the salsa with his fingers. She seemed so troubled by this man and walked outside to see if he was still around. He was sitting on the park bench outside. She said, “I don’t mean to offend you but I’d like to buy you something to eat.” The man said he wasn’t offended and would take her up on her offer. He came back in Jill ordered him some type of taco platter. When his plate of food arrived he ate it almost as quickly as he had the three baskets of chips prior. He waved as he left and thanked her.

This act of kindness is more than I would have and did do in the same situation. I admitted to Jill and Darryl that as bad as I felt but I would not have done the same. I told Jill that she is a much better person than I am and it was very nice of her to do that. Later that night I was thinking about the man and many other people in the same situation. I’m ashamed to say that when I see homeless people with signs I’m annoyed. I judge them for what they are doing. I think me myself isn’t there a help wanted sign a few blocks over? Granted sometimes they aren’t the best jobs but a job is a job. I don’t think you should be too proud to work at McDonald’s. I’ve had many jobs that I wasn’t proud to be doing but you do what you have to do to survive. When I was reflecting I realized that I don’t know these people. I don’t know why they doing what they are doing. It isn’t my place to judge anyone.

As I’ve said before I know that I’m a work in progress but my judgment something that is very troubling to me. I realize that I need some work in this area and to be more understanding. The Gold Rule says, ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ I know I would want someone to help me if I were in need. I’m going to see what I can do in my community to help. I do not have money to give to charity but I can give my time and prayers. I’m going to try to be less judgmental and not turn a blind eye. Hopefully I can turn over a new leaf and continue on my journey of being a better Christian.

Boom Boom Pow

Food, Rambling 1 Response »

Jun 182012

Boiling an egg is one of the easiest things to cook, if you even consider it cooking. There are six easy steps:

1. Place the raw egg in a saucepan.

2. Run cold water into the saucepan until the water is 1 inch above the egg.

3. Place the saucepan on a stove and cook over medium heat until the water begins to boil.

4. Reduce the heat to low.

5. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes for soft-boiled eggs or 10 to 15 minutes for hard-boiled eggs.

6. Remove the egg with a spoon or ladle and let it cool slowly, or run cold water over it to cool it more quickly.

Disclaimer: Do not use my cooking methods! I repeat, do not use my cooking methods.

I’m going to start out this story saying that I was operating only a few hours sleep. I am a grandma (not literally) and usually go to bed around 10 but was up until the wee hours of the morning. I had just gotten home from my nephew’s baseball game and had a little time before I was going up to my parent’s house to celebrate Father’s Day. I thought I’d be on top of things and boil some eggs to have for breakfast for the next week. I put the eggs in the pot, filled it with water and put it on the stove on med high. I thought I’d speed up the process by cooking it on a higher temperature than I usually do. I went into the living room to catch up on some shows I’d recorded. I watched a little tv until it was time for me to head over to my parent’s. I went into the kitchen got a bottle of water, grabbed my phone, keys, and purse. I locked up and headed out. I visited my parents and about an hour later we sat down to eat. We were having a nice dinner of ribs, potato salad, cucumber salad, and deviled eggs. I do not like deviled eggs because I don’t like to eat the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, I only eat the whites. My Mom being the great lady she is she set a side some whites for me to have. I had filled my plate and was taking a bite of the egg when it hit me. I left the eggs on the stove!!! Not wanting to panic my family at my stupidity, I calmly walked over picked up my phone and excused myself to the bedroom. I called my boyfriend who only lives 5 minutes away from my house and asked him to turn the stove off. At this point the eggs had been cooking/burning for about an hour and a half. A few minutes later I received this text.

I knew going home was not going to be fun so I decided to just enjoy my dinner. I finished my evening with my family and headed home to face the consequences of my dumb dumb actions. I was expecting a mess but what I hadn’t thought about was the smell. Regular hard-boiled eggs don’t smell great to begin with when you peel them. I opened my front door to the smell burnt and exploded eggs hitting me in the face. I was taken a back by it. Over the years I’ve burnt popcorn, pizza, and over flowed a pot of potatoes but nothing compares to the smell of these eggs. The first thing I did was open the door to try to get the smell out. I then decided that I needed to document my stupidity and take pictures. After which I took the pot of charred eggs outside to try to get rid of some of the stench. I had never thought about how much of a mess exploded eggs would make. There was egg shells and yoke everywhere. I cleaned up and began the process of cleaning the pot I had violated. I actually debated throwing in the towel and just pitching the pot but I didn’t because it is my favorite one. I chipped away at the burnt egg remains for about 15 minutes before I decided to let to soak over night. I brought air fresheners into the kitchen and sprayed the whole house with room spray to try to make it bearable. I then did the most important step; I put my smoke alarm up. I text my boyfriend to tell him I had done so. I wouldn’t want him to be worried I would burn my house down with at least a warning from now on.

The smell in my house of egg-travaganza has started to fade but was still there this morning. What I’ve learned from the whole ordeal is that I should use a timer, I should buy a timer, the smell of burnt eggs stays in your nose for a while, and I’m too old to stay up late without any caffeine. Boiling eggs is an easy task when done properly but I now know how badly it can go wrong. Not to self: over an hour on the stove for eggs is too long.

Potato Man Update

Rambling 1 Response »

May 232012

As you can see from the picture the Potato Man is growing like crazy. I just can seem to let go of him still. I’ve narrowed down what I should do with him to a few options. Option 1: Harvest Potato Man for mold and make penicillin out of it. Sell the penicillin on the black market and in turn become very rich. Option 2: Give Potato Man a potato family. I could give him a wife and a couple of kids. Once you have four rotting potatoes why stop there. I could make an entire potato people race. Maybe I could add a room full of exotic birds and end up on Hoarders. I’d explain it all started with my boyfriend giving me the first one as a gift and I couldn’t stop. I’ve always wanted to be on TV, this could be my start. I’d have a great turn around story and write a book about it. I’ll be rich! Option 3: I could plant the Potato Man. If I’m lucky it will grow into the biggest and best potato ever. I’ll quit my job and become a farmer. I can see the sign now, “Quirkster’s Famous Potatoes! My family is full of Quirks but now yours can be too!” I’ll be the talk of the town and definitely rich.

I have some thinking to do about what my next move is. I mean this is a Potato Man I need to make the right choice. Tossing him aside would never be an option, that’s just crazy. I’m sitting on a gold mine here I can just feel it.

Older Entries Newer Entries