Mishmash Musings

I think there’s something wrong with my dog. For the last couple of days she’s been drinking sooo much water. As soon as I fill her bowl, she drinks it all down at once and then waits around for more. It hasn’t been particularly hot and we’re still using the air conditioner, so I don’t think heat is the issue here. I’ve checked the Internet (yes, I know that’s not a smart thing to do about medical conditions) and it sounds like she might have some kind of kidney ailment. I’m working these days and don’t have time to take her to the vet, but I’m going to make an appointment for Saturday so we can see what’s going on with her. I really hope it’s not serious .

I’ve known for years that like all American consumers, I’m entitled to see my credit report free of charge. I finally took advantage of it last night and was a bit shocked to see that there was an American Express card in my name from 2000 to 2009. Considering I didn’t remember applying for the card let alone actually receiving it, I was convinced that I’d been the victim of identity theft. But the account had absolutely zero activity in all those years, and was now inactive.

I called AE to try to find out how I could have had a card in my name, and they pretty much insisted that I just “didn’t remember” applying for it. Even if that were the case, how could I possibly go 9 years without getting a single piece of communication from them??? Not a single statement in the mail, not a new card after the first one expired, nothing. Then again, if it were truly a case of identity theft, then why would the thief go to all the trouble of getting a card in my name and then not use it even once? The whole situation is pretty inexplicable, if you ask me!

Anyway, my credit report is very clean, which is obviously a relief. Now I just have to remember to check again next year!

I have come to the conclusion that my son plays too many video games. I swear, during summer vacation the first thing he does when he rolls out of bed is grab his psp and start playing Monster Hunter 3 (his current favorite) before his eyes are even really open. He might take a short break for breakfast, but then it’s right back to the game as soon as possible.

Later in the day, he’ll switch it up to DS, Wii, or Xbox. When I ask him to do something else for a change, he says that it’s just too hot to go outside and play. Admittedly he has a point there, but just don’t understand why it’s so hard for him to grab a book. Whenever I suggest reading, he looks at me as if I’ve suggested that he go to the moon. Sigh. I wish I had more influence on him than his father does!

I got summoned for jury duty for the first time ever! I would really love to serve since I believe it is indeed a civic duty (and I think it would be fun to at least try), but I’m going to have to request to be excused. That’s because I have been called for a Grand Jury, which would meet once a week for 13 weeks. Um…sorry, but there’s no way I can commit that much time to something like this. I’ll first ask to be considered for a regular jury (petit jury, I think it’s called) and then I’ll try to come up with a good enough excuse to get out of serving altogether.

I always use the self-checkout aisle if it’s available at the store, but today that decision cost me at least 15 extra minutes. There was a problem with the scanner I was using, and it basically just died right in the middle of ringing up my purchases. So I had to call a manager and wait for her to figure out what was happening. Meanwhile, everyone else was just breezing through the regular cashier aisles with no trouble at all. But as I was leaving, I heard the manager telling someone they needed to buy a new posguys barcode scanner, so as long as that gets done, the problem shouldn’t repeat itself the next time I visit that particular store. Or, to be on the safe side, I guess I can always just use a cashier the next time!

I went to a barbecue at a friend’s house over the weekend. They live in a huge place with a sprawling backyard that has every kind of amenity you can imagine. I usually don’t pay much attention to landscaping details, but it was hard not to notice all the cool things in that particular yard. For instance, they had a full-sized deck, an outdoor kitchen, a stone walkway, a koi pond, and even one of those cute cedar bridges spanning one part of the pond. It was just amazing!

I swear, if I had a yard like that, I’d have parties every single weekend to show it off. As it is, I’m looking out the window at my bleak backyard wondering what I can do to spruce it up!

I have been so busy the past two months that I’ve seriously neglected my housecleaning duties. My bathroom and kitchen are pretty disgusting, as I haven’t had time to give either of those rooms more than a cursory touch-up every now and then. Ditto for most of my other rooms. So tonight right after dinner I’m going to get down to business and start a thorough cleaning. I hate it when my house is messy and/or dirty, so I actually don’t mind giving up a Saturday night for this. It’s not like I had plans anyway!

I’m having a mini-reunion with some old high school friends that I haven’t seen in at least 10 years. We all live in different parts of the country, and between work, kids, and life, haven’t been able to coordinate a meet-up before. We’re getting together at the end of August, which means I have less than two months to get in shape and look my best for the party. I need to buy fat burners ASAP, ratchet up my exercise program, and go on a very strict diet. I only have to lose about 5 pounds, so hopefully 2 months will be enough time to get it done!