asphaltcowgrrl | A Bunch of Random Stupidity + a Little Good News (Reply)

So, I'll start with the good news.

On New Year's Eve 2009, my husband lost his job of 17 years. He'd been working for an electrical engineer and the bottom had fallen out of the construction industry here at that point. It took him three years to get a job. Any job. At first, he thought he could get another job working as an AutoCAD drafter but soon figured out that wasn't going to happen. He applied for anything he thought he could do and got nothing. At one point, he went into an interview at a mini-storage place and the guy actually said, "Isn't this job beneath you?" What? My poor husband said, "I have kids to feed, nothing is beneath me."

He didn't get that job.

Eventually, he did get a job working the front desk at a small hotel not far from where we live. The owners are cheap, the place is falling apart, and he was barely making above minimum wage with zero benefits. It sucked and he hated it, but it brought in just enough money to cover the mortgage on our house.

Fast forward to Thursday night. After a very crappy week, we got some excellent news. He'd gotten a call from an electrical engineer here in town wanting to know if he was still interested in a job. Uh, hell yes? He starts on Monday, July 6th and he can't wait. He'll be back to doing what he loves and will be making more than minimum wage for the first time in forever. Not to mention heath insurance, paid holidays, sick days and other perks.

Now for the stupidity.

Last week, my husband tells me he's recorded this show called Killjoys and thought I'd like it. So, I pull it up one morning since I'd just finished season 2 of Heroes the day before and I watch it. It's a pretty good show, a space opera of sorts (reminds me a bit of Firefly). There's a character - Jack - and he looks really, really familar, but I can't figure out why. So, I IMDB him and viola! His name is Aaron Ashmore and has got to be related to Shawn becuase they look just alike. This afternoon, whle we're eating a late lunch, Troy pulls up the second episode and while we're watching it, I relate this bit of information to him. Not that he cares, but whatever. I first have to explain who Shawn Ashmore is (hah) and then he blinks and says, "They look JUST like each other." So, I look on IMDB again to see how their related.

They're. Freaking. Twins.

*headslap*

Yeah, so that happened.

Then, this evening, my in-laws call and ask if we'd like to meet for dinner at P. F. Chang's. Duh. Of course we do. So, we meet up with them and get settled.

I'm going to start by saying I love my in-laws. They're great people and have helped us out so much over the years, especiallly during the time when Troy was unemployed. That said, I hate going to restaurants with my mother-in-law. She is so freaking picky it makes me crazy. Thankfully, today she liked everything that was served, the waiter was amazing and all was well. Kinda.

She's notorious for ordering a tiny appetizer as her meal (she's forever on a diet, trying to lose weight). Which would be fine but... she likes to graze off everyone else's plates. Um,back off my food woman. Eat off your husband's plate, eat off your son's plate, hell, eat off your grandchildren's plates but KEEP YOUR FORK OFF OF MINE. I don't know why this bugs me so much, but it does. Now, if she said, "Oh, that looks good, can I have a bite?" I'd lift my plate up and hand it to her. But she never asks. She'll say, "I've gotta have a bite of that." Nope. No you don't. Does that make me a bitch? Because she could order a full-sized meal you know.

By the end of the meal, it's a moot point. After three beers, my father-in-law is eating off my plate, too. But, in his defense... he's had three beers. If I tried to stop him, he might stab me with a fork. I was born into a nutty family and married into an even nuttier one.

On a much happier note, I have a crapload of Kung Pao Chicken in the fridge for later. Hahahaha.