A Christmas Blog already? Really? Yes, really.

This morning I woke up, got ready for work, and headed out with Huff & Puff to start the day.  We didn't even get 10 minutes down the road and it started raining.  We turned around and headed back to the house. I just tried to type the word 'house' 15 times before I got it right. Wow. Rain days are my favorite! At least while I'm working. If there's rain in the forecast then that means we can't climb roofs which means we can't work. Thankfully we still get paid. I love my job. The 'Rain days' turn into a 'lazy day',  a 'songwriting day' an 'explore the city and see what kind of trouble I can get into day, a 'laundry day' Thankfully I finished up my laundrea  last night.(yeah that's how I say 'laundry'...laundrea. It's fun.  Try it.)  or a 'whatever I wanna do' day.   When we got back I packed up my things and headed to Barnes & Noble.  I heart B&N.   I had been there a while and oblivious to the outside I glanced out the window and what did I see? Snow coming down! It wasn't sticking yet but it was so pretty!

 I haven't even carved my pumpkin yet! #Octsnowber 

As I stood there and watched it I started wondering how long I would really be in New York.  I'm almost confident I will be spending Thanksgiving here with my NY family, but will I be home in time for Christmas in Tennessee?

Christmas is always so chaotic for me.   It's insane, but truthfully...I love it.  It's so easy to get caught up on gifts. What  am I going to buy this person? How am I going to afford to buy this for that person?... and 'God I hope this person doesn't get me anything, b/c I don't want to have to buy them a present too.  Come on you all know you've had that same thought about someone.

 As stressful as that can get for some people I'm so blessed that it's all about 'family' with my family. On my mom's side, every since I can remember all the way up to last year my cousins and my sibs would make up funny skits with character names like "Barbara Bouffant' and Reggie Redman the Reindeer Racer' and then perform them for the remainder of the family.  We all laugh and snicker as our grandpa tries to seriously tell the story of Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas. No one in my family can be serious. We are the people that inappropriately laugh at funerals. We play tons of games some involve wrapping each other up in wrapping paper and others building a Christmas tree out of cookies.  Playing  'Dirty Santa' is always a real treat.  You never know who is going to end up with the envious Starbucks giftcard or the pack of Gillette pubic bikini hair razors.    On my dad's side, the evening is filled with a lot of laughter and a lot of awkward moments. Come on now, lets just be honest. My Dad and Papaw play their guitars and sing the same old songs like 'Sugar Babe', 'Who Will the Next Fool Be' and  'Margaritaville' <----Yes even at Christmas.  Believe me after we're done with our Christmas extravaganzas that's exactly where my sister Tara and I want to be.  Finally theres the mad dash with Tara trying to make it back to Murfreesboro for the Christmas Movie Theater event with the family. During Christmas there are countless hours of being in the car running the backcountry roads of Tennesse with my sister singing everything from Florence & The Machine, The Moulin Rouge Soundtrack to Travis Tritt. Both of us just trying to keep our sanity and making sure we make it to both of our parents' houses for Christmas.  I couldn't make it without her at some of these family Christmas events. She's been thru 'it' all with me. Love her.

So as I stood in Barnes & Noble staring out the window, watching the snow fall, reminiscing on all these past times and asking myself questions about how this Christmas will play out for me and hoping I would make it home in time for Christmas, I reminded myself of something a dear friend of mine told me before I left for NY.  She said, "Go make memories."  So whether I'm here in New York or at home in Tennessee, that's exactly what I'm choosing to do.

find out what cougar paws are here in this blog Never Say Never.

Spooked!

Living in someone else's house that is fully furnished is kind of weird and creepy.   The house is owned by a brother and sister.  It used to be their parents house before they both passed on.  I don't think anything has changed since the old people that died lived here.  There are still diplomas hanging on the wall and creepy portrait paintings of people I have no idea who they are.  The first couple weeks I lived here I noticed a new Nik Nak everyday #ihateniknaks, but it's not like, "Oh how cool or cute is that!" it's more like..."Uhhhh ....?"  Like this picture for example...

I didn't notice the Village People  here in our kitchen until after I had been here a week.  And what's with the mini pony?  The whole scene - just creepy. Though it goes so well with the vintage 1960's apples wallpaper. #classic 

or what about these guys?

Jose and I noticed this sculpted man just last week.  Okay, Okay... the Star Wars figurine Jose and I found in the crack of the couch cushion and decided the 'down in the dumps' sculpted man needed a friend.  So we set him up on the window seal by him and have left him there ever since.  Bless him.

On top of this house having weird creepy Nik Naks that just keep 'showing up'..... every night at 11:50PM the outside flood light comes on right outside my bedroom window.  At first, I didn't think anything about it, but then I started noticing it comes on every night at the same time!  I don't know what or who it could be. It just adds to the creepiness. 

Sidenote:  I would just like to say that watching Parnormal Activity 2 with Jose last week has probably contributed to the 'spooked sensor' in me.  I have not watched a scary movie since the first 'Saw' came out.   When that old man got up off the floor....o.m.g.!

In honor of keeping up with the theme going in the house,  on our way to work we passed a church that was selling pumpkins! It was such a pretty site and it made me happy! On our way back 'home' I asked Huff&Puff if we could stop so I could buy a couple pumpkins.  He huffed about it some naturally, but I told him to take a chill pill puff and pullover.   

 Jose and I have plans to carve the pumpkins sometime this week and I bought the stuff to make Apple Cider. Yum-O.

And now time for the Huff&Puff Corner:

One day this week Huff&Puff and I had to go to Staten Island. Traffic was terrible as usual and besides listening to the horns blowing, in the background, we had a wonderful music selection going as well -Nickelback. God help me! We were in the truck for an hour and a half on the interstate and once we approached our exit...well, he missed it.  There were no other exits coming up except to have to pay a toll and go thru The Lincoln Tunnel which brings you smack dab into downtown Manhattan The City.  Once he realized he missed the exit he immediately blamed and cussed out the GPS and proceeded to then rip it off the dashboard and throw it into the backseat of the truck.  I was scared. No sooner than he did that, I heard a little lady robotic voice coming from behind me saying "Recalculating...." I then wanted to laugh in hysterics!

Okay working with someone for 12 hours a day and living with them as well, you start to notice the things they say and do. Well there has been several things I've noticed about all my roommates , but one inparticular....Huff&Puff.  He has this quote he says everytime he gets excited about something or something goes his way he says in his redneck auctioneer voice, "Winna! Winna! Chicken Dinna!" It drives me NUTS! I just want to yell back at him sarcastically and say... "WOO! Yyyyeah! Heehaw! Papaw!"  Then gallop like a cowboy tossing a rope.

Til next time....

Mi familia, Mia Famiglia, My Kinfolk, My People.

It's October 18th.  I've been in New York going on 8 weeks now.  I'm a little homesick and I miss my family and friends, but I have a nice little 'family' here in NY.

My stepdad and I were staying in an extended stay hotel for a couple weeks.  We were sharing a room TWO BEDS PEOPLE because the cost of living up here is outrageous.  On top of sharing a room, it was a smoking room.  And although most of the time my stepdad would hang himself plum out our 3rd floor window Keep it classy San Diego to smoke it was terrible.  Shortly after living in the clouds for a couple days, smoke clouds that is my quest began to find a house we could rent month to month, and of course who came to my rescue none other but Jesus and Craigslist.  "Seek and ye shall find." Matt 7:7  I found a cute old little ranch style house that was posted for renting month to month and in our price range.   When we went to look at the house I fell in love with it.  It's characteristics reminded me of my apartment I had at home in Historic Downtown Murfreesboro-old with a weird smell to it, but details you just don't see in today's houses.   The home had a finished basement with 2 full bathrooms and 4 bedrooms.  Immediately we thought about having other adjusters live here with us.  It would cut our living expenses by half.  I was a little nervous about this decision.   What if we get someone to live with us and they're complete weirdos!

After we looked at the house we decided we were definitely going to rent it. When we pulled in the parking lot to our home in smokey clouds, I saw a familiar face walking into the hotel.  It was a friend of mine named John that I had met at the last storm I worked.  I introduced him to my stepdad and told him about the house.  After talking we found out that the company he was working for was sending him an assistant to come out to help him much like I am with my stepdad. He said he didn't know anything about him but asked if he could fill the 4th spot.  Again, I was nervous about this but I said there are 3 of us and only 1 of him what the heck, I 'll be fine. So he and his assistant Jose moved into the house with us.

The Italian 
John is 55, married and has 3 kids.  He laughs at his own jokes and sings the Banana song all the time. "Eat Bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S!"  He is quite the quirky old man. I swear I think he has A.D.D. He spends most of his time eating Cannolis trying to find paperwork he's misplaced and fighting with his laptop and printer. This is all in between his little cat naps of course on the couch. He wears a bluetooth in his ear until he practically goes to bed at night.  He is the classic bluetooth user too.  He turns his head like he's trying to talk into his own ear like he has some sort of problem and he yells everything he's saying.

The Mexican
Although  I was nervous about living with someone I didn't know.  Jose is 33, married and expecting a baby at the end of November. If anyone has ever seen  Dave Barnes 's YouTube videos- Jose's accent sounds just like Dave's! It's all I can think about when Jose is talking to me and I just want to crack up laughing!   Jose is probably one of the most kindhearted people I've ever met and he has a contagious 100 Watt Smile and to my surprise he wasn't short! I know...I was stereotyping, but come on people you know you already had mental picture too. 

The Redneck
My stepdad is quite the character himself.  He has a TON of nervous energy as well.  He can NOT sit still for nothing. He's in and out of all the rooms, in and out of the house like a ball in a pinball machine ting-ting-ting-ting-ting!  I ride with him to all of our appointments all day in his truck.  The traffic and drivers in NY are horrendous! Every horn that blows and driver that cuts my stepdad off sends this short tempered man into a rage, which is followed by his own horn blowing and a string of words I'm choosing not to type.  After being here for 3 months now you would think he would just except that this is how it is in NY but no. All day he huffs and puffs about the traffic.  If he start's huffing, I can guarantee he's going to be puffing. Literally. Then I get to play a game of Freeze Out while trying to get as much oxygen and fresh air as possible.  He talks so fast and so country, most of the time I have no idea what he's saying. He sounds like one of those auctioneer people. Observing him trying to converse with the New Yorkers with a thick accent is quite the show.  One New Yorker said to him, "Man, I don't know what the hell you're saying!"  I laughed hysterically.  Aside from the above behavior and his classic inappropriate redneck comments I am truly thankful for this man.  He has been so good to me since I've arrived here on this adventure.  He has taken care of many of my meals and has been patient with me while I'm learning and has taught me so much about the business. Because of him I will be well prepared when I work my first storm on my own.

 Some nights we all 4 go out to dinner together, we cook dinner together, we've went bowling and explored NYC together.   By now the guys are used to going in the basement in the morning to flip the breaker because I've flipped them with my hairdryer. I don't feel bad about it though because I have to wake up to the smell of a 'Morning Man Poo'.  A smell that could gag a maggot. When someone is doing there laundry in the basement we lock them in. We eat each others food and watch The Weather Channel together. #theadjusterlife   It's not your 'typical' family but there is love in this house which makes it a home away from home.  This is my NY family.  These are my people.

Jose and I in Times Square.  It was his first time there.  He was like a kid in a candy shop.

Huff  & Puff, Me, and Jon in front of our little home. Jose took the pic.

Never Say Never

I never thought I would join the blogging world.  After I had a MySpace account I said I would never sign up for Facebook. Ha! After Facebook I said I would never signup for Twitter.  You can  follow me now on  Twitter.com/tntotty  After Twitter I said there is absolutely no way I would ever be a blogger.  Here I am sitting and writing my first blog.  What happened to the Zanga days?  Does anyone even remember that?  Past social media networking I can look back on my life on a much grander scale and see that there were decisions I’ve made I never thought I could make, said things I never thought I’d say, made mistakes I never thought I would make, accomplishments I never thought I would accomplish, took steps of faith I never thought I could take.   You would think by now I would have learned to NEVER say never about anything… ever. 

Why am I blogging?  A few days ago I was on the phone with my dad and I was telling him about something that had happened to me that day. The story was sort of  like a “just my luck” kind of story with a great deal of sarcasm. While he laughed in hysterics at whatever it was I was telling him, I have no recollection of what it was he mentioned that I should look into blogging.  This is also the guy who told me I could try and resist Twitter as much as I wanted but social media networking is here to stay and eventually I would cave.   My dad is more of a social media butterfly than I am.  I can get him to respond to me via a “Tweet” faster than I can by texting or even calling him! #whataretheodds  #mydadthinkshesabird #tweettweet After our conversation, I couldn’t get the blogging thing out of my mind. I was so nervous about doing it.  It’s like a public diary.  What boundaries do I not cross?  Will I blog something that will offend someone?  Who will really be reading it? Then I said the heck with it! I’m doing it.  I need to do it.  It was almost like I saw it as….. an outlet.   Let me explain. 

Earlier in the spring of this year I decided to change career paths.  I was working for an insurance company in the Underwriting department. Blah. Even that sentence alone just bored me to tears.  This department was also known as “The Nursing Home” or instead of Underwriting it was known as the “Undertaker’s” department.  Nearly everyone in it looked like they had 2 options: retire or die. I hated it.  I hated sitting in a blue carpeted box all day staring out the window wishing I was outside. I know, at least I had a window view, right?  I hated the whole monthly numbers and quota “game.”  I was tired of pulling the same old pranks just to keep myself entertained for the day. Caution: Taking an old person’s wheel off their office rolley chair could result in a horrendous face plant.   Whoopsie! The ones that didn’t have death or the future of becoming a Florida raisin knocking at their doors yet were at that point in their lives where they had been there too long to leave the company, step out and try something else, and were full of regrets and what ifs.  They.Were.Bitter.  Yuck!  Which then just fed into the vicious cycle of never ending fights about who just put on lotion that is too strong that was going to send them into an asthma attack, whose vine plant is growing over the side of my cubicle, who’s turn it was on the team to organize the next big birthday slop food day, and who’s turn it was to rally up the team to give money towards the Christmas gift for the boss that no one can stand.    I knew if I did not put my big girl panties on and step out on a leap of faith I was heading down that same road. 

Although I loathed my job in Underwriting  it did allow me a few opportunities to do something out of the norm of my every day job. I was given the opportunity to travel to a couple places in the U.S. and work in-office doing administrative work on the Catastrophe claims side of  insurance.  Catastrophe Claims were basically when catastrophic events would strike like Hurricane Katrina in 2005 or Hurricane Ike in 2008.  When I arrived at my first “CAT site” I was in complete amazement.  All day I would watch these sweaty men and a few women come in and out of the office with their “kits” which consisted of a laptop, an aircard and a printer and all the tangled up cords that come along with it. They wore tool belts which consisted of a measuring tape, a clipboard somehow strapped to it, and chalk. God knows what all the other “stuff” hanging off of it was and they wore funny looking boots. They would come to the office and turn in their claims they worked that day.  I in turn would process their paperwork.   I watched them as they cut up with one another and talk about how they needed to buy some new pads for their Cougar’s Paws.  I remember thinking …new pads for their Cougar’s Paws?!  What in the world is in their job description outside of this office?! I later learned that it was Cougar Paws not Cougar’s Paws. It was the brand of the funny looking shoes I had seen them wearing. They are a type of roofing shoe that allows you to walk on steep roofs. After so many uses you have to change the pads on the bottom of the boot/shoe.  Then I would watch them get in their cars and trucks with ladders strapped to the top of them and drive off into the sunset.   For some reason I said to myself… “I want to do that!”  

Well…. After a couple years of contemplating this job and with much prayer I’m doing just that! I decided that life began outside my comfort zone and I was ready to live.  I took all the necessary steps which consisted of a licensing test full of information I’ll hardly ever use in my job and 2 other certifications.  I jumped ship from cubicle world unsure of when I would actually have work. All depends on the weather. Now here I am a Southern Belle from Tennessee in New York, New York working as an Insurance Adjuster on my first catastrophic storm -Hurricane Irene.  I could not be more excited about this new adventurous chapter in my life and so far I am loving the job -roof climbing, funny shoe wearing, tool belt and all.  So what if my Cougar Paws may have pink shoe laces in them!  There’s just one thing …I’m working and training under my step-dad.  Not to be confused with my tech savy, social media butterfly, Chuck Taylor wearin’ real dad. Who thinks he's hip. My step-dad.  The tattooed coal miner with brown foot prints trailing out of the crack of his rear end, used to have a mullet down to his back in the 90’s, beer bottle opener on the bottom of his flip-flops, bowling pin of a step-dad.  Bowling Pin: White with a redneck.   I never thought I would be working with my step-dad. Growing up its a wonder we didn't kill one another.  Hence the need for an "outlet".  Never say never...ever. 

I know this first blog was long and a lot of ground work but I had to give it to you.  So many topics I wanted to go off on a tangent on in this blog.  So stayed tuned because you never know what you’ll read on The Potty Totty Pages.