Mom and Dad came to town. Mom being my adopted mother.
I saw them Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, then they escaped and went off to the next stop on their trip. Sunday we went to church. "Everyone loves you, Heather!" Mom exclaimed. "They just think you are the sweetest couple ever!"
That's nice to know, if people are talking about me it's good stuff. :)
Then we went to lunch. I had been concerned. I wanted to get Dad a really excellent chicken fried steak. However, I haven't found anything really good in Houston. You might as well go to Chilis.
I wanted something Texan. I'll eat anywhere as long as it's clean. Decor isn't important. However, my family likes a dining experience. Nothing wrong with that, but I wanted to provide that, too.
Los Jaliscos is really good, but not really "the experience".
Ron and I ended up taking them to the Texas Roadhouse. Not only was it full of ambiance, they also have fantastic chicken fried steak! Ron and Dad both ordered one, and it was nearly the size of their plates. Mom and I got sirloin. Everyone adored their meal.
Then we went home and took some cat photos.
I wanted to show "God Time". Of course I also pray and study the Bible, but the cats are pretty integral.
Yes, I am fat, my house, messy. I'll refer you back to the working 12 hour days for weeks.
Monday morning Ron and I went to work, taking an overnight bag. We avoided the other vendors, who I noticed had stopped telling us to surrender the microwaves. We are still on friendly terms with their guys. In fact, one invited me to put my trash in their dumpster, and I gave him one of "my" (personal use) marshmallow pies.
We got everything looking good, did our inventory, and met the parents in the parking lot. We drove down to Galveston, had a light lunch, and checked into the motel.
I feel OK talking about this: we like the Super 8 on 61st and Seawall. It is clean, cute, quiet, and they have excellent showerheads. A few years ago, I stayed at a Hilton. It had nice bedding and towels, but compared to the Super 8 it sucked. I lay in my bed, wishing for the Super 8. Yes, I'm a freak.
The Super 8 has a great showerhead, megaflush no-clog toilets, lovely wall art, teal & beige paint, nice dark wood veneer furniture, and new this year: wonderful dark laminate flooring and improved bedding! I was delighted.
I love staying there.
Even better, I brought my tablet. As you know I have had NOTHING but trouble. I couldn't even install an app. I thought I must be pretty stupid. After all, I was using Starbucks wifi (we don't have wifi and even if I could I wouldn't steal from the neighbors).
I love my tablet! It worked beautifully and I had a wonderful time using it. For the first time, I actually found myself liking it.
Super 8 has super wifi.
Mom took more photos:
She really likes my hair, especially down.
Ron had to ride in the chair. He could get in and out of the car, a sedan, and I humped the wheelchair in and out of the trunk. Mom and Dad must have had a talk: "Don't you try to help her! I don't want you wrecking YOUR back!"
They saw I could manage it, and "let" me do so. Good. Sometimes people do more harm when they try to "help" throwing off my balance and jerking back muscles. I had that thing in and out of the trunk over a dozen times. Ron was impressed at my curb and threshold navigation skills.
If you see something good in me, I always say, it comes from God.
Monday night we went out to dinner, it was really good. We'd saved up so it wasn't a painful pill.
We went home, went to bed, slept surprisingly well for a motel (they had us away from the street side, good), and woke up around 6. We went to the Waffle House for breakfast, just us, and then to the grocery store.
I got some bread. The seagulls were active. I love feeding seagulls.
I fed one loaf to the gulls in the parking lot. Then Ron spontaneously joined in and started feeding them with the other loaf. I got some great photos:
This one's Ron at home, on Sunday I think. It's Torbie by his foot.
That's not everything, of course, but the gist of it.
We checked out and came home Tuesday. I got a nap with Torbie. Mom and Dad headed off to their next stop. I slept pretty well last night.
Today we went to the warehouse, work, rode for quite a while, then went to our other location. The repairman met us there and showed me how to raise prices. He also fixed the coin mech (it was a mounting issue and repairs are free under our contract, one reason we bleed Dr Pepper colors).
We also stocked. I had just enough time to run to the import store. I told the lady Mom loved my hennaed hair. She liked that. "I told her I got it from you!" I also got Mom some Mogra soap - it's an Indian jasmine soap, very rich lather and moisturizing. I'm going to make a goodie box for Mother's day.
I had just enough time to grab some takeout before we went home. I ate, took my meds, and took my nap. Torbie slept with me.
Our schedule tomorrow calls for a 5 AM pickup. Normally I'd be asleep now but it's "Children's Day" in Mexico and they are having a family thing next door. [shrug] I'm sure my bad groundskeeping causes them frustration. Not as a retalitory thing, just I'm sure what I see as no big deal, longer grass, is very grating and annoying - like the kids screaming right outside my bedroom are disturbing to me when I'm trying to sleep.
I try to be level-headed. I'll go to bed later, do my God Time later. God sure doesn't want me lying in bed hating.
Oh, speaking of hating, some news about the other vendors. Their #1 breakroom will be shut down as of Saturday, and customers have been referred (by the "remodel team") to "The cafeteria or another breakroom".
Punchline being: the cafeteria, us, is the closest thing. They would have to walk 5 minutes in any direction to find another one of the "grim little rooms" as someone put it. Or walk 30 seconds and go into a huge, 2 acre bright and clean cafeteria.
[shrug] Remember months ago, when we asked him to clean up - due to repeated customer complaints - and they did their best to screw us over? We *had* been ordering soda together - but he ended that. I went ahead and got my soda from the warehouse, spending way less money anyway. I have a completely different lineup and the customers love it. The punchline: without our help he has been unable to make another order with that company. He had to revamp his whole product line.
Remember a few weeks ago, when he said "I'm the big guy, I've got all the machines, I've got all the inventory (so I'm going to screw you as hard as I can when it comes to allocating space in the stockroom)?" Just days later, the district manager swore he was doing to "get rid of all those dingy little breakrooms and bring it all into the cafeteria." The district manager also said he'd bring in a hot food vendor, which has been [the other vendor's] boogeyman for quite a while. If they do, I know it won't last, and I pity the poor fool who tries.
Remember last Friday when they went buggo because I refused to hand over $3000 in commercial microwaves *because they wanted them*? We took it to the boss, who told us to keep them. Then the boss ripped them a new one because they hadn't provided some things they had promised.
Everything he's tried to do, to hurt us, has blown up in his face. Everytime he's gotten ugly he's had something bad happen to him at work.
God has laid it on me, they are operating from a place of extreme fear and paranoia. They are scared of losing their standard of living. They are used to being "very" prosperous. That is ending.
To paraphrase Lord of the Rings: "They will diminish". Our star is rising, theirs is fading.
God is just. God is fair. I don't have to worry about payback because I'm seeing it with my own eyes.
It's my job, now, to be loving about it. I want to be a bitch, to throw dirt on them and gloat. "I thought you had all the vending machines? What happened? Oh, yeah, you were an asshole so God's taking them away!"
No, no, no. Not going to do that. I might think it and repent, though.
If I'm ugly, you'll see it, but not in real life. Now I need to go pray for them.
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