Represent.

Some images that resonate within me and represent a facet of myself:

The Clan MacBain Crest - Translation: Don't mess with this cat unless you have a shield for protection against it!



Marilyn Monroe - The epitome of femininity, yet flat benching dumbbells (although tiny)



Who the HELL goes to North Andover, MA on THANKSGIVING DAY in a SNOWSTORM to run a 5K race? Me and my mom, the two crazy ladies.



With Gunter Schlierkamp, IFBB pro - bodybuilding and fitness will always be a big part of my life



A night of dancing with a stranger - and looking pretty damn hot doing it



An actual photo taken at the scene of a horrific car crash where I helped people in the road - the cause of my diagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The ladies here were in the car ahead of me before we all pulled off the road.



Alone and contemplative



My place of serenity - the Opryland hotel In Nashville, TN



How I feel many times in my relationship with the sexy fisherman



Me with short hair in January 2000 - wasn't a choice, but I made the best with what I could



Passionate and delicate

Drying Out

The river has receded and the sun came out today. I didn't encounter any closed roads, and the National Guard has left the front of my apartment complex.

I ran my 3.69 miles this morning in the sun. There was some cracked pavement, and some edges of the roads had broken off due to the constant streams of water. Other than that, I didn't observe too much damage in my neighborhood.

Floods!

As of this evening, NH Governor Lynch has ordered 50 National Guard troops to Hooksett. Part of my road is closed and I was threatened arrest by a Hooksett police officer (I just wanted to get home). I didn't cause a scene, I just drove through an intersection from which traffic cones were moved aside to allow emergency vehicles through. I called the police station before I left my mom's place to ask if I could get home, and the cop said they were allowing residents through, so WTF.

Anyway, I drove north, crossed the river at a passable area and made it home safely.

The photo above is of the shopping center up the street from where I live. I guess the water rose so quickly that people had to be rescued from their vehicles. I laughed when I saw someone on a paramedic's stretcher. I mean, please. You got wet. Maybe banged yourself against the car when getting out. Do you really need an ambulance?

Now, I'm warm and safe and dry. But Hooksett town selectmen passed an emergency ordinance giving local officials the legal authority to order mandatory evacuations. Those who refuse can be arrested. Again with the arrests! Okay, if it's really for my physical safety, I can go along with it. It just seems very weird to see this happening in Hooksett, NH.

I'll update (hopefully with my own photos) as I can.

* First update 12:01 am: Three National Guard vehicles just drove by. I live on a normally very busy road and I hadn't heard a car or truck drive by in a while. I wonder how bad the flooding is at the end of my road?

* Update #2: Some pics

Driving home last night (before I was threatened with handcuffs)


The raging Merrimack River at 3:30 this afternoon


That's a lot of agua


Water rushing behind and between very old mill buildings


People like me, checking it out


I run a trail around this pond, which about a mile. I've never seen it this high.


Guess I'd have to turn around and run back the other way!


There was a gas leak today, literally across the street from where I live. The National Guard had a checkpoint at the road I need to take to get home. By the time I got there, there was only an orange cone, so again today, I escape arrest!

Remembering Kevin

Our friend and former co-worker, Kevin Miner, passed away Friday, April 21, 2006. Please leave a comment with your favorite or funniest Kevin memory.

I used to enjoy his warm welcomes. When we'd see each other for the first time in a day, he'd always exclaim, "Reba!" (definitely a Neighborcare only nickname for me). He always had a heartfelt "I love you" for his wife, Ginny, when they'd end phone conversations. And he was one of the few pharmacists who, when it was extremely busy, would sit down and enter prescriptions orders side by side with us. He took the time to learn to do it and I think we techs appreciated it not only for the help, but in that he had a greater understanding of our jobs and the many frustrations that accompany it.

Kevin was a vibrant soul, a good pharmacist and friend to everyone who worked at Neighborcare. Except maybe for S.N. "What the fuck is a pharmacist assistant anyway?" Ha ha! And he is responsible for Jimmy Buffett music being BANNED inside the pharmacy - "why don't we get drunk... and screw". Some people just can't appreciate a little humor to lighten up a hectic and often stressful environment. It was funny while it lasted. At least until NPR started up in lieu of Buffett. ZzZzZzzz... Jill can attest to the snoozefest that is NPR.

I missed Kevin when he left Neighborcare. In his email me to me last Thursday, the day before his passing, he said he liked being back in retail pharmacy. We all know the money is a lot better, and he and Ginny were moving to a new townhouse last weekend. He was excited about that. We will all miss Kevin very much.
Share your favorite story or just leave a thought about remembering him. He won't soon be forgotten.

Antibiotics and Stuff

So I've had this "cold" since March 30th. Finally went to the doctor yesterday and he gave me 10 days of Omnicef 300mg q12h. My glands were all swollen and it became hard to swallow. I thought I was having trouble kicking a cold because of all the changes, but apparently it's a bacteria nestled in my sinuses or upper resp system. Lovely. I'm glad I went to see him, otherwise it would be a long time before I felt healthy again.


While I was at the good doctor's office, I asked for a recommendation for a GYN. In his charming Polish accent he asked, "oh? You going to have baby?" with a big grin. "NO". He went on, "oh, I thought maybe you were going to have baby", still with a glint in his eye. I told him I'm not even married let alone ready to have a baby. I said I have plenty of time. He raised his eyebrows. Suddenly I didn't feel so young.

Okay, how come no one told me there's now a NH Craigslist? Most everyone by now knows what Craig's List is, but of not, check out the link and amuse yourself. The personals are the most entertaining. Misc Romance of Craigslist Boston is where I met John Sullivan, independent filmmaker, winner of Best Short Film at one of the Ireland Foyle Film Festival. Boy, was that an experience. Luckily he went overseas for a while, my car died and I ended up becoming distracted by a car salesman at Manchester Mitsubishi. I guess that was almost three years ago now. He called a few months ago, but I am devoted to New England's sexiest fisherman, so I couldn't entertain the thought of bailing Blake out of another drunk driving incident. Sometimes things just work out for the best.

Craig's List also has a Casual Encounters section for those looking for myspace.com type anonymous hookups. Except these usually don't have pictures and are frequented by "professionals" and local cops looking to bust them.

I'm excited about a NH Craig's List. It lists weekend events and people looking for platonic friends and all kinds of stuff. I'm gonna check it out now.

Changes

So I work in a new building with all new people, doing basically the same job with a lot fewer responsibilities.
The people are nice and friendly, except for two. One sort of has an excuse I can deal with, and the other just has a lot of self-hatred which she chooses to project outside of herself. That's all well and good for now, because I think (hope) her position will soon be eliminated.

I'm wrapping up my second week at the new pharmacy and meanwhile, eleven people in my old pharmacy were given their layoff notices. Their last day will be next Friday, from what I understand. They also lost one of my favorite pharmacists. No one is sure what happened, but he just "no longer works there". He is the same RPh. who told me I was breaking his heart by leaving. I wonder if he knew he would also be gone so soon.

I miss my friends at work. I suppose I'm making new friends, but the new place is a lot more dull. They say they're wild and crazy, but they have no idea.

I'm working a new shift. It's okay. Not horrible. I've decided to start working overtime that they desperately need people to do, because my job is not safe. Might as well earn some extra cash while I can.

I bought a Powerball ticket Tuesday. Didn't win.

I've gotten over the anxiety I've been feeling the past few weeks. I woke up last Sunday from a nap feeling sad and anxious. My world was shaken up and changed with very little notice. It's funny how that sort of experience makes you question almost everything in your life. Nothing is secure, really.

I ran a few astrology reports and it seems as though my job is safe and may even advance sometime in the next few months. We'll see. Oh, and I checked where Neptune is placed in my natal chart to see what profession would be best for me, and where my success will lie. Yeah, guess what that was about. My CHILDREN. Okay...

Well, tomorrow is another day. Another day, another coumadin dose change. I'm going to try to reply to emails and return phone calls this weekend, so thank you everyone for being patient and putting up with me!

WTF?

So with one day's notice, I start a new job at a new pharmacy Monday. I'm still trying to understand it. Two pharmacists said they were shocked that I was asked (or "picked", who knows?). I'll know a little more tomorrow, but still won't know why. My guess is petty bitchiness, but I hope I'm wrong.

Plus I'm bloated, have a sinus/chest cold, can barely talk from it and need to go to sleep, but not the least bit sleepy.

You ever have the feeling like you just want to pack up and start over? I need new spring clothes that fit, but can't really afford any. My car insurance payment is about to bankrupt me, but I don't want to drive a station wagon to get a lower premium.

By the way, let me apologize to anyone who is offended by the station wagon comment. I, in no way, intend any offense, harm or malice by slightly putting down driving a station wagon. Station wagons are perfectly fine vehicles, but I prefer not to drive one. I think no less of anyone who must, or chooses to drive a station wagon, nor do I think less of anyone who is employed by an auto manufacturer who makes station wagons. You'd think this disclaimer would be unnecessary in a blog that I write about my opinions and thoughts, but I have found this not to be the case.

So anyway, my current Netflix movie is The Bridges of Madison County. Maybe Billy and I will watch that tomorrow, maybe not. It's truly a chick flick, and I don't normally enjoy chick flicks, but I remember really liking it when it first came out.

I got my rejection letter today from the Boston Athletic Association:
"Dear Rebecca,
Thank you for submitting your volunteer application for the 110th Boston Marathon. We do appreciate your interest and willingness to help at Boston, however, the number of applicants this year was much greater than our staffing needs, and we regret, therefore, that we cannot give you a volunteer assignment for this April.

We thank you very much for your understanding and look forward to having you volunteer at the Boston Marathon, or at another Boston Athletic Association's events, at a future time.

With kind regards,
Boston Athletic Association"

The application asked if I had ever run the Boston Marathon (uh, no) or belonged to a running club (nope), so I think they give preference to those people. I just wanted to hand water to runners or cover them with mylar blankets at the end. Oh well, maybe next year.

I've got the humidifier on, so hopefully that will help break up the tightness in my chest. 200mg guaifenesin won't hurt either.

We're Back!

I'm a little tired from our 25 hour road trip home from Florida (stopping only for fuel and girl's room breaks), so I'll post some pics with short comments for now so I can get back to napping. We had a great time!

Click on any of the pictures to make them bigger.

View from the bass boat heading out onto Lake Kissimmee

Stopping for a drink

I caught a fish! He was feisty! The fisherman too!

A big Cypress bass or something

Back at Camp Mack

Ybor City - Florida's Latin Quarter

Our gracious host for a day showed us around St. Pete and Ybor City, part of Tampa, which was once the cigar capital of the world.

Billy took me to the Columbia in Ybor for lunch, which just celebrated its 100th year in business


A private function room upstairs

Can't say no to an authentic Cuban mojito!



After our meal, Billy enjoyed a tacita of cafe Cubano for more energy

Ybor City has a Scientology Center. We crossed the street here!

Dolphin Cove at Sea World

Dolphin Cove

Patiently waiting for fish

Like smooth rubber, but nicer

Hungry little...

Sea World

Gators
Looked like a big rock to me, but it's a manatee
Big ol' Shamu
Getting some exercise
Me with some flamingos

Killers...
Or Lovers?
Get a room!

More pics from Florida

Remembering to blog it all - notice the trucks with boat trailers - there were a ton of them!

Big bird

I thought I was stealing an orange, but it was a sour grapefruit. Instant karma for petty theft!

Sneaking off to the mall!

Billy and I had a great time together and we didn't try to kill each other after almost 8 days of nearly non-stop togetherness - travelling 1,400 miles each way and another couple hundred miles travelling to each attraction. After being home almost a day, I even miss him a little!