Yesterday's Parties

I woke up thinking about my long suffering grandmother, Elizabeth Crowe, today. She taught me what basic domestic things and manners I know. She also often told me family stories that gave me insight into some of the culture of my clan. One time, sitting at her dining table at lunch, she said "You might be surprised (and I was) but we (she and my grandfather, Horace Crowe) used to have fun. We would have dance parties at the house. There was a juke box where he worked and he would borrow it for the night and bring it to the house. We took the rugs out of the living room and moved the furniture out for a dance floor." 
There are no records of these fun events in photos or other written descriptions that I know of but it makes me happy to picture my grandparents having fun with friends at home while children were in their rooms, hopefully sleeping but probably spying on adults sometimes too.

Elder Abuse By Corporate America

We need to visit my mother, who is in rehab with a broken arm for the next 20 days. My sister-in-law tried to choose the facility she is in very carefully but what they said and what they actually do are two different things.

I think litigation is already in order for the rehab center she's in. The main reason they chose the facility is because they were informed that the center would absolutely take her to all of her dialysis treatments and nearby doctor appointments. As soon as contracts were signed - the next day when she was in there - they informed the family that they will no longer offer those services. Sounds like the typical scam on the elderly patients, where they assume people will die before they can complain or take the company to task for a broken contract.

Now, my uncle, who is just a few years younger than my mother, is the only one who can take her to dialysis treatments. She is hoping her doctors can make visits to the rehab center.  My cousin tells me the place is unsanitary and ugly. They were supposed to have complete laundry services for all patients but my sister-in-law has to do all of my mother's laundry now. On top of all that, when I spoke with my mother last night, she tearfully told me that she has not had a bath or shower all week. - not even a bed bath.

In Training For The Week Ahead

Every day, I set my alarm and try to be out of bed by 4:00 a.m. so that I can hopefully just jump out of bed, into my clothes, and out the door to make it to a minimum wage paying 5-day temp job that starts tomorrow. Every night I've been in bed by 8:00 p.m. but that appears to be just a bit too late because mornings are still almost impossible so I am moving bedtime down to 7:00 p.m. tonight.

Yesterday, I got an email regarding a retail job, that would be long term and a lot more desirable conditions (in a nice, air conditioned department store). They were inviting me to come in for an interview. When I responded back, there were three available times to come in for an interview - all of them are on the same day I start the job at the golf course that I wish I didn't have to take. That was the only day available to come in. Just my luck.

My mother is still in the hospital. I've been calling an leaving messages. Usually, if something is truly serious, I hear from my oldest Uncle, her younger brother, about how she is. Yesterday, she phoned me to say she was still in the hospital, not going home yet. She is on a lot of pain medication and not talking very clearly, so I was struggling to understand what she was saying. Something went wrong or a mistake was made and either her arm is broken or something inside her arm is broken. She said my sister-in-law freaked out yesterday when she was telling her about hallucinations she was having on the pain meds. If that is true, I don't think she will be going back home. I am waiting to hear more today about what is actually going on in Georgia. I ended up leaving a voice-mail for my uncle, asking him to phone me. I didn't get a call back from him or my sister-in-law yesterday. I will try to find out more today.

Once I start this 5-day job, I will be out of reach. The days are predicted to be long - at least 10 hours  - and cell phones are not allowed.

doing the best I can

It seems like this week if filled with anger at every experience job hunting. One person kept me on the phone for several angst-filled calls asking if I was willing to relocate and if I could be immediately available for a job and how far would I commute, etc. before finally telling me the position was only a 5-month hourly (part time) temporary job located over 2-hours (map quest) away. She knew I was in High Point, looking for full-time work. She asked me all kinds of anxiety-producing questions before giving me any information on a job that I clearly was not in the market for.

Neither of the two interviews from last week have gotten back to me and I am trying to follow up with them. Experience tells me that If I did not hear back from them in a couple of days, they chose someone else. Either one would have been a good job to have.

Yesterday, I went to an orientation for the only job available near me. It is a minimum wage gig catering for a golf tournament. 10-hour days (maybe longer), outdoors in a tent, starting at 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday and running through Sunday.


Meanwhile, my mother is in the hospital again this week undergoing various procedures on her heart and kidneys. She does not know what day she will be released to go home. I would drive down to see her if I could be certain she would still be in the hospital when I got there. Once she's home, I don't know if she'd be willing to let me visit. When she's home, she doesn't want anyone to see her place and she mostly sleeps, not answering the door. I don't have a key to her place so there is really no point in trying to make the trip without advanced planning.

waiting for next week

Mother had a heart catheterization done today. My uncle sent a message saying there is, of course, some damage to a heart valve from the Fen-Phen she insisted on taking years ago and, with her genetics, she has a 90 percent blocked artery. I spoke to her this afternoon after the procedure and she sounded like she was in fairly good spirits. She had not yet talked with her doctor - that will happen tomorrow - about what they found and what she would choose to do or not to do about it.

I am still constantly looking for work here. I have a temp gig (minimum wage) for a catering company next week. Orientation is tomorrow in Greensboro. I am wonder if we should plan a trip to Atlanta again this weekend to visit my mother. If she is still in the hospital by then, it would be easy to visit her. If she is home  already, I can't count on being able to see her if I come down. After a 6-hour drive, it is really too long of a trip to make to be unable to to see her and after  two previous failed visits in the last year, I don't want to make that investment for nothing. Next weekend, if all goes well for me, I will be working long days and traveling will not be an option. I can't do anything in Atlanta on short notice.

Meanwhile, in anticipation of a weeks' work and without any money other than the plastic kind, I spent $49.00 on a haircut today so I could submit a photo for my security pass.

family. parties. food.

The surprise birthday party for my mother went quite well. She was completely surprised and burst into tears several times. My niece arranged the entire gathering, including finding an affordable guest apartment for me and MonsterMustDie to stay in. Reservations were made for the group at one of her favorite restaurants that was near her home. I pointed out a couple of facebook links to a couple of close friends to invite. I regret my youngest uncle was not there with his family but someone else decide not to invite them because 1. they probably could not afford the dinner and 2. he probably would not have time to come anyway. I know he probably would not have been there but it seems like the gesture of inviting him and his family would have been the right thing to do. Still, seems like they did not mind, being in different worlds now.

After the birthday dinner, we went to the annual Tequila and Porn party at B&G's home nearby. Great to see so many people that I haven't seen since we moved away from Atlanta. Made me really homesick.

We finally made it to the old neighborhood to return and distribute several things we should have delivered months ago.


We also were able to make it to the Peachtree Road Farmers Market and to Buford Highway Farmers Market to buy things we just can't find local equivalents to yet in North Carolina, like meats from the Spotted Trotter and Pine Street, Red Rock Gingerale, and Ginga Kogen beer. I wish we had bought some of the beautiful mushrooms we saw at the Peachtree market but, without immediate plans to cook them, some of those beautiful fungi would have gone to waste.



This week has been spent cooking some of last weeks bounty.