I Love My Job

Ok, that's a lie. I don't love it. But sometimes, I have moments here that make it worth coming to work every day. (and others, I wish I never had to come back!!!)

Anyway, today I come back from lunch, and see one of our more vocal tenants in the parking lot, decked out with some serious rouge and very very red lips... a bright colorful patchwork sweater, and a GIGANTIC amber pendant, that kind of reminded me of the little knob at the top of John Hammond's cane in Jurassic Park... you know, the one with the little mosquito frozen inside?

Anyway... this woman (whose name is not coming to me right now... ) is slowly meandering to down the hill to her car... but when she gets to the spot where she is certain her car was, she begins yelling, "SOMEONE STOLE MY CAR? WHO THE HELL STOLE MY CAR?!" I'm standing there, sorta dumbfounded... who would steal a car from the parking lot of a senior low-income apartment building? She walks over to a champagne colored Ford Taurus which has been backed into a spot, and goes, "No, that isn't my car. It was right there. But I'm CERTAIN I parked there! Someone stole my car!"

So I say to her, "Well, what kind of car do you drive?" thinking maybe I can help locate the missing vehicle... she kind of stumbles and says, "I drive a... uhh... a...." but never quite answers me. So I'm still unable to assist. Yet I remain by her side, acting like I'm on the hunt for the stolen car.

Then another resident whose name is Tom comes around the corner, walking his little dog Alex. And this woman yells to Tom, "Tom! Someone stole my goddamned car! I think I'm going to pass out! Come with me while I try to find it! I'm SURE I parked it down there, but MAYBE it's up top!"

uhhhh....

Meanwhile I guess I should add that there are two parts to our parking lot, split by the driveway that encircles our flagpole and leads up to the door. So this woman and Tom and myself begin walking up the little hill to the "upper" parking lot... the whole time, she is whimpering and complaining about how she cannot believe people are so dishonest, and, why would they pick hers, of all cars?! Sure enough, she walks 10 steps beyond the edge of the lot and spots her car and gives a hollar of relief. I have to turn and practically sprint for the front door because I am desperately supressing a giggle...

I realize that many of the people who live here at Trinity House are elderly, many with physical and mental disabilities. It's not uncommon for someone to be diagnosed with the onset of demensia, or Alzheimers, but this woman seems, for the most part, all together with it. However, it raises the question... if this lady cannot remember where she parked her car in a relatively small parking lot (probably room for 40 cars total here) then should she really be operating a motor vehicle and being allowed out on the roads? I mean, I've forgotten where I parked my car at the King of Prussia mall at Christmastime when there are ten zillion other cars there... but usually I end up in the right area, just maybe not the right row. And a simple click of my fob will set my taillights a'blinkin and I find my ride.

But today was just a very amusing situation, especially beacuse I was more than certain that her car had not been stolen, but was indeed parked elsewhere in the lot... but how do you tell a senior that, who is so certain they know what they're talking about? Answer: you don't. You just humor them, offer to help, and turn and laugh once you're out of their earshot. Which, as awful as this sounds, here at Trinity House, is only a few steps in most cases. ;-)

Three Names

What is it with famous people (or people wishing they could be famous) and having three names? I mean, I was given a middle name at birth, but I don't go around introducing myself as Rosalind Beth or Lindy Beth McCord. That is just strange. Yet... there are so many of them: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Neil Patrick Harris, Lou Diamond Phillips, Richard Dean Anderson, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe... I could go on and on...

(the funny thing I'm realizing as I typd out this list is that I cannot stand ANY of the aforementioned three-named celebrities... coincidence?)

In any case, why is it that they feel it's necessary to use that middle name? Does it make them more special? She can't be Sarah Gellar, she has to be Sarah MICHELLE Gellar. And of COURSE, Jennifer LOVE Hewitt... wouldn't be the same without the Love, right? Ugh. I guess, to each his or her own, but still, it is kind of irritating to me.

But one thing I've noticed, is that, a lot of people who gain notoriety from committing a heinous crime or at least being convicted of one, use three names. Example, John Mark Carr, the guy who admitted (and was later acquitted of) killing Jon-Benet Ramsey (oh wait, look, another 3 named person!!!). Another example, Lee Boyd Malvo, convicted DC sniper... three names.

It's just a strange phenomenon to me. Maybe I'm just being overly critical. People can have as many names as they want. After all, in my youth, when I had an obsession with Kiefer Sutherland, I found out that his full name was: Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland.

That is a lot more than 3.

...this is Lindy Beth McCord, signing off.

S-T-D's and other wedding related things...

Well, I finally feel as though this wedding is real. I know I may have said that to some when I picked out my dress... but we are now going to formally announce to the world (or rather, the guests who we are intending to invite to this wedding) that it's happening and that they must "Save The Date" for the affair!

It's kinda strange... all this time, it's been a thing, in the future, that just seemed so far away. And now, as we round the corner to the holidays... it is becoming more and more evident that I have to put away my "I've got plenty of time" motto and use one more along the lines of, "wow, I have a lot to do to start pulling this thing together."

Granted, there still is a "lot" of time, 7 months. That's 28 weeks. But I've watched my dear friend Lauren's wedding unfold for the past 7 months... and I have to say, once she hit about 5.5 months... that is when the chaos ensued.

So last night Mom and I decided to go forward with the Save The Date magnets. And I'm psyched because I think they're really cool, and since we're debating on non-personalized favors, at least this is something a little more personal. So, I'm going to order them within the next few days, and hopefully have them out by Thanksgiving. So it will be official! No turning back! Haha!

The other wedding-related thing about which I am ECSTATIC is that I put down a deposit on our honeymoon!!! We are going to Sandals Regency St. Lucia, for 6 nights. I am so excited... everything I've heard about this resort is positive, and everyone who has been to St. Lucia says it's fantastic. I was debating between Antigua and St. Lucia (mostly because of $) but ultimately decided that St. Lucia seemed like more fun. And our resort is just awesome. Check it out:

http://www.sandals.com/main/lucia/lu-home.cfm


Other than that, I'm taking the 'maids to The Wedding Touch in Malvern in a few weeks so we can make a final (!!!!!) decision on their dresses. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time... I mean they're all beautiful, so it's just a matter of figuring out what will look best on everyone, and what goes best with the decor of the day.

So slowly but surely, these decisions are presenting themselves and I'm dealing with them. And I feel like I'm on a good pace... I have all of the big stuff out of the way, more or less, and have been accumulating ideas for the smaller stuff as I go along. We're getting married, YAY!!!! ;)