There are a truly amazing number of people who don’t give a rip what they look like in a bathing suit. Now, I should tell you that I am a plus size woman. I have always thought that it would be a disservice to the world to be seen in a bathing suit…..even one that managed to suck me in and cover me up. But, I can honestly say that I looked fine compared to some of the beached whales I have seen on vacation.
There’s something really odd in the vacationer’s mentality. They seem to leave their fashion sense at home. I saw women in the oddest outfits. Those who normally have a realistic idea about what looks good on them will wear see-through “cover-ups” that were meant for 16 year olds. And a pareau or sarong was really meant for a well proportioned woman. Just because it wraps around you doesn’t mean it looks lovely.
We have just returned from a trip to Maui, and this is one of the very few things I can complain about, so you have to know that trip was awesome!
If we call out the fashion police, I’ll have to diet before I can return. Actually, that’s not a bad idea, and a LOT of incentive, because Maui is lovely. I hope each of you gets to experience it.
Monthly Archives: July 2004
Travelng
For the past month, I’ve had a goal in mind. As things kept going bad around us, I would say to myself “In just __ days, I’ll be going to Maui.” Things have finally settled down here. We’ve had lovely visits with two of my nieces, and my cold seems to be improving a bit each day, so the mantra hasn’t had to repeated quite so frequently.
Tuesday morning at 0:dark:30 six of us will put our sleepy bodies into a limo for the trip to the airport, and by 7:00 we will be taking off for Hawaii. It will be my first visit. We’re going to attend a family wedding.
Ten of us will take the same plane. We’ll meet another eight of them, who will fly out two days early. My Aunt, my Dad’s sister, must be turning in her grave to think of so many of us all on the same plane. I never worried about things like that. I figured it was superstition, and the statistics support the idea that flight is the safest form of travel. Still…someone had to fill in for Auntie, so I was the one who voiced the thought.
Other than attending the wedding, I have a few things on my agenda. I want to sit in the shade of a palm tree, reading a book, and having someone bring me refills for my iced tea. I want to walk along the water’s edge each day. I want to fly over to Oahu to see the Arizona Memorial. Other than that, I don’t have any particular plans. We will only be gone six days and five nights, so I plan to have the most laid back visit I can manage.
I stole this meme from Leg’s blog. You’re welcome to steal it from me, if he doesn’t mind.
Audits
It’s astounding how differently auditors go about their jobs.
We have a business, so we have a worker’s compensation insurance policy. Each year, you guess what your payroll will be. The insurance costs so much per $100. Your payments are determined, and then spread out over the year. At the end of the insurance term, an auditor comes to determine if you have underpaid, or overpaid.
Normally you receive a letter requesting payroll information, and certificates of insurance for sub-contractors. They will also look at quarterly reports to the feds to see if the material you are giving them adds up.
Sooooooo…..the last auditor was just a bit different. I’m used to one of the more experienced auditors, who breezes in, enters the bottom line from the four quarterly reports, makes the necessary deductions, hit’s enter, slams the lid on her laptop and is out the door in ten or fifteen minutes.
This year we got a junior Big Bird look-alike who was new to the job. I had pulled reports off the computer as requested, but he was not satisfied. He made me kill a tree so that he could have the annual report BY EMPLOYEE! What a jerk. At least he didn’t keep me for ages.
Last year….or maybe it was two years ago, we got hit with audits from the union, the state revenue department and insurance I had become the PRO at preparing for audits. The worst was the Revenue auditor. He looked through three years of job folders. It took him all day. I gave him the uncomfortable chair. It was the least I could do to express my opinion about being audited.
I hope next year they send the speedy auditor!
Birds!
We have two bird feeders outside the kitchen windows. Yesterday we discovered that there is an albino bird who visits the larger feeder. I suspect that he is a red-winged blackbird, and I think from his behavior that he is in his late teens….not quite an adult, but on his own.
His feathers are almost a light cream color. He has the size and shape and beak of a blackbird, and the area on his shoulders where we would normally see the red and yellow bands seem to be slightly ridged. He is more gentle than the mature birds. I’d say he plays well with others. *G*
This is our first experience with an albino bird. I took pictures with an instant camera today, and I’ll see if I can get my stepson to catch the bird with his digital camera. Perhaps we will have something to share with you in a bit.
Chores
We all have them to one extent or another. I have a list of them which is growing by leaps and bounds. Last year, when DH’s daughter was getting married, and we thought wedding guests would be visiting between the wedding and the reception, I had a three page, double spaced list of Mine, His and OUR chores.
About two-thirds of the chores got done. Now, I’ve started another list.
Celebrate!
Yeah….I bet you thought I was going to talk about the Fourth of July, didn’t you??
Actually, I was sitting here, envying those of you who can imbibe….especially those of you who can imbibe and still type!