Story time: Pegs blows up at the U-haul place.

I asked, you responded. So you get 3 stories.

1. Peggy's explosion at the U-haul place.

On Thursday, I called and reserved a truck for Sunday. The man said I could come pick it up at 8:30 am and have it until 2:30 pm. This was great, since I had friends meeting to help with the move at 9:00 am.

On Sunday, I arrive at the U-haul place (with Jesse & Boss). U-haul Dude can't find my name. I give him my confirmation # (sometimes being Type A comes in very handy). He finds my name, but says no truck is assigned to my name and I'm not on the time schedule. Then he says he has to process all the trucks that came in that morning before he can tell me if he has a truck. About 20 minutes have passed, so I call Roommate and tell her I won't be there by 9 and to tell the guys to just start moving stuff down to the curb.

I ask U-haul Dude why he can't just count the # of trucks he has and # of people already reserved to see if he has enough to give me one. He says he has to actually process them.
I still have not heard an apology. What I have heard is "I wasn't the one you talked to on Thursday, so this isn't my fault."

SERIOUSLY?

So I lose it. I yell at him that he needs to tell me RIGHT NOW if he will have a truck because people are arriving at my house NOW to help, he has my name right there that I made a reservation, and I need to start calling other U-haul places if he doesn't have one. He tells me to "have some patience."

I gave Jesse a LOOK and told him to "handle it."

Then Boss and I went outside and paced in the parking lot.

Fast forward to 9:20. U-haul Dude finally says he has a truck for me, but I have to bring it back at 1:30. So I am getting the truck an hour late and being told to return it an hour late. That, my math geniuses, is two hours less time with the truck. I ask if I will get a discount for the poor service and having the truck for less time than I was promised. U-haul Dude says he doesn't have the authority to do that, but I can pay in full today and contact the supervisor for a refund.

U-haul Dude then spends a good 10 minutes taking down my information. The same information that I already gave Thursday U-haul Dude on the phone.

When we returned later with the truck, we were early (thanks to Jesse and 3 Super Non-U-haul Dudes who moved me soooo fast) and U-haul Dude wanted a high five for the way things worked out.

SERIOUSLY??

I hmphed.

What do you want to hear about?

1. How I exploded at the U-haul rental facility on moving day?
2. How Boss peed on the just-washed down comforter that we didn't notice until it was nearly time for bed?
3. How Jesse researches EVERYthing to DEATH, and we will probably not actually buy a TV until 2015 because of it?

So, my pets. What would you like to hear about? Because ALL of those were in the last 24 hours. As well as moving all my schmack from Old Apartment to New Apartment.

The weak link. And a sore loser.

I've been trying to decide whether or not I should continue playing softball. I play in a recreational league (read: non-competitive-at-least-in-theory). Last season, we won the league championship.

All of the guys are great. All of the girls, myself included, played competitively in high school. But I am, by several years, the oldest of the girls. Translation: I am the furthest removed from my high school glory days. The days when people cheered because I made a sliding catch in the outfield. This was 1995-96.

Fast forward to 2011. Sliding catch? Puh-leaze. I would settle for...well, a catch. Or getting on base legitimately (read: without the assistance of errors made by the other team or them choosing to get another runner out instead of me).

So, on a team of haves, I am feeling like a have-not. And I am one of those people that is NOT satisfied just to have fun and play. If I suck, I'm not happy.

Yesterday, Dude Pitcher kept trying to cover home plate while I was catching. But IIIII wanted to cover home plate. Then we switched to Dude Pitcher 2.0 who did let me cover home plate. And what did I do? Botched 2 easy pop-ups and missed a throw coming into home. Granted, the two pop-ups were off the fence so: A) wouldn't have counted as outs anyway and B) off the fence is not actually easy and the throw to home was way off the mark and would not have resulted in an out anyway. Still, I'm my own worst critic and was annoyed with my (lackluster) performance.

Did I mention that we were making a comeback in the last inning and I made the last out with the tying run on 2nd base? Granted the other team had scored 15 runs which certainly were not all my fault but still...I HATE to be the last out when it results in a loss.

So, I'm thinking of quitting because I feel like The Weak Link. Because clearly I can't just live with these plain facts:
1. It's 2011, not 1996.
2. My team is called That's What SHE Said, not KHS Mustangs.
3. It's rec league, and I don't have a coach screaming at me to "Catch the next damn fly, Itschner!"

Ode to Fremont.

In Seattle, the neighborhoods have names (along the lines of the burroughs in NYC). My neighborhood is called Fremont, and I love her dearly. As a local of Fremont for 2 years, I have favorites that may not be what you would read about (though some certainly are) in the media.

Fremont fondly calls herself (and others have picked up on the nickname) the "Center of the Universe." There is a Center of the Universe sign six blocks south of my place which indicates all the lovely places you can go and how far they are from the Center. It can also can help you if you've gotten lost. (Milky Way? Sure, we can get you there.).


There's some of the best food in Seattle, nay, the COUNTRY. Paseo, a Carribbean restaurant, has been featured on The Food Network as having the #2 sandwich in the country (I beg to differ) and is, fortunately for me, located at the end of my block. I get the Rice, Bean, Thigh Trio each Wednesday evening...extra thigh, please.

One place I could NOT live without is Norm's Ale House & Brewery. It's a short walk down the hill from my place so we get a warm-up before inhaling some of the best food in the area, like Norm's fried chicken. Since adopting Boss in March, Norm's has become a staple in our household. Why? Because Norm's is one of the VERY few restaurants where Boss is a welcome guest. What you see below is the common experience at Norm's.



If I want to rent a movie, I have no need to drive to Hollywood Video or Blockbuster...I actually have no need to drive at all. Video Isle is a local video store with any tv series or dvd I have ever searched for (which is amazing because it's teeny tiny), is 3 blocks from my place, AND gives you a free (and HUGE) milk bone for your pooch. Boss is a fan of Video Isle. And Video Isle is a fan of Boss. During our last visit, the owner attempted to teach Boss to shake. (It's a work in progress.)



Need some toilet paper, but don't want to go ALL THE WAY to the grocery store? It's Marketime to the rescue! Located just two blocks from my place, it has an espresso stand where I can pick up any drink for under $3, awesome donuts/pastries, fabulous ready-to-eat items like a sesame noodle salad, or that "quick-I-need-ice-cream-now" moment.


Those are my regular haunts, but there are countless other amazing restaurants, shops, and charming local stops that I visit infrequently but still adore.

Finally, on my "To Try" list, a new eatery called Pie. I mean, how yummy does this look?


You can just imagine my excitement when Jesse and I found the perfect apartment just 3 blocks from where I currently live (which, if you have kept track, places me NEXT DOOR (literally) to Marketime, ONE block from Video Isle, TWO blocks from Paseo, and EIGHT blocks from downtown Fremont). Also? It has hardwood floors, which means I am going to continuously laugh my tail end off at Boss sliding around trying to play with his toys. Move-in: less than 3 weeks.

PS Image of Paseo from here, Norm's from here, Video Isle from here, Marketime from here, and Pie from here.