Friday Fiction, the return!

Chapter 6

The sand was just as hot as it had been the day before. At the first shady place, Bel sat down. She would have to do something about her feet. But what? All she had was this damn purple shirt. After a while, Bel said to herself, I guess it will have to do. She tore at the seams with her teeth until she was able to tear the shirt in two. She wrapped a half around each foot, doubling it up, so there was some protection. When she stepped back on to the hot sand, it felt warm, but no longer burned her.

Bel felt exposed without her coverup. But, then again, who was there to make fun of her stomach? NO one! Not one judgmental soul was there to see her brown and turquoise tankini So, she thought, I’m just going to concentrate on finding those coconuts.

“What the hell kind of palm trees don’t have coconuts” Bel screamed at the ocean half an hour later. She’d walked down the beach, and up the beach, and looked everywhere, but couldn’t find anything. She didn’t want to get to far from the place where she had washed up, that was probably where the boats would go by, so she carefully watched her trail of footprints making sure they didn’t stretch out too far. She walked back to her original starting place and flopped down in the sand.

About five feet from where she had stopped was a big leaf. On the leaf, was a slimy looking pile of seaweed. It was almost in the same place as the one she had kicked yesterday. She looked at it with disgust, and tried not to think about how hungry she was. What, she thought does this stuff wash up all the time? Could some takeout please wash up next?

Bel wondered if she could catch a fish. People do that, right? It can’t be that hard. But, she thought, there would be a few problems. First, she wasn’t sure if she could kill the fish if she caught it. Second, how would she cook it? She didn’t have a fire, didn’t know how to start one, and it was hot enough that it sounded unpleasant to have. So, great raw fish. Sushi.

On second thought, that didn’t sound so bad. She like sushi in the normal world. Boy, what she wouldn’t give for fish and veggies and rice all wrapped up in seaweed. Wait. Seaweed. That’s edible, right? She crawled over to where it was and looked at it more closely.

It sure smelled that was for sure. But past the briny smell and the nasty odor there was a green smell that reminded her vaguely of grass. When she reached out to touch it, she decided that it wasn’t all that slimy. She tentatively picked up one long piece and tore off the end. She placed it in her mouth.

Merry Christmas!

We're headed off to my parent's tomorrow night and then Jason's sister's for Christmas! I know I'm not going to be able to carry on the absolutely constant and regular schedule of blogging that I usually adhere to. Yeah. So,

Merry Christmas to all, and I hope you have a great time!

State Farm fini

So, he called me this morning, not, as promised, yesterday. The long and short of it was that he couldn't/wouldn't change anything. We canceled effective the 8th. He was unsympathetic and incredibly rude. I won't go with state farm ever again in my life, and I'll tell anyone who asks to avoid them like the plague. They lost a customer of over 14 years. Some highlights of the conversation:

EIA (evil insurance agent): "I don't know why you wanted to talk to me"

I wanted to talk to him because he's the head of the agency and his name's on the front door, and his picture on the envelopes.

EIA: "well, he married someone with an accident"

In response to why he lost his good driver discount.

He hung up on me when I said cancel, and then called right back. I saw who it was and I gave the phone to Jason. He said he needed to get Jason's authority to cancel, because, get this:

I WASN'T ON THE POLICY. I promise you all that's what he said. So the rate increased for someone who "wasn't on the policy".

We're going with progressive for both of us, and it's a lot lot lot cheaper.

What I did this weekend

Now, for something completely different. I'm a homemaker. Jason got me a really neat gingerbread house kit this weekend. So, I made our gingerbread dream home. Okay, I really just made the only house you can make from that kit. Check it out!



Pictures without flash, too dark, with strangely bright. Ugh.


We also went to see the Liesure Kings again this weekend. It was teh awesome, as usual. And hilarious.

State Farm

You all know I was in an accident earlier this year. What you may not know, is that my husband, car enthusiast, has a perfect driving record. Not one speeding ticket, never an accident (okay, a woman rear ended him once, but it wasn't his fault) and the only claim he's ever filed is for a windshield.

Me, not so much. I'm a reformed speeder, and I've been in accidents. I think I may have expressed my extreme pleasure with my insurance company, Progressive. They not only took great care of me after the accident, they gave me more for my car than I was expecting, and they didn't raise my rate one penny. This is because (I guess) I've been a customer for a measly six years. I am very happy with them.

So, can anyone explain to me, within reason, why Jason's insurance rates went up? He's been charged a surcharge and lost his good driver discount for MY accident. I know they want me on there just to make sure it's all good. But this is ridiculous. He's been a customer of theirs for longer than I have been with Progressive. I dont' think he's EVER had insurance elsewhere. I called to discuss this with them on Thursday, and very nicely, they informed me that they were taking my risk into account. I'm expecting a call back from the head agent, but I'm not holding my breath.

There's no word for what they're doing. It's immoral, it's not fair, and it's making me really angry.

Plus, we've suffered through at least 3 letters a week from that office that are thinly veiled insults. Bumper stickers that say "please don't hit me, I'm not sure about my coverage". Not to mention the trees they waste sending Jason a billion statements each month. You know what? State Farm? I'm more sure of my coverage with Progressive now than I ever have been before.

Camcorder!

Check over at I never grew up for a great camcorder giveaway. I sure want to win! Check it out and cross your fingers! The contest ends Jan 2nd.

What does a pirate say?

Christmas Present

That one sanctuary? For me, it's books. Look over there to the left. I'm a librarian by profession and I love it. I think one reason I love it so, is that I know the wonder of books. When I'm reading, I can be completely transported to somewhere else.

When I started writing that last entry, I was feeling down about losing a child-like aspect of myself. I never really thought I'd grow up, and I guess it snuck up on me. I think what I still miss is being so easily pleased. The feeling of utter joy in those $1 surprise bags that really held some junk and a yo-yo.

I think that much of this IS in fact something that's it's appropriate to let go of. I don't need those things to make me happy anymore, I have more important things, like my husband, that make me even happier.

And those books, well, they'll never let me down.

Christmas Past

Do you know what I miss? Probably not, unless you're inside my head. It's something that I never thought I'd be parted from. It's something that we've all had. It's something that you may be able to fuzzily guess from the title of this post. I miss.....

Toys. I don't really miss particular toys, though, I'd like to still have some of my My Little Ponies, or the kitchen set. I don't miss having toys to play with, if I wanted to, I could go out and get anything I really wanted. What I miss is the concept of toys. I miss seeing a commercial for something simple (say, a water gun, or a new doll) and seeing in that moment the potential for fun. Thinking, WOW! I miss playtime. Getting so lost in a fantasy about something so minor that you don't hear your parents calling you for dinner, or see the street lights go on.

You see, I miss the promise of toys more than I do the actuality of them. There was a time in each of our lives that some piece of plastic, or metal, or wood, something simple held so much. They were to be sought after, shown off, and shared. These real, physical, easily attainable things were goals for us. They were huge parts of our lives. They were what we wanted instead of a house, or a new car, or an iphone. As we grew, so did the costs of our desires.

I guess what it really gets down to, is that I miss pretending. I miss the time when my imagination was rich enough to turn a sneaker into a car. The water from a garden hose into a river, or my crossed ankles into a mermaid's tail. I think that the real shame is that adults don't pretend as much. We're not allowed to. It's childish. Some adults turn to things like drugs and alcohol to achieve this kind of escape. I want it back. I want to pretend, but somehow, now it seems difficult. Like I'm trapped now in the real world, and my way out shrank to a hole that I can't fit through anymore. It seems life is so complicated now that nothing comes without strings. If you want that new house, there's maintainance. iPhone? Contract. Huge TV? Satellite. Even our hobbies carry strings like that. If I want to take up knitting, I have to buy all of these supplies. If I decided to play golf? Clubs, green fees, etc. Maybe this is something only temporarily gone. Maybe this is nothing that I should mourn the loss of, maybe it's simple materialism.

I want a toy. One, simple thing that I can make into a thousand complicated ones. I want to be able to turn the cubby under the stairs into a castle again, and the swings into airplanes. I want to be the childlike empress with a pearl necklace around my head, and it to be fun, not hard. I want to toboggan.

p.s.
I've decided something while I've been writing this. There is one sanctuary of pretend left for us adults. Know what it is? Post it in a comment, and I'll let slip soon.

r