Author: Angie World

My life is as open as I want it to be. I am a massive coffee addict, a lover of the written word, glitter and anything with Dean Cain in it.
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Soap Box

Real letter in Dear Abby:

DEAR ABBY: I have been dating a divorced man, “Chris,” for four years. He has a son who is 16. On the weekends Chris has his son, I become the “invisible girlfriend.” Sometimes the three of us will go to a movie or out to eat, but I am never welcome to spend the night.
Chris and I have talked about living together, but never in depth. Unless I bring it up, he never says anything about it. When Valentine’s Day came around, Chris asked if we could celebrate it a few days late because he was scheduled to have his son that night. I was heartbroken because even a Valentine dinner for the three of us was out.
I am beginning to think there is no future with Chris. He seems fine just dating and seeing me every other weekend as someone to hang out with, but not to commit to. Suggestions? — DISMISSED IN DENVER
DEAR DISMISSED: When you started dating Chris, his son was 12. It seems to me that what he has done is put his parenting responsibilities before anything else, and I respect that.
If romance and marriage are what you’re looking for, I suggest you stop asking Chris about living together and ask instead about whether the two of you have a future. Chris has been treating you like a friend with benefits for four years. The pattern is set and it isn’t likely to change by itself.
Me again, so this dad is doing it right, he is putting his son before his girlfriend, and this woman has issues with this. Wow. That is all I can say, wow. I say kudos to this father for putting his son first, for being a father who is worthy of the name. Father. What this woman wants is a devoted boyfriend, to only her, and if she wants that, she deserves it, however, this man is not the man for her. He is, rightfully, devoted to his son, who did not choose to be in this world.
I want to make this clear, the woman is not selfish, she is simply with the wrong man, I have no idea why she has been with this man for 4 years. She knew up front that his son was going to come first; I cannot imagine he would not have been upfront with that little tidbit. Not with how she describes their four-year relationship, she should have moved on within the first month. I say that because she will never be what she wants to be to this man, number one, she will always come in second. When his son gives him a grandchild, she will become even less of a focus for him, she needs to find someone who will give her the kind of attention she craves.
I think this man is awesome; it is a rare thing in this world where a man puts his child first before a woman. I see it all the time, this woman could have her pick, my BBFF is one of those rare men who puts their child first. He is to be commended for the way he takes the role of dad to the highest level. He gives me hope for fathers everywhere. My son is another; he is devoted to his daughter, and puts her first over women. These two show what it is to be a devoted father, it’s easy to be one when you are married to the mother of the child, you have two parents in the household sharing the responsibilities. When there is only one parent in the household the work and responsibilities and also the joys are there just for you. Going it alone is not the easy road (not that parenting is easy for the married either, just focusing on single parents because it is what I know the best) keeping the course and focusing on your child (or children) is a lonely row to hoe. However, it is worth it, the sacrifices, the nights where you have to do all the work, caring for a sick child, or three at once. When they are adults, and well adjusted, because you made the sacrifices you made, letting them know they are number one, are so worth it all.
For my single parent friends, stay strong, keep the course and never allow society or anyone pressure you into making decisions that would adversely affect your child.

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Happy Birthday Michael

Today is one of the days of the year I don’t look forward to, I wish I did, I should, if things had been different today would be a joyous celebration. Today Michael would have been 30, my son would be turning 30 today, instead he is in heaven with God.
I still remember when he was born, it wasn’t an easy labor, it was a scary one, his heart rate dropped and they had to do an emergency C-Section.
The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck three times; once they got him out he did start breathing. He was beautiful, perfection, all ten toes, all ten fingers and a head full of hair.
We took him home and life was so very perfect, no remnants of the scare when he was born. We played with him, bathed him and fed him, I sang songs to him, his father made up songs to sing to him. I sang Wham songs, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go was our favorite, I would hold him and sing and dance around the house and he would belly laugh. It was glorious, I had 12 weeks of pure, unadulterated joy, he was everything a mother could want.
So on this day, the day I was given such a glorious gift, I celebrate his 12 weeks, I celebrate that God gave me the 12 weeks I had with him. If this had been a different time in history I would not have had any time with him. I will always cherish the time I had, the laughter, the joy, the singing and dancing.
Happy Birthday Michael, I know my mom is making you a cake and you will have the best birthday with your grandparents, great grandparents, throw in one great Aunt Effie and you have a perfect day. I will miss you until the day I join you, then we will celebrate your birthday together.

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Thoughts

I awoke this morning to thoughts of perhaps seeing Guardians of the Galaxy again, then decided not to, as I have a lot to do around here to get ready for the upcoming work week. It makes me sad to have responsibilities that keep me away from my hobby, intergalactic space travel, but alas, being a grown up does have its price.
In other news, the original Red Dawn is on television right now, Wolverines! I have an incredible urge to run around the house yelling Wolverines! However, I have kept myself in check and resisted that urge.
I had a glorious week off from work, doing nothing but hanging out with my favorite seven year old. We went bowling, ice-skating and to the pool, we watched her new favorite cartoon every night before bed, while having a snack. I woke to smiles and laughter every morning; I am really going to miss that little girl now that our week is over. I hope I can do the same next summer, a week of being no one but Gigi, I will carry the memory of being able to do this with me for the rest of my life.
Of course I will still be picking her up from school every other Friday, that is not going to change. We will still have fun when I do that, but this was special, I have not gotten to take the week off just to take care of her. What great fun, being a grandparent is so different from being a parent. Everyone should get to experience this in his or her lifetime.
Next week I begin my new tour, we choose every month in this department, it is a little unsettling, because I have learned we also change desks. This makes no sense, it is disruptive to the workday, this plan has massive of unproductive time built right into it. Time the company is actually losing money, who thought of this??? Major Telecommunications Corporation I work for, you need to rethink this plan, it is insanity and not cost effective, nor productivity effective.
On the upside, I did not have to move my desk, as I was gone, my favorite Jose moved my desk and called to tell me where my new seating is. Good thing, I go in at 6am tomorrow morning and would have been wandering around trying to find it. Once again ineffective use of my time, someone really needs to look into this.
I will leave you with this one thought: Wolverines!

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Lord Love a Duck

I was just transported to a different galaxy, where a raccoon can be genetically modified and a tree can save lives. It is no secret I am a fan of comic books, it should be no huge surprise when I cart myself off to the nearest movie theater to see the new movie based on comic book characters.
Guardians of the Galaxy did not disappoint my inner geeky girl, she was squealing and hollering at the screen during the whole movie. Thank goodness it is an inner voice, as the other patrons would not have appreciated the noise.
The perfect actors were cast in all roles, it would be hard to imagine anyone other than Zoe Saldana in the role of Gamora, once again she has cemented her complete awesomeness in the geek world. How many Sci-Fi movies can she star in and be completely believable in every one of them? I think it is a moot question, as she is killing it in all of the movies.
Chris Pratt is perfect as Peter Quill, the half human, half alien, abducted as a child, hero.
For anyone who sees the movie, please tell me what you saw in the Collectors exhibit. I know what I saw; I want to know if anyone else saw it as well.
This movie is not only worth the price of admission; it is worth going to see again, and again. So far the only movie I have seen many (i.e. countless) times is The Avengers, I seriously love a deranged Loki. I can’t seem to help myself, I am still convinced if I see it enough times I will be assimilated into the world Joss Whedon created.
Guardians of the Galaxy is a rip roaring good time, after a teary start, we are whisked away on the sounds of pop songs from the 1970’s. What a ride it is, so much so, I immediately downloaded the soundtrack in the parking lot of the movie theater.
Run, do not walk to see this movie, even if you are not a comic book nerd, like myself, you will love this movie.

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So Much To Say Today

You never know what you had until it’s gone, that saying irritates me. How can one not know what they have? Are they living in a world so selfish that they can’t see what is right in front of them? Why do people feel the need to throw away everything for something that is fleeting?
I cut my teeth on science fiction; literally, the first television show I have the most vivid memory of is Star Trek, the original, just in case there were questions regarding my age. A follow up on that were old horror movies on Saturday afternoons, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney and Boris Karloff were the order of the day. I was transported to a different place, a different time. Both futuristic and in the past, different planets, different continents, it was a unique way to grow up.
I learned so much from watching these shows, differences were to be celebrated not feared, what some see as monstrous, others see as miraculous. Fear incites atrocious behavior, and being a blood-sucking creature is bad.
Being human has its downfalls, we are fraught with frailties beyond the physical, what we don’t understand we ridicule and sometimes literally beat to death. What a horrific way to live, constantly fearing what one doesn’t understand, what is different.
I, for one, don’t understand it, when I was in elementary school I didn’t think I was human due to what I had watched at an early age. I didn’t think like everyone else, I craved the unknown, I wanted to be different, I knew I didn’t want to be one of the villagers killing the “monster”. When all along the monster was inside of them, the villagers were the monster, as I got older I realized that as a human I have the ability to not become one of them. I had the ability to make a choice, to become something else, someone else, embracing differences.
Yes, I was the weird kid in school; never quite fitting in, I read a lot, A LOT, as Tammi can tell you. I have always said whatever popped into my head; I have learned to temper that with a little common sense. I wore what I wanted, I didn’t follow the crowd, I was a fully functioning human at a young age.
I wasn’t bullied, because, well honestly, I was a little scary, ok, more than a little, I could take up for myself and didn’t put up with anything. I didn’t care what people thought about me and didn’t care what they said about me.
I honestly don’t understand why parents are not teaching their children to stand up for themselves against bullies, and I don’t understand how I have digressed into this topic. However, while I am here, people, teach your children fortitude, teach them that their differences are to be celebrated and teach them to stand up for themselves, where they can. I am not speaking about children who have disabilities, I am talking about the children that are for all intents and purposes, “normal” I use quotation marks because I really have no definition of what normal is, but in this instance I am speaking to the ones that have no physical limitations, no emotional limitations and are not fighting a learning disability.
For the parents of the bullies, what is wrong with you? You know your kid is mean! They had to learn it somewhere, I am guessing at home, since that is where I learned to stand up for people who have a hard time standing up for themselves. My grandpa taught me that, take a stand, don’t allow anyone to run over you or anyone else.
Isn’t that what this country was founded on, taking a stand? Standing up for the “little” guy and ourselves?

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Eat Some Worms

I was standing in the kitchen when I had a sudden memory of my grandmother, I was about 4 or 5 and I wanted something in the kitchen. I don’t remember what, but knowing me, it was probably a cake she had just made. She told me no, I told her she hated me, nobody loved me. She stopped, turned, looked at me and began to sing, Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, think I’ll go eat worms. I just stared at her, then burst out laughing and skipped outside to presumably find worms.
There is no one that loves us more when we are at our most ridiculous like family. I have since sung that song many times and it has always brought a smile to my face.
The more I look back, the more I know how my grandparents and great aunt Effie formed who I became in those first years they raised me. Yes, raised, I didn’t simply grow up; they raised me to become a responsible adult. A contributing member of society, a proud American, a vocal Christian and someone who stands up for those who can’t stand for themselves.
Someone who doesn’t back down from life, who faces the challenges head on and makes difficult decisions. I look at society today and wonder where the parents went? When did raising children to become adults go away? Where did these parents come from that believe children are born knowing all they need to know? Do they not realize if they don’t teach them morals, dignity, grace under pressure, how to think for themselves, no one will?
I take Tessa to places and am blown away by the way parents do not watch their children at these places. I am also blown away by the bad manners of these parents as well, their parents were also lacking in the skills necessary to raise adults, apparently.
My grandfather taught me such a strong sense of what it means to love this country, while my grandmother taught me how to wither someone with just a look, and that food meant love. My great-aunt Effie taught me that in all things love really is the answer. Whether it is to admonish someone for bad behavior or to simply helping a stray animal.
They were the first three adults in my life; the things I learned from them are standing the test of time.

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My Life

So, the week after next I am taking a week of vacation, I am doing the most exciting thing I can think of. I am spending the week with Tessa, I have so much planned, ice-skating, bowling and a trip to the planetarium. It is going to be an awesome week!
I have never gotten to do this before with her, take a week off and take care of her while Jeffrey is at work. I am looking forward to it more than I can convey, I don’t have the proper words in my arsenal to properly express how happy this makes me.
Work is going well, I still love it, every day is something different, and every issue that comes across my phone is a challenge. I do so love a challenge.
Russ is here visiting for the week, Stormie loves when he comes to visit, I do believe he teaches her how to be a dog. She is surrounded by humans and at times she forgets that she is in fact canine. Russ is Jeffrey’s hairy beast, I can’t remember how old he is, but he is getting to be an old man, and however he still frolics with the best of them. Those two run and play hard while they are together, then Russ is ready to go home to be with his humans and feline companions once again.
There is so much going on in the world, so man sad and terrible things, planes being shot out of the sky, war in the middle east, children being left in cars. All of it is terrible, in the midst of it all I am reminded that God is on His throne, He does care about us and is ready for us when we are ready to accept Him.
I have an opinion on all of it; I just am choosing not to voice anything at this moment. I will say I land on the side of Israel on the whole Gaza strip conflict, I will always side with God’s chosen people. To not do so is folly; I firmly believe that with my whole being.
There I said it, let the chips fall where they may, other than that, I have lived with AT&T UVerse television for almost a week now and I LOVE it! The picture is so crisp and clear. The non-HD channels are clearer than Time Warner’s HD channels, it’s crazy nuts! I kind of with Time Warner had made me mad earlier than this, as I changed solely based on their customer service, or lack thereof.
I still have their Internet, as AT&T does not offer that speed in this area, as soon as Giga-power comes to this area I am totally on board.
I got to pick up Tess yesterday and see her and Jeffrey for a little bit before they took off on their trip. It was a nice visit, she is so funny, smart and caring, I cannot wait to spend the week with her!
I foresee trips to the pool in our future as well; I will go back to work the following week not so pale. Not exactly tan, however, I will no longer look like Casper the friendly ghost.
Speaking of weather, we have had the best weather here in Texas, yes I said Texas, in July! I have not had the air conditioner on in 4 days! Four days people!! That is so awesome! I was actually cold when I woke up this morning! This never happens in July in Texas!! I am totally loving this weather, I know God heard my cries and while it has not snowed in July He did cool things down a good bit. Because I am one of His favorite humans, I know that’s why this happened.

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Amazon Update

Update on Amazon issue, I was sent an email, 15 hours after calling them and being told that my bank would just credit me any charges that were not mine, saying that all changes were being reversed. This email went on to tell me that the hijacking was my fault as I probably answered a phishing email or gave my password to someone.
Amazon, I work in tech support, I know what a phishing email is, I know not to give my password to random people. This was not my issue it was yours, because your customer service person was so inept when I called, I had to go through the inconvenience of canceling my credit cards and debit cards. Both banks I deal with were awesome by the way, you, not so much. You only responded after I went on twitter to state how unhelpful you were. Then to blame me for the whole mess, badly done Amazon, badly done.
I am now considering canceling the whole Amazon thing, I have Amazon Prime, it is good until February of next year, but I am just going to cut my losses and move on.
This experience has left a bad taste in my mouth and hard feelings towards them, it’s sad, because I was a fan.
On to other topics, yesterday my favorite girl cousins came to visit, Paula and Cindy, and it was the best time! We talked and talked, the only complaint I have is the visit was too short; they just came for the day. I fed them before they left; I hope they had a good time with me as well.
They will have to come back for a longer visit next time, I’ll take them to Costco, Cindy really wants to go. I think it’s because I talk about them all the time, was just there Friday and had a great customer service experience there as well. Love them!
Tomorrow is work, looking forward to that, I love my job and love going in, although I am only there for two weeks, then off for a week to spend it with Tessa!
So excited I can do this, I can’t wait to spend that much time with her, we are going to have fun!
Maybe we will go skating, she has been wanting to go and we never seem to find the time. I’ll get my skates out and we will go, maybe I can convince Elizabeth Anne to go with us.

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Happy Birthday Alex!

I didn’t get to post yesterday as there was too much going on, so I want to take today to tell my youngest Alex, happy birthday!
Alex is a true blending of both his dad and myself, especially in personality, he is intelligent, his thought process is not like anyone else’s. He really thinks about things and comes to conclusions that are unique. I am so proud of the person he has become and continues to become.
He is caring and thoughtful, especially where his mother is concerned; he is funny and completely unique.
I have often said that I am so happy God gave me the children He did, because they are awesome. I cannot imagine being anyone else’s mother, watching them grow from children to adults has been the most incredible experience.
Alex came over yesterday, gave up his birthday day, to visit with my cousins, one he met when he was a baby (doesn’t remember) and another he has never met. He graciously came and visited with them and even entertained them with stories of his childhood.
Today he and I will go to lunch to celebrate his birthday; I am so excited to celebrate with him. I am so proud of the men he is becoming, he is honest, sometimes to a fault (gets that from me) he is stubborn (his dad) and he is incredible (himself).

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Customer Service

Last night, this morning really at 2:00 AM I woke up, just woke up, as I was lying there, wide awake I decided to check my email. I saw an email from Amazon, strange since I haven’t ordered from them since roughly November. I open it and it is congratulating me on successfully changing my email address with them. I immediately ran to the pc and checked; sure enough that was not my email address.
I called Amazon, because I could not verify the mailing address, as the person who hijacked my account changed that, they would not help me. Never mind I could verify the credit card information and the billing address for the cards. The girl was very helpful when she said oh look you just bought a Kindle Fire. I exploded, woke up the Irishman, quickly told him what was going on, I handed him the phone and quickly called my banks to cancel the cards.
It happened so fast that the charge from Amazon had not even hit my bank, so maryjanenestor@outlook.com you are in for a nasty surprise. All charges will be rejected.
I was floored at the non-existent level of customer service provided by Amazon, they could clearly see that was not me. I seriously did not change my name to Mary Jane Nestor, and could verify the billing address and the cards on file. They refused to help, instead told me oh well, whatever is charged you can just tell your bank it is fraud and they will give it back to you. How ‘bout shutting it down before it hits my bank!
I am totally disgusted with them and will not be purchasing anything from them in the future.
My two banks on the other hand, were awesome! They quickly shut the cards down and issued me new ones before anything could be charged or debited. I am immensely grateful to them, Bank of America and Chase are my heroes, Amazon, not so much.
I am not a huge purchaser on Amazon so they were probably thrilled with the expensive purchase. Which is why they didn’t want to shut it down, but they did not get the funds in the long run as the cards are now defunct and will be rejected.
Good customer service is where it is all at these days, at the major telecommunications corporation I work for there is a huge push in my department to treat the customer the right way the first time.
I take that job seriously, we are what connects them to their world, grandmothers can now see grandchildren across the country grow up. In real time, with the advent of face time and Skype it is a great time to live apart and still be a part of your family’s lives. We enable them to watch a game that was typically only European; it literally connected the world. We enable a traveling parent to keep in contact with their spouse, children and family members. We enable immigrants to keep in contact with family members a world away.
I enjoy speaking to everyone that comes on my phone; I truly love being able to connect them to their world. I love the sound in their voice when their problems are resolved.
This is customer service mixed with technical knowledge and it is a beautiful blend. What I experienced last night was horrifying customer service on a level that can only be equated to the cable company.