<p>oh man, mootie, that sux. Sorry. That happened to my h in Madrid (got pick-pocketed). He was on his way to Brussels. Did you know Amex won’t deliver a card to you in Brussels? YOu have to get tot heir office. Not easy with no wallet!</p>
<p>Mootie, what a hassle! And I’m also glad he wasn’t hurt. My husband had his pocket picked in Spain while we walked to a drug store (of course I got very sick on vacation). Then when we got back to our car someone had broken the window and cleaned us out. Luckily we were on the way home, so having no clothes wasn’t too much of a problemWe were so young we didn’t have a credit card and I was carrying our passports. The worst part was the thief also took all the film we had taken on vacation. </p>
<p>I still have the Ninja Turtle halloween costume that won 1st prize! Alumother, I’ll loan it to you for the movie if you’re under 3 feet tall.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I want to return to the jmfamily’s Ninja Turtle Period. But, if you tell me when you’re going to the movie, I will endeavor to be with you in spirit by spreading out my Ninja T photo montage on the table: Ninja Turtle birthday cake (hand decorated by moi), Ninja Turtle halloween costume (no prizes but still uber-cool) made from puffy parka, face paint, green tights and turtle neck and (piece de resistance) brown grocery bag cut/shaped/magic-markered into Excellent turtle rendition. Michaelangelo was our boy. Or was it Leonardo? No, I don’t want to go back there :p.</p>
<p>JMMom, hey we had a Ninja Turtle five year old birthday party once too! I also made a cake in the shape of a Ninja Turtle mask and had a project for all the kids to make masks. </p>
<p>Mootmom…yikes, that is an awful experience for your hubby and now quite a hassle to replace it all.</p>
<p>Update on my 18 year old…spent 48 hours stranded in Dallas alone at an airport hotel with the clothes on her back, laptop and purse. This afternoon flew to Columbus. Plane to NY delayed 1 1/2 hours, cell phone having problems with freezing up on all our calls (what a time to add to my stress level). Plane still in air with airport delays into LaGuardia, due basically 2 hours late (if it finally happens already). Many calls about luggage which was to be sent onto JFK since flight from Dallas to JFK was cancelled Friday night and then is supposed to be delivered to her dorm. So far, hasn’t shown up yet at JFK. Pray, please, that it does and soon. There is so much she needs in it from clothing, shoes, books, music, cosmetics. I will be happy when she finally reaches her dorm but I sure hope she also eventually gets her things. Has not been a fun weekend.</p>
<p>I guess I could cut off my legs below the knees so I am 3 feet tall…</p>
<p>Or just wear jmmom’s parka.</p>
<p>Guess what. AluD made it home last night due to mom’s finagling of status and miles. Hoo yah!. Earned a “Mom, you rock!!!”</p>
<p>Still have not got the go ahead for the Teenage MNT movie, but that’s OK. </p>
<p>I think I will try some of SBMom’s Courvoisier. And drink to singerdancerVT girl making it back to NYC ASAP.</p>
<p>OK bad things come in threes so we’re done now, right? Someone tell me I’m right and give me something strong to drink.</p>
<p>(1) Last night, S was driving to meet a friend at 10pm on the freeway when the front passenger tire exploded. He kept the car under control and got it to the next exit where he changed to the donut spare. Today we learned that none of the 3 remaining tires were safe, and I had to replace all 4 tires. Without using a credit card because…</p>
<p>(2) H was robbed of all his cards and money in Prague this morning (see above). Which I had been talking about with S in the car going to get a bite to eat tonight when…</p>
<p>(3) A woman rear-ended me at a stoplight and then drove away. The first thing I said when she hit me was, “Get her license plate number in case she drives away.” She had to throw her Volvo into reverse to get off our bumper, so I know she knew she’d hit us. (Duh: the sheriff asked me several times if I was sure she knew. Oh, she knew, all right!) We were at a highway overpass and couldn’t stop on the overpass, so I motioned to the right and put on my flashers, pulling onto the side street just the other side of the overpass, and she drove off. Funny, though: HER LICENSE PLATE NUMBER IS IMPRINTED IN REVERSE ON MY BACK BUMPER. No way she’s gonna sneak out of this one, I’m taking photos in the morning before it wears off.</p>
<p>So… yeah. When I called to report it to the insurance company, I moaned that now my other S better not have a fourth instance of bad luck, but she helpfully offered that since bad things come in threes, we were done! </p>
<p>She’s right, right?</p>
<p>Sigh. Hug your babies of all ages tonight, at least no one was hurt in any of these mishaps, so any one of them could have been so much worse! And… thanks for letting me vent. Much appreciated.</p>
<p>Mootmom, vent ANYTIME…kinda string of bad luck recently in my family too but yours takes the cake…</p>
<p>In past two weeks…</p>
<p>D1 was in Colorado for National Collegiate Ski Championships. I also went out to see her in it. MY flight debacle is too lengthy to get into and was horrendous and came very very close to not getting there to see her but I eventually did. At the start of her week, (this is with missing a full week of classes at Brown), her laptop totally crashed, zippo. This happened once last year and cost a bundle for the retrieval process and rebuilding. So, now she was without it the whole week and had to ship it back to Brown for $200 ship fee so they could get to work on the retrieval while she was away so she could at least have it when she got back to campus. All has been retreived and hardware rebuilt. Cha ching. </p>
<p>One night while there, she had a freak accident at a dinner that a team mom was entertaining the team at her condo and cut her hand requiring a trip to the hospital with the coach, requiring six stitches, causing her to not be able to type or write or draw (is in a drawing course). Tried to contact me from the hospital but I was eating out with another team mom and my cell did not get reception but I could see a call had come in. I was telling the other mom about the importance of a cell with family and how exactly two years ago on my way home from Nationals in Idaho, D2 was in a severe car crash and they couldn’t reach me on my cell. Come to find out my missed call was D1 telling me she was at a hospital with her coach. She’s healing. </p>
<p>A few weeks ago, I also had horrendous flying experience delayed two days to CA and then lots of cancellations enroute. </p>
<p>Now onto D2…she just got back to NYC and has never been happier to be “home”. However, has no luggage still after 48 hours and I pray it gets to JFK soon and delivered to her dorm. She truly needs all the clothing, shoes, cosmetics, books, music, etc. contained therein. Not only is there the cost but the effort to replace it all would be tremendous. This weekend has been VERY costly with the hotels, restaurants, taxis, etc. </p>
<p>Of course, none of these things are catastrophes! Thankfully. Could be way worse. I have experienced worse. But I could use a drink in Sinner’s Alley about now.</p>
<p>PS, I KNOW D2 is back in her apartment as she has connected to the internet (she is on my buddy list) and put up this away message (shhh, she’d kill me if I posted anything she wrote): “I love this city. I love this suite. I never want to be in an airport again! Home home home at last.” :D</p>
<p>Hahah…not gonna get away now, is she? Those Volvo owners. Think they’re Formula 1 drivers. Sheesh.</p>
<p>Mootie, you win the bad luck prize! Like on the old Queen for a Day show–you deserve a new washing machine! or whatever today’s prize is.</p>
<p>I experienced the ultimate stress reliever last night–working very late with a friend on an ad book for a big production, all volunteer, pain in the butt job…afterwards she put me in their new massage chair. It was incredible! This thing measures you, then carries out a program tailored to your body & whatever you program into it (I requested neck & shoulders but it also worked on the rest of my body somewhat.) wow…I have no idea what it costs but it’s worth every penny.</p>
<p>I wish I could share this experience with all stressed-out people…ok, just lie back and pretend the marmots are gently kneading your back…now your neck…now they’re gently squeezing your calves and your feet…that’s right, just lie there… :)</p>
<p>Joining the BMW club (that’s the b-i-tch, moan and whine club).
In addition to my s’s broken femur, my dad is in the hospital up north, his case manager has terminal cancer, my younger s’s car just broke an axle case (fortunately we caught it before the axle or transmission went, especially since we took that car to Charleston last weekend)- with repairs costing about $1000, we need to replace our front office manager at my office and my h’s work division is being outsourced. The people we were going to adopt the dog from are now wanting to try to keep the dog, but with everything going on, I think that is probably a good thing.</p>
<p>Mootmom: Sorry to hear about the car mishaps! And all with no credit cards!!! :(</p>
<p>jym: Your luck is bound to turn around soon. I hope. (I don’t like that outsourcing problem…)</p>
<p>soozievt: Soon your daughter will be coming home with just the clothes on her back. After son #1’s luggage was lost with everything in it he hasn’t checked through for a college break yet. Hope things get untangled.</p>
<p>I don’t know how my dad got involved in this bad weather thing (he’s too old to be standing in line at an airport for 3 hours!!!), but he made it home from Florida (fishing trip) Saturday with a very expensive first class, one-way ticket on Northwest that was the LAST ticket available in the entire country I think. Thank you Jet Blue for making me spend my Friday playing travel agent.</p>
<p>
Love it! I hope they throw the book at her!</p>
<p>Sorry about all the troubles. Tires blowing is one of my little nightmares.</p>
<p>What is up with the marmots?!? Are they on Spring Break!?!!! Travelling around in soozieD’s luggage??!!</p>
<p>They are seriously not on the case. We can’t re-deploy the jym626 crew - they’re still needed for the loft-bed catapault. But those other ones, usually behind the bar picking up peanut shells to strew on the floor… they need to be sent to JFK, Prague, highways and byways in mootland, jym problem areas in outsource-world, the Brown computer techies,…</p>
<p>Marmots! Front and center!</p>
<p>I also think the license plate being imprinted on the bumper is quite something. Gotcha!</p>
<p>Weenie, actually, my in-laws also were stranded all weekend when their flight connection was cancelled going home from a trip. However, they were stranded in DC where their daughter lives and so got to visit with her. They made it home last night and also were able to retrieve their luggage. Wish that was the case for my kid. But they are 80+. Kid is 18. </p>
<p>So, my kid who has none of her stuff now says her cell phone is not working, great. All yesterday, in her travels, she had problems with it. She recently bought a new battery. She emailed to say it doesn’t work at all now. It is always something. (not even gonna go there with the IPod which again isn’t working after fixing both hers and other D’s umpteen times at great cost…and this kid actually needs it related to her studies).</p>
<p>I think we’ve got one of those weird astronomical situations going, where some planet is out of alignment with some other heavenly body, and the result is kids and elderly parents stranded in odd places around the globe, luggage going its own way, bones doing too much breaking, electronic eqiupment of various kinds stopping working for no apparent reason, and a variety of mishaps all co-occurring. </p>
<p>Somebody get a chiropractor for those heavenly bodies, will ya? And while we’re at it, someone stick one of those heavenly-sounding massage chairs over in the corner. I think we can move one of the old naugahyde benches for a while, don’t you? Line forms here to my left…</p>
<p>Still no signs of her luggage. D has said she will die if she doesn’t get it. 
I wish they could at least contact the baggage areas in the airport where the passenger was stranded to see if it is still there and/or to even find out if all the stranded luggage from Friday night has made its way out by now. But NO can do. The only thing they can check is if someone has scanned it into NY. But even in NY there are hundreds of bags sitting not scanned in. I wish there was a way to contact these baggage area desks but apparently not. </p>
<p>Obviously my daughters wants and needs what is in the bag more than the money. I don’t see it as “lost luggage” but more the circumstances of a lot of stranded passengers this past weekend. I never thought it would take this long. This time I got a very understanding operator who…get this…is the parent of a college girl who ALSO does not have her luggage from this weekend! She asked me all sorts of details of what was in it, etc. It is nice to get someone who TRIES to be helpful even if she can’t solve it.</p>
<p>As the Chinese would say, we need to increase our qi. Pronounced, “Chi”. Let’s furnish the Alley to do so. </p>
<p>I think two or three massage chairs, lined up like a nail salon.
Flat panel tv playing TMNT, plus any old movies that make us smile.
I will mop the floor and bring the lucky bamboo in from the back of my car where it has been languishing.
Bar snacks, let’s up the bar snacks. Cheetos for those who crave Americana, peanuts in hot pepper, sesame something for antioxidants, peeled grapes, whatever you like.
An entire closet of sheepskin slippers for everyone to put on as they enter.
Aromatherapy hand lotion in any scent free with your drink.
A hammock or two in the corner.</p>
<p>And for the marmots, who clearly used up all their qi on hammering a license plate number into mootie’s bumper, a Habitrail with equivalent environment. Marmot massage chairs and all.</p>
<p>Once we’ve had a few days of R&R, the Alley can revert to its usual seedy self. For now, it is the equivalent of a mommy for grownups.</p>
<p>Alu, the line at the door has just doubled in length and people are trying not to shove. There’s an available massage chair right next to me, soozie, come sit, and tell your D to come on down if she feels like it. jym, you should invite your S, too: we can program the massage chair to avoid his broken leg.</p>
<p>Could someone have the Italian soccer player over there bring me a little jasmine tea, please? I’d hate to get up out of this comfy spot now that I’m tucked into it…</p>
<p>One Italian soccer player in a leopard-print loincloth coming up for Moot. 
They say that kissing a banana slugg is Good Luck, so…MWAH! MWAH! MWAH! for jymson and sooziegirl. </p>
<p>I brought in some nice hot oatmeal with pecans, cinnamon, and raisins for the beleaguered humons, and a bag of dried alfalfa cubes for our furry friends. And, I will polish anyone’s toenails with sparkly glitter nail polish for free! Man, what a month.</p>
<p>Alu, your bar-spa actually sounds a lot like the the girls’ bathroom at the Excessively Advantaged High School (EAHS, Home of the Overindulged) Junior Prom. The best parent gig at the Junior Prom: parking lot chaperone.</p>
<p>Oh yeah. Oh yeah. A generous anonymous donor just gave us all-you-can-eat Valrhona chocolate. And an UNLIMITED supply of Italian soccer players. And our own private yoga and pilates instructures and an atomic disassembler to take your atoms to your favorite hiking spot of all times and reassemble them so you can walk off the chocolate and courvoisier and just feel virtuous for your oatmeal. And we can bring the marmots on our walk, let them go off-leash, and watch them frolic in whatever kind of native grasses we have chosen to swoosh our atoms to.</p>