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Yes, I was supposed to post pictures of the backstage progress the next day after my last post, but it was a little busy back there. The concrete guys were back there using strong smelling stuff and they had it all closed off to somewhat contain the smell. Here’s the bad news: Bryce and I are so disappointed with the finished product. We want the backstage floor to be smooth stained concrete and we were sure that that was what was communicated to us. Pictures can’t show texture and so this doesn’t quite look as bad as it is so feel free to stop by and see for yourself.

There is so much variation between the glossy smooth areas and the rough textured areas. We specifically requested something smooth so that it would be easy to clean - easy to just run a dust mop over. We also wanted it smooth so that when events are loaded in and out - wheels would roll smooth across with no bumps or hangs or… how do you type g.j.g.j.g.j - you know that sound when car rolls over a cattle crossing or those cuts in the pavement to wake you up when you drift over the line! So they came back out and put another clear coat over it hoping it would smooth out the rough spots. It didn’t. I was so disappointed but maybe even more so because the guys offered so many explanations as to why it looked the way it did. I don’t want explanations. I want to look at my floor and say yeah! that looks great! But I can’t. I’m so frustrated, especially when there are other problems that I had not even pointed out to them. So then that made Bryce and I get all nit-picky and look for other problems. See for yourself.

This looks like somebody was bleeding and it dripped on the floor and then they lacquered right over it! OK, it’s not blood - it’s the stain - but jeez - how hard is it to not drip the stain and if you do - put some more down and swirl it around or something.

They told me that the slope here was so great they couldn’t help that the stain ran down like this - this was just how it had to be. You’ve got to be kidding me. I can’t believe you can’t apply a thin enough layer that it just sits there and doesn’t run down.

This is kind of hard to see from the picture too, but the spot on the left was like a drip of product or something that they just lacquered right over. The spot on the right is a hole. Yep, it is a spot where the product does not exist at all - that is bare concrete and the edges of the hole you can grab a hold of and peel. Pathetic.

That is a rock or a bolt or who knows what. It is firmly affixed to the concrete floor thanks to the concrete guys staining and lacquering right over it.

These other problems were also met with explanations and stories of how they can’t even please their own family members. I wish I had heard these stories before hiring them to do this job. The one guy’s wife isn’t happy with how her floor turned out in their home and he was laughing and telling us that he was telling her Honey, you are sounding like my customers! The other guy was telling us that his dad isn’t happy with his floor either and that he has had to put about 7 or 8 coats of wax on top of the stained concrete to smooth it out and make him happy. Unbelievable. They have offered to come and grind out the lumps and rocks - but the texture variation, running stain, blood spots etc. - they say I have to live with, that that’s just the nature of how stained concrete works. I invite anyone who has a clue to come by and check this out and tell me if I’m being unreasonable and if this should not be explained away. Also, if you know professional concrete stainers - please forward this to them too and invite them to come out and tell me what needs to be done to fix this.

Sunshine

Yes, I’ve been MIA lately. I do have good excuses though. When I last posted Bryce was getting ready for a 2 week jury trial in Muskogee. We got everything ready to go, loaded 2 cars with exhibits and a 3rd car with Bryce and Jack (his co-counsel for this trial) and we made the min-trek to Muskogee. Right off the bat the defense started whining they weren’t ready and the judge continued the trial to the October docket. Arrrrggghhh…

So Bryce and I had already planned on being out of the office for those 2 weeks, so we decided to stay out of the office. Well, we were here, but it was in and out and a great opportunity to tackle some projects that we had not time to tackle before.

Right after that 2 week period Angela was on vacation. As you know, we are a small office, so when 1 person is gone, that equates to 1/4 of the office being gone. Or in this particular case it was only 1/5 of the office being gone since we had Sonia for the summer. Sonia is still in highschool but she is very bright and is great with our Spanish speaking clients. Anyway, so I didn’t jump back on the blog as I was focused on keeping up with Angela’s workers’ comp clients and her mail and phone calls.

When Angela got back, the construction of my new office in the backstage area seemed nearly finished, so Bryce and I decided to let Sonia stay at the front desk and I would work where ever while we waited for the completion of my office. You can imagine, as construction always goes, what we thought was nearly done was still a long way off and I still have not moved back there. Instead I’ve hopscotched around the office working where ever I can until somebody boots me somewhere else.

However, the construction has certainly come a long way. I’ll try to get back in the groove here and post again tomorrow and include new photos of the backstage area progress.

Until then,

Sunshine

This was emailed to me yesterday by a friend who was hoping to get a rise out of me. I let him down I think but I’m making up for it by posting the issue here along with the comments from those who did take off with it. Don’t forget to read the comments after you read the pdf.

Here you go Bryan…

Sunshine,

I don’t know why, but I felt like sharing this with you

(probably to see if I could get a rise out of you and which direction you would get a rise from)

I have decided who I am voting for.

It only took one article.

Bryan

obamas-2nd-amendment-position.pdf

As if it was devastating enough that anyone could kill two little girls, now we find out that it was most likely 2 someones that could perform such a heinous act.  Investigators have determined that it was 2 different guns that killed the girls.  How could this be?  Of course for the majority of the world, we can’t imagine taking anyone’s life.  But a little girl’s life is even more shocking and incomprehensible.  And it was 2 people that did this to them.  Bryce is stunned for Weleetka is fairly close to his home town of New Lima.  Growing up, Bryce played basketball in Weleetka and is familiar with that community.  To the families of those little girls, we are so sorry and can’t imagine the grief and pain you are suffering with.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.  To the investigators:  go get em.  We have so much hope that it is soon discovered who did this and then maybe why.

The construction crew is hard at work again.  They are back stage prepping to paint the back stage walls, stain the wood trim and stain the doors.  Gilley Electric was here yesterday showing us some options for lighting up the alcove around the top of the lobby area and some lights for behind the glass blocks of the receptionist desk.  It’s fun to see some progress again.  Tomorrow I’ll have some pictures of the work.

So I invited Angela and Mindy to post their own blogs here, if and when they should get the urge.  To do that I had to set up their accounts.  So while I was at it, I thought I would personalize my account a little.  Big mistake.  I locked myself out.  I have tried everyday for over a week to log into this system and post a new blog, but I could not get the user name and/or password right.  I’m so blond sometimes.  Of course the system only lets you try to log in 3 times and then it tells you your done for the day cuz it assumes you must be trying to hack in if you don’t know your user name and password.  Oh well.  I finally figured it out and I’m back on.  And wouldn’t you know, neither Angela nor Mindy have once tried to post anything…

Until tomorrow (if I don’t forget my password)

Sunshine

This was my sister’s blog from ? (The sister that lives in Cheyenne, WY) It is just too funny not to share.

You ask yourself – ‘What on earth can these things have in common, enough to discuss in conjunction with one another?” Well, I’ll tell you.

I am a single woman, mother of none. Unless of course you count my two cats and the plethora of dust bunnies I choose not to name individually. They therefore are simply, the bunnies. My experience with children is minimal, but positive, for the most part. In efforts to assist a young family with their busy schedules, I offered to take their children off of their hands for an hour or so, while some errands were being run and appointments honored. ‘Oh! What a wonderful idea!” Exclaims the mother – who by the way is totally enamored of her daughter. A little background is in order here. There is Tony, the five-year-old boy. Red hair, adorable freckles, and longing for the attention stolen by his new stunning baby sister. The baby sister? Chelsea. An eight month old, with the most adorable chubby cheeks, well, chubby everything, and more smiles (with cute little teeth shining through) than you can ever possibly be ready to absorb. These two children have a mother whom adores them, and personality to boot. This being said, mom let me take them for a walk while dad had a dentist appointment. Wow, do they even know me? But, really now, how hard can this be? So, we begin. I must first manage getting a stroller out of a dental office. Whoa. Did I mention I am not a mother? My cats don’t have strollers… Anyway, we make our way down the street. I am ogling over the baby in the carriage who is overly generous with her ‘Gerber Baby’ smiles, all the while, Tony the five year old, has just jetted down the street faster than I can ever dream to catch him, not to mention, raise my voice high enough over the traffic (yes there is traffic) to halt him… Oh dear God, what have I signed up for. Eventually, Tony returns. We establish a strict rule that he must maintain contact with the stroller handle at all times unless permission is granted otherwise… Ok… I can do this… I WILL do this…. The trek continues. Once we enter the ‘safe zone’ where it is simply a winding greenway through neighborhoods, parks, ponds, and other pedestrians, I felt more at ease and let Tony have his freedom. It is at this moment, our heroine, Tony, saves the free world from the wrath of the evil ant colonies. No ant escapes his stomp… Not one. No really, not one…At one, point, there were bicyclers stopped in both directions waiting for Tony’s rant of stomping and shouting at the ants on the sidewalk to cease. This is a job for a hero, and Tony was just the man (child) for the job. Observing his enjoyment, and eager to secure the title of the ultra fun ‘Aunt Gretchen’, I allowed the display to continue. After all, I felt guilty for doting over little Chelsea in the carriage. My goodness, she is adorable. So, on we went. Before long, Tony took quite a liking to me, as apparently, I was a wee bit more lenient than mama bear… Oh well, I am ‘Aunt Gretchen’. So, he decides my hand is fit to be held rather than the side of the carriage. After a minute or so has passed, Tony informs me that I am a guinea pig. Yes, a guinea pig. After informing me of my identity, he then leans in to his little sister in the carriage, and says “yes she is! She is our guinea pig!” He is five! What does he know about guinea pigs? I immediately assume this is a phrase he has heard from mama and papa bear and begin to overanalyze why they would give me this nickname. Am I the first to venture out with the wee ones? Is this a test from mama bear? Am I expected to fail? While pondering this new little tidbit, it begins to sprinkle raindrops on my fellow hikers and I. Still worried about the guinea pig ordeal, and wondering how much longer the dental appointment could possibly last, it seems apparent I am being tested. The light rain seemed fun for a few moments, but when it never ceased, I knew it was time for action. There was a bridge/underpass in my sights and so I informed my five-year-old cohort that this was our next destination. We made it there. It was here that we waited out the storm. We had fun, killing bugs, singing songs, and playing with the baby. We formed an “Ant killing squad” which was unstoppable. We quickly learned how to seek out the sand hills, destroy them, and kill the inhabitants…. Probably another test that I failed,… teach a small child to kill innocent ants and all, but I’m not perfect. Anyway, Periodically, I would send Tony out into the open to check status of the rain. It was only sprinkling at this point, but I knew he would feel important with a purpose and so he was in charge of weather reporting. Oh what a trooper he was. Eventually, the rain stopped. After petting plenty of dogs, and telling every passer by that ‘we are going for a walk!’ it was finally time to resume our travels. We proceed back towards the dental office when Tony makes yet another discovery. Coconuts. In Wyoming… I.E., pinecones. Do I dare tell him they are pinecones up in the evergreen trees? How exotic of an imagination he must have to label them as ‘coconuts’! But, he is so young and impressionable. I feel obligated to correct him and let him know they are pinecones and give a mini lesson on pinecones and their purpose. I suggested he harvest one to take to his mother. He declined. Oh no, I fear I have let down my little hiker. Oh well. We are almost back to the dental office. Both children are alive and in one piece. One hour of babysitting has exposed me to so much I have taken for granted. The mind of a child is a precious thing. Little Tony is so easily entertained by the simplest of things in our environment. He was pleasant, loving, held my hand, constantly checked in on his baby sister in the carriage, and maintained a cheerful disposition the entire time, despite being stuck with a guinea pig. Tony revealed to me something I already knew, but often times forget. It is not what you have or have not, it is what you choose to do with what your stuck with – even if it’s a guinea pig.

P.S. As soon as I returned the little bundles of joy to their mother, I promptly visited my local pharmacy to insure my next refill of birth control was ready, and took note of its importance. I would never want to embark on that journey alone. I am happy to wait for the right time, or even no time, if that is the plan. I would rather be alone and happy, than in a situation I did not plan for properly. So, here I sit, alone, happy, sharing my experience with you. Thankful my prayers for children were never answered back in my married days. Had they been granted, I would either: A) be stuck in an unhappy marriage ‘for the children’ or: B) be a single mother barely getting by and wondering how I ended up this way. I am content with my lot.

Yesterday a court ordered mediation was scheduled for the 3rd time with a client who severely injured her neck at work which ended up requiring multiple neck surgeries. She has been released from care with permanent restrictions and has constant pain and numbness in her arms and hands. She requires multiple constant pain medications and is considered to be permanently totally disabled as she cannot be retrained to do any kind of work given the fact she is in constant pain and is always under the influence of narcotic pain medication.

The first time mediation was scheduled it had to be re-scheduled due to the fact the attorney for the workers’ comp insurance company wasn’t ready, he needed to send our client for a vocational eval of his own to determine if she really was unable to be re-trained. The 2nd time the mediation was re-scheduled was due to the sudden and unexpected death of Bryce’s mom.

Which brings us to yesterday when finally everybody can be at mediation in front of the Judge at the same time. And guess what. The attorney for the workers’ comp insurance company emailed Bryce over the weekend advising that he could not get settlement authority so just have this issue set for trial.

What? This had been set 2 other times, this attorney has had months to converse with his client and obtain settlement authority. If he could not have gotten settlement authority way back then, this could have been tried to the Judge long ago. Bryce advised this attorney that he would be there and ready with his client, that if the employer and insurance company wasn’t ready he would ask the court to hold them in contempt.

So at the last hour, guess who got settlement authority? Yes, it took the rest of the day, but Bryce got his client’s case settled for an amount that she was pleased with. And the Judge didn’t have to scold her employer or their attorney.

You’ve heard of Lifelock, right? Supposedly the company can prevent you becoming a victim of identity theft and they provide a $1 million guarantee with it. It sounded like insurance to me and I have to admit, it seemed like it was almost necessary since we hear about identify theft on the news. But I thought gosh, I’m careful. I shred everything that has any of my info on it. I don’t put my personal information on websites that are not ’secure’. And my biggest reason for doubting it’s necessity? Rush Limbaugh promotes it. Ugh. I know it’s pathetic that my disdain for someone’s political views would make me doubt a company because of their choice for spokesperson. But geez. Rush???

So I was quite relieved today to hear about a class action lawsuit against the company. When I actually started researching it a little bit I discovered the other lawsuit filed by Credit Bureau, Experian.

Then I discovered that the CEO of LifeLock has actually had his identity stolen since starting this LifeLock business! He advertises with his own social security number and so now his own SSN has been used 20 times to obtain fake drivers’ licenses.

I just don’t know. I have had my doubts about the company but I couldn’t help but to fear that maybe we needed to consider it. Now I’m glad I didn’t do it. I’ll just keep on being as careful as I have always been.

Until tomorrow…

Sunshine