All the Drama
Today has been filled with drama. Mostly tolerable drama, but holy crap it's been everywhere. o.O
Brother woke me up at 1:00pm to ask me to sit with the puppy while he went outside to rescue his parents' tarps for the garden. I had barely had five hours at this point due to insomnia and heartburn, so I was fairly groggy as he was explaining. Apparently we were in the process of the Windstorm From Hell today (50-60mph winds according to the news), and the intensity of it was very thunder-like, which is why the puppy was shaking and trying to burrow underneath me to hide.
The rest of the afternoon was spent achieving my three set goals for the day: shower, dishes, and taking out the trash. (I also defeated Diamond Weapon in FFVII, but that was a bonus.) It was fairly quiet otherwise.
Brother's mom came home around five, which is when all the drama began.
Her van started smoking on her way home earlier. She was able to find Brother's little brother to take a look at it, but she seems to be leaking something that looks suspiciously like antifreeze. They ended up having to abandon the car in a parking lot for the night; the plan is to have it towed tomorrow. *Luckily* they have a second car, so she can still get to and from work, but Brother's dad is in North Dakota for the next couple weeks for work and won't be able to fix it until he gets back. (Not to mention she's worried about what's really wrong and how much to fix it. >.O) The boys can probably take a look at it if she wants - Brother's off for a couple days the day after tomorrow - but again, monies.
We ended up going out for dinner because Brother's mom wanted to thank him with food, and we haven't seen him or his wife recently. Dinner itself was fun; we tried a Mexican restaurant down the street from their house they like, which wasn't bad. There was a lot of bickering and teasing, and general enertainment, but that tends to happen when we hang out with them. Which is why I enjoy it so much. ^_^
Unfortunately the drama continues: right about the time we sat down, Little Brother and Sister-in-Law started getting texts from their friends and her family, saying that the factory where they work was on fire. After some 'WTF?' and initial concern, we figured out what they meant was the giant woodchip pile they use to power the boilers, which has actually been smoldering for several months now. But everyone kept insisting it was on the news that the building had caught fire, so finally Little Brother called the current shift leader directly and asked if everybody was okay. She said they were fine, there wasn't any fire, and we left it alone.
What we eventually found out through Brother, who finally returned Little Brother's call on his lunch break, was that both theories are right: it *was* the smoldering woodchip pile, which thanks to the wind, had kicked up again and was turning into an actual fire. Seeing as this factory is right next to a trailer park and a gas station, the fire department was called. According to the 10:00 News it's mostly under control, but they're still working on it because they don't feel comfortable leaving. The issue with this for Brother and everyone else working tonight is that the fire hoses are blocking the only entrance in or out of the factory's parking lot. Which means that if it's not taken care of in the next hour fifteen minutes, the people for the next shift won't be able to get in to go to work ... which means Brother and *his* crew will have to work another eight hour shift. So far there's no for sure answer, but I did make him promise to at least text me if that does happen so we know what's going on, and his mom and Little Brother both offered to come and pick him up later if he's too tired to drive. So we'll see what happens. -Crosses fingers for everyone-
Other drama discussed before, during, and after dinner includes:
1) Brother's dad's co-worker totaled one of the company trucks. They think he hit an animal or something; all he knows is that it was dark and then the car went crunch. The co-worker is fine, but this means that Brother's dad has the *only* company vehicle for available for traveling back and forth from there and here, which means everyone will have to share it. Which will make things interesting for everyone that commutes. >.O
2) Sister-in-Law has been seeing a homeopathic doctor recently, because all other doctors have failed to diagnose what's wrong with her. She was explaining all the different things he does, and her various medications to us. I am personally *very* interested in making an appointment with this guy, but again, no money. And his medications are pricy and not covered by insurance. Not that I have any anyway.>.<+++ We still have yet to see how what he's prescribed so far helps her, but she has admitted that she's already feeling a bit better. So here's hoping.
3) Sister-in-Law's sister has been staying with them along with her (now four) young kids, in the wake of a separation and pending divorce from an abusive husband. She is ... a very rude houseguest, to put it mildly. They both have a need to vent about her often, which is completely understandable. On the downside, listening to them rant tends to hit a little close to home for me and my current situation. I know they're not trying to come across that way, but it's still really hard to hear sometimes.
4) One of their co-workers came into the restaurant just before we left. Sister-in-Law was Not Happy because apparently he's one of the biggest gossips in the company, and she's fairly certain that since he saw her there, he'll claim she's 'faking it' to take medical leave. Brother has been informed if he does, to tell him to go fuck himself. (Amusingly, she tried to whisper this into the phone so Brother's mom wouldn't hear, because she doesn't like to swear in front of her in-laws. I repeated it louder for him since he couldn't hear her, right as Brother's mom walked into the room. Oops.)
5) Brother's dad called during dinner. He was tired and kind of grumpy, but Little Brother was able to talk to him about something family drama-related he needed to discuss, and Brother's mom chatted with him for a bit before saying good night. I was mostly amused because I was the one who had to remind Little Brother about the thing he needed to talk about.
6) Brother's mom has a church thing tomorrow that requires her to meet up with someone, but said person's phone is out of service. We made a trip to her work to see if we could find her, but no dice. On the other hand, we drove past Brother's factory and saw the fire hoses were still out. The air quality was terrible too, even though the smoke is mostly gone. Breathing *burned*. x.x
7) According to the news, damage from the winds today includes: part of the highway was shut down due to zero visibility, a large tree uprooted and took out a power line, taking out power for about 500 people for several hours, and the fire at Brother's factory.
Here at the house we were mostly okay, but the wind did manage to break a glass patio table. The glass for the tabletop is fine, but it somehow threw the table against a railing and broke off the legs. Which makes it pretty much useless.
Outside of the drama, most of my thoughts for today have been centered around Kim. Just thinking of her, missing her. No crying. I'm just ... sad, and introspective.
Brother woke me up at 1:00pm to ask me to sit with the puppy while he went outside to rescue his parents' tarps for the garden. I had barely had five hours at this point due to insomnia and heartburn, so I was fairly groggy as he was explaining. Apparently we were in the process of the Windstorm From Hell today (50-60mph winds according to the news), and the intensity of it was very thunder-like, which is why the puppy was shaking and trying to burrow underneath me to hide.
The rest of the afternoon was spent achieving my three set goals for the day: shower, dishes, and taking out the trash. (I also defeated Diamond Weapon in FFVII, but that was a bonus.) It was fairly quiet otherwise.
Brother's mom came home around five, which is when all the drama began.
Her van started smoking on her way home earlier. She was able to find Brother's little brother to take a look at it, but she seems to be leaking something that looks suspiciously like antifreeze. They ended up having to abandon the car in a parking lot for the night; the plan is to have it towed tomorrow. *Luckily* they have a second car, so she can still get to and from work, but Brother's dad is in North Dakota for the next couple weeks for work and won't be able to fix it until he gets back. (Not to mention she's worried about what's really wrong and how much to fix it. >.O) The boys can probably take a look at it if she wants - Brother's off for a couple days the day after tomorrow - but again, monies.
We ended up going out for dinner because Brother's mom wanted to thank him with food, and we haven't seen him or his wife recently. Dinner itself was fun; we tried a Mexican restaurant down the street from their house they like, which wasn't bad. There was a lot of bickering and teasing, and general enertainment, but that tends to happen when we hang out with them. Which is why I enjoy it so much. ^_^
Unfortunately the drama continues: right about the time we sat down, Little Brother and Sister-in-Law started getting texts from their friends and her family, saying that the factory where they work was on fire. After some 'WTF?' and initial concern, we figured out what they meant was the giant woodchip pile they use to power the boilers, which has actually been smoldering for several months now. But everyone kept insisting it was on the news that the building had caught fire, so finally Little Brother called the current shift leader directly and asked if everybody was okay. She said they were fine, there wasn't any fire, and we left it alone.
What we eventually found out through Brother, who finally returned Little Brother's call on his lunch break, was that both theories are right: it *was* the smoldering woodchip pile, which thanks to the wind, had kicked up again and was turning into an actual fire. Seeing as this factory is right next to a trailer park and a gas station, the fire department was called. According to the 10:00 News it's mostly under control, but they're still working on it because they don't feel comfortable leaving. The issue with this for Brother and everyone else working tonight is that the fire hoses are blocking the only entrance in or out of the factory's parking lot. Which means that if it's not taken care of in the next hour fifteen minutes, the people for the next shift won't be able to get in to go to work ... which means Brother and *his* crew will have to work another eight hour shift. So far there's no for sure answer, but I did make him promise to at least text me if that does happen so we know what's going on, and his mom and Little Brother both offered to come and pick him up later if he's too tired to drive. So we'll see what happens. -Crosses fingers for everyone-
Other drama discussed before, during, and after dinner includes:
1) Brother's dad's co-worker totaled one of the company trucks. They think he hit an animal or something; all he knows is that it was dark and then the car went crunch. The co-worker is fine, but this means that Brother's dad has the *only* company vehicle for available for traveling back and forth from there and here, which means everyone will have to share it. Which will make things interesting for everyone that commutes. >.O
2) Sister-in-Law has been seeing a homeopathic doctor recently, because all other doctors have failed to diagnose what's wrong with her. She was explaining all the different things he does, and her various medications to us. I am personally *very* interested in making an appointment with this guy, but again, no money. And his medications are pricy and not covered by insurance. Not that I have any anyway.>.<+++ We still have yet to see how what he's prescribed so far helps her, but she has admitted that she's already feeling a bit better. So here's hoping.
3) Sister-in-Law's sister has been staying with them along with her (now four) young kids, in the wake of a separation and pending divorce from an abusive husband. She is ... a very rude houseguest, to put it mildly. They both have a need to vent about her often, which is completely understandable. On the downside, listening to them rant tends to hit a little close to home for me and my current situation. I know they're not trying to come across that way, but it's still really hard to hear sometimes.
4) One of their co-workers came into the restaurant just before we left. Sister-in-Law was Not Happy because apparently he's one of the biggest gossips in the company, and she's fairly certain that since he saw her there, he'll claim she's 'faking it' to take medical leave. Brother has been informed if he does, to tell him to go fuck himself. (Amusingly, she tried to whisper this into the phone so Brother's mom wouldn't hear, because she doesn't like to swear in front of her in-laws. I repeated it louder for him since he couldn't hear her, right as Brother's mom walked into the room. Oops.)
5) Brother's dad called during dinner. He was tired and kind of grumpy, but Little Brother was able to talk to him about something family drama-related he needed to discuss, and Brother's mom chatted with him for a bit before saying good night. I was mostly amused because I was the one who had to remind Little Brother about the thing he needed to talk about.
6) Brother's mom has a church thing tomorrow that requires her to meet up with someone, but said person's phone is out of service. We made a trip to her work to see if we could find her, but no dice. On the other hand, we drove past Brother's factory and saw the fire hoses were still out. The air quality was terrible too, even though the smoke is mostly gone. Breathing *burned*. x.x
7) According to the news, damage from the winds today includes: part of the highway was shut down due to zero visibility, a large tree uprooted and took out a power line, taking out power for about 500 people for several hours, and the fire at Brother's factory.
Here at the house we were mostly okay, but the wind did manage to break a glass patio table. The glass for the tabletop is fine, but it somehow threw the table against a railing and broke off the legs. Which makes it pretty much useless.
Outside of the drama, most of my thoughts for today have been centered around Kim. Just thinking of her, missing her. No crying. I'm just ... sad, and introspective.