Fourth of July: Success!; neighbors still asshats; eBay sellers even bigger asshats

[grrgoyl]

Our Fourth of July outing this year was everything that 2 years ago wasn't. Ryan invited us (me, Tery and MyFriendDeb) to the park in Englewood that he always goes to. This time we came prepared, packing sweaters and blankets (then the temperature never dropped below 70), snack food and drinks (then the park had food for sale, yummy roast corn-on-the-cob and turkey legs), and best of all, the show's start time wasn't dependent on the whim of a stupid baseball game. And we actually got to see a show this year, which was a huge check in the plus column.

And what a spectacular show it was! We selected a spot on top of a big hill (well, us and 1,000 other people) so we could actually lie on our backs with an unobstructed view, as if the show was being put on special for us. It was worth the difficult climb up an 85-degree slope. We worried about getting back down, until I pointed out that we'd have a crowd of people in front of us to slow our descent. Tery and I shared a knapsack for a pillow and held hands. Halfway through she whispered to me, "I wish Kitten was here."

It seemed rather brief, but we weren't complaining when it began to rain almost the second we got back to the car. A few seconds after it started it turned into a torrential downpour of hail that we imagined turned that 85-degree hill into a deadly mudslide for anyone that didn't get down in time. Ryan barely got us home alive. It was all terribly exciting.

~*~

Our neighbors (the ones we called the Fuzz on) have a shopping cart in their stairwell from the dollar store across the street. Now that really says "class," though not exactly "upper" or even "middle."

~*~

I'm writing this on my balcony, which is pleasant enough despite the conspicuous absence of a hammock. No, it hasn't arrived yet. On Monday, when I thought it might arrive, I received an email from the seller excitedly telling me that it had SHIPPED that morning. Oh HELL no. I shot off an angry mail expressing my dissatisfaction with this timeframe. Their response was "Good news! We've traced your package and it's scheduled to arrive on 07/09/07. Thanks again for shopping with us!" Here's a tip for would-be sellers: The way to deal with an irate customer is NOT to pretend to misunderstand their complaint and carry on like everything is peachy. If this isn't the best damn hammock I've ever sat my ass in, their feedback will go from neutral (where it's at now) to negative -- but they're a power seller so I doubt I'll be able to bring them down singlehandedly. Which is precisely what they're counting on.

Comments

[metatronis.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you had a good 4th of July! I actually did too this year. Normally it's such a stressful holiday, but this time it was really nice. :)

[grrgoyl.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you did too : ) Maybe one of these years I'll get the whole day off so I can BBQ and do normal people stuff before the fireworks.

[kavieshana.livejournal.com]

You all look so happy! Congratulations on having a pleasant holiday for once.

Why aren't you watching weepingcock, I wonder?

[grrgoyl.livejournal.com]

Thankee! Ryan's the first Colorado native we've met, so he knows all the best places to go.

Hmmmm, I have to wonder the same....

[kavieshana.livejournal.com]

Ryan's the first Colorado native we've met

In...Colorado?

Speaking of things we weren't speaking of, I'm assuming you've heard Muse's cover of "Feeling Good". Awesome.

[grrgoyl.livejournal.com]

(nice Wash icon. If you want to see some of the best Firefly (and Buffy) icons ever, check out my friend aurora_z. She doesn't mind sharing)

Anyhoo, Colorado is chock full of transplants (myself included). Meeting an actual native is a real anthropological anomaly.

That's one of my favorites. Would have recommended it but didn't want to overwhelm you. Glad you discovered it on your own.

[kavieshana.livejournal.com]

I'll do that. Thanks for the link! I've been going crazy now that I've got the 105 icons. I have to leave the userpic page up in a tab while I comment so I can remember what all of them are, and I've only got 66 up.

I don't get it. It's Colorado. Why do so many people flock to those middle states?

Next time, feel free to overwhelm me if it's as great as that cover is. Better over than under.

[grrgoyl.livejournal.com]

I don't know why I have so many myself when I seem to use the same 10 or so repeatedly. My friend Aurora's are so good I'd like to pilfer each and every one of them.

I can't speak for the others. We came because the weather is so much more mild than in New England (less humidity makes summer and winter more bearable), and because we were both in love with a girl named Angela.

They've got a couple of other covers, The Smiths' "Please Let Me Get What I Want" (not bad, not as good) and "House of the Rising Sun" (not nearly as good).

[lizzieloudotcom.livejournal.com]

I felt a little lump in my throat when I read that Tery wished Kitten was there. Do I assume correctly that she meant Miss Kitten Mitten?

I frequently feel the same way about my own 'children' and I was touched to see that I am not alone in my freakishness (assuming my assumption is correct).

As for the 4th, mine was stellar because the juvie delinquents in my neighborhood once again avoided burning down my home with their fireworks. Yay for that!!!

[grrgoyl.livejournal.com]

But of course Kitten Mitten. Alsatia can by no stretch of the imagination answer to the name "Kitten."

Oh no. Not alone at all.

Yay! Same here. Although they did have to stretch the holiday out for an extra week to use up all their illegal fireworks.