Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Lost Key
Since everyone (except me) had the day off on Monday, we went to the Wild Animal Park. For some reason, John decided to break with the norm and put his truck key (his one and only ignition key) on a separate ring. He did that so that he could leave all of the other keys he carries in the glove box. When he announced his plan, I was a little puzzled. We have a key that only opens the doors. We keep it in the glove box and use it when we go to amusement parks, the beach, etc. Not wanting to be "that wife," I didn't ask questions.
We went to the park and a couple of grocery stores. He never lost the key. That part is clear since we made it all the way home. When we parked in the driveway, I got his other keys out of the glove box and unlocked the house. He got some grocery bags from his side and followed me in.
Tuesday morning when he got ready to leave for work, I could tell he was missing something. When he told me it was the truck key, I got up and started helping him look. It soon became pretty obvious that he didn't just misplace it. It was actually gone. We tore the house apart looking for it. We did that thing that everyone does when something is missing: we looked in the most ridiculous places. Could it be in the produce drawer in the fridge? Maybe. Let's look. Nope. Maybe it's in the silverware drawer. You get my meaning.
The worst part about the whole thing is that his truck was blocking my SUV in. We had moved it out of the way when we were putting up the sailboat mast over the weekend. That meant that he couldn't get to work. Thankfully, he has the kind of job where he can occasionally work from home.
We looked for the key throughout the morning. I think he went through the trash twice. We both crawled through the grass searching like Velma after she dropped her glasses. It was such a pain!
Between conference calls, John called the local Ford dealership and found out that we would have to have the truck towed there to get new keys made. The cost for two keys: $150!
Not wanting to shell out that kind of cash for no reason, we continued to look. We had grilled both of the kids about the key. Molly loves little trinkets. We thought she might have picked it up for the silver surfboard keychain. Maya just has issues. We thought she might have taken it to get back at us. We really wanted to wait until they got home from school to see if anyone came clean. The only other idea we had as to what might have happened was that John dropped the key getting out of the truck. Maybe someone saw it and picked it up.
While we were waiting, I decided to check whether a mobile locksmith could help us. I found out that it was possible, but how much would it cost? We have roadside assistance with our car insurance, so John called them. They would cover the first $100. The balance would be on us. They were even nice enough to call and get quotes before selecting a locksmith. Since we had decided by this time that the key gone for good, we were thrilled to have someone come out and help. As it turned out, the cost to us was the same as it would have been if we'd had it towed to the dealer. Of course, it didn't cost as much in time or inconvenience. Score another one for Sahlin teamwork!
And if you're wondering whether someone has the key and could steal the truck, I wish them lots of luck. The locksmith reset the ignition code to match the new keys!
The ironic thing about all of this is that John had said on Monday that we really needed to bite the bullet and get a second key made. ;-)
We went to the park and a couple of grocery stores. He never lost the key. That part is clear since we made it all the way home. When we parked in the driveway, I got his other keys out of the glove box and unlocked the house. He got some grocery bags from his side and followed me in.
Tuesday morning when he got ready to leave for work, I could tell he was missing something. When he told me it was the truck key, I got up and started helping him look. It soon became pretty obvious that he didn't just misplace it. It was actually gone. We tore the house apart looking for it. We did that thing that everyone does when something is missing: we looked in the most ridiculous places. Could it be in the produce drawer in the fridge? Maybe. Let's look. Nope. Maybe it's in the silverware drawer. You get my meaning.
The worst part about the whole thing is that his truck was blocking my SUV in. We had moved it out of the way when we were putting up the sailboat mast over the weekend. That meant that he couldn't get to work. Thankfully, he has the kind of job where he can occasionally work from home.
We looked for the key throughout the morning. I think he went through the trash twice. We both crawled through the grass searching like Velma after she dropped her glasses. It was such a pain!
Between conference calls, John called the local Ford dealership and found out that we would have to have the truck towed there to get new keys made. The cost for two keys: $150!
Not wanting to shell out that kind of cash for no reason, we continued to look. We had grilled both of the kids about the key. Molly loves little trinkets. We thought she might have picked it up for the silver surfboard keychain. Maya just has issues. We thought she might have taken it to get back at us. We really wanted to wait until they got home from school to see if anyone came clean. The only other idea we had as to what might have happened was that John dropped the key getting out of the truck. Maybe someone saw it and picked it up.
While we were waiting, I decided to check whether a mobile locksmith could help us. I found out that it was possible, but how much would it cost? We have roadside assistance with our car insurance, so John called them. They would cover the first $100. The balance would be on us. They were even nice enough to call and get quotes before selecting a locksmith. Since we had decided by this time that the key gone for good, we were thrilled to have someone come out and help. As it turned out, the cost to us was the same as it would have been if we'd had it towed to the dealer. Of course, it didn't cost as much in time or inconvenience. Score another one for Sahlin teamwork!
And if you're wondering whether someone has the key and could steal the truck, I wish them lots of luck. The locksmith reset the ignition code to match the new keys!
The ironic thing about all of this is that John had said on Monday that we really needed to bite the bullet and get a second key made. ;-)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
I am not a sentimental girl. In fact, I am probably the opposite of sentimental, whatever that is. (I'll go with "pragmatic" over "dispassionate.") In light of that, no one is more surprised than I that I have so many cherished items from high school in my scrapbook.
When I was in high school, I worked at The Nut Hut. Before you get carried away, that is not code for the State Home for the Criminally Insane or even a gay bar. It was an overpriced mall shop that sold nuts and candy by the pound. The shop took up a busy corner and was really just a wrap around candy counter. This made it a fun place to work since the people watching opportunities were endless.
Apparently, the people watching worked both ways. John says that the first time he ever saw me was from the jewelry store across the mall. He watched me for a long time, trying to decide how to approach me, what to say. It finally occurred to him: "Just go buy something, you idiot!" And I remember well when he finally did. He sampled and bought and sampled and bought. I thought he must be older and have a pretty good job to be able to afford the high priced goodies. No one ever bought entire pounds of anything, much less white chocolate with almonds AND Jelly Belly jelly beans!
On subsequent visits, he talked to me a lot. I found out that we were the same age. We joked that we had become "good friends." Still, I was surprised when I arrived for work one day and found a note he had left with one of my coworkers. Here's the text of that note:
"I was just thinking, since we're such 'good friends,' maybe we should get to know each other better -- maybe go to a movie or something. Do me a favor and give me a call, will ya?"
It was signed "John (the guy from White Hall that likes white chocolate and jelly beans)." Naturally, I called him. We started chatting on the phone as often as our school and work schedules would allow. (All of this was in very early 1988. You all remember the 80's. We actually talked on phones instead of typing on them.)
Even with all of the talking we had done, I was surprised when he sent me a card for Valentine's Day. On the cover was a picture of a barefoot couple on a swing watching the sunset. The caption read, "I want a meaningful relationship." The inside text: "But I'll settle for meaningless sex!" He had inserted a booklet of "love coupons." (I guess someone was shopping at Spencer's. ;-)
Thankfully, John was wise enough to write a note rather than leaving it all to the genius greeting card writers. Here is what he wrote:
"Ha ha! Just a small joke. Look, maybe our parents and friends (at least mine) are right. Maybe we should go out, what say? I mean, if your mother and brother keep pestering you and my friends keep pestering me much longer, I'm sure we'll both go crazy. So here I go with a proper proposal (please remember that I'm not very good at this). Would you like to go out with me Friday night (If you have to work, we can catch the late movie at the mall)?
I'm not an animal that wants to ravish you at first chance, I just want to have a nice date with you. After that -- who knows?
P.S. The coupons are good any time with no expiration date."
Naturally, I went out with him. That first date was February 19, 1988. If you're straining to do the math, that was 22 years ago this Friday. So, yes, I kept that card. I kept the note. I kept the card that came with the flowers he sent me at school the day of our first date. In fact, I kept lots of cards from lots of flowers he sent while we were together in high school. I have kept all of these things and more because the time we spent together was the best time of my life...until almost two years ago when we found each other again. It is no surprise that that time is the one about which pragmatic me is the most sentimental.
If I had only kept those darn love coupons...
When I was in high school, I worked at The Nut Hut. Before you get carried away, that is not code for the State Home for the Criminally Insane or even a gay bar. It was an overpriced mall shop that sold nuts and candy by the pound. The shop took up a busy corner and was really just a wrap around candy counter. This made it a fun place to work since the people watching opportunities were endless.
Apparently, the people watching worked both ways. John says that the first time he ever saw me was from the jewelry store across the mall. He watched me for a long time, trying to decide how to approach me, what to say. It finally occurred to him: "Just go buy something, you idiot!" And I remember well when he finally did. He sampled and bought and sampled and bought. I thought he must be older and have a pretty good job to be able to afford the high priced goodies. No one ever bought entire pounds of anything, much less white chocolate with almonds AND Jelly Belly jelly beans!
On subsequent visits, he talked to me a lot. I found out that we were the same age. We joked that we had become "good friends." Still, I was surprised when I arrived for work one day and found a note he had left with one of my coworkers. Here's the text of that note:
"I was just thinking, since we're such 'good friends,' maybe we should get to know each other better -- maybe go to a movie or something. Do me a favor and give me a call, will ya?"
It was signed "John (the guy from White Hall that likes white chocolate and jelly beans)." Naturally, I called him. We started chatting on the phone as often as our school and work schedules would allow. (All of this was in very early 1988. You all remember the 80's. We actually talked on phones instead of typing on them.)
Even with all of the talking we had done, I was surprised when he sent me a card for Valentine's Day. On the cover was a picture of a barefoot couple on a swing watching the sunset. The caption read, "I want a meaningful relationship." The inside text: "But I'll settle for meaningless sex!" He had inserted a booklet of "love coupons." (I guess someone was shopping at Spencer's. ;-)
Thankfully, John was wise enough to write a note rather than leaving it all to the genius greeting card writers. Here is what he wrote:
"Ha ha! Just a small joke. Look, maybe our parents and friends (at least mine) are right. Maybe we should go out, what say? I mean, if your mother and brother keep pestering you and my friends keep pestering me much longer, I'm sure we'll both go crazy. So here I go with a proper proposal (please remember that I'm not very good at this). Would you like to go out with me Friday night (If you have to work, we can catch the late movie at the mall)?
I'm not an animal that wants to ravish you at first chance, I just want to have a nice date with you. After that -- who knows?
P.S. The coupons are good any time with no expiration date."
Naturally, I went out with him. That first date was February 19, 1988. If you're straining to do the math, that was 22 years ago this Friday. So, yes, I kept that card. I kept the note. I kept the card that came with the flowers he sent me at school the day of our first date. In fact, I kept lots of cards from lots of flowers he sent while we were together in high school. I have kept all of these things and more because the time we spent together was the best time of my life...until almost two years ago when we found each other again. It is no surprise that that time is the one about which pragmatic me is the most sentimental.
If I had only kept those darn love coupons...
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
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