i might not be an engineer......

i have often wondered how it is possible that i happen to stink at anything mechanical, mathematical or scientific. i come from a family of engineers and handy folks. even my mom knows how to replace a toilet and she never even attended a day of college.

my vacuum cleaner stopped working. i was pretty ticked off. i hate the fact that i have carpet in the first place, so you can only imagine how much i enjoy vacuuming the carpet...... a friend mentioned this week that maybe the belt needed to be replaced and i didn't even want to try and do that. but today the situation came to a head. i really needed to clean the floor. it was beyond unacceptable.

i googled to figure out how to replace a vacuum cleaner belt. i disassembled the bottom of the vacuum cleaner and cleaned out the bottom of it. the belt appeared to be in tact (it isn't like i use the damn thing often) but i noticed that there was a tube with junk in it. wowzers. you want to talk about clogged....oh.my.gosh. i continued disassembling the housing for the clogged tube and cleaned it out completely.

now my vacuum cleaner is working and instead of buying a new vacuum.....i can buy new shoes.

God bless google

random concerns

1. am i a bad person because i get the clash and the ramones mixed up all the time?
2. i find it very odd that nutmeg has taken to sitting in the bathtub and meowing just to hear it echo. i had to sit her on the couch this morning and tell her to watch tv.
3. i heart henry rollins
4. why do companies keep changing their logos? what about brand identity? this came to mind when i was in bonaire and they had different coke labels. then last night i discovered a stupid looking label on pepsi. you can change the label, but it still tastes like crap.

you ever have one of those days?

i am having one of those days where i want to write, but i just don't know what to write. so i guess i will write about "this day in history."

december 7, 1988 was the day my paternal grandmother died. twenty years ago today. she was an interesting lady. she had eight children; eight very unique children. my fondest memories of her include going to the library, playing in her basement, and watching her cook. she always had the radio on in the kitchen and it was tuned to WWJ 950. i remember spending the night at her house and i lost a tooth. she made me homemade peanut butter in her food processor. she was also the person that fed my passion for reading. she is the first person i remember taking me to a library and a bookstore. she was an avid swimmer and runner. she was a math teacher. i wish i had the chance to talk with her today and relate to her on an adult level. i know we could trade some really good recipes.

i just thought of something else that is kind of strange. my dad was 32 when his mother died. i am 32 right now. i meant to call my dad today, but i got all caught up in some meaningless stuff. i guess every day is an anniversary of someone's birth or death. but today just feels different.