Fear of Parking Lots

Ok, so this happened about a month ago (exactly one week before Christmas to be exact). I haven’t written about it so far because I was slightly embarrassed and somewhat appalled. I try to keep my page lighthearted, but this event is still somewhat plaguing me a month later. Since it has had such a great effect on me, I thought it may be helpful to get it off my chest.


I had an appointment in Dublin, Ohio on a Friday afternoon. I was planning on stopping at the grocery store on my way home since I was going to be making bunches of Christmas cookies that weekend. I decided to save some highway / sitting in Friday afternoon traffic time, and go to the Giant Eagle in Dublin. That way I could just take back roads home from the grocery store and get to work on those seven (yes, seven) batches of cookies! I was in such a great mood. It was the weekend, I was about to start baking (which I love to do), and Kevin and I were going to start (and finish) our marathon Christmas shopping session on Saturday. I was just leaving a voice mail with Kevin to let him know what I was up to, and then was going to head into the store. I was in a turn lane to go into the grocery store plaza, when I hung up the phone. I happened to glance in the rearview mirror and noticed a small red car behind me. I pulled into the parking lot and parked towards the back since it seemed that everyone had the same idea as me and was doing a little Friday afternoon grocery shopping. I looked again in my rearview mirror and noticed the little red car had parked behind me in the next row over. I threw my cell phone in my purse, made sure I had my list, and stepped out of the car. A man (who was shorter than me, probably in his late 50’s with grey hair) stepped out of the red car at the same time and yelled “That was SO STUPID”. I looked around thinking that this man had to be talking to someone else. I noticed that there was no one else around, and he was walking directly over to me. This isn’t good at all, I thought to myself.

“Excuse me?” I said.

“I can’t believe you are so stupid”, the mean man responded to me.

“Excuse me sir, do NOT call me stupid.” I responded, trying to maintain composure. By this point he was walking right next to me, no one else was in the parking lot (of course), and I was starting to shake.

“You were on the PHONE in a TURN LANE. YOU ARE SO STUPID!” The man repeated.

“HUH?!?” I replied, absolutely dumbfounded. At this point the guy looked to me like he was about to start raging. His face was beet red and every vein was popping out of his neck.

“You think you’re pretty cool, don’t you???” He said. I was at an absolute loss. Here this guy comes at me out of nowhere, and starts screaming, calling me stupid, and then making some comment like he thought I thought I was some kind of hot shot teenager. I am 30 years old….I am WAY past the point of thinking I am “cool”. I needed to do something to make him back off, since he was so blatantly ignoring the concept of personal space.

“No, I don’t think I’m cool.” I said sarcastically. “Are you going to hit me or something?!?!?” I asked in a much louder voice, trying to attract attention of anyone else that may be able to help me. I really didn’t think he was going to hit me, but I needed him to back away from me since I was starting to get scared. I also had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. I was thinking back to what I did when pulling into the parking lot. He was behind me, so I obviously didn’t cut him off. There was also no one else coming towards us, when I made the left turn, so I hadn’t cut anyone else off. I was at a complete loss as to why this man was flipping out on me.

“No, I’m not going to hit you” the man responded. He lowered his voice and backed away a little. (May I emphasize “a little”.) Then he got mad again and waved his hand at me and said “GET THE *F* OUT OF HERE.” Ok, who was he to tell me to get out of here. Wasn’t he aware this was a public place???

At this point I was so frustrated with this guy. He was yelling at me, but not really giving a good reason why. He swore at me, which I don’t appreciate, nor have I ever had anyone do before. Even if I had done something to him (which I 100% swear I didn’t), no one deserves to be talked to like this. I was out of ideas.

Finally I we were almost to the entry of the grocery store, and he was keeping pace with me. I wanted him to speed up or slow down and just let me go on my way. I was done with this conversation.

“You go ahead, I am done talking to you.” I said as I stopped walking. He slowed down and gave me a nasty look and muttered something like “stupid *b-ch” under his breath. At this point, I lost all control of the composure I had been keeping for the last two minutes. I raised my voice and said. “Get a *F*ing life, *a*hole”.

At this point we walked into the store, with him ahead of me. I know my face was beet red because I could feel it burning. It felt like I had just gone to the beach and spent all day in the sun. I was shaking so bad, I could barely push the cart. Mostly from the conversation I had just had, but partially because of what I said to that guy. I have never said anything like that to anyone before in my life. I was near tears, but managed to hold them back.

Looking back, I should have just left the store. I walked around in fear that this guy was going to be in the aisle I needed to go down. I somehow managed to finish my shopping, paid, and left. The red car was gone when I got back to my car, and I never saw the guy again. I walked quickly around my car in fear that he may have keyed it or something, he was that unstable. I wished I had just gone back and written down his license plate or something before he left. I don’t know what I would have done with it…but I don’t think it would have been a bad idea to have it.

I told Kevin about the situation on my way home. He was about ready to drive over and hunt down this guy and beat him up (although, I can’t imagine my sweet, good-natured Kevin beating anyone up)! He told me if this ever happens again (god, I HOPE NOT), to take out my cell phone and take a picture of the guy, then walk over to his car and take a picture of his license plate. Good ideas…but I hope I never have to use them!

Now, I would definitely say I am nervous in parking lots. I am always worried that someone is going to go off on me for no reason. I actually was walking out of Best Buy the day after this happened, and heard a man behind me say “Excuse me, miss?” I about jumped out of my skin. I turned around and looked at him and he proceeded to ask me where I had gotten my coat because he thought his daughter would really one like it for Christmas. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, managed to tell him “Macy’s”, and smiled, trying not to let him know that I was shaking like a leaf. He smiled and said thank you, and walked into the parking lot.

I’ve replayed the situation over and over trying to figure out what I did to make the man in the Giant Eagle parking lot SO angry at me, and I really am stumped. Maybe he was having a bad day, maybe he had work or family problems. I will never know, but I hope it never happens again. Word of advice, always be aware of your surroundings. It doesn’t matter if it’s day or night, you never know who you may run into. I know for a fact that I am extra careful now, and will never stop looking over my shoulder….

Winter Blahs...

It’s no secret that I HATE Winter. I hate cold, I hate snow, I REALLY hate ice. Everything is brown, gray, and depressing. For the past two weeks, it’s barely broke 30 degrees, the high temperatures this week have been in the low 20’s, and we’ve barely seen any sunshine. Don’t get me wrong, I am used to winter. After all – I have lived in Ohio almost all my life. (Had a one year hiatus in Baltimore, MD). I also grew up around Cleveland, where they get a LOT more snow than we do here in Columbus. But, when you’re a kid, snow and winter stuff is fun. I would get together with friends and make snow angels, have snowball fights, and make snowmen, and be excited to wake up and hear that you have a snow day!

As an adult, you’re not as lucky, you don’t get “snow-days” regardless of the road conditions. Kevin and I agree on the fact that people from Columbus have no idea how to drive in snow. A word of advice, having an all-wheel drive car or SUV does not mean you can drive 70 MPH on ice! People like to do that here, and often end up on the side of the road smashed into a guard rail or in a ditch!

Winter sports frankly don’t interest me much either. Although, my husband LOVES skiing, we have never gone together. I have been skiing once in my life (about 7 years ago), and was on my butt about 90% of the time. The worst part about it was I was skiing in OHIO. There is no good skiing in Ohio, yet I was still tumbling, sliding, and crashing every chance I got. I even had ski patrol come over when I had gone into some brush on one of the hills to ask if I was ok. Ugh! How embarrassing! Skiing and ice skating are definitely not the sports I should be participating in…

At least the dogs enjoy the snow!

I’ve been working on Kevin for several years now to move down south. And, I think my “winter-hatred” has finally gotten to him. Now, I’m starting to hear the same kind of rumblings from him that I have been saying for years. Hmm, maybe someday I will be lucky enough to be blessed with living by the ocean and even possibly having the Florida resident discount to Disney World. I can always dream, right?!? ;-)

But for the time being, I’ll sit here and watch the snow fall outside my office window.  We’re supposed to get 3-5 inches of snow today and tonight. It should be a fun drive home. Look out everyone, my Pilot has 4x4!!!

Christmas and Birthday!

What a whirlwind week!  On Christmas Eve Kevin and I (and the puppies) headed up to Medina to my parents house.  Before we left our house, I had to get some pictures of our Christmas tree with all the gifts underneath.  (I took these at 6:30 AM, since our dogs have no concept of sleeping in :-))

After relaxing for a bit, Kevin and I got cleaned up and packed the car (well...Kevin packed the car).  With dogs in tow, off to Medina we went!  When we got there, we just sat around chit-chatting, watched "It's a Wonderful Life", and headed off to dinner in downtown Cleveland.  We go to the same place every year called San Souci, which is in the Renaissance Hotel.  We had such a great meal!!  (My dad took lots of pictures, but I don't have any yet to post!)

The next morning we woke up, unwrapped gifts, and headed to Pittsburgh around 1 PM.  It was pouring during the entire drive.  Kevin and I were both thankful it wasn't snow!  That would have been a mess!  We had a great Christmas there and headed back to Columbus on Saturday afternoon. 

Here's Mullen with a pretty bow!

Bono is tired!

Yesterday was my Birthday.  Unfortunately, I had to work...but fortunately, I have a wonderful husband who spoils me rotten!  Kevin came to work yesterday at lunch and brought me a veggie wrap and we had lunch together.  Then when I got home, he took me out for sushi (my favorite!).  We went to Benihana, which is one of our favorite places to get sushi.  We sat at the sushi bar, and the chef (Chang) was the same one we had last time we were there.  Kevin told him that it was my birthday, and jokingly said that he needed to make a sushi cake, and he did!

Here's my sushi "cake"

He also made me a rose.  The rose was made out of tuna and had wasabi leaves!  So pretty!

When we got home, Kevin gave me my birthday gifts.  He got me a pair of Ugg boots, Disney "Earth" on Blu-Ray, and of course Jelly Bellys!  But the best gift were the "tickets" he gave me:

These tickets are good for a birthday shopping spree at one (or more) of the places listed above.  I was cracking up!  The text at the bottom states:

"Transportation will leave at 9:30AM on Wednesday, December 30, 2009.  After breakfast at Mimi's Cafe on Polaris Parkway, you will re-board the shopping shuttle and present your driver with any combination of these three shopping spree tickets which will then determine your destination(s) for shopping.  Enjoy!

I thought this was the cutest and most creative gift ever.  I have the best hubby! :)  Can't wait to shop tomorrow!!

Torture!

....is the perfect way to describe the three days of work before the Christmas holiday.  Unfortunately, I have somehow burned through all my PTO this year and have had to work the 21st, 22nd, and part of the day on the 23rd.  What makes it even worse, is I work in an office of about 40 people, and I believe right now there are less than 10 of us here.  It makes for a REALLY, REALLY long day, especially when my job is largely based on other people submitting work to me.  There is not a whole lot for me to do when no one is here to give me work!

And another thing, I have been racking my brain on how exactly I went through three weeks of vacation time this year!  Note to self for next year, taking a half-day here and a day there really adds up.  What all did I use it on you ask?  I have to take inventory myself :)

Well, I do actually keep a calendar of every day I have off, so I can at least narrow it down somewhat...
in early May I took two sick days due to a monstrous sinus infection. :-)

One day in May to go to Cedar Point with my favorite hubby!

Yes, and we actually did ride the big coaster (Top Thrill Dragster).  It's 17 seconds of pure terror and excitement!  It's truly something else to be looking straight down from 400 feet up in the air!

I took July 13th off as a precautionary measure.  I was in my friend Gail's wedding this year, and she had her bachelorette party the 10th-12th in Put-In-Bay.  Basically it was a weekend of going out, having drinks, hanging out with the girls, and having fun!  Due to the amount of fun we were planning on having, I wasn't sure whether I would be up to making it to work on Monday.  I would have been :), but it was really nice to have the day off regardless...

Here is the bride and bridesmaids starting the party off right!

Here are the Ohio University girls before we went out on Saturday night!  (It was definitely more tame for me due to the fact I got SO burned that day!)

The next day I took off was the Friday before Gail's wedding.  Well, I of course needed time to get a mani-pedi, and get up to Cleveland for the rehearsal dinner!  It was a perfect weekend, a little warm, but sunny and beautiful!  The church was in my hometown of Olmsted Falls, OH.  Kevin and I got to the church a little early the night of the rehearsal, so we could walk down and see the house I grew up in.  It brought back so many memories!  What a great weekend :)

Brian and Gail at the church - just hitched!

The Bride and Bridesmaid's at the reception

(no...I wasn't actually drinking out of the bottle, the bartender was just too slow to fill my drink! :))

Kevin, me and my parents at the reception!

The next time I took off was the entire week for Kevin and my anniversary trip to Disney World!  What a blast!  Kevin and I both agreed, hands down, that it was the best vacation we ever had!

All details on this trip are located at: http://kevandmarion.blogspot.com/2009/10/walt-disney-world-anniversary-trip.html!

Of course, when we returned from Orlando, I got my customary horrendous sinus infection.  This time it was coupled with stomach issues!  Ugh...another day wasted on being sick :(

I also had to take off a day for our trip to Tampa and St. Pete to see U2!  What a fabulous trip!  We loved western Florida, and are hoping to return for another visit soon!

Well, that was a brief run-down of time off for this year.  Actually, it was nice to have a little year in review! :)  We did a ton in 2009!  Now we're looking forward to a fun 2010! :-)

The Holiday Season has officially arrived!

We have been so super busy!  We had Thanksgiving at our house this year.  My parents came down to see how well we (well, Kevin) could cook a turkey.  It came out awesome (from what I was told!!)  The sides were great too.  We had the typical Thanksgiving side dishes, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry jello, green bean casserole, and fresh baked rolls.  Yes, this is the first time I have made rolls from scratch and they came out pretty good.

Here's my table, that seems more like Christmas than Thanksgiving...Oh well!

The day after Thanksgiving was Kevin's birthday.  It also happened to be my friend Gail's husband's birthday, and our friend Helen's on Saturday. Everyone came down to visit and we had planned to go out to a Japanese restaurant and celebrate.  It was so much fun!  We went to Benihana and had a great time.  It was so good to see everyone.

Our Chef!

Our group, Andy, Helen, Brian, Gail, Ashley, Kevin, and me!

Kevin and I :)

Last night we decided to really get into the Christmas spirit and went to Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo.  It was COLD, but beautiful.  It's so nice to be able to walk around outside under all the lights, and you can even go inside some of the buildings (definitely a nice break from the cold!)

Love the lights!

Kevin and I...yep, it was cold!!

Santa was feeding the fish :)

This is Kevin and my favorite animal at the zoo....the manatee!

Kevin nicknamed this guy Crush.  He was hilarious to watch!

Yeah, I wouldn't be anywhere near that snake if there wasn't solid glass between him and I!!

Still have Christmas shopping to do and cookies to bake!  It's going to be a busy couple weeks :)

Christmas Card Rejects

I haven't written an entry in a while, and I have so many new fun things to tell.  I promise I will write a new one this weekend!!

I just had to share these few pictures.  We just ordered our Christmas Cards (photo cards like we always do.)  Here are a few that didn't make the cut, but are hilarious...well at least hilarious in my opinion!

Here's Bono looking like he's about to complain about taking too many pictures....

I hate this!!!!

Can you tell we were enticing the fat cat with treats?!?!?

We got some good pictures, and hopefully our cards will come in with enough time to send them out before Christmas!

On another note, my wonderful hubby just turned the big 3-2 last week!  Happy Birthday Babe!  I love you :)

Hmmm...wonder who got him that nice sweater... ;-)

Oh Bono....

So, lately we've noticed Bono (our dog) has been acting strange.  It started about a year ago when he would bark at men in public, almost acting like he was afraid of them.  At first since it always happened when he was with me, and I thought he was just trying to protect me.  Then it started happening when Kevin had him out too.   We really didn't think too much of it.  Then, this summer we started noticing that certain things would make him nervous...people on skateboards and rollerblades, trucks, thunder, leaves floating across the yard...basically everything! 

A few weeks before we went to Disney World,we were at home on a Saturday afternoon.  I was upstairs when all of a sudden I heard barking and tons of racket downstairs.  I went down to see what was going on, and Kevin told me he was outside on the porch talking to one of the neighbor kids, when our neighbor's dog came up on our porch.  Bono DID NOT like this at all, and proceeded to go through the screen in one of our front windows.  Luckily Kevin was there and stopped anything from getting out of hand.  We just wrote it off to the fact that he was not happy about another dog being on his territory while he was inside.

When we were on vacation to Disney World and St. Pete, we sent the dogs to "camp".  They go to this great place in Delaware called My-T-Fine Kennels.  Bono and Mullen share a run, and they also get 2 hours of 'playtime' each day in a fenced off area.  When we picked them up, Sue the owner, told us that Bono acted antisocial a few times during playtime, but would eventually warm up and play with the other dogs.

Here's Bono and Mullen together at camp:

Here's Bono looking tentative about approaching this other dog:

Well, basically everything came to a head a few weeks ago we tried to take Bono and Mullen for a walk around the neighborhood.  We hit the end of the driveway and Bono would not go any further.  He was pulling back so hard he almost pulled right out of his collar.  Kevin thought that he would try to carry him a few steps just to show him everything was ok, and that didn't work either.  He was terrified to go for a walk.  This finally prompted us to call our trainer that we went to when both dogs were puppies.  We've gone to two sessions with her, and she's as confused as we are.  She says that she's never seen a dog act quite like this before.  Finally she suggested that it may be best to put him on Prozac temporarily to even him out!  A dog on PROZAC?!?!  Oh Bono, you never cease to amaze me....

Who me??????

On a sad note, my boss Michelle's husband passed away on Monday after a long battle with cancer.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family....