July 25, 2006 by Amy

No power can make ya cranky

No, we still don’t have power.
Yes, Zozo still has her rash (although it’s getting better).
Yes, we are still staying at Mom and Dad Z’s.

I think that’s about it for the updates.

I’ve found that little things are starting to annoy me. This is probably due to being displaced from my home for going on a week now. Here is my current list of peeves.

1.) Having major gastro-intestinal issues is not fun when you’re staying with your in-laws. Neither is going home and hugging the toilet in an 85 degree house, but it beats completely grossing out your loved ones.

2.) Someone here at work has determined that we should recycle paper. If it’s got a blank back, it can go through the printer. Hence, several items I have printed this morning are on paper that has already been printed on, written on, highlighted on, folded and stapled. It has holes near the top where all but one of the staples had been removed, and yes, there is still one staple in it. My question is this: if you would like to run used paper through a printer, why not run it through your printer? Why come and cram it into mine? I’m all for recycling, but this is ridiculous.

3.) People are getting all fired up at Ameren for not having power. Now, I’m still without power (essentially), but I’ve decided it’s fruitless to get pissed at Ameren. They didn’t cause the storm. They don’t have magic wands that they can whip around at will and create gobs of work and angry customers for themselves. I heard the argument that when Ameren purchased UE they laid off a bunch of people “so they could make more money.” No, I’m pretty sure they laid off a bunch of people to a.) keep the company solvent and b.) not have to pay a bunch of people to sit around and wait for one or two big storms a year. It’s called good business practices. If Ameren didn’t care, I wouldn’t have seen a team of electrical workers from Nebraska in my area the other day working on restoring power. Get over it already. Ameren is not out to get you, or me. They’re doing the best they can. Mother Nature happens sometimes, and she’s got a wicked sense of humor.

Those are my peeves of the moment. I’m just a bit cranky right now. Grrrrr.

Oh, been meaning to post this: There is a man in our parish named John O’Leary who has an incredible story of courage and survival. You can read his story and vote for him to receive the Energizer “Keep Going” award by visiting www.rising-above.com and clicking on the gold Energizer Rabbit. It’s a pretty neat story, and John is amazing, so I encourage everyone to vote!