Our man Jeremy (and Ken)

CPW at The roller derby bout!

At the bout!

Wackiness ensues (what else is new)

It has been another wacky (but usual) week in my world. I have worked another week at the biz to biz call center job, gone to court (well, phoned it in), been pushed in a parking lot (several feet) by a car, borrowed a bike, (and purchased software) drank sake and laughed a lot, could only say "Squeezy cheese and Early Mark" (while drinking sake and laughing), had a verbal fight with my oldest (and quietest) son, still have my cough and someone pulled the fire alarm Saturday night !How you doing?

P.Ken and I had a lot of fun at the last roller derby so we are going again to the next bout! It is June 10th if anyone wants to go. You know where we will be sitting!

Tonight we have another field trip planned. No, it's not what you think. We are waiting for Eric Tomorrow to join us for that field trip. ;) Maybe Half will go too?

Another day in my world

Ever had one of those days that isn't bad just odd? My day started out later than usual which was nice for a change. The reason that it was starting late was not okay. I was, am or still will be taken to court. My ex-husband is putting the blame on me that our kids don't want to see him. He claims he has no idea why and is sure I'm stopping them. He seems to forget that he had some part in them not talking to him. Anyway, this is the second day in the last two weeks I have had to take off work to make an appearance in court for this. The boys had to get a lawyer of their own to try to get me out of the middle. He wants me punished if they don't see him on his visitation days. She told me I didn't have to drive out to the judge but that she would and I could "phone it in". Ex had "called it off" over the weekend after letting the mediator session soak in. The problem is he didn't let the court know of his decision and he didn't stay by his appointed phone. He set up this court action and instead of following through he went off on a field trip! Who is the irresponsible one? Not sure what is next but I do know this is not over.

After getting to work (pre-arranged) late I worked to my usual end. We needed many food things including Boboli so I headed to WinCo for some quick shopping. As I was walking from my car to the store an older woman in a compact car with a huge handicap parking permit hanging off her rear view mirror sped around the corner and nearly ran me over! She was looking at the person/car she cutoff and raced in front of as she was plowing into me! I kept my balance and stayed on my feet as I was pushed ten or so feet! I didn't come out of nowhere but she sure did! She didn't stick around to see how I was and after shouting at this person the witnesses disappeared too. I was truly shocked as nothing like this has happened to me on foot. Sure, on my bike I have flown over car hoods many times but I was in the mind set of Butch Biker Babe and ready for anything. As it was happening I was thinking "Wow, I'm being hit by a car" It was not as scary as weird. P.Ken chastised me for not calling the police and an ambulance. Geez, I was shocked! My knee, wrist, neck and back are stiffening up. It's gonna be a few days of remembering this little happening.

I've said it before but I will say it again. I am not a drama queen but odd/bad things just seem to happen all around me. Stephanie Plum is a fictional character from a series of books written by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie and I seem to share that affliction. The first (of 11) is called One for the Money. Check them out and tell me what you think.

The good news is that episode 11 is up on our site and iTunes so go listen! It is all about Me.

Notes from A P.Diva

I have had lots going on personally and professionally. A week and a half ago I got that horrible cold that's going around. I was in bed for four days. I missed doing some fun things but had to get out of bed on Monday to go back to work. It's still hanging on but I'm the walking wounded.The cough just wont stop! I just don't have time to be sick!

Things with the podcast are really going well. I'm glad people really like what we are doing. Since P.Ken and I began this adventure of podcasting I am amazed by people's response to us. I have had a lot of fun just being me/us --- and people enjoy it and demand more! I have met fellow podcasters through e-mail and by listening to their shows. It has really opened up a new part of the world to me.

P.Ken tells me that when his phone rings at work, his co-workers want to know if it's me. Ever since the "remote mission" that was thought to be a job interview they want to know "what's next"! They all listen to the show at work. P.Ken says he will hear laughter at work throughout the day and knows folks are listening to us. They always want to know when the next episode is coming out!

We have opened up a storefront in Cafe Press if you want to "Buy a piece of Marta." Thanks to Aaron's hard work, we have lots of items with our logo on them! Kisses, Aaron!

I am in the Comedy Sportz tonight. I'm looking forward to it for a couple of reasons. Joseph is going to be in the show and some folks for work said they are coming! People say that all the time but they seemed genuinely interested.

Last thing I want to mention is since my bike was stolen I have really felt the loss of it. Two people in particular really understand. They donated money to our PayPal account on our site to get my bike replaced. That is so sweet and it means so much to me! I currently have $50. towards a replacement. Kisses!

I've always said that I entertain myself and if I made you laugh too, then brownie points for me! Thanks for the support and keep listening. Please listen to some of the great folks that have supported us in this adventure.

Gladly accepted, thank you.

I have been asked recently if I would take donations towards a new bike. I set up a PayPal account. Weird but I will roll with it (no pun intended) as I really need a bike. The button is on the bottom of the page under quotes.

Thanks

But I don't want to bend over!

Nick was going to sell the iPod he got from a dude at school. He had saved $20. in his piggy bank and was going to sell the iPod originally to replace his PSP that was stolen. The iPod worked fine and he had a buyer after an hour! (he wrote in the ad why he was selling the iPod) He had erased the music but the gal wanted some music on it to send it to her nephew in Africa. When he tried to load it on iTunes the screen got a picture of a monkey holding an iPod on it. Seemed cute but not a good thing. Nick went down to the Apple Store to see if they could help. They told him some things to do but when he got home the only thing he could get were strange symbols randomly floating around the screen. So much for selling an iPod to get mom a bike.

The other bad news is slowly remembering everything that was on my bike. A mini pump clipped on the frame that I got for $60. The racing clip-on fenders that I got on sale at $50., and the 2 gel tubes at $8.99 each and the tools and repair kit at $20 more. Lets not forget my $30. on board system (I do have the face), the bike bag on the seat that held the kits, my safety triangle and light at $10. each. The leather seat I got at Team Estrogen for an amazing price that I wont be able to replace. When I called The bike store they didn't keep an accounting of my purchases even though they asked my name every time. I do keep receipts but for most things I didn't see the need for some anymore. The bottom line is I have the fender package, the face of the onboard system and some receipts but the renters insurance probably wont cover it and if I do make a claim my rates go up. That is what my agent said on the phone with the other good news.

I'm not giving up but it's not looking to good for me at this moment. I will continue to gather any information I can to make a better outcome. I have endured worse things than this and I am still standing.

Tough day

I was sooo looking forward to my bike ride after my job search today. I changed, stretched, gathered all my gear/needs and headed down to the bike area. The last ride I had was Saturday and it was awesome! I got all my work done and still got a ride in before the rain hit. In fact, I saw the weather changing as I was out and having a great ride but know Portland - near - the - river - weather well enough to know to head closer to home. I did just under 20 miles and got upstairs in time to see the rain start. Wow, was it stormy too! The next day when I walked to the library there was a lot of debris on the sidewalk from the trees in my 'hood. Anyway, the bike area is a separate locked area in the gated parking area of my apartment building. The gate was open so I thought the manager was working around the property and left it open. As I got closer I got a bad feeling in my stomach. The gate was open but the gate padlock was still on. There are several bikes in the area, mostly kids, but mine was gone. Nick's bike was next to where mine had been but my lock had been cut and my bike was gone. I was not prepared for this.

My bike is not just transportation to me. It is a personal part of me as it is also my sanity keeper. I had my personalized Spanish NY license plate (Yo quiero Nuevo York and Marta underneath) I got on my one and only (so far) trip to the east coast on it as well as the bike bag I got when I started biking for sport when Nick was just over a year old. What I'm saying is it was as big apart of me as improv, knitting, my laugh and being a Podcast Diva.

I went back up to my apartment and got my camera. I took pictures of everything before unlocking Nick's and taking it up with me. I know the Portland Police are under-staffed and take a report over the phone so I wouldn't be destroying any evidence. I wanted to keep at least one bike. I then called the manager but got the pager. I didn't figure I would hear back anytime soon. Then I called the non-emergency number for the Police. I was told it could be up to four hours before an officer would call me back. It was actually just over two hours. After doing everything I could figure to do I went to my computer and saw I had e-mails. There was a bulletin from Jersey Todd. I responded to it and told him what had happened. It really hit me that my bike was gone and I started crying like a baby. Thank you so much J.T. for "talking me through" the worst of my emotions. P.Ken got it by phone just before you as well as in phone text. Thanks guys for helping me, I mean it. Ken actually responded to my bring wine and chocolate text! He never listens to that!

The hopeful ending to this is Nick is trying to sell his iPod on Craigslist to buy me a new bike! The renters deductible is $250 so. . . . I am fortunate even when bad things happen.