Monday Night Fights

Here is is, 10:00 pm on a Monday night, and I am writing a post.

Sigh. Didn't have time to do it today. I like to work on my posts while I eat my lunch, but that didn't work out. I didn't even pack a lunch today. And Lady M was kind enough to bring me some curry chicken lentil peas concoction in an old Ragu glass jar. I heated that up and ate it right out of the jar, like a hobo or something.

It was good. And I promptly thanked God for providing my free lunch today. Glory.

This was a quiet weekend. I didn't work. Like I said in the previous post, there is no overtime, and I would be working for free.

Nerp. Not going down. SO WHAT if I am behind. I'm not really behind, though. We give a tally daily in these doggone meetings IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRICKIN' DAY, and I am on track, seems like.

(I just don't understand meetings in the middle of the day. Throws everything off track, especially when they stretch beyond an hour long).

Anyway, I went to church this Saturday night. I haven't been all year, I must admit. We have extensive streaming of all services, so I see more services than I have ever in the past. But I had a talk with myself, and I decided that I wanted to be in the actual Church building, so I went. And it was good for me.

On Sunday, I ran up on Cowgirl Cre's Daddy, Daddy Cre. I needed some help with Pam.

Pam has a loose battery lead. And you know that resets the whole doggone computer each time it happens. It will fail emissions when that happens. So I have to drive a good 60 miles and before I get an emissions test. It's a trip when I do all that driving... and the battery cable comes loose. Sigh. Then I have to do it all over again.

Seeing that I haven't driven Pam in over a month (and that was to work one day, which is a 9.5 mile round trip), I decided to crank her up. She wouldn't crank, so I had to pop the hood and shake the battery cable. She crank right up, and I drove as fast as I could over to Daddy Cre's house.

He took a look at the situation. A couple of years ago, he solved this problem with a toothpick jammed into the connector. That broke off a while ago. (I had a box of toothpicks in my pocket just in case he needed them).

He walked off and came back with a screw. and he screwed it into the connector.

Man... that worked out well.

(Somebody else at some time stuck another screw in the other side. It is bootleg. But as long as Pam cranks up... let's get it!)

Daddy Cre went on to check all of Pam's fluids.

I am sure that Pam appreciated all of this. She is such a neglected girl. Lucy Jr. gets all my attention.

I walked on up in the house to see Mama Cre.

The first thing you see on the wall when you enter the house are pictures of the family.

And there is a big picture frame containing pictures of the current first family.

My goodness.  It brought tears to my eyes.

I AM GOING TO MISS THIS PRESIDENT AND HIS FAMILY.

And it all becomes ESPECIALLY evident when I'm looking at the current presidential race.

I am NOT ready to look at Trump and his wife in the White House. No, no... NO!!!

Did you see the HAWT MESS that was going on this weekend. The repub candidates were all joning each other like they were in 7th grade. Then there was the KKK foolishness. Ain't nobody got time for that. No no... NO!!!

Then I think about the pictures above. Pictures of people with some class. People who look like me.

*LadyLee falls to the floor and cries uncontrollably*

I don't think Trump will win. I think they got something on him. And once people realize that they have to listen to him for 4 years, and his juvenile vocabulary, they will wise up. I hope.

Go Hillary. You are our only hope.

I do wish Obama could be president for 4 more years. I do wish he could be president... forever.

Anyway, back to Pam.

I went to get her emissions, and she passed. I snatched that piece of paper so fast that the tester's head was spinning. I'm riding clean now!

I text my boss earlier and let him know that I would be in to work between 11 and 12 noon. I got in around 10:44 am. My butt didn't hit the chair good enough before 2 supervisors were in my cubicle.

Sigh.

One wanted some paperwork. I would've had it done if there had been overtime. OH WELL.

My boss Ray said "I just saw your text."

I was wondering why he hadn't responded to my text message. But Ray gets a pass. He is not the crazy type to run up on you thinking you sneaking into work. Afterall, this is a cool dude. He has texted me pictures of the pork chops he's fried for dinner. And they looked quite tasty.

I finished my paperwork in another hour and a half, just in time for the meeting HELD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. Ugh.

Later, I ordered Pam's tag online. Yay! I got something big accomplished.

This is good. Last year, I didn't get Pam's emission until June. Emissions and tags are due by one's birthday. So at least I got it in my birthday month. That's great.

This is a leap year, so this is our extra day of the year. I was waiting for something spectacular to happen today.

I guess getting Pam's tag and emission will have to be my spectacular event of the day.

I will take that!

Glory!!

That's it for my evening post. Time for bed.

Have a great week on purpose!

Friday Freestyles... The Politricks Edition

Honey child, it is Friday...

*waves Obama Church fan*

Thank God it is Friday, because I am one exhausted chicken.

Ya'll can have this working 50 hours per week. I have decided that it will only work out if I can turn back the clock to 1990, when I was a young and tender spring chicken. Otherwise, forget about it.

Besides... they have decided that they don't want to pay overtime. And I am at my 24 hours limit of credit time.

So...

They can kiss my ashy kneecaps.

That is all.

Anyway, again, I am glad it is Friday. And it is PAYDAY!

Glory.

I am going to sit here and pay some bills while I eat lunch. Lunch consists of 3 sliced apples. I thought I would go out to get something, but it's too cold.  So I will eat my apples.

It is 42 degrees today in my beloved ATL. I got a good mind to go out and buy a coat because these hoodies ain't getting it. At all. I can't run fast enough into the workplace from the car. Sigh.

I have a coat at home. Somewhere. I just rather not wear one.

Politricks.  My oh my. I tell you what... my republican ticket was Bush/Rubio.  And my democratic ticket was Clinton/Castro.

My oh my how things change. Who woulda thought that Jeb Bush would be out of the race? How did he let Trump push him out like that.

And I have no idea who will be a viable candidate for the Republican side now. Well yes I do. Kasich seems to be the only adult in the room. And someone needs to wake Ben Carson up and tell him to go on and get somewhere. Don't he know the following?

Ben didn't know? He better go ask somebody. Ask Herman Cain and the rest of them. You are window dressing, Sir. That's why you were getting ignored so badly in the debate last night.  Use this gig to sell more books. That's all I'm saying.

Speaking of the debates... Isn't it interesting how the republican debates differ from the Democratic debates. One of them is very mature. The others in a catfight.

A catfight at the club.

The lack of civility on the republican side is astonishing. And that slogan is pretty fascinating.

Take our country back! Make our country great again!

What the hell is that suppose to mean??

Sounds like a dog whistle to me. Because you KNOW they won't explain it.

We all know what that means. The white supremacists are WAY too excited about all this.

The headlines say much, don't they?

I will tell you what my stance is.

LadyLee is NOT going to be a slave.

LadyLee is NOT going to pick cotton or sugar cane.

LadyLee is NOT sitting in the back of the bus. LadyLee has TWO cars. And even if she didn't, she STILL won't be sitting in the back of the bus.

LadyLee is NOT doing a ton of stuff that the negro folks had to do in the past.

NERP.

So ya'll can take your country back to Dixie or whereever you're taking it.

That's what it means to me. Surely it means something more... civil. But I haven't heard a clear explanation of what it is.

Nothing worse than scared and angry white folks.

Ya'll are not getting those special times back. Ya'll THOUGHT ya'll were having a problem out of black folk as it is. Try enslaving us again and ya'll really will have a problem on your hands. So close your eyes and keep dreaming.

I was at the doctors office the other day and there was an elderly white woman behind me whispering to someone else about how scared she was and how at the churches (her kind of churches, I suppose), that she is happy because things will finally be set back right. She was talking about leaving the country, just whispering all loud.

Humph. Trump supporter... You know what that means.

I wanted to turn around and say "If you don't take yourself back to your trailer park with all that mess!"

I respect my elders.

And besides.... Hills got this.

If she ain't got it, she better get it. She better get in formation.

You know the next president gets the pick the next 2 or 3 supreme court judges, right? That's what this really is about.

I HATE voting Democrat. Simply hate it. I wish we had 5 parties to choose from. That's simply not the case. And like Lindsey Graham said yesterday, his [republican] party has gone bat shit crazy.

So I have no choice but to vote democrat. Bernie or Hills will do. I want to see who Bernie chooses as a running mate. That's my issue with him, because he's a bit... elderly.

That's my politrical thoughts for today.

And that's for me.

Have a good weekend. On purpose.

I know I will, since I'm not working this weekend, lol.

LadyLee Birthday Monies 2016

Dedicated to Sasha... who has a coin jar of her own!


I save all my change in a mason jar from birthday to birthday. I use it as "blow money", i.e., money that I can just blow on something I really want. I like to cash in my birthday change on my birthday, but that didn't happen this year. I decided to wait.

I did cash it in around a week later. That was the next time I would come across a Kroger with a coin counting machine.

I took a photo of my change jar first.

There's something different this year. I saved some dollar bills in the jar also.

Maybe I have done this in the past. But I think this year that the change jar was in the laundry room for the better part of the year (I don't know why, though), and I would throw in any change and dollar bills I pulled out of pants pockets while sorting laundry.

So I cashed it in.

$62 in change before the coin peoples took their cut.

And there was $32 in paper money.

Grand total? 32 +55.40 =

$87.40

Glory!!

I didn't do anything with the money. I just put it up, and I will use it whenever I think up something I really want as a gift for myself. I was looking for a new satchel/briefcase for work, but LadyTee gave it to me one as a birthday gift (More on that later).

Thanks, LadyTee! That worked out great!


I got a $61 escrow refund check from my mortgage company, so I am going to put that with the money.  That will give me around $150. I can buy something nice enough with that.


So this was a good "blow money" haul.

Changes in My 'Hood

There's a very long traffic light on the cross street next to my house. Sometimes I head one street over to a street that has a stop sign if I am in a hurry.

The street has been closed for a couple of months, though. The other day, I noticed it was no longer blocked off. So I decided to use it.

And I saw something peculiar: the street had been paved with bricks.

I was fascinated. I decided to open up the car door and take a closer look.

I thought, "Oh my. We are about to be gentrified. The white folks are moving in. Bout to force the black folks out."

Some of the older black folks can't stand that. My father's family neighborhood is WOW. Brand new houses, white folks all over the place. All kinds of shops and eateries less than a mile from their house. (They gave me the side-eye when I talked about it and said they should go on "down there" and look around.)  I am glad they haven't lost their house in all the fray.

I'm not sure if there is about to be a big gentrification in the case of my neighborhood. There are white folks on my street, but the majority are up around the zoo area about a mile away. I live more on the hood edge of all of that.

But there is a very fancy park at the other end of the street. I have written about it. It even has the fancy water spouts.

All this in the hood.

Oh, and it's on the coming Beltline. That's some big circular green walkway that circles the city and connects various neighborhoods. I don't quite understand it fully. I just know it's coming our way.

Here's a picture of the end of the street where it meets the main road out of the neighborhood.

So I looked it up. From what I understand, these are bricks with 4 feet of tightly packed gravel underneath. So when it rains, the water does not flow to the edge of the street, but it filters through the bricks and downward to... somewhere.

I didn't quite understand the article. Construction science is not my thing.

But it looks like they will be paving my whole neighborhood as a solution to the massive flooding problems we have when it rains hard. I don't know if they will be paving my street, but the street next to mine has been marked up with white chalk. I think they are about to pave it.

That is interesting. It looks nice, but I am wondering how well it will hold up when stacked on top of gravel.

Brick roads will raise property values. I was underwater a couple of years ago, but I seem to have a fair amount of equity right now. *raised eyebrow*

This still seems like a big urban gentrification thing, though.

Hmm...

Saturday 7 (Saturday Love)

Look at that... Ain't posted in a whole week, but I have the nerve to be posting on a Saturday Night.

What the world.

Don't matter. I want to post something in this precious space of time that my laptop is acting right.

So here we go.

1.  I've been working like a Hebrew slave these past couple of weeks. I know that I am working at least 50 hours or more a week right now.

2. I am learning that I am too old for such long work hours. I do wish I had my 20-year-old self back.

3. This week I have had a strange sinus thing going on. It is lupus related because it affects my right side (my symptoms are always on my right side).  It is sort of like how I felt when I visited Colorado, where I was having nose bleeds from being at a high altitude. I think this may be a flare from just being all stressed out. NOT good.

4. I went to work today. This is the second Saturday in a row. I worked from 9 to 5. Straight with no lunch. I am gansgsta like that. Well, wanna be gangsta. I need my YOUNG gangsta self back.

5. Best part of the day: getting off work and driving home... with no radio. Just me and my thoughts and my quiet ponderings concerning my day. I always remind myself that no matter how good or bad the day was, something positive happened. Always.

6. I haven't been eating right. I need a good 2 day juice cleanse.I do have some Mommie Boost in the fridge. Might have to fall over into that.

7. I am OFF on Monday. Not the best idea to be off. But I have a doctor's appointment with my hematologist.  And I have to turn in a 24 hour urine test to my other doctor. AND I need to go get my tag for Lucy Jr. (I will worry about Pam some other time. Sigh).

I will be running around hard all day long.  I have to, as I can't take off any other time.

Bonus

8.  I have to remind myself of one thing... and it's one of my favorite quotes of sort.

Like a hairdo, this situation is temporary.  Just like a hairdo.

Aww yes... felt so good to post.

So so good.

On a Saturday, even. Still all good.

My favorite song on a Saturday: Saturday Love...



I love that song. It makes me want to get up and do a Wonder Woman spin.

Several Wonder Woman spins.

Spin until I fall out from dizziness.

LOL.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

A Message from Mitch

Dear Serenity23,

This is Mitch.

I heard you like men in pink dress shirts.

I don't have a pink dress shirt.

I only have my natural tuxedo... and my pink collar.

How you like that?

Love, Peace and Power,

Mitch.

Wordless Wednesday: My Cousin Nicole is a Fabulous Body Paint Artist!

LadyLee Birthday Gifts 2016

I received a few birthday gifts, and I wasn't expecting them!

My cubicle mate Lady M gave me a candle. Her husband works in Africa off and on, and this past month he'd been in Swaziland.They are known for their candles and candle holders, and she knows I like candles. So she gave me one!

"Swaziland..."  I said. "What country is that in?"

"Swaziland is a country," she said.

"No it's not," I said.

And  this is where the trusty world map hanging in my cubicle comes in handy. We leaned down and looked at the bottom of the map at Africa. And yes, Swaziland is an actual country in Africa!

Man.  I learn something new everyday.

And we like to put people's names on the map to show where they are or where they have been. So Don has been to Swaziland!

It amazes me that, as an African American, I know every country in Europe, but I don't know every country (some 50 of them) in Africa. Hmm..

I walked into work last Friday and saw two more gifts on my desk.

I bring candy to work for our Sharbucks, but I  myself like GOOD candy. In other words, I have dove chocolates in my cubicle, and they are NOT for sharing. You  bustas can eat them silly snickers and hershey kisses! None of that for  me! I  live Doves!

I love Sanpellegrino sodas, a soda out of Italy. My coworker, Lady D, the youngster in our group, must've seen me drinking the lemon ones. This is a new flavor, pomegrante orange flavor. I saw it  in  the store, but I  didn't  know  if I would like it (they cost upwards of $7 for a 6 pack), so I passed them by.

So I was happy for these sodas. And I went downstairs to the break room for some ice and I tried it out!

Soooo good and refreshing!!

I rarely drink sodas (a six pack will last me 4-6 months), but when I want one, I want my favorite!

Thanks ladies for the gifts. 

You made my birthday bright!

Food for Thought: Birthday #46... Sigh

I would be remiss if I didn't do a birthday post.

No fanfare this year. (You know how I get all excited about my birthday).

Not this year. I feel more like Sister Callie Jo looks here.

She looks like she is stuck but she is not. Her toys are on top of the bookcase below the stairs and she is trying to figure out how to get to them. She can't figure out how to get her whole body through the rail. (Lord help us if Big headed Mitch tries the same thing).

But she looks caged and trapped. When she is not. That is how I feel.

I am in the middle of a big project at work, and I couldn't take off for my birthday like I usually do. Heck, I can't even keep my doctor's appointment in the morning. Hope I can reschedule it in the next two weeks, or even on Presidents day, as I have that day off. (And incidently, I have a doctor's appointment that day too. Hmm).

So, I must admit that I have been all caught up on my feelings. I don't like being inconveinced on my birthday. Afterall, it's a LadyLee National Holiday. It is.

So if my birthday falls on a weekend, I like to take the prior Friday and the following Monday off from work. That worked well last year, as my birthday fell on a Saturday. And it was super special because my last job ended on my birthday, and my promotion and work group change kicked in that following Sunday. What a nice gift from God, I thought at the time. And it most definitely was.

But things went a bit sideways this year. I have been gearing up for a project and well, my birthday celebrations and work leave have to wait. My boss had come over and sat in my cubicle as he does from time to time and I said...

"Uh yeah... I'ma get ya'll back for this one."

And I will. I'ma take a whole week off after it's said and done.

So needless to say, I have been a little all in my feelings. And that is okay. I give myself permission to be that way as long as I don't stay stuck. And I think I am PMSing anyway. That's probably my problem.

I didn't do much of anything today. I only wanted to get myself together for the week- get clothes washed up and folded and clean up the house. I don't know if I will have to work upwards of 10-12 hours and I know that I will not want to do a darn thing once I get home. I noticed this last week when I would come home late from work and not even eat. I would just take off my clothes and get in the bed. And if it's going to be like that, I want to at least have a clean house and clean clothes.

I did manage to get my drivers license renewed last week and I got an emission for Lucy Jr. I will have to worry about Pam later. I will order my tag online for Lucy Jr. this week, as I will not have time to go to the DMV and get it.

The best thing I did was on yesterday, when I spent some time journalling about the past year, on the cusp of turning 46.

I have changed. I know that much.

I definitely ain't the same person I was when I was in my 30s. I most definitely do not put up with a lot of tomfoolery. And please don't make me have to think to hard concerning our friendship. In other words, my patience has run out when it comes to funky or suspect behavior.

I notice I tend not to be very interested in people if I'm not being a blessing or positive influence. And vice versa. We all dealing with enough people wearing us down. I don't want to be in that company.

I wrote about something I'd written a time or two about lately: I have noticed some anxiety about things going on in my life. It's almost like I'd be on the edge of panic. I have no idea where that comes from. I look to make sure I'm not around any terribly anxious people, as I notice that type of things tend to rub off on me.

This tends to show up when I have some things to do and I have to plan well enough. I was anxious about this trip to San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. I am so use to my sister being around and taking care of my house when I have to travel, but she's not here. So I was mentally bothered and anxious about asking for help. I don't have a lot of friends, and I rarely have company. So asking someone to look in on my house is just a horrid thing for me to even ask. I just asked a couple of friends just to drive by my house to make sure my door wasn't all kicked in. And that worked out. But I remember being in San Francisco just wondering... and I remember the sigh of relief when I got home and everything, including the cats, were just fine. I really had no idea and had not even talked to anyone about it. And my sister always called or hung out when I was out. So that was a point of anxiousness. Unnecessary, but I pay attention to that and I write about it. I wrote much about it out in San Francisco and I did all I could just to encourage myself.

This past week I was anxious about all this car stuff I needed to do: I needed new tires, emissions and tags for two cars AND a drivers license renewal. I was anxious about it. What set much of this off is that there was a drivers license place a mile from my house and it was torn down the week before. (Ain't that a mutha!!?) So there was much discussion about where to go get one where I won't have to be up in the joint for hours and hours. My coworker Lady M encouraged me to go find the one down by the city jail (where I just didn't want to go). Just do a simple drive-by and look around. And you know, I did that for a couple of days. This place was on my way home. And I decided to go in and see how long it would take to get my license. And you know what? There were only 4 people in there and I was in and out in about 10 minutes.

Same scenario with new tires. I was bellyaching about having to have a very specific tire for Lucy Jr. No bootleg for her. There was no need in driving a luxury car riding on some ol' cheap tires. I'd read enough online that screamed that the car would drive like a Yugo if I did that.

I got up early on a Saturday morning and drove out to the suburbs for the tires. There were 10 folks in line in front of me so I sat in the waiting room, equipped with all my charged up electronic devices, prepared to just sit there all day. But they moved me ahead of folks who dropped their cars off for the day and had people to come pick them up. I was in and out with my new set of tires and alignment in a little over an hour.

There have been a plethora of scenarios like this this year. I get anxious and mentally overwhelmed about something I need to do, and it turns out that everything goes FAR better, quicker and cleaner than I expected. FAR and beyond.

So i spent time writing about this, as it is a problem area I happened to see with myself. And as a result, it is an area I have targeted for prayer. I think much of it is tied to me missing my sister, and not being part of a tight knit family. So I have had to just figure out things by myself without having anyone I really feel comfortable depending on for help. And I do have people around. There has never been a time when God has not made provision, over and beyond, especially if I'm stepping out on faith. I have no evidence of failure to get things done. None at all.

It's just the fear of provision not being made, or hardship that seems to bring on anxiety. And I am praying about that.

I know that's a lot of writing I just did. My birthday is suppose to be such a happy time. But I use it as a time to examine what's going on and what I need to target for improvement.

I wrote something interesting in my journal last night, when pondering all of this, amongst other things I choose not to write about.

"... It is all akin to, 'If a tree falls in the middle of the forest, and thre is no one around to hear it, does it really matter that the tree fell?'  It does. Because if no one heard the tree fall, God heard it fall. And that is what really matters."

I'm not sure what that means in its entirety. But it means something, and I will be chewing on it for awhile. It gives me solace and peace for some reason.

That's it for my birthday. This has been an eventful day. My church had it's 30th church anniversary. That was a LONG service. I streamed it, and it was very good. Also this was Super Bowl Sunday. I was just surprised that all of this fell on my birthday. So I have been busy not only cleaning up and getting ready for my workweek, but also taking all these festivities in. It is all so exciting.

But today I am 46 years old. I am closer to 50 than I have ever been, right? And that's fine. T

I am more in tune with having the courage to deal with my issues. And that means I am maturing.

I have come a long way since the attitudes of my 30s and 40s. I am just happy to recognize this.

And I look forward to a great year. 

RIP Earth Wind and Fire's Maurice White, 1941-2016

Maurice White, the lead singer of Earth Wind and Fire passed today, February 4, 2016.

I love some Earth Wind and Fire.

That is the music of my childhood.  Real music.

Here's a great video of Earth Wind and Fire and Natalie Cole.

And it is the most awesome thing I've seen all year.



Like I said, I love Earth Wind and Fire.

Always have.

Always will.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday: Best Juice Ever

Sometimes I don't feel like juicing.

So I do the next best thing: I purchase a quart of Mommy Boost from the Whole Foods. 

At $11.99 a quart, it is pricey, but  like I said... sometimes I don't feel like juicing.

This lasts me about a week and a half.

And that's good enough for me.

Something New!

I FINALLY bought a set of new tires for Lucy Junior.

Finally!

I have been pondering this for the past 2 or three months.

I have been teetering on the edge of angst concerning this tire purchase? Why?

Because the tires are for Lucy Jr.

And I am use to Pam.

And Pam only gets tires when Pam has a flat or a nail in the tire.

Pam has always had 4 different tires. I don't care if the tires match or not. As long as the car is rolling, I'm good. Now, last year, I actually purchased two brand new front tires for Pam, because the old ones looked like they were cracking or dry rotting or something strange. So I dropped $125 for 2 new tires.
But Lucy Jr... She's special. She needs a special Michelin tire.

I remember when I bought Lucy Jr. back in 2013. The owner, Lady M, said, "I like to buy Michelins for the lexus.They ride the nicest."

I looked down at the car and then back up at her. Ain't no way I'd sell a car with some Michelins on it. I would've had those taken off and had some $10 tires put on. Sure would have.

So at my last oil change, my Lexus specialist said it was time for some new tires. I grimaced. I knew I couldn't put any bootleg tires on Lucy Jr.

I wrote down the name of the tire and started looking around on the internet for them. I called a few places and they didn't carry that tire.

I, LadyLee, don't do well with inconvenience.

Then the car's steering wheel started shaking when I was driving. It wasn't bad, but noticeable. It would start shaking at 60 mph. A little research kept leading to one thing: the need for new tires.

Lucy Jr. needs Michelins. Michelins are expensive.


It got to the point where I would look at the tires of other Lexus' like mine. Some had the michelins, others had another type. I looked the other type up online, and people were arguing that the Michelin tire was better than that bootleg one.

I talked to my Lexus Mechanic, Chuck.

"Yo, this car has Michelin Primacys. Is there something comparable to those?"

I wanted to say... Is there a cheaper tire available?

He said "Well, that's the best one to get."

I like Chuck. He wouldn't tell me anything crazy. And some of the guys there at the shop drive the same car. So I called the place he'd been telling me to call. I'd gotten a quote from the same place in Forsyth County (and uh, I as a black person, don't have NO BUSINESS up in Forsythe County. Nope!) But there was a location nearer to me (20 miles away). I went there this past Saturday, super early in the morning, and I had a new set of tires and an alignment in a little over an hour.

All this bellyaching and near angst for nothing.

I got a new set for $600 bucks. The alignment rounded it out at $700. I would've preferred to pay around $400 for tires, but this ain't Pam. This here is Lucy Jr.

And the drive? Man oh man... the drive is SUPER smooth. Absolutely no shake at all.

If I would've know a new set of tires would've been that nice, I would've bought some sooner!

Hopefully these last a few years.
 
It almost makes me want to put a new set of Michelins on Pam!

NOT!