Don’t be passive:
These are things you should know:
1. What is the billing cycle for your storage unit? Does your employer pay an entire year in advance? Will they pay quarterly? Monthly?
2. When will the storage unit send out the bill?
3. When is the next bill due?
4. When was the last bill paid?
You don’t know do you???!!!!
I didn’t either.
Here’s what you can do.
1. Find out who will send the bill from the storage unit and at what cycle.
2. Find out who is paying from your employer.
3. Call after each billing period (once a month, once a quarter) just to make sure the bill was paid. Put a sticker on your phone, a memo on your e-calendar, an alarm on your cell phone – whatever works!
4. If there is a lot of turnover with your employer –arrange to pay yourself and get reimbursed later (hey, it’s better than losing your stuff, right??)
Make it a habit to just do it. Think about it one little international phone call every month or three could save you a great big investigation (and a little bit of heartbreak)!
Showing posts with label list of things lost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label list of things lost. Show all posts
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
The List Continues... 171- 180
171 . Precious old clothes… baby outfits worn by me as a newborn the Mom brought to me when Alexandria was born. I shared them with Alexandria and Samantha too. (I will try to post pics)
172 . Photos from when Terry and I were dating and the first 7 years of our marriage (before Alexandria was born)
173 . Terry’s collection of antique alcohol bottles including a few great big ones – a three foot tall bourbon bottle on a swinging stand, another triangle one on a brass stand…many smaller ones.
174 . Coins I collected as a kid – silver dollars, half dollars, wheat pennies
175 . The newspaper article from the Chinese newspaper a photo of me and Alexandria with the caption “Ambassadors for Peace.”
176 . My old address books
177 . A lambs wool baby blanket
178 . The Santa Clause tree topper we bought in Savannah
179 . Alexandria’s rock and shell collections
180 . Set-list from concerts I attended in Atlanta
172 . Photos from when Terry and I were dating and the first 7 years of our marriage (before Alexandria was born)
173 . Terry’s collection of antique alcohol bottles including a few great big ones – a three foot tall bourbon bottle on a swinging stand, another triangle one on a brass stand…many smaller ones.
174 . Coins I collected as a kid – silver dollars, half dollars, wheat pennies
175 . The newspaper article from the Chinese newspaper a photo of me and Alexandria with the caption “Ambassadors for Peace.”
176 . My old address books
177 . A lambs wool baby blanket
178 . The Santa Clause tree topper we bought in Savannah
179 . Alexandria’s rock and shell collections
180 . Set-list from concerts I attended in Atlanta
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Memory - Item #60 - Ceramic Christmas Village handmade by my mom
My parents were always socializing, but something changed when Kelli and I became teenagers. We found they were staying at home, watching TV and eating popcorn almost every night. Our friends noticed the same problem with their parents. It was like some sort of neighborhood watch turned against us kids --- a teenager watch.
But my Mom’s not they type to sit still for long. She scheduled a weekly ceramics class (only a block or so from home) and returned home with boxes of ceramic molds in various stages of metamorphosis.
And night-by-night she evened the edges, scraped, molded, defined and colored her creations.
A couple of years before we left the country she gave me her handmade Christmas village. Our last Christmas in the US, Alexandria was three and she helped me set each piece onto snowy cotton on our mantel. I showed her how my mom marked the bottom of all of her pieces with her initials DE and a smiley face. I’ll never forget Alexandria’s amazed face when I told her, “Your Grandma Donna made this village. Every piece!”
That year my parents and my aunt and uncle traveled to our home to spend Christmas. Alexandria zoomed out of the house to greet Grandma and shouting, “Our firesill! Our firesill! We have it! The village! On our firesill!” (She didn’t know the word mantle, but knew it wasn’t a windowsill!)
The home I grew up in had a large raised hearth around the fireplace where my mother displayed the Christmas village. Our mantle was narrow in comparison, but the village was still beautiful with a church in the center, Christmas tress, Santa, a small group of carolers, a toy store… she had even made a tiny black dog who looked like our family’s dog, Vicki.
My sister told me not to sweat the small stuff and that “the things you lose come back to you.” I can be optimistic at times. I looked on e-bay and did an Internet search, but I couldn’t find a Christmas village as beautiful as hers.
But my Mom’s not they type to sit still for long. She scheduled a weekly ceramics class (only a block or so from home) and returned home with boxes of ceramic molds in various stages of metamorphosis.
And night-by-night she evened the edges, scraped, molded, defined and colored her creations.
A couple of years before we left the country she gave me her handmade Christmas village. Our last Christmas in the US, Alexandria was three and she helped me set each piece onto snowy cotton on our mantel. I showed her how my mom marked the bottom of all of her pieces with her initials DE and a smiley face. I’ll never forget Alexandria’s amazed face when I told her, “Your Grandma Donna made this village. Every piece!”
That year my parents and my aunt and uncle traveled to our home to spend Christmas. Alexandria zoomed out of the house to greet Grandma and shouting, “Our firesill! Our firesill! We have it! The village! On our firesill!” (She didn’t know the word mantle, but knew it wasn’t a windowsill!)
The home I grew up in had a large raised hearth around the fireplace where my mother displayed the Christmas village. Our mantle was narrow in comparison, but the village was still beautiful with a church in the center, Christmas tress, Santa, a small group of carolers, a toy store… she had even made a tiny black dog who looked like our family’s dog, Vicki.
My sister told me not to sweat the small stuff and that “the things you lose come back to you.” I can be optimistic at times. I looked on e-bay and did an Internet search, but I couldn’t find a Christmas village as beautiful as hers.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Empty Pictures
Funny thing is... sometimes when I'm trying to remember an item for the list, I think to myself "I have a picture of it." And for a split second, I think that I do.
Then I remember that my pictures are gone too!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The List Continues 121 - 130
121. Alexandria’s Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy doll
122. The tequila bottle from the time Terry ate the worm (all the A.Z.s signed it)
123. The giant gaudy gold framed photo of me and my sister with my grandpa – he had it designed to look like an oil painting. (I still have one of the prints – wallet size)
124. A sweater hand knitted for me by Grandma Ada when I was a kid
125. The magazine article Lilly wrote about our family (it was published in a Chinese magazine).
126. These huge plastic dinosaur necklaces – we had a game of hiding them from Alexandria (and she sometimes hid them from us)
127. Laundry baskets
128. The bud vases from Paula and Brad’s wedding
129. A gas lantern
130. Fondue set
122. The tequila bottle from the time Terry ate the worm (all the A.Z.s signed it)
123. The giant gaudy gold framed photo of me and my sister with my grandpa – he had it designed to look like an oil painting. (I still have one of the prints – wallet size)
124. A sweater hand knitted for me by Grandma Ada when I was a kid
125. The magazine article Lilly wrote about our family (it was published in a Chinese magazine).
126. These huge plastic dinosaur necklaces – we had a game of hiding them from Alexandria (and she sometimes hid them from us)
127. Laundry baskets
128. The bud vases from Paula and Brad’s wedding
129. A gas lantern
130. Fondue set
Monday, November 12, 2007
Laughter
I learned that my stuff was lost while en route to see my great-aunt. No, I wasn’t talking on a cell phone while driving a car like 99.9% of America. I was the passenger.
My sister, on the other hand, operates her car like so:
Sit down, start engine, close door, shift into reverse, back up, speed dial, brake, look both ways, talk, drive.
I tease her because I love her. Also because I whipped her butt racing motorcycles (at the arcade) – even though we were sitting on the motorcycles, speeding, and leaning while zooming around on the screen it wasn’t like real driving for her without a cell phone.
I hadn’t seen my great aunt in a long time. We talked like we always do about my grandfather and all the stuff he had packed in his garages and basement. He was locally famous for collecting and held annual garage sales that were HUGE. Around April and May people would stop by his house to ask him, “When are you having your garage sale this year?” They wanted to know before they submitted their vacation requests.
My aunt stayed in one of his houses when Grandpa lived in Florida and she told of all the things she lost just because he moved things around. “There are things down in that basement that I haven’t found in years.”
As she started to mention her losses it reminded me of our things in storage. I initially thought of the photos and ‘the big stuff’ (antiques or furniture). She said, “I had a set of white bone china dishes.” And I remembered my great-grandma’s dishes.
She went on, “There were Christmas ornaments, boxes of them. Some just plain old bulbs, some blown glass, all kinds of decorations.” And I remembered my Christmas ornaments. A picture of my 3 year old self standing in front of a Christmas tree, glued onto a piece of construction paper and my mother’s Christmas village that she shaped and painted by hand.
We talked for half an hour about our memories of things lost. And every item she mentioned I had the same (or similar) loss. It was heartbreaking for me. And she… laughed.
She told me, “Believe me. You will laugh about this one day. You really will. I know you will.”
The shared misery (and source of laughter) was only a small part of our visit. My aunt Dorothy is a strong woman. She raised her daughter and four grandchildren. In her late eighties, she still baby-sits her great-grandchildren. This year she battled cancer (and won) and she also lost a grandson to a car accident.
Loss of loved ones and loss of health puts losing “stuff” in perspective. Overall the best part of the visit was her memories of family history. I never tire of hearing the stories of my Grandfather’s childhood.
My aunt is pictured above with my sis (aka 'speedy' on the right) and me. She’s wise, smart, and she made me laugh on a day when we both shared our sadness.
My sister, on the other hand, operates her car like so:
Sit down, start engine, close door, shift into reverse, back up, speed dial, brake, look both ways, talk, drive.
I tease her because I love her. Also because I whipped her butt racing motorcycles (at the arcade) – even though we were sitting on the motorcycles, speeding, and leaning while zooming around on the screen it wasn’t like real driving for her without a cell phone.
I hadn’t seen my great aunt in a long time. We talked like we always do about my grandfather and all the stuff he had packed in his garages and basement. He was locally famous for collecting and held annual garage sales that were HUGE. Around April and May people would stop by his house to ask him, “When are you having your garage sale this year?” They wanted to know before they submitted their vacation requests.
My aunt stayed in one of his houses when Grandpa lived in Florida and she told of all the things she lost just because he moved things around. “There are things down in that basement that I haven’t found in years.”
As she started to mention her losses it reminded me of our things in storage. I initially thought of the photos and ‘the big stuff’ (antiques or furniture). She said, “I had a set of white bone china dishes.” And I remembered my great-grandma’s dishes.
She went on, “There were Christmas ornaments, boxes of them. Some just plain old bulbs, some blown glass, all kinds of decorations.” And I remembered my Christmas ornaments. A picture of my 3 year old self standing in front of a Christmas tree, glued onto a piece of construction paper and my mother’s Christmas village that she shaped and painted by hand.
We talked for half an hour about our memories of things lost. And every item she mentioned I had the same (or similar) loss. It was heartbreaking for me. And she… laughed.
She told me, “Believe me. You will laugh about this one day. You really will. I know you will.”
The shared misery (and source of laughter) was only a small part of our visit. My aunt Dorothy is a strong woman. She raised her daughter and four grandchildren. In her late eighties, she still baby-sits her great-grandchildren. This year she battled cancer (and won) and she also lost a grandson to a car accident.
Loss of loved ones and loss of health puts losing “stuff” in perspective. Overall the best part of the visit was her memories of family history. I never tire of hearing the stories of my Grandfather’s childhood.
My aunt is pictured above with my sis (aka 'speedy' on the right) and me. She’s wise, smart, and she made me laugh on a day when we both shared our sadness.
I think she’s right. Someday I’ll tell my grandchildren, “One time I lost a bunch of stuff and I was so upset I created a list on a blog for everyone to see.” And they’ll say, “What’s a blog, Granny?” And I’ll say, “Oh, just a low tech form of communication us folks used back in the day.”
Saturday, November 10, 2007
The List Continues 111 - 120
111. Punch bowl and glasses (wedding gift)
112. Red wagon that Tracey bought for Alexandria
113. Our telephone and answering machine
114. Kiddie Pool
115. Turtle sandbox
116. Many Christmas lights
117. Garland
118. My costume jewelry (including a silver lizard pin)
119. A big gas grill
120. Mint coins that Mike got for Alexandria and Samantha (from the year they were born)
112. Red wagon that Tracey bought for Alexandria
113. Our telephone and answering machine
114. Kiddie Pool
115. Turtle sandbox
116. Many Christmas lights
117. Garland
118. My costume jewelry (including a silver lizard pin)
119. A big gas grill
120. Mint coins that Mike got for Alexandria and Samantha (from the year they were born)
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The List Continues 101 - 110
101. The Santa through time figurines that Rodney gave me.
102. The cool silver lamp with six giant glass bulbs (was my Mom’s)
103. Alexandria’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle piggy bank (Rafel, my favorite Ninja Turtle!)
104. A wood sculpture of a PT holding a goniometer that my parents bought for me at an art fair.
105. Painted fans that we bought in China
106. Lots of Legos!
107. Sprinklers
108. Soaker hoses for the big veggie garden we had
109. A magna doodle
110. Almost all of my jewelry
102. The cool silver lamp with six giant glass bulbs (was my Mom’s)
103. Alexandria’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle piggy bank (Rafel, my favorite Ninja Turtle!)
104. A wood sculpture of a PT holding a goniometer that my parents bought for me at an art fair.
105. Painted fans that we bought in China
106. Lots of Legos!
107. Sprinklers
108. Soaker hoses for the big veggie garden we had
109. A magna doodle
110. Almost all of my jewelry
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The List reaches ONE HUNDRED!!!!
91. Alexandria’s pumpkin costume
92. The Elmo baby stroller
93. A wooden corner cabinet
94. My grandmother’s white wicker purse
95. Garden hoses and attachments and sprinklers
96. Terry’s office chair that we gave to him on Father’s Day
97. My skinny (size 6) clothes
98. Alexandria’s Mickey Mouse backpack given to her by Terry’s students in China
99. A wooden rocking chair (I rocked and nursed the girls in that chair)
100. Yi Xing teapots – some we purchased and some that were gifts
92. The Elmo baby stroller
93. A wooden corner cabinet
94. My grandmother’s white wicker purse
95. Garden hoses and attachments and sprinklers
96. Terry’s office chair that we gave to him on Father’s Day
97. My skinny (size 6) clothes
98. Alexandria’s Mickey Mouse backpack given to her by Terry’s students in China
99. A wooden rocking chair (I rocked and nursed the girls in that chair)
100. Yi Xing teapots – some we purchased and some that were gifts
Monday, November 5, 2007
The List Continues 81 - 90
81. Terry’s boxes and boxes of comic books, all in their protective bags, categorized by title and number. Including about a dozen prized ones signed by the artists.
82. A set of silverware with a custom case given to us by my grandfather.
83. Our big jugs for making wine
84. A brass clock with a glass dome cover
85. The footlocker that I covered in beads
86. Pots and pans
87. Two ten-speed bikes
88. A baby mobile
89. A black folding card table
90. The marionette puppet Tracey bought for Alexandria
82. A set of silverware with a custom case given to us by my grandfather.
83. Our big jugs for making wine
84. A brass clock with a glass dome cover
85. The footlocker that I covered in beads
86. Pots and pans
87. Two ten-speed bikes
88. A baby mobile
89. A black folding card table
90. The marionette puppet Tracey bought for Alexandria
Sunday, November 4, 2007
The list continues 61 - 80
61. Cards and letters from Grandpa Kelly
62. A piece of the wall from my childhood bedroom
63. Picture frames
64. Some alarm clocks
65. A bunch of hangers
66. A queen-size mattress, box springs and bed frame from guest bedroom
67. Two Japanese prints given to us by Ober Tyus
68. White baby bassinette
69. Walnut baby changing table
70. Samantha’s bouncy seat
71. Our wedding cake serving set – knife and cake server engraved with our names and wedding date.
72. The guest book from our wedding
73. Bookshelves
74. Holiday crafts handmade by Terry’s grandmother
75. T-shirts
76. 2 Tae Kwon Do uniforms + belts
77. Patio furniture
78. My high school yearbooks
79. 2 pairs of leather gloves lined with fur that grandma gave me (too small for me)
80. A vintage silver tray, brush, and comb set
62. A piece of the wall from my childhood bedroom
63. Picture frames
64. Some alarm clocks
65. A bunch of hangers
66. A queen-size mattress, box springs and bed frame from guest bedroom
67. Two Japanese prints given to us by Ober Tyus
68. White baby bassinette
69. Walnut baby changing table
70. Samantha’s bouncy seat
71. Our wedding cake serving set – knife and cake server engraved with our names and wedding date.
72. The guest book from our wedding
73. Bookshelves
74. Holiday crafts handmade by Terry’s grandmother
75. T-shirts
76. 2 Tae Kwon Do uniforms + belts
77. Patio furniture
78. My high school yearbooks
79. 2 pairs of leather gloves lined with fur that grandma gave me (too small for me)
80. A vintage silver tray, brush, and comb set
Saturday, November 3, 2007
The List Continues 51 - 60
51. The video Terry made for me the first summer we were dating
52. Alexandria’s Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls
53. A wooden pencil holder given to me by Dr. Steiger when I was accepted to graduate school
54. A bottle of blackberry wine that David made (we were aging it!)
55. A giant ‘Call us before you buy a house here’ sign that Terry made when we were having problems with our builder (note the problems were speedily resolved!)
56. Puppets
57. Antique flat irons (like the one pictured above) used by my great grandma
58. Two bubble mowers (kids plastic toy lawnmowers that spit out bubbles galore)
59. Terry’s paintings from art class
60. Ceramic Christmas Village made by my mom (they have her signature smiley face and initials on the bottom of each piece)
52. Alexandria’s Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls
53. A wooden pencil holder given to me by Dr. Steiger when I was accepted to graduate school
54. A bottle of blackberry wine that David made (we were aging it!)
55. A giant ‘Call us before you buy a house here’ sign that Terry made when we were having problems with our builder (note the problems were speedily resolved!)
56. Puppets
57. Antique flat irons (like the one pictured above) used by my great grandma
58. Two bubble mowers (kids plastic toy lawnmowers that spit out bubbles galore)
59. Terry’s paintings from art class
60. Ceramic Christmas Village made by my mom (they have her signature smiley face and initials on the bottom of each piece)
The list continues 31 - 50
31. The first Christmas ornaments I made in preschool
32. Notes I exchanged with girlfriends since Jr. High
33. Our super duper vacuum cleaner
34. Cards my mother sent to me while I was in college
35. My grandfather’s stamp with his initials that he pressed into all of his official documents beside his signature
36. Alexandria’s ‘Alexandria Doll’ her first porcelain doll (given to her by her great aunt Betty) when it fell and the face smashed we glued it together and she still found it beautiful, she was so in love with it she didn’t see the cracks.
37. The paddle Terry made when rushing the Azs
38. A matchbook signed by Vinx
39. Set lists from concerts
40. Our king size four poster bed
41. Large cast iron quilt stand
43. A quilt that was made by Terry’s great-grandmother (white double wedding ring pattern) and given to us on our wedding day.
44. A quilt made by my great-grandmother that I slept under as a child at my grandmother’s house – red and blue pattern.
45. The Highlander Laser Disc I ordered for Terry in the early days of e-bay and back when I didn’t even know the difference between a laser disc and a DVD
46. My shell lamp – all the shells inside it were hand collected by my grandma Ada
47. The yard bird that was a white elephant gift –no one at the party liked it except me!
48. A birdbath
49. Our caps and gowns from Pacific
50. The tapes from our answering machine, we kept all the funny messages that Papa left for the girls
32. Notes I exchanged with girlfriends since Jr. High
33. Our super duper vacuum cleaner
34. Cards my mother sent to me while I was in college
35. My grandfather’s stamp with his initials that he pressed into all of his official documents beside his signature
36. Alexandria’s ‘Alexandria Doll’ her first porcelain doll (given to her by her great aunt Betty) when it fell and the face smashed we glued it together and she still found it beautiful, she was so in love with it she didn’t see the cracks.
37. The paddle Terry made when rushing the Azs
38. A matchbook signed by Vinx
39. Set lists from concerts
40. Our king size four poster bed
41. Large cast iron quilt stand
43. A quilt that was made by Terry’s great-grandmother (white double wedding ring pattern) and given to us on our wedding day.
44. A quilt made by my great-grandmother that I slept under as a child at my grandmother’s house – red and blue pattern.
45. The Highlander Laser Disc I ordered for Terry in the early days of e-bay and back when I didn’t even know the difference between a laser disc and a DVD
46. My shell lamp – all the shells inside it were hand collected by my grandma Ada
47. The yard bird that was a white elephant gift –no one at the party liked it except me!
48. A birdbath
49. Our caps and gowns from Pacific
50. The tapes from our answering machine, we kept all the funny messages that Papa left for the girls
Friday, November 2, 2007
The List continues 11 - 30
11. My great-grandmother's everyday dishes from Sicily
12. A piece of the Berlin wall torn out by Udo’s hands on the day the wall fell
13. Most of my text books from physical therapy school
14. The square gold box that once contained my grandfather's ashes
15. The Harley Davidson outfit (size 3T) that Andy bought for Alexandria
16. Table linens
17. Wheelbarrow
18. Rake, garden shovel, spades, snow shovels
19. Photos from the time when Terry and I were dating
20. Filing cabinets
21. Queen size oak bedroom set
22. Vanity that Mom found for me at an estate sale
23. Antique dresser that I had since I was a child
24. Vintage clothing, many dresses, from the 1930s and 1940s
25. Samantha's baby swing
26. 2 fur coats
27. My modeling photos
28. Lawn mower, weedwacker, and edger
29. Our kits and recipes for making wine and beer
30. Norman Rockwell Plate - 'Grandpa's Treasures' that grandpa gave me (one to me and one to Kelli)
12. A piece of the Berlin wall torn out by Udo’s hands on the day the wall fell
13. Most of my text books from physical therapy school
14. The square gold box that once contained my grandfather's ashes
15. The Harley Davidson outfit (size 3T) that Andy bought for Alexandria
16. Table linens
17. Wheelbarrow
18. Rake, garden shovel, spades, snow shovels
19. Photos from the time when Terry and I were dating
20. Filing cabinets
21. Queen size oak bedroom set
22. Vanity that Mom found for me at an estate sale
23. Antique dresser that I had since I was a child
24. Vintage clothing, many dresses, from the 1930s and 1940s
25. Samantha's baby swing
26. 2 fur coats
27. My modeling photos
28. Lawn mower, weedwacker, and edger
29. Our kits and recipes for making wine and beer
30. Norman Rockwell Plate - 'Grandpa's Treasures' that grandpa gave me (one to me and one to Kelli)
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