Grandy-Cranky-Isms

Grandy is CRANKY!!  Foul foul mood indeed.  I want to put myself in time-out.

A clear sign that Grandy needs a time-out is when the following conversations take place:

Him #1:  When you're done typing away over there, come see me.

Me:  Well since I have enough work to last me 3 years, I am guessing you might forget what you wanted to tell me by then so...tell me now.

Me: Do you have time to do this today?  I need it ASAP.

Her: Could you tell me what my deadline is?

Me:  How do I translate ASAP into minutes again?

Him#2: Please tell her I will be attending.

Me:  I did. In the email you actually responded to.

Him#2: Oh, I must not have actually read it all.

Me:  SHOCKING!!

Me:  I haven't heard from you responding to my email requests.

Schmuck#1:  How long have you been trying?

Me:  6 weeks

Schmuck#1: Ohhhh...yeahhhhh...ya see.  We have been real busy and short staffed.  Could you send me another email?

Me:  And what should I put on THIS email that would trigger a response?

Schmuck#1:  How about URGENT?

Me:  How about "Bad Faith Lawsuit Pending"...will that work?

As I re-live these moments to share them here, I giggle.  I suppose I am not ready to be completely committed just yet, because as long  as I can still find the humor (regardless of if I can laugh at the time or not) I might still have a fighting chance.

Xanax anyone??  :-)

GRANDY-BUG

This car was Grandy.

It was cute...It was rounded...and it sometimes went topless (which is a different story all together).

Fortunately, this car did what it was supposed to do when it was wrecked. It kept Grandy's injuries to a minimum. Unfortunately, the Grandy SLVRBG did not survive.

I LOVED THIS CAR!!

There is so much more that upsets me about this wreck, that I can't begin to explain. It's not a materialistic thing, but rather that it is just one.more.thing. In the grand scheme of things however, and considering what so many other people are facing in their lives, it could be worse.

Now Grandy has to find a new car. We're not happy about it...and we're NOT going "new" new...but we are happy that the Grandy boys don't have to find a new ME.

Committee Debacle #1

Grandy sits on several committees for large organizations, in her day job. She also participates on a personal level with many volunteer organizations too.

Between the corporate committees and the volunteer committees, which do you think Grandy struggles with the most? Yep...You guessed it...VOLUNTEER.

When you live in a small community, you tend to see the same parent involvement from one organization to the other. PTA, Scouts, 4H, you name it, it's all the same recycled parents. We try to do our part to make the most for our kids, and that is truly what it is for...the kids.

With some professional committees (still not necessarily "work" oriented) where you have people in the same industry that come together on a volunteer basis, to coordinate an event for other professionals. Common theme...throw the best conference ever, get people in the door, and let it shine. Getting all of these "professionals" on the same page, so see that they all have the same objective, is the biggest struggle.

Grandy is going to share a committee experience that was a pain in the ass challenging recently. Perhaps it might give you some perspective about the frustration some of us "outsiders with a sense of humor" are up against.

Committee #1: ALL MOMS, with a token spouse thrown in there but who never says a word. This has been my third meeting, and everybody has great things to contribute. Grandy looks around the room and realizes she has a new found respect for each of the board members, and the roles they've taken on, because there is just not enough hours in the day for Grandy to take on another leadership position. They all have a job to do, and they appear to do it well. My task, by being there, is to see where I can help take some of the pressure off them, and let them know there are those of us out there that want to SUPPORT them. Imagine my surprise when the following dialogue took place:

Committee: blah blah blah...snack bar...blah blah...can't make a decision until so and so is here...blah blah blah...harumph harumph...blah blah.
Me: Can we not table this discussion, you (committee chair) find out the information you need, email the update to the committee and get their general concensus for a vote? It seems to me that you need some sort of decision before our next meeting.
Chair: Well we tried email in the past, but there were too many decisions being made that not everybody knew about.
Me: I understand how that could be a problem, but it seems to me that perhaps you could just utilize it for just this one issue?
Chair: I see your point...but you wouldn't get to vote.
Me: I didn't ask to vote, I was just trying to keep the meeting going.
Chair: You don't get to vote.
Me: ::BLINK...SMILE...CLINCHING TEETH...BLINK::
Chair: You're not a board member, so you don't get to vote. We will have openings on the board next year. And you...(sizing me up and down) seem like you have some good thoughts. Yeah, you seem like a real "go getter". You could be on the board next year and get to vote then. But...THANKS FOR COMING!!

Grandy smiled, looked at girlfriend sitting next to her who was smiling with a WTF look on her face, and watched the room commence back in to the same dialogue that started the conversation. Blah blah blah...snack bar...blah blah.

After about 3 minutes, Grandy turned back to girlfriend knowing our boys were now done with football practice and waiting in the car, and said "Want me to get us out of here?"

She smiles big, and nods.

Me: We're outta here. I need to get my son home, and he's sitting in the car waiting for us. Good luck with your snack bar, your email, and your vote. See ya!! ::SMILING::

As we walk out the door, Grandy turns to see the expressions on some other friends faces. One reaction looked like, "PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU", one was laughing, and the "CHAIR" was shocked.

What I hadn't realized at the time was that my friend, who had driven there with me and was sitting next to me, was denied a copy of the minutes from the last meeting and the agenda by the same "Chair" because she too was not a "board member". She also received the "THANKS FOR COMING" comment.

Really people...we were the only ones there willing to help among all the parents of the Freshman class. Why do you want to alienate them?

For the rest of the week, Grandy received 2 emails, 3 phone calls, and 2 stops in town at the market from individuals in that meeting (none of which were the "CHAIR") sayin, SO SORRY about the meeting, and PLEASE COME BACK.

To which Grandy smiled and responded with, "I'll be back...next year".

Stay tuned for next week's issue of the COMMITTEE DEBACLE.

It Happened!!

Grandy is pretty sure she has experienced all things embarassing, and was completely un-phased by any other antics that may cause her to blush. Friday...yes, this Friday...I continued in my journey to out-do even myself.

Grandy had a very good meeting with a long term banking client. We reviewed business, we laughed, we accomplished a lot.

When we were done, and realizing I would be stuck in traffic for some time, I asked to use the restroom. When done, I walked back out and my contact took my co-worker and I around to see the other officers of the bank. After exiting about the 3rd office in the 2nd story of the bank, my co-worker makes something like a squeeky noise.

What? - I asked her.

She doesn't speak, but instead she hurries up behind me and I feel a rustling in my long flowy skirt.

What? - I again asked her.

Then it clicked. She can't speak because she's laughing so hard. Then my contact at the bank realizes what's going on and begins laughing hysterically.

Yep! It happened!! Grandy had her long flowy skirt tucked into her leggings and her leopard print underwear was showing for all the world to see. My response?

Well were my panties straight?

GOOD GRIEF!!!

Cranky Pants

WOW!!! It's been a while since Grandy has had 2 sticks to rub together for a brain time to sit down and write you all a post while NOT under the influence of pain meds.

I won't bore you with all the gory details, but I will confirm that it appears the stone is still there. Had a procedure last week, so the doctor could go and "get" the stone. Now we insert a lot of blah blah blah, stone was not in the bladder, yada yada, "NO WONDER YOU ARE HAVING SO MUCH PAIN", blah blah blah...it's lodged.

Now I have a pretty high threshold for pain, but even GRANDY has her limits. So...the fun continues. All the while, life goes on.

Over the last few days, I have noticed that perhaps I have not been myself. It appears that either the pain medication, the lack of being able to take it during the day so I can function in my job, or the dang pain itself is making Grandy a dull girl. I've had several meetings this week (and today is only Wednesday), and had to put my "game face" on. The only problem with that is, when I'm done...I'm DONE.

So while Grandy was in between meetings, had 20 minutes to accomplish 3 completely different tasks, while 4 people were stopping at her desk with different questions, her co-worker made the mistake of asking a question. It was not the question itself she was asking, but rather the fact that I had answered her question, and she had re-worded it 3 different times to see if she would get a different answer. THAT was an unfortunate incident.

This is a VERY sweet lady. She is actually very likeable. I felt short with her, but didn't mean to.

Woops!!

Maybe those warnings where you should NOT mix alcohol with the pain meds should be ignored from time to time. Maybe that would help?? Nahhhhhh...who needs more loopiness?

WTF Wednesday - This TOO Shall Pass

Guess what folks?!? UPDATE!!!

Grandy followed up with the Urologist (like a good little girl) first thing Monday morning, from work. She held off on taking any pain meds that day because she had a HUGE presentation at 1:00, but had a back-up plan for taking the meds on my way out the door AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Urologist office tells Grandy, "Our first opening is a week from Tuesday."

::blink blink::

Excuse me?!?

She says, "I'm sorry, but he only sees patients on Monday and Tuesday afternoons, and we're all booked up already."

::blink blink::

Excuse me?!?

Oh yeah, Grandy decided to make the appointment for NEXT Tuesday, but apparently her body realized that was WAY too long. Yesterday Grandy wakes up and logs in to work at 6am. She decided she would work from home that day, knowing that she had to try to get in to see someone else sooner.

At about 7:30am she gets a call from her primary doctor. "I'm trying to get you a referral somewhere else."

Too late!!! HELP?!?! IT HURTS!!!!

Grandy gets a front row pass to the ER again. After going through the initial stuff, going through the whole "WTF" from the doctor, but getting the same great nurse that helped on Christmas Eve, the CT scan is done. The doctor comes in shaking his head. "You are NOT going to believe this," he says. "Try me" I tell him with a smile. (Oh yeah, serious drugs are kicking in.)

The rest of the conversation went like this:

Him: You have passed the stone into your bladder!!! The chances of you doing that on your own was like 1-2%. I've never seen someone pass one this size.

Me: Did you say 1-2% chance??

Him: Yeah.

Me: Well THAT explains everything!! I'm the queen of 1-2% health chances.

Him: Well, you shouldn't be having any more pain, but there's still the last hurdle.

Me: Which is...?

Him: It's still in your bladder.

Me: Ummmmm... So what does that mean?

Him: You have to try to PEE IT OUT.

Me: Really?!? So, I'm not supposed to have any more pain...but I still do. I wasn't supposed to pass this at all...but I have. So...what are my odds now?

Him: I just don't know.

Lottery ticket?...Here I come!!

Either way. Grandy has made it 364 days into her 2009 resolution with no anesthisia or "oscopies".

YAY!!!

361 Days and Counting...

***Warning: The following post may be written under the influence. It has been a while since Grandy has BUI (Blogged Under the Influence) of medication...but she wanted to warn you in the event of moments of rambling...beyong her normal rambling...in fear of babbling.***

Grandy has pretty much established that she brought on the sucky year she's had. She had coined Suck-It2008 & Bring-It2009, where she figuratively stuck her chin out to the cosmic gods and said, "HEY YOU!! I CAN TAKE IT!!"

Well, Grandy's 2009 New Years resolution was a pretty easy task (so she thought). She had resolved to have no anesthesia or "-oscopy" in 2009. You see, 2008 she had several "oscopies" and 2 surgeries, she was DONE.

So far...so good. Grandy has had several issues come up, that have caused her to make frequent trips to the doctor, but so far nothing major.

UNTIL...Christmas Eve 2009

Grandy wakes up with nothing short of labor pains. Considering the fact that Grandy is NOT (allow me to repeat NOT) pregnant, this was alarming. Grandy gets in to the doctor, who can't understand what's causing this. "Could this be another kidney stone?" Grandy asks (knowing my history for kidney stones). "Maybe?" He says.

Please understand that the issues Grandy references earlier all have been going on for several months, and for those months, Grandy has asked "Could I be having another kidney stone?". Each time, I've been forced to see a different doctor, go through my medical history, and get yet another round of antibiotics for what they all believed was "a bladder infection". FOR THREE MONTHS?

Grandy gets a free pass to radiology at the Hospital. The ultra-sound makes an unusual exit from the room mid-exam, and comes back. She says she can't make me drink any more water because, "You have a HUGE kidney stone."

WHEW!!!!!!

There's no reason to be upset, or even anxious about this news. A kidney stone is totally doable and fixable. She takes me back to the waiting room and asks me to wait there. After waiting there for about 20 minutes, another lady says she's there to take me to the emergency room.

"Why?" I ask her.

"Because you apparently have a HUGE kidney stone." She replies.

At this point, no one has been able to give me any specifics, but I'm quickly escorted into the emergency room and given a bed. Luckily, early on Christmas Eve, they're not very busy.

Within a few moments, the ER doctor and nurse are there to see the "modern marvel". "How is it that you're wearing a smile?" the doctor asks me. "You didn't see me earlier, but right now I can finally sit without too much pain. WHY?" I replied.

"You have a 1.4cm kidney stone obstructing your tube." He says.
"Is that big?" I ask.
"Well, we usually measure these in MILIMETERS, and you have 1.4CENTIMETER." He enunciates.
"So...I still don't understand the connection." I replied.
"Hmmm...Let's see. We get patients in here in tears and screaming with 3-5mm stones. You have 3 times that size, and it's creating an obstruction, and you're being nice to my staff." He tries to explain.
"Well, it's not their fault." I replied.

We all laughed at that.

Regardless...Grandy's 2009 resolution may not come to fruition. As of today, I have made it 361 days into the year. The doctors say that I cannot pass this on my own. They've given me pain meds (some dang good ones) and I have to follow up with the Urologist tomorrow.

Good news... I got to come home for Christmas Eve.
Bad News... I will have to have the procedure...probably before the year is out.
Good News... PAIN MEDS!
Bad News... Pain meds make me SO SLEEPY.
Good News... I WAS RIGHT!! And my ongoing issues will be gone when this goes.
Bad News... Anesthesia.

Oh well. Maybe I'll make it to day 364?

WTF Wednesday - Parenting 101

Grandy knows exactly where this street is. I did not take this picture but if I had witnessed this, I would have most certainly approached the baby and stood between it and traffic.

All while saying W-T-F?!?

Grandy's Early Signs of Stupid Things

In trying to reconnect with some of her long lost blogging community, Grandy came across a great post over at The Junk Drawer. Kathy has a great way of sharing her silly moments, laughing at them, and making us all laugh with her. Hmmm...wonder why Grandy likes her?

Well recently she posted Careful Where You Stick That, which of course lured Grandy straight to reading. She talks about a silly thing she did while AT the doctor's office that caused her an injury. Then she challenged her readers to share a story of something stupid they did as kids that caused an injury.

Psssttt... Would now be a good time to let out my secret that Grandy STILL does stupid things that cause injuries?

For this "episode" Grandy was about 7 years old. Remember the times when your parents could leave and tell you to "stay inside" and it was just assumed that's what you did? These were the days before people like CPS would kick your ass ask questions for leaving two small children at home while Mom ran to the store "real quick".

The boy down the street, his name was Matt, came over and wanted to ride bikes. My twin told him we couldn't go outside, and Grandy of course said "PISHAW, let's do it!" We rode our bikes around in front of the house, in the street, and the whole time Twin is saying, "MOM SAID NOT TO".

Just as Grandy could spit out the words, "Mom will never know", IT happened. The front tire of my bike caught the curb just so and the wheel came to a screeching stop. Grandy goes FACE FIRST over the handle bars and into the pavement.

While laying on the ground, Grandy does a quick body check. Nothing broken. She sits up, and then it hits her. OH THE HEADACHE!! She touches her face, and realizes there is blood. No tears, just panic. "See ya Matt!" as Grandy sprints into the house to assess the damage. As she's always done, Twin picks up Grandy's bike and takes it to the garage, before coming in to assess the damage herself. Yep! It's complete road rash on the right side of the face. OUCH!! Now, with Mom coming home any time, we do our best to try to "mask" the damage. Twin does her best to help fix it.

Now...here is where you ask yourself...how would two 7 year old girls "fix" the fact that the top layer of the right side of my face is now gone? With a comb-over, of course. How else?

Grandy's hair at the time was cut in this cute little boyish cut, and she had more curls than Shirley Temple. So imagine how that worked out for us.

When Mom got home, we thought we would only show her the "left" side of my face. Imagine, walking sideways to Mom, greeting her with a hug like nothing happened. Yeah, that lasted about...um...20 seconds.

Needless to say, Grandy got a good spanking that night when Dad got home. Not sure what hurt more, the spanking or the time Grandy spent over Dad's knee waiting for the spanking. While hanging over Dad's knee, with all the blood rushing to my brain and face throbbing, he decided THEN would be a perfect opportunity to discuss how what I did was wrong, and how something more serious could have happened, blah.blah.blah. Just as the stars started appearing in my eyes, the ass beating blessing of the spanking finally came.

I don't remember much more after that but needless to say, when Mom says she used to make decisions about whether or not she would allow me to do things based on whether Twin was doing it with me...she had a valid point. She says she "questioned my judgment".

Gee... I wonder why?

WTF Wednesday - The Edge

Grandy can't believe it's been a week and a half since getting the opportunity to post on this blog.

This sign pretty much indicates the state my life has been in for some time.

Unfortunately...I've gotten to close to this platform's edge and am on the verge of getting "sucked off".

Hang in there readers...I will come back soon.

I just didn't want you to think I was physically hurt somewhere...or that the light at the other end of that tunnel was in fact a train that has made impact already.

Hope you are all well??

WTF Wednesday - More with Duct Tape?

Grandy has had this picture saved for some time. I can't even remember if I've posted it before, so I'm sorry if I have.

Looking at this picture, Grandy wonders a few things.

• How many people actually stayed in the plane, to see if it would take off with the duct tape.
• If the guy who put the tape on the wing is still employed at the airline.
• If the airline served free drinks to all passengers who agreed to stay.
• Would you fly this plane??

Maybe it's not a big commercial plane. Maybe it's just a crop duster.

All I can say is, there's not enough liquor in the world to make me stay on this plane. Ever!

Is it safe here?

Grandy has only been doing Facebook since February. Since that time, there have been a few little hiccups in the "friend" department, but nothing that Grandy couldn't handle.

There was one girl who was not really ever very nice to Grandy as a kid. Why does she want to friend me now? That's odd. Not thinking much of it, I went ahead and accepted her. I just don't pay any attention to her when she shows up on my home page.

A few weeks ago, however, there was another "friend" who was updating her status with a huge diatribe about how one of her "friends" was slamming her all over facebook. I knew who this person was, never liked her, but kept my mouth shut. In fact, this person kept showing up on my "friend suggestion" list, and I purposely would avoid her. My sister, on the other hand, commented on one of the diatribes, and ultimately got sucked into the high school drama. Talk about your total he said/she said (trust me on the weirdness of this one).

So yesterday it happened... Grandy goes into her Facebook and finds a friend request. ::jaws music playing:: it's HER. It's the one that started it all. Facebook says we have 47 friends in common... GOOD LORD! Grandy wants nothing to do with this person, and actually is steering clear of the other one too, but doesn't know what to do.

If Grandy ignores the friend request, she will most certainly know. If not...she's stuck.

Any tricks out there for kindly ignoring folks? Many of my blogging buds are masters at all things Facebook and Twitter (haven't gone there) and Grandy looks to you for advice.

What's your vote? IGNORE?? Will you protect me if I do and she's mad? I'm pretty sure this one, and there aren't many, could kick my butt. I'm just sayin'.

Crazy Clumsiness

Grandy had a college lighting professor who used to always explain that "black-out" was not black. It was the complete absence of light.

What Grandy wants to know is whether or not bad luck was the complete absence of luck?

Yesterday I alluded to my skills in the lame-ness category, and I'm sorry I didn't exactly specify. Yes, Grandy went down a friend's deck like a slinky. Nothing broken. Very bruised.

This is only one example of how Grandy is not an accident waiting to happen, but rather an accident looking for a PLACE to happen. I get frustrated sometimes at the depth of my crazy clumsiness. Some of my injuries have been out of my control (car accidents, flying objects, etc.) whereas other injuries are thrust upon me, and perhaps I should have avoided it.

Yesterday, when I walked out of my friend's house I noticed that her husband had pressure washed the deck. So...knowing my inclination for such gravitational pulls...I walked over to the top step and reached out for the railing, so I could be careful walking down. So much for that.

Grandy steps down the first step...her feet fly...then thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. THUMP.

Grandy knocked her ankle, her arms, her knee, and felt an immediate 3rd butt-cheek growing out of her hip. All I could think of was, "get to the car and cry there". Grandy drove home, embarrassed and crying (because now the adrenaline is wearing off and the swelling is commencing).

If my mom reads this, I'm fine. If my sisters read this, I'm okay. If my girlfriends read this, I'm hosed, and could take a collection for a massage certificate. Except...That 3rd butt cheek. It's not going to let ANYONE touch it any time soon.

Grandy is Lame

Dictionary.com has the following definitions for the word LAME:

–adjective
1. crippled or physically disabled, esp. in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.
2. impaired or disabled through defect or injury: a lame arm.
3. weak; inadequate; unsatisfactory; clumsy: a lame excuse.
4. Slang. out of touch with modern fads or trends; unsophisticated.

–verb (used with object)
5. to make lame or defective.

–noun
6. Slang. a person who is out of touch with modern fads or trends, esp. one who is unsophisticated.

Let's recap where Grandy fits into the definition and how it applies to her...

1. Yep
2. Got that covered
3. Uh-huh
4. Certainly
5. Already there
6. That too

Wow... Although I'm able to scale the depths of an entire front deck like a dang slinky, and walk away (slowly), it never ceases to amaze me how many times I CAN bounce down those stairs.

Grandy is fine. Bruised. Sore. LAME ON ALL LEVELS!!!

WTF Wednesday - In Search Of...

It is one of those mysteries that perplexes the mind. Like searching for Saskquatch, or the Loch-ness-monster, it is sometimes seen but rarely photographed. It is a phenomenon that can't be explained.

How does it happen?

And why?

Worse yet...and something I've never ever seen...WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THIS?!?

A rare photo of the Cracken Monster, trying to disguise itself with Duct Tape.

NOW I may have seen everything... almost.

A New Prescription We ALL Need

Grandy has found a medication she is not opposed to taking. This pill is more than just a happy pill. It's a pill with benefits.

We have a friend who said that an Optimist feels like things can't get any worse, whereas a Pessimist knows that they can.

Folks...I'm not sure where Grandy fits into this spectrum...but I am dang tired of the bad luck.

Please call your doctors and ask about this prescription. I can only think of a few possible side effects, and none of them involve diarrhea or vomiting.

WTF Wednesday - Swimming Up-Stream

Grandy can totally relate to this dog swimming up what she believes is up-stream.

We have a few minutes left in this WTF Wednesday. I would have been online sooner, but well... You know.

Grandy is definitely in some up-hill swim momentum at the moment. No real updates to provide, other than I will tell you I had a different understanding of the word "voluntary" before this week.

One definition appears to be - VOLUNTARY: Before we make it Mandatory.

Grandy definitely feels like this dog, swimming, while the world around her says, "stand up idiot!"

Would Grandy Survive?

Last week Grandy got a call from her mother-in-law.

Her: Are you stuck at home or stuck in Sac?

Me: Stuck?!?

Her: There's a big fire on the road, and your road is closed.

Me: There is?!?

Her: (laughing) Yes! You can't get home.

Me: Good thing I'm going to the show with a friend.

Her: You're welcome to stay at my place, if you need to.

Me: Oh no, thank you. I will be FINE!!

This is what was happening when she called me. Because Grandy was not in the area, she had no idea of the magnitude. This thing burned through about 600 acres in a very short time, but the fire crews (as they always are) were AWESOME!!

Grandy was able to come home, but it was late and the area seemed eerily like driving straight into the depths of purgatory. The sky was completely red, the flames were huge, there were little fires along the side of the road, where the firefighters had tried to light fires to keep it back. I've got to admit, I was a little nervous driving on the road at 10:30 at night, with flames nearby, with her convertible.

NEVER a dull moment in Grandy-land. NEVER!!!!

Grandy obviously made it home, completely in awe of how quickly things can happen. It got her thinking... If Grandy was in one of those mass distruction videos where the volcano erupts, a meteor is crashing into the earth, or we were invaded by aliens...would Grandy be one that survives?

Now, if she were on the Titanic, she wouldn't have survived. She would have been down below with the real people, partying it up and dancing on the tables. She'd be giving the bird to the folks that locked us down there.

But as far as surviving these sort of things... probably... but not without several injuries along the way. THAT is the story of my life.

*SURVIVAL WITH INJURIES*

WTF Wednesday - Seriously? WTF?

Allow me to introduce you to the poster child for "NEVER GOING TO GET LAID AGAIN" ad campaign.

Ladies...if you happen to find this man...consider it a reminder to set your standards just a wee bit higher.

Something you DON'T see every day

Yep...this is Grandy's dishwasher.

Yep...that is Grandy's car behind the dishwasher.

We're pretty sure that Grandy and this dishwasher were both conceived in the same year. Only one of us has given up the ghost this year, however.

The other has just thrown in the damn towel.