• Jump to Content
• Jump to Extras

Molly's Astrology

Comments (11) 

1. 1 · Trvlnmn · 10 November 2006

   I have a couple of cats. I always hate it when they start revving up to heave and they’re on my bed. No, it hasn’t happened yet, but it always triggers the instant anxiety run to chase them off the bed and (when possible) to a non-carpeted floor. Yack there all they want- it’s an easy wipe up. But not on the bedspread!

2. 2 · walter ang · 10 November 2006

   last mercury retrograde, our microwave exploded and two electric fans (we live in a tropical climate so we have a lot of electric fans throughout the house to save on airconditioning) melted down. it was freaky, all in a span of one week.

   this mercury retrograde, i got charged by our school library for failing to return some equipment i borrowed. i thought that another student had returned the equipment already. as it turns out, he returned the equipment HE borrowed and the equipment I borrowed was hidden away somewhere and i only found it a few days later. gaaaaahhh, now i have to pay this huge fine. sheeessshhhh.

3. 3 · Chris · 11 November 2006

   I’m afraid mine’s not too dramatic but will share anyway. A botched root canal come back to haunt me as it swelled and became infected.

   It didn’t really get fixed either after I went to the endodontist (it’ll take surgery and they don’t know if I’m healthy enough yet) so I’m expected yet ‘another’ replay at some point. :-(

   My daughter’s washing machine broke down after 12 years of faithful service also.

4. 4 · zoe · 13 November 2006

   i’m not sure if this is entirely retrogradey, but it felt that way at the time. it is confusing to explain, which is retrogadey in itself.

   i am a graduate student coordinator. last monday i walked into work thinking it was a week later than it actually was (thinking it was the day that is, in fact, today). i thought that there were two graduate dissertation defenses coming up in the next two days, so i sent out the announcements to some big email lists. and then i sent out a flurry of emails to the defending students asking them if they were prepared, if everything was good to go.

   and then it hit me that i totally missed the deadline for entering pay period time for student workers in our department. my stomach hit the floor. i broke out in a cold sweat. how was i going to explain to almost thirty students that they wouldn’t be paid this time period? how could i just let the deadline slip by me? where had the days gone?

   i called the help desk and asked a nice lady if there was any way i could enter time past the deadline. she answered with doubt and explained the repercussions. she said i’d have to call payroll directly. i hung up and fought back tears. my hands were shaking. i desperately started searching for someone in payroll to talk to. the walls were closing in.

   then my phone rang.

   the woman i had just talked to asked, “what pay period are you talking about?” i looked at the calendar. the sun shone through the window.

   i realized it was a week earlier than i’d thought, and everything was fine. no missed dealines. no angry students. no dissertation defenses in the next two days. no need for cold sweat, upset stomach, tears and shakes. no human error. we both laugh really hard over the phone.

   i also realized i hadn’t had my espresso yet. so i celebrated with a double shot.

5. 5 · María · 14 November 2006

   Merc Retro Blues
   Ug!!! As I wrote a comment my beloved young cat, Baby Jaguar (named for Diego’s jaguar in Dora & Diego, a kids cartoon) just pooped (He NEVER, EVER has pooped in the house) on some fancy fabric I had out to make a dress—yuk!!! and then in the confusion I erased/lost the Merc Retro Blues I had been writing in the comments. Will write it later (Youv’e just got to laugh)
   María

6. 6 · kellrenn · 16 November 2006

   i am not making this up. last week my cat peed INTO my computer through the cooling fan. Not this computer, my personal computer. with all my photographs, poetry, landscaping plans, etc, etc. the computer is toast. We are not trying to salvage the hard drive until AFTER Mercury goes direct.

   What is it with Mercury and cats?

7. 7 · goddess · 17 November 2006

   Merc retro stories? Oh my Gosh. Where do I start? Matter of fact, I always vow to myself to document the little weirdness that makes me say, “Damn Merc Retro!” each time, and each time, I never quite make it. This year, some of the fun beyond the emails that mysteriously get sent to myself, or the wrong numbers, or the phone battery that suddenly won’t maintain a charge…

   * My tire wore down to the metal; the same day, Hubby’s tire was flat. He tried a can of Fix-A-Flat, which did pretty much nothing other than fizzled. He figured it was the cold, and ran to the store in my car to get a couple more cans of Fix-A-Flat—my tire wasn’t good enough for him to take my car to work. (He’s a double Virgo-he was probably annoyed he didn’t already have several spare cans in his trunk.)T he second can exploded all over him! (Factiod: Fix-A-Flat smells like gasoline inside the can.) The third and final can of Fix-A-Flat worked, sort of. He had to stop and restart the stuff in it repeatedly to get the tire up enough to drive.

   * My montior decides to go nuts. In addition to washed out colors and little green lines running every couple inches horizontally, which I’d eventually gotten used to, it started to slowly, gradually blur. So you’d be reading something, and very slowly, inperceptably, the screen would become fuzzier and fuzzier, until you felt like you had just taken off your reading glasses or your eyes had developed a film or something. It doesn’t help that i’m in my early forties and have the “get the print somewhere into the next state so i can read it” disease. agh. but anywho…Turning it off and back on helped…for various amounts of time, ranging from a few minutes to maybe 45 seconds. Agggh! (I was able to get it replaced-eventually, that is. it took calls all over town and an hours drive to find the one i’d picked out. go figure. but it’s gorgeous and i love it, so i’m ok with buying it during merc rx.)

   * Hubby and the kids were playing an online, multiplayer roleplaying game. They needed some extra people to get a certain mission, so Hubby said he was creating some pretend players to get their quest. One of the kids- 21-yr-old gay daughter, didn’t realize they were pretend people, thought the character was a chick, and asked my husband if he wanted to make out in the game. Eyew! That’s what we all said when we found out.

   * My 21-yr-old stepdaughter FINALLY got out of the messed up, abusive relationship she’d been in with the psycho girlfriend from HELL after 2 years. The ex’s side of the family was helping her out, but decided her real issue was being gay. So they told her she could either check into a 6+ month program at a Catholic home for wayward girls to “fix” the gay thing, or go to the homeless shelter. Ugh….well, after a very difficult history with her that started when she started dating princess loser, we went and picked her up to move in with us. Again. It was a total flashback. And we picked her up first day of merc. retro. (she’s doing pretty well, by the way.)

8. 8 · Sylvia · 17 November 2006

   My Mercury Retrograde Day, teaching ESL in Milan.

   I am writing this at 11:44 in the morning, having just returned from what feels like a full day’s work. And I ONLY TAUGHT for 1.5 hours and we watched a movie so I didn’t really teach.

   –Arrived at the school late because my tram was late.
   –Looked for the file for my students, it had disappeared.
   –Began to prepare new material when the copy machine runs out of toner.
   –No new toner cartridges available.
   –Find old material, look for CD to do listening exercises.
   –Go up to classroom and discover the CD player has no electrical cord.
   –RUSH downstairs to get another player, find one (a miracle) rush back upstairs, put in the CD, only to find the player won’t skip to the chapter I need so it’s a piece of *&^%$ crap.
   –Decide to show the class a movie instead.
   –Find 5 different television set with DVD players in different classrooms and NO REMOTES. DVD players are useless without remotes.
   –My students arrive, see a TV in the room and shout, “We is particular to see cinema in English movie forum thank you Mrs. Bitch!”
   –I explain the remote problem as sweat drips down my face and my left eye twitches uncontrollably. They decide to watch a SKY TV movie instead and that’s what we happily do.

   AFTER the class ends I go downstairs to prepare for a class I will substitute teach tomorrow morning.

   –Am told to look for the file.
   –There is no file.
   –Beg someone to look up address and level of English so I won’t be wandering around Milan wondering where BP is.
   –Person finds that information. I have no idea what material these students have used, so I decide to copy 3 different chapters just to be safe.
   –Hearing curses from the staff room I remember that we have no copy machine.
   –Scramble amongst piles of old photocopies lying around the tables of the utterly and always chaotic staff room and pull together some material, hoping the students haven’t used it because that will mean 2 hours of stilted, low level and brain-achingly-dull conversation at a pre-intermediate level.
   –LEAVE the bloody school to go home.
   –The tram makes it 4 stops before breaking down, causing everyone to moan and groan and juicily curse as we get off the tram and bloody walk where we’re going.
   –Walk home, only 40 minutes, shit I am LUCKY.

9. 9 · (Uncle) Hannah Celeste Slattery-Quintanilla · 19 November 2006

   Haha! Ack…apparently I missed the contest. I shouldn’t win it anyway because I illustrated the calendar.

   That’s ok—figured I should share this story anyway! ;)

   I hope this doesn’t sound too disjointed—it’s 2am and I am a bit discombobulated.

   Hrm…I just know I have a Merc retro story but I can’t think of which to choose—a couple of the more recent retrogrades caused my husband to work very long hours on non-work days (he was on call) at the beginning days of the retrograde. I guess the benefit there was that he got double-time and a half on one of those days because it was a holiday.

   This Merc retro was an interesting story, but not that amusing, I’d say. I went to visit my mom (and dad and two younger sisters) for a week as a birthday gift to my mom the Scorpio—I just got back half a day ago. I knew something odd would happen while I was there but I wasn’t sure what—I figured something had to happen, with Mercury retrograde going on and with a final pass to my ascendant happening by Pluto as well. I was a bit nervous to see what would manifest.

   So, long story short—our beloved family dog Groucho died (RIP—1995-2006). This time last year he had fallen ill but didn’t die. He died in a way that he loved, however, which was eating game he’d hunted down himself on the ranch.

   Additionally (in Mercury retro fashion) my younger sister was doing last-minute deadline stuff (on my mom’s birthday)for her “early decision” college work. She received the opinion of myself (I have lots of 3rd house=mercury planets), and my brother (a writer/Harvard English graduate who also has a cluster of planets in the 3rd house) for her personal essay. In all, I think she had 4-5 people editing her personal essay including a librarian. How Mercurial. I think she finally got what she wanted out of it, though it caused a little last minute chaos. After all was said and done, I know my mom was relieved to finally be done filling out all that college paperwork.

   Then, more paperwork bs/resolution, involved me with my insurance company. For the entire year of 2006 I’ve been trying to pry some information and paperwork out of my midwife so I can be reimbursed the thousand plus dollars owed to us. I got particularly heated up when this midwife (who is the person who we need the information from) opted “not to get tangled up” in the tit-for-tat insurance info. We needed codes, she didn’t want to bother helping. On the last day of the retrograde (i.e. the 17th) I gave her a piece of my mind and after months of humming and hawing she gave my husband some info that would finally get us somewhere. I told her I had sure as heck had enough of her BS and I didn’t want to be in contact with her anymore and that she had best talk to my double Libra husband if she even intended to help us. (I didn’t say “double Libra” to her, but I told her that he was more patient than I was with such BS). In characteristic Libran fashion, my husband silently admired my moxy but remained diplomatic towards our midwife. Still, he didn’t placate her either—which made me happy).

   OOOK, I’m rambling now. Forgive me!

   I just realized that the 17th was both the last day of the retrograde and the day of the Pluto pass to my ascendant. Hopefully I used it well enough.

   To the winner—enjoy the calendar—I think it’s going to be nice. I really put a lot of good creative and emotional energy into illustrating it and I know Molly puts her all into everything she does. I mean…how can you go wrong when two Aries women make a calendar? It’s got to be a kick to the head, as they say!

   Your Rambling Uncle,

   Hannah Banana

10. 10 · María · 19 November 2006

    I have really enjoyed all of the Merc Retro Experiences you guys wrote—we should do this again. Here’s mine:

    Poopy Merc Retro Blues

    Half way through this Mercury Retrograde the glass plate in the wood burning stove shattered into a million shards of glass for no explainable reason. Thick billowing black sooty smoke filled the house and deposited carbon ashes everywhere. Thank goodness we were home. I looked at it as the Universe’s way of telling me it was time for some deep house cleaning. Then every light bulb I touched seemed to burn out or explode. So far the Mercury Retrograde was moving along with all the little quirks and surprises one would expect along with the ‘finding’ the lost pix in the computer, old acquaintances calling, you know, all the regular stuff.
    Saturday, November 11th was my first real working day of my new dream job and what a day it was. The last several months of New and Full Moons had been very significant and I’d been feeling that things were changing in my life and oh so rapidly. The Virgo Solar Eclipse on September 22 on the eve of the autumn equinox really initiated endings and beginnings for my life. A lunar cycle later and the Libra New Moon at 29 degrees was the harbinger of major changes to my career, or lack there of, because my Mid-Heaven is exactly there. The transiting Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars have brought unexpected changes as they danced one-by-one through my 10th house.
    Let me explain by backing up a bit to about 12 years earlier. At that point in my life with no money, no real skills for the job market, and the only prospects on the horizon for low-end paying jobs, I went back to college to get a degree to work for the California State Park system. I had the goal of working at Columbia Historic State Park which is one of the most totally cool places to visit if you like history. It’s a real working little town with brick buildings that date back to the California Gold Rush in the 1850’s. People live and work there and a portion of the main roads are closed to vehicle traffic. This was my goal of a dream career—interpreting nature, sharing history with visitors and giving them a wonderful recreational experience and appreciation for one of California’s many treasures. Well, old Cronos took over and time slipped into the future and goals changed and I moved from unfulfilling job to the next . I did become a volunteer docent for Columbia and that was cool. Then early this summer a position opened up at the Park. I applied but was second choice and family responsibilities kept me from getting the position. Then the astrological chain of events began to take over. The position again opened and I was asked if I was still interested. Interested? Whoa, yes!!! My dream job!!!
    Saturday morning arrived with a soaking rain. Dawning my new uniform with California State Park patches on the sleeve, shinny black boots and a hat that is reminiscent of Smoky the Bear, I buoyantly walked to the Park Office for my first day of work. The first task I was asked to do was to make coffee and set out cookies for a docent meeting. This deflated my ego or on the positive side kept it in check. There had been a break-in and robbery in one of the saloons in the Park the night before so the park staff was extremely busy. Even though the gray skies kept up a drizzle of rain, the park was filling up with visitors to have a real California Gold Rush experience; local people participating in a tree planting day; and those persons there to sample exotic chili bean dishes for a local chili dish cook-off. It was also Gold Rush Days where once a month all the exhibits are staffed by docents in historical clothing—so this Saturday was a pretty big deal.
    My task was to open all the exhibits. Now these are 150+ year-old buildings for the most part. Each has sets of two12 foot high behemoth iron doors. Fire had always been the scourge of Gold Rush Towns. The original purpose of these doors was to keep out fire and thieves or contain fires that might originate within the structures. Each door and lock was hand crafted and unique. They came from the East Coast around the Horn by sailing ship. They are massive and have a personality like those of the original shopkeepers I am told. I had been warned of fingers being pinched and blood blisters. I started with the Museum. The first door I went to pull to open. Nothing. I pulled more. Nothing again. I grasp the door with my fingers. It barely budged and to my chagrin—-pain shot through my hand and almost brought me to my knees. Two of my fingers were imprisoned between the doors, which were not moving a smidgen. I tried yanking out my fingers. They stayed stuck. Tourist began offering assistance. Gosh what a klutz I thought, better pull those fingers out before they swell more. The Fates seemed merciful at this point and the doors released my throbbing and purple fingers. Embarrassed and cuddling my wounded digits. I continued on my quest with much more respect for the behemoth iron doors.
    Later that afternoon, the rain had turned to cloudy gray skies and the town overflowed with delighted folks. By then I was still nursing my bruised purple fingers but new pains were grabbing my attention. I was trying to find some relief from those tortuous shinny black boots when one of my supervisors, Steve, came up and asked if I could restock one of the ladies rooms with paper. A tourist had said the restroom lacked the essential supply. Upon entering the cement structure I was greeted with the offending acrid odor of feces. An unsuspecting woman had followed me in who seemed in great need to relieve herself. She muttered something and I returned with directions to another set of restrooms. Ugh!!! This was bad. Some poor soul was not having a happy recreational experience in Columbia. The Chili—the darned Chili was all I could think. The person had obviously crapped her pants as she had tried to make it to the commode and the force of the blast was everywhere: the pot, the floor, the front of the pot, and the wall behind. Quickly I put the toilet paper rolls into the dispenser, all the while contemplating the options I had. 1. I could call Maintenance, but I didn’t know how and it was late in the day and they were probably gone for the day. 2. I could close the restrooms and put a sign up “Out of Order” but I might seem like a wuss and besides there still were a zillon park visitors mingling through the steets. 3. I could accept the fate I had been dealt, POOP PATROL. Man, it was my first day. Three seemed like the best option. It was bad, but not undoable. I headed for the cleaning closet and strapped on a pair of latex gloves and grabbed a roll of toilet paper and searched for a cleaning product. I chose a happy sky-blue fluid-filled container hoping it was like glass cleaner—not as toxic as bleach-based chemical. Forward to the job and get it done as quick as possible. I marched in and began spaying the happy sky-blue fluid everywhere. It seemed to mask the odor. I wiped, I sprayed, I wiped. Stepping out into crisp fresh air, I finally dared to inhale deep gulps pure of air. Where was Steve? Ummm!
    I looked around and found him talking with a group of men docents. I came up laughing and asked, “Hey Steve, you know the “The restrooms are out of paper,” is a euphemism for “There’s a crappy mess in there.” Steve looked puzzled. I continued, “I didn’t think my first day of work there would be Fecal Detail.” I then explained the whole thing. Well, we all had a real laugh. The next day Steve said he had a Fecal Detail incident too.
    This is still my dream job. I love the interpretation of history and nature and there are so many interesting people to talk with. Ya, this Merc Retro has been pretty poopy, pissy, and barfy. You just gotta laugh.
    María

    Oh, mid-week a Mt. Lion attached one of our kid goats—nasty slash marks; it killed 2 of the nieghbors goats; the Victorian Ball for Sat, the 18th was cancelled and I really, really wanted to go; the big kicker is that I found out the college sponsored trip to Spain I was going on in the Summer is schedualed for the last 2 weeks of Spring and with my new Dream Job I cannot, or dare not ask for it off. It is the busyest time of the year. However, being a North-Node Piseces person I know the Universe has something grand or lessons to learn from all this—I am trusting in Spirit.

11. 11 · (Uncle) Hannah Celeste Slattery-Quintanilla · 17 December 2006

    Update on the Merc Retro thingie. My sister (in my retro story who was applying for college) got into the college of her choice. Colorado College! Go Claire!

    Wowoo.

    XO…