Confessions of a One-Track Mind

It took less than 24 hours after my return home for me to be reduced to a melting lump of misery.

Thank god for Mb, who has invited me to stay with her for a few days. For that, I will even put up with her flea-bitten cats!

Just a few more weeks until the heat *should* ease off. (Please, god....)

.

The half-dollars took care of my car insurance payment with a smidge left over. Yay! Don't know what I'm going to do at the end of this month, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I still have an $80 credit with the water department. Thank god, because it's so brutally hot that I'm in the shower constantly. As in, sometimes I get dizzy and have to go sit in there until my core temp goes down. And not even from exertion, today all it took was sitting up in bed.

Made a pan of Ghirardelli brownies last night, embellished with a cup of peanut butter chips. Yum! Haven't had much chocolate lately, so this was a treat. (When that's gone, I'm gonna make a pound cake from the mix GK sent me. Good thing I organized my baking pans, eh?)

Oh, and this afternoon, J had me calling a potential client about a dog. She made an appointment for next week, and J wants me to assist her. (Her usual person is under the weather, but I'll take what I can get, maybe it'll at least cover the cell phone bill for a while.)

I was going to babble about TV for a while, but just don't have te energy. But hey---at least it's finally August. The end *should* be in sight in the next 6-8 weeks.

.

Caffeine dilates blood vessels, did you know that? I'm sure that for years, my vessels were expanded to the max, which is why I now feel like my skull is imploding, because without caffeine, all my vessels have collapsed.

Yesterday, it was in the 90s---104 with the heat index. I slept from 5AM til 11AM, took a shower, took another shower, napped from 5PM til 8PM, showered again, watched the Olympic opening ceremonies, with another couple of showers---what, you think I'm kidding? I step into the shower, turn on the cold water (which isn't nearly cold enough), rotate a few times, exit and go on about my business, which is trying to get the maximum benefit of the three fans in my room. And lately, I've been doing that upwards of four times a day, because I either feel sticky or dizzy or both.

Anyway, opening ceremonies=awesome. Loved the bit with the Queen and James Bond and the corgis. Watched that, fast-forwarding through the commercials. I'm not usually a fan of musical theater, but this was intriguingly different.

Was in bed with lights out by 2AM, and was awake before 9. I've been up for a scant three hours, and I'm ready to crawl back into bed. After a shower....

What I *really* want is a bathtub that clears my hips, that I won't break my neck trying to get in and out of, cold water and a couple bags of ice.

.

Got GK's CARE package on Tuesday, simultanelously with an attack of IDK...sleeping sickness? Bitten by a tsetse fly? (Hey, after the poisonous spider bite, nothing would surprise me!) Anyway two and a half days of mostly sleeping, waking to shower and fall back to sleep again. Blergh. I feel like refried shit. Hope I perk up by Monday.

The Nook is fabu. Was a little nonplused to find out that it isn't illuminated, as I'm accustomed to from the iPhone. Still, I've been happily engrossed. I'm currently in the middle of "Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter", which is rather different from the movie---better, I think. At least so far.

In addition to the Nook, GK's flat-rate box also included single-serving cups of chocolate-peanut butter, a small summer sausage, some licorice, a black cami, a dark grey "silk" blouse, a pair of licac pajamas----all of which fit. The PJ's really surprised me in that respect, since the top is 18/20, which I don't claim to be, and the bottoms are 22/24. There's also a handsome square aluminum bowl with a dragonfly perched on it, just the thing for my coffee table.

I'm going to go crawl back into bed now. Have a stellar weekend, y'all!

.

Here it is, barely May, and I'm already miserable from the heat. This does not bode well.

I've already begun taking cold showers. This does not bode well.

Walking back and forth to the refrigerator for cold drinks is about the extent of my exertion, and I feel stewed in my own juices. This does not bode well.

This morning, as I left Publix, I tried to lower my window for more air, and discovered it was already down. This does not bode well.

It's "only" 88F, and it'll be a lot warmer, soon. This does not bode well.

.

Got up 9:30ish. Felt like crap.

Checked email. Had brunch. Felt like crap.

Napped for an hour. Had weird dreams that I don't quite remember.

Got up, hot and sticky with sweat. Felt like crap. Took a shower.

Angsted because PJ has offered me their used TV and said he'd deliver it after church.

This means I have to make room for it. It also suggests that I should clean up somewhat, an idea I find singularly uninspired by. It's too fucking hot.

Felt like crap. Mood swings like a bucking broncho. Good thing I'm not a serial killer, I'd be in a downward spiral and wreaking mayhem. Which triggered A Thought: It would be great to have a decent-sized TV so I could watch My Bloody Valentine 3D in 3D. I might even be motivated to work on the MBV/DeVour crossover I started a couple years ago.

That cheerful thought actually prompted me to do dishes. (Toxic waste. Gloves were worn.) Damn, it's not in the kitchen. Oh, wait. Everything is hot. And I still have to make room for the TV in the actual space where it's going. Blah.

I know, I sound whiny. Too bad. It's too hot, and I feel like crap.

.

This summer is going to be brutal. It's 90F in my office as I type this, and it's still only APRIL.

I've set up the box fan to blow on me in bed (and seriously need to rearrange things so I can access the door at the same time).

I've started taking cold showers mid-afternoon and before bed---they're still refreshing, it's not at the "Doesn't it get any colder than this?!" stage yet.

And God help us, when I was running around with Mb the other evening, my glasses steamed up when I got out of the a/c. Usually that's the *final* sign of summer, not the first---the other two being the first truckload of watermelons parked by the side of the road, and "Doesn't it get any colder than this?!".

(End times, I think. /CHEtongueEK)

.

This morning I woke up with a sheet pulled up around me, the first time in months that I've been able to do that. I like to sleep with at least a sheet---so cozy---but with the usual 90+ temps, it just hasn't been feasible.

But today, at noon, it was a temperate 81 degrees. It's still only about 85, and we've been overcast and just had a little downpour (20 minutes or so), so I don't think today is going to be as horrendous as usual. Because honestly, the last six weeks have been low to mid 90s most days with a heat index adding another 10 degrees.

It probably won't last long, but I am enjoying the heck out of it while it does.


.

Was in bed and had the lights out before midnight...woke an hour and a half latr. Dozed out,slept another hour. Am torn beteen sweating and sleeping, hideous.

If I'm not going to sleep, I should work on today's "50" essay...I'm up to 6th grade---I hated 6th grade. Evil bastard was evil. Meh. It can wait til I'm really awake.

I'm going to try to gt some more sleep

.
This summer has been brutal.

Rain dance, anyone?


.

I know I can't make any frivelous purchases right now---but I have invested in one thing that's borderline, because I'll get a lot of use from it. I bought a shower cap. Not the dinky little clear 10 for $1.35 ones, but a size large, purple stamped with flowers, $1.89. Woohoo, major purchase!

I've made do with (free) plastic grocery bags, but they didn't really seal around my head. And, with as much time as I've been spending in the shower, I got tired of wet hair at bedtime. This is much better.

And I hate having to justify what ought to be such a little thing. This sucks.


.

My desk is solid oak. In a past life, it was a school teacher's desk, the kind with a wide drawer over the kneehole, a narrower drawer to the right of it with a file drawer below. The wide drawer was missing its lock and there was no knob when I got it; I scavanged a painted white knob from a junked dresser which looks odd but serves the purpose.

It still bears signs of being varnished originally. If I was a stickler, I might strip and reseal it---with a knob that matched---but I'm not. I like natural wood, and aside from the corner where my cold drink usually rests, the oak is still in decent shape.

I got it a very long time ago from GK, who'd used it as a desk/telephone table before she found a smaller piece of furniture to fit in that space. (I was glad to have it; before that, my computer lived on the dining room table.) According to her, she found it by the side of the road and snagged it. It's lived in this same room ever since, although someday I want to relocate my office into the middle room.

My favorite feature, one of the reasons I've never tried to upgrade to a fancier desk, workstation, what-have-you is, it has an armrest, a slide-out board that nests above the righthand drawers. Although this particular piece of craftsmanship almost certainly predates the PC, it's perfect for mousing. That was another thing I had to replace, other than that knob. I've got an 8" piece of pine board in there, and it works just fine, except that in this heat, it's been getting slick from sweat, and not in a good way.

Today I improvised a solution for the summer ickiness---I wrapped a cotton dishtowel around it and locked it down with a binder clip. So far, it seems to be working, so I *did* accomplish something today.

.

How can I be so tired when I haven't done anything? Answer: The heat. Even with the ceiling fan and the box fan blowing on me, I'm perpetually too warm. Two or three showers a day...doing a number on my water bill, and it's almost to the dreaded point of Doesn't it get any colder than this?!.

I'm trying to complete something for dayofindulgence. I started it during the writer's strike during season 3, when Dean's fate was up in the air. Clearly, this is a long way from what happened. But what the hell, I don't seem to have enough motivation to work on anything else, although I *have* been thinking about Boyd Crowder. This one is currently about 3,000 words and will probably double by the time it's done and it'll be one less thing languishing on my hard drive.

Other stuff I have in long-term parking:

Known and Unknown: Season 2 AU. Sequel to Seen and Unseen, Nancy McGill trying to resurrect John Winchester.
Gone Hunting: Season 4 AU. SPN/DeVour crossover. Sam tries to get Jake out of jail, meanwhile Dean has gone Darkside and escaped from Hell.
The Light of a Fading Star: Season 5 AU. Sam and Dean are trying to find Castiel and track a shooting star to a town where a naked man with no memory was found.

Yes, I have AU's for seasons 2-5! Woohoo! Collect the whole set!

I also have a DeVour/My Bloody Valentine crossover stalled on the tracks, and my post-nuke westrn ala Jericho.

Where's the telepathic typewriter when you need it...?


.

A monumentous occasion has occurred! Last night, I was actually able to turn off the a/c and sleep comfortably with just the ceiling fan. Here's hoping the balmy weather continues, since in addition to feeling good, it offers relief from gonzo electric bills. Bliss!

September at last! Which is that much closer to October, which is when we Floridians *may* expect some relief from the heat. Last year, it was noticable toward the end of September, although I wouldn't make book on it. But usually, yeah, October is discernably less oppressive, and by November, one may even be able to turn off the A/C.

Monday's events: Went to doctor visit with Kat this morning, got added to the full-disclosure list (Ah, the joys of HIPPA!), the PA filled her daily prescription box with Coumadin for the week---apparently that's a delicate balancing act. She was having a good day, but I haven't deluded myself into thinking the patch has made a big difference---unless the days get better and closer together.

Then she cashed a pension check at her bank---and she managed to misplace her bank card somewhere between the teller and the van. Not in with the money, not in her purse, and she said she hadn't stuck into pocket or bra. The teller said she didn't see it and no one had trned it in---I've cautioned GK to keep an eye on her bank transactions, just in case, but I suspect she squirreled it away somewhere and it'll turn up. (Made me think of karaokegal's adventures in banking.)

From there, we went and paid her mechanic for some work he did last week, paid the water bill and FPL. So we got quite a bit done, including lunch at Steak 'n' Shake...it's funny how she always says she's never hungry and has no appetite, but when you set food down in front of her, she will usually polish it off!

The status is quo otherwise. I picked up my scrip for my muscle relaxers, came home and lay down for an hour...not quite asleep, but definitely not awake, either. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to summon up enough energy to haul my cans in for recycling...or write something...or rework my resume. Something. (I really hope this mood of mine isn't PMS---I have too much other stuff coming up to deal with that nonsense now.)

How hot is it? 88F in my office with the fan going. After church, I paid Kat a visit, then went home by way of 524...stopped by Payless Shoes for grins and giggles, nothing I liked fit, then I hit Aldi's---y'know, I think they're going to attract customers by virtue of being small and affordable and NOT a major hike just to get a gallon of milk. Coming out of there, though---I swear, I was ready to stick my head out the window and pant, with my tongue lolling in the breeze like a golden retriever.

Note to self, I am *definitely* taking a hat with me to the concert next weekend---it's an outdoor venue, and I have no intention of roasting like a piece of beef jerky. And I need to snag my swimsuit out of the car, and pack that...the plan is to check in to the hotel, swim, and head out to the concert. I'm thinking I'll wear whatever over there, have my swimsuit, my concertwear, something to sleep in, and probably drive home in whatever I wore over. (Unless I get a concert tee, which I might do, if they have 4X.)

Also, MUST remember to bring muscle relaxer for bedtime---I've noticed that I'm less stiff in the morning when I've had one the night before. Didn't take one last night, and today my shoulders are hurting. But over all, I'm hurting less than I was, which I chalk up to either not having to make that godawful commute, or not having to deal with idjits all evening, or both. Too, it could be the cumulative effect of sleeping on a decent mattress. I thought it would take some getting used to, but I've been happy with it from the get-go.

Nothing has changed on the job front. AI has given me some food for thought about how to handle the exit interview when it comes, which I'm plotting to defer until next week. Meanwhile, please continue to think good thoughts for me, but I'm really burned out on the subject.

I stayed home today---at least this way I know I'll get paid for that much of my personal time!---and slept, a lot. Usual overnight, 3:30-11:30. Got up, dragged around, called out of work, napped again for an hour. Got up for a cold drink, then slept for a couple more. I don't feel sick, aside from leaving my a/c'ed bedroom in the middle of the day, just so tired I had to lie down. I fell asleep with my glasses on and a book facedown on my chest....

Got a little more written (longhand) on the Jericho WIP. Of all the stalled stuff I have in the works, I don't know why that one seems to be getting the most attention. It's two obscure characters and an OFC in an adventure set after the chronology of a dead cult series. Although it's one of those rare things where I could theoretically change the names and have it stand alone with the premise of a post-apocalyptic western.

It's the middle of the night and still 84F. And another six weeks before I/we can expect any substantial relief. Guh, Florida.

The fireworks on the beach were lots of fun. It was supposed to start at 9---it was late---but despite the plethora of electric lights up and down A1A warning that unsanctioned fireworks on the beach could cost a massive fine, there was plenty of amateur activity.

I hung out with T and his brother L---S was out of it---and we watched and schmoozed. S's decline was one topic for discussion---we agree that unless she pulls herself out of it, she probably isn't going to last more than another couple years, if that. I've known her for 25+ years, and I've seen her go to extremes, but this? She's the only one who can save herself, but she's let go and is drifting.

I left the guys to it sometime around 10. Drove back, still plenty of pyrotechnic activity going on alongside the causeways. Stopped by my local WalMart for a couple things and bumped into someone I haven't seen in quite a while---a mutual friends of ours, missybrat---you'll know who I mean when I say he's doing the same thing there that he was when he worked around the corner at WinnDixie. Was much pleased when he said how good I looked---was wearing a tan top with black and white print, brown capris---nothing special---but he commented that I'd lost quite a lot of weight. Considering that when he last saw me I was still with HWSNBN and I weighed around 393, er, yeah. I mentioned this and named numbers, which seemed to surprise him, but they're only numbers---I roll my eyes when I see one of those tabloid covers picking on someone who WEIGHS 200 POUNDS!!. Oh, please. I haven't weighed that since the second Nixon administration!

All was well until I walked up to my front door and saw the dreaded pink tag: My water's been cut off. This is unfortunate, since I seriously need a shower before church tomorrow. Luckily, Kat invited me to come stay with her before I departed with the C's. She took pity because of my lack of a/c, but that plus lack of water? I intend to set an alarm for Very Early tomorrow and see if I can zoom through her shower and still make it to church.

It looks like the coming paycheck is half gone already. Yikes, what a life! But all things considered, I'd rather be me than S.