Confessions of a One-Track Mind

Argh, drama. Way too much drama, and no internet to dump it on*. It's been hell. but My god, I've missed youse guys. I'm back, and that's a funny story in itself. Let me see if I can catch you all up with everything.

Spent time at Mb's the week before last, got home and cable/net was disconected. I, being obsessive and resourceful, managed to get my converter box hooked up to my portable TV in time for Person of Interest. I get two channels: CBS and Retro. Route 66 reruns, anyone?

BrightHouse was even nice enough to send someone out to pick up the box, remote and modem...I know it'll be a long time til I can afford it again, but it saves me a drive out to the nearest cable office---which, with the cost of gas, is a Good Thing.

Right now, what gas I *do* have is being hoarded for jury duty, a week from Monday. I'm looking forward to it, and hoping that I'm needed for multiple days, just for the stipend. I haven't had a full tank of gas in months; at the moment, I have a couple gallons, and I'm wondering nervously if I have enough cans to make a recycling run worthwhile.

In the midst of my turmoil and strife, I got a belated birthday gift from Estonia: kukkurkurat sent me a fabulous handbag. It's a soft blue-grey silk brocade, woven with shimmery pastel dragonflies. Definitely not an everyday bag! Am trying to decide what to wear with it to church...possibly the dark grey silk top GK sent me, although it's probably still to warm for that.

Speaking of GK, she's been a busy bee: she's moved across town from where they were, gotten a new part-time job, *and* she's putting together another CARE package; she found a couple tops while she was out and about. (I'd told her that I've discovered that a lot of mine are too big, so I need replacements. She's sending two.)

God bless Mb for helping me stay caffeinated; I know, I've tried to decaffeinate, but after a couple days, I'm so wretched I want to die. No joke, I spent the first half of the week with a thundering headache, moving in slow-mo, wondering how long it would take for my body to be found if I took a Cutco steak knife to my wrists.

Mb rescued me Tuesday evening and took me up to her place. Gave me two 2-liters of diet Coke and the remote so I could watch Sons of Anarchy. What an amazing episode. ( Holy shit! )

I actually did some serious cooking last week, because that was what circumstances called for. Last Sunday, I did a turkey sausage and rice mingle that fed me for three days; the third day I raided my pantry for a can of chili beans and called it red beans and rice. For Wednesday and Thursday, I took the ground beef I got from the food bank and made stroganoff. Nothing fancy, but filling.

Yesterday, my food stamp benefits were loaded for the month. I was out the door bright and early, because I was out of bread and some vital condiments. Came home, and as I was getting out of my car, was approached by the gal from next door asking when I was going to cut my yard. (Last done 4/25. The back yard is literally up to the window sills.) Told her it's not that I like it like that; I just flat-out don't have money to hire anyone. Was open about how incredibly tight things are, basically I'm hocking heirlooms to keep the lights on...a little while later, her friend came over and whacked my front yard down to size. Huge difference! The back would still feed a brontosaurus for a week, but at least now it doesn't look like the abandoned houses on the block.

I went over to thank them profusely, and mentioned that BrightHouse has cut off everything, and she then proceded to give me the passwoord to her wireless. So I'm online, in my office, and after everything I've said and thought about the neighbors from Hell, I'm willing to admit I might be wrong. Yes, their six kids and IDEK how many dogs are freakin' loud, but she's a nice, helpful person. If there *is* anything hinky going on, I don't care (as long as it stays over there!).

I've got laundry going---I'm going to put it in the dryer when I'm finished with this---and I'm contemplating a lebanon bologna sandwich when I've done that.

Tomorrow after church, I plan to shop at Save-a-Lot, where I don't usually go. But I got a flyer advertizing some great 10 for $10 deals, and who knows, maybe they've overhauled the place and it's less squicky. (It's in the oldest shopping center around here, and last few times I was in there, it smelled...off.)

J is away on vacation for a couple weeks...I just hope everything goes okay. Her car is a little younger than mine, but not by much.


=========================================
* Actually, it's only my drama secondhand, so I'm not at liberty to dump it, but geez. I've never before been in the position of loathing the person one of my friends was seeing---in the case of GK's other half, it took exposure to him as a husband---but I really want to punch this individual in the face. Repeatedly.

.

I had a very nice time at J's. There was canasta. And fried chicken, potato salad and beans. And more canasta. And brainstorming for some themed playlists.

Another nice extra was the view of the city fireworks visible above the trees from her backyard.

Not so great: Her couch, which has *killed* my lower back. (I did not get much sleep.) Or the little fucker who's out in the street shooting off firecrackers. I'm going to turn the classical music channel on and tr to get more sleep....

I'm down to the last bunch of dishes soaking in the sink, go me. Then I can get started oon the counters....

.

I was going to do a load of laundry. Business as usual, right?

Oh, no....

So I go to turn the washer on and nothing happens. Okay, don't panic. The breakers have been known to trip when there's stuff going on at that end of the house. I check the box, nope, everything there is normal.

Okay. For a variety of reasons, my washer was plugged into an extension cord which ran from the front corner of the garage, catty-corner to the washer. It's been that way for at least ten years, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

At this point, I thought to check the extension cord. I figured maybe something fell off a shelf and knocked it loose, or a squirrel chewed through it, y'know, random shit.

There was NO extension cord. it wasn't loose, it wasn't damaged, it was flat-out GONE.

This gives me cold chills, because in order to do that, they would have to not just open the garage door to unplug it, but follow it all the way back to the washer (where the washer's plug was lying there forlornly).

I called the sheriff's department. After fifteen minutes on hold, I reported my burglary, and they sent a pleasant young man out. I mentioned that this was not the first thing to disappear. (In addition to my missing mailbox, an old baker's rack I had flower pots sstored on walked off a couple months ago.) Unfortunately,, the garage door is so old and funky there was no chance of getting prints from it (Where's Horatio Caine and Co when you need them?!), no I'm basically SOL there.

I did, however, take a few minutes to bring him up to speed on the Neighbors From Hell, and he's going to keep an eye on things, and pass the word to his colleagues.

Meanwhile, I need a new extension cord, and I need to get a handyman out to do something about that garage door. I can't afford to replace it, but if I can immobilize it to restrict access, that should solve the problem.

This used to be a nice, quiet neighborhood. Those were the days....

.

Things are finally moving, after a series of persistant phone calls from yours truly.

Made several calls yesterday and today to the Permit Office---since when is it my job to light a fire under their asses? And no, I don't particularly care that they're short-handed today, because a) They should've had this in their hot little hands a week and a half ago and b) They should've had it done a week ago.

Showed my teeth to the fence people this morning...couldn't get through to them yesterday afternoon after talking to Permits, then today...first I tried my regular phone and got their machine, which I hate---it doesn't allow one to leave a message---then tried on the iPhone a minute later and they picked right up. Think they're screening calls and trying to dodge me, but I made it clear that I wasn't happy about having to do their jobs for them, was tired of the delays, and if there wasn't action by tomorrow, I'd be in Friday morning for a refund of my deposit.

Undoubtedly, I haven't made any friends there, but welcome to I Don't Give a Fuck. The fence company has had my signed contract for two weeks, which should have been more than enough time to get all that nonsense done. The only reason I wasn't nagging them last week was because I was house-sitting, so again, they've had ample time. It's not my fault that their salesman doesn't know what he's doing!

Meanwhile, I have to cope with the Idjit Neighbors. Every time someone goes thundering past my window, I stress. This has been going on for months and getting worse and worse. At first, they dashed through as fast as they could. Now, they're strolling past, yakking, laughing, bitching, whatever. And I'm choking back the urge to scream at them to FUCK OFF, this is private property. (The adults ignore me, the kids laugh at me, it only makes me look impotent.) This goes on daily at all hours. Hence the fence.

Meh. Anyway, because I've been trying to follow up on all this, I haven't been out of the house since I got back on Sunday. I'm getting ready to make a mail run, connect with PJ, who's going to bring a few things I forgot there to the church this evening, and pick up a couple things at the store. I'm craving hot dogs, and trying to resist because of the sodium.

Friday, God willing and the Creek don't rise, Mb and I are going to go locate and explore the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore on Friday.

And lfinally, ast night's Justified-inspired ficlet is doing nicely. Better than the SoA/SPN story that preceeded it, that's for sure.

.

Oh happy day! Tomorrow I have a couple companies coming out to give fence estimates (and another one on Wednesday). I can hardly wait, as the level of tresspass is completely unacceptable. I'm tired of people stomping through my yard at all hours of the day and night and ignoring my requests to leave. I'm tired of their drama. I'm flat-out Over It.

Apparently, a six-foot fence is okay, but barbed wire is not allowed. Pity. I'm still taking the "Hook a car battery up to it to electrify the fence" idea under consideration. Failing that, punji sticks....

Also getting the yard mowed again, this time by Mb's neighbor, who is also bidding on the fence job.

In good news, Target is FINALLY having their white sale. Soon I will have pillows!

.

Took myself to the post office and am having my mail held until I can replace the incredible disappearing mailbox. I actually HAVE a box on a post to replace it with, but I need to have the old post dug up and get a bag of concrete to set the new post in.

I've been concerned, not so much about missing bills, because I can check the usual suspects online, but about my 'zines and the package I'm expecting from Estonia. Not that it would disappear---they don't deliver those, I always have to call for them---but they might send it back, and *that* would be dire.

What about my glasses? I had the inspired idea of having them shipped to J. She's home all day in case they're delivered by UPS, although I doubt it; $5.95 tends to be post office econo shipping, in which case they'll go neatly into her locked mailbox.*

So that's one less thing to worry about. And the day after tomorrow, it'll be next year. Woohoo, the much-vaunted 2012, alledged End of Days. After 2010 and 2011, anything worse would pretty much HAVE to be the apocalypse.

o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

* And then she'll call me and I'll zoom over there and try them on and see if they upgrade my looks through their sheer awesomeness, or if they just make the view less blurry....

.

A lot of people are getting edible gifts this year---but not everyone,, which is what would've happened if my ship hadn't come in when it did.

Friday, Mb and I ran around and mostly Christmas shopped in Melbourne. It was fun.

Saturday, I had lunch and a movie scheduled with Big Red...we were supposed to meet at Panera at noon. I called her at five til and said, "I'm in the dressing room at Lane Bryant, everything in the store is half off today!" And she said, "I'll be right there!"

I got measured while I was there, and I'm now a 46DD, down from 50DD sixteen months ago. I've stayed under 300 for about a month now (slightly aided by some kind of intestinal disturbance Sunday night), so unless I start massibely retaining water, it looks like 2012 will be the year I finally kick off the year with a weight beginning with the number "2".

In stead of Panera, which was a total zoo, we ended up at Five Guys Burgers, which was sublime. The burger is thick and meaty, my kind of burger. Their fries are cracktastically delicious. Not cheap, but real value for the money.

Then we enjoyed Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which didn't particularly trouble to hide its slashiness. Victorian eye candy galore, and RDjr in extremely well-fitted long underwear. Big Red was quite thrilled.

A hand of canasta at J's, with her and sbjb and her plus one. Not a very satisfying hand, alas---plus one was unfamiliar with the game, which was an uphill battle to fill anything. It was nice to get together, though. I think that's only about the third time I've seen Sbjb this year, and one of those was Susie's funeral!

Sunday, church and a quiet afternoon at home. Started to work in the kitchen, gathered up a bag of stuff to toss, went in to my room to rest for a few minutes, and spent the next three hours getting my coupons in order.

Spent Monday quietly beccause of the intestinal disturbance overnight. Tuesday...yesterday? Yes. Mb and I went to the local big box club, and got memberships. 14 months for $20 apiece. They really do have the best gas prices, and other deals as well. Went back to her place afterward, where we discovered to our chagrin, that XSO had taken the wireless router with him when he collected his computer, so I couldn't get online on my laptop. (Thanks a lot, fucknugget.)

Came home and discoverd that my mailbox is missing. It's been propped atop the post for about a year...sometimes it would fall off during a high wind, but it's not like it was flimsy enough to blow away. It's flat-out NOT THERE. Gone. I have no way to prove the assholes next door are responsible, but, but it was a quiet wnough neighborhood before THEY showed up.

At the moment, I'm at J's, where there is wi-fi and it's (comparitively) quiet. I'm not looking forward to going home,, but am looking forward to tomorrow afternoon, when I've got a haircut scheduled.

Cool Yule, y'all!

.

I've barely slept in the last few days, thanks to those damned neighbors and their damned dogs. I love dogs, y'all know I do, but seriously, I want to grab this bunch and tear their throats out. Anything to shut them up. Ditto the kids running around with their kazoos all afternoon, the football game that was going on---it used to be such a nice, quiet neighborhood! Finally settled down around 8:30---the silence WAS deafening---and of course, then I had insomnia and coundn't fall asleep til 4...and the dogs started in again around 8...HATE THEM.

On the other hand, I was all wrought-up and got a helluva lot done yesterday. One load of laundry, which doesn't sound like much, but while I had that in the works, I worked in the garage and made decent progress. I found the hose for my shop-vac, yay! (Only vac I have, but all I have are area rugs.) Winnowed a fair amount of stuff from out there, then went into my bedroom closet and really started pitching things. Faded, stretched out, snagged, too big, too short---bagged for departure. Moving things from the garage to my closet,, well, that's still in progress---but there IS progress.

What is a reasonable amount of clothing, gals? Summer is 2/3rds of the year, here, but things like pants and skirts can be worn year round. Have a 2-1 ratio of short-sleeved or sleeveless tops? How many? How many pairs of pants, skirts, long or short-sleeved dresses? Jackets? I have a ridiculous number of jackets, considering how brief our winters are, but they vary in length, fit, pattern, etc. Really, what's "reasonable"?

Thursday evening at Mb's, we went to WalMart in Titusville and wandered around getting necessaries like caffeine for me and cat food for her. She talked me out of a pair of black pants I was eyeing--But look! They're on sale!---and she was right, of course. Saw a great floor/reading lamp on sale for $10, which I really do need for the black hole that is my bedroom, but it's still out of my price range, and their return-of-layaway policy doesn't help a bit. *sigh*

Their Christmas stuff is being set up, and Mb is trying to decide what her decor is going to be this year. I don't have that problem; my pink tree is still up from last year, although I never actually got it decorated. This year, I think I'm going to be doing a lot of baking as gifts---it's about the only thing I can do.

I'm sorry I missed your birthday, karaokegal---I hope you had a great day, I hope you have a wonderful year, and that all is well in the city by the bay. I'd bake you a cake, but I don't think it would ship well.

I didn't make it to ang5fam's garage sale, either---no money and too much crap of my own---but the weather was excellent and hopefully the bargainistas came out in droves and spent lots.

Spent6 three hours last night picking apart a pillow for at least the second time, trying to restore it to a firmness that wasn't quite as hard as cork.

Uh...I know there's more I wanted to say. That's the problem with not being able to post as the spirit moves me, things escape my brain and don't return until I'm away from the keyboard. Perverse little things, thoughts.

The weather is, as I mentioned, gorgeous. Sunny, crisp---and I've been able to sleep with a comforter and no fan, which is divine. I'm rediscovering the delight of 3/4 length sleeves or a jacket in the morning over shorter sleeves, because it tends to warm up by the afternoon. After the juicyness that is Florida summer, I'm loving our version of autumn.

TTFN.


.

Woke up this morning and took two Excedrin alongside my daily vitamin and iron pill.

Still feel like someone has stapled my right eyebrow to my skull.

May crawl back into bed; I think some of it is sleep deprivation. That damn dog barking til 4AM the other night set off a domino effect with my sleep schedule.

Would be nice if I could rejoin the dream I was having, about getting a very pretty emerald green dress made for me: The fabric was a stretchy metallic microfiber with little scrollwork ribbons outlined in black. It was going to be a long dress, possibly this one with less bling:



I especially love the sleeves, which are elegant AND would conceal my droopy underarms. And green is good color for me, especially that kind of jewel-tone.

Of course, going back to sleep won't get anything done around here. Yesterday was not too productive; I scrubbed a toilet and did dishes, neither of which translates to ridding this place of clutter.

The obnoxious neighbors have a motorcycle, and they're revving it in their driveway, which is right outside my office window. God, why are You doing this to me?!

.

Gods in Heaven be praised, I think they're actually GONE. I noticed earlier that the porch light was off, and there were no lights on in the house, but there was just now someone who drove up and knocked on the door for a couple minutes (and YES, it's a quarter til one AM, which gives you an idea of what I've been putting up with) and there was no answer.

I'll keep you appraised of the situation....

.