Confessions of a One-Track Mind

Lovely side benefit to my job: now that the DSL has been tweaked, I have my very own Internet---wireless. This has sped up my computer, which is helpful. It's also hooked up my phone, which has me utterly delighted.

The job is...work. I can't believe how zonked I am from a part-time job that doesn't even require commuting. It's not quite like anything I've done before; there's a lot I'm scrambling to learn and keep up with. (I have to keep reminding myself how stoopid I felt the first six months doing medical billing.)

I'm squeeing happily at Elementary---am enjoying this week's special guest, someone I've been fond of for ages. He's aging well.

TTFN.

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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!

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The presentation on service dogs went pretty well this morning, despite the fact that I overslept. Snoozed right through my alarm, woke, caught sight of the clock, thought it said 10:43 (Church starts at 11) screamed, virtually levitated out of bed, looked again, saw that it was actually "only" 10:13, and calmed down, but did not slow down.

I made it from bed to church in a scant 35 minutes, by virtue of knowing what I was going to wear and having it ready beforehand. (Zebra suit with cranberry red shell and shoes, shell and coral necklace.) I did not, however, have any notes, which made it challenging.

I'm told it was a good talk; I meant to discuss service dog etiquette, but didn't. Was going to differentiate between service dogs and theraphy dogs, didn't. I've run across several stories about service dogs in the news recently and touched on all of them, so it didn't go too terribly.

I'm taking a breather from my room; there's been a Hoarding: Buried Alive marathon most of the evening, and there but for the grace of God...saw a news story yesterday about a guy in California who lost it when city officials showed up on his doorstep. He shot one of them and held them off for a while before surrendering. Yikes. At times like this, I feel like a model of mental health (other times, I'm not so sure).

Got an email from GK that made me squee gleefully: She's got a new Nook Touch for me by way of some overpriveleged kid she knows who got it as a graduation present and didn't want it. Woohoo, he may not care for it, but I'm just thrilled! She says she'll get it registered for me and load a few books onto it. I suggested she scope out my Amazon wish list, which I should probably go update.

A pretty good day, all things condidered!

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As I mentioned recently, J got me hooked on an app called "My Horse". You have a CGI horse that you care for and compete with in shows. I got up to Level 26 and had a catastrophe a week ago---did an upgrade and because it wasn't logged into Game Center, I lost it all.

Thankfully, when I went back to J's the next night, as soon as I synched to her wi-fi, an earlier version came up. I popped backup to Level 13, which was irritating, but better than starting over. I'm now up to Level 33, and I've figured a few things out:

If you're on the Home screen, and your horse is just ditty-bopping around the pasture, you can make him/her rear or buck by tapping it three or four times. Same while giving Treats. Also, you may occasionally see a ring of light in the grass. If you tap the circle, sometimes you can get your horse to trot through it, which will give you more XP, which is what raises your levels.

I set as many tasks as I can, both for Coins, and for Health and Love. Because I have time to play, I tend to do one- and two-hour tasks, although I may set some eight-hour tasks if I'm getting ready to head off to bed or know for sure I won't be active for a while.

Hint---You don't actually need to spend anything on food OR treats if you complete enough Love and Health tasks and or Care tasks like Mucking the Stall or Grooming.

Competition has three combined scores: Performance, Happiness (how much your horse loves you) and Presentation. Hint---it is well worth it to invest coinage in Presentation. Thanks to some numbermancing with my show tack and riding gear, my Presentation score is currently 551, which gives me an edge in whatever I enter by a ridiculous margin. We're stylish, too!

At this point, I'm doing the sixth competition repeatedly and training for the seventh. Hint---They only deduct the Health entry fee the first time you enter, not every single time you compete.

Training consists of riding exercises that have to be completed before they unlock the next level of competition. That drains energy. Unlike health and love, which lose points if ignored for too long, energy rises during dormant periods. Still, it's taken quite a while to get all the skills needed for the seventh competition, and I'm probably still a day away. Hint---do training, then a competition: Competition doesn't cost energy points, and while you're competing, your energy can build back up. Do take a moment to make sure you're at full Happiness/Love before you compete, though, as that matters, too.

Umm...I'm probably leaving things out, sorry. If you have any questions, I'll do what I can to answer, although I suspect the odds of fellow players on my f'list are slim. Meanwhile, it's a fun little diversion, and satisfies my Horse Crazy After All These Years aspect, even if it is forty years late. (Ouch!)

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I'm furious that LJ has discontinued the Writer's Block question, so I have one of my own.

The other night, J and I were watching a story on the local news about one of the Florida power companies installing "smart meters", which can send data on power consumption wirelessly. It also does things like temporarily turn off power to high-load appliances like a refrigerator at times of high demand.

I've watched The Crumbling of America---more than once---so I'm aware that this would be A Very Good Thing with regard to our nation's struggling power grid. It would also reduce the need for meter readers to go traipsing through my yard.

According to the news story, there's a public outcry that this will lead to the power companies "spying" on us, which is patently absurd. Unless, of course, they're operating some sort of mega-consuming set-up like a grow house. That would be fairly obvious, and law enforcement would be able to close them down. All the more reason for the new tech, I say.

J, on the other hand, thinks the new meters are a terrible idea. She says new technology invariably has problems, and she's concerned that the wireless units will be full of errors and screw up everyone's bills and accounts and so on. I think that's unduly pessimistic.

What do you think?

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When I went over to J's yesterday to snag my yellow Otterbox*, I took advantage of her Wifi and accessed the App Store. (Having supplied myself with an iTunes GC.) I've already gotten the full-on version of a couple games I've been obsessed with, Amazing Breaker and Montezuma Stones. Yesterday I grabbed something that's really been making me smile, a comprehensive gallery of the works of Edwaard Hopper.

I adore Hopper. There's something about the stark realism of his work, combined with the panorama of American between the 20s and the 60s that appeals to me very viscerally. Or just because: This particular painting makes me think of me and Mb going out to lunch. Altho' I have enough cloche hats for both of us; she doesn't wear hats at all.



I think after I review them for a while, I may do a series of short fics for 5minutefandoms. It would be good for me. My output last year was meager, and this will force me to be original.

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

* Which sounds to me like some kind of odd mammalian gynocology.

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I'm baaack.

Did you miss me?

I sure missed youse guys, but it's all better now: I have an interweb of my own. (For how long remains to be seen, since the money won't last forever, but hopefully the dogs will.)

Anyway, I had a pleasant weekend. Christmas Eve, I visited first with CapeGypsy en famille at their place. She had a bonfire in the front yard, since her house is very small, and the weather was cooperative. (It was 80F and we were swatting mosquitos. Florida, gotta love it.) Next stop was ThunderBunny's, with her hub and, of course, Mb. Had pasta and something called a Jolly Rancher...yum. Exchanged gifts and watched The Hangover, which I enjoyed more than I'd expected from the premise.

Best part was Mb's reaction to her gift: I bought her a pin to replace one she'd lost at Disney, and she SQUEEE'd and gave me a full body hug. Thank you, eBay!

Oh, and did I mention J gave me an iPhone? She's calling it the company's phone, but she handed it to me on Christmas Eve, all wrapped up in blue and silber paper. It's made of awesome.

Christmas Day found me at church in the morning, then home, quietly playing with my new toy (having snagged a bunch of apps to entertain myself with before departing from J's).

Monday, I went and got a pair of New Balance trainers, on sale for $39.99, plus a coupon for an additional $10 off. My plans call for getting moving in 2012, and the cheap sneaks from Payless aren't gonna cut it.

Yesterday, I finally got my eyes examined---Mb driving, thank god!---because it was all a blur from being dilated. Got a scrip, though, and am searching online for some inexpensive new specs. (I'm correctable to 20/30, which is decent enough.) Spent the rest of the day at J's; Mb dropped me off and J drove me home. And I got more apps, natch.

Today the cable company came out and hooked me up. Between the first month and the past due balance, it was a chunk of change, but oh! The bliss of having more than two or three channels on tap is giddy! Plus, of course, the chance to browse yuletide---finally!

Tomorrow, I need to make some calls to set up appointments for people to come out and give me estimates for my fence. I'm really over everybody and his nasty younger brother traipsing through my yard! I'll be SO glad when the kids are back in school. Rotten little sods.

Tomorrow is also Person of Interest. It's been a couple years since I had anything to look forward to on Thursday nights, and I'm hooked.

I haven't forgotten about you, ang5fam. Hopefully, I'll get by there sometime between now and New Year's....

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I'm in the process of reclaiming my laundry room, I've done three loads of laundry in the last 48 hours, and sorted a bunch more. And that's just the stuff that was already out there, heaven help me! There's lots more strewn around the rest of the house. But...gotta start somewhere.

My "new" iPod has been saving my sanity. It gives me some games to entertain myself with, and the notes function---well, it's not as versatile as actually being on line, but it beats scribbling longhand. Last night, I actually commited fic---or what'll probably be the first half of one, the first thing I've written in months. (SPN/Sons of Anarchy crossover, FWIW.)

Sunday afternoon at the library is fast becoming a habit. In a while, I'll go over to J's and check my email again and stick around for OnceUpon a Time*, which is rather interesting so far.

/----/----/----/

* But not in Mexico.

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I'm on my way over to J's to pick up some stuff she's been keeping in her freezer for me. Yesterday, I cleared all the frost-bitten stuff out of my own freezer to make room. The fridge is still a hazard, though. Stuff has been jammed in there, most of it since before my summer soujourn. Ah, well. Tomorrow is trash day, and I plan to be home early enough to get still more stuff to the curb. (In addition to the freezer stuff.)

I'm also hoping J can decode the mysteries of Safari on my iPod...it's stuck on a default page, and I'm trying to get it to where I can use it at places that offer free wi-fi. It would make checking email a little easier. Meanwhile, it's been helping save my sanity: I can peck little entries in the "Notes" function, which helps me vent during my isolation. Another thing I hope I can do at J's is download a free game ap or two.

The unspeakable digital converter box is giving me fits. I get CBS, if I'm lucky. If there are two clouds between here and Orlando, no dice. Fortunately, that gives me most of what I watch network TV for. No CW, so no SPN, damn it. Just when it's starting to engage me again!

I need to snag something to read over the weekend. TTFN....

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Okay, so I'm at the library. Got a coupon class in a few, so I'll try to get y'all caught up. The weather is diabolical---the sky is solid gray and it's been raining fish off and on. However, things are looking up IRL!

Yesterday afternoon, I took a brief nap (after spending the morning running around---got the light bill paid with help from T, who also delivered Susie's iPod (I can just hear John Larroquette's voice saying "Ipp-odd?".).Anyway, I was all happy about *that*, then the doorbell rang.

It was a nice-looking clean-cut young man with a van pulling a great big trailer, who announced that an "anonymous friend" had sent him to mow my yard, would that be all right?

I gave him my blessing (I'd've given him my first-born, if I had one), and he spent the next hour and a half taming the wilderness. I suspect PJ is behind it, but I will respect that anonymity and just mention it as a joy tomorrow during "Joys and Concerns". Then, on Monday, I will ring up the gal from the county and ask her to come out and inspect it before it grows back. With all this rain, it's a distinct possibility.

So, my yard is civilized, my lights are on for another billing cycle, and I have some shiny new tech to play with*. Now if I could just figure out how to get it to play with the wireless system here at the library, I'd be set for life. And my iPod timer just went off, letting me know I need to migrate toward the class, so later, gators!

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*Although I will definitely be editing her playlists. I do not share Susie's taste in music!

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Right now, I'm just trying to stay awake. Between the time change and the dogs next door, I had maybe four hours of sleep last night, but I know if I nap now, I'll be up til 6AM again. I'll actually be in bed by midnight tonight.

Meeting with J this morning/afternoon, got a couple calls to make tomorrow. Also "borrowed" her soldering iron to modify the pieces I'm using to attach the "Bat Thing" hanging to the hanger. I should get it done this evening, somewhere between Criminal Minds and Justified.

Got a laugh out of J---the cell phone I got last month doesn't get signal at my house. I stuck it in my purse to carry around with me. The battery died. I stuck it on the charger, but it wouldn't come on. I was ready to march into WalMart and raise a fuss about what a crappy phone it was. J looked at it, pressed a button, and POOF! It worked. Apparently, I'd managed to turn it OFF. I'm glad she was amused. Since my $30 worth of minutes were wasted for three weeks, and I can't afford more, I'm not so happy. But at least it works.

I also left my dead laptop with her, in hopes she can resurrect it. Not holding my breath or stressing about it, since I've had its non-functioning self for about three years now.

Tried to load some new tunes onto my MP3 player last night. No such luck.

Technology is not my friend.
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In keeping with my crazy, disjointed approach to decluttering, today I'm in the Middle Room. This is the space that began, when we moved here, as the guest room. It has, over the years, become Deep Storage, mostly books and fabrics. (I'd say 70%, with the remaining 30% being clothes storage and some WTF?!.)

Eventually, I want to transform it into my office/library/sewing room. Bookcases on two walls, desk catty-corner to them, table for sewing in the middle under the light, fabric stash in the closet. I can visualize it all perfectly.

First, I need to reduce the total number of books I own by about 60% and the volume of fabric by a third. And jettison 95% of the WTF?!. Details, right? I need to make enough room to move bookcases in from the living room (This is why I refer to the whole process as the sliding tile puzzle) and slot them into place.

I keep finding shoes. Was very pleased to find a basic pair of black flats that I didn't even remember I had. Still looking for my ruby slippers...I thought they were in the living room, but no dice.

The semi-dead laptop also turned up; T gave it to me a few years ago. He dropped it on a tile floor, and now, it boots up but doesn't respond to half the keys. J says she might be able to fix it, so I'm going to take it over there and we'll see. If she can't, I won't be any worse off than I am now; if she can, well, I'll have a back-up. (It's old and twice the size of this one, but it's mine free and clear. /pep talk)

I also need to work out in the garage; I pitched a lot of stuff out there in the frenzy of clearing the living room. The bulb blew out that night. I finally got that replaced---taking my life in my hands!---so now I can see what I'm doing and hopefully not break my neck falling over heaps of clothes.

Two bags out the door so far. Go, me!
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Spent the evening at J's...she wanted movies, so I showed her a couple 70s favorites, Hopscotch and Scavenger Hunt.

She's trying to repair hr old computer, and inveigled me into doing some soldering for her. Mind you, I haven't soldered in 25+ years, and her equipement was NOT up to par, but I think I got the job done, go me.

Then, on the way home, I got pulled over---my left brake light is allegedly stuck on. I would not be surprised, since electrical peculiarities have been an issue since day one. The cop just told me to look at it when I get a chance, and that was all.

I think it's absolutely hilarious that I've been driving that thing without a functioning speedometer for, like, three years, have gotten pulled over for no light over my license plate, allegedly failing to come to a complete stop, and this---but none of them has ever mentioned my speed. Proof positive that I really DO drive like an old lady!

The hell of it is, if I'd swung by the library to drop off the books I had with me (blonde moment, I forgot all about them), I probably would've missed the cop. Oh well, it might be that something worse would've happened, YNK.

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Today has been good. Mb fixed breakfast, so I awoke to the scent of (low sodium) bacon, which wasn't exactly deprivation, sodium junkie tho' I am. Egg, bacon, toast.

Arrival of person delivering medical monitoring device for Ahab. Arrival of physical therapist for Ahab.

I went for a walk; two blocks to the Moo Mart convenience store down the road for a 12-pack of caffeine. Settled in with a can, checked email.

Mb invited me to come swimming with her. This is something of a misnomer: I am the only one who actually swam, although Mb *did* get her suit wet today.

Then some running around with her and Ahab, which ended up at WalMart with me getting a PAYGo cell phone. Yay! (At one point, about 5 years ago, I had a cell I inherited from Kat when she got a better one. This one is much better---it's a flip-phone, AND it has a camera. Yay! I can contribute to thrifthorror and The People of WalMart!)

Stuck the phone on the charger as per instructions. Read for a while and munched on some Goldfish in lieu of lunch.

Engaged in some Oriental taxidermy, namely, we went to the Chinese buffet for dinner and I got stuffed.

Came home and finished setting up the phone. Called J, left a message on her voicemail. She called me, then called me back a few minutes later.

And now, I'm going to go watch Royal Pains.

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Visited with J this afternoon and got my "big" gift from her. It's actually small in size, but huge in usefulness: She got me a USB hub! It's HP and has four ports---I can now plug my printer and camera in at the same time, and, as soon as I get a three-foot USB cable, I can access my old tower. (Old tower is the one that has all my tunes on it, so that's a fairly salient point---especially since the CD drive on the tower works sporadically at best.) I checked; hub works fine.

We lunched at the New Century Buffet, after which I went home and passed out because I got rousted early and often. Damn dog next door likes to bark in the middle of the night and starts barking seriously at 8:30...I'm not sure who I hate more, the dog or his owners. Owners, I think, because they just turn the dog out in the yard, and he's bored. I'm lucky the fucker hasn't tunneled under the fence and gone walkabout.

Watched "The Biggest Loser" season opener...unlike last season, where I accidentally tuned in and fell for one of the contestants (before that, I was NOT a regular viewer), I haven't felt any stirrings. But the season is young.

Speaking of stirrings of passion, I had an interesting dream this afternoon. I was in a doctor's office. I had an appointment to have something checked, and I wanted to make sure the receptionist understood that I had no money and no insurance. She said that, oh yes, it wouldn't cost me anything. I tried to asked her about whether they would be able to tell me what my test results were, and she started giving me a lot of technical gibberish---I realized that she was trying to be discreet because of HIPPA, since there was someone standing very close by.

I turned to ask him to step away, (and realized it was a guy I used to know from gaming about 12-15 years ago. I cougared him quite a bit at the time, but because I was in my late 30s and he was in his early 20s, it went right over his head) and he greeted me with a prolonged hug, during which I could feel his firm pecs. He was saying that he hadn't been in the right place for us to have a future before, but he'd never stopped thinking of me. It was him, I knew it was him, but my subconscious cast Skeet Ulrich in the part, with a thin moustache and dark hair. There's a slight resemblence. The original's eyes were set closer together, though.

I don't know where I get some of this stuff---I haven't seen the guy in at least twelve years, I don't for a minute think he's been pining for me, but that sure was a nice hug.

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While the rest of the country shops (or prepares to shop), I've been out and back. My resources are exhausted, but I feel a warm glow of satisfaction. Mb very kindly got me a paper of my own yesterday, so that I could peruse the sale ads, which I did after the feast. I was *hoping* to find a full-size microwave: No such luck, the only ones in my price range were the same size as the dinky little thing I've got. (Yes, I know it was free, and free is good, but half my dishes don't fit in it!)

However, I *did* run across some 4GB flash drives on sale at Office Depot. I gave this some thought; I had a 2GB drive that's MIA, which does me no good, and this I could actually afford.

Came home, TRIED to sleep, couldn't. Sat up and reread the WalMart ads, and noticed they had the same flash drive going on sale at 5 AM...did I mention that the Office Depot drive was $1.01 cheaper? And that WalMart WILL match competitor's prices if you have the ad? So I took both ads and zoomed down the road---and may I just say the place is a freaking ZOO?!---ascertained that yes, they ARE the exact same item.

The very nice lady at the checkout didn't give me any trouble, didn't point out that Office Depot isn't even open at 3 AM, not even today---she just did a price override as she rang up my stuff, and I scampered home, where I'll try to sleep again in a little bit.

I have just about enough left to keep me in caffeine for the week, so I won't be hitting Office Depot for their $2.97 USB hub, alas, or grabbing a box of nutcracker ornaments at Pier One. New pillows at Macy's aren't happening either---although with the January white sales coming up, that's not too traumatic. Nope, I'm going to be spending today or tomorrow making turkey soup, as MB also kindly gave me the carcass of the 25 pound turkey. (I took one look at the mammoth thing and told her I didn't know Butterball farmed ostriches.) I have carrots, celery and onions, rice, and a stockpot that might actually be big enough if I do some judicious dismemberment.

Happy Black Friday, y'all!


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I was browsing the Coke Rewards site, thinking of spending some points, when I ran across a "Coca-Cola Vintage Style Watch in Collectable Tin Case". Okay, it was pricey, but within my means. I clicked on it and was treated to the following copy: "Always having to fish out your cell phone to look at the time? Now simply glance at your wrist and read your collectible Coca-Cola® watch!"

As one of the twenty or so people in North America who doesn't HAVE a cell phone*, I found this hilarious. (I have a pocket watch on a chain clipped to my wristlet.) I shouldn't be so surprised---when we were baking cookies, J used her cell phone's timer to alert us to when batches were done---but once again, I'm being poked by the sharp stick of technological inadequacy. It also bugs me to think that something as common as a wristwatch is suddenly "quaint". That's what it boils down to, isn't it?


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*...Blackberry, Bluetooth, iPhone, Treo, etc. I have a landline. And it's not even cordless.
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