Confessions of a One-Track Mind

I renewed my driver's license online last night. This is huge, because I had people telling me that I'd NEVER be able to do it online, that DMV is demanding a birth certificate, SS card, proof of residence, DNA, the whole meggelah, to prove that I'm a citizen.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that because I've been at the same address since I got my learner's permit in 1976, own said property, am a registered voter and have responded for jury duty that they've figured out that I *am* a citizen, how shocking.

Now I just have to get cash deposited to cover it. J, who uses the same bank I do, swears that weekend transactions don't post til midnite Monday, so as long as I get it in before two PM, I'm golden. (Still working on tag renewal, but that's marginally less urgent.

Yesterday was quiet, and that's okay. Mb will be here shortly to take me to lunch, Kay's Place barbecue, where I'm happily anticipating their Monday special of beef tips and gravy over noodles. Kat and I used to meet there for lunch four Mondays out of five, and I always had that and I miss it. Not as much as I miss Kat, but still....

I don't know how much longer before cable/internet provider will pull the plug, so if you don't hear back from me in a timely fashion,, you'll know why.

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I was over on Tumblr reading Unfuck Your Habitat (http://unfuckyourhabitat.tumblr.com/) and came across the following challenge: You’re avoiding something. It might be an invisible corner. It might be a box of crap you need to deal with. It might be your junk drawer. Whatever it is that you’ve been relieved that none of the challenges so far have made you deal with, that’s what you’re dealing with for the next 20 minutes. Don’t lie to yourself. You’re putting something off, but now you have to go deal with it.

And I knew exactly which drawer of crap it refered to: It was a dresser drawer---the rest of the dresser is long since gone---that's crammed with stuff sentimental, assorted WTFs and IDEKs, and it's been sitting on or near my dining room table for a very long time. (Enough that GK mentioned it while she was down and suggested I relocate it to the middle room til I got around to sorting thru it.

Okay, I thought. NOW is the time. I'll move the damned thing...except I could barely frackin LIFT it. To attempt to carry it to the middle room fully laden would've been to invite catastrophe. I'd either drop it, or the bottom would fall out.

Well then, I'd do a preliminary sift right there and then. Paperwork, blah, blah, blah, calculator, blah, blah, blah, ceramic boxes, blah, blah, blah...cylindrical wad of white printer paper,...?

Holy shit.

It was a roll of Kennedy half dollars. The paper they're wrapped in is dated 1999, so they've been sitting in that drawer for a long time. They're not sterling, alas, but even face value* is enough to cover my car insurance for this month, which I've been sweating bullets over. Plus there's a little over, which will top off my tank and maybe get a few things I'm out of. And for once, I don't mean caffeine!

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* Although I have a 2004 coin book that lists Kennedy half dollars between 1965-1970 as having an average value of $2 each. Now all I have to do is find someone who'll give me that!

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Right now, I'm all fizzy with happiness. A couple hours ago, I discovered that today is the last day of Lane Bryant's "Buy 2, get 2 free" bra sale. Mind you, this is Lane Bryant we're talking about; their bras are not cheap. The kind I favor are $28 a pop, so I was looking at a minimum of $56.

But a good, well-fitting bra? Is like a hug. It lifts and separates and improves your posture and the fit of your tops and you can breathe better. (At least, I find that's so.)

So I went running down to The Avenue---I don't go there often, because my car is always the crappiest one in sight, and it makes me feel self-conscious. Nonetheless, the prospect of a supply of decent bras lured me in.

I got four: ivory, pink, heather blue and black. And thanks to the sale price, a discount for applying for a Lane Bryant card (which I know damn well they're not going to give me, but it was 25% off), some coupon the clerk rang up when I checked out, etc, my total for FOUR bras was $37 and change.

Damn, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. I think this is one of those times!

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I SAW A SIGN. I was in Publix (grocerystore), on the soft drink aisle, and I saw it:

Cheerwine coming soon.
I almost squeeed and started doing Snoopy dances in the middle of the aisle. J introduced me to the diet version of Cheerwine, a delectable, caffeinated cherry soda, earlier this year. Until now, it was only available in the Carolinas, and shipping was prohibitive. To have it locally available would be divine, and I suspect that the introduction may be heralded with coupons. Joy!

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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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Still no word about the job, but in headline news, I got my food stamp card, hooray, hooray! So when it stops raining, I shall pop up the road and get something that isn't frozen burritos or ramen. (Which is absurd, considering all the canned goods I've got, but argh, my enthusiasm for canned beans, tomatoes and rice is nil.)

Yes, it's raining! Our drought index has been abyssmal---usually we start getting afternoon showers by the end of May, and this is the first sprinkle we've had all month. We're at the point where we need seven inches of rain just to get nullify the fire danger. Here's hoping that kicks in soon!

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After the food pantry this morning, I stopped in at Publix. They have a scale in the lobby---none here, and I've gotten used to keeping tabs. Now, things have see-sawed over the last few months, but of late, it's been under 300. Not a whole lot, but still, under.

That scale at Publix, tho'---I *love* that scale. I wanna marry that scale. Okay, okay, so I KNOW it's not accurate, unless I somehow lost 12+ pounds since Friday morning---but if it WAS right, I'd be down by about 105 pounds. (12+ because I was fully clothed at Publix.)

As I was smirking at the results, a cute, late 30s guy I never saw before in my life walked through and asked how it was going. Told him I'm down almost 100 pounds from my all time high. He replied that his dad has lost 167 pounds and needs a tuck to get rid of the excess skin. I said I'm hoping I'll have insurance by the time I get to that stage. He called me "Ma'am" (Oh god, I'm old enough to be a "ma'am"!), and wished me a good day and good luck. I extended congrats to his dad.

It was good for a little surge of optimism. I know it hasn't happened dramatically, but it IS happening. Go, me.

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Have you ever had a really horrible day? And come home and had a drink, and the booze hits and that knot at the base of your neck relaxes suddenly, and it's like your brain is unraveling?

It's like that.

Except, multiply 1 day by 21 or so...which is how long I've been on tenderhooks about my benefits running out. Add the fact that when I last put in for my weeks, it only showed that I was getting ONE week instead of two, and I've been frantically trying to figure out what I was going to do if that was all I got, period. One week would just barely pay my insurance for the month, and *possibly* give me enough over for toilet paper and a dozen eggs.

Today, when I went to the mailbox, I found a letter saying my benefits have been extended, and giving me checks for the full two weeks. I spent a couple minutes sitting in the driver's seat of my car, weeping and thanking The Universe.

Then I went up to WalMart, made a deposit, and shopped for a few things beyond t.p. and eggs. (Nothing really extravagant, unless you consider a chocolate-cherry scented Plug-in to be a luxury item.) As you can imagine, it was rather hectic on the Saturday before Thanksgiving! I contributed to the kettle of the first bell-ringer of the year---a tradition of mine: Even if I haven't any money the rest of the season, the first kettle gets SOMETHING.

Drove home feeling drunk with relief. I hadn't realized how tense I was until I wasn't, y'know?


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After putting it off for two weeks on account of being a techno-chicken shit, I finally got the laptop going. It involved calling the cable company and getting them to reset the modem, because otherwise, I couldn't find the internet with both hands and a flashlight. And I hooked up my trackball mouse, because the touchpad was NOT working for me.

And now? It's incredible. The keyboard has a very light action, and none of the keys stick. 'K' is a letter one uses more often than one thinks, and now I don't have to try to stomp on it every time I know, think, talk, keep, make, take---you get the idea.

And damn it's fast. None of the infernal WAITING I had with the tower. Seriously, making a post, I'd be banging away at the keyboard with nothing happening. I'd sit and wait for ninety seconds or so and a block of type would appear. Forever to go to the next screen, longer if pix were involved. Forget having several windows open and trying to cross over; it would probably crash.

This is divine. I think (ThinK!!!) it's even faster than AI's computer, and I was blown away by that. sbjb, you are a goddess!

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from the world of work: There was a posting today for a management-level position in our department...the word on the floor is that He-Boss is departing. C-Boss will be filling his slot, meaning they'll be looking for a replacement for her. She-Boss remains where she is. HA! He barely lasted through one holiday (I can't remember the last time I saw him on the floor, now that I think of it. Certainly not since the new year!), after all his shit about his previous experience and how freakin' fabulous he was. This probably won't have any impact on me, but I'm still smirking. He lasted LESS than a year, what a putz.

Several major fools crossed my path today; I'm happy enough about the Red Hot Rumor that I'm not even going to vent about them. (Although the fool who was trying to return a pair of "barely worn!" Butch Boots that he'd had since 2005 was at least entertaining!)

Oh, and lest I forget, the Executroids have cancelled for this Friday. I'm sure they'll reschedule, but I'll worry about that when it happens.