Born, like other comic book characters, out of an otherwise trivial but life-changing animal bite, the Rabid Librarian seeks out strange, useless facts, raves about real and perceived injustices, and seeks to meet her greatest challenge of all--her own life.
Got nitrogen put in my tyres and discussed my treads and whether it was worth getting an alignment or rotation now or just waiting till I get new tyres, which will have to be soon, although I'm not sure how I'm going to swing that.
Repotted the aloes.
Repotted the orchids.
Did my laundry on Saturday and my roommate's on Sunday. Managed to do that and the kitchen linens with the very last of the detergent.
Moved a couple shelves in front of the library windows so I could put the orchids on them and they could get some actual light (eastern exposure). I'd temporarily placed them on top of my bookcase headboard, but they were between the windows and couldn't get any light. A grow light might have worked, but there's a painting that could be damaged by the full spectrum light. So I decided to try this. They are behind the nightstands, so it's a little crowded, but it passed muster with my friend.
Went to the library and took some books back and picked up my roommate's hold.
Took the other two shelves and summer clothes to the storage unit.
Cleaned out the car.
Did a boatload of plastic dishes.
Went through the clothes I was given and pulled out the ones that needed mending.
Incorporated the new clothes into my existing clothes, and put away laundry at the same time.
Organised my closet and prepared some things to take back to storage and to donate.
Organised the cedar chest and the clothes in the footboard of the bed. The kitten has been pulling my bras and other things through the little divet that's used to open the drawers.
Put the coverlet back on the bed, which will hopefully deter him, as it will be out of sight, out of mind.
Watched several episodes of a cartoon series.
Generally straightened up my room.
Took a nice long shower today.
Swept and mopped the floors.
Did the regular dishes.
Took out the trash and recyclables.
Cleaned the bathroom.
Entertained the kitten, who was inconsolable that he'd been closed out of the bedroom while my roommate slept because he was gnawing on him.
Packed my lunch for tomorrow.
Laid out my clothes for tomorrow (I don't do that very often. I should.)
Actually blogged! Twice!
Things that got put off till tomorrow:
Go by the bank.
Go over the grocery list and see what we already have.
Shop at the grocery store for Thanksgiving (we already have the Quorn roasts).
Get some cat toys for the kitten and food for the older cat.
Complete replacement of the cat litter (once we get some from the store).
Clean out and organise my nightstands.
Take things out to the car that are to be donated or go to storage.
Double check the smoke alarm/CO monitor. I think the batteries are in wrong, and it'll take both of us to change the batteries, as I'm not tall enough, even with a stepstool. I got some new batteries.
Call in the morning and reschedule an appointment to finalise the draft of my revamped will--with my boss' announcement I didn't feel I could ask to leave early the next business day with so little warning and get a good reply.
Get the duvet cover on the duvet and get it on my roommate's bed (it takes two to do well) and take back my heavier blanket.
My boss came into my office, and among other things said there had been complaints about my plants, that my office was a jungle and that they were afraid it would draw bugs. I needed to get them out of there. 2/3 of them are toxic to cats, and we have a kitten who's about seven months old who hasn't learned not to eat them yet. I wound up packing everything up and with the help of three co-workers and a couple of carts from materials, took them out to the car and took the majority to a pharmacy I go to with a nice southern window that is run by people who love plants. At least I can see them sometimes. One plant I kept but then checked the toxicity lists and decided that I needed to take it that weekend as well was the peace lily that the hospital gave me on the occasion of my mother's funeral. So I was pretty heartbroken. I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach. I was also told I didn't dress up enough, even though I've worn the same style of clothes for years and considering I had about 68 cents in my account at the time, certainly couldn't go out and get a new wardrobe. I was also told I would be losing my office, not because of anything I did, but because someone else needed it. I'm not as upset about that--it was the way it was told to me as an offhanded remark, that I couldn't have kept the plants anyway because I'd be in a cubicle away from the light, that was hurtful.
The plants were, of course, what bothered me the most. Some I'd had for years. The shamrocks brought a lot of joy to people in the library for years--they were constantly admiring them. They're deadly to cats. I've made peace with the loss of the plants now, as it's been 13 days. And I was able to get some plants home--I now have 12 orchids, three African violets, three Thanksgiving cacti, a red velvet Echeverria, some aloes, and a bamboo plant at home. I'm not sure I've got them where they can get enough light, so I'll be monitoring it.
On the same day I got the bad news, there was a concern that the kitten, who dearly likes orchid bark, had eaten some and gotten a blockage, but that turned out to not be the case. Still, I removed all the bark that I could from the house, and once I got paid I ordered some sphagnum moss, and I spend some time yesterday repotting 9 of the orchids with moss instead of bark, topping off another couple, and repotting the aloes. So we're bark-free.
As far as my greatest concern from that meeting, it was what to do about the clothes. Now I have wonderful co-workers and work-friends. I had no less than four people contribute clothes that were either bought by them, repurposed by them, or repurposed by friends of theirs. One brought a huge bag over to the house full of khakis and nice blouses. I went from having five sweaters and a couple of velvet pants for the winter to a whole wardrobe, and I appreciate all the help immensely. It reminds me that the majority of people I know are good, and while I was feeling a little bullied by my boss (I'm not convinced anyone complained, I'm thinking she just may not have liked what I had).
So I'm dressing up some now, there are no plants or shelves in my office (it feels empty, but I've rearranged my desk now that I have more space, so everything isn't as spread out). I should lose the office around the beginning of the year, and I've come to terms with that. They're going to do some alterations to the cubicles since we deal with confidential info.
It was a hard couple of weeks. But this week has been better than the one before. I got a lot done and one of my co-workers helped me get caught up on a lot of offsite requests. I was useless for a couple of days after the talk with the boss and got behind. But I'm back in the black now, so to speak. Next week I'll have to really work on the surgery pre-authorizations as I'm only three weeks out and a lot have been added on. I try to be four weeks out, although I'm required to be out two. And nothing in our talk was about my performance or anything. It was all about my personal choices. I did what I could to comply quickly. And it turns out my boss is leaving next month, so I'm just going to try to keep a low profile till that happens.
One of my co-workers hit the nail on the head as to why the plant removal devastated me. Surrounding myself with nature is my way of beating stress, and I deal with insurance companies and scheduling with outside bureaucracies. I took all the little knick-knacks that were on the shelves (and the shelves) away, as well as the stones I'd had. There's a clock and a few motivational sayings on small plaques, as well as the wall art that shows any real personality to my office. The wall art will eventually have to go away when I move. But for now, it cheers me.
but I never seem to make time for writing lately, something I'm going to try to do more towards correcting. Weekends are better than weekdays, of course, as I'm working and often having hectic 8-hour days of staring at a computer screen and hitting drop-down menus and dragging things into coloured boxes. Today was no exception, but even though it was busy, at times five to eight charts deep (and continuously for over two hours that way), lately I've been better at taking things like that which would usually feel me with lots of anxiety and just breaking it down, taking it one step at a time, and going forward. It's all you can really do, really, and keep your sanity. And if you just keep up your spirit and interact with each person in a friendly, yet business-like manner, it seems that most people are pretty understanding when you're piled deep in charts, trying to check people out as quickly as you can humanly do.
After I finally caught up and everyone had gone home, I called one last person about an appointment first thing in the morning to reschedule, as requested by my boss before she left, then closed up shop. I earned my own key to the bay doors today. This is my second week as a regular employee. I also got my last cheque as a contract worker today, and I put it into savings before coming home. My roommate was out meeting someone for dinner, and so I ate (fish cakes, an avocado-cucumber salad, and escarole soup, all cooked by him, and very tasty), fed the animals, and laid down and listened to some music on the speaker rather than my headphones, but I didn't really relax until he came home, tired and needing some alone time. He's in his room reading and drinking tea. I'm in the library with Pandora playing on the computer in my headphones, catching up on some things. I have barely seen any news or for that matter, done much with social media over the last few days. I have been working around the house after work and on the weekends, doing errands, etc. This weekend, on Saturday, I made a special trip to my storage unit to retrieve most of my winter clothes. I then spent Sunday (Brenda was ill, so we didn't play, much to the game master's dismay, as he has a really evil adventure to run next time) taking the old clothes out of the closet, bed drawers, and cedar chest and switching out for warmer ones, while keeping shorts, capris, and tank tops out to sleep in. But the light blouses, skirts, and the like all went back into the two totes I'd pulled out, along with some other things that made it here but should be in storage. Not only was it cold yesterday, YKWIA actually saw some snow and sleet, although of course, it didn't stick. But it's definitely time to break out the winter clothes.
I also opened up my Halloween costume and tried it on (well, I didn't pull the tights on, as I was afraid they'd run, but I checked the sizing, anyway, because I was afraid they'd pair a 4X costume with regular-size tights. It's a dress that has a full puffy black skirt, but it is otherwise covered with bones, with bones across the chest as a sternum/rib cage, and bones down the sleeves. There are gloves with the hand (but not on the thumb, which is a bit disturbing), and then the tights have all the leg and foot bones. I'm going to wear my Mary Janes so that the top of the foot bones show through. I am going to use makeup that I've bought for a skull face and neck, too. I considered spraying my hair white or silver, but the bottle specifically says not to do it on very fine hair, so instead, I found a witch's hat at Kroger that has the same sort of crinoline as the skirt but is tattered on the cone like it's been in the grave. So I'm going to be a skeletal, undead witch. There were only two issues. One, if you look at the picture on the package, the skirt on the model (who is in high heels) goes to mid-calf, whereas for me, it goes to my ankles, but that's a common thing I have with skirts, as I am only 5'4". Also, while the costume itself has lots of silver thread throughout it, rather than glitter, whoever packaged the thing threw approximately a handful of very fine glitter inside for fun, so when I took it out, there was glitter on the inner lining of the skirt. My roommate, who recognises that glitter never truly is removed from the house once it finds its way in, specifically said, there'd better not be glitter. Of course, there was, and without thinking, I twirled in the skirt, and well, glitter went everywhere. I swept up most of it (thank goodness there are no carpets in this house), and I took up the dog blanket that was at the foot of my bed because it was covered before the dogs could roll on it. I then shook the costume outdoors, but there's still LOTS of glitter. Which means I'm going to leave a trail in the car, on the UK shuttles, and all over work, much to the consternation of housekeeping. But hey, it's all in Halloween fun, right?
So the plan is to wake up early, shower, create the skull face and neck with the makeup, put on the tights and dress, then the gloves and shoes, and go to work dressed that way. I'm really excited about Halloween, and I'm glad we're still dressing up and having the kids at work trick-or-treat. To that end, though, I should go to bed pretty soon. I normally get up about 6:15 am to get to work by 8:30. I think I'll have to try for 5 or 5:30 am just to be sure. Hope your Halloween is wonderful and safe.
A dress suit on Thursday that I'd had my eye on. It had gone up to almost $100, and I couldn't justify that even for job interviews. But then we got a notice about how on Thursday Amazon would give more than normal through their Smile programme. My charity of choice is the hospital at which I work. I put the hand truck/dolly I'd been meaning to get, and went back to the dress suit, and it had gone down to $77. So I ordered both. The dolly was supposed to come Monday, but came the next day instead. The dress, which is from Jessica London via Amazon, was supposed to come the 28th to 30th, which was fine, but actually came via FedEx on Saturday, and since they knew the shipping folks didn't work on Saturday, they took it off the truck without leaving it with security or anything. So I got a delivery attempted/business closed alert both Saturday and Sunday, even though they never actually tried to bring it to the hospital, which had people there. Then it didn't come Monday, and I was concerned it was being sent back. Turns out that station is closed on Mondays.
So it finally made it today. I put it on and showed it to a few people whose opinion I valued. It's a blue, almost purple-blue, a deep blue (it's called sapphire). It is a sheath dress with a double-breasted jacket, all the same colour, and it's all lined. Everyone liked the colour (I had considered getting it in 'berry', but knew I'd look better in this one). The skirt is a good length, just below the knee. The sleeves are just a tad long. I may get them altered. It's warm, but not to the point I'd die during an interview. It felt tight around the bust at first, but got better as I moved in it. I was able to put it on over my head without unhooking or unzipping it, something that I don't think would work if it were too small. I don't have anyone to zip and hook it for me at home, you see, so I wanted to make sure. Also, several said that if I'd gotten it a size up (which it didn't come in), the jacket would be too big. This looks just right, very professional, but not drab.
It is machine washable on delicate, tumble dry low. It has a few wrinkles from shipment, so I have it hanging in the bathroom so they will steam out. I tried to take a picture, but the colour wasn't true to form. I'll try to take one in brighter light while I'm wearing it. I would wear nude hose and my black dress flats with it. I don't really do heels.
I shuttled my friends to their appointment, to the store, and got A to work, helped YKWIA a bit at home, and then came home, tired (I couldn't sleep last night after cooking till late at YKWIA's--I think I was finally able to get to sleep at about 3:30 am, so my insomnia is continuing somewhat). It was a bright, sunny afternoon and had warmed up quite a bit, so I opened the bedroom window, got into some comfy clothes, and took a nap. I'm thinking that was about 4 or so. Now I'm awake and it's 7:40. That might cause an issue later tonight, but at least I slept well for a bit.
My aunts and uncles are going to be able to come in for the visitation and funeral, which is Monday. The ones in Georgia are driving up tomorrow, and the ones in Texas, bless their hearts, were working overtime to find a flight in, and the closest they could get was Nashville, and then drive three hours. So they're travelling tomorrow, too. I'm not sure about my cousins--one is on the West Coast for work and can't come, another is in meetings in Georgia, but I'm glad my mom's sister and brother and their spouses will be able to.
I need to pick my friend up from work tonight and tomorrow night, so I'll drive down on Monday morning. It's about 35 miles away, so not too bad, and I'll be going against morning traffic. I have a dress picked out (thanks to YKWIA, who informed me that the dress I wore to my grandmother's funeral would need more than Spanx to fit correctly). It's a dress I bought for a vow renewal a few years ago, a deep purple covered in black lace--not exactly ideal, but it's nice, respectful (well, if I wear a camisole under that neckline, and I think my mom would approve.) I do need to find some hose to go with it, which can be a challenge at my size (there's a reason I wear summer skirts and otherwise pants). I may actually have to break down and go to the Evil Empire (aka Walmart), where I do not usually shop. We'll see.
Tomorrow we are not playing the game. I could probably have used the distraction, but on the other hand, will have a little extra time to do some things. I also desperately need to do laundry tomorrow. I actually went out to Gabriel Brothers the other night looking for underwear (they usually have my size, unlike most other places in town that aren't a 'plus-sized women's' store, and much cheaper, because with YKWIA sick, I haven't done my laundry. But I had no luck. Fortunately I dug around and found some to get me through tomorrow. So I'll go over there and do that and help him out if needed, or maybe we'll watch something on streaming video.
I also realised today that I missed renewing some books that were due the day she died, which I rectified, so I have some fines. I've paused my tracking, to-do items on Habitica so that by not doing them I will not affect the members of my party. Funny how little things slip and then come to mind later in times like this. I've e-mailed my family back and forth, and texted with my step-father, who sounds exhausted. I've texted that I won't be to work to my bosses (well, I know I got through to one; the other may be an old number, so I'll leave a message at work as well). I'll get some gas tomorrow for the trip. I had thought about staying down in a hotel Monday night. I'll keep it as an option, but for now, the plan is to just go down, go to the visitation and service, go the the graveside and know where she is to be buried, and maybe out to eat and spend some time with my family, then come back that evening. I may take Tuesday off , though, as I have three days' bereavement leave, and I'm not sure it's really hit yet, and may not until the actual funeral.
I debated contacting my estranged father to let him know she had died. We haven't spoken since 1993. but I know where he is on Facebook and could get a hold of him if I wanted to. But I quickly discarded that idea. He basically abandoned us in the 80s to pursue other women and a freer life without us, and I suspect he always felt rather trapped by my mother, who got pregnant before they broke up, then found out, and within a month his mom had pressured him to marry her. My mom's parents, I will say, were very good, and even though it was the 60s, offered to let her live at home and not go the marriage route. It's amazing the marriage lasted as long as it did, really.
My dad and I went our separate ways after my grandmother's funeral, when he lied to me and told me the insurance money was part of the estate and instead of asking me to help with expenses, demanded the money ($5,000, at a time when I was a student eating every other day, and he was an engineer who moved to Minnesota for an extra $30,000 a year and who had a policy in his name, as well, for twice that). When I told him I wouldn't give it to him on the advice of my grandfather and YKWIA, he hung up on me, and that was that.
This is a man who moved us to another state, after they sold the house at a loss and my mom lost seniority at work, just so he could then tell her while we were in the motel that he was seeing someone else and wanted a divorce. It was devastating, and it took her years to get over the financial and other repercussions. He doesn't deserve to know.
Besides, while she had four husbands total (one of whom she was widowed by), her current husband and she were together longer than any of them (my dad was about 16 years; John has that surpassed). John has been incredibly good to my mom, and has been a great companion, who took care of her in her illness day in and day out, and I can't thank him enough for being there. I couldn't have done it, even without working.
When I was growing up, my mom and I were inseparable, even enmeshed to a great degree by the time I reached adulthood. As an only child, there'd just been the two of us, especially while my father was overseas and then when he left. As I got older, though, we drifted apart, and we were not as close as many moms and daughters that I know. We each had our own lives, and checked in with each other every few weeks, and then I'd go visit about every three months or so, and at the holidays. Momma tended to reach out to me more when she wasn't married, as she didn't have as much going on. As years went on and I did a lot of examination, I realised a lot of my issues came from our relationship rather than just my issues with my dad. And we talked about them a little, and we worked some of that out, but generally, we just lived our own lives and then came together every now and then. But we never cut ties like my dad and I did.
Despite that, I have found myself constantly thinking things over the last few days that bring my mom to mind. 'Oh, I should tell Momma that. Wait, I can't.' or 'Momma would love this blouse I found. But she'll never see it.' That sort of thing. I guess that's to be expected, but it hurts. The finality is starting to sink in.
Finally, let me just say that having watched the effects of end-stage liver disease, and even though she was never able to get a liver or even be placed on the list for one, she held out hope for that, and it would have changed her life around for the better. Please consider being an organ donor. There are thousands of people living, barely, who would benefit from that call that says, come in, we have a (insert organ here), that will have their lives transformed for the better. You won't need them any more. Why not donate life in your passing?
Okay, I'm going to sign off for now. I've been typing for an hour. Funny, I usually listen to music to relax, even more than anything else, and I've had trouble doing that since she died, because certain lyrics cause me to cry, etc. The only song I've sought out has been Rob Thomas' 'Now Comes the Night', a song I'd like played at my own funeral. I find it comforting. Here it is:
I got all the clean clothes either folded and put in the chest-of-drawers or dresser, or hung up in the closet. The dirty clothes are all in a hamper in the bathroom. That's the first time that's happened in, well, months, and I think the first time clothes have hung in the closet since I got here twelve and a half years ago. Really. And I got A from work, got some gas, took him to Kroger for ice cream, and came home and finally got to take the muscle relaxants. I'm going to finish getting ready for bed, take my medicine, and go on to bed.
So that leaves some minor things in the bedroom to straighten up, a little in the living room, and some boxes stacked up in the dining room. But I can walk freely through the house. After I get those taken care of, I'm going to try to work on that other closet. Then we'll try to conquer the books when I'm feeling better (if ever--I'm beginning to doubt that, it's been at least a few weeks now). But I do have physical therapy tomorrow, so that should help.
Oh, and I did find a few more clothes to give away. I'm going to check with YKWIA if he wants any of the t-shirts, as they're his size. Otherwise, it'll be time to go back to Goodwill.
I nearly freaked out getting A tonight because something shifted in my trunk several times. The first time I thought I'd hit something. The second and third times I was beginning to think my car was about to fall apart. I think it was a coffee maker that I'd planned to take to the electronics recycling centre for YKWIA.
Okay, time for bed. Good night.
UPDATE: The sound was definitely not good. Not stuff shifting in the trunk. I'll update when I know more.
Okay, I decided to put the heating pad on for about 30 minutes before tackling the clothes. If I can't take meds for the spasms, then some heat should help. I must work on the clothes though, as I almost fell badly when I closed the blinds. So for now I'm listening to Mumford & Sons and not putting on the CPAP in the hopes that I won't fall asleep.
I was pretty tired when I got home last night, around 9:30 pm, so I went on to bed after listening to some relaxation sounds on a phone application. But I didn't realise I hadn't actually written since Saturday. Sorry about that. I'm really trying to be consistent, and with the restored home Internet, there's really no reason why I shouldn't take a few minutes to blog or at least find a news story or video that touched me that day.
Tonight I had a couple of appointments (same building, different floors) and they went well. Then I went and got A and took him to the store for creamer, which Tates Creek Kroger was out of Saturday, because while it's not an emergency, it is a necessity for YKWIA (and one of his main sources of nutrition, and an uncaffeinated YKWIA is a sleepy YKWIA.)
Today I wore a cyan-coloured dress with that has a lot of embroidery, beading, ribbons, and a few cyan sequins--not gaudy, just kind of festive and springy. I received half-a-dozen compliments on it over the course of the day, which was nice. Normally I wouldn't have chosen the colour, it's so bright, and I'm a bit ruddy (you know that British/Irish peaches and cream complexion? I'm more strawberries and cream.) But I always get compliments when I wear it, and I have a slightly lighter skirt I sometimes wear, too, and it apparently works on me as well. (YKWIA does not care for the shirt I wear with that--it's tie-dyed, has fringe, and has silver sequins, so yes, it's a bit tacky, but it gets me in touch with my inner hippie). I have never been a fashionista by any means, anyway, although I do try to go out of the house with matching ensembles (along with matching purses or bags), matching socks, that sort of thing. :)
I boiled some eggs for dinner tonight. They were good, but I probably should have let them go for 12 minutes, not 10, as the yolks were cooked most of the way through but not firm. Sometimes you can get away with 10--it depends on things like the size of eggs, temperature of water, humidity, and elevation. Next time, though, I'll do 12 minutes. Can you tell it's been awhile since I boiled eggs? Obviously I'm not a gourmet cook. I'm pretty good at the prep work that YKWIA has me do when he cooks (and he's a marvelous cook), and I am getting better, can follow a recipe, that sort of thing, but no one's ever going to pay for me to serve them food.
I've got the windows and blinds open so I can hear the rain and thunder properly. Many years ago I couldn't have quietly enjoyed a thunderstorm--I used to have a phobia for thunder and other loud noises. Now I'm more mellow. So I think I've conquered that one. I probably wouldn't like to repeat the horrible storm on my honeymoon where we were trying to save a campsite and manning wooden poles of a tarp so that it wouldn't overflow and collapse, and our campsite was struck by an ancillary bolt of lightning that came down. I don't remember feeling that, although others did. I was too busy lying in a puddle in the foetal position to feel anything at that point. That was outside Atlanta, at midsummer, at a pagan gathering where the Farrars and Isaac Bonewits had given an interview at a store and said the witches had come to Atlanta, and so we had threats from the KKK (this was 1991) and a Georgia state trooper was assigned to guard the gate. I'm not sure what he thought about these people running around in robes, and horns, and who knows what else. It definitely wasn't the normal kind of festival he was probably used to.
1991 was a pivotal year for me. I got married June 15th, started playing the Cthulhu game when it began in early July, and then left my husband (for reasons I won't go into here, but trust me, I needed to) December 5th. We were divorced by my birthday in 1992. It was the best present I ever had. It was like my brain came online--it's amazing the stupid things we do while young. I didn't get married until I was 24 but we'd been together for six years and I was 18 when I met him, and he was the first person I'd dated. Word to the wise, young ones: don't marry your first crush. Live a little, first. A little maturity goes a long way, especially when it comes to marriage. And if you aren't a gay man, don't marry a gay man. Enough said.
It's hard to believe that was almost 25 years ago. And it left a lot of emotional scars that have taken me years to work through, but I think I'm much better off now. Some time ago I joined a site mainly for the quizzes (I think online quizzes are fun), but it is actually a dating site. I've never taken any steps to really use it as such, but I did download the application on my phone the other day and there was a guy, a couple of years older than I am, who really caught my eye. I accidentally 'liked' him because I didn't know what I was doing, and was trying to bookmark his profile to show YKWIA. But that's okay. I am considering sending him a message. I'm pretty shy about such things. I never really got the dating thing down. But maybe we can meet for coffee or something like that. That's not too scary. And if he doesn't like me or doesn't want to meet, that's fine, at least it's good practice on the way to finding someone who does, right?
Okay, I think it's time to get away from the computer and get some things done around here, like refrigerating the eggs and doing some stuff around the house, maybe while I listen to Pandora. Good night.
So I slept in till 10 am (which was great, as I was up late last night baking bread). I took my laundry over to my friends' house as well as three trash bags of clothes to donate through Cedar Lake (they normally donate there, and they'll come pick it up at their house, and they can leave them on the front porch, as opposed to me, who cannot put anything in my apartment building hallway). I did my laundry, did the normal chores I do over there (although A did the sweeping and mopping--he offered yesterday if I would wash the dishes). YKWIA and I watched an episode of 'Lost Girl'. I had the Fae pegged in that one, immediately recognising a Nightmare and figuring out the other was a Sandman. What can I say, I've had a lifelong interest in folklore, so I usually figure out what each person is; the only one I had trouble with was Hale, who is a Siren, and that's mainly because most Sirens in folklore are female. It's a really interesting show. The story is about a woman, named Bo, who is a Succubus, meaning she feeds on sexual energy. She has a roommate, Kenzie, who is human. She was adopted out in the Midwest and doesn't know who her real parents are, and has been on the run for ten years because when she feeds, she kills her lovers. She discovers she is a Fae, a supernatural creature who is basically immortal (but can be killed), and the Fae have an entire society unknown to humans. Fae feed off humans in some way, whether it's their dreams, their lifeforce, their bodies--they include Werewolves, Vampires, Brownies, Red Caps--all sorts of supernatural beings. Like the Fae of legend, there are Light Fae and Dark Fae--you choose one when you come of age, and Bo is forced to go through a ceremony where they expect you to choose, and instead stays unaligned and a protector of humans. It's a Canadian show with a lot of complexity. I'm really enjoying it.
Now I'm home. I've felt pretty decent today, much better in fact, but I wanted a little time to myself these evening. I'm not quite sure what's on the agenda; I think I'll wing it.
for about 45 minutes. I was afraid to stay out much longer because I am pretty pale, it was sunny, my sunscreen is from last year, and I couldn't get my back well. But I didn't have any good excuses not to go get in the water and exercise, so I did. My knees and other joints felt so good while I was in. Mind you, the water was a bit cool--no one else would go in, because they'd try a little at a time and didn't like the temperature. I went in pretty much all at once, got my head wet, and then I felt fine.
I did this despite the fact that two years ago when I went looking for a bathing suit, the only one I could find to fit me was very, very bright, shall we say even neon, pink. So I always feel like a giant pink blobbie in the pool. But today I decided to not focus on that at all, and just go have fun. Anyway, I'm glad I did.
After that, I came in and got a shower. I'd gotten a late start to my morning; I'd slept till 10:30 am, which is almost unheard of these days, but what can I say, it's been a difficult week. I went into the pool about 11:30. After my shower, I found I had a voice message; a friend was out of medicine and the pharmacy was going to close in less than half an hour. I dressed quickly, called the pharmacy to let them know I was coming, and then booked it all the way across town, hitting just three red lights, and arriving with two minutes to spare. Then I stopped by Kroger for drinks and something to eat, and when I got back to the car and sat down, the inside seam of my capris tore all to hell, about five inches down, even though the capris are not tight, but comfortable. I went on to my friends' house, delivered the medicine, and visited for awhile, watching videos on YouTube. Then we went for the grocery run, stopping by my house first so I wouldn't be out in public with torn pants. When we got back and had put away the groceries, YKWIA and I watched Joyful Noise with Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, which was fun. Now I'm home, and I need to work on the game notes. (Yes, I left them till the last minute again.) But all in all, it's been a good day, and fairly productive.
and while I was maybe a little weak on one or two questions out of twelve, I think I did very well, and I was nervous but not paralysingly so. I think I connected personally with them very well. I wore the floral skirt, a white camisole, a white vertical-pleated blouse, a white lacy long jacket, and my grandmother's pearls for luck. :) Apparently sandals are not allowed by the dress code, so if I wanted to wear any dresses or skirts I'd definitely have to get some comfortable dress shoes. But for pants I have black shoes that would fit fine. I am really excited about the prospect of working there. Please think good thoughts and keep your fingers crossed. They were interviewing today and then it goes to human resources. Oh, I hope I get it.
This is my last day off before returning to work on Monday. It's been a long, sad, and, at times difficult, few days. But I'm going to take some time today for recuperation from the stress of the funeral and such. I miss my grandmother, of course, and want some time to reflect. But also I feel drained from the visitation, funeral, and yes, even the interview. So for right now, I'm going to drink some more water, take a nap, and then putter around the house and maybe do something fun like read or watch a show later.
They didn't seem to really say, 'hey, that person is incarcerated.' So kudos to them for bringing back the black-and-white stripes. I've seen this in our area, too, although I think Fayette County still does orange or dark green jumpsuits. But it floors me that anyone would go to the mall dressed in an orange jumpsuit with the name of the local facility on their back like it's a fashion statement.
If orange is the new black, as the popular TV show title says, then black-and-white stripes are the new orange at the Saginaw County Jail.
The jail's all-orange jumpsuits increasingly are viewed as "cool," Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel says, prompting him to begin purchasing jumpsuits with horizontal black-and-white stripes for use inside the jail instead.
The choice was not arbitrary, the sheriff says.
"It's because as you see shows on television, like 'Orange Is The New Black,' some people think it's cool to look like an inmate of the Saginaw County Jail with wearing all-orange jumpsuits out at the mall or in public," Federspiel says, referring to the Netflix drama. "It's a concern because we do have our inmates out sometimes doing work in the public, and I don't want anyone to confuse them or have them walk away.
"We decided that the black-and-white stripes would be the best way to go because it signifies 'jail inmate,' and I don't see people out there wanting to wear black-and-white stripes."
I'm still the fat little kid on the playground doing anything to make the other children like me, only I'm doing it in a world of adults where they just care about getting things done and other grown-up issues. So I admitted after talking to YKWIA today. Even after all these years, I'm still pretty insecure, and although it normally doesn't happen, the fact is that sometimes I react to that perceived rejection just like I did when I was a kid. So that's something to work on.
I feel much better today. One of the people involved talked to me about it and it was clear that all of us shared some blame for things not running all that smoothly, and there was some miscommunication. I felt better afterwards. Ironically, the whole thing that was time-sensitive in the first place wound up being cancelled.
Anyway, I managed to catch up at work today, and then I took my friends to Coba Cocina, a restaurant here in Lexington, for their anniversary. I then went to a comic store and picked up a couple of the latest issue of Sandman: Overture (there were two covers). I ate at Subway and then went to Gabriel Brothers and found a couple of bras, a dress, a backpack purse, socks, and a blouse for very little, really. The bras, for example, were Lane Bryant's brand, but were only $4.99 (normally about $30 or so). I really needed something off-white, so it was nice to find some. I really like the dress, and it was $13. It's a pretty summery dress in cool tones of blue, green, and purple with an asymmetric hem and lavender lining. The blouse is lacy and flowery, white with pink flowers. So all in all, it went well. I probably had no business going there given how stressed I was over money yesterday, though.
I went to get them, took them on a very abbreviated grocery run for some essentials, and got them home. One had had some sangria. He's such a happy drunk. He grabbed some things from the car because they were shiny (a bracelet, a dangling crystal, and my purple phone charger), lost the house briefly, went inside, and apparently fell asleep immediately, only to give them to the other as a present later. (I got a phone call checking to make sure I got home and thanking me for my help in making the evening a nice one.) A has put them somewhere safe so dogs don't chew them up. I just shook my head. A is going to go watch the University of Kentucky-University of Louisville game (along with most people in our state, for that matter).
I've taken my medicine, propped myself up in bed, and I'm listening to Passenger's All the Little Lights. I've got the fan on, which feels very nice on my feet. The only thing that could make things better would be a cat curled up with me, but alas, there is none. I checked the other day and the little cat Nedra that spent so many months at the shelter is gone. I hope she found a good home. I don't really regret not getting her--I think I'm just not ready for pets beside fish right now. But I hope someone cares about her and takes care of her well.
Okay, I think I'm going to sign off for now. I'm so glad it's Friday. Hope you have a good weekend. Good night.
Nutella on a toasted bagel seemed such a good idea until I dropped a bagel half face down onto my blouse. I am such a klutz. I had to go wash the shirt out thoroughly as that stuff stains big time, and it was the size of, well a bit bigger than a bagel as it slid down the blouse. Then I changed clothes, tried to gingerly eat the bagel halves, and still managed to get stuff all over me, especially my hands and face, but a tiny bit on the tank top I was wearing. Now I know why I don't normally put a spread that is always a bit messy on something warm with a hole in it. *facepalm*
I'm not sure which is cooler about the jeans and blouse I ordered from Amazon--the fact that they arrived on a Sunday or the fact that totally without being able to try them on, they both fit absolutely perfectly. *Happy dance*. This means I have a pair of actual blue jeans again (which is nice for Fridays at work) and the blouse got rave reviews today, even from YKWIA, who usually thinks I am a fashion victim, as it is a sort of Romantic-Victorian-Gothish plum one with a lace up front and long billowy sleeves, which actually looks good on me (although the ties and sleeves stream out and are not the best for working around copiers). But I feel like singing 'I feel pretty' from West Side Story. Ah, a little punchy tonight after a long, long day. Time for bed, I think.
Okay, I didn't like the clothes at all and the women have horrendous faces at times, but this is great in that 1) it uses women who aren't pale imitations of plastic manikins, women who have curves yet who move and are active, and 2) definitely this is different from the normal walk and pivot. Thanks to Vanessa Irvin Morris for sharing. What do you all think?
Oh, and as to the faces, as one commenter, penelopeat8pm, said, 'I'm pretty sure that if for the last 60+ years they've been telling you you're not thin enough, white enough or beautiful enough to partake of fashion, you'd have the same face. :)'
I know, I start a lot of entries that way. But, man, what a busy week. Yesterday I went to five different places: the pharmacy, Meijer's, Lowe's, and two different Krogers (one for gas, one for groceries), running errands with a friend. I also watched some videos with another friend and then helped him make kugel, which turned out splendidly. For dinner we had kugel, eggplant pâté with a bit of baguette, a turnip/apple dish, matzoh ball soup, and a lovely salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and olives (that's what I remember anyway--there may have been more in the salad). He also made cholent for today, which was very good.
Today was cleaning and then the game, which we played until 10:30 pm or so, taking a break for a bit when one player had to go get her son from something. I had taken the laptop with me, so while the game master took a nap, I played Civilization IV. :) But we probably played our normal five or six hours altogether. I enjoyed it. It was downtime, rather than investigation or heavy action, but sometimes that's where a lot of the character development happens. A character that had been in the game several years ago made a reappearance as one of our comrades in arms, having gone through the training the player characters receive. I think Brenda was quite pleased; she's been asking about bringing this character back for awhile. Anyway, I just got in a little before midnight, as I helped clean up after the game and YKWIA showed me some more fashion. I think he's really trying to improve my wardrobe, which he believes to be tacky because it's often sparkly with various sequins and little shiny things. Today's 'Baby Blues' comic reminded me of the whole thing, actually.
Okay, I have taken my nightly medicine. I've blogged, which was an aim for today. I've plugged up the various things that charge overnight. I'm heading to bed before it gets much later. Good night. Hope you had a nice weekend!
I woke up right on schedule at about 7:50, went back to sleep, made it till 9, took my Lantus and went to bed till about 10:30. Then I got up, got ready, went over to Subway for lunch, got a six inch tuna sub and a drink, and then, figuring the festival was probably a bust, and not wanting to stand under an umbrella from booth to booth, I went over to Gabriel Brothers for awhile. I got two six-piece towel sets, two tops, a pair of khaki capris, and a purse for just over $50. Now I'm home and looking at a large pile of hand-wash laundry that should really be taken care of today. The rain has picked up, hitting the windows (which is good for my window boxes full of herbs). I just got off the phone with our security chief, who has kept in communication with the folks at Idle Hour Country Club and golf course, and the fireworks planned for tonight will go on regardless of rain intensity so long as there is no lightning activity in the area, starting at about 9:30 pm. So, I'm planning on going if the weather holds.
Things I need to do around the house:
Wash that laundry
Wash dishes
Clean out the refrigerator
Put away things on the dining table
Give the bathroom a once-over
Take out the trash
Take out recyclables
Charge the laptop
I also am trying out a pair of Reeboks I had around the house to see if they would work for going to the Y. So far, so good, but it's not late enough in the day to be definite. I'm not putting my inserts in, so they're a little roomier than my New Balances, and they're an overall athletic shoe, while the others are designed for walking, and they come up on the top of the foot a little differently, which is good, because that swells, too. I probably will not go to the Y after all today, but hope to tomorrow evening during open swim, where I can also work out on the equipment if these shoes do okay. If they don't, then I guess I'll be taking my swollen feet to John's Run-Walk Shop and looking for shoes that fit. I just want to make sure I don't do anything to my feet, between my history of foot issues and the diabetes concerns.
I think I'll take a little time to relax, start the laptop charging, and then start working on the house. I hope you are having a good day. I wish I could send some of our rain to the Southwest where the fires are such an issue right now.
yesterday that where my feet and ankles swell, my New Balance shoes pinch my feet on the sides and top rather painfully at end of day, which happens to be when I tried to go work out last night at the YMCA. So, no go for that unless I can get better shoes or work out early in the morning. I'd rather be in the pool anyway, but that's an issue right now as I can't go in with my fever blister. :( So, we'll see. I promise I won't use the shoes as an excuse for very long. I think I'm going to go to John's Run Walk Shop and get their opinion; they're supposed to be really good. It's where a couple of friends get their shoes.
I did get my dress for my friends' vow renewal yesterday and it fits and looks fairly nice on me. It was really low cut, though, so I bought a black lacy camisole for $6 at Gabriel Brothers to put under it, and I think that helped, as you can see in the picture.
Today I did some running around after work, spent some time with YKWIA (who chastised me rightly on one count and who talked me out of adopting a cat for now), and now I'm going to try to work on the game notes for awhile. Sorry I didn't write yesterday. I'll try to get back on schedule. :)
and worked on the boxes some more. I'm almost finished. I have a box to throw away, a box of recyclables, a box to go with the office/art supplies, a box of gaming stuff, and a box to go to Goodwill. I still have a bit on the bed but it won't take too much longer. I'm also almost done with the bread. I've put the laundry away. The drawers are very full, and my closets have very little room for hung clothes, but I think when I sort through the big tub tonight I'll put all the winter stuff away in the tubs and hope for the best in terms of the walk-in closet and leakage. That will give my summer clothes more room. I think we're finally past the need for winter clothes (although Monday morning it was in the 30s!)
I apparently totally missed a commotion on my street the night before last, as did a co-worker who lives in a neighbouring complex. Two toddlers, about 2 years old, were reported wandering about the area by themselves after dark. Police found them and discovered their father asleep in his apartment, along with marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the bathroom, and they arrested him for child endangerment and drug charges. The mother was at work. I was home, and I remember hearing sirens, but it must have been a little away. Still, that's a little scary.
The bread smells very nice and should be ready very soon. After I take it out, I'll get ready for work. So far the morning's been pretty productive. Let's hope work will be as well.
