And so the mind games begin
Enter I. stage left.
Flora sits center stage, spread across the sofa. Not-smoking.
A bit of silence as I. hangs her coat.
Then -
"How are you?"
"Fine."
I. closes the closet and proceeds to kitchen.
With great satisfaction I. removed the kitchen lace curtains, exposing the occupants to the bare backyard. I. curses herself as she now retraces her steps, as turning the outdoor light on would have been a nice touch. [Headshake]
Moving on to the spices on the wall, I. gleefully placed them in a crate to pack in the basement. Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Sea Salt, smack. Celery salt, vanilla beans, sazon, onion salt, smack. And when the Ground Pepper hit the plastic, I. smiled. In between trips, she began a load of whites. And when she was done massaging the spiced oil into the storage bin, she clomped back up the stairs, with noise as her primary method. And sweet whisperings to the cats, her only amicable contacts in the house.
HA.
Tomorrow morning, the dining room and the living room curtains are coming down.
OH, and I nearly forgot. The metal rack on the wall was taken down. The excuse will be the need to spackle over the existing holes. In reality, I'll wait until the last possible minute to cover up the visual abberations.
In case you haven't heard, I've put in an application (good credit score!) for an apartment. Fingers crossed it comes thru for April 1, as I will be eager to start measuring and moving. And Alison even offered her tried and true futon when she moves on up in the apartment hierarchy of the world. Last night, Flora "had" to talk to me. She gave me 1 mo. notice and was eager to gloat as I would be away for 1/2 of April. But considering she's tardy in collecting utilities, she's coming out behind. And, there will be no one else to cover the pricy cleaning service. (Each time the cleaning woman comes it's a 100 bucks. To wash dishes? And use my vacuum? Erm, no.)
I think I'll pack the garbage can Saturday.
I forgot I had plans with coworkers Friday night, so the trip to LI will be a 1/2 day. I don't feel as bad, as work provides Good Friday as a holiday. I can spend time with them then. Plus we'll (hopefully) be on the same page decorating my new place. As a backup, I made appointments to see more apartments tomorrow after work.
Let's see...I'm now a card carrying member of a BCBS. Blue Cross Blue Shield beckoned me with dental implants, mental health, and wider choices in the even of a catastrophic illness.
Last night I had a riot with A. providing gently used cat grass to Stump.
And, slept like a log.
I'm pooped right now, but have to go back down to flip laundry. Bleh.
so
even if i don't get that apartment, i feel l.ike there's hope. i looked around at the astoria long island city listings, and can't wait to set up appointments. i'm tired of tip toeing around a place i pay to live in.
the roomies have smoked up such a pot storm i've resorted to stuffing a towel under my door. the only trouble with that are the seams on the top and sides of the door.
oof. now they've turned the mood music on, and have retired early to their quarters. the rentals left ages ago, after taking me on a trip to astoria to visit my aunt. let's see - what esle happened lately?
Friday i crashed early. I don't know why i was so pooped. Saturday I was up and out the door after The Confrontation. Ask me the next time you see me, but let's just say this is why i'm ready to move. NOW. Out of principle I left the seedlings on the dining room table. I plan to move them Monday when I get home early. (I want to stop and see brokers in Astoria/LIC and then install a lock on my bedroom door.) I repotted the theatre mug with a pot I picked up in China town. I realized there was only one I shouldn't have touched after I repotted all three. (The other two were FIT mugs. For god's sake. Doofus head.)
Saturday Erin took me to the doogie park with Ophelia. I say took, since I had as much fun as the pooches. Then we headed to that other country, Brooklyn. Don't ask me where BAM is, but luckily we found it after enjoying dinner at El Pollito (or something like that) on 5th ave. Midsummer Night's eve was so good I laughed until my mascara was gone.
Ok, so my brain is completely scatterbrained right now. Trying to watch the Sopranos and type is not conducive to coherent sentences. Neither is the Sleepy Tea I started sipping away at earlier. I picked it up in Jackson Heights, and it's Chamomile on steroids.
Income requirements
So for the low- ball estimate of what i'll earn this year, i can easily afford a $1000/mo studio/1BR. until the fuckers start asking for 52-62 times the monthly rent annually. (Even then, i'm still over, but b/c of the relatively short term tenure i have at work i'm hitting a bumper.)
UGH.
I saw two apartments today. The studio was totally cute (but too dark). Had it been in manhattan you'd be talking at least 1350. In queens w/o good light or a view it's less than 800. the 1BR was to die for. 700 square feet with an eat-in kitchen, tons of closets, light, and a killer view of the city. For 1050/1100. The broker doesn't think i'd get the apartment b/c of my spotty work history. So i'm asking my boss to write a reference letter. it would be so cool. i feel like i'm burning fifty dollars submitting the application, but i guess i'll never know unless i try.
bleh.
Aside from the obvious
there is something just wrong with me.
First I'm exhausted when i walk in the door. SO tired i can't wait to go to bed. I decide a small cocktail is in order. I putz around. I read a magazine. I watch the news. I take a phone call.
Then I go upstairs to watch Lost in Translation on DVD. Erin mentioned it yesterday and I figured I might as well make use of the troll's enormous collection. (I would have finally watched the godfather except i deemed it too long - for someone ready gto fall asleep.)
I watch the movie. I'm pooped. I enjoy it. blah blah blah.
Then I decide to go online for just a bit. And now it's nearly 11pm.
DUDE. get. some. rest.
oh, and apparently i'm primed for some type of sexual encounter, except that i'm destined for it to be of the dream state variety. talk over drive, geesh.
ah ha moment
i nailed it.
and it's mine.
come may-ish i will be the queen of a new project. and totally removed from the hellish world in which i am in now. the get out of jail card has arrived.
(well, at least at work. right now i'm huddling in the dark post shower, as i have no intention of shoveling snow. if they want to 'own' the rental, they can go ahead and take care of it. totally not my bag of tricks;
and so, ladies and gents. i am one happy camper. and the most awesome part is how high profile it all is. thank goodness. so now i'm tasked with focusing on my legacy. how nicely i leave my post for the next sucker (or set of) will be what i do from now on. and it's somehow easier to be cordial with the losing end. especially when they know i'll be working directly for / with their boss. iiiiinnnteresting.
oh, and the male troll will be casting for my favorite broadway show ever. the one where they put african american singing pop stars in lead roles when they have zippo theater experience.
right.
tomorrow is st pat's which will be celebrated with the irish boys fresh off the boat.
that's right. in queens. who hoo!
Let's see
What is new these days?
It's been a while.
I know.
Tsk, tsk.
I've moved the desk to the basement. Craftys and stuff that can be stored in large storage bins are not in my room anymore. I borrowed the dry vac to clean out part of the basement. On Sunday this involved tying up boxes with twine and wrestling with furniture until it was bent (kind of). Now there's a cute Ikea throwback lining a small corner with the drafting table I've only used to cut paper and glue things on. (the extra space in my room is totally worth it.) I've now opened the mini papazon (however that's spelled) next to the free standing wardrobe / closet thing.
THe female troll has never met the girl-who-stayed-over-in-her-absence. IIIInnteresting. And she was surprised that she had even been to the house - at all. And when she asked the male troll, he casually mentioned," Oh yeah. She called about potentially watching the Sopranos here on Sunday."
No, she stayed over.
Multiple times.
In OUR bed.
And we giggled well in to the night.
And went to dinner.
And played hookey, ahem, "worked from home" for three days.
Together.
Here.
Stoned and drunk.
During the day.
RIGHT>
The poor female troll apparently had some kind of fit/episode while out in LA and had to be medicated for it. the male troll continues his mean streak towards her, and for whatever reason she takes it.
such drama.
whatever.
i worked late tonight (planned), until 8.30. then i had to log off my computer. by then it was sufficiently late enough to take a car service home. when you stay just a little bit late, there is always that balancing act of "should I stay later" to car service it? or just past 8 to expense the taxi?
eck.
I'm convinced the stain on my boob is either a) the beginning of lupas b) something that will kill me or c) a stretch mark.
I am in love with my bras to the point I don't want to wear the next one. (I've been swapping between the two t-straps types. ok, so they're not shoes. but the kind that snap in the front. i forget what they're called.)
my mere bought me swanky stuff on sunday:
- satin fooffy skirt
- pin striped pants with a red sweater top (complete with fur collar - detachable)
- a simple 3/4 qtr sleeve cotton (which I wore today) in cream
- a washed sweater of mine i had forgotten about
- a winter wool skirt that would look great with boots
- and a cream color turtle neck.
i feel like there was something else, but i've forgotten.
my seedlings are off to a racing start. (the female troll is slightly jealous as she can't yet plant her roses.)
i watched on demand versions of "Phone booth" and the Jennifer Aniston movie where she works in the Kmart-type store. Eh. Who knew I'd ever say the former friend's actress would be kind of interesting. it was attention grabbing in that way where you're not really sure why anyone would act in a peculiar way.
And I moved my bed back to its original corner after great expense and effort yesterday. I like it this way better. (I think).
Plus, now I want a bigger tv, since i'm further away from my screen.
Ok, that was a brain dump of nothing. The worst day of my adult working life was last week. Then I compounded it by screwing up a date. Then i cried. In public. And proceeded to make up and drink myself into a stupor. When I woke up i couldn't figure out why my legs wouldn't move (cat). And I took a cab to work. (From west 18th.)
As I said earlier, the nyc yellow cab is the chariot of transportation when one is not privvy to a private driver or car service.
It was totally worth it.
Today I drew pictures all day instead of explaining a concept to someone. Then I expressly said "low priority - LATER".
Which of course they confused with a 6pm deadline. Which is why I couldn't talk to alison when she called. (I literally was scarfing food down while starting a global videoconference.) For the amount of money spent having the technician plug in my computer ($50), dial the other AV geek ($50) and goodness knows what a good bridge numbers goes for - why not cut the fat out and allow me to continue my ongoing flirtation with the smart regular joe guy from tokyo. OK, so mr L.A. and i have an interesting relationship. Our converstaions border on innappropriate, but hey, who cares?
The boss is on Vacation.
And the Dev Mgr is changing what he's planning to deliver. WHATEVER. It's ain't me on the line.
k. going to sleep.
soon.
Choices
Is it just me, or are some of you caught unaware of the transgend movement? A few months back New York magazine had a piece on it, and I've heard stories before, but leaning more toward the unusual on Discovery Health.
In skimming the NY times (as I'm wide awake with cramps), Rethinking Biology 101 points to college age students removing pronouns from women sport teams, and 'female-to-male trans' folks not having to select any gender when filling out forms. (ok, so the forms are not the important part - just the flexibility of small private schools accepting what i perceive as a fairly big change.)
I was going to ask if we are androgenous as a species, but have just learned the term defines those with predominantly a female appearance. (according to dictionary.com). Having leaned away from intellectual controversy, and anything more thought provoking than real estate, my brain doesn't work that way. It's kind of mushy when I start thinking of what i perceive as being so different. LIfe style choices in New York seem so much easier for those who do not have a sense of comfort in podunk-you-name-it. If urban areas become more for the atypical, then the challenge for finding one's penguin will be even harder. (sidenote: why is it that only the gay men in my life are vocalizing appreciation for my appearance?)
After I read the article I remembered how I navigated there in the first place. I selected Fashion and Style. ... not exactly a silo I'd put transgen in. Interesting. Which reminds me, I want to participate in E's book club, but did not pay attention to when the book selection meeting would take place. I hope I haven't missed it.
Alright. Midol is starting to kick in.
Howdy!
It's been a crazy week. Going backwards, because I can only remember associated events we have:
... korean barbeque (YUM)
... the roomie hanging out ALL day with the other woman
... they apparently only left the house to have dinner
... robitussin for me to fall asleep with
... sparkly pretty stuff i'm not sure what i'm doing with (mom?)
thursday
... fiddler on the roof
... dallas BBQ (YUM)
... cutest toddler ever
... dwayne (all gay men seem to be better than any straight man i've ever met)
... lydia and trisha
(ok, and lydia's hubby - who I cannot believe is 41)
wed
... cosmos
... red cosmos
... too many red cosmos
tuesday
... cable dude came
monday
... er,
... i forgot
those are all the after work activites.
work itself has been icy cold. you would not believe the drama caused by the dev team. turns out they're being phased out by the toucher. an interviewing team is being formed to evaluate future teams. which can't bode well for their boss. oops.
and, there is a very exciting project for me (*this* close). visibility. good.
the parents are coming out tomorrow afternoon. hopefully by then i'll have eeked out some work for monday. i planned this fairly large initiative for tuesday, and i'm kind of tight for time. i had planned to stay a little late at work this week, but let the social life take over. (sorry, i'm slightly distracted by ethan hawke explaining why he and uma broke up on 60/60. this was preceded by a previously taped interview with martha. 62 and going to jail. ouch. she seemed closer to crying than i ever thought she'd come to.)
alright.
iam
so today the male roommate asked,"um, do you know where my phone charger is? the one from downstairs?"
and so I said,"uh, i unplugged my charger and brought it upstairs to use. why?"
"that's mine. it's always there."
"uh, I plugged it in when I got back on Sunday. But since you're insistent on this, you can have it and I'll purchase a new one."
and into the bathroom i went.
So I'm in there less than two minutes when I hear,"You were right. Mine was in my bedroom. Stupid f*cking F."
Nice way to speak of your girlfriend, eh?
Note for me tomorrow...
4053489-0302
Escalation to next level
I still can't log into my new employer's email at home, or their intranet..which is the only means i have of accessing their stuff. managers only have access while on site with a client. so....the moron that trained me is a manager, and i can't use any of my supplemental benefits.
grumble.
