Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in ozarkmoon's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
8:56 pm	Adventures on the Ice I was going to stay in tonight, after getting out this morning on the icy roads for the office job. It has not gotten above freezing since Sunday. Unbeknownst to me -- having come home at 1 -- it had started to sleet at dark. I got a frantic call from the manager of job #2, the regular Tuesday night girl had to leave as her husband had an accident in a neighboring town. Yikes. I get out of my jammies, throw together a sammich and head out. Only to skid half way across the yard to the car. Well dayum. The parking lot at the store is not any better and I skid into the storefront after parking carefully and slowly. It keeps up the whole time I'm there (a little over 2 hours). I go out and scrap the windows - holding onto various car parts to keep upright- and slowly drive home, never coming to a full stop anywhere until I get to my place and pull a little into the yard for traction. Didn't want to get out, but it was okay. I got my paycheck - good. And a surprise - a Christmas bonus! Well whoop and whee! I have not had one of those in years and years as I work for a non-profit. We are lucky to get 2 days off at Christmas and Thanksgiving paid as it is. Only been working there 3-4 months and I got $50. That was a very nice thing for them to do. Of course, they started me at above minimum too, so I have made out decently this fall/winter. The cat has taken to sleeping in odd places. She used to love the chair in my bedroom. Either the back to look out the window and watch the feral cats and birds, or the seat curled up in old sheets or a t-shirt. Sometimes she sleeps in the seat of one of the dining room chairs. When I came home this afternoon, she was was off in the corner of the living room, curled up on the wide arm of the recliner. She really had to make an effort to get to it, surrounded by crap as it is. I wonder why that is all of a sudden THE place to sleep. One would think the couch and its infinite possibilities -- in the middle of the room and warm -- would be more inviting than the recliner arm positioned right next to the wall and colder. Then again, I've never claimed to understand her thought processes. Oh, look who just realized I'm back home - or that I've been gone. Her highness missed her after-dinner snuggles. I'm going to hear about that the rest of the night. They have already called off school in town for tomorrow. If it sleets much more, the office job may be closed too. That is okay - we get paid for that if we would have been willing to go in. :) I'm off to find something to eat. One lone cheese sammich did not sate and is not a reasonable full dinner substitute. Thankful for: Christmas bonus, my talkative Siamese and My Secret Santa (whose box has arrived, but is being held hostage at the post office until I can pick it up). Current Music: News and Weather (Comment on this)
Monday, December 15th, 2008
5:35 pm	Baking Frenzy Well, since there was no work today things were baked. Pumpkin bread, banana bread, peanut butter & milk chocolate chip cookies, and peanut butter bread. Oh, and potatoes are baking now and almost done. So thrilled to have the oven working and being able to bake goodies just in time for the holidays. Lots of mini-loaves were made - great for gift giving or quick snacks at office. Power is still on, even after sleet/ice storm. High today was 18F. Goodness to Murgatroid, that is cold! More snow and sleet on the way for overnight. Class I was to teach tomorrow is rescheduled for Thursday. More snow and cold for weekend - crap. That means I have to get out in it to go to weekend job. Blah! Need to shower and wash hair before dinner, since it will be far to cold tomorrow and I don't need icicles while scraping off the car a o'dark thirty in the morning. Thankful for: a nearly full freezer and lots of homemade baked goodies to share. Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Nightly News - NBC (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 12th, 2008
6:23 pm	I Can Bake Now! Oh my gosh! It took B all of 5 minutes to fix the oven. I am so grateful for him doing that. And now I know how to: take the door off the oven (for easier cleaning access), take the bottom out of the oven (to place it in the tub to clean) and fix this problem if it occurs again! I just never knew it was so simple to take the door off - just jerk the sucker straight up and Bob's your uncle. Man, so simple. The oven is preheating as I type. I have no clue what I'm going to cook, but dammit it will be something! I never realized how much I missed cooking and baking until I went six months without one. Plus, no one wants to 'fix' anything with gas any more. Maybe it is a liability issue. But really, couldn't one of those jerks have the gumption to just come out and look at it? If they had, it would have been at least diagnosed PDQ. So B brought up the subject of our past dating. I was going to ignore the issue completely and just act like nothing happened. He apologized - good on him. He must have been feeling guilty about everything. It just was not from anything I said at all. I told him it was all water under the bridge and life goes on. Also that life is way to short, and too lonely, to alienate or dismiss anyone whose company you enjoy. So maybe, just maybe, we will go do a few things together in the future. Next update - well, they are calling for an ice storm here starting Monday and lasting until Wednesday, so possibly not until next weekend if the power goes out. At least by the 22nd if things are bad here. ETA: The brownies and tv dinner were delish! I need to tackle some banana bread tomorrow (after purchasing eggs first) and then pumpkin bread and cookies. The larder and freezer will be full! Thankful for: a nice guy like B for fixing my oven, and having a functional oven in the home! Current Music: Family Guy on TV (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
8:41 pm	Long Time Coming I have been bad about updating here. I usually rant a bit on one of the message boards I'm active on. And then forget about posting here. Plus, I have promised a few people to be better about posting so they can keep track of me. First, I no longer work at the day care center. We had mandatory two week training at the big city 40 miles away and I had to ride with all the co-irkers and the center supervisor. One week I don't believe she said 10 sentences to me. This is the same woman who would leave me nasty notes about things I had no clue about and who gave me the scathing probationary review, only to never let me know if I was ever off probation. That was six to seven months of being in limbo. Life is just too short. I do miss the girl I worked with regularly in the evenings, but I can see her or talk to her any time. When I quit, I didn't even bother going through my immediate supervisor, but just filled out the paperwork and faxed it to her supervisor. Very satisfying. So now, I work 16 plus hours on Saturday and Sunday at a smoke shop in town. Plus I get to fill in here and there as needed. I can smoke while working, most of the customers are nice, and those that aren't already know that the manager will not tolerate abuse of her employees. I just lucked into the job by asking the manager if she was hiring. Apparently she'd been thinking of firing the weekend guy and I asked at the right time. I try to explain 'just ask' and providence to the clients at the non-profit who claim to be looking for work, but they do not get it. If there is no ad in the paper, they say they have looked but there is nothing out there. Isn't there some statistic that nearly half (if not more) of all jobs are not advertized? Little facts like that seem to stick in my brain. We started a new fiscal year at the non-profit and I am now the only one doing the classes we are required teach. Yippee. I do not mind it, but the stupervisor's constant micro-management is driving me crazier than bat shit. She sees the tests I give, knows that I present valid facts and verifiable info, yet still asks about stupid shit or tells me to pull in other topics to present. You know what? You want it done another way, get over yourself and do the fucking classes yourself. She does not want to teach classes. Sadly, she also does not want to be active in the community, go to any meetings with other social services, meet with anyone who wants to give us time/money/supplies, nor meet with any group which wants to partner with us on any project. She leaves such public and mundane things to me (the part-time office assistant) or the over-worked and very ill full-time girl. She does not like to answer the office phone either. Or do file intakes on families (one of our main ways of billing and showing the state and federal govt. that we are actually doing something to justify getting grants). Since the full-time girl does the majority of the monthly reports, she and I cannot figure out what the hell it is she does do.... I guess after being with the organization for decades, she is a master (mistress?) of delegation and avoidance. :) I signed up for a card/ornament/santa exchange on one of the boards in the hopes that it would put me in the holiday spirit. Sadly, that has not happened. It has been 5 years since dad passed, 2 since mom did. I really thought I was ready to celebrate the holidays this year. Goddess knows I have enough crap the decorate 3 homes (4 trees, 6 boxes of ornaments, 4 boxes of plastic canvas items with Christmas themes, and 2 boxes of yet-to-be-tried plastic canvas patterns). Maybe next year. Next update: Friday or Saturday, after a guy I dated for about a month a few years ago comes to fix my stove on Friday. We shall see how that goes. Thankful for (in honor of Jo - but not nearly as many as she does): Belgian Dreams chocolate cigarettes. Having one after dinner each day sets the tone for a pleasant night. Current Mood: cold (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
9:47 pm	Happy Administrative Professionals Day - Not! This week and today are dedicated to Administrative Professionals. This is what I do. In fact my official job title at the first job is Administrative Assistant. Anything from anyone in the office? Nope. From anyone? Guess. I only got an email from the supervisor informing me that starting Monday I am to report to work at 8 a.m. rah. Just what I need; longer damn days while we are going straight from winter to summer with 80+ degree days and thunderstorms every evening. Yes, it is 10 more hours a week. No, it is not permanent. One of the other girls in the office - the one with leukemia - now also has a bleeding tumor on her pituitary gland which requires surgical removal. And anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks off. You know, when I started this job last summer the schedule was all screwed up and I never knew from one day to the next what hours to work which day -- all because this same co-irker kept taking time off every time you turned around. She had doctor's appointments, or her husband did, or one of her daughters. It appears this summer is shaping up to be the same way. I am not heartless and am sorry that she and her family have had so many medical problems, but at some point it is enough. Either she can or she cannot work her damn job. If she is so sick that she cannot eat, or throws up (in the staff bathroom) every day after lunch, or feels so bad that she cannot get up and get to the office, then it is time to reevaluate whether we have a full-time employee or not. Apparently my supervisor's supervisor said just such a thing. No one was happy about that comment. I said nothing, but do agree whole-heartedly with it. If a person is so ill that they cannot get to work with any regularity, they need to take time away from work, get medical treatment, get well and then think about going back to work. I feel the company has been more than patient with all the absences and have worked other places where she would have been out the door last summer. But we shall see how things go. Now if we could just get the other co-irker to stop talking on her cell phone any time anyone calls her for anything, and arguing in a loud voice with her trucker husband in front of clients, it would be a nice place to work. Current Mood: aggravated (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, April 6th, 2008
9:57 pm	I'm ashamed to admit it but I broke down and went to the WalMart Super Center yesterday. There are a few things I use that can only be bought there. Ah, the joys of living in a small town with very few retail choices. I try to only go a few times a year and stock up on items at that time. Face cleanser, dish soap -- things I have to use specific brands of so as not to cause an allergic reaction -- that can only be found at the dreaded place. While there, I checked prices on other things. Holy fuck! Milk for less than $2 a half gallon (yes, I know gallons are cheaper but I cannot lift those damn things). My preferred Dole pineapple/orange/banana juice $2.50 instead of nearly $5 at the only grocery store in town. Cheese - sliced American, brick extra sharp, and shredded -- all about 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of the grocery. Flavors of yogurt not available elsewhere and less than 50 cents each. And coffee -- I nearly fainted! At the grocery it is almost $10 for a 32 ounce can. At Walmart? $5.28. I bought two. I even perused the clothing clearance and found a pair of pants for $3. The clothing store in town does not carry my size and has nothing less than $35 on the racks. It is all part of a downward spiral which there is no way out of. I only work part-time and for shit wages. Therefore, I cannot afford to shop at the locally-owned stores. So I am forced to get the most for my dollar, and for Food Stamp dollars, by going where the prices are lowest. And that is true of everyone. WalMart has forced small manufacturing businesses to meet their outrageous demands of low prices and massive product to the point they are forced into bankruptcy. It has happened in several towns in my state where toasters and flannel shirts were made. So the people formerly employed full-time with benefits now work crap, low-wage, and often part-time jobs and have to shop at their nemesis in order to make ends meet. I hate it. I wish it could change. I wish there were more retail choices. I wish I could afford to patronize the local businesses. Current Mood: embarrassed (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
10:27 pm	I work with illiterate people! Mentioned to two co-irkers today that Arthur C. Clarke died yesterday. My supervisor said she had no clue who that was. When I said he was the author of "2001", she said she was not "into sci-fi stuff". Sigh. Never mind that none of them could locate Sri Lanka (Myanmar?) on a map. Is it any wonder I feel my brain turning mushier daily? That my critical thinking abilities are becoming lost to me? I wish there was a book club in town which covered more than the latest Danielle Steele or Nora Roberts trash. And I wish the Friends of the Library group would meet either at night or on the weekends. Nope -- they meet on Thursdays at one o'clock in the afternoon because that time is convenient for all the old bitties on the board who do not drive at night and have other plans on Saturday afternoons. And yet, they wonder why no one new ever joins the group. Um. Other than the fact that you are all dictatorial bitches, other people have to work and cannot participate if you meet in the middle of a work day. It makes me want to give them all a V-8 smack on their wrinkled and powdered little foreheads! I found the best stuff in the world for dessert. Nestle European Style Mousse Mix in dark chocolate! Oh. My. Goodness.!!! Rich, deep flavor. Easy as anything to make -- add 2/3 a cup of milk to the dry mix and whisk or use a mixer. Tada! It is done. And it ought to be outlawed. "Makes 4 servings" my butt -- it was gone in two days here. I cannot wait to try the recipe on the package for dark chocolate cheesecake. Considering the state of things, it will make a great substitute for sex. The roofer cannot get here until Thursday at the earliest. Thankfully the rain has stopped, but one entire community just a few miles east of my town is gone. I don't mean the people left it abandoned, I mean homes and trailers (caravans) washed down river after it crested at 36 feet above flood stage. It is an isolated place only accessible via a small bridge, which was covered in water. Just a few dozen people lived there, but how scary it must have been. And how sad to leave everything -- including pets -- behind. (Apparently, they would not take pets on the rescue boat. I would say fuck that. One woman had to leave behind her 14 year old cat. That is her child! How much more room does a small pet carrier take up than a car seat with a baby in it? Only mho.) Crap. Now I have to clean house in order for the roofer to get in and see where the leak is. Never mind that I told him exactly along which seam in the metal roof it has occurred. This is not rocket science -- the panels along the walls inside match up with the seams on the roof on the outside. Duh! Another V-8 smack to the forehead for him too! Current Mood: cranky (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
8:00 pm	Well just damn it! Rain. Lots of rain. As in the huge storm that shut down the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport and the American Airlines hub and over 1,000 flights. It is streaming straight up the pike (and I-44) to my area. Already this morning, roads closed, water rescues and no end in sight. So I finally get home, semi-dry and safe. Only to start hearing odd noises from the front of the house. Open the door to the second bedroom and start looking around (since that is where the noise came from). Guess what? A leak. A fucking leak and it is getting dark and NO ONE will come out to put even a tarp over the end of the trailer until tomorrow. Fuck. Just what I need when I know that the second part-time job is going to be ending within sixty days. Son of a bitch. If I ever caught a break and had something good happen, I would die of a heart attack from the shock. Current Mood: crappy (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 16th, 2008
7:54 pm	Relationships, or lack thereof and random stuff Being alone far more than I am around anyone leaves me a lot of time to think -- probably too much -- on the state of things. Mostly, my life. And what impact my upbringing has had on it. My parents never were social beings. Oh, there was the occasional summer barbecue in the backyard. Or the odd party at some acquaintance's house that I was dragged along to. But mostly, it was just us three at home -- even on holidays except for the rare times my mom's parents came over from Arizona to celebrate. Looking back, it was usually my mother who would not tolerate anyone else in the home. I often think she would have been happy if dad and I had not been there. In the past, I've told people she really should never have married or had kids and believe that even more now. Now I worry that my not being able to see functional adult friendships, or even a happy marriage of parents, has lasting effects on my ability to have either friends or any type of relationship with a partner. There is no true frame of reference how to start or maintain such things. Maybe this all comes rushing at you when you are closing in on 50 and all alone. Stuck in a small town in the Ozarks with only PBS, books and the internet for intellectual stimulation -- or any type of brain input at all. ********************************* I have yet to figure out why the charity store commercial uses the voice of a Jewish woman with a Brooklyn accent as the door of the place. Most people in this part of Missouri would not recognize it. ********************************* Bad review on second job at child care place. Apparently I do not ask if help is needed often enough. And I need more training. Not a surprise, since I've had next to none and am only there 2.5 hours a day and the supervisor's day ends before mine begins. So I have another 60 days to get with the program and be reprogrammed or will be out the door. Rah. Now if I could only find another job. Or any job, really. Or win a small sweepstakes with a large enough amount to move me the hell out of this shithole. Current Mood: worried (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, March 8th, 2008
8:55 pm	Lots of Things First, a funny. I found the oddest link on another blog spot -- links of a friend of a friend of a friend type of thing. http://www.feelconfident.co.uk/condoms/game.htm You just have to go there an play. It doesn't take long at all to load, and I would know, since my current connection is a whopping 31.2 Kbps. Too funny. I could not score more than 40. Watching 48 Hours Mysteries about some stripper conning three men into thinking she was their fiance`. She wrote them all emails. Told one about going to the Seychelles to buy citizenship, because they do not extradite for any charge. She spelled it: Sacheles. Ah yes, such a great mind. She probably thought it was in the Caribbean too. I've been home sick since Wednesday with upper respiratory infection that would not go away. It has hung on for over a month. So finally went to the doctor. $86 for five minutes, thank you very much. And one pill a day, which costs over $23 -- yes that is each. Thankfully, the doctor had a few samples, but still. It was $68 at the pharmacy. So for more than I earn in a week anyway, never mind that I only worked 10.5 hours this last week, I had to pay for the privilege of being able to breath, sleep through the night without coughing so much that I ended up hugging the porcelain fixture in the middle of the night. No, we do not need universal health care in this country. Not at all. With any luck, people as sick as me will just let things go because they cannot afford it and die from secondary or tertiary complications of untreated ailments. That will fix the problem nicely. Current Mood: blah (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, March 2nd, 2008
12:01 am	Can you wash stuffed animals? and Why Cats Claw Well, I know you can throw anything in the washer and hope for the best, but should you? I have several Beanie Babies and many treasured stuffed koalas that are sorely in need of a good cleaning and am at a loss as to where to start. At the day care center, they just throw them all in the washer and dryer and toss them out in the trash when they are toast. But I would like to keep these things for a few years. Anyone have any experience with cleaning stuffed animals or tips on keeping them clean for months or years? Cats. I know they love to dig their claws into things and just wriggle away. I have a box for just such an activity with the added bonus of catnip in it, which Ihu loves. Or used to love. Now she has decided that the box is not quite enough. I walked down the hall towards the guest bath a few weeks ago, in search of the source of a strange noise I was hearing, only to find her standing up on her haunches and scratching the wall board! WTF!? Upon closer inspection, the bathroom and hallway walls have a few scars from such treatment. What in the hell started that? And why? Her box is replaced every month or so. It is readily accessible. She gets plenty of attention and scritches and rubs and snuggles and purr time. I'm at loss to explain it. Just frustrated that this is her 'new trick' and worried I may have to crate her during the day when I am gone. Can one crate a cat like you would a dog? How poorly do they respond to it? Current Mood: confused (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
5:10 pm	Ice Storms & The Aftermath Well, last year it was Jan. 12 and the huge ice storm which caused an eight day power outage for me, and several more weeks for many in the area. It took out trees, power and phone and cable line, and left many of us with a healthy respect for mother nature. At least the sun was shining within a day or two and people could safely get out and drive to the store. Now, it is Feb. 11, 2008 that will be the new standard. Not quite as bad in regards to power outages thankfully. Yet, no one can go anywhere. If your car is parked outside, it is covered with 1/2 inch or more of ice (and at this moment being snowed upon) and will take an hour or more of chipping to even get a door open. If it is garaged, good luck getting that behemoth of a door open with it frozen to the driveway. Even then, after getting the car able to move, unless you live on a major street there is now way to maneuver the streets without snow chains on the tires. It is made worse by sub-freezing temperatures ever since it started in the pre-dawn hours of Monday (2/11/08). It did not even get to 20 today. And will be 12 tonight. Oh goodies. Other than the inconvenience of not being able to go anywhere, the cat and I are okay. It will suck next week come paycheck time. Three days off both jobs because the offices were closed (with a loss of $45 per day) will really put a crimp in my already-tight budget. Puts me right back in the place of needing emergency energy assistance from the non-profit I work for. I really need to find a warmer climate to move to and someone to drive me there! Current Mood: cold Current Music: Weathere Forecast - Brrrr (Comment on this)
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
9:06 pm	Random Super Bowl and NFL Thoughts Has there ever been a woman official at an NFL game? Or any other professional sport? I don't remember hearing of one. Not much in the way of commercials. A few rip-offs (or homages?) of ones past like the UA commercial reminiscent of the Apple ad -- and what the hell is UA anyway? I never did figure that one out. The dancing lizards was cute, but the company's other ones not so much. Too many of the ads seemed mean-spirited to me, but then I'm a child of the 60s and I don't get the Gen Xers or their sense of humor. But nothing like the Tabasco sauce commercial with the exploding mosquitoes of 5 or 6 years ago. I still remember it and that Dad and I laughed ourselves silly at it! Too bad about no perfect season for the Pats, but they seemed a little full of themselves all during the pre-game interviews and I was not impressed. The only reason they got their first touch down was it was handed to them on a silver platter because a Giants player did a no-no. For the first three quarters, they sure did not look like an 18-0 team. The offensive line was just that and could not protect Brady for love nor money. I bet he is limping and sore tomorrow. There were defensive tackles with less grass stains on their pants than Brady had -- always a bad sign. The half-time show was boring. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of dear old (bearded) Tom, but it seems they are all still gun shy after Janet Jackson (how long ago was that?!) and the one Prince did -- all that posturing behind a curtain -- riled up people too. So this stadium in Phoenix is new. Retractable roof and all. I know the Cowboys played in the old stadium in the 90s at one of the Superbowls they won. Don't get me started on how many times the voters in Arizona said NO to MLK as a state holiday only to have the state legislature override them saying they HAD to in order to get the NFL to agree to take even a bid to have the big game in the state. What bullshit. I wonder if the university and the Cardinal organization pitched in to pay for it or if the tax payers state-wide got screwed into footing the bill. Probably the latter. And SUV Hybrid. Yeah, that is what we need to solve the energy crisis and oil dependency in this country. An SUV that gets 21 mph as a hybrid. I think metropolitan areas in this country need to adopt London's take on things and charge PER DAY for SUV's to enter the city center. I believe it is $50 there. Seems reasonable to me. If they did that in 30 big cities in this country, the damn sales of the fucking things would drop off and people would be more responsible with their vehicle choices. (Yes, I enjoy my rose-colored glasses, thanks for asking!) Another year and another NFL champion has emerged. And not the one all the sports pundits chose. Good. Current Mood: cheerful (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 5th, 2008
10:44 pm	And People Wonder Why I Don't Get Along With Relatives I got a Christmas card in the mail today from a first cousin in Nevada. We have never seen each other much through the years and she is sporadic about contacting me -- even via email. Her sister is the same way. They are the only two cousins I know from my dad's side of the family. Both are older than I, so they have known me for 47 years. First, she sent it to the wrong address; an old post office box I have not used in four years. She knows this as I have sent her several letters and cards since that time with the new address on it. Second, she spelled my name wrong. Honestly, how hard is it to remember your first cousin's name and how to spell it correctly -- especially when said name is spelled exactly like the name of your sister's best friend in Arizona? And people wonder why I say I have no relatives to notify in case of emergency. This woman would not know who they were calling about if she were notified. Current Mood: aggravated (Comment on this)
Sunday, December 30th, 2007
9:30 am	RIP Peg Bracken I only learned today, while watching the end-of-year review on CBS Sunday Morning, that one of my favorite authors died this last year. If you have never heard of Peg Bracken, you have missed several enjoyable books. Her most famous was "The I Hate To Cook Book". This was printed the year I was born. It was followed up by the just-as-popular "I Hate To Housekeep Book". Her other works included, "I Try to Behave Myself", "A Window Over The Sink" and one on getting old. She was born in 1918, a year after my father was. No wonder I understood her humor and references so well. It is really odd that earlier this year I was rereading one of her books and wondered where she was living or even if she still was, since it had been over 45 years since her first book was printed, and I knew she was not young when it was. This woman had such a wonderful style. As the NY Times commented in her obit, her presentation was light and funny - often calling for alcohol to be applied to the cook while awaiting the recipe to bake, boil or burn. That was classic Bracken. I feel she was even funnier than Jean Kerr, who wrote "Please Don't Eat The Daisies". I enjoyed her books so much because even though there was passing mention of family and children, it was never her main focus -- which was always the woman of the house and how she could enjoy her day and avoid drudgery. Dear Peg, you lived a long life and brought joy to so many people. May you rest in peace. Current Mood: sad (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 24th, 2007
11:26 pm	In A Holiday Funk Rah. It is Christmas Eve and here I sit jumping through the fanfiction sites and cussing because there is not much new up at all. Of course, that is probably because the people writing or betaing have things to do. AAA estimated that 65 million people are travelling this weekend. Dayum. That is a quarter to a fifth of the entire country. The nightmare that is holiday travel in this country is one of the few things making me glad I am stuck at home. 35 million Americans waited until this weekend to get their shopping done. I doubt it will make all that much difference with the economy, considering how late they started and how large the discounts became as it got down to the wire. It was so bad that even WalMart was buying infomercial time and running more ads than usual. Between gas prices over $3 a gallon and the mortgage debacle, people just do not have the disposable income they used to. Of course I did not help the economy one bit this season. Other than buying a box of cards for $1.00, a few stamps and one ornament on eBay for myself, I bought nothing. Nope, I did not sent gifts or give any locally. On the other hand, I did not get any either. Lovely. No holiday parties - not even at either of my jobs. A few co-workers gave out cards, but that was it. If you walked into my house today, you would never know it was Christmas. Oh, I did put a few fake poinsettias and silver doodads into a vase on the record cabinet, but nothing else. If you knew me, you would realize how bad that is. I own 4 trees and about 5 large boxes of ornaments (enough to have themed trees- Dallas Cowboys, Southwest, koalas, old-fashioned), not to mention the 3-5 boxes of other decorations. And the two Nativity sets. The holiday tops were drug out and a few worn, but my second job does not allow anything that specifically says Christmas or Santa, so I've been relegated to wearing only the candy cane top or the poinsettia one. I could not even wear my pajamas, since they have Santa on them, when we had pj day. It has been 4 years since dad passed away and I have yet to be able to bring myself to get excited about the holidays. Sad really, as I used to enjoy them so much. My only nod to tradition was my Christmas Eve dinner of mexican food. Can't wait for next weekend - just another four days off of staying at home with not much to do but housework which does not call very loudly to me anymore..... Current Mood: depressed Current Music: Blissfully Quiet (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
7:56 pm	Hate Being Sick Since Saturday I've been down for the count. And it is official -- if you cough enough from drainage and whatever croup you catch, your damn ribs will hurt like a mother every time you breath deep. Oh, and, cough enough; change underwear often. I hate being sick and trying to do everything myself here. That is the bad thing about being single -- not one person to warm you up soup or bring your meds to the bed. Nope, you get up and do it your damn self. Blech! Current Mood: sick (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, November 24th, 2007
8:05 pm	Long Weekend Random Thoughts With four days off in a row, I'm at a loss of things to do and find that I've lolly-gagged around leaving laundry to do Sunday to make things seem more normal. I found a recipe online for flourless peanut butter cookies. It might have been the sub-standard peanut butter handed out at the food pantry. It might have been the oven didn't get hot enough -- even though I did preheat it for a half hour. But they were icky. Grainy (sugar) and greasy. Now, I've never tasted these before, so am at a loss as to how they are supposed to turn out. Still, am not inclined to try it with the good stuff (IE: Jif) for fear of wasting an entire jar that would otherwise last me weeks. Food. Now that I have a second job of 12.5 hours a week (on top of the first job of 20 hours a week), the gobermint in its infinite wisdom, has determined that they need to take away $100 a month of my food stamps. Never mind that this amount equals more than a week of pay at the new job after deductions. So instead of being able to actually pay a few bills on time, I am back to seeking assistance from agencies like the non-profit I work for in order to be able to keep my electricity turned on. I surely do thank Dubya and his buddies for that. I am pissed at PBS and Masterpiece Theater. I watched for weeks as they broadcast "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard" and even taped it so as not to miss anything. Then the bloody thing just ended. So reminiscent of those crappy movies made in America in the 70s and 80s, which I hated. And it is not that the story did not tie up all the loose ends. It just left you hanging, feeling like there was still another episode or two left that maybe they didn't pay for. Damn. I so enjoyed going out on Friday. No where near the big stores nor the big city though. In the afternoon, I finally ventured out and went to the locally-owned variety store and poked around for a few cleaning supplies. There were not a dozen people in there. Then stopped by Dollar General, whose parking lot was empty when I first passed. When I came back, there were about a dozen cars in the lot, but it was not crowded either. Picked up some food items and more cleaning things. And a cool cat calendar for next year for, wait... a dollar! Oh, and I found Hershey's new flavor -- milk chocolate kisses filled with hot cocoa creme. Oh yummy! Last year it was dark chocolate and coffee kisses. Wish they would do those again as it combines two of my favorite things in life (barring there being any of the male specie around). Current Mood: apathetic Current Music: As Time Goes By on PBS (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
8:00 pm	Various Stuff This Is My Life, Rated Life: 2.5 Mind: 2.3 Body: 2.5 Spirit: 3.8 Friends/Family: 0.3 Love: 0 Finance: 3.4 Take the Rate My Life Quiz I match Eddy here. Wow. The costs of stuff. Other forums I'm on have seen people from across the country posting the costs of groceries and such in their area, so here I go: bananas 59 cents a pound Juicy Juice 2.75 a bottle avocado 1.00 Wonder Bread 2.19 1 dozen large eggs 1.45 1/2 gallon 2% milk 2.09 Move over butter 1.15 Green Grapes 2.29/lb Cranberry Sauce 1.09 Sharp Cheese 8 oz 2.85 Soda (Pepsi or Dr. Pepper) under 1.25 a 2 liter bottle Recent sale items: sugar 4 lb. 1.29 flour 5 lb. .99 parkay sticks .99 egg nog 1/2 gallon 3.49 (that seems damned expensive to me!) Gasoline is almost $3 a gallon. Basic cable of 15 channels is $18. Trailer lot rent is $140 and only includes trash pickup. A shampoo, hair cut and blow dry at the popular beauty shop is about $20. To tow the car is $20 to $40. The mechanic can change my oil, check the fluids, wash the windows and vacuum the floors, plus bring my car to me for about $30. Came home early from job 1, called in sick to job 2. Pulled my back out while leaning over sink in bathroom to wash face this morning. Ah, the joys of having a trick back which performs on a whim! Been taking advil and ultram all afternoon. Fear I will be putting the last vicodin to work tonight in hopes that a long, drug-induced sleep will calm the damned thing down! Current Mood: sick Current Music: Blissfully Quiet (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 4th, 2007
1:32 am	Nightmares You know for many months I lamented about the fact that I had no dreams at all while sleeping. Not good ones nor bad. Just nothing. I slept, I woke refreshed, no problem. Now I am having nightmares. Sometimes just small ones that jar me awake and leave me with an accelerated heartbeat. Sometimes, like tonight, really scarey ones that keep my mind and heart racing and prevent me from going back to sleep right away. Now I am awake and in no mood to seek my bed any time soon. I will take Dreamless Sleep any day over this; being wide awake in the middle of the night. Current Mood: exhausted (Comment on this)