Wednesday, April 30, 2008

late afternoon

Meme Me Up, Scotty!

I’ve been working my butt off lately, and I have the Carpal Tunnel pain to show for it, so I’m celebrating by, uh, doing a meme.  Okay, what I’m really trying to do is get back in the swing of this here blogging thing.  Instead of being grumpy & sad because life sucks, I should just write about how badly life sucks and then maybe some gazillionaire will stop by and pay off my mortgage, so Leigh-Ann and I can live happily ever after.  Because other than working out a payment agreement to stop the bank from foreclosing on our house and making other rather large payments to stop another evil witch from taking my care and aside from the Fibromyalgia pain & exhaustion, I’m really pretty damned happy.  I would like to say here and now that Aurora Loan Services sucks and will not help you if you’re having problems with your mortgage payment.  Instead, they will constantly threaten to auction your house unless you agree to pay whatever it is they want, even if it’s $500 MORE a month than the payment on which you were behind.  They wouldn’t let me do ANYTHING to try to lower the horrific interest rate of 8%.  I even asked if I could pay points, but nope, they’re not interested in helping.  And if anyone from Aurora reads this and doubts what I’m saying, I have emails from the representative from the company, where she keeps saying, “...well then we’ll auction the house” every time I tried to get reasonable consideration.  She kept telling me that it wasn’t a refinance (she wrote it in a really snotty way, too) and that basically, she had no interest in making life any easier for us.  Of course, all she did was increase the chance of us walking away from the house and letting them have the house and all of its damned negative equity.  I hope that someday, Aurora’s finest, has some financial problems caused by medical issues and that she gets someone to treat her exactly how she treated me.  Normally, I’d say that I wouldn’t want my worst enemy to be treated that way; however, I think karma deserves to visit the representatives from Aurora Loan Services who have teeny tiny itty bitty hearts of stone.  I’ll admit that there were a couple of super nice people there, but they were the ones to work on my final loan modification, unfortunately.  The woman who did seems to think that a mortgage that is equal to half of my gross monthly income is feasible, when I also have large medical bills every month.

I live in the country’s biggest foreclosure zip code, there are a couple of empty houses on my block, and they’ve been empty for well over a year now.  My house has dropped so far in value that I’m paying into a large amount of negative equity.  I just want to move where the houses cost $50k, so I could beg for change on the streets and still be able to pay the mortgage.  If you know of anywhere nice that is really cheap (with land for the dogs to roam), and is near an airport, so I could visit my family often with the fortune I’ll be saving on not having to pay an outrageous mortgage, please let me know.  Since the stress has made my FMS so bad, my family barely sees me anyway and wouldn’t even know if I moved.  I could fly in to visit once a month and see them more than I do now. 

Oh yeah, about that meme.  I apologize for rambling about the mortgage again.  Until I’m living in a cheap shack or unless I win the lottery, that’s probably going to be a frequent whine for me.  I’ll try to limit it to the confines of my house, so you don’t get tired of the whining.  Anyway, the meme!  I swiped this from Nancy & Helly.

MEMOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY
What is your wallpaper on your computer? - It’s a picture of Nancy’s son, with his back to the camera, and his arms folded across his chest, in what is clearly the best pouty body language that can be found.

How many televisions do you have in your house?  - Four.  The big tv in the bonus room that has the cable box hooked up to it, the bird’s little tv that is on PBS all day to keep them company, and the tvs in the other two bedrooms that are never used.

BIOLOGY
Are you right-handed or left-handed? - Right-handed, but I play pool left-handed because I learned by watching my left-handed brother.

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? - Four wisdom teeth and some herniated disc gunk.

What is the last heavy item you lifted?  A pile of folded laundry.  I don’t lift really heavy stuff anymore because my back could go at any moment.

Have you ever been knocked out? - For surgery once.  I also once saw stars, but didn’t get knocked out.  I was playing first on my college softball team and our third baseman fielded a ground ball and made a bad throw to me.  She threw it up the line, in front of first, so in order to catch it, I had to step in front of the runner, knowing we were going to collide.  We did.  My head bounced off the ground, but I held onto the ball.  Seeing stars is overrated.

BULLSHITOLOGY
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?  Yeah, so I could make better plans.  If I was going to die soon, I wouldn’t worry so much about money & stuff.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?  When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be named Karen for some odd reason.  I don’t even particularly like the name Karen now.  I mean, it’s fine for other people, but I don’t crave being named Karen.

What colour do you think looks best on you?  - I don’t know, but I like wearing dark colors mixed with bright colors.  For instance, grey & pink.

Have you ever swallowed a non-food item?  - Sure, I take pills every day.  Oh, and I ate pot brownies once, many many many years ago.  My cousin, she was a terrible influence.  Then again, I’m proof that pot isn’t a gateway drug.  Except for what I’m prescribed, I have no desire for anything wackier than pot.  Although, I’ve always wondered what heroin would feel like.  But, I would never try it, so I can just keep on wondering.

DAREOLOGY
Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?  - Sure, why not.  I’d even do it lots of times, especially if you were paying me $100 a kiss.

Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? - Yep.  Right now, you can have them both, as long as I get the $400k. 

Would you never blog again for $50,000? - No, that’s really not enough money.  Although, tempt me with a briefcase full of the cash and we’ll see.

Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?  I’d hate every moment of it, but I’d definitely do it for a quarter of a million bucks.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000? - Hmmm, how hot?  Maybe.

Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?  - Definitely, if I didn’t have to worry about getting caught.  Heck, I’ve got a list.  But, just so I don’t seem like a crazy person, I’ll just tell you that I’ll start with child molesters & rapists.  However, there are other people on the list.  “Can I get a million for each?”, she says, rubbing her hands in glee.

DUMBOLOGY

What is in your left pocket?  - Nothing, but I have a paper towel in my right pocket.

Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?  - I cannot express in words how much I hated that movie.  I don’t understand how anyone could like it, except for the dance scene.  That was entertaining.  But the rest of the movie?  Yuk.

Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house? - I wish we had wood (or Pergo) flooring, but we mostly have carpeting, with some linoleum here and there.

Do you sit or stand in the shower? - Stand.  Although, sometimes I’m so tired that I wish I could sit.  It’s probably best that I don’t or I might fall asleep.

How many pairs of flip flops do you own? - One, maybe.  I had some groovy flowery ones from Old Navy or somewhere, but I think I may have worn them out.

LASTOLOGY
Last person who texted you? - No one.  I don’t pick up messages from my cell phone.  I don’t give out the number, so if someone is calling or texting, it’s a wrong number.

Last person who called you? - The doctor’s office, to confirm our appointments for tomorrow afternoon.

Person you hugged? - Helly & Alan, last week.  We haven’t been huggy at home lately, I guess.  We haven’t been purposely not-huggy though.

FAVOURITOLOGY
Number? 7

Season?  - Summer, but when it’s 100 degrees or less.

Colour? - Grey.

CURRENTOLOGY
Missing someone? - Probably.

Mood? - Kind of grumpy.

Listening to? - I listened to Madonna’s new album on Rhapsody today.  Meh.  Maybe it needs to grow on me.

Watching? - The Stanley Cup Playoffs, Reaper, Samantha Who?, and American Idol.  I can’t wait for “So You Think You Can Dance?” to start back up.

Worrying about? - LOL!

Wearing? - Black shorts and my grey t-shirt with my company’s orange logo on it.  It’s a XXL and super comfy.

RANDOMOLOGY
First place you went this morning? - Went?  This afternoon we went to the mailbox store.

What can you not wait to do?  - Not worry.

Do you smile often? - Despite it all, yeah, I think so.

Are you a friendly person? - Generally.  I’m not so good with strangers, but I’m chatty with people who are easy to talk to.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

terribly early in the morning

We babysat over the weekend…

and aren’t they cute?

Monday, April 21, 2008

evening

Life Totally Sucks, But…

I could watch this video over and over and over again and be happy, as long as I didn’t have to leave my computer.  And right now, since I can’t go anywhere, thanks to threats from evil Shawon at Silver State Credit Union, all I’m going to do is sleep...and watch this video.  Okay, okay, and work.  But, right now, sleep, after a few more viewings of the video.  Then, I’m really going to bed, for sure. 

Friday, April 11, 2008

terribly early in the morning

Please vote for Gmail to add “folders”

My company email moved to Gmail...and I despise it!  I hate labels with a blinding passion, so please help me by voting for them to add folders.  I’m sure they’ll keep the dreadful labels for those of you who like them, so please help me not despise logging in to get my work email.  Oh, and yes, I know I can have it come directly into Outlook Express, but I want my work email separate from my regular email.

the wee hours

R.I.P., Tiny Dino

My first pet that wasn’t a whole family pet (or a hamster that lived less than two years - ChiChi, you won’t ever be forgotten, but you bit hard and you peed in your little travel ball and you escaped and pooped in my closet) died yesterday.  He wasn’t mine, he was my ex’s (adopted from a shelter - jerks abused him, then gave up that adorable year old puppy), but he loved me best for five years (he really didn’t, but I was a stay-at-home mom, a doggie au pair, for a little while when I first moved to Pacifica & San Francisco, so I could spoil him and steal his love), so I get to claim him as a child.  He had a good long life (he was 16) and he enjoyed a variety of things - barking at children on skateboards, plastic bags flapping in the wind, people in wheelchairs, bicyclists, fireworks, thunder, Conures (especially Julius & Ethel, but he was happy to expand his bird annoyance to Blackjack, Keno, and Bubbe too), eating his beloved Mighty Dog (now the dogs eat Honest Kitchen, which is so much more San Francisco-y, but he adored MD), Frosty Paws (he loved it so much, he ate the whole container...then threw it up), picking up his pee-mail, and laying on the bed.  He also really really loved his very first stuffed bear.  He carried it around lovingly for over a year, before he ripped its fluffy guts out and flung them all over the floor.  Every stuffed toy after that was destroyed within weeks - first, he killed the squeaker, then he managed to make it look like it had snowed in the apartment.  Later in his life, he would carry his stuffed toys on his walks.  I’m sorry I missed his gentle senior years, where he got to enjoy having a back yard, living with a bunch o’ Pomeranians, and being deaf, which made his life and everyone’s around him a lot more peaceful.  He got in a lot of barking in his early years.

In San Francisco, we had neighbors who had a baby girl and one of her first words was “Maxth!” She said it with such joy.  Ingrid was always happy to see Max when we met her and her British nanny (heh, we lived in Noe Valley, in San Francisco, where every house was worth over a million bucks) on their walks.  I don’t think Maxth! even barked at Ingrid, which proved that he could love at least one child.  Oh wait, I forgot how much he loved one of his mom’s nephews.  He thought Ricky was the bee’s knees...in a very embarrassing, but hilarious, way.

It’s been a really lousy couple of years, but it’s been an especially lousy last few months with the foreclosure business.  I’d really hoped that things were improving and each new bad thing seems magnified.  For some reason, I expected Max to live forever, so I was a bit shocked (but really shouldn’t have been) to hear that he’d died.  Luckily, he went quickly at home and didn’t suffer at all.  He had a good life.  It’s not often that a little dog gets to live out his dreams of being a dinosaur.  We spiked his fur to give him a tiny dino-like appearance occasionally, hence the nickname, The Tiny Dino.  Hey, we were lesbians in San Francisco, where you don’t “own” a pet, you’re their “guardian”.  So, we were Max’s guardians.  We home-schooled him because you just can’t trust public schools these days.  He socialized with the other beasts (he can hang out with Cindy again - a Yorkie who lived to be about 23, I think) on the street, so he didn’t lose out on social contact by not attending the neighborhood doggie daycare.  Bah, I’m rambling.  I’ll miss Little Max.  He was a good guy and I have lots of great memories of spending time with him.  He’s survived by his mom & siblings, and his favorite aunts & uncles that he met in San Francisco.  No one who met him ever forgot him - he had a unique charm that is difficult to put into words.  So, I shall finally stop.  Rest in peace, little barky dude.