Monday, February 07, 2005

late at night

Public Cell Phone Users Must Die!

Or perhaps I should change that to, “might die”, if they keep ambling across parking lots with phones glued to their ears and no concept of the fact that there are MOVING CARS in parking lots.  People in those moving cars do not care about your phone calls, or your comfort in walking slowly while not acknowledging traffic.  In a brief period of going to Target tonight (love Target!), we saw no less than three people ambling through the parking lot with phones attached to their ears.  You don’t even want to know the percentage of people inside talking on the phone.  I wish I could take their phones and crush them with my heel.  I was wearing my Skechers and they have some pretty good stomping power in those soles.

Even worse than the talking amblers are the DRIVING amblers, who might very well kill me someday.  Should I end up in a car accident, I’m sure it’ll be because someone had a phone glued to their ear, and they weren’t paying attention to me or the signal or the stop sign or how to merge.  If you have a phone call to make, stop your car and make the call.  It’s not that hard.  I manage to live without making any phone calls while driving my car, grocery shopping, eating in a restaurant—it surely can’t be all that hard.

Okay, on to cheery stuff.  It looks like the loan process is well under way, with rates that seem reasonable.  Oh sure, I know I’m being taken a bit, but I think it’s the least amount of being taken that I can find right now.  I like the loan guy, he seems willing to work with me and to get this over with as soon as possible.  I even offered to let him come over and rip out my fingernails, because that how I felt today looking for 1099s, 1040s, LinkShare stats, LinkShare 1099s, etc.  I don’t have a run of the mill job, where it’s a simple paycheck every week, for the same amount, from the same company.  I get checks from a couple dozen companies at sporadic times.  Some are weekly, some monthly, some are supposed to be monthly, but aren’t.  So, my finances are always a fun rollercoaster ride.  Some very good ups (special special memories of January 2002 at 21k), some cruddy downs.  Today, another fun up.  Maybe it was to pay me back for the torture of going through the refinancing ordeal.  But, we got a surprise check for over a thousand bucks.  That explains the $100 trip to Target, I’m sure.

Except for the phone amblers, it was a pleasant shopping trip where we didn’t have to worry about money, which has been a constant for a few months.  So, we got storage bins (to help clean up the garage), saw blades (because Leigh-Ann wanted them), purple t-shirt sheets that were on sale, a wrist brace for me (typing kills me), jawbreakers at a $1 bargain, some Surf detergent…and sadly a couple of laughs at the moms with whining children insisting on going to Toys R Us or having candy.  All I could think was,  “These are the reasons for exasperated blog entries by parents.”  At least from reading mommy blogs, I’m more likely to be amused by the situation versus thinking, “Whoa, that’s one awful kid.”  My mother would like to remind everyone that her children were always well-behaved when we went out.  It’s true, she’s right.  I was a perfect child when we were out.  My brothers were too.  It’s like we knew there wasn’t any other choice.  We weren’t even threatened.  Of course, we are all really calm people, including my parents.  There isn’t a bit of extra energy used unnecessarily on any situation.

Okay, so that check coming, along with getting the refinancing done has made it clear to me that money really does make me happy.  I enjoy paying my bills on time and getting the paperwork off my desk.  I like being able to splurge on cheap books and peppermint mochas.  And soon, that sushi splurge is coming.  I can’t wait.  I’ve missed my eel, my tobiko, my raw tuna salad, my cute teeny little desserts.  Soon, the big $13.95 lunch junket.

early afternoon

Refinancing - C’mon Over, Watch Me Tear My Hair Out

Ugh, is there anything worse than financial paperwork?  I want to scream & weep.  Why won’t they take my word for it?  I swear, I make a ton of money.  My house is worth a ton of money.  My sanity is worth less and less, as every day of this process passes.

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

mid-afternoon

Help Me - I’m Addicted To “Mommy” Blogs

I’m gay.  I don’t have any kids.  I rarely see any little kids (sorry Bryce, I’ve been a bad lesbian neighbor/aunt), yet almost all the blogs I read regularly are Mommy Blogs.  Sure, they’re the raunchy, cynical and angry ones, but they’re also funny.  And sweet, in a “I’m so glad that kid’s yours, even though s/he is cute, because I want to use the bathroom alone and I want to be the stranger that looks at you in horror when your child is having a temper tantrum at the grocery store” way.  All of my nieces & nephews are now teenagers, so they rarely do anything utterly cute.  Sure, I marvel at how they’re growing up so quickly and how smart & funny they are, but when they get in trouble, it isn’t cute anymore. (to be cont. - must go grocery shopping, now) Oh, and AdSense, while I’m gone, please figure what my content is and quit giving me ads on grief counseling and flowers.  I’m feeling a little angry these days, but I swear I’m not going to kill anyone, and then send flowers.——————————————

I’m back.  As I was stating up there ^, I’m a lesbian.  But at the grocery store tonight (Vons in Centennial Hills), there was a dreamy guy shopping, alone.  He looked like a combination of my cute next door neighbor (picture a white Derek Jeter) and Luka from ER.  Be still my little lesbian heart.

Back to “Mommy” blogs.  Perhaps I need to broaden my horizons, check out some single people.  Oh wait a second, I’ve checked a couple of the miscarriage bloggers, and go figure, they’re funny, a lot of the time.  I guess it’s like comedians—hardship oftens brings out the funny.

Ugh, pain has mostly been something that’s occasionally annoying since the Carpal Tunnel/Thoracic Outlet Syndrome of the early aughts.  I now realize why the pain has been diminished.  I haven’t tried lots of typing and coding and fiddling online.  My forearms are now killing me, my elbows are burning, my fingers numbing.  Crap, I really am 34% or whatever % they said, disabled.  It’s kind of depressing.  I’ve been enjoying the writing, even if no one is reading.  It’s time to see if my custom-made (I so rock) wrist braces will help.  I never thought I’d have to wear them again, even if they are the slickest looking braces around, in Maple Leaf blue—made even before I liked the Leafs.  Hmmm.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

the wee hours

New title image, oh yeah, yeah, yeah

In my head, I hear, “I made this!”

You probably just think, “Ow, my eyes, my eyes, I’m blinded by the color and the patterns.”  Well, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah.  I mostly like it.  It was only a second draft and I don’t hate it, so that’s something.  Oh, and I’m really not all that ready for questions or advice right now, as the Ask Flippy page hasn’t been set up yet.  But, if you can’t wait, you can write to me at AskFlippy AT this domain dot com.  I promise to try to help and you promise that you take this as entertainment value only.  I will not be responsible for you getting your tongue stuck on poles, your bf/gf breaking up with you, the meth you bought in the alley from the dealer.  Got it?  Your life is your responsibility, I’m just here to help, whether I do so or not.  Oh, and I promise not to use your name/email address, unless you’re an abusive jerk.  Then, all bets are off.

Monday, January 31, 2005

mid-afternoon

Grumble, Grumble, Stupid, Grumble, Grumble

So, I leave the house especially to get to the bank before 4p, so my deposit will count for today.  Sure enough, the ATM “mechanics” are in the drive-thru working on it.  Figures.  But whatever, I’m not opposed to a little exercise, so I park the car (even a little extra far away because the place is a zoo), get out and actually walk to their other ATM.  Gah, the screen is blank.  It is now 3:55p and people are streaming like ants into the bank because of the broken ATMs, so there’s no point in me going in and waiting in line when I can just make the deposit tomorrow.  But geez, I left the house ONLY to go to the bank.  Instead, I guess I ended up taking the long way to Starbucks.

While on Tropical Parkway (don’t you just love how in the middle of the desert, we get “Tropical” Pwy, as if…), I was behind a silver/grey Saturn Vue with a bumper sticker that said, ” DEFEND AMERICA, Defeat Bush” and it cheered me.  I still have my “48 Nobel Prize Winning Scientists Agree…John Kerry, the Clear Choice for President” sticker on my car.  I really despise bumper stickers and it’s the first one I’ve ever put on any car I’ve owned in the 24 years I’ve been driving.  I’ve been putting off removing it, but perhaps it’s time.  We got a Maple Leafs sticker in the mail today—maybe I’ll just swap ‘em out.  I was never crazy about John Kerry, although he impressed me in the debates.  Then again, a small child could’ve beaten Bush in a debate.  I digress, a sticker, do I want another sticker on my car?