Journal Entries
Can't do it... (PC)
Posted Nov 6, 2013
I see that everyone is starting new journal entries for the Na Po Wo Whatever. I seemed to recall in the past this was done in such a way that I didn't see a new post in my conversations list every day for each friend, but I must be remembering wrong!
Anyway, just letting you all know that I don't have time to participate or read any of the journals, so I am removing everyone who is participating from my friends list till November is over. I didn't want anyone to think they might have been removed for more nefarious reasons.
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Latest reply: Nov 6, 2013
(PC)
Posted Sep 10, 2013
Time for a rant.
Last week was month end, so I was stressed and tired beyond belief. It was a four-day work week because of the Labor Day holiday, but I still was exploited into working 40+ hours. 
So I thought this week would be better. Only it's 35°C +, vendors are being dramatic pains in the arse at work, and I arrived home today to find that Someone Who Will Remain Nameless had left the freezer door partially open, so all the food defrosted and there is a big mess of water and ice. It's a frostless freezer, and one I just purged and cleaned (with soap and water!) last week, so I am doubly annoyed at looking forward to doing it again this Saturday. At the buttcrack of dawn, since my dad is arriving that morning.
Discuss this Journal entry [11]
Latest reply: Sep 10, 2013
Another unexpected thing (PC)
Posted Jul 8, 2013
So, this year is shaping up to be an eventful one.
We haven't had any more major floods, though on more than one occasion, we've had a thunderstorm which deposited enough rain in a short enough time that the river was literally level with the surface of the parking lot...
But, a few weeks ago the OH was doing his Monday Night deejay thing (he does the first, third and fifth Mondays of each month), and phoned me at 1:40 AM. It's never a Good Thing when the phone rings at 1:40 AM.
Me: Hello?
OH: I'm just calling to let you know, I was stopped at a red light, and someone rear-ended me, and then took off.
Me: Are you hurt?
OH: No.
Me: Is the car OK?
OH: The fender's a little bent.
Me: OK, well can you drive it?
OH: I am waiting for the police to come, and I'll talk to you when I get home.
So, he gets home an hour or so later. I haven't been back to sleep, of course. He says the fender was bent too close to the tire, so the cops drove him home after they took the accident report. He filed an insurance claim the next day, as well as going to rent a car to get to and from work. Took a couple weeks for the claim to be settled, and their offer, minus the deductible, was better than I expected (the car was probably worth slightly less than the deductible, but we'd recently replaced the catalytic converter, and the engine was replaced 3 years ago) so we took it.
Saturday, we made appointments to go exchange the car title for a check, and to go to the body shop to clean out some personal items. When we got there, and I saw the damage, I could not believe he walked away from that accident. The entire rear end was in the backseat and there was no way to open the trunk without breaking the rear window. 
Also on Saturday, we visited the sales department at the car rental place, as we liked the one we'd been renting (some of which is covered by insurance: it cost us $30 a day for 18 days, and they cover $25 a day for 14 of them).
So, we bought one of these: http://tinyurl.com/l2sysgg . The image shown has the same finish as ours (ours has automatic transmission). We went in with a certified check and walked out with keys a couple hours later, once we did all the paperwork for the warranty, and to transfer the title and registration. 
Discuss this Journal entry [5]
Latest reply: Jul 8, 2013
I Love That Dirty Water (PC)
Posted Apr 20, 2013
Those of you in my FB contacts already know this, but I feel a need to put it down in a journal and get it "out".
We live in a lovely, 15 unit building on the banks of the Chicago River. The river which, yesterday afternoon, broke its banks after 6 inches of rain in 24 hours.
When I was coming home, all seemed OK. My train station is three blocks from home, and they had one street, which crosses a bridge, barricaded, which made sense.
When I got to my street, though, all I could say was 
.
Fire Dept, FEMA and police were barricading the street, but they let me walk. We live at the north end of the block; from the south end, I could tell it was bad. The water was knee deep at the opposite corner. By the time I waded to our courtyard, it was above my waist. I'm 5' 2".
Front entrance foyer was under knee deep water. It's not now, but it's full of yuck from river and sewer. The manhole in the alley was a geyser this morning, spraying above the top of the utility pole next to it.
Gas was cut off a little over 24 hours ago, temperature dropped quite a bit, and it's chilly in here. But we are safe and dry, no injuries or property damage. Less can be said for the tenants in the garden apartments, which took 4 feet of water.
The only truly scary part was wading home, hanging on to fences with both hands, through waist-deep moving river and sewer water. I packed two backpacks with canned cat food, travel size personal care stuff, some clean shirts, socks and undies, and got the cat crates ready, expecting the police to evacuate us on a boat (like they did on the other side of the river from our home).
It stinks in the hallway, and it's really humid, but it could be so much worse. Given what happened in Boston on Monday, I feel like a jerk for complaining. But this sucks.
This afternoon, my OH, the ever-amusing K, picked out a record he said would cheer me up. He picked out Love and Rockets' "Earth Sun Moon" and the track he started with was "Wait For the Flood". 
Discuss this Journal entry [9]
Latest reply: Apr 20, 2013
On Snubs and Back-door Insults (PC)
Posted Feb 19, 2013
I've held back posting this journal for a long time.. but it's high time I get it off my chest. Especially as it involves in-laws and my OH's more remote (by choice as opposed to genealogy or geography) relatives, and I guess he is trying, if not as hard as I'd like.
I've mentioned before that K's maternal grandmother absolutely *insists* on addressing me as either Mrs. K Hislastname or Psychocandy Hislastname.
Now I am not "missus" anything, and I have my own name, thankyouverymuch. Yes, I did allow my ex-MIL to bully me into taking ex's last name, and didn't change it back for Very Good Reasons. K didn't even want me to change my name when I got married, and in-laws were not consulted - thank goodness for a grown-up spouse, and shame on me for the prior mistake. But no matter how many times he tries, Maternal Grandma (who tells him every time she sees us how much she adores me) simply will *not* use my name.
She tried saying it was shorthand. Then I got my birthday card. It was addressed as such: "Mrs Psychocandy Hersurname Hislastname". Not only is that not shorthand, but as my last name is four letter and his eight, it is a lot longer than regular-hand. 
Then there is The Cousin From Hell. She's a hard core bible banger and used to annoy by calling during our movie nights when we were Merely Dating, to invite him to her bible study. Knowing he had no interest (even before we met), but also knowing he is typically Too Polite To Tell Anyone Off. In May 2005, he moved into my home and we made clear that was a formal commitment to all and sundry.
TCFH gets engaged in 2009. And addresses the wedding invitation, which she mails to our home (which, as you may remember, was my home for a few years before K moved in) as "Mr K xxx and Guest".
"Guest"
To one half of a committed couple. Mailed to said couple's shared home address.
Yes, yes, I know. This was a commentary on her disapproval of our living arrangements. You know what? Tough. We're both adults, this is the 21st Century, and she's supposed to show respect whether she likes it or not. At the very least, wouldn't you think she could muster up some respect for a cousin she allegedly cared for, at least enough to proselytize to?
THEN... there was the Sympathy Card From Hell.
This woman knows K and I are not religious. When my mother died, her card went on for several paragraphs about what a much better place my mother is in now. Now, my friends know my mother's death was no real loss to me, sad to say (if you're not already aware of the reasons, read this: http://tinyurl.com/a25ymg3 ). But... is the death of your cousin's wife really an appropriate moment for such hard core proselytizing? I think not.
We no longer attend any family function at which she might be in attendance. But I'd like to hear from my friends how you think we can address these two people. Keeping in mind that I actually do love K's grandma, and think she means well, and that, based on other evidence, I think his cousin is a waste of skin and hair.
Discuss this Journal entry [8]
Latest reply: Feb 19, 2013
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