I don't know how much more I can take.

I don't know how much more I can take.

First, they (the Condo Assoc Board & Management Company) try to fine us for taking too long to move in and throwing carpet in the dumpsters. I refused to pay that fine.

Then they had Matthew's truck towed away. Probably in retaliation for not paying those fines. The towing of the truck cost us $100 and a hell of a lot of inconvenience. We are pretty convinced that the old bat upstairs is responsible for this. Remember....the one who said we use our back door too much? Did she expect us to stop using it after telling us how much it annoyed her? Maybe. Because now...

Our satellite dish has been stolen.

I don't know how much more I can take.

The crime was committed between 12pm and 3pm. I know this because I am addicted to Dawson's Creek. It was over at 12. I turned the TV on again at 3 and noticed it said "Acquiring signal". I didn't think much of it then, because it does that from time to time. Loses the signal. Matthew came home at 4, we went grocery shopping, ate dinner, rented a movie. Around 9pm we turned on the TV.....still no signal. I told him it had been like that since 3pm, which is kind of odd. So he went outside to check the dish.

The first thing I did was call Dish Network. They said those things aren't free - or cheap. It will cost approximately $200 to replace. They said to file a police report and it should be covered by my homeowner's insurance. Well it probably is, but I have a $500 deductible.

When the policeman arrived he said it would be kind of odd for the Assoc to just come and take it. He said "Aren't they supposed to send a warning letter first? Advising you that you are breaking a rule?" Uhhh...yeah. They are supposed to do that before they tow your car also. This is the time of year for "Gypsies" in this area. So it could have been legitimately (?) stolen. I really hope that is the case. If it involves the Assoc, this is going to get ugly.

I must point out that I did receive approval from the Management Company before I had the thing installed. So IF the Assoc did take the dish - that is theft. And bordering on harrassment considering everything else that has happened. If for some reason the Assoc acted independently of the Management Company, then they did not follow their own procedures. They are supposed to send a letter telling you to remove the violation. THEY CANNOT JUST COME IN AND STEAL SOMEONE'S PROPERTY. But this is not the most professional group of board members we are dealing with. They write letters calling residents "inconsiderate pigs" and they cuss people out at COA meetings. I really would not put it past them to do something like this.

I promise you I will get to the bottom of this. And heads will roll. I have had absolutely enough. I cannot take much more in my current state of mind.

My Paul Simon quote from the other day is much more appropriate today:
I DON'T FIND THIS STUFF AMUSING ANYMORE.

Boomsday Threat

Happy Holiday Weekend. It is supposed to rain all weekend. I hope that does not interfere with RIVERFEST. I have not seen The Fireworks in years, so I am hoping for a good show.

I just paid $616 for 3 airline tickets. 2 to San Francisco and 1 to Frankfurt, Germany. This shit used to be free to me. My hatred for Bruce Schobel grows by leaps and bounds every day. I will still have to pay $280 for a second ticket to Frankfurt. But I will wait a couple months for that. Allow myself time to recover.

Matthew and I have decided to take the Germany trip that we had planned to take the week after I got sacked. Hopefully it will work out this time. I don't know why I ticketed the other 2 for N. California. I guess because we love it there and prior to last year, we had gone out there every year. I may change those to Grand Cayman. Delta charges a $25 fee to reissue. But oh well. I think the fare is less. And IF we ever get our sorry butts to Honduras in November, Grand Cayman would be a nice diving trip.

I want to do something tonight. But what? I am dressed for once. That doesn't happen often to unemployed people. I still have not seen 28 Days Later. A movie on a Friday? Wouldn't be unheard of. But I hate crowds. What we really need to do tonight is go grocery shopping. Our cupboards are pretty bare. Ah...domestic bliss. Doesn't it make you just want to puke.

More later.

D'oh

Post deleted due to HTML stupidity.

Camping

Well I just had a panic filled 10 minutes. I was filling out my "New Employee" packet for Kings Island and I was reading over the things I am required to bring to orientation. One of them was my social security card. I have an old zippered bank pouch that contains all of our "important" documents. Like the 10 to 15 active credit cards that we never use. It is amazing to think that I have over $40,000 at my disposal. Fortunately they all have 0 balances, we just keep them for emergencies. Also in the pouch is my old Air Force Dependant ID card (I looked so cute in that picture), my old college ID's, Matthew's old college ID's, old library cards from every county we have lived in, and various season/annual passes for Kings Island (I have my first one -1984), Sea World Orlando, Walt Disney World Orlando, Six Flags Over Georgia and The Beach Waterpark. The pictures get progressively worse the older I get. I guess that's why I keep them. ANYWAY. All of that and no SS card. I look up online to see what one does if one loses their SS card. Wait 2 weeks for a replacement to be sent! I don't have 2 weeks! Orientation is on Sept 6! Where else would I have put the damn card? Why in a purse of course. I must have needed it to get my KY driver's license. I throw every purse in the closet onto the floor and go through the wallets. My beloved Louis Vuitton purse held my beloved Louis wallet (both 15 years old and still hanging on. for that price they better last forever!) which held my SS card. Thank god! I feel better now.

We went camping this weekend. Just for one night actually. Turns out it was more of a reconnaissance mission than anything else. We camped HERE. It was quite nice actually. Our site was right next to the water. It was a rocky beach, but a beach nonetheless.

It took us about 3 1/2 hours to get from Ft. Wright to Lake Cumberland near Russell Springs, KY. Not bad. Most of it was on "Scenic Routes". Which we usually dread on road trips because that is just another way to say Long Winding Roads That Take You Completely Out of Your Way. But on this trip, it was nice. Along the way we saw several hearses advertising the Hustonville Haunted House. For a small town Haunt, they seem to put a lot of effort in to it. Makes me think it might be quite good. I would love to see it, but I don't think I will be able to make it down there. Plus driving 2 hours for something that could possibly suck is enough to really make me put this one on the back burner. But I am impressed with their Web page alone.

We get to the Alligator 2 Dock around 12:30 and check in. I had called my friend Gayla earlier in the week and told her I would call her when we arrived. The one pay phone at the dock is not working. And of course my cell phone does not work down there. Oh well. I thought we might go into town later in the day and I will call then. Matthew was anxious to get the jetski in the water and play. Guess what! It wouldn't start! Great! We pull over to the parking area and he tries to jump start it. Still nothing. He decided it needed to charge awhile. So we go back to the campsite and leave it hooked up to the car while we go swimming and finish setting up our camp. Bijoux went swimming too. She still doesn't seem to like water much. But she is just a baby. Maybe she will learn to like it.

After an hour or so, he went up to check on the ski. Still nothing. He then determines that the jumper cables are a cheap piece of crap and we need new ones. So we journey into town to find KMart. We buy new jumper cables and let the ski charge while we eat at Long John Silvers. When we go back out, the ski starts! Yay! So we go back to the marina to put it in the water. It is now around 4pm. (3pm by their time though) Before we completely unhook it from the trailer, he tries to start it again. Nothing but a click. By this time I am starting to get mad. Even more so when he says, "I guess I should have checked this before we left. Since we don't use it much, the battery needs to be trickle charged overnight before using it. Remember, we did that before we went on the houseboat trip last year." He knows this. I have no idea why he didn't take care of this before we left. I was pretty pissed and convinced the trip was ruined now.

In typical cockeyed optimist Matthew fashion he says "Let's not worry about it. Let's just go back to the campsite and swim. Hang out, relax and enjoy the solitude." The campground was pretty empty for one of the last weekends of summer. I would say only about 5 or 6 sites were occupied. So that's what we did. Oh - I forgot to mention that I did finally get ahold of Gayla. After many pay phone attempts. At K-Mart, the gas station and Long John Silvers. I did not realise it was a long distance call. So I had been dialing it wrong. Anyway, she said they would stop by later on. She did not want to come out in the heat. M'kay.

Around 8pm we start a nice fire and cook hotdogs and beans. Ahhh...the outdoorsman's diet. After we ate, we had an unexpected visitor. A skunk! I saw him run behind our tent, but thought I was seeing things. Then he came around front and knocked over Bijoux's food bowl. I grabbed her before she could go after him. The last thing I need is for her to get sprayed. I held her in my arms while Pepe LePew chowed down on her food. She just growled at him.

We sat by our fire for another hour or so and started to get tired. It had been a long day. It was getting late and I was wondering if Gayla was going to show up. Will this be another person I have to write off? I am so tired of being disappointed by people. It's just not worth it. But she finally showed up just as we were getting ready to go to bed. They stayed for about an hour or so. I always wish I had more time to spend with her. Our visits are usually so limited and by the time we get comfortable, it is time for one of us to leave. Of all my childhood friends, I think she is the one I most like to spend time with as an adult. Don't know why. That's just the way it is.

We woke up around 7am the next morning and were packed up and ready to go by about 11am. We got home around 3, unpacked, showered, gave the dog a bath and did one load of laundry. I like things to be put away as quickly as possible after returning from a trip. Otherwise it is likely to sit there for days. We were too tired by then to cook so we went to Longhorn for dinner and got back in time to watch Sex and the City. Ahhh Mulder. You are looking a bit older, but I still love ya.

So all in all it was a good trip. At least I found out I love that campground. The location is awesome! We have also both decided we need a bigger boat. Definitely by next summer.

Back to the bit about writing people off. Before we left on our camping trip, Matthew called his brother Greg (Julia's husband) to ask if we could possibly borrow his boat. It would just be nice for all 3 of us (me, Matthew and Bijoux) to be on the boat together. The jetski is fun, but it's not very convenient sometimes. Greg's reply "That's a hard one. What if we go with you?" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! No way. Matthew told him "OK" though. Later Greg called back and said they could not go and "As hard as it is to say no, it is harder to say yes". WHATEVER. All he has is a rather old, small, jet powered sportboat. Not a million dollar yacht. And don't you think if we damaged it in any way we would take care of it. This is your family. That just really pissed me off. We have loaned our jetski to one of Matthew's co-workers. A very nice guy and Very Responsible. As anal as Matthew and I are, I was really shocked that Greg had a problem with this. Have I mentioned FAMILY? So...after this and the Julia incident a couple Sunday's ago and their all take/no give general attitude, I have gotten out my red marker and they are on the write off list. Am I over-reacting? Maybe. But that's just the way it is.

Paul Simon wisdom and thought for the day -
"I don't find this stuff amusing anymore."

Are We Having Fun Yet?

So um yeah. I took Tracy to the Melting Pot for her birthday on Wednesday. She showed up at my house. On time. Dressed up. (for her) The Melting Pot is about 25 miles away. Not far by Atlanta standards, but far by Cincinnati standards. There are 2 ways to get there...the long way around I-275 or straight up I-71. Considering it was rush hour, I opted for 275. Took about 30-35 minutes to get there. I Tried to talk to her to kill time on the long journey. I thought I was doing a good job of finding things to say. I mean we have not seen each other in several years, so there is alot to catch up on. Despite the fact that we have very little in common, there has to be Some common ground. Finally she said "After knowing each other for over 20 years I expected our conversations would be more interesting." WTF?? I did not give up though. A few weeks ago she mentioned she watched The Amazing Race. And of course I am a HUGE TAR fan. So I tried to talk about the final episode the next day. I asked her who she wanted to win. She said "Not those faggots that's for sure". Huh? I said "I Really Really wanted the the clowns to win." She broke in that she wants David and Jeff to win. I told her that since the clowns are gone, I will root for my 2nd favourite team - Reichen and Chip. (although Kelly and Jon began to grow on me). I think Reichen is a doll. She starts going on and on about how disgusting "faggots" are. Ooooooook. She brought up my friend Dan - who she claims to have never met. I can't believe that. But Dan says he doesn't know her either. Anyway, she said "I have never met your friend Dan, but if you want to know the truth, I don't care if I ever do. In fact you can do me a favour and please don't ever have us at your house at the same time." Whoa! Damn. I decided to stop talking for awhile. At about the 25 mile mark, she starts complaining of a headache so bad she feels like she could throw up. Oh great.

We get to the restaurant. She immediately goes to the bathroom. We order. Before the first course arrives, she is back in the bathroom. The cheese arrives. She takes one bite of the cheese and heads back to the bathroom. She alternates between freezing and sweating. Needless to say, I ate the whole pot of cheese by myself. She picked at the carrots and cauliflower. (not dipping them in the cheese of course. thank god) She said she doesn't think she can eat, but she will sit there while I eat. Firstly, it is an entree for 2. There is no way in hell I can eat all of that alone. Secondly, it is way too expensive to waste. I was about to get up and find our server when she appears with our salads. Tracy said maybe she can eat the salad. So she picks at it a bit. Then goes back to the bathroom one more time. While she is gone, I tell our server that she is sick and wants to leave. I had to stop it before the meat was brought out. Tracy comes back and I tell her we are leaving. She claims she has no idea why she is sick. All the talk of gay people maybe? She said she has never felt like this before. She mentions something about "nerves".

The server brings the check. $27 for cheese and salads!! Tracy gives me $10 for "half". I hesitated for a minute before taking it. It was my intention to treat her to a birthday dinner. But damn. She Did ruin it. I wasted gas and time....and $27. And I still didn't know what to make of her "illness". So I took it. I have had it reaffirmed to me by a couple people that I should not feel guilty for doing so.

I decided to take the "short" route home. I am not the type of person who keeps a bunch of crap in my car. In fact my car is usually spotless. I don't keep napkins, towels, bags, or french fries between the seats. But on this particular day, there was a Home Depot bag on the back seat containing Some Thing Matthew bought and then decided he didn't need and gave to me to return to the store. I gave her the bag and in my best Garth impression said "If you're gonna spew, spew in this."

Halfway home. Doing about 90mph in the fast lane. She reaches for the bag. Oh Good Lord No. Not in my car. Please not in my car. I somehow make it over to the slow lane and the shoulder without killing anyone. Not fast enough. She spews - mostly - in the bag. I am mostly terrified that it is on my seats or floor. (compassionate I am not really) She opens the door and leans out. She is crying and apologising. I tell her it's ok. If I thought she was faking for some reason before...well...I believe her now. She asks me if I have a towel. At first I say no. Because like I said - spotless clean car. Then I remember my Jazzercise stuff in the back. There is my sweaty hand towel back there. She offers to wash it and return it to me. Ahhhh...no thanks.

I am trying not to make too big of a deal about this. I am not gagging and rolling down the windows. But the smell of spewed carrots is really getting to me. It was all over the front of her shirt and I did not know this at the time - but also all over the seat belt. I try to be nice and discreetly breathe through my mouth until we get home about 10 minutes later.

Wednesday was a very hot and humid day. The hottest in a long time. It's like it finally decided to be summer here. What could have contributed to her illness was the fact that she has no A/C in her car or her trailer. God. Where do I find these people? People you were friends with in high school can grow up to be people you have absolutely nothing in common with as adults. Maybe that is what she meant by nerves. Maybe she felt I was out of her league because I have A/C. I am not trying to be conceited and I did not brag about anything. But who knows what she was feeling. When I told her about my FearFest job she asked how much it paid. I told her I was embarassed to say it only paid $8 an hour. But I am not doing it for the money. I am doing it for fun. She said she makes $8 an hour. Ooops sorry. Maybe it made her nervous that Matthew makes 75grand a year and I don't Have to work. And we have rental income from our house in Atlanta. And her husband is an alcoholic who refuses to work and gets arrested on a monthly basis. I don't know. But I didn't rub any of these things in her face. I just tried to be "Laura from the block". No..seriously. Just kidding. All those years ago we became friends for a reason. Right now, I don't know what that reason was. But there had to be one.

So...Thursday. I take my car in to be cleaned. I didn't notice any meaty chunks on the floor or seat. So I thought it would be cleaned up and smell like Pina Colada. After I left the car wash and picked Matthew up at the doctor, I noticed chunks on the passenger side seat belt. OH GOD. We went back to the car wash and they said they don't clean up spew for health reasons. Please oh please god get it off. The owner finally came out and wiped it down. I don't know. In my opinon, the car still stinks. Remember the Seinfeld episode with the BO? Yeah...it's like that. It's an entity.

Oh..about The Amazing Race. I told Tracy I didn't think David and Jeff would win because I think it is just dumb luck (and physical strength) that they have made it so far. I think Reichen and Chip not only have the brawn to take them all they way, they have something David and Jeff are lacking. Brains. And that was obvious last night. Too bad Tracy missed it. I called her about 5 minutes before 8 to see how she was doing. Her drunk husband answered and said she was asleep and he was in the living room getting a tattoo on his leg. Oh hell yeah.

Matchbox 20 wisdom and thought for the day -
"I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell"

FearFest

Gosh I am lazy about writing. I think about it most every day. But I just don't do it.

So yeah, I got a job. Matthew did too. Working FearFest at King's Island. I haven't worked in a haunted house since college. But I love it and have always wanted to do it again. When we lived in Daytona, I thought many times about auditioning for Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, but that would have been a long drive back and forth every night. And I had a full time job at the time. Anyway, Matthew and I both went to the Fear Fest auditions. I was terrified. I have not "auditioned" for anything in about 20 years! But it was painless. And quick. We were offered the job immediately. (not because we were just So Damn Good, but because that's just how it works) Matthew was to work "Route 66" and it is "House of Darkness" pour moi. It's all terribly exciting and I absolutely cannot wait to start! Orientation is Sep 6 and rehearsals start the last week of September. And Fear Fest is open every weekend in October.

Now for the bad news. Matthew got his list of classes for the next year. There is one scheduled for Oct 1 - Nov 4. He is trying to get out of it. Reschedule it actually. It is an important class so he can't turn it down. They are holding more auditions this coming weekend, so if he can't reschedule the class by the end of this week he is going to call them and tell them he can't do it. That way they will be able to recast his part this weekend. I am really upset about this. I wanted to do it together. I don't think it will be as fun now. Nobody to talk to at the end of the night. Share experiences with. Oh well. I will still do it because I need something to do. It also sucks that we will lose half the money. We were going to use the money for the dive trip to Honduras. Now, at only 8 bucks an hour, that will just pay for my gas money. (it is about 35-40 miles each way to get there) But that's ok. Really I would have done it for nothing. I think it will be fun and give me something to do.

Because of FearFest, we have postponed the Honduras trip. AGAIN. So now I am planning Nov 6-13. It will be a birthday trip for me. Hell as long as we go, I don't care. I am just so ready to get out of here for awhile. Cabin fever is really getting to me. Monday night, Matthew and I were just sitting around...bored. So I suggested camping this weekend. We have only gone camping together once. It was ok. Hot. But ok. We have not had the jetski out at all this year so I looked for a campground near a lake. There is one at Lake Cumberland. In fact, it is right by the lake. So that should be nice. We are only going to stay Saturday night. It is about 3 1/2 hours away. Plus the hassle of putting up the damn tent. Alot to do for just one night. But that's ok. As an added bonus, I will get to see Gayla since she lives about 10 minutes from the campground. I don't get to see her very often. But I value a 23 year friendship. Those are rare.

That's one thing about moving home. I have 3 friends here that I don't have much in common with except the past. But the past can be very comforting at times. Especially times like now. Gayla 23 years. Tracy 24 years. Dan 17 years. That's a lot of past. A lot of history. A lot of memories. Most all of them good. And of course Matthew. 14 1/2 years. Our anniversary is Oct 11. He will be in Oklahoma then. Yeah.

Tonight I am taking Tracy to the Melting Pot for her birthday. I hope to convert her. I converted most of my friends in Atlanta to the joys of the Melting Pot. Heather was my favourite. She hated it the first time. Swore she would never go back. And now, she craves it like I do sometimes. Sometimes you just gotta have it. Matthew was the same. He hated it the first time. And I will admit, I didn't like it the first time. I didn't "hate" it the way those 2 did, but I wasn't blown away. It's an acquired taste.

I am so in love with Bijoux. She has captured my heart in a way I didn't think was possible. I fought it for the first couple of months. I did not want to even think about replacing Pookie. But Pookie has not been replaced. I think the day I let go was when a big Monarch butterfly flew right by my face, circled my head and went down and for just a brief second landed on Bij's back. It was the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time. I knew then that it was ok. That was Pookie telling me it was ok. Bijoux and I see butterflies all the time when we go for walks. I know that is Trevor, Binky and Pookie looking after us. Once you surrender to the fall, it feels wonderful.

Sheryl Crow wisdom and thought for the day -
"It's not having what you want. It's wanting what you've got"

Into the Mystic

Yes I am listening to Van Morrison now.

The old bat upstairs is really making this condo a miserable place to live. She came down and knocked on our front door the other day to tell us we were using the patio door too much and it is annoying. (We think it is this same woman who is responsible for Matthew's truck being towed.) Anyway...I can't believe she said that! She said she has lived here for 11 years and we are the 3rd tenants she has had below her and NOBODY used the patio door as much as we do. I wanted to tell her to piss off, but of course I didn't. All I said was "I didn't realise it was annoying". Lame! But whatever. In my own passive-aggressive way (or really just aggressive) I got her back yesterday. We both pulled into the lot at the same time. She was coming up the walk with grocery bags and I was walking in front of her (cuz I am younger and faster). Now most people (myself included in better days) would have stood there and held the door for her. No...that would be annoying to me. So I let it shut. Now before you think I am totally cruel - she was not Right Behind Me. She was a good oh...15-20 feet behind me. It's not like I slammed it in her face or anything. But she did have to fumble with the keypad to enter the code to open the door. Yeah I know. I'm a bitch.

I think Julia tried to "get me back" Sunday. Or maybe she is just crazy. We went to Matthew's grandma's for Sunday morning breakfast. (ugh) His reasoning was that his dad had a golf club for him and he could pick it up then. Saturday night his mom tried to talk him into going to church Sunday morning. He just stands there. I guess he has to be nice to her, but sometimes I wish he would just stand up for himself. She should respect his beliefs. (or lack thereof) ANYWAY. Julia is always talking about "doing something". She always wants to "do something". So at breakfast I told her I would call her that afternoon and we could do something. Well Matthew and I decided to either go see "American Wedding", "28 Days Later" or the IMAX movies that are showing. We decided on the regular movies. They both started around 4:30. So I called her around 3:15. Talked to Greg. He said ok. Around 3:45 he calls back and asks if we are in a hurry cuz it will probably be a couple hours before they get there. A couple hours? It starts at 4:30. He said Julia was hungry and wanted to eat. So she was eating. I asked to speak to her. He said ok, then came back to the phone and said she didn't want to talk on the phone. I hear her yelling incomprehensible things in the background. Finally he said "Maybe you guys should just go without us". Yeah. You think? Crazy fuckers. Whatever. I don't have time for that foolishness. Well actually I do...but I am not dealing with it.

I have become hooked on Dawson's Creek. TBS shows back to back episodes every morning at 10 and 11am. They started from the pilot last week. Thanks to TiVO I record every episode and watch them at my leisure. I didn't watch much of the show when it was on prime time. I think at first I did, but then stopped. Oh how nice it would be to live in Capeside. I wonder if Wilmington is really as nice as it is portrayed on the show. It looks beautiful. Maybe I will go there someday. I love to seek out movie and TV filming locations. One of my all time favourite movies is Scream. All 3. "Woodsboro" is actually Healdsburg California in Sonoma County. On one of our annual trips to San Fran we drove up to Healdsburg. I am such a geek I know. But we ate our lunch sitting on the same fountain that Billy, Syd, Stu, Tatum and Randy sat on. Now where was I? Oh yeah. Capeside. Pacey is really my kind of guy. He would have so been my boyfriend in high school. Such a cutie.

I miss my youth. I really do. Today on Dawson's Creek it was Friday the 13th. Dawson invited everyone to his house for a seance. I used to do that! Seriously! I would get 3 or 4 of my friends to come over and we would play with the Ouija board and summon all manner of spirits and ghouls. (some are probably still there living with my mom) How I would love to do that now! Just have fun being scared. But I am too old. What a shame.