Friday, June 05, 2009

In Brief

Lately, I feel like my entire life can be summed up in a series of 140-character updates.

I might have reached the end of my blogging days. Long form posts just don't seem to manifest themselves like they used to, mostly because I have nothing to say that would interest anyone.

And after five years I think that's okay. I'll live my virtual life on Facebook for now - maybe someday I will return to blogging.

But I'm so not giving up my URL.

Monday, May 04, 2009

Happy Days are Here Again?

Or, for now, let's say better days. Because really, when it rains it snows in my world.

Not only did my other half get a job this weekend, he got two.

Yes. Two. After a year and a half, all of a sudden everything is falling in his lap. Why couldn't this have happened long ago? Not that I'm questioning it, because it came right when we were at the end of the proverbial rope, that being our savings account.

So, it's back to being a weekend widow, which is the worst part of being married to someone who works in retail. But better than having to find somewhere to live that was within our current budget, as Los Angeles is lacking in the $1200 houses with yards for a large dog. Not a cheap town, this one. But one that has finally given us a break.

One of those jobs is as a violin instructor.

Things might be okay after all.

Friday, April 03, 2009

Is No News Good News?

Or is it just that I'm a total bore?

Mostly the latter, I believe. I spend my days immersed in World War II, about which I'm getting pretty smart and I now know how to avoid STDs and not to get into fights during shore leave.

I've spent a significant amount of time looking at wartime posters, obviously.

And actually, the whole process has reminded me that I do miss production. It's just that I should have been working on the front end of the process and not the back end. It is a possibility that I could really end up doing research for a living someday. If there's ever a market for it again.

Also: I obtained two library cards this week. Although, it was kind of fun to say I was a librarian without one. (I don't read often, either). Anyway, comparing my local library to LA city was interesting. In short: staff in Pasadena are totally disinterested, and I wanted to hug the librarian downtown.

The city library is also way smellier.

This is why I'm not a public librarian.

That? Might be the entire past month in a nutshell. Which also included a number of cupcakes and these. Tiny pieces of crack, those cupcake bites.

Oh! I've been cataloging other peoples' books for booze. I'm pretty sure every librarian should own his or her own scanner. Seriously. I even have my own copy of the abridged Dewey now.

Am total dork, yes.

And that's all. Time keeps ticking on and we're keeping up with it. Most days that's what matters.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Another Day Older

Strange days. It seems like everyone is getting smacked around by life. Since I've been getting my ass kicked for months everything is the same in my corner of the world, but it makes me feel bad for others.

I still want off this crazy ride for awhile. The certain uncertainty of everything is really starting to wear on me and I would just like to go away from it and pretend it doesn't exist for a minute. I'm actually kind of jealous of people who have been laid off, because at least they get to stay home in their pajamas. And then I remember that if I'm wearing my pajamas all day I will have no home to be staying in.

But! Our new brilliant idea involves all of the scrap wood in our garage and our big plan to build a shed in the bed of our pickup. When we are broke and living on my unemployment we will build ourselves a wooden camper shell. We are going to convert the trunk of the car into a kitchen area where we will make bathtub gin, which we can take around and sell. This may or may not involve Twitter - it depends on if I can bring myself to use it. We have an AC/DC adapter for the truck, so we'll have electricity and can cook and use our laptops...to blog about our life in the back of our truck. And then someone will be so interested in our story they will give us a book deal (or, I just thought, a reality TV show!)et voila! Off the street.

I live a very elaborate imaginary life, if you haven't noticed.

And an alternate plan surfaced for all of that wood should we not need to live in it...haunted shack!

Really. It's very elaborate, my imagination.

In the meantime, I'm keeping on keeping on and trying to figure out how I'm going to endure the industry awards show next week when everyone is going to grill each other about who's working and who isn't. I'm pretty sure the answer to that involves copious amounts of hard liquor. Preferably gin.

It's good that my boss is aware that I have a drinking problem, inasmuch as I really like to drink. Except that I only drink one day a week now, so I'm a total lightweight.

I'd better re-think that plan.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Hello, It's Me

Back again, stymied by Dewey.

Now I know why I didn't want to be a cataloger.

But! Tonight! The Edison. For Soup Kitchen night.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Blog Share Post

Today's post is part of Blog Share, written by an anonymous blogger. Somewhere out there is an anonymous post by me. Links to all participant blogs are listed in the post below.

Every time I get around to the time of Blogshare, I think, what thrilling, hilarious thing can I share with the people that I would never have the guts to share on my blog?

Something about work, maybe, without fear of being dooced?

For example, while I have a secretary at work, all the work I do for one of my supervisors gets done through another secretary. Let us call her Joan. And Joan loves to talk (about her child and Pomeranian – mostly), and she loves to check her facebook account, but she does not love to do work. Any work. And when I ask her to do something, she usually responds adamantly, "I do not know how to do it!" [meaning, oh my goodness, I have so much other facebooking to do!] "You will have to contact XYZ and tell her to do ____." And thus she knows exactly what needs to be done, but cannot take the time out of her schedule to do it, even though it is basically her job.

She also yelled at me one day because unlike most of the other individuals at my office, I will type up a fair portion of my own work instead of dictating it. You would think that this would be easier for her, getting a typed letter and copying and pasting it into the letterhead – but you would be mistaken. Apparently some things are very confusing.

Also there was that time she showed me pictures of herself squeezed into the ittybitty-est tight black dress while she stalked the band Collective Soul. Not kidding.


So certainly while I would love to kick Joan, I can't dedicate a whole blog post to that. Then I think, I know, I could talk about my future inlaws and oh how I would love for them to disappear off the face of the earth. And I would not miss them.

1. The fiancé's ("Jim") biological father abandoned him when he was an infant. He has never met him and has no interest. I, on the other hand, am interested. I cannot help it. It isn't really my business, but I cannot fathom how Jim is not curious.

2. Jim was adopted by his stepfather. His stepfather and mother had a tumultuous relationship, having their own daughter who is three years younger than Jim. The parents actively did drugs (mostly marijuana) with their children from the time Jim was 14. Jim's father may have had a bit of a complex, but always told Jim he would never amount to him. On more than one occasion, his father would hit him. Once, after a few drinks when Jim was in his later teens, his father started to beat on him, and Jim wrestled him to the ground in order to get it to stop. He didn't hit back, but held him down. Afterwards, his grandmother (his stepfather's mother) explained to Jim how he was now a "man."

They have recently, somewhat patched up their relationship, after his parents' divorce. His father is older now, has another young son, and seems to treat that child much, much better than he ever treated Jim.

3. Jim's parents were divorced when Jim turned 18 because his father was cheating on his mother. His mother has always been a bit towards the side of "unhinged." But apparently the divorce was the straw that broke the camel's back, because Jim's mother threw out all of Jim's childhood belongings, including pictures, his extensive comic book collection, baseball cards, anything he valued. She then proceeded to actively use cocaine and other heavier drugs. Jim stopped talking to his mother because after a break in talking to each other, his mother called him around Christmas and asked him to come over for the holiday because she had been diagnosed with cancer and likely didn't have much time. In fact, she did not have cancer. But she did do enough cocaine in the bathroom to kill a small horse, before calling the police on her son. The police saw the situation and graciously drove Jim home.

I have never met Jim's mother. Jim will probably invite her to the wedding in the fall (even though they haven't spoken in over four years.) I fear, selfishly that she will come, and that she will make a scene.

Adding insult to injury, when Jim's maternal grandfather passed away, Jim was the only one actively taking care of him. He was the only person in his grandfather's will. Or he was the only person in the will, until his mother went into the hospital with her attorney the week before his senile grandfather (he died of cancer and was on more than a few painkillers) passed away and had the will changed. His mother inherited a large amount of money. Jim waived all rights to any money and chose not to contest the new will because he wanted to wash his hands of his family and the drama caused by the combination of lots of money plus selfish, desperate people.

4. Jim's sister is 25 years old. She has a three year old son. Between the ages of 17 and 20 she overdosed on various drugs four times. She is living in her grandmother's house, collects welfare, borrowed a ton of student loans before dropping out, and yet has the nerve to ask Jim for things like thousand dollar stereo sets. Jim has given her iPods, new clothes, a digital camera, new cell phones, and all of these things have been sold to pay for drugs.

It makes me a bad person, but I actively hope that the state will take her child away from her. Jim is certain that his father would step in to raise the child. I have even told Jim, that in the event that such a thing happens, and even though I would prefer not to, that we could take in the baby. The kid is three years old and has seen more drama in his short life than anyone should.

And Jim? Mostly he handles it all so well. I try to be supportive of all his choices, even when he chooses to send another gift to his sister. Or when he tries to make contact with his mother again. I keep feeling like, this should not be this way. I shouldn't be jealous when someone voices their frustrations over having the holidays at their "crazy mother in law's" home. And yet there it is. I wish so much that Jim had something a little bit more "normal" to have grown around, but I love who he is, and so I end up torn and more than a little sad.

Blog Share Participants

Here is the official list of participants for this Blog Share:

And You Know What Else
Andrea Unplugged
Blue Soup
Bright Yellow World
Bwildered
Caity of the Keps
Catheroominations
Citystreams
Daily Tannenbaum
Did I Say That Outloud?
Dispatches From The Failed Mommy Club
Face Down
For The Long Run
Full Of Snark
Heidikins
In Java, Literally
Just Below 63
LizLand
Malfeasance
A New Duck
NonSoccer Mom
The North Is My Snowcone
Not The Daddy
Operation Pink Herring
Pants, Pants, Pants
Red Red Whine
Sassy Buster
Sauntering Soul
Shushing Action
Snarke
Snow-Covered Hills
Swimming With Sharks
Thinking Some More
Trueish Story
Way Way Up
Whiskey Marie

Friday, February 13, 2009

Coming Soon! A Post!

One not by me. Thank JESUS.


Blog Share next week.

Maybe I'll have something to say before then.