Summary of What I Didn't Blog About

So it's been a while, huh? Thing is, I didn't really notice since I was posting at least two days a week at Discipline Under Fire. So I dug into those posts to figure what I've been doing in the meantime that wasn't writing.

• April 14: I accomplished it yesterday actually, but I finally sprayed down my house for termites and carpenter ants and bees.
• April 21: Saw Captain America 2 after watching the "spoiler" episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I thought the movie was excellent and Bucky needs so many hugs (as soon as you stop being a homicidal maniac, dear.) I am still adoring the Marvel Cinematic Universe tying everything together and I'm crossing everything I can cross that we will get a Black Widow and Captain Marvel (especially before Katee Sackhoff is too old to play Carol Danvers).
• May 5: I signed up for Reversing Diabetes World Summit 2014. It's an online free starting today and running for twelve days. Lots of info and luckily, it's been a quiet day to let me listen. This lasted for two weeks and gave me lots of things to consider about my health, but that's an upcoming post.
• May 12: Shopping for medicine and food. Found out my insurance company wants to go crazy over the copay for my glucose testing strips. Confused the deli counter lady because I needed a slab of turkey to cut into cubes.
• May 13: Last episode of Agents of SHIELD season one. *SNIFF*
• Saw Godzilla in May didn't take note of when. It opened May 16th. Can't wait to get in on BluRay. "Oh no, there goes Tokoyo. Go go Godzilla!"
• May 26: Since I had the day off thanks to Memorial Day, I cleaned house and got a lot done on other computer projects. Sadly, I have found a bug with XMarks that is eating links I need for this story. So there's a new computer project that I wasn't anticipating. What I'm looking forward to: Laptop purchase on the third paycheck this month. What I'm not looking forward to: Paying bills with third check that may not let me buy laptop. GRRRR. Once I get XMarks saved bookmarks correct I have to have a massive save page as party and completely change how I archive my research for everything now because I can't trust the paying job computer not to screw with it somehow.
• May 28: Bloodwork and thyroid ultrasound successfully completed. Made it to the paying job despite the weather. The rain finally stopped for a while.
• May 29: I bandaged Mustard. And he's grounded. A couple of weeks ago, he got some lacerations on his neck that didn't look like the results of a regular cat fight. I doctored them, and they scabbed over well. I let him go outside and thought the rain drove him back in. Hours later, one of the scabs is gone along with a chunk of skin. Luckily, my parents had some cohesive gauze because all I have is human-won't-scratch-off-the-bandage variety in my first aid kit. So now I have to leave orders that he doesn't get to go outside while I'm gone the whole weekend.
• May 30: Did not get to buy a laptop with my third paycheck like I had been hoping for since February. I also took Mom to IP for the weekend and we saw Joan Rivers show. I know I'm typing this up after she has died but I really didn't like her routine. Every F-bomb her television shows prevented her from saying, she saved for the stage show. I admired her energy considering her age. I hope I move that well when I reach my 80s
• June 1: I came home from the casino with just about the same amount of money that I brought.
  
• June 9: Bought some food, but didn't get the stuff to clean the moldy leather. And I didn't start my sewing project either. I forget when I found that the lack of AC in the back bedroom let mold grow all over my leather garb I had stored back there, but it took me a while to finally buy tack cleaning soap and conditioner and deal with it.
• June 10: Whelp, I thought I'd at least buying the corset busk online today, even if I didn't get to sew when I get home. What the back of the pattern envelope asks for: one corset busk. What the online shop offers: this simple type ranging from 7 inches to 14 inches long, spoon busks in two different sizes, heavy duty busks for curvy people 12 inches to 14 inches long.
  
  What I'm looking forward to: Laptop purchase that I don't know when I'll get to make now. :( The bills ate up the money I thought I would have for it. Maybe next month if I'm good with the money. A bonus to my paycheck this week! *Checks paystub* That's enough to buy my laptop—I'm ordering the laptop!
  
• June 17: Mom's cleaning out the shed project: my items in the shed are too cumbersome for her to deal with and I forgot about it last weekend. So I got my great-grandmother's bedframe and my extra door (I knocked out the wall it was in years ago) to the front porch. Next up the heaters that were replaced by a modern one and I don't want to get rid of them for sentimental reasons. Tugged the one on the shed floor towards the door and lots of paper debris (the rodents chewed up a whole Monopoly game that had been stored out there) came out as it moved. I tilted it to lift it up and the mice living in it ran for their lives, circling around the heater and me as they crossed my path to get back to the safety of the still covered with stuff wall. I know I saw at least two, heads were mousy not rat-like, but of the two one was as big as a rat so it may have been three or more all moving as one while shrieked and jumped out of the shed.
  
  Okay, I'm a country girl and I accept wildlife outnumbers me at my home. But what flashed in my head while I reenacted every cartoon mouse encounter I have ever watched was the episode of Medical Investigations with Hantavirus and OMG how fast those soldiers DIED! After my brain rebooted, I realized Mom would be dead from it last week if those rodents were carriers, but I was done for the night. What I'm looking forward to: Laptop purchase that I don't know when I'll get to make now. :( The bills ate up the money I thought I would have for it. Maybe next month if I'm good with the money. A bonus to my paycheck this week! *Checks paystub* That's enough to buy my laptop—I'm ordering the laptop! I'm not going to talk about how the laptop purchase didn't happen AGAIN. I've paid shit off, I'm not supposed to be broke every paycheck any more.
  
  Weekend plans still look good, and my baby sister is coming down next week. What I'm not looking forward to: New issue: I have to get those heaters out before I leave on Friday for the weekend. So I'm going to see if Mustard will actually hunt in there before I move anything. I'm hoping for something like this, I think.
  
• June 18: Got my stuff from the shed to my porches. I didn't have to throw Mustard in because Mom wrestled with the rodents while I was at the paying job. I got about 80% of stuff I needed to do before the weekend finished.
• June 23: Well, I tested our new time keeping system for the paying job, by taking Tuesday and Wednesday off and putting in while at home. My baby sister came home and I got roped into taking her and Mom to IP Biloxi for nice break for Krista, she hasn't had a vacation in years. Now I REALLY need the laptop.
• June 27: It's assessment season at the paying job, so I'm pleased I got as many words done as I did. Oh and I got the library errand out of the way. What I'm looking forward to: I am actually going to sew this weekend no matter what happens.
• June 28: Laundry, saved my leather bodice from the evil mildew, have the first pattern traced and nearly ready to pin to fabric, and found way more things I need to buy after I pay the bills. What I'm looking forward to: I am sewing and starting to inventory the material stash. That needs to happen because we found more fabric when we cleaned out the shed.
• June 30: Paying job assessments are done to be mailed out tomorrow. I meant to type yesterday, but got caught in alternating sewing with bill paying and other budget chores. I also need to sit down during my breaks so my feet don't ache so much I can't fall asleep.
• July 4: Sewing! I'm determined to finish my Victorian underwear this weekend. And catch up on my rough draft. And inventory the fabric stash. And clean house. I finally settled on 45/15s. Sew for 45 minutes, inventory fabric stash for 15. Write rough draft sitting down for 45 minutes, edit the One Rule which became type Chapter Twenty for 15 when I finished the first task.
• July 5: Patterns traced out. New chemise cut out. I have no idea if I have enough material for the drawers. Nothing is actually wearable yet.
• July 7: My chemise is up to the last stage of hand sewing and hemming, and I just could not face it today. So when I wasn't typing and writing on the rough draft, I worked on inventorying the fabric stash. I'm down to eleven fabric pieces to put into the notebook, but I'm running out of stuff to store the fabrics on (wooden hangers and cardboard pieces to wrap bolts around (I found out that cutting a cardboard presentation board is perfect for this and gives me four pieces)).
• July 9: I'm researching corsets. I think the pattern I have is pretty decent for my figure and I just need to get the sizing right and buy supplies. But my sewing friend may need a different style based on her shape.
• July 14: I'm a bit surprised I managed to get over the personal daily goal with the amount of mail we had to get through at the paying job. Assessment season has kicked into gear now. What I'm looking forward to: Getting the two books I want out of the State Library. I went Friday, but they are closed now. Today had to work overtime and they were closed by the time I left paying job. Hopefully tomorrow.
• July 15: Library and only came home with three books!
• July 16: I am done shopping for sewing supplies. But I didn't get a chance to clean the living room at all.
• July 21: Almost finished the hand sewing part on the chemise while in the waiting room with my uncle's appointment. Didn't get the cleaning done that I wanted to, but finished the worst area in the kitchen over the weekend. Everything that's left is more spot-checking cleaning. What I'm looking forward to: New mattress, July 30th I hope. I had to use my mother's credit to order it online after Sam's Club did not have the size my bed is. But this way they will deliver it to my house.
• July 22: My corset supplies came in today! I really wasn't expecting to see them until August. What I'm looking forward to: New mattress, July 30th I hope. What I'm not looking forward to: Rearranged the sewing disarrayed living room so the new mattress can get inside my house.
• August 3: My weekend writing time has been eaten up by sewing and I still haven't figured out how to accomplish both at the same time.
• August 6: Budgeted the paycheck before I got it! Really hate the numbers I came up with because they leave out the tires. I really need tires. What I'm looking forward to: Everybody getting off my back about how's the new mattress? It's new, I sleep on it, my Chiroflow pillow needs some adjustments so I'm not pinching the nerve that makes my hand go numb. Second thing: seeing Guardians of the Galaxy this week when I get paid.
• August 8: Bought my movie ticket and fretted over the sticker shock. But it was worth it. Guardians of the Galaxy was such a fun ride from "pelvic sorcery" to "We ARE Groot."
• August 11: Tires for Rizzo are on order. And I was typing up a storm when the news broke about Robin Williams. "O Captain! My Captain!"
• August 12: I had hoped to do more typing when I got home, but the computer decided to be petulant and update needy. So no typing, but I did get a book I'm not done with renewed from the library.
• August 13: I just realized I forgot to pack another pack on loose-leaf in my black bag. I'm in no danger of running out today, but I should have replaced it already.
• August 16: Finally bought new tires using Dad's credit card so I can have four at the same time instead of two.
• August 19: What I Accomplished in the Narrative Today: I'm still writing Chapter Twenty-Five's rough draft and now I've started typing it. Never again will I publish a WIP. NEVER. Fave line: That simple declaration brought Bruce onto his feet with the fewest repetitions of push-ups that Alfred had ever witnessed him perform. – It is sad how much I like the obsessive amount of push-ups. What Else I Accomplished Today: I didn't finish the rough draft so blah. What I'm looking forward to: Payday! What I'm not looking forward to: Take the bras back to the store that didn't fit. I'm not crazy about underwires. I have a petite torso and they constantly poke me in the arms. But I am of the boob size where the only bras you can get are underwire. These that I'm taking back gave me under-boob. I didn't think that was possible with underwire bras but hey, time to prove me wrong about that too.
• August 20: I lost thirty minutes coming into work (Stupid traffic made me 15 minutes late and we have to take time in 30-minute intervals). Then I ended up staying late for thirty minutes. But I got the bras returned! What I'm not looking forward to:
  
  Remember the whole XMarks situation I’ve been not dealing with waiting for the eventually I’ll do it? Yeah, more fun on the paying job computer and I synced to not lose my open tabs and discovered XMarks ate all the bookmarks saved on the server.
  
  I didn't lose my data; I've been backing up my bookmarks at home so I could do a flush and clean install. But since reading over reviews for this year and talking with a coworker, I'm leaning towards using Dropbox to keep things in sync instead. The only con I can see is it is not cross-platform like XMarks, but I never used that feature of XMarks. So yes, all that has to happen this week. Probably Friday or Saturday since I have a doctor's appointment Thursday after work.
  
• August 21: Doctor visit: I'm dehydrated and need to wean myself off aspartame like ASAP. Food-wise: shift the diet to gluten and dairy free for a while. I'll be covering this more in a future post. What I'm not looking forward to: First thing: Don't plan on going anywhere because I need to up my water intake to where it should be. BUT I have to finish grocery shopping on Saturday.
  
  Second thing: XMarks freaked out when I got home and freaked out again at work. Good news: everything matches up to the home computer's saved set now. Bad news: I don't trust XMarks to keep the safe, especially the stuff I reference for story writing.
  
  So my weekend plans, such as they are and scheduled to change everything permitting:
  • Drink more water and pee every five seconds (probably).
  • Grocery shopping.
  • Scour the computer for stuff I'm not using, delete what I don't need, archive what I want to save, and backup.
  • Clean out the mass of bookmarks.
  • Set up Dropbox account to sync bookmarks.
  • Sew my corset.
  • Write Chapter Twenty-Six.
  • Regularly schedule chores.
  Hopefully the weekend won't turn into this:
  
• August 22: Shopping, too much shopping, so I didn't have as much shopping on Saturday.
• August 25: Visited parents who made it in from their trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Over-scheduled the weekend as usual, so I've got to spread things out throughout the week. Decided to start cleaning my hard drive with the game demos from Big Fish Games since I have the bad habit of not deleting something I'm sure I won't buy. I reached the M's. XMarks did not go cuckoo today. What I'm looking forward to: Three-day weekend! What I'm not looking forward to: My weekend week plans:
  • Drink more water and pee every five seconds (probably). I think I've got this under control now and I am feeling better.
  • Add in new 15 minute yoga routine.
  • Scour the computer for stuff I'm not using, delete what I don't need, archive what I want to save, and backup.
  • Clean out the mass of bookmarks.
  • Set up Dropbox account to sync bookmarks.
  • Sew my corset.
  • Regularly schedule chores.
  Made it through Monday, bring on the rest of the week.
  
• August 26: Everyone decided to call me while I was trying to do the yoga routine, so the fifteen minute program took thirty. :p
• August 27: XMarks did not go cuckoo today. I shifted my chiropractic appointment to today instead of Thursday, so I have lots of spare time in Baton Rouge today. Unfortunately I need the time at home to get ready for weekend trip. :p
• September 8: XMarks did not go cuckoo today. At the paying job, I’ve been switched over to a virtual machine. So far the only difference I’ve noticed is how much room there is for my feet without the desktop tower under my desk. What I'm looking forward to: Finish copying the patterns so I can take the book back to the library.
• September 9: XMarks did not go cuckoo today. Paying job moved everyone in my office to the virtual desktops. It went as well as anything concerning technology does. I also finally finished all the scanning. I have no idea if I will ever make any of those outfits, but now I have source material if I move to a new time period. What I'm looking forward to: Finding a dairy-free eggplant recipe.
• September 10: Library book returned and no new ones checked out. Tried out a new recipe.
  
• September 11: The bitching from my coworkers over switching to a new system has commenced. Today has been a headphone with music playing day.
• September 12: Covered already.
• September 13: XMarks did not go cuckoo today. Mom asked me to test her old washing machine that has been sitting next to mine on my back porch for months. So I hooked it up only for my outlet to spark when I plugged it in. Turns out my outlet broke. By the time we got a new outlet inside the box, it was four hours after I had gone out to start laundry.
• September 14: I'm still working on laundry and cooking meals for the week, which got interrupted by eating out with the parents. At this point, I don't know if I'll get any sewing done at all. And I didn't, the whole weekend was a bust on the sewing front. But I did managed to working in twenty minutes on Tuesday night!

Up next, I probably over share on health news, but hey it's good news.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Weekend Plans Got Changed

Uncle Scott got energetic on me last night. Portable AC unit is now in my bedroom, and I need to tweak my bedroom furniture placement to fit it best. And the attic is now mostly sealed, but it turned out what I was saving as the attic door (and I think both me and Mom agreed was the attic door) was the wrong dimensions to be the attic door. What the hell was it a door to? It is made of a thick piece of plywood, so the old kitchen cabinets are out of contention.

Regardless, now I have to go to Lowe's armed with measurements for a new door and get wood cut to fit into the hole. And since Uncle Scott made room in my parents' garage room for the hulk of a shelving unit that has been on my porch ever since Mom closed her shop (how many years has that been now?), I can move that off my porch! I've been inspired to finish my porch furniture and embrace the space, just in time for the hottest part of the year.

I never claimed to have great timing.

My porch furniture: three rocking chairs built by Hephaistos knows and painted green, the extended tabletop from my computer desk that needs legs, a twig/stick table built by Hephaistos knows, a log from the cedar tree that was cut down at some point in 2009 (here's reason 1 and reason 2 for why it had to come down) that I just had a brilliant idea to turn it into a side table, and that's all I can remember here at work. The plan so far is to clean the green paint off the rockers and polyurethane the natural wood look. The table top will get legs and come off my sawhorses. And turn the log into a side table. So I'll be spending a lot of time and money at Lowe's this weekend.

Rizzo needs an oil change, grocery shopping, and paying bills rounds out the rest of the weekend goals. I also need to take pictures of the progress.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

What I’ve Learned

The past four days have been busy with me learning things I had no intention of learning. I hope it’s not an indication of the rest of the week.

On Friday: My Good Friday was 90% non-religious unless you count “Oh God why aren’t you open!” as a prayer, then the number changes to 60%. For starters I had to go shopping, get the oil changed in Rizzo, see about getting a haircut, and go to a great-aunt’s funeral.

Crap, learning things actually started on Thursday when I found out Paris Parker no longer give complimentary haircuts for Locks of Love donations. This is the only way I’ve cut my hair for the past ten years, so changing things now. *raspberry*

Back to Friday, Dad said the oil change place opened at 7am. I left home at 7:30am. New hair salon was closed (expected since it was the crack of dawn) but didn’t have hours posted on the door (unexpected). Headed to oil change station and they’re setting up for the day. They open at 8. Go to Tuesday Morning. They open at 10. Ross opens at 9:30. I reminded myself I needed a new extension cord that I can get at Lowe’s. Lowe’s is open because they cater to contractors.

Not only is Lowe’s open, the parking lot was full. Which makes sense, everyone in Hammond was there because nothing else was open! Extension cord procured, followed by the oil change, which took about 30 minutes. So I headed to TJMaxx, since none of the other stores on my list were open. TJMaxx opens at 9:30.

At this point, the breakfast I had at home was long gone so I retreated to McDonald’s, refueled, and waited for 9:30. Everything I needed was at TJMaxx and I made it to the funeral on time.

Lesson: I have successfully reprogrammed my bio-rhythms out of sync with my home town and if I have been up for hours, you should be too. *growls*

Saturday: I learned that Dad’s Santa Fe has a kill switch, but I don’t know how I activated it. Luckily, the car started again before someone exiting the Westbank Expressway killed me and Mom.

Sunday: I finally had time to really flea treat the house. I had already dosed Mustard with the spot treatment, so first he got shampooed and kicked out of the house while I vacuumed and sprayed the floors. I learned that one large can of the flea killing spray is only enough to cover half the house.

Monday: There will be no time for writing when over half the office is M.I.A. and there’s a payment deadline on the 15th along with the mail running on Good Friday. I ended up working an hour and forty-five minutes overtime. Which derailed my plans for after work, luckily there were adjustable.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Some Weeks Should Have Warning Labels

Computer, commute, tire--hey, I'm off the C's! Well it deals with the car so maybe I haven't left the C's at all. let's add crying to the list. I spent a good chunk of yesterday's free time in a depressed funk because of what I have to pay out of the next check. Then I spent this morning working on a debt consolidation list on loan paperwork--namely confirming that the totals nearly equal to one of my take-home paychecks each month.

I didn't want to take out another loan to consolidate, namely because I can be the poster girl for "you can't borrow your way out of debt." And there's no guarantee my credit union will give me one, but if they can get the three biggest albatrosses off my neck for a lower amount that can come out of each paycheck, I may get some breathing room. Breathing room especially important since a second job is not happening.

So I did that math and left for the paying job. After commute hell yesterday, the drive in was smooth and I was ahead of schedule, up to the Capitol building. That's where my tire blew. I managed to get into a parking lot near my building. Roadside assistance changed it to the donut so I didn't lose any time, but buying a new tire was not in the budget!



At this point, I am beyond ready for this week to end. And I think my car got jealous that I wasn't planning to spend any money on it beyond gasoline. Right now, it's been half the day and nothing has blown up, maybe I can work on Stellar Gift of Death.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

What now?

Yesterday was computer, today was the commute. Interstate 12 Open Following Early Morning Wreck. Luckily, I left home late, otherwise I would have been under one of those pipes. But I got caught in the snarl to find an alternative route into Baton Rouge. There's only thee ways to cross the Amite River and also the huge reason why we need the loop project that idiots keep killing, and I was stuck on the north of I-12 side. When I finally reached Magnolia Beach Road and it wasn't moving either, I called in that I was going home.

I had plans of catching up on chores, figuring out my budget for the next paycheck, and writing. Writing didn't happen. Mom co-opted me for a couple of hours, and budgeting the paycheck put me in a funk that was not conductive to fighting with the manuscript. I'll make up for it tomorrow.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Did we just skip autumn all together?

Temperatures dropped into the thirties overnight and is STILL 36 degrees according to my desktop weather gadget. The DJs this morning keep saying "coldest day so far this fall." This is too damn cold for fall!

Rizzo has shoved my second job search to a new urgency. Last night, I spent two hours fighting traffic jams to get out of Baton Rouge. I finally reached Denham Springs and got back on the Interstate at 6pm. Then, just past the Juban exit, one of my tires goes flat. And by goes flat I mean it had a blowout but stayed on the rim. A nice trucker helped me put the spare on, but now I have to go buy tires, which I have no money for.

I don't know what else to do. I'm looking at a medical study for compensation, but I was over the BMI they were looking for. Convergys rejected me. The home based businesses that I bought this computer for rejected me. I walked away from Craigslist last night seriously considering selling my papers to a site that will sell them to plagiarizing students. I'm telling myself that I'm not desperate enough for that or street-walking yet.

Yes, I was stupid for the last two paychecks. But all the math adds up to I have to get more income in order to keep my head above water. I have a few more ads to check out. Cross your fingers for me everybody.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Sympathetic Magic

There are spell components waiting to be used in the back bedroom. Don't remember why I didn't actually perform the ritual, but I think I should take some time for magic. Especially after this beginning of this week.

First there was my sobering weekend over the state of my finances. I applied to the position at COnvergys online, but didn't know if I counted as a rehire from 2003, so I didn't call the rehire phone number. I resolved to go see them in person and beg if it came to that, but not on Monday.

A deadline for our tax department was on July 15th and we're in the middle of the assessment season. I didn't get to leave until 6:30pm, stopped for supper, and finally made it home around 8:30pm. So much for rewarding myself with Warehouse 13.

Tuesday's work at the paying job started at 7:00am. I didn't have any time for writing with the work left over from Monday to get out. Don't cheer for my overtime. State workers are compensated with K-time, not money. Now if I don't use any of the K-time to take time off (it is used before annual leave time) for the next few months, they will exchange it for cash, but I have no idea how long I have to wait or how big a balance I must have. If and when, it'll be a nice surprise.

I got to leave at my normal time and on the interstate, Rizzo's engine started making a new noise. "Okay, I have to get that checked out, but nothing's changed with the performance so maybe I'll make it home." Then the air from the AC isn't cold any more even though it's still blowing. I start watched the temperature guage to make sure Rizzo's not overheating again. The needle doesn't move.

Right after I passed the O'Neal exit, the battery light comes on the dashboard. I turn off the AC and the radio, but it stays on. I got off the Interstate and went straight to Denham Springs Tire Kingdom. Verdict: tensioner was making the noise, the AC compressor stopped, and the alternator was dead. Fixed the tensioner and the alternators because I could afford that before the labor. Now I owe Dad more money and didn't get home until 8pm.

"I miss my Hyundai. I never had any trouble with my Hyundai up until I wrecked it."

"That's what my mom said about her Hyundai," the Tire Kingdom clerk said. "No problems until she totaled it."

I left before finding out how much more me and his mother had in common. I also resolved to go to Convergys and not leave until I got a job or ran out of lunch break.

They weren't seeing any walk-ins, but the security guard told me I would be a rehire, so I left a message and found a short cut back to the office today.

Disappointing, especially considered how I screwed up my courage to go out there and make results happen. Even more disappointing is when I got home on time (despite the road construction on Pumpkin Center Road) and saw my answering machine beeping with a message from the governor's reelection campaign. :p So why does all this remind me of the gathered spell components?

They're for a spell to attract money.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Rizzo is sick again

I finally got home after 9pm last night. And this morning Mustard blinked at the empty driveway and was confused about going outside when it didn't look right.

Left work at 4:30, after a day that ended up being more blah than good. Interstate traffic had thinned out, so I took that route. I had just passed the I-12/I-10 split when my engine gave a little jolt, power steering went away, and the car decelerated quickly. The engine malfunction indicator light popped on and then the low oil pressure light came on. I got the car to the side between the overpasses getting traffic on and off I-10.

Called roadside assistance, then called my parents, then it was a sit and wait. The M.A.P. patrol van finally found me at 5:30-ish. My parents found me by 6, by 6:20-ish, the tow truck finally reached me. Me and my parents then found the mechanics that my roadside assistance recommended who had already closed for the day, and waited for the tow truck. He was a sweet guy, but we didn't get the car dropped off until after 7:30. Supper at IHOP and then home finally after 9:30-ish.

I haven't heard from the mechanics yet, but they just opened an hour ago. I have a phone number, but I'm going to give them a little bit. Plus I just woke up really.

What I'm dreading is my parents to do the sit-down-for-the-facts-of-life talk and to tell me it's time to get a new vehicle. Rizzo still isn't paid off and I'm terrified with a trade-in I will be horrifically upside down with a new car. I want to pay off a car and continue to drive it until I can pay cash for a new-to-me one just once in my adult life!

Midday update: The mechanics called me soon after I posted. The timing belt broke and it will cost $791.29 to fix. I mostly worked it out with my parents and they left to take my grandfather on a trip to Mississippi. And locked their house up tight.

I'm right next door. Without a car.

They left their second car, but the keys are inside their locked-up house. And who has been living next door for eleven years come August and STILL hasn't been given a set of keys to their house for emergencies?

Yeah, I hope the mechanics finish my car before they close today.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Murphy is a rat bastard

Yesterday started off deceptively well. Got enough sleep, got up nearly on time, worked on Mealte's language, balanced the checkbook, and left the house mostly on time. The worse thing I was considering was the possibility of raiding my savings for a fill-up before the next paycheck, but the budget was holding steady and I would have savings available to do that rather than go into red.

Then my engine noise changed and it sounded like I was dragging something just as I started across the I-12 bridge over the Amite River. My first thought was I had picked up something in the construction zone. The battery dashboard light turned on and I got off at the next exit.

Everything looked normal under the hood. But I found a dangling belt under the car, no bigger than the cord to the computer mouse, but frayed and broken and had descended from the engine. No real surprise because I was told exactly what Rizzo needed back in December and belts were on the list, but I was putting it off until the money looked better. I called into work and left a message, then back tracked to the mechanics in Denham Springs.

The good news: while waiting on my car, I finally reached creating adjective and adverbs. They were able to replace my serpentine belt and its tension pulley because most of it was missing (and probably what i heard dragging under the car on the Interstate).

The bad news: paying for the repair has put me in the red by at least $157.

So I crossed my fingers that I can borrow the difference until my next paycheck to avoid overdraft fees, at lunch, dealt with the monthly aggravation and went to work. Where the computer decided not to log me in. It's been a to-and-fro job for the new guy in I.T. because he didn't know and didn't ask me about the special issues with my computer. :p

I finally was able to work at 3:00. I ended up not leaving until 4:30 to finish the biggest batch. Dad loaned me the money, and I got to work on time today. And two of my coworker's computer come up with the same issue I had yesterday.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Don't Try This at Home, Kiddies

Rizzo finally has a clean bill of health. What stranded me on Sept. 3rd was overheating because my radiator fan broke and then the fan motor burned out. Monday, Sept. 13th, after that had been repaired, I drove into work and the M.I.L. came on. I did find my gas cap was loose, but the light stayed on. Mom took the car back in yesterday and the mechanic found a loose vacuum hose, which he fixed for free. HUZZAH!

So at home and I finally cleaned out the computer tower with the second bottle of compressed air. It was dirtier than it should be, but that's not where I spent the first bottle. I stopped at WalMart yesterday morning and bought the air and food for lunch. When I got to work, I only brought the food in with me. I came back to an empty can that had exploded some safety cracks and shot the nozzle head off. I'm extremely lucky it didn't bust any windows in my mother's SUV when I did what the warning message on the can tells you not to do. *headdesk* A second trip to WalMart on the way home was a small price to pay.

I moved the computer to the desktop and put the front cover back on it. Hopefully that'll cut down on the amount of dust that gets inside. Dad replaced the fan over the graphics accelerator, so all the fans are running now. But my monitor has gone green. Seriously, Cain's pants are now olive, all my blue bars are emerald, and I haven't opened up a blank white document to see what color it turns into. I think the monitor plug may be damaged, but I will borrow a monitor from Dad tonight to make sure it's not the video card. Right now, I'm letting the computer run to see if it turns off again. If it doesn't, I have to figure out where to keep the tower and replug everything. The cubby is a pain in ass to try to plug anything in and if I need to get inside the tower. On the desktop takes up valuable space. :p

As of leaving out at 6 a.m., the computer hadn't shut itself off or tried to reboot itself. *Crossing fingers.*

Read Free!
The BookWorm

I Meant to Do This Before Now

An updates blog post, that is. Had the idea on Friday and then Rizzo (my car) overheated to the setting alarms off on the dashboard degree. That killed Friday night.

Saturday morning, I had the intentions to do so much computer work including blog posts. But then the computer went wonky and by the time I had cleaned it, my desire to do more computer stuff had died.

Sunday and Monday: enjoyed the time off.

Tuesday: back to work.

So now it's Wednesday and since I'm taking a mini-vacation Thursday and Friday, it's update day!

Mom got some free hotel nights at a casino resort in Shreveport, so we're heading up there. There are some free exhibits in the area so I won't have to play the slots the whole time. WOOT! I'm hoping she wasn't exaggerating about a spa being available and hoping for a pool too because I suck at slot machines. Mom finds them relaxing and can spend hours playing off her winnings. Nothing against gambling, I'd be better at it if it was more like a video game. And that's saying a lot considering how bad my hand-eye coordination is.

I don't know how much writing I'm going to get done off grid. I have a week left to the "Phantom Highwayman" incorporate the brand-new zag (as in just thought of it and almost derailed this blog post) and submit.

Problems with Rizzo: her AC went out last Thursday. I didn't freak out about it, just planned on rolling down the windows until I got paid and then have some coolant put back in. Then Friday's afternoon commute, her temperature warning light went off in the middle of stop and go traffic. Luckily, I made it over to the next exit, parked at Chick-fil-A, and waited for my parents. Then they took it to the mechanics Tuesday since I had to go to work, but he can't look at it until today. So I still don't know what is wrong and how much to fix it.

Sept. 7th also marked the start of a 30 Day Primal Challenge and that couldn't come at a better time. My insurance decided I don't need Byetta anymore and there's a manufacture's shortage of my dosage of Glumetza. What I really need is to get off the drugs and control my blood sugar and lose weight. So time for a lifestyle overhaul. So if Blank starts looking like a food diary, this is why.

Second component of this will be thirty days of Primal Fitness. So far, I only missed this morning's workout but I'm planning to make it up when I get home as long as I get home three hours before bedtime. :p

Off to noodle now.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Car problems solved!

*Snicker* On the one good day I had with a new battery, I noticed the AC acting strange when I got home but figured I had messed with the dial maybe that control I was going out. Then while we were trying to figure out why the battery was draining, I noticed that the AC was still messing up. It cycled through blowing out of all the vents and I hadn't touched the controls for it.

The issue draining the battery: a relay that was telling the AC to cycle even when the car was completely shut off.

So I have a double sense of vindications. I'm back in my car and comfortable with driving again, and girl was right about macho engine stuff. :D

Read Free!
The BookWorm

I have no idea what is wrong with the car

I thought it was a rundown battery, and my uncle took care of it and got me two new tires that I didn't know I needed. Car runs fine for one day. Friday it is so dead it doesn't even crank, Jim. Double check everything, so we must have ended up with a dud battery.

Saturday we trade in the battery for a bigger one. Car cranks fine. Now I didn't drive it anywhere; I had no where to go. Sunday dead and no cranking, no sounds no nothing.

So something must be draining the battery and it must be something under the hood that we can't find. I haven't had to miss any work because I'm borrowing my parents' spare Santa Fe. But I hate driving it in the nasty weather we've been having, and I really didn't budget time correctly this morning and had to make an emergency gas run because the Santa Fe was empty.

Meanwhile, I can't crank my car with a nice full gas tank.

I really don't see how I can budget Halloween this year. I have to play catchup on too many bills now. Normally if it was just my "blah I don't want to play with people" mood, I wouldn't mind getting dragged out of the house regardless. But this is my "I've been a bad girl fiscally" mood. I really can't justify partying when I owe so many people money. *headdesk*

Stargate Universe was good. More on that when I'm in a better mood.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Random thoughts

Looks like it's another unexplainable slow day at work again. At least I get to catch up on checking in.

Finished "For Worse" and need to find beta readers. But I have been silent in the community for a while, I don't know if that will have an effect. And I feel guilty because I can't promise a trade situation with anyone because my time schedule sucks and will probably get worse.

I haven't heard back from North Oaks yet. I think I interviewed well, and the job would be a good fit, but if they would rather have someone who doesn't have to go through hoops to get trained, I understand. Just let me know something so I can put an application in somewhere else. It'll be a week on Friday. I think protocol says wait two weeks before bugging them.

I have heard from my car insurance company's attorney on the lawsuit. Waiting for a call back because I don't know if I was personally served or not. His letter said I shouldn't be, but my mother signed for my suit papers because I wasn't home. The whole thing is a little disconcerting, especially since I got my paperwork done before the year deadline. From what the insurance company told me, they settled the property damage part and will settle the medical once they get the paperwork. So don't worry about it. So I'm trying not to worry about it, but it is on my mind anyway.

My sleep schedule is kinda getting better. Meaning now I am waking up with the alarm clock, but I can't pull myself out of bed so I listen to the last hour of Coast to Coast AM in the dark. Unfortunately, the topics haven't been inductive to driving me out of bed. Whitley Stribner is on tonight. I think worrying about trying to see abducting greys with probes might get me to the light switch faster.

When I get the house's electricity rewired, I'm having an alarm times put on the light switch to my bedroom. Alarms should have lights. I'm a heavy sleeping and when tired enough can sleep through any noise. But I can't sleep with the lights on.

My grandmother has finally been moved. Her report is "You have put me in the crazy house." Because they are two paitents who screamed and moaned all the time "just like Hammond State School." (Since renamed and changed mission, but it was the long-term care institution for the mentally disabled ran by the state started back when they thought the best thing was to take them from their family and hide them from the world.)

Mom's reply: "Well, you worked there for thirty years, you should be used to it." My response to Mom: "She complains about everywhere. She even complained about being at your house. Don't take it personally." I need to go see her, but my schedule hasn't been open.

The schedule, ugh. How's that for a segue? I have to start planning it better. Starting with deadlines. The ethnography is due for a grade May 14, so I have to get cracking on that. I have the website project with writing tutorials, Strix, other website tweaks in the project que. And the amorphous paper due next semester to get me out of school that I haven't started even looking for it. And then there's the Faire, and improving health, and improving finances, and keeping the house clean enough.

Small wonder I'm getting those ack attacks. As in "ACK! TOO MUCH SHIT TO DO! NO TIME TO DO IT!"

While I'm no where at the levels Funny About Money was in, I think I'm going to work through her strategies to pinpoint what I can and cannot do anything about. Most of it is an anxiety that I'm wasting my time without addressing my dreams and goals. I have the introspection to look closer at it on schedule for tonight and probably tomorrow night on commercial breaks.

Course the easiest damn thing to do is quit the biggest aggravation. It's not my dream, I don't technically owe it anything and definitely not at my personal expense. For now, that option is off the table with the understanding that I can come back to it once certain conditions have been met. *Sigh*

One other note to myself before wrapping up: reroute all the website emails through GMail accounts to get rid of the spam. I'm really tired of Outlook not catching everything it should catch, and this seems like the easiest tweak. If it doesn't work, I have to rethink my whole email strategy.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Traffic woes

I think my writing time just got longer. After taking thirty minutes to leave Baton Rouge from College Drive last night, I decided to do some searching today to see just how long the night commute is taking. Currently: 3pm to 7pm.

*headdesk*

Now, I'm worried about my budget. And my blood sugar. I have food for supper, at home. I should eat around 5pm. 9pm after travel and cooking time is pushing it. So either I eat out those days and I'm trying to cut back on the spending or I pack breakfast, lunch, and supper and hope Starbucks lets me pack in food and just buy a drink. Somehow I doubt it.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Why yesterday was a bad day

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/7454366.html

I spent 4 hours in the car yesterday between going to my coworker's mother's viewing and trying to get to work.

Another coworker tells me I shouldn't send a driver's manual to the hospital as a get well present because the commuters there are probably doing a much better job tormenting her.

Read Free!
The BookWorm


Progress Bar from Writertopia

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Quick catchup

Started physical therapy. Muscle spasms, no bone damage.

And I'm now the proud owner of a 2006 Dodge Stratus, which I will post a picture of as soon as I figure out why the picture transfer from my camera to harddrive isn't working.

Off to work on the to do list and try to go to bed early.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Shopping for a new car hell

I try to keep an open mind. I don't care about color as long as the price is right, it has cargo room, and the gas mileage is good. Used is still new to me. So it ought to be easy to find me a damn car, right?

Course it doesn't help when I start getting cranky and ill because my neck and back hurt. And my pecs but that usually doesn't happen unless I use those muscles.

I didn't get to pick out the Hyundai Accent. And the plan was to drive it till it dropped after I had it paid off and had saved up a down payment. So I would actually enjoy car shopping the second time around.

It's the oh-god-I'm-spending-too-much and the it-costs-how-fucking-much all rolled into one. And I have to call the bank and the insurance guys tomorrow. So looks like I'm going back to work Tuesday.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Pain is bearable

So what happened yesterday. I was running late, but was not tailgating. In fact, I had just congratualted myself on leaving lots of room in front of me. Had already called work and said I was running late. Car to the left in the median between interstate lanes, corner damaged, must have clipped the light pole. Brake lights. Me slam on brakes. Airbag in face.

Airbag defaltes and I get the car to the shoulder. Get out to get away from gritty airbag dust. Five or six people all asking if I was okay. Arms felt scraped, chest hurt, back and neck don't hurt yet but they will. Other car has only bumper damage and that mostly looks like my white paint. A Motorists Assisstance Patrol guy sees us from the Eastbound side and soon joins us. It's about 7:40 am.

Call work, call home. Mom calls Dad. Wait for cops. Wait for on-duty cops (yes, off-duty ones stopped and got our hopes up). Two sets of firefighters and a set of paramedics stop to see if we needed to go to the hospital. Later we find out that the radio traffic people say ours is an accident with injuries. A state trooper finally shows up. Oops you are ten feet too close to O'Neal Lane, you need city police. He forgets to call them in. M.A.P. guy has to do it.

Dad shows up. I call insurance, city police show up about 9:30 am. No ticket for me. Finally eat breakfast, and finished talking to insurance, have to go to the wrecked yards and sign a release so the body shop can get car. Arrange for the rental, get a doctor's appointment, starting to hurt.

Call Chad. At noon, Dad's gassing up at Denham Springs and we run into M.A.P. guy at the same gas station. Get rental car. Go to doctor. Muscle relaxers and ibroprfen and x-rays and appointment for next week.

Muscle relaxers make me loopy but I'm going back to work tomorrow. Go to bed at 7 pm, don't hear the phone next to the bed when Chad calls. Still going to work until I wake up at 2 am and can't move my neck without pain. Call in sick.

Today I picked up the living room mess Mustard had made by knocking over the table filled with board games and books. I have never seen anything scatter in a circular pattern before. And I finished shelving and correcting the BookCat database of obvious errors. I think I need to send them an email to find out how I can break my fiction into genres and create a printed report from that.

I also discovered I have two projects I want to do: How do you really do it? (which I will explain later) and resurrecting the Reader's Diary. I just reshelved 1247 books and found plenty that I haven't read yet. Also I need to be honest, if I don't reread them, do I need to keep them? And some of the nonfiction is just bizarre. Will I ever do anything on the Biodome project?

And the insurance called and my car is a total loss. So now I have to go buy a new one. Luckily, the settlement will pay off my car loan, so I'm not in the hole. But I don't have much of a down payment.

So tomorrow: call insurance, double check their figures. Call bank and get pre-approved for car loan. Then maybe go car shopping.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Not what I had in mind for when I got back here

But I had another wreck, me at fault. Front-end smooshed. Hopefully repairable. Sore and also on muscle relaxers.

Mustard made living room mess worse. Not a good day at all.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/