Stuff and things and stuff…

There is an old (1985 or thereabouts) Jeff Goldblum movie called “Into the Night”.  He plays an insomniac who runs into all sorts of problems when he picks up Michelle Pfieffer at the airport.  It’s a very funny movie.  I used to watch it frequently.    But after 3 days of not getting much sleep, I’m beginning to understand the character’s moments of crazy.  Not really sure why I can’t sleep.  Maybe the wind has something to do with it.  Been real windy for the last few days.

The wind is blowing right now at 17 to 26 mph with gusts up to 35 or 40 mph.  Normally, that’s nothing.  Or I should say, that’s nothing for here.  But it hasn’t stopped for 3 days.  Oh well.

I was looking around the house today and I realized that I have been here over 1 year and I still haven’t put up any pictures or posters or anything.  That’s always one of the first things I do.  Haven’t felt like it.  Oh, I have flashes.  Brief moments when I just really want a picture or poster on the wall to look at, but it passes rather quickly.  Maybe it’s cause I’m still not sure this is my home.  My land lady, who I love to pieces, just turned 93.  She’s starting to sell off her other rental units (she has 3 or 4 others), and I’m just not certain what’s going to happen here.  I really want to keep this old house, but right now, I don’t know if I have the ability to buy it from her.  I only have $1500 saved up and I’m not sure that’s enough for a down payment, even if she only wants $15,000 to $18,000 for the house.  I guess that’s another thing I’ll have to let God deal with.

I got my annual invite to work at the StarFest Convention in Denver in May.  Had to turn it down and I hated doing that.  First, I can’t afford the trip.  Gas there and back is going to run my around $125 to $150.  the room is $99 a night – for 4 nights (plus taxes and stuff), and food, which will run me about $50 (they feed you 1 meal a day except after the Con closes, then you get a big whatever is left over plus pizza meal).  So I’m looking at right around $600 or so dollars.  Probably more cause you can’t go to the Con and not shop.

The other reason I cancelled is because my arthritis is getting worse.  I wouldn’t be able to walk the whole way across the hotel in less than 15 or 20 minutes.  I used to be able to do it in 5 or less.  And even though there are elevators, those of us who work the Con usually have the rooms farthest away from the elevators.  Yea.  the Con is not going to happen for me this year.  I’m sad.

Let me see, what else has me torqued…  Ah yes.  My new car.  What a piece of junk.  I knew it had “issues” when I got it.  And you really can’t argue with the price – the cost of a Big Mac, but it is getting to be frustrating.  The master brake cylinder leaks, so about once a month, the brake light and alarm comes on, so I have to add brake fluid.  The roof is starting to crack and it leaks like a sieve and the windshield wipers are for crap.  The only thing that makes it any better than my POS truck is the gas mileage.  I get pretty good mileage out of it.

Oh well.  I think that’s enough for now.  Maybe getting these frustrations out will help me to sleep.  Certainly can’t hurt…

Its a short trip….

I’m having “a day”.  The first half went okay.  Good, actually.  but since I’ve been home from work, well, it’s been frustrating.   And I can’t even say why.

Well, that’s not exactly right…  Found out that I missed the turn in date for my time sheet for work.  Hopefully faxing it in first thing tomorrow will be okay.  Geez.  Then I decided it was time to clean up my desk.  I’m not overly tidy, at home.  Lots of old receipts, kleenex, calendars, bills that should be in either the paid or the unpaid file, all the genealogy stuff, spread all over the place,  fake flowers, Smurfs, Ficus trees,  inhalant boxes, pill bottles, gnomes, empty coke bottles, blank and used computer disks…  I could go on but I won’t.  So, I started going through piles and throwing stuff away, then clipping things together, making new files, finding old files…  And I still can’t see the top of my desk.  I even found 3 plates and a bowl with the silverware laying on them.  Geez.

But why should my desk be the exception to the rule?  My whole house is ridiculous right now and I think it’s starting to get to me.

I still have boxes of Christmas decorations sitting in my living room.  Forget Christmas, I’ve still got Halloween decorations sitting in my living room.  And I can’t find my kitchen table.  It’s covered with partial emptied boxes and bags.  Why is this the case?  I STILL can’t get into my utility room.  We’re going on 6 months now.  I am getting very frustrated and unhappy.

And, here’s what’s really bugging me – I can’t do a thing about it.  It’s not, yet, my house.  I still have to deal with a land lady.  Now, you need to understand, My Land Lady is the sweetest old lady ever.  And therein lies the problem.  She is very kind and forgiving and patient.  And the contractor is her friend.  And the contractor is at the bottom of the issue.  He’s been in Mexico having “heart procedures” done.  According to my Land Lady, he’s home now and “recovering” and when he’s better, he promises he’ll get right over here and finish up the roof.  Excuse me, there are two roofs to be done, not just one.  And yesterday was one of the windiest days all winter long.

Oh well… What can I do?  Take up knitting and learn to be exceptionally patient.

Yeah!!!!

Okay, so my last Doctor’s appointment went pretty well.  My blood sugars are going down as is my blood pressure.  I still have a ways to go, but my Doctor was pleased with my progress.  I am still retaining fluid, but not as badly.  My arthritis is about the same as it has been and my heart flutter is more or less controlled.  By that I mean that I still have “episodes” but taking a potassium supplement stops the flutter when it happens.  It seems potassium deficiency runs in Mom’s family.  My Great Grandmother had the same problem and it took several visits to the hospital to figure it out.  Mom has a milder form, but she has it and we think my Grandfather also had a potassium problem cause he was always eating bananas.  Maybe he just liked bananas…  But I digress…

I’m also borderline dehydrated.  Really?  I’m on diuretics.  The Doctor’s answer?  “Drink more water.”  Really?  I had no idea that would help.  I carry around a 20 ounce glass that I keep full of water and drink from it all day long.  Sometimes it feels like all I’m doing is drinking and going to the bathroom.  Things that make you go what the…  I also have a “mild Upper Respiratory Infection and a slight ear infection” so I’m on antibiotics and a decongestant for the next 10 days.

The up shot of all this is that I don’t have to go back until June, unless something happens, like I get sick or get hurt, or have another “episode” that the potassium doesn’t fix.  That makes me very happy.  It’s been almost a year since I didn’t have to go back every month.   And if everything is still on track, I won’t have to go back until December.  YEA!