Changes at the homestead...

Finally told my room-mate to move out. Way behind on his rent and phone bill, making big decisions like moving in his girlfriend (and her dogs) and his son without telling me. And the list goes on. I finally have had enough. I gave him a month, which is generous, and then I'll have the place to myself. Lots of cleaning to do then, but I can deal with that. I can't afford to stay there forever, but I'll be fine for a while. Once the apartment is liveable by human standards again, then I'll move out and find someplace smaller.

Kind of a stressful morning, but I got through it and I'm doing okay. Going to be a rough month, I think, but I'll be okay.

Back to work...

Dad's birthday

Spent last weekend with the 'rents for Dad's birthday- had an okay time. Everyone was really busy with stuff, so I spent quite a bit of the time just hanging around. I had a good book with me, so that was okay.

Got home and found that one of the dogs had eaten through one of my DVD cases - a cool one too, part of a box set. And I also found that my room-mate's oldest son had move into our basement, using my old mattress and box springs. All the rest of my stuff was shoved off to the side. Funny how I'm never really told about these things and I have to find out on my own.

So, I'm finally going to do it. I'm going to write my letter to the landlord today about moving out - we have to give 30 days notice. I'll pay my rent this week and find a new place. Not going to make a big deal out of it, but I'm just going to do it.

Today is the first day of classes around here - time to get back to work. It'll be a busy day.

Drained...

Talked to my sister last night - trying to figure out what to get Dad for his birthday. It took several emails and multiple phone calls to finally get a plan. He's really tough to shop for.

Did some more origami last night. Turned out well, but I found that the really cool paper I wanted to use is only square until you take the perforated edge with the barcode off - then it's short on the sides by 1/4 inch. Did a little swearing on that one. I think the company will be getting an email from me.

And I'm tired. The apartment situation is getting worse. I'm so far out of the loop and the place is a disaster. Doesn't seem worth the effort anymore to try and maintain things.

Once I get back from my trip, I'm going to start looking for a new place. Took a long time, but I'm finally burned out.

Back to work - lots of files to convert today. Tedious, but it has to be done.

Meetings...meetings...

Yesterday was busy. Meeting, training session, quick meeting, long meeting, working lunch, minor disaster. Fun fun fun. Today looks like training, meeting, lunch, training. Hope I have time to get to my actual job today.

Went out to eat at Olive Garden last night, good stuff. Shrimp and Crab ravoli and stuff mushrooms. I belonged to the clean plate club on that one.

Watched a little bit of the Olympics last night - saw the women win the beach volleyball, so that was cool. Worked on some origami flowers - and finally found my hot melt glue gun.

A pretty quiet evening - which is exactly what I needed. Of course, Sarge threw up on the floor and Lulu took a piss in front of the stairs, but even that wasn't as bad as it could have been. Though I am running low on carpet cleaner.

Had a dream last night that Jessica Simpson faked her own death and stayed hidden for a year - though I knew about it since I was involved in filming the promos for her return. Very surreal.

Oh, in one of the meetings yesterday, everyone acknowledged my title of Master of Space and Time - which I thought was nice. They also kept referring to "anthony magic" - a generic term that represents working my ass off for some tedious project that's given to me at the last nano-second.

Well, looks like I'd better get to it. The magic doesn't happen by itself.

Hand sanitizer and oatmeal cookies...

Yep, that's pretty much my morning. The cookies are to keep me happy in the face of what I'm certain will be upleasant meetings. The hand sanitizer is for the sneezing - another sinus infection, I think. Seems like I've always got one of these.

Watched most of my Eddie Izzard DVD last night. Funny guy - and all over the place. Also worked on some origami flowers, but since I can't find my aligator paper clips, glueing is out of the question. Granted, hot melt glue sets up pretty fast, but it's still too hot for me to use my fingers to hold it in place in the meantime.

Visiting the folks this weekend - should be okay. Dad's birthday, but I'm hoping we get to do what I want to do - i.e. visit the Half Price bookstore. It's impossible for me to walk there and leave without buying something.

Back to work - gotta go save the world again.

Oh, and the worst bit? I had to buy my own damn cookies. Working my ass off and getting so much stuff done for people with impossible deadlines and nobody has bought me cookies. I may have to go kick some ass. Or make a sign, "Will fix your webpage for cookies".

Bright Lights, no shades...

My eyes are bothering me a little bit this morning, and it doesn't help that I couldn't find my shades. Should make the drive home unplesant. I could have looked more for them, but I was running late anyway.

Finished up an origami project this weekend - despite having spilled coke all over it. I was so pissed at myself - just a stupid, clumsy mistake. I was able to salvage all the components and it turned out okay. Brought it into work - though I'll most likely take it back home to get some photos. Really need to update the origami pics on my website.

Well, gotta get going and do some work.

Copy | Paste, Copy | Paste, Copy | Paste....

That was yesterday for me. Over and over again. Trying to convert a website to a new web-based editor. Unfortuantly, due to the way it was set up, this is the best way to do it. And there's a lot more today...sigh.

Played a little more MegaMan last night, almost had fun with it. Almost. About one more session and I'm going to sell it, I think.

Kicked some butt in Diablo II as well, doesn't seem as hard as I remember. Still have to face Diablo in his lair, but I've got a little way to go.

A little more drama last evening around the homestead, room-mate and his girlfriend go out for a nice romantic evening. While they are gone, his ex-wife dropped off his oldest boy. There was, apparently, no planning involved. Well, I think my room-mate and his girlfriend had plans, but those got disrupted. I think things got settled out, but I would just as soon skipped the whole deal.

No dreams that I can remember, so...time to get back to work.

In a better mood...

Well, like the title says, I'm in a better mood today. Actually, by the time I was done with lunch yesterday I was feeling emotionally better. Still a little disappointed at the way things went, but no longer pissed off.

Bought a new game last night - MegaMan Anniervesary edition. 8 games in one! Except, so far, they all look pretty much the same and they all pretty much suck. Givew me Metroid for the PS2 and I'll be happy.

Not much to say today - lots of work to do.

Not sure where to begin...

I learned last night that my room-mates girlfriend has moved in - on a more or less permanent basis. She's been here for several weeks, but I was thinking it was a temporary thing. Not really upset about that - she's nice and we get along okay. She's also brought her dog, Sarge - a good sized boxer with a drool problem. And that's okay too - I'm a dog person.

And while this was temporary, I didn't have a problem with not updating the landloard - if she's a guest that shouldn't affect the lease. But, I had a vibe last night that I should make it official with the landlord - since her and the dog is a clear violation of the lease if she lives there now.

So, when she got home yesterday I told her I was going to talk to the landlord and make it official. I asked her when she had first moved in (to make any additional rent amounts retroactive) and to verify that it was just one dog, not both Sarge and Lulu.

I thanked her for the info and went on about my business. She called my room-mate and then he wanted to talk to me. I told him that I had a weird vibe and that I wanted to make things official with the landlord before he found out from someone else and "busted" us.

Turns out that my room-mate had already talked to the landlord, and that it was cool and we wouldn't be charged any additional rent. The landlord had sent him a letter offering to help them find their own place, which my room-mate wasn't interested in doing at the time.

I was taken aback and a little flustered. I don't think I've been so far out of the loop. Good that we didn't get in trouble for changing the terms of the lease, but why in the multiverse wasn't I told what was going on?

So, yea? We got off the phone and I got angry. Punched the walls a few times and then took what can only be described as an angry shower.

My room-mate called me back, apoligised for be terse with me - he'd been having a bad day. He said it was clear no one was comfortable there and that he and his girlfriend would find a place. (note the complete 180). I said I wasn't uncomfortable, but that I was ticked because all these things had been happening and no one told me. I fortuantly caught the underlying plan on that one as well - or what I thought was the underlying plan. Namely, "We'll move out and stick you with the full rent payment that you can't really afford as well as all the clean-up/repairs for things we've screwed up".

That's unfair, I guess, since I don't really know what his motivation is. In any case, I'm not quite as in the dark as I used to be - but there's still way more going on that I don't know about.

I guess we're back to normal, but this kind of behind-my-back-behavior has left a bad taste in my mouth.

So, I'm going to give it a little time - maybe after work settles down a bit and I get back from my trip - and then I'm going to move out and let them take over the place. And let them do the clean-up.

Bears and dogs

I guess this is turning into a dream journal of sorts, which is fine since it's frequently more interesting than real life. Last night I dreamed that my parents had hired a young man from Africa with an uncanny talent for getting water buffalo out of the road. As a business venture, they toured the midwest, getting paid for having him get cattle out of the road. (The cow whisperer?). I was along for the ride at one point and we helped a family, then stayed for dinner. At some point during the meal, the family bear wandered in and knocked me out of my chair, then started gnawing on my arm. I went limp, remembering that bears will kill, then let the carcass rot a bit to soften it up. By playing dead, the bear would lose interest for a while. It worked, and he wandered off. The family assured us he was "just playing" and got me a bandage for my arm. The bear came back again, surprised I was alive, and took me down again. I went limp again and it took him longer to give up. The third time, he reached underneath me and grabbed me by the balls. Testing me, I guess. I put myself in a trance to keep from moving, but this time when he started to wander off I got up and kicked him in the nose are hard as I could. The family was very upset that I had hurt their bear, but I swore at them and told my family we were leaving.

Later in the dream, my folks had my sister and I practice for a family Shakespeare competition. Which would be fine, except that the script was written on a cake in different colored icing. The cakes weren't in any pans, so when we had to move around to learn the blocking, chunks of the cake (and consequently, our lines) kept falling or getting smeared. My folks were getting upset with us and thought we were goofing around - and then I woke up. Quite relieved, I might add.

So, that covers the Bear. The Dog story happened in reality, or as close as I can ever get.
I went to bed at my usual time of 10:00 last night. I was just getting comfortable and settling in when the phone rang - must have been about quarter after 10. The phone is right by my ear and catapulted me from a restful state - it was my room-mates work calling with a stupid question. I got up and went to his room to confirm - and vent my displeasure at being awakened like this. He said they do that to the other managers as well - not realized that I didn't give a rat's ass what they did to other managers or even to him. They bothered ME - and I don't care in the least what goes on where he works. If his work calls again after 10 and I answer the phone before he does, I'm going to issue a threat of death at whoever I talk to. I've got one all picked out, it involves a Japanese sword and a variety of dumpster in the tri-county area.

I went back to bed and started to calm down a bit - and just as I did (maybe 10:40) - the dog(s) started barking. We've got 1.5 dogs living with us, and one that used to live there and is now being fostered with someone but likes to visit. They kept it up just long enough to drive me out of bed. I got dressed, got my keys and wallet, and went for a walk. Dairy mart first - for an ice cream bar and V-8 fruit splash. And then I just wandered around town for a while until I got settled down again. I got back home around 11:30 - brushed my teeth again, put earplugs in this time, and went back to bed.

And I find myself wondering why do I keep putting up with this. I've had the same room-mate for a long time and I think I've finally getting worn down.

Back to work...

"Fight them like a peptide"

Very foggy this morning, crossing the "Y" bridge (so named for it's shape when seen from above, though the official name is "The All American Bridge") I couldn't see Akron until I was right up on it. First a wall of cloud, then the red of the stop light, then suddenly buildings appeared. Weird, but cool.

Saw a traffic accident recently. I was behind a car at a stop light and there was a car next to him in the other lane. The light turned green and both cars started going - assuming that the crazy lady in the cross traffic was going to stop, given that she had a red light by this point. Well, she didn't. She plowed right out into traffic and the guy in front of me slammed on his brakes to get stopped. She realized that she was doing it wrong and stopped too, but then decided to clear out of the intersection. Unfortunatly, the guy next to the one in front of me assumed that her stopping was a more permante thing and accelerated. And plowed right into the side of her car. I waited a moment until I could see everyone get out of their cars - unhurt but clearly pissed off. And then I carefully drove around them. It was the morning of the rainbow, though I doubt there's a connection - despite what Kermit might say.

Had a dream last night - actually several dreams but I can only remember part of one.
I was about to cross a zombie infested wasteland from the outpost to the main encampment and the guard at the outpost shouted out to me, "Remember what Mike Tyson said - Fight them like a peptide!"

For those of you playing along at home:

pep·tide - Any of various natural or synthetic compounds containing two or more amino acids linked by the carboxyl group of one amino acid to the amino group of another.

I strongly doubt Iron Mike would have said anything like that - but I got the feeling that the dream was in the future. So, it's possible that Mr. Tyson took an Organic Chemistry course while in prison and learned a few new things. And even if he did, it still doesn't make any sense.

In any case, a zombie nightmare does not bode well. For those just joining us, I have a zombie phobia and a zombie dream usually means that I'm under some stress and I'm not dealing with it well. Or maybe it's the sinus infection I'm fighting.

Back to work...

Haircut and updated link

Got my haircut the day before yesterday. Went to BestCuts - but not the BestCuts I normally go to. This one is closer to my home and I figured I'd save some time. I went in and signed in - then waited for someone to appear. And then, just for something to do, I waited a little bit more. Really regretting not bringing any paper to fold. Finally, a woman strolls out from the back and says I can have a seat in one of the stylists chairs and "betty" will be right out. So I sat in the chair and waited some more. Finally, Betty ambled out from the back room. She was a fearsome woman...with huge hair. Just huge. It had it's own gravity, in defiance of normal physics.

But the strangest was the accent. It was Deep, deep, deep dark south, by way of George Bush's Texas (he's an idiot, incidentally, by way of the 5th or 6th circle of hell. And she mumbled - and talked constantly - kind of like that Rose is a Rose is a Rose stream-of-conscious thing. I was reduced to smiling and nodding - which would have put my ears at a serious risk if she hadn't been using the clippers.

When all was said and blissfully done, the haircut turned out okay. Of course, I got the whole things buzzed evenly down to level one. Tough to screw that up. I paid in cash, and got my ass outta there before she launched into yet another mindless exposition.

It's always an adventure.

Oh, I also updated my web page with a link to this new blog - and posted a PDF of the sayings and quotes on my wall at work.

Approximately Equal To

Time for a new blog - why not? I'm calling this one "Approximately Equal To" - which is also the name for the symbol that I'm getting tattooed on me at some point. I was really torn between that and some kind of I Ching symbol. But, this one wins out. Might even add a circle to make it look more Eye of Horus-like.

Saw a rainbow the other day on the ride to work. Simple, but beautiful. The rest of the day defined "crappy", but the morning was good. Inspired me to order the Muppet 25th Anniversary Collection on CD. The Rainbow Connection has always been one of my favorite songs.

Time for a late lunch. More later.