But first, I have to fix or replace my computer.

Rumors of my death are greatly exagerated. I'm just very very busy this week.

This week at work has been kinda crazy -been working on average 9AM till 10 PM every night. Mostly just me working while everyone else sits around waiting for me to finish the big awards program and newsletters that are coming in. I'm starting to get kinda tired of being an art department of one. Today it was suggested that I wasn't working fast enough by one of the people just sitting around talking to the client on the phone and telling them it's just fine to make even more changes in layout and copy while I'm trying to finish the job.

Quite a Monday.

I arrived home from work just a few minutes ago.

Now I have to decide what's for dinner - ramen or popcorn?

My downstairs neighbor smokes way too much pot. I came home tonight to find my place reeking of pot smoke (which smells a lot like dog poop to me) seeping up through the hardwood floors of my condominium. This is another reason I really really want a house rather than a shared building.

It's freezing cold outside tonight. I'm bored but not enough to venture outside.
SoyBoy Tofu Ravioli with marinara for dinner tonight.
Reading about "Saki...Wine Of The Future"
Thinking about putting pen to paper.

Nothing but calls and errands tonight. Some of which I've been able to do during the day and some I've still got to try to do tomorrow. Still trying straighten out problems with my airline ticket to Paris. Seems as though they got my zip code wrong on the credit card bill and now my ticket's in limbo until I can phone during office hours tomorrow to straighten things out.

I think I've bruised my right hip forcing open the sticky laundry room door at home tonight so I could wash my clothes here rather than go to the Laundry Lounge where I might be followed again by the scarey guy who approached me last time I was there. My condo building sucks and I'll be so very happy when I can move out of this place and into a house of my own. A house where I can have my own washer and dryer. A house that I can keep the roof and masonry in proper repair without waiting for anyone's permission. A house where I don't have to deal with the neighbor's pot smoke seeping up throught the floor.

I've made arrangements for a doctor's appointment and consultation on getting a genetics bloodtest to find out if I could actually be Gwen's daughter or not.

Thingies above my ceiling are moving around tonight, but that's actually become somewhat entertaining to me.

Had a night of disturbing dreams - all of them featuring my car.
The first dream was that I found an old homeless man making himself at home in my car and while I needed him out of my car, I didn't want to deprive him of his only shelter. I told him he was welcome to use it at night if he didn't run the battery down.
The next dream was that I'd left my car in another lot over night and when I came back to get it the next morning, someone had stolen my drivers-side front door. The door had been taken cleanly and completely off the car. My thought was "How am I going to fix this?"

It's been a very odd day for me. I received this message via email this morning:

Subject: MOM
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 12:12:28 EST
From: Jlsrrt2@aol.com

I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS A LOT SINCE YEST. TRYING TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY TO YOU AND BOTTOM LINE IS I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. I AM SORRY IF YOU ARE UPSET WITH MOM BECAUSE SHE GAVE YOU UP FOR ADOPTION BUT AT THE TIME EVERYONE AROUND MOM MADE HER FEEL LIKE SHE HAD TO. SHE HAS NEVER STOPPED LOVING YOU. I NEED TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE ROOM IN YOUR HEART FOR YOUR ADOPTED FAMILY AND YOUR BLOOD FAMILY? I AM YOUR BLOOD SISTER AND I WOULD LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU YET EVERY EFFORT I HAVE MADE HAS BEEN IGNORED. TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR YOU TO GET TO KNOW MOM, YEST. WE FOUND OUT HER CANCER IS BACK.
PLEASE LET MOM SEE YOU ONE MORE TIME BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. YOU CAN BRING SOMEONE WITH YOU IF YOU WANT JUST PLEASE COME.


PLEASE CALL, JENNIFER SWITZER


I get a very weird vibe from this message, but if there is any chance of it being true and these being my actual blood relatives, I'd hate to miss this.
What I really really want is a blood test by an outside party to confirm whether or not I have a genetic tie to this woman. Her name is Gwen Presnel.
She now lives in Florida with her youngest daughter.

These aren't the only people who have contacted me via the internet to say they are my biological relatives but they are the most persistant. I have no way of knowing if they're right or not.

Anyone want to make a weekend road trip with me to meet this person? Maybe next week or the one after that?

Still suffering from a huge case of sleepiness.
At this point, I assume my body is trying to fight off some small invader.

I do not think I will do laundry tonight.

I think I need to buy more pants.

Was too tired and sleepy to go out. Went to bed early instead.

It's raining. My roof is leaking again. @#$%@!

I can never control what my subconscious is doing.
Last night I had an erotic dream about Tim Curry.

Also just found out Pam and Seth ran off and got married yesterday. Congratulations.
I guess all that wedding planning was just too much to deal with.

None of the webjournals by other people that I like to regularly check have been updated since last weekend.
So I might as well write in my own journal tonight.

The Twistin Tarantulas photos, though not glossy pages material, came out a lot better than I thought. I'm lucky sometimes like that. The gods of light and glass smile upon my efforts enough to keep me happy on a regular basis.

Looks like I may be going to Paris instead of Rome this year. Got the go-ahead at work for the days I asked for and Kevin is trying even as I type this to add me to his itinerary. Cool. It'll be my first trip out of the country with my hard-won passport. The Federal Government simply could not be convinced for years that my amended adoptee birth certificate was adequate proof of my U.S. Citizenship. That's always been completely outrageous to me. But now, I guess I've got no more reason to gripe except to say 'about time!'

Now, how should I pack for the trip? Bare minimum I suppose to make it through the airport security with the least amount of hassle or heartache. Gonna have to keep a good journal/sketchbook.

blogger.com

There's something large and possibly furry living in building between the ceiling and the roof above my bath & bedroom. I can hear it walking around and scratching itself at night. I tapped on the ceiling at the spot where the sound seemed to be coming from tonight. That silenced whatever it was for a minute until it forgot about my knocking and started scratching again.