It's good to keep things that still work.

MonsterMustDie is awake now and relaxing on the couch downstairs, watching movies. We brought the old DVD player up from downstairs and are using it again. I'll bet he's glad now I would not throw it out when he bought the new Blu-ray DVD/CD player. Next: maybe we'll bring up the old 5-CD music player from downstairs too.

quiet recovery

bored. bored. bored.
Trying to be quiet at home while waiting until time to give the old Dutch man a pain pill.

Hungry, too. I don't want to cook and fill the house with food smells while someone is here that is not supposed to have have solid food for a couple of days. Can someone please bring me sushi or pizza?

I took MonsterMustDie in this morning for what turned out to be the extraction of two teeth. The wisdom tooth he had put off dealing with for so long had ruined the tooth next to it as well. The oral surgeon told me that he might not miss the missing molar and so he might not need to ever worry about replacing it. The wisdom tooth was sideways and set deep into the bone of the jaw but I was told the surgery went quite well.

The Blu Ray DVD CD player is Borked

Just got the doubly expensive DVD/CD player back from the repair service in FL and guess what: it does not work. I would greatly appreciate any geeks out there who would volunteer to come to Rancho de WereMonster to determine if this is a case of operator error on our part. I'm not even going to tell you how much we paid for the device and the repair. There would certainly be a free dinner for any one who can help.

Why didn't we just buy a new DVD player? We determined that the repair cost less than a new player of the same quality and would not throw more stuff into a landfill somewhere. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, we can only hope that the authorized repair center will stand by their work and take the player back again and/or refund the money spend to repair it.

What this means in the long run: No more movie nights for a long time. Maybe this will be incentive to curtail our spending on DVDs for a while too.

Brunch with Friends

Showing off my souvenir from last night's Krewe party.

On board with the Krewe again

Last night was the grand Grateful Gluttons Krewe member induction, potluck, and Murder Game party. I call it a great success. I was at Chez Ayer till 1:11 a.m. feeling the love of friends and inspiration of being around many vital creative people. Captain Chantelle has announced this year's theme and now things are on "Go!" until Halloween.

nice try

I went to see a blues band at a bar in Roswell last night. The bar was so many almost-things and nothing. They did have a nice, small, stage centered at the back of the room. They had a good array of lights but only a couple were on and no one was running them. They had a partial PA. The band was unpaid, except for tip/donation money collected at the door by the son of one of the musicians. (Thanks for helping your dad out!) Even sadder, when the singer onstage mentioned his soft drink was empty, no one moved to refill his cup. I don't think I've ever seen so much apathy from a bar staff. He finally asked a friend of his in the audience to fetch him another drink. This was on a Friday night.

They called themselves a pub but only served typical nasty fried prepackaged foods you might see in dive bars. Several of the sparse people there looked at the menu - myself included - with the hopes of finding something to eat and ordered nothing. It was that bad. Also, as a graphic designer, I have to say it was one of the ugliest menus I've ever seen, probably produced at a next-door copy center. Bad photos of boring food that would have sold much better if you did not see what you might get. Poor layout and bad typesetting on a single thinly laminated sheet. It would have been okay for an IHOP or WaffleHouse but not a Pub, like the name stated, in a middle-class suburb.

Seems they also wanted to be a Sports Bar as well, from the big screen behind the stage that was never entirely off. The large No Signal message onscreen while the musicians played. The football game played between sets.

Things were going badly for the home team.

Chicken advocate forced to give up fowl | ajc.com

Chicken advocate forced to give up fowl | ajc.com

Really, Cobb County! What's wrong with a few yard birds?

some progress today

I have another interview on Thursday in Conyers. It's another friend of a friend reference. The last lead did not amount to much - at least not yet.

MonsterMustDie had an appointment for a consultation with an oral surgeon this morning. Pain will make someone take a lot more interest in maintaining their health. I am looking forward to seeing his latest health issues dealt with.

I sent out the invitations this morning to one of the two annual parties we host here at Rancho de WereMonster. I am probably going to post the other one this week as well even though it is far in advance, just so the day is not lost to another scheduling conflict. Then I can just let other seasonal social events fall where they will without stressing over things too much.

Another large tree branch fell into our back yard this afternoon. I heard the crack and looked out the back window to see it drop. Now we need someone with a chainsaw to remove it for us.

The Toothache

My housemate, who should know better (since his stroke) to put off seeing a doctor, has his toothache back this morning.

This is an ongoing problem he has put off for months. He knows he needs an extraction but he hasn't been in any hurry to have it done because: 1. He actually has several things lined up that he has put off too long while he did not have dental insurance for years like the root canal he just went through. 2. He does not seem to fully realize how much worse things can get when dental work is put off (like taking one bad tooth ruining the teeth on either side of it). 3. Although he has some money in the bank and (better still) a credit card, he thinks the insurance deductible is too high.

This makes me furious because: 1. I worry about how far he takes his health issues every time. 2. I am the one with the burden of caring for him WHEN he puts it off too long.

Driving, Searching

Interesting day on Thursday. Fortunately, their business is close to home. Went to the 9:00 AM job interview, finally, and nothing was ready for me when I got there. Everyone seemed too frantic at the office to deal with setting things up, so I took a few files home to work on, with the intention of bringing some samples back on Friday. Then, I headed out to lunch with Clark and Beth in Snellville. We had a few hours of very good conversation at their home filled with music, art, and a long-haired daschund named Joey - for Joey Ramone.

It was time to go when I got a desperate phone call from one of my neighbors. Her mother, who was house and baby sitting, had locked herself outside the house with their toddler. Their only extra key was at Rancho de Weremonster and the locksmith said it would be at least 2.5 hours before he could get to their place to let her mother in. So, for reasons of time and money, I needed to get the key to her. Problem was, the key was actually not at the house but in MonsterMustDie's car and he was busy with a corporate function all day and into the evening, so I had to drive downtown first to fetch the house key ASAP before coming home to give it to her mother. Drove down. Met MMD on the sidewalk outside and got the key. Drove home. Got mother and baby inside the house.

Then I discovered I had left my camera in Snellville.

Drove back to Beth and Clark's house to retrieve my camera. Finally got home again just before 9PM. Phoned my connection at the company I'd been at in the morning and we both agreed it would be better to try to get together Monday some time.

at tense lull

Some days, I think my brain is turning to mush.

The interview this afternoon has been put off by the client until tomorrow morning so I can sleep on that all night now. I hope to spend tomorrow afternoon having lunch with friends in Snellville - an hour away from the location of the interview. My housemate will be going out to dinner with coworkers and visiting business associates, so I will have the entire day and evening to myself.

The lunch and interview will be tight but I have been assured the interview will not take long at all. I think there is just enough gap in time between everything I want to do. I have been dying for company and activity this week.

Friday night is the Castleberry Hill Art Stroll, which includes an art opening for Anne Cox and an iron pour at the Elliott Street Pub. It would be nice to get a scratch mold to pour if I have time between now and then.

cooling

After the rain yesterday, temperatures are a lot cooler today. Clouds are hanging overhead but it has stayed dry here all day. Everything feels cleaner, fresher, healthier outdoors.

The thumb is nearly healed now. I'm keeping a bandage on it and I am still on antibiotics but it just looks like it was badly blistered now from the dead skin that's left.

It was a sadly quiet holiday weekend for me. It was good to see Dr. Palmer and hangout with him for a while on Saturday. We did lunch at Six Feet Under, where he could enjoy seafood and sweet iced tea - two things in short supply in Wisconsin. I hope H. can make it to Atlanta with him next time he might travel here. We talked about MCP and politics, the economy, and how everyone's methods of dance are changing as they get older. Better to go for a few things of good quality rather than diving into (often painful) excess.

This first tease of Autumn has me looking forward to holiday festivals, better clothing and the joy of cooking when it is cool again.

Try to remain calm.

In good news, a friend emailed me today and I have an interview on Wednesday for some part time or freelance work at his company.
While I certainly appreciate his thinking of me for the work, I now start to have anxiety attacks at the thought of interviewing. Seems like when I get a job offer, that's my first reaction. I'm trying to remain calm. The interview is late in the day so I have all of tomorrow to worry about it.

anxious spirits

I'm feeling an inexplicable amount of stress this evening. Tomorrow should be a fun, busy day but I am very anxious about biting off more than I can chew or stepping into things that are not my forte, as if I have no right to do so. Can't quite put my finger on why I feel this way.

Also feeling like I can't do anything without f**king up. The housemate is not helping things, as he is on a heightened state of anxiety himself both from work and from someone on ebay who appears to be trying to scam him out of merchandise and money. He does not realize how irritating his behavior is tonight. So, we're like fire and gasoline tonight.

This would be a good time to drink if it weren't for the medications I'm on.

Must chill out tonight.

Speaking of medications, the thumb looks better today. Still hurts and is a bit discolored and swollen, but not so much now. I might just be on the mend.