Looking out the kitchen window

I don't see what they have to mow other than a few wild onions. That,  and they are tearing branches off of small trees instead of cutting or pruning.

another whirlwind tour

We returned home yesterday around 6:30 pm from a weekend trip to the old neighborhood, with very little notice ahead of time for planning any schedule of visits and activites. We spent the weekend staying in the old neighborhood with John & Cindi again, who are excellent hosts every time we are able to come for a visit. I had two very good dinners with them that included things I can not get at home - good Vietnamese food and Indian food. I had been craving curry this week so I was happy to go to one of our favorite Indian restaurants on Saturday night.  Sunday, we were able to have an impromptu lunch meetup with Chaz and Sandra & her mother at So Ba in EAV. I would really love to be there on a late night some time when it metamorphs into the Octopus Bar, an after-hours hangout for bar & restaurant industry employees. Kinda reminds me of how everyone would meetup at Back Street on late nights after the clubs and restaurants closed years ago.

We needed to accomplish two things on the trip: 

1. Deliver a very large piece of hard-to-ship furniture to the Atlanta showroom from his company facility in North Carolina (the main reason for the trip).

2. Visit my mother, who is in declining health.

The only thing we accomplished was the delivery. I kept the rest of our time in the city on hold, trying to schedule a visit with my mother, but she would not see me. She has no energy to do anything for herself because of a combination of kidney disease, diabetes, and anemia. She refuses to let anyone visit her at home because it is a wreck, including anyone in the family (again) who might want to help clean and maintain her home because she is so ashamed of it. The anemia leaves her so weak she doesn't want to get out of bed. So she refused to let me come to see her. After waiting all weekend to visit her and being otherwise without a car of my own (I drove MonsterMustDie's car down to meet him at  the U-Haul lot), I spent most of the weekend just hanging out and waiting on everyone else to do something.

MonsterMustDie was too exhausted to do anything after loading, driving and unloading the truck. There was one birthday party involving a group of friends I have not seen in a very long time that I wanted to join in but I could not make that happen. Everything else would have needed more long-range planning with people who have active lives in circles I am no longer a part of. And then, I have no real budget for entertainment, anyway.

I never felt so much like a ghost.

Cause for concern

... so I was talking to John tonight on the phone at the airport in Atlanta, waiting for his 10pm flight to Greensboro, and it is obvious that he is quite drunk.

I said I wanted to pick him up at the airport but he insisted he would be fine to drive home when he arrives. 

Update: Yeah. He made it home okay without having to phone me. Quite late. 

Locked doors lead to broken windows.

We had an impromptu dinner with Mr. Pitbullpotpie and a business associate last night. The forecast was for ice from the sky but we decided to make the rendevous in Greensboro anyway and I am very happy that we did. The visit and dinner at US Sushi was good and the business associate we met was a very nice guy, who we would enjoy seeing again. MonsterMustDie had dumplings and beef while I shared a sushi boat with our companions. When we returned home, he parked his car on the street just in case the driveway was iced over in the morning.

As it turned out, while there were flurries as we drove north last night, nothing else fell and there was just a light frosting on things this morning. While MonsterMustDie was getting ready for work, I heard the bell at the back door. Our neighbor across the street had walked up to let us know his car had been vandalized and broken into overnight. She had heard something in the night, around 12:30 a.m. and saw what happened. A couple of guys in a two-tone, dropped down Toyota Celica that had been checking out houses nearby and took advantage of his car parked on the street. The Drivers side window was smashed but nothing had been taken from the car. The change that was still sitting in the holder between the seats and his Ray-Ban sunglasses were untouched. There was nothing else of any value kept in the car.

So, this morning was spent waiting for Police officer and a crime scene investigator to come buy and make a report, then driving to work a few hours before taking the car into a dealership to replace the glass and make any small repairs that were necessary. This also means this will likely be a very long work day for him to catch up on all the time he missed this morning.

Someone, please give me work or send me pocket cash

I need money now for this:

 - Groceries when I want to do something creative in the kitchen on empty days.
 - Continuing my online education.
 - Taking some local studio classes to feed my head and heart.
 - Automobile Insurance policy payments. 
 - New prescription glasses.


I need money in the near future for this: 
 - Dental hygiene appointment and x-rays (maintenance). 
 - New MacBook Pro.
 - Software updates (another part of my ongoing education). 

If I had a job, I would have money. While I would like to work in my field (Graphic Design) or something related to it, I would  be happy to take a retail, general office, or customer service job. I would not have to make that much money - I would work at nearly any rate if it was close enough to home not to cost too much in wear on my car, fuel, or hours of my life lost in travel.

PayPal donations are perfectly acceptable.

This is not to say I am at all ungrateful for what I have - a place to live, online access, a car that works, my health, etc. but I need to do so much more. This would be a huge relief for MonsterMustDie, also, if I could contribute to the household or at least be more independent.

Home improvement

Pizza for dinner and a new toilet paper holder. 

MonsterMustDie is quite proud of his new Arne Jacobsen chrome toilet paper holder and we tried Lubrano's Pizza delivery for the first time tonight. 

 

They managed to fill the entire box with a square thick crusted pizza. 

 

Behold the new mid-century designer tp holder.