Sunday Morning

MonsterMustDie finally made a good treasure find yesterday while we were out shopping in Greensboro. He found a George Nelson serving cart someone had just brought in. It needs a little restoration but he already knows someone he'd like to do the finishing work for him.

After that success, we swung by WholeFoods and picked up a few things to take with us when we had dinner with new friends at their house. Beautiful home, friendly pets, and brilliant children. I really like this couple and I hope we spend more time together.


It rained all day on Saturday, a cold mist, while we were out. It is forecast to be a bit on the cool side today. MonsterMustDie is now back to some of the interior projects in our house today, painting and changing fixtures in the mud room and main bathroom. I can hear him cursing from the other end of the house as I write this.
Ah, the sound of progress...

Spring Market Week

This is my first experience living in High Point during the Market. A lot of the empty, locked up store fronts, restaurants, etc. suddenly become alive. Most of them sport some sort of temporary signage - usually a giant banner or a portable sign of some sort - and are open for business. It amazes me that High Point thinks it is perfectly acceptable to exist only two weeks out of the entire year but this is exactly the case here. Showrooms are re-filled and become active all over downtown High Point, only to close down all of the storefront buildings immediately after the Market closes, staying empty and deserted until the next High Point Market.

For lack of anything else to do to make money here, I became an Uber drive last week. I only get 3 or four trips a day at best - yesterday, I had two side-by-side for people going out to eat - and I believe I will not see any more of the Uber ride business after this week. Today is the last official day of the High Point Market. My big paycheck for Market Week is $37.09, most of it going to gas.

This city and state are not working out for me. I will hang in here a while longer, now that I have gone through the work of moving all of my legal registrations here (taxes, car registration and drivers license, insurance, etc.) but I am miserable, broke, friendless and lacking even in the ability to have a space of my own at home to do things freely. I hate my fucking so-called life now.

Still the same

Today's positive notes: 

1. Everyone got home safe and sound in Connecticut after their 10-hour drive home on Monday. 

2. I went to a very enjoyable meeting this evening at The Forge in Greensboro for the Art + Tech group. The discussion this week was about "projection bombing" projector street art. Most of the tech and 3D rendering aspects of the discussion are far over my head but I still found the meetup very encouraging and inspirational. Good group of people, these creative geeks. 

Mother's surgical procedure went well but my uncle sent me photos of her under anesthesia in the hospital with the words "You should be here." No one would expect that of my brother or sister-in-law, who live only half an hour from her. I know she wants me to come back to Georgia and live with her in the retirement community flat. I know I can not do that. 

I had a job interview on Monday for a possible position at a signage company that also does fabrication. I was more-or-less told that I could expect a call back on Tuesday morning if they decide to bring me in. It's late Wednesday night now and I never heard back from them. I sent out "available for work" messages to temp agencies and have only heard back from one this week, just a phone call to touch base and let me know I am not forgotten. 

MonsterMustDie is woebegone over his taxes and dwindling finances but there is nothing I can do about that either, since I have no work coming in. 

Easter weekend

We got the kitchen and bathroom sinks functioning just in time for the arrival of our weekend visitors from New Haven CT. Time ran out on putting up the mirrored cabinet in the main bathroom so everyone had to make do without checking their look on anything larger than the small shaving mirror in the shower. Other than that, we had a lovely visit with R&R, who were contemplating the possibilities for the future, including relocating themselves and looking for work. She is losing her job as an art professor at the university. Fortunately, he is still gainfully employed at a corporate job. She is facing another round of surgery in a couple of weeks. It seems like a never-ending series of fixes to her skeletal and circulatory systems and it is getting harder  to keep calm before each surgery, anticipating the recovery period of very limited movement. Still, it is so much better not to have to face each crisis alone. We made trips to Greensboro, where we checked out the local art space at Elsewhere, and Winston-Salem, where we had some a very nice dinner together at The Honey Pot. I wanted to go back to The Forge, a maker space, and some nearby artist studios but everyone ran out of time and energy.

While we were in Greensboro on Saturday, they also introduced us to a couple of friends, Lonny and Jennifer - a very nice couple with two amazing daughters. They spent Easter with them and the girls, decorating eggs and making Easter bonnets. The Easter Bunny even made a surprise visit to them while they were there. I saw lots of pics of crafting girls and adults in paper bunny ears. One sign this is a couple I'd like to know better: at one point, Lonny wondered aloud how to make black dyed eggs and his oldest daughter said "Like your soul?" I consider that a sign they are doing it right. R&R say they are two of the most well-adjusted and smart children they have met. I'm sure they are.

It is a 10-hour drive from Connecticut to North Carolina. I think MonsterMustDie found their willingness to travel very inspiring. He started to suggest driving 5 hours to Atlanta just for the Scott Antique Show and then, rather than staying overnight or visiting with anyone, turning around and driving 5 more hours home the same day. I told him that did not seem worth the effort at all to me. I am still sad that I had no time for any social activities other than a very impromptu lunch with Chaz & Sandra last time we were in Georgia. He is welcome to only drive down to the Scott show and back on his own if he wants to. He would certainly enjoying picking and treasure-hunting around friends of his who are also dealers of Mid-Century Modern antiques. Maybe he could even bring back some plants sold by Beech Hollow Farms, who have a booth outside the Scott show sometimes. It would just kill me to be "so close, too far" again.

Meanwhile, my mother has surgery tomorrow to install an implant for her dialysis treatment. It is a very routine procedure but things are always complicated by her diabetes, anemia, and age. Every time I talk with her, all she does is cry. She is in a very dark place these days and there is nothing I can do for her. Sadly, I think she would much rather pull me down into the pit with her instead of let me try to pull her out of it.

Sometimes you just have to call in a professional.

The pedestal sink in the main bathroom is up now and the faucet appears to be working with no leaks.

However, now we have a non-functioning kitchen sink. It started when we decided to replace the broken sprayer before we had guests from Connecticut here this coming weekend. I had the sprayer in my condo sink replaced a couple of times and it seemed like a very fast, simple, cheap thing to do. I wanted to ensure there were no crazy messes if either of our guests tried to use the malfunctioning sprayer. However, everything under the sink is so old, dilapidated, and cobbled together that I just ended up turning off the water supply to the sink until we can get a plumber in. We were able to schedule a visit on Thursday – one day before our guests arrive. Hopefully, this will go smooth and quick.

I have been feeling especially sad from having no work but perhaps, just this week while things are going on at the house, it is fortunate that I can be home to deal with any contractors who need to come in.