Packing for Chicago trip

MonsterMustDie is going on a business trip this week for NeoCon. Ellie cat finds his suitcase very cozy. 

Batten Down The Hatches

Perhaps the termites in the planter will be washed away by gulley-washer of a storm that is forecast to blow through here for the next 48 hours. MonsterMustDie dug out the area around the lost plant and we have only seen one or two isolated termites since then - and we have not lost any more plants.

Meanwhile, the weather service predicts that the next two days will contain heavy two days will be filled with severe thunder storms  that will not be past us until Thursday. This will be a test on the present condition of the roof over my condo. I am more concerned about the condo than I am with the house we are in now. My main concern here is that we will be without electrical power again if some trees come down. We have an overgrown sweet olive that hangs over the lines coming into the house and always looks like it will yank the cables off the house. Most of the trees in the neighborhood are in good condition but there are several dead and ivy-festooned trees behind us on land owned by Dekalb County. We'll just have to wait and see what happens with that.

Today is also MonsterMustDie's birthday. I gave him a book and Criterion DVD from his wish list. We didn't make any plans to go out because it is a big work week for him. Looking out over his domain, he had the idea that he'd like to do another Summer Solstice party at the house that focuses on art rather than music. I intend to leave the preparations to him this time around just to keep from arguing about it. I'd love to have another creative gathering but I know we will clash horribly if I start trying to organize what I believe we would need to do it right and disturb his minimalist ideals. We'll see how things go. Gives me anxiety just thinking about it.

Termites + Garden.

John came home from work today and was inspecting and weeding his planter in the back yard while I watched through the kitchen window. He pulled something out of the box and started inspecting it carefully and knocking dirt off the bottom and looking more closely at it. I came outside to see what was going on. “What kind of bug is this?” he said, handing me the rootless stem “It looks like white ants.” I looked at the shape of the insect coming out of the hollow of the stem. “Termites” I said. There was no doubt in my mind from the unique shape of the creature. He doubted my prognosis, believing termites only eat dead wood. I pointed out that termites are colony insects and there will me many more where those came from if he looked. Then he dug into the soil and found plenty of termites underground.

I've never seen this before in a garden. Just weird if he did not place it over a tree trunk or roots from a fallen tree. Ants would be a lot easier to deal with because they usually leave plants alone, just going after the insects, like aphids, around them. You can usually work around ants. But termites? I think his garden is a goner this year.

I am wondering what, if anything, he can do to save the rest of his work in the planter? They do not seem to be in the wood of the frame as far as we can tell. Don't know where they came from unless they were somehow already the cabbage seedlings he bought.

Here comes the rain.

Roofs are important. They are not an area to be cheap on.

I hope my condo stays dry this time. The roof is leaking again after it was supposedly fixed and after hundreds of dollars were spent making repairs and painting the inside. The condo owners association continues to argue over the cost of a new roof - an argument that has gone on for decades.

When I first moved in year ago, all or most of my neighbors were convinced that, any day now, someone would make an incredible offer on the property and it would sell to make room for a high-rise. I'm sure that is why my father advised me to buy a condo rather than rent an apartment. He also warned me for years to NEVER sell my place without his approval or a go-ahead from my brother, both of them being CPAs and business men. That day never came but there are still too many investor owners who have no interest in the maintenance of the building or living there. Times like this, I would love to sell the place and free myself from constant battles like this one where I feel like no one listens to me or cares. I advise all of my friends to NEVER BUY A CONDOMINIUM. There are still some people who do, despite my advice, and every one of them has regretted their decision. When you mix residents with investors, there is a no-win situation. My hands are tied legally from doing anything with the outside maintenance and repairs on the building that I share with others.


On a more positive note, the garden will probably jump into action after a good rain. I have small tomato and pepper seedlings that I plan to pop into the ground after the storms this week have passed.

What I learned today

I had never heard of a "fat quarter" before today. It is a term used by people selling fabric that refers to a half yard of half the width of the fabric. It's a size used a lot by crafters and quilters but not much in actual sewing of garments or larger things. 

feeling overwhelmed

I feel like I am being stalked by Miguel Rosario at Colorado Technical University. He says I am enrolled in classes now but I have not even had transcripts sent to them or found any grants or loans to pay for furthering my education yet. I want to stop this dialog and maybe pick it up later, when I have things spread out in front of me that explain how I am supposed to afford this and how well this will enable me to find work afterwards. 

For all I know, I am also enrolled at Mercer and Westwood now. Maybe Full Sail and University of Phoenix as well. 

I made the mistake of saying I was interested in going back to college and, although I would strongly prefer an on-campus experience, I was open to online schools. 

More than anything, I just want a job and every employer seems to require a current (new) Bachelors or Masters degree - in a "related" field (which mostly appears to be programing or IT).
Every online University wants me to have started classes today or some time this week or month. Mr. Rosario is demanding to know why I have not logged into the College and started my classes. This makes me want to run away screaming from the entire idea of talking to anyone about college classes anywhere. I made $16000 last year and the cheapest degree program is $50000.00+ but everyone's like "No problem. Just start this degree program and we'll sort it out later. 

What I learned today

Years ago, one of the best bits of advice I heard from one friend to another:
Want to know how to be a good lover? Make the other person feel like they're a Great lover.

Here I am

Waiting for variable data files to come in so someone can show me where they go.

What I learned today.

1. Never tell a cab driver where you're going until you are seated with the door closed.

2. Never pay a cab drive until you have your bag and your luggage out of the trunk.

It's a freelance life

Cleaning out old emails, I found several from Graphcom when I was interviewing with them. They were asking me to drop everything I was working on at the time immediately but I insisted on at least giving full notice with my freelance and long-term (part-time) temp gigs and providing any assistance I could in finding my replacement before leaving. After I came in there, Ken Carter, the vice president, kept assuring me that they were thrilled to have me on their team and what a great full time job this would be with full benefits.

I had a bad feeling when I started work in a graphics department that was completely new employees with the exception of one older man, who had some sort of undisclosed health issue, that was responsible for training everyone in every department. No one had more than one or two weeks more time with Graphic Industries (the parent company) than I did. No one knew exactly what procedures were supposed to be or who was responsible for what. Even the pressmen were fairly new to the company. One had just left and another would probably soon be replaced because, as Ken said, he made too many mistakes. There was a new girl training on the Indigo printer, who started the same time I did that, who always had very unfortunate wardrobe choices. They kept trying to get her to wear the official Indigo blue lab coat and she kept working in t-shirts an leggings, which was not a good work outfit for anyone (leggings are NOT pants - I don't care what you see at Walmart) especially an especially fleshy girl. Even one of the people who interviewed me was no longer with the company.

I'd been there for a while, getting to know the ever-changing cast of characters there. I got a phone call at home at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night, before the Monday morning my full employee benefits be in effect, Ken phoned me to tell me not to come in on Monday. He said it would be awkward since they had hired someone else for my position. No reasons were given why. I still have my key card somewhere, which I'm told is immediately de-activated. They still have my Pantone mug and a drawer of snacks and a gray cardigan sweater. I never cared much for the sweater anyway but I needed it for the cold office. I do, however, miss the Pantone mug.

The next week, I saw a want ad for the Indigo operator position at Graphcom, which was open for a new hire. They are constantly re-stocking employees in all areas. What I don't get is this - Why couldn't they just hire me as a subcontractor or temp? That would have been far less damaging than having me drop absolutely everything else in my professional life, including independent health insurance, to work for them while they needed me. Instead, everyone is a short-term "full-time employee" with that corporation. Really, being officially an independent contractor is far easier for anyone working for them. I am sure there is some business-savy reason for them to be that way and it is a formula Graphic Industries has worked out, with no consideration for the human factor.

Spinning round and round

Spinning round in circles today trying to schedule repairs on the leaking roof, looking for or scheduling work. Nothing set in ink all day. 

We waited through two good rainy spells to make sure my condo was staying dry before we made not one but two repairs to the ceiling before I found a new tenant for my former home. She moved in this month and now, at the first two-day rain we get, the water poured into my condo in the space  between the kitchen and the breakfast nook, destroying all the repairs that were made and leaving me scrambling all weekend to get some action from the condominium association to repair the roof. There was a raging silence from everyone until today. I had to phone the building manager yesterday until I got him on the phone to let me know he had contacted the roofing company, Hudson Specialty Group, to repair the building. Meanwhile Caroline, who is living in my unit now, is desperately calling and emailing me to let me know the ceiling is peeling away and the leak is getting worse. 

With all this going on, I was originally planning to work for Lone Wolf today but none of that happened. I've been able to slide all of those plans to a half day on Friday at a new workspace. I am feeling hopeful about the new location for those meetings. I haven't worked for anyone or on anything for weeks now. 

Wednesday, I have another one-day job that might also have to be broken apart or lost if I have to meet the roofer at the condo. If I can have a tight time to show up to show them the damage during a lunch break or if Caroline can meet them in the early morning, things will work out much better for me. 

Now, it is well past 6 p.m. The work day has ended for everyone, and all I can do is carry with my original work plans until I hear differently from anyone else. Emails have been written. Phone calls have been made. Texts have been sent to those not answering their phones or emails. 

New shoes

Got my new "office shoes" in the mail. The old shoes were falling apart when I tried to wear them last week for something that a bit of heel would have helped. They had dried out and started disassembling themselves. One sole was coming loose and the heel of the other shoe had already fallen off. Looks like they were joined together with glue. Anyway, since they were at least ten years old (probably more like 15 - 20 year old shoes) I decided it was time for a new pair of professional-looking basic black shoes. 

When I put them on, I had that new-shoe thrill once I decided they fit well and were keepers. 

The Gift

From the cousins. It is a kind present from Southern Baptists who have never tasted wine. Smells like cheap cologne and has a tangy sweet flavor kinda like country wine.

It's a Freelance Life

This is how it is for everyone now, no matter what they do or want to do for a living.