Happy F**king New Year

I bought flowers that I have arranged in a large Tiki mug on the living room table. Before the move, I had two nice glass vases that friends had gifted me at different times years ago but the box those should be packed in is MIA, probably gone forever like so many casualties of the relocation. Still, the Tiki vase looks rather festive IMHO. The battery charger for my camera is still missing as well. I suppose I am, temporarily, no longer a photographer. I have a non-working camera, no tripod, and no place to set up for a photo. It is the creeping entropy I live in.

At least, there are flowers on the table now.

Yesterday, MonsterMustDie killed an electrical outlet in the livingroom he was trying to replace with a better looking fixture. One more thing not working in the house. Fortunately, there are other outlets nearby and the livingroom is not an area we will spend any time in anyway. 

My mother is still in the hospital. She had surgery to have the port inserted for dialysis because her kidneys are functioning at only 7 percent. She also now has a bladder infection that they are treating with antibiotics. She has had a lot more visitors in the hospital and that has raised her spirits considerably. Yesterday, my youngest uncle and his wife & daughter came to visit. Then Charlotte, who she used to work with at the courthouse, came by for a visit so she has not been lonely.

living in the shambles

Just watching MonsterMustDie continue to destroy his house. Today, he broke a window in the mud room, which is also the laundry room in back of the house. Now, I can look forward to trying to clean clothes in freezing temperatures all winter. He says he is not going to pay someone to replace the window and he won't board it up because it will look awful.

We still do not have a full functioning bathroom in the house. We did have one bathroom with a functioning bath and sink and electrical outlets until he decided to pull out the old sink and mirrored cabinet. Then, while that wall had to have new sheetrock installed, he had the electrical outlets moved but not installed completely. There is also no door now on that bathroom after he took it off.

I spoke to my mother again after she was checked into her room at Kennestone hospital. She said she was feeling better. They are giving her some very heavy blood thinners for the clots that were caused by the treatment she had for anemia. She is taking Coumadin orally and Heparin in the drip. She doesn't want anyone to see her or try do do anything with her house while she's is in the hospital but my cousin's son and grandson spent most of the day with her in her room. The toddler ate part of my mother's hospital dinner and they both stayed there until he got too bored and fussy to keep in the room.

post xmas update

We had a good holiday with family and friends on a very brief 2-day trip to Atlanta. At my brother's house for Christmas dinner, my mother looked well and happy. My nephew and his girlfriend were both there. My niece was there cracking jokes and making up odd holiday songs, while her fiancé is in New York visiting family.

We had a great dinner at Babette's Cafe with Sandy, Chaz, and friends to celebrate her birthday on Friday.

Saturday, we drove back home. The highlight of the trip was an unexpected trip to a mall where everything was on sale now and MonsterMustDie found a new black suit to wear at my niece's wedding and I found some fun clothes to wear for winter events, if any exist for me.

Sunday, MonsterMustDie's friend Mr. Smith came by for a visit and stayed overnight. That was a good opportunity to pick his brain for ideas on how to set up the living room. I had hoped we could have used him to help MonsterMustDie re-hang the bathroom door but that never happened. The guys were too busy drinking beer and talking about mid-century designers and the antiques market. However, we at least have the guest-bedroom furniture set up now.

Today,

I just got off the phone with my mother. She phoned to let me know she is going into the hospital for several days to deal with blood clots in her legs. Just when she looked so well at my brother's house on Christmas day because her blood sugar and anemia were under control, now this has come up. My uncle is taking her to kennel her two West Highland terriers and then on to Kennestone. She is too proud to let anyone close to her help with things like picking up odds and ends at her house to bring to her or taking care of the dogs. I really wish I could be there to clean her house while she is out of it. We have such a difficult relationship, I can't be helpful while she is there but without her there I could take care of some of the nastiness ... and the people nearby who she could trust the most to take care of things for her are the last people she wants to see her home so she won't let them do a thing *sigh*. 

zippers and mirrors

Yesterday, I finally tried on the black dress I got for my neice's wedding in February. I had not tried it on yet because I was waiting to have a mirror up to try it on in front of but now I am running out of time to make any returns or exchanges and it is obvious I am not getting a mirror here. Other than having a sticky zipper in back, the dress fits perfectly. As long as that zipper works, I have something nice to wear under a long coat. Now, to decide on what shoes I can wear with it. It is a midlength dress, so it will not be too warm and, with a classic shape, it will not look good with high boots that might keep my legs warmer. Dressing fancy is always a challenge.

Yesterday was the winter solstice. MonsterMustDie spent most of it working in the back yard, planting ferns from his mother's house and spreading mulch and breaking down a few more boxes to haul off to a dumpster. He sanded the ceiling of the living room in the afternoon and found more cracks and dents to plaster and leave to dry. I was expecting to finish painting the living room but ended up doing nothing. Spent most of the day pacing around the house or listening to BBC in the office while web-surfing. I could not find anything to be motivated about. No need to cook because there are plenty of leftovers from Saturday that need to be eaten now. There are cookies from a neighbor and sent by mail from a friend in Atlanta, so no need to bake anything.

A neighbor came by and brought a plate of home-made Christmas cookies that accompanied an invitation to a neighborhood get-together on New Year's Day. I RSVP'd yes immediately and was looking forward to having an opportunity to meet someone - anyone - in this place. I don't know any of our neighbors and this gave me something to look forward to here. Last night, knowing about my plans to meet the neighbors, MonsterMustDie phoned friends in Alabama who have recently purchased an apartment in Asheville, and made New Year's Eve plans with them in Asheville. He is not saying if this includes spending New Year's Day and night in Asheville (probably, but he's not saying) so I will have to cancel my RSVP to meet the neighbors.

Hung over

Thursday morning, there was an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for MonsterMustDie's employer that was attended by the Governor, Mayor, and several city council members. I came with me camera and took a few casual photos to post and share. That evening after work, we went out to eat with some of MonsterMustDie's coworkers and a business associate at the restaurant in the J.H. Adams Inn. This was the first good meal I’ve had in High Point since we've been there. The building is on the historic register for the city, having been originally a residence for the wealthiest man in the city and later serving as a funeral home for decades before being converted into a hotel. It is cozy and very traditional but as a whole very nice. I would certainly recommend it to any visitors we might have in the future who would want more private accomdations than Casa WereMonster.

Yesterday, my mood hit a new low here due entirely to inactivity and financial worries. The high point of the day was waiting on and recieving delivery of the new sofa for the still-unfinished living room. The rest of the day was empty.
Although I am fortunate to have my residential needs covered, I  still worry about things like keeping an ISO, gas in my car, and insurance - among some things. I also still don't know anyone here except MonsterMustDie and some of his coworkers. There is nothing for me to do in this house most of the day while we are still living out of boxes. Otherwise I could at least pacify myself with creative activities.  

I need to find a job close to home that gets me out of the house and put some cash in my pockets.

Heading into Winter

All other creatures in Casa WereMonster are asleep while I am drinking red wine and reading  “The Old Magic Of Christmas” by Linda Raedisch. 

Couldn't call it unexpected

Of course after the events of Friday, today  is my last day on assignment at this company.  I have to say it's a relief.  I have not had any work here in graphic design or in prepress using Adobe CS. All I've done is layout and output plates and what they really need in this position is a pressman-mechanic who is  just a bit pc-savy.

Splash

I got to work this morning and the guy is spraying water from a loose hose all over the processor and nearby cubicles.  Some over spray hit me as I came through the door.

Then, to confirm this not a job I should be doing, he has to lift these gigantic roller units into the sink.

perhaps I am an ingrate

My first Friday at my new temp job and my first “Oh, Hell, No!” instance occurred. At the very beginning, when I was just interviewing, I told both this company and my placing temp agency that I am not a mechanic or big and strong enough (and far too desk-educated) to be a laborer. My first Friday, one of the guys there came up to show me how to do my new job - dismantling and cleaning the giant processors in the plate-maker. I have taken care of smaller processors and plate-makers 20 years ago for more pay than I am getting now but this is not part of my deal. He winces at my inability to align in one stroke the extra-long film containers that are beyond my wingspan. Then he tries to get me to dip my hands into the chemical tanks with no rubber gloves or tools - he told me to just wrap a shop rag around my fingers. I held up my hands, dangled my fingers and, as nicely as I could muster, told him I was not doing that without at least wearing rubber gloves and preferrably with an apron on as well. End of story.

We'll see what they expect of me and they'll hear what I expect from them on Monday.

empty

I really hate living like I am here, all alone, but at least I have a place to live and a temp job to occupy my days. I appreciate those things in my life. Now, I just wish they weren't the only things in my life.

Ghost Town

So, with nothing else to do here, I took the job I do not want that is a 35-minute commute away. We'll see how things work out. I have to be there by 8:00 a.m. and the first week will be just two days because I already told them I will be traveling on Wednesday for the holiday. At least, with a job I don't have any expectations of other than filling my time and maybe giving me a little pocket money, I don't feel bad at all at telling them how and when I will work. I am truly hoping I will be pleasantly surprised after I start work there. Meanwhile, I will try to look at other local options for at least keeping up a marketable skill set.

I am looking forward to spending time in Atlanta again next week. Wondering how much I can do while I am there.

The area we live in now is dead most of the year and is mostly a retiree community. There are two 2-week convention seasons in Spring and in Autumn. Between that, every business closes it's doors except the bars, which are rather unimaginative. There must be some hidden pearls here but I have not yet made it out enough to find them. That said, I know it means that I really need to work on making my own groove happen.

mirror mirror

With any luck, I will have a mirror to groom myself in front of by Thursday night and a bathroom sink again by Sunday evening. The job that is a 30-minute drive from the house, that I interviewed for and decided I had no interest, in will not take no for an answer and they want me to come in at least as a temporary employee this week. I still don't have my own house key.

Nothing is working out for me this month, so far.

Friends in Georgia have invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them and I look forward to the possibility of doing that in the old neighborhood with people I know and love.

There is no joy in my life this month.

I am tired of living without a single room that is functional here. I would at least like to have one complete bathroom and a real bed to sleep on. If I can't have a job to work outside of the house, at least I'd like to have a house that didn't feel like a prison.

I do not want to be a joy-killer to someone who is living their dream of home ownership for the first time but he is making bad decisions. Rather than concentrate on having a functional home first and then addressing surface and aesthetic issues later, he has decided to immediately start remaking every room at once and doing all of the work himself. This means there is not a single room here that is functional.

One bathroom now has a chunk out of the tub from replacing the tile and there are no plans to replace the tub - he just intends to live with it. In that same bathroom, there is no sink now because he took out the pedestal sink that was in it and does not have one that will fit the uneven walls to go in now. And there is a tiny and constant leak of water that slowly rises out of the detached pipes were the sink was.

The other bathroom has no hot water and a rusted, nasty medicine cabinet.

The only bed is an inflatable one. It is a very nice inflatable bed that my mother gave us a couple of years ago, because we did not have a guest room and I wanted something other than the floor to accommodate overnight company. It was okay for a few nights but now I am waking up with weird bruises. I assume that is because the air mattress is so hard.

The bedroom closet had a set of racks and shelves in it that he dismantled because it looked cheap to him. There are now shelves in the empty little room that was the bedroom closet now so the only thing in there is the cat's litterbox.

I am still living out of boxes for most things. There is no TV. Thankfully, there is WiFi so it's not all bad. My office, with the exception of my computer, is still in boxes. Somehow, my file cabinet was upturned in shipping and unloaded inches from the closet door. This means 1. I will need a handtruck and help to move the file cabinet enough to open the drawers to access all my folders, etc. 2. when I did manage to open the top drawer just a couple of inches, I could see paper was everwhere. I will have to empty both drawers and reorganize every scrap of paper in the cabinet when I can get inside of it.

I no longer have a food processor, blender, or slow-cooker.

The backyard is full of discarded moving boxes that I am still cutting down and putting in cans as they fit, week by week. We have three bins for city pickups: one to hold all household trash for the week,  one for recycling that they pick up every two weeks, and one for yard trash. They prefer leaves to be put in clear plastic bags in this city - not paper. I see no logic in this. I think everything goes on the same truck and ultimately into the same landfill regardless of what it is. If it does not fit in one bin, it does not get picked up. I am filling the bins as much as possible for each pickup until we can hire a service to pick up the large stuff that will need to be hauled off by professionals.

The rest of the house is in need of painting before any of the shelving and furniture can be set up in a useful manner. Every wall is covered with holes, putty, and primer.  Nearly every electrical socket is dangling out of the wall.

The back sunroom/porch is a dumping ground of tools and parts.

New Digs

The new digs are still a dusty shambles but I am slowly just going ahead and unloading boxes while just wiping things down with a damp cloth. As much as we tried to get rid of before the move, it seems as though the household possessions have doubled in size while the amount of space we have in a house has shrunk.

The cat is having trouble adjusting too but she's on the mend. After not eating, drinking, or pooping or coming out from under the covers on the bed for the first 36 hours in the new house, Ellie appears to be back to normal. She is up to her old tricks and appetite. 

My beautiful hair color has started to fade already because of the cheap shampoo I've had to use until I can find my color-safe shampoo. There are two large bottles of it somewhere in the massive maze of boxes and bags here. I am also doing a bit of Amazon shopping for things that I suspect were left behind, as I find I need them. Probably gonna go broke on Amazon but its so darned convenient and, with John's Amazon Prime sharing, most of it has free shipping.

I did not know we had an active phone land line into the house until I started getting political robot calls. I am kinda glad to be out of touch with the news and media a bit for now, at least until all is said and done with the elections. I'd rather not be sucked into the maelstrom of rage and propaganda on television and radio this week.