Coffeebration

It is a good thing that I did not show up at work today with sombrero’s in celebration of Cinco De Mayo. By the way, this is my favorite holiday in the world … just kidding, haha. One of my co-workers died this morning. It was really shocking and sad. Especially since I had just worked with him last night. We all stood around and drank a beer after the night was over … and Walt talked about how he was going to win the Powerball today and move to Fiji. He was like “I’ll call Al up and be like, well Al … sorry I’m not coming in to work today … I won the powerball and I’m moving to Fiji.” Well he was right about not coming to work today … but he sure didn’t win the Powerball and move to Fiji. Is Fiji really a place? I guess it doesn’t really matter. It is really ironic I guess, but isn’t everything? Its so sad too. Its all I can think about. One day someone is standing there talking about his future, the next he is dead from a massive heart-attack at the age of 39. Wow … its just so weird. I guess that is all I have to say. I feel really sad today. I can’t believe I’ll never hear his voice again. Noone that I knew really well has every unexpectedly died. I don’t know.

I broke a mirror today. Not like a little compact mirror, I mean a huge full-length mirror! Maybe its good luck if you break a big mirror. I haven’t had any bad luck so far, so we’ll see. Last night I got this crazy idea that I was going to trim my hair myself. I am sick of spending $20 for a hair-trimming that needs done once a month. I needed two mirrors so I could see the back of my head so I sat in front of my closet door mirror and I propped my other full length mirror against my computer chair. Cut Cut Cut. It went ok. I just trimmed it. My scissors weren’t very sharp though so it was kind of like I was just hacking off pieces of my hair. When I woke up this morning I wanted to check my email to see if the cigarette whores emailed me back. Another story: I purchased two cartons of cigarettes online for like $40 and they never came. I was emailing them to find out what the deal was. Anyways, out of habit I just sort of grabbed my computer chair, forgetting about the mirror. It went crash right on top of my computer tower and shards of glass flew everywhere. I went “aaaahhhh!!!” and I covered my eyes for about 30 seconds, sitting completely still, hoping that I had just imagined it. I didn’t imagine it so I just ignored it and proceeded to check my email. The cigarette whores did email me back and they said that my purchase was returned to them because of an error on their part and they would either resend them or refund my debit card. Also they said they would send me a free carton of cigarettes for my inconvenience. I chose to have the refund and the free carton. The cigarettes come from Russia and Todd bought some regular Marlboro Reds Russian style from a friend and he says they are fine. But he heard that the menthol ones aren’t very menthol-y, so I will try them out first. Damn Russians!! Hahahaha. So that was actually really cool news — free stuff! No bad mirror news. And in other news, it was beautiful today and I went out and got myself a hefty sunburn! Yay! Time to watch soap operas then go to work. Have a nice day!

Ok, I’m sorrrrry that I haven’t updated, but hey! — it is my journal, my website, and I have no binding contract to do anything with it! Sometimes I sit down here and I start writing, but there is sooo much I want to write. I have thousands of drafts saved … I just never finish them. I am usually ranting about something but when I go back and read it later I decide that I was just a little insane at that point. I guess I should just publish everything. I’m sure that everyone would be really thrilled to hear about how I hate the laundromat and think that there should be a limit on the amount of children allowed inside at once (or a limit on the amount of children that ghetto mama’s are actually allowed to conceive). How many times do you think I have complained about the same things over and over and over? I think there is only like 6 things I have to complain about: roommates, living situation, laundromat, how much riding the bus sucks, how much it sucks to live in the ghetto, and how much I hate hair.

In order to resolve the above situation, I am going to have to find new things to hate. Any suggestions?

Anyways, today’s topic is going to be all about what has been going on in the last month + some days since I have updated.

So … last time I updated was after a trip to FC for some good ol’ fun with the family and the cats. I don’t think anything else happened in March. Sorry. Let’s see …. Easter. Oh Easter was fun. My mom told my grandma that she was going to visit me on Easter at my apartment (of course a lie to get out of having to hang out with her mother on Easter). P.S. My mother is cruel. Anyways, so like a week before Easter my grandma calls and is like so where are you guys going on Easter? I’m like, huh … your house? My mom failed to call me and tell me the fake plan, so I kind of screwed it up. Oh well, her problem for lying. So on Easter I went to FC and I went out to eat with my parents and brother to this restuarant called 1844. The meal was over $100 for 4 of us, and there was only like 6 things to choose from on the menu. I got prime rib. I asked for it to be well-done. It was pink. I tried to pretend to enjoy it. It was kinda nasty. Afterwards I visited my grandma and she gave me some gifts.
Ok, now its the day after Easter and I’m back on the Big Blue boat (aka castle on Stanton Ave aka my house). Dude apparently is not paying bills. Our cable was shut off on Monday. Phone never stops ringing. Equitable Gas put a shut-off notice on our front door. They put one there every day. There was three of them on the door this morning. Yeah, so I don’t know what is up but I can’t live in a house with no cable and no gas! Luckily I still have internet and electricity. FYI, I don’t pay any bills here … my landlord is responsible for paying gas, electric, cable, internet, phone … etc. Oh God, I wish he would just quit paying the phone bill. The phone never stops ringing. Today I turned the volume off on the answering machine. I wish I could shut the ringer on the phone off too. Its driving me freaking nuts.
Anyways, as luck would have it my friend knew someone who needed someone to take over her lease. Same price, my own place, very cute and completely furnished! Even has a microwave! So … I’m moving … AGAIN!!! I talked to my landlord the other day and told him I was moving. I felt bad, but things around here aren’t normal (like they used to be) and I don’t want to find myself seriously needing a place in a few months. I could have stuck it out a while longer, but I really can’t pass up the deal on this apartment. If I wait I might not be able to find anything this cheap and nice.
So here are the stats on my new apartment (lets not jinx me … I haven’t signed the lease yet!) It is pretty much a done deal, I just have to wait for the girl to call me and go sign the lease. Anyways, like I said Land of Oaks, one bedroom, furnished, $400/mo, includes gas & electric. Sounds good to me.

PROS: Closer to more transportation, laundry across street, furnished, many stores in walking distance, lots of people around so I don’t have to fear my life if I go out at night, bars close by, two blocks from Wendy’s yay!, more privacy, cute, big, all mine!

CONS: Parking sucks, crowded area, basement apartment, no bathtub, will be subject to ambulance and police sirens, people upstairs apparently have loud parties occassionally.

That is all I can think of. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons. I’m sick of living in the ghetto. Highland Park is not the place for a white girl like me. Ooh I called myself a white girl. Well if its ok for black people to constantly say that they are black, then its ok for me to say I’m white!

Hey I think its time to watch TV on one of my 3 fuzzy channels. I have to hook up my makeshift clothes hanger antenna again because it fell down.

BYE!

Life is exciting. I need something to look forward to. It seems like everyone is making plans for something exciting. Some are getting married, some are going on vacation, and others are buying houses or visiting long lost friends. I’m looking forward to going grocery shopping tomorrow and buying a heat-sink fan somewhere. I’m looking forward to nicer weather and getting in better shape this spring. I’m boring.
Todd and I went to see 50 First Dates at the Waterfront on Friday. I really enjoyed it. Very funny! Go see it. I also went home to FC after work on Saturday to hang out. I visited with my family and my cats and then I visited my grandma to cheer her up. She’s sad because my uncle went to jail and she thinks she is a failure as a mother or something like that.
I also got suckered into fixing the damn computer again. This computer was actually my first computer that I bought for myself when I first went to college, but it ended up becoming my brothers computer and now it breaks a lot. This time was pretty bad though. The power-supply died. It got fixed, but then the hard-drive would only work if you layed the computer down on its side. I replaced the hard-drive but after more strange noises and an inspection by Todd I was told that the fan on the heat-sink is also broken. I think it just broke though because it wasn’t making that noise earlier today! I wanted to fix it for myself … just because I like the computer (we have a special bond) but my dad wants it for something. My brother already ordered a new snazzy computer, so I don’t know why he wants to deprive me of this awesome computer that wasn’t even considered top of the line in 1999 when I bought it with my hard earned money. But I also have my family’s old computer from 1998 (the HP Pavilion WalMart special). Its mine now.
I’m at a loss for anything else to say. Here are some pictures I took in FC this weekend. Enjoy.

Joe (my bro) and I posing happily in the pink kitchen.

Nine (my kitty) is very happy to be hanging out with me! He is just afraid of the camera (and my brother sucks at taking pictures).

This is my mother, in deep crossword puzzle concentration. She’d kill me if she knew I posted this pic … good thing you don’t know how to turn on the computer mom!

I got my hair chopped off today. Literally … chopped by an angry hair-stylist who kept stating that she needed to sharpen her scissors while fighting with a co-worker. Why do I always get the crazy hair-people!! Anyways … here is a picture of it. Whoo!

My dad told me that it is imperative that I find some type of medical insurance just in case I get run over by a bus. It’s not really funny, because it could happen. Not likely, but still possible. Anyways, I do think it is important to have some type of insurance just in case. I don’t have any life-threatening problems that I know of, but if I break my leg I could end up owing the hospital like thousands of dollars.
I think its really stupid that medical expenses are so high. Last year I had an anxiety attack and I called 911 around 5am. I seriously couldn’t breathe and I thought that I was having a heart attack. The ambulance service charged like $500 to drive 1.5 miles. Then I sat in a cubicle for about 2 hours and the doctors saw me for about 15 minutes at the most. There were no tests done, no blood taken, and no machines hooked up to me. I think the cost was still $300. So $800 for nothing. Luckily my health insurance covered all of it that time. Now that I have no health insurance I guess I’ll just suffocate and die next time I can’t breathe.
So my dad insisted that I apply for medical coverage through the county assistance program (aka welfare) so I applied. I applied online and never sent any of the stuff that I was supposed to send. Then I got a letter in the mail that said I had an appointment for an interview. OK. It was this morning at 9:00. Blah. I went. There were a lot of gross people and it really smelled there. I had to bring stupid stuff like pay-stubs, bills, bank-statements, a copy of my lease, and a rent-receipt. Well, yesterday I realized I had none of the above. I pay all of my bills online, my bank-statement is online, and I don’t have a lease. So I just printed all of my online statements, and asked Ron to write something for me. I came home from work last night and he left me this really nice letter about what a good tenant I was. Geez, made me blush a little, but I don’t think the welfare office was looking for a letter of recommendation! At least I know who to go to when I need one.
The welfare lady told me that I don’t qualify for medical coverage because I make too much money. Apparently I have to make less than $2500 in one quarter of a year. Seriously, I make no money at all. But the lady sure made it look like I was rich! However, I do qualify for like $50 a month in food-stamps. Well I didn’t even apply for food-stamps. I’m not going to starve, like I’m not that poor. She told me that my application was already processed and I already have a card so I might as well use it. It’s like they are trying to make people take stuff from them. I would think that they would try to discourage people from taking advantage of public welfare and go out and get a life. Oh well. Guess I will just go get some food with my food-stamps and maybe on my way home I’ll get hit by a BUS. Now wouldn’t that be my luck.

It has been a nice weekend and I am very happy for that. Unfortunately I spent most of that time at work. Really, its just in my head … that the day is over at 3:00. That is what time I am done with work. I walk outside, feel the fresh air, the sunshine beating down, and I feel happy. I walk home, walk into my house, and come into my bedroom. Its usually about 3:30 and I think to myself “well, the day is over.” In reality there is still a few hours of sunshine left that I could definitely take advantage of. I guess I just feel like a beautiful day is wasted if it doesn’t start by 1PM. Right now it is already 2PM but I’ve already been outside today. And its beautiful. I’m going to finish my grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup and head out to Highland Park. Later tonight Todd and I might go to Mt. Washington to watch the sunset. Speaking of … I need to find out what time the sun is going to do the setting. Well KDKA says the sun sets at 6:10PM, guess I was way off. I thought it was like 7:30. Well I must be dumb because I clearly remember it being dark around 6:45 last night. Oh well. Hope everyone has a nice day!
Oh yeah, and Happy Leap Day … see ya in 2008!!

Sometimes I feel like I live in a boarding house. Since I have moved into this house about 6 months ago I have acquired two new roommates and lost two. The good thing about it: I now have my own mailbox on the answering machine … I’m #2. I doubt I’ll ever make it to #1 on the mailbox because the owner is #1 and if he decides to move out he’ll probably take his answering machine with him.
I live with three guys and I thought it was going to be a pig-pen around here. To my surprise, this is the cleanest place I have ever lived. Surprise! Not all guys are pigs. I know that Todd keeps his place clean, but I thought he was just weird. So, back to the boarding house issue. See, here in the big blue house on Stanton Ave, roommates do not talk much to one-another. We are not a fun community/family here. Not that I mind, really. I like it that way.
I live in a four-bedroom house, with a kitchen, a living-room, a bathroom, and a huge-ass basement that scares me. I have three male roommates and sometimes they scare me too.

Roommate 1: 23 year old white male.
He is the owner of the house and is trying to make a living on Real Estate and construction.
Upside:He is tall, medium brown hair, quite good looking. He is extremely nice and he keeps the house well stocked with toilet paper, paper-towel, cleaning supplies, and garbage bags. Not to mention fast-internet, and super-cable.
Downside: I’m afraid he is going to lecture me for not going to church on Sunday. Christian all the way, loves God too much. Listens to God music, listens to God radio, watches God TV.

Roommate 2: 22 year old black male.
He moved in about a month after I did. He goes to grad school.
Upside: Not here much, keeps to himself, 99% sure he is gay so I don’t have to worry about being molested.
Downside: Always closes the bathroom door and makes me think someone is in there. Talks loudly on his cell-phone and says “Oh my Gawd girlfriend” way too much.

Roommate 3: 22 year old white male.
He moved in last month. Goes to ITT Tech, works at Taco Bell.
Upside: He talks to me (first talking roommate). He also understands how much it sucks to not have laundry facilities here.
Downside: Buys 40 frozen Banquet dinners at once and monopolizes the freezer. (Hello, they are always 10 for $10 … no need to buy so many!). He is scary and people call for him at 4am. He is from Mississippi and talks weird. He gets mad a lot. He yells a lot. He is definitely NOT hot. I might get ill if I accidentally saw him naked. Doesn’t make living with guys more fun.

Roommate 4: (yes I’m critiquing myself!) 22 year old white female.
She graduated from college and she works at a Pizza shop.
Upside: Quiet, doesn’t complain, has a lot of kitchen supplies.
Downside: Leaves TV on all night long, Alarm clock goes off every 10 minutes for hours, leaves bags of bread on kitchen table until green, smells like pizza.

HOUSE: Big blue house on Stanton Ave.
Upside: Clean, warm, spacious bedrooms, good water pressure, clean bathroom, toilet flushes nicely, free cable, free internet, free heat, free water, free phone, free garbage, free toilet paper! Free free free rocks.
Downside: No kitties allowed, no laundry on-site, doors never locked, always bugs in the kitchen sink(in the summer) hmmm … guess that is it.

NEIGHBORHOOD: Highland Park/East Liberty.
Upside: There are trees on my street and squirrels in my yard. My street is quiet. I don’t hear sirens 24/7 anymore, in fact I don’t think I ever hear sirens.
Downside: Where do I begin! I live in “da hood”. A few months ago someone was shot and killed only a few feet from my front porch. It is definitely not somewhere to be out and about at night. The neighborhood Sunoco down the street has a sign that says “No hoods please, thank you in advance”, and you have to pay for your merchandise through a bullet proof encasing around the cash-registers. Livin’ in da ghetto, whoo!

I will have my photos section of my page up soon, but in the mean time here is a picture that I took with my webcam today. Yeah, I’m working on becoming a professional photographer … look at that smashing profile image of me!

I was trying to organize some things around here and I came across my old photo-albums as I often do, but this time it was different. Instead of looking at myself and thinking “wow you were fat then” or “girl did you have a bad hair-cut or what?”, this time I just looked at all of my pictures and thought, “wow I look old now”. I suppose that it is only natural that I begin to look older since “duh” I am getting older, but I feel like I look about 35. I can’t remember the last time I was actually carded for something. I can’t remember the last time I looked at myself in the mirror and actually felt like I looked sexy. The other day I was plucking my eyebrows using a little mirror and I detected some wrinkles on the corners of my eyes. That is possibly due to the fact that I rub my eyes a lot but its not just that. If I put on any type of shirt other than a baggy t-shirt, I don’t feel very perky (you know what I mean). Not that I was ever really perky, but whatever. Err. Maybe I just feel that I look old because I act old. I never really do anything these days. I work, I eat, I sleep, and I sit on a chair. Maybe winter is just really getting me down. I’m thinking of getting a fake tan just because I always feel healthier, spunkier, and hotter when I have some color. I don’t know what it is lately, but I don’t feel like I’m 22. I just feel gross.
Anyways, tomorrow is Valentines Day and guess what I’m doing! Come on, just guess! Yep. Working. All night long. I never work Saturday nights but a co-worker of mine asked me to switch shifts with him because he wants to do something with his girlfriend. Awww, how sweet. How could I say no? It would be selfish of me to say no since my Valentines Day plans include: sitting at home. Alone. Watching TV. Shoving unhealthy food into the hole in my face. Now I can make some money so I can go buy myself a Valentines Day present. I need a computer chair in the worst way. My computer chair is a wooden reject kitchen chair that I know for a fact is decades old. I want a nice, swively, cushiony, chair! They have one at WalMart for $35. It isn’t the nicest one in the world, but it will do. Cure that sore bum! Only $35! Hrmphh. I’ll probably opt to save my money in the case that I NEVER find a better job. Sorry bummy … tylenol works almost as well (and its a lot cheaper).