"Tere MonkeyPantaloons!"

"Now you know how to greet people in Estonian!"

... said Flickr to me this morning.

I ordered tuna

But it turned out to be chicken.

:( boo.

eldritch:

adj. strange or unearthly; eerie.

That's better.

Finally called the landlords I had in Florida for 4 1/2 years. The missus said that of course she'd give me a glowing reference! And that they were so sad to lose me when I left.

Awwwwwww.

Anyway, that makes me feel a hundred gazillion times better about looking for another apartment.

#@^&($)#*(

Last Tuesday I got a message from my landlady, Carol (sounding very unhappy about it herself), telling me that they are indeed NOT replacing any heaters this year. She said she would extend the lease a few months if I wanted to find something else. Or to let her know if I want to stay.

The next morning, my AC had leaked well into the carpet. (AC and heater are the same old junky unit, the kind of thing you find in motels.)

Carol said it costs $3,200 to replace one unit, including shipping and installation. Can't I just buy one, then? I said. She thought that was crazy. She said she'd try to convince her cheapskate husband to buy a reconditioned one.

The maintenance guy came to see if he could figure it out; these things are so old he doesn't know how they work. He's offended by how cheap the landlord is. If you were me, would you feel comfortable staying here? I asked him.

No, he said.

I don't want to move. I do, but I don't. The whole thing has my stomach in knots right now. There's not much out there. I have to convince a potential landlord/manager that 5 cats are no problem, or that I will pay for anything they do, at the same time promising they won't do anything. I don't know what my landlords in Florida will tell someone who calls for a reference, and I'm afraid to find out. I guess that should be the first thing I do about this today: see what they say, find out if I can relax about that at least.

I looked at a condo Saturday. It's in a beautiful area; the living room looks out onto Six Mile Creek, and it's sunny and beautiful downstairs. Small bedrooms, though, and some other issues. Plus, if I'm leaving Ithaca in a year, it's not worth the closing costs.

When my parents (who visited Saturday) and I came back from that, I found that my water heater had leaked AGAIN.

There's not much put there right now, apartment wise. Guess I really shoulda looked more seriously before. Hindsight is always blah blah blah. Whatever the complete opposite of grounded is, that's where I am right now. Space shuttle? Pluto?

My stomach is a mess. All my insides are. Outsides aren't so great either.

If I were a billionaire

I'd build nursing homes across the land that were actually fun and pleasant to live in, and reasonably priced for the inhabitants too. I'd pay the staff really really well and give them lots of vacation and paid leave so they wouldn't burn out.

And I'd attach them to the animal sanctuaries I'd also be building.

What do you think a good name for these places would be?

Proof of God

I stumbled upon this photo after someone told me about People picking Hugh for Best in a Bathing Suit or something like that. I couldn't work for another 10 minutes.

Granted that this is coming from someone who believes in God already, but: Seriously, something this beautiful couldn't exist without design, IMO. And it might point to some feminine divinity as well [insert winking smiley face].

(Ignore the obvious airbrushing. Who the hell airbrushes Hugh Jackman? It's like giving David a tan.)

Soothsayer

Said friend LunaSea today, as we talked about how we never make it dancing when we want to:

We are all the ruiners of our own fun.

Elf-thwarters -- HA ha, oh why do I bother. "Self-thwarters in the first degree," I was trying to say. But now I must go stop some elves from accomplishing their established goals.

Life has been empty, I know,

without any new posts. But it's because I been wiped out on many fronts and uninspired.

But! What happy news! Today was (still is) Jenny's birthday! Yesterday was Steve's! Two Geminis. HOW APROPOS.

Yesterday was also one of two yearly all-staff meetings for alumni affairs. And it was a team-building day! Oh what FUN!

I'm being sarcastic!

I did talk to a cool guy (no, not like that) and chatted with this person who has ended up in our cube neighborhood for reasons we don't understand. The actual team-building stuff was pointless. Our table (that's how we were put into teams: where they assigned us seats) would have talked anyway. There would have been much better ways to make use of that time. More constructive exercises. And I had to get up by 6:30, and I hadn't slept well to start with, and it was warm under the tent, and this had me exhausted for the rest of the day.

Can I get an AMEN, Jessica and Jenny?

At least it were pretty out.

* * *

I got my Dad some wine books and Wine Spectator (just one copy; it's expensive for a subscription) for Father's Day.

And with that, I am petering out. Happy tails. rails. WHATEVER.

Like Hubba Bubba.

I really miss the gaseous-state chewing gum that you used to be able to get in the '70s


props to Hawkman for sharing the joy.