What's it with the UGLY CARPETS??

I really need to write out all my stories since June. But alas, I have new one...*sigh* check back to Dec 06 for a refreshed on the background of this story. BUT to summarize.....

December 06, the year I turned 30, and presumably wiser, I purchased a garden apartment/coop. Because I HATED the color of otherwise perfect, brand new the carpet, I pulled it up to discover the wood floor under it to be in horrible condition. I proceeded to deal with the drama of having the floor ripped up and replaced and this was the beginning of my realization that something was just not right with the floors.

Between then and now, I've had a fairly good life in my not so new anymore apartment. My upstairs neighbor is a bit of a crab but no biggie. I had a swarming of termites April of last year. Got past that....The sellers did a cosmetic nice but crappy job underneath in the kitchen and the bathroom.

A few weeks ago, when two tiles came out from the shower wall, I decided to renovate the whole bathroom; gut it, and completely update it..whirlpool bathtub, new shower heads, etc. etc. etc.....The job would take about 10 days, but I would have the new tub installed the same day. While not fully finished, I would be able to use the vital parts of the bathroom - the tub and the toilet.

This past Wednesday, the men came to start the job. They gutted the bathroom and all was moving along...until they pulled the tub out. *Screech go the brakes* The head of the project came to me and said "we have a big problem". He proceeded to show me the concrete the previous owner used to level out a uneven floor. Never mind it was WAAAY more concrete than should have been used, and it still didn't even do a good job...But worse than that were the beams under the tub, that looked to be damaged by you guessed it....termites. He wanted to go into the crawl space under the apartment to investigate more. I put on my rain boats, and trekked underneath with him. Neither of us were prepared for what we saw. DUH ----TERMITES!!!! A lot of them. All over the place. And ALOT of damage the the beams, supporting my building. I shall spare the details but brought back pictures from the trip.

We went back into my apartment and proceeded to tell me obviously he couldn't install the tub on top of these beams. That from looking at the condition of the beams, I hadn't literally fallen through the floor....I'll let that sink in for a moment...



SO, luckily, any structural issues and expenses are the coop's responsibility. But now, at noon on the first day of my bathroom renovations, I'm told, I'll have no bathroom, and will need to leave the apartment because ALOT of structural work will need to be done. By 6pm that day, the coop has located a vacant apartment in the complex, and I will be moved in THE MORNING. Yes, the next morning. Have you ever been to my place? Or helped me move? I have ALOT OF SH*T!!!!!! But with no working bathroom, or FLOOR BEAMS for that matter, its time to go. By 3pm Thursday afternoon I was all moved and beginning to unpack. Friday I was back at work, telling coworkers what I'm SURE they think is an exaggerated or just completed made up story. But alas, its true.

So as I type this, I'm in my temporary home, for anywhere from a month to four monts..and guess what. IT HAS A HIDEOUS CARPET!!!! everything has come full circle but best believe even if I could, I WOULD NOT be pulling up this carpet. Back to unpacking I go...

there is a lesson in every mishap

this week is the week of silly mishaps.....the powers that be (that little man who lives under the sidewalk maybe) are trying to bring me down. But in everything there is a lesson. In this case, multiple lessons.

Monday mornings suck. Monday morning meetings, at 8:30am are worse. Monday morning meetings that are supposed to end at 10am but run over are even worse. And yet still, Monday mornings, with meetings that run from 8:30 to past 10am, followed by meetings 10 blocks away from 10am to noon are the ultimate worst! But in order for them to keep sending my check to the same account each pay period, I am obliged to have these suckie Mondays.

Lesson #1 - When things could go wrong on a Monday they usually do.
Had a meeting run over, preventing me from leaving the office with enough time to get up to 42nd Street. As much as I didn't want to, I rushed out to be as close to on time as possible. During a heat wave, of 98 degrees, rushing is a relative concept though. A block away from my destination, I tripped on uneven sidewalk (that little man under the sidewalk grabbed my ankle) and broke my $15 thong sandal.

Lesson #2 comes here - You usually get what you paid for....I thought I was on to something, with my comfortable and CHEAP sandals. After one summer, I wouldn't feel guilty about dumping them. But....they had a different idea. After three wearings, they decided their time on my feet was over.

SO, late for my meeting, with a busted shoe, I tried to decide my next move. My office was further away now than my destination. But I could NOT arrive at a meeting, that potentially had a VERY senior Communications person at the University...A very nice older man saw my predicament and attempted to (unsuccessfully) repair the strap on my shoe with a key.

Lesson #3 - why I should not leave New York City
Where else can you find a shoe store on just about every other block?? Really. Had I not been in NYC, I would have been up a creek with no paddle. Not even a shoe...
With all the strength I had in my big toe and what's the toe next to that one, I held the strap of my shoe between them, and clumsily walked a block to the nearest shoe store.

Lesson #4 - always have options
I bought a new pair of shoes, and proceeded to my meeting for which I was a half hour late for.

The meeting was a waste as expected, but the shoes I bought are very comfortable and only ran me $35.

But wait til you hear about Tuesday......

I think my fish is depressed....

so last summer, I got a 10 gallon fish tank/bowl, and some tiger barb and cherry barb fish.....not sure how many i've had. I killed a couple in the beginning. But I'd say I averaged about 10 or so. cute little suckers. then, in August, I got five piranhas. yes, I know. I said Piranhas. the face you have now is usually the look on the face of the folks in the pet store when they expect me to say I have some cutesy fish...ANYWAYS. When I got them, there were five, about the size of a quarter each. They were the same size as the tiger barbs.

They all coexisted fine. At first. But as the piranhas got bigger, things changed. If I forgot to feed em, or came home late, usually, a tiger was "missing". Miami carnival, being gone almost a week, was the end of any other fish in the tank.

They've since moved to a larger home/tank, and you'd think they would be a little more tolerant. NOT. Yes, I know they are aggressive fish, but dag! There were two bottom feeders, until Trinidad Carnival. Came back to just one.

They leave the one guy alone and I'm not sure why. Somehow, they've bonded with him. But no matter when I add a second, they eat him. If I feed them, then put him in. Put him in WHILE they are eating. After they eat. So I gave up. I just tried again. And my bottom feeder actually seemed happy! I think it was a girl to my assumed guy. They were all cuddled up (if fish can cuddle) getting to know each other. By the morning though, she was gone. And now my lonely guy is in the back of the tank, alive, but not moving. I think he's depressed.....

all so often I start my thoughts with "maybe its me"....because often I feel I must be alone in my way of thinking....and here's another example of that.

Think of a thing, an item, OTHER THAN money, that you'd be willing to wait in like HOURS for.....you have a couple things??? OK say we're talking over TWENTY-FOUR hours. Standing...sitting...heck, laying in line, on the street...you still got something? And say, once you obtain this item, you still have to PAY for it. OH and add that the temperature outside is about 25degrees....you still have something? Cause I don't.

Last night leaving work, I saw the beginning of lines being formed outside of Foot Locker and Foot Action. Must be a new sneaker coming out soon. And when I left work today, the line was still there, and getting longer. So that's 24 hours these people have been outside, in the cold, waiting, to go into a store, and spend over $150 I'm guessing for a pair of sneakers..(never mind it probably cost $5 to make em....that's a WHOLE other story). And I wondered who on earth would really be willing to do this...I'm the same person that thinks the idea of Black Friday is absurd as well. No way I'm lining up outside a store, to get trampled when the doors open, fight for the one tv left, just because its a few bucks cheaper....

So on my train ride home, I tried to come up with something that its importance, would be the equivalent to me...maybe concert tickets? new Coach bag? a new restaurant serving all my favorites? unless we talkin a free trip around the world, I couldn't come up with anything. Can you?

I'm not doin too good...except when it counts...or maybe not...

disclaimer - mom don't read this post LOL
So....Sunday I was in the mall picking up a couple things. I go to pay, and the woman asks for ID. I dig and dig, and can't find my drivers license. I show her my school ID and she's content with that. But I'm still digging because I'm usually pretty good about having my ID....I was supposed to go home and look for it but I didn't...

Sunday evening some friends were throwing a party, and I was working the bar for them. Get to the place, we're setting up, everything goin good. Until security asks everyone to go back outside to be searched. AND show ID. I usually have a spare one in my car, but alas, it was not there. And they told me I couldn't be behind the bar w/o ID. No way I'm driving all the way back home to get it. I go back to the car, dig through all my stuff AGAIN, but no luck. Luckily my twin, who I think people say we're twins just cause we're both light skinned....anyways I digress..she was on the line and after she got in, gave me her ID. OK. Party goes well...Crisis averted again....

*mom stop reading here please..lol *Heading home on Monday, running my mouth on the phone, and as I turn the corner to get on the highway, I see flashing lights. *sigh* Never mind I've seen cops driving while on the phone, I'm not allowed to do it...and as he comes to the window I remember. uh oh...I have no license!! So he asks for my registration. and I hand it to him....then he looks at me and is like And where is your license...So I think ok, I'll go diggin in my bag, and when I cant find it, act suprised like it was just there....I'm goin to jail with big Bertha.....but how about, when I go in my wallet, there's my license. Finding my license didn't avoid a ticket, but it did avoid Big Bertha so I'm very happy.

So I figure my string of bad luck because of my scatterbrained incidents is over. But alas, its not. Get in the car this morning to head to work, and the battery is dead. ...left the lights on last night....*sigh* it looks like its gonna be one of those weeks...

The braces chronicle

so its four months I've had the braces. hopefully just six months to go.
getting more used to them, although looking at pictures I of course smile even less now than before, if that's even possible. but i'm not as horrified as I was in the beginning. When this is all done, after all the pain, and payin all this money I better smile in my sleep....The positive side of maybe I'd lose weight cause I can't eat went out the window after about three weeks. Cause come hell or high water, I was gonna figure out how to eat what I want...

Today at the dentist office, another sucker with braces actually tried to pick me up. EVEN IF I was looking, no thanks. I may be a hypocrite, but I'm not dating another person with braces. That everytime I look at them, I'm reminded of what MY mouth looks like. I can a lot of complications with that...sorry guy...

But he starts his pick up attempt with he loves a woman with natural hair. And anytime he sees one he's struck by the fact that they are a rebel...A rebel I ask? Yes, against all the processes and chemicals. Um, I'm no rebel. I just hated perming my hair. And if anytime he sees a woman with natural hair he's driven to talk to them, he's not very selective. Everyone has natural hair nowadays. Better luck next time pal.

Is it the flowers? Or who sends them?

I got home the evening of my birthday, to see a box from 1800-Flowers at my door.
I smiled, THINKING I knew who they were from. As I struggled to open the box, I saw a beautiful bouquet of a dozen assorted colored roses....and found the card.....they were not from an adoring romantic interest, or even a stalker...they were from AMERICAN EXPRESS!

The card said thank you for being a valued card member, and have a happy holiday.....HUH????? What credit card company sends flowers to its customers on their birthdays? Do I spend THAT MUCH money?

The flowers are in the corner on a table. I'm not all that excited anymore.
Is that wrong???

P.S. I also got a birthday card from my dentist. So maybe this is the new thing....