Live, 1981

I'm piddling the day away. It has been very nice and warm in Atl today. Good day to be outside.

And two things came in the mail. Well, one in email form, but the other actual mail. The email was from GSU, announcing that (gasp!) I made the Dean's list. Being that I graduated in May, this is a good bit slower than a few years ago when they let me know (by mail) that I was accepted to the program three months after I was already taking classes. The other news is that I applied to take state certification exams for Social Work and Substance Abuse Counselor jobs, and received a notice that my education satisfies the counseling requirements, so all this time I've avoided applying to those positions b/c I'm not "certified"...blagh. BUT, that's good news. And means I'm on a LIST of a million other ppl who are qualified, and may be recruited to work for the GOV. ALLLLLrighty then.

hmmm...I just realized I haven't had coffee yet.

(panic)

"I have been called a Luddite"

I decided that when I finished the second page of subject data I would take a break and blog for petes sake.

To begin with, I wanted to make special note that this blogger is happy :) because I get to talk about a good book. weee! So, Kurt Vonnegut published yet another O-worthy piece, A Man WIthout A Country. Geez I luv him...a million other people do too I suppose. I saw it whilst shopping for other ppls presents in Borders bookstore, and it was like I momentarily became possessed by the book demons and had to have it, all 24 dollars worth..."well, it's a hardback" is how I justified it with my budget. And I like hardbacks, so what's the fuss. It's like that $1000 pair of diamond earrings that you'll "keep forever"...hahah. But anyway, my Platinum Visa can handle it. hah. So I bought it and read the whole thing in about 3hrs.

The winter season is here tomorrow! Officially, at least. But as far as I'm concerned its cold enough to be winter. I'm all hunkered into the SNL lab processing hours of mindnumbing data into their appropriate programs and not in the least excited about leaving b/c I dread the walk to Marta, and I dread the walk to my car, and I dread sitting in my car for the 2.7 minutes it takes to warm up. I also am royally procrastinating on getting my cell phone fixed. Sue me, but it's kindof nice to not have it, but I do need it from time to time....I feel like that person who sortof wants to quit smoking, so they stop buying cigarettes, and just occasionally bums a smoke off of someone else whenever they want one bad enough to actually be an inconvienience to your random joe.

Tonight will be my last night in town with company :( Rob left today, so I'll be holding down the fort until I begrudgingly drive home for the holidays on Friday with the rest of panic-stricken consumerist America. blagh.

Wah Wah! (that "Deb" is for you LAPO...I know you feel my pain..haha)

Now, back to the processors!

With love and good wishes to everyone, this is Rach signing off...for now

Tootle-oo!

MONDA(NE)Y

WAIT! I'm really going to post something good. But, right now I'm the blogging equivalent of a woman in a straitjacket.

Today, 5pm

Be there or...well...don't...I'll probably be late anyway (for those who know me)

hah

zygo mean corr RMS psychobabble

as I sit, being productive in the social neuroscience lab (that sounds so... smart..haha)...but being productive in here is just well. number crunching. but, number crunching with some pretty neat-o programs ya

today I FINALLY got a hook-up with Emory. I'd be one happy camper to work there. maybe even a happy camper with health insurance. health insurance and free/reduced services from one of the most prestigous universities/hospitals in the nation. now that's cool. but, no definits yet. I've been cursing Emory for a while now, and vanman says 'oh yea send this person an email with your resume'...and i go and check her out, and she's none other than...hmmm...his ex-wife. now i'm not sure if thats a good thing, or a really really bad thing. err.

pray for me folks, that if i at least get an interview i dont go in and say something stupid. wait. if you pray for a job, is that the devil? i mean, a job is for money, and money is the root of all evil. so, should we necessarily be praying for the root of all evil to fall into my hands.

ummm....what the heck. go for it. and i'll save all of you a spot ;) haha


filesaveasc:sub1124emg.xlsenterthankyoucomeagain

kempt, or unkempt

oh my. cbs at 1:30am is really...really...not...good.

and why exactly IS the standard 'snooze' always set for 9minutes? why 9? why not make it an even 10? i mean, it's totally ungratifying to hit the snooze and know that you only have 9 miutes...so instead of snoozing until 6 50, you only get to snooze until 649. errgh.

(ok really dont tell me why. i think i know. and even if i'm wrong, leave me with what little ego i've managed to scrape up off the highway to hell. thanks.)

did anyone know they still sold chia pets? i thought that went out with the 90s, but it turns out i was wrong! they now have scooby do


any minute now my kroger brand nighttime pain relief pills will kick in so i can go to bed so i can tear myself away from the most ridiculous shows on television. why am i even still watching? i think its because i wish we had IFC, and i keep flipping through the channels like its magically going to appear. its like going to the refridgerator to 'look' 2mins after you just opened it and couldn't find anything to eat....did anyone know that Oxygen goes soft porn after 1??

enough. i'm not that desperate. to bed i go.

ha

the undeniable joe

well, I saw IT too. in response to LAPOs recent commentary. Walk The Line is great flick...and contrary to appearances (as I dab the saliva away from the corners of my mouth) not just because of Joe-quinn. Also known as Wahkeen. haha. ok ok. Joaquin...I think that's how its spelled...but the movie is great. Sadly a short depition of Johnnys rather colorful life, making it pale somewhat to more extensive (tho also lacking) bio films like "Ray"...but, very good. And many props to Joaquin and Reese for doing all the vocals. That is damned impressive.

in tribute, a pic of a poster that once graced the walls of Kevin B. when he was also still earthbound...maybe he finally got the chance to meet The Man In Black.

I'll settle for a cup of coffee....

Last night Robin and I were discussing "Post Secrets"...the site where people have sent postcards to this guy with their deepest secrets on them. In a way, I'm impressed, I wish it was around years and years ago, I would have exploded his mail box. So we were talking about some of the things people have sent in, and I commented that some of it is so dark, that I can somewhat relate, but only if I journey back in time to when I was a very young and rather darkened teenager. Whew. What we were talking about is how some of it actually is a little offending (because it's not what we WANT to be made aware of) but very moving just the same. That was about it, and by then I was on my 3rd Stella Artois, and we all know about the third beer. no matter what kind you're drinking.

so. for the last three weeks I've been in or around Woodruff. traumatizing I might add. My grandmother is confined to Woodruff Manor for rehabilitation, so I had to go because no one else would or could go. I'd like to think that in a pinch I can be an okay granddaughter...and I officially won the martyr award for this one (haha) Spending THREE weeks in Woodruff for my grandmother, actually having to ENTER the town on a daily basis, and get out of my car, and walk into a building, in Woodruff. That is intense. Anyway, most of my time was spent at our house, unpacking boxes moved from my moms house in Columbus, and cleaning up...or trying to. That house is large and in charge when it comes to spider webs and dust. Lauren graciously helped me for an entire day AND housed me on several occasions in her magazine worthy residence. Talk about a friend! She is a huge help!

Now that I'm back, there is a relief effort going on to rid me of this home-boundness. The esteemed Dr.Vanman at GSU kindly reserved a part time 2month job for me...it sounds like I'm taking over all the work that the grad students normally do. Which is an honor to have him call me about the job. So my Chrismas is out, but I HAVE SOMETHING TO DO!!! (insert Hallelujah Chorus here)

well, I hope everyone is having a great day. It's super cool here...coat and hat and scarf and mittens

what a sad parade

I can't say that I love Jesus
That would be a hollow claim
He did make some observations
And I'm quoting them today
"Judge not lest ye be judged"
What a beautiful refrain
The studio audience disagrees
Have his lambs all gone astray?

Call me a leper

"You are lost and disillusioned!"
What an awful thing to say
I know this show doesn't flatter
It means nothing to me
I thought I might help them understand
But what an ugly thing to see
"I am not an animal"
subtitled under the screen

Call me a leper

When I tried to tell my story
They cut me off to take a break
I sat silent 5 commercials
I had nothing left to say
The talk show host was index-carded
All organized and blank
The other guests were scared and hardened
What a sad parade


____________________

when i was a high school senior, after my days of running track took one of the many pitiful places of my past, i discovered i was better at distance running--not award winning, but definitly better than i was at sprinting...i mean, who was i kidding, i am about as 'white' as they come....i do remember elisha martin kicked some ass though...she was awesome--anyway, New Adventures In Hi-Fi was the album that I would jog with...New Test Leper was the song that, after How the West Was Won set the pace, did some good maintenance for the remaining few miles. this is an awesome album. my favorite REM.


.your eyes are burning holes through me.

word to the weiz

carrot juice and herbal tea, for some reason, don't mix very well. just so you know.

we hear he is a whiz of a wiz if ever a wiz there was

so, back to the daily grind. the big city. the lights, the sirens, and of course, the people.

i sortof took a nice week long escape from the realities of atlanta living and vegged in the carolina wilderness that surrounds our upstate hacienda. mom, wayne, stefan and i were all there sharing the old house, and it was a good thing :) it was also great to see the family. everyone was in a good mood, or at least was doing a great job holding their tounge. some of our members are proudly up in their years, and i'm glad to have that gene run in the family! but elder age sometimes leads to being a bit more persnickity...so, i was happy that we were all able to have a nice time.

i've decided that after a week of complete and total meltdown of any previously established healthy eating routines i might have somewhat maintained throughout the year, that starting tomorrow (tues. b/c mondays are just horrible days to START anything on. i mean, you'd THINK they'd be great, they're convieniently at the START of a new week, but does anyone ever notice just how many people are late to work on monday? it seems a phenomenon...and no way to start anything important) so, tuesdays are my day for starting things. and tomorrow i'm beginning a 24hr "detox"...but wait, before you think i mean i'm going for a colon cleanse, i just mean more juice and water, and more whole food as opposed to thanksgiving turkey, dressing, and grrrrravvvy! woo....today i prepared by buying organic carrot juice (on sale at kroger), apple juice, orange juice, apples and a pomegranet

and organic chocolate...i'm saving it a reward. HAH.


i believe thats all folks! guuud nite!

so you think your family is dysfunctional eh?

My mother and aunt recently traveled to ElPaso, TX to visit their youngest sister Jackie a few weeks ago. As she always does, and as both of my parents have always done, she brought back presents. I'm not sure what she brought Stefan, but I was given the Catholic Rosary I've remarked a wish for at some point, and a switch plate for my bedroom light switch that was hand painted and decorated by a native of New Mexico...cool stuff, you know. Then she said my aunt Sheila had also sent me something, so I opened it to find a funky picture frame...black, with with polkadots and a little goofy lady standing at one side with a hat on, adorned with bright pink feathers. As weird as it sounds, it's actuallly kindof cute. The woman, whose legs make up the left support for the frame, is holding a sign that says "My Dysfunctional Family"...so of course I was required to grace it with a picture of non other than...well, my dysfunctional family.

And so I began perusing my stacks of photos. And all I can say for this is, a picture is worth a thousand words.





sortof scratchy from the scan, and should have been on this blog a month ago. yet, still stunningly hilarious. notice me in an elbow-lean on my dads head. his odd expression, and me, understandably confused at just who was standing beside me...

(back row from left: Uncle Buzz, Uncle Ricky, Nana and Papa; Second Row from left: Mom, Grandma Barnes, Suzanne Marie, Aunt Sheila; Third Row: Aunt Jackie, me (a really scary ballerina, wearing the tutu I put on everyday after school to dance to Mr.Rogers Neighborhood), Logan, Stefan(he always got to be the witch), and our dad in front...apparently as an albino tribesman, hence the faux tiger skin, and the hippie headband, appropriately stuffed with...rabbit fur?)

the perpetual learning of awareness

The weather reminds me that fall really is here, and the parking lots remind me of my first semester in college at USCS when the oak leaves would blow down and whisk around in the wind. So I've been in Atlanta, officially, for 2 years now. That seems like a long time for me, considering in the last 5 years the longest I've stayed in one city was about 2 years...and that was when I was living with my mama. Which, I might add, would be great right now. Aside from loving my mothers company, I enjoyed a rent-free, utility bill-free, and free grocery life. Why DID I move? oh yea. to get out of yet another small town atmosphere, to stretch my arms in a big city, to be on my own, and try my hand at starting my life. but so far I still depend on my mother....one day I'll be that self sufficient woman I aspire to be. Either that or I'll win the lotto. Get me the winning ticket Lauren!

now, I'm packing to return to South Carolina. This morning there was a segment on the morning show that touched on Elder Abuse, and it happens everywhere. And my grandmother is in a place where she doesn't need to be. It's difficult for me to feel responsible and helpless at the same time.

But if she ever wondering if I loved her, she has to know now that I do, because I have to enter the firey hell of Woodruff to visit her.

Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me.....I hope.

An obligatory blog.

ok. I get the feeling I should post something to prove I'm alive. I guess.

I have a lot of things I could rant and gripe about. Because today is not a good day. But I'm going to spare you all, even though I find online bitching to be highly therapeutic. And so you know that I'm working extra hard to be HAPPY. woo!

the dearest LAPO came to visit this weekend, which was grrrreat. Friday night Lauren, Rob, and I went to Ruby Tuesdays for margaritas and food, then returned to the hacienda for a game of "Scene It"(which I might add, I suck at) then Saturday Laur and I trekked to Stone Mountain. Saturday night Lauren and I cooked at home, and watched Wimbelton (which, I might add, sucks...eek! ok ok, for a good 30 minutes its OK), then we spent 30 strait minutes trying to get a good picture of both of us (think, two women who are equally over-analytical of their (some would say imaginary) photogenic inadequacies) and Sunday Laur departed early after a cup of joe and some morning laughs. And I'm going to SC wednesday to have a complimentary Christmas gift visit to her wonderful hair stylist, and I cannot WAIT... I might leave today!)


For the last two days my turtle Jimmy has made every effort to escape his tank. He's gotten to be pretty successful as he is right now scampering along the hallway floor, and knocking his shell against Robs closed bathroom door. He makes trips around the apt perimeter, and usually focuses on some closed door that he's sure, with enough shell ramming, will open, and reveal a magical portal to turtle-eden. And if Kris ever reads this blog, tell Will I'll pay him to build me a big tank.

And my roommate is sick. or at least he was yesterday. so I hope he's feeling better today. And I hope I dont get sick too. I've already had a bug twice this year, so I'm trying to make it to 2006 without another plague. Thank goodness I'm not in school for the flu season. I keep thinking I'll begin to miss it, but all I get are more reasons why I dont. And I will go back (actually if I dont, I'm screwed) so at some point I'll have to face reading dry and aimless scientific material, taking exams, writing essays in that horrible format called APA, and enduring the onset of school-related illnesses....people wiping their snot all over keyboards, sneezing unabashedly into the air without kleenex, and couging without covering their mouths. OR covering their mouths with their hands, then opening doors, using keyboards, and running the risk of touching people like me, who think it's all rather disgusting to have to do all that for a piece of paper that QUALIFIES me to have the ACCREDATIONS for a so-called "Better" job. damn this system is screwed up. All I want to do is learn more and help people.

A nice house and a new car would be good too.

MWAHAHAH.

peace-out

Or is it just our fate?

The Story Of A Friday

This morning I dragged myself from a restless bed and made toast for breakfast. Everything going like a normal, well, normal for me, morning...was watching some morning show on tv and the cats were running around wrestling and fighting and they rolled down the hall into my room, growling hissing etc.

A few minutes later my phone rings. I was waiting for a call, so I figured that was it. But even before it rang I kept hearing this weird meow coming from my room, so I got up to go get the phone, and walked into my room to find Curtis wrestling with a black electrical cord that was plugged up charging the battery for my bike lamp. StellaLuna was pawing at the cord too. THEN I realized he was actually tangled in it. So I'm immediatly on the floor, trying to figure out how bad it is, and he's gasping for breath and crying. Stella is sitting beside him licking his ears and face, looking at me like "DO something!"

Ok. The cord is wrapped tight around his throat, double knotted, and was somehow twisted up all the way to the wall. I had to start at the wall, unplugging the charger, and beginning a really slow process of unwinding it so I could allow some slack at his neck. After about 20 seconds, which seemed like minutes, I looked up at the table to see if I could spot my scissors. I had just seen them earlier and thought there was no time to unwind the whole cord, and I needed to cut it. He was literally in a little heap at this point, gasping and making these feeble little wimpering sounds. And I was frantically trying to get the cord undone as fast as I could.

Finally I unwound it to the table leg, but then he had wrapped it around the table leg about 15 times and there was no way I could unwind it with any ease, so I started pulling on the knot at his neck, trying to get it lose enough for him to breath. It seemed impossible, I glanced back for the scissors but couldn't see them, so I just started where I could, losening the cord around the leg of the table enough to unthread the charger/plug part, praying to some God some where to help me and give him enough time for me to get the cord off him. The charger plug was bulky and needed a lot of slack to unthread throught he loops around the table leg. I got most of it done, and started working slack in the cord by his throat. He was just crouched, not making any noise, not moving, kindof slouched to the left, and I just kept picking him up so he would be closer to the leg and reduce the pull on his throat. I could barely hear little gasps he was taking.

My hands were shaking and I was about to scream, I could not get it undone. There was still a thick knot in the cord that was around his neck, and I was doing everything I could to losen it enough to pull his head through the loop. Finally, thank God, it worked, I had it loose enough to make the loop bigger and eventually got it over his head. I just picked him up and started crying so hard I couldn't breath myself. I thought I was about to collapse, the adrenaline was surging so fast in my blood that I felt like my body was trying to decide whether it would explode, or completely shut down. I felt completely helpless and scared and in shock, I was shaking so hard I couldn't even get up.

I kept thinking "this is NOT a good way to start the day"...then I realized that was the wrong process. The real deal is that I could have ignored the meows, thinking they were play fighting, or I could have been gone, not even home, and Curtis would have strangled himself. But I was here, and he's ok. I've never been so thankful.

dispose all

or thats what you'd think it meant. but no. the disposal does not actually dispose ALL...so. what to do with that stuff we just forced down the drain only to find it will not be disposed of...hmmm

its a tuesday and fairly warm out...ok. closer to the temperature of one of the outer rings of hell, but who's keeping track of that these days when it's obvious the more serious issue is all the mayhem that has just come out of the woodwork also known as new orleans. this morning my mother. my mother! of all people, sent me the "be careful" email forward that's going around about all the sex offenders, car jackers, and theives that are looking to relocate from their former home in LA.

oh come on now.

if you ask me, the pressing issue should not be "how can we cause MORE fear in the city?" but instead, how can we prevent the city from collapsing in on itself because of the very delapidated sewage and water system that runs underneath. yesterday yet another main broke on peachtree street...but i can say that despite the apparent bad news that might cause for some...others got a free car wash...unfortunatly i wasn't in the right lane to get a car wash...so, i really can't appreciate the tragedy of the water line

as we can all see, i, the previously employed, am home at lunch time on a tuesday. i could pass it off as a "break"...but i'm more proud to have quit my job for various and sundry reasons, and as soon as i am mentally able to stop bitching about the crap i put up with, i will...in the meantime i'm unemployed, but being 23 and lucky, i still have a really great mom who is on my side and is equally disgusted with my previous employer. so at least i have moral support from the head of the household.

the roomie and i just paid our first months worth of bills...which, tho lower than it could be, was a little high. but everything was fine until the water bill came. a lot of places do it, and ours happens to be one of those who just averages water usage for a type of apt...so it seems that when little jimmy downstairs in the 1bedroom decides he likes the sound of running water while he sleeping and leaves his shower on all night and the bill for the complex goes up, everyone pays more, but we, being a 2br, and one of the larger apts of the 2br style, pay more than anyone else. how about that. rob had the idea of running the shower only to get wet, then turn it off to lather, then on again to rinse...and no repeating. it wastes the aqua. but now we know even that wouldn't save us from little jimmy.

meanwhile, theres a water main 7miles from here that's giving away free carwashes to anyone headed downtown and in the far right lane. lucky bastads.

OK. this is enough to qualify as a blog right? good.

momma?

My baby girl Stella Luna when she was still a fuzzy little kitten. And in my old apartment.

Sleeping Like The Cats

This morning I woke up at 3:45am. For good.

The trip to Keystone Colorado was very adventuresome and fulfilling and I returned Sunday night around 11:45pm. Friday and Saturday we hiked in two completely different environments. One, an alpine hike at Loveland Gap (somewhere in the vicinity of 12,000ft above sea-level) made me realize how easy it would be for a person to die in the Rockies-—the second was a forest-bound trail to two ponds, "Big LIlly-Pad" and "Little Lilly-Pad"…the forest was beautiful and very symmetrical....made me realize how easy it would be for a person to find herself hopelessly lost in alpine forests and die. Morbid? Well, I suppose one could survive had she the right tools. After all, if Anthony Hopkins can do it in "Bear," so can I, right?

Both hikes were also quite breathtaking and awe-inspiring. By the time we were acclimated to the oxygen levels and the time change it was time to leave for home. I had my hair cut in downtown Denver to pass time before our flight. I think I’m still on western time…so I really only woke at 5:45, which would be okay if it were Eastern Time, so I’m not stressing it.

I just wrote “time” five “times” in one paragraph. That has to grammatically incorrect or redundant or something. Maybe just plain annoying.

So I woke up and played with my youngest child/cat, Curtis Johnson, who was snuggled up against my arm in a position I thought should have been rather uncomfortable but he seemed happy. Stella Luna lurks around by herself all night and most of the day and requires little attention. Curtis, on the other hand, is very lovable. They remind me of my brother and me when we were little. He’s drinking from a glass of water on my bedside table….Curtis, that is, not my brother.

Then I read some of Cats Cradle (vonnegut)…. a book I’ve had for years but never really read. Sometimes I collect good fiction so that one day when I wake up early in the morning and can’t go back to sleep, I have something to read. So finally it happened that I needed a good book. And it’s good. I’d read more but I was sidetracked by having to blow my nose and on the way back to bed I noticed my clothes needed to be unpacked. So I started doing that, then had to blow my nose again and while in the bathroom remembered I needed to get my shower curtain out of the dryer because I washed it yesterday. So I did that. Then I thought I’d write a blog, so here I am.

I figure I’ll get really sleepy around 7 when I usually officially wake up for the day and have to start getting ready for work. That’s what usually happens when I wake up in the middle of the morning and can’t go back to sleep.

At some point tomorrow my roommate and I will talk about how we slept and I’ll tell him this story, or maybe he’ll read it first, and he’ll say, “You were awake all that time? I didn’t even hear you” or something like that…even though he has a fan in his room that would drown out any noise going on outside his bedroom. Last night we went to Mellow Mushroom for pizza and PBR. A little “tradition” we have, you might say.

Now I’m debating whether I should finish unpacking or replant the poinsettias that are on our balcony suffering in their original potting mix. If I did that now I wouldn’t have to do it tomorrow when I got home from work, and it’s cool out, no mosquitoes yet, so maybe I will. I’m starting to feel like I’m having an “Ellen” moment.

you know what I mean

5:41am

time

______________________________________________________

Old friends, old friends
Sat on their park bench like bookends
A newspaper blown thru the grass
Falls on the round toes, on the high shoes
Of the old friends

Old friends
Winter companions, the old men
Lost in their overcoats, waiting for the sunset
The sounds of the city sifting thru trees
Settle like dust on the shoulders
Of the old friends

Can you imagine us years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange to be 70

Old Friends
Memory brushes the same years
Silently sharing the same fear

like a slap-in-the-blog

oh my, I just realized it's been nearly 2 months since I posted last. I am a sorry blogger aren't I? whew.

so, if you're reading this, you are a dedicated blog checker. woohoo! and this might be boring, but I'm out of practice, so a recap, then I'll attempt to try the blog scene on a more regular basis

well, I graduated in May, and am still looking for a "real" job, but am in the meantime working with an interior designer who I believe is a reincarnated slave driver. and that's a bad joke, but it's very labor intensive to get her jobs done. yes my friends, I believe I can be classified as blue collar. But I also think I'm better for it. the value of the dollar has resurfaced, almost blindingly, to my conciousness. so that's all good.


two very special people passed away this summer and I'd like to commemorate them a little here. Kevin Brunelle was killed in a bizarre interstate accident on June 25, and John Henderson died during a combat mission in Afganistan on August 4th. Both were deep and kind hearted men and I know that the lives that they touched will never be the same. and after much soul searching and attemtping to understand the uninterpretable, I believe they had purposes here, and hope that their spirits have moved on to greater existences. they are both deserving of a promotion. and now more than ever, I hope that one day humans learn that war and violence will never truly solve anything. greed and power are certainly our demons aren't they?

rob and I are officially moved into our new apartment in Decatur Georgia. and it's lovely. we're having a great time (when we're home) and both love the area.

and yesterday I was locked out of my apartment for about 7 hours. in a freak event, my keys fell out of my purse as I was getting out of the car because my foot snagged on the seatbelt, making me stumble, jostling my purse enough to purge the keys into the door jam just as the door was closing and CLICK. I was locked out of everything. maintanence doesn't consider lock outs a real emergency, and lucky for me my car is one of the most difficult to break into (probably because it's the easiest to hotwire if you finally get in) so the man Geico sent me fussed over it for a few hours before the fourty fifth loudest thunderstorm this summer raged over my apartment complex, sending us both running for shelter, where i stayed for the next 3 hours. the guy left and came back, and by that time it was 11pm and my cell was dead so the entire time I was just sitting outside considering to a. break the car window, b. break an apt window, c. not do anything rash and irrational, d.climb up the building to my balcony at the back of our apt and get the mosquito candle, e. vomit from all the bites I was accumulating, and f. walking a mile to the nearest gas station to call someone for moral support.

but luckily I was equipped with a kitty litter box and a new shower curtain I'd just purchased at target, so I wrapped up in the shower curtain, put my turtle (also in transport) in the litter box, and pretended to nap nonchalently against my very locked apartment door until the guy came back, finally unlocked my car door, and gave me every line in the book to try to "hook up" before I finally just walked away. i guess he figured all that work was deserving of something MORE than my insturance coverage. bastard. so my plans for a quiet relaxing day were quite staunched

it brought me to laugh and query the sky "what the hell!"

I believe-

it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine