CafeChatNoir

Rather than do housework, I took a three hour, dead to the world nap. I just keep telling myself I must have really needed it. I’ll make a concerted effort to get caught up on things this week after work.

I also went through alllll my old LJ entries, cause I wanted to tag the posts w/photos in them. (Not nearly as many as I would have thought…) Wow, that was just kinda weird to read all that. So much has changed in the past three years. Shame you can’t pick and choose what changes.

Three years ago this month I did the AIDS Ride. It feels like it might as well have been a million years ago, and it’s still just surreal to me that I did it. Pretty much everyone that was involved in one way or another has moved away or just dropped off the face of the earth.

Some asshat is shooting off fireworks in the neighborhood… Why can’t they just wait the two weeks til the 4th? Damn dog got into the basement again cause he was scared of the noise and I just spent the last 10 minutes in a frantic search for him. I’m about ready to figure out a way to put a screen door on the basement door and cut a *small* cat door in it, maybe that would keep the dog out…

The dog is now under the bed. I don’t know how he plans on getting out of there. Target is decidedly NOT amused at this turn of events, as that is HIS hidey hole.

…to all the Dad’s out there. And pets count as kids. :)

I am *still* sore in spots from Friday night, guess that’s what a couple hours straight of aerobics will do to you…

Place looks like a tornado hit. Can’t act like I’m shocked given how little I’ve tended to things this week, but damn, it’s only ME here!! It’s a little insane.

Had tentative plans for the driving range later, too tired and just too much to get done, sent message begging forgiveness, but it just ain’t happening.

Dog got under the baby gate again this evening and couldn’t figure out how to get back out again… Jeez, you’d think he’d learn from the last time that he gets stuck when he does that.

Target has been in hiding on and off today. He’s feeling physically fine, cause he’ll come out for treats/food/scritches with no problem, but obviously somewhat unsettled by the dog getting into the basement. He also managed to get some kind of gunk on his head, either food or even worse for him, dog drool. Had to get that all combed out - he actually sat kinda still for it. Poor little guy.

Oops… I wanted to look around in the extra bedroom to see if Target was in there, but the light is burned out, so I grabbed my nifty no-batteries-required flashlight (it’s a cheapy wimpy little thing, but will do in a pinch). You have to shake it up to make it work. Which I did, which brought Target out of *somewhere* in the master bedroom, looking for treats cause he thought I was rattling the treat jar.

Yes, I went and got him some treats to apologize for messing with his head.

Snoopy seems to be the only normal one today. :)

It’s a really good thing there’s still another day of the weekend left, cause today I have been a lazy assed sloth. :) I slept late, puttered around, took a nap, puttered around some more, and then watched Mona Lisa Smile. Not a bad flick.

28 days to the beach. Um, that would be 4 weeks. Hmm, time to probably start getting things done in prep for getting down there… Big things are: get a health cert for the dog, confirm his kennel reservations, get keys to for the cats, and find the payment receipt for the house cause it has the address where I have to pickup the keys. Rest is just details. Oh, and get a laptop. ;)

Shaved down the dog again today, caught him yiping twice today when he was either scratching or biting or doing something to his legs. Seems he’s still got some mats on his legs that I hadn’t been able to get to last time and he was catching them and pulling them. Got most of those out, and did a quick once-over on his back & sides. I kinda feel bad not going for a pro grooming, but this time I did much better, as did he, so it’s all good. I think I’ll do this every couple of weeks during the course of the summer - his back & sides didn’t even take 5 minutes, his legs took longer, but I’ll get quicker at those too.

OK, time to go hunt down some dinner, but I am ooooooooh so not motivated to really do much of anything…

First: is having a raffle for an LJ coupon!

Second, oh how my head & feet hurt!! Actually head’s not bad anymore, was just dehydration from spending 3 hours bouncing around a dance floor and not having enough water, the Advil has already kicked in. The feet? OUCH! No blisters, but just sore from spending 3 hours bouncing around a dance floor. :)

Things I learned:
1. I’ve apparently been to Arlington enough lately that I am starting to recognize where things are - I even remembered where the free parking garage was.
2. The rooftop bar at the Clarendon Ballroom should probably be condemned by the City of Arlington.
3. Eminem can be danceable. Who knew?
4. There is no such thing as drinking too much water when dancing.
5. As fun as it is to get all dressed up every now and again, I am happy to be back in my jeans and just be a mess again. :)

My feet may never forgive me.

Very fun, lots of dancing and things resembling something between a seizure and dancing. Abigail got to see what a freak magnet I am, LOL. She swears it’s not normally like that there, and that I need to stop bathing in pheromones before leaving the house.

Tired as hell and gonna sleep like a rock tonight.

It’s Friday!!!!!! It’s Friday at the end of the workday!!

Had our little luncheon today, got caught on a call showed up an hour and a half late, which is fine by me cause I’m never really in my comfort zone at those things anyway.

Still go for launch for this evening. For whatever reason, the whole starting at 10:30 PM thing amuses me no end. When I was that age, I certainly don’t remember things getting going that late, but then again, getting married at 21, I kinda missed a lot of the singles party scene. No matter, we’re going to go out, dance, have fun, and ogle men. Confirmations have been made, directions have been printed, and the happy insane one & I are meeting up early to grab a drink & some food.

Sooooooo, just now realizing that I have about a half an hour to get myself pulled into some semblance of…well…something, and there are still a couple boxes in the car I need to get out - I’d best get on that now.

We have frogs! I’m not surprised, but I can’t remember the last time I’ve actually *seen* one.

Was out on the deck with the dog, and realize he’s sniffing at something on the deck, and I get him to step away from it so I can see what’s so interesting.

A frog!!

Then I suddenly had visions of Mox picking him up and going bounding off into the yard thinking it was a new squeak toy.

Fortunately, I was able to convince him that the frog needed to be left alone it was time to come in.

I find it hilarious that I just bought a new fan motor for the AC, and the AC isn’t even running cause it’s cooled off so much. Another amusing point to the day - chatting with the insanely cute repair guy, asks where I used to live before moving to this house, oh, he lives in that town too! Asks me whereabouts, and I could not remember for a few seconds. Yes, I am a dork.

Corona Light: If you need a “light” version of Corona, just switch to water.

Target’s canine-induced-trauma recovery time is greatly decreasing - he was downstairs earlier hanging out in the kitchen. Go tigger-tiger-target kitty! (Yes, I do call him that.) Went back downstairs again, and he’s in his spot on the back of the couch.

I really like the tags feature, I just wish I could figure out how to get it at the bottom of the post instead of the top. Have subscribed to in hopes there will be a tutorial soon.

Short workday tomorrow for our “end of busy season” luncheon. I never feel really comfortable at these types of things, but hey, it’s a couple hours out of work and free food. I’ll end up hanging with the tech guys that feel the same way. :)

Sooo hope that evening plans don’t fall through tomorrow night, looks to be a good time, even though I almost fell over when the email said “We usually show up around 10 30 pm. Definitely by 11.” That does leave plenty of time to get the dog fed, though. I should probably paint up my toenails tonight so I at least have the option of open toed shoes - it’s that time of year anyway.

Tried to talk w/ Navy Fed today about my Mom’s account, customer service can’t talk w/me about the account w/out a power of attorney - understandable, explained the situation, apparently they have a special department for this, I’ll be trying again tomorrow if I can get a few minutes between work & the lunch. Did email the lawyer the other day after dealing w/ dumbasses at bank #1, he thinks given the relative simplicity of the estate, we can say screw the estate checking account - it may come to that. Hell, I’d prefer it - it’s one less thing to worry about. I do need to go through that checklist he gave us this weekend - I am sure there are things to do that will sneak up on me if I don’t pay attention.

I thought the concept of “Hit Me Baby One More Time” was funny. Until I heard Wang Chung was on it. That was the first concert I ever saw - they came to my high school - when I was a freshman. Now I’m kinda pissed at NBC for trying to make me feel old.

Found a fascinating comm via - it’s The rules? “allowed to post 15 words (no more, no less)” I’ve discovered that’s incredibly difficult to do, but strangely satisfying.

YAY! The AC is working again, just in time for the temps to drop to the mid 70s with a lovely breeze… Guy that came over was a complete hottie, and me? I looked like someone who hasn’t had AC for two days. Yup, that’s how my life works. :)

*looks around for something else to break so he has to come back*

A setback in dog/cat relations today - had taken the baby gate down this weekend to get the bookcases downstairs and just decided not to bother putting it back up. Today Mox decides he wants to go to the basement…I caught him as he was coming back upstairs and he seemed duly chagrined. Don’t really know what went on, but Target’s been under the bed all afternoon. The baby gate is back up. (Neither is injured, Target came out for food but is rather freaked out.)

It’s turned into a sinfully gorgeous evening, and I am going to take advantage of it and go run a couple errands and then spend some time on my deck.

Edit: Apparently I put the baby gate up too high (I leave a gap for the cats to get under) - I walked downstairs and the dog was on the landing on the other side of it… Hopefully I’ve fixed it now.

I am going out to the land of the air conditioned. I’m hungry and want something actually cooked to eat, but there is no way I am gonna heat up the kitchen, things are tolerable and I am not gonna upset that balance. Off to Glory Days for AC and eats. :)

From Yahoo weather about an hour or so ago:
High: 89
Low: 67
Currently: 90

Anyone else see the slight problem?

Personally, I don’t think it got that hot today, cause the house was fine - which means I’ve got the AC set way too low when it IS working…

Just finished watching Queer Eye & the family w/ quints. That is the sweetest show and it is so NOT FAIR they’re not straight. Also, , they actually had a laundry folding board on it, you’re now completely too hip for me.

On completely ureleated news, tags have gone live on LJ. Your client probably doesn’t have a field for them yet…

Wish I’d found this at midnight last night… (SFW)

OK, not really, but with no A/C, it’s nice to have the option to work in your skivvies.

AC folks are totally booked, and even with the service contract, they can’t get out here til tomorrow. Ah well, I’ve got the fans going, and there is another big fan in the basement I can bring up if needed. The dog is smart and hanging out on the pergo, the cats are doing their best impressions of Salvador Dali paintings. Snoopy is sitting next to the AC vent looking at me as though I did this to him intentionally.

In a fit of vanity or sadomasochism last night, I went through my swimsuits to see if they still fit. A couple I am not sure why I have kept, as they fit but look like crap, there is one will henceforth be known as the “magic swimsuit” as somehow I have cleavage, and one that I looked at and thought “Why don’t I wear this more often?” and then remembered why - it’s not just the bizarre 60s paisley pattern in 80s colors, but there are a bunch of strings and such and it took me a good 10 minutes just to figure out how to get it on…

Stay cool today - I think I’ll be having ice cream for lunch. :)

A strange noise from the basement, like something trying to start, and not succeeding, followed by a whiff of burnt motor…

Went downstairs to investigate, the noise happened again - the blower on the AC seems to have fried itself…

Turned everything off, and calling now to get on the list for tomorrow.

Yay for fans and working at home so I can at least be here to get it fixed. :)

Truly, I would have put money on yesterday being the arm-flailing day, but it ended up being today.

Two users near did me in. One very bad user, whose favorite phrase is “Well, I don’t think that’s what the problem is.” (Oh, then why are you calling anyway?!) Another user, who is easily the BEST user we have, who rarely calls in, and when she does, you know it can’t be good. Both of these had me tearing my hair out. My brain was fried to the point of giggles by the end of the day.

But still, work-related stress levels have pretty much dropped off the charts with being staffed up, and I know this for sure because my shoulder is no longer turning itself into knots. :-D

Then errands, packing, errands and finally home at eight-freaking-thirty. Bless the animals for being so patient with me.

Working from home the next two days - WHEE!!! Picked up my swimsuits tonight as part of moving stuff - gonna get some tan time in on the deck at lunch. :) And the advantage of being in the backyard vs. the pool, I can wear the suit I’m too chicken to wear in public. 32 days to the beach, I need to get a little color on me so I don’t scare people. Also, assuming plans hold, going out Friday with legs exposed, and I need the color to help camoflauge the bruises on my knees from moving the bookshelves. (However, looking at the forecast, it’s only gonna be in the 70s, so I won’t roast in stockings either…)

Perhaps I spoke too soon on the animals being patient. At the garden dedication at my mother’s office, her boss had found some certificates in her desk, and since I wasn’t going straight home, said she’d pop them in the mail for me. The envelope came a bit ago, and I had set it down on a chair. Of all the things the dog could decide to get into, *that* was what he picked. I wish I could read the little guys mind… Envelope smells like office, which smells like Mom when she got home at night, so Mom must be in the envelope? That or he liked the glue on the envelope. He only really destroyed a manila folder in it, the certificates just have a few tooth marks. How odd, though. I couldn’t help but laugh, and then had to spend a lot of time reassuring him that he wasn’t in trouble - not his fault I was so late getting in.

It is always awesome when someone comes through with a reason to make you laugh when you really need it (even if it is SO WRONG to laugh about their situation, but they know you well enough to just give you the opening anyway.) And the radio stations cooperated nicely on the way home by playing lots of good music.

My clients were again pretty reasonable today. It’s like the pod people came and replaced the real ones or something.

The neighbors must think I am a total nutjob. The dog is not supposed to take his toys outside - so of course he does, and then we make a game of it (which is probably why he takes them outside…) When he’s got one of his toys, he makes this bizarre happy growly sound and bounces around all over the place when you walk towards him. So of course, we have to make this more interesting and I end up running around the yard after him waving my arms and making monster noises. He thinks it is the BEST THING EVAR!!! I hope my neighbors can actually see the dog happily bouncing around at my feet… (We do work “leave it” regularly, he knows this is full on playtime.) We also just finished a most excellent game of ball, and thank goodness the winds have kicked up with the storms about to come through, cause earlier it was ick-still out there.

I have even managed to convince the dog to hang upstairs with me tonight, even though for him it’s hotter than hell upstairs. I promised him that a laptop and wireless router were in his future so I can be a dork and hangout online downstairs so he doesn’t roast. I will be filing that expense under “Pets” in Quicken. :)

OMG, in other news I am TOTALLY GOING TO HELL. The phone just rang - my grandma saying, “Yesterday it was my turn to call [we alternate weeks] and I had it written down and everything, and I forgot to look at the calendar.” I didn’t take notice of the fact that she didn’t call. I am back in “bad granddaughter status” I am sure. I’ve now got another task on the calendar every two weeks “Grandma should call today…”

I’ve already spent the last 30 minutes on the phone with a client, and this is the third time in under a week that we have had the *exact* same conversation. She asked what we do when we’re waiting for clients to print or calculate things… I felt this was a good time to NOT be truthful, as she probably doesn’t want to know I am sitting here catching up on the comics.

Bless her heart, she’s trying to make conversation. It’s still too early for that. :)

I am completely out of sorts this morning. I’ll be lucky if I don’t walk into a wall at some point out of sheer distraction.

Amazingly, I’m feeling fine after the insanity of going out at 10:30 and returning at 2:30. I am sure there is still a nap in my future today, though.

Abigail is insane, but it’s the happy kind. She thinks I have total style, which just cracks me up, because I oh so do not. :)

The sentence “why do men DO that?” was repeated by both of us several times over the course of the night. We couldn’t come up with any concrete answers, no matter how hard we tried. I did come to the conclusion that perhaps it’s better to meet someone when you’re at your absolute worst than at your best. Also ponderances on why it seems that there are so many guys out there that just aren’t growing up. (Not all!! But enough to be noticeable.) Myself, I think it’s just the times, and there’s not a whole lot you can do about it.

Apparently she is also scouting out men for me to meet. I find that to be incredibly sweet and absolutely hilarious at the same time, mainly because right now I can’t even begin to imagine meeting someone I’d be interested in or that would be interested back…but hey, new friends are always good.

Lest one think it was an estrogen-filled-man-hating-bitch-fest, it really wasn’t. Actually quite mild, we’re just damn confused about men at this point. I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to figure out what makes them do the things they do, and I still have nary a clue.

…but that was fun. Haven’t seen Abigail in forever and a day, and it’s good to have someone you can just hang with and do some benign guy-bashing. (She’s in a bit of a cynical spot in her life, too.)

Also happy to say I found my way in and out of Crystal City with a minimum of illegal u-turns. :)

I now have 4 bookshelves moved, for only the cost of lunch. :) The actual moving took maybe 15 minutes at each house, but damn it was not good weather for doing that - we were both pretty disgusting in short order.

I’m getting old. Was at the Brick laster night from around 8:30 to midnight-ish. Hardly a psychotic rip roaring drunkfest by any means. Couple beers, hanging out, having a good time. It pretty much kicked my ass. I was so tired today. Took about a 3 hour nap after little bro went home, and I don’t think I’m gonna be up much longer. Just waiting on the Advil to kick in to take care of the headache that decided to popup out of nowhere.

Tomorrow is cleaning day! Whee! Seriously, this place is overdue for a room by room for real and true cleaning. Still have things that need to be unpacked and put away and get other things rearranged to make room for the rest.

In a world filled with crap, here’s a nice story for a change.
One Night Changes a Life, and Calif. Town
(If you don’t get at least a tiny bit sniffly, then you’re one cold mofo.)

My phone just rang, and on the other end was someone I haven’t hung out with in ages. So, instead of being smart & going to bed, I could turn around and go out… Good thing the Advil kicked in.

Tried to go open an estate account, you would have thought I was speaking German. They wouldn’t open it w/out my brother there… Bad enough I had to explain to the woman what f/k/a meant and that no, there really were NOT three people qualified as administrators.

I did discover why they put those chains on the pens in banks - so you when you decide it’s time to stab the idiot on the other side of the desk in the eye with the pen, the chain prevents you from actually being able to do it.

So, Monday I call Navy Federal and see what they can do, even though they don’t handle business accounts maybe they can convert her existing account. If not, fuck it, we’ll get around not having one somehow, we’ve managed just fine so far. What it comes down to is that every flipping penny can be accounted for and if there is ever a question, I can document everything.

The Brick no longer carries Xingu. :(

But, found Todd & Co, had a good time. Celia & Chris are still getting married, and I am still a firm believer in eloping to Vegas and having Elvis officiate after hearing a few “not even really horror stories but things you just wouldn’t put up with in any other situation”…

A good week with a decent ending and I’m tired and hitting the rack.

Verdict is in on the hair - lighter but no real color change. Ah well, *I* know it changed. Everyone did notice that I didn’t wear my hair pinned up like I usually do - and now I remember why I wear it pinned up - gets caught in the headset otherwise…

In the nothing ventured, nothing gained department, I’m off to the Brick, despite that it will likely be a madhouse, in hopes of finding my buddy Todd and kicking back a black beer or two. It’s only 2 blocks from the metro, there is really no reason I shouldn’t get up there a tad more often. (Except that it’s actually 6 blocks because I always go two blocks in the wrong direction upon exiting the metro station…)

Tally ho!

I am freakishly chipper today, and I have no idea why, but I’m gonna go with it. :)

Down to FIVE FOUR THREE calls assigned to myself. That has got to be the lowest in about 6 months.

It’s Friday!!

May be heading up to the Brickskeller tonight, haven’t made up my mind yet. (And apparently there is a fark gethering there as well, which is completely unconnected and may very well have just made the decision for me…)

Have two more batches of japanese and/or siberian iris getting ready to bloom, bunch of azaleas in the backyard are blooming and the daisies are coming up.

And again, IT’S FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I’ll be damned, it does seem to have taken. Much more noticeable from a distance than close up now that it’s totally dry. Seems to really be pulling the copper out in my hair. Quite nice.

I probably shouldn’t jinx it by saying it out loud, but work has been absolutely glorious this week. Despite losing the one person on Monday, it’s been really good. Don’t have half the queue MIA for training, things have slowed down a bit - steady but not dead, the client seem to be going into summertime “OK, sure, whatever you say” mode and it’s definitely good. With two of the four new folks at the point of tackling calls on their own, and the other two chomping at the bit to get on the queue, we’re going to be in good shape.

Off to bed, donuts at work tomorrow, woohoo!!