Apartment Gremlins

I seriously MUST have a massive Gremlin infestation. Things have gone missing without so much as a "by your leave". Most confounding is the disappearance of my curtain rod. It's 4 feet long, brown, with distinctive ends. Three people have confirmed that they are certain it was moved out of the moving truck and into my bedroom. I myself, am certain that I saw it while setting up my bed.
Since that point...i have checked: Under my bed, in the closet, behind every single door, inside my laundry closet, inside my pantry closet, under my couch, behind my tv, in the entry closet, along every single square inch of floorboard, behind the water heater, in my patio storage, my only window sill and behind my toilet.

I know, I know...you're probably thinking it's there somewhere or I'm just forgetting where i put it. But that's not all.

Other missing items:
Half size mirror, A skirt i made, single egg size fry pan, and two shelves from my book case!

I pride myself on having a very good memory especially for things that I have seen. This is baffling me. Needless to say, I'm at the point of blaming the darn gremlins!!!

My thoughts on current events

Today is April 26th, 2010. There are some current events i would like to comment on. Agree...don't agree...i don't care. I'm just pondering what's going on int he world.

Boobquake:
An Iranian Cleric was quoted in the following words: "Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes,".
I hope honestly that you are as confused at that insurmountable leap to conclusion as I am. Revealing clothing (aka, anything short of a burka)....causes...earthquakes. I guess all those trailer rocking situations really do have the earth moving.
And this rather unrealistic claim has spawned a blogger into challenging it. She has invited all women to wear revealing clothing today betting the odds that there won't be an earthquake today.
While i completely disagree with the cleric, i also have to say that rolling the dice betting that there WON'T be an earthquake somewhere today is rather silly. Since there are thousands of micro quakes throughout the world every single day. And what constitutes a real earthquake? And we would all look mighty foolish if there were to just HAPPEN to be a major earthquake today. But I digress, I'm joining in anyway.

I have little interest in being modest just because certain cultures want to blame one side of an equation for the resulting problem. Adultery takes two. And since the odds of there not being an apocalyptic earthquake today are overwhelmingly in our favor, I'm not adverse to testing our side of the theory that he is just another ignorant bigot from an oppressed culture who is making wild claims in an attempt to scare us into doing what he says.
Reminds me of that Kansas pastor who says soldiers are dying because of homosexuals. What-(expletive)-ever.

Steven Hawking is concerned about meeting aliens:
Arguably one of the most intelligent men in the world has expressed his concern about aliens ever showing up here on earth. Comparing them both to Columbus arriving in the Americas, and to hostile nomads. He suggests that they could either introduce diseases that we would be unable to fight or to take over the earth in search of resources, perhaps violently. This certainly is an about face from the fanciful world of star trek where curiosity doesn't kill the captains. And diplomacy is the most powerful weapon.
My NaNoWriMo story this year happens to involve an alien species arriving at the planet. And this article has left me with some serious questions to answer about the species i created.

Good friends to keep drama at bay

Yesterday, i felt like i was a magnet for hostility. Everyone at work seemed to be more intense, more agitated, more confrontational , and blatantly snide yesterday. Perhaps it was just an overall bad day for everyone and it was just filtering down to me. Perhaps I was being overly sensitive. But by the end of the day, i just felt wrung out and exhausted. Drama has a way of taking so much out of you. And in this world of so much politically correct, polite snarkyness...you don't dare just tell someone at work to back the F off and mind their own business.

My noticing this probably wasn't helped by my plans to have some much needed friends time and the fact that I haven't made nearly as much progress as I had hoped to in my apartment unpacking. While i know my friends are laid back and probably didn't really care....it bothered me that there were boxes everywhere, hastily stacked so that there was room to hang out. And the stress from that also wasn't helping my mood.

But shortly after their arrival, after a small glass of blackberry wine, and some inside jokes, my stress level was extinguished by all the laughter. I was happy to share my favorite meal with people who have spent a great deal of time lately helping me through a rough spot. And it wasn't until after they left that I decided I must do this again and more often. No roommates to coordinate with, no need to clean up INSTANTLY after a party for fear of incurring their wrath. Everything was just more relaxed and worries just melted away. I was free to just enjoy my time with people who make me feel good about myself and leave me free to laugh.

Challenges the Status Quo

That's a phrase that has been on every single one of my annual reviews since I was 16.
It's always been listed under the accomplishments or pro side of my review. Before this year, I always thought it could never be a bad trait. Lately, I feel like people don't want the status quo challenged. That they go along with whatever IS because it is easier than provoking, evoking or dragging change to take place. That even if whatever change I suggest makes their lives easier or less irritable...they won't do it. Simply because it is the status quo.

I'm not that way. I see something I don't like, I try to change it. I believe a fresh set of eyes always catches something that has just slid under the radar for a long time. If I'm able to change say a process, a layout, even someone's way of thinking...i will try. I'm all about efficiency and working smarter, not harder. I want harmony, and if change is how that comes about....well, let me roll up my sleeves.

Doing this....ruffles feathers. Regardless if i ask ahead of time, or prep people with my plans first.

Some are amazed at the new concept that never occurred to them.
Some just nod and adapt to the change, sometimes with a mild comment about easier or difficult.
Others....it's like stroking a moody cat backwards.

Quite frankly...I'm tired of moody cats.

In other, happier news:
Getting down to the items which are bulky, or require a lot of work. As usual, that list includes my clothing. As a reminder, I HATE folding laundry. It is the most useless task ever! You spend hours folding neatly, stacking, and sorting...and the second you take one item....the neatly folded items fall apart and the stack slumps or shifts.

I think the end is in sight, and that i might be able to possibly sit down and have nothing left on my checklist to do...this weekend. With the exception of painting. And stretching the canvas paintings i got. and...and...and...... :)

BWI....Baking While Impaired

No, this is not a post about baking and being drunk. This is a post about my part infuriating, part incredulous, and part hilarious evening of attempting to make my favorite meal.
For starters, let me help you salivate.
My favorite meal is baked chicken with Hungarian paprika, gently cooked for 45 minutes until tender and juicy. I accompany this meal with baked garlic asparagus drizzled with olive oil until it is soft on the outside but still crisps when you bite into it. Also, a helping of Jasmine rice, covered with my simply delicious white sauce (which even my brother who hates my cooking always goes back for seconds or thirds of).
Perhaps now you can see why i was upset at not being able to make it! And here is why:

On a normal stove, usually there are 4 burners. And these burners are controlled by a knob which helps you set the heat setting. Fairly normal burners are low, med-low, med, med-high, high and Off. If the stove includes an oven, usually there is a separate nob for the oven temperatures. 100degrees, 200, 300 etc.

Mine: Low, Med-Low, Med, Med-High, High....Off

Needless to say, i was a little confused as to where 350 degrees was.
Unfortunately a phone call to maintenance was too late, as they had apparently "just left for the night like a couple minutes ago."
So with much sadness, the chicken and asparagus went back into the fridge, and the rice back into the bag....and Jon and I went out for Chinese.

Sleep

I'm an early bird. I usually at least open my eyes with the dawn before my alarm goes off, even if I decide to turn back over. Sleeping past 9am leaves me with a headache. And i have to be seriously tired in order to take a nap.
But at the same time...I like my sleep. Nay...love it, rely on it...etc. Without a good quality sleep, at worst...I get cranky, irritable, and short tempered. At best, my sentences just trail off into oblivion and i find myself staring with glazed eyes at something like a wall plug for several minutes at a time.

This month, has not been conducive to a good night's sleep. Between stress over the move, if it was going to happen or not, sleeping in a sub-terrain basement room where i froze despite five blankets, and the fact that my bed was buried behind a wall of boxes.....sleep has been short in quantity and quality.

I was so happy last night when, thanks to the sweetheart of a boyfriend i've somehow managed to keep around, my bed was freed at last. Soft and with sheets and a down comforter at the ready! I quickly made use of them flopping into bed and kicking off my shoes without moving from the gentle yielding pillows.
I slept so wonderfully last night that i wasn't even annoyed or in despair when my alarm clock went off reminding me that it was still a week day and I had work to get to. Of course i hit the snooze button a couple times, just to savor those few extra minutes of a rarely achievable bliss that comes from a restful sleep after such a long absence.

The move in.

Boxes on the floor, boxes stacked high, boxes on counters, boxes to bang my toes and shins on, ...boxes everywhere.

It's Unpacking Time!!!

There is so much to do. But I just wanted to let everyone know...I'm moved in!

I'm hoping in the next couple of weeks to have a small shindig at my new place to get some people over. But it appears that it will depend on the speed of my unpacking.

Things that are on my mind

When a deadline looms, or i find myself starting to get overwhelmed, one of the things that I try to make time for is a brain dump. Usually, this comes out in a torrent to a trusted friend, or on a post-it-note that i don't find for another six months.

Sometimes making a list helps...other times, too much stuff gets piled on and even making a list seems like another straw to break the camel's back.

But for a change the only things I have to worry about right now are rather simple.

1. Will the apartment complex actually (for a change) adhere to their promise and give me my keys on time tomorrow
2. What am I going to do in MY apartment to make it my own
   

Of course number 2 is completely contingent on number 1. And since i have almost NO control at this point of number 1.....i find myself obsessing over number 2.

I keep thinking of things that will be really important very shortly. Things like a step stool to put up full length curtains to help obscure views from windows. Those curtains will need curtain rods, and I'll need to get a drill which can hold a charge for more than 10 minutes to put up those rods.
It's all becoming a cyclical situation which involves me somehow managing to find time to go shopping.
One thing I have made time for is picking out paint colors because i finally have an opportunity to paint and darnit...I'm going to take it. Painting has never been much of a chore for me; in fact, i find it rather soothing. it's a monotonous task that you can do in a variety of different ways and still end up with a measurable result. So I'm not begrudging the fact that I'll have to paint the walls back before i leave whether that be in one year or several. I'm very much tired of white, off white, beige, taupe, and other such BLA colors.
Much to my family's confusion (they all expected me to leave it white)...i'm looking in the ranges of Warm tuscany-spicy yellows to set off the Red Couch of Awesomeness, and the dark mahogany stained furniture I am in the process of building.
I'll post some pictures when i get it all set up.

My new home

There are things which you don't really miss until you go through a long time without them. For me, it has been a place to call my own. One that is decorated, designed, painted and laid out the way that I want.

Moving in with Katherine....she had already lived there for 4 years.
Moving in with Kelsie....she had lived there for 7 months.

I had to negotiate changes, or do the rather impetuous thing of changing things without asking counting on the fact that they would be too lazy to move them back. I never felt comfortable asking them to move things out of the way so that I could have room and just doing what I wanted prompted nasty looks passive aggressive bullshit. Promises of "I want you to feel like this is your place too," were replaced with "that's the way I have it and i don't really want to change it."

I distinctly remember both of them remarking that i never put up pictures of my family and friends or even just paintings i like. Most of this was due to the fact that they had pictures everywhere and i would have had to squeeze my stuff in-between.

There is a new song out by Carrie Underwood, which is about a temporary home. Which is all that i have had since i moved out. While i understand this is the nature of apartments, there is also such a thing as being comfortable in your temporary home. I always felt like i was stepping on someone else's toes just by walking in the door even if all I did was go straight into "MY room". I'm tired of living in someone else's space.

Finally after dealing with the leasing agents for a full 20 days, and not a single one of them going smoothly....i have a final, set, unchangeable move in date. I also have furniture to build, walls to paint, and security to address, and a whole lotta stuff to move.

My living situations have never been an easy fight. I have watched enviously, while still very proud and happy for friends as they find a place and move in and it's just perfect. Just smooth, and perfect. Every living place has been a fight. Fight to get in, fight to stay, fight with non compatible personalities. And i'm tired.

At least now all i have to fight with is myself.
Countdown: 3 days