a post about hair

If you live in my neck of the woods, you know that it has been mighty hot and humid over the past few days (in the down-time between thunder storms and tornadoes, that is). And silly me, I have not yet put in my window A/C, so my top floor apartment is about 500 degrees hotter than it is outside. Even with all the windows open and all the fans going, it just will not cool down. So anyway, I have been forced to modify my habits a little in order to maintain a bit of comfort in the excessive hotness of my house. I would usually take a hot shower in the morning, and get dressed and do my hair before going to work. I've never been much for evening showers because after sleeping, my (curly) hair just never recovers. However, in an attempt to cool off, the last few days I have been taking a cool shower in the evening, and then, without any product in it at all, pulling my wet hair into a high ponytail and going to bed. And it's totally great! First and foremost, it cools me off before bed, so I sleep better. Score. And also, even though my hairstyle options are more limited in the morning, washing it in cold water makes my hair so much shinier and softer! (And maybe the product I was using was making it dull and it's really liking being naked?) So yay! I found a way to cool off my body and make my hair happy at the same time!

... but I still intend to put in that A/C ASAP.

MOVE

WELL!! I'm all moved in to the new apartment. Aren't you so proud of me? Yeah, whatever. I'm just hoping that this one doesn't suck as much as the last one did, and I don't end up moving again a year from now. But I think it will be just fine. Aside from a few little things, most of which are just normal hazards of living in an old building, I am crazy about the new place. Did I say the exact same thing about the last place right after I'd moved in? Perhaps. But when I put it all out in front of me, the new apartment is so obviously superior I almost can't handle it.


THE OLD APARTMENT
Pros:
Location - right around the corner from Brown Line
Vintage - I loved the built-in cabinets in the kitchen
Large living room
Radiator heat - the pro being the fact that it's free
Closet space - tons!

Cons:
Tiny useless kitchen - one square of counter space, not enough cabinets, and a midget fridge
Tiny useless "eat-in" area - my table didn't even fit and had to be put in living room
Vintage - the bathroom hadn't been updated since the Civil War (What is up with separate faucets for hot and cold water?)
Bathroom - no storage, no towel bars, no room to turn around, and a temperamental shower
Tiny bedroom
Radiator heat - the con being the fact that there wasn't one in the bedroom (!!) and I had to rely on a space heater, which drove up my electric bill
Bugs - they had an exterminator come once a month, and when he inexplicably didn't come for a few months, I discovered why he was needed
Smell - there was a weird smell when I moved in, which I eventually just got used to, but for a while I was buying all manner of air freshener to try to get rid of it
Price - yes, it was within my price range, but I never felt I was getting my money's worth - and I happen to know that the new tenant is paying $150 a month more than I would have been, had I stayed - shady...


THE NEW APARTMENT
Pros:
The courtyard building is really pretty.
Location - still very much in the neighborhood I want to live in
Size - it matters
Closet space - I lucked out again in that department
Bigger, better kitchen - granted, the kitchen is still rather small, but it's still such an improvement, and you would not BELIEVE the amount of cabinet space! And counter tops! And a bigger fridge!
Dining room - one that my table actually fits in, with room to spare
Vintage - it has the same built-in cabinets I loved about the old apartment, PLUS a built-in bookcase in the living room, and very pretty arched doorways
Radiator heat - again, free, and this time in every room!
Smell - there's a nice sweet smell in the stairwell and the apartment that I can't place, but I'm actually quite fond of - and they do say that a pleasant smell is a sign of compatibility. :)
Price - only $25 a month more than the old one

Cons:
Old windows - we'll have to see how they fare in the dead of winter - I think the living/dining rooms will be fine, but there are no storm windows in the bedroom, and cold air (and sound) already come through, so that is a potential problem
Hot water pressure - for some reason, the hot water only comes out of the faucets in barely more than a trickle, whereas the cold water is just fine - but oddly enough, the shower pressure is still satisfactory
There's a yucky light switch/outlet in the kitchen that I'm afraid to plug anything into


So that's the long and short of it right there. So far, I'm really happy with the place. Now, the biggest obstacle is finding the time and energy to get everything unpacked and put away! I got a great deal of it done last weekend, especially since I was off Friday as well. But on the weekdays, I just find it so hard to do anything! I still don't have a car, so I take public transportation to and from work, which adds an extra hour or so to my day. By the time I finally get home (I leave the apartment at 5:30 in the morning and return around 6 p.m.), I am so exhausted, all I want to do is eat dinner and crash. I literally have to force myself to do anything productive in the evenings - even just putting a couple things into a closet - just so I know I've accomplished something. And all the kinks I've had to work out due to the move have been overwhelming. Nothing ever goes as smoothly as you'd like it to. For example, I needed to hook up the telephone, so I called AT&T to get the line set up. They said they'd come out last Friday. Well, I got an e-mail from someone last week saying there was already working service at my address, but they'd come and hook mine up on Friday, provided the current service had been disconnected. Well, no one showed up on Friday and yet I have no dial tone when I pick up the phone. Not sure what happened there. Another example, I wanted to transfer my cable service from the old address to the new one. Well, apparently the new address was not in their system, so it was going to take them a day (?!?) to add it. When the lady called me the next day to tell me I'd been added, I missed the call and she left a message. She said she'd sign me up for the next available service date, but neglected to tell me when that was, or who to call to reschedule if need be. So now I have to call the main number again and go through all the rigmarole AGAIN. And that's not even the half of it. Suffice it to say that moving is a bitch.

Which brings me to the movers. I have said that hiring movers was one of the best decisions I have ever made. But this is really only partly true. Hiring movers was indeed one of the best decisions I have made, however, the particular movers I decided to hire was actually a very poor choice. I am a victim of "you get what you pay for." I was all proud of myself for finding a moving company that was charging about half of what the other companies were quoting me, but after all was said and done, I discovered why. First off, they broke a few things, dinged some furniture, and were generally very rough with my belongings. Sure, they wrapped up my couch up tight with cellophane like a Thanksgiving leftover, but I would have preferred they pay that much attention to my fragile (paper) Japanese folding screen instead, which came back to me with the paper separated from the wood frame in two spots. The kicker, though, and the reason I'd never hire this company again, nor recommend it to any of my friends, is that I am missing one of my air conditioners. And when I called the company to ask about it, they were rude to me! They said, "We don't have it. If we had it, you would have gotten a call from the foreman the next morning. I suggest you look through your things again." And that was all the help I got from them. Nice, huh? Well, at least it was the smaller, slightly defective one that I lost. :)

a weird night

So, yesterday after work, I sat down on my couch to continue reading Harry Potter. I had read about two chapters when I started feeling sleepy. I guess a couple late nights were catching up to me. So I dozed off. When I woke up, it was 10:00. Even though I had not yet eaten any dinner, just some Cheez-Its right after I got home, I was still in sleep-mode, so I just stumbled off to bed. At about 3 a.m. I was abruptly awoken by a particularly loud clap of thunder. And this NEVER happens to me. I can sleep through any storm. Anyway, after my heart rate returned to normal, I started falling back asleep, but was again awoken by a noise. This time, it was inside my apartment. Slightly afraid of what I might find, I creeped out to the living room, and saw that I had left a window open, and a wooden cigar box that had been crafted into a purse, which I'd had sitting on the table in front of the window, had merely fallen to the floor due to the wind and rain. So I grabbed some paper towels and mopped up the rain water that had come in the window and was all over the table, floor, and everything else in the vicinity. Then I went back to bed.

Man, this story is anticlimactic.

no appropriate title comes to mind

Feeling better about stuff today. I've been pretty busy the last couple days, so maybe that has something to do with it. I think I get in trouble when I have nothing to do and am left to my own devices ... though sometimes that's my favorite way to be. Go figure.

Monday I had a doctor's appointment, and we're going to continue lowering my Prednisone dose since I've been doing so well with the Enbrel. Yay me! So hopefully I'll be back to my normal-faced self very soon! I should be completely off it in 6-9 weeks, depending on how I do my taper - I've been given a bit of flexibility since I know my body better than any doctor ever could. Plus, I'm putting myself on a diet, and I MIGHT even start EXERCISING!! OMG, what is the world coming to??!! And in a fit of self-improvement energy, I bought some moisturizer with a touch of self-tanner in it so I don't look like a glass of skim milk this summer (complete with slight bluishness). My goal is to look smokin' hot by my 10 year HS reunion, whenever that decides to be. Don't exactly know why I want to look good for those people, but it never hurts to put your best foot forward. And any motivation is better than none at all, right? RIGHT?

After the appointment I took an unplanned trip to Trader Joe's since I was passing by, and I bought a basket full of yummy treats - mostly healthy, too! For some reason, this shopping made me feel incredibly happy. I'd been hankering for some TJ's goodies.

Yesterday I had to work for 10 hours (long story), so afterwards, instead of fighting the nasty rush-hour traffic, I went to IKEA and browsed for a while (bought some new sheets, and a pot for a plant I want to transplant). Got a couple ideas for some things I might buy for the apartment, but I didn't want to make any major purchases until I did a bit of comparison shopping and visualizing things in the actual space. I recently purchased some items online, one of which has been delivered and is sitting happily in its spot in my living room - a shoji screen! This is serving the dual purpose of dividing the space into a living room and dining area, while also hiding the ugly cords and wires behind the desk that my TV/DVD etc. are on. I also ordered a rug for the living room that is being delivered on Friday. I'm TOTALLY excited to see how that will look in the room, and even more excited to get rid of the abomination (hesitate to even call it a rug) that is in there now. So now my goals are thus: 1) find a trunk/chest for my bedroom - I'm having storage issues and need a place for purses, belts and other accessories, but also want something that will be attractive and not look all "storage-y" (read: nothing plastic). I'm currently looking at one online (here's the link - I like the nutmeg. Opinions?), and I saw one at IKEA that costs considerably less, but has a more rugged look that I'm not sure if I like as much. Oh look, here's a link to that one, too! These were also neat (they had a larger size at the store that doesn't seem to be online), but I 'd definitely need two and I'm not sure they're ideal. 2) I need some lamps for the living room. I saw this and this at IKEA, but I swear everyone and their brother owns these lamps, and do I want to be a follower? I think not. The only benefit is I'd be able to get these shades, which match the old rug I don't have anymore and LOVED. 'Course I could get the shades with any lamp, really, couldn't I? 3) I need a microwave cart. I think I've firmly decided on the one at Target, so I just have to go pick one up ... unless something better comes along between now and whenever I get my butt over there to buy it. I guess that's not so firm, is it? 4) I'd also like to get a baker's rack for the kitchen, but I have a dilemma here too. I really like this one, but it's a bit expensive, and the wood won't really match the microwave cart (not that that's incredibly important, but I don't want it to look ridiculous sitting next to something so obviously mismatched). This one is a better price, it matches better, and the style is slowly growing on me, but it's out of stock and who knows when it will be back in. This one - same deal. My other option is the one from Target that will match for sure, but I don't particularly care for, looks-wise. Which is also something that everybody and their brother owns. Hey, I just noticed ALL THREE of the other racks on the Target site! Hmmmm ...

MAN, can I ramble!!

Anyhoo, yeah, I've completely lost the point of this post. Um, I guess I'm just saying that I've been busy. Or something. Tonight I'm going out with some gal pals (I hate that phrase, I can't believe I just used it!!!) for some much-needed socialization, so I'm happy about that. And tomorrow is Thursday and I have Friday off! Woo hoo!!

OH! About the dude with the problem and the cats (he'd still have a problem even without the "cat problem"), I've come to the realization that in addition to his lack of a conscience, he's a person who I'd do best to avoid if I don't want an argument. My professional opinion (if I was in the psychology profession, that is) is that he has some deep-seated need to prove himself, and is therefore very argumentative, challenges and/or disagrees with damn near everything I say, and lives in a fantasy world where anything that he has not personally experienced cannot possibly be true. Case in point: I was sharing some experiences a while back about when I was sick as a kid and spent a lot of time in the hospital. Obviously, this was a harrowing experience for me, as it would be for anyone, and I was talking about the different emotions I went through during this time. At every turn, his response was, "Why did you fee like that? I'd think you'd feel more this way. I wouldn't have let that get to me. Why did that bother you? I would have been more like this." Well, excuse me, but until you've been a 12-year-old girl who has an unnamed disease giving her pain and swelling in her neck and weighs 76 pounds because she is unable to eat due to the nausea, and has no idea what's causing it or whether or not it's going to kill her, you have no right to tell me how I should and should not feel. But that's just one of my issues with this guy. I'd just rather I never had to see him again.

Okay, that's enough. I think I should do some work now, no?

maybe exercise? no, definitely not.

I should have stayed in bed today. I woke up to the sound of birds chirping ... wait, that sounds too pleasant, let me rephrase ... I woke up to the sound of birds screaming at me. My bedroom faces the courtyard, so I think their squawking gets amplified by a thousand in there. Plus, I swear I heard at LEAST three other peoples' alarm clocks going off before mine did. I don't know if a lot of people sleep with their windows open, or if the walls are just incredibly thin, but whatever it was, it was a little annoying. I seriously considered calling in "sick" but unfortunately, my conscience got the better of me and I bit the bullet and came in to work. I'm already regretting it because the morning is draaaaaagging. At least I have some shopping to look forward to this evening. However, it will be a bittersweet shopping trip because of the particular item I will be searching for ... fat pants! Woo hoo!! I've gained weight and my clothes don't fit!! I'm supposed to be losing weight because I'm getting off one of my medications (Did I mention that? It's good news.), but alas, it has not been happening. Last week I weighed myself and was delighted to see that I weighed more than I have ever weighed in my life. Lovely. But since then I've lost about 8 of those pounds, which must have been water weight because I don't know how someone can lose 8 pounds so quickly by only slightly changing their eating habits. My body is weird, what can I say. I'm hoping that this is just a temporary setback and that I'll be able to lose the weight pretty easily once I'm off the meds for good and can get back to a normal eating routine, but of course I fear the worst. The worst being that my metabolism is going through that change that happens to every woman at some point around (or before) age 30. It's a scary thought. But hey, even if that's the case, I can still lose the weight, it'll just be a little harder. Anyhoo, maybe I should just focus on the fact that I've never needed fat pants up until this point in my life, and that definitely has to be a good thing.

maybe the new paint will hold up the walls

Last night I put together an etagere for my new teensy bathroom, and then I had a dream that my apartment was falling apart.

But before I get into either of those things, let me begin by apologizing that my posts have been so sucky lately and have mostly been about my apartment and/or the fact that I have nothing to write about. But, um, this post is going to be about my apartment because I have nothing else to write about.

On we go.

Yes. I bought a chrome etagere (at least that's what they called it on the box - it's a shelving unit that fits behind/above your toilet) from Bed, Bath and Beyond last week, and I finally put the thing together last night. It was actually quite enjoyable. I like putting things together (which is why the thought of buying things at IKEA sends me into a fit of giddy anticipation). I like seeing the finished product and being able to say, "Hey, I did that and it looks pretty cool." But anyway, in this case, there were a couple minor setbacks. Not with the construction of the item, but with its placement in the bathroom. First off, there was this butt-ugly yellowish "thing" attached to the wall behind the toilet that I desperately needed to get rid of because the sight of it made me want to vomit. I guess it was an attempt at a shelf to put tissue etc. on, since the toilet itself is one of those industrial ones that doesn't have a tank. But anyway, it had to go, so go it did. But behind it was all this discolored, chipped paint that I'm either going to have to Spackle before repainting, or try to sand down to a smoother texture. Secondly, I found out after setting the thing up that the unusually long toilet seat lid doesn't clear the bottom shelf. So now I am going to have to find something to put underneath it to raise it an inch or two. As it is, the toilet is set pretty far back, and is perhaps not the most comfortable seat what with the shelf directly behind it, but the added discomfort of having to hold up the lid ... well, I'm not going to let that happen. And lastly, it's not exactly stable at the moment because I had to leave off the bottom bar in order to get the thing behind the toilet to begin with. Now that it's in position, I can attach the bar for that added stability, but I don't want to do that until I do the painting in there that I intend to do at some point. Because if I attach it now, I'll just have to detach it again when I remove it to paint, only to reattach it when I'm done. Screw that. But yeah. It's in there. And it looks pretty cool.

Then last night I had a very scary dream. I dreamt that I woke up to an apartment that was literally falling apart. And this was one of those super-realistic dreams that leave you wondering if it really happened. In the dream, I woke up late because of a faulty alarm clock, opened my bedroom door and saw my place in a shambles. I leaned against my bedroom door frame, and the entire wall started moving. It was like the walls weren't attached to the ceiling anymore and were slowly crumbling and falling down. My parents were there (inexplicably), and I tried to show them what was happening, but they didn't seem to understand the urgency of it. My apartment walls were falling down!! This was bad!! I showed my Dad how I could literally push a wall over with the weight of my body, but he just kept putzing around the kitchen as if nothing was happening, and said maybe I should call the landlord and see if he could fix it. So I went downstairs to see if I could find someone else in the building who might be able to help or explain what was going on, but the apartment complex looked more like a hotel with red velvet all over the place, and all I could find was this restaurant, but there was nobody inside. I felt like I was in some kind of Stephen King story. When I actually woke up from the dream (on time, but to a faulty alarm clock that gives me loud static along with the alarm), I was incredibly relieved to see that all of my walls were firmly attached to both the floor and the ceiling, and my Dad was not putzing around in my kitchen.

So that's that. Maybe one day I'll be interesting.