food flop

So, I discovered this weekend that my friends are not so much into food. I had a little party on Saturday, which was lots of fun (for me, and I would like to think for the other guests as well), however, one aspect of this party was a complete and utter flop. It was SUPPOSED to be a potluck to which everyone would bring a dish that they had never made before, and it was SUPPOSED to start at 7:00, early enough so that people could make it their dinner. However, out of the 15 or so guests, only 2 brought food (3 if you count both halves of a couple), and every single person had eaten before arriving. And even taking into consideration the one-hour cushion of time I usually leave for guests to arrive, only one couple arrived on time. Everyone else was at least 2-3 hours late. Most people brought beer or wine, which was very much appreciated (thanks to anyone who I may not have thanked, and who may be reading this - I'm very excited to partake in the party leftovers, especially a couple bottles of wine that have been calling out my name since Saturday). The party was fun regardless, but I felt like a dope for having spent literally all day cooking, and then not even putting all that food out because nobody was going to eat it. And I am no cook, so this was a huge undertaking for me. My fingers still smell like garlic. I guess people just assumed it was going to be a party like all my others, starting later and being mostly alcohol-centric, even though the invitation stated otherwise. Well, shame on me for trying something different. But really, I'm not complaining. I did have a good time, and like I said, I think everyone else did as well. And they brought all kinds of fun new beer and wine, for which I am extremely grateful. And now I've got great leftovers to last me all week. Conclusion: I love my friends, but I'm never cooking for them again. ;)

what's wrong with my computer?

Here's a pop quiz for all you techies out there. My work computer for one reason or another does not show the little arrows, or what have you, that are supposed to show up on mapping sites such as Mapquest, to indicate the exact location of the place you are looking for. So I get a map of the general area of the address I just typed in, and have to assume that the exact location is ... somewhere in the middle. And this happens with every mapping site I've tried. Many times the zooming buttons don't show up either. Is this a setting that I can fix on my own? Or is it something an administrator would have to do? Is it a subtle method my place of business has concocted to discourage employees from visiting such sites, even on breaks? Any ideas?

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 thought for the singles

Have you ever met someone who is so totally "wrong," meaning "not what you're looking for in a partner," and yet you just really want to talk to them more and get to know them better? Like, on paper, they wouldn't even catch your attention, might even give you a negative reaction, but in person you're drawn to them in a way that's completely baffling? And maybe it's not that you want to date them, but you just want to be their friend, and be around them, in their presence, a part of their circle in some way. You just know that unexpectedly, out of nowhere, this is one of those rare souls who fills a hole in your life that you didn't even realize needed filling.

I have. A couple times. Hm.

missy poo

The whistling is going to drive me to an early grave. Or to homicide. I haven't decided yet. Normally he switches up the song every day so we at least get a little variety around here. But the last three days it's been the same tune, over and over again. And it's not even like it's a whole song, it's just a short little snippet, so we don't even have the satisfaction of getting to the end of it. And it's not only whistling either, it's a lot of "La la la"ing as well, which is even worse because the dude is loud! And the microwave in the cubicle next door to me is broken and it makes this bumping sound every time someone uses it and I can't figure out why someone doesn't get it fixed because it's also very loud and annoying. If it belonged to our group I'd take it into my own hands, but it doesn't, so I can't. And also, I think there's someone who has fried chicken for lunch every day because I smell it cooking every day in the bumpy microwave and it makes me want to go over there and eat it myself.

shoppin'

I have to get a couple things for the new apartment, and since I am trying to avoid doing any work at work today, I've been surfing the net looking for cool stuff. And now you get to hear all about what I found. Lucky you!

So, one of the things I need to get is a floor lamp. And possibly another table lamp, too, but I'm just gonna start with a floor lamp. I actually do not currently have any lamps at all, which I admit is rather odd, but my new living room doesn't have any overhead lighting, so I must either prepare myself now or live in darkness. I have a rather odd sense of style, so the things I like to put in my home are usually either somewhat old-fashioned, or retro, or just unique. Interestingly enough, I found some lamps I liked on the Target website! Go Target! But sadly, most of them are kinda expensive, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Here's what I found. Opinions??

I am really liking these stained glass type lamps (there are a couple other styles), though I wonder about how much light they will actually throw. Same with this one, except the fact that the rose design seems to be upside-down intrigues me. Will I love it for that or will it drive me nuts? This one is not typically my taste, and it's outside my price range, but something about it strikes me as really pretty. This one I think is really pretty too, but I'm not sure if the color of the shade will match my stuff. I think this last one is beautiful and it's closest to what I wanted to spend, but again, I worry whether it will give me enough light. But I guess if it isn't enough, that's when I'd get a matching table lamp to add to it.

The OTHER purchase I need to make for the new place is a telephone. An actual plug-into-the-wall telephone. The new building has one of those security systems that connects to your land line, so for the first time in three years, I have to have a regular phone. Not a big deal, really, but I completely abhor most of the phones on the market these days. They're all cordless blobs in black or silver, with little flashy lights and beepy things and I think they're ugly and I don't want one. So I think I'm going to get this. Or possibly this. Both of them come in a few different colors. I thought about one of these too, but I think that might be going a bit TOO far. :)

things I won't miss

About my job :
- The whistler. I will definitely not miss the tuneless whistling all day long, or the random verses of the Flipper theme song, or even the occasional ad jingle.
- Mr. Booming Voice. I will not miss hearing every single word this guy says, including when he's "whispering" on the other side of the room. Nor will I miss his weekly inspections of my fingernails and my coworker's hairstyle.
- My cubicle.

About my apartment:
- The squishy kitchen floor. Why it's squishy, I don't think I want to know.
- The schizophrenic shower. Temperature control is pretty much random, and that's only if the cold water knob doesn't fall off.
- The door that jiggles in its hinges every time the outside door opens or closes.
- The small and mysteriously radiator-free bedroom.
- The useless "eat-in" kitchen.
- The bathroom radiator covered in chipped, rusty (lead?) paint.
- The medicine cabinet that won't close because it's been painted too many times, and the overhead cabinet doors that won't open because they've been painted too many times.

nutshell

In a month I am moving again, trying to stay in the same neighborhood, just need a *better* apartment, which will probably cost me a bit more, not to mention moving costs. Since I lost my car, I have been very unhappy with using public transportation to get to work and back and I've come to the conclusion that I am not one of those people who can get by without a car. I was going to put off buying a new one until the finances allowed it (more comfortably anyway), but now I'm thinking sooner rather than later. The GOOD news is, the finance situation soon may not be as dire as it was. I was just today offered a new job at my company, which will come with a promotion and a pretty nice raise. And I have to say that this job really just fell in my lap right when I needed it.

Life is good. Complicated and messy, but good.