A Touch of Fall

It's 11 pm and it finally started to rain. The weather has been threatening all day.

This morning started with the humidity pressing against me as I woke up with my on-call cell blaring the cha-cha, alerting my ass to get out of bed. It was a foster parent, demanding to know why the office was locked up when a CPR class was scheduled this morning. I tell her the class doesn't start in an hour and her overzealous desire for the world conform to her schedule doesn't constitute an on-call emergency. Peachy crazy.

I brew a pot of coffee. Hun pours half the pot as he runs out the door to study in the air-conditioned school. He has a big test next week and wants to do well.

I stare at the television and sip my coffee. I ponder at the idea of straitening the living room, but my telekinesis skills are a little rusty. My skin is coated with a layer of sweat. My hair drips. I fondly recall wearing a sweater to work on Monday.

I gather enough motivation to walk three steps and turn on the television. I pop in Ghost Ship and work a couple of sudoku puzzles. I lie on the couch and concentrate on napping but it's too hot. Instead, I obsess about the great work what-ifs and related crapola.

To say I had a tough week is putting it mildly. It's been one of those times I'm sorely tempted to sell my soul to the Devil of Capitalism. Screw fighting the good fight--good things rarely come from it. But those rare, good things keep my job worthwhile. My boss and my coworkers have been very supportive.

Sweat drips off my nose and I've had enough. I throw my saline-crusted hair in a bun and head to the mall for some cool relief. When I open the door to Border's, I sigh. My pores close and my glasses fog. What a joy central air can be.

I roam from store to store, just enjoying the air, not looking at anything in particular. My hair is a frizzy knot on top of my head, and I can't stand it anymore. I look on the mall directory, and I find a hair salon. I give them a picture I've been carrying around for the occasion of a short, sassy hairstyle. A half hour later, I am wearing a bob. It's fine on me--but not what I wanted.

I pick up Hun from school on the way back. He looks surprised at my new look. I melt down. I look heinous, I am having my period, I am sweaty, and I had a shitty week at work. We have sandwiches. We watch an episode of 24. I cry some. He hugs me and says he still finds me attractive. I calm down and tell him he needs to study again.

He leaves. Lightning flashes. It rains.

Relief.

The Final Countdown

Hey, Folks!

As most of y'all already know, Hun and I are getting hitched soon--like next week! Both of us are very excited, and we are in the process of getting ready for the trip to Jamaica and then back to the Centennial State (Colorado) for a couple of weeks. We look forward to seeing friends and family, eating decent Mexican food, and a pilgrimage to REI.

Both of us are busy as bees to tidy things up for work and research projects, and we are making some headway. Foster parents are in a state of spazz right now, due to the start of summer vacation. I'm a bit frustrated myself, since they have no idea what it's like to nurture truly high-needs children.

Well, three days and counting!

Betty

Oooff! I'm tuckered!

Only 30 more days and counting until Hun and I are off to Jamaica to get hitched. Quite a few friends and family are coming to see the show and enjoy some well-earned R&R time. Hun and I just finished some spring cleaning today. I took the day off, since I came into work on Memorial Day.

Tomorrow we are off to the city. We will be spending a night in a student hotel in Midtown, famous for its tapas bar and the European would-be models who bunk there. Hun is excited at the prospect of seeing the Museum of Natural History and rubbing shoulders with models. I am looking forward browsing some of the neighborhoods and knowing I'll be the one with the biggest rack sleeping in our hotel (compared to all the flat-chested models--unless some Ambercrombie pectorals are under the same roof).

I plan on taking a shower, watching some bad horror movies, and painting my toes.

Toodles!

Betty

On Memorial Day Weekend, I . . .

(1) ate good sushi with Hun. We also enjoyed the miracle innovation of air conditioning. The National Weather Service issued a "Stagnation Warning"--whatever that means. When I heard about it, I though it was a warning that people had to mill about, lest a cloud of CO2 accumulates around your head and suffocates you. Later, I realized it was a politically correct term to describe "muggier than Hell". (See my explanation of "wintry mix" vs. "icy shit".)

(2) surfed youtube while Hun took a post-gluttony nap. I decide I have found my new creative outlet. Although refinishing furniture is highly meditative and therapeutic, it takes a lot of noxious chemicals and a sheltered--yet well-ventilated--location. Something my Albany abode lacks. I also have an expensive video camera gathering dust in our bedroom. (While in grad school, I had visions of socially-provocative documentaries dancing in my head.)

(3) woke up early with great intentions of going to the laundromat. I have all our laundry sorted, and even intend to wash all my winter sweaters to put them into storage. The closest I get to the laundromat is placing all the bins and hampers by the door. I surf youtube instead.

(4) Hun has a mojo headache. He moans, takes a shower. I make him coffee and toast. Then I launch into him while he is vulnerable . . .

(4) I discuss with Hun the joys of buying a new computer and installing a hot-shot nonlinear editing system. He suggest getting something a little less pricey installed on our new computer. We go back and forth. I remind him of my strong need to get a new car and how I already compromised heavily to get it sent to the shop and have it revamped. I also mentioned to him he was willing for us to buy a new computer as a compromise. I was now cashing in. This debate turns into a State of the Union discussion. I tell him I want to quit my job after a year and become a secretary to invest more time in my new virtual career as a youtube superstar. He thinks it's fine to quite my job since I work with crazy people, and its worth the cut in pay and it would be nice knowing I wouldn't be driving so much and I would be happier overall. He then reminds me of the investment in potted plants sitting on our porch for the sheer purpose of putting a smile to my face. He also reminds me I am a bit flip in my decisions to devote my life/hobby/whatever in something. (Okay, so I'm flaky.) We talk about our future and how to best compromise with each other. We talk about how much we are glad to have each other in our lives. Hun still has a headache. I feel much better.

(5) Hun and I procrastinate. He procrastinates in his studies. I procrastinate in completing paperwork for my job. I continue to have youtube superstardom delusions. I decide we need to eat soon.

(6) I go to the supermarket and buy some veggies to grill kabobs. I come back and proceed to marinade and cut things while waiting for the coals to be ready. The end result: my kabobs aren't the greatest success. I believe I need to marinade the meat overnight.

(7) Hun studies. I still procrastinate. I notice someone has requested me as a friend in my facebook account. He lives in Brooklyn and is involved in a relationship. He wants to know what a NY newbie thinks of the place. He also mysteriously looks like a young George Clooney. I think to myself, "George wants to be my friend! Well, I'm pretty special!" Then I think, "Wait, he looks an awful lot like George Clooney--he is George Clooney!" I think about the desperate guy on the other end of the facebook account who puts and old picture of a celebrity to get points from the ladies. Perhaps he is a benign cyberfan who enjoys my notes, blogs, etc. I've attempted contact on other blogs before. (Please see "cyberstalking".) Perhaps he really looks a lot like George Clooney. I still change my privacy settings.

(9) I finally sit down and blog before launching into paperwork. Perhaps I need to learn how to be a blog-star before being a youtube guru. After all, story is everything.

Cheers,

Betty

A Beautimous Day

Hey, Gang:

I had a good day today! Things are blooming and children are playing. I've sat outside a few times on the patio, drinking alcoholic beverages and eating dinner. I have three plants outside, struggling to survive, since they got a bit frosty over the freak Nor'Easter a few weeks ago.

This is all a bonus since the last month has been sheer Heck at work. It was like all my FPs held a conference and decided they would brake NY State mandates for foster care and see if I would notice . . . just to keep me on my toes. Then, when I find out, I hyperventilate, call my boss, squeal, hyperventilate, and figure out how to proceed with recovery efforts the next day. EEEK!!

Well, thinks seem on an even keel this week, but it's only Tuesday. Who knows what kind of bomb tomorrow may bring. At the same time, I am taking the time out to enjoy a glass of wine and bask in the calm before another storm brews on the horizon, or unexpectedly dumps from the heavens.

If the weather keeps up, I'll definitely buy a shitload of plants to throw onto our deck. Wish me luck. I LOOOVE this weather!

Hellish Things in the North Country

I've discovered something more diabolical than New York drivers--New York State tax forms. I just spend an hour and a half filling out my state income tax (including the oh-so confusing "Clothing and Foot Apparel Tax Declaration" sub-form) to discover I get a whopping $12 return in state taxes. The only problem is, I need to file another income form because New York won't accept a W-2.

Fuck it.

Let the bureaucrats put me away in the joint.

There is something to be said about the Tabor Amendment.

Holy Cripes, I sound just like a Republican . . . shudder . . .

Since it is snowing "wintry mix" here, I thought I should mention that as well.

Betty

Not Much Green, Lots o' Blarney

Hey, y'all, and Happy St. Patty's Day!! This year, the state of New York is celebrating the Green Season with lots of white. Yup, you guessed it, a Nor'easter blew (pun intended) into town last night. It took me three hours to drive home, thus validating my fortitude in finding another job located in the Capital Region to decrease my commute and mileage on my car, Norma Jean.

Norma has seen better days. Currently she is parked on the street, buried in about two feet of "wintry mix" (we all know what that means), littered inside with McD bags, kid dirt, and UFOs (Unidentified Floor Objects). I put at least 100 miles per day on her, not including kid transports, etc.

A clarification on the previous post. Hun mentioned to me I made him look like a buffoon on my story about the raiding of the kitchen. I didn't want him to be perceived as a clodding doof, uncaring about my kitchen accoutrement. I wanted to demonstrate, through the subtle use of voice, that I was the clodding buffoon who was overly protective and controlling of her kitchen domain and Hun was a sensitive guy trying to lighten my load a bit and give me some evening R&R time. Hun is a sooper swell fella. He has been great lately, considering I've been trying to be less behind on work. 'Nuff said?

I'm excited about the Parental Units coming down in a few days. We will be spending a few days hanging in Albany and scooting out to the City on Saturday. More than anything, it will be great to see my folks.

Anything new to report? Not really. Like I said, I've been working a lot, not much of a life. Hun has been swell, although I have been going a bit batty with working about 60 hours a week, juggling crises and keeping cases on course.

I am missing the mountains and people who can drive in the snow. Adiose, amigos. Until next time . . .

Betty