April 03, 2007

Love/Hate Relationship...

I love my house, I really do. And I have the feeling my landlord is a good guy. But, why, oh, why can't he be a good guy to me? It takes forever for simple stuff that should have been fixed before I ever moved in to get finished. The windows were painted shut (um, safety hazard much?), and David and I had to go in with a putty knife two weeks after he said the painter would be here to open them. And so many more things. Then, today, after I've put in 2 weekends and more than $300 in plants and spending 2 days ripping out dead boxwoods, he came by to look at the door knob. I mentioned that I was going to be taking most of the bigger plants out whenever I leave (some 2-3 years later, at least) unless, of course, he decided to take a cut out of the rent. That's fair, isn't it? He was like, "Sure, take them, just put something back in it's place. Actually, I wish you hadn't taken the shrubs out to begin with, but oh well." ??? He told me when I first moved in that I could take them out, not to mention that they were dead. Gah. Please, dude couldn't you cut me some slack? You're the president of a bank for crying out loud. But don't worry, I'll put something in there. Something horrible looking, don't worry. It just sucks cause now I know there's no way I could get him to grind out the other dead shrubs. I think I'll replace my beautiful juniper and tea olive with some leggy something that won't grow there. Revenge!

Stupid people who don't realize people are poor. Bah.

April 01, 2007

I've never done a TV show post before, but I just had to this time. I'm watching The Amazing Race: All-stars right now, and there are just come crazy things going down. In the previous season, I hated the Beauty Queens, Dustin and Kandice, and never had a problem with Charla and Mirna. I now 180 that opinion. I just can't believe that Charla and Mirna get so upset that no one speaks English in Poland. I've traveled to a few foreign countries and have never felt offended that people speak their native tongue and don't speak mine. If you know you're going to France, freakin' learn "Do you speak English?" (Parlez-vous anglais). It's not that hard, it's in the back of the travel guide. I guess this upsets me so much because it just backs up the "Stupid Americain" viewpoint that the rest of the world holds, and I've been on the receiving end of that prejudice before. Also, Mirna's weird accent that just shows up. Plus, she hates on Charla all the time.

About Dustin and Kandice, they're actually pulling ahead because of brains and know-how, unlike their smugness and "I'm pretty, help me" attitude they had previously. And I love that pretty girls are smart. This maybe just editing, but I still love it.

And for whoever stumbles across this blog: what do you think of getting a friend of mine's band to play at my wedding reception? What are your views on a cover/college-rock band in that situation. They're fun and actually talented, but do you think that would be tacky? Most of the guests will be 20-25, but there will be your usual parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles.

February 22, 2007

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

The weather really is fantastic down here. Clear blue skies, 70 degree temps, light breeze. It just makes me want to run around with no shoes on.

Sorry about the extended absence, but I had (and may still suffer from) the most severe case of writer's block. I still don't think this entry will be that interesting, but hey, we'll roll with it.

So, I got engaged. That's the big news, obviously. Also, my parents have started talking to my fiance pretty cordially, so that's an improvement. I'm graduating in May, another biggie. And I'm talking to people about jobs. It's interesting, to say the least.

Actually, I'm gonna expound on that last one. Most of the jobs I'm going for are university-research / government positions. Pretty tame stuff. There is one major problem, though. Both the U.S. House and Senate decided in mid-November last year to cut out early and go home and campaign. One small problem, though. They had yet to pass appropriations for fiscal year 2007. So, instead of actually doing their job, they just extended the appropriations from 2006. That might be okay, except for the fact that they left out all the earmarks. If you didn't know, earmarks are where all but the basic infrastructure funding comes from. What this has to do with me is that I've had three different potential bosses say, "Your resume looks great, your transcript is impressive, I've got the work for you, I just don't have the money to pay you." I'm sure you can imagine how frustrating that is. Grrr. Stupid fuckheads on Capitol Hill. I know, I've worked there. There are some nice people, but 80% of the people in those marble halls? Total fuckheads.

*Breathe* Serenity now.

But besides that, I've also moved into a new place. It's cute and brick and has narcissus blooming all around it. And hardwood floors. And central heat. And more than 300 square feet. It's awesome. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get around to taking them. My cat is loving it, what with all the careening around corners and under furniture on all the shellac. It's quite amusing, even when she slams into the dining room table at full speed at 3 am. It's endearing, I swear.

I can't think about anything else, so we'll call it a post.

Yay for spring!