Monday night personal

Had to work 1:00 to 5:00 yesterday, so that killed the day (and Saturday night). On top of that, the ING Marathon was going on downtown and streets were closed. Got off the bus several blocks from my building, before the bus headed west (i.e., not in the direction I was going), and then I had to thread myself through a metal barricade to reach my building (or else be late to work). Bus had been late (because of the snarled traffic, no doubt) and I didn't have time to stop off at the Checkers by Omni for chili dogs (got sandwiches at CVS instead on my walk to my building).

Was hungry when I got home, so drove over to the nearest Taco Bell. Hadn't been to TB in ages. Tried a couple of things I'd never had before (I don't think): a chalupa and an enchirito (definitely never had this). Won't get either again. Didn't care for the doughy chalupa wrapper - not much flavor there, and not much meat but a lot of toppings. The enchirito is a lot of fatty goop (or goopy fat). But I also got my staples: a Mexican pizza and a regular beef hard taco (also took four tacos home, which I ate cold for breakfast today). Mexican pizza was not the best, however - no scallions and meat layer was lacking.

Tonight I caught up with some chores. Ran dishwasher (meaning: emptying the dishwasher and putting all the rinsed-off dishes piled up in the sink into the dishwasher and washing them, and also sanitizing the sink). Also made a West African Tuna Casserole (from Joy of Cooking). (Don't do the au gratin.)

I usually always cry at "Interventions" and tonight was a good one ("Suzon").

Now "First Week In" - never seen it before. An attorney in jail! Also a gay 22-year-old who was driving drunk. And a father who assaulted his son.

Haven't heard from E. tonight. (His night off.) (Beer time!) (Plus he had some Jäger in the freezer.) (Also have Jäger in the freezer.) (Did get a call from the Alan Grayson campaign.)

[12:14 a.m.]  E. just called. He said he was "starving" and was in the car, driving to the nearby McDonalds. (I said no French fries.) (He eats enough of those from work and says he wants to lose some weight.)

He called back from home and all is well. (E.'s nites off always worry me a little.)

Nitey.

Saturday night personal

E. prevailed upon me to stay over at his place last night.  Had a nice time.  Watched a lot of "Dr. G."  We also paid some bills on his computer, and I checked for Windows updates.  I think I'm going to try to find a set of speakers for his computer, since the sound is pretty tinny. (He said he'd like speakers vs. a headphone.)

Watched a new SyFy movie tonight about an impending volcanic eruption beneath downtown Miami ("Swamp Volcano").  (Apparently it had been renamed from "Miami Magma.")

Have to work from 1 to 5 tomorrow, so will go to bed a little earlier than normal for a Saturday night.

E. called a couple of minutes after I posted this. He had a busy (successful) night, and someone slipped him a $100 bill for Xmas.

Thursday night personal

No working tonight after work. I was making gravy last night till past 10:00.

Just sliced off some more chicken for tomorrow's lunch (and spooned on gravy). No more chores tonight. Been busy at work. Need R&R. Just too bad that TV is so lousy on Thursdays. But lots of coverage on the Florida election campaign on MSNBC. Glad I don't have to choose between Gingrich and Romney (but I'd hold my nose and vote for Romney).

I think I'll watch "The Amityville Horror" on SyFy at 9:00 (a bad remake of a bad movie). (But it gets 5.8 out of 10 stars on IMDb.) (I may have seen it before - with a very toned Ryan Reynolds, with a beard.)

The house in Amityville on Long Island, NY

(The house doesn't really have the creepy windows)

See here and here.

[Later] Shortly before 11:00, got a call from E. He's going out for drinks to celebrate a co-worker's birthday. Told him to be careful. (He's driving.)

Wednesday night personal

Playing hooky from the gym tonight. Actually, I had a lot to do (and still doing it). Had forgotten to get cat litter the other night and ran to the store for that, then got gas. Roasted a chicken and making pan gravy (made stock of giblets for that, too). Major cat box cleaning, which is a big chore these days with Boozy's kidney condition.

Just finished up the gravy. Had put the drippings in the freezer to make it easier to skim off the fat. Then added that to the reduced broth, plus a packet of chicken gravy mix (don't always use, but this was Publix brand on sale, so was experimenting), some Wondra ("gravy flour"), frozen thyme sprigs, fresh black pepper, etc. Came out excellent! (I never used to use packaged gravy mix, but sometimes there aren't enough drippings - especially with roasts - so I supplement.) (And sometimes I don't have the time to do an elaborate gravy - I just eat the drippings with a spoon.)

Wondra is also great for making crêpes (per Julia Child). (Haven't made them in ages, however.) (Used to make Crêpes Suzette.)

Monday night personal

E. just called. Today's his day off. I'd called him before I left work and I could tell he was probably having beers (nothing wrong with that). But right now he just called, frantic, saying he had a puppy in his house and didn't know what to do. (He was obviously toasted.) He said the dog had been there an hour, and I told him to let her back outside (it's a she.) He kept saying, "What am I going to do?!" He carried on for 4-5 minutes. (He should never have let the dog into his apartment in the first place.) Then he said he was afraid she would get hit by a car, etc., etc. I told him the dog probably lived right around there and that she had to go home, that her owners were probably wondering where she was. E.'s never had his own place before and he'll have to learn: you don't get drunk and let a dog inside your place. (Also, the street outside is narrow and not busy.)

[A little later] The phone rang once at 11:20. It was E. I called back and left a message. (He'd said his phone was going dead.)

[Later - 11:30] E. called back. He'd let the dog back outside. (He said she belonged to someone with a place fronting the creek.) (Don't know how he knew that.) He was no longer frantic (but still emotional) and said he was going to bed. He said he had a good day off and that he wanted to see me (he knows I have to work this Sunday). I said Friday night/Saturday would be a good. (Didn't see each other this past weekend, with the condo meeting and all.) (So he hit the ball back in my court.) (BTW, I'm over the "incommunicado" episode from last Wednesday. I don't stay mad long.)

He said he's lonely sometimes living by himself now and had thought about keeping the puppy, him getting so much affection, etc. I told him to get a little bird that doesn't make a lot of noise (or damage), to hang in his sunny window outside the kitchen (with a creek view). (He used to have a lovebird that he loved - and lost.) (Long story.)

Sunday afternoon personal

This is the space they want to convert into offices. I just happened to run into one of the board members as I was taking the photos. He's acting like it's a done deal, but I said, this has to be approved by a majority of the owners - right? - and that I didn't vote for it. He said the reason there are no longer couches in the space is that homeless people were getting into the building and sleeping on them. (He said he had to run some of them out himself.) (He lives on that floor.) Which begs the question: How are homeless people getting into the building when we have security people 24 hours and cameras everywhere? Sounds like a failure of the security system and not a reason to reconfigure the space. The board member said there would be an office on one side and a conference room on the other, with glass construction. Hmmmm. We'll see about that.

Oh, and he called the area "a dead space." It's only "dead" because, as you see, they've stripped it bare.

This guy conducted the meeting yesterday morning, and he's not even the president. (The president sat there, listening.) He was talking about how we couldn't afford to revamp the gym because we're owed $95,000 in delinquent maintenance fees. But he didn't even talk about this project, much less how much it would cost to install glass walls and how we would pay for it. It's remarkable to see how he regards this project as a given, considering that a majority of the owners have to give the go-ahead for it. It would be against state law to ramrod this through without the owners' approval; otherwise the proposal would not have been put on a ballot. I'm just one vote against it and will have to live with the results, but this has to be done properly.

[Later] The more I think about things, like the story about the homeless sleeping on the couches (and thus the area on the 4th floor being emptied out), the fishier this all sounds.

Even later, I wrote an email to the president of the association, as follows:

Hi-

Today I ran into XXXXXXXX on the 4th floor.  He said the couches had been removed because homeless people were sleeping on them.  If this is true, how are homeless people getting into the building?  Sounds like a HUGE problem with our security.

(No answer back.)

Saturday night personal

Got up early (for a Saturday) and attended the condo association meeting this morning. Voted against turning a large, sunny common area off the pool deck into the manager's offices. They need a vote of a majority of the owners to carry this out. Let's see what they do. It appears they've already planned it. (The room is totally empty now, when it should be decorated as a sitting area.)

Friday nite late personal

Was back at gym tonight after a good nap with Lucky.

Have to attend the annual condo association meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m., so trying to go to bed a little earlier (but as you see, I'm still up pretty late).

E. called after he got home from work tonight, as normal (twice, which is usual, the second time after he'd watched "Nip/Tuck"). Both times, I thanked him for calling  - something I would never usually say, but after Wednesday night and his being incommunicado, I'm still wary. I hope he realizes that I'm putting a little distance between us, just to save myself from disappointment and, left's face it, hurt. (Damage was done.) (And apparently other people had also been concerned the other night and left messages on his phone, such as his own family.)

I'm not trying to dredge up the past here, but...

People mature and change (as I myself have) and it's a process. I can appreciate that, but meanwhile I have to keep my own life in balance, to the best of my ability.  Avoid static.

Thursday night strictly personal

Well, that f***er never called me, even after I'd left a couple of messages (he either had the phone off or was refusing to take my calls). (At any rate, he was incommunicado.) Finally it was going on 2:00 and I left him one last, nasty message and finally made it to bed.

This morning he called me at work and I asked him what he did last night. He said he'd gone out with a woman friend, then came home, took 3 Valerians, and went to bed. (I don't mind if he goes out on his night off and gets toasted, but why no call at some point, or why not answer the phone?)

I was furious that he hadn't called me (or taken my calls) (though this happened a couple of months ago, also, again on his night off).  (Then I got so upset that I stayed up too late and called in sick at work the next day.) (Even my supervisor asked whether everything was OK with E., and I said yes.) Meanwhile he's called me every night since (or at least I've called him and he's answered his phone). I stewed over this for a few hours today and then called him from a phone in an empty conference room (for privacy, closing the door first). I told him that he hurt me last night by not calling and that "the damage is done." He said something like "fine" and that he didn't appreciate the nasty message. And we hung up on each other. Guess what. No more phone calls from me at all. (Maybe he'll apologize, maybe not. Even if he does, will he not do it again? I don't trust him.) (I'm no psychologist, but maybe this is some kind of subconscious passage-aggressive behavior telling me he doesn't really give a shit.)

Thank G*d he doesn't live here anymore and I'm not waiting up for him to come home at night. Well, no more waiting for his calls, either. I'm over it.

*   *   *

On a more positive note, I was at the doctor's today to get blood test results. Very good ones.  E.g., I hadn't even fasted, and yet my triglycerides were only 168 (upper normal limit is 149). Cholesterol was 233 (upper normal is 199), but that's because the good cholesterol was so high (76) (the normal range is above 39). Doctor said I have nothing to worry about. Free testosterone was 14.0 (normal is between 7.2 and 24.0). He said that was a perfect result for me. Liver enzymes, etc. all fine.

(E. knew I was going to the doctor's today and had given me a "pep talk." I wonder if he'll call to see how things went, since he'd acted so concerned.) ("Acted" may be just that.) (He should've been on Broadway.)

(I wonder if he'll miss calling me every night when he gets home from work and has taken his shower, since I'm not expecting or any more calls from him, either.)

*   *   *

[Later] Did some major grocery-shopping tonight. Now it's time to chill.

[11:15 or so] E. just called and asked how the doctor's appointment went, etc. He also apologized repeatedly for not calling last night. (He said he was "f***ed up.") I asked him whether he was not answering my calls or whether he had the phone off, and he said it must have been off, since he had a bunch of messages on it this morning (not only from me). Hmmm. I don't know what to believe. (Maybe he doesn't remember.) But he said he was sorry he upset me. That's good enough, but I know not to trust him on his night off and will brace for it. (I kind of knew that already.)

Wednesday night personal

Walked to the gym tonight, then briefly stopped off at the grocery store and saved $10.05 on $24.10 of goodies (that I could carry home).  (Good stuff, too, that I needed.) Driving back to another Publix tomorrow night to do more shopping.

E. has tonight off from work and I've not heard from him. That's OK. He has his own place now and lives his own life, even though we're in close touch and spend time together. That's the best thing for him, since he's never lived by himself before and had the responsibilities that go with being on one's own. He's always lived at someone else's place and had to answer to that person.  He doesn't have to answer to anyone else now but himself and has to keep his life intact on his own (with help from his family and friends). I'm confident that he's able to do that.

MLK night personal

Had the day off from work.

Good weekend. After busy Saturday, yesterday I did nothing.

Andrew Sullivan on Hardball

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sunday morning personal

Spent Friday night at E.'s, then got busy yesterday, doing stuff I'd been putting off on account of the holidays. Stopped by the vet's for Bootsy's kidney food and ear ointment. Then, after savoring an Angus Third-Pounder Bacon Cheeseburger from McD's, drove up to Comcast to drop off old cable box. Took a number when I got there (37). (They were calling 1 at the time.) Was there well over half an hour, but had to get a receipt for the old box.

Then to Pep Boys to get brake lights replaced. That took an hour, but meanwhile had something to eat at Subway next door (not so great meatball sub). Shopped at PK Chinese Market for cute stuff. (Didn't find anything.) This is one of my old neighborhoods. Was glad to be back there. Raunchy but familiar. Glad to see the Ham 'n' Eggery is still open. Would have eaten Creamed Chipped Beef there, but the walking distance from Pep Boys was a little far.

I think Pep Boys ripped me off.  $32 to replace the lights? Then they wanted to replace my clutch for $600. (No.)

So glad the holidays are over. Whew.

Sunday morning political

From The Guardian:

Perry has been joined in the fight by Gingrich and his supporters. In a remarkable flip for a figure normally associated with a muscular defence of American-style capitalism, Gingrich too has been lambasting Romney's time at Bain Capital as an immoral pursuit of wealth above all else.

How choice is that.

Among the Seven Deadly Sins:

Greed (Latin, avaritia), also known as avarice or covetousness, is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of excess. However, greed (as seen by the church) is applied to a very excessive or rapacious desire and pursuit of wealth, status, and power. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that greed was "a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things." In Dante's Purgatory, the penitents were bound and laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts.

Saturday night personal

Constantine in Hell

Just had dinner with an old friend and her partner, at Flanigan's. Hadn't seen them in too long a while. (Last year she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy; her doctor says she's doing fine now.) We'll have to get back together more often. I really enjoyed their company. Gave them a bottle of champagne for driving up here to see me.

Had a very pleasant stay over at E.'s. We stayed up till 4:00 a.m. and were awakened at 11:30 by the phone ringing incessantly. The son of one of E.'s co-workers (who has been a great help to E. in his move) had had a seizure at home and the co-worker had called 911 and was calling E. from the ambulance on the way to the hospital (Jackson North). She wanted E. to pick her up there and drive her back home. Meanwhile, they transferred the son to another hospital (Jackson) for testing and the mother took off from work to drive down there and attend to her son. (Haven't heard any further news on that.)

Watching "Constantine" now on SyFy. I've never seen it. Like it.

Good movie! I enjoy watching Keanu Reeves.

Thursday night personal

Was really busy last night - at gym and preparing food. I had part of a bottle of champagne left over and decided to use it in a marinade for chicken breasts (which I cut into strips). Got that marinating last night. Was back at the store tonight for some fresh thyme and tarragon (no fresh tarragon but bought a fresh bottle of it). Will add that to the chicken before baking, along with some chopped scallions (for flavor and color).

Early Tuesday morning, Comcast is coming to install a high-definition cable box ($30). (I should have gotten it when I bought the large flat-screen TV, a couple of years ago.)  HDTV is an extra $10/month, but the guy I talked to at Comcast said it's worth it for my flat-screen.

[Later] E. just called, after he'd gotten off from work and showered. Plans are I'll join him at his place tomorrow night after he gets off work (and I'm back from gym). Have nursing appointment in the a.m.

Tuesday night personal

Two steps forward, one step back, as they say.

Watching a new "What Not to Wear."

E. called after he got home from work. No real harm done, it seems. Back on schedule. Can't dredge up the past.

Monday night personal

E. was over last night and I lost it. I started talking about him going back to the BF, etc. (So he left.) It was bad, but maybe it was something I felt I had to get out, to clear the air. It had been smoldering inside me. (I've since apologized and apology has been accepted.) It was just a lot of hurt that I'd been holding inside as I've put on a happy face and tried to help him get settled into his new place and get on with his life. But it's out there now. What's done is done.

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
  Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit,
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
  Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

                                                                              -- Omar Khayyám

(I guess E. won't be back here for a while.)