Lady of the Multiple Cats

sad news

2008-11-06T15:43:32Z

Pepe died. A few weeks ago. I came home and found him on the floor near the front door. I don't know what happened. He had been improving, eating on his own and having more energy. I did everything I think I could have done. I just don't understand. My heart is broken.

The ceiling in my bedroom fell in again when it rained the other week.

I had another panic attack last night. At first, when Aengus didn't come to the door when I got home, I thought he was sick and hiding. But after searching every nook and cranny, I couldn't find him. He wasn't in the apartment. I started searching outside, and a neighbor pointed me in the right direction. I found him scared and cowering near some steps 2 buildings away. He's okay, thank goodness. He must have fallen or jumped out of my window where the screen is torn.

So, with the exception of Pepe, all these things really aren't that bad in the grand scheme of things. I know that. But I need some relief. I've been stressed out basically non-stop for the past two months. I'm so tired. I'm just waiting for the next bad thing to happen.

Hell freaking yeah, baby!!!

2008-11-05T05:33:16Z

Thank god. I have some restored faith in the American people again.

I have to say that I wasn't that excited about Obama in the beginning. I really just didn't want McCain to win. But after listening to all of his speeches and plans, I really like him. I hope that he can accomplish even half of what he wants to do. He's got such wonderful ideals and dreams of what America can and should be. He is a man of true integrity. I really respect his honesty, and I appreciate the fact that he tells people straight out that things aren't going to turn around overnight. He's realistic and at the same time is a visionary. I've never been this excited about the political process, and I hope this is the start of some good changes to come.

Life this month

2008-10-15T21:45:17Z

Okay. So I went on vacation last month. Big ship, good food, Caribbean waters, lots of sun, tropical fish and coral reefs. Lots of fun. Then I came home and my world exploded. Five minutes home and I was running back out the door to the vet emergency room. Pepe is sick. After three days in the hospital and weeks of force-feeding and pills at home, he is starting to act normal again, although he still has really low energy. And all the muscle mass on his back is gone. Doctor's think he has pancreatitis. The poor thing was so nauseous. He just vomited all the time. Couldn't eat a thing. But now he's coming to greet me again, and he eats by himself. It's going to be a slow process of rebuilding his muscles. Did you know that cats metabolize muscle before fat? I do now. I think he'll be on the steroids for the rest of his life.

I would like to add that I came down with a horrible flu/illness during that same bad period when Pepe was really sick. So we both had diarrhea together, and I was in the worst part of the sickness deliriously cleaning up cat vomit and poop and it was just wonderful.

Anyway, Pepe and I are both much better now. Crisis averted. And then it started to rain. I reported a leak in my roof over a month ago, right? They came out two weeks later to do some work, but it actually made it worse. And so, last week, the ceiling caved in. In the bedroom and living room. The bedroom wasn't too bad, but when it kept raining, it was like a waterfall in my living room. I live in the ghetto. It's horrible. I had an argument with the property manager on Monday over whether or not the carpet guys had been there to get the water up. I know they hadn't been there. The place stunk, the carpet was still soaking, and the buckets I left out were still all over the floor. So she said she would have them go out there "again". Well, Monday night, what a difference when they actually show up! I'm still worried about mold, though, since the carpet sat there soaked for 6 days.

The cats and I have been living in the complex's two-bedroom furnished model, but I suppose we need to move out tonight, since all the work that is going to be done on my place has been done. Supposedly the "roof patches" have been fixed. And a guy was there to fix the inside ceiling. He basically just plastered up the holes. I'm waiting for it to rain again, because I know it's not fixed. Oh, and their "model" apartment? There is a leak in the ceiling of one bathroom from the air conditioner. One of the faucets in the other kitchen doesn't shut off. The garbage disposal in the kitchen doesn't work, and water doesn't drain through it at all. The ceiling fan and light in the living room don't work. Oh, and there was an ant infestation until I sprayed all the windows and wall cracks. And I'm positive that employees use that apartment for all sorts of things. The only good thing I can say about that apartment is the air conditioner is quiet and gets really cold.

So. I would love to move, but I'm totally broke. My lease is up in March, and I should have my tax return by then, so I'm definitely looking for something else. Ugh. I hate moving. I really don't want to box all my shit up again.

The only positive thing that's happened this week is that I'm moving to a new office. It's actually an office with an actual door that shuts. In fact, it's a corner office, and not only does it have a door, it has three big windows. So I'm pretty happy about that. AND it's on a quieter side of the building, so I won't have to hear the snot-horker anymore!! Yay! The ironic thing is, I'm angling to get a different job in a new unit in about a month, and that will mean I have to move back out of that lovely office. lol Sigh.

Can I call you Joe?

2008-10-03T03:59:15Z

I'm not going to answer questions the way you want to hear. Golly gee, you keep looking to the past. Joe Six-pack, Hockey Mom: I'm going to give you straight talk, goll doggit. We need to ramp it up. We need that maverick to get in there and get it done.

Bless their hearts, their reward is waiting in heaven.

You betcha.

pics from the vineyard

2008-09-02T03:27:13Z

We went on a tour of the grounds on a trolley pulled by tractor.

The vines were loaded down!!

It's a really interesting place. They do a lot of research on different types of grape as well as other kinds of small fruit. They've got a watermelon patch, a cactus farm, and a mixed small fruit orchard. They were also doing a project on raspberries and how to make them more suitable for growing in this climate.

And here's all the kinds of grapes they have.

Hooray for grapes!

2008-09-01T04:07:14Z

I just made jelly! I went to FAMU's vineyard yesterday and picked the grapes with my own two hands. It's so satisfying to hear the POP! of the jars sealing themselves. Now I think I've got enough grapes to make a second batch, but I'm not sure if I should. I was going to try to make some grape juice, but I don't have a pitcher. I do have empty jars, but I'm not sure I'll ever get rid of so much jelly. lol

My mom and I also sat in a wine-making demonstration, and we're thinking of making that a little hobby. It sounds fun, but it takes forever!

Scaring myself

2008-08-27T13:40:14Z

I keep freaking myself out by repeatedly and compulsively checking the National Hurricane Center website for storm predictions and tracking. Christ. Not only am I watching the progress of various named storms, but everytime I go on, I see all those colored circles of potential activity coming across from Africa and I fret a little more. What if another storm hits us? But really, the question is, What if my cruise gets canceled?

Rain, rain, go away

2008-08-25T16:26:32Z

So it rained for something like 36 hours non-stop this weekend. I felt really stir-crazy for some reason. I mean, I normally do nothing on the weekends but knit and watch movies and read anyway, but knowing that I couldn't go out made the routine unacceptable. I only lost power for about 3 hours on Saturday, which was a miracle, because some people at work lost theirs on Friday and still don't have it back. The rain stopped late morning on Sunday, but I was awakened at 5:30 this morning by a vicious crack of lightning right outside my window. I didn't want to leave home this morning. Aengus is so scared by thunder. He was so pathetic and terrified, and he kept running/slinking to the closet and then to my feet and then to the pantry and back again. None of his normal hiding places were protecting him, and the building was actually vibrating with the thunder. And now another band of heavy rain is about to move through. They are closing roads and bridges around the city, but the State still hasn't closed our office!! (Not that it really affects me besides my desire not to be here, but some of my coworkers don't know how they're going to get home.)

Oh, and did I mention that my ceiling started leaking on Saturday? In three places. I left a message with the emergency maintenance people, fully expecting nothing to happen since it was STILL POURING. I called the office this morning and was told that they have some workers coming down from Georgia but they had no idea when my place would get here. Nice, huh? It's supposed to rain all week. I would like to use my stockpot, but it's currently serving as a drip bucket. Thank God, the leak in my bedroom happened 4 inches to the left of my bed, because my bed is too heavy for me to move!!

Hello 29

2008-08-15T03:08:03Z

Today was a good day. Not my most eventful birthday ever, but it was happy. My friend Teresa surprised me this morning with a lovely basket of yarn. Tonight I had a nice simple dinner with my mom and Kathy, followed of course by Grandma's famous chocolate layer cake. Delicious! Now I have to make myself bring the rest of it to work tomorrow and not horde it all at home. lol

I've been staying up watching the Olympics all week like a freak. I'm not sure exactly why, but I've been completely captivated. I suppose I have to admit to myself that I enjoy sports a little bit. I've actually been yelling at the screen. lol I do wish that NBC would show a few more sports than swimming and volleyball, though. I know they're doing it live and all that, and some other cable channels that I don't get are showing some other stuff, but I'd rather they didn't show the stuff live so they could give a better variety. I want to see some Judo. And archery. The synchro diving was awesome.

I've been in remarkably good spirits recently. My medicine is really working well, and I've got tons energy. Actually, I think I'm running slightly manic sometimes, but I'm not going to tell my therapist that, because I really like it. lol

Now, only 23 days to vacation!! Yay!

And in sadder news, I saw this online when I got home tonight:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/entertainment/20080814/ENTERTAINMENT-HARRYPOTTER-DC/

Booooo

Oh crap

2008-08-02T00:08:13Z

I hate myself a little bit for digging on this song. It's David Archuleta's new single. Be warned, I have a sick compulsion for some meaningless pop.

Damn, well the embed didn't work, so go here to listen if you are curious. lol

http://z100.elvisduran.com/pages/news/davidarchuleta/crush.html

One thing that dysfunction hasn't penetrated

2008-06-10T14:39:15Z

Why don't they make greeting cards for real life? I hate Father's Day. Okay? I hate shopping for a card for Father's Day. I stand there in the aisle at the card store for forever and rarely find a suitable card. Every damn one (and I'm always looking at the funny ones because the mushy ones are totally unacceptable) has got something to do with freaking childhood. "Thanks, Dad, for being Mr. Fix-it man." "Thanks, Dad, for supporting me." "Dad, remember the trip we took?" "Dad, our relationship blah blah blah."

Why don't they make greeting cards that say something like, "Dad, you were never there when I grew up, but thanks for the money, and I love you anyway."

Meme from Jamie

2008-06-10T14:31:52Z

knitting, dating and other randomness

2008-06-04T17:41:11Z

So I'm really excited about this new knitting group I joined on Ravelry. It's a mystery shawl knit-along. The author sends out clues for the pattern and you end up with a huge beautiful lacework shawl. I'm so excited about lace knitting now. After my failure with the wedding garter, I was really hesitant. But then I finished one shawl, and I'm loving the stole I'm working on now, so I think I'll really enjoy this new thing. I just have to find some good yarn to use, and pray I can find something nice for not a lot of money.

I'm really thinking I'm not going to see this guy I'm dating anymore. I've been iffy from the beginning, but I'm really moving more into the "no thanks" mode now. I just don't feel like he's making any effort, and I don't want to be the one who makes all the attempts. I've really just started to firm up what I definitely want and don't want over the last year or so, and he is really matching more of the "don't wants" than the "wants". Ugh. I mean, I basically don't talk to him unless I get online, which I really don't want to do all the time when I'm at home. After starting at the computer screen for 8 hours, I have other interests to keep me occupied in the evenings. What's wrong with picking up the phone? Is it that hard? (And yes, I call him sometimes, so it's not like I'm expecting him to do things that I don't.) And is it asking too much that he pay me a compliment every now and then? I'm not such a needy girl that I need to hear stuff about me all the time, but I think most girls would agree that we like to hear that we're pretty or sexy or something every now and then. Plus, I seem to have found the only guy on the planet with no sex drive. I mean, really. It's not like I want someone who's going to be all over me all the time, but this is kind of ridiculous. Dating is so horrible. You matched up people had better be goddam grateful for what you have. :)

Work is going pretty well. My boss (well, now my old boss) was not upset with me at all, which is what I had hoped for. So that's nice. She's pissed at everyone else, and I totally agree with her. There is such a severe lack of communication in this office, and it really makes things miserable. Oh, and my new boss is a clock-watcher. She actually watches out the windows for people's cars to see when they come in. Some of the other girls have started parking on the other side of the lot or driving their husband's cars just to trick her. Oh, and she likes to print out everything and pass out hard copies of emails and do huge complicated calculations by hand instead of Excel because she is completely computer illiterate. lol But back to things going well, right? I finally had a giant brain-wave yesterday on how to do my research, so things are going a little smoother now.

A coworker of mine just burned me a couple of cds with songs from my favorite American Idol contestants, so that's exciting. lol Now I've got to clean out some stuff from my mp3 player. Arg! 2GBs isn't big enough!

Oh! And I've managed to keep my kitchen/dishes situation nice and neat for days now!! I'm so proud of myself! lol

Why can't every day be a holiday?

2008-05-27T14:33:47Z

Ahhh three day weekends. Events this weekend make it seem like I have a life. lol

I saw Prince Caspian on Friday. Awe.Some. I was so pleased. I had a few concerns before I saw it based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. While they did a great job at keeping with the story line in Lion, there was just something missing from that movie. The scenery was beautiful, the monsters and faerie folk well done. But it just wasn't as captivating as I'd hoped. But what a world of difference in Caspian! They changed a few things, but nothing really earth-shattering, and overall I was very pleased with the trueness to the book. And the children are a little more grown-up now, so the performances were better. The fighting was more adult, and I didn't even object to the small love story. Yay!!

Saturday I had a date. Dinner at Logan's followed by Nintendo and movies. Played Steven Spielburg's new game, Blowing Blox or Busting Blox or something like that. It is quite entertaining. Hurling objects or pulling beams from Jenga-like towers to rack up points. Fun. Watched The Mist. Movie based on a Steven King novella. Holy crap. That movie has got to have one of the most twistedly sick and depressing endings ever. We also watched 3:10 to Yuma, which was good too. Very long. I don't think Westerns are really my genre.

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. I took her to see the new Indiana Jones. That was awesome too! Wildly entertaining. I'm really glad they didn't try to pretend that Harrison Ford is still a young guy. They based the storyline on the fact that Indiana is somewhere around 60, so it definitely worked. But he still kicks ass anyway. The ending was a bit strange for me. It had a sci-fi kind of twist that was a bit weird. But not horrible. And then the rest of the end was a little bit hokey. But again, a nice way to wrap up the series.

And that's the weekend movie review with Emily. Sooo maybe I don't have so much of a life outside of movies. lol

Well, on Friday afternoon at about 4:45, the head of my process (let's see... my boss' boss' boss) called me in his office to offer me a temporary promotion and small raise. He and the director of Child Support want me to take the lead in this multimillion dollar liability settlement project we've got going on. Very much like a previous project I was working on, so my experience with that helped them pull me for this. Unfortunately, I don't think my supervisor is going to like it at all. I'm afraid she's going to resent me because she wants to do this project, plus I'm being reassigned to another unit while I work on this, so her unit is now short. Eep. Hopefully she'll be sensible and not take it out on me. It's a great opportunity for me to get big exposure around here. I'm pretty excited, although I really am not sure what I've stepped into. lol

emily_sings @ 2008-04-21T17:32:00

2008-04-21T21:33:10Z

My Personality


Neuroticism	54
Extraversion	46
Openness to Experience	55
Agreeableness	47
Conscientiousness	36

You rarely get angry and it takes a lot to make you angry, however you feel strong cravings and urges that you have difficulty resisting. You tend to prefer short-term pleasures and rewards over long-term consequences. You lead a leisurely and relaxed life. You would prefer to sit back and smell the roses than indulge in high energy activities. You prefer familiar routines and for things to stay the same. You can tend to feel uncomfortable with change. You are mostly a compassionate person, however you prefer to make objective judgments when possible, however you feel superior to those around you and sometimes tend to be seen as arrogant by other people. You take your time when making decisions and will deliberate on all the possible consequences and alternatives.

Take a Personality Test now or view the full Personality Report.

The best Ugg Boots.

Geez, did I come out middle-of-the-road or what?

Sleepy update

2008-03-25T14:09:56Z

So. I've been at this job for almost a year and a half. And finally, the work that I was hired to do has begun. We're actually doing monitoring now. Problems? I think it's pointless. I have zero amount of pride in my job. I feel totally useless and like there is absolutely no meaning to any of it.

Other problems? The first thing we picked to monitor is mail processing. They do mail processing overnight. So I've been working these crazy shifts like 7:30pm - 5am. Then I sleep all day. But it's only a night or two a week. So I have to go in during the day the rest of the week. My schedule is so messed up. Tomorrow I have to get up at 4am to go in.

Had a date this weekend. Was nice. We went to Rodizio's, that Brazilian steakhouse. It was really good. Then we got ice cream and went to the Comedy Zone. That was fun. One of the comics was significantly funnier than the other, but it was a good show overall. I'd like to go back there again.

Anyway, about the guy, right? We've been chatting online for a few weeks. He's intelligent and has a good sense of humor. Nice looking, although not my usual type. His eyes crinkle when he smiles, which is very cute. I am concerned that he has some depressive issues. Like maybe he doesn't think well of himself or have such a high confidence level. I don't really don't know what's going on there, but those of you who know me know that the negativity/depression thing doesn't work so well on me. It tends to bring out my own depression, which I've been fighting with recently (and mostly losing to).

So anyway. I'm reasonably sure that we'll go out again. We have really different tastes in lots of things (books, movies, foods), but I'm not so worried about that as much as I am about the confidence level thing. We'll see.

What's going on?

2008-03-11T21:41:58Z

Well, life is just crawling by lately, it seems. Not much exciting happening in the world of Emily. I did actually leave the house on Saturday and went to have a few drinks. Okay, I did leave the house more than that, but only because I wanted to go shopping and I had to dog-sit for my mom. Anyway, I went to Pockets for the first time. It's okay. Pretty big, pretty crowded, couldn't really hear the music, and next time I would like to play pool. But I've heard the tables are over-priced. But of course, there are a million of them as compared to Poor Paul's, where there are only 4. (Or are there 6?) I haven't been to Snooker's yet. Anyway, I am at least relieved to have gone out for some nighttime socializing, even if there's no chance of me picking up a date when I'm with Jose. lol

Also, in the realm of dating, I am giving up on eHarmony. It's been five months and I haven't gone on one date from that site. And it's not for lack of trying, believe me. Oh, and there's been one guy that actually talked long enough for the subject of meeting to come up, but now he's flaked again. What the hell? He's even the one who asked! And this other guy that I thought would be a good match that I am actually still talking to is beginning to make me think that nothing is ever going to happen there, either. Ugh.

I have re-taught myself how to crochet. And I'm enjoying it very much! It's so frigging fast. At first I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to watch tv while doing it (very important), but now that I'm getting faster and more comfortable with the stitches, I think that issue should be laid to rest soon. Anyway, I still prefer the knit stitch to the crochet stitch. The crochet stitch is so thick and stiff. I really prefer the feel and the look of the knit stitch much more. But I believe that crochet will be excellent for fast bags and afghans. I'm very excited!

I'm also in love now with lace knitting. After my failed wedding garter put me to much self-inflicted shame (really my fault since I was too lazy to go back and fix a mistake that I thought I could ignore), the completion of my lace shawl has bolstered my ego again. I haven't blocked it yet, but I know it's going to be really fabulous once I do. I can't wait to splurge on some nice silk blend and make another one!!! Yay!

What's up with you all?

Brilliance

2008-03-07T03:57:25Z

Thank you, Denise, for sharing this with me and not only giving me great joy for an evening but also making life a little more wonderful. And now I must share it with the rest of the world.

This is one of the most awesome things I've ever seen. I never really cared about Sarah Silverman before this. Now I would rank her as one of the coolest people in the world. Also, this utterly and completely reinforces my belief that this man is a golden god.

Too pretty to fly

2008-02-29T03:21:45Z

I actually saw this on the news yesterday. I wish I could find the video clip from our local station (or was it one of those dateline shows), because they had a clip of both girls being interviewed together in a studio. The blonde is truly dumber than toast. She actually made up a couple of words, one of which was something along the line of "discriminitatingly", and the rest of her grammar was pretty appalling. The phone interview in this clip is not as bad, although she still sounds like a brainless whore. Also, the clip I saw made a bigger deal of how the girls felt like they were treated unfairly by the obviously jealous flight attendants from the moment they stepped onboard. That clip did say more about the screaming match with another passenger when they took too long in the bathroom, and it also reported the airline's statement that they had multiple witness accounts that the girls' behavior was offensive, profane and threatening.

Once my incredulous brain got over the fact that it did not just hallucinate that news clip, I think laughed for about 10 minutes.

Home again home again, jiggity jog

2008-02-26T15:15:24Z

Well, I'm back from South Carolina. I'm happy to report that my grandparents are still doing reasonably well. My grandfather seems to be in more pain. He spends most of his time napping or at least laying down in the bed, but he still goes to exercise 3 times a week. I'm really glad that my mom went with me, though, because I didn't end up being able to spend very much time with them.

The wedding was very nice. I took Betsy for a pedicure on Friday, then there was the rehearsal dinner that night at the church. Betsy had 7 bridesmaids and groomsmen, so we actually needed the rehearsal. Then they brought in dinner from one of the best barbecue places in town. After the dinner, a couple of the girls and Russ (Betsy's gay boyfriend) hung out with some drinks at her place. Betsy didn't really want a bachelorette or to go out, so we had a nice time staying in. Saturday morning, we got up to get our hair and makeup done. That took forever. I ended up getting my hair set in curls with the top poufed into a crown kind of thing. It looked nice. Then I had to go home and take a quick nap because my head was killing me.

The wedding was at 6, so we all met at the church at about 3:30. And I had to put the damn shoes on. Guess what. Two of the bridesmaids were in different shoes, and the store dyed mine the wrong frigging color. They were supposed to be black, and stupid David's Bridal dyed them to match the dress. I didn't know any better. Ah well, it didn't matter. But let me tell you, they are the most uncomfortable shoes I've ever been in. Talk about pain. It took all my willpower to suck it up and hide my agony during the ceremony.

Anyway. The ceremony was beautiful. I almost burst out laughing at one point, though. Two of the church members sang Amazing Grace and one other song, and they were so horrible. It was really excruciating. Talk about out of key.

The reception was also nice. We all danced a bunch, I got a little tipsy, and I think everyone had a good time. But why does it always take me at least half the song to get the Electric Slide down? I look like a moron, and I can't catch on. Every damn time. Then I finally get the rhythm down, and then I lose it again. Ah well. I like the other line dance that makes you hop and cha-cha. I don't, however, know how to do the Charlie Brown. The after-party was a load of fun, too. Betsy and Patrick were supposed to be going to a hotel, but she was getting so into opening presents that they hung around for a while. She was so cute ripping into everything and getting excited.

Then I unfortunately had to drive home on Sunday. Yesterday I was so tired, that I went home at lunch to take a nap and didn't end up going back to the office! Whoops.

Oh, but guess what? My toe is numb. I think I did some nerve damage in those shoes. I know that I tend to over-exaggerate these things, like three weeks ago when I thought my foot was broken, but this time, I think there's really a problem. Half of the toe is really numb. Like I can stick a pin in it numb. For three days now. I don't think that's normal.

hilarity

2008-02-15T17:18:34Z

So I was poking around and reading on wikipedia about Marshall Ledbetter. Everyone knows the story of Marshall Ledbetter, right? He broke into the Capitol building, called the police and demanded that people "wake up and stop being automaton clones". Then he demanded a weird Gumby's pizza, an ounce of indica, 666 donuts for "my fine friends" in the police, and a bunch of other crazy stuff. (Apparently, Gumby's has the "Ledbetter" on their menu available for order.)

So, then I came across this website: http://www.amazingben.com/arc0081.html

Ho.ly. Crap. Lol I just thought this was so funny. And then I got to the last picture on the page and almost peed in my pants. The caption next to the CNN logo is so wonderful.

In other news, I went to an FSU basketball game last night. My first. Also my first visit to the Civic Center. I had a good time. I thought the team sucked but was still impressed that as pathetic as they were, they only lost by 8 points. My seat was on the end close to the band, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The "Golden Girls", a nationally ranked FSU dance team, were also kind of lame. I would expect a dance team that has members there on scholarship and who ranked 5th in the nation last year to at least keep beat of steps together, you know? And their outfits looked something like bright red dead swan skins and made their tiny asses look huge. Kind of weird. But overall, I enjoyed myself, and will probably go again when offered the chance.

My job in the news

2008-02-11T22:44:07Z

Well, my boss has been running around like crazy for two days now having us pull together figures on collections, disbursements and unpaid child support to respond to a Senator's office. All in response to this article:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD02020508.htm

I don't know why people are surprised. Government is short-staffed and under-funded. We collect over a billion dollars a year in child support, and about 2.5 million of that each year doesn't get to whom it's owed. That's what, .25%? Not really a big deal when it comes to looking at the big picture, but I understand that the people who are going without this money need it.

Now, I'm the first person to admit that we've got problems. I don't like government; I think we're ineffectual and full of crap. But reading the comments left underneath that article actually pissed me off. It makes me realize how very few people actually understand what's going on inside their local government.

We've suffered for years under politicians who push for smaller government. Our funding gets cut all the time. They put hiring freezes on so that we can't fill vacant positions. And that's just staffing issues.

I read the same comments over and over again from the people on that news article. We should be more than able to find everyone on the planet through internet searches, google, the IRS, Social Security, etc. And any money left over should be paid out to the child if the parent can't be found.

Well yeah, good points, but wake up people. There are LAWS in place that prevent us from taking tons of actions. The IRS and SSA are extremely picky about sharing information. I can personally attest that I have physically sent out letters to people at multiple addresses explicitly telling them that we were holding money for them and providing them my direct office phone number for contact, and countless times I received absolutely no response. Now, things are getting more and more automated. We're connecting with more agencies than before, but it's still not the instant universal connection that the public seems to think exists. Things are getting better, but it doesn't happen overnight. Not to mention, almost all of our search efforts are focused on trying to find the person who is paying child support, not the person who is receiving it. How hard is it to keep the office informed of your change of address when you move?

I hate my job. I hate the goverment. But I still get pissed off when people assume that we're all lazy, incompetent assholes who are trying to rob the citizens of Florida blind. Christ almight, the people who work here are frigging tax-paying citizens, and lots of them have non-paying child support cases themselves. I spent the last 7 years of my life busting my ass trying to make a difference and getting screamed at by the same people who are commenting on this article. In West Palm Beach, there were something like maybe 60 people to work about 70,000 cases. Shorthanded? You do the math. The citizens of Florida don't want to fund their state government agencies well enough to improve faster. And let me tell you, government is a hell of a lot better than private business when it comes to running social services. We have private contractors, and I see how much worse the system is with them in the mix.

Sorry for the rant. I'm not sure it was entirely intelligible. I hate feeling split like this. Yeah, things are totally screwed up, but people want to bitch and complain without understanding WHY things are fucked up. Give me comments. Tell me why I'm wrong or what my biased opinion is missing.

crazy dream

2008-02-06T14:51:14Z

Anyone else watch House? I had a dream last night about the actor. Well, he was in there, at least. It started with me and my mom living together in a house with Donald Trump. Okay? But it wasn't even this grandiose house, it was a normal 3 bedroom house in the housing developed sections of South Florida. Some weird stuff happened that I can't really remember at night that involved different people prowling around in the dark. So in the morning, I get up, and Donald has given me a speedboat-yacht thing to get myself around the lakes and canals of our neighborhood. So I'm speeding around, not steering or driving very well and almost smashing into every damn thing I pass, when the boat is no longer a boat, but rather it is a jet-pack/hover-craft that looks like a cross between a pogo stick and a fire extinguisher. You ride it by holding the handle bars of the pogo stick and standing on the extinguisher part. So I'm flying around the canals and patios of some pools, when I hear "Man, I could really use a cigarette." I slow to a stop and look over, and there is the actor who plays Dr. House (who is not called Hugh Laurie in my dream, but is now named Geoffrey Rush) laying on a deck chair. And suddenly, I have a lit cigarette in my mouth, which I hand to him saying "Here, have mine. But I really need one, too, so I guess we're going to have to share, cause I didn't bring my pack." So I sit there with Hugh Laurie/Geoffrey Rush, passing the cigarette back and forth. And then somehow conversation reveals that he would really like to meet Donald Trump. And of course, I say "Well, I can totally help you with that, too." And he hops onto the back of my pogo-extinguisher hovercraft speedboat, and we go careening off (with me still not driving well but being apologetic about it) over the canals and pools where the area is suddenly full of those sky-high four leaf clovers from the bumblebee world in Super Mario Galaxy. Finally we arrive without incident of death (from my horrible speeding driving), but my home is no longer a house, but a hospital. I spot my old boss Sara from West Palm Beach who informs me that we are in luck and Donald has not yet left, although he is in a meeting. So Rush/Laurie and I are hanging around waiting to see Donald and attracting the attention of all the nurses, one of whom happens to look much like Kate Beckinsale. We chat with Kate and I apologize for the stupid nurses not realizing that Rush/Laurie is an actor and not really a doctor.

And that's the end. Actually, I'm not sure if it's a different dream, but I was also shopping in the Sawgrass Mall where one of my friends paid $3 (in nickels) for a Tarot reading from a machine (think Zoltar from the movie Big) and I spent two hours trying to pick out a felt Cookie Monster University of Florida sleepshirt as a gift for my friend Kirsten from high school.

Do you think I ate something bad, or what? I did have suspect thoughts about the blue cheese dressing, but I only had a couple bites. I swear to God, I didn't take any hallucinogens before bed.

wedding presents

2008-02-05T15:42:08Z

What do you get as your friend's wedding gift when everything has already been bought on their wedding registry? Am I supposed to just give cash? Am I supposed to think up something for the home that's not on their registry in the hopes that they don't have it already? Do I give a gift card instead of cash? Is $50 being cheap? I've already spent $350 on the bridesmaid's dress and travel arrangements. I don't really think it's right to factor that into how much to spend on a gift, but it's not like I'm a wealthy person.

Update - I have reentered the world of the living

2008-02-04T16:37:30Z

So, I missed an entire week of work last week with the exception of 2 hours when I deluded myself into thinking I could come back on Wednesday. Having spent the last 7 days in bed with fever, burning lungs and delicious congestion, I am now back in my cube. Still not happy about that, but being out of bed is an improvement.

I went to the Indigo Girls concert last Friday. I had found out they were coming at the beginning of January, but due to money issues, I had decided not to go. Well, Friday morning after seeing them on the cover of the weekend paper, I broke down and admitted that I was fucking nuts to forgo the opportunity to see my favorite band again because I couldn't afford a $25 ticket. Thank Goddess they still had some tickets available.

Anyway, I think standing out in the cold on Friday night is probably what sent me spiralling into this illness, but I'd fucking do it all over again a million times. The show was awesome, as I knew it would be. The Girls were in excellent form and performed a lovely selection of old and new songs, including most of the typical crowd favorites as well as a couple of more unusual songs.

Also, the opening act, who is usually very good at a Girls show, was fucking amazing. Brandi Carlile, whom I had not really heard of but apparently has had some decent success and was featured on one of the Grey's Anatomy soundtracks, is simply delightful. She has a very unusual yodel-y folk type of voice and writes beautiful songs. She looks like Keira Knightly's twin sister only not quite so anorexic. Her voice is full of this raw emotion that is awesome to witness. She was invited out to sing with the Girls later several times, and they even did one of her songs all together.

I was in the front row again. The Moon is a bit of an unusual venue. It's an old A&P grocery store that's been converted into a night club/concert hall. Incredibly enough, when I got in there, people were scrambling to grab stools around the bar, but no one was really standing out on the dance floor. So I got my ass out there and physically planted it on the stage itself. I met a couple of very nice Georgia girls who had planted their asses next to me. We became concert friends, and I even got a Indigo Girls guitar pick at the end of the show when one of the girls miraculously managed to swipe 3 of them off the floor. Awesome!

Anyway, I tried to get some pics up, because I was so close that the lame-ass camera on my phone (since my lame-ass self forgot the real camera at home) actually managed to take a couple decent pics. But the stupid firewall here at work won't let me do it. Bastards. I'll try again later.

One funny thing. The concert ended and no more than 5 minutes later, the place had transformed into the night club, complete with blasting country music and a dance floor swarming with line-dancers. It was so strange. I don't even know how those people got in the door that fast, because I was still standing up at the stage! I had to fight my way through high-stepping syncronized dancers to get out.