Must. Hold. On. To. Sanity.

Been up since 7. He was supposed to come at 10 but Brother didn't call me back until 11:30. Ok. Yes, Duckie, we know this isn't unusual. Keep reading anyway. :P

Instead of waiting for him, I walked up to the house anyway.

We were going to lay tile in the dining. I checked the carpet put down in RL's room and it stuck. I then vacuumed in the room. First, we needed to clear out the niece's room and disassemble Father's deathbed for pick up tomorrow. Mother would be pleased to see it go. While we were doing that, the SIL arrived. "Mullet-man," who had put the bamboo flooring in the master was still working on the pantry. She tended to some painting in RL's room. None of the rooms she painted have been finished.

We cleared out the dining room, ready to start on the tile. The SIL got huffy. And said, "Don't do that! "Mullet-man" will want to prep it. OK, at this point I'm like WTF? He costs $60/hr. Brother had managed to talk her out of using Mullet-man to blow up the wall between lounge and dining. He'd been working on the pantry for days now. I'm not saying it won't be nice, only that it's slow moving and they want to move in this weekend. Yes, really. Seriously. No kidding!

There's only bare concrete. The SIL thinks "Mullet-man" would wash it with paint thinner like he did the master. Well, I doubt he would because he was gluing the hardwood to that floor. This is done differently. But let's assume he does it that way. She's moving in this weekend. A dining room full of paint thinner will be wonderful for the children, don't you think? Yes. I thought so too.

I admit I said a few things. I reminded her that we can do the work. I wondered why I was even there. I was insulted, really. Part of her argument is "Mullet-man" "needs the work" but they aren't running a charity! Brother is not with limitless funding and time matters.

Before this bit came about Brother notices the red wine was missing from the rack. It had been put in the fridge. You don't chill red wine but not before I realized that's where it had gone I noted my fridge full of food had been thrown out after i was told to go leave it there by SIL. :( Even "Mullet-man's" food was thrown out! SIL denied knowledge of any of this. It was her friend who did it. UGH!

Along the way I pinched the skin on my left pointer finger between a hammer and pry-bar trying to get a nail out. It didn't bruise as badly I was feared. (Did I just hear a cry from Duckie for pix?) I tried to figure why WiFi wasn't working at the house and narrowed it down to the cable modem. The laptop could see the router both via ethernet and WiFi and direct connecting to the modem made no difference. Since they didn't have a computer there to test it when installed, I said just call and have them replace the modem.

While I was troubling shooting the WiFi (that would be SIL's laptop, btw) SIL decided to run off in a snit. I think she blamed me for causing trouble. No doubt. There I go trying to bring some rationality to her insane world. The shame of it all! Brother was not happy that she was dashing off.

Neither of us knew that to do. She wanted to lounge cleared for the carpet cleaner coming tomorrow. HUH??? So, we have four carpeted rooms, they can't have anything if they're being cleaned. Dining room? No, it has no floor and you don't want to impede a floor going in. What about the niece's room? Well, that bed needs to be moved out so you can fill it up. That would leave the master which "Mullet-man" was working in!! I guess there's the roof. Or let's haul it to the apt. (I'm kidding about that last one, Duckie.)

Anyway, I wasted a day, lost food and the topper was coming back to a PC saying, 'RED ALERT! HD is crashing! Quick! Back up!' That was my day.

Edited to add this: I finally caught up to "Ugly Betty" this week. It sucked. This was probably the lamest show of the season. On Idol, I'm glad to see Blake will be back again this coming week for the Top 10. Unlike the judges I preferred his change up on "You Keep Me Hanging On" from last week although he picked the right song for his voice this week. He still needs to work on his vocal control.

"

Must Be A Monday

I went to bed early last night because my eyes felt like they wanted to pop from my skull and roll down the road. Feeling better this morning. Yay me. There wasn't rain over night. Big surprise. Supposedly rain will come tonight instead. We'll see.

I called my old neighbor Sunday evening. There was a remarkable lack of energy in his voice. He asked me to step in when I come up to the Brother's house next. Could happen Today.

Brother emailed late telling me about the house destruction on-going. I guess laminated wood flooring is going in the Master instead of the carpet I bought on the estate's behalf. As part of a Caribbean theme, the walls are as bright aqua blue.

He asked me if I'd like to help tear down the wall Father built to solve an echo problem in the dining room. With the dining carpet gone and being replaced with more of the tile I put throughout the hallways and kitchen you can be sure any echo problem will be back with a vengeance. It'll be even more significant if they do remove the popcorn acoustic ceiling texture. It's an ugly look but serves a function. I have 10 ft ceilings at the apt and no acoustic texture. There is some echo but it doesn't bother me. With squealing kids, I'd be one badly frayed nerve.

The tile laying is being tossed to a dad for one of SIL's old childcare gigs. He'll probably be building the pantry as well. He needs work.

I seem more sensitive to sounds, the abrasiveness of so much music these days is like being run back-and-forth across a cheese grater. I've sought refuge with Radio Disney streaming for now. Black-Eyed-Peas up now with "Let's Get It Started." "Let's get ig'nant?" I had to look that up. Supposedly it's akin to "unplugging" and "zoning out" while dancing rather than a repudiation of knowledge. I wonder what level of penetration the meaning gets with listeners. Talking of double-meanings, "YMCA" now playing on Radio Disney! Hilarious!!

I'd always taken the song "YMCA" at face value. I also loathed literary analysis in school but I'm digressing. I tend to do that a lot with things which is probably why I just assume "it's all lies" now as a defense mechanism. Readers of this blog have probably heard the stories that "YMCA" is really about gay men "hooking up."

I just had the cat blog reading. She barfed on the carpet over-night. The food wasn't digested. That's the second time since we moved, not bad for her.

Interim Posting

I'm running behind on my entries. In the mean time, I went up to the office to complain about the kitchen skin. It's just not draining today. Period. The other day I tried to use the disposal in hopes of getting it flowing and the water drained in the disposal side and came back up on the other. I also ended up with two sinks of goo. I got that cleaned up and it did eventually drain. Last night it cooperated but today not one bit.

Since I'm self-hating depressive or something, I could stand the sink torment but I was puzzled by the building's exterior lights running all day long. That wasn't so with the other buildings. I don't know if these lights run on a timer or light sensor. I'll guess timer. The office will mention it to maintenance.

I called in a refill again. Of course it didn't go right the first time. I put in my new phone number and said, "Let me transfer you to an agent." It's Sunday so all those minutes were wasted. Let's try again and put in the old phone number. Ok, that worked. That means I have to call again tomorrow and tell them to update the damned phone number already! Oh, and help me get online since I never did get that temp password. Of course, I'm using a cell so all calls cost. So much for "toll-free numbers."

I watched "High School Musical" today. It was not high art but it passed the time. My old neighbor's grandson looks like Zac Efron. Maybe it's the hair. I used to see Efron play in WB's "Summerland" (Wikipedia) with singer Jesse McCartney and Ryan Kwanten (IMDB) which no Aussies seem to like! Bizarre.

I missed the sad, pathetic product that is Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Limited Numbered Signature Edition. Really! The box is "signed" by Bill Gates hisself! [sic]

Of course Apple's done this on actual computers rather than packaging. Back in 1987 or so, it had the "Woz" limited-edition IIgs. (pic) Woz, of course, was the engineering mind behind the Apple II, aka Steve Wozniak. Steve Job's signature, along with other members of the first Mac's team are carved on the inside (folklore.org) of the original's case. There were a few laser-engraved signature iPods for awhile too.

AOL's Top 12 Most Annoying (Idol) Songs

I can't disagree with the list. I didn't see American Idol season 1 but I know many of these were performed in season 2. Numbers 10, 8 & 3 were sung by Trenyce. Clay also performed three of these: 2 (semi-finals), 4 (won the "Wild Card" spot), & 12 (eliminated him early).

12. 'Open Arms' by Journey 
11. 'Superstition' by Stevie Wonder
10. 'Let's Stay Together' by Al Green
 9. 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' by Queen
 8. 'I'm Every Woman' by Chaka Khan
 7. 'One Last Cry' by Brian McKnight
 6. 'I Believe I Can Fly' by R. Kelly
 5. 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' by Stevie Wonder
 4. 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me' by Elton John
 3. 'I Have Nothing' by Whitney Houston
 2. 'Unchained Melody' by The Righteous Brothers
 1. 'Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)' by Phil Collins

Most Overdone Songs

The Three Little Pigs Puppies?

From "The Death of Civilization is at Hand" file comes a story from the UK. The 150 year old children's classic story of the Three Little Pigs has been renamed for a school production to avoid possibly offending Muslim tots. No Muslims have objected to the original title, this is just some nutter trying to be "sensitive" and "multicultural." In fact, there's been objection *TO* the change because Muslims think it makes them seem like freaks. The prohibition is about eating pigs, not reading about them!

On the Clay Aiken front, it seems his gay-fling accuser John Paulus is now claiming he made it all up. Well, not he alone. He now says it was a conspiracy hated by Aiken haters who agreed to help him meet a porn producer if he played the part of Clay's secret gay lover. At this point, I just don't care. I was a registered Claymate but his albums have been disappointing with the most recent a completely lifeless disc of covers. That's really amazing as his singing covers in the Idol competition breathed so much life into them that he built a devoted fan base to start with! I don't know why he's packed on the pounds either but the chins look bad on someone with such a slender frame.

Congratulations to Anthony Fedorov for being cast in The Fantasticks.

"THE FANTASTICKS, the world’s longest running musical, are proud to announce that “American Idol” Top-Four Finalist, Anthony Fedorov, will step into the role of “Matt” on Tuesday, May 1, 2007."

It's Good To Burn.

I'm trying Listerine citris flavor. It doesn't taste bad but I'd forgotten how much that stuff burns by the end of the 30 seconds. On the upside it doesn't make my stomach rebel like many antiseptic mouthwashes.

I felt bad today and consequently slept. Sometimes in bed, sometimes on the floor. I'm feeling better this evening but not 100%. I didn't watch Idol live but I've heard the performances. Blake was disappointing in the vocal department but far from the worst. He did, however, have an interesting arrangement for "You Keep Me Hanging On" which I think could've been cool as a full song. It seemed to end suddenly but we had a tantilizing glimpse at what he had in mind. At least he was different.

It was "Diana Ross" week. Two or three forgot their words. Melinda is still near the top although she did "Home" which is one of those songs I'd permanently retire from Idol along with the Whitney Houston song book. Sanjaya should go home but I think Brandon was worst this week. Attempting "You Can't Hurry Love," his voice broke, he forgot words and generally it was just a mess.

Tiny Little Boxes

It finally happened. The U-Haul came and now I have a garage full of boxes. There's lots of stuff here now that I did not want. Lucky me. I then joined the caravan. SIL had the minivan, Brother the U-Haul. I rode with him. We took the truck back, stopping for petrol. It was so very cheap--only $3.02/gal. That's about a half dollar over national average that I heard on radio today. Yes, sarcasm on the cheap.

I waited in the minivan with the youngest nephew. He was napping. He's huge how. A giant! He walks, waves saying "bye-bye" and shares too. I didn't need the milk and potato chip although I did play with his toy now and then, when offered. That makes him smile. Sometimes he shows teeth too. He's too happy.

Can I say that the new blogger is a pain? I'll be typing and randomly Firefox will end my lines as if I've kit the Return key. Very annoying. I'm so glad Google decided it was out of beta. Ugh.

So, U-Haul back, another reserved for the move of them into the house. Now we went back to the house but interruption! They were here for the bin. The bin was very full! Frightfully full! But more scary was when the truck lifted it up and here came the water rushing out. Yuck, what an odor. Can't believe it was all rainwater.

The baby nephew is walking. He tried to share his potato chips with me but I only accepted his toy when he offered. The potato chip had milk on it a combination I'd rather avoid. Just a year old, he talks a bit. He'll wave and say, "bye-bye." He also smiles easily. That's so not me.

The niece had some independent testing done and is only at 50% for a Kindergartener except i the one category she's only 9% in ability. She's very confused about T-Ball. I guess she ran from first base to the pitcher's mound. The SIL said they're really beginning to see the adverse effects of the birth mother's drug abuse during the pregnancy. Long-time readers know the niece is the third child taken from the woman. Makes me want to bang my head on the edge of a desk. Meanwhile Madge, Angelina and others go abroad to buy their pets... um, for adoptions.

In happier news, I found the missing red purse. It was among the stuff brought to the apartment yesterday. I'd have sworn it was already here but, in retrospect, I realize I was thinking of having had it on Mother's chair at the house rather than the apartment. I don't know if I've shared about the red purse. Mother hated attention. She'd been looking for a new purse for some time and while she was shopping for other things she said, "Go pick me out a purse," and let me tell you that is no easy task! There are hundreds of styles in any given department store. She already had three or four that were unused, buyer's remorse, purchases. If she ever used a daily purse that wasn't black, I don't remember it. Anyway, we settled upon a few and I convinced her the red one was it. I insisted she check in a mirror. It was a tough sell. Even when she got home, I had to talk shame her into actually switching over to it. But I finally moved that mountain. She embraced it pretty quickly. It's a great design for her uses regardless of the color. It ended up as her last purse. She was ultimately very happy with it. When I think about Mother, I can't not think of her and her every-day purses. Although she was a modern slacks-and-jeans wearing woman, she always had the purse with her unless she was literally going around to pick us up from our school bus stop. Driving, the purse was always under her legs. It had all kinds of things from a plastic rain scarf to meds to a tape measure. I'd say it's as notable for what you wouldn't find in it: a mirror or make-up.

The duckie is online so I'll wrap this up now and demand to know why he hasn't commented!

The History Boys

Excellent. Well worth my time. IMDB entry

I had vague knowledge of it from award-winning success as a play. I really enjoyed it. It had lots of depth that you almost never see on screen in a comedy.

---

The cat is meowing at me. I'm getting drowsy. I'll probably walk about for a bit though. TV on Friday's is simply awful. Free-to-air radio was a bore.

I've been listening to another streaming station which is just starting and it's a bit unfocused. I'm not really a fan of "rock" in the Creed-mold. I find the vocal sound causes me irritation. I'm irritated on my own, I need music to improve my mood damn it!

Did I say the meds came? Ok, that's one less piece of drama in my life. I already ate one of my pair of ice creams. I was just in that kind of mood tonight. There's a chance I didn't have a house-related dream during my day nap. I don't really remember a particular dream so I'll take that as a bonus.

It's already feeling stuffy in the apartment, I think I'll crack a window while I'm on the balconey. No Duckie yet tonight. Has it been two days? I can't be sure. There is some thinking I've got pending on the nature of life and whether "happiness" is a bedrock element. On the way to the grocery I pondering how long my life had been about filling gaps. Once I was old enough, I fell into a support role and then really took that with me to uni and beyond. I've not really spent much time on what excites me about living, if anything. I've been through a few days this week where I was completely nihilistic about life.

Still Awake?

Yes I am. It's 8:40am. I had an up and down night. I never did make those cookies. I got a bug up my butt and went to the grocery this morning around 6:30. Along the way I rescued an abandoned shopping cart which I promptly abandoned out front of the store for another. I was on the verge of going to bed but somehow decided enough was enough and to just get the grocery out of the way. Of course, along the way, any passersby could see me verbally sparing with myself whether to detour to the house or not. In the end, I did not. It didn't make sense and would've added probably two miles to my trip. I decided Mother would've said, "Take care of yourself first. You don't own the House, I don't own the House, go to the store!" Sound advice.

The store was empty except for a few scattered employees and lots of stock. (Kitty is getting on my case for being off schedule right now but I think I talked her down from her rant.) Where was I? The store. I looked at canned goods and battled with myself over the "sale" prices and concluded I could decide at the end of my trip to come back to the aisle if I wanted. I did and picked up cans of chili to go with my cans of raviolis. 80 cents for raviolis! I wasn't passing that up. The chili was gawd awfully high at $2/can but it was cheap for the grocery store. Along my trip I think I remembered most of what I needed or wanted. I checked the toothbrushes. I wanted a cheap one to help me clean my keyboard. Wow. Even the store-brand was $1.80! No, wait, I spy a kid's pair of brushes for $3. Last second I spied a two-pack of "travel" toothbrushes for $2.49. OK, sure I could've got one brush for $1.80 but I'm always going to need another toothbrush, right? Two for $1.25 is a bargain! I snatched up some dental gum and mouthwash (citris flavor). There was a woman attempting to stock the shelves and I kept coming back into the aisle when I remembered another item to look for. This time it was Tylenol or something like it. Sorry, I'm not paying those prices even for the generic! Such is the evil of grocery store markups.

I didn't get Nutella. It was almost $5 for a tiny jar. I'll check somewhere else. I looked at the peanut butters. I like the store brand. Of course they actually have three (or more) under their name. I have to ask myself, just how nasty are the peanuts that go into the super cheap peanut butter? I'm talking cheaper than the "normal" store brand by 50 cents. Mother, in her misbegotten youth, was a food chemist and helped develop store-brand versions of the market leaders. I wish she was around to tell me more stories. Perhaps it's an irony that she was a brand-loyalty shopper in general. Maybe it's because she had that luxury or maybe she just felt at her age, damn it, I'm going to eat what I enjoy. Yeah, it was probably the latter. I always annoyed her when I'd stand there and debate whether it's worth saving ten cents. She hated that I'd fuss over things like that. Sometimes the cheaper brand was satisfying and sometimes it was putrid. Mostly she'd just saying, "Oh for Heaven's sake! Get what you *LIKE*!" Sometimes I would.

Today was a bit of a tribute-shopping. Haagan Dazs was on sale. Ok, it was a crappy sale. Two for $7. But, just before getting into the check-out line, I decided to buy it. I also bought more cookie dough. Bloody hell, it was $1! You can't pass that up! I made sure to get one of the $1 cookie doughs that hadn't passed their "Best By" date. Many were a month past and one flavor was two months over! Crazy, lazy store. I wonder if Nestle know what they're doing. I had made cookies from dough I'd forgotten in the fridge until a month past the "Best By" date and the damned little things stayed almost square! It's one thing for me to make that goof at home but the store should *not* be selling that "expired" product. It's a liability issue just waiting for the right lawyer.

I trolled the frozen section and, damn it, when I got back and loaded the freezer saw I'd gotten a couple varieties mixed in that I didn't want! Ugh. The walk back seemed rather long but I hadn't taken the route in that direction before. The hill is much more imposing going back down. I picked up some juice. I wasn't really in the mood to pick up soda. Diet versions tend to annoy my stomach and regular versions aren't really good for a person to drink on a regular basis. I need to work that out. I got a bottle of Cranberry that claims to be 100% juice. It was on sale. Only $2. Just to compare I got the one from concentrate as well. I don't do fruit juices much because I tend to burn out quickly on them and they ferment on me. My stomach doesn't care for apple juice although apples themselves and apple sauce have never been a problem.

Cereal was a pain in the butt. I swear there's a cartel of cereal price fixers. $8 for Cheerios? What the hell is that all about? I ended up getting a small bag of the store-brand corn flakes for $3. I hate that store. It's so damned expensive. Yes, I have an alternative but this was closer and I knew it was open at that hour. I'll just continue to look elsewhere for cereal that isn't at platinum prices. There was a coupon machine in the frozen aisle spitting out coupons. Since I was buying the product, I took a pair of coupons. I didn't really look to see the requirements. I think it was cents off on 3. Fine, I had more than that. What I did notice is the coupon expired last month. Well, hell, I thought. If they haven't changed the damned machine, I'm going to offer the coupons at the register. It's all computerized and I've seen coupons rejected before. The system took the coupons. I guess expired food isn't the only think OK in that store. *shakes head*

I probably could've saved more if I'd gone to the other store. Damn it. Maybe next time. Or I'll finally order online and never leave the apt complex again.

I think my delayed sleeping is catching up with me. It's about time to pass out. I might go up to the office and get some tea. I went earlier but it wasn't open yet. I mailed my peanut butter jar lids from the recall finally and wasn't sure I could put them in the normal mail slots. I had planned to leave the packet with the office out going mail. Not being open, I decided to see if I could get it into a mail slot and was successful without losing any fingers or toes.

I wonder what the cat is up too. She's been far too quiet.

The @#!% Plane! The @#!% Plane!

Doing laundry. Dryer is taking forever. Kitty is on the sofa being a look out. I got my slipper fixed. There was a small hold in the toe. I broke out the sewing stuff and patched it up.

Yes, really.

I've got an ugly headache tonight. I need to eat but I'm about as much in a mood to eat as duckie would be Rosie's mistress. Didn't bother with live TV tonight.

"If You Want It To Be Good Girl" from Backstreet Boys just came on the streaming radio. It's the best thing I've heard in an hour. Nick growls in this one.

More later if the mood strikes.

Here I am again. The mood struck but the blow wasn't fatal. I just read Hollywood is planning to remake "Fantasy Island" again. It tried a TV remake once in the 90's with Malcolm McDowell in the Ricardo Montalbán part of Mr. Roarke.

What grand suave and debonair casting have they him in this film attempt?

Eddie Murphy!

I wish I were kidding.

Idol Surprise?

Ok. The voting public are insane. Sanjaya made the Top 12. That's just crazy.

No surprise on Jared. He had some singing ability but wasn't any 'wow' and while he would perform, it didn't always match the song. His over-used grin was pure lounge performer. Not a loss. Except, well, he should've stayed longer than Sanjaya.

I don't even remember Sabrina. That's a bad sign and why she's gone.

The talentless, bitchy Antonella got cut. I think Simon gave people cover in not voting for her by saying last night that she'd weathered the scandalous photos controversy well. Thank you, Simon.

The big shock, really, is Sundance Head being cut. Wow. Yes, "Jeremy" was butchered, but he was clearly among the more talented guys.

There are pre-Idol performance clips of Blake Lewis ("B-Shorty") on YouTube. He's probably not been "discovered" since some of the stuff is fairly experimental and not even close to what would land a record deal. He's clearly talented and has his own thing going on. I think he should work on his vocals, in particular using his falsetto. He employs vocal effects in his act so he can get away with slips a bit more than in the Idol realm. I think, if he's willing to go mainstream in the way he's melded his style to Idol, he could be very, very successful.

The Week So Far, An Update

Just noticed this bit of news, Actor John Inman, Mr. Humphries of "Are You Being Served?", has died in London aged 71. Mother and I used to watch that on public broadcasting now and then when we needed a laugh. Honestly, I expected he'd have been older.

I had another house dream. I've lost track at the number so far. This wasn't so bad. It was a bit odd. Mother and Father, I think, had bought the house or something or they'd just decided on a remodel. I can't remember. Or don't want to. I only remember there were things that weren't liked and somehow I was to work on them.

Ugh. Damned IM sound made me jump in my chair.

What else. I had tried to refill meds online. The damned system said I hadn't activated my account. I'll have to phone, ask for a new activation which means waiting a week for postal mail. So, next, I tried doing it on the phone. I'm just using a cell now, not a landline since moving to control expenses. I called, the automated system wouldn't let me specify my mailing address. It said call back at 7am. I passed out around 6:30am. I woke later and called. It took over 17 minutes to talk to a person. Tick-tick-tick. So much for controlling costs. That did get the address changed, however. Maybe I won't run out of meds before the refill gets here. We'll see.

I had no postal mail today. Not even an advertisement! No word from Brother or neighbor in email. Tonight I watched Idol. The season is lame but you already know that. There was one stand-out: Melinda Doolittle; she'll probably win. I like Blake. He's a bit Timberlake with the beatbox thing but he doesn't irritate me like Mr. JT has since the NSYNC years. Why is Lance Bass writing an autobiography?

I did some flip-watching and caught "Criminal Minds" (story was competing serial killers), something on 700+ lbs people, the Bravo reality show Top Design (lame garage challenge) and bits of Wedding-something debuting on Fox after and America's Next Top Model on CW. I don't know that I was entertained by any one show that much. Other things I've seen this week include the Idle guys, some Law and Order, CSI: Miami, Heroes (on hiatus until end of April) and The Black Donnellys (organized crime drama) which no one seems to be watching.

I'll skip the Idol results show. It'll be old news before it airs and I don't really know what's on Thursdays. Maybe I'll look. I may do groceries today. New sale cycle. It's 5am and I'm feeling a mood to go so maybe I'll get moving before 6am and be done before 8am. Or I'll just decided to give it up and sleep because I can't wait for another house-themed dream.

Pork Roast, Anyone?

Can't you just picture having future in-laws over and serving one of these as a roast with apples in the mouth? Err mouths?

Manna for the Soul?

I give you the grilled cheese:



I had a difficult time sleeping. Yes, another freaking house-related dream. No need to get too specific but Brother accidentally dragged Father to his death under a pickup truck. I woke myself and said, "Why the hell I am having this dream?" Kitty was non-plussed. So was I, really; Father's been dead for years now.

Anyway, I made grilled cheese; I hadn't had grilled cheese in years. I'd been weaving in and out of a craving for grilled cheese since Neighbor had mentioned making it for his wife. I finally did it. This was the first use of the gas range at the apt. The first one was not so successful so for the second I grilled the pieces of bread before adding the cheese and that worked out well. I have a sandwich maker. Ok, two. One is in storage. The one at the apt needs cleaning so I used the small frying pan instead.

The grilled cheese was more satisfying than anything else I've eaten since I moved in. I don't know why. Maybe it's memories of grilled cheese growing up. Or memories of grilled cheese on the Buck Roger's 80's TV show. Or all of the above. Anyway, here's to an insanely simple bit of 'home cookin'.

New iTunes + Quicktime

Apple's released an update to iTunes (and Quicktime).

* Ejecting an iPod from Windows Explorer or the Windows notification area (system tray) using the "Safely Remove Hardware" feature may corrupt your iPod. To always safely eject an iPod, choose Eject iPod from the Controls menu within iTunes. If your iPod becomes corrupt, selecting your iPod in iTunes and clicking Restore in the iPod's Summary panel should return your iPod to a working condition.
* iTunes may display text or graphics incorrectly on your screen. Resizing the iTunes window should correct this issue.
* Contacts from Windows Address Book may not sync with iPod.
* iTunes remains unsupported on 64 bit editions of Windows, including Windows Vista and Windows XP x64.

There's a 3rd party plug-in for which lets you sync an iPod from WMP 11.

Housewives. Brothers and Sisters.

I wasn't going to watch Desperate Housewives live tonight but kitty was sitting on the sofa back waiting for me to turn on the TV. It was pretty good. More Andrew than probably the rest of the season combined. I stayed tuned for "Brothers and Sisters" which someone had asked if I'd watched it (I don't remember who) and I hadn't before. Well, I noticed a few names I recognized and gave it a shot.

Rob Lowe annoys me. He has no acting chops or he's always playing the same character. I can't tell. How many years has he played a political character? They had a faux Perez Hilton-type, an Asian guy, and borrowed a detail of how Lance Bass' mother found out he was gay: by reading it online (she Googled him with regularity). There are some passable actors in the show but overall it's just a haphazardly done soap. The characters annoyed, there was almost no emotion actually on the screen. It was like folks were reading their lines. I think I'll pass on watching it live in the future. Ok, some of that might have to do with the three painful "Wow" Windows Vista ads. If I get terminally bored (likely enough), I'll stream online and waste the network's bandwidth.

It was nice to see Emily Van Camp ("Everwood") and I guess Bat Getty is clean and gave up his underground band or whatever. Nice to see he's holding an acting job again. Sorry Marc & Greg, I don't care for the show. Kitty left the sofa for her chair. I don't think she liked it either.

I had to take the evil toilet to task again. Cleaned it. Kitty supervised. Two days. No, maybe one day, no house-related dream. I think last night it was house related but I am blocking it out. It's almost time for groceries again. Duckie wants me to try online ordering. I might? That is very lazy but I'm not in the mood to go up to the stores. I'm bitter and hermit-like, as if Osama in his cave!

From the "What the Hell?" Box…

From the "What the Hell?" box I give you this story:

Pupils up to the age of 11 are being bottle-fed and mothered in school as part of a radical new move to address poor discipline LINK

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Yahoo lured me in with a headline that Jennifer Hudson won an NAACP Image Award. Not surprising but I was curious to see what she may have said. That wasn't interesting. What caused me to shake-my-head was seeing Isaiah Washington won an NAACP Image Award! Hello?

Wikipedia has this summary of the trouble he's been:

In October 2006, news reports surfaced that Washington had grabbed co-star Patrick Dempsey by the throat. It was reported that the altercation was prompted by or related to Washington's use of a derogatory epithet (faggot) toward costar T.R. Knight and his sexuality... [In January] After the show won Best Drama, Washington, in response to press queries as to any conflicts backstage, said that he had never referred to Knight as a "faggot".

He won an NAACP Image Award.

He's promoting "The ideals of human and civil rights." Surrre…

Will anyone else notice this poke in the eye?

Which One Are You?

Wal-Mart has decided their world of customers breaks into three kinds, which do you think you'd be:

There are “brand aspirationals” (people with low incomes who are obsessed with names like KitchenAid), “price-sensitive affluents” (wealthier shoppers who love deals), and “value-price shoppers” (who like low prices and cannot afford much more).

Lucky Me?

I heard from Google: Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and cleared for regular use so that it will no longer appear as potential spam. So yay me.

I had another irritating dream. This time there was Neighbor and problems with water at the house. A leak. Work that was done, an added line or something crazy. It was a mess. And Neighbor had a problem too. There were people obvious doing things to the house they shouldn't. And later in the dream there was a bald-head guy in white from Aus trying to get into the house through the front door. Just trying to wander inside! Obviously there's a lot of anxiety pent up from the house being empty of inhabitants, save one fish. I haven't any idea when they'll get moved in. And going up to the house makes me crazy. I don't live there. Hell, I'm still getting email reminders about its bills which aren't mine. I'm feeling suffocated. I have made up a box of stuff that shouldn't have come to the apt at all like spare bath tile, mother's pajamas and so on.

Duckie has not sent death. Today's mail was a the electric bill I paid last night and an ad for phone service. Yay me? Now that I got voice mail working again, no one's calling. Lovely, eh? Idol axed two guys (Nick & AJ) who were OK. While not amazing but probably should've stayed. In the usually irritation it kept one (the effeminate, small-voiced, Wacko-Jacko-styled Sanjaya) who should've been ditched long before this stage. I'll post so I can find something Duckie asked for--I did and he had already forgotten what it was. *sigh*

How Annoying?

Apparently blogger thinks this is a "spam blog" the defining link of which is broken. Fabulous. And yes, this isn't the post I had begun writing. That went down with another lock-up thanks to Safari's loving the new "non-beta" Blogger. Right. Sure. Well, I'm irritated. My neck, eyes and skull ache today.

I tuned in many hours of TV tonight. I don't know why, I just wasn't in the mood to chat and my regular talk program host is on holiday. I watched Idol. Was girls night. They were generally pretty bad. There was one or two who had any business on stage and that's about it. Really of 20 contestants this week I'd have kept maybe six. None of them grab me like Clay had in '03 or Anthony did a few years later. I'm sick of the nameless-faceless R&B clones. Go home, girls. It's boring. To paraphrase that jerk James Carville, you can drag a dollar bill through a black church anywhere in America and hear singing even better. He was talking trailer parks and loose women.

Did I mention my eyes, neck and skull ache? I usually wake up that way. At least with the neck part. The eyes come later. I did flipping during Idol. I watched a bit of "Friday Night Lights" and might watch a bit online. Later I watched "Criminal Minds" which was a lame New Orleans / Katrina / Jack-the-Ripper story. I flipped during it as well. This time it was bits of Becker and more Idol and during all of those some "Americas Next Top ModeL" because I had been lead to believe "One Tree Hill" runs on Wednesdays. I guess not? After this I watched some design show marathon on Bravo. The judges are morons. The orange and green room was vile and had almost zero storage. The evident runner-up had no voiced drawbacks. They did at least kick off the right person.

What else happened today. I paid the rent. And power bill. Let's forget the power bill for a bit. The rent. I went up to the office, check in hand. They had a notice it was closed for an "off-site" meeting. I decided to experiment and use the drop box. Well, as anticipated, when I called later this afternoon to confirm they got the check I did get seven minutes of "it's lost" / "not here" which pleases me no end! Seriously, it was complete crap. No, duckie, it wasn't Dixie. It cost me all those cell minutes of dead air but it was finally found supposedly stuck to another check. Right. I wasn't a complete fool, I did make a copy first. Anyway, I'll be sure to pay in person from now on.

The last time I was up at the office to talk about the oven, some older woman was getting a song-and-dance about her missing check. I got email about the power bill. I paid. Was 25 bucks or so. I also got email about the house power bill. I guess it wasn't paid last month. They're never moving in, I swear. I'm not paying it. I've been here.

Grrr. It's club night for Duckie. Another reason to me annoyed. Kitty is kneading my forearm. Yay me? I need read CompUSA is closing lots of stores. All of them within 200 miles of me appear to be closing up. That's depressing. Not that they haven't screwed themselves by moving further into consumer electronics but on a personal historic note there was a lot of history with them, shopping with different people, purchasing my VAIOs, first laser printer and flatbed scanners, and visits with Mother including opening day about 20 years ago. Change sucks.

Been a few bad nights of sleep. I've had folks coming into the house in my dreams, dreaming about an old neighbor who moved in just after my parents moved to the house, and last evening's dream I carried Mother and kitty back to the house from Neighbor's after a long evening. Not a chance for rest.

Kitty has been weird too. On Tuesday she hid under some covers pulled off the bed. I'd seen her do that a bit but never well into the evening. Not sure what sparked it. It did make me nervous.

Did I mention my cookies turned out crunchy? Yeah, not worth doing expired dough in the future. I'll preheat 15 minutes in the future although the manual online says 10 minutes if there's no indicator light. My experience, at least with even new electric ovens, is 10 minutes may not be enough. Sure, it's a gas oven but a few extra minutes preheating can't hurt.

The cat is still mutilating said left arm. Purr on full throttle. She watches a bit of TV, then hid awhile and came back later to lounge on the back of the sofa a lot like she used to when the two of us, with Mother would watch shows. I wish like hell Mother was here. I keep having more and more moments of "Oh, I want to tell her that or ask her this." It's maddening and not in an angry sense. I think I'll do cereal and see if this will post.