Twisted Spinster

Finally, my cable’s back. I had a “sorry we missed you” flyer on my doorknob with a note stating that they’d done work outside. Hah, I knew it.

Okay, first the good news: today was the first day of my new full-time job and so far I love it — it’s at a little flight school and plane rental place. I’m a customer service dispatch sort of person. It’s a lot to take in but I think I can handle it, based on what I have already learned to do, and everyone seems real pleased with me.

Now the bad news:

It started yesterday. I decided to quit the Walmart job, because I missed a couple of days due to one of my sinus things and they got kind of weird about it. I decided it wasn’t something I could handle along with learning a new job. So I’ve earned about one and a half days pay from that, which isn’t much. That wasn’t the bad news, though… that came after I got back from dropping a document off at my friend’s house. I left my apartment around 2pm, and got home around 7 (of course I had to stay and chat and admire the new dog, etc.). When I got home I found out that none of my cable connections work. It isn’t the equipment — there is no signal coming in at all. I spent a futile hour on the phone with the cable company, and discovered that they can’t have a technician there until Saturday, unless I was willing to miss some time on my new job. I am not. Therefore I set up an appointment for Saturday. I went to bed, hoping that whatever problem this may be might resolve itself by the next day. But it wasn’t on this morning when I got up.

Anyway, I went off to work, and had a fine time, except for tripping over one of the cables holding down the planes and doing a face-plant into the tarmac. What really galls is I saw the cables, stepped over the first one, told myself to watch out for more of those, and as I was thinking those words caught my foot under the next one. I applied Advil and ice to my person and went on with my day, my coworkers assuring me that they all have tripped over the cables at one time or another.

Then I get home, to find that there is still no cable. No tv or internet. I spent another half hour on the phone with the tech trying to get a signal through. Nothing was getting through — not even attaching the cable directly to the tv (and the tv is one of those digital ready tvs). I wrangled and argued with the phone tech and finally got him to send someone over tomorrow to look at the outside box, because the last time I had connection problems (a couple of months ago), some of the neighborhood creeps had pried open the cable box and cut wires. I asked if anyone else from my apartment complex had called in a complaint and they said no, something I find hard to believe. If they can’t find a problem outside then I will have to wait until Saturday for someone to come by when I am there so they can get into my apartment. This does not please me because among other things I was looking forward to seeing the first episode of Season 4 of Doctor Who on the SciFi channel Friday night. Not only that. I had to drive all the way to Panera Bread and plug in the elderly laptop, and when I crawled under the table to plug the thing in (because the plugs are on the baseboard under the seat) I banged my bruised and scraped knee on the hardwood floors they have here, and the Panera is crowded and just now someone’s brat just had a screaming fit. Also the table is sticky and I had to put paper towels down under the laptop, which I am hoping does not set them on fire.

Anyway, here I am at Panera with a sore knee and a sore boob, trying to catch up with my email. Until cable is back posts will be few and far between, I’m afraid. I’ll try to find somewhere else with free wireless tomorrow where I don’t have to buy a pastry and tea so I won’t feel guilty. (Don’t argue. I will feel guilty.) I better have cable tomorrow when I get home, or I will raise hell.

Update: I almost forgot — the other thing I found out when I got home today is my cat had pooped on my bed again. Right in the middle. This would be the younger cat — the old one is too sensible to shit where she sleeps. The younger cat is not happy that I am leaving the apartment all day. I’m not happy that I have to take my comforter and sheets to the washing laundromat, and have to turn over the futon again —  me with my sore muscles. Anyone want a small orange foot rug?

There is a comment to this post about the pretensions of intellectuals versus the actual intentions of artists, in this case a photographer, that brings up a side issue: do men and women photograph different things? Anyway, here is the quote:

Give a boy a camera and he’ll shoot photos of girls. Give a girl a camera, and she’ll shoot photos of herself.

Well, that’s that whole “Venus’ mirror” thing, and maybe it’s true of most women. (By the way, the photographer that is the subject of the post took photos of herself in various retro-sexy poses — which aren’t bad at all, I like the “domesticated sex kitten” and the “ice-cold sophisticate” best; you’d think I’d prefer the librarian, but I don’t, maybe it’s because she’s blond and I prefer brunettes — like me!) But I’ve known women photographers and none of them seemed to be particularly into themselves — a friend I had in Miami preferred to take pictures of rock musicians at concerts, her cats, and annoyingly — as I hate to have my picture taken — me. She did a few self-portraits but was never happy with them, as far as I can recall. I did know women who liked to have their picture taken, but I wasn’t one of them. My own amateur efforts have been mainly focused on nature — trees and so on — my cats, city streetscapes — things like that. In fact, I tend to avoid taking pictures of people whenever possible. If they are strangers I can’t help feeling it’s kind of rude, for one thing. As for me taking pictures of myself, I’ve no serious interest in it, and as I said, I hate having pictures of myself taken. It’s not that I think I’m ugly, I just have no interest in posing and preening and standing still, etc. Of course, when I get around to renewing my passport I guess I’ll just have to bite the bullet.

(Via Violins and Starships.)

Ugh, I think I’ve come down with some sort of sinus thing. That’s bad, because yesterday I felt so rocky that I called in sick to Walmart. I was supposed to be there from 10am to 7pm. No way the way I felt. Today was my day off — tomorrow I have to go in at 7am and be there until 4pm. If I feel the way I feel today, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it.  And I don’t want to take any medication right yet because I’m going to go to the clinic to take the drug test for my new full time job, which starts Thursday. Not that I think over the counter cold meds will effect the test (no, I don’t have any pseudoephedrine), but better safe than sorry. I had planned to be there early but obviously that didn’t work out, even though I went to bed early and even set the alarm. Oh well. Must get moving.

Okay, I got turned down for the one-bedroom on special, but I was able to find a studio apartment in my same town, but on the other side of I-4 (so I won’t have to cross that stupid traffic every morning and evening on the way to and from work — anyone who lives in the Orlando area will know what I mean by the intersection of 436 and I-4), and I’ll be paying almost $200 less per month for rent. It’s also big enough to fit my bed without looking ridiculous, and it has a screened-in porch, which will be a boon for both me and the cats.

Okay, now to get busy making money. My credit being lousy I still have to come up with an extra month’s rent along with the deposit and first month, but they’re holding back on the pet fee as long as I get that in in May. I can’t wait to move.

I got hired for the job at the airport. I start Thursday (due to my Walmart training schedule, which is day time hours this week). So I’ve gone from no job to two jobs. I’m gonna make so much money… or crash and burn, who knows?

Okay, now to find a place to move to in May. I haven’t heard from that apartment I applied for, arrgh.

Okay, today was the first day of my Walmart job. It was “orientation day,” which is the usual company stuff (fill out paperwork, watch dvds, talk about company policy, etc.). And while I was on a break I got a call from someone I had sent a resume into, about a full time job — and tomorrow morning I’m going in for the interview. So things are looking better.

I went ahead and applied for a one-bedroom apartment in a complex not too far from the one I’m in now. It’s one I’d dismissed as being too expensive, but they were running specials. Alas I missed the specials on their cute studios — now they are more expensive than the one-bedrooms. This complex looks a little better maintained and together than my current abode, though to my surprise the layout of the new apartment is almost the same as my current one. (The layout was one thing about this place that had initially appealed to me — balcony/patios with two entrances, large windows, a breakfast bar…) But it’s still rather expensive, and if I don’t get accepted because of my shaky credit and wobbly job history I’ll just have to deal. Oddly enough, today I got another call, this from the manager of an apartment complex that has small studios at even cheaper rates, but I had pulled my credit and shown it to her and she wasn’t sure it would be accepted, so I dismissed it from my mind. However, I will call her tomorrow and suss her out. It might be worth it to try for these studios, though if I get it I’ll have to change electric companies. (The one-bedroom is in the same coverage area as the utility company I currently use; the other one is down in Orlando and I’d have to go with OUC. Meh.)

I was supposed to go for an all-day training shift at Walmart tomorrow, but I explained to them about the full-time job interview so they told me I could come in at 1pm. I had taken care to inform them that I was only planning to work nights and weekends at Walmart part time, though I do want to keep working there for as long as possible (getting a part-time supplemental job is something I’ve really needed to do for a long time), but I wanted a regular full-time day job. This one is at one of the small local airports (not the main Orlando International, but one of the ones that services small planes), in customer service — a coworker got me in via her husband who is a pilot for this company.

So things are looking better. And since they are looking better I was finally able to make a small contribution to Kathy Shaidle’s defense fund: I bought her e-book, Acoustic Ladyland. I’ll post a full review as soon as I’m done reading it. So far it’s alternately hilarious and poignant.

I may not be strong, but I have no scruples:

14

(Via.)

I never watch American Idol or any of those other talent shows (full disclosure: the last talent show of any sort I ever watched was The Gong Show), but I do read Rachel Lucas. It’s worth reading a post about a tv show I never watch just for this:

It was during this part of the program when I noticed Paula’s boobs. Not in the good way, but in the way that makes one clutch one’s own boobs protectively and to whisper down at them, I will never do that to you, boobs.

It almost makes me want to watch the show just to see what she’s talking about. Almost.

There are many reasons I wouldn’t move to Canada, but the weather isn’t one of them. I fancy I’d like the cold for a change. However, I wouldn’t like the growing totalitarian tendencies currently infecting Canadian society. For example, there is the so-called Canadian Human Rights Committee, which was apparently formed with the best of intentions (helping “oppressed” minorities secure their equal rights), but as is often the sad case with so many of these organizations throughout history, has become a kangaroo court at the disposal of anyone with no scruples. Such has become the case with some creature called Richard Warman, who is suing several Canadian bloggers, including Kathy Shaidle, because they dared to say things he didn’t like. More details at the link — also help Kathy out if you can; it looks like this CHRC has real powers that the Canadian government foolishly gave them and therefore a lawsuit coming via their help can’t just be laughed out of court.