Monday

Well. I go my taxes done. It just took two days and two people and I didn't bring he most important piece of paper with me, but you know, bygones and in the end, it didn't' matter because it didn't affect my bottom line one iota. I blame Donald Trump.

On the upside, I do get money back from the state the year, last year I got nada, this year I get $20. In years past, like 15 of the 17 years past I have drawn $300. I hate our general assembly and the Republican Party for which it stands.

Today I bought my official March for Our Lives Raleigh T-shirt, in orange, for the March 28th march, so go me.

I just noticed that my TV reception came back. hat means that I do not have to watch TV on my phone! Yay! TV was never really meant to be watched on a three inch screen. Bu itsn' it neat that if you have to, you can? I'm also not sure that DIY is available for streaming, they just don't seem that advanced. I am glad I get to watch The Alienist on the TV though, that is too good to watch on my phone. It was standing by though, I was ready to go on that if I had to - You have to have your Plan B ready to go at a moments notice, especially if you have a satellite dish that gets cranky when it it snows.

And it was/is snowing. It seems to have slowed way down and it didn't stick to anything that was not my dish. But that's fine, the dish is feeling much better now and that's what is important.  I think its almost all gone now, it was not fun while it lasted.

Friday Cat Blogging

TGIF

The dog and I are engaged in a battle. My argument is I just took him out. We were just in the yard, He asked to go and I took him out because I believe strongly in the idea that if the dog asks to go outside that you should take the dog outside to reinforce the message that if he wants to go out, all he has to do is ask. He asked, I took him out, and he dug around in the shrubs, I stood around in the dark and we went inside. He now wants to go out again.  The problem is that he went out there to play around and not do what he needed to do, I let him the leash  and he dug in the garden, the next time he asked to go out, I let him off his leash and he ran to end of the lawn and ran back and dug under the shrubs.

I said, fine, be you and left the yard and stood on the other side of the gate to see how long it would take him to notice I was not in the yard anymore. He stopped playing and ran to the gate, super awesome, because its cold out and dark and the yard is not fun.

I understand his issues, we didn't get a walk because I needed to get my fabric for my new curtains and the fabric store is in BFE and they close at 6pm and away we went.

Do you know how much space a bolt of fabric takes up? A Lot. For some reason, I was thinking it would be folded up? No no , not upholstery fabric, it comes on a bolt. Bolts are big, you can't just find somewhere to put a bolt of fabric! Do you know what Rocket would do to a bolt of fabric if he was left alone with it? I can guess and do not want to give him a chance to discover the possibilities on his own. I put it in the back seat and him in the front, he was not impressed. There is not enough room to spread out properly in a bucket seat. He pouted all the way home.

And its not just one bolt, I had to get liner fabric as well. That means two bolts of fabric, two bolts that are not easy to get into your car. And this fabric, these bolts that are in my life now, they are both WHITE. White fabric might as well be able to grow legs and dip itself in spilled ink. I don't even have any bottles of ink and I know the fabric is going to find some to dip itself in.

White curtains! What was I thinking! But look at the birds! I love the my birds! I did get heavy black out lining so that they will be heavier when they are hung than the fabric looks  now and they will fall well and have some body to them.

Band Aids.

I think my bathroom is too dark. I put make up on in my bathroom and look okay and then I go to work and see myself in that bathroom and it becomes clear that I have to make sure that no one sees me in bright light or up close today.

This is not a good way to start off the work day. Not a confidence builder.

Well, that was easy. One of the bulbs was burned out. Was, now its replaced. New bulb, it looks brighter already. Its going to hurt my eyes in the morning but its going to be worth it - I am starting to see why a couple of the others wait until they get to work to put their make up on now, it is very bright and had very nice mirrors as well as some diffuse natural light. Its probably ideal for application, somewhere there is a beauty vlogger who would love to have such a great space. Too bad.

Tomorrow is a different day. Hopefully tomorrow I won't look like a quilt  or a beagle.

My thumb is a pain in my hand. I hate wearing band aids because whenever I have one on, the finger gets a terrible case of  claustrophobia! Terrible, the finger gets the sweats, starts freaking out, pacing and hyperventilating . It is okay for a while, a good few hours - a huge improvement over what it used to be, so fingers have had a lot of personal growth, Yay fingers! However, fingers can not go indefinitely being in a bandaid . Fingers go a few hours and then they really, really need that band aid off, off off and they need to take a walk and have some alone time, as much alone time as a finger can get. They need to be naked, fingers are nudists. Band aids are very offensive to fingers.

Today I only went through three, or four. I think it was just three? Sometimes they wear out really fast or get wet and then they have to go, or they lose stickiness- that is an immediate death sentence for band aids. There are a lot of reasons why a band aid has to go, sometimes they start out in the wrong position, crooked and aren't straight and that is not okay but they are on well enough so its okay and the finger is okay with it, despite its wrongness but time goes on and it will eventually really wear on the finger and is very upsetting to the affected digit. And sometimes the band aid is too big - Oh, Gawd! The whole hand is affected now! Everything is an issue with claustrophobic hands.

So now, I am dealing a claustrophobic, offended thumb. I can't go without a band aid because the wound can get sensitive and there is the potential for very minor blood loss and gross flappyness hat no-one wants to be around.  The thumb is okay with a band aid for a while, but after a while just gets jumpy and really wants out of that band aid! It can't help it! I have claustrophobic fingers! I don't have any control over that. I just have to remember to bring back up band aids because the last thing I want to do is have to explain why I keep raiding the first aid box -  of band aids I bought in the first place. Its a whole thing I don't want to get into.

Grant me the serenity ...

Friday, being the good and observant Catholic that I am, I went to McDonalds and dutifully ordered a Fish sandwich meal, plain, meat and bread. A plain fish sandwich, just meat (such as it is) and bread. Actually, not a bad fish sandwich, one of the better fish sandwiches offered for the Lenton market.

What I got. A slab a fishesque meat topped with their bright yellow cheese product, fish sauce and a pickle presented in the middle of a styrofoam platter.  No fries.

I took it back and reminded them I ordered it with bread and without yellow cheese product, fish sauce and a pickle. I chose to go without the fries because they really aren't good for me. It wasn't what I ordered, specifically, but I didn't get charged for it anyway, but it was the principle of the thing. She didn't listen!  The staff was confused by my order and even more confused when I refused it when they brought it out.

They were a bit put out, but remade the sandwich this time with  the bread but without the yellow cheese productor or the pickle. They insisted that the fish sauce was super important to the totality of the whole fish sandwich experience though - or they just were not smart enough to follow instructions again OR they just being smart asses. But I doubt it, they would have to be smarter than they were exhibiting to pull off smart ass behaviour. These people made rocks look good.

It wasn't a language issue either, I was dealing with a really stupid issue. These people are just not very smart. The cash register person couldn't figure out the pictographs on the register.

I have worked register at a fastfood place, I feel their pain. They do not send you to school or offer real training in How To Work Your Register before they set you loose on your register, They say "Here is your register. Get comfortable, if you have any questions, ask me!" Then they go on break and never come back. Eventually, if you are not a rock, it gets very easy. Because it is easy. And if you can't figure it out, there is always someone who will be disgusted with your newby stupidness and will shove you out of the way to do this themselves because deep sigh you are slowing down the line!

It does help if you can read, you don't even have to do math. If the power goes out, its industry practice to either close down or give food away for free because math is hard and you can't ask the counter help to do math. Reading is fundamental though, if you can't read, you can't work.

They can teach and do  McDonalds level English to the non-English speakers  and quite a few of the English speakers learn Spanish, which only helps them moving forward both professionally and personally -  but I do not know if McDonald's has a literacy program.

2018 Academy Awards Winners

Best Supporting Actor-  Sam Rockwall, 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, MO

Best Hair and Make Up -  Darkest Hour

Best Costume Design - Phantom Thread

Best Documentary Feature - Icarus (Russian Federation doping )

Best Sound Editing  -  Dunkirk

Best Sound Mixing - Dunkirk

Best  Production Design - The Shape of Water

Best Foreign Language Film -  Chile , A Fantastic Woman

Best Supporting Actress -  Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Best Animated Short film -  Dear Basketball

Best Animated Feature Film - CoCo

Best Visual Effects -  Blade Runner 2049

Best Editing - Dunkirk

Best Documentary Short Subject -  Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405

Best Live Action Short Film -  The Silent Child

Best Adapted Screenplay -  James Ivory, Call Me by Your Name

Best  Original Screenplay - Jordan Peel, Get Out

Best Cinematography -Blade Runner 2049

Best Original Score - The Shape of Water

Best Original Song - "Remember Me", CoCo

Best Director - Guillermo Del Toro, The Shape of Water

Best Actor -Gary Oldman, The Darkest Hour

Best Actress - Frances McDormand, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, MO

Best Film -  The Shape of Water

Friday Cat Blogging

TGIF

Two rainy after works in a row! How wrong! DO you know just unnatural it is to come right home, change into comfy clothes and fix dinner and then cuddle up in front of the TV for hours? It just seems so wrong. And it feels so right.

So, so, right.

I was thinking of taking the dog around the clock but it was raining just enough to make Rocket not have any interest in walking at all. He would barely go out to relieve himself and then he would only partially relieve himself.

I really didn't want to go back into the rain, but if he can hold it, I can not go back into the rain. The little bugger waited hours for it to actually stop raining. I did appreciate not having to spend more time slogging around in the rain, the rain is so not fun. I had really, really hoped that by the time I came home from work that the whole rain thing would be over and I could walk the dog like a real person.

I feel bad not walking the dog! As much as I enjoy becoming part of my chair earlier than usual and  watching several hours of uninterrupted Without a Trace reruns, its not just right and I know my fitbit is completely over me. It doesn't even send me texts anymore. I think its given up on me.

Wednesday

I felt bad about missing the free pancakes. But there is a solution and it is not paying for pancakes - although, now that I am thinking about it, pancakes does sound like a good Lenten dinner Friday night! I mean I can't have sausage for a side, but I could have fish sticks as a protean, I wonder is IHOP has fishstick sides?

I bet they could... I wonder if they serve fish sticks? I wonder if they would serve fish sticks a la cart? Does IHOP do a la anything? How gross would fish sticks be with panackes

Anyway. I could make pancakes my own self at my own house. I would have to get myself a griddle though. I don't think I have a proper pancake making object currently in my collection. I do however have proper pancake mix

And sugar free syrup so I can enjoy the  whole pancake and syrup experience more or less guilt free.  Pancakes are probamatic and are never going to be a perfect food, but they can be made to eat less like  a dessert and more like meal.


I think that when I am at the IHOP on Friday, I might go to the efficantly located TJ Maxx ij the same parking lot, and pick up a griddle, because you know they most likely have one somewhere in there, and the the next time I have an urge for pancakes, I'll make them myself.

To Serve.

Today was Pancake Day! I was very excited about Pancake Day because apparently it means that at IHOP t means that you get free pancakes, at least between 7a and 7p and I had every intention of claiming my free stack, carbs be damned, free pancakes!

I picked up the dog at daycare, rushed home, all the while planning my meal and picking my sides out. The pancakes are free but man can not and should not live by carbs alone, what kind and how many sausages do I want to order? How about some veggies? Do I want to order some de-caf?

 I needed to rush because of a staff meeting ran over, I fed the dog, and then quickly put the dog back in the car and went to my semi-nearest Ihop. I would have gone to my nearest Ihop, and that one is much nicer and newer and cooler but that one has NO PARKING and I knew that today was going to be a big day at the IHOP and parking was going to be important.

So I toughed it out and went to my next nearest, a much less nice and new and significantly less cool IHOP in Knightdale, thinking how many people are going to be still there at 6:30?

Everyone in Knightdale was still there at 6:30! The parking lot was full and there was a line out the door at 6:30 and people were still arriving.I was shocked and horrified and knew I was not going to get my pancakes before 7p.

They must have advertised the hell out Pancake day! There must be some secret channel that IHOP fans have access to, because  I saw one brief thing about it on Facebook and that was it. Who were all those people?! Could that have been a regular Tuesday night at the IHOP?

I left, now really, really hungry and went to KFC, where I ordered extra crispy and they were out. I was now left with rather limp regular recipe and no pancakes.

Monday

I was going to walk the dog after work. I mean I was going to walk the dog his regular nice long walk to and from downtown. But then I actually went outside and discovered that it was cold and wet and windy and gross and I had to change my plans. And my clothes. I needed more and warmer

I radically changed them my clothes and my plans. For a few minutes I wasn't going to walk the dog at all. It was too gross. But I knew better, I was going to walk this dog, damn it and it was not going to be me just taking the dog out to dog his business and then locking ourselves inside in front of my fake fireplace for the the night. I do not get that lucky

 But I was hopeful, sometimes I get lucky, and I am hopeful. And then he did not do his business. All hope is lost. No, I do not get lucky. I am not a lucky person, I've never have been, they say you make your own luck but I've never had the recipe.

And we had to go for a walk. A short walk, around the the block. Do you know how long "around the block" is when it is 40 degrees colder, windier and rainier than when you went to lunch? It is a really long walk! It is significantly longer than the stated .30, I can tell you that much. Significantly longer. And wetter and windier. And no fun. At all.  I've done that walk in all kinds of weather and its always about the same distance, but it has never been longer.

By the time we got back, colder, wetter and more windswept than when we left, we were not happy and the dog all but through himself at the door. He also felt significantly "better", so it was not a wasted trip. Dog ownership is not for lazy people or for people afraid to get wet or cold or wind swept.

Cats do not require so much from you. Kitties, love them.

Then, now cold and wet and windswept, I decided I needed to change clothes. The dog and cats and went upstairs and due to the cold and wet and windy-ness of the walk, we were forced to take a nap. A very nice nap.  It was necessary for our recovery and is most likely what stood between us and the flu. So it was completely necessary that we took that nap.

And then we had dinner.  I made spaghetti squash and ground meat with red sauce for Sunday dinner and it was even more outstanding on day two.

Friday Cats Blogging

TGIF

For those of you keeping track, Rocket has safely gotten his bordetella shot and is once again street legal and fit for public consumption. His daycare requires he get it twice a year but other facilities are okay with once a year.  He's good for another six months.

Go us. And so fast forward walk, dinner, rerun watching, trying to decide what I'm wearing to work tomorrow, already thinking about what about lunch tomorrow -  do I go to my regular Chinese place and try out their unfamiliar to me fish options and waste valuable lunch time dickering over choices or do I just go with my McDonalds fish burger, that I know I like and have a proper lunch hour? I like to do my worrying ahead of time.

Right now I am watching Olympics, Drag Race and Project Runway. I can't actually watch three shows at once, so I had to jettison PR and set it to tape later.   

Finally! Ladies ice skating! This is why we all tuned in! Not to watch Finns and Chinese speed skate! No one wants to see that, we are watching because everyone wants to see the ladies  ice skating, this is The Winter Olympics! This is why we watch and it is insulting that they keep putting it on later and later and putting it on off-channels and online only.

If you are going to hide something, hide curling or one of the 400 different speed skating varieties or long distance skiing. And really? Its nice that NBC is being good about showing sports we have no chance in hell at ( kind of like ladies ice skating, when I think about it) but stop cutting away from skating to really dull sports we aren't even pretending to be competitive at so they can say how many sports they are covering.  I even want to see ice skaters from Jamaica!

But. I won't be able to see the really, really good skaters because they won't hit the ice until way after my bed time and I know if I tape it, I won't watch it because I'll already have the results. and I'm mad at the Russians and their non-team anyway. They shouldn't be there anyway. Drug fiends.

Gah.

Whoopsy! Didn't do an entry for Wednesday, just didn't do it. Watched TV instead. Sorry not sorry, I watched Olympics and  The Alienist instead. 

I think you guys lived.

Oh no, I think I just head fireworks outside, so you can be garundamnteeded that someone on Nextdoor is going to be screaming about gunshots any minute.... And I was right! They "saw the car that did it", and AGAIN I would ask if I wanted to be attacked for being mean, "what were they "shooting" at exactly? Bullets are expensive. Okay then, "Did you see a firearm?, Did you see the flash of the discharge of the weapon?  "Are there spent shells in the street?" or,  Did you actually hear fireworks being thrown from the vehicle?" .

I wouldn't have a problem with their white fear  but its their actual racism I have an issue with, because let's be real here, they are are racists,  they really don't like the neighbors and they did not know there would be black people when they moved here. They are really not happy, so they call the cops. A lot. Its their racism that's a problem.

I would say, fine, bother the cops, be you - if they would just keep the hysteria to themselves. They don't need to post it online. They call the cops every time they hear a sound louder than a humming bird fart and they wonder why it takes so long for the cops to come when they call about a harmless drunk on their porch.

They admitted the drunk white guy was just standing there. They were watching him on their security camera ( they all have security cameras), they knew he was just standing there. They admitted they didn't confront the drunk with as much as blinking their porch light or telling him to get off their porch. And then they got pissed that it took the cops ten whole minutes to get there! another poster claimed the cops "should have been there in two minutes!".  In a significantly less than life or death situation?  Scaring off a drunk? Yeah they will be a huge hurry to get there. Two minutes. You can suck my dick.

I'm sure they were somewhere else following up on fireworks and couldn't get there as fast as they might have. Sorry. These people are so obnoxious I can't even with them. I can't  understand this level of entitlement and self delusion . Its like they think they live in North Raleigh.

I'm getting to where I really have no patience for other white people.