I really don't have anything to report. Life has been boring. I suppose I could tell you about how I spent all day doing laundry. Or about how the laundry room floor was covered in dog shit. Or that just after I finished the last load of laundry that I discovered one of Itchy's shirts under the couch. But that all sounds boring.
Maybe I could tell you about how hot it is. No, that isn't interesting either. What to hear about my cats? Hmm, no one ever does.
See, lately all I have done is look at all the pretty things online that I want. Itchy will be going to the States soon. Which means that he can bring things back with him. Things that I can't get down here on this island. This is exciting. It'll be like my birthday when he gets back, only better because this time he'll give me presents. Granted, the presents will be things like good conditioner (the sun, humidity, and seawater do awful things to my hair) and new workout pants. Not exactly the presents that most people would want but once you can't have them those things become luxury items. Itchy and I also have an anniversary coming up so maybe he'll surprise me with something a *little* more exciting than toothpaste.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Limited internet access
My computer time is going to be very limited over the next week or so. Itchy has finals and needs it to study. The blog may not get updated very often. I'll probably go through some internet withdrawals.
We've got to make a grocery run today. Both stores. Ugh. We still don't have the stove/oven problem resolved. I'm going to go ahead and guess that it won't be fixed until May. I'm totally out of meal ideas. It seems like we've been eating the same stuff all the time. We've also been spending more on food since we've been forced to eat more convenience type foods. Honestly, I don't like to cook. Before we moved here I hardly ever cooked. It was all convenience food. And some fast food. We also ate out a lot. Now, I cook everyday. I totally prefer the homemade food. It's a pain in the ass, but it's just tastes better (for the most part, sometimes my experimentation goes badly). I'm so sick of microwaved food.
We've got to make a grocery run today. Both stores. Ugh. We still don't have the stove/oven problem resolved. I'm going to go ahead and guess that it won't be fixed until May. I'm totally out of meal ideas. It seems like we've been eating the same stuff all the time. We've also been spending more on food since we've been forced to eat more convenience type foods. Honestly, I don't like to cook. Before we moved here I hardly ever cooked. It was all convenience food. And some fast food. We also ate out a lot. Now, I cook everyday. I totally prefer the homemade food. It's a pain in the ass, but it's just tastes better (for the most part, sometimes my experimentation goes badly). I'm so sick of microwaved food.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Ghetto car
I've mentioned before how much I hate our car right? Ok, well I hate it. It hates me right back. It's definitely a ghetto car. I feel like the subject of a Jeff Foxworthy (redneck comedian) joke. If you have to duct tape your bumper on, you might have a ghetto car. Ha ha. Only I didn't even have any duct tape so I had to use glue. And it wasn't my bumper it was a light. You know those lights on the side of the headlights? The ones that are turn signals? Yeah, those. Tonight I had to glue the one on driver's side in place. I did the passenger's side a few months ago. That car has so many problems. I'm amazed that the rain hasn't just washed it away by now.
First of all, we bought it from a security guard at the school. We thought he was being honest. In a wonderful example of our naivety, we believed that he was a good guy just because he worked for the school. That was the first problem.
The second problem was the learning curve that came along with driving on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road. That's right, we've got right side drive and we drive on the left side of the road. Even the controls for the turn signals and the windshield wipers are on the wrong side. Holy confusing Batman! At least the first time you drive anyway. The very first time that Itchy drove the car home he was a little too far over to the left and he hit a huge gutter. We have these massive gutters. Think at least 1 1/2 feet wide and oh, 3 feet deep. Filled with toxic street run off. That had to have done some damage. My first time driving it wasn't nearly as awful or damaging.
It's been nothing but problems since then. We've had a few accidents. Our landlady's boyfriend has hit our car twice. The first time he busted our headlight. The second time only left a small dent. He has never even acknowledged what he did. Our neighbor saw the first hit and I saw the second. He's a jerk.
Itchy hit a truck one night which resulted in the passenger's side mirror off and left a huge racing stripe. He has backed into a pole (dented the rear bumper). The passenger side door now sticks when it opens. The rear bumper is dented from the 'stuck in sand towing' incident. It not all us hitting other cars either. Plenty of other cars have hit us as there are many other unaccounted for scratches and dents. But really, no one is going to leave you a note. It's all hit and run.
It hasn't all been cosmetic issues either. I wish it were only cosmetic. We've had to replace the tires, starter, battery, transmission, radiator, and a few other things that I am now forgetting. We've had to fix the leaky steering fluid (didn't work), the A/C (which doesn't work now because we had to disable the fan because of a loose bearing), the engine cooling fan (now runs all the time, instead of only when needed), and the muffler (needs to be welded again).
You'd think that with all the new parts and the extensive work that has gone into this car that it'd be in great shape. It's not. It has stalling issues. It stalls when you turn left. It stalls when are stopped for too long. It stalls before we even leave the driveway. It stalls as you are going around the roundabouts. I can't even tell you the number of times that we have to shift into neutral and restart the car while we are coasting down the street. It happens EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
We can't buy a new car. We are leaving in a year. We've put too much money into this thing. What if we bought a new used car and then had to start putting money into that? How many transmissions do we need to replace? It just has to last for another year.
ETA: Geez, I can't believe I forgot this stuff. These two tidbits are perhaps the funniest of all. Our car is so ghetto that it starts with a plastic spoon. Or a pocket knife. Or our friends apartment key. Or anything else that will fit into the ignition. Which explains why it has been stolen twice. Not just once people, TWICE. Our car is so uber ghetto that everyone wants it. Except us. We weren't all that sad when it was stolen.
First of all, we bought it from a security guard at the school. We thought he was being honest. In a wonderful example of our naivety, we believed that he was a good guy just because he worked for the school. That was the first problem.
The second problem was the learning curve that came along with driving on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road. That's right, we've got right side drive and we drive on the left side of the road. Even the controls for the turn signals and the windshield wipers are on the wrong side. Holy confusing Batman! At least the first time you drive anyway. The very first time that Itchy drove the car home he was a little too far over to the left and he hit a huge gutter. We have these massive gutters. Think at least 1 1/2 feet wide and oh, 3 feet deep. Filled with toxic street run off. That had to have done some damage. My first time driving it wasn't nearly as awful or damaging.
It's been nothing but problems since then. We've had a few accidents. Our landlady's boyfriend has hit our car twice. The first time he busted our headlight. The second time only left a small dent. He has never even acknowledged what he did. Our neighbor saw the first hit and I saw the second. He's a jerk.
Itchy hit a truck one night which resulted in the passenger's side mirror off and left a huge racing stripe. He has backed into a pole (dented the rear bumper). The passenger side door now sticks when it opens. The rear bumper is dented from the 'stuck in sand towing' incident. It not all us hitting other cars either. Plenty of other cars have hit us as there are many other unaccounted for scratches and dents. But really, no one is going to leave you a note. It's all hit and run.
It hasn't all been cosmetic issues either. I wish it were only cosmetic. We've had to replace the tires, starter, battery, transmission, radiator, and a few other things that I am now forgetting. We've had to fix the leaky steering fluid (didn't work), the A/C (which doesn't work now because we had to disable the fan because of a loose bearing), the engine cooling fan (now runs all the time, instead of only when needed), and the muffler (needs to be welded again).
You'd think that with all the new parts and the extensive work that has gone into this car that it'd be in great shape. It's not. It has stalling issues. It stalls when you turn left. It stalls when are stopped for too long. It stalls before we even leave the driveway. It stalls as you are going around the roundabouts. I can't even tell you the number of times that we have to shift into neutral and restart the car while we are coasting down the street. It happens EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
We can't buy a new car. We are leaving in a year. We've put too much money into this thing. What if we bought a new used car and then had to start putting money into that? How many transmissions do we need to replace? It just has to last for another year.
ETA: Geez, I can't believe I forgot this stuff. These two tidbits are perhaps the funniest of all. Our car is so ghetto that it starts with a plastic spoon. Or a pocket knife. Or our friends apartment key. Or anything else that will fit into the ignition. Which explains why it has been stolen twice. Not just once people, TWICE. Our car is so uber ghetto that everyone wants it. Except us. We weren't all that sad when it was stolen.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Name your price
I finally won something! OK, not really. I needed to find a rental car and a hotel for my upcoming trip. I looked at my options and things were looking pricey. Why does everything have to be so damn expensive? I don't need a fancy hotel. My only requirement is that it is clean. Well, as clean as a hotel can be. A pool is of no use to me. A free breakfast would be great, but if all you're putting out there is stale muffins and watered down juice I'll pass.
Itchy suggested that I try Priceline. It seems like a good idea. You name a price that you are willing to pay and they try to find something that works. My first and second offers were rejected. Unbelievable. No one wants to give me a room for $30 a night? Ok, fine how about $10? Nothing. My third offer was accepted. I feel like I won something. I have to pay for it so it's not like winning at all.
So now I have a place to sleep. I'm looking for cheapo rental cars next. I'm also starting to think that flying that first part of my return trip will be cheaper than having someone drive me. I'm looking at all sorts of options. Good times, I tell ya.
Itchy suggested that I try Priceline. It seems like a good idea. You name a price that you are willing to pay and they try to find something that works. My first and second offers were rejected. Unbelievable. No one wants to give me a room for $30 a night? Ok, fine how about $10? Nothing. My third offer was accepted. I feel like I won something. I have to pay for it so it's not like winning at all.
So now I have a place to sleep. I'm looking for cheapo rental cars next. I'm also starting to think that flying that first part of my return trip will be cheaper than having someone drive me. I'm looking at all sorts of options. Good times, I tell ya.
Just so you know
I didn't fall asleep until 6 am. I laid on the couch waiting to be tired. At 6 am I finally started to feel sleepy. I fed the cats and went to bed. Itchy was, of course, hogging the blanket as he slept in the middle of the bed. Didn't matter though, once my head hit the pillow I was out.
It was a long night. I don't want a repeat.
It was a long night. I don't want a repeat.
Thin walls
Our walls may be made of hurricane proof concrete, but they sure as hell don't block out sound. We live on a busy street. The constant sounds of speeding cars and annoying children walking to and from school is our background noise. It does get annoying and I often wish that we lived in a more tranquil area. We don't though and we aren't going to be moving. I guess I'll have to deal with it.
This evening I was really wishing that our walls were a little thicker. Our landlady is apparently a teacher. She works about 3 blocks from our house at one of the schools (why she needs 3 cars is beyond me). I don't know if she is a good teacher or not. If her children are any indication, I'd have to say that she isn't very good. Anyway, this evening one of her students and the student's father came to our house, parked in our driveway (totally blocked us in) and proceeded to scream at our landlady. Then she would scream back. I couldn't catch all of what was being said but I still heard too much. The details aren't important.
I really don't think living in the same building as your landlord is a good idea. I prefer to mail my rent check and have no contact.
This evening I was really wishing that our walls were a little thicker. Our landlady is apparently a teacher. She works about 3 blocks from our house at one of the schools (why she needs 3 cars is beyond me). I don't know if she is a good teacher or not. If her children are any indication, I'd have to say that she isn't very good. Anyway, this evening one of her students and the student's father came to our house, parked in our driveway (totally blocked us in) and proceeded to scream at our landlady. Then she would scream back. I couldn't catch all of what was being said but I still heard too much. The details aren't important.
I really don't think living in the same building as your landlord is a good idea. I prefer to mail my rent check and have no contact.
Insomnia
It's about 3:30 am. I'm wide awake. I was sleeping quite soundly just a few hours ago. This is a great reminder that we need to buy Tylenol PM. I'm blaming Itchy. It's his fault.
Itchy went out to dinner this evening. I didn't get to go with because it was school/potential job related and they had a limited guest list (really only for 6th and 7th semester students). Whatever. I didn't really care. While Itchy was there he was invited to go out to a bar afterwards to watch basketball. It was the NCAA tournament final. Of course, Itchy wanted to go. I didn't. I didn't care to watch more basketball. I would have had to change into clothes suitable for leaving the house and I would have had to do something with my hair (I looked like shit today). No thanks. I told Itchy to go. He said he'd be home at midnight.
Well, I went to be at 12:15 and he wasn't home. I fell asleep pretty quickly. I woke up (just a little, not enough to carry on a conversation) at 1:15 to the sound of Itchy unlocking the door. What the hell? I don't even get a text that he'll be late? I know he doesn't have minutes on his phone, but there was no one there that would have let him borrow their phone? I don't buy it. Itchy takes a shower. This wakes me up even more. Itchy then comes over to tell me that he needs to go eat and he'll be in bed in ten minutes. My phone starts beeping because the battery is dead. I get up to shut the damn thing off. Now I am wide awake. I try to go back to sleep. Not working, because the living-room lights are keeping me up. At 2:40 Itchy finally comes to bed. Ten minutes my ass. It all went down hill after that. He was laying ON the blanket which made me feel trapped UNDER the blanket. I can't sleep like that. I had to get up.
Have you ever been at the point where you are just so tired that you can't fall asleep? I'm there now. I'd turn the tv on but Itchy is sleeping and he has school in the morning so I don't want to wake him up (I know, I'm being way to considerate). This sucks.
ETA: I'm not mad at Itchy. Really. It just pisses me off when he isn't considerate enough to call when he's going to be late.
Itchy went out to dinner this evening. I didn't get to go with because it was school/potential job related and they had a limited guest list (really only for 6th and 7th semester students). Whatever. I didn't really care. While Itchy was there he was invited to go out to a bar afterwards to watch basketball. It was the NCAA tournament final. Of course, Itchy wanted to go. I didn't. I didn't care to watch more basketball. I would have had to change into clothes suitable for leaving the house and I would have had to do something with my hair (I looked like shit today). No thanks. I told Itchy to go. He said he'd be home at midnight.
Well, I went to be at 12:15 and he wasn't home. I fell asleep pretty quickly. I woke up (just a little, not enough to carry on a conversation) at 1:15 to the sound of Itchy unlocking the door. What the hell? I don't even get a text that he'll be late? I know he doesn't have minutes on his phone, but there was no one there that would have let him borrow their phone? I don't buy it. Itchy takes a shower. This wakes me up even more. Itchy then comes over to tell me that he needs to go eat and he'll be in bed in ten minutes. My phone starts beeping because the battery is dead. I get up to shut the damn thing off. Now I am wide awake. I try to go back to sleep. Not working, because the living-room lights are keeping me up. At 2:40 Itchy finally comes to bed. Ten minutes my ass. It all went down hill after that. He was laying ON the blanket which made me feel trapped UNDER the blanket. I can't sleep like that. I had to get up.
Have you ever been at the point where you are just so tired that you can't fall asleep? I'm there now. I'd turn the tv on but Itchy is sleeping and he has school in the morning so I don't want to wake him up (I know, I'm being way to considerate). This sucks.
ETA: I'm not mad at Itchy. Really. It just pisses me off when he isn't considerate enough to call when he's going to be late.
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