woes

so today after driving out to the gas company on palo verde and whatever, and standing in line, i was told that i cannot pay my bill with my plastic money.
thanks.
so i went outside and did it by phone for a $3 service fee.
then i went and purchased a cup of coffee with my plastic money.
weird. that i can't pay a nearly $300 bill with plastic but my $2 coffee was no trouble.
argh!
then i got home and got my bill from the city of tucson who charges me for water and trash and recycling. the water and sewer are billed, as represented on paper, by the gallon. but they round to the nearest 738 gallons. hilarious. so my bill shows i used precisely the same number of gallons, even tho its possible that i used up to what, 350 gallons more or less. the trash is some fee that isn't clearly marked ( i think its called environment) and its frustrating to me that i put my cans on the street no more than once a month for collection (i produce little waste) but i'm charged the same as the people who put several cans out weekly. whatever. my bill comes to something like $35. then there is a miscellaneous fee of $60 which i called about and i was told that its what they charge to send a guy in a truck to snip the red zip tie off of my main when they shut my water off last month for late payment.
i remember offering to perform this difficult and expensive task myself when i had proven that i paid the bill (i have scissors!) but they said that was illegal and i'd get a $300 fine. for cutting a zip tie.
i told the service representative that it seemed mean spirited to triple my bill when i already am in the hole as they can clearly see by the previous late payment. he told me some stuff about bean counters and truck maintenance and then told me he was allowed to waive that fee. so he did. that was nice of him. i'm glad i asked. now i am in spitting distance of being totally caught up on every single bill! i paid rent!! and all that gas! and electricity has been good for a while but i will count that as an accomplishment anyway! and i still have some left over that i can put toward groceries!

last night i tried the running mount on my bike that i did every time i got on my bike as a kid with no problem.
in my advanced age i have lost this skill.
and in falling over i tore the knee in my last pair of non-torn jeans. this is getting hilarious. at least i can still take a hard fall like a kid.

i also had some emergen-c in some OJ. that might have something to do with it.

first off, i would like to spend some money on a triple beam balance. you know the one. the one your crazy honors biology teacher demonstrated how to pick up, like it was a delicate bird that happened to weight ten pounds. the one you carefully placed paper cups crazy honors bio teacher taught you to make yourself ( resourceful! ) on and poured teeny amounts of whatever into..

many of the recipes i'm interested in call for grams of this and litres of that.
so while i'm at the science supply website i'll pick up some erlinmeyer flasks and may as well get a mortar and pestle (cheaper there than anywhere ive seen!) and some crucibles... i dont know what i'd use a crucible for but they are tiny and have neat little lids. are they big enough to roast garlic in? and i could display them with my spices and upon being asked i can say "it's a crucible!" and smile.

i'd also consider some test tubes. and some chemical scoops. and some beakers.


with that off my chest, ive gotta give some serious props to the crappy white plates that my friend (oh. bad friend. can't remember her name) gave me when i moved out of my parents house. i watched her crazy cat whose name i also forgot, while she travelled one summer. she worked with me at centennial hall. anyhoo. she handed me down a bunch of old dishes (my green bowl plates are also from her) and ive been using them this whole time. the white plates often end up in the oven to keep pancakes warm or to keep fresh made naan safe from meddling kittehs. and then they get forgotten in there, covered in crumbs after the food is gone, and then they get preheated to 400 degrees
when i don't check before i go cranking that knob.

now i never NEVER put plastic in the oven under any circumstances, because this is just the kind of mistake i make all the time and poor mom lost what, a salad spinner and some cups to my forgetfulness and it was a lesson well learned.

these crummy white plates from who knows where really stand up to the heating and cooling all the time. i'm impressed.

today they got heated and then removed so i could make an apple crisp.

i worked from 2 am today to 3pm and i'm getting sick and i horked my neck pretty bad at some point, and ive been asleep or laying on the couch since i got home. and i'm just not up to going out for groceries and there is nothing much to eat but a bunch of fruit and no eggs and rice milk... and rice and other uncooked grains and legumes but i was wanting a muffin. i asked the internet and it eventually convinced me that i didnt have the ingredients so i should make an apple crisp and you guys, words cannot decribe how pleased i am at how simple it was to throw together (broken neck) and how good the house smells now.

i put some into the hippo bowl of contention and i am using the nice spoon stolen from christmas dinner in leiden and i'm finally perking up a little.

fyi

ps.
my soul has been sick. my body, my skin, my guts, my lungs, my teeth, my muscles, my spine.
my joints and heart and brains and aura are deteriorating and its time to change this shit around.

my social spheres and happiness circuits need to solidify a little. intensity and sun worship and meditations in every little thing will open my heart again and in no time it will be summer and i will be in my summer skin, the breeze in my hair, sweat on my neck and a smile on my face.

bring it.


the girl on the black and red cruiser wearing a miniskirt and combat boots texting while she crosses broadway is my new hero and muse.

fortuitous times

a free bed came into my life the other day. as in, a frame and headboard and stuff,
its rather plain... ugly. and uninspired. with the aid of spray paint i will turn the black tubular metal business into something more cheerful and pleasant.
.. eventually.

i made a hugely successful pot of miso chicken and dumplings. now that i know how good and easy dumplings are? i'm putting them in every soup i make.
i also now know that ive got the knack for soup. there will be no stopping me!!!

ummm.
working is looking good at the moment. plenty going on to keep my world from going under.
i'm going to try very hard to not spend all of my tax return. summer is ominous.

i need to ride my bike more.
i think i'll start by going for a ride right now.

two webcomics made me feel really good today, for 2 very different reasons.

achewood was just. yeah. leave it to a special little boy to make such an impact on some folks. .. and QC made me sad but i liked it anyways. Go Sven for doing the right thing (for once.). Go Faye for walking away. i hope they work it out.

in the news of things that actually exist, i finally got my dern tire fixed last night. dropped the car off and walked to Pico De Gallo for some most excellent fish tacos and horchata and fruit. i dont know what it is about Real Mexican Food that hits my stomach so hard but i only managed one taco before i was down for the count. i'm glad ive learned to only order 2 and no rice or beans. maybe its lard? but it was the most delicious fish taco ive had in at least a year.
then i walked back thru south tucson and they called to tell me it was ready as i was only a block away. perfect! yay not hanging out in the wating tank for my tire!

and somehow the same tire i got a few months ago ended up costing about $10 less. woo!

so that pea soup i made last week is sooo good out of the freezer and reheated. ho-lee-crap! best not very much money i ever spent on a gallon of soup. i'ma have to do it again when i run out. totally easy! i'll definitely use a whole pound of bacon this time though.

also added to my list of crap i need to cook with,
a crock pot (used, because. well, they are cheap used. why do i need a new one??)
and a waffle iron, not a plug in kind but the kind you put on a range. i think i can hunt one down in an antique shop for cheap.

did i tell you that i got 2 more little pyrex measuring cups? just the one- cup size. one has its marks still and the other one they have almost totally rubbed off of. one can't have too many measuring cups! ive already used them for pancakes. and red velvet cupcakes. i need to get some pictures up.

so i guess my life mainly revolves around food and the internet.

i also had beeen asking the universe for an affordable and low to the ground buffet. ya know how sometimes they have long legs and not as many drawers? i need short legs and more drawers.. so i was heading to get my tire fixed and there it was, my buffet. sitting on the side of the road with all its drawers, and a sign taped to it that said free. i opened a drawer and it was all good inside, the whole thing is made of actual wood with nice dovertailed joints and everything is all normal and holding together. it looks a little seventies, and its a boring honey colored plain wood. with some scratches and a burnt spot where someone probably put a too hot pot on it.being the enterprising muffin that i am, i set about stuffing it into the back seat of my car.
it didnt work.
i tried again.
it didnt work.
i took all the drawers out and put them in my car and made some calls and caught teresa as she was getting her little girlie ready to go run errands in the mini van. and she agreed to meet me and drag the buffet to my place. and we did and she's awesome and now i have my buffet!

i'm going to sand it down and paint it black perhaps. i was thinking sky blue. we'll see.
ive been going crazy with spray paint. i painted that big heavy mirror that goes next to the front door green. i painted the chandelier blue and all the picture frames that hold my various family pictures that are all in my room match the chandelier now and it all looks nice, matching the color but different shapes? i like it. a $3 can of paint never did so much to make a house look nicer! i painted Captain Lamp Base a shiny apple red, and now he looks Excellent too! and he matches the red chairs and the red art in the red room. hah.

i looked at that house finally, up close. the one i want that is on main and 18th street. the purple and green one with the giant prickly pears enclosing the porch. the one that had the Gigantic black with white polka dots chicken clucking away noisily on the porch threof.
it is so nice!!! the back yard is amazing and adorable and the house is the perfect 2 bedroom size with! closets! and its all cool inside because its kinda burrowed down a little, and protected by trees and stuff. one of the windows wasnt locked and i wanted to crawl in and look around but nick told me no. killjoy. i wasnt going to deface or steal or anything, just tresspass a little to see if i wanted to rent it. psh. and get access to the backyard and see it better than thru a chink in the fence.
i just called and its a "large 1 bedroom 1 bath" 850 square feet for $825 a month.
sigh.
its the right house for me. and it costs wayy too much.

this is a far too long post.

blackboard paint
lots of crummy old picture frames
coat rack
more stupid bird cages for plants
a hookah
orchids. to grow.
something better happening in the bathroom
a hutch/ china cabinet
mirrors (for the bed)
clocks
a terrarium for moss
casters for my dressers
yellow chairs
rearrange all my books in order by color.
a typewriter
spray paints. lots of spray paints.

plans. and pieces.

been collecting recipes from the internet that come with nice pictures. going to make myself a pretty recipe collection.

also going to have the most beautiful house some day.
also, going to use yarn leftovers for a blanket.

more bike riding, crocheting, painting, drawing in my future.
immediately.

i need to borrow a truck and a circular saw. .. and an orbital sander.
considering regretting the choice to buy a battery powered drill instead of a plug-in kind.
i wonder what happened to my crowbars.

totally intrigued by brian's new/ old oscilloscope and the other stuff it came with.

things i want that i can't have. till my debts are paid off:
a gun
a record player
a brooks saddle
a PS2
a Batavus bike

cooking stuff: (that i may allow myself if they are cheap (but not all at once))
a double boiler
a vintage kitchenaid
old cookie sheets that have funky designs pressed into them
a bundt pan
a mortar & pestle
a vintage rolling pin
a depression-glass juicer (saw a green one in an antique shop in bisbee. $24. stink.)
cast iron anything (also a huge pile for cheap in bisbee. need to go back.)

yesterday.

well, the night before i went up to phoenix and on the way back yesterday my tire blew out about halfway home.
alone on I 10 at noon i set to changing my tire.
the trucks roaring past created these gushing winds that eventually, after i got the hurt tire off and was setting to put the donut on, pushed my car hard enough that it rocked off the jack and slammed to the ground. terrifyingly close to my feets.
luckily the jack wasn't trapped and i managed to pull it out and set to jacking up again, and as i'm getting into it a guy in a delivvery van pulls up and produces a nice car jack. the kind with a long handle that had my car up in 3 pumps and we put on the donut after inspecting where the wheel parts made contact with the ground. the inspection proved that there was just a little scratch on the... something. round blade-y bit. (i'm a pro.)
so i put on the donut and thank the kind man and proceed slowly, hazards a- blinkin' and setting my cruise control at 55 which is what the tire said it's top speed was.
i get pulled over not 5 minutes later by highway patrol who insisted i was doing 45 and that was just too slow and anyhow, "the donut won't make it to tucson."
i tearfully (very tired and worn thru at this point) explain that ive got no money for a new tire and is there a back way to get to tucson?
he says NO and i'm never going to get to tucson on that donut and he's gonna follow me to the next exit where i'll have to figure something out other than trying to jusst limp home.
so i get off and cry for a while and the nice lady at a circle K tells me if i take the highway just a little further to picacho i can take the frontage road all theway back to tucson. so i do, and i do. and it took much longer, rolling lazily at 35 all the way home but i must say, picacho peak is pretty and really a sight for sore eyes when your day has proceeded the way mine did.

i limp into town and get home with just enoguh time to take a fast shower and get on my bike to meet a ride procured for me by the exceptionally nice hippies i gave a ride home to the other day.
nice hippies. when they thanked me last week i said it was nothing, the'y do the same for me if our places were switched. i had no idea it would get reciprocated to quickly...
andyhow.
we get to work tostandby in case anyone doesnt show up and of course everyone does o we head home discouraged, but comforted that at least we tried. you can't complain about not working if you dont make the effort to go to a standby when they come up.
and they stopped at trader joes to dumpster and they got a bunch of tomatoes.
and they talked about hitchhiking and jumping trains and living like jesus and it was a little inspiring but i still would rather have a home.

and then i went home and read and relaxed and brian called and invited me to Grill and we comiserated and jake threw flash papers and we had a nice time. and riding back to my place we get shouted at by 2 cars full of jerks and brian chased! them! away! on his bike!
they called him a faggot, and we laughed that they fled from a fagg on a bike, when they were at least 4 times as many as us, and in cars. they really raced away fast, too. blowing a stop sign and passing other traffic.
my hero.

i woke up today feeling much better than i had felt yesterday.

i looked at design sponge and copenhagen cycle chic and a cup of jo and i'm feeling hugely inspired.
But now it's back home to get ready for work.
ah.

Also, on the button front,
they were selling ratehr well but upone the last installment three times as many as were sold were stolen. so i'm going to have to think of a way to market that will allow for less loss.
and ideas?
i'm thinking a gumball machine.

inspiration

got to flickr and search Bento. you will see what my new obsession is.
i bought a couple bento boxes when i was in japan and have never used them. i think it may be the time for tiny, adorable food.

my new list of things i need to make my bento experience more adorably perfect:
tiny letter cookie cutters
tiny shape cookie cutters
silicone muffin cups to use instead of the little paper dividers
some teeny sealable containers for juicy stuff to be kept separate.

there.

Barry looking over my shoulder remarked that he's sorry he is not in japan because the odds of ending up with a wife who understands that it is her duty to get up early each morning and produce adorable smiling food for him are slim.
i offered myself. but it may be more complicated than just the food issue.
oh, japan. what can't you turn into a thriving market!