Knock First...Oh, Wait

I had the oddest experience Friday Night/Saturday Morning.

Around 3 AM, I was awoken by someone knocking at my door.  I wasn't expecting anyone to show up, and I hadn't been awoken by a phone call from anyone who needed a place to crash, so it definitely was not something I was expecting.

For all I knew, it was someone who went to the wrong building (most likely) or someone who was looking for trouble.  I wasn't about to let them know that yeah someone was home so I kept quiet.  Eventually they went away, but it did take a few minutes to come down from the adrenaline rush so I could go back to bed.

For those who know me, seriously, if for some reason you need to crash at my place and you're in the area, call me first so I have some warning you're dropping by.  Yes I am willing to help out, but I need warning because I'm not answering the door if I don't know it's you.

If for some reason you forget this, at least call my name through the door and tell me who you are. If I recognize you I will be more willing to get up and help you, but otherwise I am not putting my safety at risk.

One last thing, if you show up at my doorstep at 3 in the morning and I am not home, don't send a text message to my phone that I am a "fucking whore."  You'll get no help from me then or ever again.

Spring Cleaning

For the last month I have been saying I need to clean out my closets. It's part of the changes I have been making over the last year because despite the faults of Joshua, he did get me into the habit of actually going through items and getting rid of stuff that I don't need. I have done pretty well on not going overboard on buying new stuff and trying to get rid of old stuff, but I have also let the organization of some areas fall by the wayside, and it was time for a shakeup. It also did not hurt that I watched this movie last week on folks who are horders and have let clutter take up their lives. If this movie doesn't scare you into organizing your house, then nothing will.

So being as it was my day off, it was a perfect day to get rid of crap from my closets and reorganize. I went through the pantry, linen closet, bedroom closets, and basement storage unit and took a look. I also created a box that was designated as stuff that I was going to give to the church yard sale (or charity in the case of the food).

So I went through all of them and basically cut out a good number of items. A box full of AV and computer cords was cut in half, I got rid of four pairs of pants that had grown too short for me, and I got rid of just a lot of stuff that was taking up space. All in all, about 3 plastic bins have gone to the yard sale, and two bags of food went to charity. I do have a few more items that will go to the yard sale later, including some DVD's that I don't really watch anymore.

Here's examples of my work:

Pantry Before:


Pantry After:


Linen Closet Before:


Linen Closet After:

That Was Fun

So I made sure to take Dax's advice and eat nothing but salad before heading to Fogo de Chão last night. Of course the advice worked as myself and others stuffed themselves silly with meat and more meat. That place is so worth it for a special occasion. However, for my birthday, it may be about eating sushi and lots of it. I was told once by Joshua that there is a great place to get a big portion of sushi in NoVA, I just have to ask him where it is.

Speaking of Joshua, there are plans to have him help me search for a bike. I took a look at buying parts to fix my old bike, and it's really not worth it anymore. Even if I were to buy parts off of Ebay, it's still going to cost about as much as the bike is worth, so it's time for a new one. I want to do more riding anyway so I can save on bus fare.

I have a gripe with the Metro website. I looked at Greenbelt station to see if there was information on bike lockers (if I'm buying a new bike, it's going in a locker, not on a rack.) and all they had was a phone number I could call. So I call the number, and I am basically instructed to leave a voicemail with my name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and station that I am asking about...or for faster service I can e-mail all of this information to bikenride@wmata.com Well why isn't this E-mail address on the website so I can e-mail them for information instead of listening to a recorded voicemail prompt? It gets better though, when I get the auto-reply to my E-mail, they also mention they want an approximate date that I need the locker. Why didn't the voicemail say so?! Besides that, if the rate is a flat rate (which I bet it is) then why don't they just publish that on the site as well? So Metro could stand to improve on how they handle this, especially because DC supposedly wants more of us to stop using our cars.

If the rate is lower than what it would cost me to take the bus to and from Greenbelt station ($32 a month) then I will definitely consider it, otherwise I'm going to have to think about it.

As for another gripe, Pepco has pissed me off because of the final bill I received for the old apartment. August ended up being a higher bill than July's, and it was an estimated reading. I call bullshit on it simply because unlike in July when I ran the A/c every day, I turned off the A/c for the last ten days of that bill, so in my mind, the usage and the rate should have been lower. I put in an E-mail disputing the bill, and currently the bill is under investigation. Supposedly I don't have to pay the disputed amount until their investigation is over, which takes 6-8 weeks. Still, I'm going to call next week and make sure that it's what their system says, because I don't need to be getting a nasty gram next month saying that I failed to pay that bill. I'm also setting aside the disputed amount in my savings so that even if they come back and say "pay it in full" then I will have the money all ready to go.

As for the new apartment, I have everything put away, the only thing left to do is put up my wall stuff, and that will get done this weekend. These walls are practically concrete, so I'm going to have to hammer things in, and considering that I normally get home at 7 PM, that's rather rude to be making that much noise at that time.

I don't know what my weekend is shaping up to be just yet, other than the self-defense class I was going to take has been deferred until December. So now my Saturday is free, I may be doing the bike shopping thing, but otherwise this could also just be a weekend to veg out. Tomorrow night is Other Friday dinner, I'm sure the talk will be about how the restaurant we usually go to is likely to close down within the next few weeks or so. I guess it's time to find a new place to meet.

All Done!

Well...95% of the way.

This past Saturday I moved out of my old apartment and into my new one. With the help I received, I was out of there and into the new place within 1.5 hours. It also didn't hurt that I did a lot of consolidating before I left, so I really did not have that many things to bring over. I just had a lot of boxes, some of them being rather heavy. I've been informed that the next time I move, I am to pack my books into much smaller boxes.

So everything was brought over, people kept talking about how cute my new place was, and that it looked like I was going to enjoy being here. I bought lunch for everyone so we sat around on the few intact pieces of furniture I had and enjoyed ourselves before people took off. I spent the rest of Saturday unpacking boxes and trying to arrange things.

I discovered that using two futon mattresses on top of a sleeper sofa mattress is not going to work for me to sleep, simply because it's too soft. I really do prefer a firm bed, so now it's just one futon mattress, I'll put the other up on Freecycle (it's where I got this one anyway). Almost everything is put away and/or set up, the only major thing left is to get rid of some cardboard, and organize the desk that's in my room now.

Saturday night I picked up things at various stores. There was a sale on a blender with a food processor attachment at Macys, so I picked that up as a sort of housewarming gift for myself. I used a 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond for a salad spinner. Then it was off to Target to pick up the necessities to get going with the new place. I managed to pick up everything I needed except for a mop, and that was simply because all the mops were in the wrong places and the price check was inconveniently placed that after the 3rd mop that was in the wrong spot I said forget it and moved on.

Sunday morning was church, then it was off to Ikea with Kris and Matthew to pick up other items for the home. I got a few basic items, including a new desk chair. They didn't have the color I wanted, so I'm going to check back in a few weeks and when they do have the color I want, then my current chair will become the desk chair for the bedroom, and the new one will be my computer chair. I spent the rest of the afternoon getting unpacked. I was quite proud of myself by the late evening as I had finally gotten the bulk of important items in place.

Monday morning rolled around and first it was off to get some breakfast down at the Silver Diner. I had their country skillet, which was very tasty. I'll have to hit their breakfast specials more often. Ran over to the City of Greenbelt to pick up a form to get a permit for a gathering for GreenBeLT Pride, then decided to stop in and get my hair cut. I'm sure I'll surprise a few people when they see me again, but they'll probably like it as well. I spent the rest of the day getting most unpacking done. I also flattened and put boxes in the car because there's a friend of mine who needs them because her friend is getting ready to move. I also moved unused things to the storage unit downstairs. I am impressed with myself, my boxes only took up about 1/4-1/3 of the unit, and it's not very big as it is. I was able to wheel in my bike as well to take up another part of the floor space. I hit Ikea to exchange an item, then ran to the grocery store so I could stock up on the basics. Despite being hungry by then, I was still very disciplined in what I bought and I stuck very closely to the basics.

Today it was back to work, then a planning meeting for National Coming Out Day, then homeward to cook some chicken so I have food for a few days. I finally got all of my clothes put away as well, along with got some boxes prepared of items that i really don't need, so I'm donating them to the church yard sale in a few weeks.

Tomorrow it's work, then it's out to Fogo de Chão for my friend Brian's birthday. I've been there before, it should be a lot of fun. I can't wait, and it also means I'm not eating very much tomorrow before I get there, as I am sure others will be doing ;-)

As for what is left here, I just have to take those things to church and I should be all set to go from here. My Netflix movies also arrive tomorrow so I won't be missing cable anytime soon.

Too much to do

and not enough time to do it.

It's been rehearsal after rehearsal, and I can't wait until we actually perform Godspell on August 24, 25, and 26.

Then I have to get ready for Labor Day, right after that, move. Then the weekend after that, a self-defense class. So my weekends are booked for the next few weeks.

Mike and I are talking things out. I got a look at the cell phone bill, it turns out that my charges are $43.71, so the estimate was close. Still, if I had seen a bill in the first place, I wouldn't have had a reason to bitch.

Friday night it's a rehearsal, Saturday morning is set painting, then signing the lease to my new apartment, along with finding out information. Hopefully I can set it up to where I can have DSL active as soon as I get there.

Settling into Place

This past Friday I went down the road to another apt complex and filled out an application for a 1 bdrm place. Within ten minutes of filling out the application the guy came back to me and said I was approved. Next week I get to sign the lease, and then I move in on the 8th of September.

It's a decent place, the building was built in the 30's so it doesn't have all the modern amenities. Utilities are included except for electric, but when I talked to another resident she told me that her electric bill was something like $40 a month, so that's very reasonable. My plan is to get DSL because it's much cheaper than cable and I'll still get a good speed. Even when I go off of their promotional rate, it will be $35 a month rather than the $50+ that Comcast would charge. I am really debating if I even want to get cable TV, simply because Comcast's prices are outrageous. Comcast has their most basic service for $13 a month, which has the major broadcast networks, some local channels, PBS, etc. Just to move up to their extended basic service, which has the stuff I would like, such as Sci-Fi and Cartoon Network, is $52 a month. WTF? people, this isn't even for digital service! If I somewhere I could place it, I'd get a satellite dish. I think Bittorrent is going to be my friend when it comes to watching Dr. Who from now on.

As for phone, well my number may be changing, we'll see. Mike claims that to pay my part of the cell phone bill is $50 a month, I don't believe him because when I researched getting my own plan, that's what it would cost me just for the one line with unlimited messaging, and I know that lines 2-5 on a bill are $30 a month with messaging, and there's only 2 lines, which only adds up to an $80 bill, soooo I am calling bullshit on that one until I see a bill to prove this justification. Still, maybe I can break off of his contract without penalty and keep my number.

Now is the time to consolidate and pack up. I've been putting items up on Freecycle and also there's a PTA book sale coming up soon, so they'll be taking donations of books. I'll have to go through and see what books of mine I can get rid of. It shouldn't be difficult to decide that one, I've already been making a mental list of what books should go.

So, between GodSpell and preparing to move, August is shaping up to be a busy month for me!

Grrrrrrr

Now I remember why I am a dog person and not a cat person.

Over the past week I have been making arrangements with a person on Freecycle to pick up some beanbags that I wanted to get rid of. Today she was going to pick them up, all was going to plan until I picked them up from the spot they've been sitting in the living room.

Mike's cat decided to make them into his personal toilet and pissed all over them.

I really hate when I basically promise something to someone, and then I have to cancel, especially when it's due to preventable circumstances.

So I got to call this person up and basically tell her I couldn't give her the beanbags, which sucks because she's a teacher, and she was going to put them in the reading area of her classroom for her kids. Now that's not going to happen.

Do you think I got an apology from Mike? Nope. Not even so much as an offer to help me clean up the rug because that also stunk of cat piss. I swear, if there's a bill for cleaning up pet odor when we vacate (even after my planned shampooing of the rugs) I am making Mike pay for it.

The reason this likely happened? Mike has taken to hiding in the bedroom when I'm around, and he shuts the door and that's where the catbox is. With my stuff being in the living room, it's now all a target for the cat. Mike didn't appreciate when I looked at the cat and said "Piss on anything else and I'm sending you to the pound." but it's how I feel. I'm not going to have my stuff ruined because someone isn't taking care of his pet properly.

Perhaps I should seriously consider moving now, I haven't signed a new lease yet. I could make it work for myself.

Too much to do

This week is going to be a very busy week. I received a phone call yesterday that there were some 2 bdrm apartments opening up in our complex, and I could move into one either August 1 or Sept 13. Well if I were to take the August 1 date, it would mean having less than 2 weeks to pack everything up and move. That would be difficult even if I were living by myself because of work, GodSpell rehearsals, and other obligations.

So I told them I would move in September, that's great, of course, now comes the dreaded "Apartment Inspection." Basically they make sure nothing major is broken, and that the place is in decent shape. So that means I will be doing lots of cleaning over the next few days. I've already warned Mike he needs to step up to the plate and clean as well because I sure as hell am not doing it by myself. Already I've cleared out some of the boxes that were in the living room. There's stuff that's been there since Mike brought it down here that he hasn't touched. Well I went through them, kept the things of mine that I wanted to keep, consolidated his stuff, and put it in the bedroom. It's for him to deal with, not me. I also threw out a lot of crap that didn't need to be around. I am sure I will be throwing out more and more.

Actually the apartment is in decent shape, the big thing will be cleaning the carpet when we move everything out because it definitely needs to be done. Also, there is a scrape on the wall I need to cover up before Friday. I hope we pass inspection. At least we have a good rental history with this place.

I just want to have my own bedroom, I'm tired of sleeping in the living room. It will be nice to have my own bed and my own space to be in. My other plan is to set up my computer to connect to the wireless, then I won't have to keep it out in the living room. Honestly, as it is, I just want my stuff in my room, besides, I'm not here as often as I used to be.

Work is work as usual, finally there's some questions coming back from sponsors so I have those tasks to work on. Joshua and I are fine, we had a great time in Baltimore last weekend visiting our friends Dan and Rob, who were throwing a party. Much fun and drinking was to be had. Also, another guy I've talked with for a few years online, Jarrod, flew out to Baltimore so I got to meet him as well. Between him, and the awesome Laura, it was a party to remember.

Now it's after midnight, so time for bed.