Category: Crankypantsing

Crankypantsing

Icy Death from Above

Shelly

I hadn’t looked at the weather since the middle of last week, so I was completely unprepared for this morning’s cold. It was in the 50s on Saturday, for crying out loud! This morning, it was 7F. Somewhere along the 27 steps between my front door and my car, my hair froze. But that’s not the part I’m complaining about. Much. The part I’m complaining about is the fact that we are supposed to get the dreaded Wintry Mix.

I never thought I’d say this, but I think I’m kind of over this whole winter thing. I’m ready to retire to a deserted island where the temperature never gets below 40F or above 70F.

Crankypantsing, Photography

Tile

Shelly

IMG_0143

Or, more specifically, grout. I spent a couple of hours last night on my hands and knees, scrubbing my bathroom floor with a toothbrush and bleach water. The grout is nice and clean now, but it’s an unappealing mottled grey color that will never look it.

And check out the lovely caulk smear along the bottom of the tub. Classy! The little maple piece on the right (it’s a nightstand, actually) is in serious need of refinishing. I promised my mom that I wouldn’t paint it, which means I might get to it sometime in the next ten years. Or not.

The photo is a little fuzzy (aside from the blurring from the shallow depth of field), because I took it in low light with no flash. I had to lighten it a bit and up the cyan and blue channels to compensate for the yellowing. I’m kind of surprised that it worked, as the original image was so dark that it looked like it’d been dipped in molasses.

And now, I’m off to find something to eat and to watch some mindless television. It stormed this morning and has been drizzling all day, so my brain feels like a bowl of pudding.

Crankypantsing

Ow!

Shelly

I actually got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the entire bathroom floor with bleach water and a toothbrush. It’s itty bitty 1″ square tile, and the grout–which I’m sure was once a beautiful white color–was varying shades of grimy grey. Yuck! God only knows how long it’s been since it was properly scrubbed. It certainly wasn’t done before I moved in.

So, now my back hurts. Bastards!

I also did laundry, dumped and disinfected the litter box, washed dishes, took trash to the dumpster, vacuumed, cleaned the studio (egad, was that ever a mess!), and changed bed linens and the cover on the futon. I also sorted out some magazines from my collage stacks and recycled them and cleaned off the coffee table. The last was a mess. It was heaped with tottering stacks of art junk and trash, to the point that there was nowhere to put your feet.

I still need to clean out the fridge (ugh), empty the dishwasher, mop the kitchen floor, and carry some empty boxes down to the basement.

Crankypantsing

Shhh! It’s a Library!

Shelly

I’ve mentioned how loud the folks in Serials are? Well, they’re LOUD. They’re talking up a storm this morning, too, which is annoying the crap out of me. And at the back of the room the two BFF are whispering furiously to each other, which is also making me want to poke my eardrums out with an ice pick.

I remember, when we were kids, my mom telling us that we were better off talking in a low, normal voice than whispering, because the sound of whispering carries. She always knew we were up to Something when we whispered. She was right, of course. And, aside from it being a really irritating, penetrating sound (I think we’re hardwired to cue in on it), it also signals that you’re talking about things you shouldn’t be talking about.

Crankypantsing, Photography

Faucet

Shelly

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Disgusting, isn’t it? I wish they would put this sink in a trash bag, if they aren’t going to clean the built up grime off it.

And that’s about all I have today. I had a two-hour customer service training workshop this morning, which was just about useless. The cranky it inspired is still bubbling away. An adult beverage might help, and maybe a couple of House re-runs. (Seriously. The woman running the workshop made a big production of going around and shaking hands with everyone. Aaack! I nearly turned around and left, when I saw her barreling over toward me. I don’t touch strangers. Period. And I really don’t appreciate them touching me. The whole thing was kind of ironically funny, in retrospect. That sort of overly aggressive sales job is guaranteed to lose me as a customer for life.)

Anyway, about the only good thing I can say about this day is that it’s nearly over. Oh! And I got some doodling done during the stupid workshop.

Teh Enb.

Crankypantsing

Cat Sitting

Shelly

I’ve done quite a bit of pet sitting. It’s easy work and the extra income is always welcome. Howsomever, one of my clients has asked me to sit for them in mid-February. They live on a horrible, twisty country road, and I’ve already told them that I’m not keen on driving out there in the winter, because there’s no way to know what the weather will be like. I have a life-sized vision of rain and snow and icy death from above, and just the thought makes me hyperventilate.

I wish she hadn’t asked. I don’t want to say no. I probably won’t say no. And, probably, I will regret not saying no. Then again, it’s $100, and I’m sure I’ll be happy to have the money.

Aaack!

Crankypantsing, Photography

Clouds

Shelly

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It clouded up and even rained a bit this afternoon. It was warm, too. I think it got into the 40s yesterday, and today’s high was supposed to be around 50F. Winter in Indiana is not entirely unlike a roller coaster ride, only with less chance of being hit by someone else’s projectile vomit. Hopefully.

Anyway! My camera is supposed to be delivered tomorrow. I may not sleep tonight, though that may be more to do do with the ludicrous amount of noise coming from upstairs than new toy excitement. Seriously. Galumphing on the treadmill at 3am is all kinds of wrong. So is running the dishwasher at 2am. I don’t think he slept all weekend, which makes me wonder if he has some sort of bi-polar disorder or maybe he’s a speed freak.

Crankypantsing

Shipping Shenanigans

Shelly

I checked the order status of my camera, and even though it was listed as in stock and ready for immediate shipment, and even though I could have upgraded to next business day delivery (if I’d wanted to pay the obscene expedited shipping fee), the order status said that it would not be shipping until January 31 and would be delivered sometime between February 6 and 12.

Not funny!

So, this morning, I check my email and there’s message saying my camera has been shipped and should arrive by January 29.

Whew!

And, it’s shipping via UPS. Hallelujah! I hate dealing with FedEx.

Of course, the memory card is shipping from somewhere else, and won’t arrive until after the camera. If I get too antsy, though, I can just go buy one. You can never have too many of those things, right?

Crankypantsing

I Require Chocolate and World Domination

Shelly

Make that more chocolate and world domination. I already had a Butterfinger Crisp, and that just wasn’t sufficient. That in itself is disturbing, because normally, I can only eat half a candy bar or I feel sick. I’m not about to fork over another 80¢, though, so I’ll have to wait until I can go home and bake brownies or a cake or something. Anything! As long as it’s chocolate.

And then, the world domination.

Crankypantsing

42 Days

Shelly

That’s how long it’s been since the last Harry Potter movie was released on DVD. I saved it to my Netflix queue as soon as they had a record for it. I moved it to the top of my queue as soon as it was bumped from my save file to my queue. And still, forty-two days later, I am surrounded by a distinct lack of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

I am not amused. In fact, I’m almost unamused enough to go buy the damned thing, which is, I’m sure, what the distributor intends. (Netflix claims they have been throttled by the distributors, and that they are only allowed to purchase a small quantity of discs for more popular new releases. I don’t see any reason to disbelieve them, as it makes sense, and they have nothing to gain by pissing off their customers.)