H-Town!

Me and the kitties are making a showing in H-Town tomorrow!!! give me a call or something if you are up for it....!!!

Interview results...

If I get this position it will be high stress. I will have customers calling and swearing at me and calling me names. I am actually looking forward to the challenge it presents. The lady I interviewed with said she will almost positively call me back for a second interview. So that's cool. I'm an idiot and couldn't remember a couple of phone numbers and I got the date wrong on the application but... I hope that's minor. I am super excited and really really hope I get this job.

Interview!

So, I found out tonight via e-mail that I have an interview for Friday at 5. Funfun. But - I'm psyched and nervous. Now I only have like, a day and a half to be nervous for it, which is nice and a pain in the rump, too. But - Hopefully I'll soon have a job that I am doing more than minimum wage for. Wish me luck!!

Epiphany...?

So, I went and got my drivers license and tabs renewed. Funfun. Then I got broadsided by this INSANE craving for Cadbury Mini Eggs. Insane. You have no idea. So when I left the DMV I drove around the mall to go to Target, which I know has Mini-Eggs. I drove up, pulled into a parking spot, and sat there. I had an internal dialogue (hey - at least I wasn't talking out loud to myself in my car - how crazy would that have made me look?) about whether I really wanted to negate the effects of the past two days - the burning of calories that amounted to approx. 350. Or the fact that I had been eating halfway decently and smartly, compared to usual. No, I decided, it was NOT worth it. So after my lovely trip (which included three near accidents, one nearly involving me [mind, these all occurred on a stretch of road totaling LESS than 3 miles]) I saw the gas station. It drew me in like a sailor to the harpies. Excluding Sinbad, of course. So I go in there, hoping to find a mini bag of Mini Eggs (like, 6 in a bag). No such luck/curse. So I decided to go with a small package of soft batch cookies (of which I ate 2) and then a pint of sherbert (which is fat free and has 120 cals/half cup). Not bad, I tell myself. So now all I can eat for the rest of tonight is dinner (spaghetti) and baby carrots and lots and lots of water. I should go work out, but... Shaun's not going to go with. He's going to go play disc golf tonight, and it's more of a fair-weather sport to me. Think of me and give me ambition!!!


The NUMMY and HORRIBLE Cadbury Mini Eggs.

I did it..

I managed to get my buttocks over to the 'fitness center' (one little room with a weight machine, bicycle machine, elliptical, and three treadmills) and get on that elliptical machine and go at it. It certinally did prove to me how out of shape I am (like I had any misgivings... haha) but now I feel better that I actually did something... Now, where are those Cadbury Mini-Eggs? ;-)

V-day flowers and cats and humiliation (kinda)

Well, here's pictures of part of my valentine's day flowers, progressively zooming in, and of my cats, and finally, of Dora humiliating me by... well, you'll see.

El Biblioteca Publica

I forgot to mention... I am at the public library. And this place is amazing. Rather disappointed with their SciFi/Fantasy section, though. But beggars can't be choosers, and now I can use the internet! :D YAAAY! I think our neighbors got smart and named and password protected their wireless network, because I never see the old one anymore, and now there's a new wireless network. Darn. Oh, well.

Grossage!

This will probably totally gross everyone out and make them not want to come and see me (boo! hiss!) but I guess I can honestly say I won't blame you. Too much. ;-)

ANYways, right after we moved in we found a bug crawling around on the counter and we killed it and told the people we rent from about it. Pesticide guy came and 'treated for crawling insects'. Then called us and let us know that the guy who lived there before (that the cops came looking for, remember) owned geckos and iguanas and whatnot, and that it was probably a loose feeder cricket or SOMEthing.

Monday I found another one. This time I put it in a plastic container to bring to the office. Well, I showed them alright. The 'guys' were there. One suggested (before seeing it) that it was a box elder bug. Maybe I look like a hysterical female or something that is scurred of bugs, but please. Give me some credit. I trapped and was carrying the stupid thing. (How could he know that I grew up playing with frogs and toads and daddy longlegs and grubs [grode]?) The lady behind the desk was all like, 'It's not going to jump out at me, is it?' Haha. No. It won't. So, the other guy said that box elder bugs were black and orange. I had completely forgotten that point, but I also just knew it wasn't a box elder bug. So they all grouped around the plastic container, and the property manager realized the hubub and came out to investigate. So there were 4 people plus me crowded around this thing waiting to get a peek. When I opened it and the little beastie was revealed, there was a general drawing back and intake of breath. Yep. It was the dreaded cucaracha. So, great. The property manager was all like, 'Oh, well, that was a really clean apartment, even while the previous tenants lived there, so they aren't in the apartment. It's all a matter of finding where they're coming from'. I was all like, 'Oh, ok.' but inside was thinking, whatever. Then I told her that the cops came to find the previous tenants of the apartment... at 2 a.m. She apologized for it, saying that she'll call the cops again and TRIPLE check with them that he does not live there, nor ANYwhere on the property. With this frustrated air. Ugh.

Overall: I can't wait for our 13 months to be up. I hope I win the powerball tonight. So we can build a 1 million dollar house, pay off our debts and our parent's, give the brothers 1 mil each, and make sure that we have enough to pay someone to clean our house for the rest of our lives. :D I think the approx. 148 million dollars would do that. Cash option, of course. I'm going to, you watch.

My So-Called Life

So... my life feels like it's in standstill. Just sitting at home and trying to get everything there organized. It's difficult though with nowhere to put anything. All it does is sit there and take up space. Ugh.

I was supposed to go to Green Bay this weekend (Sorry I changed my plans, Polly!) but there was *so* much to get done at the place that I decided I'd better not. After hearing about the weekend, it sounds like the only thing I missed out on was visiting with Polly. And possibly Grandma Bliss.

I ended up getting our bedroom painted. I LOVE it. I want to add more to the cream wall, but Shaun's still not too sure about my ideas. I think it would be gorgeous, but who knows. I'd probably get really sorry I decided to do it because it'll probably be too labor intensive.

So Friday night for some entertainment I went to the mall and bought a shirt on clearance from Old Navy. Then I went home and read and put some more stuff away.

Saturday I picked up more stuff, organized it into 'storage' or 'stay' or 'garbage'. I ended up throwing the last of my wedding documentation away. It's sad, I worked so hard on that all and it just gets chucked into the garbage. But - no regrets. :) I also went to St. Paul that morning to clean the oven since Mom said that Alissa'd be spending the night Saturday since she was going to see a Toby Keith concert. Well, I get there, pull up the driveway, open the garage, and there was Alissa's car. Damn. I was hoping that Tony wasn't there too. I didn't want to wake them both up! So I snuck into the apartment and sat on the internet and hoped I wouldn't scare them too much. Well, it was just Alissa after all. I was there 20 mins - half hour and she got up. Before she walked into the living room I whispered, "Alissa". She said, "Holy (explective), Dana, you scared the (explective) out of me!" But it was cool, I cleaned her oven, got almost the last stuff out of there, and left. I went to the mall again that night (5 min drive = BAD) and bought a few more things @ Target, all on sale. Yep, that's me. The clearance shopper. Grand total for a shirt, underwear, and a camisole: $10. Got a lock for our storage room, too.

Sunday morning I called Mom since her and Dad were thinking of coming down and staying the night and then going to his eye doctor appointment Mon morning. I was feeling lonely. Well, Dad out-did himself Sat night for Grandpa's birthday, and didn't feel up to coming down. So, ok. I could deal. Shaun got home a little before 7, and we went to Ruby Tuesday's for supper since we still had no food to speak of in our apt.

Monday afternoon my parents came and we went to the mall for lunch and Dad had a Barnes and Noble's gift certificate, so we looked for books for him. I sold him on a couple. :) Then we went and had lunch at Baja Sol or something like that, then I got Shaun's V-day gift, then had to walk across the entire mall to get a bag and tissue for them @ Target. Yes. It is a crazy attached-to-the-mall Target. Then we went back to the apt and finally got my dresser did get together was wobbly, and that wouldn't work. Dad touched up the paint for me (he has sooo much more patience than me!) and when that dried I took off the painter's tape and showed them what the cats did when they had sticky stuff on them. I laughed so hard I cried. I still think the neigbors think I'm psychotic - I'm either yelling, "NO!!" or "OW!" or laughing hysterically. I really dislike kitten claws. So we made stuffed manicotti for supper (Dad was giving it the evil eye until he tasted it!) and Mom and I finished most of the organizing, and they left. THANK GOD she came!!! :)

Tonight we're going to the Cheesecake Factory for supper. It should be good. I have a feeling that, like usual, Shaun got my gift last minute. He told me he'd see me at lunch this morning, and I didn't even get a phone call, which is unusual unless it's Thursday.

I'm sitting in Panera Bread right now using their internet because the neighbors have either 1. gotten smart or 2. completely turned off their wireless. Because even if they HAD put a password on it, my computer would still detect the network and prompt me for a password. But it hasn't even been picking it up. So that's why I'm hardly on the internet. Panera might become my really expensive best friend. Unless I get smart and go to the public library here. Wonder if they're as cool as Hinckley and have wireless there? That would totally rock.

I think everything boils down to: I need a job. I have about 2 friends that live anywhere near me, and I hardly get to see them. I need something to do all day besides fight with cats. I NEED A LIFE. Andrea and I are going to a career fair tomorrow in Minneapolis, I need to get resumes printed (do I make them classic business or artsy?) and I need to figure out where to meet her! Sheesh. So much to do! :) Wish me luck!!

The NEW place...

...is scary for multiple reasons. I think that it should have been evident from the price of rent at this place that, even though we're in a 'nicer' suburb, this place JUST might be the mecca of the saddest people this town has to offer.

So. Monday night, due to the fact that I was getting pissed off by Shaun's snoring and his subsequent disregard of my feelings, I decided to spend an oh-so-comfy night on the floor in the living room. With the cats. I decided to read for a little while to wait for my slightly frayed nerves to calm down. I could hear someone getting into a car outside below my apartment. My car was parked in the first spot by the door, and I could see it from the one vertical blind that was missing from the blinds covering our (shockingly) sizeable deck. "H'mm, wonder who this is," I thought. And also, "Is my car alright? Is the flashing red light that means 'security system enabled' flashing?" Well, it was. So I sat down to read some more on the comfiest floor this side of the Mississippi. The car that I had lost interest in backed up behind other cars and sat there running. There was a girl and a guy inside. He was vaguely scary. She looked like... well, like someone I wouldn't choose to be friends with. I heard it running, leaned over to look, and figured that they were waiting for someone. I decided at about this time that maybe it was time for some sleep and before that, possibly some spying. So I got up and turned off the lights. Then I walked over to the blinds and peered out. The man in the car decided to turn on his headlights, probably catching me in their glare. "Freaky," I thought. I couldn't help but wonder if possibly they were trying to scare me like some urban legend. Since they caught me, I decided that maybe this was the time to actually invest in some sleep. So I wiggled down into the most comfortable carpet this side of the continental divide, and tried to sleep. Then I hear the running car gun it, and pulled back into the spot that they had been parked in. With their lights still on. I couldn't help but wonder, "Were they trying to catch me peering out again? Are they going to come up here and knock on my door and try to kill me?" So at any rate, I just laid there snug as a bug in a rug and they apparently lost interest and zoomed loudly out of the parking lot. [Author's note: burned out mufflers do NOT equal 'cool custom sound']

The next night the husband and I were enjoying watching something on the 13" T.V. and our cable when this same car pulled out in front of our main doors and stopped. I informed the husband that yes, this is the car that on the previous evening, freaked me out. So we watched. The freaky looking guy and the girl that I wouldn't choose to be friends with looked like they were having a discussion. Their body posture exuded love and contentment. Then, out of nowhere, the car started rocking. The husband and I looked at each other in shock and awe. The freaky looking guy and the girl I wouldn't choose to be friends with were duking it out in the car, in front of the entire apartment complex which could view this affirmation of their love. I sat there barely being able to form words for the act, once in a while being able to clearly enunciate an "Oh, my God." The husband, meanwhile, was trembling with mirth. Eventually, this oh, so public display of... er... affection came to a close. There was some more obviously loving discussion, and then the girl I wouldn't choose to be friends with exited the vehicle, and carefully slammed the door shut. The freaky looking guy chose to show off his lack of vehicular taste and gunned out of our parking lot loudly. I wish I could say this was the end to this particular story, but a few hours later, the decibally challenged vehicle came back... with freaky looking guy and girl I wouldn't choose to be friends with firmly ensconced inside. The husband and I, collectively, decided that these two people were not our particular role models, and that, actually, they aren't particularly bright.

Once again, I wish I could say this was the end to this sad sad turn of events, but I do have one more tale to relate to you that will prove even more forcefully, the sad quality of tenants at this particular residence.

Tuesday night, the husband and I have reached a truce of sorts, being that I'll put up with his loud ah... breathing if I'll quit complaining about it. I had just woken up sometime during the night, over warm and unable to sleep again. Apparently my restless meanderings around the mattress kept the husband from enjoying his rest. He started to doze off again, when I heard loud knocking. I absolutely refused to believe that it was on our door, and was drifting off to misty sleep when the knocking resumed. Due to the fact that the freaky looking guy and girl I wouldn't choose to be friends with well, freaked me out and I was worried they were coming looking for me, I made the husband get up and answer the door. Now, most of the following is being related second hand. I will put my take on things in []. The husband mumbled out loud, "Now watch, it's the previous tenant's slightly inebriated friend coming to pay a visit." [This was also my thoughts] When the husband reaches the door, he looks out the peephole and sees no one. Then he hears, "Bryan, it's the cops. Answer your door."

"Uh-oh," thinks the husband. "I'd better open the door!" So he does, and sees only one cop. [I caught on to the plural of 'cop' much quicker than he did, apparently]

The police officer gives him a funny look, and asks, "Where's Bryan?" [Mind you, the husband is clad in nothing but boxers...] To which the husband replied, "He has removed himself and his belongings from the premises. We are now the current residents of this lovely apartment, we moved in on Thursday."

The police officer then apparently decides to belive him, and questions the husband further about whether he is aware of the whereabouts of the previous tenant, which the husband has assumed is called 'Bryan'. As the husband is being questioned, he keeps peeking around the corner. Apparently, this is suspicious to the police officer, and he asks of the husband, "What are you looking at?" To which the husband replies, "Just making sure that our baby felines do not try to escape to the freedom of the apartment hall." This apparently satisfies the police officer, and he thanks the husband for his time and apologizes for waking him up at 2 A.M. He turns to leave, and two more police officers come into the husband's range of vision, and ask him to call if he finds out anything. The husband then closes the door and comes back into the bedroom. We peer out the window, and espy three police cars and four police officers. Apparently, the police of this fine, fine city are very concerned with apprehending the previous tenant of our new, and very fine, apartment.

The NEW place

Well, since we've had nothing here to eat off of ('we don't have boxes to haul stuff in!!!') we've eaten out a lot. Ew. I can tell I've gained weight. Bad. But there's lots of good eating places around here, which is BAD. And I live like, 3 minutes away from a mall. BAD. Ugh. I feel like I should go on a purification diet just to get all of the bad stuff out of me!

ANYways, the apartment is nice. Smaller than Alissa's, but nice. It actually has light. I LOVE natural light. And since we don't have to pay for heat, we can have it as warm as we want, yay! The only thing that really sucks right now is that we only have camp chairs to sit in. Ew. And it'll be a few weeks until we have anything else. Well, today we'll be getting a kitchen table and a couple of chairs and our microwave, so we can eat our eating-out leftovers. Joy. Also there's a public library not too far away so that's nice too. :) Hopefully it's a BIG one! We'd been sleeping on an air mattress, which this morning was amazingly low when I got up. I was worried the kitkits had put a hole in it, but actually what they had done was unplugged the nozzle so it was slowly leaking air. But it doesn't matter anyway; our good mattress got delivered today. YaY! I haven't been swimming yet, or used the fitness center yet, but I'm not positive that'll happen this week with all the painting and moving and whatnot that's going to have to happen. There's been a couple of unexpected added amenities that make this place nice! Let's just say, yay for un-techsavvy people! :-D The only thing that sucks is living at their whim. But whatever, if it saves us $!

Anyway, I should go tape up the bedroom to prepare it for painting. Which, I just remembered, I forgot to get paint trays. Damn.

New things

Well, we got our apartment in Eden Prairie now. We're going to 'move in' tonight. AKA spend the night so that we can get started taping off tomorrow. I think my parents are going to come down on Sunday to help us paint. Have I ever mentioned how MUCH I hate painting? But I also can't wait... I've been wanting to paint where I live for so long... It's a pretty nice place, it has multiple pools, a sauna, hot tub, and fitness center. So I'm going to have to start taking advantage of that schiznit. Goody.

Still job searching, it really sucks and I hate it. I'm going to make sure I apply to temp agencies, too. Any income is good income. Apparently, I am underskilled for anything in my job field, and overskilled for anything else because I never get any calls back or anything. Out of the many, many resumes I've sent out I've gotten one interview and two rejection letters. One of which was an e-mail. INTeresting. I just need a job. Sitting home alone all day with these cats is tough. They are SO naughty. The have already pushed one thing off of the mantle and broken it. Last night they pushed our wedding ornaments we got from Grandma and Grandpa Bliss. If they had broken, cats would have been wishing they were dead. Not from a beating, but from me ignoring them. No snuggling! Haha. I would have gotten over it eventually, but it would have made me heartbroken. As I speak they are trying to climb the blinds. Dora was just chewing on our new cookbook, and trying to run away with my computer's power cable, which they've already chewed on.

I'm worried right now that my car has another ticket on it from being 'abandoned'. Hopefully not. I get to walk all the way downtown to get a new soc sec card today and get my name changed on my bank accounts. Our official Marriage Certificate came in the mail yesterday. That'll be fun. The sidewalks around here are icy, hopefully they do better by the downtown ones. I'm sure they do. I'm going to call Parkway (our new apts) to find out our new address, too. So that we can get all that changed. Yay.