lolo's lair

(Recent Entries) (Archive) (Friends) (User Info) (My Website)

Sep. 30th, 2006

04:35 am - neighbors' problems are MY problems...

Haven't been on LJ for a couple weeks, but I just wanted to come on tonight to vent.  

So... I got home from work about midnight, stepped through the door, and what did my wondering eyes behold?  A flooded kitchen.  Soaking wet carpets.  Both bathrooms flooded.   And why?  There was nothing wrong on OUR side...   The next door neighbor's apparently had a water pipe burst, and was spraying all over the place for over 45 minutes before they could figure out how to shut the freaking water off.  And it all decided to come through under the wall and invade our apartment.  

Argh... definitely NOT something I wanted to see after coming right off a long day at work.  

I've just spent about four and a half hours trying to soak up all that water...  the linoleum part of the floors look presentable now, but the carpets?  *cries*    And we probably won't be able to get anyone to come extract the water out until Monday.  So it's 'squish, squish, squish' until then.  *shudders*  The poor cats are traumatized.  Maggie has been hiding in the closet since I've been home,  Tawny is actually being nice and sitting huddled up on my lap (which she never does), and Sweetie... well, Sweetie is pretty much the same as usual.  A little wide-eyed, and shakes her paws while she's walking down the hall, but not much else.  She's much more well-adjusted then the older two.  

*sigh*  What a bloody mess...  Though, on the plus side, my bathroom floor is the cleanest it's been in a long while :P  

Yesterday was so much better.  All I had pretty much had to deal with was a scatterbrained Algebra teacher, and a bird that somehow got trapped in our store.  Poor thing.  I managed to catch it and put it outside, but I think it hurt itself earlier because it wouldn't fly away.  Two of my coworkers took it to a 24 hour animal hospital after we got off work.  I hope it'll be okay.

And now, *stares blearily at screen* it's almost 5:30, so I'm going to go collapse into bed.  I'm so glad I have a late shift tomorrow and no classes, so I don't have to get up early... 

Current Mood: exhausted

(2 comments | Leave a comment)

Sep. 12th, 2006

10:07 pm - experimentation

Well, this was certainly a waste of a day off.  I could have returned some emails... I could have reviewed fanfiction stories... I could have left comments for my friends here on livejournal... I could have finished beta-ing that chapter that random_warg gave me (sorry Saleh -_-;;)...  I could have actually done some homework.  Instead, I just spent the last 10 hours fooling around with my graphics programs to see if I could make a gif animation I could make into an icon.  And this is the result.  *points to current user pic*  I have to say, I'm happy with the results, but it was still a great deal of time and effort that could have been better spent.  

And also... WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS I THINKING when I let myself get talked into joining White Rabbit Tale's OC Exchange for this month!  If I'm this stuck on writing for my own stories, how the Hell am I going to be able to write for anyone else?!   I know you two (and you know who you are...) think that this will help me break out of my writer's block, but I just don't see how this will work!  *bangs head against wall*  I'm not so sure I can do this...   

Current Mood: cold

Current Music: Dido - "White Flag"

(1 comment | Leave a comment)

12:54 am

Well... had a guy die at work today.  I came in later, after all the ruckus had died down with the ambulances and the firetrucks, so I only heard about what happened.  Some poor older guy dropped dead in the men's bathroom.  Had his pants down and everything.  Poor man... *shakes head sadly*  How awful... and so undignified.  I certainly hope that when it's my time to go, I go out with some dignity.  I'm so glad I missed all that.  I've only seen one dead person before, and I don't want to ever see another. 

Current Mood: pensive

Current Music: The Beatles - "Hey Jude"

(3 comments | Leave a comment)

Sep. 1st, 2006

07:25 pm

Well, just spent the last few days with no internet because a stupid lightning storm fried the PCI adapter card in my computer. Not really all that long, I guess... but even those few days without it were putting me through withdrawal :P I don't even do anything productive on the internet when I'm on, but still. The thought of NOT having it was making me crazy. But I'm back now! Not that anyone noticed I wasn't around anyway, since I'm terrible at keeping up with anything. I still have emails I need to respond to that have been in my inbox for a couple weeks... I'm such an introverted lazy bum; I should just give up trying to write or be sociable, and go back to doing nothing but playing The Sims and hiding in my room reading actual printed books like I used to before I stumbled across the wondrous world of fanfiction.

No... I can't see me going back to how I was back then. I've really grown a lot since I'd first joined up with ff.net, and I've made several good friends from there. I don't want to lose all that.  I WANT to keep in touch with people... I WANT to be more outgoing... I WANT to start reviewing again... I WANT to start writing again...  *sigh*  I just need to kick my ass in gear and get motivated.  Any suggestions?  *pathetic hopeful expression*  How exactly do you fight ennui?  Overdose on energy drinks?  Electroshock therapy?  Fly to Michigan in the winter and jump naked into a frozen lake?   

Other than my frustration at my lack of motivation for anything, things have been going pretty well on a whole.  Work has been enjoyable now that all the equipment has been repaired and the exterminator has come and killed all the horrible, evil little roaches :D  (die roach scum, die!!!)  My regular customers are wonderful people, and I adore them :)  I've been getting a lot of compliments on how I've been doing my job, which makes me very happy.  Embarrassing in some cases, but definitely gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling.   I could do without the idiots hitting on me though.  Those kind of compliments I'm not looking for.   Especially from men old enough to be my grandfather -_-;;   Ugh.   Though, the "charming and attractive young lady" comment from one nice older gentleman was rather sweet.  He said I brightened his day :)  That always makes me feel better to hear, when I'm in one of my what-am-I-good-for-and-why-am-I-here type existential moods.  

Class is okay... could be better, but could be worse.  My algebra teacher is a flake, and I can't follow her confusing explanations while I'm trying to relearn everything, since it's been 3 years since I've had a math class...  I used to be so good at math :(  Some things you learn, and they stay with you forever.  Math is not one of them.  Ah well.  She is a nice teacher anyway.  Maybe I'll just have to catch her in the lab and have her give me a bit more of a one-on-one approach.   Which reminds me, I really should start doing my homework assignments soon.  

Current Mood: weird

Current Music: Korn - "Head Like a Hole"

(4 comments | Leave a comment)

Aug. 23rd, 2006

06:24 pm - Work and school... death and fanfiction

Well, glad to say things are still going well at work... Had one day last week where it all just went to hell, but it's been good since then. The repairmen finally came and fixed the espresso machine and the iced tea maker a couple days ago, so that's one thing that shouldn't give us any trouble for a while. *crosses fingers* I mean, geez... how the hell can you not be able to serve coffee drinks in a coffee shop? As I said before, people can get downright nasty when they don't get their coffee fix -_-;;

And I'm starting class again tomorrow! I've been very sporadic when it comes to my college courses, so I'm pleased that I mustered up the motivation to register again :) I started out full-time for two semesters back in 2002, a year after I got out of the army, and then it slacked off to a couple classes, and then one class every other semester, and then a year without any classes at all. Although, that had more to do with dealing with my father's long-term heath issues, than my simply being lazy. I felt so much like a live-in nurse maid sometimes. Which reminds me... the second anniversary of his death is coming up next week :( Ack. I'm thinking I might make do a little memorial picture and posting it here on that day...

Which brings me to a seemingly unrelated subject: fanfiction. It was my father's death which actually inspired me to write "Only the Beginning," the first story I ever started posting on fanfiction.net. I think I just needed an outlet, and it seemed to really help. And now... maybe the fact that I don't need that outlet anymore, is what's contributing to my inability to write? I'm half-thinking of just giving up on the story and maybe finding someone else who might want to finish it :( Or maybe forcing a quick finish in the next chapter. I don't want to resort to that, but I'm just getting so frustrated and unhappy with my utter lack of progress. *sigh* I don't know what to do. I had so many ideas in mind for that fic... Ah well, maybe I'll be able to snap out of this writer's block someday.

Current Mood: confused

Current Music: The Bravery - "An Honest Mistake"

(2 comments | Leave a comment)

Aug. 12th, 2006

10:17 pm - a long winded rant, so feel free to ignore

More good days at work; I'm shocked :P I wonder how long my good luck will last... hehe. I'm just happy that my wrist is healing up nicely now. Several days ago, my cat Tawny went totally ballistic after seeing another cat outside, waking me up at 5:30 in the morning. Being half-asleep, and not thinking straight, I tried to calm her down by petting her. Not a good idea. She turned all her fury out on me and attacked my hand. I think her teeth actually hit the bone. The whole wrist ended up swelling up and I could barely use it for a couple days. It got a bit infected, but not badly. Though it still annoyed the heck out of me. I don't remember ever getting an infection before, and then suddenly I get two in the last two months.

The first was after I went on vacation to see my best friend in Orlando last month. Apparently I picked something up from Sea World, because I came back home with a staph infection on the back of my thigh. I didn't know what it was at first... it was just a swollen painful lump growing on my leg, and it ended up so bad, I could hardly walk. Damn thing got about as big around as a golfball. I finally couldn't take it anymore and went to see a doctor, and that's when he told me it was a staph infection. Gave me some antibiotics and told me to keep it clean when it popped and drained. Eww. That took forever to finally heal, and I ended up allergic to the damn antibiotics and broke out in a blotchy, itchy rash completely covering my body, so I was not a happy person. And when I say completely, I mean that. The rash was even on my ears :( *sigh* I looked and felt like I had been rolling in poison ivy. My body felt like I had the flu, all achy and feverish. Yeah... what a fun month THAT was -_-;;

It's all cleared up now thank God, and things have been going well. Aside from the stupid cats driving me crazy. I love my little girls to death, but there are those times they make me want to scream. And that cat that's been harassing them from outside (the one that caused Tawny to bite me), is one crazy psycho bastard. Literally. I think he's got a bipolar disorder. He'll come right up to you purring and hissing at the same time, and act like he wants you to pet him one minute, and the next, he's attacking your leg. You try to get away, and he follows you, still hissing and acting like he wants to be petted... I know he's not rabid, since he's been around for a few months now, and he'd be dead already if he was. We called animal control on him, but they told us that WE would have to be the ones to actually trap him, and then they'd come pick him up. What?! Aren't they supposed to do that?! It's not OUR job to trap some potentially dangerous animal... what the hell are they getting paid for? I don't want to even go near that psychotic critter. He's the only cat, since I was 7, that I'm actually afraid of. Ah well.

And I'm currently in a major guilt trip over fanfiction.net... Not only have I been unable to update my own work, I haven't been reviewing other people's stuff either. I used to be so good about reviewing... and now, I seem to be slipping back to my lurker roots :( I need to remedy that, and soon. I'm not sure why it happened, but I lost a lot of my motivation for doing much of anything. Bad girl... *slaps self* I WILL GET TO IT I SWEAR!!!

Okay... *glances up at entry* I think I feel a little better now, getting all that off my chest ^^;; Which is what this journal is for, right? Well, it's after 11:30 now, so I better get off to bed since I have an early shift at work tomorrow. Ciao!

Current Mood: guilty

Current Music: A Perfect Circle - "Weak and Powerless"

(2 comments | Leave a comment)

Aug. 10th, 2006

01:26 am - First entry...

Well... here's my first entry on this thing. I just created this account yesterday, and this is all a bit new to me, so I'm still trying to get the hang of it.

So, anyway. I just got off work about an hour ago (not that anyone cares :P) and I'm glad to say it was a pretty good evening at my job. Nice, slow and easy, with no bitchy customers :) I wish all my days at work went this smoothly. My job as barista at Books-a-Million can get me pretty frazzled sometimes. For anyone who doesn't know what a barista is, it's basically someone who is trained in making espresso based coffee drinks... like cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, frappes, etc. It can be kinda fun sometimes, but when it gets crowded, it's just me over there taking orders and making all the drinks by myself. And people can get downright nasty when they have to wait too long for their coffee! But this is still sooo much better than my previous job at the bar and grill working as a short order cook. Again, I was all by myself, but I was cooking for a whole bar-full of impatient drunks... *sigh* It got so damn hot back in that kitchen, and I had to do everything. Nine hours of prep, cook, dishes, heavy lifting, clean-up... I usually wound up staying til about 2 in the morning without a single break to eat, or even sit down. I certainly lost a lot of weight during that time. I even passed out once. NOT fun *shudders* Miserable experience, and I never want to go through that again.

I'm rambling here... sorry. I guess I'll cut this short for now; I should probably be getting to bed soon, since it's almost 2 AM. I'm sure no one really wants to hear any of this anyway. Not really sure if anyone is even going to actually come by to read it, so I'm don't even know why I'm bothering... *embarrassed cough*

Current Mood: blah

Current Music: VNV Nation

(7 comments | Leave a comment)