Farting around Friday night and trying to motivate myself to clean, I opened a bottle champers and lit some candles and fairy lights. It was pretty how everything looked this pale, shimmery golden color together, and so in order to procrastinate the cleaning task, I started playing with the camera, fiddling with the speed to capture strings of heavenward bubbles and the thin-walled glass burnished with frost. I couldn't find a champagne flute, and I didn't feel like using my 1920s vintage champagne glasses-- too twee for the occasion - so this little beaker thingie had to do. Yes, good solid labware is useful for such industrious occasions.
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If I may indulge myself, I simply must whine a bit.
I spent most of Monday dealing with a mud eruption near the pool on property. Maintenance is on vacation, and the replacement staff have communication issues and couldn't help with the problem. Further, the mudruption is causing a mud slick across the paved path of the one of the crown jewels of the city's park systems. Isn't that nice? How I've escaped major tix from kode inforsement is a marvel. I called a real plumber out who charges me $200/hour on regular Mon-Fri appointments during business hours. He cut the water off to 2/3 of my residents for 2 hours Monday night, and "fixed" the problem. I'm going to pay him 3.5 hours of holiday overtime, and heaven knows what that will cost. SO, Tuesday evening, there's a new mud geyser a mere 3 feet away from the last one. *Oh, Joy.*
I love the easy access of great dining and the variety of entertainments available here. In a lot of ways, I think I like this place better than I would any other American city, but for some time I've been feeling the urge to get away from the fakery and ridiculousness of it all. I realize any job and any place has its stresses, but this is making me long to man the reins of a trailer park in the backwoods.
Better still, no more jobs babysitting adults.
I was visiting family friends on their little cattle farm last year, and near sundown, I could hear a meadowlark teaching its babies to call. I heard the mama and then the wobbly nestlings sounding out their wonky imitations of her perfect tune. She very patiently said "no, darlings, a little more like this" and then "now, try again, dears." I thought "why would anyone who lives out here ever long to live in a city?"
So, anyhoo, when this job ends, well, I can't say where I'll be next year, but it certainly won't be here.
11 comments:
On the bright side, maybe you can tell the women of the community to grasp a chance at being enviro-savvy and use it for a mud pack? I'm reaching here......
"Better still, no more jobs babysitting adults."
So, no applications are being put in to be a jailer at Lew Sterrett? ;)
That stint jailing was the worst job I ever had, because I had to babysit adults who had already proven their inability to act like adults, but who very commonly expected an extra measure of respect, simply for drawing air and possessing a pair of testicles. At the same time, it would seem that the social circles that they moved in seemed to laud the attempts of the upwardly mobile male to garner respect by showing disrespect to others, particularly ones in position of authority to them.
$200 an hour!!!! If my chaps find out about that I'm going to be working alone and mexicans are going to have some stiff competition from some rather handy..if drunken englishmen in the illegal market.
kvegas911 - THAT's it-- I'll do the Microsoft thing: "it's a feature, not a flaw."
matt g - Good googly moogly- what not-so-fresh hell, indeed! I didn't know you'd done a term in that ring of the inferno. I'll bet we've dealt with some of the same solipsistic Peter Pans. *much eye-rolling here*
thud - It's a local outfit wot am pretty posh, apparently, for people who shift poo in pipes, and it's the company the property owner prefers, for whatever reason. I believe competent plumbing could be had for less, but I suppose the owners can decide where they want to spend their money. Heck, if it'd been fixed on Monday, I'd say it was worth whatever we paid.
I like the labware. Dealing with Teh Peoples, I'm glad I'm not in that venue - hell I'm not in any venue right now.
dirtcrashr - yeah - it's so much more interesting than a lot of other glassware one sees. Oh, tell us your secret: how DID you make the world go away?
I thought "why would anyone who lives out here ever long to live in a city?"
In a word: culcha. Or another: restaurants, subset of the previous.
I suppose the grass is always greener, but I envy you your nights out at the clubs and your eatery-options. Yet I remain in place... so I suppose it ain't ALL bad here in P-Ville.
But people can sure give ya a serious case of jaundice-eye, no?
I have a narrow skill-set that's being eclipsed by programming and math-geeks, and one that doesn't demand actual face-time with anybody so I'm not always employed (or employable) and when I am it's typically not people-pleasin' - and my wife's career is secure and lucrative so I end up more house-husband than provider.
Tonight's dinner is mahi-mahi crusted with macadamia nuts in a teriyaki-pineapple glaze, with broccoli on the side. What can I fix you to drink? I'm having a Dark & Stormy.
I'm not sure that I'm a country person but I sure as hell couldn't care less about any City life or it's kind or kultur anymore. Ya can't smoke in bars anymore and I can mix a better drink so why should I bother boozing with yuppie amateurs? ;-)
Cool thing about bein' free is you can decide to live in the peace and quiet of the sticks if you want. I feel that urge myself from time to time. Kick myself for buyin' this house, but there you go. Guess I can always move too. Sell it and go, but not right now, withthe market the way it is. There's the advantage to living in the cliff dwellings.
Just a little nudge...We have a lot of wild life here on the East Side. I have many neighbors with large livestock. We have a neighborhood butcher and smithy to boot. It is close to the country. eh?
Well, do I have to move more Rats into the canyon and set you up as manager in the boonies then? BTW, looks like the original Rat will not be leaving the canyon - boss sez too much good ceramic tile work to disturb. I am inclined to rent it out rather than let it sit under-utilized.
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