2006-09-03
You are feeling sleepy.... very, very sleepy
It�s nice to be getting back into what I consider, for lack of a better term, a normal routine.
It�s Sunday morning, and I�m at Starbucks� people watching, having a coffee and of course writing this post.
Last night was cool, as it really allowed me to not only feel like I was back to some sense of normalcy, but allowed the apartment I�m renting a room in to feel more like someplace I live, rather than simply some place I�m sleeping for the night (no matter how nice the hotel� no matter what the amenities they provide� it�s impossible to make it feel like more than just a place to sleep). And what prompted this change in feeling within the apartment? A $90 pasta dinner.
OK, so it wasn�t EXACTLY a $90 pasta dinner... but the fact that I now have some kitchen supplies, and cooked a meal� and ate that meal without picking it off a menu� and drank a half of a bottle of cabernet without having to buy it by the glass or ditch the remaining half bottle� THAT�S when I knew I was in something akin to home.
That�s not to say that things have been completely copasetic. Lets see�
When I arrived home Friday evening, I was dying for a decent cup of coffee (having been stranded all week in the two places in the continental 48 states with the least number of Starbucks per capita� Little Rock AR and Xenia, OH). I entered the apartment, said my hellos, dropped my bags in my room and headed out for said cup of coffee. Upon returning home later, and having swilled a goodly amount of coffee, I headed straight for the facilities� only to find the toilet backed up. WTF?
To make a long story short� I run out and purchase a plunger� and fix the damn thing.
Then� last night, I start to clean the kitchen so I can then cook in it and not run the risk of botulism poisoning. Now, when I had moved in, I mentioned to the lease holder (who I�m renting from) that I�m no neat freak by any stretch of the imatination� and the bowl of rice in the sink didn�t really bother me� but it was obvious that the rice was just a few observations short of a full-blown science experiment and I would have a problem if it was still there upon my next return home (i.e. this weekend). Well, there WAS a bit of rice still ringing the drain to the garbage disposal, but the bowl itself was gone. �Oh well, a start� I think. Wrong� As I rinse the remaining rice down into the disposal, a nefarious odor (did I detect a twinge of greenish color?) rose up to greet me. I immediately reach for the disposal ON switch� and hear the motor energize but no expected Grrrrr of the blades whirling. Ohoh� I then take a peek down the drain� and the damn thing is FULL of rice. Now, if anyone puts that much stuff down the drain, they automatically hit the disposal ON switch� so I know that someone� whoever put the rice in there� knows that the disposal isn�t working. And now I recognize the odor� it�s that of rice when it�s a step or two away from the beginnings of Sake. To make things just a tad worse� I point this out to the lease holder� and his reaction is �I had no idea! I�ll call maintenance tomorrow��. Yeah�.you do that. I know that someone here knows that was blocked� and the other roommate, who I spoke to rather extensively last night admits that the only time he enters the kitchen is to get another beer (and if you knew him� you�d believe him just as I do :p ), so it was the lease holder that put the rice in there, AND then told me he knew nothing about it.
In talking with my other roommate last night, I discovered that the lease holder is all of 24. 24??? Well, that explains quite a bit� including I think, the fact that he lied about the disposal. I think he�s intimidated by me� must not have a great relationship with his dad or something.
My other roomie is Mark, who is all of 29 but seems to be pretty decent. By his own admission, all he cares about in life at this point is keeping his bills paid and nothing more. He refuses promotions at work, not needing the extra money and not wanting the added responsibilities. While I cannot personally relate to this (I was always bucking to be in leadership roles, starting with the position of �Reporter� in 4-H when I was in 6th grade), I suppose I have to agree that at least he knows what he wants. I suspect that will change as he grows older� but who knows. Anyway, I digress� speaking to him last night was followed by my feeding him� hell, I had plenty as I have NO idea how to cook for one and made enough for 3, easy. Feeding him was apparently akin to feeding the stray cat at your front door. After sitting at the table and talking to him for a good hour, I proceeded to clean up and headed for my room. Lo and behold, he�s right on my heels. For the next 2 hours, I listened� nodded when appropriate� did my best to not be rude yet show that I was busy (which is hard, when all you have in front of you is a Yahell chat screen).
Perhaps if Mark would leave his room for more than going to work or visiting the fridge, he wouldn�t be so starved for conversation.
So� I started writing this with no idea what I was going to write about, and something appeared. And, it turns out, I�ve probably got more divel to ramble on about, but don�t want to put everyone into a deep, catatonic state� just a light slumber :p
t85225 at 11:19 a.m.
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