Add to the list of things I don’t feel like paying for
Two things just broke that I don’t feel like paying to replace:
- A new garden hose.
- A new porch swing.
sigh.
When you repeatedly say “don’t swing the swing sideways or it’ll break,” you secretly say to yourself “in a few years.” I guess this swing’s had a few years.
(And if anybody’s wondering, the garden hose got ran over by a car.)
It’s expensive to move an office
I had no idea how expensive it is to move an office. Having just bought a house last fall, I assumed moving an office would be mostly the same. I was wrong.
To move an office, you have to spend about
- $150 for mailing all of your clients/prospective clients to tell them you moved. How much do stamps cost these days?
- $4,000 - getting a new phone system. Moving an office phone system is so expensive (because of numerous lines and specialized phones) that it’s not much more expensive to get all new phones, esp if your old ones are starting to wear out anyway.
- $1,000 - moving your office security system and upgrading it for the bigger office.
- Moving cable, internet, and the telephone lines cost something, I’m just not sure what.
And that’s on top of any improvements you might need to make to the new building - wiring, getting ramps installed, ceiling fans, blinds, changing the locks, etc.
I had no idea.
Coming up with passwords, user names, etc
I have the most trouble coming up with passwords, usernames, etc, on my computer.
When confronted with a need for a new passwords, I start looking around the room.
“Let’s see, chimney … nah. Picture frame? nah. Cutebaby2007! nah. BridgeportIPA? ShelSilverstein? Old dresser?”
Nah.
Does heat destroy VHS?
We keep our movies - dvd’s and vhs - upstairs with the other tv, but we try to leave the a/c upstairs off as much as possible. If the kids aren’t going to be around for a few days, for instance, we turn of the upstairs air conditioning and open the windows.
So I’m watching one of my favorite movies. I haven’t seen it in a while, and the only copy I have is vhs.
And now the picture is dark and poor. Of course this gives me an excuse to upgrade it to dvd, which I’d been wanting to do anyway, but I’m kind of annoyed at thinking that all of the vhs we have stored up there are probably now trash.
Not going to the movies
Katie took E to the movies tonight, since the other kids aren’t home. She and Elliot came home all excited to see Evan Almighty, and E was pumped that the three of us would get to go see a movie together.
I tried. I really, really tried to tell myself that I could go enjoy it. But when they were getting ready to leave, I had to admit to all of us that I just couldn’t.
You see, I have a really bizarre sense of embarrassment. I simply can’t handle people being embarrassed. I can’t take it. Comedy involving embarrassment - pretty much anything with Steve Carell in it, for example - literally makes me squirm, close my eyes, and cover my ears. I often have to hum to block out what’s going on.
I don’t know what the deal is, but I’ve always been that way. I just can’t take it. An actual, physical pain shoots down my spine when I see that kind of thing. It’s a horrible, indescribable feeling.
And I think E was disappointed and maybe hurt when I said “not for me.” I tried to make a push towards the silver surfer movie, because even though it was mostly panned by reviewers, I was always a fan of the surfer. But I think that just made E more hurt when I stayed home.
It must be a mom thing. I think Katie could have gone to my movie, albeit begrudgingly. But I just couldn’t do the ark thing.
Say all you want about how it’ll be different when it’s a child of my own instead of a step-child, but I just don’t buy it. Maybe it’s a guy thing.
Excuses, excuses
I am terrible with excuses. I blogged last week sometime about how part of growing up is learning to pick your battles. I think another part is ending the excuses.
I struggle with this. This morning, I had to get some client checks out. But first my brakes went out in the car, so I couldn’t drive to drop off the checks. And I spent hours trying to get the printer to work. Both of those things were extraordinary circumstances for not getting the checks done until 2. But the client didn’t want to hear the excuse. Heck, there wasn’t even any need to tell them anything, since I wasn’t running terribly late and the work was done well.
Still, I have the impulse to explain. I don’t know if that’s making excuses or if it’s mindless chatter, but I’ve got to work on it.
Not enough sleep
I’ve heard that babies will cause you not to sleep much.
Yesterday, Katie opined that I will have trouble adjusting to that, and I don’t doubt it. I expect few people enjoy being woken up all night every night, but Katie’s point is that when I get woken up, I have trouble getting back to sleep.
And last night was a good trial run. I simply could not get to sleep, and when I did finally sleep some, it didn’t last.
Katie’s right. I’m going to have trouble with this lack of sleep thing.
Thank goodness for the emergency brake!
My brakes failed again today on the way to work. This time I got tea all over myself while yanking the emergency brake.
The mechanic said there must be air in the lines.
Whatever.
Random thoughts
Well, thank goodness Katie didn’t have to go all the way to Bell Buckle and back today; her mom was finally able to get in touch with her so they could meet half way (ish).
AND I got off my couch and got some stuff done. I can’t believe I finally painted that door! It was one of those projects I’d been meaning to work on since we bought the house, but I didn’t feel like going to the trouble once it became an option. I’m trying to get a lot of those little projects done before the baby is born.
Tonight, my niece, who is almost two, called from the beach and said “hi, Uncle Jon.” Adorable. And E had his head on his mama’s belly tonight and got kicked in the nose by Charlotte.
In two years, I’m going to have a little girl who will say “hi” to my brothers.
It really blows my mind sometimes.
If my family ever discovers this blog
If my family ever discovers this blog, I shouldn’t have anything to worry about. It’s rated G:
link via newscoma (who is rated R for saying “Dick Cheney”!)
Feeling completely lazy
While Katie’s on her long, pointless journey, I really should get some stuff accomplished. I need to finish some painting, get a door to latch again, and clean the van.
But I really don’t feel like doing those things. Or anything. At all.
Oh well. I guess I’ve got all day to get myself motivated. I’d just hate to have her come home after driving all that way and have me still sitting on the same spot on the couch where she left me.
