I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

Wow, if yesterday was a little odd, today is just proving itself to be INSANE.

Firstly, we're in the throes of a raging blizzard, police are telling everyone to stay off the roads---but is the office (which has a weather phone to announce closings) closed??? NO. With me there, there were all of about five people working in the office today--including the supervisor.

I wasn't getting anywhere--as suspected, most people were rude, or, if they were polite, were too broke to buy anything. And, one person died, and two went blind.

So, I am trudging home in the storm, walking on the road 'cos the snowbanks were getting too high for me to ascend them to cross the streets, and I see a fire truck outside my building, with a bunch of firemen standing around out in front of the outside door to my part of the building!

Trying to remain calm, I walked up to the building, to find out what the issue was--hoping they wouldn't have to go into my apartment, cos' quite frankly, it looks like a tip, at the moment, I haven't been feeling well, and haven't exactly been up to any cleaning--just making my bed and doing the dishes, stuff like that. I would have been embarrassed to the hilt, if they'd had to come in here (I promised myself I'd give the place a thorough clean on Tuesday morning).

Anyway, my hillbilly neighbours have a genuine in-bred relation, apparently. Oh. My. God. This girl, was trying to get into the building to visit, and no one was answering the knocks on the door, or her "hollers" so she decided to throw her shoe--remember, its a blizzard outside and there's over 12 inches of snow on the ground---she threw her shoe at my neighbour's window...but it landed on the roof, instead.

So, I get there, and the firemen have no intention of hauling out there ladder in a blizzard, and climbing out onto a roof--the paramedic managed to get her a shoe from somewhere. But the girl suddenly decides that I can lead her up the back stairs, to the vacant apartment, so I can crawl out the window to retreive her lost trainer...erm--no. Sorry. I climbed out of/into my last window in four years ago--nearly re-fracturing my kneecap, and decided once and for all that I'm too old for that nonsense anymore! Well, I might if you paid me really well, and had a doctor on staff.

Anyway, the girl was angry with me for not helping her--she was either mentally disabled or stoned out of her gourd, I'm trutfully not sure which, and absolutely wasn't getting what "Sorry, no, I can't" means!

Mind you, I'm always perfectly willing to help someone in distress, but, I do have to draw the line somewhere, for pity's sake! Spending Christmas alone, with a broken body part, isn't my idea of holiday cheer, thanks very much.

And, who goes out in a blizzard wearing trainers??? Aside from a certain time-traveling, multi-lived, regenerating alien, I mean? What a bunch of palaver!

When my neighbour's sister--who's currently rooming with her brother and assorted other relations--came along and let the strange girl inside, I did fetch out my old snow boots--the pair that sprang a leak in one foot, last year, but are still warm..merely worthless for walking in puddles with--and gave them away to her, so she could give back the shoe to whomever gave it to her--if she even remembers who that was, that is.

The firemen thanked me though, for trying to help, bless them. They thought the whole thing was quite hilarious.

So, I trudeged though the snow, to earn 9 dollars for one hour's work, didn't get thanked for being there, didn't make any sales--but got yelled at for my pains a few times--trudged home, and had to put up with this nonsense.

The snow has finally stopped, at 6pm here, I'm chatting with friends on Skype and thinking it's time to but my steak on the cooker, and my potato in the oven. Cheers.

Just rang up work to see if they were open, asked if I could come in for a bit, to work--it's normally my day off today--and...all I got was a very unenthusiastic, "Yeah, I suppose." Gee, don't be pleased, and certainly do not THANK me for offering to come in to work on my sceduled DAY OFF, ya' bllinking...

Gah, who needs this crap?

My blog stalker from work is back...thought he or she had gone away, but discovered him or her lurking on my roasting David Tennant blog. The lowlife. How low can you be, to go around stalking a co-worker's blog. I mean, very obviously this ISN'T a friend...none of my friendly work acquaintences live in the Corinth/Hadley/Lake Luzerne area.

There's Lori, my former supervisor, and a couple of chav co-workers, that I know of, that would have that location show up on their blog--the only internet service in that whole area is either through the one cable line, or through the phone company--Citizen's Communications. I don't think that's changed in the couple of years since I moved away from those two little mountain towns (which are neighbours).

I sort of feel violalted, when sick people do that. I mean, how sad do you have to be, so sneak behind a co-worker's back--someone who you barely even know--to dig into their personal life?

If this person wanted to be my friend, she (I think I know who it is, but since I can't prove it I'll say nothing) has had ages to simply come over to me and be friends. I'm not unapproachable, for pity's sake! I'd love to have a good friend here, but it's because of petty miserable insecure people like this, that I back off and stay away from trying to make friends.

I have had so many heaps of people--some I don't even know-- going out of their way to hurt me in my life, I refuse to go out and look for more. Human beings are incredibly mean and narrow-minded, and while they can also be caring and compassionate, I'm afraid I've had a lot more experience with the former, than with the latter. Now, I admit, I'm not always an easy person to get to know-and there's some sides of me people probably are uncomfortable with, and yeah, I'm likely not always an easy person to be around, sometimes, so why bother opening myself up to someone? At least, not someone here! Not gonna' happen. This Corinth/Lake Luzerne blog stalker is just the sort of person that justifies me, and shows me that I'm absolutely right--no matter how hard it is on me--to stay away from people!

This is really strange...I got an annonymous message that this blog was being boycotted. No reason why, no name attached to it...the e-mail address shown came back as bogus...I deleted the comment but...how strange is that?

I know sometimes I'm blunt, and also highly opinionated--perhaps too much so, but why say I am being boycotted, without giving a reason?

My stats are way way down--less than half of what I've been getting in the last week...but why would I care?

If no one reads me, I'd still probably post--and let's face it, the only one's I really care about reading my posts, are my friends..and even then, if you all stopped reading my posts, I might be a little sad, and feel a little lonelier, but...would I stop blogging, would I sulk off to my room and cry? Probably not. I'd just get on with it. I blogged for months on my first blog, often without getting a single reader in weeks. Now, I've been blogging on theis blog for over 2 years, and blogging in general since spring of 2006, so...boycott away, if all my readers leave me, unless I suffer a sudden turn for the worse in my illness, or go blind, or get in an accident or lose the use of a computer, or commit suicide---I probably will still be blogging when I'm completely gray and trading my desk chair for a bath chair.

so...sod your boycott. If you can't tell me what your problem with me is, then it can't be very important, can it?

Just kidding. I'm in a mood today...you would be too, if your health was rubbish, you had to work on your days off, to make up for being allowed to take Christmas day off at work, if you had to go out to a laundromat on a Sunday, then go to work--in the middle of a massive snowstorm, and, the bitter raw wind...and you realized today, that you won't be able to afford a converter box so you can watch tele without paying through the nose for it every month, like you have to do to get internet service.

I felt like saying something obnoxious, and rather than swearing, I decided to pick on David Tennant--why? Because. not a very good answer, but so what? I'm entitled to be a rotten human being at least one day out of 365.

I'm a telemarketer, I live at the poverty level, I no benefits on my job--no sick days, no holidays, zero. All I get is my laughable pay check. Furthermore, my promised raise of 25 cents more an hour is still 2 years overdue. I hate my life, I hate my job, I am sick of spending every single birthday and holiday--and basically every single day of the year, physically alone, I miss holiday shopping, I miss caroling and having someone help me decorate, and, basically I just plain don't like who I am and where I am, and I just plain feel like being bad today, Okay?

I need to make up for people being rude, rotten and mean to me, all week long--which I know they're going to be this week as well, 'cos it' Christmas.

I really don't mean good riddence, I was just messing about. I have a very deep and abiding respect for the man, and for his craft. I'm just not head over heels in love with him...guess I'm just past it for all that palaver. Fan-girldom just hasn't been the same for me, every since MacGyver lost his mullet and became a space guy.

Actually, I think David Tennant's a really cool dude...for some hyperactive workaholic Scottish bloke, I am genuinely sorry to see him diabled by a painful back injury at a time when he least needs this sort of bother.

But...I can't say I'd be sorry to see some of the fan-girls show me their heels...wow, some of these "girls"...aren't very feminine! In fact, I'd go so far as to say at least a handful of them are really in need of some good parenting and/or anger management therapy....in all seriousness, I actually have met nicer merchant marines, burly truck drivers, butch loggers and former IRA members, whom have spoken more intelligently, were more respectful and had nicer manners than some of these DT fan-girls have shown themselves to have, on this blog and elsewhere...seriously, I have.

These are NOT "fans," these are truly fanatics--David Tennant Jihad'ers with lipstick and life size standees of DT next to their beds. Well, sometimes they seem that way, the way they behave.

You can die from the weather in America, without being the victim of a natural disaster. All you have to be is cold, poor and/or, alone.

Last week, just outside this city where I live in, a 63 year old woman froze to death outside her home, after returning intoxicated from a party. Having apparently passed out in 13 degree fahrenheight temperatures last Friday night, before making the trek from her garage to her doorstep, it was three days before anyone found her...she lived alone.

In Alaska, a poor man was found inside his trailer, sitting at his kitchen table, wrapped in a sleeping bag, frozen solid. The temperature inside his mobile home was 15 F. The man had run out of heating oil, and wasn't able to get any more.

States leading in cold-related deaths include:

Alaska
Wyoming
Montana
New Mexico
North Dakota

And...
Washington D.C.---which has a very high poverty level and also one of the highest populations of homeless people, for a city of its size, in the entire USA. (God bless America?)

Runners-up include:
Colorado
Idaho
Minnesota
Michigan
Vermont
New York
New Hampshire

These stats don't include injuries from hypothermia and frostbite, merely deaths.

Alcohol consumption often plays a factor in cold-related deaths...not just from people passing out or losing their judgement, but also because, despite the warmimng sensation people may feel, alcohol actually makes one's body lose heat more easily.

In some states, heavy snowfall and driving also play a factor, as drivers and sportsmen get trapped in snow and if they are not winter-survival savvy, can freeze to death rather quickly.

Carbon monoxide poisoning also factors in to this--again, a cold related death here, last week, as a man surcumbed to a build up of deadly fumes from a portable heater in his garage, during a storm-related power outtage at his home. Also, some surcumb to gas fumes, when they are forced to use their gas cookers (ovens) as their only heating source (been there, done that).

And, the poor: Some people cannot afford to buy heating fuel, or, like what happened to me in 2005, cannot afford expensive repairs to a broken furnace. If someone can't afford a wood stove (or wood), or a decent portable heater (electric fire, kerosene heater, etc), or lives in a poorly insulated dwelling (like I do now), and have no access to state heating assistnce programmes...well...they freeze to death. Of course, the elderly are the most vulnerable in this situation.

These stats don't include people dying in fires, from using portable heaters too close to flamable objects.

Despite her image in the world, America is not a pot of gold, and not every American is rolling in cash and riches. Some of us suffer and die from lack of health care, some of us die from abuse, neglect and suicide, and, some of us freeze to death.

Egads, my internet is slow today! I'm SUPPOSED to have high-speed Roadrunner service, but this morning it's acting more like dial up! Took over five minutes just to connect me to IE! Which, considering I'm shelling out 50 dollars a month--an extra five dollar raise in cost, having been applied in November, in the middle of a bad recession--this isn't thrilling me.

Time-Warner cable sucks. I have to find a way to buy a converter box next week, before my discount coupon runs out, or else I might just as well throw my TV set away. Stinking arseholes and their stinking obliteration of analog--nothing like making things HARDER for the poor and downtrodden. I hear it's going to run me, even with the coupon, around 50 dollars for one of these stinking things...just to MAYBE get 1 or 2 televison stations. Yeah? And watch what? Rotten news programmes that repeat the same news story over and over and over again? Talk shows about people and topics that really have no meaning or impact on my life? Repeats of programmes, most of which I don't especially cotton to?

Is it worth it? Maybe I'll just continute to do without tele, for the rest of my life, sod the rich people and their stinking converter boxes, and cable TV and sat dishes, and posh mobiles that get internet, and Ipods, and laptops and wi-fi's and all that other palaver. They can afford television, good for them, I will just continue to be entertainment disadvantaged. Life sucks and then you die.

Well, we had around five or six inches of snow Friday, another two to three inches of snow, yesterday--right now, as I write this at half-past nine am Eastern time, on this Sunday morning, it's snowing to beat the band--with strong winds expected later in the day--and by the time everything is said and done tonight, we're to get another 8 to 16 inches (depending on terrain/the storm)...with another inch or two possible tomorrow, as well.

Well, at least the skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers will be happy, 'round these parts. It'll be good for local tourism, at any rate, so maybe some more jobs will open up next month. The cold weather should help freeze the lakes more, as well, which will bring in more people for ice fishing season on Lake's George and Champlain, and all the other hundred or so of other lakes 'round here.

It's rather pretty, tho'. If I owned a camera, I'd be out taking some snaps. Not that there's that much opportunity for pretty shots of Glens Falls...bleh. "Hometown USA?" Dullsville USA, is what this city's motto should really be.

Still, I need to go out this morning to do laundry...if the cabs are running. Haven't seen any about, but if they are, doubt they'll be very busy today. Be a good day to go to the laundromat--and worse comes to worse, I could take shanks mare, bundle myself up, put on my wellies an lug a small bag to the laundromat over behind me a few streets over, on Bay Street. It's only a 15 or 20 minute walk. Wish I still owned a pair of snowshoes, ha-ha.

I made this version of an American-style shepherd's pie, earlier this month--made it up off the top of my head, and thought I'd give it a go again, it was quite tasty!

HERE'S A GREAT WEBSITE FOR EASILY DOING INTERNATIONAL RECIPE (weight, volume, temperature, etc) CONVERSIONS:

http://www.thatsmyhome.com/recipes/converter.htm

Nancy's deluxe shepherd's pie:

1 refrigerted (or homemade) pie crust (optional)
1 pound ground beef/mince
3 to 4 cups fresh mashed potatoes (I sometimes cheat, buying ready-made or instant mashed)
2 cups thawed frozen or cooked leftover, California style veggie mix: (broccolli, cauliflower, carrots)
1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder (or you can substitute 1 teaspoon of BBQ spices)
1 Tablespoon Bistro gravy (or, 1/2 TBLS concentrated beef base, found in the soup aisle)
1/2 cup warm water (add more if needed)

If using a bottom pie crust, pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a pie dish with crust, and bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove crust and reduce temperature to 350 degrees.

In a deep skillet or dutch oven, brown ground beef. Drain off 98 percent of the fat. Stir in gravy granules and water, until a rich gravy is formed...dont' make it too watery, as one doesn't need much liquid in the pie. Stir in vegetables and seasonings, and simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes. Turn meat mixture into pie plate and spead out so it sits in dish evenly. Top with a layer of mashed potatoes, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

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I was looking through one of mum's old cookbooks from the 50's, looking for some recipes I might want to try, next month.

HAMBURGER STEW

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
1 small can tomato sauce
1 tsp garlic powder--or 1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup A-1 Steak sauce (brown sauce)
1 can creamed or whole kernal corn (drain off water in whole kernal corn)
1 can cut green beans or peas, drained
1 1/2 cups Water

In a deep skillet or dutch oven, brown ground beef with onions. Cook until beef is brown and crumbly and onions are softened. Drain off fat, Stir in remaining ingredients...adding more water if needed. Simmer over very low heat for 50 to 60 minutes, or until stew thickens and potatoes are tender.

CALIFORNIA BBQ BEEF CUBES

1 pound beef cubes for stew
1 cup flour, seasoned liberally with pepper and a little salt
1 to 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 can diced tomatoes with juice from can
1 can whole kernel corn, (include water from can)
1 packet, dry onion soup mix
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar (can substitute white vinegar, in a pinch)
water (optional)

Coat beef with seasoned flour. Melt butter in dutch oven or stock pot. Brown beef in butter, and drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients, blending well, and simmer over very low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender. Serve over cooked rice, halved buttermilk biscuits (similar to scones), thick slices of bread, taco shells, or cooked noodles. NOTE; if stew gets too thick, and starts to burn, stir in a small amount of water, as needed.

I just had a very rude and negative coment by some David Tennant fan-girl over across the border in Ontario, on my Roasting David (Tennant) blog, in regards to my poor spelling and such.

I told her off, but...in a way, she's right. I'm losing myself. I really did use to turn in perfect, or near-perfect copy, in college...just 3 years ago!

Now, I can't spell, I can't type, I'm not catching basic errors, I'm making stupid mistakes that I've not made since elementary school...like often writing "but" instead of "by," or writing "to" instead of "too," stuff like that.

I started a Dr Who story, and no one wants to read it. Someone asked to see a play I've been working on (all of one and a half pages of it), and they told me that it wasn't very well written.

I'm thinking of quitting writing. I'm not enjoying it as much as I used to, and seem to be losing all my writing skills. I don't want to write junk.

I only blog these days, out of habit, more than anything. My blog posts are getting more and more dull and lifeless. I rarely get visitors to my newer posts, unless they're about David Tennant and/or Doctor Who.

I'm sorry, but I'm really feeling down of late. Maybe it's just the winter blues, or the holiday, or maybe...I don't know. I just am questioning whether I should continue slogging away at something I so obviously am declining in ability in. Let's face it: it's hard to take pride in something you feel you truly suck at.