I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

I got hit on by some fishing club guy in Decatur, Texas today. Nice guy, but I'd no more go to Texas willingly, than I'd shovel coal into hell's furnace.

I spoke to this woman today, who hated her husband's hobby: fishing.

"He bought himself a bass boat," she said, "and all he did was sit in the middle of the lake, and cast his line towards the shore. Then, after he sold the bass boat, all he did was stand on the shore, and cast his line into the middle of the lake!"

Think I'll put that into my latest play--I love that. So...typical.

So, here's the deal:

Wednesday morning, I had a net worth of under 1 dollar.

By Friday, I had over 1000 dollars, a 40 dollar gift card, and my pay check of course on
Friday....I paid off some bills, paid the rent, bought a few things I needed...now today...wow...I don't believe it! (said in a good way, for a change.)

I got my National Grid bill--my NY state winter heat benefit came through--leaving me with a positive balance of 235.84---Yet my current charges are 235.84???? Very strange billing! Unfortunately, I'm locked into the 170 dollars, regardless of whether my bill is one dollar or 1000 dollars, apparently (just rang up NG to find out)...too bad, I could use a little bit of a reduction, even if it were only 10 dollars less....but budget plans are non-negotioable, apparently...supposed based on the amount of energy I've used in the past--well, really, they based on the energy the PREVIOUS tenant used in the past...which isn't fair but Natl. Grid isn't often very fair in their dealings with the public--I just am lucky to have a good disability social worker with connections to NG. Still---this is the first time since autumn of 2005, that my bill's been under 300 dollars, so I'd be completely churlish to complain about having to still pay 170 a month.

That's right, I'm AHEAD of my payments by over 235 dollars, but I STILL have to pay 170 dollars a month...that's crazy, man.

Of course, this means I can have my heat as high as I want, and burn a hundred lights if I want--not that I ever would, mind--tho' I confess, even tho' its a balmy 32 F, (freezing temp), the brisk raw wind is making it feel like it's blinking 10 F! At least to me--and I never minded the cold, mostly. But these front windows let the wind blow right through, and the room is quite chilly--I had the thermostat set to 69 F, and it's actually, according to my indoor thermomiter next to the window, around 50 degrees---more like 60, in the centre of the living room, taking into account the breeze coming through the window. As I write this, my thin-coated Flamey has parked her furry little ginger bum right up against the cast iron radiator--she HATES being cold!

Also, though, besides the heating credit which wiped out my outstanding balance, I've had an slight increase in my food stamps, and now get 163 dollars a month, instead of 151 dollars.

This is...wow.

Mind you, After paying the 625 for the rent, the internet service, buying a phone card, and another 200 in past due bills, plus the few goodies for myself (the jeans, underwear and a few other small items) I've only got about 150 left...but, that's fine. I'll be okay in January, at least I will be if the lay off is only for a week or two...if I don't find another job, before then.

I decided not to pay NG out of my bonus check from Social Security, but to dole it out into three "installments" from my next three pay checks, and leave that 150 I have left, strictly alone. By doing the payment in three installments instead of two (which I can do this month, as I've already paid the internet bill), that leaves me with two pay checks with nearly 75 to 100 dollars free and clear, which is fantastic. I can save little from that, and also, if I want to go somewhere for a bit of fun, I will be able to do that--I was thinking of maybe going to see a film, since I've not been to the cinema over 3 years. I am not fond of indoor cinema--I'm strictly a drive-in movie buff--but, maybe in the afternoon, when the kiddies are in school, I can spare the 15 dollars to take in a flick. The new James Bond movie is playing. I have no clue what else is in the theaters at the moment, I don't keep up with that stuff.

Well, have to do my grocery shopping. Have a great night, all.

You can only type one word. No explanations.

1. Yourself:

Purgstory

2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend.....

Snort

3. Your hair?

Sheepdog

4. Your mother?:

Proper

5. Your Father:

Lazy

6. Your Favorite Item:

Painting

7. Your dream last night:

Interrupted

8. Your Favorite drink:

Cocacola

9. Your Dream Car:

Ranger

10. The room you are in:

Me

11. Your friends:

Fantastic

12. Your fear:

Homelessness

13. What you want to be in 10 years:

Away

14. Who you hung out with last night?

Cats

15. What You're Not?

Trendy

16. Muffins:

blueberry

17: One of Your Wish List Items:

Job

18: Time:

overabundant

19. The Last Thing You Did:

breakfast

20. What You Are Wearing:

Pyjamas

21. Your Favorite Weather:

Crisp

22. Your Favorite Book:

L'Amour

23. The Last Thing You Ate:

Potatoes

24. Your Life:

Stop

25. Your Mood:

Knackered

26. Your pets:

Family

27. What are you thinking about right now?

Bed

28. Your car:

None

29. What are you doing at the moment?

Keyboarding

30. Your summer:

Meh

31. Your relationship status:

Miss

32. What is on your tv?

DVD's

33. What is the weather like?

Bleak

34. When is the last time you laughed?

Dunno'

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi says she thinks they'll give ailing automakers 15 billion dollars through March of 09, to work on making 'GREENER' cars.

That sounds great, yeah? Reduce the carbon footprint, make us less dependant on foreign oil...but, one little catch there, Nancy:

The middle and lower classes, CAN'T AFFORD "greener" cars, stupid!!!

In the end, WE'RE the real bread and butter of the auto industry, not rich trendy people, who can buy mini's and Toyota Prius's and such.

What we NEED, is ATTRACTIVE, ECONOMICAL cars, got that?

THAT'S why Detroit is going belly-up, because we think their economy cars are nothing more than very crappy jelly beans on wheels. All the good stuff went inot expensive SUV's and luxuary cars, and the cars people NEED were rubbish!

I mean, I liked Dodge cars...when I found out in 2001, that I could actually afford a brand new Dodge Neon--I was thrilled....until I took a good look at it, and then started to drive it. First, Dodge changed the design of the Neon--which was genuinely cute when it first came out...but, by 2001, they made it PLUG UGLY. Why the hell change a car design that's working and that people actually LIKE, and make it uglier? And, I wasn't the only one who thought that, several people told me later, they passed up buying a 2001 or later Neon, 'cause they thought they were uglier than the originals.

Secondly, the gas milage on the four-cylinder Neon, SUCKED. I was only getting only 15 to 18 miles to the gallon, as opposed to my 1987 Ford Ranger pick up truck, which got on average, 23 to 25 miles to the gallon!

Thirdly, Dodge deliberately cut corners when building the Neon, thereby making it nothing but a piece of junk on wheels--within 8 months my brakes started to go, and less than two years after I bought this BRAND NEW car, which I did keep maintained in the way of checking all the fluids and all that palaver---no, some 15 months after I drove it home from the dealer's lot--the transmission blew up.

I'm more or less for helping out the industry--ONLY because I don't want to see people lose their jobs...I mean, they lose theirs, it effects my life...already is effecting my life, 'cos I'm in marketing...they lose their job, I could potentially lose mine.

But, please Mrs. Pelosi---wake up and look the REAL WORLD in the face just for once, yes? Yes, I'm all for greener cars---but what we really need to compete with foreign car makers is...good, attractive and economical cars, yes?

I've read where script writer and author Russell T. Davies has been honoured with an OBE. That's fantastic and it was well-earned, as far as I'm concerned. Congrats to the gentleman, wherever he is this morning.

I've also read where Mr. Davies will be moving on to writing for Crash! That follows new doctors around in a Cardiff hospital. Also, RTD will be writing for a series called The Baker Boys, which is a series about a community threatend with a factory closure.

We had our own version of The Baker Boys--and I lived it.

I lived in the rural Adirondack town/village of Corinth, which was home to the first International Paper mill--which was the town's major and main employer, after the Cluett Peabody shirt factories when belly up.(Cluett Peabody was a major employer in northeastern New York at one time--they made famous men's name brand shirts known as "Arrow shirts", and they were also famous as the inventors of the detachable shirt collar, 100+ years ago--in fact, their hometown of Troy NY is still known by the nickname "collar city")

Anyway, there was this big foo-foo-rah back in the late 1990's in Corinth, celebrating the paper mill's 100th anniversary--there was a parade, and even the Govenor of the state came and made a big speech, and awarded the head of the mill the usual symbolic key to the town.

Less than two years later--the mill was gone forever...so far the massive employment opportunites people once enjoyed, are pretty much over with now...tho' someone wants to use the plant to process construction and other waste...a thing that does not sit well with the locals--the mill dumping chemicals into the Hudson River for decades is fine, and spewing pollution into the mountain air for decades is fine--but they draw the line at processing someone else's rubbish. Corinthin's are....very strange people. Really nice people mostly, mind you, but....strange. Anyway, the citizens lost the fight and soon, Indeck of New Jersey going to process New York city area rubbish some 175 miles away, in the Adirondack Mountains...only adding 30 or so jobs, to start with--not good news for the 300 to 400 remaining mill workers (from a plant that once employed over 1000) who lost their jobs 10 years ago.

But, it was a rather odd place, Corinth. At some point, residents got the town to order the Catholic chruch to stop rining it's bell on Sundays--but were perfectly okay with logging trucks and big rigs semi-tractor trailers rumbling their way to the mill every day and night...and, just a few doors away from the church is a bar (pub) that has loud raucous rock and country music bands every weekend--that you can hear two streets away! But, church bells are a no-no, apparently. I'm telling you..they are strange.

The crime rate was fairly high for a small rural community-but mostly the crimes were drunk and disorderly (assult), drink driving (in cars or on snowmobiles, take your pick), domestic violence, burglry/shoplifting and drug dealing. However, the day before we moved there, there was a murder-suicide at one of the local laundromats.

Sadly, they had a terrible fire there this past winter--in sub-zero F temperatures which made the fire hoses freeze, and that pretty much took out half a block of the "business district," leaving several people homeless and tragically killing someone's pet cats. The fire was so massive that it virtually drained the town's reservoir--leaving the town without water for a day--and 11 local volunteer fire departments were needed to put out the blaze, which took out three businesses and an apartment building. The water shortage and the destruction was so severe, that the town closed the schools and most public buildings for the day.

But, Corinth was also very refreshing, after spending over ten years in a commuter's (aka; bedroom) community in the suburbs, surrounded by shallow, intensely trendy and incredibly paranoid human beings. I mean, you couldn't even smile at someone you passed on the street, or say hello to a cute baby you see in sitting in someone's shopping trolley--without that person either acting like you're about to murder them, or kidnap their child. Holy crap it was intense! They hated smokers and "ordinary" folks, they all dressed the same and acted the same and...like flippin' paranoid automatons they were. Scary stuff!

In Clifton Park, the smoking section was in little corner of the rear of the restaurant. In Corinth (before the indoor smoking ban), the non-smoking section was in the rear of the restaurant! I hadn't been there a wek, and people were saying hello to me on the street, and I made friends easily, and nearly everyone was open, relaxed...NORMAL. They drank, they smoked, they chatted with whomever wanted to have a conversation. Oh sure, some of them were scary--but in a white trash redneck way....genuine in-bred hillbilly's, people driving around with shotgun racks in the back of their pick up truck windows, my weird neighbour who kept imitating me by doing what I was doing and wearing the same clothing I was wearing...and no, she wasn't a lesbian and it wasn't that she had any romantic fixations--that I could have handled, but, she was happily married to a guy. Geez--it was like she was an enthusiastic fan, and I was some flippin' celebrity or something--that freaked me out a little--especially since we weren't even friends, she was mum's friend, not mine!

I've been making mental notes (that's mental as in thinking, not crazy, ha-ha), about a play I'm going to write about my time in Corinth and some of the characters and situations I encountered in my five years of living there. It was certainly a trip and a half, I'm telling you. Not just the locals, either...some of the tourists were erm--interesting, as well.

Oh great--it's half-past four on a Saturday morning, and my hillbilly neighbour's nephew is outside on the front lawn, shouting, and actually whooping up at the windows, for my neighbour to let him in. Love this f'ing building...not. We can't have flippin' door bells like everyone else on the flippin' planet....damn.

Corinth, NY-- public beach on the Hudson River, in winter:

It's 19 F at around 4am. That's minus 6 C.

...and that's the pattern we're to have for the next few days. Highs for the next five days are going to range from 36 to 29 F (2 to minus 2 C ), with lows from 22 F to 13 F (minus 4 to minus 11 C ) Brrrr--!! Good thing I bought those longjohns to wear under my jeans!

I've decided to start gambling again. Not a lot, not every week, but...I have to do SOMETHING. I HAVE to get the hell out of this building!

One of the kids upstairs has this stinking Barbie doll girlfriend--you know the type, the one's that constantly giggle loudly, and run around and generally behave, not like they're 18 or 19, but like they are still 13 or 14 years old. She's always coming over upstairs in the middle of the night, and all she does is literally run around their apartment, giggling. Geez...

It makes me really pissed off, that we babyboomer women, fought for equality--we actally more or less got it, and then this new generation of girls just completely drops the ball!

I mean, we women fought to NOT be compared to Barbie dolls, and thse stinking rugrat girls today just stinking threw our fight in our faces, by BECOMING blinking Barbie dolls!

I think if I ever did change anything about the past, I'd be sorely tempted to put the brakes on the women's lib movement--it obviously has been a total waste of time.

Oh, and when I complained last time about this very thing--the 2 to 3 am run around like ten year olds on crack and giggle uncontrollably sessions--the brat who lives there lied to the landlord, and said I came over and was banging on his door and yelling at him....on Thanksgiving day. Erm--no. I didnt' leave my apartment until 5pm--and then only to go to the convenient store for some cough drops and milk.

This kid lies through his teeth all the time! One time earlier this year, I could hear people upstairs in the middle of the night, banging furniture and laughing, and I rang him up--and he had the nerve to tell me no one was home! Riiight. So I told him I was going to ring the cops 'cos it sounded like someone broke into his apartment...and then he changes his tune and says that maybe it's his room mate. I called him on it, and told him he'd just told me that his room mate wasn't home...and then...I heard his girlfriend giggling in the background and other people whispering...I can see why this brat's mum doesn't want him living at home any longer--what a BRAT!

And, I now became so upset I just got sick in the loo. I have to go to work tomorrow--the whole shift practically (I get out a whole 15 minutes early, cos I put some extra hours in earlier this week, going back to work after my regular shift was through). I'm going to be so wasted. I feel sick. My BP is through the roof, and so is my blood sugar. I was so sound asleep and even having a good dream--DAMN IT!

I can live with a little noise in the middle of the night, that's perfectly OK. I did in fact fall back to sleep after being woken the first time...the one boy doesn't get home from work till 1am...and he has to have his supper and that means he's going to make some noise, and that's fine.

But...I'm ready to give the stinking younger room mate, "Josh" a serious kick in the arse. He just plain lies to the landlord. And, the stupid landlords (why are so many rich people so lacking in common sense), they like Josh, so they buy into his lies without question. God only knows what else the brat's told them about me. I can't believe he told them that I went upstairs on Thanksgiving day and bothered them! What a bunch of malarkey! I was actually napping part of the day--and when I wasn't napping, I was either blogging or watching a DVD. I wouldn't have even gone out of the apartment at all, except that my sore throat had come back and I was out of milk, which I needed to make dinner with.

Well, I'd rather be dead than homeless, but, I'm at the point, where if being homeless means I can find someplace quiet to sleep at night--gimme' that cardboard box!

Sorry, but I'm sick of having my sleep constantly interrupted by this brat and his Barbie doll girlfriend.

And, as I went to blog to vent my steam so it could boil off and I could relax enough to go back to sleep, I come on here and our blog's official spammer is back.

This is the Chinese spammer who started out as "Clean06" was deleted and came back as "clean08" was deleted, and is now "clean008"...I e-mailed bcuk...asked them to try and note that this person was using the user name of clean with a number after it--doubt if it will do much good, though. I PM'd him or her and gave him or her a taste of my Victor Meldrew imitation. Not that that will do much good, either--other than making me feel better.

I would rather be locked in a room with Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne for a day, then buy anything from a spammer. And that's saying something, let me tell you.

Well, you don't have to be a permanent resident of my state, to run for US senate or Congress.

Hilary only had a part-time home here, and she became our senator--and a pretty good senator too...not the best or the brightest, but highly capable.

Now that she's to be Secretary of State to President-elect Obama, that will leave us New Yorkers with a senator short.

Well, it seems that one of the Kennedy political clan (as in John F, Robert, Edward and Ted) is planning on possibly taking over the post---Caroline Kennedy is in the running for the US Senate, on the New York ticket...they have a holiday home down on Long Island or Fire Island, or some island somewhere in New York state, as well as a holiday home somewhere here in the Adirondack mountains. Basically, we may have what amounts to the US's equivilent to royalty representing us in Washington D.C. Well, I'm actually a fan of Ted Kennedy--whom is a very open-minded and caring man...a Washington politician who actually has genuine common sense--very rare that. So, I find notion of Caroline taking over from Hilary Clinton, very acceptable indeed.

Caroline and Ted Kennedy

Well, my day got off to a bit of a rocky start--this morning I had a bit of a stomach upset, and then got bombarded by irate keanu reeves fans for some stupid post that was meant to be just...nothing...just me farting around. How was I to know so many of Reeve's fans totally lack a genuine sense of perspective and/or humour?

Then I spent four hours at work, being bombarded with the goodness and light (she says, dripping with sarcasim) being eminated by Americans from coast to coast--from New York to Maine, from Michigan, Wisconson and Minnesota, to Texas, Georgia and Louisiana, to California and Washington state--the recession isn't just taking its toll on people's wallets...it seems to be taking it's toll on their basic manners and civility to others. The season of Christian peace, love and joy? Not for a telemarketer, matey!

Anyway (still getting irate comments, by the way--I say: stuff them!)

So, after the ridiculous game of "Let's Try and Catch the Greater Glens Falls Public Transit bus--I did finally make it to the post office as planned.

Right after I wrote the bus post this afternoon (my time), I opened my mail. What I thought was junk mail from a local shop, was actually a littte letter informing me that I'd won a prize in their special Thanksgiving holiday drawing...in this case, a 40 dollar gift card--whoo-hoo! I've had my eye on this decorative storage trunk that's been on display for months--never dreaming I might actually own it one day. You know how it is, you see something really cool in the shop--but it's priced out of your range, so you just wisftully admire it from afar.

So anyway, these were matching felt-lined storage trunks, in three different sizes, with a western theme, which is old time wild west posters--like rodeo posters, the original Pony Express advert, notices for cowboys to check their guns at the bar, that sort of thing...it's dark-toned, and not at all garish, with brass colour studs around the rim. It was 40 percent off, priced down from a bit over 50 dollars--aomething that would be totally unthinkable for me to buy, normally...but used my gift card...and after I bought it, the cashier cheerfully told me I still had 12 dollars left...and they had DVD's on sale for 25 percent off...so I got one of my fav westerns on DVD, The Outlaw Jose Wales...so I'm having the first nice Christmas that I've had, since 2004! And, I only had to pay the sales tax on my presents!

Oh, and one of the clothing shops by the post office had some 50 percent off items--I got a nice pair of rose colour tweedy looking (but not tweed) Coldwater Creek trousers..for 6 dollars! These were around a 45 dollar pair of trousers, orginally 75 dollars! (at first I thought the tag said the orignal price was 45..then looked at it again before throwing it away..wow, I'd no idea what a bargain I'd netted myself! That was pretty far-out, I think.

Coldwater Creek is my all-time favourite clothing shop...not that I ever have been able to afford their rather steep prices...but gosh, they have the COOLEST clothes for us fat women! I just really enjoy looking at their stuff. (I learned that I can enjoy window shopping or online browsing, just as much as real shopping, with rarely any envy, or regret that I can't buy anything...it's sort of like when we were kids, and every autumn the Montgomery Ward toy catalog came in the mail, and I'd tear through it, ringing things with a pen...knowing full well that's I might only get one or two of the things circled, but it was simple fun, anyway.

I mean, it's not as much fun buying your own prezzies, as it is to unwrap something that someone bought you...but I'd be really seriously churlish to complain! I do, truth to tell, sorely miss picking out wrapping paper and such...I get so wistful and sad sometimes, knowing I've nothing to wrap for anyone (the toy donations for Toys for Tots have to be left unwrapped, and I'm buying my nephew a gift card, since I won't be seeing him in person--another thing that makes me sad, sometimes...haven't seen him since 2005...I don't even have a recent photo of him.

My sister always promises to come over and pick me up and take me either to see mum's grave, or to visit with her in Vermont, but it never happens...sis' promises are like a wee butterfly...there's that bit of a chance that it might land on your finger...but most likely it's off somewhere, checking out the flowers.

Now for the "vent:"
I walked from the post office over to the shop--a bit of a hike for me, with my sore foot, but worth it...though I must say, I hate Queensbury's new pedestrian crosswalks. The little sign that tells you to cross, takes FOREVER to flash--and, they very generously give us people with slow limps, a whole ONE MINUTE to cross FOUR LANES of traffic!!! And, in America, our roads are much wider than yours in the UK (hence our ability to have big semi tractor trailers on our roads). If there really was a God, I'd ask Him to make the rich buggers on the Queensbury town council to try standing their bloomin' arses on a fridgid windy street for 10 to 15 minutes, and then try to walk one legged across that wide street in that whole wonderful minute....blimey! I wasn't even halfway across, when the light changed for people making left hand turns out of the Price-Rite shopping plaza--did they care that I was limping across the bleedin' road? No!

Sorry about the tirade--I get really sick of people telling me how "lucky" I am not to own a car (back when the price of petrol was so high)...yeah...no. It's not "lucky." It's actually tiring, painful, tedious and cold--very cold. I had my hooded carhartt denimn winter jacket on, and my naf ol' baseball cap to keep my head warm--but hadn't bothered to change out of my office duds, and only had a heavy winter blouse on, and no jumper or anything.

I had to, at one point, cross over four lanes of traffic without a handy crosswalk--and some lovely gent in a pick up truck, stopped to let me go--but then, I almost got creamed when some white collar yuppie trash in an expensive SUV decided I wasn't worth stopping for, and just kept on coming...I had to quickly step back to keep her from killing me--and the thing that gets me...she SAW me! The well-dressed bimbo was looking right at me! And, here's the really disgusting part...she had the RED LIGHT. She had to stop anyway..so slowing down to let me cross, wouldn't have cost this four-wheel terrorist so much as a second out of her precious day---and where was she going that she was willing to kill me to get there for? Panerra Bread's resturant. The chav rich lady was going to get a flippin' sandwich!

I almost went over to give her what for...but then decided that this lowlife rich trash probably wouldn't feel embarrassed or sorry...she'd probably just get in her stupid petrol-guzzling, carbon foot print stomping SUV and back over me, to finish the job.

This isn't the first time I've seen white collar women in expensive SUV's almost run people down in the street--just a few weeks ago, some rich bimbo ran a red light (illegal right on red--that was posted "NO TURN ON RED" in THREE places!) and nearly ran down a little old lady who very much had the right of way in a zebra crossing...we don't need to worry about terroist threats--Americans are in a million times more danger from so-called "average" people, than they ever will be from bombs or chemical attacks.

Cripes! You know, however wrong their reasons actually are--at least if a terroist kills me, I'm dying for some sort of reason--not that I'd ever support their cause...but, in reality, it IS a cause, nonetheless. I'd rather be killed because someone hates my country, then be killed because some trendy souless bimbo wants a sandwich and I'm in her way, yeah?

I'm mean, we ARE supposed to be better than "them," right? Well--no. Apparently, sometimes we're worse...well, some of us, anyway. I mean, I almost got run down in the street, 'cos some woman wanted a blooming sandwich!

You know, there are times when, if you were to tell me that the human race is better than animals, and I might be sometimes hard-pressed to believe you...but then, there's guys like that nice man in the pick up truck...and I know that there's still a few good, decent, compassionate and intelligent human beings out there, thankfully....but sometimes, when you encounter so many mean, shallow, mentally and ethically lazy Americans--it can get rather hard when you're being constantly bombarded by this stuff, to see the few good leaves in a forest of dross.