Home and the New Job

So, Mer has made a pretty triumphant return to the homeland of Colorado. I want to give a shoutout to my (hopefully) new crop of readers in SF, consisting of my former co-workers and other SF people. Welcome to the blog, I miss you all.

AP and I began our journey the afternoon of the 1st, I won $35 in Vegas (hooray!), I had my first job interview on Tuesday the 4th and was hired that afternoon. So all is great on the job front. I've been there almost a week and I am really liking it so far. However, it is nothing like my UCSF Family. It's private practice Perio, there are 2 docs, and yet amazingly, I am not bored out of my mind! I am still in training (yes, depending on the day, I actually have a trainer that sits with me and teaches me the job). I am enjoying it so far. AP and I are staying with my parents, which means no rent, which equals saving $$ so we can get something near where I work after we have the funds and can also have our stuff sent out here. My parents live in Aurora, I work in Broomfield (9 miles east of Boulder)=45 morning commute, which is not that bad.
TRAFFIC DIFFERENCE ALERT!: Even on the worst traffic day in CO, it still can't hold a candle to a horrific regular traffic day in the city. I forgot how different everything is here. The suburban girl returns home :)

AP is looking for a job. Transplanting a CA girl to CO is no easy task, but we're all adjusting, including the cats. They seem to be doing really well. The no longer have fleas (another good thing about CO, fleas can't survive the altitude), and they like being near us all the time. I make it a point to spend as much time with them as I can, but I have to leave for work at 6:30 AM, and sometimes I don't get home until 7:15 PM, but we try. My office is closed on Wednesdays (mid-week days off are sweet!) and weekends, so I'll have ample time to be with them. AP and I put the dogs outside and let the cats roam around around the house for a few minutes on my off-days. They are usually in the basement, so they like the change of scenery.

Other than that, not much is happening right now. I hope to write more next Wednesday! I look forward to your comments!

Loose Ends

1. Massages are awesome.

2. Patients are giving me presents.

AP gave me a gift certificate for a 90 minute massage for my birthday last year and something was always happening, so I never got a chance to use it. I called the salon and they happened to have an opening for Tuesday, so I booked the time. It was really awesome. Very, very relaxing.

Also, a patient came in today just to give me a card and a really pretty sterling silver and Tiger's Eye bracelet as a thank you and good bye gift since I wouldn't be here the next time she came in with her mother (the mother is a patient). She does not live anywhere near here so I know she made a special trip. I told AP what happened and she said that I make people's experiences in my office memorable in a good way because I am really good at what I do and I am helpful and friendly. I told her that I am not doing anything out of the ordinary or special, I am just doing what is right for the patients because they deserve a good experience when they come to see us. Apparently, it means a lot to them. It makes me feel good to know that I have impacted their lives. I didn't know I was doing that. :)

I'll miss them all, but it's time to move on.

Closer and Closer

I can't believe that we're moving NEXT SATURDAY! It feels like it's not really happening, but happening really fast all at the same time. It's all very surreal.

Yes, Mom, I picked up the cat's anti-flea medicine yesterday, and the vet said to give them each one on Friday, then again on Sunday, but usually one dose will get rid of them all. She said that an extra dose won't hurt them, so to supplement Friday with Sunday. The plans are underway for the big trip, my taxes are done, I get my tax refund the day before we leave and my last paycheck the same day.

41

As of yesterday, 41 people have applied for my job. Holy crap, that is completely amazing to me. And that is just one day after it was posted to the website.

On the plus side, this weekend is a three day-er, so I'll be going to the Valley after work today, like always. Again on the plus side, we get to stay with Jenny and Todd at their nice, clean giant house (that is free of screaming, bratty kids).

Also, I am no longer sick. The "unpleasantness" lasted only about a day and a half. That's pretty much it so far, however, I have started telling my patients that I am moving away. The response has been really sweet. They all say that they love me, they are sorry to see me go, and thet they will miss me terribly. It's really nice to hear. I will miss them all, even the crazy ones. But it's nice to know that I have helped so many people over the last 2.5 years. Knowing that I made some sort of impact is nice. I will probably cry when I leave. I love them too. I will miss Beth most of all. But my desire to be near my own family is stronger than my desire to stay at my awesome job that I love and will miss.

Ooohh, I also now know 3 words in Portugese, thanks to my Brazillian frind Pricilla: Hello "Oi", Goodbye "Ciao", and Thank you "Abrigado". She says my accent is pretty good, considering I didn't know any words before. My new friends are super-nice. It just kind of sucks that I didn't meet them until 2 weeks ago. Oh well, now we have people to visit us in Colorado.

Poop!

I feel like poop. Last week, AP got a stomach bug, and now I have it. This means I was awake literally all night last night, deciding whether to vomit or "use the bathroom" next. In about 30 minute increments. Literally all night long. It was only after I threw up at 5 AM did I feel better. I slept for 45 minutes.

However, I can't take any sick time because I used all of that time when I was sick a few months ago and then I used the rest of it to go to Colorado. (Funeral time counts as sick leave.) I'm in the sick time deficit, but Shirley (the practice manager) said it was okay to be in the negative because of my extenuating circumstances. I have super nice bosses. But that means I can't go early today. It's my last month, I won't acquire any more sick or vacation hours. Sad Mer!

The Countdown...

The Countdown to moving day continues. AP and I are very excited. So is Mom. Katie doesn't care, and Big Sis is moderately excited. Dad is excited because we will be getting there in time to house sit for them when they go on their vacation. The get back on my birthday.

I already have a job interview for the day after we get there, and I had to turn down a job interview because they want someone to start right away. I also have to call a woman back and schedule a 20-minute pre-interview phone call at a dental temp agency. I like going through the temp agencies because there is always work, and then the employers like you so much they want to keep you. At least, that has been my experience the last couple of times I have needed a job. So, I have prospects. That's a good sign.

Also, today is Chinese New Year. This is a really big deal in San Francisco, and some schools give their students the next two days off because of it. Unfortunately, UCSF is not one of them. I did receive two Red Envelopes today, though. I am not allowed to open them until tonight. They have money inside. When we lived in Maryland when I was little, we had the Jewish holidays off, so I always really liked that. It was awesome. But then again, who doesn't like time off from school? I still do. Hee hee! More to come....

I Have Returned

No, I haven't gone anywhere, I've just been both busy at work and lazy with my blog, which makes for very little blog time. Lot's of things have happened since November, so I'll give a brief overview:

-Went on 3 job interviews (and wasted my vacation time) in the Valley trying to get a job so AP and I could be closer to her family (not I said WASTED)
-Christmas
-New Years
-Moved out of Devil House (stuff in storage)
-Nephew passed away (went to Colorado)
-AP's nephew passed away (went to Merced)
[The above incidents happened 2 weeks apart]
-AP and I decided to move to Colorado March 1st!

March 1st you say?!?! Yes, since getting a job in the Valley didn't work out because apparently there are no jobs down there, AP and I have decided to move to Colorado! She calls it Cold Mountain, but I know she is secretly excited. It was pretty much her idea. So we forged a deal: Since the only thing keeping us in San Francisco is my job and neither of us like anything else about the city, we are moving to CO! Our deal is thus: Give it three years (the same length of time I have lived in CA), and if she is absolutely miserable, we'll talk about moving back to California, pending the ability to find work and a decent place to live.

I am so excited, but I know that AP is going on a mixture of fear and excitement. She loves me so much (probably the only reason she has agreed to this), but she is worried about leaving her family (there are a lot of them and I know she'll miss every single person terribly). Then again, there is more opportunity for work, great housing and a chance to be with my family. I miss my people too, so we are giving this a go.

We leave Saturday, March 1st. We are going to live with my parents until we can afford to ship our stuff from our storage to Colorado. I have to find out how much that will cost. Probably a lot, but we will make it work. I miss my stuff and I feel bad for the cats. Another great thing about Colorado: No fleas. They cannot survive in the dry climate!! I seriously think we should move there for that reason alone. More to come....

Blog-Aversary

Yesterday's post marks my 50th post since the start of my Blog! Unlike most Anniversary Shows, we are not going to have a cheesy clip show to celebrate. This will be a regular post. To celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday, AP and I are going to the MIL house in Merced. However, we are doing a good deed in the process. There is a dental student who works for Beth and me (confirming, making new patient charts and packets etc....), who's family lives in Madera (8 miles from Merced). We will be driving her to her parents house on the way to the MIL house.

Also, AP has a terrible cold. She got it from me, but I stayed home from work on Friday, so I'm fine now. Also, I slept for most of the weekend, in-between nephew wedding stuff. Hers has moved into her chest and she feels pretty bad. Beth makes me get a flu shot every year, so that may be a factor as to why my cold wasn't bad at all. AP never gets one or takes care of herself when she's sick, but, hey, she's 38, and it's really hard to change someone who is so set in her ways, especially her!! But I love her anyway; It's one of her best qualities. She sticks to her guns, no matter what. I am doing my part by making her my "Special Drink" and feeding her Wonton Soup (her feel-better combo).

What is the Special Drink you may be asking? The recipe is as follows:

2 c. apple cider
1 c. dark rum
2 oranges
cinnamon
ginger
nutmeg

-Heat the cider and the rum on the stove in a medium saucepan. Cut the oranges in half and squeeze the juice into the mixture. Add the spices to taste. Bring to a slight boil. Serve, drink, and enjoy.

I sort of invented this drink when I was looking for something holiday and festive. As it turns out, it helps ease colds and flu as well. Partially because it gets you tipsy, and partially because the rum seems to loosen the goo in your chest!! Hooray for dual purpose beverages.

That's all for now. I'm sure something else will happen today and fuel my post for tomorrow.

Ohh, the Holiday Season

My dear loyal readers, much has happened over the past few weeks, including going to AP's nephew's wedding on Saturday (SUPERFUN!) and waging a war on Stupid Fucking Rose, the destroyer of my ex-vehicle, and ruin-er of lives for all she encounters.

I feel like I should explain the last part. AP and I are getting our own place in February when the lease is up, so I, as a respectful roommate and leaseholder, told them about it last week so they can plan their next roommate and figure things out for next year. They sent me an e-mail detailing how Rose would need to be there when AP and I are packing our kitchen and living room things so that we don't steal her stuff. This is an outrage for many, many reasons, including the fact that I have never broken into any one's room to steal their stuff (hello, that's why all the doors have locks on them--to keep her out). And why would I even attempt to take any of her things when AP and I literally have a closet full of brand new, not out of the box kitchen and other decorative items? Ridiculous. So AP and I started packing our kitchen stuff for safety reasons (things "accidentally" get broken in our house all the time). Next thing we know, Stupid Rose and her slave/boyfriend are doing the same thing. AP and I decided to make good use of all the leftover paper and plastic supplies from our party. I know it seems a little stupid, but there is no reasoning with that psychotic sociopath. Then, as she was removing one of her hideous paintings from the living room, she purposely poured a plant, water and all, all over the rug in the living room. Not the carpet, it was only and specifically on the (AP's and my) rug. When I confronted her about it, she wouldn't even look at me, much less respond. Luckily, that rug is machine washable so all the plant water and dirt came out easily.

Seriously, though, what the hell? That is how the war started. Luckily, I have unlimited access to as many boxes as I can carry (and bubble wrap) from work, so packing the rest of our stuff will be easy. And no, Mom, I am not stealing the boxes. People want me to take them off their hands. Officially, I'm doing them a favor. That's my story for this post. I know, I know exactly what you're thinking.

Also, AP and I were going to host Thanksgiving, but due to recent events, we won't be doing that. Now, we are going to AP's mother's house for the holiday festivities. I'm making a pie. I'm thinking about doiong that double layer pumpkin cheesecake thing from Thanksgiving 2005. It was really good. The point of this post is to show everyone that I am thinking positive and only good things to come for the rest of the season. Wish us luck.

Happy Happy!!

Happy happy day to me!! AP has 2 jobs, we have money coming in, I am thrilled. No more financial messiness or woes. That was a very dark couple of days. Money is always a scary thing to have to worry about. Now AP will be doing something she really likes: Managing people. She will be a manager at a Peet's and a Starbucks! This means, expect a lot of coffee related Christmas gifts. I am overjoyed. Thanks to everyone in my loving family who had encouraging words for us while we were having a hard time.

New Baby

AP and I are parents again! We now have a trio of beautiful cats, with our newest addition, of Bennie. She's a gray and white striped beauty that was found over the last week in Merced, where AP has been caring for her mother. She's about 3 1/2 months old and really tiny. She has a full tail (we now have a no-tail, half-tail and full tail), and she is so loving and pliable, it's hard to believe she's a real cat. She just goes wherever you put her and does not make a fuss. She did not cry or struggle when we put her in the cat carrier or at any point during the 2-hour drive home from Merced.

Brown Bear and White Girl are adjusting as well as can be expected, considering they are jealous and are used to having their mommies all to themselves. They'll get over it eventually. But she is soooo cute. I wanted to name her something with "Gray" in it, in keeping with the theme of her sisters, but AP already decided to name her Bennie because it is a shortened combination of our names (think Bennifer). If I ever figure out how to upload pictures, the three of them will be one of the first ones. Super cute!

Babies, Babies On The Brain

As both of my loyal readers know, I just tied the knot with AP. You know about my MIL, she's doing fine by the way, now I have 2 main goals for the next 6 months, and lots of smaller goals for the in-between. Tied for first place is getting preggers and buying a new car. Y'all know the car saga, I won't go into it again. But I have my eye on the Dodge Caliber, a half SUV, half car type vehicle. It's fairly inexpensive, but has gotten good reviews from what I've read.

But I want a baby too. So, since the one thing I can start working on now is the baby (it will take longer to plan than the car), I have e-mailed my OB/GYN for advice on how we can go about jumping over my conception hurdles (lesbianism, irregular periods, etc...). She says I should start taking Prenatal Vitamins, tracking my periods and start doing some in-home ovulation testing. So, I bought some test strips at Walgreens yesterday and as soon as my period ends, I have to start a daily ritual of peeing in a cup. Awesome. However, AP and I want a baby so badly, I'd pretty much do anything to get one, so peeing in a cup and tracking my ovulation is relatively minor, considering what will come down the road when it's really time to inseminate.

She said that I should track everything for three months, and if after this cycle, I don't get another period for 4 months, I should have some fertility testing and she'll help me. So, free advice through e-mail and now wait and see. So let us pray that I get another period soon. I am kicking myself for not keeping all those fertility drugs from my egg donation in 2004. Frick!!

Also, sperm is expensive, and it seems to be getting more expensive as the months go by. No jokes about Sperm-Jacking some guy for his goods, Bettylou. It would be unfair to AP, and I don't like man-sex. Ick. However, neither of us are desperate (yet). This whole thing is still in the very early stages.

So, the ball is rolling. OOOHHH, I would like to give a shout-out to my Mom, and a congrats on her new boobs. I hear they're awesome. Now YOU'RE the one with the biggest boobs.

MIL

The title of the post "MIL" stands for mother-in-law. I have one now, as everyone knows, and I must say, having 2 families is harder than just one. My MIL, Patricia, just had a triple bypass and a valve replacement in the city so several members of APs family have been staying with us and going to hospital, driving back and forth, taking care of things, so the past week or so has been a super-busy whirlwind. She's okay, but now she starts the long rehabilitation process. Both AP and I have been going a little crazy over the past week, so it's about time for some much needed R & R. Last night, we were finally able to have some "alone time," and actually spend time together without sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, or roommates. It was nice. And I was actually able to go to bed at a decent hour for the first time in a week. (I'm old now, I go to bed early.) So AP is going camping this weekend and I am relaxing at home. Part of being together is spending time apart, so that's what we're doing this weekend. I'll probably sleep late, have lunch with a friend, maybe catch a movie. As much as I love and cherish AP, I was single for a long, long, long time before we got together. Sometimes, you have to do stuff with regular friends, or even by yourself. It's time for some "me time."

AP, however, thinks that every time I want to spend time by myself, it means I don't want to be with her anymore, which is totally not true. I am really independent, always have been. I am one of those ladies who can take herself out for coffee, or dinner or a movie all alone and be happy as a clam. I can shop by myself too. It doesn't mean I don't love her, it means I need a break from the inundation of family and hospitals and general disruption of my routine. (Again, I'm old, I don't like my routine interrupted.) We, however, have such a great relationship that we can talk about these things and she understands my need to do things alone. I love her. She's awesome.

Why People Marry...

Based on the information I've been getting over the last 24 years of my life as far as what marriage and partnership is really about, I have come to a few conclusions: People plan weddings pretty much for the ability to register at cool places and get cool stuff. Yes, the lifelong partnership of someone who loves you and is made to be with you is nice, but the presents are simply awesome. Over the last few weeks, AP and I have been slowly acquiring the gifts that I painstakingly registered us for at Crate and Barrel and Target. People are so generous. And yes, I wrote all of the thank-you notes over the weekend and gave then to people.

Anyway, I went to C&B over the weekend and used the gift card one of the doctors got for us and we are now the proud owners of a really pretty tablecloth and cloth napkins, several serving dishes, and candle holders. There is tons of other stuff, but I can't list it all here. I am talking about the tablecloth and that stuff because AP and I have decided to host Thanksgiving this year! Once you acquire stuff to serve people with, you just want to entertain all the time. Plus, with the left over bottles of wine and champagne we have from the party, it seems only logical to invite over 6 people or so and have Thanksgiving dinner. I am very excited. There will be 2-layer pumpkin pie. It will be awesome. Mer.

Luau-Licious

As both of my readers know, AP and I had a committment ceremony in June and then we went camping. It was super-fun, but I promised my mom that we'd have a party and everyone would be invited (parents, sisters, friends etc.). Hence the title of this blog. We had our big luau extravaganza on Saturday afternoon in which my parents, older sister, older sister's buddy, and parent's close friends all from Colorado and all of my co-workers/friends came to celebrate our couple-hoody-ness/committment to each other. It was awesome. I even had a tiki punch bowl that cried punch! The decorations were super festive and from what I've heard, everyone had a rockin' good time. My mom knows how to throw a hell of a party and with her help, I think we all did a great job at this one. Apparently her party throwing skills work across states. I am so grateful to my parents for everything they did for me over the weekend and throughout my life. Without their love and support, I don't think I'd be the person I am today. So, mad props to my parentals. WOO HOO!!

Aunt-Hood

Also, I've been an aunt for three weeks now, I just haven't Blogged in awhile, except for today. Anyway, I just talked to my sis (Mama K) who had the baby (B-Man), and I've heard he's the cutest thing in the world, but had seen no pictures of him except for when he was first born. Mama K send me a bunch of pictures and he certainly IS the cutest thing I've ever seen. I can't wait to see him in person for Christmas!

Disneyland!!

I know that exactly 2 other people read my blog, but there was some comment made at another Blogger's site that totally bugged me. My sister (Betty Lou) and my mother don't think I ever go to work because I take time off. This is completely not true. Every month, I acquire 10 paid vacation hours and 8 paid sick hours. I can use them whenever and however I want as long as I ask first and fill out a vacation request form. Last week, my sister called my phone and I happened to be in Anaheim, CA at our hotel between going to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure theme parks. AP and I went to celebrate AP's 38th birthday (Yes, I know, I am the best present giver ever!). I had actually been planning the trip for several months and I guess I just didn't mention it to anyone in my family so when she called it took her by some surprise.

My mom asked if we drove, and yes, we did. I guess we could have flown, but we would have had to rent a car anyway, so we just drove the 8-hours to Anaheim through the LOOOONG stretch of highway that is California. Besides, AP hates to fly. It scares the crap out of her and she never does it, ever. She makes few exceptions, but we are planning on Colorado for Christmas (no one does a major holiday like my family!!). Anyway, we drove to Anaheim on Tuesday, checked into our hotel around 8pm and just had dinner and relaxed. Driving for hours is tiring. Then on Wednesday, we got up fairly early (it is hot in SoCal no matter what time it is), and headed to Disneyland. We decided to do the ParkHopper Pass so we could have unlimited trips to Disneyland and California Adventure that day so we could take breaks and naps and return for more fun. We did everything at Disney that sounded fun (yes, we went on It's A Small World), and AP took several rolls of film and used most of them. Around 4, we decided to go back to the hotel (it was on the same street as the parks) and shower (did I mention how freakin' hot it was?), and take a short nap before going to CA Adventure and doing the night festivities. Then we went back to the park and rode some rides (CA Screamin' was really fun) and saw the Electrical Parade (still really awesome, even years later, my readers know what I'm talking about), and then everyone begins the mass exodus 500 feet from CA Adventure back to Disneyland for the fireworks display. It was so amazing, both AP and I got tears in our eyes. The whole experience was truly magical. The we rode some more rides and did some repeats of the afternoon and went home (hotel) around closing time (Midnight). We went to sleep around 1 (we were excited). Then we got up at 7-ish and got on the road. We took the long way and decided to stop at several places along the Central Coast just to check it out (Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo). AP is just a girl who can't say no because she also agreed to drive one of her nieces and one of her little children to San Jose while we were on our way back from Anaheim. So then we decided that it was getting pretty late and we still had about three hours to drive back to San Francisco (not including driving all the way to San Jose in between), so we stayed overnight and Jenny and Todd's house in Chowchilla (just outside Merced) and got up at 3:45 am and was at AP's mother's house to pick up her niece and great niece by 4:50 am. We were on the road by a little after 5 and were on our way. Because of traffic and such, we dropped them off in San Jose and I knew I was not going to able to return the rental car on time, so I asked to keep it another day and they said it was fine, so we finally got back to the house, unloaded, and I drove to work. I had called earlier and told them I was going to be an hour late, so it was fine. That was Friday morning. Friday evening, AP and I took advantage of having a car and I went to Target and went grocery shopping.

That pretty much was my grand adventure of last week. It feels like so long ago. And next week, it's guest and party time!! Our luau is next Saturday and I am really excited for everyone to come meet AP and celebrate with us and meet my family. I have 41 yes responses so far, so we will have a full house. I am so excited!

New roomie, new house

Oh my gosh! Ever since the last post, the house has a whole different feeling to it. First of all, I will never live with another guy, EVER. Jesse was going to be out of his room on Friday so AP and I could move into his room so the new chick, Erica, could move into our room. This happened, sort of. AP and I had already moved out all of our stuff into the dining room so we could prepare Erica's room in advance of her arrival (this went off without a hitch, everything worked perfectly). Jesse, however, is a total jackass. All he did to move out of his room was remove his things from his room. He did not clean it, vacuum it, or anything at all! When I saw this, I was very, very, angry. I called him on it and asked him if he had to clean his new apartment himself before moving into it. He said no, that would be stupid. Then I asked him why he thinks it's appropriate that he should do nothing upon moving out of his room. He's an idiot. AND...I told him that I was holding his deposit hostage until I get his keys. His ex-Aaryn, also has a key, and I told him that until I get both sets back, he will see none of his deposit money. Hell, between staying in the house an extra 10 day and leaving his room a nightmare, he's barely getting anything back anyway. But he'll find that out when he gets my itemized list of deductions. I am planning on nickel and diming the crap out of his deposit for all the crap he's put both AP and I through over the last year. Little bastard.

On a more positive note, Erica is great and the house is looking really sweet. AP and I rented a carpet cleaner and she cleaned every carpet in the house so now everything is clean and bright and fabulous. On Thursday and Friday, we moved completely out of our old room, cleaned the carpets and painted it. Then we closed it off so the room could dry before Erica's arrival on Saturday. On Friday morning, AP helped Jesse move all of his crap out of the house while I was at work. I was off that afternoon because I had to help ready our new room (paint, clean etc.). We worked our butts off and the room ended up sparkling. Side note: AP got a Hepa-filter vacuum cleaner at a garage sale from some rich people for $1 and all she had to do was spend $3 to replace the worn-out belt, and it purrs like a kitten. It's bagless, and I had to empty the container 4 TIMES when I was vacuuming Jesse's room. It's ONE BEDROOM! Four times! I swear, that boy did not vacuum his room once in two years. It was disgusting. Anyway, while that was happening, and AP was cleaning the carpet in our new room (yay!), I was finishing the living room and setting up the new bathroom stuff. New trash can, new towels, 2 new shelves, doing a massive cleaning overhaul (it wasn't that bad, it gets cleaned regularly), you know, that kind of thing. It looks great. Then, the Comcast guy showed up without two of the cable boxes we requested. He set up everything else, but there was a mess up on the work order. AP was pissed. And rightly so, so she spoke with a supervisor and someone was slated to come out and fix it the next day (Sunday). Then we discovered after the guy left, the he had not given us our On Demand or the Showtime. AP called back AGAIN and spoke with the same lady and she added that to the work order. The guy came yesterday and fixed all the TVs, but then we discovered (after we set up everything around our new garage sale entertainment center), that NOW THE INTERNET DOESN'T WORK. Dear God, help us all. I called the people this time and he said that someone would be out between 7 and 9 A.M. today. I just got a call from AP. It is precisely 9 A.M., and there is no guy. She'll be calling and bitching them out shortly. Again on a positive note, the house is gorgeous. I am so proud of us; we worked our butts off for three solid days and I am so happy with the results. AP and I are a great team.

Mmmm, Carpet Cleaning

I cannot wait until Jesse moves out and we can finally end his snotty, entitled Reign of Annoyance. He is actually not moving out until Aug. 8 or 9, so I am charging him $24 a day to live in my house, which I am deducting from his deposit, which he will get back most of. Why $24 a day? Because the room he will be inhabiting for 9 days is now worth $750 a month, and he will be paying rent at the new price because that's simply how much the room costs now. He is aware of this, I am not a total bitch, but he will probably be unhappy with how much deposit he's getting back. I really don't care what he thinks. The new chick, Erica, is super cool and she's coming to us on the 11th, but she's dropping off her deposit money on the 1st. We've worked it out in that I've deducted her time not in the house from her deposit, because she should not have to pay for days she does not live with us.
Anyway, the title of the post. I cannot wait to clean these carpets. When you live with boys who constantly have buddies over, the carpets will look really bad, really fast. Yes, they were half-assed cleaned right before I moved in, but because Jesse's stupid little dog pisses and shits all over the carpet and his friends are always spilling things, they started looking really horrible almost immediately. So yay for that. That is also coming out of his deposit. I seriously love being a "landlord." Officially, I'm not a landlord because I don't own anything (property wise), but I handled everything when it came to finding the new person, all of the interviews, working out the deposit and all that jazz. The new person is sub-leasing from me. We have a contract. It's fancy. It was really time-consuming, but now I'm drunk on power and happiness. AP and I have big plans for the new living situation. New decor, new rules, new room, everything starting fresh and pretty. Thanks, in large part, to AP's ability to find new things at Goodwill from Target. Hence our new towel rack, new shower rack, bath mat and some other stuff. Still in the packages from Target! I am very excited. She only spent $13 and got tons of new stuff. Happy Mer!