Heart attacks in the mail

My adoration for my new apartment was about killed today. I opened my electric bill. My first electric bill...

$257.58

I shit you not. My eyes bugged out of my head and I about dropped dead right by the mailbox. After looking at it a little closer, turns out it was because my deposit is $235.00. Uh, hello? Are you serious?!?

I instantly shifted gears and drove down to the electric people to find out what the heck was going on. Turns out since I haven't lived in town within the past 2 years, they don't consider me to have a good record and therefore I have to pay a deposit....which is based off the previous tenants electric usage. Helpful Electric Lady flipped her monitor to show me their usage for the year. Apparently, the previous tenant was Las Vegas. My only way out was to prove that I was a faithful bill payer in Kansas City. I called the KC Electric Lady but I was not in the system.

Not in the system = Em's screwed

After calling my ohsofantastic-exhusband ( I mean it, he's super nice, no sarcasm intended) he hooked me up with his account number and there I was! For some reason, my number wasn't put on the account but I was listed.

HOORAY!

After the third try at faxing the right form that had my name on it, I made my triumphant return to the Helpful Electric Lady where I was crowned exempt from paying a godawfully high deposit.

My new bill: $22.58
My new bill were I the previous tenant : $162.75

Seriously! Shut your lights off people! Wherever you are!

Summer's last hurrah

Classes start again on Monday.

I'm kinda looking forward to getting back into schoolwork but one thing I'm not looking forward to is the workaholic mode I tend to get in. It usually means I drink way too much coffee, clench my teeth, and most likely lose 10 pounds regardless of how much I eat. I can't help it. There's something in me that just switches into perfectionist mode and I have a hard time controlling it. I know that it makes my work better but part of me wonders at what cost to my overall well being. So going into the semester, I'll take a deep breath, maybe find a yoga class, and make sure I spend some quality time having fun with my friends. I think I can drink to that...

Dear New Neighbor Down the Hall,

When you decide to get drunk on a Tuesday night, that's fine with me. When you have people at your place until 5 AM, that's also fine with me. Whats NOT fine with me is when you and those people decide to take the fun into the hall and then start fights that involve door slamming and lots of yelling. You're lucky I don't own any serious weapons.

Love,
Em

Oh, and PS...paybacks a bitch.

because my brain is too tired to write a real post

Ma can do this, so can I.

This is for your entire life.

(x) Smoked a cigarette
( ) Crashed a friend's car
( ) Stolen a car
() Been in love
(X) Been dumped
(x ) Been laid off/fired
(X) Quit your job
( ) Been in a fist fight (does hitting someone count? If so, then yes.)
() Snuck out of your parent's house
(X) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) Been arrested
( x) Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school
( ) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been lost
(X) Been on the opposite side of the country
(X ) Gone to Washington , DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Felt like dying
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers/Cowboys &Indians
(x ) Sang karaoke
(x ) Paid for a meal with only coins
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(x ) Made prank phone calls
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa
() Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about or love
(X) Blown bubbles
( ) Made a bonfire on the beach
(x) Crashed a Party
(X) Gone roller-skating
(X) Gone ice-skating
1. Any nicknames? Red, Em, Boog, Country...and lots of little random ones
2. Mother's name? Ma
3. What is your favorite drink? Depends on what I'm drinking it with
4. Tattoos? yep
5. Body piercing? Ears? Ears and nose
6. How much do you love your job? Scale of 1 to 10? Its a 9.5
7. Birthplace? Iowa
8. Favorite vacation spot? Quiet beaches are nice, or the mountains, or the desert...
9. Ever been to Africa? Nope
10. Ever steal any traffic signs? Yep
11. Ever been in a car accident? Just little ones
12. Drink Cup size? Large
13. 2 Door or 4 Doors? 2
14. Salad dressing? Homemade ranch or creamy italian/parmesan
15. Favorite pie? cherry or apple
16 Favorite number? 13
17. Favorite movie? I can't name just one
18. Favorite holiday? Thanksgiving
19. Favorite food? Chicken Poblano Rojas...or anything mexican
20. Favorite day of the week? Sunday Funday
21. Favorite brand of body soap? I don't use soap, I use girly bodywash thingers
22. Favorite TV show? Probably CSI
23. Toothpaste? Crest Superduper fantastic somethingorother...for sensitive teeth
24. Favorite smell? Guys, without a doubt
25. What do you do to relax? Draw, read, watch tv, go exercise
26. Message to your friends? I can give them messages to their face
27. How do you see yourself in 10 years? A little more eccentric but still fun
28. What would I rather be doing? Eating chicken wings
29. Furthest place you will send this message? I'm not really sending it anywhere...
30. Who will respond the fastest? Heck if I know
31. Least likely to respond? See previous response

Memes are silly

Saw this over at mom's and figured what the hell...

Note: Some of them I'm not bolding to protect the innocent.

Oh, and you're sposed to bold the things you've done and tally them at the end. Carry on.

Bought everyone in the pub/bar a drink
Climbed a mountain
Held a tarantula
Taken a candlelit bath with someone
Been in love - up for debate
Broken someone’s heart
Had my heart broken
Done a striptease
Bungee jumped
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
Seen the Northern Lights
Gone to a huge sports game
Grown and eaten my own vegetables
Slept under the stars
Changed a baby’s diaper
Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
Watched a meteor shower
Gotten drunk on champagne
Given money to charity
Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
Had a food fight
Bet on a winning horse
Taken a sick day when I wasn’t ill
Had a snowball fight
Photocopied my butt or any other intimate body part
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping
Taken an ice cold shower
Seen a total eclipse
Ridden a roller coaster
Hit a home run
Been arrested
Visited all 50 states
Taken care of someone who was shit faced
Stolen a street/highway sign
Backpacked in Europe
Taken a road-trip
Taken a midnight walk on the beach
Gone sky diving
Milked a cow
Alphabetized my records/CDs
Sung karaoke
Lounged around in bed all day
Gone scuba diving
Danced in the rain
Gone to a drive-in theater
Started a business
Gotten married
Been in a movie
Crashed a party
Gotten divorced
Had sex at the office
Made cookies from scratch
Gotten a tattoo
Been on television
Had sex in a public place
Got so drunk I don’t remember anything
Recorded music
Had a one-night stand
Bought a house
Shaved or waxed off my pubic hair
Been on a cruise ship
Spoken more than one language fluently
Bounced a check
Called or written my Congressperson
Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
Sung loudly by myself in the car
Written articles for a large publication
Piloted an airplane
Helped an animal give birth
Been fired or laid off from a job
Won money on a TV game show
Broken a bone
Ridden a motorcycle
Had a body part below the neck pierced
Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
Ridden a horse
Had major surgery
Had sex on a moving train
Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
Visited all seven continents
Eaten sushi
Had my picture in the newspaper
Parasailed
Changed my name
Dyed my hair
Been a DJ

My total: 49

Reconnected

Hooray! After spending 3 days and countless hours on the phone with the internet tech support people, I'm finally up and running. I've discovered that I hate being without internet, moreso than television. At any rate, I have to get around to go to work but I thought I'd let you know that I'm all moved in and now connected. So I'll be back...

Move 'em out

Today is the day. I've been packing for a couple days and trying to get the junk sorted out and my first truckload of stuff is ready to go. I have a half hour before I can get into my new place...let the thumbtwiddling commence. Today should be interesting. Typically when I've moved in the past I've had a crew of several to help me out. Until later tonight, I'm going solo. I'm going to try and get as much done as I can by myself and then let the two recruits help me with my limited furniture. I'm already sweating unpleasantly (as opposed to pleasantly...I think my brain is already done for).

Aside from the physical fun of moving, I'm also playing around with the mental aspects. I'm a little nervous. As I've mentioned before, this will be the first time I've lived entirely by myself. I had a brief couple months when a roommate flaked out but other than that there's always been someone around. I'm a pretty independent person so I'm not overly worried but I think I'm going to learn some things about myself. It might be grow-up time. I'm ready for whatever gets thrown at me and its not like my family is hundreds of miles away like they used to. Everything is going to be fine. It's just transition.

Oddly enough, what's hitting me most today is that I'm going to be without my dog (before you get frowny, mother, YOU can pick up a phone and drive over whenever you want so there). I got to thinking that the wee Bugster has been with me through quite a bit. She was my first in depth experience raising a puppy. She was with me through my marriage, my divorce, moving back, starting school again...all of it. Now I'm sure that my parents are going to take fantastic care of her but I'm going to miss her a bunch. Granted, I was reminded at about 4 am what I'm not going to miss...the incessant growling at owls...but those are just the little things that add to her charm. There will be much visiting.

And yes, I'm sure I'll miss my parents too. There are moments when we drive each other bonkers but for the most part I have a family that just gets along. And while SOMEONE keeps implying that I will be falling off the planet, I will say this once more...You have a phone. I have a phone. I will on occasion answer it. You have a car. I have a car. I have laundry to do and you have a free washing machine. So there.

I'll see what I can do about posting once I get settled in...