One Rotten Apple

I tried to do a good thing today by donating all the furniture that was left in the house plus the old washer and dryer. However, the organization that I wanted to donate too refused to take anything. So I'm still stuck with a bunch of usable stuff that I don't have room for and it's irresponsible to let it rot in the dump. I take it back, they would have taken the washer but after I hooked everything back up to prove that it still worked, I couldn't get the hoses back off.

Maybe I was naive to assume that because everything was in good working order that it would be wanted. I do know the difference between things that people will want vs. the things that just need to go in the garbage. Yes, the dryer needs some appliance paint. If I was still feeling benevolent, I'd go buy some, paint the dryer back to like new condition and call the non-profit to come back. Oh, sorry I forgot that I had the gas turned off to the dryer so I can't prove that it still works. And oh, they aren't allowed to carry tools so even if it was hooked up, they couldn't unhook it. Yeah, I had a long conversation with the guy who finally said "yeah, I guess that doesn't make sense."

The number of thrift stores that I will donate to just went down to zero. Gosh, darn. Guess I'll be posting a "if you want it come and get it" on craigslist.

I'm bored

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name:	Dana
Birthday:	9/18/73
Birthplace:	Raleigh, NC
Current Location:	Berkeley, CA
Eye Color:	Blue-Green
Hair Color:	brown & purple
Height:	5' 2"
Right Handed or Left Handed:	right
Your Heritage:	Some combination of Scottish, Irish, English and Sioux
The Shoes You Wore Today:	shoes?
Your Weakness:	french fries
Your Fears:	the dark
Your Perfect Pizza:	margherita made by max in Brooklyn
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	finish remodeling the house
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	I don't do phrases
Thoughts First Waking Up:	what's on the to do list
Your Best Physical Feature:	eyes
Your Bedtime:	whenever
Your Most Missed Memory:	Can you remember a missed memory?
Pepsi or Coke:	pepsi
MacDonalds or Burger King:	neither
Single or Group Dates:	single
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	neither
Chocolate or Vanilla:	either or
Cappuccino or Coffee:	cafe au lait
Do you Smoke:	sometimes
Do you Swear:	all the time
Do you Sing:	yes
Do you Shower Daily:	try to
Have you Been in Love:	yes
Do you want to go to College:	been there, done that
Do you want to get Married:	no
Do you belive in yourself:	yes
Do you get Motion Sickness:	depends
Do you think you are Attractive:	yes
Are you a Health Freak:	borderline
Do you get along with your Parents:	yes
Do you like Thunderstorms:	yes
Do you play an Instrument:	yes
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	yes
In the past month have you Smoked:	no
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	no
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	yes
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	there aren't malls in Berkeley
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	I still have an unopened package in the pantry
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	yes
In the past month have you been on Stage:	no
In the past month have you been Dumped:	no
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	no
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	no
Ever been Drunk:	yes
Ever been called a Tease:	yes
Ever been Beaten up:	by who?
Ever Shoplifted:	yes
How do you want to Die:	with a bang
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	me
What country would you most like to Visit:	Russia
In a Boy/Girl..
Favourite Eye Color:	depends
Favourite Hair Color:	brown
Short or Long Hair:	depends
Height:	tall
Weight:	healthy
Best Clothing Style:	relatively clean
Number of Drugs I have taken:	?
Number of CDs I own:	?
Number of Piercings:	2
Number of Tattoos:	0
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	no regrets
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Family

I got an unexpected email a couple of weeks ago from one of my cousins saying that she and her fiancee would be in SF for a few days. RTL and I saw them last Sunday and had dinner at Bistro Chin. (I definitely recommend Bistro Chin for sushi.) RTL and I also took then up to Twin Peaks for sunset but you couldn't see a damn thing because the fog had rolled in quickly and thickly.

It was very nice to see Ashley. I don't think I've seen her since her sister got married, I'm thinking it's been 4 years. It was a bit weird though because she looks like my aunt but still Ashley. She's still Ashley. I have to laugh because Tonya and I spent from probably 1978 to 1991-ish trying to figure out ways to avoid or get rid of Ashley at all costs. Way back then she wasn't close enough in age, but now the age difference doesn't matter.

I like her fiancee. They are getting married in February. Hopefully I'll make it to the east coast for that.
It's good to have family that you want to visit every once in a while.

I've got a working stove!!!!

Finally got a plumber to come in a finish the plumbing stuff that I didn't (couldn't) do myself.

I've got a waterline to the fridge so now I have ice. I also won't get yelled at for forgetting to fill the ice trays. Woo Hoo!

I've got plumbing lines for my washer. I love my washer. It's a washer dryer combo which is soooooo cool. And it's so quiet. Wow!

And I've got gas going to the stove! I baked a cake in celebration of the stove being hooked up. I can cook on more than one burner! I can bake! I can I can I can, I'm so excited that cooking words fail me. It's been so long since I've had an actual stove and oven. I've been singing Kool and the Gang's "Celebrate" as I cook. This is sick that I can be this happy over something so minor.

The other celebration is the working dishwasher. I've got really clean glasses again!

We also solved the counter dilemma beside the stove. We've basically built our own counter over the furnace in the kitchen. And I forgot about finally getting the pictures we bought in Paris framed. Some went into the bathroom and the chocolate print went into the dining room. RTL had also bought two other prints for the kitchen both old advertisements which have been put on the wall.

RTL laid the floor for the entryway this weekend. Beautiful slate tiles that we picked up for a song. I love when you look for the perfect thing and can't find it, then the light shines down from heaven onto THE perfect thing and it's on sale.

We've been busy this past weeks so I'm sure that I've overlooked lots of things we've accomplished, but most importantly I have a working stove!!!!!!!!

Friends

I haven't heard from anyone in a while and last week everyone seemed to finally show up. I got emails galore. Sucked that I was in a bad mood, but I was happy that I finally got some email. It's the little everyday things just seem to get in the way sometimes.

So my friend H is working lots and lots which is why I hadn't heard from her.
F and the baby are doing better, not entirely 100% out of the issues but better than the last email I had from her.
M will be off to college soon.
My friend C sent me a very bad mp3 of my friend Dave singing country western songs. I would send it to F so she could get a giggle out of it, but you have to listen so hard to hear that it wouldn't really be any fun to share.
And that's all the interesting stuff. although I did just realize that I haven't heard from Kim & Fergal in a while. hmmmmm. maybe a phone call is in order. Hopefully that's enough update for anybody who needed one.