Today started off well enough. I got up, did my yoga, went to the bank and got coffee. On the way to work I got a call from Acorn Housing asking me for an interview. I returned the call but I have not heard back. I got to work and was sent to the Honey Baked Ham store. I was lucky and did not have to wait in line due to my large order (5 hams). On the way home things took a turn for the worse. I got stuck in traffic and my engine almost overheated. Then I got rear ended a few minutes later. Fortunately there was no noticeable damage and I just let her go. Then I got to work and found out that some decisions had been made for me which everyone knew about but me. I am driving the box truck to Big Spring tomorrow with Marlena. I don't mind I just wish someone had mentioned it to me. I am a little afraid to leave the office.

Things were pretty laid back last night. I made a couple of corn dogs and fed the dog some old popcorn. Days was pretty boring and Passions was not that great. Theresa was thwarted yet again in her plans to expose Gwen, big surprise. It looks like the rest of the week is going to be better with Little Ethan's true paternity coming to light and Charity's return. The only other interesting thing is that I saw a copy of the Bible laying in the front seat of the cute new neighbor's car. That sort of tarnishes the newness.
This morning I got up at 9:15, I am really impressed I was able to get up on time, and made it to the dentist on time. I got my filling replaced, it was $50. The topical anesthetic wore off about an hour ago. Becky gave me some Advil and it does not hurt too bad, just sort of a dull pain. I think the caffeine withdrawal is worse than anything. I did not have my morning coffee because I had brushed my teeth. I did not have any after because they told me not to eat or drink anything. Grrrr...
I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond after the dentist and bought a curtain rod and a new shower head. The curtain rod is just a simple silver one, nothing special, but I think it will be strong enough to hold up the heavy curtains. The shower head I am kind of excited about. It is a multifunction massage thing but it is on a hose. You can unhook it and it has a five foot hose. I think it will come in handy when washing Marlena and to warm up the shower walls and the tub before a bath or shower. I am really excited about them both. I am going to try and install them both tonight.
I took the moving dolly to Toby and am glad to be rid of it. I will rearrage my closet when I get home.
After I got to work today Becky got a call from Toby and he had cut his hand rather badly. All I really know so far is that he was working on a car and was worried enough about the cut to call Richard, Rick and Becky. I hope he is ok, Mom said she would keep me updated. If word travels around the office like it usually does I should be able to stay on top of it.

What a weekend. Friday night was not very eventful. I was expecting company on Saturday so I spent it cleaning. I got all of the boxes cleared from the dining room and went through all the old mail and receipts. After that I cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen. Everything except vacuuming. Saturday I ended up not going to IKEA, Adrian never called back. It turned out to be a mixed blessing. Emily told me on Saturday that she is going to give me her old TV. It is too heavy and to large for the TV stand I was going to buy for my smaller television. I think she is confused about the TV she is going to give. I admit that I may also be confused but she told me the one in her bedroom is just like the one in her living room. I remember the one in the guest room as being the Sony Grand Wega flat screen tube television. That one was silver and very, very heavy. She is telling me it is the same as the one in her living room which is also Sony but black and larger. Maybe I am wrong but I am pretty sure I remember setting it up for her.
So instead of going to IKEA I ended up going to Northpark with Mom, Emily and Rachel. We had a good time. We started by eating lunch at P.F. Chang's, I had crab wontons and the honey chicken. Then we went and shopped.
Rachel and I were at XXI and she found some things to try on so we went to the dressing room. There was a line for the 40 or so stalls. Rachel and I made it to the front of the line which afforded my a good view of the dressing area. I was basically standing at the front of the line so when sis tried on her clothes she could open the door and I could see her. We were waiting when the door to the first stall opened and a nice looking young woman stuck her head out and tried to get the attention of the attendant. We were standing about 6 feet from her. The look on her face was priceless, disgust, horror, shock. She made it known that the pair of stocking feet visible under the door of the room next to her was taking a piss on the floor. She was mortified, especially since the spray made by the hitting of the pee on the floor had gotten on her bare leg. The rather large group waiting on a dressing room or on someone in a dressing room all looked down to see a rapidly growning puddle originating from a stream coming from between the slightly more than shoulder widths apart stocking feet. This puddle was beginning to reach out into the aisle of the dressing area. The employee was flabbergasted as were we all. She pointed out that this was not part of her job description but being the trooper that she was leaned over the puddle and knocked on the door asking if the person inside was "OK". There was no reply. The employee went to locate her manager. Just as she left the door on the other side opened and a African American woman with a look of shock, surprise, rage leaned out and in a rather large and ethnic tone exclaimed that "Someone is taken' a piss on the flo'!". I am quite sure that the pisser was clearly aware of the comment. After this it sort of turned into an episode of Hee Haw with all the doors of the various dressing rooms opening and heads popping out to see what the hell was going on. Just then the manager enters. He looks at the puddle and sort of rolls his eyes. He straddles it for is has gotten quite large on the wooden floor and knocks on the door. Again, no answer. The manager begins to walk away and the attendant asks "aren't you going to do anything?" and he replied "You want me to clean it up with my bare hands?". Shortly after he left another employee shows up with one of those yellow Wet Floor signs and puts it in front of the door. The stocking feet appear to be getting dressed. At this point it has been about five or six minutes since the first girl announced to the store that there was a situation. Rachel was then awarded a dressing room on the other side. My fellow spectators and I were discussing the situation, "maybe she has a medical problem, maybe she is drunk, or maybe it was a dare". As we were trying to determine the most plausible explanation, the door opened. A very pretty, young woman in her mid to late twenties of presumably white and Asian heritage with long black hair and good make up walked out. She was smiling, almost beaming, with her head held high. She was carrying all of the clothes she was trying on still on hangers. She awkwardly stepped around her puddle and around the yellow moisture hazard sign and quickly walked out saying "Sorry about all that" and made her way through the crowd without missing a beat. We were all in too much shock to say anything. Just like that she was gone and we were all left there to wonder what could have possessed this woman to do what she did. I broke the silence with a "I guess when you gotta go you gotta go" and "this is definitely going into my blog". Well, here it is.
After that I went and got my haircut. It was a guy named Robert at the Regis. He had just recently moved to the area from Chicago. He did a really nice job at a very reasonable price. I will be going back to him.
After that I went home took care of a few things, packed up Marlena and went to Robyn's mothers house. It was after 8. We made some cookies and then proceeded to start the drapes. We never finished the cookies, the dough is in her fridge, but we did manage to finish the drapes at about four in the morning. They look great. I am going to hang them up as soon as I get a curtain rod.
Sunday was not very eventful. I got up late, cleaned the house some, went to Kroger took the dog for a long walk. It was a nice, relaxing Sunday. Loris called and asked if I wanted to meet him and some others at JR's but I declined. I just did not feel like it. I ended up watching Brit coms and going to bed.
Today at work has not been very interesting, I was going to talk to Richard about a change in duties, the sales thing is just not working out. I hate it, I am not good at it. He was not in the office today. I will try tomorrow. I did find out from Becky that he wanted me to get my notary. I filled out the paperwork and she said it would take a month, Mom said six weeks.
I cannot wait to see what happened on Passions today.

I had the strangest dreams last night. I dreamt that I had an umbrella that had a picture of a close up of Kermit the frog on it, it was green. I was able to use this umbrella to fly around Dallas in a Mary Poppins style. I used this power to go into gated communities and visit open houses. Once in the house I would meet one of the house wives that lived on the street and she would tell me all the local dish, then when I was finished I would leave in the same fashion. Then I dreamed that I was in Robyn's parents driveway with her dad smoking a joint and building a catamaran. Then I was magically transported to some raft on a backwoods river with my dad. Eventually I pushed him off the raft and watched him drown. Also odd. After that I dreamed that I inherited the old house in Lakewood. I was walking around in it looking at the furniture that was left and then some woman called trying to serve me a court summons. She ended up having the wrong number. I was a little wierded out when I woke up this morning.
Rachel also had a strange dream (I called her to share mine and she told me hers). She dreamt that she was in France and the Four Seasons she used to work in was there. All her cabana friends were there and invited her to go to the moon. She said sure and when she came up to the bar she ran into Blake. He was surprised to see her and said that he was going to the moon and asked her along. She informed him that she was already going but would be happy to go with him. They all boarded the space shuttle and went to the moon. Upon arrival they discovered a crater filled with the small, colored marshmallows and went swimming in them.
I got ready for work today and brushed my teeth, fixed my hair, put moisturizer on my face and looked in the mirror. All I could think was "I really want to wear eyeliner to work today". I decided not to but I really did want to. I cannot remember the last time I wanted to use eyeliner. I have some.
So, on to the important thing, Passions! My predictions have come true! Charity shall return! She is going to be New Charity but she is coming back all the same. Fox overheard Kay and Migs getting back together and faked a phone call to a doctor who told him that he had "a few months to live". Kay of course could not leave a dying man and called it off with Migs intending to get with him after Fox bit it. Well in the preview for next week it shows Fox continuing his plan. He will bring Charity back to Harmony in what seems to be an attempt to get her and Migs back together. I sure hope that New Charity is as bad an actress as Old Charity. I cannot wait to see what happens when Tabby finds out. Will she and Endora team up to plot her doom like Timmy and Tabby in the old days? I hope all the hokey magic returns. I sure hope that it will be just like the good old days now that the whole gang will be back together, Charity, Migs, Kay, Grace, Sam, Tabby. Obviously Timmy's place can never be taken (God rest your soul). But I hope a return to the old Harmony is in the making. I miss the supernatural. I know that Endora provides some fun, but not like the old days. I miss Zombies and frozen teenagers in caves, premonitions and houses getting sucked into hell. Bring it back Passions, BRING IT BACK!

I bought some fabric. It is a chocolate brow, very thick and soft cotton, rayon, polyester blend. The woman said I could probably wash it on cold in a giant laundromat machine. It has textured quarter sized circles on a recessed background. It is all the same color and fabric, the circles are the only variation. It is very 70's. I ended up paying $38 for 6 yards at a width of 56 inches. I think I got a good deal. I just hope Robyn and I can manage to make some decent looking curtains.

I just made my first post to my new blog. ASOUT now has 3 posts. One by me and two by Robyn. Hers was a little disclaimer and one about the retarded kid. Mine was about the churchies next door. It is really fun to talk smack about people. Maybe I could be a Hollywood reporter.
After she gets out of work tonight we are going to Hancock fabrics where if I find something I like we will buy material for my new curtains. It turns out my window is larger than I thought and I will end up needing like 96 square feet of fabric. Unless we find a good deal on something I like I will just get the ones from IKEA.

Victory! I have just learned that the democrats have also taken the Senate. Way to stick it to Georgie America!
In other news Robyn's pumpkin soup was just as good this year, possibly better with addition of a little blue cheese. The only down side to the soup was that it led to a injudicious use of the sink. It was a two person plunge job. Robyn admits she has made this misjudgment before. Misadventure aside dinner was delightful.
I made some good finds at Big Lots, however neither of the finds were what I was looking for. I got some canned crab, various spices, ramen, baking racks and q tips.
The curtain rod that I was looking for was not there. Not that I was looking for a specific one, just one that I liked that was not cheap, ugly, plastic crap. I like the Index one from IKEA which is what I may end up with but I am thinking of stopping by Tuesday Morning before I make the ultimate decision. As for the curtains themselves I have several options at IKEA ranging from very inexpensive to inexpensive. They are very generic and beige. Robyn suggested that we go to a fabric store and see if there is anything like better for a similar price. She said that making curtains is not difficult and she would be happy to help me. We are going to the fabric store tomorrow.

So I am a little behind on my posting, so sue me. The weekend was somewhat traumatic so I will keep it brief. I did not have to drive through South Dallas I was able to take 183. Saturday I got some housework done and then had too much to drink, walked to the bar and went home with someone who slipped some kind of pill in my drink. I do not remember all to clearly after that but at some point I had the good sense to call and tell Robyn where I was in case something happened to me. I woke up the next morning and the person I went home with was old. I got cab fare home and slept most of Sunday after a very long shower. That is all I have to say about that.
Monday was pretty uneventful with the exception of Robyn and I developing a new project. We are starting a joint blog titled A Series of Uncharitable Thoughts. We are going to start blogging just what the title says. I am really looking forward to it. I am responsible for the forward. I have worked extensively on the outline but have not yet put anything down. The general theme of the blog will be the now infamous between us, "Some people hate for fun, some people hate for keeps". We intend to have, upon approval, guest writers and maybe someday publish it as a book. Or at least get a good online following. We shall see.
Tuesday, well it was stressful. It was election day. I could not help but be consumed by the news reports that were telling us of the future. My faith in the people of America has not dwindled further but at the same time it has not really grown, maybe a tiny little bit. They voted in all those damned marriage amendments but they did take the house away from the neocons and they certainly made an effort to rescue the senate. For the most part I feel better, I hope that this was a true shift and not just Republican intervention.
Wednesday, ding dong the witch is dead! The house went and landed on the wicked witch of the west wing! Rumsfeld is gone! Let wine flow from the public fountains and all men should sacrifice one of their virgin daughters in celebration. Enough said.
So Brittany is finally getting rid of him. Way to go people that she pays to think for her. I will give a quote from IDLYITW- "I'd love to congratulate her, but she opted against birth control with this douche, so he'll forever be "famous" and she'll forever be gross and dumb. It's like congratulating someone for finally getting rid of their gonorrhea after two years. Yeah, you got rid of it, but you still caught it in the first place, you nasty ass."

Passions, I am lumping all of this weeks update into one piece. Luis is looking for Fancy, who fell in the hole, and goes to Shridan's cottage for a rest. She gives him a sleeping pill and he has a vision moment where the two passed out lovers talk to each other, she appears to him in a dream sort of. Grace forgives Kay and tells her that she should be with Migs not Fox. Pilar tells Migs he should get Kay to fall for him, they meet and talk, Fox sees from the window. Theresa after a change of heart is trying to get JT to tell Ethan everything. Antics ensue.
So last night I got home and the guy that I met in the parking lot a few weeks ago that was thinking about moving in to the complex and asked my opinion of it was unloading stuff from his car and taking it up to the apartment 2 doors down from mine. I said hello in the lot and so did he. I went to get Marlena to take her out and he was still down there, we stopped and talked. He is nice. He remembered me. He said he was moving from Addison. I hope we are able to become friends. Marlena did not like him, but she did not bite him.

It is Friday and I must admit I a not all that excited. I am a little too broke to go out this weekend. I can drink at home. I should take advantage of my weekend at home and clean, organize, throw away. I should spend some quality time with Marlena. Maybe I will take her to White Rock. The weather should be lovely.
I will be staying in Dallas all weekend mostly because the freeway is going to be shutdown. They are tearing down some bridge and it closes tonight at eight. I am a little worried about getting home tonight. I think I can take 183 but the truck that hit the bridge may have it shut down. If so I will have to take 360 to 20 to 35. I am not looking forward to driving through south Dallas at midnight on Friday. I hate driving through there during the day. I could take 360 to 635 but I do not really want to do that either.
I think I am going to try and clean out junk this weekend. I am going to call Toby and see if he wants that dolly. I am going to get rid of all that mailing crap. I should clean out the footlocker and put different stuff in it, make it useful. Clean out the fridge. Clean the bathroom. Laundry. Handwash all those sweaters like I have been meaning to for weeks. I am even thinking of washing the windows. I will finally throw out that chocolate cake.
I need to clean out the closets and reorganize them, I know that if I am smarter with the space I can fit much more in them. Especially the hall and smaller bedroom closet.
I made Curried butternut squash soup last night. It was pretty good. I should have doubled the curry and left most of the seeds in the jalepeno. It needed a bit more kick, otherwise it was really good. I am taking some to Robyn's tonight for dinner. I think she is going to give me some Crest White Strips. Her mother decided to use them and bought a ton, when she changed her mind she gave them all to Robyn who has generously offered them to me. I am looking forward to whitening my teeth. She is working the late shift again at the after hours clinic. She had a lot of downtime last night and was able to knit. She told me earlier that she told Heidi about her Target retail laxative. She thought it was pretty funny. She compared the two of us to Will and Grace. She claimed it was in a awkward situation kind of way but I was offended all the same. I do not like to think of myself as all the whiney and undateable. 'Sigh'
I saw on the news that the city of Dallas had added a special GLBT area to the tourist section of their site. I visited it today at Robyn's after dinner. While it did not tell me anything I did not already know I think it is a good thing.
Also at Robyn's I got the box of Crest Whitening Strips. It is the big box with the bonus pack. Thanks Robyn! I am trying out the first one now, I have had it on for almost 20 minutes. It is driving me a little crazy but I am getting used to it. I am doing the bottom and top separately until I get used to it, twice a day for the next 14 days. I hope they work. I am not expecting amazing results but I am hopeful that it will make a noticeably good difference in my smile.
I flossed last night and it really was easy since the cleaning. I am going to try and floss before bed every night from now on. They say when you keep up with it, it stays easy. I also used the new tongue cleaner she gave me. It really is amazing, my mouth just generally tastes better. I am sure it has helped my breath (which was not bad to begin with, but I think it has improved) and oral hygiene in general.
I am going to home depot tomorrow. I am going to buy the piece to fix my closet and I was going to visit the Garden Center. I know that in the winter they try to get rid of plants and it would be really nice if they had a fern. I have been wanting a houseplant. I also need some potting soil for the plant pots. If they have some good plants on sale that will fit in the small pots I will consider them instead of the seeds that I have. I am hoping for markdowns before the first freeze.
Chris called me this morning. He woke me up and for the life of me I cannot remember what we talked about with the exception of The Young and The Restless. The rest is kind of a blank and I am sure we talked for like 20 minutes. I will have to ask him the next time I talk to him.
So I finished the top strip, it went fine. Not the most comfortable thing ever but not bad. The bottom strip I am not so happy with. I am only 8 minutes into it and I have concerns. One, it does not cover enough of my teeth. It does not get all of the teeth that show when I smile it could be a little longer. Two, it does not seem to want to stay put. The top one did not really move around, the bottom one seems to want to slide off. Another concern that does not involve the bottom strip is that the best by date on the bottom of the box is June of 04. I will use them anyway. I am taking off the bottom one, it was not that bad. I hope these things work.

Passions update-
I went to my mothers for lunch and watched the remainder of Passions. Mostly uneventful with a couple of exceptions. 1. Grace had what Sam told her confirmed by David. She then asked Sam to give Ivy the phone and told her that she was coming back to Harmony. Upon her arrival she made it clear that she intended to kill Ivy, I just can't wait! 2. Spike was trying to rape Fancy and she got the better of him, at least for the moment. She kneed him in the balls and then the face knocking him out. She is trying to untie herself but she is still blindfolded.
As I contemplate Grace's return I am filled with a plethora of feelings. I am happy that an old character is returning. She was often good for sound bytes that I made into cell phone rings. It opens the possibility for Faith to return (Grace's twin sister, Charity's mother who "died" in the fire that Tabitha set, her body was never found if I remember properly). Of course with Miguel and now Grace's return the door to Charity's return is open. I remember good and bad times in the old days. Some of the antics were priceless, the Bennet's house being sucked into hell, Tabby and , god rest his soul, Timmy's endless plots to kill Charity or at the very least keeping her and Migs apart. But with the good, there came the infinitely boring. Charity and Grace going on and on about goodness and being good and blah blah blah. I can only hope that Passions will keep good to it's roots and make sure there is plenty of evil. It has been too long since we have had a good visit from the occupants of hell. Oh yeah, and whatever happened to white trash angel girl?

I went to the dentist today and the news was good. I did not have any cavities or decay. She managed to get my teeth much cleaner and removed most of the stains. My teeth are not white, but they said not would be a good time to whiten. Of course they charge $300- $650 to do it. I am going to try some white strips or something first. I am thinking that the listerine whitening rinse that I have been using may start being more effective. The only bad thing was that I had an old filling come loose and they are going to have to replace it, that is going to be on the 14th. My hygenist started a few weeks or months after my last appointment, which was December 2000 by the way, was very nice. She listens to 90.1 and actually donates. She struck me as a cat lady. They also gave me this nifty tongue cleaner, she said it will help with breath. She also says when you use it on a regular basis your sense of taste is enhanced. My mouth feels clean and a little tender.
Robyn sent me a message saying that she found the bike shop she was telling me about. It is over in west Arlington land, Park Row and Bowen. Someday when I can afford it I will get it fixed.
Passions update.
Yesterday was fair. Fancy is tied up in some sort of cave on the Crane estate. Spike is threatening to violate her, should be fun. JT came into the Blue Note with Rebecca and madness ensues, they have not yet been caught. Sam was having a drink alone and Ivy came in, he said he was not interested in listening to her, but she sat down and started talking anyway. As she is explaining her actions to a disinterested Sam, Grace calls. End of Episode.
So today I am at Mom's and happen to catch the first 5 minutes. They flash to Sam and Ivy and he has just answered the phone and they go to a shot of Grace sitting on a couch in Europe. It is the same actress and everything. I was just telling Chris the other day that when Grace returned it may well be Cherry Tomato Head herself. I mean, surely the only other job she can get is dinner theater in Wisconsin. I am so excited to see a familiar face. It makes me wonder if Charity is on her way. That would certainly be madness. However I predict that it won't happen until Miguel wins Kay and they get married. But of course it is hard to say. I tivoed the rest of the episode and I cannot wait to see it.
In other TV news, I watched the first part of ER, it was good, I intend to watch the rest of that too.
Today, Robyn went to Target and tried clothes on with express purpose of poo. She claims that was subconscious but I know better. The exercise induced poo at the big box retailer was long, a little diffused and accompanied by copious gas. The vengeful gas had been persistent for two days. The earlier crap of the day was apparently not the culprit for the second crap was its finale. But of course the night is young.

Not a very interesting day. I went to my mother's for lunch and watched her hand out candy to trick or treaters. Blue was frustrated seeing as she was locked in her house. She made roast beef sandwiches with asparagus. It was good. We had a nice talk and I left. She is going to rewallpaper the bathrooms and she showed me her new color choices.
No soap update, the VCR recorded with such poor quality I could neither see nor hear the program, I was disappointed.
I made an appointment with Dr. Ratcliff. I will be going tomorrow morning at 10:10a. I am pretty nervous. I am thinking it has been about 3 years since I have had as little as a cleaning. I think that I have a cavity. My teeth don't really hurt but I know they need attention. I will have to brush the hell out of them tonight. Mom said she would help me with whatever the insurance will not cover. I am hoping that Aetna will cover most of it. I think it will. I am sure they will give me a pretty good lecture tomorrow. I suppose I will deserve it.
A friend of mine is coming in to use the loan shark services today. I recommended against it but the have made up their mind. I hope it works out well for them. I am rather nervous that it could turn out the way that it does for many of their customers which is not well. She has just walked in.
I went to the grocery store for my lunch and got plenty of stuff for less than $50. I am getting much better at the whole shopping on a budget thing. I am going to make a curry butternut squash soup with Parmesan popovers. I hope it turns out well.
I made some mac and cheese in the microwave at lunch, not too bad. It is the Kroger brand and it is, well, not too bad. I would buy it again, however it should not be eaten alone. I have made myself a little sick.