Anything Goes

Fuck.

The date with E. went very well. He’s good looking, intelligent, straight-forward, a good conversationalist, great kisser… but, you see, I met someone else last night before I saw E. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to meet someone I can’t stop thinking about.

There are times that I can be somewhere and upon meeting someone KNOW that’s why I’m there. Our paths have crossed for a reason and I had that OVERWHELMING FEELING last night.

The registration on my car is dead and has been since June 1st. I just haven’t had the money to pay the taxes and the registration fee. I still don’t and I don’t know where that money is going to come from, but I’m sure within 10 days I can come up with it.

I was sitting in traffic, getting ready to make a left hand turn, and the police officer sitting in the center lane happened to notice that my registration is expired. Normally, even though I’m very much a law abiding citizen, I get very nervous when I’m pulled over. However, I knew I was busted, no denying it, so as the officer walked up to my car window I was oddly calm. I had my license, dead registration, and insurance card waiting for him.

He was gorgeous.

He took my information and asked if I knew my registration was expired. I said, “Yes, sir. I do know that.” He looked at me as though I had grown two heads. He then asked how long I had know it was expired and I said, “Since it expired.”

“Some people have no idea that their registration has expired.”

“Oh, no, I’ve known. I just haven’t had extra money to get it taken care of.”

“Are you aware of the process you have to go through to renew your registration?”

“Yes, sir. I have to pay the taxes and then pay the registration fee but I just haven’t had the extra money and I know I have to get it taken care of.”

“I understand. I’m going through a divorce . . . “

“I’m so sorry!” and I was, kind of, “I had a house fire in January, you can see the stuff still in the back of my car. . . “

He smiled and looked down at my information again and he got a very sorry look on his face, “I have to cite you for this.” He was almost apologetic.

“I know. I understand.”

“You know, you’re going to get pulled over for this anyway, so…”

“I know. Its okay.” He looked at my information again and asked whether 10 days would be enough time to get the registration taken care of. I got my cellphone, pulled up the calendar, counted out 10 days, and I told him the truth.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I don’t know, but I will try.”

He got that worried look on his face again.

“Look, we’re going to send this to DMV in 10 days and they’ll suspend your license, which is a huge hassle. You’ve been very honest and polite so if you can’t get this done, you call me, Officer D., ask for me personally and I’ll remember you since I issued the citation, and I’ll try to help you out. Just because I wear a uniform doesn’t mean I haven’t been there.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

He walked back to his cruiser and I watched him in my side mirror (meowrrr…purrrr…) and then pulled my skirt down a little further and wondered what I could pawn or sell to pay for this fiasco as people drove by gawking at me.

He came back and said, “Don’t you hate it how people stare at you while you’re pulled over?”

“Yeah, I thought about opening the door and sticking out my bare leg, really give them something to talk about.”

He laughed and explained the citation to me again, reiterating that I must call him if I can’t get it taken care of and he would see if he could help me out. I thanked him again and he wished me a good evening.

“Be safe, Officer D.”

And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him since. When E. kissed me the first time, I thought, “I wish you were T.D.” Damn, I just realized we have the same first and last initials.

Anyway, even after a great date and a lot of smooching and so forth, on the way home, I though of Officer D. And he was the last thing I thought about before I fell asleep, and the first thing I thought about when I woke up, and I’ve thought about him all day. I told E. about it even and he said, “Well, sounds to me like he would like for you to call him, regardless. You don’t let a woman know you’re single and share personal information with them unless you’re interested.”

By the end of the week, Officer D. will receive a personal call from me. First, to let him know I did get my car registration taken care of… second, to ask him out for a cup of coffee or a beer or a milkshake or a walk in the park. The park is quite beautiful at night, even with those pesky orbs floating around.  

*Sigh*

Why can’t I just have a normal life?

in the pale moonlight?

Why does everything have to hit at once? Why must I be pulled several different ways at once? I guess I work better that way. Maybe.

I’m in the middle of an unscheduled week off. Yeah, the shop is slow this week so… I get to take the week off - without pay. Not exactly what my bank account needed or didn’t need, which ever.

However, it has spurred me to stop sitting around on my ass and start doing something worth crowing about. Like, writing and beading and bugging my other boss for a full-time gig, something with air conditioning and a future.

The writing thing has been both fulfilling and irritating. Irritating because I had made a lot of changes to my novella which were then saved to disk which then burned in the fire and was not saved on the CD that I received from my old job. That was disheartening. Enough so that I’ve once again shelved that particular novella and started writing something fresh and new. No patience.

Beading, also starting something fresh and new and its about time. I’ve made exactly one pair of earrings since January 28th. Kinda scary.

Relationships are no better. I have a date on Friday, did I tell you that? Yeah, I told you that. I like him so far. We spoke again today. He doesn’t bore me, this is good. What isn’t good is that someone else kissed me this week. I mean, the kiss was good. Unexpected but still good and I liked it. He kissed me with Nate here which was a fantastic safety net for him because he’s a chickenshit.

I’d probably be a chickenshit around me too. Can’t say I much blame him. I have this horrible habit of taking what I want and another horrible habit of not saying no. I push every limit. I know this and one would think with the knowledge that I am like this that I would make more of an effort to control it. I am disinclined to do so.

Those who know me and know me well, know this isn’t always the case and I am capable of honor and of saying no.  I didn’t say I liked it, I said I was capable of it. 

I am very aware though that a kiss is just that, a kiss. Nothing more, nothing less. Driving around my block a couple of times late at night when he thinks I can’t see him, well, some may see that as stalking, but its only stalking if you don’t take some evil pleasure from the fact he’s thinking about you, even if he is too chickenshit to do anything about it because he knows I would.

And the games continue…

Well, just got in a bit ago from Troy’s wedding reception. If you will recall, Troy and his wife got married in April in New York City. It was a very nice affair, and I got to meet a lot of people I had only heard about.

Friday was CRAZY! Nate and I drove into D.C. to get the keys to my room first, then on to Cybele’s, then I left for the BSC show at Camden Yards. I parked a good distance away. I thought the show started earlier than it did, but, ended up it started at 9:30.  This was good in that I got to the Yards, found the ticket booth, and got in line for the show right about the time they let everyone through to go to the stage. Problem with that… this was at the AST Dew Tour, so NBC was filming there and delayed the show by over an hour.

After the first band went off, I started hoping that BSC would get up there fast because the parking garage I was in, a half mile away, closed at midnight. Yes, my carriage would turn into a peach, and not a very happy one. At 11:35, BSC walked off the stage and I fought my way out of the crowd, over to the merch table, told Shep I had to leave, tell the guys “hi”, later, see ya. Then, I fast walked and jogged back to my car and exited said garage at 12:01.  Yep, totally missing Saliva. Which SUCKS because I really wanted to see them. Thank you, N-B-C! 

The best part about waiting for the show was seeing all of the hot BMX bikers. Oh, yeah.

Speaking of guys . . . I have a date next week. I find him rather interesting. We met online a while back, way back, before the fire, but didn’t really pursue anything.  Then he saw my byline in the paper I write for and sent me an IM. We chatted a bit and exchanged phone numbers. He called on Thursday, I think.  He asked me an interesting question though… which is whether or not I would date a guy who is short. I found that a bit odd since his profile says he’s 6′2″. I told him I didn’t mind dating guys who were more my height. For one, I find them easier to kiss whenever I want instead of having to wait until they sit down. 

Really, I’m a bit more interested in how we connect, not about whether he’s 5′2″ or 6′2″. 

Okay, I’m tired and I’m going to bed. I won’t mention this horrific D.C. traffic, which I loathe!! LOATHE!! Oh, I just mentioned it… *grumble*

That’s the opening song from Black Stone Cherry’s CD. Its based on local folklore that rain wizards would bring rain during times of drought and lived in caves in the area of KY where they are from. On a home movie made by them, it actually shows them taking the crew to one of the caves and while they are exploring this area it starts to rain. Knarly, huh?

 I’m ready to blast this song from my rooftop. 100* today and we haven’t had any substantial rain for weeks, maybe months. We had a slight thunderstorm the other evening but it maybe rained for three minutes. I know WV isn’t suffering like GA and other southern states and I can’t imagine what they’re experiencing. The grass is just dead. Gardens are wilted. The heat in WV for this time of year is at least 20* above normal.

The shop is stupid hot. Stupid. Hot. I had to do touch-ups on three cases of shirts today. Ink is thick and doesn’t have the same properties as watercolors or oils; it doesn’t spread well. Using a paintbrush, even a small one, hasn’t been very fruitful in the past. Once Steve told us we would have to do the touch-ups and me specifically since I pulled from the dryer, I told Rich he needed to find the scalpel we use to cut vellum.  No way I was attempting this touch-up with something no better than a mop.

 Using the straight edge and the fine tip of the scalpel made the touch-up a breeze and it looked great. I. Rock. Thank you.

I found a biblical verse in a shop that carries a lot of primitive type furniture reproductions. I really wanted to get it because it said, “Rejoice evermore, pray continually.”  That is a version of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17.  I prefer, “Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing,” which I guess is the older version. A family story handed down via my mother was that my maternal-paternal-great-grandmother (meaning the mother of my mother’s father), did just that, prayed without ceasing.

If she were sewing or baking or doing anything or than speaking to another person, she prayed, without ceasing. Can you imagine? No singing to the radio, talking to yourself, no cussing people in traffic, you pray, without ceasing. Try it for an hour, hell, try it for half of an hour and see how far you get. Anyway, maybe I’ll make a beaded version.

I’ve been really into the family history thing lately after sending a friend an essay I wrote about my family and Jesse James. It got me all interested in my family history again. I want to take Nate down to Breaks Interstate Park (VA) so we can visit Potter Flats, Potter’s Knoll, and Belcher, KY. I hope to compile a listing of family stories for our next family reunion. That would be cool.

 Speaking of cool, ya’ll stay that way. I’m going to go hug my air conditioner now.

Something is definitely lurking about in my house. I have all but dispelled this thing from my abode but a proper cleansing and blessing must take place. The sea salt, sage smudge stick, besom, and wand at the ready. You haven’t seen my lovely besom (broom) have you? My wonderful cousin got for me as a housewarming gift. I would post a picture but I’m just too lazy and tired to do it right now. It is beautiful though. Once I can, I’m getting some special hooks so I can hang it over the door. Right now it is sitting in the corner, waiting.

I always thought spirits were, well, nice. Actually, a priest is the one who made me rethink that. I very forward thinking priest who made the observation that if you believe in good, then you must believe in bad, in evil, for without one, the other cannot exist. Without one, there is no balance. I saw a lot of wisdom in those words.

 While at the apartment one evening, a wicked wind blew and something blew in with it. At the time, I stood and defied it. I recognized it for what it was. I still recognize it, this cranky little poltergiestish asshole. Not quite as evil as it would want to be but still a worthy opponent.

My cats are well aware of its presence and have not been acting themselves. Jack, our little pickaninny, is sick. He had a trip to the vet to rid him of a nasty case of worms and a URI. Since then, he’s been a bit lethargic and vomiting clear liquid. I got him some wet food and he did eat that. Since then, he’s been more like Jack. Hermione is just aggravated to death and twitches her tail now, even when she walks. Macy, ever watchful Macy, stands guard at the front door but has also taken to hiding, even with just me and Nate and that pissy spirit here.

I’m not real happy. Not at all. I’m tired and honestly, my luck hasn’t been so great lately. I’m hopeful that a fresh start will do us all some good. I know I could use it, and a big lump of cash.

So, the nabes have been MIA for a few days which means they turned off their wireless service before they left. This precipitated a call to my ISP wondering why in the bejesus I didn’t have I-net service. By and by and a whole day wasted, they discovered they never turned off the I-net at the apartment and didn’t put the order in right for the house… and it was going to take another 10 days to put this straight, They figured this out earlier in the day while I was sitting on my ass, waiting on a technician to come to my house… for eight hours. EIGHT HOURS.

Since no one called me from my ISP to inform me of such, I fired them. And when they tried to say they didn’t have my phone number, I yelled very loudly and rudely that they were also my PHONE SERVICE. I fired them as well. As of tomorrow, I will no longer have a home phone, only a cell phone. Fuck it. I’m poor and the only peeps who call me here are bill collectors. I was little irate, with good reason, very good reason. It was ridiculous. RI-DIC-U-LOUS. And that’s exactly how I pronounced it to them.

Also, I was less than impressed with the lady who they put on the phone to re-do the order for the I-net. Oh, I’m sorry, I meant the lady who was cancelling the I-net service I DIDN’T have so I could re-order, in 3-5 days, the I-net service I was SUPPOSED to have. Already irritated, when she started with the “Okay, I’m gonna get which you…” No, no, no, you’re not sister. Newsflash, “which you” is not an accent, it’s a choice. “Which you” is not the same as a Southerner saying “buggy” and a Northerner saying “cart,” it is not the same as me saying, “Ya know,” and KtP saying, “Ya knooooo.”

I was not amused.

Otherwise, Nate and I had a nice, private ceremony for our deceased felines. We lit sparklers and remembered our babies.

In other news, Nate woke me at 2 a.m. to ask if he could sleep with me because he was having weird dreams. I said okay, even though I’m still sleeping on the couch. Either he’s getting bigger or he’s much bonier than I remember. By 4 a.m. I decided I would occupy Nate’s bed. By 6 a.m. my own weird dreams sent me back to the couch.

I did call and set up I-net service with my cable provider, which was surprisingly easy. It would have been too damn easy if it actually worked. They are sending a technician out to find out why the signal is not coming in on the cable line. The good thing is, they’ve never let me down. So, hopefully, Friday I’ll have my own I-net service and won’t have to surf off the nabes wireless.

Have a great weekend!

Ummm… has it been a week already? Wow, time flies! And nothing gets unpacked. Friday, the 1st, I spent unpacking and attempting unsuccessfully to catch up on my sleep amidst having to pay the mortgage, and the electrical problems, and people running in and out all day long, including my parents and the contractors.

That evening I went to see my buddies in Jubal Kane at a local watering hole. Yeah, I was late because I was too busy sleeping and being stuck in a sobriety checkpoint to make it on time. I stayed for a while and then took my happy ass home and back to bed because the following day I went to visit my friends, Kim and Matt, in TN.

Then, we went to visit our buddies Shep,

Dave,

Joe (during sound check),

and Chris, Jon, John Fred, and Ben,

 in Chattanooga. I almost got into a fight because some peeps were messing with the equipment and guitar picks and I told them to leave it alone and then I told Dave, who also told them to, “Keep your hands OFF my stage.” The guy involved didn’t like that so well so when Dave walked off he called me the “C” word a few times. Sticks and stones, love, sticks and stones.

Then we hung out for a bit and we drove back to Kim and Matt’s and I slept and then drove home on Sunday. Monday, I went to the my hometown out in BFE to pick up a TV my aunt gave me. Tuesday, my little man graduated from Elementary School…*sniff* How DID he grow up so fast???

Can you tell what I ate the most of when I was pregnant with him?

Nate showing his horns and happy, happy to have passed the fifth grade…

Then, there’s Jack.

Who can get anything done while watching this sprite entertain himself and us with his antics. That mouse hangs from the closet door and squeaks when the cats play with it. Middle of the night *thump* *squeaksqueaksqueak* *thump* *thump* *meowwrrr* *squeaksqueaksqueak*

The contractors have also had quite a blast playing with Jack, especially Ron. I think this is why my house STILL ISN’T FINISHED!

Nate’s antics are just as entertaining…

Toga/Superhero party!

Slither under the bed like a snake….

And, of course, I started back to work after having taken last week off for the move and the house isn’t even close to being in the shape I want it to be, but, it’s livable and that’s what matters. We have the weekend, after a sojourn at the pool, weather permitting, to get everything unpacked and situated. I hope. Doesn’t look tooooo bad, does it?

Notice my bed is missing, yeah, I don’t have one yet! However, I do have a Roman solider/superhero guarding me.

Nate’s room looks the best… at least from this angle.

And that’s what we’ve been up to and Nate and I wish you good day and give you the Blue Tongue Salute, totally befitting a Roman solider/toga master/superhero and his Momma.