Done being thankful

Today, I'm just annoyed and I'm free, after a month of having to be nice, to voice it here on the blog. Here's what happened:

I took my car in to get an oil change, tire rotation and a couple of other things in anticipation of my trip to shop in Portland this weekend. As I was exiting the off-ramp, I noticed the big huge truck in the turn lane next to me was creeping into my lane so I hugged the inside line as I turned and then heard a thump. I pulled up next to the trucker at the light and said "I think you just hit me." He was talking on his phone (this is a hands-free state...oopsie) and didn't understand me at first but nicely pulled over. It was dark and foggy/drippy out but we felt all up and down the side of my car and couldn't find any damage at all. So I stupidly drove off without getting any of his info and took my car to the dealer for the maintenance stuff (thinking I must have just had a rock bounce up underneath my car.)

I picked up the car this afternoon and when I was pulling out, I noticed my back rear window was completely shattered. I got out and noticed two scratches too, one with red paint (which was the color of the stupid huge truck.) The people at the dealership nicely taped up my broken window and now I have exactly two days to try and get it fixed so I can go out of town this weekend. ANNOYING! This is not the way I wanted to start my month.

And today would have been Ida's 39th birthday. Sigh, sigh sigh. I miss Ida.

Let's complain about our hair

I am blessed to have a head that's chock full of healthy hair. I feel guilty even wanting to complain for a second about my hair because the alternative (i.e. baldness) would be kind of awful. Tonight, rather than gripe about the fact that my computer is still messed up, I'll instead share a short list of things that bug me about having hair:

1. The fact that there is so much of it in the sink, in my car, in the shower, on the floor. Ick, ick and ICK.
2. The fact that I had to let someone else cut it for me a few weeks ago because my stylist was out for several weeks and I was desperate. You've all seen my haircut. It's pretty basic. This guy (who sits next to my stylist and is as experienced as she is) kind of did an awful job on my bangs. How hard is it to cut bangs (well, if you're trained in cutting hair, anyway?)
3. The fact that I have a lot of gray hair. I'm much too youthful (ahem) to have so much gray hair.
4. The fact that it's EVERYwhere (oh wait, did I say that already?)

My stylist is back and I'm seeing her on Friday. All will be right with the world beginning Saturday. So what bugs you about your hair?

Dear upstairs neighbor,

We live in condos that have pretty well soundproofed walls but crappy soundproofing between the floors/ceilings. At the risk of sounding like a crochety old woman (and because I'm passive-aggressive), I'm compiling a list of things you do, on a blog you don't know even exists, that drive me crazy:

1. Do you ever take your shoes off when you're at home? Ever?
2. Is it really necessary to do laundry at 11:30 PM on a Tuesday night? How about at 6 AM on a Saturday? I know things come up, you run out of underwear, whatever, but seriously, once a week?
3. And while we're talking about laundry, did you ever stop to think that if you start a load of laundry and then get in your car and drive away, it MIGHT not be a good idea? At least 1-2 times a month, your washing machine goes off balance or whatever and you're not there to stop it. I keep waiting for it to fall through the ceiling as it's thumping away but it hasn't yet. Maybe you could try smaller, better-balanced loads? Just a suggestion...
4. I admire the fact that you walk on your treadmill every day but at 10:45 PM on a weeknight? Treadmills are kind of loud, in case you weren't aware.
5. Do you go through a lot of toilet seats? I would think dropping the lid from the upright position so that it slams on the porcelain bowl each time you use it would end up causing something to crack eventually.
6. Would you consider buying a newer, less squeaky bed? Preferably before your next sleepover?

All of these reasons have caused me to have to sleep with earplugs. I don't feel overly safe sleeping with earplugs living in a ground floor condo. It would make me happy to be able to hear the axe murderers and rapists as they are breaking in rather than when they are already in the room and standing over my bed. I do keep a baseball bat under my bed but I really think I need the element of surprise to be effective.

Thanks for the consideration,
Your perfect neighbor