Okay, after almost an hour, this is how the conversation ended.
Me: Well, it's like when we used to just have cable and when Dad decided to get HBO, they brought us a little box--
Mom: (interrupting) But I don't want HBO.
Me: *sigh* Okay.
Mom: Did I offend you?
Me: No, you're just not listening to what I'm saying
Mom: FINE! FINE! I AM YOUR MOTHER, I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TREAT ME THIS WAY! WHENEVER YOU NEED SOMETHING, I STOP WHAT I'M DOING AND LISTEN! THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I WILL NEVER CALL YOU AGAIN. GOOD DAY!
We'll see how long that lasts.
That is amusing, except for you having to deal with the fallout, Vortex.
You know what else is amusing? Coming up with new ways to get out of boring staff meetings. For instance, this morning while being trained on how to administer an epi-pen, I took what I thought was the trainer with disengaged needle, pulled the cap off, jabbed it at my thigh, and immediately pulled it away because I got pricked. Yeah, they took me to the ER just in case, but other than feeling embarrassed, I've had no adverse effects.
Ugh. There are rodent droppings in my kitchen cabinet again. There's a hole in the wall at the back of the cabinet where a pipe comes through, and I'm pretty sure the nest is behind the wall and the mess is falling through the hole.
Also, I am saying this is mice, and I will not entertain any other possibility, because mice are pretty much the only rodent that will not make me totally freak out. So it's mice.
I emailed my landlord. He had an exterminator come for the same problem last year, but the exterminator said that it looked like whatever had been there had left. I guess they came back.
Stuff the hole tightly with steel wool and tape it in place---once the exterminator leaves.
Stuff the hole tightly with steel wool and tape it in place---once the exterminator leaves.
I did that last year, but I guess I didn't fill it completely.
Oh, Vortex. That's both highly comical and making me slightly rage out on your behalf. On the big eternal scale, your dad owes you so very big-time for having bailed on you so early. It seems like your mom is just desperately needy and unmoored without him, and you're bearing the brunt of it.
Stuff the hole tightly with steel wool and tape it in place
The best stuff to use is Great Stuff expanding foam. I say that as a person who spent years fighting the rodent that shall not be named.
You can also buy this spray-can stuff at the hardware store that you can foam into the hole and then it hardens. Mice can chew through it but it takes them a long time and they might decide it's not worth it.
edit: see above
Oh, Vortex. That's both highly comical and making me slightly rage out on your behalf. On the big eternal scale, your dad owes you so very big-time for having bailed on you so early. It seems like your mom is just desperately needy and unmoored without him, and you're bearing the brunt of it.
True, but it is what it is. My new policy of stepping back (I'm calling it the Austerity Measures) is working wonders.
Oddly, I feel a little bit bad when she gets upset over this kind of thing, because I know that I didn't do anything, she's just unhappy.
