Smonster, I love so much that you're "new" in town and are so willing to just Go. Out. And. Meet. People! You're my hero.

Heh. It's a lot easier for me to meet random people from the internet than look for a job. It's also a good way to check out different bars and coffee places around town.

In less happy news, my migraine is back and I think I'm going to have to see the chiropractor asap.

Had something to bitch about, but it turned out to be a plus. I went to check my vacuum cleaner bag, and it turns out that it had come loose from the valve and the vaccuum cavity was full of dirt. However, in cleaning out the cavity and sifting through the dirt, I found an earring that I had lost. Which had great sentimental value, as they were the first earrings that I owned. I've had them for 31 years.

lives right by Frenchman St. Woot!

"Saint Woot?" I thought. "Who the heck is Saint Woot? Oh, Frenchman Street, duh."

re: Shadow. The vets were very impressed by him, said he's much more like a puppy than a cat, in that he sat in one place and looked around with interest as opposed to hiding under a chair as far back as possible.

ION, we--as in in I--have been trying to go through stuff and see what we can get rid of. Hubby has allegedly been in agreement. However, when I pointed to a specific crate of LP records, he said, "Well, we should take them to Greywhale, see if they want to buy them. Then maybe take them to Randy's Records." Randy's is in Salt Lake, 40 miles away, and specializes in hip and obscure. They are not interested in my Barry Manilow--stop laughing, I really liked him and am not ashamed of it--and a bunch of other pop/rock stuff that is easily available in CD. So I disagreed with the idea of schlepping a milk crate of records up to Salt Lake on the off chance of maybe getting a dollar each if we were lucky for two or three of them.

"So we should just give them away instead of getting something for them?"

"If it's going to cost more in gas to take them up there, yes."

"Then we ought to just smash them all up! Why do we have to get rid of them now now now!"

IE, when actually confronted with getting rid of something that more than a couple of bucks was spent on, he gets frustrated and angry and accuses me of being wasteful and just wanting to throw away everything important. Some of it is thinking that getting rid of things disrespects his memories, and some of it is an abiding disbelief that things that money was spent on have lost nearly all of their monetary value. He honestly thinks that everything becomes collectible/valuable after a certain age and so wants to hold on to it until that point.

I'd be sneaking this stuff out, but he made me promise to clear it with him--though I knew full well that he was going to balk when actually presented with the idea of getting rid of something.

Oh, and if it's dinged or broken, he's going to fix it. And my getting rid of it is a sign that I don't believe in him. Yes, he needs a shrink, but he would have to admit that he might, possibly, on very small matters, have a slightly askew view of things. And I don't want to spend five years having that huge fight.

Yes, there are days when I wonder how the hell I've put up with him for 25 years.

"Saint Woot?" I thought. "Who the heck is Saint Woot? Oh, Frenchman Street, duh."

I did the same thing. Except I don't know what's so great about Frenchman Street.

Awesome live music. You just wander down the street, wait till you hear something intriguing, and walk in. There are, oh, at least 10 music clubs on that street, and most don't charge cover, they just have a one drink minimum. More mature crowd than Bourbon St. And there are cheaper restaurants than the French Quarter.

d.b.a, Snug Harbor, Apple Barrell, Spotted Cat, Balcony Music Club, Maison, Checkpoint Charlie's, and a few more I can't think of off the top of my head. Everything from big names to local bands.

I consider that my "hood" in New Orleans. My favorite B&B is near there, and I spent a lot of time there. Also, do not sleep on the fried okra at the Praline Connection. ON POINT.

Dude, the tater tachos at Thirteen are inspired. I have yet to go to Praline Connection. That was one of my top neighborhoods to move to, but the IC has Nora and K and K.

Hm, have not had the tater tachos. Clearly, I need to go down to NO and we need to take each other places.

Whee! Your new neighborhood sounds so fun, smonster!

Vortex...I just...I don't even. I'm sorry she's so difficult.

So, today I have done the following: phone interviewed a prospective English intern (she'll teach one class and do a lot of subbing), bought basic groceries, rented a Rug Doctor, vacuumed and steam cleaned all the disgusting carpets in the house (ND even moved the bed so I could vacuum and steam clean under it, which definitely hasn't happened...well, ever), emptied and refilled litter boxes, cleaned off window sills that haven't been cleaned in five years, and am now airing out the whole house. Kitties are shut in the bedroom because we don't have screens on any of the windows in the front part of the house (they're those ancient pull-string ones that will take a fortune to fix, so we thought they were sealed...just found out that they were painted shut but do open if we prop them up with something--DOH!). For the first time since we moved in, I've propped them all open and have box fans and the ceiling fan going to refresh the air, which had gotten very stale, central AC or not.

I haven't started the Epic Closet Cleaning Project yet since it is going to be massive, but I think I'll tackle it in the morning.

I declare myself Productive and am now going to defrost a TV dinner because I don't think I can handle cooking.

ETA: AND!! I even got my tetanus/pertussis vaccination and a physical today, which I've been putting off forever.