No words...

What a day.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/25/georgia.shootings/index.html

I decided to nap yesterday instead of getting the lawnmower fixed. It was a good decision, because we had a long night.
I picked the b.h. up from work and we went to El Sol for dinner (yes- again. What?!). Then we came home and he napped and I played with dogs and then we went down to the University to see Dan Savage speak. Savage is a personal hero, and what we refer to as a "Blog Friend", which means a person who you don't really know at all but whom you read so often you feel like you know them. I have been reading his column for fourteen years now, and his blog for a couple. He was as hilarious as I expected him to be, and afterward he went with us for a drink at Flicker. He was exhausted but completely gracious, and we talked for an hour or so and then J and the b.h. and I walked him back to his hotel before heading to the 40 Watt to see Dinosaur Jr. That was awesome. I haven't had a record of theirs for years and years, and was surprised at how many songs I recognized. The show was fantastic, and we all went home very tired but very happy at 2am.

I awoke this morning to THREE e-mails from our new landlord. This is the wife of the pair, and she asked for things that I had already sent her husband a couple (maybe even three) weeks ago. Now I'm worried that the dog breed thing is going to be an issue, when I thought it was long since resolved. Shit. Looked at the housing on Craigsl1st today. Not good. Crossing my fingers.
The past week has been busy and good. Went to lunch with MT last Monday. El Sol again. That is a place I will definitely miss. Spent time on Monday and Tuesday packing and cleaning. Tuesday night the b.h. and I went out with two of our friends J and J, for craft beer and fancy cheese. Yum. Worked Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Boring! Plus more packing. Then went to Jenn's birthday party on Saturday evening. That was fantastic. Saw many people I don't see enough of. Ate great food. Went home early and passed out. Woke in the middle of the night and stayed awake for too long. Slept in.
Woke up yesterday to no coffee, which is a less terrifying prospect for me than it is for the b.h. Went to the grocery straightaway, then returned home for more packing while he cooked dinner. We went to Stammtisch around six. It was fabulous and I realized that we had missed two weeks in a row which was far too much. The b.h. made oven fried onion rings breaded with saltine crackers and Spicy Thai Kettle Chips. Wow. We came home and watched Doubt, which was way more depressing than I expected. Good, but depressing.
So it was a very long week and pending the answer from the LL this week may be far worse. Balls.
Oh yeah- I backed into our fancy newish lawnmower and ripped off a wheel, too. Guess I ought to get that taken care of now.

Now I know why my manager doesn't like us listening to "Pandora's Box". He already hears voices in his head and this confuses him.
Must. Buy. More. Ammo.
Seriously. The gun nuts are buying up ammo like never before. A guy from the gun shop came in last night and informed us that he is "out of nine" for the first time ever.
"Do you still have forty-five?" inquired Two Gun Stan.
"Plenty."
Great. I can't wait to get out of here.

I have gotten tons of new house photos. It looks great. Of course, at this point it wouldn't take much, but it really does look promising. To celebrate, I am going to walk the dogs and eat a sandwich. Not necessarily in that order.
This week has been long and exhausting, and it isn't over yet. But that pinched nerve in my neck from the constant stress seems to have subsided. Waking up and being able to feel my hands today was comforting.
Now the task of packing. Sorting, throwing out five years of accumulated shite, cleaning... yeah. I guess we've only just begun.

Two notes about work last night. One, I went up to an older gentleman who was perusing the beer selection. I asked if he needed help finding anything. He answered, i gave him some advice, and he then turned and asked my male co worker the exact same question. Pfft. What would I know about beer, right? Just a girl an' all. Fucker.

There was a guy who came in and got a six pack and a pack of cigarettes. I don't know him, exactly, but he is a regular and I recognize him. So the phone rings a couple hours later and it's him. He has lost his wallet and wonders has anyone seen it? I know that it hasn't been found because I was the one who would have found it, but I ask around anyway. No luck.
"I know I had it there and that's the last place I used it and now i can't find it. Can I leave you my number in case?"
"But of course," I say, writing down his name and number. "Have you checked the space between your car seat and the door? I lose my phone there at least once a week."
"I checked the car but I didn't look there."
"I'll give you a call if we find it."

Two minutes later the phone rings again.

"Local Liquor Store, can I help you?"
"You're a genius."
"Have a nice evening."

I believe we have a house. In fact, though I have no signed lease, I am fairly certain that it is what one would call a Done Deal.
Holy crap finally oh my gods etcetera.
The woman who lives there now has been fantastic. She sent me a whole bunch of pictures and suggestions about where to find a job, etc. So now I am on to the collecting boxes/having a yard sale/purging our junk/starting to pack portion of this particular adventure. And it feels good.

I just got back from Savannah. Thought for a minute there I wasn't going to be able to go. Started feeling extra gross at work on Friday night, wound up coming straight home from work instead of going downtown to see the b.h. play. Hot shower, emergen-c packet, and piles of blankets. Slept and watched TV. Woke to pick up the b.h. around two, came home and passed out again, woke up feeling fine. I think the pollen just got to me.
Anyway, we got an early start, went down to Ike and Jane's for breakfast sandwiches and coffee and doughnuts. Drove straight through with only one stop, and went immediately to the club to check in. The band was an hour behind us due to a keys-locked-in-van incident. We headed over to the Sentient Bean for coffee and then to the SCAD shop. I love that place. Student art for sale, and some of it very good. Nothing I could afford that really struck my fancy, though. The band called when they got to the club and we headed back there.
Parking was a bit of a bitch. The club was on River Street, which is the mainest of main drags on the riverfront (thus the name), which was packed with people because of the absolutely lovely weather. Having already made that mistake once, the b.h. and I decided instead to park several blocks away and walk with both of his guitars and his suitcase o' pedals and such. No problem. Then we stood around for an eternity waiting for the other band to load out. We didn't really mind, though, because we were able to buy beer and stand out on the street drinking it. We did because we could, and because of the aforementioned incredible weather. After that was load in and soundcheck, which I managed to avoid most of by walking down the waterfront with R while the b.h. checked and leaving when the other band did.
The b.h. and D and I walked over to the Moon River Brewery and waited at the bar for the other guys. I had a Swamp Fox IPA. It was delicious.
We were seated in the main room, still waiting for the other guys to arrive from sound check. D had his back to the front door. Through the crowd I saw some frat boys and sorostitutes in Full Confederate Regalia, and they were making their way in our direction. When they passed our table, D looked up in disgust and said quite loudly "You guys are hilarious", in a tone indicating that he did not, in fact, find it hilarious.
I find the whole thing quite confusing myself. The fascination with a war that no one ever spoke of outside of history class where I come from. Technically those people were traitors, and since many if not all of those people claim to be patriots, I don't see why they feel the need to celebrate. Also, I can't imagine how the black people who were present (waiters and bartenders in this case) must feel at the sight of these people, but since I am not a real Southerner I more often than not feel like the best bet is to keep my mouth shut. As far as I am concerned, these people might as well be walking around in KKK robes or Nazi uniforms, but generally I am able to simply ignore it. Not so with D. He was obviously pissed (in both senses of the word, I now realized), and made it known. I was worried that we were only three and they appeared to be younger, more fit, and in greater numbers. Not that I am afraid of a broad in a hoopskirt, mind you, but the boys were definitely of the large and cornfed variety. Luckily the rest of the guys showed up just then, and we were distracted by food and fun.
I ordered onion rings and a dip-thingie made from cream cheese, sundried tomatoes, and roasted garlic to share with everybody, and leek and goat cheese cakes for myself. This is what I had last time we were here, and though I prefer to be more adventurous, there were not a lot of veggie options. I was very happy with all of my selections.
AT one point I stepped outside for a smoke break with R, again mostly because it was beautiful out and I could bring my beer along, and the first guy I saw was in a confederate uniform. I asked if I could take my picture with him, and could I please hold his sword? Then I found out that he was the Haunted Savannah Tour Guide.
"Oh, so you're not really a racist, you just get paid to wear that, huh?" I smirked. Holding the sword point to his throat was not near as fun.
Another fratty couple came up in uniform and I got a picture with them. It's one of those "the folks back home are never gonna believe this" things. By back home, of course, I mean Chicago. No one in Athens will have trouble believing.
We returned to the club stuffed to the gills and waited a short time for the bands to start playing. It was a fun show but a long one, and we were all ready to get to sleep when it was over.
Hilariously, River street was now blocked on one side with illegally parked cars, and on the other was a very long, seemingly immobile line of traffic. Two of the guys wound up walking back two blocks to get the van, then we waited while they sat in traffic, then we blocked traffic while all scrambling to get the gear in. The guys in the little SUV immediately behind the van seemed totally relaxed, watching us calmly through the windshield while thumping bass poured from their over-sized speakers. In fact, nobody honked or complained at all, which was odd but a relief. There was simply no other way for us to load out. No one from the club bothered to help us, despite there being at least two young and able-bodied men right next to the door and absolutely no business now that the bands had finished. I doubt they'll be going back there.
We spent all day Sunday walking around. The guys went home early, and the b.h. and I had the whole day to ourselves, knowing that our capable dog-sitter would be staying at least until two. We got breakfast at Clary's which I found mostly disappointing this time, and then coffee at the Sentient Bean (again), and walked through square after square all the way to the river from the far side of Forsyth Park. Then we walked down the river and turned back, this time walking a very different and less populated set of squares. We stopped in a lovely French decor shop, which D had mentioned the day before. I fell in love with a piece of art that was $1400. Of course. Champagne taste and a beer budget, as they say. I bought a greeting card and we continued on. The walk was fantastic, the weather perfect. We decided that were we to move to Savannah, this would be the neighborhood we would live in. I took a ton of pictures. There are so many tiny details on houses and gates there. It's like a treasure hunt in a way. I love (visiting) that place.
After we got back to the car we bought refills and pastries and started home.
The drive was uneventful, and when we returned we found treasure, in the form of school loan documents, waiting in the mailbox. Hoo-fucking-ray.

Iowa!

Gay marriage. Iowa. Hooray for Iowa. And sanity.
That is all.

Yesterday I spoke to what I hope will be my next landlord. He isn't sure that he and his wife are actually ready to rent the house again, but since they had only found out thirty-six hours prior that their current tenants are leaving, I was unruffled. I think I managed to be entirely agreeable in my eagerness, though, so we'll see. Part of the problem is that he has a list of dog breeds that his insurance company won't cover, and German Shepherd is on it.
"My dogs are each half Shepherd", I said. One is half corgi and less than a foot and a half tall, so I don't think it counts. The other looks like Benji, and I seriously doubt that your insurance man would peg him for a Shepherd."
Actually, I prefer the comparison to Nick Nolte's Mug Shot, first made by my good buddy Mic Harrison, but I wasn't sure the LL would find that as hilarious as I do.
I sent him these pictures for verification:







I think I've made a fairly convincing case, don't you?

After I sent the message I found another potential house on cr@igsl1st, which is nice. I sent a message to that person and then I called Shayne and went to her house so I would stop obsessively checking for responses every three minutes. I stayed there until it was time to go to work.
Work was very long. The weather is making me very sleepy, and I think it is keeping people at home, because we were not busy in the least.
Today I slept in gloriously late and have finally finished off enough coffee to function properly.
Two more days of work and then it's off to Savannah. I can't wait.