I finally finished The Poe Shadow. Another one from Matthew Pearlman, who wrote The Dante Club, which I absolutely loved. So this one was also good. Not as good, mind you, but it wasn't horrifying and didn't give me nightmares, either. I have always loved Poe and it was interesting to actually read some of the details of his life and death. I had been left with the impression, as most people are, that he dies face down in a gutter and that he was a drunk. Not so. A pretty good read, which is prompting me to drag out my big leatherbound Poe collection. But not before I finish Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer. I am enjoying that one, but as I feared it shines some light in corners I may not have wanted to look in.
Also re-reading Confederacy of Dunces. i got it back from my friend Jason just after I returned from New Orleans and just before I moved. Now my good friend MT is reading it, and since we've both just been to New Orleans I thought I'd catch up so we can chat about it. It really is amazing how different it is reading a book when you know the area where it is set. I'm digging it.
The new job is still boring as all getout, but having received my first paycheck in the mail today, I feel slightly more motivated. I have also finally gotten several calls back about other jobs, which is great. I have an interview on Tuesday for a full time thing that's only a few blocks from the house. Hoping for that one. Otherwise it's back to waiting tables. I got a call last night at 9:45 from a catering company whose ad i had answered a full nine days prior, wondering if I was available for a bartending gig this Saturday. They couldn't tell me where, because they had two events, and they were not offering me anything permanent- "the response to our ad on cr@iglist has been so huge that we're not even doing interviews"- but they really really needed me. WTF? How could they be serious? And when I looked back at the website, I realized that the guy I was talking to was THE OWNER. Ridiculous. Unorganized. Stupid. I figure they either suck so much that they can't keep employees, or they are such control freaks that they won't hire somebody to help them schedule staff. Either way, I am not near desperate enough to work for them. Although it is tempting just to see what kind of trainwreck it is. Who the hell do they think they're kidding? The response was so huge that they don't have enough people three days before a wedding? Seriously?!
I went on two walks with Kilgore today. One was early in the day, way back in the woods behind our house. He was exhausted and couldn't wait to get back, which is how I know I went a long way. Wyatt hasn't been feeling well this week and declined to join us. We went again later, this time down the hill of death and into town to walk along a path by the river.
I have finally gotten almost completely organized. this has never happened so quickly after a move, so I guess unemployment has its perks.
We got our first bag from the CSA yesterday. Lots of greens. some fresh dill, radishes and a couple tomatoes. Oh, and garlic scapes, which I had never heard of before, but which I enjoyed thoroughly. This is going to be a great learning experience.
In other news, some of the bulbs I planted are finally sprouting. If they come all the way up there will be photos. Also, there are a ton of these berry bushes (I can't remember what they're called, but I will ask the landlord again) sprouting all over the yard. The flowers are hot pink and just beautiful. I hope the berries make good pie. if not, I will settle for the black and blue berries. But there aren't nearly as many.
Tomorrow I am mostly free to do whatever. There is a festival (food and music) in Burlington that we may decide to go to, but since dogs are not welcome we will likely skip it in favor of something water related. Unless it rains.
And speaking of rain, it has rained a ton since we got here, but never when the weather service says it will. I have never lived in a place where the weather forecast has been so consistently wrong. Bizarre.