Tales from the Steppes

2005-05-20

12:06 p.m.
Hearts break hearts mend love still hurts, Visions clash planes crash still there's talk of saving souls

It is probably a good thing that I did not add an entry last night because the word "fucking" would probably have figured prominently. And I wouldn't have been talking about sex.

I think the only member of my household that did not manage to piss me off yesterday was Max, the ferret. Well, ok, Frogzilla and the Nameless Newt didn't either but there isn't really much they could do to contribute to the quality of my day one way or the other. But as far as I am concerned, the rest of the household, furry and fleshy, are currently on my shit list. Not that that apparently means anything, which may be part of the problem.

I had to work late yesterday to help make up for the time spent at the doctors getting the YM's cast removed. While that might sound like a simple operation, it took 3 1/2 hours to accomplish. I could have gnawed the thing off in less time. But then it wasn't the actual removal that was the problem, it was getting the xray to confirm that it was actually healed. Throughout the waiting, the YM was cheerful and bore it better than I would have expected for a 5 year old with no toys. He even put up with the twink of an orthopaed trying to get him to say lines out of Lord of the Rings, because he "looks like a hobbit." And the doctor kept calling me "Mom." I hate that. Really hate that. But I smiled back at him and thought of hot pokers.

So, anyway, I walked in the door last night to discover that the Beast had once again gone marauding on the shelves of food. This time it was packages of oatmeal. He basically carried them to the front door, tore them open, at a lot of the contents, but left a giant mess. If this was an occasional occurence, I might not have been so upset but I have been greeted with a similar sight every day this week. One day it was granola bars, another M&M cookies, crackers, art projects, mashed potatos, anything he can get his mouth on. And of course I am the only person who can see the wrappers all over the floor, much less pick them up. It always amazes me how my children can call me and now IM me to communicate some piece of minutia but yet do not see this as anything of any consequence. Food storage is complicated right now, so there is nothing I can do about the shelves. We do have gates than can be used but I am the first person out of the house in the morning, so I have to depend on the SU to handle that end. And it isn't happening. If he was my dog, he would be in obedience school. But he isn't.

We have also been having a problem with the Mongols getting into food that they are not supposed to. Specifically ice cream and other frozen treats. And leaving the wrappers strewn in the yard, on the side porch, through the house, and in the garage. I know this is pretty typical stuff but it is a bit stupid to get into something you aren't supposed to and then leave the wrapper lying out, so I know you did it. Then we have the choruses of "not me"s when I inquire as to the ownership. So last night we had to have a little lesson on the consequences of lying vs the consequences of merely disobeying. Necessary but not enjoyable. And we will see how long they remember this. It seems that most of the time I get upset at them, their spirits will be dampened for about 5 minutes and then they go right back to their usual selves.

The EM has a school trip to Philadelphia today so I spent last night getting her ready for that. She is supposed to take snacks to eat while they are walking around but nothing in the house would do - she wanted gummi bears. Finally I gave in and said I would get some because she was already late going to bed and I was just tired of the whole exercise. After I got all of the kids to bed and filled out my endless benefits forms, which are due today, I walked over the the 7-11 to get the gummi bears. They were even on sale, so I considered the $2.00 well spent to get me some peace. I walked through the door to discover that there was diarrhea exploded all over my living room. I had been gone less than 10 minutes.

I was not a happy camper. If the dog is sick and has problems, then I feel badly for him and while I may not be happy, I am certainly understanding. But when he is deliberately bad (and he does know this, he is not stupid) I have problems feeling that sorry for him. And this was a particularly foul, large mess on a night when I had already put up with enough shit (the above is actually the sweetened,condensed version). Apparently, my extended rant awoke the sleeping SU at some point. Or maybe it was the smell. Of course, I was mostly through with cleaning it up by then, so he very helpfully took out the trash and gave Beorn some drugs.

So I finally got to bed around midnight, armed with the knowledge that I needed to be up in 6 hours, as I had to drive the EM to school early for the field trip. Which wouldn't be a deal except I only got 3 hours of sleep the night before, which was in fact, my decision and completely under my control. That is when the SU decides to tell me that I really need to get the materials together to get the backyard fenced and when am I going to get the rocks ordered so I can build the walls for the raised beds?. This does not sound like a big deal but we are in a historic house and have many hoops to jump through. Before I can put up 60' of fence, I have to draw up plans and details, make photos of precendents, research historical fence styles, and get an application in for a hearing. Many hours of my time. Time that I do not have right now. I had been counting on working on my thesis for at least 2 hours a night but that hasn't really happened because I have had too much other stuff to do. Given my mood, he was very lucky that I did not tell him exactly where I was pulling that fence out from.

But I am in a much better mood today. Amazing considering I have spent most of the morning on the phone with personnel and benefits. Personnel emailed me this morning to let me know that if I want to be paid next week, I need to get them a copy of my degree. Today. Guess I won't be ordering rocks on my lunch hour. And I get to work at an environmental expo tomorrow to make up the time I spent at the doctor's yesterday.

I am not certain that I am liking this full-time job thing yet. Before it seemed like I spent most of my time working, even when I only worked part time. Now it seems like I spend most of my time working but I am getting farther and farther behind. Perhaps I am naive but I did not think there was really that much work out there. But it really could be a whole lot worse. I just need to get into a new rhythm for juggling all of this and part my plan entails beating the Mongols until they can pick up after themselves a bit.