Red
Daily Reports: Hi ho, the every-daycycle doings here in Alpha Complex!
...and I'm sure it was quite unintentional.
Jul 02, 2009
I check in on my former hometown's news-site from time to time. Today there was a headline about a federal judge acting to move the decision about California's Proposition 8 - which attempts to legally prevent persons of the same gender from forming a social/legal/financial unit - to the US Supreme Court. In November 2008, a statewide ballot prohibiting same-sex marriage passed. A group of people sued to challenge this. In May, the state supreme court said that it could not arbtrarily overrule what the voters approved, and the ban was upheld. Now the fight is being taken to the US Supreme Court.
The news-site has had random rotating ads on its articles for quite some time. The placement is completely random...so the ad I was served, as I viewed the article, was completely serendipidous...and absolutely perfect.
I think that disallowing marriage - the formation of a social, legal, and economic unit - for persons of the same gender is senseless. There are many people who claim that marriage is a religious institution and that since many religions preach against homosexuality, then the only people who can experience the sacrament of marriage are two persons of opposite genders. There's a flaw in this logic, though. What additional secular legal rights or responsibilities does a 13-year-old Jewish child get when they go through a bar/bat mitzvah? None. And what additional secular legal rights or responsibilities does a Roman Catholic child get when they go through the rite of first communion? None. There are plenty of religious ceremonies that do not grant any changed legal status outside the religion in question. The barrier should work both ways: because, hey folks, the social concept of "marriage" was in place long before the thirteen tribes were wandering the desert. Marriage has a religious component for some, but hardly for all. Marriage is a matter of property rights, inheritance, and mutual legal/fiscal/social responsibility...which, no matter how much the church might like to control that, it doesn't, and hasn't directly for quite some time. The whole idea of excluding people from anything just because they're not exactly the same as the majority of the population is, in my mind, extremely anti-Christian. It's petty, it's meanspirited, it's elitist, it's "I want to be special so I don't want *them* to be able to have the same rights as me, even if they're not causing anyone any material harm, because they're different", and it's very much against the inclusive school of thought preached by the individual, or group of individuals, whom history calls "Jesus of Nazareth".
So the placement of this ad, on this article, made me smile:
And really, what would Jesus do? He'd wish the couple well, is what. He'd attend the wedding if invited, is what. And he'd look with confusion, if not mild exasperation, upon anyone who said, "But they can't get married!! That's not Christian!!"
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I am painting my home's exterior myself. First home. First exterior paint job. Eep...
Jun 15, 2009
Today marks the beginning of Operation: Exterior Paint Job. My neighbors are helping me with my house, and I'm helping with theirs. I'm doing this myself, rather than hiring it out, for a few reasons:
- the "winning bidder" painter who's doing several other cottages in the complex is doing a single-coat paint job with a sprayer (when using a sprayer to apply paint, the paint is thinned with water so that it will go through the nozzle. This means that 1 coat with a brush = 3 coats with a sprayer. More sprayed-on coats, when it's truly a quality paint.)
- this same winning bidder is doing zero prep work. No scraping, no sanding, just covering the windows with plastic, covering the nearby cars to catch any overspray (though not too well), and hasn't powerwashed all of the units they've done thus far.
- for this bid, people are paying nearly $1000. I can buy the paint, primer, caulking, brushes, sanding blocks, painter's tape, and dust masks for half that...which just leaves the labor costs.
- by doing it myself, I get to learn about how to take care of my house (and learn where any potential weak spots are, et cetera et cetera)
The paint I'm using is very thick, has excellent UV-fade protection, is guaranteed against warping/bubbling/cracking/peeling when applied according to the manufacturer's instructions (another reason not to use Winning Bidder), and is in a color I like. My house will no longer be a candy-colored / bright pastel monstrosity.
Prep work will probably take until the end of June. I'm going to have some help from the neighbors; but for the most part I think I'll do as much of the lower-story and porch prep work as possible. (They're also lending me their great big tall ladder to paint the upper story, their homeowner expertise, and their son who has graciously said that he'll help paint the upper story. Which means I get to be a big ol' baby and keep my feet firmly planted on the ground :D ) Today I'm going to countersink some nails, which the builder didn't bother to hammer in completely. Then I'll need to smooth caulking over the nail holes to make the surface even. I should be able to get that done before I fly to my parents' place on Thursday, for a little visit.
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Long trip. Strange trip. Exhausting trip.
Jun 03, 2009
Many changes in the past several months. Many, many, many. I bought a house. I’ve acquired a mortgage. I’ve joined the homeowners’ association. I’ve had two people I know and one I knew of, commit suicide. I’ve had to deal with an increase in costs and a decrease in both “fun money” and a decrease in income. I’ve madly searched for other jobs, but now with summer coming on AND students out of school AND the economy in a general funk, there’s nothing on Craigslist but MLM schemes and “office work / accounting” deals to facilitate money transfers from foreign countries.
The Home Front: I’m on the HOA board, and this year almost every one of the residents has to paint their exterior (detached cottage homes…the owners have to take care of the structures, not the association. On the flip side, if ever I get utterly fed up with these people I can buy a tract of land and just have my cottage moved over there, so taking good care of my home’s structure is not pouring water into the ocean.) I’ve found the paint and the color I want to use, I have a general idea of what I’ll need to do for prepwork (powerwash, light sanding, priming), and I’m signed up to help two of my neighbors paint their lower stories so that I can get their assistance painting my own house…but I don’t have the money to purchase the paint. (Damn!!!)
The Money Front: I still have a job, even though there’s been both a rate cut and an hours reduction since the beginning of the year. That’s making me a wee bit edgy. I’ve looked into mortgage adjustment, I’ve looked into lower-costing healthcare, and I’ve tried to find ways to get rid of cable TV while still keeping my highspeed internet and unlimited long distance phone plan. It doesn’t look doable, sadly (and irritatingly) enough. Though I may just pitch the cable TV entirely, get only internet through my current provider, and go with Vonage for the phone. That will more easily let me have separate-charge records for the high-speed internet, which is a) necessary for work and b) tax-deductable because it’s a work expense.
The Fitness Front: I’ve been walking more, which is good. It doesn’t boost the cardio too much, but it does tone the muscles. I’ve also noticed my knees clicking a bit less since they have a few (yes, only a few) less pounds to carry about. I’m also thinking of starting the Power 90 workout, partially for my own fitness benefit, partially as a way to get ready for the AIDS Lifecycle next year. After supporting two of my friends as riders for the past several years, I’m going to try becoming one myself. (I have no idea if I’ll succeed. Fundraising has always and ever been my weak point; and there’s a floor of $3,000 in pledges for a rider to be allowed to participate. I also have never ridden long distances before, and don’t currently even own a bike. So, yeah, a few obstacles to overcome there…)
The Day-to-Day Front: It’s been very warm the past few days - low 80s - and will be that warm today and tomorrow. Then there will be a local cooling-off period, and temps will drop back down to the high 60s and we’ll have some cloud cover. Still, I don’t have event staffing this weekend, so I’m painting my nails with an utterly outrageous color. I have several bottles of Sally Hansen’s Nail Prisms, and I think it’s time to use them :D
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I was sick, but it wasn't pig-flu. Just...flu.
May 05, 2009
Today is very windy and rainy. Not icy cold, but at 52°, it’s definitely on the cooler side of things. It’s downright unseasonal.
I woke up insanely early today for no apparent reason. After three days nursing a mild-ish case of the flu, I am still wobbly, but am doing better. The house is filled with the smell of just-baked cornbread…and the house is receiving the leftover heat from the partially-opened (but deactivated) oven. I’ve got my cup of tea (coffee’s a bit strong for my stomach still), the rain is falling on the rooftop, and just before I got sick I’d planted some flowers out front.
Now if only it would not rain quite so heavily…
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blah blah, blah-blah-blah-blah
Apr 20, 2009
A friend got evicted last week. They’re halfway across the country, so I can’t do much to help. I did offer my library as a place to stay, if they are able to get out here. However, they’d have to leave their home state (they’re currently staying with another friend) and they could not bring their three cats because 1) mine would have a fit; and 2) they’ve routinely let their cats pee all over furniture, including ruining a leather sofa. As much as I dread telling someone “yes, I can help you but you have to give up your pets,” I could not deal with the aggravation caused by taking in at least two cats who are used to being allowed to pee all over any surface they please. (The third one might be just fine; I don’t know.)
My hours at my web dev job got reduced by 25% last quarter; and now we’re all taking a 10% rate reduction. I can’t qualify for mortgage refinancing because my property value has dropped so much (yay housing markets) and so I’d have to pay $10K up front to lower my mortgage payments by $100 a month. That doesn’t even calculate the added interest on the loan over its lifetime.
I had interviewed for an additional job that looked good: telecommuting, providing tech support, all very much up my alley. And part time, so it wouldn’t cause interference with my web dev job or my event staffing job. I got the notice today from that company that they’ve offered the position to another candidate (probably one that doesn’t already have other jobs and so, presumably, would be willing to grow with them if / as the position expands to fulltime.)
I had to let my hosting support person go. With the small client base, no one was asking questions or submitting tickets, so there wasn’t anything that needed doing - and with the various reductions, I now can’t afford to keep paying them until the client base grows. (I need to get off my backside and do some marketing.)
I’m in a funk. The weather’s lovely, but I’m about as cheerful as a funeral home. And I know, intellectually, that I’m still relatively well off. I have jobs (several, in fact.) I have a home. I’m not facing eviction or foreclosure. I’m currently healthy (though I don’t know how much longer that will last if I can’t get neurologists to return my phone calls so that I can get my prescription refilled by a neuro in this state). My car works. One of my cats will be needing significant medical work this summer; but hopefully - HOPEFULLY - it won’t be the multiple-thousands-of-dollars variety. (I already know it’s going to be at least $1,000. Maybe since this one has a sweet disposition I can find a less costly vet to take him to…?) But I’m still kind of freaking out.
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when I'm feeling bluuuuuch
Apr 10, 2009
I don’t feel well. My head is splitting, my stomach’s fluttering, and I ache. I really do not need to be fighting off the flu right now.
Today I was going to spend time playing with the toys I got yesterday. I was going to drive down to the stadium, pick up an autodeposit form, and fill that out (leaving the requisite voided check this time, so they’d be able to autodeposit my paychecks instead of me having to wait two weeks for them.) I was going to drive down to NorWesCon (well, to a friend’s room party after the convention) and hang out with some folks I haven’t seen in a year.
Tomorrow I have a soccer game work-shift in the evening. This is the first event I’ve been scheduled to work this month, so I really wanted to get the hours.
I cannot be getting ill!!
On the flip side, maybe it’s one of those 24-hour things…
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