Just an update--Some bitching, but keep reading, I am still happy

I truly hate apartment living. I'd forgot just how much. Right now, and for the last hour, I have been sitting on my bed, listening to my neighbor's music. And I can't tell you how many times I have had to listen to the neighbors above me have sex. One year, and I am out of here. I don't care if I have to live on bread crumbs and water, I will have a place of my own next year. Whether I pay an exorbant amount to rent a house or I buy, I WILL have a single family dwelling again. Right now I can't decide which is worse--my old house with mold and pest (mice, bugs, spiders, etc.) infestation, but nice and quiet, or here with noise galore, but so far no serious pest problems (some crickets) or mold. I do not function well in group housing, that is just all there is to it.

And to continue my little bitch fest, I am so sick of comment spam. So I am turning on word verification. I would love to be able to get my hands on spammers just for a few minutes, with no repercussions for what I might do to them. I really wonder how their lives can be THAT boring that they sit around creating programs/malware/spyware to spam people. Come on people, seriously, GET A LIFE!

But now, onto a happy note. I am occasionally getting work now, so things are slightly more interesting. Still very, very slow. I also know what projects I am going to be working on. Two of them are pretty major, one short term (ending in November if all goes well) and one long term (years). Looking at the things they assigned me to, I worry even more that I won't be able to live up to their expectations. I have never had a job where I have been so highly praised, especially not before I have actually done any work! It is nice, but scary at the same time.

I bought the ultrasonic bark thingy for Baci--works well when I manually push the button, but for some reason it doesn't recognize her bark, so it won't work in the automatic mode. Now I am back to square one, and just not sure what I am going to do. I hate the thought of shocking her, even a few times, but I am seriously thinking it is the route I am going to have to take. Of course, I guess I could just let her bark and return the favor of annoying the hell out of my neighbors. If it didn't annoy me so much, I just might be tempted to do that. :) I can say, this is the first time I have heard the neighbors beside me, so with any luck, it is just a fluke. I just hope that they turn it off soon so I can go to bed!

Another happy note--got to see Christina and Rose yesterday. Christina's boyfriend is a chef for a new restaurant that is opening in DC. Last night they had pre-opening evening that we went to. It was pretty cool. We had a reason to get all dressed up and then we had a wonderful dinner. We had a BBQ chicken flatbread thingy for an appetizer, salads, steaks, chicken, and pasta for dinner, and they even gave us this chocolate thing for dessert. It was all so delicious! Colin has done a great job training his chefs!And best of all--it was all free! :) All we had to pay for was our bottle of wine. And of course we tipped the waiter well; he did a really good job and he was really cute, so he deserved it. ;) Too bad he has a girlfriend and he lives in Cleveland--just here for maybe a month to help get the place open. We gave him all kinds of ideas on ways to make his girlfriend just absolutely adore him, so he treated us really well. :)

That is about it for now.

All moved in!

I bet you guys thought I was gone forever, didn't you???

I am back though, and now officially a Baltimoron. ;) I moved here on September 3rd, with the help of my parents and both of my sisters and their hubbies. My new place is nice enough, nothing spectacular, but nice. I am still working on finishing up the bedroom, and then I will really feel like I live here. Cindy stayed my first week with me, helping me to unpack, or I am sure I would still be completely living out of boxes. Christina came by the other day and said the place looks like something out of a magazine, so I guess we must have done something right when we were arranging things. Cindy took some digital pictures that I planned on posting, but on her trip home her camera got wet and so far she hasn't been able to see if the memory card survived or not. If not, then eventually I plan on getting another digital camera and I will get some pictures myself.

Work is going well, but a little boring. The guy who was supposed to be my supervisor got a promotion, effective the same day that I started. There is a guy acting in his position until they get it filled, but at the moment, nobody really knows what to do with me, or the other two new IHs that came on staff two weeks before me. Or, for that matter, the other two that are coming in the next three weeks. So, shortly there will be fine of us without a clue as to what we are here for. But hey, I am making the big bucks now, so I am not going to complain. I have done a few interesting things, and I have some training later this week, so I guess in time things will pick up. Everyone keeps apologizing for the lack of work. It isn't their fault though--just a bad bit of timing. For the most part I spend my days reading health and safety programs and surfing the new employee website. I think I have read everything twice now. :) Well, it really isn't that bad--I've only read a few things twice. On Thursday I get to go through confined space training and then on Friday I get to go out to a mobile shoe van and pick out my new safety shoes. I can only imagine what this thing looks like--a shoe store on wheels. Should be interesting!

Things for the most part are going well. Baci is loving going for walks everyday. And I am enjoying it too, for now. We haven't had a rainy day yet since I have been here, so I am sure I won't enjoy it nearly so much then, nor once it gets cold and I have snow up to my behind to walk through. That might be kind of enjoyable, seeing Baci try to make it through feet of snow. :) The biggest problem we are having right now is her barking. SHE IS DRIVING ME INSANE!!! In two weeks time, you would think that she would have gotten used to the noises at least. But no, every single noise, every person that walks by the patio doors, she goes nuts. I truly envisioned myself kicking her across the room tonight, as if she were a football, with the patio doors being the goalpost. Only in my sick little world, she just kind of goes thud against the glass, rather than passing through it. See, I am not kidding when I say she is driving me insane! But to those of you who know her, don't even try to tell me that you guys haven't thought of booting her across the room on more than one occasion... :) To save what tiny bit of sanity I still have (if any), and to keep her from becoming a grease mark on the patio door, I finally picked her up and locked her in the bathroom until she quit barking, twice. And now she is blocked so that she can't get out of my bedroom. I feel so mean doing that, but I am at my wit's end trying to figure out what to do. I think tomorrow I am going to go buy one of the ultrasonic no-bark devices and see if that will work for her. I was researching it tonight, and it seems more humane than a collar that shocks her. Wish me luck. Her too for that matter. If it doesn't work I swear I am going to go out and buy the strongest shock collar I can find and see then if she has even one tiny little brain cell that can learn barking is BAD.

Well, I think that is about it. I know, nothing great and exciting, but that is life. Hope everyone is doing great and I can't wait until I start getting some company!