Hope

You know those little rubber bracelets commemorating every cause on the planet? I found one I had bought a while back that simply says "hope." I put it on. I wonder if it might actually be working.

I haven't been around much lately because all of a sudden we have people over every night. Even as I type, the hubby, Tall and Our Bum sit here and play the game Facebreaker on the Xbox 360. (Sassy was here but she couldn't stay awake.) Apparently the summer resources have run out because suddenly our place is "the" place to be. I'm not complaining, except for when they forget about us again anyway. I enjoy playing hostess and I know the hubby loves cooking for a house full of people so all and all it's been a good thing.

On the topic of moving, we may have made a minor little bit of progress. We've asked someone to be a roommate, and guess what, it's not Ketchup. Our Bum, in light of his recent split with Poor Me, has become available and hopefully after twenty-eight years and two kids he has become responsible enough to depend on. He is the type to flake, but really only when no one is depending on him. I think he can take the situation seriously if we needed him to.

We haven't told Ketchup yet. We aren't kicking him out. We have talked it over with Our Bum (who I might just have to change the name of if he actually starts paying rent) and he is okay with Ketchup riding the couch a bit longer. I don't want to be the person who kicks the guy out right before the holiday season, however by the first of the year (ultimatum time) he needs to have a solid plan as to what he plans on doing, getting up and getting out.

Ketchup mentioned wanting to get a hotel room for Christmas and drinking himself stupid. I can't condone that. I can't sit here and be in the holiday spirit knowing he was doing that. I told him he will get into the Christmas spirit or be damned, he will not bring me down, there are too many other things waiting in the wings to do that in this oh so cherished time of year.

Want to know something funny? Li'l Mama left a card on the door the other day. (I have my doubts as to whether or not anyone else in the building got one, this plays into effect for our response to this situation.) It said that her one year old daughter had an allergy to cigarette smoke and because of the horrible stench, she was propping the hallway door open despite the sign we posted years ago asking people to leave it closed due to bugs. (Our door is right by the hallway door, hence every time we open it when the hallway door is open, abundant flies get sucked in, driving me thoroughly nuts, which she knows. Li'l Mama however has a fire door halfway down the hall that leads into her bedroom, not the baby's, a door that is never used and we personally installed the threshold and weather stripping to seal it.) Not only has no one EVER smelled cigarette smoke in the hallway (our guests at least, know better dammit) but I have several other guesses as to what the kid could be allergic to (if the story claims true that is.) How about the two cats that the baby's daddy is horribly allergic to? How about the mold around every window in every apartment? How about the few dozen allergens she lets in by leaving her front door open for hours at a time, especially considering the deck right outside her door is a common smoking area for everyone in the building? Or hell, a billion other things a kid could be irritated by. Our front door is in the kitchen, no one ever smokes in the kitchen and there is a curtain dividing it from the living room. Our kitchen never smells like smoke. No one else in the building (as far as I know) smoke inside. I tell ya, when I read that semi-polite/half insulting card, I couldn't help and smirk and say "well shit, she's starting early this year." We've been closing the hallway door every time we see it propped open. If we didn't, by the time the temperature started dropping outside, it would start dropping in our kitchen as well. I won't be paying a higher heating bill because she decided to get uppity, again.

We had better get out of this place before Christmas, that's when she tends to go nuclear. Do you realize how many people's lives would be easier if we moved out of this building? Tall, Sassy and Prissy would no longer have to worry about passing Li'l Mama's dreaded door. Hairy just might leave the building more often, (he needs Li'l Mama away time whether he knows it or not.) Our Monday nights might shift from bar night to home party night (if our future living room is big enough anyway. Not only would it be cheaper for everyone involved, but with no bar next door we'd still be able to drink to our heart's content, which has been a lot lately.)

I looked up a bunch of apartments today so in the following week the hubby and I will be making calls and debating. With the commitment of a roommate, we can afford that hundred dollars more that has made our options so slim in the past. Hopefully with both Ketchup and Our Bum contributing, we can really start saving, especially if I get a little part time job myself, something I have been hesitant of considering I have to keep it within walking distance.

I'm on my... fifth or sixth drink now. The hubby, Tall and Our Bum are still playing Facebreakers. Maybe if I stop ignoring them for the sake of the computer they will switch games. Sorry blog, that's all you get for now. Bye!