Black Friday was such a cool day. I went in to the office my normal time (most of you are still in dreamland when I get to work, LOL!). Worked a little bit, then helped fix breakfast for everyone, did some more work and then got out of there st 10:10am. Awesome!!

Cruised up to the dealership where I got my tire replaced last week to see if they had my prescription black Ray Ban sunglasses (I called multiple times and never heard back from the service dept.). Alas, they didn't have them. I know I left them there, so I hope whoever picked them up has my prescription and that they really needed them. Sigh, they were expensive. Plus, I don't know if I can get them configured like that again (long story). Anyway, only good thoughts to the person who has them.

After that, I came home and puttered/relaxed. There was no way I was going to a store and dealing with crowds, so I hung out listening to podcasts and reading. I made sure to take all my laundry out to my car, so I wouldn't have to do it this morning in the dark.

I went to a new laundromat this morning and it was so cool. Because I'm me, I got there a little before they opened so that I could be sure to get however many machines I needed, plus have a little instruction time. This place does not take cash, you have to get a free card and then load it with money. Now they're pricey for a laundromat, but it's clean, well-lit, has good parking (if you get there early) and they always have staff there.

They also have HUGE machines!!! I should have used the largest washers, but ended-up using three four-load machines and two two- two-load machines. Yes, I had that much to wash! I was down to three clean sets of sheets for the bed, so that means I had EIGHT sets to wash (don't judge, I have a thing for sheets), plus one comforter and a bunch of clothes to wash. All that cost $30 to wash. It would have been a bit cheaper, but since it was my first time there, I didn't want to risk overloading the machines. The best thing is, everything was done washing in 27 minutes!! Each machine finished within a minute of each other, making it perfect to unload one into a cart, move to the next one, etc.

When it came to drying, after taking out a few things that needed to hang dry, I was able to fit all my stuff in two MASSIVE machines. They cost .75 every 10 mins and I think I ran one for 30 mins and one for 40 mins. May have run one machine another time, I'm not sure.

So, with folding everything, packing it up and walking back to my car, I was out of there around 8am. I did the equivalent of probably (conservatively) 10 loads of laundry from start to finish, in under two hours. I'm definitely going to go back! Hopefully, it won't be with so many sets of sheets, they're a pain to fold by myself out in public.

I'm also still working on my clothes gathering project. We're volunteering soon and the place we're going is also taking clothing donations. I've been going through and getting a lot of things ready to take. Nice thing, I've found shoes that I purchased online that I never wore as they didn't fit, along with clothes that still have tags. I'm hoping this will help people! We've gotten together about 500 toiletry packs as well. You know, bags with shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, sunscreen, deodorant, shower caps, etc.

I'll let you know how it all goes after we're done.

My new project for this weekend is that I'm going through and getting all my Christmas stuff together. I'm not going to put anything out until December, but I want to get it ready. Plus, I'm not sure where I'm going to put my tree this year. I'm keeping my front door open more than I did last year, so I'm not sure if the place I put it then is practical.

I also brought work home.... we'll see if I get to it!

My house is a mess, lol!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Because I'm a crummy friend, I begged-off going to friends houses today. Everyone lives kinda far and I really just don't want to drive. To be honest, I've only gotten 3-5 hours of sleep each night for the past week or so (I feel tired and "off")and I knew the idea of getting dressed-up, driving, cooking, cleaning, helping, then driving back home wouldn't appeal to me (I was right!). Plus, I have to go into work for a couple of hours tomorrow (Office closes at 10am), so sticking close to home is probably a good idea.

My current agenda for the day is wide open. I'd originally planned to go to the laundromat, but they're closed today (who knew?). I'll go tomorrow or early Saturday morning. As an alternative, I'm hoping to get in a couple of naps, continue going through my clothes for donations, make a few lists of chores I need to get done over the next few days and perhaps walk over to Starbucks. Maybe I'll bake something? I dunno. The cool thing is, as I don't have to get dressed-up, I can do all of those things while wearing my comfy overalls. YAAAASSSSSS!!!!

Whatever you end-up doing today, be safe and have fun. Don't forget to take time out to stop and reflect on everything you're thankful for!

Work has been kind of weird/odd since I last posted. I have made a concerted effort to be very nice, but not fully engaged with my friend/co-worker. I think he regrets a lot of what he said, but he's not the type to apologize. I also think he misses our back and forth throughout the day. While friendly, I'm keeping it all surface level stuff. No asking about the weekend or evening before. No volunteering on my part either.

Example:


Him: "Did you see that article about xyz?".
Me: "No, I hadn't, what was it about?".
Him: "Blah, blah, blah".
Me: "Oh, cool. I'll have to check it out".

Normally, we would have a really good conversation about it. I'm sure he misses that, I do.

At least it's not awful at work. It's just weird. I guess it's our new thing. Only good thing is, I'm getting crap done I've been putting off.

I'm making apple crisp from our tried and true family recipe. No oats or anything like that- no, no! Ours is more like apple pie with shortbread crumbled on top. I tried using part raw sugar with the regular sugar, we'll see how it turns out. I also added two extra apples and some cinnamon as the baking pan was a little bigger than I needed. I hope the people at work enjoy it, I'm only making it to make my apartment smell good.

Well, chores to do...

Today was a difficult day.

I had a lot written, but I deleted it. A very good work friend who I value and look up to did and said some things today that I will have to pretend to have gotten over, but in reality I'm devastated. They are going through difficult stuff in their personal life and chose to lash out at me in order to vent their frustration/feeling of helplessness. Horrible things were said. I sat there, quietly and let them do it, because it was coming from a place of pain/anguish. When it was done, I asked if we were good and he said "yes". But I'm not good. I'm crushed. Some things you can't take back once they are said.

I have to suck it up and go into work tomorrow as though everything is great.

Wish me luck.

Well, I was driving home from work and as I exited the freeway, the “tire pressures are low” alert came on. I drove to the closest dealership and found that I’d run over a really big screw. Right at the sidewall. Could they please fix it? No, they can’t. Now I’m waiting to hear how much this is going to cost. I’m expecting it to be steep. I found out after I got the car that I had “performance” tires, which is code for EXPENSIVE. I have no need for tires like that! I drive to work and back and sit in traffic, who has a need for performance tires in Los Angeles?

Waiting is taking forever. They’ve just turned the lights off. Should I be worried?

Well, I was there for two and a half hours and just got home. Is it worth eating dinner?

A friend gave me the news Stan Lee passed away earlier today. While I haven't picked-up a comic book or attended a convention in quite a while, the news took me slam-bang back to the first time I met him at San Diego. I could almost see/feel/smell/hear everything about the con, all the books and the panels. It was surreal. He lived a full life and will be missed. My heart goes out to all his friends and family.

We were able to get out of work early, so I got home over an hour early! I'm probably going to waste the extra time, but that's okay!

Update- I did waste the extra time. I ended-up taking a really long bubble bath and listened to a podcast interview of Simon Pegg. I thought about things in general. Was sad for a bit, but then Gotham came in, looked-up at me over the edge of the tub and meowed.

Time to get my afternoon chores done.

I'm a voter that is spitting mad right now.

I walked-up to my polling place, sample ballot in hand and ready to cast my vote! I get to my table, hand over my ID (I don't like to have to spell my name and address, so that's easier). Next to my address, someone hand wrote "vbm". Apparently, that means "Vote By Mail". Well, if you have that and want to vote in person, you have to surrender your mail ballot. Well, I have NEVER been a vote by mail person, EVER. I love to vote. I mean, I love the whole thing, standing in line, punching the card, watching them put the ballot in the box. All of it.

I told them I never got a mail ballot, so I can't surrender one. I'm told I will have to cast a provisional ballot. WTF??!!?? I asked if there was a supervisor or someone who could override it, so they call over this woman. She comes over, having no fucks to give. She says basically, too bad fill out the provisional. I asked who I could complain to and she flippantly says "call the governor" and walked away. Again, WTF? I said "that was a bullshit answer, alike I'm going to call Jerry Brown and he'll get right on the phone to hear my complaint about voter fraud". The people at the tables felt so bad and were so nice, I have no qualms with them. The other lady though....

Soooo, when I returned home, I googled my issue and then got on the phone with the Secretary of State Voter Complaint Hotline. Spoke to a nice lady who took everything down and filed it. I already got a follow-up call!

The guy who called me back was awesome and outlined what they were going to do. He also recommended that I re-register to vote, so I'll do that tomorrow.

Know your voters rights folks!!! If you experience any issues voting, call your Secretary of State's office. They should have a voter hotline.

If you're interested, here is a good article on Trump rallies I found in the Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/01/trump-rallies-america-midterms-white-house