Thoughts and Jots

So, I guess I've let my wee audience down lately by not blogging. Sorry about that - it's been a busy week or two. How about a catch-up? Hmmm...

Well, we bought a vehicle. Tim's red monstrosity finally gave up it's ghost and we bought a nice used Ford Ranger. (For all of you non-car people like me, this is a truck. And it is red.) Yup. Now Tim won't have to pay a small fortune to ride the train into the Bronx and now he won't smell like gasoline when he comes home (the red car had a fume issue). I don't really have too much more to say about that, except (as my good friend Celeste has so adequately pointed out) that this truck will come in handy since it seems as though we move once a year.

Speaking of moving, our tacky landlords sent us yet another reminder that they want us to let them know if we are staying on for another year. This letter comes after the note telling me that my rent will be raised by $400 extra bucks per month. I'm reading this letter from them as my apartment reeks of cigarette smoke from my chain-smoking neighbor, while my car parked in the garage gets dripped on by a leaking AC unit (at least it's not a toilet), and while my electric bill grows ever higher as I try in vain to cool off my ground floor dwelling. As much as I hate to move, even more so, I hate evil landlords. There is a special level in Hell for evil landlords, this I know. Well, add that to my to-do list... "Hunt for new apartment." Dang it.

On a more positive note, I got to help out at the AID's Experience exhibit in Grand Central. Tim was in charge of volunteers, so I figured I'd volunteer too. It was this huge maze-like thing, where you get an MP3 player with the story of 1 of 4 real-life people who had a brush with something traumatic, and you walk through seeing that person's life story in pictures and realistic displays. I walked through it and got the story of Stephen, who was this little boy who grew up in Uganda and was forced to become a child soldier and do terrible things. At the end of all the stories, they wind up at an AIDs clinic and you have to take a mock AIDs test. Stephen, thankfully, was negative. Then there is a prayer chapel and a prayer wall as the final part of the exhibit. The whole thing was really well done. (The exhibit is very similar in form to a Holocaust Museum.) Anyway, I got to work the exhibit a bit - stamping people positive or negative. I'm not saying that I enjoyed stamping people positive and giving them AIDs! I'm just saying...

The least enjoyable part of working at the exhibit was handing out fliers. I wish I could bottle a bit of it for you, my beloved audience. New Yorkers, ahh. They think that they can just avoid eye-contact with you and you no longer exist in their world. Let me tell you, I have a new respect for those crazy kids on The Apprentice. Handing out fliers in NY really sucks. And I wasn't even selling anything! Good grief. I felt like I was holding a sign that said "Homeless - Will Work For Food." But I eventually figured out how to turn on some "doe" eyes and a "Vanna White" smile, so I at least got some traffic. Watch out, Donald Trump!

Well, my fingers are tired because I am a "hunt and peck" typer. So I guess that's all for now.