It's Been a Week!

So much going on!

I was robbed in November. A lady I'd hired to do some cleaning took some jewelery. I didn't discover the theft until December, and then only partially. It was January before I realized how many pieces had been taken. I hemmed and hawed about it for about a week then called the police to report the theft.

A month goes by, and I finally got the police report from them to give to my insurance company. I called my agent, and he intimidated me so bad I nearly didn't file the claim. But I had to file the claim!

Another week went by and I finally called them. They were fast, efficient, and downgraded my loss by about $2375, so I have to absorb that much of it. To be honest, that includes my deductible, so the amount of actual loss not covered is about $1375.

So that was story number one. Story number two...

I ordered some cat furniture from a reputable supplier. It was almost $400 for the order, and included two cat trees and one scratching post. One of the trees was 80 inches tall, almost to the ceiling, which I figured would give the cats a wonderful view of the bird feeders and space away from each other.

The items were all shipped separately, from different points of origin. The first never arrived, but the second arrived on Feb 10. I got another e-mail, for the third shipment, and looked into the three shipments.

It turns out that the wonderful, tall cat tree was delivered to someone other than me, left by a front door, with no signature confirmation. The delivery company says they delivered it to me. I'm sure it doesn't help that I had several deliveries that week, and continue to receive items I've ordered - specialty cat products, books, online-only office supplies, and so on. So, they closed the inquiry, and are offended that I would even hint at a mis-delivery.

Too bad. Now, I have to do a chargeback against my vendor. I hate to do that, but the item was the most expensive of the three that I ordered. In fact, the one cat tree that I received was a purchase afterthought because the large cat tree was $100 less on sale!

So, I went to my bank and did the chargeback yesterday. I really hate to do that. I really do. It's a black mark against any merchant when that happens. And it wasn't her fault, but the shipper's. The only mistake she made was allowing the shipment to be made without requiring a signature confirmation.

So much for story number two. On to story number three...

My doctor wanted me to take some allergy medicine because of the drainage I experience every night. She prescribed Zyrtec. It's known to make folks drowsy, so I took a pill at night with my other meds on Wednesday.

I had a very fitful night's sleep, came stark raving awake at several points, and my body seemed to slow down. The next day, I was in a fog all day, and had to slap myself awake during my last class. The drive home was a nightmare!

When I got home, I slept. Nothing but. The phone was ringing off the hook, and I just couldn't talk to anyone. I couldn't get the phone to my ear fast enough. I ended up with six messages on the machine. Two were the insurance company, one from the shipper, and three from friends.

I ended up sleeping till about 8:30. I got up and called two friends back, and it was too late to call the third. I ended up staying awake till about 4:30am and then went to bed. I slept like a log till 10:30 when the alarm went off.

It was now Friday, and I had a lot to do. I went to the bank to do the chargeback, went to the court and did my little research job there, and then went to get tires on the car before the next rain hits. I've not had time for that since I had the money, and it was becoming desparate. I almost hydro-planed during the last rain on Thursday, when I was groggy.

I got home, and forget the diet, I wanted a hamburger! So, I got one of those when it was time to have supper.

Story number four...

During all this, as if my week wasn't full enough, I printed the last of the research I'd done for my book. I organized what had been printed and started printing at home, and finished the job at school. I'm now looking for space to work.

I think I'll clear off the perfectly-good work space I have that's an accumulation of stuff that doesn't belong to me and wasted money. There is a furnace filter that's the wrong size, an older laptop computer, and a collection of stuff that belongs to a friend that moved to CA over a year ago. He want's it shipped to him if he ever sends money. Meanwhile, it's taking up space in my house. If I can get the table cleared off, I'll have a great work space for school work, sewing and other purposes.

Story number five...

Well, there's this mess that's been accumulating around my chair. Things fall and I'm not paying attention, so the mess gets bigger and bigger. Last night, I'd had enough. The reason for the mass purge was that my cat Fluffy, who never pukes up hairballs or anything, got sick. All over the place, repeatedly, and nastily. I had to clean up after her.

She started on a pair of shoes that got tossed yesterday afternoon. She has diabetes, so this is kind of a serious turn for her. She continued into several rooms, and hit the paid bills, computer programs (boxed), office supplies, clothes, and of course, all the stuff sitting around my chair. It was bad enough that the pile was growing, but her getting sick on it was more than I could stand.

So, it's been a very full week. Lots of ins and outs, lots of stuff happening. So much for not getting anything done!

Those pills from the doctor? - not taking them anymore. Once was enough.

Been wanting to write, but can't seem to get there

I even had the screen up for about 3 hours while I ran around the other day. I just didn't have the time/energy/desire to actually sit down and write.

I talked with my friend who's husband passed. I shared, but not all of it. She isn't the problem, and doesn't need to bear all of this right now.

She suggested OA on Saturday, which is a really good idea for me. I need to get my diet back on track. I know what works, but I just can't seem to stick with it for an entire day. I get off kilter and eat whatever I see. I have all the right stuff in the house...

My housewarming went well. It was less well-attended than I'd hoped, but not bad. I had a chair or two available, and it was a nice visit with friends. That was the main thing, anyway. I really wanted friends to come visit.

In the apartment, nobody came over after the first time. The place was so bad - cramped, it felt like the place was closing in on you. It didn't smell, but the cat hair was pretty bad - I'd given up trying to keep it under control - I couldn't turn around or reach anything without moving something else.

I love the space here. I don't want any more furniture. I just want what I have to be organized. Yes, I need bookshelves. I need a baking station in the kitchen. So, yeah, I guess I still need some stuff, but it can't be that stuff comes in and nothing goes out. I have to "REPLACE" things - short book cases with tall ones - not just integrate tall ones and keep the short ones too. Although, more shelving is always a good idea for me...

I got my 4-drawer file cabinet, and I haven't even begun putting stuff in it. I guess I can start that project. The sewing room is still a mess, and until it's organized, I can't sew. I guess some shelving for there is a good idea, too. (sigh)

Maybe I'll just have to keep adding bookshelves and storage until it's all put away and looks clean.