Thursday Thirteen

It's Thursday, so time for Thursday Thirteen !

Today, I will list thirteen things that are stressing me right now, in order of stressiness.

1.  My social life.  Why do I have to make all the running?  Every weekend, I call up friends.  Dinner?  Music?  Bike ride?  I'll get back to you later.  Not sure.  Already have plans.  And no one calls us to see what we are doing.  Sometimes I feel like a reject.  

2.  My rental unit.  The upstairs tenants have not paid rent this month.  They are racking up late charges.  One of them (my stepson) has gathered his share, but the others have not.  I have a mortgage payment to make; utilities to pay; and I just spent $3,400 on electrical upgrades, which  put my cash flow into the "Danger, Will Robinson!" range.  I can't spend any more money until I have collected more rent.  But the rent doesn't come!  The deadbeats are not responding to me.  Pretty soon, I will have to evict them.  And since they are all on the lease, I will need to evict my stepson, too.  Maybe Chuck can convince him to get the non-paying people out and find new housemates.

3.  My work load.  I need to be at work more, but I am being pulled away to meetings, training, etc...

4.  My relationship.  We're married!  We are on old married couple!  How can love survive that?

5.  My body.  When I am not in the right frame of mind, I can't bring myself to work out. I sit gathering wool instead. And then I become more miserable, and gather more wool.

6.  My body some more. I HATE, HATE my figure.  And people (who are not me) think I am slim.  But they don't have to look at my butt.  Which is big.  And sliding down my legs, 'cause I am getting old.

7.  My bills, bills, bills.  This month need to fill  the propane tank.  It's going to cost the better part of $900 and that is a big chuck of my monthly income.

8.  My husband's ex.  Why does Chuck's ex-girlfriend need to be building her dream-home next door?  She is going to be right next door forever! How do any of us ever move on?

9.  My soccer carpool.  Sara's practice way out in Riverton, more than 30 minutes away.  Some other moms and I are going to rotate driving our kids out there.  However, I don't have seatbelts for all of them in my tiny car, even if Nathan isn't with us.  And since I don't have time to take Nathan home before I have to drive, I don't have capacity, period.  Who can I strap to the roof?

10.  My program.  We are going to move to a new building in a few months, and everyone thinks I can build a bigger, better, more beautiful adult education program when we get there.  Sure, the building will be bigger, but how do they think we will be able to afford to do all the cool new projects everyone expects?  Guess who has to figure out how to fund it?

11.  My Christmas plans.  I would like to buy Chuck a wedding ring.  But if he doesn't buy one for me, will he feel bad?

12.  My kids' future.  If I can't make any money on the rental property, I can't put anything in my kids' college accounts.

13.  My credit security.  I was contacted by my credit card company to say that the security of my credit card has been compromised and that they need to send me a new card.  Blah.

Thursday Thirteen [Thirteen Tiny Things]

1.  Queen Jody, the school cook, loves to steal my coffee mug and surreptitiously wash it.  She looks inside it and thinks, "Gross!"  I look inside it and think "Flavor patina."
2.  I got to use the word "internecine" in a sentence this week.
3.  At the local grocery store the avocados are coded wrong. They currently require me to show ID in order to purchase them.
5.  Chuck and I took our tandem on a ride with another couple on their tandem and made quite a stir with our tandem tandems.
6.  Random edibles:  banana candy from Vietnam.  Think of a brown Gummy Bear mating with a Bit-o-Honey bar.
7.  Finally found out the giver of my mysterious wedding gift.  A wind chime and a giant fortune cookie appeared on my desk when I returned from my wedding trip.  There was no card and no one that I asked know anything about it.  Turned out to be one of the teachers on my staff, who realized that she had not included a card, became embarrassed, didn't tell me it was from her...  etc...  After a few days had passed, she got even more embarrassed.  She finally, after about a month, she told a colleague, who in turn told me.  I sent her a thank you card, apologizing for the lateness!  HAHAHAHAHA!
8.  I went to the store late last night, with a horrible hankering for some "Abuelita" brand Mexican chocolate.  It makes the BEST cocoa!  They didn't have it!  Had to settle for a box of Junior Mints.
9.  Gift pack from United Way, to thank me for being a teacher.  Two pens, two pencils, sticky notes, and three Jolly Ranchers.
10.  I got a sunburn during the Marathon last week, and am now peeling so horribly that people are looking at me, then looking away...
11.  A former student came to the school last night and asked me if I remembered him.  He shook my hand and then held it for a while while I was talking to his daughter-in-law.  It was very heart-warming.
12.  We have a little boy who will be staying in our babysitting room while his mother takes English classes.  He is autistic and  keens loudly for the entire time his mother is studying.  I do not know how I am going to handle this.
13.  Until Saturday, I am letting myself eat anything I want, 'cuz I just ran a Marathon, so there!  I went and got a big ol' burger and fries from Wendy's today.  I haven't eaten fast food in months!  it was soo gooood!