Rainy Days, Dating, Personal Finance, Home Improvement and (of course) Cats!

How can I ever live up to a title like that? Maybe the plan should be to just start digging away. It's what's on my mind.

Today started overcast and by 11 am was a thunderstorm and downpour. By the time it started monsooning I was already at Lowe's to buy a short hose to drain the hot water heater which I finally did. Done. Amen. My mind is at peace.

I'm taking Chantix now which is a new drug to smother the nicotine receptors in the brains of smokers so they will stop smoking. So far so good. I might point out that this drug has also recently been identified as possibly assisting with other addictions. Yeah I am still smoking - about 3 or 4 cigarettes a day as opposed to 30 or 40. I'm only smoking because it's a behavioral thing left behind and I need to get to work on that. No pill will be magic. On a more positive note I no longer feel the urge to gamble and have sex. Anyway, one of the side effects of this pill is really vivid dreaming. Sometimes this can be kind of great. Mostly for me I notice myself talking in my sleep. Coherently. In a calm tone of voice. Last night though I had a dream that my wallet and keys had been stolen which meant dealing with drivers licences and credit cards and checking account . . . I was miserable and it took some 30 minutes of gently waking up before I realized it was a dream. Once I was up with a cup of coffee in hand I realized I really should do what is suggested - make a photocopy of everything in my wallet and keep one copy on file and another with me should I travel. This makes sense to me - always has - but I have never done it. I will this weekend.

Dating. OK. Since it was a rainy day I did a bit of channel surfing and found an A&E show called Confessions of a Matchmaker. My experiences at eHarmony and Match.com finally found support. There was one guy who was 346 pounds - total slob who slurped his fettucini at the date table so it got all over his chin(ssssss) and clothes and insisted that he had always only been attracted to slender gals so wouldn't consider any woman weighing more than 140 pounds. This so goes along with my experience. Double standards abound in the over 40 dating world. You can be 200 ounds overweight but if I am a few pounds beyond the latest hot supermodel I am dog chow. Mr. X had a decent job but lived in a house that reeked of cat piss. His idea of a weekend was playing with his Wi (Wii?) and watching all the shows he Tivo'd during the previous week. For hours on end. Seriously. With the binds drawn closed so no sunlight could permeate his fucking cave. On his TV that was so dusty with electronic static it looked like it had a white feather boa wrapped around it. This one (and the 3 others now that I think about it) needed a Mommy, not a girlfriend. Several times I had him over and cooked good nutritious meals served at a table with silverware and placemats and napkins and the one time he had me over he heated up some focaccia bread to be eaten in front of the TV off of store brand paper towels. In hindsight I totally scored on the heating thing. In my 20s I could deal with this. In my (and HIS) mid-forties not so much. So I'm not dating. I have a few good friends and talk on the phone and get together now and then but not so much the dating. Anyway I thought the A&E show was kind of funny in a really depressing way. So anyway to make it official I am 45 now. Have wrinkles which are sometimes accompanied by zits. I need to lose 50 pounds to be at my ideal weight which makes me only a thin "curvy" person because that's the kind of body I got when I slipped down the chute. I smoke about 4 cigarettes a day now but that doesn't mean you won't do some stupid thing that makes me increase this just to defy you. If you want to play with your Wi get your own house. If you want to play with your remote without regard to my input get your own house. If we watch a DVD you won't go to hell for letting a few minutes of previews run. Sometimes I like these. Reminds me of what I would have seen had I not been holed up in your cave watching your TIVO. If you can't deal with 3 minutes of preview how can you be expected to deal with 5 minutes of foreplay? Oh. Wait. Nevermind. How silly of me. Sometimes I cook meals that don't have meat and might originate from other countries. If you don't like it get your own house. I work a full time job PLUS. If you expect me to do all the housework AND the home improvement which will improve and protect "our" investment get your own house. Whew. Thanks for letting me rant.

When I was draining the water heater today the hose had to go out the backdoor and despite my paranoia and diligence Dylan got out. When he got out I decided whatever happened would happen and I tried to relax. He nosed around the backyard for a bit and then later moved to a spot in the driveway underneath the truck. After a few hours I was out putting things in the recycle bin and he moseyed up to the gate. I slowly walked to it and opened it and he walked right in and when I opened the back door he came inside just like a good boy. I wish I could trust him to not go in the street. I would love to give him backyard privileges.

Blah blah blah.