Some pretty crappy news

Those who keep up with my so-called blog know that once upon a time, I was big on the whole pen-pal thing. . .One of my dearest friends, Jorge Luis Hernandez Matos corresponded with me through snail mail for over fifteen years. He was from the Dominican Republic.

Life being what it is. . .we lost touch, but I never forgot about him. My last letter to him was in late 2006. I received a note from his brother today. It was short and to the point. Basically saying that he had my letter and he needed to tell me why Luis had not responded to my letter for over a year. He closed it with a phone #.

I called and one of the sisters answered. In short. . .Jorge Luis died.

I feel empty, sad and other hosts of emotions. I am confused. It was a beautiful friendship and I will miss him dearly.

May you rest in peace Jorge.

Bitch update

The cafeteria offered today these huge chocolate chip cookies. As the bitch passed by desk after getting her lunch, she said to me (rather loudly), "Did you see those cookies? They are as big as your face!"

Patience Jos. . .patience.

House update

Well, the ugly wall was corrected with a miracle called "primer." Ha, ha, ha. . .So. . .that is one less issue to deal with. The real problem is my leaking bathroom, which we cannot use.

We have been showering in the basement bathroom and it is quite an experience. The bathroom is very small and quite uncomfortable to use.

Anyone know of a good plumber?

Oh the joys of painting. . .and a f***ing leak

I can't paint to save my life. I splatter paint every where. . .my hair, my face the trim, etc. I like burgundy and thought I bought burgundy paint last Friday at the local Home Depot. When I was showned by paint, I had some serious doubts. Instead of burgundy (or a hue thereoff), I saw fuschia's ugly cousin. Ick.

I politely explained to the Home Depot guy that the color was wrong. I so wanted to have him keep it and sell it for $5.00 to someone who loves fuschiaesque paint. No so. He said that the paint would dry darker.

Liar!

Excited to paint a tiny wall that no one would really see, I opened the can. Ick. What a disgusting fuschia-like color. I wanted burgundy. I painted half of the wall, waiting an hour and repainted. No, it definitley did not get darker with the second coat. Frustrated, I abandoned the project. Let's prime and repaint another day.

As I sat to watch my usual dancing/singing shows on tv, Mr. Jos started screaming from the livingroom dowstairs. Water was leaking from the upstairs bathroom into the livingroom, while Junior Jos was taking a shower.

Ya know this shit never happened in the fifteen years I rented an apartment!

Now I have half of a fuschia wall in the livingroom and a really nice water stain in the ceiling. We still don't know where it's coming from. . .the tub? the toilet?

I hate home ownership!

I supposed the latter will be costing me some $$, which I don't have.

My own private stalker

My crazy colleague clearly needs a dosage adjustment on her meds. She constantly comes over to my desk, sits on it and starts yapping away about the fact that I can eat chocolate, since I am already married. . .what the fuck is that supposed to mean? She will milk overtime as much as she can (I can't collect a freakin' penny.). She wants to get married for the tax break and has
been in two semi-serious car accidents. Did I mention she is suing? Yes, girlfriend was to just get rich at any cost.

Oh, I also get a daily bathroom report.

She comes up with the most outlandish, silly, over-the-top comments out loud and thinks she makes sense. She also asks around for drugs. . ."do you have a spare Percoset.?"

Ugh!

Now I have begun receiving text messages. "I made a really good pot roast, want some?" I ignore it. . .

Another one today, this time a picture of a very expensive meal she allegedly had with her date. I only gave her my cell number for emergencies. . .pictures of elaborate food is just annoying as
I have to pay for my text/picture messages.

Stay tuned to what crazy will have to say tomorrow. . .

Is it too late to change careers?

I think so. Being in the financial industry for so long. . .that is all I know. I am sick and tired of hearing/reading about the subprime mess and the ensuing layoffs and how many billions and billions of dollars were pissed out the window.

I am stuck at work (unless I get laid off). Everyone is miserable and the morale is pretty low. Leave the Company, you might say. . .where the fuck to? Everyone is in the same shitter. All the major players are suffering; the smaller ones will fold at some point. So for now, I will grin and bear it and wish my superiors a slow, agonizing deaths. Sounds mean, but hey - they got paid.

Tomorrow, another week in paradise will begin. . .

Jos - the victim

For a change, I will pretend the world revolves around me:)

• I had nothing to do with the subprime mess; therefore, why should my bonus be relatively nil because of someone else's mistake? (My firm has hired extra security for the upcoming bonus announcements)
• Since when is buying a house a jail sentence? I want to travel in February and Mr. Jos is giving me the evil eye. . .Must be because my earnings pretty much pay for everything? Hmmm. . .
• Genetics are a bitch. Thanks, MOTHER for being a depressed mess. I am now clinically depressed and it's all your fault! While I'm on it, thanks DAD for passing along the heart problems. My sister has heart problems and I just recently found out that I am at a high risk for cadiovascular disease. So far, I have beaten your odds just by a hair. . .You died in your late thirties. Will I make it to 40 in September?
• If heart disease does not kill me, perhaps my low hemogloblin levels will. . .I'm in the single digits here!!!!
• Why can't my teenage son pick a fucking college already? Dude just loves to play video games and watch tv. The computer is for chatting. I am tired of being the one that takes cares of everything in this household. I am going on strike. Go flip burgers and give me some rent money!

'nuf said

So far, being a homeowner sucks

I really liked renting. . .fifteen years in a small apartment where all I had to do was pay my rent on time. Because we were there so long, the rent payment was super cheap. Sadly, we had outgrown it and had to leave:(

So here I am, in my very own house. I can't even nail a picture on the wall because I am so not handy. It's been two months and so far:

(1) we still cannot figure out how to install the washer and the dryer
(2) we've found some cracks that I swear were not there the first five times we came to see it
(3) the renovations performed by the owner/flipper was a real crappy job, to say the least
(4) replacing a door is a bitch
(5) we can't paint for shit
(6) sump pump? what the fuck is that and why it is about to flood my basement?
(7) why can't my rooms look like those on hgtv.com?

Oh well, it was an impulse purchase. . . like buying an expensive pair of shoes.

Call me naive. I should know better. I work for a financial institution for Christ's sake!

Last night

Last night I was bored. Lately, it is quite rare for me to leave the house. I just work and come home.

At around 7:00p, I was quite hungry. I asked my son to accompany me to dinner. We were on our way on the Bronx River Parkway when all traffic slowed down. It never fails; when my son and I get on to the Pkwy, there is always an accident or two or three.

We entertained ourselves by listening to music until we could see the flashing lights which would signal the end of our ordeal. Not so.

The driver of the SUV behind me looked quited despaired and in a hurry to switch lanes. I wondered how he would be able to do this with three lanes of essentially a parking lot. Somehow he managed and then it became quite clear to me why he did it.

We were hit from behind by the SUV which was behind the SUV that switched lanes.

SUV had no driver.

WTF!

Living in NY for a long time, nothing really surprises me, but this was freakin' weird. Apparently, the driver had hit someone, promptly exited the car (still in DRIVE mode) and ran. So the car was randomly hitting people, including me.

I flagged down a cop who stopped traffic from moving on all three lanes because by now everyone was calling 911. The driver was apprehended a few minutes later. Hurrah?

As he was taken in handcuffs to the cop car, I overhead him telling the officer that he was having a bad day.

I was too.

My son and I were ok; but my bumper was slightly damaged and I have a huge scratch in the back of my car. It would not have been worth it to stop, so we went about our business.

The drink at dinner did me well.

Whenever I drive now, I will be sure to check that the car behind me has someone driving it.