It's cloudy and chilly outside, which is a big change from the gorgeous 70-80 degree weather we have been having. All I want to do is lay down on the couch with my book before the week begins again. However, the bar studying has begun. The first time around, I missed the application deadline because we moved here so late in the year. After a pleading written to the bar Examiners, I was rejected (in January) and told that my application would be moved to the July, 2011 exam.
I think in a way, it was a really good thing. I now have several months of studying under my belt, and I was able to take a breather before diving in again. Sometimes I don't think you realize how much stress you are under until you are out of it. Part of that is survival. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Mike and I got married, moved, I started a new job, Mike started school and I started studying for the bar. In this interim of not having to study, Mike and I have been able to enjoy/discover what it is like to be newlyweds and hopefully begin to identify and resolve any issues that could begin to fester.
And of course, just when I have gotten used to not having to go straight to the desk (dining room table) to study after work, and started to enjoy my free weekends, this climb begins again. (Did Miley's Cirus's song just pop into anyone's head?) I am reluctant to let this free time go. Which is why I am blogging, considering reading my book and thinking about what I want to make for dinner. (We will be having shrimp and risotto with spinach :-)
Mike and I are doing well, and life is pretty boring, which is why my posts have been lagging. We went to dinner Friday night at a random little Italian restaurant, and then went to see "Unknown" which we both really liked. Work is a little tough right now, but I keep telling myself it is a wonderful opportunity and a stepping stone to where I want to be. It was interesting - the other night, Mike informed me that the last time he saw me happy at a job was when I was working with my "babies" doing social work. (Yes, we have been together THAT long.) My first reaction was to get mad and explain that the reason I went to law school was so that I could help these kids in a bigger way. Only time can answer whether this was the "right" choice, which is hard because I want instant answers....
ANYWAY - my parents are coming this weekend and I am so excited! We are going to a Red Sox/Rangers game, and it will just be great to spend some time with them. They just returned from Jamaica for a week, where apparently my dad was consistently asked if he wanted some "Ganja, man?" My mom thinks it was his beard. I'm not so sure....The funny thing is, while they were gone, I was 100% sure I discovered a doobie/roach/I don't know what they are called - in our air conditioning vent. I always go to the guest bathroom to dry my hair because Mike is usually still asleep when I get ready for work. On this particular morning, I was getting hot from the blow dryer and saw that the vent was closed. As I climbed up onto the sink to open the vent, a rolled up piece of paper fell out. It was burned around the edges and immediately my mind went to a conspiracy where the owner was hiding his marijuana habit from his wife.
Suddenly I was smelling marijuana (I have never been able to identify this smell - I am really not a very good smeller.) I went to wake Mike up who told me I was smelling my coffee. That evening, I showed him the drugs that were being smoked in our house. Except it was a label that seemed to have been attached to the vent when it was installed and somehow was singed when we put our heat on. Don't worry, our home is again drug free. :-)
Ok, these are the ramblings of Jenny on a Sunday. I think I am going to read my book.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Everything Plus the Kitchen Sink
There is often a debate on whether or not it is better to rent or own a home. I definitely think it is nice to rent because when something breaks, you are not on the hook to pay for it. You just call someone and they come to fix it. However, since we have moved into this house, it seems as though every week something is breaking or acting erratically. The other night I took my first bubble bath in our jet stream tub. When I hit the button to turn the jets on, brown gunk started shooting out into the water. As I leaped out of the tub, attempting to rinse the dirt off me, I noted in my head just another thing to call our landlord about.
Here's the thing. Our landlord is horrible. The owners of this house apparently moved quickly, and I don't think they thought about the expenses that come when someone else lives in your home. They were looking at a check coming in every month to cover the mortgage with a little extra on the side. However, this house was built in 1993. Every appliance in our kitchen is OLD, but we are fine because we have the necessities. All I ask is that when something breaks, it is fixed.
Since we moved in we have had some plumbing problems. Aside from dirt spewing at me in the bathtub, the sinks tend to drain slowly. I noticed that immediately when we first moved in, and also noticed multiple bottles of Drano. So, the first time the pipes underneath the sink began leaking, I was not surprised. A "handyman" was called out and put some caulk around the pipe. Move forward to present day. Our garbage disposal was completely clogged several weeks ago with standing, green water in the sink. . After informing me when I called that he did not take complaints over the phone, I emailed our landlord to tell him about the issue. Three days later, several plumbers inspected the situation and shook their heads. We finally got one who was able to unclog whatever the problem was.
Just a few days ago, we received an email from the landlord informing us that a $300 bill would be sent to us for the cost of the plumbing services. I was livid. He explained that the plumber found PEAS in the disposal and that from this, we were clearly overstepping the boundaries of what a disposal is supposed to grind up. The last time I checked, peas dissolve on their own...to me that suggests that perhaps the disposal isn't working properly. After I emailed him back to inform him that we would not be paying this bill, he emailed me with the Wikipedia definition of a garbage disposal and a note from the owners. The owners seem to think we are partying it up in their house and just breaking things for the fun of it. (I guess they think we are throwing forks down the drain.) They claimed that after living there for 10 years they never had to call a plumber, and requested that we begin scraping our plates into the trash. To me, that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I have directed the landlord to speak with Mike from now on as I may say something to get us evicted. We may still get evicted....my last email said:
Dear____________:
Thank you for your Wikipedia definition of a garbage disposal. From now on, we would like to speak directly with the owners. My husband's number is: ________.
I guess we will see how that goes over. TGI almost F!!
Here's the thing. Our landlord is horrible. The owners of this house apparently moved quickly, and I don't think they thought about the expenses that come when someone else lives in your home. They were looking at a check coming in every month to cover the mortgage with a little extra on the side. However, this house was built in 1993. Every appliance in our kitchen is OLD, but we are fine because we have the necessities. All I ask is that when something breaks, it is fixed.
Since we moved in we have had some plumbing problems. Aside from dirt spewing at me in the bathtub, the sinks tend to drain slowly. I noticed that immediately when we first moved in, and also noticed multiple bottles of Drano. So, the first time the pipes underneath the sink began leaking, I was not surprised. A "handyman" was called out and put some caulk around the pipe. Move forward to present day. Our garbage disposal was completely clogged several weeks ago with standing, green water in the sink. . After informing me when I called that he did not take complaints over the phone, I emailed our landlord to tell him about the issue. Three days later, several plumbers inspected the situation and shook their heads. We finally got one who was able to unclog whatever the problem was.
Just a few days ago, we received an email from the landlord informing us that a $300 bill would be sent to us for the cost of the plumbing services. I was livid. He explained that the plumber found PEAS in the disposal and that from this, we were clearly overstepping the boundaries of what a disposal is supposed to grind up. The last time I checked, peas dissolve on their own...to me that suggests that perhaps the disposal isn't working properly. After I emailed him back to inform him that we would not be paying this bill, he emailed me with the Wikipedia definition of a garbage disposal and a note from the owners. The owners seem to think we are partying it up in their house and just breaking things for the fun of it. (I guess they think we are throwing forks down the drain.) They claimed that after living there for 10 years they never had to call a plumber, and requested that we begin scraping our plates into the trash. To me, that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I have directed the landlord to speak with Mike from now on as I may say something to get us evicted. We may still get evicted....my last email said:
Dear____________:
Thank you for your Wikipedia definition of a garbage disposal. From now on, we would like to speak directly with the owners. My husband's number is: ________.
I guess we will see how that goes over. TGI almost F!!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Too Old to be a Wing Man
Someone asked me the other day to update my blog. I told her that if I did, it would just say, "Got up, worked, came home, fixed supper and went to bed." Life has been a little boring recently, which is just fine with me. I think sometimes if you are boring, there is a lot of happiness there. As fate would have it, Thursday night I experienced something blog worthy.
I promised a friend here we would meet because she just finished taking the TX Bar and we had not seen each other in awhile. (Sidebar - I have also been discussing setting her up with a guy we know here, and they do have a texting relationship so far.) Anyway, Thursday evening after work, I met her at a wine bar where we sat and caught up. The most amazing thing about this place is you can have food delivered to your table from surrounding restaurants! We ordered a pizza and some salad and just sat and chatted.
As we flew through conversations, we finally began discussing my guy friend. I knew that he planned to go out with some of his friends that evening, and mentioned that to her. The next thing I knew, texts were flying and somehow we were headed to her house to change and meet him out. It was close to 11:00. I was already exhausted - and keep in mind - still wearing my work clothes, that could only suggest I am employed at the public library. It had been one of those mornings where you throw on the quickest thing you can find in your closest, which I learned once I got to work, was black pants with a huge toothpaste stain on them, a top and a little black cardigan. Not so much the outfit you would choose for a night out. You know those outfits they show you in fashion magazines that suggest how to change from day to night? I wouldn't have made the cut.
Anyway, as my friend put on a super cute outfit, I demanded at least a change in shirts. After upping my style to "business casual for 2011 rather than 2003" we headed out. We were *attempting* to play pool (which I was actually really good at in college) when my friend met us. I will say this - this is the first time I have played matchmaker and it may have just actually worked. You can ask my best friends and sisters - I am generally horrible at matching people up. But Thursday night, there was some magic happening! Enough that I ended up sitting on the steps texting Mike because it was going so well. Mike was working, but don't worry, he was involved soon enough.
After last call (which is at 2 AM!!!!) we got in the car to go home. Since I live 30+ minutes away from where we were, I left my car and let my guy friend drive me home. Except it was all three of us. And they came in. I think Mike's face said it all. Suddenly people were opening wine and pouring drinks while Mike and I sat on the couch staring at each other. In a sense it was hilarious. In another sense, it was a mess the next morning when I had to be at work. I will say, my friends went on a date last night and seemed to really enjoy themselves. However, I discovered I am way too old to be a wingman. If I am going to continue this matchmaking, I am going to have to open my own office and work during regular business hours.
I promised a friend here we would meet because she just finished taking the TX Bar and we had not seen each other in awhile. (Sidebar - I have also been discussing setting her up with a guy we know here, and they do have a texting relationship so far.) Anyway, Thursday evening after work, I met her at a wine bar where we sat and caught up. The most amazing thing about this place is you can have food delivered to your table from surrounding restaurants! We ordered a pizza and some salad and just sat and chatted.
As we flew through conversations, we finally began discussing my guy friend. I knew that he planned to go out with some of his friends that evening, and mentioned that to her. The next thing I knew, texts were flying and somehow we were headed to her house to change and meet him out. It was close to 11:00. I was already exhausted - and keep in mind - still wearing my work clothes, that could only suggest I am employed at the public library. It had been one of those mornings where you throw on the quickest thing you can find in your closest, which I learned once I got to work, was black pants with a huge toothpaste stain on them, a top and a little black cardigan. Not so much the outfit you would choose for a night out. You know those outfits they show you in fashion magazines that suggest how to change from day to night? I wouldn't have made the cut.
Anyway, as my friend put on a super cute outfit, I demanded at least a change in shirts. After upping my style to "business casual for 2011 rather than 2003" we headed out. We were *attempting* to play pool (which I was actually really good at in college) when my friend met us. I will say this - this is the first time I have played matchmaker and it may have just actually worked. You can ask my best friends and sisters - I am generally horrible at matching people up. But Thursday night, there was some magic happening! Enough that I ended up sitting on the steps texting Mike because it was going so well. Mike was working, but don't worry, he was involved soon enough.
After last call (which is at 2 AM!!!!) we got in the car to go home. Since I live 30+ minutes away from where we were, I left my car and let my guy friend drive me home. Except it was all three of us. And they came in. I think Mike's face said it all. Suddenly people were opening wine and pouring drinks while Mike and I sat on the couch staring at each other. In a sense it was hilarious. In another sense, it was a mess the next morning when I had to be at work. I will say, my friends went on a date last night and seemed to really enjoy themselves. However, I discovered I am way too old to be a wingman. If I am going to continue this matchmaking, I am going to have to open my own office and work during regular business hours.
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