House News

Cathy, the woman who owns the house on 22nd street, called me and left a message yesterday that she was prepared to talk about a lease-to-own arrangement. I was a little surprised because I called her last week and she did not call me back, so I thought she was going to stick it out. But I guess her six month window is closed and she's ready to get consider a deal that will provide her some income from the house, even it it's not all in one chunk. We have an appointment tomorrow evening to talk it over. This is the groovy kitchen.

Meanwhile, the old house was shown for a THIRD time to "the lawyer couple" who have looked at it twice before. They were scheduled to look at 12:30... haven't heard anything from them since. I'm holding out hope, however, that there's about to be a harmonic convergence of house events.

I told myself that if something came through for the house on 22nd street, then I was meant to stay in OKC. If not, I would look exclusively in Norman. But the house is too good to pass up, and if she will work with me, I think I can cancel my lawyer debt, move in May, and end up with a great value of a house in a great neighborhood just four blocks from Grayson's school. It means I continue to drive up I-35 twice a day, but I've done it for ten years... why stop now?

Other house news: Grayson and I got home after a movie screening at the museum last night at 10 p.m. to find that our electricity was off at the apartment. After determining that there was no problem with the breakers and lights were on in other apartments in my building, I came to the conclusion that the electrical was out because Gray's bill was overdue. When he closed the old account at the house (which was in my name), he had a balance overdue, which then transferred to my current account. Silly me, I thought that the due date for that balance transfer would be the same as the due date for my apartment.

Apparently not.

I paid them this morning and I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will be power when I get home. I admit to calling Gray and reading him the riot act last night over it, because he was ALWAYS overdue on that bill and every month I would get a 48-hour cutoff notice on his account, delivered to my address. It's not really his fault, it's as much mine for not paying attention to the 48-hour cut-off notice I got earlier this week on it... but I was not happy to be brushing my teeth by candlelight last night, and to have a fridge full of food slowly spoiling as it warmed up.

Sometimes it seems like there is just no time in the day to take care of all the minor details of life. To say nothing of the money required. Right now I'm as busy as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest at work. I scurry non-stop from the moment I get there, and leave exhausted. It's just a crazy time of year, and I'd grown accustomed to having Krysten there to handle the graphics and advertising end of things. It would be crazy right now anyway, with all the things on the calendar, but I keep bouncing between our two computers like an airtraffic controller.

Bob is stressing me out, too. He get weird sometimes and I can't figure him out. I think it's jealousy of every man I speak to or interact with. Today it was all about snarky Facebook comments in response to those left by my friend and colleage Michael Bendure, who handles PR at the Fred. Bob would leave comments like "I think Michael 'likes' you." on my public wall space. Then I would go in and remove it and he would put it back. He claims it's all just fun and "Oh, I forgot that you take this stuff seriously." But it's just bullshit. It makes me tired. I want to just hang up the phone and walk away from the whole thing, though I know that's of course not really possible. My heart nor my conscience would let me do that. Tthis has the potential to be a deal breaker and I don't know what I can do about it. He's unlikely to change. Or if he does gradually get over it, it may be too late for me.

Anyway, he sent me a funny today by way of apology. This is "Sacrificial Pandas," a reference to the dumbness of "gifting" someone with a virtual panda on Facebook. I said it could also be "Our Lady of Perpetual Pandas." The face, by the way, is mine.


Gray and Bethany split up. I did tell you so. Though there seems to have been no betrayal or dumping involved,so I was wrong in HOW it was going to happen. I did call it, though.