I woke up early – about 7:30am. Little Drummer Boy was outside talking really loud. I tried to fall back to sleep, but I knew I had a lot of errands to run, and the post office and library both close around noon, so I figured the earlier I got started the better. Unfortunately, I got slowed down by a bunch of phone calls (although I appreciate everyone caring and taking the time to call).
The problem is I’m all talked out. I hope you all understand, but I can only talk about something so much, especially when it’s not particularly good news. So, you can find out what’s happening by reading here, and you can email me to your heart’s content. I just don’t want to talk about it for a few days. I hope you all understand!
My phone rang as I was getting in the car. It was a friend of Eric’s whom we haven’t heard from in a few years. I didn’t even know he and his wife and two kids moved to New Jersey a few years ago! They’re Egyptian and he told me they bought an apartment in Egypt and his wife was away for the summer, furnishing it. He is spending the summer going cross country with his two kids (a girl 12 and a boy 10). They're hitting all the state parks. What a wonderful adventure for them!
He is going to be in San Diego next week and wanted to see me and Eric. I told him Eric was making his way back to NY and he asked where he is now. I told him I wasn’t sure, but he was in Flagstaff yesterday. Believe it or not, THEY were in Flagstaff yesterday, too! They were actually in the same city at the same exact time. He was calling from the Grand Canyon and will be heading to Los Angeles and expects to be in San Diego by Wednesday.
I told him I would go with them to the zoo, and I have to find out what time it’s open, because I believe over the summer they have evening hours. Otherwise, they’ll go during the day and I’ll meet them for dinner. It was such a coincidence that he called today and Eric just left. Bad timing, I guess. If he had called even one day earlier they might have had a chance to see each other!
I finally got out to run my errands after 11:00am. I went to the library first and returned BLACK MAPS, which was a great mystery. Then, I hit the post office. I had to mail something, but I also had a complaint. A friend had sent me a card, but it was returned to sender as "undeliverable", because she didn’t put my apartment number on it! I showed it to the woman behind the counter in the post office and she told me that it was considered “insufficient address.”
I said, “Are you kidding me? The post office is FAMOUS for delivering mail anywhere and going to great lengths to make sure things are delivered. You hear stories about the post office delivering a post card 50 years after it was mailed. You hear stories about people who have the wrong zip, or the wrong street, or just a name and a state, and the post office works tirelessly to solve the mystery. What about the dead letter office, where employees spend years trying to make sure every last letter is delivered. Do you mean to tell me that having a complete address with only the apartment number missing is “insufficient” for me to get my mail delivered?
She said that was the story. She actually told me that this was the mail carrier’s way of reminding me to tell people to put the apartment number on the envelope. So, I said, “Well, that’s unacceptable and I want to talk to someone else.” A manager came over and gave me the same sob story – if there’s no apartment number, it’s hard for the mail carrier to do his or her job. I gave him the same speech I gave her, and he agreed.
He took the envelope (which I had asked my friend to mail back to me) and he made a copy and said he’d show it to both mail carriers. So, I have to ask you all – if you send me any correspondence via USPS, please be sure to put Apartment #29 on it, so I can be sure to receive it. SO disappointing!
After the post office I went to the card store, then to STARBUCKS, and then got a pedicure at HAPPY NAILS. Then, I went to TJ Maxx and tried on a bunch of clothes, trying to find something new to wear to work, but nothing looked good, mostly because I’ve gained back about 5 pounds. That’s disappointing, too!
Then, I went to my dry cleaner and then to RITE AID, and finally came home. I relaxed for a while, had lunch, and then did 2 loads of laundry. It was pretty nice out today, but – as usual – it was hot in the apartment, so I was pretty much sweating all day, because I was doing laundry and organizing the apartment, while watching TV.
Then, I watched 27 DRESSES starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden (who is SUCH a cutie!). It was adorable and I really enjoyed it, so I watched it again a few hours later, because it’s a 24 hour rental! The second time I fast-forwarded during the not-so-interesting parts. It’s also a free rental, because we had so many problems with Time Warner Cable that they sent us a coupon for a free rental. That’s always nice!
Eric called at 7:30pm. He was in Oklahoma City. We LOVED Oklahoma City when we drove through last year and one of our favorite campgrounds was there. We had lunch in the city and drove around a lot. It was beautiful. He’s not staying in a campground tonight. He said he’ll just find a good place to park and go to sleep.
He told me he got a flat tire, but he changed it and said he’ll get it fixed on Monday. Meanwhile, he’s driving on the spare and going a little slower than usual, so he’s already pushed back his arrival time in New York. It’s always something, isn’t it?
Unfortunately, this might really slow him down, because he has to find a tire place that works on RVs (which is harder than you think), but he has the GOOD SAM assistance (like AAA, but for RVs), so he can call them and they’ll help him find a place to do the work.
I really bonded with Conrad today, because I spent a lot of the afternoon in the bedroom, talking with him, and playing with him. He’s so good. He’s very calm and never bites. He still won’t eat anything but seed, but I got some special treats that have dried fruit mixed in with seed, so I broke a few of them up into his seed dish and I’m hoping he’ll get the taste for something other than straight seed!
I feel a little lonely, because I really don’t know anyone in this entire city well enough to call them and say, “Let’s get together!” It’s a good thing I’m a homebody anyway, and Eric and I didn’t go out much, because it won’t be that big a difference from our life together the last 7 months.
I guess if I eventually tell people at work, maybe someone will invite me out, but most of them are married or in relationships. There don’t seem to be a lot of singles, and if there are, they’re much younger and probably more into a partying scene, which I’m definitely not into.
There’s a woman who’s just a few years younger than me and her boyfriend is in Afghanistan. I think she’s really fun, so I may just ask her to go to the movies or something one night. Her man’s away doing what he has to do, so I know she’ll understand my situation.
Anyway, I’ve got my TV (which you know I love) another great mystery by Peter Spiegelman, and – if I can get motivated – my crafts. I really want to decoupage the vase my friend at work gave me with the beautiful bouquet of flowers. I asked her what theme she’d like and she said “flowers, vines and grass,” which should be fun!
I have no plans for tomorrow, except to go food shopping. Maybe I’ll take a walk, down by Mission Bay and sit by the water for a while. Maybe I’ll take a drive, and visit Gili Anna in La Jolla. Or, I could just stay home and work on my decoupage!