On my drive into work last week, NPR did a story on nasal irrigation… The process is this: you shoot a saline mixture up one nostril, and it comes out the other. Repeat for the opposite side. I know, sounds pretty disgusting and senselessly masochistic, and yet, I was sucked in right from the start.

You see, since returning to the States, my sinuses have been driving me up a hairy wall. Last year when I was in California for three weeks, I underwent acupuncture sessions, which helped tremendously, but the effects have since worn off. Now I battle a stuffy nose and major congestion every frickin’ day. So it was time to try something new. Yup, I went out and got the kit. The sensation is not horrible– no burning or anything– still, it’s definitely weird. Afterwards, there’s some residual moisture, and the nose feels really drippy. But eventually, the passages clear out pretty well, like I’ve just ingested a bit of wasabi. I’ve only done this irrigation thing for three days now, so I’m not wholly convinced of its efficacy but I plan on giving it a few more days to see where this leads.

John, meanwhile, refuses to witness any part of this new morning routine. He thinks I should just get the full board of allergy tests through the ENT. Who has time to skin test all these silly allergens?

Other than that, nothing exciting. Just been lying around all day. Just finished watching the Oscars. Didn’t think it would suck me in today, but I suppose I underestimate how easily I get conned. The Departed for best picture? You gotta be joking. Seriously. I was not impressed at all. Lame. And did you catch that glaring error? They said the movie was based on the Japanese film, Infernal Affairs. Because you know, we Asians are all the same, right? Annoying.

What else. Oh, we went to that Muir Woods restoration volunteer event Saturday morning. I think I need to stop all volunteering activities. They always disappoint. First the weather was cold and rainy, which they can’t help, I know. Then the volunteer leader was totally unengaging. I mean, you already have people committed enough to wake their asses up super early on the weekend and brave crap weather… is it that much more to ask that you have some charisma? Finally, our group leader was a stoner, at least John insists she was. She talked ultra slowly, and when we left, she said, “Ok, so you guys are peace out?” I happen to think she was just one of those slow, easy going personalities… John thinks otherwise. Who knows, I have horrible radar for these things.

Well, this day is totally shot. Big meeting at work tomorrow. Calling it quits, because I’m an old fart. Oh, Happy Chinese New Year, my friends. Sorry for the late wishes… hope you stuffed yourself silly. It is the year of the pig, after all.

Obviously, I was a very disgruntled and frustrated person last week. Just when I’d lowered all expectations, my college roomie surprised me with a call. In fact, we even met up last Saturday in the city. I really enjoyed catching up with her. She’s this career workin’ woman– an OB/GYN in the military. Just got stationed east of Napa. In a few months, she’s possibly shipping off overseas. It’s inspiring to find people who love their work. But like I said, it’s nearly impossible to get all three legs on the table of life: work, love, home (place). That’s my theory, at least.

I’ve just been in a crap funk lately. Pessimistic about the world, bitter about everything. Strangely, I’ve recently run into ultra-religious folks– more here than anywhere else I’ve been. In the last month, I’ve had three encounters where I’ve met cool people (except when they attempt to convert me): a coworker/friend, a vendor with whom I had lunch, and my frickin’ masseuse. Yeah, first time I went for a massage since being back, and it was totally NOT relaxing talking about faith and all that bull. I have to say (unapologetically): I am just super anti-religion. Seriously, it’s the root of so much violence, and the Christians, who are adamant about distinguishing themselves from the Catholics, are still pretty annoyingly righteous with their whole “There’s only one true god and it’s ours.” In other words, other people who are believers of other faiths are just plain wrong. And they’re going to hell. So what I don’t get is this: I try to be a good person. I believe in personal accountability. I believe in the power of individuals in enacting positive change. In the most simplified sense, I consider myself good. And yet, by their rubrics, I’m going to hell for the sole reason that I don’t believe. Now frankly, I don’t really give a fuck since I don’t believe in hell or in any kind of afterlife, but I do find the thought offensive. Like if I’m friends with someone, that means I have qualities that person finds likable. How then can he/she accept that I am destined for hell and automatically clump me with Satan’s posse? Am I just their “project”? No, I haven’t read the Bible so I admit, I don’t have a deep understanding of the story, but you know what? I just don’t have the curiosity, and honestly, I feel there’s too much to learn already just from current events.

Anyway, Valentine’s Day came and went. John and I hadn’t been getting along, so this was one attempt to get back on track. I got him a hand blender (I know, aren’t I romantic?) and he made dinner with a bunch of long lost dishes– veggie wraps and cauliflower/truffle oil. Tasty favs from our Raleigh days. The day after, I signed us up for a Chinese cooking class at Whole Foods. The class sucked. I thought we’d have our own cooking stations. Nope. This was like Home Ec class where we broke off into groups and then each group made one of the four dishes. Exactly. Poor planning, and in the end, only one of the dishes was even edible. The others tasted crappy; we didn’t even want to take the dishes home. Still, I haven’t totally given up… maybe a cooking class through the community college will be better.

In other news, John and I hosted a Game Night yesterday. We spent all morning cleaning and prepping. Foods included veggies and dip, veggie pizza, spinach salad, mac and cheese, pot roast, crab cakes, glazed carrots, and cauliflower/truffle oil. Yup, it was a lot of work. Plus, I played my instrument. I was a bit tipsy already from the sake, so the performance was pretty forgettable (at least I hope so). We played some new games: Apples to Apples and Celebrity Taboo. The party was a good time, but I have to say, it wasn’t quite as much fun as the ones I had in Shanghai. It’s just tough to get the group dynamics right. 😛 But I was glad my friends from work made it. It’s good to interact with them in a non-work setting.

We’ll try again. I like having people over. It’s a good excuse to clean/organize the house. Ha, ha. Next time I want to try an international film night or something. On V-day we watched The Departed. What a disappointment. Infernal Affairs was sooo much better and that movie would be perfect for Movie Night. Also, I’m thinking bowling night, roller skating, horseback riding, hot tub… See, this is what happens when you’re desperate for friends– you start plotting more activities than there are weekends in a month.

Jesus f-ing Christ, it’s just been one of those weeks. I swear, I’m going to submit my letter of resignation next week. Ok, I’m being overly dramatic. Still, this was my first week as a full-timer, and my god, I hardly had time to piss and shit. Seriously, worked late every goddamn night, and I’m soooo frustrated.

You see, I’m working with this guy. He’s Muslim, which is fine, but just so you know, he’s the same dude who interviewed me and wouldn’t shake my hand. Remember him? Yeah, at that time, he said, “I see from your resume that you’re feminist and all, but I don’t shake hands.” So whatever. Back then, I thought he just didn’t shake anyone’s hand. I know, I’m the ignorant American who knows nothing about religion, much less Islam. So I just thought it was a custom-type thing… until we went to some customer meeting and he shook their hands. But whatever, I’m not going to take offense over something little like that.

Anyway, the CEO asked me to work with him on cost analysis. I’m like the farthest thing from the business type, so I have zippo interest in cost stuff but whatev. I’m the company’s bitch now. So long story short, I’ve had to spend a lot of time with Mister M. and in the last week, I’m sure I’ve committed all kinds of sins against him. For example, on several occasions, I accidentally brushed against his hand at the keyboard or hit his leg with mine. Poor guy. In both instances, he rolled his chair back away from the desk, and then it was just quiet for a second or two. Sorry, but if he would just let me update the fucking file… I get so impatient watching him make changes that I could make in no time. So that’s the bigger picture. I don’t really care about the religious thing (other than not wanting to totally offend him). But he’s frustrating me as a coworker, because he’s very particular about his Excel files and so am I. We had this meeting with the customer earlier this week, and there were all these complaints that the stuff we presented was confusing or jumbled or whatever, which was actually true. So I really wanted to re-examine everything and try to take an entirely different approach… you know, like just start from scratch. I inserted a new spreadsheet and assembled the data in a way I thought was clearer. But then he liked his way… and we ended up just stepping on each other’s toes all while trying to be cooperative and polite. I’ll tell you though, I was seriously at my wit’s end. And I was getting stressed out too. And sure, I had some mistakes. I’m not saying I’m perfect or that my work is perfect. But so many damn times, I suggested to do something one way, and he refused. Then, later the CEO would come by and suggest the same thing. Wtf? Of course, the CEO never knew I made the suggestion already nor did Mister M. ever acknowledge my comment. After the customer meeting, I also linked everything in Excel, such that if the vehicle quantities changed, we just had to update one cell, then everything would automatically update. But then he was upset I didn’t update his form but rather, I started a new sheet. Ugh. Well I won’t bore you with the details but I’m still frickin’ worked up about it. The conclusion is that he will work with the CEO on the file this weekend. So whatever. I’m letting go. After all the time I poured into this, is that supposed to be consoling?

In other news, my life sucks. I still have no friends, and John and I don’t even get along. Earlier this week, in my pissy state, I was totally going to throw in the towel. I just don’t need this bullshit anymore. I’m really sick of doing all the housecrap, dog crap, plus work. He doesn’t make time for anything except work. After two days of tiffs, he told management they needed to start finding someone else to direct engineering… so things have gotten a little better at home but “us” hasn’t been a priority for a long time. And I guess I need to just move on. I’m going to do shit this weekend. I suggest things all the time, but I guess I’ll just have to start doing them alone: massages, game nights, roller skating. This is what life in the States is all about: work, money, consumption, reality tv (John actually watches Desperate Housewives of OC… WTF???) and separate lives. And certainly, my first week as a full-timer only furthers that point. The poor dogs no longer get their long walks every day. I wake up early, come home late, feed the dogs, wash the dishes, vacuum, sort the mail. Poor Goodbers is now an enjoyment pushed to Friday through Sunday. And it’s not just me. I work with some really cool people but what a shame: they all work crazy hours. This is what life here is all about. I’m turning into a robot once again.

So my plan is to recoup this weekend. I’m going to get my first massage since returning to the States. I was all excited earlier this week, because I got an email from my college roommate. She basically fell off the earth five or six years ago. Turns out the Air Force just relocated her from San Antonio, TX to Vacaville, CA. So she’s literally 70 miles away. Utterly deprived of friendship, I was so psyched about reconnecting with someone. She called Tuesday saying she was meeting friends in the city… I couldn’t join because I was working with Mister M. until 9 p.m. that night. Then I left a message and never heard from her again. She’s one of those people who just disappoints over and over again in the friendship category, and yet I always hope the flame will re-kindle. Guess I got my hopes up for no reason. Another weekend of me time. Yippee.

For the longest time, John and I have been eyeing this big sectional sofa (in chocolate brown though) at Costco. We already have a couch, a sleeper sofa John bought off Craigslist for 100 bucks. It’s crazy heavy and fairly comfortable; the problem is, it’s not wide enough to accommodate both of us when we watch tv. Squeezing the two of us on that thing reminds me of my grad school days when John and I would squish onto a twin mattress. Yeah, totally uncomfortable: he’d get the numb arm, I’d get the twisted neck.

After weeks of deliberation, Superbowl Sunday prompted us (him)into action. This morning, I called on my buddy Hector. He owns and operates Trans-One Moving. We called on him last month in our move from Arsestone. He and his helper did an awesome job. When I spoke to him this morning, he was already pretty booked with other moving jobs, but he fit me in for today… before the big game, no less. You see, that’s the thing about Costco. They have quality goods at affordable prices, but they don’t deliver. And this sectional is in two monster boxes… too much for an ordinary SUV or a van. Hector met us at Costco around 1. We were loungin’ on the new cushy couch by 2. Chips and dip: check. Pulled pork sandwiches: check. Cranberry lemonade: check. Raspberry torte: check. Laptop: check. Aw yeah baby, life is good.

After Felicity ended, Keri Russell practically fell off the planet. Sure, she was in a few movies here and there, including The Upside of Anger, but for the most part, there was like zippo scoop on her. I know, the series ended YEARS ago, but I must confess: I still miss my buds Javier, Elena, Noel, and of course, troubled little Ben. Ben, Ben– yes, I know the dude is bad news but still, he sucks me in.

Anyway, MI3 put Keri back in the limelight. But damn, after all that hype, she was only in the movie for 10 minutes. What the hell? So yes, clearly I’m obsessed with Keri Russell. She’s just so damn beautiful. Plus, she’s like the antithesis of Hollywood, at least that’s my perception. Top honor for celeb gorgessity though has to go to JLo– despite her fur coats, fox-fur eyelashes, and all.

But Keri is top ten. Ah, I digress. So I’m a few weeks late on the news, but Keri is pregnant! Yes, another one bites the dust. The dude is some non-celeb… the only descriptor on him is “contractor.” Totally generic. I mean, come on, does that mean like a construction contractor or more like a DoD contractor or just a consultant? Yes, nebulous at best.

So the baby circle is definitely expanding. Over the holidays, I met up with a high school friend– she graduated in the class before mine. Pregnant. Due in March. Her cousin (who was in my class) is pregnant too: due in June. College classmate pregnant. Due in a few days. I just don’t get the family/baby craze. Seriously, John and I were at the store today, carting behind a lady and three kids. Jesus, she had a cartful of shit, a girl whining about something and then two little boys screaming and crying. Apparently, one boy had wiped snot all over the other one’s shirt. Eww! Exactly. Insane but whatever, I’m not going to feel sorry for these people. They asked for it.

And sadly, now Felicity has joined the league of parents. Nuts. Might as well write her off this instant. Next thing you know, she’ll start touting how childbirth gives her an indescribable sense of selflessness (a la Gwyneth), blah, blah, blah.

I definitely have kid phobia. And an even stronger pregnancy phobia. I swear to God, every couple months, I freak myself out thinking that I’m pregnant. I know, I have an obsessive compulsive level of redundancy in my birth control program (probably a factor of safety of 3), so statistically, the chance is like zilch. Still, it’s an irrational fear, and last month, I convinced myself it was a possibly. Thankfully, my mind was just fucking with me. But damn, I’m like one step away from setting up a contingency plan… Ok, possibly too much info for you. I’ll leave it at that. Felicity Porter is pregnant. What a drag!

Dayum! Friday already! I’m so thankful, because my geriatric boring self needs to recover from the week. Shit man, price quotes and product research at work… it’s driving me nuts and with a gazillion goddamn different gas sensors, I can’t frickin’ decide on a system for the lab. Fucking a.

But the good news is, I met with the CEO. He wants me to go full time and take on two new areas: establish and training certification program and develop product brochures/marketing materials. I mean, given my New Year’s Resolution that work is just work, it’s hard for me to get excited about this kind of thing, but that said, I think it’s a good venue for my development. I’ll get to do plenty of writing and maybe a bit less ass-riding. I mean, I’ll still have to do that field trial coordination but at least I’ll have other stuff to balance it out. Also, I get to sit in on all the engineering meetings so there’s no disconnect between the sales/marketing team (I know, can you believe that’s where I am in the org chart? The stigma is real!) and the engineering team. I love my fellow engineers, and in fact, this group of nerds is the least geeky I’ve encountered. Seriously, they are surprisingly cool. Got their shit together PLUS they are funny and active and just balanced like you wouldn’t believe. I gotta say, it’s very different from the set of engineers I’ve met at John’s work. Those dudes… my god. They talk fluid dynamics and shit at lunch! Bernoulli’s equation and shit. I’m not kidding!

Anyway, I’m meeting with the boss on Monday to state my desired salary given the larger responsibilities. He tries to play like he doesn’t engage in the game, but whatever, he’s a business, MBA type. All MBA types play the game.

In other news, I went to the local climate action group meeting last night. Earlier this month, my letter to the editor actually published. Ha, ha. I have to give some credit to Sierra Club for helpful language. Also, the paper edited a line, and totally changed the meaning of my sentence, so that kind of irked me but whatever. Not like it’s the Washington Post or anything: just a local daily. We also apparently have a blog to which I will contribute, maybe a time or two per week. The group is an interesting mix. I think I’m the youngest one there, so it’s a little serious but the leader of our group rocks. I go to the meetings just to watch how he facilitates group discussions. He’s a joy to watch. Plus he’s ultra organized– I know, traits like that get me every time. I’m just a dork that way.

Oh, for those of you who have me on RSS, I changed the blog template a few days ago. Got sick of the old look, so I jumped on the polka-dot bandwagon. Threw in my Yelp sidebar as well.

Ok well I had big grand plans for tonight, but Bubbey’s not home and I’m beat. I’m thinking of taking myself to a roller skating rink tomorrow before Bubbey flies in. Don’t think he’d be interested. It’s too bad I really have no friends. No I have to just go alone to the rink. Oh well, could be fun still. We’ll see if I cop out.

The new year just hadn’t been going right for me. With all my ongoing feuds, I was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with me. Perhaps I had been a real bitch in my earlier life? I dunno… what was up with all the bad karma?

You see, after sitting through another insufferable morning commute, watching all the peeps whiz by in the HOV lane, I was pushed right over my breaking point. Enough was enough with this goddamn HOV sticker! Where the hell was it? The check cashed BEFORE Christmas. To make matters worse, on Hybridcars.com, I found loads of people had gotten their magic passes. When did they buy? In January, for crying out loud! Wtf? I wasn’t going to take this bullshit any longer.

Since no one in the special processing unit ever answers the fucking phone, I had to dig up a fax number, any goddamn fax number for the DMV. I finally forced my foot in the door with a letter to the special processing unit manager, delivered via the DMV Media Relations department. Aw yeah, baby! Can’t escape my wrath, especially when you tick me off beyond belief. So I faxed and I emailed. Whatdya know? People actually give a shit in media relations. I got an email this morning. Even though I was told there was no way to check the status of my sticker, Mario responded with some actual information. My application was approved January 3. Stickers shipped to old address. Oddly, I was living at that old address up until January 13, and I had checked mail at both places up until January 21. Monkey business. I explained this to Mario, and he said DMV mail would not get forwarded. How fucked is that? I’ll get all my junk mail forwarded, but not the most important mail! His suggestion? RE-fucking-APPLY! Can you believe the nerve? And then my application goes back into the processing queue. So I jumped through the damn hoops again, and sent off application number 2.

Well I guess the earthly forces were feeling my pain… either that or my coworkers were getting sick of hearing my bitchings. The damn stickers FINALLY came in the mail today. They were postmarked January 7 then again January 17, and they WERE forwarded to the new address. Whatever, all technicalities that you probably don’t want to hear about, but hey, I’m a mystery solver like that. I like the facts. So now I wonder, should I let them process application number 2? Maybe I’ll get a second set of stickers…. hmmm. Man, I stuck those things on so damn fast. Can’t wait to time the commute tomorrow morning. Speed Racer in da house now!

In other news, I discovered ants in my bathroom. Second floor, mind you. Hearty lil’ bastards. I tried the baby powder option. Supposedly the talcum powder will halt their breathing. Yeah, mother fuckers, DIE!

Oh, I need to share with you my latest tip. Graphite powder. That shit is the bomb! Our keys to the new place were sticking like crazy. I’m telling you, these days I’m on a super short fuse. And after sitting in slow traffic coming home, I just want to walk in the door and not have to struggle for five minutes to get the damn key out, you know? Is that really so much to ask? Seriously. So fortunately, the listing agent brought by this bottle of magic dust. Poof, poof into the keyhole. And now the keys slip in and out. Aren’t you impressed? I definitely was!

Ok well Bubbey’s on business in Portland this week, so I’m loading up on Chinese/HK films. Watching Takeshi tonight!

Thank goodness, I was able to work from home on Friday. I had to make vendor calls in the morning, but hey, working at home is always better than working at the office. No offense to my office mates; I just prefer my home setup, with the windows, natural light, and doggies.

Around lunch time, Fonda invited me over for food. Indonesian pork satay and cabbage fritters. Always tasty at Fonda’s house. She showed me her latest shopping conquests– a huge butt-ugly denim LV bag plus tons of goodies from A|X, 9 West, etc. God, that woman seriously NEVER tires of shopping. She’s so funny though: she was saying it was good that I was working because I don’t like cooking, decorating, or shopping. I totally agree. I prefer working to those things. I know, I’m a bore that way.

So Friday early evening, I had my “initial inspection” at Archstone. The manager came, and my god, I was so pissed. First, he was 30 minutes late. Then, he had the nerve to say they would charge me for professional steam cleaning of the carpets PLUS apartment cleaning. Nevermind that I had already spent several hours wiping shit down. Now, granted the place is not in “move-in” condition, but puhlease. That’s why they have the cleaning staff. I have lived in… let’s see… 5 apartments. I’ve always cleaned to this level, and I’ve NEVER lost money from the security deposit. But he gave me some bullshit about Archstone being a corporate place that had higher standards. My fucking ass! If Archstone had higher standards, maybe the company should invest in employees who actually read the rental files and demonstrate basic customer service skills (like returning phone calls). Whatever, John just wants out. So I said to just go ahead and do all the cleaning and send me the exact invoice. However, this evening, I went over the lease again and it says that the place has to be “broom-clean” and any spackling and painting of marks needs to be approved in writing by the Landlord. So I’m going to just turn in the keys and they can take my $99 deposit. When he comes back asking for more, I’m going to send in that paragraph and take it up with Archstone corporate because this is a total scam. It’s not even about the extra $100; it’s the principle of not letting these assholes get away with scamming people. That’s is what they are trying to do: first with the mail key replacement charge, now with the security deposit. Anyway, getting worked up by these chumps.

In other news, IBM sent more work my way. I finally have my “recording studio” set up. I got the built-in mic for the MacBookPro plus an awesome free recording software called Audacity– I can edit out all my fuck ups and also export to WAV files. Aw yeah, professional voice over services… my future primary source of dough. Yeah right!

Well the house is coming along. I set up my 古筝 today. Took me hours to tune it, and I’m not even sure it’s right but whatever, I can play my signature song and it sounds right to me, so good enough.

Ok well, my neck is still messed up. I’m going to hit the hot tub to see if that will stop me from walking like a robot. Hope you’re having a good weekend!

Whew! John and I moved last weekend into our new place– a 2 BR townhouse a couple exits down. Now John is only a half mile away from work, and I am right at the exit for the San Mateo bridge. Schweet!

As expected, the move was a total beotch. Thank goodness we opted for professional movers. Yes, yes, we were only in a one bedroom previously, but do not underestimate the American instinct of overconsumption. We had a storage room upstairs and somehow, we still had tons of shit. Again, books mostly but tons of stuff nonetheless. The mover came a week early to survey our stuff. Five to seven hours, he quoted. John scoffed, saying it would only take three hours. Boy was John off. The movers went nonstop for nearly 8 hours! Yup, we disgust ourselves. But the important thing is, everything made the trip, including my desk from hell. Unscathed. Saved myself a $800 desk right there. I’m just thankful John and I admitted our limitations. We are over 30 after all. No need to break bones trying to save some money. Plus there was plenty of work after the pros went home. Unpacking AND cleaning up the old place. No, I never did post my banners and signs warning prospects to stay away, but certainly my online postings will deter the smart ones. I mean, if people rent without checking online first, they’re dumbasses anyway. They can’t be saved. I’ve done what I can.

So tomorrow is inspection. Hopefully, the inspector will be too hurried trying to get out of work at 5 pm Friday to give a shit. We’ll see.

Miraculously, I’m not going in to work tomorrow. Gotta make calls from home in the morning, but hey, I’m just that efficient. Gotta enjoy my freedom before I sign it away going full time.

In other news, my hair is a mess again. I used my spiking glue all of about once. And my highlights are a disaster now because of reddening shampoo is resulting in some brown highlights, some red highlights. Was kinda cool a few days after the deed, but now, coupled with fine, limp, staticky hair, I’m the poster girl for a botched hair job. Somehow the roots seem even more obvious to me too… it’s only been 2.5 weeks… I’m probably just losing my mind. My coworkers have been rather blunt about the uneveness. Hey, there’s order to the chaos, I try to explain. They aren’t convinced. Whatever though. It’s just hair, right?

Oh, I forgot to tell you. Yesterday, I came home to a wonderful surprise. I went to feed the dogs and whatdya know? There were THOUSANDS of ants everywhere… inside the frickin’ dog food bin, all along the dining room floor, up the cabinets and onto my dishes, trailing across the dining room floor to the outlet on the exterior wall. I was so upset, I went out to buy Raid right away. Then, the pups and I endured several hours of toxic fumes. Probably killed off the few remaining brain cells I had. Thinking about it more, I regretted the Raid. I should have opted for a less toxic solution– citrus sprays, baby powder, etc. But I was in panic mode, and the ants had to be eradicated. Shit. Hopefully, that’s the last of them, but I really doubt it.

Well last night I slept on my damn neck wrong so I’m incredibly uncomfortable now. I move like a freaking android. Ugh. Well I’m slowing down. Time for bed. More later.

People are pissing me off. On the heels of my tiff with San Leandro Honda, I’m now feuding with the CA DMV as well as my apartment complex, Archstone San Mateo. With the former, I’m STILL waiting for my damn HOV stickers. Meanwhile, I’m totally fucking up my brakes in the stop/go bullshit congestion otherwise known as 880. Somehow, I’ve grown even more impatient with the New Year. Resolutions to do and time’s a’wastin’, I guess. Whatever though, DMV is just a waiting game. I called their number and after numerous attempts, finally accessed the manager of the special processing unit. Basically, nothing is organized. She couldn’t tell me the status of my sticker. I told her I was moving Saturday, and she didn’t even take down my new address. She just suggested that I call the USPS to get the mail forwarded. Ghetto.

My gripe with Archstone is much more serious. I am telling you, I have to do everything at least TWICE with these incompetent freaks. I don’t even want to go into it right now as I need to calm down right before bed, but let’s just say, I felt compelled enough to post numerous bad reviews all over the place online, including at apartmentreviews.com, apartmentratings.com, and yelp.com. After I move out Saturday, I still have the place for a week, so I’m going to post some banners/signs telling people not to rent here. Aww yeah, borrowing from the peeps at Manhattan Apartments in Xujiahui after their community had a garage sinking/flooding issue. Gotta fight the power, I tell you.

I’ve actually been getting pissy about our new place too. We applied right around Christmas, and only yesterday did we finally get the lease. I had a few raised flags on the lease– no dealbreakers, but still, when I raised the issues, the listing agent didn’t even bother to call the landlady. He just answered on her behalf. Now maybe he knows her well enough to do this… either way, I didn’t find him/her to be particularly cooperative with my concerns. Whatever though. The space and location is definitely fab, so we are not going to let all that little stuff ruin a great new thing. Tomorrow is cashier’s check, Friday is getting the key, and Saturday bright and early is move-in. Absolutley cannot wait. Unpacking/setting up will be a bitch but with my OCD we’ll have it done in a flash.

In work-related news, anyone have access to a stash of electrical or mechanical engineers? We’re hiring! The boss is back in town, so the to-do list is growing by the minute now. Thank goodness. Waiting on him to proceed on things really slowed down my day. It was practically unbearable, so I welcome the frenzy. Of course, I will keep in mind New Year’s Resolution #1: Work is work. My Spanish class at the community college starts next Tuesday.

Btw, I wrote my first letter to the editor last week, as part of my San Mateo Climate Action group. Got a call from the San Mateo Daily News to confirm my address. Of course, the paper is print only, and since I don’t get it, I actually never saw my piece in print. Maybe I’ll look for it at the library. I’m such a geek. I’m happy about it, because it is my first LTE, but at the same time, it’s only the Daily News— it’s no Washington Post or anything.

What else. Oh, my friend Derek at work is organzing a day trip to Tahoe next weekend. First time skiing for John and me. I’m scared aobut breaking bones. I’ve heard far too many accident stories. Guess I’ll need to invest in some ski pants.