« March 2011 | Main | December 2011 »

In a super micro way, things are still mighty sucky around here. (In macro, things are fine: I've got health, family, roof over head, health insurance. So, first world problems, grain of salt and all that.) Still unemployed and indefinably blue about it.

I'm using the freeness of my schedule to catch up on non-life-threatening yet neglected doctor appointments. On the way to the eye doctor I walked past where we parked our car after coming home from RI on Sunday. Out of habit I checked the windshield for a ticket and instead found...the shattered pieces of a side mirror.

I walked around to the driver's door where there was nothing left but a big hole with a wire hanging out of it. The top and bottom of the door were dented and there was a deep scratch all along where the door meets the car body. Also the front bumper was half pulled off. I lost the last remaining bit of my shit.

There was actually a piece of paper tucked under the wiper with a guy's name and phone number on it. I asked C to call because I was too likely to just start screaming at whoever answered. Later I assumed it was just going to be a witness anyway and I would be frustrated that there was no one I could engage in a street fight.

By the time C got home from work he had reached the guy who turned out to be the perp after all. He hit our car that morning, on his motorcycle, while swerving to avoid another accident. Our car's not totalled but I can't believe a guy on a motorcycle could do that much damage and be OK. But this guy is much more than OK. This guy was in an accident bad enough that he had to leave the scene and go straight to the hospital but he sent a friend back to put his contact info on our car. An urban vehicular miracle!

We got his insurance info and I called them this afternoon and found out there's a drive in claims center I can go to where they'll take pictures, assess the damage and hand you a check on the spot. I have an appointment there Friday (11/11/11!) so I can do that and then take the car up to Uncle's in Yonkers and get everything fixed so we have a chance to go back up to RI next weekend to prepare for hosting Thanksgiving there this year.

This year I'm thankful for honest, upstanding citizens. (p.s. he's OK!)

To make a long, overly detailed story short, I started Weight Watchers in April. Things went swimmingly at first and by the end of June I'd lost 18 pounds by just eating normal human amounts of food + eating breakfast every morning + jog/shuffling 3-4 times a week.

We went on vacation in July, turning a family wedding in San Luis Obispo into a week traveling up the Central Coast to San Francisco. I took my sneakers and joggy pants but never actually took a run and spent the entire week on a taco and ice cream eating spree. But I must have learned some good habits somehow because I came back up only a pound.

Then August sort of slipped by and then September and I stopped being so conscientious about portions and snacking. I did keep joffling though so I basically held steady at about 15lbs down. I could still get this train back on track!

Then I got laid off in October and turned to wine and Doritos. Also my feet started acting like old ladies and I was convinced I had early onset arthritis or possibly foot rickets. The good news is that I saw a podiatrist and the verdict seems to be merely a case of crappy shoes and, yes, a little bit of Old Lady Foot. The doc gave me a little freaky ultrasound massage and told me to wear running sneakers for a week. So I wore the sad sneakers of sadness since where do I have to be ever anyway and I do actually feel 50% better already. Next appointment I have to bring some shoes with me, I guess so he can point out all the ways I'm ruining my feet through my footwear choices.

ANYWAY, so that's what's going on. I need to right this ship of health and fitness somehow soon. I'm cleared to run still as long as I pay better attention to my gait: more jog, less shuffle. I'm off to RI for the weekend so I have pretty coastal views to motivate me. And you too, internet. You have permission to put me on notice.

I am watching more tv than usual what with the whole "all free time all the time" lifestyle I'm living right now but just a couple hours of primetime was enough to notice the depressing new trend in holiday commercials: layaway!

Kmart, Walmart and Sears all are pushing layaway programs for your Christmas shopping needs this year. As an Unemployed, I'm definitely part of the demographic they're trying to reach but I feel, like, if I can't afford a toy or clothes at Walmart I should just put down the credit card.

It's not that simple if you're a parent, obviously; I don't have to be Santa for anyone in my life. This won't be the first year I'll be convincing myself that people actually like the knitted things I knit for them (hey, remember December 2005?) but they're all adults so worst case, oops, they let their dog eat the hat and I'm none the wiser.

Today I did nothing but get the car inspected and feel some more feelings. I started laundry but then the landlord shut off the dryer because of a gas smell so now I have a huge load of whites drying in the kitchen, tenement-style. Thank god I have a blog to keep you up to speed with these pressing issues.

This blog hasn't been 12 solid years of unemployed babbling but the unemployed times were certainly the more prolific blogging times.

And here I am unemployed again. It's been about three weeks so far so I'm still in the Delicate Emotional Hurt Feelings stage. I was a contractor (there for a month shy of six years, who's the idiot now?) so no unemployment but I can't complain too much. I won't end up living in a box and I still have health insurance so it's mostly just the emotions and feelings of failure.

Since I do still have health insurance and now also have an excess of free time I'm catching up on postponed doctor's appointments. Today was the eye doctor, to finally resolve the bifocals or no? situation. Here's my demon-eyed dilation face:

I also have my annual Halloween cold so I'm just sort of a whiny miserable pain in the ass right now. On the flip side it is Mallomar season.