Friday, February 20, 2015

Friday - Booking and cooking

I dropped another load of books at the VA today. I've got a system down and the various kinks of the loading docks and the pallet and the book carts being figured out is really cutting down on the time required. The coffee station lady is always glad to see me arrive with a new load. By the time I returned from the PCC, having delivered the magazines to its magazine rack, the cart had about 25% of its stock depleted. It's to a good use!
After a bunch more chores, I returned home as was at work listening to "Roundabout". Only last week I looked up the lyrics and discovered that it was not "Mammoths" coming out of the sky, but "Mountains". I suppose that makes more sense; I had been mislead by the flying elephants on one of the Yes album covers into imagining an even more trippier lyric than the actual very descriptive one.
Kris arrived and, after delivering mail, came downstairs to return the bar of soap I'd forgotten in the shower. I used my calm listening rather than be defensive. One thing I learned last night was that when I play the role that I am ... Executive Director yadda yadda World Peace Through Law yadda yadda in the sincere voice that I have, people like that - it's both real and of interest. I don't need Kris, except for help with the mortgage. If she is out of here in July, then all I have to do is come up with a little more cash to cover the mortgage, and that's not going to be hard. So I actually have nothing to worry about - the future had been frightening but now it seems clear and doable (assuming that she doesn't have something else up her sleeve; it's just not knowable.)
Anyway, I was thinking that she's just an annoying housemate at this time but in less than half a year, I'll have the use of the house again so it's no worry. However I won't use the downstairs shower since Kris' closing of the basement door taught Imp to use the downstairs shower as a catbox. Clean it as I will, I just won't shower where a cat poops - that's not going to happen. I have tried to be discreet; I use the upstairs shower only when Kris is out - but I'm not very good at being sneaky; once I left a towel and that lead a drunken Kris to a shouting episode. Today I left my bar of soap and sponge; Kris returned it and I thanked her. She said that I seemed to be determined to use "her" bathroom and she was tired of arguing about it (and I remained silent; anything I said at this point would only lead to the expected fight, and anyway, she had asked no question). She asked for two points. I asked what they were. She likes the faucet turned a certain way, so that it's always on warm. She asked why I habitually returned it to neutral, and I said it was just a habit but I would accommodate her. She asked that I leave the shower curtain a certain way, and I agreed.
I then asked about the window above the shower - it had been installed precisely to aid in proper drying of the thing, and we discussed its use. There was nothing more needing said, so I said nothing more and the conversation ended.
In times past I might have reminded Kris that I paid for the water, the heating of it, the tank it was heated in, the light by which she entered the shower, the very lightbulbs that produced it, not to mention the fancy shower head, the toilet seat and the cabinet in which she keep the noxious substances with which she futilely endeavored to keep Time at bay. However, especially after the pleasures of yesterday, I held my peace; she is an unhappy person and I would be no happier for bringing all this up.
I returned to my desk and wrote this.
In July, this part will be over!
Meanwhile, dinner is in the pan on the stove and the cats are all over.

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