Cranky

I’m feeling a bit cranky this morning.

Austin’s promised two-week repose at our house will hit the four-week mark next Sunday.

The plan was for him to get a new car, a job and an apartment by May 16.

Right.

He got the car last week, but has no money for gas and doesn’t want to drive it any significant distance until he gets the oil changed and replaces the spark plugs and plug wires (see earlier post).

We had a line on an ideal one-bedroom apartment in an excellent neighborhood and at a reasonable price, but the job hunt is stalled and there can be no apartment without a job to support it. As June 1 approaches, the likelihood of that apartment still being available has dwindled to near zero.

And I just spent $18.50 on next-day delivery for paperwork related to his unemployment payment from the State of Indiana. It arrived on  Saturday with the admonition that they required a response by tomorrow (Wednesday) for him to remain eligible. Monday’s postal holiday forced us to spend the extra bucks for next-day delivery. The postmistress suggested it would be cheaper to use the post office’s fax and call to confirm its receipt. That would be a great idea, except that the paperwork listed only a phone number for fax – none for a voice line.

Add to this my annoyance that three days of torrential rains stole my holiday weekend and you begin to see why I am not happy with how things are going right now.

Oh, and a colony of tiny black ants discovered the chocolate chip cookies that Maria baked for a friend of Austin’s serving in Afghanistan. They were being closely inspected by a patrol of ants as they lay on waxed paper on the kitchen counter this morning. Fortunately, the other half of the batch was on cookie sheets on the stove and had escaped the ants’ notice. We sprayed around the base of the kitchen cabinets, which meant keeping the dogs out of the house for the morning. And, of course, the dogs objected.

So I’m at Hastings, trying to think positive thoughts and wondering if I can escape for a few days on the bike.