Roach patrol

“I finally got on the roach situation under control,” said the woman on the cell phone sitting behind me at Barnes & Noble. “You don’t know what it’s like to live with that.”

“And the mouse problem too,” she added. “I used an inhumane trap.”

“Where am I gonna find a good-looking handyman? I found one, but he’s like 13 years younger than me. No. I go older than me. Not younger.

“I got the grant information from the school. I cannot become a registered nurse unless somebody pays my way. I cannot work and do my internship. Need to find someone to pay my bills until I’m done…” she said, droning on.

I’m sitting in Barnes & Noble, having dropped off my computer with the Geek Squad at the new Best Buy. They’re swamped, this being the first weekend the store is open, and the guy said it may be a couple of hours before he can get it onto the bench and find out why there’s no video output. We seem to agree it’s probably the video card that chose this morning to crap out. But we shall see.

I deserted Maria at Bath & Body Works. She finds the place relaxing and refreshing. It makes me fidgety and wanting to scream. So I excused myself, got my netbook from the car and set up shop here in B&N where I could listen to other people’s banal conversations.