The Yearly Blog-Move

http://iliketoquotemyself.blogspot.com/

I’ve relocated.

Happenings Of Late

1) Migraine from hell.  The intensity comes and goes.  Right now, for instance, I’m getting ready to cook spaghetti.  Two hours ago, I couldn’t turn my head half an inch without blinking back tears.  I hate this shit.

2) Crazy roommate has been gone all weekend and will be gone all of next weekend.  SCORE.

3) I went to a club the other night.  A “country and western” club.  This was obviously not of my own volition.  After paying nearly $8 for a Jager bomb (which was twice as expensive and half the size of the one I get from my “regular” bar, if going every other month counts as regular), I apparently dropped my wallet somewhere.  It was turned in to the staff, minus all of my money.  Granted, I am lucky that I don’t have to fuck with the DMV and pay to get my license replaced, but I am still classifying the whole evening as an EPIC FAIL.

4) I am undertaking a blog-switching project.  It’s not a quick and easy process because my old entries won’t effing upload to the new site, so I’m doing it manually.  This is bringing up serious questions about why in the hell I’m putting so much time and effort into the project.

5) Still waiting, waiting, waiting on the job.  I’m told that it *will* happen, but nobody knows *when* it will happen.

Toddlers in Tiaras

For some unknown reason, I am voluntarily watching an episode of Toddlers in Tiaras on TLC.

I find this show utterly appalling.

For one, the pageant moms are obsessed with the “eigh” ending to names.  Kayleigh,  Marleigh.  And some more Kayleighs.  And a Kayleigha.  There is one named Story, which I would ordinarily think is a cute name, but the fact that she is the most ostentatiously-decorated child on the show makes me cringe.

For another, there is a SWIMSUIT SEGMENT.  These are tiny children!  If you want them to compete on the basis of cuteness, well, I don’t necessarily agree with that… But judging young girls (seriously, YOUNG GIRLS, ages 0-6) on who looks best in a swimsuit??!?!  WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?!?!?!?!?

I just cannot fathom that this is real.

My Only Gripe About WordPress

Oh dear heavens, I think I’ve outgrown my blog.

WordPress won’t let me use a custom layout unless I pay.  I guess that’s what I get for using the browser-based lightweight version… but still.

I never noticed this before because I haven’t had the inclination to really play with my layout in years.

I don’t approve of this limitation at all.  Something must be done, and by “something,” I do NOT mean “me paying money for something that should be free.”

Powerless

I’m really struggling with something right now.

Actually, my family is struggling.  My dad is now a car salesman.  It certainly wasn’t where he wanted to be at the age of 50, but one thing led to another and so he is a car salesman right now.  The economy sucks, as we all know, and sales of American cars have fallen drastically from where they were this time last year (and they weren’t that great last year).  My mother is unable to work due to a disability, but because of a bunch of BS red tape, she’s not currently able to get disability benefits.  As such, my father is supporting himself, my mother, and my 17-year-old sister on about a thousand dollars a month with no health insurance.

(I won’t discuss the parallels to my own life.)

Everything has just fallen apart for them.  Both of their cars have been repossesed.  The cable, internet, and home phone have been shut off.  The cell phones have been disconnected.  My dad is even out of minutes for the crappy Net10 phone I gave them a while back.  They are living on Top Ramen, having been informed by DPS that my dad makes $100 a month too much to qualify for food stamps.  This was based on an average of three months’ pay.  One of those months was a really good month… so they used that money to catch up on rent in order to avoid being homeless.  Their rent is pitifully low anyway — there are literally NO corners to be cut at this point.

The Latte Factor?  Hah.  I’m not even sure my mother could tell you what a latte IS.

This hurts me.  It hurts me a thousand times more than any suffering I’ve ever personally done.  What kills me is that normally, I would have stepped in months ago to help out.  I’d be sending Wal-Mart gift cards for groceries and paying the phone bill and pitching in towards the car payment to keep them afloat.  And I CAN’T.  I am not in a position to help anyone in any way whatsoever.  It’s driving me insane and I hate it.

The “really promising” job interview I wrote about a while ago is still a really promising opportunity.  I’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback, and the unofficial word is “yes.”  But it’s not official yet.  I don’t have a start date.   It could still quite easily fall apart, and knowing my luck, it will.  And until such time as the stars align properly, I am powerless to do anything to help when the people I love are suffering.