Twisted Spinster

Well, I’m still here.

I’d just like to say, I have the best readers. Thank you everyone for your generous donations. And keep ’em coming — if I can get this month’s rent paid then I’ll be okay, it will give me a breather to sell my stuff and arrange an orderly withdrawal. (About $200.00 to go — you know, if ten people put in twenty dollars… or twenty people put in ten dollars… or–  wait a minute, do I have twenty readers?) I would just up and leave now except I can’t really afford to have a black mark on my already bad credit that an eviction would be, and they’ll charge me as well for clearing out any belongings I leave behind. I need to get my stuff up on Craigslist or something (I started taking pix last night) so I can start clearing this place out.

I didn’t want to break my lease either, but I may have to. My original plan was to stay here until April. These people need 60 days notice if I’m going to leave — I don’t know what they’ll charge to break my lease either. I will lose my security. I’d rather not break my lease but if it comes to that I will. I’d rather not live in an apartment with no furniture… though I could do that, the floor is carpeted and I’ve slept on the floor before. But it occurred to me last night that I shouldn’t wait to clear my place out — this crisis showed me I should be ready to up and leave if I have to.

I know this is a rambling, muddled post, but I’ve had very little sleep. I couldn’t relax last night even after I took two Benadryls (which has the same ingredient those over-the-counter sleep aids do and usually knocks me out). My ear is still stuffed up, by the way, but it’s not as bad or else I’ve gotten used to it. Needless to say I rescheduled my doctor’s appointment that I had yesterday but I may have to cancel it altogether.

Anyway, thank you all so much for donating. As it stands now if I can collect about $200 more I will be able to get the landlord off my back. Then I can think whether I want to break my lease (which will screw me out of my deposit and be almost as bad on my credit as an eviction — I’ve done it before so I know) or what. I don’t want to go up north only to find that I won’t be able to get an apartment because of all this. I could get a room somewhere except I have the cats — I’m not leaving them behind.

Hi folks. Here’s the thing — I’m going to be evicted if I can’t pay my rent. My previous plans to get the rent money fell through, and I’m looking at an eviction next week. Now, I know I had said that I’d like to move out of here sooner than the end of my lease next April — but I wasn’t intending to do so quite as soon as this. For one thing, I only have about twenty dollars to my name. I still have no job. I applied for unemployment, but it just kicked in and it’s not enough yet, and I won’t get it in time. I need $705 for this month. If I don’t get it then they’ll charge me another $500 just for the eviction.

So anyway, this is a fundraiser. I realize this is a really great time to ask, but I need something — at least enough to get me out of here if I can’t raise the money to stay. I’d prefer Paypal, because I can get my hands on that money right away — Amazon takes a week to get into my bank account, and I no longer have a week. I don’t even have time to sell my stuff — if I have to move I’ll just have to leave most of it and take what I can fit in my car, which isn’t much.

Added: I’ve decided to set the front page of the blog to just show this post for now. If I end up having to leave/sell my computer/whatever, this site probably won’t be updated for a while.

Thanks to everyone for everything.

twistedspinster AT gmail.com

One more thing: you know what is really annoying about the job market down here? I have my resume up on Careerbuilder and Monster.com and so on. Nowhere on my resume does it say anything about any sales experience. I have no sales experience. I have no sales talent. I don’t want to do sales — I hate sales. But you know what I keep getting? Offer after offer for sales positions. I can’t figure out what I am doing wrong. How does “office/clerical/administrative assistant” translate into “sales person”? Looking for a job in Florida makes me feel like I’ve fallen into another universe.

Update: if you’re bored with my whining coast on over to Rachel’s — she’s just got a proposal of undying love from none other than James Wolcott. (People across the universe: “James who?” Yeah, I know, but I like to help young [I mean old — and no matter how much he drools over Obey-ma he will still be old] and insignificant writers get their fifteen minutes, know what I mean?)

I am Joe.

No, not that change (and not this one either!)… A few posts down I had mentioned I was thinking of moving out of Florida, possibly to St. Louis. Well, that idea has crystallized into a decision. I am definitely getting out of Florida, and St. Louis is the goal. Why St. Louis? Well, I don’t rightly know. It has a lot of history, it’s on the Mississippi (rivers fascinate me), and it’s in a part of the country I’ve never been in. It’s not far from Chicago, a place I’ve always wanted to visit but not live in. It gets four seasons. Today Central Florida’s feeble imitation of autumn starts (it’s extra breezy, we’re supposed to get nightly temps in the 60s — oh, bring out my furs! — and humidity is supposed to go down to something less than “under the swamp”). It’s not enough. Also, I want snow.

My problem is a lack of funds, no job… but this week my assignment at the cabinet company ends, and I’ve had no new offers so far. I’m on the verge of tossing my cats and some underwear in the car and heading off, but my stupid sense of responsibility is telling me to try to stick it out until the end of my lease. That’s April. I may stab myself in the head before then… or worse, lose my momentum. Then again, if I can’t find a job, what’s the point in staying here? I’m sick of Florida.

Anyway, I already started to go through my books to pull out those I absolutely can’t live without. I don’t have any rare editions, or anything that isn’t still in print (or isn’t available free on the internet), so I’m hoping to get those down to no more than one box. (And not a giant box either. I’m going to move with very little stuff, and I need room in the car — which is a Toyota Tercel, not a van — for the cats and their carriers.) Eventually I’ll sell whatever I have that’s sellable. If I can’t afford furniture right away when I move, so what? I can sleep on the floor. I’ve done it before.

One thing I am going to do is sell my computer and trade it in for a new laptop. It’s a great computer — it’s still pretty new — but I need to be more portable. I don’t need all the stuff this one came with, like media hookups to turn the thing into part of your in-home theater, and other stuff that I don’t even know what it is. It has Vista Home Premium on it, but I’ve had hardly a speck of trouble with this install. Maybe I lucked out. It has 2 GB of RAM which can be upped to 4, a giant hard drive, the monitor (which I bought separately) is a 17 inch LCD. It’s not junk. I can get a decent new laptop for around $500.00. My old laptop is trashed, or I’d just switch back to that. (Maybe I will in the interim. In fact, I’m going to see if I can get it working.)

Anyway, this feels like the right plan for my life. I feel good about it. I’m going to log on to Careerbuilder and so on to put some feelers out for jobs (clerical and administrative assistant stuff is my “specialty”). The job market up there can’t be any worse than Florida’s in any industry but tourism (and that’s down since the price of gas doubled). I’m going to put an “escape from Florida” announcement above my Paypal links too. Like I said, I’d like to stay until April — well, not “like,” but should — in order to not break my lease, but if I can’t get a job down here I won’t be able to pay any rent anyway.

Stay tuned for updates.

Update the first: I tested the old laptop last night and it seems to be working fine, so maybe I’ll put off buying a new one and just save the money from the sale of the desktop for the move. Hmm, save money, what a concept!

Read.

(Via.)

I’m watching the Republican National Convention (mark up another first for me). And so far, my verdict is… Well, it’s kind of awesome. Maybe it’s simply the fact that they chose to have it in an indoor venue, so the energy is better contained, but I agree with Steve H. — the people at this convention seem a lot more upbeat and optimistic than the ones I saw at the Democratic get-together over in Denver. Now to be fair, I only watched an hour and a half of that one or so, and I think I caught them toward the end, when everyone was probably tired, but still — so far everyone I’ve seen speak has been emphasizing what Americans can do, unlike the doom-‘n’-gloom Dems and their “everything sucks, we need to get rid of the sucky Rethugs” refrain.

Uh oh, Romney is getting a bit down on liberals. I agree, but… chill, dude, we can do it. Anyway, I’m basically holding out for Sarahcudda. More later.

Later: okay, failed candidates Romney and now Huckabee are bringing things down just a tad with their attempt to steal the Obama “change” rhetoric. Still, Huckabee mentioned that people want to prosper, which is good. Still, can’t wait for him to shut up. Oh wait — he’s dissing Islamic creeps and government busibodies. I permit that. (She says grandly.) Good save with mentioning Lincoln, who by the way had a crazy wife. Shh!

Update, 9:44PM: the governor of Hawaii is a Republican? I had no idea. I thought Hawaii was some kind of Democrat paradise…

9:51PM: I tried to comment on the Ace of Spades live chat thingie. So far it has not shown my comment. Fuck you, Ace of Spades live chat thingie.

One more: don’t mess with state governors. I’m just sayin’. Governor Lingle: (paraphrased) governing a state is fine experience for being vice-president! Now stand still while I hula your ass to death. (Well, something like that. Australian shiraz is dangerous.)

Added: the Ace of Spadesters are right — this lady talks really slow. Update: see my comments — Lingle a Republican lesbian? That’s not as strange as you might think. Consult Florence King. Still, now my ignorance (as I depend like anyone else in the US mostly on the professional media) is made more understandable.

10:02PM: ah. Rudy. Such a refreshment. See, I grew up in Miami, which is populated mostly by displaced New Yorkers and displaced Cubans, and both groups talk very fast (that is, at normal speed). Then I moved 275 miles north to the Orlando area and I feel like I’ve been living in cold maple syrup for the last nine years. (Aurally speaking — physically it’s as hot as Miami most of the time.) I guess it’s the same in Hawaii. (See the above.) Maybe if I ever go to Hawaii I should be prepared to drink a lot. Anyway, Rudy Giuliani is talking at normal speed. It’s like being home, only without the irritation of either being in Miami or New York, which is the same place.

Later: Rudy is firing up the crowd. Are they serving booze at the convention? People seem a little… eager. Ooh, that’s good about voting “present.” Even as a kid in homeroom in elementary school we knew that was a way to weasel out of a decision.

More: Rudy is good. “He’s never run anything. He’s the least experienced candidate…” Just telling the facts. “Nothing, nada.” Still, I am not that interested in experience. (I have scads of experience in office work. So why am I still stuck at $10.00 an hour?) I’m not even against Obama’s personal friendships with old terrorists like that Ayers ex-Weatherman guy (who should be shot, but I digress) and that cranky old racist preacher. I just don’t like Obama’s ideas and the direction he seems to want to take this country in. (Yes, I know, dangling preposition, I don’t care.) And whatever John McCain’s personal trials, family problems, and those of his running mate, I prefer the direction he seems to want to take the country in. So there.

So bring on Sarah! You’re okay, Rudy, but you’re not the star. Enough!

I changed my mind. It was necessary to hear “Obama was in favor of an undivided Jerusalem — for one day — until he changed his mind!” =O

10:25PM: Oh, Rudy has to be a blog reader. How else can he be coming up with all of Ace of Spades’ quips and talking points? Okay, that’s enough link-luv for you guys.

RUDY ASKED MY QUESTION! “WHO EVER ASKED A MAN–” OH RUDY, I AM YOURS.

(10:30PM. Sarah Palin enters.) SHE IS WEARING THE GLASSES. THANK YOU, GOD.

Democratic Party strategists, take note: this is how you rev up a crowd for someone. Day-um.

Her husband is hawt. Not that I noticed. My evil twin wrote that.

Sarah is so sweet to build up the Dems (“…confident opponents…”) but we all know they are toast.

10:37PM: whatever you may think about her daughter Bristol’s life decisions, it was a real mistake of Dem operatives and the media to freak out over her, and Sarah will now make them feel it. In the nicest way.

Ouch.

God, her husband is hot. (Shut up, evil twin! I’m so embarrassed for my evil twin’s behavior.)

Okay, “every woman can walk through every door of opportunity…” Thousands of NOW members seethed as Sarah Palin handily lifted their raison d’être and walked away with it.

10:45PM: Bitterly clinging to religion and guns! Oh! (Dems: “no… no… no… bad dream, bad dream…”)

Verdict: she’s going to Washington. To kick ass and chew bubblegum. And she used her last wad of bubblegum to plug the holes in her fishing tackle box, so…

“I put it on Ebay.” Oh, oh, oh… LOL.

10:54PM: finally someone points out that just because drilling for oil in our own country won’t cure a liberal’s psoriasis, that’s no reason to sit and do nothing.

10:57PM: I swear, Sarah has also been reading the blogs.

Read terrorists their rights? Crowd responds: “hells no!” Dems curl up in fetal positions under desks, etc., and pray for the bad woman to stop talking.

11:01PM: I can’t keep up with the smacking! I feel like Obama must feel. Mercy, woman!

Quote of the year: “the American presidency isn’t supposed to be a journey of personal discovery.” I think I’m in love.

Okay, and this one, from the Ace of Spades live thingie (which still has not published my IMPORTANT comments): “SARAH PALIN = KEYZER SOZE, BARACK OBAMA – EVERYONE ELSE ON THE BOAT.” Heh.

Okay, I’m kind of tired. Nighty-night!

Kathy Shaidle is back in town after getting married. Woot! Also she looks spectacular in her dress, and not at all like Hillary Clinton.

Good grief, it’s like having children. The cat not only needed her regular shots, she also turned out to have infected teeth which needed tending to, so that was another hundred bucks out of my rapidly diminishing to nothing funds. I thought she’d been acting funny around food lately… The vet gave her Valium (I should have asked for some for me); she’s still stoned and right now is stumbling around the apartment like a drunk looking for his flask. As for me? Well, I have a headache — a combination of no breakfast and having to deal with Central Florida drivers.

Donations kindly accepted, and I promise to spend them on important things like rent and gas, not more Valium for me the cat. Honest.

(PS: thanks! Anyone want to hire a middle-aged “super temp”? I’ll keep your time machine clean…)

Guess what, folks — you know that new job I’d been so happy with? Well, I’ve just been fired! Oh, it’s nothing I did, they said — they just couldn’t afford to keep me on. Jeez. Between the floundering big-money corporations and the struggling mom-‘n’-pops, it doesn’t seem like I’ll have a job any time soon.

Needless to say, I’m starting a new bleg. Links on the right, etc., etc. Now I’ve got to go update my resume and send it out again.

I’m not the only one moving — Tim Blair has been enticed over to the Dark Side and has moved his blog over to the Daily Telegraph. On the bright side, this will bring all sorts of good things Tim’s way monetary and prestige-wise, and he will no longer have to depend upon my increasingly erratic web skilz to keep things moving. On the less bright side, he will no longer be part of the Spleenville Army! (Sob, sniff.) But time marches on, and we must all occasionally bow to the forces of Progress and Rupert Murdoch.

Naturally Tim’s friendly commenting hordes have already attempted to comment at the new site, but as they are still (apparently) working the bugs out the comments are all still languishing in the Telegraph monitoring system. Therefore I declare this site open to commentary — on anything and everything, not just Tim’s move. It’s Open Blog Night at TS! All you have to do is register, if you haven’t already. Only your first comment will be held in moderation — once you’re in, your comments will appear immediately.

More changes, possibly: in case you haven’t noticed, things have been kind of dull around here lately. Various issues have been distracting me, so I haven’t been writing as much. That will change soon, I hope, but in the meantime I have actually been considering setting up guest bloggers here. Or I may just can this site and make a whole new one that will be multiple blog — I haven’t decided yet. Anyway, go ahead and register to comment here if you haven’t already (handy registration link at the very bottom of the screen, or at the bottom of the side menu if I change to a different theme). And a small donation via Paypal or the Amazon thingie wouldn’t hurt either…

Update: oh, and apparently I’m a “cult figure” in Australia. Ah, yes, exactly to plan… (cue mad laughter)

Second update: blush. One correction: I’m not working at Walmart anymore. I managed to get a full-time job at a local flight school so I will be getting some real paychecks in Real Soon Now. I thought of keeping the Walmart job part time because I do need the extra cash, but it just wasn’t possible. I’ve never been a tower of physical strength, and two jobs, once of which would have me on my feet for hours, would have landed me in the hospital.

Update the Third: just tweaking the site design to make it more readable. Opinions welcome.

Update the Fourth: ooh, I got my first troll in a while? Anyone remember “Phil Graham”? I don’t, really — but the “Timmmaaaayyy” in his comment (which of course I deleted) was a clue that he was one of the really pathetic trolls. I guess he thought he’d be able to just post freely here? What a loser. Let’s see if his pointless insults get through on Tim’s new site. So far I’ve only seen one snippy “no evil fascist Andrea to crush dissent” comment over there.

Fifth update: I’m about to go to bed, folks, so any new comments may not appear for a few hours. I’ll get you in in the morning, but then I have to go to work, and I don’t have access to the blog from there, so there will be more delays for any new commenters. But eventually you’ll all get on, so be patient!

Oh — except for the pathetic, no-life-having troll “Phil Graham,” who by the way for a lefty seems to have the usual “progressive” contempt for actual working people. His latest (deleted, of course) comments are mocking me for not being an actual flight instructor — which I never said I was — and asking if I was a greeter or shelf-stocker at Walmart. Actually I was a cashier. I wonder what sort of jobs actually meet with Mr. Graham’s exalted approval — I’m guessing the list is a narrow one indeed, and is probably restricted to the areas of leftist politician, leftist academic, leftist journalist, and no doubt his own “career” of unemployable 500 lb dole recipient.

One more — I leave you tonight with this gift — it’s Phil Graham, who is not a virgin!