Subtropical Lady

March 2021 (3)

SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2021

Been going back and forth in my mind about whether or not to keep all notes I get on PB private. I know people can choose to make their own notes private, but then I figure that if the note was meant for me, is it really anyone else’s business? So I guess for now I’ll keep notes private.

I decided that rather than have a public book and a private book there, I would just have one book with mixed entries. In making my 2020s book public, the book I decided to use, it took an hour or so to make past entries private since there were hundreds of them but no sensitive info was exposed during that time.

I also missed writing on MD, so I decided to discontinue using my private account and use my public one to do mixed entries there as well.

Aly is definitely afraid to show up on my tracker. I don’t know why she just doesn’t disable tracking on her computer. Maybe she doesn’t want me to know she’s disabled it because she thinks that would make me curious or something? I have no idea why but all I do know is that she’s been doing everything she can to avoid my PB entries unless she’s been visiting them privately, of course. She said she would check it out later but of course later never came. So I decided to just come out and ask her about it.

Yesterday we removed the cage and put it in the storeroom. It’s weirdly quiet and sad not seeing the pigs where it was but it’s definitely a lot cleaner and better smelling!

We also planted the cosmos. Been hearing a lot more barking lately between Santa’s dogs, Geri leaving her mutt outside in the fenced area more often, and that thing down the other street.

Indoor pets only, people, indoor pets only! Seriously, if they wanted to leave their dogs outside, they shouldn’t have moved here. At least they’re not out overnight as far as I know.

I’ve been checking the Small Animals section of the Sacramento SPCA and the pigs haven’t shown up. I wonder what that could mean. I know that if they don’t show up that it doesn’t necessarily mean they were put down since it could have been an inside adoption. If someone who works there has a kid or knows someone else that may want them, then they wouldn’t show up. But they had half a day to prepare them for adoption and I can kind of see where they may want to take extra time to groom Rockefeller, but I don’t see that there would be any delays with Blitz.

MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021

I had mild anxiety yesterday. If I have to have this shit at all, I miss being able to go at least a week or more! But now I can’t even make it more than a couple of days. No anxiety today, though. Maybe he was right in saying yesterday’s anxiety was due to today’s appointment.

Went for a quick walk yesterday but it was too chilly. It was today as well but mostly because it was breezy.

I really, really need to learn to put up with being hungry and throw myself on a diet. No, I don’t give a shit how I look but it would really help my blood pressure and cholesterol, not to mention make yoga and other things easier. So I was thinking about trying the two large meals a day thing again. Yes, I’ll be hungry during the long 8-10-hour haul between meals but I’m afraid that if I don’t do something I’m just going to make a slow steady gain all my life.

Aly decided to surprise me by clicking on my blog link, insisting that since most sites see her IP anyway, she’s not worried about me seeing it on my tracker.

Andy and I are still keeping in touch but we share jokes and pics more than we share words.

We ordered a flower-planting kit for kids that oughta be fun. It comes in an oblong metal tray that you can paint pretty designs on or whatever you want. It comes with the paint, of course. The flowers are morning glories, cosmos, and zinnias.

Also got another diamond painting on the way. It’s a partial-drill of a dreamcatcher on a black background. It’s going to look gorgeous when it’s done. Like a real dreamcatcher glued to black canvas. Still have a way to go with the full-drill of the dark-haired girl with red flowers but I’m getting there.

Good thing I didn’t cancel my dentist appointment after all because I’m going to make it to this appointment easily that’s in a little while. Just wish I wasn’t tired. I’m not nearly as tired as I was when I saw my ENT but I didn’t sleep very well either. I just hope I don’t have any cavities!

I dreamed that we needed to rent a place for a month here in Cali so we ended up renting this beautiful apartment several floors up in a high-rise for $1,075 a month, not that you could even find a dumpy studio here for that much.

It was a beautiful two-bedroom and amazingly quiet. I expected to hear bumps and bangs from the surrounding apartments, the thumping of bass from someone’s stereo, or voices from a TV, yet I heard nothing.

The place had plush carpet and actually belonged to a somewhat well-known actress that was subleasing it for the month. I liked how the second bedroom had blackout curtains even though there were holes in them, and decided I would sleep in there.

I was amazed by how large the place was and by all the tables, cabinets, and shelves there were, although the sink was weird. It was almost too high for me to reach and the sink itself resembled a wooden tray than anything else. Tom had to help me do the dishes.

There was a door in the middle of the place and when you opened it, you found another door that was some kind of fire escape.

The master bedroom was huge and had many large windows along the exterior wall but I knew it would be tough to sleep in there because there were no window coverings.

I thought of how I would have loved to live there back in the days when I had my own apartment and how I would sleep in the small bedroom and use the large bedroom as a computer and crafts room, not that computers were a regular thing back then.

I looked at a cabinet with glass doors which were mostly empty and could easily visualize my figurines and it. Running along the base of large built-in shelves, I could imagine my collector’s dolls lined up along it.

In reality, I wish I could believe we’ll end up in a place we both absolutely love and that we’d never want to move again but I’m not stupid. At my age, I’ve learned what’s in my cards and what’s not. It’ll be a dumpy little place with no real space or privacy around it, no interesting view, and will still be noisy even if it may not be as bad as this place. There won’t be anything cozy or inviting about it.

OMG, last night the loudest helicopter I’ve ever heard sailed over this place and I was so glad I was still awake because it would have woken me up even with Alexa blasting nature sounds as she was. I first thought it was a motorcycle, that’s how loud it was. Long after it had passed over the house, I could still feel the house vibrating.

I put a hold on this entry for a few hours because I ran out of time before my appointment. The appointment went well even though we had to pay $217. No cavities! A very chatty woman cleaned me up nicely and I hope to be out of here by the time my September appointment rolls around.

I’m starting to wonder about that even more because we now have a tough dilemma ahead of us. There’s a good chance he may be able to get a huge paying job and I mean huge. Not quite 6 figures but it would be a ton of money. Had a feeling this would happen too. We’re making more now than he was working but this would be even more than what we’re getting now. The problem is that it’s a 5-month contract without any guarantee of being permanent. Even in just 5 months, the extra money would help but leaving in the winter would be a shitty time to leave because the vacation rentals would be much more expensive. It’s just not the time of year we want to get there. We want to get there in the dead of summer so we can know sooner rather than later as to whether or not one or both of us finds we can’t handle the climate well.

If he were to be hired on and worked until he was full retirement age, that would be a ton of money and would definitely open up our options as to where we could go but neither of us wants to be here for that much longer, not to mention the fact that it would bother us to have ended up rehoming the pigs for nothing.

He’s a very heavy sleeper so he’s not nearly as noise-sensitive as I am even when he sleeps during the daytime as he sometimes does. But for me, sleeping so close to traffic for another few years does not sit well with me at all.

Again, there would be no guarantees it would be for more than 5 months and they may not want to hire someone his age.

TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2021

Ugh! No more splitting entries into private and public posts in the same book/account. Way too much of a pain in the ass that way. Much easier being all or nothing where that’s concerned. So back to private stuff in private books and accounts, and public stuff in public books and accounts.

Had some very interesting dreams, one of which makes me wonder if something’s wrong with Nane, but first, damn was that good! He downloaded the McDonald’s app on his phone and we placed our order online. This way we didn’t have to go into the place or deal with drive-thrus where you can barely make out what they’re saying or they have trouble understanding us.

Once we got close to McDonald’s, the app detected we were close and asked if we wanted to pick it up ourselves or have it brought out to us. We chose the curbside option and then I punched in the number of the parking spot we were in.

I got a plain cheeseburger with just ketchup, small fries, Diet Coke, and a hot fudge sundae. Damn were they good even if the fries were a bit salty! I’d been craving something different and since it’s been months since we had fast food, we decided why not!

After I ate, I went out with the magnetic duster and dusted the inside of the car since it was getting kind of dusty in there.

I had mild and brief anxiety yesterday. It started coming on this morning but after getting out and having a cup of black cohosh tea, it backed off. I wonder if either of these things had anything to do with it. I’m sure it will be back, though. My day is still young. Incredibly enough, though, as much as I don’t like it and I never will, I think I’m slowly starting to get used to it. I think that each year that I have it, I’ll get a little more used to it being a way of life just like excessive noise. I don’t like it but it becomes all you know after a while. I know I’ve had a hard time accepting that it will likely be with me for the rest of my life even if no one else thinks so but I think I’m finally getting there. I think it’s finally hitting me that yes, I really am going to struggle with anxiety for the rest of my life. It really has become the new me, the older me. It’s untreatable and unavoidable so the best thing I can do is learn to live with it just like I’ve had to do with other things. Just gotta remind myself that it’s just a feeling and it can’t kill me.

Went out to water the cosmos. I don’t see anything sprouting yet but it’s probably too soon. Very windy out there today. Had to be careful not to get too close to the dividing retainer wall, not that my balance has gotten that bad. It’s when I stand next to it, though, that I realized just how much higher we are than Virginia’s place. Like 4 or 5 feet higher. If I fell over the wall, I may very well get hurt.

I know most people wouldn’t agree with this but for whatever it’s worth, I don’t feel any guilt or shame over the fact that I prefer to avoid the mentally ill. No, they can’t help the way they are and I do feel bad for them but that doesn’t mean I should be obligated to associate with any kind of person that puts me at risk of if not actual harm then at least all kinds of headaches. People are picky and choosy about who they have for friends and relationships and that’s OKAY. It’s okay to be discriminative! It’s okay to decide you don’t want someone because they’re not into religion or because they’re slobs or for whatever reason.

So why can’t it be okay to want to avoid the mentally ill? What I’m saying is that I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing that we have things we tend to like and dislike in other people. I think that’s just human nature to have things we’re drawn to versus things that make us uncomfortable. So what if someone doesn’t like me because I’m short or getting old? That’s okay. There are plenty of other people who don’t mind these things. Better to be around those that accept us as we are than forced to be around people we don’t want to be around.

There are three dreams I remember from last night. The first one only lasted a second. I was picking up the pigs from wherever (they’re still not listed online) and Blitz had grown even more. He was a big boy but in the dream, he had to be close to 10 lb.

Then Tom and I were visiting Old Colony Beach where my family used to go every summer when I was a kid and I was pointing out how it was sad but nice that there were many people on the beach.

Then I spotted some of my mother’s old friends that had cottages near us, one of them being Natalie. First I thought she was this woman that was lying on a blanket on her stomach, propped up on her elbows. When I called out to her, she simply ignored me, never even looking in my direction. But then I spotted Natalie sitting in one of the beach chairs. She looked incredibly old and barely recognizable and didn’t seem to know who I was.

With my track record for dream premonitions and already having dreams pertaining to Nane’s health in the past that came true, I wonder if something is seriously wrong with her lungs or something like that. I just don’t think she’ll be growing all that old. She’s 60 now. For a brief second, I considered warning her through Christiane but then decided against it for two reasons. First, it wouldn’t change anything. Secondly, I tried to move on after I blew off steam at her for being so judgmental but she chose not to, and I’m not about to bother with those that don’t care about me. I don’t hate her and I don’t want her to suffer, but I’m not going to lower myself ever again to try to get someone to change their mind about being friends with me.

In the dream, I ran into Nane somewhere and she told me she had some treatment done for her lungs but I knew it wasn’t any kind of chemo. It was some other treatment that my dream self had heard of and knew to be serious. She said it was the last treatment and as far as what was going to happen next, she didn’t even want to go there.

There was more to the dream but I don’t remember it. Let’s just say I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Nane was experiencing health issues right now.

I don’t know, maybe I will mention it to Christiane.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021

I could kick myself for contacting Nane from Tom’s account to warn her about the dream I had! The bitch blocked his account even though I promised never to contact her again unless she contacted me and to please unblock me and contact me on my own account if she wanted to talk to me. First I felt a twinge of anger when I noticed the block and then that turned into envy. Although I’ve certainly toughened up and hardened my heart considerably over the years and wouldn’t take a fraction of the shit I’ve taken in the past, I still wish I could be that unforgiving. Yet I know I would be dumb enough to interact with her if she reached out to me and would probably do the same with Maliheh. I was, however, 98% sure she wouldn’t contact me as I’m over 100% sure Maliheh never will.

I’ve been having these mysterious cramps and I’m pretty sure they’re coming from my uterus. Constipation can cause them but I’m not stuck. Cancer is out of the question because I don’t have other symptoms along with it. No bleeding, no weight loss, or anything like that. Whatever it is, it’s certainly benign but annoying.

Still no pigs up for adoption but one of the rabbits is gone. I just can’t see them putting down the pigs because they weren’t suffering in any way. I’m guessing that if it wasn’t an inside adoption then they’re probably being quarantined and treated for a fungal infection.

He’s out weed-whacking now and they’re still working on that damn house. I don’t think they’re ever going to stop. Ever. I knew it would take weeks but I didn’t expect it to take months. Most of the time I don’t hear them, though. Heard a few seconds of hammering yesterday but that’s it. I’m not in that part of the house much anyway during the daytime because that room is the noisiest.

Now they’re blasting music from one of their vehicles. So fucking rude. And of course, Geri’s mutt is back to going off now that the weather is better. I don’t understand why after all these years she would start throwing the damn thing out there during the daytime. Makes me wonder if she’s been sick or injured and unable to walk the dog. Meanwhile, the stereo at least has no bass so I can stand to open the doors without hearing it in here unless I walk up to one of the doors.

The planter came yesterday and we planted the seeds I hope will start sprouting by tomorrow. I was wrong when I said they include morning glories. Besides the cosmos and zinnias, there are cornflowers.

Just when I thought the offer of a $15 Amazon gift card was a scam by the sleep mask people, I finally received it. I guess I misunderstood or they didn’t make themselves clear enough. I thought they automatically gave that to everyone who left a review but I guess you only have a chance to get one as they do raffles or something like that. After I bitched them out for it, I improved my review and received the gift card. I don’t mind fibbing a little for $15.

He and I were talking about how we have to pee so often these days that if we end up driving across, and there’s still a chance that we might even if it’s looking less likely, we would have to stop constantly, LOL.

He found a Sundae-like company that specializes in manufactured homes on leased lots. So we just have to hope we get an acceptable offer. It’s hard for me to believe things would be that easy for us but we’ll see. I still think we’re going to have to go through a traditional realtor which would take longer, of course. I can never escape the noisier places easily enough. The only place we ever lost was the quietest place we’ve ever lived in. Jesse was runner up and we almost ran out of money there during the recession.

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021

Tom and I were coming back from a walk when we noticed three vehicles, including Nancy’s, parked next door. Since I had to water the cosmos anyway, I hoped I would be able to find out if Virginia was back even though I didn’t see why it would take three cars to bring her home. I remembered the bad feeling I’ve been having about her not returning, and sure enough, I learned that she died last night. I spoke with both Nancy and Virginia’s niece. Or was it Nancy’s niece? Regardless, it’s sad that they’re both gone now, but I’m not surprised because it’s so typical of long-term couples to die within months of each other.

Nancy didn’t say anything about moving in there so I’m guessing it’s going to be on the market soon. Really hope to hell it doesn’t sell before we get out of here, and oh, how I can’t wait! The planes have been just awful, including helicopters.

I let Carolyn in on the news who said they just got home and noticed the cars there.

At least there’s some good news and that’s that everybody in California over 50 can schedule an appointment to get vaccinated as of the first. I’m hoping I can get mine the day I see Doc A on the 6th.

On the way out to Rite Aid, Tom said he’s now 90% sure I’m going to be right about us not taking Candy. I’ve been keeping track of anything I sense or dream. I have a list going. Anyway, he ran the numbers and I guess it would just be too much of a hassle. The hassles would outweigh the cost and he thinks it would be worth it to pay a little more to get something there.

It’s weird because it’s like I get to be a better psychic the older I get yet I’m not a good one at all. Yes, I have a high accuracy rate but it’s never anything important like winning lottery numbers. I don’t know what town or city we’ll end up in. I don’t know the day that we’ll move.

Stephen Hawking predicted one of seven things will end humanity within 200 years, and I’ve had a strong feeling for many years that a nuclear war will wipe out most if not all of humanity in the next 100-150 years. So while I wouldn’t worry if I had kids, I would certainly be worried for their kids.

Got a notice from the park saying they’re opening the clubhouse back up but with restrictions. There can only be so many people in different areas at once. Also, take down your Christmas decorations and your political signs.

That last one irritates me because it reminds me too much of being a teenager and my mother demanding that I clean my room. We’re not children and they’re not our parents. How does it hurt anything? They’re too fucking obsessed with appearance.

While I would never want Trump back, I’m not so sure I like Biden as much anymore. He and Harris are doing exactly what I feared they would do and focusing on minorities. I swear if you’re white you don’t matter anymore! I don’t like the reverse discrimination that’s been running rampant more and more in this country any more than I like the US having to be the designated go-to country for immigrants whenever their own countries go to shit.

It’s a reminder that not every president is all-bad and not every president is all-good. I hated Trump for his hate for women, Jews, and gays, but he was right to staunch the flow of Muslims and illegals. There aren’t just a few extremists when it comes to Muslims and there aren’t just a few illegals either. The Muslims pose too much of a threat to our safety and illegals burden our already overburdened system and resources.

Also, the so-called “reparations” to blacks really pisses the shit out of me. You can’t “fix” the past and there’s no one left alive that had a hand in slavery anyway. And what about Jews and the GLBT community? Why is it that their hardships don’t matter?

But yeah, the reparations thing is bullshit. That would be like me ripping off a store and someone having to pay for it 100 years later. How fucking ridiculous is that?

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

So much for enjoying our beautiful breezy day in the 70s and having both front and back doors open for a nice cross breeze. Had to shut the doors because of all the fucking hammering going on at the house that never gets finished. My God, I am so fucking sick of living in a virtual workshop! Had to hear Geri’s mutt too.

At least the trash and recycle trucks only woke me up for a second and just once. Really thought they were going to fuck with my sleep enough to leave me tired today. Instead, I’ll be able to enjoy an evening walk later on.

Hoping we’ll both enjoy the $179 vibration exercise platform we just ordered that will arrive Sunday. It’s supposed to be good for both weight loss and muscle toning. The vibration improves joint, pain, and balance issues and intensifies workouts by making the muscles work harder. Also, I guess the vibration breaks up fat cells and stuff like that so I’m hoping it will help me in light of my thyroid issues and not being able to get typical results from traditional diet and exercise alone.

I love how in one of the videos I watched it said that 15 minutes of low vibration was the equivalent of an hour of walking. A higher speed was the equivalent of an hour of jogging and even higher was like an hour of running. If doing this for 15 minutes a day on top of what I already do helps, why not? :-)

He did our taxes and we’re getting back $1,100 between both government and state.

Feeling really bad for Aly right now who’s suffering big time. Her legs are still swollen, her throat is getting damaged from regular acid reflux, and she’s having trouble breathing. She’s congested too, and the new PCP she saw doesn’t feel comfortable diagnosing her and recommended she go to a cardiologist. Although it seems unlikely, I really hope nothing’s wrong with her heart!

SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 2021

Found this really cool site called Novni that someone mentioned on PB. I’m keeping it secret from everyone and I mean everyone, even though I know that if Aly thought to do it, she could Google parts of the journals I send her to see where else they may be that’s public.

What I like about the site is that you can write there anonymously without creating an account. You still have to watch what you say but it’s kind of cool to be able to drop a copy in a place where no one is likely to know me. I can even choose to disable comments if I want but I don’t mind if anyone comments. Not even sure I would be able to find my entries after time much less any comments because I’m not logged in. I suppose I could Google excerpts from my main journals but it’s not that important. I just like dropping a copy of my thoughts and experiences on the world. The only one I mentioned it to was Tom.

I did my own “anonymous writing” search and it looks like there’s another one called Vigyaa. This one even has a view counter. I just have to be careful because there’s no way to edit or delete posts once you publish them.

The only thing that’s almost as bad as being anxious is knowing that it’s only a matter of time before the anxiety returns. Even though the black cohosh tea seems to be helping, I know I won’t even make it a week before it’s back to torment me. Until and if I ever see differently, I have to assume it’s going to be a part of me for the rest of my life and so I must simply try to enjoy the few breaks here and there that I get from it.

It really irritates me, as I told Dr. A in a message earlier, when I’m told different things by different people. I received a voice message from her office reminding me to go to the lab, so I messaged her and told her that I was told after January labs when she was out that there was no need to repeat labs before our April appointment.

Since I had to message her anyway to ask if she wanted me to fast or not, and I’m guessing she does, I also asked if I can be vaccinated when I see her and gave her a heads up about the bupropion backfiring on me. Now I’ll have to wait until Monday to hear from her and probably have to spend many hours hungry as we scramble to fit me in somehow. Totally regret the two levothyroxine skips I made a couple of weeks ago. Especially since I’m not sure they did me any good.

Not gonna ask for an inhaler renewal, not that we should still be here in September when this one expires because I can get Primatene Mist for a lot cheaper. I only need a few puffs a year and hopefully it will stay that way.

Now that more people are being vaccinated and restrictions are being lifted, the commercial planes are back to being annoying night and day. Still not as bad after about 5 p.m. but still, this place is utterly ridiculous.

Also, first I couldn’t stand to be in the living room during the daytime because of the sawing and now I can’t stand it because of the barking. According to Carolyn, the dog Geri used to have died a few years ago. Well, this one’s annoying as fuck. It was fine until the weather warmed up but now she’s leaving it out in the fenced-in area and it gets annoying at times. Since we’ll be out of here soon enough, I’m not going to say anything. Really, though, I didn’t come here for this shit! This is totally NOT what I signed up for and I really hope that if we end up in another park, and I suspect we will, that they don’t allow pets or motorcycles.

Ugh, that’s another thing. That motorcycle that sometimes visits in the middle of the night is going to be back anytime now.

Now that we’re close to getting vaccinated, we should get a better sense of what’s going to happen and when as far as the move goes. Things kind of got stalled because of that. We still have quite a bit of prep work to do but we’re slowly working on it.

He’s been spreading mulch around the tree on the corner of our lot but had to order more from Home Depot. While he was at it, he grabbed more plastic bins. We want to pack up stuff we’re not going to need while we’re here. Most of what’s in the desk in the laundry room as well as the hutch can be packed.

Why oh why is it that lately, Nane has been on my mind so much? This person that doesn’t give a shit about me. This person that I never met face-to-face. This person that I only ever knew in cyberspace. This person on the other side of the planet.

I just can’t get this former cyber crush off my mind all of a sudden. Maybe I never completely got over her despite the fact that she turned out to be a real judgmental asshole.

Yet she continues to be a muse for my stories or at least story ideas I mull around in my mind. I still imagine us meeting and different scenarios playing out from there.

Later...

The piggies are now up for adoption! Hope they get great homes real soon!

Going out for an evening walk once the sun starts setting and it cools off a bit. First day I didn’t hear Geri’s mutt but it could have gone off when I wasn’t in that part of the house to hear it. Wouldn’t be surprised if Carolyn mentioned me being annoyed by it to Geri but I can’t see Geri giving a shit either way because that’s just how people are. They’re going to do what they’re going to do and to hell with who it affects.

Had a really weird dream last night that I was about to be executed. At least I think I was even though I wasn’t in jail, so maybe something else was going to kill me. I seemed to be comfortable wherever I was and glad to spend my remaining days there. Yet it was so hard to believe that yes, this would really be the last year of my life.

MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2021

Been getting my vibe on! No, not that kind of vibe. The exercise vibration platform that came today. I did one of the low-intensity programmed sets for 15 minutes. It felt weird as hell at first and I wasn’t sure I would like it but I quickly got used to it. Still don’t know if it’s going to help but if we don’t see any results in a month or so we’re going to return it. You don’t just stand on it, of course, but you do exercises while on it. Mostly things like squats and calf raise exercises. It comes with resistance bands but I haven’t used them yet. There are bands with handles that you attached to the base of the platform but they’re so wimpy. You can also lie on it to do crunches and place the palms of your hands on it to do push-ups.

Taking a day off from going out walking but I might do some yoga stretches later.

Got up to 81 degrees today and it’s still warm in the house coming up on midnight. Hard to believe it’s going to drop to 44 tonight. In a few days, though, we’ll be back to highs in the 60s.

On the way back from the dentist on the 22nd, a couple of cop cars went screaming by. It turns out that a mail carrier in Fair Oaks discovered two dead bodies in a driveway and called them in. I don’t know much about the case but it was a woman and a guy in their twenties and it might have been a murder-suicide.

I also forgot to mention that I asked the dental hygienist how one could tell when bridges and crowns were at the end of their life and she said there really is no end of life for them and they can last up to 40 years. That would be wonderful if I never had to replace any of them, especially the bridge!

The pigs are still up for adoption. They’re listed as being 2 years and 9 days old. Where did they come up with those 9 days? They’re probably closer to 2.5 years to be exact. We got them in January 2019, and they were probably already a few months old.

I’m a little surprised they didn’t list the pigs’ breed. With all the experience they’ve had with animals they should know they’re Americans.

I just hope they get a loving home that’s peaceful since guinea pigs are often startled by noise, even though I don’t know where you can get that in today’s world, especially in a warmer climate.

The black cohosh tea is really upping my number twos and I read that yes, that is a side effect. Kim mentioned it as well. I sure as hell will gladly take that over anxiety, though! Still, I might not steep it as long, or see if I can get by with just one cup of that and one of the primrose. This is why I don’t mess with pills. If this is what I get from just tea, I’d hate to think of what pills would bring me!

It’s still way too soon to say whether or not the tea is helping as there have been other things I thought were helping just to have the anxiety return to haunt me, so it probably isn’t, although it can’t hurt either.

I told Andy that if he hasn’t already, I would appreciate it if he didn’t tell his family where we’re moving to because I don’t want it getting back to the termites. If they really want to find out our future address, they can, but I don’t want to make it easy for them. Especially being so close. As I’ve learned, someone is always connected to someone who’s connected to someone that knows what’s going on with us. However, he says he hasn’t mentioned that we reconnected to his family because he doesn’t want to hear their opinion. That’s good to know since he’s always been quick to share what’s going on with others. Also, I can totally understand where they would give him shit for reconnecting with me since I’ve already dumped him twice.

There were three vehicles next door yesterday but we still don’t know what’s going on with that house. I would assume they’re going to clear it out and sell it. I just hope to hell we get out of here before it sells in case whoever gets it has a motorcycle or other insanely loud vehicle! I totally want to look for a petless park if we do end up in a park because I’m so tired of listening to other people’s dogs. I’ve been doing it ever since I headed out west and I’ve had enough!

This place is beyond annoying. While everything on the ground has quieted down, I still can’t turn off the air cleaner or fan and enjoy peace and quiet because of small planes and helicopters. It’s like mosquitoes buzzing around every 5 minutes or so and it just gets so damn old. My poor ears never get a break! I totally can’t wait to get out of here but we have to get the vaccine first.

Nothing’s happened outside yet but the indoor plants are beginning to sprout!

We packed some more stuff as well. We went through the small bathroom cabinets to pack what we don’t think we’ll need while we’re still here. Plus we sorted through other things. Damn, we’ve got so much shit! Shit I totally forgot we even had. Didn’t realize we still had sterile pads from when I had ear surgery nearly 30 years ago.

Using a combination of shower gloves along with the salt scrub I recently got has made my skin so much better. It’s so much softer and smoother and way more comfortable overall.

Gathering KU books is becoming increasingly frustrating. I still don’t understand for the life of me why so many mysteries and suspense novels are set in the UK which has so many words and phrases I don’t understand. It seems that most of the ones set in the US you have to pay for and there don’t seem to be nearly as many. I just don’t get this. Why isn’t this genre nearly as popular amongst American writers?

Decided to give up on Novni and the other one since they just aren’t very exciting. Maybe when I want to write something a little more heavy or controversial, I can share it there but for the most part, I’m not getting anything out of it and I can’t tell who my readers are.

TUESDAY, MARCH 30, 2021

Still enjoying the calm that is only dampened by the knowledge of the fact that I won’t even make it to May without getting anxious. Probably won’t even make it to mid-April.

Right now I’m more angry than sad over the latest surge in covid cases. I usually have an I-don’t-care attitude but knowing the deaths are mostly due to Republicans lifting mask mandates simply to make Biden look bad really has a way of infuriating me. How do they sleep at night? How do they sleep at night knowing they had a hand in these people’s deaths, knowing that most people wouldn’t be smart enough to know better? It’s just so damn childish and so wrong on every level to know there are some people that would be OK with thousands of people dying just to spite this one person. And then to further infuriate me is knowing that they’ll get away with it. Meanwhile, if I just write something down that the wrong person of the wrong color doesn’t like, I have to go to jail for it.

Not understanding why Walmart has added a thing to prove I’m not a robot. Why would a robot want to go grocery shopping for me?

I ordered Violet Vixen hair dye for tomorrow’s delivery and it ought to be interesting. I chose a similar one for them to sub if they don’t have it. I just hope it isn’t too intense and doesn’t stand out too much. To each their own but I’m getting too old for that shit. I would prefer to keep the bright colors confined to my clothes.

Went out walking today and had my second 15-minute segment on the vibe plate. It’s surprisingly quiet too but don’t use it with loose panties on if you don’t want them shaken down!

I had a dream that I had a bed on the back porch of a cop couple’s place, and I felt I had to sleep there on weekends for some reason. It might have been a front porch or even part of a hallway in a building, but the double bed was somehow connected to their property or close enough to it.

One day I went to sleep in the bed and found it gone. I questioned the couple about it, and I could later see them arguing about it from a distance. I know the woman was against me sleeping there but the guy obviously won the argument because I soon found that the bed was put back where it was.

I later chatted with the woman who I forgot was a cop until I saw her hanging out at her place in sweatpants but with her police jacket on. I knew she worked two jobs and asked her why she didn’t work as a cop full time. She answered the question but I don’t remember what she said.

My parents were alive in another dream and I was telling them that I no longer wore earrings because of the changes in my bad ear. Also, I didn’t need a new wardrobe even though I would like one.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021

As expected, the anxiety is back. Knew it would be, but hey, I just have to learn to live with it and accept that yes, it really is a life sentence for some of us. Particularly those of us that can’t handle the side effects of medications. And yes, someday it really will become a way of life and I’ll get used to it. I just have to believe and have faith in myself as shitty as this feeling is. It will make the calmer times even more special, and I’ll just have to enjoy those times when I can. I just hope I’m not in for another two-month spell! That was damn long. Two minutes is too long but two months is a real killer.

I don’t know, it still seems a bit extreme and a bit late for it to be mostly hormonal. Won’t know for sure for another year or two. Once I get to that point, if I still have it, I can rule out both hormones and possible negative energy dwelling in this place. I still get the feeling it’s tied into the med. I just don’t know how. I didn’t just become this way. There is a reason.

For now, I’m still drinking the tea and doing the tapping and whatever else I can think of that helps. Being on nights definitely doesn’t help but in a few days, my schedule should shift forward enough. It always seems worse when I’m getting up between 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM.

Right now I’m a lot more worried for Aly. Pretty sure she’s in the hospital right now. She wasn’t improving and was having all kinds of horrible symptoms like leg swelling, acid reflux, and other things. So she went to the ER and I guess they admitted her. She sent a quick message saying something about a UTI, possible ovarian tumor, and low white blood cells. She wasn’t exactly sure how they were going to treat her, but I guess they were going to start with a blood transfusion. She said that every 5 to 7 years she gets really sick with something. I remember when she had that really nasty skin infection that had her laid up in the hospital for a month, and before that she had breast cancer to deal with.

Meanwhile, I’m sure Kim is still as healthy as can be and her worse problem is having to do chores and not being able to obsessively bombard someone like June with a shitload of messages.

What I didn’t tell her, although I know I’ve mentioned it before either directly to her or in my journals, was that I have one long-term problem after another that lasts an average of 4 to 7 years with only a year or two off in between. The thing is that if the anxiety never stops, then does that mean nothing can replace it? Too bad if that’s the case because anything would be better than being anxious so much of the time. I know that there is the stress of my upcoming doctor’s appointment, waiting on the vaccine, getting out of here and all that, but none of what’s going on should have me feeling this way. I still say it’s medical somehow. Life itself may influence it to a degree but I think it stems from something going on inside me, I just don’t know if it’s the med, hormones, something else, multiple things, etc.

Another thing that doesn’t help is just living here. Simply being here is hard so much of the time. They woke me up twice today. First it was a vehicle and then, just as I was knocking back off, I swear this vibrating/thumping sound woke me up that made me think of a low-flying helicopter and its rotors but Tom said he didn’t remember hearing helicopters at that time. It was probably them working on the fucking house. I swear they’re never gonna finish the fucking thing! He said they were noisy in the morning and that Geri’s mutt seems to have some kind of routine.

If we end up in a park, I really hope to hell it’s a petless one that doesn’t allow motorcycles and that we’re further away from what’s a much quieter and less traveled street! I’m sure we won’t have a water view and that all we’ll see are streets and other houses as usual, and while a pretty view would be nice, sound and being able to sleep is more important. I’m tired of being woken up and I’m tired of the distractions when I am awake. At night, I want to turn the sound machines and air cleaners off to give my ears a break yet I can’t because of the constant roar of the freeway and small planes and helicopters buzzing about.

Decided to try looking for books on Goodreads. Maybe I’ll find more set in the US that way.

Dyed my hair but I don’t see the violet in either the model on the box or on my head right now. It looks more like a deep dark ruby red, but I actually like it. I think it came out great. I was worried at first because it seemed way too bright when I was putting it on. I’ve always hated fiery red hair or carrot-colored hair that has orange in it. Anyway, I tried taking pictures but it looked a different color every single time despite the angle and lighting in the room, none of which reflected an accurate image of what it actually is, LOL.

It took me over a month, but I finished the diamond painting of the dark-haired girl with the red flowers. Now I’m starting the dreamcatcher. This one won’t take nearly as long because it’s smaller and it’s not a full drill.

Had a dream we were in a hotel. He was out somewhere and I was in the room by myself when this couple accidentally started to enter and I told them they had the wrong room. It didn’t seem like it was an outside room, though. It was like the couple stood in a hallway. I didn’t seem distressed either, as I was in most of the many hotel-related dreams I had after our near 9-month experience when we first came to Cali.

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