And here is the dance.

We're human. We go back and forth, in relationships, hurting each other. Latest:

V* has decided that I am Adam's "boss": he can't go anywhere, do anything, without my seal of approval. Despite his saying that this isn't so, she persists in teasing him about this, seemingly oblivious to how much it's hurting him.

He contemplated, and rejected, the idea of doing something to prove to her that I was not his boss. Laying aside the logical impossibility of proving a negative, this would have been very detrimental to me, as something severe enough to prove to her that I was not in fact his boss would have hurt me very badly.

He has been growing increasingly upset with the situation. Being human, there's the side of me that's jumping up and down and yodeling delight at some of the things, and there's the side of me that's growing increasingly worried at the larger amounts of emotional damage that are being passed back and forth.

He mentions in passing that while he considers her his best friend, it's one-sided. I remarked at how lucky I was to have picked Darkside for my mad unrequited crush.

Current situation: she called back, and he's outside on the phone with her now.

We'll see what happens.

Things found:

I have been rummaging through the discordians' paradise of a filing system that I keep (boxes, any flat surface, any non-flat surface, any available or unavailable place to put things) and I have found some delightful items:

Tax stuff
A $5 Waldenbooks preferred reader certificate
Peppermint sticks, gigantic
Old test papers
Notes from Mama
Notes from FatherSir
The thumbnail pages from two rolls of film last spring
books!!
assorted jewelry
candles
my mini USB wheel mouse


Oddly enough, this reminds me of the Definitive List of Stuff In rosalynde's Backpack that we used to come up with. The idea was, come up with a complete list of the things in her backpack so that when she reached in there to find something that she was looking for, she'd always pull out something else that was in there, but wasn't what she was looking for.

I think I'll have her post that, as a resource for other people needing Random Things. I think we alphabetized it, too.

Being a breakdown of a bad situation: Proving a negative

Scenario: three actors: Girl 1, Boy, Girl 2.

Girl 1 gets peeved at Boy having taken up with Girl 2. "She's got you wrapped around her little finger!" she declares.

Boy decides to prove to Girl 1 that Girl 2 has no such thing going on. Form this demonstration takes: a big nasty scene with much pain.

Girl 2 gets pissed off, and retaliates.

Scorched-earth heroics ensue.

Girl 1 steps in after the battle is over and comforts her wounded warrior, who by this time does not precisely recollect how it was that his formerly dear friend Girl 2 came to be such a homicidal bitch, when she seemed so nice to start with...

Movement II: more dance.

So, having sensed that Adam is getting really fucking cheesed off by the dramatics and grouchiness and sniping, V has chosen to explain which, exactly, part of her adoring family soap opera is inspiring her to relieve stress in such an unproductive way.

Four divorces in the family within six months is not a good thing, no.

But one could think that, being 21 and out in an apartment on her own, one might end up isolated from the worst of the fallout. ...speaking of which, I wonder how poor dear Dawn is doing....?

But this is the part of the dance where she apologizes for any wrongs she may have done because she was so stressed out/worried/whatever, and is extra-sweet to him in order to make up for it all.

And, being a gentleman, he accepts the apology gracefully, and is less critical of her shortcomings, knowing what incredible pressure she's under from her family, her job, and all the other things.

Find the fishie!

Wandering out to see how Adam was doing in his conversation, I noticed the cat on the north altar, right by poor Fire Blossom's tank. The cat has a bad habit of harassing my fish.

Joanie grouch. Joanie pounce and remove cat, none too gently.

Joanie get bitten.

It's all nice and washed out now, but it still does hurt. He yelled and wiggled and bit and I yelled and scolded and dumped him on the floor, where he ran off.

Now he's thinking about trying to wander into my room, but I've been holding up my boot and looking at him warningly.

Whee!

Gotten down to the bottom of the leopard basket, everything cleaned out of there. Pay stubs filed away, bank statements, deposit slips, receipts... I have containers for the messier of the paperwork, and three ring binders for the tamer things that will submit to a hole-punch.

Duckses and Taxes

Actually, I've seen no ducks today. Perhaps I should take a walk by the canal later. Duckses and taxes is just an old family phrase. I did see some ravens circling over the strip mall, though...

Had to go to the library (DeVry library) for forms. They didn't have the AZ 140NR, so I had to pop online to find it (headache!) and print it out (what do you mean, 'not ready'?).

Am constantly being amused by the numerological significance of certain numbers on my taxes. Heh. Yeah, that'll echo loud enough...

I'm not sure whether to expect a refund or not. Doubtful on the Arizona taxes...I need to go and correct certain things at work for the Arizona taxes. Grr, and argh as well. Give me Alaska any day. Maintaining residency there, thankfully.

A plane? Noooo....

So, as I was walking home from the DeVry library, tax paperwork in hand, and a movie I checked out (The Addams Family, just because we're a spooky household), I saw a bird flying overhead.

A duck.

My day is complete.


So, fortunately, are my taxes. All that remains is the Xeroxing (thank you, DeVry library, and schedule that has my first class at eleven) and the mailing (post office within easy walking distance of school...). I get money back from the Feds, but have to pay Arizona state tax.

Whoo for being broke, though: it's not all that much. My federal refund will cover it. It's not as astounding a refund as it might be, but I do get all my money back, thanks to not making much in the first place, and paying out the nose for school in the second place.

(trip != mall)

Planned to go to Metrocenter mall to get some new summer shoes and a new book, given that one of the things I dug up in my fanatic cleaning spree last night was a $5.00 Preferred Reader certificate to Waldenbooks.

Unfortunately, the mall was closed.

Instead of coming straight home, I stopped off at the grocery store and got some new stuff to eat. I'm making pizza right now; it's in the baking the crust phase.

When my father got a bread machine for Yule some years ago, I discovered the pizza dough recipe included in the happy recipe book. I proceeded to become the household pizza goddess. The secret to nice crisp pizza that's still got juicy sauce and non-fried toppings is baking the crust before putting on said sauce and toppings. Mmmm.

Narcissa liked her own pizzas better, but everyone else loved mine best.

Mmmm, pizza.

But this is the last time I put that nasty turkey sausage on both of them. Yick. It does nothing for me; the smell of them turns my stomach, and they're not much better on the pizza. Adam's none too fond of the green olives, so I suppose I can have one pie with turkey sausage but no green olives, and one pie with green olives but no turkey sausage. Broccoli would be a welcome addition to the pizza.

Next time, I think the hamburger and the spices and I will be having a little chat with each other, and I will produce some excellent quasi-sausage. Pork is anathema in this household (but Adam and I still have bacon every now and then) but beef is still OK, if not every day.

Of course, Marx is no fan of mushrooms...

...You see how this could get very complicated, very fast.

I'm feeling quite a bit better now that I have some real food in me. I'd been munching on whatever was in the kitchen (chocolate chip cookies) all day, and hadn't noticed that I hadn't eaten. By halfway through the pizza, I got dizzy enough to have to sit down for a while.

I think I'll be making pizza a little more often. Speaking of which, I need to score me some sauce the next time I go through Sam's, because I do believe that we are out of that good stuff, so vital to the pizza experience.

OT: book recommendation from the List

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

Evidently hyper-causing, from the review.

"It works better when you turn it on", or, "It tastes better when you take it out of the oven".

Left the last pizza in the oven for too long. Fortunately remembered it before it was completely destroyed. Looks like it'll still be good.

In other news, I'm tired, I'm full, and I'm going to bed. Like, soon. As soon as I get the worst of the kitchen put to rights.