New Neighbor(s)

Looks like I’m going to be getting new neighbors in the near future.  I saw this sign go up a couple of days ago, a few months back the owner mentioned that he was possibly going to be moving to California, but I’d thought the move was off.  Seems not.

There’s a lot of stress involved in moving, which is one reason I’m determined to stay in my house until they put me in a home, or the ground.

But there’s also some stress involved in getting new neighbors.  Especially when you’ve got good ones now.  I have no control over who chooses to move in.  Will we get along?  Will they be good neighbors, or will they ruin the bliss of my house?

Who knows, but at some point I guess I’ll find out.  And you’ll probably read about it.

New Neighbors, Old Powers and Dumbass Stores.

.... Looks like they sold the house next door, so I'm going to be getting new neighbors.  At this point, this is neither good nor bad, I like the neighbors I have now but I don't know the new ones so I'll just have to wait and see.

.... I've lost my special STS powers, they took them away.  Three years ago when I became an STS they gave me an administrative login for the school I was at.  They also, accidentally, gave me the same access to the school I was at right before.  I let them know, and for some reason they couldn't figure out how to un-link me from the Jr. High.  Then when they linked me to my new school (the one that rhymes with schmeisenhower) I had administrative access to all three schools.  Which meant that I could do all kinds of things, including seeing what classes everyone at the schools was teaching, and who was in their classes.  Not all that interesting, but it made me feel powerful.  Of course it also meant that to get to my own grades I had to login, choose the school, click on 'staff', scroll down to my name, click on it and then click on the class I wanted to do grades and/or attendance for.  Yesterday I logged in and it went straight to my classes.  No other schools, no list of staff, no extra-human powers.  Not bad, since it cuts getting to things down from four clicks to one, but, man, I used to be powerful.

.... Imagine a Ford dealer that didn't have a parts or service department.  Would you go there, or go down the street to the one that could help with the upkeep of your new Ford?  I bought a light switch from Home Depot that automatically turns on and off my outside lights at dusk and dawn.  Without the battery I can't even turn them on manually so when it died I went down to Home Depot to get a new one.  Couldn't find one at the store on 33rd So, and when one of their guys couldn't find one either, he suggested I go to the one on 21st So, since the 33rd is one of the smallest stores and 21st is one of the biggest.  So, I did.  Lotta good that did, they don't carry replacement batteries for that item, which they sold me in the first place.  Maybe Radio Shack will, or they suggested some place that specializes in batteries down on 33rd So and 2nd East.  Dude, replacement batteries for something you sell, it's a simple concept.

I went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends...

Saturday Writer and I went to a backyard wedding. It was for the son of one of the teachers I worked closely with at Writers school. It was a great, and very un-traditional, wedding and a testament to good neighbors. The wedding itself was right next door in the neighbor's back yard, the reception in the groom's parent's back yard. Their neighbors opened up their yard and their house for the party, which flowed between the two back yards. It was cool.

The wedding was great, the pastor was in his 20's and the ceremony itself was a well blended cross between traditional ceremony and stand-up comedy. The music at the reception was an exercise in contradiction, from the traditional incredibly romantic choice for the first dance & the dance with the parents (of whose titles I know not), intertwined with songs like the theme song to "Married With Children" and "Every Rose had it's Thorn". The food was great, and, well, they had Corona, need I say more? (Ok, for those of you who don't drink - it's a darn good beer). The company was awesome, it was wonderful to see so many (ok, it was only 5) people I worked with at the old school, and some of the students I taught. The only downer: I learned a lesson on not putting my elbows on the table. Seems there was a bee that was as interested in my food as me, and when I rested my arm on the table he was right below it. Yeah, he was mad, I got stung and now he's dead. But 3 days later my my arm is still swollen, and itches like an SOB. Ah well, it was still quite worth it.