2 days of farmers markets. 2 days of rain.
In Marin, they charged us full price as if it were a sunny day in August. Most markets have winter rates and then give you half off or free if it rains, especially if it was torrential as it was yesterdays. There was even a tornado watch in Northern California and yet they insisted on charging us the full rate. Then after we paid, they suggested we close down early since there were no customers! I decided to be an asshole and said I'm getting my money's worth and I'm staying the whole day.



The wind flipped this guy's tent:



I think there is a culture of disdain for the growers/vendors/farmers that participate in the markets by the Marin Country Farmers Market Association. It's less and less a farmers market and more and more a street festival. The other growers were joking that I'd be replaced by some BS thing like Cindy Lou's Gourmet Peanut Brittle.

Reason to be cheerful: I am free of these people. Sundays are now my own!

Here's a VIDEO!

Ants in the kitchen. All over the kitchen.

Not annoying enough, you say?

OK:
Frustrated by my bug-proof pantry containters, the ants found their way to the dining room, at the FAR end of the house, where I had about 12 dozen Christmas cookies -- which I spent noon to 8pm yesterday baking -- in adorable gift boxes, ready to give to friends & coworkers today.

Plumbing problems in the basement. And it's raining today to make matters worse.

Cracked ribs. Ow!

Sorry, Squeat. It probably wasn't athletic sex that cracked them, either, was it?

My annoyance, and it's minor, is that Bloglines is going to be completely down tonight for a while. I wanted to catch up on reading blogs, but don't know if I can.

Say it ain't so, Santa.

Steve, I have no idea how you managed to hold a market in yesterday's weather. It was sideways-rain, thunder and lightning here in SF.

Another annoyance: Just got a shipment confirmation that the 3 items I really needed for my trip (out of the 5 items I ordered) from ExOfficio are out of stock and will not be backordered. When I called to cancel the remainder of the order, they told me "oh, it's already shipped."

a $100 jump in our electric and gas bill over last month. must remember to turn the heat down when we leave the home for extended periods.

Dragging an oxygen hose around all day. Ahh the joys of arthritis.

Having to, in about an hour's time, enter the maelstrom that is Grand Central in order to travel to Westchester for a family celebration that will be if history repeats itself in a mediocre restaurant. Having to return at a late hour and find a cab driver willing to relieve me of $15 so that I may get home.

The phrase "make no mistake"

Thanks. Really, thanks, because I was planning to. Make a mistake, that is, but now that you've said something I'll be sure not to.

What an annoying, trite, condescending 3 words that add absolutely nothing substantive to a sentence.

Staying up till 2AM fighting with mongo over the NYC transit strike and NOT getting to watch Killer's Kiss as I had planned.

When he comes to NYC, make him pay.

Sadistic Design

Sometimes life sucks and sucks with such precision based on a long chain of events all of which needed to occur in the specific order they occurred in order to create the perfect timing for things to suck that it just could not have happened by random chance alone.

Digital camera did not arrive. FedEx tracking says it's "out for delivery." FedEx tells me that their trucks have to be off the streets by 7:30 because of the strike contingency plan, which stays in effect until midnight. So unlikely that this camera is coming tonight. So I asked the guy - will it come tomorrow? No guarantees. If I don't have this camera by the time I have to leave for Mexico on Sunday morning, I'm going to be seriously unhappy.

Dammit, there was a reason I first wanted to buy this in a store and not on the web.

I hope your camera comes. I know the feeling well, and wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Accidentally burning myself.

My fucking camera still isn't fucking here. FedEx is of course very backed up due to the strike. It was on a truck yesterday afternoon but never made it here, and now they're telling me that it will be out on a truck today but no guarantee it will make it here, because drivers can only be out for 12 hours. Fuck.

When are you leaving?

Sunday at 4am.

They might hold your package for your tomorrow and let you come pick it up at the central delivery location. That's what they do if they can't deliver the package. It might be inconvenient to get to, but at least you'd have your camera before the vacation.

It's out on a truck for delivery now. Let's hope it arrives at some point today. If not, they said I can call after 8pm and have it held at the pickup depot and I can get it tomorrow between 9 - 5. On 42nd & 11th. How convenient. The FedEx guy on the phone warned me about the lines there.

I went to the drugstore to buy a package of holiday cards to use to give my bldg people their holiday cash and due to my procrastination the only non Jesus cards I could find have snowmen and teddybears on them. Oh well. At least they were half price. Plus I figure my bldg employees just want the cash anyhow and could care less if there were teddy bears or devils on the card as long as there is green inside.

Nice idea, except I will lose the substantial savings.

And Circuit City and BestBuy are both sold out of the A610 in the stores near me.

FedEx tells me that even though it is out on a truck for delivery, there is no guarantee that it will arrive by tonight.

Meanwhile, we got a UPS package that was sent out yesterday.

Car accident. Hit someone's old bumper (1989 Le Sabre). Slight hit though, but still bugs the hell out of me.

it's 4.32 and I'm the only one stuck here in the office because someone has to answer the phone and no one has called all day....I have 27 minutes left

While making my third trip to the grocery store to get stuff for Christmas desserts which is an annoyance in itself, I realized that last night I inadvertantly bought salted butter. They both say sweet cream butter on the package, but the unsalted one says unsalted. When did this happen? I thought sweet meant unsalted and salted meant salted. Ugh, at least they were buy one get one free.

Lost half my index fingernail on my left hand. Throbbing while typing, and typing slowly and inaccurately. Gak.

United Airlines. Memo to airline staff: please tell us the truth, i.e. that La Guardia is fogged in and that even when the fog lifts there will still be massive delays and that therefore our 7:30 flight will not be taking off until 10 PM. That way at least we can go sit in TGI Friday's (in the 'dining concourse' of lovely Dulles International Airport) and drink bourbon and watch football while attempting to choke down the vile,vile food. Please do that as an alternative to telling us over the course of almost three hours that we are next in line, that the plane is at the gate, and that we should 'stretch your legs' and come back to the gate in a half hour.

My surviving cat managed, heaven only knows how, to find and ingest a very long piece of ribbon. She was rushed to the veterinary hospital last night and is going to be fine, but the treatment is costing around $600. I suppose I should be grateful the silly thing didn't repeat her trick of several years ago when she ate yards of string and was brought back to health to the tune of over $2,000.

OK people. It's gonna be a slow week at the office, where I am stuck while my relatives and friends run around Europe, Florida and Mexico. A long, slow, envious week, from which I need some distraction. So let's pick up the pace of the posts, K?

Wanna go out to lunch?

Sure! (But not today)

This is only minorly my annoyance, mostly it's my roommate's:

As a Christmas present my roommates parents gave her sister a surprise trip to New York for New Years. To stay with my roommate, be taken around by her, and generally be entertained for 5 days. Unfortunately it was also a surprise for my roommate (and by extension a surprise for me).

Surprise!

The thoughtlessness of this is staggering.

This is so far over the line I can't believe it. The present was given to the sister, but it's the roommate who has to honor it, with no advance warning. In addition the sister is a very difficult, high maintenance guest and the parents are not paying for my roommate, who is now obliged to wine, dine and entertain her sister on her own expense. For the sister it may be a present, but for my roommate it's a white elephant.

Tamar, that's outrageous.