friday off

K,

You right! I have been a blog slacker! We gotta get back in the habit...Unfortunately I've let a lot of things fall by the wayside these days what with working all the damn time! I expect it's the same with you...

A couple weeks ago my bank account got broken into - someone cashed a fraudulent check. Fortunately they were rally stupid about it...the check number they used was one I'd already cashed so I had an electronic copy of it to prove the new one wasnt mine. They also used the check to pay a huge fuckin comcast bill - more than $600 - so of course comcast knows who it is that comitted the fraud because the used their account number.

But of course even though I got the money back right away (including the 2 overdraft fees from when a) the check bounced and I called them and told them what happened and b) when they honored the check the next day anyway) there are still all of these inconveniences...for instance, they had to change my account number so I wouldn't get stolen from again - so I got a 3rd fucking overdraft fee when they charged me for new checks and I didnt have any money in my checking account because I'd had to move it all to savings so IT WOULDN'T GET FUCKING STOLEN. Plus, my direct deposit bounced and I didn't get paid yet, so I had to borrow even MORE money from my dad to pay this month's rent.

That was on top of my parents paying for my car inspection because he had to replace my front brakes - so that's what I ended up getting for my birthday instead of money for a trip to see Rich...needless to say I had something of a finance-related breakdown...it just feels shitty to be working all the time and still feel like I don't have enough money to get by.

*sigh* - On the plus side, betweent the car inspection and covering Stephen's rent this month I've pretty much paid back all the money I owe him - not that that will matter if he doesn't have a job to pay the rent next month. It's definitely my turn to be his safety net. Also, I told Fred you and Cheryl "wouldn't be staying once the lease was up" and all that needs to happen now is for Ste and Althea (new roommate - did I tell you? long story short, she's a dyke fashion design major at Moore, went to my high school a year after I graduated - Stephen doesn't like the notes she leaves us but the house is cleaner and we get along just fine) to go in and take care of their credit checks. I was so relieved that he didn't ask to see or talk to you guys and he didn't give me any trouble. You know I'm no good at lying haha.

And with any luck - by which I mean if Ste gets a job (he has an interview at Temple next week) - I should be able to completely pay off my dad by the end of next month. Which isn't to say I'll even be making enough money to pick up my own loan payments. Or have health insurance. In the meantime, I really should start looking for a different job - even if I make less money but work in the city it might balance out - gas is so expensive here now and work is so far away I spend upwards of $200 a month on gas.

Anyway, sorry to bore you with all these economics! I guess in part I was hoping to excuse myself for not blogging more, haha. It sucks not having you around to shoot the shit with on a regular basis...so now I'll get to the fun stuff.

So it's true we were very grateful to have Emilia around if only for a day! We picked her up at the airport from her much-delayed flight on a Thursday around 11 and went straight up to Paola's to smoke and chat. Emilia brought us these Mexican lollipops from Texas that were pinapple with chili powder in them - OMG dude. Best lollipops ever, you would have loved them! When we got home we talked a bit more but Emilia was tired from her flight of course and has stuff to do the next day. I hardly got to see her at all on Friday, since I had to leave for work around 6:30 and I didn't wake up till 3 or 4, plus she had to be out taking care of things...so the only other time we spent together was Saturday morning when she and Ste and I smoked and chatted a bit before taking her to the airport for her 7 am flight. So in spite of my luck at getting to see her at all, maybe you can understand why I wish we'd had some more time!

Me and Stephen got Netflix and we've been voraciously consuming movies, a habit we got into when Zayne was living with us...and Netflix is the perfect choice because we were always wanting to watch movies but getting really bored with the same old selection. Also, in relation to finances - Ste and I quit smoking! We just decided it was too much money every month...with everything else I already have draining my paycheck it's just not worth it...although of course we ended up smoking a bunch yesterday because we went out drinking - more on that -

So now that we're sort of caught up on the goings-on I can get to last night - the first Friday night I've had off since I've started my job (the first weekend night at all, for that matter). When I saw I had off I informed Liz and the boy that we were going drinking and later got Gaja on board, although Jessye was non-comittal. So last night we met up and drank a bottle of Smirnoff at 1722 before heading out to Tattooed Mom's where we shot the shit and drank beer (me and Mike did a couple shots) and smoked in the bumper cars. When we got bored we walked to Sugar Mom's and drank and smoked some more, and incidentally ran into Jessye who was drinking and smoking with her OTHER friends, lol.

Around 1 Liz and the boy checked out and me and Gaja played some bubble hockey. We were about ready to head out, so we left the bar to walk Gaja home and said goodbye to Jessye on the way out - she had been unsuccessfully trying to make out with some boy out front of the bar - but on our way toward Gaja's place she said we should go to another bar, National Mechanics. I'd never been there but it was really cool, it's in an old building with big marble steps and columns out front, and inside it's really big, but cozy and relaxed with a fake fireplace at one end. We had a couple more beers and ran into Mike Ginda before they closed up and we walked Gaja home. We caught a cab toward home, too, but decided ahlfway there that we wanted Lil Pete's instead - typical! I had a Rueben which I'm happy to report I did NOT see again the next morning, though how I managed that with a bellyful of beer and a chocolate milkshake, I'll never know...

We also got like 8 packs of Camels for free from the cigarette people, and I drunkenly shoved all of them down sewer grates on our way home so that we wouldn't give up on quitting, haha - and I guess it worked, I haven't smoke today, and don't really crave it seeing as I went without smoking 5 out of 7 days last week. So I feel pretty good about it!

How is life where you are? I certainly deserve an earful after this epic entry lol.

-Bito.