The Adventures of Being Me

Oh my, God is hearing my prayers. Go to Pilates Studio and my practice client was unable to come (they forgot to come and made other plans 2 weeks in a row). I used the equipment my personal hours to complete, 14 more personal hours to go. Express concern about getting certified having trouble getting people to do a session with me to get my hours done to the receptionist. She volunteered to do session with me. What? She would? I want to cry. She gave me her number. Hopefully I can get more sessions do e next week.

I remember him in Top Gun, A River Runs Through It, and Steel Magnolias. RIP Tom Skerritt

Happy 6th Birthday to Rufus. Dogs got piece of cake and pup cup. Cats got pup cup.

Mailed my absentee ballot today at the post office, so it will be delivered to the county clerk unless it flies out of the mail bag in the post office truck. Can't change my mind now.

I don't believe this. Let the dogs out to potty in the backyard. Stand outside on the patio, trying to keep the cats from escaping out the back door. Rufus returns, and I let him inside. After a minute, call Anna back inside. She likes to eat dropped food from the bird feeder like the piggy she is. Walk back inside and manage to keep the cats inside. Rosie, ready to escape out the door, takes interest in a garter snake that suddenly appeared behind the door. I failed to notice a snake in either dog's mouth. Where did it come from? Its head moves as Rosie paws at it. It's alive. Grab the broom and brush it outside onto the patio. Little black garter snake with yellow stripes and a gray underbelly. It started to slither as I moved it with the broom. Now my wood floor has snake slime on it where it was. Complete mystery which dog brought it in. Cats never made it outside, who normally bring these things inside.

Someone gave me a brilliant idea: let AI write a book for me and finish it faster so I can put out more books to sell. Problem: AI-generated material cannot be copyrighted. They call it public domain, so anyone can use it. Sure, I can generate an AI-written book and sell it, but so can everyone else, and not pay me royalties, since I don't have copyright law to stop them. I am allowed a copyright if I use AI for editing/proofreading, like changing verb tenses and correcting spelling, or even rearranging a sentence, but the plot, characters, and storyline are my ideas. Besides, AI suggestions are often concise, choppy, and flat. I write better stuff. AI way: A red ball bounces downstairs while Gilda sews a gown to wear for next week's ball. My way: A red ball started bouncing down the stairs as Gilda embroidered spring flowers onto her new gown, interrupting her daydream of the ball next week

Bumped into a group of children on our walk today. And of course, the children asked to pet the dogs. Anna jumped up on everyone and then rolled on her back to receive belly rubs. Rufus sniffed everyone making sure they knew he was there. Most people go crazy over the Corgi and completely ignore the Terrier/Chihuahua mix who barks when jealous. The kids were ready to take them home cause they are so cute and sweet. Then they got bored and walked away and we finished our walk. Dogs were so happy the rest of the way home.

Why is hiring professionals so difficult? You tell them what you want done and they give you a quote. Select the best deal and workers show up asking me what they are suppose to do. They do the job and it is not what you discussed with sales rep. It's what they feel like giving you in a cheap ass, unprofessional DIY project way. Then they are bewildered I am upset. What did they expect when you don't give the customer what they asked for? The finished work is not we discussed. Hopefully, they will come back to finish covering my gutters with new toppers, as I asked the sales rep who came back for the check on the roof repair. At least they did an excellent job on that. The water dripping in the basement decreased a lot.

Well, did another short practice teacher session with 3 instructors and they still won't let me assistant teach classes. I need more practice giving cues. Great. Wonder if I ever will get certified. I need 10 assistant teacher hours to apply for apprentice teacher job that pays as an employee to complete my practice teaching hours then complete certification test. Now the fridge is leaking water. Pretty sure it is not dropped ice melting cause it is too much water. Need to call repair person. Does my life not suck enough? Water still dripping in the basement. Have to wait for the water to finish descending from the walls. Flashing replaced and waiting for gutter tops. Took the dogs to local park lake, river still high but getting lower. The boat ramp was still flooded and part of of parking lot, better getting better.

Finished another story. Now to edit. It's about World War II and the Holocaust. Gripping. Took dogs to the groomer today. Took a walk around the neighborhood as soon as we returned and Anna had to roll around in the grass, dirt, and on concrete. Ran into kids who wanted to pet them as we walked passed a daycare. Another lady doing yardwork stop to pet the pooches.

Took the dogs to local park lake today. River flowing by it was mighty high and almost touching the new bridge they are building. Boat ramp area at entrance parking was overflowing into the parking lot and had barriers up. Anna tried to drink the lake water. Yikes, bacteria. Pulled her away. Very nice day for a walk.

Finally quit raining so roofer fixed the flashing, no more drips. Next, wait for gutter tops tomorrow. Hopefully the basement ceiling will stop dripping soon. The kitchen ceiling stopped dripping.

Nice. Wake up and electricity is out. Hope the ice cream doesn't melt all over the freezer. Found a news artciel on my smartphone that 19,000 people electricity was out this morning and schools delayed school a couple hours. There were several accidents as people went to work today and forgot how to treat a traffic light that doens't work. Dirver's are supposed to treat a broken traffic light like a 4-way stop sign, but people don't and run through them like freaking car race track. My goodness the rain stopped, my yard is swamp when I was putting out some birdseed.

Odd. I received a new voter registration card in the mail. I didn't ask for one. Maybe the polling place changed. I vote absentee ballot so I don't even know where my polling place is. I think it used to be a church and now it's the high school. Had workmen working on my roof today. Earlier in the day, I think they were at my neighbor's house 2 houses down. Someone was working on their roof too. Now to wait for them to cover the gutters and replace a section where shingles stick out over the gutter. They actually asked me what they were supposed to do at my house. That doesn't give me much confidence. Had my audition for Assistant Teaching. Did better, but I need to remember to add the spring changes to my notes. I create exercise plans at home, but I don't have a reformer at home to test the spring settings. Will do my routine again for 2 instructors, then the lead instructor will set up a plan for me to assistant teach.

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!! Now my roof is leaking in the kitchen. I am using every bucket and waste basket to catch the water. STOP RAINING! Some relief today. The roofer dropped off the supplies today. Now, to wait for the rain to stop so the roofer can fix the flashing. Roommate thought it was a bad idea leaving the shingles and flashing outside. That is what roofers do. They leave shingles and flashing in the yard the day before they work on it. News is announcing flood warnings of the nearby river. Great I have to go to a Pilates session with a fellow classmate and Physical Therapy tomorrow. If the river floods, if will be very difficult to go to that side of town. Praying the bridges stay okay. Great, wonderful, my microwave is dead. And my spare microwave went dead months ago. And the Raccoon River is expected to flood tomorrow, when I need to get to West Des Moines for appointments. I swear I'm cursed.

I'm so tired of being strong all the time. I'm literally so stressed out waiting for this rain to stop so roofers can fix the flashing that I can barely function. Water damage is spreading on my walls dripping water over more places in the basement, finding places to put more buckets on the floor is getting difficult. Half my basement floor is soaking wet, with towels directing the water to the floor drain. Plus, mold is exploding everywhere, so I had to get a dehumidifier. I can tell when my roommate cleans with bleach. Got a message that the roofer will come by for a shingle piece to match and to get supplies to work on the roof this week. It's raining until Friday. Sigh. Heaven help me. I'm tired of people telling me to get homeowner's insurance to pay for my water damage. OK, first off, homeowners does not pay for water damage without a storm event and they don't pay for a flood in the basement when a floor drain is clogged and I have a crappy waterproof...

Getting air ducts cleaned. Never had them cleaned before so certain they are disgusting. They showed me photos of my ducts. Yep, very dirty. Then they tell me they forgot the dryer vent so coming back tomorrow. They made me sign up for a subscription for furnace/AC servicing so I guess next time will be contactign them instead of the person I normally call for AC/Furnce issues.

Had to get a dehumidifier for the basement from mold taking over with all water damage from the leaking roof. I'm sorry it won't stop raining so the roofer can fix the flashing. Hopefully he can get here this week. I'm getting new gutter tops so need to take the Christmas lights down. Then roommate complains how hot the basement is. Yeah, that happens when you run a dehumidifer nonstop.

Had a rep to give estimate on duct cleaning. Haven't had them cleaned since I moved in. I'm certain they are disgusting by now. Roommate complained about the smell when I turned the heat on the 1st time.

Nice. Roommate asked me to get a puppy for his girlfriend for her emotions. I said that if they can afford to care for a puppy, then they can find a new home. There are vet visits, licenses, picking up poop, food, water, grooming, leashes, and treats. Oh, he isn't talking about finances. Girlfriend needs an emotional support pet. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs, and she needs an emotional support pet. Again, no. Oh, her family had dogs and never took them to a vet or licensed them. Excuse me? I'm sorry; that offends me: not taking a pet to the vet, no vaccinations, and no license (what if it escapes and goes to the pound? That's why shelters do microchips). I know who is feeding this dog, and it isn't them. Naturally, he doesn't like my offended tone when he is asking nicely to go off how I'm a horrible person without friends. Ok, how about a guinea pig? Sure, a small rodent that stays in a cage, or Rufus will shake it to kill it. Doesn't require vaccinations or li...