The Adventures of A Lady in A City

( Ah. Irony. )

My father has cancer. Doctors found a tumor on his kidney. He's going into surgery to have it removed tomorrow, and everything looks like it's going to be a nice, neat, in-and-out removal. Coming on the tail end of a month in which two of my friends lost their fathers and others have seen their daddies in and out of the hospital, if I did not sit here and appreciate everything my dad has done for me, I wouldn't deserve to have him. Thankfully, he has an excellent doctor, and the outlook for a full recovery is quite good. Prayers and good thoughts for him would be appreciated.

So my hard dive is dead. This means I'll be getting online....sortof whenever I can, but not reliably until next week at the earliest.

:(

On the plus side, the new job is pretty nice so far!

• 10:22 Sooo I just got told that my last day temping here will be the 29th. So that's interesting. #
• 11:54 Hahahaha! Oh but apparently MY last day was to be the 15th! Jesus wept, this company. #

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So. Night before last I spent in the bathroom vomiting and trying to deal with some really impressive pain in the lower right area of my back. (Some of you may already know where I'm going with this now.) At about 10, I decided that I really needed my stomach lining to stay where it was, got myself in a cab and went to Mount Sinai hospital to check myself in because kidney stones are no fun. About an hour after getting in there, I was hooked up to the first IV I've ever had (wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be), drinking from a bag, and starting to relax as the pain and anti-nausea meds kicked in. I owe rscott and my rommate big time for coming down and keeping my bedraggled hide company.

I discovered an interesting side effect to IVs - you get REALLY COLD! My body sucked up the fluid solution like a sponge, but the solution was well below room temperature, so I ended up shivering for a good while under blankets and our jackets. I got a CAT scan, which was interesting, was told that yes it probably was kidney stones but that things had already worked their way through my system apparently, had three more IV bags of fluid, used the bathroom successfully for the first time in 12 hours, and shortly after that my Mom arrived (fastest train trip ever!) and I got discharged.

And that's what I did yesterday. The hospital took very good care of me, and once the pain medication kicked in, I was perfectly happy to hang out and be wheeled around as needed. I'm not really looking forward to the bills from all this - naturally my body waited until THREE DAYS AFTER my health insurance ran out to pull this little stunt - but we'll deal with that when it happens.

Well, it's taken a few days to post this, but it needed some processing and there were a few people I needed to tell who should not have the first they hear of it be my friggin' livejournal. Anyway. I've been laid off. I have full salary and benefits through the end of April.

While this did come as something of a surprise, it's not actually that shocking, considering that, though I nominally work for several companies at the office, one of them is declaring bankruptcy and the others depend on stocks for their income, and therefore none of them are making a dime at the moment. Being the general go-to girl but not the CEO's assistant, I'm the logical corner to cut. Honestly, I like the folks at the office a great deal, and I know that none of will be happy to see me go.

Possibly more importantly, I've been talking about packing up and getting out of there for over a year now - I really have no desire to be an office bunny for the rest of my life. I'm just incredibly lazy and tend not to do things unless I have a deadline imposed on me from the outside. Well, reality has apparently decided to be helpful.

I have a few job leads, nothing solid yet, and am looking into either starting gradschool or, since it's late in the application process at this point, taking nonmatriculated courses which will count toward my major later. I'm going to go to every doctor possible within this month, since current health package is quite good. We'll see how things look around the 25th.

Today I'm going to head back into the office and continue tidying for a few hours, since lawd do I have a lot of paper-piles to go through, and stuff to clear out. I'm trying to make it so that Tuesday is my last day, so that I can say my goodbyes and swan off to weekly gaming session and have that be the end of it. We'll see.

All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

So. Nice little slip in my mailbox last night informing me that "papers have been sent" and "filed in court" and that said papers are "asking this court to evict you from your residence" and that if I haven't seen these papers yet I should totally go get them.¹ And some stuff. I assume that it is the landlord that is making this request and not the actual papers, as papers are not self-aware and cannot themselves ask anything of anyone.

Which explains what that OTHER slip from two days ago about mail I need to pick up from the post office is about. Because of COURSE I am not there to sign for certified mail during business ours you tits, I have a job.²

So of course I knew that this would be coming, but of course there was also that part of me that really REALLY hoped that the four months of noncontact would continue, and we could all walk away from this without any mess. Oh silly me.

I've gotten the contact info of a good tenant lawyer from a friend and have sent him an email.

It's just...we've had no eviction notices posted. Nothing. No calls, just this court thing out of the blue. Most people I talk to who have had a situation anything like this got notices on their door but no court order of any kind. It doesn't add up. Maybe he's trying to scare or bully me, but if so, why actually take me to court? I mean...unless there's an eviction notice in the mail (I have some waiting at the post office, I must remember), according to the State Attourney General, the judge can dismiss the case based on improper service. I mean, he's CLEARLY in violation of the Warranty of Habitability and Duty to Repair as stated in the NYC Tenant's Bill of Rights.

I just... what is this man doing?

-----
1. Please note that this does NOT mean that I have been evicted. Just that the process has been begun. Why he's doing this in September when the lease is up in November anyway, I'm not really sure. And FOUR MONTHS after we stopped paying. I mean...honestly. Arg.

2. Which also explains why I have not picked up said mail.

Ahahaha, oh my friends. My friends, there are no words. I can only show you this delight to which I returned home this evening.

First I noticed this:

"What is it?" I wondered, as, no doubt, do you. "Is it a nut? Is it a big fat beetle butt? What can it be?"

AND THEN I NOTICED THIS:

Oh YES, my friends. Those are EXACTLY what they look like, growing, completely of their own volition, OUT OF MY THRICE-BLESSED WALL.

I laugh. I laugh for two reasons. First, mushrooms are cute and I like them. Two, THERE IS NO WAY. NO WAY AT ALL. THAT THE LANDLORD CAN CONCEIVABLY WORM HIS WAY OUT OF THIS. I have mushrooms growing out of my wall.

EDIT!
That first mushroom?
It grew in the two hours it took us to pub.

Quick update: Life good, weather gorgeous. I've taken to walking from Columbus Circle to work, rather than going down and taking the E. Because the E at rush hour requires a quality of zen-like calm that I am fully capable of, but which no one (sane or otherwise) would seek out if there was a better option.

Purpose of post: Last time I posted about the apartment, it was bugs. Happily, those are all gone, praise your diety of choice. THIS time I'm posting about a problem that has been ongoing since moving into the place - the pipes in the bathroom.

( Raindrops keep fallin' on my head... )

So yes. This will be a fun telephone conversation.

Dear life,

Hello, how are you? I've really enjoyed getting to know you so far, and am looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with you. Towards this end, I have a few suggestions that might help both of us get along better, because I can't help but notice things being a little off between us lately.

First, I would like to point out that, while I try to be a patient and intelligent person, placing me with a company where I am alternately expected to sit and do precisely nothing one second and then decipher complex, near-telepathic codes from a man who is either a very humane troll or an extremely trollish human is really pushing it. And not in the good way. I can only assume that you are testing me either on my fortitude of patience or the extent of my stupidity re: how long I put up with this crap. If I could just get a hint on which of these two it really is, that'd be great, and I'll adjust my plans accordingly. I can be both very patient and very stupid, just to let you know.

I also cannot help but notice the unusual number of surprises we've been experiencing recently. Good surprises such as seeing Carmen, being told I might get to go see the premier of Goblet of Fire, and even the chance to go with a friend to see a play tonight are wonderful. However, surprises like being told today that I need to bring roughly $3,000 in cash to a meeting with my landlord tomorrow morning and that my ex-boyfriend and roommate are getting married out of the blue can throw one for quite a loop. Having all of this happen along with a very stressful time at work has really strained our relationship.

I'm not going anywhere, life, don't worry about that. I'm with you for the long haul. But given my family's history, I thought I'd point out that the long haul isn't going to be very long if this pace keeps up. Heck, I nearly had an aneurism in my boss's office a little while ago.

Now, on my end, I recognize that there are a number of things I could do to improve our dynamic, such as exercise and clean my room more. I should also get my butt in gear and get organized, which will help cut down on the chaos. Also, I want to really and truly thank you for hooking me up with some wonderful friends and family this time around, who do so much to keep me sane and happy no matter what happens. (Clue me in on what I did in my last incarnation to deserve them, 'cause boy-howdy do I want them on the next go, too!) I'm trying to give back as good as I get, also.

So that's about it here, life. In summary: Let's figure our crap out and have some chill time. Sound good? I'll keep my ear to the ground and my eyes to heaven.

Love,

Abby