2003-07-03 - 1:34 a.m.

Sweet Glorious Nothing

What a wonderful day.  It was exactly what I needed.  I am taking off from work for a few days.  There are a million things I should do and could do but I decided to just ignore those things and do what I want instead.

I slept until 9 a.m..  I woke up when the phone rang.  I did not answer it.  I got up and laid back down on the couch and watched television.  I logged on the web and wondered if I would go see a matinee.  But nothing looked good so I went into the kitchen and, while I was eating a sandwich, noticed that the stove looked lopsided.  I got the level and checked it.  It was level, so I must have been mistaken.  I opened up all the kitchen cabinet doors and looked at it all from a distance.

The cabinets are filled with all my sister's stuff that she never uses.  It is a small kitchen but not that small.  My sister keeps it in complete disarray at all times.  She is out of town now, so I spent an entire day cleaning it this past weekend.  I start by sanitizing the sink and then using the sink to wash everything else.  I used tons of hot water and soap.

But today I focused on something that has been bothering me for a long time, the dishwasher.  It just looks like it does not fit correctly.  I removed the bottom panel to get to the adjustable legs at the bottom.  One of them was so rusty I could not budge it, even after half a can of DW-40.  So I just cleaned it well, moved it around a little, set the screws back in correctly and made it flush with the rest of the cabinets.  Then I mopped the floor.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning the laundry area.  It is not exactly a room.  More live an alcove with louvered doors where we keep the washer and dryer.  Why is it that the washer, a machine that always has plenty of hot soapy water is one of the filthiest objects in the house?  The dryer looks like it is leaking lint, if such a thing is possible.

So I disconnected the dryer and moved it out of the little room, unplugged the washer and moved it over.  I emptied the shelves, cleaned the walls and the doors, mopped the floor and cleaned the washer and dryer.  I put them back into place and then started refilling the shelves and putting things in order, wiping off the dust as I went.  I threw away all kinds of shit.  My sister has a pathological urge to save every empty box.  We have boxes for things that broke years ago.  I throw these things away when she is not home because when she is home and she sees me doing it makes her upset.  "What if I need it one day?"

So now the kitchen is mostly clean and the laundry room is very clean.  As a matter of fact, I have been eating at home because the kitchen is useable again.  It is nice to be able to go into the kitchen and just make a sandwich.  I could get use to this.  But I won't.  My sister will be back probably on Saturday and I know it only takes one meal for her to wreck the kitchen.  Piles of dishes, all kinds of stuff all over the counter. The stovetop covered with splattered food, some of it also winding up on the cabinets, and oddly, the ceiling.

And she is fine with all of this.  She can prepare a meal for herself using only three square inches of counter space and one clean pan.  I can't even think straight when the kitchen is like that.  I have to start at the beginning.  And the beginning is a clean, clear counter.

Some people say that a home is a reflection of its occupant.  When a house is a mess, the occupant's life is also a mess.  I find that is pretty much true in my case.  I just have not been able to clean up inwardly or outwardly.  I have been trying, but it just is not coming to me.  But I am starting to come out of whatever it is I am going through, and am putting things into order.

Having time off from work is helping.  My coworker, Ben, resigned yesterday.   That caused a little flurry.  The sleazy sales guy was all up and down the hall blabbing about it. Then he admonished Ben for telling us, the other guys in the department.  He tried and tried to find out where Ben is going next but Ben would not tell him.  He kept asking and asking and Ben kept telling him that he prefers not to say.  The president did the same thing.  For some reason they are terrified that Ben is going to go to work for one of our competitors.

Isn't that interesting?  The funny thing about all of this is I will guarantee you that both the sales guy and the president were completely caught of guard by this.  After a year of putting him on probation, accusing him of deliberately crashing his computer, assigning him our most troublesome client, demoting him, decreasing his salary and then telling him that he is not eligible for a bonus, they are scratching their heads and wondering why he is leaving.

I'm not making that up.  They really and truly do not know why he would want to leave, just when he was doing so well.

Ben gave two weeks notice but I'm sure if they keep badgering him about who he is going to work for he will just say screw you and walk that very day.  He is way over it.  They don't understand boundaries and they don't know how to motivate a workforce in a positive way.

Meanwhile, I found out the sales guy was asked to resign at his last job because of irregularities in his expense reports.  Also, several people in his last workplace gave a "he goes or we go" ultimatum.  I wish I had known this a year ago.  He is a lying liar.  I'm glad I don't have to report to him anymore.

I spoke to my good friend Joel last night.  He and his fiancée are coming into town this weekend and want to take me to Six Flags.  I will probably go.  And I hope to see an improv show tomorrow night.  And I hope to goof off and be completely unproductive.

Wish me luck.

Jimmy
 

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