Easy Come Easy Go.

Between a AutoZone, a grocery store, and all the bills that need to be paid by the 10th of the month my paycheck is already gone. Normally I try to put 10% of my paycheck into my savings account, but I decided to hold off on that this time. On top of that the Fabulously Gay Ex Roommate came by to pick up some more stuff finally. Of course he used to take care of the cable bill and now that is my responsibility. He noted the bill is due by Tuesday. Tuesday! It just came in the mail last Tuesday.

The last few months I've been using the rental checks as money to go into my savings account only. I didn't want to life off of FGR's money because I knew it was going away. While my bills seemed to be okay I have this gut feeling that something may be wrong. I decided to put my finances into a spreadsheet and get a feel for where my money is going. I only have November and half of October done, but once I put in more of this year I wonder if I'm not going to like the answers. Perhaps I can get rid of cable again.

Single (At Home) At Last!

The Fabulously Gay Roommate bought a house. He and his significant other are going to live there. Saturday was the big move out day. If you're helping someone move it is never easy and yesterday proved to be no different. FGR and I have many mutual friends from school. Sadly all of them were unavailable for the move. That meant most all of the other people helping with the move were FGR's friends that he met when was exploring and understanding his sexuality aka the gay friends.

There were mechanics, IT managers, artists, nurses, and just ordinary people regardless of their sexual orientation. For purposes of a move they just need to be able to lift and carry heavy objects. For this, the gay friends failed miserably. Except for the one friend who wasn't overtly flaming, the rest all had bad backs, bulging disks, strained back muscles, needed a cigarette every 20 minutes, had the ability to snip and gossip worse than a 8th grade cheerleader and whatever it took to be friggin' useless for a moving day. Except for the one guy, the rest of them couldn't lift anything heavy. Oh yeah, even my roommate was having muscle problems too.

This was going to suck for me in so many ways.

I arrived a bit late at the storage facility that held all of the Sig Other's stuff and I knew things weren't going well. For whatever reason, whenever there is a group of people over a certain size no one can make a decision. It's called diffusion of responsibility. Combined with the fact the FGR is notorious for being incapable of making decisions this is a bad double whammy. Towards the end I asked him if I should get my truck to put in the last of the big bulky items. I quickly realized I needed to simply get my truck and put the last few chairs and end tables in the bed. I was proven right as some things weren't going to fit in the U-Haul.

At FGR's new house the bad back brigade was nearly useless. I'm shoving stuff out of the truck or the other guy was and I was placing the items in the lawn or on the porch. Time was limited and I figured everyone else could carry stuff from the lawn to inside the house. FGR wanted to put stuff in the right room. He's nuts! He's not sure where he'll want half that stuff. Just get it inside and you'll deal with it later. I felt the need to harm someone as the bad back brigade went on a cigarette break...all the time. I think they smoked and gossiped more than they moved boxes!

All that labor, totally useless to the task.

They weren't much better when they came to my place to get FGR's stuff. Luckily he didn't have as much crap as his Sig Other. Seriously, they need a few trips to Goodwill and a few garage sales. I think they have a total of 6 televisions now. Once again FGR's couch drew blood. Whenever it is moved there is blood involved. Must be a voodoo couch. At least it wasn't my blood this time.

Wow this place is going to be quiet.

So Hard To Get Good Help These Days.

Me: Okay Fabulously Gay Roommate flip the breaker.

FGR: 11 or 12?

Me: 11 controls this circuit.

*hear a solid snap*
FGR: Okay you're good.

*screwdriver touches a live wire* FLASH, POP, SNAP!

Me: DUDE!!!!!!! I just got zapped! I thought you said I was good!

FGR: Oh wait, sorry. I flipped the one below it.

Me: Tell you what I'll give you the screwdriver and I'll just randomly flip breakers until your hand goes numb!

It Has A Scary Ending.

*Unlocks the front door, puts bag down, and sits down at the table and puts head down. 2 minutes later the roommate wanders by.*

Roomie: Oh hey Wolfrham! I didn't even hear you come in. How long have you been back?

WH: Ummm...a couple of minutes I guess.

Roomie: Wow you look like crap. Was it that bad today?

WH: Actually, I only had two hearings in the morning until my late afternoon stuff kicked in. Things were okay until 2:30.

Roomie: Then the tidal wave hit eh?

WH: Tidal wave. Gates of hell. Same difference. I told the boss it would be a miricle if we got out before 5. That miricle didn't happen.

Roomie: Hey...are you going to lift your head up anytime soon? You're napping on the newspaper right now.

WH: I'll think about it.

That Is The Best Thing You Ever Put Into A Crock Pot!

That's what the roommate said as I opened the front door. The smell wafted through the air and the taste was just as good. I'll share the recipe with you.

Around 5lbs of pork shoulder roast on sale for 98 cents per pound.
3 or 4 small red potatoes chopped
Lots of peeled baby carrots.
A sauce and spice packet for pork roasts.
1/2 cup of water
Some thyme.
Some garlic.
Some oregano.
1/2 cup or so of ketchup on top of everything.

Put in a crock pot and let simmer for over 8 hours.

Unemployment Is Going DOWN!

The Fabulously Gay Roommate found a job! He starts tomorrow. FGR is disappointed in that the job "is a lateral move" and very similar to his last job. I explained he's been unemployed for at least 6-7 months and he's really moving up in the world by simply having a job in his field. At worse he's holding steady and in this economy that is saying something.

Sometimes I wonder about his perspective on things. He seems rather disappointed.

In some ways I sympathize with him. I recall losing a job with one contract firm. A few months later another contract firm signed me up for the same position I was let go from, for worse hours and less money. I was happy for the money and the employment, but I knew I was going to loathe the situation. I don't know. My experience was a 3 month layoff in a mediocre economy. FGR has been out of work since June or July of last year in the worst economy since the Great Depression. Hell it took me 2 years to find work in MY NEW FIELD after I graduated!!! Perhaps he didn't hit near rock bottom like I did and doesn't realize how lucky he is. The young do lack experience.

Oh well. He'll figure it out eventually. Sometimes the only goal is to have a paycheck. In a year or two both of us can move up the job chain.

Revelations

I'm staring at my roommate as he plays with his Wii. He LOVES that thing and plays with it every day. I've played with it twice. I'm watching be engrossed in the artificial world where he bowls, plays tennis, and putts for bogie. Suddenly it occurs to me what a Wii actually is.

It's a precursor to the holodeck!

To which my roomie replies, "Well duh!"

Weird And Creepy People.

Incident #1: Okay this is as much a reflection of how pathetic my social life is. It's Saturday night and to kill some time I'm at a bookstore reading magazines. I pick up some magazines and purchase my token root beer as an offering to the fine establishment for letting me kill a few hours with their inventory.

I see the subject in question. He's a white male, approximately 25-35 years old, and he has the odd circular head movement that combined with this huge grin and eyes popping out of his skill indicate to me that he is enjoying himself. The extreme outward enjoyment is odd to me and then I notice what he is reading: Short Hair. His entire stack of magazines are Vogue, YM, and other female teen/young lady oriented mags. The subject keeping going to that section of the magazine rack and pulls those type of magazines to his table where he obviously enjoys looking at them. I can't think of a reason why a guy would be reading those magazines, and I definitely can't think of why a man reading such magazines would be obviously enjoying himself to that extent. My conclusion was simple: pedophile.

I suspect I'll watch the news in a few years and see this guy's photo pop up with the caption, "Police Catch Suspected Pedophile In Internet Sting." If only I could somehow get his name or license plate so I can ask some police friends to run that information and prevent any future bad things I suspect this dork to do.

Oh how my life has become so suspicious and judgmental of other. On the other hand can anyone else explain this weird behavior?

Incident #2: The Fabulously Gay Roommate didn't come home last night. He often spends the weekends with his significant other. I knew FGR had to work today. He sometimes has the weekend shift. I figured he would spend the night at sig other's and just go to work from there. He had his overnight bag so why waste coming here to go to work. At 6:00 a.m. I hear something and wake up slightly. I only have about 15 to 20 neurons firing but I'm trying to wake up and think what is going on. Did FGR come home for some reason?

I see my bedroom door open and it is the sig other. Somehow I mumble, "hey" and sig other closes my bedroom door. In 0.3 seconds my brain finally fires up and I have the thought: Well that was odd. Why did he open up my bedroom door? Hold on, why did he OPEN MY BEDROOM DOOR!!! Am I wrong to think that a good social rule to follow, regardless of if you're male, female, straight, gay, bi, or a polka-dot lover, is: IF SOMEONE'S BEDROOM DOOR IS CLOSED YOU DON'T OPEN IT!

Traditionally you should knock on the door, asking if the individual is awake; therefore, awakening the individual. At that point the annoyed and groggy individual can say come in. The Supreme Court says we have the greatest expectation of privacy in the bedroom and I certainly want to claim that privilege! Even if the privacy is protecting the fact I'm asleep.

I admit this incident isn't the end of the world or something to have a shouting match over, but I find it quite annoying. Am I overreacting by being a bit perturbed?

Speaking of bed it is time for me to sleep. Good night all. I hope your bedroom door stays closed unless you want it want someone to come through it.

6-30-2008 Update:

Now I have an explanation for my roommate and sig other's odd behavior yesterday morning. Alcohol and way too much of it. It appears they were hammered from too much liquor. I don't know why I didn't think of booze before hand! To quote the roomie, "Jager, it seemed like a good idea at the time!"

Such A Waste.

The Fabulously Gay Roommate tends to forget where he places things. Items such as cordless phones, his watch, his glasses, and other small items are found all over the place. This morning after I got out of the shower I found a coffee mug full over coffee on the kitchen counter. The steaming hot mug was next to the coffee maker and somehow he forgot to take the mug with him.

I wonder about FGR sometimes. What a waste of coffee!