We didn’t even make it a whole day before the next project started. I really can’t catch a break in this place. We’re thinking that the guy who had a stroke (I don’t know his name) was moved to a home and that they’re getting ready to sell his house with all the activity going on over there. Yesterday someone was using an insanely loud gas-powered power washer to hose down some carpet. This was in the evening. That went on for a couple of hours after having to listen to the usual traffic and landscaping sounds.

That loud white truck has been coming around twice a day to Geri’s lately, and I had to listen to the distracting bumps and bangs of something being loaded onto it for a while after the power washer stopped, so it never went quiet here until around 9 PM yesterday. It’s just ridiculous the amount of activity I hear around here. Although Tom disagrees, I don’t think it’s much quieter than Phoenix was, when I think about it. It’s just different sounds made by different people. Instead of dogs, kids and loud music, I hear traffic, landscaping and loud machinery/equipment.

That was 11 hours I had to listen to shit and I didn’t get up until 10:00. It’s like something up there was determined to extend the noise to match my schedule. Like I said, it’s just utterly fucking ridiculous. But why haven’t I gotten used to it? I don’t understand why I’m not used to it since I haven’t lived in a quiet place for over 30 years now. You would think I would be able to tune it all out by now but instead, it totally disrupts my train of thought and I lose track of what I’m doing. Although it will be boring, I might just do nothing but listen to audiobooks through headphones when I’m on days and I’m not cleaning. This just isn’t a place for a writer.

Today I heard the power washer for over 6 hours. Even on the weekends, I can’t have any peace. I’m hoping that now that it’s after 6 PM they’ll pack it in for the night and that Geri’s company won’t come and sit and idol its loud truck while loading whatever into it.

Now I hear some hammering. sighs with frustration Well, I may not be able to get much peace around here unless it’s in the dead of night, but I can go swimming. Going to go for an evening swim. It seems to be pretty dead at that time and then you don’t have the sun glaring in your eyes. It’s going to be easier now that my hair isn’t down to the small of my back. Yeah, a very nice lady named Nicky with purple hair took off 6 or 7 inches for me today. It’s still long enough to be pulled back in a ponytail and the ponytail is about 5 or 6 inches long. In about 18 months it should be back to where it was, but hopefully a lot healthier. Now that I’m staining the color into my hair instead of dying it, that should help. Also, maybe now that I’m using the right leave-in conditioner that will help as well. Nicky told me that the Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum is actually a bad thing to use and that it dries the hair out because it shrinks the hair follicles or something like that. It makes sense when you think about it since it’s silicone, and I would notice a buildup of the stuff every now and then and have to take a few days off from it. Why I was ever recommended it, I don’t know.

Don’t know if I buy that trimming the hair makes it grow faster or that hairs with split ends are dead and won’t grow anymore. Hair grows from the roots, not the ends. So I’m not going to get it trimmed every 3 to 4 months like she recommended but maybe more like every 6 months. She said she trims hers every 3 weeks.

Miracle 10, Paul Mitchell’s replacement, does all kinds of things I want it to do. It detangles, reduces frizz, protects against flat irons and stuff like that, and so much more. After we go swimming I’ll give it its second Swarzstar treatment, then hit it with Miracle 10. She said the stuff is super concentrated and that once I’ve used about two-thirds of the bottle I can add water to it. I guess I just spray it into my hands a few times and then rub it into my hair.

Finally found a reason to use my new beautiful watermelon tray. I used it to carry my soup and soda to my desk.

Oh fuck. It’s 6:30 now and the fucking power washer just started back up. What, are they going to do this until dark? This has got to piss off even those who don’t usually mind noise. And Tom describes this neighborhood as typical? I’m sorry but this isn’t “typical.” This is a genuine noise curse on me. The only thing I can say that was worse about Phoenix is that the noise often extended into the night. You won’t have parties going until midnight here, and Fido won’t break out in a barking fit at 3 AM either.

Got the pond sticker and it’s way nicer than I thought it would be. I love it! It’s got 10 fish, 3 water lilies, and 3 large leaves, one with a frog on it, and is surrounded by rocks. Tom helped me apply it on the master bathroom floor. It looks more 3-D the further you stand from it and that way you also don’t see the texture of the floor.