Today was a pretty shitty day. At least parts of it were. We first went to K-mart where we got a few things we needed. Then, for just 88¢ each, I got two 0.5 oz. Designer Perfume Imposters. I got Sensuale, similar to Glow, and Primo, similar to Giorgio. The Primo’s especially good. What’s so cool about them is that they’re in aerosol spray cans, rather than pumps, and you can spray them anywhere on your body, including under your arms. I’d rather use these for deodorants anytime. They’re good for spraying on sheets, too.

We checked their site out and found that I could get quite a few of their $3.50, 2.5 oz. bottles. I registered at their site. It’s supposedly a way of bringing imitations to the people without the expense. Most perfumes are between $20 - $40. There are about 20 I’d like to try sometime.

Afterward, we ate at the Chinese place. They know us so well now that they don’t even have to give us menus or take down our orders. I had their veggie rice this time around. Next time I’ll get the shrimp rice. When we left, Tom left his glasses in there and one of the waitresses ran to give them to him though he’d have realized it as soon as he got behind the wheel.

So, despite the heat and humidity, all was still well. We went to the mail place, found the land deed waiting for us, and got it signed and notarized right there and sent off. Now, however, we have to wait an additional few weeks while Michael signs/notarizes his own copy, then files it with Klamath County.

Our last stop was Home Depot. We got a 10x8 shed for less than we thought. It was about $250. However, it doesn’t have a floor. We’ll have to get sheets of plywood for it. It also has doors that slide shut and meet in the middle. We’d have preferred a swinging door. So, it still needs a floor, anchors, some form of lighting, insulation and a camping heater. Then I’ll get this pink furry rug I saw at Walmart, then I’ll get my stereo out of storage and new headphones, too.

Backing up a bit – I knew the sleep curse would kick in anytime now. The kind where after 4 hours of sleep I get woken up and am unable to go back to sleep. Sure enough, because he took too long to get going and out the door this morning, I was unable to return to sleep. I laid there a while on the very edge of sleep, but never actually really slept.

I saw a couple of mice out and about before sunset. I’ve also heard them bopping around under the RV at night, but Tom assured me there really isn’t anything they can hurt.

Good, because our stuff gets hurt enough on its own. When we returned was when things got rough for a few hours. I swear something doesn’t want us to get ahead and that it’s never going to stop kicking us back with the damn fix-it games! We came back to find it was 91º and way muggy. Again we were teased with storm clouds that never rained here. Who knows how long it’ll be before it rains again? As is the case every other fucking time, he couldn’t get the generator to start. Instead of doing anything with the shed, if only to go through the instructions, he had to take the fucking thing apart. We sweated our assess off for 3 hours before he finally got it going. A piston ring jammed up, apparently, so there was no compression.

Speaking of kids, why must they make animal sounds for hours on end? I mean, they just never shut up! As wrong as it is, I can totally see why some mothers lose it and end up beating the shit out of their kids.

Anyway, as if I hadn’t had enough shit to deal with for the day, I slipped going out the door and tore part of the screen. He had to put duct tape on it.

I just hope all this suffering we’re going through now won’t be all for nothing, and that we don’t come to regret moving here like we did with Maricopa. Either way, no matter where we go, I think we’ll always be cursed and always struggling to get ahead, but never quite making it. Too much time is lost on account of the breakage curse.

The rat is now on his “play with me” and “feed me” trip he goes on right about now till I go to sleep. Last night we shared a pudding cup. I ate the cup, he licked the lid. It was like old times when Little Buddy and I would share ice cream.

Anyway, I can’t wait to get in the shed! I’m sure there’ll be all kinds of delays and that it’ll be weeks, but I’m so sick of the damn wake-up calls! I know sleeping in the shed won’t be a cure-all to the sleep curse, but at least I’ll have a place to go to get away from him when he’s impatient with me and snapping at me and putting words in my mouth, and I won’t get woken up as often. I just don’t want to be around him much. He’s just not much fun to hang with most of the time.

Why can’t life ever be simple? Why must it be so full of struggles, hardships and flukes for us? If we could go a month without setbacks and breakage, it’d be a true miracle. I mean one should be able to walk up to their 5-year-old generator that costs hundreds of dollars and just start it. And one shouldn’t always have to get in their vehicle and wonder if it’s going to get them to and from wherever they’re going.