Today started off a bit shaky but turned into a damn good day. Tom had been paranoid that my asking for a cash option would cause them not to send me anything, but when I was taking a bath, he came in with a smile on his face. I thought he was gonna tell me the horses hit a biggie, but instead, he let me know they left a message saying I’d receive a check in 8-10 days for $2500! This is awesome! I just really hope they put their actions where their mouths are because it not only pays for the passport applications, tickets and souvenirs, but there will be a bit more shopping this year after all, too! We’ve agreed to put 2 grand towards the trip and split the remaining $500. He’ll use his $250 to bet more aggressively, and I’ll use mine for an Indian doll from Ashton-Drake, a small Yves Rocher order, a small order at the Incense Rack, a few Barbies from Fred’s, and maybe some books, too.

The shaky start-up was that unless I was dreaming, the bitch next door woke me up twice. I don’t know if I was just paranoid of her doing so and dreamt it or if it was for real, but the weekend will tell for sure because we know it’s gonna be a circus over there at least one of those days, and he’ll be here listening. I asked him what he thought we should do if she does start waking me up regularly – move, try to talk to her, pull a speaker in there, or wear earplugs to sleep? He said we should wait and see if the company backs off when it gets cold and snowy, then decide. Well, it better because 7 more months of wake-up calls when I’m on nights is a bit much. Why must all our neighbors get worse and worse in time??? I see no real change in that department, just a delay. This is where I sometimes get a little hesitant to try to ditch society and live on our own. Life just isn’t what we plan or want so much of the time as opposed to what we don’t want or expect, but the check sure does help make up for the annoyances of city life.