Last night the economy was eating at me and really getting me down. I’d be fine one minute, then thinking about how those 99 weeks of extensions are almost up. Who I should send final letters and messages to if we didn’t make it started going through my mind.

Then today both Tom and Marie cheered me up with their assurance that everything will work out because there’ll either be jobs or they’ll keep the extensions going.

Marie’s such a sweetie in saying she’d take care of me if worse came to worse, but I don’t think she realizes just how much easier said than done that would be. For one, I couldn’t expect her to take care of Tom too, and I certainly wouldn’t leave him behind to suffer. I also couldn’t live with 1 smoker let alone 3 since she has 2 roommates. It also wouldn’t be easy to just go to her or for her to just drop her life and come to us. I know she would still do whatever she could and I really appreciate that. It means a lot to me. Especially since I know that no one else would give a damn, and those few that might, wouldn’t be able to help. Why is it that it’s usually those who can help that don’t give a damn anyway???

Marie left a message on my MJ last night. It was nice to hear that deep, totally hot voice of hers again. She sort of reminds me of Laurie, this cop I once picked on both by myself and then with Andy and Fran before leaving MA.

Jesse motorcycled out of here at 2:30. I’m surprised he stayed in that long. Tom said he heard the ATV softly buzzing about around 8am. I still wonder where he goes with it and why “Dick and Marie” were parked at the foot of their drive the other day. It’s not a private driveway. There are a few other residents that use the drive leading to their house. Their truck is an out-of-stater for sure. Tom said he can’t swear it was Arizona, though he thinks it was. We could only see the front of the truck so that’s how we know it’s at least an out-of-stater. California, as well as Oregon, requires plates in front. Oh well. If it was connected to “them” I would think that “they” would’ve pounced by now. And I accuse Marie of being paranoid!

Anyway, Jesse left and all remained quiet. The barking is definitely, definitely connected to the colder weather. No doubt about it. Maybe the damn dogs just need coats for the winter. Maybe that will “trick” them into thinking it’s warmer.

I exchanged emails with Paul, Jessie poked me, and work is slow. So I’m trying to work on my neglected story while doing laundry, but haven’t been able to focus yet.

Last night I had a dream that Emily B died of cancer. Hmmm…today Emily would be 65 years old. We lived a block apart when I first went out on my own when I was 20 years old, and our buildings were owned by the same people. We’d talk on the phone and visit each other, though I would usually go to her place since she was right by some stores I frequently shopped at. By the time I moved to the projects, we had drifted apart. I don’t even know if she’s still in Springfield, or even if she’s in MA. I hope she’s ok, wherever she is. I tried to look her up on Facebook but got too many hits on her name. My curiosity just isn’t strong enough to risk sifting through 500 possibilities.

Later…

Jesse just got back. I just hope the dogs don’t let me know it if he leaves in the truck later on. After all, it is cooling down out there.

Someone on one of the journal sites was talking about diet pills making them feel like shit along with crash diets. I told them they’re smart to forget the lose-20-pounds-in-14-days BS. Like several others have lately, they asked how I lost the 30 pounds I’ve lost so far.

The 3 most important elements are diet, exercise and Oolong tea.

To copy in what I told her, I found that the key is in scheduling the things I eat at 2-hour intervals and keeping my calorie intake the same. Back when I was having small things that were around 100 calories, then a big meal of about 500 calories, I found it stretched my tummy out and made me hungrier. Timing and portion size are EVERYTHING. It will take a few days to get used to it, though. Just work out 15-30 min. a day by running or riding a bike. Maybe do some ab crunches, too. Have one cup of tea a day. You can usually find a 100-bag box on eBay for $10, but your grocery store may carry it, too.

Lastly, if you get up at 8am, you’ll want to eat at 10am, noon, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm and 10pm. Here’s an example of what I eat. Remember, the calories need to be 25-200 for each thing you eat and you’re going to eat 7 times a day. Drink water and calorie-free or no-calorie drinks.

1. 1 pork chop or chick leg/wing or a baked potato w/ a little margarine (about 200 cals)

2. 1 banana or bowl of oatmeal (100-160 cals)

3. A fruit cup. I usually get diced peaches (25-35 cals)

4. 1 Slim-Fast meal bar or shake (200 cals)

5. 1 vanilla ice cream stick with chocolate shell (130 cals)

6. Meat & cheese slices (around 100 cals)

7. Yogurt or an apple (80 cals)

It’s okay if you don’t like these foods. This is just a sample layout.

Tom and I are going to build a rack for my roll-on perfumes. I don’t think it’s worth buying one at the wholesale site for $50. This is definitely a better way to smell good smells as opposed to that messy incense, so I’ll probably accumulate a little collection over time. There’s nothing like smelling like a hot fudge brownie or a bunch of carnations!

Later…

Paul said he could see some of the ash from the volcano that erupted in Iceland, though not at night. Must seem kind of strange! He described how he writes in spurts and that’s how it is with me. Sometimes my stories are just crawling along and other times I’m tapping away at the keyboard so furiously you’d think I was playing the piano.

Marie and I chatted for a few minutes which I still like to do every now and then. I tease her about being a good dog who’s very trainable and she agrees, LOL. So she hasn’t sent a zillion emails since I can’t seem to control my curiosity when I see I have new messages. And therefore I’m getting more done, even if I still get lazy at times with my story. I’m going to try to crank out chapter 7 at some point today because work is slow.

Maybe I’ll publish this story with triond.com someday, though I would only get half the revenue it makes from what I read. Still beats the 5% in royalties most publishers are willing to share with their authors.

Jesse’s been gone since before I got up at noon and all has been quiet. Yeah, but will it be that way when he goes to work tomorrow at 5am?

Back to Marie – she really does have a heart of gold. While no one wants things to ever get so bad that they have to depend on anyone else, she was so sweet when she said that of course she’d help Tom out too, if worse came to worse with us, because she knows we’re a package deal and believes in helping friends. That is a hell of a generous, caring person! And she’s never even met Tom, and of course, she hasn’t seen me in 26 years. It will probably be 28 years by the time she gets out here, but better later than never. Gives my hair time to get some considerable length. It’s still not that long yet, especially when left curly. I’ve got the curliest hair in my family!

Ok, that’s it from the real world. Now it’s off to Never Never Land to see what other adventures I can create in my book.