Blather and random thoughts

I'm feeling up in the air lately... don't know why.

Some random thoughts:

I'm watching American Idol this season for the first time, and so far my early picks have all failed me. I really wanted to love Andrew Garcia. Loved his take on "Straight Up", but I don't think I've loved anything by him yet. Crystal Bowersox is good, no doubt; but I think all her songs sound the same. I close my eyes and listen when they sing, and I ask myself if I would listen to a whole cd by them (I'm old school that way. I still listen to cds). While I'd happily listen to a song by her, I don't think I'd like more than a few in a row. I really don't see the appeal of Big Mike. I haven't really loved anything he's done. Ditto for most of the others. The dark horse for me? Casey James. I really didn't like him in the beginning, but he's been growing on me. Man, that guy can play a guitar; and his vocals are pretty good too. I think I'd listen to a whole cd by him.

Mahjongg Dimensions is an evil, nasty game. I used to play Mahjongg a lot. A Lot. So much so, that I was finding myself unable to sleep at night because I was busy playing it in my mind. I'd picture the game in my head, and then gradually pair the pieces and remove them from the board until they were gone. When it got so bad that I was undoing moves by replacing pieces where they started and pairing them up with other pieces in my mind, I stopped playing entirely. I can get OCD like that. Some things, I can't do in moderation so I have to stay away from them entirely.

Anyway, a friend on Facebook has been posting her scores for Mahjongg Dimensions for a few days. I finally broke down and went to play *a* round myself. I ended up playing for two hours straight. I think, perhaps, I should maybe not play it anymore.

It's snowing outside right now. I don't think we're supposed to get too much, but I want it on record that I don't shovel in April. I just don't. We could get 2 feet of snow, but I ain't shovelling. The only thing I want to be digging right about now is the dirt. Gardening season better get here soon.

I owe the Zadge a mental apology. I was thinking bad things about her, but it turns out it was a mistake on my part. I mentioned in an earlier blog entry that I've been doing this reading experiment lately. Any book that is recommended in an article or blog, I'd read. Well, the Zadge has a lot of books listed in her reading list, so I read the one that had the highest recommendation at the time.

Or, so I thought.

I thought she'd recommended What I did for Love, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips; when in fact she'd recommended How to be Single, by Liz Tucillo. I haven't read How to be Single, but I'm hoping it's a whole lot better than What I did for Love. Because, when I thought the Zadge was highly recommending What I did for Love, I was having pretty nasty thoughts about her recommendations. To make up for it, my next read shall be from her list.

I'm going house shopping tomorrow. How crazy is that? And, right after I finally decided that THIS is the house for me; that I would settle in and stay here for the long term.

Maybe I won't.

My friend's father died recently after a long battle with cancer. He's been in the same house since she was a young girl, and it's in a prime location in town. On paper, it's exactly what I want. Big, huge lot. Small house. 3 bedrooms... 2 bathrooms... wood floors throughout.... Fenced, landscaped yard on an inside corner (pie) lot.

It's been really well taken care of, except that it hasn't been updated esthetically for 40 years. It also needs to be rewired and the garage needs to be torn down and rebuilt. They're asking about 2/3 what I can get for my current house, and if I want it, she's willing to do a private deal to avoid real estate fees. So, I'm going to go have a look. If I like it, and if I think I can get it fixed up how I want it and still break even, I might just be buying me a new house.