Caterwauling

Happy cat

Originally uploaded by dcwriterdawn

Florida? Is weird.

So, we all know it’s the recovery capital of America. I’d say the sobriety capital, but that doesn’t mean much, especially when you have people like me keeping Total Wine in business.

I broke my two whole days without a cigarette streak when I ducked into Walgreens today to enjoy the air conditioning and, oh what the hell, Marlboros are on sale for $5.21. Whee!

So, I was standing in line — and mind you, this place is next to a church where all those “Anonymous” meetings are held — and the guy in front of me said, “Guess what?”

Now, you can take the girl out of D.C. but you can’t quite take it out of her. I assumed he would want me to know that Congress passed the budget. And BOY am I ready to talk about THAT clusterfuck. 🙂

I asked what, and he said, “Jesus loves you!”

I laughed, said thank you, and told him that made my day. Because it did.

It just goes to show how different things are down here. Everyone’s loving Jesus and working their steps and perfecting their tan. If I still lived up there, I can guarantee I would have been at the office today. If I still had one, of course. 😉

I say all of this to report that I got the day off from babysitting today. Woo hoo! I drove all over creation and entertained myself with shopping, beach time and the eternal quest for the perfect Chicago hot dog.

The houseguest from outer space (I kind of like the combination of terms!) is always on the quest for the perfect BBQ, and I’ve driven all over hell’s half acre to hit every BBQ truck within a 50-mile radius. So on my way to hot dog land, I saw a truck in front of a market I’ve always wanted to stop at.

So, the “market” is really a dinky restaurant run by the nicest bunch of, well, idiots I’ve ever met.

The truck comes courtesy of one of the local sober houses, and employs people in recovery.

I should have run away. But I stayed. And ordered something I thought mom would like. And reiterated my order four times. She repeated it back each time and then asked what I ordered again. Oy.

Then they couldn’t get my credit card to work. That took four people and a half hour of my time. They forgot that someone cannot be using the phone while they run the number. Oof. How do these places stay in business?

Of course, the order was wrong. So, very, wrong. I want to support my local recovery community, but I’ll skip that place for the rest of my life.

Anyway, it kind of made me grateful for the problems I have. Or, at least, happy for the ones I DON’T have.

That’s where I kind of get into it with the houseguest sometimes. That every time she gets mad at me for not being Super Daughter, she could have done worse. I always tell her to go move in with Jenelle from “Teen Mom 2” and see how life is THEN. That usually ends it. For the time being. 😉

I’ve decided I want a puppy for my birthday. Kadie’s pretty happy as an only child, but she could stand to lose a few pounds and, frankly, so can I. A dog would get me out of the castle in the sky much more often. And as I learned today, being let off the leash makes for a happy Goddess, too.

Cream Cheese and Coconut French Toast at Benny’s

Originally uploaded by dcwriterdawn

I read a great quote recently, that it’s hard to live the life you want if it’s already killed you.

Hmmm.

Not much else to say after a statement like that, yes?

Not saying life has stolen my thunder. Not by far. I’m lucky that every day brings a new chance to get it right. But I wouldn’t mind going to sleep for three months and letting other people deal with everything I’m dealing with. Or, hell, dealing with what THEY should be dealing with THEMSELVES anyway.

I hear one of my distant cousins is threatening to call me this weekend for not taking proper care of my mother. I let everybody else go into voicemail; she’s going to be no exception.

My cousin takes care of everyone, so I guess she expects everyone will want to step out in front of moving buses just like she does. It’s only in TV and movies that people can say, “I give up,” and let people go off on their merry way. In real life, they either never move out or they continue to stalk you via the Internet. Lucky me. 😉

Even to those my cousin hates, like her crazy sister, she grudgingly sends loving care packages. I used to think my cousin was a saint. But we can’t all be saints, you know? I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but under “occupation,” “saint” ain’t an option.

But there are genuinely good people out there who aren’t searching for bragging rights. My next-door neighbor moved back to New York today; he’s one of those “snowbirds” who lives in Florida during the winter. He’s a celebrity hairstylist who can afford two residences, apparently. Good on him. 😉

He brought over a dozen plants yesterday, and left three orchids on my doorstep this morning. Yesterday he called me over to benefit from the cleaning-of-the-fridge ritual. I have lots of Pellegrino and German beers and shrimp and hummus and all kinds of delightful gourmet goodies in my formerly empty fridge now. What a treat!

It was nice of him to pick me to be the beneficiary. He says I’ve been a delightful neighbor — quiet, polite, friendly — and wanted to say thanks.

I will never get the proper respect or treatment from the people who, frankly, owe or owed it to me. But it’s nice to be the beneficiary of a stranger’s kindness “just because.” Sad how we really have to depend on others just to keep going sometimes, especially when we can’t expect it from those to whom we’ve shown it. …