Sittin' on the "group W" bench

I went to Municipal court this week.  I forgot to take a Xanax and I really needed it.  Felt like Arlo Guthrie, sittin' on the" group W" bench, with mother stabbers and father rapers and the like (listen to the song/album called Alice's Restaurant if you don't know what I am talking about).  I sat there for a deadly but entertaining and educational three hours listening to all the other cases.  Finally got called in to the prosecutor and felt like she blew me off (actually I should have had a succinct statement ready).  I had a one page document and a chart of all of my neighborhood annoyances, but a 15 word statement would have been more to the point.  She referred my case to "neighborhood disputes" of which I had never heard.  I guess it is some kind of mediation which I learned about reading a really fascinating book called "Neighbor law", put out by Nolo Press. ( I really should have read the one called "Dog law").  I signed a complaint against my neighbor who insists on having a pit bull live on her steps.  I have lost the use of my yard and the peace and quiet of my home due to the barking.

It was horrible being in court, even though I was the filer of a complaint and not the perpetrator of a crime.  They made everyone, complainer and criminal alike, wait in this tiny vestibule with no chairs for a half an hour before letting anyone enter the court. THAT was awkward, but I got the feeling that lots of these people do this very often.   I was out on the porch listening to a woman and a man talk about their domestic violence history, where one person files a complaint and then the other person turns around and countersues.  When the police come around to serve them with papers they just don't open the door.  When they do get into court they generally say that they aren't going to press charges.  What an unpleasant way to spend your afternoons!  It is just a game and a big waste of time.  The woman talked about just getting an ROR.  What's that, I asked.  Release On Recognizance, she said, (but she didn't pronounce it properly).  Some of the people had multiple "crimes" at once....driving offenses, domestic violence, paraphernalia possession.  One guy didn't know (me either) that on the third paraphernalia offense you get a mandatory 90 days in jail.  He was wearing orange at the time.  A really FAT white woman came up and declined to press charges against him.  Then ANOTHER large white women was there with a black guy and as they walked out, having declined to press charges, I noticed a large hickey on her neck.  Some of the people were polite, some had major attitude and some were snickering.    I did learn of some unsavory individuals who live near me. 

Below you will see a photo of a flower blooming at Giverny in July.  I borrowed this pic from a blog I read called Eye prefer Paris (doesn't everyone?)  He said that July was  REALLY hot in France, just like it was here.  I need to take time out of every day to enjoy beauty and calm and elegance.  Thinking about my vacation in France is quite pleasant.  I need to start thinking about the next stage of my life.  Living in Bridgeton is getting pretty taxing, what with the changing neighborhoods.  Too much coming and going around me and people who think the barking of pit bulls is not annoying.

I prefer to labor in obscurity

I guess Facebook is where it's at...and it is fun in it's own way.  Kind of interesting to find out what all my old boyfriends are doing.  But I prefer blogs.  You get MORE info from fewer people and I'm kind of scared to say anything on Facebook  And I don't really WANT my old boyfriends to know what I am doing or NOT doing nor do I want them to know what I look like.  Where in the world will my remarks be going?  At least now I know when I write my thoughts down in "my blog that no one reads".  I didn't check that out as a blog name, but I DID check out quite a few names and they were all taken, including ALL THE GOOD NAMES WERE ALREADY TAKEN.  I did decide to investigate Twitter yesterday, but when it came time to choose a name, I got stymied.  To listen to the news, you would think that everybody in the world EXCEPT for me is tweeting.  But, really, do I know ANYONE who tweets?  Don't think so.

Sick of hearing about:
- Twitter
- Immigration
- Celebrities and their bad dress choices
- Marriage (especially GAY marriage)

It is almost a full time job listening to my music.  Playlist.com has a lot of problems.  Some days it does not save, some days it gets jammed up, sometimes the songs change and sometimes the links go bad. So then I move over to YouTube.  But YouTube has problems, too.  Now I am back to playlist because the Beyonce videos to two songs were stupid.  I like some gansta' rap songs and when I have to watch the videos, I realize how distasteful they really are!  I don't really want to watch Rihanna in black leather and chains.

Still involved in a Downton Abbey watching marathon. The plot got REALLY crazy last night (somewhere in the middle of season two). There are people we LOVE (Matthew) and people we HATE (Thomas) and it is quite addicting. Maggie Smith plays what must be the best role of her life as the Dowager Countess. The costumes and the furnishings and the rules and the scenery are all mind-boggling and truly fine.
It gives a good view into the changes wrought on English society and country manor life before and after World War I. I enjoy the role of letters in this series. Yes, before texting, there were letters. Season three starts on PBS in January 2013 so you have some time to watch it.

I used to have a boyfriend who was a parapalegic. I met him in a bar in Vermont. I was on one of those weird ski weekends where four couples sleep in two bunk beds. I moved to Vermont to be with the guy I met in the bar.

When researching blog names, I came across so many abandoned blogs. It must be a temporarily addicting pastime. One I like is Stuff white people like.

It is the first of September. Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit. According to my mother, you must say those words out loud before you say anything else immediately upon awakening on the first day of any month. If you do this, you will have good luck.
I need some good luck. Just opening the mail can be quite stressful.

September is National Aging month and also National Recycling month. Take your pick!

Had breakfast with my "Breakfast club" this AM. I promised not to use any of their real names. They were bugging me about my blog, but I wouldn't tell them how to find it. Guess I don't really 'get" the whole blogging thing.

Many people have helped me with ideas for my blog name. I won't say who suggested what, but here are some of the possible names...The peripatetic librarian, The queen of sighs, Suddenly humid, and, All of the good names were taken. (I can't really concentrate or remember them right now cause I am using the computer at my health club and the weather channel is on guite loudly making me distracted). It does seem that every name I look up on the Internet IS already taken. (Not that there is anything wrong with that). I finally had to jump right in with a name of my own choosing but I haven't told anyone how to FIND this blog, cause I am a bit nervous about sharing my thoughts as the real me. I can't get up the nerve to post anything on Facebook. I am more comfortable having a MYSTERY blog that nobody knows about.
I chose this name cause I HAVE had some interesting adventures (many of them decades ago, though) and I also do have "issues" with STUFF (i.e., clutter)

Funny what things are broken in life. You know that little thingy upon which you put your toilet paper roll? Well, mine started falling out. Jeez!

I am carrying around a clipboard with my daily list on it. This is one carry-over from my recent working life. Actually, it is the same clipboard. Yes, my pink clipboard is the property of my ex-employer. I am an obsessive list maker. One of the things on the list is "drink more water". Sometimes I have wacky things on my list such as "redo the lists" or "go to bed early".