In which I write about a bunch of stuff

I don't even know where I was and I am too lazy to re-read my previous posts.

1. The living and the dining room are all askew because on Sunday, Primo and the team filmed a political ad. Primo was all "Woooo!" because they were moving furniture and he thought they weren't being careful enough and he was worried they were going to damage things, which of course they did not. He was expressing his stress to me, even though I was not the source of the stress and I was not the person who could resolve it. I just kept baking and then finally went into the basement to watch "Last Tango in Halifax," which I strongly recommend.

2. One of the political guys brought me flowers because he knew they were messing with my Sunday afternoon.

3. Before they came, I asked Primo if he was going to serve snacks. He had not thought about it. Fortunately, I had cookies in the freezer. Got those out and Primo made coffee so we didn't look like totally ungracious people. I know it's not really a host situation when political people come over, but does it hurt to be nice to people? No it does not.

4. Primo is not as cranky as he was before he stopped working. I am not thrilled about the 67% drop in our household income,  but it is only fair that he should get a chance to do something he wants. And he has definitely upped his game on the housework. I didn't do a single chore all weekend - he had cleaned the house in preparation for our houseguests and then he did the rest of the weekend chores as well. This I could get used to.

5. But we still argue about bedtime and I am about to pop him one. He thinks he is being funny. He thinks he is being funny when he says he likes "them French-fried potaters" and when he says "pepper" the way Billy Crystal did in "When Harry Met Sally." I like that movie, but cannot buy Billy Crystal as a romantic lead because I find him so whiny and annoying. Primo is not funny when he mimics these lines, but he and his friends egg each other one and laugh the entire time. If I kill him and you are on the jury, will you please let me off? It is justifiable homicide.

6. Primo: Hey! I put away those guest towels that I washed!

Me: OK. Thanks.

Primo: And I straightened up the guest bed!

Me: Thanks.

Primo: Hey! I've been doing housework!

Me: Uh huh.

Primo: I need more praise!

Me: But I have been doing it for years without praise.

Primo: I need praise and affirmation!

Me: Whatever.


7. Of course when our houseguests were here and I wanted to go to the restaurant, Primo disappeared.

He does that. Someone will be visiting - someone he has invited - someone I don't even know - and all of a sudden, Primo will be gone and I will be stuck in the kitchen with the guest, whom I do not even know and do not want to know because it is Saturday morning and I have things to do and those things do not include entertaining Primo's political minions and allies. But I cannot just abandon a guest and go on about cleaning the bathroom or reading my book, so I remain stuck.

Meanwhile, Primo is upstairs doing God knows what. "I had to post something on facebook for the campaign!" he will say.

"It can wait until later," I will hiss.

"No! It has to be done now!"

And my heart hardens even further against his cause.


8. One of us gave this card to the other:







9. Overheard: "Her boyfriend finally quit smoking in jail."

In which I get to apply some of my knowledge about the children of acoholics

1. I read in some blog comment section that it is considered rude to refer to alcoholics as "drunks," to which I replied that offending my husband's parents was the last thing I was concerned with, as they have never been concerned about offending him.

2. I was talking to the manager of the IT help desk where I work. We sell systems that, when they are down, cause places like Amazon to grind to a halt. It is very, very expensive for our software not to be working, so it is a super high-pressure job. The manager said people usually burn out after a few years - that he sells it as an entry-level job to the company with potential for advancement. He is moving several of his people into new jobs within the company now, so has to backfill.

I asked how he recruits. He said he is de-emphasizing the tech skills and looking more for the soft skills. "I can teach them the technical stuff," he said, "but I cannot teach them how to deal with people. They have to be able to stay calm and solve problems while they are under a lot of stress and people are angry at them."

I paused, then asked, "Have you considered looking for adult children of alcoholics? They would be perfect for the job."

In which the one percent of the cookie holders does not want to share the chocolate

Primo has a couple of guys over to the house to film a campaign ad.

Me: Why don't I put out some of those cookies I made for book club for your friends?

Primo: OK. 

I go downstairs to get the cookies out of the freezer. I am back upstairs, putting cookies on a plate.

Primo: BUT NOT THE CHOCOLATE COOKIES!

In which Primo has a revelation about housework and what is entailed in the performing thereof

Primo: I just stripped the bed. Am I supposed to wash the sheets?

Me: It would be nice.

Primo: But that's a lot of work!

Me: I know. When I was with MariCarmen yesterday, I told her how nice it was that you had done all the housework to prepare for guests and that you had done a lot  of the other regular housework.

Primo: I did!

Me: And I was thinking about how nice it was that my Saturday was free because you had done the work. And I realized how much time I actually spend doing housework because I wasn't doing it!

Primo: I didn't know that it took so much time!

Me: Yeah.

Primo: It's a lot of work!

Me: I. Know.