Speaking of, Rebeca wrote to me and said, "I hope your new adult life will be as interesting to read about as your old non-adult life." Don't worry, I only play an adult on TV. My inner five-year-old is still running the behind-the-scenes action. (I don't know that this entry will be particularly interesting to read about, however. I live in hope.)

The reason I took the morning off was not, in fact, to be decadent, but to try and get my old car (sigh, yes, it's still around) taken care of. I got yet another notice saying that I have to move it within two days or they will tow it and charge me a bazillion dollars. I needed to drive it for a mile.

The problem was, I had to work late last night, too late to take care of most of this stuff. Luckily the hardware store was still open when I got home and I was able to buy jumper cables. So I got up this morning but instead of going to work, I figured out how to use my new jumper cables! I am a rock star! I am a superhero!

(And I just realized, right now, that I left my trunk open. Goddamnit. The trunk indicator light went on as I was driving and I thought, "Hmm, when I get to BART, I will close my trunk" and then I forgot. My car is parked at the BART station with my trunk open. I can't even think about what all is in there. A lot of valuable stuff that is so totally getting stolen as we speak. I am such a moron.)

What was I saying? Oh yes, I'm a superhero! Captain Careless. Doctor Dumb. I'm-About-To-Have-All-My-Shit-Stolen Girl.

Oh well, we can't live in the past. I will just keep my fingers crossed that the trunk is merely "ajar" and I will get lucky. Please, please, please?

So anyway I figured out how to use jumper cables and everything, but they didn't work. The battery power went on (so I know I connected the correct cable to the "engine block" or whatever, as per the instructions) but the starter seems to be busted. So now I need to get the car off the streets within two days, or be fined about ten times more than the car is worth.

I've put an ad up to try and sell the car (for cheap; it's probably not a bad deal, considering a lot of the parts are new, the car has low miles, and it probably won't cost more than a few hundred dollars to get it running). If that doesn't pan out (which I am expecting it not to, but at least I felt like I should give it a shot) then I'll donate the car tomorrow.

I did do another important thing, which was find a piece of mail that I've been searching and searching for -- a DMV envelope that I thought was the registration sticker for my other car. Turns out it was a notice saying they need proof of insurance to send me the sticker. I am such a halfwit; I could have had this taken care of weeks ago. But anyway, I'm taking care of it now.

I also managed to get some cleaning done. I put a bunch of stuff in the closet (labeled "Mom's garage sale" for next time I go home) and threw out a few bags full of trash. (How one small person can generate so much trash, I will never know. Perhaps it is that I get a lot of things delivered in boxes. And a lot of junk mail.)

I also bought a mop and some Mr. Clean and mopped the bathroom floor. (My normal method of cleaning involves crawling around with a sponge, paper towels and a bottle of Lysol. It takes a while and is gross.) It doesn't look substantially different, but I feel good about it nonetheless.

Tonight I'm going to do the rest of the cleaning -- put my clothes away, put clean sheets on the bed, vacuum, and clean the countertops. Voila! I will be ready for my weekend visitor, Dan. Or ready enough, anyway. He doesn't care if the place is a mess.

If you will recall, it was before Christmas that the place was supposed to get repainted and recarpeted, and we packed up all my stuff in preparation for it, and I've been waiting ever since. So most of my stuff (the stuff that isn't currently getting stolen, that is) is still in boxes, my computer is sitting on my chair, and my floor hasn't been vacuumed since December. Grownup, my ass.

But I keep thinking that the second I am done vacuuming, the carpet guys will burst through the door. It's like washing your car before it rains. Or in Starbucks terms, putting the blenders in the sanitizer 10 minutes before closing, whereupon four teenagers will walk through the door and immediately order Frappuccinos.

So by tonight, my place should be reasonably clean, which will make me happy. I don't much like having countertops strewn with hair products, and my floor covered in a pile of clothing. And I definitely am not a fan of the birdseed on the floor.

(Someday, I will live like a grownup. I will have walls and paint them fun colors. I will have hardwood floors. I will have an office, and a kitchen, and a bathtub, and windows that let in light, and possibly a puppy. I hereby manifest this!) (Incidentally, I had an epiphany about my new year's tarot reading. You know how "living situation" was the card for destitution and financial loss and I thought I was going to get robbed or something? [I mean, aside from the fact that I am currently in the process of getting robbed, which is clearly accurate also.] It means that my obstacle to the living situation that I want is a lack of money. So obvious! But until I realized what I wanted, I didn't realize I couldn't afford it. My entire reading is making increasingly more sense. It's rather eerie.)

But I'm starting to believe Jenfu's theory that the mythical "painting" and "carpeting" is an elaborate psychological experiment, and not a real plan. She says I'm going to be moving out before anything ever happens. Well, if that's the case, at least I'm packed!