My friend's mother recently lost her husband and normally they cleaned all of their windows together. It must be so hard to lose a spouse, unless of course you hate them, but this is not the case here. While I was cleaning her windows for her, she told me about how before her husband died, he tried to touch up the metal railing that encloses their front porch. I go on to tell her that I painted a metal sign from white to black just like hers and it looks great. She decides she wants me to do the same to her railing.

I was so excited to do this job because it is something different, it is outdoors and it is very rewarding to see the results. For some reason I thought it was going to be easy. The railing is in bad shape, the paint is chipping and there is lots of rust. The first day I spent hours with a wire brush and sandpaper preparing the railing for the paint. I decided that I would do one side at a time to give myself a break from all of the hard work. Before putting on the paint, I decide that the metal needs to be cleaned first, and I clean it with warm soapy water. Seems to me dry, so I paint it. The next day I come to continue working only to find the paint has shriveled up.

This was devastating for me, because I am now going to lose time and money repairing what I did. It is one of the drawbacks of working for yourself, if you screw up, you don't get paid.

Here are some of my naive painting mistakes

1. Cheap brush from dollar store
2. Cleaning with water (absolute no no) Should have used a tack cloth.
3. Not priming first
4. Putting the paint on too thick. You should apply thinly and apply a second coat if needed.

Yesterday I did another section of the railing but instead did it the correct way. I called her today and she said the primer did not bubble up. Since it is rainy, I can't work today. Still I have to somehow remove the wrinkly paint. I got some sanding cloth to use when it is dry. Hopefully it won't be too much of a pain in the ass.

1. I will never paint for pay again

2. I hate working in the suburbs. For now on I'm staying in the city unless the pay is sufficient enough to entice me out of the city.

3. Jobs always looks easier than they really are.

4. I bought the last two bottles of Streek Free at Drew's True Value, so they need to reorder again. (e:jason), you can use mine if you want to.

Looks like I got my info wrong. The Landes and Blackwell wasn't robbed, actually an individual was robbed by gunpoint on my side of the street. At least that is what an employee of the station said. I find it really hard to boycott accross the street, cause it is so convenient to get something you need real quick rather than driving somewhere or walking. Must try harder cause I'm sick of that biatch who owns it robbing me.

I'm painting now which is a nice change from windows. One thing I find unsettling is that what if there is lead paint on the railing that I am scrapping and sanding? After about 3 hours scrapping and sanding I got a mask which isn't good for lead, but still probably better than nothing. Hopefully I wont get brain damage. The color is being changed from white to black which is such a great change. Metal railing should never be white. Black is much more enduring.

Happy to hear that a judge has found the government spy program ilegal. It kind of makes me feel like, wow, maybe there is a separation of powers still. I'm not too certain that another judge (they are taking it up the chain) will rule in favor of our civil liberties. If the ruling stays, than I will be shocked. If peoples heads start to roll (impeachments), I would be even more surprised.

Here are some words that I usually find repulsive:

leftist
rightist
Liquids
anthrax
liberal
dirty cunt (ok fine i like it)
democrat
republican
communist
freedom hater and or fighter
unbiased
partner (in place of boyfriend or girlfriend)
lover (same as above)
tourist
foreigner
retard
nigger
faggot
homeland
spic
camel toe (ok two words)
terror
terrorist
partisan
cracker
American (as description of citizenship for someone who lives in the US)

Landes and Blackwell got robbed tonight. Maybe they will raise the gas prices again.

These pictures of the Iraq war are horrifying. Do not look at them until you are fully prepared to look into reality.
































Source


We may not see these photos on television, but much of the rest of the world does. Forgive me for this post, but as painful as it is for me, I would rather see them than to not.

Another (e:libertad) product endorsement

• I hope promoting products that we like is acceptable (e:strip) behavior. *

In my professional opinion this is the best thing out there for windows. For $4.29 you can purchase a bottle at Drew's True Value on Delaware Ave across from the Delaware Plaza (Marshalls). They are out until Friday and I can't find it anywhere else. (includes: Target, Wegmans, CVS, Rite Aid, Dollar Stores, Eckerd, Walgreens) Drew's is awesome...screw Homo Depot. They suck. Actually I didn't go see if they had it, but I like Drews, they are so nice there and cheap. I saw the same product listed on HomeTrends, an online catalog, for $4.49.

The bottle will last through all the windows of your house, there will be absolutely no streaks and they do a better job than Windex. Go Streek Free! I did one woman's house today a quaint two bedroom. I didn't even use half the bottle!

But you just don't get one bottle of No Streek for $4.29 you also get two free window cleaning cloths! That's a $19.99 value for absolutely nothing! In fact if you get your ass up out of that chair and act now you will also get a free demonstration video describing the art of window cleaning. You must act now!

So yeah, seriously, you don't need any paper towels or newspapers. All you need is two rags, one sufficiently damp and the other dry for buffing. You will never go back to Windex.

Does anyone know any solution to water deposit stains left on old windows? I have tried Streekfree, Windex, white vinegar, and finally and I will never do this again, CLR (Toxic motherfucker) They do not come out.

Tonight (e:mike) and I decided to go to Kostas for dinner. This was after the usual 45 minutes of back and forth "Well, where do you want to go?" We are tired of our choices, which for me have only gotten worse after not eating meat. I had it in my mind that I would get the vegetable lasagna. Couldn't wait to eat the saucy layered goodness with what I imagined would be fresh crunchy veggies. It was not what I expected at all. I expected red sauce to be baked in, but it was on the side and wasn't what I think constitutes lasagna. Wasn't exactly terrible, but it was disappointing. Mikey ordered the mac n cheese...again. Why? I don't know, because we are both convinced that it is Stouffer's. Then mikey tells me that he has seen Kostas cater at his school and that he saw Stouffer boxes for the vegetable lasagna at the event. You know what? I love Stouffer's mac n cheese. It is sooo good. It's just that if I want to eat some, i'll buy it in the grocery isle and not order it at a restaurant. Do Kostas make anything at the restaurant? They serve the BEST carrot cake, which I found out from the waiter was from Sweet Tooth. Kostas is out.

Published on July 17, 1995
© The Buffalo News Inc.

Arson was the cause of kitchen fire at about 10:30 p.m.

Saturday in an occupied home at 200 Lexington Ave., city fire officials said Sunday.

Two separate fires were set in the kitchen, according to fire investigators. Damage was put at $5,000 to the building and $1,000 to its contents. The fire remains under investigation.

(e:mike) alerted me to this article, but I didn't find it until just now after talking to Barb. I asked Barb about the fire here and she asks me "How did you know about that?" I told her it was in the Buffalo News search. Anyways this is what she told me about a fire, which is not the same date as this one. She said a fire started in my apartment from a Grad Student's old fashioned toaster. When the bishop had the attic remodeled into an office you could see the charred flooring. The fire that she said was in my apartment happened before 1980 and the arson fire happened in 1995. Who would intentionally set a fire to one of the apartments? If I am lucky I can find out more information about the arson in 1995. I do have a small tie to a fire investigator, but don't know if he can find anything out. I'm going to go to county hall to find the deed information on the house.

update, I posted same journal 2x's cause I thought I lost the original. Here is the extra info I added in the deleted journal

This is getting very interesting indeed. Why has Barb never told us that she used to own this house and why does she continue to care for the house in the absence of the Bishop? Who would start a fire to an apartment and why?

On another note. I want to buy this house now. Somebody should give me the money.

By the way, I also am not suggesting that Barb has tried to burn the house down.

dcoffee and his latest journal
had me thinking about war and violence. I think that it is something that fortunately, most of the youth in our country today have little experience with. The US war in Vietnam is over. I often wonder how different things would be now if peace activists would have been taken seriously at the beginning of the war. Was there anything gained by our extended bombing and terror campaign in that country? Anything at all?

Do people in favor of war have any clue as to what war is? It is absolutely the most dehumanizing act conceivable. Terror is dehumanizing. We are programmed to think of terror in terms of Arabs, suicide bombing and liquid bombing plots. Terror terror terror. How are we going to stay safe? Frustrated travelers...blah blah blah. These things are all terrifying, but isn't war terror? What would you do if you heard the air raid sirens blaring, knew the bombs were coming, but were helpless to do anything about it? I have had dreams in the past about being in various bombings. At one time I was a woman being hunted down by the Nazis. I had to lay on a cold wet slab of concrete, with many other people, trying not to breath, hoping they wouldn't see us. Another time, I was attending a university in Iraq and bombs were falling everywhere and there was no where to hide. These were only dreams though, still I really don't know the reality of terror. I know, however, that I don't ever want to experience it first hand.

Today I uncovered even more History about the house I am in. Currently the woman Barb, who watches over the house for the Bishop, sold this house to him in 1980. She had purchased the home from the Wards in 1958. Unfortunately, she did not know anything about them. I have been looking for Arlene Ward's obituary (I assume she is dead), but with no luck. Barb's father was the one that broke up the single family house into apartments in 1958. Oh wait, i'm on to a new lead that came in from (e:mike). More of this story to come.

The bishop's lawyer came unannounced yesterday with a new Realtor. They did not call as required by law and common courtesy, but I allowed them into my apartment. Then they went into my neighbors apartment when she wasn't there. I told them that we ask 24 hours notice before our apartments are entered and the Realtor guy says "She won't know we were here." Well actually she will because i'm going to tell her. We have done nothing but cooperate with everyone involved in the sale of this house. I hate that we are being disrespected in this way.

It just so happened to be a free day for me and I have been wanting to clean the wood work in the hallway. The stairs are really beautiful, but they were covered in at least 20 years of dust. All the woodwork is original and most of the stairway was left unpainted. What is wrong with people who paint beautiful woodwork or cover it up with nasty carpeting? Murphy's Oil Soap is so great. ((e:libertad) product endorsement) I wish I could give before and after pics, but I don't want to spend the time fussing with photos.

While I was cleaning, I broke something that was very special to me and Steve. It was this statue of an Asian woman that used to be Steve's Grandmother's. When she died it was one of the things I got to keep from her house. It was the worse feeling to have broken the statue and then have to clean up all her pieces. I called Steve right away to tell him. I am saving her head. Right now it is in the big plant from his grandma's house.

It took me hours to clean all the woodwork and I was happy to do it. I felt like I was restoring this old house! You would have thought that the people that live in this house would appreciate the restored stairs, but no. My neighbor just walked passed me while I was cleaning and didn't say a thing and Steve had nothing nice to say either.