Good Mood

*Update: I had a GRRRRReat birthday! It was one of my better. Sugarbowl and Princess went together to get me a flower pot that I have been coveting for too long, Sugarbowl made me a jello cake and my favorite dinner, sweet and sour chicken. I did win the Indy 500 with my racing lawn mower and get most of those spots that normal people would need a weed whacker to get. I didn't get as much planted as I would have liked, but the garden is in, so that is a relief. And, lastly, I have been plotting and planning and doing much maniacal laughing and hand rubbing in anticipation of fighting that ass hat of an ex landlord. Let the games begin!



That's right! I woke up in a good mood today. Must be the end of the world, time to start praying like hell and return all that crap you borrowed and were hoping to keep -- damn, that will cut down my personal library a ton. I am in such a good mood for 2 very good reasons:



#1: It is my barfday! I am finally 35! I have been counting down the days until my birthday for the last few months... okay, not really, I just had to pull a Princess there. I usually do not care one iota about my birthday except to ponder the adding of another year to my age. 35 seems like such a milestone, and not in a good way. I swear I can feel my nose hairs growing longer by the minute and ear hairs forming, ready to pop out and give me hairy old man ears. When I came into the kitchen to start my coffee, there were some Hello Kitty cupcakes on the table. I galloped into my little sister's room to tell her how awesome they were, and she was so thrilled to be woken up at 5:30am that she said, "Great. Now get the f*ck out of here and shut my door!" I have made a list of the things I am going to do today for my barfday and am chomping at the bit to get started.



First, I am going to go drive around on some back country roads looking for anything old. I mapped out where some old towns were -- ghost towns and such -- and am ready to inhale some dust. Usually I go alone, but Sugarbowl said she would go with me because it is "my day." She likes to see the old houses and cemeteries that I find, she just does not enjoy the process it takes to find these things: a lot of driving around in the middle of BFE. I am THRILLED to have company, so I did a lot of research last night to plot out areas that were once towns and still have stuff there. I am content to wander aimlessly, but I wanted this to be good for her, too.



Second, I am going to rattle my teeth on the riding lawn mower. I adore the riding lawn mower; it is the biggest thrill of my life right now. I love ripping around the yard and seeing how close I can get to things so that I don't have to use the weed whacker, which I detest. In anticipation of my b-day, I have been letting the grass grow the last few days so I could have the maximum amount of fun today. I can hardly wait to get out there and play Indy 500: Lawn Mower Edition.



Third, I am going to plant the seeds that I have been meaning to do for the last few weeks. I was going to work on it last night, but Sugarbowl saw me gathering my gardening tools and asked me to plant her seeds too. I told her we could do it together today. I love working in my garden and flower beds, but the heat of summer makes it impossible for me, so I can only do it on cool days, and today better be cool or I want a refund!



#2: Then it's WAR! Nothing gets me going like a good fight, especially when I am in the right. Our landlord has still not returned our security deposit. Nebraska law states that it must be returned within 14 days along with a detailed list of the deductions, if any, that were made. I went to their house yesterday and asked how that deposit was coming. His wife answered and said, "let me go get L. for you." She comes back and says that he is still working on the deductions, but it shouldn't be too much longer. With a sweet smile glued to my face, I tell her, "I'm sure as landlords you know that Nebraska law states that it must be returned within 14 days. I'm on a shoestring budget here and could really use that money." With a smile on her face, that doesn't touch her eyes, she tells me that they will get it to us soon, and they know where we live now so they know where to find us -- we live almost directly behind them.

We are giving them until Tuesday -- they get the extra time due to the holiday Monday -- then we are going to go file a claim with the small claims court. If the deductions are too much then we are going to small claims court. That house was filthy when we moved in and we took pictures to document the filth and damage that was already there. I cleaned the holy hell out of it before we left and we took pictures to document it. Sugarbowl took an old landlord of her's to small claims and won with the pictures that she had taken, so we have that in our corner too. I took on a much bigger adversary then some small town landlord, a hospital in the town that I moved here from. They were trying to bill me from being EPCed. Even though the law states that EPCs are covered by the county the person lives in, the hospital still tried to bill me, sent the bill to collections and even went to court over it. I had a heck of a time finding a lawyer that would take on that hospital, but I did find one and with a copy of the law in hand, he wrote up a letter to the court and I won the day. They still try to get me, but the last time they tried, just a few months ago, the court told them that they had no case and it is totally dismissed. Ha HA and HA, you bastards! Too bad I do my research and am determined to show these people what one little crackpot can do.

Ahhh, yes, the joy of a good birthday planned and knowing that I am prepared to stand up for myself. Our old landlord is detested in this town, so if we win against him we will probably be given a key to the city and crowned Mayors For Life. I should start my acceptance speech soon...