Hard to blog with pen and paper

So, much has been happening in my life. one of the things is that cindy and i have basically lost our internet connection and/or computers. i am writing this now from dana's computer. dana was our roommate. i say was, because another thing that's happened was that Dana moved into her condo. cindy and i had our internet through her, really, and since we're just now finally getting paid again, we can't afford to replace it just yet. although it wouldn't have done us much good- as cindy's computer needs a new power supply (we'll hopefully be replacing that in the next few weeks.) and my laptop seems to have experience an identity crisis, and tells me now when i try to start it that it doesn't have an operating platform. isn't that silly?

so, we've been mostly without the internet, and that is the main reason for my long absence from blogging.

i have been blessed with work since august 6th, which is nice to have a paycheck of course. it's been a bit difficult at this job, for many reasons, one of them being that it's back-to-school time at District 65, and for the last three weeks i've watched all the new teachers go through their training, get their new curriculum, and all the returning teachers and make the schedules and troubleshoot difficulties at the schools... all the while thinking that i'd much rather be preparing my own classroom instead of the District 65 2007-2008 master calendar... my assignment there ends next friday, and i will be glad to move on, i think. the person for whom i work i don't believe i would work well with on a long-term basis. but i have made a favorable impression on many people there, apparently, and that is good.

my assignment ends on september 14 and i already have another assignment starting on the 17th. it's with a non-profit that works with disabled adults. i will be working with one of the upper managers, but i'll be in an environment that i've been in before, at ADEC in Elkhart, where i was a secretary/receptionist for 2 years. i would very much like to find there a place in which i fit well. it has the potential to go temp-to-perm.

we are looking for another roommate. or quite possibly another place to live with another roommate. we are tired of having water in our basement. that is another that has been going on. we went on a retreat the weekend of my birthday, as i said in my last blog, and when we came home the basement spelled horrible. musty and wet. but we couldn't find any leak, not looking in the two places that have previously leaked in the last six months. we checked and checked. i slept in the family room on an air mattress because the smell was too horrible in my bedroom, but we could find no leak or identify the origin of the smell. i ended up sleeping upstairs on the daybed after a few weeks. last weekend i moved some boxes in my closet (boxes that were there from the last time we had a flood and i hastily moved everything) and i found a damp carpet and 10 inches of mold along the bottom of the walls. a simple piece of shelving that my dad made for me when i was in college was also sitting there, and it has now absorbed water for a month and is also growing mold. ruined. my clothes smell awful this past week. and despite calling the landlord tuesday morning, all that's been done is for the carpet to be pulled back and the padding removed. helpful, sure, but only revealing more mold in the wood and in the area under the drywall where the carpet was. and meanwhile, the mold remains.

we're tired of the building being old and falling apart around us and the families moving out and the college students moving in all around, not caring a whit for anything.

i'm watching a movie with Colin Firth. he doesn't seem an overly astounding heartthrob, but man, he is an attractive gentleman.

cindy and i came over to dana's tonight for dinner. it was one of the best dinners i've had in quite some time. cindy made this awesome spinach salad with mandarin oranges, water chestnuts, cranberries and poppyseed dressing. Dana grilled skewers of potatoes and the most wonderful steaks. really really good. nice and tender. oh, and sliced french bread and herbed olive oil that cindy made. it was SOOOO good.

i'm running out of things to say, so i guess i'll go now, and give my full attention to the movie. i appreciate your prayers, and hope that all of my friends and family are doing well.

oh, and since we don't have reliable internet access, i wouldn't count on getting ahold of me in a timely fashion via email. call my cell phone if you have something time-sensitive to communicate.

love you all and i'll try to write more than once a month.

emily

This message has been brought to you by the letters "M", "L", and "E", and the number 87.

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