She cracks lightning like a viper's tongue...

I've gotten a bunch of postcards over the past few days, both from Postcrossing and Swap-bot stuff. I really am fond of the bunny suicides one (I used to own bunnies, so I love them and don't wish them any harm but these cards make me smile), the one with the fishes, and the lighthouses. The lighthouses ones have some very unique lights. I've never been to any of them, but I think the architecture of them is very cool.







I also got some records in the mail over the past few days. The Grinderman "Worm Tamer" 12" was among them. It's such a beautiful glowing green - I can hardly look away from it.




The other records I got are as follows:

Richard Ashcroft - Check the Meaning (7")

Miracle Legion - Little Drummer Boy (7")

REM - The Finest Worksong (12" single)

The Birthday Party - A Fuckin' Rotten Business This (LP)

I ordered a copy of The Birthday Party's first Peel Sessions volume as well. It arrived, but sustained some damage during shipping - one of the edges (about a 2"x1" section) was basically cracked/shattered. This made me feel very bummed out. It was the first time I'd had anything come through and be completely ruined, and it was something I really, really wanted. It was insured, though, so we'll see how that goes. Here's a picture, where you can kind of see the cracking (and my bummed out face) based on the reflection of the light:

So, anyway. The seller has been really helpful with insurance claim stuff and I found another copy that wasn't *too* terribly priced. So hopefully all will be well soon.

This week has just been fairly unawesome. I've been denied for yet another job which basically requires no skills whatsoever - but they chose to pursue candidates with more experience. That's all very frustrating for me. Definitely the most frustrating thing I've experienced in the past several years.

The apartment maintenance guys were also in again to check out this disgusting phantom smell that has been occurring anywhere that there's water in my home (kitchen, water heater closet, shower). They basically are too lazy to do the work to figure out what it actually is, so they have just told me to pour bleach down my drains....which only keeps the smell at bay for 2 days at a time. Nevermind that I don't like keeping bleach in my house because the smell makes me feel violently ill (and it's hazardous). I told them that was not a solution to the problem and they offered up the brilliant idea that, since the smell I'm describing smells like a lovely combo of cigarette smoke and vomit, maybe my neighbors downstairs are smoking and it's wafting up. I don't think this is the case (at least not the whole problem), but I told them that if they were indeed smoking indoors, it should be dealt with since that's against the rules of the renter's agreement. They told me I'd have to call the property manager. I did. "Oh she's busy, let me have her give you a call back in a little bit." End of the day comes....no call. I called again today. "She's actually out of the office today, but I gave her your message yesterday, and she said she'll call you back tomorrow." I'm glad they understand urgency. I wonder what would happen if I'd postpone paying my rent like that? I'm sure there are people with worse problems in the complex, but I already suffer from headaches and frequent nausea. The smell is really not helping with that. Not to mention that I can't stand being in my kitchen, so I've been eating out and ordering take-out for the past month-ish. Yes, this problem has been going on THAT long.

Grrrrr. So those are just a few of my frustrations. The main ones. I'm hoping that February will be a better month for me. But I'm not going to count on it.

More at a later date.