Sunday Stealing

CONVERSATION STARTERS

1. What are some small things that make your day better? Cuddling a cat. Making note of the sky (I love the colors of the sky). Hearing a forgotten oldie on the radio. Yesterday it was this:



2. What shows are you into? I've just discovered Pawn Stars, which fascinates me beyond all reason. And This Is Us. I used to love NCIS, but it's lost something since it lost Tony.

3. What TV channel doesn’t exist but really should? I'd watch Diana's Boys TV.

4. Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished? My young nephew. Adolescence is such a difficult time, and he is battling depression and migraines. Yet he's getting good grades in his senior year of high school and holding down a job at McDonald's. He compares himself to his sister, who is just naturally smarter and more driven. I wish he wouldn't do that. He has a wonderful heart and an acute social conscience.

5. What age do you wish you could permanently be? 35. I felt sexy and indomitable at 35.

6. What TV show or movie do you refuse to watch? Duck Dynasty. Whenever I see that Robertson family, I throw up a little. 

7. What is something that is considered a luxury, but you don’t think you could live without? Cable!

8. What’s your claim to fame? I've built an award-winning career, even though I don't have any college. I've done it all with savvy. I just wish I had the confidence that I can do it again and have a successful last chapter.

9. What’s something you like to do the old-fashioned way? Read.

10. What’s your favorite genre of book or movie? Biography. In both books and movies. The last films I've seen have been Finest Hour and All the Money in the World, and next on my "to-see" list is The Post.

11. How often do you people watch? Often

12. What have you only recently formed an opinion about? Pawn Stars! It's been on since 2009, and I now just discovered it.
 
13. What are you interested in that most people haven’t heard of? Old movies. I realize that classic Hollywood is of little/no interest to Millennials, and yet I'm endlessly fascinated.

14. What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home? Luxembourg

15. What is the most heartwarming thing you’ve ever seen? My little heart grows three sizes whenever I cuddle a dog or cat.

16. What is the most annoying question that people ask you? When someone learns that I have two cats and then asks, "I hate cats. Does that bother you?"

17. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?

18. If you were dictator of a small island nation, what crazy dictator stuff would you do? I would make my island a Trump-Free Zone. Like Chicago, and now apparently London, he would not be welcome. Nor his family. (OK, Melania, Barron and Tiffany can come.) Oh, well. I'm sure that, as he is of Chicago and London, he'd be dismissive of my little island.

19. What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives? Whatever it is that you're sure SURE you won't enjoy, because you might. For me, it was Lollapalooza. 100,000 people -- and me. I didn't see how that would be anything but awful, but instead it was great.

On the mend

Guess who is hungry? REYNALDO!

My little beige demon is more affectionate and social, too. I can tell his mouth is still bothering him a bit, but he's no longer holding his tongue at the incision site. 

This is such good news. Rey is such a big personality, that when he's not 100% I really notice it. And yes, even miss his misdeeds.

Running the numbers

Because I wake up worrying about my job security, and my ability to find another position at age 60, I ran the numbers. Were I to be let go on February 15, I would get 13.5 weeks of severance. Combine that with my What If I Lose My Job? Fund, and I can live for 9 months without any money coming in. (I'm figuring my unemployment benefits will go to healthcare, which could be mega-expensive.)

I could probably stretch it a little further, because I pay my mortgage a few months in advance (just in case I have to skip a month).

After that, I'll have to turn to my retirement funds, which I do not want to do.

There are so many things I need to do in this condo, if I were to get a decent price for it. I must finish the bathroom. There's a problem with the windows. The carpet should be replaced. I guess that would all cost me about $20,000. I understand that the $20,000 could mean a $35,000 return at sale. I get that, but I have exactly $1,400 saved in my What If There's a Household Catastrophe? Fund.

My friend, John, reminds me that I am in better shape than some of our friends. This is true. But I don't have any friends/family to lean on. Kathy has been living with her daughter for years now. My oldest friend just moved in with her cousin. Me? I'm an island. (Though Reg and Henry have always, always assured me there's a room with them in Key West. I don't know what I'd do for a living down there, but it's a comfort nevertheless.)

Still, I'm scared. Must keep clinging to my OneWord.