Why hello f-list! Long time no talk.
Well, see, Mark just got back from his annual three week trip to Japan. And like most years, I didn't have time to be bored while he was gone. It seems like my friends and family take turns making sure I'm not lonely when he leaves, which is very nice of them, and leaves me with little time for things like checking and posting to LJ. :)
It also left me little time for writing. Well, what time I had for writing was totally disrupted by that first week of stress over the trial, if anyone remembers me posting about that. A brief recap: a tenant owed us a couple grand in back rent, and yet instead of quietly leaving when we filed for an eviction, she instead filed a motion and took the thing to trial. An actual trial. It stressed me out to the point where I made myself sick for about a week. And at the trial, she basically had her Mom and boyfriend testify to how nothing in this old house works or has ever been repaired (complete BS). It went on over the allotted hour, and so we had to break for a 2 hour lunch and come back for more. In that time, she went and researched a bunch of oregon laws, and quoted them (they had nothing to do with her specific situation, actually). Since she did this, instead of making a ruling, the judge said he needed to review the new things she'd introduced (he seemed quite irritated) and he would be issuing a verdict by mail.
That was almost two weeks ago. We still haven't received a verdict, but my m-in-law called the courthouse today, and while the judge hasn't filed the paperwork yet, he apparently ruled in out favor.
Now realize, we filed for eviction in the first week of June. It is now the first week of July, and do you think this woman has paid a dime for June's rent? This thing just dragged on and on, and we got totally screwed for another long month. Her ex-roommate has also warned us she's very likely to destroy whatever she can just to be vindictive as she moves out, ie holes in the walls, broken doors, trashed carpet, etc. She has officially become "worst tenant ever" in our mental record, and that's saying something.
Anyway, best I can say is it's finally over, and I can't wait to see the back of her. Also, my f-in-law is back, and that means he can deal with any personal confrontations that might have to happen to actually remove her from the unit. Yay.
In the meantime, I am enjoying having the husband back, and looking forward to being able to write again now that I have some down time. In fact, for the first time in a really long time, he and I will be writing together! Separate projects, but still. It'll be nice.
In other news, I'm eating lettuce out of my garden, and the tomatoes have flowers but no fruit yet. :) And my green beans are growing!
Oh, a book rec: while trying to take my mind off stressful things, I recently read
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I gather this new series has been getting a certain amount of acclaim and hype, although I had no idea until I was already reading it. It's a very interesting first person narrative in something of a post-apocalyptic future, in which children between the ages of 12 and 18 are forced to participate in a lottery each year for a reality show called the Hunger Games. It's sort of like Survivor, if instead of voting and eliminations, the contestants are literally vying to be the last person standing and thus attempting to kill one another.
I absolutely loved it! A very gripping voice in the MC, Katniss, great characters (Peeta! Cinna! Rue!) good writing, and a rather different sort of book than a lot of what's out there right now. It also ends on something of a cliffhanger...okay, maybe not a cliffhanger, but when I reached the last page, I actually let out a small scream and said to no one in particular "No! You can't end it there!" Lucky for me, book 2,
Catching Fire, was already out. Alas, the third and final book doesn't hit shelves until August, which can't get here soon enough for me. Another sort-of cliffhanger! I must know what happens! Gah!
Saw
Knight and Day. It was totally unbelievable and all kinds of awesome and fun. In a
Mr. and Mrs. Smith sort of way. I would see it again, and I don't even like Cameron Diaz, normally.
I also saw - and yes, I know this is dangerous ground, but I just couldn't not see it -
The Last Airbender. What to say?
( Non-spoilery thoughts behind the cut, but even so, kistha and dthon don't read until after you've seen it. ) ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
