Sunday, Cake Day

Had a small meltdown yesterday and decided to just archive everything in my inbox. Then today (Sunday), I tried to find it all and get in the right place. Unfortunately for me, there were some older emails I was keeping in my inbox as reminders of things I needed to do. I don't remember what they were.

Another example of when unchecked emotions ruin lives. Hyperbole.

Not much to report today.  Lots of cake lately because I finally have an oven!!

Some adventures in homemaking.
After trying out some sheer curtains downstairs when I first moved in, I got some for upstairs because I liked them so much. Then one night after 8pm, I made a fast food run, and discovered something. Turns out science still applies. During the day, the sheer curtains are fine and provide an adequate amount of privacy. However, at night, if the lights are on inside, they provide a clear view into my apartment. Whoops, I have these same curtains hanging in the bedroom.

So Saturday, I spent over an hour in the aisle at Walmart trying to find a solution. I saw sheer and I saw "blackout" curtains. I guess this was an unrecognized "pro" of blinds. The slits in blinds lets light in but you can't see through plastic at night. In my short-sightedness, I've been avoiding putting up blinds. At this point, it's not even a cost issue.  I decided on curtains and am going to see it through.

Frozen with indecision, I walked out with curtains marked as "heavy" material and blackout curtains as a default. Luckily, the heavy curtains seemed to be a good solution. I tested it at night and you could see the light fixture and know the lights were on downstairs but you couldn't see much else. Naturally, I couldn't test if you could see figures moving, but I think it will do the trick. So now I have 4 extra panels of sheer curtains.  I think I decided I'll double up the sheer curtains and use them in the office where there are currently no window treatments. With two sheer curtains,  the nighttime view from the outside just kind of offers a blurry view of the inside, and since it's not street level, it should be okay.

Friends and Facebook.
I've started incorporating the word peer into conversations to replace the word friend.  The adults I encounter in my current life just don't seem to offer enough for the word friend. Other contenders include acquaintance and colleague.  I refuse to use the word BFF as my 40 year old brother used multiple times in a recent conversation. I think since it's been so long since I had a friend, it just took me by surprise.

Anyway, said brother was contacted by an old friend from high school. Yes, I said friend because when I knew her we were friends. She passed along her number to me and I used Google Voice to message her. I was so excited. It just feels nice to know someone is thinking about you. My immediate thought was maybe my Sainted Aunt was sending me a friend so I won't be so alone. Turns out she has a 5-year old. Just like some people don't like dating individuals with kids, women with kids aren't my first choice for new friends either.

Anyway, in my excitement I tried again to join Facebook. I'd tried a couple times last year but kept getting flagged for identity verification issues. This time, I signed up easily. Then I got overwhelmed with sensory overload and deactivated the account. This morning I logged back on to try to find 2 people I used to know back in 2001 but I couldn't. I think a lot of people use spelling variations these days to mask their identity or I don't know how to use Facebook anymore.

Well, suffice to say the excitement has weaned a bit.

Family Fund.
Part of my meltdown was my grief for the loss of my aunt. Part of it was dealing with Wespath. There is a death benefit payout that is pending...or not. I don't know anymore, but I'm leaving it in last week, and I'm leaving it in April. (Here's hoping for a brighter month of May!). Anyway, I was thinking that with the possible dividends or interest I get for this amount, I might try to give away up to $500/yr to family members as gifts or need-based gifts. My aunt loved to buy gifts for people. That was unequivocally one of her love languages. 

I though it would post Friday, but it didn't. I'm really hoping I don't have to communicate further with Wespath. They make me so mad. I just want to distance myself from all of it and grieve in peace.

Well whenever the payout is, my thoughts are: I want to keep it separate from my other accounts. And I'm sure whether I want to keep it in savings or invest it. I know I don't want to make any rash decisions to lock it away, so I'm half looking for some new bank account savings bonuses. I'm thinking at least let it rest in a high-yield savings account for a little awhile, at least until my next financial update (Jun 2020) or longer.

I guess for as mad as I am for the effort it took Wespath to act, I'm hoping this deposit will be the resolution of this issue.