Lot's of things...which makes sense, since I haven't posted in a while.

Apartment woes continue

Since we moved in in July, our apartment has given us nothing but grief. There are a million small maintenance issues, and a few that are not-so-trivial, and we had to innundate the office with mail to get any action. In my final letter on that front, I noted which items were being mentioned for the fourth time in writing, aluded to the fact that this violates our lease, and said that I was sure the management "would appreciate the chance to address this customer service opportunity." That got action. Go fig.

Then there was the water. Leaching up through our carpet. Making our walls soggy. (Lots of people have asked what floor we live on. I tell them that the people downstairs are pissed. We live on the ground floor. Duh.) Jon wrote a letter about this soppiness. Five days later, I sent a letter, certified mail, return receipt requested, to both the apartment office and their corporate office in Colorado, stating the health risk (mold, which is leading to my vertigo--see below--and might give Jon asthma attacks), outlining our requested remedy, providing a deadline, and citing the section of the Texas Property Code that would allow us to terminate the lease if they don't meet that deadline. (I love being able to start a letter with, "By Subchapter B of Chapter 92...") They phoned yesterday (our postal service is that fast? Hot damn.) to say that all the contractors in Austin are booked because the rainy season makes everybody notice their leaks. We're apartment shopping tomorrow. I think our current place should give us another apartment. We'll see.

But if you live in Austin, Promontory Point gets a big thumbs-down. It's a drag, too, because their facade has this nice red brick.

Ears

Since July 99, I've had occasional bouts of dizziness, and I've gotten varying diagnoses. Today, I saw a new doctor and finally got an answer that makes sense. (She was so delightful. I'm sad I'll only get to see her when I'm sick.) My middle ears feel full, but nobody ever sees any fluid in there. Well, Dr. Ezekoye said the congestion is in my nasal passages, and that is pressing on my eustacian tubes, preventing them from functioning (so the pressure in my middle ears can't be equalized, hence the full feeling) and causing sympathetic discomfort over in my ears. Then the dizziness is probably tied into that. She gave me some samples of and prescribed a decongestant. Finally, an answer!

Halloween

Jon and I made masks. We went to one party on the 21st, found ourselves strangely free on the 28th, and helped our house-enabled friend hand out candy on the 31st. His party will then be on the 4th. At work, our group had a party, including a costume contest. I did not win the "scariest" prize, but my teammates decided that the judging (by applause) was lame and that I was robbed. So at our staff meeting, they presented me with a ...um, what is this thing? It's like a snow globe, only without the snow. The globe is squishy, not glass. And it's got a big *spider* inside it! What a great desk toy! ^_^

Holidays

Our friend Ben and his family are our adoptive Texas family, so we'll be there with the whole brood for Thanksgiving. Then, in order to have Thanksgiving and New Year's off, Jon has opted to work on Christmas, and I'll be visiting my parents in their snazzy new house. Local grandparents and cousins and such will probably be there, too. Then my friend Faith is spending a few days here right after Christmas. I'm trying to get her to see how hip Austin is and how often they don't shower you in pesticides here.

Daily Bliss

The lunch from the cafeteria was really good today! Pork loin and green beans and herb potatoes. Yum!