This was bizarre.

I recently put away a large box fan that was sitting in front of a window in my bedroom. After I removed the fan, I could clearly see that the bottom of the 2 curtain panels I'd just purchased did not line up. In fact, one was a full 2 inches longer than the other!

I wondered if, Alice in Wonderland-like, I hadn't noticed how far this old house is leaning, but no, I carefully measured and re-measured the panels and yup: one panel is quite a bit longer.

Although the other set of panels on another window "looked" all right, I decided I'd better measure those curtains, too; sure enough they were 2 different sizes with just a half inch difference.

I bought them on Amazon and the seller, which has these made in Pakistan (quality control issue, anyone?) made their return as easy as could be expected. They emailed me the label and Fed Ex came and picked it up very next day. Hope I get the credit card credit as easily.

I had actually considered switching 2 of the panels around so that the difference in length was no more than 1 inch, but when I tried them that way, yes, you could notice the difference.

And the seller has discontinued these particular curtains, so since I've got 2 windows, they've both got to be returned.

Back to square one with curtains. They made my room considerably darker than my mini blinds alone can and I believe I was sleeping more soundly. Last night, sans curtains, I slept terribly!

Today is the first day i really felt like turning the heat on. It's dreary and rainy out there. But I will resist. The forecast for the rest of the week is highs in the low 70s and I'm not sure how low at night. But the week after will be considerably cooler, with highs in the 60s.

The chilliest time all day and night is the early morning hours of around 4 or 5 am. I've caught mice 2 nights in a row. I don't know where they come in, but there's a really good spot to set my traps for them; it's inside a little door at the top of my basement stairs. It leads to nowhere, but it's an interior space by the chimney that somehow the mice get into. the cats can't get in there, but i hate having to open that little dark and peer in there to see if I have a customer. Still, much better that I catch them rather than the cats. but I can always hear when the trap is sprung, surprisingly. Its location is 2 floors down from my upstairs bedroom, but it's directly below where the floor grate for the heat is, and that's how I always hear it. The cats heard it this a.m., too.

Started work this a.m. on a new sales brochure for real estate client. Can't start writing til i interview a 2nd person, who's SUPPOSED to call me back this afternoon. I'd love for that to happen so I can write this up tomorrow, thereby clearing my plate for likely further work on the case study for same client. I also was assigned what I think is the 5th article I'll be ghostwriting for same guy I'm doing the case study for, to be published in CT Builder Magazine. I mean, they may have to hire me f/t one of these days.

After the guy cut my driving hours in half, I naturally ramped up my job search to try to make up for that, with applicaitons to both f/t, contract and p.t. Wouldn't you know it, of all the jobs i applied for, the one i heard from today is a little itty bitty job, 4 hours a day, 5 days a week at $15/hr, but year round and "permanent," working at a preschool in my town.

Frankly surprised that with my resume they would call me as I have NOTHING on there that remotely qualifies me for the job, which is just general office work. But since the job was advertised only in the local paper, not online, I mentioned in my response that I was a "longtime xxx resident." There is a certain minority of hiring companies that don't want to be inundated with resumes and/or have a preference for a local resident, and that's why I mentioned my residency. Guess it worked.

So now that the driving job with J. will only gross $400 (tax-free) a month, the preschool job would be better as it would pay roughly $1,000 net after taxes. With a whole lot less driving. And the driving job would only last til next may, when J. gets his driver's license back, while the preschool job is "permanent." I assume I have an interview, but have yet to talk with the director who left a message on my machine last night.

Last night I went to another MS dinner, this time by makers of Rebif. I decided i would never use rebif as it has some potentially serious side effects, like liver damage. However, i enjoy meeting new doctors and other MS people. Last night I met a woman, the first one ever, in fact, who has as mild a case of MS as I have. She told me of a Novartis dinner tomorrow night by the makers of Gilenyia, one of the first oral drugs for MS.

I intend to go. I would love to get away from the daily self-injections I've been doing for 12 years now. Of course, i'd talk to my physician first; I'm due to see him in January. Since I'm doing so well, I'd want to ensure that switching to a different drug would make sense becus it was equally if not more effective and just as safe. so this would make my THIRD free dinner in a week.

The dinner last night at a Marriott was not as good as the first one at the Ethan Allen Inn. Will be curious to see how tomorrow night's meal at a private restaurant compares to the others.

I discovered yesterday that the PR agency has decided to handle the brochure client's edits in-house, meaning, without my help. I was wondering if this in any reflected on the quality of my work or if they just felt it was easier. Of course, getting any kind of information from the account manager at the agency is like next to impossible. I asked her for feedback, no answer. She's always "busy." So I emailed the owner of the agency, asking the same questions. I did send them my bill for all the work i did, but I'm realy curious to know what the client's reaction was to the copy I'd written. Were they generally happy with it? Were the edits relatively straightforward or more involved? Was the PR agency generally happy with my work? Will they still be interested in offering me the 2 day a week job there? All important questions! Just terrible communication.