Due to wanting someone present at home for the inspection that the property management company notified us about, I took the day off. (Paranoid? Us? Why, yes, thank you.) Of course, I already had a hair appointment scheduled, so I took care of that and then came straight home.

The day was spent mostly downstairs, reading and waiting, waiting and reading. (By the way? C.J. Cherryh’s “Foreigner” books are outstanding. Just so you know.) I rather dislike sitting and waiting, mind you, but at least I got in a lot of quiet reading time for my trouble. The cats loved having a captive lap, too. (Yes, I did take my Claritin.)

So, the inspection turned out to be the maintenance guy installing new toilet-tank flappers in an effort to deal with a perceived water leak. Ho, hum. Mind you, I approve of the thinking behind it: Instead of wasting time hunting around for the source of the problem, just go after the most likely sources with a bit of new equipment. I’m all for the idea of lowering the water bill, too.

To cap the day, I had a nice early dinner out with Lil’. For once, I elected not to have a breakfast-type meal… I think I’m sort of burned out on eggs and hashbrowns for a while.

Tomorrow, back to the grind and the backlog of chores that need doing…

I was a good boy. I got home at a decent hour last night. I went to bed early enough. I didn’t eat or drink anything right before bedtime. By all rights, I should be rested and ready for my day today.

But then you have to factor in the

• insomnia that kept me awake well past midnight…
• phone going off at 2:30am to alert me to a downed webserver…
• getting back to bed at 4:30am right after (finally) fixing said webserver…
• full-blown allergy attack as I was getting to bed…
• and the alarm going off a full hour before my body was really expecting it.

Put all of that together, and you have a Me who has slept very, very little. I’m teetering and wobbling through my workday, and let me tell you how fun that is! Whee!

I just got word today that my friend Ben, that reclusive MSTie and Anglophile, not only has a job and a girlfriend, but a new address.

In SoCal.

And he left early this morning.

And no, according to his friend John, this is not an April Fool’s prank.

Well… I wish him nothing but the best. He could certainly stand some happiness and personal success, after the last half-dozen years or so of not-so-much-fun. Still, I wish I’d at least been there to see him off.

Ah well. Such is life. People move on, hopefully to bigger and better things…

Reactions were mixed, to say the least. A couple of people thought it was darned clever of us. One called me names for a minute, then laughed. At least one person didn’t take the hint I sent their way. If you, personally, were offended, I most sincerely apologize.

Whether you think it was clever or cruel, funny or tasteless, it was just an April Fool’s joke. Dawn and I are okay. Heck, we’re better than okay. A weird side-effect of reading one another’s entries is that it actually renewed our resolve and made us appreciate one another more.

Now if you want to read about a really funny prank I was involved in, check out the story of the voice-activated fax machine…

Anyone who’s been a friend of mine over the last year or so is familiar with the challenges I’ve been facing in my relationship with my girlfriend. Sure, we love each other, but there are so many complications and obstacles that add stress to the situation. We believed we could make it work, however, no matter what.

Alas, it was not to be. Last night she and I agreed to part ways. I could say that “it’s for the best” but I’m not really capable of that kind of perspective right now. Ask me about it later, okay? Right now I just want to curl up and hide for a while…

Look what somebody sent me!

(The ducks, not the sticker. That came from someone else, but I couldn’t resist putting it into the picture.)

So, do you think she’s trying to tell me I need sweetening up? Or that I should be trying to get my ducks in a row? What do you suppose the meaning is, here…?