...

      My life is at an odd place. I like the house we're living in, but we still have plumbing issues. It's been about two weeks now, maybe just a few days more, and we still have to cart buckets of hot kitchen water into the bathroom if we want to bathe. And I feel ridiculous, doing my laundry in a little room outside. I've always liked the idea of having no electricity, living on a land with a well and an outhouse. I've always liked the idea of living in a time where three cents was a high cost. But we live on a rather busy street, and I swear people can see me transferring all my hidden clothing to the dryer. I would feel more old-fashioned if people still used horses as a daily mode of transportation, but nowadays you see a person riding a horse down the street and it just looks silly. Hell, it looked silly thirteen years ago, when I lived on a farm and, in retrospect, felt like a wee little pioneer. Because I had no Internet, and my idea of fun was playing with my friend and taking turns on her tire swing. Ah, youth.
      But all the windows open now, no problem, and I've been enjoying what fresh air must feel like. Aside from the plumbing problem and the fact that ten loads of laundry will cost us thirty dollars, I friggin love it here! I haven't been happy to call a place home in six years. I can just feel my aging process slowing down.
      But...and maybe I'm wrong, I have a theory as to why only one person in our whole unit has no water issues. I think it's his fault. I think he's doing something to our pipes because he knows the size of our hot water tanks are not big enough for all of us, and he wants the hot water. Why else would the plumber have to continually come back? And maybe it's not him. Maybe it's the plumber, who fixes the water, comes back on a visit disguised to check on the pipes, only to turn off the hot water because he wants more money.
      I could be wrong, but something's fishy here. No plumber should be called this often.
      Anyway, I'm going to stop pointing fingers because I need to commemorate a moment. It might sound very humdrum to anyone else, but last night I finally found the eighth Exploration Token in Ancient Forest! Took me long enough.
      Well, I am thrilled to still have Internet. But I'm going to sign off now and see just how badly I can damage my book. I've written the beginning four hundred times; you'd think I'd improve.