I Like My Landlord

I phoned him about a week ago with a few problems with the apartment I'd been saving up. I wanted another set of keys, I've been having trouble with both toilets, and the curtains in the bedroom have not been thick enough to block out the morning sun, which for some reason has really started bothering me recently.

So he came over and dropped off another set of keys a few days later, and then just yesterday he put some venetian blinds in the bedroom window (and left the curtains up as well). Plus, he fixed one of the toilets and said he'll look to the other as soon as he can, but apparently the previous tenants did something with it and he needs to get some parts.

Now is that service, or what?

I also discovered that the thermostat in my apartment apparently has an on-off timer wired to the clock. The timing mechanism - weirdly - is mechanical in nature, not electrical. And so is the clock. Plus, not only does the clock seem to lose time quite rapidly, but one of the gizmos that makes the timer work seems to be broken. So I'll probably mention this to the landlord, too. I'm almost afraid to - he might storm in and replace it with a fancy electronic thermostat. (Yes, I'm being silly.) Still, figuring this all out explains why the heat has not been behaving quite as well as I'd like.

Well, the landlord is one reason I took this place: I had a good feeling about him when I saw the apartment last March. Good to know that when I actually know what to look for, I seem to do a good job. Wish I'd known more about what I really wanted when I was looking last March...

My thigh is doing much better, thanks. I woke up yesterday and it felt only mildly sore - and so did the other one, probably from just the exercise. However, the pulled muscle also ached when I put pressure on it. So I wasn't imagining it.

And today they still are very mildly sore, but it's only noticible when I'm specifically looking for it. So, no permanent damage, it seems. I might even try going jogging tomorrow.

I've sort of been slogging my way through work this week. I'm setting things up for a new set of tests, using technology I haven't really used before. Trying to figure this technology out, and determine if it meets my needs, has been a slow process. I had what I think (hope) is a small breakthrough while sitting in a meeting today. I made some preliminary stabs at working through it before I left for the day, and will try it for real tomorrow. If it works, then I should be in a good position to move full steam ahead.

At last.

I've not been sleeping enough lately, either. I've been sleeping an hour later than usual, and have been much more tired most of the time. Working out less - as I have been for the last three weeks for a variety of reasons - probably has something to do with it. Lack of discipline is also likely a factor. I must get to bed earlier. Getting up in the morning is hard enough. I should at least get enough sleep (which for me is 8-to-9 hours), too.

Television notes: I decided to drop Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from my schedule. Just too formulaic and I didn't care much about the characters (especially the badly-written person pretending to be John Munch from Homicide). I'm feeling a little iffy about 7 Days after the last episode, but will stick with it a while longer. I'm not as pumped up about The West Wing as I am about Sports Night (which is back in its regular Tuesday slot now that sweeps month is over), but it's enjoyable.

I've also added the Avengers Saturday-morning show to my taping schedule, but have yet to see an episode.