life as a dog…

Stupid Target. I take my roll, tell them NOT to cut the negatives. I go back to pick them up and what did they do? Cut them. “sorry…I got busy and forgot.” Last time I take them there. That and the fact that all of the prints are way out of focus – there is NO way that ALL of my pictures are out of focus. I might have a couple, but all 24? NO way. So now I need to go over them with the Loupe and see how sharp they are, and then take them to Ace Photo (a real camera shop) and have them do prints. Stupid Target.

Wow, it’s a beautiful day out. Sunny and warm (well, relatively speaking). It’s supposed to hit near 60 today, I think. So today is “go through the garage” day. I need to start paring down even more, in preparation for trying to find a new place to live.

Yesterday, I went to Mount Vernon to take some pics. Unfortunately, I shot print film instead of slide. Actually, I did that on purpose – several reasons. 1. To get rid of the print stuff I have left. 2. Just in case the camera decided to malfunction again. 3. I have no way to scan slides right now, but can do prints. 4. It was 400 speed film, everything else I have is 100 or lower – not good for areas in complete shadows. 5. There was another reason, and I can’t think of it right now.

I’m going to take it to Target today to get developed. So I might even be able to get it online tonight. It’s only one roll.

At some point, I want to get to some other places within driving distance. I need to go to all the monuments, Mount Vernon again when the trees start sprouting, Monticello at some point (it’s about a 4 hour drive, so I just have to plan for that one). Also I need to get down to Williamsburg sometime (I’ve been before, but didn’t have my camera, so no pictures, obviously), the Chesapeake Bridge-Tunnel (mentioned before), Antietam Battlefield (I’m kinda surprised I haven’t bothered going yet, as it’s only about an hour away at best, Harper’s Ferry (been once, no pictures), the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress. I’ve been to most of these, but haven’t gone to take pictures.

Thank you Mr. President. Thank you for spitting on the Constitution of the United States in full view of the public. Nice to know that you understand what it means to be an American.

It’s a shameful, shameful day today.

What a strange day…

I get to work, and my boss brings me a paper mentioning the Beatles song, “Taxman.” Huh? Turns out Loudoun County, where I used to live, has placed a tax lien on my truck! Why?? I look at it, and it’s obvious it’s for Personal Property Tax (hence the truck). But I KNOW I don’t owe them anything. As luck would have it, I was just going through all my old vehicle registrations and such. So I go through it again, and find my receipt for paying 2002 taxes to Loudoun. Then I find my form from Fairfax County stating I moved on January 1st, 2003. So this makes NO sense. Does Loudoun seem to think I was still living there in 2003? That’s all I can figure. Do these counties not talk to each other? So I call them. I find out the lien was placed on the 12th of February. But on the 13th, they’ve adjusted it, and I owe them nothing. What the hell?? Now I’m concerned that the lien may show up on my title, or worse…on my credit report. What idiots!! I find out from a friend that they went after HER, too! And she knows 3 other people they went after!! Are these people idiots? I am thinking of going up to Loudoun County courthouse and finding out more. This really pisses me off.

On a better note, I get home to find that I got a check for $13.86 for the music industry anti-trust settlement. Well, it’s not $20, but it’s better than nothing.

As you might have noticed, I added a link for Roadside America. I’d love to just go driving around the country finding quirky stuff like that. Fun stuff.