Down in the Hole

-OR-
My real estate situation is paining.

So for the last 5-6 years (who knows?) I've lived in an unusual, character-filled 1800s house in Stone Hill, a very old neighborhood in Baltimore that I consider part of Hampden (although I'm quite sure the people who paid $350K-$1M for their homes do not). The house is quaint- 6 and 1/2 foot to 7 foot ceilings, three floors, "chimney" staircase- so the rent is cheap. I'm one of only a few renters in the neighborhood and my house is the smallest and not in the state my neighbors would prefer. I get criticisms about the landscaping (I try to keep it neat but I'm no gardener, sometimes there will be weeds IN MY YARD), if my car bumper is in front of their property, blah, blah, blah. We live in a city, not the suburbs.

And, frankly, over the last two years the place has fallen apart. I currently have an exposed duct heating system in my kitchen (rather than in the wall) because the wiring is so old that it would have been too expensive to hard-wire it. There is a large section of my kitchen floor that is plywood because it started to collapse a few months ago and had to be replaced. Last week I had no electricity for a day. Oh and the bathroom and third floor aren't insulated.

So I'm looking for a place for under $1,000 a month in Hampden. For two people, that's not a shoebox because it's my brother living with me still and we need some space.

HA! NOT LIKELY.
So I'm stuck in this cold collapsing shack surrounded by snotty neighbors FOREVER.
WAH.

What's your theological worldview?

What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Classical Liberal You are a classical liberal. You are sceptical about much of the historicity of the Bible, and the most important thing Jesus has done is to set us a good moral example that we are to follow. Doctrines like the trinity and the incarnation are speculative and not really important, and in the face of science and philosophy the surest way we can be certain about God is by our inner awareness of him. Discipleship is expressed by good moral behaviour, but inward religious feeling is most important. Classical Liberal 75% Emergent/Postmodern 75% Modern Liberal 71% Roman Catholic 46% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 43% Charismatic/Pentecostal 39% Neo orthodox 36% Reformed Evangelical 11% Fundamentalist 4%

99.9% « The Website of Unknowing

99.9% « The Website of Unknowing

Thanks to DiSnazzio for showing me this site! Carl McColman's Blog on "Cafeteria Catholics" (those who choose to be Catholic while differing with the Church on issues of doctrine) was amazing.

“Cafeteria Catholic” and “the cafeteria is closed” are insults, typically used to imply that conscientious dissidents are traitors — disloyal to the church.I find it odd that the traditionalists would dare to accuse others of being traitorous, since Christ suggested that the one who calls another a traitor will answer for it in hell fire (Matthew 5:22).

Meanwhile, statements like “one cannot be 99.9% Catholic” are forms of judgment. So anyone who says something like this appears to be disobeying Christ’s command as laid out in Matthew 7:1.

Definitely check out the rest of the article if you are interested. I found it a relief to read what I somehow knew from a young age, that it's OK to not agree with everything "The Church" tells you, that you can believe it's a good thing without believing everything they say, that the sum outweighs its parts.

My baby goes under the knife- on tv.

This was definitely the most interesting Valentine's I'm likely to ever have (since I'm not particularly fond of the day, single or no)!

Stella got spayed.

You're gonna do whaaat?
Aw hell to the naw.

But as a supermodel!
Well, that's different. I accept.


The Maryland SPCA here in Baltimore City opened a new low cost spay/neuter clinic and she was the "model" pit bull puppy for the procedure- since all their puppies are fixed before adoption they wanted a community pit bull to use as an example.

Now, the fact that she has a heart on her chest, and that she turned 4 months old, all on Valentine's Day?

...and is not afraid to pose nude?

All a coincidence- it's all about who you know and the wonderful man who adopted her mother (a shout-out to Vince C!) knew the Development Director at MD-SPCA and suggested Stella.

More surprising- we ended up being featured on two local newscasts as part of the story: WJZ (CBS) filmed part of her surgery (don't worry, no gross stuff) and WMAR (ABC) was really funny. The opening was also covered in the Baltimore Sun although we weren't mentioned.

The MD-SPCA people did a fantastic job- everyone was so nice and just perfect, really. Stella is doing wonderfully (although cranky that she can't be as active as usual) and I couldn't have asked for a better experience.


I can has sticks AND chewies again?

Baby, I'm a Star.

My puppy is a star! (And I am a stage mom.)

The Maryland SPCA is opening a new spay & neuter clinic for low-income eligible pet owners here in Baltimore- hoping that it will encourage owners to get their animals spayed/neutered without as much of a concern for costs. They wanted to use a pit bull/pit bull mix puppy both to educate about the breed and to encourage people to spay/neuter their pit bulls and other popular "city dogs". Since they spay their puppies before adoption they were looking for one in the city still needing to be spayed- and my sweet Stella fit the bill.

Not only will my puppy with a little heart on her chest be celebrating Valentine's Day by getting "fixed" but I just realized that the 14th will be Stella's birthday (4 months old!) That is a whole lotta coincidences, yes?

If you (or anyone) is interested, there are pictures of her here (lots of new ones):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/annrc/sets/72157602744958902/