South of Sunnyside

My flight out of Fresno with Kim is delayed an hour, though we weren’t informed of this until after we boarded.

So I’m sitting here.

And I’m thinking.

And I’m wondering at what point it was decided that airplane seats should be built to fit the “average” person. Because, evidently, that person is four to six inches shorter than me, and evidently a bit…um…narrower.

Then again, maybe I’m cranky from only getting only two and a half hours of sleep. I’d take a nap if I could contort my body to fit this seat.

Rain is refreshing. But hail? That’s just…unacceptable. C’mon, Fresno, it’s almost April.

I’ve tried to contact CitiMortgage to discuss any options I may or may not have for repackaging the mortgages on our house. I stopped trying after wasting 90 minutes on the phone and not receiving legitimate responses to my web inquiries. If I stopped paying, I joked, then they might be willing to talk.

I do not plan to stop making mortgage payments, or to ask for a mark down on the loan value, or to ask for any sort of hand out. But I think I scared the lender this month: instead of making an online payment, I sent checks (two mortgages, two checks), which hadn’t arrived as of Monday.

I disregarded their first email, which expressed empathy for any situation I may be facing. The second email, on the other hand, ticked me off. It stated that Citi had been unable to reach me. My response:

You haven’t been trying to reach me. You’ve been spamming my email. If you want to reach me, try the phone: [number removed].

My mortgage payment was mailed, because at 10:00 on 3/9, you wanted to charge me an additional “online transaction” fee of $10 per mortgage.

Thanks for your concern,

james

As expected, I received an automated email that told me not to reply to that address, but it also indicated that the message had been sent. I was certain I wouldn’t hear from the company.

Yesterday, however, I missed a call at the number I provided. The caller didn’t leave a message, but a Google search indicated that it was CitiMortgage.

Did I really get their attention?

I really want to do it. I’ve been saying I would, and that this was the year. Yet, the only thing growing in my back yard is some strange combination of grass and weeds. Oh, and black widows—those seem to grow big there.

I keep letting my nerves come between me and a garden. I have to move sprinklers around, and build a fence (the labor isn’t an issue, but understanding the mechanics of sprinklers is). I have to build beds. And get soil. And fertilize. And water. And seed. And eat—but that’s the good part.

Surely, there’s a gardening book for dummies, right? One that embraces the unique climate of the Central Valley? One that provides an estimated cost for all that’s needed?