Mom called this morning. It's a bit weird to be having long phone conversations with her while I'm at work, but then again, it is the place where I'm easiest to get a hold of. I don't always have my cell phone on me (much less turned on) and almost never answer the home phone even when I am home, so that cuts the options down a bit. Anyway, nothing's gone wrong at home lately. In fact, Mom got out on her own the other day and except for the driving part -my nieces are apparently bad, bad backseat drivers- it was a good thing for her since she saw a lot of people she normally doesn't see, and it sounds like it was a real boost to her morale. Which she needs, since her vision is starting to degenerate thanks to the diabetes and she hasn't replaced her glasses yet because money is tight.

My brother appears to be doing okay at the hotel job (he's an assistant manager for Holiday Inn), working hard and putting in the hours. Mom complained about his smoking and drinking, which is understandable but a waste of time, and also about his bill-paying, which she feels he hasn't been doing enough of. I can appreciate how Carlos feels about it. It's awful hard to restrain one's appetites when one is single -or worse yet, divorced. It took me long enough to realize that I needed to quit spending so damn much money on anime and manga and get a handle on the bills.

Went to Jimmy John's today for lunch after mailing out a book sold through half.com, and I will note that in the future, if I am going to buy jalapeno chips I should just pick up the bag and wave it at the cashier, otherwise he'll think I want actual peppers in my sandwich. Ewww.