I just realized that if I threw in one more post this month, I'd be up to NINE posts for the month -- a record for this year! (That's pretty sad... :)) So here ya go:
Happy Halloween!!
And that's pretty much all I've got for now. But hey, I made it all fancy for ya and everything... I mean, it must've taken me 50 whole seconds to color every other letter of that phrase orange. I spare no effort for you guys. ;)
See you in November!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Some random stuff...
Happy Monday, everyone! Normally I wouldn't be quite so chipper on a Monday, but this is my LAST WEEK of work!! (Oh my gosh, I just realized that in a week, I'll be able to sleep past 5:30 on Monday morning... I. Can. Not. Wait. :)) And then we will commence with the mad dash to pack up and move... the next few weeks are going to be veeeeery interesting...
Craziness abounds at the moment, so here are some random thoughts that I plucked from my discombobulated mind:
Hey, look at that -- I managed to post 8 times in a month again! Who's impressed? Anyone?? Anyone at all?? No? Just me, then? Okay...
So is it silly that since Rachel mentioned the Trader Joe's near our temporary apartment, that I'm even MORE excited to live there for a little while? 600 square feet? Ha! Bring it on... :) Seriously, I've wanted to visit a Trader Joe's for the longest time -- I read a bunch of healthy living/food blogs and people are constantly mentioning the various items they've bought at Trader Joe's. And I'm always like, "why can't we get one of those HERE??" What, because Whole Foods started in Austin, they've got a monopoly on the market market? (Yes, I DID say the "market market"...) By the way, a quick internet search for "Trader Joe's Austin" brought up a "petition to bring Trader Joe's to Austin." So I'm not the only person who wishes there was one in this city...
I just realized that I have yet to tell the harrowing tale of the Ugly Naked Tourist: When we were in Chicago last week, we stayed in a hotel with a view of the hotel across the street. The morning that we left, I noticed there was a meeting room on the third or fourth floor of the hotel, and a bunch of people were gathered around a conference table (looking rather bored, if you ask me). We went to breakfast, came back, and they were still there... an hour later, STILL there. I was starting to feel really sorry for these people stuck in the seemingly endless meeting. So right before we checked out, I decided to look out my window once more and see if they were still in the meeting. The rest went something like this:
Me (Running from window and covering my eyes): EEEEEEEWWWW... EWEWEWEWEWEWEW!!!
Rick thought perhaps the guy was under the impression that his window was tinted, but when I told Eric about it, he said it was probably some weirdo exhibitionist. Which, I think, makes it even worse, because apparently he was standing there HOPING some unsuspecting girl in the hotel across the street would notice him. Ughhh... ick...
And oh yeah, those people were STILL stuck in that meeting... :)
Craziness abounds at the moment, so here are some random thoughts that I plucked from my discombobulated mind:
Hey, look at that -- I managed to post 8 times in a month again! Who's impressed? Anyone?? Anyone at all?? No? Just me, then? Okay...
So is it silly that since Rachel mentioned the Trader Joe's near our temporary apartment, that I'm even MORE excited to live there for a little while? 600 square feet? Ha! Bring it on... :) Seriously, I've wanted to visit a Trader Joe's for the longest time -- I read a bunch of healthy living/food blogs and people are constantly mentioning the various items they've bought at Trader Joe's. And I'm always like, "why can't we get one of those HERE??" What, because Whole Foods started in Austin, they've got a monopoly on the market market? (Yes, I DID say the "market market"...) By the way, a quick internet search for "Trader Joe's Austin" brought up a "petition to bring Trader Joe's to Austin." So I'm not the only person who wishes there was one in this city...
I just realized that I have yet to tell the harrowing tale of the Ugly Naked Tourist: When we were in Chicago last week, we stayed in a hotel with a view of the hotel across the street. The morning that we left, I noticed there was a meeting room on the third or fourth floor of the hotel, and a bunch of people were gathered around a conference table (looking rather bored, if you ask me). We went to breakfast, came back, and they were still there... an hour later, STILL there. I was starting to feel really sorry for these people stuck in the seemingly endless meeting. So right before we checked out, I decided to look out my window once more and see if they were still in the meeting. The rest went something like this:
Now where was that conference room? The fourth floor? I think it's somewhere near that guy with the towel... wait... what is he doing with that towel? Wait, wait WAIT -- what's underneath the towel??? Is he... is that guy... no, don't move the towel! Don't move the towel!! Oh nononononononono...
Me: Nooooooo...
Rick: What's the matter?
Me: Uhh, is that guy standing in the window across the street naked???
Rick (after a cursory glance): Yup.
Rick thought perhaps the guy was under the impression that his window was tinted, but when I told Eric about it, he said it was probably some weirdo exhibitionist. Which, I think, makes it even worse, because apparently he was standing there HOPING some unsuspecting girl in the hotel across the street would notice him. Ughhh... ick...
And oh yeah, those people were STILL stuck in that meeting... :)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh! Part 2...
(Random thought: I don't know WHAT is out in the Austin air today, but I am feeling extremely allergic to something right now... And a frantic search through my bag has turned up nothing but benadryl, which I can't take during the day because I'll fall asleep... Although if this keeps up for much longer, I may have to make an exception...)
Anyway, back to the subject that is taking up the majority of my brain space at the moment: moving to Chicago!! So far, it looks like the plan (what there IS of one) is to commence with the moving process right after Eric's wedding, which is going to make for an extremely busy couple of weeks. (Sheesh, Eric, couldn't you have gotten married at a time that was more convenient for me?? ;)) We've already signed a lease on a temporary apartment downtown, where we'll stay while we continue to condo-hunt and wait for our house here to sell. I'm reeeeaaaaallly hoping it will sell quickly. And I'm not just saying that because I'm anxious to get settled into a permanent residence (although I am), but also because our temporary apartment is about 600 square feet...
And honestly, I'm not sure I've EVER lived in a 600 square foot apartment. My first apartment was about 1000 sf, I think -- although it was a two-bedroom and I had a roommate. And when Rick and I were first married, I think our apartment was about 800 sf? Maybe 900? Anyway, this extreme, immediate downsizing should be interesting... The bedroom doesn't even have a door... which, I just realized, means I can't throw Riff out when he's being annoying in the middle of the night. Oh boy... this is going to be veeeeeery interesting...
The good thing is that this apartment is in a great location that we're already pretty familiar with, so I have my Argo Tea/Starbucks locations mapped out already. AND there's a Whole Foods in the building, so grocery shopping will be easy. And really, if you have groceries and coffee, what more do you need?? (Maybe a winter coat... yes, definitely a winter coat...)
I'm going between panic and excitement right now -- I mean, in less than a month, most of our stuff will be in storage, we'll be living in a tiny little downtown Chicago apartment, and a REAL winter will be unleashing its freezing cold fury upon us... and while I'm slightly freaking out over the planning that still needs to be done, I'm actually more excited than anything else. This is going to be a huge change for us, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds...
That is, if anything CAN unfold in a 600 square foot apartment... :)
Anyway, back to the subject that is taking up the majority of my brain space at the moment: moving to Chicago!! So far, it looks like the plan (what there IS of one) is to commence with the moving process right after Eric's wedding, which is going to make for an extremely busy couple of weeks. (Sheesh, Eric, couldn't you have gotten married at a time that was more convenient for me?? ;)) We've already signed a lease on a temporary apartment downtown, where we'll stay while we continue to condo-hunt and wait for our house here to sell. I'm reeeeaaaaallly hoping it will sell quickly. And I'm not just saying that because I'm anxious to get settled into a permanent residence (although I am), but also because our temporary apartment is about 600 square feet...
And honestly, I'm not sure I've EVER lived in a 600 square foot apartment. My first apartment was about 1000 sf, I think -- although it was a two-bedroom and I had a roommate. And when Rick and I were first married, I think our apartment was about 800 sf? Maybe 900? Anyway, this extreme, immediate downsizing should be interesting... The bedroom doesn't even have a door... which, I just realized, means I can't throw Riff out when he's being annoying in the middle of the night. Oh boy... this is going to be veeeeeery interesting...
The good thing is that this apartment is in a great location that we're already pretty familiar with, so I have my Argo Tea/Starbucks locations mapped out already. AND there's a Whole Foods in the building, so grocery shopping will be easy. And really, if you have groceries and coffee, what more do you need?? (Maybe a winter coat... yes, definitely a winter coat...)
I'm going between panic and excitement right now -- I mean, in less than a month, most of our stuff will be in storage, we'll be living in a tiny little downtown Chicago apartment, and a REAL winter will be unleashing its freezing cold fury upon us... and while I'm slightly freaking out over the planning that still needs to be done, I'm actually more excited than anything else. This is going to be a huge change for us, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds...
That is, if anything CAN unfold in a 600 square foot apartment... :)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Comfortability, revisited...
So Faisal, the Master Aficionado of Comfortability Extraordinaire (aka MACE... and yes, I DID spend several minutes coming up with an acronym), sent me a message last night to inform me of the fact that a baseball commentator had used the made-up word "comfortability" on the air, thus, apparently lending credence to its so-called "right" to be a real word. Much like Pinocchio wished to be a real boy, comfortability wishes to be a real word. (Shut up, Singing Cricket... you can wish upon all the stars you want... it won't change anything...)
Just a few weeks ago, my friend Nick posted something on his Facebook wall about how he'd heard a sports commentator use the made-up word "physicaling." It was used in the sentence, "Right now, South Carolina is just out physicaling Georgia." (Perhaps that should be hyphenated? Out-physicaling?) I only mention this to illustrate the fact that many sports commentators aren't exactly English-language experts. (Perhaps a few are, who knows. But they're certainly not the ones using "comfortability" and "physicaling." ;))
I, being a nerdy kinda girl, have many language pet peeves that probably roll right off the backs (or off the ears... or eyes, depending on the medium...) of most English-language speakers. Comfortability and physicaling aside, there are quite a few words that are commonly misused that tend to drive me crazy. (I suppose I shouldn't let such things bother me... :)) There are the easy-to-miss-one-letter-on-the-keyboard words like choose and chose and lose and loose (although I've seen them interchanged so frequently that I have to assume some people don't realize they're different words...); and then there are the "you should know which ones to use by now" words like then and than, your and you're, and there, their and they're. (Really, you should KNOW which ones to use by now...).
And then there's the Me vs. I Conundrum, which I've become even more acutely aware of since joining Facebook. People love to post pictures of themselves with their friends/family/dogs/whoever... and it is very rare that I see a correctly captioned photo. Almost everyone -- even people who are decent writers -- will caption a photo with something like, "my dog and I," or "Joe, John, Jimmy and I." It seems that, after years of hearing the "so-and-so and I" format (who didn't have an English teacher who drilled that into their head??), we've become too scared to use "so-and-so and ME," even when "me" is the proper word. You wouldn't say, "here's a picture of I..." You'd say, "here's a picture of me." In the same way, the proper way to caption a photo would be, "my dog and me" or "Joe, John, Jimmy and me." This is ME. Not, "this is I."
Okay, I'm getting too nerdy even for my own taste... I want to push myself into a locker and call myself "teacher's pet." I should obviously shut up now. Right after I let the MACE know how wrong he is... (And, by the way, I am hoping I didn't make any mistakes in this post... because no doubt someone... SOMEone... will feel compelled to point them out to me... :))
I'm off to post some Facebook pictures of my cat... and me...
Just a few weeks ago, my friend Nick posted something on his Facebook wall about how he'd heard a sports commentator use the made-up word "physicaling." It was used in the sentence, "Right now, South Carolina is just out physicaling Georgia." (Perhaps that should be hyphenated? Out-physicaling?) I only mention this to illustrate the fact that many sports commentators aren't exactly English-language experts. (Perhaps a few are, who knows. But they're certainly not the ones using "comfortability" and "physicaling." ;))
I, being a nerdy kinda girl, have many language pet peeves that probably roll right off the backs (or off the ears... or eyes, depending on the medium...) of most English-language speakers. Comfortability and physicaling aside, there are quite a few words that are commonly misused that tend to drive me crazy. (I suppose I shouldn't let such things bother me... :)) There are the easy-to-miss-one-letter-on-the-keyboard words like choose and chose and lose and loose (although I've seen them interchanged so frequently that I have to assume some people don't realize they're different words...); and then there are the "you should know which ones to use by now" words like then and than, your and you're, and there, their and they're. (Really, you should KNOW which ones to use by now...).
And then there's the Me vs. I Conundrum, which I've become even more acutely aware of since joining Facebook. People love to post pictures of themselves with their friends/family/dogs/whoever... and it is very rare that I see a correctly captioned photo. Almost everyone -- even people who are decent writers -- will caption a photo with something like, "my dog and I," or "Joe, John, Jimmy and I." It seems that, after years of hearing the "so-and-so and I" format (who didn't have an English teacher who drilled that into their head??), we've become too scared to use "so-and-so and ME," even when "me" is the proper word. You wouldn't say, "here's a picture of I..." You'd say, "here's a picture of me." In the same way, the proper way to caption a photo would be, "my dog and me" or "Joe, John, Jimmy and me." This is ME. Not, "this is I."
Okay, I'm getting too nerdy even for my own taste... I want to push myself into a locker and call myself "teacher's pet." I should obviously shut up now. Right after I let the MACE know how wrong he is... (And, by the way, I am hoping I didn't make any mistakes in this post... because no doubt someone... SOMEone... will feel compelled to point them out to me... :))
I'm off to post some Facebook pictures of my cat... and me...
Monday, October 18, 2010
Soon to return...
We're leaving Chicago this afternoon, after a much-too-quick condo-searching expedition. We also had the chance to hang out with Dave and Faisal this weekend -- I hadn't seen either one of them in... years? I think? A really, really long time, anyway. And I'm still amazed by how much food Dave manages to eat... I think he may have four stomachs... like a cow. Yeah. Dave MIGHT be part cow. Just sayin'... :) And we got a chance to see Faisal's new place in the city (getting to it was quite the adventure -- perhaps when I have more time I can describe our journey in detail), which has an AWESOME view and tons of light. As someone whose mood is directly affected by sunlight, I was impressed by the amount of luminosity. However, I didn't spend enough time there to comment on the comfortability... maybe another time...
We found a few condos we're very interested in, so now we have millions of little details to work out so we can figure out when/what to put an offer on. It seems to be complicated, judging from the phone calls Rick has been making this morning... but hopefully in another month or so, we'll have a solid plan in place...
I'm always sad to leave Chicago, but perhaps this time it'll be sliiiiightly easier to get on that plane back to Austin, since I know that the moment I get back home I'll be hard at work getting ready to move. (Cleaning... so much cleaning... so... much... cleaning...)
See you back in Austin....
We found a few condos we're very interested in, so now we have millions of little details to work out so we can figure out when/what to put an offer on. It seems to be complicated, judging from the phone calls Rick has been making this morning... but hopefully in another month or so, we'll have a solid plan in place...
I'm always sad to leave Chicago, but perhaps this time it'll be sliiiiightly easier to get on that plane back to Austin, since I know that the moment I get back home I'll be hard at work getting ready to move. (Cleaning... so much cleaning... so... much... cleaning...)
See you back in Austin....
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!
That would be the sound my brain is making right now, as it attempts to wrap itself around the inevitability of the busyness that abounds. We've got an impromptu condo-searching trip to Chicago planned for this weekend, which means I have to pack tonight... but we also have two realtors and possibly a mover (? I can't remember) coming by on Tuesday, Wednesday and possibly Thursday next week. Which means I also need to clean the house at the same time I'm packing, because I obviously can't clean it this weekend, and I won't have time on Tuesday before the realtor shows up. Fortunately, the house doesn't need to be immaculate at this point -- we're not actually showing it to people yet -- but it still needs to be presentable. I'd hate for a realtor to go into my closet and see the dozens of shoes thrown haphazardly on the floor, or to see all the junk mail that has piled up on my kitchen counter...
Our awesome Chicago realtor has some places lined up for us to see on Saturday. (By the way, if anyone is in the market for a place in Chicago, I HAVE to refer you to our realtor. She's like a Chicago Real Estate Superhero... she tromps through foot-high snowdrifts in boots with four-inch stiletto heels and maneuvers her SUV through the streets like an Indy driver... and then she double-parks and doesn't care who sees. She also finds EXACTLY the kinds of things you're looking for, so you don't waste any time seeing places you'd never think of buying. Oh, and I think she's a triathlete or something... because even though she's shorter than I am, I wouldn't want to make her mad if I met her in a dark alley...)
So tonight we're ordering pizza, throwing some stuff into suitcases, Windexing the bathroom mirrors and vacuuming the house. I should probably also throw out the junk mail and try to organize my shoes. And then some time between trying to remember to pack dental floss and showing my ID at the airport check-in counter, I have to sleep, make oatmeal and work for a few hours. But, if I emerge with my sanity intact, I shall be rewarded with Chicago rush-hour traffic on the way to the hotel... wait... that doesn't sound like a reward. Okay, if I survive THAT with my sanity intact, I shall be rewarded with Starbucks coffee in the shop next door to the hotel. Yeah, that sounds much more rewarding... :)
And can somebody tell me why I'm still writing when I have so much to do?? :)
Our awesome Chicago realtor has some places lined up for us to see on Saturday. (By the way, if anyone is in the market for a place in Chicago, I HAVE to refer you to our realtor. She's like a Chicago Real Estate Superhero... she tromps through foot-high snowdrifts in boots with four-inch stiletto heels and maneuvers her SUV through the streets like an Indy driver... and then she double-parks and doesn't care who sees. She also finds EXACTLY the kinds of things you're looking for, so you don't waste any time seeing places you'd never think of buying. Oh, and I think she's a triathlete or something... because even though she's shorter than I am, I wouldn't want to make her mad if I met her in a dark alley...)
So tonight we're ordering pizza, throwing some stuff into suitcases, Windexing the bathroom mirrors and vacuuming the house. I should probably also throw out the junk mail and try to organize my shoes. And then some time between trying to remember to pack dental floss and showing my ID at the airport check-in counter, I have to sleep, make oatmeal and work for a few hours. But, if I emerge with my sanity intact, I shall be rewarded with Chicago rush-hour traffic on the way to the hotel... wait... that doesn't sound like a reward. Okay, if I survive THAT with my sanity intact, I shall be rewarded with Starbucks coffee in the shop next door to the hotel. Yeah, that sounds much more rewarding... :)
And can somebody tell me why I'm still writing when I have so much to do?? :)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
And THIS time, we mean it...
If you're one of the three or four people who've been reading my blog for a few years, you will recall that back in 2008, we were waiting anxiously to hear about a job in Chicago. And it was taking a long time. Like a REALLY long time. In fact, I wrote a day-by-day recap of the whole ordeal. Everything was held up in human resources, apparently... and I, being curious, delved deep into the jungles of Costa Rica to search for the person in charge of this slow-as-molasses department:
Just as I suspected. A tree sloth...
Well, recently, Rick and I got to experience round two of the Great Chicago Unknown. I kept it off the blog this time, since I know there are a few people where I work who read the blog now and then. And I believe it's generally frowned upon, when you're employed, to talk about how you hope to be leaving your job soon to move across the country.
But the cat's out of the bag and the dog's out of the grocery cart and the coffee has been poured out of the carafe (yeah, I have no idea where "the cat's out of the bag" came from -- why was the cat IN the bag to begin with???), so I can finally say this:
WE'RE MOVING TO CHICAGO!!!!!!
I shall return with more details soon... :)
Well, recently, Rick and I got to experience round two of the Great Chicago Unknown. I kept it off the blog this time, since I know there are a few people where I work who read the blog now and then. And I believe it's generally frowned upon, when you're employed, to talk about how you hope to be leaving your job soon to move across the country.
But the cat's out of the bag and the dog's out of the grocery cart and the coffee has been poured out of the carafe (yeah, I have no idea where "the cat's out of the bag" came from -- why was the cat IN the bag to begin with???), so I can finally say this:
WE'RE MOVING TO CHICAGO!!!!!!
I shall return with more details soon... :)
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Crazy cat lady...
I told Eric I was going to blog about this to make him jealous, so here we go: I made butternut squash soup for dinner. Yuuuum. Although Eric should be happy to hear that it was NOT Basil Leaf butternut squash soup (which I think is more of a pear-sweetened soup with hints of cinnamon), but rather a savory, curried butternut squash soup, with black beans and garbanzos thrown in for good measure. I was surprised by how good it turned out, actually -- I didn't have a recipe, so I just kind of guessed at what might taste good. Fortunately, I made some good guesses. Even Rick (who gave me a, "did you put curry in this? I don't like curry..." when I gave him his bowl of soup) ate every last bit. (So I guess the curry wasn't THAT bad?? ;))
And on another topic entirely -- apparently I am the crazy cat lady. No, I haven't brought another cat home -- still only two little furballs in my house -- but I DO seem to keep taking pictures of them. But c'mon -- they're so photogenic:
Yes, I went for the black-and-white setting on my camera... the mood was not unlike that time I was arrested in Albania and had to pose for the mugshot:
Yeah, don't ask about THAT night... (No, really, don't ask, because I have no idea why Albania was the first country that popped into my head, OR why I'm having delusions of being arrested there... and can I just ask -- WHAT is going on with my hair??) Sigh... I seriously need some focus in my life so I can write about something coherent for a post or two... Although I'm definitely living up to my "random tangents" moniker. So I'll just take what I can get for now. :)
And on another topic entirely -- apparently I am the crazy cat lady. No, I haven't brought another cat home -- still only two little furballs in my house -- but I DO seem to keep taking pictures of them. But c'mon -- they're so photogenic:
Yes, I went for the black-and-white setting on my camera... the mood was not unlike that time I was arrested in Albania and had to pose for the mugshot:
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Brrrr... sort of...
I am loving the weather here today -- sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and the high was only about 75 degrees. In fact, when Rick and I headed out to the Domain around 11 this morning for brunch, it was almost (ALMOST) cold... it was definitely a bit chilly. I mean, maybe not like Montana "coat-and-scarf" chilly:
And definitely not Chicago "coat-scarf-hat-gloves-I-wish-I-had-something-to-cover-my-face" chilly:
(Chicago "I-wish-I-had-something-to-cover-my-face-I-guess-I'll-use-my-scarf" chilly:)
No, it was not THAT chilly here today... but it WAS close to long-sleeved shirt weather. In fact, for a few minutes this morning, as we walked around the Domain to waste some time before our table at the Steeping Room was ready, I was actually wishing I'd brought a sweater. (This wish dissipated once we'd walked a mile-long lap around the shopping center... I warmed up pretty quickly...)
The weather inspired me to buy some fall-scented candles on the way home, which are now lit and filling the air with waxy pumpkin pie/apple cider smells. I love when there's finally a detectable "change" in the seasons here...
Now I wonder what the odds are of a white Christmas this year? Hmmmm... I can hope... ;)
And definitely not Chicago "coat-scarf-hat-gloves-I-wish-I-had-something-to-cover-my-face" chilly:
(Chicago "I-wish-I-had-something-to-cover-my-face-I-guess-I'll-use-my-scarf" chilly:)
No, it was not THAT chilly here today... but it WAS close to long-sleeved shirt weather. In fact, for a few minutes this morning, as we walked around the Domain to waste some time before our table at the Steeping Room was ready, I was actually wishing I'd brought a sweater. (This wish dissipated once we'd walked a mile-long lap around the shopping center... I warmed up pretty quickly...)
The weather inspired me to buy some fall-scented candles on the way home, which are now lit and filling the air with waxy pumpkin pie/apple cider smells. I love when there's finally a detectable "change" in the seasons here...
Now I wonder what the odds are of a white Christmas this year? Hmmmm... I can hope... ;)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Success... more or less...
It's September 30, which means: I need one more blog post to hit my goal of eight posts for the month! So here we go...
Um, apparently I overestimated my ability to extract worthy blog material from thin air... hold on just a second...
Yep, just as I suspected -- I'm gonna have to resort to my blog topic fall back: random thoughts... really SHORT random thoughts... (sorry, it's the best I can do right now... :))
1) Is tomorrow seriously October?? This year is going by too quickly...
2) We had a fire drill at work yesterday. It felt like being in grade school again. Except for the eardrum-poppingly loud alarm in the building. Like RIDICULOUSLY loud. I guess it's to make sure no one will even ATTEMPT to stay inside the building in the case of a real fire...
3) I actually saw a commercial today for Kmart layaway -- for Christmas. Sheesh -- you could at LEAST wait until Halloween. Who starts their Christmas shopping this early, anyway?? (And if you happen to be one of those people -- just shut up. I don't want to hear about how you have everything bought and wrapped by Halloween. ;))
4) Rick and I have discovered a way to keep the cats away from the blinds at night when we're trying to sleep -- a can of compressed air. They HATE the sound it makes -- in fact, ever since we figured out how much they hate the sound of hissing air, they've barely touched the blinds. We keep the can nearby as a deterrent... they dare not anger the Threatening Overlord of Pressurized Air...
5) Hey, tomorrow is Friday!!
6) Is anyone else disturbed by the Old Navy commercials with the mannequins? There's just something really weird about totally immobile "spokespeople"...
Okay, I know it wasn't much, but I DID manage to post eight times this month. Yay me. Sort of... :) Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Um, apparently I overestimated my ability to extract worthy blog material from thin air... hold on just a second...
Yep, just as I suspected -- I'm gonna have to resort to my blog topic fall back: random thoughts... really SHORT random thoughts... (sorry, it's the best I can do right now... :))
1) Is tomorrow seriously October?? This year is going by too quickly...
2) We had a fire drill at work yesterday. It felt like being in grade school again. Except for the eardrum-poppingly loud alarm in the building. Like RIDICULOUSLY loud. I guess it's to make sure no one will even ATTEMPT to stay inside the building in the case of a real fire...
3) I actually saw a commercial today for Kmart layaway -- for Christmas. Sheesh -- you could at LEAST wait until Halloween. Who starts their Christmas shopping this early, anyway?? (And if you happen to be one of those people -- just shut up. I don't want to hear about how you have everything bought and wrapped by Halloween. ;))
4) Rick and I have discovered a way to keep the cats away from the blinds at night when we're trying to sleep -- a can of compressed air. They HATE the sound it makes -- in fact, ever since we figured out how much they hate the sound of hissing air, they've barely touched the blinds. We keep the can nearby as a deterrent... they dare not anger the Threatening Overlord of Pressurized Air...
5) Hey, tomorrow is Friday!!
6) Is anyone else disturbed by the Old Navy commercials with the mannequins? There's just something really weird about totally immobile "spokespeople"...
Okay, I know it wasn't much, but I DID manage to post eight times this month. Yay me. Sort of... :) Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Very random pictures...
Random Riff!
Random fall-colored bowls!
Hmmm... I guess there wasn't much to talk about today? :)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Quick post...
Obviously I need to get writing if I'm hoping to hit my "8 posts in one month" goal... I'm such a blog slacker...
So it was about 68 degrees this morning when I left for work, which is ALMOST cool enough to convince me that tomorrow is the first day of autumn. It's funny -- when I was a kid, I definitely would've said summer was my favorite season. (I suppose EVERY kid's favorite season is summer, though. How can you not love having three whole months to sleep in, hang out with friends and forget about responsibilities??) But now, I think I actually like fall/winter more (down here they kind of meld together into one season... finter... or wall...). The oppressively hot days are finally over, television starts to get interesting again after months of reruns (although I have to admit -- I hate the end of baseball season... :)), and, perhaps most importantly, Starbucks begins rolling out its seasonal drinks -- first pumpkin lattes and cinnamon-laced ciders, and then, after an entire spring, summer and fall of waiting, the WINTER drinks. (Oh, peppermint mocha, how I love thee!!) Served, of course, in festive holiday-themed paper cups... even cappuccino tastes better when it's in a festive holiday-themed paper cup...
The danger with all these cooler-weather-inspired seasonal ingredients is that they put all sorts of baking and food ideas in my head. I'd stay in my kitchen baking frosted sugar cookies all winter if I could... but then I would emerge from my kitchen some time in the spring, looking very much like a polar bear waking from hibernation: covered in white powdered sugar and weighing 300 pounds.
No, as always, I shall do my best to attempt indulgence in moderation. I mean, it certainly wouldn't be any fun to let finter/wall pass without so much as a sip of a gingerbread latte, or a few cookies here or there. But hopefully I can balance that out with some healthy food choices and sticking with my workouts...
SOME of us, however, don't worry about what we eat... we just jump right in:
By the way, the freezer is on the bottom -- so he JUMPED up into the fridge. He's been thinking about it for weeks now, stretching as faaaaaaaar as he can, and meowing pitifully every time I open the door. And he finally went for it... I guess he doesn't care about the cold air...
And of course once you're finished eating, you want to wash it all down with some bottled water:
Ah, cats are fun... :)
So it was about 68 degrees this morning when I left for work, which is ALMOST cool enough to convince me that tomorrow is the first day of autumn. It's funny -- when I was a kid, I definitely would've said summer was my favorite season. (I suppose EVERY kid's favorite season is summer, though. How can you not love having three whole months to sleep in, hang out with friends and forget about responsibilities??) But now, I think I actually like fall/winter more (down here they kind of meld together into one season... finter... or wall...). The oppressively hot days are finally over, television starts to get interesting again after months of reruns (although I have to admit -- I hate the end of baseball season... :)), and, perhaps most importantly, Starbucks begins rolling out its seasonal drinks -- first pumpkin lattes and cinnamon-laced ciders, and then, after an entire spring, summer and fall of waiting, the WINTER drinks. (Oh, peppermint mocha, how I love thee!!) Served, of course, in festive holiday-themed paper cups... even cappuccino tastes better when it's in a festive holiday-themed paper cup...
The danger with all these cooler-weather-inspired seasonal ingredients is that they put all sorts of baking and food ideas in my head. I'd stay in my kitchen baking frosted sugar cookies all winter if I could... but then I would emerge from my kitchen some time in the spring, looking very much like a polar bear waking from hibernation: covered in white powdered sugar and weighing 300 pounds.
No, as always, I shall do my best to attempt indulgence in moderation. I mean, it certainly wouldn't be any fun to let finter/wall pass without so much as a sip of a gingerbread latte, or a few cookies here or there. But hopefully I can balance that out with some healthy food choices and sticking with my workouts...
SOME of us, however, don't worry about what we eat... we just jump right in:
And of course once you're finished eating, you want to wash it all down with some bottled water:
Thursday, September 16, 2010
More randomness...
Argh!! I logged into Blogger to begin writing my 5th post of the month (since we are now more than halfway through September and I am only halfway to my goal of 8 posts...) and I discovered that I have a total of exactly 666 posts on my blog. Evil blog... eeeeeeeviiiiil blog... I must perform a blog exorcism -- which involves writing another post so the total will be 667. It's an intricate process, but I think I can handle it...
Actually, I'm at a loss for words tonight (or maybe I'm just tired), so perhaps a few random photos? Sure, why not! :)
By the way, I have no idea who this baby is -- just a random baby on a Hawaiian beach. But it's one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken (and this baby is probably seven or eight years old by now... :)).
Five posts down, three to go!
Actually, I'm at a loss for words tonight (or maybe I'm just tired), so perhaps a few random photos? Sure, why not! :)
Five posts down, three to go!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Random randomness...
Why, oh why, does the weekend always escape my vice-like grip without so much as a struggle? It doesn't even have to try... one moment I have it, held securely between arms that have been toned and strengthened by months of P90X... and the next, it slips away like water -- as if all the power in the world means nothing to that weekend. Insolent weekend -- one day I shall capture you.
I have nothing of substance today, and you know what THAT means: random thoughts!!! :)
1) The rain has stopped and the floods are receding, and we escaped with nothing more than a small leak through one of the vents in our roof. I was slightly panicked when I saw water dripping onto the upstairs hallway floor, but after Rick intrepidly explored the attic to find the source of the leak, it was discovered that the water was NOT coming in through the roof (which was our fear), but rather through a vent, where it dripped down a metal pipe and ended up collecting by the air filter vent in our ceiling. It was probably just so much rain and wind that the vent didn't stand a chance...
2) Also, speaking of the rain... there's a park across the street with a bunch of baseball fields where little league teams play, and the entire park is underwater. It's become something of a tourist attraction, with people turning into the park entrance just to gawk at the brand-new lake. What's more upsetting than the water, though, is the trash that keeps emerging as the water recedes. Cans, bottles, boxes, random paper -- I HOPE that all of that was in garbage cans in the park and it all spilled out when it flooded... however, I know how people are, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if it was all tossed out by motorists in passing cars... For some reason, some people find it extremely difficult to wait five or ten minutes to get to a destination where they can throw their trash away. (And this seems to be especially true for cigarette butts...)
3) A co-worker was talking about her bad eyesight today, and it made me wonder -- how did I end up with such bad eyesight? My mom is a bit nearsighted (her eyesight has never been anywhere near as bad as mine), and my dad is farsighted. Eric has perfect eyesight, and Bob (who is eight years older than I am) has only RECENTLY needed glasses. I've needed glasses since I was 11. How did this happen?? Thank goodness for contact lenses... (and yes, Rick, I know your eyes are great since you got Lasik... I'm just not quite ready to stick my eyeball under a laser yet... :))
4) Riff was "fixed" on Friday (although how could such adorable cuteness ever be "broken"?? :)). I've read that once male cats are neutered, they calm down a little bit and act less aggressive. No more kitty testosterone to feed the craziness. Riff, however, seems to be acting the same as always -- still jumping onto Piva's back when she least suspects it, still pawing at the blinds in the bedroom when we're trying to sleep, still (sometimes literally) bouncing off the walls with energy. Sigh... maybe he'll calm down once he's older... which I hope happens soon -- we need a good night's sleep. :)
5) I made "African sweet potato soup" for dinner -- a recipe out of Shape magazine (or was it Fitness??). It was nice and simple -- garlic and onion, cubed potato and sweet potato, some chicken broth, some canned diced tomatoes, cinnamon, cumin, curry, salt, and... the secret ingredient (okay, it wasn't literally "secret" since it was listed in the recipe -- but it's one of those things you wouldn't think of adding), a dollop of chunky peanut butter. It was soooooo good. I love recipes that call for throwing everything into a single pot and just simmering until done. Another recipe to add to my repertoire...
I guess that's about it for now -- it's almost 8 o'clock... my brain is about to shut down for the night. :) Hope everyone is having a good week!
I have nothing of substance today, and you know what THAT means: random thoughts!!! :)
1) The rain has stopped and the floods are receding, and we escaped with nothing more than a small leak through one of the vents in our roof. I was slightly panicked when I saw water dripping onto the upstairs hallway floor, but after Rick intrepidly explored the attic to find the source of the leak, it was discovered that the water was NOT coming in through the roof (which was our fear), but rather through a vent, where it dripped down a metal pipe and ended up collecting by the air filter vent in our ceiling. It was probably just so much rain and wind that the vent didn't stand a chance...
2) Also, speaking of the rain... there's a park across the street with a bunch of baseball fields where little league teams play, and the entire park is underwater. It's become something of a tourist attraction, with people turning into the park entrance just to gawk at the brand-new lake. What's more upsetting than the water, though, is the trash that keeps emerging as the water recedes. Cans, bottles, boxes, random paper -- I HOPE that all of that was in garbage cans in the park and it all spilled out when it flooded... however, I know how people are, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if it was all tossed out by motorists in passing cars... For some reason, some people find it extremely difficult to wait five or ten minutes to get to a destination where they can throw their trash away. (And this seems to be especially true for cigarette butts...)
3) A co-worker was talking about her bad eyesight today, and it made me wonder -- how did I end up with such bad eyesight? My mom is a bit nearsighted (her eyesight has never been anywhere near as bad as mine), and my dad is farsighted. Eric has perfect eyesight, and Bob (who is eight years older than I am) has only RECENTLY needed glasses. I've needed glasses since I was 11. How did this happen?? Thank goodness for contact lenses... (and yes, Rick, I know your eyes are great since you got Lasik... I'm just not quite ready to stick my eyeball under a laser yet... :))
4) Riff was "fixed" on Friday (although how could such adorable cuteness ever be "broken"?? :)). I've read that once male cats are neutered, they calm down a little bit and act less aggressive. No more kitty testosterone to feed the craziness. Riff, however, seems to be acting the same as always -- still jumping onto Piva's back when she least suspects it, still pawing at the blinds in the bedroom when we're trying to sleep, still (sometimes literally) bouncing off the walls with energy. Sigh... maybe he'll calm down once he's older... which I hope happens soon -- we need a good night's sleep. :)
5) I made "African sweet potato soup" for dinner -- a recipe out of Shape magazine (or was it Fitness??). It was nice and simple -- garlic and onion, cubed potato and sweet potato, some chicken broth, some canned diced tomatoes, cinnamon, cumin, curry, salt, and... the secret ingredient (okay, it wasn't literally "secret" since it was listed in the recipe -- but it's one of those things you wouldn't think of adding), a dollop of chunky peanut butter. It was soooooo good. I love recipes that call for throwing everything into a single pot and just simmering until done. Another recipe to add to my repertoire...
I guess that's about it for now -- it's almost 8 o'clock... my brain is about to shut down for the night. :) Hope everyone is having a good week!
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Building an ark...
So we've had a deluge of rain over the last couple days, thanks to tropical storm Hermine (Hermine?? What kind of a name is that? I actually thought it was "Hermione" at first, and was chuckling at the thought of a Harry Potter-reading meteorology nerd gleefully naming all the storms -- did I miss tropical storm Dumbledore?? -- but then I realized there was no "o" in the name. Hermine. Her. Mine. Ooookay, whatever...)
Anyway, my morning commute has taken me twice as long as usual, and I've felt quite unsafe on the roads more than once. I couldn't even SEE the road half of the time I was on it yesterday -- it was raining so hard that all I could make out were other cars' taillights. The only way I was able to drive was by following them... and I could only hope that none of THEM drove off the road, because I probably would've just lemming'd my car right along with them. (Ha! Like my made-up word? Lemming'd... I tried out "lemminged" first, but the "e" was bothering me... plus, "lemming'd" looks more street wise and tough -- "yo, dude, you just got lemming'd!" I should probably mention that I'm tired... :))
The crazy amount of rain has caused all kinds of flooding (I even heard that a school district north of here actually had a "rain day" today, as opposed to the snow days we used to have in New Jersey...). This is Brushy Creek right outside our neighborhood, which usually really IS just a creek:
If you've never seen it before, it's hard to understand just how high this water is. So, with the magic of Photoshop, I shall attempt to manipulate this photo so that it looks exactly as it might look on a clear, sunny day:
Okay, I may not actually have Photoshop... but that's pretty accurate. Really.
Hopefully the rest of the week will be sunnier -- my ark-building skills are about as good as my drawing skills... ;)
Anyway, my morning commute has taken me twice as long as usual, and I've felt quite unsafe on the roads more than once. I couldn't even SEE the road half of the time I was on it yesterday -- it was raining so hard that all I could make out were other cars' taillights. The only way I was able to drive was by following them... and I could only hope that none of THEM drove off the road, because I probably would've just lemming'd my car right along with them. (Ha! Like my made-up word? Lemming'd... I tried out "lemminged" first, but the "e" was bothering me... plus, "lemming'd" looks more street wise and tough -- "yo, dude, you just got lemming'd!" I should probably mention that I'm tired... :))
The crazy amount of rain has caused all kinds of flooding (I even heard that a school district north of here actually had a "rain day" today, as opposed to the snow days we used to have in New Jersey...). This is Brushy Creek right outside our neighborhood, which usually really IS just a creek:
If you've never seen it before, it's hard to understand just how high this water is. So, with the magic of Photoshop, I shall attempt to manipulate this photo so that it looks exactly as it might look on a clear, sunny day:
Okay, I may not actually have Photoshop... but that's pretty accurate. Really.
Hopefully the rest of the week will be sunnier -- my ark-building skills are about as good as my drawing skills... ;)
Monday, September 06, 2010
Raise a pint (of ice cream)...
In case you've just joined me here in Blogland, the super-short truncated version of Aimee's story is this: she was my half-sister, who, as a result of some horrible, unfortunate circumstances, was not in our lives until she was 29 years old. We all knew she was out there, we just didn't know WHERE. And happily, SHE managed to find US. We had three years to get to know her, and she immediately became a part of the family (the picture above is Aimee and her husband Allan, when we were on a family cruise in Alaska).
But UNhappily, Aimee suffered from a seizure disorder, the cause of which was never found. She had a seizure one night and fell down a flight of stairs, and no one was able to revive her. The rest of us were on another cruise in the Mediterranean -- I still remember when Eric knocked on my cabin door, and when I opened it he said, "Aimee died." And my first thought was, "Aimee who? The only Aimee I know is..." and then it hit me that he WAS talking about our sister.
We went from Mediterranean cruise to burial service in New Orleans -- it was a very surreal week. But I've always maintained the belief that it was better to have had three years to get to know Aimee than to have never met her. What if she had never managed to find us? We never would've known that she was an artist and she loved to read and liked watching soccer and spent time living in Austria and looked EXACTLY like my grandmother's 19-year-old self. And she never would've sent me the little curled-up wooden cat that sits in front of my fireplace, a constant reminder of the thoughtful sender. If she was here, I would pull out a pint of Moose Tracks ice cream (her favorite) and offer a frozen toast to her 41st year...
Actually, I should've done that anyway. I'm sure Aimee would've approved. :)
Friday, September 03, 2010
8 in the 9th...
I was looking at my post counts for each month this year, and I noticed that I haven't posted more than seven times in one month. And since I really miss blogging more often, I've decided to make it a goal to post at least EIGHT times in September. (And then perhaps NINE times in October?? No, no... I shouldn't get ahead of myself... :))
I must point out one very important fact: THREE DAY WEEKEND!!!! Wait, I'm going to try something...
THREE DAY WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There we go. Much more festive.
My plans for this weekend include sleeping, watching UT football, sleeping, watching Yankee baseball, sleeping, and maybe watching a movie or two. (Wow... I sound really lazy all of a sudden... I'd better throw in a couple workouts...) You will notice that "sleeping" is high on my priority list -- I don't think I've had one good night's sleep this week, so I'm really hoping to remedy that...
And speaking of sleep, I'm already tired, so a short post will have to do tonight. But I'll leave you with this:
"Heeeeeey... how you doin'?" (is what I imagine he's thinking in this picture...) He can be so cute when he's not attacking my head in the middle of the night... :)
I must point out one very important fact: THREE DAY WEEKEND!!!! Wait, I'm going to try something...
THREE DAY WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There we go. Much more festive.
My plans for this weekend include sleeping, watching UT football, sleeping, watching Yankee baseball, sleeping, and maybe watching a movie or two. (Wow... I sound really lazy all of a sudden... I'd better throw in a couple workouts...) You will notice that "sleeping" is high on my priority list -- I don't think I've had one good night's sleep this week, so I'm really hoping to remedy that...
And speaking of sleep, I'm already tired, so a short post will have to do tonight. But I'll leave you with this:
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sometimes...
You've just gotta make cookies...
I haven't made cookies in a looooooong time. I think that's mostly because I tend to eat way too many of them at one time...
This was a new recipe I just found -- it calls for browning the butter before mixing the ingredients together. You melt the butter in a skillet first, and then swirl it around in the pan (so it doesn't burn) until it turns golden and smells like caramel. The process was a bit more complicated than my usual "throw all the ingredients into a bowl" recipe, and it remains to be seen (or tasted) whether the extra effort was worth it. I mean, my own cookie recipe (which I've perfected after years of trial and error and taste-testings) is pretty darn good, so these will have to be something rather special in order for me to make them more often than my usual recipe.
At the moment, however, the last thing I want is a cookie -- we just got back from dinner at Jasper's, where they had a new molten chocolate cake on the dessert menu. It had to be sampled, of course. I believe it's a law that any new chocolate item on a restaurant menu must be consumed immediately. Hey, I don't make the rules...
Cookies will have to wait until tomorrow...
Yeah, sometimes I take pictures of myself in the bathroom mirror, too... don't we all? (Oh, no? Just me? Ah, well... I had to do SOMEthing while I was waiting for the cookies to bake... :))
I haven't made cookies in a looooooong time. I think that's mostly because I tend to eat way too many of them at one time...
At the moment, however, the last thing I want is a cookie -- we just got back from dinner at Jasper's, where they had a new molten chocolate cake on the dessert menu. It had to be sampled, of course. I believe it's a law that any new chocolate item on a restaurant menu must be consumed immediately. Hey, I don't make the rules...
Cookies will have to wait until tomorrow...
Monday, August 23, 2010
Scary science...
So today was the first day of school here in Austin. I'm trying to think of a good "back to school" memory I can write about, but they seem to all be along the lines of, "it's the first day of school? Already?? Noooooooo... NOOOOOOOOOO!!" (Which, incidentally, is almost exactly what I'm thinking every Monday morning: "It's Monday morning? Already?? Nooooooooo... NOOOOOOOOO!!") Schools in the south start and end earlier than schools in the north... I'm not sure why that is, exactly. I could theorize it's because it gets so much warmer so much earlier down here, but it also STAYS warm longer... but maybe going back to school -- even in "swimming weather" -- after a nice long break isn't as difficult as trying to concentrate after being IN school for nine months, and knowing that awesome swimming weather is lurking just beyond the brick walls.
But the weather can't be the only issue -- after all, I went to high school every year until June, in a school with NO air conditioning and precious few windows. That school was such a fire hazard. Who builds a school with no windows??? Oh, there were a few panes of glass here and there -- in the cafeteria, in the library, probably in the principal's office (I wouldn't know because I was never sent there... yes, I was one of THOSE kids -- the kind who actually do everything by the rules and get as many A's as possible to ruin the curve... mwahahahaha... actually, I rather enjoyed ruining curves... Hey, it's not MY fault if no one else bothered to read the biology textbook or memorized their German vocabulary...). And there were windows in the science classrooms, but I think that was a legal issue -- you can't hole kids up in a windowless room and set 'em loose with dangerous chemicals and their toxic fumes.
And hey, that DOES remind me of a "first day of school" memory -- my first day in high school chemistry class. The teacher was talking about our once-a-week lab requirements, and giving us stern, dire warnings about playing with chemicals. She pointed to the shower (which was situated right next to the door to the classroom) and announced that if any of us ever spilled anything on ourselves, she'd shove us right into that shower, rip our clothes off, and scrub us down. Nervous giggles ensued, and our teacher assured us that she was quite serious. (The word "pervert" may have been thrown out at that point...) Honestly, as if high school isn't awkward enough without the threat of public nakedness...
She also demanded that anyone who wore contact lenses should wear their glasses on lab days, because if any of us ever got chemicals in our eyes, she would have to rip those contacts right out of our eyes. (This was when I decided to never, ever mention to the teacher that I wore contacts... I mean, the threat of being naked was bad enough... but naked AND blind?? No thank you...) Needless to say, chemistry lab was basically a terrifying experience every week... NO ONE handled those chemicals as carefully as I did... and yet I STILL left every lab feeling as if I MUST have spilled something somewhere. I'd spend my entire history class (my class after chemistry) waiting for signs of an accidental flesh-eating chemical spill... or I'd wonder if I was feeling slightly nauseous because I inhaled dangerous fumes, or simply because I was worrying about inhaling dangerous fumes? I seem to have survived completely intact, so apparently all those fears were unfounded... I think there's a fine line between convincing your students they need to be cautious, and just downright freaking them out. My chemistry teacher jumped right over that line on day one...
But back to the school with no windows -- even though we were up in the north, it was MUCH too hot toward the end of May and early June in that stifling building with no air circulation... so allowing us to be on a "southern" schedule would've been nice. (And installing an A/C over the summer would've been a really nice touch, too... I wonder if that school has A/C yet??) My point is, I have no idea why schools in the south start and end earlier than schools in the north.
But thank goodness I don't have to go BACK to one... :)
But the weather can't be the only issue -- after all, I went to high school every year until June, in a school with NO air conditioning and precious few windows. That school was such a fire hazard. Who builds a school with no windows??? Oh, there were a few panes of glass here and there -- in the cafeteria, in the library, probably in the principal's office (I wouldn't know because I was never sent there... yes, I was one of THOSE kids -- the kind who actually do everything by the rules and get as many A's as possible to ruin the curve... mwahahahaha... actually, I rather enjoyed ruining curves... Hey, it's not MY fault if no one else bothered to read the biology textbook or memorized their German vocabulary...). And there were windows in the science classrooms, but I think that was a legal issue -- you can't hole kids up in a windowless room and set 'em loose with dangerous chemicals and their toxic fumes.
And hey, that DOES remind me of a "first day of school" memory -- my first day in high school chemistry class. The teacher was talking about our once-a-week lab requirements, and giving us stern, dire warnings about playing with chemicals. She pointed to the shower (which was situated right next to the door to the classroom) and announced that if any of us ever spilled anything on ourselves, she'd shove us right into that shower, rip our clothes off, and scrub us down. Nervous giggles ensued, and our teacher assured us that she was quite serious. (The word "pervert" may have been thrown out at that point...) Honestly, as if high school isn't awkward enough without the threat of public nakedness...
She also demanded that anyone who wore contact lenses should wear their glasses on lab days, because if any of us ever got chemicals in our eyes, she would have to rip those contacts right out of our eyes. (This was when I decided to never, ever mention to the teacher that I wore contacts... I mean, the threat of being naked was bad enough... but naked AND blind?? No thank you...) Needless to say, chemistry lab was basically a terrifying experience every week... NO ONE handled those chemicals as carefully as I did... and yet I STILL left every lab feeling as if I MUST have spilled something somewhere. I'd spend my entire history class (my class after chemistry) waiting for signs of an accidental flesh-eating chemical spill... or I'd wonder if I was feeling slightly nauseous because I inhaled dangerous fumes, or simply because I was worrying about inhaling dangerous fumes? I seem to have survived completely intact, so apparently all those fears were unfounded... I think there's a fine line between convincing your students they need to be cautious, and just downright freaking them out. My chemistry teacher jumped right over that line on day one...
But back to the school with no windows -- even though we were up in the north, it was MUCH too hot toward the end of May and early June in that stifling building with no air circulation... so allowing us to be on a "southern" schedule would've been nice. (And installing an A/C over the summer would've been a really nice touch, too... I wonder if that school has A/C yet??) My point is, I have no idea why schools in the south start and end earlier than schools in the north.
But thank goodness I don't have to go BACK to one... :)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Randomy randomness...
Okay, I have to put up SOMEthing else on this page, because I'm sure no one appreciates coming to my blog and immediately seeing a giant spider. I don't even appreciate that, and I'm the one who put it there... :)
So how about some random thoughts?? Yay!
Riff is driving us insane. That cat is crazy. I'm assuming it's because he's still in "kitten" stage, but lately he has taken to running around our bedroom and bathroom at night when we're trying to sleep, knocking over toothpaste tubes and shampoo bottles and bars of soap and whatever else he can get his paws on in the bathroom. And then, once he settles down, he curls up on my pillow and sleeps for a while (which means less and less room for me as he gets bigger and bigger -- he used to occupy one tiny corner... now he takes up half the pillow...). But then, usually sometime between 4:30 and 5:00, he wakes up and decides it's time to play again -- but, being slightly groggy I suppose, he decides to go after whatever is closest to him. And that would happen to be my head. He pounces on top of my head, grabs my hair, and pulls it with his teeth. If I'm lucky, he doesn't dig his claws into my scalp when I reach up to grab him and toss him to the end of the bed. (This, of course, serves only to assure him that I DO, in fact, want to play, and he runs right back up to my head and pounces again...)
I'm getting a little tired of the bizarre Chinese comments that keep popping up under my posts. I suppose they're some kind of automatically generated spam, which has somehow found a way to get past the word verification feature for comments. (Rick has actually managed to translate them a couple times using an online language translation site, and they always say things like, "beauty lies in sunshine happiness of mountain shadow for wise man.")
Only one more day until the weekend!! Wait, let me say that the way it sounds in my head: ONLY ONE MORE DAY UNTIL THE WEEKEND!!!! WEEEEEEEEEEEKEEEEEEEEEND!!!!!
My legs and back are a little sore from yesterday's P90X workout. I'm doing pretty well with it, although I have, on occasion, skipped a workout here or there (it's really hard to maintain hour-long workouts six days a week... I can usually manage at least five, but sometimes I just need a rest day, you know?). I also refuse to do the yoga DVD, because I've decided that I really hate yoga. I know some people LOVE it, but I just can't get into it. I don't feel like I'm DOING much when I'm attempting to maintain some awkward pose... I just feel like a silly person trying to maintain an awkward pose. For me, a workout has to FEEL like a workout -- how am I supposed to pound out all my stress and aggression in "tree pose," while calmly breathing in and out through my nose?? So on yoga days, I just do a few miles on the treadmill instead... And I'm excited, because yesterday, I got as close as I've ever gotten in my life to doing an actual pull-up. I'm still not quite there yet, but I'm no longer assuming it's an impossible task. It just MIGHT be possible, after all...
Have I mentioned the cool new movie theater that opened up a few miles from here? It costs $22 for a movie... yes, it's a lot of money for a movie. BUT, every theater is assigned seating, there isn't a bad seat in the entire place, AND the seats themselves are huge, cushy, and recline like first class airline seats. They even have blankets in case you get cold. They also serve REAL food and drinks -- you can get everything from pizza and blue cheese potato chips to farfalle pasta and steak... plus desserts, coffee, martinis, you name it. (Ironically, I'm not sure they actually serve popcorn...) If you need anything during the movie, you just push a button and someone comes to take your order. It's like my new favorite movie theater. I'm not sure I can ever go back to a regular, wait-in-long-lines, end-up-craning-your-neck-in-the-front-row, walk-on-sticky-floors, popcorn-and-milk-duds theater. (Although I do like popcorn and milk duds... :))
Well, that's about all I can manage to find wandering around in my brain right now... hope everyone is having a good week -- everyone say it with me now: WEEEEEEEEKEEEEEEND!!!!
So how about some random thoughts?? Yay!
Riff is driving us insane. That cat is crazy. I'm assuming it's because he's still in "kitten" stage, but lately he has taken to running around our bedroom and bathroom at night when we're trying to sleep, knocking over toothpaste tubes and shampoo bottles and bars of soap and whatever else he can get his paws on in the bathroom. And then, once he settles down, he curls up on my pillow and sleeps for a while (which means less and less room for me as he gets bigger and bigger -- he used to occupy one tiny corner... now he takes up half the pillow...). But then, usually sometime between 4:30 and 5:00, he wakes up and decides it's time to play again -- but, being slightly groggy I suppose, he decides to go after whatever is closest to him. And that would happen to be my head. He pounces on top of my head, grabs my hair, and pulls it with his teeth. If I'm lucky, he doesn't dig his claws into my scalp when I reach up to grab him and toss him to the end of the bed. (This, of course, serves only to assure him that I DO, in fact, want to play, and he runs right back up to my head and pounces again...)
I'm getting a little tired of the bizarre Chinese comments that keep popping up under my posts. I suppose they're some kind of automatically generated spam, which has somehow found a way to get past the word verification feature for comments. (Rick has actually managed to translate them a couple times using an online language translation site, and they always say things like, "beauty lies in sunshine happiness of mountain shadow for wise man.")
Only one more day until the weekend!! Wait, let me say that the way it sounds in my head: ONLY ONE MORE DAY UNTIL THE WEEKEND!!!! WEEEEEEEEEEEKEEEEEEEEEND!!!!!
My legs and back are a little sore from yesterday's P90X workout. I'm doing pretty well with it, although I have, on occasion, skipped a workout here or there (it's really hard to maintain hour-long workouts six days a week... I can usually manage at least five, but sometimes I just need a rest day, you know?). I also refuse to do the yoga DVD, because I've decided that I really hate yoga. I know some people LOVE it, but I just can't get into it. I don't feel like I'm DOING much when I'm attempting to maintain some awkward pose... I just feel like a silly person trying to maintain an awkward pose. For me, a workout has to FEEL like a workout -- how am I supposed to pound out all my stress and aggression in "tree pose," while calmly breathing in and out through my nose?? So on yoga days, I just do a few miles on the treadmill instead... And I'm excited, because yesterday, I got as close as I've ever gotten in my life to doing an actual pull-up. I'm still not quite there yet, but I'm no longer assuming it's an impossible task. It just MIGHT be possible, after all...
Have I mentioned the cool new movie theater that opened up a few miles from here? It costs $22 for a movie... yes, it's a lot of money for a movie. BUT, every theater is assigned seating, there isn't a bad seat in the entire place, AND the seats themselves are huge, cushy, and recline like first class airline seats. They even have blankets in case you get cold. They also serve REAL food and drinks -- you can get everything from pizza and blue cheese potato chips to farfalle pasta and steak... plus desserts, coffee, martinis, you name it. (Ironically, I'm not sure they actually serve popcorn...) If you need anything during the movie, you just push a button and someone comes to take your order. It's like my new favorite movie theater. I'm not sure I can ever go back to a regular, wait-in-long-lines, end-up-craning-your-neck-in-the-front-row, walk-on-sticky-floors, popcorn-and-milk-duds theater. (Although I do like popcorn and milk duds... :))
Well, that's about all I can manage to find wandering around in my brain right now... hope everyone is having a good week -- everyone say it with me now: WEEEEEEEEKEEEEEEND!!!!
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