I feel a little better now. A little less spacey and lazy. I actually cleaned my kitchen on a week night, which must be a good sign because I rarely do that unless someone is coming over. And then I made the soup. I'm eating it right now, and of the three batches that I've made, this is definitely not the best. It's not inedible, it's just not as good. That's what I get for not following the recipe verbatim. I think the difference might be using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. Everything else is pretty much the same. But since that was all I had in the cupboard, it had to suffice.
I actually have no plans as of yet for the weekend. Usually there's at least one thing. Hm...what to do? If the weather is nice, there are plenty of options. I guess even if the weather isn't so nice, there are always options. I should go to Zokas or something and dust off the novel. I'm actually in the mood for it. I'd go to JJJ but they don't have any dang plug ins and since my laptop battery sucks...
It's Leap Year!
I haven't posted any pics on here in ages! I should do that. Although, I don't know what pics...
I wish that there was a way to change my internal alarm clock. Some people naturally wake up at a decent hour. They get more accomplished before I even think about lifting myself out of REM sleep (is that the right term?). But not me. I naturally, consistantly sleep til 9:30-10 am. That's just wrong! I hate my alarm clock. The snooze button gets weary of me hitting it over and over. I am a night owl, so I figure that this affects my propensity to sleep late. So, I actually wish that I was one of those people that have no problem subsisting on 6 hours of sleep. Because, I generally need 8-10. I hate that. I mean, I do fine on less sleep, but it never feels quite right.
Enough rambling. I can't get started else I'll be blathering about all kinds of nonsense. :)
Have any of you seen a commercial for a movie called Everett, Wisconsin? I've looked online for it and a cursory search displayed nothing. Did I hallucinate it? It looked like a thrillerish movie...along the lines of Blair Witch Project I'm pretty sure there is no such town, but I could be wrong. Anyway. Even though I am not a big scary movie fan, I will have to see this. I wonder if it was filmed in Wisconsin...
Okay, I'm not in misery as I'd predicted, but I can definitely tell I did something different yesterday. But it's kinda a nice feeling pain, so I'm okay with it. :)
Went to Melissa's birthday party last night at the Olive Garden. The stoplights at the corner of 124th and the 405 S ramp were out so traffic was hideous. People just cannot figure out what to do if there are no lights. Good grief, people.
I had the strangest dreams last night...part of it was like I was on the Roseanne show, except it wasn't exactly like I was on the show persay, but talking to the characters, as though they were the actors (but I was definitely talking to the characters) about certain episodes, etc. I think I've watched one too many reruns, huh? And then the other part had something to do with someone I dated eons ago and haven't even seen and have no particular desire to see. Odd. I didn't even have the heat turned high (which is when I usually have these bizarre dreams).
A couple months back, I got a few dollar bills as change up at Murphy's and on it was some tracking information for Where's George?. I thought, What the heck? Sure, I'll do it! So I entered all my info, like where I'd come across the bill, etc. Finally, yesterday, I got notification that someone else received the bill and entered its location. It took 158 days for the bill to go 15 miles! lol I'm sure that it's been elsewhere and people just didn't enter the info. But anyway, I thought it was cool. Kinda silly, but cool.
I haven't gone to a yoga class in...well, I can't remember exactly when. But, in an effort to keep my routine not so routinish, I decided to go to one. Everything seems okay right now...but I just know that tomorrow I will pay for it with all kinds of misery. :) Good news was, I was much more flexible than I thought I would be. That has all kinds of benefits. Bad news was, the teacher that I used to like doesn't appear to be there anymore. However, the yogini that was there was pretty good. All in all, not too bad.
I've felt very lazy lately. I have a short article that should've been edited last week for Writergrrls, and it's languishing in my Hotmail. And then I need to build this week's calendar for SLL. Part of it is that I've been busy, but that doesn't explain all of it away. I've even wanted to skip ASL class lately. Is it the nice weather?
I got ambitious today and walked to Greenlake, which is about a mile away from my house, then around Greenlake, which I've heard is avout three miles, and then back home. Phew! My legs are going to feel that tomorrow! I've been doing the same workout routine for awhile now and decided I better mix it up a little. While it didn't exactly get my heart rate up, a five mile walk is still a good workout, I think. And it makes for amusing people and dog watching, too. I saw this tiny little dog (probably some kind of Chihauha) carrying this proportionally far too large stick in its mouth while it trotted a long...I laughed out loud at that one. Got to wear the sunglasses. If was a nice reminder of what Seattle summer looks like, even if it wasn't quite warm enough. It was still a pretty nice day. I was also reminded that I want to learn to rollerblade. I was very envious of all those skaters whizzing by me.
Mika yowled at me all night because her food dish was empty. When I finally got up and filled it this morning, she ate about two bites and then went about her business. I was glad that I hadn't caved at 5 am to do it. That would've really annoyed me.
My house is still a mess. I can't believe the cleaning ferries didn't come while I was out walking!
I realized this morning, after I was already dressed, that I am dressed like I work at Target. I am wearing a short, khaki skirt and a red, button down shirt. And black shoes, but that doesn't necessarily go with the Target theme. Oh well. I look cute and that's all that matters. It just struck me as funny.
Last night I learned a new game, called Waterworks. It's a card game where you have to, basically, with cards you are dealt and draw, build a line of pipe while attempting to impede your opponent's laying of pipe by laying down leaking pipes atop their stable pipes. It's not too difficult, yet I only managed to win one of the four games. The game ought to be played on a very large surface, perhaps a large table, but probably better yet on the floor. My opponent and my pipes kept knocking into each other on the small table of the Triple J. I got double skunked at cribbage. Twice. That's an all time low. That never even happened when I first learned! ARGH! I still maintain that I was distracted by the smell of Drakkar. :)
Suganthi and Judy showed up at the Triple J while I was there, too, which was kinda funny. I've been there a billion times and never seen anyone that I know. Although, now that I think about it, I think this is the third time that I've run into Suganthi there serendipitously. Either one or the both of us go there too often. :) Anyway, when I finally looked up and saw Suganthi, I let out a gasp of breath very similar sounding to the one all the females in my family utter when driving in Wisconsin and seeing a deer on the side of the road that looks perilously close to jumping in front of the car. We can't help ourselves. Anyway, she hadn't meant to scare me. I have a habit of sinking into my little world and when something happens to lift me out of it, I get all surprised. lol And I was concentrating on laying pipe. Diligently.
Tonight is the ASL coffee thing at Crossroads. I hope I "talk" more than last time. Tomorrow night I could go to Silent Games, but I think I will go to a party instead.
I've noticed something. I spent a significant amount of money on these contacts, and now I only wear them when I "go out." I thought I would wear them every day. Maybe I will once it's more summerish, since then I can wear the sunglasses more often. But still, I didn't get the dang things just for sunglasses.
So the tests went well. The unit test was a little trickier than I'd anticipated. Even when I think I've done a perfect job on a test, I manage to get something wrong and this time I know that I forgot some things, so combine those with those that I don't even know about yet...Well. Maybe I'll get a 90%.
My bangs are doing this weird thing...flying up at all kinds of angles when I walk around...they're all wispy or something. That's what I get for not drying them properly before I went to bed last night and then straightening them with the rest of my hair this morning. When will I ever learn?!
Last night as I was reading a magazine while sitting on the stationary bike, I read a little article that mentioned some study that took place at my alma mater, UW- La Crosse. That was kinda cool. And a couple weeks ago I was flipping through the channels and on the travel channel (or something) there was a bit about House on the Rock, which is in Spring Green, Wisconsin, which is only about 30 minutes from my hometown. I've been to House on the Rock a couple times, in fact. That was kinda cool. For someone who complains about her former home state/town all the time, I sure do like it when I see things about it in the media. I don't complain about La Crosse, though, so that doesn't count. :)
I haven't been doing a very good job lately of studying. I mean, I doing well in ASL...so it's not like my grade is on the line. But I worry that my enthusiasm is waning. It used to be that I studied all the time extemporaneously. Just looking up words in the online dictionary, etc. Tonight I will definitely study a bit, though, since the midterm is tomorrow night. I also have to do the receptive translation to hand in...although I didn't enjoy tutoring all that much, at least that way I got paid to do the homework. :)
Remember that Plumb song I told you I could, and have, listened to over and over? Well, I think I found a new one: My Immortal by Evanescence. It's pretty and sad. A great combo in a song, right? I bought the CD this weekend and it's pretty good. There are even two versions of this song.
I almost, accidentally of course, threw away some papers that I need to do my taxes. Namely, my work W2 (or is it W4? I confuse them all the time) and my student loan paper. Fortunately, I hadn't yet taken out my garbage, so I was able to find them, and in a state that won't leave the H&R Block accountant with the aroma of garbage. I think they charge extra for that.
I feel like leaving early today...but I probably won't.
As I was walking back home tonight, this guy guy starts talking to me. He asked me how I was, which I answered, since many people in the neighborhood are quite friendly. Then he asked me what I was doing, so I told him I was going home. Then he wanted to know why I wasn't going out so I said I had to work in the morning, etc, all the while trying to walk away. He claimed he has school (I assume college, he looked too old for high school) at 6 am and that he would wake me up in time to go to work. Geesh. How weird.
Sat in the hot tub tonight, since I am house/cat sitting for a few days. My muscles needed it after all the working out. It's a deserved treat for losing 5 pounds in one week. :) But, even without that, I still would've indulged, of course. :) I love hot tubs!
I received a suspicious e-mail from someone today...I think that it's one of those trick messages meant to make me reply so that the address can be verified as working sp I receive ten billion spam messages soon. It's different from any other spam message, though. It reads:
Hey girl.
I suck.
I am very sorry I haven't replied to your call. We are in the middle of buying a house~~yay yay.
John always works overtime and with my work + both kids, well you can imagine where that leaves me: with a challenge to stay in contact with my friends!
WHAT IS UP with you? I promise to call...can't say when, but soon, ok? Our next house is on a acre!
wheeeeee....i'm running around just to have the tot undo everything that i'm trying to do. arg. LOVE ~A
I went to the Web site associated with the e-mail alias and it looks lik a personal Web site; it has three links to other personal site, two of which as pictures of kids. Not like, porn, but like baby pictures. Some kids named Zoe and Eli. I have no idea who this is. So, if you're reading this and I have blanked on your name, please email me again with your name! But if you're reading this and you're the spammer, Stop e-mailing me!!!
So yesterday I was sitting here at work, and for the first time, I really didn't want to go to class. Usually, I look forward to class. I wasn't in a bad mood or especially tired. I'd eaten well. I just wanted to skip. So I thought that I'd go work out and then make up my mind. Well, the work out and the beautiful weather invigorated me and I felt good enough to go afterwards. And class wasn't bad at all. It was fine. I'm actually glad that I went because it reminded me that I don't have class on Monday and the mid-term is on Wednesday! I'm not too worried about the midterm. I'm doing amazingly well in the class. And I have to stop and wonder why that is? I worry that I am falling into my old college days way of working...See, I am especially adept at figuring out what teachers want and giving it to them. It may sound like a good plan, and it works for getting good grades most of the time, but I don't think it's all the helpful in personal growth. So, I am trying not to do that. I like class. I like my classmates. I like my instructor. All is well.
Found out yesterday that my contract got extended again, through at least the end of June. That's a relief.
The weather has been so nice! I bet there are people out there wearing shorts; it hasn't been quite that nice, but it's sunny and warm enough to drive with the windows in the car rolled down. Oh, and wear the sunglasses of course. Can't forget those. :)
My biceps are sore.
Countdown to Holiday of Red...2. Still don't know what I am going to do. I refuse to succumb to the "I'm wearing black on V-Day because I am alone and I am bitter" mentality. I am not bitter. I am not even sad. I am...full of sighs. That's what I am. I am going to wear red (which isn't hard, have you looked at my closet lately?) or pink and the new V-Day socks that Mom sent me yesterday.
I was going to wait until later to put my contacts in, but when I realized that the fireball in the sky was out, I changed my mind last minute so that I could don my oh so cool sunglasses. How nice! However, it was cloudy by the time that I reached the Eastside. But I kept them on anyway, just to be spiteful. :)
The Bloodmobile is here at work today...I really should go give...but I really don't feel like it either. Hm.
I got my test back in ASL last night and was pleased with my 97%. I made a stupid mistake, forgot to write part of a sentence down, so that's what cost me the .5 points off. Now I gotta find out what my nemesis got on her test...I trounced her last time, so beating her really isn't a challenge and thus is losing its appeal. As far as I know, there isn't anyone else to compete with, except the girl with the Deaf parents, whom I will never ever beat. She shouldn't even be in the class anyway, if you ask me. It's not fair!
Countdown to the Holiday of Red...4. You know, I thought that I was going to be successful at being nonchalant about it..."Oh, it's not Valentine's Day...it's Holiday of Red!" Sorry. No. I still know that it's Valentine's Day.
So the weekend was productive and not-so at the same time. I mean, I did a lot of stuff, but I also slept a lot. So...you make the call. Friday night I went to Jillians and had a good time. There was a Deaf guy that kept asking me out...he wasn't my type, but it was funny anyway. I am pretty sure he must've been teasing...I would be too nervous to go out with a Deaf guy anyway. I'm not that good at ASL! On Saturday, I went to my first caucus. It was interesting. In my little group, there were a lot of people who were undecided...which I think, by that point, is pretty irresponsible. They kept asking the Kerry and Dean corners, "What about this, what about that?" Good grief, at least read the propaganda the candidates had spread out on the tables inside like a political buffet before you vote. I don't know. I just thought it was strange. Then later I went to a meeting, came home and cleaned, then went to sleep at 9:30! Which I don't think I've done in a very long time! I slept until about 10 this morning when I got up to go tutor someone from class. Worked out. Came home. Took another nap. Which means, I will be awake til 3 this morning and my entire week will be just as out of whack as it was last week. Great. So as you can see, I did stuff. But I was lazy, too.
So I was sitting in Victor's Coffee shop last evening, waiting out traffic, so I decided to work on this piece. Not the novel, but a new piece. A woman on the Writergrrl's list is asking for pieces about coffee to compile into a book (she owns a publishing company) so she can sell them at local coffee shops and the proceeds go to some nonprofit or another (I think juvenile diabetes). So, I'm working on a piece tentatively entitled, "Coffee Vinettes," about my various experiences throughout the years with coffee. Anyway, I remembered something from college, when the group of us: Konie, Kip, Dan, and I went to this coffee shop in downtown La Crosse. We usually went to Country Kitchen for coffee (I always drank hot chocolate), and I don't remember exactly why we went to this place downtown. The name of it eludes me, although I know it was something clever. It was between the Red Oak Bookstore, where I had to do a poetry reading, and the Bodega Bar, where one of my poetry classes met one night. Anyway, I remember that my fellow friends the coffee drinkers were completely befuddled by the place. In retrospect, now that I've been to enough coffee shops out here, it's pretty funny, but at the time I understood. There were all these flavors and sizes, etc. All they wanted was coffee. We never went back to that place. I'd forgotten about that place. It's funny the things that I remember sometimes.
So I'm going to my first caucus tomorrow. Wisconsin has primaries and I don't think that I ever voted in a primary even...I wasn't registered to vote last time. It should be interesting. I think that a primary would just be easier, but this will be "fun."
Tonight is Deaf night at Jillians!
It was a fairly productive morning, which came to a screeching halt when the prop tool refused to publish anything. Sigh. So, I tidied up my various lists on my dry erase board. The funny quote of the day is now at the top-right corner, carefully framed in on two sides. Then I have my tasks parsed out into weekly, daily, and monthly. I haven't touched the DC owners list yet. There's a smudge that I haven't erased yet that has been bothering me and I am too lazy to climb up on the table to fix it.
I was a little irritated with myself this morning when, after finally remembering to grab a CD from home to listen to at work, I discovered that the CDs were still in the (broken) stereo. Argh!
Bad hair day = cute hat day!
Oh, you want to know what the funny quotes of the day are? Okay. Both are from my friend, Betsy, who I now also work with. Regarding these tool problems, she said (in e-mail), "We now call you...the Zen master..." and later, "Wonka has made you STRONG!" Okay, maybe they're only funny to me.
The quiz last night in ASL was very easy. I wasn't challenged at all. I hate that. Why is ASL 2 all of a sudden easier than ASL 1? That doesn't make sense.
I have a ton of stuff to do at work, but the tool isn't working so I can't do anything. Grr. I hate this.
My sleeping pattern is all messed up. It started on Sunday. I took a nap in the afternoon, which was a big mistake. So then I was up until three a.m. Got up at the usual time for work yesterday and then went to class. I was really tired so I went to bed a little after 11. Still couldn't fall asleep until well after midnight. Tried all my usual techniques, too. Tired today but not the sleepy kind of tired. The kind of tired that comes from having biorhythms out of whack, drinking too much caffeine, and not eating anything of substance (unless you count popcorn).
Went to my team meeting today but no one was there. They neglected to tell me that there was a morale event today, which I know that I can't attend, but at least it would've saved me waking up to the alarm clock. Oh well.
So this girl (or do I have to called her "woman" now that we're almost 30?) I used to hang out with in high school, I recently found out, has moved back to RC (with her husband and kids of course). She's back to working at the same restaurant that she worked at when we were in college. Now, I am trying my best no to judge this action, but all I can think of is, "What the heck are you doing???????" Is that mean of me? I mean, it's none of my concern- she doesn't even talk to me anymore. I guess I just always wonder what possesses people of my age to stay/return there. It's hella boring.
Does anyone else think that the hoopla concerning Janet Jackson's breast hanging out during the half time show is funny? I mean, I understand why people don't like it, well kinda at least. But what I think is funny is that she's saying only the bra was supposed to show...uh, then why did you have a silver metal pasty on your nipple if it wasn't supposed to be exposed? I don't know about you, but I only save those pretty pasties for when I am going to display them to a crowd of, always, more than 1,000. Otherwise, it's just a waste of a perfectly good pasty. Otherwise, I just wear the plain ones. :)
So obviously it was planned.
Cleaned the house today...decorated for the Holiday of Red. Holiday of Red? She keeps saying that but what does she mean? you may be asking. Well, Holiday of Red is what was formerly known as Valentine's Day. I've decided there's too much pressure when it comes to "Valentine's Day." Am I going to have a date? Am I loser if I don't? Blah, blah, blah. People get too worked up, as if not having a date or a s.o. on the specific day is going to make a difference. But, if it's just a festival honoring the wonderful color of red...well, that's fine. You can celebrate red alone and that's cool. Or you can choose not to pay homage to the color red, and no one considers you crazy. You don't have to feel bad...because it's just about RED! So, In an effort to alleviate any stress I may feel about Valentine's Day, I refuse to recognize it. But, I will celebrate Holiday of Red. That I like. In fact, I want it to be more than just one day. Anyway. The house is ready. Looks pretty damn cute. Of course, my living room is red all year round...