Seven More Days Until My Birthday!

Nikki on 05.26.06 @ 02:11 PM PST [link]

I Bow Before Thee, Pager Gods

Today marks my first day on pager rotation. I have been diligently praying that nothing goes wrong this week or this weekend so that I am awakened at 3 am and expected to fix something. I had agreed to babysit tonight...warily...but fortunately it was cancelled so I won't have to worry about trying to repair a broken banner while bathing a two year old.

Yesterday was the last game of the regular spring season for the Chile Peppers. I was walked on my first at bats, obviously they were afraid of my batting prowess and rather than let me get all the way to home, just let me go to first. I did the First Base Happy Dance® anyway. One time I struck out and another time I got on first because they were distracted by the third baseman. We won...by quite a lot I think.

I had my laptop home this weekend, making sure that I could log on to the work network before my week of pager duty began and realized that it's quite fun to use it to watch DVDs while in bed. I don't have a tv in my room, and don't really miss it, except for the occassions when falling asleep to a movie sounds nice. It felt rather decadent.

This weekend is my favorite Seattle activity...Folklife Festival. I have happy memories surrounding Folklife Festival. I'm a little worried about going and being on pager. But I will just go, even if I do end up going alone, and if I get called, I'll deal with it then.

I realized that next week will be an uber short week! I have Monday off and I am taking Thursday and Friday off for my bday.

I got this strange coin in some change this weekend. At first I thought it was a token or something...but it has a date on it, which usually tokens do not have. I will have to investigate. I think it might be German.

Nikki on 05.22.06 @ 02:52 PM PST [link]

Babysitting

I've done it again...accepted too many babysitting gigs. It's actually not as bad, so far, as the other time when I babysat all nearly every night of the week. I'm not so exhausted that not even the wad of cash in my wallet (which needs to be replaced) cheers me. So I babysat from 6-10 on Sunday. Last night from 6-10. Tonight I am supposed to from 6-8. Either Friday night or Saturday night for "a couple hours." and Monday night from 6-whenever they get home from the Mariner's game. The Monday night one is the one that I am worried about...not because of the kids but because I start pager rotation next week. If I get a page, I will have to get online and fix something. I'm hoping nothing happens...it's been rare lately that anything has. But it still seems to be tempting fate. There is the chance that it will get cancelled because the mom will be out of town for several days beforehand and she said she might be too tired to go out that night. And, I could beg someone to swap out the night with me...But that seems rather wrong on my first night of my first week of being on call. Already I have switched the week I was scheduled to have because it was my birthday week. So, I will just pray for the best.

The weather has been fantastic lately. I love it.

Hopefully tonight I can pick up the birthday present that my mom sent that is now setting in condo office purgatory. It helps that the couple that I am babysitting for tonight says that they'll be back earlier...that means that I will be home in time for the board meeting to still be going on so that I can pick it up. Will I not open it until my birthday? Hell no!

Nikki on 05.18.06 @ 09:18 AM PST [link]

Seventeen More Days Until My Birthday!!

Nikki on 05.15.06 @ 02:16 PM PST [link]

Cost Of A Broken Nose

Last night I got the bill from Evergreen for the night that I broke my nose. Now, I knew that it was going to be pricey since there was a CAT Scan involved...but imagine my surprise when I opened the envelope and it said that everything cost nearly $2300! All I can say is Thank God for insurance!! I only have to pay $90 of all that. The CAT Scan cost around $1700 and just to sit in the emergency room cost nearly $500. The thing is, they didn't even do anything for me. I can't recall the doctor even touching me. I still can't fathom why a CAT Scan was necessary. Sure an X-Ray would be expensive, but not like a CAT Scan. I basically am paying, or rather Signa is paying, for me to have sat in the ER for three hours waiting around to be examined, chastising one friend who came with to stop playing with everything in the room (which I can do at my house for free) and to chat with Suganthi (again, can be done for free or for a modest fee if we're on the cell phone before 9 pm on a weekday). Craziness.

Nikki on 05.12.06 @ 12:48 PM PST [link]

Read This Book

Tim pointed me to Breakup Babe's Web site awhile back and I've been a faithful reader every since. I then found out that she's a part of Writergrrls, which I am also a part of and I liked it even more. I can't wait to read the book and she says on her Web site that the first 50 people to post her banner on their site can win a free book. Well, I'm all about free books!




Nikki on 05.10.06 @ 03:47 PM PST [link]

Bright and Early

Due to driving a friend to the airport this morning, I rolled into work around 6:25. As I approached the parking garage, the door was shut and the sign reads that it opens at 7 am. I thought, "Crap! What am I going to do until then? I don't want to pay to park!" So I circled the block a couple times. On the second pass, I noticed that the door was closing. I also noticed that there was a badge reader off to the side, so I swiped my badge and voila! Open sesame! Let me tell you this; no one was at work at that hour. I should have taken a nap on the green couch that no one ever sits on, but looks pretty comfortable. But I am surprisingly awake and alert considering that I woke up at 4:30 am. I am ravenous, however, and can't wait until Bagel Wednesday begins.

The work softball schedule came out today...Ten games. All fairly late (None start earlier than 7:30). What am I going to do with myself from the time I stop working out, which usually stops around 6:30...until 9:15 some nights? This is when living on the Seattle side would really come in handy. Please, Lord, don't let me suck so bad at these games...what if my next performance evaluation depends upon it??

Did I mention that I am famished right now?

Did the Body Shop class last night. Lots of squats and lunges, which I abhor. Thoguht I would be super sore today, but surprisingly, I am not. Maybe the bath with epsom salt helped.

Still hungry. Going to go investigate the top floor and see if the bagels are there and it just hasn't been announced...

Nikki on 05.10.06 @ 08:19 AM PST [link]

Feeling Better

For the past couple weeks, I've been exhausted. But, I must have turned some kind of corner, because so far this week I feel really good. Maybe I was still suffering from risidual flu symptoms. Maybe I needed three weeks to get used to getting up at 6:30 am. I don't know. But even yesterday, when I didn't get to sleep until after 1 am, and I got up at 6:30 am, I felt fine yesterday. I felt good working out and only began to feel sleepy around 10:30, which is when I went to bed, read Madame Bovary for awhile and then went to sleep. No too shabby. Hopefully it will continue.

I only have to babysit once this week: Thursday.

Twenty-three more days until my birthday!

Nikki on 05.09.06 @ 10:18 AM PST [link]

Greenlake

Last night Tim and I went for a walk around Greenlake - the first time since last year. I figured I would be exhausted afterwards since my endurance isn't what it once was, but it actually wasn't bad at all. I predicted that I would be sore today, but it's minimal; my right knee feels a little tweaked, but that's it. I need to do that more often...the walking that is, not the knee tweaking.

It's supposed to get really warm today. Yippee!

I ate salad at dinnertime two nights in a row!

As we walked around the lake last night, there were, of course, many people jogging/running. I don't understand why people enjoy running. Well, I guess I partially do. Maybe what I don't understand is why I don't. I love riding a bike, whether stationary or not, and the elliptical machine at the gym isn't bad. I rather enjoy walking, even at a brisk pace. But I really dislike running. I've done it here and there because it seems like the thing to do. And maybe I just never get past that hurdle in my brain that keeps up the mantra, "This sucks." Perhaps I need to push a little harder and Voila! I will love jogging. Until then...I will stick to the other cardio forms that I do enjoy.

Nikki on 05.04.06 @ 10:51 AM PST [link]

One More Month Until My Birthday!!

Nikki on 05.02.06 @ 12:04 PM PST [link]

Books Galore

Last week I bought the new Sheri Reynolds book, and as predicted, I read it very quickly. Why can't she write thicker books. I want 1,000 page books from her. Annually. I sent her e-mail this morning and asked if she was coming to Seattle for a book tour. She wrote back not too much later and said unfortunately she wasn't. She made it sound like the tour was already over. Well. That sucks.

But, I did get to go buy the new Jacquelyn Mitchard book that came out today. Elliot Bay Book Company is my new best friend. I also bought Madame Bovary because I've never read it, it was on the cheap reads table, and the book I bought last week that lists good classics to read mentioned that one.

I played catcher for the first time since the smashed face episode...I wore the mask this time. I was still a little squirmish, though. I felt a little like Darth Vador in the mask. I didn't get on base at all, which was disappointing, but the team we played was spectacular so I didn't really have a shot.

I bought a new skirt this weekend and I thought it looked cute...sigh. But not I think I just look chubby in it. Sigh.

Nikki on 05.01.06 @ 02:30 PM PST [link]