about 10 hrs to go

Didn't do much at work today - was finally feeling in the holiday way :) All my reportss are done and I even prrof-read it today. Cleaned out the crap left in my hood - had some waste to quench, then dispose of that took a couple hrs. Updated my lab notebooks - lagging a little since I spent the last couple weeks doing experimental reports. But it's all set now. Then I spent the rest of the day puttering around.

My packing is mostly done - still have to find space for a few things though. I'm really tired. Have to do the few dishes in my sink, then bed. Soon. I'd like to get to bed by 11:30 for the latest even if I'm not asleep but at least in bed - that'll be good enough. Have to be up around 6ish, depends on whether I wash my hair tonight or tomorrow. Then off to my friend's apt complex to park my car. She's going to give me a lift to the airport. Then I'll truly be on my way.

I have about 3 hrs to wait after I get to Newark then 5hrs to home.

All the best for the holidays!

concert

Tonight went to concert "irish Christmas In America". My main reason for wanting to go was this new group I'm interested in called T_e_a_d_a (tay-da) - they play traditional irish music. They were joined by a fe other musicians as well. This amazing harpist (is that the right word?)Grainne Hambly and also Tommy Martin who is amazing on uillean pipes and tin whistles.

They also had a few dancers - one got the smile thing down perfectly - you know exactly what I mean if you've ever seen Riverdance, those danceers grin from ear to ear as if they are having the most fabulous time ever! Well one had the smile down, another was concerned with her skirt flying up during the kicks and the last one was definitely counting. But they were still fun to watch.

They were supposed to have Cathie Ryan from Cherish The Ladies but instead they had a guy Michael Londra whose voice is so clear and true, he needs no accompaniment. Truly amazing.

One of the guys from (Tristan) read poems and also told in a narrative fashion stories about Irish Christmas traditions both ancient and modern. His voice - I must confess that I couldn't understand half of what he was saying even when he was speaking English - still, I could listen to him all day. So much so (I blame my reaction partly on the lure of his voice) that during this skit thing they were doing, he pretended to fall ill and lay flat on the stage. At this point one of the other band members called out "is there a doctor in the house?". To my shame, I kinda shouted out "i could be one!" Then he called out for me to come up and at that point I realized that I was insane. I quickly settled myself but good in my seat. Our seats were excellent ones about 4 rows back from the stage - they let move there from our original seats which were fairly close to the stage but on far right so they told us we could move for a better view. Yeah, so after my outburst, they continued with their skit. One of them had a whole spiel about how he could revive the dead make an old woman on crutches skip again.
I bought their latest CD. All in all a great night.

Movies Seen On Big Screen(2006)

Munich
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion. the Witch and the Wardrobe
Glory Road
Brokeback Mountain
Something New
Cache
Inside Man
Just My Luck
X-Men 3
Akeelah And The bee
Prairie Home Companion
An Inconvenient Truth
The Breakup
Superman
The Devil Wears Prada
Scoop
Barnyard
Step Up
John Tucker Must Die
Little Miss Sunshine (best movie for any mood)
Beerfest
Trust The Man
Jet Li's Fearless
All The King's Men
The Departed
Marie Antoinette
The Prestige
The Illusionist
Stranger Than Fiction (movie I laughed out loud at the most)
Borat
Casino Royale (best action)
The Holiday

9 days to go

That's right, in 9 days I leave for home -sweet T&T. Did a mock packing and realized that my suticase is not big enough. My plan was to take 2 suitcases - 1 med/1 sm but it kinda looks like I need to take 1 large instead of the medium. This is just the stuff I have as presents, etc. My cases are full and I haven't packed anything to wear/shoes/etc. Have a couple things left to get then I might try to get a cheap one this week. If not will have to use 2 medium instead. Nothing for it. I'd prefer to have med/sm since that's easier to cart around. I'll just have to get carry-cart.

Last week was busy. Have been doing paperwork all last week and will spend the the rest of this week doing the same. My self-evaluation is also due. I have to go in early tomorrow to finish it, send it to my boss. Then back to experimental write-ups. I have so many left to do. I thought about going in this weekend to do a few hrs worth but I was so exhausted. I think I may be getting a cold. This would really suck since I will be travelling/on holiday soon. Everyone in my immediate office space were sneezing/blowing their nose/hacking up their lungs last week. I've never met a group of people who are sick so frequently. One of them sounds like she has consumption-she really needs to take some antibiotics or something. I don't really care, I only care that I not catch whatever the hell it is she's got. I've been takign loads of zinc and vit C and drinking liquids.

Went to see "The Holiday". I really wanted to like this movie. Unfortunately, I really can't stand Cameron Diaz and she almost ruined it for me. I loved Kate Winslet's character and Jack Black's was great too. I could have done with CD's attempt at acting. I also didn't much care Jude Law's character very much either. I wish the movie only contained snippets of CD and JL and focused more on KW and JBs story. Yeah, it probably would have been a 90min movie instead of 130min but that would have been ok by me. I'll have to give a 1/2 thumbs-up.

I have just happened across the "best page in the universe". Seriously funny. My linking to him would probably piss him off. I'm ok with that. How can anyone resist a pirate?

music videos

If you haven't seen Weird Al's video for "White & Nerdy" - a must-see(just click on it on the bottom right). If you have seen it...is this not the funniest music video you've seen in ages?

chasing cars

snow patrol - I love this album. most of the tracks are really good but my fav is Chasing Cars, and I've played it on repeat all day.

I know, I know, this is kinda like old news. But I'm kinda slow. I rarely notice or like bands when they first make their splash. So for me this is like a new discovery. I know it sounds kinda hokey but if I can't be hokey on my own blog, where else can I do it?...Chasing Cars resonates deep within me everytime, everytime I hear it.

happy thanksgiving

Half of the people at work yesteday were told they could leave after lunch -different dept but they basically do the same thing we do. Our dept didn't get that though, they told us we could leave around 3 or 4pm.
Kind of unfair but it was alright. I finished what I wanted to get done by 1:30pm and wandered around chatting to ppl until 3. I figured that made it more equal :)

It really was good because I had a couple things to mail then had to get my allergy shots. In a way it was a good thing because I would have the missed the beautiful sunset I saw as I was leaving the doctor's office. I don't see many sunsets but this one was worth taking a moment to enjoy it. I wanted to capture it somehow - I tried taking a pic with my phone but it didn't do it justice. Wished I had my digicam. So I guess it was worth leaving work a lbit later since I would probably have indoors at that time otherwise.

Got my dinner from Boston Market including slice of pumpkin pie. It doesn't feel like it's thanksgiving until I have pumpkin pie. The turkey I can take or leave as long as I have some other form of meat but the pumpkin pis is a must.

so the drama

Finally feeling more like myself. Went out Fri night to a bday party. It was at a community center and they had pizza and wings and cake. All good right. Well I tried a bite of the pizza and it tasted weird to me, smelled weird too. No one else seemed to think so though(I asked a few people).It tasted like the pizza was old and they put fresh cheese on top and reheated it. It smelled kinda moldy. Anyhoo, I only had one piece.

Then I was eating this small piece of bubble gum - it was the kind that starts out hard as a rock and after a minute or so of chewing becomes malleable. Well I just at that point when I choked. Saliva chose that moment to go into my lungs. My lungs were not amused. I gagged and coughed for a long time. My eyes were watering. People kept asking me if I was ok. As if I could answer them during my coughing/choking fit. I just kept shaking my head to say "hell no I'm not ok, still coughing spasmically" and shaking my finger to say "yeah I need a moment or two".
Finally the coughing subsided after 10min. I was in bad way by then and needed to take my inhaler. Apart from that incident which thankfully happened near the end of the night, the party was a lot of fun.

I woke up Sat at 7am with a horrible stomachache. Then I had to make a mad dash for the bathroom. Couldn't go for my morning walk. Felt awful. By 9am I already been to the loo 4 times. Felt horribly ill all day. I figured it was probably the pizza. Of course I only had 1 slice but my stomach is kinda sensitive sometimes. Either that or I caught some kind of stomach virus. I was still sick on Sunday, so no choir or church. Felt a little less like I was dying but still not quite right.
Didn't go to work today b/c my head hurt like hell and my stomach still felt kinda queasy. Probably b/c I couldn't eat much. I was so ill Sat, I barely drank anything - basic dehydration symptoms.

Talked to one of the nurses from my doc's office. She thought it was most likely stomach bug of some sort - she told several people had been in b/c of that lately. Also gave me a couple good suggestions. My stomach is still not completely right yet. At least I'm feeling hungry again. All I ate Sat was couple slices plain bread and a few crackers. The nurse suggested I also eat baked potato...something about it containing potassium. Another suggestion was popsicles - very good suggestion b/c then I can keep hydrated without it seeming like a chore. Popsicles are fun :) Not a big gatorade fan(another tip) but I got some. It kinda upset my stomach.

I know I'm definitely feeling much better b/c I'm hungry and the chocolate bar in my fridge looks real good to me now. I'm going to resist it though, at least for tonight.

movies

Saw a few movies recently.
The Prestige - more than worth the price of admission - really enjoyed it.
The Illusionist - ok, different kind of story from the Prestige even though they are both about magicians.
If you only plan to see one of them I'd definitely recommend the Prestige over the Illusionist.

Today was quite busy. In spite of the fact that I got very little sleep last night. Fell asleep on my futon around 10 until 12:20am. Then went to bed, turned out the lights. Couldn't get back to sleep though. Around 2am I got fed up of just lying there so I turned the light back on and read until 4:30am. Eventually fell asleep. Woke up at my alarm at 830am this morning. Met my friend for our early Sat walk. Then we went to the diner for breakfast (light one in my case). Went to lunch with E around 12:30pm - soup, salad and breadsticks at olive garden - delicious. Then home. I meant to do a little cleaning - almost out of clean dishes but was kind of sleepy. Took a nap around 4 until 6pm.

Went to see Stranger Than Fiction tonight with a group of friends. I laughed a lot. I enjoyed it even more than I expected to. See this movie if you can.

Then we went to small coffee shop, chatted, drank hot beverages, played scrabble, listened to local talent (guy with a guitar playing various covers from bob dylan to kenny loggins to john denver. he wasn't bad).

One of the friends I was with tonight is one a guy I know from college C - he was touching my arm casually all night, both while we were in the movie theatre and also at the coffee shop. I could totally get into this guy. I do like him. He's cute and funny and he gets my jokes.

I asked my friend Z what she thought of him and she told that he definitely sees me as a girl, not just a buddy. She thinks this is a good sign and that I should "totally go for it" :) I'm just going to wait and see. He mentioned tonight that we should get together more often. So I'm just going to take it easy and see if anything develops.

Having some hot chocolate now - hoping that'll help me wind down enough to sleep...soon :)

rain and dreams

It's was so rainy today. I left work a little early to get my allergy shots - an easy 15 min drive on the highway became a 25min chore through driving rain. It rained so much today that it made me wonder if it would ever stop. I know it will eventually but it felt like it wouldn't. Add in the early darkness of this time of year - so not helping either. I don't usu care much about the whole early dark thing but I noticed it today.

At the end of boxing class we usu do ab exercises. We did the usu ones so well that he extended our time and made do another one - dead bug using balance ball. Took some doing for me to get it right - I'm not very coordinated when it comes to stuff like alternating hand and leg movements. But I got it eventually. My sides/mid back really hurt last night. they're not too bad tonight. I guess it's must be a good one if I could feel it like that.

Had a weird series of dreams last night. It kept repeating itself. I have dreams like that from time to time where I'm in the dream yet I feel as if I've woken up but I really haven't and then I fall back into the dream, if that makes any sense.
I've got to stop watching discovery health b/c in one of the dreams, I had several conditions which I've only heard about on the show mystery diagnosis. I also had some weird blood disorder in the dream - the details of which I don't want to think about, very gross. This might also be due to a book a just finished reading - My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult very sad but great story. might also be b/c I have been having a lot of nose bleeds lately. Haven't been able to take my allergy meds( a nasal spray) for over 2 weeks b/c of them.

I woke up at 3am - probably b/c I fell asleep on the futon with the tv blaring and the lights on. I went to bed then but couldn't fall back asleep right away. I fell asleep eventually and went back to the dream I was having before I woke up.

Needless to say, my dreams were very disturbing and I woke up feeling very groggy and unsettled. Plus it took a while for me to wake up - I was in that weird state where I was half-asleep and trying to wake myself up out of the remains of my dream. You know that state where your mind is almost awake but you can't quite move your limbs yet? I woke up finally and had to check to make sure my legs didn't have any sores on them (shudders). Crawling my blood just thinking about it now.

I've got to go to bed soon, took a benadryl a couple hrs ago. I've been using over-the-counter antihistamines to try to keep most of the allergy symptoms at bay. They don't help the sore throat and upset stomach I get from the nasal drip but at least I'm not sniffling/sneezing constantly. I'll take whatever relief I can get.

pics

If you are interested in seeing my halloween pics - let me know, I'll email them to you. I didn't want to leave them on the site too long - still like to remain relatively anonymous.

halloweeeennnn

My friends are throwing a Halloween bash. I don't normally dress up for Halloween. I've never bought a costume before. Several other people already had theirs either bought or picked out already and most had pd $40 for theirs. This sounded like way too money for me. I was thinking more like $15-20 for a costume. At least before I got out to the shops. All the costumes were quite pricey.

I was thinking of going as some sort of superhero. During my store browsing last night I came across the perfect prop. A battleax - plastic yes, but perfect. I decided that I needed to find a costume that would allow me to use said battleax.

S was shopping with me and even she had to admit that the batttleax and I seemed made for each other(not her exact words but I'm sure that was her general meaning ;)

Anyhoo, I couldn't quite find anything that would work with it. So sadly, no battleax :( Moving on, thought about maybe going as Guenivere but when I took the costume out of the bag it was just a bit too frou-frou for my tastes. Didn't feel like I could work it at all. Plus, the battleax would probably have been a bit much.

The only other options at this time (10pm Fri) were Vamptessa...uummm, don't think so
Druid Witch...ummm, maybe, but only had a robe - too long, battleax, definite maybe
Supergirl...ummm, not sure but worth trying on just to see.

Finally, the decision...I'm going as Supergirl. I will take pics and post them for a short time b/c I know you are now dying to know what it all looks like. From the moment I out on that cape/top I knew it was right. I completely forgot about the whole battleax thing. I even tried a few appropriate poses that will totally work with my costume. Just needed red tights to complete the outfit (it comes with boot covers, belt and skirt).

I also plan to carry props. Yes, props :) I saw a superman logo candy bucket. Yup, had to get it right? Plus I'm seriously thinking about taking a small fan with me to have running in back to blow my cape around. Another idea is to wear ordinary clothes over my costume - will probably have to hide the red boot covers in my pocket - then after everyone is there say "what's that I hear, a distress call?". then run to the ladies rm to change into....Supergirl da-da-dun-dah-dun-da-dun! How cool/funny would that be? Don't you wish you could witness me doing this? Haven't mentioned that bit to anyone yet. Did tell S about the fan bit, she doesn't think I will actually do it. A dare? I think it was definitely a dare. One which I can't resist. When I told her her of it I was only half-serious. Now it's on.

Oh yeah...total cost of all this costumery/props :) $50. It's offical. I am insane.

no ocassion dinner

A couple friends and I made plans to go out to dinner tonight about a week ago. Then I thought of a couple more who might be interested. then a couple more. So I invited most of my friends and their signif. others, thinking that only half of them would want to go/not have plans - the number in my head was 5-8 people.

It's always weird for me when I get invited to stuff and then other people in our circle are excluded for one reason or another. Then I have been asked on more than one occasion to not say anything to the people who weren't invited. Awkward. So I thought to avoid that and give everyone the choice of refusing without excluding anyone.

The funny thing is that they are all available and interested in going. So our simple dinner out has turned into a thing. So much so that one of the original planners suggested I make up an occasion for us to celebrate.
Technically it's my half-birthday this month. Today is my Dad's birthday. Other bday's today - Tom Petty, Bela Lugosi, Jerry Orbach, Snoop Dog, Mickey Mantle. Not that anyone really cares about any of that. But I wanted to be prepared in case they ask me what the occasion is :)

I made us a reservation (12-14) at a great local restaurant(got great reviews) that only one or two of us have been to before - so it should be fun, I think. We'll see.

I was going to wash my hair but it's been raining all day. So it'll probably end up getting wet and then all my efforts would have been wasted. My hair is kinda flat b/c I went to the gym twice this week and both times worked out for at least an hr-all that exercise wreaks havoc on my hair. So it's a bit wavy and a little frizzy instead of being straight and sleek(the way I prefer it to be).

tags smags

another thing...the whole tags thing just doesn't appeal to me. My blog is about my mostly random thoughts - many do not fit into a particular category. It just seems like work to have to think up a label for it. Half the time I can't think up a title much less a tag.
The only good thing is that publishing happens in an instant.

blogbeta

This whole bloggerbeta thing - not the the best thing ever that they proclaimed it. Now I can't sign in with my short screenname anymore. I have to type out my email addy. This is especially annoying when I try to make comments on blogs b/c it then makes me sign in twice as it goes from one screen to the betablogger screen. At that point the comment I was trying to make gets erased and I just can't be bothered to go through the trouble of typing it all again. So betablogger, you suck, just so you know.

11-11-06
Ok so maybe blogger in beta is not so bad - now that I understand the ways of it more. It's more convenient to search through blog entries with a keyword. Also great for seeing which entries have comments. Also it is easier to rearrange stuff on my template without having to look at all that gobbledygook that

boxing gloves

I bought boxing gloves and wraps. I really wanted red gloves but they didn't have them in the size I wanted :(. Oh well. This way I can keep boxing without having to use the smelly-no doubt-fungus-infested-gloves that they give us at the gym. They never disinfect them so they stink - like you can't even imagine. It takes 3-4 thorough hand washings to remove the stink from my hands. That's how bad they are. I didn't want to get them until I was sure that I'd stick with it. I've bought many things with the thought that I'd use them regularly, only to have them just sitting there for years after being used only once or twice.

boxing and stuff

Boxing is great stress reliever and I look forward to it every week. It leaves me feeling exhausted though. Partly b/c I do weights for ~25min just before the hr-long boxing class. I think it'd be better if I tried doing my weight routine on alternate nights from the boxing. I've been shying away from this b/c it'd mean going to the gym 4 days a week. Don't know if I'm ready for that yet :) Seems a little excessive. Probably would be good for me though.

Tomorrow we have our yearly presentation in front of the managers/section heads. I'm hoping that we finish early and that we don't get too many questions throughout(that always slows things down a lot). Then maybe I can get out of there at 4ish. Then I'll go to the gym. Then home.

I'm taking Fri off work. I can't wait. I've been meaning to take a day off for a long time now but just haven't yet. I've been so stressed with the work that needed to be done or we had deadlines to meet or meetings scheduled. I really need a mental health day. I have no plans to do anything. I briefly thought about taking a trip somewhere but I decided to just have a lie-in. Maybe paint, definitely read and relax. that's my plan. Should be great!

mallomars

They're baaacckk :)

word of the day...exhaustion

My last post makes it exactly one year of posting i.e. 365 posts and counting :)

I'm exhausted. Going to bed in 30min. really mean that. It's been a long weekend. Slept in on Sat -the first time I've been able to sleep in weeks. We canceled our morning walk cuase my friend was going out of town. Then I went to get my hair done. then spent ~4hrs in the mall. I was looking for a cute shirt to wear Sat night since we were going out dancing. No luck on that front but I still spent a lot of money. Bought a pair of jeans (ultra low waist) which the salesgirls insisted looked really good on me. They are lower than I normally wear, comfortable but it just felt like my ass was hanging out. Not my usual goal. Also bought a few tees at old navy and a couple watches(50% of so I had to get 2 :) With my hair/jeans/watches I spent just under $200. I pd full price for the jeans which I don't normally do. They looked really good. We were out way too late though. I only had one light beer and we had appetizers to go with it. Still I was really tired driving home. Dangerously tired. I had to drop me friend home first. The drive home was a little scary for me b/c with my tiredness my night vision was horrible. I kept blinking rapidly hoping it'd improve it. Next time, We're taking a taxi/she'll have to crash at my apt(I live much closer to downtown) b/c I'm not driving again when I'm that tired. Sign that I was probably not fit to be driving. We walked a block and half past where I parked before we realized we'd gone too far. Got back home around 3am.

I set my alarm this morning to wake me up at 9am for choir. Forgot to turn it on...yeah so it didn't wake me up. Woke up groggily at 10am. Scrambled and still went to choir - in time to practice the pieces we sang today so it was ok.
This is all so stupid. Being so tired that I can barely function. I was thinking about taking a nap this afternoon after taking to my family around 430 but I just had to clean instead. Everywhere was disgusting to me and more than due for a cleaning. So I did the bathrm, kitchen and bedroom. All that's left is the living rm. Laudry will hold for another week. Still had clean sheets so at least I could change my bed.

Also cooked tonight - lamb stew - it was delicious.

Probably for the best that I didn't take a nap. Hopefully I won't have any trouble going to bed now. I'm taping "Brother's & Sisters" and will watch it tomorrow. My new goal is to be in bed by 10, lights out at 10:30. Any TV I want to watch at 10 will have to be taped. I usu end up falling asleep half-way through the show most of the time so this is a better plan for me.

Time for bed.

cold

Finally figured why my apt was so damn cold all the time...my windows were partially open at the top. Landlord told me that if i wanted to open the bottom window half-way or fully that I needed to prop up the top window or it would drop down and break. That's all he said to me. I interpret this to mean that I would only opne the windows less than half-way and everything should be fine. Right? NO! The top part of the stupid window opens a little whenever you opne the bottom part, even if you only open it 1/4 way or 1/8 of the way. I only realized this last Thurs b/c I cooked and needed to open the windows - yeah kinda heated the pan too high, burning eyes, etc....That's when I noticed for the first time that the top of the stupid window was open. On seeing that, I run around my apt checking every window - all open at the top. NO wonder, insects have been crawling in at their leisure. I've been wondering how they are getting in so frequently...they had an engraved invitation...open unscreened top windows everywhere and all. So I had to do major climbing up on step-stools and window sills to get the damn things closed completely. That night was the first time that the bathroom mirror fogged up after my shower.

Only problem now is that I don't have any control of the heat. He told me to turn it off when I was out. I tried. It'd been in the off position all weekend. I've woken up several times the past couple nights b/c it's been so hot - feels like I'm stiffling. I had to sleep with my fan directly on me last night to get relief. it all seems so ridiculous to me. There is only one "thermostat". A generous term for a box in my living room marked "Lo/Off/High". At my old apt, they turned on the heat from the main, and I could open or closed the gas valve for each of the room's radiators. Here, not so much. They are painted in place so I can't adjust any of them. Plus I get heat from the front and bottom apts as well. I guess there's just no pleasing me is there? Too cold. Too hot. This'll be a good thing one it gets really cold out.

Saw "The Departed" Sat night. It was interesting, kept my attention. Too much senseless killing for my taste but my friends said that's Scorcese's trademark. Then went out for coffee.

Going for my yearly physical with my regular doctor this week. I haven't seen her in 9mths. A lot of time, Since I saw her last, I've lost 7lbs, 2 1/2 inches on my waist. I've also been exercising 3-4times a week most weeks. Big changes. I was very ambivalent when she first suggested I take tablets for my "anxiety". anything else seemed preferable to that. As is I have to take several meds for my asthma twice a day, every day. Just wasn't prepared to take anything else. Therapy seemed preferable. It' helped me more than I thought it would. I also think the exercise helps a lot as well. I find it difficult to relax normally. When I exercise, my mind can turn off for that hr and I don't have to think or worry about anything else. It's helps me just be in that moment. I need that break. When I miss a few days without exercising - I notice the difference. And it's not a good difference.

Did yoga during my lunch hr at work. 4 of us were there today. It was great. Several of my muscles/joints cricked and cracked during the session but they are no worse for wear.
Tomorrow's boxing. I skipped last Thurs b/c I twisted my ankle - stepped on it funny while walking down stairs at work. Ridiculour I know. I've iced it for the past few nights. Still went for my am walk on Sat and it was a little tender but on the mend. In any event I hope my doc is impressed with my progress. I can tell her that she was right even though it took several months before I believed her.

Feel much better now all that is off my chest.

Fri at last

Went to boxing twice this week after doing my usual weight routine. I have lightened up my weight routine a bit (less reps/lighter weights in some cases) b/c I quite sore on the weekend. My knees and quads are the muscles that are really achy tonight, as well my calf.

Planned to take 1/2 day today, seemed like a good plan yesterday. But then today it was so rainy - i thought that I'd just come home and sleep. Still sounds good right? Except that if I sleep during the day, I have a hard time sleeping at night. Again, normally not a problem if the next day is Sat. Except that I have a defensive driving class tomorrow morning(have to be there by 830am). Class is boring true, but, food is provided and last time - the cookies were delicious. Plus it's only every 3yrs and it's great to get 10% deduction on my car ins. I can use all the deductions I can get. So I figured I 'd just stick it out today. I was very sleepy at times. But made it to the end. Did have a small nap on the futon for like 20min. But I'm kind sleepy now so no harm done. Bed in 5min.

Had to go to a seminar earlier this week. The mandate came from the senior VP of our dept that we should attend - meaning of course that it was mandatory and he would be checking to see who missed it. Yeah so I went. 90 min of my life..gone...poof! The man talked non-stop for 90min. Normally when you are given a time slot of 50min for a presentation, they expect you talk for 45min-hr max leaving the remaining time for questions. This guy kept saying that he'd come back to "that" or "talk more in detail about this" later. After he'd already bored us for an hr. Unbelievable. He had at least 100 slides if not more. Half of them could have been (and should have been) cut since they repreesented very similar data points. I don't recall much of the crap he talked about since I spent half the time trying to stay awake (this takes a lot of brain power) and the other half of the time being annoyed at having to be there.

Finally the bad karma, the bad juju, the skewed alignment of the planets that affect me are all gone. The chemistry gods are smiling on me again. So my boss told me that when our group head did the reaction I've been trying to redo he didn't add one of the chemicals that I added (perfectly legit for me to have done since I got the procedure from a literature reference) but apparently for this particular substrate, it is critical not to add it. Would have been nice to know that piece of info 3 weeks ago but no big. I repeated the reaction (4th time) and it worked. I could have done a happy dance today when I saw my product crashing out (chemist speak for solid coming out of solution). And what's even better is that I have a decent yield. I've left it to dry over the weekend but as is, it's at 90% and I expect to lose about 5-10% of the wieght after it's dried. Even so, still decent. Thank you God. I was getting really discouraged by it all and really needed this...success! Should have set up a couple reactions this weekend but was too tired to do it. By the time I got my results back for the reaction starting materials, it was 5pm and I was more than ready to leave.

This week I got 3 huge zits on my face. What is up with that? So not working for me. I managed not to pick the first 2 and they are both almost gone. The 3rd oneis just out and harder to ignore since it's near my chin - the others were on my forehead and didn't drive me to scratch them like this one does. I need to leave it alone b/c I tend to scar easily whenever I pick at them and the scars never fade, they just gets darker.

I'm off to bed. Nite.

movies

Watched several movies this weekend. Saw Jet Li's Fearless. I really enjoyed it. Classic martial arts type film. My friend compared it to Hero saying it was similar before we went to see it. That turned me off a little cause I didn't care for Hero very much. Yeah, it had great cinamatography, yeah, the sets were great. I don't see moives b/c I'm looking forward to seeing great cinamatography or sets or how philosophical it is. If all that happens while not boring me to death, then ok, but otherwise I can do without all that. For me a classic martial arts movie has spectacular fight scenes with daring moves from both the hero and his opponents and the storyline goes something like...at first our hero fights just for the glory... then some tragedy befalls him and/or his family...he goes away in shame or dishonor and ends up in some remote village...there he learns that it is better to fight for honor and for those who cannot defend themselves...returns to his hometown and fights only for honor and justice. What more could you want than that on a story?

I also borrowed a couple movies. Elizabethtown was a different kind of movie, doesn't quite fit into the usual romantic comedy/drama mold. I enjoyed it. Not a huge fan of Orlando Bloom, he's ok, but he just doesn't do much for me. Still liked the movie though.

Also saw Finding Neverland tonight. It was much better than I thought it'd be. I'd resisted seeing for a long time b/c I wasn't sure I'd like it. There are parts of it that are so sad. I got really choked up watching it. Great movie.

Meant to go get my allergy shots today but then this reaction I was heating started over-heating and it one that can become explosive if heated above a certain temperature. So I couldn't leave it. I changed the heating mantle but the new one still went over the set point and didn't seem to be stabilizung. Don't know what is up with my temp controller. It's supposed to keep it at or below the temp I set it at. In any event by the time I switched it out it was too late - I had to use an oil bath which I don't like using b/c it's very messy.

Can't go tomorrow b/c had to take my inhaler tonight. Don't know if it's because of the weather change but my asthma has been acting up a lot lately.

Went to dinner at C&T's last night. Delicious. Had couple glasses of wine, wheat beer, dessert. I slept very well last night.

looooong week...is it fri yet?

I'm exhausted but in a way it's a good exhaustion. I will probably fall asleep quickly tonight once I get to bed. Went to boxing class twice this week. ONly planned to go to the Tues class but I was just finishing my regular weight routine when the class was starting so I figured I might as well join even though I felt tired. I wasn't sure that I'd have enough energy for it. But I did. I've been practicing the ab work every other day - lying flat , lifting legs off the ground and holding for 10-count - this really hurts. Tonight finally I was able to catch the medicine ball without going "Ooof" or having it hit me in the lower abdomen.
And I was also able to throw it back to our trainer with some force - he said " hey, looks like I'll have to make you do more of this, you're getting good".
Nice to be good at something new. This class rocks. I can feel the fat burning away literally :) I did sretching exercises Tues night after class and also Wed night. It helped I think b/c I was only a little bit sore today before class. I should have done some hamstring stretches before I ate tonight but I was too hungry.

Went to an alumni network thing at a local hangout last night. It was fun, met up with a few friends from college that I knew are living here. Also met a few new people - who's faces I recognized but never really talked to them before when we at school.

I'm going to try to go to the gym Sat after my am walk. That'll make 3 days at the gym this week. That's my real goal. I've also been trying to avoid snacking on crap at night before bed. Also incorporated whole wheat bread into my regular diet.

It's difficult to find whole wheat bread that
a. tastes good
b. doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup
c. doesn't have "enriched" in the ingredients

Apparently "enriched" is bad. I only found this out recently. Was watching discov health (as usu) and saw program where the authors of "you, the owner's manual" were helping this woman take control of her life - where they figure out her "real age".
Anyhoo, this got me on this whoe checking ingredients, at least the first 5 ingredients anyway for the buzz words "enriched" "sugar" "corn syrup" "hydrogenated" and "salt". I had no idea that hydrogenated was bad or that enriched wa not a good thing. Well, I 'll see how long this kick lasts.

I'd better get to bed. My apt is cold. I havent' checked to see if my heat is turned on yet. I might do that tonight. I got a whopper of an electric bill this month. Probably due to air conditioner(when it was hot)/the fact that I've been falling asleep with the light on most nights/space heater(now that it's cold). My bedroom warms up much faster than the living area did. So great to be able to sleep in my bed.

This has been a crap week at work - reactions I've done before that worked fine now have gone to crap. have not been able to repeat same reactions with same sucess as before. In one case I've just set up the reactions again and that synthesis is not long so not a huge deal. with a couple other things though, very bad b/c one has 14 steps and my yields were really low. This means that I probably won't have enough to do the last 2 steps. It took me 2 weeks to get to this point in the synthesis. Bascially I'm screwed and am going to have to explain this somehow. then there's this other reaction that I've done about 7 times before - each time with fairly decent sucess. Last week, I repeated it, crap. This week, repeated it, again crap. I really wanted to take tomorrow off but I can't. I jus have too much to do and I needed to set a couple reactions up tonight before I left. I will have to check them tomorrow and purify, etc. Maybe I can take a half-day. I just need a real break. the boxing tonight really helped me work through my frustrations about work so that's something I guess.
Going to bed now. Nite.

bull riders

Since when do bull riders wear helmets? Sure it's probably safer for them but isn't the danger the whole point of it. Bull riding in a helmet instead of cowboy hat just seems wrong. At least some of them are still wearing hats like they ought to. I find it kinda funny that the bull also gets a score as well as the rider. Why am I watching bull riding? I was channel surfing and bored, that's my story and I'm sticking to it :)

Slept on my bed for the first time(since my move) last night. Had a great sleep. My friend met me there and we picked up the box springs, then he carted them both inside for me. And all it cost me was asking and buying him lunch the day before(at my suggestion).

Still have some residual cold virus in me. Skipped chior/church today. Was very hoarse when I got up in addition to wheezing. I was wheezing a lot last night, even after I'd taken all the meds I could take. A bit worrying. I think it may just be my reaction to the cold. If I'm still sick in a couple days, I will try to get a doctor's appt. I missed getting my shots last week b/c I felt the cold coming. I'm hpoing that I'll feel better tomorrow. Definitely going to bed early tonight.

Fir night I went to see a play at local university called "Art" by Yasmina Reza. Just 3 actors and one basic set. I enjoyed it, it was very funny.

link

I found this link to strongbad a couple days ago - I'm probably the last person to do so. It's so funny and each one is different. I love it.

talking muscles

Today, all my muscles were talking to me...all at once...and they were not happy. Had to take a couple advil last night and this morning as well just to get me through the pain. I could barely lift my arms above my head - the muscles hurt so badly. I'd planned to go the gym again today and maybe even do the boxing class again in spite of the pain but I fogot my gym clothes. Plus I feel really congested, my chest hurts when I cough b/c all my abdominal muscles are still in shock from Tuesday's boxing session.

And it's also that TOTM. So I guess it ok that I came straight home instead. it's been a crummy week at work. Sick of trying to purify this crap I've been working on. Sick of repeating the analysis. So little material left. If I had my way, I'd have repeated this stupid synthesis, made more material and have a decent amount to work with so I could get it clean enough to ship out. But no, i have to keep working with this crap, supposedly b/c it'd take too much time to remake it, it'd be better if I could just get data from what I've got. What I've got is 15mg (think a pinch of salt). What I'd prefer to work with is 50mg-100mg (think 1/8 - 1/2tsp) of material. I've been re-analyzing this crap for 2weeks now, more than enough time to have remade it twice since it's 2 steps from a common intermediate that we already have made. Unfortunately I don't get final word on this.

Another not so great thing is that our group leader is quibbling about the last thing I shipped. Saying that I should have different amounts even though they are similar to stuff my supervisor(SV) has shipped this week as well. My supervisor at least didn't give me any grief about it - he was just letting me know what the boss said. there's not much I can do to improve the numbers. I know that is all a bit vague but basically he's arguing that my numbers are off by ~.35 from what he thinks they should be. Even though the data makes sense as is and the customer has not complained about it. I guess it could be worse - my SV could be giving me grief about it. SV actually said he didn't think it was an issue but he was just giving me a heads-up.

I feel really out of sorts all round. I'm tired and cranky and crampy and my throat is also sore. I want mallomars :( Not back on the shelves yet...I've checked...anyday now they'll be back. I sure could use a couple right now. My apt is cold. I turned my space heater on and that helped a bit. Still sleeping on the futon. My box springs are finally in but they don't have a delivery service right now. the guy said they are between companies but he gave me a recommendation of a mover to call. So I called them adn the guy has a message on the machine to call his cell. So I call that number and he has the worst message on it, lots of mumbling/weird pauses/etc. I leave 3 messages. We played phone tag for a week. So we make a tentative plan for him to pick up/deliver on Tues. I call the furniture place only to have them tell me that my order was not there but still in transit. So I was confused - why call me a week ago to tell my order had arrived when it hadn't. I have a very uncommon first name and not very popular last name. How many people could he have in his system with a name like mine? Anyway, he said it would get here by this Fri. This all happened Tues around lunchtime. So I call back the delivery guy to cancel and ask him if we can do it Fri. He tells me that he's not sure, call him back Fri.

Then on my way home, I get a message from the furniture store telling that they'd made a mistake, my order was in and I could pick it up anytime. Why is this so hard? So I try to make arrangemens with the guy again and he's not sure he can fit me in and tells me to call him on Fri and he'll see.

I asked a friend at work who has a pickup if he'd take me to pick it up and he said it'd be no problem. So hopefully, if nothing else screwy happens, I'll be sleeping on my bed by Sat night. Can't wait.

things that make you go Ooof

I think I'm coming down with a cold or something - a guy in my lab has been hacking up his lungs since last Fri so it's probably due to him. I don't get colds very often. I hope it passes soon.

It's hurts when I cough, not just b/c of this stupid cold. Last night I went to the gym and after my regular weight routine, I took a boxing class for the first time. I've always wanted to try it out. I was talking to one of the trainers there and he convinced that it'd be great.

It was great. We all got boxing gloves and the instructor went around to each of us in turn (10 women, 2 men) and we had do series of punches. We all stood in a circle around him, he'd say - 6 punches - then we'd have to start with left glove (always left 1st - I wanted to ask why but decided to just keep quiet as it was my first day :) and hit the pads on his hands and he'd go around to each of us. After we each did it then he'd change the sequence. It was fun. He said I was a natural. He then asked if I'd done a kick-boxing class before b/c I really got the hang of it quickly. It really helps if you count :)

I really enjoyed it though it was tiring. He also made us jog around the room in between sets and I didn't like that at all. We'd punch for about 5min then jog for 2min. At the end, we did ab work. First on exercise ball. He had us all lined up, each of us reclined on a balance ball and he threw this medicine ball to each of us 8 times and we were supposed to throw it back to him, 4 times with our hands behind our head. It looked easy enough for the 4 people ahead of me. When he threw it to me I went "Ooof!" literally. I tried to catch it but it still hit me in the lower abdomen. I wasn't expecting it to be as heavy as it was. It was hard to throw it back to him. Every one else seemed to find that easy. Even the other new girl who was there.

Sleepy

I'm really sleepy and need to go to bed soon.
Had a busy weekend. Went to an out-of-town party Sat, a surprise party for a friend. It was fun. We had quite a meandering drive there, what with stop for gas, trying to avoid traffic but taking alternate exits and back-roads. It was all good b/c we carpooled and I wasn't driving. We got there eventually and before the b'day guy got back which was the important thing. We all yelled surprise and he was vey surprised and also very pleased. Lots of food, great wine, wonderful sangria, ouzo shots and birthday cake, brownies and blondies. Got back home around midnight but didn't get to sleep until 1:30ish.

Sun was first day of choir - we're off during the summer. I was going to skip it b/c a) i was tired, had woken up at 7am to do my weekly talk to family (only time we were all available - someday, I'd like us all to live in the same time zone again :)
b) i was hoarse - no doubt due to my late night and the fact that my allergies/asthma had been bothering me all weekend.
I took my meds and after ~45min I felt better so I decied to go after all. By that time I was an hour late but I still went and it was good to be back.
We saw 2 movies yesterday with dinner at great Vietnamese restaurant in between. The first was Hollywoodland. It was quite interesting and moved along at a good pace. I felt it was 15min too long though. Still, worth seeing. Adrien Brody is perfect for his role in this movie. I didn't much care for the ending of the movie.

Then we saw Trust the Man. I enjoyed it a lot. In part b/c I haven't seen David Duchovny in so long and was glad for the chance to watch him again. It was very funny. Even though they gave DD the most awful hair-cut I still enjoyed looking at him. And Billy Crudup is usually not too bad himself but he had one of those stupid triangles of hair under his lip. you know what I mean - I can't quite rememeber what its called. I do know that I want to walk around and shave that off most of the guys who sport it. I'm also quite fond of Julianne Moore. Maggie Gyllenhal has the largest earlobes I have ever seen on a woman, so large that I could see the holes in them when she wasn't wearing earrings. Kind of an odd observation, I know. The ending was a little cheesy but I could live with it.

Had another late night and was too wired to sleep. Banged my arm again on Sat just before I left for the party. I was just out of the shower when the phone rang. While running for the $%#*^@& phone, I literally ran into the door, this time with my left arm just above the elbow again. I did put ice on it and it doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did the last time I did this. When will I learn that phones are not emergencies. I am able to ignore the phones at work easily. I rarely answere them when they ring. I never rush for it since it is rarely for me. And if no one else is around then I don't even try to ans. I figure that I'll just have to tell the caller that so-and-so was not there and a)have to go look for them or b)have them leave a message. Neither of which I want to do when I'm in the middle of working up a reaction. So I play deaf ;)

Got to go to bed now. Nite.

i was in class

I wonder why 5yr mark is more special than 1st or 2nd or 3rd or 4th and will prob mean more than the 6th. Where was I? Just walking into my 1st class of the day. There was a tv in that classroom and the other guys were watching - that's when I heard. My professor came in and told us, "ok guys, time to turn that off, let's have class". I don't think she realized that anything had happened at that moment. We tried to tell her but she must have thought we wanted to delay start of class - we often tried to side-track her for the first 15min or so with random shit (all I can say in our defense is that it was junior level chem class-instrumental analysis- that started way too early). We still had class. It wasn't until we were wrapping up and talking amongst ourselves that she realized. Went to my next class(hoping he'd cancel it) but no, he didn't either. At least he knew what was going on but I think he felt we could use the distraction. So I had both my classes that day.
By lunch time, TVs were on in most of the common rooms and everyone was watching. It was horrible. Even though I wasn't personally concerned about family who worked in or near the Towers (like many students there) I was still traumatized by the visuals...the reality of it. Watching the planes crash - you just couldn't help but watch again and again. It was on every station. Just felt like the world was about to end and I'd barely begun to live. It just seemed so unfair for all those people who didn't have a chance or a choice. I had to get out of my head.

I went on a retreat that weekend with a group of students from 3 local colleges and our local parish priest and sister B. No tv, no phones, no radio. We spent our time canoeing, kayaking, swimming (not me b/c the water was too cold but almost everyone else did swim). Fellowship, prayer. Walking along the sandy shore, hiking (yes, even me) playing in the sand, playing badminton, stories around the fireplace. Most of us slept in the huge common area around the fireplace, some 25 students huddled together in sleeping bags and on blankets. It got us through that weekend. Made new friends. Got away from the horror of 9/11 if only for a short while.

dentist

Went to the dentist today. Had to get a cavity filled, it was between two of my molars. I usu have to get 2 shots of novocaine at the dentist whenever I have work done and today was no exception. He gave me the first shot, then waited, checked with the sharp dentist tool, still not numb. Waited some more, still not. Then he said he'd give me a booster. He's got really great technique b/c I hardly feel the needle going in and he goes slowly enough that I barely notice it (apart from the fact that my mouth is open wider than is comfortable). Took another 5 min then boom, numb numb numb. He did lots of drilling. Then halfway through one of the nurses came in and was asking him questions so he stopped for a bit. I wanted to say - "hey c'mon, we're on the clock here" b/c even though my mouth always takes long to become numb, it starts wearing off along the gumline fast. Finally he was just starting to do final shaping and polishing when I could feel everything he was doing. Not good. So I waved and mumbled that I could feel it and he tried to finish quickly.

My tongue and lip stayed really numb for about 2 hrs but my gum tissue returned to normal. Very weird not being able to feel half your tongue or lip yet be able to feel how sore your gums are. The numbness is all gone but now I feel the after-effects of all the pressure I felt while he was working on my teeth - pressure is all you feel while under novocaine's wonderful influence. I can now feel the pain of all that pressure. I took a couple advil 40 min ago and the pain's just beginning to lessen. Thank God. Don't feel like I can eat anything solid yet. Maybe in another 30min. I hope b/c I'm hungry.

demo-derby, gotta love it

I went to a figure-8 demolition derby Labor Day night. It was alright. Not as awesome as I imagined it'd be...I was invisioning mass mayhem...headon crashes...many sideswipes while making the figure-8 turns. But they had to do 8 laps and the car that finished 1st won $100. They had 8 races like that, then for the grand finale, the winners of each of the previous races(whose cars were still drivable) had to complete 10 laps in the last race and the winner got $1000. So they were really not trying to hit each other at all. I was kind of disappointed. There was one great crash in the 3rd race but that was about it.

I had the requisite fried dough topped with cinnamon/powdered sugar. Then I ate a sloppy joe. Haven't had a sloppy joe in years - they used to be my fav thing to get from my high school cafeteria, well, that and aloo-pie (fried potato-filled pie).
After taking my order, the lady asked, "are you here for the demolition derby?"
Me: Yup!
Sloppy Joe Lady: are you enjoying it?
Me: It's good but I'd have preferred it if there were more crashes.
Kind of strange questions but I was amused. I guess she doesn't see many black people there specifically for the demo-derby. I wanted to say that I travel around to the different county fairs just to experience the demolition derby but I figured that might be too much :) T said that it was probably b/c of my accent why she asked. maybe.

We also sat and listened to an Eagles cover band who were fairly good. What really made it great was that the picnic tables and stage were set up just downwind of the barn that held the chickens, ducks, and rabbits. You can't begin to imagine the smell. Nothing like Eagles music along with the scent of duck do-da. Then we looked at some of the animals. I could have done without that part but my friends are big on petting livestock. So I just followed along and kept my distance. Oxen are HUGE! They are about the size of a slimmer Honda Pilot. I kid you not. No way was I petting anything whose head is half my body size. That's one of my rules :)
They seemed docile enough and just stood there while my friends petted them. I also saw a huge goat as well as some regular sized-ones. It was taller than me, it had a long neck. Kind of like a giraffe-goat. C & T both insisted that it was a normal size but I have seen many goats in my time and never have I seen anything that was my height. Think about it - 5ft goat - so not normal. The fence was about 3ft tall and it looked like it was going to make a run for it soon. I stayed clear of the goat enclosure after seeing it put it's hoof on the top rung of the fence. The pygmy horses were kinda cute and well as the other baby animals. I like baby animals, just looking at them is enough for me, I don't need to pet them. There were really cute shetland lambs.
I was pretty tired after all that. Luckily T drove so I could just relax on our way back - 40min drive.

croc hunter

It's just so sad that the Croc Hunter is gone. I feel really sad about it. I didn't even know him personally but I feel really upset. I can only imagine how devastated his wife and kids are. The younger one probably won't really understand for a few years. I expected that he'd be killed someday by a croc or venomous snake. He's had so many near-misses recorded on tape but a stingray - in a freak accident. It just seems unreal.

times like these

It's at times like these - U.S. holidays, when my friends go home to their families/their families come visit them, that I feeel lonely. Most of the time I'm fine. I barely notice it. Times like these when I wish I had a significant other. Think I'll go to a movie tonight. Get out of my head for a while.

I need to get out for a bit anyway. Did most of my laundry today so at least I was out for a little while. My landlord re-varnished the front stairs and railing of my apt and since then my apt has reeked of it. He told me it probably wouldn't be dry until Tues in the am so I have to use the back stairs until then. I made sure to take my inhaler cause I can just imagine the havoc all the fumes are doing to my lungs. Might sleep in my bedroom tonight on my sleeping bag. I've turned on a couple fans and opened the windows to try to disperse the fumes and circulate the air inside. Has helped a bit but I can still smell it. Before I turned on the fans I could also taste it which was very nasty. Ever smelled something so strong you get the sensation that you were tasting it. Yeah, just like that. Yuck!

itchy and scratchy

Went for allergy shots yesterday after work, waited the usual 20min after the shots, no problem. I asked the nurse if I was in time - within 14 days - but then she said no it was 15 days. Within 14 days they can increase the dosage but after that they can't incr it, they have to stay at the same dosage as last time. Good thing I asked b/c she wrote the increased dosage down, then after my question, she croseed it out and wrote the saem dosage as last time. It's a good thing that I asked and she corrected it....
About an hr later, I was at home and was eating a plum. That's when I noticed that my mouth felt funny, kinda chalky aftertaste. Then my lip felt weird, then sort of swollen. That's when I realized I was having some kind of allergic reaction. So out came the liquid benadryl - I took the max dose recommended. Within 10min, I had hives on my face and my body was very itchy. Reared back after looking at my face in the mirror - scary sight. After about 20min, the swelling started going down. At first I thought I might be allergic to the plum I ate but I've had it before in the past week without any ill effects so it must have been due to the allergy shots. I haven't had a reaction like that to them before. The shots are the reason I have liquid benadryl in my medicinie cabinet.
The benadryl knocked me out. I'd planned to go to the laudromat, but thought it'd be a bad idea to drive after my benadryl dose. Good thing b/c I was alseep within 30-40min sometime around 8pm. Next thing I knew it was 2am. Had trouble getting back to sleep.

I was itchy off and on all day today. E asked me if I called the doc office. But I didn't b/c I figured they'd just tell me to do what I did - take benadryl, rest. Tonight I'm itchy again but no swelling. Just took some benadryl, smaller dose this time. Going to get ready for bed soon - that way I can be ready for when I pass out :)

brakes

I don't give out advice much - I do have one piece to impart today though - have a brake inspection done on your car at least once a year- the inspection is free at many places like midas/munro or any place that does brake/muffler work.

I had 30k mileage service done on my car a year and half ago. Had state inspection done Feb this year. I guess I can excuse the dealership who did my 30k service b/c maybe my brakes weren't in danger then. Those people who do the state inspection(namely valvoline in my case) should have noticed that my brake pads/shoes were worn. They didn't care enough to notify me of this. There is no common courtesy where this is concerned. You're on your bloody own. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed a loud noise coming from my car. It wasn't constant and sometimes happened when I braked but not every time I braked. It kept getting worse and more frequent. So I took it in to Midas last night. That sound I was hearing - apparently metal grinding against metal b/c my brake pads had worn down completely to the rotors. I had to have both front rotors as well as brake pads replaced to the tune $400 - incl labor and parts.

Just when I think I can get ahead, start making some progress (small) towards getting out of debt...something else comes up. It's like I'm fighting a losing battle. I was quite depresed about this yesterday. I'm glad I got it done though. I did briefly consider leaving to get a 2nd estimate someplace else. But then I thought about how late it already was (6pm) and that I probably wouldn't be able to get the work the same day.Then I thought that it wasn't worth $10-50 to me. I would surely write off such amounts if my brakes failed b/c I was trying to get a bargain price. Is it worth being maimed or killed or causing harm to someone else. Not in the least. I did talk to a few guys at work who told me that if it was just brake pads/shoes, it cost $100-200 and if I needed to replace the rotors then ~$400. Still cheaper than the dealer would have charged me at any rate.

It rained almost constantly today. Boy was I glad to have my brakes in top working order.

Check your brakes people, check your brakes.

totally old navy

I'm totally an Old Navy whore. I shop there a lot. So it's was bound to happen that I'd be wearing an Old Navy T-shirt with the name on the front when I went there last night. I kind of forgot. I try not to go in the store whenever I'm wearing their name-branded mechandise. I was in the store for about 15min before I realized my faux-pa. At first I tried to hide it by holding up the clothes(I was going to try on) in front of me. Then I decided to just rock the hell out of it b/c it's not like I could take my shirt off. Maybe I should just not buy anymore name-branded shirts.

So should have done laundry yesterday. But after sleeping away most of the day I was just not in the mood. So I went shopping instead.
Laundry was not an option b/c it rained all day today.
I did some major rearranging/unpacking/cleaning today. Should have taken my inhaler before I started but I forgot and was just into getting stuff done. By 5 I was quite tired in addition to being wheezy. Made some good progress today. Cleared out most of the boxes and all that's left are the ones with books/CDs/DVDs next to the shelves they are going on. I'll be leaving that for another day. Going to bed early tonight. I'm really tired.

another week

It's been another exhausting week. Saw a couple movies this week. Saw "Little Miss Sunshine" and that was a great movie. I really enjoyed it and laughed a lot(at times the only person laughing but I'm no stranger to that :)

Last night went to see "Beerfest" with a new friend, GS, from work. Her pick, not mine. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I laughed a lot(again the only one laughing at times - which made GS laugh as well). I thought they had too many shots of women getting their tops ripped off but I guess that was for the real target audience for this movie i.e. college boys. Apart from that, there were some really funny moments. If you go see it, stay for the credits b/c the outtakes are also very funny.

August has been like movie month for me - I've seen 6 movies this month already and that's just the ones I've seen in the cinema. I guess I've just been trying to stay sane among all the clutter and moving drama that has been my life this month.

I did "play tennis" Wed after all - mostly with my non-dominant hand - in spite of my bruise which still hurt. S was not convinced about how great an idea that was. But I figured that since I can bowl with my left hand, why not tennis with my left hand. I usu switch to left-hand-bowling when my right hand fails me, gutter-ball-city. This happens when my arm gets tired and my wrists and elbow gets a bit achy usu after 2 games.

It took about an hr before I could get the ball to go where I wanted it to - towards the person I was playing with :). Much of the first hr was spent with me shouting across the court "Look out! Sorry." or "Watch out! Sorry!" and then to S "I'm going to kill someone". S was really nice about it and kept trying to reassure me that I wasn't going to kill anyone. Finally I got the hang of it and the 2nd hr went much better. I did use my right hand a little but I tried to stick to my left hand mostly. Thankfully, no one was hit by any of the missiles I launched across the court.

My bruise is much less noticeable now and only a little sore. I'll be glad when I can work out normally again. It's very boring at the gym when I can't do any arm/back machines. The leg machines take 10min. then all that's left is cardio. I missed being able to do my regular routine. So I skipped the gym yesterday. Meant to go walking this morning but was so tired I slept till noon today. Now I have to get my place clean and then organized.

elbows

I banged my elbow on the edge of my bed Sat evening just as I was getting ready to go out. Didn't have much time to nurse it (put ice). So I just left it. It was a little sore for a few minutes, but seemed to wear off and I forgot all about it. Sat night I went bowling. Mon, I notice that just above my elbow joint is tender to the touch. I wa telling E today that I think I have a hairline fracture in my lower humerus. Well, probably not. It'd probably hurt more than it does. It does hurt a lot though and today I noticed (after E pointed it out) that I have a big bruise forming there. I also have 3 other bruises on my arms (2 on one and 1 on the other) from the allergy shots I had last week. E also joked that I was in an abusive relationship with myself. Funny...for 5sec. I guess it is kind of funny, but not real fun. I did put an ice pack on it Sun and last night. Will do it again tonight.

I was going to play tennis tomorrow but I think I need to rest my arm for a bit, at least until the bruising goes away. I went to the gym today but only did legs and cardio. I went for a brisk 20min walk Mon. I have been trying to increase my exercise routine from 2-3days/week to 4-5days/week. Last Sat morning, I went for a walk with a friend from work and that was fun. We walked for about 40min. We're planning to make it a regular Sat am thing for as long as the weather is cooperative. I'm also going to walk on my own on Mondays after work, then Tues/Thurs at the gym for weight training/ short cardio workout. All that will give me 3-4 days of workout and I will just have to do 1 more. I'm also going to try cutting down on the crap I eat - no more late night oreos :)
I bought this bootcamp workout DVD - this is how delusional I am - thinking that it'd be great, I'd have fun, work out, get fit. Right. I couldn't follow it. Just like stupid aerobic classes, they start introducing dumb "grapevine" nonsense - I just can't follow or keep up. It's a little frustrating. Cause just looking at it, it looks do-able, like anyone could do it.

I ordered the split box spring for my bed last night. This weekend I really need to get all the boxes taken care of. I'm truly tired of seeing them.

I'm actually sleepy now so maybe I'll go to bed.

Books Read (2006)

Not all the books I read in 2006 but the most memorable:

To Die For...Linda Howard

Really Unusual Bad Boys...MaryJanice Davidson

The Undomestic Goddess...Sophie Kinsella

The Feeling Good Handbook...David Burns, M.D.

Comfort and Joy...Kristin Hannah

Reinventing Mona...Jennifer Coburn

Fashionably Late...Beth Kendrick

All Things Beautiful...Cathy Maxwell

Shadow Game & Mind Game...Christine Feehan

Smart Mouth...Erin McCarthy

The Myth Of You and Me...Leah Stewart

Dates From Hell & A Fistful of Charms...Kim Harrison

My Favorite Mistake...Beth Kendrick

Hex and the Single Girl...Valerie Frankel

Heiress for Hire...Erin McCarthy

Mouth To Mouth...Erin McCarthy

Back to the Bedroom...Janet Evanovich

Stupid and Contagious...Caprice Crane

Even Vampires Get the Blues...Katie MacAlister

Delicious, Irristible and Falling For Gracey...Susan Mallery

My Sister's Keeper...Jodi Picoult

Anybody Out There...Marian Keyes

My Point...and I Do Have One...Ellen Degeneres

Behaving Badly...Isabel Wolff

my place

My new apt still feels like just that - "my new apt". It doesn't feel like home yet. I wake up in the morning stil expecting to see the walls of my old apt but no, they're different and the walls are closer in since the rooms are smaller. Still sleeping on my futon. So I have to put it up and down every day and that is a pain. None of this is helping me settle in. Going to get my bedroom sorted tomorrow. Haven't hung any pictures up yet. I'm going to order the split box spring for my bed. Once I get that in and I can finally sleep in my bed again, maybe then I'll feel like this is my place.

Also need to move my shelves around and get the books out of the boxes and onto them. Fact is that I just have too much stuff and I don't know where to put half of it. A lot of it is unnecessary. It must be b/c I've managed to live without seeing/knowing the exact location of msny of them for the last 3 weeks. Got to get my clothes out of the suitcases and into the closets. Fewer closets as well.
At least my kitchen is more or less in order. I'm getting a kitchen island secondhand on the weekend and that should be a big plus space-wise. There's isn't much in the way of counter-space. And it has lower shelves so I'll be able to get my cookbooks out and put them there.

It's difficult to wind down in the evenings when I'm surrounded by all this clutter. I'm hoping to make a major jump into all this tomorrow and Sun.

I imagine that all the unrest I'm feeling is normal after living in the same place for 4yrs. It just seems like a lot all at once.

sanity returns

At approx. 11am today I got connected, finally. You know that cable tv ad - the one where the guy is on his knees hugging the cable guy and crying b/c he's so happy to get cable. Well that was me this morning. Well, without actually hugging the guy or crying but the sentiment was there. It was a close thing.
Now I don't know what to watch or surf so I'm online while watching tv - the best of both worlds.

I'm kind of sleepy and it's barely 10pm. Might actually go to bed early. Feels like it should be Fri already. I've been going to work earlier than is my norm (7:15-7:45 instead of 8-8:30). But I haven't been going to bed earlier. NO wonder I've been tired lately. Went for a brisk walk Mon after work. Went to the gym Tues then bowling later that night. Came straight home today, needed the rest. Tomorrow supposed to "play tennis" with a couple friends - by "play tennis" I mean hit the ball occasionally but spend most of the time chasing after the missed tennis balls :). In any event a good cardio workout.

Previously Unposted Blog entries...

...made after the move to my new apt:

8/1
First night in my new apt. Feels a little bit weird but I expect it’ll feel like home once I start getting rid of the boxes and get more of my stuff out. So far I’ve unpacked my computer, TV, and VCR. I’ve also opened the conveniently labeled “food” boxes. But that’s about it.

Bad news is that the movers couldn’t fit my queen box spring through the stairwell, they tried but no-go. At least I have my futon to sleep on in the meantime.
My landlord stored it in the garage for me until I can decide what to do with it. I’m going to try to sell it.
A couple people suggested had some suggestions:
a) cut the boxspring in a couple places so it’ll fit through, then wedge it back together with metal screws and clamps…my problem with this is that is sure to destroy the integrity of the boxspring itself and how safe would it be after that. Plus I think it’d have to be cut all along one side for it to fit.
b) use pulleys/ropes to pull it up to the 2nd floor through the porch windows(which would have to be removed)…ok so the windows aren’t wide enough and the entire frame around them would also have to be removed for the boxspring to fit through-again not a viable option.
My only real option is to buy a split boxspring which is ~$150. I might be able to get it interest-free, then I can pay it off over a couple months rather than all at once – got to stop using the credit cards at some point

8/2
Got a few more boxes unpacked. They put all my smaller boxes in 4 huge boxes (I could fit inside one easily) and they take up a ton of room. I’m exhausted.
Had to buy a new toilet seat – the one that was there was one of those soft ones (eewww). I hate those. Don’t like the way they feel plus I worry about how porous the material covering is, can you really disinfect that, I doubt it. I wanted coated wood or plastic. Plus it had a tear and I kept thinking about all the bacteria living in said tear coming out to have a party on any part of me that was touching the seat. Yeah so $10 and 20min of sweat = totally worth me not having to have kittens every time I needed to go.

Went over to a friend’s house for dinner and a dip in the pool…well I dipped my legs in. The rest of them all went in. I don’t have a suit, should probably get one. My punishment for not going into the pool = 17 mosquito bites on my legs and 12 on my arms. Crazy and itchy and I’m so not going there again in shorts.

8/6
10 days without cable or internet can drive one a little bit barmy. Only 2 more days to go. I got most of my laundry done today. Except for curtains - those from my old apt (which don’t look dirty at all but I know I only washed them once since I first put them up) and the ones that were up when I moved in my new place. I had to take the ones they left down – at least 10yrs worth of dust was on those curtains. I have never seen that much dust in one place on fabric before. My allergist would have kittens if he knew I slept right next to that much dust for 2 nights in a row. It’s no wonder that I needed my inhaler for a few days. I attributed it to my move/cleaning at first. But it must have been sleeping next to all that dust. Disgusting. I haven’t needed my inhaler since funnily enough. They are pretty good curtains though not a color I’d choose myself (maroon). I may have them done at the laundry mat so I don’t have to mess with all that dust myself (my Mum’s suggestion). My curtains aren’t quite long enough so I may have to let the hems out or something. Either that or just do without curtains(at this moment the most likely scenario)

I also unpacked a couple more things and have finally gotten all the stuff out of the huge boxes. Many boxes are still around me but it’s getting there slowly but surely.

Still no idea when MCI will deign to transfer my landline, even though I called the buggers 2 ½ weeks ago and waited a full hr before I could talk to a person. They’ve had ample time. I tried to find out about it last Tues and after a 45min wait, found out that that dept is busy and will call me back. Hah! Just as I expected, they didn’t call me back. I’m just going to cancel it which will probably require another freakin hr of hold time on the phone. I can’t call tonight as my cell needs to recharge after my talk with my family. I may try one of those online landline things instead or I might just wait and see how I do without the land line for a bit. I only really want it for my weekly talk to family – I don’t use any of the other features and all other long US long distance I can use my cell for. As is I only use ~200 of my 450 minutes, so I think I can manage with just my cell. The only problem would be getting it charged up. After an hr of talk it starts beeping to be recharged.

I’m tired of my cell phone – it’ll be 2 yrs in Oct before my contract is up and couldn’t come fast enough to suit me. I really don’t want to sign another 2yr contract. 2 yrs is just too long to have the same phone. I may end up signing another one to get the best deal if I find another really cool phone that I must have :)
I have seen a few cool-looking ones online. I have to see what they feel like in person. Like the cool blue razor I saw. I like the look of it and the color but the keys feel weird to me. I think I want a flip phone. My first cell was a flip-phone and real user-friendly. Good ole Motorola. My cousin C wants me to switch from Verizon to Cingular but I don’t really want to switch. Apart from S, she’s the person I talk to most often and we currently all have Verizon which makes it convenient for me cause then none of those minutes count toward my monthly total.

Still have a few change of address notices to take care of – mostly ones that don’t allow me to do it online/by phone easily.

Got to get to bed early tonight. Have been waking early but not going to bed until after midnight. Not very good. I’m aiming to get to bed by 11:30pm tonight.

Tonight I watched “The Wedding Gift” – much sadder than I realized it would be, worth seeing for sure, very well acted. On that note, I’m off to bed.

8/9
Ok so it’s official that I’m going stark raving mad now. The stupid cable guy did not ring my doorbell and left a note. No call. I left work early for this, had to explain to my boss and now I have to wait another fucking week for cable. Moving is hell. I’m sick of all the shit involved. Really sick of it now. Still no home-fucking-phone. NO damn cable or internet. Stupid boxes everywhere (cause I just can’t face unpacking). The worst thing about this all is having to explain all this shit to people. I’m tired of explaining. I forgot to mail a check to one of my credit and have a stupid $29 late-payment fee to show for it. I just forgot. I wrote the check out and forgot to mail it. I’ve never done that before. I’m normally very meticulous when it comes to stuff like this and just couldn’t believe it. It’s a good thing that I am somewhat obsessive and often check my accounts. I just checked it and then saw to my horror that it hadn’t been paid as I’d assumed. It’s all so very annoying. As it is I can barely stand to be in my apartment right now. I must go do something. I don’t have a lot of money right now but what’s new. I just have to get out.

Direct From Moving Hell

It's 7:12pm and I'm at the library. Why? Because I currently have no cable, no phone, no internet at my apt. Only boxes and more boxes. Only 4 local channels without static and audio (just when I finally found a few shows I wanted to watch regularly).

I left work at 2pm today just so that I could get home in time for the cable guy who was due 2:30-4:30 (they always give you shitty time windows). Anyhoo, I'm home and waiting. It's 4pm, still no sign, no doorbell. I go downstairs to get something out of my car and that when to my horror I see.......pink note from cable guy...saying He came at 3:11 and missed me. Missed me? Missed me! I was freakin there! I left work early, had to explain this to my boss. Now not only do I have to wait until next week 8-12am (at another shitty time), I also will have to explain this shit to my boss tomorrow.

Also called stupid MCI who still have not connected my landline (then at least I would have had internet). The last time I called, I waited 45 min and then someone hung up on me. Yeah. Then today waited 25min and they made a report about my pending move order...pending my ass. I called these effers Jul 18th to move my damn line so that by the time I moved or at the very least by the end of my first week there, I'd have a phone line/internet. It's Aug 9th, still no line. I told them that I hope they are not intending to charge me for all the days when I haven't had a phone i.e. all of august.

It's very frustating and I swore out loud in my apt for at least 5 min. My new neighbor prob thinks I'm nuts. Not that he didn't get that impression anyway when he came in and saw me waiting at the foot of the stairs(sitting just inside the screen door) waiting for the stupid cable guy. When I called at 4pm after I found the stupid note from the cable guy, they acted like I could still get connected today. So I waited some more. Then I called back at 4:45pm after waiting on my stoop the whole time b/c if they tried to call me, they were probably using my home tel number which as of this moment does not work. So neighbor meets/sees me for the first time talking (while trying not hyperventilate) to the cable people about why the guy didn't come back. By that time, they told me that the guy was "out of the service area". Now I have to go through this shit again.

I just had to get out of my apt. Away from the boxes.

Another thing that has happened this week is that I forgot to pay one of my credit cards, one I usu pay in full every month. The stupid thing about it is that I wrote out the damn check, then forgot to mail it. It's a good thing that I'm a little paranoid and check my accounts every so often else I wouldn't have noticed it. I could kick myself or something or someone but I just have to let it go. I paid it and the stupid late fee so it's done now. I'm normally very meticulous when it comes to bill paying. I've never forgotten one before.

I talked to my cousin and she helped calm me down a bit. I need to buy a hands-free ear piced for the car. I accidentally broke the one I had. I dare not risk talking while driving b/c I know someone who got a ticket ($200) for talking at a red light. So not worth it.

I have been writing blog stuff at home, it's saved on my pc and when I do get connected again I may post it all in one go.

It's only been 10 days without cable/internet and I feel like I'm gonna go postal on someone. I shudder to think how I'm gonna feel after 17 days. But there's nothing I can do about it except deal with it. Accept it.

Going to circuit city to find a hands-free set. I bought one from RadioShack but it sucked big time - it was very uncomfortable and I couldn't figure out how to change it to work on the ear I preferred(right side). So I returned it. Hoopefully I can find one I like better.

stupid online accounts

Tonight I have been updating most of my accounts with my new address, many allow me to do this online. Lovely. Except for my stupid car insurance. It takes me 15 freakin minutes to get into the damn account cause it keep asking for random shit that I had to go look up to verify my identity like "account effective date". Why not just get my SSN and then it'd be easy. But noooo, and after all that crap where I had to re-register cause I forgot my password, then enter many many numbers, they don't have an option to change my address. So I'll have to call them on Mon. b/c of course their office is closed for non-emergencies intil then.

moving continues

Picked up the keys for my new place today. Talked to the new landlord, he and his wife were putting finishing touches and cleaning so I won't have to do any cleaning once I move in. E came over today and helped with some of my packing - she did most of the glassware from the kitchen which was a huge help since most were on high shelves and I would have had to go up then down several times to get them all down, then wrap and pack. My living room's mostly packed except for the computer and tv and air conditioner. All that's left in my bedroom besides the bed is to move the clothes in my closets - they're all going into suitcases as is, hangers and all :). I have many suitcases, acquired on my many many trips to my sis or back home - I often end up borrowing or buying an extra one for the trip back.

Spoke to my landlord today and asked if he would install my air conditioner in the window himself, that way he can fix it right and I don't have to be concerned about damaging the window sill. He agreed and I went to home depot today to get a piece of plywood to place on the sill for support.

Stupid cable company can't come until the 8th to "transfer" my cable. What I don't understand is this - why can't I just plug in the stupid box there. I'm pretty sure that's all they are going to have to do but nooo, I have to wait a week and half and pay $25 for a "technician" to come in. The woman who was in the apt before me had cable so it's not like they need to install a new line. I'm pretty sure they can do this remotely but are going to send in a technician just so they justify charging me. It's all a racket, I'm convinced. Tempted to just tell them to cancel it but who am I kidding. I would be very unhappy without cable.

E and I drove over to the new place so she could check it out - she thought it very cute.

moving in progress...

Packing still in progress. Last night I got rid of a few things that won't fit in my new digs - my friends who gave them a new home paid me for them so that was pretty good. I left it at their discretion what price to give me for them and they were more than fair. They came to pick them up and we managed between the 3 of us to get them on the truck in short order. Afterwards we had fajitas. I'd never been there before - it's like having restaurant food at fast food prices/wait times...can we say the best of both worlds :)

Took most of my pcitures from the walls down and have used these cool spackle stuff to caulk the holes left after I pulled the nails out. Then I used the Magic Eraser to remove the excess spackle stuff. You can barely see where the original nails were. Very cool.

I'm picking up my keys tomorrow and plan to head over there on Sun, take a few things over - the stuff I plan to move myself like plants, PC, etc. Naturally I have a list :)

I've got all my pots/baking pans/kitchen gadgety things packed. What's left is cutlery, foodstuff and the contents of my medicine cabinet(currently a shelf in one of the kitchen cupboards). Oh and also several bottles of alcohol. I really need to have a party of some sort so it can be used up cause I don't really drink strong stuff when it's just me. May move that myself as well.

Too wired to sleep.

picnic

Went to the company picnic today amid the torrents of rain. At least it stopped when we first got there and there was a wide covered area.
There were guys outside in the pouring rain playing soccer. They were still out there when we left around 3pm. That takes dedication.
I had a delicious pulled-pork sandwich and corn and ice-cream. Plus I won a prize in the raffle - best buy gift certificate. So cool. I never won anything before probably b/c you need to get a raffle ticket from the booth(free tickets, you just go up and ask for one :) and I never asked for a ticket at any of the other picnic's I went to ;)
Right now I should be cleaning or packing but am not in the mood to do either. Have a party to go to later but am not really in the mood to go back out in the rain. It was raining so hard on the way back from the picnic that I could barely see the brake lights of the car directly in front of me even with my wipers at full-speed. Got soaked on the way in to my apt b/c of course there's was no parking anywhere near but it's ok cause I was going to be inside soon.

movers

I'm getting movers to move my stuff. My initial plan was to have them only come for about an hr and just move my heavier items. But most have some sort of minimum time limit so even though their rate for 2 guys seemed reasonable, with the added min time, it just seemed like was too much money to have them move 4-5 things. I did get a few slightly cheaper quotes but no help to me b/c they want cash/check and I have to put it all my credit card. But it's fine. I just didn't think it was fair to ask my friends to move my heavy stuff (queen bed/futon/dresser) down 2 flights, across a long walkway, then up two flights to my new place. A few people offered to help me move but most weren't really serious offers-I could tell.
I think it's for the best though. I've gotten boxes from work (10 so far) plus I have several here and I plan to pack up most of my kitchen/books & art stuff in living room. That way I'll know if I need more boxes and will be able to tell the movers more or less how many boxes I'll have. Also have to do some cleaning today so that it's not all left for next week.

I still haven't told my neighbors yet but I think I'll have to get it over with today. I've been sort of sneaking my boxes. Partly b/c it's easier to drop them off in the back near the rental office than to have to walk from wherever I have to park with them in tow. I've been putting it off for as long as possible. I have to tell my downstairs neighbor and I'm not really looking forward to that conversation. I just can't wait to move.

how we feelin? hot-hot-hot! hot-hot-hot!

The past week has been really good for me sleep-wise. I've been logging in 6-8hrs most nights without the aid of tylenolPM. My body is still doesn't know what's going on but I think it likes it :)

Going to bed soon. It's so hot in my spt now. My bedroom temp is currently 86° with 46% humidity (according to my trusty hygrometer). I've had to turn my AC down a notch every 30min or so. Lately I've been keeping it at 75° until I'm ready for bed then I turn it up to 77/78° with the energy-saver on for the night. Currently, it's set at 68° and I'm probably going to have to sleep in my living rm tonight.

For some crazy reason I thought it'd be a great idea to have a cup of hot chocolate. Now I'm boiling and the air doesn't seem to be making much difference unless I stand directly in front of my AC(which I've been doing every so often).

Need to get ready for bed. Maybe after I turn the pc off, that'll reduce some of the heat being generated in here. I'm sweating, just typing and sweating. Enough.

a place to call home

I've found and signed and pd for my new apt. It's in a nice area, only 5 min from where I live now. I saw it Tues at lunch, called the guy that night and filled out paperwork, etc. Wed/today. So it's all set. The layout is much better than the other apt I saw over the weekend that was 5 min from my job. The landlady from that apt called me right after I decided to take the apt I saw Tues. She told me the girl's mother didn't like the apt so it was now available. I felt kinda bad at first but you know what, I think it all worked out for the best. When I looked at that apt, they made it seem like it was a mere formality for me to get it, not once did they mention that someone else had put money down on it. Then when the lady called me and told me that, I took it as a sign that I needed to keep looking. Aparently there are people out there who do give up a $300 deposit. Crazy!

Although, the apt doesn't have a laundry on-site, it's fine. There are a couple laundromats nearby. It's much cheaper than my current digs and still has heat/hot water included. The kitchen has a pantry attached and it also has a small porch. Plus the added anonymity of having your landord on seperate premises. There is one other guy living in the house but that's it. Plenty of windows.

No neighbors watching my comings and goings...or asking me if I came in late the night before...or commenting that I must have worked late when I get after going to the gym. No more wishing they would wait until after 8am to turn their stupid tv on stun. In other words...I'm going to LOVE it.

exhausted

I'm exhausted. Apartment hunting is draining. Did find 2 real possibilities that have almost eveything I'm looking for. Actually, one is perfect, 5min from my job but unfortunately someone's already put some money down on it. They did tell me that I'd get 2nd preference if the person bails but who in their right mind bails on an apt after paying a non-refundable deposit? None I can think of. Still I think if it's for me, it'll happen, if not, then it's not. The other one is good except that it smells weird to me - not a new wood smell(wood floors), not a new paint smell(freshly painted walls). The best I can describe is an old, old, building smell, maybe mold or some other airborne nasty that i'm probably allergic to.
I say an apt that had a kitchen/living room that is the size of the kitchen in my current apt - no joke. Not a real option.

Have several calls to make tomorrow. Still have to talk to my landlord who never seems available to ans his darn phone. I want to check to see if I can get an extension if I need it for a month or 2 and if not, If I can be out aug 1 or 2 even though my lease if actually up jul 31. I wanna see how much leeway i'll have. Also have to call movers even though I don't exactly have a new addy for them to move my stuff to, I figure I probably need to contact them for an estimate soon. Can't move my futon or my queen-sized bed myself.

Got to get to bed in 10. Nite.

the joys of reading craigslist

A few gems from craigslist that cracked me up. Enjoy.

1)question and the response: the best part = soul deprived viper

2)handsome man

3)initial post(do people really talk like or is this just for kicks?) and then the following a, b, c and d are the responses.

4) last but not least

5) I had to add this one as well - alien

All I can say is thank-you craigslist :) The weirdos on craigslist don't discriminate i.e. can be found in every city.