Lots O' Random Thoughts

My IT department just changed our screensaver. It’s no longer some educational something. It is now multiple scenes of crystal blue water, sandy beaches, rolling green hills, beautiful landscapes in far away places. And the text reads “Thanks for all of your hard work.”

I think their real meaning is, “Thank you for sitting in front of this computer for eight hours everyday, but you still aren’t earning enough money or vacation time to visit any of these beautiful places, so we’ll just show you pictures of what you’re missing.”

Thanks, guys.

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I think I may have gained a wee bit of weight. I now sweat when I vacuum.

That can’t be good.

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I have a hair appointment on Sunday. It’s coming off. Not all off, not pixie off, but mostly off. Maybe a messy bob with layers and bangs. Who knows what I’ll feel like when I sit in the chair.

I wish I had enough money to get it colored, too. The gray is really starting to get to me.

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As is our weather here in the great Pacific Northwest. It’s been 50 degrees and rainish for a few weeks. It’s winter, for cryin’ out loud. Give me some kind of extreme! Cold, snow, pouring rain, SOMETHING. I’m bored.

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Speaking of bored, my brain is wandering now. I’m in a lull at work. I was so busy with other things this past year that I was just glad to have a flexible job. Now I don’t have much else to dwell on (aside from my gray hair and excess weight) so I’m examining my job. I just don’t feel like I’m working toward anything the end of the day. I don’t feel like I’m accomplishing much. Except buying centrifuges and vials of antibodies.

Sigh.

I talk to myself a lot and I ask, “What could I possibly be doing every day that makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something worthwhile each and every day?”

The only job I can come up with is a stay at home mom.

Funny, huh?

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On to happier topics…

How’s about them Saints?! That was one of the best games I’ve watched in a long time. While I love Favre (even though I think he needs to call it quits, especially after the beating he took during this game), I’m excited to see the Saints go to their first Super Bowl. And against the Colts!

We may have to have a Super Bowl party.
I will buy football themed napkins.
And use our new serving platters!

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Speaking of the weekend, there was a lot of sittin’ around and reading and relaxing.

I am extremely proud of myself.

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Except for when Tom snuck out, after I caught his head in the door and yanked* it open again so I wouldn’t kill him. Rather than backing up and coming inside, the little bugger darted forward, onto the back porch. He kind of froze when he got to the steps, so I grabbed him and threw him back inside.

I got really ticked off at him and told him maybe I’ll just open the door and let them both run free. Let’s see how well they do out in the wild with the raccoons, coyotes, and cars that speed down our road. I bet they’ll realize they really don’t have it so bad being kept indoors.

But then I realized I really do love my kitties, so I think I’ll buy two kitty harnesses**, and take them for a walk. Then they can see the outside and not feel like it’s such a great unknown.


*I originally spelled that “janked”. And I wondered why it didn’t look right. I am losing my mind.

**Todd suggested buying just one kitty harness and taking them out separately. Which surprised me because I thought Todd knew me better than that. They are BROTHERS. They must go out TOGETHER. Silly.

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I get to see Val and Rachelle tonight, and I am uber excited. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten together for one of our walks and gab fests.

The original plan was a walk around Greenlake, then maybe dinner afterwards. But then Val couldn’t make the walk, so it turned into me and Rachelle walking, then meeting Val after for dinner. But then Rachelle had an appointment come up, so while she could still make dinner, she wouldn’t be able to make the walk. So I thought, okay, I’ll walk Greenlake by myself (see: vacuuming and sweating above) then meet them for dinner.

Yeah, that’s a dumb idea.
I’m in a skirt and boots and all done up. I’m not ruining this for a walk.

I’ll just skip the margarita at dinner. That balances, right?

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Last Monday, when I was out shopping by myself, I went to Half Price Books to find some new stuff read. I’ve read seven of the 10 Sookie books, and I absolutely love them (but don’t care for the series they spurred, “True Blood”. Weird). But Trish, who is supplying my Sookie crack, is about to spit out her little girl Rosalind, so she’s been a bit preoccupied and I haven’t gotten the next book.

So, in the meantime, I picked up “Bitter is the New Black” by Jen Lancaster.

And I cannot put it down.
And I’m an expert and walking and reading now.

I started reading Jen’s blog after Todd sent me the link this post of her’s. It had me crying at my desk, so I bookmarked it and now I’m addicted to this bitchy, funny woman.

“Bitter is the New Black” is her first book of four, and it details her (and her husband’s) downward spiral from Dot Calm rich execs to barely scraping by to make bills. And what I love so much about this book is, while it’s really easy to not like her (although, I already did because I read her blog), you can’t help but love her. She knows she’s a bitch. She knows she’s materialistic. But over the span of the book, she evolves and realizes she needs to grow up. Then you start to really like her, and respect her.

I do believe I’ll have to make another run to Half Price Books to pick up her next three books.

Reading these also makes me want to write for a living. But what’s new?

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I’ve gotten really good at sleeping with earplugs in. I hardly wake up at all during the night.

But my ear holes hurt from having them in there all night.

What to do?

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Every now and then, I have a brief, powerful memory of the wedding that just hits me out of nowhere. And then I get teary eyed.

This most often happens when the song “Bombananza” by Bob Schneider comes across my iPod.

That was our first dance. And it turned into a conga line. And my bustle got ripped because somehow I ended up leading the conga line. As any bride should, I guess.

We didn’t want to have a first dance be a slow song, where we just rocked back and forth while everyone gazed at us and made us uncomfortable. That’s not our life at all.

So, after the cake cutting (during which we used FORKS to feed each other, thankyouverymuch) we walked down to the dance floor and hounded a couple of people to join us, while people wondered what the hell we were up to now.

Then Kyle pressed play.

Now THAT’S the way to start off a new life together.

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Okay, I’m off to kill time until dinner with my gals. Maybe a drink at the lovely little wine bar down the street while I read some more of “Bitter is the New Black.”

I’ll just skip the sour cream and guacamole at dinner.
See?! I can balance!

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UPDATE:

Rest assured, dear readers (and my HR department - Hi!), I am not job hunting. I really like my job. I love my boss and my co-workers, and I’m really lucky to have such a great group, especially with the wedding, honeymoon and all of the Tyler issues. They’re all very understanding. Yes, I feel like I’m in a lull right now, but I blame that solely on SAD. It’s dark here, it’s 50 degrees, and I just feel blah. About everything. So do most people I know right now.

Funny thing, though. In the book I’m reading, “Bitter is the New Black” Jen was bluntly turned down for a job just because of a website she put up. It was a list of all of the companies that wouldn’t hire her. She titled it “Companies That Suck”. As soon as she made mention of that website, I saw it coming. So yes, it’s always on my mind.

No Book To Read, But At Least I Have Doritos

I finished "Breaking Dawn" last night. Fan-freakin'-tastic. Can't wait for the movie!

But now I have nothing to read at lunch. So I blog.

And I eat Doritos. Because I can.

As long as I don't look at the list of ingredients, they're quite tasty. But the paragraph long list of words I can't pronounce totally kills the joy. So, I dump them out on a plate and throw the bag away. Clever, aren't I?

I'm also eating a sandwich from the little deli downstairs. Not bad, but it has mustard on it. I don't like mustard. Not a big mayo fan either. But this is "stone ground" mustard, so it has a bit of a smokey flavor. Better than yellow mustard. Yuck.

There's swiss cheese on my sandwich, too. Man, I love cheese.

Sigh.

You've missed me, haven't you?

Little Ol' Update

While my new job is fantastic, it really cuts into my blogging time. And when I get home from the fantastic job, I'm too busy doing administrative stuff/taking out the garbage/cleaning/reading/sleeping to write a post. And weekends are out because rarely do I even have time to check my email from Todd's. There's cleaning to do!

So I thought I'd just take some time this evening to update you.

First, my new desk. It's no green closet, but it's mine. And it's homey.

And it's blurry, I see now. Crap.

See those windows up there? They're frosted, but that's about the only daylight I really see, if I don't leave the building. I asked my buddy why they were frosted. He said those windows are at ground level (the building backs up against a hill) and they overlook a parking lot. Where homeless people hang out. And those homeless people were peering in at my co-workers all day. So the windows got frosted.

And my name plate. Pardon my horrible handwriting.

Speaking of work, the first "con" has appeared. No more individual, unisex bathrooms. My old department had a typical ladies room, but it also had four unisex bathrooms. Nice and private. Now I'm running into co-workers on my pee breaks and am forced to make small talk. Really not my idea of a good time.

Other than that, the new job is great. My co-workers are fabulous (even though I don't like making small talk with them in the bathroom) and my boss is a complete delight. It's nice to not dread going to work in the morning. Oh, I still dread getting up. And I'm sure it irks Todd when I'm whining at 6:30 in the morning that I HATE getting up early and it's too cold and it's too dark and just give me five more minutes!

But once I'm up, it's all good.

Not much else to update you on.

Oh, I had a letter taped to my front door when I got home today, notifying me that the apartment management company had received my Notice to Vacate and would begin showing my apartment so could I please be sure to tidy up.

[pause]

Um....do you even know me? My place is pretty "tidy" on any given day, but now that I'm really just sleeping here four nights a week, there's even less to clean up. I did wipe down the stovetop because the months of dust that has accumulated on it looked icky. Hard work, I tell ya.

Okay, that's about all I have to update you on. Now I'm off to soak. I have three chapters left in "Breaking Dawn" and we're down to big battle. I'm going to need bubbles for this.

The New Job

Holy crap, life is good!

First, FREE COFFEE. Yes, Radiology had a little coffee pot in the kitchen, but rarely would anyone really make coffee and it was strong, bad coffee. Purchasing had a nifty commerical type coffee maker. No more $1.31 cup of coffee per day. Now if I can just keep (good) milk in the fridge, that'll save me $400 a year!

Second, not one person came into my cube and asked me where someone was today. It was heaven. It's so quiet, but not lifeless quiet. A lot of people have their earbuds in, since we're in cubes, so I can take mine tomorrow and rock out.

I spent most of the day training with one of the other buyers. After five or so reqs, I could process them without looking at my instructions. There's the possibility for some glitches, but they're pretty easy to resolve. It's repetitive work and I love it. I've used this particular system for the past three years, so I'm starting ahead of the curve. It feels good.

And I was less tired when I got home today than I've been in a year. Yes, it was a bit tiring meeting all the new people, remembering how to get to the kitchen and maneuvering through the internet without my Google toolbar, but just being able to focus on one, maybe two tasks at hand instead of 20 is a fantastic feeling. They also want me to do a database clean up project. Entering info, making sure it's consistent, being thorough. Sounds like a dream job to me.

I left alittle after 5 and stopped by the store on my way home to pick up a rearview mirror for my monitor (it's nice to be able to see people coming up behind you) and Clorox wipes. My new desk is filthy. The Swiffer just isn't good enough. I also grabbed some tortellini for dinner along with a bottle of wine. I am looking forward to a hot bath, a glass of wine and "Breaking Dawn", the fourth of the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer.

A side topic: I am ADDICTED to these books. Trish told me about them and loaned me "Twilight" in August. The movie is coming out in November and she said I needed to read the book before we went to see it. I flew though the book and begged her for the next two. I had to wait FIVE WHOLE DAYS to get the fourth one. I'm already half way through it.

As much as I love having a book this good to read, I'm already dreading finishing it. What am I going to read next? It's very rare that I find a book I can get so engrossed in. I'll take any suggestions you have.

Okay, off to do some household admin stuff, then on to the soakie.

Ah....what a nice evening.

Random Thoughts

Couscous smells like dried cat food when it's reheating. If you can get past that, it's still pretty good.

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I think I'm actually sick of chocolate cake. And I think I've gained five pounds since Saturday.

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Ms. Traveler will be happy to hear this.
There is a neighbor that I blatantly stalk. Ms. Traveler actually pointed him out to me when we were coming back from a walk. He's a cutie. Drives a work truck. Has a tool belt. Yum. When I say "blatantly stalk" I mean get up from my chair, walk across the living room and stand at the window when I see his truck drive by to watch him park and walk by.

I saw him drive by this evening, so I went to the window to look oh so casual. And he lifted a two year old boy out of his truck and held his hand as they walked to his apartment. The guy isn't wearing a ring, so who's the boy?

*sigh*

I'm exhausted now.

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What's my big plan this evening you ask?
I may clean my keyboard with these nifty little pre-moistened q-tipy things and then after that, oh gosh, I don't know, maybe bleach the hair on my lip.

Ah, the life of a single gal. Craziness I tell ya.

Craziness.

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I haven't spent any money in two days and I am FREAKIN' OUT. There's talk of a happy hour on Friday, brunch on Sunday, maybe a dinner next week. What am I going to do?!

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I think I want a piece of cake....

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I read Charlotte's Web for the first time.
It was just okay.

Does that make me un-American?

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Okay, I've had my hot bath, I've read more of Obama's book, now it's time for bed. My bedtime keeps getting earlier and earlier. Actually, I laid down at 8:30pm last night. Fell asleep, woke up at 11:30pm and thought, "Oh crap! What time is it?!" Not even midnight, that's what time it is. Sad. Very sad.

But tomorrow night Jamie is coming over for dinner. And I'm hanging out with Darragh Friday night. Brunch and a haircut on Sunday. Maybe some Milo time on Saturday. Life will be picking up again here soon......

Random Thoughts

Remember back in the day, when I used to "treat" myself to a $30 bottle of David Lake Zinfandel? Man, those were good times. I'd sit down with a big glass of wine, put my feet up, watch something funny on the telly.

*sigh*

Now? I buy cookies. I buy frozen yogurt. I buy sparkling cider. It's very sad. That 15lbs I lost should be back right around summer. I need a new "treat". One with no calories.

My mind just went straight into the toilet.

I should move on.........

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I can't seem to read unless I'm in the tub now. I finished "Life of Pi", so I searched my bookshelf for a new book. I decided on "In the Meantime" by Iyanla Vanzant. Then I ran a bath.

Funny. When I looked this book up (yes, looked it *up*. HA!), I was surprised to see it was by Iyanla Vanzant. As I was reading it, I was picturing Maya Angelou in my head. And I've read this book before. I knew it wasn't by Maya. Now I feel deceived.

I digress. So I wanted to start a new book. It's a good time for this particular book. Finding the love you want. But first you have to love yourself. Do I love myself? I think so. I don't particularly like that I can get cranky at the drop of a hat, or that I'm quick to judge people, but I know that, deep in my heart, I'm a loyal friend and I care about people and I try to do the right thing when I can. I think I'm a good person. So I guess I love myself. I have to now that there's no one else lovin' on me, huh?

Crap.

I mean lovin' me.

Mind = toilet.

Moving on............

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I cooked dinner tonight. Pasta primavera. Zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, onions and angel hair pasta. And I ate too much. Then I took a hot bath. Then I had two cookies. Now I feel icky.

Damn the cookies.

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It snowed last night and that snow froze overnight so that it was ice this morning. The drive to work was flat out scary. But in a fun earthquake scary kind of way. I decided to go through Fremont, rather than across the Ballard Bridge and down Nickerson, because Fremont is flat and Nickerson is not. It didn't really make much of a difference. We got up to maybe 9 miles an hour. Lots of sliding.

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The left side of my jaw is popping regularly these days. Very interesting. I wonder if my bite is off? Need to go see my dentist. I'll make an appointment tomorrow.

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Daniela and Sergio had their second baby last week! Oliver. So cute. I miss them.

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The Potential Date from last week has not called. We can officially forget about him now. That was fun. Shaun has advised me to never date theater people or musicians. They're flakey. Coincidently, Shaun used to work in theater and he plays guitar. So I consider him an expert. I like the comment Heather left - I tried him on and got a little use out of him. He took up an evening (yes, took *up*! HA!)

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There is a ladybug flying around my dining room light. And now my head hurts and my vision is distorted from looking at the light, trying to see what the hell is flying around it. How did a ladybug get in here?

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Speaking of ladybugs, maybe I'll watch A Bug's Life tonight. I love Dennis Leary's character, the ladybug. Yes, there's a bit of a fighting/war theme (the grasshoppers bully the ants so the ants will supply them with food but the ants make a boo boo and don't have food for the grasshoppers so the grasshoppers threaten to kill all the ants) but it's cute cause they're grasshoppers.

Funny word. Grasshopper.

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I'm itchin' for a weekend away. We get next Monday off but it's too late to do anything now. We'll just consider that an extra day to sleep in. However, we also get Presidents' Day off in February, so that gives me a whole month to plan. So many options. Mountains or water? Snow or no snow? Oregon or Canada? Bed and breakfast or little cabin? My goodness.....

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Are you bored yet? I'm just babbling at this point.

I'll leave you with this, a picture from my younger, crazier days:

Don't ask.
And yes, there was wine involved.

Am I Just Slow?

I finally finished "Life of Pi" this evening. Everyone told me, Oh wait until you get to the third part. That's where it all comes together.

Well, I got to the third part, I read the third part, and I still don't get. I was under the impression that a big revelation/realization/epiphany was coming. I got nothing. Was it all symbolism? The animals were people?

Could someone please explain this to me?