Testing a theory

Dear Universe,

Thank you for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me so far.

Eternally grateful,
Your humble servant, Joanne

Schlumpy

Can someone tell me when I turned into a 45 year old Iowan PTA mom? I was walking up the hill to get the flexcar to go to my favorite restaurant and I couldn't believe how OLD my outfit was. I'm wearing a warm green sweatshirt, blue jeans and my old lady tennis shoes. My jeans aren't highwaters, but they aren't quite as long as I like them to be. It was a horrifying realization. 'Tis no wonder I'm still single when I go out looking as hot as this.

My favorite restaurant is moving. They don't know where they are moving yet. I'm hoping that the move doesn't translate to permanently closed. I would be sad if that happened. Although, if they move further north than Edmonds, I think I won't go there as often as I go now. They had a new, to me, waitress today. She was not good. I hope my usual waiter still works there. It makes me wonder if they only hire staff from the celiac community or if they pay so little only inexperienced wait staff are willing to work there. I remember when the guy first started he wasn't that great, but he got good fast.

Who am I? (again)

I keep writing posts and setting them to draft. I just don't have much to say these days. But here's something vaguely interesting. I borrowed it from someone or other.

[X] I've run away from home (Didn't succeed. I was 11)
[X] I listen to political music (What's political music? Sinead O'Conner then I do I guess.)
[ ] I collect[ed] comic books.
[X] I shut others out when I'm sad
[ ] I open up to others easily
[X] I am keeping a secret from the world (Aren't we all?)
[ ] I watch the news
[ ] I own over 5 rap CDs (only 4)
[X] I own something from Hot Topic (Does Torrid, Hot Topic's fatchick sister store, count?)
[X] I love Disney movies
[X] I am a sucker for hair/eyes
[ ] I don't kill bugs
[X] I curse regularly
[ ] I have "x"s in my screen name
[ ] I've slipped out a "lol" in a real conversation
[ ] I love Spam
[X] I bake well
[ ] I would wear pajamas to school
[X] I have a job
[ ] I love Martha Stewart
[ ] I am in love/like with someone
[ ] I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS
[X] I am self conscious
[X] I like to laugh
[ ] I smoke a pack a day
[ ] I loved Go Ask Alice
[ ] I have cough drops when I'm not sick
[ ] I can't swallow pills
[X] I have many scars (How many is many?)
[X] I've been out of this country
[X] I can't sleep if there is a spider in the room
[X] I am really ticklish
[X] I love chocolate!!
[ ] I bite my nails
[X] I am comfortable with being me
[X] I play computer games/video games when I'm bored
[X] Gotten lost in the city
[X] Saw a shooting star
[ ] I had Surgery
[ ] Gone out in public in your pajamas
[X] I have kissed a stranger (Not voluntarily, he kissed me)
[ ] Hugged a stranger
[ ] Been in a fist fight with the same sex
[ ] Laughed and had milk/soda come out of your nose
[X] Pushed all the buttons on an elevator
[ ] Made out in an elevator
[X] Swore at your parents
[ ] Kicked a guy where it hurts
[ ] Been skydiving
[ ] Been bungee jumping
[ ] Broken a bone
[X] Played spin the bottle
[X] Gotten stitches
[ ] Drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour
[ ] Bitten someone
[ ] Been to Niagara Falls
[X] Gotten the chicken pox
[X] Crashed into a car
[X] Been to Japan
[X] Ridden in a taxi
[X] Shoplifted (I was like 10 and it was a pen.)
[ ] Been fired
[X] Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back (Story of my life)
[X] Stole something from your job
[ ] Gone on a blind date
[X] Had a crush on a teacher/coach
[ ] Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans
[ ] Been to Europe
[ ] Slept with a co-worker
[ ] Been married
[ ] Gotten divorced
[X] Saw someone/something dying
[X] Driven over 400 miles in one day
[X] Been to Canada
[X] Been on a plane
[X] Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
[ ] Thrown up in a bar
[X] Eaten Sushi
[ ] Been snowboarding
[ ] Been skiing
[X] Been ice skating (Took a class in college. I got a P)
[X] Met someone in person from the internet
[ ] Been to a motocross show
[X] Going to or have gone to college
[ ] Done hard drugs
[X] Taken painkillers (I'm wildly allergic to the good stuff. No vicodins for me)
[ ] Cheated on someone else (NEVER, although came kind of close once)

Long day into night

This morning I had to get up at the crack of dawn because I was going to the Pacific Science Center with 3 of my girls. We had a scheduled junior activity with several other troops where we earned the Sky Search Patch. I think their favorite part was the planetarium part. It was very cool. The guy was really entertaining and they enjoyed looking at the stars and having the constellations pointed out to them. We officially finished at noon, but one of the girls & I hung out until 1. She liked that part I think because I mostly just let her go wherever she wanted to go. All the girls want to go back so I'm going to try to find some time for us to go in May or June.

After that headed to Center House for lunch. I was STARVING. Then it was off to the library. Since I found those 2 new authors, I put a bunch of books on hold by them. Six of those books came in. How is it always feast or famine?

After that I came home and sat on the sofa for a few minutes. I was so tired and totally didn't want to get up. But I had to send a copy of my birth certificate and driver's license so that she can add me to her flight benefits. She works for an airline and I think in an effort to allow for domestic partnerships without saying so, they just allow 1 adult on the flight benefit with her. Since my parents are already on there by virtue of being her parents and she's single that leaves me! Yay! :) But she had to get the paperwork in by the 31st so I overnighted her the copies. I know that in the normal world I could've just faxed them but she's worried about the fax machine at the place she works at. How can I complain about spending 23 bucks to ship a package when this means I may not have to pay for my flight for the Great American Family Vacation that I May or May Not Survive. So I was off to the UPS Store to ship that. Got home at 4:30 and flopped down on the bed for a nap. A 3 hour nap. I'm never going to get to sleep tonight!

Oh and my tendon is killing me again but I have a doctor's appointment on the 2nd with a sports medicine guy to see if he has any suggestions.

What Am I? I am a walrus...

Or a Puma. :) Kinda fun.


Cougar


What Is Your Animal Personality?
brought to you by Quizilla

Naked

My backpack is still full of crap from last night's meeting with the girls and I ran out of time this morning to clean it all out so I left without it. I feel so weird without my pack on my back. In the winter it holds my lunch and breakfast for work (which I had no food in the house so no breakfast or lunch from home for me today). I cart all my girl scout crap around with me in it. It holds my yoga clothes on Wednesdays. In the summer since I don't carry a purse it holds my wallet and my cell and my mp3 player for me. I take it to the store and use it to carry groceries. I take it when I'm walking downtown just in case I see something interesting. It goes EVERYWHERE with me. Today I didn't need it so I left it. Now I feel weird, like there's something missing. I also notice that my back aches when I don't wear it. I think I've gotten so used to the weight of the thing on my back that I don't know how to stand or walk properly without it. It being at home will trouble me much of today I think.

We played with bubbles last night at our meeting. It was so much fun, although the bubble solution I made didn't bubble as well as I wanted it to. We ended up adding more from the dish soap I had purchased some time in the past. But I showed the girls how to make a square bubble and they were so excited to try to do it themselves. It was totally awesome! (In my head as I typed that I thought, Radical dude!) The most exciting part was that unlike the last science experiment we did where I couldn't make it work, this one actually did! :) (Actually last time we were trying to float paperclips. It is possible. I did do it for about 1.3 seconds until the table shifted and the clip fell. The girls saw it though.) And it was something they could do as 2 of them accomplished this. (I only had 3 show up.) This weekend the 3 older girls & I are going to the Pacific Science Center. I'm excited about that. This weekend I also need to come up with what badges we are actually working on (I have a general idea) and plan on going to buy them the next Saturday the Girl Scout office is open.

Namaste

Today I took a yoga class. This is the first class I've ever taken and I kind of liked it. Some things were really hard for me. I can barely do the downward dog. I just don't have the upper body strength and abs to hold myself up like that. There was one other pose that I had a hard time with, but mostly because my fat belly got in the way. That is, I noticed, a problem. I also had a harder time breathing upside down. The other bad part, afterward I felt a tiny bit nauseous. That was a little unpleasant. But I'm determined to keep going with it. I think it will help me strengthen my body a lot.

Apparently it was a good thing I went, though. The class I'm taking is free because it is part of the Academic Salons we offer. I figured it would be crowded, but it wasn't. In fact they were getting ready to cancel the classes altogether because for the past couple of weeks only the person who organized the Salons and the instructor were there. She was thrilled that I had shown up and then 2 more people came so that was even more exciting. Now they will keep the classes going, which is good for me since the price is right. :)

Tag I'm it no tag backs!

Peanut tagged me so I'll do it. It's interesting because this is actually requiring a lot of thought from me. :)

The rules: The tagged victim lists 8 different points of their perfect lover/partner, mentioning the sex of said partner.Tag 8 victims to join this game & leave a comment on a post letting them know they've been tagged. If tagged before, no need to contribute.

Target of my perfect partner: Male
1 - Good with finances. (It isn't that I'm incapable, I just don't enjoy it so I don't do anything.)
2 - Volunteer minded. It is important to me to get out and do good work. I would hope my partner would want to do the same.
3 - Makes me laugh.
4 - Has a good stable family. Mine's chaotic if I were to have kids I'd like them to at least have 1 set of grandparents that aren't completely batshit.
5 - Kind
6 - Intelligent
7 - Compassionate, considerate, caring, fun
8 - Great Eyes ;)

I'm not really a tagger but if you want to do it, consider yourself tagged. :)

Hmm could this be my destiny?

So at lunch today with the cult of the virgins one of the things we discussed was Darigold milk. Harry Potter drinks chocolate milk almost every day at lunch. (He's 19 give the kid a break, it is cute.) We were talking about how Darigold has the longest shelf life of milk and they were wondering why that is and I knew the answer. I emailed them like a year ago asking that question beacause it freaked me out. So Isa said I should go into Information Service since I like to find the answer to things. She cited the fact that I emailed Dansko about my new shoes that squeak even though I just bought them like 2 months ago. The funny part is that I have actually been pondering this myself but Isa didn't know that. So we had a brief discussion of my graduate school research.

Taxes are done!

Yay! And as always I'm getting a refund. Double Yay! Of course that money is going towards the Great American Family Vacation Which I May or May Not Survive (heretoafter known as GAFVWIMOMNS) Hee. I'm feeling silly and accomplished because I've gotten 2 things done already today. Now I need to do dishes and bake today so that's on the dockett for the afternoon. And maybe clean out the fridge and take out multiple trash bags. (After I clean out the fridge). I used H & R Block's free tax return service and it worked out well for me. I looked at the list of the sites the IRS partners with and some of them just seem so not on the level. I would like to believe that since the IRS partners with them the sites are legit, but I dunno, some just seem fly by night. Not my concern, though since I used H & R Block. I can trust them. :)

According to the mensa test, I am a genius. :) I got 24 out of 33. I found this thanks to Poppy & Peanut.

V & I went to see Hoodwinked yesterday. I really enjoyed it, in spite of myself. I wasn't sure I wanted to see it, but it was really clever and funny. And, bigger shock, V didn't stand me up.

What a great weekend so far!

A Friday Night adventure for a change

Last night it was Amy's (she's Isa (coworker)'s roommate) birthday so I went over to Isa's house to celebrate. That was less than fun so we decided to go out. First we headed to the Crescent and watched Karaoke for quite awhile. The Crescent is a gay bar, but I had never been there. It was pretty fun. I ran into one of my favorite gays, Shannon. He & I go way back (I met him one time when I was visiting V but before I moved up here). We haven't seen each other since New Year's Eve 2005. That's the way it is, we randomly run into each other in a bar and chat. That's his bitchy hag Heather in the pic who poured the alcohol on me. (I've said it before that I hate the term fag hag for the girls that hang with the gays, but in Heather's case it is totally justified. She is just freakin' unpleasant. She's bitter and resentful and rather bitchy. She can't be fun and just exudes 'I'm a bitch' vibe).

While we were there one of Michelle, (Isa's roommate who went camping with us) got to sing her karaoke. She was thrilled. We waited for HOURS though to be able to do that. But we had fun anyway. We danced and sang along to all the singers. Big R was there with us. While she was up on stage I was stanging at a counter guarding all the coats (everybody else who was with us went up to the front) and I got chatted up by a nice enough guy. He then shared that he was bisexual. I have a firm no bisexual rule. We actually left shortly after that and headed to another bar.

We went to Clever Dunnes, which is across from the Crescent. Holy cow, I didn't know there was a fun straight bar on the hill! It was full of beautiful men. While we were sitting there this extremely drunk guy came by and Isa cleared a chair thinking he wanted the chair to take away. Nope, he sat down and joined us. He was EXTREMELY drunk and didn't make a lot of sense. I think he wanted us to buy him more booze since he kept opening his wallet and pointing out that there was no money and saying he forgot his money at his room. Luckily he left us but it really felt like it took a long time to do it. While we were there Amy went up and chatted up this extremely hot guy. EXTREMELY. He invited us to this after hours place and feeling full of adventurous spirit (or alcohol you decide), I decided to go with them. This was at 2.

So Big R, Amy & I headed down to La Corizon which is a venue just off the freeway, but it was within walking distance. The after hours thing was actually above it in what looked like it could've been a beautiful apartment except it was apparently regularly used for these after hours house parties. (well and it was right next to the freeway above a bar). There was a rather eclectic group of people, hip hoppers, dreadheads, etc. The music was rap but was pretty fun. I didn't talk to a lot of people, okay any but that's not uncommon. Amy didn't get a chance to talk to hot guy again though. Big R was not having fun and somewhat uncomfortable (Big R is gay and that wasn't really what could be described as a gay friendly crowd). When the chick on the stage lit up a pipe and I could smell the pot really strongly, I was glad when Big R convinced Amy to leave. But it was an adventure and I had fun in my own way. I finally stumbled home at 3:30. I haven't been out that late in a really long time! :)

Blog etiquitte

Here's a question... If a person gives you their web address, and they know you have a blog, is it bad manners if you don't give him yours? Especially if you did means there would have to be some editing of posts?

It's going to be a great day!

This morning as I was got off the bus at my office, I happened to look up and see the church spiral for this church that's up by my house and I had this feeling of deep contentment and kind of surprise. In that moment I couldn't believe that I lived here. I am so lucky to get to live in a place I really like (29 days in a row of rain notwithstanding). I have a job I enjoy with people I like. I have remade some friends and made some new ones. This morning I really felt like life was good.

Matty don't read the next part (the blue text). (But FYI I've just realized another reason to never date or sleep with a bisexual man, I wouldn't be able to donate blood ever if I did.)

I'm warning you.

You won't like it...


I donated blood this morning with my coworker. I used to do it all the time and then I moved up here and stopped. And then I got a tattoo and couldn't because you can't do it for 1 year after getting one. So now I'm donating again. It makes me very happy to donate blood for 2 reasons. One, I'm glad I'm doing something for others and I know how important blood is. My sister donates platelets whenever she can and in that, they take her blood out, whip it around to its separate parts and then put the plasma and red blood cells back without the platelets. I've found that when you have had someone in the past who was really sick with a condition that required a lot of treatment, you find yourself wanting to do more to give back because you realize on a different level how important it really is. Like I've always known it was important and I used to do it all the time, but now I have a different understanding of the importance, but I digress. The other reason I like to donate blood... I have an unholy fascination with blood. It is amazing stuff to me and I like to watch the bag fill up and I like to watch them fill the vials for testing of it. Seriously, sometimes I think I should go back to school to be like a phlebotomist or something like that. I like to look at it under microscopes. I just find it so fascinating! You have to consider, it is so amazing, it courses through your entire body and does all these neat and wonderful things. Maybe blood is my religion. :)


MATTY, You can read now! It is safe!

So so far today has been a great day! I have to go to the library after work to return and pick up some books. I am going to a party this evening which I hope will be fun, although several members of the cult of the virgins will be there. Including the Italian guy who I ate lunch with all by myself the other day and I didn't kill him and that's progress.

Not quite as secret as I thought...

I was just in the bookstore buying cheese sticks & a pepperoni stick for my girls for tonight's meeting. I mention to the student worker behind the counter that it isn't for me, it is for one of my girls and she says "Oh you're the one with the troop." Whoops. I'm supposed to be kinda sorta keeping it on the DL since we don't pay for the room. (or as I've learned for the parking but that's a whole other thing). It is a non-reservable room which is how I've gotten around the room fee issue, but still. My biggest boss approved it over a year ago and he consulted the general counsel and she said it was fine, but still, I don't like to advertise our presence. Apparently, though, we've bene outed. :)

Another new author for me!

Yay! While in the library recently, I happened across another new author for me to read. I picked up two of Katie Fforde's books (Similar to how I couldn't find Jasper Fforde's books in my public library, for some reason I couldn't find any of Katie's books in Amazon US so this link is to Amazon UK.) I picked up Artistic License and Paradise Fields. I really liked them both and look forward to reading more of them from my library. Luckily she's been writing for awhile so I will have a lot of books to chose from. (I hate it when I pick up a novel and love it and look for more to discover this was the author's first novel so I have forever to wait for another one.) She writes essentially chick lit, which I adore. They're fairly quick reads but for both books I've found myself utterly engrossed. I think I also like the fact that the main characters in both were 'quirky.' :)

Portland Pics #1

Our room at the Days Inn in Portland.

Matthew likes this sign for some reason. I think it is kind of funny. Also we liked the fact that it is right next to a Flexcar. There were Flexcar's available all over the place. Even more than I'm used to seeing in Seattle.

Matthew finds this bar sign disturbing. I can see that although it is also kind of funny. The place that I didn't take a picture of but that amused me was Club Portland. Apparently it is a sex club for the gays, the sister club to Club Seattle. I was rather alarmed by the sign advertising that young guys (18 - 25) got to only pay $5.00 to get in and $5.00 to get a locker. That's kind of creepy.

The entrance to the Chinese Garden.

Matty being contemplative on the Moon Viewing Pavillion. I've always rather liked Moon Viewing Pavillions.

Also at the Chinese Garden. Off to one side on the right is a little enclosed place that is kind of hidden and cute. I like little hidden and cute areas.

Portland Pics #2

This is at the Chinese Gardens.

Mill Ends Park. It is listed in the Guiness Book of Records as being the smallest park. It is only 24 inches in diameter. I tried to get a better picture by standing on the other side of the street but you see that puddle in the middle left? Yeah, cars kept driving through that fast and splashing the crap out of me.

Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. I liked it. It was peaceful. The black rectangles you can almost see in the background, are memorials to the soldiers who died and they also talk about various things that happened during that year.

This tree was on the path in the Hoyt Arboretum. I liked its coloring.

If there weren't so much cloud coverage you are supposed to be able to see several mountains, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens and one other one.

My sister's keeper.

While at Powells, I bought a lot of books. A LOT. Honestly I think I bought more in one day than I've purchased in the last year. The one I just read that I can't help but recommend highly was My Sister's Keeper. In a nutshell, a family has a son and a daughter. The daughter, Kate, is diagnosed with a rare leukemia at age 2. They needed to give the sick child a tranplant but there is no family donor that matches enough so they decide to have another child. They do in vitro and manage to have a 2nd daughter, Anna, who is a perfect match. The geneticists picked the egg to implant to ensure that she would be. Thus begins Anna's life as a donor for her sister. She ends up donating various fluids (leukocytes, platelets etc) several times in her young life. She eventually donates bone marrow, but Kate keeps geetting sicker. Finally when Anna is 13, Kate needs a kidney, and naturally the parents go back to Anna for it. And Anna has had enough so she sues her parents for medical emancipation, so she can make her own medical decisions. The whole concept is fascinating. I was intrigued from the first page. Even the 'twist' at the end was excellent. The only thing I really didn't like was the very end. I felt like it was a cop out. But otherwise, excellent. And now I've found a new author to read. :)

Portland!

Greetings all! I'm back from Portland. It was a lot of fun, although next time I go, I want to go when it is warmer. :)

We drove out Friday night. Since the 5 looked so bad, Matty decided to take the 99 to get past some of the worst of the out of Seattle traffic. In theory this was a good idea. In reality we got lost. We spent between an hour and an hour and a half just driving around Burien. Luckily, though, the detour got rid of the worst of the traffic and we made it down to Portland by like 10:45.

Saturday we got up and ventured out. It was rainy and we wandered around downtown Portland. Unlike downtown Seattle, there weren't a lot of people about. We stopped at a used music store and grabbed a couple of tapes for the drive home. We also went down to Powells bookstore. Matthew LOVES Powells books. I did not show enough of my love for them, though. I did like it. I bought a buttload of books.

After lunch we went to the Chinese Garden. It was gorgeous. I really liked the peacefulness of the place. I really enjoyed it there. I took a ton of pictures, which I'll post in a 2nd post. I want to go back when the flowers are in bloom.

Sunday morning, we went to Washington Park. Although now that I looked through the website and description of the park, I think we were mostly in Hoyt Arboretum. This also seems to be a place I want to see in the spring or summer when the flowers are in bloom. Mostly we just tromped along in the cold until we were freezing. Then we headed home.

All in all it was a good trip. I saw a bunch of cool things. And I want to go back. :) Although if I do, I won't stay in a Days Inn.

Pack light?

I just watched the queer eye guys pack more for a GUY for a weekend than I am packing for my weekend in Portland. Really, don't most guys need like a bankcard for a weekend and that's about it? Maybe a toothbrush too. Especially when the men in question are just going to a bachelor party weekend at a casino.

She represents the lollipop guild...

Once upon a time Sara Rue was not thin. I really liked the fact that she played fun characters and on Less than Perfect she ended up getting the cute guy despite not being a size -2. In fact it was HER show and she wasn't, unlike most fat chicks on TV, the comedic side kick. So I was shocked when I saw these pictures in People Magazine. While I would never say that a woman shouldn't do with her body what she wants and that includes lose weight. And as appalled I am when Hollywood 'pressures' a woman into becoming a lollipop, I would similarly be appalled if I were such a fair weather fan that I would lose respect for an actress who decided to lose weight for whatever reason. It makes me sad, though, to see Sara as a new member of the lollipop guild. (For those of you who don't know what I mean by a lollipop, it is the trend of actresses to become so super skinny that their heads look massive on little stick bodies. See also recent pictures of Lindsay Lohan, Lara Flynn Boyle, Courtney Cox (pre baby, post baby she seems to be more normal.)) I thought she was pretty before and there was a time on her show when she had slimmed down and looked healthy. Now I think she looks too skinny. Really, collar bones aren't supposed to be able to cut glass.

On being single

I can admit it, sometimes it would be nice not to be single. I know we always talk about the grass greener and all that jazz, but seriously, sometimes it would be nice not to just be an island all the time. Somehow, though, whenever I get to thinking this way too much, fate reminds me that it could be worse. I've been talking recently with someone I know we'll call Jane. Jane has a boyfriend we'll call John. Jane & John haven't been together that long I don't believe. John was recently away for a trip and Jane commented that she missed him etc. We were talking about their relationship and Jane let it slip that she and John weren't that compatible in bed. So then I say "Oh well you must have great conversations." "Not really," is her reply. So now I'm at a loss. So I say rather exasperatedly "So is he just a warm body?" There's no answer to that question. "He is interesting," she offers. Now I realize there are many other facets to a relationship than sex and conversation, but if you don't have at least one of those what's the point? Well and really in the long run you need both of those to work out to make the relationship work. The yeti & I had neither, and he was 'interesting' and we all know how well that worked out. So I guess what I'm trying to say with my long winded story is that I would rather have no one than someone I'm just sticking with because he is there and I don't want to be alone. Because that's just the wrong reason.

To Quote Ralph Wiggam "I am smart, S-M-R-T"

This morning I was buying 2 cent stamps from my boss. (He had purchased a ton of them I don't know why). I knew I needed 20 of them because I had a full book of new stamps to buy the extra for. So I hand him $2.00 because in my mind that was the amount I had to pay. Coworker asked me how I came up with 2.00 because even with my bad math that added a decimal place, 2*20 = 40... Here's how it came about. When I had been thinking about buying stamps I had it in my head that I needed 10 and that would cost me $1.00. So then by this random logic if I needed 20 that would be double and be $2.00. Clearly not smart.

This story gets worse though, (as if that was possible.). I had purchased a Thank You card to send to Michelle's mom for a Christmas Present. (The Fabulous Fraggle Rock DVD's). It is all sappy and she'll appreciate it. I have written in it. I put the stamps on it. I put my return address label on it. And I dropped it in the box. Now if you read the list of things I did, there is one glaring omission. I never addressed it to her mom. Luckily I just tossed it in the bin in the office and the mail guy had just picked it up so I managed to get it and put the address on it but man I would've been pissed if it had been returned to me.

A good conversation with a credit card company??

Who knew that was possible. So after I had a mini panic attack over some news about minimum payments going up. Which in retrospect I realized that they have to alert you to these changes like a month or 2 in advance. Although, honestly, I never look at those little things they send me in the mail, but I digress. I started looking into what was really happening with my credit card accounts. I discovered a couple of alarming things, the first being that the card I always thought had the lower interest rate has a freakishly high interest rate. That's 100% my fault, I confess. The payment is due on the 28th usually and I don't get paid until the last day of the month, you can guess the rest. So I'm always like 2 days late with that one which means they've jacked up my rate. I also looked at my other card and realized it had a higher credit limit than I previously thought. It also has a lower interest rate, so I figure I'm going to transfer Card 1's balance to card 2. (And obviously stop using card 1, except this weekend and only for the rental car because Card 1 gives me car insurance protection that I don't get with Card 2 and that I don't have because I don't have a car, but I digress. I'll pay that 40 something bucks off at the end of the month.)

So I called Citibank (I'll plug them because I had a good experience) and ask to lower the interest rate. He can do it! He lowers it to like 15%. So then my 2nd question is can I change reward programs because I'm currently on the car reward program and I never will use that, I think I ended up on it by accident. So he asks what program I'm interested in and signs me up with one of those cash back programs. Yay! AND (can you believe it gets better?) my interest rate lowers to 13%! Holy crap! He said that by changing programs I give up like being a 'charter member' of the Driver's Edge program (like that does anything) and the diamond designation (like that means anything either) but whatever in 1 phone call I lost 5% of interest for this card and when I switch over Card 1's balance I cut my interest in 1/2. These are all good things.

Oh and originally was going to bitch because the guy was not American so I was thinking that it is just awful that Citibank has outsourced their customer care and I should be against that. But after he was so helpful I can't be upset about that.

Out of sorts

I'm feeling restless lately. Not my usual restlessness which results in moving across the country. More of an 'I want something to change' feeling. I want something to happen. I want something to be excited about. Well, I do have something to be excited about. Matty P & I are heading to Portland next weekend. We'll drive down Friday night and come back sometime Sunday. I have to be back on Monday to do the Martin Luther King Jr. March with my girls. But that's exciting. I've never been to Portland. I don't know what I want. Maybe I have too much optimism for the coming year.

Today I flipped my mattress and did some cleaning under the bed. I discovered that Rigby is terrified about the vacuum cleaner and Tess is merely ambivalent about it. Although they both are traumatized whenever I do something weird around the house. I could tell it was agood thing I finally did the mattress. When I moved everything that was next to the wall and laid there I could totally feel the difference. Apparently it is a good thing I sleep alone considering what I found in my bed while taking everything off it to flip it. I found 7 library books, 6 regular books, 1 notebook, 1 pen, 1 hat that had 2 fingernail clippers and 1 Christmas ornament in it. There were 3 pillows in addition to the 2 I usually use. I found 2 catalogs and a magazine. Where the hell do I manage to sleep in all this? Tess was also traumatized because I took away the box that had been at the foot of the bed. It was the box Sampson came in and I need to take it down to storage. I have a weird thing about boxes, probably from being in college and moving so much, but I save all my bigger boxes. You never know when one may decide to move.

This weeks menu:
Sunday dinner - Sherried chicken & Rice.
Monday lunch - Sherried chicken & rice
Monday dinner - Either chicken tacos or a pork chop.
Tuesday lunch - Sherried chicken & rice
Tuesday dinner - Either lesbian tacos with Matty or something vague with chicken.
Wednesday lunch - Sherried chicken & rice
Wednesday dinner - Chicken & garlic sauce (So I have some for lunch the rest of the week.)
Thursday lunch - Student center food. (I have $$ put on my campus card so I can eat on campus once a week as a 'treat'.
Thursday dinner - Chicken & Garlic sauce.
Friday lunch - Chicken & garlic sauce.
Friday dinner - depends on what time Matty & I leave but most likely tacos.
(Yes there's a whole chicken and rice trend. I eat a buttload of chicken and rice cooked in various ways.)

That's the way to spend an afternoon

When I got home from work today, for some reason I just randomly lay on my bed and started to read my book. I read for the next hour and a half without any distractions, just me and my characters. I finished the book. It was blissful. Usually I read either right before I go to bed or while I have the TV running. It is a pretty rare thing for me to read with absolutely nothing else going on.

Let go.

I don't know how to let things go. I'm well aware of this. It sometimes bothers me too. For instance, today I got an email from my biggest boss because a bigwig hadn't heard back from me on an email from December. Ok I know better. I should've responded right away, especially since she is high on the food chain and all that. Her 2nd email came in and said, I'll interoffice the form to you today. So that one requires no response on my part as far as I'm concerned, although I suppose a "Thanks, I'll look for it" would've been nice. So when her email to my boss came about me never answering her emails I was a bit surprised and looked back and sure enough I didn't answer the 1st one. So now I'm bothered by a stupid error and I don't know how to just let it go.

I could go on and on with examples of stuff I can't let go. Any ideas on how just to let things go? I've tried to think "Ok let it go" but somehow that doesn't work...

Ugly new shoes!

Actually I don't think they're ugly, but they are kind of weird looking. I went in search of new tennis shoes so that I can support my tendon better and because of my crazy feet*. I ended up at Shoes n Feet where I was helped by this nice lady to pick out a pair of shoes that will be good for my issues. I definitely like them though and they are so freaking comfy. I dare not share how much the damn things cost, but I just feel like apparently once you turn 30, your shoes go up exponentially compared to what you spent on them when you were in your 20's. I think it is the new math.

*Crazy feet - among other weird issues about my body, only one foot bends at a full 90 degree angle. The other does not, like only 84 degrees. Neither of them will bend back further. That's why the hill climbing is an issue and probably since I used to either drive or live in flat places, it wasn't ever noticed before.

Articulation

I have just received yet another plea for money from America's Second Harvest. I'm now forced to write to them. This is a minimum of 5 pleas for money in the last month and a half. This annoys the crap out of me and makes me not want to contribute to them anymore (I presently do a monthly contribution to them directly from my bank account). My problem is I can't articulate why this annoys me so much. It just does. Any ideas?

I got a P!

I passed my class. :) Officially I got a "CR" since it was credit/nocredit class. Yay me. I was looking for another random class to take but there are several limiting factors:

1. Since I'm non-matric a lot of the classes I want are already full.
2. A lot of the undergrad classes are during the day. I could potentially miss work and make up the time later to take one but I don't want to do it for just some random class I'm taking. It would be different if this was towards a degree in something useful.
3. I know some of these profs on a different level. Some of them I really really wouldn't want to take a class from. Unfortunately some of them seem to teach the classes that look interesting. :)

My Date With Drew

I've mentioned before I have an unholy love of Drew Barrymore and her films. This is probably one of the cutest films I've ever seen. It reminds me of 200 Dates in the simple premise. But it is such a bonus because he is stalking my idol. He's such a geek and a kid at heart. The fact that he sings songs from Grease 2 cracks me up so much. Because I loved Grease 2, which is innately wrong but that's fine by me. I loved the whole movie. I don't usually like indy films, but this one was great. If you are at all a romantic at heart, watch it. It made me tear up a tiny bit because it was so sweet. :)

A lot of accomplishment for only 2 hrs of work.

I feel rather accomplished for the afternoon. I did 4/5ths of the dishes. I always leave the pans for last and somehow that doesn't translate to ever really getting washed, until I need them. I think there is some mental block there. I have a large pot of what will be frozen chicken stock bubbling happily on the stove. I have a large pan of enchiladas in the oven cooking for dinner and lunch for the rest of the week. Life is good. :)

For menu planning my meals for next week will be:
Monday - Enchiladas
Tuesday - Lunch - Enchiladas
Dinner - Taco Tuesday with Matty. (I always include 1 meal out for dinner and 1 for lunch as part of my meal planning)
Wednesday - Lunch - Enchiladas
Dinner - Pan fried chicken and mashed potatoes
Thursday - Lunch - Enchiladas
Dinner - That's a little harder, it is Brownie night and so I tend to not want to cook those nights and usually do take out. I must think on this further.
Friday - Lunch - Enchiladas
Dinner - Either pork chops or Gluten Free Hamburger Helper (yes there is such a thing who knew?) the hamburger helper will provide me with lunch on Saturday so that's a good thing.

I also have a project for Saturday. I am going to flip my mattress. I am also going to clean out from under the bed which is what makes this a project because the actual flipping isn't really that difficult. But since I'll have the mattress up on its side, I force myself to clean out and vacuum under the bed. Blech. I think that my mattress is what is contributing to my back pain. I felt a lot better when I was visiting the folks. Now I'm back on my bed and my back is killing me again. I'm hoping flipping will help. Otherwise I have to face the fact that I may have to buy a new mattress and there just isn't extra dollars for that.

Sundays are also going to be for adventures again. I have not had a Sunday adventure in a really long time. It is time, even if I am just catching the bus and going somewhere I haven't been to before. I'm optimistic.

A few things that make me happy today...

Yesterday we (Matty, his friend Ken and I) went to see Memoirs of a Geisha. It was beautiful! It totally made me want to go back there. (I went to Okinawa for a month when I was 12) It was so different seeing everything up on the big screen. In my imagination pre and post WW2 Kyoto was much cleaner. Kind of like Tokyo Disneyland I think. So it was kind of strange to see it all crowded and squishy, which is clearly a far more accurate description. I think they did an excellent job of translating the book to the big screen. They hit the important points and I don't think they changed anything minor that usually would annoy me. (As opposed to The Sisterhood of the Travelling pants which eliminated 2 siblings, yes minor characters but for some reason it annoyed the crap out of me the whole movie.) All in all I really enjoyed the movie, although one minor thing was that it seemed to go on long at certain points and then I felt like it rushed a few other places. Oh and the last 2 lines just annoyed me for their complete and total cheesyness.

I've been addicted to this game on yahoo for days now. I don't know what it is about it but I just love it.

I am exceedingly happy with Fraggle Rock. I've watched 4 episodes so far. Still cracks my shit up.

Ok maybe that's it right now. I'll think of more I'm sure. :)

The year of ME!

So last summer was supposed to be the summer of me. That didn't pan out very well. Nothing big or exciting happened. So I'm giving myself more time. 2006 will be the year of me! I am going to do something exciting this year. Or something great. Or both. I don't know what it is but something good is going to happen. I can feel it.

I AM an old lady! :)

I was watching Fraggle Rock as my last video of the old year, having already watched The Dukes of Hazzard and The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. I needed a change of pace, a little break from all the movies. The sad part, I dozed off on the couch BEFORE midnight! I woke up at about 12:15 and headed to bed. Crikey. Break out the cane and the hearing aid.

Oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'all!

Here's hoping 2006 is awesome!