Sunday, August 28, 2005

*yawn* Looks like I've been slacking on the blogging. Oh well. I do go through phases of being just plain bored with it. . .or, more accurately bored with myself, I guess, since it's all about me. Lol.

This is my latest favorite thing. It's a bandwagon I shamelessly jumped on after receiving a pretty sweet mix CD (the 80s/90s kid in me still wants to say "mix tape") from a fellow MTC member. I had been craving some new tunes and POOF! JvN came through, whether he knew it or not. So thanks, JvN. You rock.

This week was good at work and there was camaraderie among the troops, which has been sorely missing for a while. From what 4/5 of us can tell, it is mostly due to the fifth person, who has had (presumably, as none of us have been brave enough to actually check) a large stick up her ass for quite some time now. *shrug* Anyway, it was very busy last week, but manageable. We had a good time.

For the last four or five nights, I have been having very vivid, exhausting dreams about someone I knew a long time ago. In these dreams, I am trying desperately to connect with this person (for an important reason, though I can't remember it once I wake up) and I can't. It's been the same dream in a different setting for the last few nights in a row. Kind of makes me wonder if it means something - other than that I'm neurotic and read too much into things!

I picked up Harry Potter again recently for some light reading (after all the thought that goes into processing Tom Robbins) and I am totally hooked again. It's not like it's the most intelligent, thought-provoking writing ever; in fact, it's partially the fact that it's not that makes it appealing to me. It does however connect me to my magical, imaginative inner child and that I love. The fourth movie comes out in November and I am going to try to read up to that point again so Jenn and I can go together. (I recruited her to be a HP junkie with me and she's filling the roll perfectly!) Anyway, for anyone who hasn't read any of the books, I'd definitely recommend them. I initially shunned the movement myself (I am opposed to fads on a genetic level), but when the guy with whom I was infatuated at the time told me they were great, my idyllic, fluffy romantic side won out over my aversion to anything mainstream and I picked one up. I don't regret that. So, I beseech thee - go forth and read Harry Potter!

In other news, last night I painted my nails baby blue chrome (the last attempt didn't work out, so they've been lavender) and it occurred to me that much of society would say that baby blue chrome nail polish is for those sixteen and under. I say that's baloney and I refuse to mold myself after what is normal and expected. I have decided that no matter how old I get and how strongly society feels I should be wearing polyester pant suits, I will stay cool. And by "cool," I mean whatever I think is cool. On that note, I will not be one of those 45-year-old women wearing Eeyore overalls (in my humble opinion, that is less about one's personal sense of style and more about trying desperately - in vain - to cling to youth) and I am not saying that I am going to go out of my way to color outside the lines. I am just going to ignore the lines. You're only as young as you feel, right?

I guess that's all for now. Hope everyone is well and that Monday is kind to you.

Posted @ 9:03 AM




Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Mmmmm. Days off are good. Groceries have been purchased, dishes are running, toilet is clean. I just had sushi (California rolls) for lunch and am now doing my nails Baby Blue Crystal Chrome and watching The View. Pretty soon, I think I'll take a nap. *sigh* It don't get much bettah than this.

Posted @ 11:55 AM




Saturday, August 20, 2005

Well, today was interesting -- to me at least. I won't recount everything, 'cause I think you'd probably fall asleep, so I will just summarize.

It was really good to see my mom and I hope to see her again tomorrow before they fly back to MD. It struck me hard today that she's getting on in her years. For the first time, she looked wrinkly and tired to me. It was kind of unnerving. I know this reality is part of growing up, but somehow I don't feel ready for it.

I have never considered myself particularly religious and haven't been inside a church in years. I would say I'm definitely spiritual, but not religious. However, I walked in with an open mind and expected to feel at least the power of faith coursing through the place and was kind of taken aback by the fact that I felt nothing -- I sensed nothing, no energy about the place at all. I realize under the circumstances, it wasn't going to be all golden light and love, but I still expected to pick up some kind of vibe. Truth is, I felt more connected to "God" (whatever that means) while I was sitting in front of the fire in the dark at the base of the White Mountains. I guess this shouldn't surprise me, to reconfirm about myself what I already more or less knew: I connect with "God" on my own terms. Different connections work for different people.

Although George's father always seemed to be not much more than a rude, sexist ass, my step-cousin read the eulogy and I felt sort of ashamed and sad that I never really knew him. There was so much about him that was interesting and good and I never knew a speck of it. Makes me want to do better to know my family -- both biological and otherwise.

George has a son from a previous marriage who I have met a few times but never been in touch with consistently. His name is Michael and he lives in Ohio. I had to pick him up at the airport after I picked up my mom and we went to lunch in Contoocook just to blow some time before diving head first into the family. I haven't seen the guy since I was probably 18 or 19, but we clicked like no time had passed. We are totally different -- he is a gay advertising consultant living with his lover in the 'burbs and I am...well, me...but nonetheless, we had all sorts of shit to talk about when we both needed to withdraw from all the adult children. (Not to be a brat, but neither of us really knew Jack. Michael didn't pop back into our lives from his mother's until the mid-90s. So it was the right thing to do, to be there, but still awkward.) Anyway...

Jay and I just watched Kung Fu Hustle. That was some seriously silly shit! It was like The Godfather meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets West Side Story meets Goodfellas. It was pretty off-beat, but if that's your kind of humor, go on out and rent it.

I guess that's really all I have to share. Hope everyone's having a good weekend.

Posted @ 9:48 PM




Wednesday, August 17, 2005

I don't really have much to say, just thought since I was having a non-frantic-without-too-much-to-do moment, I would drop a line or two.






Ha ha. Get it? Lines? OK, fine! You have no sense of humor anyway...

Tomorrow is my last day of work this week. (Don't ask me how I got two 3-day weekends in a row. I wasn't about to question a good thing, lest they correct the evident error!) I have an appointment for a haircut and more highlights on Friday and then my mom and George (step-father) are flying in from Maryland to attend George's father's funeral on Saturday. Anyway, I am hoping to take my mom (and George, if he's feeling up to it) out to Shorty's Friday night. I have been considering overnight mailing them some espinaca for like a year. Now they can try it fresh out of the melting pot or whatever they cook it in. I imagine it in a big, beautiful vat. (You know, that smilie is labeled "drool," but it looks more like he has a light blue tampon sticking out of his mouth, doesn't he? Hrmmm.) Anyhoo, I haven't seen my mom since April last year, so that'll be nice. I just hope George can stay sober and not make this weekend any worse than it has to be. (He's a very egocentric alcoholic.)

Um, yeah. That's all I have to say for now.

Posted @ 8:19 PM




Sunday, August 14, 2005

Well, my weekend didn't go entirely as planned. We went up to Bear Brook and there were no sites left. Then we decided to go up to the White Mountains, which was the original plan anyway, but we kind of pooped out at the last minute because we were overwhelmed with the task of getting out of here. We went up to Jigger Johnson's, which is the campground Jay used to go to as a kid -- no sites left. Stopped at all the other campgrounds along the Kancamagus Highway -- all full. I was at my wit's end and tired of driving, so we went back down into Lincoln (the nearest town, which is about 30 miles from where we were looking to camp) to get gas and see if we could find a campground map. (Incidentally, most of these state/national campgrounds don't take reservations, or we would have made some, so spare me the "I could have told you that" talk. You know, the talk my mother couldn't help herself from giving. Ugh.)

Some locals at the gas station sent us to the next exit down and we spent another half an hour getting out to Russell Pond, another National Park campground only to be told that they had just filled their last campsite. However, the ranger was really cool and sent us further into the park to try out Oceola and Waterville. Pictures here. Oceola is a bit too open for our taste; the sites are all within clear site of each other, though you can see the mountains on all sides, which is nice. We decided to keep going to Waterville which is where we ended up staying. It is quiet, with well-spaced sites -- not on top of each other like a lot of the campgrounds further south. There are outhouses but no showers, which I missed. They do have a pump for water, so we washed up as best we could.

Anyway, what we discovered by not being able to find anything off the Kanc and having to do this mad search for a campground, is that there is fantastic camping right off Tripoli Road, which is like 7 miles into the park on a dirt road. You pay the for a pass and then pull over and set up wherever you want. Some of the sites (which aren't even technically sites, as in not marked or purposefully cleared or anything) are right on brooks and streams, way below the road, all tucked away. It looks awesome and I can't wait to go back and to that. My only concern, because there are warning signs posted even in the fairly well-developed camping areas, let alone the wilderness of Tripoli Road, is bears! Evidently there are a lot of bears out there and if you are so numb as to leave food out, you are almost guaranteed a visit. Anyway...

We had a really good time and it was worth the hunt. We're home now and Indie is out cold -- I think she had the time of her life! She was insanely hunting chipmunks Friday afternoon and the first half of Saturday, but she finally settled down and went off duty last night. And by insanely hunting, I mean she'd see one and forget she was on a 20' leash and run full speed ahead to get it, only to reach the end of her leash and almost break her damned neck! Anyhoo, Jay and I were feeding a chipmunk (yeah, I know you're not supposed to feed the wildlife, but she was so cute!) right out of our hands, so Indie was forced to be in the same 20 square feet with it without pouncing and she eventually simmered down. I can't say she won't drag me into a tree tomorrow trying to get one, but we did make some progress this weekend.

Anyway, I was almost sad to take a shower when we got home and see all the lovely dirt I collected running down the drain, but somehow the smoke smell is still in my hair, so that makes me happy. The only other physical evidence of our trip is an oddly shaped burn, which I got when I swung my flaming marshmallow around to blow it out and hit myself in the arm. I guess considering my propensity for ridiculous injuries, that one's not so bad.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Good luck tomorrow. (Because Mondays are always a challenge, are they not?)




Can you tell I was 4 sheets to the wind?


Feeding the Wildlife (generic Corn Pops)


"Diggin' a hole. Diggin' a reeaallll good hole. Gonna dig all the hole there is in this hole out of this good, good hole."


Feeding the Wildlife #2


Heh heh, fire. Fire!

Posted @ 3:22 PM




Thursday, August 11, 2005

*yawn* Long week. Off tomorrow and goin' campin' up in Bear Brook State Park. It'll be funny to be back there. I worked at a camp there for a couple of very formative summers when I was in high school. I wonder if it'll still have the same energy about it. I think it was more the specific combinations of people and events than the actual park itself, but we shall see. *shrugs* Anyway, I'm psyched. So is Indie. She's gonna get to sleep with the big kids for the first time in a looooooong time. (As cruel as it may sound, there are no stinky dogs allowed on the TempurPedic!)

I apologize to anyone who has been waiting for email or other communication from me lately. I have been online only if I have to be (website work for my mom, the band, work, etc.) and just squeezing in a few emails here and there. I am not disinterested really, just kind of burned out. I know it'll come back to me. Hope no one feels unloved.

Anyway, I'm pooped. Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Posted @ 9:14 PM




Sunday, August 07, 2005

Wow, is it hot and sticky in here. Looks like I solved the A/C problem just in time -- temps next week are supposed to be close to 90. I went to BestBuy yesterday in hopes that they'd have a decent portable A/C in stock. (My internet research had revealed that there wasn't a BestBuy within 100 miles that had one, but I was hoping I was wrong.) They did not and weren't planning on ordering more this late in the season. Ordinarily, they will sell "open box" items for 10% off, but I talked them out of their Whirlpool display model for 20% off. It's missing some little plastic fitting thingy, but we got it working nonetheless, so it can't be that important. Anyway, it's in the bedroom and I had rigged fans to blow the cool air into the kitchen and living room, but I tripped the fuse, so that plan's foiled. Lol. I may just end up spending all my time in the bedroom. Hey, that might actually be nice.

Anyway, so what's up with me...? The usual -- grocery shopping and laundry. Somebody got down to the laundry room 5 minutes before me, so I have to wait until he's done and now I'm sitting here listening to AC/DC until 3:15.

I saw a dead coyote on the highway when I went out for groceries earlier and it got me thinking. I used to see them occasionally hit on the road when I lived in rural New Hampshire, but this is the first one I've seen in the city. It means one of two things: 1) Undeveloped land is becoming more scarce so there is less appropriate territory for them or 2) They're flourishing as a species and becoming overpopulated. I actually think it's probably both -- too many coyotes, not enough land. Anyway, sort of a sad reminder of how the natural balance of things is (and probably always will be, thanks to us dumbass humans who can't live and let live) off.

Anyway, I don't have much else to say. Hope y'all had a lovely weekend.

Posted @ 2:38 PM




Friday, August 05, 2005

This is one of my new favorite pictures. I found it while searching for an image to use for this layout. I have it set as my desktop and am actually thinking of printing and framing it. Is that weird? I just think it's fucking awesome. I can feel the warm, electric air. Mmmmm. I am such a sucker for a good storm.

So TGIF. Jay's asleep 'cause he has to work tomorrow and I am not because I don't. We closed at 4PM today which was nice, because everybody but me (work-wise) is going to the Northeast Veterinary Conference this weekend. At first I was bummed that I wasn't invited but the truth is that I never go anywhere for a full weekend even for fun, so why do it for work? Lol. There's no office/receptionist courses to take, anyway. It's totally geared for techs and doctors and while I do know a lot more than your average front desk person, most of that stuff is way over my head. So they're all grumbling about having to go, thought secretly I think they're psyched to go anywhere out of the ordinary, as we all are. *shrugs*

Anyhoo, I'm pooped. I'll probably babble some more tomorrow. Until then...

Oh, P.S. Sarah brought her Norwich Terrier puppies to work last week. They're so friggin cute and teeny that they almost don't look real. Look at him! Ain't he the cutest???


Posted @ 10:40 PM




Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Long time, no whine, eh? I figured it was about time for me to drop a little of this and that, lest y'all think I've poofed into nothing. (Sometimes I wish I could, but that is a whole other story!)

Well, nothing wonderfully exciting has happened since I last blogged. No more dead rodents either, which is a plus. Last Friday was uneventful. I was slated to possibly meet some folks from MTC who were in town for the weekend, but that didn't pan out. I can't say I was horribly disappointed. I mean, I was -- I do really want to meet them -- but I am a babbling halfwit by he end of the week and that's no state in which to meet a bunch of borderline (if not actual) geniuses. Lol. I'm sure they would have accepted me, slurring, drooling and all, but hey... You never get a second chance to make a first impression, right? So Jay and I watched White Noise and ate pizza and Ben & Jerry's. He had The Gobfather™ and I had Dublin Mudslide, but would have been equally happy with Strawberry Cheesecake. I guess there are worse things than being an icecream junkie, right?

Saturday we went down to James and Dianne's under the pretense of having a birthday party for Alexis, who just turned 11 and was off with her friends all night anyway. So the usual transpired -- the women drank and shot the shit and the men drank and set off firecrackers. Lol. Their neighbors must hate them. Anyway, the most interesting part of my night was being talked into having a...well...special cookie (actually, only 1/4 of one) and then becoming obsessed with Ritz crackers, which at that time, were the best thing I had ever eaten. Lol. Reminded me so much of high school. Kinda made me feel old, even though I was probably the youngest adult there. Anyway...

That's really it for news. Work is work. A certain someone is still being a cranky ass intermittently and I am trying to just let it slide off my back because I am already self-conscious to the point of insanity, trying not to irritate her. Ooh, one cool thing: I had a sort of brownie points moment the other day when Dave nonchalantly threw a drug calculation question at me. I don't do that stuff, so I doubt he expected me to get it right, but I did...and in my head, to boot. Evidently the staff who should be able to do it fast (or at least have the answers memorized) didn't (or so he said). Lol. Here's the question: If I have an injectable drug that is .5mg/ml, how much do I draw up for a .3mg dose? The answer is .6ml. Anyway, not like I am a genius or anything for getting it right, I was just proud of myself because too often I feel like I fail miserably when forced to think on the spot. So, yay me. I'm a nerd at heart.

That's it for now, I guess. Hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. Don't work too hard.

Posted @ 6:42 PM




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