Very quickly, last night I picked up Winston and apparently he was very hostile at the vet but once I arrived he was all warm purrs and head-butts. I think he had a flash back to his first 6 months of living in a cage in a similar venue. When I got home, he couldn't stop purring, with a bit of his tongue sticking out and walking around in circles in what ever room I was in. He still had a bit of drugs in him, so sometimes he would turn too quickly and his back legs would go out from under him - but it didn't even phase him, he was so happy to be home. Walter was a little worried, as Winston did smell differently (to do with the ears and acne cleaning) and wasn't sure to make of everything.
This morning, after coming into work late waiting for Winston's prescription to be filled (did you know they fill pet drugs at regular drug stores - i.e. CVS - who knew?), my office mate confronted me. He said because of me he basically got nothing done last night (he is enjoying a foray back into bachelor life while his wife and son are in California for the week). For the life of me I couldn't figure what I had done. It turns out that he found the game I was playing at lunch yesterday and, well, quickly became addicted. It's a laser game that Amanda mentioned recently on her blog. It's quite fun, and in my defense, I argued he spent his time exercising (the mind) as it wasn't completely mindless. Still, on his 'to do' list today is finish the game (he had gotten up to level 23 - of 25 levels). So be forewarned, it's a good game, but hard to stop. Not quite sure if I should thank or curse Amanda for sharing the info :)
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Change in Lifestyle
Good news! I just got the call from my vet and Winston is in the clear. I had made an appointment for him last night as he didn't seem to be feeling well recently, and it had only gotten worse. Three hundred dollars and an hour later we find out that he has mega-colon. In the x-ray you can see these huge blobs were he is just completely constipated - really bad. So bad that he actually has to have 'surgery'. The vet goes in and removes all the waste manually, which is what he under went today. I felt a bit like a mom, because at work all day I kept waiting for the vet call to be able to breath a sigh of relief once it was all done - and kept blaming myself for getting him into this condition (which the vet continually reassures me that they don't know what causes this issue and it wasn't my fault).
The second bit of good news (at least in Winston's mind) is that he now gets to eat wet cat food. He's been on a diet of dry cat food with occasional treats of wet cat food every now and then. And he loves the wet cat food, he pratically brings me to my knees with his head-butts when I prepare the food. It turns out that a diet of only dry cat food is not good and rather cats should eat wet cat food predominately. It's better for their weight, their intestines, their coat, their bones, the list goes on. The only thing dry cat food is good for is the dental issues such as tarter build up. So now both the boys are on a 75% wet cat food/25% dry cat food diet.
After going through everything post-op with the vet and what the next steps are and what preventive measures I need to be doing (as this is a chronic condition - the muscles of his colon don't work right now and therefore this has a high chance of reoccuring), I realized that the bad news is that my lifestyle has just drastically changed all of a sudden. Let's just deal with wet cat food - the days of leaving a bowl of food for them to munch on for several days is gone. So hopping into the car to visit dad for the weekend just got a bit more complicated. Plus, Winston needs medicine for the rest of his life. I think it's like the cat version of metamusal - it even comes in powder form that gets mixed in with the food. But now I need to police the food so that the right cat eats the right food (not sure how to do that yet). Plus, since this is a chronic condition I need to make sure Winston has one bowel movement a day, so that we can catch any build up in the early stages and treat with additional medicine. That means changing the kitty litter every day - not my favorite at all and keeping track that he is having the right kinds of poop (still not sure how to do this as two cats use the same box). And if that isn't enough, it turns out Winston's ear wax and acne (yes, my cat has acne on his chin, poor thing), has gotten worse, so I need to take care of that constantly... for the rest of his life. Somehow I went from a nice low maintenance relationship with two wonderful boys, to a super high maintenance relationship with someone I have commited my life with.
But that's ok, the last 24 hours really scared me as I hadn't realized how close I've truely become attached to my animals and that I wasn't ready to let go. And frankly, it's not that bad, especially considering everything they give me - they are the best guys. Finally, the condition, if a bit expensive (I'm scared to see the bill tonight), isn't that bad. I have two friends now that have cats with diabetes - yes they have to give their cat a shot every day - so it could be worse. I'm going to duck out of work early and pick up my groggy boy, go home and appreciate my life.
The second bit of good news (at least in Winston's mind) is that he now gets to eat wet cat food. He's been on a diet of dry cat food with occasional treats of wet cat food every now and then. And he loves the wet cat food, he pratically brings me to my knees with his head-butts when I prepare the food. It turns out that a diet of only dry cat food is not good and rather cats should eat wet cat food predominately. It's better for their weight, their intestines, their coat, their bones, the list goes on. The only thing dry cat food is good for is the dental issues such as tarter build up. So now both the boys are on a 75% wet cat food/25% dry cat food diet.After going through everything post-op with the vet and what the next steps are and what preventive measures I need to be doing (as this is a chronic condition - the muscles of his colon don't work right now and therefore this has a high chance of reoccuring), I realized that the bad news is that my lifestyle has just drastically changed all of a sudden. Let's just deal with wet cat food - the days of leaving a bowl of food for them to munch on for several days is gone. So hopping into the car to visit dad for the weekend just got a bit more complicated. Plus, Winston needs medicine for the rest of his life. I think it's like the cat version of metamusal - it even comes in powder form that gets mixed in with the food. But now I need to police the food so that the right cat eats the right food (not sure how to do that yet). Plus, since this is a chronic condition I need to make sure Winston has one bowel movement a day, so that we can catch any build up in the early stages and treat with additional medicine. That means changing the kitty litter every day - not my favorite at all and keeping track that he is having the right kinds of poop (still not sure how to do this as two cats use the same box). And if that isn't enough, it turns out Winston's ear wax and acne (yes, my cat has acne on his chin, poor thing), has gotten worse, so I need to take care of that constantly... for the rest of his life. Somehow I went from a nice low maintenance relationship with two wonderful boys, to a super high maintenance relationship with someone I have commited my life with.
But that's ok, the last 24 hours really scared me as I hadn't realized how close I've truely become attached to my animals and that I wasn't ready to let go. And frankly, it's not that bad, especially considering everything they give me - they are the best guys. Finally, the condition, if a bit expensive (I'm scared to see the bill tonight), isn't that bad. I have two friends now that have cats with diabetes - yes they have to give their cat a shot every day - so it could be worse. I'm going to duck out of work early and pick up my groggy boy, go home and appreciate my life.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
I love IT Guys
Several quick things to report before I get back to work and address the piles of items on my desk.
First, I have to say that living without an IT guy(or gal, but have yet to meet one) should just not be done, especially at work. I've been having trouble with my computer for... well, since I got it - brand new too, which was about 6 months ago. It's a really great computer, tons of bells and whistles, and memory and all that. But it's always been slow, and has gotten progressively worse. Last week it took about 5 minutes for microsoft word to open. That might not sound long, but just sit at your desk for 5 mintues waiting, staring at your screen. Needless to say I've learned how to multi-task. I've tried working on it myself, but my knowledge of computers is fairly limited. I've mentioned it to my boss who has tooled around with it a little but no success. All I wanted was to have someone come in and look at it, fix it and be done. But unfortunately, things take awhile around here. Or rather, you need to know who to ask and when, I'm discovering. Our new center next door is nearing completion and the server room was being set up today. Mentioned to my coworker who is running the show over there of my problems, and an hour later, the IT guy had worked on my computer and it no longer is frozen, and everything seems to be working smoothly (fingers crossed). Life is good.
On a second note, on my chair today was my paycheck envelope. Two strange things - first we all got bonuses which is very unexpected but delightful. Think everyone got the same, but will have to see what the word on the street is. The second thing is that I think I might have gotten a raise. My take home is larger. Things got readjusted for the new year as our medical/dental deductions are different, but that should only be a few dollars and this is more. Calculating, it seems like I got a 7% raise which is a pleasent surprise, but strange that nothing has been said, which than makes me think that this might have been a one time glitch. The next paycheck will be the clincher - which on a great note will include my first 401k deduction. We finally have a work retirement account - no matching, but better than nothing. I need to play serious catch up as it's been over 6 years since I contributed (an occasional IRA).
Yesterday, had lunch with Dad and Barbro before dropping them off at the airport - they're off to India to visit Nick. Excitement is in the air for me now and I'm enjoying all the pretrip planning. I ran errands afterwards, enjoying my half day off and by dinner I was exhausted, somehow spent more than I thought, but am well on my way to being ready for India. It's amazing what they sell these days in travel size. Not a big fan of hand sanitizers but have been advised it's a must have in India. Not only did I get the reagular Purel bottle, they also have these great wipes in smaller packages. Plus little toilet paper packages, a little bigger than a roll of quarters. Something similar for papertowels, a bit bigger of course. I took the liberty of picking up a few pieces of clothing for the trip - amazing how empty the closet seems when you are packing. Still need a bunch of other stuff, but getting there - the pile is growing.
I splurged and on my way home stopped by Wild Oats (it's like Whole Foods- organic grocery store - the one we would visit in Columbus, mom), and stocked up on food - got tons of produce as I realize I probably won't be eating much raw fruits and vegetables shortly. Also got some multi-vitamins and calcium chews for the trip. When I got home and was unpacking I was careful to fold all the bags, but one, and put them ontop of the microwave so that my little bag boy (Walter) didn't attack them. He has a thing for paper bags, loves the cavelike environment - spends hours in one, but than insists on clawing out the corners and within a few days/hours, the bag is shredded. Well, while cleaning in the other room I hear noise from the kitchen but didn't think anything of it until a little later when I go to take food out of the oven. I reach under the bags for a pot-holder and it felt a little strange, realized there was a cat in the bag! I'm not quite sure how he got up there, but he did - he was purring away, loving the new home, with holes in the corners already - it cracked me up. I guess the moral of the lesson is that a cat and his bag cannot be kept apart for long.
First, I have to say that living without an IT guy(or gal, but have yet to meet one) should just not be done, especially at work. I've been having trouble with my computer for... well, since I got it - brand new too, which was about 6 months ago. It's a really great computer, tons of bells and whistles, and memory and all that. But it's always been slow, and has gotten progressively worse. Last week it took about 5 minutes for microsoft word to open. That might not sound long, but just sit at your desk for 5 mintues waiting, staring at your screen. Needless to say I've learned how to multi-task. I've tried working on it myself, but my knowledge of computers is fairly limited. I've mentioned it to my boss who has tooled around with it a little but no success. All I wanted was to have someone come in and look at it, fix it and be done. But unfortunately, things take awhile around here. Or rather, you need to know who to ask and when, I'm discovering. Our new center next door is nearing completion and the server room was being set up today. Mentioned to my coworker who is running the show over there of my problems, and an hour later, the IT guy had worked on my computer and it no longer is frozen, and everything seems to be working smoothly (fingers crossed). Life is good.
On a second note, on my chair today was my paycheck envelope. Two strange things - first we all got bonuses which is very unexpected but delightful. Think everyone got the same, but will have to see what the word on the street is. The second thing is that I think I might have gotten a raise. My take home is larger. Things got readjusted for the new year as our medical/dental deductions are different, but that should only be a few dollars and this is more. Calculating, it seems like I got a 7% raise which is a pleasent surprise, but strange that nothing has been said, which than makes me think that this might have been a one time glitch. The next paycheck will be the clincher - which on a great note will include my first 401k deduction. We finally have a work retirement account - no matching, but better than nothing. I need to play serious catch up as it's been over 6 years since I contributed (an occasional IRA).
Yesterday, had lunch with Dad and Barbro before dropping them off at the airport - they're off to India to visit Nick. Excitement is in the air for me now and I'm enjoying all the pretrip planning. I ran errands afterwards, enjoying my half day off and by dinner I was exhausted, somehow spent more than I thought, but am well on my way to being ready for India. It's amazing what they sell these days in travel size. Not a big fan of hand sanitizers but have been advised it's a must have in India. Not only did I get the reagular Purel bottle, they also have these great wipes in smaller packages. Plus little toilet paper packages, a little bigger than a roll of quarters. Something similar for papertowels, a bit bigger of course. I took the liberty of picking up a few pieces of clothing for the trip - amazing how empty the closet seems when you are packing. Still need a bunch of other stuff, but getting there - the pile is growing.
I splurged and on my way home stopped by Wild Oats (it's like Whole Foods- organic grocery store - the one we would visit in Columbus, mom), and stocked up on food - got tons of produce as I realize I probably won't be eating much raw fruits and vegetables shortly. Also got some multi-vitamins and calcium chews for the trip. When I got home and was unpacking I was careful to fold all the bags, but one, and put them ontop of the microwave so that my little bag boy (Walter) didn't attack them. He has a thing for paper bags, loves the cavelike environment - spends hours in one, but than insists on clawing out the corners and within a few days/hours, the bag is shredded. Well, while cleaning in the other room I hear noise from the kitchen but didn't think anything of it until a little later when I go to take food out of the oven. I reach under the bags for a pot-holder and it felt a little strange, realized there was a cat in the bag! I'm not quite sure how he got up there, but he did - he was purring away, loving the new home, with holes in the corners already - it cracked me up. I guess the moral of the lesson is that a cat and his bag cannot be kept apart for long.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Out Sick
Just to keep on target of posting something once a week at a minimum, I wanted to let people know I've nothing to report as I've been out sick lately. Several things have been going around here lately, in particular the office has had a cold virus, sinus infections and even a 'staff' infection. I got one of them, not quite sure which one, although today it looks like it might be the virus as it's finally diminishing.
I've been thinking about it and it's funny as I had been expecting the first real winter (which we haven't really had) to make me feel back at home on the east coast. And yet, it is the full on head cold that does the trick. I haven't had one of these since my college days. I must be getting old as I don't remember them being this bad before. I was all congested (still am - had to take small bites at lunch as I ran out of air while eating - can't breath through the nose). It was pretty bad earlier in the week and even took some time off as well as not putting in a complete day yet.
This weekend I have absolutely nothing planned and it's a three day holiday. I have bunch of stuff around the house to do to keep me busy and productive, but the main goal is to lay low and recover quickly. Definately want to be well rested for the trip to India which is fast approaching. I just went and got my immunizations. Ended up getting more than I intended but figured it's better to be safe than sorry. Still undecided about the Maleria pills. The main issue being that I will have to learn how to swallow pills in the next two weeks. I'm putting a call into the insurance company tomorrow to see what they cover and that might be the clincher. I only want to take the expensive version as it doesn't have all those horrible side effects one is always hearing about. Well I'm off to the ICA with a friend before going home and dropping on the couch for the night.
I've been thinking about it and it's funny as I had been expecting the first real winter (which we haven't really had) to make me feel back at home on the east coast. And yet, it is the full on head cold that does the trick. I haven't had one of these since my college days. I must be getting old as I don't remember them being this bad before. I was all congested (still am - had to take small bites at lunch as I ran out of air while eating - can't breath through the nose). It was pretty bad earlier in the week and even took some time off as well as not putting in a complete day yet.
This weekend I have absolutely nothing planned and it's a three day holiday. I have bunch of stuff around the house to do to keep me busy and productive, but the main goal is to lay low and recover quickly. Definately want to be well rested for the trip to India which is fast approaching. I just went and got my immunizations. Ended up getting more than I intended but figured it's better to be safe than sorry. Still undecided about the Maleria pills. The main issue being that I will have to learn how to swallow pills in the next two weeks. I'm putting a call into the insurance company tomorrow to see what they cover and that might be the clincher. I only want to take the expensive version as it doesn't have all those horrible side effects one is always hearing about. Well I'm off to the ICA with a friend before going home and dropping on the couch for the night.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Weird Things About Me
It looks like maybe this will be a year of firsts (maybe not), but here are two new things I've never done before (interestingly to do with knitting).
"...Along": Out in the knitting world there are a lot of Knit Alongs. People will all work on the same thing at the same time and share their experiences in our digital world on a particular project or a purpose. Cece and Amanda are having one that is a stash busting/UFO finishing binge - a Bust Along. I have about four sweaters going that all are stuck plus several other projects that just need to be wrapped up. Plus I skipped the Webs big sale this year because I felt guilty I hadn't used the yarn from last year (and the year before) that I bought.
BTW, I still don't know exactly what it means, but what I can gather a UFO is an unfinished project - at least in my mind. Next step is to take stock of what I've got that needs to be done and put together a target list - I have until tax day and am a woman on a mission. It starts on Jan. 15 so will report next week what my plan is.
Tag Meme: I looked the word up on wikipedia, but still don't quite get it. I've read others, and just got tagged by Cece and it's fun reading. I'll take Amanda's approach and not tag anyone (I only read three blogs). Here are THE RULES:
Each player of this game starts with the weird things about you.People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog. I thought this would be really hard to do at first - six is alot, but once I started it was interesting how many things started coming to mind. And I'm sure I'm not even thinking of the weirder things - I don't always notice.
So here goes, 6 Weird Things About Me.
1. I know this is going to cause me trouble down the road later, but I actually like that I can't swallow pills still. I'm in my 30s and if I absolutely have to, I take Bayer's Children's chewables. It's a testament that I've had a fairly healthy life so far. I used to think it might be genetic as my brother couldn't swallow pills either. Alas, he succumbed to peer pressure in his early 20s and learned. Which, of course disproves the whole theory it was something physical (and not mental).
2. I didn't notice this was weird until someone pointed it out to friends at a dinner party I hosted once. I have fairly organized clothing. In my closet, everything is ordered within category (i.e. all shirts together, all pants together). Which I still don't think is that unusual. My thing is that if you are doing that already, might as well go the next step and have it organized in subcategories. So all my shirts are organized where the long sleeves are together, than the short sleeves, than the sleeveless shirts together - and they are all facing the same direction. Within each subsection, they are arranged by color so that there is a pleasent gradation as one looks at the clothes, shifting from blacks to greys to blues to whites... Than the sweaters are all neatly folded and in color coded piles on the shelves - greens together, browns together, blacks together. Even the socks - the best way to store them is so that they are on their sides (like file folders in a filing cabinet, instead of in piles), and again in a color gradiation. If I think about it, it's my attempt to have some form of order in a chaotic, uncontrollable life. There's nothing like a crazy day and you open your closet and it's... not crazy but calm.
3. When I listen to music I can't for the life of me listen to the words. I'm a tune person. I didn't realize this difference until early college when people would dissect a song and have long discussions. I had no idea, even though I had listened to the song a billion times, I might now a little of the chorus, but that was if I was lucky. Just this morning I had to listen to a new song four times before I heard all the words. I just can't keep my mind on it and start thinking of other things - it takes a lot of concentration (a lot). Singing to a song for me is impossible. That would take a week of solid work for me to get to that level as it turns into rote memorization (not a strength).
3b. I love bagpipe music - I could listen to it for hours straight, days even. Maybe this explains #3 - no words after all. Not really sure how weird this is though.
4. My only case of OCD pops up when I leave town. Before I leave my house on any trip - doesn't matter the duration - even a weekend, I can't just pack up and leave. Let me preface this that I don't like to clean and am quite content to live with a sink full of dishes, the carpet unvacuumed for weeks, stuff dumbed everywhere, etc. But when I start packing, I have to not only tidy everything and put everything back where it belongs (cramming stuff in a closet won't cut it) , but do a fairly thorough cleaing. Inevitably, I will come home from work late, pack the stuff for the trip and than proceed to spend a good two to three hours cleaning - mopping, scrubbing, vacuuming, tiding, etc. Frankly, traveling and having guests are the main reasons my place gets cleaned.
5. I'm a concept girl. Not into details so much. So I have a hard time with words. Especially evident in common idioms (had to ask my coworker what the word for what I was trying to say was - idiom). It comes in batches. In college was bad and recently it's emerged again. Of course I can't think of any good examples. I generally get confused if it's chicken, turkey or poultry you are trying to quit cold. And I do like to put my two pennies in a lot. Generally I know it sounds off, but than again, the right way sounds off to me anyways, so there I am back to parrallelogram one (ok, that one I made up).
5b. Along with not doing so well with the words, is my spelling (which I'm sure you have noticed as I gave up spell checking months ago - amazing how lazy one gets when you have auto spell check on the other programs you use). Well, because I can't spell so well, I have trouble saying some words. Apparently I visualize the word and say it the way it's spelled. A classic is elementary school (I say it like Sherlock Holmes, can't remember how you are supposed to slur it). The catch is that since I can't remember the words so well, I'll start off with the beginning of one word and end up with the ending of another. Luckily, most people know what I'm trying to say. And in architecture school I blended right in as they make up morphed words all the time.
6. I love garbage smell and manure smell. The garbage was from working at a landfill for a summer before college. I became quite acclimated to it and now it's like any other smell and brings back fond memories. Same for manure but can't pinpoint it as well. Only that it was in the country where we would visit alot and can remember dad rolling down the window and taking an over-acted deep breath - fond childhood memories of carefree summers in the adirondacks.
Well that was fun and thanks cec for tagging me.
"...Along": Out in the knitting world there are a lot of Knit Alongs. People will all work on the same thing at the same time and share their experiences in our digital world on a particular project or a purpose. Cece and Amanda are having one that is a stash busting/UFO finishing binge - a Bust Along. I have about four sweaters going that all are stuck plus several other projects that just need to be wrapped up. Plus I skipped the Webs big sale this year because I felt guilty I hadn't used the yarn from last year (and the year before) that I bought.
BTW, I still don't know exactly what it means, but what I can gather a UFO is an unfinished project - at least in my mind. Next step is to take stock of what I've got that needs to be done and put together a target list - I have until tax day and am a woman on a mission. It starts on Jan. 15 so will report next week what my plan is.
Tag Meme: I looked the word up on wikipedia, but still don't quite get it. I've read others, and just got tagged by Cece and it's fun reading. I'll take Amanda's approach and not tag anyone (I only read three blogs). Here are THE RULES:
Each player of this game starts with the weird things about you.People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog. I thought this would be really hard to do at first - six is alot, but once I started it was interesting how many things started coming to mind. And I'm sure I'm not even thinking of the weirder things - I don't always notice.
So here goes, 6 Weird Things About Me.
1. I know this is going to cause me trouble down the road later, but I actually like that I can't swallow pills still. I'm in my 30s and if I absolutely have to, I take Bayer's Children's chewables. It's a testament that I've had a fairly healthy life so far. I used to think it might be genetic as my brother couldn't swallow pills either. Alas, he succumbed to peer pressure in his early 20s and learned. Which, of course disproves the whole theory it was something physical (and not mental).
2. I didn't notice this was weird until someone pointed it out to friends at a dinner party I hosted once. I have fairly organized clothing. In my closet, everything is ordered within category (i.e. all shirts together, all pants together). Which I still don't think is that unusual. My thing is that if you are doing that already, might as well go the next step and have it organized in subcategories. So all my shirts are organized where the long sleeves are together, than the short sleeves, than the sleeveless shirts together - and they are all facing the same direction. Within each subsection, they are arranged by color so that there is a pleasent gradation as one looks at the clothes, shifting from blacks to greys to blues to whites... Than the sweaters are all neatly folded and in color coded piles on the shelves - greens together, browns together, blacks together. Even the socks - the best way to store them is so that they are on their sides (like file folders in a filing cabinet, instead of in piles), and again in a color gradiation. If I think about it, it's my attempt to have some form of order in a chaotic, uncontrollable life. There's nothing like a crazy day and you open your closet and it's... not crazy but calm.
3. When I listen to music I can't for the life of me listen to the words. I'm a tune person. I didn't realize this difference until early college when people would dissect a song and have long discussions. I had no idea, even though I had listened to the song a billion times, I might now a little of the chorus, but that was if I was lucky. Just this morning I had to listen to a new song four times before I heard all the words. I just can't keep my mind on it and start thinking of other things - it takes a lot of concentration (a lot). Singing to a song for me is impossible. That would take a week of solid work for me to get to that level as it turns into rote memorization (not a strength).
3b. I love bagpipe music - I could listen to it for hours straight, days even. Maybe this explains #3 - no words after all. Not really sure how weird this is though.
4. My only case of OCD pops up when I leave town. Before I leave my house on any trip - doesn't matter the duration - even a weekend, I can't just pack up and leave. Let me preface this that I don't like to clean and am quite content to live with a sink full of dishes, the carpet unvacuumed for weeks, stuff dumbed everywhere, etc. But when I start packing, I have to not only tidy everything and put everything back where it belongs (cramming stuff in a closet won't cut it) , but do a fairly thorough cleaing. Inevitably, I will come home from work late, pack the stuff for the trip and than proceed to spend a good two to three hours cleaning - mopping, scrubbing, vacuuming, tiding, etc. Frankly, traveling and having guests are the main reasons my place gets cleaned.
5. I'm a concept girl. Not into details so much. So I have a hard time with words. Especially evident in common idioms (had to ask my coworker what the word for what I was trying to say was - idiom). It comes in batches. In college was bad and recently it's emerged again. Of course I can't think of any good examples. I generally get confused if it's chicken, turkey or poultry you are trying to quit cold. And I do like to put my two pennies in a lot. Generally I know it sounds off, but than again, the right way sounds off to me anyways, so there I am back to parrallelogram one (ok, that one I made up).
5b. Along with not doing so well with the words, is my spelling (which I'm sure you have noticed as I gave up spell checking months ago - amazing how lazy one gets when you have auto spell check on the other programs you use). Well, because I can't spell so well, I have trouble saying some words. Apparently I visualize the word and say it the way it's spelled. A classic is elementary school (I say it like Sherlock Holmes, can't remember how you are supposed to slur it). The catch is that since I can't remember the words so well, I'll start off with the beginning of one word and end up with the ending of another. Luckily, most people know what I'm trying to say. And in architecture school I blended right in as they make up morphed words all the time.
6. I love garbage smell and manure smell. The garbage was from working at a landfill for a summer before college. I became quite acclimated to it and now it's like any other smell and brings back fond memories. Same for manure but can't pinpoint it as well. Only that it was in the country where we would visit alot and can remember dad rolling down the window and taking an over-acted deep breath - fond childhood memories of carefree summers in the adirondacks.
Well that was fun and thanks cec for tagging me.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Famous Person
Christmas came and went, my break is over and I'm back into the normal grind. I'm definately at a crossing though as I spent alot of time trying to get back onto the horse (ok this analogy isn't going the right direction). Work has been taking its toll. Long hours, absolutely (didn't you catch my complaining about not enjoying christmas because I was working long hours and weekends). But that I could take, it basically boils down to two things, ok, three (this is what I spent my break fuming about but it had to be fumed): there is no management at my job, no communication, and way too much negativity. I'm a patient person but I've been turned into emotional mush. I was seriously considering moving on as this has not been a healthy work environment (although I have to admit I've been learning alot about myself and what not to do). But, I come back in and love the people I work with and the work I do, so what does a girl do. I'm giving myself until India to see how things go in the new year - a solid month.
On a brighter note, I was up visiting dad for Christmas. Had a lovely time as I got to spend Christmas the way it should be done - with kids. My 6 year old cousin Tyler and his family were up visiting and since Nick and Karin (my step sister) were not in town this year, everyone got to sleep under one roof. We watched the movie Wordplay which I had had free passes to see last summer but never got around to. It was interesting and John Stewart is hilarious. They had Bill Clinton, and Ken Burns and other famous people in it as well. Well, next day, dad and I were at the co-op picking up some groceries. We're in the produce section and dad says to me casually, there's Ken Burns. I turn around and so it is, with the classic hair cut. I couldn't believe it - I just saw him on the big screen (ok, rental) the previous night. I realized I was staring, so strategically stood next to my dad while he was getting some groceries so that Mr Burns was in my line of sight. It even sounded like him! As we worked our way through the store our paths kept crossing (I think he started noticing I was staring after awhile). I even came this close (being several inches) on our way to the check-out. Later I find out that this was the first time for dad sighting a famous person. I thought the way dad acted he saw Ken in the store all the time. It was pretty neat. Of course, I'm a PBS nut so the guy is pretty famous in that circle, for others they might have no clue who I'm talking about (having ruled out the famous Simpson character). But for me it made my day. I still wonder if I should have gotten his autograph, but what would I do with that. Wow, I saw Ken Burns at Christmas.
On a brighter note, I was up visiting dad for Christmas. Had a lovely time as I got to spend Christmas the way it should be done - with kids. My 6 year old cousin Tyler and his family were up visiting and since Nick and Karin (my step sister) were not in town this year, everyone got to sleep under one roof. We watched the movie Wordplay which I had had free passes to see last summer but never got around to. It was interesting and John Stewart is hilarious. They had Bill Clinton, and Ken Burns and other famous people in it as well. Well, next day, dad and I were at the co-op picking up some groceries. We're in the produce section and dad says to me casually, there's Ken Burns. I turn around and so it is, with the classic hair cut. I couldn't believe it - I just saw him on the big screen (ok, rental) the previous night. I realized I was staring, so strategically stood next to my dad while he was getting some groceries so that Mr Burns was in my line of sight. It even sounded like him! As we worked our way through the store our paths kept crossing (I think he started noticing I was staring after awhile). I even came this close (being several inches) on our way to the check-out. Later I find out that this was the first time for dad sighting a famous person. I thought the way dad acted he saw Ken in the store all the time. It was pretty neat. Of course, I'm a PBS nut so the guy is pretty famous in that circle, for others they might have no clue who I'm talking about (having ruled out the famous Simpson character). But for me it made my day. I still wonder if I should have gotten his autograph, but what would I do with that. Wow, I saw Ken Burns at Christmas.
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