Connected

Do you ever have one of those weeks? Overall, doing well, but I’m annoyed. I don’t have the patience to deal with the stuff that hits you every day. From Winston getting more persistent about being fed in the morning (before I’ve woken up) to unreasonable demands of my time on committees to projects that just suck you dry. So yesterday I took things into my own hands and decided to treat myself. Long story short, I had a nice time hanging out with good friends. This morning I woke up and… I was still annoyed by Winston and still peeved by work and committee demands, but less so. And I’m heading into a three day weekend, so the right direction.

And as I was walking back from work I appreciated how connected I am. Case in point:

1. Dreamweaver. I’ve decided to try my hand at developing a website for a little idea I have. Except I checked out what I could do using free software and it was very limiting. The go to program is Dreamweaver from Adobe, but it’s not cheap - $400. Well, it turns out I have a friend who has a friend who can set me up with a legit copy of the just released CS5 version. And for really cheap. How super duper is that?

2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. As mentioned earlier, I just finished book #2 in the Millennium series which was not an ending at all. I’m a patient person, but having been engrossed with the story each day and knowing there is more is torture. I checked the library – there are 1000+ holds on the copy there. I’m not even clear if they have the book yet. Long story short, Monday I’m getting a copy of the paperback version that has not been released in the US yet. My step-mother just picked up a copy over in Sweden for me (appropriate being the author is Swedish). How sweet is that?

3. Free Lunch. I’m still off PB&J which makes making lunches more heavy lifting than I’m up for sometimes. Right now, I don’t have much fixings for lunch so decided I’d grab lunch out, although I didn’t really want to spend money on lunch, again. Lunch time came and realized I wanted company so dropped a text to a friend at noon. Ten minutes later we were in line at a sandwich shop, laughing and catching up. We go to pay and I see the “cash only” sign and realized suddenly I’d just used the last of my cash the previous night. Crappy thing to do right? But my friend was adamant and wonderful and I got a free lunch today. How wonderful?!

Nice to have the connections. And good connections where you don’t feel hugely in debt. So that’s my thankful Friday for the week – being thankful for the “free” stuff and even more importantly the people who provide it.

Darkness Decends

It was a killer day today. H-O-T. I had just settled down for the evening to watch movie and cool off with some ice cream. And bam, everything cuts off. And then it comes on again. Same thing 10 minutes later. And then it does a bunch of hiccups and sighs a final sigh. And we are now in the dark. Just my street though. I see lights on two other streets. Not a good sign this early in the summer. Strangely enough I just charged my flashlight. But also just ate up the battery on my laptop and didn't recharge. Out of character for me. I wish I had. Doh.

Strangly familiar to a friends post earlier. And I have a lot of ice cream in the freezer. I don't think I have it in me to eat 3 gallons and 2 pints in one sitting. At least it's finally cooling down.

Be Forwarned!
The end of The Girl Who Played with Fire is not an end. It's like it ends mid-chapter. Make sure you have book #3 available. I unfortunately was not forwarned.

The Office

Last night I was heading home later than normal, around 9 pm after attending some business development events. This time of night is always interesting. During rush hour (5-6 pm) the public transportation peaks with people getting home. It has a lull and then it peaks again for the evening entertainment rush getting home (9-10 pm). I always forget about the second peak.

At Park Street (downtown Boston) this couple gets on and sits across from me. The dynamic between them was intriguing. She was clearly upset with him about something that had just happened and was fuming about it. She would alternate between mulling it over and then bringing it up again. By the end of the ride she had calmed down a bit and they were mending the fence. There was no yelling or anything like that. But she was not happy and he was patiently waiting it out without saying much. The body language spoke volumes. She was sullen and sending out the don’t touch me vibe and he was coming in as close to her boundary as he dared. I don’t think I captured it well though. I like to think I was discreetly taking a photo but clearly they knew what I was up to as seen in the first shot - opps.

But besides being engaging to watch (I overheard very little although did catch “you embarrassed me” – the body language spoke louder than the voice), I really had a hard time not staring because I swear to god this guy looked like John Krasinksi’s little brother! He looked like him. He had the same build as him. He even held himself the same – the same mannerisms. I wish I had video on my phone. I’m even thinking he sound like him too. And I know Krasinksi is from the area. He’s a Newton boy. So it totally could have been his brother. Except, according to wiki – no younger bros for John. Anyways, I had a hard time focusing on my book. It was so distracting. And then when I got home, I was too wound up to go to bed, so ended up watching some old reruns of… The Office. (BTW John Krasinksi is the actor that plays Jim in The Office).

And talking about commuting, this morning, my bus was delayed, again, and I was running late to a morning meeting at a clients office over in the fort point channel area. I was hustling my butt over there and although it was still early, I was so hot and sweaty already. I was walking down the stairs of a pier that runs along the channel and I was struck with the strange feeling I was on vacation in some foreign city and I look up and see this. Nice!?

I think it was the heat. It makes me think of summer vacation. Speaking of which I just put my request in for vacation days in July although I’m not sure how I’m going to swing this Paris in July trip. Plane tickets are pricy for July. I decided to gamble and try to back a work trip against my vacation so that the flight is covered. I’m starting to worry I might have lost on this one. Tickets are now up another $500 and my friends place I was going to stay at is getting booked up. I’ll just have to wait this one out and bite the bullet down the road.

Larry, Lucy and Lucky

Last night was a reminder of why it’s good to break old habits. I’m in the habit of running errands on the weekends. But with the days getting longer and the weather getting warmer, last night when I got home I decided to go back out and break the pattern. I headed to Fresh Pond shopping center in Cambridge. I made it through the rush hour traffic, about to turn into the parking lot when I noticed a guy with a humongous camera lens/telescope. I look to the sky and see nothing. It’s sunny, full cloud cover – no astrological citing. Bummer. I really couldn’t figure out what it was. But he was sure drawing a bunch of attention from all the cars driving by, slowing down. Thought nothing of it until a half hour later, I was pulling into the parking lot across the street for errand #2 and see yet another man with a similar set up. I park and decide to go ask.

Turns out there is a nest of red-tail hawks on the top of the façade of the office building. Buzz and Ruby have three little chicks they’re feeding and raising. The fellow I talked with was very friendly and there was something refreshing about his unabashed enthusiasm of following the birds. They’re at 42 days right now and red-tail hawks are known to take their first flight between 40 and 45 days. So any day now. A friend of his had been there since 5 am that morning. And just as I was about to head off, a little boy runs up with his binoculars to say ‘hi’, his grandfather in tow. He was so excited.

The gentleman I was talking with told me to check out Ernie Sarro’s youtube video. From there I found his blog posting on the family, and pulled most of these pictures (only the blurry, random picture is mine, as I was walking away). He even showed me some of the pictures he had taken. One was amazing, showing one of the chicks (who are no longer fluffy, but fully feathered) on the edge of the next, wings fully extended, testing the “waters”. Apparently the births of the three chicks are staggered. This way the parents are assured at least the first one makes it. They always feed the eldest first. Except now, he noticed one time, Ruby flew up with a rat and gave it to the youngest first, pushing aside the other two older siblings. Very unusal. But a good sign since apparently if food is scarce, siblingcide can occur for food. I just realized this means they won’t all be taking their first flight at the same time.

The funny thing is I think I had seen Buzz before. Or maybe it was Ruby. About two weeks ago, I was trapped in the Alewife traffic tangle one morning. I was just looking out the window and see a bird fly by, up above. All I could tell was that it was a predator bird. It lands on top of one of the tall light poles, right in the center of the mess of cars. And just sits there and watches the fools stuck in their terrain vehicles, in their traffic jam. A moment later a little sparrow flies up and flits about for a little and finally settles on a lower perch. And that was the moment. Peace thirty feet up, above the chaotic mess of rush hour.

Spoilers

FYI. I talk a little about the particulars in Lost finale and about A Girl Who Played with Fire.

What a Monday. I’m exhausted. Strange, being that this was my first weekend not on the road/hosting for quite a long long while. I threw out all the “shoulds” I had knocking on my door and cocooned for the weekend for a much needed battery recharge. You would think I would be well rested, but I have a couple of ideas why I’m more tired today than I was Friday:

1. I watched the 4.5 hour long Lost finale saga that ended at 11:30 pm! I had finally caught up on all the past seasons and have been watching the last couple episodes “live” (or later, on hulu). I was thinking of watching it with friends but am glad I didn’t. I was balling at the end. I swear, it’s the musical score that pushes you over. For me, it was disappointing finale. So many unanswered questions. It ended and I was like, “wait, what?” I was so confused.  Were they dead the whole time? But the next day, hearing folks interpretations helped put it in perspective - they were just dead in the sideways stories. And I realized, this show just isn’t that smart. It pretends to be with all the references but then it doesn’t take it anywhere. Still, very entertaining. I wasn’t wild about the last season but I can’t tell if it was because I was watching the show with commercials. Hands down, the show climaxed in Season 1. So that was emotionally draining – saying good-bye to characters, although silly, is still real. Like coming to the end of a trilogy you’re reading.

2. Which brings me to this morning. I was reading the second book in the Millennium trilogy. Although I’m not at the end and saying good-bye to the characters, I’m instead, at the height of the second book, right after the murders and the energy level is high and stressful. So by the time I got into work this morning, I was pretty worked up. I was reading the book on my way into the office, all the way up to my desk and it took a huge effort to close the book and turn my attention to work stuff.

3. I was finally finishing some knitting projects. Finally “finished” a project started three years ago. Only to find, that yet again, I’ve made an unwearable sweater. It looks beautiful. The right length, the right fit. Not too big, not too small. The orange is worked in a beautiful pattern which is key to make sure you don’t look like an orange or carrot. But the &*!# armpits. They’re just too tight. It’s like wearing a rubber band right around the arm/shoulder seam. Don’t know what’s happening there. And unfortunately, the only fix is to rip out the collar work. Un-seam everything, rip out the top of the sleeves and rip out the top of the sweater. That’s over a days’ work just to undo all the work. No small feat. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. And unfortunately, this last sweater I’m just barely making it with yarn. Frustration.

4. When I cocoon, I cocoon. I didn’t make it grocery shopping which meant I subsided on the food in the fridge. I cleaned out a lot of left-overs. All good stuff, although there was one item in there that didn’t sit too pretty with me Sunday afternoon. Nothing bad, but glad I was hanging around the house, if you know what I mean.

5. I wanted to watch a particular movie Sunday, but with other stuff, didn’t get around to it until… after the end of Lost! I was so wired from the end and some marathon knitting that I figured, “hey, why not?” I should have answered myself that, “hey, it’s 11:30 pm and simple math puts you going to bed at 1:30 am. That’s why not”. I really wasn’t that tired last night as I would have fallen asleep half way through the non-action movie. But still. That gave me about 6 hours of sleep. Ugh. I’m feeling it now.

On the upside, my place is half-way decently clean as I wasn’t sure if my dad was crashing Sunday night after dropping my step-mother off at Logan. On the down-side I didn’t make a dent on my laundry. On the upside the kitty litter and trash is out of the house. Which is really good news as we enter into humid 90s starting tomorrow. I finally took down the party decorations from the farewell party I hosted two weeks ago. It was time.

Irish Idioms!
Just learned a new one.

There's two chances of that happening: slim and none.

What? Wife?

I had to post this. I was just checking my yahoo email account and happened to notice the advertisement on the side. At first I was focusing on why the same woman was dressed differently to represent different attributes - bubbly, humorous, smart. And then I read further and saw the matrimonial services part and am now confused on multiple fronts.

- First, why is there an ad for matrimonial services on my yahoo account. I should be reading about the latest razors or Netflix. Not some crazy, quasi-legal, quasi-ethical wife finding service. What happened to yahoo?
- Is this an American thing or a UK thing? I’m plugged in at work that goes through our central office in the UK. Does that mean the internet is picking up the UK connection? Does that mean the British are a sleazier clientele than the Americans? Who knew.
- Talk about shady. Did you see the name of the company? It’s shady!
- And finally, I still don’t get the ad. Does this mean that no matter what I want, they’ll give me the same girl? Just dressed differently.

As you can tell, I’m not wild about the business of finding someone a wife. I realize the online dating I dabble in shares traits but it’s a two way street. Well really four way if you consider the gay/lesbian partnerships. If they sold husbands too, I’d reconsider, and maybe get myself one. But they never do, do they?

Any business that profits over the selling of women doesn’t sit well with me. It shouldn’t exist and at the very least it shouldn’t be accepted in mainstream but shunned. I’ve been with yahoo for almost 15 years, but am reconsidering now. It reminds me of that small film, 2 Brothers and a Bride that starred Tim Blake Nelson and David Arquette. It touched on the reality of the wife selling business but ended with a Hollywood ending – rarely the case I imagine. Too many Law & Orders and of course I’m half way through A Girl who Played with Fire which is all about the sex trade and talks about the promise of a better life in the Western world for these girls.

It does make me appreciate being born an American into an affluent middle class family.

Thankful Friday

Ah Friday. It’s been a long week. Busy at work. I’ve been trying to steer clear of the drama but it’s becoming more challenging. Wednesday I basically just went into retreat mode when I got home and ignored what I should be doing. I was mentally exhausted. But last night I rallied and tackled stuff when I got home, including fixing myself a good dinner. I tried out a new recipe for a rainbow chard casserole. It was now or never as the ingredients were about to go. It’s good but I have to admit I’m more conscious of what I eat now. Is a vegetable dish still good for you if it has a cup of shredded gruyere cheese and two cups of ricotta? Moderation is still my mantra so smaller portions.

So all work has drama. My last job had tons and I was smack dab in the middle of it and it really drained me. This job I’ve been able to position myself differently. Even so, where I am, it is unavoidable without going into any detail. Sorry for being cryptic – but it’s the usual work stuff, just don’t want to air it here and the point is less the issues but how I’ve found I’ve changed. Yesterday I had a tiring morning and was finding myself getting worked up in frustration. My patience was low and therefore I was starting to fall into old habits again. And you know what I did. I took my lunch and book and walked down to Pigeon Poop park a few blocks away and had a pleasant lunch fully engrossed in the second book in the Millennium series. Usually I either have lunch at my desk or go out and run errands or meet up with someone for lunch. But never just lunch on my own. It was wonderful. It was the first day in the 80s for a long time. Everyone was out and about. I was wearing my new dress I had bought last weekend in NY from Emilia’s used clothing store. The sun, the breeze, the book. It was wonderful – great refreshing energy in the air. And it even had a touch of nostalgia. The park is outside the old office building I used to work out a few years back. And the popular hanging-out place for the bike messengers. There’s been a big turn-over but I was surprised to see I still saw a few I recognized. And you know what, within in moments, all the craziness slipped away and before I knew it the hour had sped by and I had forgotten all about work.

And the afternoon was great and productive and the way it should be. So there you have it. I’m able to let go more now. I’m still involved and working on solving the problems, but now I feel even more capable as I’m not weighed down by the angst of it all. Or if I see that I am, I’m able to self-correct some.

Today I had lunch with Noah. My pseudo little brother. He’s actually younger than my real younger brother but they did both go to the same school. Anyways he’s about to move (grad school – Duke). The time has finally arrived and he has two weeks left. So we had a last minute scheduled lunch today. Enjoying lunch in the Boston common in the sun. He had some family drama this week which just makes me appreciate the security my family provides even more. Anyways, we were both lamenting how our other friends have all dropped out of the social circle (we all used to work together). You see, we’re north side (i.e. Cambridge side) and they’re south side (i.e. Jamaica Plain – Boston). And we don’t work together anymore so after work get togethers are a thing of the past. Long story short. We left with plans tonight, laughing on our walk back to our offices about how that sounded:

“I had lunch with a boy today and we shared some homemade gourmet pizza. And then I’m seeing him later tonight for dinner and a movie. We’re going to go to this gourmet pizza place and then we’re going to see Date Night.”

And to be honest, I’d rather hang out with him than rally for a real date night. Still, I need to get back into the mix of things again. Next month. Tomorrow is the first time in a very long time that I finally have a Saturday morning where I’m not rushing off to visit someone for the weekend or running around prepping my place for visitors. And can I add, I’ve worn my new pair of jeans four out of the five days this week – the other day being the new dress. I love them, so comfy. Which leaves me to conclude that I’m thankful of my progress dealing with work(cognitive behavior rules), stability my family provides, active friendships, and for a comfortable pair of jeans finally. Oh and random art in empty storefront windows downtown (same work of art from two different angles).

Jeans

Great weekend visiting Emilia and her family. Too short of course, but the upside is that we get a second girls weekend memorial day when she’ll be in Boston visiting her sister. It was great just to be able to hang out and chill. There was a bbq Saturday night with lots of kids and before I knew it the weekend had flown by. I was on my way home and was in a desperate need of a bathroom break. Who knew the pee dance would result in new jeans that fit perfectly! I happened to get off at the Lee exit, which I quickly recognized was where the outlet mall was that I had been several years ago. But wasn’t driving so hadn’t bookmarked where it was exactly. Long story short, after a quick pit stop and before the stores closed for the night, I found a pair of Michael Kors jeans that just fit like a glove. Not too tight. No need for a belt because of the butt sag. Just perfect. And on sale too! I have them on as I write. I had pretty much given up finding a pair. I’ve gone to a billion stores and no luck. When you’re looking is when it refuses to be found.

I hadn’t realized how not-having-a-pair-of-jeans-that-fit-well was effecting me. It was like when I didn’t have a bed. I had a mattress on the floor, but no frame or boxspring. It all works and is better than sleeping on the floor (or going jeanless), but having the right fit works miracles. Be it a proper fitting pair of jeans, or a bed at the right height where it’s not an exercise just getting out of bed. It makes me appreciate the little things that make life easier. So no more unbuttoning the jeans to sit down, or having to slap a belt on that creates a rash on my hip from rubbing. I’m sitting pretty now. Hallelujah jeans are found!

Thankful Friday

On my way into work this morning I was thinking about all the things I need to do before hitting the road tomorrow morning. And I realized there is a wonderful upside of not having kids or even a partner right now. This weekend I’m wrapping up my whirlwind tour which could only have been accomplished by a singleton. Kids and/or mate in tow would just not have been possible with the logistics involved. It would have changed things, which makes me appreciate the flexibility and independence that comes with being on one’s own. In a weak segue, it got me thinking about the other things I want to accomplish in life – with or without mate and/or kids. I’ve created my Bucket List. Things to do before I die. I thought it was silly fluff when I heard of it initially, but realize I have items that should be listed and the only list they fit nicely into is the Bucket List. So here goes (to be added to over the years, theoretically).

Bucket list
1. Own a Jaguar car. This has been a dream of mine since I was a wee little lady. I think I must have seen my first Jaguar in an ad in the New Yorker. It was for a XJ6 (Series III) in jaguar racing green . This is another ad I remember seeing, not the one I’m thinking of though which was nice and clean – car on black background. I still have that ad. I’ve remained unwavering ever since. I think I may have to buy a used car as the form went downhill during the Ford era and now with Tata owning the company. I’d rather sacrifice function (the old jaguars have notoriously faulty wiring and other issues) for form. Weird to write that. But, hey – it’s my dream car, not my errand car. I would also consider the E type/XJS/XK8 evolution of their sports car but am not wild about the current rendition in the 2010s – the XK150.

2. See a kangaroo in person, in their own habitat, not mine. This basically means I want to make it to the other side of the world – Australia or New Zealand, I’m not picky. You’d think I would have made it by now considering my cousin married a New Zealander, the engineering firm I used to work at was bought out by a New Zealand firm, and my current company has an office in Melbourne.

3. Learn how to play at least one song (that I like) decently on the guitar. I’ve set my goal low after my first foray into guitar playing. I'm really not musically blessed.  You’d think this should be easy to achieve based on the wealth of amateur videos on youtube. Everyone and their brother seems to have learned a little ditty to play on the guitar. I have a guitar up in my loft that after the first night has remained abandoned. It’s on loan so I need to bump this up the list.

Time Zones

I like that I work internationally now. It has a nice ring to it and an aura of intrigue. I like being exposed to the accents and different cultures – the interesting parts and the challenging parts. There is even travel thrown in which is generally fun (I don’t like being tired that comes with the red eye flights). But man, some mornings are rough. Everyone has those crazy days with tons of items popping up that need to be dealt with immediately. I don’t think I’ve ever had a job where there weren’t “emergencies” of some form periodically. But I’ve decided I live in the wrong time zone. Before my day even starts I’m behind. I tackle the Middle East first, then move on to Europe. So that by afternoon, I’m exhausted and just starting on the North American stuff.

Now, don’t get me wrong, most days, I can keep the day pretty steady, but some days there’s a collision of events that just knocks me back and wish for the days of working in one time zone. I’m a planner, I like to be ahead of the curve. And don’t even get me started on my math. A few months back it was a little crazy as each country institutes day light savings at different times, so the five hour time difference to the UK is shifted to four hours for a few weeks. And that’s just the UK. Trying to schedule calls between folks in Abu Dhabi, London, San Francisco and Chicago (not to mention Boston) gets a little complicated – there’s such a small window. So when the projects get high stakes and looking for fast turnaround, it doesn’t help to be located in the western part of time zones. Ok, that’s enough venting. Focus on the good, and practice my math.

In other news, I need to get back into linking with professionals to hit my next milestone – 250. On LinkedIn I just hit 131. My 131st contact is my brother. Which sounds strange, maybe even desperate, but it isn’t – he’s got good connections and even more importantly I can finally keep tabs on what he does. I periodically get asked what he’s up to. I say he’s living over in Delhi (or Lahore depending when I was asked). Half the time that’s enough. But the other half, folks ask what he’s doing. Which gets a little tricky answering as he has gigs that are under a year long and not always straightforward (i.e. I forget exactly what). Recently he’s been teaching, so that makes it easier. But with LinkedIn, I get a little cheat sheet. It does make me wonder if that make me a bad sister that I need a social media site to remember what my brother is up to? Um, nope, just makes life easier.

Fantasy Football Time!

But not the kind you’re probably thinking of. I just joined a fantasy football game that someone at work organized. But he’s from the UK. So football = soccer. And this is only the biggest game in the world, hands down (the World Cup in case you missed that, which only happens every four years). I just finished picking my team. I’ve got Gianluigi Buffon from Italy guarding the goal and well, honestly, I don’t know the rest. The only football player I know is David Beckham and I know enough to know he’s out of any serious playing – torn ligament or something. I started just randomly picking names but there were so many countries and players to choose from that I realized my odds weren’t that good. So I spent 5 minutes of quick googling and feel like I’ve got a half way decent team. It’s the best combination: a little research by someone who has no clue about the subject = the surprise victory. You’re close enough to catch those left field curve balls (to throw in an American sports double metaphor).

I’ve done work related sports pools before but usually the other kind of football – where they throw the ball (sometimes, depending on the game). The first job out of college I came in part way into the football pool and did decent, but didn’t really ever win – always came close. So the next year, Ben and I, who both did well but never won, restructured the pool so that there was a running tally of your score from each week. I won the next two years in a row. Who knows how long the streak would have been as I went back to grad school the following year. Granted I had my brother help me in the team selection and point allocation, but looking back it all – way to work the system. If the system isn’t working for you – change it. I make a killing. Instead of walking away with $15 a week which most folk used to buy the office bagels, I walked away with $200 at the end of the season (minus the cut for bagels).

This is structured differently, first off no money to play and you pick your players, not just the winning team. You can make up to 30 trades during the World Cup which is interesting and good to know you don’t get stuck with an injured player. It’s something to look forward to and be a part of such a global event. It reminds me of the match in 2002. I was just starting grad school (again) in Michigan and was subletting an apartment that summer, waiting to move into my new house I just bought. My roommates were these 2 (or 3, I was never sure) French guys and they were crazy into the World Cup watching it at 3 or 4 in the morning (it was in Korea). The energy was wonderful. And it was funny hearing them complain how tired they were, but not from late nights in the lab working but from staying up to watch the games.

Well, as the countdown states on the World Fantasy Football page, only 29 days, 20 hours and 45 minutes and 12 seconds until kickoff!!!

Notes on Today

It’s official, I’m hungry again. This week I’ve eaten my very plentiful lunch and within the next hour or two was hungry for another meal. I’m noticing it’s been about a month since the last time this happened. Good to note. Must pack accordingly.

This morning I missed my fast bus and took the slower bus, sitting in traffic forever. Only to arrive to the subway station where the trains were backed up (i.e. it didn’t matter I missed the bus) and spent the trip to Boston stuck between stations forever. Train broken down + medical emergency on train behind = super long commute. Glad I just started a scarf for a friend and a new book.

I’ve noticed that I’m drinking more tea the last couple of days. It’s because I’m hungry and refuse to go and buy junk food for a mid-afternoon snack after having gobbled down all the food I packed – which was plenty.

Note to self last night, eating half a jar of Nutella for “dessert” after dinner while watching “How I Met your Mother” probably isn’t helping the whole fitting-into-pants thing happening recently. But it was good and is now gone, at least that jar is.

Found a box of graham crackers in the bottom of my drawer to have with my tea – yay! Is that considered junk food? Wait, I don’t want to know.

Note to self this afternoon, wait to drink the tea. Even if you are hungry. The burnt tongue is annoying.

Good news/bad news session this morning. Tons of progress with therapy – I love my therapist – she’s the best. No more “buts”. And she’s actively looking for another job two towns over. I’m not happy. Life was easy – her office was only a block away. I run out the door 5 minutes before the appointment.

And finally, need to put the bike back to the top of the To Do list. I let it slip due to no time to take care of it. Beautiful cool spring weather (should) = bike to work. I’d avoid the subway delays that have been occurring more frequently this last week or so.

Oh, and another note to self: if you decide to unbutton the pants, don’t forget when you get up and walk around the office. Especially when your shirt isn’t that long.

Subway Sighting!
Last month it was little people and this month... any guesses? My subway train just pulled up and I was navigating my way from the bench to the car door during the busy rush hour crowds going home. I ended up doing "the dance" with a middle aged man in a suit. We both go to the left then the right. Nothing unusal and it all happened in a split second but I did notice that his right hand was missing and he had a polished silver end cap. No hook, no fake hand. Just a silver nob. Honest. I felt like I was about to enter into a Hitchcock film as he seemed a bit distracted and didn't have the best posture - was hunched over a little. I half expected to turn and see Carey grant.

Rodney's

This weekend was a good weekend. Saturday I was throwing another dinner party, but this time it was a smaller party – only six people. It was a farewell party for Noah who is off to grad school this fall but will be leaving to travel around this summer. I’m working on getting a plane ticket to go over and visit while he’s in Paris and is house-sitting a friend’s apartment. Anyways, this time, I was a little less all-consumed in getting everything perfect. The house wasn’t perfectly cleaned and the cooking wasn’t completely in place. But it was with dear friends so I wasn’t too worried. It was nice being able to take it easy throughout the day. Although by lunchtime I was still running around grocery shopping in the pouring rain and crowds and had some last minute menu changes. But more about the party in a future post, perhaps.

So Saturday was busy, but not frantic and exhausting. I slept in Sunday morning and had absolutely no plans for Sunday. And I mean absolutely nothing (well, other than calling mom for mother’s day). With the dinner party I was so focused on Saturday I hadn’t even started thinking of the “shoulds” for Sunday. I should do laundry, or I should finish my mending, or I should drop off my dry cleaning, or I should tackle any of the other items on the endless “to do” list. I had nothing of that. I started the day watching a movie on Netflix in bed. And then had to run off to Central Square in Cambridge to meet up with Noah. He had left his cell phone at my place and I didn’t really want to get out of my comfy bed to bring it to him. But then I thought – he’s not going to be around much longer (in Boston, not life), it’s a nice sunny day, I have a car (that I love driving) and he doesn’t, and I could easily check off a “should” that has been on the list for about two years now.

My step-sister had given me this wonderful messenger bag from Ten Thousands Village. But I don’t really use messenger bags – they’re too clunky for me and wanted to exchange it for the same bag in the tote style. And the store is in Central Square, so there you go. I was running a bit late, but it was a Sunday. I met up with Noah, I found that my procrastination paid off.  The bag I wanted was on sale which meant I could get something else so picked up an engagement gift for a friend, and then… Then, Noah introduced me to my Sunday adventure. The store next door is Rodney’s Used Bookstore. And it was having a sale. A huge sale – 50% off! Unfortunately the place is going out of business. I should have known something was up because I easily found a good parking spot even though I was running late. Which is very very odd. It’s impossible to park down in Central Square, well at least without having to hike a mile.

Well, Noah headed off to get back to studying and I hunkered down, systematically going through each section. Not too far in I realized this was the bookstore I had visited a few years ago and seen this awesome book on graphic design in Germany during the early 20th century. I hadn’t bought it. It was expensive and I was poor (covering rent and a mortgage while working at a non-profit doesn’t add up in ones favor). So I shifted gears and went upstairs to the design section and went through each book. But no luck, the book wasn’t there – understandable. I found some other wonderful books though and had to keep sitting down and going through my pile and only keep my absolutely must have books.

I love used bookstores. The selection is always so unique for each store. Case in point, I was almost done with the second floor when I came across a section on – Kennedy. A whole bookcase packed full on books about JFK and Teddy and the whole Kennedy clan – only in Massachusetts! By now I’m getting a little thirsty and hungry and already had a nice pile of books that included design, architecture, memoirs, and art. But I pushed on, and headed downstairs to finish off where I left off. I spent a bunch of time in the history sections. Picked up a book of short stories. And was thinking I was almost done when I turned the corner and found a section on art, architecture and design. There was a second section downstairs that I didn’t know about. And I’m always torn about these books, because I love studying the images but they’re usually big and bulky and expensive. I did find I was selecting many of the books based on their ability to survive my commute. I probably spend about 14 hours a week reading of which at least 12 are while I’m commuting. So the big heavy art book just isn’t going to work.

I did a quick perusing of the shelves. Just to make sure I wasn’t missing out on anything amazing. And there it was. In the design section on the second shelf from the top, was none other but the German design book! I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it. Even this morning while I was sifting through it over breakfast. So with that, I decided it was time to leave. After three hours, I walked away with 23 books which honestly shows a lot of self-restraint. I had found at least three times that amount and books are good. Ok, it’s a lot of books, but I could still carry them to my car all in one trip. And I got to use my new tote bag (which I love). All in all a good day.  A good weekend.  I was fatigued but in a rewarding way.

I think I enjoyed this weekend more than normal as I had somehow booked my "spring tour"inadvertently this year.  I've not had much of a free weekend for awhile.  This doesn't include the adventures during the weeks, but here's the list for my spring tour this year.

Mar 6/7: Kennebunkport, ME - visiting Maggie and Dave - Reegan & fam, Sarah, Nima & pregnant S.
Mar 13/14: Jamica Plain, MA - visiting with Marie to see her new house
Mar 20/21: Richmond, VA - visiting my new nephew and his parents (my step-sister and her husband).
Mar 27/28: Brattleboro VT - sugarbush weekend enjoyed with friends Dawn and Bill
Apr 10/11: Dover, NH - visiting Reegan and her family
Apr 17/18: Lexington, MA - dad visits for Patriot's Day weekend celebrations
Apr 24/25: Brattleboro VT - earth day celebration 
May 1/2: Ferry Beach Park, ME - retreat weekend with Cece and the kids
May 8/9: Cambridge, MA - dinner party for Noah and Rodney's bookstore
May 15/16: Chatham, NY - visiting Emilia and family and see her new house

It's been great seeing everyone, but, it's been a bit exhausting and I didn't even get in all the visits I intended.  I still want to make it to CT to visit my cousins but no set date yet as I need a little breather before even thinking about it.  Still, I'm thankful that weekends exist in the first place (thank you unions) and that I have so many great opportunities for traveling and visiting with friends (love New England for being small - that's six states there and only VA required some vacation days).  I just need to remember that there is a reason why I might be a tad on the tired/worn out side.  It does sneak up on you.  The good news is that I don't have anything else planned other than the potential Paris trip sometime in July. 

#379

Don’t you love it when things come back to you? I’m listening to the latest This American Life (TAL) episode, which turns out to be a repeat. I push play and am half paying attention while working away. And then suddenly I’m transported to a certain segment on Route 2. Driving along the less populated portion up near the VT border. It’s the episode I was listening to driving back one weekend from a visit at Dad’s. The first act had me laughing out loud. But as I drive deeper and deeper into the wilderness, the station slowly transitioned into static. I would strain to hear the story through all the white noise, rushing to get to the next hill. But to no avail. And here it is again!

 Also, the second act is about Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I first heard about the musical on TAL and then promptly forgot about it. I wasn’t that impressed even though Neil Patrick Harris cracks me up. But then a few weeks back, Netflix recommended the movie and I gave it a whirl. It’s completely unexpected. Definitely worth the viewing. It’s very satirical and was done during the writers’ strike a few years back so the ending is a little subpar – it’s suddenly all wrapped up when the strike ends. Although listening to this episode I realize I should get the DVD commentary as that’s just as fun too!

Oups a Weegie

Another busy week. Not sure how it happened, but I’m only involved with two committees, which a year ago was manageable, but now… Well now, they’ve both ramped up and I feel like I’m having meetings every week now which kills my evenings. Last night after my building committee meeting, I made a quick run to the local Stop and Shop which I never visit but has the benefit of being open late. And another committee meeting tonight. And I forgot tomorrow night is a work related event. Which leaves me Friday to chill before I clean my place and figure out a menu for a farewell dinner party the next day. I’m exhausted already.

This morning I took a moment from getting ready for work and just tried on all my pants. I get dressed last before heading out the door in the mornings. So by the time I get to that point, I’m in a rush and lately, I’ve been flummoxed with having to think of a new outfit for work last minute as the one I had picked out no longer fits. I go to put the pants on and am forced to grind to a halt. They don’t fit! I’m bummed about a few pairs I’ve outgrown but surprisingly found the excuse liberating and cleaned out a bunch of stuff I haven’t worn for awhile. So there were three piles. The keep pile which interestingly enough, found a couple pairs of jeans looking even better than before now that I’ve got more junk in the trunk. Then there’s the giveaway pile (which I’ll bring to a friend’s thrift shop in a few weeks during a trip to NY) and then there’s the basement pile. The pairs of pants I really really like and will hold on for… let’s say 3 years. After which I’ll donate them if they don’t fit. You never know. So that’s a total of 16 pairs out of the closet. There’s just enough pairs for me to still function in society without having to go bottomless.

And finally, gotta love being exposed to different cultures. I was emailing with an employee who is from France originally. Loved that he wrote Oups to a mistake that was found. Doesn’t it sound so much better? And listening to some Scottish podcasts to continually get acclimated to the accent I came across that folks from Glasgow are referred to as Weegies. I’m not clear if it’s derogatory if you’re not from Glasgow yourself – along the lines of the n-word and not being black. So I’ll have to remember that.  But think the podcasts are wearing off on me as I just took a call and the fellow, who had an English accent, thought I was English too!  It left me in limbo the rest of the call.  I ended up speaking a gentler American with a hint of the English inflection.

Water Water Every Where

I spent a wonderful New England weekend up in Maine. I can’t imagine what it must be like in the height of summer. Now was the perfect time to go – it was 70s and sunny and not too crowded or hot. It was great hanging out with Cec and the kids. Of course, before evening on the first day (Friday) I had already thrown my back out “kind of”. “Kind of” meaning my lower back hurt like #&!! but I could still pick up things if I approached from the right angle. Which meant I kept picking up the kids. Who can resist! Two nights back in my own bet and I’m getting better. But it was useful having two adults for managing the two kids.

It was a ton of sun and sand and wind and playing with the kids and water as far as the eye could see. The pictures I took were on Cece’s camera which turned out great. Some are posted on her blog, here. So I think it might be time for me to get a new camera. My pictures never turn out this decent and I usually chalk it up to user error. And I got a surprise Birthday present - including a Japanese embroidery kit. Really hip and modern (mid-century modern - my favorite).

And it’s nice being connected. I’ve been able to take advantage of some wonderful New England trips through friends. Stuff I wouldn’t if I were just a tourist (or didn’t have cool friends). We ended up staying at a friend’s house in York Maine which was so much nicer then the bunk beds we were scheduled to use. And the retreat was so perfectly situated next to Ferry Beach with veranda sitting and a nice little community of people. It was fun people watching – especially the young teens. The ratio of girls to boys was off so trying to figure out who liked who was a complicated mess of a love triangle. Anyways got some knitting done but we were very exhausted heading back home Sunday.

Sunday I started noticing my messages. I couldn’t wait for a nice hot shower in the comfort of my home. But it turns out that while I was away there was a water main break, which I’m sure you heard about. It affected over 2 million people and there was a run on bottled water. And Monday was wicked hot and humid. But by this morning, everything was up and running and tested and the green light was given. Which speaks volumes to the workers putting in overtime to get it fixed.

And it was a nice affirmation to the community I live in. Before I even got back home I had had a handful of people call, text and email me about the water, in case I hadn’t heard. Which frankly, if I had been home Saturday I don’t know if I would have found out before I used it in the morning. We didn’t get a chance to stop and get water on our way back but it turns out I didn’t need to. My landlords had bought a bunch of water and left me a couple of gallons which was really sweet. So I was all taken care of – no worries. And after a few days of no potable water I’m very appreciative of being able to just turn on a faucet and voila – which unfortunately puts front and center how many millions of people still don’t have this luxury.

Kites on the Beach!

Enjoying the sun while sitting on the beach knitting and watching the kites dance in the ocean breeze.  Including this dragon fly kite.

(I sent this Saturday but it never posted for some reason).