I forgot I was traveling down to NJ this week. Then I remembered but forgot that since the meeting started at 8 am I wasn't just going down and back for the day but going down the night before.
I ended up flying United and boy do they have some learning to do. It took forever for them to board and unboard the plane. It took double the time other airlines take. I was just thankful I wasn't having to be anywhere on time. Otherwise I would be frustrated with the whole system.
Then, we pulled away, from the gate and the de-icer came over. It was my first time being slimed! They sprayed orange slime all over the plane. It was oozing down the windows and everything.
We made it up into the air, through the stormy, snowing clouds and burst out above. It always amazes me that there is a whole other world above the clouds. That below it's all stormy and dark and above it's just beautifully sunny, light and airy. I always wish I could touch the clouds we're flying through.
As I unpack, I realize that I also forgot to pack some pjs. I remembered flip flops and my flat iron, but forgot my pjs! And my alarm clock. The good thing is I have my phone that has an alarm. I figured out I could set it to go off with the sound of a song. So I set it to go off with Gangnam Style. What a way to wake up!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
It's Cold Outside Baby
I'm not sure where you may be reading this but here in New England we've been having some cold weather. It doesn't look like it will go above freezing for a week. Now most people think it's seriously cold and it's been a topic of many conversations.
I was gearing up for it and the last couple of days I've been having these random flashes of memories from my childhood. You know what it is? After I left home for college and then into the real world and the various places I've lived around the country, that even though I moved back to the east coast, I hadn't come back to what I think of as winter. Yes it snows here in Boston and it gets cold and you have to shovel and scrape your car but it's winter-lite. This is the first moment of what I consider a real winter that I have experienced in almost 20 years!
Where I grew up - way up north, when it was winter it was cold like this most of winter, the few times it got a little warmer was when we got snow. I love to say that I grew up in a land where it was often to cold to snow.
So now I've shifted from gearing up for some really cold weather to looking forward to it. I enjoy remembering back. To the countless mornings waiting out front of the school for the doors to open up. You learned to stand perfectly straight and still so that your legs didn't touch the fabric of your pants. And you had fun crunching your hair or friends' that had frozen from the morning shower because they hadn't spent time blowing it dry completely.
Remembering the tricks of walking in the cold. We'd walk home after school and you learned to take one of your textbooks out of your backpack and hold it in front of your chest. Three hundred pages of paper make for good insulation.
We also knew the best route home - not the shortest but the one where there were strategic placed spaces we could pop in for heat and to warm back up. First was the public library, than the convenience store on the corner, than the lobby of a law office. Than there was a big stretch, another corner store and than home.
I'd forgotten a lot of this until this last week and the weather triggered the memories. Of course, there is a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in all this although I really don't remember negatives associated with the cold. I was born into it so that was just the way things were. You knew no different. It's nice to have the cold weather back. Although I suspect I'll be grumbling about it when the heating bill comes in. Another nice thing about back then - I didn't have to pay the bills!
I was gearing up for it and the last couple of days I've been having these random flashes of memories from my childhood. You know what it is? After I left home for college and then into the real world and the various places I've lived around the country, that even though I moved back to the east coast, I hadn't come back to what I think of as winter. Yes it snows here in Boston and it gets cold and you have to shovel and scrape your car but it's winter-lite. This is the first moment of what I consider a real winter that I have experienced in almost 20 years!
Where I grew up - way up north, when it was winter it was cold like this most of winter, the few times it got a little warmer was when we got snow. I love to say that I grew up in a land where it was often to cold to snow.
So now I've shifted from gearing up for some really cold weather to looking forward to it. I enjoy remembering back. To the countless mornings waiting out front of the school for the doors to open up. You learned to stand perfectly straight and still so that your legs didn't touch the fabric of your pants. And you had fun crunching your hair or friends' that had frozen from the morning shower because they hadn't spent time blowing it dry completely.
Remembering the tricks of walking in the cold. We'd walk home after school and you learned to take one of your textbooks out of your backpack and hold it in front of your chest. Three hundred pages of paper make for good insulation.
We also knew the best route home - not the shortest but the one where there were strategic placed spaces we could pop in for heat and to warm back up. First was the public library, than the convenience store on the corner, than the lobby of a law office. Than there was a big stretch, another corner store and than home.
I'd forgotten a lot of this until this last week and the weather triggered the memories. Of course, there is a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in all this although I really don't remember negatives associated with the cold. I was born into it so that was just the way things were. You knew no different. It's nice to have the cold weather back. Although I suspect I'll be grumbling about it when the heating bill comes in. Another nice thing about back then - I didn't have to pay the bills!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Stress Relief
I don’t care what your job or home life is: whether your are the director or junior staff at work or stay at home mom, or whether you have a dozen kids or just one or live alone, life gets crazy and things get stressful. I feel like I’m at the age where I’m starting to notice what works and what doesn’t. I’ve learned that, although my commute by public transportation is almost double what is by car, by reading a good book on my way home, I’m able to relax and let go of the million voices from work, with the added bonus of not subjecting myself to road rage. By the time I get home, I’m in home mode and give my full attention to the needs there.
My latest discovery is that when I’m still trying to work something out I need a break from myself and the best way to relax and let go is to do left brain stuff. I love when everything has a place and things are neat and tidy, I just feel better. So after I’ve done the dishes and have a sparkling clean countertop, I need something else. And I’ve found two ways to do this. A few years back, in time of crisis, I instinctively started a puzzle. I hadn’t done one in years and worked wonders. By the mid-point, I was much calmer, things weren’t as bad and overwhelming. By the end, I started having a plan of action. And once I have a plan of action, I’m good. I just need a plan.
And the latest trick, making slipcovers. I have furniture and I have cats and I have scratching posts galore. And I have the usual - furniture that most people would put to the curb. But being on my tight budget, a simple slipcover can do wonders. And I’ve found the slippyness of slipcovers makes them less attractive to the feline friends. This weekend I finished off a slipcover for one of my side chairs. I had gone through a phase of buying clearance fabric with not project in mind - I knew there would come a time. Last night I couldn’t stop sneaking glances at the chair when watching TV - I’m quite impressed on how it turned out. I just realized I should have taken “before” and “after” pictures to post. Nice thing is I can still do both since the “before” is still hidden below and easily revealed.
I’m hooked - I just spent this morning, before popping into work, pinning and cutting fabric for another chair long overdue. The slipcovers are remarkably easy and relatively fast to finish. I’m still in simple mode and didn’t bother trying to work in piping - that would probably move the project from stress relief to stress producer. After cutting and pinning everything together, I pulled the old sewing machine out. It’s been awhile… A long while. Actually, it took me about 20 minutes to figure out how to turn it on - it’s my grandmothers and this was the first time using it since I inherited it. Another 10 minutes threading the thing, only to find it’s broken. The motor hums along but nothing moves. I tried all the buttons and no luck. I did the math and I think it’s probably not been used for a good 15 years. Grandma was a sewer. She probably put a billion miles on the machine. I grew up with her sewing all the time. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sewing much near the end of her life and then it sat in my project room waiting to be used.
While trying to figure out how to turn the thing on and thread it, I did stumble upon a bunch of stuff on the internet. It’s one of the last good sturdy sewing machines of an era gone by - a Kenmore by Sears. Sounds like it’s still worth keeping, unfortunately I’m not finding much in where I can take it in the Boston area to get it tuned-up and fixed. Any suggestions?
In the end, I gave up on the sewing machine and went old school. I hand sewed the entire slipcover. I figured I can always go back and machine sew the seams again once I’m up and running. The nice thing was that I did everything but the bottom hem while the slipcover was still on the chair. It took awhile - practically a day of just sewing. But, again, it was the journey, not the destination for this project. I felt much better at the end and had a wonderful accomplishment to boot! Next up, finding really nice but cheap fabric to buy for the sofa slip cover.
My latest discovery is that when I’m still trying to work something out I need a break from myself and the best way to relax and let go is to do left brain stuff. I love when everything has a place and things are neat and tidy, I just feel better. So after I’ve done the dishes and have a sparkling clean countertop, I need something else. And I’ve found two ways to do this. A few years back, in time of crisis, I instinctively started a puzzle. I hadn’t done one in years and worked wonders. By the mid-point, I was much calmer, things weren’t as bad and overwhelming. By the end, I started having a plan of action. And once I have a plan of action, I’m good. I just need a plan.
And the latest trick, making slipcovers. I have furniture and I have cats and I have scratching posts galore. And I have the usual - furniture that most people would put to the curb. But being on my tight budget, a simple slipcover can do wonders. And I’ve found the slippyness of slipcovers makes them less attractive to the feline friends. This weekend I finished off a slipcover for one of my side chairs. I had gone through a phase of buying clearance fabric with not project in mind - I knew there would come a time. Last night I couldn’t stop sneaking glances at the chair when watching TV - I’m quite impressed on how it turned out. I just realized I should have taken “before” and “after” pictures to post. Nice thing is I can still do both since the “before” is still hidden below and easily revealed.
I’m hooked - I just spent this morning, before popping into work, pinning and cutting fabric for another chair long overdue. The slipcovers are remarkably easy and relatively fast to finish. I’m still in simple mode and didn’t bother trying to work in piping - that would probably move the project from stress relief to stress producer. After cutting and pinning everything together, I pulled the old sewing machine out. It’s been awhile… A long while. Actually, it took me about 20 minutes to figure out how to turn it on - it’s my grandmothers and this was the first time using it since I inherited it. Another 10 minutes threading the thing, only to find it’s broken. The motor hums along but nothing moves. I tried all the buttons and no luck. I did the math and I think it’s probably not been used for a good 15 years. Grandma was a sewer. She probably put a billion miles on the machine. I grew up with her sewing all the time. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sewing much near the end of her life and then it sat in my project room waiting to be used.
While trying to figure out how to turn the thing on and thread it, I did stumble upon a bunch of stuff on the internet. It’s one of the last good sturdy sewing machines of an era gone by - a Kenmore by Sears. Sounds like it’s still worth keeping, unfortunately I’m not finding much in where I can take it in the Boston area to get it tuned-up and fixed. Any suggestions?
In the end, I gave up on the sewing machine and went old school. I hand sewed the entire slipcover. I figured I can always go back and machine sew the seams again once I’m up and running. The nice thing was that I did everything but the bottom hem while the slipcover was still on the chair. It took awhile - practically a day of just sewing. But, again, it was the journey, not the destination for this project. I felt much better at the end and had a wonderful accomplishment to boot! Next up, finding really nice but cheap fabric to buy for the sofa slip cover.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Vintage/Visits
As part of the new year cleaning - out with the old, in with the new, I took a sweep at my blog bookmarks. Yes, I’m old fashioned and haven’t figured out how to consolidate them and so just jump from one to the next. I used to only read blogs of friends, but that number went down with all the new social media out there. Blogs seem a bit dated these days which only dates me more than ever. But I like reading more than a sentence or two and there’s something about them that I still love. So now, my blog roll includes the old favorites and friends, but I’ve been adding a few about interior design/vintage thrift shopping. That combined with my love (addiction) of Pinterest (the only social media that I’ve been able to get into) and my new acquisition of my home has me on a decorating kick. Up until now, it’s just been window shopping, but this weekend I finally broke down and bought a few things. Granted, I’m on a really really tight budget, so nothing big yet. The highlights of what I bought are:
Whimsical shower curtain. I’ve been looking for a patterned shower curtain for about 8 years now. Nothing tickled my fancy until I saw this one on Pinterest. I pinned it and have been going back and drooling over it for several months now. So as a late Christmas/early Birthday present, I splurged. My favorite art medium are etchings and lithographs which this curtain reminds me of.
On the more practical side, I bought this toilet paper holder. I’ve been sketching up and picking out new fixtures/finishes of what I would do if I redid my bathroom. Pulling all the pieces together. The bathroom is quite small and the current toilet roll holder is this old cheap plastic thing I don’t like, dominantly positioned and not tucked away. This was an inexpensive alternative that tucked the TP a bit out of the general site line and provided a back up roll. And something I can try out without having to wait for the remodel! This also was something on Pinterest that I realized I kept coming back to.
And lastly, but not leastly, this cute piggy bank. I like the idea of having a collection. I’ve been trying to figure out what that collection could be for me - something that wasn’t forced, just because I had a need to have a collection. It’s been about a decade and I think I finally stumbled upon it - piggy banks. I was about to write, in the form of pigs, and then realized I didn’t keep with the theme (these being elephants - stating the obvious). I love my current piggy bank (in the form of a white pig) that I got at the Boston Children’s Museum ( I was looking quickly for a birthday present for a kid and walked out with the pig for me - opps).
It seems like I bought more, but I now realize I was looking at a lot more and my self restraint was quite amazing and I didn’t purchase much. I was looking at new sofas (mine is nice but the cats took it over as a scratching post years ago - it’s hemorrhaging innards now), and lamps, and vintage Danish dressers and new paint color, curtain rods and curtains. All the stuff I’ve been eyeing for years. So, good for me for not going hog wild.
In completely different news, my brother was visiting/staying with me for a few weeks. He was interviewing for a job in the area and waiting to hear back so he could move on to getting his visa work (for India) straightened out. I’m still surprised that I enjoy having my younger brother stay with me for long chunks of time (this last visit was two weeks). Usually, house guests get old within a 3-4 day window. Of course, he’s learned how to lay low and be a low key house guest. It was nice cooking for two as a change of pace (not so many left-overs) and we established ground rules ages ago (he keeps his gigantic shoes and suitcase in the little guest room, and uses a bath mat during showers).
We had one last adventure before he left Saturday. He was looking for a nice winter wool jacket (like a top coat over suits). He was thinking of getting one made in India but I mentioned now was the time to buy one state side since they were all on sale. We ended up meeting up after work Friday night and heading up to Burlington mall to check out the stores before grabbing a bite to eat out. After an hour of searching various stores, we went back to Macy’s which had the best collection and focused in on finding the right one. He was starting to realize that it might be easier just to buy one here and be done. He looked better in the fitted cut with a dark gray wool. After trying on a dozen jackets, we narrowed it down to this one brand in a 40L. Except they only had it in black in his size. I ended up calling the Macy’s up in Peabody and after a few false starts, they were able to find it - 40L, dark gray, right brand! Thank goodness for smart phones. I had them put it on hold and we dashed off to the car. By now it was a bit after 9 pm and raining. Nick was the navigator with my iphone and we arrive in Peabody at the address and we’re in a residential area - no Macy’s, no mall. Darn smartphone. After a little recon, we realize the map is wrong and 10 minutes later we’re at the mall, making a dash for the Macy’s entrance. Except the men’s section is a different store in the mall. We run through Macy’s, into the mall, just as they were closing the gates of the store (by now it was five minutes before closing). The mall is deserted, empty and closed down. We round the corner and there is the men’s Macy’s with the doors still open. We make a dash for the last 100 meters and sigh a relief when we cross the threshold. Then over to the jacket counter and there is the jacket waiting for us. Nick tries it on - fits perfect and well worth the extra journey. The fellow who rings us up is this older gentleman who is very talkative and amiable. The jacket was even more on sale at this store (strange) and he was able to give us an extra discount (some coupon he had). In the end, we walk out very happy (but still very hungry) and Nick saved something like $90 on the jacket (on top of the original discount we saw at the first store which was already 50%). In the end, our last night out, shopping and a nice meal out, was a success with Nick finding the jacket and us eating mac and cheese at home at 11 at night!
*No pictures - I've tried multiple times and the feature to upload pictures isn't working on this blog all of a sudden. Very strange. So it's not you, it's the blog.
Whimsical shower curtain. I’ve been looking for a patterned shower curtain for about 8 years now. Nothing tickled my fancy until I saw this one on Pinterest. I pinned it and have been going back and drooling over it for several months now. So as a late Christmas/early Birthday present, I splurged. My favorite art medium are etchings and lithographs which this curtain reminds me of.
On the more practical side, I bought this toilet paper holder. I’ve been sketching up and picking out new fixtures/finishes of what I would do if I redid my bathroom. Pulling all the pieces together. The bathroom is quite small and the current toilet roll holder is this old cheap plastic thing I don’t like, dominantly positioned and not tucked away. This was an inexpensive alternative that tucked the TP a bit out of the general site line and provided a back up roll. And something I can try out without having to wait for the remodel! This also was something on Pinterest that I realized I kept coming back to.
And lastly, but not leastly, this cute piggy bank. I like the idea of having a collection. I’ve been trying to figure out what that collection could be for me - something that wasn’t forced, just because I had a need to have a collection. It’s been about a decade and I think I finally stumbled upon it - piggy banks. I was about to write, in the form of pigs, and then realized I didn’t keep with the theme (these being elephants - stating the obvious). I love my current piggy bank (in the form of a white pig) that I got at the Boston Children’s Museum ( I was looking quickly for a birthday present for a kid and walked out with the pig for me - opps).
It seems like I bought more, but I now realize I was looking at a lot more and my self restraint was quite amazing and I didn’t purchase much. I was looking at new sofas (mine is nice but the cats took it over as a scratching post years ago - it’s hemorrhaging innards now), and lamps, and vintage Danish dressers and new paint color, curtain rods and curtains. All the stuff I’ve been eyeing for years. So, good for me for not going hog wild.
In completely different news, my brother was visiting/staying with me for a few weeks. He was interviewing for a job in the area and waiting to hear back so he could move on to getting his visa work (for India) straightened out. I’m still surprised that I enjoy having my younger brother stay with me for long chunks of time (this last visit was two weeks). Usually, house guests get old within a 3-4 day window. Of course, he’s learned how to lay low and be a low key house guest. It was nice cooking for two as a change of pace (not so many left-overs) and we established ground rules ages ago (he keeps his gigantic shoes and suitcase in the little guest room, and uses a bath mat during showers).
We had one last adventure before he left Saturday. He was looking for a nice winter wool jacket (like a top coat over suits). He was thinking of getting one made in India but I mentioned now was the time to buy one state side since they were all on sale. We ended up meeting up after work Friday night and heading up to Burlington mall to check out the stores before grabbing a bite to eat out. After an hour of searching various stores, we went back to Macy’s which had the best collection and focused in on finding the right one. He was starting to realize that it might be easier just to buy one here and be done. He looked better in the fitted cut with a dark gray wool. After trying on a dozen jackets, we narrowed it down to this one brand in a 40L. Except they only had it in black in his size. I ended up calling the Macy’s up in Peabody and after a few false starts, they were able to find it - 40L, dark gray, right brand! Thank goodness for smart phones. I had them put it on hold and we dashed off to the car. By now it was a bit after 9 pm and raining. Nick was the navigator with my iphone and we arrive in Peabody at the address and we’re in a residential area - no Macy’s, no mall. Darn smartphone. After a little recon, we realize the map is wrong and 10 minutes later we’re at the mall, making a dash for the Macy’s entrance. Except the men’s section is a different store in the mall. We run through Macy’s, into the mall, just as they were closing the gates of the store (by now it was five minutes before closing). The mall is deserted, empty and closed down. We round the corner and there is the men’s Macy’s with the doors still open. We make a dash for the last 100 meters and sigh a relief when we cross the threshold. Then over to the jacket counter and there is the jacket waiting for us. Nick tries it on - fits perfect and well worth the extra journey. The fellow who rings us up is this older gentleman who is very talkative and amiable. The jacket was even more on sale at this store (strange) and he was able to give us an extra discount (some coupon he had). In the end, we walk out very happy (but still very hungry) and Nick saved something like $90 on the jacket (on top of the original discount we saw at the first store which was already 50%). In the end, our last night out, shopping and a nice meal out, was a success with Nick finding the jacket and us eating mac and cheese at home at 11 at night!
*No pictures - I've tried multiple times and the feature to upload pictures isn't working on this blog all of a sudden. Very strange. So it's not you, it's the blog.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Flu
I was surprised when I heard earlier this week that the Mayor of Boston declared a health emergency due to the latest flu* epidemic. I generally am resigned that if there is something going around, it doesn’t matter how hyper you are trying to avoid it (washing hands, avoiding sick people, etc), you’re going to get it if your immune system is down. My made-up approach - which I think is mostly a psychosomatic approach, is based purely on diet and stress. Reduce the stress levels and increase your healthy diet. I specifically try to eat a bit healthier - more fresh greens/fruits, and I buy OJ and fruit drinks (Odwalla/Naked) that I drink religiously every morning. But the biggest thing I do - I down more water. I find it challenging to drink the 48 recommended ounces. I average about 30 ounces a day. When I feel something come on, I drink more water to flush those bad little bugs out of my system. Who knows if it works or not, but in my head I’ve preempted hundreds of miserable flues.
Having a sore throat the other night, I filled up my water glass at work and settled in for a morning of report writing. Two hours later I look and realized I hadn’t drunk a drop of water. It only took me a few decades to finally figure it out - I drink (and probably eat) what is in front of me. My glass of water was on my side desk, out of site (and out of mind). I shifted it to where it usually sits by my monitor and low and behold it’s empty already!
Of course the downside of more water in, is more water out. At least at my current job the restrooms aren’t too far. At a previous job I realized I had cut back on my water intake at work because the restrooms were on the other end of the building.
Blog worthy? Probably not, but I have a feeling I’ll forget the obvious and need the reminder. Good luck to all of you in avoiding the flu this year!
*For some reason I associate the flu with throwing-up and more serious sickness and I call the stuffy head, cough, sore throat, running nose, etc a simple cold. I wonder if it's regional.
Having a sore throat the other night, I filled up my water glass at work and settled in for a morning of report writing. Two hours later I look and realized I hadn’t drunk a drop of water. It only took me a few decades to finally figure it out - I drink (and probably eat) what is in front of me. My glass of water was on my side desk, out of site (and out of mind). I shifted it to where it usually sits by my monitor and low and behold it’s empty already!
Of course the downside of more water in, is more water out. At least at my current job the restrooms aren’t too far. At a previous job I realized I had cut back on my water intake at work because the restrooms were on the other end of the building.
Blog worthy? Probably not, but I have a feeling I’ll forget the obvious and need the reminder. Good luck to all of you in avoiding the flu this year!
*For some reason I associate the flu with throwing-up and more serious sickness and I call the stuffy head, cough, sore throat, running nose, etc a simple cold. I wonder if it's regional.
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Out with the Old, In with the New
Quick summary of the holidays:
• I took a week off from work. I came back to work on Monday (12/31) and it was so strange. Very quiet since the office was shut down and only a few people in but even stranger, I had to get back into the swing of working at my desk. By mid-day, I finally gave up on all my grandiose plans and just worked on email management. I’m almost done. A good way to start off the new year with an empty email box.
• I went up to Vermont this year and celebrated Christmas with my dad, step-mum, brother and cousins from Connecticut. We cut down a tree, decorated, cooked, played rummy, hearts, BS, and a bunch of other games, ate, opened gifts, ate some more, hiked, and ended with shoveling new snow. I was shopping up to the last minute which isn’t like me and stressed me out a bit. Others were also stressed out about the holidays too which I think is normal, only this year I wasn’t in my calm state (due to being stressed out), so their stress, stressed me out even more. I did fairly well though and in the end all was good.
• I had done some planning ahead of time to help reduce the family stress and had volunteered to take on the cooking for breakfasts and lunches. I spent a lot of time cooking and trying out new recipes from things I had pinned on Pinterest. I remember pinning the recipes way back and thinking, I shouldn’t look at Pinterest when I’m hungry, I’ll end up with a lot of random pins I won’t use. Boy was I wrong. I’ve cooked almost everything I pinned on my Breakfast board (Spinach/Gruyere Quiche, Sugar Crusted Vanilla French Toast, Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce, Breakfast bites, oven baked bacon) and even made a bunch of desserts (homemade fudge and Almond Joys) for last minute gifts. I’ve kept up with the cooking and just last night made a chicken/chorizo/potato dinner dish that was delicious. The one annoying thing is reading the recipe off the ipad - it would keep going to sleep on me!
• For Christmas I got a bunch of cool gifts*. *The note being that I am now at the age where people like to get a list from me and I get what I put on the list, so not much of surprise that I liked what I got. One of the big gifts was a Fitbit. I first heard of it this summer from a colleague who had one. I almost went out and bought one, but I was good and waited to see if it was something I really would use. As you recall, I had adjusted my daily routine to exclude elevators and escalators (mostly). It’s amazing how this little thing had made me noticeably more healthy - nothing on the weight loss side, but my endurance has gone up 100 fold (mainly since it was at barely anything). I started running up the escalator stairs at one of the deeper subway stations - constantly trying to break my record of how many steps it took me to get to the top. I think I realized that they run the escalator at different speeds since one day I was at 65 steps and then the next day I was at over a 100 and could have sworn I did better. Anyways, point being that positive targets seem to work for me. Fitbit works on letting you know how close you are to your target and then increasing the target. The app also lets you track your food and water intake- which I just started. We’ll see how it goes, but I do love the eye candy graphics that keep you checking your numbers and seeing how you do. I may have to go run up and down the stairs at lunch to get my numbers up. Luckily I get a lot of activity on my commute to work - another advantage to not driving.
• The other cool gift I got was this book on Infographics. It’s my new thing, that I’ve been mulling on for years. Basically, I realize that one of the issues in my profession is communication. The information is there (or almost there), but it’s not being engaged with properly. I think a lot of it has to do with how you present the information. Enter infographics. My department deals with a lot of hard data and the reports can be dense and usually, at best, are skimmed. I’m excited to apply my interest in graphic design with my interest in number crunching/analysis with my interest with sustainability and saving the world.
• And of course, I had to go see Les Miserables when I was in Vermont. When I was a kid, I had been listening to the radio one afternoon (public radio of course) and heard this amazing music I loved, so I grabbed a tape and recorded it. I then proceeded to sit and draw, listening to this tape over and over for hours and hours. Turns out it was Les Mis. Of course, I knew it all by heart, except the first half hour - the part I didn’t get recorded in time. Well, a year later, the musical went on tour and for my birthday present I got two tickets to see it up in Montreal. Dad took me and I remember being so excited. It was amazing - thank goodness for exuberant youth and bringing the opera glasses since our seats were row ZZ (practically the last row) and I really couldn’t see much of what was happening on the stage. It was quite a memorable moment from my youth. For the movie, I don’t know what I was expecting. I hadn’t heard much about the movie since I was spending late nights at work, forgoing NPR until the fiscal cliff had passed, and spending the rest of my time getting ready for the holidays. It was very different and I enjoyed the cinematography of it all, hearing all my favorite songs, and shedding tears throughout. As we walked out afterwards, I wasn’t giving it rave reviews though. It seemed like the pacing was off in the second half, some of the casting was wrong (Javier and Maurice) and the grand songs didn’t sound so grand. There was even one song I didn’t recognize. But since then, it’s really grown on me. You know how you read a book and you’re not that impressed, but then it sits with you for a long time after which, in a way redeems itself and makes you change your opinion. Same with this film. I’m sure some of it has to do with the movie triggering my memory of all the songs (I haven’t been able to stop singing songs in my head for a week!), but I also realized I never fully new all the details of the plot (I’m the type of person who listens to the tune not the lyrics), and by acting the singing (which takes away from the grandeur of the performances), the characters became all the more real and memorable. I’m in love with Jean Val Jean who was not a character I had noticed much previously. Jackman was unrecognizable at the beginning of the film and did an amazing job (I hope he wins best actor). I’m so enthralled with the story now, I picked up the book to read it. Something I never was that tempted to do before and highly recommend - it’s an easy read. I only wish my copy wasn’t a delicate 1800s copy so I could bring it on my commute - I may have to look into buying a digital version. Long story short, this movie isn’t a movie showcasing an amazing score (which the Les Mis score is - amazing), it’s a movie that tells a story through song. My copy of the Les Miserable soundtrack is on an old audio cassette which I can’t play (no more tape players in the house). I’ll buy the CD, but not from this movie. This movie wasn’t about the musical performances, it was about the story telling, something movies allow much better than musicals. Case in point, the song I didn’t recognize, Suddenly - it was new. Written specifically to capture the moment that the movie could show but not the musical - a beautiful moment that anchors a relationship.
• I was smart and had scheduled a few days off between returning from Vermont and going into work. What did I do? Absolutely nothing. I’m slowly learning what works best for me. I’m an introvert, so need time to recharge, but not too much time, because then I’m “out of shape” socially. There’s a sweet balance that I’m finding. The biggest thing is letting go of the Catholic guilt full of “shoulds”. I should be doing this or that and just enjoying the stuff I enjoy, even though I should be doing laundry, or a million other things. I’m getting there, and I can’t even guess how much worse it must be for folks who are actually catholic. One afternoon, I spent hours on youtube watching random things and discovered this interview of Ricky Gervais talking about religion: “It’s true. I wish there was a God. I wish there was. It would be great. From what I’ve heard, he’s brilliant, you know. But… You can’t believe in something you don’t. Also, if there is a god, why did he make me an atheist? That was his first mistake, well, the talking snake was his first mistake…”
So not that quick a summary, apparently I’m in a verbose state right now. Now for my targets (hate to call them resolutions) for the new year - correlating with each of the items above.
• Keep focused on the big picture at work, partly by staying organized on the little things.
• Start buying/planning Christmas presents at the beginning of this year so I don’t get stressed out at the holidays.
• Keep trying out new recipes and organize them into something I can use in the future. I’m thinking my own annual Blurb cookbook, that way I don’t need/lose digital copies. Nick’s in town which helps me with trying out recipes. No matter how good the recipe, after the fourth serving, you’re getting tired of it!
• Use fitbit to get me into tip top shape, sans gym.
• Carve some time at work to finally take my infographics idea into reality.
• Go see Les Mis again and buy the book.
• Schedule time to do nothing - guilt free!
• I took a week off from work. I came back to work on Monday (12/31) and it was so strange. Very quiet since the office was shut down and only a few people in but even stranger, I had to get back into the swing of working at my desk. By mid-day, I finally gave up on all my grandiose plans and just worked on email management. I’m almost done. A good way to start off the new year with an empty email box.
• I went up to Vermont this year and celebrated Christmas with my dad, step-mum, brother and cousins from Connecticut. We cut down a tree, decorated, cooked, played rummy, hearts, BS, and a bunch of other games, ate, opened gifts, ate some more, hiked, and ended with shoveling new snow. I was shopping up to the last minute which isn’t like me and stressed me out a bit. Others were also stressed out about the holidays too which I think is normal, only this year I wasn’t in my calm state (due to being stressed out), so their stress, stressed me out even more. I did fairly well though and in the end all was good.
• I had done some planning ahead of time to help reduce the family stress and had volunteered to take on the cooking for breakfasts and lunches. I spent a lot of time cooking and trying out new recipes from things I had pinned on Pinterest. I remember pinning the recipes way back and thinking, I shouldn’t look at Pinterest when I’m hungry, I’ll end up with a lot of random pins I won’t use. Boy was I wrong. I’ve cooked almost everything I pinned on my Breakfast board (Spinach/Gruyere Quiche, Sugar Crusted Vanilla French Toast, Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce, Breakfast bites, oven baked bacon) and even made a bunch of desserts (homemade fudge and Almond Joys) for last minute gifts. I’ve kept up with the cooking and just last night made a chicken/chorizo/potato dinner dish that was delicious. The one annoying thing is reading the recipe off the ipad - it would keep going to sleep on me!
• For Christmas I got a bunch of cool gifts*. *The note being that I am now at the age where people like to get a list from me and I get what I put on the list, so not much of surprise that I liked what I got. One of the big gifts was a Fitbit. I first heard of it this summer from a colleague who had one. I almost went out and bought one, but I was good and waited to see if it was something I really would use. As you recall, I had adjusted my daily routine to exclude elevators and escalators (mostly). It’s amazing how this little thing had made me noticeably more healthy - nothing on the weight loss side, but my endurance has gone up 100 fold (mainly since it was at barely anything). I started running up the escalator stairs at one of the deeper subway stations - constantly trying to break my record of how many steps it took me to get to the top. I think I realized that they run the escalator at different speeds since one day I was at 65 steps and then the next day I was at over a 100 and could have sworn I did better. Anyways, point being that positive targets seem to work for me. Fitbit works on letting you know how close you are to your target and then increasing the target. The app also lets you track your food and water intake- which I just started. We’ll see how it goes, but I do love the eye candy graphics that keep you checking your numbers and seeing how you do. I may have to go run up and down the stairs at lunch to get my numbers up. Luckily I get a lot of activity on my commute to work - another advantage to not driving.
• The other cool gift I got was this book on Infographics. It’s my new thing, that I’ve been mulling on for years. Basically, I realize that one of the issues in my profession is communication. The information is there (or almost there), but it’s not being engaged with properly. I think a lot of it has to do with how you present the information. Enter infographics. My department deals with a lot of hard data and the reports can be dense and usually, at best, are skimmed. I’m excited to apply my interest in graphic design with my interest in number crunching/analysis with my interest with sustainability and saving the world.
• And of course, I had to go see Les Miserables when I was in Vermont. When I was a kid, I had been listening to the radio one afternoon (public radio of course) and heard this amazing music I loved, so I grabbed a tape and recorded it. I then proceeded to sit and draw, listening to this tape over and over for hours and hours. Turns out it was Les Mis. Of course, I knew it all by heart, except the first half hour - the part I didn’t get recorded in time. Well, a year later, the musical went on tour and for my birthday present I got two tickets to see it up in Montreal. Dad took me and I remember being so excited. It was amazing - thank goodness for exuberant youth and bringing the opera glasses since our seats were row ZZ (practically the last row) and I really couldn’t see much of what was happening on the stage. It was quite a memorable moment from my youth. For the movie, I don’t know what I was expecting. I hadn’t heard much about the movie since I was spending late nights at work, forgoing NPR until the fiscal cliff had passed, and spending the rest of my time getting ready for the holidays. It was very different and I enjoyed the cinematography of it all, hearing all my favorite songs, and shedding tears throughout. As we walked out afterwards, I wasn’t giving it rave reviews though. It seemed like the pacing was off in the second half, some of the casting was wrong (Javier and Maurice) and the grand songs didn’t sound so grand. There was even one song I didn’t recognize. But since then, it’s really grown on me. You know how you read a book and you’re not that impressed, but then it sits with you for a long time after which, in a way redeems itself and makes you change your opinion. Same with this film. I’m sure some of it has to do with the movie triggering my memory of all the songs (I haven’t been able to stop singing songs in my head for a week!), but I also realized I never fully new all the details of the plot (I’m the type of person who listens to the tune not the lyrics), and by acting the singing (which takes away from the grandeur of the performances), the characters became all the more real and memorable. I’m in love with Jean Val Jean who was not a character I had noticed much previously. Jackman was unrecognizable at the beginning of the film and did an amazing job (I hope he wins best actor). I’m so enthralled with the story now, I picked up the book to read it. Something I never was that tempted to do before and highly recommend - it’s an easy read. I only wish my copy wasn’t a delicate 1800s copy so I could bring it on my commute - I may have to look into buying a digital version. Long story short, this movie isn’t a movie showcasing an amazing score (which the Les Mis score is - amazing), it’s a movie that tells a story through song. My copy of the Les Miserable soundtrack is on an old audio cassette which I can’t play (no more tape players in the house). I’ll buy the CD, but not from this movie. This movie wasn’t about the musical performances, it was about the story telling, something movies allow much better than musicals. Case in point, the song I didn’t recognize, Suddenly - it was new. Written specifically to capture the moment that the movie could show but not the musical - a beautiful moment that anchors a relationship.
• I was smart and had scheduled a few days off between returning from Vermont and going into work. What did I do? Absolutely nothing. I’m slowly learning what works best for me. I’m an introvert, so need time to recharge, but not too much time, because then I’m “out of shape” socially. There’s a sweet balance that I’m finding. The biggest thing is letting go of the Catholic guilt full of “shoulds”. I should be doing this or that and just enjoying the stuff I enjoy, even though I should be doing laundry, or a million other things. I’m getting there, and I can’t even guess how much worse it must be for folks who are actually catholic. One afternoon, I spent hours on youtube watching random things and discovered this interview of Ricky Gervais talking about religion: “It’s true. I wish there was a God. I wish there was. It would be great. From what I’ve heard, he’s brilliant, you know. But… You can’t believe in something you don’t. Also, if there is a god, why did he make me an atheist? That was his first mistake, well, the talking snake was his first mistake…”
So not that quick a summary, apparently I’m in a verbose state right now. Now for my targets (hate to call them resolutions) for the new year - correlating with each of the items above.
• Keep focused on the big picture at work, partly by staying organized on the little things.
• Start buying/planning Christmas presents at the beginning of this year so I don’t get stressed out at the holidays.
• Keep trying out new recipes and organize them into something I can use in the future. I’m thinking my own annual Blurb cookbook, that way I don’t need/lose digital copies. Nick’s in town which helps me with trying out recipes. No matter how good the recipe, after the fourth serving, you’re getting tired of it!
• Use fitbit to get me into tip top shape, sans gym.
• Carve some time at work to finally take my infographics idea into reality.
• Go see Les Mis again and buy the book.
• Schedule time to do nothing - guilt free!
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