One L. Two Ss. It's really not that f***ing difficult.
This happens to me too often for it to be a typo or bad luck, and it's usually the same people over and over again. People just don't give a crap how they spell my [real] name. I think that's rude. It's especially annoying to see my name incorrectly spelled when 2 lines above the body of the email, in the To box, the email server has correctly resolved my name and displays it. Hey, shit-for-brains, look up! See that name? Yeah, that's how you spell it!!!
I have enough trouble with my last name as it is. Having my first name misspelled just adds to it. GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!
Seriously though, how do you handle these people who don't seem to give a crap? I want to, but can't, be unprofessional about it at work. I am, however, incredibly sick & tired of seeing my first name get mangled. I've come to expect it with my last name, but come on -- my first name is not difficult, and the company address book can tell you how to correctly spell it. Any suggestions?
Monday, January 22, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
I just realized
that I will be on the West coast for the Oscars. I won't have to stay up until 1am to see the end of the show! Woo-hoo!
Friday, January 19, 2007
Lonely finger
If you see me not wearing my engagement ring, it is just because I dropped it off for sizing yesterday at itaCast in Moncton. I've had it for 10 months now and it has been loose all but a couple of days during that time, so I decided it was time to have it fit me a bit better. Unfortunately when I sized myself initially, I didn't take into account that it needed to fit more snugly -- until now I'd never worn a ring on a regular basis.
It may take 2 weeks to finish the sizing, but I trusted getting it done there instead of locally. They do all of their own work on-site so it doesn't get sent away, and it was cheaper because that was where we bought the ring initially. If anything ever did happen to the ring during sizing, dealing with the store that sold it to us, they would be more likely to help us out.
I've never been a ring person, but I adapted quickly to wearing my engagement ring. It feels odd now when it's off my finger. I'm wearing my high school grad ring right now so I don't fall out of the ring-wearing habit. I keep doing a double-take though when I look down and see the crest instead of my diamonds & sapphire. :)
If anyone is looking for jewelry, I recommend going to itaCast. They have good stuff, and the prices are better than anything else I've seen. They'll even build something based on a picture or your own design. I'm glad I followed Jenn's recommendation. :)
It may take 2 weeks to finish the sizing, but I trusted getting it done there instead of locally. They do all of their own work on-site so it doesn't get sent away, and it was cheaper because that was where we bought the ring initially. If anything ever did happen to the ring during sizing, dealing with the store that sold it to us, they would be more likely to help us out.
I've never been a ring person, but I adapted quickly to wearing my engagement ring. It feels odd now when it's off my finger. I'm wearing my high school grad ring right now so I don't fall out of the ring-wearing habit. I keep doing a double-take though when I look down and see the crest instead of my diamonds & sapphire. :)
If anyone is looking for jewelry, I recommend going to itaCast. They have good stuff, and the prices are better than anything else I've seen. They'll even build something based on a picture or your own design. I'm glad I followed Jenn's recommendation. :)
Friday, January 12, 2007
Friday Feast
Appetizer
What comes to mind when you see the color orange?
Halloween, my favorite holiday.
Soup
Did you ever get in trouble while you were in school? If so, what was it for?
Once for looking out the door and down a hallway. Once for joining the crowd and slamming desk lids. I lived in fear of getting in trouble, so I really never did anything to get into the situation.
Salad
Which topping(s) make up your perfect pizza?
Ground beef and bacon
Main Course
Do you believe in UFOs/aliens/etc.? Why or why not?
I think there are other beings out there in the universe. I am not convinced that they do anal probes, though. I don't think alien visits to Earth are as widespread as some think. We're just not that interesting. It's hard to believe that humans are the only things out in space though.
Dessert
What color is your bedspread/comforter/quilt?
A light shade of purple, of course! What other color would I have?
What comes to mind when you see the color orange?
Halloween, my favorite holiday.
Soup
Did you ever get in trouble while you were in school? If so, what was it for?
Once for looking out the door and down a hallway. Once for joining the crowd and slamming desk lids. I lived in fear of getting in trouble, so I really never did anything to get into the situation.
Salad
Which topping(s) make up your perfect pizza?
Ground beef and bacon
Main Course
Do you believe in UFOs/aliens/etc.? Why or why not?
I think there are other beings out there in the universe. I am not convinced that they do anal probes, though. I don't think alien visits to Earth are as widespread as some think. We're just not that interesting. It's hard to believe that humans are the only things out in space though.
Dessert
What color is your bedspread/comforter/quilt?
A light shade of purple, of course! What other color would I have?
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Unfortunate event #2
This is not turning out to be a great week. On Monday night, I was at home, watching TV. I decided I'd better head downstairs to check the fire, and I was greeted with another flooded basement. I had been downstairs a couple of hours previously and it was dry, so needless to say, I was pretty surprised to see the amount of water.
My first thought was that the same problem I had before was back again. I checked the door and it was not flowing in through the area where I previously had a problem. There are 3 holes in my cement floor for pipes, two are in the future bathroom and one is by the sewer pipe in the storage room. What happened was that the water table reached so high a level that it came up through the holes and overflowed. The all rain-no snow winter we've been having has meant an excess of water hanging around, and Monday's rain was the straw that broke the camel's back.
The ditch that runs through the back of my property was also water-logged and stangnant, when it is normally supposed to be flowing. This wasn't helping the water level either. I called the City to come and look at the ditch, since it was them who required it to be installed. While they couldn't dispute that it was having an effect on the water table, the ditch itself wasn't directly causing the flooding in the basement. They were supposed to go back and look at the ditch yesterday and possibly clean it out a bit to get things flowing again. I haven't heard back from them, but will have to keep an eye out and see if the ditch gets better.
I called my Dad, who is in Boston with my brother at the diabetic clinic this week. I explained how the water was coming in. Supposedly double drain tile was installed when my house was built, but as anyone who watches Holmes on Homes knows, who knows if that is actually true. Dad recommended a sump pump as my cheapest, easiest, and likely best solution to prevent that from happening again. Once he's back I will have to get his help to get one installed.
I rushed around and got everything up onto plastic as best I could that night, but I now have some empty, soggy cardboard boxes hanging around. I plan on investing in some big plastic Rubbermaid totes to replace the large cardboard boxes I was using. I was also lucky that John had installed a door for me over the holidays. It had been lying on its side on the floor, and may have been damaged if it hadn't gotten installed.
I'm worried about finishing my basement though. Thankfully I had not invested in refinishing any more of the basement yet. I would like to get my bathroom finished next, and that would have a ceramic tile floor, so not a big deal if I had to deal with water again. The hard part is thinking about finishing the rest of the flooring. I had no plans anytime soon to put anything down in there, but it makes me wonder if I ever want take that risk. Realistically, after the sump pump is installed and working, the chances of my having another flood are reduced. There is always a risk of a crack in the cement, but you never know if that will occur in any home.
So it's been a stressful week for me. I've had no success changing a circuit board on my mother's hard drive, so all of her data is lost (unless I want to pay $125 on eBay for the same model and hope it works). Now I have a basement that is again recovering from a flood. Someone reminded me yesterday that bad things happen in threes. I hope that third thing is the work-related problem I'm having today and not anything else personal. I've taken enough hits right now, thanks!
My first thought was that the same problem I had before was back again. I checked the door and it was not flowing in through the area where I previously had a problem. There are 3 holes in my cement floor for pipes, two are in the future bathroom and one is by the sewer pipe in the storage room. What happened was that the water table reached so high a level that it came up through the holes and overflowed. The all rain-no snow winter we've been having has meant an excess of water hanging around, and Monday's rain was the straw that broke the camel's back.
The ditch that runs through the back of my property was also water-logged and stangnant, when it is normally supposed to be flowing. This wasn't helping the water level either. I called the City to come and look at the ditch, since it was them who required it to be installed. While they couldn't dispute that it was having an effect on the water table, the ditch itself wasn't directly causing the flooding in the basement. They were supposed to go back and look at the ditch yesterday and possibly clean it out a bit to get things flowing again. I haven't heard back from them, but will have to keep an eye out and see if the ditch gets better.
I called my Dad, who is in Boston with my brother at the diabetic clinic this week. I explained how the water was coming in. Supposedly double drain tile was installed when my house was built, but as anyone who watches Holmes on Homes knows, who knows if that is actually true. Dad recommended a sump pump as my cheapest, easiest, and likely best solution to prevent that from happening again. Once he's back I will have to get his help to get one installed.
I rushed around and got everything up onto plastic as best I could that night, but I now have some empty, soggy cardboard boxes hanging around. I plan on investing in some big plastic Rubbermaid totes to replace the large cardboard boxes I was using. I was also lucky that John had installed a door for me over the holidays. It had been lying on its side on the floor, and may have been damaged if it hadn't gotten installed.
I'm worried about finishing my basement though. Thankfully I had not invested in refinishing any more of the basement yet. I would like to get my bathroom finished next, and that would have a ceramic tile floor, so not a big deal if I had to deal with water again. The hard part is thinking about finishing the rest of the flooring. I had no plans anytime soon to put anything down in there, but it makes me wonder if I ever want take that risk. Realistically, after the sump pump is installed and working, the chances of my having another flood are reduced. There is always a risk of a crack in the cement, but you never know if that will occur in any home.
So it's been a stressful week for me. I've had no success changing a circuit board on my mother's hard drive, so all of her data is lost (unless I want to pay $125 on eBay for the same model and hope it works). Now I have a basement that is again recovering from a flood. Someone reminded me yesterday that bad things happen in threes. I hope that third thing is the work-related problem I'm having today and not anything else personal. I've taken enough hits right now, thanks!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Playing ostrich
I bought a new PC a few months back. My old one has been sitting around on the floor, waiting for me to find the time to set it up and give to my mother. I finally decided that I should stop putting it off and get started on it this weekend. I'll ghost her hard drive, leaving her with a usable PC and then I can take her existing hard drive and pick away at the new install as I have time over the next few evenings.
I go over to my mom's house, which is empty because she's working this weekend. I try and boot into Ghost from her floppy, just to make sure it works. It doesn't start the first time, but comes right up again on the second try. Ok, I should be all set. I hook up the secondary hard drive, and turn on the PC. It will not boot. I won't boot from the floppy, the old hard drive, nothing. I put it back the way it was; it still wouldn't boot. Angered, I disconnected everything and trudged to work, where I could plug the two drives in and do the ghosting. Everything went fine while at work.
I returned to my mom's house, hoping to be able to plug the drive in and have the PC boot up. Still no luck. Great, this means I have to spend the weekend totally setting up her PC so she has something to use. Not how I'd planned to spend my weekend, so I was a bit cranky about that. I spent last night installing XP, SP2, and the 68 updates after that. Then I imaged the new install so that the next time I had to do this, I wouldn't have to go back so far. When all of that was complete, I called it a night.
I got up this morning and turned on the PC, aiming to get the programs installed and the data moved over onto the new hard drive from the old. I started by installing anti-virus. This is the part where things take a big nose-dive.
I am sitting here, watching the status bar for the install, and all of a sudden I hear a noise that sounds like "pewwwwwwww" and the distinct smell of smoke. What in hell was that? The PC was still going, so it couldn't be the power supply. The install was still running, so it wasn't the hard drive. I walked around and started sniffing the PC, trying to figure out where the smell was coming from. Couldn't see it right away. I walked back around to the PC, where an error message had popped up. "Write delay error on D:". Oh crap. That was the ghosted drive that just went up in smoke, the one with all of her data on it. There are no other backups.
Irony: the model name of the drive that burned is "Fireball".
Now I have to tell my mother that she has lost all of her data, and though it wasn't exactly my fault, she had entrusted it to me. I'd like to stick my head in the sand right about now.
I go over to my mom's house, which is empty because she's working this weekend. I try and boot into Ghost from her floppy, just to make sure it works. It doesn't start the first time, but comes right up again on the second try. Ok, I should be all set. I hook up the secondary hard drive, and turn on the PC. It will not boot. I won't boot from the floppy, the old hard drive, nothing. I put it back the way it was; it still wouldn't boot. Angered, I disconnected everything and trudged to work, where I could plug the two drives in and do the ghosting. Everything went fine while at work.
I returned to my mom's house, hoping to be able to plug the drive in and have the PC boot up. Still no luck. Great, this means I have to spend the weekend totally setting up her PC so she has something to use. Not how I'd planned to spend my weekend, so I was a bit cranky about that. I spent last night installing XP, SP2, and the 68 updates after that. Then I imaged the new install so that the next time I had to do this, I wouldn't have to go back so far. When all of that was complete, I called it a night.
I got up this morning and turned on the PC, aiming to get the programs installed and the data moved over onto the new hard drive from the old. I started by installing anti-virus. This is the part where things take a big nose-dive.
I am sitting here, watching the status bar for the install, and all of a sudden I hear a noise that sounds like "pewwwwwwww" and the distinct smell of smoke. What in hell was that? The PC was still going, so it couldn't be the power supply. The install was still running, so it wasn't the hard drive. I walked around and started sniffing the PC, trying to figure out where the smell was coming from. Couldn't see it right away. I walked back around to the PC, where an error message had popped up. "Write delay error on D:". Oh crap. That was the ghosted drive that just went up in smoke, the one with all of her data on it. There are no other backups.
Irony: the model name of the drive that burned is "Fireball".
Now I have to tell my mother that she has lost all of her data, and though it wasn't exactly my fault, she had entrusted it to me. I'd like to stick my head in the sand right about now.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
A Not-So-Merry Christmas
My younger brother is, again, back in the hospital. It's the safest place for him right now. His swelling/bloating is so bad that he can't wear anything on his feet and his clothes are too tight. His kidney biopsy results came back and thank God the damage isn't progressing as fast as they thought. The kidneys are inflamed but he is not in dialysis stage yet, and they are giving him a new drug that will try and get him under control. The drug is new and not extensively used yet, so that is why he must stay in the hospital so they can monitor its progress. He won't be leaving the hospital this time until the fluid retention is gone, which means he will be in the hospital over Christmas. He also has MRSA, a form of staph infection, which means you have to dress up in gown, mask and gloves in order to visit him.
His "loving" girlfriend is still leaving tomorrow for Ontario, despite his poor health and hospital admission. If John were in the hospital, I wouldn't be leaving him behind. But at least it will be better with her gone -- she won't encourage him to ask for early discharge or get into any arguments.
So I guess this means I will be packing up some Christmas dinner and taking it up to him at the hospital. We can't bring his gifts up to him because he can't really use them, and with the staph infection, it's better to have as little exposed to it as possible.
His "loving" girlfriend is still leaving tomorrow for Ontario, despite his poor health and hospital admission. If John were in the hospital, I wouldn't be leaving him behind. But at least it will be better with her gone -- she won't encourage him to ask for early discharge or get into any arguments.
So I guess this means I will be packing up some Christmas dinner and taking it up to him at the hospital. We can't bring his gifts up to him because he can't really use them, and with the staph infection, it's better to have as little exposed to it as possible.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Christmas Meme
Stolen from Mare & Kowy. First meme I've felt like answering in a while.
1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate. The only opaque beverage I like. I don't like eggs, even nogged.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Actually, neither. Santa would leave unwrapped presents on the couch, in the same room as the tree.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Colored all the way. I dislike plain white lights. They're BORING. Christmas is colorful in my world.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope. I don't need mistletoe to get kisses, I just ask John. :)
5. When do you put your decorations up?
Following Nana's rule, December 1st. As a kid, we never decorated until after my Dad's birthday on Dec. 9. Lately I will begin decorating on the first weekend after Dec. 1 as I don't have time during the week.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Hmmm, good question. Likely turkey.
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child:
The year my dad gave my mom her sapphire ring was memorable. It was the happiest I'd ever seen her. Also, the year my younger brother opened up a present and saw that it was clothes, then chucked it over his head and kept on going with the other presents. Or the year my older brother caught my younger brother downstairs in the middle of the night, called out to him, and my younger brother ran screaming back upstairs and slept in way past the wake-up time.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Our Gr. 4 teacher deemed it her duty to tell us. I found out about the Easter Bunny after seeing a receipt. My mom had asked me to go through a stack and forgot she had written "Easter Bunny" on it.
9. Do you open a gift on christmas eve?
I used to, but I don't anymore.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Usually with a lot of frustration. By the time the tree makes it into the house, I'm tired and frustrated. As for decorations on the tree, I like lots of lights, and there must be Bubble Lights. I prefer real garland to beads. I have many ornaments that were gifts or mean something, so it is always a very personal tree.
11. Snow! love it or dread it?
Right before and during Christmas, I love it. After Christmas, no thanks.
12. Can you ice skate?
Yes, but I have weak ankles and don't last too long before needing a break.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
The year I got my first TV for my room. I still have that TV, it's in my office at home. I asked for one for a couple of years and was so excited to finally get one. And it was a color TV!
14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Spending time relaxing. It's so stressful leading up to Christmas that I really enjoy the break from work and shopping and preparations.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
I don't really have anything specific to Christmas. I usually only do moco cakes around xmas.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Spending Christmas Eve with family, usually my mom's side. We used to host big parties with all of my aunts, uncles and cousins. This year I am not sure if anything will be happening, which makes me kind of sad. Hopefully something will develop.
I also always make a point of watching A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Grinch.
17. What tops your tree?
A star.
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
I'll admit I am selfish; I do like receiving. But I take great pains with giving and work hard to make sure I don't give a crappy gift.
19. What is your favorite christmas song?
Good King Wenceslas
20. Candy canes:
Tasty, but only the traditional ones. Flavored candy canes = yuck.
21. Favorite Christmas movie?
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
22. What do you leave for Santa?
We used to leave cookies & milk. Sometimes a carrot for the reindeer.
1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate. The only opaque beverage I like. I don't like eggs, even nogged.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Actually, neither. Santa would leave unwrapped presents on the couch, in the same room as the tree.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Colored all the way. I dislike plain white lights. They're BORING. Christmas is colorful in my world.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope. I don't need mistletoe to get kisses, I just ask John. :)
5. When do you put your decorations up?
Following Nana's rule, December 1st. As a kid, we never decorated until after my Dad's birthday on Dec. 9. Lately I will begin decorating on the first weekend after Dec. 1 as I don't have time during the week.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Hmmm, good question. Likely turkey.
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child:
The year my dad gave my mom her sapphire ring was memorable. It was the happiest I'd ever seen her. Also, the year my younger brother opened up a present and saw that it was clothes, then chucked it over his head and kept on going with the other presents. Or the year my older brother caught my younger brother downstairs in the middle of the night, called out to him, and my younger brother ran screaming back upstairs and slept in way past the wake-up time.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Our Gr. 4 teacher deemed it her duty to tell us. I found out about the Easter Bunny after seeing a receipt. My mom had asked me to go through a stack and forgot she had written "Easter Bunny" on it.
9. Do you open a gift on christmas eve?
I used to, but I don't anymore.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Usually with a lot of frustration. By the time the tree makes it into the house, I'm tired and frustrated. As for decorations on the tree, I like lots of lights, and there must be Bubble Lights. I prefer real garland to beads. I have many ornaments that were gifts or mean something, so it is always a very personal tree.
11. Snow! love it or dread it?
Right before and during Christmas, I love it. After Christmas, no thanks.
12. Can you ice skate?
Yes, but I have weak ankles and don't last too long before needing a break.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
The year I got my first TV for my room. I still have that TV, it's in my office at home. I asked for one for a couple of years and was so excited to finally get one. And it was a color TV!
14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Spending time relaxing. It's so stressful leading up to Christmas that I really enjoy the break from work and shopping and preparations.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
I don't really have anything specific to Christmas. I usually only do moco cakes around xmas.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Spending Christmas Eve with family, usually my mom's side. We used to host big parties with all of my aunts, uncles and cousins. This year I am not sure if anything will be happening, which makes me kind of sad. Hopefully something will develop.
I also always make a point of watching A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Grinch.
17. What tops your tree?
A star.
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
I'll admit I am selfish; I do like receiving. But I take great pains with giving and work hard to make sure I don't give a crappy gift.
19. What is your favorite christmas song?
Good King Wenceslas
20. Candy canes:
Tasty, but only the traditional ones. Flavored candy canes = yuck.
21. Favorite Christmas movie?
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
22. What do you leave for Santa?
We used to leave cookies & milk. Sometimes a carrot for the reindeer.
But? But?
There will not be a Fromage 2006. I was looking forward to more Ed The Sock skewerings of videos.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Yodel
My brother made it through his biopsy today without problems. He seems to be doing ok and can go home tomorrow. Phew.
I went to the funeral parlour tonight in support of a co-worker who just lost her daughter. The lineup took an hour to get through, the amount of people there was incredible. She seems to be holding up fairly well considering the situation. I can't imagine how horrible it must be to lose a child though. Keep her in your thoughts/prayers.
I received notification tonight that my blog is now eligible to switch over to the new beta version. Great! Only when I tried it, it notified me that it couldn't process it. Apparently I have too large a blog, with posts and comments combined. Yay. So I'm stuck in the old version until they get more support for it.
I had some very confusing conversations about life insurance today. I signed some paperwork to increase my policy, but it isn't finalized because I didn't have a void cheque with me. After a conversation with my Dad tonight, I'm not convinced I should have proceeded with it. Since I still haven't handed over the money, I have time to take the paperwork and consider my options. I think I will do that. Despite (or maybe in spite of) my past financial background, I find investments of any kind to be very confusing. I don't fully understand them and I don't think I asked enough questions of myself today before going in to see the agent. I think I will take some more time to think things over.
It's in cases like these where I feel kind of dumb. I feel like I should know more about financial things, seeing as how I studied them for years. I guess that explains why I didn't make a good accountant. I just don't like admitting that because I worked so hard toward it.
Scott, Mare and Jack came over to help hang my outside lights on Sunday. Thanks for the help! My house is now finished being decorated, with the exception of getting a tree. That task will be next weekend's project. Dad is taking me up to the tree farm again, past Browns Flat, to cut one down. With the chain saw, of course. :)
I went to the funeral parlour tonight in support of a co-worker who just lost her daughter. The lineup took an hour to get through, the amount of people there was incredible. She seems to be holding up fairly well considering the situation. I can't imagine how horrible it must be to lose a child though. Keep her in your thoughts/prayers.
I received notification tonight that my blog is now eligible to switch over to the new beta version. Great! Only when I tried it, it notified me that it couldn't process it. Apparently I have too large a blog, with posts and comments combined. Yay. So I'm stuck in the old version until they get more support for it.
I had some very confusing conversations about life insurance today. I signed some paperwork to increase my policy, but it isn't finalized because I didn't have a void cheque with me. After a conversation with my Dad tonight, I'm not convinced I should have proceeded with it. Since I still haven't handed over the money, I have time to take the paperwork and consider my options. I think I will do that. Despite (or maybe in spite of) my past financial background, I find investments of any kind to be very confusing. I don't fully understand them and I don't think I asked enough questions of myself today before going in to see the agent. I think I will take some more time to think things over.
It's in cases like these where I feel kind of dumb. I feel like I should know more about financial things, seeing as how I studied them for years. I guess that explains why I didn't make a good accountant. I just don't like admitting that because I worked so hard toward it.
Scott, Mare and Jack came over to help hang my outside lights on Sunday. Thanks for the help! My house is now finished being decorated, with the exception of getting a tree. That task will be next weekend's project. Dad is taking me up to the tree farm again, past Browns Flat, to cut one down. With the chain saw, of course. :)
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Caution: contents under pressure
Just because a bottle of water is not carbonated does not mean that it is not under pressure. I exploded one on myself this morning at work. It was funny, after I cleaned everything up.
Saturday is my Dad's birthday, but I hope to still be able to make it to the Pub. Been a long time and I could use some karaoke. I could use some fun, period. Between my family crap and work crap, I'm not really having a good time anywhere.
I started my decorating this week. I have all but two sets of lights up inside. I need to purchase another timer, slap them up in the window, and then I'm all set. I did an online shopping blitz this week and now have most of my presents purchased. All that is remaining is to buy a couple of things for John's sock, and to do the bulk of the purchasing for my grandfather's sock. I should be able to knock that stuff off in one trip. Wrapping Central is set up in my basement. Still need to talk to Dad about going to get a tree, perhaps next weekend.
2 weeks to go until John arrives. I am really looking forward to some more quality time together. I'm glad it isn't as long between visits this time.
Oh hey, I got some news this week. I have a meeting for work that involves me going to Las Vegas at the end of February. Haven't been to Vegas before, and it is within driving distance of John. Something to look forward to in the middle of winter.
Saturday is my Dad's birthday, but I hope to still be able to make it to the Pub. Been a long time and I could use some karaoke. I could use some fun, period. Between my family crap and work crap, I'm not really having a good time anywhere.
I started my decorating this week. I have all but two sets of lights up inside. I need to purchase another timer, slap them up in the window, and then I'm all set. I did an online shopping blitz this week and now have most of my presents purchased. All that is remaining is to buy a couple of things for John's sock, and to do the bulk of the purchasing for my grandfather's sock. I should be able to knock that stuff off in one trip. Wrapping Central is set up in my basement. Still need to talk to Dad about going to get a tree, perhaps next weekend.
2 weeks to go until John arrives. I am really looking forward to some more quality time together. I'm glad it isn't as long between visits this time.
Oh hey, I got some news this week. I have a meeting for work that involves me going to Las Vegas at the end of February. Haven't been to Vegas before, and it is within driving distance of John. Something to look forward to in the middle of winter.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Help with lights
If anyone could spare the time this weekend, I could use some help with my outdoor Christmas lights. I just need to get two strings along the gutter of the front of my house, which involves a ladder, and not something I can do myself. My very tall younger brother usually helps me with that, but he's not well enough to stand on a ladder right now.
If you could lend me a hand, please let me know. I'd appreciate it!
If you could lend me a hand, please let me know. I'd appreciate it!
Friday, December 01, 2006
Tired, already and still
Wow, am I tired. I just got back from vacation and already I could use another one. In the couple of days I have been home, events have been going so fast & furious that I definitely know I’m not in
My brother’s diagnosis of Lupus has been met with his unrealistic expectation that he will get better. His condition will not improve, but according to the doctors, it is quite manageable. Unfortunately his home situation is causing stress that isn’t helping, but he refuses to stay anywhere else for a while to rest and get away from the tension. He’s an adult and has to make his own choices, but he’s making poor ones right now. It’s difficult as his family to not step in and take over and just start telling him what to do. He doesn’t seem capable of taking care of himself. I keep waiting for the mechanism to kick in that will make him realize he needs to smarten up and straighten his life out. He has made a couple of positive steps this week, so I am hoping that trend will continue, if he can just stay out of the hospital. My mother had to take him up to the hospital again last night because his blood pressure was dangerously high. The doctors were checking for risk of stroke from blood clots, but they did eventually send him home.
My older brother and SIL have actually decided to come home for a visit this weekend, and it will give him a chance to talk to my younger brother in person. YB looks up to OB, and it will make YB feel better to have a visit with
I have not been feeling very well since I got back. The mental stress with all of this family circus has been taking its toll already. I am also jetlagged and feel like a cold may be inevitable. I feel like I could sleep for a couple of days straight.
One positive thing that happened this week with regards to my brother’s health is that he was able to finally reach the clinic in
Other than family issues, not much else has been going on. I aim to try and decorate for Christmas this weekend, before things get any busier. John shipped me his old TiVo, which I have installed and it seems to be working quite well so far. I am feeling the usual bout of loneliness after having been with John for a week. Welcome back to reality, which contains cold weather and stress.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Monday, November 20, 2006
Quick update
We saw Casino Royale yesterday, very good movie. My only complaint is that Daniel Craig mumbles a little bit so sometimes I wasn't able to catch what he was saying. What really surprised me was the couple in front of us who brought their two children, age range of 3-5, to see the movie. At first we thought they had come into the wrong theatre, and perhaps meant to see Happy Feet. But no, they brought their kids to see Casino Royale. Responsible parenting at its best. From the utterances of other children in the theatre, they may not have been the only ones to do so.
We had a good lunch at Macaroni Grill with Chris & Cynthia before the movie. It was nice to see them again, and I'm glad I could provide them with some real Maritime maple syrup. I brought some for John too, as well as the obligatory vanilla 1/2 Moons.
Last night we took a quick trip to Target to pick up a couple of things, and then stayed in. I almost passed out around 8pm, but I managed to keep myself awake until 10 in an effort to adjust to the time. True to form though, my cell phone went off at 5am. Listen to my voicemail message people, I'm on vacation!!
I'm on my own today since John has to work, so I'll be hitting the stores across the street. Hopefully I will see some good xmas presents for people I have left to buy for.
We had a good lunch at Macaroni Grill with Chris & Cynthia before the movie. It was nice to see them again, and I'm glad I could provide them with some real Maritime maple syrup. I brought some for John too, as well as the obligatory vanilla 1/2 Moons.
Last night we took a quick trip to Target to pick up a couple of things, and then stayed in. I almost passed out around 8pm, but I managed to keep myself awake until 10 in an effort to adjust to the time. True to form though, my cell phone went off at 5am. Listen to my voicemail message people, I'm on vacation!!
I'm on my own today since John has to work, so I'll be hitting the stores across the street. Hopefully I will see some good xmas presents for people I have left to buy for.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Sunday morning in SoCal
I arrived without incident yesterday at LAX, actually landed a little bit early. John was there waiting for me, and asked if my trip was uneventful, which it was because I don't have his travel bad luck.
We drove back to OC and stopped at Subway to grab some lunch to take home and eat before heading to Costco. I can't explain the discord that comes from hearing Christmas carols being played in Subway and then stepping out into 27°C sunny weather. It seems like an alternate universe. John says it's not right to be hearing carols this early, because they should be waiting until after Thanksgiving.
Caly is not thrilled with my presence, as usual. She's been a fairly good cat lately, especially since John has been locking her up in the bedroom when he leaves the apartment. There have been some times recently when he's forgotten to close the door, but she hasn't gone out and peed in the living room. However, when John left for the airport yesterday, he forgot the door, and she left a nice, wet paper towel in her usual spot. She knew I was coming and expressed her displeasure, I think.
We headed to Costco to get some steak for supper, and discounted movie tickets. I quickly got distracted by the allure of Costco, and we managed to leave without the movie tickets, so we had to go back again and buy them. Teasing me with the Costco trips! I need to go back and spend longer in there so I can look things over.
Last night we headed to church and grilled some steak for supper. I managed to stay up only until 9pm, which actually isn't too bad considering I had been traveling all day. I tried to sleep in this morning until about 6am, but didn't make it past that. Not bad though for my first day here.
Today we are headed to Yorba Linda to meet up with friends and see Casino Royale. I'm looking forward to the movie, I think it will be good.
We drove back to OC and stopped at Subway to grab some lunch to take home and eat before heading to Costco. I can't explain the discord that comes from hearing Christmas carols being played in Subway and then stepping out into 27°C sunny weather. It seems like an alternate universe. John says it's not right to be hearing carols this early, because they should be waiting until after Thanksgiving.
Caly is not thrilled with my presence, as usual. She's been a fairly good cat lately, especially since John has been locking her up in the bedroom when he leaves the apartment. There have been some times recently when he's forgotten to close the door, but she hasn't gone out and peed in the living room. However, when John left for the airport yesterday, he forgot the door, and she left a nice, wet paper towel in her usual spot. She knew I was coming and expressed her displeasure, I think.
We headed to Costco to get some steak for supper, and discounted movie tickets. I quickly got distracted by the allure of Costco, and we managed to leave without the movie tickets, so we had to go back again and buy them. Teasing me with the Costco trips! I need to go back and spend longer in there so I can look things over.
Last night we headed to church and grilled some steak for supper. I managed to stay up only until 9pm, which actually isn't too bad considering I had been traveling all day. I tried to sleep in this morning until about 6am, but didn't make it past that. Not bad though for my first day here.
Today we are headed to Yorba Linda to meet up with friends and see Casino Royale. I'm looking forward to the movie, I think it will be good.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
One leg through
Well, I'm sitting in the airport at Montreal. The first leg of my trip is done, and now comes the 6h flight to LAX. I'm going to try and sleep through most of it.
The first flight was uneventful, I actually had the seat beside me empty so I stretched out and slept. Customs agent asked me when I was getting married and if it was on this trip. The baggage guys were again very friendly.
This trip kind of crept up on me, if that's possible. Work has been steadily busy, and the days have been droning on in the same pattern of work, sleep, work, sleep. I'm glad it's vacation time so it will break up the grind.
I've been busy getting ready for winter so I don't get caught doing things at the last minute. The driveway markers are in the ground before it starts to freeze. The winter clothing is now in my closet and the bucket of hats & mittens is upstairs. I took my boots and shoes in to be repaired and re-heeled. I sprayed them all with weather protectant as I do this time every year. When your footwear is expensive, you need to take good care of them.
November is always the month in which I do the bulk of my Christmas shopping. I am finished shopping for my nephew and mother, and my Dad because he asked us to make a donation instead of getting him a gift. I have one thing bought for each of my brothers, so I just need something to put with it. I have a few things for John, some of which I shipped to SoCal and will bring back with me on this trip. I have a couple of things bought for my grandfather, but still need more for him. The only people I have nothing for yet are my cousin/goddaughter and uncle - I am still waiting on a list from each of them. I will hopefully get a good chunk of remaining shopping done while I'm away - I took 2 suitcases this time. :)
Well, almost time to board. Better hit the bathroom!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Influences on a young mind
From that time on, I can only recall a couple of instances when I had gotten into trouble at school, for very minor things. I remember myself as being quiet and reserved, pretty shy, always chastised for being “smart.” My motto was (and still is, to an extent), be quiet, follow the rules, and you won’t get in trouble. I have to wonder how much that incident with the desk influenced me to form that rule and become who I am. What would have happened if the teacher hadn’t been there, and others started listening to me and followed what I had to say? Would it have affected my personality in some way? Would I be a more outgoing person? Would I be more of a leader and less of a follower? Would I take more risks?
I have always had a huge issue with acceptance from other people. Being “smart” meant that I was different from the rest, and to compensate for that, I tried to fit in as best I could in other ways. I always tried to follow whatever was the latest fashion trend, usually with poor results – no matter what I did, I could never get my hair to do anything like anyone else (some of you may recall my mentioning that I never got invited to the Hair Convention, where all my peers were taught the current “in” style). I always ended up separated from the pack, a fact that my mother pointed out to me one day when she said “no wonder you have no friends.” I know that statement had a huge impact on me, but I don’t know if my mother even recalls having said it. Since that day, I have tried to do anything to make myself acceptable to others. You can’t make people like you, but I have always tried to make myself as agreeable to others as I can… but I still blame myself when someone doesn’t like me. In my mind, it’s never their loss, it’s mine. I know that my view is backward, but I have never been able to fully correct it. I think I am slowly but surely working on it and getting better at it.
I worry about someday having children, how impressionable they are, and how many ways you can influence them negatively. We are not perfect, therefore our children are not. But it makes you wonder how the simplest of comments or actions may somehow have a huge impact on the person that child becomes. What would happen if I made a comment to my child, a comment that I might consider innocent, unimportant, or forgettable, but the child absorbs and reacts to it in a different way? I may have just changed that child for life without even knowing it. This thought alone is enough for me to steer away from the idea of having children. Add to that my perfectionist and OCD tendencies, and I think I’d go insane. For now, I will stick to my plan of not having children until I’m ready to handle the responsibility. I’m just not there yet (and possibly may never be, who knows).
I knew this would happen
Once the TSA announced their new air travel requirements, I knew something like this would happen.
Yes, it's a website for travel size items. Yes, they are offering free TSA-approved bags with your order. Unfortunate that they can't spell Ziploc correctly, considering there is a picture right there beside the text.
Yes, it's a website for travel size items. Yes, they are offering free TSA-approved bags with your order. Unfortunate that they can't spell Ziploc correctly, considering there is a picture right there beside the text.
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