The grind

There seems to be a lot of blog apathy going around. People seem to be running out of things to say. I myself have not been as quick to update my site as usual. A lot of that has to do with my seemingly never-ending work schedule. Looks like I'll be working at least half of next weekend, actually... better make the most out of this weekend. Have I mentioned I really need a vacation? Help may be on the way, however, as someone has finally noticed how bogged down I've been.

Haven't been up to much, really. Basically a rotating schedule of work, come home, start stove, make/eat supper, read book or watch DVD, chat with John, go to bed. Repeat. I've been reading Lost & Found this week, and should finish it up tonight. The premise is similar to Can You Keep A Secret? but much less enjoyable. I'll be glad to move on to the next book, which I think will be Little White Lies. Lots o' chick lit.

Also been watching a bit of my Star Trek Season 1 DVD. Watched both parts of "The Menagerie" with additional text commentary. A little too much filler in the text commentary if you ask me... science-related comments that didn't really have anything to do with the episode. This episode centered around Spock taking over the Enterprise to get former Captain Christopher Pike back to Talos IV, a planet forbidden to visit by Starfleet. Spock gets in trouble, court marshalled, and then you end up seeing a great deal of the original pilot of the series (with Majel Barrett (credited as M. Leigh Hudec) as Number One, even). Supposedly one of the most popular episodes in the series. The text commentary that did relate to the story was neat. The aliens weren't originally supposed to be humanoid, but ended up that way due to budget constraints. The original pilot cost a ton of money as it was, so the re-use of it along with some new footage saved the day. Looking forward to getting the other two seasons.

Garfield & Friends Season 4 arrived today, thanks to a gift card and a $10 off plea from a late xmas delivery a la Chapters. A bit of nostalgia for myself, I am a Garfield fan. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for the never-ending Klopman diamond gag and Binky the Clown screaming "HEYYYYYYYYY KIDS!" Returned the other of my extra copies of Vertigo tour. Got Garfield Season 5. Only 2 more seasons yet to be released.

Really enjoying the XM Satellite Radio. Since I spend most of the time listening to the 80s station, I do hear some repeats every few days, but nothing that's driven me crazy yet. Most notable repeat has been Fine Young Cannibals' "Don't Look Back", which I've heard 4 times now. Can't say as I've heard "She Drives Me Crazy" yet though. Odd choice of repeat. I've been listening intently for songs I don't know, or ones I literally haven't heard since the 80s, and I finally heard one the other night that fit that category - "State of Shock" by The Jacksons and Mick Jagger. I'd totally forgotten that song had even existed. Crazy! Jay, do you know that one? Anyway, really enjoying the radio. Haven't tried it out in the car yet, as I have only been driving around the city. It will come in handy on my next trip to Moncton, and my trip to SoCal where I'll have to spend 2.5-3h in the car during rush hour in LA on a Friday. If that doesn't make me love SJ, I don't know what will.

I did make a couple of decisions over the past week. I officially decided to quit belly dancing, due to the fact that I've been receiving zero enjoyment out of this session. Unfortunate, but I'm not going to keep paying for something I don't find fun anymore.

I also officially stepped down from the Finance Committee at my church. I felt guilty doing that (as any Catholic would) but I felt it was time, after serving for 4 years. I spent last year in the position of Chair, really because no one else wanted the duty. I never had any time to schedule meetings, go over financial statements, etc. Not only that, but I really got to a point where I felt like I didn't know what I was doing. I've been nowhere near accounting for 5 years now, and when you don't use the knowledge you have, it can fly away from your brain fairly quickly. I just had an overwhelming sense of being "too young" for the position, if that makes any sense. My church is coming to a point where we will have to transfer leadership in 5 months, and I didn't feel like I was the person to lead us financially. Lazy? Maybe. But if I don't have the drive to do the job, better I step down and let someone else take my place. The problem is, attendance is down, which means even fewer people want to have anything to do with church administration. Thus why I felt guilty... but that doesn't change the fact that I felt like I didn't know what I was doing.

I think I have come to the point yet again of having to reformat my hard drive. I didn't do it in the fall as I had planned, delaying the inevitable in some hope I'd be buying a new PC. The money for that just isn't in the cards right now, so it's time I do the reformat. When you work with PCs all day, the last thing you want to do is come home and work on your own. I guess that will be my weekend project... argh. I did get a free present today though from Aliant - a new high speed dsl modem/wireless router. Free was the only way I was going to invest in a wireless router. So I have that to set up as well, and while the wireless option will not be my main source of internet connectivity, it will be nice to have in a pinch when I bring a laptop home from work.

Off to finish the book and start another.