Less cranky now

Ok, I had lunch, took a walk, had a mid-afternoon snack and am now rid of the headache and feeling less cranky.

My weekend was eventful and uneventful. I crammed all of the events into one day.

Friday was incredibly lazy. I don't think I even got dressed until after lunch, and I wasn't even sick. I woke up, watched TV I had taped during the week, stopped to observe the 2 minutes of silence at 11am. I really can't remember doing much of anything on Friday. It was a nice, lazy day off.

Saturday was the big day crammed full of stuff. Dad picked me up just before 9am and we hit the road for Maine. We hit the border around 10am at Milltown. Decided to avoid the traffic at the main crossing. Wise idea, as it was backed up. We were driving with a small enclosed trailer, so the border guard wanted to look inside. We said we were going across for shopping, and she got this scared look on her face and said "are you going to fill it?" when she looked at the trailer. Hehehe.

We hit the Airline at 10:10am. I know this because it meant I missed stopping at the Post Office by 20 minutes, grrrr... but we had a deadline. However, when we were over halfway through the Airline, my older brother called and said he had to turn back and get his fiance's passport, so they were going to be an hour late. GRRRRR. I could have waited the 20min and stopped at the Post Office. Too late now.

With the extra time we had on our hands, Dad and I decided to go into Bangor and knock a few stores off our list. We headed to Sam's Club, where I got a 3-pack of Christmas Kleenex and Dad got a few things for himself which I took as presents for his upcoming birthday and Christmas. This shopping with Dad thing is pretty good, because he's extremely hard to buy for. Yeah, he knows what he's getting, but at least it's stuff he wants. We went to buy gas at Sam's, but since he had mailed in his membership renewal and they hadn't yet received their money, they cancelled his account and wouldn't let us get gas. Boooo. Your cheque's in the mail!!

We then headed over to Borders, where I picked up a gift for someone and Dad got a Maine map. We both have multiple maps of Maine, but of course none with us, and the shortcuts to Sugarloaf are better found when you know the actual route numbers. So armed with the map and me as navigator, we headed for Sugarloaf. Was kind of nice getting back to being my Dad's navigator, he trusts me with that duty since I love maps and am not directionally-challenged like my mother. Dad could have found his way there without a map, but we didn't want to make any incorrect turns and wind up late.

Getting off the I95 and onto secondary and lesser highways held some interesting sights. The first thing that caught me off guard was snow - the further we went, the more snow that was on the ground. Not just a skiff of snow either - enough that it was 7°C out, but there was still lots on the ground. You could see on the side of the road where it had been plowed recently.

As we were driving along, we happened to see 2 birds on the side of the road... birds? Those are hens! A couple of chickens had escaped and were hanging out on the side of the road. Next we were driving along and all of a sudden there's a racecar trying to turn onto another road, but he's going so fast that he drives straight into the ditch! I did a double-take, as I wasn't expecting to see a numbered race car driving along and wiping out. Very strange!

We got held up at some construction and my older brother called. We were supposed to meet them at the hotel on the mountain, but they were having staff meetings and the dining room was closed. So much for that plan. We met them instead at the gas station at the entrance to the ski hill. We swapped the trailer for my long-awaited kitchen table & chairs, which fit into the back of the truck without even having to put the seat down. SUVs suck gas, but they sure come in handy sometimes. For those who are interested, Sugarloaf opens next week. All of the runs looked snow-covered.

Since we couldn't eat at the hotel, we drove back to the next town and had lunch together. My future sister-in-law noticed my necklace that John had given me for my birthday, so I showed them that and a picture of the two of us - she said we made a nice-looking couple :) I also showed them a couple of ideas I had for my nephew for Christmas presents, and they liked one of them and suggested another that may be good. A trip to Toys R Us will be in my future this week, I think. I'd like to get my brother & nephew's presents bought and wrapped so I can take them up to Montreal either at the end of the month when I go, or when I head up for the wedding. Nice not to have to worry about shipping this year. After lunch my brother changed the headlight in his truck while my Dad supervised and SIL and I chatted while shivering - it was none too warm. Then we said our goodbyes, and left for the return trip. I think Dad was sad to see it be such a short visit, he commented that he doesn't get to see my brother enough.

Our way back was less eventful, being close to sunset and then dark. By the time we hit Bangor my Dad was pretty tired. I was going to take over driving but we were closer to Bangor than he thought by the time he mentioned it, so he plowed on. We hit Bangor Mall first, and since I was in Christmas shopping for other people mode, I was able to buzz through the mall in about 50 min, as one store was out of what I wanted to get someone for a present. Waited about 10 min for Dad to come back to the truck, then we headed over to the new Kohl's. Nice store. I picked up some stuff on sale - a Halloween tablecloth, placemat and towels that have gravestones and says "Halloween Rocks" at the bottom :)

Next we headed to Target, where I bought a couple of Christmas decoration-type things, but didn't find much else to buy. I went looking for a specific item that they were all out of. This seemed to be a recurring pattern for me on this trip - I'd go look for something, and the store would be out of stock. Actually a lot of the stores looked pretty picked over. Bombarded by Canadians on their long weekend. A quick stop at Home Depot to see what they had for closet rods yielded nothing I wanted to buy.

Last stop was Shaw's grocery store. They had turkeys on for 49¢/lb, so I got myself a 14.5lb turkey for $7 US. Go US Thanksgiving! That will make a nice xmas turkey. Also loaded up the cart with the usual stash of muffin mixes for breakfast, my favorite marinades, and (of course) IBC Rootbeer.

After that, we hit the road. My Dad plowed through the Airline in 1h 10min. Not much traffic at 9pm on a Saturday night, but we did manage to hit a coyote. I had my eyes closed and was resting, when Dad muttered something. I opened my eyes and all of a sudden there was something right in front of the truck and we drove over it like a speed bump. Dad said the coyote had crossed the road, and was clear of him, but at the last second doubled back in front of the truck. Would have done damage to my car, but the truck was high enough that it just ended up being more of a speed bump than anything else. Ka-chunk. Sorry coyote :(

We crossed the border at Milltown again, and the guy had us come in and pay out HST but that was it. Thankfully we didn't have to get into a discussion about the table. Yes, it was obviously a used item, but we had no slip of paper from Customs saying it had been brought over from Canada by my brother. No fault of his, though. He did stop and ask for that, but they wouldn't give him one. Said just to call the border crossing if there was any trouble. Yeah. Because you're going to remember the guy with the table? Because you'll still be working the crossing later tonight? Anyway, thankfully not a problem.

Getting back on the highway home, we noticed some hubub ahead. Someone had hit a deer, which was still lying on the side of the road. It didn't seem like anyone was hurt, no one was frantic. They were just kind of hanging around waiting for the authorities or a tow, I think.

We arrived back home at my house and put the table together. Unloaded the truck of my shopping finds. Chatted quickly with John to tell him I'd arrived safely at home, and then crashed. It was a long day and I was exhausted. Wished I could have made karaoke but I was too tired (and likely too late by the time I got home.)

Sunday I got up and went to church. They are still having issues installing the new natural gas-powered furnace, so the church was pretty cold. We made it through mass in 40 minutes, as the priest didn't really do a homily in the interest of not keeping us in a cold church too long. After that I came home, and kept on top of the fire to get the house warmed up. It was a slow start yesterday, but soon enough I had it nice & toasty.

While I waited for the house to get a little warmer, I kept myself moving by cleaning up the table. My brother had been storing it out in his garage, and had been using the garage to do some sanding, so every piece was covered in dust, and just had some general wear & tear gunk on it. I took some Murphy's Oil Soap and water and went over it all in detail and got it looking nice & clean. Spent the rest of the day doing odd cleaning, chatting with John, and watching some football. I am still on top of the league right now, with John 1 point behind me. Tonight's game should be interesting.

This week sees me heading to exotic Grand Falls... I am dreading that. Trying to pick a day to go when it's less likely to snow. Also have to head up to Moncton on Thursday, which is good - I'll be able to knock off some more xmas presents for people at Costco.

That's what I'd like for Christmas. A Costco in Saint John. Someone get on that, will you? :)

Countdown

I've started the countdown. The countdown to when Christmas preparations wear me out to the point where I get sick. Usually happens around Dec. 9th-ish, my Dad's birthday. I've been sick on his birthday the past 2 years. This year, however, I can't get sick then because that's the day before my brother's wedding. So I guess it will have to come earlier or later.

I never get headaches, but apparently I have one this morning. It's made me quite cranky.

Rant: I am not referring to anyone specifically with this rant. Just general malaise. So don't think I am referring to anyone personally.

I get extremely stressed out this time of year. I wasn't born with an "I don't give a fuck" switch, so I am incapable of buying presents for people without caring whether they like what they get or not. Of course, not everyone thinks this way, which means I put hours upon hours of effort into thinking of presents, shopping for them, wrapping them, delivering them. The presents I get in return often don't reflect the same level of thought and preparation. Some of them can be downright crap.

I don't care about receiving the most expensive presents. It's the fact that no thought goes into some presents. I'd rather people spend money on the less fortunate than get me a crap present. Wrap up a Mars bar and give me that for xmas, and I'm happy. It's my favorite chocolate bar, won't sit around the house going unused, gathering dust and getting in my way. And it shows me that you know me well enough to get me something I really enjoy - even if it only cost $1. The fact that someone sat down and consciously said "hey, Liz really likes this, I should get it for her" is worth more to me than most things.

I sat last night with my list of things bought, left to buy, and the usual empty spaces for people who are impossible to buy for. Eternally frustrating. This saps my love of Christmas down the drain. I care too much. I could just get these people some crap present... but I can't. It's just not in me to do that.

Retitled Romance Novels

These are pretty funny. :)

Anyone going to Calais on Saturday?

Is anyone out there going to Calais on Saturday? If so, can you let me know?

I'll be heading through before the post office opens and won't be back until after it's closed. I have 3 packages there waiting and was hoping not to have to make an extra trip.

Who knows, those long-lost maps of Tucson may be waiting for me too :)

It's Official

Tonight I booked my flights for my visit to SoCal in February. I leave on Feb 3rd (Friday) and come home on Feb 12 (Sunday). Had to make sure to get that $750 exemption in, since every store I can imagine is "right across the street." Hope I win the lottery by then. John will have to work some of that week, leaving me alone to go shopping. Dangerous. Very dangerous.

A couple of pics

Wow.

Sitting in my office this morning, I just had a visit from the receptionist. She brought in this very long box. I just received a dozen of the longest-stemmed red roses I have ever seen.

I don't have my camera with me right now, but I will post a pic later.

Wow. They are absolutely beautiful. I don't know what to say other than thank you.

Ok, that was pretty hard

We spent a quiet day together yesterday. Filled mostly with comments of "I don't want to go" and "I don't want you to go". Inamongst that running dialogue, we did manage to get a few things done.

We spent the morning lounging and having breakfast, as the evil clock decided to go at double-speed. Then we headed uptown for a special treat for John. He got his head shaved with a straight razor - something that he can't get at home. He was quite pleased with it and I think will be looking forward to getting another when he comes back at Christmas. We then headed to the Market and Brunswick Square, and picked up a couple of things for him to take back home. A quick stop at my office to take my phone off call forward and then we were off to church. Unfortunately the furnace is still in the middle of installation, so it was still a tad cold, but should be complete this week. Coming out of church my former pastor stopped me to chat, as he was in town for a funeral. It was nice to see him again.

On our way home from church we stopped and got some Chinese food for supper. We sat and ate that while watching an episode of Coupling. Go leftovers :)

After supper we made the wise decision of packing him up before getting too comfortable during the rest of the evening. Knowing how my couches like to swallow people, and that we had planned on watching a movie, this was indeed a wise choice. So we reluctantly packed everything up in his suitcases to be ready for the early morning flight.

Earlier in the day, he had gotten water in his ear and it had been affecting him ever since. We tried to get it to drain, also used olive oil, but to no avail. He couldn't hear out of his right ear. Either the plane flight home was going to make it better or worse. I hope he made out ok.

We watched Sideways last night, as he had never seen it before. I think he liked it, maybe not loved it, but liked it. I kept asking if anything looked familiar and where things were in relation to Irvine. A little like the geography aspect of watching Sideways :)

Last night we also sat down to book his flights at Christmas. It's a lot easier trying to work things out with different options while we were both looking at the same screen. He wanted to fly back through the airport closest to him, but again the times and options out of LAX were cheaper and better, so it looks like that is the route he will be taking. Another red-eye here, and a great flight home that has him leaving here late morning and arriving there around 4:30pm.

We got a bit of sleep last night but not a great amount. I was either upset, or unconscious and having some crazy dream about everyone in Toronto who was on a highway just dropped dead in their cars. Very weird.

Goodbyes are painful, and this was no exception. Although being fully capable of living on my own, and - more recently than before - enjoying it a lot of the time, I had very quickly gotten used to having someone else around. A friend of mine said to me that our time together is condensed. That is very true. It seems in some ways like he was here for a lot longer than a week, and in other ways he was barely here any time at all. Technically speaking, this week was our second date, but certainly not in the typical sense. We had to cram a lot more into one week than the typical relationship. You don't often take someone to meet your family on your second date. Everything went so well this week. Again there was that sense of things being easy. We have an understanding with each other that I can't explain, but I've come to value it greatly.

His flight was at 6:40am this morning, so we headed off to the airport around 5:30am. Checked him in, listened to the agent describe what he had to do in Montreal so if he didn't hear with his ear, I could repeat it. We sat down and just stared each other down for the next 10 minutes until he finally had to go to the gate. We said goodbye. I walked out of the airport crying. I got in the car and tried to keep it together, because it was dark out and I needed to drive home safely. I wasn't doing such a good job at that until a thought popped into my head, that I won't share here, but I felt instantly more calm, drove home safely and went back to bed until around 10am.

He's flying over the middle of the US right now, hopefully not in too much pain because of his ear. He lands around 3:30 and then has to get luggage and be driven home. Hope to hear from him between 5-6.

Then the fun begins. Where I become Benguiat Frisky and he Calisto. Where we calculate 4h time zone differences again. Where we're apart. It sucks, but it's better than not having him in my life at all. So I take what I can get, post his Christmas itinerary on the fridge, and look forward to seeing him again.

Time goes more quickly on the East coast

When I was out West in September, time always felt like it was on my side. It always seemed like it should be later than it actually was. At home, however, it always seems like someone keeps resetting my clock to a time that is later. Especially this week, I really don't know where it's gone.

It's been busy this week. I had actually planned on the weekdays being less scheduled than they have been, but it didn't turn out that way. Many people to meet, see, and talk to have meant a lot more scheduling than I would have liked. Maybe Christmas will go a little more slowly and with some time to just curl up on the couch and relax together.

It seemed like an endless wait between September 18 and October 28, especially the final two weeks. Now the trip is almost over, and it feels like it's gone by way too quickly. At the same time, it feels in a lot of ways like I found a missing piece that has always been here.

This was an important week for me. After having only spent 2.5 days together in Tucson, where we were both "on vacation", having him come here and plunk him into my life to see how it would all work out was something I needed to do. I had my reservations. I've been a single girl living alone for over a year now, with a distinct set of rules that can best be described as "anal". My last experience at living with someone, while there were great times, also came with a lot of put-downs and lack of respect. I never wanted that to happen again. This is only a visit and not truly living together, but I can still see a huge difference compared to my past.

Most of the things we truly appreciate are small. I can't tell you how much it means to me that when I come home after work, the outside lights are on because it's dark. The house is warm because he has the fire going (and usually hotter than even I prepare). There is someone there to greet me with a big hug and a lot of love. I get the impression that my house is going to seem very cold and empty next week, and for the next month or so.

I have been spoiled rotten this week. I hope I have earned and deserve it - part of me doesn't think that I do.

I am beyond lucky to have such an amazing person in my life.

I don't want you to go either.

Good news!

I got some great news today. I am finally getting my kitchen table & chairs that I have been waiting for since earlier this year! My Dad & older brother are meeting up to swap a trailer, so my brother will also be bringing down my table and chairs and my Dad will bring them the rest of the way. Finally! No more trick chairs!

John has been here a few days now, and things have been great. He's detailed our adventures on his blog, so I won't repeat all of that here. It is so nice to have someone around who actually wants to help me do things, and having that someone be a bf is a great added bonus :)

Tonight is dance class. I am starting to feel less than enthusiastic again about it. I don't know why. I don't feel like practicing. Last week's class was cancelled due to the impending wind storm. This week I don't feel like going *at all* because I have company. Maybe it will pick up for me again in the next couple of weeks.

Just heard that a hook fell off the wall at home and took some paint with it. Argh!

Well, I did love algebra

And I used to finish my work before anyone else so I ended up helping other people in my class. Amazing how quickly it comes back to you.

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Costumes

If anyone wants to wear a costume to the Pumpkin Carving Party, feel free to do so, but they are not required. I won't be wearing one, but I will be wearing a special Halloween-related kitchen accoutrement.

Been a busy week this week.

Work exploded yesterday. Fun. Hope to God that doesn't happen after John gets here.

Monday I ended up going home sick around 11am. Had been feeling crappy all weekend so it was to be expected. Spent the afternoon on the couch resting and watching more of Coupling. Love that show.

Since I was home, I decided to throw a load of laundry in. To my surprise, when the dryer finished its cycle, things weren't dry. So I had to place a service call on the dryer. The repairman came yesterday just before I left for work (which was nice of him, as it saved me an extra trip home). I guess my dryer has not been venting properly so it overheated and blew a safety switch. Replacing the switch and the service call would have cost $100, but was free under my extended warranty. Nice to have extended warranty on large appliances you can't carry in to be fixed.

While I was out running errands at lunch yesterday, I ran into my Dad, so I mentioned the dryer problem to him. He came by yesterday to take a look at how we could change the vent, and he's coming back over today to move the pipe, so the dryer can fit back in the limited space that is there. Dad also removed the big roll of carpet out of the garage, I decided I wouldn't be using it. That will make room for me to store the lawn mower and soon, the Christmas tree. Which reminds me, I had a dream last night that I was picking out my Christmas tree. Weird. But that must have been where it came from.

With the dryer pipe work going on, it finally forced me to clean some stuff up in the basement. Also took a look at the bookshelves with mold on them. It looks like the mold is just "on" them, not growing "in" them, so if I clean it up with the proper cleaner, everything should be ok and I shouldn't have to throw them out.

I also decided on a smarter thing to do with my landing at the bottom of the stairs. I wanted to recarpet it, but decided it would be smarter to wait and do that after I am sure I am not going to have any more flooding problems. This should have occurred to me earlier, but better late than never. The plan is to take up the tackless strips and lay a nice rug down on the cement, which if it gets wet, can easily be cleaned. While I was out at Superstore this week, I stumbled upon a really nice green rug, so I went home and measured the area, and went back and bought the rug. Close to perfect fit. Thing is, I also saw a Berber rug, same size, that would go well there too. And for fun I stuck the green rug by the door beside the fridge, and I really like it there. So I may soon be the owner of 2 rugs. I think I like the green one upstairs too much to move it now. It's a lot longer, and I can walk with wet boots on it further in past the door than the small rug I had there before, which was blue, and didn't really go.

I heard back from the international chain with the crazy shipping. They wrote and said it was so high because they send it via registered mail. They say since it's the same as cash, they have to send it via registered mail so it wouldn't get stolen. I don't really know any other company that does this. Still ridiculous. You should offer me the option of normal shipping, and I assume the loss if the thing gets stolen. I'll take that risk over paying half the cost of the gift card itself in shipping. Assinine.

I had something really great happen to me yesterday. While I was over chatting with my boss, he asked me about John's visit and we were chatting about that. I mentioned I had to get him a winter jacket, especially if he comes back at Christmas because he will need something warm and doesn't own anything that heavy. My boss just got a shipment of jackets in as promo items and gave me one. Like a really nice Marks Work Wearhouse jacket. Nicer than the one I was going to get John to look at while he's here. That was the most expensive thing he was going to have to get, just to visit here, and now it's taken care of. That was so awesome of my boss to do that, he said I worked hard. It's nice to know I am appreciated and this was a great perk.

I still have a few things to do around the house tonight before John arrives tomorrow. Have to vacuum. I am tempted to leave that for him to do, as he tells me he really wants to see what this central vacuum system is all about, and that he might have to try it out. Mwahahaha! Er, I mean, yeah, really interesting. So yeah, vacuuming, moving a couple of things around, need to pick up one more grocery item, do a bit more laundry once the dryer is back up & running, and then I should be all set. Wonder if I'll be able to sleep tonight?

Just ridiculous

I just had an idea for a gift card Christmas present for someone, so I went online to see about buying one. They do sell them online, great! But shipping is $12.50!?!?!

Come on. It's a GIFT CARD. It fits into an envelope that can be mailed for 50¢. I understand the concept behind the "handling" section of the cost. Sure, you need someone to grab the card, print out the envelope, get postage on it and drop it in the box. But really, it's not $12 worth of handling. If an employee makes $12/hr, it does not take an hour to perform this task.

What a rip-off. Sorry to the person I was going to get this present for, but I refuse to pay that much for a gift card. I'll just have to find another present for you.

What I Need

Apparently, according to Google, this is what I need:

1. to get back into remission
2. someone from near there who will work with her today to get a van
3. to board the blob ship that is hovering overhead
4. to increase her votes from 25% to 50%+1
5. some more shoes!
6. to toughen up
7. a shoulder to cry on
8. the dough
9. your help to understand tar
10. a rehearsal disc for her Grease cast to sing along to

How did they know I needed more shoes? The wonders of the internet :)

Just like Christmas Eve

Pumpkin Carving Party

Headed to Moncton on Wednesday and did obligatory stop at Costco. Got some food for the upcoming Pumpkin Carving Party, so I think I am pretty much all set. I have pop (even Pepsi, Scott T!!), chips & dip, cheesies, cookies, cupcakes with special sprinkles, huge-ass bag of carrots and dip, as well as Halloween candy. I think I got that covered. If anyone wants to bring anything hot, that's about the only thing I haven't covered. Even without that there is plenty of food, so just bring yourself and your pumpkin and carve away!

If you know what stencil you want to use, please let me know in advance and I will print it out for you. The site you can visit for stencils is www.zombiepumpkins.com.


A validation, of sorts

This past week was an interesting one. On Thursday I attended a workshop put on by one of my suppliers. In attendance were a lot of the same people who were at the mini-conference I attended back on June 1st. If you recall, it was after that conference that I received the email from that guy who asked me out but I turned him down, only to start giant enormo-blog with John. Later in the evening, as I was talking to a few people, I found out this guy hits on every woman not wearing a ring. Totally disgusting and blatant guy, I am told. He wasn't that way with me, but not surprised by this news. They hadn't warned me ahead of time that this guy was like that. So I guess it might not have been the Nicole Miller suit, but at least Slimy Guy did happen to be the catalyst for starting to chat with John. And A-J for not being single. :)

Slimy Guy has probably found me on the internet and is reading this right now. He made some comment about "being able to find anyone" on the internet. I loathe people who say crap like that. Sure, most people can be tracked down and identified if you tried hard enough. But actually saying that comment makes you sound like a real creep.


Weekend

Spent most of the weekend feeling like crap. Stayed home Friday night and watched Coupling Season One. Great show, I am really enjoying it. Saturday I got up and still felt like crap. My eyeballs felt like they were burning. I drugged myself with Advil Cold & Sinus and kicked myself out of the house to get some errands done, to my hair appointment, then to church. Then I came home and crashed on the couch, then later I IMed for a bit.

This morning I got up feeling like myself again, so I was finally able to accomplish some things around here... though not nearly as much as I was supposed to have done. I still haven't touched the basement. I need to clear things away from the stove so I can begin to use it. It's getting to be that time again. I did manage to do laundry today, as well as clean a few things up upstairs.

After buying the material for my belly dancing veil, I now needed it hemmed. I wasn't smart enough to buy matching thread at the same time, so this afternoon Jenn and I headed to Fabricville to get thread and her sewing machine to lend me a hand and make some hems for me. We also stopped by Frenchy's East. Jenn scored a fabulous winter coat. I scored a nice skirt, blouse, a touque, and a king-size comforter that is reversible and 2 shades of purple. All for $19. Doesn't get much better than that.


Exciting Week

This week is starting to feel like Christmas Eve to me. John arrives on Friday, and I can't wait to see him. I've been running around trying to get stuff organized. I've never had anyone stay here with me, so that will be a very different experience. I have grown used to this being my house, used to being here alone, not worrying about how noisy I am or whether I've left the bathroom door open. This house was my fresh start, my place to be on my own again. So this will be an interesting time for me, to have a bf staying here with me.

Can't wait to actually see him in my familiar territory. Being able to have him in my home, meet my friends & family, and just be able to spend more time together is going to be so nice. Not having to sit in front of the PC to have a conversation will be a nice break too. I'm looking forward to those simple things that you can't take for granted in a long-distance relationship: sitting on the couch together, watching a movie. Eating dinner. Going for a walk.

Only 5 more sleeps :)

Happy Birthday Cyn!!!

Consider this your ecard and a big Happy Birthday from me!

Hope you have a great day, filled with non-crazy people and events :)

Dieppe calling

I am on the road to Dieppe this afternoon. If anybody wants anything from Moncton, email me.

Free association, week 141

From a blog I found, http://subliminal.lunanina.com. Ten words or phrases that you put your first thoughts to.

1. On the verge:: of a nervous breakdown
   
2. Tempestuous:: child
   
3. Coherent:: what I need to be in the morning at work
   
4. Near death:: how my mother acts when she gets sick with a cold
   
5. Illiterate:: apparently most of the people who don't read my memos
   
6. Why not?:: famous last words
   
7. Period:: that time of the month
   
8. Long lost:: brother (don't have a long-lost brother)
   
9. Torrid:: the plus-size clothing store that Jenn found in NH and plotzed over
   
10. Nail:: biting (which I don't do)
    

Chair mats

I think having a chair mat is one of those things you take for granted in an office environment. I wheel around on mine all day at the office.

With my new desk and chair setup at home, I've noticed that I can no longer avoid having a chairmat. It's too hard to slug around on the carpet, and the chair is too rough on the carpet. That's why they make chairmats. Great product.

What I don't understand is the price. To get a chairmat that will work on more plush carpeting, like what I have in my house, is going to cost me somewhere in the realm of $52, and it is not even anti-static. That's for the smallest size I can find. I can get the same size, only with thinner plastic, for $20. This version will be too thin to work effectively on my carpet.

$52 seems unreasonable for a hunk of plastic. Really. Plastic is pretty damn cheap. They must be making a mint off these things.

I can buy a larger mat at Costco for $20. I have to check on whether it is the thicker variety. If it is, I think I'll be buying that one. The only problem is that it is the same size as the one I have at work, and that is too large for what I need at home. But, even if I buy the Costco one, cut one side to fit my desk, or move the desk around so I have more space to lay a chairmat down, I am still ahead.


So the morals of today's story:

• You must be able to get rich from manufacturing and selling chairmats
• Costco rocks

The weekend that was

So after putting up the Halloween decorations on Wednesday, I managed to leave the lights turned on all night. Gee, that was a great idea. D'oh!

This weekend was filled with stuff, though it seemed to just fly by. Originally on Friday night I was supposed to go fabric shopping with Jenn for my belly dancing veil material, but she had a throat infection and stayed home to rest. Instead, I found my younger brother and set aside some time to assemble the new desk I bought for my home office. That was way more of a project than I had anticpated. We basically managed to get the "easy" part done Friday night, but by 9pm realized that it was going to take quite a bit longer to finish. Brother wanted to be home to chat with gf online, so I let him go on the promise he'd be back on Sunday to help complete the assembly.

Saturday saw me going for a walk in the rain. I've been pretty slack in my walking regime so I decided a little rain shouldn't stop me as long as I dress properly. I know now that my hood on my winter jacket is not waterproof. The lessons we learn :)

Went to church on Saturday and drove in at the same time as my aunt, so I sat with her for Mass. After mass I stopped to talk to her for a bit and tell her my news. I also finally managed this past week to tell my immediate family (in person) that I had started seeing someone. It wasn’t something I wanted to do over email, so I am glad I was finally able to see Dad and speak with older brother over the phone. They were surprised at the distance issue but seemed happy for me, so that was nice.

The only person in my immediate family who doesn’t know is my mom. Ah, who am I kidding, my mother knows everything! She’ll be staring us down from the other side of church, wondering who that is sitting with me. I saw her this weekend at church, and she just looked sad, weak… and pathetic. It’s a shame that she’s done this to herself. A month ago, her best friend forwarded me an email that she received from my mother. In it, Mum talked about how she couldn’t understand why her children didn’t want to have anything to do with her. Funny, seeing as how she was the one who told us she didn’t want contact and was strictly our “biological mother”. Apparently history has been rewritten without my knowledge. As long as you continue to act as an irrational child throwing a temper tantrum because you can’t get what you want, no, we won’t want to have anything to do with you. Not if I want to remain sane.

Mum’s best friend was concerned about Mum, so that was why she’d forwarded me the email. It was right before I left for Tucson, and I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to contact Mum and then take off out of town, so I decided to sit on it until I got back. The day after I got back, my Dad dropped by on my birthday and told me a nice story. My younger brother needed to renew his passport, and needed his birth certificate to do so… which Mum has. So he had no choice but to call her to see if he could get it from her. She hung up on him. Now, for someone who a few weeks prior was crying over email to her best friend about how her children don’t want to have anything to do with her, to hang up on her son when he called… Yeah. Guess she wasn’t *that* lonely.

Anyway, back to my weekend.

Saturday night I met up with Chris, Mare, Scott and Stew at the Ale House for dinner before going to see Lily’s Song at the Imperial. I enjoyed the show, and kudos to Lisa and Suzy for great performances. There were quite a few people behind me crying during a couple of the scenes, I think it touched a nerve with a lot of those who were there. I don’t personally know anyone going through Alzheimer’s, but I could easily see how terrible it would be to go through, for both the family and the person who had it. The play left me feeling very lucky for being healthy, and somewhat scared of growing older. One line stuck with me though, it was about how you can’t control what happens to you – there is nothing you can do to prevent yourself from developing Alzheimer’s. All you can do is live in the present, and make memories that someday you’ll be reunited with if you happen to lose them along the way.

Sunday was an inside day for me. I decided not to try and walk in the rain again. I started the day by baking muffins and cleaning up around the house. I had moved items out of my office so we’d have room to assemble the desk, which left the rest of the house looking like a mess. Younger brother called around 12:30 and said he’d be over shortly to continue the assembly. He arrived and we got to work. Normally I am a hindrance to these types of assembly situations, because I get frustrated very easily and have no patience. I did, however, point out to him that he had started to choose the left-hand orientation when he should have been using the directions for the right-hand orientation. Crisis averted there! We plowed away at it and finished it, with the exception of actually attaching the two main pieces… I wasn’t sure how I wanted the desk positioned, and it did not have to be screwed together to be stable, so we left that alone.

One thing I definitely need now is a chairmat. My new office chair is heavier than my old chair, and does not roll well on carpet alone. With the current positioning of my desk, I am having a hard time finding a chairmat that fits where I want it to fit, without spending a lot of money. So I am now thinking of shifting the desk 90 degrees, so my back will be to the window, and I can fit a less expensive chairmat and leave more open space in the room [see John, I do accept suggestions :)] Normally there would be glare coming through the window to hit the monitor, but seeing as how most of my PC time is spent in the evening, the early sunset means I don’t really have to worry about that right now. I’m going to take some more measurements and mull over this positioning.

I think the time for the annual hard drive reformat is soon. My PC seems to be acting sluggish for no good reason. I am going to plug some more RAM into it, which should help. Eventually the time comes when you must reformat and give yourself a fresh start. It’s about time I did a backup anyway, so that would kill 2 birds with one stone.

So on tonight’s agenda: go buy material, get some driveway markers before it gets too cold to put them in the ground, and get a couple of grocery and household items while I’m out. Also need to see if I can find some carpet remnants that match my stairwell carpet, as I need to replace what was taken up at the landing from the mold/flood issues.

I miss karaoke :(