12.27.2007
12.21.2007
"I will be out of the office...
...until January 3. If you need anything, you can contact the UT Development Office at blah blah. Have a happy Holiday."
Ha ha, I had to leave a out-of-the-office voice message and email auto-reply for the first time evah! Redonk. I'm so thrilled to be done until the 31st when I cover the front desk on a skeleton crew day. my jobs not bad, just nice to have extended time off. punctuation and whatever be damned! I'm not setting my alarm once until January 3.
12.13.2007
Not a Dance Post...
But still filled with videos.
A diversion:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/47282-staff-list-top-50-music-videos-of-2007
M.I.A. and Bjork show up on the list, thank goodness. But where's Paddy-bear? I haven't watched very many of them, but I (of course) enjoy the Bat for Lashes video, and I really, really like the Blonde Redhead one for Top Ranking starring Miranda July (of course) and directed by Mike Mills:
12.11.2007
12.05.2007
The Bullfighter, the Breaker, and the Bootylicious
Pasha's Solo:
Dominic's Solo:
Danny's Solo:
Watch again and again if you like!
12.04.2007
By request...
This seriously took over 20 minutes to upload. I hope it works okay! I promise, more will come, but very, very slowly.
10.15.2007
Happy Birthday!
Today is Friedrich's birthday. He is 6 years old.
He had two treats at lunch, and this evening we took him to PetsMart. We bought him a squeaky gorilla and bac n' cheese treats (with real cheese, but not bacon). I think he definitely had fun. But he has no idea what in the hell day it is.
10.09.2007
10.01.2007
My hair
Ha ha, no pictures of me. But my new hair cut is somewhere between this:
and this:
I guess you could say it's a little like this:
Just kidding. Apologies to the parents of the children whose pics I posted w/o permission.
9.26.2007
Christmas
I've been thinking about Christmas the last few weeks, and I'm not sure how I will celebrate it this year. Part of me feels at turns silly and hypocritical for celebrating Christmas when I am an atheist. Part of me doesn't want to accept gifts. I think that I have so many times saved my generosity for the holiday season instead of spreading it year round. Also, for several years I have charged hundreds of dollars on my credit cards to buy gifts for people. I don't want to ruin Christmas for myself, so I need to think long and hard about how I will celebrate, if I will accept gifts or not, and what gifts I will give.
In my little mind, I envision a quilt-making party. I will get the basics of the quilts taken care of, invite family and friends to a central location, provide food and beverage and music, and we will finish the quilts together. Then we could give these quilts to The Linus Connection, an amazing organization. What love! What community, generosity, sisterhood and brotherhood. I am 100% serious. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the winter holidays. And what a wonderful way to remember my Grandmother.
(My Granny Pat with my dad as Santa at the P'ville HEB, late 80s/early 90s)
More details on the quilt party to come later!
Goodbye for now, Christmas!
9.06.2007
oh, Pavarotti
I miss him already! Seriously, I love opera. Opera is one of the reasons why I love music. The first thing I knew about opera was the name Pavarotti. Who can hear his voice and not think it's pretty incredible? In my first CD purchase was a best of Pavarotti arias CD (along with Counting Crows August and Everything After - agh!). I'm sad he's gone. But he was 71, he had cancer, these things happen. I am sad.
So, Thank You Pavarotti for sending my ears in the direction of opera. I'm going to see Madame Butterfly in New York at the Met partly because of you!
I love this pic:
9.04.2007
Dark chocolate dreams
It's my Nutella substitute. Made with peanut butter and dark chocolate, it's not as creamy, but I don't get the itchy dairy throat after having four or five spoonfuls.
Yeah, I said it. Four or FIVE.
8.30.2007
first day
the tech guy loaded iTunes onto my computer, and told me I could put music on it and share my library if I wanted. they left me alone for about two and half hours. I have my own phone and recorded a message. I can (eventually) decide what my hours will be. the supply closet door remains open at all times, I can get stuff without asking. they will order me a lamp or clock or new chair or whatever I need to be productive.
you know what all this means?
they TRUST me! my employers don't think I'm trying to steal from them, get away with not doing work, or that I'm a child.
wow.
8.28.2007
things
I think I am re-turning French. it's in my blood. if I had a holodeck, I'd make it 19th century northern france, on the coast, maybe brittany, and I'd have people over for a fire, calvados, and stew. 
and we'd all probably have terrible skin and consumption, but I'd play us something somber on the violin, and we'd reminisce our youth and the warm summer months, recalling fishing with papa. if I make a turkey loaf, will people come and eat it with me? what I really want is rabbit pot pie, because everyone's eating rabbit in movies and on TV.
watch out stu - just kidding.
8.24.2007
*possibly (for some viewers) egregious amount of patrick wolf pictures* apologies in advance...
so I've been playing around with my keyboard - it can do lots of stuff! I've always wanted to play the accordian. old school french troubadour. I have no idea how much they cost, but I just might invest in a used one in the next few months. I wonder if I still have my old guitar? maybe I could get that back from sarah if she's got it. it seems that it's pretty easy to pick up a used violin in this town. my sister's x-fiance had a few, and they're really fun to play with. the range of sounds you can produce is so different than those you get hitting random keys on a piano. I like.
can you tell I've been bored? enough tv already! I tried watching an episode from season 1 or 2 of beverly hills 90210 the other day - the one where brandon gets on the tv show - but I couldn't finish it! I feel like I've seen all the episodes already, I carry them around in my brain as part of the pop-culture collective unconscious. I have collected almost ONE HUNDRED post-it notes of ideas for scripts, an opera, novel, graphic novel, installation piece, songs, all written while I was at work. a burst of creativity that lasted 30 seconds. stopped typing and turning pages briefly, wrote it down, then back to work. I guess I should sift through all of them and see if there is anything that moves me, any idea that I connect with enough to develop.
I think instead of investing in expensive clothes, I'm going to start learning how to make my own: sewing, creating/following patterns, and learning about working with different fabrics. I remember the tiered skirts my granny pat used to make for my sister and I. simple and fabulous.
yes, I absolutely love this last picture.
so I read the his fourth album will have a lot of political material inspired by his recent touring in the US. whatever the subject matter, I'm sure I will love it. now I just need to track down a copy of wind in the wires...
8.16.2007
perseids
so here's how it all went down:
p's parents house in g'town. a little more light pollution than expected, but all in all, not bad. about 2.5 - 3 hours viewing. we were in her driveway on some blankets, she decided to nap, I couldn't. I listened to my ipod and watched.
4 earthgrazers! I hadn't ever seen one before. they left a glitter path across the sky. yeah!
in total, about two dozen meteors. I don't think I've ever seen more than three before.
and you know what I realized? I LOVE STARS!!! I love the sky, I love being outside, I love frogs and bugs that sound ridiculously loud. I vow to make more time to do this, even when there is no meteor shower. maybe once a month at the new moon.
before next month comes around, I will figure out how to take good pictures.
8.08.2007
I did it!
I start my new job Thursday, August 30th. I'm very excited, and so is my soon-too-be new boss. That is just super.
8.06.2007
little updates
phone interview for a job today - didn't do so well! I do better when I can see a face, eyes.
um, I'm thinking about entering a recipe contest with a variation on my "this is good shit!" cake. yes, I will invite certain individuals over for taste-testing.
perseids peak this sunday night! as of now, just partly cloudy skies forecasted, keep your fingers crossed. it's a new moon that night, and that is a huge improvement over last year (or the last shower I tried to watch which was in the spring, I think).
interview tomorrow with the job I'm most excited about! I will be on the ball for that one, no kidding.
I'm looking forward to watching the shows we recorded from shark week. yeah, I know, but seriously there had better be a lot of shark teeth-in human flesh action or I will be disappointed.
started reading a sci-fi book, the first in a long time, recommended from a reading list. like the plot, and I've only read the first few chapters, but now I remember why I find it difficult to get into genre lit - the quality of the writing is lacking. it's not one of the legendary authors, so I wasn't expecting anything revelatory, but I was hoping for some finesse.
must read: in africa a thing is true at first light and a lie by noon... started it, but never finished, and a conversation saturday reminded me of the potential.
ciao!
7.30.2007
Bad girl
I ordered stamps from the post office last Monday. They arrived today. TODAY, one whole week later. And in a gigantic priority mail envelope. WTF? The postal worker came to our mailbox everyday except Sunday. That means they had five chances to bring me stamps from where they work, I don't get it! If someone knows more about this mystery, please tell me.
Not all bad news, Andy rearranged the furniture to how I suggested last year. It looks awesome! Our living room feels so much bigger, and the TV no longer dominates everything - I am happy.
And good good news: I got a call for a phone interview that will happen on Friday. I applied for this job over a week ago, and it's one I'm super excited about. But I'm not going to say anything more yet.
Ow, my wrists hurt. No more typing!
7.23.2007
Don't ask me about the job search anymore, plz. Seriously.
This afternoon I was really upset about my job situation. I've applied to at least 17 jobs since May 15 - maybe 20 - and I've only had interviews at two different places. At those two places, I had very positive feedback about my resume and interview, and was invited back for a second interview both times. One of my professional references also said my resume/cover letter was great.
SO WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!! Why can't I get a job? Over two months, almost 20 resumes, and only two bites? I am incredulous. And frustrated. And tired. Some days, I'm at my wits end. I keep repeating in my mind, "Tomorrow someone could call," and telling myself I'm doing everything I can by applying to a few new places a week, following leads from former coworkers and bosses. But those pep-talks only last so long - and my work week is 40 hours. Forty hours of monotony. Forty hours of soul-crushing monotony that also happens to be chipping away at my body, part by part.
Sometimes I hate this city so much. Move back to California, fuckers! All those tech douche-bags brought their significant others who have taken and are taking my jobs! AGH!
So anyway, how bout this weather? Right now it's raining and I'm outside on my balcony. Very soothing. Our pool is closed. I wonder if it is unclean.
7.09.2007
I'm in a dark period
You guys, it's really bad. For the last two months, I haven't been able to buy Good chocolate, only the cheap stuff. I had to begin repayment of my student loan in June. Made quite a dent in my grocery budget.
These are dark times...and it's all this guy's fault:
7.07.2007
Pwetty Pwetty Pwinceth
Friedrich hadn't been to the vet since last January (as in '06). He's a healthy, indoor dog, so that's no big deal. Howevah, I stopped buying him his heartworm/flea/tick medication last fall. I know, bad mom. It was so expensive at our vet, and to buy it anywhere else for cheaper, you must have a prescription from the vet. And for about a year, things have been just great!
But last week, we found a few flea bites on his tummy, and I woke up with a flea bite on my foot. Fleas love me, so I knew it couldn't be too big of a problem, or I'd have red welts all over me. So Pandy-Bear, the sweetheart he is, took Mr. F into a new vet for an appointment yesterday. He does have a few fleas, but he is parasite and heartworm free. So we gave him a fifteen minute bath today, and he'll start his meds next week!
The funniest thing is that Pandy-Bear said the women at the front desk thought Friedrich was a girl! They said he looked very feminine. Awww, how adorable - I luvs my little dandy!
6.28.2007
Spring Awakening!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my god, you guys, I am so in love with this musical! The soundtrack, at least. I listened to it twice today at work, and the day before that, and before that. I am ready to hop on a plane to New York and go see it! Who's with me?
It's based on a play written in 1891 about German teens discovering sex and their bodies. It's got teen pregnancy, masturbation songs, gay lovin', and sadly, icest, abortion, and suicide. The music is written by Duncan Sheik. Remember him? He did that song Barely Breathing, back in the day. Here's some videos from the website (www.springawakening.com). It won 8 Tony awards, including Best Musical! Yeah!
What it's about and interview with Duncan Sheik!
Bitch of Living Music video
6.12.2007
BUg(s) in the Rice
Last night I made some brown rice. It's been in the pantry for a while, but not more than 2 or 3 months. There were a few cobwebs in the bag. Little teeny strings - I wouldn't have noticed except some rice was hanging from it. I made the rice anyway. It would cook any bug that was in there, and from the looks of it, the bugs would be really small (I didn't see any).
So the rice was done and some cooked bug was laying on top. It was brown and about a centimeter long. Looked kinda like a shrimp. Took it out and ate the rice with stir fry. Yummy!
6.11.2007
By the time I'm 70
Someday I hope to be able to play songs I've heard a few times on the piano. I just think that would be so much fun. Nothing perfect, but to be able to pick out the melody, add some chords. At least enough to sing along with.
I was thinking this earlier today while listening to my iPod at work. How long it would take to develop this skill, I have no idea. Several years, at least. Lots of practice, continued practice, not skipping a few months here and there.
What else would I like to do? It would be nice to know another language inside and out. I want to dream in French, tell jokes in Cantonese! I'd like to have a book published, and I'd like to have a screenplay turned into a film shown at multiple theaters (not just at festivals). I'd like to have art hanging in a museum. I want to live in a few somewhere elses for a year or two at a time, but always have a home to return to. There's probably more for the list, but those are the big things. For the moment, anyway.
6.03.2007
Year in Review
So it's not officially mid-year yet, but ohs well, I gonna do this anyway.
January: I don't remember...Oh! I got a shitload of extra days off from work due to the death of former Pres Gerald Ford and bad weather. Was very nice, and I had a really fun time walking in freezing rain around the neighborhood. No one was out, and I almost fell right when I passed the only other person out. Very funny.
February: I started really walking a lot, think I was going about every day. Had fun in my thesis class. Work started getting boring. Desperation sneaking in...
March: Decided at last minute to apply for grad school. Still walking, but some major issues towards the end of the month with my legs. Health problems, minor and confusing. Frantically trying to work the last numbers for thesis. Beautiful spring, those peach tree blooms smelled more amazing to me than anything else has pretty much ever smelled.
April: Crashed and burned. Major health problems, confused, confused, confused! Didn't talk to friends for a few weeks. Sat this one out. Couldn't walk or turn pages. Fam came over for birthday, brought yummy food and cake. Waitlisted for grad school. Got better towards the end.
May: Just making up for lost time. Didn't finish thesis, didn't do presentation, finally a social life again. No more sick time left! Started walking again mid-month. Mucho improvement health-wise, but still a ways to go. So mysterious, this illness. Back to thesis with my bud.
June: So far, can't complain. Thanks for the snacks, guys!
5.21.2007
Definition of Miss L
Miss L -- [adjective]: Similar to butter in texture and appearance 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com |
5.17.2007
Good book
Moth Smoke, by Moshin Hamid.
A good book! I didn't love it starting out, but it turned out to be a pretty amazing read. The main character is on trial for murder, and we follow him on his downward spiral from a month or two before the trial. He loses his job, has an affair with his best friend's wife, starts selling drugs. It takes place in Pakistan among the educated and status obsessed in the city of Lahore. His account is mixed with chapters from the perspective of the other main characters of the story.
The writing is at times beautiful and inspiring. The main character is an anti-hero figure, but intelligent and easy to identify with. Hamid doesn't get all Chuck P on the reader. What I mean is even when the situation is bleak, the writing elevates it above typical angsty, "we're screwed in modern society" verbage. The heart of the story is much more about an individual in a specific time and place, not simply a person as a victim of a culture with misplaced values (although that is an aspect).
I definitely recommend!
5.14.2007
Your help is needed...
What should I listen to? I get to listen to my iPod at work, so I'd love suggestions of musicians, books on tape, podcasts, etc.
Thanks in advance for your help!
C. Y. A.
One day several years ago, at some relative's house, I was goofing around with my sister and cousins, and I knocked over a glass bowl or something like that from a coffee table. I don't remember if it broke. What I do remember is immediately exclaiming, "Sarah!" as if she had been the one to knock over the bowl. I was a teenager. I was reflexively covering my ass.
I tell this story to illustrate that I do understand how sometimes it just happens. We go on the defensive. We haven't been accused of anything, but know it's coming. Or maybe we just go around with a chip on our shoulder, or we are guilty (of something similar?) and are rightfully defensive. So I understand. I do it too.
I am so sick of hearing it at work! All day long, it's "Well, Someone did this first," or "But Someone told me," or "I was told by Someone that Someone blah blah". No one is willing to just say, "Okay." There's always a big explanation, a shifting of blame, or some mysterious Someone involved that will never be named. Do they fuck up that often? Do my coworkers feel that threatened? Am I just so new that I have yet to feel the boot of management up my ass? Maybe after working there for 10 years, they take simple questions as criticism. The work has become personal. Or maybe they are just like me, reflexively covering their ass. I don't know. I just wanted to bitch.
5.10.2007
Dearest Brandon,
Where the fuck are you? You were supposed to be here yesterday ... Oh, well. I guess I can forgive you once you get here. I'm sorry for being upset, it's just we have so little time left. I'm graduating college (again), you're still in junior year at West Beverly - seriously, we live in two different worlds. These last few days we have are precious. Like your face.
Here are some tips for the future: Kelly will break your heart. So will Emily and Susan - pretty much every woman you will ever meet in L.A. Steve is a loser, he'll get you into trouble again and again. You should follow your sister to Europe, because other than Donna getting a stalker, life in Beverly Hills will continue to get lamer and lamer with each passing season. Stay away from racing cars. Don't grow a beard, facial hair makes you look like a pussy. Speaking of, Dylan will return to claim everything you've worked for.
But before all that, we have a few days left.
Ciao,
Miss L
4.25.2007
Q & A with Miss L
Q: Miss L, does Central Mark-up have a ton of chocolate?
A: Excellent question. The chocolate at Central Mark-up is found in four main locations throughout the store: the bins, the baking aisle, the chocolate island, and the temptation lane on the way to the express lane check-out. I will only include these four locations in the analysis as the chocolate that is found in other locations in the store, i.e. seasonal items such as valentines chocolates or easter bunnies, fluctuates and are not present year round.
Let's start with the bins. By my estimation, about one inch of bin chocolate is equal to one pound. The bins are about three feet high. That's 36 pounds of chocolate per bin, about ten bins, that's 360 pounds of chocolate in the bin area. The baking aisle holds considerably less chocolate. Mostly in the form of cocoa powders and chips, I guess the chocolate here most often is available in 10 oz. bags or tins. Probably about 125 of these items. That comes to about 78 pounds of baking aisle chocolate.
Moving on the chocolate island. This is more of the premium chocolate in the form of bars, but also bin chocolate in pre-weighed (and priced) containers. The area is a large display table with the chocolate stacked in attractive baskets. The standard bar is about 10 oz., and the overall area available is similar to the amount of space in the baking aisle. However, because of the shape of this chocolate, rectangles and squares, I would guess there is more chocolate on chocolate island than on the baking aisle. I'm putting this at 100 pounds.
Temptation lane is the wild card of Central Mark-up's "ton" of chocolate. Part of this is due to the configuration of temptation lane: flush against the wall, temptation lane features chocolates (and other goodies) in to-go sizes ranging in size and priced from $2.50 to $9.00 (or so). Here you find the standard 3 oz chocolate bar. Nuts, fruit, spice, marzipan - lots of fillings here. Keep in mind this will be subtracted from the total chocolate weight. The side of the lane against the wall is over six feet high, while the other side is about four feet. Both are approximately a foot deep. Three ounces, two dozen bars a box, at least two boxes of each variety, 100 varieties, that's 7,200 ounces. That's about 450 pounds. Don't forget, we've got to subtract the nuts! Let's cut our losses and round it out to 380 pounds of chocolate on temptation lane.
In total: 360 + 78 + 100 + 380 = 918 pounds of chocolate. But wait! What about the stock in the back of the store? Well, Central Mark-up isn't going to keep that much again in the back, it just doesn't make sense, they don't move the merch that fast. Let's be generous, and say they keep 2/3 of the amount on the floor in the back. Two thirds is about 612, so that comes to 1,530 pounds.
So the answer is No. Central Mark-up does not have a ton of chocolate.
Q: Miss L, how many Topo Chicos would you have to drink to reach the RDA of sodium?
A: Assuming I was on a 2,000 calorie diet, I would have to drink 100 11.5 fl oz bottles of Topo Chico to reach 100% of the RDA of sodium. Incidentally, I would reach the RDA of calcium at 50 bottles.
4.08.2007
3.26.2007
For Twinkle Toes
You asked what is shaking. Here it goes:
Up at 6 AM. Work at 7. Very, very sore from practicing Wii baseball so oneday I will beat Pandy Bear. Listened to Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her), Kate Bush Aerial, Tori Boys, PJ, pet shop boys, Transformers soundtrack, and assorted podcasts. Spinach salad with tomotoes, salmon, cucumber and dressing for lunch. Scanned and cleaned scanner. More soreness, black ink on nails (which are longer than ever because I am too lazy to cut them. Good thing my toe nails don't grow so fast!)
Deposited check from Pandy Bear (for services rendered), got change to do laundry.
Thought about grad school, job, my This is Good Shit! Chocolate Cake that I will be making for this weekend (for future reference: do not buy chocolate for a cake a week in advance because I will consume most of it), and should I wait for it to stop raining before I take Friedrich out?
Read article from New York Times Magazine about adaptationist and byproduct views of evolution of belief in God (just in time for conversation mom and I had last week. Mom: So why do people believe in God and religion? Me: Um, well, if it has a biological basis, which I believe it does, it is somehow tied to evolution and principles of natural selection. It has to be beneficial or be linked to something beneficial... Mom: Like what? Me: I don't know. Mom continues asking questions with no answers, I continue saying more or less the same thing over and over). I like this Atran guy. Dawkins strikes me as unnecessarily defensive, explosive. Can't we all just get along?
Read other thesis students' two page summaries of thesis. Alton Brown is making things in parchment pouches. I wish Pandy Bear ate fish.
Will I ever be able to enjoy a glass of wine or good martini with little physical problem again? Annual salary: 21, 264. Wtf? It seemed like so much when I wasn't working. I would love to have another bunny, but evidentally, male rabbits are prone to fight with each other, and they molest female rabbits constantly. Dell wireless is fraught with problems.
Coconut sorbet is yummy. Antony and the Johnsons is waiting for me at the library. Library instead of Netflix? I could save about $13 a month. I haven't read a novel since January. I love this neighborhood. I want lots of fruit trees! I prefer rain to cloudy sky.
I tried to include pictures, but for some reason uploading one small photo of Mr. F was taking over 10 minutes, so you'll have to be patient.
PS Kelly broke down when the guy tried to rape her at the dealer's where she was buying coke. Brandon *sigh* rescued her, and she's in rehab now. I know you all were wondering.
3.11.2007
Recent Zoo Trip
I went to the San Antonio Zoo with my mom a few weekends ago. Just a random trip. Here are some photos:
A crane.
A pair of lories.
A rhino.
A warthog.
A silly rabbit.
A silly puppy.
Thesis Update
I know you all are dying to know what's going on with my thesis.
I finished stage one of the computer analysis. Now I'm collecting the rest of the data needed for stage two. I have about 10 or so pages written - intro draft, methods draft. I'm not going to address even half the questions I originally started with, not even hint at primate brain evolution (my main academic interest) because I have run out of time! Not to mention, to do a decent job, I'd probably need to write a two-hundred page book, not a 40 page undergraduate thesis. I am confident I'll finish on time.
I'm very glad I decided to write this thing. It's given me a whole new perspective on research, scientific query, and the power of my own brain. If I decide to continue in academic research, as a career, I feel as though I'm laying the foundation for some great research opportunities later on in my life. I am finishing up an application to a local university for an MA Anthropology degree. We'll see what happens!
2.22.2007
Sicky-pooh
So it finally happened. I slept like crap Monday night (poor Pandy Bear was coughing all night) and the next day I felt pretty scary. Dizzy, sore throat, etc. But I went to work anyway. So dizzy and feverish all Tuesday, but I stupidly stayed at work. Luckily, not many people were there, so I don't think I infected anyone. Yesterday I went to the doctor, stayed home from work, and bought me some pseudoephedrines from the pharmacy. (now they know when I bought the stuff so when my meth lab blows up they can connect the dots). It hasn't been terrible, my fever only got to about 100 (normal on a thermometer for me is usually 97.8 - I have trouble getting it to 98.6), and I feel a lot better today. But so tired!
All season, I've been secretly congratulating myself on avoiding the usual sinus infection/cold-virus/strep throat crap that is the norm this time of year. In late January, when the shit hit the fan and coworkers started dropping like flies from colds and whatnot, I started being extra diligent about washing my hands, taking my probiotics and emergen-c. Then Pandy Bear got really sick on Valentine's Day. I hit the Wellness drops hard, continuously drank water, and pumped him and me full of oscillo. homeopathic flu remedy. I felt fine. And so proud. Pandy Bear started recovering, too, and by Friday was back at work (against my advice).
Then he went out Saturday and had several beers. Up late. Same story Sunday night. By Monday, he was sneezing out what looked like moldy pizza (his description) and the doctor diagnosed him with a sinus-infection and bronchitis. It was just too much for me. Now the two of us have spent this week moaning and lying around. Mr. F has sensed our pain and been extra cuddly. I just hope we get this out of our systems by next week! And next flu/cold season, Pandy Bear is getting the full preventive treatment so we might both get away with no colds!
2.11.2007
Just Watched...Beverly Hills 90210, Pilot Episode
Brenda - must. get. braces!
Kelly - slut.
Steve - dense.
David - gross.
Donna - virgin. :P
Andrea - nice girl.
Dylan - pussy. (as in, he is one)
Brandon - dreamy. *sigh*
What makes nagging nagging?
I pondered this question as I stared at the melted cheese cemented onto the kitchen plate. A-hole had neglected, yet again, to rinse his dish off completely before leaving it in the sink. He also left out the ridiculous stove-top popcorn popper with burned popcorn and oil all in the bottom. These things are not big deals in and of themselves, but anyone who has roomed with other individuals knows that mostly it's the little things that tend to build up, one on top another, until it's just too much.
Here's my dilemma: I hate the word nag. I loathe it. It makes me feel sick to my stomach. Why? Because I feel it is used unfairly. Really, what's wrong with asking or telling someone to do something when it's their job, something they've committed to, something they've promised to do? So, How is nag used unfairly? you ask. Because a man is never accused of nagging. My mother never said to my father, "Quit nagging." Those ridiculous caricatures of humans on sitcoms never accuse the dad or husband of nagging. I think part of the reason is that women often ask. "Will you blah blah blah?" "Can you blah blah blah?" It automatically places them below their men. Well, no more asking! I am demanding, I am commanding that these things be done.
So this is what I said: "I'm gonna rip off your balls and shove them down your throat next time you don't rinse off your plate." Then I asked A-hole if it sounded like I was nagging. "No, threatening," said he. Yes, mission accomplished! Now I'm not a whiny, pathetic female but a violent, vindictive bitch.
PS Most of this is tongue in cheek. I love my Pandy Bear! I get very lazy with dishes sometimes, not to mention cleaning the tub, etc. But I am concerned about being labeled a nag. Hate that word!
Sheesh! Alright already
Here are some updates:
Still writing my thesis. Working on the methods section or Why I Choose To Base The Hominoid Molecular Tree On This Study Over That One.
I have four books out from Austin Public Library: black swan green by David Mitchell; new moon by Stephanie Meyer; The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger; and Adventures in the Bone Trade by John Kalb. I've read David Mitchell's other novels and loved them in this order: Cloud Atlas, Ghostwritten, Number9Dream. I read the book before new moon, twilight, last month for the bitches' book club - it's a fast, enjoyable teen-vampire-romance novel and not my usual read. Their selection for February is Time Traveler's Wife, which I've heard a lot of good things about, but again, not my usual read. The last is by a geologist/physical anthropologist who lives in Austin, TX. It's about fossil hunting in East Africa and the crazy shit that goes on when you're living in a foreign country during war digging in the ground in 120 degree heat. Or something like that - it's due back in four days and I've got a few hundred pages left.
Stuart bit me a few weeks ago. Bad bunny! I felt so unloved. He must be disgusted by me.
I've been cooking several meals a week. Not just grilled fake cheese and tomato soup, but real meals that take one to two hours until they are finished. So worth it! One draw back: restaurant food is not as good anymore. Not that I'm Julia Child or anything, but I can make it taste how I want and the food is very fresh. No heat lamps here.
I measured the distance that I've been walking with Friedrich around our neighborhood. Two miles! Yippee! That's awesome. It takes us a little over 30 minutes, and I was worried that we were only walking a mile or so. But two miles is pretty awesome - I should wear my pedometer and see how many steps I'm taking. 10,000 steps a day for optimum health! I read something that said Amish men get around 17,000 - 25,000 steps a day which is amazing. The researchers thought this might explain the Amish's low amount of obesity despite a diet high in refined flours, sugar, and meats.
I hope that is good for now. I'll try and think of other things to post later.
1.29.2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)