February 28, 2006

This is totally gross....

Having a cold and sinus headache at the same time is messing with my equilibrium. My head is pounding (albeit softly), my nose is congested and I ache. I just went into the bathroom to blow my nose, to relieve some of the pressure. I blew and blew and BLEW. I think I gathered about 2 tablespoons of mucus. I know it's gross, but I felt compelled to write about it. Normally I wouldn't disucss such functions. But I have to say, that doing that relieved some of the pressure. But I can already feel it growing again. Sigh. I have taken meds, but they don't seem to help. I need some stronger drugs. Something to dry me up.

February 27, 2006

Snow - glorious snow!


It snowed. Everything is nice and white again. I could do without the wind chill factor, but it's nice to drive about and see the lovely snow.

Saturday - Went to WW and lost 1.7lbs. yippee!! I don't know if it's the bowling or the dark chocolate, or working so much I am eating less. I am sure it's a nice combo. The cold that I have helps out too. After WW I did some napping then went to Company X for a couple of hours. Then it was off to the gstore. Nothing exciting happened at the gstore. In fact, it was kinda quiet towards the end of the evening, which was fine with me. I finished watching "Adam's Rib", a great George Cukor film starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Great dialog, witty banter, good cast, good directing. I really liked it.

Sunday - At church, there was a really great college choir that sang a few old spirituals. They were so good! I miss hearing live music. I think this summer, I will get more into going to hear things. I wish I had gone to the Mozart festival last year. One of the kids at the gstore is going to Austria with his German class this summer. I am so envious! After church, I was feeling really icky with the cold, so I napped instead of going to Company X. I worked at the gstore until 11pm. I managed to finish watching a really interesting documentary called "Murderball" before I went to bed. It's about a team of paraOlympic athletes who play quadrugby. It was really a great movie. Very inspiring. Not a woe-is-me kind of film. Really fascinating people.

February 24, 2006

Client Flintstone just may be the death of me...

It's too early for me to really say that, but after a 89 minute call today and an hour-58 minute-29 second call Wednesday, it might just happen. Though we covered some good ground, there is a degree of "You will do this because I said so." in the converstation. Not from my people, from Client Flintstone. It grates on my nerves. Then in the same breath, they-who-have-not-a-clue say, "You are the experts. Whatever you think is best." I am exhausted and I have about 8 more weeks!

My client has been having trouble picking a design. First we tried something completely different than what they have. This went through a few iterations. Then we gave them almost exactly what they have. Didn't like that either. Went with the version before (with changes, of course.) I tried to get them to just pick one damn design and run with it. After talking about the changes on the one version, I said,"It's like shoe shopping. You don't know how it will fit until you try it on." What I really wanted to say was," It's like shoe shopping. You either buy flats, 1" heels, 2"heels, 3"heels or screw-me pumps. You want screw-me pumps AND flats. You can't have both." We offered them screw-me pumps. They'd get all kinds of desireable action. But nope. They are more comfortable in flats. Lame.

In becoming a good co-dependent martyr, one needs to dedicate as much time to the project as possible. Not that it is necessarily needed. Between my martyr complex, control issues and my ADD, if I work long hours 7 days a week, I just may get this baby birthed within a reasonable amount of time.

Sometimes, Harrison Ford and his movies suck...

Last night started out well. I went with one of my co-workers to Asian Bistro, a yummy eatery in Williston (about 10 minutes from Burlington.) We then met up with Carrie to see Firewall, the latest Harrison Ford motion picture. Not so good. Typical story of average-rich-dude with "lovely family" held hostage so he can do THE THING for the bad guys (leader-with-accent) who then, after he does THE THING, renig on letting "lovely family" go (now in peril) so average-rich-dude must use his average-rich-wits to stump and get rid of said bad guys and save "lovely family". Directed by Richard Loncraine ("Wimbledon", "Richard III"), it could have been a good movie. I enjoyed those movies. Okay, there were a couple of nice twists in the story, but for the most part, it stank. The only really good things about the movie were Paul Bettany (the aforementioned leader-with-accent) and newcomer Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (who looks a bit like Sean Bean). Normally, I would have included HF in that list of oh-so-attractive men, but he seemed to yawn his way through some of the film. I heard he did most of his stunts, which I guess is pretty good for a 63 year old. But not enough to make me say "Wow, Harrison. I forgive you for dating a woman who is not only younger than ME, but is in the body of Calista Flockhart." Nope. Not enough.

I heard him say recently on a show that they were in pre-production for Indiana Jones IV. It's been almost 20 years since the last one. Can you believe that? There are people I work with who never had the joy of seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen. That is sad. I certainly hope that George Lucas won't be the main writer on this one. Otherwise, it may suck.

February 23, 2006

Bowling fun, Applebees and Client Flinstone

Let me start at the end and work my way backwards....

Bowling was really fun. We lost, but had a great time.

Went to Applebees with Cindy before bowling. I have to say the WW menu they advertise is really small. Had the shrimp and steak skewers, which were pretty good. But also had an appetizer and split a dessert. Yum. I am sure I gained the 5lbs I lost last week.

Having a cold sucks.

Talked with Client Flintstone for 1 hr, 57 minutes, 28 seconds. The chick I deal with is all over the place. And I thought I was bad about doing that. It was really frustrating. The good thing is the longer she delays the longer her project is delayed. Well, that may not be good for Company X in terms of revenue. Of course I will try to still meet our original deadline. I am dedicating most of my weekday to it and some of my weekend time (between that and the Gstore, I will be one busy girl.) I could have stayed for another 3-4 hours last night. Thank heaven for bowling! I did miss my OA meeting, but will make it next week.

February 21, 2006

Grizzly Man - creepy, fascinating people and what's this - SNOW?


A few weeks ago, my friend Alex blogged about watching "Grizzly Man", a documentary by film director, Werner Herzog with footage shot by Timothy Treadwell, the unfortuneate soul who died at the hands of the bears he loved so much. Sometime before the film came out, I had read a Reader's Digest short story about Treadwell. I remember reading it thinking it would be interesting to see all of the video he shot. Little did I realize just how interesting it was. Some of the photography is really terrific. It's amazing to me how the foxes befriended him almost like a dog would - following him around, sitting by his feet or in the camp (which seemed near their fox hole anyhow.) Treadwell was a little creepy and kooky. In some of his video diaries he would talk to the animals like some people talk to their pets or children. Though many times these large creatures never glanced his way. Even Herzog comments on Treadwell's strange behavior. Treadwell knew what he was getting into by invading (or protecting, as his organization

February 20, 2006

Busy week, eh? And da shit goes down at da stower...

Last week was extremely busy. Here's a rundown....

  • Valentine's Day - I got an e-card from my swell friend (thanks Stephanie!) I already talked about work. But sadly I didn't even get a card from my family. I know they love me and don't need a card once a year to remind me, but I thought I would get something in the snail mail! Sheesh! Whatever.
  • Wednesday - I ended up chatting with a co-worker and missed my OA meeting. However, I did manage to book my suite for my Oscar party. That should be a blast. Bowling was great. We kicked the Boyz asses. We had a sub (Brian) who did very well considering he had no handicap. I found that I need to work up to the ball I own, so as to not strain my back. It was really fun.
  • Thurs-Fri - a complete blur. I worked long hours on Client Flintstone. It was hard because there is so much to do. Not hard to do, just 46ish times over. Whew.
  • Sat - Lost 5lbs at WW. Yippee. I worked 1-7 at the gstore, then hung out at home. Exciting.
  • Sun - Went to church. Went to Costco with Asian Girl. I scoped out things for my Oscar party. I need to remember to be more moderate, though that isn't really a concept. I think if I was super rich, I wouldn't go tacky glam like Liberace, but I would be broke from spending in a short amount of time. Though lots of my spending would be for my friends, being the generous person I am. I napped and worked 5-11. The usual crazies there. There was some big action though. A guy tried to steal DVDs. Was busted with his girlfriend/wife by the cops when he tried to run and went across the street to our competitor. Turns out she stuffed/stole stuff under her shirt pretending she was preggers AND the car they were driving was stolen. BIG ACTION in Burlington. Who needs COPS, when it all goes down in Burlington? Wow. There were about 6 cop cars between our parking lot and the competitor. HUGE! AMAZING!

A funny true life story from my friend Anne....

She's a physics teacher for high school. Recently, they had a competition at the university for building bridges out of Leggos. One of her students had constructed a bridge with foam that, when dried, would (I think) push or support the bridge. I am sure it was brilliant. So the student gets to the event and discovers his foam isn't dry. Another student has the brilliant suggestion to dry it. Another kid offers his lighter as a drying method. The fumes from the heated foam cause the whole bridge model to light on fire. Another kid, who is with one of the nearby town's local volunteer fire department thinks of saving the day by getting the fire extiguisher and pulls the fire alarm. Three fire engines and an ambulance arrive. Luckily nobody was hurt, but what a mess! Writing it isn't nearly as funny as when Anne told it. I had tears pouring out, it was so hilarious pictuing these high schoolers trying to solve their problem, only to make it bigger and messier. The kid who offered his lighter felt horrible and wrote letters not only to his school, the university but to the fire department too. That is so touching. When Anne told the principal of her school about it he had a hard time trying not to laugh. Such a funny story.

February 14, 2006

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO YOU!!!

Does it matter whether or not you have "that special someone" on Valentine's Day? I don't think so. I have had friends who have clung onto boyfriends just so they have somebody to be with on this day. I think that's sad. More sad than the one who doesn't have a Valentine's Day sweetheart. I also think it's a highly overrated day. Maybe that's just me being a little bitter that I don't have a Valentine today. But I remember as a kid, the pressure to have a card for every kid in the class so nobody would feel left out. It was important to me to make sure everybody had a card. Even the kids who were smelly and dirty. Even the classroom bully. (That one was hard to cough up.) As an adult, I still have that slightly co-dependent-people-pleasing compassionate side.

We had a Secret Valentine's Day gift exchange today. I got a really delicious box of Select Origin Lake Champlain chocolates. (All varieties of dark chocolate.) I have no idea who it was from. I gave my person a big, ugly handmade card out of posterboard with a nice, tacky bear-in-tutu snowglobe and Hershey kisses. Of course, everybody in the office figured out that was from me. So much for being subtle.

Here's a good link from Stephanie A. on Valentine's Day. Check it out!!

February 13, 2006

It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry...

Tiffany posted a really great clip on her site. You must check it out!

Things I am grateful for... Things I wish for...

In my PMS-winter-is-upon-us state, I thought I should take a moment to be grateful. I have lots to be thankful for and I need to mention a few of them. Following that is a list of things that I wish for. Some of them I can do something about, some I can't. It's just where my mood is at the moment.

Grateful and Thankful
  • Good health (I may be overweight, but don't have any issues to speak of. I have friends who battle cancer, Lupus, diabetes and other illnesses.)
  • Good teeth (and thankful for teenage braces)
  • Great friends (too many to mention, but they are patient with me, laugh with me, cry with me, celebrate with me, movieate with me, discuss with me, etc.)
  • Great family (we are a crazy bunch, but get along pretty well and actually like each other, help each other, care about each other.)
  • Place to live
  • Cats to play with
  • Jobs to go to
  • Food to eat
  • Clothes to wear
  • Spiritual beliefs
  • Freedom to choose
  • Freedom to disagree with my government, parents, friends, church
  • Freedom to drive when and where I want

I would go on, but I think that's good for now.

Wishes

  • For more gratitude
  • For less materialism
  • For less weight
  • For a boyfriend/husband
  • For less PMS
  • For financial freedom
  • For my back to stop hurting
  • For my pregant friends' safe baby deliveries
  • For my parents' health to improve
  • For my brother to find somebody for his life
  • To sell a screenplay/book
  • To live by the beach in a sunshiney place
  • For winter to end
  • To not be so whiney
  • To be kinder to those I dislike
  • To help people more

February 10, 2006

To Stephanie and Alex

I feel that I really need to be honest here. I was pissed at myself and PMSing (the latter is still happening) when I blogged about stopping my writing because I am not capable of writing (or whatever I was ranting about.) The reality is I was having a juvenile jealous moment over my friends' writings. They are great writers. Though I don't think I am a great writer (yet) I know I have moments of good and interesting writing. (For heaven's sake - I blogged when my back went out! Damn I am a WONDER!)

I am sorry and I appologize to you.

Today is better, but I still am thankful for Vicodin

Yesterday went like this:

  • Take two Extra Strength Tylenol
  • Sit in lazyboy chair 30 mins.
  • Walk around 10
  • Take 1/2 Vicodin
  • Try to sleep on bed 5 mins
  • Sleep/sit on couch 20-90 mins
  • Walk around 10-30
  • Do dishes (10 mins)
  • Bake chicken, clean. Just do something other than sit! But beware the pain!
  • Walk around 10
  • Try to sleep on bed 5 mins
  • Sleep/sit on couch 20-90 mins
  • Walk around 10-30
  • Do dishes (10 mins)
  • Walk around 10-30
  • Repeat all previous steps except the chicken baking and dishes.

I finally went to bed around 11pm, after taking another half of Vicodin. I only took 1.5 Vicodin total, but was really grateful I had them. That saved me a trip to the Emergency Room, which I almost did. I haven't felt that kind of pain since I had kidney stones (which is why I had the Vicodin in the first place.) I do try to hold off on taking pain medication for as long as I can, but when the pain makes me cry, it's time to take the pain away.

Today, I took two extra strength Tylenol, and so far, it only hurts when I take a deep breath in or out. MUCH better than yesterday.

February 09, 2006

Thank heaven for Vicodin

I threw out my back bowling last night. I am only writing this because I can't sleep because of the pain. Been up for about two hours. I reached into the depths of my meds and found what's left of my old Vicodin from my kidney stones. I took 1/2 of one about 10 minutes ago. That was after I took two extra strength Tylenol and tried Ben Gay. It hurts to take deep breaths on my right side (the bowling side). My whole back goes into spasms. It hurts to sit, laydown, stand. Thank God (and modern medicine) for Vicodin. It has numbed the pain a little. I can at least sit without a spasm. Still spasms when I take a deep breath. If it's not better in a couple of hours, I may go to the Urgent Care Center.

Time also for a new bed. Mine sucks.

February 08, 2006

I know I said I wouldn't blog...

Last night I was watching Nightline. They were interviewing Myrlie Evers Williams, widow of slain civil rights activist, Medgar Evers. She was speaking about her close friendship with Coretta Scott King. It was really interesting and sad. Watching her, I thought about her son, Darryl, who I worked with at Warner Bros. He looked so much like his mother. Darryl was a really great guy. Artist, kind, intelligent, patient who loved to laugh and had a really warm smile. One of those people that you just want to be around because they are so cool and nice. Darryl passed away a few years ago from colon cancer. Though Myrlie didn't go into that too much, she did mention it. It made me sad. Darryl was a great guy. And Myrlie is an incredible woman, much like her dear friend, Coretta Scott King.

February 07, 2006

Bad mood and my blog sucks

OMIGAWD.

I have been reading a few of my friends' blogs and feel like my blog is pretty dumb. I am so catty, chatty, self-absorbed, pathetic (gee, Mrs. Han Solo. Are you just slightly depressed? Now if you are really saying "We know that you are catty, chatty and self-absorbed. Tell us something we don't know!" - That isn't going to help my mood.)

A samling of great blogs of my friends:

Stephanie

Alex

I love their blogs! Very inspiring to me. Both of them are really good writers. They have so many interesting things to say. When I get over myself, I will have to write about them. But for now, I think my blog is crap. I need a break from blogging. Nobody is making me blog, I know.

Harry Potter - in Ohio

My friend Helen's husband is a big Harry Potter fan. Their kids (Joe - 6, Patrick 5, Mikey 3) are funny, smart and very creative. Here's something that I found very amusing from an email she sent. I thought I should share. I found it hilarious, especially the part about the dementor....

"The boys - all three - are at the very moment in the midst of viewing the prisoner of Azkaban. Mikey is very fond of screaming his own version of "expecto patronum" and is currently running around the family room with a baby blanket as a hooded robe. Joe and Paddy are referring to him as a dementor and are, of course, staying away from him. Patrick, unfortunately, has picked up the very bad habbit of saying "bloody hell". We are trying to nip that one in the bud."

February 06, 2006

Gstore - It's all so exciting

So I worked at the gstore Thursday - Sunday. It was an interesting weekend.

1. I have been realizing how do you say... ignorant? many people can be with racial tolerance. Example: At the gstore there was a woman checking out who was grumpy and had some problems with her payment (we all have days like that). She was a middle aged African American woman who's dialect sounded inner-city (NY perhaps.) I say "inner-city" as I have known people, heard people from similar areas who sounded like her. I understood her perfectly. After she left, my co-worker said something about,"Damn foreigners. If she would learn how to speak English, maybe she wouldn't have problems like that." Uh - she DID speak ENGLISH, and isn't any more a foreigner than I am. I have heard this kind of thing from several of my co-workers at the gstore. Is it lack of education? Is it the result of living in a state your whole life where the non-white minority is less than 4%? Perhaps. And I guess for some people, the only contact they have with non-whites are what they see on TV. That is sad. It is one of those things that makes me appreciate living in Los Angeles more. Though I did tell the co-worker that the woman was from the US, the response was "Well, you know what I mean." I would have continued the debate had it not been for customers. I feel sad that in today's world, there are so many people who are still so sheltered.

2. I cashed in my rewards points (a promo the gstore ran in January) and saved $50 off my bill! Very exciting indeed. I know that may not mean anything to most of you, but I had been wanting to do that for weeks. I bought some stuff for the animal shelter (which is our quarterly charity at Company X) and baby stuff for VeAnn/Michael.

3. Kid with mom says to mom while she's settling her bill (he's looking at me) "Mommy, that lady is really fat." Mom's response,"Don't say that to the lady." Huh? Okay, I know I'm fat. Those who know me, know I am fat. What about "That's not a nice thing to say," "Don't be rude," "Appologize to the lady," "I'm sorry my son said that," - Something. I said nothing as I was workking. But if he had said that about me if I was a customer, I think I would have hauled off on him AND the mom. I just think it was really rude. But the real rudeness is that the mom didn't really correct his attitude. Yes, I have issues. If it was one of my friends kids, I would have said something to the kid like,"Yeah. That happens sometimes." But with this kid (who I think said the same thing a few months back,) I wanted to say,"That's right. I AM fat. And you and your mom will get fat too if you eat any chips, candy, soda, etc. ANY OF THEM. EVER." (I am a little hostile, I know.)

4. Homeless/Poor old man steals gloves and is escorted out by Burlington PD. I had seen him in there the night before. I don't know any more details than that.

5. Regular shopper tries to take advantage of the coupons but is caught and ends up not buying ANYTHING. Says "I haveto tell my friend they can't do that. I'm buying this for my friend." (He's been caught several times before.)

6. The ONE person I didn't ask about the checkout weekly special calls me on it, so he got it for free. It's a razor, and other than him, I have only sold one. Not much of a deal this week.

See? It's an exciting time. With my new client, I have had to cut back on my hours at the gstore. So I will only be there on the weekends. I think it will be good to have my weeknights back.

February 01, 2006

Just like Fight Club

The problem with telling people at work that you have a blog is that when it comes to being really, really personal, you take the chance of them reading about it. Well duh, Mrs. Han Solo, you say to me. The thing is, if there is a guy in the job that I may have my eye on, I can't write about it without potentially all of my coworkers knowing about it. What a quandry.

Of course, I am saying "if" I have my eye on him... or them.... IF.