Some things I'm especially thankful for today:
Electricity
My job
Antidepressants
Colors
Silly cats
Funny dogs
Quiet
Cellpic Sunday: Moonraker
1 year ago
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Life before Facebook
Can you imagine life without the Internet? I can, but I wouldn't prefer it. No information at the touch of a finger? Intranets notwithstanding, life outside the network would become so much slower.
Hey, people might actually become more choosy about their friends and who they allow to contact them. Remember life before Facebook? Before cell phones? It was just fine.
Thinking about it, I realize we are all very spoiled, perhaps without meaning to be so. Even the least spoiled of us is still spoiled. What makes us so special that we think we deserve these wonderful devices and instant gratification? Without them, I imagine people with low frustration tolerance and those with Type A personalities would become much more tiresome. (Even if I weren't already one, I'd still choose to be an artistic Type B, thankyouverymuch.) Do you think that once someone has had access to the Internet, they can't go back?
I think most people should slow down anyway. We all run around so much, and why should we? Everyone, please remember those roses...they smell really, really good...
Hey, people might actually become more choosy about their friends and who they allow to contact them. Remember life before Facebook? Before cell phones? It was just fine.
Thinking about it, I realize we are all very spoiled, perhaps without meaning to be so. Even the least spoiled of us is still spoiled. What makes us so special that we think we deserve these wonderful devices and instant gratification? Without them, I imagine people with low frustration tolerance and those with Type A personalities would become much more tiresome. (Even if I weren't already one, I'd still choose to be an artistic Type B, thankyouverymuch.) Do you think that once someone has had access to the Internet, they can't go back?
I think most people should slow down anyway. We all run around so much, and why should we? Everyone, please remember those roses...they smell really, really good...
Gmail, schmemail
In light of my Gmail issues over the past few days (emails not syncing to the Evo/"disconnected" status) I got a smack in the face yesterday when I realized how much I depend on email. It's not necessarily a bad thing; just a surprise.
I ended up using a different email client (figured out myself. Thanks for nothing, Sprint!) after 40 minutes on the phone with a rep on Monday night and another 40 minutes with a technician in a store yesterday. After a little poking around, the rep told me they sure could fix the problem and reinstall the app to fix it... by resetting the phone. Their words, verbatim: "Oh man, that really sucks." Uhhh, you think?
I stared at them blankly for a moment. Whuh huh!? Resetting? You mean, a hard reset? Return it to its beginning state? Completely empty? Devoid of data? But... but... I finally have the phone perfect after six weeks of use. No! No!! Nooooo!!!
I tried to resign myself to the thought of redoing all my scenes and redownloading all my apps. But I became panicky and started to sweat. I snatched the phone back, tried to breathe, and told them I would be back on Thursday, after I took pictures of all the screens and plopped my data and pictures onto my laptop.
Once home, I geekily researched a little and added my account the through the Mail client to push my email that way. And it worked. The interface took a little getting used to, but it did the job. But right before that I also enabled WiFi... just for shits and giggles.
Aaanyway, this morning Gmail had healed itself! It updates and refreshes properly and syncs and does everything I need it to. Do you think the WiFi had something to do with it? I have since turned it off and Gmail still works. So wtf was that all about, Google? Please, please don't do that again!
I ended up using a different email client (figured out myself. Thanks for nothing, Sprint!) after 40 minutes on the phone with a rep on Monday night and another 40 minutes with a technician in a store yesterday. After a little poking around, the rep told me they sure could fix the problem and reinstall the app to fix it... by resetting the phone. Their words, verbatim: "Oh man, that really sucks." Uhhh, you think?
I stared at them blankly for a moment. Whuh huh!? Resetting? You mean, a hard reset? Return it to its beginning state? Completely empty? Devoid of data? But... but... I finally have the phone perfect after six weeks of use. No! No!! Nooooo!!!
I tried to resign myself to the thought of redoing all my scenes and redownloading all my apps. But I became panicky and started to sweat. I snatched the phone back, tried to breathe, and told them I would be back on Thursday, after I took pictures of all the screens and plopped my data and pictures onto my laptop.
Once home, I geekily researched a little and added my account the through the Mail client to push my email that way. And it worked. The interface took a little getting used to, but it did the job. But right before that I also enabled WiFi... just for shits and giggles.
Aaanyway, this morning Gmail had healed itself! It updates and refreshes properly and syncs and does everything I need it to. Do you think the WiFi had something to do with it? I have since turned it off and Gmail still works. So wtf was that all about, Google? Please, please don't do that again!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Smart Balance now less smart
I was so sad this morning when I opened a jar of my beloved richly roasted Smart Balance peanut butter to lick the protective foil and taste... sweetness? Sugar?
That's right, Smart Balance has added evaporated cane juice to their pb. What was wrong with the old recipe? I liked the deep, dark real peanut taste. This concoction tastes more like children's Jif. It's ok, but this is now too sweet to use in my other recipes -- my favorite cold Asian noodles, for one. No longer will I be able to enjoy that lovely lingering peanut taste after my pb toast. The spreadability factor has decreased as well.
Oh, Smart Balance! Why have you forsaken me??? I'm going to have to go back to Skippy...
That's right, Smart Balance has added evaporated cane juice to their pb. What was wrong with the old recipe? I liked the deep, dark real peanut taste. This concoction tastes more like children's Jif. It's ok, but this is now too sweet to use in my other recipes -- my favorite cold Asian noodles, for one. No longer will I be able to enjoy that lovely lingering peanut taste after my pb toast. The spreadability factor has decreased as well.
Oh, Smart Balance! Why have you forsaken me??? I'm going to have to go back to Skippy...
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Foam frisbees and cool pools
After shrugging off my body image, wiggling into my trusty black maillot, and tying my animal print pareo across my bust (I'm an animal. Grrrr), I joined the fam for pool fun.
I actually went into the pool today! Without a t-shirt! And it was great. For the first time in our lives, we were The Socially Unacceptable Family, shrieking and cavorting and splashing around with a foam frisbee. We had a blast. But after an hour the wind shifted and became slightly cooler, enough for us to grab our sun-warmed towels and get the heck out of there.
Too bad I can't join tomorrow for more. Darn office!
I actually went into the pool today! Without a t-shirt! And it was great. For the first time in our lives, we were The Socially Unacceptable Family, shrieking and cavorting and splashing around with a foam frisbee. We had a blast. But after an hour the wind shifted and became slightly cooler, enough for us to grab our sun-warmed towels and get the heck out of there.
Too bad I can't join tomorrow for more. Darn office!
Friday, July 16, 2010
What a great day
I took the day off from work today to have Niecey, Neph, and my parents over for lunch and fun. And we had a blast!
First, we played almost an hour of Beatles Rock Band. Then I made proper grilled cheese sandwiches, which they ate in their entirety, except for one small piece of crust apiece. Pudding for dessert.
After lunch, we played with building toys and beads, then my dad took the kids to the pool at their place while I helped my mom make a whole chicken in her pressure cooker. Dinner was that, plus brown rice, broccoli, and challah, all of which the kids devoured. Neph actually had three servings of broccoli!
Optile with Niece before bedtime and she kicked our butts. And we were not letting her win. Her new nickname is "Little Miss Strategy." Tomorrow, more fun will be had. Yay!
First, we played almost an hour of Beatles Rock Band. Then I made proper grilled cheese sandwiches, which they ate in their entirety, except for one small piece of crust apiece. Pudding for dessert.
After lunch, we played with building toys and beads, then my dad took the kids to the pool at their place while I helped my mom make a whole chicken in her pressure cooker. Dinner was that, plus brown rice, broccoli, and challah, all of which the kids devoured. Neph actually had three servings of broccoli!
Optile with Niece before bedtime and she kicked our butts. And we were not letting her win. Her new nickname is "Little Miss Strategy." Tomorrow, more fun will be had. Yay!
Mmm. Cake. Good!
Quote of the day goes to four-year-old Neph, regarding made-from-scratch-by-Grandma-and-his-big-sister carrot banana cake with double the carrots: "It's not that I can't resist cake [in general], it's just that I love it sooo much!!! You know?"
Instead of counting sheep...
...count Skittles!
After a spooked Niecey came downstairs this thundery and rainy night with a quivering lip explaining that she couldn't sleep for the old Joker's creepy smile invading her thoughts (courtesy of a sort of cartoon history book that used to cause me much lost sleep also, as a kid), me and my parents put our heads together and figured out this great way to get your mind off things.
She didn't bite at my idea of imagining new American Girl stories, or of general happy thoughts. But Skittles are one of Niecey's favorite candies, and since we all had some this afternoon, they were fresh in our minds. So we described creating Skittle mosaics in her head, then sorting them into lines or a rainbow and then creating another picture, then re-sorting, until she fell asleep.
It seemed like a good plan, but I had to go home so wasn't able to hang around until she fell asleep. I'm going to ask her in the morning if it worked for her.
Anyhoo, taking care of kids is not easy and I am rather pooped. So soon I'm going to count some Skittles of my own...
After a spooked Niecey came downstairs this thundery and rainy night with a quivering lip explaining that she couldn't sleep for the old Joker's creepy smile invading her thoughts (courtesy of a sort of cartoon history book that used to cause me much lost sleep also, as a kid), me and my parents put our heads together and figured out this great way to get your mind off things.
She didn't bite at my idea of imagining new American Girl stories, or of general happy thoughts. But Skittles are one of Niecey's favorite candies, and since we all had some this afternoon, they were fresh in our minds. So we described creating Skittle mosaics in her head, then sorting them into lines or a rainbow and then creating another picture, then re-sorting, until she fell asleep.
It seemed like a good plan, but I had to go home so wasn't able to hang around until she fell asleep. I'm going to ask her in the morning if it worked for her.
Anyhoo, taking care of kids is not easy and I am rather pooped. So soon I'm going to count some Skittles of my own...
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Mojoceratops
No. No, this does not sound cool. Not at all. Leave it to Yale to come up with "mojoceratops". Those wacky paleontologists!
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2346/
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2346/
Sunday, July 11, 2010
I freakin' love Maine
I've said it once and I'll say it againe: I absolutely, positively, freakin' love Maine!
I drove the three hours up to Searsport on Friday night at the spur of the moment, arriving around 11ish (three hours for me. Everyone else takes about four) where I was met by a sleepy Vitamin N and a hairy little hot dog, a giant in a checked shirt and an apple turnover. Already the weekend was off to a great start. We shot the shit for a while, watched a terrible movie, and I went up to enjoy a needle-and-pins shower. I went to bed too far too late, but oh well.
Saturday morning we were going to hold a yard sale to appeal to the passersby to and from the lobster boat races, but that didn't materialize. It had rained after I arrived, the ground was squishy, and we had not completed the pricing. So we went to an art show in the park in Belfast instead. I found a cheap but charming orange brocade little zippy-purse (I think I will carry my phone in it, in my bag) for just five bucks! I was also going to get a really great green silk scarf with green threads woven through, but like a dummy I had forgotten I had no cash. My favorite burly giant charged up the hill to get some cash (without my card, whoopsie) and met me and Vitamin N in the park. After it started to rain... I mean, downpour. Sigh. Then he gallantly went to get the car, but everyone was soaked. To the skin! My poor apricot handbag was dripping -- I had to dry it off with the dog's towel. And I never got to pick up the scarf. Wah.
After we changed, we hit Anglers around 6ish for crispy, delicious seafood and fried dill pickle chips. So yummy! Then I saw a gorgeous white Impreza WRX in the parking lot with beautiful wheels. The car's look was not even marred by someone's lettered lobster logo emblazoned across the windshield and sides. We picked up fabulous cookies at Bell the Cat's in Belfast, and visited Rite Aid for a few things. Did you know you can buy liquor, beer, and wine there? Back home, we sampled the delicious cookies and did relaxing things. I actually turned the light off around 11:30. I slept a lovely, dreamless, cooling sleep.
This morning I went to the dump in my pajamas. Yes, it is true. Well, ok, I exaggerate just a tiny tad. It was only a small transfer station, and I was wearing my purple tie-dyed "10" tank top and a pair of huge gray cotton knit pajama pants. And proper underwear as well as glittery flip-flops. So I didn't really look like I was wearing pjs -- just ill-fitting, non-matching, stretched-out summer clothes. Heh. (Remember that weird day back in March when I wanted to buy the Hanes sleep pants at AJ Wright but was cut off by some chiquita banana? I found them, elsewhere, and they are sooo soft.)
Then we went for a dip in Casco Bay, a 1.5 minute stroll down the block (it is visible from their living room window). I didn't have a swimsuit, but I wanted to get into the salt water. So I went it with a huge t-shirt and a pair of workout pants. And proper underwear. Haha! It was delightful -- cool at first, but the salt water felt great and it was so muggy that it was actually more pleasant to be in the water than out of it. And the timing was perfect too, because just as we got home it began to rain. The whole town had been steamy for the past two days, and I am not sure the rain helped, but I hope it did.
Sadly, the weekend came to an end and I had to head for home around 4:30, but not before recording two very fun phonecasts with the giant! In August I'll be taking off an ENTIRE week for work to go up and chill, chill, chill. I just can't wait for that long vacation! Hooray!
I drove the three hours up to Searsport on Friday night at the spur of the moment, arriving around 11ish (three hours for me. Everyone else takes about four) where I was met by a sleepy Vitamin N and a hairy little hot dog, a giant in a checked shirt and an apple turnover. Already the weekend was off to a great start. We shot the shit for a while, watched a terrible movie, and I went up to enjoy a needle-and-pins shower. I went to bed too far too late, but oh well.
Saturday morning we were going to hold a yard sale to appeal to the passersby to and from the lobster boat races, but that didn't materialize. It had rained after I arrived, the ground was squishy, and we had not completed the pricing. So we went to an art show in the park in Belfast instead. I found a cheap but charming orange brocade little zippy-purse (I think I will carry my phone in it, in my bag) for just five bucks! I was also going to get a really great green silk scarf with green threads woven through, but like a dummy I had forgotten I had no cash. My favorite burly giant charged up the hill to get some cash (without my card, whoopsie) and met me and Vitamin N in the park. After it started to rain... I mean, downpour. Sigh. Then he gallantly went to get the car, but everyone was soaked. To the skin! My poor apricot handbag was dripping -- I had to dry it off with the dog's towel. And I never got to pick up the scarf. Wah.
After we changed, we hit Anglers around 6ish for crispy, delicious seafood and fried dill pickle chips. So yummy! Then I saw a gorgeous white Impreza WRX in the parking lot with beautiful wheels. The car's look was not even marred by someone's lettered lobster logo emblazoned across the windshield and sides. We picked up fabulous cookies at Bell the Cat's in Belfast, and visited Rite Aid for a few things. Did you know you can buy liquor, beer, and wine there? Back home, we sampled the delicious cookies and did relaxing things. I actually turned the light off around 11:30. I slept a lovely, dreamless, cooling sleep.
This morning I went to the dump in my pajamas. Yes, it is true. Well, ok, I exaggerate just a tiny tad. It was only a small transfer station, and I was wearing my purple tie-dyed "10" tank top and a pair of huge gray cotton knit pajama pants. And proper underwear as well as glittery flip-flops. So I didn't really look like I was wearing pjs -- just ill-fitting, non-matching, stretched-out summer clothes. Heh. (Remember that weird day back in March when I wanted to buy the Hanes sleep pants at AJ Wright but was cut off by some chiquita banana? I found them, elsewhere, and they are sooo soft.)
Then we went for a dip in Casco Bay, a 1.5 minute stroll down the block (it is visible from their living room window). I didn't have a swimsuit, but I wanted to get into the salt water. So I went it with a huge t-shirt and a pair of workout pants. And proper underwear. Haha! It was delightful -- cool at first, but the salt water felt great and it was so muggy that it was actually more pleasant to be in the water than out of it. And the timing was perfect too, because just as we got home it began to rain. The whole town had been steamy for the past two days, and I am not sure the rain helped, but I hope it did.
Sadly, the weekend came to an end and I had to head for home around 4:30, but not before recording two very fun phonecasts with the giant! In August I'll be taking off an ENTIRE week for work to go up and chill, chill, chill. I just can't wait for that long vacation! Hooray!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Orange cats and yellow stains
Can someone please tell me what I did wrong?
As I lay down to sleep last night (early for me, no later than 11:00!) I smelled something funky. One sniff later, I realized it was good ol' cat piss. On my lovely lavender sheets with irises on them. ew! Ew! EW!
There's no telling whether Butch or Twinkie was the culprit, and I really don't care who did it. I just want to know... why? They had a clean litter box, fresh water and food, toys, snuggly sleeping locations, and lots of love. They are such little brats sometimes! And the nerve of them, smiling at me when I came home last night.
They only thing I can think off its that it was so hot yesterday that they were letting off steam (so to speak) using the only method they knew. Anyway, I boosted the air when I came home to keep them cooler. I certainly hope they aren't ill..
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
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