Falling into Forty always has some good stuff - thanks John! http://fallingintoforty.blogspot.com/
Reposted from Time Magazine:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1543658-1,00.html
A Marine's letter home, with its frank description of life in "Dante's inferno," has been circulating through generals' in-boxes. We publish it here with the author's approval.Written last month, this straightforward account of life in Iraq by a Marine officer was initially sent just to a small group of family and friends. His honest but wry narration and unusually frank dissection of the mission contrasts sharply with the story presented by both sides of the Iraq war debate, the Pentagon spin masters and fierce critics. Perhaps inevitably, the 'Letter from Iraq' moved quickly beyond the small group of acquantainaces and hit the inboxes of retired generals, officers in the Pentagon, and staffers on Capitol Hill. TIME's Sally B. Donnelly first received a copy three weeks ago but only this week was able to track down the author and verify the document's authenticity. The author wishes to remain anonymous but has allowed us to publish it here — with a few judicious omissions.
All: I haven't written very much from Iraq. There's really not much to write about. More exactly, there's not much I can write about because practically everything I do, read or hear is classified military information or is depressing to the point that I'd rather just forget about it, never mind write about it. The gaps in between all of that are filled with the pure tedium of daily life in an armed camp. So it's a bit of a struggle to think of anything to put into a letter that's worth reading. Worse, this place just consumes you. I work 18-20-hour days, every day. The quest to draw a clear picture of what the insurgents are up to never ends. Problems and frictions crop up faster than solutions. Every challenge demands a response. It's like this every day. Before I know it, I can't see straight, because it's 0400 and I've been at work for 20 hours straight, somehow missing dinner again in the process. And once again I haven't written to anyone. It starts all over again four hours later. It's not really like Ground Hog Day, it's more like a level from Dante's Inferno.
Rather than attempting to sum up the last seven months, I figured I'd just hit the record setting highlights of 2006 in Iraq. These are among the events and experiences I'll remember best.
Worst Case of Deja Vu — I thought I was familiar with the feeling of deja vu until I arrived back here in Fallujah in February. The moment I stepped off of the helicopter, just as dawn broke, and saw the camp just as I had left it ten months before — that was deja vu. Kind of unnerving. It was as if I had never left. Same work area, same busted desk, same chair, same computer, same room, same creaky rack, same . . . everything. Same everything for the next year. It was like entering a parallel universe. Home wasn't 10,000 miles away, it was a different lifetime.
Most Surreal Moment — Watching Marines arrive at my detention facility and unload a truck load of flex-cuffed midgets. 26 to be exact. We had put the word out earlier in the day to the Marines in Fallujah that we were looking for Bad Guy X, who was described as a midget. Little did I know that Fallujah was home to a small community of midgets, who banded together for support since they were considered as social outcasts. The Marines were anxious to get back to the midget colony to bring in the rest of the midget suspects, but I called off the search, figuring Bad Guy X was long gone on his short legs after seeing his companions rounded up by the giant infidels.
Most Profound Man in Iraq — an unidentified farmer in a fairly remote area who, after being asked by Reconnaissance Marines if he had seen any foreign fighters in the area replied "Yes, you."
Worst City in al-Anbar Province — Ramadi, hands down. The provincial capital of 400,000 people. Lots and lots of insurgents killed in there since we arrived in February. Every day is a nasty gun battle. They blast us with giant bombs in the road, snipers, mortars and small arms. We blast them with tanks, attack helicopters, artillery, our snipers (much better than theirs), and every weapon that an infantryman can carry. Every day. Incredibly, I rarely see Ramadi in the news. We have as many attacks out here in the west as Baghdad. Yet, Baghdad has 7 million people, we have just 1.2 million. Per capita, al-Anbar province is the most violent place in Iraq by several orders of magnitude. I suppose it was no accident that the Marines were assigned this area in 2003.
Bravest Guy in al-Anbar Province — Any Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician (EOD Tech). How'd you like a job that required you to defuse bombs in a hole in the middle of the road that very likely are booby-trapped or connected by wire to a bad guy who's just waiting for you to get close to the bomb before he clicks the detonator? Every day. Sanitation workers in New York City get paid more than these guys. Talk about courage and commitment.
Second Bravest Guy in al-Anbar Province — It's a 20,000 way tie among all these Marines and Soldiers who venture out on the highways and through the towns of al-Anbar every day, not knowing if it will be their last — and for a couple of them, it will be.
Worst E-Mail Message — "The Walking Blood Bank is Activated. We need blood type A+ stat." I always head down to the surgical unit as soon as I get these messages, but I never give blood — there's always about 80 Marines in line, night or day.
Biggest Surprise — Iraqi Police. All local guys. I never figured that we'd get a police force established in the cities in al-Anbar. I estimated that insurgents would kill the first few, scaring off the rest. Well, insurgents did kill the first few, but the cops kept on coming. The insurgents continue to target the police, killing them in their homes and on the streets, but the cops won't give up. Absolutely incredible tenacity. The insurgents know that the police are far better at finding them than we are — and they are finding them. Now, if we could just get them out of the habit of beating prisoners to a pulp . . .
Greatest Vindication — Stocking up on outrageous quantities of Diet Coke from the chow hall in spite of the derision from my men on such hoarding, then having a 122mm rocket blast apart the giant shipping container that held all of the soda for the chow hall. Yep, you can't buy experience.
Biggest Mystery — How some people can gain weight out here. I'm down to 165 lbs. Who has time to eat?
Second Biggest Mystery — if there's no atheists in foxholes, then why aren't there more people at Mass every Sunday?
Favorite Iraqi TV Show — Oprah. I have no idea. They all have satellite TV.
Coolest Insurgent Act — Stealing almost $7 million from the main bank in Ramadi in broad daylight, then, upon exiting, waving to the Marines in the combat outpost right next to the bank, who had no clue of what was going on. The Marines waved back. Too cool.
Most Memorable Scene — In the middle of the night, on a dusty airfield, watching the better part of a battalion of Marines packed up and ready to go home after over six months in al-Anbar, the relief etched in their young faces even in the moonlight. Then watching these same Marines exchange glances with a similar number of grunts loaded down with gear file past — their replacements. Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said.
Highest Unit Re-enlistment Rate — Any outfit that has been in Iraq recently. All the danger, all the hardship, all the time away from home, all the horror, all the frustrations with the fight here — all are outweighed by the desire for young men to be part of a band of brothers who will die for one another. They found what they were looking for when they enlisted out of high school. Man for man, they now have more combat experience than any Marines in the history of our Corps.
Most Surprising Thing I Don't Miss — Beer. Perhaps being half-stunned by lack of sleep makes up for it.
Worst Smell — Porta-johns in 120 degree heat — and that's 120 degrees outside of the porta-john.
Highest Temperature — I don't know exactly, but it was in the porta-johns. Needed to re-hydrate after each trip to the loo.
Biggest Hassle — High-ranking visitors. More disruptive to work than a rocket attack. VIPs demand briefs and "battlefield" tours (we take them to quiet sections of Fallujah, which is plenty scary for them). Our briefs and commentary seem to have no affect on their preconceived notions of what's going on in Iraq. Their trips allow them to say that they've been to Fallujah, which gives them an unfortunate degree of credibility in perpetuating their fantasies about the insurgency here.
Biggest Outrage — Practically anything said by talking heads on TV about the war in Iraq, not that I get to watch much TV. Their thoughts are consistently both grossly simplistic and politically slanted.
Biggest Offender: Bill O'Reilly.
Best Intel Work — Finding Jill Carroll's kidnappers — all of them. I was mighty proud of my guys that day. I figured we'd all get the Christian Science Monitor for free after this, but none have showed up yet.
Saddest Moment — Having an infantry battalion commander hand me the dog tags of one of my Marines who had just been killed while on a mission with his unit. Hit by a 60mm mortar. He was a great Marine. I felt crushed for a long time afterward. His picture now hangs at the entrance to our section area. We'll carry it home with us when we leave in February.
Best Chuck Norris Moment — 13 May. Bad Guys arrived at the government center in a small town to kidnap the mayor, since they have a problem with any form of government that does not include regular beheadings and women wearing burqahs. There were seven of them. As they brought the mayor out to put him in a pick-up truck to take him off to be beheaded (on video, as usual), one of the Bad Guys put down his machinegun so that he could tie the mayor's hands. The mayor took the opportunity to pick up the machinegun and drill five of the Bad Guys. The other two ran away. One of the dead Bad Guys was on our top twenty wanted list. Like they say, you can't fight City Hall.
Worst Sound — That crack-boom off in the distance that means an IED or mine just went off. You just wonder who got it, hoping that it was a near miss rather than a direct hit. Hear it practically every day.
Second Worst Sound — Our artillery firing without warning. The howitzers are pretty close to where I work. Believe me, outgoing sounds a lot like incoming when our guns are firing right over our heads. They'd about knock the fillings out of your teeth.
Only Thing Better in Iraq Than in the U.S. — Sunsets. Spectacular. It's from all the dust in the air.
Proudest Moment — It's a tie every day, watching our Marines produce phenomenal intelligence products that go pretty far in teasing apart Bad Guy operations in al-Anbar. Every night Marines and Soldiers are kicking in doors and grabbing Bad Guys based on intelligence developed by our guys. We rarely lose a Marine during these raids, they are so well-informed of the objective. A bunch of kids right out of high school shouldn't be able to work so well, but they do.
Happiest Moment — Well, it wasn't in Iraq. There are no truly happy moments here. It was back in California when I was able to hold my family again while home on leave during July.
Most Common Thought — Home. Always thinking of home, of my great wife and the kids. Wondering how everyone else is getting along. Regretting that I don't write more. Yep, always thinking of home.I hope you all are doing well. If you want to do something for me, kiss a cop, flush a toilet, and drink a beer. I'll try to write again before too long — I promise.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Sister Neutron Bomb of Reasoned Discussion
Annoying people with too much time on your hands so you're spending it annoying other people, listen up. You need to read this and make it your daily mantra, memorize it, and learn to calm down. There are lots of decaf brands on the market. There are also some excellent logical thought classes around. I can even refer books! Regardless, make this a priority so I can stop this meaningless dreaming of pushing you off a very tall pier into shark infested waters...
Reposted for sheer delight! Rarely do I agree with anything regarding politics, religion, or strategies for changing people's minds. This is, well, as good as it gets for me....Repost or Riposte!
The following is the first communique from a group calling itself Unitarian Jihad. It was sent to me at The Chronicle via an anonymous spam remailer. I have no idea whether other news organizations have received this communique, and, if so, why they have not chosen to print it. Perhaps they fear starting a panic. I feel strongly that the truth, no matter how alarming, trivial or disgusting, must always be told. I am pleased to report that the words below are at least not disgusting:
Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States. We are Unitarian Jihad. There is only God, unless there is more than one God. The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions. Brother Flaming Sword of Moderation noted the possibility of there being no God at all, and his objection was noted with love by the secretary.
Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States! Too long has your attention been waylaid by the bright baubles of extremist thought. Too long have fundamentalist yahoos of all religions (except Buddhism -- 14-5 vote, no abstentions, fundamentalism subcommittee) made your head hurt. Too long have you been buffeted by angry people who think that God talks to them. You have a right to your moderation! You have the power to be calm! We will use the IED of truth to explode the SUV of dogmatic expression!
People of the United States, why is everyone yelling at you??? Whatever happened to ... you know, everything? Why is the news dominated by nutballs saying that the Ten Commandments have to be tattooed inside the eyelids of every American, or that Allah has told them to kill Americans in order to rid the world of Satan, or that Yahweh has instructed them to go live wherever they feel like, or that Shiva thinks bombing mosques is a great idea? Sister Immaculate Dagger of Peace notes for the record that we mean no disrespect to Jews, Muslims, Christians or Hindus. Referred back to the committee of the whole for further discussion.
We are Unitarian Jihad. We are everywhere. We have not been born again, nor have we sworn a blood oath. We do not think that God cares what we read, what we eat or whom we sleep with. Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity notes for the record that he does not have a moral code but is nevertheless a good person, and Unexalted Leader Garrote of Forgiveness stipulates that Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity is a good person, and this is to be reflected in the minutes.
Beware! Unless you people shut up and begin acting like grown-ups with brains enough to understand the difference between political belief and personal faith, the Unitarian Jihad will begin a series of terrorist-like actions. We will take over television studios, kidnap so-called commentators and broadcast calm, well-reasoned discussions of the issues of the day. We will not try for "balance" by hiring fruitcakes; we will try for balance by hiring non-ideologues who have carefully thought through the issues.
We are Unitarian Jihad. We will appear in public places and require people to shake hands with each other. (Sister Hand Grenade of Love suggested that we institute a terror regime of mandatory hugging, but her motion was not formally introduced because of lack of a quorum.) We will require all lobbyists, spokesmen and campaign managers to dress like trout in public. Televangelists will be forced to take jobs as Xerox repair specialists. Demagogues of all stripes will be required to read Proust out loud in prisons.
We are Unitarian Jihad, and our motto is: "Sincerity is not enough." We have heard from enough sincere people to last a lifetime already. Just because you believe it's true doesn't make it true. Just because your motives are pure doesn't mean you are not doing harm. Get a dog, or comfort someone in a nursing home, or just feed the birds in the park. Play basketball. Lighten up. The world is not out to get you, except in the sense that the world is out to get everyone.
Brother Gatling Gun of Patience notes that he's pretty sure the world is out to get him because everyone laughs when he says he is a Unitarian. There were murmurs of assent around the room, and someone suggested that we buy some Congress members and really stick it to the Baptists. But this was deemed against Revolutionary Principles, and Brother Gatling Gun of Patience was remanded to the Sunday Flowers and Banners committee.
People of the United States! We are Unitarian Jihad! We can strike without warning. Pockets of reasonableness and harmony will appear as if from nowhere! Nice people will run the government again! There will be coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution.
For your Unitarian Jihad name: http://homepage.mac.com/whump/ujname.html
Reposted for sheer delight! Rarely do I agree with anything regarding politics, religion, or strategies for changing people's minds. This is, well, as good as it gets for me....Repost or Riposte!
The following is the first communique from a group calling itself Unitarian Jihad. It was sent to me at The Chronicle via an anonymous spam remailer. I have no idea whether other news organizations have received this communique, and, if so, why they have not chosen to print it. Perhaps they fear starting a panic. I feel strongly that the truth, no matter how alarming, trivial or disgusting, must always be told. I am pleased to report that the words below are at least not disgusting:
Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States. We are Unitarian Jihad. There is only God, unless there is more than one God. The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions. Brother Flaming Sword of Moderation noted the possibility of there being no God at all, and his objection was noted with love by the secretary.
Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States! Too long has your attention been waylaid by the bright baubles of extremist thought. Too long have fundamentalist yahoos of all religions (except Buddhism -- 14-5 vote, no abstentions, fundamentalism subcommittee) made your head hurt. Too long have you been buffeted by angry people who think that God talks to them. You have a right to your moderation! You have the power to be calm! We will use the IED of truth to explode the SUV of dogmatic expression!
People of the United States, why is everyone yelling at you??? Whatever happened to ... you know, everything? Why is the news dominated by nutballs saying that the Ten Commandments have to be tattooed inside the eyelids of every American, or that Allah has told them to kill Americans in order to rid the world of Satan, or that Yahweh has instructed them to go live wherever they feel like, or that Shiva thinks bombing mosques is a great idea? Sister Immaculate Dagger of Peace notes for the record that we mean no disrespect to Jews, Muslims, Christians or Hindus. Referred back to the committee of the whole for further discussion.
We are Unitarian Jihad. We are everywhere. We have not been born again, nor have we sworn a blood oath. We do not think that God cares what we read, what we eat or whom we sleep with. Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity notes for the record that he does not have a moral code but is nevertheless a good person, and Unexalted Leader Garrote of Forgiveness stipulates that Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity is a good person, and this is to be reflected in the minutes.
Beware! Unless you people shut up and begin acting like grown-ups with brains enough to understand the difference between political belief and personal faith, the Unitarian Jihad will begin a series of terrorist-like actions. We will take over television studios, kidnap so-called commentators and broadcast calm, well-reasoned discussions of the issues of the day. We will not try for "balance" by hiring fruitcakes; we will try for balance by hiring non-ideologues who have carefully thought through the issues.
We are Unitarian Jihad. We will appear in public places and require people to shake hands with each other. (Sister Hand Grenade of Love suggested that we institute a terror regime of mandatory hugging, but her motion was not formally introduced because of lack of a quorum.) We will require all lobbyists, spokesmen and campaign managers to dress like trout in public. Televangelists will be forced to take jobs as Xerox repair specialists. Demagogues of all stripes will be required to read Proust out loud in prisons.
We are Unitarian Jihad, and our motto is: "Sincerity is not enough." We have heard from enough sincere people to last a lifetime already. Just because you believe it's true doesn't make it true. Just because your motives are pure doesn't mean you are not doing harm. Get a dog, or comfort someone in a nursing home, or just feed the birds in the park. Play basketball. Lighten up. The world is not out to get you, except in the sense that the world is out to get everyone.
Brother Gatling Gun of Patience notes that he's pretty sure the world is out to get him because everyone laughs when he says he is a Unitarian. There were murmurs of assent around the room, and someone suggested that we buy some Congress members and really stick it to the Baptists. But this was deemed against Revolutionary Principles, and Brother Gatling Gun of Patience was remanded to the Sunday Flowers and Banners committee.
People of the United States! We are Unitarian Jihad! We can strike without warning. Pockets of reasonableness and harmony will appear as if from nowhere! Nice people will run the government again! There will be coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution.
For your Unitarian Jihad name: http://homepage.mac.com/whump/ujname.html
Monday, October 09, 2006
Almost forgot - THE FABRIC DISTRICT!
Yup, I went back to Mecca while I was nearby. I needed to hit the fabric district to get the fabric for the dress for my brother's wedding. Since I hate shopping malls at the moment as everything seems to be made of thin stretch knit, I won't go shopping for a dress. Besides, the wedding is in DC in November. I can't wear some strappy little number without freezing my tookus off. So no CA style dresses.
My honey and I (have I mentioned that he's just fabulous yet?) parked and started the roam. One of the bargain stores had a nice black lace, so I scooped up some of that. Then the hunt for a good brownish-goldish satin began. The original idea was a cocktail dress with a goldeny color under-fabric and a black lace overlay. Somewhat inspired by that black lace cocktail dress from a few weeks ago on Project Runway, but an entirely different shape. And I look crappy in white, so no white. Orkney black and gold sounded doable, so the hunt began.
Well, everyone has that peachy tan color, but the golds were all schoolbus yellow or pumpkin orange. I wanted something somewhat subdued, as Washington DC is the fashion equivalent of a boring navy blue suit. Too bright a color, and I might not be allowed in public ;-) So we kept rummaging. Luckily, a few stores down I found a golden brown with a yellow/green undertone that worked with my skin. We held it up for some of our fellow shoppers and they said I'd look almost naked under the black lace. Umm, perfect?! I got a few yards and we emerged back into the sun to check the color properly. Yup, it looked great with my hair and skin tone. Whew! Biggest part done. Some black satin ribbon, and I'm done.
After giving up on a few stores, I got the ribbon at Levine's and found some fantastic funky furs as well. I'm going to throw some really neat stuff together to sell. I'll post it once it's up on eBay.
So yeah, good times hunting at ye olde fabric district. And since I had a man with me, no sneering, leers, or obnoxious looks from shopkeepers. All in all, a success!
My honey and I (have I mentioned that he's just fabulous yet?) parked and started the roam. One of the bargain stores had a nice black lace, so I scooped up some of that. Then the hunt for a good brownish-goldish satin began. The original idea was a cocktail dress with a goldeny color under-fabric and a black lace overlay. Somewhat inspired by that black lace cocktail dress from a few weeks ago on Project Runway, but an entirely different shape. And I look crappy in white, so no white. Orkney black and gold sounded doable, so the hunt began.
Well, everyone has that peachy tan color, but the golds were all schoolbus yellow or pumpkin orange. I wanted something somewhat subdued, as Washington DC is the fashion equivalent of a boring navy blue suit. Too bright a color, and I might not be allowed in public ;-) So we kept rummaging. Luckily, a few stores down I found a golden brown with a yellow/green undertone that worked with my skin. We held it up for some of our fellow shoppers and they said I'd look almost naked under the black lace. Umm, perfect?! I got a few yards and we emerged back into the sun to check the color properly. Yup, it looked great with my hair and skin tone. Whew! Biggest part done. Some black satin ribbon, and I'm done.
After giving up on a few stores, I got the ribbon at Levine's and found some fantastic funky furs as well. I'm going to throw some really neat stuff together to sell. I'll post it once it's up on eBay.
So yeah, good times hunting at ye olde fabric district. And since I had a man with me, no sneering, leers, or obnoxious looks from shopkeepers. All in all, a success!
Gooooood weekend~
So I drove up to LA this weekend with the man to see the "household" and other related wonderful people. I sent out an email to see if anyone wanted to meet for brunch Sunday. I renewed my First Aid training in the morning, then drove up through the wilds of LA. Spent Saturday evening watching my nephew tire my sister and brother in law out. Wow! My nephew is verbal and cognitively pretty darn sharp! Now, every kid has their talents, and I'm his aunt, but my nephew is smart! We "read" books together and he pointed out everything to me. Much fun!
Sunday we got up and trundled off to a little French bakery for breakfast with the 4 other people who responded to my email. And the 4 turned into 6, then 8, then 11, then we got about 13 folks around a huge, cobbled together table. It was fabulous! There were friends there I hadn't seen in a while(years in some cases). So much fun to sit and catch up, plan to see each other again soon, hear about what everyone is doing. These folks are all very vibrant, distinct folks. I heard about possibilities of one couple moving to Italy, another selling scripts, another applying to one of the top game design studios - very cool stuff!
Just a lot of fun to see everyone and to relax for a while in peace! Kudos to the man for going with me despite a sinus thing hanging on after a week or so. Hopefully he'll be healthy and sparky again soon!
$120 down, $3,880 to go.
Sunday we got up and trundled off to a little French bakery for breakfast with the 4 other people who responded to my email. And the 4 turned into 6, then 8, then 11, then we got about 13 folks around a huge, cobbled together table. It was fabulous! There were friends there I hadn't seen in a while(years in some cases). So much fun to sit and catch up, plan to see each other again soon, hear about what everyone is doing. These folks are all very vibrant, distinct folks. I heard about possibilities of one couple moving to Italy, another selling scripts, another applying to one of the top game design studios - very cool stuff!
Just a lot of fun to see everyone and to relax for a while in peace! Kudos to the man for going with me despite a sinus thing hanging on after a week or so. Hopefully he'll be healthy and sparky again soon!
$120 down, $3,880 to go.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Woohoo!
It's official. I realized it as I hitched up my pants and tied the drawstring pretty substantially.
My pants are way too big for me.
Go me. I'll have to fit in cash for a few pairs of pants in the next few months so I don't look like a bag lady at work.
My pants are way too big for me.
Go me. I'll have to fit in cash for a few pairs of pants in the next few months so I don't look like a bag lady at work.
Hooray for midterms.. Really.
Before I overwhelm you with my enthusiasm for my Evidence midterm tonight, I'll just recount everything I did instead of studying for it last night:
I got home, changed my clothes into my "I'm comfy for studying" clothes. Started my laundry. Opened my mail. Checked my non-existant email since I had been away from it for 30 minutes to get home. Checked my turn based games for possible moves. Pulled all the books I'd sold on Amazon and the shipping slips. Eyeballed my dirty dishes. Changed the sheets on my bed. Folded laundry load number one and started number two. Hit the pell about 500 times, right and left arms. Watched my hands shake afterwards in amusement. Folded load of laundry number two. Cooked dinner and ate. Packaged up the books I sold. Pulled out fabric for Orkney tunics. Did the dishes. Watched Project Runway. Checked the turn based games again. Got ready for bed, and finally looked at my notes to study.
*sigh* Yeah, this is not the road to 4.0... But I am up to $75 towards China!
I'll be panicky cramming tonight before the exam. It's only 10% of the grade, but it would be nice to have an actual handle on this.
I got home, changed my clothes into my "I'm comfy for studying" clothes. Started my laundry. Opened my mail. Checked my non-existant email since I had been away from it for 30 minutes to get home. Checked my turn based games for possible moves. Pulled all the books I'd sold on Amazon and the shipping slips. Eyeballed my dirty dishes. Changed the sheets on my bed. Folded laundry load number one and started number two. Hit the pell about 500 times, right and left arms. Watched my hands shake afterwards in amusement. Folded load of laundry number two. Cooked dinner and ate. Packaged up the books I sold. Pulled out fabric for Orkney tunics. Did the dishes. Watched Project Runway. Checked the turn based games again. Got ready for bed, and finally looked at my notes to study.
*sigh* Yeah, this is not the road to 4.0... But I am up to $75 towards China!
I'll be panicky cramming tonight before the exam. It's only 10% of the grade, but it would be nice to have an actual handle on this.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Max Headroom is dead....
Remember that 80s series with the talking head that talked back to you? Yeah, the animated guy with the blond hair and tendency to lose facial parts when excited. Yup, you know the one. I loved it! I watched every crappy episode about gathering the news, getting the dangerous, exciting scoop, and chasing down the bad guys. Reporting looked exciting, especially in the brave new world of information overload we were in. They'd turn to the camera, fresh from some dramatic event and start reporting. Breathless and excited, they'd turn to the camera and talk to the world, blue eyeshadow all aflutter and serious hair perfect. Every single detail of the situation was important to everyone. All of it was the public right to know! It looked and sounded like just the most amazing thing to do with your life. Everyone listens to you and respects you, right?
Horsehockey! I cry bullshit! That crap inspired me to spend $80,000 on a spiffy private college degree in Television/Radio that sits on my bookshelf at home. I studied for the first year, and basically learned in that year that no one gives a shit. I learned in the second year that I really had nothing to say, as I was too young to have actually experienced enough to have any sort of opinion. In the third year, I despaired of the idiocy and self-importance exhibited by those around me and switched my major to Public Relations in an effort to be slightly more marketable without spending more money. In my fourth year, I graduated with an excellent average, a worthless degree, and a good paying job as an Internal Auditor. Go me. Yup, look at all that media training, counterclockwise down the drain. Except for moments like this.
Yup folks, I'd like to point out a fallacy folks seem to be operating under. More information isn't necessarily better. Really, it's not. There have been studies shown lately that given the range of input, choices, and options on a daily basis, there's a distinct tie between having too many choices, options, and input and being unhappy. There's a huge difference between being kept in the dark, getting fed piles of shit and knowing a few, key points. Perhaps that's the point of piling a law degree on my little brain - I now have a filter. When you fill it with crap, I'll dump it on your head. Easier to think when there's not a pile of meaningless crap on your mind, eh? Unfortunately my friends, not all of us have this luxury. Some folks still insist that they have to know every single aspect of a situation. They gather every possible bit of information in an attempt to understand, yet never spend any time on understanding their own thought processes.
The rule of computers also works for human brains - put in crap for data, you'll get out crap for data. If you don't understand your own biases and blind spots, why do you presume to have a valid, persuasive opinion on something? Do you know what you opinion really is and what it represents? Have you tried what's distasteful to you? Walked in the opposition's shoes as them? Tried on the things you dislike most as truths? Asked the really painful questions of yourself? Did you spend the time to actually look at the issue and figure out what's really being asked? Have you looked at where the data came from? Any decent researcher knows the sources rule: crappy source = worthless drivel. All the most sexy details in the world can't rescue bad facts. Ask questions. Be bold, truth can take it. Fascinating things happen when you just start asking short questions to get long answers. Listen to how things are said and what someone looks like as they say it. My spidey senses from all that government training can tell me when it's a steaming pile of crap by looking at someone. Especially when they're talking. And there's a difference between getting someone's opinion and just listening to what they have to say. Questions are usually required - think about it...
So folks, give your grey matter a break and build a filter for it. Ask why? How? Really? When? Where did that come from? How? You'll thank yourself. I have to rebuild mine regularly when I'm letting shitty things bother me for no useful reason. Just say no to excess crap. And listen to Antisthenes when he says:"Socrates told his students to know themselves. He couldn't guarantee that they had the equipment."
Go in peace to contemplate your ever meaningful navel.
Horsehockey! I cry bullshit! That crap inspired me to spend $80,000 on a spiffy private college degree in Television/Radio that sits on my bookshelf at home. I studied for the first year, and basically learned in that year that no one gives a shit. I learned in the second year that I really had nothing to say, as I was too young to have actually experienced enough to have any sort of opinion. In the third year, I despaired of the idiocy and self-importance exhibited by those around me and switched my major to Public Relations in an effort to be slightly more marketable without spending more money. In my fourth year, I graduated with an excellent average, a worthless degree, and a good paying job as an Internal Auditor. Go me. Yup, look at all that media training, counterclockwise down the drain. Except for moments like this.
Yup folks, I'd like to point out a fallacy folks seem to be operating under. More information isn't necessarily better. Really, it's not. There have been studies shown lately that given the range of input, choices, and options on a daily basis, there's a distinct tie between having too many choices, options, and input and being unhappy. There's a huge difference between being kept in the dark, getting fed piles of shit and knowing a few, key points. Perhaps that's the point of piling a law degree on my little brain - I now have a filter. When you fill it with crap, I'll dump it on your head. Easier to think when there's not a pile of meaningless crap on your mind, eh? Unfortunately my friends, not all of us have this luxury. Some folks still insist that they have to know every single aspect of a situation. They gather every possible bit of information in an attempt to understand, yet never spend any time on understanding their own thought processes.
The rule of computers also works for human brains - put in crap for data, you'll get out crap for data. If you don't understand your own biases and blind spots, why do you presume to have a valid, persuasive opinion on something? Do you know what you opinion really is and what it represents? Have you tried what's distasteful to you? Walked in the opposition's shoes as them? Tried on the things you dislike most as truths? Asked the really painful questions of yourself? Did you spend the time to actually look at the issue and figure out what's really being asked? Have you looked at where the data came from? Any decent researcher knows the sources rule: crappy source = worthless drivel. All the most sexy details in the world can't rescue bad facts. Ask questions. Be bold, truth can take it. Fascinating things happen when you just start asking short questions to get long answers. Listen to how things are said and what someone looks like as they say it. My spidey senses from all that government training can tell me when it's a steaming pile of crap by looking at someone. Especially when they're talking. And there's a difference between getting someone's opinion and just listening to what they have to say. Questions are usually required - think about it...
So folks, give your grey matter a break and build a filter for it. Ask why? How? Really? When? Where did that come from? How? You'll thank yourself. I have to rebuild mine regularly when I'm letting shitty things bother me for no useful reason. Just say no to excess crap. And listen to Antisthenes when he says:"Socrates told his students to know themselves. He couldn't guarantee that they had the equipment."
Go in peace to contemplate your ever meaningful navel.
Bwahahahahahaa....
My evil plan is working. First day of my plan and I'm already halfway to my weekly goal of $100.
Amazon is just the best! And I have no problem going home and listing another 30 books.
Damn, I have a lot of books. Hate to see some go, but then if I haven't touched it in a year and there are no pending projects, then it's out the door!
Amazon is just the best! And I have no problem going home and listing another 30 books.
Damn, I have a lot of books. Hate to see some go, but then if I haven't touched it in a year and there are no pending projects, then it's out the door!
And by the way...
Please don't try to text message my cell phone anymore.
I've shut it off. It costs me money, and I'm not terribly fond of it anyway.
Yes, you actually have to talk to me. Or leave a message. Or something.
I've shut it off. It costs me money, and I'm not terribly fond of it anyway.
Yes, you actually have to talk to me. Or leave a message. Or something.
On my way
So, I went home last night and stayed up wayyyy too late listing books on Amazon. But I've already sold 3 books and made $30 by the time I woke up! Wheee! Since I have 3 bookshelves full of crap, and books hiding all over the house, it should be a good thing to clean out a bit. Sure, eventually the books will run out, and I'll be down to those books I really don't want to part with. But it's a heck of an easier way to make cash that's pretty fast and easy! In about 2 hours, I had listed 50 books. Not too shabby...
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Cafe Press shop...
http://www.cafepress.com/sambalaya
Idea #54 is selling random crap on Cafe Press....
One design up, more to come
Idea #54 is selling random crap on Cafe Press....
One design up, more to come
Goals
Ok, goal #1, besides doing well in my classes, is $1,500 in the savings account by the end of the year. Entirely possible, since I have some of that already in the budget. Even more possible if I can make extra cash with a garage sale, cookie sale, etc. etc.
I'm actually really excited about this program, so I think I can do this. Heck, I'm even considering selling some of my costumes and other random stuff to get this. Tough, but then I have too much stuff anyways.
I'm actually really excited about this program, so I think I can do this. Heck, I'm even considering selling some of my costumes and other random stuff to get this. Tough, but then I have too much stuff anyways.
Starting point
Ok, I have a grand total of $20 towards my China classes.
I have a credit card on the way, not sure how big that is.
I have 9 months, and a long way to go.
So, anybody have any ideas for fundraisers? I think I'm going to be baking a lot of cookies!
I have a credit card on the way, not sure how big that is.
I have 9 months, and a long way to go.
So, anybody have any ideas for fundraisers? I think I'm going to be baking a lot of cookies!
I'm thinking Chinese
Wow! The study in China program is (even with travel and expenses) cheaper than if I bought the same number of credits and stayed here all summer! Damn! I think I'm going to have to pursue that. It would be fantastic, and still allow me to take off 2 months in the summer. And I'd be ahead of the game on getting my electives done!
Here's the deal: I need to take 3 credits of summer classes this summer. Normally, at my school, they'd cost over $900 per credit. Not to mention that I would be in class at least 6 hours per week for something like 10 weeks. Not fun, eh? Let's contrast that with the chance to study for 3-4 weeks in China, pay the same amount (okay, maybe $500 more), have the rest of th summer to regroup, and still get the heck out of the US for the first time in my life! (Canada and Mexico didn't count, eh?)
Not to mention that one of my main concentrations in undergrad was Chinese history and culture. I had a fantastic professor who was just a joy to go to class with. He'd crack jokes in the middle of a thought. It was great. I've always wanted to go, and I'm thinkng this might be a good thing.
Now, to find the $$ to do it! Eek!
Here's the deal: I need to take 3 credits of summer classes this summer. Normally, at my school, they'd cost over $900 per credit. Not to mention that I would be in class at least 6 hours per week for something like 10 weeks. Not fun, eh? Let's contrast that with the chance to study for 3-4 weeks in China, pay the same amount (okay, maybe $500 more), have the rest of th summer to regroup, and still get the heck out of the US for the first time in my life! (Canada and Mexico didn't count, eh?)
Not to mention that one of my main concentrations in undergrad was Chinese history and culture. I had a fantastic professor who was just a joy to go to class with. He'd crack jokes in the middle of a thought. It was great. I've always wanted to go, and I'm thinkng this might be a good thing.
Now, to find the $$ to do it! Eek!
Monday, October 02, 2006
Now, this I'm actually cranky about....
Doesn't look like the Sabres are playing the Ducks this year. Nor does it look like they're playing the LA team either. And they sold the Gulls. Cretins, where the heck am I supposed to watch hockey this year?
One little victory..
Someone told me that I always sounded mad lately in my blogs. That's something that's always been rather difficult for me - expressing those little annoyances of the universe. I wasn't a big venting sort of person until recently, as I tend to not want to burden people with my personal issues, legion that they can be. But a blog is impersonal, public, yet unless you know me you may not understand what's being discussed. I want folks to sometimes know about things, yet I'm not addressing anyone in particular. As for lately, well, I'm sick. I'm always generally cranky when I'm sick. And I have time to sit and think since I usually get restricted from working out and don't have the energy to finish projects. Mix it all up and bake for two weeks, and there you have it.
I tend to think of it as focused, too. There are things I allow on my radar, and things I kick off my radar. If it's something I don't think is worth bothering with, yet it keeps coming up, it annoys me. I have highly limited time and energy for anything not essential or related to my school. So when stupid things happen, as they seem to do a lot lately, I'm doubly annoyed. Hence discussion on the old blog. Better to get something out and smear it all over cyberspace than blowing up in front of someone. Ack. Bit of pressure in the whole grad school thing. But it does make the blog slant towards the annoyances of the world.
So really, my universe is pretty good. I have a handle on my school stuff, social and love lives are good. I freak out about finances, but then, anyone would freak out about my finances (helloooo student debt!). Family is good, and generally talking to each other. I get to start working out again soon. And I may still have a long shot at getting my funding and such together to spend a few weeks in China to get my summer courses rather than staying here in SD. It's still a long shot, but I'm going to try. Hello Prosper.com.....
I tend to think of it as focused, too. There are things I allow on my radar, and things I kick off my radar. If it's something I don't think is worth bothering with, yet it keeps coming up, it annoys me. I have highly limited time and energy for anything not essential or related to my school. So when stupid things happen, as they seem to do a lot lately, I'm doubly annoyed. Hence discussion on the old blog. Better to get something out and smear it all over cyberspace than blowing up in front of someone. Ack. Bit of pressure in the whole grad school thing. But it does make the blog slant towards the annoyances of the world.
So really, my universe is pretty good. I have a handle on my school stuff, social and love lives are good. I freak out about finances, but then, anyone would freak out about my finances (helloooo student debt!). Family is good, and generally talking to each other. I get to start working out again soon. And I may still have a long shot at getting my funding and such together to spend a few weeks in China to get my summer courses rather than staying here in SD. It's still a long shot, but I'm going to try. Hello Prosper.com.....
Friday, September 29, 2006
Engrish
Rules to keep in mind when using the Queen's English:
1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid clich?s like the plague. (They're old hat.)
6. Always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also, too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments. No comma splices, run-ons are bad too.
11. Contractions aren't helpful and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should never generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as clich?s.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands and abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is probably not the best way to propose earth shattering ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a million times worse than understatement.
34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid clich?s like the plague. (They're old hat.)
6. Always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also, too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments. No comma splices, run-ons are bad too.
11. Contractions aren't helpful and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should never generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as clich?s.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands and abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is probably not the best way to propose earth shattering ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a million times worse than understatement.
34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Dance
I’ve been struggling with something for a while now, and I think I just need to spread all the individual issues out and see where they lead. Dancing is bugging me lately. I’m just not that into belly dancing at the moment – not teaching, not performing, not making costumes, etc. While I enjoy the actual act of dancing, I’m not big on the parts that involve other people right now. I’ve never been one to perform for anyone but myself. In the truest spirit of the arts, I’m an artist. My dancing is an expression of myself and my body. I’m not doing it for anyone else’s approval or because I want them to notice me. I’m usually oblivious to anyone else while dancing, which is a good part of the reason why I usually enjoy teaching- it makes me pay attention. But I’m not finding rewards in teaching right now, probably mainly because my time needs to be spent doing something else. Students NEED and I have no time or patience or capacity to serve anyone else’s needs. But it’s frustrating to not be happy with something I used to hunger for.
Maybe it’s the lack of decent outlets. I really enjoy a good dance band. Al Samoud isn’t around where I am much anymore, and while I love good drumming, melody just creates so many more opportunities for choreography. And usually there’s just Allister’s crew with any decent drumming anymore. While I appreciate their drumming, and it is wonderful, with it being the only party with drumming, you get everything on the dance floor. And I do mean everything, and most of it isn’t involving dancing. I think I’m just really disappointed in the lack of any manners, respect, planning, organization, or effort put into ME dance down here anymore. While it’s good to finally have drummers, it’s like the energy put into that is sucking the life out of any party planning. We’re lucky to have rugs, there’s never any lighting or drinking water, there’s a good chance some drunk guy will go stumbling across the dance floor into the dancers, no attempts at creating an actual show or safe space to dance, and no real appreciation for the actual artsy side of things. It’s a nightclub activity now, and that’s not why I dance.
It doesn’t help that I’m tired after fighting all day, and not really keen on the attitude displayed. Folks keep telling me “Sammy, don’t teach stripper moves!”. Gee, thanks for the insult. Frankly, I can make picking up my coffee cup lavicious and lewd, but you won’t chastise me for that. Stripper moves are about attitude. If you act like a stripper, most of the time you’ll look like one, good or bad. If you’re learning to dance to pick up men and flirt, you’re most likely going to look like a stripper, and there’s not a whole lot I can teach that will change that. If you’re out there to actually dance and express yourself, then you’re not really going to look like you’re out on the prowl. And it’s rather annoying to assume that all the girls out there are out there to look sexy. I was trained by folks who tended to make dance parties a more private thing. There was an effort to create individual opportunities to dance alone or in small groups, to actually perform, to keep the nasty comments and catty attitude under control. The art was respected, and not just a spectacle of scantily clad bodies moving. There was a ritual to it, a feeling of community, a love and respect for dancers and audience that pervaded. Dancers were escorted for their safety, and looked after on the dance floor – did they need water? A place to sit? Older dancers taught newer dancers with care, and one’s choice to dance or not wasn’t questioned. This doesn’t happen anymore, at least not anywhere I’ve danced lately.
And let’s get one simple thing straight. Awards. Oh, how I hate awards, for what people think they represent. In the SCA, you get an award because someone had the follow through to write letters. And it wasn’t so outlandish that the Royals gave it to you. Sure there’s a minimum of actual effort involved on your part, but awards are and will always be a popularity contest. I danced the same 3 years ago as I do now, but no one ever said to me then “Gee Sam, why don’t you have any dance awards?” I actually taught more classes then, and was a lot more active. I actually think I was a more focused and better dancer then, but did awards rain out of the sky? No. And they won’t. It’s not that you’re better than anyone else, it’s that someone noticed what you were doing. Now, bear in mind that awards mean going to court, and I’m not fond of that either. No, I really don’t give a crap about awards. If I did, I’d be spending energy on getting some. But I’m not. My award is my law degree, my man’s smile, a good shot on the field, a satisfied smile as I go to bed each night.
So yeah, if I don’t dance, it’s because the settings I’m told to dance in are just not me. It’s like someone saying “Sing” in the middle of the sidewalk. Umm, sure, I love being your performing monkey. It’s not that I can’t, it’s that my creation deserves more than that. And I have no problem being selfish with what I create if it’s going to be treated with ridicule and apathy. I’m just not feeling the love anymore, except when I’m home alone, feeling the groove thing without any distractions.
Maybe it’s the lack of decent outlets. I really enjoy a good dance band. Al Samoud isn’t around where I am much anymore, and while I love good drumming, melody just creates so many more opportunities for choreography. And usually there’s just Allister’s crew with any decent drumming anymore. While I appreciate their drumming, and it is wonderful, with it being the only party with drumming, you get everything on the dance floor. And I do mean everything, and most of it isn’t involving dancing. I think I’m just really disappointed in the lack of any manners, respect, planning, organization, or effort put into ME dance down here anymore. While it’s good to finally have drummers, it’s like the energy put into that is sucking the life out of any party planning. We’re lucky to have rugs, there’s never any lighting or drinking water, there’s a good chance some drunk guy will go stumbling across the dance floor into the dancers, no attempts at creating an actual show or safe space to dance, and no real appreciation for the actual artsy side of things. It’s a nightclub activity now, and that’s not why I dance.
It doesn’t help that I’m tired after fighting all day, and not really keen on the attitude displayed. Folks keep telling me “Sammy, don’t teach stripper moves!”. Gee, thanks for the insult. Frankly, I can make picking up my coffee cup lavicious and lewd, but you won’t chastise me for that. Stripper moves are about attitude. If you act like a stripper, most of the time you’ll look like one, good or bad. If you’re learning to dance to pick up men and flirt, you’re most likely going to look like a stripper, and there’s not a whole lot I can teach that will change that. If you’re out there to actually dance and express yourself, then you’re not really going to look like you’re out on the prowl. And it’s rather annoying to assume that all the girls out there are out there to look sexy. I was trained by folks who tended to make dance parties a more private thing. There was an effort to create individual opportunities to dance alone or in small groups, to actually perform, to keep the nasty comments and catty attitude under control. The art was respected, and not just a spectacle of scantily clad bodies moving. There was a ritual to it, a feeling of community, a love and respect for dancers and audience that pervaded. Dancers were escorted for their safety, and looked after on the dance floor – did they need water? A place to sit? Older dancers taught newer dancers with care, and one’s choice to dance or not wasn’t questioned. This doesn’t happen anymore, at least not anywhere I’ve danced lately.
And let’s get one simple thing straight. Awards. Oh, how I hate awards, for what people think they represent. In the SCA, you get an award because someone had the follow through to write letters. And it wasn’t so outlandish that the Royals gave it to you. Sure there’s a minimum of actual effort involved on your part, but awards are and will always be a popularity contest. I danced the same 3 years ago as I do now, but no one ever said to me then “Gee Sam, why don’t you have any dance awards?” I actually taught more classes then, and was a lot more active. I actually think I was a more focused and better dancer then, but did awards rain out of the sky? No. And they won’t. It’s not that you’re better than anyone else, it’s that someone noticed what you were doing. Now, bear in mind that awards mean going to court, and I’m not fond of that either. No, I really don’t give a crap about awards. If I did, I’d be spending energy on getting some. But I’m not. My award is my law degree, my man’s smile, a good shot on the field, a satisfied smile as I go to bed each night.
So yeah, if I don’t dance, it’s because the settings I’m told to dance in are just not me. It’s like someone saying “Sing” in the middle of the sidewalk. Umm, sure, I love being your performing monkey. It’s not that I can’t, it’s that my creation deserves more than that. And I have no problem being selfish with what I create if it’s going to be treated with ridicule and apathy. I’m just not feeling the love anymore, except when I’m home alone, feeling the groove thing without any distractions.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
ok, this sucks
Ugh, just when I'm thinking my damn cough has gone on too long, and I'm dreading my midterm next week, I find out that yet again I'm not eligible for the new PLUS loan program. Yet again. Unless I miraculously come up with a cosigner, which isn't going to happen. Yay me. Yet again I'm faced with the crappy situation I'm in and no way to relieve the pressure. I have to put aside $300 per month for the next 2 years in order to pay for both summer and the Bar Bri course I need to pass the bar. And that's not counting the $1000 in fees just to take the bar. Then, if I pass, there's another $500 to actually be a Bar member in good standing. Every year. All in all, it's about $8000 that has to miraculously come out of my ass in the next 2 years.
So, my best advice to anyone with a bankruptcy (which apparently is about half of the people I know) is don't go to school within 10 years of a bankruptcy. If there is any doubt that I'm "paying" my debts that got discharged, here's your proof. I have to pay for everything except for my car in cash. Period. There's just not been any relief there. I can't even get a stupid credit card, so don't give me those stupid options. And the sad part is that I had more to live on when I was living off student loans than now when I'm working full time for a larger salalry than most of my friends. Yeah. How's that for reality check?
So here's the deal. With very few exceptions, namely my man and my family, don't bother with Christmas presents, birthday crap, etc. Don't be offended when I don't show up to your dinner out with other people, movies, trips, and other things involving money. I don't have any. In theory, eventually I'll be able to do this crap again. But for now, don't bother. I'd rather not know what I'm missing.
So, my best advice to anyone with a bankruptcy (which apparently is about half of the people I know) is don't go to school within 10 years of a bankruptcy. If there is any doubt that I'm "paying" my debts that got discharged, here's your proof. I have to pay for everything except for my car in cash. Period. There's just not been any relief there. I can't even get a stupid credit card, so don't give me those stupid options. And the sad part is that I had more to live on when I was living off student loans than now when I'm working full time for a larger salalry than most of my friends. Yeah. How's that for reality check?
So here's the deal. With very few exceptions, namely my man and my family, don't bother with Christmas presents, birthday crap, etc. Don't be offended when I don't show up to your dinner out with other people, movies, trips, and other things involving money. I don't have any. In theory, eventually I'll be able to do this crap again. But for now, don't bother. I'd rather not know what I'm missing.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
So, I'm still here. Back to contempation....
Yup, I'm slowly kicking this nasty cough and sinus thing out of my system. Bad news is that the man might have it now. *sigh* hooray for contagions! If it is just a sinus thing, I shouldn't be contagious... So it might be from one of his students as well. But then again, I'm pretty sure he doesn't kiss any of them.. blah. Yup, probably my fault....Sorry baby!
Goodness, I have got to start writing down those random blog topics! I usually think of them while in meetings. Ugh, meetings.. But they are a nice break from paperwork.
Started reading Smashed last night - it's a woman's account of her alcohol use and abuse since she was 13 or so? Fascinating crap. No clue if she's right, but she might have put her finger on why I have issues relating to lots of people my age and younger. She basically ponders early in the book about how alcohol use affects her emotional development in her teens and early 20s. How she didn't have memories of her first kiss, prom, first checking account experience, and how she's viewed as much younger than she is usually. Wow. And based on how many people I know who had similar habits (drinking to drunk more than once or twice per week, or more than 10 times in a month), I'm in the minority. I didn't really start drinking until almost my 20s. Sure, my first drink was a glass of champagne when I was 12, but I hated it. It was weird, and not terribly pleasant. So I was never a drinker until law school. Sure I got drunk in college, but not regularly. Geekdom alert - I was too busy playing role playing games and beating people with padded weapons.. Yeah, geekdom.
But there is a huge difference in relating to some folks that I've always noticed. I tend to have to dumb down my approach, stick to completely white bread Middle America mainstream, and not talk too fast. No jokes, those fall flat. Hi. Nice to meet you. Nice weather were having. But add in a few drinks and someinane conversation and suddenly we're best friends. Or at least they think so. Weird. My sister's friends are like this. We don't mesh in the slightest, but she swears they're the most wonderful people. Most of them I find to be about as complex as my nephew's toys - lots of bright colors, but no real challenge. They don't read books for fun, their idea of research is watching a Discovery channel program, and are pretty happy just soaking up the happy American day to day routine...
Are these folks who grew up on alcohol? Hid with their friends and drank their way through high school? Experimented behind the football stadium? I dunno for sure, but it does make me wonder. Especially with my lack of alcohol through most of my youth. We'll see, but it does pose an interesting question for emotional and mental development and the effects of alcohol.
Goodness, I have got to start writing down those random blog topics! I usually think of them while in meetings. Ugh, meetings.. But they are a nice break from paperwork.
Started reading Smashed last night - it's a woman's account of her alcohol use and abuse since she was 13 or so? Fascinating crap. No clue if she's right, but she might have put her finger on why I have issues relating to lots of people my age and younger. She basically ponders early in the book about how alcohol use affects her emotional development in her teens and early 20s. How she didn't have memories of her first kiss, prom, first checking account experience, and how she's viewed as much younger than she is usually. Wow. And based on how many people I know who had similar habits (drinking to drunk more than once or twice per week, or more than 10 times in a month), I'm in the minority. I didn't really start drinking until almost my 20s. Sure, my first drink was a glass of champagne when I was 12, but I hated it. It was weird, and not terribly pleasant. So I was never a drinker until law school. Sure I got drunk in college, but not regularly. Geekdom alert - I was too busy playing role playing games and beating people with padded weapons.. Yeah, geekdom.
But there is a huge difference in relating to some folks that I've always noticed. I tend to have to dumb down my approach, stick to completely white bread Middle America mainstream, and not talk too fast. No jokes, those fall flat. Hi. Nice to meet you. Nice weather were having. But add in a few drinks and someinane conversation and suddenly we're best friends. Or at least they think so. Weird. My sister's friends are like this. We don't mesh in the slightest, but she swears they're the most wonderful people. Most of them I find to be about as complex as my nephew's toys - lots of bright colors, but no real challenge. They don't read books for fun, their idea of research is watching a Discovery channel program, and are pretty happy just soaking up the happy American day to day routine...
Are these folks who grew up on alcohol? Hid with their friends and drank their way through high school? Experimented behind the football stadium? I dunno for sure, but it does make me wonder. Especially with my lack of alcohol through most of my youth. We'll see, but it does pose an interesting question for emotional and mental development and the effects of alcohol.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Ooh yeah, I'm attractive... yet thoughtful.
I need a snorkel for my sinuses. Yup, it's official. No plague, but I do have a lovely sinus infection. Complete with stuffy nose-sounding voice. Green crap hacked up and all. Ooooh yeah, sexy! So as I sit here, eating my hot fudge sundae pop tarts (yes, i eat whatever I want while sick), I ponder my recent universe for lessons learned. Or something.
Note to self #1 - save up more sick leave. This may be impossible until after flu season, but I really need to have a week saved up for this time of year. A day off of sleeping would have been nice. But then, my vacation was lovely, so no regrets. Perhaps next year some time saved up?
Note to self #2 - It's not worth it to work for a jerk who isn't listening to you. Yay me for sticking to my guns and quitting when I saw the train wreck coming. I knew I might have issues with the law clerk thing. I was just hoping they would come from scheduling, not from the person I was working for. Caveat - I still don't believe anyone actually pays law clerks. Most seem to cycle through them so regularly that a promise of "paying when the project is done" is a joke. What's a project? A lawsuit? There's a water case in Oregon that's been going on for 80 years - you've got to be kidding me!
Note to self #3 - I miss doing actual medieval stuff. Not this Barbie goes to Disneyland crap that seems to pass out here as research. Time to get cracking on that Greek masterpiece I'm working on. Time to go look at old pottery for a while and pick out some motifs. It's not comforting when I can model an outfit from an old Hollywood movie costume and my client is thrilled with it. Ugh. Although it was a cool coat. Just not what I would call accurate :-)
Brains addled. Time to go absorb another gallon of tea and contemplate my navel while attempting to work. Class tonight should be entertaining....
Note to self #1 - save up more sick leave. This may be impossible until after flu season, but I really need to have a week saved up for this time of year. A day off of sleeping would have been nice. But then, my vacation was lovely, so no regrets. Perhaps next year some time saved up?
Note to self #2 - It's not worth it to work for a jerk who isn't listening to you. Yay me for sticking to my guns and quitting when I saw the train wreck coming. I knew I might have issues with the law clerk thing. I was just hoping they would come from scheduling, not from the person I was working for. Caveat - I still don't believe anyone actually pays law clerks. Most seem to cycle through them so regularly that a promise of "paying when the project is done" is a joke. What's a project? A lawsuit? There's a water case in Oregon that's been going on for 80 years - you've got to be kidding me!
Note to self #3 - I miss doing actual medieval stuff. Not this Barbie goes to Disneyland crap that seems to pass out here as research. Time to get cracking on that Greek masterpiece I'm working on. Time to go look at old pottery for a while and pick out some motifs. It's not comforting when I can model an outfit from an old Hollywood movie costume and my client is thrilled with it. Ugh. Although it was a cool coat. Just not what I would call accurate :-)
Brains addled. Time to go absorb another gallon of tea and contemplate my navel while attempting to work. Class tonight should be entertaining....
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Rant Rant Rant
I'm sick, hear me rant. I have 2 topics: dropping the ball and giving flowers as an apology.
Dropping the Ball
Today seems to be the day that everyone who said they would do something for me gets to inform me that they screwed up. Forgot. Never got around to it. So I've had lots of interesting things happen like Internet services shut off, employees not paid, vendors calling me with nasty "pay me" messages. Gotta love that customer service. I'm feeling warm and fuzzy, how about you? So after I shoveled off a few fires from my desk, and put out the last of the burning bits from the nasty vendors, I started informing people of the level of service I expected. Not mean, just direct. Sure, I'm just a admin on the bottom of the totem pole, but I know what keeps people off my back, and I know lack of service from my vendors reflects badly on me. Enough already, I can be nice but rather firm...
Flowers as Apology
I read about a few incidents where folks are giving flowers as an apology. Now, I'm rather opinionated on the use of flowers. I like, no wait, adore flowers! I really really like them. Because my cat tips them over and makes a mess, I only get them for myself rarely. Flowers are for celebration and happiness in my book. Truly. Not for reminding someone of the crappy thing you did every time they look at the flowers.
First example - Mel Gibson. Supposedly he sent a massive $300 bouquet of flowers to the female arresting officer during his little drunk driving incident. While I think the sentiment is a good start, I'd think a well written apology would go a lot further. Hopefully the flowers came with a note, but at the same time, I would have sent something else. Something that isn't a visual reminder of the fact that he got arrested and turned into an anti-Semitic, drunken slurring embarrassment. Free airplane voucher? Massage certificate? Something that fits neatly in an envelope with above mentioned statement of how sorry one is for the situation. I'm just saying.
Second example - Rosie O'Donnell. Apparently her inappropriate use of flowers was for an apology for her blog whining about her new job at The View. She sent the flowers after Barbara Walters was upset by the blog. After reading a snippet in the news, I can see why. Not only is it whinny, but there's an utter lack of spelling, punctuation, or full words. As a fellow journalist, I can feel her pain in hiring someone who can't express their innermost feelings with out using the number 2 as a word. All political and social topics aside, my minimum for getting into the door on a job is at least a showing that you can properly write the English language. Consistently. What you put in your private diary is your own deal, what you publish on a blog is a public representation of who you are. Additional flag on the play for complaining about a job most of us would die to have. Let's see, you sit on a couch for a few hours a day and talk about current social trends and interview celebrities. Gee, rough life. Thanks for sharing. I know it's tough actually having a boss, but yet again, a huge chunk of us have that issue every day and seem to do just fine with it. Flowers? I'm thinking you needed to send something that again, doesn't remind Barbara of your inane lack of grammar skills. Mani-pedi certificate? Massage? Gift cert to a shi-shi store?
If it's a true apology, there's a price involved. Something that says "I'm sorry I've caused you grief, here's something to bring a bit of relaxation into your universe". Flowers are a celebration - are you celebrating your stupidity? Lack of good judgment? The fact that that person is willing to accept something from you at all? While you can get a word in edgewise, better make it actual words. Back to that written apology again. And stay out of flower land. Lameness flag, 10 yard penalty, 1st down. Get creative and think about the person would really enjoy. If flowers say apology to them, go for it. Just remember that on Valentine's Day and their birthday and other special occasions when you really do want the flowers to say something celebratory.
Dropping the Ball
Today seems to be the day that everyone who said they would do something for me gets to inform me that they screwed up. Forgot. Never got around to it. So I've had lots of interesting things happen like Internet services shut off, employees not paid, vendors calling me with nasty "pay me" messages. Gotta love that customer service. I'm feeling warm and fuzzy, how about you? So after I shoveled off a few fires from my desk, and put out the last of the burning bits from the nasty vendors, I started informing people of the level of service I expected. Not mean, just direct. Sure, I'm just a admin on the bottom of the totem pole, but I know what keeps people off my back, and I know lack of service from my vendors reflects badly on me. Enough already, I can be nice but rather firm...
Flowers as Apology
I read about a few incidents where folks are giving flowers as an apology. Now, I'm rather opinionated on the use of flowers. I like, no wait, adore flowers! I really really like them. Because my cat tips them over and makes a mess, I only get them for myself rarely. Flowers are for celebration and happiness in my book. Truly. Not for reminding someone of the crappy thing you did every time they look at the flowers.
First example - Mel Gibson. Supposedly he sent a massive $300 bouquet of flowers to the female arresting officer during his little drunk driving incident. While I think the sentiment is a good start, I'd think a well written apology would go a lot further. Hopefully the flowers came with a note, but at the same time, I would have sent something else. Something that isn't a visual reminder of the fact that he got arrested and turned into an anti-Semitic, drunken slurring embarrassment. Free airplane voucher? Massage certificate? Something that fits neatly in an envelope with above mentioned statement of how sorry one is for the situation. I'm just saying.
Second example - Rosie O'Donnell. Apparently her inappropriate use of flowers was for an apology for her blog whining about her new job at The View. She sent the flowers after Barbara Walters was upset by the blog. After reading a snippet in the news, I can see why. Not only is it whinny, but there's an utter lack of spelling, punctuation, or full words. As a fellow journalist, I can feel her pain in hiring someone who can't express their innermost feelings with out using the number 2 as a word. All political and social topics aside, my minimum for getting into the door on a job is at least a showing that you can properly write the English language. Consistently. What you put in your private diary is your own deal, what you publish on a blog is a public representation of who you are. Additional flag on the play for complaining about a job most of us would die to have. Let's see, you sit on a couch for a few hours a day and talk about current social trends and interview celebrities. Gee, rough life. Thanks for sharing. I know it's tough actually having a boss, but yet again, a huge chunk of us have that issue every day and seem to do just fine with it. Flowers? I'm thinking you needed to send something that again, doesn't remind Barbara of your inane lack of grammar skills. Mani-pedi certificate? Massage? Gift cert to a shi-shi store?
If it's a true apology, there's a price involved. Something that says "I'm sorry I've caused you grief, here's something to bring a bit of relaxation into your universe". Flowers are a celebration - are you celebrating your stupidity? Lack of good judgment? The fact that that person is willing to accept something from you at all? While you can get a word in edgewise, better make it actual words. Back to that written apology again. And stay out of flower land. Lameness flag, 10 yard penalty, 1st down. Get creative and think about the person would really enjoy. If flowers say apology to them, go for it. Just remember that on Valentine's Day and their birthday and other special occasions when you really do want the flowers to say something celebratory.
It's MY word, dammit!
blerk - (adj.) crappy; less than tantalizing; futility as to daily routine; frustrating yet powerless to effect change
Yup, it's my word. I made it up. Here's my big fat timestamped claim to fame. Time to submit a copyright. Not that I'll enforce the damn thing. Just remember who made it up, Sparky!
Yup, it's my word. I made it up. Here's my big fat timestamped claim to fame. Time to submit a copyright. Not that I'll enforce the damn thing. Just remember who made it up, Sparky!
Chicken Soup yet again..
Yup, sick again. Woke up with a scratchy throat, and I'm just done with being sick. I have a Bar reception to go to tonight, and I was supposed to go to practice. Yeah, no practice for me. I need to go home and sleep. A lot. Wrapped in chicken soup. Right after I finish the homework that got added on for the week.
Yup, I'm a grumpy critter who just wants to be left alone. Forgot my books this morning. Dealing with dumbasses about billing at work. Attempting to drown myself in herbal tea and ibuprophen. Blerk.
I'll be under my desk if anyone needs me.
Yup, I'm a grumpy critter who just wants to be left alone. Forgot my books this morning. Dealing with dumbasses about billing at work. Attempting to drown myself in herbal tea and ibuprophen. Blerk.
I'll be under my desk if anyone needs me.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Sometimes I get creative...
Hrmph.. Blogger was down for maintenance. So I wrote a song. It’s official – I’m within 10 lbs of my ideal weight. Without further ado, here’s my less than nice side, expressed in non-obscene, yet somewhat catchy poetics:
(hum along to Willie Nelson’s To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before, you know you wanna)
To all the people I’ve hated before..
Please go faster out my door
It won’t take very long,
I dedicate this song,
To all the folks I’ve hated before.
To all the folks I once distressed,
My ass looks better in this dress.
For helping me to grow,
Like you have down below,
To all the folks I’ve hated before.
The winds of change are always blowing,
Every time I try to say,
The winds of change continue blowing
My real life carried me away.
To all the jerks who shared my gain,
Who now are someone else’s pain.
I’m glad they’re finally gone, I dedicate this song
To all the jerks I’ve hated before
To the real friends who cared for me
Who filled my nights with catty glee.
They live within my heart
To bad we grew apart
To certain friends who cared for me.
To all the idiots I’ve despised before
Who travelled in and out our doors.
It’s time to change the locks
I dedicate this schlock,
To all the idiots I’ve despised before
Craving Girl Strikes Back!
So, I had this craving yesterday. I'd been doing my weekly plan of what to cook, and since fall is hitting, pumpkin things started sounding good. One the way home yesterday, I decide to drop into Wal Mart, get a few things I need and look for canned pumpkin. I know I've seen it there before, right?
Wrong. No dice. Got everything else, but no pumpkin... So I try Rite Aid. I know you're thinking I'm nuts, but again, I've seen it there before during the fall. It must not be thanksgiving time yet (wonder of wonders, they're not decorating for Christmas yet!). But again, no dice..
Last chance - Smart and Final. I know you're thinking "why not go to a supermarket?" Because they take longer. A lot longer. I usually get stuck behind the woman writing a check with 500 coupons. Root canals are shorter and less painful. I kick myself for thinking of this after the weekly foray to the grocery.
So, Smart and Final. I think I'm in love... Yet, I panic as I can't find pumpkin! I roam back and forth, around the woman in a burka speaking something other than English. I get frantic as I can't find it. I even check the freezer - no, no pumpkin pie even.. One more trip through the canned things aisle. I can get a can of salsa the size of my head - where's the pumpkin? And then I spot it, next to the head sized can of vanilla pudding. A can of pumpkin. And it too comes in the 16 lb. head sized can! Can you imagine a head sized can of pumpkin? In my madness and glee of finally finding the damn thing, I grab the huge can in celebration and swear not to run out of pumpkin until this craving is gone...
So I made pumpkin ravioli last night. And yes, 16 lbs. is a LOT of pumpkin. I hope I don't regret this...
Wrong. No dice. Got everything else, but no pumpkin... So I try Rite Aid. I know you're thinking I'm nuts, but again, I've seen it there before during the fall. It must not be thanksgiving time yet (wonder of wonders, they're not decorating for Christmas yet!). But again, no dice..
Last chance - Smart and Final. I know you're thinking "why not go to a supermarket?" Because they take longer. A lot longer. I usually get stuck behind the woman writing a check with 500 coupons. Root canals are shorter and less painful. I kick myself for thinking of this after the weekly foray to the grocery.
So, Smart and Final. I think I'm in love... Yet, I panic as I can't find pumpkin! I roam back and forth, around the woman in a burka speaking something other than English. I get frantic as I can't find it. I even check the freezer - no, no pumpkin pie even.. One more trip through the canned things aisle. I can get a can of salsa the size of my head - where's the pumpkin? And then I spot it, next to the head sized can of vanilla pudding. A can of pumpkin. And it too comes in the 16 lb. head sized can! Can you imagine a head sized can of pumpkin? In my madness and glee of finally finding the damn thing, I grab the huge can in celebration and swear not to run out of pumpkin until this craving is gone...
So I made pumpkin ravioli last night. And yes, 16 lbs. is a LOT of pumpkin. I hope I don't regret this...
Monday, September 18, 2006
Torture has a few benefits...
So, when you're a law student, the big database companies want nothing more than to get you hooked on using their services. So you get oodles of access for free to try and points for constantly using the service. These points are rather valuable at times. Lexis lets you shop at Amazon, Westlaw has a catalog of goodies to pick from. If you're really into saving up, you can get anything from golf clubs to gift certificates for flights.
As I'm not good at saving up points, and part of me believes that those big prizes will never arrive, I've devoted my points to getting those little niceties that make my place a bit easier. Everything from CDs to housewares. My latest purchases? A new, big CD wallet and a knife set. All ordered in the name of data addiction, facilitated by the lovely research database folks.
So when random packages show up at my house, not only am I shopping for free, but they pay the shipping too! Sometimes this suffering has its privileges... Sometimes...
As I'm not good at saving up points, and part of me believes that those big prizes will never arrive, I've devoted my points to getting those little niceties that make my place a bit easier. Everything from CDs to housewares. My latest purchases? A new, big CD wallet and a knife set. All ordered in the name of data addiction, facilitated by the lovely research database folks.
So when random packages show up at my house, not only am I shopping for free, but they pay the shipping too! Sometimes this suffering has its privileges... Sometimes...
Friday, September 15, 2006
Err, ack. Grr... Friday night work, hooray!
Well, I have to vent. I don't have time to vent, but in the interests of my head not exploding, I'm going to.
I just ran home on my lunch to pull out one of my legal files, call the court, weasel out of them the forms needed to be filed, find said forms, email myself the links to them (learned something useful there!) and race back to work. Lunch is apparently not for eating...
Why did I do this? Because a file was on file that I didn't know was on fire. I thought the other file was on fire. But noooo, that file is moving more slowly, oh, and by the way we missed an appearance too. Great. Spiffy. Extra tasty with ranch on it.
So I'll be spending a chunk of my Friday evening getting a bunch of forms filled out and sent off to the signatories so they can be filed on Monday morning. Happy Friday.
I have half a bottle of white wine waiting for me when I get that done. I may not go to Crown tomorrow. We'll see if I get this crap done.
In positive news, I did learn where the CA Judicial Forms live on the Internet in all their glory... Now if I just had a guide to what actually works for what we want to do, that would be spiffy. But nooooo, that's legal advice. I'm supposed to be the one to give that advice, after I pass the Bar. I smell a chicken v. egg problem here. Time to call the library....
Have I mentioned lately how much I hate California flakey? Dammit people, when I say something, could you at least try to remember it? Maybe do what you say you're going to do? Show up when scheduled? Not be pissy when I don't know something you didn't tell me? I'm just saying...
I just ran home on my lunch to pull out one of my legal files, call the court, weasel out of them the forms needed to be filed, find said forms, email myself the links to them (learned something useful there!) and race back to work. Lunch is apparently not for eating...
Why did I do this? Because a file was on file that I didn't know was on fire. I thought the other file was on fire. But noooo, that file is moving more slowly, oh, and by the way we missed an appearance too. Great. Spiffy. Extra tasty with ranch on it.
So I'll be spending a chunk of my Friday evening getting a bunch of forms filled out and sent off to the signatories so they can be filed on Monday morning. Happy Friday.
I have half a bottle of white wine waiting for me when I get that done. I may not go to Crown tomorrow. We'll see if I get this crap done.
In positive news, I did learn where the CA Judicial Forms live on the Internet in all their glory... Now if I just had a guide to what actually works for what we want to do, that would be spiffy. But nooooo, that's legal advice. I'm supposed to be the one to give that advice, after I pass the Bar. I smell a chicken v. egg problem here. Time to call the library....
Have I mentioned lately how much I hate California flakey? Dammit people, when I say something, could you at least try to remember it? Maybe do what you say you're going to do? Show up when scheduled? Not be pissy when I don't know something you didn't tell me? I'm just saying...
Go me!
So, I'm sitting in class last night, listening to the joys of Evidence and moping about the general fact that I can't afford to go clothing shopping anytime soon. Well, at least not in the next week. So I contemplate the possibilities. I could go thrift shopping - $20 buys a lot. But you have to shovel through a lot to get to the good stuff. I could puruse the clearance racks at the mall. But $20 doesn't buy as much there, and I really need more clothes for work. Hmm...
I get through the case where the entire class confuses itself on who's cross examining who, and suddenly it dawns on me! I can sew! Yeah, I know - DUH! But when you concentrate on making medieval and reproduction clothing for a while you tend to forget about real clothes. Not that I'm any sort of modern tailor, but I did the leotard thing for a while - I know stretch! So I'm going through my fabric stash in my head while writing notes on 404(b) exceptions. I remember some black knit stuff and a few funky patterns I have available. Hmm...
So I romp home finally, dump my books and such and dive in. One and one half hours later, I emerge from the sewing room with a brand new, black knit dress. It's not half bad! In fact, it's almost professional. Hmm, I've bought crappier dresses than this in stores! Those Chinese sewers ain't got nothing on me! I was aiming for something I could at least wear comfortably around the house and got something better. Go me!
I get through the case where the entire class confuses itself on who's cross examining who, and suddenly it dawns on me! I can sew! Yeah, I know - DUH! But when you concentrate on making medieval and reproduction clothing for a while you tend to forget about real clothes. Not that I'm any sort of modern tailor, but I did the leotard thing for a while - I know stretch! So I'm going through my fabric stash in my head while writing notes on 404(b) exceptions. I remember some black knit stuff and a few funky patterns I have available. Hmm...
So I romp home finally, dump my books and such and dive in. One and one half hours later, I emerge from the sewing room with a brand new, black knit dress. It's not half bad! In fact, it's almost professional. Hmm, I've bought crappier dresses than this in stores! Those Chinese sewers ain't got nothing on me! I was aiming for something I could at least wear comfortably around the house and got something better. Go me!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Better now...now with an addiction!
Ok, so I'll stop whining about being sick now. Just rather weird how I felt like Superman on kryptonite. Weak and sniffly with a strange craving for chocolate. I had chocolate for dinner 3 days in a row. Not recommended, it's no wonder my stomach complained regularly.
But I am officially a junkie. Not just any junkie, but a reality tv junkie. It took them a lot of tries, and I attempted not to give in. But they created Project Runway, and it's all over folks. I'm addicted. Hooked. Willing to give up sleep. Plan my wine drinking around it (the show is better with a nice dry Chardonnay). And I swore this would never happen.
So now every Wednesday evening around 10pm, I'm camped out on the couch to see what craptacular fashions get created in a day. I don't feel so bad for some of my attempted outfits that failed miserably after seeing some of theirs. And I'll miss Angela, other than the damn rosettes everywhere! Holly Hobby is right! And it felt good to watch Jeffrey get blasted in the end last night. I'll miss Kaine's Elvis fashion sense, but there was no way he was going to win with those judges. But I'd loooove to see him open a dress shop in some good Southern city. He'd have clients for miles!
So yeah. Addicted. I'm so ashamed. I'm reading water rights cases today in atonement. And I'll hit the pell tonight too for missing practice yesterday. Blah.
But I am officially a junkie. Not just any junkie, but a reality tv junkie. It took them a lot of tries, and I attempted not to give in. But they created Project Runway, and it's all over folks. I'm addicted. Hooked. Willing to give up sleep. Plan my wine drinking around it (the show is better with a nice dry Chardonnay). And I swore this would never happen.
So now every Wednesday evening around 10pm, I'm camped out on the couch to see what craptacular fashions get created in a day. I don't feel so bad for some of my attempted outfits that failed miserably after seeing some of theirs. And I'll miss Angela, other than the damn rosettes everywhere! Holly Hobby is right! And it felt good to watch Jeffrey get blasted in the end last night. I'll miss Kaine's Elvis fashion sense, but there was no way he was going to win with those judges. But I'd loooove to see him open a dress shop in some good Southern city. He'd have clients for miles!
So yeah. Addicted. I'm so ashamed. I'm reading water rights cases today in atonement. And I'll hit the pell tonight too for missing practice yesterday. Blah.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
The fillet/sack of potatos virus...
Just when I think I'm getting better, I feel like ass again. Yesiree bob, I went to work today, ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, and went to class as well mid-day. Got to class and sat down for the first time in a few hours and practically melted like a pat of butter on a hotplate. Suddenly it was hard to sit in my chair as I turned into a human shaped jellyfish!
It's official, this virus/cold thing sucks! I think I'm heading home to vegetate on the couch for the first time in weeks tonight. In a bucket. Hopefully I'll find my spine in there somewhere. If nothing else, maybe I'll kill a level in the new games we got this weekend... Blah.
It's official, this virus/cold thing sucks! I think I'm heading home to vegetate on the couch for the first time in weeks tonight. In a bucket. Hopefully I'll find my spine in there somewhere. If nothing else, maybe I'll kill a level in the new games we got this weekend... Blah.
Ode to my honey...
Well, I had a moment of realizing how fabulous my man is, so in the spirit of blatant self reflection in public forums, I hereby inflict it upon you. If you threw yourself bodily at me in the past few years and I didn't catch, pay attention. It's probably because you missed one of these. Work on them for the sake of womankind. As for you, my man, I think this is relevant enough for the rest of the universe as well as you :-) My apologies for the overly public stuff.
1. He does what he says he's going to do. Eureka! What a concept! I can get a statement of what he intends to do, and with minor variations, he does it. Even if it has nothing at all to do with me, he's consistent. Ding Ding Ding! This point is missed consistently on surveys of comparable men of a similar age and geographic area. There will be a story about it in the next National Geographic...
2. He tells me basic, necessary information in response to a question. Yes, I want to join you for the penguin performance art expo this weekend. No, I don't like petrified walnuts. Yes, I'd like to see you tonight, but I'm in Swaziland, so you're out of luck. No, what you just said sucked, and I'm hurt by it... No drama, no inflections of what could be, no blank stares, no overwhelming agenda of need. Just useful info that makes it possible for two confused people to interact.
3. He has a life. Despite occasionally getting crap from the rest of you, he has a life. And he defends his time working on his life. Actual goals are in his plans, and they don't just revolve around what's for dinner! He's not interested, without really good inducement, in picking up his universe and changing it for one person. Damn. That's hot...
4. He's clever without being an ass or a wuss. Yes, this is possible - it's not a fairy tale. And he can tell me what he thinks without demeaning me in the process. He treats people with respect, even while telling them they're idiots and is willing to stick around to discuss why he feels that way.
Gosh, I'm sure there's more here, but I do need to do work today.
1. He does what he says he's going to do. Eureka! What a concept! I can get a statement of what he intends to do, and with minor variations, he does it. Even if it has nothing at all to do with me, he's consistent. Ding Ding Ding! This point is missed consistently on surveys of comparable men of a similar age and geographic area. There will be a story about it in the next National Geographic...
2. He tells me basic, necessary information in response to a question. Yes, I want to join you for the penguin performance art expo this weekend. No, I don't like petrified walnuts. Yes, I'd like to see you tonight, but I'm in Swaziland, so you're out of luck. No, what you just said sucked, and I'm hurt by it... No drama, no inflections of what could be, no blank stares, no overwhelming agenda of need. Just useful info that makes it possible for two confused people to interact.
3. He has a life. Despite occasionally getting crap from the rest of you, he has a life. And he defends his time working on his life. Actual goals are in his plans, and they don't just revolve around what's for dinner! He's not interested, without really good inducement, in picking up his universe and changing it for one person. Damn. That's hot...
4. He's clever without being an ass or a wuss. Yes, this is possible - it's not a fairy tale. And he can tell me what he thinks without demeaning me in the process. He treats people with respect, even while telling them they're idiots and is willing to stick around to discuss why he feels that way.
Gosh, I'm sure there's more here, but I do need to do work today.
The plague season
I have survived the beginning of the plague season.
It started on Sunday, when I generally felt out of it. Tried exercise, no dice. Tried lunch, not the problem. Tried a nap, could have slept all day. But I persevered and just went on as if nothing was wrong.
By 10am Monday, I felt like ass. Exhausted, stomach unhappy, sniffly and pitiful. I went home, after sticking out a 6 hour day. And slept. And slept some more. And did I mention sleep? I did that again, right after my nap. Woke up Tuesday morning and decided life was too short not to take care of myself a bit longer. And slept. Did homework between sleeping. Actually did a lot of homework, all things considered. But then, sitting with a book in my lap was about the most strenuous thing I could handle. I got a fever while doing dishes. Lord help me, I hope the briefs I wrote will work for class!
So, long sleepy story short, I'm better. Not sure I'm up for fighter practice tonight, but at least I'm not falling asleep in my keyboard while sniffling anymore. And yes, I'm getting enough sleep on the weekends and such. Really, I am taking care of myself. But sometimes the bug just gets you.
Stay frosty...
It started on Sunday, when I generally felt out of it. Tried exercise, no dice. Tried lunch, not the problem. Tried a nap, could have slept all day. But I persevered and just went on as if nothing was wrong.
By 10am Monday, I felt like ass. Exhausted, stomach unhappy, sniffly and pitiful. I went home, after sticking out a 6 hour day. And slept. And slept some more. And did I mention sleep? I did that again, right after my nap. Woke up Tuesday morning and decided life was too short not to take care of myself a bit longer. And slept. Did homework between sleeping. Actually did a lot of homework, all things considered. But then, sitting with a book in my lap was about the most strenuous thing I could handle. I got a fever while doing dishes. Lord help me, I hope the briefs I wrote will work for class!
So, long sleepy story short, I'm better. Not sure I'm up for fighter practice tonight, but at least I'm not falling asleep in my keyboard while sniffling anymore. And yes, I'm getting enough sleep on the weekends and such. Really, I am taking care of myself. But sometimes the bug just gets you.
Stay frosty...
Monday, September 11, 2006
Pitiful...
Well, I'm working on my fourth week of classes this week. I've missed one night of classes due to dealing with personnel issues at work. And now, it's starting early. Yup, I think I'm sick. I'm all sniffly and pitiful today, and I'm attempting to calculate how bad it would be to miss class today, work as much of a full day at work as possible, and head home a bit early to sleep and finish homework for tomorrow.
I am about 1/4 done with the semester. Most classes, you get 3 absences. I've been trying to save those for later in the semester for when I'm well and truly sick. But, I think I AM well and truly sick. I was feeling kind of out of it all day yesterday as it was. I thought it was from being entirely off my sleep and exercise schedule. But now I'm thinking flu or cold bug.
Other issue - I have really no time off at work at the moment. I kind of killed that for Pennsic. Entirely worth it, but now that means I truly do need to be at work for a full 8 hours. So, to make my day shorter so I can go home and sleep, that means skipping class and leaving here about 2:30. Yeah, doing the sick time accounting gets complex with work and school.
Doesn't help that I'm contemplating the value of doing as much outlining and prep work on my paper as well as making a few calls on my law clerk job. Am I trading one form of work for another? Will I really get some sleep tonight if I head home early? Am I sinking my own ship early in the semester? Ugh, this stinks. I could very well survive my whole day today, it's not that bad. And save the time off for a later, much more serious illness. Or am I setting myself up for turning this cold into something worse? I'll see how I feel at 12:30 when it's time to leave for class...
I am about 1/4 done with the semester. Most classes, you get 3 absences. I've been trying to save those for later in the semester for when I'm well and truly sick. But, I think I AM well and truly sick. I was feeling kind of out of it all day yesterday as it was. I thought it was from being entirely off my sleep and exercise schedule. But now I'm thinking flu or cold bug.
Other issue - I have really no time off at work at the moment. I kind of killed that for Pennsic. Entirely worth it, but now that means I truly do need to be at work for a full 8 hours. So, to make my day shorter so I can go home and sleep, that means skipping class and leaving here about 2:30. Yeah, doing the sick time accounting gets complex with work and school.
Doesn't help that I'm contemplating the value of doing as much outlining and prep work on my paper as well as making a few calls on my law clerk job. Am I trading one form of work for another? Will I really get some sleep tonight if I head home early? Am I sinking my own ship early in the semester? Ugh, this stinks. I could very well survive my whole day today, it's not that bad. And save the time off for a later, much more serious illness. Or am I setting myself up for turning this cold into something worse? I'll see how I feel at 12:30 when it's time to leave for class...
Friday, September 08, 2006
Scheduling hell....
Oh bugger! I have to stop doing the personal training thing for a while...
I talked to my fantastic trainer today, and we're just both too busy to find a time that works for us. We're planning on restarting again in December, but for the moment, I just can't seem to consistently get away from work. I can get to the gym to work out, just not at any particular time each week. And he doesn't work past 2pm, which leaves those afternoons when I actually do workout out of the picture.
So, my task, should I choose to accept it, is to continue kicking my own ass into shape, and get to the gym and practice regularly. I think I can keep it mostly up, provided I get to the gym. It makes a vast difference in my sleep and stress levels. And now I know what works. My jeans look fantastic on me again, hooray!
Only annoyance at the moment is the simple fact that I think I left my demi gauntlets at Pennsic. Grrr... With friends, but no word back on whether they found them. So, time to replace another simple piece of gear before I go back to sword and board.
Have a lovely weekend, I'm off to get a cell phone for my parents!
I talked to my fantastic trainer today, and we're just both too busy to find a time that works for us. We're planning on restarting again in December, but for the moment, I just can't seem to consistently get away from work. I can get to the gym to work out, just not at any particular time each week. And he doesn't work past 2pm, which leaves those afternoons when I actually do workout out of the picture.
So, my task, should I choose to accept it, is to continue kicking my own ass into shape, and get to the gym and practice regularly. I think I can keep it mostly up, provided I get to the gym. It makes a vast difference in my sleep and stress levels. And now I know what works. My jeans look fantastic on me again, hooray!
Only annoyance at the moment is the simple fact that I think I left my demi gauntlets at Pennsic. Grrr... With friends, but no word back on whether they found them. So, time to replace another simple piece of gear before I go back to sword and board.
Have a lovely weekend, I'm off to get a cell phone for my parents!
Thursday, September 07, 2006
How did they do this without the Internet?
Ok, it's official. I have no idea how anyone practiced law without the use of computers.
So I have this paper to do for Land Use that's pretty basic. You find a planning decision that is about to be decided or has just been decided. You find the supporting documentation and write a paper outlining the proposal and the action taken. The whole thing is about 5-6 pages, double spaced. I've written love letters longer than that :-)
Well, I merrily found my issue, found the online agenda and submitted documentation, printed everything out, and I'll check and see if there's anything else I need once I read it this weekend. All this from the SD Planning Commission website, right? It's all right there, I just need to print it off and make sense of it.
What I can't imagine is looking all this crap up offline at the courthouse, copying all of it, praying you have it all, and having to slog to the meeting to see what happens. Not only are all of my documents online, but a video of the meeting is there too! Talk about assisting the terminally lazy! It's fabulous!
Thank goodness for technology. I'm pretty sure I'm the only anal idiot who's already got my paper research almost done, but I'd prefer to plan ahead for my pater procrastination. The writing always kills me.
So I have this paper to do for Land Use that's pretty basic. You find a planning decision that is about to be decided or has just been decided. You find the supporting documentation and write a paper outlining the proposal and the action taken. The whole thing is about 5-6 pages, double spaced. I've written love letters longer than that :-)
Well, I merrily found my issue, found the online agenda and submitted documentation, printed everything out, and I'll check and see if there's anything else I need once I read it this weekend. All this from the SD Planning Commission website, right? It's all right there, I just need to print it off and make sense of it.
What I can't imagine is looking all this crap up offline at the courthouse, copying all of it, praying you have it all, and having to slog to the meeting to see what happens. Not only are all of my documents online, but a video of the meeting is there too! Talk about assisting the terminally lazy! It's fabulous!
Thank goodness for technology. I'm pretty sure I'm the only anal idiot who's already got my paper research almost done, but I'd prefer to plan ahead for my pater procrastination. The writing always kills me.
Priorities
Well folks, my plate is officially full. Manageable, but full. I'm even considering not taking the law clerk job because they guy won't stop bugging me while I'm at work. I told him nights and weekends, and I mean it. And even then, there's a limit to what I can do with that time. I HAVE to spend down time. No exceptions. I want to see my man and relax for crying out loud.
I might be nuts for trying this law clerk thing, we'll see how it goes. Problem is that I desperately need something on my resume that says I have a clue. Even if only for 6 months, it's vastly better than nothing. And I'm learning real crap. It's just a bit of a planning headache in the meantime. Spontaneity is going to be scarce for a while...
So yeah, my head just might explode. Especially if work doesn't calm down soon. We really need to stop rearranging people's offices with a day's notice. Especially since I'm the lucky girl who gets to organize it all, hoo-fucking-ray.
Have a nice day kids. Don't be pissy when I say I'm busy. I am. Deal. In theory it means I'll be a lawyer soon.
I might be nuts for trying this law clerk thing, we'll see how it goes. Problem is that I desperately need something on my resume that says I have a clue. Even if only for 6 months, it's vastly better than nothing. And I'm learning real crap. It's just a bit of a planning headache in the meantime. Spontaneity is going to be scarce for a while...
So yeah, my head just might explode. Especially if work doesn't calm down soon. We really need to stop rearranging people's offices with a day's notice. Especially since I'm the lucky girl who gets to organize it all, hoo-fucking-ray.
Have a nice day kids. Don't be pissy when I say I'm busy. I am. Deal. In theory it means I'll be a lawyer soon.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
cross your fingers
So, I might have a law clerk job...
After hours, evenings and weekends. In real estate.
Inside my head, I'm jumping up and down. We'll see if I get it....
eek!
After hours, evenings and weekends. In real estate.
Inside my head, I'm jumping up and down. We'll see if I get it....
eek!
Hrmphpppppt....
Ok this Tuesday, Thursday thing is going to be painful for the next few months. Granted, it's vastly better than spreading the pain through the whole week. But going to work by 7:30, hitting hte gym at lunch, leaving around 5ish, going to class from 6-10, then stumbling home is just freaking nuts! I got out of class and had a weird "I need to eat, yet I'm wired and tired all at once" feeling. Add this to watching what I'm eating and wow, I think I'm crazy...
Granted, now that I've gottten 2 of 3 books in the mail I can go home tonight after work and shuffle through homework in the comfort of my hobbit hole. I like that going home after work thing - it's tasty! There's an excellent chance I'm not going to practice tonight, if only because of the novelty of doing my homework at home. And I'm contemplating a bit of quality time on the XBox. Sure, I'm a bit more focused when I study at the library. But boy, can I clean when I need a break in studying at home. I finally found the top of my desk on Sunday, not to mention hanging the thread rack and cleaning out one of the shelves in the cabinet. And my apartment needs some love. It told me today it's feeling neglected. There's also nothing more fun than chasing the cats with the vacuum - looks of absolute terror on their faces!
So yeah, I can do this 15 hour day thing. I truly can. I just have to take care of myself and pace things a bit to be sure I get fun and sleep and food in there somewhere too!
Granted, now that I've gottten 2 of 3 books in the mail I can go home tonight after work and shuffle through homework in the comfort of my hobbit hole. I like that going home after work thing - it's tasty! There's an excellent chance I'm not going to practice tonight, if only because of the novelty of doing my homework at home. And I'm contemplating a bit of quality time on the XBox. Sure, I'm a bit more focused when I study at the library. But boy, can I clean when I need a break in studying at home. I finally found the top of my desk on Sunday, not to mention hanging the thread rack and cleaning out one of the shelves in the cabinet. And my apartment needs some love. It told me today it's feeling neglected. There's also nothing more fun than chasing the cats with the vacuum - looks of absolute terror on their faces!
So yeah, I can do this 15 hour day thing. I truly can. I just have to take care of myself and pace things a bit to be sure I get fun and sleep and food in there somewhere too!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Sept Potrero
Sooo, I had a great war this weekend. Granted, it was hardly bigger than a Brigade practice, but heck, we should have more brigade practices like this!
The weather was actually really nice. Hot, a bit windy, but definitely nice. We nabbed a great spot behind the Romani that was all trees.
Fighting was good - same folks we usually fight. We fielded a line of 1/2 regular Orkneys and 1/2 guys trying out fighting with us. We worked well together - I have so missed my guys while fighting all over the known world for the last year! It was great to be able to march in and know the guy next to you would hold the line, crush them in a charge, and work with you on the spear line. Lots of talking and working together, it was good to see!
Evil Squirrel Move #2 is almost perfected - Big John laughed his ass off the first time he saw me do it. It's Evil Squirrel move #2 because I use one of the guys to hide behind, then pop out to the left and gack the hell out of whoever is facing off against them. They never know what hit them! I've got my point control down to a really nice feel. Especially since I retaped that spear of Riley's that I've been using. Good lord, I think he had the kitchen sink taped in there. It took me almost an hour to get down to the shaft and clean all the crap off of it. I plunked on the tip kit from Mandrake Armory (go buy them, they rock!) and voila! No more tip heavy spear! It worked like a charm...I think I gacked V 3 times in a row before deciding I'd tormented him enough. He's a good guy, he deserves not to have to res every 10 seconds :-)
BTW, in case you're wondering, Evil Squirrel Move #1 is when I actually have a secondary or I'm fighting sword and board and I basically run up your spear like a rabid squirrel. A few folks have experienced that one, it amuses me. But I haven't found a loving secondary to carry yet. It's next on my list. Right after kicking ass with a sword and board.
And yes, I willingly did push ups this weekend. It was amusing. Good to know I can easily do 10. Now to perfect the non-girly ones... Lordy, I'm turning into one of them.
Did some dancing - Allister and his guys were laying down the groove thing at Iron Maiden every time I stopped by. I stopped and danced a few times, it was fun. But I definitely need more sleep and down time while fighting. I usually shut down by midnight for need of sleep. I love to dance, but it's definitely not my focus at the moment. Good to see some of the girls using their new moves, too...
And N finally got his AoA, right as he's bitching about not getting it a few months ago. We'd all just settled into an evening of hanging by the fire when he gets summoned to the Baron's presence. He comes back his lordship. We had a good laugh and called him Lord N all night. Nothing like good timing - Good Game, Baron!
The weather was actually really nice. Hot, a bit windy, but definitely nice. We nabbed a great spot behind the Romani that was all trees.
Fighting was good - same folks we usually fight. We fielded a line of 1/2 regular Orkneys and 1/2 guys trying out fighting with us. We worked well together - I have so missed my guys while fighting all over the known world for the last year! It was great to be able to march in and know the guy next to you would hold the line, crush them in a charge, and work with you on the spear line. Lots of talking and working together, it was good to see!
Evil Squirrel Move #2 is almost perfected - Big John laughed his ass off the first time he saw me do it. It's Evil Squirrel move #2 because I use one of the guys to hide behind, then pop out to the left and gack the hell out of whoever is facing off against them. They never know what hit them! I've got my point control down to a really nice feel. Especially since I retaped that spear of Riley's that I've been using. Good lord, I think he had the kitchen sink taped in there. It took me almost an hour to get down to the shaft and clean all the crap off of it. I plunked on the tip kit from Mandrake Armory (go buy them, they rock!) and voila! No more tip heavy spear! It worked like a charm...I think I gacked V 3 times in a row before deciding I'd tormented him enough. He's a good guy, he deserves not to have to res every 10 seconds :-)
BTW, in case you're wondering, Evil Squirrel Move #1 is when I actually have a secondary or I'm fighting sword and board and I basically run up your spear like a rabid squirrel. A few folks have experienced that one, it amuses me. But I haven't found a loving secondary to carry yet. It's next on my list. Right after kicking ass with a sword and board.
And yes, I willingly did push ups this weekend. It was amusing. Good to know I can easily do 10. Now to perfect the non-girly ones... Lordy, I'm turning into one of them.
Did some dancing - Allister and his guys were laying down the groove thing at Iron Maiden every time I stopped by. I stopped and danced a few times, it was fun. But I definitely need more sleep and down time while fighting. I usually shut down by midnight for need of sleep. I love to dance, but it's definitely not my focus at the moment. Good to see some of the girls using their new moves, too...
And N finally got his AoA, right as he's bitching about not getting it a few months ago. We'd all just settled into an evening of hanging by the fire when he gets summoned to the Baron's presence. He comes back his lordship. We had a good laugh and called him Lord N all night. Nothing like good timing - Good Game, Baron!
Metrics, baby, it's all about the nums!
So I managed to get to the gym today, and jogged for 20 minutes, worked on my shoulders and legs. Good workout! I was getting a shower towel when the trainer dude at the desk asks if I want to measure my body fat. Sure, why the heck not, right? Last time we tried this, I was over 30% - not terrible, but not in my range of acceptable things in my universe. So he has me hold this little thingie and voila! Numbers pop up...
Good numbers, I might add! I've dropped about 4% body fat. BMI is still the same, but I think it's a crappy measure since I've clearly added lots of muscle. If my weight has gone up 6 pounds, yet my body fat has dropped, good news, eh? No wonder my FBI Academy shorts fit again! Woohoo! Go me! Happy dance in the shower!
So yeah, I'm buying one of those little Body fat monitor thingies. If anything gets me to the gym, it's seeing real numbers other than my scale. The scale gets frustrating when you're building muscle. I still have work to do, but that made me feel lovely!
Good numbers, I might add! I've dropped about 4% body fat. BMI is still the same, but I think it's a crappy measure since I've clearly added lots of muscle. If my weight has gone up 6 pounds, yet my body fat has dropped, good news, eh? No wonder my FBI Academy shorts fit again! Woohoo! Go me! Happy dance in the shower!
So yeah, I'm buying one of those little Body fat monitor thingies. If anything gets me to the gym, it's seeing real numbers other than my scale. The scale gets frustrating when you're building muscle. I still have work to do, but that made me feel lovely!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Only in SoCal
Only here can you have the Mexican quesedilla special in a French Bistro, and not have to worry about weird ingredients or your digestive system...
I didn't even flinch as I ordered. It was actually some of the best refried beans I've had in a while :-)
I didn't even flinch as I ordered. It was actually some of the best refried beans I've had in a while :-)
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Penguin girl
Feeling pretty ridiculous today...
Two days ago I had a great workout in the gym. Second time since Pennsic, lots of reps, feeling pretty good, just the usual soreness, right?
How about no? Two days later I can barely walk. Most of me is fine, but apparently the squats and lunges were way too much for my quads. Everything is fine, except when I bend my legs, sit, walk on stairs, etc. Anything that involves my quads contracting brings a lovely bout of burning pain. Yup, I did a number on myself.
So I'm toddling around my universe like an oversized penguin. Ever tried walking without bending your legs? It gets comical rapidly. I hate picking things up, and I'm certainly not walking up any more stairs today. Using a spear this weekend should be entertaining. I think this is the universe telling me not to take my body for granted, eh?
Two days ago I had a great workout in the gym. Second time since Pennsic, lots of reps, feeling pretty good, just the usual soreness, right?
How about no? Two days later I can barely walk. Most of me is fine, but apparently the squats and lunges were way too much for my quads. Everything is fine, except when I bend my legs, sit, walk on stairs, etc. Anything that involves my quads contracting brings a lovely bout of burning pain. Yup, I did a number on myself.
So I'm toddling around my universe like an oversized penguin. Ever tried walking without bending your legs? It gets comical rapidly. I hate picking things up, and I'm certainly not walking up any more stairs today. Using a spear this weekend should be entertaining. I think this is the universe telling me not to take my body for granted, eh?
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Not too terrible
First week of classes down, not too bad thus far. This whole taking a class during the day thing is pretty cool! It's vastly better than being there after work every night of the week, then sitting down to some nice tasty homework all night. Oh boy! Instead, that time normally spent in class is spent doing homework. Definitely better time management. Thank goodness my boss has been through this and gets how hard it is.
So, a little summary of my schedule - Maestro, theme music if you please? Something upbeat, but not perky...
Land Use Planning - ie. bureaucratic ways the government and your neighbors can tell you how to use your land. It's a reality, folks. And I find it rather entertaining. Professor sounds like an older Sinatra, if you listen to Sinatra's monologues on his recordings. And Peggy and I get to sit and ping off each other all through class like schoolgirls :-)
Administrative Law - ie. bureaucracy defined. Actually I find this class entertaining as well. i think I'm doomed to like a life of pushing paper back and forth with the same official for the rest of my life. And the concept doesn't scare me. Getting paperwork done, especially with the gov't, makes me feel like I accomplished something hard. And I've already saved the world, lit myself on fire, yadda yadda. No burning desire to save the world or express myself. I'm into establishing a life soemtime soon, and it's just about me.
Evidence - ie. pain and required suffering. At least the professor is interesting. Unfortunately I don't think he speaks English. Or Evidence is in Swahili. Haven't figured it out yet, but I spend a lot of time in class thus far with a perplexed look on my face. Luckily I do the homework, so eventually I do usually get it. But I need a roadmap, a guide, and a sherpa for all the books. Ugh...
Off to my day class - wheee!
So, a little summary of my schedule - Maestro, theme music if you please? Something upbeat, but not perky...
Land Use Planning - ie. bureaucratic ways the government and your neighbors can tell you how to use your land. It's a reality, folks. And I find it rather entertaining. Professor sounds like an older Sinatra, if you listen to Sinatra's monologues on his recordings. And Peggy and I get to sit and ping off each other all through class like schoolgirls :-)
Administrative Law - ie. bureaucracy defined. Actually I find this class entertaining as well. i think I'm doomed to like a life of pushing paper back and forth with the same official for the rest of my life. And the concept doesn't scare me. Getting paperwork done, especially with the gov't, makes me feel like I accomplished something hard. And I've already saved the world, lit myself on fire, yadda yadda. No burning desire to save the world or express myself. I'm into establishing a life soemtime soon, and it's just about me.
Evidence - ie. pain and required suffering. At least the professor is interesting. Unfortunately I don't think he speaks English. Or Evidence is in Swahili. Haven't figured it out yet, but I spend a lot of time in class thus far with a perplexed look on my face. Luckily I do the homework, so eventually I do usually get it. But I need a roadmap, a guide, and a sherpa for all the books. Ugh...
Off to my day class - wheee!
Monday, August 28, 2006
And then there's the sleeping thing.
Hey, Universe - it's me again!
Yeah, I know I got more sleep at Pennsic than I have in a while. Yes, I know I haven't had a steady sleep pattern for months. I'm just asking for a bit of pity here...
I'd really like to actually get a night worth of sleep, especially when I set the time aside, hit the sack early, breathe deeply, all that. However, this situation lately is not funny...
Yes, I know, I watched Freddy v. Jason earlier in the afternoon. And I know I later watched that program on the hurricane that hit NY in the 30s(yes, I'm that person. I like reality to actually be present in my reality TV.) Sure, it made for interesting dreams about Freddy and Jason in a rowboat off Long Island in heavy swells.
But it was not cool to be awake at 4am last night unable to breathe. Allergies? Why the hell do I have allergies now? What, Pennsic wasn't dusty and pollen-y enough? No allergies there, what gives?
I know, I know, I have an appointment this week for the doctor to replace my inhaler. But in the meantime, sleep? Please? Thanks!
Yeah, I know I got more sleep at Pennsic than I have in a while. Yes, I know I haven't had a steady sleep pattern for months. I'm just asking for a bit of pity here...
I'd really like to actually get a night worth of sleep, especially when I set the time aside, hit the sack early, breathe deeply, all that. However, this situation lately is not funny...
Yes, I know, I watched Freddy v. Jason earlier in the afternoon. And I know I later watched that program on the hurricane that hit NY in the 30s(yes, I'm that person. I like reality to actually be present in my reality TV.) Sure, it made for interesting dreams about Freddy and Jason in a rowboat off Long Island in heavy swells.
But it was not cool to be awake at 4am last night unable to breathe. Allergies? Why the hell do I have allergies now? What, Pennsic wasn't dusty and pollen-y enough? No allergies there, what gives?
I know, I know, I have an appointment this week for the doctor to replace my inhaler. But in the meantime, sleep? Please? Thanks!
Pennsic Parties, and then some...
They were lame, like a 3 legged dog. Most nights I wandered around with friends or limped back to camp by midnight. There wasn't that "gee, I don't know you, let's be friends" camraderie from years past that I remember. Granted, last year I had Hurricane Shaia to party with. Very little compares... And I had to miss Isabella's Girls Night Out party on friday - big fat pout!
But I did see college friends, including some I haven't seen in over a decade! They had one party called the "Trial by Fryer" where they fried up every sort of food you could plunge into hot oil. Pity it's PA at dusk, and the dew eliminates cripsy in mere moments. But entertaining, even if I decided to spare my gall bladder the work. But I did come in 3rd in the evening's poker game. And I met a few friends' significant others they recently married.
Not a big year for me to be drinking either. While I had a great time wandering around with the Caid party as a Pirate Catholic schoolgirl, that 1/2 mile walk back to my bed was pretty sobering. And I wasn't keen on being the wandering drunken pirate schoolgirl late at night. Safety first! And Mel and I seemed to just be happy mellow tipsy girls for the most part. It was fun to just hang out and talk for crying out loud...
So yeah, I did have a wonderful time. It was nice to stealth Pennsic the way I like to - see lots of people, fight in the good battles, see the parties, not get too nasty sick, and relax relax relax.
But I did see college friends, including some I haven't seen in over a decade! They had one party called the "Trial by Fryer" where they fried up every sort of food you could plunge into hot oil. Pity it's PA at dusk, and the dew eliminates cripsy in mere moments. But entertaining, even if I decided to spare my gall bladder the work. But I did come in 3rd in the evening's poker game. And I met a few friends' significant others they recently married.
Not a big year for me to be drinking either. While I had a great time wandering around with the Caid party as a Pirate Catholic schoolgirl, that 1/2 mile walk back to my bed was pretty sobering. And I wasn't keen on being the wandering drunken pirate schoolgirl late at night. Safety first! And Mel and I seemed to just be happy mellow tipsy girls for the most part. It was fun to just hang out and talk for crying out loud...
So yeah, I did have a wonderful time. It was nice to stealth Pennsic the way I like to - see lots of people, fight in the good battles, see the parties, not get too nasty sick, and relax relax relax.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Just damn busy - and the Castle battle continues..
Whew! Busy week! This whole school thing is killer!
So, the Castle Battle... We lined up outside near one of the bridges on the approach to the castle. We were facing Calontir on our bridge, so we went over and said a merry hello before the battle. There was joking and fun, and then the marshalls called hats and bats, and we were off. We lined up, all ready for a charge or advance or something. But no, nothing. They decided to pick us off with artillary and archers first, Grrr.... I'm definitely becoming an Orkney. I had a fantastic shieldwoman who blocked tons of arrows for me, and we all screamed "Ballista!" when one came flying our way. We shared a chuckle as we started the battle and I noticed something rather novel. For once, I could see over the shield wall! I mentioned this, we laughed. But that was the last one for a bit. We valiantly tried to hang on for as long as possible, but the archers and artillery just whittled us down. I took an arrow to the grill and trudged inside to res.
On the inside of the castle, we all regrouped after we resurrected. The unit reformed near the front gates. We had Caid and the West with us, as well as the Tuchucks. Ragnesfolke had their ballista inside as well. Nothing like a ballista in your castle! Eventually the attackers got up to the doors, and the doors were knocked open in the "we're breaking your gate down" ritual created for when you actually have a real, honest to god gate. The attackers started attempting to break through the doorway area. So they charged and they speared and they pushed our lines again and again. But no purchase, we kept them at the doorway. Unfortunately their archers and ballistas could still fire over the castle walls at us (we're talking 6' castle walls in some areas, not a huge feat). Many of us lost the day to an archer or artillary yet again, which stunk. I lost an arm to an arrow, but I truly didn't want to leave the field. So I attempted the one arm spearing thingie. I've done it a few times before, but never with a line in front of me. With apologies to the shieldwomen for resting the spear basically on their shields, I attempted what I could. Finally HRM Kolfinna suggests I try spearing down on the attackers from the walkway over the door. So I ambled over to the walkway, checked with the marshall that it was cool, and gave it a try.
I felt like I was poking fish in a barrel! Wheee! Now, we're not talking huge amounts of control here, but if I can distract them from above, then it's one less spear firing at our line. I'll take that. I have no clue if I actually killed anyone - half the time they didn't see my spear coming. But I know I tied a few folks up who tried to tie my spear up. One guy had a smiley face on his spear tip. Never saw the guy, just his spear tip. But I had him tied up blocking my spear.
Eventually the ballistas got into the act. The attackers started wreaking havoc on us by firing through the door. But then Wolfstan from Ragnesfolke (yes, they're the folks I used to camp with) brought his ballista closer in and started firing back at the attackers. Amusing, but I was glad when eventually this ended. We went back to repelling their charges. Our side door got a bit heated, so 1/2 the Tuchucks went to reinforce the door forces.
But then, I heard the Marshalls talking. They were wondering why we weren't sallying forth against the attackers? So I peeked through the crack in the wall and took stock of who was left. Hey, we were winning! There weren't that many left over there! I hollared this info down to our forces, and after a minute, they charged through and cleaned off our front lawn. It was a happy day for us, and nice to win an entertaining battle. While I'm not fond of the one arm spear thing, it worked well enough to keep me in the battle. And the poking from above thing was brilliance because it was probably annoying the hell out of the shieldmen to have my drunken one arm spear technique all over their shields...
So yeah, definitely one of the more entertaining battles for me. I was pretty much comic relief the whole time, but then, what's new?
So, the Castle Battle... We lined up outside near one of the bridges on the approach to the castle. We were facing Calontir on our bridge, so we went over and said a merry hello before the battle. There was joking and fun, and then the marshalls called hats and bats, and we were off. We lined up, all ready for a charge or advance or something. But no, nothing. They decided to pick us off with artillary and archers first, Grrr.... I'm definitely becoming an Orkney. I had a fantastic shieldwoman who blocked tons of arrows for me, and we all screamed "Ballista!" when one came flying our way. We shared a chuckle as we started the battle and I noticed something rather novel. For once, I could see over the shield wall! I mentioned this, we laughed. But that was the last one for a bit. We valiantly tried to hang on for as long as possible, but the archers and artillery just whittled us down. I took an arrow to the grill and trudged inside to res.
On the inside of the castle, we all regrouped after we resurrected. The unit reformed near the front gates. We had Caid and the West with us, as well as the Tuchucks. Ragnesfolke had their ballista inside as well. Nothing like a ballista in your castle! Eventually the attackers got up to the doors, and the doors were knocked open in the "we're breaking your gate down" ritual created for when you actually have a real, honest to god gate. The attackers started attempting to break through the doorway area. So they charged and they speared and they pushed our lines again and again. But no purchase, we kept them at the doorway. Unfortunately their archers and ballistas could still fire over the castle walls at us (we're talking 6' castle walls in some areas, not a huge feat). Many of us lost the day to an archer or artillary yet again, which stunk. I lost an arm to an arrow, but I truly didn't want to leave the field. So I attempted the one arm spearing thingie. I've done it a few times before, but never with a line in front of me. With apologies to the shieldwomen for resting the spear basically on their shields, I attempted what I could. Finally HRM Kolfinna suggests I try spearing down on the attackers from the walkway over the door. So I ambled over to the walkway, checked with the marshall that it was cool, and gave it a try.
I felt like I was poking fish in a barrel! Wheee! Now, we're not talking huge amounts of control here, but if I can distract them from above, then it's one less spear firing at our line. I'll take that. I have no clue if I actually killed anyone - half the time they didn't see my spear coming. But I know I tied a few folks up who tried to tie my spear up. One guy had a smiley face on his spear tip. Never saw the guy, just his spear tip. But I had him tied up blocking my spear.
Eventually the ballistas got into the act. The attackers started wreaking havoc on us by firing through the door. But then Wolfstan from Ragnesfolke (yes, they're the folks I used to camp with) brought his ballista closer in and started firing back at the attackers. Amusing, but I was glad when eventually this ended. We went back to repelling their charges. Our side door got a bit heated, so 1/2 the Tuchucks went to reinforce the door forces.
But then, I heard the Marshalls talking. They were wondering why we weren't sallying forth against the attackers? So I peeked through the crack in the wall and took stock of who was left. Hey, we were winning! There weren't that many left over there! I hollared this info down to our forces, and after a minute, they charged through and cleaned off our front lawn. It was a happy day for us, and nice to win an entertaining battle. While I'm not fond of the one arm spear thing, it worked well enough to keep me in the battle. And the poking from above thing was brilliance because it was probably annoying the hell out of the shieldmen to have my drunken one arm spear technique all over their shields...
So yeah, definitely one of the more entertaining battles for me. I was pretty much comic relief the whole time, but then, what's new?
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
And then some more...
And the Castle Battle (aka. the Battle for Castle Anthrax):
And then there was Wednesday.... Wednesday's big battle was not a war point, and the Allied Champions Battle just isn't for everyone, so obviously a lot of people slept in. I was all bright and sparky on the field, early because we were supposed to meet up with HRH of Aethelmarc who invited the women fighters to fight as one for the castle battle. So my intrepid friend from camp with the pink fuzzy shield and I tromped over to the battle field to find no one there. Nada. And no muster point setup yet. So we got comfy and waited. Eventually we found her Highness and all was well. Also got to finally fight with HRM of Caid and the rest of the Caid folks!
We had the joy of defending the castle fromt he attackers. Now, it's a pretty decent castle front. A real gate, towers, side gates - it's kinda of a flat U-shaped set piece. Totally indefensible in real war, but for scenarios it rocks! We started outside, with a res as we passed inside after we died. The attackers got no res, but outnumbered us...
The actual battle later...
And then there was Wednesday.... Wednesday's big battle was not a war point, and the Allied Champions Battle just isn't for everyone, so obviously a lot of people slept in. I was all bright and sparky on the field, early because we were supposed to meet up with HRH of Aethelmarc who invited the women fighters to fight as one for the castle battle. So my intrepid friend from camp with the pink fuzzy shield and I tromped over to the battle field to find no one there. Nada. And no muster point setup yet. So we got comfy and waited. Eventually we found her Highness and all was well. Also got to finally fight with HRM of Caid and the rest of the Caid folks!
We had the joy of defending the castle fromt he attackers. Now, it's a pretty decent castle front. A real gate, towers, side gates - it's kinda of a flat U-shaped set piece. Totally indefensible in real war, but for scenarios it rocks! We started outside, with a res as we passed inside after we died. The attackers got no res, but outnumbered us...
The actual battle later...
And more Pennsic...
So, Pennsic fighting. I must say, we're horridly spoiled out here. Regular brigade paractices, lots of quality time on the spear lines, a general acceptance of the uses of working together as an actual military unit. East coast and Central US are mostly a bunch of cowboys. Sure, there are exceptions to this, but generally, cowboys. They run around and pummel what they can find, barely hold a line and prefer to think of how many kills they get as opposed to actually winning the scenario.
The Town Battle (aka. How to get killed by Seige over and over and over again):
Well, I'm sure they thought it looked like a town. Unfortunately the scattering of haybales with colored tape strung between them was soon trashed into oblivion. The tape was supposed to be walls and water, but within a few minutes of start, it just didn't work anymore. Tape is kinda hard to see when you're busy trying to kill. And I did try to kill. But the general meat grinder that was our objective (ie. Hold the dock area) was more about lumping the dead bodies higher and higher and fighting over them until the marshalls called to clear them than anything else. It was a res battle, I think an hour long.
I did a lot of trudging back and forth until Asa pointed out that Easties don't lunge when they throw spear shots.. Hmm, hard to when you can barely see over the line, but good point. Sure enough, next time I stepped up to the line, they stood and threw like they had their spear up their butts. Good to know... But unfortunately the constant barrage of seige weapons, especially Shadow Clan's ballistas (we had 4 of them 10 feet from our position for the entire scenario, howdy neighbors!) finally just got annoying. We held that area, but I basically got killed by getting shot in the ass by a ballista. Ow. Triple Ow. My hamstrings were not amused...
But yeah, that was it. One battle. Heck, I was just getting warmed up!
Woods Battle (aka. Res points should not be uphill both ways):
Now this was a fun set of battles. Not only were there two, hour long res battles, but they're in real, honest to god woods. Trees, underbrush, sticks, mud - the whole shebang. And no chance of getting shot in the butt by seige. It's chaos in my opinion. I don't know the layout of the woods very well, but the objectives incoude 5 flags - two on each side and a mobile flag. Objective is capture more flags than your opponent. We marched in and started establishing our lines. Basically the whole battle was pushing back and forth through a mass of trees as if we all needed a good scrubbing. I hit my stride and just gacked the hell out of people all day. I was terribly amused when I was told once that I hit too hard. Apparently the standards are much different for face shots back east. So I tapped even more people on the face and they took it all day. Nice!
The res point for the first battle wasn't too bad - back up and over where we came from. But the second battle it involved heading up a ridge then down a somewhat steeper hill. You'd stop, get water, maybe pop your top and have to climb back up hill. If they ploy was to tire us out, it worked. I had to stop again after marching back uphill to catch my breath or I was pretty useless once I hit the line. So there was a lot of standing around waiting for the heart rate. And I wasn't terribly fond of the random guys who would stomp into the res point and yell at everyone to get back into battle if they were able. Sure you can inspire me with a speech, but I get a bit testy when tired and being yelled at. Lizard brain isn't amused...
But I got to finish the day playing with the Spartans and gacking Tuchucks through the trees. Sir Balin complemented my spear work - thanks Balin! I was tired, but satisfied when I was done.
More later....
The Town Battle (aka. How to get killed by Seige over and over and over again):
Well, I'm sure they thought it looked like a town. Unfortunately the scattering of haybales with colored tape strung between them was soon trashed into oblivion. The tape was supposed to be walls and water, but within a few minutes of start, it just didn't work anymore. Tape is kinda hard to see when you're busy trying to kill. And I did try to kill. But the general meat grinder that was our objective (ie. Hold the dock area) was more about lumping the dead bodies higher and higher and fighting over them until the marshalls called to clear them than anything else. It was a res battle, I think an hour long.
I did a lot of trudging back and forth until Asa pointed out that Easties don't lunge when they throw spear shots.. Hmm, hard to when you can barely see over the line, but good point. Sure enough, next time I stepped up to the line, they stood and threw like they had their spear up their butts. Good to know... But unfortunately the constant barrage of seige weapons, especially Shadow Clan's ballistas (we had 4 of them 10 feet from our position for the entire scenario, howdy neighbors!) finally just got annoying. We held that area, but I basically got killed by getting shot in the ass by a ballista. Ow. Triple Ow. My hamstrings were not amused...
But yeah, that was it. One battle. Heck, I was just getting warmed up!
Woods Battle (aka. Res points should not be uphill both ways):
Now this was a fun set of battles. Not only were there two, hour long res battles, but they're in real, honest to god woods. Trees, underbrush, sticks, mud - the whole shebang. And no chance of getting shot in the butt by seige. It's chaos in my opinion. I don't know the layout of the woods very well, but the objectives incoude 5 flags - two on each side and a mobile flag. Objective is capture more flags than your opponent. We marched in and started establishing our lines. Basically the whole battle was pushing back and forth through a mass of trees as if we all needed a good scrubbing. I hit my stride and just gacked the hell out of people all day. I was terribly amused when I was told once that I hit too hard. Apparently the standards are much different for face shots back east. So I tapped even more people on the face and they took it all day. Nice!
The res point for the first battle wasn't too bad - back up and over where we came from. But the second battle it involved heading up a ridge then down a somewhat steeper hill. You'd stop, get water, maybe pop your top and have to climb back up hill. If they ploy was to tire us out, it worked. I had to stop again after marching back uphill to catch my breath or I was pretty useless once I hit the line. So there was a lot of standing around waiting for the heart rate. And I wasn't terribly fond of the random guys who would stomp into the res point and yell at everyone to get back into battle if they were able. Sure you can inspire me with a speech, but I get a bit testy when tired and being yelled at. Lizard brain isn't amused...
But I got to finish the day playing with the Spartans and gacking Tuchucks through the trees. Sir Balin complemented my spear work - thanks Balin! I was tired, but satisfied when I was done.
More later....
Monday, August 21, 2006
Ahh Pennsic, such a complex experience~
So, I'm back. My laundry is almost done, my desk is shoveled off at work, I'm almost done with my homework for the week.
All I have to say is wow, crazy ass trip. I learned a lot about myself on this one. It turned out to be a kind of walkabout this year. Since it was just me visiting, I was social, yet had no one else connected to my schedule. It was terrifying and freeing all at once. I relaxed, I fought, I partied, I watched shooting stars, I shopped, I marvelled at the differences in the SCA, and I bemoaned the losses of experiences of years past.
There's more, but it's 5pm, and I'm outta here!
All I have to say is wow, crazy ass trip. I learned a lot about myself on this one. It turned out to be a kind of walkabout this year. Since it was just me visiting, I was social, yet had no one else connected to my schedule. It was terrifying and freeing all at once. I relaxed, I fought, I partied, I watched shooting stars, I shopped, I marvelled at the differences in the SCA, and I bemoaned the losses of experiences of years past.
There's more, but it's 5pm, and I'm outta here!
Friday, August 11, 2006
I'm soooo outta here!
Ok, enthusiasm restored, thanks to a dose of sexy man helping me out and such last night. He's such a joy. ...
I attempted to get to see Makoto's Soo Bak Do tourney fights today, but alas, I had to leave before he fought. Or something. What I did see was cool to watch(forms and choreo sparring), but you run a definite handicap knowing people through the SCA and not necessarily knowing their last names and other pertinent info. It wasn't that big, so I don't think I missed it. But I did have that amusing moment of "oh crap, what IS Koto's last name?" Fabulous, my geekdom is interfering with reality...
Wheeee! I'm off to see the Melissa! And the Molly! And the Irwin! And 10,000 of my other closest friends.. Right after I survive the red eye flight and 2 airports. Lovely...
If I don't survive the flight, know that I adore you all, and life is pretty damn good. And this just means that I won't have Evidence homework all winter long :-) See, silver lining I tell ya.
I'm off to enjoy one last shower, a real meal, and the last of the packing...
I attempted to get to see Makoto's Soo Bak Do tourney fights today, but alas, I had to leave before he fought. Or something. What I did see was cool to watch(forms and choreo sparring), but you run a definite handicap knowing people through the SCA and not necessarily knowing their last names and other pertinent info. It wasn't that big, so I don't think I missed it. But I did have that amusing moment of "oh crap, what IS Koto's last name?" Fabulous, my geekdom is interfering with reality...
Wheeee! I'm off to see the Melissa! And the Molly! And the Irwin! And 10,000 of my other closest friends.. Right after I survive the red eye flight and 2 airports. Lovely...
If I don't survive the flight, know that I adore you all, and life is pretty damn good. And this just means that I won't have Evidence homework all winter long :-) See, silver lining I tell ya.
I'm off to enjoy one last shower, a real meal, and the last of the packing...
As I wander off to Pennsic, I leave you with Charlie Chaplin...
The Great Dictator - written by Sir Charles Chaplin
The Jewish Barber: I'm sorry but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black men, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each others' happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls; has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge as made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these things cries out for the goodness in man; cries out for universal brotherhood; for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say "Do not despair." The misery that has come upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
(In a passionate raging voice now)Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to these brutes who despise you, enslave you; who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle and use you as cannon fodder! Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men---machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are men! With the love of humanity in your hearts! Don't hate! Only the unloved hate; the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers! Don't fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of St. Luke, it is written that the kingdom of God is within man, not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people, have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power. Let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers! To do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to the happiness of us all. Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us unite!
The Jewish Barber: I'm sorry but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black men, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each others' happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls; has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge as made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these things cries out for the goodness in man; cries out for universal brotherhood; for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say "Do not despair." The misery that has come upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
(In a passionate raging voice now)Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to these brutes who despise you, enslave you; who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle and use you as cannon fodder! Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men---machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are men! With the love of humanity in your hearts! Don't hate! Only the unloved hate; the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers! Don't fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of St. Luke, it is written that the kingdom of God is within man, not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people, have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power. Let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers! To do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to the happiness of us all. Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us unite!
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Tactical Packing Adjustments
I would just ilke to say a big fat thank you to all the nutjobs, terrorists, extremists, stupid joking idiots of the world who make packing for any flight into a comedy of grotesque proportions.
I was all ready, yes indeedy I was. Everything fit, I was under the weight limit as long as my scale was correct, and I had a plan for the last remaining bits of things to go in. And then, they thankfully caught a bunch of idiots in Great Britian.
Now, let's be clear. I'm glad they caught them. I truly am. Having worked on those crappy ass cases, I know what a wonder it is when you can actually make an arrest. But I pity any poor fool who actually thinks he can hijack a plane this weekend anywhere in America. Not sure about other countires, but I do know that for the next week or so, American based flights are bad places for terrorists. Not only can I not take my usual water on the plane, but I also can't keep my shampoo from exploding, bring eyedrops for when my eyes crust over on the red eye, nor bring home any delightful, liquid goodies from the East Coast without risking their integrity with the baggage handlers.
Why is this significant? Can't my pampered American ass handle a liquid-less environment for a few hours? In a word, No. Not only am I miserable without those tiny amenities, but I will likely have to wait in line for an extra 3-4 hours for the joy of dehydrating at 30,000 feet. And not only that, but the bastards have already taken my ability to sew, knit, crochet, and embroider on planes, thanks to the ban on sharp pointy objects. Yes, I know they've given in a tiny bit, but I still marvel at the concept of threatening someone with those tiny sewing scissors. They should get their own martial art developed around delivering tiny incisions and dealing maximum damage.. But I digress into dreams of obliterating those who make travelling quickly a nightmare. Next they'll limit the size and weight of the books and magazines you can take aboard - you might threaten someone with a paper cut!
So imagine with me, a flight not only of sight and sound, but of mind. The only limit to the ways of expressing your frustration is through your own imagination. Cross over with me into.... The Sammy Travel Twilight Zone (cue dramatic music here). I pity the fool who attempts to hijack my red eye flight. Not only do I hate red eyes, but I'm also cranky when woken before my time. Combine the two with the entertaining crap in my luggage, and you start to get a glimmer of my mind set should anything happen. While my books and clothes may not sound terribly dangerous, I think I could put up a wicked fight with a sari and a law book. Imagine me in the aisle of an airplane telling my fellow passengers to duck, twirling my wrapped treatise on land use over my head, while I clobber some fool into the next time zone. Now this, my friends, is why you work out!
So yeah, if you hear something entertaining on the news, pray it's not me. I'm definitely hoping for an uneventful trip!
I was all ready, yes indeedy I was. Everything fit, I was under the weight limit as long as my scale was correct, and I had a plan for the last remaining bits of things to go in. And then, they thankfully caught a bunch of idiots in Great Britian.
Now, let's be clear. I'm glad they caught them. I truly am. Having worked on those crappy ass cases, I know what a wonder it is when you can actually make an arrest. But I pity any poor fool who actually thinks he can hijack a plane this weekend anywhere in America. Not sure about other countires, but I do know that for the next week or so, American based flights are bad places for terrorists. Not only can I not take my usual water on the plane, but I also can't keep my shampoo from exploding, bring eyedrops for when my eyes crust over on the red eye, nor bring home any delightful, liquid goodies from the East Coast without risking their integrity with the baggage handlers.
Why is this significant? Can't my pampered American ass handle a liquid-less environment for a few hours? In a word, No. Not only am I miserable without those tiny amenities, but I will likely have to wait in line for an extra 3-4 hours for the joy of dehydrating at 30,000 feet. And not only that, but the bastards have already taken my ability to sew, knit, crochet, and embroider on planes, thanks to the ban on sharp pointy objects. Yes, I know they've given in a tiny bit, but I still marvel at the concept of threatening someone with those tiny sewing scissors. They should get their own martial art developed around delivering tiny incisions and dealing maximum damage.. But I digress into dreams of obliterating those who make travelling quickly a nightmare. Next they'll limit the size and weight of the books and magazines you can take aboard - you might threaten someone with a paper cut!
So imagine with me, a flight not only of sight and sound, but of mind. The only limit to the ways of expressing your frustration is through your own imagination. Cross over with me into.... The Sammy Travel Twilight Zone (cue dramatic music here). I pity the fool who attempts to hijack my red eye flight. Not only do I hate red eyes, but I'm also cranky when woken before my time. Combine the two with the entertaining crap in my luggage, and you start to get a glimmer of my mind set should anything happen. While my books and clothes may not sound terribly dangerous, I think I could put up a wicked fight with a sari and a law book. Imagine me in the aisle of an airplane telling my fellow passengers to duck, twirling my wrapped treatise on land use over my head, while I clobber some fool into the next time zone. Now this, my friends, is why you work out!
So yeah, if you hear something entertaining on the news, pray it's not me. I'm definitely hoping for an uneventful trip!
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Before I forget again in my fighter jock madness...
I'm in the throes of making a gorgeous tunic. Applique, paint bits, sewing, natural fibers, etc. It's going to be fancy schmancy....I'm not giving more details, but you'll know it when you see it.
Made a delicious ME outfit for E, it fit her like a glove and is shiiiiiiineeeeeyyyyy.... All green and gold and red with red silk dupioni pants. It would look like she was attacked by the circus unless done correctly. She's tiny, so it actually looks pretty adorable.
Brown chocolate chenille ghawazee didn't sell on eBay, the cheap gits. I might have to keep it or sell at Potrero. Shucky darn...
I's skirt is done, despite many efforts by the fabric to shred itself. Note to self, sari's are gorgeous, but require high maintenance to do anything other than drape with them. Ack...But she's got a flowy blue and silver skirt to die for. Now to wrestle the rest of the sari to become a coat, this should be entertaining. If there's a puff of silver and teal to the south-ish, it's me, finally beating the fabric into submission.
Made a delicious ME outfit for E, it fit her like a glove and is shiiiiiiineeeeeyyyyy.... All green and gold and red with red silk dupioni pants. It would look like she was attacked by the circus unless done correctly. She's tiny, so it actually looks pretty adorable.
Brown chocolate chenille ghawazee didn't sell on eBay, the cheap gits. I might have to keep it or sell at Potrero. Shucky darn...
I's skirt is done, despite many efforts by the fabric to shred itself. Note to self, sari's are gorgeous, but require high maintenance to do anything other than drape with them. Ack...But she's got a flowy blue and silver skirt to die for. Now to wrestle the rest of the sari to become a coat, this should be entertaining. If there's a puff of silver and teal to the south-ish, it's me, finally beating the fabric into submission.
Overwhelmed!
So it's my, what?, 7th time to Pennsic, and I still get overwhelmed by looking at the schedule!!!
Just dug out the battlefield and class schedules, and by all that is party-like, there's a buttload of stuff to do, and that's not counting all the running arround and saying hello!
So it looks like I'll be fighting most days afterall, depending on how I'm holding up physically. I even found out that I just barely qualify as a Dwarf for the Dwarves v. Giants tourney :-) Everything looks like a ton of fun, and should be a blast. It'll be a nice send off for my crappy helmet as I scrape up the last of the cash to finally get a newer one. More eBay! More sewing stuff for people! Put more padding in the helmet in the meantime, it'll survive a bit longer..
So, technically I could fight about 6-8 hours per day most days, then dance all night and roam around partying. And that's not counting squeezing a class on "Medieval mustards" if I get the hankering to do so. I get the feeling I'm going to crave sitting down a lot :-)
And I'm packed. Thank goodness for hockey duffels! Nothing is tightly packed, so if it's somehow bigger on the way back, I should be fine. I think I packed about half of my garb. That's an achievement, considering I have something like 10 saris, 20 or so pieces of Middle Eastern, and a smattering of other bits and pieces. And I'll probably need it all. Now where is that damn pale green choli?! I think I need to make more cholis....
I'd better fly out soon before I cram more crap in my bags...
Just dug out the battlefield and class schedules, and by all that is party-like, there's a buttload of stuff to do, and that's not counting all the running arround and saying hello!
So it looks like I'll be fighting most days afterall, depending on how I'm holding up physically. I even found out that I just barely qualify as a Dwarf for the Dwarves v. Giants tourney :-) Everything looks like a ton of fun, and should be a blast. It'll be a nice send off for my crappy helmet as I scrape up the last of the cash to finally get a newer one. More eBay! More sewing stuff for people! Put more padding in the helmet in the meantime, it'll survive a bit longer..
So, technically I could fight about 6-8 hours per day most days, then dance all night and roam around partying. And that's not counting squeezing a class on "Medieval mustards" if I get the hankering to do so. I get the feeling I'm going to crave sitting down a lot :-)
And I'm packed. Thank goodness for hockey duffels! Nothing is tightly packed, so if it's somehow bigger on the way back, I should be fine. I think I packed about half of my garb. That's an achievement, considering I have something like 10 saris, 20 or so pieces of Middle Eastern, and a smattering of other bits and pieces. And I'll probably need it all. Now where is that damn pale green choli?! I think I need to make more cholis....
I'd better fly out soon before I cram more crap in my bags...
Monday, August 07, 2006
Heroes!
I was furiously pedaling along at the gym, reading a chick magazine when suddenly I read something terribly interesting. Someone famous (lord help me if I can remember who) said something like “Be your own hero in your life”. I continued pedaling and pondered that thought. It’s a pretty interesting one, and I kind of had an Ah-ha! moment with it. That’s kind of what I’ve been going for lately.
Now, believe me, I’m not really going to run around and save kittens, walk grandma’s across the street, and wear spandex tights. But there’s something to be said for saving yourself and doing bold things in your own universe. For some folks, that’s wearing a new color. For others, it’s jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. But there’s that rush of “I did it!” that’s so fantastic to have in your universe, why wouldn’t you strive to do it every day?
Well, because we’re human. We’re mediocre in our desire to relax, eat, sleep, procreate, etc. It takes conscious thought to not do what we always do and strive for something difficult, unique or remarkable in our universe. I find it humorous that most folks(including me) can go on and on about how they really need to relax, yet never spend any time figuring out what exactly it is that makes them relax. I had to do it – I had no idea how to relax. I’m still learning. It’s a life habit, like eating sensibly. Most of us can’t just sit there and automatically relax. We’re not wired for it. We’re used to being hunted by predators, like paying bills, loneliness, and large toothy woodland critters. Hooray for monkeydom! But I digress. The point of this paragraph – it’s hard to be anything more than the spanky monkeys we usually are. You might be a spanky monkey with a nice car, good job, and gorgeous mate. But you’re still a spanky monkey, hiding out from the predators of life and moseying along on the exercise bike.
Ahhh, but to be truly remarkable, both to yourself and others. How does that work? Well, it depends on who sets the bar. If you’re someone else’s hero, you have to spend the time figuring out what their standards are and living up to them. Or you can be your own hero and define your own hero-dom. Are you a hero because you didn’t devour the refrigerator? Got an A in calculus? Saved up for a trip to Uzbekistan? Learned to ride a camel? Sat and meditated? Wrote a book? Big and small, each thing could be a huge achievement.
But don’t heroes have goals? Villains to beat down? Spandex to proudly model? Sure, there’s that mediocrity again. You could give up, slap yourself back down on the couch, and watch other folks pretend like reality TV has anything to do with reality. Sure, you could spend your precious time “doing nothing”. I do it too, sometimes it’s what you need. But is that who you are? Therein lies the rub. If you are what you say and do and eat, what are you saying and doing and eating? If that’s the question, then I’m an overscheduled goofball who tries to be encouraging but sticks her foot in her mouth at times, works out and studies a lot, and eats lots of vegetables, hamburgers, and cheese. Not exactly hero quality yet. Sure I stand up at times, but I get beaten down just as much. I guess the hero-dom comes in the getting back up, going back to the gym, and getting back into class to finish this damn degree for me. Oh, and looking terribly sexy. That’s a nice side benefit to the gym. Hooray!
Or I could be a future attorney in real estate law with a tremendous background in 5 industries, a reputation for kicking ass and solving problems, excellent customer service, and a penchant for creative solutions. I’m a fire breathing, belly dancing future barrister with a sexy smart man in my life, a close knit family, tons of good people as my friends and an ability to have fun wherever I go. So there, I’m a hero!
Now, believe me, I’m not really going to run around and save kittens, walk grandma’s across the street, and wear spandex tights. But there’s something to be said for saving yourself and doing bold things in your own universe. For some folks, that’s wearing a new color. For others, it’s jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. But there’s that rush of “I did it!” that’s so fantastic to have in your universe, why wouldn’t you strive to do it every day?
Well, because we’re human. We’re mediocre in our desire to relax, eat, sleep, procreate, etc. It takes conscious thought to not do what we always do and strive for something difficult, unique or remarkable in our universe. I find it humorous that most folks(including me) can go on and on about how they really need to relax, yet never spend any time figuring out what exactly it is that makes them relax. I had to do it – I had no idea how to relax. I’m still learning. It’s a life habit, like eating sensibly. Most of us can’t just sit there and automatically relax. We’re not wired for it. We’re used to being hunted by predators, like paying bills, loneliness, and large toothy woodland critters. Hooray for monkeydom! But I digress. The point of this paragraph – it’s hard to be anything more than the spanky monkeys we usually are. You might be a spanky monkey with a nice car, good job, and gorgeous mate. But you’re still a spanky monkey, hiding out from the predators of life and moseying along on the exercise bike.
Ahhh, but to be truly remarkable, both to yourself and others. How does that work? Well, it depends on who sets the bar. If you’re someone else’s hero, you have to spend the time figuring out what their standards are and living up to them. Or you can be your own hero and define your own hero-dom. Are you a hero because you didn’t devour the refrigerator? Got an A in calculus? Saved up for a trip to Uzbekistan? Learned to ride a camel? Sat and meditated? Wrote a book? Big and small, each thing could be a huge achievement.
But don’t heroes have goals? Villains to beat down? Spandex to proudly model? Sure, there’s that mediocrity again. You could give up, slap yourself back down on the couch, and watch other folks pretend like reality TV has anything to do with reality. Sure, you could spend your precious time “doing nothing”. I do it too, sometimes it’s what you need. But is that who you are? Therein lies the rub. If you are what you say and do and eat, what are you saying and doing and eating? If that’s the question, then I’m an overscheduled goofball who tries to be encouraging but sticks her foot in her mouth at times, works out and studies a lot, and eats lots of vegetables, hamburgers, and cheese. Not exactly hero quality yet. Sure I stand up at times, but I get beaten down just as much. I guess the hero-dom comes in the getting back up, going back to the gym, and getting back into class to finish this damn degree for me. Oh, and looking terribly sexy. That’s a nice side benefit to the gym. Hooray!
Or I could be a future attorney in real estate law with a tremendous background in 5 industries, a reputation for kicking ass and solving problems, excellent customer service, and a penchant for creative solutions. I’m a fire breathing, belly dancing future barrister with a sexy smart man in my life, a close knit family, tons of good people as my friends and an ability to have fun wherever I go. So there, I’m a hero!
Ahhh Monday- I think I'm underwater
Hmm, weird feeling today. Just can't wake up, and I've been feeling it for the past few days. Sure, I still head to the gym and walk or run, lift some weights, etc. I drink coffee, get at least 7 hours of sleep, and no dice. I'm sleepy sleepy sleepy!
Now, I know part of it is just stress - my parents, bless them, still stress me out when they visit. It's nice to see them, but they drive me nuts. It's easier when I get to visit them at my sister's house, but that doesn't always happen. So that could be part of it. And I'm still having "not prepared for Pennsic" dreams. Had one last night that I had forgotten one big duffle of stuff. It was amusing, because I packed one duffel over the weekend, and I have the rest of my crap piled on the other big bag, just waiting to get packed. But the airplane pilot was nice and told me to run home and get the bag, he would wait for me in the plane! Sheesh, I have crazy ass dreams sometimes. I can't wait for Pennsic, but I think I'm packing the other bag when I go home tonight, just so I can stop these dreams from happening!
So yeah, maybe I just need to wrap up the last of the stuff or Pennsic as early as possible so I can just enjoy my last week at home of freedom. Classes start right after I get back. Blah...
Now, I know part of it is just stress - my parents, bless them, still stress me out when they visit. It's nice to see them, but they drive me nuts. It's easier when I get to visit them at my sister's house, but that doesn't always happen. So that could be part of it. And I'm still having "not prepared for Pennsic" dreams. Had one last night that I had forgotten one big duffle of stuff. It was amusing, because I packed one duffel over the weekend, and I have the rest of my crap piled on the other big bag, just waiting to get packed. But the airplane pilot was nice and told me to run home and get the bag, he would wait for me in the plane! Sheesh, I have crazy ass dreams sometimes. I can't wait for Pennsic, but I think I'm packing the other bag when I go home tonight, just so I can stop these dreams from happening!
So yeah, maybe I just need to wrap up the last of the stuff or Pennsic as early as possible so I can just enjoy my last week at home of freedom. Classes start right after I get back. Blah...
Thursday, August 03, 2006
So, as I was saying....
Well, now that my boss's computer is in the land of broken toys, and the technicians with more knowledge than I are attempting to resuscitate it's broken husk, I have a spot of time...
So, my litany of things to think about involves the following:
So, my litany of things to think about involves the following:
- I do too much.
- I try to do even more.
- Multitasking should not be a lifestyle.
- Juggling while multitasking isn't either.
- Normal people consider a job stressful, much less a job and school and becoming debt free in 2 years. And I cannot consider myself in the normal people category. I'm not allowed :-)
- I'm apparently stresed out, although not as much as I technically should be. I'm a marvel of efficiency and coping skills.
- I need to spend more time doing nothing at all, apparently.
- There's a reason it drives people nuts when I can't just sit and watch a movie.
- It's all my mother's fault.
- Apparently I cope really well until the bucket is full. When it is full, I need to stop and empty the damn thing. Apparently school fills it up doubly quick. Better to empty it more often.
- I am vastly more relaxed about controlling my world, but I still have a ways to go.
- Bullet point lists are for type-A personalities. I have become one of them. Even more so if I also do an Excel spreadsheet analysis with graphs.
- I need to breathe more.
- I need to keep working out and bashing things with rattan.
- I need to get the hell out of school as fast as intellectually possible.
- I'm pretty fucking awesome, and some law firm is going to adore me. And pay me money to match when they realize all the things I can do.
- I am truly happy with my universe. It's pretty spiffy.
- I need to be kinder to myself. I'm a thirty something, uncoordinated goofball with a history of not exercising terribly much. I can't do everything, be everything, or be good at everything. I'll just have to deal with being as I am.
So yeah. I'm ok, you're ok. I just need to make sure I go to Pennsic, relax and unplug for a week. Sleep, fight, dance, drink, and take a real, actual vacation from the universe before I dive in. And I'll be ok. Everything will be just fine.
Revelation, well duh!
Ok, so I went and got my head back down to a relevantly normal size about school last night. For those who don't get it, I went to a shrink for my little panic episode at the career counselor.
The shrink was nice, and had a few good suggestions for my toolkit on dealing with the universe, especially law school.
But she kind of, gently kicked me in the head about a few things. I think I shall share them with you now. Imagine me strumming a guitar as we go through them. Feel free to shout Kumbaya if you feel the need. Ready kids?
Oh, but wait. My boss's harddrive just completely committed suicide. Blue screen of death, you have interrupted my creative process! Prepare to die!
I'll be back...
The shrink was nice, and had a few good suggestions for my toolkit on dealing with the universe, especially law school.
But she kind of, gently kicked me in the head about a few things. I think I shall share them with you now. Imagine me strumming a guitar as we go through them. Feel free to shout Kumbaya if you feel the need. Ready kids?
Oh, but wait. My boss's harddrive just completely committed suicide. Blue screen of death, you have interrupted my creative process! Prepare to die!
I'll be back...
I Heart the Banterist...
He just summed up most of California in the most recent post about a party. Right down to the overcrowding and people pushing and shoving to get by.
And I'm not sure he even realizes his brilliance...
Enjoy!
http://www.banterist.com/
And I'm not sure he even realizes his brilliance...
Enjoy!
http://www.banterist.com/
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Whoah Sparky! Time to slow down?
Ok, it's official. I'm tired. Had some rest this weekend, but I have another action packed week ahead that I'm not feeling ready for. And, frankly, I feel like crap today. I feel bad about this in a way, but after the 47th time someone has asked me how I feel, I just get sick of saying "fine, thanks". I'm not terribly fine, but I'll survive and get home to relax and recoup. But in the meantime, I know I look like hell slightly warmed over, thanks for asking. And I don't want to be pissy, I truly don't. I just want to get through the mountain of paper on my desk, get everything done that needed to happen yesterday and just move on and go home and relax tonight. I'm so swamped that I don't even want to eat lunch or take a break.
I'm kind of wondering if I packed too much into these last few weeks before classes. I think I need to cancel the dance class I'm teaching indefinitely. Frankly, I just don't have the energy to do this right, and school comes first. Period. If you want to pay me $500 per class, I might change my mind. But otherwise, it's study time now. And I'm feeling a bit pulled and pushed around by the students. I do understand that they enjoy it and are learning. But while I enjoy the class while I'm doing it, I dread giving up that chunk of time each week during classes. Just too much demand on my fragile head to handle during school. Any added stress is just too much, and I'm not getting the benefit out of it that I was hoping too. Fun, yes. But it's not relaxing for me. I love to teach, but I don't think I can handle it. And it screws up my priority list for school to be first. It's really the only weight on my time that's not flexible and understanding. So, fun while it lasted, but it's over for now.
All in all, though I did have a lovely weekend. Got a chance to rest up since I didn't bother with war, and sold a pile of stuff on eBay. Now to clean the house for the parental visit...
Oh, and just so you know, I still have the most wonderful boyfriend on the planet. Just in case there was any question in anyone's mind. :-)
I'm kind of wondering if I packed too much into these last few weeks before classes. I think I need to cancel the dance class I'm teaching indefinitely. Frankly, I just don't have the energy to do this right, and school comes first. Period. If you want to pay me $500 per class, I might change my mind. But otherwise, it's study time now. And I'm feeling a bit pulled and pushed around by the students. I do understand that they enjoy it and are learning. But while I enjoy the class while I'm doing it, I dread giving up that chunk of time each week during classes. Just too much demand on my fragile head to handle during school. Any added stress is just too much, and I'm not getting the benefit out of it that I was hoping too. Fun, yes. But it's not relaxing for me. I love to teach, but I don't think I can handle it. And it screws up my priority list for school to be first. It's really the only weight on my time that's not flexible and understanding. So, fun while it lasted, but it's over for now.
All in all, though I did have a lovely weekend. Got a chance to rest up since I didn't bother with war, and sold a pile of stuff on eBay. Now to clean the house for the parental visit...
Oh, and just so you know, I still have the most wonderful boyfriend on the planet. Just in case there was any question in anyone's mind. :-)
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