I know I promised to write more last month and here I am again, doing what appears to be a monthly report again. Really I mean to write more. I start stuff in my head, but for some reason it never gets typed out and posted for you to see. But I’ve managed to figure out what the cause is. This past Summer when I was writing up a storm (more or less), I was driving at least 30 minutes a day. I seem to do a lot of thinking when I drive. On the 20th when I was off I managed to run enough errands to give me a few journal ideas. These days I spend a lot of time riding Muni buses into the Mission to get home. The people watching opportunities are too great to get lost in my own thoughts. So I'll try to drive more and post more, but no promises okay? Send me your ideas about where you do your thinking that I can use for inspiration.
I have been busy doing all sorts of things lately. This past weekend a friend got handfasted and I was one of her attendants, the Wench of the East. I have a great outfit that I will wear again, even if it’s just for Halloween. Not everyone can admit that. Plus there is the added bonus of the fact that my co-wench and I managed to sew our own skirts which looked pretty darned good.
I’ve also been doing a bunch of free-lance work fixing computers and in some instances getting paid for it. I enjoy being able to help people with things that are easy for me and getting money for it is especially nice. Also this is good since I’m less inclined to screw around with my own computer, so for a change everything I own works fine.
I’m going to take a bookmaking class this month. Please don’t send me information on the hazards of illegal gambling. I’m not making those sorts of books. There is a place called San Francisco Center for the Book and I’m going to take some classes. It’s not painting, which I still miss doing, but it is something I’m interested in doing and will distract me in a creative way for a little while.
In addition to this fun stuff for me, I’m certified to complete basic tax returns. Through work I am volunteering time on Saturdays through April 15th to prepare tax returns for the working poor. Not only do I get to feel good about helping people who don’t have a lot of money to start with, get back money from Uncle Sam, I also will be building up comp time which will allow me some needed time off.
I’m starting to look for a new place to live this month too, so you can be sure that getting more entries here will continue to be tough. But hang in there and join the notify list to get email from me when I manage to get something new online.
Hey write me back, what are *you* up to??
Monday, March 3, 2003
Thursday, December 26, 2002
Getting some focus
Okay, I’ve been slacking in so many different ways it’s not funny. Well maybe it’ll be funny at some point later on, remind me and we’ll laugh together. It’s not that I’m not functioning at all, just not operating at a high level of efficiency. I’ve been getting up later in the morning and rushing down to Burlingame. While I’m there, I’m getting things accomplished, but not really engaged in the tasks I’m doing. Either they are things I just don’t enjoy doing, like screening someone else’s calls, or things that are a bit tedious, like transcribing notes or determining why a Windows 98 machine doesn’t shut down cleanly. I bite my tongue because it wasn’t that long ago I was still using Windows 98, but the inner geek in me is saying, “Windows 98? That is SO last millennium!”
Then I’ll go home and cook dinner, which typically is a healthy mix of meat and veggies. Then run errands and catch up on email, bills or hang out with my housemates. I’m trying to clean up after myself which seems to take a lot of time some days. Then there is organizing and getting things ready for the move or working on my job search.
In any case, I’ve been lazy about getting to the gym regularly. I understand that if I went to the gym regularly I would be a nice little boost that would make it easier to get to the gym regularly. But you can see that getting started is the problem here. I’ve gotten myself organized enough to plan my big storage move for tomorrow. I’ve enlisted the help of a couple of friends, rented a truck, made an appointment to view my containers and with any luck will be able to appreciate the cooler weather that we’ve been promised. I’ve even gone to the bank to get some cash should I need to enlist some day-worker assistance. I’m feeling rather good that everything is in line.
I do need to remember to send my niece’s birthday gift. Wouldn’t want to be the lame aunt who can’t get her ass to the post office. But worse comes to worse I can do that on Saturday. At her age, it’s not so bad to have something new show up a day or so later, just to avoid the ‘so many new things and not enough time to play with everything’ syndrome. In any case I wish that I could have been there to wish her a happy 4th birthday in person. Happy Birthday Kaitie!!
Once I move my stuff, I don’t have any other huge projects looming, so I’ll be devoting more time to finding a job that fits me better and taking time to brush up on my skills. I recognize how easily distracted I am and how I really enjoy being able to pursue any little thing that catches my eye. I suspect this is the leading cause for my overall lack of focus and it’s going to end.
Really.
My plan is to actually list the things I want to do or accomplish and write them down. Some of them are serious like getting my weight to a healthier level or finding a job that I enjoy doing and others are more fun, like buying gifts for my nieces who were considerately born later in the year than their parents. Yes, I know you’re thinking about something you once read that proves that written goals are more likely to be achieved than ones you keep in your head. I’ve read that too.
But wait… there’s more! Now that I’ve written these buggers down I print it out and refer to the list the next time I decide I’m going to do something. Is this something that will help me achieve one or more of my goals? Well, great, go right ahead. If not, then that’ll be a personal decision that I’ll have to address. Oh sure, I’ll still get distracted and goof around. But perhaps I’ll be able to start working toward some of these things I really want to do.
So I’m curious what do you do to get and keep yourself focused?
Then I’ll go home and cook dinner, which typically is a healthy mix of meat and veggies. Then run errands and catch up on email, bills or hang out with my housemates. I’m trying to clean up after myself which seems to take a lot of time some days. Then there is organizing and getting things ready for the move or working on my job search.
In any case, I’ve been lazy about getting to the gym regularly. I understand that if I went to the gym regularly I would be a nice little boost that would make it easier to get to the gym regularly. But you can see that getting started is the problem here. I’ve gotten myself organized enough to plan my big storage move for tomorrow. I’ve enlisted the help of a couple of friends, rented a truck, made an appointment to view my containers and with any luck will be able to appreciate the cooler weather that we’ve been promised. I’ve even gone to the bank to get some cash should I need to enlist some day-worker assistance. I’m feeling rather good that everything is in line.
I do need to remember to send my niece’s birthday gift. Wouldn’t want to be the lame aunt who can’t get her ass to the post office. But worse comes to worse I can do that on Saturday. At her age, it’s not so bad to have something new show up a day or so later, just to avoid the ‘so many new things and not enough time to play with everything’ syndrome. In any case I wish that I could have been there to wish her a happy 4th birthday in person. Happy Birthday Kaitie!!
Once I move my stuff, I don’t have any other huge projects looming, so I’ll be devoting more time to finding a job that fits me better and taking time to brush up on my skills. I recognize how easily distracted I am and how I really enjoy being able to pursue any little thing that catches my eye. I suspect this is the leading cause for my overall lack of focus and it’s going to end.
Really.
My plan is to actually list the things I want to do or accomplish and write them down. Some of them are serious like getting my weight to a healthier level or finding a job that I enjoy doing and others are more fun, like buying gifts for my nieces who were considerately born later in the year than their parents. Yes, I know you’re thinking about something you once read that proves that written goals are more likely to be achieved than ones you keep in your head. I’ve read that too.
But wait… there’s more! Now that I’ve written these buggers down I print it out and refer to the list the next time I decide I’m going to do something. Is this something that will help me achieve one or more of my goals? Well, great, go right ahead. If not, then that’ll be a personal decision that I’ll have to address. Oh sure, I’ll still get distracted and goof around. But perhaps I’ll be able to start working toward some of these things I really want to do.
So I’m curious what do you do to get and keep yourself focused?
Tuesday, December 17, 2002
Has it been that long?
I’ve started a number of entries. About 3 of them, but never managed to finish them up. Have I been busy? Yes, somewhat, but not. I think I’ve been more preoccupied and not capable of putting more than a few meaningful words together at a time. So what sorts of things have I been preoccupied with?
Well I was preoccupied with finding a new place to live for a while. I’ve had a general dissatisfaction with my living situation. I’m tired of the drunks hanging out in front of the house. I’m really tired of the trash and the ever-constant stench of urine just walking from the corner to my house. I actually jaywalk most of the time to avoid this as much as possible. I wish there was more space in the apartment for things that belong to Pab and myself. A couple of weekends ago, we moved Pablito’s TV into the living room so that he could work on the computer and watch the football game. While I thought having a TV-less living room was a great idea, it would be better to have a place where we actually all hang out. I don’t have enough company come over to use it as the parlor it was meant to be. I realize that Donna’s stuff is all over and Pab and I keep our things in our rooms only, which gives me the feeling that I’m just living in someone else’s home and not my own. Since I came into this living situation knowing that this is how it is, I mostly accepted it.
I am doing some work on the side, which is good because extra money is helpful right now. Also this is one of the two surveys that I did a lot of work on earlier this summer, so I like the idea of getting closure. I’ve been spending a lot of time redoing the graphics in the report (tables and graphs mostly) and it is mindless and easy enough to do. On the negative side, I’ve been staying up too late working on this stuff so it’s been incredibly hard to get out of bed in time to get to the gym on a regular basis. I went today and realize how much I miss it.
I didn’t miss it too too much since I caught a really good cold while I was back East for Thanksgiving and I’m just about over it. I think it’s a bad idea to be coughing and hacking on the equipment. So I purposefully took a week off to take care of the cold. I’m happy that it’s managed to run its course without turning into a sinus infection or a nasty cough.
I think I got the cold from one of my four nieces. I saw all four of them during the Thanksgiving weekend. I took advantage of the four day weekend to fly back to New York and had a really good time. It was anything but restful. I flew in Thanksgiving day and after kisses hello, we sat down and ate (yes, they waited for me, isn’t that sweet?). Lots of chatting and playing and then everyone was off to bed. I slept on the wobbly living room couch and had strange earthquake dreams. I slept well and hung around while the kids went to get a group picture taken. We hung around a little more and waited for Mom to be done with work so we could load 16 people (friends and family) into 4 cars and caravan 3+ hours north to the Baptism Event. It started to snow Friday morning, so there was the additional tension of driving north into bad weather. But everyone arrived safe and sound. Anne’s Mom prepared a huge meal, which is impressive considering that yesterday was Thanksgiving.
We ate loads of yummy meat that came from her sister Donna’s critters (she raises farm animals for fun). The lamb was to die for and the ham and pork pie from Cedric the pig was wonderful. Of course I’d eaten more meat in one weekend than I might eat in a month, so I wasn’t surprised that I had some serious veggie cravings when I got back home. The next day I took a walk to the local bakery with my cousin, Karen. We figured that it would be better to walk off some of the yummy food we had eaten. It was great having time to chat with her and catch up on things since it is often hard to find time when we are both at home and awake to talk.
Lots of time playing with the kids, then off to church (where I was pleased to see that I still remember the mass, even in my severely lapsed state) for mass and the baptism. More cousins arrived just in time for the baptism and then we all took off for dinner. After a great dinner we drove back since I had a 6:30am flight the next morning. On the way back I drove with my friend Anthony. I was glad for the time to catch up on what has been happening in each other’s lives.
I’ve had a good amount of alone time along with a good amount of time with friends, so I am feeling balanced in that part of my life. Saw yet another great Viva Variety last week and got to catch up with Jay and Danny. Played out in the storms this past weekend with Esther. She lost her power for a few days which kinda sucks for her. Me? I got to go home to my power to finish up the work I needed to do before Monday.
Now I’m trying to finish up my holiday shopping, although I have already decided that Christmas isn’t a realistic deadline given the fact that so much stuff needs to be shipped. I’m aiming more for Twelfth night (that is 12 days after Christmas or January 6) so I can still be festive and perhaps less stressed. We’ll see right? Holiday parties and plans are in the works.
What are you doing this holiday season?
Well I was preoccupied with finding a new place to live for a while. I’ve had a general dissatisfaction with my living situation. I’m tired of the drunks hanging out in front of the house. I’m really tired of the trash and the ever-constant stench of urine just walking from the corner to my house. I actually jaywalk most of the time to avoid this as much as possible. I wish there was more space in the apartment for things that belong to Pab and myself. A couple of weekends ago, we moved Pablito’s TV into the living room so that he could work on the computer and watch the football game. While I thought having a TV-less living room was a great idea, it would be better to have a place where we actually all hang out. I don’t have enough company come over to use it as the parlor it was meant to be. I realize that Donna’s stuff is all over and Pab and I keep our things in our rooms only, which gives me the feeling that I’m just living in someone else’s home and not my own. Since I came into this living situation knowing that this is how it is, I mostly accepted it.
I am doing some work on the side, which is good because extra money is helpful right now. Also this is one of the two surveys that I did a lot of work on earlier this summer, so I like the idea of getting closure. I’ve been spending a lot of time redoing the graphics in the report (tables and graphs mostly) and it is mindless and easy enough to do. On the negative side, I’ve been staying up too late working on this stuff so it’s been incredibly hard to get out of bed in time to get to the gym on a regular basis. I went today and realize how much I miss it.
I didn’t miss it too too much since I caught a really good cold while I was back East for Thanksgiving and I’m just about over it. I think it’s a bad idea to be coughing and hacking on the equipment. So I purposefully took a week off to take care of the cold. I’m happy that it’s managed to run its course without turning into a sinus infection or a nasty cough.
I think I got the cold from one of my four nieces. I saw all four of them during the Thanksgiving weekend. I took advantage of the four day weekend to fly back to New York and had a really good time. It was anything but restful. I flew in Thanksgiving day and after kisses hello, we sat down and ate (yes, they waited for me, isn’t that sweet?). Lots of chatting and playing and then everyone was off to bed. I slept on the wobbly living room couch and had strange earthquake dreams. I slept well and hung around while the kids went to get a group picture taken. We hung around a little more and waited for Mom to be done with work so we could load 16 people (friends and family) into 4 cars and caravan 3+ hours north to the Baptism Event. It started to snow Friday morning, so there was the additional tension of driving north into bad weather. But everyone arrived safe and sound. Anne’s Mom prepared a huge meal, which is impressive considering that yesterday was Thanksgiving.
We ate loads of yummy meat that came from her sister Donna’s critters (she raises farm animals for fun). The lamb was to die for and the ham and pork pie from Cedric the pig was wonderful. Of course I’d eaten more meat in one weekend than I might eat in a month, so I wasn’t surprised that I had some serious veggie cravings when I got back home. The next day I took a walk to the local bakery with my cousin, Karen. We figured that it would be better to walk off some of the yummy food we had eaten. It was great having time to chat with her and catch up on things since it is often hard to find time when we are both at home and awake to talk.
Lots of time playing with the kids, then off to church (where I was pleased to see that I still remember the mass, even in my severely lapsed state) for mass and the baptism. More cousins arrived just in time for the baptism and then we all took off for dinner. After a great dinner we drove back since I had a 6:30am flight the next morning. On the way back I drove with my friend Anthony. I was glad for the time to catch up on what has been happening in each other’s lives.
I’ve had a good amount of alone time along with a good amount of time with friends, so I am feeling balanced in that part of my life. Saw yet another great Viva Variety last week and got to catch up with Jay and Danny. Played out in the storms this past weekend with Esther. She lost her power for a few days which kinda sucks for her. Me? I got to go home to my power to finish up the work I needed to do before Monday.
Now I’m trying to finish up my holiday shopping, although I have already decided that Christmas isn’t a realistic deadline given the fact that so much stuff needs to be shipped. I’m aiming more for Twelfth night (that is 12 days after Christmas or January 6) so I can still be festive and perhaps less stressed. We’ll see right? Holiday parties and plans are in the works.
What are you doing this holiday season?
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
Birthdays don’t stress me out
So this year’s birthday was unusually stress-free. I went to the gym in the morning, trying to get back into going in the morning. The guy that is usually there took my number and noticed that it was my birthday and wished me a happy birthday. So sometimes it is good that they have that sort of information, because it was a great way to start my day.
I will freely admit that I don’t think I got more than an hour worth of work done that day considering that it was a Tuesday. I had a meeting, our section had a Harvest Potluck around lunchtime and then we went to an Employee Appreciation Ceremony in the afternoon. I got cards and calls throughout the day, which I enjoyed. Thanks!
After work, I went up to Marin, chatted with my Mom as I drove (with a headset for safety) and went to dinner with Esther. We had yummy sushi and I got to pick up some cell phone accessories from her that I had ordered. So there were gifts all around.
I didn’t feel any older, although I have been putting my new age into the elliptical trainer because I thought that 36 might give me a little extra slack with the built-in heart rate monitor. The only place where I am fighting the signs of aging is my regular hair dying routine. Otherwise I’m okay with being 36 this year and 37 the next. Wow, that looks kinda old now that I’ve typed it up there. I suppose I didn’t really have any idea of what it was supposed to be like at this age. It should be interesting figuring that out.
Cat will be out this weekend and there will be continued birthday happiness. Since I didn’t do a cake yet this year, we might get cake and do a Sunday celebration. It reminds me of the Bill Cosby routine where he lets his kids have cake for breakfast and when they get caught by their Mom they turn on him, even though just moments ago they were singing his praises. So feel free to join me wherever you are. Get some cake and have it for breakfast Sunday morning, it’ll be fun. Plus think of all the stuff you could accomplish with a good sugar rush.
What kind of cake did you eat?
I will freely admit that I don’t think I got more than an hour worth of work done that day considering that it was a Tuesday. I had a meeting, our section had a Harvest Potluck around lunchtime and then we went to an Employee Appreciation Ceremony in the afternoon. I got cards and calls throughout the day, which I enjoyed. Thanks!
After work, I went up to Marin, chatted with my Mom as I drove (with a headset for safety) and went to dinner with Esther. We had yummy sushi and I got to pick up some cell phone accessories from her that I had ordered. So there were gifts all around.
I didn’t feel any older, although I have been putting my new age into the elliptical trainer because I thought that 36 might give me a little extra slack with the built-in heart rate monitor. The only place where I am fighting the signs of aging is my regular hair dying routine. Otherwise I’m okay with being 36 this year and 37 the next. Wow, that looks kinda old now that I’ve typed it up there. I suppose I didn’t really have any idea of what it was supposed to be like at this age. It should be interesting figuring that out.
Cat will be out this weekend and there will be continued birthday happiness. Since I didn’t do a cake yet this year, we might get cake and do a Sunday celebration. It reminds me of the Bill Cosby routine where he lets his kids have cake for breakfast and when they get caught by their Mom they turn on him, even though just moments ago they were singing his praises. So feel free to join me wherever you are. Get some cake and have it for breakfast Sunday morning, it’ll be fun. Plus think of all the stuff you could accomplish with a good sugar rush.
What kind of cake did you eat?
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Early Bird??
Yup yup, remember that plan I talked about just days ago? Well, I’ve actually executed said plan and I think that it might be my new Plan. Yes, The Plan. Okay don’t go back to look, I’ll just remind you, I was going to wake up really early and drive my car to the gym, then after working out, take the bus to work (2 buses actually) and then reverse the plan (although not going back into the gym unless the mood strikes) on the way home. So I woke up at 5 am as planned on Tuesday morning. I got to bed at a reasonable time and just got up when the alarm went off, brushed my teeth, pulled on the clothes that I had set out, grabbed my bag of work clothes, also set out the night before, went to the kitchen and grabbed my breakfast and lunch for the day (also pre-made the night before) and took off for the gym.
You can see that being awake isn’t an actual requirement for this plan. I got to the gym in about 10 minutes, which was great since I somehow thought it would take longer. I looked about for a spot that I liked, parked and executed the Plan perfectly. I was so impressed with myself. I knew that this plan was brilliant and actually easy.
I decided that I wouldn’t call it perfect until I got home, but I was already writing this journal entry on the bus ride home, because I couldn’t wait to tell you about it. That is until I lost my car. I walked to where I swore I parked it. It was about halfway down the street but not past the garbage dumpsters. Hmmm. I could have sworn it was right about here, but yet it wasn’t. I wondered if I somehow managed to overlook a sign that limited how long you could park there. No. I’ve parked all day here before when I worked for the software company. I walked down and then back up to the corner, because I did drive here *really* early and I might have been dreaming that I parked here. Boy would I be pissed if someone towed my car away. I started walking back to the front of the gym and realized that it was extremely unlikely that someone had my car towed away. What was more reasonable was that it was stolen. Yep. I stopped and thought about it and it just made more sense. Why not, it was an easy target and wouldn’t that just be the best way to end my relationship with this car whose praises I sang in this very journal. I decided right then and there that I would not fall for the allure of a convertible again and I would get a replacement that was sensible.
By this point, I had reached the corner and was about to go in when I realized that I didn’t park on that side of the gym. I pulled up and stopped in the original spot and then pulled out and parked on the other side when I realized that it wasn’t Monday and I could park on the side closer to the bus stop and not get a parking ticket. Yes, and there she was, sitting with her sad grey duct tape bandages. I actually felt a little bad as I approached the car. I mean, I had already decided on her replacement. I didn’t say anything as I got in and drove home, stopping at the supermarket to pick up something easy yet healthy to eat. I just couldn’t see cooking after all the emotional drama.
Today I did the plan again and was more thoughtful in my parking place. Nothing went astray, although it was a little rough after working out my shoulders and back to stand on the bus holding on while the Muni driver did his little airbrake dance (start, stop, stop stop, surge, stop, surge surge surge, STOP, …). For four long blocks. Next time I’ll just walk.
Tonight I got a spot in front of the house and I’ll be taking the bus both ways. Yeah, check me out, taking the bus everywhere. I haven’t felt this public transportation saavy since I was in high school and to young to drive where I wanted to go.
It’s the little victories that are the best, right? Tell me about your latest little victory.
You can see that being awake isn’t an actual requirement for this plan. I got to the gym in about 10 minutes, which was great since I somehow thought it would take longer. I looked about for a spot that I liked, parked and executed the Plan perfectly. I was so impressed with myself. I knew that this plan was brilliant and actually easy.
I decided that I wouldn’t call it perfect until I got home, but I was already writing this journal entry on the bus ride home, because I couldn’t wait to tell you about it. That is until I lost my car. I walked to where I swore I parked it. It was about halfway down the street but not past the garbage dumpsters. Hmmm. I could have sworn it was right about here, but yet it wasn’t. I wondered if I somehow managed to overlook a sign that limited how long you could park there. No. I’ve parked all day here before when I worked for the software company. I walked down and then back up to the corner, because I did drive here *really* early and I might have been dreaming that I parked here. Boy would I be pissed if someone towed my car away. I started walking back to the front of the gym and realized that it was extremely unlikely that someone had my car towed away. What was more reasonable was that it was stolen. Yep. I stopped and thought about it and it just made more sense. Why not, it was an easy target and wouldn’t that just be the best way to end my relationship with this car whose praises I sang in this very journal. I decided right then and there that I would not fall for the allure of a convertible again and I would get a replacement that was sensible.
By this point, I had reached the corner and was about to go in when I realized that I didn’t park on that side of the gym. I pulled up and stopped in the original spot and then pulled out and parked on the other side when I realized that it wasn’t Monday and I could park on the side closer to the bus stop and not get a parking ticket. Yes, and there she was, sitting with her sad grey duct tape bandages. I actually felt a little bad as I approached the car. I mean, I had already decided on her replacement. I didn’t say anything as I got in and drove home, stopping at the supermarket to pick up something easy yet healthy to eat. I just couldn’t see cooking after all the emotional drama.
Today I did the plan again and was more thoughtful in my parking place. Nothing went astray, although it was a little rough after working out my shoulders and back to stand on the bus holding on while the Muni driver did his little airbrake dance (start, stop, stop stop, surge, stop, surge surge surge, STOP, …). For four long blocks. Next time I’ll just walk.
Tonight I got a spot in front of the house and I’ll be taking the bus both ways. Yeah, check me out, taking the bus everywhere. I haven’t felt this public transportation saavy since I was in high school and to young to drive where I wanted to go.
It’s the little victories that are the best, right? Tell me about your latest little victory.
Monday, November 11, 2002
Play day
I was off today. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have to work on Veteran’s Day. Actually the last time I had it off, I’m sure that I was in school. Earlier this weekend, I had a huge list of things I needed to do today, but through good planning or perhaps just good luck, the list was a lot shorter when I woke up this morning so I slept in.
This weekend I did a bunch of errands, I did *not* clean my room and I did go out and enjoy yummy Moroccan food with Di, her hubby and a few friends. Sunday I got to see a few of the people again as we went to see The Importance of Being Earnest at the Pardee Home in Oakland. I will rave a bit about the troupe that performed this. The group is called Woman's Will and is an all-female Shakespeare company. I first saw them perform Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre back in July on Di's Birthday. If you live in the Bay Area find out what they are performing and then go see them. Seriously. This play is running through early December. I had never seen this play before and am glad to have experienced it live rather than in a movie theatre. It was performed salon style. What that means is basically we were in an old historic house sitting in the living room and sitting room while actors dressed in appropriate period costume acted feet if not inches in front of us. And they were good. And funny. I had a hard time laughing because I was afraid I'd disturb their concentration or make them smile inapppropriately. Well I soon realized that they could handle this as they were professionals and I laughed out loud or quietly snickered for much of the performance. The actors were all very good and I've got a serious crush on the actor who played Algernon. I suspect it's in situations like this where being bi makes it easier for me than for others who might find themselves confused by their attraction to a male character being played by a woman. The part that I loved was that I so wanted a cup of tea and a cucumber sandwich that the actors were enjoying. Imagine my thrill of having intermission be announced by the butler by informing us that tea was being served in the dining room!
Okay, back to my morning. For some odd reason we had lost power at some point (no storms or any reasonable cause) so I woke to hear my phone and printer beeping and burbling as they got juiced back up again. Then I went back to sleep. But don’t think I was slacking folks. Nope, that was actually on my list. I hung out in my little nest and listened to my housemates bustling about the house getting ready for work. I got out of bed around 9 and got out of the house by 10. I filled my car up with odd bits of things to put into storage (my snow brush, a bent trim cap for my car I’m saving so that I can replace it at some point, some extra shelves, bedding and such) and brought that over. Then I took a leisurely drive over to 19th street to pick up some dim sum for lunch. It was a gorgeous day so I decided that I should eat at the beach and did. Then I went to the Balboa Theatre to see a double feature Secretary and White Oleander. Neither had great reviews but I’d read about both of them and thought that for 2.50 a piece they’d be entertaining enough. And they were. I won’t get into spoiler details here, in case you were thinking about seeing these movies. If you want to chat about them, you’ll have to send me email. I was really annoyed with the people who were behind me during The Secretary. They were obnoxiously loud and their comments made it obvious that they didn’t get the characters at all. I’d hate to sit next to them at a David Lynch movie. I had read White Oleander before I saw the movie. They did leave out a lot of the book, as usual, but I liked the actors they cast in it. I also wondered if an artist needs to suffer in order for their work to have depth. In this movie there seemed to be a lot of suffering on the part of the characters that were artists.
After the movie I went to the market to pick up some critical items, came home and cooked dinner and prepared breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. You may have noticed that I didn’t mention going to the gym. It’s because I didn’t go. But I will be going tomorrow morning before work. I’ve laid out my clothes and gotten everything ready so there is no need to think until I actually arrive at work tomorrow morning. I’ve even worked out the time schedule for the buses I need to catch in order to get to work in time. The plan being to drive to the gym, take the bus to work and then take the bus back to my car and drive it home and park it. This way I move the car around more and can hopefully prevent it from looking tempting to people by leaving it in one place for too long. I am still looking for a secure parking spot. Then I’ll just take the bus unless I need the car for something. I figure that this plan will make it easier to get tot he gym regularly like I did early in the year. I just need to be more mindful the night before.
All in all, I had an enjoyable day. Lots of mindless distractions, a sunny lunch at the beach watching the waves and tourists go by, a couple of movies and a quiet evening at home.
What more could I ask for?
This weekend I did a bunch of errands, I did *not* clean my room and I did go out and enjoy yummy Moroccan food with Di, her hubby and a few friends. Sunday I got to see a few of the people again as we went to see The Importance of Being Earnest at the Pardee Home in Oakland. I will rave a bit about the troupe that performed this. The group is called Woman's Will and is an all-female Shakespeare company. I first saw them perform Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre back in July on Di's Birthday. If you live in the Bay Area find out what they are performing and then go see them. Seriously. This play is running through early December. I had never seen this play before and am glad to have experienced it live rather than in a movie theatre. It was performed salon style. What that means is basically we were in an old historic house sitting in the living room and sitting room while actors dressed in appropriate period costume acted feet if not inches in front of us. And they were good. And funny. I had a hard time laughing because I was afraid I'd disturb their concentration or make them smile inapppropriately. Well I soon realized that they could handle this as they were professionals and I laughed out loud or quietly snickered for much of the performance. The actors were all very good and I've got a serious crush on the actor who played Algernon. I suspect it's in situations like this where being bi makes it easier for me than for others who might find themselves confused by their attraction to a male character being played by a woman. The part that I loved was that I so wanted a cup of tea and a cucumber sandwich that the actors were enjoying. Imagine my thrill of having intermission be announced by the butler by informing us that tea was being served in the dining room!
Okay, back to my morning. For some odd reason we had lost power at some point (no storms or any reasonable cause) so I woke to hear my phone and printer beeping and burbling as they got juiced back up again. Then I went back to sleep. But don’t think I was slacking folks. Nope, that was actually on my list. I hung out in my little nest and listened to my housemates bustling about the house getting ready for work. I got out of bed around 9 and got out of the house by 10. I filled my car up with odd bits of things to put into storage (my snow brush, a bent trim cap for my car I’m saving so that I can replace it at some point, some extra shelves, bedding and such) and brought that over. Then I took a leisurely drive over to 19th street to pick up some dim sum for lunch. It was a gorgeous day so I decided that I should eat at the beach and did. Then I went to the Balboa Theatre to see a double feature Secretary and White Oleander. Neither had great reviews but I’d read about both of them and thought that for 2.50 a piece they’d be entertaining enough. And they were. I won’t get into spoiler details here, in case you were thinking about seeing these movies. If you want to chat about them, you’ll have to send me email. I was really annoyed with the people who were behind me during The Secretary. They were obnoxiously loud and their comments made it obvious that they didn’t get the characters at all. I’d hate to sit next to them at a David Lynch movie. I had read White Oleander before I saw the movie. They did leave out a lot of the book, as usual, but I liked the actors they cast in it. I also wondered if an artist needs to suffer in order for their work to have depth. In this movie there seemed to be a lot of suffering on the part of the characters that were artists.
After the movie I went to the market to pick up some critical items, came home and cooked dinner and prepared breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. You may have noticed that I didn’t mention going to the gym. It’s because I didn’t go. But I will be going tomorrow morning before work. I’ve laid out my clothes and gotten everything ready so there is no need to think until I actually arrive at work tomorrow morning. I’ve even worked out the time schedule for the buses I need to catch in order to get to work in time. The plan being to drive to the gym, take the bus to work and then take the bus back to my car and drive it home and park it. This way I move the car around more and can hopefully prevent it from looking tempting to people by leaving it in one place for too long. I am still looking for a secure parking spot. Then I’ll just take the bus unless I need the car for something. I figure that this plan will make it easier to get tot he gym regularly like I did early in the year. I just need to be more mindful the night before.
All in all, I had an enjoyable day. Lots of mindless distractions, a sunny lunch at the beach watching the waves and tourists go by, a couple of movies and a quiet evening at home.
What more could I ask for?
Friday, November 8, 2002
Influential Weather and Friends
I’ve been battling a foul mood lately and think I may have figured out why. It has nothing to do with the fact that I discovered my convertible roof got slashed again the night it decides to release 6 months worth of pent-up rain. It wasn’t stoked by anxious thoughts wondering if the shipping tape I had would be able to keep the ever-constant rain from pouring in and soaking my seats. I parked under a tree y’know and that would deter a raindrop or two. Sure it’s a good reason to be in a pissy mood, but it hasn’t gone away yet even though I was able to bring it in and get it patched for free at the body shop that installed the new top.
I’m happy to be working, even with my worried undertones. (If you are thinking that you’ll try to reassure me, hold that thought for about this for about a year. I’ll be off of probation then and am likely to be more consolable. ) I’m feeling useful and starting to find my place. I’m going to start making appointments next week to meet business partners. It allows me to get some first hand experience learning what they really want from IT and not what we think they need. This is the sort of stuff I enjoy and I want people to feel like I might actually make a difference. I took a bunch of calls today during these bizarre power outages. I still need to learn how the various systems work, but no one noticed today. They were just happy to get someone to tell them what was going on.
So what’s responsible for these up and down moods? Okay I’ll just cut to the chase, the weather seems to be linked directly to my moods. Seriously. This isn’t like the time I thought that the A’s would win if I watched their games. Even though I had an 8 game streak. On the rainy days I lean toward surly and bitter. When it stops I start to brighten up and joke with co-workers or housemates. When the sun is out, things are brighter and lighter in my attitude.
But another outside influence is the company that I keep. I was thinking about my ex the other day and missing how she would be able to distract me from my own worries enough to realize that things weren’t so bad. But I’m really happy that I have some good friends in my life right now. It doesn’t seem to matter if we are just hanging out or doing something special, I feel like I can just be myself around them. This past week, Betty had Di and I over for a Buffy night. I cooked dinner in someone else’s kitchen as if it were my own, which is very cool. Last weekend Di and I made waffles and chatted on Saturday morning and the weekend before last, Esther brought me down to south city for a real philipino breakfast. I don’t know how I lived life before garlic rice and chopsilog. Of course I will be passing this neat bit of fun eating along to any other adventurous friends. I totally love the neat diversity of this city. I still think about how thankful I am that Cabala and Shavon were there to help me move. And I’m pleasantly surprised how cool my housemate Pablito is. I had gone into the kitchen to get some water from the fridge and he was cooking some food to bring to the big game last weekend. We got to chatting and next thing I know I was helping him chop up some veggies. He seems more easy going than our other housemate which seems to be what I need right now. The other day we got a note on the fridge asking us to finish up our monthly chores. My first reaction was not pretty, especially because I had planned on doing that night. Now I wanted to be rebellious (how dare she tell me what to do like we were children) and annoyed because I really wanted to clean that evening. I ended up cleaning because I suspected that I was making a big deal out of nothing and have every intention of sitting down with the offending housemate to tell her how I felt about the note.
If I was still living with the ex, I know that it would have bothered me more. Friends seem to diffuse things for me and help me keep life in proper perspective. They rock. I went to a political issues party to figure out what the hell I should be voting for. Granted we all seemed to bring sweet snacks to share and I blame the sugar, the visiting puppies and the extra long propositions list for some of the light-hearted wackiness that transpired that afternoon. I did feel more prepared for the 8 page ballot and knew what people were running and which issues were important to me.
Even the friends I hardly ever see are good for me. You are the ones who send me email or call me telling me what’s going on in your life or sharing your insight with me. I know we’ll be friends for a long while even though we are too busy or far away to do much more than regular email. This isn’t a cheap ploy to get you to write me, It’s a well thought-out scheme that should work. Plus I’ve got the added benefit of birthday guilt that should be hitting you soon. Don’t worry I’m sure that I’ll have birthday thoughts to post. I’ve been avoiding thinking about my birthday. Not that I dread getting older. I just tend to get a case of birthday blues and unless the weather shifts this could get bad. But we aren’t going there today.
Where did you go today and how’s your weather?
I’m happy to be working, even with my worried undertones. (If you are thinking that you’ll try to reassure me, hold that thought for about this for about a year. I’ll be off of probation then and am likely to be more consolable. ) I’m feeling useful and starting to find my place. I’m going to start making appointments next week to meet business partners. It allows me to get some first hand experience learning what they really want from IT and not what we think they need. This is the sort of stuff I enjoy and I want people to feel like I might actually make a difference. I took a bunch of calls today during these bizarre power outages. I still need to learn how the various systems work, but no one noticed today. They were just happy to get someone to tell them what was going on.
So what’s responsible for these up and down moods? Okay I’ll just cut to the chase, the weather seems to be linked directly to my moods. Seriously. This isn’t like the time I thought that the A’s would win if I watched their games. Even though I had an 8 game streak. On the rainy days I lean toward surly and bitter. When it stops I start to brighten up and joke with co-workers or housemates. When the sun is out, things are brighter and lighter in my attitude.
But another outside influence is the company that I keep. I was thinking about my ex the other day and missing how she would be able to distract me from my own worries enough to realize that things weren’t so bad. But I’m really happy that I have some good friends in my life right now. It doesn’t seem to matter if we are just hanging out or doing something special, I feel like I can just be myself around them. This past week, Betty had Di and I over for a Buffy night. I cooked dinner in someone else’s kitchen as if it were my own, which is very cool. Last weekend Di and I made waffles and chatted on Saturday morning and the weekend before last, Esther brought me down to south city for a real philipino breakfast. I don’t know how I lived life before garlic rice and chopsilog. Of course I will be passing this neat bit of fun eating along to any other adventurous friends. I totally love the neat diversity of this city. I still think about how thankful I am that Cabala and Shavon were there to help me move. And I’m pleasantly surprised how cool my housemate Pablito is. I had gone into the kitchen to get some water from the fridge and he was cooking some food to bring to the big game last weekend. We got to chatting and next thing I know I was helping him chop up some veggies. He seems more easy going than our other housemate which seems to be what I need right now. The other day we got a note on the fridge asking us to finish up our monthly chores. My first reaction was not pretty, especially because I had planned on doing that night. Now I wanted to be rebellious (how dare she tell me what to do like we were children) and annoyed because I really wanted to clean that evening. I ended up cleaning because I suspected that I was making a big deal out of nothing and have every intention of sitting down with the offending housemate to tell her how I felt about the note.
If I was still living with the ex, I know that it would have bothered me more. Friends seem to diffuse things for me and help me keep life in proper perspective. They rock. I went to a political issues party to figure out what the hell I should be voting for. Granted we all seemed to bring sweet snacks to share and I blame the sugar, the visiting puppies and the extra long propositions list for some of the light-hearted wackiness that transpired that afternoon. I did feel more prepared for the 8 page ballot and knew what people were running and which issues were important to me.
Even the friends I hardly ever see are good for me. You are the ones who send me email or call me telling me what’s going on in your life or sharing your insight with me. I know we’ll be friends for a long while even though we are too busy or far away to do much more than regular email. This isn’t a cheap ploy to get you to write me, It’s a well thought-out scheme that should work. Plus I’ve got the added benefit of birthday guilt that should be hitting you soon. Don’t worry I’m sure that I’ll have birthday thoughts to post. I’ve been avoiding thinking about my birthday. Not that I dread getting older. I just tend to get a case of birthday blues and unless the weather shifts this could get bad. But we aren’t going there today.
Where did you go today and how’s your weather?
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