Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Back In The Saddle Again
Spring semester has officially arrived, peeps. I started my web-based class last night, which included beginning the readings I have to do before next Tuesday (four book chapters with eight journal articles to use to create a 400-500 word reaction paper). Tonight is the first in-class section. Should be a hoot. Wish me luck.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Just When Your Faith In Humanity Was Just About Shot...
I have to admit upfront that I am a crier. Movies, TV shows, books, commercials even. Doesn't matter the format, I've cried tears of sorrow, happiness or sentimentality more times than I care to admit. I did it again this morning when I read this article. Since I'm at one end of the spectrum, I can't guarantee that you'll all have the same reaction, but I'd be willing to bet that at the very least you'll "get something in your eye" as TLS likes to say.
(Hat tip to my cousin, Brittany, for the link.)
(Hat tip to my cousin, Brittany, for the link.)
Monday, January 05, 2009
Haiku Anyone?
In my very younger days, I used to write poetry. They were very earnest poems, full of angsty teenage feelings. I'm pretty sure that I threw them all away at some point and probably rightly so. I have a feeling that they would be almost painful to read from my (much) older and (much) wiser vantage point. That being said, however, I do still like to put pencil to paper for something creative.
I was driving home one day last week just as the sun was setting. The sky was a beautiful orange color and there was the barest hint of a cresent moon right next to the planet Jupiter. It was so gorgeous that I was moved to write the following haiku*. Enjoy!
Winter Evening
Lovely orange sky
Crescent moon, planet glowing
Dusk is falling fast
*A short poem in the Japanese style consisting of 17 syllables broken into three lines with five, seven, and five syllables, respectively.
I was driving home one day last week just as the sun was setting. The sky was a beautiful orange color and there was the barest hint of a cresent moon right next to the planet Jupiter. It was so gorgeous that I was moved to write the following haiku*. Enjoy!
Winter Evening
Lovely orange sky
Crescent moon, planet glowing
Dusk is falling fast
*A short poem in the Japanese style consisting of 17 syllables broken into three lines with five, seven, and five syllables, respectively.
Friday, January 02, 2009
One Of Those Lists That No One Wants To Read
The author of one of the blogs I read religiously posted her answers to these questions. I am always open to "borrowing" good ideas so, despite no one asking for them, here are mine:
1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Flew in a glider (and actually flew it for about 10 minutes) in front of the Tetons. It was super awesomely fantastically wonderful. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Let's see. As I recall, my resolution last year was to stay away from vodka. I believe that I kept it fairly well. I'm not big on the new year's resolutions, so I'd have to say that I don't have any for 2009.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes. My friend Amy O. had an adorable little boy, Trey.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. Thank goodness.
5. What countries did you visit?
Does Idaho count?
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Can't think of a thing. Well, aside from world peace. Oh, and a pony.
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I've got nothing for this one. Just as 2008 didn't have any reeeealy bad things, there weren't any "stop the presses this is awesome" ones either.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting up off my duff and actually starting grad school.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Keeping my crankiness in check.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Unless you count the dreaded 21 day cold from November/December, nope.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Okay, I didn't buy it, but it has to be my iPod Touch. Awesome! (Thanks, TLS.)
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Drawing a blank on this one. Can't even come up with something amusing.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
See answer #12.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Hmm. Mortgage, car payment, electric bill, gasoline. Okay, this answer is depressing me. Moving on...
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Making an "A" in SLIS 5200 (Introduction to the Organization of Information a.k.a. The A**-Kicker)
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
For sheer numbers of radio plays, Flo Rida "Low" (And how sad is it that an almost forty year old lists a hip-hop song for this question. Think young, think young, think young.)
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Same
b) thinner or fatter? Same
c) richer or poorer? Same, apparently, I'm nothing if not consistent
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Reading, travelling, catching up with friends
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Homework. Ugh.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas Eve with the in-laws and Christmas Day with my mother and brother
21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Nope. Just happy to still be in love with the darling TLS. (And glad that the feeling is mutual.)
22. What was your favorite TV program?
(Tie) Pushing Daisies and Life
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is such a strong word. Let me think. ... Still thinking. ... Nope, no added hatred.
24. What was the best book you read?
Oy! This is a hard one. Must be Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris. It was well-written, funny and poignant. Recommended.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Has to be last.fm You can listen to music and create your own "radio station" by typing in a favorite artist name and they will stream songs from similar artists.
26. What did you want and get?
A 4.0 for my first semester of grad school
27. What did you want and not get?
Can't think of anything. I must be lucky that way.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Well, technically this was from late 2007, but I'm going to have to say Lars and the Real Girl. If you haven't seen it, give it a try. It has a fairly wacky concept (lonely, alienated, eccentric guy buys a life-size doll and pretends that she's real and the whole town plays along) but it had more true heart that most of the traditional relationship movies I've ever seen.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Had a small surprise party with some friends put together by TLS. I was the dreaded 39.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Winning the lottery. Yeah, that's about it.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Just glad the clothes still fit.
32. What kept you sane?
My friends and TLS
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Daniel Craig ain't too hard on the eyes.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The election is finally over.
35. Who did you miss?
My grandma.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
My school BFF Mary. She kept me sane during SLIS 5200.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
You can do anything you put your mind to. (Dorky and not very original, I know, but it's all I've got.)
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
In the "getting motivated" column, from the song, Believe by The Bravery
Waiting for our ship to come but our ship's not coming back
We do have time like pennies in a jar
What are we saving for?
1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Flew in a glider (and actually flew it for about 10 minutes) in front of the Tetons. It was super awesomely fantastically wonderful. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Let's see. As I recall, my resolution last year was to stay away from vodka. I believe that I kept it fairly well. I'm not big on the new year's resolutions, so I'd have to say that I don't have any for 2009.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes. My friend Amy O. had an adorable little boy, Trey.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. Thank goodness.
5. What countries did you visit?
Does Idaho count?
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Can't think of a thing. Well, aside from world peace. Oh, and a pony.
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I've got nothing for this one. Just as 2008 didn't have any reeeealy bad things, there weren't any "stop the presses this is awesome" ones either.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting up off my duff and actually starting grad school.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Keeping my crankiness in check.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Unless you count the dreaded 21 day cold from November/December, nope.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Okay, I didn't buy it, but it has to be my iPod Touch. Awesome! (Thanks, TLS.)
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Drawing a blank on this one. Can't even come up with something amusing.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
See answer #12.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Hmm. Mortgage, car payment, electric bill, gasoline. Okay, this answer is depressing me. Moving on...
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Making an "A" in SLIS 5200 (Introduction to the Organization of Information a.k.a. The A**-Kicker)
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
For sheer numbers of radio plays, Flo Rida "Low" (And how sad is it that an almost forty year old lists a hip-hop song for this question. Think young, think young, think young.)
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Same
b) thinner or fatter? Same
c) richer or poorer? Same, apparently, I'm nothing if not consistent
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Reading, travelling, catching up with friends
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Homework. Ugh.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas Eve with the in-laws and Christmas Day with my mother and brother
21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Nope. Just happy to still be in love with the darling TLS. (And glad that the feeling is mutual.)
22. What was your favorite TV program?
(Tie) Pushing Daisies and Life
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is such a strong word. Let me think. ... Still thinking. ... Nope, no added hatred.
24. What was the best book you read?
Oy! This is a hard one. Must be Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris. It was well-written, funny and poignant. Recommended.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Has to be last.fm You can listen to music and create your own "radio station" by typing in a favorite artist name and they will stream songs from similar artists.
26. What did you want and get?
A 4.0 for my first semester of grad school
27. What did you want and not get?
Can't think of anything. I must be lucky that way.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Well, technically this was from late 2007, but I'm going to have to say Lars and the Real Girl. If you haven't seen it, give it a try. It has a fairly wacky concept (lonely, alienated, eccentric guy buys a life-size doll and pretends that she's real and the whole town plays along) but it had more true heart that most of the traditional relationship movies I've ever seen.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Had a small surprise party with some friends put together by TLS. I was the dreaded 39.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Winning the lottery. Yeah, that's about it.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Just glad the clothes still fit.
32. What kept you sane?
My friends and TLS
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Daniel Craig ain't too hard on the eyes.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The election is finally over.
35. Who did you miss?
My grandma.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
My school BFF Mary. She kept me sane during SLIS 5200.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
You can do anything you put your mind to. (Dorky and not very original, I know, but it's all I've got.)
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
In the "getting motivated" column, from the song, Believe by The Bravery
Waiting for our ship to come but our ship's not coming back
We do have time like pennies in a jar
What are we saving for?
Thursday, January 01, 2009
All Is Quiet On New Years Day...
New Years Day checklist:
The Making and eating of my spicy black eyed pea recipe? CHECK.
Putting up the new Christmas card photos on the fridge? CHECK.
Happy New Year! May 2009 be even better than 2008.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
New Subscription List
I heard from several people that the NotifyList link was not working properly, so now I am using Feedburner. There is a new widget off to the right to sign up for notification emails when I post new content. Give it a try; I think this one will work better. Fingers crossed!
Auld Lang Syne
So we've arrived at the last day of 2008. It is amazing to me how quickly time passes anymore. I remember being a kid, when the only things you really looked forward to were your birthday, the last day of school and Christmas and how it seemed like it took F - O - R - E - V - E - R for each of them to get here. Now it seems as if I blink and another year has passed. Birthday? POW! Anniversary? POW! Christmas? Again?! Really? POW, POW, POW!
I was musing about life in general the other day. I have never been one to have an actual five (or ten or even one) year plan for my life. I cringe when I have to answer those types of questions during job interviews. I usually end up saying something along the lines of, "I don't have a specific job or position that I envision, but I do want to be doing something that I enjoy and find challenging and exciting." Which, while it is a cop-out of sorts, is true. I have a couple of hard-charging friends from college that actually did have the next five years of their lives planned out at age 18. I admire their drive and ambition, but could never really see myself with the proverbial clipboard and ruler planning out every possible permuation. Come to think of it, though, this particular foible of my personality does seem to be a little out of character. As I believe we've established in the last year or so, I am an anal retentive, control freak but something about the "life" situation makes me just want to float along reactively taking things as they come. Ah, what a complicated lass I am! Apparently, it's all part of my particular charm.
Twenty years ago, the only things I pictured myself being were a wife and mother. I managed to achieve the former but not the latter and while there are days that I mourn the "me" that could have been, on the whole, I am probably happier than if I had had children. I've come to know myself well after some time in therapy and much soul-searching and though I could have been what we call in Texas a "fair to middlin'" parent, I would have struggled daily with my limitations. Many mothers would be perfectly fine being the proverbial "C" student of parenting. "Better than most" could be the rallying cry of great hordes of people and, really, since perfection in the raising of children is a quixotic goal, they are probably the healthiest of us all. But none of that is my style. Call it personality or genetics or personal idiom but only the loftiest of goals is good enough for me and when I cannot live up to them, mounting frustration often gets the best of me. My mother tells a story about me as a very young child that I find summarizes that characteristic of mine better than I ever could myself. When I started to talk, I started saying words. (I believe that car was the first one I said.) I was making the transition from babbling to words beautifully and then I just stopped altogether. Dead in my tracks. Nary a word was coming from my mouth. Mom was starting to really become alarmed and then I suddenly busted out with a complete sentence. She said that it was as if I knew that sentences were the next step and that I wasn't going to talk anymore until I could say them. Perfectly. And she truly suspected that I was practicing in my crib by myself so that I could unveil the first sentence in a dramatic fashion. Fast forward a year or so later when I was learning my ABCs. I would get somewhere around the dreaded L-M-N section and would lose my place. Instead of calmly starting over again, I would suffer a world-class meltdown with full on crying and carrying on and probably even some flinging of myself to the floor. And, yes, I am thirty (mumble, mumble) years older and have better control of my emotions but I still find that lack of perfection causes frustration which often threatens to boil over into anger. And I truly believe that the years of daily mounting frustration of parenthood would have turned me into a horrible, shrieking shrew.
I guess that somewhere in this end-of-year post, I fell into the justification for why we didn't pursue egg donation or adoption after our failed fertility treatments. I know that my dear, sweet friends and relatives will chime in with the "you'd be a GREAT parent" and "nobody's perfect" and "everyone thinks they are a worse parent than they really are" statements. And while they are all probably true, it wouldn't be the act of not being perfect, it would be my reaction to it that would potentially drive me over the bend. Self awareness is a beautiful thing when you're able to act on it.
And now in the worse segue of time, may you all have a happy, healthy, and safe New Year. I promise to be back to my normal, inane postings very, very soon.
I was musing about life in general the other day. I have never been one to have an actual five (or ten or even one) year plan for my life. I cringe when I have to answer those types of questions during job interviews. I usually end up saying something along the lines of, "I don't have a specific job or position that I envision, but I do want to be doing something that I enjoy and find challenging and exciting." Which, while it is a cop-out of sorts, is true. I have a couple of hard-charging friends from college that actually did have the next five years of their lives planned out at age 18. I admire their drive and ambition, but could never really see myself with the proverbial clipboard and ruler planning out every possible permuation. Come to think of it, though, this particular foible of my personality does seem to be a little out of character. As I believe we've established in the last year or so, I am an anal retentive, control freak but something about the "life" situation makes me just want to float along reactively taking things as they come. Ah, what a complicated lass I am! Apparently, it's all part of my particular charm.
Twenty years ago, the only things I pictured myself being were a wife and mother. I managed to achieve the former but not the latter and while there are days that I mourn the "me" that could have been, on the whole, I am probably happier than if I had had children. I've come to know myself well after some time in therapy and much soul-searching and though I could have been what we call in Texas a "fair to middlin'" parent, I would have struggled daily with my limitations. Many mothers would be perfectly fine being the proverbial "C" student of parenting. "Better than most" could be the rallying cry of great hordes of people and, really, since perfection in the raising of children is a quixotic goal, they are probably the healthiest of us all. But none of that is my style. Call it personality or genetics or personal idiom but only the loftiest of goals is good enough for me and when I cannot live up to them, mounting frustration often gets the best of me. My mother tells a story about me as a very young child that I find summarizes that characteristic of mine better than I ever could myself. When I started to talk, I started saying words. (I believe that car was the first one I said.) I was making the transition from babbling to words beautifully and then I just stopped altogether. Dead in my tracks. Nary a word was coming from my mouth. Mom was starting to really become alarmed and then I suddenly busted out with a complete sentence. She said that it was as if I knew that sentences were the next step and that I wasn't going to talk anymore until I could say them. Perfectly. And she truly suspected that I was practicing in my crib by myself so that I could unveil the first sentence in a dramatic fashion. Fast forward a year or so later when I was learning my ABCs. I would get somewhere around the dreaded L-M-N section and would lose my place. Instead of calmly starting over again, I would suffer a world-class meltdown with full on crying and carrying on and probably even some flinging of myself to the floor. And, yes, I am thirty (mumble, mumble) years older and have better control of my emotions but I still find that lack of perfection causes frustration which often threatens to boil over into anger. And I truly believe that the years of daily mounting frustration of parenthood would have turned me into a horrible, shrieking shrew.
I guess that somewhere in this end-of-year post, I fell into the justification for why we didn't pursue egg donation or adoption after our failed fertility treatments. I know that my dear, sweet friends and relatives will chime in with the "you'd be a GREAT parent" and "nobody's perfect" and "everyone thinks they are a worse parent than they really are" statements. And while they are all probably true, it wouldn't be the act of not being perfect, it would be my reaction to it that would potentially drive me over the bend. Self awareness is a beautiful thing when you're able to act on it.
And now in the worse segue of time, may you all have a happy, healthy, and safe New Year. I promise to be back to my normal, inane postings very, very soon.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Let Me (Re)Introduce Myself
Hi! I'm Inertia Girl. Nice to meet you.
You may be unaware of my horrible inertia problem -- which usually manifests itself by lack of blog posting. I seem to have been suffering from a severe case of it lately. As I've said before, I often go through phases of not having much to say and the information I do have doesn't seem to be particularly blog-worthy. (I imagine myself writing about it and then I think...does anyone really want to read this dreck?...and then I just keep on not writing anything.) Well, I don't think I've convinced myself that what I have to say is worthwhile, but I did finally decide that it's silly to have a blog and not post anything. So, here goes:
Got my official grades back and I pulled off the 4.0. Eight hours of A's, baby. I'm stoked that the whole school thing is off to a good start. Of course, this means that I'm now committed to grade perfection. No pressure there. Oh no.
I have been feeling neither "holly" nor "jolly" these days. This post gives you my general feeling about Christmas, but I seem to be particularly grinch-y this year. I'm really not sure why. Maybe it was the crush of schoolwork in early December that threw off my whole schedule. I have made absolutely no attempt to get the Christmas letter done this year. Maybe I'll shoot for a New Year's letter. (Hmmm. That has potential.) Today, I made the statement, "I wish they would just call off Christmas this year" one too many times, apparently, as TLS told me to knock it off. He pointed out that the odds of such a thing happening were infinitely small to infintesimal so I'd better just make my peace. Alrighty then. Consider my peace made.
The bright spots in my week were finding out that while a chunk of enamel fell off one of my teeth, that I didn't need any extensive (read: expensive) dental work. Score! I also got the pathology report back from a thyroid biopsy and it was benign. I'll take that as my Christmas present this year.
Merry Christmas to all!
You may be unaware of my horrible inertia problem -- which usually manifests itself by lack of blog posting. I seem to have been suffering from a severe case of it lately. As I've said before, I often go through phases of not having much to say and the information I do have doesn't seem to be particularly blog-worthy. (I imagine myself writing about it and then I think...does anyone really want to read this dreck?...and then I just keep on not writing anything.) Well, I don't think I've convinced myself that what I have to say is worthwhile, but I did finally decide that it's silly to have a blog and not post anything. So, here goes:
Got my official grades back and I pulled off the 4.0. Eight hours of A's, baby. I'm stoked that the whole school thing is off to a good start. Of course, this means that I'm now committed to grade perfection. No pressure there. Oh no.
I have been feeling neither "holly" nor "jolly" these days. This post gives you my general feeling about Christmas, but I seem to be particularly grinch-y this year. I'm really not sure why. Maybe it was the crush of schoolwork in early December that threw off my whole schedule. I have made absolutely no attempt to get the Christmas letter done this year. Maybe I'll shoot for a New Year's letter. (Hmmm. That has potential.) Today, I made the statement, "I wish they would just call off Christmas this year" one too many times, apparently, as TLS told me to knock it off. He pointed out that the odds of such a thing happening were infinitely small to infintesimal so I'd better just make my peace. Alrighty then. Consider my peace made.
The bright spots in my week were finding out that while a chunk of enamel fell off one of my teeth, that I didn't need any extensive (read: expensive) dental work. Score! I also got the pathology report back from a thyroid biopsy and it was benign. I'll take that as my Christmas present this year.
Merry Christmas to all!
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Ta-freakin'-Da!
Well, peeps, the end of the semester is officially here and I am done with my last assignment. Ahead of schedule. And hopefully done well. Go ahead, call me an a**-kisser, brown-noser, or curve-wrecker. I can't help it, I'm just anal. And driven. And competitive. Now, where's the tequila?! Must celebrate.
An actual conversation from yesterday:
Me: So if Alabama and wins today, and depending on what happens with Oklahoma and Texas, it will be Alabama versus one of them for the national championship, right?
TLS: Yes.
Me: Well, in that case, Roll Tide.
TLS: Why?
Me: Because I refuse to cheer for either one of them. (Aside: sorry Chris!)
TLS: And go against a fellow Big 12 conference team?
Me: Phooey on OU and UT!
TLS: You know, you don't get much "phooey" anymore.
Me: I'm bringing "phooey" back.
TLS: Making "phooey" sexy. (pause) Good luck with that.
An actual conversation from yesterday:
Me: So if Alabama and wins today, and depending on what happens with Oklahoma and Texas, it will be Alabama versus one of them for the national championship, right?
TLS: Yes.
Me: Well, in that case, Roll Tide.
TLS: Why?
Me: Because I refuse to cheer for either one of them. (Aside: sorry Chris!)
TLS: And go against a fellow Big 12 conference team?
Me: Phooey on OU and UT!
TLS: You know, you don't get much "phooey" anymore.
Me: I'm bringing "phooey" back.
TLS: Making "phooey" sexy. (pause) Good luck with that.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Random Roundup
I have a feeling that this post is going to be extremely disjointed. Nay, I know that this post is going to be at least somewhat disjointed. Why, you ask. Well, mostly because that is how my mind works these days...disjointedly. I think I've mentioned before about how all the fertility drugs I was taking several years ago would make me loopy, which gave rise to TLS's nicknames for me, such as Lupronia, Follistimia, and Repronexia. Apparently, as it turns out, every single hormone makes me loopy. And as I am now well into perimenopause, I am chock full of random hormones. (Really, Intertia Girl, you ask. You're not even forty, as the giant, green countdown clock likes to tell me.) Yes, perimenopause. I have the hot flashes, night sweats, moodiness, and brains-leaking-out-the-ears syndrome. Case in point: the other day I went into the garage to get in the car to go to work. I opened the backseat to put my computer bag in, shut it, and then promptly walked around the back of the car to the passenger side and OPENED THE DOOR like I was going to be chauffered around like a lady of leisure. What the...?
What was I just talking about? I'm pretty sure that I had a point when I started this whole thing, but heck if I know what it was. The whole disjointed thing sent me off into the hormone tangent and now I'm just lost.
See? Disjointed.
Oh! I got the next section of my giant semester-long project back graded and... DRUMROLL, PLEASE... got a 99. Woooo! I got my grade the other night when I had been suffering from what TLS's family likes to call stuffitis. (You know, when you're too full and you feel ill.) I opened the email with the grade and then ran immediately through the house, sliding into the kitchen where TLS was sitting at the table reading the latest Astronomy magazine. He looked up at me with this weird expression.
Me: I got a freakin' 99!!!!!!!
TLS: Oh, I'm glad. I thought for a minute that you were coming in to throw up.
(Pause)
Me: Yeah, right. Forget running into the bathroom, I'm all about vomiting in the kitchen in front of you.
That's my husband, always keeping it real.
What was I just talking about? I'm pretty sure that I had a point when I started this whole thing, but heck if I know what it was. The whole disjointed thing sent me off into the hormone tangent and now I'm just lost.
See? Disjointed.
Oh! I got the next section of my giant semester-long project back graded and... DRUMROLL, PLEASE... got a 99. Woooo! I got my grade the other night when I had been suffering from what TLS's family likes to call stuffitis. (You know, when you're too full and you feel ill.) I opened the email with the grade and then ran immediately through the house, sliding into the kitchen where TLS was sitting at the table reading the latest Astronomy magazine. He looked up at me with this weird expression.
Me: I got a freakin' 99!!!!!!!
TLS: Oh, I'm glad. I thought for a minute that you were coming in to throw up.
(Pause)
Me: Yeah, right. Forget running into the bathroom, I'm all about vomiting in the kitchen in front of you.
That's my husband, always keeping it real.
Friday, November 28, 2008
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Aaaaand the cold rolls into its seventh day. I am so tired of blowing my nose and coughing and I'm pretty sure that I am single handedly keeping Kleenex, Purell, and the makers of antiseptic disinfecting wipes in business. Yes, I know, TMI. But at this point it is impossible for me to think of anything else but my own bodily functions--seeing as how they have taken over my life.
Thanksgiving confession:
It's official, I am obsessed with Facebook. Is that too 7th grade girlish to admit? I find myself checking it a couple of times a day and thinking about the next clever statement I'm going to make with my status change. I'm sure that I'll tire of it eventually, but in the meantime, it is yet another distraction. (Like I didn't have enough of those already.)
Thanksgiving confession:
It's official, I am obsessed with Facebook. Is that too 7th grade girlish to admit? I find myself checking it a couple of times a day and thinking about the next clever statement I'm going to make with my status change. I'm sure that I'll tire of it eventually, but in the meantime, it is yet another distraction. (Like I didn't have enough of those already.)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Things I Am Thankful For (Or, Alternately, Things For Which I Am Thankful...If You Are Picky About Your Grammar)
A partial list:
- My loving husband, TLS, who (in the words of the movie Juno, which I have watched far too much of lately) is the cheese to my macaroni.
- My friends and family. 'nuff said.
- The good ol' US of A
- My job (not always my favorite place to be, but it sure helps keep the heat on, the cars in gas, and food on the table)
- My overall good health
- Blue skies, crisp weather and the smell of wood smoke
Head cold is progressing nicely into a lovely productive cough, right on schedule. I figure that I should feel really great just about the time that my Thanksgiving holiday is over. Ah well, things could be worse and I guess there is some irony in bemoaning something so inconsequential in a thanksgiving post.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Ways to Know That Inertia Girl Is Off Her Game
Ways to know that Inertia Girl is off her game
On positive side, after having two completely unrelated friends ask if I had a Facebook profile, I finally caved. Just what I needed, another way to procrastinate my schoolwork. : )
- No blog posting
- $25 Amazon.com gift card money burning a hole in her pocket for weeks (WEEKS!) on end
- Didn't finish reading the book club book for this month's meeting
- Can't seem to muster any enthusiasm for composing, preparing or mailing the beloved Christmas Letter
- Two words: HEAD COLD
On positive side, after having two completely unrelated friends ask if I had a Facebook profile, I finally caved. Just what I needed, another way to procrastinate my schoolwork. : )
Friday, November 14, 2008
Happy Blog-iversary to Me
Well folks, it has been a year of blogging fun over here at Chez Inertia. I've certainly covered a broad (and probably uninteresting) range of topics in the last year and 119 posts. Thanks for indulging my need to put my deepest thoughts and silliest observations out there for others to enjoy. Here's to another year of fun!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Yes, You've Come to the Right Place
So instead of doing the homework I should have been doing, I've been playing with the ol' blog. First I added the countdown clock--the one that tells the world exactly how long until my 40th birthday. (I'm giving you all plenty of time to pick out just the right gift...oh, I jest!) You can't miss it, it's the big green monstrosity on the right.
Then I decided to try a new template. I'm not sure that I'm all on board with the change yet, but I can easily go back to the original one if I get the proverbial wild hair (or is it wild hare?). Feel free to comment honestly--I have no vested interest at this point.
Then I decided to try a new template. I'm not sure that I'm all on board with the change yet, but I can easily go back to the original one if I get the proverbial wild hair (or is it wild hare?). Feel free to comment honestly--I have no vested interest at this point.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
A Post About Two Totally Unrelated Things
Unrelated thing #1:
So the day that I posted last (the date of which I could officially look up, but that would mean that I'd have to save what I've written as a draft and then go into Editing Posts mode and open that post to check the date and then close it and come back to what I have here and lord, if that doesn't seem like far too much work), I got a call from TLS that consisted of this:
TLS: I just read your blog posting.
Me: Yes?
TLS: BOOOORING!
Me: Sorry that I can't live up to your high expectations. What do you think is blog-worthy?
TLS: That my teams won both soccer games last night.
Me: I'll get right on that.
So, TLS, this one's for you. I officially announced to all five of my loyal readers (and a bunch of people all over the world that query Google for pictures of barn swallows - weird, I know) that your teams really kicked some booty. And now that I've written that entire story, I know that I posted last on Wednesday, which would be yesterday, but somehow it seemed like a much longer ago than that. (It's official; I'm losing my mind.)
Unrelated thing #2:
I got my graded project back last night. You know, the one that I spent a bazillion hours alternately writing and dejectedly rolling around on the floor moaning about. I got a 98! Wooo!
And yes, as excited as I was to get that awesome grade (which was pretty excited and involved running into the living room, yelling "I got a 98!", and flinging my arms and legs around in a spaz-tastic way) I was a teeeeny bit peeved to have lost those 2 points. Never happy, I know.
So the day that I posted last (the date of which I could officially look up, but that would mean that I'd have to save what I've written as a draft and then go into Editing Posts mode and open that post to check the date and then close it and come back to what I have here and lord, if that doesn't seem like far too much work), I got a call from TLS that consisted of this:
TLS: I just read your blog posting.
Me: Yes?
TLS: BOOOORING!
Me: Sorry that I can't live up to your high expectations. What do you think is blog-worthy?
TLS: That my teams won both soccer games last night.
Me: I'll get right on that.
So, TLS, this one's for you. I officially announced to all five of my loyal readers (and a bunch of people all over the world that query Google for pictures of barn swallows - weird, I know) that your teams really kicked some booty. And now that I've written that entire story, I know that I posted last on Wednesday, which would be yesterday, but somehow it seemed like a much longer ago than that. (It's official; I'm losing my mind.)
Unrelated thing #2:
I got my graded project back last night. You know, the one that I spent a bazillion hours alternately writing and dejectedly rolling around on the floor moaning about. I got a 98! Wooo!
And yes, as excited as I was to get that awesome grade (which was pretty excited and involved running into the living room, yelling "I got a 98!", and flinging my arms and legs around in a spaz-tastic way) I was a teeeeny bit peeved to have lost those 2 points. Never happy, I know.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Still Not Dead or Eaten by Bears
Yes, the title to this post is accurate. I am neither dead nor eaten by bears, just haven't been in a blogging mood and haven't had much to blog about. (Believe me, as much as I don't want to write about indexing and specificity and exhaustivity, you don't want to read about them more.) I'll try to come up with something blog-worthy soon. Until then...hugs and kisses.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Second Greatest Quote Ever
Received from a friend via email today regarding my project-writing marathon last weekend:
"Just so you know, [insert name of university here] doesn't give anything higher than an "A" so why are you killing yourself?
Nevermind, I understand the quest for perfection."
Greatest Quote Ever
I spent about 25 hours last weekend (from Friday to Sunday) working on the second draft of this massive semester-long project in my Introduction to the Organization of Information class that was due on Monday. Long about 3 p.m. on Sunday, when I was almost literally lolling around on the floor in a state of writing overload and bemoaning the fact that I would *NEVER FINISH* the dang thing, TLS looks at me and says, ...
"You have a lot of words in your head. Surely you can find a few more."I sure do love that man, but I hate it when he's right. (I did manage to get the thing written, not that anyone had any doubts. It might be complete and utter crap, but it was all on the page.)
Thursday, October 02, 2008
One Weird Fact About Me
Don't ask me why this occurred to me today, but I realized that I have a weird relationship with ice in beverages. I have never been a fan of the ice-filled glass. I think that in my younger days I only saw the whole bad economic sense of it. I mean, when you buy a fountain drink that is filled to the rim with ice and then the beverage is poured in afterwards, what you're getting is less drink and more ice. I may be a capitalist pig, but I prefer more drink for my money. ("More drink, less ice" would look good on a shirt, I think.) And once you start using fewer ice cubes in your drinks, it is a short road (or at least a much shorter road) to using no ice cubes in your drinks.
Totally irrelevant aside:
Although, come to think of it, this whole topic made me nostalgic for the "chewy" ice sold at the locally owned convenience store in my home town. I know you're going to laugh hysterically, but where I grew up (Amarillo, Texas), we didn't have 7-11 or Circle K, just the Toot N Totum. There is a whole story about the name and how they beat the big boys of the convenience store world if you follow the link. But anyway, to get past the digression in my digression, they sell the best ice in the world. I have no idea why it is chewy rather than crunchy, but it.is.the.best. And as I've already established that I'm not a fan of the ice in general, that's high praise from me. I can't believe that I didn't go to one for old times sake when I was back there last year for my high school reunion.
End of totally irrelevant aside.
Back when TLS and I first bought our house, we ended up with a hand me down refrigerator without an ice machine. Since I was already well into my "I don't need ice in my drinks" phase (plus I hated filling, cracking and refilling the crappy plastic ice trays), I started opting out of ice usage in general. Even when we got the spiffy new refrigerator with the ice and water in the door, I mostly just use it when making an adult beverage with crushed ice. We also don't refrigerate our bottled water. I know, it's weird, but it's how I roll. And while I'm not averse to drinks with ice, I'm perfectly happy with my plain old, room temperature water. Go figure.
Totally irrelevant aside:
Although, come to think of it, this whole topic made me nostalgic for the "chewy" ice sold at the locally owned convenience store in my home town. I know you're going to laugh hysterically, but where I grew up (Amarillo, Texas), we didn't have 7-11 or Circle K, just the Toot N Totum. There is a whole story about the name and how they beat the big boys of the convenience store world if you follow the link. But anyway, to get past the digression in my digression, they sell the best ice in the world. I have no idea why it is chewy rather than crunchy, but it.is.the.best. And as I've already established that I'm not a fan of the ice in general, that's high praise from me. I can't believe that I didn't go to one for old times sake when I was back there last year for my high school reunion.
End of totally irrelevant aside.
Back when TLS and I first bought our house, we ended up with a hand me down refrigerator without an ice machine. Since I was already well into my "I don't need ice in my drinks" phase (plus I hated filling, cracking and refilling the crappy plastic ice trays), I started opting out of ice usage in general. Even when we got the spiffy new refrigerator with the ice and water in the door, I mostly just use it when making an adult beverage with crushed ice. We also don't refrigerate our bottled water. I know, it's weird, but it's how I roll. And while I'm not averse to drinks with ice, I'm perfectly happy with my plain old, room temperature water. Go figure.
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