My Fair Lair

Okay, there's an upside here.

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:49:37 GMT

Tomorrow is the day that our company's sale should close, which has made recent weeks a bit odd in terms of productivity.

Today, though, we were told we will receive a "sale bonus" should the deal close, and we'll get it right away with our biweekly paychecks on the 24th. In my case, it's more than a usual biweekly paycheck would be for me! XD

So yeah, I'm happy. This was thoroughly unexpected. Now I'm going to go toss some money into savings to celebrate!

I fear my gifts are small and inadequate.

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:44:17 GMT

I suddenly have this strong urge to go out and buy yet more stuff for people! Must be some subliminal thing reaching me. I feel like I've been pretty frugal/downright miserly in my gift buying habits this year, up til now. Now I'm thinking of DVDs I should have gotten my sister, chocolates I should have gotten my mom, massage and tech stuff I didn't get for Chuck, and miscellaneous clothes/toys/cute things for other friends.

Maybe I can sublimate this feeling into cookie-making.

Dear Santa,

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:57:02 GMT

This Christmas, I could kinda use:
   - More work pants. I have 4 pairs right now, and one I only wear rarely because it’s light-colored AND shows terrible VPL (wear with thongs only!). 2 I wear regularly, and I love one pair because they look nice despite how much I’ve worn them but I hate the other because they’re rather baggy and unflattering.
   - Another pair of jeans. I like my new pair but could use another one or two pairs, but I’d want them in different washes.
   - New brown liquid eyeliner. I’ve been using a shimmery kind for a long time and probably ought to have something more day-appropriate.
   - More nice work blouses. I could stand to step up the professionalism a little, but I feel a good chunk of my current selection is a little tired and small in quantity.
   - A few more casual long-sleeve tops. Just something more than my collection of solid-color business-casual knit tops would be cool. Also peace on earth and stuff, if you've got the time. Thanks Santa!

I caved for capitalism

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Welp, the general public sales for Muse's Chicago gig started at 10 AM today, and I got no hits that weren't in the topmost section despite trying immediately on the hour and many times more for another 30 minutes or so.

My optimistic resolve then died, and I shelled out a couple hundred for the two general admission tickets I wanted from a scalper/reseller. I probably should have gone for buying off of eBay and saved $15-20 bucks, but didn't think of it before I bought off of StubHub. I also could have waited longer for the fervor to die down, but really, I wanted to be assured I had GA. I guess the extra money is for peace of mind.

I'm pretty excited, but it's tempered with the knowledge that I had to pay twice face value. Ah well!

Low (Christmas) spirits

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:33:44 GMT

Everyone I talk to seems to be feeling low on festive holiday feelings. I'm not really an exception, either! Last year I killed myself baking lots of cookies to send around, and this year I just don't have the drive to do it (besides the lack of foresight to start baking like 2 weeks ago). I can blame some of this on getting sick last week, but alot of it seems to be from a general lack of get-up-and-go.

And I still haven't managed to find a gift for my mom. Fortunately I have lots of extra time since they're away from home this Christmas and won't be back until after New Year's, I think. Still, I'm disappointed that I haven't had the discipline to really look for something up until now.

Maybe getting to bake Christmas cookies will charge me up again.

Well that's irritating

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:37:36 GMT

I logged in the very second it turned 1 PM (okay, maybe 10 seconds later, maybe) and was able to get as far as section selection for the presale before being informed by the site that the presale was sold out. D:

Just to be sure I've been sticking around and refreshing like crazy - once the "sold out" message for Chicago was gone and there was an option to buy, but again I got as far as section selection before getting booted again. What's especially odd is that other venues are also drifting in and out of sold-out status - Philly, Toronto, Nashville, Phoenix all keep turning up the "Buy Tickets" button about every 5 minutes before going back to being sold out.

Now the moral quandary: should I cave and buy GA tickets on BigStub for 121% more? Is it believeable that people would have already legitimately acquired these and popped them up there for sale?

Aaaauuuugh I barely EVER go to concerts so I really want to hit this one!

UPDATE: Okay, I cracked into the Chicago ticketing a little in the last few hours, and each time I tried for GA, I was informed they were not available. I think I'm willing to bet that GA is sold out on presale at this point, and the remaining sporadic ticket availability is for seating only. Hm.

HOLY EXCITEMENT!

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:04:04 GMT

Today they announced the U.S. tour dates for Muse! There's one in Chicago! I EXPLODE!

Seriously I'm super excited. Chuck doesn't really like Muse though so I'm sorta hoping to get a friend to come with me to share my utter insane joy and fight off Twilighters.

Resurfacing

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:43:24 GMT

Ugh. I just spent my entire weekend with a bad cold (perhaps the flu?). I started getting a sore throat on Thursday, which became a runny nose on Friday that turned into post-nasal drip, coughing, and a fever Friday night. Because of the fever I had crazy dreams of trying to take over the world by baking cakes. On Saturday it became quite clear that I was in no condition to attend the company Christmas party, but having made most of the food already I wanted to make sure it got to the party even if I didn’t - Chuck was nice enough to run it over that evening.

By Sunday I was feeling improved, though not quite up to doing much, and Monday morning I was less ill but still fairly wiped and opted not to go to work only to be useless. I think that was technically the first sick day I’ve taken! My mind finally came back to relative sharpness last night, so now I’m back in action at work, but still a little sleepyheaded.

Hopefully I’ll have energy enough to make homemade pizza for dinner tonight as planned. Tonight's our last night to chill with one of our local friends before he heads home for the holidays, so I want to at least be sociable!

You can tell it's bad when...

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:18:45 GMT

My career in foodservice, such as it has been, has generally given me the impression that there will always be jobs in food prep, from kitchen manager to dishwasher, in any area with a decent population and accompanying restaurant presence.

However, I just checked out CareerBuilder (out of curiosity) and looked at Restaurant/Food listings - to find only 7 listings in Green Bay, with another 4 in nearby cities within about 30 miles. Craigslist boasts more listings (about double), but still, wow. Intellectually I know that restaurant business is down, but this really brings that fact home.

Little bits of goodness

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:45:31 GMT

I received my credit card bill today and saw that Progressive refunded the "installation fee" AKA punitive measure to prevent lapsed policies. Yay!

I made sesame-flax crackers last night, and they came out nicely! Easy to mix, easy to roll and cut, and pretty easy to bake (that was tougher because I wanted them to be more browned, but really they were fine). I can't wait to have some with my fancy Mt. Tam triple-cream organic cheese.

Ginko was a snugglemuffin this week and tucked himself under the blankets between Chuck and me on Tuesday morning. I turned onto my side, and he scooched over to lean against my back for a bit before walking up over my pillow, and nosing his way under the blankets again to curl up by my stomach. Daw! He can be so affectionate first thing in the morning!

Oh, and also, today we saw the cute deacon at the private school we've been testing at. We first met him a few weeks ago when the church portion of the school was going to be holding a funeral - I guess that's why he was out and about at the time, but hadn't been before - and I was stunned by how utterly handsome he was! He reminded me of Joaquin Phoenix in Quills. Today we just happened to run into him in the hall as we were bringing in our supplies; I just couldn't stop looking at him and grinning. ::fans self::

Fangirl dream

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:56:38 GMT

I think between my catchup reading of Nana and listening to my newly collected Muse b-sides, I created myself a fangirly dream last night.

In it, I was at some sort of exclusive, invitation-only fan gig and party for the band. I remember palling around with a few people at the party, eating at long dining tables, and at one point watching Matt Bellamy play piano while Chris (bassist) threw rolls at him and Dom (drums) tried to roll hot dogs down the keys. It was like watching a piano man at a saloon, with every spectator drunk and laughing, including the player. Later I remember that the band guys were trying to get everyone at the party to do an a-capella version of United States of Eurasia, and while I made a good effort to nail my part, I was chagrined to find that I couldn't control my voice properly, and ended up singing pretty badly. Very embarrassing.

But the last part I remember because I was half-awake, and half-dreaming. I was lying on my side in the dream just as I was in bed, only in my dream I was lying on a long piano bench with my head practically resting on Matt Bellamy's left thigh, while he played some soft, lovely song. The last I remember was the song ending, and hearing him slowly draw in and release a breath.

Then the dream-fog cleared. I had kind of a nice haze around me for a little while, though. ^_^

Food firsts

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:22:46 GMT

On a lighter note, here are some recent things relating to foods - specifically, foods that I had not eaten or made until just recently.

Pilsbury Toaster Strudels - I tried the "Cinnabon" co-branded flavor as a snack at a desperate moment at work. Tasty, but 200 calories for such a little thing? I wouldn't want to make a habit of them.
Tim Tams - I FINALLY found these at a local Target. The legendary "Tim Tam Slam" exceeded my expectations, especially with a vanilla latte from Starbucks. Melty chocolatey goodness, hooray!
Fried ice cream - I'd never attempted to make this, depite having eaten it at restaurants. But we were celebrating my coworker's birthday a day early with a taco lunch, so I thought it would be fun to have a crack at it, given that we have a deep fryer as well as a blast freezer. They came out decently, although I'm sure a tempura-style coating would have been a bit more interesting than the simple egg batter and crushed corn flake coating I opted for.
Fish tacos - I've eaten them, but never made them! This past weekend I marinated some haddock in lime juice, oil, chili powder, garlic, and cilantro, baked it off, then served it up in soft shells with guacamole, fresh pinepple chunks, sliced red onion, fresh cilantro, sour cream, and spring mix greens. If I did it again I'd use a different fish, like salmon, tuna, mahi mahi, or something of that sort - the haddock was alright, but didn't have alot of flavor strength. Oh, and I'd also just make up pineapple salsa to go with it, and then I wouldn't have to have red onion and cilantro on the side!
Graham crackers - I made some of these up last Saturday with Heather's help, using a recipe from smittenkitchen.com. They were very tasty, though definitely more cookie than cracker. They felt like they ought to have less sugar and fat in them to really resemble graham crackers, but all in all a very tasty treat - especially with cinnamon sugar dusted on top. Mmm!

I'm still undecided as to what will be our main dish on Thursday, though. It's just Chuck and me, so we certainly don't need a huge turkey. Last year we did duck, which was nice, but I would rather like some turkey. Maybe just a breast to roast up? I don't know. Whatever happens, there must be mashed potatoes, and hopefully some pumpkin-based dessert.

Eff my brain

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:53:59 GMT

MAN. I lost track of my renewal day for the car insurance and it was YESTERDAY. To renew I had to pay an "installation fee" of an additional $70 over and above what my renewal WOULD have been.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE. I was feeling so on top of things until today. Guess I'll never do THAT again.

Kids are so cool.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:39:27 GMT

Today I helped drop off snacks to our local Snack Buddy school (our company buys them crackers and pretzels and stuff as snacks; a high percentage of them come from low-income families) and volunteered for a couple hours as a "helper."

First, we went outside for recess with a bunch of kids, and since I often feel as awkward with kids as I do with adults, I just sort of wandered around the slides until a little girl claimed me as the safe point in a game of tag, and then asked me to play. I asked what kind of tag they were playing, and she said "Zombie Tag!"

Zombie Tag! XD XD XD Awesome. The rules are pretty logical: if your'e "it" you're a zombie, and instead of being "out" if tagged, you turn into a zombie too and try to tag people. Fun times. Actually, it's pretty challenging if you think about it, because your chances of being tagged increase greatly as the game progresses and more people turn into zombies.

After that we helped a class during story and drawing time, and they were learning about colors and flowers. They were all wiggly and enthusiastic and wanted to answer all the questions and were just delightful in all their different ways.

Internet time waster -> baby pictures

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:52:13 GMT

Someone on OB linked to MorphThing.com last night and I spent like 2 hours just coming up with permutations of babies. Here's mine and Chuck's:

Lol.

T-day plans?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:39:37 GMT

I'm still trying to hammer out our plans for Thanksgiving. I'd totally love to do an orphan's Thanksgiving this year, only, I don't think I know anyone without plans on Thanksgiving! A bunch of our friends are driving down to their family's hometowns, so it kind of looks like just me 'n' Chuck again this year. Which is fine, but not as much fun as getting together with more people and making for a better feast.

Maybe I'll give a shout out on Facebook to my local GB people and see if anyone is interested in a T-day get-together for all of us sans-familles.

3 officially recognized years!

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:29:15 GMT

Today marks 3 years since Charles and I were married! And 8 years ago around this time of year, we were in our first couple months of dating.

I'm so happy I found such a great guy to spend my life with. Things aren't always a bed of rose petals, but I really feel at home with my dearest Chuck. He loves me more than I ever thought anyone ever could or would. Besides which, he always remembers to say thank you, apologizes for being a grouch, and puts up with all my bitchy and silly nonsense.

Sometimes I wish I had tried dating more guys before looking to get married, but honestly, so few men really appealed to me before I met Chuck that I'm not surprised I don't have much of a dating history to speak of. I was always behind the "romantic experience" curve, and didn't feel like I could trust most men - that sounds like I was afraid of being raped or something, but it was really more of a feeling that guys did not behave genuinely around me, and I had no interest in spending time with anyone who wasn't acting like themselves. I never had a problem trusting Chuck, though. He's always had a guileless charm which I find impossible to dislike. His honest nature was actually pretty scary at first, but it's one of the things I love most about him.

Happy Anniversary, baby! I still love you best of all.

Good Jeans

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:40:14 GMT

I need a new pair of jeans (or two) somethin’ fierce. I only have one pair left that isn’t disintegrating in some way.

The problem is, I don’t like most “modern” jeans. My grievances:

1. Stretch denim – this stuff just doesn’t do it for me. My undamaged pair of jeans does have some elastic in the material blend, but they’re relatively beefy in the denim weight and tight enough that it doesn’t bother me as much. However, the pair I bought with stretch prior to that (Levi’s brand from Target) was too thin, and had a stiff, springy drape to them. Besides which, they wore a hole at the point of one back pocket that became a monstrous gash in about 2 months time. Overall I think stretch denim grates on me because I prefer jeans to be just a little, shall I say, uncomfortable. Not “ow that hurts” or “I can’t breathe” uncomfortable; they just shouldn’t be as accommodating as stretch pants.
2. “Whiskering” – where did anyone get the idea that this was a great fashion idea? How would jeans ever get this kind of wear on the folds sitting on the top of your lap? It’s so ridiculous-looking. I guess at least some manufacturers have eased up on it compared to 5-8 years ago, when it seemed common to see whiskering that looked like someone dipped their fingers in bleach and laid them perpendicular to their thighs at crotch-level. Still, I was really hoping this trend would have mostly died out by now.
3. Low-rise – don’t get me wrong, I like the low-rise style on the whole; it makes my butt look less giant by dropping the waist down a bit. But low-rise these days is super low, like 7-8 inches – this doesn’t work so well on me, as it emphasizes my tummy and tends to slip down and give me a muffin-top on the sides. I guess it’s fortunate, though, that what passes for "high-waist" is actually close to my favorite old low-rise jeans from college, and is not the high-waist of the ‘80’s where it’s up over the belly button.

Do you any of you ladies out there in LJ land have any suggestions on jean brands that you like, or that your friends like, if you’re going for something to accommodate some womanly proportions? I think I’ll try hitting some stores this weekend to determine my options and could use a little advice to go on. I’ll probably bring my measuring tape – I think it might save me some trouble in the dressing room.

Halloween face

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:43:19 GMT

I picked up a metallic eyeshadow palette today and did a test. No fake eyelashes here, but there probably will be tomorrow.

if you look carefully you can see the gold. This makeup seems ridiculous when I look at myself in the mirror, but seems less so on camera. I think I may need to resort to the green pencil for my eyebrows, as the shadow I used to shade up my brows seems a tad weak.

Gosh I love that wig color! If I were ever to dye my hair, I think I'd go for that aquamarine. Always wanted to be a mermaid.

Halloweeny preview

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:54:42 GMT

Copying xhezachanx- here's a pic of me in my alien space babe outfit as it stands thus far. I styled up my Lum wig with pincurls this weekend to get some '60s-'70s curliness. The only thing keeping it from reverting to extreme straightness is the ten tons of hairspray I used!

Whee! I'm going to be spending half the time I wear this pulling my dress back down - it rides up like nobody's business!

Post-dated pasty

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:47:50 GMT

I made pasties some time ago. They came out nicely! I think to like pasties you've got to really like pie crust. Chuck's not as much of a fan of it as I am, which is why I don't think he liked these as much as me.

The filling is beef, potatoes, and turnips, seasoned with some savory herbs and salt and pepper. Herbs are apparently not traditional, but I imagine this would be a bit more bland and literally meat 'n' potatoes than I'd have liked.

Mmm. Looking at this now is making me wish I had one now!

Taking to the air

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:03:21 GMT

Getting caught up with all the little things before heading out tomorrow morning for a business trip. Normally I'd be pretty nonplussed, but this one is a trial I'm supposed to more or less be in charge of, and that intimidates me quite a bit.

Something about my personality and work style doesn't really predispose me to leadership. I'm better at knucking down and doing things myself rather than planning for other people and delegating, and I get very caught up in finishing the task at hand rather than always thinking past the goal.

The biggest problem I foresee is trying to remain in a lead position with my supervisor there. He always jumps in with useful comments and ideas, and I tend to sit back and absorb things quietly before making comments and suggestions. It makes us very synergistic as a team, but I sense that he may have trouble falling back so I can lead, maybe even more than I have trouble stepping up. I should probably chat with him and see if I can get him to either quiet down and let me struggle til I find my groove, or prod/coach me instead of immediately speaking up to the general assembly.

tl;dr - I'm stepping out of my comfort zone this week and I hope I can do it adequately on my own, without relying on my supervisor. Wish me luck!

Soda and candy = child abuse?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:01:59 GMT

“Child abuse can be mental, physical or emotional. Anything that negatively affects a child's well being can be classified as abuse and it is important that social services begin to recognize obesity as a form of child abuse. Maybe with such harsh consequences parents will make better decisions for their children.”

This snippet was in my Morning Cup today and I just had to read the rest of it at the Daily Campus. Essentially, it advocates holding parents responsible for their children's obesity to the point of classifying them as child abusers, with the possibility of removal of the child from their parents' custody.

Whoa! And they say taxing soda would lead to a Nanny State. You want to talk Orwellian, this idea is it. Admittedly, I feel a lot of parents could stand to give their kids better food choices – though I also admit that feeding kids healthy foods is a tough job. I don’t think having the Fatty Police perform surprise inspections and drag away the fat kids would be the best way to make things any better, much less “save the lives of many children” as the author believes.

The entire plan calls up many questions. Would children have to be tested to rule out thyroid issues or other biological factors that would cause them to gain weight easily and lose it with difficulty? Would they be subjected to physical exams and fitness tests to determine how much their obesity is affecting their physical health? At what age would the parents no longer be held responsible for their kids’ eating habits? Often children have the ability to make their own food choices as early as elementary school, when they are given lunch money. I think everyone used that money for an ice cream on occasion (sometimes more frequently!). When they enter their teens it becomes even more difficult, as they spend more time outside the home – I certainly had no shortage of opportunities to buy candy, soda, and fast food without parental supervision.

I’d endorse any number of measures to improve the diets and exercise habits of children before approving the classification of obesity as a symptom of abuse. Bigger school budgets for phys ed, programs to subsidize fruits and vegetables, stricter WIC and food stamp rules, and even a dreaded junk food tax seems preferable to, and probably less expensive than, the Fatty Police option.

Technobonded

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:12:45 GMT

My iPod and I get along well. Lately it's been especially cool to me and has played Muse's "Fury" within the first 20 songs when I hit shuffle.

Nothing else of great importance to comment on at the moment. :P

Blonde moment

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:43:42 GMT

I hate that no matter how much better I get at keeping track of things and being responsible for myself, I still end up spacing on some aspect of something important and totally screw myself up. I just got myself lost on the way to my doctor's appointment, and while I gave myself copious time to get there, I drove myself to a completely wrong place because I didn't check my directions close enough - despite having looked at the directions TWICE.

What the hell, brain. So I was late enough by the time I got myself straightened out that I had to reschedule, but fortunately I got in for early this afternoon since I mentioned I had all of today free. Thank you, nice receptionist.

If I'm this bad now, I hate to think what might happen when I have children.