1. What was the last song that stuck in your brain and wouldn’t go away?
2. What’s something that sticks around long after you wish it would leave?
3. To what use did you put your last sticky note?
4. When did you last have Pixy Stix?
5. What is something you are a stickler for?
1. This one I'm blaming Allan for: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", from the very end of Life of Brian. Which we watched... a WEEK ago :-P Fortunately, I got my revenge-- you know how the current Target commercials feature "Hello Hello" by the Beatles? I've been singing THAT all week, and now it's stuck in Allan's head :-D
2. Bugs! They multiply! Um, really, the only thing that comes to mind right now is stains-- either in clothing or in the kitchen. Water stains are the worst, but God bless the inventor of the chemical solution from which products like Lime-Away and CLR are based :-)
3. I can't quite remember-- either a note left for Allan on his desk when he was away while I dropped by, or a reminder note atop Todd's school paperwork, to remind me to throw in a copy of his birth certificate.
4. Mmmmm.... Pixy Stix! Way too long. Probably 2 Halloweens ago? I love Pixy Stix. I know they are nothing but sugar and some color, but that's the best kind of candy for me-- pure sugar. I used to munch on sugar cubes at Amgen before they replaced them with canisters of pourable, granular sugar. I still enjoy eating a packet of sugar in restaurants for "dessert". And my favorite bona fide candies consist of those which are made from little more than sugar and color-- Smarties (aka Rockets for the Canadians/Brits(?)), "chalk" candy, Fun Dips, Runts, etc...
5. LOL-- let's see if I can answer this question without using the words "Excel" or "spreadsheet" ;-) I'm sure that's the answer that instantly came to mind for most of you :-P I'm a bit of a stickler for hand-washing. I'm mildly obsessive about this. If I go more than a few hours without washing my hands, they start feeling sticky and grimy, which gives me the heebie jeebies. I'm also a stickler for making sure Todd washes his hands frequently, but that's mostly because he's a toddler and, well, toddlers always make messes and put things in their mouths (yeccchh).
By the way, I just realized how incongruous it sounds to refer to Todd as a toddler when he's starting kindergarten in a week, which makes me wonder-- how old is "too old" to be considered a toddler anymore?
So that's my Friday Five. How about you?
La Maison des Tortues: One third of the "heckled trio" writes...
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Kids are still expensive (and I hate thieves)
A continuation of my initial observations on my Myspace blog:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=28049135&blogID=414124108
I just sent off an order for school uniforms. Spent $80 so far (and I still haven't gotten the complete ensemble-- still need jacket, socks, shoes...), whittled down from $120 by searching for other merchants and hunting for coupons (free shipping is not small beans!). And then just wait-- he'll sprout a couple inches and I'll have to do the shopping all over again next year :-P
We'll drop by his new school this week to turn in some paperwork and part with a check that includes not only tuition but the initial enrollment fee. Of $200.
Guess I'll have to wait a little longer till I get that washing machine :-)
Fortunately, our apartment complex has laundry rooms residents can use. UNfortunately, they're good old-fashioned coin-op (vs. the more convenient laundry debit card we used to use). And no, they don't take Canadian quarters. I tried :-)
On another note, remember how I used to rant about the food thieves?
The first offense: a mini rant.
I'm not the only victim! And my friends come up with some nasty solutions.
And finally: thievery isn't limited to fridges.
The thieves strike at work again. No, not food this time. A bit of background: our company provides us free fruit. They restock every week: apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries and grapes. I like cutting apples into slices, or cleaning off strawberries with a knife-- you know, cutting off the tops, and slicing away bruised parts. I've taken to keeping a paring knife in one of the kitchen drawers, amongst other utensils like company-owned knives, ice cream scoops, etc... I made sure to write my name on the handle-- clearly, and in permanent marker. All is hunky-dory for the next several months. And then. Last week. I opened up the drawer and it was GONE.
Now, I get that people sometimes borrow kitchen utensils and use them in other conference rooms (i.e. where food is served). And that's cool. But borrowing it implies returning it at some point, does it not? Especially when someone's name is clearly written on it, thus further cementing the notion of ownership. So I waited a week. Today I looked again. Still no dice. So this time I left a polite note asking for its return. I hope it works. Only time will tell if the knife reappears. We'll see...
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=28049135&blogID=414124108
I just sent off an order for school uniforms. Spent $80 so far (and I still haven't gotten the complete ensemble-- still need jacket, socks, shoes...), whittled down from $120 by searching for other merchants and hunting for coupons (free shipping is not small beans!). And then just wait-- he'll sprout a couple inches and I'll have to do the shopping all over again next year :-P
We'll drop by his new school this week to turn in some paperwork and part with a check that includes not only tuition but the initial enrollment fee. Of $200.
Guess I'll have to wait a little longer till I get that washing machine :-)
Fortunately, our apartment complex has laundry rooms residents can use. UNfortunately, they're good old-fashioned coin-op (vs. the more convenient laundry debit card we used to use). And no, they don't take Canadian quarters. I tried :-)
On another note, remember how I used to rant about the food thieves?
The first offense: a mini rant.
I'm not the only victim! And my friends come up with some nasty solutions.
And finally: thievery isn't limited to fridges.
The thieves strike at work again. No, not food this time. A bit of background: our company provides us free fruit. They restock every week: apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries and grapes. I like cutting apples into slices, or cleaning off strawberries with a knife-- you know, cutting off the tops, and slicing away bruised parts. I've taken to keeping a paring knife in one of the kitchen drawers, amongst other utensils like company-owned knives, ice cream scoops, etc... I made sure to write my name on the handle-- clearly, and in permanent marker. All is hunky-dory for the next several months. And then. Last week. I opened up the drawer and it was GONE.
Now, I get that people sometimes borrow kitchen utensils and use them in other conference rooms (i.e. where food is served). And that's cool. But borrowing it implies returning it at some point, does it not? Especially when someone's name is clearly written on it, thus further cementing the notion of ownership. So I waited a week. Today I looked again. Still no dice. So this time I left a polite note asking for its return. I hope it works. Only time will tell if the knife reappears. We'll see...
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Dinner, a movie and an interesting visitor
As mentioned in my previous Friday Five post, last night we invited 2 couples from church over to our new apartment for dinner and a movie. The movie was "Life of Brian", which caused quite a stir when it was first released in 1979. You know how it goes-- the religious right decried it as an affront to their faith, and its loudest opponents were those who hadn't even SEEN it. Typical misinterpretation and narrow-mindedness. What the movie DID do, however, was raise critical thinking about blind faith and about how the central tenets of true faith (specifically, Judaism (e.g. the Pharisees and Sadducees) and Christianity (e.g. the many denominations)) were splintered because of human (mis)interpretation. We got into a discussion of the movie during one of our small group sessions, and some, who had seen documentaries about it, expressed interest in actually seeing the movie.
So, we set a date for Friday. Allan made corned beef in the slow cooker and whipped up some tasty risotto. One friend brought brownies. We were set with both wine and sparkling cider. But before we could even serve ourselves food, an unexpected visitor dropped by. A man I'd never seen in my life came up the stairs looking for "John Smith".
When I explained that not only was there no John Smith here, but we HAD indeed been receiving a lot of his mail, the guy got a worried look on his face and handed me his business card. By now Allan and our friends had gotten curious, and peeked over my shoulder to read the card. A chorus of "Oooh"s ensued. Why? Because this guy was a U.S. probation officer, apparently assigned to John. So while Allan got the food ready, I spoke with the probation officer about what kind of mail we'd been getting for John Smith, how long we'd been here, and if we'd received any strangers coming by (like him, LOL). I also explained that all the mail we'd been receiving for John was obviously forwarded by the post office, because every letter (mostly bank statements) was addressed to his former residence, and had a sticker with our address affixed over it. So it was clear that this guy gave the post office and his probation officer a bogus address. Was he in the wind? Must have been, because when the officer left, he sighed wearily and said "Looks like I have more work to do tonight".
We had a good laugh over it. It figures that the first time we invite our friends (whom we'd newly met in the past few months) over, someone from the U.S. District Court comes by for a visit! What kind of shady dealings must they think we're involved in! ;-)
Anyway, we proceeded to have a nice dinner and settled down to watch the movie.
Now, let me begin by saying that I absolutely abhor Monty Python. I do not find them remotely funny in the least. I guess they are like marmite/vegemite-- you either love it or you hate it, there IS no in-between. So it was with some trepidation that I sat and watched it. To my surprise, I found it rather decent. I'm sure a large part of it was, as Jenna pointed out, the fact that we were watching it with good company. It provided some good food for thought as well as raucous laughter. So while I personally still wouldn't go out and spend $20 on it, it's worth seeing if you ever want to get together with friends and rent it one night.
All in all, it made for an interesting and entertaining visit. Good food, good company, good movie... and a surprise visitor to spice things up! Good stuff :-)
So, we set a date for Friday. Allan made corned beef in the slow cooker and whipped up some tasty risotto. One friend brought brownies. We were set with both wine and sparkling cider. But before we could even serve ourselves food, an unexpected visitor dropped by. A man I'd never seen in my life came up the stairs looking for "John Smith".
When I explained that not only was there no John Smith here, but we HAD indeed been receiving a lot of his mail, the guy got a worried look on his face and handed me his business card. By now Allan and our friends had gotten curious, and peeked over my shoulder to read the card. A chorus of "Oooh"s ensued. Why? Because this guy was a U.S. probation officer, apparently assigned to John. So while Allan got the food ready, I spoke with the probation officer about what kind of mail we'd been getting for John Smith, how long we'd been here, and if we'd received any strangers coming by (like him, LOL). I also explained that all the mail we'd been receiving for John was obviously forwarded by the post office, because every letter (mostly bank statements) was addressed to his former residence, and had a sticker with our address affixed over it. So it was clear that this guy gave the post office and his probation officer a bogus address. Was he in the wind? Must have been, because when the officer left, he sighed wearily and said "Looks like I have more work to do tonight".
We had a good laugh over it. It figures that the first time we invite our friends (whom we'd newly met in the past few months) over, someone from the U.S. District Court comes by for a visit! What kind of shady dealings must they think we're involved in! ;-)
Anyway, we proceeded to have a nice dinner and settled down to watch the movie.
Now, let me begin by saying that I absolutely abhor Monty Python. I do not find them remotely funny in the least. I guess they are like marmite/vegemite-- you either love it or you hate it, there IS no in-between. So it was with some trepidation that I sat and watched it. To my surprise, I found it rather decent. I'm sure a large part of it was, as Jenna pointed out, the fact that we were watching it with good company. It provided some good food for thought as well as raucous laughter. So while I personally still wouldn't go out and spend $20 on it, it's worth seeing if you ever want to get together with friends and rent it one night.
All in all, it made for an interesting and entertaining visit. Good food, good company, good movie... and a surprise visitor to spice things up! Good stuff :-)
Friday, August 22, 2008
Friday Five (money)
Current Mood: Excited, because we're "breaking" in the new pad tonight by inviting some friends (2 other couples) over for dinner and a viewing of "Life of Brian". I'm not much for Monty-Python-esque humor, but this movie sounds interesting! Anyone else seen it?
On to the questions...
1. Did you get an allowance as a kid, and if so, how much was it?
2. How old were you when you had your first job, and what was it?
3. Which do you do better: save money or spend money?
4. Are people more likely to borrow money from you, or are you more likely to borrow from them?
5. What's the most expensive thing you've ever bought?
1. Not really, no. It was pointless to because I couldn't do anything with it, anyway. If I wanted to buy something, I would need to ask my parents to drive me to the store, in which case it was easier just to ask them for it right then and there.
2. Well, I got paid for being an ROTC cadet when I started college, does my stipend of a couple hundred bucks a month count? If not, then I was 20 when I got my first job-- active duty service in the military!
3. Save. I like watching the numbers grow in our accounts :-) Gives incredible peace of mind that (fleeting) material objects just do not. Even when I spend I try to save-- by getting the most value for my money.
4. Neither, actually. I mean, I have student loans to pay off, but I do not consider the federal government a "friend" ;-)
5. Hmmm... I'd have to say: my car :-) Oh! You meant something not quite on that scale? Then probably my laptop-- and it cost a pretty penny only because I was doing my graphics-intensive thesis research on it, and needed a high-end graphics card. The laptop is 4 years old now and still running in tip-top condition. For a joint purchase, one of our most expensive items was our memory-foam mattress, but even then we got an excellent deal on it because a) it wasn't the Tempurpedic brand and b) we bought it from a warehouse-type shop that didn't have the overhead of maintaining a fancy showroom, thus passing the savings on to us. Next up: saving for a washer & dryer!
How about you?
On to the questions...
1. Did you get an allowance as a kid, and if so, how much was it?
2. How old were you when you had your first job, and what was it?
3. Which do you do better: save money or spend money?
4. Are people more likely to borrow money from you, or are you more likely to borrow from them?
5. What's the most expensive thing you've ever bought?
1. Not really, no. It was pointless to because I couldn't do anything with it, anyway. If I wanted to buy something, I would need to ask my parents to drive me to the store, in which case it was easier just to ask them for it right then and there.
2. Well, I got paid for being an ROTC cadet when I started college, does my stipend of a couple hundred bucks a month count? If not, then I was 20 when I got my first job-- active duty service in the military!
3. Save. I like watching the numbers grow in our accounts :-) Gives incredible peace of mind that (fleeting) material objects just do not. Even when I spend I try to save-- by getting the most value for my money.
4. Neither, actually. I mean, I have student loans to pay off, but I do not consider the federal government a "friend" ;-)
5. Hmmm... I'd have to say: my car :-) Oh! You meant something not quite on that scale? Then probably my laptop-- and it cost a pretty penny only because I was doing my graphics-intensive thesis research on it, and needed a high-end graphics card. The laptop is 4 years old now and still running in tip-top condition. For a joint purchase, one of our most expensive items was our memory-foam mattress, but even then we got an excellent deal on it because a) it wasn't the Tempurpedic brand and b) we bought it from a warehouse-type shop that didn't have the overhead of maintaining a fancy showroom, thus passing the savings on to us. Next up: saving for a washer & dryer!
How about you?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
How Many of Me?
A little bit of fun. Went to the website and typed in my first and last names. Apparently I'm the only one in the United States with that name. I guess, when my mom set out to name me something that I wouldn't share with dozens of other girls, she picked a good one! I've met plenty of Kellys, Helens, Hollys, and even Hallies (and derivations thereof) but never an outright "Helly".
And... there are 195 "Todd Knight"s and 56 "Allan Knight"s in the world. We were a little surprised to see Allan's name with such a low number, but then again, I guess the double-L spelling isn't too common in the US.
There are 177 men named like Allan's dad, and 38 women like his mom. I didn't even bother with my own parents ;-P
Then I went a little nuts and tried out a few of my friends' names (full and given, as the site doesn't take into account short forms)-- y'all have some surprisingly unique names! Even if you have a common first name, the combination with a less common last name brings your numbers down.
Except for one...
Hey, Lisa? When you go back to using your maiden name, you will join company with 6,665 other women-- and that's just in the US alone ;-)
Friday, August 15, 2008
Friday Five - random questions
1. Whats harder to live without, chocolate or alchohol?
2. Does the colour yellow remind you of anything?
3. Who most annoyed you last week?
4. Do you have a cutesy romantic nickname for your partner (or previous partners)?
5. What is your favourite Stephen King movie?
1. Oh, chocolate, hands-down. Of course, my more astute readers will note that my favorite mixed drink has often been likened to "chocolate milk"...
2. It makes me think of 1950s pinafores and yellow roses. But one thing that immediately springs to mind is the old song (which I learned as a marching cadence), "Around her neck she wore a yellow ribbon..."
3. Silly question-- does anyone really annoy me more than my husband? ;-) Just teasin'! Hmm... nobody in particular comes to mind. Does computer code count?
4. We call each other "sweetie" so often that it sounds strange when we refer to each other by our real names. In fact, Allan's gotten so used to it that he inadvertently called his sister "sweetie" on more than one occasion. I think they were both equally grossed out and offended ;-) On another note-- our pet names for our respective exes immediately before us, was "honey". Well, apparently our exes ruined "honey" for both us, which is why we NEVER use it on each other. So you see, we can't split up-- otherwise we'd have no more pet names to call our next partner! ;-)
5. Okay, I admit that when I first saw this, my immediate reaction was "I haven't watched many Stephen King movies". All that came to mind was stuff like Carrie, Pet Sematary, It, The Shining... you know, the usual horror fare, of which I'd only seen "Carrie". But then I looked up all the movies that were derived from his works, and realized I'd actually seen AND enjoyed The Dead Zone (yes, the original with Christopher Walken, though I love the TV series with Anthony Michael Hall, too), The Shawshank Redemption, AND The Green Mile. It's hard to pick a favorite from those 3. I keep waffling everytime I try. So I'll just leave it at those :-)
How about you?
2. Does the colour yellow remind you of anything?
3. Who most annoyed you last week?
4. Do you have a cutesy romantic nickname for your partner (or previous partners)?
5. What is your favourite Stephen King movie?
1. Oh, chocolate, hands-down. Of course, my more astute readers will note that my favorite mixed drink has often been likened to "chocolate milk"...
2. It makes me think of 1950s pinafores and yellow roses. But one thing that immediately springs to mind is the old song (which I learned as a marching cadence), "Around her neck she wore a yellow ribbon..."
3. Silly question-- does anyone really annoy me more than my husband? ;-) Just teasin'! Hmm... nobody in particular comes to mind. Does computer code count?
4. We call each other "sweetie" so often that it sounds strange when we refer to each other by our real names. In fact, Allan's gotten so used to it that he inadvertently called his sister "sweetie" on more than one occasion. I think they were both equally grossed out and offended ;-) On another note-- our pet names for our respective exes immediately before us, was "honey". Well, apparently our exes ruined "honey" for both us, which is why we NEVER use it on each other. So you see, we can't split up-- otherwise we'd have no more pet names to call our next partner! ;-)
5. Okay, I admit that when I first saw this, my immediate reaction was "I haven't watched many Stephen King movies". All that came to mind was stuff like Carrie, Pet Sematary, It, The Shining... you know, the usual horror fare, of which I'd only seen "Carrie". But then I looked up all the movies that were derived from his works, and realized I'd actually seen AND enjoyed The Dead Zone (yes, the original with Christopher Walken, though I love the TV series with Anthony Michael Hall, too), The Shawshank Redemption, AND The Green Mile. It's hard to pick a favorite from those 3. I keep waffling everytime I try. So I'll just leave it at those :-)
How about you?
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Anti-theft devices?
Went shopping after work today. Came home with a new bathing suit from K-Mart. Great deal, clearance sale-- it's almost the end of summer, after all.
I get home to try it on again and model it for Allan. To my surprise, what do you suppose was still affixed to one of the straps? That big, bulky plastic security device. You know, the ones that can only be removed by special removers at the checkout stand, that burst and spray indelible ink if you try to force it off yourself, and that set off alarms if you try to walk out of the store with them?
Yeah... nice little surprise, considering there were no alarms to be heard when we left the store.
Kinda defeats the purpose, eh?
I get home to try it on again and model it for Allan. To my surprise, what do you suppose was still affixed to one of the straps? That big, bulky plastic security device. You know, the ones that can only be removed by special removers at the checkout stand, that burst and spray indelible ink if you try to force it off yourself, and that set off alarms if you try to walk out of the store with them?
Yeah... nice little surprise, considering there were no alarms to be heard when we left the store.
Kinda defeats the purpose, eh?
Exercise more, eat more?
Diet and exercise go hand in hand, usually. At least, for a well-balanced life, they do.
For me, though-- "diet" has taken on a new meaning. Aside from trying to eat more healthful foods, I've found that I've actually increased the quantity I eat.
My days are no longer as sedentary as they have been for the past 5 years. The 10-minute walk between home and work is multiplied fourfold because we go home for lunch. That's 4 trips x 10 minutes each = 40 minutes of walking per day. Okay, not terribly impressive since it's not power-walking or jogging, but better than nothing.
The apartment complex has a little gym and swimming pool, eliminating any excuse against working out, that we might've harbored previously. So, I've taken to alternating days of weights and days of swimming while Allan attacks the treadmill.
Knowing I was woefully out of shape to begin with, I've been careful not to overdo it. So I'm a little sore, but it's not too bad, and I can already see the difference in things like improved sleep quality and increased energy during the day. Not much yet, mind you, but noticeable enough at this point.
What I hadn't counted on, however, was a marked increase in my appetite! I suddenly found myself ravenous during times of the day when I wasn't hungry before! I suppose it makes sense-- now that my body's burning more calories I need to replenish the supply more frequently. Still, I found it amusing that Helly's "diet and exercise" regimen would involve more eating, and not less.
Looks like fewer leftovers in our meal futures... ;-)
For me, though-- "diet" has taken on a new meaning. Aside from trying to eat more healthful foods, I've found that I've actually increased the quantity I eat.
My days are no longer as sedentary as they have been for the past 5 years. The 10-minute walk between home and work is multiplied fourfold because we go home for lunch. That's 4 trips x 10 minutes each = 40 minutes of walking per day. Okay, not terribly impressive since it's not power-walking or jogging, but better than nothing.
The apartment complex has a little gym and swimming pool, eliminating any excuse against working out, that we might've harbored previously. So, I've taken to alternating days of weights and days of swimming while Allan attacks the treadmill.
Knowing I was woefully out of shape to begin with, I've been careful not to overdo it. So I'm a little sore, but it's not too bad, and I can already see the difference in things like improved sleep quality and increased energy during the day. Not much yet, mind you, but noticeable enough at this point.
What I hadn't counted on, however, was a marked increase in my appetite! I suddenly found myself ravenous during times of the day when I wasn't hungry before! I suppose it makes sense-- now that my body's burning more calories I need to replenish the supply more frequently. Still, I found it amusing that Helly's "diet and exercise" regimen would involve more eating, and not less.
Looks like fewer leftovers in our meal futures... ;-)
Monday, August 11, 2008
All moved into the new place
Current Mood: sore and exhausted
( I have to admit, I miss the built-in "mood" feature of Myspace, but at the same time, enjoy the flexibility of having to hand-write it in when I feel like broadcasting it. When was the last time you could simultaneously pick two moods from the Myspace drop-down menu? ;-) Hehehe... )
So, we're all moved in. And moved out of the old apartment. For an extra $1000/month in rent plus utilities, we get to enjoy newer facilities (built in 2003 vs. built in the 1950s) with almost twice the square footage (less than 400 sq. ft versus 750 sq ft). We're loving our HUGE kitchen with its Corian countertops, a walk-in closet, close proximity to work, a separate dining area where we can actually put a table and chairs, a storage "closet" out on our balcony (where the water heater sits) that has washer/dryer hookups, and living on the second floor, i.e. no more lead-footed, noisy upstairs neighbors to contend with!!
Saturday the movers moved all the furniture, and Sunday we grabbed the last remaining items from the old place, as well as cleaned it. For the first time, I was grateful that our place was so small. Although I guess scrubbing appliances is never fun, no matter how large or small the kitchen. Needless to say, my current mood is rather apt-- stiff, sore, achy and tired! But we enjoyed a good night's sleep last night and had a brisk, refreshing walk to work this morning. I could definitely get used to this ;-)
I plan on taking some pictures of the new place once we get everything put away. (Yeah, yeah, I know-- I keep meaning to everytime we move, but 4 moves later I still haven't done it... maybe this time will be different ;-) )
In the meantime, here's a snapshot of our floor plan, created by floorplanner.com, a handy site for your furniture arrangement needs (click on it for a larger image). Note my favorite part of it: a little reading nook in the bedroom-- sanctuary! :-)
Ahhh... home sweet home :-)
( I have to admit, I miss the built-in "mood" feature of Myspace, but at the same time, enjoy the flexibility of having to hand-write it in when I feel like broadcasting it. When was the last time you could simultaneously pick two moods from the Myspace drop-down menu? ;-) Hehehe... )
So, we're all moved in. And moved out of the old apartment. For an extra $1000/month in rent plus utilities, we get to enjoy newer facilities (built in 2003 vs. built in the 1950s) with almost twice the square footage (less than 400 sq. ft versus 750 sq ft). We're loving our HUGE kitchen with its Corian countertops, a walk-in closet, close proximity to work, a separate dining area where we can actually put a table and chairs, a storage "closet" out on our balcony (where the water heater sits) that has washer/dryer hookups, and living on the second floor, i.e. no more lead-footed, noisy upstairs neighbors to contend with!!
Saturday the movers moved all the furniture, and Sunday we grabbed the last remaining items from the old place, as well as cleaned it. For the first time, I was grateful that our place was so small. Although I guess scrubbing appliances is never fun, no matter how large or small the kitchen. Needless to say, my current mood is rather apt-- stiff, sore, achy and tired! But we enjoyed a good night's sleep last night and had a brisk, refreshing walk to work this morning. I could definitely get used to this ;-)
I plan on taking some pictures of the new place once we get everything put away. (Yeah, yeah, I know-- I keep meaning to everytime we move, but 4 moves later I still haven't done it... maybe this time will be different ;-) )
In the meantime, here's a snapshot of our floor plan, created by floorplanner.com, a handy site for your furniture arrangement needs (click on it for a larger image). Note my favorite part of it: a little reading nook in the bedroom-- sanctuary! :-)
Ahhh... home sweet home :-)
Friday, August 8, 2008
Friday Five (memory)
First Friday Five to be posted on the new blog here :-)
1. What piece of information do you keep forgetting?
2. What regular event in your life do you keep forgetting?
3. How are you with remembering the names of people you meet?
4. What kinds of tricks to you have for remembering to do stuff that falls outside your regular routine?
5. If you keep a daily planner, what is it like? If you don’t, why not?
1. Honestly, it varies. Currently, it's our new address. And it's not so much forgetting as it is tranposing. You see, our building number is 140, and our apartment number is 204. With two 0s and 4s, it's easy to get them mixed up, and wind up wanting to say 104 Silly St, #240. Or 204 Silly St, #140... or some other random combination. Always have to think twice to make sure I get it right!
2. My wedding anniversary. And my own birthday! I remember once going to work on another ordinary Tuesday or Wednesday, and getting phone calls and emails throughout the day from friends and family wishing me a happy birthday. I was concentrating on work so much, I'd inevitably be surprised at the next call/email. Good to know at least everyone else remembered and was able to remind me! ;-) I wonder if this "forgetfulness" is because birthdays are no longer spectacular, big-deal events. They really are just another ordinary day for me, no fuss, no glory. Not like when I was younger and looked forward to birthday celebrations full of friends, presents and cake. It was hard NOT to look forward to the festivities (and hence the date) back then!
3. Pretty decent, actually. I never know how to answer the question "do you remember names or faces better". My memory is more associative-- show me a face and I can instantly recollect details about that person (where I met them, what striking thing they said/did, etc...) while the memory of their actual name takes a bit longer to percolate to the surface of my brain-- but it does get there eventually. Conversely, when given a familiar name, it takes a few moments of thinking before memories associated with that name (including the face) come to mind. So I guess the answer to the question is that a person's name is just another aspect of them to remember, no more and no less important than anything else.
4. Easy. I write it down! I have a little notebook that I keep in my backpack for jotting down things I need to remember, including funny license plates for future blogging ;-) At home, we have one of those magnetized pads that we stick on the refrigerator, that gets a lot of use, esp for building up shopping lists. And most of all, I use the computer. At work I set myself tasks using Microsoft Outlook. If a task needs to be done outside of work hours (i.e. when I won't be at my work computer to receive the popup reminder), then I open up Google Notebooks and jot stuff down there.
5. My daily planner is my Outlook Calendar, plain and simple :-) And Outlook Tasks (see #4), which I organize into categories and review daily. I also keep a separate yellow legal pad (the small ones) to jot down tasks I want to accomplish each day. I write them down in the morning, refer back to them during the day, and check the items off as I finish them. This serves two purposes: a) I get done what I need to get done and manage my time better, and b) I have notes on what I've done all week. Every Friday we give our boss weekly one-sentence updates on what we've done. You tell me-- when was the last time you could, on a Friday afternoon, instantly recall what you worked on Monday? I thought so. One glance at my notepad saves me racking my brain for details of what I accomplished.
How about you?
1. What piece of information do you keep forgetting?
2. What regular event in your life do you keep forgetting?
3. How are you with remembering the names of people you meet?
4. What kinds of tricks to you have for remembering to do stuff that falls outside your regular routine?
5. If you keep a daily planner, what is it like? If you don’t, why not?
1. Honestly, it varies. Currently, it's our new address. And it's not so much forgetting as it is tranposing. You see, our building number is 140, and our apartment number is 204. With two 0s and 4s, it's easy to get them mixed up, and wind up wanting to say 104 Silly St, #240. Or 204 Silly St, #140... or some other random combination. Always have to think twice to make sure I get it right!
2. My wedding anniversary. And my own birthday! I remember once going to work on another ordinary Tuesday or Wednesday, and getting phone calls and emails throughout the day from friends and family wishing me a happy birthday. I was concentrating on work so much, I'd inevitably be surprised at the next call/email. Good to know at least everyone else remembered and was able to remind me! ;-) I wonder if this "forgetfulness" is because birthdays are no longer spectacular, big-deal events. They really are just another ordinary day for me, no fuss, no glory. Not like when I was younger and looked forward to birthday celebrations full of friends, presents and cake. It was hard NOT to look forward to the festivities (and hence the date) back then!
3. Pretty decent, actually. I never know how to answer the question "do you remember names or faces better". My memory is more associative-- show me a face and I can instantly recollect details about that person (where I met them, what striking thing they said/did, etc...) while the memory of their actual name takes a bit longer to percolate to the surface of my brain-- but it does get there eventually. Conversely, when given a familiar name, it takes a few moments of thinking before memories associated with that name (including the face) come to mind. So I guess the answer to the question is that a person's name is just another aspect of them to remember, no more and no less important than anything else.
4. Easy. I write it down! I have a little notebook that I keep in my backpack for jotting down things I need to remember, including funny license plates for future blogging ;-) At home, we have one of those magnetized pads that we stick on the refrigerator, that gets a lot of use, esp for building up shopping lists. And most of all, I use the computer. At work I set myself tasks using Microsoft Outlook. If a task needs to be done outside of work hours (i.e. when I won't be at my work computer to receive the popup reminder), then I open up Google Notebooks and jot stuff down there.
5. My daily planner is my Outlook Calendar, plain and simple :-) And Outlook Tasks (see #4), which I organize into categories and review daily. I also keep a separate yellow legal pad (the small ones) to jot down tasks I want to accomplish each day. I write them down in the morning, refer back to them during the day, and check the items off as I finish them. This serves two purposes: a) I get done what I need to get done and manage my time better, and b) I have notes on what I've done all week. Every Friday we give our boss weekly one-sentence updates on what we've done. You tell me-- when was the last time you could, on a Friday afternoon, instantly recall what you worked on Monday? I thought so. One glance at my notepad saves me racking my brain for details of what I accomplished.
How about you?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
How long...
... does it typically take for food poisoning to set in?
I got into work at 9am, and since it's Bagel Wednesday, I made a beeline for the kitchen and got my usual-- half a chocolate chip bagel with 1/3 blueberry, 1/3 strawberry and 1/3 honey-walnut cream cheeses smeared on it. Went up to my cube and wolfed it down.
10am, I headed for a daily meeting, rubbing my tummy because it started feeling a little gassy. I didn't even think of food-related causes until I stepped in the meeting room, and one observant colleague, upon noting the tummy-rub, noted: "Uh oh. Bad bagels?" Another pointed out that if anything was bad, it was more likely the cream cheese.
Cue to 10:45, and I'm doubled over at my desk, trying to keep from grimacing too much because I'm wrapping up a one-on-one meeting with another colleague, rifling through code on my computer. And I don't want him to think it's our meeting that's causing pain :-P
So... we're talking an hour, hour and a half. If indeed the cream cheese was the culprit, would this really be sufficient time for it to take effect? Can't think of any other reason-- I had nothing else to eat this morning, and I was fine until an hour after I ate. Haven't had too many bouts (if any) with food poisoning, mild or otherwise, so... what have your experiences been?
Beware the Bagels!
I got into work at 9am, and since it's Bagel Wednesday, I made a beeline for the kitchen and got my usual-- half a chocolate chip bagel with 1/3 blueberry, 1/3 strawberry and 1/3 honey-walnut cream cheeses smeared on it. Went up to my cube and wolfed it down.
10am, I headed for a daily meeting, rubbing my tummy because it started feeling a little gassy. I didn't even think of food-related causes until I stepped in the meeting room, and one observant colleague, upon noting the tummy-rub, noted: "Uh oh. Bad bagels?" Another pointed out that if anything was bad, it was more likely the cream cheese.
Cue to 10:45, and I'm doubled over at my desk, trying to keep from grimacing too much because I'm wrapping up a one-on-one meeting with another colleague, rifling through code on my computer. And I don't want him to think it's our meeting that's causing pain :-P
So... we're talking an hour, hour and a half. If indeed the cream cheese was the culprit, would this really be sufficient time for it to take effect? Can't think of any other reason-- I had nothing else to eat this morning, and I was fine until an hour after I ate. Haven't had too many bouts (if any) with food poisoning, mild or otherwise, so... what have your experiences been?
Beware the Bagels!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Busy week
This past week has been a good week for not having Todd around (as we have all summer), as it's been jam-packed with activity. Lots of long lunches during the week as we sorted out apartment stuff. Lots of social activities, too! Monday was dinner and games night with Leah and John-Paul, Tuesday was crepes night to bid farewell to a couple heading to Texas, Friday was a mini UCSB Geeks reunion as several out-of-towners from all over (the Bay Area, LA, New York City, Ohio) converged onto SB. We stayed up late (well, these days 11pm is considered late for me :-P) talking and catching up and reminiscing about some of the wild and wacky times we had here at UCSB. And still doing crazy shenanigans, like Ingrid volunteering to test the "myth" that a person cannot swallow a tablespoon full of pure cinnamon. I think the most amusing part of that little adventure was everyone following her to the kitchen, laden with cameras to capture the event :-) YouTube, here we come! ;-) Apparently we still had plenty of catching up to do, for we met for breakfast the next day, where we received the news that John and Golnaz had gotten engaged this morning! Welcome to the club ;-)
The rest of the weekend has been a blur of packing and unpacking stuff. We picked up the keys to our new apartment on Friday. It's still a 1-bedroom, but the square footage is nearly twice that of our current apartment. We spent time packing up little things-- clothes, kitchen utensils, toys, books, etc... and hauling a car full of boxes to the new place, unpacking the stuff, and bringing the empty boxes back for another round. Will continue to do this all week so that by the end of the week, all that remains is the large furniture, just in time for the movers to come pick it up on Saturday morning!
We also managed to get rid of a few unneeded items. Our work has a Bulletin mailing list that pretty much serves as the name implies-- a bulletin board. People use it to list stuff for sale, list stuff wanted, obtain recommendations for various services, etc, etc... It's like our own internal Craigslist, except it's done over email. Well, it served me well-- last night at midnight I listed the stuff we had for "sale" and by 7am this morning I had several responses. I never had to resort to using the actual Craigslist, after all. Which is a good thing-- much easier to deal with colleagues than strangers responding to online ads.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward getting settled and to 1) not having noisy upstairs neighbors to deal with anymore, 2) being able to walk to work-- it's only a 10-minute walk and 3) being able to have easy access to a workout room AND a swimming pool so I can finally get some much-needed exercise! What I'm not looking forward to is the increase in rent (by $1000/month) and having to pay for all utilities, but there's nothing to be done about that. With Allan graduating this summer, we would've had to vacate family student housing by the end of August, so it's just as well that we do it now, during the summer, before Todd starts school again and will be underfoot during most of this, esp the cleaning of the old apartment next weekend (fun!).
Here's to another busy, productive week!
The rest of the weekend has been a blur of packing and unpacking stuff. We picked up the keys to our new apartment on Friday. It's still a 1-bedroom, but the square footage is nearly twice that of our current apartment. We spent time packing up little things-- clothes, kitchen utensils, toys, books, etc... and hauling a car full of boxes to the new place, unpacking the stuff, and bringing the empty boxes back for another round. Will continue to do this all week so that by the end of the week, all that remains is the large furniture, just in time for the movers to come pick it up on Saturday morning!
We also managed to get rid of a few unneeded items. Our work has a Bulletin mailing list that pretty much serves as the name implies-- a bulletin board. People use it to list stuff for sale, list stuff wanted, obtain recommendations for various services, etc, etc... It's like our own internal Craigslist, except it's done over email. Well, it served me well-- last night at midnight I listed the stuff we had for "sale" and by 7am this morning I had several responses. I never had to resort to using the actual Craigslist, after all. Which is a good thing-- much easier to deal with colleagues than strangers responding to online ads.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward getting settled and to 1) not having noisy upstairs neighbors to deal with anymore, 2) being able to walk to work-- it's only a 10-minute walk and 3) being able to have easy access to a workout room AND a swimming pool so I can finally get some much-needed exercise! What I'm not looking forward to is the increase in rent (by $1000/month) and having to pay for all utilities, but there's nothing to be done about that. With Allan graduating this summer, we would've had to vacate family student housing by the end of August, so it's just as well that we do it now, during the summer, before Todd starts school again and will be underfoot during most of this, esp the cleaning of the old apartment next weekend (fun!).
Here's to another busy, productive week!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
New Beginnings
All right!
I've decided to start afresh. For a long time I've looked for a blogging service that consolidates all the features I want in a blog. I found several that encompassed a few of those features, but never one single service that had them all.
Well, if you're reading this, then you've come from my Myspace blog, a service I stuck with because it included the most of the features I wanted. But now, with some tweaking of Blogger and other Google-provided services, I think this is as close as it comes.
Let me give you a brief tour:
1. Subscriptions. There is a subscription button on the left. You can type in your email address directly to subscribe to a Google Groups mailing list that will receive email everytime I post a new entry. Just like Myspace (well, when it works, anyway)! Or, better yet, if you have a Google account (and I believe most of you do, almost all of you are either on Blogger or Gmail) you can sign in with that account and join the group.
2. RSS feeds. Highly recommended for those of you who don't mind setting up a feed reader to keep track of your favorite blogs. Myspace already provides an RSS feed for its posts, but it doesn't include the entire entry. Blogger, on the other hand, provides the entire post in the RSS feed AND it has an RSS feed for comments, so you'll know straight away when someone posts a new comment anywhere on this blog.
3(a) Comment notifications. If you'd prefer not to use RSS, you can still leave a comment using your Google/Blogger account, and check the option to receive new email when a new comment is posted to that particular entry.
3(b) Alternatively, you don't HAVE to have a Google or Blogger account to leave a comment-- you can leave a comment with just your manually-typed-in name. But you won't be able to take advantage of email comment notifications. Still, you can use the RSS feed to keep track of new comments.
4. Comment threads. Myspace's best feature!! Someone decided to tweak Blogger's template code to allow comments to be displayed in nested fashion. It's slightly tedious-- you have to remember to copy and paste a string of numbers (which is provided when you hit the Reply link) into the FIRST line of your comment, in order for it to correlate to the correct entry, but it's worth it and works like a charm :-)
The only feature that Blogger doesn't have, that Myspace does, is the ability to lock select posts as "friends-only". But I figure, I rarely post such entries anymore, anyway. And on the rare occasion that I do, since most of you migrated here from Myspace, I can always post the protected entry ON Myspace, and put the link here.
Voila! There you have it. I hope to start blogging here more permanently. Here's to more years of successful blogging! :-D
I've decided to start afresh. For a long time I've looked for a blogging service that consolidates all the features I want in a blog. I found several that encompassed a few of those features, but never one single service that had them all.
Well, if you're reading this, then you've come from my Myspace blog, a service I stuck with because it included the most of the features I wanted. But now, with some tweaking of Blogger and other Google-provided services, I think this is as close as it comes.
Let me give you a brief tour:
1. Subscriptions. There is a subscription button on the left. You can type in your email address directly to subscribe to a Google Groups mailing list that will receive email everytime I post a new entry. Just like Myspace (well, when it works, anyway)! Or, better yet, if you have a Google account (and I believe most of you do, almost all of you are either on Blogger or Gmail) you can sign in with that account and join the group.
2. RSS feeds. Highly recommended for those of you who don't mind setting up a feed reader to keep track of your favorite blogs. Myspace already provides an RSS feed for its posts, but it doesn't include the entire entry. Blogger, on the other hand, provides the entire post in the RSS feed AND it has an RSS feed for comments, so you'll know straight away when someone posts a new comment anywhere on this blog.
3(a) Comment notifications. If you'd prefer not to use RSS, you can still leave a comment using your Google/Blogger account, and check the option to receive new email when a new comment is posted to that particular entry.
3(b) Alternatively, you don't HAVE to have a Google or Blogger account to leave a comment-- you can leave a comment with just your manually-typed-in name. But you won't be able to take advantage of email comment notifications. Still, you can use the RSS feed to keep track of new comments.
4. Comment threads. Myspace's best feature!! Someone decided to tweak Blogger's template code to allow comments to be displayed in nested fashion. It's slightly tedious-- you have to remember to copy and paste a string of numbers (which is provided when you hit the Reply link) into the FIRST line of your comment, in order for it to correlate to the correct entry, but it's worth it and works like a charm :-)
The only feature that Blogger doesn't have, that Myspace does, is the ability to lock select posts as "friends-only". But I figure, I rarely post such entries anymore, anyway. And on the rare occasion that I do, since most of you migrated here from Myspace, I can always post the protected entry ON Myspace, and put the link here.
Voila! There you have it. I hope to start blogging here more permanently. Here's to more years of successful blogging! :-D
Friday, August 1, 2008
Test post
Copied from an old Grab blog post, just to provide some filler content.
Today things finally started looking up for me, health-wise. I got a good night's sleep and woke up feeling much better. Of course, I was still weak and even a chore as simple as dressing myself and washing up left me feeling exhausted and beat, but at least I had a bit more energy and a bit more of an appetite. I still can't eat full-sized meals but I'm eating more than I was this entire week. I'm sure I've lost a few pounds from not being able to eat much all week.
I slept in while Allan and Todd walked around the hotel grounds and hung out in the hotel room this morning, then rested while they went to lunch and brought me back a to-go box from IHOP. Then naptime yet again before getting ready to head to San Rafael and meet Allan's old high school friend, Benn, for dinner with his wife.
Whereas we crossed the Bay Bridge last night on our way into SF, this time we went across the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course, it was typical SF weather and too foggy at the bay to really see much. We drove through parts of downtown on Lombard St (not the winding parts, though!), and passed by the most beautiful and ornate City Hall I'd ever seen.
Today things finally started looking up for me, health-wise. I got a good night's sleep and woke up feeling much better. Of course, I was still weak and even a chore as simple as dressing myself and washing up left me feeling exhausted and beat, but at least I had a bit more energy and a bit more of an appetite. I still can't eat full-sized meals but I'm eating more than I was this entire week. I'm sure I've lost a few pounds from not being able to eat much all week.
I slept in while Allan and Todd walked around the hotel grounds and hung out in the hotel room this morning, then rested while they went to lunch and brought me back a to-go box from IHOP. Then naptime yet again before getting ready to head to San Rafael and meet Allan's old high school friend, Benn, for dinner with his wife.
Whereas we crossed the Bay Bridge last night on our way into SF, this time we went across the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course, it was typical SF weather and too foggy at the bay to really see much. We drove through parts of downtown on Lombard St (not the winding parts, though!), and passed by the most beautiful and ornate City Hall I'd ever seen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)