lisaf

Exercise

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:25:14 GMT

I went biking on Sunday. Two times around the 3-mile bike path around the lake.

Yesterday, I was in crazy pain. I was so sore that I took 3-4 advil every 5 hours just so I could function. Fortunately, it went away by evening.

Today, I feel *amazing*. I have tons of energy, I'm in a great mood, and seems like nothing can bother me. I've asked my friend at work who runs if this is why she's always so cheery and positive, and she was like, 'yes, totally, it's like a drug.'

I can't even imagine what it would be like to be this way all the time.

It's like a drug that makes you feel good all the time AND it's good for you. And makes you live longer. And look better.

Why haven't I been doing this all along?

Cancer

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:27:53 GMT

Patrick Swayze died yesterday. This is upsetting to me for reasons that have nothing to do with Patrick Swayze.

He survived pancreatic cancer for 20 months. Pancreatic is a particularly nasty form of cancer. You don't normally find it until it's in stage 4, which is part of why the median survival from time of diagnosis is only 3-6 months. For a while, he was proof that a person can outlive a diagnosis.

As you may have guessed, I care about all this because someone close to me was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. So far her treatment is very successful, but...

But.

A bit of hope died today.

Pennsic

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:28:01 GMT

I'm back from Pennsic, safe and sound. Had a lovely time, all around.

The sense of disorientation on getting home was much worse than usual this year, probably because I was there for two whole weeks this time. I will still do that as often as I can manage, but, wow do my own walls look strange.

My transition to viking garb was a great success. Much more comfortable, looks good, I get to wear strings of beads on my chest, and it packs down so much smaller than skirts and blouses. I might even be done with all of my laundry by tomorrow.

Work is going to suck when I go back. I'm trying not to think about that.

I do think I've achieved my goal of relaxing and destressing.

It's so very strange to be back.

Bad week, better now

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:32:56 GMT

I had a bad week. Last week was the dreaded KCAs, which makes my job an increasing pile of hell from early february until the end of March. The event itself was last Saturday, went well, broke all the records, blahblahblah. Back to work Monday, trying to clean up all the piles of nasty that KCA left behind. Tuesday had a meltdown. Not feeling great. I'm having trouble sleeping and having dreams about work. Wednesday out sick. Nap and catch up on Dollhouse. Thursday try again. By the middle of the day, I was having trouble forming words. People kept asking me if I was spaced out on cold medication. I wasn't. My brain was just shutting down in self-defense.

Friday, thankfully, was a day off.

I think most of the badness can be chalked up to exhaustion. I'm feeling a LOT better, after a little rest and a little time away from work. Got new contacts. Got a nifty hook-thingy to hold up the brooms and things in my closet so they're not piled everywhere. Cleaned. Did some laundry. Bought some shoes for Spring. Packed away all the boots.

Went through the backlog of mail I'd been ignoring. Found out that not only are my common charges going up, but I have to pay them twice in April. That didn't help. Having all of my bills paid and six months of paper recycling taken out did.

About two weeks ago I started some indoor gardening to preserve my sanity. (I really think the picture of my plants on my desktop at work was all that got me through the last week before KCA.) I'm wondering how I can find out when the all-important moment happens when 'danger of frost has passed'. I've really never tried outdoor gardening before. I'm tempted to try growing tomatoes or something.

Today is a glorious day out, so I have my windows open to get some fresh air in the house. I may go for a walk outside later.

Tomorrow I have to go back to work. I'm trying to avoid thinking about that just now. ;-)

Improvements

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:19:15 GMT

90% of the wallpaper in the bathroom is gone. There's just the little bits that are hard to get at - behind the medicine cabinet I'm going to remove, behind the toilet, between the doorframe and the window frame in the corner. It didn't seem like it was that much work, or like it took that long, but, the day went by in two-hour shots with falling-down-tired breaks in between. Today, My brother comes to help me put up mouldings around shower where the wall is damaged (Yes, I know - I should replace the drywall. I just can't afford that at the moment and this is better than nothing.)

I got a little farther towards level 77, but not much. The bigger news is that I've discovered the joys of selling herbs at auction. I made almost 200 gold with yesterday's listings and I stand to do it again today. MUCH easier than running dailies.

I removed my 'single' status from my facebook profile, in order to not get served behavior-targeted ads anymore. (If I see one more '35 and still single?' or 'he didn't call?' ad, I think I will scream). Unfortunately, the way Facebook alerts these things to all my friends, caused a rash of speculation on why I was no longer single. I am mostly amused. ;-)

I think my DSL filter stopped working. I get no dialtone with it on, and a 'line is busy' with modem-noises when it's off. So if you've tried to call my land line in the last few weeks and got no answer, sorry. I'll be getting a new one today, hopefully. (Not like anyone but my mother actually calls me on the phone - but she's pretty pissed about the situation, so I need to fix it.)

Also? I got a retraction and and apology for the the post on my Facebook page. :-D
And all I used was mild, polite snark. Hooray!

Sunday Morning Musings

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:21:31 GMT

I'm lousy at updating LJ. Especially lately. I'm slightly better at updating my facebook status. Requires less thought and fewer words. I feel like I should have something important or meaningful to say here. This is not that post.

As I type, my cat is trying to take over my desk. I'm not sure I'm going to win this one. So far she's claimed the mouse and a small portion of the keyboard - fortunately I don't need those at the moment, but it could get ugly when I do.

It's snowing. Or, it snowed. I'm feeling to lazy to look outside my window and see which. I distinctly remember the first time I saw it snowing this season outside my window at work. It was magical and wondrous, and I was a little kid again for a few minutes. We've reached the part of winter where that is completely gone, and my only reaction to snow is, 'oh, man, I'm going to have to shovel off my car AGAIN'.

(The cat has ceded the keyboard but claimed possession of the mousepad.)

I started working on a new home improvement project yesterday - making the master bathroom not be disgusting. A few minutes in, and I almost gave up and called the professionals in. If I actually manage to do this myself, I think I will take a vacation with the money I'm not paying to the contractors.

(My box of cables is a casualty, but the desk wars are now over. The sound of the box hitting the floor precipitated an unconditional retreat.)

I finally installed my fist WoW mod, at level 76. I'm not really sure what took me so long. I think I was afraid that installing a mod was the first step down the slippery path to true WoW addition. (I felt that way about professions for a while, too - and I'm not sure I was wrong about that.) But the mod (Carbonite) has drastically sped up my leveling. Probably halved the time it will take me, because I don't have to spend time figuring out what's where. I'm not convinced it doesn't remove some of the fun of the game, but, dammit, I want to get to 80 already.

It's interesting posting political things on Facebook these days, as some of my ultra-conservative relatives are now on and posting replies that deeply piss me off. ("Pundit X has a Jewish surname, so therefore they should support Bush unconditionally because Bush is supportive of Israel." "Why do Leftists make common cause with extremists (terrorists) within the Islamic religion who are diametrically opposed to everything the Left stands for?") I'm exercising a great deal of restraint for the sake of not alienating family members.

I'm grateful for the extra day off. Today will involve a lot of cleaning, organizing, and stripping wallpaper. And maybe some TV and WoW. You know, a nice, lazy day. :-)

Really?

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:16:01 GMT

Larry Summers? THAT Larry Summers? The guy who said that the reason there weren't more women in the highest ranks of academia was because they were genetically inferior as a whole?

Really?

He better be really good at economics.

Shiny

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:32:16 GMT

I can't ever remember feeling so optimistic and happy about the world.

I KNOW Obama is not a savior or a miracle-worker. I KNOW he can't fix everything immediately.

And the joy I've been feeling all week is tempered by the flood of anti-gay legislation that passed on Tuesday.

But I can't help but feel giddy about breaking free of the bizarro-world that I've been seeing in the news for the last eight years.

Suddenly, every time I read the news, there's something that makes me happy, instead of pissed off. We're still in trouble, don't get me wrong, but suddenly it feels like there's a way out.

It's not so much about Obama himself. (Although it's really nice to see a politician who speaks truth and who at least appears to genuinely believe what he's saying, instead of saying whatever he thinks we want to hear.)

It's about us, as a country, about who we are, what we will tolerate, the fact that NO, the world DIDN'T go mad, and yes, we do still have some control over our government.

So, I'm sure it will wear off, but for the moment, I'm really enjoying reading the news and feeling optimism, instead of fear and anger.

About anti-intellectualism:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09kristof.html?em

A personal story about traveling abroad, in 2003 and on election day this year.
(Yeah, it's kos, but it's a blog, not news.)
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/9/04224/3123/139/657870

About the nature of Americans and the politics of fear and divisiveness:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09kristof.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin

OK, so this is cool.

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:29:07 GMT

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/08/AR2008110801856.html?hpid=topnews

Prop 8?

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:18:31 GMT

No news yet, right?

Really?

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:57:20 GMT

It's for real this time? I'm not going to wake up tomorrow and find out they took it back?

New pics

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:20:19 GMT

Some new pics of the house. This is what I did last weekend.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisaf373/sets/72157608607615667/

If you haven't seen this yet....

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:08:07 GMT

This is hysterical.

http://somehedgehog.livejournal.com/245807.html

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:17:22 GMT

Stolen from lanome:

[1] Who was your FIRST prom date?
Keith. Who didn't even remember who I was on Facebook. ;-p

[2] Do you still talk to your FIRST love?
Hmm. Depends how you define 'love'. By one definition, no, by another, yes, but not often.

[3] What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
Wine, probably. I AM Italian. ;-)

[4] What was your FIRST job?
Retail in a nurse uniform store in the mall.

[5] What was your FIRST car?
1979 Ford Fairmont. Rust-colored. Literally.

[6] Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
If you count IM - Brie at work.

[7] Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning?
No idea. I was sleeping.

[8] Who was your FIRST grade teacher?
Mrs. McShane. She was awesome.

[9] Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?
Dallas, to a wedding of relatives, when I was like 8.

[10] Who was your FIRST best friend and are you still friends with them?
Hmm. Hard to say first, but my best friend for most of elementary school and high school was Claudette, who lived up the street. We still email occaisionally, but she lives in NC now.

[11] What was your FIRST sport played?
Never really played sports. :-/

[12] Where was your FIRST sleep over?
I have no idea.

[13] Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?
My cats.

[14] Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time?
I was the flower girl at my aunt's wedding when I was 5. It was a huge production, and full of 70's glitz. (The large bridal party was dressed in leaf-green and peach.) The marriage itself lasted less than a year, though.

[15] What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?
Went back to sleep.

[16] What was the FIRST concert you ever went to?
The Who. My then-boyfriend's father took us.

[17] FIRST tattoo or piercing?
Ears. Twice as a kid. Then once again this year.

[18] FIRST foreign country you went to for vacation?
Technically, Canada. One of the few vacations we went on when I was a kid was to the Thousand Islands, and some of the islands are on the Canada side.

[19] What was your FIRST run in with the law?
Speeding ticket, probably.

[20] When was your FIRST detention?
I think I was late to homeroom a few too many times.

[21] What was the FIRST state you lived in?
New York.

[22] Who was the FIRST person to break your heart?
JJM. (See #2, part 2)

[23] Who was your FIRST roommate?
Lara. We had almost nothing in common. She was tall, blonde, and western, and very, very outgoing. Roughly the opposite of me.

[24] Where did you go on your FIRST limo ride?
Probably the wedding in #14.

[25] Who will be the FIRST to repost this?
No idea. :-)

Spoof!

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:02:22 GMT

So, my primary email account got spoofed last night. It appears to be from a German mailserver trying to distribute a Claudia Schiffer video. So, until the bounces die down, I may not see any emails you might send me.
:-/

Facebook, IM, or my work email is probably the best way to contact me. Or, of course, here.

Settling in

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:30:16 GMT

So, the new place is awesome and wonderful and all, but in the back of my mind, I still have this nagging sense of, 'this is a very nice hotel - when am I going home'?

RAWR!

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 03:43:35 GMT

More house pics - move-in state!

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:07:58 GMT

A bunch of new before-and-after pictures have been added to flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisaf373/sets/72157606170456475/

(Too tired to write more - better writing in the morning...)

define interesting

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:06:23 GMT

Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day.

First of all, my cabinets are in, and should be delivered *sometime* tomorrow. Could be 8AM, could be 8PM. Don't know. The kitchen lady forgot to call me back and tell me. So, I have to be there at 8AM just in case, because my backup can't make it that early.

Tomorrow's my last day of work before the long weekend and the move, so I have to work out all the fun issues with the stuff launching on 9/1 that I just heard about today, by, oh, tomorrow.

And tomorrow I have a video conference with the LA office to go over some stuff my team put together that is being forced on them and they really don't want to do. Won't THAT be fun.

Whee.

THEN I get to finish packing. Fun stuff.

So. Tired.

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:50:34 GMT

I am finally done with painting. And home improvement repairs. At least until after I move.

The kitchen has been sanded, primed and painted, and is now just awaiting cabinets.

I've made some change to almost every room in the house. The walls are all patched and touched up. The light fixtures are in. About 50% of the walls of the house have been painted. The wallpaper is mostly gone. The painting debris has been cleaned up and packed away.

The half-bath downstairs still needs to be redone. I'd like to have that done before my housewarming. But it's functional, and in acceptable shape for moving in.

And now, I go pass out.

VP

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:26:23 GMT

Isn't Biden the one who called Obama "articulate"?

I want one.

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:24:10 GMT

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:24:34 GMT

plastering today. it's coming out ok, I think, but it's time consuming. and I apparently need 3x the plaster I thought I did. whee! soon I get to paint.

More house stuff

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:17:55 GMT

Since I have nothing else to write about, and people assure me they aren't bored by it yet... ;-)

I finally stopped by the post office to find out about why my snailmail has been bouncing. Apparently, they keep track of both the name and the address, and if they don't have your name on file at that address, it's undeliverable. I've filled out the little form now, but, I've never heard of such a thing before. I didn't fill out any such form when I moved into my current apartment. I just set up the mail forward from my old address. I thought it was odd.

Also, I accidentally took down more wallpaper last night. I only intended to measure the closet for my new washing machine, so I can order it, but, then I thought, let me make sure I know where the scrapers and things are. And then, I thought, gee, I wonder how it would work with just water instead of wallpaper remover. So I tried it. And it worked REALLY WELL. So, I kept going. And then 15 minutes later, the backsplash was half-done. And then 15 minutes after that, the backsplash was ALL done. And then an hour after that, all of the wallpaper within reach without a ladder was done. :-)

Tomorrow, I'll do the rest of it. The day after, my brother is coming to help with my new light fixtures. Then I have a ton of patching and sanding to do, which hopefully I can get done before the weekend. Over the weekend, I need to prime and paint the kitchen (although I've finally picked out a color!) and I'm a little worried about getting it all done before the cabinets come.

And then... I move! It's amazing how fast this is all going by.

woot!

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:42:23 GMT

I have a moving date! I have a moving date!