Stream of Conscience

Ah, and yet another reason I’m pissed at Congress. Sunday morning I woke up refreshed and ready for the day. I looked at the clock and it read 6:58. I was thrilled! I’d be able to get an early start to the day & get a lot done. I got up, looked at my watch, which said 8:05. Huh? I looked at the clock again. 7:05. Huh? Then I remembered…

The clock is really cool. You set it once, when you first get it (& then only if you don’t live in the Eastern time zone). After that, it remembers the time, even if you lose electricity. Granted, it doesn’t work when the electricity is out, but it has a little battery (or computer chip) that still keeps track of the time. AND, it automatically adjusts to daylight savings time.

Well, it did until Congress screwed around and changed DST. Of course, the computer and DVR didn’t change, because they communicate with the outside world and were able to be updated by external forces. But the alarm clock just sits there & keeps remarkable time. Until Congress stepped in.

Of course, now I have to manually change the time not once, but twice in the next couple weeks. (Obviously, I’d gone through this drill earlier this year, but I must’ve blacked out the experience from my mind. I still don’t remember it.) Still, I guess that’s better than some of the places like New York & San Francisco, where some of the clocks automatically changed; and residents were told to just wait a week and the clocks would be back to the right time.

Today was my first day back to work. I had only about 1/2 hour to myself this morning to actually do any work. Meetings. Then, this afternoon, it was so effing noisy, I couldn’t concentrate, thus was getting extremely irritable, and when my computer decided to take its own sweet damn time, I slammed my fist on the keyboard. I ended up having to go to the cafeteria to finish my work. The cafeteria was quieter than my office.  (And the conversations in the cafeteria were more work related than in the office.)

And, since I didn’t go to the grocery store yesterday, I really needed to do so today, since I forgot to pick up my happy pills, which… well, just see paragraph 1. I ended up buying nearly $100 in groceries, not including the happy pills, which cost nearly $100 themselves. But a lot of the stuff I needed was on sale, so I went ahead & bought it. Non-edible things like shampoo, skin lotion, hairbrush, yadda, yadda. Oh, and edible things like the diet (100 calorie pack) Cheetos. And diet ice cream bars. Yes, I needed them, too.

Oh, and red wine, too. Remember the $200 trip to Target? (You may not because I wrote about it at my other blog.)  One of the items I bought was a set of 4 balloon style wine glasses (for the grand total of $8). Since I finally washed & put them away, I thought tonight would be a good time for a test run. So far so good. (How many misspellings have I made so far?)

So now I’m just going to chill and watch a few hours of “Fashion Day” on QVC. I’m not sure if I’ll buy anything, but I might be able to get an idea of what I might possibly need this fall—once the weather decides to actually act like fall and not be over 90 degrees!

After doing very well abstaining from tv shopping—I didn’t even buy one thing during QVC’s Creed Silver Strike Day, which was Oct 2, when I was home recovering from surgery—I did end up buying a few things over the weekend. But a few of them are Christmas presents, and a few of them are items I’d been thinking about buying. I actually did restrain myself. But I’m sure it’s not going to feel like that once the credit card bill comes. Especially in light of tonight’s Giant episode.

I’ve fallen asleep on the sofa more times in the last 2 days than I have in the previous 20 years.

I had my first experience with general anesthesia on Monday, and it was probably the thing I was most nervous about going in for septoplasty, i.e., surgery to fix my deviated septum and improve my sinuses. First of all, I knew that going under general anesthesia is pretty serious, which I suppose is why the person administering it is a physician. But I also wondered what it would feel like. Would I dream? Would I somehow subconsciously be aware of what was going on? Would it really make me impervious to pain? Would I even wake up afterwards?

I actually walked into the operating room. I got on the table, and the assistants started prepping me, putting a pillow under my knees, adjusting the head rest. The nurse said we’re going to give you something to make you relax.

The next thing I remember was lying in bed. I was pretty groggy and wondered when the surgery would start. As I lay there (too tired to open my eyes), I began to wonder if the surgery was over and I was in the recovery room. I was breathing through my nose, and I didn’t feel anything on my face. There was absolutely no pain. Finally, someone came in and asked how I was doing & if I had any pain. My first question was, “Is the surgery over?” To my delight, she replied, Yes.”

Obviously, I’d gone unconscious in less than one minute.

My friend brought me home and kind of mothered me for a little bit. Once I got settled onto the sofa with all remotes in hand, she left. That’s when the sofa sleeping began. I fell asleep at least 3 times before finally deciding I ought to go to bed. On Tuesday, I fell asleep a couple times in the morning and a couple more later. And I had an honest-to-goodness nap, where I actually went to bed and slept under the covers.

I imagine most of the tiredness was due to the anesthesia. They say it stays in your system for about 24 hours. But some of it might have been from the pain medication. Whatever it was, it worked really well.

Yesterday I went to the doctor for a checkup and he took out the splints. Holy cow! Those mothers were about 4 inches long! You’d think they’d be poking my eyes out. Now that I think about it, the sinus area under my eyes did feel a little swollen and sensitive.

I’d really been looking forward to having the week off from work. But here it is Thursday, and I haven’t done a darned thing. Of course, today is the first day that I’ve actually felt kind of human. I haven’t had to take any pain medicine, but my sinuses are still annoying. Of course, they’re still in the process of healing. I’d go into more discussion about them, but it’s pretty gross, so I’ll just leave things at that.

In other news, season 3 of Supernatural airs tonight. I’m oddly calm about it. I think I’m worried that the show has peaked with the death of the “Yellow-Eyed Demon.” Plus, the addition of 2 new chicks doesn’t thrill me. I also watched the “Director’s Cut” on the CW website, and was highly underwhelmed. I hope the show doesn’t poop out just when I’m trying to get more friends interested in it.

Then again, I wondered how could season 2 be better than season 1; and yet it was.

I found this site via one of my sources at LiveJournal. I’ve taken Myers-Briggs and career aptitude tests several times before, but I never tire of taking a new one. This one was perfect! So, without further ado, this is what I should be when I grow up:

1. Multimedia developer — yeah, baby!
2. Website designer — damn straight!
3. Special effects technician — think Supernatural would hire me?
4. Industrial designer — I might like this if I knew what the hell it was
5. Computer programmer — meh
6. Desktop publisher — hmmm
7. Technical writer — ok, I can see that
8. Fashion designer — better pull out the ol’ sewing machine
9. Sign maker — wtf??
10. Cartoonist/Comic illustrator — too bad I can’t draw worth a damn

Considering the fact that I want to be a web developer more than anything else (which only took me 45 years to figure out), I like these results. I also thought about technical writing at one time.

Here’s some other things on the list of 40 that I found interesting:

11. Interior designer — this came up #1 on a different career test, which really surprises me because this is so not my forte. #3 on that list was fung shui designer. Bwahah! But I did buy a book about it.
12. Actor — this is what I REALLY wanted to be when I grew up, when I still had growing up to do. Alas, don’t have the personality or looks for the job. (Altho stage work might have been possible—and I think I’d like that better than film work.)
23. Set designer — Supernatural dudes, are you reading this??
26. Webmaster — how is this different than #1 and 2? Don’t answer, I actually know.

And perhaps my favorite:

29. Comedian — when I was instructor in the Navy, one of my students commented after one of my antics, “Good grief. One of our instructors is a [don't remember] and the other is a comedian.” *hee*

Today is Friday, the day before a weekend. And even better, a long weekend. Plus, tomorrow is Sep 1st. The start of a new month, the time I like to try to start new habits. I have a worksheet tracks up to 3 new habits. I filled it out last month, but it didn’t last very long. I’m going to try again. One of the habits is the same, the other 2 are new, based on a healthy food habit group I’m currently attending. The new habits are:

1. Pick up at least 5 minutes a day. (This is a repeat from last month, and is a modification of the 15 minutes that is the mantra of FlyLady. Since I had trouble doing 15 minutes, I thought I’d ratchet it back to 5, just to get in the habit of doing a little bit every day.)
2. Eat breakfast. I used to eat breakfast every day. But over the years I’ve gotten sloppier & sloppier, and now it’s more miss than hit.
3. Eat at least one fruit or vegetable serving a day. Yes, my diet is that bad. Which is why I have to change my eating habits.

Wish me (good) luck! I’ll try to to post my progress here. Hopefully that’ll help me be a little bit more accountable.

You know, I don’t understand the fascination with Starbucks. The coffee is stupid expensive, and yet people go there every day to get their fix. At work, they sell the plain ol’ regular Starbucks coffee (no lattes or anything like that) and it’s quite popular, yet it’s more expensive than the regular stuff. And the regular stuff tastes better.

But yesterday I stopped into one to get a caffe mocha. I had to park on the street because the little parking lot was full. That’s ok, it was a nice day and I needed the little extra walk. Inside the store, the line was long, but it fairly quickly. Until they got to the woman in front of me. I don’t know what she wanted, but she took up a lot of the clerk’s time. In fact, by the time I was done paying, my coffee was up and getting cool. When I left, the parking lot was still full, but there were two cars idling, just waiting for someone to leave. Here’s the thing, the lot isn’t big enough to just sit. If a car is sitting in the middle, other cars can’t back out. Oh, and there’s another Starbucks about 3 blocks from this one (with an even worse parking lot.)

It just astounds me the hold that Starbucks has on people. I’m beginning to think someone needs to start be a Starbucks Anonymous.

Then, I went to a knitting shop to buy some yarn. With only one exception, everyone in the store was carrying a Vera Bradley handbag. Me included. I have several styles in different patterns sitting in my closet. And there are a few of the newer patterns and styles I’d like to have. And yet, I’m not really that big a fan of them. Whoever thought of the idea to bring out new patterns every 6 months, keep them around for a couple year, then “retire” them really thought up a marketers dream. And we all fall for it.

On another note, I went to the grocery store today, and I had a lot to buy. Before I left the house, I noticed the clock said 2:00 p.m. When I got back into the car to come home, it was 2:59. (And the clock in my car is fast!) What was my secret? I had a shopping list. I just went down the list, didn’t go down any extra aisles, and was done before I knew it. Of course, the fact that it was a beautiful and people were probably out enjoying it; there was no line to speak of at the check out.

Well, spring has really sprung now! It sprang up yesterday.  In the course of one day, the forsythia blossomed, and the first of the many trees to flower in this area burst forth.  When I went to work yesterday morning, it was the same ol’ same ol’.  When I came home there was color all about.  I don’t know what the trees are, but they have little white flowers and they’re all over the place. The cherry blossoms will bust out any day now. (They’re almost on schedule this year, for a change.) But I have to wait another month or so for my favorites, the trees outside my front entryway, to bloom. (My neighbor, who knows her flowers, says they’re almond trees.) Every year there’s at least one day when they are in full bloom and it rains.  The blossoms are so heavy, the branches bend down over the walkway & I have to duck to avoid hitting them.  It’s sort of a rite of passage for me.  I ususally stop & take a little time to just reflect on how beautiful they are and revel in the moment.

Of course, all this beauty comes with a price.  The seasonal allergies will interfere with my sleep, and the post-nasal-drip will cause me to make the most disgusting hacking noises in order to clear out the most disgustinly gross mucus.   But it’s a small price to pay to say good-bye to winter.

… the grass is riz,
I wonder where
the birdies is.

I love that little stupid little rhyme that heralds spring. I don’t ever remember a year where I’ve been so glad to leave winter behind. I don’t know why; it wasn’t a particularly hard winter. I think maybe I’m just be getting too old to worry about shoveling the car out of a snowbank. Oh, and the grand slip on the black ice didn’t help. My lower back is still a bit sore. And then there’s the sinus problems caused by the dry air and dry heat. But this year I kept a humidifier in my bedroom, and it seems to have worked wonders. I’ve had some pretty good nights sleep without waking up to a nose full of bloody snot mucus.

My, that was a lovely picture, wasn’t it? So let me leave you with something much more pleasant.

Last week, as I was heading out to the car to go to work, I heard some rustling in the bushes behind me. I figured it was a squirrel trying to find some food, but turned around anyway.  Two birds were fluttering about. One was very red, the other was not so red. In my glee, I uttered, “Aww, cardinals!” But apparently I disturbed their amourous revelry. The male flew back to the trees, and the female flew across the entry into the bushes. I can only hope they resumed their affair once I left them to the peace and quiet of the morning.

And yes, where there’s a new season, there’s a new theme.

This morning about 4:30 a.m., my male cat woke me up. He’s a very vocal feline so this wasn’t particularly unusual. However, he was fairly insistent; and when I got up to go to the bathroom, I recognized a particular type of play where he takes his toy in his mouth & throws it up in the air. So I turned on the light, and sure enough, there it was. A dead mouse. I disposed of it in the garbage (which goes out tonight, thank goodness!), but apparently he didn’t see me. He continued sniffing around the area where he’d been playing with it, wondering where his prize had gone

When he was little, I guess I praised him a little too much for bringing his toys to me. I thought I was teaching him to play fetch, but all I did was create an attention monster. Now if he wants my attention, he’ll bring me one of his toys. When he was younger, he’d wake me up in the middle of the night playing with his toys on the bed. I tried putting them in the drawer of my night stand, but the little bugger learned to open the drawer. So now I have to put them under my pillow if I want him to settle down.

One night I woke to the bed shaking. Sure enough, he was playing around with his toy. I groped around for it & found it, but it didn’t like one of his felt or furry mice. The fur felt smoother, even “silkier” than his toys; and I knew what it was before I turned on the light. He’d brought me a real mouse.

At least this one was dead. Several years ago, I was in bed reading before turning out the lights. Neiter one of my cats was in bed with me, which was highly unusual. Then I heard some small, odd noises coming from the bathroom. Sure enough, both cats were had a mouse that wasn’t quite dead yet. It was awful! I knew that the humane thing to do was kill the poor little thing, but I didn’t have to nerve. I ended up throwing out on the balconey, to die a slow, agonizing death. (Yes, I am just that big of a wuss.)

I’ve thought about brining in an exterminator, but it wouldn’t do any good. I live in a condo, and even if I got rid of the mice in my place, they’d just migrate in again from downstairs or next door. One of my neighbor’s says the condo company needs to exterminate not just all the buildings, but also all the land around the buildings. Since I doubt that will ever happen, I guess I’ll just have to live with getting a present once every couple years.

I decided to hit the McDonald’s for breakfast on my way to the library this morning. As I was walking from my car I noticed, in the drive-thru’ lane (which was very busy), a patch of black ice. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice until the nano-second before I planted my foot on it. I knew even before my foot hit the ground that I was in trouble. My feet went waaay out from under me. I landed on my ass, then my back, then my head. Luckily I didn’t see stars, but I did have a the wind knocked out of me. As I sat back up, I looked at the car in the drive thru’ lane, who of course, just sat there waiting for me to get up. (Nice!) But it was so slick, I couldn’t get up. I had to wiggle myself off the ice, then get up. The people in the car just sat there watching me. Finally, as I managed to get up, the passenger opened the door to ask if I was alright. Well, I guess later is better than never. (Or maybe they just wanted to wait until I was upright again, so that they wouldn’t have to do too much work & wouldn’t miss their chance to order breakfast.)

Anyway, I am ok. Nothing’s broken. My butt is sore (& probably bruised), and I think my back may be bruised a bit too. I scraped one of my elbows (even tho it was generously padded by my heavy coat), and whacked one of my ankles (I know it’s not broken because I can still walk). And now I notice all the muscles that I tensed up as I went down are starting to tighten. I can’t wait to see what I feel like tomorrow.

Today is the birthday of my newest cyberfriend, Andie. She’s quite an amazing gal, with a most incredible sense of humor. If you watch Supernatural, you would enjoy her take on the Winchester brothers, called Plastic!Winchester!Theater (the exclamation points are necessary). Two Ken dolls, one very handsome & the other with goofy hair (just like their tv counterparts) take on all sorts of weird, paranormal activity. They’ve tackled ballet-performing zombies, troll dolls, Evil Care Bears, Barney, and a pink walrus, just to name a few. Their arch-nemesis, though, is not the “yellow-eyed demon” of the tv show; it’s Snuggles, the fabric softner teddy bear. If you’re looking to laugh your socks off, head on over there. And if you don’t know what Supernatural is about, check out her  Supernatural Guide for Newbies.

Oh! And, Happy Birthday, Andie!