Stream of Conscience

My computer died a couple weeks ago. After talking with Dell twice, I just gave up and said it’s not worth the effort (even though there’s a ton of stuff I’d like to have). I bought a new system, brought on partly by advice I’d been given at my LiveJournal blog that once it dies, it never really recovers.

Then I realized I could take the computer to some local repair store, since the warranty has expired. I did that a couple weeks ago. They ran diagnostics and told me they could fix it for a reasonable fee. It would take them 24-48 hours. That was over a week ago. I still don’t have it.

The new computer is quite lovely. It’s a Sony all-in-one with a 22″ screen, tv tuner, 2G RAM and 500G hard drive. And what am I doing with it? Playing Mah Jong. Actually, I hadn’t planned on doing much until I got my old computer back. But last night I sort of decided to not wait, and started downloading a couple programs I like. The good thing is both programs (MS Office 2007 and Paint Shop Pro X2) are in trial phase. If I get the other computer back, I’m hoping I can transfer MS 2003 (which I’m much more comfortable with) and PSP from it. We’ll see.

Yesterday, I locked myself out of my condo. I was rushing to get the trash out since I heard the trash truck coming. Turns out it was the landscaping truck and I hadn’t missed pick up. So I proceeded to get my tote bag & keys and head to work, and the door was locked. After knocking on a few neighbors’ doors with no answer, I ran into one of them out walking her dogs. She graciously let me in to use her phone. Unfortunately, the locksmith went to the wrong address and then got stuck in rush hour traffic. Once he showed up, he had a terrible time with the lock. After banging on the door know and jimmying the door jamb, the door popped open. Now there’s silvery flecks of door knob on the floor, which really glisten in the morning sunshine. Eventually I’ll have the whole mechanism replaced (lock and knob are supposed to be one unit), but it’ll cost me about $500. Then again, yesterday’s adventures cost me over half that.

I’m hoping that’s the extent of my Friday the 13th.  So far, so good.

Way the frig back in mid-May, Natalie tagged me with a meme and I just now found it. (Well, actually I’d seen it but didn’t do anything, being all consumed with making icons for LiveJournal.) Having been without a computer for a week and not having my graphics loaded on my new computer, I found the tag again. Well, hey, it’s less than one month old. That’s pretty good for a procrastinator like me!

The rules say I’m supposed to tag six other people at the end of the meme, but since I don’t know six people, I may have to skip it. Or, I can always tag some of my LiveJournal friends. (I think I have more than 6 now.)

The rules:

a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

And since I am not particularly original, I might just follow Natalie’s lead.

1. I had never broken a bone until January 7, 2008, when I fell down the stairs at work. The good news I got to take 2 weeks off work. The bad news is I live on the top floor of a walk-up condo. So once I got myself up the stairs, I never went down them (until I saw the doctor 1½ weeks later when he put me in a boot). About 20 years ago I severely sprained my ankle on the same leg, tripping on a stair. I can definitely say that a sprain is indeed more painful than a break.
2. I was an officer in the Navy for eight years. I stayed in the Reserves for about 4 more years, but then stopped “drilling.” The Navy eventually discharged me because I hadn’t kept up with my paperwork and training. I’m beginning to think leaving the Navy was the 2nd worst professional mistake I ever made. (The first one being transferring to the organization I currently work for.)
3. It only took me 45 years to decide what I want to be when I grow up—a web designer. I even took some classes to become certified (and am certified). But this was in the early 2000’s and web development has changed enormously since then, and I haven’t kept up. Plus, graphic design and creativity is really, really hard for me.
4. I suffer from severe depression and a mild mood disorder. The good great news is that the treatment I’ve received in the last few years has worked wonderfully, and I now feel better than I have in years ever.
5. My last 2 cars were bought used. The current one is a 2000 Lexus and the previous one was a 1997 Chrysler Sebring convertible (which I bought in 1999). I’d always wanted a convertible, ever since I was 8 years old, and I finally got my dream. But it turned out I almost never put the top down. The summers were too hot and even with sunglasses, the sun bothered my eyes. I tried to wear hats, but the only ones that would stay on in the breeze were baseball caps.
6. I had a heart attack in 2000 and have a stent in one of my major arteries (the LAD, except I can’t remember what it stands for). That’s the first and only time I’ve ever been hospitalized. I had high cholesterol (which I could have controlled with diet, but didn’t) and was going through perimenopause at the time (much too early, in my opinion!). I knew my bad habits would catch up to me eventually. I just didn’t think it’d be so soon. The bad news is my habits still aren’t very good (coping mechanism for #4 above), but the good news is my heart is functioning normally, and I’ve just started to turn my bad eating habits around.

So, that’s me in a nutshell. Ok, it’s a really BIG nutshell.

And, now I shall tag hanncoll, zanne68, jade_kadir, janglyjewels, just_ruth, and the_other_sandy, all from LJ.

I’ve started eating a little bit better in the past week and have felt much better. Basically eating breakfast at home and having a reasonable evening meal. But last night I gave into laziness and ordered a pizza. Ugh. I could really tell a difference, both in how I felt when I went to bed and when I woke up.

I was going to start taking my lunch to work, but I think I’ll just work on breakfast and dinner for now. But the cafeteria at work has been closed for a few weeks. It changed management & apparently they have found several “unexpected surprise guests.” So while the guests are being shooed away, a catering truck, aka “roach coach,” has been supplying lunch. Their specialty is beef hot dogs with all sorts of toppings (I prefer sauerkraut). I love hot dogs, so I haven’t been complaining. Their pork barbeque sandwich is also pretty good, with tasty cole slaw and potato salad.

But I just didn’t feel like getting a sandwich today and ended up eating a lunch of sunflower seeds. We also had a bake sale going on, so I sandwiched the sunflower seeds with two pieces of cake. (Temporally sandwiched, not physically!) So of course I continue to feel bleah. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last day for the roach coach, so I think I’ll celebrate it with a couple of hot dogs. Who knows when I’ll have them again?

New Supernatural tonight. It better be better than the last 2! You hear me, Kripke??

I haven’t worn belts for a long time (because I’m too fat thick through my middle and they don’t fit). But I recently bought a top that came with a belt. (I was going to try to link to it, but the top is gone, i.e., sold out.) I’ve worn the top before without the belt, but when I put it on today, I decided to give the belt a try. Of course, I couldn’t find it. It may even be in the bag to take to Goodwill, but I didn’t look there. However, when I went into the living room, I found the detachable shoulder strap that goes with the new tote I’ve been carrying. (Can’t link to it, either.) I tried the strap around my waist, and it actually looks kind of cute.

On another note, I’ve been very lazy in updating any of my blogs. And I need to, especially Pack Brat, because I’ve made some great progress. But instead, I’ve been spending my time make little tiny pictures for the tv show Supernatural. Yeah, I know I’m obsessed. But right now, I’m probably more obsessed with making the little pictures than with the show itself. The writers’ strike, and the network’s treatment of the show during the strike, didn’t do it any favors, especially when it has to go up against Grey’s Anatomy, Lost and CSI. At least Supernatural’s been picked up for a fourth season already.

This may not be a newsworthy post for most people, but for a hermit in the making, it’s pretty awesome. Many weekends out of the year, I will go home from work on Friday and not go outside until heading to work on Monday. (And I like it.)

This weekend, I had something planned for every day, including Friday evening. And two of them actually required (more than) a bit of effort on my part.

Friday: finally got my taxes done. Last year I went to H&R Block since I didn’t want to deal with it myself. It was kind of annoying and I wasn’t going to do it again. But once again I didn’t want to do my taxes, so I went to H&R Block again. It was much better this time, very easy & effortless. I really liked the woman I got this time and plan to use her from now on. She even gave me some suggestions for even more deductions.

The only problem was that I was 1/2 hour late and ended up waiting for quite a long time. Fortunately, I’d brought along a book to read, so the time went fairly fast.

When I was finished, around 8 p.m., I went outside. The evening was gorgeous! It was one of those early summer evenings that I absolutely love. The air was warm and still, the sky had a glow to it, and it just made you want to sit on a bench and watch the night go by.

Saturday I had a hair appointment. Not much effort on my part, but I pulled out a Real Simple magazine from a couple months ago to read while “processing,” and found a couple of nice articles to take to heart. One in particular was how to match flowers and vases. Everyone needs more flowers in their lives!

Sunday I had a professional organizer come over. Not only did we come up with a plan of attack, but we actually started attacking. I was tired and smelly and dirty afterwards, but I sure felt good. And I rewarded myself by relaxing all afternoon, watching Dark Angel episodes (I have just gone bonkers for Jensen Ackles), playing computer games, and making cute little icon pictures.

It’s my annual rite of spring. The trees outside my entry are in full bloom, and it’s raining.

I don’t know what kind of trees they are. They sort of look like cherry trees. And the blossoms look like “double cherry blossoms.” They tend to bloom about 1-2 weeks after the “official” cherry blossoms and keep their blooms for about one week. My neighbor (who knows these things) says they’re almond trees.

Every year, at least once during their week of full bloom, it rains. The wet blossoms are so heavy, they pull the branches down so far that I have to duck when I walk under them. That day is my unofficial rite of spring.

When I left for my hair appointment this morning, the sun was out, but it had been raining. When I got home, it was raining; and had in fact, actually rained fairly hard for a bit. The blossoms were soaked. I had to duck, and I actually hit one with my head.

Welcome, spring! It’s too bad it’s supposed to be 20 degrees colder tomorrow.

I had a new experience last night. I have an intermittent skin condition that initially caused massive itching on my arms and legs. The problem is, it’s very unpredictable. Usually it will subside if I take Benadryl. The condition has now progressed to a feeling that my skin is on fire all over. And if I look at it in the mirror, my skin is red. (And no, it’s not hot flashes.) I haven’t had the problem in a long time (yay), but woke up with it last night. Usually, I can will myself to ignore it & go back to sleep. But I remembered I had some Benedryl in the medicine cablinet, so I got up to take some.  The Benadryl was a new, unopened package.  I got the box open and some water in a glass, but I couldn’t  get the pill out of its individual wrapper.  It wasn’t the usual stubborn package problem.  I was having trouble keeping it in focus and my hands weren’t steady.  The feeling was very, very strange.  I stood for a bit with both hands on the sink. The next thing I knew, I’d fallen over onto the floor. I’m not sure if I fainted, collapsed or fell asleep while standing. I gave up and crawled back into bed without taking the Benadryl and leaving the bathroom light on.
I eventually felt stable enough to go back into the bathroom and take the Benadryl.

In retrospect, I think I may have been experiencing some vertigo. It could be that whatever it was that caused the skin problem also affected the fluid in my inner ear & semi-circular canals. (I used to be an audiologist, so I know about these things.)

I feel better now, but damn, that was a weird experience. Oh yeah, I also have a cut & bruise on my knee from when I collapsed. (Think I hit a drawer-pull on the way down.)  And my upper back, between my shoulder blades, started hurting in the afternoon.  That’s probably where I fell into the door jamb.

The head honcho of the Army (called the Chief of Staff of the Army, or CSA) is coming to visit the place where I work tomorrow. This is a humongous deal. Humongous! The CSA is the highest ranking guy in the Arm. The only way another Army officer could outrank him is if the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was an Army officer. (But currently it’s a NavyAdmiral.)

This is really a huge deal. Oh, I guess I said that already. The CSA is coming to see the organization I work with, not the host command, not the headquarters command. He’s coming to visit this small, little organization that’s a speck on the face of the Army. It’s obviously a real feather in the cap of the guy in charge of the organization, who isn’t even a general.
You should see the commotion. People clamoring for a chance to sit in the meeting with him. Some of them not even Army! (Fortunately, that was squashed.)

I so want to be someplace else tomorrow. But a couple of people in my “chain of command” will be here, so I figure I ought to be present. Of course, these two people (who have dissed me in the past—even though I was right and they were wrong) most likely won’t even give me the time of day. But that’s ok. I don’t really care for them anyway.

I’m so glad I don’t give a shit about the politics of the job. Of course, it’s probably part of the reason I’m not in a higher position (along with my incredibly under-achieving nature), but I don’t think I’d be genuine if I “played the game.”

Because I can’t come up with 13, even though I have several of them in my drafts.

1. I was once again taking a look at the houses Sue showed me yesterday. Man, I want this one so badly, my mouth is watering.

2. I signed up for a business course for next week. I’m pretty excited. I’ve been thinking about starting a home business (had a couple very different ideas in mind) for a long time, but it’s mostly been a pipe dream. But I started reading “Home-Based Business for Dummies” and am actually getting pretty excited. (Oh, I guess I said that already.) I’ve even been thinking about how to market the business, which is the least favorite thing I want to do.

3. I managed to officially piss off a Supernatural cyber-queen yesterday. (I don’t mean that derogatorily. She really is an internet celebrity in the Supernatural realm, and deserves to be.) I suppose it’s the natural outcome of things. I’d met her last summer when I went to see “A Few Good Men” with Jensen Ackles in Fort Worth, TX. I guess the age thing raised its ugly head, because I felt her friends were very uncomfortable with me around. And when I went to talk with them at intermission, I was totally ignored. I tried to be magnanimous about it, especially when she wrote that she loves meeting new people and welcoming them into her world, but the hurt is always there in the back of my mind. And while I feel a little bad about her being pissed (which was a misinterpretation on her part), I think it’s actually cathartic and will eventually help me give up my LiveJournal activities.

4. Ok, so I can’t count, but this ties in with the attempt to quit LiveJournal. I may be getting a handle on my icon-mania. I did not enter any icon contests (called icontests, isn’t that cute?) this week. I actually made some of Jensen Ackles, but am not going to enter them. I will post them though, because they’re pretty nice, and one of them is (at least in my humble opinion) fabulous. Of course, the subject matter is pretty amazing.

5. I ordered the Dark Angel DVDs from NetFlix. Batch #2 came yesterday. But I’m not watching them in order. I saw the next to the last episode on the SciFi channel a couple weeks ago, and was anxious to see the series finale. Can just say, I was underwhelmed. But then, I think they might have been expecting to have a 3rd season so they didn’t want all the questions to be answered.

That darned Sue, one of my friends from LiveJournal. Every now and then she tempts me with real estate available in Mason City, Iowa.  Today she spotted not 1, not 2, but 3 lovely homes to dangle in front of me. One is a bungalow, a little smaller than my ideal place (primarily in that it has only 1 bath, and I’d like to have 2), but for the price of the home, I could add another bath!  Then one is in the historic district. It’s beautiful, but probably much too much maintenance for me. The third is a “Prairie School” design, very Arts & Crafts-y, which is possibly one of my favorite styles.

Coupled with what I mentioned yesterday, I really am interested. But I think I’ve come to a reasonable decision. Since my home is not ready for market, I’m going ahead with hiring the organizer. I really need a professional eye to help me out with those very hard decisions. And I have some really major ones. Like what do I do with winter coats I no longer want when they’re out of season? I figure the organizer will have resources to help.

While I won’t be able to make an immediate change, I’ll be able to work a little longer which will 1) give me more time towards retirement, and 2) get me oh so slightly closer to 62, so my cut in retirement pay won’t be quite as large. Plus I’ve learned that interesting homes come on the market all the time. And with Sue scouting for me (she really does have a fabulous eye!), I figure I’m in good hands.