Brrr

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It’s really $&#$^%#$ cold in our apartment.  John thinks it’s an insulation problem (and he’s probably right).  We crank up the heat, close the door to the room we’re in, the heat comes on, and while it’s on, we’re toasty warm.  The second the thermostat (which is across from a window in the kitchen, two rooms away, and gets direct sunlight) reaches the set temperature, the heat stops coming out of the vent, and all the warmth leaches out of the room.  We start to shiver, and eventually the heat comes back on.  It’s ridiculous, and it’s a wonder we’re not both sick with all the temperature fluctuations we sit through every day.

Well.

That’s a grumpy post.  Welcome to my week.  Lovely that it’s over.

 

Slow down, you move too fast

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I’ve finished the books on my shelf, so I’m reading the graphic novels now, and I’m trying to read them slowly.  They have words AND art, and the art is important to the story.  I have this tendency to just read the words and move on, and if I do that, I’m devouring the books, but not getting the full effect.  I picked up a few Vol 2s of Vol 1s I read a while ago, so I’m re-reading the Vol 1s and trying to slow down.  Take my time.  Weirdly, it means I’m taking longer to read one normal size graphic novel than some of the books from my shelf, but that’s okay.

Right?

Right.

That’s okay.

Bills should always be due on the first of the month!

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Right now, while I’m thinking about it, I’m writing our rent check.  Hang on.

Okay, that’s done.  ALL of our bills are due on the first of the month or just after EXCEPT the rent, which is due on the 15th, and it’s SO hard for me to remember that month after month.  Drives me crazy.  Also, I have to write a physical check and actually mail it, requiring envelopes and stamps – I had to order checks just to pay rent on this apartment because we didn’t have ANY.  And I had a bunch of Forever stamps, but I’m running low, thanks to this particularly backward landlord.  What else do we write checks for?  Nothing.  We can pay all bills online, over the phone via credit card or checking account.  At the last apartment, we paid our rent online.  Everywhere we go takes credit cards, or if they’re cash only, well, they’re cash only, not cash or check.  If they’re cash or check, we make sure we have cash.  If we want to give money to someone, we can transfer it electronically or give them a gift card that is a credit card or give them cash.  CHECKS ARE BASICALLY OBSOLETE and I don’t like them.

Boo checks.  And bills that are due in the middle of the month.

That is all.

I’m not that big of a fan, really. I’ve still never seen The Notebook.

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For reasons that I cannot remember right now, I googled “Rachel McAdams hair” today and searched the images that appeared.

To start with, I was (and am) tickled at the categories across the top.

 

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You can search for pictures of her hair by year, by color, by movie – the possibilities are endless!

Oh, I remember – I saw a picture of her on Tom and Lorenzo with blond hair, and I couldn’t remember what she looked like with red hair.  It was important to me at the time.

So I scrolled through the results.

Rachel McAdams with short hair:

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Rachel McAdams with red hair:

Rachelmcadamsred

Rachel McAdams with brown hair:

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Rachel McAdams with blond hair:

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NOT Rachel McAdams:

sarahhyland

Imagine my surprise when I found that among the many many many head shots of Rachel McAdams.  That’s what’s-her-name from Modern Family.  She doesn’t look like Rachel McAdams.  She has hair, so maybe that’s why Google included her?  Nah, Google is better than that.

But wait!

ALSO not Rachel McAdams:

kerirussell

Dude, that’s Keri Russell! And wait, isn’t that Emma Stone?

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Why are these people who are not Rachel McAdams showing up in my Google results?  Is Google sick?  Maybe Google is very clever and has reached into the heads of these three women and discovered that they all want to BE Rachel McAdams, and because Google loves them very much, it wants to do them this favor and let them pretend they ARE Rachel McAdams and so they show up in search results for Rachel McAdams and….no.  That can’t be it.  At least because I can’t imagine any of them wishing they were Rachel McAdams instead of themselves.  Not because I think any of this is ridiculous and far-fetched.  Because it’s definitely not that.

Hallelujah and whoop-de-doo

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Friends, the day I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.  I have read (or tried to read and abandoned, which totally counts) all of the physical books on my bookshelf.  I have a bunch of graphic novels to read, which a) won’t take long, and b) will be fun, and then I am free free free free free free free free free free free free free to move on the LONG list of books I’ve put on my to-read list or, in some cases, already downloaded to my Kindle app.  I’ll probably start with those.

I have to tell you, though – I may have a problem.  My eyes just wandered over John’s bookshelf.  There are a couple of books there that I plan to re-read before I pick up their sequels.  Maaaaaaaaayyyybe I’ll re-read those now, since I will be free free free free free free free free free free free free free free to go find those sequels in e-book format or at the library and not feel guilty about not reading the books on MY shelf. Because I have FINISHED all of the books on my shelf!

Do-over

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I would like a do-over of today.  Can anyone make that happen for me?  I’d really appreciate it.

…

…

No?  Fine.  Tomorrow will just have to be my Sunday, plus work.

That sounds awful – all the stress of knowing the work week is about to start, plus it’s actually Monday.  I changed my mind.  Let’s skip straight to Tuesday.

I hurt all over

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Moving sucks.  Even when (especially when?) you’re not moving yourself.  We helped Jess move into her new apartment today, and it feels like everything that could go wrong, did.  I know that’s not true – plenty of things went right – but the percentage of bad things was unusually high.

Bad things:

  • We met Jess at the truck rental place first thing in the morning.  John was going to drive it for her, so we had to be there when she picked it up.  Since he’s the driver, he’s basically renting it, and when they asked if we wanted extra insurance, we said no.  The lady said that’s fine, here, fill out this form with your policy number and the coverage you have for 6-wheeled commercial vehicles.  Um, what?  We’ve rented a lot of trucks in the past year, and no one has asked us that.  I called USAA, and no, we don’t have coverage for that.  (So every time we’ve rented a truck, like, EVER, we’ve been tempting fate with the no extra coverage thing.  Oops.)  Okay, so Jess had to pay an extra amount for it, but hey – it’s refundable.  Except…it’ll be higher than previously mentioned and not ALL of it is refundable because she’s changing an existing rental.  Excuse me?  Still, not that much higher, and we can deal with it.
  • Another family came in, renting a 12′ foot truck (ours was 16′), and they were leaving as we were finalizing the insurance stuff.  As they drove out of the lot, the lady said, “Wait!  They took your truck!”  Yeah, they drove out in the 16′ truck with the ramp we needed.  (They eventually came back and we got our truck.)

The lady joked that all the bad things were happening NOW so we’d be all set the rest of the day.  Way to tempt fate, Rental Truck Lady.

  • We loaded up the truck with all of Jess’s stuff without incident, but I’m including it as a bad thing that happened because her furniture is REALLY HEAVY.  It’s like real grown-up furniture weight.

Good things:

  • We were able to get all of her furniture out of her house and into the truck!  (We’ve had bad luck with couches – couldn’t get Emily’s out of their townhouse last year, so she sold it to the new owners.)
  • By the time John and I (in the truck and our car) caught up with Jess at the new apartment, she’d checked in with the leasing office and gotten her new keys and a parking pass so we could start unloading immediately.

Bad things:

  • She overestimated how much of her stuff could fit in the apartment.  She wanted her big leather couch, loveseat, and chair, but we realized that no matter how we arranged the furniture, the couch wasn’t going to make it.  Or the coffee table.  They stayed on the truck.
  • The really $&%^# heavy leather couch could have been left behind in the house.

Good things:

  • Goodwill was still open, we still had the truck, and they took the couch and the coffee table off our hands!  This is getting to be a habit.
  • We were done with the truck early and could fill it up with gas and return it!

Bad thing:

  • Our credit cards were declined at the gas station pump.

Good thing:

  • Apparently that’s just a really sketchy gas station and Navy Federal locks down cards that get used there.  That seems really weird to me, but I suppose I’m glad they’re looking out for us.  Cards are fine.  Crisis averted.

Bad thing:

  • I’m dirty and tired and achy.

Good thing:

  • I’m home.  I can shower and go to bed.

Extra good thing:

  • Jess lives a mile and a half from us now.  Yippee!

I should stop agonizing over not liking a book

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I’ve had a physical copy of one of John Hodgman’s books for quite some time (More Information Than You Require).  It’s one of the books I saved out of the original donation pile with the intention of reading it before we move across the country.  I like John Hodgman.  I think he’s funny.  We both like him enough that we bought tickets to see his show at The Birchmere a few years back.  We didn’t go at the last minute, for depressing reasons (still absolutely the right decision), but I’m sure we would have enjoyed the show.

I had every expectation of enjoying his book.  And then I tried to read it (this was yesterday).  I’ve been talking a lot about the books on my bookshelf and how I feel about reading them.  Some of them are really just not for me (Gormenghast, some of the Kate Atkinson novels), some of them I have REALLY liked, and some I might just not be in the mood for.  I think I’m just not in the mood for John Hodgman.  There are a lot of made-up facts, there’s a lot of ALL CAPS EMPHASIS going on, a lot of absurdity – these are all things I think are funny.  Just not this week, I guess. Or maybe for me, Hodgman’s humor doesn’t translate to the page.  Or maybe I’m just not in the right mood.

I put the book in the donation pile.  I might try again before we actually donate the books.  I might not.  It won’t be hard to get if I change my mind later.

I feel bad about this (hence the hedging and rationalizing).

Not that bad, though.  I picked up Bill Bryson’s Shakespeare book last night and was immediately more interested. I’m much happier when I’m reading something for fun and not because I feel like I have to.

I’m sorry, John Hodgman, that apparently I feel like your book is something I have to read.

AMC makes some good TV

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We starting watching Halt and Catch Fire on Netflix the other day, and that’s all we’ve wanted to watch since then.  I was initially…not resistant, exactly, but not terribly enthusiastic about starting it.  Hey, a show about building computers in 1980!  Yay?  Haven’t they made this movie (the Apple/Microsoft/IBM, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and Bill Gates in their garages thing) over and over again?

But, wait!  It’s compelling.  The two married people actually TALK THROUGH THEIR PROBLEMS.  The sales guy is idealistic and an ENORMOUS TOOL.  The people at the company are smart and solve problems.  Everyone is mostly likeable with a little bit of horribleness or mostly horrible with a little bit of likeableness.

It’s GOOD TV.  Also, it has Lee Pace in it (cute) and the other lead actor’s name is Scoot.  How could you not watch that?

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Sidetracked

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This afternoon, I got up from my desk in our front room and headed to the kitchen with the express purpose of checking our tomatoes to still if they’re still edible.  The kitchen is two rooms away.  As I walked through the room in between, I remembered that tomorrow is Thursday and immediately thought, “Yay Thursday!”  I started thinking about how much I like Thursdays.  They’re such nice days, announcing the upcoming weekend but without all the stress of trying to get ALL THE WORK done before the weekend (which is why I’m less in love with Fridays).  They’re friendly days, nonthreatening days.  I did a little Thursday happy dance (premature, but maybe I was practicing for tomorrow), and by the time I was done, I was through the kitchen and standing in our bedroom, with NO memory of why I’d gotten up in the first place.

It came back to me within a few seconds, and yes, the tomatoes are still edible (I know you were wondering), but DUDE.  Am I flaky?  Just old?

Way to ruin breakfast, dude

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We are boycotting Graul’s Market (the nearest grocery store) from here on out.  For the second time in less than 6 months, we have opened a brand new sealed gallon of milk with a sell-by date over a week in the future to find it spoiled.  John got a face full of the smell when he opened the new gallon to add milk to his cereal, and it nearly put him off food altogether.  That’s a really awful smell.  Just the thought of it makes me shudder.

Yes, we could return the milk, but it’s not worth the trip.  We just won’t go back there.  It’s the closest store, but it’s far enough that we have to drive, so if we’re going to get in the car anyway, we’ll just go somewhere else.  Annoying, but we’ve got less than two months to go.  We’ll manage.

We have other smell problems this evening.  I’m making salmon (so yum salmon and garlic and olive oil), but our downstairs neighbors are cooking something that clashes unpleasantly.  On its own, I’m sure it would smell delicious (when I can separate it from our dinner, I get something sweet and warm, like cake, but not dessert), but mixed with salmon and garlic?  Not so great.

It’s a habit, but it’s not a HABIT, you know?

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I was going to stop drinking coffee, right?  As soon as my creamer ran out?  Yeah, I’ve failed on that one already.  I used the last of the creamer Saturday morning.  Sunday morning, John flew for an hour, so I went with him just to be up and about.  I couldn’t fly with him (he’s not licensed yet), so after he took off, I went looking for a bakery I’d found online.  Got there, ordered a cheese danish.

“Coffee?”  “Yeah, sure.”

So yeah, I had regular coffee and a danish for breakfast Sunday morning.  I didn’t even realize what I’d done until we got home.  But it was January 31st, right?  So…maybe we can say I’m starting this in February.  My birthday present to myself – less caffeine, fewer empty calories.  Today (being February 1st), I had decaf tea and instant oatmeal for breakfast.  Much healthier.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch (we’re going to the store as soon as John finishes his Battlefront mission) and nothing but water to drink the rest of the day.

Except for the half-pint of Naptown Brown Ale I had when I met Jess for lunch.  Oops.  Baby steps.

To Do, Part 2, Move 3

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We’ve made progress!

  1. We have a trip planned to go to Eugene and try to find a place to live.  I’m starting to get nervous about it (not going, but finding our new place right then), but hopefully we can find what we’re looking for within those few days and start a lease on April 1st.
  2. I called three moving companies and got estimates.  They’re not outrageous, especially when I add up the costs of renting a truck and doing it ourselves.
  3. Getting rid of things.  Well, there are two big paper grocery bags full of books, a trash bag full of clothes, and a box full of random things, all waiting to be given away.  Next step: actually give them away.

I laugh, therefore I am

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I amuse myself.  As in, I think I’m funny.  I don’t think I’m FUNNY-funny.  I’m not comedian-funny.  And I fail (like falling down and landing with a thud fail) when I TRY to be funny.  But I think I’m funny.  I make myself laugh.

Is that weird?  I feel like it would be sad if I couldn’t make myself laugh.  I can tell myself a joke, and I’ll laugh at it.  (I don’t do that often.)  It’s comforting.  It’s like I’m company for myself.  It’s enough for me that I’m funny enough for me.  It’s okay if other people don’t find me funny because I’m not trying to be funny for other people.  I’m not asking you if you think I’m funny because that’s not really a question I want to ask – it’s not what I’m about.  I’m not trying to be funny for me, either – I just sometimes find myself very amusing.  Does that sound smug?  I’m afraid it sounds smug.  I’m not trying to be smug.

I will stop with the naval-gazing now.  Sorry.  Not smug, just self-absorbed.  🙂

 

Lots of reasons

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I need to relax more.  I don’t mean to say that I’m rushing around like a crazy person (I’m not), but I’m starting to feel stressed again.  Deep breathing isn’t always working for me (I don’t feel like I can breathe deeply enough, which is bad enough on its own, but then adds to the stress), and my brain is racing.  It’s not about the move (although I’m sure the fact that it’s creeping closer and we have a lot to do isn’t helping, but really – that feels under control), and it’s not just about work.  It’s probably a lot about work, but there’s no quick fix for that (not any that don’t involve their own kinds of stress).  Regardless, I just want to handle it better.

This afternoon, John went off to fly, and I turned on the Yoga Radio station on Pandora.  My plan was to listen to it for a while during the end of my work day and then DO some yoga.  I managed half of that…I didn’t make it to the actual yoga part.  But it’s a start!

I think I’m going to drink less coffee, too.  Once I’m out of the creamer I have.  (No reason to let that go bad.)  I drank the last glass of a bottle of wine last night, and I’m thinking about not opening the next bottle for a while.  Part of the reason (for both coffee and wine) is the stress thing.  The rest of it is just that they’re empty calories.  I don’t need them.

And maybe this whole stress thing is coming on right now because I haven’t been exercising regularly this week.  I didn’t feel like this last week, and last week I ran five days in a row.  Then we had a massive snow storm, and I only ran once (Tuesday), and it wasn’t much of a run since I had to keep doubling back when the sidewalks ended in unshoveled snow and I kept stopping to pick my way across slush and ice.  I haven’t been to the gym, and I certainly haven’t done any exercising at home (because lazy).  Instead, I’ve eaten cookies and blueberry muffins and nachos.  Tonight’s dinner is chili, so I’m not really helping myself out there.  Make better choices!  I will.  Soon.

Outlet

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Our permanent someday home might need a heavy punching bag installed in the basement.  I could sure use one to beat up on right now.  I’ve been dealing with Mr. Smug Patronizer Who Thinks He’s More Important Than Everyone Else all day, and I need to let off some steam.  Counting to ten and taking deep breaths isn’t working.  I can’t go for a run (not a very satisfying one, anyway) because the sidewalks are treacherous, and the gym is just too far away.  I guess I’ll have to get over this by eating cookies.  Mmm.  Cookies.

When you’re right, you’re right

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Mel has been on a roll lately.  Last fall, she insisted we create a Pandora station seeded only with Electric Light Orchestra, and you know?  It’s my favorite Pandora station.  It’s SO good.  Then last week (just a few days ago?), she told me about a trilogy she’d gotten sucked into that surely I knew about already, but if I didn’t, I had to read it.  Again, she’s on top of it.  I downloaded the first book and read it in about 24 hours.  Couldn’t put it down (Brilliance by Marcus Sakey), and I’ve already started the second book.

What’s next?  I’m all ears.

Some people are artists, some people appreciate them

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We went for a walk this morning and saw the BEST snow sculptures.

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Everybody run!  Preferably up some stairs!  Oh, wait – daleks fly now.  There’s no hope!

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I’m not sure why R2-D2 is hanging out with an Easter Island head (I’m assuming, from the tiki torch, that it’s an Easter Island head and not, say George Washington), but I like that they’re all buddy-buddy.

Just because I had no intention of playing in the snow and getting all cold doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate when others do.

Cozy and warm

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I have not been outside today, and at the rate the sun is setting and the rate at which we are moving towards putting layers on for warmth and outsideness (which is backwards, we are moving AWAY from outsideness), I don’t believe I will be going outside today at all.  That is okay.  The sun was shining when we woke up (nice change) and has been all day, but I’m not fooled – I know it’s cold.  I know there’s still over a foot of snow out there and I can’t see the surface of the street yet and we’re still not supposed to park on our street and we’re being urged not to drive yet and you know?  We have food and heat and the internet.  All is well.

Here’s a picture of a neighbor’s car in the lot in the middle of our block.  I don’t know how many inches that is, but when we went for a quick walk yesterday afternoon, the snow came up to just over my boot top on one side of the sidewalk (14 inches) and up to my knees on the other side (over 18 inches).  So….that much snow.  I don’t have to shovel it!  Super happy about that.

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John’s parents got over 30 inches of snow, and we’ve been treated to pictures of them shoveling their long driveway throughout the day.  I feel their pain, I sympathize, I empathize even, but I’m not volunteering to drive up and help.

Whoops.  Talked about the weather.