3.25.2009
3.23.2009
And so the season begins. (Kinda.)
After months of torture, battling an erg in a stuffy weight room...After having to sit through a miserable committee hearing on a beautiful, sunny, 60-degree Saturday for more than 7 hours...I went out on the water for the first time this season late on Saturday afternoon. Just a short 2-mile jaunt - up to about the high bridge and back. But it was sheer bliss rowing on real water again. Even the whole trees (roots, trunks, branches - whole trees) and four-foot square chunks of ice floating by didn't bother me too much (well, maybe one kinda did when I tapped an ice chunk with my oar blade and realized they were really mini icebergs; but even then, Titanic-like visions were not exactly going through my head). It was a pleasant way to end a Saturday and put me in a much better mood for the rest of the weekend.
3.19.2009
3.17.2009
3.16.2009
Things I ____ Today
Love:
1. 60+ degree days
2. Sunshine
3. Freshly washed car that's still fairly shiny, even after lots of snow melt and icky roads
4. Coffee
5. The Gophers making it into the tournament
6. Poring over NCAA March Madness brackets, trying to make selections
Could do without, but will probably (or have) experience(d) anyway:
1. Bananas
2. Mentally getting ready for an erg test tomorrow morning
3. Having no time to actually pore over NCAA March Madness brackets
Am unsure of:
1. Grapple (it's an apple somehow infused with grape flavor; I love how they smell like grape pop; I am really unsure if I actually like the taste...)
1. 60+ degree days
2. Sunshine
3. Freshly washed car that's still fairly shiny, even after lots of snow melt and icky roads
4. Coffee
5. The Gophers making it into the tournament
6. Poring over NCAA March Madness brackets, trying to make selections
Could do without, but will probably (or have) experience(d) anyway:
1. Bananas
2. Mentally getting ready for an erg test tomorrow morning
3. Having no time to actually pore over NCAA March Madness brackets
Am unsure of:
1. Grapple (it's an apple somehow infused with grape flavor; I love how they smell like grape pop; I am really unsure if I actually like the taste...)
3.15.2009
3.11.2009
The Everlasting Story of Winter and Work, continued
-I am tired of winter. This below-zero temps stuff has got to go. Also. No more snow, please. I'm so over it.
-Today was the first day I did not get up well before the crack of dawn to go work out, so I had the misfortune of driving to work during rush hour the first time since the daylight savings switch. Let me tell you, People of I-94-headed-east: you can miraculously see more if you 1) wear sunglasses, 2) put your visor down, and 3) use your windshield wipers and a bit of fluid to clean your windshield. All of this would allow you to drive more than 20 m.p.h. on the freeway when the sun is rising directly at you. I can understand if you're a bit cautious when the sun is at such an angle that none of these tricks listed above works, but if they worked for me today, they should conceivably also work for you.
-Over the weekend, I borrowed my roommate's Netflixed copy of The Cat in the Hat (still not totally sure why she even netflixed it). I absolutely do not know why I bothered to watch it. Despite my great love of Dr. Seuss, I despise that book (always have despised it, and for reasons I won't go into here). The movie was even worse, to the point where I abhored every moment I actually spent watching it before turning to other, better things to do. I mean, seriously! I could've spent my time much more wisely, for instance, by watching the drips of water from the dishes drying in the dish rack evaporate.
-On another note of entertainment-I-catch-in-spare-moments, I am thoroughly enjoying The Everlasting Story of Nory by Nicholson Baker. Unfortunately, I don't have lots of moments to put together to make it very far in any book these days. But in the ones I do have, I really like this extremely random book, which has to involve the most rabbit trail-y "plot" ever, and it is the sheer randomness that makes me laugh. After listening to and reading bills all day long, I need some random hilarity. (Especially after the data practices bills - those are the bills heard in the subcommittee that surely must be the seventh ring of purgatory in the third dimension of hell, or some such place. It is with great, uh, anticipation that that particular subcommittee is meeting for the first time tonight. I will desperately need a page or two of Nory before bedtime so I won't have nightmares.)
-Today was the first day I did not get up well before the crack of dawn to go work out, so I had the misfortune of driving to work during rush hour the first time since the daylight savings switch. Let me tell you, People of I-94-headed-east: you can miraculously see more if you 1) wear sunglasses, 2) put your visor down, and 3) use your windshield wipers and a bit of fluid to clean your windshield. All of this would allow you to drive more than 20 m.p.h. on the freeway when the sun is rising directly at you. I can understand if you're a bit cautious when the sun is at such an angle that none of these tricks listed above works, but if they worked for me today, they should conceivably also work for you.
-Over the weekend, I borrowed my roommate's Netflixed copy of The Cat in the Hat (still not totally sure why she even netflixed it). I absolutely do not know why I bothered to watch it. Despite my great love of Dr. Seuss, I despise that book (always have despised it, and for reasons I won't go into here). The movie was even worse, to the point where I abhored every moment I actually spent watching it before turning to other, better things to do. I mean, seriously! I could've spent my time much more wisely, for instance, by watching the drips of water from the dishes drying in the dish rack evaporate.
-On another note of entertainment-I-catch-in-spare-moments, I am thoroughly enjoying The Everlasting Story of Nory by Nicholson Baker. Unfortunately, I don't have lots of moments to put together to make it very far in any book these days. But in the ones I do have, I really like this extremely random book, which has to involve the most rabbit trail-y "plot" ever, and it is the sheer randomness that makes me laugh. After listening to and reading bills all day long, I need some random hilarity. (Especially after the data practices bills - those are the bills heard in the subcommittee that surely must be the seventh ring of purgatory in the third dimension of hell, or some such place. It is with great, uh, anticipation that that particular subcommittee is meeting for the first time tonight. I will desperately need a page or two of Nory before bedtime so I won't have nightmares.)
3.03.2009
Be careful what you [auto]text
Word to the wise: beware what you text people. That auto-fill can be a real pain...especially when you try to send a message to someone about your "stuffed nose" and instead it comes out "studded nose." No, I have not recently gotten my nose pierced, thank you very much.
2.27.2009
It's almost the weekend: Yay!
Update to yesterday's update: It took me a mere 20 minutes to get home. Foo on that - it took me 45 minutes on Wednesday evening to get home WITHOUT any snow but WITH rush hour traffic! My conclusion: to keep my own sanity, I should not leave work at 5 o'clock, ever. Period. I just don't know where that leaves me when it comes to having a life, because it's not like i can leave early...but at least I won't be a crazy, ranting lunatic. I have enough other stuff in my life to rant about (mainly all politics).
And now, it's nearly the weekend. I am glad to note that my plans for the weekend are not nearly as nuts as last weekend's, and maybe that means I'll get some sleep. I still have an orchestra concert Sunday, but it's in the afternoon, so I can leisurely lounge around on a Sunday evening without feeling the need to rush somewhere or quickly get ready for the next week at ten o'clock at night.
P.S. After playing this concert series, one of my new favorite pieces to listen to is the Schumann Cello Concerto. You can listen to it in four parts here, here, here and here. (The movement I especially like is in the last two links.) It really makes me realize that Schumann liberally borrows from his own works, because very similar themes show up in a lot of his works.
One of my favorite TV shows is This Old House. I don't know why, 'cause it's not like I ever remodel anything, but I love that show. After catching up with their latest project last night, it's my new goal to learn how to solder something. Never mind I live in an apartment and barely even own a hammer, but I still want to solder some stuff together.
And now, it's nearly the weekend. I am glad to note that my plans for the weekend are not nearly as nuts as last weekend's, and maybe that means I'll get some sleep. I still have an orchestra concert Sunday, but it's in the afternoon, so I can leisurely lounge around on a Sunday evening without feeling the need to rush somewhere or quickly get ready for the next week at ten o'clock at night.
P.S. After playing this concert series, one of my new favorite pieces to listen to is the Schumann Cello Concerto. You can listen to it in four parts here, here, here and here. (The movement I especially like is in the last two links.) It really makes me realize that Schumann liberally borrows from his own works, because very similar themes show up in a lot of his works.
One of my favorite TV shows is This Old House. I don't know why, 'cause it's not like I ever remodel anything, but I love that show. After catching up with their latest project last night, it's my new goal to learn how to solder something. Never mind I live in an apartment and barely even own a hammer, but I still want to solder some stuff together.
2.26.2009
Update: It HAS been a long day
Update: Yes, today has been long, and it's not nearly over. It is snowing. I mean, really snowing. None of this one inch of fluff stuff. As of an hour ago, I noticed that there were two accordian buses, both stuck right outside the MN Capitol as we concluded session for the day. In the picture above, there is a stoplight towards the right, and it is a slight incline as you head the direction the buses are going. It is not a one-way street, even though it looks like it here. The bus on the right is stuck on the curb and can't get going. The bus on the left apparently was trying to stop and skidded across the street while the second half of the bus got away from the driver.
My conclusion: you do not want to be near one of these things during a snowstorm.
My conclusion: you do not want to be near one of these things during a snowstorm.
Unfortunately, I will not be getting home anytime soon.
Shhh: Don't tell my hair stylist (and other strange things)
It all started this morning when I decided I didn't want to go work out because my back is killing me today. So I set the alarm for later, rolled over and went back to sleep. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have had weird dreams for an extra hour and a half, and probably wouldn't have taken a scissors to my hair this morning.
Just a little friendly advice: don't use two hair products together for the first time on a morning when you're already running a little late, and expect them to react well to each other (even if they are made by the same company). I got this huge snarl in my hair this morning when I did just that and then took a blow dryer to it. I worked and worked on that horrible little knot of hair, but could not get it out, so rather than rip it out from the end of my hair where I'd worked it down to, I just took a scissors to it. Snip, all better.
If I had ignored my back pain and gone to the club, I would not have had the new hair product available to me, and also I have no scissors there, so would have been forced to deal with any potential snarl in a different way.
This day is going to be very long, I can just tell.
__________
In other random news, I went to the grocery store last night, and was "accosted" (his word, not mine) by an older gentleman who apparently had a new lease on life and decided to tell everyone around him about it. I happened to be in line right behind him at the cash register, so he was informing me of his wonder at grocery stores with cheap food (Rainbow), and he was done with expensive stores (like Lunds) where they sell all the same food anyway. I felt like I was being interviewed by a "secret" Rainbow employee: "Why do you come here? Is it the prices? I just can't believe all this cheap food! That's why I come here." He then took a phone call while he was bagging his own groceries (after I directed him towards the paper bags with the handles he so preferred) and informed whomever it was he was speaking to that he was having the time of his life at the grocery store where they sell cheap food and was "accosting" people to get their opinions on the place. Granted, this was in Uptown, which is a bit crazy (okay, way crazy), but this was beyond anything I've ever experienced at an Uptown grocery store.
__________
Over the last few days at work, I've noticed someone has been calling me from California, but the caller has never left a message when I've failed to answer since I've not been in my office at the time of the calls. Until yesterday, that is.
I answered the phone by stating my name, only to be asked if I was the same person who used to work at the Topanga newspaper. No, I am not the same person.
I always thought my name is fairly uncommon, but though I figured someone out there would have it, I really have no idea how many people possess the same name, although I'm now getting a better idea since this is the second time in my life someone has called to speak with another woman with the same name who works/worked in a completely different field (the first was nursing, but at least that one was local; I'd expect more people in Minnesota to have my extremely Scandanavian name than someone in California, but maybe that's just me).
__________
In other work-related news, every office has one:
A guy with whom I work decided yesterday that the only way he can eat microwaved popcorn is if it shoots out flames first, it's cooked so well. Our office suite still reeks.
Just a little friendly advice: don't use two hair products together for the first time on a morning when you're already running a little late, and expect them to react well to each other (even if they are made by the same company). I got this huge snarl in my hair this morning when I did just that and then took a blow dryer to it. I worked and worked on that horrible little knot of hair, but could not get it out, so rather than rip it out from the end of my hair where I'd worked it down to, I just took a scissors to it. Snip, all better.
If I had ignored my back pain and gone to the club, I would not have had the new hair product available to me, and also I have no scissors there, so would have been forced to deal with any potential snarl in a different way.
This day is going to be very long, I can just tell.
__________
In other random news, I went to the grocery store last night, and was "accosted" (his word, not mine) by an older gentleman who apparently had a new lease on life and decided to tell everyone around him about it. I happened to be in line right behind him at the cash register, so he was informing me of his wonder at grocery stores with cheap food (Rainbow), and he was done with expensive stores (like Lunds) where they sell all the same food anyway. I felt like I was being interviewed by a "secret" Rainbow employee: "Why do you come here? Is it the prices? I just can't believe all this cheap food! That's why I come here." He then took a phone call while he was bagging his own groceries (after I directed him towards the paper bags with the handles he so preferred) and informed whomever it was he was speaking to that he was having the time of his life at the grocery store where they sell cheap food and was "accosting" people to get their opinions on the place. Granted, this was in Uptown, which is a bit crazy (okay, way crazy), but this was beyond anything I've ever experienced at an Uptown grocery store.
__________
Over the last few days at work, I've noticed someone has been calling me from California, but the caller has never left a message when I've failed to answer since I've not been in my office at the time of the calls. Until yesterday, that is.
I answered the phone by stating my name, only to be asked if I was the same person who used to work at the Topanga newspaper. No, I am not the same person.
I always thought my name is fairly uncommon, but though I figured someone out there would have it, I really have no idea how many people possess the same name, although I'm now getting a better idea since this is the second time in my life someone has called to speak with another woman with the same name who works/worked in a completely different field (the first was nursing, but at least that one was local; I'd expect more people in Minnesota to have my extremely Scandanavian name than someone in California, but maybe that's just me).
__________
In other work-related news, every office has one:
A guy with whom I work decided yesterday that the only way he can eat microwaved popcorn is if it shoots out flames first, it's cooked so well. Our office suite still reeks.
2.25.2009
Quote of the Moment: OJ Pulp
The absolutely funniest thing I've heard in weeks is the following, which was a comment posted on another website by this guy:
"I can’t drink OJ with pulp. It’s like there’s bits of dead lip skin from a thousand people who have never heard of ChapStick floating around in my juice."
"I can’t drink OJ with pulp. It’s like there’s bits of dead lip skin from a thousand people who have never heard of ChapStick floating around in my juice."
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