Rana's Journal

8:38AM - Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday deanocturne!!! Have a wonderful day!

1:54PM - Musical obsession

I bought a new musical keyboard a couple of weeks ago, and I have been totally obsessed with it. I even called in sick one day to stay home & play with it - shhh!

( obsessive rambling )

Otherwise, things are pretty much the same with me. Still like my cat, my boyfriend, my job & my house (not necessarily in that order).

12:32PM - Weekend in Review

Friday: sbank made pasta with a very spicy sauce, too spicy for him (I ended up with all the leftovers - mmm). Then, as usual these days, we felt too tired to start a movie, so we settled for more "Red Dwarf" episodes instead.

Saturday: My BFF S* & her daughter came over to celebrate S*'s birthday. We splashed around in the pool (even though it was *cold*), and then played lots of board games. For dinner sbank prepared a tenderloin on the grill, along with potato salad. We cheated on the bread & went to Panera's for that (I had a $10 welcome wagon gift certificate that I wanted to use anyway). We had chocolate cupcakes for the official birthday dessert. All in all it was a fun day. Oh, and then we finished the evening by watching the horrendously bad movie "Dragonslayer" - although I did enjoy the scenes with the dragon itself.

Sunday: Another U-Haul day for us - UGG! So far with this move, we have made 8 budget/uhaul trips, and we could easily do another (but we won't). We did our typical two roundtrips yesterday, and of course most of the day it rained. It was such a long & exhausting experience. Not to mention painful - I'm covered with bruises today. I have a doctor's appt Wed, and she's going to think I'm a battered woman :-)

Today I was hoping to take it easy at work, but I've already had people stop by looking for things, and our office mgr left early for the day, so now I have to cover for her as well. Sigh. I should have called in sick (which I seriously considered doing, but then I went with my alternate plan of just "taking it easy"...silly me).

11:38AM - Weekend in Review

Friday: Came home to a homemade chicken & olive pizza. It seems like all the pizzas we've tried in our new town have a thick crust, and I prefer thin...so sbank decided to make one for me...and it came out thick! But delicious nonetheless. A couple of episodes of "Red Dwarf" and we called it a night.

Sat: Finally got to meet the lovely ladydamia, although only briefly, as I was on my way out to get my hair cut. She did give me a recommendation of a place in town to try; it's next on my list. My haircut came out ok, but the best part of all was meeting the resident salon dog, Foxy! She was a tiny little thing with her own hot pink bed. So adorable. I always like to patronize businesses with resident dogs, so that's going to be hard to beat.

After that I splashed around in the pool a little - time is running out as far as the pool goes! And then that night I finished my "Sex & the City" dvd's (sniff), and then watched a modern version of "Macbeth" (eh).

Sun: A fairly lazy day. There was a short Home Depot trip where I couldn't find most of the things I was looking for. sbank & I put up a light fixture, and then played a board game, "The aMAZEing Labyrinth" (I won).

I did read quite a bit. I'm trying to finish a long novel ("Until I Find You" by John Irving)...not sure why it's taking me so long...I enjoy it, and it's an easy read...but it's due back at the library next week & I've run out of renewals on it.

1:04PM - Weekend in Review

Friday: Meatloaf for dinner, followed by two episodes of "Red Dwarf" (with a strawberry margarita). A perfect evening.

Sat: Many, many errands. And, as it turned out, we couldn't find any of the things we were looking for (a titanium hammer, "The Haunting" with DTS soundtrack, brass bath accessories). So, we ended up just ordering everything online. We should have stayed home! Dinner was grilled pork with a fresh romaine salad, and our movie was the HD version of "A Clockwork Orange". I've seen the movie many times before, but I still get drawn into it.

Sun: I went to Boston with my friend S* and her 9-year old daughter D*, and her daughter's best friend V*. We spend a day in Boston once every summer, and we do the same things each time. First we go on the swan boats (always lovely), and then we go to Faneuil Hall to see the street performers. Yesterday we saw a breakdancing troupe from Brooklyn (didn't breakdancing go out in the 80's, though?) and an extremely cute balancing juggler from England (both little girls wanted to marry him, and I could easily see why). We also saw a Cat in the Hat dance group (if it could be called that, their dancing & costumes were both a little off). I keep thinking every year D* will think she's too old to do this stuff, but we made it through this year just fine. As she gets older we want try to substitute the free Shakespeare plays on the common for the street performers, but we'll see how that goes. Dinner was popcorn (too much junk food throughout the day to have a real dinner), and I finally watched my new "Of Human Bondage" DVD with Bette Davis.

And now a quiet day at work...my co-worker's car is unexpectedly in the shop, so I'm on my own today (which means I get to play my radio & surf the web as much as I want).

1:16PM - Hypothetically speaking...

If I were a hot female singer in a successful pop band (for example, Fergie, or Gwen Stefani), I would not pursue a solo career. I would stand by my band.

4:10PM - Substitutions

1) Each morning, I drink quite a bit of juice...too much, in my opinion. So, I thought I'd switch to tea instead, at least partially. This morning I had a cup of chinese green tea, followed by a small half-glass of juice. However, the tea didn't really do it for me. Perhaps because it's so hot out, hot tea doesn't really taste good to me? Perhaps I'll try iced tea instead.

2) Each day at work, I nibble on twizzlers, or swedish fish, or mints (non-chocolate candy in general). Not a good habit! My substitution here was to be grapes (inspired by my co-worker, who eats grapes daily). I did eat the grapes I brought with me today, and they did taste good...but then I still ate my twizzlers! Of course, I should just throw my twizzlers out...or bring them home...or go without snacks at work altogether. But I really thought grapes would be a fair compromise with myself.

A disappointing start towards healthier eating habits. I'll keep trying, though, at least for a little while.

Tonight I think we're going to get pizza! We've been ordering from the various pizza places in our new town, and none of them have really appealed to us so far. But there's still plenty more to try...and there's always Domino's if we get desperate.

1:25PM - Job& book notes

I know I've stated numerous times that I like my job, and I do, I really do. However, it's still a job - I have to show up whether I want to or not. And, today, I most certainly did not. In my last job, calling in sick was extremely easy. I would just send a very vague email stating that I wouldn't be coming in to the office, and that would be the end of it. I can't do that in this job. Here I'm on my own from 4-6pm, and it would be a huge imposition to find someone to cover for me at the last minute. Also, if I said I wasn't feeling well, everyone would want to know what was wrong. Everyone here is very open about their personal lives. So, rather than deal with all of that, I just dragged myself in this morning, and now here I sit at my desk, wishing I was home (just because it's beautiful out, not because I feel sick in any way).

I've also stated that I enjoy my walk to work. It's about 10 minutes from my parking lot to my office, going through the town center. It's quite scenic. However!! I've fallen down twice recently. It's highly embarrassing. I would have expected this in the winter with all the ice on the sidewalks, or even when wearing my crazy high-heeled shoes, but both times I've been wearing sensible shoes in fine weather. It's just my natural clumsiness, I guess. I keep telling myself to be more careful, but it's not like I'm tripping over anything other than my own two feet. Sigh.

On to book notes...I'm reading two books right now...one is "Life Mask", about a lesbian affair in 18th century England:

"Life Mask" is a fictional recreation of a plausible (but unproven) love triangle between the comedic actress Eliza Farren, the sculptor Anne Damer, and Edward Smith-Stanley, the twelfth Earl of Derby, a Whig (liberal) politician who left his name to the horse race he founded.

So far I'm having a hard time getting interested in it, but this quote gives me hope:

Readers who stay with Donoghue through the crowded and confusing early chapters of "Life Mask" will find a skillful, partly sympathetic portrait of English aristocracy during and after the French Revolution, a trove of period detail, and a spellbinding tale of unlikely but enduring love.

I'm also reading Thomas Hardy's "Jude the Obscure", which I've somehow avoided up until now. I'm a bit bored with that as well.

However (and this is my last "however" in this post), I just finished "Of Human Bondage", which I've read before, but still find remarkably moving. Now I want to watch the movie version with Bette Davis again, too. I ordered the DVD from Amazon (my library only had VHS)...I hope it arrives in time for the weekend.

5:24PM - I couldn't resist...

( meez )

1:30PM - Mundane update

I haven't updated my journal in awhile, mainly because such momentous things are going on in my life right now (the move to our new house being the biggest thing). It seems odd to me that I don't want to write about all the changes, but that's the way it is. Maybe I feel like if I start talking about it, I'll never stop? So I'll just go back to focusing on mundane things.

My co-worker is going through some difficult times in his personal life, so he's been taking a lot of time off work...and, when he's here, he doesn't really feel like doing anything. I *completely* understand, so I'm covering for him as best I can. I like being busy, so it's been working out well for me (things here normally move at rather a slow pace). And, I like being able to help him. The only downside is that I can't take much time off myself. However, I have next week blocked out as a vacation to do the big move, and I'm not changing that.

Tonight I'm getting my haircut by a new hairstylist just down the street from where I work. I had been going to a place near our old house, but I had mixed feelings about that, and now it makes no sense to keep going there since we're moving. I probably won't get much done tonight, but I'm still a little nervous. Stylists have such power! And I keep wondering if I'm getting grey hairs...my hair is both naturally and unnaturally light in places, and I can't ever tell whether individual strands are grey or just ultra-light. It doesn't matter much to me either way, but I feel as if I should know. Maybe I'll ask my new hairdresser (or pangaia93 at some point).

Also just down the street from where I work is a swimsuit shop (which emma_rising's post reminded me of). Every time I walk past there I picture myself looking like one of the mannequins in the suits, and then I come crashing back down to earth when I realize what I'd really look like. However, one of the current suits on display is extremely cute, and we do have a new pool...so it might be justified. It doesn't help that the swim store is right next door to a candy store, though.

I'm reading Margaret Atwood's "The Robber Bride" right now. It's possible I read it many, many years ago (I've been a fan of hers for a long time), but I certainly don't remember it so far. Oh, and I'm simultaneously reading George Eliot's "Daniel Deronda". There is a website where you can download free (and legal) text versions of many great books:

http://www.gutenberg.org/

I downloaded "Daniel Deronda", and now I read little bits of it when I'm bored at work. I figure it is better than mindlessly surfing the web (my previous boredom tactic). But now I probably should do some actual work.

2:12PM - Happy Birthday, astarte93

I hope you have a wonderful day!

11:49AM - Rana

Thanks, illuminaut, this one was funny :-)

5:12PM - Move...

I've been very quiet on the subject of our upcoming real estate transactions. Mostly I'm just overwhelmed - I don't know what to say. I love the new house, and I'll think we'll be very happy there. BUT, it seems like there's not nearly enough time to get everything done. Everything's moving at a very accelerated pace. And, I already had some vacations planned (too late to cancel now, even if I wanted to, which I don't) - and that just eats into our available time even more. I'm sure it will all work out in the end, but right now it's tough.

Some second-guessing (just to get these things out in the open):

1) The lake house sold so very quickly - could I have gotten more for it (probably)? Or would it have just lingered on the market, slowly driving me crazy?
2) This will be my 5th house purchase, and I thought each house was "the one" - and I think that again now. But is it really "the house"? Or will it be up for sale again in a few years?

However, to outweigh everything - did we mention the house has a fabulous pool?! POOL PARTY this summer!

And, back on the subject of vacations, I leave for Disney this Friday!! My plan is to forget all my adult worries & revert to being a total kid again. And then I'll resume dealing with everything else when I get back.

5:18PM - The usual...

Nothing much has really been going on with me lately. Like many other LJ women it seems, I am obsessed with spring shoes. I have one new pair I really like, a pair of pink ballerina slippers, but haven't found much else.

On a less superficial plane...I've been watching the Joseph Campbell Power of Myth series. I've seen some of it before, but now I'm watching all the episodes back to back. Quite fascinating. I wish I could have been a student of his, to be able to ask my own questions.

I've started keeping a daily food journal, to be more careful about what (how much) I eat each day. So far it's been helpful. However, it didn't prevent me from scarfing down a piece of leftover birthday cake just now. That's one entry I'm not going to like tomorrow.

Now I'm just waiting for the HP tech to show up. I want to leave by 6pm, but I have to stay here until he finishes his thing. So I want him to get here soon in case it takes him awhile. He said between 5 and 5:15, it's 5:18 by my clock now.

Oh, he's here - yippee!

2:14PM - Weekend updates

I did finish my taxes as planned. As I was doing my final review (online, with TurboTax), I realized I had made a gigantic mistake. I was essentially paying taxes twice on some investment income. So, I re-did everything, and, now, instead of owing, I will be getting a refund! Which is great, of course...but I feel stupid for having made the mistake in the first place, and scared that I almost sent it in like that.

I also watched the movie "Red", the third movie in a French trilogy. It was an outstanding movie, in a very quiet way. To quote from Roger Ebert:

The story becomes completely fascinating. We have no idea where it is going, where it could possibly go. There is no plot to reassure us. No goal that the characters hope to attain.

As sbank can attest to, one of my biggest complaints about movies is their predictability. I only really enjoy movies that truly keep me guessing. This one more than succeeded in that. I've read some background information on it now, so I want to go back & watch it again, see if I can pick up any more clues this time around.

Ok, enough about that movie (I could go on & on). A little about work today...

The office dog (Shylow) did remember me after being on vacation, and came over this morning for some intense petting.

I had a very nice lunch prepared (thai noodles w/ leftover grilled chicken strips), but a customer called just as I sat down to eat. By the time I got back to my food, it was cold :-(

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do this afternoon. I'm thinking about re-arranging my office (my portion of it that is, since I share it with one other person). Currently, my desk faces a wall, and my back is to the door. I'd like to flip that around. That way people just walking by won't be able to see me reading LJ :-) But, I'm not sure I want to start that project today. Perhaps I'll just catch up on some industry reading (ie, surf the web for interesting news articles).

12:52PM - Rambling (again)

I am bored already today. My co-worker has been out on vacation all this week, so I thought things would be extra-busy for me, but it's actually been very slow here. Our upstairs office dog belongs to him, so I don't even have the dog to play with. I wonder if he'll remember me when he gets back in on Monday (the dog, not my co-worker). Most Monday mornings he comes running over to see me & starts jumping up & down. It's a great feeling. But now it's been so long...

[BREAK]

It's funny, just as I was typing this up, our office mgr called & invited me to a Quicken Party! Which was really just a request for me to come down & help out with Quicken, but at least it kept me busy up until now (lunchtime).

Tonight I think we're going to watch "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory", the Johnny Depp version. I've checked it out twice now from the library, and we've never gotten around to actually watching it. That's my new favorite thing lately, to check out dvd's from the library. I just can't get over the fact that they are free! Our library has a nice online system (I suppose most modern libraries do, I'm just out of touch) - I request the movie online & they email me when it gets in. I've actually had to put my requests on hold, I was just getting too many movies too fast. I still buy dvd's of movies I really like, but this is a good alternative to blockbuster.

This weekend I suppose I'll go out to the lake house to see how it's faring in all this cold weather. I have a good book I'm reading now (a trashy vampire novel), so I'll curl up in front of the fire with that, I think. Oh, and I plan to finish up my taxes this weekend. I owe :-(

2:11PM - Swan Lake

I almost forgot! Since my Disney trip was unexpected, I have ended up with a ticket to Swan Lake that I will not be able to use. It's free to anyone who wants it!

But be warned, this production of Swan Lake is distinctly non-traditional:

Boldly shattering the traditional concept of swans in tutus!

http://www.broadwayinboston.com/html/new/index_news.html#SwanLake1

I just have the one ticket, and it's really the worst seat in the house (the very last row). But did I mention it's free? It's for 2pm Sunday April 23 at the Colonial Theater in Boston.

I'm sorry to miss it, but hopefully someone else can go & tell me all about it. Comment or email me directly if you're interested.

10:16AM - Disney!

Well, somewhat unexpectedly, it looks like I'm going to DisneyWorld! My friend S* invited me to go with her & her daughter at the end of April. I've never been, so it should be fun. I really wasn't planning on taking a vacation this year (with my new job, I don't have much vacation time or money), but it seems I can never turn down a vacation invitation. I am very excited now that I've agreed to the whole thing. Fun rides, warm weather, junk food for 5 solid days...yippee. And then right when I get back sbank & I are going away for a long weekend. May the good times never end!

12:24PM - Weekend updates

I didn't like the TV series "Lost".

I am just going to replace my ceiling fan parts instead of buying a new light fixture.

The Filene's inventory clearance scared me.

I should always drink cheap champagne when watching bad sci-fi movies (which I neglected to do this past weekend).

4:18PM - The usual ramblings...

I have been so wrapped up in work lately! I was given a new project this week, one I knew was headed my way, but one which I wasn't really looking forward to. I'm supposed to update our online HELP with a tool called RoboHelp, and the idea just did not appeal to me. But, I was forced to start on it on Monday, and I haven't thought about anything else since. Today someone asked me how a different project was going (which I haven't worked on at all this week), so I've just now managed to tear myself away from robohelp. Of course, I've only made it as far as LJ...not so far as to actually start work on the other project.

This morning I gave up & cut my bangs myself. They didn't come out tooooo badly, but then I didn't try to take much off. So far, the ponytail is still a possibility for this summer.

This weekend I plan to devote myself to watching the first season of "Lost". A co-worker lent me the dvd set, so I'll give it a try. I almost wish she hadn't lent it to me, though...if I do like the series, I'd like to stretch it out, which I won't do if I know I have to return the dvd's. So, maybe if the first few episodes are good, I'll just return the set & then get my own for more leisurely viewing. It seems like I've been watching my "Sex & The City" dvd's forever (which is good).

The other thing I've been obsessed with all week is trying to find a new overhead light for the dining room at the lake house. I've wanted one ever since we got the place (it has an ugly old ceiling fan now), but haven't found anything suitable. I want a Verner Panton Fun Lamp:



But even reproductions are ridiculously expensive. And it would probably look out of place there anyway (or at least that's what I'm telling myself).

Ok, enough procrastinating for me. I really should get back to work...but maybe I'll go grab a quick cup of coffee first...