12.31.2008
12.29.2008
Mish Mosh Post
What a waste of a day today was. My plans included playing online, reading, napping and watching tv. Ken, who has Mondays off, planned on getting an oil change, going to the allergist and then to his regular doctor. Things didn't quite pan out that way. I remembered I needed an oil change, so he convinced me I should go with him. It would take 15 minutes and then the rest of the day would be mine, he says. Um, yeah. When do things ever go as he promises? :-) It was a 45 minute wait to get the oil done. No big whoop. The guy points out to Ken that his inspection is six months overdue. Oops. So he adds an inspection on to his oil change. Until they check out his tires. He's got a completely bald tire and he isn't going to pass inspection. So he takes off to buy new tires while I wait to have my oil change. I'm to meet up with him when I'm done, which I do. He leaves his car and we go to lunch. Neither of us had eaten yet and it's after two. We went to Panera and ate, then he dropped me off at home so he could go to the doctor. He decided he didn't have enough time to go to the allergist. His doctor is notorious for being behind with patients and today was no different. But, he was only 45 minutes behind, which is good for him. Seriously. After the doctor, Ken went back to pick up his car, then back to have his inspection done. Then he picked me up, brought me to my car and then we headed home. Complete waste.
I don't know what's wrong with me, but I've been exhausted for the last two days. Worse than usual exhaustion. I've been very sore and achy all over and all I want to do is sleep. Yesterday, I awoke a little after 4:30, went and did an hour walk and was back home and in bed by 6:30, then slept until noon, was on the couch and asleep again from about 2:30 to a little after 5, then went to bed and was out like a light by 10. I've been wanting to nap since about 2 this afternoon. I'm guessing I've got another bug of some sort. I hope another hard night of sleep will take care of it. Fingers crossed.
My sciatic nerve has been giving me shit for the last couple of days, too. Since Friday, really. Today I think it's feeling a little better, but with the achy legs, I'm not sure how much of it is the nerve acting up and how much of it is the general achiness I'm feeling. Keep your fingers crossed that tomorrow is a much better day. Luckily I'm off of work this week and can hopefully rest up. Especially since Ken goes back to work tomorrow.
Sunday is my weigh in day, as you already know. Yesterday depressed the shit out of me. I weighed in at 194, which is up 5 pounds from the previous Sunday. I know I ate a little more than usual, but I didn't eat 5 pounds worth of extra this week. It really put me in a funk yesterday. I know it's just holiday weight and it will hopefully drop right off, but it still hurt my soul to see I gained 5 pounds in a single week. It's been 12 weeks since I was 194.
Speaking of fat, Ken came across a bunch of my fat pictures that I don't have scanned into the computer. It scares me to look at them now. I didn't think I was as fat then as I really was. I can't believe that was me. I'm really glad he came across them because I need to use them as motivation to stay on track. Here they are:
I don't know what's wrong with me, but I've been exhausted for the last two days. Worse than usual exhaustion. I've been very sore and achy all over and all I want to do is sleep. Yesterday, I awoke a little after 4:30, went and did an hour walk and was back home and in bed by 6:30, then slept until noon, was on the couch and asleep again from about 2:30 to a little after 5, then went to bed and was out like a light by 10. I've been wanting to nap since about 2 this afternoon. I'm guessing I've got another bug of some sort. I hope another hard night of sleep will take care of it. Fingers crossed.
My sciatic nerve has been giving me shit for the last couple of days, too. Since Friday, really. Today I think it's feeling a little better, but with the achy legs, I'm not sure how much of it is the nerve acting up and how much of it is the general achiness I'm feeling. Keep your fingers crossed that tomorrow is a much better day. Luckily I'm off of work this week and can hopefully rest up. Especially since Ken goes back to work tomorrow.
Sunday is my weigh in day, as you already know. Yesterday depressed the shit out of me. I weighed in at 194, which is up 5 pounds from the previous Sunday. I know I ate a little more than usual, but I didn't eat 5 pounds worth of extra this week. It really put me in a funk yesterday. I know it's just holiday weight and it will hopefully drop right off, but it still hurt my soul to see I gained 5 pounds in a single week. It's been 12 weeks since I was 194.
Speaking of fat, Ken came across a bunch of my fat pictures that I don't have scanned into the computer. It scares me to look at them now. I didn't think I was as fat then as I really was. I can't believe that was me. I'm really glad he came across them because I need to use them as motivation to stay on track. Here they are:
And for anyone who is newish to my blog, this is what I look like now:
12.28.2008
I Love...
...my cats, dearly. Sure, there are plenty of times I'm ready to sell them to the Chinese restaurant (well, mostly Ollie), but I couldn't have picked out a better set of babies. They're incredibly sweet cats. They're both very social. They don't really get along too well with each other (again, mostly Ollie being an asshole to Lucy), but they can co-exist and that makes me happy.
...music charts and trivia and the like. I get uber-geeky about it. When I was a teenager and discovered American Top 40 with Casey Kasem, my geekdom over charts and stuff exploded. While most of the music on the radio sucks ass now, I still get all tingly inside just looking at the Billboard charts.
...that when I really put my mind to something, I can accomplish just about anything. If someone told me just over two years ago that I would have the motivation and the drive to lose 110 pounds on my own, I would have laughed in their face. If someone told me I had the willpower to stop drinking soda (going on 15 months now), I would have told them they were smoking crack.
...the social power of the internet. I've made many, many friends through it, many of whom will be/are lifelong friends. You know who you ams.
...eBay. I haven't really purchased much on it lately, but I absolutely love how I have been able to fill in holes in my comics collection cheaply using eBay. I'm down to just three or four DC 100 Page Super Spectaculars to finish off that collection, 99% of which I purchased through eBay. For cheap, because I'm a cheap ass bastard.
...Strangers With Candy and Arrested Development. Two of the greatest shows ever and two of my most favorite dvd sets. Once I get caught up on my Christmas swag, I need to watch both those series again.
...The Beautiful South. How they never managed to hit my radar until recently, I'll never know.
...The Onion Radio News. It's my favorite podcast. One funny as shit "news" story a day, every day. How they continue to come up with stuff this funny on a daily basis, I'll never know. It rarely, if ever, disappoints.
...my quiet time. I need a tremendous amount of time to myself. I don't get it as often as I'd like to, though. When I do, it really works to recharge my batteries. Last week was huge for me as Ken was out of town. I only wish I was able to take some time off of work, but I already had this coming week off and I felt weird about it.
...Ken. I don't know how that man puts up with my shit, but he does. But, in his defense, he says the same thing about me. We're very similar, but completely opposite and that's probably how we manage to work well together. He challenges me and I need that in a partner. He pushes me outside of my comfort zone, which, if you've read this blog before, you know is a very small, tight circle around me.
...music charts and trivia and the like. I get uber-geeky about it. When I was a teenager and discovered American Top 40 with Casey Kasem, my geekdom over charts and stuff exploded. While most of the music on the radio sucks ass now, I still get all tingly inside just looking at the Billboard charts.
...that when I really put my mind to something, I can accomplish just about anything. If someone told me just over two years ago that I would have the motivation and the drive to lose 110 pounds on my own, I would have laughed in their face. If someone told me I had the willpower to stop drinking soda (going on 15 months now), I would have told them they were smoking crack.
...the social power of the internet. I've made many, many friends through it, many of whom will be/are lifelong friends. You know who you ams.
...eBay. I haven't really purchased much on it lately, but I absolutely love how I have been able to fill in holes in my comics collection cheaply using eBay. I'm down to just three or four DC 100 Page Super Spectaculars to finish off that collection, 99% of which I purchased through eBay. For cheap, because I'm a cheap ass bastard.
...Strangers With Candy and Arrested Development. Two of the greatest shows ever and two of my most favorite dvd sets. Once I get caught up on my Christmas swag, I need to watch both those series again.
...The Beautiful South. How they never managed to hit my radar until recently, I'll never know.
...The Onion Radio News. It's my favorite podcast. One funny as shit "news" story a day, every day. How they continue to come up with stuff this funny on a daily basis, I'll never know. It rarely, if ever, disappoints.
...my quiet time. I need a tremendous amount of time to myself. I don't get it as often as I'd like to, though. When I do, it really works to recharge my batteries. Last week was huge for me as Ken was out of town. I only wish I was able to take some time off of work, but I already had this coming week off and I felt weird about it.
...Ken. I don't know how that man puts up with my shit, but he does. But, in his defense, he says the same thing about me. We're very similar, but completely opposite and that's probably how we manage to work well together. He challenges me and I need that in a partner. He pushes me outside of my comfort zone, which, if you've read this blog before, you know is a very small, tight circle around me.
12.27.2008
I Hate...
...having to watch every single thing I eat. I hit my damn goal a few months ago. I shouldn't have to worry about what I'm eating or how much I'm eating. I hate that my body hates me and even thinking of food will drive me up a pound or two.
...how incredibly disorganized Ken is. Disorganized doesn't even begin to scrape the surface. I wish he was only disorganized. Chaotic begins to describe his filing style. Related to this, I hate how Ken can completely trash the house in five minutes flat. Last week when he finally got home from his Kentucky trip, he walked into a spotless house. Within the first fifteen minutes of him being home, he had managed to trash the kitchen, the foyer and the sitting room. Seriously, how does one person do this?
...that I don't ever seem to allow myself to sleep. On Sundays, I don't allow myself to sleep in because I need to get out of the house at the crack of dawn to exercise and grocery shop. Saturdays are my only real day to sleep in and something always screws that up. This morning, for instance, was Ollie. He started in at 5am by climbing on me to knead and lick.
...how much time I sit at the computer, idling time away doing absolutely nothing when I could be somewhere else doing something constructive or productive. I've got a stack of dvds that need watching and I should be doing that instead of doing this.
...disruptions of any kind in my life. I hate unexpected guests dropping over. I hate surprises of most any kind. An example of this happened during Christmas Day when Ken's mother was over. During gift exchange, she hands us a bill for the balance of a loan we took out with her that we were sure we paid back in full. Surprise. And this all ties in with #2 and Ken's chaotic bookkeeping style.
...wine.
...that I have such troubles with time management. The biggest hurdle with all that is #4 in this list, but it's not the only reason. I don't think I over schedule myself, but it seems that there just isn't enough time in the day to accomplish everything I need to/want to. I lost 7 hours today with company and got almost nothing accomplished that I set out to do.
...that I've reached the age where my body tries to find new and fun ways to betray me. New aches, new pains, new problems. Just when I think I've got one thing all straightened out, something else happens. I'm still too young for all this shit to be happening, if you ask me.
...how I work with a bunch of disgusting pigs who have zero bathroom etiquette. How hard is it to flush the toilet after you're done doing your business? Really? Do you need to stand there and pee while discussing (with your outdoor voice) "the game" with someone across the bathroom? Do you really need to bring the newspaper in there with you like you're at home? Do you need to scrub your hands and arms like you're about to perform surgery? Do your business and get the fuck out of the bathroom.
...that every comic book story needs to be told in six issue increments whether there's one issue or nine issues worth of story. More often than not, it seems that at least three issues worth of that story is padding to get it out to six issues. If I was reading the story as a trade paperback, I don't think it would annoy me as much as reading it in monthly installments.
...how incredibly disorganized Ken is. Disorganized doesn't even begin to scrape the surface. I wish he was only disorganized. Chaotic begins to describe his filing style. Related to this, I hate how Ken can completely trash the house in five minutes flat. Last week when he finally got home from his Kentucky trip, he walked into a spotless house. Within the first fifteen minutes of him being home, he had managed to trash the kitchen, the foyer and the sitting room. Seriously, how does one person do this?
...that I don't ever seem to allow myself to sleep. On Sundays, I don't allow myself to sleep in because I need to get out of the house at the crack of dawn to exercise and grocery shop. Saturdays are my only real day to sleep in and something always screws that up. This morning, for instance, was Ollie. He started in at 5am by climbing on me to knead and lick.
...how much time I sit at the computer, idling time away doing absolutely nothing when I could be somewhere else doing something constructive or productive. I've got a stack of dvds that need watching and I should be doing that instead of doing this.
...disruptions of any kind in my life. I hate unexpected guests dropping over. I hate surprises of most any kind. An example of this happened during Christmas Day when Ken's mother was over. During gift exchange, she hands us a bill for the balance of a loan we took out with her that we were sure we paid back in full. Surprise. And this all ties in with #2 and Ken's chaotic bookkeeping style.
...wine.
...that I have such troubles with time management. The biggest hurdle with all that is #4 in this list, but it's not the only reason. I don't think I over schedule myself, but it seems that there just isn't enough time in the day to accomplish everything I need to/want to. I lost 7 hours today with company and got almost nothing accomplished that I set out to do.
...that I've reached the age where my body tries to find new and fun ways to betray me. New aches, new pains, new problems. Just when I think I've got one thing all straightened out, something else happens. I'm still too young for all this shit to be happening, if you ask me.
...how I work with a bunch of disgusting pigs who have zero bathroom etiquette. How hard is it to flush the toilet after you're done doing your business? Really? Do you need to stand there and pee while discussing (with your outdoor voice) "the game" with someone across the bathroom? Do you really need to bring the newspaper in there with you like you're at home? Do you need to scrub your hands and arms like you're about to perform surgery? Do your business and get the fuck out of the bathroom.
...that every comic book story needs to be told in six issue increments whether there's one issue or nine issues worth of story. More often than not, it seems that at least three issues worth of that story is padding to get it out to six issues. If I was reading the story as a trade paperback, I don't think it would annoy me as much as reading it in monthly installments.
12.26.2008
2008 Music
It's time for my favorite music of 2008. I was going to grab my ten favorite albums and post them here until I realized that there was a lot of great music this year. More than I thought. So my top ten list became a top 40 list, but that's just way too much. I sat here for a half hour trying to cut it down to 25, and I failed there, too. I did get it down to 26, though. There's so much that isn't on this list. So, in no particular order, here are the records that made me very happy in 2008. Click on each cover if you want to read more about the albums on my list.
12.25.2008
12.23.2008
Plus & Minus
Since I'm a "glass is half empty" kind of guy, let's go over the Minus part first. I've managed to pick up the stomach bug that's been going around. Needless to say, I'm not thrilled by this one little bit. Luckily I don't think I have it as severely as I could. Yesterday morning at work my stomach started gurgling and I could feel my energy levels go down really quickly. I did make two false-alarm trips to the bathroom. By the time it was time to go home, my head was throbbing, I felt like I hadn't slept in 48 hours and my stomach was still upset. I crashed hard last night. Really hard. I passed out around 7:30 and slept solidly through the night. This morning Ken asked if I'd slept well, assuming I hadn't. I said I did. He told me he was sure I didn't because Ollie had me pinned in a very awkward position and he was stationed as far up my crotch as humanly possible without being inside my body cavity making it impossible for me to move. On a normal night, I wouldn't have slept well, but my body needed to be unconscious, I guess. I got up this morning and I felt at about 85%, but so much better than yesterday. I really didn't want to miss work today because it's my last day before vacation and I had a desk full of stuff I needed to get finished. I told myself that if I started feeling like yesterday, I would just go home. While I wasn't up to snuff, I did feel much better all day today. I could feel myself getting fatigued much later in the day than yesterday. I'm going to go to bed early again tonight. I'm hoping one more night of good, solid sleep will kick the rest of this bug's ass.
Being sick sucks, especially when I have family obligations like I do the next two days. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve at my parents' house. This was almost postponed because of weather. Our next storm arrives after midnight tonight. Three storms in less than a week. This one is starting out as snow, changing over to ice and then eventually changing over to rain. I was afraid the "changing over to rain" part wasn't going to happen, but since it is, it's going to be safe to make the trek to my folks' place tomorrow afternoon. They're an hour away.
Christmas Day Ken's mother is coming over. I was kind of hoping for a quiet day at home, but now we're entertaining. I went out and bought all the fixings for dinner (which I was informed I will be cooking.... This is Ken's mother, shouldn't he be the one to cook?) on Sunday. Last night she called and told Ken she went out and bought a pork roast (or something) to bring over to be cooked. Um, if this was the plan, shouldn't it have been made known to us more than two days in advance? Well, it's too late now. We're having turkey because I bought one, dammit.
On the Plus side, I found out something today that gave me a huge ego boost. Three years ago I quit the record store I had spent the previous fifteen years working at. I stayed on just part time for a few more months after that (only because I had vacation time earned and I wasn't going to lose that. I couldn't cash it in until after the holidays and I had three weeks worth. So I was there until March) and then quit altogether. One of the guys I worked with there works in Ken's office (as well as still at the store part-time). He and Ken were talking today about the store and Paul mentioned to Ken that when I left, the home office was inundated (Paul's word) with calls from customers pissed off that I was gone. Why this never came up in the three years since I left the store, I don't know, but it really pepped me up. He said this went on for a couple of months. I'm sure it was only a small handful of people who complained, but still. To think that I was important enough for them to complain (for me, not about me!) really undermines my lack of self-worth sometimes. Damn them! I guess after being a fixture there for 15 years, it was unnerving for some of the regulars not to have me there to hold their hands.
For my song of the day, I'm going to try something a little different. Earlier this month, I posted "River" by Joni Mitchell, one of my all-time favorite songs. I'm going to post "River" again, but instead of the classic Joni version, I'm grouping together all the other versions of the song I have. I have 15 other versions of the song. As long as I have enough space left on yousendit, this will be my song of the day. If not, there will be just a picture of a frozen river.
12.21.2008
Snow, Revisited
It's snowing. I don't know if it's technically still snowing or snowing again. It really didn't stop snowing between the first storm and this one. Not that I really care. The weather is having minimal impact on my weekend plans, which include lazing around, relaxing and being a piece of shit. I have to say that with the exception of the occasional trips outside to shovel the driveway and the sidewalk, mission accomplished.
Ken, on the other hand, has had the shittiest weekend. The weather really made traveling from Kentucky to New Hampshire (where his car is) next to impossible. His Friday flight home was canceled on Thursday. He managed to rebook his flight, but couldn't get anything earlier than Sunday. On Friday he managed to get find one that would get him home a day earlier, but it meant taking three flights. Surprisingly, his first flight took off mostly on time. His second flight was delayed two hours. His third was delayed and delayed and delayed and delayed, but eventually took off. All that left was the drive home, which on a typical day would be four hours. During a heavy snow storm however..... Let's just say I'm happy I was home bundled up with a pile of comics and a full iPod. The thought of that drive.... No thank you.
Sunday is weigh in day. I pulled a 189 on the scale this morning and I wanted to cry. I didn't htink I was going to have two consecutive Sundays in the 180s, especially not after receiving a box of goodness in the mail from this man this week. I apologize for not knowing him better. Of course he sent me the variation chock full of the Exlax to help keep the weight in check. And this woman taught me a trick for the iPhone that allows me to show you my progress on the scale for the month.
You'll note that the box of goodness arrived on the 17th and was half consumed. Note the drop on the 18th. I'm wondering what sort of effect Ken being away had on my weight this week. Now that he's back, I'll be interested in seeing what happens.
For today's Christmas songs, I'm going with two very traditional songs from two very traditional singers. The first is "Merry Christmas" by Wesley Willis. I don't know which of his dozens of albums this song comes from. I don't even remember where I found it, but I adore it. If for no other reason than he reminds us it is a joy month and it is also Jesus Christs's birthday. Not Jesus Christ's, but Jesus Christs's.
Ken, on the other hand, has had the shittiest weekend. The weather really made traveling from Kentucky to New Hampshire (where his car is) next to impossible. His Friday flight home was canceled on Thursday. He managed to rebook his flight, but couldn't get anything earlier than Sunday. On Friday he managed to get find one that would get him home a day earlier, but it meant taking three flights. Surprisingly, his first flight took off mostly on time. His second flight was delayed two hours. His third was delayed and delayed and delayed and delayed, but eventually took off. All that left was the drive home, which on a typical day would be four hours. During a heavy snow storm however..... Let's just say I'm happy I was home bundled up with a pile of comics and a full iPod. The thought of that drive.... No thank you.
Sunday is weigh in day. I pulled a 189 on the scale this morning and I wanted to cry. I didn't htink I was going to have two consecutive Sundays in the 180s, especially not after receiving a box of goodness in the mail from this man this week. I apologize for not knowing him better. Of course he sent me the variation chock full of the Exlax to help keep the weight in check. And this woman taught me a trick for the iPhone that allows me to show you my progress on the scale for the month.
You'll note that the box of goodness arrived on the 17th and was half consumed. Note the drop on the 18th. I'm wondering what sort of effect Ken being away had on my weight this week. Now that he's back, I'll be interested in seeing what happens.For today's Christmas songs, I'm going with two very traditional songs from two very traditional singers. The first is "Merry Christmas" by Wesley Willis. I don't know which of his dozens of albums this song comes from. I don't even remember where I found it, but I adore it. If for no other reason than he reminds us it is a joy month and it is also Jesus Christs's birthday. Not Jesus Christ's, but Jesus Christs's.
"Merry Christmas" - Wesley Willis
"Santa Claus Has Got The AIDS This Year" - Tiny Tim
The other song is by an equally deceased performer. It's Tiny Tim and it's his hearwarming Christmas standard "Santa Claus Has Got The AIDS This Year."
"Santa Claus Has Got The AIDS This Year" - Tiny Tim
12.19.2008
Snow
The first big snowstorm of the year hit today and it messed with my day. My plan for today was to go in to work, head home at 4:30 and laze around the house the rest of the night. Didn't quite happen like that. Shortly after getting in to work, everyone started talking about what time they were going to leave. Weather doesn't usually play a factor in whether I work or not, come in late or leave early. I generally go in, work my shift and then leave. But everyone was talking about the snow and getting the hell out of there. Well, everyone except for the scumbags I don't really care much for. When I realized that if I stayed, it would be just me and them, I put a slip in and left a noon with everyone else.
The snow was just starting to fall when I left work. I was hoping it would hold off a little while longer because, since I had a free afternoon, I could run to the vet's office to pick up Lucy's food. The snow started coming down at a really quick pace, but I figured I could still get over there and back before it got bad. What's usually a 15 minute drive to the vet's office took around 45. Traffic was crawling and the roads were getting really, really bad rather quickly. Visibility was pretty crumby, too. But I made it to the vet's office in one piece, only to discover multiple CLOSED signs on the door and windows. How frustrating. I should have called, but I figured if they were going to close early, it would be a little later than they did. The drive home was just as frustrating, but I made it home in one piece.
When I got home, I unpacked the lunch I brought to work and ate it. I was starving. And that got me to thinking about what I'm going to do for dinner. I've been on such a hummus kick and that's all I could think about. But I'm out of hummus. I thought it over and decided I needed it, so back on with the shoes and out the door to the supermarket. Luckily I live within walking distance and hoofed it there. It's funny, but I was making better time than most of those on the road. Traffic was heavy and it wasn't moving.
Got home, did my first shoveling of the sidewalk and driveway. Talked to Ken and found out he now has a different flight home. His current flight was on Sunday afternoon. He's now scheduled to fly tomorrow from Kentucky to Cleveland, then from Cleveland to Newark, then from Newark to Manchester, NH. There are so many things that can (and probably will) go wrong for him between now and then. Once he's safely back in NH, he needs to decide whether or not to stay the night with his sister or come straight home before the next storm. Ugh.
I noticed something odd about my local newspaper's website today that I've never noticed before. This morning I was checking the weather forecast and it said that the snowfall totals are expected to be 11.91 inches. In this day and age, don't you think they can get a little more specific with their predictions? WTF? 11.91? I just checked it out again and it's been downgraded to only 9.66 inches. Do we really need the decimals?
Today's Christmas song is one my friend Wendy turned me on to. It's cheesy and it's definitely from a different time, but I really like it a lot.
The snow was just starting to fall when I left work. I was hoping it would hold off a little while longer because, since I had a free afternoon, I could run to the vet's office to pick up Lucy's food. The snow started coming down at a really quick pace, but I figured I could still get over there and back before it got bad. What's usually a 15 minute drive to the vet's office took around 45. Traffic was crawling and the roads were getting really, really bad rather quickly. Visibility was pretty crumby, too. But I made it to the vet's office in one piece, only to discover multiple CLOSED signs on the door and windows. How frustrating. I should have called, but I figured if they were going to close early, it would be a little later than they did. The drive home was just as frustrating, but I made it home in one piece.
When I got home, I unpacked the lunch I brought to work and ate it. I was starving. And that got me to thinking about what I'm going to do for dinner. I've been on such a hummus kick and that's all I could think about. But I'm out of hummus. I thought it over and decided I needed it, so back on with the shoes and out the door to the supermarket. Luckily I live within walking distance and hoofed it there. It's funny, but I was making better time than most of those on the road. Traffic was heavy and it wasn't moving.
Got home, did my first shoveling of the sidewalk and driveway. Talked to Ken and found out he now has a different flight home. His current flight was on Sunday afternoon. He's now scheduled to fly tomorrow from Kentucky to Cleveland, then from Cleveland to Newark, then from Newark to Manchester, NH. There are so many things that can (and probably will) go wrong for him between now and then. Once he's safely back in NH, he needs to decide whether or not to stay the night with his sister or come straight home before the next storm. Ugh.
I noticed something odd about my local newspaper's website today that I've never noticed before. This morning I was checking the weather forecast and it said that the snowfall totals are expected to be 11.91 inches. In this day and age, don't you think they can get a little more specific with their predictions? WTF? 11.91? I just checked it out again and it's been downgraded to only 9.66 inches. Do we really need the decimals?
Today's Christmas song is one my friend Wendy turned me on to. It's cheesy and it's definitely from a different time, but I really like it a lot.
12.18.2008
Fucked
I just got off the phone with Ken. He's not a happy camper. At all. Luckily it's not because of something I did (or didn't) do. No, he's not happy right now because he's trapped in Kentucky for the next few days. With his sister and her demon child from hell. You see, Ken's nephew graduated from boot camp this week, and Ken and his sister went to be there for it. Shelly lives in New Hampshire, so Ken drove up there and the two of them flew to Kentucky together. The plan was for them to catch a flight back to NH at the crack of dawn on Friday (I want to say they had a 6am flight home, but I could be off slightly) and be back in NH late Friday morning. That was the plan, but not anymore. The big winter storm that is hitting here tomorrow is apparently playing a factor in his travel plans. His flight for Friday has already been cancelled. The absolute earliest flight he can now get is on Sunday. The one he was hoping for on Saturday is not available (though I don't know if that's been cancelled, too, or if it's already overbooked.) He's not getting back into New Hampshire now until late Sunday (hopefully). He's been gone since Sunday already and now won't be back home until Monday at the earliest. And that all depends on the next storm, which is due to hit Sunday night into Monday. Poor Ken is fucked. I don't envy him one little bit. He's been trapped with his sister, whom I adore, by the way, all week and he's now saddled with his monster asshole demonseed nephew, too. In Kentucky. For an additional weekend.
I wasn't able to get all the details he was trying to tell me because Louisville, Kentucky apparently has the shittiest cell phone coverage ever. After the third call, he gave up.
As for me, I hate to say it, but I'm a little bit excited to have just a little bit more "me" time. I really don't get enough and when I do have it, I revel in it. If I wasn't taking a week and a half off starting next week, I would have taken some time off this week to enjoy the silence. Him being away the extra weekend is going to give me time to hopefully catch up on my sleep. I really have had the worst sleep I've had in a long time this week. It started last weekend with me not being able to sleep and continued all this week with the cats (well, Ollie to be specific) not giving me the peace and quiet I need to stay asleep. It's really hard to stay unconscious when Ollie decides to attack Lucy on top of me. Repeatedly. All week long. Last night was different, though. Ollie mixed it up by waiting for me to fall asleep and then he cuddled up to me, started kneading and licking my face. Cat tongue plus human face equals pain. When he does this, I stick my hand up for him to lick, which I did when he woke me. But he was in a kneading frenzy unlike anything I've ever seen him do before. Frantic. I had trouble getting back to sleep after that. But I did, until he got another case of the needies around 2 am and starting kneading and licking again. I swear, that boy is going to be the (sleep depraived) death of me. But to keep things semi-normal, he attacked Lucy someplace near 5am. Whatta little lover. Bah.
I'm going to give you two more Christmas songs tonight. One of my favorite Christmas music sets is the Ultra Lounge: Christmas Cocktails series. There are four discs in the series, though the fourth one is a best of the first three. I highly recommend these discs (especially the second volume) for fans of the classic Christmas sound. Both of these are featured on the best of compilation, by the way.
12.17.2008
Catch Up
Sorry I've not posted in a few days. I've actually been trying to keep a lower profile. I've been on the moody side and I've discovered my skin is even thinner than I thought. When I feel like this, I do what comes naturally, and for me, that means I go and hide away from the world. I'm not quite sure why I'm writing here tonight, either. I don't know that I have much to say, other than that I'm alive. I'm still not feeling totally myself, but it might be another few days before that happens. I think the key to getting back on track is getting some sleep. I've had the worst time sleeping this week and lack of sleep blows everything I'm feeling out of proportion. Last night was the closest I had to a decent night's sleep. I got to bed a little later than I wanted to (I had trash tv to watch and then I really, really, really wanted to finish up a trade paperback I was reading..... so good). I slept straight through the night until Ollie decided it was time to attack Lucy. Naturally, my body is the battleground and the little shit got me up at 5am. It's better than the previous two nights when this happened three, four or five times over the course of the night. It's a little after 9 right now. I hope to be in bed and asleep by 10 tonight. The way I'm dragging right now, I'm positive I'll be out not too long after I hit the pillow.
Because I took a few days off from posting, I'm going to do three songs. They are by four of my all-time favorite artists. The first song up is by The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl. "Fairy Tale Of New York." I think I said it before, but I really love the downer Christmas songs. Something about them seem so right. Maybe because Christmas is force fed down our throats as being the happiest fucking time of the year.
The second song is "The Coventry Carol" by Alison Moyet. I didn't know this song before I heard Alison's version on the first A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS album, but it quickly became one of my favorites. Alison could sing the ingredients on a can of soup and I'd be hooked.
The last is by Joan Osborne. I think I've gone on previously about her and why she isn't more famous than she currently is. She's amazing.
Because I took a few days off from posting, I'm going to do three songs. They are by four of my all-time favorite artists. The first song up is by The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl. "Fairy Tale Of New York." I think I said it before, but I really love the downer Christmas songs. Something about them seem so right. Maybe because Christmas is force fed down our throats as being the happiest fucking time of the year.
The second song is "The Coventry Carol" by Alison Moyet. I didn't know this song before I heard Alison's version on the first A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS album, but it quickly became one of my favorites. Alison could sing the ingredients on a can of soup and I'd be hooked.
The last is by Joan Osborne. I think I've gone on previously about her and why she isn't more famous than she currently is. She's amazing.
12.12.2008
Funtastic Friday
So you may have heard the Northeast got hit with an ice storm last night. It's true. I woke up this morning to everything covered in thick coating of ice. The roads, the sidewalks, the cars, the trees... everything. And this meant one thing to me... the office was going to be quiet today. I've never worked with so many people so afraid of the weather before as I do now. If there's even a hint of snow in the air, people are out for days. Seriously. But there is always one drawback to something like this. It's usually all the people I can't stand that make it a point to come in to work. Since I take the bus in to work, I don't have to worry about transportation and don't have as good an excuse to take the day off as those who do drive in. So I went in. And imagine my surprise when every single person that I was dreading having to see called in today. Every. Single. One. There was not one person at work today that I had issues with. None that I thought were freaks. None that I secretly wished would trip and fall out the window of our floor down to the sidewalk. I got so much work done today and I enjoyed every second of it. I would even go as far as saying that today was my single best and favorite day of work since I've been at my new job. I wish every day could be like today.
Today I've chosen a song from the great South Park Christmas Album. This song came on today while I was listening to music at work and it always cracks my shit up.
Today I've chosen a song from the great South Park Christmas Album. This song came on today while I was listening to music at work and it always cracks my shit up.
"Merry Fucking Christmas" - Mr. Garrison
I had other stuff to say, but it's way too late and my brain is starting to shut down, so I'll leave it at that.
12.10.2008
Song
I forgot to add today's Christmas song to that last post. Today, for no good reason, I've chosen "(Let's Have) A Patrick Swayze Christmas" by those guys from Mystery Science Theater 3000.
50 More Random Things From My Brain
1) I had a new crown put on today. My tooth hurts a lot right now. A root canal wasn't performed on this tooth and although the dentist says I will be fine in a day or two, I'm convinced I'm going to be in pain until I go back and have a root canal done.
2) Is it wrong to want to punch a snot nose kid at work in the face who I found out was making snide comments about me taking all the time off lately? I'm sorry I have excess accruals I need to get rid of. And why don't you worry about your own pathetic work ethic before you start running your mouth.
3) Hummus is absolutely delicious.
4) I'm enamored by cover songs. I love them.
5) It saddened me the day my supermarket stopped carrying Chocolate Cool Whip and it saddens me still.
6) With great shame I have to admit I forgot yesterday was Ken's birthday until I read about it in an email from Holly... on Ken's birthday. I remembered last week, just not on the actual day. And in a perfect world, because of this, I should never give (F)reddy shit anymore. About anything.
7) This is not a perfect world.
8) The only live album I'm aware was recorded (in full or in part) at a show I was at was the Cowboy Junkies.
9) I had a dream last night that I was at Disney with Taylor, Taffy, Ryan and my co-worker Amiee, who actually leaves for Orlando tomorrow morning.
10) I think it's only fair that Louise give me her Grammy. She has two of them, after all.
11) I'm not feeling as bitter as I was when I was writing numbers one and two of this post. That's good, because fifty bitchy barbs from me just wouldn't make a happy blog post.
12) In the iPod (or iTunes) Shuffle Game, here are the first ten songs that come up for me:
a) "Circle" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
b) "Trouble" by King
c) "Good Times" by Edie Brickell
d) "Oh Boy!" by Todd Snider & Joe Ely
e) "I Told You So" by New Order
f) "White Christmas" by Los Reyes
g) "I'm Coming Home For Christmas" by Squirrel Nut Zippers
h) "Tin Drum" by Big Pig
i) "The Edge Of America" by Duran Duran
j) "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Johnny Mathis
13) Curt Swan may have had a very plain and simplistic style, but to me, he was THE Superman artist.
14) Heather Locklear did not need that horrible plastic surgery she got. I can't look at her face.
15) On my desktop, I have a constant photo slideshow. Pictures from this year's trip to Disney keep popping up and although I know I'm the same weight now as I was then, I can't help but wish I looked as thin as I do in the pictures. Fucked in the head, that's me. But then last year's pictures pop up and I'm so glad I don't look that big. And I thought I looked great last year.
16) I think I'm hard to live with.
17) I got an unexpected check for $30 in the mail today and my first thought was "FREE MONEY! I'm going shopping!" I could probably use it to pay off some of the crap I've bought lately. That's the responsible thing to do.
18) For someone who hates showtunes and Broadway, I own an awful lot of Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand.
19) I saw the first Die Hard movie six times in six different theaters. I don't know what just made me remember that.
20) I'm addicted to the game Text Twirl on Facebook. If you're on Facebook and know about the game, challenge me to a match. I'n not the greatest Text Twirler, but I can hold my own.
21) The old Doom Patrol comics are fucking awesome. I need to finish my collection of the Archive books soon.
22) I've been playing Spades online again and I'm enjoying it. I usually just play against the computer because sometimes playing against actual human beings is annoying when they take forever to make a play.
23) I used to love the Groovy Ghoulies cartoon. I bet if I saw an episode today, it would make me cringe.
24) I'm a roller coaster junkie.
25) I thought that once I left retail, I would start enjoying all things Christmas again. Unfortunately, I discovered that retail wasn't the cause of my hatred of Christmas, it only intensified it. Luckily that intensity is now gone.
26) If I get motivated at the end of this post, I'm going to go back and insert links to various and sundry things mentioned.
27) I'm full of good intentions.
28) I still have a couple of my old issues of Dynamite magazine. I used to love that. I think a lot of people my age have fond memories of Dynamite.
29) The side of me that doesn't give a shit what people think about me and the side of me that does battle it out quite often. Both sides win their various battles, but sometimes it surprises me when one side wins a battle that should easily have gone to the other side.
30) I crave solitude as much as Ken craves attention. Tell me again how this relationship works sucessfully.
31) I have two superhero boyfriends. One is Jack Knight. The other is Jack Hawksmoor.
32) I haven't been able to go more than 12 hours at one time without hearing Ken bring up the cruise we're going on A YEAR FROM NOW. He's managed to bring it up on three seperate occasions since he got home from work tonight so far.
33) I'm so proud of myself. I managed to get my Christmas cards written, stamped and mailed already. I used to be so much better about it. It used to be that I'd start them on Thanksgiving and get them in the mail by December 1st. The last couple of years they kept getting later and later. This year they are done and out at a respectible time. And I promise to keep up on updating addresses this year as they arrive. No, for real!
34) I wish I retained more of the German I learned back in high school. I still remember more than I thought I did, but I wish I remembered more.
35) I don't miss soda as bad as I thought I would. It's been almost 15 months now and while I'm allowed to drink it if I want, I really don't have any desire. Who the hell would have ever believed that?
36) It annoys me that Joan Osborne isn't bigger than she is. She got brushed aside after her one hit and is now relagated to the One Hit Wonder file. She's amazing and continues to put out great albums.
37) I wish there was an IKEA closer to here. I believe the two closest are in New Haven, CT and Paramus, NJ.
38) It's the little things.
39) I don't know why I can't keep my desk (or my life, for that matter) clutter free. The second I have the clutter picked up, put away or thrown out, new clutter immediately descends.
40) Remind me, I need to write to my sister once I finish this list. I know I'm going to forget and that's going to irk me later.
41) I found out last week that the store I worked in for the majority of my adult working life is closing after the holidays. I really don't know how I feel about it. I spent so much time there and really grew to hate the place. I still have nightmares related to the place. But there was a time when I actually kind of liked going to work there. Those days disappeared over ten years before I finally left, though. I'm neither happy nor sad at this point. I think if this occurred right after I left, I'd be doing a happy dance. But I'm just apathetic about it now.
42) I'm getting very excited for the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Two more weeks... two more weeks....
43) Why do all the fun and quirky shows I love never last? Used to love Twin Peaks. Cancelled after two seasons. I adored Arrested Development. Cancelled after 3 seasons. Pushing Daisies? Gone after 1 1/2 seasons. Bah. Maybe that's why I've switched over to most quality shows like Charm School.
44) Nobody knows the full me. I hold back from everyone to varying degrees. I find it hard to open up to most people. I don't know how much of it is because I fear getting hurt and how much if it is I fear looking like a retard. And I internalize a lot of stuff. That's the only coping skill I think I ever learned and it's really unhealthy.
45) This is only the third day in a row I've worn these pants. (Wait, should I be bragging about that?)
46) Never mind reminding me about writing to my sister. I just did. This list is getting harder and harder to do the closer to the bottom I get. Speaking of my sister, I call her "Hon" and she hates it. And the more she hates it, the more I call her it. I'm an asshole like that.
47) I just discovered that the unreleased album by Danielle Brisebois is now available on iTunes and in Amazon's mp3 store. How excited am I by that?
48) I'm not a big movie person, but I will go see any Christopher Guest movie.
49) Ken just called me into his office to bring up the cruise... AGAIN. Seriously, I am so fucking ready for this thing to be over with so I don't have to hear about it again.
50) I voted for Ed on the Biggest Loser last night. He and his team of vicious harpy bitches wanted America to vote for Heba, so I didn't. Go Michelle!!!!
2) Is it wrong to want to punch a snot nose kid at work in the face who I found out was making snide comments about me taking all the time off lately? I'm sorry I have excess accruals I need to get rid of. And why don't you worry about your own pathetic work ethic before you start running your mouth.
3) Hummus is absolutely delicious.
4) I'm enamored by cover songs. I love them.
5) It saddened me the day my supermarket stopped carrying Chocolate Cool Whip and it saddens me still.
6) With great shame I have to admit I forgot yesterday was Ken's birthday until I read about it in an email from Holly... on Ken's birthday. I remembered last week, just not on the actual day. And in a perfect world, because of this, I should never give (F)reddy shit anymore. About anything.
7) This is not a perfect world.
8) The only live album I'm aware was recorded (in full or in part) at a show I was at was the Cowboy Junkies.
9) I had a dream last night that I was at Disney with Taylor, Taffy, Ryan and my co-worker Amiee, who actually leaves for Orlando tomorrow morning.
10) I think it's only fair that Louise give me her Grammy. She has two of them, after all.
11) I'm not feeling as bitter as I was when I was writing numbers one and two of this post. That's good, because fifty bitchy barbs from me just wouldn't make a happy blog post.
12) In the iPod (or iTunes) Shuffle Game, here are the first ten songs that come up for me:
a) "Circle" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
b) "Trouble" by King
c) "Good Times" by Edie Brickell
d) "Oh Boy!" by Todd Snider & Joe Ely
e) "I Told You So" by New Order
f) "White Christmas" by Los Reyes
g) "I'm Coming Home For Christmas" by Squirrel Nut Zippers
h) "Tin Drum" by Big Pig
i) "The Edge Of America" by Duran Duran
j) "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Johnny Mathis
13) Curt Swan may have had a very plain and simplistic style, but to me, he was THE Superman artist.
14) Heather Locklear did not need that horrible plastic surgery she got. I can't look at her face.
15) On my desktop, I have a constant photo slideshow. Pictures from this year's trip to Disney keep popping up and although I know I'm the same weight now as I was then, I can't help but wish I looked as thin as I do in the pictures. Fucked in the head, that's me. But then last year's pictures pop up and I'm so glad I don't look that big. And I thought I looked great last year.
16) I think I'm hard to live with.
17) I got an unexpected check for $30 in the mail today and my first thought was "FREE MONEY! I'm going shopping!" I could probably use it to pay off some of the crap I've bought lately. That's the responsible thing to do.
18) For someone who hates showtunes and Broadway, I own an awful lot of Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand.
19) I saw the first Die Hard movie six times in six different theaters. I don't know what just made me remember that.
20) I'm addicted to the game Text Twirl on Facebook. If you're on Facebook and know about the game, challenge me to a match. I'n not the greatest Text Twirler, but I can hold my own.
21) The old Doom Patrol comics are fucking awesome. I need to finish my collection of the Archive books soon.
22) I've been playing Spades online again and I'm enjoying it. I usually just play against the computer because sometimes playing against actual human beings is annoying when they take forever to make a play.
23) I used to love the Groovy Ghoulies cartoon. I bet if I saw an episode today, it would make me cringe.
24) I'm a roller coaster junkie.
25) I thought that once I left retail, I would start enjoying all things Christmas again. Unfortunately, I discovered that retail wasn't the cause of my hatred of Christmas, it only intensified it. Luckily that intensity is now gone.
26) If I get motivated at the end of this post, I'm going to go back and insert links to various and sundry things mentioned.
27) I'm full of good intentions.
28) I still have a couple of my old issues of Dynamite magazine. I used to love that. I think a lot of people my age have fond memories of Dynamite.
29) The side of me that doesn't give a shit what people think about me and the side of me that does battle it out quite often. Both sides win their various battles, but sometimes it surprises me when one side wins a battle that should easily have gone to the other side.
30) I crave solitude as much as Ken craves attention. Tell me again how this relationship works sucessfully.
31) I have two superhero boyfriends. One is Jack Knight. The other is Jack Hawksmoor.
32) I haven't been able to go more than 12 hours at one time without hearing Ken bring up the cruise we're going on A YEAR FROM NOW. He's managed to bring it up on three seperate occasions since he got home from work tonight so far.
33) I'm so proud of myself. I managed to get my Christmas cards written, stamped and mailed already. I used to be so much better about it. It used to be that I'd start them on Thanksgiving and get them in the mail by December 1st. The last couple of years they kept getting later and later. This year they are done and out at a respectible time. And I promise to keep up on updating addresses this year as they arrive. No, for real!
34) I wish I retained more of the German I learned back in high school. I still remember more than I thought I did, but I wish I remembered more.
35) I don't miss soda as bad as I thought I would. It's been almost 15 months now and while I'm allowed to drink it if I want, I really don't have any desire. Who the hell would have ever believed that?
36) It annoys me that Joan Osborne isn't bigger than she is. She got brushed aside after her one hit and is now relagated to the One Hit Wonder file. She's amazing and continues to put out great albums.
37) I wish there was an IKEA closer to here. I believe the two closest are in New Haven, CT and Paramus, NJ.
38) It's the little things.
39) I don't know why I can't keep my desk (or my life, for that matter) clutter free. The second I have the clutter picked up, put away or thrown out, new clutter immediately descends.
40) Remind me, I need to write to my sister once I finish this list. I know I'm going to forget and that's going to irk me later.
41) I found out last week that the store I worked in for the majority of my adult working life is closing after the holidays. I really don't know how I feel about it. I spent so much time there and really grew to hate the place. I still have nightmares related to the place. But there was a time when I actually kind of liked going to work there. Those days disappeared over ten years before I finally left, though. I'm neither happy nor sad at this point. I think if this occurred right after I left, I'd be doing a happy dance. But I'm just apathetic about it now.
42) I'm getting very excited for the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Two more weeks... two more weeks....
43) Why do all the fun and quirky shows I love never last? Used to love Twin Peaks. Cancelled after two seasons. I adored Arrested Development. Cancelled after 3 seasons. Pushing Daisies? Gone after 1 1/2 seasons. Bah. Maybe that's why I've switched over to most quality shows like Charm School.
44) Nobody knows the full me. I hold back from everyone to varying degrees. I find it hard to open up to most people. I don't know how much of it is because I fear getting hurt and how much if it is I fear looking like a retard. And I internalize a lot of stuff. That's the only coping skill I think I ever learned and it's really unhealthy.
45) This is only the third day in a row I've worn these pants. (Wait, should I be bragging about that?)
46) Never mind reminding me about writing to my sister. I just did. This list is getting harder and harder to do the closer to the bottom I get. Speaking of my sister, I call her "Hon" and she hates it. And the more she hates it, the more I call her it. I'm an asshole like that.
47) I just discovered that the unreleased album by Danielle Brisebois is now available on iTunes and in Amazon's mp3 store. How excited am I by that?
48) I'm not a big movie person, but I will go see any Christopher Guest movie.
49) Ken just called me into his office to bring up the cruise... AGAIN. Seriously, I am so fucking ready for this thing to be over with so I don't have to hear about it again.
50) I voted for Ed on the Biggest Loser last night. He and his team of vicious harpy bitches wanted America to vote for Heba, so I didn't. Go Michelle!!!!
12.08.2008
Monday
I keep meaning to say this, but never when I'm doing a post. Thank you to everyone who has been commenting on my posts. I love reading the comments and stuff, but I suck out loud at addressing or replying to them. It doesn't mean I don't read or enjoy them, it just means I'm a lazy, good intentioned schlub. I'm going to work on getting better about it.
I don't really have much of anything to say today. I was having an oddly emotional day today. Not emotional in a bad way, but more in a sentimental way. I've gotten back in touch with some friends I've lost touch with over the course of the years and it's felt really good to reconnect. Of course, I owe a couple emails already and I haven't gotten back to them, but they know me and know this is standard operating procedure.
Okay, maybe I wasn't 100% truthful in that last paragraph. It was mostly emotional sentimentality, but I think there was some annoyance in there, too. At work people. Why the hell am I expected to drop everything I'm working on because I need to help clean up someone's desk who is weeks behind on their work.... and not even spoken to about it. I hate that some people are allowed to come in to not work at all, while others are held to completely different standards. This is the one thing that drives me insane about my office. Is it wrong to ask that everyone be held to the same set of standards? I guess it is.
Today's Christmas song is by one of my all-time favorite artists. The song is "(Christmas Is) The Saddest Day Of The Year" by Jill Sobule. I really, really like downer Christmas songs. I don't know why, but I think I really like downer songs in general. They somehow seem more honest to me.
12.07.2008
The Uninteresting Story of My Mini Meltdown
Yeah, it's Sunday and I had a mini-meltdown today. I'm not proud of it, but it wasn't totally unexpected. It used to be that anytime I would go clothes shopping for myself, my shopping trip would always end up in frustration and a meltdown. As most of you know, I was a big boy. And shopping for someone of my size used to be sheer torture. I couldn't just walk into any old store and buy something off the rack. I had limited possibilities and even then, it was pretty hard to find anything I liked. Since losing all the weight that I have, it's become much easier to buy clothes. I can always find my pant size in any store now. Shirts can still be difficult, though. I still wear different sizes depending on what it is. If they made everything in the world in a LT, I would be a happy boy, but since they don't, I have to determine what size works best for me. T-shirts, for instance, I buy an XL because it helps make up for some of the length I need. I bought a few long sleeved shirts recently in XL, but while the shirts themselves are long enough, the sleeves aren't. I must have freakishly long arms or something. Anything long sleeved in a regular size just doesn't cut the mustard. Too short.
Anyway, what does this have to do with my mini-meltdown? Well, I needed a winter coat. I don't have one. I haven't had one since I was in high school. Back then, I had this piece of shit coat my mother bought out of the Fingerhut catalog or something like that. That woman had a fascination with that catalog. I don't know if it was because we were poor and the shit was cheap (dollar wise and quality wise) or if she just liked it. So I needed a winter coat. What I have right now isn't cutting it. Last winter I wore my hoodie underneath my jean jacket and that kind of did the trick. But this year neither fits me anymore. The hoodie is too big and the jean jacket is even bigger. Ken and I went out shopping today. First stop was an outdoor sports store. They had lots of great coats there. Only problem was sleeve length for me. I fit comfortably in a large, except for my arms. I tried on some XLs and the sleeves were nice, but I was swimming in them. Next stop was the mall. Tried a department store (everything was crap) and I started to meltdown. I had convinced myself that this shopping trip was pointless and I was wasting my time. When I get this way, I have tunnel vision and all I can see is the end result which is disappointment. But Ken led the charge and we went to a sporting goods store in the mall. They had a better selection and we even found one coat in tall sizes. The coat was okay and would do in a pinch, but we forgot all about LL Bean. So I made note of this jacket just in case we had to come back and headed over to the other mall for LL Bean. I tried on two different coats and my meltdown kicked up about three more notches. The sleeves were too short, in both large and XL. I was in the process of shutting down. I really don't know why I get this way. I hate that I get this way, but it's a losing battle. Ken still led on and found a different rack of coats and I tried one on. I'd given up on trying to find a Large and tried on an XL. And everything about it I liked. The sleeves fit. The coat was comfortable. It was warm. The only thing that sucked was I was swimming in it. I decided to try on a large just to see the difference. For some reason the large fit perfectly. The sleeves were long enough. The coat itself was longer than all the other larges I'd tried on before. What I didn't realize was it was a LT. I never remember that LL Bean carries most things in tall sizes. Well, I ended up with this jacket. I'm very happy with it. I can't wait for the cold weather to hit now. I'm prepared for it now.
Oh, and my mini-meltdown continued for a little while longer. Now I shifted my freakish worrying from trying to find a coat to freaking out because I freaked out.
Since I'm talking about clothes, here are pics of the three new shirts I ordered yesterday.
Swanky, huh?
Finally, here's today's Christmas song.
Anyway, what does this have to do with my mini-meltdown? Well, I needed a winter coat. I don't have one. I haven't had one since I was in high school. Back then, I had this piece of shit coat my mother bought out of the Fingerhut catalog or something like that. That woman had a fascination with that catalog. I don't know if it was because we were poor and the shit was cheap (dollar wise and quality wise) or if she just liked it. So I needed a winter coat. What I have right now isn't cutting it. Last winter I wore my hoodie underneath my jean jacket and that kind of did the trick. But this year neither fits me anymore. The hoodie is too big and the jean jacket is even bigger. Ken and I went out shopping today. First stop was an outdoor sports store. They had lots of great coats there. Only problem was sleeve length for me. I fit comfortably in a large, except for my arms. I tried on some XLs and the sleeves were nice, but I was swimming in them. Next stop was the mall. Tried a department store (everything was crap) and I started to meltdown. I had convinced myself that this shopping trip was pointless and I was wasting my time. When I get this way, I have tunnel vision and all I can see is the end result which is disappointment. But Ken led the charge and we went to a sporting goods store in the mall. They had a better selection and we even found one coat in tall sizes. The coat was okay and would do in a pinch, but we forgot all about LL Bean. So I made note of this jacket just in case we had to come back and headed over to the other mall for LL Bean. I tried on two different coats and my meltdown kicked up about three more notches. The sleeves were too short, in both large and XL. I was in the process of shutting down. I really don't know why I get this way. I hate that I get this way, but it's a losing battle. Ken still led on and found a different rack of coats and I tried one on. I'd given up on trying to find a Large and tried on an XL. And everything about it I liked. The sleeves fit. The coat was comfortable. It was warm. The only thing that sucked was I was swimming in it. I decided to try on a large just to see the difference. For some reason the large fit perfectly. The sleeves were long enough. The coat itself was longer than all the other larges I'd tried on before. What I didn't realize was it was a LT. I never remember that LL Bean carries most things in tall sizes. Well, I ended up with this jacket. I'm very happy with it. I can't wait for the cold weather to hit now. I'm prepared for it now.
Oh, and my mini-meltdown continued for a little while longer. Now I shifted my freakish worrying from trying to find a coat to freaking out because I freaked out.
Since I'm talking about clothes, here are pics of the three new shirts I ordered yesterday.
Swanky, huh?Finally, here's today's Christmas song.
12.06.2008
Wasted Saturday
I'm happy the weekend is here and I'm happy it's been a lazy Saturday, but it's starting to feel like a wasted Saturday instead of a restful one. I'm not sure why. I know there are things I wanted to do that I did and things that I wanted to do that I didn't... I don't know. I guess I wish it was maybe 1 o'clock now and I had everything done that I actually got done today. Instead it's 5 and it's getting dark out. I feel like I want to go take a nap, but if I do, I know that's going to mess me up for the rest of the weekend.
One of the things I did today was place my next comic book order. I've been ordering online for a number of years now. A friend of mine uses a different company than I do and for shits and giggles, I went to his site to check it out. I'm really upset I didn't do this in the past. I did up my usual monthly order and then went to my site to do the same thing to compare prices. I found that the new place has my exact order for about three quarters of the price I was paying at my site. So I'm going to try this new place out for a little while and see how I like it. For what I normally pay at my old company, I got all my usual books, plus a couple of trade paperbacks and three new t-shirts. I'm very excited by this.
Something else I'm excited about is something I found at Target this afternoon. I always tend to look at the action figures when I'm there and I found a great new 6 pack of Justice League figures that I had to have. It had Crimson Fox, Deadman, Superman, Vibe (seriously... Vibe!!), Commander Steel and B'Wana Beast. For reals. These are going to work with me and I'll set them up around my desk with the others. I was really happy to find this. I didn't know this set was available.
Today's song is "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm." It's by Julie London and it's a song I just adore.
One of the things I did today was place my next comic book order. I've been ordering online for a number of years now. A friend of mine uses a different company than I do and for shits and giggles, I went to his site to check it out. I'm really upset I didn't do this in the past. I did up my usual monthly order and then went to my site to do the same thing to compare prices. I found that the new place has my exact order for about three quarters of the price I was paying at my site. So I'm going to try this new place out for a little while and see how I like it. For what I normally pay at my old company, I got all my usual books, plus a couple of trade paperbacks and three new t-shirts. I'm very excited by this.
Something else I'm excited about is something I found at Target this afternoon. I always tend to look at the action figures when I'm there and I found a great new 6 pack of Justice League figures that I had to have. It had Crimson Fox, Deadman, Superman, Vibe (seriously... Vibe!!), Commander Steel and B'Wana Beast. For reals. These are going to work with me and I'll set them up around my desk with the others. I was really happy to find this. I didn't know this set was available.
Today's song is "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm." It's by Julie London and it's a song I just adore.
"I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" - Julie London
Oh, and for more Christmas music, Amazon.com is giving away a different Christmas song every day until Christmas. Click here to check it out.
Oh, and for more Christmas music, Amazon.com is giving away a different Christmas song every day until Christmas. Click here to check it out.
12.05.2008
Tired
I'm exhausted and I don't know why I'm still up. I've been playing on the computer since I got home from dinner while I could have been doing something a little more constructive. (Speaking of which, I forgot I have one more load in the dryer that I need to fold and put away. Grrrr....) Even while on the computer, I could have been doing something more constructive, like paying the bills that are sitting here. Guess that will wait for tomorrow when I waste the whole day sitting at the computer again.
I really should be in bed now. The cats got me up early. And by cats, I mostly mean Ollie. Lucy was sound asleep on me (who was also sound asleep) when Ollie decided she had enough daddy time and he wanted to lay on me. So he climbed up, attacked Lucy, they fought for a minute until Lucy hightailed it away, and then Ollie took her spot. I, in turn, kicked him off the bed and got up. This was around 5:30am. I've been up ever since. Surprisingly, I've been in a banner mood all day. I should have turned super crabby by lunch time as the tired started to catch up with me, but it didn't happen. Will wonders never cease?
I didn't post anything yesterday, so to make up for it, I'm going to post two Christmas songs tonight. Hurrah. The first one is by one of the greatest bands ever. It's "Thanks For Christmas" by XTC.
I really should be in bed now. The cats got me up early. And by cats, I mostly mean Ollie. Lucy was sound asleep on me (who was also sound asleep) when Ollie decided she had enough daddy time and he wanted to lay on me. So he climbed up, attacked Lucy, they fought for a minute until Lucy hightailed it away, and then Ollie took her spot. I, in turn, kicked him off the bed and got up. This was around 5:30am. I've been up ever since. Surprisingly, I've been in a banner mood all day. I should have turned super crabby by lunch time as the tired started to catch up with me, but it didn't happen. Will wonders never cease?
I didn't post anything yesterday, so to make up for it, I'm going to post two Christmas songs tonight. Hurrah. The first one is by one of the greatest bands ever. It's "Thanks For Christmas" by XTC.
"Thanks For Christmas" - XTC
"Christmas At The Triple X Ranch" - Riders In The Sky
The second song sounds dirty, but it's not. It's called "Christmas At The Triple X Ranch" by the Riders In The Sky.
"Christmas At The Triple X Ranch" - Riders In The Sky
And finally, I just saw this pop up on digg.com. I'm very amused by it. Someone is probably looking for a new job right now....
12.03.2008
Stolen... Again
Here's a holiday themed thingie that I stole from Idle Eyes And A Dormy.
You Are Dancer |
 Carefree and fun, you always find reasons to do a happy dance. Why You're Naughty: That dark stint you had as Santa's private dancer. Why You're Nice: You're friendly. Very friendly. |
Wednesday
I vowed I wasn't going to feel like crap today, and I think I passed that test. Emotionally, at least, and that's really what I meant. Physically, however, my sciatic nerve has been behaving for far too long and decided it was time to act up. Not only is it acting up, it's chosen a brand new location to act up from. I'm hoping I can do a little stretching and it will feel better, but right now it's making it just the slightest bit difficult to move around. It almost feels like a bad pull in the side of my lower back, but different enough to know it's not a pull. I've decided to blame Ollie, who has been choosing new spots on the bed to sleep, forcing me into uncomfortable positions. If he wasn't so damn cute, he'd be booted from the bedroom forever.
For today's Christmas song, I've chosen a song from one of our greatest living entertainers. The song is called "Spooky Christmas" and it's by Dame Edna. Enjoy.
For today's Christmas song, I've chosen a song from one of our greatest living entertainers. The song is called "Spooky Christmas" and it's by Dame Edna. Enjoy.
12.02.2008
Poopy
I'm sick of feeling like crap about myself, be it for something done to me or something I did myself. Last week was all about external influences. Today, however is a bonehead maneuver I did all by my lonesome. Naturally, I'm beating myself up about it. Tomorrow I vow to have an entire day where I don't feel like a total fucking retard. Twenty-four continuous hours. I don't think it's asking too much.
Today should have been a great day. Jury duty is now a thing of the past (for at least six more years), I was back at work where I was berated for taking time off by everyone I do work for because they were left to fend for themselves. I was told by three different people in two of the meetings I was in today that they couldn't be happier that I was finally back and to not leave again. That kind of stuff makes me feel really good. I'm just the office monkey, but I've made a point of ingratiating myself into everyone's business so that when I take any time off, they realize exactly how much I do for them. My desk is in terrible shape right now. It's amazing how quickly stuff piles up when you take a week off. And it wasn't even a proper week. If you look at it, since it was Thanksgiving week, it was really only half a week since 99% of the office didn't show up on Friday.
Today was so full, I didn't get a chance to turn on the iPhone more than one time once I got to work. That's just bullshit!!!!!
Today's Christmas song is another poopy kind of song since I'm feeling kind of poopy. It's the Joni Mitchell classic "River." I could listen to this song over and over and over again and never get sick of it.
Today should have been a great day. Jury duty is now a thing of the past (for at least six more years), I was back at work where I was berated for taking time off by everyone I do work for because they were left to fend for themselves. I was told by three different people in two of the meetings I was in today that they couldn't be happier that I was finally back and to not leave again. That kind of stuff makes me feel really good. I'm just the office monkey, but I've made a point of ingratiating myself into everyone's business so that when I take any time off, they realize exactly how much I do for them. My desk is in terrible shape right now. It's amazing how quickly stuff piles up when you take a week off. And it wasn't even a proper week. If you look at it, since it was Thanksgiving week, it was really only half a week since 99% of the office didn't show up on Friday.
Today was so full, I didn't get a chance to turn on the iPhone more than one time once I got to work. That's just bullshit!!!!!
Today's Christmas song is another poopy kind of song since I'm feeling kind of poopy. It's the Joni Mitchell classic "River." I could listen to this song over and over and over again and never get sick of it.
12.01.2008
Chuckle
Ken just sent me this. Now I know why he kept yelling in from his office how to spell "di'int."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)