Thursday, August 31, 2006
Talking about my dreams as if they were true
Friday, September 1, 2006
Cancer (Jun 21 – Jul 22)
Strong emotions may have you running for cover, but you won’t be able to hide from your own feelings. Denial will not help you get what you want; it will only make matters worse. Instead, try talking about your dreams as if they were true. Your positive attitude can help you reach your goals more than anything else at this time.
Well, last night I dreamed that through a very odd series of events (completely unclear to me, even in the dream), I had become the Queen of England. Nobody there knew who the hell I was, of course, but my new staff were kind enough to bake not one but TWO cakes to welcome me. They were pink.
Sometimes, upon awakening from a vivid dream, it takes a while to separate reality from dream. Not in this case. My alarm went off, I awoke with a start, and immediately began laughing at the absurdity. Needless to say, becoming the Queen is not on my list of goals. Two pink cakes aren’t a bad idea, though.
10:10 PM
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
celebrity lookalike, part 2
Yesterday’s post regarding actresses running around imitating me had nothing to do with the celebrity lookalike site mentioned in today’s Overcompensating. I must be prescient.
9:59 PM
Why won’t you dance with me? I’m not no limburger!
For years, I’ve been hesitant to try limburger. It’s the liverwurst of the cheese world, teased and taunted for its stink factor. And I love stinky cheese, but I’m not a glutton for punishment. This is limburger we’re talking about. It’s awful, right?
I finally bought some. It’s a washed-rind cheese very much like a true French muenster or Bingham Hill’s delicious Harvest Moon. Quite yummy, and inoffensive if you’re eating it alone. 🙂
And now I’ve had enough for the evening. I wonder what would go nicely with some coconut ice cream?
8:36 PM
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
obscure actresses
Fine, fine, arguments can be made that neither actress about to be mentioned is actually obscure. But we’re not talking about Charlize Theron or anything.
The New Guy at work came up to me today with a Post-It note upon which he had written Zooey Deschanel’s name. He handed it to me and said something along the lines of, “Here, I couldn’t remember who you reminded me of the other day. This is her.” Up until now, my who-do-you-look-like has been German actress Christiane Paul. Either way, I’m quite flattered.
11:04 PM
Thursday, August 24, 2006
typical
I had this one friend in college. Well, I had a number of friends in college, but this was one with whom I had managed to stay in touch… for a while. Occasionally, I would try to track him down online. I wasn’t obsessed by any means, but I do hate not finding what I’m looking for. And I’ve been looking for him for close to ten years.
Yesterday, HE finds ME. All “hi, I’ve been here the whole time”.
That is so frustratingly like him. (I can hear his ‘perplexed’ voice right now, questioning this fact.)
Glad to have you back. I look forward to catching up.
Currently listening :
By Gillian Welch
6:51 PM
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
minor observations in Milwaukee
Another business trip to Milwaukee/Menomonee Falls. Menomonee is fun to say. Menomonee, do-doo-da-doo-doo.
Local Customs Division: When the server at the fast-food Japanese joint asks if you want “white or brown” rice, it turns out that brown is actually fried. Oh, and I was offered a side of vegetables (a steamed cabbage/carrots mix) or, um, potatoes. How midwest can you get? 🙂
The Muzak broadcast through a local mall included Send In The Clowns and a bizarre orchestral version of King Of The Road. Three older teen girls were eating something that looked like cheese sauce out of shallow cups. One was eating it with her fingers. Maybe we need to bring back charm schools?
Keith, my print rep, who I usually see in a sedate Grand Cherokee or on one of his motorcycles (including a lovely silver BMW), picked me up in his Trans Am convertible, with Journey’s “Faithfully” on the radio. Oh. My. God. I am still laughing inside.
Was that too many commas?
I was steered towards Half Price Books by another of Keith’s clients, and I’m so glad. I bought three books yesterday, and am toying with the idea of going back to grab the brand-new edition of Janson’s History of Art (which is actually 66% off the cover price).
The breakfast buffet offered by the hotel, while being covered as a business expense, is still an affront to my taste buds and theoretical wallet. I bought some organic yogurt to store in my mini-fridge… but forgot spoons. 😦
Hmmm, potentially three or four more hours until my next scheduled call. Do any Milwaukeeans have any suggestions for how best to spend short bursts of time?
8:39 AM
Monday, August 21, 2006
Hotel in the ‘burbs
My press run got pushed, so my first check probably won’t be until 10 AM tomorrow. Which means I’m sitting in my hotel room on what looks to be a gorgeous day. I’ll soon remedy that and head outside.
But not until I find out if the kid playing in the yard of the house across the street is going to fall off of that precariously balanced ladder. He’s already got a cast on one arm… I can’t tell what the ladder is leaning against, but it doesn’t look sturdy OR stable.
12:17 PM
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Best sentence EVER.
A little unintentional humor from our government; this sentence is lifted, in its entirety, from the Transportation Security Administration web site:
We encourage everyone to pack gel-filled bras in their checked baggage.
So anyone who is planning to fly any time soon, ya’ better get yourself to the store and stock up on those gel-filled bras.
10:42 AM
Monday, August 14, 2006
Ode to the Night Watchman
I have a few watches. At least six that I can think of off the top of my head. But I only ever wear one in particular.
It’s an inexpensive Guess watch, which I purchased at the Marshalls in Boulder with my friend Erik. Hi, Erik. So that would likely have been in late ’95. It was maybe $30.
I picked it out because it looks very much like my dad’s watch, or at least, like one of his watches in particular. He recieved that watch as a gift, I think from my grandfather, I think for his high school graduation. I could be wrong about that.
And every time I see my dad, without fail, my watch catches his eye. He’ll look at it closely, and say “hey, that looks like MY watch.”I know, dad.
I also love that this exchange happens every time I see him. I honestly don’t know if he’s messing with me or not. I tend to think not.
Anyway, I’m tough on watches. Always have been. In fact, for MY high school graduation, my dad bought me a watch with a metal cage over the face to protect the crystal. I think I had broken the cage by the end of the summer. But this watch, I won’t give up on.
When the battery died a few years ago, my Darling Boyfriend took it so he could replace the battery. By the time I got home from work, he had indeed replaced the battery, and, in typical stronger-than-he-knows fashion, had smashed the crystal. The replacement crystal was nice and shiny and unscratched, but it wasn’t the same curve as the original. Only I would have noticed, and I certainly wasn’t going to say anything to Darling Boyfriend, but it bugged me.
New scratches. A new band, this one closer to my dad’s band. More scratches. The new band gets old. A deep gouge from a rock face. And then last month, the battery died.
I tried switching to a different watch, but it just wasn’t working out for me. Nothing else felt right. And then, Friday night, as I’m leaving the mall on my way home from the Apple Store, I noticed the FastFix Watch & Jewelry Repair shop. Right there, by the exact exit I needed to take. And I happened to have my watch in my bag.
The man looked at it through his loupe, studied the damage on this cheap watch, kept his laughter to himself, and gave me a quote. We looked through his stash of bands, but there was nothing quite like what I was looking for. I was embarrassed by the ratty band, but the replacement has to be just right. I found a scrap of paper, and drew the curve of the original crystal. He sounded doubtful, but said he’d see what he could do.
I came back in an hour. He asked for five more minutes.
I came back again. He was helping some other customers with an engraving question. Then he went into the back room again. The mall was closing in five minutes. I was dreading having to make another trip to the mall.
He came back out with my watch. MY WATCH. It’s beautiful. The crystal is just right. Exactly as it should be. He even cleaned the band. I don’t know how he did it, but it looks almost new. And, of course, it tells the time (and date!) again.
Thank you, FastFix guy. You have made me very, very happy.
8:40 PM
Friday, August 11, 2006
How much Mac would a MacBook book?
Incapable Of Making Decision Alert.
Okay, let me start by saying that I work on a Mac, I’ve worked on Macs for years, I used to work on assorted Windows boxes (and DOS before that, yes I’m that old), and I will take no guff from PC users. I’ve been there, done that, and prefer the Mac platform. That being said…
I’m off on another business trip next week. During this time, I will be working on Work Stuff, so will absolutely need a laptop with me. Do you think my office can get their shit together to get me one in time? The rather disappointing answer is “no”. So I have to buy one for myself, and therein lies the problem. Never one to pay retail, I’ve been scoping the online sources to see what deals I can find.
The machines I’m looking at will have the 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo processor and a SuperDrive. All prices listed include tax or shipping as required. My choices are, from most-to-least expensive:
MacBook (2GB RAM, 80GB drive, AppleCare) $1920 @ SmallDog ($2380 @ Apple Store)
MacBook (1GB RAM, 80GB drive) $1581 @ Apple Store
MacBook (1GB RAM, 60GB drive) $1430 @ SmallDog ($1526 @ Apple Store)
MacBook (512MB RAM, 60GB drive) $1204 @ Amazon ($1417 @ Apple Store)
add $189.95 for AppleCare from LA Computer Company for the machines that don’t have it bundled on.
The benefit of buying from the Apple Store is that I could have it NOW (though I have to pay outrageous sales tax) and it’s hard to find that configuration elsewhere. The benefit of buying from SmallDog is that they are a socially responsible little company and I want to support them. On the other hand, I have to hope that the 3-day shipping really is because I have no time for error. The Amazon price includes overnight shipping.
I could also buy the cheapie Amazon model now, and spend $112 at SmallDog to up the RAM to 1GB (or $207 for 2GB) when I get back from my trip and am less stressed. That sure is seeming like the way to go, even if the hard drive is smaller…
Agh! Request for advice from the peanut gallery.
11:51 PM
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
All Things Considered, August 3, 2006
If you ask a colleague if they know a good nanny, are you being a chauvinist? Or racist? What if you ask a woman, but not a man? What if you ask a person with dark skin, but not light?
If a stranger is visiting your office, and asks if you are the secretary, what then? Is it an insult? An attack on your race/religion/gender? Perhaps you’ve once or twice been asked by someone if you worked at the store in which you were shopping? Is that a racial slur? Is it misogynistic?
I do not doubt that there is still rampant discrimination in our society. But when explaining to Ari Shapiro your take on why only 4 percent of law firm partners are minorities; and even fewer are minority women, these are maybe not the best examples to use. The stories in the ABA’s report are far more compelling.
NPR link
7:45 PM
Monday, August 07, 2006
Minneapolis photos
I finally uploaded my Minneapolis photos. Go here if you would like to see them.
8:24 AM
The World of Wink 