31 October, 2010
Killing Myself for a Bargain
Round two of calendars took me a little less than two hours, and they actually came out better than round one. I guess I can't complain. Except about my aching click & drag fingers! My hands HURT!
Anyway, now Scott and I each have calendars for our offices, and I made one for home that's mostly pictures of us. It's my favorite!
My creativity has been sapped for the day, so please excuse me while I go dig into leftover Halloween candy and then head to bed.
30 October, 2010
Label Fail
This is an actual tab on an actual hanging file in my desk. I spent a few hours over the past week cleaning out the desk, mostly recycling a half-ton of various papers (hello? isn't that what computer archives are for?) and moving folders around.

29 October, 2010
Do You Know What Time It Is?
It's been a long day, but now it's the weekend, I finally got my contact lens prescription filled, and tomorrow is the Rally to Restore Sanity.
If you can make sense out of that last sentence, you're probably as tired as I am.
Good night!
28 October, 2010
Hooray! The '10-'11 Straz Season Has Started!!
27 October, 2010
Out of the Loop
Then one of my favorite author-bloggers took the magazine to task.
Nutshell: columnist writes ridiculously insensitive column about how fat people gross her out. Nope, I'm not oversimplifying:
"So anyway, yes, I think I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other ... because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything. To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room — just like I'd find it distressing if I saw a very drunk person stumbling across a bar or a heroine addict slumping in a chair."
And so Jenn Lancaster, author of comic memoirs such as My Fair Lazy and Such a Pretty Fat, has stepped up to the plate to offer a well-reasoned, thoughtful, humorous, and downright amazing analysis and response. It's long, and you should read every word. Here's one paragraph to set the mood:
"Here’s the thing - I’ve spent my career trying to give readers the message that they should love themselves no matter what. I’ve worked hard to set the kind of example that will help empower women to embrace who they are and what they look like. Sometimes I’m stupid and vain and I get caught up in silly things like whether or not my teeth are properly whitened, but the point is I do my best to build myself – and, by extension, other women – up and I get pissed off when some self-righteous asshole tells us we aren’t of value because we don’t fit into some arbitrary standard of beauty."I read the rest of the post with tears in my eyes, ready to attend a Fatty Rally and wave a Cacique bra over my head with one hand while holding a Five Guys burger in the other. I read the whole thing out loud to Scott. When I finished, his response was, "I love her!" And I love her too. And I agree with Jenn's ultimate conclusion that the girl who wrote the Marie Claire piece isn't the enemy. She's got opinions, and God love her for being brave enough to share them with the world. But shame on Marie Claire. Well, I guess they won't have to focus on plus-size fashion for a while - my guess is they just lost themselves an entire demographic!
As for Jenn, I've never actually read any of her books. I've got one that I bought earlier this month and hid from myself so that I'd have something new to read on the cruise. Maybe as a thank-you to her, I'll buy another one. After all, Scott will need something to read too!
26 October, 2010
Florida Ballot Amendments
1. No
2. No
4. No
5. Yes
6. Yes
8. Yes
Want some more specifics? Sure! Well, I used Scott Maxwell's Amendments for Dummies column as a guide. And since he's already boiled down each proposal into 10-words-or-less synopses, I hope he'll forgive me for not paraphrasing them further...
1. Should Florida stop offering subsidies for statewide campaigns? I said no, because I like the idea of someday (obviously not this year) non-billionaires being able to competitively run for public office without dumping millions of dollars of their own money into mud-slinging ads. In college, the USG presidential candidates were held to a spending cap, and the election board had to log and stamp each and every sign, banner, and flyer before they went up. I think it made sense then, and I wish it worked that way in the real world.
2. Do soldiers serving abroad deserve property-tax breaks? This one was tough for me. I respect and revere soldiers, but this is just too vague. I don't think serving abroad in Germany is really that tax break worthy. I also don't like the idea that parents could add their adult soldier child as a co-owner on their home and live there tax-free indefinitely. Had the wording been more restrictive, I would have said yes. But now I say no.
4. Should voters have a more direct say on growth? No thanks...I elect city council so that I don't have to be bothered with little issues. Want more say? Go to council meetings and argue to your representatives. Otherwise, what are you paying them for?
5 & 6. Should Florida have compact, geographically sensible congressional and legislative districts? Yes. Have you seen our congressional districts? Thank you!
8. Should we make the class-size cap more flexible? Yes. It's ok to have 30 kids in a class, as long as that's the exception and not the rule.
Thanks to Scott Maxwell for paring down the amendments into normal-speak. And thanks to anyone who read all the way to the bottom. If you disagree with me, I hope you'll leave me a comment.
25 October, 2010
Today, It's the Nose
Aside from painful congestion, my nose is runny. But it's doing that thing where you just need to have a tissue on stand-by to catch drips. Any attempt to blow will just further compact the congestion.
And the sneezes! Big sneezes that seem to come from my toes! They are as painful as they are disgusting!
I was up on and off all night with a cough. No worries there - it was the tickle-in-your-throat annoying type of cough, not the honking-goose cough that I had the past few days. I made it through the day at work, and have found my way back to the couch. Don't look for me elsewhere.
...unless I decide to go out to the garage and take the drywall saw to my nose. It's not so much spiting my face as solving a problem!
24 October, 2010
Couch-Bound
It's unlikely that I'll be going to work tomorrow, but by antibiotic day #3 I know I'm at least not going to infect anyone else. But damn, I'm so tired!
Coughing is exhausting, as is nose blowing and keeping my eyes open. I'm not sure I could handle sitting up all day on top of all that!
23 October, 2010
Whine
Please excuse me as I continue my convalescence on the couch and watch Harry Potter.
22 October, 2010
One Story, Two Versions
I woke up this morning, brushed my teeth, washed my hair, dried my hair, got dressed, and left for work. I went to the safety meeting, shared pretzel nuggets, and then worked the rest of my shift.
The Long Version:
I woke up this morning at 3:51 - ten minutes before I was supposed to be at work. I flew out of bed, brushed my teeth, washed the top half of my hair from outside the tub, dried enough of my hair to get it started curling under, got dressed, ran downstairs, grabbed my purse, keys, and the bowl of pretzel nuggets, and left for work at exactly 4:00. I called to tell one of the third shift managers that I would be late and drove quickly but safely to work in exactly 30 minutes, went to the safety meeting where I was openly mocked for my tardiness, shared pretzel nuggets (and was forgiven for my tardiness because they were so darn tasty), and then worked the rest of my shift.
Strangely enough, I set two alarms last night. One went off an hour early and one didn't go off at all. It's good to know I can make it from passed out asleep to sitting at work in 39 minutes. It usually takes me longer than that just to drive to work, plus over an hour of awake time before leaving the house! Just the same, I don't think I'll be doing that again any time soon!
21 October, 2010
RIP DVR
For the past few weeks, the quality of the recordings was getting worse and worse. Then the quality of the signal on the HD channels started to get worse and worse. Then it failed to record Glee on Tuesday. Then when we tried the old shut it off and turn it back on trick tonight, it refused to reboot.
Sigh...
So tonight I won't be able to watch Night of Too Many Stars, because I'd rather watch Grey's Anatomy on the TV tonight than on abc.com tomorrow. I'll probably still end up watching Private Practice on the computer, because I'm tired and will be making a concerted effort to fall asleep early tonight.
That's right, tomorrow is my monthly 4am meeting. I made pretzel nuggets (the last sheet just came out of the oven) for them, because I'm just awesome like that.
Also not connected to anything else, Scott grilled turkey burgers and veggie burgers for dinner tonight. The veggie burger was surprisingly tasty. The turkey, even with fiesta dip (I read the label - it's not that bad for you), wasn't spectacular. It was good, and even moist, but just a little ho-hum.
And now it's time to get in bed and watch TV until I convince my brain to sleep.
20 October, 2010
Antici...
Anyone want to know what I'll be doing starting in 10 minutes? Watching all of these songs performed at the White House by such fabulous performers as Idina Menzel, Nathan Lane, and Audra McDonald.
Can't wait!
19 October, 2010
Dinner
Thank you, Food & Wine Festival! I look forward to hitting the other half of the world on another visit!
18 October, 2010
Headaches of the Literal Type
Tonight I had a different headache. This time, an elephant was sitting right on the top of my head. Still is, actually. So please excuse me while I turn the lights down low and wait for the pills to kick in.
17 October, 2010
16 October, 2010
Mischief Managed


Had it said "Grower of Truly Truly Truly Outrageous Sod," I would've hopped out of the car and made someone take my picture with it!
15 October, 2010
One Year Later
Has it really been a whole year? Has it only been one year?
It didn't take that long for me to feel like we've been here forever. After all, once there is clutter on the counter and a cat puke stain (or 20) on the carpet, it's basically "home." But the past year has absolutely flown by.
I love it here, with the windows open and the sound of the fountain (and the turnpike noise) floating in on the evening breeze. I love that my drive to work is at least 80% tourist free. I love that the cats have room to run. I love the water dispenser in the refrigerator door. I love having a garage for my car to live in.
The only thing I don't love is seeing what the houses on the other side of the pond are selling for now. And the goober next door. I don't love him either!
Happy Birthday, House!
14 October, 2010
Double Nickels

Maybe now that you have matured to 55 you'll stop trying to steal Carol's family.
BWAHAHAHAHA
13 October, 2010
Good for Her
Also, now seems like a good time to say, "blah blah, miracle in Chile, blah blah, emotional, blah, heart-warming, blah blah blah." And I truly mean that. I watched #9 come up this morning and I saw him hug his waiting family. And it made me happy.
At work, my office-mate and I were talking about it, and since we're both of the age where we think bitter realism is better conversation than fairy tales, our conversation turned to that one miner with the wife and the mistress.
I'm shocked that he wasn't asking to remain down in the mine indefinitely. Well, it seems that in the many days that he had to consider his predicament and figure out how to handle the situation, he decided to play the stranded miner card:
Barrios reportedly asked both his wife and his mistress to be there to greet him when he emerged from underground.
After that, Salinas was done.
"He asked me to come, but it turns out he also invited the other woman and I have decency," Salinas said before the rescue, according to ABC News. "This is very clear: It's her or me.
"I'm happy because he was saved. It's a miracle from God. But I won't attend the rescue."
As a wife, I have to say good for her. Not only did she stand up for her values and her own self-worth, but she did so with class. It's obvious that she loves her husband, and was willing to forgive (or at least try to forgive) him for having had a mistress, but not for continuing to have a mistress.
I'd like to imagine that once Yonni has a chance to settle back into some semblance of normalcy, he'll realize his "love" of the mistress was mostly lust mixed with the fear of getting caught. Now that she's not the forbidden fruit, she'll probably not taste quite as sweet.
And then the question becomes this: does Marta Salinas have it in her heart to forgive him? Can she forgive that he strayed in the first place? Can she forgive that he wanted to keep them both? Can she forget that he kissed that other woman with the whole world watching?
And now, we return to live-streaming of more blah blah amazing rescue blah blah blah.
12 October, 2010
Announcements for Family and Friends
For Sale: Two fabulous tickets to see Irving Berlin's White Christmas at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa. The show is on Thursday, December 2 at 7:30 pm. Face value of the tickets is over $60 each, but our price is very negotiable. This was part of our season ticket package, and we aren't going to be able to go. E-mail me if you're interested.
If you are planning on coming to see the Candlelight Processional this year, please let me know when. Show preferencing and sign-ups start soon, and I have no idea what to sign up for! The show description and narrator list can be found here. I won't be available for shows until December 7, but after that can do the 2nd/3rd shows Mon-Thurs or the 1st show on Sunday. Friday/Saturday I'm only available if Scott wants to go. (my decision, not his, we're working opposite shifts right now and his days off are the only time we see each other) If you're coming, I strongly recommend the dinner package. That way you have guaranteed seating and won't have to wait in line for an hour or more just to get a crappy seat in the back. I'm planning on trying to sing when Jodi Benson, Thomas Gibson, and Marlee Matlin are narrating, but can certainly be available on another date. Please let me know ASAP if you might be coming.
What about park admission? Thank you for asking!
For anyone planning on inquiring about free or discounted theme park tickets in 2010 or 2011, please keep the following in mind: I am given a limited number of free admits every year, and I have to physically go to the park with you in order to use them. For discounted tickets, I need to have your money in advance and have to go buy them during my time off. While I am more than happy to go out of my way for my friends and family who treat me like friends or family (especially the ones who come to see me performing in Encore or Candlelight), I am disinclined to do so for anyone who never calls, e-mails, or even contacts me on Facebook until they need something.
I'm not saying I need my ego stroked or hand held, but a Christmas card or the occasional "hello, how are you?" is a great gesture.
And if this has somehow offended you, I apologize. Setting boundaries is an important part of life, and this is my boundary.
Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you for Candlelight or in 2011!