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09 October 2011
Sunday Night Of A Holiday Weekend Three-Point Status Update→[More:]
1. Very happy that I have survived my "Welcome to Brazil, f**k you!" stomach bug that I suffered from yesterday. Seriously, had it persisted, I would have been at the hospital today.
2. Because my Brazilian "Montezuma's Revenge" didn't last more than one day (thank god for my iron stomach), I was able to make dinner for friends this evening.
3. I finally got a dryer today. My husband thought it would be unnecessary (in Sao Paulo, you really don't need one), but here at the beach you can't avoid the humidity. It will be delivered tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll have an electrician install it by Tuesday.
a. Quite happy that the top 8 contenders for the Nascar championship chase are separated by 20 points with 6 races remaining.
b. Learned last night that the difference between "need a blanket" and "too hot even for a sheet" is 74 degrees versus 77 degrees.
c. Marathoning movies and netflix streams as I do not want to try to move this big-ass flatscreen to Seattle. The installation techs busted up two different sets just trying to deliver one here.
1. Not a holiday weekend for me and this week is going to continue to be crazy busy as the past week has been too, and is likely to continue being super busy until the end of the month. I have a social life. When did this happen?
2. I so don't feel like doing any schoolwork. Ugh. And of course, I have a shitton of things to do for that.
3. Still have the song from the drum circle I went to on Friday stuck in my head.
1. Last weekend was horrendous, so this fun, relaxing weekend was very needed. A beautiful (Mefite!) wedding, a productive church workshop, a fun 3-year old's birthday party, a good night's sleep with no interruptions from the neighbors, church and a lazy Sunday afternoon at home. I caught up on reality shows online and moved my closet from spring/summer to fall/winter. Now I have football on. Back to work tomorrow- we don't get Columbus Day, we get Election Day.
2. Wish I had enough cash to do a serious wardrobe update. Will have to settle for a new pair of shoes and a few new tops (really should visit some thrift shops, maybe I could find some good stuff). Looking for an embellished Oxford- saw a spiky pair a few months ago I should have purchased on sight. Looked all over today and could not find them.
3. Figuring out our Christmas plans- the annual trip down to Florida. Hoping we'll be able to take a road trip from Tampa to New Orleans to see ColdChef between Christmas and Near Years. My Dad said today we might be able to use his car, which would be very nice.
1. Today was a very very lazy day filled with lots reading and ice cream and lying briefly on the deck in the sun while trying to convince the pups I didn't need wet noses in my face. It was lovely except . . .
2. I've done nothing on my to do list this weekend (including catching up on some work stuff needed Tuesday afternoon) except some errands Saturday morning and tidying up my front flower beds. Not good.
3. I wish I could take a couple months off from work. That would give me plenty of time to really relax, get stuff done around the house and get bored enough to want to go back to work.
Oh snap my new life orientation is already amazing. I got some work done, and got followed on twitter by a 5k-followers DJ I've interacted a few times over the last couple years (he retweeted the last couple things I sent to him, one just a few minutes ago). Then got followed by a rapper's wife who I'd had a handful of interactions with but who'd deleted her twitter a while ago. what'd i tell you. what'd i tell you. *runs out to buy The Secret*
2. Sunday is nice, gorgeous day, lunner/dunch out, picked up a couple DVDs, the mister mowed the lawns (which could be the last time until Spring, but we'll see), going to play WoW in a few minutes, will have cheesecake later
3. Monday is probably going to be quiet, will probably have homemade tacos and enchiladas for T-day dinner - non-traditional but oh-so NOM NOM NOM!
Quite happy that the top 8 contenders for the Nascar championship chase are separated by 20 points with 6 races remaining.
Ardiril, if you like NASCAR, you'll like V8 Supercars even more - 7 races to go in the championship series and still very close. Unlike NASCAR, the cars have actual brakes, can go around corners both ways and aren't scared of a few drops of rain;-)
Whew. I still have one more day off THANK GOD but it's been a busy one.
1. Spent yesterday packing up our house. Went to the beach in the afternoon and returned a bunch of shells we'd collected to the sea. Came back and made an immense pot of chili, and ate it.
2. Went to the farmer's market to partake (perhaps for the last time) of our Sunday tradition of browsing in the bookstore, listening to the music, and getting local chorizo-and-egg breakfast sandwiches which I will really miss. Walked around town and then stopped into an estate jeweler to idly eyeball their wedding-type rings. Fun. Liking blue sapphires and topaz.
3. Spent rest of today packing up our house some more. Listed stuff on Freecycle and eBay. Drove into New Town to sign some more papers. WEnt to an artist reception and street fair. Came back, ate leftover chili, ready to hit the hay again.
1. 17,000 people ran past my front door today, and I didn't even notice until the last few hundred, as I went out to wait for the Runabout Bus to the supermarket. Nobody from the 'Ranch' was out cheering them on - probably either sleeping in or keeping their toy-sized guard dogs from attacking the passing masses. My timing turned out quite good since the bus arrived after the last runner had passed and we got on the freeway and drove past the last stragglers on the frontage road and saw the BIG crowd at the park at the finish line. Felt very jealous and very nostalgic for the last time I ran a mile... in 1984. Yeesh.
2. Finally made some space on my kitchen counter by the sink for My Washing Machine. It really does a good job, but with its low capacity per load, its hand-cranking effort and the massive backlog of dirty duds I have, this will not be a Wash Day, it'll be a Wash Week.
3. I will be celebrating Columbo's Day tomorrow the way I usually do. By wearing my tattered trenchcoat and saying "One more thing..." a lot. (Yeah, it didn't go over so well at my last job.)
dg: I'm into car racing of all types and at all levels. The Nascar road races at Watkins Glen and Infineon have become the most physical races for bumping and grinding at the top level of asset investment. Plus, next year we've got DANICA!!!.
1. I had a great day seeing friends who I haven't been able to see for a while.
2. I took some really nice photos.
3. I was touched by a four-year-old who thought that it was 'really cool' that I remembered his name.
1. Wife was kinda sick this weekend so we didn't do too much.
2. Played a lot of (too much) Minecraft on the MeFightClub server.
3. Have to interview someone tomorrow to potentially be my new boss. Not sure how to do that.
1. Just got back from seeing my mom up in Connecticut. I was upset that my brother wanted to move her into assisted living -- I knew she'd be very unhappy there. And sure enough, he took her from the rehab place to visit an assisted living place last week, and she was so freaked she wouldn't speak. Plus, she failed their cognitive test, which was my biggest concern, that she actually needed more care than assisted living could provide. So now my brother's going ahead with hiring people to be in the house with her through an agency my cousin knows. It's expensive, but doable, given her resources, and she'll have someone with her 24/7 and be able to be in her own house. When Bobby (my brother) told me that, I rushed right out to see her. I didn't see her last weekend cause Jon and I were in Maine visiting his family, which was really nice, but I'd been so worried about my mom. She started crying when Jon and I walked in the room (Jon was so good to come with me today). Sometimes she's herself, but other times she gets confused. It took some time to convince her she's really getting to go home soon, poor little thing.
2. I'm going back up in the morning. My brother's bringing a lady from the in-home care agency up to meet her tomorrow. I hope it all goes well.
3. Maine was beautiful. Jon's family lives in Cape Elizabeth, his parents' house a couple blocks from the shore. I love the rocky coast, with the spray from the ocean and the lighthouses. And we ate so much lobster we can't look at it for awhile, the best the lobster rolls at Lobster Shack. So, so good. The Jet Blue flights were fun, too. Less than an hour to Portland. I had planned to drive, but I'd been sick, so decided we should fly. As Jon says, we've taken longer subway rides. His sisters three kids adored Jon. Kept leaping up on him and stealing his hat.
dg: I'm into car racing of all types and at all levels.
Well, if you can get access to it, the racing in V8 Supercars is second to none - close, lots of 'bump and grind' and none of the processional nature seen in categories like F1. Yesterday, we saw the biggest race of the season over 1,000 km end in a blanket finish.
The series has been in its current form since about 1999 after the debacle of trying to go 'world class' by adopting the FIA Group A rules that meant local car manufacturers were unable to match the dollars invested in motorsport by European manufacturers. In what probably seemed an odd thing to do at the time, but which has proven to be a masterstroke, fans were asked what they wanted to see in touring car racing and a category was built largely around the results. Fans wanted closed racing between Holden (the local GM brand) and Ford V8 sedans and they didn't really care who wins (although Australia motorsport fans are defined as either rabidly Holden or rabidly Ford fans, the common thread was they were sick of seeing cars racing that couldn't be bought here) as long as both brands have an equal chance.
The cars look just like the road-going models (with the obvious exception of rear wings and front splitters) but, in fact, they are purpose-built race cars, all having the same gearbox, differential, suspension, tyres and brakes with either a GM or Ford 5-litre V8. Parity requirements in the rules means that neither brand can get an enduring advantage and we often see 20 cars within a second of each other in qualifying. If you watch NASCAR regularly, keep an eye out for Marcose Ambrose - his skill on road circuits was gained in V8 Supercars.
You've got 364 days to wait but, if you can find a way, watch the Bathurst 1000 next year - that track is something to behold, including a 300 km/h corner where drivers have to wait until all the wheels are back on the ground before jumping on the brakes for a hard turn and another where they have to commit to a 200 km/h corner where the track drops away so fast that they cannot see any part of the corner beyond about 50m before it. It's humbled many a lauded world-class driver over the years.
Update: through an email my cousin sent me, I've found out my family sort of has/had a connection to Steve Jobs. In the linked article Joe is my cousin, Barb is the aunt who died in April and Jack died a few years ago.
I just thought it interesting and didn't want to make a whole separate post for it. Hope that's okay with everyone.
2. Steeling myself to make a hard phone call which probably won't actually be all that hard, and after which I will feel much less anxious and wound up. Still not doing it though. Maybe one day I'll find out why I put such things off.
3. We forgot to renew our car tax so have been driving illegally for the last 10 days. Oops. Didn't get caught though and the problem is now fixed.
I forgot that with my car too -- drove illegally for almost a month. Then I forgot to get the car inspected, but at least that was only for about 5 days. I usually never forget things like that but this year I just spaced out.
1. The weather has been amazingly lovely and warm but I haven't really done much with it except to sit outside to read. I did pull up all the dead stuff from the vegetable bed to get it ready for the winter.
2. Been watching a lot of baseball -- I don't really have that much interest in the playoffs and World Series now that my team is out, but at this time of year it hits me that very soon there will be No More Baseball! until April, so I overdose on it.
3. Now that my cat is gone, I find that on weekends I sometimes go the whole day without speaking. Very monastic.
The inspection (called MOT here, for Ministry of Transport test) was (over)due as well, and the inspection certificate is needed in order to renew the tax, so it's all being done today. It's quite a new car so all should be well, fingers crossed.
2. Missed Sister Wives and the season finale of Breaking Bad last night, but on the other hand got to watch a bunch of firemen and police play ice hockey.
3. Very worried about having regrets about how I spend the rest of my time with my mom. Am I not seeing her enough? But if I saw her more, would it seem like I'm just doing it because she's dying and feel awkward for both of us? This is one of those times that being an only child really sucks.
octothorpe, car tax is quite complicated here, as cars are rated according to their CO2 emissions. I just looked up my car (a large Honda) and it's taxed at £165.00 (a little more than $250) per year. For comparison, a Honda Jazz (equivalent to the Fit in the US) is £95, and a small Honda hybrid is £10.
It varies a lot, in other words. We also pay about £450/year in insurance, and the MOT inspection is about £40. Gas is the equivalent of $10/gallon, as well. This is why I walk to work and mr alto cycles, and we use the car for long trips only.
1. Another holiday? You Yanks get so many holidays (says she who gets 7 weeks paid holiday a year, plus 8 public holidays). Normal work day for me, I was busy but productive. A little fire-fighting to do where people lower down the organisation have messed up, but nothing too bad.
2. Quite a lot to do before the weekend, when I fly out to Ohio for a fortnight. Mostly domestic stuff - laundry, etc. I'm only taking carry-on, but I have to have every single garment I own clean before I can choose what to take with me.
3. I'm not back in the office until Friday. This means I can drink coffee in the evening because I don't have to get up at 5.30 for work.
TPS, I knew zoomorphic would be a beautiful bride. I always smile when I see the Photobooth pics of her proposal to OptimusChyme.
octo, the tax for my Prius is £10 a year. For my old Escort it was £165. Since I bought the Prius in April I've only had to gas it up three times.
1. A telephone call woke me up c. 9 this morning. I let it go to the answering machine. The caller was another temp-pimp wanting to know if I was interested in a position in an industry that treated me like shit for years.
Oh, right, the wedding! I recognized OC, but not zoomorphic. I guess I've just seen more of OC. It looks like it was a gorgeous wedding. Congrats (if either of them are lurking)!
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
