MetaChat - Friday 3-Point Status Update

1. New position going well. The new administration has decided to care about what I do, imagine that! So I am very busy.
2. Tonight, we are going to a gymnastics event at Madison Square Garden followed by some singing at Marie's Crisis. I hope I have enough energy to sing for awhile!
3. I want Western ranch fries, too!! They have those at Denny's, they call them "smothered cheese fries". And the lady is usually nice enough to bring me a whole bowl of ranch. Damn you, amro.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 02 March | 10:59

1. I had to take Lucy to the vet today as she has a little lump between the toes on one of her front paws. She'll have to have an operation to remove it, next Wednesday. Even bribery with her favourite treats isn't making her like me today.

2. This evening I'm going to choose my new camera at John Lewis.

3. Then after that - Piano Bar!!

Here you go, amro ...

posted by Senyar 02 March | 11:00

Someone should take me out for cheese fries tonight as an apology for all this torture :(

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 02 March | 11:02

OH GOOD LORD. I am going to eat my monitor.

posted by amro 02 March | 11:03

1. Yes, it is indeed hard to get/stay motivated on Fridays.

2. TIRED. FED UP. STRESSED. OVERWHELMED.

3. Going out for cocktails and gossip this evening, for the first time in ages. It may be just what I need :-)

3a. I too want cheese fries with bacon and ranch dressing. I have never tasted such a thing but I know it would be good.

posted by altolinguistic 02 March | 11:12

1) Second last day (more or less) of vacation! I'm sitting here, looking out at the Gulf of Mexico. It's been foggy and chilly (for this time of year, I hear) but it's been pretty nice to get out of the snow.

2) Disney World was a blast. The girls loved it and my almost-70 parents kept up and we all had a great time. The girls even tried going on Expedition Everest! Soph is sure that was her last coaster, Evelyn...she's not as convinced!

3) Dreading Saturday's travels a bit. 6:05am flight from Fort Walton Beach, FLA to Houston, then Houston to Toronto, then a 4 hour drive home. With layovers and waiting for shuttles, we expect that IF it all goes well, we'll roll into town around 8:30pm. That's a looooong day, and every time I hit the highways in the last month of so, I run into blizzard-y/white out conditions. Credit card is on standby, just in case we need a hotel room for the night!

3a) I'm with you for the fries, cheese and bacon, but I can't see the ranch doing anything but ruining it! Really? It's good? Then again, I come from the land of poutine, so what do I know?

posted by richat 02 March | 11:34

1. I have hugged my cat today. Have you?
2. I have pushed past a decades long plateau in my guitar-playing. I could even reach semi-professional quality now.
3. I want bacon-mayo with my fries. And beer!

posted by Ardiril 02 March | 12:04

I compromised and I'm getting half of a bacon, chicken, and cheese wrap with a ranch dipping sauce and Cool Ranch Doritos. I run a hard bargain.

posted by amro 02 March | 12:06

1. It'll be just me and the pup for a week while my husband travels for business. His stress is stressing me out.

2. While he's gone, I am going to eat lots of chicken tikka masala. I never make it because he hates both chicken and garam masala. Weirdo.

3. Finally got around to watching the movie Waste Land the other night. I don't know why I had put it off for so long. It is an extraordinary movie that left me breathless and weeping for all the beauty in the world. The movie was transforming.

posted by msali 02 March | 12:07

Ardiril: my cat always hugs me first thing in the morning (or rather, pokes me in the back, and then in the arm, with claws, until I wake up and feed him).

posted by altolinguistic 02 March | 12:15

1. I passed the 3 month mark at the new job and am out of probation. I can now take a vacation (or sick) day. If I didn't just have call, I might have been "sick" today.

2. And my group has had a reorg and my little team will official be helping with other stuff (while doing our previous stuff as a side job). We have no idea yet exactly what the other stuff is but it sounds like we have to time catch up as it's dependent on other people. Kind of amusing I only lasted 3 months in the position.

3a. I need to figure out what I'm doing this weekend. Probably should do something other than read or knit all day. Maybe I'll do a Lowe's run and build the kitty food stand I've been contemplating.

3b. I should hug the kitty. She is less than pleased with me as I would not let her in my lap while I was on a work call. I'm such a mean ol' mama.

posted by bluesapphires 02 March | 12:27

1. Show tonight! Last week's set went great and tonight should be as good or better! (bunnies around NYC, ping me for info)

2. IT has my laptop at the mo, so I'm posting from my phone.

3. I had a powerful and interesting dream last night.

posted by Eideteker 02 March | 12:57

Oh, and I seem to be over my norovirus and eating real foods again.

posted by Eideteker 02 March | 13:00

1) Just finished an Animal Nutrition exam. Killed it with fire. I think I'm setting myself up nicely to be able to mail in the Final in that class, which is great because my BioChem final already has me sweating blood.

2) Looking forward to a leisurely afternoon of running errands with the dog (she adores car rides and it's perfect weather for her to stick her nose out the window), beer and Assassin's Creed II while powering down the brain for a bit.

3) Got invited to a St. Patrick's Day shindig, which is cool, except the invitation came in the form of an e-vite. I honestly didn't know that site was still around. Flashbacks to 2004, ahoy!

posted by ufez 02 March | 13:00

1. My mother had minor heart surgery yesterday and didn't tell me she was having it and wouldn't let my sister tell me or my other sister she was having it. It's going to be hard not to be angry and upset the next time I talk to her.

2. Lots of snow yesterday. My snow tires did great.

3. Quiet weekend coming with no real plans except meeting somebody for breakfast on Sunday.

posted by JanetLand 02 March | 13:27

1. Just had brunch with a good friend instead of working.

2. Going to see Vagina Monologues this weekend. My first time, I'm not sure what it'll be like. I can be squeamish.

3. Since I'm low carbing it, make that smothered kohlrabi fries for me :)

posted by peacheater 02 March | 13:46

1. It's been a tiring day- not all that busy, but lots of "hurry up and wait" stuff. Waiting now for some stuff to render and then I am outta here.

2. Partner has a work-related social function to attend tonight, and even though none of the tornadoes/storms are predicted for our immediate area this evening, I'll be a little stressed until he gets home safely.

3. MUST DO THE TAXES THIS WEEKEND. We've had them ready to go for a couple of weeks, and every weekend we either get busy with other things, or just plain procrastinate. I'm ready to have them done and out of my way.

posted by BoringPostcards 02 March | 14:18

Still no laptop. Tra lala lala...

posted by Eideteker 02 March | 14:34

1 zoning on pain meds from yeserday's wrist surgery, which went well
2 it seems ironic that pain meds GIVE me a headache WTF?
3 cat is glued to lap

posted by chewatadistance 02 March | 15:22

Yay, finally have laptop back!

posted by Eideteker 02 March | 15:51

aaaand it looks like the thing they were supposed to install isn't working. >=[

posted by Eideteker 02 March | 15:53

1. It's my fourth wedding anniversary (here we are together) Awesome!
2. My area is being peppered with tornadoes today. That's less awesome.
3. Tomorrow workerdog and I are going to Mardi Growl, Knoxville's dog parade. It'll probably rain again; it did last year and turnout was still over 500, so we're going come hell AND high water.

posted by workerant 02 March | 16:44

1. The mister has been in the ER three times in the two weeks since his ablation.
2. I had to give Kaylee (the dog) the Heimlich maneuver a few days ago.
3. I spent three days passing a kidney stone.

3a. I swear that if someone says "boo" to me I am either going to curl up in a ball and cry or whip out my (non-existant) UZI and empty the clip.

posted by deborah 02 March | 17:05

1. Overdid it on the weights Tuesday and am just barely walking right today.

2. Got approved to demo the Shiny New Thing at a conference in May! Yay! It's the last two days of school for the kids! Boo!

3. Got nuthin'. 40 minutes to beer o' clock.

posted by lysdexic 02 March | 17:20

1. Really nervous about a potential doctor's appointment that I need to make. Will need to troll through some AskMes in order to possibly feel less anxious about it. It doesn't help that I seem to be having more headaches than usual. Could they be anxiety related? Or is it something more sinister? They also seem to go away when I get home, which is mildly irritating.

2. Anubis has been very talkative lately, which is hilarious but also kind of frustrating because I can't figure out what he wants. (Except for me to spend 24 hours a day flinging his favorite toy. Sorry buddy, not going to happen.)

3. Can't decide if I want to have a bottle of wine or a six pack of Woodchuck this evening. I need something to motivate me to do my chores. And it will be sweet potato cheesy fries with Old Bay for dinner. Oh yes.

posted by sperose 02 March | 18:12

pain meds GIVE me a headache

Heh, because I take aspirin for my heart, I am not supposed to take aspirin for the constant aches other heart meds give me. So, the doctor prescribed tramadol and it gives me a headache, too. However, it takes less aspirin to get rid of the tramadol headache than it takes to get rid of the other body aches.

Life! It's weird.

posted by Ardiril 02 March | 18:44

1. Crazy yin/yang day. Started off morning handling big role in consultant meeting for my one-off spec writing job. After it was over boss thanked me twice for being on the ball and saving his bacon. It was sooooo nice to hear. Finished day at job interview for weekend work cleaning at Lowes. Is there no full time work for me ever again?
2. Cooked potatoes for dinner. Thanks for the subliminal messages upthread.
3. Have purring catlap. Life's good.

posted by mightshould 02 March | 18:59

(Geeze, deb, I feel guilty for my own bad mood now)

1. My Sweat Hogs class was extra sweat-hoggy this afternoon. I thought we'd moved past all the craziness (shouting, hitting each other, banging on the desk, wandering the classroom, taking each others' things, and of course talking, talking, talking as if there's no teacher standing there trying to get class started). I finally just had to sit down, head in hand. We're reading Maus, and they like it, but that didn't matter today. Finally they calmed down and I gave them a quiet writing assignment (to be collected) to encourage the calm. How I managed to not utterly blow my top is a miracle. I have that class for an EXTENDED 100 MINUTE CLASS, mind you. My chest hurts.

2. My inner two year old has been throwing tantrums lately. She wants to go to Hawaii. She wants to go to Key West. She wants to go to Vegas. This morning she was holding her breath, not wanting to go to work. Maybe I should have listened to her.

3. I may climb into bed and not get up until Monday. But first I need to get the garbage together. I think my ground beef's gone bad, waiting for me to cook it.

posted by Pips 02 March | 19:04

1. One of my dear friends at work is being screwed over and her understandable distress is giving me secondary stress. Confrontation with the screwer-over is on Monday, and I will be accompanying my friend. Should be a real fun time.

2. My dear dog gave me the usual kisses this AM. He lays his paws across me when he does this, which I believe is his form of hugging.

3. My husband has been retired for two days now. I am so pleased for him.

On the fries front, I admit that I am now such a pescetarian healthy person that the idea of them grosses me out. (And I used to LOVE fries!) Especially with cheese (more fat) and ranch (yet more fat.) All I ever notice with things like that now is the icky greasy taste on my tongue. So instead of fries, looking forward to my mole style chile and a nice glass of red wine tonight.

posted by bearwife 02 March | 19:29

[Pips, or anyone else, please don't feel guilty because my life is shitty right now. We all have our periods of shittiness (Pepto Bismal anyone? HA!) and it's my turn. That's all. I'm just glad I have y'all to vent to. Hugs and whuffles to everyone!]

posted by deborah 02 March | 21:05

1. Went out to a new burger place in Market Square and had an amazing cheddar melt and three Full Pint Imperial Rye Stouts. I'm pretty toasty now and following up with a glass of Michter' bourbon. I may sleep in tomorrow.

2. Work is insane. I did a work break-down of the work that I need to do before the next release and I have to do about 110 days of work in 63 days. Not sure how that's going to pan out. Good thing they pay well.

3. My wife is really awesome, and it's not just that I'm really drunk right now.

posted by octothorpe 02 March | 21:25

1. Ate entirely too much pasta (with tomato-tuna sauce!) this evening, but am now craving french fries with cheese and ranch anyway.

2. Had an extremely up and down week, but the "down" was the early part of the week and I somehow snapped into the "up" a few days ago, so I guess that's good.

3. Went to a six-hour workshop today on trauma that was *really* good. Which is unusual. So that was cool.

posted by occhiblu 02 March | 22:05

1a. Kitty is sick. It's hard to care about anything else, I don't have room.

1b. Cancelled short trip to NYC because parents are off on their own much-needed vacation, so there's no one to take care of kitty. Though I doubt I would have left him anyway. Donating my opera ticket (balcony box row 14, seat 4; slightly partial view, though not much, and prime for people-watching and being watched) back to the Met for resale to somebody else. Technically since I'll be able to hear the radio broadcast in a few weeks, I'm mostly going to miss the atmosphere and dressing up (a dress I made, hand-beaded).

2. Otherwise, going through the motions.

posted by notquitemaryann 02 March | 23:19

So sorry, notquitemaryann... do you know what's going on with him? As someone who has dealt with a LOT of sick cat stress in the last six months, damn, I feel your pain.

posted by BoringPostcards 02 March | 23:51

Ha, pips, I recognise the inner 2 yr old holding his breath not wanting to go to work. Although my fantasy holiday wouldn't involve Las Vegas. Mine would be Rome or Florence or Budapest.

NQM does people-watching and being watched at the opera.
Old skool!
(reminds me of Proust era)

posted by jouke 03 March | 06:06

So sorry to hear about the sick kitty, notquitemaryann, and the stress this is causing you.

Pips, if you were paid $10,000 a week it wouldn't be enough. I have the utomost admiration for teachers, particularly those teaching in neighbourhoods where the value of education is not always recognised by the students.

posted by Senyar 03 March | 08:47

(((deborah & pips))) BP did Arn get home ok in the weather last night?

Ardiril maybe I should borrow some of Otto's tramadol :) I ditched the pain meds for advil, which seems to be working fine so far

posted by chewatadistance 03 March | 09:34

Thanks, chewie... So glad all went well with the surgery.

No worries, deb... just my way of commiserating, fond as I am of ya.

Thanks, senyar (I still wanna type ej). I've been reconsidering my career choices lately. Maybe I should've finished law school or gone for that PhD in psychology after all. If I could just get a couple of my book projects written (and published, I suppose, though I'm just thinking about getting the actual writing done for now), what I'd really love is a secure job teaching in a college creative writing program, ideally in an MFA program, while continuing my writing, of course. What a nice life that would be. I loved teaching creative writing while I was a graduate student at the University of Miami. That's ten years ago now. The idea of being a writer is beginning to sound like a joke at this point.

Ha, pips, I recognise the inner 2 yr old holding his breath not wanting to go to work. Although my fantasy holiday wouldn't involve Las Vegas. Mine would be Rome or Florence or Budapest.

Yeah, I'm trying to mollify her with cookies and TV today (since we can't afford Hawaii). Florence, I must say, has been on my wish list too for a long, long time.

posted by Pips 03 March | 12:17

Not Friday any more, but:

1) I read this morning that you can get aphids out of broccoli by submerging it in salt water. I hope it turns out to work! I've been spending far too much time lately dealing with buggy vegetables and it's been kind of discouraging.

2) A friend stopped by earlier for a surprise visit with her twin babies! That was lovely.

3) After they left I started feeling headachey and nauseous. Planning to go to bed early if I can coax myself off this couch.

posted by tangerine 03 March | 23:48

JanetLand, that's frustrating. A few years ago, my mother only accidentally told me about a minor surgery --- and good thing she did, because when I urged her to ask her doctor, he said that she absolutely needed someone to stay in-home with her for her recovery. (She had already arranged a ride home with my sister, but no one thought further ahead.) I understand some of what you're feeling.

deborah, what a hard time you and the mister are going through. I'm sending good thoughts your way!

tangerine, I don't know about plain water, but soaking broccoli in salt water drives out any clinging bugs.

1. I am immune to the lure of cheese fries! But only because last night I made pan-roasted potato and sweet potato spears with a Greek yogurt/Sriracha dipping sauce to go with our falafel salad and homemade pita bread.

2. I need a new winter coat and I am INFURIATED, INFURIATED I TELL YOU, by how few retailers include sleeve length in the noted measurements; also by the dearth of tall sizes in anything but black or brown.

3. Actually, cheese fries sound pretty good.

posted by Elsa 04 March | 11:24

"Greek yogurt/Sriracha dipping sauce"

That is a truly inspired combination and exactly what I was seeking for a raw veggie dip.

posted by Ardiril 04 March | 12:05

It's "truly inspired" insofar as it was inspired by the complete failure of my improvised sesame-lemon dressing and the fact that I always have both drained yogurt (not actually Greek, but same diff) and rooster sauce in the fridge. I added a pinch of salt and some black pepper, but I don't think it needed it. Next time: curry yogurt dipping sauce!

posted by Elsa 04 March | 14:23

02 March 2012