Bill's been looking greener since I started putting him outside. I hope it was just a lack of sunlight and too much water.
Having my last Public Library class. Forgot that the SLIS library is closed today and wouldn't you know it, I had a whole book's worth of printouts to do today. I e-mailed the paper to the teacher; hopefully that's enough for him.
Feeling far better than yesterday and I should be out of class in two hours. Yippee!
Ta,
Bec
30.4.11
29.4.11
Good Luck To The Happy Couple
I am watching the buildup to the royal wedding. I got about two hours' sleep tonight; I'm not completely sure why I'm not able to sleep. I am very tired and can feel how I'm going to pay for the hours I'm staying up. I'm trying to type my paper up while waiting for everything to get rolling in London; I figure my brain will be at the level of a Yorkshire pudding by the time this is all over and I want to do it while I can still type a sentence (kind of.)
However, something isn't going right with this stupid thing. I have a serious lack of pages and can't figure out why. It's supposed to be 5 single-spaced and for SOME reason it's at about 3. I'm going to have to fudge TWO whole single-spaced pages of this paper and it's not making me happy. I was thinking I'd have to fudge about a half-page. Hopefully, I can fill up some of that space and reduce the amount of filler I'm going to have to write for this thing.
Of course, I could be frustrated by the fact that my brain is MUSHY PEAS at 4 in the morning.
I'm going to type it up the best I can and get it as far as I can before my body decides that I'm an idiot and that damn it all, sleep might just be a good idea. I'm already at "warm and slumpy" and I'm headed towards "propping eyes open with toothpicks."
Gotta go get a look at these hats; the English are awesome with hats at events and I just love the ones I'm seeing now.
I would talk to you later but I probably won't have enough brain cells left on "go" to actually type a sentence.
Ta,
Bec
PS: I am impressed by everything and wowed by it all and I have no real words to say except a keysmash of awesome with the caps lock on-WOJEIRJERLJSLEJIRLJSE!!!IEJIEI!!!. The whole wedding was a blast to watch and I'm glad the commentators shut up and let us watch it.
I am not tired and I'm not really acting too tired. I don't know when I will crash and burn but I have to get writing or risk actually going to sleep on my keyboard.
I'm actually functioning on two hours sleep and I am really terrified of what I've become, since my normal habit after two hours sleep is neatly termed as "walking dead." I should be bouncing off the walls because I can't see them and not able to talk and CERTAINLY I shouldn't be able to type in a straight line.
But I've done all three and I'm doing it well. What the hell is WRONG with me?
If I can stay up till tonight, that'd be better. Then I can crash early and wake up tomorrow feeling fresh as a daisy for my last class of the spring.
However, something isn't going right with this stupid thing. I have a serious lack of pages and can't figure out why. It's supposed to be 5 single-spaced and for SOME reason it's at about 3. I'm going to have to fudge TWO whole single-spaced pages of this paper and it's not making me happy. I was thinking I'd have to fudge about a half-page. Hopefully, I can fill up some of that space and reduce the amount of filler I'm going to have to write for this thing.
Of course, I could be frustrated by the fact that my brain is MUSHY PEAS at 4 in the morning.
I'm going to type it up the best I can and get it as far as I can before my body decides that I'm an idiot and that damn it all, sleep might just be a good idea. I'm already at "warm and slumpy" and I'm headed towards "propping eyes open with toothpicks."
Gotta go get a look at these hats; the English are awesome with hats at events and I just love the ones I'm seeing now.
I would talk to you later but I probably won't have enough brain cells left on "go" to actually type a sentence.
Ta,
Bec
PS: I am impressed by everything and wowed by it all and I have no real words to say except a keysmash of awesome with the caps lock on-WOJEIRJERLJSLEJIRLJSE!!!IEJIEI!!!. The whole wedding was a blast to watch and I'm glad the commentators shut up and let us watch it.
I am not tired and I'm not really acting too tired. I don't know when I will crash and burn but I have to get writing or risk actually going to sleep on my keyboard.
I'm actually functioning on two hours sleep and I am really terrified of what I've become, since my normal habit after two hours sleep is neatly termed as "walking dead." I should be bouncing off the walls because I can't see them and not able to talk and CERTAINLY I shouldn't be able to type in a straight line.
But I've done all three and I'm doing it well. What the hell is WRONG with me?
If I can stay up till tonight, that'd be better. Then I can crash early and wake up tomorrow feeling fresh as a daisy for my last class of the spring.
28.4.11
Shut The Hell UP!
The Latino bunch in the house next door like to play their mariachi music on warm nights. Which was all fine and good...until I was trying to sleep. NOW it's getting on my nerves. They're singing along and screaming like they're being lit on fire (I can hear them loud and clear.)
It wouldn't be such a PROBLEM if I hadn't gone to bed EARLY so that I could be up at 4 to see the WEDDING of Prince William and Kate Middleton. That's 4 AM. It's now closing in on a quarter past 11 and I haven't gotten a lick of sleep thanks to the LIVE MUSIC they're playing next door.
AY.
CARAMBA.
Ta,
Bec
PS: Thank the gods above for small miracles. They shut up about two minutes ago. NOW can I get some sleep? Or is SOMEONE going to start playing GERMAN POLKAS in one of the GARAGES next DOOR? WITH REAL ACCORDIONS?
ANYONE?
HMMMM?
I'm going back to bed. Night, all.
It wouldn't be such a PROBLEM if I hadn't gone to bed EARLY so that I could be up at 4 to see the WEDDING of Prince William and Kate Middleton. That's 4 AM. It's now closing in on a quarter past 11 and I haven't gotten a lick of sleep thanks to the LIVE MUSIC they're playing next door.
AY.
CARAMBA.
Ta,
Bec
PS: Thank the gods above for small miracles. They shut up about two minutes ago. NOW can I get some sleep? Or is SOMEONE going to start playing GERMAN POLKAS in one of the GARAGES next DOOR? WITH REAL ACCORDIONS?
ANYONE?
HMMMM?
I'm going back to bed. Night, all.
Decouching and Screwing On My Bed
Haven't got my paper written, much thanks to Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling (Royal Wedding seemed like such an appropriate movie for this week, despite the fact that it was about the grandmother and grandfather of tomorrow's royal groom,) a very long Supernatural fanfic that I got involved in last night (little over halfway through, I think,) and the fact that the furniture people are coming to replace my couch and screw up my bed TODAY while I'm not there. I had to take all of my possessions out of the front room and put them in the back, BUT not on the bed because I had to take everything off of that, too.
My whole apartment is in a state of chaos-bedsheets are in the bathtub (it was dry this morning when I put them there,) papers in the laundry basket (so they're out of harm's way), and poor sick Bill in the middle of the kitchen floor next to the lamp (better that he lose leaves on the kitchen floor rather than the carpet.) I gave the furniture people more than enough room to put the mattresses against the wall and fix that frame, and I gave them so much space for the couch removal and replacement they should be able to turn the whole damn thing around and out and the other couch in and around without moving the desk (but I took everything off the desk just in case they DO need to move it, and so none of my valuables get broken, trampled, or whatever in the midst of everything.)
When I get home, I'm going to have a wonderful vacuuming spree. And then I'm going to start work on that cursed paper. And I'm NOT going to watch Fred Astaire dance with pretty girls in London.
Well maybe just one.
Ta,
Bec
My whole apartment is in a state of chaos-bedsheets are in the bathtub (it was dry this morning when I put them there,) papers in the laundry basket (so they're out of harm's way), and poor sick Bill in the middle of the kitchen floor next to the lamp (better that he lose leaves on the kitchen floor rather than the carpet.) I gave the furniture people more than enough room to put the mattresses against the wall and fix that frame, and I gave them so much space for the couch removal and replacement they should be able to turn the whole damn thing around and out and the other couch in and around without moving the desk (but I took everything off the desk just in case they DO need to move it, and so none of my valuables get broken, trampled, or whatever in the midst of everything.)
When I get home, I'm going to have a wonderful vacuuming spree. And then I'm going to start work on that cursed paper. And I'm NOT going to watch Fred Astaire dance with pretty girls in London.
Well maybe just one.
Ta,
Bec
27.4.11
Bill's Sick
I've been holding out hope that Bill would stop dropping leaves but he hasn't done. At least 3/4 of his little leaves have gone in less than a couple of weeks and I'm not sure what to do. He lost three more today. If he keeps this up, he's going to look like a bunch of little sticks by the middle of next week.
I thought I was watering him too much, so I cut back on watering him, believing that would help. It slowed the process, certainly, but he's still losing foliage.
I would hate to lose my plant only two months after getting him.
Meanwhile, I have a paper to write for Saturday, so ta,
Bec
I thought I was watering him too much, so I cut back on watering him, believing that would help. It slowed the process, certainly, but he's still losing foliage.
I would hate to lose my plant only two months after getting him.
Meanwhile, I have a paper to write for Saturday, so ta,
Bec
26.4.11
Being Stuck In Bed Doesn't Slow Me Down
When I got up this morning, there was a bit of a problem.
Namely, my back felt as if a very large bowling ball had been thrown at it. Repeatedly. By a gigantic rhino.
(I watched 300 the other day. It's influencing my choice of large vicious land mammal. At least I didn't pick a kangaroo.)
Mom assumes it's stress and the weather and that's what I'm sticking to as well. I have days like this once in a while. It happens.
I took painkillers (they barely helped.) I used a heating pad (didn't aid me much, either.)
Since I couldn't move very far and sitting in the desk chair in my condition seemed like a bad idea, I wound up on the bed.
So what does one do when stuck in bed all day with nothing to do?
If you're me and it's this week, you write papers. And oh, DID I. I finished the one for tonight AND the one for Thursday while trying to find a comfy position on the bed.
Meaning that tomorrow is going to be spent getting ready to do Saturday's paper. I'm running three days ahead of schedule. I was hoping to finish Thursday's tomorrow and do Saturday's on Friday. Now I might actually get time OFF (cue uproarious laughter.)
That is, if I don't wind up in bed all day tomorrow, too. Hope not. I hate being stuck in bed but at least I didn't have to work until tonight.
I'm pretty good now, not doing anything stupid because I keep thinking I'm going to be in pain again any second. So I'm being careful and bending like I have a rod against my spine.
I can only hope that I wake up tomorrow WITHOUT the feeling like I'd had a semi try to flatten me into a crepe.
Ta,
Bec
PS: Doctor Who Notes on the First Episode of New Series 6, The Impossible Astronaut.
I will put spoiler lines on this for those who are a little behind.
SPOILER LINES
Once again, Steven Moffat manages to give me a headache, this time a record THIRTEEN minutes into the episode. Well done, you.
Yes, the Doctor's dead and no, he's not. Yes, the Doctor was 1103 when he died and 909 when he pops back up.
I got the feeling he knew what was coming, however, because he acted like a man going to his death. He said some things that sounded like he knew (Thought I'd never get done saving you, for starters. Past tense.) He also told the rest of them not to interfere, despite the fact that he was obviously going to die.
That tells me he knows who's behind the mask (he certainly acted like he knew,) and River does, too, as she tried to shoot it and the bullets seemed to vanish. I thought I kind of saw the face of one of the Silence beneath the mask. It might also explain why every single member of the TARDIS crew has seen the Silence and yet he has not. They know he'll remember them, superior brain and all. If he sees them it's going to be trouble for them and they know it. Maybe they are even afraid of him (most bad guy races are.)
Some other questions that had me pondering:
Who is Canton Everett the Third? Why is it illegal for him to get married?
Who's the kid? Why is he screaming for help (who's using him as a human shield?) Why is he in a spacesuit?
Why is there a TARDIS parked downstairs, and why doesn't River recognize it, and WHY doesn't it suck her up like last one nearly did to the Doctor? That tells me this one has a pilot already...who? Where are they?
Why did Amy suddenly get the urge to mention she's pregnant? Is she struggling to fill in the gap the Silence have left in her mind and filling it with the next most important information of all trying to tell him something?
Why do the Silence care if the Doctor knows and doesn't know certain stuff if they keep getting forgotten by everyone who sees them?
What is with the table that looks like slightly like a Cyberman conversion unit?
Namely, my back felt as if a very large bowling ball had been thrown at it. Repeatedly. By a gigantic rhino.
(I watched 300 the other day. It's influencing my choice of large vicious land mammal. At least I didn't pick a kangaroo.)
Mom assumes it's stress and the weather and that's what I'm sticking to as well. I have days like this once in a while. It happens.
I took painkillers (they barely helped.) I used a heating pad (didn't aid me much, either.)
Since I couldn't move very far and sitting in the desk chair in my condition seemed like a bad idea, I wound up on the bed.
So what does one do when stuck in bed all day with nothing to do?
If you're me and it's this week, you write papers. And oh, DID I. I finished the one for tonight AND the one for Thursday while trying to find a comfy position on the bed.
Meaning that tomorrow is going to be spent getting ready to do Saturday's paper. I'm running three days ahead of schedule. I was hoping to finish Thursday's tomorrow and do Saturday's on Friday. Now I might actually get time OFF (cue uproarious laughter.)
That is, if I don't wind up in bed all day tomorrow, too. Hope not. I hate being stuck in bed but at least I didn't have to work until tonight.
I'm pretty good now, not doing anything stupid because I keep thinking I'm going to be in pain again any second. So I'm being careful and bending like I have a rod against my spine.
I can only hope that I wake up tomorrow WITHOUT the feeling like I'd had a semi try to flatten me into a crepe.
Ta,
Bec
PS: Doctor Who Notes on the First Episode of New Series 6, The Impossible Astronaut.
I will put spoiler lines on this for those who are a little behind.
SPOILER LINES
Once again, Steven Moffat manages to give me a headache, this time a record THIRTEEN minutes into the episode. Well done, you.
Yes, the Doctor's dead and no, he's not. Yes, the Doctor was 1103 when he died and 909 when he pops back up.
I got the feeling he knew what was coming, however, because he acted like a man going to his death. He said some things that sounded like he knew (Thought I'd never get done saving you, for starters. Past tense.) He also told the rest of them not to interfere, despite the fact that he was obviously going to die.
That tells me he knows who's behind the mask (he certainly acted like he knew,) and River does, too, as she tried to shoot it and the bullets seemed to vanish. I thought I kind of saw the face of one of the Silence beneath the mask. It might also explain why every single member of the TARDIS crew has seen the Silence and yet he has not. They know he'll remember them, superior brain and all. If he sees them it's going to be trouble for them and they know it. Maybe they are even afraid of him (most bad guy races are.)
Some other questions that had me pondering:
Who is Canton Everett the Third? Why is it illegal for him to get married?
Who's the kid? Why is he screaming for help (who's using him as a human shield?) Why is he in a spacesuit?
Why is there a TARDIS parked downstairs, and why doesn't River recognize it, and WHY doesn't it suck her up like last one nearly did to the Doctor? That tells me this one has a pilot already...who? Where are they?
Why did Amy suddenly get the urge to mention she's pregnant? Is she struggling to fill in the gap the Silence have left in her mind and filling it with the next most important information of all trying to tell him something?
Why do the Silence care if the Doctor knows and doesn't know certain stuff if they keep getting forgotten by everyone who sees them?
What is with the table that looks like slightly like a Cyberman conversion unit?
25.4.11
Finals Week is Here
The last round of spring semester has arrived to punch the Master's students in the face. Everyone I have seen today looks tired, harried, and is deep in the middle of a terrible, horrible final. I spent a good portion of my Easter working on Take-Home Final Number 1, which is due tomorrow. Take-Home 2 Final is being chipped away at (due Thursday). Paper 3 is not started mostly because I don't have all that I need yet (due Saturday morning). Take-home Final 3 will arrive on Saturday after I turn in Paper 3 (mid-week next week.)
In the middle of all of this, I am having shoulder pain...on the left side. I'd say it's stress but I'm not stressed all that much. My posture has been better since I had to kick myself off the couch (here I sit, slumped in an office chair at work.) When I'm home I sit in my desk chair and I don't slump thanks to the fact that my right shoulder is always complaining. I have to keep it against the pillow or it hurts my back and shoulder.
So I don't know what this is, but it's worrying me a little, as persistently stupid pains anywhere near my joints tend to do. I can't help but think that possibly the arthritis is coming back for round 2, no matter how I try not to think about it like that.
If it keeps up past the middle of next week I'm going to have to go in for it, since I have a rule that three days of pain is not fibro and it's something else, and we're on Day 2 already. Since I'm going to neatly assume the stupid thing is stress for another week, if I'm still hurting I'll go in next Thursday or Friday sometime because I'll be on campus and not doing anything for part of both of those days.
Let's hope it lets up soon, or someone may run out of Tylenol and patience.
Ta,
Bec
In the middle of all of this, I am having shoulder pain...on the left side. I'd say it's stress but I'm not stressed all that much. My posture has been better since I had to kick myself off the couch (here I sit, slumped in an office chair at work.) When I'm home I sit in my desk chair and I don't slump thanks to the fact that my right shoulder is always complaining. I have to keep it against the pillow or it hurts my back and shoulder.
So I don't know what this is, but it's worrying me a little, as persistently stupid pains anywhere near my joints tend to do. I can't help but think that possibly the arthritis is coming back for round 2, no matter how I try not to think about it like that.
If it keeps up past the middle of next week I'm going to have to go in for it, since I have a rule that three days of pain is not fibro and it's something else, and we're on Day 2 already. Since I'm going to neatly assume the stupid thing is stress for another week, if I'm still hurting I'll go in next Thursday or Friday sometime because I'll be on campus and not doing anything for part of both of those days.
Let's hope it lets up soon, or someone may run out of Tylenol and patience.
Ta,
Bec
23.4.11
25 Is Here And So's The Rain
It wasn't the worst birthday in history. Things COULD have been worse, I suppose...
First off, rain. Lots of it.
Lost my Red Robin card but it's okay because they let me have my burger anyway and it was WONDERFUL.
I now have an embarrassing picture of myself wearing a sombrero with whipped cream up my nose and a serious case of red-eye. I'm locking it in a vault at the first opportunity.
Ben and Jerry's screwed me out of my free birthday ice cream because they didn't send a coupon or ANYTHING. I'm thinking of quitting their stupid club.
My clothes didn't dry in the dryer the first time around and so I lost a whole buck 25. Don gave me some of his quarters and lo and behold, on the second time in a different dryer the clothes got dry.
I didn't get my Mongolian. Don owes me. Big-time.
One present has yet to arrive. The others were quite nice and I will use them well.
23 days till Mum arrives!
Doctor Who premiere TODAY! Geekery abounds!
So, see, not everything went COMPLETELY wrong. Just most of it. Oh, well. Better luck next time.
Ta,
Bec
PS: I have posted a short little video shot on my webcam for everyone who sent me well-wishes. Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn0kIXvwXfM
First off, rain. Lots of it.
Lost my Red Robin card but it's okay because they let me have my burger anyway and it was WONDERFUL.
I now have an embarrassing picture of myself wearing a sombrero with whipped cream up my nose and a serious case of red-eye. I'm locking it in a vault at the first opportunity.
Ben and Jerry's screwed me out of my free birthday ice cream because they didn't send a coupon or ANYTHING. I'm thinking of quitting their stupid club.
My clothes didn't dry in the dryer the first time around and so I lost a whole buck 25. Don gave me some of his quarters and lo and behold, on the second time in a different dryer the clothes got dry.
I didn't get my Mongolian. Don owes me. Big-time.
One present has yet to arrive. The others were quite nice and I will use them well.
23 days till Mum arrives!
Doctor Who premiere TODAY! Geekery abounds!
So, see, not everything went COMPLETELY wrong. Just most of it. Oh, well. Better luck next time.
Ta,
Bec
PS: I have posted a short little video shot on my webcam for everyone who sent me well-wishes. Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn0kIXvwXfM
21.4.11
Almost to the Year 25!
Birthday tomorrow. I baked cookies. Still can't sit on my couch (I'm calling those people tomorrow if I haven't gotten the number from maintenance, who have YET to show up and do whatever the hell they were planning on doing.) I refuse to do homework or housework on a day that's technically for me, so there's that (homework can wait till Saturday and the housework got done earlier in the week.) I've got a free burger, a free ice cream scoop, and a free dessert plus sombrero coming tomorrow (I have just the place for it, and I mean the sombrero, not the dessert. I know where the dessert goes. Not going to be hanging THAT on the wall...)
I'm going to call Mom and she's going to spend an hour finding out that I, indeed, keep EVERYTHING. I need a drawing I did years ago to send to Brandon Boyd because I drew the picture, right, and never sent it to him. It was titled after one of Incubus' songs, funny enough, and I think the picture was supposed to be of him (or at least I TRIED to draw him.) He's a very artistic and brilliant sort and I thought he might appreciate it (or at least get a laugh at the position of his arms in the picture.) For some reason I had this thing hanging out in my folder for the longest time and never DID anything with it. Now I want it and I don't have it (go figure, eh?) because it's up in Wisconsin in a folder. I know WHICH folder, thank goodness, or Mum would spend a week looking through all of that stuff, and I'm pretty sure of WHERE the folder is in the box because Mom would spend a week looking for just THAT, so she can probably find the folder easily and sift through forty billion pieces of this, that, and the other thing to find the drawing.
Yeah, perfectly easy. I'll feel better when Brandon can laugh at my trees. I might send a poem, too, so he can see where my talents REALLY lie.
Doctor Who on the weekend. I do love birthday presents from my favorite TARDIS resident...
I have newspaper clippings to sort, so I say goodbye to year 24 and really hope that the next one brings joy, happiness, a diploma, a job, and a boyfriend. Along with some really fine cake. Who doesn't like cake? And maybe some pie. And maybe a toothbrush, too, that'd be nice after all that sugar in the cake, the pie, and those cookies in the back room that I'm going to start wolfing down if someone else doesn't first.
Ta,
Bec
I'm going to call Mom and she's going to spend an hour finding out that I, indeed, keep EVERYTHING. I need a drawing I did years ago to send to Brandon Boyd because I drew the picture, right, and never sent it to him. It was titled after one of Incubus' songs, funny enough, and I think the picture was supposed to be of him (or at least I TRIED to draw him.) He's a very artistic and brilliant sort and I thought he might appreciate it (or at least get a laugh at the position of his arms in the picture.) For some reason I had this thing hanging out in my folder for the longest time and never DID anything with it. Now I want it and I don't have it (go figure, eh?) because it's up in Wisconsin in a folder. I know WHICH folder, thank goodness, or Mum would spend a week looking through all of that stuff, and I'm pretty sure of WHERE the folder is in the box because Mom would spend a week looking for just THAT, so she can probably find the folder easily and sift through forty billion pieces of this, that, and the other thing to find the drawing.
Yeah, perfectly easy. I'll feel better when Brandon can laugh at my trees. I might send a poem, too, so he can see where my talents REALLY lie.
Doctor Who on the weekend. I do love birthday presents from my favorite TARDIS resident...
I have newspaper clippings to sort, so I say goodbye to year 24 and really hope that the next one brings joy, happiness, a diploma, a job, and a boyfriend. Along with some really fine cake. Who doesn't like cake? And maybe some pie. And maybe a toothbrush, too, that'd be nice after all that sugar in the cake, the pie, and those cookies in the back room that I'm going to start wolfing down if someone else doesn't first.
Ta,
Bec
19.4.11
We Lost Sarah Jane Smith Today
I can barely believe it. Elisabeth Sladen, the actress who played Sarah Jane Smith on Doctor Who, has died. She was a faithful companion to four different Doctors (3, 4, 10, and 11) and was the most beloved and popular of all of his companions. She even received K-9 as a gift from him. She will be missed so very, very much.
Goodbye, our Sarah Jane Smith. May you never have to run screaming from the Daleks again. Hope you're up there drinking tea with John Pertwee!
Ta,
Bec
Goodbye, our Sarah Jane Smith. May you never have to run screaming from the Daleks again. Hope you're up there drinking tea with John Pertwee!
Ta,
Bec
No Couch Sitting and No Butter Either
Still staying off the couch. The itching IS better but we'll see if it stays that way. I have a note on the couch telling me to stay off it (I forget, go to lay down, and see the note reminding me not to sit there.) I really hated it when I was trying to vacuum this morning and the chair I've been relegated to was up on the couch out of the way and therefore I couldn't sit down because I can't sit on the floor either.
If I get markedly better by Friday, I'm calling the furniture company I'm renting from and asking them if they have A) a different couch without the chemical that's causing this problem or B) give me something to clean the couch with so that I can sit on it.
I just got the floor nice and clean again since I spent the earlier part of the morning tossing flour all over the kitchen. I was going to bake a batch of cookies for Thursday today but found I had a distinct lack of butter in the fridge (this recipe is not one I would use margarine with.) I did some of the work today; I mixed the dry stuff including sifting the flour (using my strainer because I don't HAVE a sifter) toasting the almonds, things I could do without butter. Guess I'll have to go shopping tomorrow.
Busy watching Sam and Dean find a zombie. I think they just found one.
Ta,
Bec
If I get markedly better by Friday, I'm calling the furniture company I'm renting from and asking them if they have A) a different couch without the chemical that's causing this problem or B) give me something to clean the couch with so that I can sit on it.
I just got the floor nice and clean again since I spent the earlier part of the morning tossing flour all over the kitchen. I was going to bake a batch of cookies for Thursday today but found I had a distinct lack of butter in the fridge (this recipe is not one I would use margarine with.) I did some of the work today; I mixed the dry stuff including sifting the flour (using my strainer because I don't HAVE a sifter) toasting the almonds, things I could do without butter. Guess I'll have to go shopping tomorrow.
Busy watching Sam and Dean find a zombie. I think they just found one.
Ta,
Bec
18.4.11
Munching For My Health
Just ate some cookies in the back room at work because my blood sugar was dropping (again.) I was getting shaky and clumsy, which is the first major sign that I need to have food in my system and fast. I have a ridiculously fast metabolism, which, while it keeps me wonderfully skinny no matter what I eat, it also burns up food faster and I have to try to keep up. I'll have to eat something again before I go to bed, probably something with carbs and more solid than cookies because these won't last me very long, probably a half-hour at most. They were just to get me to stop shaking, get me home, and nearer a piece of toast.
The longest I've ever gone without eating was 14 hours, and the experience was not something I want to repeat anytime soon. I had a long day and apparently couldn't find the time to sit and eat something until about 6 PM. The headache, nausea, shakiness, clumsiness, and colored lights I saw on the edges of my vision were enough to make me pay better attention when my system is screaming for energy. I spent the rest of that night feeling crappy because I hadn't eaten all day.
It's been worse since I've been here, probably because I don't eat as often or as regularly as I used to. I've been keeping a granola bar in my bag as of late but I ate that hours ago when I got shaky earlier. Guess I'll have to pack more than one next time.
Ta,
Bec
PS: I am now banned from sitting on my couch or touching my carpet until it's proved or disproved that the itching is being caused by one or both of them (yeah, I'm still itching about as bad as I ever was.) We'll know in about two or three days whether it works or not.
I suspect at this moment that it's a chemical called dimethyl fumarate, or DMF, as it's used as a cleaning agent on couches and carpets both and causes itchiness in some people.
The good news is, Europe has completely banned the stuff, so I can move there and never have this problem again!
The longest I've ever gone without eating was 14 hours, and the experience was not something I want to repeat anytime soon. I had a long day and apparently couldn't find the time to sit and eat something until about 6 PM. The headache, nausea, shakiness, clumsiness, and colored lights I saw on the edges of my vision were enough to make me pay better attention when my system is screaming for energy. I spent the rest of that night feeling crappy because I hadn't eaten all day.
It's been worse since I've been here, probably because I don't eat as often or as regularly as I used to. I've been keeping a granola bar in my bag as of late but I ate that hours ago when I got shaky earlier. Guess I'll have to pack more than one next time.
Ta,
Bec
PS: I am now banned from sitting on my couch or touching my carpet until it's proved or disproved that the itching is being caused by one or both of them (yeah, I'm still itching about as bad as I ever was.) We'll know in about two or three days whether it works or not.
I suspect at this moment that it's a chemical called dimethyl fumarate, or DMF, as it's used as a cleaning agent on couches and carpets both and causes itchiness in some people.
The good news is, Europe has completely banned the stuff, so I can move there and never have this problem again!
17.4.11
None of the Spinnies Toucheth Me
I am alive. No storms touched down where I am. Apparently three people on the other side of Duke campus got it, but I was somewhere else when all the shit went down. Worst I saw of it was a heavy rain.
Stop.
Worrying.
Ta,
Bec
Stop.
Worrying.
Ta,
Bec
15.4.11
It's Glowing Orange And There's No Reset Button!
So I got up to go to bed last night and saw that the microwave wasn't showing its usual green display of the time.
I thought, oh, the fumigators were in and I moved it. Must have not plugged it back in.
Ha. It was plugged in. It was the plug that was the problem.
For some reason, the plug light thing is glowing a fierce and nasty orange. I flipped the breaker switch, thinking that would fix it. Nothing. I tried to push the button for resetting the electricity (nonexistent but worth a shot anyway.) Nothing.
Since it was late and I was tired, I decided to write down the details and have maintenance futz with it this morning. And so they shall.
The guy from maintenance had the chutzpah to actually tell me to PUSH THE RESET BUTTON. You think I didn't think of that one already? I spent five minutes figuring out which breaker switch to flip last night, but I tried to hit the reset button FIRST.
There IS no reset button, as I told him this morning, so pushing inbetween the two plugs is doing about as much good as yelling at the plugin.
Sigh. There goes my sesame bagel. Maybe on my birthday.
Ta,
Bec
PS: There's nothing quite like an attack of the stupids on a nice Friday morning. Case in point-maintenance was here for three seconds. The guy took out his key and pushed the EXTREMELY hard-to-press reset button and voila! problem solved.
I'm going to go get that bagel now.
I thought, oh, the fumigators were in and I moved it. Must have not plugged it back in.
Ha. It was plugged in. It was the plug that was the problem.
For some reason, the plug light thing is glowing a fierce and nasty orange. I flipped the breaker switch, thinking that would fix it. Nothing. I tried to push the button for resetting the electricity (nonexistent but worth a shot anyway.) Nothing.
Since it was late and I was tired, I decided to write down the details and have maintenance futz with it this morning. And so they shall.
The guy from maintenance had the chutzpah to actually tell me to PUSH THE RESET BUTTON. You think I didn't think of that one already? I spent five minutes figuring out which breaker switch to flip last night, but I tried to hit the reset button FIRST.
There IS no reset button, as I told him this morning, so pushing inbetween the two plugs is doing about as much good as yelling at the plugin.
Sigh. There goes my sesame bagel. Maybe on my birthday.
Ta,
Bec
PS: There's nothing quite like an attack of the stupids on a nice Friday morning. Case in point-maintenance was here for three seconds. The guy took out his key and pushed the EXTREMELY hard-to-press reset button and voila! problem solved.
I'm going to go get that bagel now.
13.4.11
Half-Pint of Ice Cream and Yay for Fumigation
Been down on the couch most of today because I wasn't feeling all that well earlier, but with painkillers and a little Supernatural this morning, I feel better.
And I just had a half-pint of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. That helped much.
I have homework to do and I have slacked off but I'm about to settle to it (yeah right)
AND the fumigators are coming tomorrow so that means I have to remove EVERYTHING from my cupboards so that they can, you know, blast the little buggers. I should do that now so that I don't trip over pots and pans in the dark because I don't know where they are (funny as that would be, I don't want a broken ankle.)
I'd better actually do something with my day.
Ta,
Bec
Mom gave me an idea that meant I'd either be sleeping on the bed or sleeping on the couch. The couch lost. My kitchen stuff migrated out to the couch like some sort of mad altar to monthly fumigation (a metaphor if there ever was one) and I'm on the bed with the TV perched on the desk chair so that I can see it.
The cupboards are all cleared now, so the fumigators can arrive tomorrow and I don't have to worry about this stuff at 6 in the morning when I'm running out the door. I can imagine me whipping things out anywhere and everywhere trying to get the whole thing cleared out before I left. It'd waste time, it'd stress me out, and I had all day today to do it so why wait?
The only problem is, if I actually decide to cook tonight (not likely) I'll have to try to find the things I want to cook with in the bags or around the couch where they were put. Yay for hidden object puzzles.
And I just had a half-pint of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. That helped much.
I have homework to do and I have slacked off but I'm about to settle to it (yeah right)
AND the fumigators are coming tomorrow so that means I have to remove EVERYTHING from my cupboards so that they can, you know, blast the little buggers. I should do that now so that I don't trip over pots and pans in the dark because I don't know where they are (funny as that would be, I don't want a broken ankle.)
I'd better actually do something with my day.
Ta,
Bec
Mom gave me an idea that meant I'd either be sleeping on the bed or sleeping on the couch. The couch lost. My kitchen stuff migrated out to the couch like some sort of mad altar to monthly fumigation (a metaphor if there ever was one) and I'm on the bed with the TV perched on the desk chair so that I can see it.
The cupboards are all cleared now, so the fumigators can arrive tomorrow and I don't have to worry about this stuff at 6 in the morning when I'm running out the door. I can imagine me whipping things out anywhere and everywhere trying to get the whole thing cleared out before I left. It'd waste time, it'd stress me out, and I had all day today to do it so why wait?
The only problem is, if I actually decide to cook tonight (not likely) I'll have to try to find the things I want to cook with in the bags or around the couch where they were put. Yay for hidden object puzzles.
11.4.11
Nothing Going On But A Heck of a Wait
Muse the Movie to be released in August. Oi. That's gonna be a long time to wait but worth every minute, I'm sure.
Not much going on with me. Been busy. Lots to do tomorrow.
Talk to you more when I've got the time,
Bec
Not much going on with me. Been busy. Lots to do tomorrow.
Talk to you more when I've got the time,
Bec
8.4.11
Sunny Friday
A lovely Friday here in Durham. I'm stuck inside writing 2 papers and a proposal. One paper is done and away to the prof. The next I'll probably start on in another hour and a half simply because I have the whole stinking weekend to work on it and I can afford a little laziness.
I did everything that needed to be done for the week already on Wednesday, so maybe I'll vacuum or work on the "I want to connect my laptop to the telly, but they're five years difference in technology is going to make it a problem" project, or maybe watch some Sherlock (I had to get involved in another BBC TV show that has a genius-child character with a nemesis and a faithful sidekick written by Steven Moffat. It was inevitable.)
Or I might get more Snapeas. This bag's nearly out.
I'd better get to doing something.
Ta,
Bec
I did everything that needed to be done for the week already on Wednesday, so maybe I'll vacuum or work on the "I want to connect my laptop to the telly, but they're five years difference in technology is going to make it a problem" project, or maybe watch some Sherlock (I had to get involved in another BBC TV show that has a genius-child character with a nemesis and a faithful sidekick written by Steven Moffat. It was inevitable.)
Or I might get more Snapeas. This bag's nearly out.
I'd better get to doing something.
Ta,
Bec
5.4.11
What A Week So Far!
1. I have an e-reader that is full of bookish loveliness.
2. My glass frames should be changed by today (or tomorrow.)
3. There are Snapeas in my kitchen. They are peas in the pod turned crispy and chiplike. I confess that I am addicted terribly. If Whole Foods was farther away I might be better off. I'm in there once a week buying crispy chip pea things for snacking away on.
4. It is raining.
4.5. I got my bathtub fixed so that it holds water for baths. I've just been coping without it for the last four months but with Mum coming down in May I figured she might want a bath or two whilst here.
Now if I get the several plugins that don't work fixed and the vent in the bathroom to shut up I'll only need maintenance if something dies.
5. Incubus put out their new song "Adolescents" yesterday and their album's coming out in JULY, which is at least two months earlier than anyone expected it.
6. Incubus's new song is terrific.
7. Muse the Movie may be getting a release date NEXT WEEK. Cue tears of unbelievable joy. I spent a good half-hour looking for when I mentioned it the first time...FEBRUARY 2009. That's how long I've been waiting. Over two years. I have been patient. I have kept the faith. And I'm getting my Muse movie soon.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
8. If that illegal rooster next door doesn't shut up soon it's going to lose more than just feathers. It's daylight and has been for hours, so shut up. They're not supposed to have a rooster in Durham city limits anyway but apparently residential laws are for other people to follow. I understand why they ban roosters in cities-they're potentially vicious, they're noisy, and their presence is not necessary for having egg-laying hens. It also curbs cockfighting, which is a horrible thing to do to a rooster.
PS: For those that question whether I'm right or wrong on this issue, THIS was copy and pasted from the Durham City webpage (and yes, I have the right Durham.)
Durham City Council adopted a Text Amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance that allows citizens throughout the City to keep a limited number of female chickens (no roosters) for personal use with a permit and subject to certain standards.
I sent an e-mail to Animal Control. Let them make of it what they will. I hate calling the authorities on people but the damn thing needs to stop crowing. Hopefully they take it to a farm and give it a good home that's out in the country.
Ta,
Bec
PS: By the by, Bill the ficus plant is thriving beautifully. I got him a new pot about a week and a half ago and since then he's been sprouting leaves left, right, and center. Seems like he's enjoying the five minutes of conversation I try to give him every day when I water him. If he keeps growing like this, he'll need a new pot again by September or I'll have to prune him down so that he doesn't get out of control. I need to be able to fit him in the car!
Here's a picture of him today.
Actually the reason I took pictures of him today was because Sara insisted that he was dead last night and that I was hiding the truth from everyone. That's why this photo has a date stamp (otherwise she'd say the pic was taken last week or something.)
Maybe next time she does this I could prop up the daily newspaper next to his pot to prove he's still alive. Sheesh. The only reason my last plant died was because SHE kicked it over. Without her feet to threaten him with harm to his foliage, Bill's been doing JUST fine.
2. My glass frames should be changed by today (or tomorrow.)
3. There are Snapeas in my kitchen. They are peas in the pod turned crispy and chiplike. I confess that I am addicted terribly. If Whole Foods was farther away I might be better off. I'm in there once a week buying crispy chip pea things for snacking away on.
4. It is raining.
4.5. I got my bathtub fixed so that it holds water for baths. I've just been coping without it for the last four months but with Mum coming down in May I figured she might want a bath or two whilst here.
Now if I get the several plugins that don't work fixed and the vent in the bathroom to shut up I'll only need maintenance if something dies.
5. Incubus put out their new song "Adolescents" yesterday and their album's coming out in JULY, which is at least two months earlier than anyone expected it.
6. Incubus's new song is terrific.
7. Muse the Movie may be getting a release date NEXT WEEK. Cue tears of unbelievable joy. I spent a good half-hour looking for when I mentioned it the first time...FEBRUARY 2009. That's how long I've been waiting. Over two years. I have been patient. I have kept the faith. And I'm getting my Muse movie soon.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
8. If that illegal rooster next door doesn't shut up soon it's going to lose more than just feathers. It's daylight and has been for hours, so shut up. They're not supposed to have a rooster in Durham city limits anyway but apparently residential laws are for other people to follow. I understand why they ban roosters in cities-they're potentially vicious, they're noisy, and their presence is not necessary for having egg-laying hens. It also curbs cockfighting, which is a horrible thing to do to a rooster.
PS: For those that question whether I'm right or wrong on this issue, THIS was copy and pasted from the Durham City webpage (and yes, I have the right Durham.)
Durham City Council adopted a Text Amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance that allows citizens throughout the City to keep a limited number of female chickens (no roosters) for personal use with a permit and subject to certain standards.
I sent an e-mail to Animal Control. Let them make of it what they will. I hate calling the authorities on people but the damn thing needs to stop crowing. Hopefully they take it to a farm and give it a good home that's out in the country.
Ta,
Bec
PS: By the by, Bill the ficus plant is thriving beautifully. I got him a new pot about a week and a half ago and since then he's been sprouting leaves left, right, and center. Seems like he's enjoying the five minutes of conversation I try to give him every day when I water him. If he keeps growing like this, he'll need a new pot again by September or I'll have to prune him down so that he doesn't get out of control. I need to be able to fit him in the car!
Here's a picture of him today.
Actually the reason I took pictures of him today was because Sara insisted that he was dead last night and that I was hiding the truth from everyone. That's why this photo has a date stamp (otherwise she'd say the pic was taken last week or something.)
Maybe next time she does this I could prop up the daily newspaper next to his pot to prove he's still alive. Sheesh. The only reason my last plant died was because SHE kicked it over. Without her feet to threaten him with harm to his foliage, Bill's been doing JUST fine.
4.4.11
Quite Bored
I went down to the eye clinic today and I'm trading in these brown glasses for blue ones that are more to my liking.
What else is going on? Not much. I'm taking a break from work right now but I probably will have to file news clippings soon (grr.)
I'm going to go play with my Kobo now, and maybe look into getting a case and scratch-proof screen thingy.
Ta,
Bec
What else is going on? Not much. I'm taking a break from work right now but I probably will have to file news clippings soon (grr.)
I'm going to go play with my Kobo now, and maybe look into getting a case and scratch-proof screen thingy.
Ta,
Bec
3.4.11
New Toy!
Many of the local Borders are closing up shop around here. They're selling off furniture and shelves and generally anything that isn't nailed to the floor.
When I and my friend were in there last week, I got something that I can't talk about because certain people have birthdays coming up and they may be reading this. It's unlikely but you never know what certain eyes can see. I'll talk more once she's gotten it (and I can say she because there are two she's and they don't know which one of them I'm referring to anyway.)
I also noticed last week that they had their e-reader things on sale. I've always wanted one, despite the fact that I'm in library school and will look like a bleeding hypocrite when I go for the e-book over the solid paperback book.
Note that I have a classics collection back home that I can't reach because I'm 1,000 miles away. No Ovid, no Boethius, no Homer.
If I have to move away to the UK, I won't be shipping all those books overseas. I'd rather go into a charity shop in the UK and pay for a used copy than spend a ton shipping my books across an ocean. I'll give my collection away here and rebuild it there; most of my collection is public domain and easy to get ahold of. Books like the Iliad and Odyssey can be gotten anywhere on the cheap.
Most of my collection being public domain also means that I can get e-books of them for free. By nightfall tonight I will have the entire collected works of Shakespeare in this thing.
When the prices dropped another tick this morning I asked my friend to go in there with me. They were down to 50 bucks (as opposed to the usual 140) so I got myself one. They probably aren't going to drop the price much lower than that and I wanted to get one while they still HAD them.
It's charging next to me right now. It's very awesomely nice and I got it for about 66% off. I do love a good deal. I have to convert and upload files tonight but that's not a problem at all.
Ta,
Bec
When I and my friend were in there last week, I got something that I can't talk about because certain people have birthdays coming up and they may be reading this. It's unlikely but you never know what certain eyes can see. I'll talk more once she's gotten it (and I can say she because there are two she's and they don't know which one of them I'm referring to anyway.)
I also noticed last week that they had their e-reader things on sale. I've always wanted one, despite the fact that I'm in library school and will look like a bleeding hypocrite when I go for the e-book over the solid paperback book.
Note that I have a classics collection back home that I can't reach because I'm 1,000 miles away. No Ovid, no Boethius, no Homer.
If I have to move away to the UK, I won't be shipping all those books overseas. I'd rather go into a charity shop in the UK and pay for a used copy than spend a ton shipping my books across an ocean. I'll give my collection away here and rebuild it there; most of my collection is public domain and easy to get ahold of. Books like the Iliad and Odyssey can be gotten anywhere on the cheap.
Most of my collection being public domain also means that I can get e-books of them for free. By nightfall tonight I will have the entire collected works of Shakespeare in this thing.
When the prices dropped another tick this morning I asked my friend to go in there with me. They were down to 50 bucks (as opposed to the usual 140) so I got myself one. They probably aren't going to drop the price much lower than that and I wanted to get one while they still HAD them.
It's charging next to me right now. It's very awesomely nice and I got it for about 66% off. I do love a good deal. I have to convert and upload files tonight but that's not a problem at all.
Ta,
Bec
2.4.11
Wrong Frame of Mind
So, I've had my new glasses a few days and figured I would get used to the frames. I have before.
But apparently not this time. I can't seem to adjust. I keep looking and expecting something different.
I may have made a mistake with these frames and I think I need different ones. I'm going to go in on Tuesday and see what I can do to get these changed for a different pair. I might have just listened to other people a little too much. These aren't ME.
I can LIVE with these frames, but I really don't want to. And that's exactly the problem. If I have to wear these damn things on my face for the next half-decade I might break them on purpose just to get new ones.
In class right now and since my laptop has its lights turned down to practically zero, I can see my reflection in the screen and I'm cringing every time I look at myself.
Yup. Time to get a different set of frames.
Ta,
Bec
But apparently not this time. I can't seem to adjust. I keep looking and expecting something different.
I may have made a mistake with these frames and I think I need different ones. I'm going to go in on Tuesday and see what I can do to get these changed for a different pair. I might have just listened to other people a little too much. These aren't ME.
I can LIVE with these frames, but I really don't want to. And that's exactly the problem. If I have to wear these damn things on my face for the next half-decade I might break them on purpose just to get new ones.
In class right now and since my laptop has its lights turned down to practically zero, I can see my reflection in the screen and I'm cringing every time I look at myself.
Yup. Time to get a different set of frames.
Ta,
Bec
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)