Who knew that finding a suitable date would be so difficult? It's funny because when you complete all the questions you have they give you this thing to fill out on how important each thing is. For example, you give an age range and then you have to mark whether it's really important, somewhat important or not important at all. Only, I found out that it really is important how you mark those things because well, if, like me, you mark things as not that important (because I didn't want to come off as inflexible and rigid), they look outside of your criteria - way outside.
And that resulted in me receiving a bunch of "flexible matches", which I later found out meant they didn't match my criteria but, since I was so flexible and all, they thought they'd throw them in there. I kept getting matches for men over 60. I mean, there's really nothing wrong with that but that's not really who I want to date, you know? So, I went in and made a point of changing my age range in the system. Yet I still kept getting these matches of men in their 60s. This was still before I realized that I was getting these matches because I wanted to be "flexible".
Now, the shortest distance you can list is 30 miles, which frankly, for me - regardless of gas prices - is more than I want to travel to date someone. I don't even want to split the distance there...it's just too far for me. However, I had noted on the questionnaire that distance wasn't that important to me.
It wasn't until they gave me at least two matches that were - get this - in another state that it started to be important to me. Because, let's be clear, I don't live near any state line. That's when I made a point of figuring out why I was getting so many matches that weren't within my criteria. On the other hand, now that things are more important, I'm not getting as many matches.
Oh well, I still have 56 open matches - four of which are in the "communicating" stage. There have been 59 matches closed out by either me or the other party. And all of my "I'm not sure" feelings have lead to a closure, one way or another.
The last closing was on Beverly, age 50. I closed based on the physical distance between us but I'm wondering if I don't need to go back and check the importance of the gender of the match..... ;)
Friday, June 06, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Interesting dreams
I've been having some interesting dreams lately. I think my favorite (of late anyway) came Monday night, after I'd watched The Bachelorette. Now, I have to point out that I've never watched this show in the past. One of my best friends in the whole world loves it and wants to talk about it all the time so I kind of follow what's happening without actually seeing a second of the show. She knows I don't get the show and don't understand the appeal of it but we're good enough friends that we can both respect each other's opinions on things like this.
Anyway, for some reason or another I decided to watch this season of the show. I watched the first one and all the while I was thinking to myself "I so don't get this show". Then I called my friend the next day and told her that...again (she hears it from me all the time). But, I did decide after that first show that I was going to watch the season. You know, kind of like that train wreck that you have to stop and stare at. You don't really understand why you have to do it but you just can't not do it. That's kind of how it is.
So, about the dream. I had just finished watching Monday night's show when I went to bed. In my dream, I was the Bachelorette. And for those that have never seen it (including this season) DeAnna has been handing out roses to the guys. These past two weeks she's given three roses out before the rose ceremony. If they get a rose before the rose ceremony, they know they're safe - they're not going home that week. The first week was "first impression" roses. I'm not sure what the second week roses were about. I don't know if this is how it works every season or not but that's how it's working this season.
But anyway, so I'm the Bachelorette and I have roses to hand out. Only I don't have red roses like DeAnna has been passing out. I have black roses that I'm handing out. And those roses go to the men that I don't like. They don't have to wait for the rose ceremony to find out that they're history - they have to leave then. lol
I told SCG (secret crush guy) about the dream the next day and he said he totally could see me doing that. Said that would be a fun version to watch. lol
Anyway, that was my dream and I found it kind of amusing - but then I'm easily amused. ;)
Anyway, for some reason or another I decided to watch this season of the show. I watched the first one and all the while I was thinking to myself "I so don't get this show". Then I called my friend the next day and told her that...again (she hears it from me all the time). But, I did decide after that first show that I was going to watch the season. You know, kind of like that train wreck that you have to stop and stare at. You don't really understand why you have to do it but you just can't not do it. That's kind of how it is.
So, about the dream. I had just finished watching Monday night's show when I went to bed. In my dream, I was the Bachelorette. And for those that have never seen it (including this season) DeAnna has been handing out roses to the guys. These past two weeks she's given three roses out before the rose ceremony. If they get a rose before the rose ceremony, they know they're safe - they're not going home that week. The first week was "first impression" roses. I'm not sure what the second week roses were about. I don't know if this is how it works every season or not but that's how it's working this season.
But anyway, so I'm the Bachelorette and I have roses to hand out. Only I don't have red roses like DeAnna has been passing out. I have black roses that I'm handing out. And those roses go to the men that I don't like. They don't have to wait for the rose ceremony to find out that they're history - they have to leave then. lol
I told SCG (secret crush guy) about the dream the next day and he said he totally could see me doing that. Said that would be a fun version to watch. lol
Anyway, that was my dream and I found it kind of amusing - but then I'm easily amused. ;)
Monday, May 26, 2008
All in the name of Research
I promise not to have daily updates on the online dating but, well, I am an official member now. I signed up for a three month membership. It will run out about the time school starts back up for me and I figure if nothing develops before then that I won't have time to continue. So I'm giving myself three months of "fun", if that's what you want to call it.
I've "closed" several more matches today. One had looked pretty promising on his profile - he said he loves dogs and just lost his dog, who was 17 years old. Plus he had a little country place that he likes to hang out it. It sounded good.
Until he got to the questions.
He only wants one night a week to himself...less time - way less time - than I want for myself.
I asked the premarital sex question of him and he wrote in "the last three". The only other option was "I'm completely opposed to it".
When asked if he dominated his relationships he said yes - translation: control freak, which is a total "no way in hell" for me.
Yet, I STILL moved on to the must haves/can't stands stage of the program, but only after I reminded myself of his love of dogs and his country place. lol
As for his must haves/can't stands, they reinforced my belief that he is a control freak and only wants someone whose world will revolve around him and his desires. Anyone who wants to have their own life or wants their needs and desires met will not be compatible for him.
Mark that one CLOSED as of 8:15 a.m. today.
Aside from that, I want to know why someone would include their official arrest mug shots as their photos. Seriously, now that I'm able to view pictures I have to wonder what these people think! And do the guys who include pictures of themselves with other women think that's appealing? I just want to say it looks like they have enough women in their lives already and I'm not willing to become part of their harem.
It's going to be an interesting three months.
Oh, and P.S. I'm a redhead, as of yesterday. ;-)
I've "closed" several more matches today. One had looked pretty promising on his profile - he said he loves dogs and just lost his dog, who was 17 years old. Plus he had a little country place that he likes to hang out it. It sounded good.
Until he got to the questions.
He only wants one night a week to himself...less time - way less time - than I want for myself.
I asked the premarital sex question of him and he wrote in "the last three". The only other option was "I'm completely opposed to it".
When asked if he dominated his relationships he said yes - translation: control freak, which is a total "no way in hell" for me.
Yet, I STILL moved on to the must haves/can't stands stage of the program, but only after I reminded myself of his love of dogs and his country place. lol
As for his must haves/can't stands, they reinforced my belief that he is a control freak and only wants someone whose world will revolve around him and his desires. Anyone who wants to have their own life or wants their needs and desires met will not be compatible for him.
Mark that one CLOSED as of 8:15 a.m. today.
Aside from that, I want to know why someone would include their official arrest mug shots as their photos. Seriously, now that I'm able to view pictures I have to wonder what these people think! And do the guys who include pictures of themselves with other women think that's appealing? I just want to say it looks like they have enough women in their lives already and I'm not willing to become part of their harem.
It's going to be an interesting three months.
Oh, and P.S. I'm a redhead, as of yesterday. ;-)
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Meet the Bachelors
Bachelor #1
Jerry is a 47 year old Computer Technician and Export Manager
Jerry is the bachelor that made the crack about romance novels I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Even with the comment, I decided not to write him off immediately - I wanted to keep an open mind. So we went through the initial questions.
In response to my question regarding personal space, he said when he was at work was all the "down time" he needed - he wanted to spend the rest of his time with his partner. Uh, wrong answer for this girl! But, his dream getaway is a cottage by the sea. Made up some points with that. So we moved on to round 2...must haves and can't stands.
Let's just say he has high expectations for his partner and it doesn't seem like he's willing to give anything back.
The match was officially "closed" as of May 24, 2008, 12:44 p.m. (by me)
Bachelor #2
TOMMIE (how he was listed - in all caps) is 51 and retired - from what, I have no idea
One of TOMMIE's life skills is managing his finances (which could explain how he can be retired at 51).
His answers to my questions revealed that he is mostly serious but enjoys the occasional laugh. Okay, so not working for me as I love to laugh as much as possible - but, still keeping an open mind. But more on that in a minute.
We moved on to must haves and can't stands.
TOMMIE must have someone with a sense of humor. Yes, the guy who is mostly serious must have a woman with a sense of humor. (Note to TOMMIE, LUCY likes consistency!)
Nevertheless, we moved on to the second set of questions which we get to write ourselves, rather than draw from a list (although a list is available and I did use it).
In the question where I asked what one event in his life did he most regret he gave me a one sentence reply and then went on to give me his email and phone number, ask what I look like and tell me that he's only on the program through Monday.
Yet, I still agreed to move on to Open Communication (which is still anonymous through the website).
After a couple of emails (did I mention that he can't spell and his grammar is atrocious - who knew it would be so important to me!) of him begging me to call and/or email him, the match was officially "closed" by me on May 24, 2008 at 1:42 p.m.
Next up we have Bachelor #3
Jerry is a 61 year old Sales Rep.
Now, I have to be honest his age is a put off for me but I'm really trying to be open-minded here. However, the Sales Rep thing is even a bigger deal than the age...I don't much care for salesmen. But being open-minded and all, I answered his questions and then asked my own.
I asked how many years he had lived alone and he responded with his phone number and said he'd be leaving the service soon. Apparently he misunderstood how the question and answer thing worked!
Premarital sex? A part of the dating process.
Opinion on mate having opposite sex friends? Basically, only if any and all socializing is done in his presence.
The match was officially closed May 24, 2008 at 2:11 p.m.
Bachelor #4
David is a 42 year old truck driver. Okay, I've heard enough stories about truck drivers that I'm skeptical but still (for whatever reason) open-minded. He'd sent me an "icebreaker" and I reciprocated. Then the questions started.
I asked what his opinion of the traditional gender roles were, he basically said he was for them. Uh, wrong answer.
Premarital sex? He has no problem with it.
Laughter? Mostly serious with the occasional laugh.
Financially? He's cheap (paraphrasing here).
Opposite sex friendships? Not only does he think it's okay, he thinks they both should actively pursue them. Hmmm, I was asking because I have male friends and I don't anyone telling me I shouldn't (my ex did that and I regret that I let him talk me out of being friends with my friends) - but actively pursuing them? I don't know.
Still, I moved on to the must haves and can't stands. In a nutshell, he's looking for someone to take care of him and be his sex slave.
Match officially closed today at 3:46 p.m.
I have three others that are in the communication stage, one of which requested we "fast track" the communications (meaning you skip the questions and must haves/can't stands and go straight to open - anonymous - communication). He did this when we got to the "open question" phase and I directed a question to his "can't stands" (he can't stand gamblers and I love Las Vegas - even though I'm not really a gambler). I declined his fast track because I want him to answer the question at hand. I'm still waiting to see if he's okay with the decline.
There are two others that I've sent icebreakers to that seem promising but you never know. I guess time will tell.
Jerry is a 47 year old Computer Technician and Export Manager
Jerry is the bachelor that made the crack about romance novels I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Even with the comment, I decided not to write him off immediately - I wanted to keep an open mind. So we went through the initial questions.
In response to my question regarding personal space, he said when he was at work was all the "down time" he needed - he wanted to spend the rest of his time with his partner. Uh, wrong answer for this girl! But, his dream getaway is a cottage by the sea. Made up some points with that. So we moved on to round 2...must haves and can't stands.
Let's just say he has high expectations for his partner and it doesn't seem like he's willing to give anything back.
The match was officially "closed" as of May 24, 2008, 12:44 p.m. (by me)
Bachelor #2
TOMMIE (how he was listed - in all caps) is 51 and retired - from what, I have no idea
One of TOMMIE's life skills is managing his finances (which could explain how he can be retired at 51).
His answers to my questions revealed that he is mostly serious but enjoys the occasional laugh. Okay, so not working for me as I love to laugh as much as possible - but, still keeping an open mind. But more on that in a minute.
We moved on to must haves and can't stands.
TOMMIE must have someone with a sense of humor. Yes, the guy who is mostly serious must have a woman with a sense of humor. (Note to TOMMIE, LUCY likes consistency!)
Nevertheless, we moved on to the second set of questions which we get to write ourselves, rather than draw from a list (although a list is available and I did use it).
In the question where I asked what one event in his life did he most regret he gave me a one sentence reply and then went on to give me his email and phone number, ask what I look like and tell me that he's only on the program through Monday.
Yet, I still agreed to move on to Open Communication (which is still anonymous through the website).
After a couple of emails (did I mention that he can't spell and his grammar is atrocious - who knew it would be so important to me!) of him begging me to call and/or email him, the match was officially "closed" by me on May 24, 2008 at 1:42 p.m.
Next up we have Bachelor #3
Jerry is a 61 year old Sales Rep.
Now, I have to be honest his age is a put off for me but I'm really trying to be open-minded here. However, the Sales Rep thing is even a bigger deal than the age...I don't much care for salesmen. But being open-minded and all, I answered his questions and then asked my own.
I asked how many years he had lived alone and he responded with his phone number and said he'd be leaving the service soon. Apparently he misunderstood how the question and answer thing worked!
Premarital sex? A part of the dating process.
Opinion on mate having opposite sex friends? Basically, only if any and all socializing is done in his presence.
The match was officially closed May 24, 2008 at 2:11 p.m.
Bachelor #4
David is a 42 year old truck driver. Okay, I've heard enough stories about truck drivers that I'm skeptical but still (for whatever reason) open-minded. He'd sent me an "icebreaker" and I reciprocated. Then the questions started.
I asked what his opinion of the traditional gender roles were, he basically said he was for them. Uh, wrong answer.
Premarital sex? He has no problem with it.
Laughter? Mostly serious with the occasional laugh.
Financially? He's cheap (paraphrasing here).
Opposite sex friendships? Not only does he think it's okay, he thinks they both should actively pursue them. Hmmm, I was asking because I have male friends and I don't anyone telling me I shouldn't (my ex did that and I regret that I let him talk me out of being friends with my friends) - but actively pursuing them? I don't know.
Still, I moved on to the must haves and can't stands. In a nutshell, he's looking for someone to take care of him and be his sex slave.
Match officially closed today at 3:46 p.m.
I have three others that are in the communication stage, one of which requested we "fast track" the communications (meaning you skip the questions and must haves/can't stands and go straight to open - anonymous - communication). He did this when we got to the "open question" phase and I directed a question to his "can't stands" (he can't stand gamblers and I love Las Vegas - even though I'm not really a gambler). I declined his fast track because I want him to answer the question at hand. I'm still waiting to see if he's okay with the decline.
There are two others that I've sent icebreakers to that seem promising but you never know. I guess time will tell.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Holiday Weekend
I'm so glad we have a long weekend this weekend. I brought home work because I have a 9:00 a.m. meeting on Tuesday and some things are going to be asked of me and I won't be able to give a thorough answer unless I do the work. But you know what, I don't care. I mean, who the heck schedules a meeting first thing in the morning on the first day back after a holiday? I'll be able to give a reasonably intelligent answer if I don't do the work, I just won't be able to answer ALL the questions that might come up. I've been working my tail off at work lately and I deserve the time off, so I'm taking it! I'm not working this weekend!!!
And I'm going to read as many books as time allows, starting with finishing Kasey Michael's latest, Dial M for Mischief.
I've also been playing a bit on the online dating sites I previously mentioned. eHarmony is having a free communication weekend. I had already been pretty well talked into officially joining, because someone pointed out to me that most men wouldn't pay for a membership if they weren't serious about it. There may a few scam artists out there who have paid, but not a lot. So, then eHarmony opens things up for four days. I was kind of reviewing the "matches" they've made and decided to be pretty open minded about it.
I received questions today from a man who is 51 (5 years older than me) and retired. His profile says something to the effect that he's thankful that money is not a problem for him. Then we go through the "guided communication" far enough to where he can send/ask more than the eHarmony system controls (initially you can only ask/tell things from a list provided by eHarmony). He mentions that he won't have his membership past Monday and gives me his email and home numbers - twice.
I looked back at his profile and notice that our "match" was made last night. I'm thinking that he only joined for the free communication weekend and may not be part of the "serious - I paid" crowd. I sent him an email (though the eHarmony system, and therefore somewhat anonymous) asking him when he joined or if he was just in for the free communication.
I'm thinking he's a "no".
What about you? Anyone have any big plans for the weekend?
And I'm going to read as many books as time allows, starting with finishing Kasey Michael's latest, Dial M for Mischief.
I've also been playing a bit on the online dating sites I previously mentioned. eHarmony is having a free communication weekend. I had already been pretty well talked into officially joining, because someone pointed out to me that most men wouldn't pay for a membership if they weren't serious about it. There may a few scam artists out there who have paid, but not a lot. So, then eHarmony opens things up for four days. I was kind of reviewing the "matches" they've made and decided to be pretty open minded about it.
I received questions today from a man who is 51 (5 years older than me) and retired. His profile says something to the effect that he's thankful that money is not a problem for him. Then we go through the "guided communication" far enough to where he can send/ask more than the eHarmony system controls (initially you can only ask/tell things from a list provided by eHarmony). He mentions that he won't have his membership past Monday and gives me his email and home numbers - twice.
I looked back at his profile and notice that our "match" was made last night. I'm thinking that he only joined for the free communication weekend and may not be part of the "serious - I paid" crowd. I sent him an email (though the eHarmony system, and therefore somewhat anonymous) asking him when he joined or if he was just in for the free communication.
I'm thinking he's a "no".
What about you? Anyone have any big plans for the weekend?
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Confession Time
Every Friday I pop over to the Killer Fiction Writer's blog and read the dating adventures of one Gemma Halliday. She's done the speed dating and the online dating and the blind dating and it just makes me want to be a bit more adventurous in that regard. I mean, I'm not looking to find "the one" to marry or anything but it would be nice to go out from time to time. I also have a friend who has done the online dating thing (which is the most scary to me in one way and least scary in another).
So anyway, a few days ago I decided to go to a couple of the online dating sites and create profiles. I wasn't officially a member of these services because no money had exchanged hands . . . that is until tonight. I joined one of them on a three day trial so that I could, er, check things out, for research purposes only, you understand. Yeah, that sounds good - research purposes.
Anyway, none of the services allow anything more than a "I'm interested/wink" type of communication unless you're a paid member. They will tell you that so-and-so wants to communicate with you but you can't respond. Well, on the first day I had a profile I received several "matches" and several with "communications". Of the "communications" most were wanting to close communication because they couldn't see pictures of me. I know men are visual people but still. I couldn't communicate back with them because, well, as I've been saying, I wasn't an official member. A couple wanted to communicate with questions. I could see their questions but couldn't respond for reasons stated above. Then I didn't log on for several days.
Even though I couldn't "communicate" with the men who wanted to close communication, I could close it from my end as well - just without a message. I decided to officially close out those who wrote me off because I didn't have pictures. And I noticed that the man who had sent questions had wanted to close communications for "other" (unidentified) reasons. I figure he was upset that I didn't respond to his questions (and guess he didn't know I couldn't) and decided I wasn't worth it. I closed that communication out as well. I was thinking strongly about it the other day anyway because well, his height was a bit of a problem for me - we're about the same height.
But, the guy who goes on the definite "close" list is the one who had this response to "last book you read":
A silly little historic romance (!?!). A charming story of how love triumphs over adversity. In it's defense...it was very well written for that type of book...some nice little hidden messages about being persistent in getting what you want out of life.
He posted questions for me which, well, I can't respond to. But wouldn't I love to tell him how offensive that comment was, as if romance books aren't well written.
Anyway, I have to confess something else here. I've never wanted to join an online dating service because, well, there's something about it that I don't like. It's kind of like this blog, a bit of a secret that few people know about me. It's not something I would tell many people I was doing so you can imagine how I felt when I was searching "who I matched" and came across someone I know...and work with!!! I didn't want to view his profile because it would tell him I had (although I don't have pictures or enough identifying information in the profile for him to know it's me) but curiosity got the better of me and I looked. Thing is, this man suggested we go out a few years ago. I mentioned that I was taking classes (I was at the time) and that certain evenings weren't open for me. Well, not only did he never ask me out, he told a mutual friend that I'd shot him down cold. We saw each other recently and he suggested that he wasn't interested in dating at all - yet he has a paid membership with an online dating service. I just find it interesting.
So, I have a three-day trial membership with an online service. Now, if I could only find a place to do the speed-dating thing...
So anyway, a few days ago I decided to go to a couple of the online dating sites and create profiles. I wasn't officially a member of these services because no money had exchanged hands . . . that is until tonight. I joined one of them on a three day trial so that I could, er, check things out, for research purposes only, you understand. Yeah, that sounds good - research purposes.
Anyway, none of the services allow anything more than a "I'm interested/wink" type of communication unless you're a paid member. They will tell you that so-and-so wants to communicate with you but you can't respond. Well, on the first day I had a profile I received several "matches" and several with "communications". Of the "communications" most were wanting to close communication because they couldn't see pictures of me. I know men are visual people but still. I couldn't communicate back with them because, well, as I've been saying, I wasn't an official member. A couple wanted to communicate with questions. I could see their questions but couldn't respond for reasons stated above. Then I didn't log on for several days.
Even though I couldn't "communicate" with the men who wanted to close communication, I could close it from my end as well - just without a message. I decided to officially close out those who wrote me off because I didn't have pictures. And I noticed that the man who had sent questions had wanted to close communications for "other" (unidentified) reasons. I figure he was upset that I didn't respond to his questions (and guess he didn't know I couldn't) and decided I wasn't worth it. I closed that communication out as well. I was thinking strongly about it the other day anyway because well, his height was a bit of a problem for me - we're about the same height.
But, the guy who goes on the definite "close" list is the one who had this response to "last book you read":
A silly little historic romance (!?!). A charming story of how love triumphs over adversity. In it's defense...it was very well written for that type of book...some nice little hidden messages about being persistent in getting what you want out of life.
He posted questions for me which, well, I can't respond to. But wouldn't I love to tell him how offensive that comment was, as if romance books aren't well written.
Anyway, I have to confess something else here. I've never wanted to join an online dating service because, well, there's something about it that I don't like. It's kind of like this blog, a bit of a secret that few people know about me. It's not something I would tell many people I was doing so you can imagine how I felt when I was searching "who I matched" and came across someone I know...and work with!!! I didn't want to view his profile because it would tell him I had (although I don't have pictures or enough identifying information in the profile for him to know it's me) but curiosity got the better of me and I looked. Thing is, this man suggested we go out a few years ago. I mentioned that I was taking classes (I was at the time) and that certain evenings weren't open for me. Well, not only did he never ask me out, he told a mutual friend that I'd shot him down cold. We saw each other recently and he suggested that he wasn't interested in dating at all - yet he has a paid membership with an online dating service. I just find it interesting.
So, I have a three-day trial membership with an online service. Now, if I could only find a place to do the speed-dating thing...
Sunday, May 04, 2008
School's out for Summer!
...well, not exactly. I still have one more test tomorrow. I won't call it a final since it's not comprehensive. But still, a test is a test.
I took my final (it was somewhat comprehensive) in Shakespeare Thursday night. She had given us a study guide which would include all of the actual questions on the test. Thing was, you wouldn't know which ones would be on the test you got so you had to study for all of them. There were two questions each on King Lear, Cymbeline and Shakespeare's Sonnets. Each test (however many versions there were) would have one of the two questions from each play/sonnet on the exam. Then there were four essay questions that covered all the material we'd studied this semester. We would be getting two on our exam and would have to write up a five paragraph comparison paper on one of them.
Okay, so I started studying. One of the questions on Cymbeline and one of the questions on the Sonnets covered things I had no idea what she was talking about. I emailed her and asked her about those questions and turns out, the "background" information she gave us in class wasn't just "fluff" information...it was on the test! She pointed me in the direction of how to find out what they meant and what she wanted, which was good. But, it made me not want to see them on the test I got.
Then, Wednesday night I spoke with friend of mine from class and we discussed what we might put on the test for a few answers. She had me doubting what I'd put on that one Sonnet question that I'd had to email the teacher about and one of them from King Lear. So now I had one question from each play/sonnet that I did NOT want to see on my test.
The night of the test we (my friend and I) were talking before class. I said that I had a fear that the two essay questions I was totally unprepared for were going to be on my exam (I was good to go on the other two - well, mostly anyway). She tells me that she's had an epiphany on one of the questions I'm saying I'm afraid will be on the test - and then she tells me what that epiphany is. I can see it but I'm still hoping it won't be on my test.
So, the instructor shows up and starts handing out the tests. I got Exam B. It consisted of the three questions I didn't want to see on my test and the two essay questions that I feared would be on my exam. That's when I had a semi turrets-like outburst and started saying some very unladylike words. I mean, what are the odds of that happening (the things on the test, I mean)?
Anyway, I decided to go with my gut reaction to the questions that my friend had made me question myself on and did my best on the third. Actually, I felt pretty okay with what I'd put down. Then, when it came to the essay portion of the exam, I totally stole my friend's epiphany. I figured it was a very slim chance that she had the same question on her exam - it's very possible that there were only two versions of the exam out there and that one test had the questions I had and the other had all the other questions on it - and even if she did have it on her exam, the instructor knew we were friends and could have figured we'd studied together to come up with the same outline.
I called my friend after class and told her what I'd done. She was totally okay with it, saying if it weren't for my notes that I'd given her, she wouldn't have had the epiphany and it wasn't one of the options on her test.
So, don't know how well I did but I felt okay at the end of the day. I got my paper back (the one I re-wrote a couple of times *sigh*) and got an A- on it. She made the following comments on it:
"Laura - I still stand by my comments that I made at our meeting about how this paper could be improved. In general, it is more interesting to focus on why characters do things, not what they do --and to delve into characterizations. You've certainly done that here; I'm just trying to get you to focus less on what and more on why. In the case of the Queen it is simpler, but with Edmund he is more complex and the paper could explore that more. That said, your writing is, as always, fluent, elegant, and easy to read --and your argument is well-structured -- no small achievement!"
Overall, pretty nice comments. It did, however, make me wonder if I would have gotten a better grade if I'd never gone to see her - that maybe I was somewhat penalized for not quite capturing what we'd discussed - not that I got a bad grade or anything, it just made me wonder. Anyway, I'd also gone into her office prior to the class and asked a couple of questions. I'd told her that I had registered for her fall class already and hoped that wasn't a problem. You see, I've worried about being one of "those" students because I keep asking questions and going to see her on papers and having a different viewpoint/interpretation on the stories and videos we've read/seen. But, she told me that I was one of the best students she'd had all semester and she'd love to have me in another one of her classes. So I left feeling pretty good in general.
So, one more test and then I AM done for the summer. Margaritas on me! ;-)
I took my final (it was somewhat comprehensive) in Shakespeare Thursday night. She had given us a study guide which would include all of the actual questions on the test. Thing was, you wouldn't know which ones would be on the test you got so you had to study for all of them. There were two questions each on King Lear, Cymbeline and Shakespeare's Sonnets. Each test (however many versions there were) would have one of the two questions from each play/sonnet on the exam. Then there were four essay questions that covered all the material we'd studied this semester. We would be getting two on our exam and would have to write up a five paragraph comparison paper on one of them.
Okay, so I started studying. One of the questions on Cymbeline and one of the questions on the Sonnets covered things I had no idea what she was talking about. I emailed her and asked her about those questions and turns out, the "background" information she gave us in class wasn't just "fluff" information...it was on the test! She pointed me in the direction of how to find out what they meant and what she wanted, which was good. But, it made me not want to see them on the test I got.
Then, Wednesday night I spoke with friend of mine from class and we discussed what we might put on the test for a few answers. She had me doubting what I'd put on that one Sonnet question that I'd had to email the teacher about and one of them from King Lear. So now I had one question from each play/sonnet that I did NOT want to see on my test.
The night of the test we (my friend and I) were talking before class. I said that I had a fear that the two essay questions I was totally unprepared for were going to be on my exam (I was good to go on the other two - well, mostly anyway). She tells me that she's had an epiphany on one of the questions I'm saying I'm afraid will be on the test - and then she tells me what that epiphany is. I can see it but I'm still hoping it won't be on my test.
So, the instructor shows up and starts handing out the tests. I got Exam B. It consisted of the three questions I didn't want to see on my test and the two essay questions that I feared would be on my exam. That's when I had a semi turrets-like outburst and started saying some very unladylike words. I mean, what are the odds of that happening (the things on the test, I mean)?
Anyway, I decided to go with my gut reaction to the questions that my friend had made me question myself on and did my best on the third. Actually, I felt pretty okay with what I'd put down. Then, when it came to the essay portion of the exam, I totally stole my friend's epiphany. I figured it was a very slim chance that she had the same question on her exam - it's very possible that there were only two versions of the exam out there and that one test had the questions I had and the other had all the other questions on it - and even if she did have it on her exam, the instructor knew we were friends and could have figured we'd studied together to come up with the same outline.
I called my friend after class and told her what I'd done. She was totally okay with it, saying if it weren't for my notes that I'd given her, she wouldn't have had the epiphany and it wasn't one of the options on her test.
So, don't know how well I did but I felt okay at the end of the day. I got my paper back (the one I re-wrote a couple of times *sigh*) and got an A- on it. She made the following comments on it:
"Laura - I still stand by my comments that I made at our meeting about how this paper could be improved. In general, it is more interesting to focus on why characters do things, not what they do --and to delve into characterizations. You've certainly done that here; I'm just trying to get you to focus less on what and more on why. In the case of the Queen it is simpler, but with Edmund he is more complex and the paper could explore that more. That said, your writing is, as always, fluent, elegant, and easy to read --and your argument is well-structured -- no small achievement!"
Overall, pretty nice comments. It did, however, make me wonder if I would have gotten a better grade if I'd never gone to see her - that maybe I was somewhat penalized for not quite capturing what we'd discussed - not that I got a bad grade or anything, it just made me wonder. Anyway, I'd also gone into her office prior to the class and asked a couple of questions. I'd told her that I had registered for her fall class already and hoped that wasn't a problem. You see, I've worried about being one of "those" students because I keep asking questions and going to see her on papers and having a different viewpoint/interpretation on the stories and videos we've read/seen. But, she told me that I was one of the best students she'd had all semester and she'd love to have me in another one of her classes. So I left feeling pretty good in general.
So, one more test and then I AM done for the summer. Margaritas on me! ;-)
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Melt Down
Lately I've felt like I've been so behind on everything. I've been walking around with this overwhelming feeling that I won't get everything done and that there's something important that I'm totally forgetting to do. And just let me be upfront right here and now...I HATE those feelings.
Anyway, school is finally winding down but that hasn't stopped the feelings. No, in fact, it's this big ol' reminder that I've left everything until the last minute.
For example, Thursday is the last day in my Shakespeare class. It's the day of the final and the day our portfolios are due. Now, all semester long I've said I was going to work on my portfolio as we went along. When that wasn't happening, I said I was going to catch up over spring break. But as you may recall, I didn't get to much I'd intended to over spring break. Then time kept creeping up and the end started getting closer and closer and I still wasn't doing anything.
All this putting things off came back to bite me in the rear this past week. See, we had a paper due this past Thursday. It was a comparison paper of two works we've read over the last half of the semester. (I chose to compare the villains of King Lear and Cymbeline.) I also had an exam in my government class on Wednesday. The plan was to work up the paper on Saturday and then study on Sunday of last weekend. Well, Saturday I was exhausted and after I went to the grocery store and took my dogs to the vet, I was wiped out and slept most of the afternoon. But I still had Sunday, right?
Who knew it would take all day Sunday to write a freakin' paper! When I was done, I sent an email to my instructor asking if we could meet one day after work for her input. She said we could meet Tuesday afternoon. Perfect! That meant that I could study on Monday AND Tuesday and then do any revisions on the paper Wednesday night, right?
Yeah, it should be so easy. I had also sent my paper off to a friend of mine who had a lot to say about my first paragraph. Don't get me wrong, she was right and I really appreciated the input. But that meant that Monday night I was reworking my paper. I did, however, take time to type up about half of my notes for the test on Wednesday. I figured I was still good though because I would have Tuesday evening to study for the exam still.
Then I met with the instructor. She liked the paper and said I was a good writer but she really wanted to challenge me and she basically asked me to rewrite everything except the thesis paragraph and the conclusion - essentially the entire paper...by Thursday! No pressure or anything. I told her my main concern with that was that I could rewrite it and be totally wrong in it and then submit something worse than I'd already given her. She said she'd take into consideration the work I put into it. Not greatly encouraging but it is something so I said okay.
I still planned to study Tuesday night but when I got home I started thinking that there would be no way I could rewrite an entire paper in one evening (Wednesday - after the test) so I worked on typing up the rest of the notes for the test during Dancing With The Stars (so hated to see Marlee go) because you don't have to devote all attention to the TV when it's elimination night and then turned my attention to the paper. I worked on it until about 10:30 and was really tired so decided to send the revisions to my instructor to see if I was at least on the right track of what she was hoping to see.
Oh, but what I forgot to mention was that Monday night/Tuesday morning, I woke up about 3:00 a.m. panicked that I wouldn't get everything done. I finally crawled out of bed around 4:00 a.m. and started working on my portfolio for the class because this weekend I need to prepare for the final and I wanted as much time available for that as possible. I worked on the portfolio for about two hours before I started getting ready for work, doing the questions for Julius Caesar and working on the questions for Measure for Measure. Then Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I woke up around 2:00 a.m. I crawled out of bed around 3:00 a.m. and read over my notes a couple of times before work.
When I got to class that morning to take the test, I knew I was so screwed. This was the first section that I hadn't read the book materials before the test and the first section that I wasn't "getting" during the lectures. I also spent less time on reviewing my notes than I usually do. Regardless, I decided to give it my best shot. But I was so lost. I decided to make decisions as to what certain things meant and went with those "assumptions" throughout the test so that at least I'd be consistent with my answers. Turns out that might not have been the best idea. We reviewed several policies and theories and I paired a couple together and answered them based on the assumption I'd made only to find out that not only did they not mean the same thing, they were exact opposites. Yeah, so not good. Needless to say, this isn't going to be my best test score. In fact, I'm kind of dreading getting the grade back.
But back to the paper, I'd sent my revisions from the night before to the instructor to be sure I was doing the right thing. Her comment was that I was on the right track but... Doesn't matter what the "but" was, only that it meant more work was involved in what I was doing. Ugh!
I worked on the paper until 11:00 that night (Wednesday), sent it to a friend and then reworked it more at lunch before printing out what I ultimately submitted Thursday night. I have no idea if I gave the instructor what she wanted or if what I wrote was more than crap. But then I got to class and she handed out the study guide for this upcoming Thursday's final. I totally freaked out and had a meltdown, right there in the classroom. I got that overwhelming feeling like you can't breathe and came thisclose to breaking down crying - which I'm sure the lack of sleep had nothing to do with.
Anyway, I decided to take Friday off to relax and then spend the rest of the weekend working on the portfolio and final prep. I can do that, right? But then last night I decided to start on the questions again. I pulled up the last saved version of questions (each story is getting its own file). It was Julius Caesar. I was kind of confused because I was pretty sure I'd finished those that morning I woke up so early. But then I opened it up and only one and a half of the questions has been answered. I had a little panic attack. It didn't become a major, full-on panic attack until I realized that the question and answers in this file were to Measure for Measure. I'd used the template for Julius Caesar on Measure for Measure only, instead of doing a "save as" when I was done, I just saved OVER the file and all the work - the two hours worth of work - I'd done! Let's just say it was not pretty. And although you'd think that writing up the answers the second time around would be easier, it wasn't. And it didn't sit well to have to spend time redoing something I'd already done when time has been an issue for me lately. But I redid them last night and worked on Measure for Measure.
I finished those up this morning and am about half way through King Lear. Then I'll only have Cymbeline and the Sonnets to work through before I devote myself to the final exam prep.
I can do this...right?
Anyway, school is finally winding down but that hasn't stopped the feelings. No, in fact, it's this big ol' reminder that I've left everything until the last minute.
For example, Thursday is the last day in my Shakespeare class. It's the day of the final and the day our portfolios are due. Now, all semester long I've said I was going to work on my portfolio as we went along. When that wasn't happening, I said I was going to catch up over spring break. But as you may recall, I didn't get to much I'd intended to over spring break. Then time kept creeping up and the end started getting closer and closer and I still wasn't doing anything.
All this putting things off came back to bite me in the rear this past week. See, we had a paper due this past Thursday. It was a comparison paper of two works we've read over the last half of the semester. (I chose to compare the villains of King Lear and Cymbeline.) I also had an exam in my government class on Wednesday. The plan was to work up the paper on Saturday and then study on Sunday of last weekend. Well, Saturday I was exhausted and after I went to the grocery store and took my dogs to the vet, I was wiped out and slept most of the afternoon. But I still had Sunday, right?
Who knew it would take all day Sunday to write a freakin' paper! When I was done, I sent an email to my instructor asking if we could meet one day after work for her input. She said we could meet Tuesday afternoon. Perfect! That meant that I could study on Monday AND Tuesday and then do any revisions on the paper Wednesday night, right?
Yeah, it should be so easy. I had also sent my paper off to a friend of mine who had a lot to say about my first paragraph. Don't get me wrong, she was right and I really appreciated the input. But that meant that Monday night I was reworking my paper. I did, however, take time to type up about half of my notes for the test on Wednesday. I figured I was still good though because I would have Tuesday evening to study for the exam still.
Then I met with the instructor. She liked the paper and said I was a good writer but she really wanted to challenge me and she basically asked me to rewrite everything except the thesis paragraph and the conclusion - essentially the entire paper...by Thursday! No pressure or anything. I told her my main concern with that was that I could rewrite it and be totally wrong in it and then submit something worse than I'd already given her. She said she'd take into consideration the work I put into it. Not greatly encouraging but it is something so I said okay.
I still planned to study Tuesday night but when I got home I started thinking that there would be no way I could rewrite an entire paper in one evening (Wednesday - after the test) so I worked on typing up the rest of the notes for the test during Dancing With The Stars (so hated to see Marlee go) because you don't have to devote all attention to the TV when it's elimination night and then turned my attention to the paper. I worked on it until about 10:30 and was really tired so decided to send the revisions to my instructor to see if I was at least on the right track of what she was hoping to see.
Oh, but what I forgot to mention was that Monday night/Tuesday morning, I woke up about 3:00 a.m. panicked that I wouldn't get everything done. I finally crawled out of bed around 4:00 a.m. and started working on my portfolio for the class because this weekend I need to prepare for the final and I wanted as much time available for that as possible. I worked on the portfolio for about two hours before I started getting ready for work, doing the questions for Julius Caesar and working on the questions for Measure for Measure. Then Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I woke up around 2:00 a.m. I crawled out of bed around 3:00 a.m. and read over my notes a couple of times before work.
When I got to class that morning to take the test, I knew I was so screwed. This was the first section that I hadn't read the book materials before the test and the first section that I wasn't "getting" during the lectures. I also spent less time on reviewing my notes than I usually do. Regardless, I decided to give it my best shot. But I was so lost. I decided to make decisions as to what certain things meant and went with those "assumptions" throughout the test so that at least I'd be consistent with my answers. Turns out that might not have been the best idea. We reviewed several policies and theories and I paired a couple together and answered them based on the assumption I'd made only to find out that not only did they not mean the same thing, they were exact opposites. Yeah, so not good. Needless to say, this isn't going to be my best test score. In fact, I'm kind of dreading getting the grade back.
But back to the paper, I'd sent my revisions from the night before to the instructor to be sure I was doing the right thing. Her comment was that I was on the right track but... Doesn't matter what the "but" was, only that it meant more work was involved in what I was doing. Ugh!
I worked on the paper until 11:00 that night (Wednesday), sent it to a friend and then reworked it more at lunch before printing out what I ultimately submitted Thursday night. I have no idea if I gave the instructor what she wanted or if what I wrote was more than crap. But then I got to class and she handed out the study guide for this upcoming Thursday's final. I totally freaked out and had a meltdown, right there in the classroom. I got that overwhelming feeling like you can't breathe and came thisclose to breaking down crying - which I'm sure the lack of sleep had nothing to do with.
Anyway, I decided to take Friday off to relax and then spend the rest of the weekend working on the portfolio and final prep. I can do that, right? But then last night I decided to start on the questions again. I pulled up the last saved version of questions (each story is getting its own file). It was Julius Caesar. I was kind of confused because I was pretty sure I'd finished those that morning I woke up so early. But then I opened it up and only one and a half of the questions has been answered. I had a little panic attack. It didn't become a major, full-on panic attack until I realized that the question and answers in this file were to Measure for Measure. I'd used the template for Julius Caesar on Measure for Measure only, instead of doing a "save as" when I was done, I just saved OVER the file and all the work - the two hours worth of work - I'd done! Let's just say it was not pretty. And although you'd think that writing up the answers the second time around would be easier, it wasn't. And it didn't sit well to have to spend time redoing something I'd already done when time has been an issue for me lately. But I redid them last night and worked on Measure for Measure.
I finished those up this morning and am about half way through King Lear. Then I'll only have Cymbeline and the Sonnets to work through before I devote myself to the final exam prep.
I can do this...right?
Friday, April 04, 2008
Spotlight on...Laura Drewry
I first met Laura Drewry in Reno in 2005. It was at the Moonlight Madness event at RWA's National Conference. I was working the booth for my local chapter and Laura was hanging out with another writer, Jessica Trapp. Dawn Temple (whose book is now out but she'd just found out she'd sold right before the conference) was trying to take a picture with me and I didn't want my picture taken. Well, she put her arm around me and put her cheek up to mine and said something about what the photo would represent. This was about the time Laura was walking up and she overheard the comment. Let's just say the look on her face was priceless. I burst out laughing and the picture was snapped, and then I officially met Laura. I don't think she remembers it - and that's okay - but that's when I officially became a Laura Drewry stalker-fan. And I can't wait to stalk her again in San Francisco this summer. :-)
Laura's latest book, The Devil's Daughter, is out this week. I have my copy already and can't wait to sit down and read it. I've loved her previous books and know I will love this one too.
Anyway, I did a little "interview" (online style) with her, and here it is below.
Laura's latest book, The Devil's Daughter, is out this week. I have my copy already and can't wait to sit down and read it. I've loved her previous books and know I will love this one too.
Anyway, I did a little "interview" (online style) with her, and here it is below.
Tell us about your story.
The Devil’s Daughter will do whatever it takes to win her freedom, even if it means claiming the soul of sexy Jed Caine. There’s no question he wants her, but he wants more than just her body; he wants her heart, too, and he’ll settle for nothing less. His stubborn ways and gentle touches are too much – even for the devil’s own daughter. She was sent to steal his soul, yet there he is. . .capturing her heart.
How is she ever going to explain this to her father??
What's a typical day like for you?
Once I get the little darlings off to school, I take my breakfast and coffee up to my office and spend a little time reading emails, catching up on computer stuff and, yes, okay, playing a few rounds of Spider Solitaire or Mah Jong. But I try to make sure I’m down to work by 9:30, and then I do whatever I need to be doing. Sometimes it’s researching, sometimes it’s working on my newsletter, and sometimes –though not nearly often enough – I actually write! LOL I go until about 2:30 when I have to go get the little darlings and once I do that, the rest of my day is usually shot, so I try to get as much done as I possibly can before they get home. Sometimes I can get more done after supper, but by the time we get through that and any homework they might have, my brain is pretty frazzled.
How long have you been writing? How many books did you write before you sold?
I’ve always been scribbling in some form or another, but I didn’t make the conscious decision that I wanted to write novels until about ten or eleven years ago. I was 8 months pregnant with Darling #2 and we’d just moved hundreds of miles away from our families, so it seemed like a good time to start. LOL I had written 3 complete novels before I sold one. The first two were (are) total crap, but each a great learning experience in its own way. The third one sold to Hilary Sares at Kensington in September ’04.
What is the best part of writing for you?
My favourite parts are writing the beginning and the end. The beginning, because . . .well. . .because it’s a new beginning. Everything is fresh and anything is possible at that point. I love writing the ending because I’ve been waiting so long to see my characters finally reach their happily ever after and I finally get to write it. Of course, having said that, I hate writing the ending because I know it’s the end and I have to wave those characters goodbye. It’s like saying goodbye to a good friend.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
LOL Every book, to date, has been written completely by the seat of my pants. I enjoy the not-knowing, the adventure, and the excitement of discovering who my characters are page by page. However. . . after this last book I just handed in to my editor, I now know that I need to try a different track. I will never be one of those people who is able to plot everything, scene for scene, but I spend so much time rewriting, editing, rewriting, editing and rewriting some more that I could probably write 3 plotted books in the time it takes me to write 1 by the seat of my pants. So I am making a concerted effort to find a way to plot my next book that won’t be too restrictive.
What was it like getting "the call"? Who was the first person you told?
Oooh, I love “call” stories. LOL My call came on September 7 2004. I’d just dropped the older 2 at school and then met a friend for coffee. When I got home, I had a voice mail and an email from Hilary Sares. Saying I was stunned is like saying the ocean is deep. Once I was able to pick my jaw up off the floor, I set my 4-year old up in front of the TV with a snack and shook like the proverbial leaf while I called Hilary back. To be honest, I don’t actually remember most of the conversation. It was more like a dream than anything else. But the moment I hung up from that call, I called my husband who was out of town. Got his voice mail.
Called each one of my 3 sisters. Got voice mail EVERY TIME.
Called my friend Wendy who gave me the shove to write way back when. Yup, you guessed it – voice mail.
I thought I’d go crazy!
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
If you want to write, and I mean *really* want to write, then do it. Don’t go at it half-heartedly and don’t think for one second it’s going to be a cake-walk, because it’s not. If you want to write, then write. Literally and figuratively, just write. Sit your butt in your chair and write. Do it any way that works for you, whether that means starting at page 1 and writing straight thru to page 400 or if it means writing the middle of the book first. It doesn’t matter. Just write it. Don’t let yourself get caught up in all the stuff that happens online. Yes, in today’s world, you really should be part of it, but it’s too easy to get distracted with online groups and the latest scandal rocking the writing world.
If you want to write, and I mean *really* want to write, then do it. Write. Study your favourite authors, take classes if you can, and learn as much as you can. And while you’re doing this, write. And then write some more. The only way to get better is to practice, and there’s no other way to practice than to just write.
Where do you get your story ideas? What inspires you?
People inspire me. If you sit down in the middle of a park or a mall or something and just watch, it’s amazing what you see. That man’s trying not to yell into his cell phone; that lady’s laughing at something her friend just said; the couple over there looks like they’re breaking up; and that girl over there is crying.
Why? Who are they? What has happened up to this point in their lives to get them to this place?
There’s such a range of emotions all around us every day, from the lowest of the low to the height of happiness, and as we all know, you have to experience the lowest of the low to truly appreciate the heights of happiness, so how do people get from the low to the high, and what roadblocks do they have to get around before they get there?
How much of a role did contests play in your quest for publication?
Funny you should ask. I entered two stories in the Laurie contest in the spring of ’04 and placed 2nd and 3rd behind my friend Teresa Bodwell, who won. One of the final round judges was Hilary Sares, who had just bought the book Teresa won with, so that gave me a little head way. Hilary asked to see the complete of my 2nd place finish and the rest, as they say, is history.
What do you wish you'd known before you reached where you are now - and would it have made a difference in the steps you've taken to get there?
Oooh, boy. LOL I started to answer this question, then stopped and deleted what I’d written. The truth is, I have stumbled my way through this, taking wrong turns and detours and somehow finding my way back to where I was supposed to be. But even if I’d known everything about everything beforehand, I still would have taken the same path because that’s how I learn. You can tell me anything you like, but I need to experience it myself in order to relate it to my work, and I think a lot of writers are similar. Just because Plan A worked for you, doesn’t mean it’s going to work for me, or her or him. We each have our own path and I can’t imagine taking any different steps than I already have. I’m sure that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. J
What do you do when you're not writing?
I watch House on Tuesday nights. LOL Other than that, I’m just your typical wife/mother. I take the kids to their soccer and baseball practices and games, and I seem to spend a lot of time doing laundry. J I used to scrap book a lot because my sister was a Creative Memories rep, but it’s very time consuming, so I don’t do it nearly as much as I should. The kids and I like to take road trips and walk around the golf courses looking for eagles and discarded or forgotten golf balls. And, of course, I love to read. I’m usually months and months behind on that, though. My TBR pile is a little staggering. J
What's coming up next for you?
The Devil’s Daughter was just released this week, and the sequel, Dancing with the Devil, is scheduled for release in December, so I’ll have a bit of work to do on that one before it’s really finished. Besides that, my agent has a few proposals out for me and I’m working on a few more. Most of the proposals are historical westerns, but one is a contemporary and another is non-fiction, so we’ll see what happens with that.
The Devil's Daughter is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Visit Laura at her website. Thanks for stopping by Laura! :)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Dear Muse - we need to talk
Dear Muse,
It was so nice to see you this weekend. Really. It's been such a long time. And while I normally would welcome an unexpected visit from you, we really need to discuss timing, as it's becoming a serious issue for us.
See, while it's good to know that you will make an appearance when I'm in deadline hell, it's important that you keep in mind what that deadline is. When I'm stressing over my term paper deadline, it's really not the best of times for you to pop in and talk incessantly about the next great american novel. Seriously.
Oh, and while we're on the topic of "not the best of times to pop in" we should go ahead and get a few other times out of the way. For instance, when I'm flying down the freeway at the speed limit (whatever that might be at the time), is not a good time. You see, I don't have any voice activated devices available to me and I'm pretty sure typing on my laptop while driving would be discouraged by any rational person.
Another time is when I'm in the bathtub because, while I don't instantly recall reading it, I'm pretty sure taking a laptop into the bathtub would not be a good idea. While it may not electrocute me, I don't believe water in its innards would do it much good.
While I'm at work is another "not good time". You see, my employer thinks I should do company work when I'm there. You may think it's unreasonable but, well, it pays the bills.
On the other hand, good times - and you'll always be welcome - to stop by are, when I'm sitting down to write. Despite what you think, it is NOT amusing to scramble the words in my head when I finally sit down. Wiping my brain free of the great scene, character trait, idea is also not amusing.
Now, dear Muse, I don't want to offend you. I just want to come to an understanding. I have the utmost respect for your special skills and love when you stop by. In fact, I would happily stop cleaning house to share some quality time with you. All I ask is that you be mindful of the timing.
Your faithful servant -
L
It was so nice to see you this weekend. Really. It's been such a long time. And while I normally would welcome an unexpected visit from you, we really need to discuss timing, as it's becoming a serious issue for us.
See, while it's good to know that you will make an appearance when I'm in deadline hell, it's important that you keep in mind what that deadline is. When I'm stressing over my term paper deadline, it's really not the best of times for you to pop in and talk incessantly about the next great american novel. Seriously.
Oh, and while we're on the topic of "not the best of times to pop in" we should go ahead and get a few other times out of the way. For instance, when I'm flying down the freeway at the speed limit (whatever that might be at the time), is not a good time. You see, I don't have any voice activated devices available to me and I'm pretty sure typing on my laptop while driving would be discouraged by any rational person.
Another time is when I'm in the bathtub because, while I don't instantly recall reading it, I'm pretty sure taking a laptop into the bathtub would not be a good idea. While it may not electrocute me, I don't believe water in its innards would do it much good.
While I'm at work is another "not good time". You see, my employer thinks I should do company work when I'm there. You may think it's unreasonable but, well, it pays the bills.
On the other hand, good times - and you'll always be welcome - to stop by are, when I'm sitting down to write. Despite what you think, it is NOT amusing to scramble the words in my head when I finally sit down. Wiping my brain free of the great scene, character trait, idea is also not amusing.
Now, dear Muse, I don't want to offend you. I just want to come to an understanding. I have the utmost respect for your special skills and love when you stop by. In fact, I would happily stop cleaning house to share some quality time with you. All I ask is that you be mindful of the timing.
Your faithful servant -
L
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Winding down
I worked more on my midterm (which is due tonight) last night. I had done a draft of it over the weekend and decided to take one last look at it before I turned it in. I had hoped I would read it and think it read better than it had over the weekend. Instead my reaction was "I was going to turn THAT CRAP in??? And I redid everything. But I feel better about what I've done now. There's more of an analysis (as is requested) than a retelling of the story. At least I think there is. I may take one last look at it today at lunch but it's a good bet that what I have now is what will be turned in. So keep your fingers crossed that it's what the instructor is looking for - and that it's good.
I also worked a bit more on my term paper. I think I have a good opening hook, so to speak, on it and I think I have a good close for it. (The first part is written but the close is just in my head - so far.) I also (hand) wrote up the analysis for everyone that responded to my survey. Interestingly the pro-lifers are much more sympathetic to the pro-choicers, most saying they don't judge those who have abortions or who are pro-choice. The pro-choicers, on the other hand, came across as angry about anyone who didn't share their points of view. Is that all typical? I don't know but that's the snapshot I got. Only one response caused me to have a negative reaction, and that was someone who said it was cruel to force someone to have a child that was deformed or handicapped. I'm sorry but not having a "perfect" baby isn't a justification for having an abortion in my book. Aborting a child for those reasons, to me, is what is cruel. Of course I didn't respond to the person saying that because the point wasn't to get into a debate with anyone and I appreciate her honest feedback. But that comment didn't sit well with me.
I'm having a test next week in the government class (same day the paper is due) and will have three acts of another Shakespearean play to read next week so I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed but I think we're in the home stretch.....
I also worked a bit more on my term paper. I think I have a good opening hook, so to speak, on it and I think I have a good close for it. (The first part is written but the close is just in my head - so far.) I also (hand) wrote up the analysis for everyone that responded to my survey. Interestingly the pro-lifers are much more sympathetic to the pro-choicers, most saying they don't judge those who have abortions or who are pro-choice. The pro-choicers, on the other hand, came across as angry about anyone who didn't share their points of view. Is that all typical? I don't know but that's the snapshot I got. Only one response caused me to have a negative reaction, and that was someone who said it was cruel to force someone to have a child that was deformed or handicapped. I'm sorry but not having a "perfect" baby isn't a justification for having an abortion in my book. Aborting a child for those reasons, to me, is what is cruel. Of course I didn't respond to the person saying that because the point wasn't to get into a debate with anyone and I appreciate her honest feedback. But that comment didn't sit well with me.
I'm having a test next week in the government class (same day the paper is due) and will have three acts of another Shakespearean play to read next week so I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed but I think we're in the home stretch.....
Monday, March 24, 2008
Interesting development
Today I went back to the old grind. Had class during lunch and something interesting happened. The young gentleman (and I do mean young) that sits in front of me stood up at the end of class, blocking me from leaving the room and proceeded to tell me he's writing a book. When we finally left the classroom, as we walked out, he told me all about it and how he came to have the idea and how it all played out.
Now I should tell you that 1) he's never initiated a conversation between us before. He will respond if I say something to him but he's never initiated a conversation - he seems quiet and shy. and 2) I've never told him that I write.
I just thought it was kind of interesting.
Now I should tell you that 1) he's never initiated a conversation between us before. He will respond if I say something to him but he's never initiated a conversation - he seems quiet and shy. and 2) I've never told him that I write.
I just thought it was kind of interesting.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Last call
Today is officially my last day of vacation. I'm not ready to go back to work tomorrow. I didn't get much of what I wanted to get done, done. Plus, I just don't want to be working now. I was telling someone at work that I wanted to be a stay-at-home wife, only I didn't want to have to be married to do it. And that's really how I feel about it. I want going to an office and working to be an option. But, since that's not the case, I'll go back tomorrow. *sigh*
I did my taxes today and have already received confirmation that the return as submitted has been accepted. I just have to send in a signature page (I didn't have the information from last year's tax returns because of the computer crash last summer and my not printing out the return) to complete it. Just got to buy a stamp and put it in the mail. :-)
I have a draft of my midterm complete. I heard back from my instructor and she was pretty broad and vague in her response so I'm still not certain if I'm going to be giving her what she's looking for. I tend to think that it would be good enough if we were doing this in class but given that we have two weeks to work on it I would think the bar would (and should) be raised and I'm not certain I've risen to the challenge. I still have a few more days to refine it though, and then - once it's turned in - I plan to discuss the exam, and my answers, with a good friend.
My term paper is pretty well written - in my head, that is, it still lacks the "on paper" thing that most instructors prefer. I'm still doing research though. If I didn't mention it here, I'm writing on abortion. I sent out a small little questionnaire for an optional analysis portion of the paper and got a great response to it. Several people have thrown out some interesting tidbits on the topic and that has helped with the required research aspect of the paper. One person though, sent me some information and I thought it was great information but I can't find anything to support her claim. I emailed her and she can't find it either so I can't really use it but it would have been great to include. Basically I chose this topic because I have a strong opinion about it and thought the paper would be easier for me to write for that reason but it turns out it's been a learning experience for me - due in no small part to the input from others - which, when you think about it, was the whole purpose for this exercise.
Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Easter. :-)
I did my taxes today and have already received confirmation that the return as submitted has been accepted. I just have to send in a signature page (I didn't have the information from last year's tax returns because of the computer crash last summer and my not printing out the return) to complete it. Just got to buy a stamp and put it in the mail. :-)
I have a draft of my midterm complete. I heard back from my instructor and she was pretty broad and vague in her response so I'm still not certain if I'm going to be giving her what she's looking for. I tend to think that it would be good enough if we were doing this in class but given that we have two weeks to work on it I would think the bar would (and should) be raised and I'm not certain I've risen to the challenge. I still have a few more days to refine it though, and then - once it's turned in - I plan to discuss the exam, and my answers, with a good friend.
My term paper is pretty well written - in my head, that is, it still lacks the "on paper" thing that most instructors prefer. I'm still doing research though. If I didn't mention it here, I'm writing on abortion. I sent out a small little questionnaire for an optional analysis portion of the paper and got a great response to it. Several people have thrown out some interesting tidbits on the topic and that has helped with the required research aspect of the paper. One person though, sent me some information and I thought it was great information but I can't find anything to support her claim. I emailed her and she can't find it either so I can't really use it but it would have been great to include. Basically I chose this topic because I have a strong opinion about it and thought the paper would be easier for me to write for that reason but it turns out it's been a learning experience for me - due in no small part to the input from others - which, when you think about it, was the whole purpose for this exercise.
Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Easter. :-)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Nearing the end
Yesterday was another blown day. I had pretty well made up my mind that I'd do everything this weekend. I finally heard back from my instructor last night and, as with everything else, her response was pretty broad and vague but I do know what sort of page space she's looking for for each response.
Anyway, I was feeling tired pretty early and decided to listen to my body and went to bed. I'd been asleep for less than an hour and woke up with a start and a realization that my term paper is due more quickly than I'd been thinking. I've still been looking at it as weeks out that it's due but it's actually due the week after next. Gulp! I tried to go back to sleep so that I'd wake up today rested and refreshed but that wasn't working for me so I got up and started reading my research materials for the paper. I was tired enough that it wasn't really sinking in but I still couldn't sleep. So I settled on having a major anxiety attack and a fitful night of sleep, including a dream where I went to a comedy club (but didn't laugh) and had my purse stolen, which was hard to shake off when I woke up for some reason.
So the plan for today is to finish up my midterm and then give serious consideration to the term paper - all while doing laundry. Tomorrow will be spent on finishing up rough drafts and reading Acts 4 and 5 of King Lear. Any extra time will be spent on the spring cleaning which was the whole purpose of me taking the last week off.
What are your plans for the holiday weekend?
Anyway, I was feeling tired pretty early and decided to listen to my body and went to bed. I'd been asleep for less than an hour and woke up with a start and a realization that my term paper is due more quickly than I'd been thinking. I've still been looking at it as weeks out that it's due but it's actually due the week after next. Gulp! I tried to go back to sleep so that I'd wake up today rested and refreshed but that wasn't working for me so I got up and started reading my research materials for the paper. I was tired enough that it wasn't really sinking in but I still couldn't sleep. So I settled on having a major anxiety attack and a fitful night of sleep, including a dream where I went to a comedy club (but didn't laugh) and had my purse stolen, which was hard to shake off when I woke up for some reason.
So the plan for today is to finish up my midterm and then give serious consideration to the term paper - all while doing laundry. Tomorrow will be spent on finishing up rough drafts and reading Acts 4 and 5 of King Lear. Any extra time will be spent on the spring cleaning which was the whole purpose of me taking the last week off.
What are your plans for the holiday weekend?
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Blah, blah, blah
That's how I've been feeling the last couple of days. Not sick, more like in a funk. I'm not getting everything done on the house that I want and I'm not fully understanding my midterm assignment (I did, however, email the instructor a few minutes ago for a clarification because my grade is very important to me). But I was thinking it was more than that and I realized, I'm really not happy in my job. A week or so ago they let me work from home one day and I was soooooooo productive and in a good mood. I think if I could convince them to let me do that more frequently it would help. Guess the worse thing they can do is tell me no.
Anyway, I wanted to get out of this funk today so I went out and did some shopping and got my hair and eyebrows done. Now, some of you remember a recent trip I made to get my hair and eyebrows done. I'm pretty sure I've been since then without incident but I went to the same place today. I would say I had gotten the same person as before except what happened when she went to do my eyebrows.
Are you ready for this? She brought a "kit" over with her that had these things that she fits over your eyebrows so that she can color them to know what does not get waxed. I really should have gotten up and left then. Seriously. But I didn't because my eyebrows have really gotten out of hand (they're naturally very bushy). I also dragged a customer over whose eyebrows looked good and told the lady that I wanted my eyebrows done about the same thickness as hers (the lady suggested she give me an arch in my eyebrows - but that's another story). She didn't seem to get it though because I think she thought I wanted them shaped like this other lady's eyebrows.
So she puts the think over my eyebrow, colors it and starts waxing...the top of my eyebrow. Again, I don't think you're really supposed to do that but at this point I'm kind of stuck...again. She spends a great deal of time on the left eyebrow. She tweezes and trims the brow before giving me a mirror to be sure the first one is okay before she moves on to the other eyebrow. I can't tell the difference between the two eyebrows - it's still very thick. I tell her I want more removed. More time is spent on the left eyebrow.
I think I looked at it another time before she did a little more work and then didn't give me the opportunity to look at it before she moved on to the right eyebrow. She spent considerably less time on the right eyebrow, even though she went through all the same steps.
Finally she gives me the mirror to look at the two eyebrows. They look okay and I decide to make it be okay. I paid and left. When I got to my car I looked in the car mirror. They didn't match! By that point I was tired and just wanted to go home so I did some tweezing on the right eyebrow (followed by the left eyebrow, since I'd over tweezed the right one). Then I noticed...the left one is higher than the right one again! So it looks like I'm raising my eyebrow again! Not to mention they're jet black in color. LOL Guess I'm just one of those people that it takes longer to learn from their mistakes than others.
In any event, I bought two pairs of pants, two pairs of really cute shoes and a bra. Blahs be gone! I'm on vacation! lol
Anyway, I wanted to get out of this funk today so I went out and did some shopping and got my hair and eyebrows done. Now, some of you remember a recent trip I made to get my hair and eyebrows done. I'm pretty sure I've been since then without incident but I went to the same place today. I would say I had gotten the same person as before except what happened when she went to do my eyebrows.
Are you ready for this? She brought a "kit" over with her that had these things that she fits over your eyebrows so that she can color them to know what does not get waxed. I really should have gotten up and left then. Seriously. But I didn't because my eyebrows have really gotten out of hand (they're naturally very bushy). I also dragged a customer over whose eyebrows looked good and told the lady that I wanted my eyebrows done about the same thickness as hers (the lady suggested she give me an arch in my eyebrows - but that's another story). She didn't seem to get it though because I think she thought I wanted them shaped like this other lady's eyebrows.
So she puts the think over my eyebrow, colors it and starts waxing...the top of my eyebrow. Again, I don't think you're really supposed to do that but at this point I'm kind of stuck...again. She spends a great deal of time on the left eyebrow. She tweezes and trims the brow before giving me a mirror to be sure the first one is okay before she moves on to the other eyebrow. I can't tell the difference between the two eyebrows - it's still very thick. I tell her I want more removed. More time is spent on the left eyebrow.
I think I looked at it another time before she did a little more work and then didn't give me the opportunity to look at it before she moved on to the right eyebrow. She spent considerably less time on the right eyebrow, even though she went through all the same steps.
Finally she gives me the mirror to look at the two eyebrows. They look okay and I decide to make it be okay. I paid and left. When I got to my car I looked in the car mirror. They didn't match! By that point I was tired and just wanted to go home so I did some tweezing on the right eyebrow (followed by the left eyebrow, since I'd over tweezed the right one). Then I noticed...the left one is higher than the right one again! So it looks like I'm raising my eyebrow again! Not to mention they're jet black in color. LOL Guess I'm just one of those people that it takes longer to learn from their mistakes than others.
In any event, I bought two pairs of pants, two pairs of really cute shoes and a bra. Blahs be gone! I'm on vacation! lol
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Little Break
Okay, so I didn't do anything more on the room last night. I decided to read instead. It is my vacation after all. ;-)
But I took a break to watch Dancing with the Stars last night. Are you watching that? The men danced on Monday night. My personal (sentimental) favorite is Steve Guttenberg.
He wasn't the best dancer but he certainly had the most appreciation for being there and definitely put his all into it.
I thought Mario did well, as did Jason. I think Cristian did okay too. I wasn't impressed with Penn or Adam. In fact, I think Adam should be the first male to go. I love his partner, Julianne Hough, but Adam doesn't seem to want to even try. So as much as I hate to say it, I think they need to be the first to leave the party.
As for the women, I talked to a co-worker Monday night and said I thought Priscilla should be the first female to go. Of course, this was before I saw her dance. Shannon and Marissa were so cute when they were talked to so they would both get to stay, right? Marlee is the sentimental favorite and well, Kristi just had to do great because she's such a great skater. That left Monica and Priscilla. I really like Monica's partner, Jonathan Roberts. Which meant it had to be Priscilla leaving.
Then I saw them dance. First I have to say that the women really outdid the men, all the way around. They were great. And I have to admit that I was very impressed with Priscilla's dancing.
She gave it her all and she was darned good! Kristi just blew me away. 
I expected her to be good but if I hadn't known better, I could easily have mistaken her for being the professional - and it's just week one! 
Marlee was great. I was so impressed with what she did. I was pulling for her from the time I heard she was going to compete and now I am even more so. She was good! 
Marissa was so adorable. How could you not like her? She has so much energy and, like Steve Guttenberg, she's just so happy to be there. I also liked Shannon. Which leaves Monica. She looked stiff and awkward and totally out of her element. So, while I love Jonathan, I think she needs to be the first female to go.
I tell you, this season is going to be hard to judge because I like them all...well mostly. ;-)
Did you watch? What do you think? Predictions? Expectations? Inquiring minds want to know.
But I took a break to watch Dancing with the Stars last night. Are you watching that? The men danced on Monday night. My personal (sentimental) favorite is Steve Guttenberg.
He wasn't the best dancer but he certainly had the most appreciation for being there and definitely put his all into it.I thought Mario did well, as did Jason. I think Cristian did okay too. I wasn't impressed with Penn or Adam. In fact, I think Adam should be the first male to go. I love his partner, Julianne Hough, but Adam doesn't seem to want to even try. So as much as I hate to say it, I think they need to be the first to leave the party.
As for the women, I talked to a co-worker Monday night and said I thought Priscilla should be the first female to go. Of course, this was before I saw her dance. Shannon and Marissa were so cute when they were talked to so they would both get to stay, right? Marlee is the sentimental favorite and well, Kristi just had to do great because she's such a great skater. That left Monica and Priscilla. I really like Monica's partner, Jonathan Roberts. Which meant it had to be Priscilla leaving.
Then I saw them dance. First I have to say that the women really outdid the men, all the way around. They were great. And I have to admit that I was very impressed with Priscilla's dancing.
She gave it her all and she was darned good! Kristi just blew me away. 
I expected her to be good but if I hadn't known better, I could easily have mistaken her for being the professional - and it's just week one! 
Marlee was great. I was so impressed with what she did. I was pulling for her from the time I heard she was going to compete and now I am even more so. She was good! 
Marissa was so adorable. How could you not like her? She has so much energy and, like Steve Guttenberg, she's just so happy to be there. I also liked Shannon. Which leaves Monica. She looked stiff and awkward and totally out of her element. So, while I love Jonathan, I think she needs to be the first female to go.I tell you, this season is going to be hard to judge because I like them all...well mostly. ;-)
Did you watch? What do you think? Predictions? Expectations? Inquiring minds want to know.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Progress
It's 3:35 here and it just now finally started raining. I woke up early today and the news said the weather would get ugly "within a couple of hours". I raced out of bed to go get gas for the lawn mower and did I something that annoys me when other people do it...I mowed my lawn at an unreasonable hour. I followed it up with spreading the fertilizer (in the backyard only).
Then, when at lunchtime there was still no storms in sight, I did the weed-eating (no edging though).
I had done a little work on the office before lunch and have done a little more so there is some progress but not exactly where I wanted to be at this time. I'm not going to take a picture of it yet because I do expect to get more progress done before the end of the day.
But hey, if nothing else, I did get the backyard done! Right?!? ;-)
Then, when at lunchtime there was still no storms in sight, I did the weed-eating (no edging though).
I had done a little work on the office before lunch and have done a little more so there is some progress but not exactly where I wanted to be at this time. I'm not going to take a picture of it yet because I do expect to get more progress done before the end of the day.
But hey, if nothing else, I did get the backyard done! Right?!? ;-)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Today I think I'll...
Do you ever go to bed at night and plan the next day's activities? Something like, "I'll get up and then I'll (insert whatever it is you would do)". Then you get up the next day (which given the alternative is a good start, anyway) but then nothing else goes as planned. Yeah, that's kind of how today went for me.
Well, since I posted the blog with a picture of my office (if you can call it that), the plan was to get up and work on the room until it was done or when Dancing With The Stars came on, whichever came first. That was the plan anyway.
I slept in a little later than usual but decided to walk the dogs before I started working on the office. I figured it would get me up and going and energized for the planned activities.
Here's where I should tell you that I walk the dogs separately because, well, I'm only allowed to have two dogs, according to the deed restrictions, and I have three. And, not only do I walk them separately, I walk them on different routes. But the thing is, it's getting harder and harder to get one dog out at a time because the other two are always wanting to go - even if they just got back. This morning was no different.
I went out with Brewsky first. When we left, I could hear Harley barking. I hear him every time I leave with another dog but this was a little unusual because he didn't bark as long as he usually does. I didn't think much of it though.
When I got back with Brewsky, I planned to take Harley next. At the last minute I decided to take Max at the same time. I wasn't as energized as I thought I'd be and I figured I could just get it over with that much faster if I took the two of them together. As we walked away from the house, I heard Brewsky crying out as if his feelings were hurt. As with Harley, he does this every time I leave with another dog so it wasn't unusual.
Now, remember the plan was to come back and start working on the office room. Only, I came back to see this when I got walked into the house. 
That's my dining room mini-blinds. Now, I have no idea which dog did it, although I'm leaning towards Brewsky but it could just be that I didn't notice after my walk with him but that's a front window and required immediate attention. The plan was officially changed.
I went to Home Depot (followed by Lowe's since Home Depot didn't want to seem to provide any kind of service to its customers) and bought mini-blinds and lawn fertilizer. It's supposed to storm tomorrow so I thought I'd rake the yard and then fertilize the lawn. Then I remembered I'd probably need to mow before I did the fertilizing thing. No problem, right? Until I remembered I didn't have any gas for the lawn mower. And I didn't want to go to the store all grungy (I worked in the yard most of the day...I had LOTS of raking to do) and who wants to take a shower to get out and mow shortly thereafter? So I just did the raking and put up the new blinds. Meanwhile the office still looks like this:
So, that was my day. I've been meaning to change out the mini-blinds in the dining room but I hadn't planned on doing it today - yet that's what happened. I'm hoping to work on the room tomorrow, particularly since it's supposed to be too ugly outside to do anything else. But, as they say, life is what happens when you're busy making plans so, we'll just see what happens tomorrow. ;-)
I slept in a little later than usual but decided to walk the dogs before I started working on the office. I figured it would get me up and going and energized for the
Here's where I should tell you that I walk the dogs separately because, well, I'm only allowed to have two dogs, according to the deed restrictions, and I have three. And, not only do I walk them separately, I walk them on different routes. But the thing
Now, remember the plan was to come back and start working on the office room. Only, I came back to see this when I got walked into the house.
That's my dining room mini-blinds. Now, I have no idea which dog did it, although I'm leaning towards Brewsky but it could just be that I didn't notice after my walk with him but that's a front window and required immediate attention. The plan was officially changed.
I went to Home Depot (followed by Lowe's since Home Depot didn't want to seem to provide any kind of service to its customers) and bought mini-blinds and lawn fertilizer. It's supposed to storm tomorrow so I thought I'd rake the yard and then fertilize the lawn. Then I remembered I'd probably need to mow before I did the fertilizing thing. No problem, right? Until I remembered I didn't have any gas for the lawn mower. And I didn't want to go to the store all grungy (I worked in the yard most of the day...I had LOTS of raking to do) and who wants to take a shower to get out and mow shortly thereafter? So I just did the raking and put up the new blinds. Meanwhile the office still looks like this:
So, that was my day. I've been meaning to change out the mini-blinds in the dining room but I hadn't planned on doing it today - yet that's what happened. I'm hoping to work on the room tomorrow, particularly since it's supposed to be too ugly outside to do anything else. But, as they say, life is what happens when you're busy making plans so, we'll just see what happens tomorrow. ;-)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Spring Break
This next week is our spring break here. And since I'm taking classes this semester, I wanted to take the week off.
And I have big plans. Ambitious plans. I plan to organize my house (and my life) - and for those of you who have been reading my blog, you know that's no small order.
On the agenda is to clean and organize my office and guest room, specifically, and the rest of my house, more generally. I thought about what Jennifer Cruisie did a few months back where she posted pictures of her room and wondered if I should do it. Posting before and after pictures, like for her, would make (read shame) me into doing it.
Anyway, a little backstory - last fall I won a desk and bookcase in an online, company-sponsored, auction. I cleaned out the room I planned to use as an office so that the furniture (which was way bigger than I'd anticipated) would go right in it - and so the friend who helped me move it would only see a clean room. Well, since we had to bring the furniture in through the garage, it was the garage that my friend commented on. She wasn't ugly about it or anything but just mentioned that I might want to clean out my garage. I didn't take offense, since she was right. So, a few weeks later when I was so irritated at my boss at work, I took a day off and really got to work on my garage. By the end of the day it was all nice and clean, and I was proud of the accomplishment. It felt good.
It wasn't until the next time I went into the office (I don't do that much because I don't have a phone line in there yet) and couldn't get to the desk or my carousel of books that I realized why the job of cleaning the garage had gone so well. Turns out, I'd just moved everything into my office. And it was a few weeks after that that I did the ransacking of my office and guest room looking for the paper I'd written on my veteran friend so that now neither my office or guest room are "pedestrian friendly". Yeah, that's a good way to put it. LOL
Anyway, the plan for the week is to get them organized and ready for actual use, as opposed to being "junk" rooms. Also during the week, I need to work on my term paper for government (I'm doing my paper on the non-controversial topic of abortion), my Shakespeare mid-term and questions for my Shakespeare portfolio, due at the end of the semester.
I won't mention that I also would like to rip down the paneling in the living room and pre
p and paint every w
all in (and outside of) my house because I don't want anyone thinking I'm wanting to accomplish too much. But then again, I did start off by mentioning that the plan was a bit ambitious, didn't I?
So, what you do have planned for the upcoming week?
P.S. Here are pictures of the office from two different angles.
And I have big plans. Ambitious plans. I plan to organize my house (and my life) - and for those of you who have been reading my blog, you know that's no small order.
On the agenda is to clean and organize my office and guest room, specifically, and the rest of my house, more generally. I thought about what Jennifer Cruisie did a few months back where she posted pictures of her room and wondered if I should do it. Posting before and after pictures, like for her, would make (read shame) me into doing it.
Anyway, a little backstory - last fall I won a desk and bookcase in an online, company-sponsored, auction. I cleaned out the room I planned to use as an office so that the furniture (which was way bigger than I'd anticipated) would go right in it - and so the friend who helped me move it would only see a clean room. Well, since we had to bring the furniture in through the garage, it was the garage that my friend commented on. She wasn't ugly about it or anything but just mentioned that I might want to clean out my garage. I didn't take offense, since she was right. So, a few weeks later when I was so irritated at my boss at work, I took a day off and really got to work on my garage. By the end of the day it was all nice and clean, and I was proud of the accomplishment. It felt good.
It wasn't until the next time I went into the office (I don't do that much because I don't have a phone line in there yet) and couldn't get to the desk or my carousel of books that I realized why the job of cleaning the garage had gone so well. Turns out, I'd just moved everything into my office. And it was a few weeks after that that I did the ransacking of my office and guest room looking for the paper I'd written on my veteran friend so that now neither my office or guest room are "pedestrian friendly". Yeah, that's a good way to put it. LOL
Anyway, the plan for the week is to get them organized and ready for actual use, as opposed to being "junk" rooms. Also during the week, I need to work on my term paper for government (I'm doing my paper on the non-controversial topic of abortion), my Shakespeare mid-term and questions for my Shakespeare portfolio, due at the end of the semester.
I won't mention that I also would like to rip down the paneling in the living room and pre
p and paint every w
all in (and outside of) my house because I don't want anyone thinking I'm wanting to accomplish too much. But then again, I did start off by mentioning that the plan was a bit ambitious, didn't I?So, what you do have planned for the upcoming week?
P.S. Here are pictures of the office from two different angles.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
How bad do you want a day off?
I was surfing the net and came across this article about a man who wanted a day off. We've all probably called in sick when we just didn't want to go in to the office but this is a bit...extreme, if you ask me. I don't know about you but if you have (and are willing) to go to these lengths to get the day off, something's wrong. And if I ever approach any of you to be the "friend" in this scenario, please, just help me with my resignation letter instead. K?
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Where else would it be?
The other day I had a doctor's appointment. It was the third in a series of appointments I'd scheduled. Thing was, I got to work that day and the appointment wasn't on my calendar. I knew I was supposed to be there around lunch time but I didn't know the exact time. So I went digging in my purse.
I started in the middle zippered thing because that's normally where I'd put something like the business card size appointment reminder. I pulled everything out of there (except for the feminine products) and laid it all on my desk, going through each thing, item by item. It wasn't there.
I repeated this process with the two main pockets of the purse, followed by the minor pockets and even my coin purse/wallet. Before it was all over with, the entire contents (with noted exceptions) of my purse had been splayed out on my desktop. And no appointment reminder was found.
I started thinking maybe I'd imagined that I'd had an appointment. So, knowing the office was still closed but that I'd get voicemail, I called the doctor's office. I said that I thought I'd had an appointment and could someone please let me know if I did, and if I did, what time I was supposed to be there. And I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Yet no one called me. So somewhere between 11:00 and 11:30 I called the doctor's office again. Someone would surely be there by then and answer the phone. Again, I got voicemail. Frustrated, I left the message that I had thought I'd had an appointment but I didn't know what time it was supposed to have been so if I DID have an appointment, I was cancelling it because I didn't know when it was and I didn't want to waste my time by going on the wrong date/time. *sigh* (I later received three phone calls telling me it was scheduled for 12:30 but by then it was too late for me to go.)
I should tell you that I've gotten into a bit of a routine where my schooling is concerned (this really is related to the blog topic...honest). See, if I get to my government class before it starts, I work on Shakespeare homework. And if I get to Shakespeare class early (which I almost always do) I...read for pleasure (bet you thought I was going to say "work on government homework" ;-) ). So, two days after my missed doctor's appointment, I get to my Shakespeare class and whip out the book I've been working on since early January (it's a good story by a good author...I just don't have much time to read for pleasure these days) and out falls...you guessed it, my doctor's appointment reminder. *mental forehead smack!*
I'd been reading while waiting to see the doctor at my last appointment and had the book with me when she gave me the appointment card. And I obviously put it in my book (which I'd had with me the day of this last appointment...just didn't think to look in it).
So, I continue to put (and find) things in the oddest of places. Not that I'm disorganized or anything..... ;-)
I started in the middle zippered thing because that's normally where I'd put something like the business card size appointment reminder. I pulled everything out of there (except for the feminine products) and laid it all on my desk, going through each thing, item by item. It wasn't there.
I repeated this process with the two main pockets of the purse, followed by the minor pockets and even my coin purse/wallet. Before it was all over with, the entire contents (with noted exceptions) of my purse had been splayed out on my desktop. And no appointment reminder was found.
I started thinking maybe I'd imagined that I'd had an appointment. So, knowing the office was still closed but that I'd get voicemail, I called the doctor's office. I said that I thought I'd had an appointment and could someone please let me know if I did, and if I did, what time I was supposed to be there. And I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Yet no one called me. So somewhere between 11:00 and 11:30 I called the doctor's office again. Someone would surely be there by then and answer the phone. Again, I got voicemail. Frustrated, I left the message that I had thought I'd had an appointment but I didn't know what time it was supposed to have been so if I DID have an appointment, I was cancelling it because I didn't know when it was and I didn't want to waste my time by going on the wrong date/time. *sigh* (I later received three phone calls telling me it was scheduled for 12:30 but by then it was too late for me to go.)
I should tell you that I've gotten into a bit of a routine where my schooling is concerned (this really is related to the blog topic...honest). See, if I get to my government class before it starts, I work on Shakespeare homework. And if I get to Shakespeare class early (which I almost always do) I...read for pleasure (bet you thought I was going to say "work on government homework" ;-) ). So, two days after my missed doctor's appointment, I get to my Shakespeare class and whip out the book I've been working on since early January (it's a good story by a good author...I just don't have much time to read for pleasure these days) and out falls...you guessed it, my doctor's appointment reminder. *mental forehead smack!*
I'd been reading while waiting to see the doctor at my last appointment and had the book with me when she gave me the appointment card. And I obviously put it in my book (which I'd had with me the day of this last appointment...just didn't think to look in it).
So, I continue to put (and find) things in the oddest of places. Not that I'm disorganized or anything..... ;-)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Men are from Mars
Today is Thursday and as I drove into work I was listening to Roula and Ryan's Roses on the radio. I've blogged about that before but how it works is that if a relationship is in trouble (or one of the parties think it's in trouble) they contact the radio station and, if selected, Roula will contact the other party of the relationship and pretend to be starting up a floral business and offer them a dozen free red roses to see who they will be sent to, while the person who contacted the radio station listens in. Once they say who they're sending the flowers to and make out a card, they're let in on what is going on and the two parties air their dirty laundry on the radio. It's kind of sad but it's one of those things I just have to listen to on Thursdays.
Anyway, this morning the guy they called was familiar with the program and knew exactly who was putting them up to calling. And he was furious. He broke up with the girl on the radio and accused her of trying to push marriage on him. She said she didn't want to get married that she was only 25 and she seemed fine with the breakup. Usually they take calls from listeners to get their take on the situation...was the other party lying, etc.
Well today was different. Instead of their usual calls from listeners the topic went to talk of guys assuming girls have an agenda when they don't. Why do men assume all women are marriage minded? I found it quite interesting because that does seem to be the case. It seems if we smile at a man, he assumes we're coming on to them when really we're just being polite. We accept a date and they assume we're planning the wedding.
I dated someone a couple of years ago who was making - or trying to make - plans for us months in advance. It was freaking me out because he was assuming we'd still be together that far out and I wanted to take things one day/date at a time. And then he mentioned that he was concerned that I was wanting more from the relationship than he did...that maybe I was getting too serious. About the third time he said that to me I asked him what the heck he was talking about because I needed to know from what he was getting that vibe from because I was NOT looking at the long term. And just in case he didn't believe me, I broke up with him at the end of that date.
So what's up with that? Anyone have any thoughts on why men think the slightest gesture means we're in love and marriage bound? If you do, please share them because I'd really like to know.
Anyway, this morning the guy they called was familiar with the program and knew exactly who was putting them up to calling. And he was furious. He broke up with the girl on the radio and accused her of trying to push marriage on him. She said she didn't want to get married that she was only 25 and she seemed fine with the breakup. Usually they take calls from listeners to get their take on the situation...was the other party lying, etc.
Well today was different. Instead of their usual calls from listeners the topic went to talk of guys assuming girls have an agenda when they don't. Why do men assume all women are marriage minded? I found it quite interesting because that does seem to be the case. It seems if we smile at a man, he assumes we're coming on to them when really we're just being polite. We accept a date and they assume we're planning the wedding.
I dated someone a couple of years ago who was making - or trying to make - plans for us months in advance. It was freaking me out because he was assuming we'd still be together that far out and I wanted to take things one day/date at a time. And then he mentioned that he was concerned that I was wanting more from the relationship than he did...that maybe I was getting too serious. About the third time he said that to me I asked him what the heck he was talking about because I needed to know from what he was getting that vibe from because I was NOT looking at the long term. And just in case he didn't believe me, I broke up with him at the end of that date.
So what's up with that? Anyone have any thoughts on why men think the slightest gesture means we're in love and marriage bound? If you do, please share them because I'd really like to know.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
To Be Opened by Addressee Only
The other day I received ten boxes - ten LARGE boxes at work. Now, I have a rather small office so they take up quite a bit of room and make it difficult to get around. So today I decided to open them up, see what was in them and handle the contents so that I could get these boxes out of my way.
No problem, really. I open the first box and it contained a bunch of full binders. And an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet that said - in big, bold letters - TO BE OPENED BY ADDRESSEE ONLY.
I did mention that this sheet was INSIDE the box, right?
Did I also mention that every single box had a sheet in it like that. INSIDE the box?
Maybe I'm just easily amused but that cracked me up. And made me wonder about who it was that fixed those boxes up that way. ;-)
So what cracked you up today?
Friday, February 15, 2008
Best Kiss
I stayed home from work today because, well, I kind of wanted to. I mean, there were legitimate reasons for me TO stay home - like I came home to a busted window last night that needed repairing and I needed more poison - er medication - for Harley. And a storm is coming tomorrow, which makes it harder to get some things done (like grocery shopping). So today was a good day to get things done - so I took a personal day.
I just finished watching Derailed with Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston. I won't spoil (much) if you haven't seen it. It's a thriller. But there is one scene in it that I loved. Owen and Aniston's characters are sitting in the bar and he says "I'll bet you $20 I can kiss you without ever touching your lips." She takes the bet and then he kisses her and says "It was worth every penny." I really liked that scene.
Anyway, after I got things done (actually it was all done before lunch, if you can believe that...and that was with me heading out to the vet - which is 25 miles away - TWICE - poor Harley), I decided to watch some things on my DVR.
I just finished watching Derailed with Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston. I won't spoil (much) if you haven't seen it. It's a thriller. But there is one scene in it that I loved. Owen and Aniston's characters are sitting in the bar and he says "I'll bet you $20 I can kiss you without ever touching your lips." She takes the bet and then he kisses her and says "It was worth every penny." I really liked that scene.I also really liked the movie. It was different and not what I expected.
But I really liked that scene. I think it's my new favorite kiss scene. And I wonder, would that line would work in real life? ;-)
What about you? Do you have a favorite kiss scene from a movie? If so, please share. :-)
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Understanding Men
Okay, I don't mean to imply that I understand because honestly, I have no clue about them. There are characteristics that I like about them but I really don't get them. It's like their from...Mars or something. (Yes, I know there is a book about that and although I haven't read it, I'm a believer.)
Anyway, here's the latest thing that has me a bit puzzled about them and maybe you can help me out here. The man from work (aka secret crush guy, aka SCG) and I have been talking about tattoos. I don't really recall how the conversation came up but basically we were "supposing" that I would get one in San Francisco. And while we may have carried the whole conversation a bit far (considering he is married) that's not really the point of this post.
You see, he actually wants a tattoo but is a little, shall we say, chicken to have it done. Plus, he thinks he needs to get one where it's visible because after all, what's the point of having a tattoo if no one ever sees it (I, on the other hand, would have one that no one but my warm, close, personal friends - and medical professionals - would ever see...but that's just me). But he also thinks it's not terribly professional to have a visible tattoo in the work environment.
I suggested he get one on his chest, over his heart - of a heart with a little banner that had his wife's name on it. He didn't like that idea because apparently it's not "butch" (my word...not his) enough for him. Not to mention, what would the guys at the gym think? Because, after all, the people he works with go to the gym, and apparently stare at his chest (yeah, don't think I haven't given him grief about that! LOL).
After I let up on the ribbing about the guys staring at his chest at the gym, he said something else...he'd want it to be a decidedly female name. Not one that could be used for either gender (like Stacy, or Terry, to name two).
Uh, did anyone else catch that I'd suggested his wife's name to him? And yes, it's decidedly female. So I don't get the problem. Although I could, if he were having someone else's name tattoo'd on his chest. Can't see his wife being happy about that.
Anyway, that's just part of the question for me. I don't see why a man, who thinks tattoos in general say "bad ass" to those who see them, would think the tattoo suggested would be a problem. I don't get it.
But the bigger question for me is, why is it that men - who are mostly homophobic to begin with - stripping down, comfortably mind you, at the gym? Most women can and will change discreetly in the dressing area and find a private shower, if possible (although I will say that the women's locker at the work gym has a community shower - only one is private) and they typically make it a point not to look at other women dressing. It would be by accident if someone saw a tattoo on another woman's chest (you know, like you turned around and it was just "there"). So why do men do that (strip down) if they think someone is going to look at them and assume they're gay? Anyone have any idea? Because I just don't get it.
Anyway, here's the latest thing that has me a bit puzzled about them and maybe you can help me out here. The man from work (aka secret crush guy, aka SCG) and I have been talking about tattoos. I don't really recall how the conversation came up but basically we were "supposing" that I would get one in San Francisco. And while we may have carried the whole conversation a bit far (considering he is married) that's not really the point of this post.
You see, he actually wants a tattoo but is a little, shall we say, chicken to have it done. Plus, he thinks he needs to get one where it's visible because after all, what's the point of having a tattoo if no one ever sees it (I, on the other hand, would have one that no one but my warm, close, personal friends - and medical professionals - would ever see...but that's just me). But he also thinks it's not terribly professional to have a visible tattoo in the work environment.
I suggested he get one on his chest, over his heart - of a heart with a little banner that had his wife's name on it. He didn't like that idea because apparently it's not "butch" (my word...not his) enough for him. Not to mention, what would the guys at the gym think? Because, after all, the people he works with go to the gym, and apparently stare at his chest (yeah, don't think I haven't given him grief about that! LOL).
After I let up on the ribbing about the guys staring at his chest at the gym, he said something else...he'd want it to be a decidedly female name. Not one that could be used for either gender (like Stacy, or Terry, to name two).
Uh, did anyone else catch that I'd suggested his wife's name to him? And yes, it's decidedly female. So I don't get the problem. Although I could, if he were having someone else's name tattoo'd on his chest. Can't see his wife being happy about that.
Anyway, that's just part of the question for me. I don't see why a man, who thinks tattoos in general say "bad ass" to those who see them, would think the tattoo suggested would be a problem. I don't get it.
But the bigger question for me is, why is it that men - who are mostly homophobic to begin with - stripping down, comfortably mind you, at the gym? Most women can and will change discreetly in the dressing area and find a private shower, if possible (although I will say that the women's locker at the work gym has a community shower - only one is private) and they typically make it a point not to look at other women dressing. It would be by accident if someone saw a tattoo on another woman's chest (you know, like you turned around and it was just "there"). So why do men do that (strip down) if they think someone is going to look at them and assume they're gay? Anyone have any idea? Because I just don't get it.
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