Chicken Butt

Discomboobulated*

I left my cell phone at home today and I've felt naked all day. I had it in my hands and was listening to a voice mail message while putting on my coat this morning. Then I went into the kitchen to grab and apple for breakfast. Half way to work, apple eaten, I tried to make a call on my car bluetooth interface. No phone paired. Crap! It must be sitting on the counter next to the sink. If only I had not washed that stupid apple.

I don't spend all day on the phone, but I do get and receive a few calls a day. I'm also the phone contact for an OA meeting and like to return missed calls ASAP.

I'm bummed that Heath Ledger died. What a waste. When watched the first two seasons of Angel again this winter I wondered again what the actor playing Doyle was up to now. This makes twice I've gone to IMDB to look for new stuff on Glenn Quinn. Twice I've been remembered that he died in 2002 and been sad. Then I forget again. So I know that I'm sad today but that I will forget. Then when I watch "10 Things I Hate About You" or "Four Feathers" I'll be bummed again that that Heath is dead. (Yes, it is all about me.)

*Yes, I've spelled it wrong. This is the way I say it. It made me laugh in Junior High and it still does. Deal with it.

Dodi - cultural ambassador

At work there are two team members visiting from our India Development Center in Bangalore. This is their first trip to the US. I don’t know why they schedule these things for January in Illinois. On Saturday it was below zero all day and they visited Millennium Park in Chicago. They went ice skating. I’m surprised they didn’t show up in the suburbs yesterday with frostbite. Their jackets look like windbreakers to me.

Last night it was snowing big fluffy flakes. Neither of them has ever seen snow before. I took them across town to Best Buy. They were amazed by the frozen river. When we came out of the store they argued over who would scrape the snow off my car. Last night was also the first time I’ve had two passengers in the Cooper. They are both very tall. The MINI Cooper is really a two person car. I drive with the seat pushed all the way back to the rear seat. I’m only 5’7”. They were hilariously squished and had a wonderful time. I really need to get a picture of Jagadeesh’s knees tucked up under his chin in the front seat.

Tomorrow I’ll probably take them to the Harley-Davidson dealership. Ramprasad is really into cars and motorcycles. If we get a bit more snow I may borrow my nephews’ sleds and take them out. That could be fun. I haven’t sledded for years.

Hopefully they’ll never show me the video shot from the back seat of me pointing out sights in the snowy darkness. My voice sounds so shrill to me and of course I hate to be in pictures. Did I mention lots of pictures? It was fun though. It will be much easier to work with them now that we’ve met. I’ve got to get a passport so I can go to Bangalore if the opportunity comes up.

Like a hole in my head

Two holes actually. I got my ears re-pierced a week ago today. They still itch a lot. One earring snagged in my sweater yesterday when I pulled it off. It hurt quite a bit. Seems like small wounds like that should be healed by now. I guess if I’d removed them right away they would be just tiny scabs by now.

At least my ears aren’t infected this time around. I remember my earlobes were angry and red when I first had it done in eighth grade (in time to wear pearls for confirmation). Things have changed a bit in 25 years (I had to do the math there, feeling old now). They don’t have thick studs like before; the posts are standard post gauge. They also tell you to leave your ears alone unless you are disinfecting them (three times a day). Back in the old days they said to twist them anytime you thought of them. This is probably why my lobes aren’t hot with infection. That and I’m probably a bit cleaner than I was at 13.

I said I would post more often. I didn’t say it would be more interesting.

Timey-whimy

I want a "The angels have the phone box" t-shirt. I also want some friends who love Doctor Who (Doctors 9 & 10).

I am currently watching season 3 for the second time. As much as I loved Christopher, find myself adoring David.

I other news I'm now a size 6.25 ring size. Last time I was properly measured I was 7.5. I got my ears re-pierced last week in anticipation of diamond earrings. I've decided to buy them now rather that wait until losing 150 pounds. That was an old milestone diet reward. Now I feel that I'm as worthy of diamonds now as I will be when I've lost 49 more pounds.

I've gotten out of the habit of writing regularly. Now that I'm back to work after 18 days off in a row, I want to return to more regular sharing here and on WIT. I think my work laptop had more trouble waking up than I did this morning.

One more for 2007

I've been on vacation since Dec. 20. I am supposed to go back on January 3, but am considering taking two more days off to make it 18 days in a row. Not that I'm doing anything. After finishing three aprons for gifts I haven't done much at all. Unless you count watching the third season of Doctor Who and the first season of Battlestar Galactic as productive. Oh, and a couple Terry Pratchett Discworld novels. My place is a bit of a stye, but too much laying about has left me less motivation than usual. Well, just wanted to write a quick hello before 2007 ends. I'll be ringing in the new year with my family. I just paid my January mortgage and my credit card balances. I'm starting the New Year clean financially. May 2008 be peaceful and happy with little drama.

Still kickin'

I got sick the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and I've been out of it since then. I've still got a cough, but my brain is mostly unfogged. I'm tired and watching a lot of TV on DVDs. Finished the seven seasons of Buffy that I started while making Halloween costumes. I wasn't quite ready to leave Joss Whedon land so I'm currently on season two of Angel. Since I never bought past two of Angel, I'm not sure if I'll be going on. I'm quite enjoying it. And yes, I started this Whedonfest with Firefly and Serenity, so Angel is all I've got left.

Yes, life is thrilling here at CB. Um, yeah. That's all I got.

If this was National Post Every Eleven Days Month...

I'd be all over that shit.

I messed up my brain chemistry when I pulled that all-nighter to finish BugBoy’s costume. I struggle with depression every fall, so the added stress through all of October and then topped off with staying up all night took me over the edge. I’ve been struggling just to get out of bed, hence the lack of posting since Halloween. The Doc says I should be feeling the increased dosage of anti-depressants by Wednesday, so I got that going for me.

I bought a new camera. Hopefully it will be an improvement over the piece-o-crap digital-noise fest that is my Panasonic Lumix. I read such great things about that camera. For months I thought I had simply messed up the settings. It turns out there is a known issue with digital noise. What is the good of having a lens with a great reputation if the software fucks it up? I’ve gone back to Canon. I haven’t yet uploaded any shots from the camera. Depression is a bitch. (Um, is my swearing worse than usual today?)

I bought a bunch of OTC remedies at lunch to add to my flu kit. I’m no longer having kittens about the avian-bird flu (thank you hyper-alarmist media), but I read a post a while back about basics to have on hand during flu season. Mostly common-sense items make up this flu kit. I already have basics like plenty of ibuprofen (or anti-inflammatory of choice) and Vitamin C, but was out of cough medicine, decongestants, and basic cold remedy (Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold tablets work miracles for me). Last night at Trader Joe’s I restocked on broth and a few mild soups. I won’t put together a special bucket of supplies for cleaning and disinfecting the things that may need cleaning and disinfecting in the course of the flu. I’ve got all that crap in my laundry room and if it is too hard for me to grab what’s needed off of assorted shelves then I’m probably too sick to clean up anyway. Usually it is only when I’m sick as a dog that I realize I’m missing medicines and sick-bed foods. I hope the stuff goes unused and I have to throw out when the expiration date passes, but if not I’ll be happy I bought them today.

Um, I feel the need to balance this post with a little happy. I still love my MINI Cooper. She’s a bit rough in first gear, but I think that is my lead foot habit. I’ve only driven 412 miles so far, so I’ve barely broken her in. I need to take a road trip before winter sets in.

Sew, Mama, Sew! is posting a bunch of tutorial links to some awesome handmade gifts. Handmade Holidays: 30 Days of Gifts to Sew! Check it out.

I weighed myself on Saturday; I’ve lost 99 pounds since joining Overeaters Anonymous. Weeee! I posted more about this over at my OA blog WIT. I also went into more detail about my depression.

Good luck to all those pushing themselves to post every day, write novels in a month and post every day in November. Although, reading my blog isn't helping you accomplish that is it? Good thing I'm only posting every eleven days.

I'm too old for this shit

I just cannot pull all-nighters anymore. I finished BugBoy's Halloween costume at 7:30 am yesterday. I'm happy with it and he was happy with it, but I was right to worry that I just had too much to do and not enough time to do it in. I was fine all night and not even that tired all day, but by 7pm I was brainless. Then I overslept today. Actually, I hit the snooze alarm for six hours. Yep, six. I've also been spacey all day. I just can't mess with my internal clock anymore.

I need to get permission to post a picture of BugBoy in his costume. It really doesn't look like much without him in the middle.

Click picture for full-size view.

Still twitchy

Three strikes and still swinging:

These were my first three attempts in order from left to right. Notice how they are getting worse? Nice eh.

Ruffles, for Karen:

Here is a link to my Halloween 2007 Flickr set. I'll likely update it before this blog. It's going to be a crazy busy weekend.

Oh, and here is Grace:

Pretty isn't she?

Twitchy McJumpypants

My right eye has been twitching since lunch. The cause could be excessive caffeine or stress. I've added about 16 ounces of caffeine to my regular intake. I drink hot tea when it gets cold out. It doesn't bode well for the winter that I've started needing the extra warmth when it is 50 degrees outside. I believe my twitch is caused by my procrastination on BugBoy's Halloween costume.

I've never waited so long before. I was freaked out yesterday, but then didn't actually work on it last night. I have so much to do. I'm still in prototype phase trying to get head shape correct. Plus, we bought different cloth to better match skin tone. I haven't even tried it yet. I have to make two heads of correct size and shape, attach a supportive neck, create a harness to keep the heads upright and in the right position, and add two extra neck holes to a t-shirt. In five days. Three of which I am working. Crap!

If this keeps up I'll be in full body spasm by Saturday.