 | 10 As a 1930s wife, I am |
I know y’all are SHOCKED.
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I’m not saying a whole lot about the years I spent listening to Steely Dan on a regular basis. Let’s just say, they were good times. I was in college. I didn’t really worry too much about my 40’s back in those days.
And I know they were good, because I’ve had another really stressful day? And after rebooting my *(&^&%$%)__(^&^%%^$$ computer after it precariously froze in Excel once again (with a huge table of numbers teetering in the balance), I scrolled through my iTunes, looking for just the right music to play while I continued to fiddle and work with all this data. Then I found it. Ah. A Decade of Steely Dan.
I just sailed through the rest of the calculations & am quite excited to start on the next phase. So relaxed.
And kinda hungry. Good thing hubs is grilling chicken for chef salads tonight.
It’s very, very disturbing to wake up and try to sort through the vestiges of your dreams, sorting out what is real from what your brain conjured up in the wee hours of the night.
For instance, no, I am not on the run from a very evil drug cartel. Nor did I go scuba diving with my husband and mother-in-law to cleverly hide from the aforementioned drug cartel. A plan that was perfect until someone figured out we were in the water & started shooting at us. Fortunately, we were all quite good at the scuba diving (again, not so in the light of day), but I still woke up very shaky and confused. Might have been because it was a bit of a rough night – after all the overcast weather we’ve had, the moon finally surfaced and in it’s full splendor, illuminated our chunk of earth with an extremely blindingly bright light. I recall waking up thinking a spotlight was being shone on my face. Lots of confusion.
Moving on with the day. Pizza 51 makes some good food. Since we’d had homemade pizza the night before, I opted for breadsticks & a salad, and got the breadsticks with cheese & roasted garlic. Thinking they would probably take the approach to the garlic with a minimal hand. Whoa, Nelly, let me tell you what, I am now good for vampire season. (Full moon and all, I guess this is a good thing.) They liberally coat the bread with roasted garlic, and no amount of Trident Splash seems to be cutting the side effects. Also, our waitress was royally torqued, possibly because the girl who took our orders was hard of hearing, and made some adjustments to all the things we bought, thus rendering us with blank stares when the waitperson announced what she was delivering. No black olives turned into “No broccoli”; “with cheese” became “without cheese”, and a couple of things had to return to the restaurant to get fixed. Our party was a big group, so I started cringing every time she approached our table, waiting for the moment when she absolutely lost her temper and threw the plate of food at us. It didn’t quite come to that, but boy howdy, next time, I’ll make sure my order was taken correctly.
Despite some of the craziness that always seems to accompany a Monday, I have to say this week is already off to a better start when compared to last week. And since this week includes being chased by Pablo Escabar and Co, I think that’s saying quite a bit!
I’ll see my knitty pals tonight at the Guild meeting, and then I’m headed home for the Weeds finale… I also started the Mystery Stole 4 over the weekend, and already love the color combo I chose for my yarn/beads. Knitting on zero Addis though, not my joy, but I am knitting both panels as I go, so when all the clues have been issued, I have matching, symmetrical pieces to graft & be done!
Driving up I-29, in this horrid rain that won’t leave us, we pass a low-riding, beat-up-ass Caddy. First thing I notice? Windows are down.
Then I see the enormous crack across the windshield.
None of this is extraordinary.
However.
The driver?
Cigarette dangling from his lip, right hand on the wheel. Torso in awkward position. You’ll see why in a moment.
Left hand? Out the window, wrapped around, holding A SQUEEGEE as he frantically cleared the window.
Oh if only I’d had a camera.
Wiper: FAIL.
….then the oxygen masks will drop from the overhead compartment…….
It’s been a stressful week, and I’ve lost my temper two days in a row. Once while loading the office dishwasher, which was somewhat satisfying because I just spluttered at cups and had the joy of slamming the door shut. I told JWo last night I haven’t felt this angry since I went through the “Rage Stage” of grief, when drivers throughout the metro area should have felt lucky I did not select the Murano-mounted rocket launcher, because I would have destroyed everything in my path.
Today was actually better. Since I can string enough words together without foaming at the corners of my mouth. Apart from meetings going too long, still – but I’ve discovered blocking out time for myself to actually do the work that needs to get done? Brilliant. It won’t always work, and I’ll also forget to do it, but at least the act of doing it this week is self-preservation.
The other part of that standard patter you hear from the flight crew, about how the bag may not inflate, even though oxygen will be flowing? And that you should always secure your own mask before assisting a child or companion with theirs? Yeah. That’s actually a really kick-ass metaphor for how you have to take care of YOURSELF FIRST if you’re going to be any good to someone else. I’m thinking about my friend Carmen, as she cares for her ailing mom, and how she’s putting everything else before taking care of herself, and that was the image that came into my head. Those hello-yellow cups we all hope we never have to pop over our nose and mouth (tightening the elastic, of course. I do know all the steps.) And we have to be reminded to do this, because our instinct is always to help a small child, or ailing parent, or someone else who needs something right now, but meanwhile, we deprive ourselves of very necessary oxygen in the process.
So that’s it. Breathe in, breathe out, and take care of self first, so you can survive and make it through tomorrow! That’s what I’ll be doing. With my tray table in the locked & upright position. And several empty bottles of Bombay Sapphire scattered on the seat next to me….
Here’s an alternative tune…
I am having a day.
Correction.
A DAY.
I would like to play the chorus to this song over and over and over and over. If I could whip out my :38 special and cash register to play along at home, I would. Alas, I don’t have either. Just a desire to scream.
KERPLOW! KERPLOW KERPLOW KERPLOW Ka-CHING!
Carry on.
As I was upstairs in the (very messy) (unorganized) craft room this afternoon, I let my mind wander while I fixed two pairs of JWo’s pants and sewed up the curtains for his classroom. Fortunately, I didn’t let it wander too far, otherwise I would most likely have made half the curtain panels with the ducks upside-down. One of those moments where you realize it before you even start sewing? And are OH so grateful.
It wasn’t a hard project – he had a long swath of fabric, and wanted it quartered, hemmed, and a tube at the top for a tension rod. His windows create a glare & with all they do on the projector/computer, it was a simple solution.
As I (didn’t pin anything) (didn’t iron anything) sewed the hems, I realized, “There is a big difference between knitting and sewing!” Now at this point, I know you are saying, “Well, DUH, Jennifer. Thread vs. yarn, machine vs. needles…” The process is completely different. But where I am a process knitter, I am NOT a process seamstress. All the steps up to the sewing machine equate to endless swatching in my mind. I’m not overly precise, shocker, and sewing really requires an element of precision. Unless you’re going for that wonky ragged look.
With knitting, I enjoy the process. The yarn runs through my fingers, I see the progress, if it doesn’t work or look right, I serenely rip it out and begin again. Don’t get me wrong, I like things to turn out, and turn out well. They should fit, be the right length, be of the right “hand” (drape/tension). All of this parallels sewing. So I think it’s my lack of sewing experience, and a less-than-enthusiastic appreciation for all the steps that precede the moment one sits down at the machine.
And, I probably should slow down a little. You’d think I was training for NASCAR with that little rev pedal under my foot. After the turnkey projects this afternoon, I decided to work a little harder on my sewing patience and skill set. Next up, I’m going to replace a jeans zipper, and then I’m going to try my hand at making a simple sunglasses case. With a pattern I’ve made up. I live on the edge. But all of that will happen…later.
Right now? I wanna knit.
I have had entirely too much fun on YearbookYourself. People starting dropping these into their Facebook profile photos, and I didn’t take much notice until my friend Laura did hers, and I didn’t know who in the hell she was. So the other evening, I spent some time on the site, dropped my mug into all of the different options, and saved the best. I just put them all up on Flickr, and I’ll mirror my comments into the blog, because again, it all amused the hell out of me. And really, in the end, that’s all that matters, right?
1950
This is where you see the resemblance to my great, great Aunt Bertha. Except for the fact she never smiled.
1960
These were the addled years. A pair of ill-fitting cat-eye glasses contained the wrong prescription, and I quickly became addicted to numerous OTC headache remedies. A paper cut put me in the hospital, and back on the road to recovery. Sans glasses.
1966
Ambitious is the only word to capture 1966; I was the president of numerous social clubs, and had started my own sorority.
1970
Really, my favorite one of the bunch. I was doing it all – running the local PTA, whipping up gourmet meals, and enjoying life as a sub in the steno pool. Tupperware parties on the weekends, and the hot rollers were always at the ready!
1978
Photo snapped in 1978; I was pretty much underground that year and don’t talk about those days.
1984
Greatest wish of 1984? Star in a heavy metal video that actually aired on..MTV.
1994
Rockin’ the Tonya Harding look, along with the “author pose”.
Now. Go do yours. Leave me a comment if you post any!
ETA: I’ve reworked the html NINEteen times and it still won’t center everything. giving up, with my apologies.
I feel like I’m making soup with a little of this, a handful of that – mostly because I’m thinking about soup, since the weather turned. In any event, grab a bowl & hopefully, you’ll enjoy what I’m dishin’ out!
1. Two nights ago, I had a dream in which I single-handedly turned the Chiefs around. Not through any marketing innovation, but by being their most amazing, versatile running back (and sometimes, corner back. That’s how versatile I am.) I scored touchdown after touchdown, to the amazement of both teams and the crowds. I will say, however, the players were PISSED to have the very first female NFL player on their team and were extremely resentful of having their locker room reconfigured. And having to share the whirlpool. After telling JWo this, he requested I take us to the playoffs last night. (Sadly, it seems to have been a one-night-only miracle.)
2. It’s been New Recipes and Good Eatin’ at the NuWo residence this week. We started with my freshly-learned recipe on Monday – Yogurt Curry Chicken with Mango Mint Chutney; Tuesday was Slow-Cooker Chicken Stroganoff, last night was Sloppy Joes (I’d never made them for James before, ever – they were a staple in Iowa, and we didn’t use canned sauce.) Tonight is a Puttanesca pasta with tomatoes from the garden, and some variation on chicken spiedini that I plan to improvise. Cooler weather makes me want to cook!
3. I have spent over an hour going through a government website, searching for statistics by market, and have finally determined I will need to enlist the help of a librarian. Good thing I know one, who has already given me good next steps/options to go get the information. (I am also now convinced that all government reports are created by engineers and statisticians and have no use for people like me using their data.)
4. I also created a macro-flowchart of all our upcoming activity to provide a visual and perhaps assist in managing/requesting certain deadlines be “reasonable.” Apparently, cooler weather also makes me very analytical.
5. The afore-mentioned chicken stroganoff was delicious as a leftover lunch today, apart from the shard of BONE that was in it. It took hours for that sensation to leave my mouth. I wonder what the deep-rooted physiological reason for that is. Perhaps to curb any errant desires to eat glass? Gah.
6. The weather. Yes, it’s cooler. It’s been lovely. It’s also been rainy, and for two days, we basically had the Hurricane Formerly Known as Gustav parked over the state of Missouri. Now it’s moved up through to Illinois, and it’s continued to retain it’s hurricane-y shape, which is rather curious. Now we have Hanna and Ike bearing in on the Southeast – it’s crazy. I know we get tornadoes here in the Midwest, but it’s kind of odd to get the leftovers the way we have. Since JWo is essentially a meteorologist without the paperwork, we’ve had lots of weather conversations at home. It also works well with his science teachings – anything with “real-life” application is easier to absorb.
That’s the smattering of the day, campers. Plurk ya later & have a good evening – it’s almost Friday!!!!