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Hooray! Five day weekends rule! Yes, ladies and gents, you read correctly. This happy camper is now on a 5 day vacation from everything! No work, no super cute but sometimes clingy pug, no housework, nothing! Jas and I leave in the morning for Vegas for 1 night, and then we’re off to see his parents in Utah for the following 3 days. I cannot wait!
I hate Thanksgiving. I’m very Chandler-esque about the day, and I have been for almost as long as I can remember. Most of my extreme dislike is based on the food, and people’s reactions to my disgust. I don’t like turkey, ham, stuffing, cranberries, sweet potatoes (or yams if you wanna call them that), pumpkin pie, or pretty much any traditional Thanksgiving food. I just don’t. And for 25 years of my life, every single year (of the ones I remember), someone in my family would ask why I’m eating macaroni and cheese and not turkey or stuffing or the rest of the food that my relatives "slaved over a hot stove for, so we ALL could enjoy it." Ummm, because eww? I don’t like it. I’ve tried learning to adjust. I tried choking it down, or eating just enough not to get harassed, and then running to McDonald’s as soon as they stopped paying attention. But that’s not fun for me. Three years ago, after my in-laws bought their house in Utah, I suggested to Jas that we go visit his mom for Thanksgiving, instead of going to my own family’s dinner. Best. Idea. Ever. (if I do say so myself). We went out to the buffet place near her house, and no one asked me why I didn’t have turkey. No one cared! I got to eat my macaroni and cheese, and mashed potatoes, and salad, and I was in heaven. So this has now become our tradition, much to the chagrin of certain family members who shall remain nameless. It’s totally even as far as I’m concerned. Thanksgiving with Jason’s family, Hanukkah with mine, Christmas Eve and/or Christmas morning with my family, and the majority of Christmas Day with his. Seems like an even split to me.
Anyhow, I need to get packing for our trip, since I’ve procrastinated all week. I’m going to TRY to keep posting at least once a day for NaBloPoMo, but if something happens and I can’t, I hope each and every one of you have a lovely holiday however you may chose to spend it!
I’m a little OCD about my online banking. I always have been, and I can’t foresee that changing anytime in the future. Up until my recent computer take down, I had the last SEVEN YEARS of my banking life saved in Quicken. I updated it every single day. (If I blogged as often as I checked my account, you guys would have pages upon pages of my babbling.) Since I was supremely stupid and didn’t back up my hard drive, that info is all gone now. Which, I’ll admit, infuriates me. Sometimes I can’t believe how stupid I was/am.
But I digress…
This morning, as is my habit, I pop online to check the status of my account. The bank account looks good, the loan payment I made went through, and all of my bills have cleared. Excellent! Except…what’s that? The Visa balance looks a little high. I swear I’m going to kill Jason for using this card. Um.. $300 at Magic Mountain? $90 at Red Lobster? $73 at Mexicali? We didn’t charge those.
OH MY HELL SOMEONE STOLE THE CREDIT CARD!
So I run to my purse, and my card is sitting there where it belongs. I tear through his wallet, and his card is also there. Great. Someone has taken the card number, and probably my social security number, and now I’ll have to change my name and address and I’ll never get a new car or house and I’ll be fighting creditors forever!! (That’s how my mind works. Small problem A immediately means Huge Problem C. Logic need not apply.)
My bank is awesome. They had already noticed the change in usage (the last time I used the card was in August) and had put a fraud notice on it, awaiting confirmation. I was to get a telephone call today, asking me to verify the sudden unusual charges on the account. I just beat them to it. The card had already been denied for an additional $400 in charges, on top of the $565 they’d already spent. I’m guessing the bastards who took it weren’t too pleased that my bank is on top of things. But they’re super wonderful and I love them to bits! All we have to do is fill out a fraud form and send it back in to them. The account balance has already been transfered to a new account, and our new cards are already in progress. Done! 15 minutes on the phone, and life was back in order. Of course, I checked with Experian and put a little safety alert thing on our accounts, just in case someone has our Social Security numbers too. I’m sure that’s nothing to worry about, but I felt better after doing it.
After I handled it, I got a lecture on proper card safety and care from my dearest darling husband. Apparently, you should cover the keypad when at the store or gas station and entering in your PIN or Zip Code. OH MY SAINTED AUNT, really? I never would have known to do that, since I’ve not had a credit card and/or debit card for the last TEN YEARS! I know, I know he’s just trying to help, but I was a little offended that he assumed this was my fault. Then I was told it HAD to be because of that virus that killed the computer. Um, no.
- I don’t keep a record of any credit card or account numbers on the computer. Ever.
- I dump my cache and clear my history EVERY SINGLE TIME I pay the bills online. Overkill and probably useless? Possibly. But it makes me feel better.
- As soon as I realized there was potentially a bug in the machine (within 15 seconds of it crashing) I disconnected the internet. Even if there WAS information on my hard drive, there’s no way it could find it and send it that quickly.
So, yes, he’s worried and he was trying to help me be a little safer, but did I need a lecture? Particularly after I’d already discovered and handled the problem? I think not.
And to the person and/or peoples who stole the card: I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted. All 3 days of it. I hope that you REALLY needed whatever it was you purchased. And that you had a great time at Magic Mountain (even if I wasn’t invited) and brought home souvenirs. Because Karma is a bitch. And she’s coming after your ass.
After yesterday’s fantastic display of laziness, I decided today would be much more productive (and thus slightly more interesting to post about). A bagel with lox sounded like a fantastic plan for lunch, so I walked (WALKED!) over to the shopping center near our apartment. I always feel guilty driving there since it’s so close, and since I hadn’t planned on buying anything to schlep home, walking seemed like a good plan. I should have known better. Linens ‘n Things is in the shopping center, right next to my favorite bagel place. I was bored, so I wandered in. Big mistake.
Linens n’ Things is my second favorite Things I Don’t Need To Buy But Do Anyhow establishment (Bed Bath & Beyond reigns first on my list), and it certainly did not fail me on this trip. I decided these sconces would look great on either side of the Wyland painting that’s not yet hung on my wall (my frame is black, unlike the one in the photo). I found a wastebasket for the computer room, instead of the plastic bag we were using as a substitute (classy, we are not). I bought a new shower rod since ours is too short, and just rests on the top of the shower, thus dragging the curtain on the ground (Jas doesn’t mind. I’ve hated it forever, but never remembered to do something about it. Until today!). Then these cookie sheets jumped into my cart. I don’t know why. I don’t like to cook. I don’t like to bake. But they seemed like something I needed to buy RIGHT THEN, despite my lack of automobile to bring them home. It’s only a half mile or so. The longest half mile ever, in case you wondered. But I made it. Put all my fine purchases away, and then decided I needed to cook something on my new cookie sheets. So back out I went (this time with my car) to the store. Cookies were purchased, along with various other edible odds and ends. It’s a little sad how excited I was about making cookies. I rushed home, threw them in the oven (props to Nestle Tollhouse and their Idiot-Proof cookie kits) and waited. 12 minutes later, all done! I felt like I’d conquered the world! My house smelled yummy, and there were fresh cookies on my stove. I was inspired!
I broke out my cookbooks and started making lists of dinners and desserts that I plan on conquering in the next month. My shopping list started off as 3 pages long. I’ve since culled it down to a little over a page. Maybe this will be my new hobby. I vow, with you Internet peoples as my witness, to try at least once new recipe a week, regardless if Jas is home or not. I shall no longer use having dinner by myself as an excuse. That’s what Gladware is for. If anyone has any good recipes, or recipe sites they’d like to share, I’d appreciate it. Specifically those recipes spelled out for the domestically challenged. I’m not a great cook. I don’t really like it that much. But I’m still glowing from my fabulous cookie experience, and hoping to hold on to this feeling for a while!
I wish someone would tag me for a meme again, because I’m having a serious case of writer’s block. I haven’t done one productive thing today. I got up, taped a radio broadcast where my DJ friend in Louisiana said hi to me on live radio (total ego boost, btw), watched tv, and played some computer games. It’s funny. During the week, I’m always complaining I don’t have time to do all the things I want to do. Then the weekend comes and I can’t think of anything to do.
Oh look! I put in a load of laundry. i guess the day isn’t a total waste.
Today’s my half birthday. Hooray for being older!
And on that note, I promise something more interesting for tomorrow!
Back in the day when I was in school, an English class I took required me to join this happy little online world called VZones. We were studying different types of media (books, newspapers, television, the Internet, etc. Not The Media like the people who provide skewed stories) and he was using VZones as an experiment on whether classes could be taught using this type of application.
Anyhow, being the little computer geek I am, I took to it right away. I loved creating an avatar, and trying out all the games and such. Talking to the people took me a while, as I was still pretty shy back then. I finally stumbled upon a group of people I have come to love and respect very very much. I spent an unhealthy amount of time "inworld" chatting, laughing, joking, and having some of the best times of my life. All with people I’ve never met. I shared everything with them, trusted them, and consider them my closest friends, regardless of distance.
Last year, when my office moved, I lost the ability to be with these friends as often as I wanted to be. At first, I’d get to catch them for a couple hours after work, but I started working later and later, and suddenly I didn’t get to see them at all. Most of them live in the Eastern or Central time zone, and I’m in Pacific. So when I finally got around to logging in, they would be asleep. Some of them I kept in touch with via AIM or e-mail, but it’s not the same as all of us sitting and chatting together. I’d get to pop in occasionally on weekends, so we didn’t lose touch altogether, but it wasn’t the same as being there all day every day.
So tonight I got a chance to log in, and oh my hell, how I’ve missed these people. I can’t remember the last time I laughed this hard. They’re just a hilarious group of people, and I honestly cannot believe that I’d started to forget that. I was a little afraid of coming back after being away for so long. I was afraid things would be different. That I wouldn’t be part of the group anymore. But it was like I’d never left, and it truly made me a little teary eyed that I was was welcomed with such open pixelated arms.
I guess that fear is what has kept me from contacting a lot of my friends. It’s been so long, are they going to be upset with me for staying away, or will we go back to the friendship we had. It won’t be the same in every situation, but I’ll never know until I try, right? I’m thankful for all the new friends I’ve made- through this blog, and others that I’ve been frequenting, but I’m also thankful that I’ve made such great friends in the past, that they can forgive me for my weaknesses, and welcome me back into their lives. I love you guys.
Dear Southern California Drivers,
Please learn to drive.
This seems like a simple task, but some of you are having trouble. For example, if I am in Lane 1 driving slightly over the speed limit, and you are ahead of me in Lane 2 driving slower than I am, there is no reason for you to switch lanes in front of me and cause me to slow down. If you desperately need to get into my lane, perhaps you could wait until I pass you, and THEN move over. A novel concept, I know! It might cost you a few extra precious seconds of being in your lane, but I promise you’ll get to move over very soon.
Additionally, I know many of you enjoy multitasking while driving. I don’t judge you for that. I do the same thing. However, if you are multitasking, you should continue driving the speed of traffic. If you cannot do that, you should immediately cease whatever extracurricular activities you are engaged in and DRIVE! This will get you to your destination faster, and will keep me from screaming expletive laden Offspring lyrics at you as I drive past.
I’m sure I have other helpful suggestions for you, but as I have spent all my energy screaming at the idiots I encountered on the way home, I can no longer think clearly.
Have a lovely day!
Denora
Last week I was sitting around chatting with two of my bosses, and they told me I should take this personality assessment that they’ve found online. I was a bit hesitant, but did it anyway. It’s a free little quiz thing that asks you to choose between two sets of words that best fit you. I’m always a little skeptical of these things, but I was shocked to see how accurate it was (at least in my case).
Some of my assessment:
You’re basically an introverted and low-key person who likes everything to be orderly and impersonal. Reserved, proper and calm are words that are often used to describe you. You don’t like to interact verbally or personally with other people. You are independent and can be a loner very easily. Sometimes, your best friend is your computer and its Internet access.
That last line scares me. First of all, how sad is it that my computer is my best friend? Secondly, do they have a camera on me or something? Because SO. TOTALLY. TRUE.
I like my computer and its Internet access. I like reading things online, making friends online, communicating through e-mail. A lot of people say you can use the Internet to be whoever you want to be. Some people choose to pretend they’re something different than how they are in real life. I choose to be more outgoing online, because I don’t have to see people’s reactions to the things I say or do. I’m painfully shy. I like to pretend that I don’t care what other people think about me, when in fact I care a whole lot more than I should. Communicating online makes it easier for me to convince myself that I don’t care. It’s my own personal delusion, thank you much!
Some more:
Sometimes, particularly when you’re younger, you can be quite critical of others and haughty in your responses. In fact, as people speak, you are editing what they’re saying and judging their intellectual capacity. At some point in your life, you’ll recognize that you are much brighter and knowledgeably prepared than most people.
That paragraph convinced me that this was a setup, and that the bosses had planned this. It’s like the quiz was seriously reading my thoughts. I am ALWAYS judging people’s intelligence when I talk to them. I can’t help it. I dislike stupid people. I’m not ashamed to admit that. People who lack intelligence frustrate me to no end. This doesn’t mean I think all people are stupid (though I think there are an awful lot of them). I just don’t like the ones that are. Of course, that goes hand in hand with the fact that I don’t like people much. I’m more of a guilty until proven innocent type person when it comes to people’s personalities. I generally start off not liking someone until they give me a reason to like them. I make snap judgments about a person within the first 5 minutes of our crossing paths, and keep that opinion until I get a reason to change it. It’s not right, and it’s not fair, but that’s just how I am. I do, however, fully admit when I’m wrong (or at least try to). When I first met one of my best friends, I thought she was a total ditz because she couldn’t find the building our office was in. Turns out she’s one of the smartest people I know, and I love her to death. I was totally wrong about her, and I can admit that.
The assessment gave me a lot to think about. It goes hand in hand with my plan to fix my life. And I’ll get started on that as soon as I finish surfing the web.
LL was tagged to do this meme (I have no idea where “meme” came from), and while she didn’t specifically tag me, I decided to try it for today’s post.
This is the idea:
- Share 7 random or weird facts about yourself
- Tag 7 random people at the end of the post and include links to their blogs
- Let each person know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
1. I hate feet. My feet, his feet, her feet, any feet. I don’t like them near me, or touching me, and I hate people touching mine. Socked feet are slightly more tolerable, but they still creep me out a little.
2. I’m extremely shy until you get to know me. I don’t like large groups of people, and I’m more comfortable one on one than in a group at all. Even if I’m with a large group of friends where I know every single person, I lean toward the shy side.
3. I am scared to death of ET. It scarred me as a kid, and I can’t get past it as an adult. I can logically sit here and tell you that it’s a movie, and completely not real, and that I should have no fear of it. However, the illogical side of me completely ignores logic, and freaks out at the sight of anything ET related.
4. I love electronics and computers. I like figuring out how they work, using them, fixing them, etc. I love the Internet, and have a sometimes unhealthy addiction to it. Sadly, I often prefer interacting with people via e-mail and chat room than interacting face to face.
5. I dislike cooking. I am not a bad cook, I just don’t like doing it. It’s hard to work a full 9, 10 or 11 hour day, and then go home and stand over a hot stove for another hour and some. One of my new goals is to try and cook more, and eat microwave dinners less.
6. I love to read. I prefer a good book over a television any day. I will never watch the movie of a book I want to read before I’ve read the book. I often don’t watch the movie even after I’ve read the book, for fear that it will disappoint me.
7. I’m a very picky eater. I don’t like trying new things, though I’ve been making an effort to do it more often. The list of things I don’t like could span an entire page. I’m also a habitual eater. Once I find something I like at a restaurant, I rarely deviate from it.
Ok, so those are my 7 things. I’m not going to tag 7 people because, well, I don’t know 7 people with blogs. But if you want to do it, consider yourself tagged! Just leave me a comment, or send me an e-mail so I can see your list!
I’m here! Back on my super comfy couch, with the cutie pug smooshed up against my leg, in her attempt to become one with me. Usually I’m a little depressed after these weekends away, because I’ve had such a great time with my friends, and coming home means it’s over. This weekend feels different. I still had a great time with my friends, but I’m also very glad to be home. I missed Jason and Mia more than I have in the past (which sounds awful, but I don’t mean it that way).
I had more time to think this weekend, and I’ve decided that I’m a pretty depressing person. I don’t think I had a positive thought the entire time I was alone with myself. I’m not suicidal or anything, so don’t freak out. I just realized I’m very unhappy with my life right now. I’m not sure if I can figure out how to fix it, or if I should see someone to get help. I don’t feel like I’m sick, or in danger or or anything. I just think there are things about my life that need to be changed.
Things I’d like to change (in no particular order):
- Quit biting my nails
- Stop putting myself down
- Be more productive
- Be more positive
- Have more fun
- Find a hobby I enjoy
- Be a better friend
- Be a nicer person
Ok so the last one might be out of my league, but dammit, I’m gonna try!
It’s amazing how tired you can become by just sitting. It’s 5:30 on Sunday afternoon (and since I’m still on California time, it’s only 2:30 in my world), and I’m exhausted. Granted, I got up at 5:30 (again, in my world) and sat and sat and sat all day. Part was meetings, part was lunch, and part was just brain-storming. But wow, I can’t remember the last time I was this tired. During the brain storming session, I was almost nodding off, and it’s not like these are quiet people! But now we’ve got a break for an hour, and if I try and nap, I’ll just be more cranky later.
In other news, I quit my position on the board today. The May board meeting is the last meeting I’ll be an officer for. I feel a bit relieved to be giving this up, despite how much I love the people here. But I determined last night, after thinking about yesterday’s post, that it’s the people I like more than the organization’s views. (Obviously there are certain people that I like more than others.) I don’t disagree with the views, and the purpose, and the direction at all. I just find I’m lacking the commitment, caring, and drive to continue being a board member. It’s better for the organization if I step down, and my position is filled by someone who’s willing to commit to the responsibilities at hand. And this way I can direct my energy into something that interests me. (Don’t ask what that might be, because I sure don’t have a clue yet.) I’ll continue to participate in the yearly conference, because it’s mainly a social event for me. But I’m taking an extended break from being a leader. I’ll come back when it’s more than just a social event for me.
So, anyone have an idea of what I can do in my spare time? Besides writing blogs no one will care about? 
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