Great Big World Out There

snowy days

It snowed off and on all day today.  The world is blanketed in white and I have to traipse through piles of snow every time I go out to see the doggie.  My pantlegs get covered in snow and that makes me cranky.

On the bright side, I can wear my festive winter boots tomorrow.  I bought them back in January and since we didn't get much snow between then and now, I haven't worn them.  (It also helps that I lost them under the kitchen table and forgot I bought them).

I am tired, I feel sick most of the time and I have so many things to do I am paralyzed with indecision - which very important thing should I start with first?  So much easier to read my book and think about doing nothing.  I am so tired when I get home from work I have a hard time even taking the dog for her little walk.  That's another thing I need to do - phone the vet to find out what the surgeon said about her.

Pancake supper tonight - the effect on my stomach wasn't bad - pancakes and syrup usually make me feel sickly.  I'm already sickly so maybe the two cancel each other out. 

I am amazed that I wrote every day for a year.  I think all the mindless blathering I did then wore me out. 

***

Dale and Sylvia left tonight for California.  The plan was to drive in the night so the kidlets would sleep.  Naturally the roads are crap like last year. Last year they didn't get going until much later in the evening.

I spent most of today trying to install software, make magnets and posters.  I also began writing some words for a song - it was hard because the tune is kind of all over the place.  I'd never heard the tune before today so that made it even more difficult. 

I need to go lie down. 

sloopy

I got home from work, picking up the mail and the dog (who is now splint-free!) and decided it would behoove me to crawl onto my treadmill.  This is an excellent plan in theory.  One should use one's exercise equipment, especially when one really needs the exercise anyway.

I think the exercise was a mistake today.  I am tired, I feel nauseous and like I'm not really here. 

Rather the way one does when one has been imbibing various items of an intoxicating nature. 

Naturally, I am busy and I have things to do.  What things?  I need to finish grouting the basement bathroom.  I need to wash some towels.  I need to find the rest of my bedroom floor.  I need to collect a variety of papers to send to a government agency who will then send us money to compensate for the difficulty in raising cows these days. 

I am out of milk so I should probably go get some.  Except see above about feeling like crap.  Probably not what you should feel like when getting behind the wheel of one's auto.  In a little while I will watch the hockey game between Calgary and Vancouver, a little after that I shall watch the oilers ppv game. 

I have entirely too much stuff.  I signed up for a course on decluttering and organizing and I haven't done any of the assignments yet.  My printer was broken.  I should get on that right now.  It might give me some ideas for getting off my butt and getting something done.

sick days

A sick day means some lame memes, seen here.

1.) Challenger space shuttle exploded (1986): I was at recess. We were going to watch the experiments in a couple of days (a big deal to find someone with a VCR who could tape the middle of the night program), and it was oddly disappointing because that wasn't going to happen. Kids are so obtuse, we knew the astronauts died, but we were more interested in the fact that we were suffering. Or something like that. My teacher wrote the news up on the blackboard, so you saw it as you came in from recess.

2.) Berlin Wall falls down (1989): I think I saw it on the late night news - the days before were building to the big event but when it really happened it was a big deal.

3.) Oklahoma City federal building bombing (1995): I heard from a friend, at school.

4.) OJ Verdict (1995): I was driving home from school, picking up the mail, trying to get everything done in time to run into the house and watch it on tv. I think I just made it.

5.) Princess Diana dies (1997): I was off camping, the weekend before I went back to school. I heard it on a Sunday morning in a tshirt shop in Jasper. I recall discussing the situation with my camping friend, and we were both surprised by how bummed out we were by everything. Odd, that.

6.) Columbine massacre (1999): I think I might have been studying for a final. I cannot say for certain.

7.) JFK Jr. Plane crash (1999): I don't know where I was. Probably heard it on the radio.

8.) Bush/Gore crazy election (2000): I wasn't paying attention. Didn't care.

9.) September 11, (2001): I first heard some odd talk on the radio I kept on my nightstand. I was half asleep, it being not quite 7am. When I sort of woke up I realized what had happened and went to turn on CNN. I was late to work because I couldn't tear myself away from the news. I live next to an airport, and the sight of the british airways and air france planes (never seen here before) at the end of the runway were disturbing. Brought everything home. The air was quiet, too, with the lack of planes. Too quiet.

10.) Space ship Columbia disintegrates (2003): I have no idea.

11.) Hurricane Katrina hits (2005): I recall watching coverage after the storm quit, not quite able to believe that people were being left to moulder and die. So many thing went wrong there, and it exposed the US prejudice for all the world to see.

there's no guarantee

Being surrounded by piles of crap can do one of two things - inspire you to clean it up or sink you into a vast inability to do anything about the piles of crap.

I was doing the clean up the crap thing today, and man, do I have crap.  I even cleaned up dog crap, to go with the whole crap theme.

On the good side, I took grandma shopping this morning.  That was tiring.  She fell a couple of days ago and inconveniently landed on her face.  She's got black eyes and a huge lump on her head.  tis hard to look at her, because it looks so painful.  She claims it does not hurt.

***

I have watched lame movies today while cleaning, tidying and generally decrapping the house.  A clean bathroom always fills my heart with joy.  I went through the assorted piles of mail and that ended up pissing me off.  I'd gotten a ship notification on friday afternoon that led me to zoom off to the post office before they closed on the off chance that my new camera had arrived.

I got there in plenty of time, but alas, did not have a parcel card in the mailbox.  I briefly considered asking if there was a parcel for me, since the pile of mail was daunting and I might have missed it.

I did another ramble through the mail, though, and didn't see anything.  I left, thinking I'd leave work in time on Monday to get the parcel if it arrived by then.

This afternoon I found a parcel card.  Shit.  Now my camera has been sitting there all weekend.  On the bright side, I have at least gotten stuff done.  I shouldn't have managed that if I had been playing with a shiny new camera all weekend. 

***

I have much to do and no desire to do it.  Time for sleep, I think. 

title: i'm moving on, rascal flats

Go me!

on hold

You know how some customer service lines have those little 'we expect the delay to speak to a customer service agent to be xxx minutes?'  I think they make up the time you should expect to wait on hold by drawing a number from a hat.

I was told the wait would exceed 2 minutes just now.  I've been waiting 3.  They're still correct, I suppose, but jeez.  How stupid.  I wanted to use the treadmill while watching the hockey game, but for some odd reason this receiver doesn't receive the center ice package (why???) so I can't do that. 

I am overwhelmed by the pile of things I need to do in the next several weeks.  I spent today at work digging out from under all of the piles of things that accumulated in the past week and a half.  Letters for this purchase, an outline for a meeting in powerpoint, ordering some stuff for a meeting in a couple of weeks, time sheets, sending invoices to be paid, also getting the dog to the vet this morning.  I had to stay late to make up the time because I didn't get to work until nearly 10am. 

Gah.  Hate missing work for my ultra-expensive dog.  Am giant loser.  I plan to get in early tomorrow morning to make up for my under achievement today.

I also had an impromptu meeting with someone who needs help with some of their research - and it is really cool stuff so I kind of can't wait to get started.  I might get to do some travel while I'm at it so what more could I ask for.  It would be to a place I've never been before.  Yay!

Also booked hotel rooms for a meeting at the beginning of March. 

***

Has been 10 minutes.  Why must you lie to me, * choice jerks? Why?