Monday, January 29, 2007

Upside Down

I have just been told that one of our directors has resigned. She's not my direct superior, but I have done a number of projects for her, and she has always championed me when I've needed some back up. She's going back to consulting, which I know she loves so I'm very happy for her, but I'm not so happy for me.

She was going to back me in a bid to move out of my current position into one that's a little more fulfilling for me. Now I'm afraid I'm going to be stuck (haven't heard anything from the interview last Wednesday yet). *sigh* Just when I was feeling that if I was going to have to stay at this company, at least I would have something I liked a little better going on...

I have been telling myself since last February when I started on a search for a new job that everything that fell through did so for a reason: that I still had something to learn here, that there is a different job out there that will come to me when the time is right. It's getting harder and harder to believe myself as the few things/people I enjoy about this job are slowly stripped away.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Interesting..

Borrowed from Allison (who I believe got it from Lolly):

You are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable

At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty

You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it

Your caffeine addiction level: high


Why is this interesting? My caffeine intake consists of a cup of coffee when I get to work and a cup of tea at night. I do require caffeine daily, but not a lot of it.

The 'best' and 'worst' observations are pretty spot on.

Glitch in the system: parts failure.

On Monday I went for a half-hour walk at lunch time. By the time I got back I had a hot, flaring pain in my right lower-back/hip area. This isn't unusal (although the pain doesn't normally come from walking, but from long periods of standing or sitting), and is fixed by going to see Dr. Matt my wonderful chiropractor.

I was off work yesterday for a job interview (cross-your fingers for me folks, I really want this one) so I went to see Dr. Matt and he did his magic and told me to do a 10 min. on 10 min. off icing on it for the next couple of days, but that I should be ok to do excercise, as long as it wasn't too strenuous.

Last night I took the Yoga for Dummies DVD for a spin (Helen, it does sound like the same one you have). I am either too dumb or too smart for it because today I am in pain. Large font, capital letters, lots of exlamation points pain. I got out of bed this morning and realized that it hurt to sit. It hurts to stand. Any kind of movement? Owie ow ow. The only thing that doesn't hurt is lying on the floor, which is pretty frowned on at the office. So I am full of muscle relaxants and have made it to work in body, if not in brain power. Dr. Matt has office hours on Saturday, so I think I'm getting up early.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Pantsless

I went to the mall last night to buy a pair of pants.

After much frustration, I came home with 5 pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of socks, two books and a yoga for dummies DVD.

No pants.

On the bus on the way home yesterday (before going to the mall) I read this post by Crazy Aunt Purl, as well as a good portion of the 325 comments. She talks about struggling with a bajillion different diets and methods of losing weight, all guaranteed to work...yeah. It struck a chord with me. According to those BMI thingys I am obese. I don't look obese (unless I'm naked in my bathroom), but I certainly am overweight, and the last doctor's visit revealed cholesterol that's a titch too high. I've had pressure from family members for years to lose weight, and I've put pressure on myself. When I started university I was a curvy 125 lbs and was dancing 6 days a week. In my head I'm still 125 lbs so it's often a shock to me to catch sight of myself in a reflective surface. But I've been resistant and resentful and stubborn, and I haven't used all the tools I know about because "losing weight" is hard. Reading CAP's musings and the comments of all those people who have been struggling with similar stuff felt really, really good. 'Cause it's not just me.

So when I couldn't find pants that fit me properly I picked up YOU: On a Diet by Drs. Roizen and Oz (and a book of erotica, but that's neither here nor there), and a yoga DVD. The quitting smoking is sticking, so it's time to throw the next part of my loving of me at the wall and wait for it to stick too.

Today I will start not dieting. Today, I will start being more mindful.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

It's a CD! We made a CD! And also a website!

I used to have the best job in the world. I got to spend seven weekends every summer for seven years dressing up funny and running around in the woods at the lost and lamented Ontario Renaissance Festival. And they actually paid me to do it! Crazy!

At the festival there were a group of women who sang together called TLC (the Trillingham Ladies Chorus). They decided they wanted to keep singing together even though they were without a home faire to do it at. A year and a half ago they needed a fill in for one show, and asked me to join them; I was thrilled to do so since even though I'd been in a band of my own at the festival, I'd been yearning to sing the pretty (and sometimes pretty dirty) songs that TLC did. After that one show, I was lucky enough to become a permanent member of the band.

We've since gone through another lineup change, changed our name and kept on singing.

Now, we're embarking on the next stage of this quest to do something we love and get paid for it. Please visit the Nero's Fiddle MySpace page (the music will start almost right away, be aware), where you can read a bit about us and hear four of our songs!

The CD itself still has to be mastered, and we're still hammering out the cover and stuff, but we've come so far from where we were already.

I'm very, very proud of us.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

I've only rubbed my rock twice today!

As part of this quitting smoking thingy (please see Quit Tracker installed at bottom of blog) I did me a ritual Sunday morning. Lit a candle, burned stuff (note: that insense holder wasn't actually meant to hold a charcoal briquette, also, inhaling burning ginger, chili powder and cinnamon will make your lungs hurt more than a John Player Special), invoked and devoked, and imbued a pretty piece of amethyst with positive energies. Then I stuck a nicotine patch on my arm. Spirituality and faith is good, but that doesn't mean a little drug therapy isn't also a good thing.

This little piece of amethyst is now going everywhere I go. It's got an awesome groove on it that is just the right size and shape for my thumb, and I'm using it as a worry stone/transference mechanism whenever the craving takes me (it's also got enough heft and pointy corners that I can fantasize will make a good thunk and leave a nice mark if tossed at someone's head). Yesterday I had it in my hand almost all day. And there was a lot of deep breathing. Today, although there is still a lot of breathing (because people have the dumb and they cannot brain), I've only reached for the stone twice.

There may be progress!

Monday, January 08, 2007

Now *that* would have been funny.

But very, very bad.

I'm sending an email to someone at work with a link to the area of our internal website where they should be setting up client/project folders.


I almost sent them this as the link. As in "The part of the site you should be using is this: link".

I have just spent two minutes laughing myself silly at this.

Ah, Monday.

Friday, January 05, 2007

Who does that?

I like lists. Lists for grocery shopping. Lists for Christmas shopping. Lists of the knitting/other crafting projects I have on the go. Lists of home improvement things I want to do. Lists of what I need to get done at work. The list could go on (groan).

Partly, I need the lists so that I can keep everything straight and I don't forget the cat food, or that the dishwasher has clean dishes in it. Partly, I keep lists so that I am motivated to do things (at least in theory - "Paint the kitchen" has been on my home improvement list for about a year and a half now). My third reason for list-keeping is the satisfaction I get when I can cross something off the list. It's like saying "Look! See what I accomplished? Somebody praise me already."

Sometimes (especially at work) I will add something to my daily list that I have already done, just to have the satisfaction of having another item on my crossed-off list.

I am sincerely hoping that I am not the only person in the world who does this....

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

51 Things About Me

These things go 'round and 'round the internet and while I love 'em they also drive me a little crazy, since you get them over and over again. Instead of sending it on, I'm posting it here. Steal or don't as you please.

Oh, and I'm going to take out the "who is most/least likely to respond" type questions, so there will be less than 51 questions, but I'm leaving the post-title as is. Because I can.

1. FIRST NAME?
Angela
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Nope. My parents deliberately chose a name that no one they knew had.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?
Monday night. I really, really didn't want to come back to work.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
It's a neat combo of my mom's writing and my dad's with my own flourish on it. So, yes.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Vermont-style ham, but only with cheese and other nummy stuff.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOURSELF?
I think so.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?
There's the blog here. I haven't written in a long time. It's one of the things I want to start doing again.
8. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Sometimes
9. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes.
10. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Goodness, no. I would really like to try hang gliding though.
11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
PC's Granola (no raisins, thank you).
12. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Only when I wear shoes with laces. ;-)
13. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? MENTALLY OR PHYSICALLY???
Yes and no. In that order.
14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Mint chocolate chip
15. SHOE SIZE?
Six wide.
16. RED OR PINK?
It depends.
17. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Inability to let go of old stuff, both physically (you should see my basement) and emotionally.
18. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Cat. She's in Malta.
20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Brown cords and brown houndstooth checky booty things.
21. LAST THING YOU ATE?
What was supposed to be turkey soup, but turned into more of a mushy rice with turkey and vegetables thing. I burned my tongue on it, but I'm very full.
22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The dulcet tones of the cube farm.
23. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Sunburst Orange
24. FAVORITE SMELL?
Spring rain or freshly baked bread.
25. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Someone from Corporate Voice Services.
26. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO?
Eyes
28. FAVORITE DRINK?
Milk. Goddess help me if I ever turn up lactose intolerant.
29. FAVORITE SPORT?
Knitting
30. EYE COLOR?
Blue
31. HAIR COLOR?
Your guess is as good as mine. Somewhere in the red/brown family with bits of blonde. And roots.
32. HAT SIZE?
Tiny. I have a stupid tiny head.
33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Sometimes
34. FAVORITE FOOD?
Food.
35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING?
Both
36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIE THEATRE?
I think it was Superman Returns.
37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Blue sweater with brown bits.
38. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Neither. Spring or Fall.
39. HUGS OR KISSES?
Yes, please!
40. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Cheesecake
43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?
Ancestors of Avalon, Domiknitrix
44. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Blue wavy things
45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV?
Did not watch tv last night. There was a Scarface video game on when I got home (Fred had an extra day of vacation), then I went to Becca's house for yoga and tea and knitting.
46. FAVORITE SOUNDS?
Rain, bagpipes, kitty purrs.
47. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Meh. Indigo Girls or Sarah McLachlan, now that's a question.
48. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME?
France
49. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT?
Herding cats.
50. IF YOU WON A ROUND TRIP TICKET TO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
The UK (that way I get more countries).
51. WHEN & WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
October 4, 1973 in Victoria Hospital. Then mom's doctor went duck hunting and forgot all about us so she had to throw a temper tantrum to get us out of the hospital. That doctor was a dork. We got a new one.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Let me sum up.

It was a good Yule/Christmas/New Year season.

I knit five scarves and a steering wheel cover, gave away a bunch of stuff, visited relatives and some friends and made a crazy big Christmas dinner.

Somewhere I have photos of Sabre and Callie under the tree. Nova won't sit under it, and Zoe wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get a picture.

I didn't get as far as sending cards this year, so to all of you out there who sent me one, I'd like to say thank you. The lack of cards doesn't mean I wasn't thinking about you all, it just means that I was terribly disorganized this year.

There were pretty lights and yummy desserts and some Christmas music, and a little bit of crying (mostly due to shopping stress). On the whole it was a fantastic couple of weeks.

Happy New Year! May we all have goodness in our lives in 2007.