I blog to you today from the lovely state of Connecticut! I am here again to train our new winder, which is really very boring. My trip goes something like this:
3:15am- Wake up (barely), shower, etc.
4:30am- Leave for BWI, try not to kill myself or others by falling asleep at the wheel.
5:30am- Arrive at BWI, try not to fall asleep on the shuttle, in the security line, or at the gate; lest my things be stolen. Acquire coffee.
6:30am- Board plane, doze off while playing Sudoku.
7:30am- Arrive in CT, take shuttle to Enterprise.
7:35am- Schmooze rental guy, pay for a compact but receive a premium car. Do happy dance on the inside, and be grateful that I didn't let myself go.
8:00am-ish- Arrive at work. Acquire more coffee and also animal crackers. Locate boss.
8:15am- Critique trainees work thus far. Sit in the room while she practices, intermittently answer questions, check her progress every once in a while and offer advice, but mostly play on my phone or check email. Internally debate whether I would get in trouble for knitting.
12:00pm- Have lunch, usually with the engineer.
1:00pm- See 8:15am.
5:00pm- Leave work.
5:20pm- Hit a drive thru on the way to the hotel.
5:30pm- Relax in hotel room, watch crappy TV, and eventually zonk out.
7:30am- Wake up late, rush to shower, get my things and check out.
8:15am- Get to work 15 min late, blame it on "getting turned around."
8:30am- See the first 8:15am.
3:00pm- Drop off rental, get shuttled to airport
And blah, blah, blah… I'm sure you know how it goes. I eventually get home around 7-7:30, and veg out, typically with yet another fast food meal. Tonight I've been invited to have dinner with the trainee and her husband, which should be fun. I will be immensely grateful to have a home-cooked meal. And maybe on one of my future trips I can get some people to go out for beers or something. The engineer took me out for beers last week when he was in Maryland, and I may have gotten a little more drunk than I intended. He was kind enough to give me a lift home, and then back the next day to get my Jeep. But now I know: 1 beer + food = OK. 3 beers + mostly empty stomach = sloshed.
With all the overtime I racked up, I decided to treat myself to a new phone. I had the same original iPhone, which became insanely slow with the v4 software update. It was getting annoying, and I wanted a 16g that would fit my entire iTunes library. But last summer I gave my upgrade to Cass, and wouldn't be eligible for another until February 2012. So I went in the AT&T store expecting to dish out full price for an iPhone 4. Instead (and possibly, like the rental car, due to being cute) I wound up paying half price. Of course I had to resign my contract, but whatevs. I got my phone. And I love it. It's faster, and fits all my music, and the retina display is incredible. Mostly I love that all I had to do was hook up my old phone to my MacBook, make sure all my recent purchases were transferred, and then hook up my new phone. Everything copied over, easy as pie.
I won't lie. I subscribe to the Cult of Apple. I just like having things that work together so seamlessly. I guess time will tell if I really want to keep drinking the Apple Kool-Aid or not… It's easy to love new things. I know how crappy and slow my old laptop got after three years, so we'll see if the MacBook does better. I'm betting it will, unless a software update comes out that it can't support, driving millions to buy a new version or deal with their newly useless machine.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The Apartment Post
It's been a month now, and the apartment is getting there. There are still a few things (mainly my closet) that need to be sorted, but I'm otherwise settled. Here are a few photos to show it off:
My bedroom. Note my creepy little dude on the nightstand. He still requires tiny knitwear. My "headboard" is just shutters. I had been looking online for cheap headboards, and couldn't find much under $100 that would fit my full size bed. Then one day I saw the shutters at Home Depot. A pair cost about $35, so the total cost was less than $80 with tax. They're very simple to put up, but I think I will have a lot of spackling to do when I move out.
The next three are of my "dining area," which is more like my office. I've never been good at eating at a table anyway, so this made more sense. I stole the caution tape and danger sign from work. :) The desk lamp on my Robot Rocketship Table has two outlets on the base, so I can plug in my laptop. Score.
This is my awesome new couch, which is much bigger than it seemed at the store. I'm keeping a fleece throw on it to protect it from Spencer's schmoogy and snarfles, and also from my own sloppy self. It's honestly pretty big, and very deep. It's almost like having a twin bed in my living room, and I love that. Also pictured is my yarn cabinet, proudly displaying the better parts of my stash.
Moving on to the kitchen! First I must say that the best part of unpacking was when I opened up my new (and very, very inexpensive) IKEA cookware set and discovered that it is GRADUATED. For reals! Cups and liters, right up the sides! How freaking awesome is that!? I love it.
My new cast iron pan/mini-wok thing is pretty sweet too- I found it for half off at the Williams-Sonoma outlet in Leesburg. It's a Staub, which I had never heard of, but some lady at the store (just another customer) gushed about hers as she was buying some other stuff nearby. Hopefully she's right- I haven't tried it out yet, as I haven't cooked more than Mac & Cheese since moving in.
Back in January, when I was still feeling resentful about the situation, I decided that if I was going to have to move out, I wanted to fill the new place with things Scott would hate... or at least not like. So I bought these:
Little, reusable wiener-cicles. I use them often, and smile when I do.
During a quiet day at work, I found a fun use for the label maker tape that we accidentally bought (it's 1/2" not our typical 1/4"). Baking with flour and sugar is dullsville. I prefer anthrax and arsenic.
And the most used thing in my kitchen: the butter crock. It was a gift from my friend, Karen, and it's incredible. You fill the lid with butter, put some cold water in the base, and keep it on the counter. Creamy, soft, spreadable butter is then available at your whim. I'm on my third loaf of cinnamon toast. My cholesterol levels are sure to suffer, but I don't care. I will gladly shave a few years off my life if it means enjoying delicious, real butter instead of margarine.
Karen gave it to me at a surprise knit-night housewarming. It turns out that my knitty pals did not feel that giving up a Saturday morning to help me move was altruistic enough- they had to go and be even more supportive and awesome by giving me awesome things like hand-knits and soaps and extra well-wishes and such. I am exceptionally lucky to have such amazing friends!
Living on my own is teaching me some new things. Number one: Know where the Verizon guy will need to go when he comes to install your cable, so that you do not have to suddenly hide your underthings and then freak him out by accidentally leaving your giant shotgun right where he will be. Number two: The new-fangled anchors that seem like they will be awesome might actually suck very hard, and you should stick with what you know will work so that you do not wind up having to spackle many holes and sand wood glue off the wall (it seemed like a good idea). And number three: When doing laundry for the first time in a new place, if you discover that the dryer is not plugged in, you should also consider that the vent hose is not hooked up either. The amount of lint that will explode out the back of the dryer in three seconds is pretty astounding.
I have a new TV now, which isn't very different from the one I left behind, but I also got a Blu-Ray player. At the old place, we just used the Xbox to watch DVDs, so movies in HD are sort of new for me. I was surprised that I could really tell the difference! But sadly, my favorite low-budget horror movies are harder to watch. The fake sets and props that looked fine before look pretty cheesy now. Hopefully as technology gets cheaper, the low-budget stuff will eventually have better CG effects, and they will be able to digitally enhance some of the fakery.
That's my big apartment post. Stay tuned for a non-apartment post detailing the other minutia of my dull life!
My bedroom. Note my creepy little dude on the nightstand. He still requires tiny knitwear. My "headboard" is just shutters. I had been looking online for cheap headboards, and couldn't find much under $100 that would fit my full size bed. Then one day I saw the shutters at Home Depot. A pair cost about $35, so the total cost was less than $80 with tax. They're very simple to put up, but I think I will have a lot of spackling to do when I move out.
The next three are of my "dining area," which is more like my office. I've never been good at eating at a table anyway, so this made more sense. I stole the caution tape and danger sign from work. :) The desk lamp on my Robot Rocketship Table has two outlets on the base, so I can plug in my laptop. Score.
This is my awesome new couch, which is much bigger than it seemed at the store. I'm keeping a fleece throw on it to protect it from Spencer's schmoogy and snarfles, and also from my own sloppy self. It's honestly pretty big, and very deep. It's almost like having a twin bed in my living room, and I love that. Also pictured is my yarn cabinet, proudly displaying the better parts of my stash.
Moving on to the kitchen! First I must say that the best part of unpacking was when I opened up my new (and very, very inexpensive) IKEA cookware set and discovered that it is GRADUATED. For reals! Cups and liters, right up the sides! How freaking awesome is that!? I love it.
My new cast iron pan/mini-wok thing is pretty sweet too- I found it for half off at the Williams-Sonoma outlet in Leesburg. It's a Staub, which I had never heard of, but some lady at the store (just another customer) gushed about hers as she was buying some other stuff nearby. Hopefully she's right- I haven't tried it out yet, as I haven't cooked more than Mac & Cheese since moving in.
Back in January, when I was still feeling resentful about the situation, I decided that if I was going to have to move out, I wanted to fill the new place with things Scott would hate... or at least not like. So I bought these:
Little, reusable wiener-cicles. I use them often, and smile when I do.
During a quiet day at work, I found a fun use for the label maker tape that we accidentally bought (it's 1/2" not our typical 1/4"). Baking with flour and sugar is dullsville. I prefer anthrax and arsenic.
And the most used thing in my kitchen: the butter crock. It was a gift from my friend, Karen, and it's incredible. You fill the lid with butter, put some cold water in the base, and keep it on the counter. Creamy, soft, spreadable butter is then available at your whim. I'm on my third loaf of cinnamon toast. My cholesterol levels are sure to suffer, but I don't care. I will gladly shave a few years off my life if it means enjoying delicious, real butter instead of margarine.
Karen gave it to me at a surprise knit-night housewarming. It turns out that my knitty pals did not feel that giving up a Saturday morning to help me move was altruistic enough- they had to go and be even more supportive and awesome by giving me awesome things like hand-knits and soaps and extra well-wishes and such. I am exceptionally lucky to have such amazing friends!
Living on my own is teaching me some new things. Number one: Know where the Verizon guy will need to go when he comes to install your cable, so that you do not have to suddenly hide your underthings and then freak him out by accidentally leaving your giant shotgun right where he will be. Number two: The new-fangled anchors that seem like they will be awesome might actually suck very hard, and you should stick with what you know will work so that you do not wind up having to spackle many holes and sand wood glue off the wall (it seemed like a good idea). And number three: When doing laundry for the first time in a new place, if you discover that the dryer is not plugged in, you should also consider that the vent hose is not hooked up either. The amount of lint that will explode out the back of the dryer in three seconds is pretty astounding.
I have a new TV now, which isn't very different from the one I left behind, but I also got a Blu-Ray player. At the old place, we just used the Xbox to watch DVDs, so movies in HD are sort of new for me. I was surprised that I could really tell the difference! But sadly, my favorite low-budget horror movies are harder to watch. The fake sets and props that looked fine before look pretty cheesy now. Hopefully as technology gets cheaper, the low-budget stuff will eventually have better CG effects, and they will be able to digitally enhance some of the fakery.
That's my big apartment post. Stay tuned for a non-apartment post detailing the other minutia of my dull life!
Friday, March 25, 2011
For Starters
My List of Reasons Getting Divorced Might Not Be So Bad
1. My bathroom is way cleaner, and I'm not cleaning toothpaste dribbles and beard shavings out of the sink every day.
2. I can watch whatever I please on TV without snarky comments- whether it's reality TV or a silly family movie starring Eddie Murphy.
3. The only grumbling I hear comes from Spencer, and I can squirt him with the water bottle if it annoys me.
4. There is a hot pink Robot-Rocketship table in my dining room, and I love it.
5. I can eat whatever the fuck I want. This means that baby carrots with ranch dressing and some toast is an acceptable meal. And I can make all the crappy food I want: Frito Pie, my mom's spaghetti (with ground beef! Sacrilege!), Hamburger Helper, casseroles, etc.
6. The house is cleaner. I'm not cleaning peanut butter fingerprints off the cabinets, and there aren't spots of tar (or grease or whatever gets on his shoes when he rides his motorcycle) on the carpet.
7. I don't need to constantly relocate piles of laundry when I want to vacuum or go to bed.
8. The wooden spoons aren't destroyed from being put in the dishwasher.
9. The dishwasher gets loaded the right way- with the dirty side facing the water spray.
10. The grocery bill is WAY cheaper.
11. I don't have to hide snacks so that they don't get eaten before I've had a chance to eat any.
12. It's much nicer to sleep without the chorus of snoring and gnashing teeth.
13. The sheets are all mine! Mine! MINE!! Mwahahahahaha!
14. Nobody makes me feel inferior for having wacky serotonin levels.
15. I can leave my knitting wherever the hell I want, muthafucka!
16. I can use up all the hot water without guilt.
17. For all the reasons above and more I haven't thought of yet, my life is much less stressful.
1. My bathroom is way cleaner, and I'm not cleaning toothpaste dribbles and beard shavings out of the sink every day.
2. I can watch whatever I please on TV without snarky comments- whether it's reality TV or a silly family movie starring Eddie Murphy.
3. The only grumbling I hear comes from Spencer, and I can squirt him with the water bottle if it annoys me.
4. There is a hot pink Robot-Rocketship table in my dining room, and I love it.
5. I can eat whatever the fuck I want. This means that baby carrots with ranch dressing and some toast is an acceptable meal. And I can make all the crappy food I want: Frito Pie, my mom's spaghetti (with ground beef! Sacrilege!), Hamburger Helper, casseroles, etc.
6. The house is cleaner. I'm not cleaning peanut butter fingerprints off the cabinets, and there aren't spots of tar (or grease or whatever gets on his shoes when he rides his motorcycle) on the carpet.
7. I don't need to constantly relocate piles of laundry when I want to vacuum or go to bed.
8. The wooden spoons aren't destroyed from being put in the dishwasher.
9. The dishwasher gets loaded the right way- with the dirty side facing the water spray.
10. The grocery bill is WAY cheaper.
11. I don't have to hide snacks so that they don't get eaten before I've had a chance to eat any.
12. It's much nicer to sleep without the chorus of snoring and gnashing teeth.
13. The sheets are all mine! Mine! MINE!! Mwahahahahaha!
14. Nobody makes me feel inferior for having wacky serotonin levels.
15. I can leave my knitting wherever the hell I want, muthafucka!
16. I can use up all the hot water without guilt.
17. For all the reasons above and more I haven't thought of yet, my life is much less stressful.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Naked Bacon
Right now I am watching TV in my hotel room in Connecticut. I woke up at 3:30am to catch a 6:30am flight up here, and got to work by 8:00am. Yeesh. Thankfully, my boss let me leave a little early, so I could explore the area. I found two yarn shops, each within a 10 minute drive from the office! They were both great, and I bought yarn without really thinking about how I would fit it all in my (already full) bag for the flight home.
I don't know why I ever thought I wouldn't like it here, but I think I might love Connecticut. There is no traffic. None. At least not around this part (near Bradley airport). The people are nice, it's clean, and the suburbs are not packed to capacity with apartments and townhouses. The office and lab here are awesome- the facility is top notch. I saw the plans for the new lab that will be built by next year, and it is going to be HUGE. And awesome.
Work lately is busy, but not busy enough to drive a girl crazy. I've started training a new winder (which is why I'm up here in CT), and my boss tells me he's hoping to move me up the ranks to a supervisor when I move here next year.
So that's work. In my not-work life, things are going well, too. I am all moved into my new apartment, thanks to some very wonderful friends. I had a lot of great help! We did it all in just 2 hours. All my boxes are unpacked, but I've been lazy about getting things organized. I have some super cool stuff, which I will post pictures of later, but never did get around to painting any pegboard pink. So far, living alone is pretty great for all the obvious reasons surrounding doing whatever the hell I want.
Scott and I met at our old bank last week to wrap up our finances, and it was definitely one of those moments that I will always look back on and think, "This is why I should be glad he asked for a divorce." He was demanding and impatient in his usual way. The whole time we sat there, I kept thinking about how I'd never have to listen to his "I'm irritated and I'm going to make sure everyone knows it" grumblings again. No more growling at the general public, or at me while I'm talking, driving, standing in the wrong spot ("hovering"), moving too much, not moving fast enough, or any of the other zillion things I didn't do right.
Perhaps I will create a list of things I love about my new start sometime soon. For now, I need to get to sleep so I can get to work in the morning. Hooray for overtime! Which I will need to pay for the yarn I just bought!
Top to bottom and left to right they are:
Ellen Cooper's Yarn Sonnets Zohar's Socks, color: Fern Gully; Liberty Fibers Fingering Weight Merino, color: Suede; Lobster Pot Yarns (omg cashmere!), color: Hydrangea; Malabrigo Rasta, color: Azules; Koigu KPPPM, color: P441; Kauni Effectgarn 8/2, color: EA; and Lang Jawoll Magic, color: 84.0065.
I don't know why I ever thought I wouldn't like it here, but I think I might love Connecticut. There is no traffic. None. At least not around this part (near Bradley airport). The people are nice, it's clean, and the suburbs are not packed to capacity with apartments and townhouses. The office and lab here are awesome- the facility is top notch. I saw the plans for the new lab that will be built by next year, and it is going to be HUGE. And awesome.
Work lately is busy, but not busy enough to drive a girl crazy. I've started training a new winder (which is why I'm up here in CT), and my boss tells me he's hoping to move me up the ranks to a supervisor when I move here next year.
So that's work. In my not-work life, things are going well, too. I am all moved into my new apartment, thanks to some very wonderful friends. I had a lot of great help! We did it all in just 2 hours. All my boxes are unpacked, but I've been lazy about getting things organized. I have some super cool stuff, which I will post pictures of later, but never did get around to painting any pegboard pink. So far, living alone is pretty great for all the obvious reasons surrounding doing whatever the hell I want.
Scott and I met at our old bank last week to wrap up our finances, and it was definitely one of those moments that I will always look back on and think, "This is why I should be glad he asked for a divorce." He was demanding and impatient in his usual way. The whole time we sat there, I kept thinking about how I'd never have to listen to his "I'm irritated and I'm going to make sure everyone knows it" grumblings again. No more growling at the general public, or at me while I'm talking, driving, standing in the wrong spot ("hovering"), moving too much, not moving fast enough, or any of the other zillion things I didn't do right.
Perhaps I will create a list of things I love about my new start sometime soon. For now, I need to get to sleep so I can get to work in the morning. Hooray for overtime! Which I will need to pay for the yarn I just bought!
Top to bottom and left to right they are:
Ellen Cooper's Yarn Sonnets Zohar's Socks, color: Fern Gully; Liberty Fibers Fingering Weight Merino, color: Suede; Lobster Pot Yarns (omg cashmere!), color: Hydrangea; Malabrigo Rasta, color: Azules; Koigu KPPPM, color: P441; Kauni Effectgarn 8/2, color: EA; and Lang Jawoll Magic, color: 84.0065.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Pthbt
It turns out that going to the grocery store on Valentine's Day while in the midst of a painful separation is not a good idea. It is filled with amorous people buying flowers, chocolates, and ingredients for romantic meals. You might wind up going back to your Jeep and sobbing quietly into your bag of pickles, malted milk balls, and pads; and wondering where it all went wrong.
But then, if you are lucky, you might return home to find that your awesome sister has sent you (and only you- not "Mr. & Mrs.") a Valentine's Day card, signed by each of your 4 favorite nieces and nephews, and it will make your entire day, week, and probably month.
Valentine's Day still sucks though.
But then, if you are lucky, you might return home to find that your awesome sister has sent you (and only you- not "Mr. & Mrs.") a Valentine's Day card, signed by each of your 4 favorite nieces and nephews, and it will make your entire day, week, and probably month.
Valentine's Day still sucks though.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A New Phase
I still have 3 weeks before moving. I want to keep moving and getting things done, but there's not a whole lot I can do right now being that far out. I've decided that I'm going to buy some furniture- a couch and bed- instead of trying to move a futon and a big chair I don't really want. It's not so much the "moving it in" part, but what to do with it once I don't need it. Craigslist and Freecycle are okay, but I'm not super keen on the idea of parading strangers through my apartment when it will be easy to see that I live alone. So for the sake of convenience, I'll just get new stuff. That way someone else has to deal with moving it in.
So anyway, with more time to sit and do nothing, I started to realize that all my packing and planning was a terrific way to keep my brain from actually dealing with the situation. Now it's starting to seep in, and I think I'm trying to come up with things (like buying new furniture) to push it back out. I spend a silly amount of time at Lowes thinking up ridiculous ways to decorate, and then I go home and try to think of ways to do it cheaper. I figure it's fine as long as my coping mechanisms aren't self-destructive. I can deal with it all when my mind decides it's ready.
I think I'll go to the mall today. Maybe I can find some bookends. Retail therapy is only destructive if you spend beyond your means, right? Otherwise it's okay, right? At least for a little while?
So anyway, with more time to sit and do nothing, I started to realize that all my packing and planning was a terrific way to keep my brain from actually dealing with the situation. Now it's starting to seep in, and I think I'm trying to come up with things (like buying new furniture) to push it back out. I spend a silly amount of time at Lowes thinking up ridiculous ways to decorate, and then I go home and try to think of ways to do it cheaper. I figure it's fine as long as my coping mechanisms aren't self-destructive. I can deal with it all when my mind decides it's ready.
I think I'll go to the mall today. Maybe I can find some bookends. Retail therapy is only destructive if you spend beyond your means, right? Otherwise it's okay, right? At least for a little while?
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Well Okay Then
The past month (or two or three) have been a little nutty. Actually a lot nutty. It turns out that Scott wants a divorce, and as he can afford the mortgage, I will be moving out. I don't really want to get into the hows and whys of it all on the internets, but the very, very general summery of it is as follows:
Things were very, very tense between us for several months. A few weeks ago, I asked if it was over. He said yes. It's not what I wanted, but one person does not a marriage make. There was a week or so of debilitating depression before I picked myself up by the bootstraps and decided my only choice was to move on.
I think my mildly traumatic adolescence has led to my brain developing a few crossed wires. When life is good, I find things to complain about. I develop anxieties. I pretty much suck at being happy. It's like I'm just waiting for a shoe to drop somewhere. But when something epically shitty happens, I'm right at home. I feel normal. Suddenly I'm making plans and doing things and being a generally normal, productive adult. So the past couple weeks have been surprisingly not that bad.
I got an apartment. Things are being done to move our separation along smoothly. It seems like the pieces are coming together nicely to form my own little life sans Scott. I'm doing a fantastic job of grasping tightly to any good that has come of the situation- I can decorate any way I want. I can watch crappy movies without hearing snide comments. When I buy ice cream it won't disappear in two days before I've had a chance to eat any. It's truly the little things that count, folks.
And to be honest, I'm pretty stoked about living by myself. I went straight from living at home to living with Scott, so it's new territory for me. It's a little scary, but I'm sure it will be good for me.
So anyway, that's what I've been up to the past several weeks. My moving date is March 6th, so until then I'll mostly be packing and getting ready. Hopefully I will get settled quickly, so I can take a zillion pictures of the awesomeness I have planned for my new place (two words: pink pegboard).
Wish me luck!
Things were very, very tense between us for several months. A few weeks ago, I asked if it was over. He said yes. It's not what I wanted, but one person does not a marriage make. There was a week or so of debilitating depression before I picked myself up by the bootstraps and decided my only choice was to move on.
I think my mildly traumatic adolescence has led to my brain developing a few crossed wires. When life is good, I find things to complain about. I develop anxieties. I pretty much suck at being happy. It's like I'm just waiting for a shoe to drop somewhere. But when something epically shitty happens, I'm right at home. I feel normal. Suddenly I'm making plans and doing things and being a generally normal, productive adult. So the past couple weeks have been surprisingly not that bad.
I got an apartment. Things are being done to move our separation along smoothly. It seems like the pieces are coming together nicely to form my own little life sans Scott. I'm doing a fantastic job of grasping tightly to any good that has come of the situation- I can decorate any way I want. I can watch crappy movies without hearing snide comments. When I buy ice cream it won't disappear in two days before I've had a chance to eat any. It's truly the little things that count, folks.
And to be honest, I'm pretty stoked about living by myself. I went straight from living at home to living with Scott, so it's new territory for me. It's a little scary, but I'm sure it will be good for me.
So anyway, that's what I've been up to the past several weeks. My moving date is March 6th, so until then I'll mostly be packing and getting ready. Hopefully I will get settled quickly, so I can take a zillion pictures of the awesomeness I have planned for my new place (two words: pink pegboard).
Wish me luck!
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