Then I went to Hobby Lobby and got waylaid for a good while by the supervisor in the knitting section. She was definitely a talker and/or slightly manic because DAMN, I couldn't get her to stop talking. I kept trying to back out of the conversation, but she wasn't getting my hints, so I just kinda let her spin herself back down. I did, however, get some really pretty yarn to make into a prayer shawl for the church. At my church, there are only three people currently making prayer shawls. Mom and I have decided to help, which will almost double their staff. Don't worry, those of you waiting still on christmas scarves from years past - I'm collecting all of them and working on a couple of new projects that will get sent out this fall. Seriously this time. I promise. YOu can link back to this post if necessary down the road. I also got some cheap paper mache ornaments to paint for people as presents and a cross to paint for our house. YAY! for crafts!!
Now my goal is to clean up the little pile of trash remaining in the corner. Then, organize my books. Then organize those random papers. Then do my laundry (because everything I own is currently dirty). Then move our painting supplies from the hallway to the closet so they're out of the way of the movers on Thursday. I'll probably help Mom tonight in moving the things around in the kitchen area where her office will be set up - somehow we're getting it cleared out by Thursday so the movers can put them in the kitchen while they're putting Sis's stuff upstairs. I have a feeling we won't get that done by the time it needs to be. I keep trying to figure out other areas of the house we can have them put the bookcases as temporary storage spots until we can finish the clearout of the kitchen. Mom is rejecting all of my ideas. All I know is that she and I can't bring them downstairs ourselves - they're solid wood and HEAVY. We were barely able to lift them enough to move them the 15 feet to the cove on the landing so we could clean out Sis's room.
Oh, yeah. The guys are moving her stuff in Thursday afternoon. Why then? Because Sis didn't think about when Mom had her weekend off when she told the woman she was moving out. Had she extended the thing one or two more weeks, we would have had a full weekend to do the move. Instead, we get Mom's one Thursday off before she has to turn in the key on Sunday. And, naturally, Sis hasn't spent ANY of the past month doing any of the packing herself in the apartment. As usual, she leaves it until the very last minute. Which puts an incredible strain on Mom, and to some extent, me. She was supposed to help Mom clean out part of the kitchen last night (I was going to , but I ended up with a terrible migraine - like, throwing up wishing I was dead, migraine). She didn't. She was supposed to come upstairs and feed the little cats in the bathroom and she didn't. I woke this morning to Bob howling in that way he only does when they're completely out of food or water. They were out of both. Sis didn't come check on them at all last night. I was so pissed. (Abby was also pissed and therefore pissed all over the vinyl flooring in there, so now my room also kinda smells like cat pee.)
Needless to say, I'm spending as much time as humanly possible away from them, but offering my services when I can. The only problem is that Sis is being USELESS. At least I helped weekend before last by spending the whole time re-doing her room for her because she couldn't stand us just deepcleaning the carpet. We do this all for her and she doesn't appreciate it at all. [/sister rant]
But, to make myself happy: CRAFTS!!
Oh, I discovered something last night... I can't watch episodes of Dexter if I know I'll be falling asleep any time soon afterwards. The images creep into my dreams and I get nightmares. However, it's a good show! I don't know how to solve this problem.
Also, I finished The Eight. It was a really good book. A blend of thriller/mystery and historical fiction! YAY! The two main plots wove together seamlessly at the end, and I was very pleased with the ending. I'm interested to read The Fire, which is on order, and the sequel that takes place, like, 30 years after the first book. I will also be hunting down her other two novels, now that I know Katherine Neville's a good author.
- Where I am:my cleaner! room
- Feeling:
calm - Now playing:"Waking up in Vegas" by Katy Perry, playing in my head
Uh oh. Cole just came upstairs. Fluffy jumped down and immediately left in a huff. He tends to come up and see me when I'm awake in the mornings. Usually, his goal is to get me to go downstairs and let him into the bedroom to see Sarah. He's become really attached to her. And I think he's being considerate of Mom by not waking her if I'm already awake. However, he doesn't seem to want to leave this morning. Maybe my baby cat actually wants to be around me for a change. I adopted him as a kitten ten years ago. Fluffy was adopted by Sis about 7 years ago. For some reason, though, Cole has decided that Sis is his person - the one he wants to hang out with the most - while Fluffy stays with me and is only affectionate toward me. This is a definite case of cats picking humans and not the other way around.
I've been reading The Eight while goofing around on the web and watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent reruns on USA. I multitask like crazy when my brain runs like this. Not quite a mixed state, but definitely one of mental agitation with no energy to do anything. The good news is, I'm liking the book thus far. I'm 75 pages in and definitely intrigued. The prose is a little strange... kind of halting in the thoughts, almost disorganized, and very spare in description. But the plot overrides the stumbling writing so far. I like the blend of past and present, though they're only barely connected at the moment. I'm excited to see how everything weaves together, though.
I'm trying to decide if I should make a run to Sonic with my $6 in cash to get breakfast. I could really use a giant Route 44 Coke right now. We're out of anything to drink but water and sprite. I'm hoping Mom will throw some money in my account so I can go grocery shopping this afternoon. That would be fabulous. We're down to odds and ends and have very little protein in the house (which is vital for me because of the hypoglycemia - and we don't want me hypoglycemic, because that makes Emery VERY CRANKY).
OH!! Not to jinx it, but there may be drought-reducing activity coming our way. I really really hope so. It'd be a nice change from super hot and super dry.
- Where I am:my room
- Feeling:
awake - Now playing:L&O:CI "Blind Spot"
I did my usual walk to the mail box (it's one of those community boxes that has 20 miniboxes so the mailperson doesn't have to walk to each house - which, in this heat, I can understand the point). I normally go sometime after dark for two reasons: 1) because I don't want to change out of my sleep clothes (mens boxers and a shirt), and 2) because it's a lot cooler after dark. I normally go when Mom gets home sometime around midnight, but I was awake and fiending for something to read, so I left at about 9:30. Still incredibly warm outside - the internet says 85 with a heat index of 96. I believe it completely. However, when I got to the box, one of the keys for the large temporary boxes was missing!! YAY!! That only means one thing: that someone has a package. I've been looking at those four big boxes praying that the key would be missing in one for DAYS. And, when I opened our mailbox, there was the key. JOY!!
So, you're probably wondering what I've been waiting for this whole time:
The Eight, by Katherine Neville
The Hour I First Believed, by Wally Lamb (Amazon has it for pre-order, but the site I ordered from has advance copies already, cool, huh?)
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
All three are really different, but each grabbed my fancy. The Eight is a mystery novel that is likened to The DaVinci Code, except this one was written in 1988, before Dan Brown even DREAMED of writing fiction (I'm guessing). The Book Thief is about a girl in Nazi Germany who steals banned books from book burnings. The book is narrated by Death, which I found even more intriguing. The Hour I First Believed is about two teachers, one of whom is at Columbine High the day of the shootings. She can't get over the trauma, so her husband takes her back to his family home in Connecticut. She tries to heal while he starts digging in his family's unknown past.
Interesting, right? Now, the only problem is which one to read first? I'm thinking The Eight, because it'll probably be the least emotionally heavy - since I just read about the bazillion deaths in the last Harry Potter - but still interesting. Or maybe I'll just eenie-meenie-miney-moe it. That's my usual route. No joke. I've always chosen between several books that way. A closed-eyes eenie-meenie. Ever since elementary school and I was trying to decide which Babysitters Club book I wanted to read next. Trufax.
- Where I am:my room
- Feeling:
excited - Now playing:Sis using the ice crusher downstairs
Yeah. Needless to say, I was not going to sleep any time soon. So I sat up, grabbed my computer and started to compose that list. However, as soon as I started it, I got bored. This is how it goes ALL THE TIME when my brain is in manic mode. Nothing holds my concentration for long. I go all ADHD, but only in my head, my body still acts like I'm completely depressed/exhausted.
So I think I'm going to just start reading again, and, if the mood strikes me, jot a few notes down, but definitely try not to obsess. Because that's never good. If only I could push my body into a decent mood, then I could use the brain energy to make me clean my room (which is a depression-fueled trash heap, and totally embarrassing).
I really hope I can sleep at some point. I just want my brain to shut down for a while. What I hate the most is that it does this on weekends when the energy/motivation is USELESS to get anything important done. I have emails to write and people to call and stuff, but all on Monday. This mixed state will probably break sometime tomorrow and I'll go back to being depressed. If I do head toward the full manic side of things, I might actually accomplish some stuff on Monday. If only it didn't take abnormal mood swings to do it.
- Where I am:my room
- Feeling: awake against my will
- Now playing:Impact: Stories of Survival on Science Channel
Speaking of which: Mom agreed to go with me to see HBP. In the theater. I was shocked. Sis went, "Okay... who are you and what did you do with MOM??" I am now in the process of creating a cheat sheet so that Mom has some idea of what's going on in the story before we get there. Because all she knows now is, "So there's this kid who's some kind of warlock and is special and goes to some magic school and stuff happens." That's almost verbatim, people. But, I'm trying not to overwhelm her, and only giving her the cliff's notes version of it. That's easier said than done, however. I think I'm going to keep to the major highlights of the last 5 movies. With some kind of "good guys/bad guys/ ?? guys" cheat sheet. My OCD/manic side wants me to do things like use movie stills for character identification. And somehow rent all 5 movies to take notes on. If y'all can think of things she would absolutely positively HAVE TO KNOW in order to watch the new movie, let me know. I could use y'alls' (I've never figured out how to create the plural possessive of y'all) perspective and input.
- Where I am:under the ceiling fan
- Feeling:
bored - Now playing:NCIS on USA
I searched for my first boyfriend in Google. Basically just trying to find a picture of him to see if he's gotten better or worse over time. From the one picture I've found, he's turned into quite a douchebag. In 8th grade, he looked innocent - nothing but baby blue eyes (limpid pools) and amazing lips (trumpet player). Now he looks like an asshole. His face has filled out and he has a really bad Van Dyke beard. Certainly nowhere near as cute as he used to be. Whew. (Honestly, he kinda looks like my Dad now and that TOTALLY kills any romantic feelings.) At the end of high school he was talking about becoming a lawyer. Whether he actually went into law or not, he looks like a weasel. I kinda wonder if he's still the womanizing prick that he was then. ....... Probably.
Hey, at least I haven't checked out how the most recent ex is doing in over 9 months now. I'm trying really hard not to care about whether she's in a relationship or happy or washed away in the Houston floods. Really really trying.
I did this because I've been having those loneliness pangs one gets after being unattached for more than a year. Those "I really need someone to kiss and cuddle with" pangs. I know that mentally I am NOWHERE NEAR ready to be in a serious relationship with someone, but I'm starting to crave the physical and emotional attention. So I'm having a lot of dreams where I'm kissing guys, and re-reading my one collection of "romance" novels - the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. They're not really "romance," but there is a decent amount of sex in it, and the publisher didn't know where else to really put it (I have always maintained that it's historical fiction with a passionate couple who happens to have sex a bunch. What makes a book "romance" IMHO is graphic depictions of sex between people for no real reason other than to have another sex scene two pages after the previous one).
My favorite dream lately was one where I was in a musical (yes, another one, created in my dreams and completely unrememberable upon waking DAMMIT), directed and starring John Barrowman. I was the female lead and had to extemporize a song on the spot that included all of these movie titles sitting on a shelf in a store. Don't ask me WHY I needed to sing it, and I didn't question it, it seemed like it fit into the plot somehow. I was luckily in the sci-fi section and so I was able to string together Star Wars, and Trek, and Terminator, and, interestingly enough, no mention of Doctor Who or Torchwood. There was another musical that followed that was loosely based on a Seuss-type book with nonsensical words, but the lyrics I was reading came directly from the book and had all these symbols that were supposed to mean stuff, but for some reason it was the first time I had ever seen/heard the song, so an understudy had to pick up toward the end.
In a completely unrelated note: I calmed Mom's fears that anything my sister or I mention about her on our blog/facebook/twitter is automatically going to show up any time someone searches for her on the internet. (She freaked out when my sis wrote "Mom and Em just had a huge fight, but church was nice" as her Facebook status on Easter. She felt that Sis had just broadcast "her business" to everyone. Everyone = close friends and family who all know we're a screwed up bunch and wouldn't really be that surprised that Mom and I had a fight.) I fixed her fear by googling her on my phone so she could see that any number of combinations of things related to her actually don't end up bringing her up at all (including her full name, location, and workplace), though she might actually be buried on page 107 or something of the results. And I showed her that even I, with my blog/twitter/etc. still am not readily findable using Google, since my livejournal and twitter are both under a handle and I don't tie my actual e-mail address to either, etc. I think putting it into perspective also helped. Me: "Mom, just keep in mind that of the 7 billion people on the planet, probably 4-5 billion have some kind of internet access. So one tiny person who isn't any kind of famous, or doesn't make a point to put him/herself out there to be found, is very likely to remain hidden in the tangle of interwebs." It seems my earlier rendition of "Mom, you're blowing this all out of proportion and you don't understand because you grew up in a different generation," just didn't do as well.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling:
tired - Now playing:Fluffy purring
I do want to mention that I finished the book The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. It's his first novel, and wow, is it a doozy. History mixes with present, fact with fiction, burn patients and mental patients, and some Dante's Inferno, thrown in for spice. It's amazing. I read it in 3 days. Which is pretty impressive for me. I highly recommend it to those who like fantasy based in reality. A wild ride and worth every moment.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling: sleepy
- Now playing:my sound soother set to "ocean waves"
Too bad we don't have any beer... that might help the cranky.
Had the internet on my computer DIE a sudden death. After yelling at Sis to reset the modem (which she politely refused to do until I screamed at her - sorry Sis), it still wasn't working. I tried everything I knew how to do: reset the network connection, disable/enable the network adapter, turn off/on the computer. EVERYTHING. Nothing worked. So, finally, I resorted to calling AT&T tech support, praying that I wouldn't get someone overseas. I have no idea if he was local, but he figured out my problem. The cat had stepped on just the right combo of keys that are a shortcut to turn off the network connection. Turns out, on a Dell laptop, you can hit Fn + F2 and toggle your internet connection on or off. Huh. I had no idea. Never worked on my older Dell laptops. Neither did the hibernate shortcut (Fn Esc), but that works, too. AWESOME. Now, instead of waiting forever for the thing to power down, it takes just seconds! Yay! I did end up apologizing to the sister for weirding out on her. I blame it on the bad sleep. She forgave me, grudgingly.
Can you tell that the meds aren't really working right now? I CAN. Ugh. At least it's only a week or so until I see the pshrink again and he can fix me (hopefully). It's not helping that my headaches haven't gotten better since the last time I saw the neurologist, either. Still painful, the lidocaine patches aren't helping, and there are still knots under my eyebrows at the injection sites. That's not supposed to still be there three weeks out, I don't think. At least I'm seeing her tomorrow, so she can maybe straighten me out.
Have to take a bath in a little while and get all nice and clean for my appointment tomorrow. I'm having to take Mom to work and then take the car up to see the Doc. I wish I had enough time to go to the park, but I don't have quite enough. I did, however, take a short walk today to the mailbox (it's one of those communal box groups in a subdivision so the post office workers can
I'm waiting on my books to arrive. MORE BOOKS. Yes. I'm loving having presents come in the mail. I finally finished The Time Quartet by Madeliene L'Engle. A Wrinkle in Time was as good as I remembered, and even better now that I have a larger vocabulary, an even better imagination, and a better working concept of the space/time continuum (thanks Star Trek!). I was finally able to get into both A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. The time jumps in Planet were quite interesting, and compounded L'Engle's theme of one tiny thing makes a huge difference to the universe. However, there was one drawback to this collection. They were put in the order they were published in. Which is all fine and dandy, but it screws with the chronology of the books. The first two (Wrinkle, Door) are set within a year of one another. Planet was set about 10 years into the future from those books. The final book in the series, Many Waters, is actually set between the others, about 5 years from Door. This really threw me for a loop, as I had finally gotten used to the characters being lots older by the time I finished Planet. Not only that, but the first three are mainly focused on the sister Meg Murray, and her youngest brother, Charles Wallace. The last one (Waters) is primarily focused on the middle kids, the twins Sandy and Dennys Murray. I honestly, couldn't get through the last book. I really didn't care at all what happened to the twins, who, in the other three books, were secondary characters only minimally useful if at all. Overall: B-. I'm starting on my Vonnegut collection tonight - Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5, and Breakfast of Champions. I'm intrigued and hope I enjoy them. I'll let y'all know.
Oh, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! To everyone who is celebrating. Next year I'll come up with some better cheer. Then again, they closed down Bennigan's and I have no idea where local Irish flavor is to be had. Hmm.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling:
cranky - Now playing:NCIS
My station on Jango has been good to me all day. Check it out, if you want to learn more about me and my music tastes. That link may or might not work. Lemme know. That also is weird, since most of the time I end up getting fed up and switching over to iTunes.
Third weird happening of the day: I met a guy online (on Pogo.com) that I click with. Yeah. I know. Not looking for a relationship - I'm too screwed up right now for anything. And certainly not long-distance, which this would be. His name is Brian, he's a student in Atlanta. He's a year older than I am. We both wanted to be meteorologists when we were younger. A lot of things are different, but okay. He wanted to exchange pictures. I held him off. I mean, I don't even post pictures of myself here, so I'm not going to do so with a guy I've only spoken with for an hour. Maybe some day. I'm just going to take it really really slowly with this guy. He is nice to talk to. He makes me laugh. We think the same way and end up typing the same thing at the same time. *shrug* At least I have someone to chat with while playing my favorite games now. He's also helped me get better at online bowling, so there's a plus. ; )
Also strange: I'm foregoing Coke for earl grey tea today. And, I'm awake! No need to nap again. It must be the increase in the Lamictal that's doing it. For the last few days I've felt actually quite normal, which is not normal for me. YAY! for good medication working in the right way, for once. The pshrink will be happy.
March has entered like a lamb. After a freeze on Monday, it's been in the upper 70s/low 80s for the past few days. Sunny and beautiful. I should really go outside and charge my epidermal solar cells.
That's basically it. Weird dreams. Actual alertness during the day. Jango behaving. Oh, and a mention of my Twitter comment on Rick Sanchez's CNN show this afternoon.
Off to read more in The Time Quartet. I am loving the books now more as an adult than I did as a kid. Mainly because I now understand almost all of the words. Madeleine L'Engle has a bad habit of using extremely big words (like, stuff you'd see on the SAT). I've had to look up a couple. True story. Should also try to study some more Spanish and clean my room. Ugh. Cleaning.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling: mellow
- Now playing:Get Back - The Beatles
I LOVED LOVED Watchmen. Like, Wow. WOW. I'm still processing the last chapter. My first graphic novel, and probably not my last. I... stand corrected about "comics." And I am SO EXCITED to see the movie now. I think I may have convinced Mom to go see it with me. Even if she doesn't, I'll be in company with all the other nerds.
On to the Time Quartet by Madeline L'Engle. More fantasy/sci-fi! YAY! And, then Vonnegut! Woo!
ETA: Non sequitur, but WTF? It's COLD, like, FREEZING outside. Um, it was in the 80s on Friday. Freaking weather. BRRRR.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling:
chipper - Now playing:"Redneck Woman" - Gretchen Wilson
Slept all day. My head just doesn't seem to be benefiting this time from the shots. So, I'm calling the neurologist tomorrow to see what she thinks. All I know is that the PA screwed up the shots. Maybe that's why the ones in my neck didn't help... she missed the trigger points there, too? Hmm. Must explore that. Mom had a good point: Never let anyone but a doctor inject you in the neck. Very good advice.
I saw my psychiatrist on Tuesday. He was much more personable this time. I think because 1) he was just in a good mood [House] Methadone [/House], and 2) I was joking around with him. I told him that I was truly loathe to admit that his sleep hygiene campaign really did help my mood. He laughed and said he wouldn't tell anyone I mentioned it. He reminds me so much of Dr. Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy. He looks like he could be related to Patrick Dempsey... same black hair, blue blue eyes, and square jaw with the ever-present dark stubble. He's also very smart and very mercurial. We decided to increase my Lamictal dose from 100mg to 150, to see if that helps with the depression. We've switched from Seroquel to Seroquel XR, in the hopes that the extended release will lessen the hangover/groggy feeling I get from it. He also handed me some Lunesta samples for those nights that I absolutely positively have to be asleep at a decent time. Like tonight. I really want to go to bed at a decent time tonight. We're meeting again in a month. I had to have the receptionist call the SheBeast for the credit card number to pay my bill. OMG. The poor woman, got completely bitched out by the SheBeast, after explaining that the deductible hasn't been met for my mental health this year, and so there was a back balance of almost $300. I could hear the yelling from the other side of the desk. It got paid, however, so that's good.
Speaking of which, I got bitched out by her because I'm not doing enough to get the disability filing done on her timeline. If she wants it done sooner, she can just do it herself. I am having to cope with crippling depression and crippling headaches. I'd like to see her function feeling like this. Also, the site for the Social Security Administration runs like molasses. I've tried three separate times on three separate days, at different times of the day, to find out if I'm even eligible to receive disability benefits. But I can't get the system to give me what I need. And, naturally, the 800# is constantly busy/infinite wait times. *massive eye roll*
I really liked the President's speech last night. I think he said what he needed to, without making things sound incredibly dire, but without just spouting rah rah cheerleading either. I kept laughing, however, at Pelosi doing calisthenics behind him. Anderson Cooper (I think) mentioned that there were instances when the Republicans wouldn't stand or clap. My theory is they weren't because it was killing their ancient WASP-y knees to sit/stand/sit/stand/sit/stand all the time.
I didn't go to church today for Ash Wednesday. I just felt too crummy. I think the Lord understands. I'm giving up saying the F-word for Lent, along with any meat on Fridays. The only thing I'll eat is milk products on Friday. Not even eggs. I was going to give up caffeine, because I know it'd be good for me, but the last time I did that (almost a decade ago now) I was SOCRANKYOMG for the entire season people kept trying to trick me into having some. "Yes, of course it's decaf... *sneaky smirk*" Yeah. So I'm going with the no F-word thing instead. It would be good for me to stretch my vocabulary and not use it so much. When speaking and upset, probably every other word is a curse, and half of that time it's the F-word. I'd like to have more adjectives and adverbs in my vocab grab bag. So, from here on until Easter, if, for some crazy reason, you see me use the F-word in this journal, I give you permission to call me on it. Now, after Easter, all bets are off.
One more thing. I did something super important for my emotional health the other day. I erased every e-mail my ex ever sent me. Big huge step for me. See, Feb. 12 was the 1-year mark from when she broke up with me. Right before Valentine's Day. Nice, right? So I decided to purge her as completely as I could. That was one thing I could do. I can't get rid of everything... my computer, for one. My laptop is a hand-me-down from her when she bought her new one. So until I get a new one, I'm going to see her name on all the folders and stuff. But it's better now. And I feel a little better.
Finally, my sister quit her job selling CutCo knives. The heavy heavy pressure to sell sell sell was getting to her. And, a former self-harm cutter selling knives is just a bad idea all around. So, she's quitting working for Vector Marketing, and looking to work at one of the craft stores around, probably either Hobby Lobby or Michaels. I told her to work for Hobby Lobby since they're not open on Sundays and have much better hours than Michaels. I would know, I worked for Michaels for about 6 months a couple of years ago. I think she'd do much better at that kind of retail job than going to stranger's houses and trying to sell them knives, when she totally doesn't care about selling. I'm very glad she is quitting... her, alone, going to strange neighborhoods selling knives to strangers in their strange homes is just a recipe for trouble.
( Ok. Meme time. )
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling: cranky
- Now playing:Criminal Minds - "Pleasure Is My Business"
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling:
blah - Now playing:Bad Company - Bad Company
Had a completely un-eventful Valentine's Day weekend. Mom got some great candy, though. Chocolate-covered strawberries, red velvet cookies (OMG YUM), and Hershey's Kisses cherry cordials. FABULOUS. Like any cherry cordial, but better somehow. I highly recommend to any chocolate cherry lover out there.
Ordered Chinese in today. I just had the bad hankering for egg rolls and chicken fried rice. However, I am annoyed because after asking specifically for a bunch of soy sauce packets (the fried rice needs it usually), I only got 2. Um... how is two "a bunch?" At least the food is good. The fried rice does need more soy sauce, but we are sauceless in the house.
I'm less than 3 squares away from piecing together my blanket. I'm so excited. Now all I have to do is find my yarn needle. I have no idea where it is. And I have to figure out which stitch will be the best for the sewing. I'm going to have to go get more yarn to start a new project after this one, because I just like it so much. And it's so easy to do.
I'm waiting for my new books to arrive, and at a loss of what to read in the meantime. Frick.
Okay. I think that's it for now. Oh, if y'all know anyone in the Houston area who would be in the market for knives and cookware, my sister would be happy to talk to them and sell them cooking implements.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling: drained
- Now playing:I Want You to Want Me - Cheap Trick
I've received two books in the mail: This Land is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation by Barbara Ehrenreich (non-fiction stories about the world in the last decade and how we've become a split society between the haves and have-nots), and When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (irreverent Sedaris comedy short stories). Just ordered The Time Quartet by Madeline L'Engle (all four books including A Wrinkle in Time), Watchmen, and Three by Vonnegutby Kurt Vonnegut (which includes Slaughterhouse 5, Cat's Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions.) I will be set for reading for a while. I have been wanting to re-read the Time Quartet for a long time - since I read them the first time in 5th grade. I've always heard great things about Vonnegut and so I'm trying him out. And, of course, I have to know my Watchmen before the movie comes out. Hopefully they'll get here before early March.
I am planning to spend all day tomorrow lazing about at Starbucks and reading. That's the plan. Whether I will actually get that accomplished is something else.
I made some new icons for myself that are knitting, reading, and computer-related. (BECAUSE I AM BORED.)
Here, enjoy them.
Copy them if you want, just give me credit. (Images are from gettyimages.com.)
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling: bored
- Now playing:Golden Years - David Bowie (Which will forever remind me of A Knight's Tale)
The massive thunderstorm turned out to be a little rainy, and a little windy. Those times the lights blinked while I was still writing my last post were it. Not even a visible lightning flash or audible thunder boom. Very disappointing. I was really hoping for more. However, the rain has decreased our fire danger, so that's good.
Finished another book, and down to my last 7 squares for my blanket. I'm so excited about piecing it all together. I'll make sure and take a picture for y'all when it's done. I make no promises about being in the picture, however.
Woke up late (2p) again today, so I'm going to bed now (1045p) so I can hopefully wake up at an earlier time tomorrow. Like, hopefully before noon. Sheesh. Project: Sleep Hygiene isn't going quite as well in its second week. Then again, I did have night before last where I stayed up until almost 5am because Mom had taken Sis to the ER and I was trying to find out if she was ok. Sleep finally won. And she's okay. Just a really bad period that caused her to loose enough blood and fluid to become woozy and black out. They ran some labs and pumped her full of fluids and sent her home. She's better today, after looking and feeling like a limp dishrag yesterday. I was really worried about her. Between the two of us, we've had enough ER visits that the evening/night staff know our family on sight. Not a good thing, except that you know who you're dealing with, and they know you, so you don't have to go through the full history rigmarole every time. (And, there's one nurse there who is SO CUTE OMG. His name is Jonathan, I think? Kind of Matt Damon-y, but with curlier hair. Yeah. Easy on the eyes. Probably gay - not because he's a nurse - because he's decently coiffed at all times.)
One last thing - I HAVEN'T HAD A SERIOUS HEADACHE FOR SEVERAL DAYS. YAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!! I think I mentioned that the neurologist put four injections in my face. Well, it seems that they worked. I was expecting a nasty headache with all the rain and the passage of the cold front last night. Nothing. The highest I've been on my pain scale in the last 4 days is tonight at a 4 of 10 (with 10 being the time I smashed my finger in my car door and broke it). And I think that the pain is mainly eye strain... I'm using my regular glasses to type on the computer instead of my computer/reading glasses because I'm also watching tv and my readers have just enough add to make them blur out the tv. Trade off, I guess. Grr.
Oh, check out my icon... About as close as I'm getting to Mardi Gras parades this year, I think. I swear there will be a day when I will have a group of friends my age again who will drink and go out with me. Just not right now. Notice the awesome dress and hair-do. Yahoo!Avatars needs more mask variety, however. The avatar I have on pogo.com (Snazoola25) looks SO AWESOME. Maybe I'll do a screen capture of her for my next icon.
Must sleep now. Nite.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling: cold
- Now playing:Law & Order - "Crimebusters"
I'm now getting pains shooting up my right pinky finger, so I think that's my cue to stop for the evening. And to think this is my "short" update. I have always wondered at my tendency toward being prolix. Must be from Mom's side, because Dad is nothing but terse and succinct.
Also: I stole this quiz from britfan1013. Had I taken this two years ago the answer would have been almost 100% hetero. Man, what a difference a couple of years makes.
And: I'm excited about Christmas/my birthday, but since it's going to be so low-key, I'm not as exuberant as normal.
Oh! I almost forgot! My father and the SheBeast gave me the Best Present for Christmas: two of the three reimbursement checks sent to them from the insurance company that they've been hounding me to let them sign for the past 2 months! *rolls eyes* Couldn't be lamer if they tried. I'm frankly surprised they sent anything at all. I imagined that they would count continuing to pay for the insurance for the next while all the gift I should get this year.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling: tired
- Now playing:Straight Up - Paula Abdul
Tonight, I'm getting another headache. I actually had a period of about 36 hours without one! But it's back. So, my experiment for the weekend is to not crack my back (I may do it without thinking about it, however, because I tend to pop my lumbars just to keep feeling in my right leg and not start up the sciatica) and keep hydrated to see if that helps the headaches. I figured out why we didn't figure out the cause long ago - it's because the symptoms of a spinal headache and a migraine overlap a lot. Light sensitivity, major pain, pulsating/throbbing, nausea, etc. The only main difference is that a spinal headache gets almost completely better lying down, and standing, or even sitting up, hurts like the fucking devil. During a major one, I wish for death while upright because it hurts so bad. Which is why my online presence has diminished a lot lately. If you want to keep up with my goings on, I suggest you check me out on Twitter (EmeryBored), since I can update that from my phone without having to even move my head. Isn't technology wonderful?
Ok. Enough crabbing about my head. I've discovered Jango.com, which is this customizable internet radio thingy, and it seems to like to play "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. The damn radio is RickRolling me. I have to laugh, however, because he looked actually pretty good during the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.
I'm lying down now. Because damn headache's back. And I didn't even do my self-chiropractic spine twist. Bastard spine.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling: cranky
- Now playing:London Bridge - Fergie
Sorry for the long rant, I... have had a day. As you can tell by this post taking up half of your f-list. :)
On a happy note: Mom and I watched Baby Boom on AMC tonight. We never noticed in the zillions of times we've seen this movie that Chris Noth has a teeny weensy part as one of the quartet of yuppies that comes into the general store in Vermont and decides to buy the baby food. He's so young, he's almost unrecognizable, but the schnoz is the same. ; )
Also, I seem to be having an interesting time with King's Insomnia. It feels like such a slow read, and is certainly a slow build-up to really anything interesting (unlike Duma Key or Dreamcatcher), but I'm already over 200 pages into it, and I feel like I can't abandon it now. I'm going to give it another 50-100 pages, and if it still isn't holding me, then I'll put it aside. Sometimes I just can't read a book for that moment, but I can get back into it at a later reading.
Fluffy is telling me that I need to pay attention to her instead of typing, so I will say goodnight.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling: cranky
- Now playing:Stuck - Stacie Orrico
Blah. I think I'll go read my new book, Insomnia, also by King. I am finding his writing style very interesting and engaging. All I know is that I avoided his stuff for YEARS, and now all of the sudden I'm addicted. Huh.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling: content
- Now playing:Like the Way I Do - Melissa Ethridge
On a completely separate and unrelated note: I'm about 3/4 of the way done with Dreamcatcher. It seems that the aliens aren't freaking me out as much as I thought. Since the main alien form is a lichen-type fuzz (which now has me looking at symbiotic tree fuzz in a whole different light), it's not as scary as gray beings roaming the planet (see Signs). And the grays encountered are described as droopy-skinned. So, they now all look to me like Squidward, Spongebob's neighbor and co-worker, from Spongebob Squarepants. See:
Much easier for my mind to deal with. Of course, the one from the book isn't wearing a shirt, and he's got hands and feet, not tentacles, but the head's the same.
- Where I am:my room upstairs!
- Feeling:
hot - Now playing:the rattle of my heat sync fan that's off kilter now
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emerybored- Emery Bored
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