You're Doing It Wrong

No Coat. Can you Believe it?
Click here for larger, prettier photo.

A Tuesday List:

1 – I might have already written about this. Bob and I used to subscribe to zillions of magazines. It was totally out of control. I think at one point we had three weeklies in addition to 8 or 9 monthlies and probably a few that only came 4 or 6 times a year. We cut way back and let things run out. We’ve had MacAddict for years but we actually had a conversation discussing it and agreed that we barely look at it and this was a good one to let go. So you can imagine my surprise when I came home from work one night and my beloved spouse told me that a nice phone solicitor had called and he’d re-upped us for MacAddict for three more years. No, I’m not making this up. Phone solicitor. THREE more years.

Does anyone else remember when Apple was in dire straits and they did this EvangeList stuff for Mac diehards and then iMac happened and then iPod and now it’s a whole new world and apparently the time of the loose and casual MacAddict is over.

A couple weeks ago we got a magazine called MacLife and to be honest, I’ve only started to look at it but already I’m feeling confident that I hate it. This is exactly what happened when Yoga Journal was sold from its association of yoga teachers roots to a professional magazine corporation. The magazine becomes stupider. How much you want to bet there’s an article in MacLife about a celebrity that uses Macs?

MacAddict included a CD filled with applications which MacLife is too cool for so they added even more time to our subscription. We’re subscribed until NOVEMBER 2009 people. I’m going to try harder to like it.

2 – I brought my lunch today and I sat in the lunch room eating my little thermos bowl of soup and my carrots and apple and thought to myself: what was I thinking? This isn’t enough to eat. So I had to go to See’s candy and restock my supplies for snack food. I keep a box in my desk and I’m very disciplined, the box can last me 6 months. I don’t need it every day, but when I need it, I need it.

In the store they had the heart shape Valentine’s boxes. When I was a kid my Dad gave me, my sister and my Mom heart-shaped boxes of See’s candy thus sealing my love of expensive chocolates at a very young age.

Later I was still hungry so I went to the office fridge to finish my breakfast since I didn’t eat all of that and then, hey, there’s the leftover pizza and other vegetables (should I be embarrassed to say that I brought steamed chard to work?) that I brought and totally forgot about. I can’t even remember what I brought for my own lunch.

3 – I polished off my Kitchen Kaboodle gift card today and they wanted my name and phone number. Why?

I asked him, “why?” “Just in case something is wrong with the card.” Really, that’s what they’re calling it? I hate this. Isn’t enough that I’m patronizing your store? Why do you insist on mining my data? I gave away a perfectly good giftcard (for a different store) because the physical store is not convenient and there are websites devoted to how hard it is to get off their catalog list.

I know, I hate shopping. What’s wrong with me?

4 – We’re the only house on our street with snow left. (L) is the “big” patch from where I shoveled the driveway. Just enough for a pitcher of margaritas. Yum. (Just kidding). (R) is the little patch. I should have put a quarter down for reference but it was dark and damp and I didn’t want to get too carried away with documenting the minutiae of my existence.

Technology Break
I think I’m going to make a computer free weekend day part of the regular program. The fact that I feel a little twitchy about not turning on the machine makes me see the addictive qualities of my usage. Well, I don’t like the word addictive. And who’s to say that fiddling with digital photos and art projects is any less valid than gardening or movie watching or whatever? This is my internal tyrant dictating the rules on how one should best be productive in the Universe. Why can’t I be one of those people who can watch 8 hours of TV on a Saturday and not feel guilty about it?

It was nice to be free of the distraction because I freely admit that I waste a lot of time online. I got out the sewing machine again. I’ve been wanting to learn to sew. Remember the pirate pillowcase?

At the time I made that I found a couple of other free patterns online. I want to make a few small things to get the hang of the machine and the whole process. Yesterday I made a headband. You can get a real feel for my dedication and aptitude when it takes me 5 months to make a headband. And I have to confess, I did turn on the computer yesterday but only to check the pattern because from the instructions I couldn’t understand how the elastic was supposed to go.

I’m serious about wanting to learn this and in another five months I should be able to make an apron and by the time I’m 50, some pajama bottoms. Sophie’s 14 now. If she doesn’t get married until she’s 38, and I work really hard, perhaps I can make the garment bag she uses to carry her wedding dress.

I set up the sewing area in the dining room which is the same room where the turntable is. We’re one of the 8,000 families in America that has a turntable. I dusted off Camper Van Beethoven II & III, and Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart. I haven’t heard these in years and years and don’t remember loving them when I bought them (1987-88-ish) but they sounded FANTASTIC yesterday. I wonder what other music from 20 years ago I would love more now than I did then.

Other than sewing I did lots of reading and tidied part of my recipe file and strung some beads. Then I made a killer taco dinner. An excellent day.

On Saturday There Will Be Pizza
Last night I finished The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks.

At Christmas, Mom said she was almost finished with the book I gave her. She described it and I had no idea what she was talking about but I was intrigued. She gave it to me when she was done and first of all, I would not have given her this book since it doesn’t seem like a Mom book. [Aside: however, I saw two movie reviews that look like total Rentz women movies. One has Renee Zellweger as Beatrix Potter and the other is called The Painted Veil with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton. I wish Erin and Mom could visit now.]

Back to The Traveler, what I wrote in my review blurb (#2) is that I think the potential of the story is more interesting than the story that came out.

The story is about these Travelers who can cross over into different realms and these bad guys who want to eliminate them. Later the bad guys want to capture them and use their power for evil. I love stories with different worlds and strange organizational hierarchies and long intricate backstories. Wasn’t the best part of The Witching Hour the middle part with the history of the Mayfair witches? I wanted to know more about the different worlds and how the organizations developed and not so much about the bad guys chasing them.

It was a fun book. I didn’t hate it but now I’m looking forward to finally reading that Jonathan Lethem book. He’s going to be the Arts & Lectures person in April. I think I can finish by then.

This morning the sun was shining and I stood in the doorway and it felt actual warmth. There are still a few patches of snow. The snowman across the street finally crumbled. The one next door lost his head.

Between work and recreation, I’ve been spending way too much time on the computer lately so tomorrow is going to be a computer free day. Not going to even turn it on.

One more note, I just did something I never do. It’s 4pm and I made a frozen pizza. I wanted a snack and none of the usual things sounded good or substantial enough. Now I’m not going to be hungry for dinner.

Downtown
I put a few photos of my public transportation day. If interested, look here.

Today is rainy and most of the snow is gone. I intended to run some errands across the river this morning but at 10am there was still a big back up to get over the bridge and the idea became less attractive. I guess everyone and their uncle has been putting off getting out and about all week so now’s the big rush.

This morning I passed a bashed up 80’s era Toyota MR2 on the freeway. Back in the late 80’s when I lived in Los Angeles, I worked with two men who drove MR2s. Both of them had them stolen. One of them was stolen twice. He said the second time he wasn’t even surprised. His insurance agent told him it was the #1 most stolen car in our area. The other guy had the car stolen out of his garage. The thieves opened the garage door, backed up a truck, drove the MR2 into the truck and took off with it. All while he slept in bed.

A third guy I knew drove a MR2 and he took me to see Mr. Big and told me not to freak out but he kept a gun under my seat. Of course not, why would I freak out about that?

Looking at those cars now, it’s hard to believe they were the target of organized thievery.

The weather seems to be improving and about time. My spouse was home one day last week. He had a holiday Monday. He was home Tuesday and Wednesday. I came home yesterday and he wanted to play one of those, “do you notice anything different in here?” games. I grew tired of playing after about 3 seconds and told him to show me what’s up before I brained him with a bottle of cheap red wine.

He had taped a photo of Keller Williams in the back of my closet. He wrote on it, “To my biggest fan, love Keller.” KW is a super annoying jam band guy who plays with Cheese and earned my eternal ire for playing a stupid song which consisted of strumming his guitar and singing about how great his dog is. Bob likes to mention Keller to me just to see my head spin around. I told Bob it was time to get back to work.

One thing about all this cold weather is that I can’t stop eating and the main foods that sounds good involve chocolate or cookies (or should I say, digestive biscuits). Other snack foods that seem especially delicious right now are chips and Wheat Thins (big).

Yesterday I did the public transportation thing and my hugest compliments to C-TRAN. They were totally on the ball and then some. I took a million pictures (“here I am, getting on the bus” “here we are, waiting for the train”) and then when I got home last night I was too tired to deal so that riveting tale will have to wait for later.

11:30am. Looks like it’s finally stopping.

So Unpredictable
Remember last week when all the schools closed for the big storm but instead we got about three snowflakes?

This morning we were supposed to have some wet flurries but nothing to write home about. Wrong.

I stepped out on the driveway at 6:15a to warm up the car. Usually if the driveway isn’t slippery, I know the drive in will be fine. There was a dry frosty sheen and some sprinkles coming down but the situation seemed mild. I made my lunch and combed my hair and headed out a few minutes later and by then it was coming down hard and building up fast. I thought I’d be fine once I hit the freeway but I slid through the first two stop signs I came to and then turned around and came home.

Turns out to be a good call because the TV is showing a big fat mess out there.

I brought home a couple of work assignments so I can do something productive. Then I’ll probably scrape the walk. Then I can watch the second half of 24 and drink hot chocolate.

And Bob has to go to school. They’re having classes this morning.

Update: Nope. Officially pulled the plug at 9am.

The good thing about having to work on a national holiday, if there could be such a thing, is that I didn’t even tap the brakes coming into work. I don’t know why I didn’t just leave at 10 minutes to 8 because I would have been here on time. However, it’s about 50 degrees in my office and my feet are little blocks of ice. I might have to start a little fire with that pile of old phonebooks too keep warm.

I’d also like to report that I watched The Devil Wears Prada this weekend and did not think it was so great. It was watchable, but nothing special. It also brought up long repressed memories of being an assistant to a crazy person.

The true purpose of this post is to tell you about the Washington D.C. trip back in 1974. We did the standard sight-seeing and museum stuff but mostly what I remember are things like my sister throwing up in the car, losing my favorite red t-shirt on Chincoteague and the biting crabs in the water, insisting on taking the stairs down the Washington Monument and counting them, and being left alone for the night while the grownups went to New York.

In 1974 I was 10 years old. That means that the oldest person in the photo above was 14 and the youngest, 5. What were our parents thinking? I was telling my husband the story last night and he said, “Wait a minute. You mean they left you all alone with Jeff in charge?”

Look at Aunt Janet and Uncle Barry and my Mom all decked out in her pink-checked mini-dress wandering around NYC having a blast while their young children were hundreds of miles away under the supervision of a 14 year old.

We ended up opening a brothel for the night and making oodles of cash and never would have been caught if it hadn’t been for that crack in Janet’s crystal egg.

Friend of Birds
The past two days I’ve been hunched over the keyboard, working on my Photoshop/Illustrator skills. I think my neck is ruined.

I put a up a new set of photos of the birdhouses at Mom and Dad’s. Enjoy.

Time to step away from the computer.