Electronic Freudian Slip

Wikipedia defines a Freudian slip as “an error in speech, memory, or physical action that is believed to be caused by the subconscious mind.”

I think the email version of a Freudian slip is the action of hitting “reply all” instead of “reply”, or “reply” instead of “forward”. We’ve all done it, usually with embarrassing, if not disastrous, consequences. I can remember well two occasions when I received an email from an annoying person at work, and instead of forwarding the email with my snarky comments to a coworker, I replied to the sender. On both occasions, the sender was the same person. Would I have liked to tell him how irritating he was to me, what a whiner he was? Of course! But that just wouldn’t be professional. Instead, I bitched about him to a coworker (because bitching about people behind their backs is soooooo much MORE professional) and it came back to bite me in the ass.

The best example of an email Freudian slip happened a couple of weeks after Shane and I started dating. As you may know, he and I work for the same company. When we started dating, not many people knew. We weren't trying to keep it secret, we just didn't end up telling many people. I was kind of dreading others finding out because I knew both of us would get a lot of shit from our coworkers - good-natured shit, but shit nonetheless. But getting the news out quickly would at least mean the deed was done. Sort of like ripping off a band aid.

Every morning Shane sent an email to all the people in my department (customer service), plus a couple other people, with status updates on the work going through his department. One morning I replied to his email with something like,

"Morning Love,
Do you know if [such-and-such job] will be mailing today?
Love you,
Beverly"

Clicked "send". Then IMMEDIATELY realized my mistake. I had hit "reply all" instead of "reply".

Now, my office at the time was in a low-walled cubicle surrounded by the others in my department, also in cubicles. My horror at my error soon turned into embarrassment as heard my coworkers, one by one, burst out laughing upon opening my email.

The cat was out of the bag. In a big way. My coworkers gave me no end of grief for WEEKS (deservedly so). Shane got it worse than I did - boys will be boys. Needless to say, I am now VERY careful when I send emails.

---

The above is an attempt at participation in a little blog carnival started by Kate. Several others are joining in the weekly fun, including Lisa, Baino, and jmlc. Show 'em some love. Clicky, read, and comment.

Book club fail

Back in mid-December, a bunch of my coworkers formed a book club and asked if I wanted to join. I figured it would be a great way to put myself on a reading deadline. I haven't finished a book in so long that I feel almost illiterate. This is tragic because I have an English degree. I spent 4 years of my life reading everything I could get my hands on (for credit!) and I have a massive collection of books.

Then I learned to knit. All of my reading was replaced with knitting. And I've never been able to get back to my regular reading habit.

So joining a book club was perfect. I could knit in the evenings while watching tv, then read after Shane goes to bed.

Wrong. I fail. I didn't finish the book. Not even close. I think I'm on page 75 of over 500, and the club meeting is tonight. Needless to say, I'm skipping it.

So, you knitters out there - do you read regularly? How are you able to knit and get any reading done?

I'll stay in the club one more month, but if I'm not able to finish next month's book, I'm giving up.

Holiday briefing

So, how was your Christmas? Mine was good. Somewhat uneventful, but good.

Shane picked up BB Christmas Eve and brought him back to our house for the night. I pulled up the NORAD Santa tracking website on Shane's desktop in the office and BB spent most of the night hopping up every few minutes to check on Santa's progress.

BB was in bed by 9pm. I quickly wrapped his last Santa gift (Santa takes most of BB's gifts to my parents' house), and then the Man and I went to bed.

Up early Christmas morning so that we could be at Mom and Dad's by 8:30. We ate our traditional breakfast of grits, eggs and ham. BB had a hard time being patient through breakfast. He was bouncing around like he had ants in his pants. Can't blame him, though. When I was a kid, we were always up and tearing into gifts by 6am. Poor boy has to wait for all us old folks to eat breakfast and get enough coffee in us to function. I think we finally started the gift free-for-all at about 9:30.

Santa and Dad/Beverly were very good to Brady this year, as were Gigi and Grandpa Glenn (my parents). His big gift from us was a Nintendo DS Lite. He was so surprised. My parents got him some Star Wars weapon-like thingies that make noise and light up, as well as a small electric drum set. BB plays the snare drum in the school band, so he was excited about the electric drums.

Unfortunately, BB's mom drove through town on her way to her parents' house and picked him up at 11am. About an hour after he left, we ate lunch, and then came home to nap. I went back over to my parents' house for dinner a few hours later. Shane was too wiped out, so he stayed home.

That was pretty much it for Christmas. The rest of the weekend was very lazy. I managed to get some cleaning done around the house, but otherwise, I just laid around, knitting and watching tv.

Oh, and what was under the tree for me this year? Brady gave me a digital picture frame. I haven't played around with it yet, but it looks pretty cool. If I ever get the f*!@ing living room painted and rearranged, the picture frame will look great on the our new tv stand. I also got some money from my parents toward the purchase of a spinning wheel. We just bought a new couch a couple of weeks ago, so that is Shane's and my gift to each other. I know - how boring are we?

We'll be having another Christmas with Kevin, Christy and baby Riley on New Year's day. They spent Christmas in St. Louis this year, so they weren't around for the usual family festivities.

Anyway, I have some baby FO's to post about as soon as I get some pictures taken. It's very cute stuff, so stay tuned.

Merry Christmas!

Shane picked up BB a little while ago and we've settled in for the night. Tomorrow morning the three of us will head over to my parents' house for a big breakfast, complete with grits, ham and biscuits, and opening presents. My brother, his wife, and my niece are in St. Louis for the holiday this year, but it should be a good day for us anyway.

Merry Christmas to all!

Tree's finally up!

BB and I put up the tree yesterday. It's the first time I've put it up since Shane and I started dating 4 years ago. I'm not sure why I haven't taken the poor thing out of its hiding place for 4 years. I'm sure glad I did this year though.



It's purty. And white. My feeling is that if you're going to have an artificial tree, then it should be REALLY artificial. None of this fake-tree-trying-to-be-a-real-tree stuff.

And no tree is complete without a super hero.



That thing makes me giggle every time I see it. Sing it with me: "Wonder Wo-man!!"

Meme thingy

Just because I've seen this on so many blogs this week (yes, I'm a joiner. So?)...

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My dad once told me that his first girlfriend's name was Beverly. Sure hope I wasn't named after her. Don't think mom would be too happy about that.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
I have felt like crying the last 2 days, but the part of my personality that requires that I eat all my emotions has turned that urge into a smile. So the last time I cried was when Bob the cat died.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Most of the time, yes. It gets a bit messy when I'm in a hurry, but otherwise I take pride in the fact that it's quite legible (which is important in my profession as an editor, where I have to mark proofs all the time, if I don't want to incur the wrath of the typesetters and proofreaders).

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I probably eat turkey more often than anything else, but I wouldn't say it's a favorite, just a habit. I like salami and ham a lot too.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Of my own? No. Sadly, no. Yet. Maybe.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Possibly. I'm really opinionated, and sometimes whiny. On the other hand, I've been told I'm good for a laugh.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Oh, yeah.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes. They get all red and huge and painful when I have a cold.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
There are a lot of things I would do, but bungee jumping is not one of them. I just don't see the point. Falling off a bridge and bouncing around on a giant rubber band. Oooo, fun.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Bite size Frosted Mini Wheats. Hands-down.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
I can't remember the last time I wore shoes with laces, but when I did, I always untied them first.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Emotionally, yes, because denial and avoidance are my favorite past times.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
I'm kind of a purist when it comes to ice cream. Plain old chocolate will do.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their sense of humor, or lack thereof.

15. RED OR PINK?
Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I wish I was a less selfish person. The older I get, the better I am at faking the selflessness, but the selfish thoughts always exist in my head.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
TechGirl - I haven't seen her in over 2 years.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO DO THIS?
Everyone already has. As usual, I'm late.

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Not wearing any right now.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Shane and I had Taco John's for dinner.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The Office reruns on TBS.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
I always liked periwinkle when I was a kid.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Books. New or old. In book stores, I often open the books and hold them up to my nose so I can smell the ink and paper. I even did it in a meeting the other day (I work for a publishing company, so there are books all over the place). Yeah. Got some strange looks for that one.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Shane.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
No one sent it to me. I shamelessly stole it from kemtee.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Watching sports? No thanks. I don't mind the occasional NASCAR race, but generally, I'd rather pluck my eyebrows than watch a sporting event.

27. HAIR COLOR?
It's this amazing color I like to call "Blah Brown with a Little Grey."

28. EYE COLOR?
Brown.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Not much anymore. I used to love my contacts. Then I started a job where I spend most of the day reading. I don't blink enough when I'm reading, so the contacts get really dried out. Sounds plausible, right? The real reason is that I'm too lazy in the morning to put them in. Throwing on my glasses is much easier.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Indian.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Either is fine with me as long as the story is good.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
I think it was one of the Harry Potter's this weekend.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Pink striped long sleeve t-shirt.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter. I have no tolerance for the heat.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs. Kisses are weird unless you're my husband or a child.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Apple pie, cherry pie, brownies.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
No one. Everyone else has already done it.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Everyone who has already done it.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
I decided over the summer that I was going to re-read Middlemarch by the end of the year. It's 9 December, and I'm on page 10. Hm.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Don't have one. My laptop has one of those touch pad thingies.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Chuck. Best show ever.

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
As much as I hate summer, I love the sound of the cicadas when they first start making noise in late July. I also really love the sound of the frogs in the spillway behind my house.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Definitely Beatles. They remind me of my dad.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Greece. Is it sad that I had to look at a map to see which was farther east, Greece or Austria?

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I sing. I've been told I'm good. I never sing in public.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Georgia Baptist Hospital in Atlanta, GA.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
I've already read everyone's answers.

Best art?

A couple of weeks ago, Disco asked what we consider to be the best art. It got me thinking...

When I was a kid, I loved to draw. I didn't have a whole lot of creativity with regards to subject matter, but I was pretty good at drawing objects from life (I learned in high school that it's called "classical" drawing). I loved art class in elementary school and junior high. I didn't learn a whole lot in those classes, but being in them allowed me to express myself on paper, which is always a good thing for an adolescent.

It wasn't until high school that I started taking art classes "for real," i.e., as a vehicle for learning drawing/painting skills, as well as studying certain specific artists and their styles. I really loved those classes. My teacher was tough, but she knew her stuff and I learned so much. For a time I even entertained the idea of majoring in fine art in college. However, life had different plans for me and after high school, I would never draw or paint again like I did in my high school art classes.

I returned to my love of art in my sophomore year of college. I found myself needing to change my major, and after much consideration, I narrowed my choices down to English and art history. After taking an amazing short story class at the local community college, I decided on English, but took as many art history classes as my schedule would allow. That same community college offered two comprehensive art history classes that I took to feed my art-loving soul. The instructor was excellent. The material she covered spanned the history of art from prehistoric cave paintings through modern art. I was afforded the opportunity to study the amazing works housed at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, as well as the equally stellar, though much smaller, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and also the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas.

In the process of studying the various forms, styles, and movements of art through the ages, I came to love Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance (both Dutch and Italian), Mannerism, and Baroque paintings and sculpture. Though I am not a particularly religious person, I am intrigued by the depth of religious emotion depicted in many of these works. There is passion in these paintings and sculptures, and it is expressed so richly, with such depth.

This is my favorite painting at the Nelson:


The Penitent Magdalene --El Greco (1580-85)

So I guess if someone were to ask me what I consider good art, I would be quick to point to the aforementioned genres as my favorites. However, I really do love all art, even if I don't particularly like some pieces. Having suffered through the creative process, I understand how hard it is (or maybe it's just hard for me because I'm not especially creative). I respect all who endeavor to express themselves through artistic means. I may not love the outcome of that expression, but I respect the process that brought them to that outcome.

Adventures in cab riding

Oh what an adventure I've had this morning. I'm in San Antonio for some meetings. The first one was yesterday afternoon, the second one was this morning at 8:00. At 7:00, my coworker, J, and I called a cab to take us from the Holiday Inn where we were staying, near the airport, to the Hilton downtown, where my meeting was taking place. The cab showed up, we got in, and then the fun began. See, there's a marathon going on in downtown San Diego this morning and the city has blocked off almost all streets leading into downtown. I was initially optimistic that the cab driver would be able to get us to the hotel, because cab drivers tend to know all the back ways around the towns in which they work, and because one of my cab drivers from yesterday said that the road in front of the hotel would be open during the marathon.

Well, after driving around for 45 minutes, he gave up and told us that the nearest he could get us to the hotel was 5 or 6 blocks away. No biggie - it's a nice day and neither J nor I minded walking. However. I needed to leave the hotel by 10:00 in order to get to the airport in time for my noon flight home. The streets were going to be blocked until noon. I started to worry that a cab would not be able to pick me up to take me to the airport on time.

So I thought about it and thought about it, and made an executive decision - drop off J so that she could get to the exhibit hall (she and I were at the same conference, but for different reasons, and she isn't leaving until tomorrow morning), and ask the cab driver to take me directly to the airport. I called one of the people involved in the meeting I was supposed to be attending and told her I wouldn't be there. She said there were others who couldn't get to the hotel either, so I didn't feel so bad. Thankfully, the group I was meeting with was the same group I met with yesterday, and I was really there in a PR capacity for my company. They could meet without me.

So here I am, 1-1/2 hours down, a little over one hour left to go before they start boarding. Thank heavens the San Antonio airport has free Wifi (Dallas does not - what is UP with that?!?). In another 8 hours, I should be comfortably ensconced in my recliner at home, all of this work travel and customer visits of the last 3 months a faint memory. Life can soon get back to normal (whatever that is).

New kitties

Wendy and I went to the Lawrence Humane Society yesterday to pick out a couple new cats for her and Pete. After the pain of Bob's death, Wendy was ready to bring in new cats, with the hope that having new little fur-people to take care of would distract from her grief.

I hadn't been to the Humane Society since I adopted Abbey 8 years ago, but I remembered the layout well enough to be able to direct her through the building, past the dogs, to the cat room without seeing and hurting for the dogs (it is gut-wrenching to see the dogs in cages - it makes me want to rescue all of them).

After looking at all the adult cats, Wendy went back to one of the cages near the door to the cat room. There was a pair of male cats in the cage that had to be adopted together because they were brothers. Neither of us thought much about them when we first saw them because they were both lounging toward the back of the cage and didn't come to front when we were looking at them. I don't know what made Wendy open the cage door, but when she did, the two cats ran up to her and just smothered her, rubbing their faces on hers, hugging her, and purring. That pretty much decided it. A half-hour later, we were taking home Paolo (named after Paolo Di Canio - the greatest West Ham English football player ever) and Churchill (after, you guessed it, Winston Churchill). They're both 5 years old. Paolo is of average size and grey; Churchill is HUGE and is white and grey tabby. Both are just the most precious things ever. So sweet and affectionate. These are two very lucky kitties. They could not have been adopted by more loving and devoted parents. I didn't get pictures of them, as they were too busy wandering around their new home to stay still long enough for a picture. I'll post some pics when I get some.

Knitting content in the next post, I promise.

Wow.

Thank you all for the kind words about Bob.

Wendy found out something pretty special today. She received a letter from the veterinary school at Kansas State University, explaining that the two veterinarians at the animal hospital where Bob was a patient (and where I also take Abbey) made a "generous donation" to the vet school in Bob's name. His name, along with Wendy's and Pete's, will appear on a plaque at the school. Wow. I must have said that a dozen times when Wendy told me. I'm really blown away. I've never heard of vets doing that kind of thing before. Bob must have made an impression on them. He was quite a special kitty.

The worst day

It's fitting that it has rained all day long, because sun on such a crappy day would would feel mocking. I went with my sister this morning to put down her cat, Bob.

Bob came into our lives when I bought my house. He had lived in the garage for years, and the woman from whom I bought the house could not find anyone to adopt him. She called me one day a couple of weeks before closing and asked if I would take him.

He lived in the garage until a year or two ago, when Wendy and Pete asked if they could take him home with them. Bob was an old cat (+13 years) and Wendy and Pete didn't like the idea of him living in the garage anymore. Frankly, I didn't like it either, but I couldn't bring him indoors - The Evil One would never had adjusted.

So The Bob went to live with them and it was a match made in heaven. He was very happy. Wendy and Pete really enjoyed having him around.

Then, over the summer, Bob's health started to decline. I won't go into the details, but there were a few times when they were certain he was at death's door. Thankfully, he got a bit better and seemed happy.

His decline continued a couple of days ago, and after a rough night, Pete made the decision that it was time. Because he was so distraught, he couldn't go with Wendy to the vet, so I went instead. Bob was my cat at one time in his life, so I guess it was fitting that I was there.

I will spare you a description of what happened. I'll just say that it was horrible. I cried. Wendy cried. We cried together. As terrible as I feel now, I'm glad that I was there for her.

I take a little comfort in knowing that our beautiful, sweet, loving boy is no longer suffering. Somewhere in the beyond, he is curled up on a flannel blanket on a big comfy couch. I'm just glad that we had him in our lives for last 5 years.

If you're so inclined, say a small, healing prayer for Wendy and Pete. Bob was like a child to them, and his death will be felt for a long time.

Rest in peace, dear boy. I miss you.

Adventures in plane knitting

I returned from a short business trip to DC on Wednesday night. My seat on the small commuter plane was in the very last row. As usual when I fly, I sat down, took out my iPod and purse knitting, and stowed my purse under the seat. After getting settled, I took out the sock I'm working on started knitting while waiting for the plane to take off. The man sitting next to me looked to be about my age, mid-30s. He was fiddling with his Blackberry in the few minutes we had before the plane started taxiing.

Then, "You're very patient," he said looking down at my hands.

"Not really. The fact that I have to do this [knit] while waiting is proof that I'm not patient enough to just sit quietly."

"Oh."

---

Have you ever watched yourself knitting from a different angle? Because my flight from DC was at night, the plane was dark except for the individual reading lights that shined like little spotlights throughout the interior of the plane. I was in the window seat, and the shade on the window was up ("for your safety" according to the flight attendant). The reading light shining on my lap lit up my knitting in such a way that my glowing, knitting hands were the only things reflected in the surface of the window. I could see myself knitting as if I were sitting next to myself. It was a little surreal. I was knitting, could feel myself kitting, but the motions I was making didn't seem to correspond to what I was seeing in my reflection.

Weird.

1992

Saw this meme on Pam's blog a few days ago and had to steal it.

The rules:
A.) Go to Music Outfitters
B.) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year
C.) Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don’t remember (or don’t care about)

1. End Of The Road, Boyz II Men
2. Baby Got Back, Sir Mix A-lot
3. Jump, Kris Kross
4. Save The Best For Last, Vanessa Williams
5. Baby-Baby-Baby, TLC
6. Tears In Heaven, Eric Clapton
7. My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It), En Vogue
8. Under The Bridge, Red Hot Chili Peppers
9. All 4 Love, Color Me Badd
10. Just Another Day, Jon Secada
11. I Love Your Smile, Shanice
12. To Be With You, Mr. Big
13. I'm Too Sexy, Right Said Fred
14. Black Or White, Michael Jackson
15. Achey Breaky Heart, Billy Ray Cyrus
16. I'll Be There, Mariah Carey
17. November Rain, Guns N' Roses
18. Life Is A Highway, Tom Cochrane
19. Remember The Time, Michael Jackson
20. Finally, CeCe Peniston
21. This Used To Be My Playground, Madonna
22. Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough, Patty Smyth
23. Can't Let Go, Mariah Carey
24. Jump Around, House Of Pain
25. Diamonds and Pearls, Prince and The N.P.G.
26. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, George Michael and Elton John
27. Masterpiece, Atlantic Starr
28. If You Asked Me To, Celine Dion
29. Giving Him Something He Can Feel, En Vogue
30. Live and Learn, Joe Public
31. Come and Talk To Me, Jodeci
32. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
33. Humpin' Around, Bobby Brown
34. Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover, Sophie B. Hawkins
35. Tell Me What You Want Me To Do, Teven Campbell
36. Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg, TLC
37. It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday, Boyz II Men
38. Move This, Technotronic
39. Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
40. Tennessee, Arrested Development
41. The Best Things In Life Are Free, Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson
42. Make It Happen, Mariah Carey
43. The One, Elton John
44. Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, P.M. Dawn
45. Stay, Shakespear's Sister
46. 2 Legit 2 Quit, Hammer
47. Please Don't Go, K.W.S.
48. Breakin' My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes), Mint Condition
49. Wishing On A Star, Cover Girls
50. She's Playing Hard To Get, Hi-Five
51. I'd Die Without You, P.M. Dawn
52. Good For Me, Amy Grant
53. All I Want, Toad The Wet Sprocket
54. When A Man Loves A Woman, Michael Bolton
55. I Can't Dance, Genesis
56. Hazard, Richard Marx
57. Mysterious Ways, U2
58. Too Funky, George Michael
59. How Do You Talk To An Angel, Heights
60. One, U2
61. Keep On Walkin', CeCe Peniston
62. Hold On My Heart, Genesis
63. The Way I Feel About You, Karyn White
64. Beauty and The Beast, Calms Dion and Peabo Bryson
65. Warm It Up, Kris Kross
66. In The Closet, Michael Jackson
67. People Everyday, Arrested Development
68. No Son Of Mine, Genesis
69. Wildside, Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch
70. Do I Have To Say The Words?, Bryan Adams
71. Friday I'm In Love, Cure
72. Everything About You, Ugly Kid Joe
73. Blowing Kisses In The Wind, Paula Abdul
74. Thought I'd Died and Gone To Heaven, Bryan Adams
75. Rhythm Is A Dancer, Snap
76. Addams Groove, Hammer
77. Missing You Now, Michael Bolton
78. Back To The Hotel, N2Deep
79. Everything Changes, Kathy Troccoli
80. Have You Ever Needed Somone So Bad, Def Leppard
81. Take This Heart, Richard Marx
82. When I Look Into Your Eyes, Firehouse
83. I Wanna Love You, Jade
84. Uhh Ahh, Boyz II Men
85. Real Love, Mary J. Blige
86. Justified and Ancient, The KLF
87. Slow Motion, Color Me Badd
88. What About Your Friends, TLC
89. Thinkin' Back, Color Me Badd
90. Would I Lie To You?, Charles and Eddie
91. That's What Love Is For, Amy Grant
92. Keep Coming Back, Richard Marx
93. Free Your Mind, En Vogue
94. Keep It Comin', Keith Sweat
95. Just Take My Heart, Mr. Big
96. I Will Remember You, Amy Grant
97. We Got A Love Thang, CeCe Peniston
98. Let's Get Rocked, Def Leppard
99. They Want EFX, Das EFX
100. I Can't Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt

There was some crap music in 1992. Some good stuff too, but a lot of crap.

Dilemma

I have a conference of sorts that I have to go to for work. I'm not actually attending the conference, just going with a couple of coworkers to visit a client. This particular client is getting a new editor soon, so I'll be able to meet this person at the conference.

Here's the problem: The conference is from 29 October to 2 November. It's not clear to me yet that I have to be there the whole time. I am REALLY hoping that my presence is not necessary for the whole 5 days. Why? Because if it is, then I am going to be out of town for Halloween.

I don't give two craps about Halloween myself. It's never been one of my favorite holidays. But when I mentioned something to BB about being gone for Halloween this year, he was really surprised and not at all happy about it. See, every year, Shane and I have BB for Halloween. We go over to my sister's house and the 3 of us walk around her neighborhood while she and Pete stay home to give out candy. Shane is usually pretty quiet (as usual) during our walk, but BB and I talk a lot during the hour or so that we're out there. So BB is pretty disappointed that I might not be around this year.

I'm finding myself in unfamiliar territory. For all of my working life, I have pretty much done what needs to be done for my job, like it or not. I travel when the company wants me to travel, work the hours they want me to work. And overall, I feel I am pretty lucky. The pay isn't the best, but I love my job and the people I work with.

But having to refuse to do something for work because doing the thing they want me to do interferes with my family is completely new to me. If it were just Shane and me, I'd go on the trip and not think twice about it. But disappointing my stepson is not okay with me.

Sure, there will be other Halloweens. But I don't want to make BB feel like my job is more important than him, particularly since we don't have custody of him, and so have to make the most of holidays like this. It's kind of "our" holiday.

Whenever I get the nerve, I have to tell one of the coworkers with whom I am supposed to be traveling that I can only attend the first 2 days of the conference. I really have no idea what reaction I'm going to get. Wish me luck.

And, can I just say? Being a grownup sucks.

How cool is this?!?

We’re baaaaack! After 11 hours of driving, we arrived home from Colorado at about 6pm last night. It was a lovely week, even if Pete had to stay home with his sick cat. Shane, Wendy, and I had a relaxing, and very lazy, week. I don’t have a lot of photos, but there are a few that I’ll share over the next couple of posts.

Today we have some photos I took along I-70 between Topeka and Manhattan. Now, I could be wrong, but I think these were built within the last year.



I don’t remember them being there when we made this drive last September. When we passed the miles of wind farms, it was probably before 8am. The morning sunshine was making the gigantic blades practically glow. The wind that day was horrible (even by western Kansas standards), so the blades were turning steadily.



I haven’t done much research about wind energy, so I don’t know a lot about it. It seems like a good idea, particularly in places like western Kansas, where the wind blows a gale all day, every day. I’m sure that there are downsides to the building and operation of wind farms (structures that large have to have some affect on the local ecology), but even so, they are pretty impressive to watch.



As Shane said, “Go Kansas!”

Yum scrum

Because it's Friday. Because I got home yesterday from a very exhausting business trip. And because I have a day and a half to do a thousand things before we leave for vacation Sunday morning... A meme I stole from Pam's blog.


The Omnivore’s Hundred

Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognize everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari (I only like the rings, not the tentacles)
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich (one of my favorites)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans (in Nawlins', no less)
25. Brawn, or head cheese (um. ew. and, ew.)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava (the X is Greek and his mom made the most fabulous baklava)
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (I've even had a Cuban before. Shhhhh... don't tell anyone)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala (my absolute favorite Indian dish)
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (my family is from the south; eating KK donuts is a requirement)
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle (with loads of melted cheese and ham in a ski lodge in Innsbruck, Austria - yummers)
57. Dirty gin martini (ick - sooooo not the same as a vodka martini, which I figured out the hard way)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads (um. ew. again.)
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (I would eat funnel cake everyday if I could)
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (I don't get what the big deal is - they're grainy and salty)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (come ON!)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict (just Tuesday morning at a hotel in Chicago)
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (that's just wrong)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Why our cat begs like a dog

Uh, yeah, that would be Shane feeding ice cream to the cat. It's totally his fault that she begs every time we eat.

What was I thinking?

I don't wear heels. My everyday wardrobe is not dressy enough for them. My feet can't handle them - I've been wearing Birkenstocks almost every day for so many years that my feet are ruined for any other shoes. Also, I can't walk in heels. No matter how hard I try to walk normally, they just don't feel natural to me. The last pair of heels I bought was for my wedding 2-1/2 years ago.

Until today...



What could have possibly happened to make me decide to buy a pair of heels? It's this stupid business trip I have next week. Usually, when I travel for work, I don't bother wearing anything too business-y. Business casual is sufficient, especially if I'm visiting current clients.

But this time, I'm going along with some coworkers to give a presentation to a current client in an attempt to get them to sign a contract with us to do a lot more work for them. I thought more formal business wear was in order. Of course, because I never wear stuff like that normally, I had to go shopping last weekend. I ended up with some brown tweedy slacks with cuffs at the hem, a cream colored shell and a brown one-button sweater with elbow-length sleeves. That's about as business-y as I can stand. I figure if I add my pearls and some pearl earrings, then I'll be dressed up enough for the occasion.

Since slacks nowadays are made longer so that they can be worn with heels, I needed a pair to prevent the cuffs from dragging on the ground. A quick shopping trip after work today and I picked up the above shoes. The rounded toe feels better on my wide feet than pointier toes.

I am so going to hate myself on Wednesday. I predict much pain and swearing. If I'm lucky, I won't trip and fall on my face.

Giving in to my inner fiber geek

I learned to knit 5 years ago. I took a class at the Yarn Barn in July 2003. Obviously, I took to knitting right away. It’s an obsession I cannot ever imagine being without, and one that I hope I can indulge for many, many years to come.

Not long after learning to knit, I remember having a conversation with my aunt about it. At the time, she knew how to crochet, weave, and spin, but not how to knit; spinning was her obsession, much as knitting was mine. I knew nothing about those three crafts, so even though we both had a love of the fiber arts, we couldn’t relate. She would talk about her most recent spinning wheel acquisition (she has several, including a massive antique great wheel), or show me one of her numerous plastic tubs full of fiber, and I just didn’t get the fascination anymore than she could understand my need to use two skinny sticks and thin yarn to loop together a pair of socks.

I had no interest in learning to spin. Other than my aunt, who lives 5 hours away, I didn’t know any spinners. And, at the time, spinning was not as popular as it is now, so I didn’t run into it very often on the knitternet. Slowly, though, I started noticing more and more knitters learning to spin. Every time I encountered a knit blogger's tales of spinning, I generally skipped over those posts and hoped for the knitting content to return.

So, why not jump on that ever widening spinning bandwagon?

1. I don’t like the often thick-and-thin quality of handspun yarn. My anal retentiveness prefers millspun yarn. The smoother, the better.
2. I don’t like the often barber pole color effect of plied handspun yarn. I figured there was probably a way to avoid this, but it seemed like the majority of what I saw on the intarwebs had that particular color effect. There are some times when barber pole-ing looks okay to me, but in general I prefer plies of the same color that repeat, either in short repeats or long ones, and hand-painting.
3. Cost. Do I really need another craft and all of its various paraphernalia taking more of my paychecks and storage space? Especially since spinning wheels are no small expense? I can hardly afford my yarn addiction, much less whatever fiber addiction would surely accompany any acquired spinning skills.
4. This is the most important reason: I HATE the fact that once you have spun something, you cannot unspin it and redo it. My aforementioned anal retentiveness is manageable in knitting because if I mess up, I can rip back and redo my work. Such is not the case with spinning. If I don't like something that I have spun, too bad – I’m stuck with it.
   

Late last fall, I started reading a knitblog that had a fair amount of spinning content in it (the late Momma Monkey’s blog – God rest her soul). While I didn’t read much of the text in the spinning-heavy posts, I did stop long enough to look at the pictures. Gigi did lovely work, and seeing her handspun sparked my interest a little. As more and more knitbloggers started spinning and posting about their handspun yarns, I paid a little more attention than I did when my adventures in knitting began 5 years ago.

Maybe I could spin. Nah! I still wasn’t convinced. I mean, what happens if I learn, then produce crappy yarn while I’m learning? My perfectionism hated the thought of all that wasted fiber. And I really couldn’t get past that barber pole thing (I’m sure there’s a better name for it, but I can’t think of one right now).

Still, I kept the idea at the small dark space at the back of my mind. Whenever I would see some handspinning pictures on a blog, I would dust off the thought and ponder learning to spin. But each time, I would put that thought away for another day.

Then, I saw this post. That was it. I was convinced. Seeing that nearly perfectly spun hank of yarn in such lovely even repeats of color was all I needed to decide that I wanted to learn to spin. I’m sure that somewhere in the back of mind, I knew it was possible to handspin yarn that is similar to millspun yarn, I just needed to see it to know for sure. My anal retentiveness be damned. For the first time, I looked at a picture of handspun yarn and thought, “I wanna do that!”

So now my quest has begun. After a couple of months of research, I have decided a couple of things: 1) I don’t want to spin on a spindle, and 2) I want to be able to spin mostly finer weight yarns – nothing thicker than sport weight. I know what wheel I want, and I have started saving the money for it. Instead of doing the impulse buying that has characterized most of my adult financial life, I am going to be responsible and save the money. If all goes well, I may be able to afford the wheel I want by the new year. I won’t say now which one I have my eye on. I’ll save that until after it is purchased.

In a strange coincidence, Rebekkah at Bowerbird Knits is giving away that very skein of her handspun that changed my mind about spinning, in a contest. She wants to know what our creative pursuits will be over the next year. My response is that I plan to learn to spin. More specifically, I want to spin some sock yarn, design a sock pattern, and knit the pattern from my handspun. I would eventually like to buy a whole fleece, process it myself, spin it, and knit myself a shawl, a sweater, or an afghan. But that seems awfully ambitious for a new spinner. Maybe next year.

Sinful

Saw this Seven Deadly Sins meme on Pam's and Jo's blogs and thought it was interesting.

WRATH
1. Who did you last get angry with?
a coworker – this is odd for me because I usually don’t get angry with coworkers, but this guy really deserved it (sexist, arrogant bastard that he is)

2. What is your weapon of choice?
words

3. Would you hit a member of the opposite sex?
only if I had to defend myself. I’m not a violent person.

4. How about of the same sex?
see #3

5. Who was the last person who got really angry at you?
coworker referenced in #1

6. What is your pet peeve?
I have too many of these to list, but here's a few: people who answer their mobile phones during meetings, men wearing hats indoors (especially at the dinner table), and when a woman’s undergarments are not completely covered by her clothing (bra straps, slips showing at the bottom of a skirt, etc.)

7. Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily?
this really depends on the situation. I don’t necessarily hold grudges in most situations, but I do have a really long memory and am not likely to forget a wrongdoing, even if I don’t hold it against you.

SLOTH
1. What is one thing you’re supposed to do daily that you don’t?
cook dinner

2. What is the latest you’ve ever woken up?
it’s been a long time since I woke up really late, but it would probably be sometime in the afternoon the day after a night out.

4. What is the last lame excuse you made?
I make lame excuses regularly to avoid making dinner.

5. Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through?
yep

6. When was the last time you got in a good workout?
probably when I scrubbed-down the kitchen a couple of weeks ago.

7. How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today?
let’s see... my alarm goes off at 6:45. I don’t actually get out of bed until nearly 7:45. The alarm rings every 8 minutes. That would mean that I hit the snooze 7 or 8 times every morning.

GLUTTONY
1. What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice?
I’m not much for yuppie beverages (I’m a plain ol’ cup ‘o joe kinda gal), but I do like a nice iced coffee once in a while.

2. Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat??
if it’s chicken or turkey, white meat. But I really like duck too, when prepared properly, so I guess that counts as dark.

3. What is the greatest amount of alcohol you’ve had in one sitting/outing/event?
I can’t remember. I did a lot of drinking in college.

4. Have you ever used a professional diet company?
Weight Watchers and ediets.com

5. Do you have an issue with your weight?
yep

6. Do you prefer sweets, salty foods, or spicy?
I like a balance. If I have something salty, I must have something sweet, and vise versa. Same goes for spicy – if I have something spicy, I must have something sweet to balance it out.

7. Have you ever looked at a small house pet or child and thought “lunch”?
uh, no

LUST
1. How many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)?
5

2. How many people have seen YOU naked (not counting physicians/family)?
5 (same 5 as above)

3. Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of the opposite gender during a normal conversation?
does my husband count?

4. Have you ever kissed two people in one night?
no

5. What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice?
I love a man’s forearms, especially when he is wearing a long sleeve shirt rolled up to mid-forearm.

6. Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute?
no

GREED
1. How many credit cards do you own?
10 if you count the debit card

2. What’s your guilty pleasure store?
any yarn shop, brick-and-mortar or online

3. Would you rather be rich, or famous?
rich, then I could travel without worrying about money

4. Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks?
no – I have had boring jobs before and I couldn’t stand it.

5. Have you ever stolen anything?
lipstick and matching nail polish when I was a teenager.

6. How many MP3s are on your hard drive?
I’m not sure exactly but it must be in the 3800 range

PRIDE
1. What’s one thing you have done that you’re most proud of?
figure out career I want and actually do it

2. What one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of?
I think my parents are most proud of the fact that after years of ups and downs, I am finally happy in my life.

3. What things would you like to accomplish in your life?
raise children

4. Do you get annoyed by coming in second place?
no

5. Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors?
no

6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score?
no, but I have had others cheat off me so that they could get a higher score.

7. What did you do today that you’re proud of?
didn’t send a nasty email to coworker referenced in #1. I instead opted to be the better person and ignored him.

ENVY
1. What item (or person) of your friends would you most want to have for your own?
I love L’s house. It’s not too big, not too small, and is impeccably decorated.

2. Who would you want to go on “Trading Spaces” with?
Christy – she and I have similar taste, so I know we would both be happy with the outcome.

3. If you could be anyone else in the world, who would you be?
no one in particular – I just want to be independently wealthy so that I can do what I want every day.

4. Have you ever been cheated on?
not that I’m aware of, though it wouldn’t surprise me if the X had cheated on me.

5. Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own?
I long for thicker hair.

6. What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself?
selflessness – I tend to be really selfish at times.


And just 'cuz this made me laugh...



The Evil One fell asleep on the arm of the couch, as she often does, and her head dropped down so that her face was mashed into the pillow. I have no idea how she was breathing.