| Yay! |
[01 Aug 2007|08:14am] |
Happy birthday ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) kynn!!
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| *BOOM* |
[12 Feb 2007|05:26pm] |
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THUNDER! Hoory!
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| Weekend update |
[20 Feb 2006|07:27pm] |
The next time I'm hungry for fajitas, I'll be buying them, I think. The ones I made today cost me the veeeery tip of one of my fingers - too high a price! I need more practice slicing or better knives or both!
Other than culinary accidents, it's been a very good weekend. I helped a friend celebrate her birthday, complete with cake, presents and a nice lunch out. I went for a long, lovely walk in the nature preserve across from my house - my first time there since I moved in 2.5 years ago. And I got caught up on necessary chores, including sleep. Lovely sleep.....
I'm ready to face the coming week, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!
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| Tattered and old can be a good thing |
[04 Nov 2005|06:59pm] |
Today, I wore out my first pair of weightlifting gloves. This is a milestone I'm proud of. I've learned a lot in the several years since they were clean and new.
Goodbye, old friends. :)
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| Disappointed and angry |
[28 Oct 2005|05:46am] |
I'm a good little capitalist. I believe in the system. But I think Exxon Mobil's 10 billion dollar per quarter profit is insane. This in a time which saw national devastation and gas prices of over $5/gallon in some areas.
Such price gouging leaves me feeling angry and betrayed. I believe that it's the responsibility of corporations to show social conscience, and a 75% increase in profits in a single quarter, on such a staggering level of revenue is practically criminal. It came from inflated prices inflicted on us in a time of need.
This many be simplistic of me, but never the less, it's what I feel.
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| Thunderstorm! |
[20 Sep 2005|02:45pm] |
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We're having a thunderstorm! I am giddy. :)
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| Gross, gross, gross |
[19 Jan 2005|11:23pm] |
I love my cat. I do, I do, I do. Tonight I have to keep telling myself that. Because tonight I found absolutely incontrovertible proof that my cat has worms. UGH. UGH.
UGH
Why can't our animal pals be perfectly sanitary? My childhood memories of pet ownership are much more delightful and carefree than the adult reality.
The good news: her sort of worm is harmless to her and not likely to be transmitted to me unless I eat fleas (which I don't observe at all in my house or on my cat, and which I wouldn't be inclined to consume anyway). And the worm is easily dispatched with a quick trip to the vet and a nice shot.
First thing tomorrow. Right away. Without any delay. We're going to the vet. UGH.
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| Ugh, shamble |
[11 Jan 2005|06:28am] |
Must... wake up..... for gym.... *ugh*
After a very bad holiday of too much eating and sleeping and little exercise, today is my first day back at the gym. I'm glad to be going but prepared to be horrified at the improvements lost. And boy, boy, BOY do I wish I was still happily asleep in my cosy bed, dreaming sweet dreams.
Life isn't all constant improvement. It's a series of steps forward - some tiny, some huge - followed by periods of stall where we can only cling to what we've done, or decay where we regress to states past. The good news is that it's a cycle, and usually the steps forward start again, with bigger strides and longer periods of progress.
It's taken me a long time to be patient with the cycle, and accepting that change and growth can happen even when circumstances or day-to-day execution isn't perfect. Perhaps it takes a peculiar form of humility to grow.
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| Into the swing of things..... |
[06 Jan 2005|10:22am] |
Although I don't really do new year's resolutions, I do like to use this time of year as an excuse to reflect and conduct some personal course corrections. One of the key changes I'd like to make in my life in 2005 is to be more open with others and more friendly to the world in general.
It seems that one reasonably safe and simple method to take that step is to actually post to this journal and see what comes of it. So, here goes. :)
I just got back from a trip to Indiana to visit family. It was the usual chaos - a hectic flurry of people and events, but I really feel good about the trip. I was able to see my grandma, who I hadn't visited with for a long time, I was able to spend real time with parents, siblings and nieces/nephew, and I was able to enjoy the pace and lifestyle of Indiana (which is a far cry from that of Silicon valley). I was also able to help my mom through a rough patch, which mainly consisted of shoveling a lot of horse manure in the snow. It seems only fair, since she takes care of the horses 355 days of the year or more!
After a very long day of traveling, I'm home again. My cat still loves me and the house is still standing. And lost luggage should be delivered in an hour. So all is well.
Other areas of work for me for 2005? Returning to a regular exercise regimen (lifting 3-4x/week, cardio 3x/week) and eating properly again. Finding a dive buddy and diving more. Getting my butt back to church and feeling comfortable there. Getting certified for CPR. Going on a date. Getting closer to family and friends and accepting connections to other people. Learning something TBD. Outline and research a book idea I have. And... post more to Livejournal!
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| My apolitical summary of the debate |
[04 Oct 2004|01:09pm] |
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Bush: Blah blah, Kerry is lying and going to war is The Best Thing Ever. Kerry: Blah blah, Bush is bad at war and I Have A Plan.
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| Uhoh..... |
[10 Sep 2004|07:18am] |
My cat has found the toilet paper. The bathroom will never be the same!
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| Mmmmmmm |
[18 Aug 2004|09:40pm] |
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Male olympic gymnasts = YUMMY *drool*
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| Choose.... |
[15 Aug 2004|11:38pm] |
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--- Robert Frost
"The wild dogs cry out in the night, as they grow restless longing for some solitary company." -Toto, Africa
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| A cautionary tale |
[14 Jul 2004|07:41am] |
After so long a time not updating my journal, I feel a bit odd posting this as one of the first "next generation" entries. But it's been bothering me and LJ is great for catharsis, right?
Yesterday, at about 8am I got a call from a nice lady at MCI. She was kind and very cheerful; “Hello, my name is ____! I'm calling because MCI wants to let you know that we VERY MUCH appreciate your business!”
Then, I, in an early morning, grumpy state did something I really regret. I was very abrupt to this poor, cheerful woman. “Thanks. I'm getting ready for work now. Bye.” *hangup*
I instantly regretted it. That woman was nice. She was polite and cheerful. She was trying to take a hard, thankless job and do it the very best she could. And I was impatient and, well, rude, in the face of her good cheer. I didn't have to listen to her read the sales-pitch, but I could have been graceful about it. Instead, I was nasty and abrupt. I wished I could call her back up and apologize and listen to her spiel.
I felt like I had stomped on a flower....
So here are some lessons I need to remember:
1. When you encounter cheerfulness or joy, appreciate it and nurture it. Cherish it. Do not squelch it, directly or indirectly.
2. When someone is working hard at a thankless job and trying to make the very most of the task, at least be respectful and kind.
3. Don't be impatient. It's usually the same as being mean, and leaves you doing things in the grump-of-the-moment which you later regret
So, Miss Cheerful MCI woman? I'm really sorry. And I hope you had a good day in spite of me. Don't stop being cheerful and happy and trying to do your best, just because you run into a few unkind people along the way.
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| One good day |
[30 Jul 2003|08:49pm] |
Today was a very good day. I feel happy.
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| Day 14.99 (7/9 and 7/10) |
[10 Jul 2003|10:50pm] |
7/9 Up at 4am to catch the flight back to CA. Thank you, family, for a wonderful visit, with lots of fun things to do! I got home and was badly jet-lagged, though, so I zonked out.
7/10 Today I found out that I didn't get the job in PA. I guess that takes the stress of having to make the decision of moving there off my shoulders. But now I'm scared. I was turned down for a job I could do VERY well. It's been the only thing I've found so far which was remotely in the areas I'm most interested in. I was certain it was a sure thing. But it wasn't.
I spent today hitting the job sites and my network, but it was a pretty discouraging effort. I'm a very good generalist and I have done lots of things - product management, project management, people management, even hosting operations. I work best at that boundary-layer between technology and operations, and it's a vital place to be. I'm valuable! But. I don't fit neatly into any niche, in an economy where employers are demanding (and getting!) folks which fit their exact specifications. I don't have 3-7 years of formal product management/project management/etc. I have 8 years of doing little bits of everything, and doing it right.
Well, perhaps this is exactly what I needed to take my job search and my career direction a little more seriously....
By the way, if you're curious, here's a rough version of my resume.
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| Day 13.99 (7/8) |
[10 Jul 2003|10:27pm] |
Oooooooooh. Today was fun. My family and I went to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. They have over 150 cats, mostly tigers and lions with some cougars and other smaller cats thrown into the mix. They provide life-long homes for abused, abandoned or surrendered cats. For a very modest fee (tax deductible) you can come in and one of the volunteers will take you around to some of the cages, explaining the mission of the center, the histories of the cats, etc. Then, you're turned loose to wander the center by yourself.
It covers a very large area and the enclosures are very simple fences which don't seem nearly strong enough. :) They only have a few rules: don't try to pet any of the cats (no matter HOW cute and fuzzy they look) and don't come closer than arm's length to the enclosures. I'm afraid at times I did come closer than that, so I could take pictures through the mesh fencing. Bad me.
It's a very strange feeling to be in the middle of a place with so many big cats, so close together. The air was filled with the roars and hoarse coughs of lions and the contented chuffing of tigers. And this is not a 'prettified' place. We saw them butchering a cow to feed to the animals, and since we'd come at feeding time, there were body parts in most of the enclosures, with or without big cats crunching and gnawing on them. Very up close and personal.
We oogled the cats for a long while, and on the way out, we were able to get into a small pen and play with a 5 week old tiger cub named Squeaky. Man, are those guys cute!
Pictures after the cut! ( Raar! )
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| Day 12.99 (7/6 and 7/7) |
[10 Jul 2003|10:17am] |
7/6 My brothers and I went scuba diving again in the same quarry (Blue Springs Quarry. I'm pleased to report that this time I did MUCH better. No panicking. Much better buoyancy control. A good time was had by all! We were worried that the visibility would be bad, given all the storms. But the quarry apparently doesn't get much run-off and is only spring-fed, so the seeing was good. I saw a turtle (I think it was a midlands smooth softshell?), lots of bass, pumpkinseed sunfish, and some sort of other weird spiny fish I haven't ID'd yet. Oh, and we found the submerged toilet and dentist's chair. *chuckle* One of my brothers then took me back down to Dad's house, where we had a family cookout. Much fun!
7/7 Dad had a meeting in Indianapolis, so the rest of us rode up with him and played while he worked. :) We visited the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art and the Indiana State Museum. Very interesting, both, although I must admit I was disappointed with the earth science section of the State Museum. It was a lot of wasted space with very few exhibits, with even less content. What content there was had little context. The fossil section was good, though. Spent the evening playing online DND in our long-running campaign. I got swatted by a dinosaur, but we won the day.
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