You have enormous value to me...

I am slowly going crazy

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:52:18 GMT

I would like this baby out of me. I've had a few promising signs and even went so far as to have contractions every 4 minutes for over an hour last night... before they tapered off into nothing. I'm seriously losing my mind at the prospect of not having this kid for another two weeks (which is when they'll induce) and the starting and stopping is not helping! I'm not freaked out about labour at all. Bring it on! I'm so ready to meet this kid and find out whether it's a boy or a girl.

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:19:01 GMT

I can't seem to sleep more than a few hours at a time (and only when I'm completely exhausted). So being that I'm awake anyway, I thought I'd come online and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope that wherever you are and whatever you do or do not celebrate, you have a wonderful day today.

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:55:39 GMT

I seem to have pulled or strained a muscle in my neck, no doubt while tossing and turning at night, since I'm spending a great deal of time lately trying to find a sleeping position that is even remotely comfortable. The back of my neck, right at the top, has been increasingly sore on the left side for the last few days and now really FREAKING HURTS. It aches all the time and when I move it the wrong way (and sometimes when I'm still), sends a shooting pain up the base of my skull.

This wouldn't be such a big deal if I could take a muscle relaxant or even an NSAID like Advil but oh, no... Tylenol only. And it's just not going to cut it.

I'm going to check with my doctor tomorrow at my check-up and see if Rub A535 or Tiger Balm or something would be okay. In the meantime, ouch.

Rule of thumb...

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:41:59 GMT

Never share with your husband all the things you plan to do and cook the next day because when you wake up in the morning and realize that you need to run the dishwasher and clean the kitchen BEFORE you even get started, and that there are way more loads of laundry than you thought, and that making a cheesecake from scratch is going to take a while, and that you are absolutely batshit crazy for volunteering to make a turkey for dinner, you'll also realize that people are expecting you to actually finish what you claimed you'd start.

And being that it's the roommate's birthday (hence the cake) and the turkey has already been defrosted, I really have to at least do the cooking stuff.

It accumulates by a magnitude...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:59:20 GMT

There's snow outside. Real, staying on the ground, can no longer see any grass and it's still really coming down out there snow. The weather report warned me but there's nothing like going to bed with clear streets and waking up in a snow-globe. The dog is excited about it which means he'll fake needing to go out an extra three or four times today just because he likes to romp. Romp really is the only word for the crazy, barely coordinated jumps and stumbles that are his signature winter move. This from a dog who, according to his breed info, should greatly dislike the cold and be more suited to hotter climates. Riiight.

Anyway, I'm sitting here in pjs (not even mine... P's, because the two pairs of pajama pants that still fit around my gigantic belly are in the wash) and debating whether I want to make a stew badly enough to walk to the nearest grocery for the few items I'm lacking. This would be about a 20 minute walk were I a normal, not 8 and a half months pregnant person, so it'd be a fair trek through the cold and snow. But I just have this idea of a beef and root vegetable stew for dinner that will not go away! I'll have to mull it over... and check to see if I can unearth my hat, scarf and mitts.

How can he stand it?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:25 GMT

I've been watching the fourth season of Dexter and Rita is a huge bitch. I couldn't stand to be married to her and I'm not a serial killer or ~~entirely~~ emotionally crippled. She just sucks so much!

Recap - Date night

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:43:33 GMT

12:50 - Boss calls to say she won't be in on time and can I please train the new girl to "fold shirts"

1:00 - New girl arrives. School her in art of shirt-folding. Also begin training her on how to run the cash and where the heck everything in the store goes.

2:30 - take thirty second break (sneakily) to call vet and inquire about overpriced cat food for diva cat. They have one bag and will hold it.

3:00 - Lots of boxes come in. Show new girl what to do with boxes and product. Get praised for training new girl (which is not my job, btw, but damn do we need staff that can work alone soon)

3:15 - Boss realizes that I've been at work since 9 and haven't gotten a break. Asks if I want one. I opt to leave 30 minutes early instead.

3:45 - Freedom!

3:46 - Oh, wait... not yet. Schlep empty boxes to the car. Assure boss that this box-hording thing is almost over.

3:48 - Almost lose boxes to strong gust of wind in parking lot. Recover gracefully. Ignore laughing tweens wearing Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts and skinny jeans.

3:52 - Call husband. Tell him I'm going to the vet. Should I go home after and try to walk the dog before picking him up? No. He'll be ready at 5.

4:13 - Arrive at vets. Lavish attention on adorable boxer puppy that likely weighs less than my cat. Is so tiny. Pay too much for ~~stupid~~ miracle cat food that keeps ~~diva-cat~~ kitty with gastrointestinal issues from having accidents around house. Grumble that rest of cats refuse to eat any other foods, even though they don't need the special one.

4:16 - Drive toward husband's work. Wonder about possible presence of opioids in cat food, which would explain both the addictive quality and the subsequent lowered gastro-intestinal motility of diva kitty.

4:17 - Realize that I am STARVING due to lack of lunch break. Reroute to grocery store.

4:28 - Buy croissant and melon cup.

4:37 - Arrive in parking lot of husband's workplace. Eat snack. Wait.

5:00 - Still waiting

5:17 - And waiting

5:22 - Husband is free!

5:45 - Arrive home. Walk dog. Feed cats. Change clothes.

5:48 - Laugh at husband's suggestion that I borrow one of his jerseys. Demonstrate how jersey looks like a dress on me. Agree to wear baseball cap to appease husband's sense of team pride.

6:13 - Leave for the city.

7:00 - Agree with husband that we will never make it on time to a Jays game. Congratulate each other on maintaining this five year streak.

7:07 - Opening pitch. We are almost at Lake Shore Blvd.

7:20 - Arrive. Find parking. Walk up a MILLION STAIRS.

7:21 - Gate is right at the top of the stairs!

7:22 - Oh... but seats are half the Sky Dome away.

7:30 - Find seats. Proceed to annoy husband with millions of baseball questions as well as off-topic chattering.

8:30ish - Feign knowledge of proper baseball terminology. Get rebuffed by actual baseball-playing husband.

8:47 - Start to notice a certain look of sadness and missed opportunity in husband's eye whenever the catcher is discussed or comes up to the plate. Tell husband that he would have made a good professional baseball player. Refrain from mentioning fact that he hasn't played in ten years.

9:00 - Impress husband with ability to name baseball players. Lose credibility when I start naming players who retired and/or died years ago.

9:35 - Orioles are getting trounced. Husband decides to leave early to beat traffic. What do I want to eat? Suggest Big Slice. Husband says no.

9:50 - Driving around, looking for food... looking... looking.

9:51 - Suggest Smoke's Poutinerie. Husband is intrigued.

9:55 - Husband orders his poutine (Hogtown style). Asks what I want. I say, "Big Slice." Recognize that pregnancy makes this demand acceptable. Husband agrees (having been plied with poutine and bacon combination). I also demand lemonade.

10:16 - Arrive at Big Slice. Get deluxe slice and bottle of water.

10:17 - Pass a Starbucks. Don't really need anything from there.

10:21 - Pass another Starbucks

10:24 - And another

10:29 - And another

10:36 - Succumb to universe's insistence that I need Starbucks. Ask husband if he feels like a macchiato.

10:46 - Get decaf vanilla latte. Drink on drive home while suggesting baseball related names for the baby. Lyle? Jose? Roberto?

11:20 - Arrive home and change into pajamas. Lament about pajamas not fitting anymore. Check email. Consider packing boxes since the move is in less than a week and only dvds have been packed. Decide not to face reality and go to bed instead.

And while this might be the most boring LJ entry ever, it was actually a pretty fun night for me...

Joys of pregnancy (and a husband with a headcold)

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 09:29:17 GMT

Awake since 4am and have already spent ten minutes googling Bea Arthur. Is that weird?

Am considering whether to try to sleep or just give up and put on a disc from Season 2 of Bones (all other dvds are packed). Also apparently considering giving up pronouns...

I've tried three times

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 05:01:39 GMT

I know a lot of the people on my flist love it but... I don't. Whatever you're seeing that's making you squee, I don't see it. Oh, well... I'm glad that you're enjoying it!

Bones Season Premiere

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:12:49 GMT

I should say that I really like yelling at this show. And I'm perhaps unreasonable in my expectations. That having been said, I would like to discuss the following:

1. Why is Angela dressed like a Go-Go Dancer? (Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again - that girl is batshit crazy.)

2. Isn't it nice that brain surgery didn't require shaving Booth's pretty, pretty hair? That neurosurgeon had mad skillz. Yes, the kind with a 'z'. It's that impressive.

3. Bones knows kung-fu. And also possibly some sort of maui-tai, UFC type stuff. And she could probably fight with a staff, Gabrielle-from-Xena style. But in this particular episode, when attacked by a guy wielding a scalpel (super sharp + no hilt = bad weapon choice, btw), she suddenly forgets that and reverts to a method of defense barely a ladder rung above going to investigate the noises out by the abandoned camp cabin. The fuck?

4. Okay, I know Bones isn't a medical doctor* or anything, but the number one rule of puncture wounds is DON'T PULL IT OUT. And then, Booth just sits there?!? Tie it off, moron! Use your belt! Haven't you ever watched Rescue 911 or ER? (In fact, you should tie it off, elevate the limb and will still probably need use your own finger to try to put pressure directly on the lacerated vessel but I'd settle for some semblance of effort beyond prayer and cuddling.)

* The medical doctor thing. Oh, geez. Remember when Booth got shot? And everyone was all "Oh noes!!" and then stood there doing absolutely nothing useful (okay, Hodgins kicked the gun away from the corpse after Bones dispatched of her in super-awesome Steven Segal style)? Anyone else have a problem with that? Because Cam is a fucking medical doctor! And she just stood there gaping with Angela, as though there wasn't a skill set she could have been calling upon at that moment?!?

Anyway, I enjoyed the episode and I'm glad that the new season has begun!

Thank you for your patience...

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:28:20 GMT

I have finally finished watching Battlestar Galactica. And yes, it did take me forever. I haven't really collected my thoughts at this point (beyond "Pigeon? ... the frak?") so I'll need a little time, but at least I don't have to worry about being spoiled.

Wow, I suck at posting

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:26:31 GMT

It's been... a long time. And before that, the posts were pretty few and far between. I blame a number of factors, specifically work, getting ready to move and television.

We've been doing some pretty intense tv marathon sessions and I have now officially caught up on Bones (and can I just say that the S4 finale was... not good at all. Very boring, in fact. But then again, I can understand to whom (as in which shippers) the episode was meant to appeal and that's fair enough). I'm definitely looking forward to the season premiere which, if I recall correctly, is a few short weeks away (or less??).

Oh, and we're very on track to finish up BSG by the end of the week-end. Only about six more episodes to go!

This counts are productivity, right?

The Time Traveler's Wife

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:55:57 GMT

I'm pretty certain that this can't be done well as a movie. The commercials are bothering me because I think the film will have ruined the story. I could be wrong... but I don't think I am.

I'm definitely not paying to see it. I don't even know if I'll be able to bring myself to watch it for free when it comes on tv.

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:26:37 GMT

Just stopping by to wish kiss_me_cassie a fabulously happy birthday!

God God Dammit

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:59:35 GMT

The bathtub is full of concrete.

If you're waiting for a punchline here, you're only wasting precious time because this isn't a joke. It's an update on the fact that my bathtub is full of fucking concrete.

Okay, I will admit that "full" is overstating things but the ceiling above it did something that I can only describe as partially collapsing and there is concrete dust and chunks and god knows what kind of mold and possibly asbestos etc in my bathtub. I'm pissed off about it, obviously. And I can't let the super know because our building doesn't have one. We have a property manager who you can reach about as often as you can walk into the DMV and get served without waiting. Which is to say, rarely. P will call her tomorrow, I'm sure, but then it becomes a matter of figuring out who can be home when she comes/sends someone because we've had issues with these people coming into our apartment unannounced before even though I've TOLD them that my 75lb dog may attack a stranger unless we get warning and crate him.

Also, it's after midnight so I can't even go tell the people who live above us to stay out of their bathtub, for the love of God STAY OUT, because I don't know if that shit will collapse for real. I mean, I could go knock but they would not answer because I live in the type of building where ceilings collapse and fire alarms go off randomly for no reason until I call 911 and report it, so you can imagine that some of the people* who live in places like this make it unsafe to answer your door should someone randomly start banging on it at midnight.**

The ridiculous thing about this is that I don't live in a city big enough to warrant having such a fucking slum of an apartment building. I don't even live in a city. It's a town. A small town with a little Farmer's Market and a bunch of bakeries and mostly privately owned businesses.

I cannot wait to get out of here. If something falls through with the house-getting, mortgage paper signing next month, I will lose my mind and you all will read about me in international news releases because the meltdown will be that epic.

But for now, I'm going to bed.

*Drug addicts. And not pot, because this is Canada and most of us know, are or were people who smoke pot. Real drugs, like crack or meth or something. Shit you cook up in bathtubs... you know, when they're not full of concrete.

**Don't worry, flist - I am safe. I live with two guys and a big, scary-sounding dog and I don't answer the door anyway. Behold the face of protection which strikes fear into the hearts of meth-heads and door-to-door salesmen alike:

ETA: The fire alarm went off at 2am. P called 911 this time so I wouldn't have to get out of bed (he checked the building first; it wasn't on fire, as per usual). Bad side of this - not enough sleep. Good side - property manager is here to check things out so I told her about the ceiling, she had a look, and it will be fixed today (although there is apparently an insurance inspection tomorrow, so that may explain her haste, at least to some degree). Also, she said I can shower in one of the vacant apartments, which means I don't have to drag myself over to P's grandma's to get ready for work.

Thanks!

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:49:46 GMT

Posting to say that I've finished season 3 of BSG but am waiting to start season 4 because my lovely husband has dropped hints about getting me the full series. So, in light of the impending release of 4.5, I'm asking my flist to please just bear with me a little longer. You've all been quite good at avoiding spoilers or placing them under cuts so far and I really appreciate it. Just a little while more and then you'll be free (and you can rec some good fic!).

Good things about today...

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:41:48 GMT

- Felt the baby move in the most distinct way yet. Before now, I'd only experienced the odd "Was that... ?" moment but today was definite. Weird feeling but cool.

- When I got home from work, my roommate had already taken the dog out and fed him for me, making it possible to change directly into PJs.

- Leverage is already up online.

- During P's lunch break, a guy came into the sub place where we were eating and I remarked that he was familiar. P reminded me that he works at my favourite coffee shop by referring to him as "Taylor the Latte boy".

- Don't work until 2 tomorrow, which means sleeping in. I know that isn't really about today but it means that I don't have to feel bad for not going to bed as soon as I came in at 9:45.

Still sick

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:16:59 GMT

Saw my doctor on Wednesday after days of getting sicker and not better. Actually, the appointment was a regular baby-check-up thing but that's beside the point. It turns out that I have a really bad chest cold (I knew that) and also a sinus infection (knew that, too - the throbbing ache in my head and jaw was a good tip-off). So, I'm on antibiotics and was told to take a few days off from work. I took it pretty easy today (other than going to a lab to get a blood test, where all the other people in the waiting room stared at me with eyes that screamed "swine flu?!?") and I plan to do the same tomorrow. I've been watching Nurse Jackie on the on-demand channel and taking cat naps. Other than that, my life is very, very uneventful.

I'm hoping I'll feel better by the time I'm supposed to be at work on Sunday morning.

My brain is a strange, strange place...

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:38:55 GMT

Just woke up from a dream involving a lottery that was a lot more like a treasure hunt through a haunted house... one that involved Tina Fey, a chainsaw and wait, is that Conan O'Brien or Anderson Cooper? Stop shapeshifing, dammit!

And now I have to go to work. Boo to Wednesday.

This is so random but...

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:59:05 GMT

Once, just ONCE I would like there to exist a "romantic comedy" that's funny like so many of them are but that doesn't devolve into some lame and shoddily-concocted "conflict" in the last twenty minutes of the film. I really like those types of movies... for the first hour and ten minutes. Then I lose interest and sometimes actually turn them off because I KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN SO WHY BOTHER WATCHING? Why kill the funny just to have them do the stupid break-up-make-up dance?

I swear, I need to devote more time to watching movies like Aliens and Full Metal Jacket where this shit just doesn't happen.

/rant

New books, new layout

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:10:38 GMT

I've been very bored with my old layout but I'm in no mood to fiddle around with a custom one or to try to get my own header and colour scheme to work, so I'm going the cardboard cutout way for now. I do like it... though it's certainly thinner than the layouts I've had before and the mood theme at the top of the post will take some getting used to.

Today, both the husband and I are off work, so we braved the world in search of an egg poacher (I'm having insane cravings for Eggs Benedict and for dinner, I shall have it!) which we found easily enough. I was in a cranky mood, though, so P brought me to Chapters which is guaranteed to raise my spirits but is also like taking an alcoholic to Beerfest. I got two books even though I've joined that book club and will soon have to be buying whichever book is chosen for our first round. But who cares; it cheered me up. After that, a quick bite to eat followed by a stop at the grocery for the rest of tonight's dinner ingredients and now we're home for a quiet afternoon in. A pretty good day off work, when all's said and done.

Now, I'm off to decide which book to read first...

Make it so!

Fri, 22 May 2009 20:27:49 GMT

I've been watching a lot of TNG lately, since it's on every day at 4 and I am still unemployed (mostly due to ill health of late but I'm feeling better so things might be turning around). It's amazing how quickly, even years after the show ended, I can identify episodes. It usually only takes a few lines of dialogue before I can figure out what's going to happen. Right now, I'm watching the one where Troi, Data and O'Brian get all possessed and then take over Ten-Forward. Bad-ass Troi is funny.

Grey's Anatomy Season Finale

Fri, 15 May 2009 03:14:38 GMT

Yes, I admit it - I watch this show. I have all the available seasons on DVD (though, in my defense, my husband bought me the last two of his own free will; I didn't ask for them). I think it was pretty good at the start but has jumped the shark since season 3 when Meredith tried to drown herself.

But tonight's episode was actually pretty great. Well - the ending was. I should say first that I love to yell at this show. I make comments and lecture the characters and generally pretend that it's interactive.

Anyway, the twist at the end, with George? Awesome bait and swith with the army thing! I loved it. I mean, I knew he and KH were likely out; she's been wanting out of her contract to pursue more movie roles and he's her bff, so he obviously has to go, too. But I fully bought the army write-out, so when he wrote 007 on Meredith's palm, it was SHOCKING.

My friend is on MSN, still bawling but I just find this show funny. I do understand the emotional side of it, but I tend to find their attempts to 'get me' to be more amusing than heartbreaking. Of course, I'm a cold, emotionless bitch who has been compared to Dexter on more than one occasion, so that's not all that surprising.

My only gripe is that it was two hours long and most of that was taken up with Izzie. I know that was a major climax for the season but they've already spent so much time on that this year. Did it need to fill an hour and fifteen minutes worth of the finale, too?

Still, even considering the timeline and all the Izzie stuff, the ending got me. All in all, a satisfying season finale.

The most boring post ever

Thu, 14 May 2009 16:41:33 GMT

I'm stuck at home, without a car or any real access to the outside world. Okay, I could walk somewhere but as I'm still being blindsided by random bouts of sickness, this doesn't seem wise. Outside, it's lovely and sunny and breezy and in here it's muggy and yucky. I've turned on the fan in the air conditioner for a bit to get the air moving, which I hope will help.

I'm finally, finally tackling the laundry after deciding to give up on the idea of being well for a long enough stretch of time that going to the laundromat might be plausible. This means that I have to use the facilites at my apartment, where there are exactly two sad washers and two sad dryers, so it's going to take me all afternoon to get through the five loads I've got, instead of the hour and a half that it'd be a the laundromat. It'll likely cost me more this way, too, but at least my apartment and bathroom are close at hand.

What else? Oh, I'm hungry. Except I have no desire to eat anything. It's obviously really fun. There's a bunch of stuff I could be eating: yogurt, left-over pizza, rice and veggies, cereal, soup... but none of it is appetizing. In fact, I can't quite think of anything that's appetizing.

And my grandmother has gone incommunicado. This woman is the busiest unemployed elderly woman EVER. She is never home. She travels a lot but as far as we know, isn't doing that currently. She just goes to the senior's centre every day and participates in or organizes events. I keep missing her when she's home and she never checks her answering machine. At least I don't have to worry that something's happened, though, since two of my uncles live downstairs from her and eat dinner with her most nights.

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:44:08 GMT

With the wedding just over a week away, I've been insanely busy. Rest assured, I haven't disappeared. I've been lurking a little but most of my time is spoken for. I really only came on to post and say hello and also to rec a book I just finished. Everyone should go out and get Still Alice by Lisa Genova. I couldn't put it down.

Hope everyone is having a more mellow week than I am!