Category: Daily Life

Well, the studio remodeling project is proceeding apace. I’d show you photos, but we packed up the cable that connects from the camera to the computer and it might be a while before it comes to light again. So far, the vocal booth has been framed in, there’s a new door to the utility closet, the thermostat is in a more convenient location, and the carpeting and linoleum are gone from half the room. We’re so excited!

The plan underwent some scope creep while I was at work, encompassing the addition of two skylights, a drum riser with soundproofing underneath, and a sheet of Plexiglass to be mounted in front of the drums. So far we’re still within the original budget range, so I’m not arguing. Admittedly, the original budget included some fairly big stuff we’ve decided not to do, but it’s nice to stay within shouting distance of a dollar figure I’ve heard and approved.

After work today I’m meeting with an electrician about our chronic breaker problems. To keep him from fleeing our house in disgust, I spent a long while yesterday evening mopping the cats’ side of the basement. Ick, ick, ick. The good news is that the whole house is now pine fresh.

I also impulsively purchased yet another Littermaid cat box (just one this time). I know, it’s like putting a "kick me" sign on my own back. There was a lot of cursing involved in getting the @#$%& thing put together, but it seems okay so far. When they work, they’re wonderful – it’s just that Littermaid doesn’t seem to bother to make them very well anymore.

I’m up ridiculously early this morning. In fact, hubby and I tried to go to breakfast at our favorite place around 6:30 only to find it isn’t open until 7. After we ate elsewhere, I attempted to pick up my dry cleaning and discovered that they’re not open until 7 either. Come on, people!

I skipped yoga this morning because one shoulder is having some complaints and I think one more day of rest would be helpful. I’ll go tomorrow morning instead.  The diet/exercise/supplement program I put myself on last week is really paying off. I can tell that my jeans are much looser and my stomach is flatter. I won’t exactly be beach goddess material by the time I leave for Jamaica next week, but at least I won’t be a beached whale either.

Thanks to NaBloPoMo, I’ll be posting tomorrow and Sunday, too. Maybe I’ll actually think of something interesting to say. You won’t know unless you come by!

My husband and I had a germ of an idea: we wanted to have the hideous 1970s inlaid wood bar taken out of our studio and have a soundproofed vocal booth put in its place. We also thought it would be nice to remove the couldn’t-possibly-be-up-to-code wood stove and its room-hogging brick base.

We’d been kicking around the idea for a long time and my husband finally called a friend of his who owns a construction firm and asked him to come out and give us a bid. The guy showed up yesterday morning, took a look around and named a very reasonable figure. If not for the hideous clutter consuming the room, he and his crew would gladly have started work immediately.

Instead, they’re starting this morning. THIS MORNING.

We spent yesterday evening dragging tubs of office paperwork, microphone cables, drums, computer gear and other miscellaneous junk down the stairs into our guest room. Everything that couldn’t be immediately moved ended up draped with a sheet.

Of course, we haven’t really had a chance to think everything through yet – that’s what scares me. All of a sudden, the plan includes relocating a closet door and a thermostat, taking out an ugly built-in shelving area, and putting down hardwood flooring where the current flooring will have to be taken out. We’re going to have to have new floor coverings put throughout the room sooner or later and it might as well be now; however, our desks are both enormous and weigh a TON. I guess that’s the workmen’s problem…

Ready or not, we’re plunging headlong into Studio Makeover ’06. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

My company is moving to a new office the week after next, so every employee is packing box after box of stuff to go to the new place. Some people seem to have jammed more books, games, toys, posters, action figures, shipping tubes, files, papers and small appliances into their cubicles than I have in any given room of my house.

I am not one of those people. So far I have loosely filled one box with personal items, including my stress ball collection (two of them), framed photos of my husband and cats, my desk lamp (with a burned out bulb), a potted philodendron, and miscellaneous books. When I leave the office next Wednesday, all I’ll have left to take is my laptop, a large teacup, a coaster, the contents of one drawer, and any uneaten Luna Bars that may lurk in my file cabinet.

My officemate and I have been given eight or ten huge plastic tubs for packing the things that we want the company to move for us, and so far we haven’t even filled one.  You can tell that neither one of us has worked for the company for a particularly long time.

The most important thing I have learned in this process so far is that there is absolutely no point in my ever filing anything. I went through every file folder in my drawer and ended up keeping exactly three sheets of paper. Everything else went in the recycle bin.

I used to be more of a nester at work, but I got out of the habit after repeated moves from one desk to another and one office building to another. I used to be that way about the stuff in my home for the same reason, but now that we’ve lived here for twelve years, the goods have started to collect.

So what’s your desk style? Are you a "big cube o’ fun" type or is your cubicle as Spartan as mine?

It was SO wonderful to have a three-day weekend! I desperately needed the extra day to get things done, refocus and rest.

On Friday, I got up and went to a 6:15 a.m. yoga class. I was still quite sore from Wednesday’s class, but I don’t think I slacked off all that much. I can’t stand the sight of myself in the mirrors and I don’t remember sweating so profusely during class in the past, but otherwise it seems to be going well considering how many years it’s been since I last attended classes regularly.

Later that morning, the dermatologist took a divot out of my upper arm to remove a mole that looked too dark and square for her liking. It stings a little now and then, but I think I’m going to make it.

I spent the rest of the day doing whatever I wanted to do. While I was driving around, I managed to compose the final lyrics to one of the songs I’ve been trying to complete for months. Woohoo!

I stopped by Costco and bought "Magical Thinking" by Augusten Burroughs to read while I was getting a pedicure and having my hair colored. It was hilarious and I highly recommend it. After I read Pajiba’s review of the movie of Burroughs’ "Running With Scissors," which said that the book was much better, I bought that book, too.

Speaking of being influenced by reviewers, I recently read "Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love to Hate (and Hate to Love) about TV." One of the shows that the authors kept praising was "Clone High," an animated show I’d never heard of. After I finished the book, I ordered the first season of "Clone High" and received it last week. Hubby and I watched an episode before we went out on Saturday and it was just as entertaining as Wing Chun and Sars said it would be. It’s definitely not for the kiddies, but quite funny!

When I wasn’t reading, I spent my weekend getting costume accoutrements so my husband and I looked like proper goth folk on Saturday night. It was kind of fun to wear as much eye makeup as I could layer on. We went to two parties on Saturday and still made it home before midnight. We’re very lame.  I’m still wearing my black fingernail polish, just ’cause I can. I’ll let it go after the last of the trick-or-treaters comes through tomorrow evening.

Today I’m ready to face my work projects with renewed vigor and pack the stuff in my office in preparation for next week’s move to a new building. But first, another 6:15 a.m. yoga class…

Yeah, it turns out I have a LOT of different muscles in my body. Many of them hurt today, particularly the upper body ones that are accustomed to a default posture of "crouching toward the computer keyboard like a gargoyle."

I think I’ll be fine for tomorrow morning’s yoga class, but for now I’m slathered in Icy Hot. (While searching to make sure that menthol was really the main smelly ingredient in Icy Hot, I ran across an article entitled, "Why masturbating with Icy Hot is a bad idea." You know, I’d have thought the answer to that would be so obvious as to make an article unnecessary, but what do I know?)

So anyway, I continued my self-improvement theme yesterday by making an appointment to get my hair cut and colored, arranging for the septic tank guys to come and clean out the tank today (before I leave for work, I need to remember to plant a stick in the ground so they’ll know where to dig), and leaving a message for an electrician who was recommended to me by both my dad and one of my husband’s friends.

I even tried to be good about what I ate yesterday. At lunch, instead of my usual Italian sub with vinegar and oil, I had turkey breast on wheat bread with mustard at Subway. I even brought an apple and had it instead of chips.

The smug glow of nutritional superiority couldn’t survive dinner, though. I went to a friend’s house and there was quiche, baked brie with brown sugar and pecans (heavenly!), a frightening number of savory dips with equally savory crackers, and lots of red wine. I brought Rabid Red, which I’ll admit I chose mainly for the label, although the liquor store guy said it was good (and it was).  Oh well, at least I’m moving away from pigging out all day long. It’s a start.

So that’s my progress for one day: many steps forward and a couple steps back. It’ll do.

Yesterday I had a long-overdue deep tissue massage. As I was paying and chatting with my massage therapist, she told me what I already knew: my muscles were a mess – even worse than usual.

I clench my jaw, I sit in front of a computer way too much and I don’t get any exercise, so by the time I finally limp to the chiropractor or massage therapist, I’m always reduced to a painful mass of tight muscle fibers.

Her advice: get a night guard from the dentist, start taking yoga again and increase my calcium and magnesium intake.

I’d already been considering resuming yoga classes, partly for the strength and flexibility and partly because I’m noticeably gaining weight. Last night I looked up the class schedule for the yoga center in my neighborhood and saw that they had a Level 2 Ashtanga class at 6:15 a.m. on Wednesdays. I set my alarm for 5:45 a.m.

I woke up before the alarm rang and repeatedly talked myself in and out of going to the class until I got up. It’s been a couple of years since I last took a class and I was worried that I couldn’t hack an advanced class. But then I figured that "advanced" just meant "for students who already know the classic poses." Anyway, I got up at 5:45, threw on some hideous workout garb that exposed my pudgy midsection way more than I would have liked, and went to class.

I almost bailed out at the 15-minute mark. I started feeling nauseated and a little clammy, but I sipped a little bit of water and forged onward. I couldn’t do some of the advanced poses, but I made it through the whole 90-minute class and even managed one handstand (against the wall, but still…).  When the class was over I felt WONDERFUL.

After my shower, I continued the self-improvement juggernaut and called my dentist’s office to make an appointment to be fitted for a night guard. Then I retrieved my container of Viactiv from the back of the cupboard, dosed myself with calcium and headed to work.

Now, I’m not saying I’ll be able to continue my progress indefinitely, but it sure feels good to have gotten this far. I’m planning on taking yoga classes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning and I should be able to settle into the routine after a week or so. Wish me luck!

Today’s post from SueBob really spoke to me:

I am going to ask for help with one of my favorite projects. Women for Women International is a sponsorship organization that started in Bosnia and spread to other war-torn areas of the world.

For
$27 a month, you get matched with a woman somewhere in the world who
needs help. You support her and send her letters while she goes through
a structured program to get back on her feet. If you are lucky, you may
get letters back. The organization provides the translation services.

My goal is to convince 10 women to become sponsors before the end of the year.

Please
let me know if you decide to sponsor. Even if you can’t afford to do
that, please consider a link over here to help me and these women out.

I belong to Soroptimist International, which is associated with this group, but my particular club is pretty focused on helping local women. This seemed like the perfect chance to branch out and help someone who can really benefit from an amount of money that I can save by foregoing a daily Red Bull from the vending machine at work. I signed up immediately.

If you decide to participate, let SueBob know.

On Friday night, my niece came to our house for a sleepover. She’s six-and-a-half and, as my sister puts it, behaves pretty much "like a real person" in social situations now.

My husband and I took her to dinner at Red Robin and did our best to tune out the deafening din of the other patrons. Even my niece said, "Those kids are loud!"

After dinner, we went to the grocery store to stock up on junk food (Chips Ahoy and mint chocolate Dibs) and then on to Blockbuster to get a movie to finish out the night’s activities. My niece was immediately torn between "Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses" and a Bratz movie.

"Hey, let’s see what else they have!" I said. "How about ‘Wallace and Gromit?’"

We walked down both aisles of the Family section but nothing had more appeal than the cheesy doll tie-ins. I could see that I would only have enough influence to steer her toward the lesser of the two evils. We brought home the "Barbie" movie.

The next day, we got up early and went to breakfast. After that, my niece put on her "Hollywood starlet" Halloween costume and we went to a nursing home to join my community service organization in throwing a party for the residents.

We finished the morning’s activities with an early lunch at a nearby cafe. The service was dreadfully slow, but my niece behaved like a perfect little lady, chatting with the other club members and hardly fidgeting at all when it took forever for the food to arrive.

On the way home, we got into a conversation about how different things were when I was a kid compared to now. She could hardly believe that we only had ONE television when I was little, and that it was black and white.

When it came time to drop her off at home, she thanked me for a fun weekend without any prompting from her father. We definitely need to hang out together more often.

Last night I ran across this article in Fast Company, "How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change the World?"  It’s about the compact fluorescent bulbs that you’ve probably been seeing in stores lately. According to the article:

What that means is that if every one of 110 million American households
bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in
the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough
to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough
electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island.
In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the
atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the
roads.

I’ve been replacing the light bulbs in my house with compact fluorescents since late last year and I can report that they’re amazing. The light is just as strong and steady as you’d expect from an incandescent bulb. Best of all, not a single one of them has burned out since I started using them. I used to go through ridiculous numbers of regular lightbulbs.

The latest lightbulb advance to catch my eye is this LED spotlight. I need to replace both spotlights on the side of my garage and even though these are extremely expensive, they’re supposed to last 10 years and cost only $4.00 per year in energy. That’s a pretty compelling argument.

The way energy prices have been fluctuating, it’s a little difficult to tell how much effect the fluorescent bulbs are having on my electric bill. We keep quite a few lights on all the time, and my sense is that our bills are lower than they would be with the standard bulbs.

Do you have any energy-saving tips to pass along?

That’s right, it’s "Slept Too Late Wednesday" again, so you get another list post. I’m trying to flex my daily blogging muscles to participate in Eden Kennedy’s NaBloPoMo, which is much more likely to be possible for me than another abortive, non-attempt at NaNoWriMo.

• New Seven Wonders – This site seeks to update the Seven Wonders of the World list and invites you to vote for your seven choices.
• The AntiCraft – Needlework, knitting and other crafting for the more rebellious among us. For example, there’s an article about knitting with wire (ouch!) and a pattern for a knitted tea cozy adorned with deadly nightshade blossoms and berries.
• Haunted When it Rains – A collection of Victorian post-mortem photographs. It sounds creepy, but when I look at the photos, I can see why people found them comforting.
• Jewels, Ink and Feathers is a freaky little animated short that’s like the dark side of a children’s picture book.
• Zappa Plays Zappa – Dweezil Zappa is out on tour playing Frank Zappa compositions and I have tickets to see it tomorrow night. I can’t wait!

Okay, that’s all for now. Have a great Wednesday!