Thursday, November 29, 2012

If It's Thirteen Things, It Must Be Thursday

1.  I had a site visit yesterday at a client's property scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and it ran long.  Meaning by the time I got back to the office I decided not to bother with an actual lunch, instead just getting a cup of tomato soup and then an actual dinner later that evening.  All of that translated into not drinking enough water yesterday.  Today I've been hydrating like crazy.  I had about 64 oz of Nuun plus more water plus a lot of tomato soup.  After lunch today I was feeling like an overfilled water balloon.  Which would be when our secretary kindly came back from her lunch with a big peppermint mocha from Starbucks.  I'm starting to feel like the "just one little mint" guy in Monty Python.

2.  Monday, somehow, I coughed so hard I popped out a rib.  Yes, that is a real thing, I told our secretary.  The weirdness with the rib in the back led to major weirdness with my rib right below my bra band, completely with pain and swelling.  Monday night I got very little sleep because I couldn't get comfortable as a result.  Tuesday it was feeling better but I was up late devouring the latest Harry Dresden novel.  Last night I wasn't up quite as late but I should've gone to bed at least an hour earlier (devouring a different novel).  Tonight I swear to Dog I'm going to bed early. 

3.  Tomato soup counts as a vegetable, right?

4.  The kittens continue to amuse.  And frustrate.  I thought it might be time for a second litter box, since they keep filling the existing real estate so quickly, so I got a new one in there Tuesday.  Girl kitty immediately used it.  And then began digging to China.  She covered her business so thoroughly that it came back around and she was then uncovering it.  I went in there later and there was a carpet of litter three feet long in front of the new box.  Weird.

5.  I've been annoyed by the discussion about the raise taxes on incomes more than $250,000 proposal.  As far as I can tell, those against it fall into three groups.  First, those making more than $250,000 a year.  Fair enough.  Second, those who hope that some day they'll make more than $250,000 a year.  To them I say, don't be an asshat.  The first group could give a shit about you, hold your bitching for when and more importantly if you get there.  In the meantime, get real:  We need revenue to pay for things like roads and schools.  Third -- and a lot of this group includes those from the first and the second -- are those who didn't bother to learn the particulars of the proposal.  Particularly, that it only applies to income in excess of $250,000.  Go a dollar over and it would be taxed at a higher rate.  But everything else would be at the lower rate. 

6.  If you're going to bitch and moan, at least know what you're bitching and moaning about.

7.  To whatever idiots think that dropping rocks on to traffic from overpasses is a good idea:  Come closer.  I've got a rock for you.  I know just where to put it.  Seriously though, why is this a thing?  Do they just not understand cause and effect -- see, if we raise taxes we get more money in schools and maybe they'll learn physics -- or do they just not care?  Are they idiots or are they sociopaths? 

8.  On that note, it seems like way too many people don't get cause and effect.  As a lawyer, in torts you study proximate cause with the wackiest -- yet usually true -- scenarios.  Like a guy forgets to engage his parking brake so his car rolls down the hill, hits a tree, which falls over on to a boat which then rolls down the hill and hits a bridge, breaking it, so that it can't lift when a flood comes and everybody drowns.  Or is on fire.  I forget which.  In the meantime, the boat was improperly secured, the bridge operator was asleep or hit the wrong switch, and so forth.  The question for the class is, who is liable?  But what you leave the class with is a vivid imagination and a firm desire to never forget to engage your parking brake.  Maybe more people need a class like this.

9.  I had a point with all of that but I forget what it was. 

10.  If you send me a list of requested information and I respond that I think you already have most of what you've asked for, could you please check and narrow down your request, don't assume that while I'm waiting for your narrowed list that I am pulling out everything that you asked for and most of which I think you already have.  So don't be all in my face when six business days after I've gotten your narrowed list that I haven't sent you everything on the shorter list.  I get 30 days.  Go learn to count. 

11.  And people think the law is all glamorous and shit.  It's mostly just pricey bitching amongst the overly educated.

12.  I could only manage not quite half of the grande peppermint mocha.  Just much too sweet.

13.  I love how Angus T. Jones has become this generation's Kirk Cameron.  It's a job, boys.  Deal with it or leave it. 

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Monday, November 26, 2012

Happy After Thanksgiving!

Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving.  Mine was good... and interesting.

Came home from work on Wednesday to a boil water order: Consume no tap water that hasn't been boiled for a full minute.*  Makes preparing for Thanksgiving fun!  Actually it wasn't all that terribly inconvenient; I was brining Chester and that had to be boiled anyhow.  The trick was that I usually only drink tap water at home in the evenings, and by the time my boiled water cooled down enough to drink I was desperately thirsty.  I chugged 32 ounces in about five seconds.  Just in time for bed. 

Luckily the order was lifted early Thanksgiving morning, before I even got up.  The brining went well, although I learned that I should prepare the brine the day before I plan to use it so that it can cool overnight in the fridge.  I also learned that I should eat breakfast/brunch before I get the turkey into the oven.  It took about 3.5 hours for the turkey, and I was not in the least bit hungry yet when it was done.  Chester turned out nice and moist, with minimal drippings so a fairly lean, organic bird.  I do need to cut Chester thinner for sandwiches; mine today was a tad dry because I cut the meat too thick.

Thursday and Friday I lazed around with the cats.  We all enjoyed that. 

Saturday I heard from somebody I (a) hadn't heard from in two years, rather abruptly had not heard from and (b) never expected to hear from again.  He tempted me to come watch the Apple Cup (our college civil war football game) with him that afternoon.  He apologized for being an asshat two years ago, particularly when he found out what his asshattery had looked like from my side of things.  That part was nice.  He's kind of a girl and he makes me laugh so the afternoon was fun.

To top it all off, the Cougs KICKED HUSKY TAIL.  BOOYAH!!!

Sunday I did surgery on my car.  If ever your car's heater (or AC) stops working on all but the highest setting, you likely have a bad blower motor resistor.  It's about a $50 part, in my car under the passenger side dash and easy to swap out except that access and sight to it is a bitch.   Only two short little screws hold it in, but in my car there was a big piece of fascia (i.e., big ass plastic) blocking my view with only about three inches of clearance to unscrew it.  I had the right size screwdriver but zero leverage when I could get eyes on what I was doing, and almost zero leverage when I did it only by touch.  But as I told my friend Mike, women are used to doing things wholly by touch with only three inches of clearance.  Took about five minutes each way to screw and unscrew the thing in, maybe three seconds to swap out the part.  And voila!  I have heat again at something other than hurricane level. 

I am woman, hear me roar!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl


*The order didn't come out until Wednesday, although they had a positive E. coli test starting on Sunday.  Did I mention that my stomach had been weirdly upset the first part of last week and I couldn't figure out why?  Hmmm....

Thursday, November 15, 2012

I shall feed him and love him and call him Squish.

Not sure if I have 13 random things in me left to write about today, but let's give it a shot.

1.  My girl kitty is fast becoming known as Squish.  It's for two reasons.  First, when I come home in the evenings she'll usually just woke up from napping and when I pick her up for loves she's all soft, sleepy, and squishy.  Second, compared to her gargantuan brother who is muscled and sleek like a tiger, she's... squishy.  Today they turned seven months and as of yesterday Squish is nine lbs even and Ru is a whopping 10.2 lbs, all of it muscle. 

2.  Blogger let me see my new followers today.  Hi there!  A few familiar faces, several new ones.  I got to add many new blogs to my feed reader this morning. 

3.  Thanks to everyone who cited my Thirteen Things post from shortly after the election.  I tried commenting on the blogs of those who did but I think my iPad was cockblocking me and I'm not sure they went through.  I had no idea I'd touched such a cord in others; I thought I was merely being bitchy. 

4.  Today I woke up feeling better than I have in literally weeks.  Last night I did the saline rinse on my stuff yet runny nose and I was so congested half of it backed up out my throat.  Which got the cats attention:  "Whatcha doin Mom?  Huh Mom whatcha doin??"  And I'm trying not to yak on them.  Although that would be pretty funny.  For me. 

5.  My ankle is still wonky but I may go ahead and do the Oregon Turkeython.  Because everybody gets a medal.  And it's a really nice medal.  Sorry Kim, the Sherwood Give 'n Gobble can't compete with that....

6.  Still have little interest in cooking an actual turkey.  Maybe it will come upon me this weekend.  I am interested in mashed potatoes and gravy.  Mmmm, gravy made with turkey drippings is the best. 

7.   I know a lot people say if you're going to make changes then make them now not on Monday or next month or in the new year.  But December is awful for me in terms of trying to do anything other than eat, work, and sleep.  I put it off as long as I can but eventually I have to stock up on chicken nuggets and frozen pizza because I don't have time for anything that takes more work than that.  It gets a little easier in January so that's my goal, to go all the way back to Day One. 

8.  My spring half will be the Portland Rock 'n Roll.  My A goal is to get in under three hours, my B goal is to get a PR (I was sooo close in the inaugural race).  My C goal is no stress fractures! 

9.  My fall marathon will be MCM.  Hopefully hurricane free!  My A, B, and C goal for that race is to not get swept.  If I do not get swept, that will translate into a marathon PR (which would be the B goal) and a likely finish under six hours (the A goal).  So I think aiming to just not to get swept covers all my bases.

10.  Lest you think that my diet has completely gone to hell in a handbasket, let's just say that I weigh a lot less when I put down the cat.  Yesterday was a mix of great and kind of not great eating.  For lunch -- which I didn't get until after 2:00 p.m. and I had fasted through breakfast -- I had a jumbo prime rib hollandaise sub from Quizno's.  Which has mushrooms on it so shut up.  I had a late (and minimal) dinner of sea scallops sauteed in butter (grass fed), garlic, and lime plus a side of marinated mushrooms.  Today I was determined to eat the salad I've been bringing to work for the past three days, and I did:  romaine with grilled chicken and avocado in a lite honey dijon vinaigrette.  Plus a satsuma.  Breakfast was prawns dipped in sweet chili sauce.  I've consumed roughly my body weight in water today too.  Go me!

11.  I think having regular massages these past several weeks has been really good for me.  I plan to add in an extra massage during the month of December to help combat end of year work craziness. 

12.  I don't want to make light of Sandy's impact on the East Coast, but I have to say I was amused every time Governor Christie was on camera because he wears a jacket that says Chris Christie, and underneath that:  Governor.  I found it amusing because I'm guessing he did not have that specially made for the occasion and I can appreciate a public official who acknowledges that he may not be as important as he thinks he is.  (Or she.)  I know what my governor looks like and maybe a couple of congresspeople between Washington and Oregon but other than that it helps if they all wear name tags.  And it would've been really cool if on the back of his jacket it said GOVERNOR in big letters like FBI or POLICE.  Ooh, or PUBLIC OFFICIAL.  That would be some impressive cojones.

13.  And let's wrap up with today's Karma is a Bitch and I Love Her For It! news story.  I've been on that interchange.  What a dumb ass.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Things I'd Like to Know

1.  I'd like to know why my ankle hurts.  Are we having too many strenuous lie-downs on the sofa, ankle?  Seriously, what gives? 

2.  I'd like to know why a guy thought he should kill his wife and daughter so that they wouldn't know about his financial problems.  I'm sure they're thanking you for the more pleasant alternative of murder than needing to cut back on the family's pizza and movie nights out.   

3.  I'd like to know why I am so damned tired all the time.  I've had a cold for about a week now, but it seems to be more than that.  I'm too young to feel this old.

4.  I'd like to know why office machines can't all agree on whether the paper should go face up or face down. 

5.  I'd like to know what Pat Robertson was smoking when he came out in favor of David Petreaus.  Apparently "men will be men" and we shouldn't blame him for shtupping outside of marriage.  Never mind that whole adultery commandment thing, right Pat?  I think what Pat really meant to say was "men will be asshats."

6.  I'd like to know what my plans are for Thanksgiving.  It seems like such an effort to think about right now.  Grumpy ankle says a turkey trot is probably not a good idea.  I did buy potatoes though. 

7.  I'd like to know where all the people who swear they're moving out of the country because Obama was re-elected plan to move to.  Canada, with its socialized medicine?  Europe, with its socialized medicine?   I think the last bastion of pure capitalism these days is Russia.  Ooh, maybe they're planning to move to Africa or the Middle East?  You know, where cash is king, religion rules it all, legitimate rape is everywhere, and women are definitely second class citizens.  Get one with an oil or diamond rich economy and you're set. 

8.  I'd like to know what the people signing secession petitions are thinking.  I will say that the Wikipedia entry on secession in the United States makes for fascinating reading.  Particularly the more recent activity that I'm guessing most of us never heard about.  Apparently the Pacific Northwest has wanted to split off for years.  Nobody told me.

9.  I'd like to know why I have Christmas music stuck in my head already.  Not cool, brain.  Not cool.

10.    I'd like to know why the hell I've started watching The Vampire Diaries.  Maybe I've suffered a stroke and don't know it.  That would explain a lot. 

11.  I'd like to know who put the bop in the bop-she-bop-she-bop as well as who put the ram in the rama-lama-ding-dong.

12.  I'd like to know if Donald Trump really thinks his hair looks good.

13.  I'd like to know who my new followers are, since the Blogger dashboard is disinclined to share at the moment.  Thanks and welcome!!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

12. 

 

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Thirteen Things I Don't Want to Hear, Hear About, or Hear From in 2013

1.  I don't want to hear about Kristen Stewart.

2.  Or Rob Pattinson. 

3.  Or their relationship.  Or questions about whether they're in a relationship.  Or whatever. 

4.  I don't want to hear from Donald Trump.  Unless he shaves his head.   By the way, the Donald didn't think through his calls for revolution very well.  Historically speaking the very rich do not fare well in revolutions.  I invite the Donald to review the history of, say, the guillotine. 

5.  I don't want to hear about the Octomom. 

6.  I don't want to hear, hear about, or hear from anyone who doesn't think rape is a big deal.  Be quiet, you're embarrassing yourself and, really, the entire human race.

7.  I don't want to hear about someone killing their girlfriend/wife/family/kids and then killing themselves.  Do us all a favor, skip step 1.  You only get to make the decision that YOU can't take it anymore or you've had enough or whatever.  You don't get to decide for anyone else. 

8.  And if you're skipping step 2 in that equation, don't.  Add it and implement it.  Immediately.  We'll get along without you.  Really. 

9.  I don't want to hear about how there will be riots in the streets or barring of the subdivision gates or that you're moving to Canada or that you're buying of all the guns while you still can because soon they will be all gone now that whomever has been elected to public office.  No one person rules this country.  Checks and balances:  Look it up.   

10.  I don't want to hear about or hear from anybody who gets their information solely from Fox Fairy Tales.  If your news anchor characterizes someone as an idiot, a moron, whatever -- surprise, you're not watching the news.  Osama bin Laden was not described in the news as a psychopathic asshole.  We all knew that he was.  But to say so in the news is to report your opinion.  Which is not news, it is your opinion

11.  I don't want to hear about the debt ceiling or a fiscal cliff.  I just want the problem solved.  And "solved" does not involve anything other than representing the best interests of the people who elected you.  There's no posturing.  There's no party lines.   Do your damn jobs.

12.   I don't want to hear about going green, being green, discovering green, patronizing green, or anything else about being green.  Be green.  Just do it quietly without looking for fanfare or praise for at least a year.  Don't shove it down our throats.  Or I will show you what being green truly means.  All over your PETA approved shoes. 

13.  I don't want to hear about any more reality shows about rednecks, roadkill, real housewives, fake housewives, wife swapping, extreme makeovers, multiple births, little people (who have a show solely because they are little people; if it's just incidental, bring it on!), teen moms, child beauty stars, people trying to find their soul mate out of a group of people before a camera, or just generally people who are nightmares in one way, shape, or form.  Know what I want a reality show about?  Nothing.  Cancel them all (okay, you can keep The Biggest Loser, but with less screaming and vomit) and let's see if we can raise our collective intellectual standards just a smidge. 

Know what I do want to hear in 2013?  I think you need to stop losing weight; you're looking too skinny!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
from high atop her soapbox

Monday, November 5, 2012

How much is enough?

Last week, despite coming off four days of intense sleep and sloth, I was tired.  Tired, tired, tired.  Tired.  I got a boost of energy after getting my new air purifier in place -- my eyes started to feel less like pink sponges of blindness and more like actual eyeballs -- but still.  Tired. 

Friday I went to bed at a reasonable time, around ten I think, and I slept.  I slept until 1:00 p.m. Saturday.  Then I got up.... and relocated to the sofa where I did stay awake but did not do a whole helluva lot more than that.  By Saturday afternoon, I was bored.  Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored.  It was too much nothing, even for me. 

I went to bed a little after midnight (before the time change) and was easily up by 8:30 (after the time change).  I had to do something

So something I did.  First I paid bills, then I voted.  Then I got showered and dressed and drove to the county elections office to drop off my ballot (Oregon is all vote by mail).  Civic duty all done, I drove around the corner (ish) to the Max (commuter train) station where I purchased an all day, all zone pass and waited for a train. 

My goal:  the Oregon Convention Center, where the Title Nine annual blowout sale and the Body Mind Spirit expo was happening.  Didn't know about either of those?  Clearly you are not reading the Oregon Convention Center website.  Which for some reason I was, a few weeks ago. 

The Title Nine sale was just a bunch of long tables with many boxes of clothes, shoes, and accessories.  For fairly dirt freaking cheap, considering their normal prices.  Bras?  $19.  Coats?  Most for $49.  Skorts and skirts?  $19.  Tank tops.  Short sleeve tees.  Long sleeve tees.  Capri pants (non-running, unfortunately). 

Oh, and all for an additional 20% off those prices. 

Sadly, I left empty handed.  I found some really cute running skirts but they were -- believe it or not -- too big.  The undershorts were fine for the most part, the skirt length was great, but the waistband on the skirt was loose.  I could tell that once I started sweating it would be really loose.  Maybe I'll have better luck at next year's sale.

So off I went to the Body Mind Spirit expo.  It's actually sort of a local event, having gotten its start in Ashland, and I've been once before here in Portland but years ago.  It is all very woo-woo.  More hard core woo-woo then I'm into.  I like the jewelry, I like aromatherapy and candles.  I don't like the readings.  I believe in a sixth sense, but readings make me jittery.  

There wasn't much at the expo I was interested in.  Some really nice and expensive jewelry.  Some not quite so nice but still expensive jewelry.  I ended up buying a chunk of Himalayan salt and this:


Which made the entire trip worthwhile.  This gal makes mostly custom pieces and not a lot of the off the rack stuff, so to speak.  In other words, I very much doubt that I'm going to see anybody else wearing a necklace like this ever. 

I capped off my day by a free trip to the Portland Art Museum to see their Greek Body Beautiful exhibit.  Once a month, Bank of America customers get free admission to the museum.  Turns out that Sunday was a free for everybody day.  Lots of people, lots of kids, but outside of the Body Beautiful exhibit not so much.  It was the first time I'd been through the Native American art exhibit which is amazing.  The Jesus room -- what I called the room with many paintings of Madonna and Child and various crucifixion and saint depictions -- kept me in a fit of giggles.  I wish I'd taken pictures.  It wasn't the religious depictions, although apparently there is this saint who converted to Christianity after encountering a stag in the woods, said stag having the crucifixion in between his antlers.  Picture it:  Big deer, foot long Jesus on a cross in beween his horns.  That guy converted to Christianity.  I would've suggested giving up drinking and drugs.  Anyhow, what legitimately cracked me up was that the perspective of a lot of the people in the paintings was skewed.  Like Baby Jesus's head that was about eight inches round but his facial features were maybe an inch and a half wide.  Encephalitis Jesus.   That artist maybe should've written a poem to show his devotion instead.   In another painting, I learned Baby John the Baptist had two lazy eyes.  One was a lot like a parietal eye on a lizard, looking back around his right ear.  The other was aimed towards his left eyebrow or maybe the Madonna.  It was freaky. 

And nowhere was the Baby Jesus hung.  You'd think, being all paintings by male artists, they would've embellished things for the Baby Jesus.  Helped out his rep a little.  But no.  The scariest was Baby Jesus's bris.  There was blood.  Lots of blood.  And what looked like an exacto knife.  In the background was a woman -- not the Madonna -- who is looking directly out of the canvas with this expression like "Hey, not my idea!" 

I had to leave the room so that I could stop laughing before I cried.  So going to hell.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Friday, November 2, 2012

Friday Freestyle

1.  I was in a mediation most of yesterday so I didn't get to do a Thirteen Things Thursday.  This will have to do.

2.  I had an uneventful Halloween.  I didn't dress up but I did bring the boys in to the office for the day.  That's usually what I do for Halloween since when you work in an office of five it's too much of an effort to really dress up.  And even though I moved to an apartment complex where there are kids, still no trick or treaters again this year unless they came before or right at dark when I wasn't yet home.  I'm guessing it will take about six months at least before the small bag of mini Butterfingers I bought is gone. 

Me and the boys.

3.  I finally got my birth certificate which means another trip to the DMV where I finally got to renew my driver's license.  With the worst picture ever.  I am hoping it won't be so bad when I see it smaller and in color on my new license (they switched to centralized processing in Oregon so it takes a week to get the actual license).  I last renewed my license eight years ago, at which time I put down my weight as 190.  I noticed this only after I had completed the form to renew my license, wherein I put down my weight as.... 190.  Which, I'm within six pounds so shut up.  It was depressing.

4.  Saw my acupuncturist, Jeremy, last night.  He had me do a food diary for a week, just listing what I ate.  I got sent home with a new supplemental list that said "EAT MORE VEGETABLES."  Yeah yeah.  When you have little to no appetite as it is, it's tough to get yourself to order or make vegetables, particularly those of which you are not all that fond (broccoli:  I'm looking at you).  But I'll do it.  I picked up a couple of gluten-free cookbooks at the library earlier in the week, just to see what they (the cookbooks) had.  There was some veggie stuff in one that sounded good.  I haven't read the second one yet, which is gluten-free Asian cooking.  Right now my taste buds are most interested in Asian food so hopefully this will be inspiring (and healthy) for me. 

5.  I've been making a mental list of everywhere with a decent salad bar nearby that I can hit for lunch during the week.  Sweet Tomatoes and Whole Foods head the list.  I also found a brining recipe for chicken breasts that I want to try to make grilled chicken for salads so that I can bring them from home (ones that I'll want to eat, that is).  When I do salad as a meal, it's trough sized.  I like to use one of those big silver bowls that, if you were to tell me you were using it to feed your dog I would say that you have a pony.  I'll need to go back to experimenting with my own salad dressings.  Time to add "food processor" back on the Christmas list!

6.  Speaking of Christmas lists, I got myself a present early in the form of an air purifier for my house.  I got smart and found a website that is reviews for allergy-related products.  Like air purifiers.  I didn't think it would make all that much of a difference -- my dad used to have one because he smoked like he was on fire and it didn't seem to do anything -- but less than an hour after plugging it in I noticed my eyes weren't burning and itching (which I thought was from eye strain and had been annoying me for WEEKS) and my breathing was easier.  It is a Whispure and it is a big ass sucker, but I wanted one that cleaned more than a five foot area.  If you really want to know more about it (like the model and cost), message me.  The kittens are using the box it came in as a new playhouse.

I would rather they play with the box than ON MY F*CKING FRIDGE.
If you look close, you can see Rudy is sticking his tongue out at me.

7.  Can't believe it's already daylight savings time this weekend. 

8.  If I have the scratch I might go see Wreck-It Ralph in 3D and get a manicure while I am out and about.  One of those will require contact lenses.

9.  There are also a couple of things at the convention center this weekend I'd like to hit, but again, money.  Title Nine is having their annual blowout sale and there is a Mind/Body/Spirit thing that I've been to before that was interesting.  Eh, maybe. 

10.  I'm wearing my 2011 Portland Marathon finisher's shirt today.  So that I don't feel so much like a slug.

I think ten is plenty, don't you?  Happy weekend!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl