| Thursday, May 15, 2008 |
| Catching up |
I've come down with a cold, so I'm not operating at full speed at the moment. The only thing that relieves my symptoms is NyQuil, which I take before bed and gives me a good night's sleep, but makes me feel woolly-headed through much of the day. Add in the (I kid you not) 99-degree temperatures here, and I'm not at my best. That might explain why a couple of these items are less than timely:
1. I don't use my cell phone very much -- I tend to keep it in my purse, which isn't within earshot of my office, and seldom hear it if it rings. When I picked it up on Tuesday evening to make a call from my (parked!) car, I noticed I had received a text message on Sunday. It had come from an unfamiliar number in the South Bay. The message said, in its entirety: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. I couldn't help but wonder: did I receive a text message meant for someone's mom? And what kind of person would not only send his greeting to the wrong number, but didn't even add a little personal touch, like LUV U!
2. This is perhaps the most important article I have read this year. If you haven't read it yet (I suspect it's been making the rounds of the blogosphere), I strongly urge you to do so. As someone with friends and relatives who live overseas and come to the U.S. to visit, I have to say that this article scared the hell out of me, and makes me afraid of what's happening in our country.
3. I got a robocall today from the local water district saying that due to rationing, we have to cut our water usage by 19% (why not make it an even 20?) or face fines and penalties. I immediately went out and reset the irrigation timer to water every other day instead of every day, which should save a bit, but we already have a front-loading, water-saving washing machine and low-flow toilets. I am not going to go into detail here about my personal grooming habits, but I have made an effort to conserve water there as well. What to do now? It occurred to me that if we eat every meal out, I wouldn't have to waste water washing produce and dishes. But the cost of that would be so high that I suspect it would be cheaper to just pay the fines. Do I need to get rid of my roses and xeriscape? |
posted by 125records @ 10:13 PM  |
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| Monday, May 12, 2008 |
| Inflation hits home |
There's been a lot in the news lately about the slowing economy and inflation. However, it didn't really hit home until yesterday, when I went to Trader Joe's to buy my weekly supply of Kashi GoLean. I noticed that the price of GoLean had gone up by 50 cents! I eat a lot of the stuff, so this is a serious issue for me.
Everything is getting more expensive, from airline tickets to beer to stamps, which went up a penny today. Meanwhile, the price of gas has gone up so much that some older pumps can't handle the rising costs: "Many... pumps can only count up to $99.99 for the total sale." Joe and I were eating ham/veggie burgers at a local hangout today that is situated right next to a bicycle shop, and at one point, we observed that all four of the shop's parking spaces were occupied by SUVs. Perhaps they were looking to get a more economical form of transportation? The store seemed to be doing amazing business. We discussed getting a bike of our own, so that we could cut down even more on our car trips -- with a grocery pack, I could even ride to Trader Joe's to pick up my Kashi and rice milk, or over to the farmer's market a couple miles away.
There's one thing that hasn't gone up lately, though, and that's my hourly rate. I have taken the tentative step of quoting a higher price to prospective clients, which might explain why I haven't gotten many new ones lately. (Luckily, my current clients keep me pretty busy.) I like to think that I provide a good value, but the fact is that the people who hire me tend to be individuals, nonprofits and very small businesses, and those folks are all feeling the squeeze themselves. I don't want anyone to feel they have to cut me out of their budget.
I've never claimed to be a very savvy businessperson -- I just spent untold hours doing a site for free, because it was for one of my idols and also because the whole site needed to be built on WordPress, which was a platform I wasn't very familiar with. Now, I'm a bit more up to speed on it and might be able to actually charge people to set up WordPress sites. I'm also learning how to set up message boards and trying to get more accomplished using CSS. There is always so much to learn -- and more professional expertise, I hope, will help my business grow, and help me keep up with the high cost of living. |
| posted by 125records @ 7:48 PM |
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| Sunday, May 11, 2008 |
| Escaping their clutches |
I graduated from college many years ago, and seldom stop to reflect on the time I spent at the august institution. My happiest memories of college center around my involvement with the student-run radio station, which was cruelly taken from us sometime after my sophomore year and turned into a big-league NPR outlet. On the whole, though, I'm in the small minority of people who had a better time in high school than I did in college.
As all college graduates know, once you receive your degree, your alma mater will stop at nothing to keep tabs on you. I have moved a bunch of times since my graduation, and always, the newsletters, fundraising pitches, and flyers featuring logo gift items have found me. This time, however, I think I have outwitted them. A few years ago, I contacted the alumni office and requested a change of address to my PO box. When we moved last fall, I kept my old PO box open for a few months, and in the interim, instead of filing a change of address, I made sure everyone I wanted to continue getting mail from was given my new PO box. This did not include the college. I feel slightly sorry for the new boxholder of POB 6133, because they'll probably keep getting my invitations to homecoming and alumni events. But I always threw that stuff in the recycling bin, and I suppose they can too.
Dear JHU, it's not you, it's me. I have moved on -- literally, over 3,000 miles away. You are part of my past. I'll remember the good times spinning Minor Threat 45s in the dormitory basement, but it's all over now. You got what seemed at the time like a staggeringly huge amount of money out of my parents, and I'm not planning to give you any more, ever, so let's just make a clean break.
Of course, knowing the crafty way they work, it wouldn't amaze me to find an invitation to join the alumni association in my mail someday. They don't give up easily. |
| posted by 125records @ 10:57 PM |
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| Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
| Ready for the scrapheap |
This is slightly embarrassing, but it goes to show what a drooling "Indiana Jones" fangirl I am: I had read that the trailer to the upcoming "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was playing before "Iron Man," so I actually brought my iPod to the theater so I could close my eyes and play loud music during the trailer because I was afraid of spoilers. I don't want to know anything about the movie before it unspools onscreen in 3 weeks. I want to be surprised, just as I was when I saw the original "Indiana Jones" movie many years ago. I may not be a kid anymore, but I still have a childlike enthusiasm when it comes to this series. (Of course, I don't want to get too excited... as one blogger of my acquaintance pointed out, "I do have three words of warning we should all keep in mind. Star. Wars. Prequels.")
[Warning! Warning! Warning! If you are planning to see "Iron Man" and don't want to know anything about the movie's plot points, stop reading now.]
Anyway, I agreed to go with Joe to see "Iron Man" because it had gotten a lot of rave reviews ("Cartoon thrills for thinking people!"), but after seeing it, I honestly think I'm done with the whole comic book movie genre. I am so obviously not the target audience for "Iron Man." It's a movie for 14-year-old boys who are impressed with girls, guns and gadgetry. Seriously, the first hour of the movie is about a guy building a robotic suit, and the second hour of the movie is about a guy perfecting the suit. Ho-hum. Yes, Robert Downey Jr. does a nice job sending up his pre-rehab/jail reputation, but in the end the movie is just one guy in a CGI robotic suit fighting another guy in a CGI robotic suit, and I'm thinking maybe I should have gone into the city to see "a film that uses indigenous nonprofessional actors to tell a simple but transcendent story of daily life" instead.
I Sit Through The Credits So You Don't Have To: If you liked the movie, you really should stay for the credits because at the very, very end, the filmmakers include a scene setting up the sequel. I mean, wild horses couldn't get me into the theater for "Iron Man II," but there it is. |
| posted by 125records @ 3:24 PM |
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| Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
| The adoption saga comes to an end |
On Wednesday, I mentioned that the puppy was spending a few hours with some potential adopters. The good news is that they really liked him. The bad news is that they really, really, really liked him.
The Dad and his adorable young daughter returned Ace on Wednesday evening, around 9 PM. He had already submitted an application to the rescue organization, which would have to evaluate it and make the final decision. I tried to explain the process to him. Afterwards, I sent an email to the rescue group stating that they seemed like a perfectly nice family and I thought they would give the pup a good home.
Thursday morning, I got the following email from Dad: "I was wondering when we might hear from the rescue group. My kids are very excited about adopting Ace and we would like to bring him to our home as soon as we can." I responded that presumably, someone would contact him shortly, and mentioned that I had put in a good word for them. In the meantime, I had a tremendous amount of work to do so I kind of hoped myself that it would be sooner rather than later, since caring for the tiny pooping, eating and sniffing machine was a time consuming project.
Thursday afternoon, another email from Dad: "I hate to bother you, but I have still not heard from [rescue]. I'm actually confused... I would have thought that when you have a family ready to adopt one of your puppies, you'd want to jump on that and 'close the deal' so to speak. If for some reason she doesn't want us to have the pup then I'd appreciate her just telling us that we can tell the kids, but they're excited and its not really fair to keep them in suspense like this. Anyway, sorry for venting to you, but I'm a bit frustrated."
For any of you reading out there, here's a tip: adopting a puppy from a rescue organization is not the same thing as going to the store and buying a bag of oranges. It's analogous to adopting a baby -- anybody with functioning lady parts can make her own baby (with a cooperative gentleman involved, of course), but if you want to adopt or foster a child, you're stuck enduring home visits, interviews and reference-checking. Pretty much everyone involved is a volunteer, most of them with other jobs. It took about 2 weeks between the time I first saw Hobie and when I brought him home.
Anyway, I was dealing with about 10 other things that were stressing me out, and coping with a pushy puppy adopter was pushing me over the edge. I was caught in the middle. However, Joe and I determined that the family had to be the perfect match for Ace, since he was just as jumpy and impatient as they were.
Finally, late Friday afternoon, I got the word that they had been cleared to adopt Ace. They picked him up this morning. Incidentally, they are planning to rename him Scruffy, which is kind of cute and appropriate, I think.
One of my projects was attempting to house-train the pup, which I did with mixed success. He went about a week with no accidents in the house, always using the same part of the yard to do his business, so I slacked off a little bit in watching him like a hawk/keeping him confined to whatever room I was in at the time. Of course, then he had another accident, so I went back to monitoring his every step when he was indoors. This morning, we came downstairs to wait for Ace to be picked up and found the messy remains of an accident. I have no idea when he could have done it, since he slept in his crate all night and I thought I'd had my eye on him all day Friday. As Joe cleaned it up with a roll of paper towels and a spray bottle of orange-scented wood cleanser, I could only sigh fondly and think, He's someone else's problem now! |
| posted by 125records @ 6:52 PM |
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| Wednesday, April 30, 2008 |
| Swell |
The puppy has taken a brief field trip to a local family that is interested in adopting him. The big question: will he get along with their cat? I hope things work out, because I'd like to see him find his "forever home." I thought if I fostered a dog and helped him to find a home, it would help me get over my grief. I really do want to help homeless animals, and I owe a lot to the rescue folks. But after Ace is placed, I think I need to take a break from dogs for a while... I still miss Hobie so much, and Ace has been fun to have around, but he's also made me realize how rare and special my relationship with Hobie was. When this comic ran in the Chronicle a few months ago, Joe said I needed to clip it out because it seemed so appropriate. He was right; Hobie did complete me, and there's an emptiness now. I know someday I'll find a new companion, but it's not time yet.
One of my clients sent me an article she had written called "Finding a new best friend." It says: "Here's what I would like to say to anyone whose heart is aching: Believe in your fur angels. They won't let you pine for too long. They're interceding in pet heaven on your behalf to send you a new companion." OK, that sounds a little dorky (I'm not a big believer in heaven for either pets or humans), but it does provide me with some comfort. My new dog is out there somewhere and when the time is right for both of us, we will find each other.
In the meantime, life goes on. Joe and I went to see the Swell Season at the Paramount in Oakland on Saturday. Since I was an early adopter of the duo (better known as "the guy and the girl from the movie 'Once'"), you'd think I'd have seen them on one of their other appearances around town before they became Oscar-winning superstars capable of selling out the 3,000-seat venue. But those appearances weren't conveniently here in the East Bay. Anyway, Glen, Marketa and their band put on a nearly flawless 2-hour show, which started off with Glen coming out on stage and played one song solo acoustic, unamplified. Even in the huge theater, it was easy to hear him, as long as every person in the room sat quietly and listened. Which they did. I didn't even see a single cell phone flicker during the entire concert. The audience was so rapt that Glen even commented favorably on it towards the end of the show. Sometimes I worry with "trendy" bands (and I think one that just won an Oscar qualifies) that the room will be full of people more interested in making the scene than paying attention to the music, but Swell Season fans, at least those in the Bay Area, obviously know how one should behave at a concert.
I'm also trying to decide who to root for on "Dancing With the Stars" now that my second-favorite twosome, Shannon and Derek, have joined Adam and Julianne in Eliminationville. I'm mesmerized by the hunkiness that is Cristian de la Fuente, the sexy Chilean actor I will admit I'd never heard of until DwtS. But will his arm injury (a ruptured tendon) cause problems next week? I might root for Kristi Yamaguchi, who has suddenly been thrust into an underdog position after a couple of low scores placed her below Jason Taylor for the first time. Really, I can't believe how hooked I am on this goofy show, but no matter how low I may be feeling, it never fails to cheer me up, and what more can you ask for? |
| posted by 125records @ 5:43 PM |
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| Thursday, April 24, 2008 |
| I Love Eurovision! |
American fans of European sports like rugby or Premiere League football can almost always find a local pub to go hang out and watch the games. But pity the poor Eurovision fan. We are a lonely lot when we cannot spend the spring in Europe. We long for the saturation, Super Bowl level coverage the annual contest gets overseas. Sure, a lot of can be found online, but it's somehow just not the same. You want to be able to watch Eurovision with someone who understands how important it is.
Like a thirsty woman coming upon a desert oasis, I found Griet Verlinde's Eurovision blog over at Seattle's Stranger web site. Griet is Belgian, so he totally gets it, but he also explains the contest in such a way that even newbies can follow along. Every day, he's been posting three YouTube videos on the blog together with his commentary. If you're a longtime fan, you'll love gems like these:
The prize for most philosophical lyrics so far goes to the fantastic quote "if it ain't right, it's wrong" [from Norway's entry, by a singer named Maria]. Well, yes. Thank you. Which brings me to the realisation that unless I'm very much mistaken, I've not yet heard a single "Fire/Desire" rhyme in the contest so far. Fire/Desire rhymes are essential to Eurovision... That, of course, made me nostalgic for the winning entry from 2005 (when I was in Sweden during Eurovision), Helena Paparizou's "My Number One" ("You're my fire/and desire"). If only I could spend every May in Europe!
Here are Griet's comments about Estonia's entry:
Girls in gold bikinis? Check! Girls waving Estonian and -- for some reason German -- flags? Check! Weird guys who can't hold a tune? Check! Eurobeat? Check! Slow-mo Riverdance? Check! Guy pretending to do unspeakable stuff to a piano? Check! Posters of cakes and is that an onion or a bomb? Check! The final event will be telecast from Belgrade on Saturday, May 24 at 20:00 GMT, which is, if I'm not mistaken, noon here in California. Proper protocol for me would be to watch the webcast with a small Swedish flag to wave during Charlotte Perrelli's performance of her disco anthem "Hero." |
| posted by 125records @ 2:36 PM |
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| About Me |
Name: Sue
Home: San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States
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