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Friday, April 29, 2005

 

snippets

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Yesterday while taking the early bus to work (so I could go to the gym before the office), it was mostly overcast. But the sun was rising in the east and there was a break in the clouds over the Cascades. A small shaft of reddish light was shining out between the mountains - it looked like Mordor was in Eastern Washington.

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As I walked from my bus stop downtown toward the gym, a disheveled-looking guy walking in the other direction caught my eye and proclaimed, "Hell. This is Hell." He didn't seem angry or agitated - just disappointed.

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I played a rousing game of "If *I* had that kind of money" with my friend P* online yesterday, after having a gripe about the Rich Guy CEO of my company. P* said that if he had that kind of money, he would get involved with a company that makes Sterling engines and other kinds of innovative technology that could be put to use in developing nations that could help communities become self-sustaining without destroying the environment.

If I had that kind of money, I would form a nonprofit organization that would help domestic workers like maids and nannies get health insurance.

My coworker A* said that if he had that kind of money, he would buy houses in his (kind of ghetto) neighborhood and fix them up really well and then sell them at a profit.

What would you do?

 

why I had to leave Kansas

I am:
-7%
Republican.
"You're a damn Commie! Where's Tailgunner Joe when we need him?"

Are You A Republican?

Thursday, April 28, 2005

 

easy as 123

These are my URL ABCs:

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

 

tense

I've got another exam in my Microbiology class tomorrow night. And a lab quiz. And the last available lab period to figure out what my "unknown" bacteria is. I'm anxious about all of these things. I'm going to have time to study tonight, and again tomorrow at work - so I think I'll do reasonably well on the exam and the quiz. I'm very worried about the lab stuff, though - it's not enough time!

My biggest problem right now is that I'm not getting enough sleep. I feel so very tired and have been drinking coffee to keep myself going at work. (Since we started the Super Duper Extreme Weight Loss Plan, I've only had coffee about once a week, mostly for the pleasure of it, not to stay awake.) And this morning at 5:45 I had a complete meltdown in the kitchen because the blender jar and the travel cups were dirty, and I needed to make shakes for breakfast and still catch the bus on time. I knew I was overreacting while I was doing it but I couldn't keep from crying. I need rest.

Speaking of SDEWLP, this is the beginning of Week 7. I've lost 15 pounds. R* has lost 18.5 pounds! I think that's the difference of working out alone vs. working out with a trainer who pushes him. This week we can add in beans, but the dietician cautioned us to be careful because beans are calorie-dense. Half a cup of beans is 100-140 calories, depending on the type of bean. I love black beans and lentils soooooo much, this is very good news. We can also have hummus - no bread, though, so no dunking of pitas. Dietician recommended strips of bell peppers for dunking in hummus. I like baby carrots, too, although R* doesn't.

Adding to the stressfulness around the house is the fact that we're having our house painted. We FINALLY agreed on the color we want to paint - we've been waffling and waffling and then last weekend, we drove by a house that was painted a fantastic shade of blue and both went, "Aha! that's it!" So this week has been a festival of paint samples and painting blobs on the house. We have not found a winner yet. We've got two more samples to try tonight - if they don't look right, I'm just going to cry. Some more.



That's the color we're shooting for. Our little cottage should look so cute with a new outfit! (That's not our house in the picture - it's just a picture of a random house that is the right color.)

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

 

book twenty

Open Secrets
by Alice Munro

I really, really enjoyed this book. I found it recommended on Doppelganger's 50 Books blog. She is a real live Canadian so I figured she would know if Alice Munro was a good Canadian author or no. And she was right.

This particular book is a collection of short stories that vary wildly in time period. Most of the locations are in the same region, and some of the characters make an appearance in more than one story. But the theme tying the stories together is not the place or the people - it is the title concept of open secrets. Each of these stories touches on a secret desire or action or thought and deftly brings it to light.

Munro's writing has a very light touch - she does not overdescribe or overexplain. In tone, she reminds me a lot of Margaret Atwood - in particular, I was reminded of Cat's Eye quite often as I read Open Secrets. Good stuff.

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book nineteen

The Fortress of Solitude
by Jonathan Lethem

I still don't know what to make of this book. I picked it up because I've read some of Lethem's lighter works, like Gun, With Occasional Music and Amnesia Moon. The Fortress of Solitude was quite different, though - for most of the novel, there are no elements of science fiction or the supernatural.

The main character of the book is Dylan Ebdus, the son of white hippies who move into a gentrifying neighborhood in Brooklyn. Virtually all of the other kids in the neighborhood are black or Latino, and Dylan endures a lot of teasing and bullying. When he is still in grade school, his mother abandons Dylan and his father, only reappearing in strange postcards that Dylan receives sporadically for years.

Dylan makes friends with a new kid in the neighborhood, a mixed-race boy named Mingus who is the son of a washed-up soul singer. They initially spend a lot of time together, reading comics, tagging every available surface with graffiti, and so on... but over time they drift apart as Mingus gets into drugs and dealing, and Dylan is accepted to a prestigious high school and then college.

Then, the book takes an abrupt jump into the future, and it is revealed that there is a supernatural element after all, which I had assumed was only in the imagination of the young boys.

Overall, I'm just not sure what to make of the whole book. It is very well written, and very evocative of a certain place and time (Brooklyn in the 70s)... but I had trouble identifying with or even liking any of the characters, which made reading the book feel like a slog. I'm going to try again - I have Motherless Brooklyn on hold at the library.

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Thursday, April 21, 2005

 

kittens

My parents got two little boy kittens this week! You may remember the loss of the much-lamented Hoover last fall... Well, my folks are far enough along in their grieving process to bring new kitties into their lives. And look how cute!

Kittens 1
Kittens 2
Kittens 3

The black & white one with the smudgey face is named Ferguson. The tabby's name is Mendel.

I have to wait two entire weeks before I can go visit them!

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

 

yes!!

I got my micro test back last night - 45 out of 50! I was pleasantly surprised - there were way more than 5 questions that I debated over. And the class average was fairly low... I think I'm doing fine.

I've been fighting a cold for a few days. I hate being sick. It's been preventing me from exercising (although everything I've read says that if you're physically able, you should go ahead and exercise when you have a cold...) and I feel guilty about that. Yesterday I did go to the gym, but only to sit in the steam room to soothe my stuffy head! I will go try to work out today... I would hate to ruin the weight loss I've got going. Which, as of yesterday, is 13 pounds. Mysteriously, I'm still not skinny! :)

This is Week 6 of the Super Duper Extreme Weight Loss Program... but sadly, we don't introduce a new food group this week. So still no: beans, grains, sugar, alcohol, sweeteners, potatoes, sweet pototoes, winter squashes, corn, dried fruit, or veggie or fruit juices. Or anything with much fat. It's all right, though, we both feel like we're eating real food most of the time.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

 

talky talk



Your Linguistic Profile:



70% General American English

15% Yankee

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Midwestern

0% Dixie



What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Friday, April 15, 2005

 

first micro test

I had the first exam in my microbiology class last night. I honestly think I overstudied for it - I was so nervous that I tried to memorize lots of little details. I actually would have done better if I'd stuck to thoroughly memorizing the higher-level stuff. Oh well, now I know. And I don't think I did too badly.

My weight loss has been stuck for the last four days. However, it's stuck at 11.5 pounds below my starting weight so I can't complain too much.

Oh yeah, Week 5: we can eat all kinds of fruits now. We're supposed to be cautious with bananas and cherries because they are high-glycemic, but they are not forbidden.

My dear sweet husband went to the grocery store last night and came home loaded down with millions of kinds of fruit, yogurt, sparkling water, and boneless skinless chicken breasts. What a guy.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

 

microbiology

I sailed through the first 3 lectures of microbiology no problem. In fact, I was cocky enough to think "I've learned all this before, this class will be easy!". Then Thursday, I remembered that I am OLD and it has been more than 10 years since I got acquainted with glycolysis or the Krebs cycle. Criminy. How am I going to make this stuff stick in my brain before my exam on Thursday? I supposed I just draw it out over and over again until I have it memorized.

The lab portion of the class is going very well, though. I worked in a research lab in the plant pathology department when I was getting my bachelor's degree, so all the techniques and equipment seem very familiar. I just wish it wasn't so time-consuming, or that I didn't have to do it last thing at night. Finishing up a lab at 9:30 PM after working all day is not that fun.

 

book eighteen

Little Earthquakes
by Jennifer Weiner

Okay, you should be getting the drift of how these go now: borrowed from Coworker L*, thought it would be fluffy, was actually quite good.

The narrator is a woman named Lia who went to Hollywood at 18 to make it big, but has returned to her hometown under slightly mysterious circumstances having undergone some kind of loss. She observes a group of women in the park who are all expecting babies...

...and then the next several chapters of the book follows the stories of the pregnant women, the births of their babies, and the ways their lives change following the babies' arrivals.

The characters are all clearcut individuals without being "the smart one!" "the cute one!" or any dopey stereotypes like that. While the ending of the book is a little too neatly tied up, it doesn't feel unrealistic. I found myself liking the characters and wanting to know more about them. I will definitely read more of Jennifer Weiner's books. Now I can see why Pamie keeps raving about her. (Also, her blog is entertaining.)

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book seventeen

Me Times Three
by Alex Witchel

Another chick lit book borrowed from Coworker L*. After reading the first chapter (on the treadmill, naturally), I thought I knew what the book was going to be like. It is revealed in the first chapter that the main character's fiance is actually engaged to two other women as well as her. So I assumed it would be a completely fluffy (anti)romance book.

But it ended up being a much more honest portrayal of a woman's life. It wasn't only about her (ex-)fiance - it was also about her job and her friends and her parents and her gay best friend and AIDS in the 80s and dating and all kinds of stuff.

The ending was a little stilted, but not unbelievable. I would try the author's other books, too.

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Monday, April 11, 2005

 

book sixteen

Grass
by Sheri S. Tepper

This is the second Sheri S. Tepper book I've read... and I really liked it. Not quite as much as The Gate to Women's Country, but I still found it hard to put down.

The book is set on a planet called Grass which is covered with, well, you know. The people who live on Grass came from Earth many generations ago, and have developed their own culture with its own eccentricities. The populace is divided up into aristocrats who live on large country estates, and commoners who live either in villages on the estates or in the one city on the planet. The aristocrats participate in mysterious hunts, mounted on native creatures. Mysterious events seem to happen in connection with these hunts - injuries, disappearances...

The story is driven by the arrival of an ambassador and his family from Earth. They have been sent to Grass to try to find a cure for a plague that is devastating the human race on all other planets.

I'm beginning to catch on to the subjects that Tepper likes to explore. In this book, gender roles and religion again rise to the forefront, with a nice helping of racial issues and ecology on the side. I don't mean that in a negative way - I think she has an interesting take on things, and is more than capable of writing an imaginary, engaging story along with the capital-I Issues.

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this is not rocket science

Yesterday while making lunch (chicken breast halves stuffed with spinach and light feta cheese, sprinkled with sesame seeds and baked, then served with a tomato-basil sauce and parmesan cheese), I found myself thinking, "Why couldn't we do this on our own?" This entire weight-loss program is not rocket science. The basic concepts are: 1) control your calorie intake, 2) get lots of exercise, and 3) take some supplements. Any moron knows that. So why is it so hard?

Well, for starters, I can tell you what's been hard for me. Fitting in 5 workouts a week has been very hard, especially since I got yelled at for leaving work in the afternoons to go to the gym. Going in the morning instead is working for me, but it is really, really hard to get up at 5:30 so I can make breakfast, pack lunches and snacks, and catch a bus downtown. It's hard to have to bring almost everything I eat with me, even harder on days when I have class and have almost all my meals and snacks away from home. It's hard to avoid getting junk food when it is all around - even when I go to the salad bar to get a nice healthy salad I have to dodge the blue cheese dressing and the deep-fried mushrooms. (Man, I love deep-fried mushrooms.)

I'm down 10.5 pounds from my starting weight on March 16. I know this is really good progress. And the food we're allowed to have is more and more resembling regular food, which is nice. But still, I'm just really tired of it. I want to eat something decadent. But so far, at least, I still want to lose weight more.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

 

week 4

I'm trying a new thing this week, at R*'s suggestion. Monday and today, I got up with him at 5:30 (while it's still DARK outside) and came downtown on the bus to work out. I don't exactly love getting up that early, but it does get it out of the way and I don't have to worry about getting away to exercise later in the day. R*'s other suggestion with regards to stress and time management was to do my studying at work when I'm not otherwise busy. This is a great idea, but oddly enough, I've actually been busy at work every day this week! That's a very unusual state of affairs.

I didn't attend the dietician appointment this morning, as I have for the last three weeks. R* has really risen to the challenge of learning about nutrition and metabolism in the last few weeks, and said he felt confident he could communicate this week's requirements to me. Also, I took some heat at work a couple weeks ago for coming in so late on Wednesday mornings... which made me mad. But, I need to keep this job until I find out if I've been accepted to school, so I will continue to suck it up.

Speaking of school, I mailed my application! Now I just wait and see what happens. Well, after I call the nursing program office and make sure my transcripts successfully arrived there.

Friday, April 01, 2005

 

wamu

Last week, we closed our Bank of America accounts and opened new accounts at Washington Mutual. I think I already love them. Today I wanted to get some cash but don't have an ATM card yet... so I went into a WaMu a block from my office, showed ID and filled out a withdrawal slip, and a helpful, cheerful person handed me my dollars. This is way better than standing in line with surly people at BOA.

In other news, my friend who had a miscarriage at Christmas is pregnant again! Whoa!

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