Monday, January 26, 2009

good times

last wednesday, after work, s met me with the car and we drove west for about an hour toward des moines for dinner. we were meeting up with an old friend of mine from college. i'm not sure i've actually even seen c since i graduated in 2001. maybe once after that and that's a long time ago.
she was the first person i officially met when moving into the dorms way back in august of 1997. my folks were trying to make the bed on my lofted bunk and she walked into the room and introduced herself. i still remember my dad being embarassed because my mom couldn't hear her & said she was deaf, turning around to see that c wore a hearing aid. ha! c was a sophomore who had lived on park region 3 the year before when they hadn't yet remodeled the rooms. (somehow i lucked out and got into a basically brand new dorm rather than the virgin vault, also known as the nunnery.) half the floor were park 3 girls who got dibs on the new digs, but they still let us join in the fun and weren't clique-ish about it.
anyway, c is working in des moines and flies in from fargo weekly. she just got engaged a couple weeks ago and i was looking forward to congratulating her in person. it was so great to see her! we chatted about some of the folks we remembered from college & explained to s why neither of us really dated much at concordia (the fact that the odds were about 1/3 gay, 1/3 taken & the other third not worth it basically left us out of the equation, which is fine by me or i wouldn't have been the person i was when i met s).
chatting with old friends you haven't seen in years is so great to bring back the memories. *sigh* i miss my college pals.

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Sunday, January 18, 2009

photo advise

i have tons of pictures from trips overseas, mostly in 2000 & 2001, for school that i never put into photo albums. now i'm wondering what the best way to get them scanned/online without a scanner is. do places like cvs do that for you? i really want to get them on a zip drive or similar format.
any techies out there have suggestions? also, it'd be great if it's not too expensive either.

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updater

two 'ittle updates
1st, the heat sitch
e-mailed the landlord (wife) who works at the u on friday morning & she said she'd send hubb or f-i-l right over. when i got home after work (glad i left the place messy for them), i found an opened, new space heater sitting on the floor running by my picture window & the heat cranked up to 72. i picked up a few things, took out my trash & then headed over to s's place since the 72* thermostat wasn't really kicking much actual warmth. we went to dinner out of town & landlord called me back around 9pm to say that he'd moved tons of stuff in my bedroom, under the kitchen sink & in the crawlspace under the stairs to find out why it was so cold until they realized it was because there wasn't enough insulation under my apartment that was causing the freeze. idiots!
i haven't been back to the apartment yet, since friday. i'll go back after church this morning.
on a second note, i previewed my tax refund situation (only waiting on a 1098 from one of my student loans i'm paying back) & i'll be getting a couple hundred from federal, so i can afford the trip to blogher if suz is down with that!
now i'm off to get dressed for church. haven't been in too long.

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

chiver

you know that noise your teeth make when you're so cold you can't even shiver without your teeth chattering? yeah, i'm pretty sure there's no heat in my apartment. the only thing keeping me warm is the laptop sitting on my legs.
-18 degrees when i took the bus in to work. not any warmer now. i may just curl up under my down comforter with the mattress pad heater and hibernate until s calls when he's done with game night. yikes!

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Tuesday, January 06, 2009

her blog

well, yesterday i started contemplating attending blogher 2009. i know i haven't got the audience, but as it's close (chicago-less than 4 hours away) and i'm autograph hound (no, not really), i thought it might be a possibility. i mean, i'd get to be near/meet some of my favourite bloggers.
it'd be pretty awesome to finally meet des and remeet suzanne. hopefully i'd get to meet suebob, too! and there are a ton of others, who i'm too lazy to link at this moment. it could be really fun. slumber party!
that would mean an awful lot of vaca time in july/august, though. if i take off july 24th, i also have to put in time for august 12-17th for my brother's wedding and travel time. then, there's the possibility of moving out of my apartment or at least helping s move into a new place, which would be the first of august. luckily the 1st is on a saturday this year, but if i have to move, i need to be out by 7/29. (stupid college town leases-every landlord/property management in town is 1-year lease only going from august-july of the next year!) so far, i've already asked for the 24th off & my bro's wedding week, but we'll see if i need moving vacation. or, you know, win the powerball. whatevs.

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Sunday, January 04, 2009

reading list 2008: a review

yet again this year i read quite a few books. look below for a (mostly) complete list, in close to chronological order.

hickory dickory dock by agatha christie
partners in crime by agatha christie
the regatta mystery and other stories by agatha christie
an incomplete education: 3,684 things you should have learned but probably didn't by judy jones and william wilson (okay, so i mostly skimmed this one)
adverbs by daniel handler (also known as lemony snicket and i also skimmed this one)
there is a tide by agatha christie
the under dog and other stories by agatha christie
remembered death by agatha christie
interred with their bones by jennifer lee carrell
n or m? by agatha christie
the labors of hercules by agatha christie (a poirot mystery)
the mysterious mr. quin by agatha christie (these harley quin ones kinda creep me out a little)
wicked by gregory maguire
the other boleyn girl by philippa gregory (these last 2 i read while on my trip to london)
the whipping boy by sid fleischmann (i remember reading this from my elem. school library)
the thirteen problems by agatha christie (i so love the short story compilations)
the seven dials mystery by agatha christie
the midwife's apprentice by karen cushman (another children's book)
the mirror crack'd by agatha christie
the giver by lois lowry (i was a bit old when this came out, so hadn't read it before. dark.)
murder on the orient express by agatha christie (this one doesn't get old)
the hollow by agatha christie
third girl by agatha christie
lord edgware dies by agatha christie
three act tragedy by agatha christie
more saints: lives and illuminations by ruth sanderson (another kiddie book-just reading up on a newly beatified saint)
absent in the spring by mary westmacott (aka by agatha christie)
the daring book for girls by andrea buchanan and miriam peskowitz
why didn't they ask evans by agatha christie
double sin and other stories by agatha christie
a game of thrones by rr martin
how to write a children's book and get it published by barbara seuling (also received this as a gift at christmas this year-can't return it because a little girl at s's parents' place ate it on new year's day)
gideon the cutpurse by linda buckley-archer (this is really similar to the book i wrote in that it involves time travel)
yellow star by jennifer roy (this is a sad children's book from the perspective of the author's aunt when she was 4 & in hiding from nazis. in verse)
twilight by stephenie meyer (embarrassing, but i had to read them)
new moon by stephenie meyer
a clash of kings by rr martin
eclipse by stephenie meyer
so many steps to death by agatha christie
the moving finger by agatha christie
the gargoyle by andrew davidson (really interesting, but i had no attachment to the main female character. just thought she was crazy)
ordeal by innocence by agatha christie
breaking dawn by stephenie meyer (i dealt with waiting for this on the library hold list. so stupid)
one, two, buckle my shoe by agatha christie (okay, annoying when titles change & there are multiple copies or british titles of the same book you've already read!)
miss marple: the complete short stories by agatha christie (i love miss marple!)
the mystery of the blue train by agatha christie
murder at hazelmoor by agatha christie
ties that bind, ties that break by lensey namioka (interesting children's book about a girl who doesn't want her feet bound in the early 20th century china)
bud, not buddy by christopher paul curtis (newbery medal winner-historical perspective of an orphaned black boy in 1930s michigan)
postern of fate by agatha christie
hercule poirot's christmas by agatha christie
witness for the prosecution and other stories by agatha christie
smart girls like me by diane vadino (boy was this one insipid, but i finished it)
american wife by curtis sittenfeld (i like curtis sittenfeld; prep was my favourite & man of my dreams seemed like a watered down version, but american wife held up the hype for the most part)
sleeping murder by agatha christie
spider's web by agatha christie (a play adapted into a novel by charles osborne)

i intend to read at least as many books this year and continue making my way through agatha christie's entire collection. i also want to read all the newbery & caldecott winners eventually. i'm also going to be continuing researching the period in which my book takes place (1893 chicago world's fair). i received two original 115 year old books for christmas, one photo album & the other a guidebook, to incorporate more details.
what are you reading/planning to read this year?

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Thursday, January 01, 2009

viva la resolution!

welcome to 2009!

i can't say that last night was too eventful-third new year's eve spent with s, 2nd geek-a-palooza. we spent it, much like last year, with his best friend j & his fiancee b, and the best friend's younger brother t who happens to live with s this year. i made a ham, artichoke heart, fresh mozarrella & pesto pizza for dinner, then we hit the store to buy the requisite booze. i also bought ingredients to make creme brulee french toast for this morning.

even though resolutions are completely trite these days, i'm still considering some generalized things to attempt for this year. i'm working my way through my life list of things to do by the time i'm thirty. well, today is exactly 1 month until my thirtieth birthday. the whole publication thing won't actually happen in the next month, but i'm working on submitting things, slowly but surely. trying to get healthier, but obstacles keep presenting themselves (see-arthritis, etc.)

some things that i could probably accomplish in the next 6 months if i set my mind to it (and that's close enough to 30 for me)
  • go skiing
  • throw my parents a joint birthday party (march 31 & april 8)
  • working on paying off my credit cards
  • see the cubs at wrigley
  • write & submit an article to publish
  • keep submitting book to publishers/agents (1 rejection already in the bag)
  • outline & research my 2nd book
i'd like to end this post with a couple generalizations of resolutions:

  • i'd like to be nicer
  • greener
  • healthier (or try, if my condition allows)
  • wealthier (in spirit, if not monetarily)
  • more productive
  • smarter (taking another continuing ed class?)
  • and most important --- happier
happy new year to all of you. i love your presence in my life!

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