the horror of friday the 6th

nobody ever talks about the bad luck present on friday the 6th. usually i'm more a proponent of booing monday the 13th. a combination of garfield, a case of the mondays and triskaidekaphobia.
so this morning has been a real treat thus far. it started when i took grover out this morning and i nearly concussed myself. i bent over to take off his collar in the entryway and when i stood up, bashed my head on the stair railing. this, of course, was not enough of a way to begin the day. while attempting to dab some rubbing alcohol on the bruised spot, i oversaturated the cotton ball and dripped a big drop in my eye. as i'm flailing around, my major concern is dumping over the nearly full bottle on the counter and yell at s to come help me. eventually i managed to rinse my eye out and it only stings a little now. on the way out the door to work, i bent over to pick up grover and put him in his crate and i heard a ripping/popping noise. yep, split my pants. admittedly, they’re over 10 years old and very well worn, but that doesn’t make me feel much better.
if this is how friday the 6th is, can you imagine what traveling on friday the 13th will be like next week? don't even want to know what else is going to happen today! hopefully i won’t have anymore updates.

halloween costume ideas & absenteeism

yep, been mia for a while now, at least here on my own blog. sorry for the lapse, but there's even more of nothing to write about lately. life is pretty dull, only thing that's been going on is the monotonous day-to-day of work & then nothing of interest when i get home.
we are going to vegas in about 4 weeks so any suggestions or ideas for must-see, must-do, must-eat are welcome.
also, s & i are invited to a halloween/housewarming party on the 30th, so trying to come up with some costume ideas. i wouldn't even bother, but the invite reads "Halloween costumes strongly recommended; if you do not wear one, one will be provided for you." which frightens me. here are some of the ideas i've been tossing around:

salt & pepper
jack & jill
plug & socket
mac 'n cheese
pumpkin pi
a salt & battery
hansel & gretel
pair of dice
hurry up & wait
almond joy & mounds
upper & lower gi
lady & the tramp
burger king & dairy queen
spoon & fork
sick & tired
war & peace
peace & quiet
princess & the pea
nuts & bolts

(if you need to inquire as to what any of these actually involve, just ask.)
lunch break is almost over & i'm working 8 to 6 today because i'm leaving early for some errands on wednesday & we're now required to work late one night a week because apparently no one returns calls to schedule appointments between the hours of 8-to-5 despite numerous messages. they're hoping we'll catch people at home from 5 to 6 and get them scheduled. ha! didn't work the last two times we tried it, but hey, they're all about beating a dead horse.

leftovers

i'm broke until payday on july 1st. once a month pay periods are a pain in the fanny. it's difficult to stay ahead of the game when the end of the month rolls around.
so until then, i'm going to try to refrain from buying any groceries. especially since s got another flat tire on the way to pick me up from work on wednesday & therefore, i need to buy 4 new tires before our trip back to nd in less than 7 weeks for my baby brother's wedding.
for dinner we are scrounging my pantries and fridge:
spinach salad with tomatoes, radishes and dried cranberries & crumbled goat cheese
baked salmon with dill (dried, not fresh. hey, i said i was scrounging!)
broccoli cheese pasta (one of those lipton bags or whatever)
day old oatmeal raisin cookie from work for dessert

i'd also like to direct my readership to a new food blog by someone i know from the internet pre-blogging.
deb's perfect bite
she has got some tasty recipes, for sure.

also wondering if i should get actual business cards for blogher. i don't exactly have a 'theme' and i'm not really looking for a huge increase in traffic. i'm more of a fangirl than anything else. but it seems like the thing to do, so if i meet even more cool people in real life than those i already know on the interwebs (and some of whom i've been lucky enough to meet in person. suzanne, i'm lookin' at you.) i'd better make my decision soon, since time is running out for printing purposes. i'm getting so excited for this!

guilty reality

last night we had to wait for the cops to arrive and tow the car that was parked on the street directly in front of s's driveway. (as you can see, the green car has its tires on both sides of the driveway. the idgit must've thought what a perfect spot on the street with plenty of room! still wish i could've seen their expression when they returned to find their car missing.)

as a result, we couldn't go get our fast food fish sammiches (friday/lent & all). after 2 hours, the parking cop finally showed; he was the only one on duty & had four more stops after ours. luckily the tow truck arrived soon after & s went to pick up our mesa pizza instead. eggplant (parm with mozz & red peppers) & half spinach feta tomato pizza.

at that point it was 8.30pm and s was due to head to role playing. we were still watching torchwood season 1 when he found out one of his friends was unexpectedly ill. we continued watching the last of season 1 & turned our sights to 'regular' tv. in the course of channel surfing, i landed on bravo & some bizarre show 'millionaire matchmaker'. now, reality tv is one of my least favourite things & s hates it even more. one of my few enjoyments in that genre is 'the amazing race' & s will concede that it isn't too terrible. oh, and most of the food network shows ('ace of cakes' & co.) aren't that bad.

anyway, this millionaire show is a total trainwreck. neither of us could turn away. i tried to, but s wouldn't let me. there's this tranny-looking yenta (she's stated she's a 3rd generation matchmaker) in la with scarily enhanced lips & quite the attitude. her other coworkers include a goth girl with purple bangs & the coo is a mohawked goth guy. the two clients on this episode were a creepy 38 year old millionaire self-styled playboy whose dream date would start with a massage at a spa & end with taking his girl to rodeo drive for some shopping (even though he stated he didn't like shopping, but knew women loved it-thanks generalization) & a shy 34 year old internet entrepreuner who was incredibly awkward with conversation. both guys were jewish, so they were looking for a nice jewish girl. unfortunately, most of the ladies who came in for interviews for a private party weren't jewish, which enraged patti, the matchmaker. eventually, the private party to introduce the girls to the millionaires went over fairly well with a nice mix of girls, shiksa or otherwise.

creepy dude & shy guy both picked the same (christian) girl as their first choice, but she picked the shy, super-cute one rather than than mr. comes-on-too-strong. it seemed he really couldn't get over the i'm paying for an outfit to get a chick into bed on the first date, overly sexual conversation & he did not take any of the (pushy, but true) advice of patti to tone it down. no wonder he said he hadn't been in a relationship in 6 or 7 years.

i cannot relay enough how we could not turn away, despite how terribly voyeuristic it felt. i'm afraid we may have to watch another episode.

hair sos

next saturday i finally get my hair cut again. the last time was 4 months ago and the chick at the hair college totally butchered me. i had had a pretty good experience when i went there a year ago, right before i ended up in the hospital, so i thought it would be a safe risk to take when i wanted a last minute cut in august. it was probably my own fault for asking for anything more than layers, because i asked for some bangs. the girl decided that she was gonna go her own way on that. she wanted me to have 'side bangs' & chopped super short on the left side of my head & left it long on the rest of my head. i had to chat with her instructor & be very insistent that she trim the rest of my hair into bangs because it looked completely ridiculous when i put on my glasses. i was not pleased, but what can you expect for $6? now i'm looking for recommendations on haircuts. my hair is long & s, being a guy, would like me to keep the length. you can see about the length it is now in my picture in the sidebar. it's actually at the length that i've got the ol' armpit hair issue. you know, where you raise your arm up & when you bring it back down to your side the hair gets caught because it's so long. that's really only a problem in summer to me when you're all sweaty. not a big deal when you're fully covered by clothing. so, on that note. any suggestions would be appreciated. i'm meeting my future sis-in-law for the first time in less than 3 weeks & i want to look presentable. i promise to post pictures of the new cut after i get back from the hockey game on saturday.


recent pic added~

noodle arms

yesterday i finally decided to start the one hundred push-up challenge. i'd read about it a couple months ago, but that was when i was feeling like dirt and could barely move when i got home from work.
you begin by testing your fitness level, so you know where to start and i managed to do 20 push-ups before my arms gave out. yay! that means i start at level 3 and you only have to do the program 3 days a week for six weeks and you should be able to do 100 by the end of that time. this is good on numerous levels, besides toning your upper body, arms and core, as i understand it, your bone density is improved by doing push-ups. this is especially beneficial to women who may be experiencing bone loss due to a deficiency in calcium.
my problem is that i decided to overdo it. a few hours after i tested myself on the push-ups i went ahead and did my regular, piddly little tv workout, which includes doing some arm work with my 5lb weights. only about 15-20 minutes total, but by the time i went to bed i could feel the pain in my arms. oh yeah, i can barely move my shoulders and elbows today without cringing. guess that tells me it's about time i get in shape. i do have to wear another strapless bridesmaid's dress next year. why not start now?

i'm ever so cumorous

apparently this fantastic new word is an amalgamation of cute and humorous. on his way out from my apartment last night, s ended up combining those words. we had lasagna at my place while watching little britain: live, then he took me downtown to coldstone. i tried & decided on the blueberry muffin batter with pecans (like banana-nut or cranberry walnut muffins-it was tasty!) and he had cake batter with brownie & cookie dough mix-ins. it was a fun night. and my friend h agrees that cumorous is the word for me, now that she knows that word.
tomorrow i start my online class in medical coding. it's only 6 weeks-twelve lessons, but i wonder how difficult it’s actually going to be. people spend 18 months, at least to get a degree in coding. this will only be for a “certificate”, but i'm hoping that it’ll be a nice bump on my résumé since i'm in the market for a job in the insurance claims/billing department. is it so wrong that i want to work closer to home? (yeah, yeah, my 30 minute walking commute would be cut in half, poor baby) there’s not much option besides staying in the university system because i cannot give up a job with benefits this good. (my every <2 month infusions cost around $5000 a pop, so i can’t exactly lose or risk changing my insurance. i only have to make a $10 co-pay on them & i know people who have to pay $400 or more each session.) if i went to the business office, i'd be taking a slight pay cut to start because of a change in job titles, but if it was something i liked better & stayed in that position would end up with a higher salary in the long run. maybe the pros outweigh the cons. i need to get out of here before i get a lateral promotion with no recognition & more stress/responsibility that i have no desire to take on when my coworker graduates from nursing school next spring.
the problem is, i just don’t know what i want to do when i grow up. even on the off chance i get this book published & start writing the second one, i don’t see it as a full-time occupation. partly because of the insurance thing & also because i can’t see it as a ‘steady’ income.
wait, what happened to me being cute & humorous? when did this turn into a whinging session? i had a pretty fantastic & relaxing weekend, besides devouring a teen vampire novel, working overtime, hitting the farmer’s market, got to spend plenty of time with s when he was home in the evenings after drill. we even went to a concert on saturday. and on friday night before falling asleep we talked for about an hour & he wanted to know if he treated me okay. he should have asked that after covering me in silly string on sunday night when i walked in the door to his apartment. it's getting there. after all, how can he resist someone as cumorous as i am?

vaguely

apparently i'm being too vague lately in my posting. (you're not the only one to say it, a.) as my many readers are all fully aware by now, i love s and being with him makes me the happiest i have ever been in my life (& believe me, i've had many exceptionally happy seconds, minutes, weeks, experiences). my existence is not wrapped up solely in the time i spend with him-i go to work, i'm still writing & researching on my book (even have the base for the 2nd one rattling around in my head), see friends outside of s, taking a class that starts next week, exercise, watch movies, read. my life is full & always was without him.
but, we've been on two 'dates' in as many weeks. his invitation out to dinner both times. (thus i am not counting my overtures.) when we are together there's always something extra, an indescribable glimmer that makes me feel beyond reason-happy. i don't want to sugarcoat it; that is not to say that trying again and starting over with him isn't something i take with a grain of salt (or even a whole block. isn't that what they used as currency back in the day?) he told me he wants all of me, although much of the rest of his life is a muddle in the grand scheme of his ptsd/depression symptoms. we will have to work on getting things back to how they were before or better. life, even this past week, has been very pleasant in that regard.
it took a lot out of me to risk being this vulnerable with one person & whatever has happened in the last 5 months, i don't regret being so transparent with s for almost 2 years now. i'm the only person he's ever been so open with either. i've never been here before, so i don't know how things work in relationships. yeah, i've seen quite a few successful ones, but i've also seen those that are a heck of a lot more #$%*ed up than ours is that work out just fine, too. i'm just taking it day-by-day.
not so sure i made anything any more clear by this post...

before noon on a saturday

-3 loads of laundry
-fold clothes
-wash dishes
-cleaned bathroom cabinet
-list ebay item
-sign up for medical billing class
-watch cartoons
-walk downtown
-farmer's market
-bank deposit
-pick up library hold
-powerball ticket with spare change
-grab lunch

now i think i'll lounge for a bit. and later i'm supposed to give s a call; he said something about having dinner tonight. :)

flood pics 2

flood photos

that's s on the right & pfc(?) rubio guarding one of the buildings by burlington st bridge
burlington st headed east
the water on the east side of burlington st bridge
iowa avenue from the old capital balcony
close-up of iowa ave

cresting

from the iowa dot:

1107 AM CDT SUN JUN 15 2008

...FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE...

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE IOWA RIVER AT IOWA CITY.
* UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
* AT 10:00 AM SUNDAY THE STAGE WAS 31.5 FEET...AND STEADY.
* RECORD FLOODING IS OCCURRING.
* RECENT ACTIVITY...THE RIVER IS CRESTING NOW.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 22 FEET.
* FORECAST...REMAIN NEARLY STEADY THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON...THEN
BEGIN FALLING VERY SLOWLY.

yay! hopefully an early crest means the water will go down sooner. as of my departure for the wedding last sunday, we had roads flooded over in iowa city. when i got back into town on tuesday the river was getting higher & i'd barely made it over the bridge in waterloo. then cedar rapids practically washed away; they're on restricted water because they only have 20-25% capacity.
thursday i took some pics of the burlington st bridge that i cross to get to work on the west side of the river.

burlington st bridge from the north side

downstream, south of burlington bridge

by friday they were threatening to close the bridge, so i ditched work to get back across & spent the afternoon helping to sandbag the main uni library & other buildings. more sunburn. the bridge was still open. saturday i went back for more torture sandbagging. after 3+ hours my arms were giving out. oh, and not to forget a reporter interviewed me for usa today. i didn't end up making the cut, but i had been taking a water break, so no big deal. the mill brought free pizza for volunteers & then papa john's brought some more over too.
my apartment is in no imminent danger. we'd have to bring back the ark if water came near it, so i'm not particularly worried about that. national guard has been out working crazy hours since tuesday & they're not allowed to go home. they're bunking them at one of the high school's because the armory is also flooded. fun times.
hopefully, as indicated above, this is the turning point and the water will start to recede after tomorrow. lots of cleanup & that will take more time than you'd think, but so long as the injuries have been few and far between, it's pretty much material loss. it's devastating, but 'things' can be mostly replaced.
my thoughts & prayers go out to everyone in downtown cr who lost their homes & businesses and the losses that have happened in ic.

don't get your hopes up

that statement seems so apropos for quite a few things right now. the whole situation with s (he came over for dinner at my place last night & we had dinner on thursday, friday & saturday-leftovers from friday. fri/sat were at his suggestion & he's started to initiate a friendly kiss, not just on the cheek. i don't want to hold out any hope for what that means; i'm just going to enjoy & not question it).
whew! that was a long parenthetical!
other things not to get too high of hopes: the wedding this weekend. not that i don't think it'll be a great event, but the only people i care about seeing that much are the bride & groom & my mom. no offense to everyone else, but it's a lot of stress to put on a brave face for people who are bound to ask me about my status. that's what wedding's are for, right? making people uncomfortable? i'm so eloping if it ever comes to it.
and speaking of my status, i guess i could just segue into my book when people ask me what i'm doing. then again, if i do that, they'll ask if i have a publisher. i know i do have a captive, age-appropriate audience (a coworker's 2 daughters) eager to read it, but the whole process of getting this (as yet untitled) book published is going to drag out, if it ever happens at all.
really, this isn't a moody post, even if the ending felt like it. i'm pretty content. things could always be better, but i'm fairly solid where i am right now.

day's giggle

i stole this from green-eyed mama's site.

'Relationships are hard. It's like a full time job, and we should treat it like one. If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to leave you, they should give you two weeks' notice. There should be severance pay, the day before they leave you, they should have to find you a temp.'
--Bob Ettinger

i solemnly agree. *snicker*

hives again

so i'm breaking out in red blotches an hour into my infusion. not as bad as last time, but i knew to look for them. apparently they're just gonna give me more iv steroids and keep infusing, which means i'll be here the rest of the freakin' day! it's gorgeous outside. at least when i'm at work i don't have the tease of windows letting me see the lush green grass and bright sun bouncing off the bricks of my church across the street.
le sigh.

update-so i was in the chemo suite getting my infusion from 8.45am until 4.15pm today. at least i got over 800 words written & i am now surpassing the 1,000 word mark for the day. things are flowing quite nicely for the time being. i can see the end in sight! then what'll i do with myself.

springtime bizarro

so the last time i posted on bizarro world was when some guys hit on me on the walk home. well, that happened again this afternoon. i walked downtown to the library to check on things & some guy started walking along beside me struck up a conversation: "are you from iowa? nice weather we're having. what do you think of this town?" admittedly i was looking pretty cute today. it's a real ego boost. not that i look for that, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
and yay, i got my stimulus check yesterday! time to pay off some bills. (paypal, des?)

dream blob

no, i'm not going to share my dreams in detail. i've just been having a recurrent theme recently. no less than 3 times in as many weeks, last night included, i've dreamt that i was late getting back from my lunch break. and i don't mean 5, ten, fifteen minutes late either. some hijinks would ensue where i was halfway across town (i think for some reason last night i was standing in line to meet the pope & i'm not even catholic!) and have to explain why i was 3+ hours late to my boss. perhaps this has to do with the fact that i've been taking a late, but not long, lunch for the past couple weeks because of being short-staffed. or that i'm trying to sabotage myself & get fired or maybe just because i hate my job in general.

le sigh.

um

er, i've got nothing. my focus for the past 10 days has been on writing more. i've definitely surpassed my daily hundred words, which is encouraging to me, but i want to finish it so badly! i mean, i want to know what happens! i don't know exactly how this is going to turn out, plotwise. i don't know if i can last the 10-12weeks i think it's going to take to finish it.
then there's the revision & the rejection from shopping it around, all after i've researched the market. gah!

3 down, 3 to go

today it's been 3 months since the breakup. my friend chris promised me (when he was drunk, mind you) that it'd all be okay in 6 months. halfway through, i guess. the friendship part is going okay, but the physical attraction is practically killing me!
on the other hand, i've written more than 800 words this week, easily fulfilling my 100 word/day minimum. to the writers out there, 800 is nothing, but my friends seem to think that's an insanely unreachable goal. lots of the 'writing' thus far has been mere tweaks and twitches of the stuff i'd already written. this is good because i think it's actually making it better. i've never been a fan of the editing & proofreading process of my own work. soon i'll have to get back to the main meat of the story to move it along. halfway through that part too, i suppose.
best get back to it & do a bit more tonight. then maybe an early evening for a drink with a friend or two. have a lovely friday, all!

appreciation

so in very few posts on her new blog, sullivan has shown that she's wise beyond her 24 years. her comment about losing s's 'conditional affection' versus having his unconditional love sortof struck a chord. everyone has given me such good, thoughtful advice & i appreciate it so much.
thank you suz, des, amo, jackie, suebob, mdog & everyone else, lurking or otherwise in my life. despite this whinging getting me more comments than i've ever had, i really am doing my best to move beyond this & focus on other things. get my life in order, as much as anyone really can. s has to do that too & perhaps we'll be friends once we get to the other side. my new philosophy, & don't take this as a negative, is 'maybe, maybe not'.