Have you heard this nonsense that teachers using read pens to correct student's work is the equivalent of screaming? Apparently The University of Colorado did a study on this and red ink is just way too negative. (LINK) Leave it to CU to want a more cuddly way of grading. These poor students just can't handle the red ink. Well you know what? Don't make mistakes or learn from the mistake you made so you don't have to see that red ink anymore. That's the whole idea. Handing in homework means you learn from the mistake you made. HEAVEN FORBID that mistake should me marked in red. But you know, if it's marked in blue that makes it all better...
A mistake is still a mistake no matter what color it is. A blue mistake isn't any more correct than a red mistake.
Lord have mercy. This is the same mindset that is making our generation and the generations after us selfish and unable to handle the real world. No one wins because we're all winners! Everyone gets a trophy. Well I'm sorry, not everyone can win. Sometimes we lose. And when we tell kids that it's just too mean to lose then they're not prepared for the real world where you really can lose. In the real world you lose, you learn, you try again and do your best to win. The whole thing irritates me.
It's probably a good thing I'm not a teacher because damnit I'd be using that red ink all over the place. Come on people... quit coddling your kids. I got red marked papers back all the time and I didn't have a mental breakdown. I turned out alright. Your kid will too. Give your kid the chance to be a strong person who is capable of understanding and making their way in the world.
Thoughts from my teacher friends?
Oh and I am exceedingly sorry I've been shouting at you in red this whole time. You poor dears must be in tears by now.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
In the news...
I've been fairly productive this morning. I gathered all my various accounts and passwords together and put them in one place. I have a lot of stuff going on in that department for training and I got sick of having to sort through all my emails to find usernames and passwords. So I organized everything so I can find the passwords and such.
I was inspired to do this because yesterday I was trying to pay my phone bill through Centurylink and it was definitely not a pleasant experience. I had to contact them because I didn't have my account # on me. Well that was just impossible for them to give me without a huge production and incredibly rude customer service. They are absolutely the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. So never again will I contact them for my account number. Yeesh it was a nightmare.
Anyway, I was very productive until I ran out of steam. I got to reading the news. And since I haven't posted in a while I'm going to post my thoughts on the news. Oh exciting haha.
Wrongful Death Lawsuit
A judge says the wrongful death lawsuits filed against the movie theater in the Aurora Batman shootings last year should be thrown out. I would agree. In no way could the theater have predicted that a mad gunman would come there and begin shooting people. No one expected that. There is no way they should be liable for the shooter's actions. Who is liable? The shooter himself. Other than that I think that the mental health professionals that were treating him might have done more to make sure he was not a danger to the community. However, hindsight is 20/20. We can look back now and say "oh you should have known", "oh he should have been locked up" but at the time it is hard to step back and see those things. Even if there was an inkling that he might be dangerous, it is incredibly hard to commit an adult against their will. It is also incredibly hard to identify psychopaths because they blend in with us so well. So yes, even though I feel for the families who lost loved ones in that shooting and I understand their anger and pain, a lawsuit against the theater is bogus. It should be thrown out.
Morocco's Rape Marriage Law
If I wasn't already grateful to live in a country that allowed me so many freedoms, this story would be enough for me to salute the American flag. The state of women's rights in other countries of this world is shocking. Women are still considered property in many places and are forced to live in a male dominated society. I get so angry when I read about those things. No human being should be treated that way. Sex, race, orientation or any other factor that makes us different from others should be a reason to be mistreated. I'm glad that most of the human race agrees but then you hear of things like this that just makes you question the balance of good and evil in the human spirit. We are capable of such great acts of love and devotion. We are also capable of great acts of evil and depravity. I just hope it is the first kind of people that continue to touch my life and the lives of the people I love. And Morocco should be ashamed that they've had a law like that in effect for so long.
Horror Film Inspired Murder
This catchy title is an example of media driven frenzy. Of course I can't really say it doesn't work because I read the article. But this is another example of society trying to figure out why senseless violence happens in our communities. It is hard to believe that sometimes there is just something wrong with someone to make them do the violent acts that they do. Not everyone out there is safe. Some people are capable of doing evil things without reasons that the rest of us can understand. In our struggle to understand we must blame something. I'm not saying that some of the arguments don't have good points but you can't blame a horror movie (Halloween (2007)) for this boy's murders. Sure he watched the movie but so have hundreds/thousands/millions of other people who do nothing violent. So you can't just blame a video game or a movie or... whatever for certain individuals acting out. These catchy little tags are created by the media to get these stories noticed. However it just gets people up in arms about the wrong things. Instead of mental illness and treatment, the focus becomes oh the violence in movies. Gah. It just drives me crazy. The media is all about stirring people up but not at all about solving problems.
High school teacher faces sex charge
This is shocking to me. I mean, you read about this all the time but it always happens somewhere else. Yet, here it is happening in our own backyard. In my high school! I didn't know this teacher personally but apparently he was teaching while I was in school. There are predators everywhere. I hope none of my fellow students were victimized. I'm just so surprised this has happened at Air Academy, a school that I would speak very highly of. I enjoyed my time in high school, looking back on it now. Course, looking back on it now, I was also pretty clueless to the world. Still... didn't think this was going on there.
Okay well I think I've done my fair share of complaining about the news. I should probably find something else to do with my time. Adios.
I was inspired to do this because yesterday I was trying to pay my phone bill through Centurylink and it was definitely not a pleasant experience. I had to contact them because I didn't have my account # on me. Well that was just impossible for them to give me without a huge production and incredibly rude customer service. They are absolutely the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. So never again will I contact them for my account number. Yeesh it was a nightmare.
Anyway, I was very productive until I ran out of steam. I got to reading the news. And since I haven't posted in a while I'm going to post my thoughts on the news. Oh exciting haha.
Wrongful Death Lawsuit
A judge says the wrongful death lawsuits filed against the movie theater in the Aurora Batman shootings last year should be thrown out. I would agree. In no way could the theater have predicted that a mad gunman would come there and begin shooting people. No one expected that. There is no way they should be liable for the shooter's actions. Who is liable? The shooter himself. Other than that I think that the mental health professionals that were treating him might have done more to make sure he was not a danger to the community. However, hindsight is 20/20. We can look back now and say "oh you should have known", "oh he should have been locked up" but at the time it is hard to step back and see those things. Even if there was an inkling that he might be dangerous, it is incredibly hard to commit an adult against their will. It is also incredibly hard to identify psychopaths because they blend in with us so well. So yes, even though I feel for the families who lost loved ones in that shooting and I understand their anger and pain, a lawsuit against the theater is bogus. It should be thrown out.
Morocco's Rape Marriage Law
If I wasn't already grateful to live in a country that allowed me so many freedoms, this story would be enough for me to salute the American flag. The state of women's rights in other countries of this world is shocking. Women are still considered property in many places and are forced to live in a male dominated society. I get so angry when I read about those things. No human being should be treated that way. Sex, race, orientation or any other factor that makes us different from others should be a reason to be mistreated. I'm glad that most of the human race agrees but then you hear of things like this that just makes you question the balance of good and evil in the human spirit. We are capable of such great acts of love and devotion. We are also capable of great acts of evil and depravity. I just hope it is the first kind of people that continue to touch my life and the lives of the people I love. And Morocco should be ashamed that they've had a law like that in effect for so long.
Horror Film Inspired Murder
This catchy title is an example of media driven frenzy. Of course I can't really say it doesn't work because I read the article. But this is another example of society trying to figure out why senseless violence happens in our communities. It is hard to believe that sometimes there is just something wrong with someone to make them do the violent acts that they do. Not everyone out there is safe. Some people are capable of doing evil things without reasons that the rest of us can understand. In our struggle to understand we must blame something. I'm not saying that some of the arguments don't have good points but you can't blame a horror movie (Halloween (2007)) for this boy's murders. Sure he watched the movie but so have hundreds/thousands/millions of other people who do nothing violent. So you can't just blame a video game or a movie or... whatever for certain individuals acting out. These catchy little tags are created by the media to get these stories noticed. However it just gets people up in arms about the wrong things. Instead of mental illness and treatment, the focus becomes oh the violence in movies. Gah. It just drives me crazy. The media is all about stirring people up but not at all about solving problems.
High school teacher faces sex charge
This is shocking to me. I mean, you read about this all the time but it always happens somewhere else. Yet, here it is happening in our own backyard. In my high school! I didn't know this teacher personally but apparently he was teaching while I was in school. There are predators everywhere. I hope none of my fellow students were victimized. I'm just so surprised this has happened at Air Academy, a school that I would speak very highly of. I enjoyed my time in high school, looking back on it now. Course, looking back on it now, I was also pretty clueless to the world. Still... didn't think this was going on there.
Okay well I think I've done my fair share of complaining about the news. I should probably find something else to do with my time. Adios.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
More writing!
Here we go. Wrote a little more. This new character came out of no where in my mind which is always the best. And I named my main character Charlotte Keller.
As always look for the ~*~*~ to find the new stuff. Although the old stuff has also been edited. Enjoy!
Untitled
What do you think?
As always look for the ~*~*~ to find the new stuff. Although the old stuff has also been edited. Enjoy!
Untitled
What do you think?
Friday, January 18, 2013
Damn that Alarm!
I am a notorious snoozer. It is common knowledge among those who have spent morning time with me that I am not a morning person. I do not enjoy mornings. I do not enjoy rolling out of bed and getting ready for work every single day... well 6 out of 7 days a week anyway. Mornings are a stupid thing that I wish had never been invented. So yes, I hit the snooze button a lot in the morning. It's a terrible habit that inevitably has me rushing around in the morning tripping over dogs as I try to get out the door on time.
Today was one of those days. It got me thinking that really I should try to break the habit of snoozing so many times in the morning. Googled it and here is what I found:
Set a timer so that a bright light turns on simultaneously with your alarm. In theory... good. But I've read that it isn't good to startle yourself awake. A bright light in the face might go under that heading.
Consider setting an outdoor-rated timer which turns a space heater on in your bedroom, for about an hour before you want to wake up. The idea here is to wake up when you're warm. I don't know about you but I don't necessarily enjoy waking up overheated and sweaty in my bed. Just doesn't say "Good morning" to me.
If you drink coffee, get a coffee pot with a timer. Perfection. Coffee is always the answer. Course the coffee is in the kitchen..
Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room. I tried this one in high school. What ended up happening is I would jump out of bed, run to the alarm, turn it off, and run back to bed. Then I was just pissed.
Set a second alarm on your cell phone, computer, another alarm clock, or whatever you can hear from wherever you need to put it. Place the other alarm by your coffee pot, in the bathroom, downstairs, in the hall, or whatever works in your home. Then set it for 5 minutes after the first alarm on your regular alarm clock. Actually not a bad idea. May take this advice.
If all else fails, lock the alarm clock in a box with a combination lock and attach the internal clock speaker to an external stereo speaker. Again, I think this would just piss me the hell off. Pissed the hell off is not a good way to start the day. Plus, on my cellphone (which is my alarm) I have it set to do math problems if I want to snooze. I manage that just fine. Maybe harder math problems...
Consider super gluing your snooze button in order to make it impossible to use. Super gluing my cell phone would not and never will be a good idea.
Appreciate waking up. One of the most important steps for me was changing my mindset about waking up. ...What the hell kind of advice is this? It is like someone saying "Love thyself." I do love myself and I do appreciate the fact that I'm not dead in the morning. Asking my to appreciate my alarm going off is like asking me to hug a cactus.
Set an alarm you’re happy to wake up to. This is good advice. I HATE HATE HATE HATE the beeping sound of an alarm. If hell was a sound it would be a beeping alarm. So I wake up to a more relaxing noise that slowly gets louder with time. I have yet to find a really nice tone of rain or waves or something though. That would be ideal.
Have something to do / a reason you are getting up. ...If I didn't have a reason to get up why would I set my alarm?
Set a short goal. My goal for waking up at 6am was technically only for one week. But after that week, I kept going. Good advice. But this takes dedication and will power... *cries*
Go to bed earlier. Amen. And no jokes about how I'm 80 years old. My ideal time to go to bed is 9:30. That week off I had for Christmas has just completely wacked out my sleep schedule though and I haven't been doing that. I need to get back to that.
Don’t sleep too comfortably. ...Okay whoever gave this advice just needs to smack themselves. That's all I'll dignify that one with.
Try to wake up in the right cycle. I was just reading an article about this actually. You don't want to randomize when you wake because it could interrupt a REM sleep cycle. I'm not sure how much I believe that but it's worth a try.
Turn on the lights. Already do this because, as stated above, I spend a lot of time in the morning dodging dogs and the cat. Always easier not to step on them if the light is on.
Drink some water. Make it coffee instead of water and I'm there.
Wake up at the same time every day. I'll try.
Commit. *sigh* Yeah yeah yeah... will power and all.
I get the idea. I just have to put my nose to the grindstone and do it. Damnit. Damn the world for waking up earlier than I would prefer! Why can't we all just work and live at night and sleep during the day? Works for the owls!!!
Today was one of those days. It got me thinking that really I should try to break the habit of snoozing so many times in the morning. Googled it and here is what I found:
Set a timer so that a bright light turns on simultaneously with your alarm. In theory... good. But I've read that it isn't good to startle yourself awake. A bright light in the face might go under that heading.
Consider setting an outdoor-rated timer which turns a space heater on in your bedroom, for about an hour before you want to wake up. The idea here is to wake up when you're warm. I don't know about you but I don't necessarily enjoy waking up overheated and sweaty in my bed. Just doesn't say "Good morning" to me.
If you drink coffee, get a coffee pot with a timer. Perfection. Coffee is always the answer. Course the coffee is in the kitchen..
Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room. I tried this one in high school. What ended up happening is I would jump out of bed, run to the alarm, turn it off, and run back to bed. Then I was just pissed.
Set a second alarm on your cell phone, computer, another alarm clock, or whatever you can hear from wherever you need to put it. Place the other alarm by your coffee pot, in the bathroom, downstairs, in the hall, or whatever works in your home. Then set it for 5 minutes after the first alarm on your regular alarm clock. Actually not a bad idea. May take this advice.
If all else fails, lock the alarm clock in a box with a combination lock and attach the internal clock speaker to an external stereo speaker. Again, I think this would just piss me the hell off. Pissed the hell off is not a good way to start the day. Plus, on my cellphone (which is my alarm) I have it set to do math problems if I want to snooze. I manage that just fine. Maybe harder math problems...
Consider super gluing your snooze button in order to make it impossible to use. Super gluing my cell phone would not and never will be a good idea.
Appreciate waking up. One of the most important steps for me was changing my mindset about waking up. ...What the hell kind of advice is this? It is like someone saying "Love thyself." I do love myself and I do appreciate the fact that I'm not dead in the morning. Asking my to appreciate my alarm going off is like asking me to hug a cactus.
Set an alarm you’re happy to wake up to. This is good advice. I HATE HATE HATE HATE the beeping sound of an alarm. If hell was a sound it would be a beeping alarm. So I wake up to a more relaxing noise that slowly gets louder with time. I have yet to find a really nice tone of rain or waves or something though. That would be ideal.
Have something to do / a reason you are getting up. ...If I didn't have a reason to get up why would I set my alarm?
Set a short goal. My goal for waking up at 6am was technically only for one week. But after that week, I kept going. Good advice. But this takes dedication and will power... *cries*
Go to bed earlier. Amen. And no jokes about how I'm 80 years old. My ideal time to go to bed is 9:30. That week off I had for Christmas has just completely wacked out my sleep schedule though and I haven't been doing that. I need to get back to that.
Don’t sleep too comfortably. ...Okay whoever gave this advice just needs to smack themselves. That's all I'll dignify that one with.
Try to wake up in the right cycle. I was just reading an article about this actually. You don't want to randomize when you wake because it could interrupt a REM sleep cycle. I'm not sure how much I believe that but it's worth a try.
Turn on the lights. Already do this because, as stated above, I spend a lot of time in the morning dodging dogs and the cat. Always easier not to step on them if the light is on.
Drink some water. Make it coffee instead of water and I'm there.
Wake up at the same time every day. I'll try.
Commit. *sigh* Yeah yeah yeah... will power and all.
I get the idea. I just have to put my nose to the grindstone and do it. Damnit. Damn the world for waking up earlier than I would prefer! Why can't we all just work and live at night and sleep during the day? Works for the owls!!!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Hi ho! (I don't know why... just felt like it)
Got a lot done yesterday. That feels nice. Not nearly done cleaning the house but I did clean and organize the laundry room. I moved my dogs' food down there so now they're both confused about where they're supposed to eat. My brother had piles of laundry in there that have been waiting to be done since September when I moved in. So I went ahead and did those for him. Never say I don't do anything nice for him. My papers that have been piled up got sorted and I have a lot of them with me at work today to put in the shredder. So handy that I can do that now instead of trying to coax my decrepit shredder to do it for me at home. Tonight I will be folding laundry then I have to clean up the kitchen. Which reminds me I need to make a shopping list for myself because there are a few things I need before I go home tonight. The list of things I need to do never really gets shorter does it? I think I have a problem.
At work today feeling fairly bored. I have a lot to do but the pile has intimidated me so I'm instead posting on my blog and looking at Pinterest. Helpful I know. I'll get to that pile eventually.
In other news, my boss put in her two weeks notice yesterday. Very sad about this because she's a very good boss. She has renewed my faith in bosses everywhere. There are good people still out there who care that you have a good work environment to look forward to everyday. We will certainly miss her especially since that means that the Vice CEO will be at our location more and he's wacky. Who knows who will be in that position next. There are two people here who could do it and they both don't want to. So who knows. I hope that the next one isn't a witch. My new found faith would be shattered again and that would be terrible because I don't much like this job in the first place. If I had to come here and be miserable it would just throw my whole life in the toilet again.
Oh well. Nothing I can do about it but sit here and pretend to work. That's what I plan to do today and I'm very good at it.
At work today feeling fairly bored. I have a lot to do but the pile has intimidated me so I'm instead posting on my blog and looking at Pinterest. Helpful I know. I'll get to that pile eventually.
In other news, my boss put in her two weeks notice yesterday. Very sad about this because she's a very good boss. She has renewed my faith in bosses everywhere. There are good people still out there who care that you have a good work environment to look forward to everyday. We will certainly miss her especially since that means that the Vice CEO will be at our location more and he's wacky. Who knows who will be in that position next. There are two people here who could do it and they both don't want to. So who knows. I hope that the next one isn't a witch. My new found faith would be shattered again and that would be terrible because I don't much like this job in the first place. If I had to come here and be miserable it would just throw my whole life in the toilet again.
Oh well. Nothing I can do about it but sit here and pretend to work. That's what I plan to do today and I'm very good at it.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Laziness
Another weekend gone and yet again I got nothing accomplished. I need to break free of this lazy cycle I'm in and actually get crap done. I have so much to do and it piled up and piles up. Then the pile is so huge there's no way I could get it all done in a reasonable time so I just don't do it. Vicious cycle. And it stresses me out so yet again, I do nothing. I really could just kick myself.
It's hard to work so many hours and still have time in the day to be sane and get everything done that needs to be done. I've been choosing to stay sane and get nothing done but that doesn't really help either. Dunno what to do about it either. I might have to take a day this week and just get everything I need to do done. That will take some serious ass kicking. I need someone to kick my ass full time.
Sigh.
Well in other news... I have no other news really. Work. Sleep. Work. You know my life.
My little brother is headed back to his end of the country for his last semester of college. Enjoy it while you can bro. The real world is gearing up to kick you in the teeth when you graduate. Or that just could be Monday morning talking. I'm proud of you! Another English Lit degree in the family.
Finally think I came up with a name for my main character in my novel. Keller. Which of course I stole from somewhere else but if you don't want to end up with a name like Salkagoindlasd, you have to steal names. I am on the fence about it in that it may be too unique, which you will see why that might be a conflict as I work further into the plot of my book. Eh. For now I think it will have to do. I just love it too much to move off of it for awhile.
I'm editing and writing a bit up soon so I may post that later. For now this will just have to conclude my thoughts for the morning. I wish I could have more coffee but I haven't yet finished my water. At least that's one rule I'm sticking with. I'm lazy but hey at least I'm drinking water! Progress!
It's hard to work so many hours and still have time in the day to be sane and get everything done that needs to be done. I've been choosing to stay sane and get nothing done but that doesn't really help either. Dunno what to do about it either. I might have to take a day this week and just get everything I need to do done. That will take some serious ass kicking. I need someone to kick my ass full time.
Sigh.
Well in other news... I have no other news really. Work. Sleep. Work. You know my life.
My little brother is headed back to his end of the country for his last semester of college. Enjoy it while you can bro. The real world is gearing up to kick you in the teeth when you graduate. Or that just could be Monday morning talking. I'm proud of you! Another English Lit degree in the family.
Finally think I came up with a name for my main character in my novel. Keller. Which of course I stole from somewhere else but if you don't want to end up with a name like Salkagoindlasd, you have to steal names. I am on the fence about it in that it may be too unique, which you will see why that might be a conflict as I work further into the plot of my book. Eh. For now I think it will have to do. I just love it too much to move off of it for awhile.
I'm editing and writing a bit up soon so I may post that later. For now this will just have to conclude my thoughts for the morning. I wish I could have more coffee but I haven't yet finished my water. At least that's one rule I'm sticking with. I'm lazy but hey at least I'm drinking water! Progress!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Another piece of Untitled
I edited the first bit of my untitled novel beginning. Thank God because it needed it. Then I wrote two more pages. Keep in mind that they have not been edited and sorely need to be. But I figured I'd share it anyway.
Feedback is always welcome!
Untitled
Note that the new bit starts after the ~*~*~.
Feedback is always welcome!
Untitled
Note that the new bit starts after the ~*~*~.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Movin' right along
Well things have been moving right along. No real complaints or observations either. Work, sleep and work mostly.
My brother is off doing training for the Air Force for two months so I have the house to myself. It is rather nice. Though it might be bad for me to live by myself because I am very comfortable home alone. I would fall into the habit of being a home body and no one would ever see me. Socialization is a good thing. If I spout that in dog training then I really should practice it in my home life too huh.
Anyway, I wasn't planning on it but brought Theo over. I really missed him when he was living with my parents because my brother is allergic. But now that my brother isn't there I needed my kitty back in my life. He's such a little joy. Whitman is so happy to have his brother back. They are just absolutely hilarious when they play together. I keep trying to get it on video but of course as soon as I grab my phone they stop. Someday I'll get their boppit game on video and you'll all laugh. I'm loving the nighttime snuggles too. Neither Whitman or Gerani are huge snugglers so I'm glad to have Theo who likes to curl up with me at night. Waking up to him purring makes me less grumpy. Except when he's purring on my face. That's not as much fun.
Work has been dull. Even more so because I'm training someone. So basically I just sit here and give directions every so often. Yawn worthy. However, now that I've trained several people I now don't have to worry about taking time off and such. I also got to dictate my schedule a little. So now I work through lunch and get off at 4 instead of 5. I can't tell you how much it helps my moral to see the sun before it goes down. So nice. Work continues to be boring though. Oh well. Again, I'm glad to have a job.
The house... Ug. That sums up how I feel about the house. It just seems to be one thing after another going on there. I have a hard time seeing an end in all the remodeling. That makes it hard for me to summon the energy to work on it in my already hectic schedule. Which is not helpful in the slightest. I just get really frustrated with all of of. It is coming along, in thanks mostly to my mom and dad that are enjoying my home ownership more than I am I think. I'll enjoy it when I can actually live in my own space again. Sigh, sigh, triple sigh.
I'm making small changes to life in the spirit of a new year, which is already a week and a half old, can you believe it? One rule is I have to drink one bottle of water after my first cup of coffee in the morning if I want to have another. This is a potentially deadly rule but not necessarily to me. More to whatever unsuspecting soul approaches me too cheerily or too quickly on the mornings when I've only had one cup of coffee and am feeling resentful toward a world where this rule could exist.
The second rule is I am no longer allowed to spend money on soda. I suspect this will be the hardest because my Mountain Dew Code Red cravings are my most potent. But in the spirit of being healthier I need to cut the soda out. Also will save me some money. Doing this along with the water and coffee rule may make me seriously caffeine deprived though so approach me slowly and with no sudden movements when I look a little tired.
The third rule is I can only have fast food once a month. I'm not a huge fast food person to begin with but I do sometimes enjoy a large fry or a hamburger that I later regret. I tend to eat fast food when I forget my lunch though. So I've loaded up with healthy snack foods at work and the later lunch will probably help too. And making smoothies in the morning makes it so I can last the day without being as hungry.
Fourth is only healthy snack foods at home too. No more chips or cookies or whatever. Instead I have healthier crackers and fruit.
And lastly I have to spend time outside everyday. I want to walk my dogs more often. This means Whitman has to be less of a couch potato which he isn't thrilled about. Laziest dog ever. Gerani needs to lose 5 pounds too.
So those are the changes I've come up with. Hopefully they last more than two weeks.
My brother is off doing training for the Air Force for two months so I have the house to myself. It is rather nice. Though it might be bad for me to live by myself because I am very comfortable home alone. I would fall into the habit of being a home body and no one would ever see me. Socialization is a good thing. If I spout that in dog training then I really should practice it in my home life too huh.
Anyway, I wasn't planning on it but brought Theo over. I really missed him when he was living with my parents because my brother is allergic. But now that my brother isn't there I needed my kitty back in my life. He's such a little joy. Whitman is so happy to have his brother back. They are just absolutely hilarious when they play together. I keep trying to get it on video but of course as soon as I grab my phone they stop. Someday I'll get their boppit game on video and you'll all laugh. I'm loving the nighttime snuggles too. Neither Whitman or Gerani are huge snugglers so I'm glad to have Theo who likes to curl up with me at night. Waking up to him purring makes me less grumpy. Except when he's purring on my face. That's not as much fun.
Work has been dull. Even more so because I'm training someone. So basically I just sit here and give directions every so often. Yawn worthy. However, now that I've trained several people I now don't have to worry about taking time off and such. I also got to dictate my schedule a little. So now I work through lunch and get off at 4 instead of 5. I can't tell you how much it helps my moral to see the sun before it goes down. So nice. Work continues to be boring though. Oh well. Again, I'm glad to have a job.
The house... Ug. That sums up how I feel about the house. It just seems to be one thing after another going on there. I have a hard time seeing an end in all the remodeling. That makes it hard for me to summon the energy to work on it in my already hectic schedule. Which is not helpful in the slightest. I just get really frustrated with all of of. It is coming along, in thanks mostly to my mom and dad that are enjoying my home ownership more than I am I think. I'll enjoy it when I can actually live in my own space again. Sigh, sigh, triple sigh.
I'm making small changes to life in the spirit of a new year, which is already a week and a half old, can you believe it? One rule is I have to drink one bottle of water after my first cup of coffee in the morning if I want to have another. This is a potentially deadly rule but not necessarily to me. More to whatever unsuspecting soul approaches me too cheerily or too quickly on the mornings when I've only had one cup of coffee and am feeling resentful toward a world where this rule could exist.
The second rule is I am no longer allowed to spend money on soda. I suspect this will be the hardest because my Mountain Dew Code Red cravings are my most potent. But in the spirit of being healthier I need to cut the soda out. Also will save me some money. Doing this along with the water and coffee rule may make me seriously caffeine deprived though so approach me slowly and with no sudden movements when I look a little tired.
The third rule is I can only have fast food once a month. I'm not a huge fast food person to begin with but I do sometimes enjoy a large fry or a hamburger that I later regret. I tend to eat fast food when I forget my lunch though. So I've loaded up with healthy snack foods at work and the later lunch will probably help too. And making smoothies in the morning makes it so I can last the day without being as hungry.
Fourth is only healthy snack foods at home too. No more chips or cookies or whatever. Instead I have healthier crackers and fruit.
And lastly I have to spend time outside everyday. I want to walk my dogs more often. This means Whitman has to be less of a couch potato which he isn't thrilled about. Laziest dog ever. Gerani needs to lose 5 pounds too.
So those are the changes I've come up with. Hopefully they last more than two weeks.
 |
| Vents from the furnace to the ceiling. |
 |
| Ripped out kitchen. |
 |
| Living room. Ripped out the left side there. |
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
2013 is out of the gate and... tired
So far 2013 has been exhausting. Yesterday I swore I was going to catch up on all this stuff but that didn't happen. I mostly lazed about. I thought really hard about being productive so that should count for something.
I've been staying at my sister's house while she and my brother-in-law are in Hawaii. Lucky bastards. I've actually liked it though. Their house is cozy. Lucy, the beagle, was behaving herself for a while there. We had one incident the first night were she was being a jerk to Whitman. Whitman, in his infinite grace (yeah right!), took it very well and I didn't have a dog fight on my hands. Good behavior didn't last though. Last night I left for only about an hour to run down to my house. It wasn't planned so I was forced to leave my two medium sized pizzas. Lucy suffers from gluttony so she'll pretty much eat anything not nailed down, as it were. I put the pizzas way up and back on the counter thinking they were safe from this little beagle. Nope. When I got back, my dogs were hiding in the corner, obviously having tried to talk Lucy out of it and fearing they would be in trouble since she didn't listen. Lucy had the pizza boxes ripped apart and strewn all over the place. No more pizza. Sad. And bad because Lucy's stomach was severely distended. Well I took several hours trying to decide what to do because, of course, it was a holiday. How do dogs always know it is a holiday? They always do something to get into trouble on holidays. Never fails. Ultimately, at 9:30pm I decided to go ahead and take her in. I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep because I was so worried about her and I wouldn't want to leave her alone today without knowing she was going to be okay.
So I bundled her off to the emergency vet and actually got pretty prompt service. In and out in an hour and 15 minutes. That's got to be some kind of record. Once I got there I couldn't be too mad at her. There was this woman there just bawling because she'd just lost her dog. So it made me grateful that Lucy, although an idiot, wasn't dying and would be okay. As much as I complain about her, I do love her and I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her while I was watching her. The vet was shocked that she'd eaten so much and did some xrays to make sure it wasn't flipping her stomach or anything else. When she came back she told me she very rarely sees dogs with more distended stomachs than Lucy. Plus it being so cheesy and high in fat, it was a good thing to get it out of her so that it didn't effect her pancreas. They induced vomiting and got most if it out of her and sent her home good as new. It was worth it to go there just to avoid having to clean up that mess I think. Another fun Lucy story.
In other news I'm just completely exhausted. My sleep schedule is so messed up after having a week off that it's going to be hard for me to get back on schedule. This is why I am so careful with my sleep schedule because it really effects me if there is the slightest change. Next time I have time off I'm going to keep my schedule on track as much as possible. That way I'm not dragging so much when I have to get back to my normal routine.
Other than that, I have nothing new to report. More on the house later.
I've been staying at my sister's house while she and my brother-in-law are in Hawaii. Lucky bastards. I've actually liked it though. Their house is cozy. Lucy, the beagle, was behaving herself for a while there. We had one incident the first night were she was being a jerk to Whitman. Whitman, in his infinite grace (yeah right!), took it very well and I didn't have a dog fight on my hands. Good behavior didn't last though. Last night I left for only about an hour to run down to my house. It wasn't planned so I was forced to leave my two medium sized pizzas. Lucy suffers from gluttony so she'll pretty much eat anything not nailed down, as it were. I put the pizzas way up and back on the counter thinking they were safe from this little beagle. Nope. When I got back, my dogs were hiding in the corner, obviously having tried to talk Lucy out of it and fearing they would be in trouble since she didn't listen. Lucy had the pizza boxes ripped apart and strewn all over the place. No more pizza. Sad. And bad because Lucy's stomach was severely distended. Well I took several hours trying to decide what to do because, of course, it was a holiday. How do dogs always know it is a holiday? They always do something to get into trouble on holidays. Never fails. Ultimately, at 9:30pm I decided to go ahead and take her in. I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep because I was so worried about her and I wouldn't want to leave her alone today without knowing she was going to be okay.
So I bundled her off to the emergency vet and actually got pretty prompt service. In and out in an hour and 15 minutes. That's got to be some kind of record. Once I got there I couldn't be too mad at her. There was this woman there just bawling because she'd just lost her dog. So it made me grateful that Lucy, although an idiot, wasn't dying and would be okay. As much as I complain about her, I do love her and I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her while I was watching her. The vet was shocked that she'd eaten so much and did some xrays to make sure it wasn't flipping her stomach or anything else. When she came back she told me she very rarely sees dogs with more distended stomachs than Lucy. Plus it being so cheesy and high in fat, it was a good thing to get it out of her so that it didn't effect her pancreas. They induced vomiting and got most if it out of her and sent her home good as new. It was worth it to go there just to avoid having to clean up that mess I think. Another fun Lucy story.
In other news I'm just completely exhausted. My sleep schedule is so messed up after having a week off that it's going to be hard for me to get back on schedule. This is why I am so careful with my sleep schedule because it really effects me if there is the slightest change. Next time I have time off I'm going to keep my schedule on track as much as possible. That way I'm not dragging so much when I have to get back to my normal routine.
Other than that, I have nothing new to report. More on the house later.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Hello 2013!
Welcome to 2013!
And now I'm going back to bed for a nap because I didn't want to get up anyway!
So much for not sitting on my ass...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)