i could be happy

In which I am thankful (and there are photos)

2009-11-25T21:15:55Z

I meant to post some of these earlier this week but was rushing to get things done. We get out of work early today, so I figured the last 15 minutes would be a good time to get this up. I went to one day of a photoshoot for work, and we were shooting in a greenhouse. I got some great pictures and it was nice to be outside while the sun was still up (this doesn't happen on weekdays around here).

I'll be online intermittently over the weekend, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I'm grateful that I have a job that I don't hate, I've had the opportunity to really get out on my own and explore a new state (even though there's lots left to explore), that I have fabulous friends and family, and that in one month from today, I'll be another year older -- it means I'm not dead. Unless I die between now in then. Which will make this paragraph very awkward.

I'm also thankful that I a) got my expenses check from the above photoshoot today and b) my parents are letting me keep the small overage check that we got from the insurance company (apparently insurance in CO is cheaper than in FL) because this means I will not have to stress out about the $30 ticket to see The Swell Season and Rachel Yamagata on Sunday night. Still looks like I'll be driving myself, but that's okay.

In which I am fly-by posting

2009-11-24T00:46:05Z

On the fly, here I go attempting to post quickly.

+ Only 17 more days of work left in the year, after I leave the office tonight. Of course, I feel like there's much more than 17 days worth of work that I need to get through, so this is making me a bit frantic. I have a little less than 4 weeks until I land in Florida.

+ Related, having a three-day work week is awesome and terrible. SO MUCH TO DO.

+ My Thanksgiving day will be partially spent with the fab myras_girls and her hubs. The rest of the weekend will be spent working on Christmas gifts for my family.

+ Speaking of gifts, I reiterate, I'm strapped for cash and unable to do more than attempt cleverly-worded cards this year, so feel free to reciprocate in kind (or not reciprocate at all, whatevs, we cool).

+ Oh, and tural_21, your birthday gift may be a little bit late.

+ For anyone following the jeans saga, I found a pair at JCPenney's. Foster brand. I'm no longer naked! (I was never naked.)

+ True Blood season 1 needs more features, and more commentary by the actors (although the writers/directors commentaries were interesting too!, and more Alexander Skarsgard in general. Just saying.

All righty, gotta fly.

In which I am ANGRY.

2009-11-05T18:58:14Z

Comcast and I are done. DONE. I have to take in my equipment on Saturday and then I will be washing my hands of them.

Which of course means no cable or internet at home but honestly, that's okay. I've looked into Qwest but to get their deal you have to have Windows Live (at least, that seems to be the case if you don't also have a phone line, which I don't want). Having a Mac, and an older one that doesn't support Windows OS like the newer ones can, this doesn't seem like a viable option. And honestly, I'm sort of at the point that I don't really want to be spending money on this. I very much like the idea of taking the money that I was giving Comcast for their disservices and putting it towards paying off a new laptop.

Anyway, the last straw was the fact that they're charging me a $27 "service" fee on top of my regular bill. What service did they provide, you ask? Well, you may remember in October, I had my "signal leakage" problem. A problem that was determined to be caused by my television set and not any of their equipment. But because the technicians came out and had to "replace equipment" according to the service logs (which they did not) and I did not agree to pay their ridiculous "service protection plan" when I first signed up with Comcast, they can charge me a service fee. Yes. They're charging me almost $30 because their equipment wasn't broken. And despite the numerous and inventive ways I tried to get this across to the very patient woman on the phone, there was no budging, no attempts at working with the customer. When I finally said "Can you transfer me to someone so I can cancel my service" and she sent me to the "Loyalty Retention Department" the other very nice, patient lady there had absolutely no problems with me cancelling my service. I expected to have to fight tooth and nail, but I explained that I was unhappy at being charged a service fee when no service was given (because there wasn't any problem to fix) and that I no longer wanted to give them my money, she was like "Okay, here's the address for the office where you can turn in your equipment." So on top of the fee that they're still charging me, they made absolutely no attempt to negotiate or really understand where I was coming from, and so, we are finished.

edit: Oho, to add fuel to the fire, I just re-read the comment that the Comcast National Customer Service representative left on that first post I made about the service outage. It states that he would make sure my account was credited for the loss of service. According to my math, that did not happen either. But since I can't view my online bill, because the email account and/or the password they gave me for viewing my account online DON'T WORK, I can't double-check to see if I was actually credited for that loss of service due to nothing being wrong with the equipment.

It's been hours since I talked to them and I'm still mad. This just the worst customer service I've ever encountered. I should just let it go. Deep breaths. Knitting tonight. All is well.

And any time I feel sad that I can't watch TV or screw around on the internet immediately (because let's face it, there's no shortage of places offering free wi-fi, I just have to go to them) I will think of this or possibly one of these and be happy. I can also look forward to more reading time, more knitting time, more Netflix time, etc. If any of you ever come visit me, you'll just have to understand my new "bohemian" lifestyle. ;)

In other news, I had dreams of things catching on fire. Like, an electric pole getting struck by lightning, catching fire, and then setting fire to trees around it. Or a wall in my parents' house (which wasn't actually my parents' house, but it was in the dream) having an electrical fire. To my recollection, I've never had such dreams, so this is odd.

To end this on a good note, I finally published my first pattern, a scarf, and it's being quite well-received for a no-name, first-time designer (at least, in my opinion, the numbers I'm seeing make me very happy).

In which a new baby has arrived

2009-10-26T13:19:03Z

For those of you who know my friends Heather and Rob, they welcomed their baby boy into the world super early this morning. According to Rob's text (which I received at 3 AM but didn't read until I finally got out of bed), mom and baby are both doing very well. :D

In which NATHAN FILLION IS MAL AGAIN

2009-10-21T01:38:21Z

Teehee, so I watched last night's episode of Castle, and the teaser shows scenes from next week's Halloween episode. At one point, Castle is prancing around his apartment in his Halloween costume, and if he's not wearing Mal's EXACT outfit, then it's one perfectly similar to it. Brown coat, light brown pants with suspenders, brown shirt, and a pistol. I may have rewound and watched this 2 second scene a few times. CAPTAIN TIGHTPANTS RIDES AGAIN.

In which it is Friday

2009-10-17T01:40:07Z

This has been an incredibly loooooong week. Physically, I'm feeling much better. Mentally, not so much. Oh well.

I'm going shopping tomorrow with a co-worker, looking for a long warm coat. I have a couple of warm coats, but they all end at the waist, and apparently when it's cold outside, ALL of you gets cold. Not just the stuff above your waist.

Why is there no Dollhouse tonight? Sadface.

I really need a new computer. Given the fact that the weather here can, on occasion, be a bit treacherous and we are allowed to work from home on days such as those, I need a computer that works. I tried to do this on Wednesday, but my poor compy can't really handle it. The Commodore just runs too slow, and I couldn't even download the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader—the latest version is version 9, the latest I could get was 7.1, and the fonts wouldn't work correctly. I can probably wait until I go home at Christmas, which gives me time to figure out a budget and plan, but the timing kind of sucks. I've got to make a bigger dent my credit card debt that added up after the move. Sigh.

Today is my brother's birthday. I don't think he gets on Livejournal much any more, but if you see this, I hope you had a great day, little brother.

In which I am snowed in!

2009-10-10T21:57:11Z

I was going to rant and rave about Comcrap and their massive fail that ended with me having no cable or internet at home for probably a couple of days (I went to knitting group Thursday night and didn't get back online until work Friday morning). Apparently they detected a signal leak coming from my apartment and because I am swamped at work with a deadline and enough work that I should probably be there this weekend but am not and therefore I forgot to call them right away to make an appointment that I couldn't have been scheduled until this weekend anyway, they turned off my service. Supposedly I'm going to be credited for a few days, but we'll see. The best part? THERE'S NO LEAK COMING FROM MY CABLE STUFF. Their meters were set off by my television. So no TV or internet FOR NO REASON.

But then I woke up to this:

Which made me all kinds of happy, so I'm a little less cranky.

I just downloaded Dollhouse from iTunes, and I'm downloading Stargate Universe, and part of me wants to send Comcast a bill for the $6.50 or so that it will cost, since their idiocy made me miss my shows. The funny thing is that I've lived near airports for the last ten years or so, and Brighthouse NEVER had a problem with signal leakage. Makes me curious as to what the hell is so wrong with Comcast's equipment that this is apparently a known problem.

I really want to go to Noodle Co and get some macaroni and cheese, but uh...

I still have no ice scraper (tried to buy one last night but Target was out).

In which I am happy happy HAPPY.

2009-10-08T15:31:32Z

Just in case you're not on Facebook or Twitter...

IT'S SNOWING

Or at least it was this morning when I left my house. I'm just a bit excited.

In which I babble about TV and post pictures

2009-10-01T19:46:48Z

Dollhouse: I HAVEN'T SEEN LAST WEEK'S STILL. I procured it, I can watch it at some point, but tonight is knitting night and tomorrow I'm going out with beanpop and her hubs so I'll just have to watch it before I watch tomorrow night's episode... probably this weekend.

Glee: Really, the only reasons I think I keep watching this show are the musical numbers and Jane Lynch. The rest of the story lines are either a) not terribly well written; b) incredibly over the top; c) just plain boring; d) all of the above.

Castle: Freaking awesome as usual. I love this show. I love Nathan Fillion going all grammar nazi on suspects. And Stana's hair is gorgeous. DO WANT.

Criminal Minds: I love hobbly Reid (okay, no one's surprised about that). I'd bake him cookies. Bad Garcia, Bad! those of you who follow my twitter already saw my elation, but Sean Patrick Flanery (looking a bit older but still pretty darned cute and doing a fantastic job) was on last night's episode. YOUNG INDY.

...I watch other shows but I'm either behind or have nothing interesting to say about them, so, pictures from the past weekend. There's a lot of leaves. I'm kind of obsessed with the whole "changing of the seasons" thing.

More, of course, at Flickr.

In which I admit defeat

2009-09-30T23:02:48Z

I have been trying and trying to catch up with you all, and being busy at work and having my parents in town is just making this impossible, so I give up. If, in the last few days, you've said anything mind-blowing, earth-shattering, or just really really funny that you think I'd get a kick out of, please let me know. Otherwise, I'm just going to hope that all of you are having fabulous lives, and start over at some point.

Anyway, what's new. My parents are still in town. On Saturday, we drove up to Poudre Canyon and the Great Stupa at Shambhala Mountain. I'm not sure I was liberated upon seeing but maybe I was and just didn't realize. We also went to dinner with myras_girls and her hubby, during which the aforementioned hilarity ensued. On Sunday, we drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park, and there was SNOW. It doesn't count as part of SnowWatch 2009 because it a) wasn't falling and b) was at 12,000 feet instead of right outside my door. We walked around Old Town Fort Collins on Monday and ate at the Silver Grill Cafe. Quite yummy. I took lots of pictures and am in the process of uploading them. I'll be sure to post some here when they're all up.

Yesterday, I went to work, but not before my mother did some slight rearranging in the kitchen EARLY in the morning, meaning I had two minutes of trying to figure out where my electric kettle had gone. They played golf and then she also rearranged my living room. She likes to do these things, what can I say? Oh, and last night, I also showed my dad the episode of Castle from Monday night (because they were watching football on Monday night), and he seemed to greatly enjoy it. Today, the plan was for them to hang around the house while I'm at work, and then we'll probably go to dinner, and then they're leaving tomorrow at the same time I leave for work. This will make them happy, as it's supposed to be rather chilly here tomorrow and they've been giving me grief for sleeping with the windows open. :D

Who wants to fly out here around the end of November to attend the Swell Season at the Ogden in Denver with me? You know you want to... I'm planning to see Vienna Teng on the 21st with Chrysta and Corey, and The Sounds with Sharon (co-worker) and her hubby on Halloween. I will go to the Sounds show by myself if I must, but I'm hoping I can find someone around here who would be willing to go with me (mostly so I wouldn't have to drive back and forth from Denver by myself).

Following up on my last "real" post, I have made a budget for the month of October and if I am able to stick to it, I will come out an eensy-weensy bit ahead. But not much, which is sad, because I would like to be able to put money back into savings. At least I have a plan. Plans are good, yes.

In which Chrysta and I are silly

2009-09-27T03:13:57Z

Quick drive-by posting to share this bit of brilliance. This evening, my parents and I ate nommy Mexican food with Chrysta and Corey. During the conversation, Chrysta and I came up with the idea of doing the Lord of the Rings... as CARE BEARS. Gollum bear would have a shiny ring on his belly. Sauron Bear would have a giant eye. Et cetera, et cetera.

I just had to share.

In which hot cocoa is consumed.

2009-09-13T02:50:21Z

Woohoo! According to Felicia Day's twitter, Dr. Horrible won an Emmy! Yay for quality "film" making being recognized.

I'm really cranky with a particular group of people on Ravelry because they're bashing a designer's hat and that's just rude and distasteful. They think they can do better? Design something and submit it to various magazines, see how far they get. Rudeness just pisses me off, I shouldn't be surprised but apparently I am.

Anyway, happier things, the weather today has been rather fantastic! It's been rainy or overcast all day, which wasn't so lovely, but the temperature was super cool. Last I checked, it was about 49 degrees. I am a happy Panda. I've got socks and a sweatshirt on (because I've still got the windows open) and had some hot cocoa.

I'm watching the first disc of the Dollhouse dvds and all I can think is "OI, Fox." Ugh. The sooner I get done with disc one, the sooner I can send it back and get the third one, which has the "real" first episode and the 13th ep.

Vera has decided that if my lap is available she must be in it. Which would be fine, except that I like to be able to reach my laptop keyboard and not have to balance it on my knees to make room for the fuzzy.

Watched the first episode of the Vampire Diaries. Haven't read the books, but I don't really know what I think of the show so far. Good soundtrack: Silversun Pickups, Placebo, others. I don't get the broody guy appeal—I tend to prefer guys that laugh and make me laugh, so I don't get the serious and broody business. But apparently it works for other girls? I also watched Glee, and I really think they could have done a more contemporary song for the assembly, but whatever. I loved the "Golddigger" version. I didn't recognize the last song. And my DVR didn't record the first episode of So You Think You Can Dance—sadface.

Time for more knitting!

In which I am bouncy!

2009-09-10T19:58:22Z

via The Markness (seriously, everyone should have one): Casting for A Song of Ice and Fire. Sean Bean! Lena Headley! Jennifer Ehle! Peter Dinklage! Other people I don't know! I'm so excited! *bounce bounce bounce*

Go about your business; nothing to see here.

In which much shopping is discussed

2009-09-07T04:35:05Z

I have requested that Chrysta bring Joe Flanigan back from DragonCon for me. I cannot think of a better souvenir. Sadly, I fear that I may be let down on this request (though I'm sure Chrysta will give it her best shot).

This weekend has been a doozy. Thursday was a super stressful day, between some work stuff and then some dog stuff. Poor Kaylo made himself so stressed out over his parents' going away that he made himself sick, and as I was so swamped with work stuffs, poor Chrysta and Corey had to try to make arrangements for him to get to a vet and get checked out from the airport in Atlanta. He's doing much, much better now. I just think maybe he has some abandonment issues or something. Also, apparently my jeans has a flavor, as he is determined to lick them to death. Do not want. These are my new jeans!

I made plans to go on a Saturday morning hike with a co-worker, forgetting all about New Belgium's Tour de Fat. So I missed out on that, but had a brilliant time hiking up a little trail in the Roosevelt National Forest. We also stopped in the Colorado Cherry Company store (so much damage to be done there) and the Dam Store (less damage). And then we grabbed lunch at 3 Margaritas in Loveland and I returned to Fort Collins to do a little shopping, visit with the Vera, and then return to the doggies.

I bought purple Urban Decay eyeliner and mascara (and now I want this Book of Shadows business, too... darn you website!), as well as some silver nail polish at Sephora. Have I mentioned that there's a Sephora and an Ulta within walking distance of one another? It's no good, people. no good. And then I went to Lambspun and managed to walk out of there with only a lighter drop spindle (25g as opposed to my 79g spindle -- hopefully I can get some thinner plies with this one) and a niddy noddy and buttons for the sweater I'm working on. That store is a dangerous store. Okay, most yarn stores are pretty dangerous to me.

Today I had big plans for getting up, chilling with the dogs for a while before heading back to my house to hang out with Vera and get some stuff done. All was well until I got home, around 10:30, at which point I promptly passed out for about four hours. Vera napped with me, so I guess that was quality time. I eventually got up, watched last week's Project Runway (IMO, wrong person won, but right person went home).

So now I'm back over with the dogs and after a couple of hours of random barking and general doggie behavior, they're both sleeping on the couch behind me. One of them is snoring. I had brought my True Blood Season 1 DVDs with me, intending to knit and listen to the commentaries...but I didn't bring any yarn. I had yarn in my purse for a project that I need to work on, but didn't bring my purse (only my wallet). And I have a project here that I have been working on, but forgot to grab another ball of yarn. So I may have to actually just sit and watch the show... or figure out some other way to entertain myself because I don't think my hands can stay still that long.

edit: Chrysta, I borrowed your Zombie Survival Guide. Maggie curled up next to me while I was reading it, and then Kaylo got bored and laid half on me and Maggie and kept his back legs on the floor. I'm sure you wanted to know that.

I may go into Boulder tomorrow to hit up a shopping center with another co-worker. Gotta find a replacement khaki skirt, and I may buy some bright yellow cropped pants at Gap if they have them. Yellow pants are so in right now--go pick up the latest copy of Lucky and you'll see. *nods*

Oh snap! Apparently season 4 DVDs of Criminal Minds come out soon. *happy dance*

In which I mostly talk about TV

2009-08-27T20:51:04Z

I didn't read the actual article from Facebook because I didn't want to get spoiled, but WHEE.

SUMMER GLAU MOVES INTO JOSS WHEDON’S “DOLLHOUSE”.

ALEXIS DENISOF, JAMIE BAMBER, MICHAEL HOGAN AND KEITH CARRADINE MAKE GUEST APPEARANCES DURING SEASON TWO
--source, potentially spoilery, i don't know

Also, promo shots for Season 2 (non spoilery!). I really need to get the Season 1 DVDs.

I am entirely caught up on True Blood. I have to say, as much as I enjoy the quick and easy readability of the books, I love what Alan Ball has done SO MUCH MORE with the TV show. Every character becomes three-dimensional, and the chemistry between characters is so much more palpable. Granted, it's one thing to be reading about chemistry and to watch it in action, but I know that Aragorn loves Arwen something fierce in the books and she's barely there! I love how that's my first example. I can think of more if I'm pressed!

OH, you all will be happy to know (I'm sure) that my OnDemand is showing the rest of Being Human, so now I can watch Episode 5 at some point. They ditched episode 1, but I watched it again before it was scheduled for deletion, so I think I'm okay with that. I talked about this a bit in my knitting blog, but I have decided that I want to knit a pair of booties like Annie's, to wear as slipper socks or feet warmers or whatever you want to call them when it gets cold here ~~and I refuse to turn on the heater until it's really cold because that's how I am~~.

Non-TV news:

I got new glasses! They're really just for reading, but I'll try to take a picture of me with them.
Speaking of pictures, I finally took pictures of my apartment + furniture, I just need to upload them.
Wandered into a most amazing store today that is literally not even 500 feet from the office. This is both great and terrible news.
Knit night tonight, hopefully I can finish the project that I'm working on and block it over the weekend and mail it out on Monday. It's good to have goals.

In which I review a movie

2009-08-22T02:41:58Z

(500) Days of Summer:

1. All right, I'm just going to say it. NEEDS MOAR GUBLER. Now that that's out of the way.
2. I desperately want Zooey Deschanel's hair.
3. Joseph Gordon-Levitt sort of had a Heath Ledger thing going on—sharp angles on the face, deep-set eyes, smirking grin.
4. I loved the architectural details interspersed throughout the movie. They were a nice way to emphasize the fact that Tom wasn't living up to his dreams.
5. Marc Webb stole the majority of the soundtrack from my iPod. True story. Okay not really true, but I was having a fun little internal game of "identify this song" and I got most of them.
6. Summer's attitude towards love and life very much reminded me of Betsy. Also the HUMONGOUS EYES. I miss the Betsy (and the rest of the Orlando folks!).
7. OF COURSE HIS NEW OBJECT OF AFFECTION IS NAMED AUTUMN. I literally facepalmed at that. I was with you until that, Marc Webb, but at that point, you sort of stepped into cutesyville and I just couldn't go with you.
8. The karaoke scene was delightful and I sort of want to hear JGL actually sing, because he seems as though he might be quite good at it.
9. I totally thought of teamradvak every time Tom wore his Joy Division shirt.
10. Overall, a very good movie. I liked the way it was structured, the writing was sharp, the acting all around was very good.

Before the movie, I saw trailers for Whip It! (OMG want to see that so very badly) and Adam, which looks cute and awkward and full of the ever-charming Mr. Dancy. (not Darcy, DaNcy.)

Tomorrow: Heather and Rob's virtual baby shower (via phone call, since we couldn't all convene in Maryland), Greek Festival (there had better be a MOUNTAN of BAKLAVA), and a co-worker's birthday party (there are promises of s'mores!).

In which I lament my lack of energy but share some photos

2009-08-17T22:29:44Z

I went into the mountains!

(there's a coyote in that shot.)

You can make those bigger and see other shots at the Flickr.

So I went up to Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday, drove all around, and decided that I want to hike every single trail in the park. Don't worry, I will be starting with the easy ones. And then I got home and kind of died a slow and mindless death. I could not function to save my life on Saturday night or all day Sunday. I made myself go for a walk Sunday morning, and that went well until I got home and promptly ceased to move. I made myself go out again Sunday afternoon, to Target, to get cleaning supplies, in hopes that moving around and having cleaning supplies would make me actually clean, but no. I meandered around Target, feeling the urge to impulse buy things but completely lacking the energy to actually pick them up. It was strange. I think I needed a day or so to just sort of shut down and avoid the world. I've been goinggoinggoing for a while, and I'm used to my Florida life-style, where I was mostly on my own (even at work) and not being social. The timing kind of sucks, because I missed all of New West Fest, but I tried and tried to get myself psyched up for it and took a nap instead. :\

Next weekend, though, is the Greek Festival, and I definitely plan on going to that, if only for the scientific study to see just how much baklava one person can eat and still survive. MMMMM baklava.

If you follow me on Twitter, you may remember the work computer issues I was having. Namely, that my computer at work was restarting itself. So they brought me another CPU this morning, and it's very slow and I think the poor guys didn't know exactly what stuff I needed on here, so I've been trying to get it up and running for a good part of the day.

I still need to straighten up my living room and kitchen, and finish putting the finishing touches on my bedroom so I can take "after" photos.

In which I am very, very tired

2009-08-01T04:38:59Z

Coming at you live from the new apartment. My bed has rarely looked so appealing.

Today was the day where almost nothing went according to schedule.

Exhibit A, 7:45 AM: Waiting in line for the driver's license bureau to open, I got a call from the salon where I was getting my hair cut. My appointment was for 10, but the stylist I was originally going to see called in sick, so the receptionist called to see if I could go in at 9. I was about half an hour away from the salon, and not sure how long the driver's license office, but I told her I'd call her back if I thought I could make the 9:00 appointment.

Exhibit B, 8:45 AM: Driver's license goes quickly and I get finished around 8:20, call the receptionist, start driving to the salon, and get another phone call.
Man: This is so-and-so from the cable company, I finishing up my appointments early and was hoping I could come by a little before 9.
Me: Uh... I'm not at home.
Man: Oh, did you forget about your appointment time from 9 to 11? (not as rudely as this might sound in writing, I just can't remember exactly what he said.)
Me: O RLY? This is the first I've heard about having an appointment.
Man: ...Oh.
Me: Uh, I should be home by 11?
Man: Well, uh, just call me and I'll see if I can work you into the afternoon, or we'll reschedule.

I'm thinking the gal who does the contracts for the apartment complex forgot to call me back when she'd scheduled the appointment. She'd told me she'd call me back, but she probably got busy or something. Anyway.

Exhibit C, 9:45ish AM: Sitting in the stylist's chair (my hair looks FAB by the way, I'm hoping I can get close to replicating it on my own), my phone starts vibrating in my pocket. But as a very nice lady has scissors near my head, I'm not about to answer it and put things in her way. It rings again in a little while, and again I don't answer it. Finally, when the appointment is done, I listen to the message and it's the movers.

Mover: Hi, this is so-and-so, I know you were scheduled for an unload at 11 but we got done with our morning appointment early and were hoping we could start on your stuff, so give me a call.

Please note: I had written down that they were showing up at 12, not 11. Anyway, I call him back, explaining that I'm not at home but that I can be there in half an hour and he's like "no problem, we won't start the clock until we start working."

So I got all my stuff unloaded into my house before I had even figured they'd show up, I have a paper saying I'm getting a driver's license, and my hair looks awesome. I didn't get a chance to get started on my registration, but I figure I can do that after work one Friday while we have the summer hours.

And then amazonsun came over in the afternoon and helped me unpack and she's so awesome you all are so jealous! My living room is pretty much entirely set up, as is my kitchen, and much of it is due in part to Tia's amazingness while I was busy sorting boxes and figuring out what boxes belonged in which room and putting together my new fabulous chair from Ikea. So now the big thing that's left is figuring out what needs to stay in boxes until I can get the bookshelf situation sorted (short version: I have to figure out what new bookshelves I'm getting) and hang up some shelves, which I'm doing tomorrow with the help of myras_girls and Corey.

After the unpacking fun, Tia and I went downtown so I could buy a few birthday cards for my August birthday friends, and wandered around Ace Hardware (this Ace Hardware store is actually pretty awesome) and then grabbed some beers and food at Old Chicago before I decided I wanted ice cream from Cold Stone.

Tia and I parted ways, and then I picked up the Veranator and discussed Chrysta's filthy living situations (none of which were Chrysta's fault, fyi), and now she's checking out the house and I'm sitting on the floor because I haven't found the wireless router yet and the ethernet cord is incredibly short and very soon I'm going to go sleep in my bed and it's going to be awesome. Assuming that I can sleep after all this excitement today.

In which I could not resist

2009-07-27T20:52:30Z

From Dr. Polidori's Lord Ruthven to Stephenie Meyer's Edward Cullen, the annals of vampire lore are filled with attractive, charming bloodsuckers. Which one would you most want to be bitten by?

View 512 Answers

AHAHA this amuses me so much and I do not have any idea why. Also, I have no idea. Spike will always hold a special place in my heart, Jasper's adorable, various characters from the Black Dagger Brotherhood are smokin', there is something compelling about Eric even though he's a bit of an ass, I won't even get started on the characters from the Dark Hunter series, I haven't seen Gerard Butler's version of Dracula, but obviously I have ingested much more vampire fiction than anyone really needs to.

Your turn!

In which I am planning ahead

2009-07-27T19:19:43Z

Definitely just realized today how close August is, and that there's tons of things that I want to do in August.

This weekend is pretty much void of anything classified as "fun" and/or "outdoorsy," as it has been relegated to "unpacking." That's right, I move into my new apartment this weekend. I get the keys tonight, and I've got my camera with me for the "Before Amy's Stuff" photos (and some WIP photos, I've been really bad about keeping up with them). My POD arrives on Thursday, the movers come to unload on Friday (and Friday AM, I have to go get my driver's license and start working on my car registration), and then Saturday and Sunday I want to get as much done and unpacked and settled in as I can.

August 7 is the First Friday Gallery walk in Old Town, which I kind of want to check out but may put off for another month. On August 8, there's the French Nest Market, which amazonsun and I had considered wandering through, and then on that Sunday, there's the Denver Handmade Craft Fair. I really want to go to both (with the idea that maybe, if I get my butt in gear, I could sell stuff at one or both next year), and I haven't gone into Denver yet. The problem with the Denver fair is that it's near the zoo. ZOOOOOOOOOOO. Crafts or zoo, crafts or zoo, aaaah! Sorry.

The next weekend is also potentially busy, as New West Fest will be going on, while at the same time Rocky Mountain National Park (and a slew of others-Mesa Verde! Dinosaur National Monument!) are all free admission that whole weekend.

AND THEN, the Greek Festival is August 22 and I do love me some Greek food, so I'm going to have to go to that.

All of that to do in August and this past weekend it was a chore to get out of bed. Seriously, yesterday I got up around 7:30 to feed Vera, and then I crawled back into bed "for just a little while." Four hours later, I got out of bed, made myself some lunches, putzed around in my jammies, made myself do my laundry, and then around 6, I got back into bed to lay down for a bit. I didn't go to sleep, but just lying down was fabulous.

OH I FORGOT that August 7, (500) Days of Summer is supposed to start airing at the movie theater here. This excites me, because my TV Boyfriend is in it. And if you don't know who my TV Boyfriend is, you have not been paying attention.

In which I babble about my week

2009-07-19T02:29:36Z

HELLO WORLD. Man, it feels weird to not post as frequently as I'm used to. I got a bit out of the habit when I was packing/moving/internet-less, but now it's just kind of weird. The job is going extremely well, keeping me super busy and occupied and I LOVE IT. My brain has been hurting every evening, because I'm literally not used to using it as much (I mean, it was definitely not taxed for a year and a half).

I've been keeping pretty busy still. On Sunday, amazonsun, Corey, and I went to the library's used book sale. You know you're off to a good start in a new place if there's a book sale your first full day.

From top to bottom: Knitting in Plain English, Maggie Righetti, a book that is in the pantheon of knitting technique books; Tales of Burning Love, Louise Erdrich, one of my favorite authors and a book I haven't read yet; Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy, Lindsey Moran, true story about a woman who was in the CIA; Louisiana Light and Power, John Dufresne, I believe this comes highly recommended by theemdash, but she's recommended many books to me so I could be confused; The Secret History, Donna Tart, a book that's been on my radar but I never really thought to pick up. All of those cost me $5.50. Of course, I haven't started reading any of them because I've gotten sucked into yet another trashy vampire romance series—J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood, any of you read any of them? They're actually quite enjoyable and there are no sparklepires. I did just start Preludes and Nocturnes today to give myself a break from the vampires, but as graphic novels are pretty quick reads, I imagine I'll get sucked back into those soon.

Monday and Tuesday evening were pretty low-key, although Monday night was the night my mom took me to the other apartment complex she'd picked out for me (not that I mind, makes my life a little easier) and I filled out the application and put down the deposit. Wednesday evening, I met up with my friend Amanda from Orlando, who funnily enough arrived in Denver the same day that I got into Fort Collins. She and her husband and I went to dinner and then saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I need to see it again, as I'm not entirely sold on it after the first viewing.

On Thursday, I went to a scooter-thing with myras_girls, Tia, and Corey, and then to dinner. I know nothing about scooters but it was fun to sit on them and go "Vroom, vroom." Also, we discovered that I need a scooter that sits up higher, as both Chrysta and Tia's scooters were too small for my long legs. Not that I'm getting a scooter any time soon.

Yesterday, we got out of work early for summer hours, so I headed up to Old Town to meet Tia. First, though, I stopped at a yarn store and bought myself some celebratory yarn.

This is the celebratory yarn, it's Spud and Chloe Fine in this super gorgeous blue color that just seems to glow from within (that would be the silk content).

And this is yarn for a baby blanket for Heather and Rob. It's Rowan Felted Tweed, and it's probably not the most practical yarn for a baby blanket, but it is at least machine washable (on a gentle/wool cycle), and it's pretty and I like it, and that's what matters, since I'll be knitting the thing. :D

I had a good time wandering around Old Town with Tia and I found a bag that I'm pretty much meant to have, but I should really reign in my spending a bit (I haven't been that bad, but I also haven't spend $60 or $70 on just one item, so). But mark my words—if it's still there in a few weeks, after I get paid and make my payments on the apartment and whatnot, that bag is mine.

This morning Chrysta made the "mistake" of telling both Corey and myself that there was a used cd and record sale at the radio station, and both of us pretty much demanded that we leave at once. While we didn't leave right away, we did eventually head down there, and OH I SCORED SO BIG.

I got 18 records and 3 cds for SEVEN BUCKS. The CDs are Sean Lennon's Friendly Fire, Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and Between the Trees' The Story and the Song. The records: Private Dancer, Tina Turner; The Sound of Music soundtrack, 16 #1 Hits of the Late 60s; Fleetwood Mac Live; 10 Songs from Mary Poppins; Beauty and the Beat, The Go-Go's; The Music Man soundtrack; Blondes Have More Fun, Rod Stewart; A Night on the Town, Rod Stewart; Greatest Hits, Simon and Garfunkel; My Fair Lady soundtrack; Deja Vu, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young; Dirty Dancing soundtrack; Crimes of Passion, Pat Benatar; Especially For You, The Smithereens; Dear You, Jawbreaker; Live at Budokan, Cheap Trick; Synchronicity, The Police.

OHO I cannot wait to get to my record player.

Tomorrow, Chrysta, Corey, and possibly Tia and I are going to the renaissance festival. Chrysta's offered to loan me some of her garb, and while it is tempting, I'm not sure ~~I want to commit to Sparklemotion~~ I want to wander around a renaissance festival in clothes that look like they're quite warm. Maybe it's the Floridian in me, but going outside = wearing as little clothing as possible while maintaining the appropriate and comfortable modesty level.

I leave you with the Vera Monster.

In which I am alive!

2009-07-14T14:53:40Z

Oh lord peoples. I am somewhat overwhelmed here but in a very good way. The drive was long, but we made it, and now I'm staying with the lovely myras_girls and her hubby and my job is going well although I haven't actually done anything yet except attend many meetings and fill out paperwork. My brain, which wasn't exactly taxed for the last year and a half, is adjusting to this "having to work" thing. I have found a place to live and I "take possession" of it (their phrase) in two weeks. Vera is adjusting to her space quite well, and has even been cuddling up next to me and my mom, which I didn't think she'd do so quickly.

And that's really all I have time for before I head off to the first meeting of today. Hopefully I'll be able to work at catching up with you all soon (I'm at skip 225 on my friends filter, meaning the filter that only shows friends' posts and not all the communities and whatnot).

In which I announce my impending absence

2009-07-04T14:37:43Z

So my hiatus has sort of already started but I figured I'd properly announce it for... some reason. I no longer have internet at home, though I may sneak out to Starbucks or Panera Bread with my laptop. I'm pretty sure most of our hotel rooms have internet, but who knows how much I'll be on. Email or call me if I need to know about anything in particular.

Be good, peeps, and I'll see you on the flipside.

In which I explain my future whereabouts and why you won't hear from me much

2009-06-30T23:47:55Z

Today was my last day of work at the old job. HOORAY. We all went to Meg O'Malley's, the Irish pub downtown, for lunch, so I got me some macaroni and cheese (it's made with DUBLINER) and even more importantly, I managed to not eat all of it in one sitting (which I can totally do, it's so freaking good) so now I can have more of it tomorrow! Wooo.

Speaking of tomorrow, it's going to be a doozy. I'm going to a WW meeting in the morning (my last one for at least a little while) and then take Vera to the vet. Hopefully the vet will give me a prescription for some sort of kitty Xanax so she will not be so upset while stuck in a car for a while. Then I have to get my tires rotated, and hopefully drive down to Palm Bay to drop off some stuff that a friend lent me, and pack pack pack. Thursday morning, I'm turning in all of my cable and internet stuff, so I will have no more cable or internet at home, but I'm also driving to my parents' house on Thursday (with brief detours for lunching and Ikea shopping in Orlando), so I'll still have access to the interwebs for a few days. Saturday I drive back to Melbourne and have a visit with theemdash planned, and then Sunday is the packing/cleaning party (which I hope will be more cleaning than packing, but we'll have to see) which will be followed by pizza nommage hopefully. Monday my pod arrives, Tuesday morning the movers come to load the the pod, and that evening I drive back to my parents' house so my mom and I can leave bright and early Wednesday morning.

To say that I won't be around much for the next week and a half is an understatement.

I just want to curl up in bed and read more Harry Potter, but I need to get cracking and get some stuff done this evening. It strangely feels like I have so much to do and yet am so close to being done. I can't quite get a handle on the state of things. Oh well.

Jenny Lewis was amazing last night. The whole night was a bit ..., but the actual performance was great, especially when everyone, en masse, decided to eschew the whole seating arrangement (who schedules a rock show in a playhouse?) and bumrushed the stage. Hopefully some of the pictures I took will come out well once I zoom in and crop a bit. My, but that girl can sing.

In which I am exuberant and frazzled and very, very tired

2009-06-25T15:16:44Z

THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE HAPPY, SUPPORTIVE WORDS. I'm really excited, although right now I'm really just exhausted.

Some details: My title will be Assistant Editor, and I'll be working on a variety of projects in different forms of media (print, TV, electronic). My last day with this company is June 30, and my first day with at the new job is July 13. THAT'S NOT FAR AWAY. I literally have 2 weeks to get everything packed and ready to move before I start driving out there. Of course, in the mean time, I still have to go to work every day for 4 more days--okay, 3 and a half as of this posting--, go to Orlando on Sunday to see some friends who are visiting from out of state, go back to Orlando on Monday night for the Jenny Lewis concert with turalu_21 (a more prudent person than I would skip it, but I need some C-time, I've been looking forward to this show for months, and I've never seen Jenny on her own), take Vera to the vet to get her shots up to date, drive across the state to my parents' house for my grandmother's memorial service and family time, and then drive back and load the pod. All told, I'll have three full days of packing, and that's it. Obviously I have evenings and half days here and there, but whew.

My mother is coming over this Saturday to help with the packing efforts, and I've already started a bit myself, but man. A smidge overwhelmed.

Thankfully I don't have to immediately worry about finding a place to live, because myras_girls and her delightful hubby have volunteered some space at their domicile. The one concern I have with that is the fact that Vera is a diva and she gets riled up around other animals, but hopefully she will either a) learn to coexist peacefully with other beings or b) learn to love being cooped up in one room.

I've been trying to make a mental list of things that are going to have to go in the car with me (and my mom and Vera). I'm torn, because I won't have a lot of room for yarn paraphernalia, but I am also going to have to go at least a few weeks without access to any of the stuff I put in the pod, so... I have to plan that carefully. I'm thinking about taking the yarn and magazine for the next large project I have in mind (the Elemental Boatneck pullover from the Summer IK issue), as well as the yarn for my mom's blanket (note to self: wind yarn) and a couple of skeins for socks (one sock I'm test knitting, one sock I'm "re-designing", whatever is still on the needles at the time). Money will be tight so I can't just buy more yarn until I can get to my stash! Clearly I'm going to need more projects in the project box. Meep.

I also am figuring out the reading material situation. I plan on setting aside whatever Harry Potter books I don't finish before I leave, but as I just finished Chamber of Secrets last night and will likely start on Prisoner of Azkaban today at lunch or dinner before knit night... well, at least Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, and Half-Blood Prince are fairly long.

See, this would be a good time to have a Kindle. They take up much less space.

Please, when I lament about the fact that I have all of this stuff with me, everyone just keep your mouths shut and don't point out the fact that it's really only about 3 and a half days of trading off driving with my mother and I'm packing entertainment items like it's 3 months. The yarn is the important thing, though, I'm sure I can find other entertainment for myself until I can access my boxes.

I'm leaning towards throwing in my Sandman volumes. They're skinny.

Poor darling on crutches. More photos from the (500) Days of Summer premiere here.