As a follow-up to my previous post, I’m feeling almost completely better. I’m not sure what was wrong. Whatever the ailment, my experiment showed that it wasn’t lactose-related. Maybe I had a bug, maybe it was stress. Le meh.
We lost Bobbi last weekend. Continue reading
Evidence of yarn industry. And Libby.
Thanks to Jessie, I’ve been learning to KNIT. My first project is a scarf with alternating knit and purl stitches, nothing too fancy. I can’t say that I like knitting any more or less than crochet–I’ve only just begun. I can, however, say that knitting doesn’t give me the repetitive stress problems that crocheting did (different movement). Knitting, I’ve found, is just as addictive as crochet. Maybe it’s just the zone-out appeal, kind of like when I was doing latch hook as a kid. Just craft and dream.
In other news, I’ve had digestive problems for a week and a half now. Even though I’m not tracking calories anymore, I still pay pretty close attention to what I eat–and I have no idea what could be bothering me. I’m not ready to run to the doctor just yet (I’ve been there twice in as many months) but I needed to do something. So yesterday, I cut milk out of my diet. The only dairy I ate yesterday was half a tablespoon of butter on my bagel. Today I tried margarine on the bagel instead. I’ve felt much better today but it’s probably too soon to know anything conclusive. The experiment continues.
Oh and the hairs done been cut, if you haven’t already seen on Facebook or ::gasp:: in PERSON.
Right. That is all, comrades.
Puddles has been silent while I’ve worked through some personal stuff but I needed to log in to upgrade my WordPress install, so I might as well leave some word-barf while I’m here. Continue reading
I took the day off for my birthday this year. Russ and I needed to be in Indianapolis in the morning so I took the opportunity to see the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. The pieces were fascinating. Continue reading
I was reviewing a peer’s text encoding work for the Indiana Authors and Their Books digitization project (site not yet public) and found this gem from a medical text, Worry and Nervousness, or, the Science of Self-Mastery, by William S. Sadler, M.D. (Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1914). All emphasis below is my own.
THE UNMARRIED AND CHILDLESS
The nerve hygiene of single people, childless married people, old maids, bachelors, widows, and widowers, deserves special attention. As a class these people are given to a great deal of thinking about themselves, while they are usually quite without a definite aim and purpose in life. There is a great tendency for this class to become selfish, self-centered, while the tender emotions of natural affection and love are so little exercised that the unselfish social instincts become stunted. There is a great tendency to develop a peculiar temperament and an eccentric disposition. Continue reading
These last two weeks, I’ve lacked inspiration and I’ve had little time to do much besides getting the new Starrynight website ready to go live. You can take a peek at the test site here. I still have a lot of content to move but I don’t anticipate the style and navigation to change drastically. Unless of course, some tells me that hate so-and-so and that I need to change it or else they won’t love me anymore (Tim, I tweaked the orange color–hopefully, it’s less painful now). I’ve had fun with this redesign. I even got brave and played with a little php. I have no idea what I’m doing but my changes didn’t seem to break anything. So, success?
I’ve listened to about three-quarters of Northanger Abbey. It’s… different. I feel absolutely nothing for any of the characters. I know Austen is writing satirically but I’m not a big fan of the genre that is being mocked to begin with. Austen is not being nearly as ruthless as I’d like. I want horrible things to happen to Catherine Morland. I’m probably not meant to feel that way about the heroine. She’s just so damn clueless and she keeps making the same mistake over and over. Every character in this book could die and I’d clap and cheer. They’re all too two-dimensional–even for satire. All of you. Die.
In other news, The Cavaliers just announced their 2010 program, or parts of it, at any rate. Interesting concept. I immediately thought of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World but that film has nutty, vaguely carnivalesque theme music, which judging from the show logo is probably not what The Cavies are going for. In any case, I look forward to June!
In OTHER other news, my microwave may not be malfunctioning after all. Russ has used it a few times with absolutely no problems. He is convinced that there were small bits of metal in the green beans I was reheating. Oh, I feel much better now that I know the microwave won’t EXPLODE; however, there was METAL in my GREEN BEANS. Russell could not understand why I would not be consoled on this matter.
It is entirely coincidental that this long-overdue blog post is appearing on the first of April. “Jen! Are YOU doing BEDA?” Continue reading
I closed out January with five stitches in my thumb (first time getting stitches– first visit to the emergency room). Surely, I can do better in February.
Sharp object encounters aside, January was a pretty good month. I managed to read quite a bit more1. Listening to the audiobook versions of S&S and MP during commute and workout time helped me take in a little Austen on the days I didn’t have sit-down-and-read time. I’m determined to finish all of Jane Austen’s major novels by the end of this month (I will likely put off reading Northanger Abbey and Lady Susan until a later date). I will keep reading the Pern series (I’m about a quarter of the way into Dragonquest now). I currently have Fables checked out from the library and will start that once I’ve finished Emma. I’ve been poking around for some staple sci-fi titles and have compiled two or three recommendations, which I will probably start in March. Right now I’m reading The Woman in White (via DailyLit RSS, which I just reactivated after a week hiatus), Emma, and Dragonquest. I have good reading variety this month, each title enjoyable in different ways.
I hardly blogged in January and I don’t have any creative or academic writing to show for my time off. I was at first excited to see that Laurie Halse Anderson is urging everyone to have a Blog-Free February but then figured that it’s less daunting for me to pop on and ramble a bit here instead of sitting down and composing something formally. So I’m going to take a pass on BFF this year (although BFF would be an awesome pairing with BEDA, if Blog Every Day in April becomes an annual phenomenon). Better to keep all writing channels open. I’m intrigued by the call from LISNews for essays relating to libraries or librarianship. I’ve been recording ideas, links and news items regarding a number of library topics for months but haven’t had the kick in the butt to make something material of it. I don’t have to submit something but writing up a few pieces on different topics might be a good exercise.
Reassessing finances prompted me taking more part-time work. I rearranged my IU schedule to accommodate additional hours at Avers. Last week was an adjustment period. I was far more worn out after my workout sessions last week but I felt more like myself after yesterday’s session. And, as it was much easier getting up at 5:30 this morning than it was last week, I think my body is finally realizing that I’m not shorting it on sleep (I started going to bed earlier but, for whatever reason, I still felt exhausted when the alarm went off). This week (and possibly next) will be the test: getting up a 5:30, working at the library, working an additional 20 some hours at Avers, and maintaining my current workout and diet routine. We’ll see how it goes.
Once I’m sure that I’m in possession of the proper quantities of sleep, calories, and sanity, I will start focusing on weight loss again. I plateaued in January, in spite of continued diet and exercise. I’m honestly not discouraged that I haven’t kept losing. If nothing else, this proves that I can maintain a goal weight if I stick to the habits I’ve relearned.
Right. Now that I’ve gotten that housekeeping post of out my system, on to more interesting thngs.
In my 2009 prospectus, I decried resolutions as “stupid.” SCIENCE agrees: link. Instead, I like to think that I have ongoing, long-term goals.
Of last year’s goals, I think I’ve improved the most at being more healthy. Seeing results is nice but I know my body a bit better now too. In 2010, I’ll keep doing cardio 3-4 times a week but I’d like to begin varying workouts with strength training. Now that I know how many calories per day/week I’m consuming, I will also focus on eating meals that are better balanced.
As to being more organized: this could still use work. I’m using more tools to help but sometimes I wonder if I have cotton candy for brains. My memory is horrible. I depend on my iPod Touch to remind me of upcoming vents, compose to-do lists, plan meals and exercise, track my finances, etc. Where I feel like I fail on being organized is minimizing clutter. This 2009 goal I completely failed on. In my defense, this is not entirely within the realm of my control. Russell had no such resolve to make our home less cluttered after all. And if I thought a theatre production created a lot of costume/prop clutter, boy does shooting a film create a mess (and most of the Banshee property isn’t even being stored at our place–thanks Chris and Meagan!). However, there are things of my own I can probably get rid of to free up space. This will definitely be on the Things to Do in 2010.
Looking forward, I’m not sure that I need to add another Big Goal to the heap. Now that I think about it, there are a few long-term goals not mentioned here like paying down debt as quickly as possible, which is hardly a goal, as I don’t have much choice in the matter. I will work on being more thoughtful in 2010. I tend to be frightfully self-absorbed and I don’t always realize when I’m neglecting someone else’s feelings by simply being too caught up in whatever I’m doing. I hate being flaky.
So nothing too crazy in 2010. Sorry about the general boringness of this post. I almost posted this privately but figured that posting publicly would hold me more accountable.
And now, for your patience and fortitude in surviving to the end of this post, a diversion! If you had to sit through just ONE MORE Christmas songvid, it should be this one.
I feel somewhat obliged to make a New Year’s Day post to welcome in 2010. To me, New Year’s is a scammy, half-assed sort of holiday, on the order of Groundhog Day. My new year is on May 10th, so reflection, introspection and hopes for a new year generally fall on the day in which I am a year older. But the world didn’t ask me, they asked the Gregorian calendar, so the Twitter trending topics aren’t #moreofsame or #anotherday, they are #in2010 and #10yearsago. Incidentally, I couldn’t for the life of me remember what I was doing in December 31st, 1999. I would have just completed my first semester at Rutgers and I was working two jobs (Domino’s and at Honors College courtesy of the FWSP). I probably spent New Year’s Eve with friends and family but I have no recollection of the details. Much of my life is like that. Stupid memory! Well, if nothing else, in 10 years time, when Twitter and Facebook have merged, and Facetwitbook is acquired by Google, and Googfacetwitbook sends a query directly to my brain asking what I did in 2009, I will have THIS blog post to reference.
I’ve already written a quasi-year in review post in the beginning of November. At the end of November, Tim and I started going to the gym in place of walking three times a week. I’ve managed to work in a fourth day for all but one of the weeks since we started. Exercising regularly combined with tracking and limiting calories has equated to me losing about two pounds a week (this last week being a wash because I wanted to moderately enjoy Christmas goodies and not obsess about what the scale says). I have a lot more energy AND I’ve only had 20 ounces of soda in the last five weeks. I truly wasn’t sure I could do without caffeine completely. Bananas are now my brain food for the morning.
By way of summary, here is what else happened in 2009:
I will save predictions and goals for 2010 for another post. I notice that I didn’t do a prospective post until Jan 2nd of 2009. Better keep to tradition.