Down the Rabbit Hole with the Semi-Evil Squirrel

you never know, maybe you're dreamin'...*

0939 hrs:
Almost did not make it in to work this morning. I kept hitting snooze and was having a pretty good dream. Of course, now I don't remember what it was or even the general subject...BUT - as I said last week, the coffee was already brewing and I just can't let good, fresh and hot coffee go to waste, so I had to get up and go to work. Plus, the cat needed to be fed and let out of his carrier and in order to call in to work I would have had to get up to get my cell phone anyway. Smelled the fresh coffee and grudgingly told myself that I should stop being lazy and go to work.

I'm pretty sure most people have today off, but oh well, right? I am taking Friday off to head to Chicago for the JET interview. Still sort of avoiding thinking about it, which is kind of bad considering that now it is less than a week away. Eek!

Went clothes shopping this weekend with Nailz with the excuse that I needed to buy an outfit for the interview. Good times. I bought more shoes than clothes which is sometimes not a very good sign. Ended up getting a really good deal on a pair of nice Naturalizers for only $16! Bought a cute (below the knee) skirt and a shirt, necklace, shoes and purse to go with it. The purse is a Vera Wang that was on sale for under $25 - it is too cute! Will need to figure out how I'm going to do my hair and nails...

Also had my car repaired on Friday. It only came out to $225. Not bad considering most times shops will charge that just for the part that was replaced. I love my mechanic! The car drives much better and so I am pleased on that front.

Did proper meal planning this weekend, so I actually had a grocery list when I went to the store last night. I only bought 4 items totaling $6.73.

This week's Grocery Titan goes to the tub of Dannon All Natural Plain Yogurt coming in at $2.99! *applauds*

I was going to skip the Grocery Saver this week seeing as I only bought 4 items, but I must say that I am mighty impressed that I bought a bunch of 4 bananas for $0.81. WOW. Sometimes I see bananas advertised in gas stations for 2/$1.00, so paying less than $1.00 for 4 seems really awesome. I guess it is all a matter of perspective.

Also, a note about the yogurt... I know that I've complained quite a bit on this blog about my stomach problems. Since taking up the yogurt/health shakes (which are tasty when you don't add too much coconut milk), my stomach has felt better than it has in years. I didn't have indigestion or heartburn once last week and over all, things just feel like they are running better now. It is such a relief!

1302 hrs:
Had a good lunch. I had tuna salad with some pita bread and an orange. I have some broccoli, too, but that will probably end up being an afternoon snack. Read some of the CLAIR website over lunch. Just reading it makes me nervous. They give a lot of good information on both the CLAIR and JET Program websites. For most people, the websites' information may be helpful because they get more of an idea of what they are getting in to. For me, it is disquieting to have so much information. I'm used to going in to these overseas adventures almost completely blind - relying on my leadership to light the way, and the torch would only give off a small circle of light by which to reckon the way. I feel like I'm walking down a brightly lit hallway and any obstacles are well lit and obvious. Having so much visibility of what it is going to or may occur makes me feel as if there is going to be some unpleasant surprise somewhere.

If I am accepted in to the program, one big thing that will be very different from my previous overseas experience is that I wouldn't be going with anyone that I know. Big change there. It would almost be like leaving home for college, except bigger...newer...and probably uncomfortable and lonely at first. *unsure laugh*

Here's a real laugh.

1551 hrs:
Well, my work day is drawing to a close. I almost forgot that I have yoga tonight because I'm making up the one I missed so many weeks ago when it was so cold outside and I was l-a-z-y. Have to eat my broccoli now, as if I eat any later than 4pm, it makes yoga a bit uncomfortable because of all the bending, twisting and upside-down-i-ness of it..

After I finished writing my last portion above, I started to realize that I'm really putting the carriage before the horse. Plus, if I've gotten through some things almost blind, then I can most certainly do them when the way is lit, right? Sometimes, I think I just need to have confidence in myself and my personal decisions.

Well, guess that is it for today. Hope all had a good day off.

*The Dave Matthews Band - So Much To Say

Labels: grocery savers, grocery titans, JET program, link blogging, nutrition/diet, weekend sum up

i just keep losing my beat*

1823 hrs - ETA: This is my 500th blog post. Considering I've had this blog since 2003, that's maybe not all that impressive. But still - cheers!

0947 hrs:
Sometimes it seems that the only reason I get up in the morning is because the coffee is already brewing. This morning it was particularly difficult to convince myself to get out of bed. I hit snooze until I absolutely couldn't any more. We are supposed to get freezing rain today and my sleepy brain was making up a really great excuse (that since the ABS and traction control of my car are not working, best not drive today) to call into work with. Two things saved me from taking a vacation/sick day: 1) Murphy was meowing outside of my bedroom door to be let in and 2) I heard the coffee maker brewing. The cat meowing at the door I could have dealt with and gone back to sleep, but the coffee must NOT be wasted. It's a good thing I have it programmed to start before my alarm goes off, otherwise, the lazies might get me more often than not.

This weekend was ok. I updated the blog on Saturday, so no need to review that day. Yesterday (Sunday), I went to drill and it was surprisingly not a waste of time. On the way home, I called and talked with Mom a bit. We ended up talking for over an hour about all sorts of things and then I took a nap before beginning the usual weekend cleaning. I did a couple loads of laundry, did dishes, cleaned the kitchen counters and stove, vacuumed, picked up my room, etc. All of that is usually spread throughout Sunday, but since I didn't start on it until almost 7pm, it was a late night. It probably didn't help that Nailz and I got a bit absorbed by the Victoria's Secret clearance website and were shopping. All-in-all, by the time I was done showering, writing a weekly letter and writing in my journal, it was almost 1am. *le sigh* It was a good weekend though, and I'm not at all disappointed with it - plus I have an awesome sweater jacket from VS to look forward to this week or next.

1055 hrs:
As is our custom, Nailz and I went to the grocery store this weekend. I went with a list that had 2 items on it. I ended up buying a strange assortment of items that I am now wondering what to do with, but will find something (I hope)...Of course, it is also the custom to stir (and in today's case, brighten) up Monday with the announcement of the Grocery Titan, Grocery Saver and (where applicable) the Target Titan. This week we have all three categories to announce, plus a special guest! Without further ado...

This week's Grocery Titan goes to an unusual item: the sushinori (seaweed wrap) from the Asian foods aisle, coming in at (imagine my best Bob Barker impression) ... $3.09.

The Grocery Saver would have to go to the frozen Cub Foods Green Beans that were on sale for 10/$10.00. I scored one bag of frozen beans for $1 - How awesome is that?

Target turned out to be an expensive shopping trip (as per usual). I only got 7 items, yet managed to spend almost $50! *shock-u* The Target Titan for this week goes (completely unchallenged) to the 7th Generation laundry detergent at a hefty $14.99. Luckily, I only buy laundry detergent about 2 or 3 times a year. *wipes brow*

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for. This week, we have a special guest Titan. Taking the advice of the nutritionist who was the instructor at the nutrition class I took a couple of weeks ago, I've decided to try a health shake for breakfast this week (if I remember, I will post the recipe tomorrow). One of the ingredients is a tablespoon of pure whey protein. She recommended that it be pure whey - as in no sugar or anything added. Though I searched the aisles of Target and Cub Foods, I eventually gave in to the idea that I would have to go to GNC in the maul to find what I was seeking.

A small jar (which in actuality is huge, but not as HUGE as the barrels) of pure whey protein with no additives or flavoring from GNC came to a staggering $32.01!! I dub this purchase the Health Food Titan (possibly of all time).

Rather than suck my thumb for comfort (heh), I convinced myself that this one container of protein would last me forever because it is only a tablespoon a day. We'll see if this purchase was worth it....stay tuned!

1519 hrs:
It's the afternoon slowdown. Time is always unpredictable after 3pm for me. Lately, I've had so much to do that I work right up until 4 and then realize that I haven't concluded and posted the daily post. Not so today. Today, I have actually looked for work. It is a very strange thing indeed after last week.

I have the distinct feeling that my posts have become rather boring. Perhaps it is because I am writing them from work where my brain shuts down all creative functions. Or it might be because there are a lot of background processes running all the time. Two of the main background processes revolve around photography-related stuff and the impending JET interview. I am trying to take a break from the photography stuff for a little bit. I've become a bit too focused on it and it has started to consume my thoughts and my income. XD

Well, best post this. It is getting long and I should find something to do for the last half hour...

*Queen - Somebody to Love

Labels: grocery savers, grocery titans, guest titans, target titans, weekend sum up, work

it goes on*

0942 hrs:
So it is finally Monday, eh? I never thought I would be so relieved to be at work on a Monday morning. This weekend felt like it lasted forever and I feel more tired now than going into it. Nailz kept apologizing for the trouble (the car issue was the one flogging us), but none of it was within her control - so she really is blameless. Sometimes life just beats you up like that. To be dramatic: this weekend was like some sort of sick, sadistic monster that sucked us both in and we were lucky to escape into Monday with life and limb. I can't remember ever being through such a vicious weekend. I am positive Nailz feels glad to have it over as well.

Tomorrow, I have the day off of work to watch the Inauguration and go out to take some winter photos. I am pretty excited for the day off and for the events of the day. It will be nice to sit and do only what I want to for a day. I don't even have chores to do (well, except for laundry) as I did manage to do most of them Sunday evening. I have a few things that I'll be imbibing during the Inauguration, so that will be nice too. I'm planning on getting up around 6:30am to go out and get pictures of the sunrise. Winter sunrises are AMAZING, so I'm hoping tomorrow morning doesn't disappoint. Much coffee will be made and consumed tomorrow. Maybe a nap after the Inauguration will be in order since I haven't napped in the afternoon for a few weeks.

Well, best get to the Grocery and Target Titan awards. I didn't do much shopping this weekend and my lists were very limited, but here goes anyway:

This weekend's Target Titan title goes to....*drum roll*...the leather and wool gloves that were on clearance for $8.98!

Let's give them a hand! *laughs at own bad pun*

I put those in the pockets of my fancy goat coat *laughs at typo too* to wear this coming weekend to the theater. Yay!

Ahem....Now on to the Grocery Titan for this weekend. The title goes to the 3 lbs of lean ground beef weighing in at $10.79.

Isn't it amazing how much meat costs? Dang! Well, I'm trying to cut down on how much meat I consume (since I seem to consume quite a bit), so hopefully that will last me a month or so. :D

The title really could've gone to the 1 pound of mixed, raw nuts that I bought. The total for a smidgen over a pound was over $8! That sure beats the $3.60/lb that the meat cost.

1124 hrs:
I might leave after lunch today. I'm not sure I can make it through the rest of the day with these people. Normally, it is like water off of duck's back when my cow-orkers criticize my work, but after this weekend, I'm just not sure I can take it. In fact, I'm pretty sure I can't, because as I write this, tears are welling up in my eyes. I feel like just giving up and leaving and it's over something completely stupid - which makes me even more likely to bust out crying. (It's always the stupid things, ne?)

I'll tell you what made it come on:
Today, we are having a potluck. Even though the rest of the corporate world has today off, our managers decided to schedule mandatory training today and then on top of that, do a potluck. SO - I signed up to bring mashed potatoes. Well, that is quite hard to make in advance and keep warm and even so, I don't have a crock pot big enough for as many potatoes as I would need to bring. SO - I looked up a crock pot recipe and one of my cow-orkers said she would bring in her big crock pot. Long story short: I added too much water and when I asked another cow-orker for help she just started bombarding me with "well, why didn't you do this? Or why didn't you do that? Why didn't you make them this weekend and then just bring them in to heat them up?" And so on and so forth. I felt like yelling at the top of my lungs that instead of focusing on what an idiot I am and all of the things I should have done (but didn't), why doesn't she try to help me. I must have made a face when I turned to walk away because the cow-orker who brought in the crock pot for me to use came and has been helping me out. Isn't that nice of her? I feel like hitting the other one in the face with something really heavy and blunt, but hey....I'm sure that urge will pass....Maybe.

*Spoon - The Minor Tough

Labels: bad day, cow-orkers, grocery titans, target titans, weekend sum up, work

fell on black days*

0754 hrs:
Got creative with my time-reporting sheet. Usually, I just put pretty much the same thing for every day of the previous week. This time, I really split it up among the different categories. Can't believe I found some amusement in it. Have I been working in a cube too long? Or is it just that I'm too tired from drill this weekend?

Pretty sure that I've used today's blog title before, but I wouldn't be able to check until I got home, so there it is. It feels very true. Although, maybe I wouldn't say "black days", maybe just "dark days" - but one cannot change someone else's lyrics, so it stays. The reason I thought of that song is because it is so very dark outside this morning. Extremely gloomy and foreboding. Watashi wa kurai kimochi ninaru. (Is that how it goes, Nailz?) The sky does not lie: today we are supposed to get 2-3 inches of show by the afternoon.
Yay. <--sarcasm (indicated so as to not be mistaken) >__<

0837 hrs:
This weekend went by pretty quickly and most of it was taken up with the aforementioned (see Friday's entry) mandatory wasting of time. I did, however, go shopping on Friday evening even though the urge to stay home was strong in me. I convinced Nailz to go with me and as per usual on a Friday night, it was pretty dead. What a pleasant experience grocery shopping is on Friday nights. Reminiscing about the leisurely grocery outing reminds me to announce this week's Grocery Titan. Yay! <--not sarcasm

My shopping list was only 4 items long, so this week's competitors all stood a good chance of winning. The 8-pack of Dannon Activa yogurt, however, took the prize. It was heads and shoulders above the rest, coming in at $4.67. The Hoshi Soba noodles couldn't even come close with it's mere $1.89 for the package.

0927 hrs:
I'm so tired of people forwarding on alarmist emails about everything from new car-jacking schemes to perfume salesmen that ask you to smell their samples and then it knocks you out. All of it is serious bullsh1t. The best is when people see that the email references Snopes.com and figures that's proof enough that it's true and they forward it on. Gah! I'm going to start forwarding all of the FALSE forwards I receive with not only a link to the Snopes.com article added, but the article quote that says that it's all bullsh1t. Seriously - I'm glad that people are concerned for me and my pet's health, but I'm not an idiot. Please stop insulting my intelligence.

1457 hrs:
Um. There is so much that I want to blog about. How does one choose between all of the boredom-inducing possibilities?

Well, I'll make the weekend sum-up brief: Saturday, I had drill. It was ok - but it was the longest day ever. Saturday evening, I forced Nailz to go out to eat with me. I knew I had to GO and DO something that night or my whole weekend would have felt little like suckage to the max. *nerd* We ended up going to Babani's. It was so completely AWESOME. If something could truly be full of awesome sauce, it would be Babani's. I plan on making that one of my favorite places to go for a weekend dinner out.

Sunday was drill again. The only saving grace is that I got to geek out with 2 other photo nerds. Sunday didn't feel quite as long, nevertheless, I was happy when it was over. Of course, I express my joy of having the monthly drill over with by a typical, celebratory, 30-minute venting/bitch session when I get home. If Nailz weren't there to lend a sympathetic ear, the poor cat would have to be held down and tortured with cuddling and self-absorbed ranting.

Today has been good. Going fast. Getting lots done. Still lots to do, so should go. Ciao for now, peeps! *pulling out all kinds of geek-language*

1545 hrs:
I will expound upon these links this evening, if I remember. Heh.

I love the level of geekiness in this comic.

Here's where to find out where you can recycle plastic bags.

And this is for when you want to know just how shitty the driving in Minnesota is going to be due to weather.


*Soundgarden - Fell On Black Days

Labels: grocery titans, link blogwork, weather, weekend sum up, work

and the century is closing down

0805 hrs:
Ohaiyo~..... *dragging* I greet Monday with an obscene gesture that comes straight from my heart.

Don't know how today is going to be. I have only one meeting today for an hour and it is in the morning. I am hoping that it makes the day go quickly. I am also dreading it because I am about to start on yet another project that I'm not really all that enthused about. These projects take me away from my desk for a good part of the day and I really don't like that. Maybe it's because I can't randomly goof off for a few minutes at a time. *sigh*

Well, I am paranoid this morning for some reason. Keep thinking the boss is standing right behind me or something. Weird. Maybe not awake yet....

0958 hrs:
The morning meeting was pretty quick - only 20 minutes. I am slightly disappointed it didn't take more time. Also, am not exactly looking forward to the new project I have been assigned, but what can you do? Work is work, ne? It pays the bills and that's what counts, I guess. I don't like not ever getting to do the same thing every day. It bothers me that I don't really have a specific job and am just put in different positions as my boss sees fit. I am such a routine-driven person...

Not much else to report. I hope today goes by quickly... *crosses fingers*

you come apart to intertwine
1145 hrs:
*pleased* This morning has gone fairly quickly. I wonder what this afternoon will be like.

This weekend was a pretty good weekend. Nailz and I went out on Friday night to see Henry Rollins. Per Nailz, he stayed true to his normal speaking tour habits and talked for 3 whole hours. It was definitely worth it!! *hearts*

Saturday, I went to a spa place and tried out a flotation therapy session. It was really pretty awesome! I think I will treat myself to that every once in a while. It's not cheap, but it's not the most expensive thing, either. Basically, you get naked and back float in a pod-like thing that is filled with pleasantly warm water that has 700 - 800 pounds of Epsom salt dissolved in it. Because of how high the water's density is, you float effortlessly and can relax every single muscle in your body. I actually fell asleep for a bit and awoke with a start thinking that I had overstayed my time, but I hadn't. When you get out, there is a shower in the room and they supply body wash, shampoo and conditioner so that you can wash off the salt. Overall, it was a great experience! Oh - and they had this really awesome shampoo that smelled super nice. I'm going to call and find out what kind they use, because it is sooo nice. Mmm...

Saturday night was an early Halloween costume party. Nailz and I had a good time hanging with the old-school friends, but also got to meet some other cool, new people.

Sunday was recovery day. I did a lot of picking up and general organizing in the apato and we ran some errands in the early evening. Felt good to get all that stuff done.

I've also finished my JET application and it should be ready to send off any day now. I don't know why I'm hesitating, but I am a little. My main concern is what I put down for location preferences. I know that putting it down doesn't necessarily mean you'll get put there, but I want to think carefully over my choices anyway. Will probably make a final decision on location preference by this Friday and send in the application. *gets a little nervous*

So, that is it for now. I'll post this over my lunch (which is in a few minutes - oops...)

Today's "varied" playlist:
Asian Kung-Fu Generation - World World World
Asian Kung-Fu Generation - Into An Unseen Tomorrow
Asian Kung-Fu Generation - (something in Japanese that I can't read - "I can't read!!!")
The Smashing Pumpkins - Adore (couldn't help but listen to this again)

ETA: Afternoon playlist:
Puddle of Mud - Come Clean (<---ended up stopping this one because I got sick of it really quickly - putting this in the give-away pile)
Homemade Kazoku - Musication
Michael Jackson - Thriller (Special Edition)

Labels: halloween, henry rollins, JET program, playlists, weekend sum up, work