(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
I keep thinking about painting (the walls, not a fresco). Several things need to happen before I can do that.
* wait for it to warm up enough to leave the door open for aerating purposes
* wash the walls (a cat lived here and there is no doubt hair and other gunk I can't see); however, before I wash the walls, I must:
* figure out how to do this without stripping or eroding the plaster
* remove whatever is on the walls (frames, masks, etc.)
* vacuum the floors, so that dust and dirt aren't kicked up while I'm washing or painting the walls; but before I can vacuum the floor, I must:
* move everything out of the room to some other room where it will probably get underfoot and annoy me
I'm going to need a long warm weekend for this project.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
25 March 2009
we only come out at night
02 March 2009
but ... I'm already AWAKE
(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)
Snow day ... This never happens.
Not that I'm complaining, obviously; it's just weird. How much did we get, anyway?
So ...
I guess this means I go back to bed. Maybe.
Yes?
02 June 2008
Happy June!
We seem to have skipped Spring, as per the usual for Boston weather. Cold, cold, rain, cold--muggy and unbearable! Really, there ought to at least be two or three weeks where I can leave the windows open in the morning and come home to a pleasantly cool room. No such luck.
New-home stuff moves along. I need more boxes.
No, Turbo, I'm not still holding my breath ... but I'm not jumping for joy yet either. Because I'm afraid of jinxing myself.
Finished reading Part II of Anna Karenina. Anna and Alexei's marriage is going down the drain, so that Anna can pursue her relationship with the other Alexei--Vronsky. Kitty isn't depressed about Vronsky anymore, but latching on to a kind of Born-Again-ness inspired by her trip to Germany. Aaaannnnd ... Levin is being a surly farmer.
I know it's epic and fabulous, and I really was drawn in by Tolstoy's description of Vronsky's doomed race horse. But ... well, I'm bored. The only reason I even bothered to tear through Part II was because I knew I'd be reading Funke and Pratchett when I was done. And now I'm reading Inkspell.
Speaking of Pratchett ... I have [ashamedly] been reading Teatime fan-fic. I blame Marc Warren and that neurotic part of me that falls for creepy men who probably smell nice.
Netflix delivered Tron and Turtles Can Fly. Tron was broken, so I've notified Netflix, and am mailing that back today. I still haven't sat down to watch Turtles Can Fly. It's not a movie you can watch while doing something else, because it's a Middle Eastern film with subtitles; and, yes, I could half-heartedly read every other subtitle while doing something else, but that kind of inattention will probably only lead to confusion and much rewinding.
Watched most of Season One of The Sopranos over the weekend on surfthechannel.com. Except that the second part of the season finale wouldn't load, so I'm left hanging. Maybe I can get it to work for me today. Tony's mannerism remind me much of my grandfather (who actually looked more like Paulie, but ...), except that Tony is actually more socially evolved than my grandfather ever was. Fear and distrust of psychiatry is spot-on, except that Tony moves beyond that and has a psychiatrist. My grandfather never got beyond that distrust--which was unfortunate for his kids, because more than a few of them have serious unresolved issues. Also, Junior looks a lot like my Great Uncle Pat.
It's fun to compare pronunciation of Mid-Atlantic Italian with actual Italian. Everything is a little mutated.
27 May 2008
safe to say
Or maybe 'third time's a charm' is more apt?
I suppose it's not safe to say anything until the actual closing ... but I've done the home inspection, and a list of needed fixes was proposed--upon which there was general agreement, so ...
Things are moving forward nicely. Knock on wood.
Closing is set for 20. June.
Can I breathe yet, or should I hold my breath for another four weeks? Ugh.
I packed away my winter clothes this weekend. It did two things. First, it de-cluttered my room in a big way. Second, it made me feel like I was packing, which I really don't want to put off until 16. June or something. So that sort of feeling of productivity was a bonus. Let's keep doing a bit of that every weekend.
Probably need to get in touch with a mover. Granted, it won't be a huge move (for distance or belongings), but I can't ask my friends to move me again and I can't lug this stuff up a flight of stairs (or two) on my own. Done with that. I should ask Tom for a recommended mover.
Watched Hogfather on Sunday while cleaning/packing. That was unexpectedly brilliant--well, unexpected to me, just because I lack faith in made-for-TV movies. But I suppose I should have more faith when it's Terry Pratchett. I really like what Marc Warren did with the assassin Mr. Teatime (te-ah-TIM-eh ... :-P). His voice was very much like Johnny Depp's rendition of Willy Wonka, only intentionally creepy (though I have my suspicions that that's what Depp was going for anyway). On the whole, it reminded me a lot of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, what with a skeleton man taking on the role of Father Christmas and everything. It does make me wonder which story existed first--Pratchett's novel or Burton's film?
Put down Anna Karenina and picked up The Good Fairies of New York, which was reading a little flat in my current mood, so I put it down and picked up Twilight. It's kind of a 500-page Mary Sue (our heroine's name is Bella Swan--really, now), and many of the characters are annoying, and many of the situations are contrived, and I keep waiting for the Hurt/Comfort plot device to enter into it (it's really the best way to endear your readership to a potentially dangerous or unlikeable character--make him/her do something selfless or comforting for your wounded protagonist). I'm so cynical. Still, it's proving to be a quick read, and I'll probably finish it this evening. Maybe it's the whole 'Young Adult' fiction thing, but they don't do anything. Too much angst and no action--and not much hope of any either. I will see the movie when it comes out in December, even if it's bound to be painfully over the top. Robert Pattinson already won me over in Goblet of Fire.
Went to see Indiana Jones on Saturday morning, which was wonderful, because nobody else comes to the cinema at 10 o'clock in the morning. It was over the top, but I loved it. And I loved the brief nods to the other Indy adventures. Yesterday I went to an early showing of Prince Caspian, which I enjoyed more than the previous film--but why are the bad humans Spaniards? I don't understand that. I enjoyed Eddie Izzard's voice work as Reepicheep, and Mr. Caspian (Ben Barnes) made for excellent eye-candy even if his acting was a little flat. Peter Dinklage's acerbic remarks gave a decent balance to the more saccharine moments.
... I'll read Part Two of Anna Karenina when I'm done with Twilight. Honest.
Also, the completely opaque blinds were just installed in my office a few minutes ago. I *heart* my cave.
08 May 2008
a winning commute
My morning commute ground to a halt at Alston Street. The T driver announced: "There's been an accident at Babcock. We could be here for a while."
OK. Well, I was reading, so it didn't frazzle me too much. Then, after I'd finished my chapter, I looked around and we still weren't moving. So I got off and started walking. I had just reached Harvard Ave. when I saw the train that had been stopped in front of us begin to move. So I crossed the street again just in time to--right, get on my exact same train again.
It only made it as far as Packard's Corner though. "There will be shuttles," says the driver over the intercom. Great. Except that my office is at the next corner. So no, but thank you.
Firetrucks galore, police in squad cars, police on motorcycles, T personnel mulling to and fro, helicopters circling overhead.
Why? Manhole explosion, apparently. And a white SUV rammed into the corner building at Packard's Corner. But this isn't Babcock ... the hell's going on?
I continue walking down to Babcock to the sight of even more flashing blue lights and the sound of wailing sirens. Commonwealth Avenue is not having a good morning. A giant black pick-up truck was smashed into the T barrier and straddling the West-bound tracks with one of its sides bashed in. On the other side of the lanes and half-propped on the sidewalk, a small white sports car with its back end crushed and the myriad contents of its trunk scattered across all the lanes.
When I got upstairs, Sandy and Rich were standing in the waiting area beside the elevator watching the carnage from above. A few minutes later my boss also arrived. And now she and Rich have decided to walk down the block and see the other accident at Packard's. I took a picture from the office. Yay.
20 December 2007
angry, stuck, alone
Maybe I'll feel more like talking about it tomorrow, but I doubt it.
Suffice to say, my flight was cancelled. So I'm in Boston until Sunday at least. Frankly, I'm debating cancelling the ticket entirely and staying here for the holidays. I'm really angry right now, and I doubt I'd make good company.
So I'm not going to work tomorrow.
I'm going to the movies.
And I'm going to see The Golden Compass and Sweeney Todd, and that's how it's going to be.
17 December 2007
another American psycho
There are certain aspects of job hunting that make me [better] appreciate Bret Easton Ellis's vision of the American business world.
Let's take business cards for example, because I've been receiving a lot of them lately (and [VERY] briefly have considered investing in my own). If people allow themselves, they will go insane over the layout and presentation of business cards; but, when it comes down to it, most business cards are basically the same.
I think the best representation of this was seen the film version of American Psycho. You can't truly appreciate the insanity of the description of business cards in the novel (well, you can, if you're thinking the way Ellis is thinking), but when you hear the painstaking detail in the film, and then see the after-product--two or three business cards that basically look the same--and the overwhelming surge of furious envy that Bateman exudes upon being [somehow, and frankly, invisibly] outdone by one of his "friends," you begin to understand the unspoken and absurd competition.
Yes, nihilism is gripping me. And I begin to ask myself, Should I really be trying to enter this world, when I clearly hold it in so much disdain? Granted, I'm not trying to find work in Manhattan--but it's all so much the same, isn't it?
10 December 2007
unknown territory
Of suiting, hair, and the job search.
JCrew.com ... I really like their suiting. It's hard trying to dress the part for interviews. I felt very odd in the H&M dressing room, kind of like a kid playing dress up. The fact that the trousers I was trying on were two inches too long did not help. I could hem them, I know, but I'd rather spend the money on clothing that fits me to begin with.
More on the Dellaria hair-cuts: ... I like when they blow-dry my hair straight, but I never have the patience to do that for myself. Result being that today I feel far more raggedy than I felt on Saturday and Sunday when the 'do was still fresh and un-messed-with.
I'm also feeling that I'm being pulled in many different directions. I know that there's nothing that says I have to accept any job that I don't want. What I want is to leave, but I feel like politics are thwarting me at every turn. It's nothing less than the United States deserves, I know. We make it a living hell for outsiders to legally enter our country; so why should anyone else make it easy for us?
I just don't know ... In spite of the spike of happiness about the agency interviews, I still feel very frustrated about all of it.
07 December 2007
ch-ch-changes
"The more things change, the more they remain... insane."
Over the Hedge
I began thinking about the prompt from a personal standpoint (a now-and-then, this December versus last December), but then I quickly moved beyond to the world at large.
I'm far more discontent with my life this December than I felt last December, or at least it seems that way to me now. Last December, I was happy just to have a full-time job with benefits and health insurance. Now, I'm bored with the job, and cannot see it going anywhere.
Last December, I would've said that I didn't feel experienced enough in the workforce to attempt anything better than what I do. This December, I've posted my resume on Monster.co.uk, and I'm feeling confident that my experience, education, and skills can attract something more suitable than my current position. Within the span of a few days, I've already been called by two local recruiters and emailed by two more. I'm hoping to set up meetings for next week and get the ball rolling on my career change.
And on one hand, I feel that this is a healthy development, and that things need to change in order for me to grow as a person, personally and professionally; on the other hand, I feel as though I have been ignoring other activities and other people because I've been consumed with finding new work.
But the world ... how has the state of the world changed since last December? Well, here in the States, we're twelve months closer to a new president; that's something to be [cautiously] grateful for ("the devil you know," etc.).
Last year, there was Iraq (and the year before that, and the year before that, ...); this year, there's still Iraq, but now Iran might also soon be on the menu. YAY.
It's a very bleak world outlook, I know, but--believe it or not--I always hope for the best. I just expect the worst. Call it Weltschmerz.
26 March 2007
foiled again
In regards to my intentions to post a decent entry, but also this:
As Manuela was assuring me a moment ago, if something can go wrong, it probably will.
I went down to the school's Human Resources last Friday after work to try to get my employee ID, but once I got there at around quarter after three, I was told that the only possible person who could administer my ID was in a meeting. This meeting would be running for an indefinite amount of time, so I should just go and call on Monday (today) before dropping in.
All of this, of course, was preceded by a myriad of questions about why I didn't already have an employee ID, and why wasn't I given one at orientation? Why do I need one now? Etc. Not that it was really anyone's business but my own, but I answered all of these questions with frank honesty. I don't have an ID, because I haven't needed one until now; and they didn't give me one at orientation, because they weren't sure of my ID number (which is the exact same number as my student number--a fact that I was well aware of ahead of time, but that they doubted at this orientation); I want one now, because I'd like to join the University's gym, and you need a valid University ID in order to swipe through.
So I called this morning, and--after being put on hold, and then having to leave a call-back, and then being called ten minutes later--was told that any time between nine and four would be convenient. I left my office almost immediately, because I wanted to get this over with, once and for all!
Between 11:45 and 12:00, I was sitting and waiting in the HR waiting area--and then I actually made it into the picture-taking room! But then I was left to sit there alone for another fifteen minutes or so ... and when the woman, all too willing to give me an ID came back, the camera was upside down. Why they can't rotate the image in the application they have, I don't know--but they can't.
And they couldn't fix it either. All they could do was giggle about my upside-down state, and assure me that it's never done that before. After fiddling with the programme and poking the camera a few times, they asked me to call them again at three and see if the problem was fixed. So I'm going to call them after work, and maybe--just maybe--go get my ID.
However, after all this nonsense, I'm nearly convinced that the universe is conspiring against my efforts to get an employee ID. Or maybe it's just a case of its being Monday. Whatever the case, I'm hoping for the best, while having the good (and, yes, pessimistic) sense to expect the worst.
What's been entertaining me lately? Netflix is doing a good job, and fan fiction too. Arkaidy updated a 19th chapter some time last night, and I started reading it this morning, but then I had to go to work--and this ID madness has kept me from taking full advantage of the internet today (and so what am I doing right now, then? oh, yes--public venting, that's right). I'm interested to see how the gods-battery is going to work out. I'll probably just re-read the beginning and then the whole chapter whenever I get home tonight.
Lately with Netflix I've been watching Beauty and the Beast (a show that first aired in 1987, staring Ron Pearlman and Linda Hamilton [Nemesis, nya-ha-ha--no, really]). I only vaguely remembered watching it with my mom when I was younger, but I did recall that we both enjoyed it, so I decided to rent it.
It's a little saccharine, and more than a little melodramatic--leading me to the conclusion that it was best taken in small, hour-long, weekly doses. You know, rather than three hours in one shot. Watching four episodes, one after the other, the dialog becomes repetitive; and Linda Hamilton's behaviour is noticeably wishy-washy. I keep expecting her to do something bad-ass and Terminator-ish, so the softer-side-of-Sears attitude of Catherine just seems fake and annoying.
Even after all of these criticisms, I still enjoy the show. There's something distinctly nostalgic that I get from watching it. I remember sitting on the foot-end of the bed in my parents' bedroom, eating popcorn, and being allowed to stay up late and watch this show. I always thought that Vincent and Catherine should get together--in spite of his being a mutant cat-faced man.
And I still think that 'Vincent' is better looking than Ron Pearlman. ****
I feel like I should say something about The River King as well, since that was the last actual movie that I received from Netflix. I can't think of anything clever at the moment, though; only that it's weird to hear 'Elizabeth Bennet' (Jennifer Ehle) with an American (or maybe it was supposed to be Canadian?--I know that she is actually from one of the Carolinas) accent and to see her with straight blond hair (though, for all I know, that may be her real colour).
It's a hazy, gray film, and the surprises are more like depressing disappointments; but its brooding quality is also what makes it a beautiful piece. ***1/2
14 December 2006
office space
People really need to get out of mine. Part of our office's holiday hijinks is a game called "Guess Who." Players answer lots of questions about themselves, the names are taken away, and everyone has to guess which answers go with which person. One of the questions is about eye colour.
So for the last few days, elderly strangers have been walking into my office, getting up in face, and staring into my eyes. Sometimes squinting beadily. It's disturbing. It needs to stop. I've decided I'm not playing, because there's enough invasion of space going on around here without my getting actively involved. Thanks.
Sometimes my younger coworkers and I pass around funny e-mails and links to amusing web-finds between us. The latest one I received was a video entitled "fruitcake lady" and it's pretty damn funny, so I think I'll share.
I love blunt old ladies. They're hilarious. I want to be a blunt old lady when I'm, you know, old.
--------------------
The first and second episodes of Robin Hood finally finished downloading. I've determined that the comedy of the series is built around the absurd and neverending arguments the characters are having every other scene.
Example? Okay, there's a brief scene in the second episode where two of the Sheriff's guards are talking about Robin of Locksley and suddenly come up with the show's namesake:
Guard 1: They should call him Robin of the Wood! (hardi-har-har)
Guard 2: Robin Wood! (duh-huh-huh)
Guard 1: Robin Hood! (ah-ha-ha-ha)
Guard 2: You should tell Sir Guy that one. He'd like it.
Guard 1: I don't want to tell him. You tell him!
Guard 2: No, not me, I don't want to tell him.
Guard 1: Why not?
Guard 2: He might not like it.
And so on.
Yes, it's corny. But it's growing on me.
In other bittorrent news, I hope the first season of Doctor Who is finished by the time I get home. I really want to watch the Captain Jack episodes, and possibly upload them to my iPod as something to entertain me while I'm sitting around Logan Airport next Friday.
31 October 2006
Happy Hallowe'en!
And, of course, tomorrow is All Saints' (or, if you reside in Mexico, el DÃa de los Muertos).
Whatever the reasoning, it's a time to celebrate and eat things that are really bad for you. so go nuts.
I'd say I'm going to give out candy tonight; but we never get callers, so it's unlikely.
It might be just as well, however, since I think I might be coming down with something. I've been having congestion since the weekend, and it's making me dead on my feet (fitting, ne?). It or the NyQuil (big fucking Q) I had last night, though I think that should've worn off by now.
I'll be going to Shaws on my break to buy Airborne and vitamins. BU employees are lined up for flu vaccines this week, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea if I'm already coming down with something else. And there's that tricky egg allergy--I can eat egg under certain preparation, but I've had bad experiences (and flu vaccine is contrived with the use of eggs, so they typically warn those who may be allergic). I don't know. I'll see how I feel on Thursday.
--------------------
Lined up for this evening? An odd bundle of movies from Netflix (if they arrive)--Before Night Falls, Brigadoon, and Chinatown. I still have six discs of The Twelve Kingdoms at the top of my queue, but there's a "short wait" on the first one, which apparently leads them to skip the rest and go on to what's after. It's not that I don't appreciate that (I wouldn't want to watch them out of order anyway); I just wish the wait would end.
Last Friday I received Alfie (the Jude Law version), An Awfully Big Adventure, and Bend It Like Beckham. Boo to Alfie, lukewarm reaction to AABA (in spite of my love for Mr. Rickman and Mr. Grant), and a generally good reaction to BILB (though that was a near thing too).
Why didn't I like Alfie? Because there's no redemption for him. At all. Okay, so Jude Law is hot, and that's a redeeming quality, but the character has no redemption. He's a sleaze who sleeps around A LOT, loses friends because of it, and learns nothing by the end. He just goes on. And again, if not for the fact that Jude Law is so damn good-looking, the film would be a complete wash-out. **
An Awfully Big Adventure was the first movie I watched from the lot--and it's horrifying, but a really good story with excellent acting. If that sounds like a mixed reaction, there's a reason for that--and a good reason too.
One can recognize the genius behind something while still admitting it's more than a little cock-eyed. Good story. Good twist. But still horrifying. It's like "Oedipus" but reversed, and there's no way it could've ended well at all. ***
I watched Bend It Like Beckham last, because I guessed that it would be the most uplifting of the bunch, and I was right about that. In spite of all the family fighting and strange relatives, our protagonists are (of course) successful in the end. They become football stars and get to go to the States on a soccer scholarship.
But I was almost angry at this film. Why? Because Jonathan Rhys Meyer's character has a relationship with Jesminder (Parminder Nagra), but--in spite of the fact that she's going far far away, he just gives her a hug. A HUG?! THE FUCK IS THIS?! was my reaction ... until the very end, when he shows up at the airport. And they kiss. Thank you. This hugging nonsense is bollocks. ****
And if you've noticed a certain amount of alphabetized movie-watching ... ? Yes. Not by full title, just by the first letter (the rest keeps it random). The next movies (I'm not doing this with television series) on the queue are Career Opportunities and Caligula.
17 January 2006
Work House Rock
You must have tea and cake with the vicar or--you die!
This is apparently what we need in order to teach people how to write, now that they're out of college and in the real world.
There were plenty of fun songs from Schoolhouse Rock, most of which you've probably forgotten (and feel you are no less for forgetting).
But today, I have a grammatical lesson to share--prompted by a coworker's frustration and a friend's ignorance.
My coworker could not quite understand why Outlook was giving her a "fragment" error for one of her sentences in an e-mail; and I had not intended to say anything, but she started to get antsy about it, so I decided to explain.
To "follow up" something requires no hyphenation; however a "follow-up" of something does. The difference here is verb usage versus noun usage, respectively. I'm sure it will make sense if you think about it long enough ... (though a few short seconds should be plenty for most, and some will understand immediately).
Therefore, if you would like a follow-up [noun], then that's fine; but if you would like to follow up [verb], that's something else.
Here is another example of verb usage, courtesy of my flat-mate: I will follow up with your professor about your project.
Thanks.
My coworker said that she never understood grammar lessons in elementary school. I told her that this was hardly irregular. The only way anyone ever really understands grammar is through constant use (writing and/or reading), so if you're not much of a writer or a reader, it's not going to come easy. Basics might come to you, yes; anything beyond that, not likely. Learning a foreign language also makes you more aware of parts of speech, but I didn't go into that.
And this point of view could be argued against, I understand; but I still feel that those who read and write more than the average are more likely to understand these things (including the inherent importance of proper spelling and correct grammar). If you want to be understood in the world, you had better learn to communicate.
Yes, this is one of my pet peeves towards a majority of science-minded individuals who try to bash me for having an English B.A. Of course, this resentment is not directed at scientists who can write, but those who think they don't need to know how.
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