Julia's Bloglet - Monday 1 October 2007

Sentence picture

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08:38:58 AM, Monday 1 October 2007

Rooftop rider

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03:59:29 PM, Friday 28 September 2007

Well, I seem to have started today off strong by nearly kidnapping a 23 year old cat. I didn't know it was 23 at the time. I thought it was younger and stray and injured. Now the bum hip seems like it might have well been due to age (though the cut on its mouth does seem to suggest actual non-age-related mishaps, plus he was rather dirty and not really up to cleaning himself). As I was putting him into the carrier, his old woman owner came out of the house and cried, "What are you doing!?" I suppose a bit of humility is good for the soul. _
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09:47:11 AM, Thursday 27 September 2007

I did not get the hallway prepped for painting, but I still feel rather accomplished. Also tired. _
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10:59:59 PM, Wednesday 26 September 2007

Accomplishment Wednesday To Do List of DOOOOOOM

*~~Walk to grocery store and procure essential supplies~~ Except still need black mustard seeds. Shocked there weren't any there.

*~~Assemble remaining Stefan chair~~

*~~Take monitor out of box and put in designated monitor holding area~~

*~~Unpack remaining books~~ I ... I'm done with the boxes of books... I don't quite believe it.

*~~Do laundry~~ Committed to two loads at this point.

*~~Stow empty suitcases and bags in closets or similar~~ Got them all onto a shelf in the top of one closet. Not bad!

*~~Hang Audrey's block prints in living room~~ They look nice! And I only had to destroy part of the wall to do it. Spackle is my friend.

*Prep hallway for painting

*~~Make (hopefully) delicious dinner involving Brussels sprouts~~ I think they could still be more delicious, though. I will work on it. _
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12:10:37 PM, Wednesday 26 September 2007

You know how some days you feel like you just can't get anything done? When you keep doing whatever it is you're doing, but you feel like you haven't gotten anywhere? Maybe this doesn't happen to you, but it does to me. I know on some level that I have accomplished a lot today. Maybe it is just because it was a hot and cranky sort of day that I felt like I wasn't accomplishing anything. In any case, I'm going to list all the stuff I did here to try to make myself feel a bit better about the day before bedtime.

Things I did today:

*Finished painting the entryway

*Assembled wine rack in basement and put wine bottles on it

*Filled existing CD binders with CDs

*Put empty jewel cases in box in closet pending further action

*Assembled bookcase and placed in painted!entryway

*Placed remaining jewel cases (those with CDs still in) on newly-assembled!bookshelf in painted!entryway

*Put all loose DVDs in coffee table cubbies

*Put all loose books on appropriate shelves

*General tidying of living room

So, really, that's quite a lot to have done, right? I should go to bed happy, not grumbly. Tomorrow is of course Accomplishment Wednesday. Got to get my rest for that. _
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10:04:06 PM, Tuesday 25 September 2007

Entryway prepped for painting

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12:04:38 PM, Monday 24 September 2007

Bookshelf assembly is harder when everything collapses on you.

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05:03:13 PM, Friday 21 September 2007

Yesterday I returned to IKEA and bought the correct size slats. As a result we slept in a proper bed last night for the first time in ages! It was fantastic! Today I assembled our computer workstations (perhaps tomorrow I will actually get computers on them). Things are coming together more and more. around here. It's very exciting. As soon as we have a room that looks like a proper room, we'll show more pictures. _
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09:26:49 PM, Thursday 20 September 2007

After wrestling with a full bed frame all. day. long. I managed to get it all together more or less. Only to find that we mistakenly bought queen size slats. I don't know where we are going to put the mattress tonight. The bed frame is taking up the bare patch of floor. Also, I discovered the sizing error when I tried to lay the slats in the frame unsuccessfully. I can only hope IKEA will take back the opened package. Words cannot convey the degree of my dejected frustration at the moment. _
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08:28:30 PM, Tuesday 18 September 2007

Borrowing Mike's template: Today I am thankful that I am an adult.

Unpacking boxes, I found a journal I kept when I was 16-18. I read it and felt sort of fascinated and amused and horrified. God, that was a terrible time. I remember all these people telling me that the teenage years were the best time of life, and I never bought it. I was not wrong. I am scads happier now. It also startled me to see how much I sounded like Meg Cabot's princess of The Princess Diaries. I remember when I read the first one, I thought that whatever else I could say about it, Cabot really captured the spirit of teenagerness. At least if my teenage years were anything to go by, I was spot on in that observation. Good on her. _
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06:11:29 PM, Sunday 16 September 2007

Wait. Is this Julia's blog or is it Tim's?

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02:43:21 PM, Friday 14 September 2007

I am slowly getting familiar with the layout of the streets around here. It feels like I have been at home all the time, but I've actually gone out a fair bit. Yesterday I drove to the supermarket without making any wrong turns (though there was a near miss on the way back, I'll admit). Wednesday I walked about 5-6 miles over the course of the day in a few different directions. Last Friday I took the T into the city to run an errand. Today I am going to two different places, each entirely new to me. I wonder when it will really start to feel like a place where I live, with a firm and fairly comprehensive mental map. Any guesses? _
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10:12:17 AM, Friday 14 September 2007

Unpacking boxes of books yields fun surprises sometimes.

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10:48:49 AM, Thursday 13 September 2007

Yesterday's rain cleared the air for today's impossibly blue sky.

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09:09:36 AM, Wednesday 12 September 2007

Now that I am here and the prospect of being settled shines on the horizon, I find myself contemplating massage therapy certification again. I looked into it fairly seriously in 2003/2004, but the timing was off and the prices too high. The thing is, I know I'd be good at it. I have a natural talent for it to begin with, and I enjoy the thought of doing work that helps others, which massage definitely does. On top of all that, there are the added bonuses of flexibility schedule-wise and work that won't suck up all my mental writing energy. The big question is cost. I could get a student loan, but I'd have to be sure that coming out of it I would be able to get enough work to pay the loan off, and furthermore that I'd be up for that amount of work. Flexibility to allow for writing is good, but not if I won't actually have it. Something to think about anyway. I'm quietly looking into local schools while I do. _
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05:03:44 PM, Tuesday 11 September 2007

Feliz cumpleanos

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10:54:35 AM, Tuesday 11 September 2007

Sigh. It was less than a week old.

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02:31:55 PM, Friday 7 September 2007

But getting bag tea for the time being was a really good idea.

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01:17:27 PM, Friday 7 September 2007

Sometimes wishful thinking leads to really unfortunate lunches.

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01:15:12 PM, Friday 7 September 2007

Though it's hard to see the living room is green

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02:44:16 PM, Thursday 6 September 2007

I love this color

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06:09:05 PM, Wednesday 5 September 2007

Today the paint is blue!

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01:44:05 PM, Wednesday 5 September 2007

Dining room is painted!

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06:14:44 PM, Tuesday 4 September 2007

Time for a lunch break

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12:31:12 PM, Tuesday 4 September 2007

Moss taping the trim because we get to paint!

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06:35:01 PM, Saturday 1 September 2007

Today is moving day. This may also mean it is the day when I disappear from the intarweb for a while because we don't have it at home yet. Wish us luck!

Oh, and also: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TORI! _
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09:28:40 AM, Saturday 1 September 2007

Sumana and Cabinet Sanchez and Cabinet Sanchez

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05:41:16 PM, Thursday 30 August 2007

This is the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It's hard to know what to say about it, to impress upon people that the Gulf Coast really is still very much in need of outside assistance, and that the people who live there have good reasons to want to (it's unique, and it's their home). When we went down there to volunteer in July, my sister was shocked that everything still looked so bad. She though two years passing would have made more of a difference. People were still living in FEMA trailers, there were empty houses everywhere, full of mold and so forth, there were crumbling ruins in place of businesses and homes. But to convey only horror and misery is wrong. This is an area full of people, and like all areas full of people, it has joy as well as sorrow. There's a lot of things to celebrate there even while there are things to grieve over.

Here's a video made by a girl who was 10 in 2006. It shows a bit of what she loves about New Orleans, and what she experienced with her family during and after the storm.* These people are lucky people, who have some money and who had insurance and so forth. Consider that there were thousands of others like them, and thousands more who were less lucky. I don't know what we should do on a national level, but I keep thinking I need to go back and help more, and I'd like to encourage anyone else who thinks it might be fun to go as well. Or donate to one of the many organizations working to rebuild and bring the Gulf Coast back to life.

*As the video is an amateur production, it shows all this in a rather shaky manner. Also, the things she loves aren't necessarily the things I love, but hey, this is her story, and she does a great job telling it. _
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03:08:16 PM, Wednesday 29 August 2007

I am feeling markedly better. I have eaten jello and plain pasta and toast and half a banana over the course of today and yesterday. I managed to take ibuprofen this morning to curb the aching and get some sleep (didn't sleep at all last night). I even managed to update my resume and send it to someone (which I was going to do Sunday night originally, but such is life). Tomorrow I may even consider eating slightly more adventurous foods. We'll see. _
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08:00:22 PM, Tuesday 28 August 2007

I have food poisoning. It's horrible, but I am thankful for several things.

1) I live in a place where it is easy to find pure drinking water.

2) I don't need to be anywhere (unexpected side benefit of being in between jobs).

3) Being no longer a traveling houseguest, I have a clean, private, and compact bathroom at my disposal.

4) I am very lucky in that I also have an attentive Moss at my disposal.

5) I seem to have stopped vomiting.

Now I will rest as writing this entry has used up all my energy. I just adore being weak and miserable! _
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11:43:53 AM, Monday 27 August 2007

Does anyone know what this means?

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11:00:01 PM, Sunday 26 August 2007

Ratatouille is an enjoyable movie. It has great animation, and is fast paced and fun to watch overall. Unfortunately there's one glaring fault I can't seem to get over. I could forgive them browbeating me with repetitive jokes and cliche important values. I even liked some of the messages about creativity and effort being the keys to success. There's one thing I really can't forgive, though. Why, Disney, why can't you ever make women who are real, strong people? There were 3 women who stood out in this movie, and only one was a lead character. Of those three, all were projected as "tough". Unfortunately in Disneyvision, "tough" means angry and inept, with a dash of needing a good lay. Witness these examples (I will rot13 this next bit in case you haven't seen this film and don't want me to spoil it):

Gur svefg jbzna jr frr vf n "gbhtu" byq ynql, jub unf n tha naq vfa'g nsenvq gb hfr vg. Hasbeghangryl (be sbeghangryl vs lbh unccra gb or n eng), fur'f pbzvpnyyl varcg naq pna'g uvg nalguvat fur'f nvzvat sbe. Fur'f nccneragyl abg gbb oevtug rvgure, orpnhfr znantrf gb fubbg hc ure bja ubzr naq oevat gur prvyvat qbja ba gbc bs urefrys va gur cebprff bs abg xvyyvat nal engf. Jr arire frr ure nsgre gur svefg fprar.

Arkg jr pngpu n oevrs, ohg jbeelvat tyvzcfr bs n jbzna nvzvat n cvfgby ng n zna (guvf frra nf Erzl, gur znva eng punenpgre, ehaf guebhtu gur jnyyf bs Cnevf ybbxvat sbe sbbq). Erzl vf nf jbeevrq ol guvf nf jr'er zrnag gb or, fb ur qbhoyrf onpx gb trg n frpbaq tynapr. Yhpxvyl, rirelguvat'f nyy evtug orpnhfr va gung frpbaq juvyr ur jnf njnl rvgure gur zna va gur fprar znantrq gb jerapu gur tha gb gur fvqr naq ehva gur jbzna'f fubg, be fur zvffrq. Jr znl arire xabj. Jung jr qb xabj vf gung n fubg jnf sverq bss fperra, ab bar jnf uheg, naq abj gur zna vf thvqvat gur jbznaf npgvbaf (uvf unaqf ner ba ure nezf) naq chyyvat ure vagb n xvff. Fur fvtuf va pbagragzrag. Cbbs! Crfxl gbhtu tvey vf gnzrq ol gur fgebat naq oraribyrag zna! Ubbenl!

Svanyyl, jr zrrg gur znva srznyr punenpgre; gur bayl jbzna jr'er gb frr va zber guna bar fprar. Fur'f n pbbx va gur erfgnhenag jurer Erzl naq uvf uhzna sevraq jbex, naq fur ynlf bhg ure ebyr va ab hapregnva grezf gb gur arj xvq. Fur gryyf uvz (juvyr cvaavat uvf fyrrir gb gur jbbqra pbhagre jvgu irel funec xavirf) gung fur vf gur bayl jbzna va gur xvgpura, naq gung guvf vf orpnhfr gur jbeyq bs unhgr phvfvar vf znqr hc bs ehyrf ol naq sbe byq juvgr zra. Fur tbg gurer orpnhfr fur vf gbhtu, naq fur qbrfa'g gnxr nal fuvg, gunax lbh irel zhpu. Gur bayl ceboyrz vf, fur'f nccneragyl n qrprag rabhtu pbbx gb or va n znfgre xvgpura, ohg abg tbbq rabhtu gb znxr fgryyne sbbq. Rirel gvzr fur fhttrfgf na vaterqvrag, gur znyr eng purs avkrf gur fhttrfgvba, naq uvf qvfurf ner nyjnlf orggre. Ba gbc bs guvf, Ure znva checbfr nccrnef gb or gb uryc yvsg gur znyr uhzna punenpgre vagb terngarff, naq gura gb cebivqr pbafgnag fhccbeg. Svefg fur'f uvf obff, gura gurl'er ybiref, gura ur orpbzrf ure obff, naq gura fhqqrayl gurer'f n cnegvat bs gur jnlf naq nyy gur bgure erfgnhenag rzcyblrrf yrnir, ohg fur fubjf gung fur vf n tbbq jbzna ol pbzvat onpx gb ure zna'f fvqr naq qbvat jung fur fubhyq: orvat n uryczngr.

Please don't point out that there were other women in the movie. I know there were female customers and reporters and so forth, but none of them had any tangible character. They were just extras. Meanwhile there were at least six male characters that had large speaking roles, and three of them were heroes.

Now I don't mean to sound like a grump here, but it seems like every time I see a Disney movie, it's the same spiel. Women can be sassy and strong sometimes, and that's fine as long as they aren't quite as good as the guys, and make sure to support guys in all they do. The Incredibles really pissed me off that way. Here are the messages I got from that one: 1) Women can have superpowers as long as at home they know their role and do the laundry and so forth while daddy provides, or you know, goes bowling with the guys. 2) Girls are worrisome if they defy conventional standards of attractive grooming, but are pronounced better when they wear pink and get boyfriends. 3) Women can also be very good secretaries.

I thought briefly that maybe I wasn't giving Pixar a fair shake with just harping on those two movies, so I tried to remember all the females I could from Finding Nemo. Maybe there were more, but the only ones that come to mind are the bratty, ugly, eight-year-old human girl, who wants to torture or kill sea creatures, and Ellen DeGeneres's amnesiac character, who is comically inept at really doing much of anything. Blargh.

Having said all that, I did enjoy the movie. It was fun and kept me engaged. I just wish (and is it really so much to ask?) that we could have a Disney feature film in which women were portrayed as normal, regular, capable people, worthy of respect just like anyone else.

P.S. The only non-white character of note was the villain. Now that's classy! _
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02:12:09 AM, Sunday 26 August 2007

Overheard today in a restaurant:

"I heard a man say that we're born alone and we die alone and we're always alone. And that's true! If you don't accept it, you'll end up white-knuckling your way through life, wondering, 'How many more minutes will I be alone today?'"

And in passing on the street:

"Lederhosen?"

Truly, this is a good place for listening and watching. _
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04:48:33 PM, Saturday 25 August 2007

Miracle! I walked to 34th street.

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02:36:53 PM, Friday 24 August 2007

Mira-Mira and K. came over for the evening and we ate bowls of molten cheese and then played Sentence Picture. The best one follows:

"Raoul found the onion dip rather disquieting."

Became:

"The caveman, newly thawed and covered in hair, stood in awe of the sumptuous table, where there lay all manner of fantastic food and drink. A glass of wine and a chalice of some bracing potion paled in comparison to the bowl of live octopus and the unnameable dish from which bones protruded; all of course bathed in the reflective glow of a disco ball."

Which became:

"Zog would have liked to sample the drumsticks, but first he had to enlist help in fighting off the ambrosia salad, which had attained belligerent sentience."

And somehow finally, we wound up with:

"The three eyed alien used a raygun to sustain his radioactive plant as his pet stingrays looked on from their tank."

All this from questionable onion dip. Sentence Picture for the win. _
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11:12:40 PM, Thursday 23 August 2007

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