A Day In the Life

Weekend in Review

~ Shara ~ 20 Comments

1) On Saturday, my hubby and I visited his grandmother in the nursing home. The nursing home cat fell in love with me and tried to follow me home. An elderly lady resident fell in love with my hubby and wanted to keep him. Fun times.

2) On Friday night, I finally looked at my big toe on my right foot to see why I’d occasionally have a pinching pain on the side of it. Turns out, there was a blister UNDERNEATH a pre-exisiting callous. How does that even happen (I know now, but then, I didn’t)? So for my Saturday walk, I was so focused on the blister itself that I ended up walking funny and therefore rubbed the back of my right ankle raw. Also gave myself a SECOND blister beneath the callous. Go me! Took Sunday off from walking (sadly). I don’t think the blisters will be a problem (one’s already gone) but I want to let the back of my ankle heal.

3) Got a LOT of laundry done over the weekend, which always fills me with a sense of accomplishment.

4) Got a LOT of reading done over the weekend, including John Scalzi’s The Human Division (John Scalzi book = fun reading times) and more important, Jeff Smith’s epic graphic novel fantasy BONE, which I’d highly recommend. It’s unique, it’s fun, it’s original and different. The omnibus I read was nearly 1500 pages long (I started it last August and ended up taking a break because it’s such a LARGE volume), so for anyone who decides to read it, I suggest getting the trade paperbacks of the various volumes instead. 🙂

5) Watched a few movies: Cars 2, finally, and while I still think it was an unnecessary sequel, it was fun. Also watched (finally), Trouble with the Curve, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Not sure what the critics are gnashing their teeth over, unless they don’t like that the movie’s more about the father/daughter relationship and the daughter’s potential new romance (all set against a backdrop of baseball), but I liked it a lot.

6) We were supposed to have met with friends on Sunday evening for dinner, but plans changed, which was good: I had a weird headache all Sunday afternoon, and while I managed to chase it away before bedtime, it came back at 1:30 this morning and I ended up staying awake for over two hours. No elliptical this morning!

7) But while awake, I’ve decided that my cat’s snoring/wheezing is both cute and worrisome.

8) I also discovered he (my cat) considers my head his own personal teddy bear.

9) Ann Aguirre (author of Grimspace, a favorite of mine) posted a fantastic but utterly disheartening post about the existence of sexism in science fiction (I don’t not use that term as science fiction AND fantasy, just science fiction) and how it’s affected her. It’s a great post, and I encourage everyone to read it here. The bottom line: if you’re a guy, don’t be a douchebag. If you’re a girl, don’t be afraid to stand up for your rights (easier said that done, as evidenced by the backlash poor Aguirre is getting).

10) This past weekend was my 10-year college reunion. I did not go. I’m sorry that I couldn’t, and felt rather wistful looking at all the pictures on Facebook. A friend of mine posted some fantastic thoughts about reunion and out alma mater here (great food for thought, especially given that we went to all woman’s school), and I feel like I need to comment on my own experiences as an undergrad. Not today, of course. But soon.

But now the week is starting, so happy Monday! How was your weekend?

To Hunt an iPod Nano (6th Generation)

~ Shara ~ 12 Comments

On Monday, I returned from my daily walk and announced two things to my husband:

1) 30 Seconds to Mars’ new album would be releasing the next day, and he needed to get it for me.
2) I needed an iPod Nano.

Now, let’s talk about why I needed an iPod Nano. I currently use the iPod Classic. It was a hand-me-down from my hubby when he transitioned over to using his iPhone as his iPod (via the Cloud) and my old iPod (the rather awesome U2 Special Edition) used up all its memory and I had to pick and choose stuff to upload to it. The old iPod had a case with a clip, which was great for when I used to work out using the elliptical. My current iPod has a case but no clip, nor do I want a clip for it, because it spends most of its time in my car, and a clip would get in the way.

When I started making the effort to walk daily, I grabbed my U2 iPod and clipped it on my pants and started it up. Only the battery was dead. So I charged it and just put my current iPod in the pocket of my hoodie.

The next day, I took my fully-charged U2 iPod and started it up. It allowed me to scroll around a bit, and then the battery died. Again. Okay…

So what I’ve been doing is carrying my current iPod. The one with no clip. And because of the size and shape differences between the U2 iPod and my current iPod, I couldn’t just switch cases.

Carrying the iPod in my pocket is fine. When I have a pocket. Which happens when I wear my hoodie. Given the warming temperatures, that’s not always an option unless I want heat stroke. And workout clothing, for some reason, hates pockets. So I’d have to carry the thing, paranoid I’m going to drop it (it’s a rational fear, folks).

Hence, I need an iPod nano. It’s cute, it’s small, and it clips on to whatever I’m wearing. Only, when I started researching it, I realized the nano doesn’t look like this anymore. It looks like this, which is the 7th generation.

Which is cute and small, but does not clip onto whatever I’m wearing. In order to take it with me, I’d need pockets or one of those armband thingies, which, after reading reviews for, I wasn’t excited about.

However, iPod does offer the shuffle, which looks just like the 6th generation nano I wanted, but no touch screen and a smaller memory. But it’s cute, small, and has a clip.

So I did my research. I kept concluding all I NEEDED was the shuffle. But I wanted a touch screen so I could search my music. And the nano offered this really cool built-in fitness app sponsored by Nike. Which was tempting… really tempting, despite my having my own (bulky) pedometer that I’ve been wearing 24/7.

I couldn’t make up my mind. My hubby couldn’t help either, because he saw the pros and cons of both. Saturday, we went to Target, but beforehand, he went to a website that talked about the likelihood of the iPod getting an update soon (the keynote speech announcing new products and upgrades is in June). For the iPod shuffle? Upgrades are LONG overdue. But my husband is convinced they’re gonna phase out the Shuffle, which means no upgrade.

So picture me, sitting in Target, my eyes roaming back and forth between the Shuffle and the Nano. Neither is exactly what I want, but both have things I want. What I really needed, I knew, was the 6th generation iPod Nano, which had the size and clip of the current Shuffle, but the touch screen and fitness app of the current 7th generation Nano.

We decided to wait. I thought there might be places that sold used iPods and I might get lucky. We had to go to Hastings to return a book, so while I was handling the return, my hubby went back to the music section to see if there were any used 6th generation Nanos.

There were. But better still, Hastings still had unopened, brand-new, 6th generation iPod Nanos.

My husband finds me at the counter and asks, “What color do you want?” In which case I did a mini giddy-clap/happy dance, scaring the poor teenager trying to ring up the return.

I got it in green. I’ve had two walks in it, and it’s exactly what I wanted.

Thus concludes the great, epic hunt for the iPod Nano (6th generation). And yes, for those of you wondering, I got my 30 Seconds to Mars album. It rocks.

When Bugs Attack…

~ Shara ~ 11 Comments

So, on Friday, I vaguely remember getting ready that morning and noticing a big red welt underneath my right armpit. I paid closer attention Friday afternoon, after my walk, and realized it was some kind of bug bite from hell. On Saturday, there was an addition red circle above the welt, and then, when I went to the graduation party for my boss’ son, I got bitten in the stomach by an ant.

Yes. I got bitten, ON THE STOMACH, by an ANT. While I was STANDING on deck that was two stories high. I can’t make this stuff up.

At any rate, I’ve officially reached that paranoid feeling, where every creepy-crawly feeling I get is something biting me. I’m itchy for no reason, convinced that some new welt has popped up.

It’s super-annoying.

In the recent years, I’ve been pretty lucky in regards to bugs: I don’t go outside, so I don’t get bitten. Because of that, I forgot that I was a bug magnet, and now that I’m taking daily walks, nature is reminding me that bugs love me to bits. And I’ve always said that I’m proof vampires don’t exist: if they did, I’d be dead by now. That’s how much bugs like my blood.

So that’s my current realm of woes, which is rather minimal compared to what I’ve been complaining about. But what about you: are you a bug magnet?

The Quiet Game…

~ Shara ~ 3 Comments

It’s been quiet around here, and I apologize. The past few weeks have had me running around like a chicken with my head cut off, and this weekend won’t be any different. But I’ve got a moment of downtime before I carry on to the next adventure, so I thought I’d say hi.

So, hi!

One thing I would like to share: the hubby and I visited Chattanooga a few weeks ago to visit friends and go see Iron Man 3. In Chattanooga, they have a theater: the Carmike Majestic 12. In the Carmike Majestic 12, they have a special theater called the Ovation Room. This room is 21 and over, and the ticket price is more expensive than the regular price, regardless of 3D. What makes it special? By being for people over the age of 21, it means no screaming babies. It also means you get to order alcohol off their special menu. Also, THEY HAVE A SPECIAL MENU with items you can’t get at the concession stand. You have a waitress. You have an assigned seat (so none of this, “Hey, can you scoot down so we can all sit together even though we got here at the last minute and can’t find seats?” bullshit). You have leather reclining chairs. You have a never-ending bowl of popcorn.

I could get used to this kind of luxury. 🙂

Do any of the theaters near you offer cool and unusual experiences to their customers?

Back in the Saddle

~ Shara ~ 2 Comments

I decided on Friday to unofficially take the weekend off. Short of trying to make sure I kept up with my daily Hellblazer reading, I stayed off the blog, didn’t write, and didn’t walk. And honestly, the weekend was just too busy to consider otherwise. It was the kind of busy that makes you wish you had an extra day, just so you can take a breather and actually get some rest.

This coming weekend looks to be a bit quieter, but the weekend after that looks to be just as crazy, if not worse. I’m tempted to make THAT weekend a three-day weekend, because I know I’ll need the recovery time.

Lots of stuff on the table: neighbor is being quite amicable about repairs from his trampoline, so we’re getting official quotes. The HVAC guy is coming out tomorrow to look at our unit and giving us the official diagnosis, and then we’ll start really deciding what we’ll do there. And at work, some guys were hammering away at that HVAC unit (same brand as the one we have at home, which is a piece of crap), but we won’t know if their fix worked until we turn on the AC, which will likely happen Tuesday.

I can’t believe April is nearly over. It’s gone by so fast.

At any rate, I’ve hit the point of the evening where I don’t care what’s left on my to-do list: I just want to wash up, curl beneath the covers, and relax. I’ve got my daily walk, my daily Hellblazer, and my blog entry in for the day. Maybe I’ll try to squeeze out a page of Space Vampires. Maybe. I’m early in and already my daily feedback has me thinking of new! and improved! ways of telling the tale. That’s the hard part for writers like me: staying the course so I really know what the story’s about, rather than trying to fix things with rewrites as I go along (which always amounts to not moving forward).

We’ll see.

Our Daily What?

~ Shara ~ 2 Comments

Yesterday, I was Skyping with a friend of mine and I was telling her how I have a small list of things I’d like to do and/or am doing daily. They are:

1) Read one issue of Hellblazer.

2) Walk the neighborhood (weather permitting).

3) Write one page in current project (which is Space Vampires).

4) Write a blog entry at Calico in Transition.

So, how’s that working out for me? Continue reading →

When Trampolines Attack!

~ Shara ~ Leave a comment

So. For the past four or so years, Tennessee has been hit with massive flooding, rain storms, hail, and torandoes. This happens pretty much every spring, and every spring, when the weather finally starts warming up, hearing that thunderstorm is coming also means we need to get our cars covered and keep one eye out for funnel clouds.

Three years ago, we had to replace our roof & guttering due to hail damage. Last year, our neighbor’s trampoline flew into our yard during a storm and dented the brand new gutter. Since that was all the damage, and his insurance wouldn’t cover the cost of replacing it because he had his trampoline weighed down based on their guidelines, we decided not to get it fixed. The neighbor was happy to pay for it himself, but we decided not to bother. Good thing.

Thursday, we got hit. The National Weather Service says it was a thunderstorm with winds reaching up to 100 mph, but people around here swear there was a tornado. Whatever the case, at 8:30 pm the storm REALLY hit hard and while I decided to see if we had hail, the neighbor’s trampoline took a flying leap and hit the house and then rolled alongside our house to get stuck on our porch.

The damage: the gutter we should have but DIDN’T replace last year? A new dent! But this year, we have three panels of siding broken, one broken so badly it shows the wood beneath. My husband suited up that night in a rain jacket, got the neighbor, and removed the trampoline from our property and investigated and talked about the damage. Neighbor is a nice guy, but not the brightest: he doesn’t think his insurance will cover anything because the trampoline was weighted down (he should’ve been using stakes though, not sandbags, and also: when you hear a big storm is coming and you KNOW your trampoline likes to attack the neighbors? You should take it down before the storm. Or at least turn it upside down). My husband stressed, however, that we’re getting this fixed this year, so we’re hoping that if his insurance says no, he’s going to pay. We’ll find out soon, once we get our own estimate, which likely won’t be more than our own deductible, and we’re not going to claim it on our insurance regardless, just because we shouldn’t have to and also, a lot of insurance companies in this area have a “three strikes in five years, you’re out” rule. Which means I don’t want to add a second strike when I shouldn’t have to.

But the damage could’ve been so much worse: the trampoline didn’t hit the window, so that’s a relief. And we don’t have trees, otherwise the would’ve been bent over, broken, or completely uprooted, which is what I saw Friday morning while driving to work.

Tornado or not, it was bad. I’m really tired of these storm systems, but every geographic location has some kind of SOMETHING that makes the location somewhat undesirable. Like getting lots of snow. Or having ungodly heat. Or being subject to hurricanes. Or earthquakes. There’s always something. It’s just that in this neck of the woods, that SOMETHING used to be rare. It sure as hell didn’t happen like clockwork every year.

Stupid climate change….

The Call of (Jury) Duty

~ Shara ~ 7 Comments

It’s over. Thank God.

I’ve never done jury duty before this week. I’d been summoned back when I was in college, but because I attended college out-of-state, it was an easy thing to get out of, because I wasn’t even going to be in town. But when I got my summons last year for this year, I swore a blue streak. On principle, I didn’t mind the idea of serving on a jury. I minded the interruption to my daily routine and the hassle it was going to take to make sure that my job didn’t suffer in my absence.

I’m not going to talk about specifics of my case, but I am going to talk about the process and the TYPE of case it was, as well as the verdict. I will say this, though: if you ever have the opportunity to serve on a jury and it doesn’t pose a financial hardship to you, do it. Seriously. Yeah, it’s an interruption and it’s stressful depending on the type of case you have to hear, but it’s utterly fascinating and educational. I’m not a patriot or anything, and I’ll be the first to tell you, when it comes to civic duty, I’m pretty ambivalent. But having an inside view of how the justice system works, to be a part of it, is really, really important. It gives you a new perspective on your community and law enforcement. It can reinforce already held views, but really, it made me feel a part of a the community in a way I never imagined. So while I’ll still grumble about speed traps and photo surveillance of traffic, I have a new appreciation for what the police force has to do when a crime’s committed and what the legal system goes through to follow up.

Yeah, I was on a murder trial.

Continue reading →

Happy Friday! Celebrate with Bacon!

~ Shara ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been craving bacon since Monday. Specifically, my sandwich-of-choice at Subway: turkey, bacon, cheese & ranch (and some lettuce thrown in to be healthy) on wheat. I’ve been good all week, but today’s Friday, and I’m in the mood to celebrate, so bacon it is! Erm, I mean, Subway it is!

Celebrate what, you may ask? Today was my annual review for my day job, and it went well. My raise goes into affect on April 1st, so that’s a good thing. It’s also a constant thing. I’ve complained a bit about certain things being uncertain at the day job, but this wasn’t one of them. The uncertain things seem to be fading, yet they have a bad habit of popping up out of nowhere and saying, “SURPRISE! Your life is UNCERTAIN again!” We’ll see. Right now, I’m quite happy for the raise.

I’m also taking a half day today, so I shall be spending the afternoon with my cat (did you know, cats can literally make you crazy? There’s no hope for me; I’ve been living with cats since I was a baby!) and catching up on a few projects. I’ll leave you with this story: Continue reading →