Wow! I knew I fell off the side of the earth, but I didn't realize for how long! That illness I had left me 50% down for the count for over two weeks. It was bad news bears, as they say. But I managed to emerge from it, finally. I am trying to get my thesis proposal revised and done done by Friday, it has a long way to go.
I am not doing well on any of my goals for this year! I did get and cook something from the Joy of Cooking, and it was good. But you would think by this time I would have cooked more than one thing from there! Working has only been getting done by virtue of the fact that I have dance class twice a week, lost my ID so I have to walk to and from school, and we had Kilties. However, I have noticed that I was not as sore as I usually am after Kilties this month and I have better endurance on my walks to school (though this could be because I have to carry much less back and forth with my light course schedule) and in other activities as well. Need to work more formal exercise into my schedule. I have not been losing weight as a result of my lack of exercise and I blame some of it on Winter! I have, however, decided to go vegetarian for Lent. This occurred as a result of Eric chiding me when I proposed to give up other items that were less sacrificial like red meat or chocolate. At least this way I still get to eat chocolate. I have been doing okay with my hospitality resolution in small ways, like making food for small group meetings almost bi-week. Obviously I have not been as diligent with my work as I could have been. But progress is being made on the thesis process toward me graduating in May. We can all see my lack of achievement of the blog once a week goal. I will try harder, okay? =)
Other stuff I have been up to.... hmm. For Valentine's Day, Eric and I made fondue, which was fun as always. I applied for a job here in Milwaukee that hopefully could start after I graduate. I mention this because the application took many hours to complete! We had Kilties last weekend and it seemed that a number of people were cranky- boo to you people. I took Ryan out for his birthday and then we saw Pat McCurdy at Bar Louie this past Tuesday night , that was a night of a ton of fun. I enjoy Pat McCurdy a great deal because his shows involve audience participation.
Okay I am going back to writing now!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Ugh!
So the last few days have not been the best. I got the horrible cold that has been going around. I think it is the same one as the rest of my office at school has had, not the one that ski trip people had. Although, who knows? It could be the same thing. I am medicating and staying home. This seems to be the best course of action. Plenty of tissue, liquids, medications, a bed, clothes, blankets, and the bathroom are nice and handy. The problem is that I have a thesis proposal to get done by Tuesday and my head is full of yuck and it feels like I am trying to think through yuck. In case you aren't aware, thinking through yuck is neither effective nor fun.
Objectively worse than this, Eric got laid off yesterday from his job. I say objectively because in my head it is a really bad thing. I told Ryan and he reacted like maybe he/we would be in mourning. But a) Eric is taking it pretty well and is upbeat about it, and b) it didn't totally come out of the blue. This was at least the third round of layoffs the company has done and Eric is a younger member of the staff. Though he, and many others, thought he was indispensable because he is so talented in many different ways. Earlier this week we were watching the news and a story was being reported about Cardinal Stritch wanting to buy property from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to build a south campus and the hearing that was going to occur. In the background of the footage were posters that Eric had made for the proposal. As Eric noted last night it was ironic that in one week his work was on TV and then he lost his job. Thankfully Eric isn't currently paying rent since he is living in his aunt's house which is up for sale. But they seem to be trying to sell the house as they have several showings and an open house this weekend. Like I said, Eric seems upbeat about the whole thing and has some ideas about where to seek new and possibly different employment... after he plays some video games :). Just kidding, I am sure he will get right on the job search though it is a stressful process that will probably require some stress relief in the form of said video game playing. Selfishly, I must admit I am wondering what this is going to do for my schedule. I thought I had the perfect thing going with my days all scheduled so that I would get my work done while Eric was working. Us, you know, still being in that "You're the greatest ever, I want to spend every waking moment with you" phase may make sticking to my schedule more difficult. So, for my sake alone I hope he finds a new job soon. You all know that is tongue in cheek, right? On the other hand, this could be a blessing in disguise because, based on my research, he is worth a lot more than he has been getting paid. Of course his value is in large part a virtue of that job as it has given him three years of experience, brought him some great contacts here in Milwaukee, helped him really get to know many of the environmental issues in Milwaukee, and learn how to navigate the bureaucratic channels in the state. So hopefully he will be able to find a better job nearby and not have to go to Madison or Chicago.
In other news, I seem to be drawn to the crazy stuff people do on the Internet these days. My dad sent me a note about a book about Dating and Dumping in LA by Zagat, but he didn't send me a link to the article he was talking about so I had to search for it and along the way I found the following trainwreck: http://www.okcupid.com/forum?low=1&tid=7223997838631196585 I cannot believe this girl did not have the evaluative skills to conclude that she had made a series of errors, should be embarrassed, say "Shame on him, but shame on me too," and move on with her life. Instead she writes a very popular note about it. The reader can almost feel bad for her, then a previous blog is exposed where she admits that she posted fake pictures of herself. When a potential beau decides he doesn't want to meet her after she reveals this deception she concludes that it is because he is superficial. Thankfully plenty of people are there to point out that if he is a decent guy he probably doesn't want to be lied to and deception is not a good foundation for a relationship. What is sad about the situation is that in both of her posts it is apparent that she has a personality that is attractive to at least some men, in the more recent case her appearance does get in the way, and in the earlier case her perception of her appearance got in the way. In a trite way we could say "Honesty is the best policy," but according to jerk-boy he would have have dated her if he knew her true weight. Of course, no one wants to date superficial jerk-boy, or know that they are. Mention of this instance would be funny in passing if I didn't have the sense that maybe this is only one in many similar situations. As I read this I stopped and thought about the possibility that I knew the girl who wrote these messages. I went back and read them again to convince myself that the writing style was not the same. These are very real issues in online dating- the FBS, which I had never heard of before reading the comments for this posting, whether to reveal ones real weight, whether to post pictures that are accurate portrayals of ones appearance or the super foxy done up ones, and how to deal with the pond scum that sometimes surface in online dating sites.
Then a new Facebook scandal with local tie-ins. http://www.jsonline.com/news/39091967.html Apparently a student at a high school in New Berlin, WI pretended to be a girl and used Facebook at AIM to illicit nude photos of boys at his high school. He then blackmailed the boys threatening to release the photos if they did not perform sexual favors for him. Wow! First the texting nude photos- porn charges, now this.... yowsers.
Okay, I think that is enough warm up for my proposal writing. My head feels a little bit more clear than it did when I started writing.
Objectively worse than this, Eric got laid off yesterday from his job. I say objectively because in my head it is a really bad thing. I told Ryan and he reacted like maybe he/we would be in mourning. But a) Eric is taking it pretty well and is upbeat about it, and b) it didn't totally come out of the blue. This was at least the third round of layoffs the company has done and Eric is a younger member of the staff. Though he, and many others, thought he was indispensable because he is so talented in many different ways. Earlier this week we were watching the news and a story was being reported about Cardinal Stritch wanting to buy property from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to build a south campus and the hearing that was going to occur. In the background of the footage were posters that Eric had made for the proposal. As Eric noted last night it was ironic that in one week his work was on TV and then he lost his job. Thankfully Eric isn't currently paying rent since he is living in his aunt's house which is up for sale. But they seem to be trying to sell the house as they have several showings and an open house this weekend. Like I said, Eric seems upbeat about the whole thing and has some ideas about where to seek new and possibly different employment... after he plays some video games :). Just kidding, I am sure he will get right on the job search though it is a stressful process that will probably require some stress relief in the form of said video game playing. Selfishly, I must admit I am wondering what this is going to do for my schedule. I thought I had the perfect thing going with my days all scheduled so that I would get my work done while Eric was working. Us, you know, still being in that "You're the greatest ever, I want to spend every waking moment with you" phase may make sticking to my schedule more difficult. So, for my sake alone I hope he finds a new job soon. You all know that is tongue in cheek, right? On the other hand, this could be a blessing in disguise because, based on my research, he is worth a lot more than he has been getting paid. Of course his value is in large part a virtue of that job as it has given him three years of experience, brought him some great contacts here in Milwaukee, helped him really get to know many of the environmental issues in Milwaukee, and learn how to navigate the bureaucratic channels in the state. So hopefully he will be able to find a better job nearby and not have to go to Madison or Chicago.
In other news, I seem to be drawn to the crazy stuff people do on the Internet these days. My dad sent me a note about a book about Dating and Dumping in LA by Zagat, but he didn't send me a link to the article he was talking about so I had to search for it and along the way I found the following trainwreck: http://www.okcupid.com/forum?low=1&tid=7223997838631196585 I cannot believe this girl did not have the evaluative skills to conclude that she had made a series of errors, should be embarrassed, say "Shame on him, but shame on me too," and move on with her life. Instead she writes a very popular note about it. The reader can almost feel bad for her, then a previous blog is exposed where she admits that she posted fake pictures of herself. When a potential beau decides he doesn't want to meet her after she reveals this deception she concludes that it is because he is superficial. Thankfully plenty of people are there to point out that if he is a decent guy he probably doesn't want to be lied to and deception is not a good foundation for a relationship. What is sad about the situation is that in both of her posts it is apparent that she has a personality that is attractive to at least some men, in the more recent case her appearance does get in the way, and in the earlier case her perception of her appearance got in the way. In a trite way we could say "Honesty is the best policy," but according to jerk-boy he would have have dated her if he knew her true weight. Of course, no one wants to date superficial jerk-boy, or know that they are. Mention of this instance would be funny in passing if I didn't have the sense that maybe this is only one in many similar situations. As I read this I stopped and thought about the possibility that I knew the girl who wrote these messages. I went back and read them again to convince myself that the writing style was not the same. These are very real issues in online dating- the FBS, which I had never heard of before reading the comments for this posting, whether to reveal ones real weight, whether to post pictures that are accurate portrayals of ones appearance or the super foxy done up ones, and how to deal with the pond scum that sometimes surface in online dating sites.
Then a new Facebook scandal with local tie-ins. http://www.jsonline.com/news/39091967.html Apparently a student at a high school in New Berlin, WI pretended to be a girl and used Facebook at AIM to illicit nude photos of boys at his high school. He then blackmailed the boys threatening to release the photos if they did not perform sexual favors for him. Wow! First the texting nude photos- porn charges, now this.... yowsers.
Okay, I think that is enough warm up for my proposal writing. My head feels a little bit more clear than it did when I started writing.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Ski Trip!
So I am sitting here listening to a bunch of music from Songza.com, a site that Eric introduced to me. I am enjoying it because I am having trouble putting money or effort into my Ipod, it is good enough for running right now, but it is fun to be able to check out some other music that I am not familiar with. For example, last semester when I was writing my dance critique I used Songza to listed to some of the music the pieces were set to and it helped to remind me of what had happened. Also, my friend Tiffany likes a band called Griffin House and so I am listening to some of their music right now. It is pretty good- nice guitar and lyrics. And I can listen to some music to get Beyonce out of my head!!
I am trying to get down to business on my thesis but I have to uphold my blog resolution! I have set a goal to get a first draft of my thesis proposal done by Feb. 10, that is one week from now so I better get writing and revising! But first a little on the ski trip this past weekend:
The trip is an annual trip for Eric and his friends, their significant others, and some other fantastic people. This year ten people made up the group and we stayed in a great chalet close to the ski hill. The chalet had four bedrooms and two baths. It could have slept 20, if my calculations are correct. It had two gathering areas with TV's, a kitchen, dining table, and best of all a spa outside. We also had access to the indoor pool, spa, and workout room at the lodge for the ski resort. There isn't much to say other than that it was a great trip. I think fun was had by all. I certainly had a great time. I learned to ski. Unbelieveable. It is sort of unbelieveable that I had never learned to ski before, but then that I learned at my ancient age.... =)... that is pretty cool. I guess I was doing pretty good, at least that is what people told me. It was fun going down hills, except that I would start going too fast and panic, forget what I was supposed to do to slow down and instead throw myself into the ground- it is a pretty effective way to stop. The first four or so times it did not hurt to fall, but two of my falls hurt. I have always thought that skiing was a leisure time activity, but it really is a sport. It uses a lot of muscles! I started the weekend pretty sore from Kilties and overdoing the sautes in jazz class, which was bad news for skiing. But I survived with the help of many showers, dips in both outdoor and indoor spas, Advil, and stretching. I am looking forward to going skiing another time when I do not start out in pain! Yipppee!
I am trying to get down to business on my thesis but I have to uphold my blog resolution! I have set a goal to get a first draft of my thesis proposal done by Feb. 10, that is one week from now so I better get writing and revising! But first a little on the ski trip this past weekend:
The trip is an annual trip for Eric and his friends, their significant others, and some other fantastic people. This year ten people made up the group and we stayed in a great chalet close to the ski hill. The chalet had four bedrooms and two baths. It could have slept 20, if my calculations are correct. It had two gathering areas with TV's, a kitchen, dining table, and best of all a spa outside. We also had access to the indoor pool, spa, and workout room at the lodge for the ski resort. There isn't much to say other than that it was a great trip. I think fun was had by all. I certainly had a great time. I learned to ski. Unbelieveable. It is sort of unbelieveable that I had never learned to ski before, but then that I learned at my ancient age.... =)... that is pretty cool. I guess I was doing pretty good, at least that is what people told me. It was fun going down hills, except that I would start going too fast and panic, forget what I was supposed to do to slow down and instead throw myself into the ground- it is a pretty effective way to stop. The first four or so times it did not hurt to fall, but two of my falls hurt. I have always thought that skiing was a leisure time activity, but it really is a sport. It uses a lot of muscles! I started the weekend pretty sore from Kilties and overdoing the sautes in jazz class, which was bad news for skiing. But I survived with the help of many showers, dips in both outdoor and indoor spas, Advil, and stretching. I am looking forward to going skiing another time when I do not start out in pain! Yipppee!
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