The Budget Wino -- no, not me.

Though I have become something of a wino lately. Well, I wouldn't seriously go that far--I do enjoy a nice Merlot in the evenings, but due to diet considerations I've cut back to a few nights a week. I hardly think that qualifies me as a wino. I hardly qualify as a connoisseur, either, though I've slowly but surely been improving my wine education over the last couple of years to where I know that there's more to it than white, red, blush or sparkling. I'm to a point where I can walk confidently into a liquor store (you can't get wine in the grocery store in OK), pick out a Merlot or a Shiraz or a Chianti, and have a pretty good idea of what I'm getting.

Wine can be an expensive hobby, though, and my budget keeps me in the cheap end of the spectrum. The first opportunity I had to try some pricier, fine wines was on my honeymoon, where we were both in the mood to splurge and be a bit spendy, and where we could buy it by the glass. I feared that this would ruin me for all of the wines available in my price range, but you know? Maybe it's because my palate is unrefined, but I couldn't really tell the difference. Most of the cheap stuff I've tried tastes just as good to me--sometimes, even better--that the expensive wines we drank on the boat.

So it's nice to know that I'm not the only one. The Budget Wino shares both my sentiment and my frugality, and blogs his experiences with wines costing $10 and under. His reviews are practical and descriptive in a way that even a novice can understand and know what to expect. He's giving away a free wine guide to anyone willing to offer up their mailing address, and he even created a wine ratings spreadsheet to help you quickly scan his ratings a select a wine.

And he's got me wanting to stop and pick up a bottle of Pepperwood Grove on the way home.

Another link snagged from Get Rich Slowly.

Cingular Experience

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Whenever I see the AT&T logo, I'm reminded of an old Bloom County strip that portrayed said logo as the Imperial Death Star. Over the years, in my own experiences and those of people close to me, I've come to think of it as an apt analogy, especially when it comes to AT&T's customer service. So I'm not exactly feeling warm and fuzzy about Cingular going back to being "The New" AT&T.

I've heard horror stories about Cingular, too, but what phone company hasn't had their horror stories? My sister worked a couple of years in their call center, and she was impressed with them as an employer. The Cingular call center is actually a pretty big employer here in Tulsa, so it will be interesting to see how the switch back will affect the local economy. My mother has also been a Cingular customer for a couple of years now, and the switch has made her relieved to know that her contract is about to expire.

But those of us who scorn AT&T yet covet the new Apple iPhone might find ourselves out of luck. According to Wirefly, the iPhone will head up an exclusive line of new AT&T phones. It's being rolled out under the Cingular brand, but it's going to come with AT&T service.

So I guess the big question is, is the iPhone worth the hassle? Or I guess a bigger question is, will this brand change and partnership with Apple combine to have a positive impact on AT&T's customer service? I hope so, because yes, the iPhone does look to be worth it. It would sure be nice, though, if it would come without any hassle—but what technology does come entirely hassle-free these days?

I guess I really shouldn't spend too much time worrying—by the time I can afford one of these things, they're sure to have all of the bugs worked out, and maybe by then AT&T's exclusive hold will no longer be. Hey, if I'm going to dream of owning an iPhone, I might as well dream big.

And this time, it's personal!

Well, obviously, I survived yesterday, and now I'm back... with a vengeance!

Or, just back.

I really shouldn't have skipped the gym on Monday. Yesterday was too busy to take a full hour for lunch, and a while ago I got scheduled for another mandatory meeting during lunch tomorrow. At this rate I'm going to do well to make it twice this week. This is not doing good things for my (thwarted every week, thus far) plan to start going four days a week.

I need to do a book post soon, and update my lists over there on the side bar. I'm still poking my way through Jonathan Strange, and otherwise I've been spending my reading time on my Bible and this marriage book I got at my bridal shower. I finished the Gaiman, though, and I also got Bruce Campbell's If Chins Could Kill for a wedding present (thanks again, Dwight!). And yesterday Amazon delivered a double dose of Scalzi with The Android's Dream and You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop To a Coffeeshop: Scalzi On Writing, prompting the following text exchange:

Matt: Whaddya get from Amazon?

Me: Scalzi books.

Matt: What's a Scalzi?

Which, heh.

I was also informed that it's time for performance reviews, so I need to be on good behavior and strike a good work stuff/'net stuff balance, which, really, I need to do anyway. But the good news is that I'll be getting a raise in April. The review will just determine how much. So yay for that.

And to that end, I'd better get some work done before going to work out...with a vengeance!

Okay, stopping now.

Mini Me

Before I forget I want to give thanks and credit to Bojojoti, who took on the task of shrinking my user icon for use in my Etsy shop profile.

Thank you, Miss Bojo!

Decorating in a Minute

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I'm probably a year away from being able to buy any new furniture to go with my theoretical future house, but that doesn't stop me from being fairly obsessive about shopping online for it any more than not having a complete moving fund yet keeps me from constantly checking the rental listings on Craigslist. So I'm pretty excited to find such Stylish furniture at FurnitureMinute.com. I'm kind of in love already with this Bombai sofa set, and considering this sofa bed in place of the futon I had planned for our all-purpose spare room. The sofa set would go great with this coffee table. I like the sleek, simple, clean design of it, and after about 10 years with the Pier 1 wooden chest that's been serving as my coffee table, I'm so ready for a change.

I'm also digging this bedroom set. I like the cherry wood, and I think the black leather padding on the headboard would appeal to my husband. It looks like a pretty good gender-neutral compromise, definitely worth bookmarking for future consideration.

Did I mention that they offer site-wide free shipping? I'm usually hesitant about buying such large items online because of the potential for astronomical shipping costs, but on this site it's not even a consideration. Fabulous.

PhD student regrets choosing Buffy The Vampire Slayer as thesis topic -- This is an Onion-esque article about academic Buffy studies. You know, it really is silly. I'm sure glad I didn't waste any time writing lengthy academic papers tying Buffy into whatever topic I could wrangle it into when I was in college... what?

Five years ago, Wasserman believed that Buffy was a "uniquely nuanced cultural text", a view she now believes was prompted solely by her enthusiasm for the popular TV show. "I thought that Buffy was a new type of cultural apparatus that could establish the co-ordinates of a more fluid, less repressive form of gendered indentity," she says. "But looking back, I think I just had the hots for Giles."

Hee.

Via Whedonesque.

Live long and...

Prosper has apparently been around for a little while now, but, slow on the uptake as I tend to be, I just now heard about it. Get Rich Slowly did a couple of posts about it last week examining its benefits from a lender/investor perspective. It's basically a network for real people to lend money to real people, which from an investment standpoint means giving real folks a chance to profit from interest rates instead of the ev0l banks and creditors.

It looks like an even better deal from a borrower standpoint. You post your loan need and the maximum rate in interest you're willing to pay, lenders make bids to cover your loans, and the bids with the lowest interest rates win. The length of the loan is a maximum of three years, payments are automated, and you have the security of knowing that your loan will be paid off in three years and won't be drawn out by fluctuating interest rates. The trick seems to be in getting accepted by a borrower group. Once you're in a group, potential lenders look at the group's overall history and reputation instead of looking at yours as an individual.

So I'm considering applying for a consolidation loan to knock out the credit cards. Of course, I still have to run this by my husband, but according to my math a loan with as much as 10% interest will reduce both the amount I'm paying toward credit cards each month and the amount of time it will take me to pay them off. The only drawback I can see is that my credit cards come with protection that will let me suspend my payments without any penalties should, God forbid, anything happen to my job, and I don't think Prosper offers any such forbearance. I know from experience that layoffs happen in this industry, but I also know that my team's contract with our current client is good for the next seven years, and my job's not going anywhere before then.

I'll take some more time to think it over, talk it over with Matt and look at it from all angles; but right now it appears that the pros far outweigh the cons. Carrying zero balances on all of our cards, using only the one with the big cash rebates for buying gas and paying it off each month… these things can only improve our credit score, which would make our goal of buying a house in five years a lot more viable than it is currently.

I'll keep you posted.

Move over, Aqua

It's an ad... but it's a fun one.



"Punjabi Girl" - This is a HIGH-larious Bollywood parody of Aqua's classic cheesy yet irritatingly catchy "Barbie Girl." Be careful if you play it—it has a way of sticking in your head all day like the original.

I found this at AapkaVideo - Indian Videos, the East Indian version of YouTube. There's a lot of good stuff on there—I also came across a couple of clips from Big Brother: India, and an awesome Nike ad that managed to make even this sports apatheticist feel some enthusiasm about Cricket for a minute there. I credit the elephant.

Adventures at Tarzhay

I caved in to the siren song of Target, and the next thing you know I had a cart loaded with cute kitchen wares from the $2.50 and under display by the entrance (can you say "sucker"?) and found myself indulging in some shoe therapy. In my defense, I really did need some brown shoes for work (the ballerina mules, not so much, but hey, they were on special). Also in my defense, this was my designated fun money allowance I was spending, and I refuse to feel guilty for actually having some fun with it. Besides, splurging once in a while on little things like cheap shoes makes me feel like a Have and helps to ease the worry about that which I Have Not, at least until I can save up the money for it. Granted, an argument could be made that I'd Have the Have Not stuff faster if I didn't let myself get shoe spendy, but I'm really not too concerned that "splurging" on a $20 pair of shoes once in a great while is going to do that much to decelerate my financial goals. It's not like I picked up a pair of Manolos.

So: Yay new shoes!

After I pried myself away from the shoe department and started shopping for things actually on my list, I ran into a former boss from my days as a department secretary at Ye Olde Oil Company in the light bulb aisle; but as we exchanged surprised hellos my memory confused him with my high school World History teacher. Fortunately, before I could embarrass myself by asking if he was still the head football coach, I was saved by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer ringtone as Matt returned my call and we proceeded to have a five minute debate over what size and type of bulb I should get for his bedside reading lamp. By the time I finally just grabbed a bulb and got on with it, the old boss was long gone.

Today, despite the fact of the drafters making all of my copies, is shaping up to be heck-a busy, so this just might be all you'll hear from me today. I know, I know. How WILL you go on? Somehow, dear readers, I trust you'll find the fortitude to be brave and carry on without me.

Last word for today.

My brain, children, she is full. So one more post to kill the minutes until I can leave, and then I'll go away and stop spamming your friends lists or aggregators or whatever.

I have to do some light household shopping after work, and I'm dithering on whether to go to Wal-Mart or Target. The responsible side of my brain says Wal-Mart, because I effing HATE Wal-Mart and if I go there it will be a search-and-destroy mission to get in, get the stuff I need, and get out before I snap and kill somebody, with no time to spare for temptation. Target, on the other hand, would be a much more pleasant and laid-back shopping experience, but the temptation to get spendy would be everywhere. I have plenty of personal allowance to spend, but I'm attempting to be responsible with it and save as much of it as I can to put toward paying off that credit card.

Target: Less responsible, more fun.

In the good news department, once again the drafters are handling the production side of the Big Drawing Issue, so all I'll have to worry about is the distribution. This is terrific news as it means I'll only spend part of my afternoon in the copy center instead of my entire day tomorrow. Happy happy joy joy!

Have a great evening, everybody. MWAH!

What it's all about.

Remember this wee slip of a premie that was once my grandneice Dakota? Well, here's the cutie-pie today, all 11 months and twenty-some-odd pounds of her.



She'll celebrate her first birthday in a few weeks. God is good, y'all.

Come in, we're open!

My Etsy shop is live and open for business, and all of my stitch markers are up for grabs.

Un favor, por favor?

Do I have any readers with both the willingness and capability to take the little South Park avatar over there in my profile (the full-size version is here) and crop and scale it down to a 75x75 pixel version for me? Pretty please? I'm setting up my shop on Etsy and I think it will add a little character. Yes, I know how pathetic it is that I don't have access to any programs that will let me do this myself. Any assistance will be appreciated.

If you do decide to help me out, please comment first to say so, so I won't get multiple helpers. Also, you can send it to me at jeanjeanie AT gmail DOT com.

Muchas gracias in advance.

Regrets, I have a few...

This past weekend saw a gathering of a group of friends who are scattered across North America. I started to read a report of how it went, but I couldn't get past the list of attendees before I had to shut it down. Once upon a time I would have been there, or at least been on the receiving end of a group phone call if circumstances prevented me from being there. I'd be a big, fat liar if I claimed I wasn't heartbroken not to be part of that anymore.

Now I want to spend the rest of the day being emo and sulking about it. But I won't, because I'm beginning to pride myself on finally being a grown-up, and part of being a grown-up is learning to let go, to accept the consequences when you do dumb things, and to recognize that sometimes, painful things are still for the best. And I know deep down that this really is for the best. I made a lot of compromises to my beliefs and my behavior when I hung with that crowd. Not that they're bad people -- they're fantastic people. Their beliefs and values just don't always jibe with my own, and it was hard for me not to compromise parts of myself for the sake of being accepted and deemed "cool." So letting it go to my head and subsequently getting myself deemed "butthole" and almost universally rejected... yes, painful, in that soul-crushing, life-altering kind of way. But ultimately good for my character. The most valuable life lessons do have an annoying way of being the most painful.

Anyway. Chicken salad has been consumed, and 'twas most yum. Now I'm going to shake this off and hie myself to work.

Writer head doesn't have to mean writer rear-end.

I'm so very, very tempted to skip the gym today, you guys, in favor of staying here to write. And you know what? I think I'm gonna, and I'm not going to feel guilty about it, either, because it's just not every day that I get a chance to get ahead on any of this stuff. I'd be a dummy not to take full advantage of it.

Besides, I was good all weekend long in the healthy eats department. AND I did Pilates. My bargain with myself is that if I don't go to the gym today, I have to do more Pilates at home next weekend, plus hit the gym at least three times this week. And at some point today I'll make myself get up and move around the building for a while, maybe even step outside for some fresh air and sunshine.

I don't want to neglect my health in order to write; but gosh darn it, it's time I took a time-out to get back into my writer head again. It might be about time for another NaNoWriMo-style writing marathon.

I was a busy little beaver this weekend, y'all. I made four -- count 'em: FOUR -- super cute sets of stitch markers, catalogued all of my Star Trek Christmas ornaments for eBay, and got a solid start on an article on weddings in Eureka Springs for Associated Content. And that's not to mention all of the cleaning, laundry-washing, meal-preparing, dog-bathing, Pilates-doing and knitting I got done. After practically being a slug all winter, it's nice to feel productive for a change.

In the knitting department, I FINALLY finished Matt's sweater. It only took me since, what, November? I guess if I have any plans for making any more "Christmas" sweaters I should get started on them, like, now, at that rate. I'm not always that slow, though. I also started and FINISHED (except for sewing together) a felted knitting needle case, and perfected my sleep mask pattern. Details and pictures will get posted at Jeanjeanie.Knit later in the week.

Since I'm more or less caught up on the filing, and since tomorrow is Big Drawing Production/Sendout day, barring any urgent work tasks that need doing, today I'll be focusing on getting all of my goods posted online, finishing my article, and writing content for the new web site. But first, I'm going to force myself to spend some time with the novel. Wow. I've been so slammed here at the office lately that it's hard to remember what it's like to have plenty of free time to work on my own stuff. It's starting to come back to me, but I have a feeling I'd better not get too used to it.

The Big Tease

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PayPerPost is teasing us with rumors of a big announcement coming in the next few weeks. It's way too early on a Monday for me to be any good at guessing games, so mostly my initial reaction was, "Wha?" But after imbibing some liquid life, aka coffee, the possibilities are beginning to swirl around in my little noggin.

I'll tell you what I hope it's NOT, and that's that I hope they're not getting acquired by Google or Yahoo or anybody. Then again, Google has plenty of money to spread around, so maybe that could be a good thing. Plus, things generally have a tendency to improve once Google gets ahold of them, unlike Yahoo, whom I still haven't forgiven for ruining Geocities for me [/bitter]. And if Google took over then maybe one of their first orders of business would be to do away with the occasional ban on Blogspot blogs. That would be nice.

But really, I hope PayPerPost isn't selling out to anybody, and I don't really believe that they are. Whatever the big news is, I'm sure that it will have to do with the further growth and success of the startup, all of which will be sure to trickle down to benefit us Posties in some way.

Hair Today

As requested, here's a pic of the new 'do.



It's not too different, but I like it. I just had all of my layers trimmed a bit, but I had about an inch taken off of the second-to-bottom layer, and then had another, short layer added up top. So I've still got the length without it dragging me down and making me resemble a cocker spaniel, and plenty of volume up top. I am most pleased.

Not an Oscar post

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I actually didn't set out to watch the Oscars last night, considering that I haven't seen a single one of the movies nominated this year. But since every satellite receiver in the house last night was otherwise occupied, cutting me off from my SciFi Sunday, once TAR was over I went ahead and switched over for the remaining few hours. Jennifer Hudson's speech made me verklempt, but otherwise it was all pretty "eh." I did put Little Miss Sunshine on my To See list, though.

Speaking of Little Miss Sunshine, wasn't that Abigail Breslin a cutie? Unsurprisingly, she's already got another movie coming out March 9. The trailer for it looks good. It looks to be a little sleeper film with a big, Pay It Forward-style message about the importance of giving and the idea that the best way to lead a blessed life is to spend it blessing others.

This is the official site of the movie "The Ultimate Gift" and the grass-roots movement it's starting to help charities and give to others. Apparently, pre-screenings of this film, as well as the book on which it's based, have already sparked giving movements across the US, including a teen philanthropy initiative called Show of Hands. The production company, along with Fox Film Fund, is even hosting a Weekend of Giving during the film's opening weekend, during which $1.00 of every ticket you purchase will go to the charity of your choice. It's nice to see a big studio movie that's about the message and not about the box office.

Finding strength.

I'm considering buying Taming Your Gremlin by Rick Carson, which is supposed to help you quiet your negative inner voice and stop letting it hold you back.

I definitely have a gremlin that needs taming. I think it's primarily responsible for a lot of my plans not coming to fruition. It's fueled by low self-esteem, shyness and fear. It gets me to say things like, "Why did I think I could do this?" and "Why would anybody want to buy that from ME?" and "I'm just not capable of managing my time well enough to do that."

I keep trying to find time to set up a page for my web site detailing knitting lessons that I want to offer. I know that I'm qualified to teach the fundamentals, and even some advanced stuff. I even know from experience that I can be a good teacher. But every time I start to write the copy for the page I sieze up with fear, and my gremlin starts whispering in my head things like, "You do realize that this will require you to talk face to face with strangers? Do you really think you knit so well that anybody would want to learn from YOU? Did I mention the talking to strangers part? It won't just be the lessons, you'll have to make small talk. You suck at small talk. What if you make an appointment that you're too tired to keep? How are you going to fit this into your weekends when you already barely find time to relax? Strangers! Talking! YOU CAN'T DO THIS."

It was a similar train of thought that kept me from applying to grad school. And from submitting my first novel more than once. And from giving my gift basket business more than a month to take off, and from making phone calls to potential clients. It's what makes me keep taking weeks-long breaks from writing my current novel. It's what kept me out of the dating pool until God decided to drop Matt right in my lap.

Yes indeed, my gremlin needs taming. But I still hesitate to buy this book. My gremlin's telling me it will be a waste of time and money, that nothing's going to shut it up because it's only being straight with me.

But the main reason I'm considering NOT buying it is because I tend to think any "self-help" I need is all wrapped up in a single book of which I already own many copies, in many different translations. I'm not sure that I need to spend time and money on a book that will essentially tell me that which can be wrapped up in a single verse: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

I wrote that on a sticky note today, and stuck it at the top of my monitor. Reading it has a tendency to shut my gremlin right up. After all, it's pretty brazen, but it's not so bold as to call God a liar.

I think I'm going to hold off on the book a while longer. Meanwhile, I've got some web page copy to write.

Wanna play in Playa?

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I remember getting off of the ferry that delivered us from our cruise ship at Cozumel to Playa del Carmen, on the last excursion day of our honeymoon cruise. I felt ill from the fast and bumpy boat ride, but when I got off of the ferry and took in the fresh Caribbean air and the view of the sandy beach front with the town of Playa del Carmen only steps away from the pier, I forgot all about my rumbly tummy. It was absolutely gorgeous. We walked about 10 blocks through the town as our tour guide led us to the bus that would take us to the Mayan ruins at Tulum, spying all kinds of shops and restaurants we wanted to stop and check out as we went, not to mention catching breathtaking views of the sea. My husband and I were tempted to skip out on the ruins and stay in the town all day. Instead, we promised each other that we'd go back there some day and take our time there enjoying the town and the beaches around it. That's why I'm bookmarking SeePlaya.com, a travel guide specializing in Playa del Carmen hotel reviews. This site will let us compare hotels and resorts, and plan and book our vacation all in one place. I can't wait till we can go back there some day.

It's just hair. Yeah, right.

I have a hair appointment tomorrow. It's grown out quite a lot since the last time I went. I'm trying to decide whether to get it trimmed back up into this style, or to keep it long and just get it styled better. I'm also dithering on whether to get my bangs cut or keep growing them out. It's a tough call. I like the style I've been getting, and it looks good, but I'm also getting ready for a change, and I like my long hair when it's styled right. I might have to sneak a few minutes to gawk at celebrity hair styles this afternoon. I kind of like how Drew Barrymore's hair is looking these days...

Or I suppose I could just simplify and go Britney. [/evil]

How this Pay Per Post thing has helped me out

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Apropos of my last post, I want to offer a little more detail about how I've benefited through this blog marketing thing I’m doing via PayPerPost. So far I've been paid -- actually deposited in my Paypal account and available to spend -- a grand total of $181, with another $244 on its way pending approval, and that's not even counting what I make today. Just yesterday I zeroed out my Paypal account to pay various bills, and today it's already back up to $22 in PayPerPost funds. Pretty cool.

After tithing on the money I've gotten so far and using some of it to pay my annual AAA bill, I transferred the rest (as of yesterday) to my bank account so I can apply it to that credit card that I'm oh-so-very-close to paying off. At this rate, by the end of March my PayPerPost funds will have finished paying off the entire thing. Also pretty cool.

The only downside right now is having to be strict with myself about how the funds are used. Knowing I've got more than $20 sitting in Paypal is really tempting me to hit up Michael's or a local yarn shop for supplies after work tonight. It feels like my Paypal debit card is burning a hole in my wallet. I should probably take it out of my purse and start leaving it at home so I won't be so tempted to spend it on non-debt-related items.

But if I do give into temptation? It's not that big a deal, because I know that in just a couple of days the funds will be replenished. It really makes the days between running out of my regular salary and the next payday easier to bear. Even if I don't spend it, just knowing it's there if I need it is a huge comfort.

In which the author can breathe easy for a change.

Now I'm told that the ginormous drawing package won't go out until Tuesday. So now I can relax a little and pace myself. Nice.

Nevertheless, since yesterday was payday (whoo!), I went ahead and paid my bills and did my budget for the next two weeks. Everything's paid that needs to be paid right now, including tithes, and there's still plenty left over for groceries and miscellany. Also nice.

This isn't really a post to extol the virtues of PayPerPost, but I've gotta say, it's been a life saver. The original (and eventual) plan was to use these funds exclusively toward debt and savings, but this time of year we're inundated with bills of unusual size. There's car insurance (which we pay bi-annually), AAA renewal, emergency room bills from Matt's bronchitis, my student loan forbearance expired, and my Broadway show season tickets are up for renewal. The latter is an extravagance, I know, and before PPP I thought I was going to have to finally let them lapse. But this is the only guarantee I have of seeing Tess at least every couple of months. We've been a bit drifty since the wedding, and I think the price of the tickets is a small price to pay to make sure I stay tethered to my oldest and dearest friend.

Anyway, normally this time of year I'm freaking out about how I'm going to pay for all this stuff; but this year, the money's there (it's not all from PPP – the eBay auctions helped, too). It's such a great feeling to open a bill and know that it's covered, and I won't have to do any juggling or borrowing to get it paid on time. This is a new thing for me. Hopefully, this is how it's going to be from now on.

Once all the big bills are out of the way, I can turn my focus back to my debts. That's actually fairly exciting, because I'm thisclose to completely paying off one of my credit cards. We're also thisclose to having enough money saved up to move, and that's VERY exciting, because, I swear to Pete, if we have to live in my mother's house for too much longer somebody's going to end up getting jabbed with a fork.

Which is all to say: HOORAY for financial stability!

P.S. - Speaking of Pay Per Post, I think I need to make a correction. I said in my post about the new "Review My Post" feature that you have to have an established PPP account to review posts and get paid. I was WRONG. That feature is there for anybody to take advantage of. Of course, in doing so you have to sign up and create a PPP account, which makes sense, because how else are you going to get paid? But it's an easy, easy way to grab some cash, and give me some feedback at the same time.

Swarovski binoculars?

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It turns out that Swarovski binoculars are not, as I first thought, blinged-out, crystal-encrusted, high-fashion vision enhancers. They are instead high quality, high-powered, light-weight binoculars perfect for hiking trips and other travel. They seem pretty pricey, but Eagle Optics offers free financing on any order over $200.

They also have plenty of other, more affordable binoculars to choose from. Speaking of high-fashion binocs, I've got my eye on these Sonata theater glasses. I've got a cheap pair of travel binoculars that I take to the theater and keep by my window for gawking at the wildlife around my house (and by that I do mean animals, not my neighbors), but I've always wanted a good pair of nice looking, powerful opera glasses, and these seem to fit the bill.

Today is going to be a tough one. My allergies are acting up, for one thing. Three hours since I dosed up on Sudafed and eye drops and my eye is still swollen and leaking. I brought my makeup to work in the hopes that I'd be able to put it on once I got here, but nope. I look like a pale, washed out, crying mess, prompting everyone who knows I went to a funeral yesterday to be especially concerned.

There's a whole rant about my mom burning leaves in the yard and the smoke exacerbating my allergies, and how we just really, really want to hurry up and move, but I'll save that for later.

I'm also still out of my ADD supplements, and the allergies are just compounding my ADD. Which is just too bad, because there's a ton of work to get done today, and I can't very well just say, "Sorry, I'm out of focus. Can somebody else handle that?" I've got to figure out a way to pull it all together and concentrate.

I was actually looking forward to going to the gym, knowing how exercise helps with the focus factor, but I just got a reminder that there's a mandatory admin meeting scheduled for lunchtime. At least they'll feed me. That makes the time I spent making tuna salad last night kind of unnecessary, but I guess now Friday's lunch is also covered.

Somebody said something about a ton of drawings needing to go out this afternoon. On the bright side, that will give me something physical to do that doesn't require too much thought. But as it sounds like I'll get to spend the afternoon stuck down in the copy center, I'm hurrying to get all of my personal business wrapped up while things are still relatively slow.

Bleah. I should have asked for two days off.

Don't know much about wifi

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I'm so behind the times right now. I mean, I'm caught up to where I need to be as far as work goes. I can do video conferencing, and run various file sharing programs, and whatnot. But at home, it's a sad, sad situation.

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to wifi, for example. I hear about it all over the place. I go to coffee shops and see that I can get it for free! Except that I don't have the capability, so no, I can't. I'm hoping that this will soon change. I've read up on it a little, and it sounds good. Internet connectivity that you can share. Cool beans. This ads to the reasons why I so very much want to get myself a laptop. Of course, knowing me, once the funds are in place, I wouldn't stop there. I'd be all het up to get all the equipment to set myself up as a neighborhood hot spot. But first I suppose I should just concentrate on getting that laptop, and fitting it out with whatever it needs to take advantage of all these free internets. Learning what that is, exactly, would also be a good first step.

For tomorrow...

Whilst toiling away on my files I've been listening to The Bat Segundo Show, which has in-depth interviews with some of my favorite authors, including Christopher Moore, Amy Sedaris and pamie. If you're looking for interesting content, give it a listen.

I'm outtie. See y'all Thursday.

Rockin' Rock Startup

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It's been a while since I posted an episode of Rock Startup, PayPerPost's own reality show about getting their company off the ground. I think their latest episode is my favorite, and definitely worth sharing. In this episode, the staff decides to do their own version of The Biggest Loser, with everybody making a pact to lose weight and egging each other on toward their goals. How great is it to see an entire staff of people dealing with an issue so close to my heart? It'll be fun to follow this and see where it goes. Hopefully it'll be inspirational.

I'm not drinking whatever that is the gals are taking to help with their weight loss, though. I didn't see what it looked like, but I got the impression that it was something other than delicious. Maybe that's the point – kill your appetite by killing your taste buds. I think I'll pass.

At any rate, I really enjoy these behind-the-scenes peeks at the folks who are making such a difference in my life. Plus it's a nice distraction, what with not being able to focus on anything productive at the moment.

Also, I really dig Veronique's Star Wars shirt. Want!

I went and ran out of MegaMind again, so my intentions of getting ahead today to take up the slack for tomorrow are not coming to frution. My brain is full of static. I guess I really ought to just put those pills on auto-ship, shouldn't I? I'm apparently way too ADD to remember to re-order my ADD pills on my own.

I think I'm taking tomorrow off, anyway. I've gotten half of the approval I need, although I think the other half is just to approve using vacation time to cover it, not to actually miss work. My vacation hours, such as they are, are still at a negative balance from all the ice and snow. At this rate I'm never going to earn enough vacation time to actually go anywhere.

My focus is so non-existent right now, it's not even funny.

Why I'm tired all the time

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I'm fairly certain I've discussed here before that I sometimes suffer from night terrors, but I don't know if I've mentioned my suspicion that they might be tied to sleep apnea (commonly misspelled as "sleep apnia"). After reading up on the condition, I'm even more suspicious. I rarely wake up feeling well rested, it's not uncommon for me to wake up with a headache, and, embarrassingly, my husband says I snore. Also