Red Fish Blue Fish

My friend Val says I should blog about sushi today. Specifically, this sushi buffet we all went to in Las Vegas. It was pretty heavenly. The sushi itself was quite scrumptious, and for $15 we all stuffed our bellies full of as much raw fish as we could possibly handle. Val's very excited about it because she gets to go back in April.

It would be neat to have something like that here in SLC. We have some nice sushi places, in fact, a revolving sushi bar just opened, and it's kind of the coolest thing ever. But to really stuff yourself to the point of being uncomfortable anywhere you have to spend at least $40.

That's pretty much all I have to say about sushi. But that's what Val said I should blog about. I will leave you with this:

CANDY SUSHI!!!!!

Irrelevant Title

I kind of feel like my brain has been wrapped in cotton. It's the fault of this cold that showed up on Thursday... well, Wednesday night really. Pretty sure it's the same cold that everyone and their mother has had the last few weeks. And what a joy it is. It seems to be getting better though. I'm not coughing as much today, and things (yucky cold things, like mucus... eeeeew) seem to be draining out of me at a promising rate. I've been drinking an epic shit ton of fluids (mostly tea) and generally taking things easy. This is actually the first weekend in a long time that I haven't gone out, it's been kind of nice. Relaxing.

I was inspired by a post over at Caffeinated Librarian to get this book from the library. Not because I need dating advice, or that I think Austen is the best source for modern romantic advice (though, looking through the book, it does give kind of an interesting perspective). I got the book because it has a quiz at the back to determine which Austen woman you are. And really, who doesn't want to know that?

Arrakis and I both took it. Despite having different answers for almost every question, we both turned out to be Elizabeth Bennets. I have no problem with that. Really, who wouldn't want to be Elizabeth? She's charming, clever, fun-loving, and several other admirable qualities. She's almost certainly the most beloved Austen character.

I was just barely Elizabeth, actually. I was one point away from Mary Crawford who is described in the book as "bitchy, clever and cynical." Gosh. That sure doesn't describe me at all. *wink*

I actually think the quiz is pretty accurate. I can certainly see myself as a weird mix of Lizzy and Mary. Of course, the Elizabeth side is the one that should be nurtured. After all, Mary is almost the villain of Mansfield Park. And though she is pretty and clever, she's just not a very good person.

At least I didn't turn out to be Emma. Or Fanny.

Violet Sky

I am officially unemployed! Woooooooo
Good riddance to Job-From-Hell!

To celebrate, I went shopping for a Little Black Dress- because every girl needs a perfect little black dress. I failed to find one (well, I found plenty of black dresses, but none perfect). There is still time though. After all, a LBD is kind of just a wardrobe staple, and can be acquired at any time. I would like one by the end of the month though, because I will have a few occasions for a little black dress in March.

I am now home fairly early for a Friday night. Drinking tea and preparing for bed. I seem to be coming down with something (which will make my doctors appointment next week more or less useless. Odd, eh?). I've had a terrible cough all day yesterday and today, and my voice has been more or less absent. I feel pretty fine otherwise, but I'm sort of tired now tonight. A good night's sleep is certainly not going to hurt anything. Hey, at least I wont miss work though, because I have no work to miss!

Hopefully I will get a new job soon though so I can have money and stuff.

In other news, remember Thing 1 and Thing 2? Well, things have gotten very interesting with both of them. Part of me is highly amused with it all, but part of me is very wary about it. If things weren't happening to me personally, it would all be a very fascinating and absorbing story. As it is, I think it may be somewhat dangerous. I wont say any more about it though, especially since Thing 1 figured out that he is Thing 1 (it was almost as humiliating as I expected it might be) and so I shouldn't say too much.

It's Lunacy I Tell You!

I need everyone to please cross their fingers for me. I want tomorrow night to be clear and not (as the silly meteorologists are predicting) cloudy and nasty. Why? Well, there is a total Lunar Eclipse tomorrow and I'm throwing an eclipse party. If there is no eclipse (of course the eclipse will be there whether or not we can see it) there can't really be a party, can there? I guess there could be. I'll have to confer with the owner of the house at which the eclipse is(/was?) to be viewed.

In other news, this week I'm burning vacation time. So I guess my countdown timer is a bit off. Time zero will be when I'm officially off the payroll. But I'm not actually working this week, and I'm getting paid to do it. How awesome is that?

It's amazing how much I have put off because I haven't had any time, so even though I'm not working, I'm managing to stay pretty busy. *sigh* and here I had hoped that I would be able to sit around all week and read. I hoped to at least finish the book I'm reading now and read the two Austen novels I haven't read before. Oh well, we'll see. And there's next week too, probably. I do have a second interview tomorrow. If things go right, I may not be unemployed for very long. That's obviously a good thing, but I mourn my slacker time.

For those of you who read this and aren't stuck in this here city, if it's not cloudy where you are, go look at the moon tomorrow night and think of me!

Unfortunate Events

I almost spent Sunday afternoon at the emergency room. My nose was bleeding for at least 45 minutes and wouldn't stop. I was actually about half way to the hospital when it stopped.

A nosebleed like that is never a wonderful thing. But, of course, there is a whole other level of scary for me. After all, killer bleeds were the most obvious symptom I had when I was diagnosed with Wegener's. So that's something I have to consider now. I talked to my doctor when I was on my way to the ER and he's not that worried. But I still have to go in for the barrage of tests.

I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. I haven't had any other symptoms... I think. I have to be optimistic about it until I know for sure. If I really freak out about it, I'm bound to drive myself nuts. I could easily go into hypochondriac mode and... well, it's not a fun place to be.

Anyway, cross your fingers for me for a little while. Hopefully nothing will come of this.

Friday Afternoon Fun

BEEP! BEEP!

(that is the sound of my blog horn.)

I'm All A Twitter.

I don't twitter, but I know people who do.

The concept appeals to the narcissist in me. It amuses me to think that friends etc could know what I am doing at any given time (in 140 characters or less). I know that if I started doing it, I would update frequently and it would be interesting to me and maybe whoever is completely obsessed with me to the point that he (I would hope it's a he, because, well... just because) has an alter set up in his basement. He would, of course, add a screen of my twitter updates so he could sit there watching it and know what I am doing at any given moment.

I am totally creeped out by my own imagination.

I would also be very tempted to take my twitters (is that what you call them) and use them to write my own Ulysses. Mine wouldn't be called Ulysses though. And I would not stuff it full of symbolism. I would try to make it sort of humorous too. And I will have no sentences that go on for more than 2 or 3 pages. God, I dislike James Joyce.

I haven't read Ulysses, but I know people who have.

I Less Than Three You!!!

It's February 14th again! Time for the stupidest holiday ever invented. And don't you people go off and say that I'm just bitter because I'm single and no girl really hates valtentines and all it intales, as long as she has a special someone to share it with. It simply isn't true. I'm glad I'm free of all expectation and bull-shit that comes with spending today with a "special someone."

I'm absolutely not bitter because I'm single. I like being single. (I can see all you v-day people rolling your eyes and saying "aww that's so cute, she's trying to be strong, but deep down, I can tell she's hurting." You should all be shot) I absolutely dread somebody making some big romantic gesture for me today. I'll accept big romantic gestures almost any other day of the year, but today it becomes less romantic and more annoying. Plus, I'd have to question their true motivation. V-day makes everyone desperate to be with someone. I roll my eyes at the whole concept. As I've said many times before, there is nothing LESS romantic than a day set aside for romance.

So happy Thursday! Here's some fun stuff from the internets to entertain you. Maybe they'll even make you glad you're single (if you are).

First, a friend of mine has written a Valentine's Survival Guide which kind of made me laugh. I am totally failing at following any of the steps though. Oh well. It may not be too late for you!

How about a little movie? It has nothing to do with the holiday, but it sure is fun. Enjoy watching it. Maybe even watch it twice to be sure you didn't miss any of the many nuances.

If you bought your sweetheart any of these, you might be a dumbass.

One of the greatest love stories of all time is The Princess Bride, right? (I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at the ROUS part. Explore that site a little, it's kinda fun)



Ok, well enjoy your day! What? What's that? What am I doing tonight? Would I like to have a lovely and romantic candlelight dinner with you? Hell No! Erm, I mean, sorry, I already have plans!

<3

Trees vs Solar Power

This morning while I was getting ready for work I heard an interesting story on NPR. Basically, in California somewhere, some guy asked his neighbor to cut down his trees because they were shading the solar panels in his back yard.

What's really wonderful is that there is a law in CA that says the neighbor with the trees has to do it.

Apparently, solar-guy put his panels in after tree-guy had planted 5 redwood trees in his yard. Most of solar-guy's panels are high enough that they aren't really affected by the trees, but there are some in his yard that are shaded now that the trees are 30 some-odd feet tall. But legally tree-guy has to cut down two of his trees.

Something about the whole situation has me scratching my head. It's not the law that Cali has, though it is kind of odd. If you are setting up your home to run on solar energy, you're obviously concerned about the environment, right? So... last time I checked trees were good for the planet. Not only good, but kind of important for the whole producing oxygen and reducing greenhouse gasses thing. Unless you're doing solar because you're a tight-wad and don't want to pay for your power anymore, forcing your neighbor to cut down his trees is just a little contradictory.

It Is Done

Mark you calendar. We're celebrating February 22!

You're Gonna Make It After All

I am hopefully going to post something very exciting later today. Until then though, it's Friday! Bust out your bell-bottomed jumpsuit and throw your hat in the air, it's a celebration Mary Tyler Moore style!

Wish You Loved Your Job?

I've added something else to my list of why my job sucks (I didn't quit yet, by the way, though I sometimes have to wonder why). It inspires non-confidence. Today I had the very arduous task of updating the company phone directory because a bunch of the guys downstairs moved their offices and have new extensions. It's not a hard thing to do, really. I just, you know, talked to the guys downstairs and e-mailed an updated phone list to everyone. A few hours after I sent out the e-mail one of the structural engineers called me:

Are you sure [name deleted] is still at 216?
Yes
He's still at 216?
Yes
So they moved the number over there? ([name deleted] moved his office, and his extension moved with him])
Yes
So they have two phones over there now?
Yes
Are you sure?
No, even though I asked both [name deleted] and [other name deleted] about the extensions. You're probably right, it's probably wrong. In fact, I just made up a bunch of numbers for the whole phone list just to fuck with you. Why would I do this? Well, I'm either incredibly stupid or I'm making an artistic statement. But I don't really know. Maybe you should ask El Douche. He will be able to assure you of my inability to accomplish even the simplest of tasks.*

Did I mention that this engineer happens to be El Douche's boss? He's a nice enough guy, but I'm pretty sure that entire department has discussed my every (over-exaggerated) flaw. Thankfully, I think E.D. has mostly kept his opinions mostly to himself, but it's impossible for him to keep quiet about everything.

I get talked down to by a lot of people here actually. I don't know if it has anything to do with El Douche. Probably has more to do with my comply apathy toward the job and my lackluster effort to do anything. I also don't know how much of my unethusiasm is brought on by people treating me like I can't do anything well.

I'm inspired to live up to the expectation that I am completely incompetent. And I'm wondering if I am, perhaps, a little paranoid.

*not what I actually said, obviously. But, my god, it was tempting to respond with something snarky and sarcastic.

Super Duper

Hey Kids! Don't forget to go out and vote today! I like Obama, who do you like?



How 'bout now?

I actually don't expect to actually change anyone's mind about who they're going to vote for. I just think it's kind of a neat video. Hooray for political propaganda.

Bullets and Butterfly Wings

Occasionally I remember that the title of my blog says something about random thoughts. On those occasions, I like to be true to the title and share some of the chaotic spewage of my brain. Not that most of my thoughts that I share anyway are particularly non-random. Today, I'm going to share these random thoughts in a super special way: With a bulleted list! (Yay!)

• This morning I was hit by a sudden bout of disbelief that it is already February


• You may have noticed that the superbowl was last night. I kind of wanted the Patriots to win, but I was honestly not at all invested in the outcome of the game.


• The Utah Museum of Fine Arts had an exhibit of Andy Warhol screenprints that I really wanted to see. Too bad it ended last month. There is an abstract art exhibit now, but it's not the same. :(


• I did my taxes yesterday. woooo


• This week I'm going to start an IRA. Wow, I'm suddenly doing something responsible with my money. Even more impressive, I suddenly have money to do something impressive with (that's actually kind of debatable).


• Saturday night I completely forgot the word "philosophical." I started to say it and suddenly couldn't. It's one of those terms that I take for granted as always being there, ready to be used at any given time, so much so that I was utterly shocked when it became apparent that it had taken a vacation from my vocabulary. The shock did nothing to help me remember the adjective version of philosophy and I sat there bumbling until my friend told me what the word was.


• My "bucket list" for the day: buy milk, throw away the grossness in the fridge, clean the bathroom, make spaghetti sauce.


• Substituting "bucket" for "to do" is my new hobby.

Bucket Shmucket

What is with all the "bucket lists" that are showing up all over the webnets now?

Perhaps that's the wrong question to ask. I get that it's from that movie (that I don't want to see) where Jack Nicholson and Morgan Feeman play a couple of old dudes who are going to die so they do stuff. I can kind of see the appeal of thinking about what you want to do before you "kick the bucket." Is it some sort of viral marketing whatever for the movie? If it is, I still don't really want to see it.

What all these "bucket lists" really are (especially the "bucket list 2008 meme" which is a list of shit you want to get done in 2008) are cutesy new year's resolutions. I would be willing to bet most people will put off the things on their lists until they're much, much closer to dying than they are now. And maybe by then, they wont even really want to do some of the things anyway. Or they will have done them without the list in mind.

And if you finish your "bucket list" before you're 30, does that mean you can go ahead and die? Or do you have to start a new bucket list? If you keep starting new bucket lists, does that mean you can never die because you will have unfinished business still? I guess that wont really stop you from getting dead. So you'll end up as a ghost because you still haven't crossed off the last three things on your 14th bucket list. Oh No!

Forget the fucking lists people. Just live life as best you can. If the opportunity to do something amazing shows up, take advantage of that moment. Grab life by the balls and go for it. Who needs a list?