Airport karma

Today, as I did on Saturday morning, I am working on airport karma.

In the past I have always lived at least an hour + away from the closest airport. This made it impractical to say to someone: "Hey - can you give me a ride to the airport?", while batting my eyelashes and smiling. Now, however, I live less that 20 minutes from the airport when the traffic is good, and for some reason, the traffic headed that way is usually ok. Today is my fourth trip to the airport for other people in as many weeks. I don't mind, so long as people pay it forward (or back would be nice, too).

Also, here's a shoutout to anyone who has ever dropped me off or picked me up from the airport. It's a wicked nice thing to do.

...out like a lamb

Last night after a long and grueling rehearsal (please note: I do not usually find rehearsals grueling - other than being COLD they are delightful, but last night was a line-through where all of the nit-pickiness came out and it turns out that I've taken to paraphrasing Shakespeare a bit so I was corrected A LOT) I went to TOAD - where there's never a cover - to see great music and celebrate A turning thirty-tubular. FUN! Everyone was already loosened up when I arrived at 10:45 (and had to stand in line. In the rain. In the cold. In the night...) which was nice because then I could shake off the day and just relax while shakin' it to the music of Baker Thomas and the Irregulars. J was so kind as to purchase 2 UFOs for me, for which I am grateful. As repayment I made sure no one put date-rape drugs in her beer while she peed. I am a good friend ;)
Sadly I completely forgot to take any pictures, despite having my camera AND it being a good hair day! So, instead, here are some pics I took this morning:

This is my office. It has good lighting, an ok view, it's in close proximity to the kitchen and bathroom. Also, when quittin' time rolls around I'm just steps away from a great bar (liquor top left).

OOOH! And this:

It's proof. PROOF, I TELLS YA! Spring has sprung and that means flowers! and colors! and that means we're *this* much closer to the time when I can wear skirts every single day!

Well, gotta get back to the office. Then run some errands. And do the laundry. And the dishes. Then help my man paint his basement (he's very proud of his basement). Then tomorrow morning I'll take him to the airport so that he can fly to Colorado to ski and live in huts for 9 days. ...Yeah, it's not my idea of vacation either, but he seems to enjoy it.

Have a lovely weekend, peeps.

2nd Annual Thanksgiving 2

Yesterday was Thanksgiving 2. The turkey went in the oven at 10:30, for a removal time of 3:30. The bird was beautiful.

People started to show up at around 2pm, with the first guests of the day being the J family. Here I am with J, as we shuttle items to and fro to make room for ever more dishes on the stove:

We're smiling because we've just been poured 2 glasses of Proseco. YUM!


This is part of the crowd who was there to enjoy the festivities. Notice the joy:

(Also check out J's butt in the bottom left corner, and her man, rather obviously checking out that butt...)

This picture shows you why there's so much joy. Starting from the center and spiralling out clockwise: Turkey, roll, bread stuffing, green bean casserole, squash with brown sugar, walnuts and currants, corn, mashed potatoes - all covered with a helping of gravy.

Here's my man enjoying the gravy (or cravy, as we call it. Crack + gravy = cravy).

And here's a great illustration of what we all did for a while after dinner.

Today will be spent cleaning, and figuring out all of the different ways to enjoy the leftovers!

Busy bee

That's me!
This weekend, I managed to send off my taxes to my tax man, who did them immediately and so they've already been submitted (the money from which will partly go towards buying mama a new set of tires for the BarbieJeep). I auditioned for a 50s-radio-show style production that's 12 episodes and will keep me fairly busy. I ran lines loudly in my apartment in my roommate's absense, and I shopped for Thanksgiving 2 - I got a 25lb turkey. Yum.

This week I plan to check out another yoga studio - hot yoga sounds VERY good right now. I also have to go to a mandatory seminar as a condition of my unemployment (I think they just want to see how many people show up drunk at 10am). Luckily, I'm going to the same one as my man and so we'll venture into Boston together and after the seminar have some lunch. I also have to complete my 401K rollover paperwork from my last job. Not that it makes any difference what I do with the money since by now it's probably been whittled down to about $8 or something. HA HA! (that was sarcastic, sad laughter, btw)

Unfortunately, I think I'm getting a cold. That's what my constantly-running nose is telling me, anyway. I'm pretty sure I did that thing where I slept the entire night with my mouth open and that gave evil leprechauns the opportunity to fill my nose and throat with cement.

A nice thing is that my friend K, who was one of my college roommates, is preggers again. I hope we have lunch this week so that I may view her bumpaliciousness. Since I can't see Scarlet Lily in person, I'll get my pregnant-belly-fix that way. It's the little things, you know. Also, since she's eating for two, we'll have to have dessert. YAY!

Brought to you by...

These color changes inspired by Google BLACKLE, which I read about thanks to Die Frau. Greening, one day at a time, people.
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Yesterday I had a fairly low-key day where I did some laundry and played poker with the cats - bastards took me for 3 weeks of lunch money!
At 4 I went to yoga, as usual ($5 for an hour and a half - awesome deal) and A, M and J all came too. After all of the stretching and contorting, A had a date, so J, M and I all went to the fairly swank place that has beautiful cosmos in Davis for some sammiches and drinks. In our yoga gear :(. Luckily, there was a big 5K that had gone through earlier, so we didn't actually look that out of place since many running folk had ALSO decided that cosmos were in order...

Today I have some errands to run - including grocery shopping for Thanksgiving 2! It's next Saturday and I'm all kinds of excited about it. I have my eye on a nice, 25lb bird, since if everyone on the list shows up we could have 16 people. I'm not sure where they'll all sit to digest, but we'll figure that out laters. Mmmmmmmm...turkey.
Sad side note: I've decided to name this turkey "Monkey", in honor of Dr. Monkey, who will be unable to join us, due to his need to save lives. Selfish lout. Now I won't get to eat his divine cheesecake!

Happy Sunday, folks.

My playground has a Mood Swing

Every day has vibrations: vacillations of emotion.

I'm lucky to be who I am, and have the supportive friends (some very far away) that I have.




Thanks for hanging in there with me. I know this will turn around... eventually.

There's good in the bad...

Ugh. So, I'm trying to look on the bright side of unemployment. And it's not like I don't know that there is one, it's just that I'm not in that camp of people who is actually helped by standing in front of the mirror in the morning and saying 5 life-affirming things. It's bunk, baby.

But, I've been emailing with my former boss, a man for whom I have enormous respect, and he wrote something that I'd been thinking, and feeling guilty for thinking, and it made me feel better. Here's a portion of his email (I don't think he'll mind being quoted anonomously in my rather obscure blog):

"My days are still busy but instead of making connections and applying for jobs, I'm doing food shopping, folding laundry and cleaning refrigerators. The problem is not that I'm doing these things but that I'm enjoying it."

I have been able to do a lot of things that I couldn't (or just didn't) do before. I have developed a knack for, and love of yoga. I've gone on errands in the middle of the day when there is no traffic (and in the Boston area, there is ALWAYS traffic). I've connected with good people over long lunches, beers, giant brunches, jelly donuts, mid-day coffee. I've leaped forward in my relationship with my man - if only because I think we both know how hard some people can take setbacks, and we've both done pretty well. I've played with my cats A LOT. I've gotten someone to trade modeling work for head-shots. I've paid more attention to small details in other people's lives. I've eaten more hummus. I've slept in (occasionally, past 8am!!).

I've been able to blog more. Maybe not a lot of quality content, but still. There are things. Some good things, that when I am on the other side of this situation, I'll be able to look at them and say that I was happy I had the opportunity to do. Feel free to remind me of this.

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I went to the unemployment office today to ask some questions. They were busy, of course. But they stressed the importance of not giving up, which I thought was nice. They weren't sullen government employees who don't look you in the eye or care what you want. I bet they see a lot of desperate people. Kudos to them for remaining compassionate.

Likes

According to the weather channel dot com, sunset today will be at 6:44pm. If there was a sun today anyway.




I'll take it...

Dislikes

Yesterday I went to yoga at 11 am. It was 55 degrees and I wore flip flops. Also, a strappy yoga top and flimsy hoodie. When I got out I went for a delicious, fruity, frozen smoothy. Um, I'm looking out the window RIGHT NOW and it is snowing. Actually, it's a "wintry mix" - it started as sleet which managed to keep me up for hours last night (that, in combination with our mouthy heater).
Now, I knew better than to put away my boots. I knew that it wasn't the end of cold weather. But COME ON, MAN! More snow? I've had enough. I am NOT snow blowing. Or shoveling. Forget it.

It's just so fucking bleak, you know? I don't have a job, there's no sun, neither of those things seems even to be on the horizon. What the hell is there to do about it? THERE ARE NO JOBS. Where do you look? When is it that you turn in your pride and feelings of self-worth and take any job you can get? How low do you go?
Well, I'm not there yet. I can't do it. I will not take ANY job. There don't seem to be ANY available jobs in my field that people want to hire me for, so I guess that's it. I just have to wait more. Every passing day sucks more than the last on that front.

Ugh. I'm quitting now because this is way depressing. I need to go learn some lines anyway. And maybe close the curtains so I don't see any snow. And maybe have a glass of something strong. Yes, I know it's before 10am, but if you can't do this stuff when you're unemployed, when can you do it?

SUCK IT

I agree with Die Frau, winter can SUCK IT.

This is not to say that I NEVER have any fun. On Monday, I went to J's choral concert and sat in a freezing cold church as I (and the lovely A and D) listened to Great Opera Choruses. Then we rejoiced as we drank beer (or, if you're me, a martini and a mai tai). That was fun. Also, yesterday I went to the aquarium with my man, where we decided that when he grows up he wants to be a grumpy penguin. Then he made grumpy penguin noises as we ducked into a bar that advertized $1.50 PBRs (we each had 3).

However, I could do without the cracked dry flesh, and the hellacious winds, and that 4 inches of back-skin that's always exposed being frostbitten even now, while I'm sitting at the dining room table blogging. I'm done with snow-blowing, and wearing my jacket all through rehearsals, and having a constantly runny nose.
DONE. Done. Done, I say!

Owe

Today, I owe my mood/attitude/personality to the following. It's a mix:

Waking up to 8 inches of snow on the driveway.
Removing same.

No new job postings.

Oatmeal. Locally-made honey.

Drive into Davis Square - snow emergency in effect means very little parking. Manage parking in unplowed spot, up to knees in snow to feed meter.

Meeting friend for COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE at hip alterno-coffee haus.

Dithering around in vintage/second-hand store with same friend. Trying on crazy-Aunt-Ethel hats. Buying $6 linen skirt that is appropriate for weather in August.

Driving home and finding yet MORE snow on driveway. Thanking the good people at Daimler Chrysler for my excellent 4-wheel drive.

Dissatisfied screams from cats demanding food. Clock indicates feeding time is still 2+ hours away.

Completion of memorizing scenes 13, 1 and 2a of the play. Still SO MUCH MORE to learn.

Looking forward to -
short term: being social tonight, seeing my man after his ski weekend, having a beer. Yoga tomorrow?
long term: trading in my jacket for skirts and flip-flops, having a job, planning some life changes.