I know, I know. I'm hopeless at blogging. Ironically I have been doing some posting, just not that much here. But don't be sad- you're always be my first.

Christmas was good aside from a miserable cold that hit Christmas Eve and would not let go. Wonderful to see the family and just hang out and relax. My brother and his wife have big plans to be pregnant again by next December (and keep telling everyone about it!) so that may be the last time we're all together for awhile.

Went to NYC for New Years. Had a great time with with my friends and got to see a lot while we were there. Times Square was... cold. I actually think I got frostbite because my feet have not properly recovered.

Jenny is SO grown up! She's standing now and oh so chatty and sweet (now that she's cut a few teeth). She'll be 9 months next week: crazy.

We discovered about a week and a half ago that the beloved family dog, Maggie, has a tumor. It's pressing against her lungs and heart and she has only a short time left. Her breathing is getting tougher and she has a hard time eating, though she's still in good spirits.

Maggie is a wonderful dog. She's undoubtedly one of the best behaved dogs I've ever seen and so sweet! She has a great temperament but she was also trained by my father, who did a great job working with her. She's his dog more than the rest of us and this has hit him hard. It's been very difficult to watch it all but I know Maggie's had a good life. I'll miss her; we all will.

So that's the "highlights" for now. I'll try not to let it go so long next time, or at least post my other stuff up here as well. Hope everyone is doing well, had a great holiday. Happy (quite belated) 2009!

The General World of Jen

I love the holidays. There's a purpose behind them: once a year we have to slow down and look around. Whether or not you like what you see it's a chance for reflection and, hopefully, gratitude.

I visited with my cousin and her daughter (cute baby at left) to exchange presents this afternoon. I won't see them for at least three weeks and it's bumming me out. But no present in the world can beat falling asleep with a baby on my chest while watching 'A Muppet Christmas Carol'. That's what life is all about right there.

Sadly I can't focus on the holidays quite yet. Heading home and seeing family is still a week off, and a very busy one at that. There's Christmas parties and cards and more gifts to buy and for some reason I have tons of meetings this week. Don't people know it's the holidays?!

And in others news I'm keeping busy with a new project: contributing to movie-recipes.com! No, you've never heard of it. It's a site that a friend of mine does. Rather than review movies it tells you what the movie is made of. Hopefully it will give you an idea of whether or not it's worthwhile based on the movies it's similar to. You can check out my inaugural post here.

iLove iPhone

I'm sorry, I completely glossed over this fact in my last post: I got my iPhone. Woohoo!

Before I geek-out completely I'd like to state publicly, for friends and family that have had to deal with me over the last week and forever after this-- I'm sorry if I'm ignoring you. My name is Jen and I'm addicted to my iPhone. (Hi Jen.)

It's just so damn cool! I've had the phone for 9 days and I've downloaded 38 apps. I have 3 email accounts, 2 calendar tools and a task manager. I've created 4 ringtones, taken 2 dozen photos and downloaded 10 games. It's an addiction. I blame Apple.

Speaking of cool technology, I've decided I'm ok with Google taking over the world. And really, cane you blame me? These guys have a functional calendar, online docs and integrated add-ons for Firefox, Thunderbird and, of course, the iPhone (I could probably do a shout-out for their blogging tools too, huh?). And they're always pushing the enevelope with new stuff like Grand Central and today's release, the Google Friends Connect.

And a final nerdy thought for the evening: I'm now on Twitter. Feel free to follow me (ncsumarit). I can post from my iPhone! < (That's enough. I'm sick of me too.)

Thanksgiving: The Horror

Yes, all right, it's been a month since I've posted. I am going to add a "Post to blog" task on my "Remember the Milk" list and monitor it via my iPhone. I know, it's hard to believe I don't have time to post since I obviously don't have a life.

So I am one of those people that, when asked by friends and neighbors "how was your Thanksgiving?", feel compelled to really answer. A simple "fine" is not in my vocabulary. And when I stopped to recall this Thanksgiving, it was really quite chilling.

First there was the conversation at Thanksgiving dinner. Somehow I ended up sitting between my dad and my uncle and their conversation was nothing short of macabre. Seriously, all of the following came up:

• Who they know that's dying and of what
• My uncle's friend, the coroner, and a review of "what not to do when contemplating suicide" (including a review of blood splatter clean-up)
• Hunting/ cleaning animals (and I don't mean a bath)
  
• And to round it up, great moments from the movie "Deliverance"

Then on the Friday, I did something I have never, ever done before: I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving. To be clear, I don't like to step in a store after Thanksgiving. Anything that hasn't been bought before t-day gets bought online. But my aunt and cousin (and cute baby!) were there and there were some good deals (seriously, a crock pot for $10?!) so off we went. On the bright side, I didn't trampled by ravenous shoppers, though I did hurt my back holding that crock pot while waiting in line for 35 minutes.

Finally, the real horror: my mom burned the turkey. I can't say enough about how out of character this is (and Lisa, if you mention this to her I will cut you!) and it's not like this made the turkey bad. It's still turkey. It was just... different. And it was done early, so I wasn't that hungry yet. But I still ate too much. It just threw off my whole Thanksgiving experience. For the record, I am aware that I am a big whiny baby.

So please respond and share your turkey stories. Hope everyone had a great holiday! And I'm going to download the iPhone app that let's you post to your blog so keep an eye out for more posts!

An Admitedly Early Holiday Celebration

I was sitting on my couch enjoying my favorite at-home activity: browsing the web while watching TV, when I was distracted by the sound of my first Christmas commercial. Actually it's my first Christmas anything, of the year (FYI it was the "Carol of the Bells" ad with the cash register lights but that's not important). Anyway before I could even work up exasperation I found I was smiling. I should have been annoyed- it's November 5th- but I'm a little impressed they made it past Halloween. I suspect I was also excited by the contrast between carols and candidate attack ads.

So in case you haven't heard your first Christmas song yet, here's a nice one to get you started.

From post-election peace, through Turkey Day goodness, past the classic December traditions, however you celebrate them, and including a very prosperous New Year's...

...Happy Holidays everyone.

Fall Frolicking

Well, I still feel bad about having dropped my class but there's no doubt in my mind that was the solution for me. Things have been much easier without a class to worry about, although I do still owe my professor a project from the Spring. But I am good at procrastinating and having flexibility does wonders for my mood-- so much less stress! Really makes me not want to go back to grad school, too...

The last few nights I've just been home, doing laundry and watching TV. Sure, I still work from home, check email, update Drupal etc., but it's easier now that I don't get home at 8:00pm twice a week.

Tonight I got to baby-sit my niece, Jenny, which would have been nearly impossible when taking classes. I'm not sure she had a great time but we'll give it another shot post-teething and on a night when she's in a better mood.
Tomorrow night I'm considering getting a cheap ticket to the NCSU v. Florida St. football game, blowing off work early and tailgating with friends.
Friday night is improv. Saturday, a wedding (Congrats Amy and Garrison!). Next week: meteor shower, haunted trail, pumpkin carving and Halloween Party. I love fall.

In other news, I got a Mac! Well, work got a Mac and they let me use it; I could never have afforded it myself. I am a visual person so, well... it didn't take long to impress me. I'm not saying I'm a Mac person yet (I don't want to be that) but I would say I'm a little more evenly divided on the issue. And someone asked me the other day if it was hard to go back and forth (PC desktop at work, Mac laptop) and I realized I hadn't even thought about it.

Finally, I may not be a Mac user but I do want an iPhone. That thing is hot. H-O-T. I spent last Friday night sitting on my couch, watching a 30-minute iPhone informational video. I'm dating the iPhone. Sad.

That's it for me. Enjoy the leaves and the crisp fall breezes. Go Canes!

101 Posts

I missed it at the time but "Poli-ticked Off" was post number 100. I can't believe I've been doing this for so long- or that I've managed to stay on this one blog the whole time. It's very amusing, and somewhat depressing, to read my old posts. I'm not really sure how far I've come, but it is kind of nice to have a record of the path. So happy 101. Thanks for reading!

In other news I dropped my fall class today. Work continues to be very busy; our CIO has big plans which sadly seem to require large amounts of work from my unit. Doing school work, and completing my "incomplete" from my summer class, was just too much. I'm kind of ridiculously excited to be free so I definetely think it's the right thing to do. It's putting me way behind on my master's program though.

Preseason hockey has begun (Go Canes!) and it was a lovely 64 degrees today, though rainy. NC State beat ECU in football last weekend, I've already bought my Halloween costume and the new season of "The Office" premieres tonight. I love fall!

Poli-ticked-off

It's politics season. Once every four years my favorite time of year (yeah, fall!) is marred by the Battle for the White House. Ok, "marred" might be too strong a term. I think it's wonderful that we have a chance to select our leaders, locally and nationally. Even though the people I vote for almost always lose I recognize that this is an important process and take my vote very seriously. I always investigate my options and make my voting decisions based on the canidates records and their plans for the future.

But I do think that your political opinions should be just that: opinions. If you want to share them with others, that's fine. Just remember not everyone is going to agree with you! It seems as though some people take their political decisions almost as seriously as their religion (in some cases, more seriously!). When these people hear you're not voting for the canidate they've picked, they seem to take it personally and consider it their mission to change your mind. There isn't much that I despise more than someone not respecting my opinion, and I hate it when those people turn out to be friends and co-workers.

On a semi-related note, I really am tired of the media treating the women differently than the men in this race. It's 2008. The only thing more ridiculous than people telling Hilary to "get back in the kitchen" is the fact that it wasn't reported because it was so prevelant. And now Sarah Palin can't be a mom and the VP? Anyone who questioned McCain or Obama's commitment to fatherhood would be laughed out of the room- why the double standard? In my opinion a woman (or a black man for that matter) is far overdue in the White House and I'm glad to see that, one way or another, advancements will be made.

One more "feminist" point: I don't have that many female friends, but of the ones who are married, I know that two of the three make more money than their husbands (I'm actually not sure about the third). These women have chosen careers in challenging, dynamic industries and they've worked very hard to get there. They are also the breadwinners and, whether they like it or not, they'll always have the pressure to work.
In their case it's considered working hard to better themselevs and their situation and it's the bearing the burden of responsibility for the family's well-being. But when Hilary does it she's needy, controlling and desperate, and when Sarah does it she's neglecting her family. Let's try to have a conversation about Sarah and Hilary as canidates instead of as women, or let's start talking about John, Obama and Joe as men (oh, wouldn't that be interesting...).

Giddy with Technology

Not all of you starved-for-entertainment readers know me that well, but I'm a little high-strung. I stay busy anyway and if you've been reading you know the last 10-11 months or so have been extra crazy. So the vacation was a blissful break and I honestly didn't realize how stressed I'd been until I got back.
The last week or two post-vacation has also been somewhat dreamy. Sure, it's been busy but it also feels like time has slowed down. I can't believe, for example, that I have only been back for two weeks. It feels like a month!
So for the first week and a half or so I was able to stay mostly detached and not let stuff bother me so much. Slowly things have started to get to me again but I'm trying to remind myself not to over-react and that things don't need to be a crisis. I'm trying to enjoy things away from work more and remember to smile, even when I don't feel like it.

One thing that has really helped with this goal is that my roommate moves out this weekend. I do like my roommate as a person, but not as much as a roommate. The other piece of awesomeness about her moving out is that now I get to buy a new TV. I take the TV very seriously so I've decided to invest/splurge. I'll be picking up a 37' flat-screen LCD HD TV (Samsung, in case you're curious) later this afternoon. I can't wait to watch some HD Olympics and play some hi-res Wii and I'm thinking out hooking up a computer too. Sweet, sweet technology. I enclose a picture here as further proof that I am a geek.

10 Things I Learned on Vacation

1. Wisconsin is huge.
2. Contrary to popular belief, one can go two whole weeks without a phone, email, web browsing, TV, etc. It's true.
   
3. Cheezees (aka: Cheesy Poofs, Cheetos, etc.) are the perfect vacation food (unless you're 4 and get queasy while riding up a twisty mountain road...)
4. I do not sleep well in the car.
5. The water in Canada is cold, but it really does feel good when you get in. Honest!
6. Chicago has traffic jams. At 2:30. AM. On Sunday morning.
7. Apparently I can spend 17 days with my family and not want to kill them.
   
8. Mosquito's suck. A LOT.
9. Strawberry muffins are fabulous (at least those from the bakery in Nestor Fall, Ontario- there's only one-- you can't miss it really).
10. Dog hair sticks to everything.

Had a great time. Also glad to be back, or at least glad to NOT be in a car.

Bag blogger!

Yes, I am a bad blogger.

School's out- for summer this time. Was going to take a summer class but since I haven't officially completed all assignments for my spring class (taking an incomplete) and work is not slowing down that seems a bad idea.

Cuzin Yorii is due in less than a week and is completely ready to pop. I have to review my "to do" list and maybe reread a few chapters of the baby book to get myself psyched up. I'm missing mom's day and my dad's birthday at home this weekend, just in case she goes early but all signs seem to be pointing to 'Junior' wanting to stay put for the long haul. It's bizarre to have something so big and important waiting on the horizon but not have a date to go with it.

My Wii is A-W-E-S-O-M-E. Downloaded Mario Bros (3, the good one) and Galaga and have purchased myself some Mario Kart plus extra controllers and other misc. toys. Must stop sending money on it but it's so fun! (both the Wii and the spending money) and, well, Dr. Mario comes out next week so I'll stop buying things after that.

Went camping last weekend and it was wonderful. I don't usually like spring but it just seems like I've been cold lately (I have lost some weight, yay!) and it's so nice to be outside in the sun. Anyway, the weather was great and this was the kind of camping with a bathroom a short walk away so it wasn't exactly a hardship. I'm supposed to be going to the mountains in June for more camping and I'm really looking forward to it. Might buy myself a tent if I can stop spending money on my Wii.

And I'll say nothing about work here, except that's Saturday afternoon (and sunny out) and I'm posting this from work. So there you go.

Will You Like to Play?

My never-ending workload recently caused my boss to nominate me for an award at work and, I'm pretty happy to say, I won! The reward was some time off, which I don't have time to take, and $250. I decided to use that money to reward myself and so (after a lot of hunting; these things are hard to find!) I bought myself a Wii.

Let me stop you quickly-- I am not a video game person. Aside from the occasional arcade Galaga fun I have never spent a lot of time playing video games. We had a Nintendo in my house for about 5 minutes when I was growing up. Then one of my brother tripped over something and the damn thing didn't work anymore. We only had two games anyway. So this was not something that I felt I had to have, but when the time came I decided to splurge.

So far I've only bought Wii Play (comes with an extra controller) and Guitar Hero. I love Guitar Hero. It's totally absorbing, mindless fun, which I need after a crappy day. I really don't know when I'll have time to play, but it is nice to have the option. Then again I might just get frustrated and smash my guitar when I can't master 'Through the Fire and Flames'...

Baby News (no, not mine)

I've mentioned in passing that my cousin, Yorii (not her real name-- I know, a shock) is pregnant. She reached a certain age and, still single, decided she would take matters into her own hands. One donor and some hilarious and heart-breaking antics later, she's seven months along.

In her exceptional wisdom she has decided that it is I that she wants as a coach, supporter and cheerleader in this process. So my duties will include helping her through labor, driving to the hospital (that is going to S-U-C-K), fighting for her wishes in the delivery room, keeping the ice water (no ice chips!) coming, cutting the umbilical cord (squishy!) and many other tasks that vary between exciting, scary, deeply emotional and gross.

This weekend was the childbirth class. Two days, eight hours each and loaded with lots of interesting information. Also a lot of very disgusting videos. Right now I feel quite prepared, which is surely quite misleading. I'm much more concerned about my preparation in two months time and my stamina for the whole process. I'm also a little concerned that seeing a woman have a baby will sear my memory and I'll never want to have a child of my own. I'll be sure to report on that post-partum.

I learned tons of cool words and anatomical details in class. Again, I'll spare you the really horrible stuff and give you an innocuous example. The top of the uterus, which contracts and bunches up as the woman goes through labor (in order for the cervix, at the bottom, to open) is called the fundus. The spell-checker has no clue what that is. To me it sounds like a party-platter. Woohoo!

More for Me!

I have been mocked pretty mercilessly for the whole "year of Jen" thing (can you believe my co-workers actually read this thing? Joke's on you!) but I'm stickin' to it. I realized today after a completely meaningless interaction with a waitress that I have gotten better and stating my point-of-view, even when I don't want the confrontation. I'd like to think I've also gotten better at knowing when to say nothing, but that may just be an excuse for all the times I say nothing.

My latest year-of-jen extravagance is that I've bought myself a new bedroom set (check out the picture)! My brother put up crown molding, I painted accent walls and trim (not done with the trim) and bought new sheets and a duvet cover. I still have to buy new blinds and finish a few other things but I'm so excited! I haven't had new bedroom furniture since we had a house fire in high school twelve years ago. Every bedroom I've had since I've lived on my own has been cobbled together furniture and mis-matched decorations, if any. It seems silly to put this much effort into a room that's really only for me, but I'm gonna!

Anyway, the bedroom set comes tomorrow -- I can't wait! I'm hoping I like it as much as the picture... Gotta get back to painting and cleaning.

I had a wonderful day!

I had a wonderful day!

I woke up still feeling sick but got progressively better as the day went on. I had a nice, leisurely lunch with a good friend. I got lots done at work, far more than I expected. I went to a hockey which we won in OT after an incredible come-from-behind two goals in the final two minutes. And I got to play with my adorable one-year-old nephew (his birthday was Saturday!) and chat with old friends, new friends and lots of family. Oh, and I found out I got an 'A' in my class this semester (phew!).

This is what life is all about. It's so nice to be able to appreciate the good days. I so often whine about the bad days on here that it's rewarding for me, and probably refreshing for you, to remember all the good and beautiful things that I am so lucky to have in my life.

I'll update you on Progress Energy another day. :)

Ramblin' Woman

So my roommate has a theory that if you're going to turn 30, and with that of course freak out and be miserable, you might as well have something to look forward to. Her suggestion was a trip so we compiled top ten lists of places we want to go and looked for overlaps. We haven't ultimately decided yet where we'll go but we've narrowed it down to somewhere in Europe potentially any two or more of the following:

• Spain
• France
• Italy
• Ireland
• Scotland
• Czech Republic
• Greece
• Germany

I think we're doing this in a pretty smart way. We have about a year and a half to plan and save. We're both pretty motivated to get this to work with our school/work schedules. I know some French and she knows some Spanish; I'd like to learn some Italian and she wants to learn German so we're working through the language issues.

Now I admit I anticipate some traveling issues- the whole 24-7 together syndrome. But I think we're both aware of those problems and I do live with her so at least I'm familiar with the things most likely to annoy me. Naive? Probably. We'll see...

PS- I don't want to hear it, Cassie! I'm only your second-favorite cousin, huh?

Car Closure

As you know if you read my blog regularly (and let's face it, you probably don't) I traded in my 1992 Honda Accord for a shiny new 2001 Honda Accord about a month ago. Now my old Honda has been cleaned up and put up for sale (see link in title). I'm really glad they didn't just send it to the junk heap. It was a good car and I hope it will be a good car for someone else. :)

And since I usually use my consumer feedback powers for evil rather than good (I whine a lot) I thought I should shout out to the company that gave me a great deal on a great car and good service in the process: Stone Auto. The car buying process can be a nightmare- especially for a chick- but they were really great and I'd recommend them to anyone, but especially for used car deals.

PS- for a before and after photo comparison jump back to 'Ode to my Honda'.

The Word is Re-Run

After watching, and posting about, part of the MSNBC re-airing of the news on the morning of 9/11 (see the 'As It Happened' post) I found Stephen Colbert's take on it particularly amusing.

Wednesday Evening, 10pm

I broke my rule a little bit. The 9/11 post was long so here's a quick update my day-to-day shit:

This weekend looks perfect. Football (State) on Saturday and hockey (Canes) on Sunday! Next weekend is the Oktoberfest (yes, I know it's not October- not my decision!). All I have to do is get through the week overflowing with work and class readings.

Speaking of work, I'm getting to do more stuff I want to but not getting to drop the other stuff I have to. I haven't cracked yet but I think the strain is beginning to show.

Roommate is in the throes of new-relationship joy with yet another guy. This one takes her to watch sunsets which I think is probably boring, somewhat suspicious and definitely cheesy. I hope neither of them read this blog.

Several coworkers who have moved since I have are now planning house-warming parties. I think that means time has expired on mine and I haven't done anything to the place since painting part of the stairway 2 months ago. :(

5 points to anyone who correctly guess where I stole my blog title from.

The joys of nature

Camping review: excellent. No puking or flooded tents. The mountains were awe-inspiring and thought-provoking. Lots of fun with friends. Hope to have the chance to go again soon.

Weather was supposed to be upper 70's but I swear it was hotter than that. I ended up sunburned and sweaty. Add to that a short hike through the woods, crawling under a barb-wire fence and diving to hit the birdie (badminton- no animal cruelty) and you can understand how happy I was to see my shower. I think that's the secret joy of camping: the coming back to civilization.