November Update

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?


Books: The Reformer (Palm)
Stalking the Unicorn (iPod)
1635: Canon Laws (started)
Black Ice (started)
Cleared out the periodicals pile to <10 from >30!



What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

Usual network TV, nothing new to report there.
Loads of election coverage.

New movies: Quantum of Solace (Meh at best, far from the best Bond film out there...)
Wall-E (Fun, but I don't think I'd watch it again)
88 Minutes (Fairly predictable thriller, but worth watching)




What special days did I celebrate and how?



Election Day! Sadly, as it turns out, I went to bed about 10 minutes before they officially projected B. Obama's win. In my defense, I'd been up half the night before. See the last question for what's been keeping me up at nights!

Thanksgiving we had Michelle over and did my version of a full Turkey Day Dinner: Ham, peas, carrots, corn, beans, scalloped cheesy potatos and jellied salad. Brian made apple pie for dessert and turned down my offer to get him a pumpkin pie.



What gifts did I give and/or receive?

Bought lots of Christmas gifts, but haven't given any.


What illnesses or health concerns did I have?


All dental, all month. Final update from the dentist now that I've had a full evaluation is that I need two more small fillings. I'm holding off on them until January when I can use the Flex Plan at work to cover my half of it... Both the dentist and I were pleased and surprised by how little else I need.




What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
For the fun stuff, read my other entries! :)




What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?


New italian place in NYC with Neal and Tina. Three thumbs up!
Brian made a new pan-less apple pie recipe for Thanksgiving that turned out fabulous!




What special or unusual purchases did I make?



A new Airport Extreme. Our old router was dying the death of 5x/day resets and it was time for a new one. With the Extreme, I can print wirelessly and connect an external hard drive to automate our backups so they actually get done more frequently!
As mentioned earler, lots of presents, but I'm not telling what I bought!
Also, I bought a funky audio cable and rewired our home entertainment system. That little $15 cable has given our TV a new lease on life! While we were at Disney we were (presumably) hit by lightning. The power bar did it's job, and the only ill effect was it blew the speaker in the TV. I'm not going to complain about that! By figuring out how to rewire the sound from the cable box through the DVD player, we now have clean sound again and didn't have to buy a new TV. Man they've gotten expensive! Besides, I'd already spent any possible TV money on the dentists!





What were this month's disappointments?


Dealing with a very reputable website who turned out to have horrific customer (dis)service when they shipped me the wrong item instead of the 4 gifts I've ordered for neices and nephews. The right things had BETTER get here in time for me to ship them home to Canada for Christmas!



What were my accomplishments this month?


I hope I've overcome the worst of my dentist phobia. This new one is great, takes his time, and makes sure I'm completely frozen. Between that, and the Xanax, it's so very much better than any of my past experiences!
Oh, and I got a pretty good job review.

Anything else to share?

We're going to be moving. We're having to deal with the delightful legal system here in trying to get the court's permission to break our lease without having to pay penalties. Given that the reason we want to break the lease is the new owner's complete refusal to do anything effective about the squirrels in the roof over us, we expect to win, it's just going to take a bit more time. They've definately broken the Warrant of Habitability, so we've a solid case, and we documented all our concerns in writing with signature required and they've had 10 weeks to deal with it. So we're covered at least! We're pretty sure we know where we want to move to. It'll be a much longer drive for both of us, but it's a huge place and we're both really excited about it. Full townhouse with garage, two bedrooms and front and back yards! Everyone keep your fingers crossed for us! Now we just need permission to give our 60 day notice and we'll be getting out of here!