mutter mutter, grumble, grumble

Stupid drivers who don't know how to safely drive in snow.

Stupid plow drivers who only plow down the middle of two lanes of
traffic. On one of the busiest roads in the region.

Stupid car that wouldn't start after I'd cleaned it off.

Stupid Cablevision that still hasn't fixed my phone so I had to call
Hyundai on my cell.

Silly husband (silly, not stupid) who caused the problem with the car
so it wouldn't start.

Stupid me for not just staying in bed! :P

But now I'm at work, safe, sound and warm. And grateful for all three.

Squeeee!

We got the new place!
Wheeeee!
Oh crap...
That means we move in ~ 3 weeks...

Something that makes me smile a LOT!

2008 in Review

1. Where did you begin 2008?

At home, sound asleep, fighting con-ick.



2. What was your status by Valentines Day?

Same as the last 13 years. Happily married.



3. Were you in school anytime this year?

No. Would have liked to though.



4. Did you have to go to the hospital?

No, a rare year for me! I like that!



5. Did you have any encounters with the police?

Yes, several! They were very curious about my smart car.



6. Where did you go on vacation?

Disneyworld for 8 days!



7. What did you purchase that was over £100?

2 cars! (My smart, which I sold, and the Elantra to replace it!) Does $1300 in car maintenance on the old Elantra count?



8. Did you know anybody who got married?

No.



9. Did you know anybody who passed away?

Yes.



10. Did you move anywhere?

No. Soon, but not until 2009.



11. What sporting events did you attend?

None that come immediately to mind.


12. What concerts/shows did you go to?

Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie, Curtains, MacBeth (Patrick Stewart!). I'm sure I'm forgetting at least one...

13. Describe your birthday.

Spent gaming with friends and then a quiet dinner and a movie with Brian.



14. What is the ONE thing you thought you would not do, but did, in 2008?

Make it to the annual microscopy conference. Finally it was approved!

 For 2009 I'm hoping to buy an SEM...

15. What have been your favourite moments?

Hanging out with friends and relaxing. Brian's birthday weekend with Ruth and Dave (and Michelle for BBQ) in particular come to mind.



16. Any new additions to your family?

Nope, but two new nephews late in 2007...



17. What was your best month?

September. And also the worst in some ways...



18. Who has been your best drinking buddy?

I think I'd have to drink to have a drinking buddy, wouldn't I? I'm not opposed to drinking per se, I just have a choice between alcohol and my arthritis drugs. I prefer to walk...



19. Made new friends?

Yes. Michelle in particular!



20. Favourite Night out?

MacBeth



21. Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?

Stuck in my lab at work, I guess.



22. Have you lost any friends this year?

One online friend, but it was expected.

 Cancer sucks!

23. Change your hairstyle?

Nope, growing it out to donate it again next spring.



24. Have any car accidents?

No!!



25. How old did you turn this year?

34 last week!



26. Do you have a New Years resolution?

No, I don't generally make them.



27. Do anything embarrassing?

Do you really think I'd admit it here?



28. Buy anything from eBay?

Several things. Nothing truly fabulous, mostly things I didn't want to get ripped off for to buy locally. (Cables etc.)



29. Get married or divorced?

No, Brian hasn't totally lost all ability to tolerate me yet.



30. Get hit on?

Yes, strangely enough. Even with Brian standing beside me...



31. Been snowboarding?

Never.



32. Did you get sick this year?

Yes, a number of times. And threw my back out in March for two weeks off work. Not how I wanted to spend two weeks off...



33. Are you happy to see 2008 go?

Not really. It's been a pretty good year overall, even with some problems. 



34. Been naughty or nice?

Again, do you really think I'll answer this here?



35. What are you looking forward to most in 2009?

Moving away from these damned squirrels!

Sexy Geek!

Your result for The Are you a SEXY geek test...

The Hip Nerd

53% Sexy!

You are one of those rare geeks that has style! You march to the beat of your own drummer, You enjoy the geeky things in life, but you can mingle in any crowd. As the geek. You definitely love your sci-fi and computers, probably a bit TOO much, but you also know when to put it on the shelf. Supermodels may be out of your league, but you have enough style to date. And you can always download the supermodels later when you get home.

Take The Are you a SEXY geek test at HelloQuizzy

Funny, I expected Tosh...

Which Torchwood Character Are You? Your Result: Gwen Cooper   You most resemble the team's second-in-command and ex-police officer. Empathetic and stubborn, you tend to grab the bull by its horns and have difficulty admitting when you're wrong, though you always mean well. You are inconsistent in your relationships, wanting stability but also craving drama, and sometimes end up putting yourself first.
Ianto Jones
Toshiko Sato
Captain Jack Harkness
Owen Harper
Which Torchwood Character Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

A partial update

Remember way back when we had that squirrel in the kitchen?

He came back in September. And brought a whole bunch of friends. They decided the attic space above our apartment would be a great place to shelter over the winter in and made themselves at home. We notified the new landlord as soon as this happened and told them it had been a problem in the past and would need to be dealt with ASAP. So about 3 weeks later they brought an exterminator in. The same initially ineffective one as last time. Who put traps out and then said they ignored the traps and there was nothing else he could do. Cue same repeat this year. And nothing further from the new landlords.

Do you have any idea how much noise a family (or whole clan from the sounds of it) of squirrels can make? Besides the requisite scratching sounds, we've discovered that apparently we're infested by clumsy squirrels who frequently drop their nuts, which then roll all across the attic floor. Surprisingly loudly. Also, apparently 3:30am is when the Squirrel Fight Club meets... At this point, neither Brian nor I are sure we've slept through the night without drugging ourself since we got back from Walt Disney World. In September. The accumulated sleep deficit is definitely affecting both of us.


So in November we sent the landlords politely asking for a written plan of how they plan on dealing with the squirrels. And they completely ignored it. Not even a phone call. No response at all.

Last Thursday they were sent (registered, signed receipt required) the notification that we intend on breaking our lease due to their lack of maintaining a habitable apartment. So now we wait (at least a little while) to see if they're going to contest it. And if not, we're out of here as of Feb. 15th. Although we don't normally celebrate it, S. Valentine's Day will be a special celebration for us this year!


So that's the short version of what's been going on lately with us. We've been getting all our ducks in a row to do this. And finding a new place to live. We've pretty much decided on where we want to go. It'll be a much longer drive for both of us, but it's worth it in trade off. Assuming we get it, it'll be a two bedroom townhouse with a garage and a back yard!

Oh My God!

WANT!
Want, want, want!
WANT!!!

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!



Squeeeeeee!

It's snowing out!

Has it really been less than a week?

So, to recap the last week, it's been busier even than normal for us!

Sunday we headed into the city and went to the American Museum of Natural History to use our Space tickets we'd gotten when we signed up for our membership. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to use them, they expire Dec. 4th! Then we met up with our friends Tina and Neal for the real reason for the trip into the city: a talk and signing by Neil Gaiman! We went out to dinner first at a little italian place that turned out to be pretty good. My pasta was excellent, Tina and Neal's pizza was fantastic and we all wanted to steal some of Brian's lasagna... Then off to the talk! I've never been to something like this so I didn't really know what to expect. We had fabulous seats. Third row back and in the center, and although we bought them separately online using the "best available" option, we ended up right next to each other! The talk was awesome and very entertaining. The host (Chip Kidd) was fabulous at his job. He kept it moving and convinced Neil Gaiman to tell some absolutely fabulous stories. Then it was into the signing line. And the real flaw of the organization came through. The signing line started from the rear of the auditorium. Meaning those of us who were great fans and bought our tickets early were stuck at the end of the line. Grrr! We ended up sending Brian home early to catch an earlier train since he had to work early in the morning. But eventually we got to our turn to get things signed, and neither Tina nor I turned into babbling fangirl idiots. I consider that a success! The least said about my train ride home, the better... Overall it was a fabulous day and great experience. I'm very glad we went.

Wednesday was to be my second author talk/signing. Yes, two in one week! Jaime Oliver was going to be at our local Barnes and Noble! This one, sadly, wasn't nearly as good. The tickets were being handed out starting at 4pm. Brian was awesome and traded shifts to get there in time to get tickets for me and Michelle, who was going to come with me. And again, we had fabulous seats. Brian got us tickets number 4 and 5! Unfortunatley, Michelle got sick at work that afternoon and ended up going home and not coming to the signing. It sounds like it was a very nasty bug, so I'm happy she went and took care of herself. Now, where NG's signing was well organized and run, this was the opposite. Whoever does the scheduling for Jamie Oliver thought it would be no problem to get out here from Manhattan in 75 minutes during peak rush hour. Doh! He ended up arriving a little past 8, and because he was running so late, they cancelled the talk portion of the evening, and the autographs were restricted to just autographs. Not even personalized ones like we got from NG. I'm very glad we'd been to that one first so I saw how positive an experience it could be. This one would have sworn me off them otherwise.

Then last night (Friday), Brian got one of his Christmas presents early. I had to give it to him early, since it was tickets to a show, and they would have been useless if I'd waited! We went and saw the Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood show! We saw them a couple of years ago and had a fantastic time of it, so I was really pleased to see they were coming back this way and the tickets were more than affordable. Being Mr. Uncurious that he is, he's known there were tickets that were a gift for him on the bulletin board in an opened envelope for almost 2 months now and had no desire to peak at what they were! No way would I have managed that feat! The show was as phenomenal as we remembered and we both had a great time. We laughed until it hurt and then kept laughing some more! It's all improv comedy, mostly loosely based on games from shows like "Whose Line is it Anyways?". I can't recommend it highly enough!

Then this morning I went back to the dentist again. This time to get the permanent crown put in on the tooth I had the root canal done. It went really well, much better than I had any expectation of. It's never pleasant, but it didn't hurt, and now I should not have any further problems with that tooth. And the problem I'd developed with the other teeth being super sensitive to cold was caused by my "overbrushing". I've got a paste that should help, and am told to brush gentler and it will go much better. This afternoon, since I'm doing much better, we're going out to see Quantum of Solace. We both really want to go see Becky's Choir concert tonight in Mineola, but we're playing it by ear on how I'm feeling. Keep your fingers crossed!

And cue the nightmares

I've had problems with nightmares for years. Never know when a random one will hit, but I know not to do things that will encourage them. Like watch scary movies. I've been teased since I was a teenager that I was such a wuss. And I never cared because the teasing was faaaaaar better than the nightmare. Interestingly, I can read things as freaky as I like and be fine. Even Brian (who loves scary movies, the more intense the better) was pretty freaked out by Neil Gaiman's Sandman and had to stop reading it at bedtime. Me, I ran through the first volume in two nights of bedtime reading and was fine.

So take tonight. I know the root of this dream, at 8:30am, I'll be back at the dentist for the crown.* And tonight I get hit with a dozy of a nightmare. Involving a freaky nasty insane dental surgeon who, amongst other horrors, cuts the tongues from siamese twin girls (about 9 years old). Then, with a proper nice announcer voice saying "meanwhile, in the next operating room over" my dentist is just getting started on me. And has a heart attack. And other surgeon comes in to take over. Thankfully, I woke up at that point. But if you think I can get back to sleep tonight, you're as insane as the freaky guy!

So I'm just going to sit here and catch up on everyone's blogs. Distract myself. And love Percy to death, since it's what he wants me to do anyways!

*And is it just me, or is 8:30am on a Saturday not an inhumane time to have to be at the dentist?

I survived!

I had a root canal this morning and still made it to work by 9am. And best of all, absolutely no ouch. None. In fact, (granted probably due to the drugs) I fell asleep while they were still working on getting my jaw frozen. It's sore this evening, of course, but I'm amazed at how big an improvement this is over past experiences at the dentist. I'll be going back to him without qualm. I'm not looking forward to it at all, but I'm no longer terrified. Which is good because I go back for the crown on the 15th!

Now, if only I can get off the drugs long enough to get some stitching done! I did get Michelle's birthday card done in time for today, but still need to do several other family ones and get them in the mail.

No stitching photo updates, but lots going on

Current project is a gift, so I don't want to give it away. But it's
a HAED design, and it's more than 1/4 finished! I got a lot of work
done on it over the last week or so, and the last quarter should fly
(mostly one colour). In other news, lots of medical visits. They're
looking at a new diagnosis for Brian's sleep disorder, so keep your
fingers crossed for us. I'd *LOVE* to actually have both of us able
to sleep well!

And for me, emergency dental work. Ugh. I have a pretty severe
dental phobia. Make that very severe. To the point I ignore things I
shouldn't. And put them off. But I made a promise to myself that I
was going to deal with it, and put money into our flex plan for next
year towards it. I'm going to try sedation dentistry. Go in, get
knocked out, wake up with everything done. Works for me. It's just
expensive. So the plan was January. Except I've lost a filling. And
I knew this (it was what prompted the soul searching about getting the
dental work done in the first place). But it's become
infected/inflamed/I-don't-know-what-but-it-hurts-like-hell and I had
to break down and go last night. And tomorrow before work (at the
ungodly hour of 7:30am) I have to get that filling replaced. Wish me
luck. I like this new dentist. He specializes in patients who are
terrified like me. I have to take a Xanex tomorrow morning before I
go and hope that that will help with the panic. He's promised to go
very slow, and make sure I am actually frozen before starting. Keep
your fingers crossed for me! And if this works, I might be able to
avoid the whole general anesthesia bit. And that would be a good
thing. A very good thing.

Tagged by Kay

Kay tagged me a while ago, but I just haven't felt like blogging. And this one required some thought. I'm trying very hard to just survive this election. I'll be so very, very glad when it's over. And even happier in 8 years when I can finally have a say in the direction of the country I've lived in for 8 years already!

But, on to the tagging. I've done it before, but it's been a while!

Here are the rules of the game.
• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself.
• Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
• Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.
• Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

1)I have 7 tattoos, and didn't know about any of them until 2 years later. And none of them are covered by clothes.*
2)I'm allergic to Portobello (and therefore Crimini) mushrooms.
3)I eat candies (like Smarties** or M&M's) in pairs of the same colour. Compulsively.
4)I get a nasty, nasty reaction to the flu immunization. But I get it every year anyways. Ouch. And can the fever please go away now?
5)I cannot simply sit and watch television or a movie. Lorna bet me once and I tried and tried, but I just couldn't do it. I *MUST* fidget. Cost me $20 because I couldn't make it through one movie. I think that's part of why I like to stitch so much. At least it's something productive!
6)I'm a giant Doctor Who fan. And Michelle's made me a scarf for my birthday. I can't wait to get it!

*Okay, I cheated and used that one again, but it's a good one!
**Smarties=chocolate candies, the Canadian/European ones, not the American ones. Although, now that I think about it, I try to eat them in pairs too.

I'm supposed to tag people, but I hate doing it. So if you'd like to, please consider yourself tagged, and leave me a comment so everyone can come read!

I'm really not one for those "you must do it" memes, but this one I support

Copy this sentence into your livejournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow.

I think they know me too well...

So I was a bad girl today and decided to treat myself to FatKids for
lunch. Normally I go in to order, and I know they recognize me there.
But today I was in a hurry and just did drive through. I think they
know me too well when I didn't remember to ask for the sweet and sour
sauce (which I use instead of ketchup) and I got back to work and
there it was in the bag. {hangs head} I don't go there that often,
honest! M at work thinks it's because I'm "too polite" and that makes
me memorable. I can't help it. I was raised to say please and thank
you! And it does bother me the way people here treat those in
"service positions". They may be working to serve me, but they are
still people too and deserve politeness!
{/rant off}

Not that it's all that surprising...

But there is something seriously wrong in this country when it comes
to food. We had our first Weight Watchers @ Work meeting today at
lunch.* And there were actually people there who didn't know that
raisins are dried grapes...

*More on that later if I feel like ranting, and I won't be continuting
with it...

Why I wish he would run

Colin Powell is a Republican I would have no difficulty in supporting.

Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies

I finally jumped in on the "ask me 5 questions" thing doing the rounds. These are from Awesome Matt..

1) LOng Island vs. Canada: WHich do you like better and why?
Both for very different reasons. A bit of a cop out answer, but true none the less. I love Canada because it's where I was born, where I grew up, where I fell in love, and where all my family lives. I love LI because I have a great job here, a decent place, awesome friends, and access to anything I want at any time. I hate the medical system here with such a passion it's not funny. If I'd grown up here, I'd have had to have declared bankruptcy at 21 years old due to medical bills. As was, all I had to do was get myself to hospital and back. I am desperate to be able to take part in the political system here. But it'll be another 8 years before I can vote. And then only if USCIS finally gets it's head out of the sand and improves their record. And given the 8.5 years it took to get our Greencards in the first place, I'm not overly hopeful. But if I had to choose between them, I guess I already did. I didn't take the job I was offered in Canada two years ago.


2) Working in the pharma industry must be fun sometimes. What's the weirdest thing you've ever handled?
Sadly I don't get weird stuff to handle. Most fun was watching my colleague (of dubious character) as I had to destroy 300 grams of pure oxycodone. (That's enough to make about 300,000 tablets...)


3) Ears or neck...one must be sensitive. Which one!
Both! I am such a ticklish person it's not funny. Well, actually it is, but you get my drift! :P


4) In the immortal words of the Reverend Horton Heat, Liquor, Beer, or Wine?
Ummm, none? I can drink or take my arthritis meds. I like to walk...


5) Favorite RPG?
I'm sad, lame and boring. I haven't actually played many systems. Living Greyhawk because of all the friends I've made through it. I'm not touching 4th ed with a ten foot pole though...

If you want in, leave me a comment (on either blog) and I'll respond with questions for you!