Best Song Title Ever

I Love You (But You're Boring) by the Beautiful South

Update re: Out of Place

So, last night, on a whim, I visited the LunchDates website. They called me today to hard sell me their dating service and it works out to a really expensive investment. The longest plan is $1500 for 1 year or 20 dates, whichever comes last. The shorter plan costs about $125/date. I think that's kind of expensive. Maybe it's worth it, but I think I'll wait until I have extra money to burn like that. Maybe once my zip code changes Match.com will be more successful.

Let's Talk Baseball

The other day, my neighbor, who is apparently a HUGE Red Sox fan, said that she thought that Dice-K had an "elegant" pitching style. That's the first time I've heard baseball described as elegant, but after watching him, I have to agree. He's so clean - he breathes, and pitches. His style is nothing like the other pitchers'. Those guys have to fix their gloves, rub their eyes, fidget with their hats, spit, look around, spit again, and then pitch. It's amazing how much OCD is in this sport. The players have so many things they HAVE TO do before they bat. Seriously, if I had to do all that shit before I got on with my life, I'd still be in 5th grade.

So, things I like about Dice-K:

The announcers actually don't call him Dice-K
He pitches. He doesn't give in to every obsession before pitching, he just pitches.
His uniform fits

Out of Place.

So much of the time in my life, I feel out of place. Even (and often especially) with friends and family.

I'm 35, single, and not happy about it. So, what's unusual about that, you might ask?

Well, I'm 35, so older than ALL of my friends.
Not happy about it, which means I want to, even enjoy, going out to places where I might meet someone.
Single: most of the people I spend the most of my time with not only aren't single, but don't know any single people. It's not their fault, nor do I expect them to know single people to set me up with. I enjoy them for them, not for who they know. But sometimes I think, if these people are my friends and family, and I love them, then if they know someone who's single, wouldn't it be nice if that single person were for them them what my friends and family are for me? Wishful thinking.

If anything, it's my fault. It not like I haven't had my marriage proposals, or "really nice boyfriends". I have. I know. But, none of it worked out. And now, it's 2007, I'm 35, it's Friday night and I'm blogging. If it were 1996, I'd be journaling. I still have them, the old journals. Hate reading them, but can't bring myself to throw them away. Even when I thought I might die during surgery, and told my friend where they were just in case.

Most recently, I felt out of place at a knitting class. Teacher: 35 and pregnant with her 3rd. Other classmates: moms with kids. Other classmates: grandmothers. Me: ONLY SINGLE PERSON. Nothing to add to the pre-natal testing conversation, the 'kids going to college' conversation, or pretty much anything related to kids. Nothing to add the husband/boyfriend talk. I mention that I feel outnumbered and it's "Have you tried Lunchdates?" I just wanted to leave, cry, and throw the goddamn size 1 needle socks out the window. But, I tapped into the positive side of myself, which, I have to admit, is pretty strong, and participated, and did a few rows of the sock leg.

So, there should be a moral or a lesson or something to this post, I suppose. Well...plans to make myself feel better: manicure, pedicure, 3+days/week at the gym or exercising; positive attitude; best part: appointment next week to get a market analysis on the house. It's time. I'm moving out of Worcester. If nothing else, I'll be out of the line of sight.

The Ride In

Things I noticed on the way to work today:

• A woman driving with a small, amost toy-like dog on her lap. The pet-owner's version of pulling a Britney Spears.
• A dark green Volkswagen Eurovan. Love them. They were driving too slowly so I had to pass, and I happily spotted a big box that was bright yellow and had the word Happy typed on it.
• The woman in line behind me at Bagel Time had a hat on. Kind of like a going to church hat, and her hair was in a low bun. It was pink (the hat, not the hair), and she had a cute skirt suit on. Nice to see someone dressed up.
• A large hawk, circling over the mall.

Baseball

I don't watch a lot of baseball games on TV. I'm a fair weather fan. The last time I watched regularly was the first time they almost made it to the world series. I guess that would be about 4 years ago. This year, I want to get into it, and I've actually paid attendtion to a lot of games. It helps that I get both NESN and ESPN and that TV comedy is in reruns. Last week, I went to a Cincinnati Reds game and it kind of got me excited for baseball.

I like baseball because I understand pretty much all of the rules. 3 strikes, 4 balls, 3 outs. Home team bats last, pitchers don't hit in the American League. The thing that I'm noticing this year, for the first time, is that the Red Sox don't always wear the same uniforms. Tonight, they're gray and they have both a number and name on the back. The other night, maybe last week, they were wearing green t-shirts. And yet another night, the shirts were white and only had a number, no name. What's the deal?

back to work - the fun never stops

At like 3 o'clock today, I starting feeling sharp pains in my body - like, above my armpits. I figured it wasn't a heart attack since it wasn't in my chest. Then I took note of my position - hunched over the keyboard, chin jutting out, frantically typing on a presentation that was due before the end of the day - and realized that merely 7 business days after I returned to work, I had let the job get the best of me.

Before I went back, I told myself (and many others, as a matter of fact) that I wasn't going to go back and work like crazy. I was going to take a lunch break every day and make sure I didn't stress out. Well... I've been sort of successful on the lunch break thing but I wish it involved more than getting up from my chair, going outside, and sitting my fat ass down at the picnic tables. Especially since the picnic tables were built with someone other than humans in mine. This is where an engineer would come in really handy. My friend's husband is an engineer and I think he's designed some furniture - I can't remember what kind of engineer that is though. Racking my brain. But it's too full of work stuff. Industrial?

So, the pains set in, I did a lap around the cubes, came back to my desk, and finished up. Looked up, it was 5:01, and left.

I did a run/walk today, a 2.7 mile look, and feel much better. I think I'll do this every day. The run/walk. Not the excessive hunching, to the point of having body pains.

Spring!

I spent a few hours today doing yard work. Lots of crocuses are blooming, the tulips are getting ready to pop, hyacinths are coming up, and one daffodil is already open.

Gone already

Wha?! I got my period on Wednesday. It's Sunday and it's already over. For real! This is unbelievable. And, I managed to get by with regular absorbency tampons the WHOLE TIME.

Thank god for modern medicine.

The only inconvenience was I had to travel the whole time. Getting on a place when the friend is in play is just awful.

Willow is Famous!!

Cute with Chris is a hilarious web show. It's like 3 minutes long and is posted 2x/week. Willow is famous - she's posted on Chris's blog as a viewer cat.

http://www.cutewithchris.com/2007/04/viewer_box.html

SUN!

Today, I saw the sun. I went for a walk outside the building today and was fascinated by the fact that the big boulders outside the office aren't real boulders. They're cast, and are basically plaster, and are painted to look real. It's really weird.

Hello, my friend

Today, I'm off to travel to the midwest for a work meeting. I'm looking forward to meeting the team, and am staying an extra day so I can see the lovely Cincinnati area (Reds game Friday, Zoo Saturday). So why am I feeling extra cranky today? Oh, because Flo, aka "my friend", has arrived. Yes, that's right folks. I have to get on a plane today and I just got my period. I haven't had it since, I think, December, so I have no idea how it's going to be. I stuffed my duffel with many Always-type products this morning and threw a couple extra pairs of underthings into the bag, just to be safe. I'll be in a 2-day meeting, so probably will be either panicking until the breaks, or getting up once an hour, thus making my teammates think I have an incontinence or possibly even drug problem.

I shouldn't complain. It's better to get it than to never get it again and be done with the whole thing at 35. At least now I know I can still have kids. With my invisible boyfriend. So would that make the kids be half-invisible, like a watermark?

Old Habits Die Hard

Last weekend, someone asked me for my number in a bar. I didn't really talk to him much, but my friends said he was nice, so I ended up sending him a text message and, lo and behold, he remembered me and wanted to go out. We went out on Saturday. Had dinner, and I had one or two too many beers. No problem, really, I wasn't driving, and he wasn't drunk. But I was. And that makes me lose a little of the filter and say what's on my mind. Now, none of what was on my mind was bad, negative, or even stupid. It was just conversation. But, given that I don't remember all of the details, I am thinking it was enough to scare him away. Forever. And he seemed like a nice one. Sigh.

Last day

I go back to work tomorrow. It could probably go unsaid, that I am pretty happy with my current schedule and could stay home like ALL THE TIME. But, the bills have to be paid, so off I go.

Today, I celebrated my last day by sleeping until 9, having a beer in the afternoon, poaching chicken so I can make lunches and dinners more easily, and baking a cheesecake.

Oh, and politely telling this guy that my schedule was too busy to get coffee with him. :)

Now, I'm going to clean up all the newspapers and big pile of laundry.

P.S. I think I'm going bald. Why is my hair so fine and thin? and flat? The bright bright lights that beam on my head when I'm drying my hair don't help any.

Electricity Blues

UPDATED: Photo at end.

For about 9 months, I've had to lighting fixtures laying around, waiting to be installed. In the past month, I've called two local electricians, both coming with personal recommendations. The first guy said he'd come on a Tuesday and would call the night before to confirm. He didn't call, didn't show up, and didn't return my phone call. Ever.

The second guy was going to come last week but had to cancel due to a family emergency. He said he'd be able to come early this week (he left a message) and when I called back to discuss I got his voicemail. I left a message saying that Mon-Wed work for me. He didn't call back. Ever. It's Wednesday.

Yesterday, I got fed up and called a big electrician company that's (to quote the electrician who's here now) "Not the cheapest in the state". I called yesterday at around 4. They said they'd be here this morning. See? It pays to call the big guys. Of course, the consumer pays too. There's a $59 travel fee. Ok, they aren't located in my hometown, and I could probably have called a pricey electrician from my own city and maybe saved myself the travel fee. But these guys were recommended as well.

I live in a house built in 1915. It's really cool. Lots of woodwork, 2 built-in china cabinets, and hardwood floors. All stained, not painted. And... lots of outdated electrical stuff. Like, rooms with just 2 sockets, the old-school 2 prong kinds, and only one real telephone socket. I have wires going all over the place. Really ghetto.

The point is, whenever I need to have a simple house project done, it turns out to be way more than I expected. I should know by now. But now, I'm always ignorantly optimistic. So here's the deal with today.

One ceiling fan installed: needs new box, total cost is $375. (I'm probably getting ripped off)
One bathroom light installed: about $425 (all wires are old, probably need to run wires through attic and walls)
Travel fee: $57

Grand total - WAY TOO MUCH

I opted to just have the ceiling fan done. I can live with the old crappy lights in the bathroom for now. But I can't get through the summer without a ceiling fan in the living room. And I guess that I'm paying now for all the money I saved by having my family do my electrical work. Karma?

I'm so overpaying. It's killing me. But, they're HERE!! They didn't blow me off! And it's going to be done today! So, I don't care. Really.

(And I'm returning a pair of shoes that cost $70, so really, I'm being frugal.)

It's in.

Sick Obsession

First: is it really possible that Tori only inherited $800,000? Sounds ridiculous. But that's what her icky-glasses-wearing husband said on the oh! channel.

Second: I'm going back to work in 3 days. Between now and then, I'm going to try to relax, and that involves watching Tori and Dean Inn Love. I just found out you can watch webisodes!! Sweet.

Third: It is SOOO appropriate that Tori and Dean met on the set of a made-for-tv movie. Even better - it was called Mind Over Murder.

Noise

This is what woke me up at 8am today. It started last week, with a Friday morning jackhammer right outside my house. Today, they continued. They're replacing the sidewalk. Isn't that nice. I hope they finish today.

Second Thoughts

Today, I was thinking about how much it will cost to have the house cleaned every 2 weeks (that would be $1560/year). That's a lot of money. A LOT of money. Some years, I don't get that much for a raise. That's sad at a whole nother level. So I was thinking, maybe I shouldn't have the house cleaned as frequently, or at all. Then I looked around just the first floor of the house and realized, if someone wasn't coming to clean, I'd never pick up after myself. So, for now, they're coming. Maybe I'll cut it back to monthly if my shoe budget starts to hurt, but for now, I'm sticking to the plan. Now, I just need to have some company so it's all worth it.

Below, the mess. It's only been a week since they were here. I should really do some cleaning today.

A week's worth of newspapers, and some mail.

I was too lazy to put the shield on the mixer, so powdered sugar got everywhere.

Peeps!

Easter loot.

 

Day Clock

For the last 7 weeks, this is basically how my life has been.

I shudder to think about how it's going to be when I start going back to work. In 6 calendar days. Oh the clothes I'm going to have to stuff myself into. Yuck.

Hey, brat

I received the following email from someone on Match.com.

Subject: hey brat

If you are interested in getting to know me, drop me an email and tell me more about yourself. If nothing else, we can become great friends.

I moved to New England recently. If you are from the area, maybe you can give me a rundown on stuff to do in New England area. What kind of dancing, cooking, and politicizing do you do?

Cheers

"Hey brat"?? I think he might not have a full grasp of American slang. And, "politicizing"? Um. No.

This is the second time this guy has emailed me. I didn't respond the first time. Just not interested.

The glasses are in!

I picked up my new glasses today. They're pretty cool, sort of dramatic, sort of nerdy, and thankfully, an up-to-date prescription. I'm not feeling very photogenic today (out too late last night, maybe? bad hair day, definitely.) but here are some photos. First, a lovely fat-looking side view.

I ordered these frames because they made my face look slimmer. What do you think?

Here are some close-ups, to show the coolness of the frames. Note the Vera Wang logo on the temple, and the fact that they're black on the front and golden on the inside, with a stripe in between.

See? Golden on the inside.

Charlie Sheen

Why does Charlie Sheen play characters named Charlie? (See Spin City, Two and a Half Men) I wonder if the character was supposed to be called Charlie before he was signed, or if they made the character's name Charlie after he was signed. Is it too confusing to answer to another name?

Body Wash

The new Dove Cream Oil body wash is great. I bought the Ultra Rich in rosewood and cocoa butter scent, mainly because I liked the color of the bottle. It's really thick and creamy, and lathers up well without needing a pouf. Using the pouf is actually not very beneficial. Better off using your hands or a washcloth. I love to take super hot showers, thus making my already dry-prone skin drier, but this body wash helps to counteract that.

Want a free sample? Go to their website.

Is It Time To Hide The Profile?

A couple of years ago, I broke up with the stalker-ex-boyfriend. He didn't become the stalker ex until I broke up with him. Then, he rang me off the hook until I changed my phone numbers, got drunk and broke into my house in the middle of the night because he couldn't get in touch with me since I changed my numbers (duh), and sent me a thinly veiled threat to my work email. After that, I got a restraining order.

Shortly after, I ran into someone who I hadn't seen in about 15 years, and didn't really know all that well 15 years ago. He seemed nice enough, until a few dates in, when I realized I didn't like him and didn't want to pursue any relationship. I suck at dating, and didn't want to say to the guy "I don't like you" so I played the ex-boyfriend card and said I wasn't ready to start dating. Truth be told, I probably wasn't ready to start dating. I couldn't sleep, was paranoid I was going to run into the ex, and needed a few months to decompress from the stifling feeling I had when I was with him.

Now, wouldn't you know, I got an email from this guy (not the stalker) a few months later, just "saying hi", but I didn't respond. I still didn't want to date him and thought if I responded, it would give him the idea that I did. Smart move, I think.

It's been about two years, and just a few days ago, he found me on Match.com and sent me an email. I knew if I responded, he'd take it to mean that I was interested, over the ex, and ready for a delicious coffee date. I wasn't going to reply, but thought, that's kind of bitchy. I'm not a mean person, and figured I should probably just be nice, so I sent him a response. The email I sent back was pretty flat, about 2 sentences, and at the end, I wished him luck on Match. Well, wouldn't you know, I got an email back, like, immediately, asking me out for coffee. NO! NO NO NO NO NO!!! I don't want to, I'm not interested. I'd rather spend every nigh of the week watching bad TV than sit through a coffee date with this guy, who insists on wearing combat boots year round, and once told me his ex gf shaved his back. (I replied, "Well, I'm not ever going to do that for you.") GOOD GOD. I hope he doesn't find this post. Anyway, it's not that he's a bad guy. He's a nice guy, he's just not for me.

So, I have to either ignore the email or send something back that nips it in the bud. I have no idea what to say so I'll probably just ignore it until I come up with something. If anyone actually reads this blog and has a suggestion on how to fix this little problem, leave a comment.

Indexed

I just subscribed to this blog. It's very clever.

This one is a good one.

Shoe Update

Last week, I had a horrible live-action shoe shopping experience. So after that, I came home and ordered 2 pairs online. One pair is great, but the other pair was not so hot. It's going back, which is good, because it cost too much.

I had 2 coupons for money off at DSW, plus a coupon for a free tote bag. Two of these coupons expired on 3/31, and I needed a new pair of sneakers, so I ran into DSW over the weekend and ended up with these: runners, and sandals sort of like this but nicer in the front (not as many straps).

Now, if only I could wear real pants. Still swollen, have no idea what I'm going to wear to work. Hopefully, it will be better in a couple of weeks.

15 or 35?

On deck for today:

• one last spin through In Touch Weekly magazine
• J.Lo on Ellen, singing the new song (it's pretty good) and a classic, "waiting for tonight"
• a movie, Material Girls, starring the B-list celebrities Hilary and Haylie Duff

How old am I? I may as well live it up, though, because I have to go back to work in less than 2 weeks. :(


EDIT
The material girls dvd is broken!

Dating Update

Last weekend, I had a wicked fun coffee date at, of course, Starbucks. I had low expectations, since that way, if it sucked, I wouldn't be disappointed. It was alright. I got there early, got a coffee and found a table to flip through the NY Times Magazine. M.c Guy (match.com guy) showed up around 10 past when we were supposed to meet, sat down, started talking, and pretty much didn't stop for about an hour. He didn't get a coffee, or anything, which I thought was kind of weird. He asked me some questions, but then cut me off when I was halfway done answering. He seemed like a nice guy, liked to do a lot, seemed like he was pretty generally happy. I was not head-over-heels, and basically, could take him or leave him. It's been a week and I haven't heard from him, so I'm going to guess that he felt the same way, and thus, I continue on the online dating path.

I did get some tips on what kind of bicycle to buy.

Bowling

I'm not a very good bowler, and to be honest, I get bored with it after about 20 minutes, if it's kingpin. I much prefer candlepin bowling. I can actually lift and roll the balls without fear of a) my finger getting stuck and breaking, and b) dropping it too soon and cracking a hole in the lane. I can also actually get some pins down with the candlepin balls. I grew up on candlepin bowling, so I guess maybe that's why I prefer it.

Worst first date idea: going bowling. Why? Lots of reasons. You have to wear someone else's shoes. You have to show off your ass about once every 3 minutes. If you suck, the game just drags on forever. The people in the next lane are invariably better than you, so feelings of inadequacy set in quickly.

But, bowling is a fun activity for kids.

Housecleaning Report

The housecleaners were due to arrive between 8:30 and 9:00 on Saturday morning. I got up at 7 am to finish clearing the clutter out of some of the rooms so they could actually clean. By the end of the day I was exhausted, but at least it forced me to get organized.

So, this whole cleaning lady thing is really just great. The whole house was vac'd and mopped, the giant cat fur and dust balls were cleaned away, and the whole house smells like simple green (also known as the smell of clean). They don't do windows, or at least, they do, but it costs more, but I can handle a little windex and paper towels myself. The owner said it would cost about $200 just to do all the windows in my house (I have about 26, plus 20-paned foyer windows and a 15 pane french door. So I can see where that price would be high.) She did say that the ladies would just do one room's windows each time they come, and eventually they would be clean. So, that's pretty good.

I left on Saturday at noon and didn't get home until Sunday night, so I lost out on enjoying a whole day of clean house. I also lost out on a whole day of dirtying it up, so that's probably a good thing.

2 unexpected benefits of the cleaning service:

1. They cleaned the microwave inside and out! Inside and out! And that thing was kind of filthy.
2. The living room chair-and-a-half and ottoman was tilted a different way, so that it was facing the couch. It looks so much better than it did before!

1 problem:
I think they might have thrown away a Netflix envelope. Not sure if I'm going to sift thru the trash for it. Probably not.

Cleaning service: The best thing I ever did.

My 7 Current Favorite Songs

In my short history of blogging, this is my first tag. Cate tagged me to play this fun music game:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what they are. They must be songs you are presently enjoying. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

I am guilty of listening to the same short list of songs over and over, till I listen to them to death, then finding something new (or usually, something old, that I had either loved 10 years ago and totally forgot about, or a few years ago and it had already been through the repetitive playing cycle but was ready to be resurrected.)

Something Pretty by Patrick Park
This is on one of the soundtracks to The OC. I don't watch the show - can't stand it, actually. But my friend Michelle loves it and a couple years ago, I got her some soundtracks, then bought them for myself when I heard them.

Cindy by Tammany Hall NYC
This is on the Scrubs Soundtrack, Vol.2 I love it. It's a fast, heavier pop song that, as far as I know, has never gotten any mainstream airplay.

Fairytale of New York by Shane McGowan and Kirsty McColl
This is apparently a Christmas song but I listen to it year round. I just recently discovered this song and still don't know all the words, but I'm getting close. Mostly I just crank it loud when driving and enjoy.

I've Got a Match by They Might Be Giants
I have to just pick one TMBG song so this is it. I know every word to just about all the TMBG songs from the late 80s and early 90s. I sing along. Out loud. First verse of this song:

Get out of the car
Put down the phone
Take off that stupid looking hat you wear
I'm going to die if you touch me one more time
Well I guess that I'm going to die no matter what

How can you just not love it?

Honey And The Moon by Joseph Arthur
This is on The OC Soundtrack, Mix 1. Singer-songwriter stuff, mellow. I like this singer's voice and also rotate the song In the Sun from Scrubs Vol 2.

Mr. Brightside by The Killers
This song is the absolute best high-volume song!

Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson
It's on my main playlist on the iPod. Sometimes, if I'm feeling especially cheesy, I play the whole CD.

So, I cheated because I listed to Joseph Arthur songs, which brings me to 8, but really, the first one is my favorite. Also, it might be pretty obvious that I listen to a lot of soundtracks. That's where I find all the good stuff.

The only one of my friends who has a blog is Cate, and she already tagged me, so I'm a dead end. But if anyone else reads this and wants to play along, leave a comment. (Or start a blog! :) )