Weekend Update, Boring Edition

Holy. Bananas. I am still so, so tired. Also, I think I have an ulcer. (Not in my normal 'oh my neck hurts it must be meningitis" but....pretty sure it's an ulcer. So I think I'm just going to stop eating.)

Anyway. The past few weeks at work have been exhausting, but we are finally fully staffed (for the first time since January of 2009. Jesus.) I like the new people all so far- in fact, we finally have a group of positive people, instead of the whining, back biters that were peppered in before.  

BUT, the best thing is we finally earned a bonus for 1st quarter- the first time since I started working there. I wasn't quite sure -what- to do with all of my check for $17.34, but I managed to blow it at Bullmoose in a few minutes like a fool. Maybe next time I'll manage to invest it or something. 

Speaking of solid investments, Anton and I finally have life insurance (So if one or both of us go missing, suspect foul play) and accident insurance (for things like when Anton broke his hand on the Jeep). I have a policy through work too, so if I die in the next 20 years, Anton is set. Again. Suspect foul play. 

In keeping with being a grown up, I start a new shift on Monday so I'll be working at 8 AM like all those other fools. Anton's trying to get his shift moved earlier, too, so that we can start taking Kung Fu together because it would be awesome, motherfuckers. 

Yeah. That was boring. Sorry.  

Rusty wheels

What do you do to feel inspired?

Sometimes for me it's music, or going out for a nature walk or painting. But when I'm feeling a creative streak coming on, but joining it is a severe case of self doubt, I watch "The Muppet Movie."

Ever since I was little, this movie has made me believe absolutely that I can do anything I set my mind and energy too. Probably because Kermit was on Sesame Street,and if he said it, it HAD to be true. He may be one of the must trusted figures in my life.

I'm putting my shoulder to the wheel again. I've got a new program (yWriter) I'm hoping is going to help organize my thoughts- that's the worst thing about me sometimes. I'm so god damn scatter brained, it's really, really  hard to focus my attention on anything for very long. My current project is spread out in 4 different notebooks- not because it's filled  four notebooks, but because I get writing in one, then switch to another for something else and before you know it, everything is scattered and I don't know if I'm coming or going. This is also a major issue for me writing on the computer- it's so counter-intuitive to how I think it's nearly impossible for me to get something done. Stupid computers, all left-brainy. (For instance, computer keyboards make you write straight on,and when I write by hand I actually turn the paper 90 degrees and write so my thumb is parallel to my chest and my elbow is bent 90 degrees. If laptops allowed you to type that way it might feel like I was doing the same thing and maybe I would focus instead of staring off at other things -13 times- by this point in the paragraph. Make that 14. Gah.)

This is also while I'll never win any blogging awards. Everything is stream of consciousness for whatever I can manage to focus to write. Which, of course, makes me terribly interesting. 


Moving on. One of the best things about working on our own separate projects together with Anton is the bonding. The frustration and the elation, we get to go through it together. Doesn't help my extreme jealousy of  his natural creativity though.Holy hell, he can pull you in to his world in a few words. Amazing, natural, untapped potential there.

Hey Hey They Say It's Your Birthday

Happy 8th Birthday to the biggest cacahead in the entire world. My life would be so boring and empty without you. 






Not that he gets online or can read English or has concepts of birthdays.  

When I was a teenager, music was so important to me that I never thought I could date, let alone marry someone who had very different musical tastes  then myself. It's probably a good thing I got over that, seeing as I doubt I'd ever find anyone with the same taste in music as myself. 

Anton has the grace to accept that my music taste is finely honed and far superior then his own. I wish I could be as gracious about his taste in music. 

As much as I love the music and bands that I do, I don't think I could ever be as... devoted as he and his friends are. While driving to another state isn't out of the question for me to see a band I love (where I get my car towed and have to walk in heels across a town I don't know), I absolutely detest arena shows. That's partly because I was trampled at an Incubus concert during the second song and ended up in the first aid area for the rest of the stupid concert, meaning I really only spent money to see 30 Seconds to Mars (vomit) and be injured. But it's more because music is very intimate to me (not that it isn't to him) but sharing the experience of my favorite music, live, with thousands of people, isn't high on my list of things to do. 

I've been to a crap ton of concerts in my life, and the shows I love and remember fondly are the small venue ones. Like when Jennifer and I saw Flickerstick for the first time at St Andy's, (or any of the other subsequent times I saw FS.) or seeing Great Lakes Myth Society in a bar with maybe 50 people. Maybe. I want to feel like they're playing for me and that's a lot easier to imagine when there aren't hundreds of people in between you and the band. 

Sorry. You didn't notice because this isn't real time, but I just had to take a 20 minute dance break to listen to Flickerstick. 

Right. So. The point I was trying to get to was that as much as I absolutely love Flickerstick and GLMS and will drive many hours to see them, I'm can't see myself willingly handing over $100+ to attend a stadium show watch them from the nosebleeds and barely be able to make out who's who on the stage. (Now, since 'stick is disbanded, if in 10 years or so they did a reunion tour at small clubs? I'd pay pretty much anything because I know the experience is going to be intimate and I'm going to get to hang out with them after the show.) Anton, on the other hand, seems to think stadium tours are where it's at, and that 100 dollars is a paltry sum to pay to see a band THAT TOURS EVERY FRICKIN' YEAR and so it's not special at all, and you're sharing the experience with strangers. (there are no strangers at a 'stick or GLMS show. It's 80 people who feel like family during and after each show. I've never felt that at a stadium show, ever.)

Our discussion on him wanting to see the worst Canadian band ever this fall turn into both of us thinking the other had no soul or taste in music (I'm right). But, as I know my taste in music is niche and my enjoyment of things never includes large crowds, I guess I need to know what other people think. Just not people with shitty taste in music. 

Have you ever...

...done something that throws your whole week off? For me, apparently, hair washing is very vital to me being able to tell the day of the week. I normally wash my hair Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursday. This week I skipped Sunday and washed it Monday, making me mentally a day off and IT'S MAKING ME CRAZY.

FINE, KOOKY HAIR AND BRAIN GODS. I'll stick to my normal hair washing schedule. Guh. Stupid hair.

Day tripper

I think I've mentioned before that I want to do as much this summer around New England that we can, because once we leave I am never coming back. That, and if I have to be here, I want to enjoy myself and not just sit in my apartment grumbling about what a stupid state this is.

One thing I've found is too much planning ruins the fun. All we really need is an address to put into the gps and gas in the tank. Sure, I usually bring along drinks and snack bars in case a decent restaurant is hard to find, but the fun for us is the journey, not the destination.

Anyway. Yesterday I had intended that we go to an armory in Worcester, but while we were waking up in the morning, random Google searches (this is how I find EVERYTHING, I swear. I heart Google.) I stumbled upon  a free tour that the Anheuser-Busch brewery does- and even better, Saturday was Pictures with the  Clydesdales day, so we took off for Merrimack, N.H. instead.

I'm not that into beer- in fact, the only time I ever really drank beer was back when I smoked, and I think my lack of taste buds masked how awful beer tastes (too me, anyway). I'm much more likely to drink liquor or hard ciders- and, really, I'm not supposed to be drinking beer anyway. BUT. Shut up. I do what I want.

My real goal was to meet the Clydesdales, but since we were there, we decided to take the free tour, too. I think we both expected it to be boring and dull, but...we actually had a lot of fun and are considering going back to take the paid tour when my parents come this summer.  And, I really want a horse. Like. Really.

Another win yesterday was I finally figured out how to make curry from scratch. I absolutely love Japanese curry, it's turned into a comfort food for me. This winter when I was sick it was the only thing I wanted to eat. The only problem was is the pre-made cubes all had wheat* in them, and while I have curry powder, we haven't been able to find a recipe to make the roux. But feeling inspired yesterday, and with the help of a pretty decent recipe, I finally made a good, spicy curry. I can die happy.


*I know, right? I was just talking about beer and then I was all Ooohh can't have the wheat curry. I try to only have wheat every few weeks to avoid having any major symptoms. AND I really just want to know how to make curry without having the cubes, it's way cheaper.

Gardenin' ain't easy

So, remember how Anton and I got really excited about the one day in March where it was 90 degrees, and started a vegetable gardening project?

WE ARE SO DUMB.

We should have remembered that we live in Massachusetts, where the weather almost always sucks. Due to really shitty weather and poor management, we nearly lost all our cucumber plants (but lost only one) and lost all our corn. Everything except the cold weather loving plants (peas, spinach, broccoli, bok choy and Brussels sprouts) are inside and miserable. They are miserable and I don't blame them- I want it to be sunny and warm, too but nooooooooooooooooooooo. We live in fucking cold and windy and overcast crapachusetts.

The cool thing, though- our lettuce and spinach are starting to look like lettuce and spinach. A week ago they were still grass looking things, and now they resemble the things I'm going to eat in 4 or 5 weeks time. SO EXCITING.

The cats are more excited about the big box of grass we grew of them. One of them has to be in it at all times. I'm glad at least something is working the way it's supposed to.