Just not posting to this account much. Happy new year!
It’s a craptacular day in the neighborhood…
Published September 30, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a CommentYesterday it was 75°+ and glorious. Today, it’s snowing.
People all over the blogiverse are having a hard time…kitties passing, divorces, separations, depressions. I feel lucky that my worst problem right now is a little precipitation.
I think I’ll go home in a bit, kiss my hubby, hug my kitties, and thank the stars above that life isn’t so bad right now.
Funny things my husband just might have said during climax (the short list…I’m sure I’ll remember more later):
- “Kajagoogoo!”
- “All this AND it’s payday!”
…and today’s clever outburst:
- “Release the hounds!”
It’s been a blur since I last updated the ol’ blog-a-roonie…it’s definitely been a challenge keeping theatre alive in the Wild, Wild West, and I’ve been working my tail off and ignoring writing. Bad me. Here’s the high (and low) points of the last few months:
March: Kid’s musical (Seussical), and then a road-trip to Las Vegas. Both were excellent good times. We got to see the Divine Miss M in concert while in Vegas, and yes, I bawled like a baby when she sang “Hello in There”. We also got our first doses of In-N-Out Burgers and Trader Joe’s, and I was hooked. I could be a West coast girl for life just for those two establishments.
April/May: Nothing new to report…just the “will spring ever arrive” blahs, and rehearsing for our musical revue (Starting Here, Starting Now). Also dove into my new job of graphics designer for the theatre (as a cost-cutting measure), and designed my first-ever show poster.
June/July: Intensive rehearsals & performances of the musical revue, then a crazy three-week rehearsal period for our summer musical, which just opened Thursday night. On top of stage-managing that beast, I also designed the graphics, which was a feat in and of itself…I think the poster design went through 999 changes before it was approved to go to print. And by “go to print”, I mean before I printed all of those puppies out myself for distribution.
June & July have been a blur for the most part, except for two things: my mother found out she has breast cancer, and yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of my dear high school friend Donnie’s death. Luckily, my mom’s cancer has been caught early, and right now her treatment has been a lumpectomy and radiation treatments, which begin on Monday. I’m flying to Nashville in two weeks to visit her and my dad, who will be celebrating his 65th birthday. Truthfully, I can’t wait to see the folks, and my adorable nephews! I’ve missed them all terribly.
So that’s it, in a nutshell. As soon as I finish this online poker game I’m in the middle of, I’m off to work to continue fine-tuning the projections I created for the show, work on some of the props, and rehearse an understudy who has to go on tomorrow night. I can’t wait to get my schedule back to “normal” so I can resume my South Beach dieting and exercise routine!
Kisses to those who care…
Me!
I have always tried to live life in such a way that I don't have to look back and say "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda", but as I'm getting closer & closer to 40 years old (yargh), I do find myself looking back and wondering what might have been. Damn this Plinky thing for bringing up the right question at the right time.
I wonder what would have happened if I had been more aggressive in the group interview for a high school student exchange program. Would spending a year in Germany have made me a different person?
I often wonder what kind of love I lost when I didn't act on my crush on my dear friend Donnie in high school. He was simply amazing, and now he's not with us. The fact that I'll never know if he felt the same way towards me is a major regret.
The decision to stay in Tennessee and work at a small, non-profit theatre company was never a regret for me…I learned a lot, did quality work, and had a steady paycheck for almost 14 years. I met my husband and got married there. Even so, sometimes I ponder what might have happened if I'd decided to move to New York and tried to be a working artist in the "big city".
I'm terribly afraid that I'm going to be one of those women who wakes up and realizes that she forgot to have kids…I have put off having children for so long now (due to concerns over money, mostly), that I'm afraid it's never going to happen. I wish I hadn't been so cavalier about time. It flies, whether you're having fun or not.
I hope that this doesn't come off as a sad-sack post. I'm really pretty happy with where life has taken me. I truly don't regret anything so far…except maybe the kids thing. That will come back to bite me in the ass, just you wait and see.
Plinky asked me to name three songs I'd put on a road trip mix tape. Only three? I almost always play these songs on the road…especially the first one. Goddamn right it's a beautiful day, uh-huh!
Will The Fun Never End?
Published January 17, 2009 Daily 1 CommentTags: Apple, AppleCare, CrackBook, MacBook
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am blogging from work, and my Christmas recap will be postponed indefinitely.
Thanks, Apple.
Just before Christmas, I noticed that my beloved MacBook had developed a small crack beneath the trackpad. Nothing huge, just a little hairline crack that ran vertically from the trackpad button to the edge of the computer. I made a mental note to call Applecare when I got home from vacation.
Lo and behold, last Saturday morning I noticed that there was another crack forming – on the right wrist rest area, exactly where the little plastic tab on the screen hits when it closes. I called Applecare immediately, and had no problem setting up a mail-in repair order. Later that night, the plastic near the new crack just fell off. Nice.
Anyhoo, Applecare rocks, and the box to ship the computer to repair was on my doorstep Monday afternoon. I sent the ‘puter off on Tuesday, and had it back in my hands yesterday morning. Awesome turnaround, although I was completely lost without the laptop for 3 nights. I actually read a book. Hardcore.
So yesterday morning I was ecstatic about the return of my beloved MacBook. On first glance, it looked very pretty…a new keyboard cover was in place, and I think they may have put in a new keyboard and trackpad as well. Then I tried using the computer.
Something is very, very wrong…whenever I place any pressure on the wrist-rest area, the computer acts like I’ve pushed the trackpad button. It moves the cursor, it selects text, it deletes text (like a cut & paste, without the “paste”). Meanwhile, the trackpad button no longer clicks. So, I’m back on the phone with Applecare. Once again, the customer service rep was very nice and apologetic, and put in a new repair order. The box should be here on Monday.
But wait…there’s more! I was rooting around online last night to see if other MacBook users have had the same problems that I’m experiencing, and find out that everything I am experiencing is a known issue. Great. Then I see that people’s external cases are cracking as well, so I start checking out my case a little more closely. Crap! I have a crack on the side where a screw was obviously tightened too hard, a crack on the front edge of the case, and a crack on the back near the fan! My beloved MacBook is falling apart! Not to mention that the new keyboard cover was kind of buckled on one side and gapping. Argh.
So this morning I spoke to my third AppleCare rep this week. Jose was a pretty nice guy, but he obviously didn’t believe me when I said that there were no Apple service centers in my immediate area, and had to spend a few minutes confirming it for himself. (For the record, the nearest one is 130 miles away.) Eventually he understood that I just wanted to put a note on the existing service order to look at the issue of the cracks & gaps, and did so. Thanks, sweet Jose.
I love Apple. I love Apple products. If I made more money, I would own Apple stock and every Apple product out there. This MacBook is the fourth Apple laptop I have owned, and it saddens me that it is falling apart at less than one year old. It’s obviously just not made well. As always, I have purchased the Applecare Protection Plan and have faith that Apple will continue fixing the unit…but why would they WANT to continue having to repair what is obviously a design/manufacturing defect? Sigh.
Long story longer, as of Monday I will be without my sweet, sweet laptop for another 3 days or so. I’ll be reading blogs, posting on Twitter, checking on my Facebook peeps, and playing poker watching CS3 tutorials on my super-crappy work computer until the Mac is back.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Another quiz, but this time it’s in LIST form! :)
Published January 10, 2009 Uncategorized 1 CommentHappy New Year! We had a great Christmas vacation, and hopefully I’ll get around to posting a little about it on Monday. I know that it will take a while, and this week has been eaten up with work, so I’ve been avoiding writing and instead spending some time sorting photos and reading Breaking Dawn.
I just stole this from Amy, whom I have known since kindergarten, but haven’t seen since high school. Thanks to the wonder of Facebook we’ve gotten back in touch with one another in the last year. Ain’t the internet grand?
(If I have done it, it is BOLD.)
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (if singing along with a tambourine counts…but only in rehearsals.)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Been to Disneyland/world
7. Climbed a mountain.
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Sang a solo
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Taught yourself an art from scratch (knitting, although I had to ask my mother-in-law for help on purling)
14. Adopted a child
15. Had food poisoning
16. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
17. Grown your own vegetables
18. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
19. Slept on an overnight train
20. Had a pillow fight
21. Hitch hiked (our car broke down on the interstate. The guy who picked us up had a gun rack w/rifles. That wasn’t weird.)
22. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (at least, not that I remember)
23. Built a snow fort
24. Held a lamb
25. Gone skinny dipping
26. Run a Marathon
27. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
28. Seen a total eclipse
29. Watched a sunrise or sunset
30. Hit a home run
31. Been on a cruise
32. Seen Niagara Falls in person
33. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
34. Seen an Amish community
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (if singing along with a tambourine counts…but only in rehearsals.)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Been to Disneyland/world
7. Climbed a mountain.
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Sang a solo
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Taught yourself an art from scratch (knitting, although I had to ask my mother-in-law for help on purling)
14. Adopted a child
15. Had food poisoning
16. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
17. Grown your own vegetables
18. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
19. Slept on an overnight train
20. Had a pillow fight
21. Hitch hiked (our car broke down on the interstate. The guy who picked us up had a gun rack w/rifles. That wasn’t weird.)
22. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (at least, not that I remember)
23. Built a snow fort
24. Held a lamb
25. Gone skinny dipping
26. Run a Marathon
27. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
28. Seen a total eclipse
29. Watched a sunrise or sunset
30. Hit a home run
31. Been on a cruise
32. Seen Niagara Falls in person
33. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
34. Seen an Amish community
35. Taught yourself a new language (I learned French in high school, but I didn’t teach myself. This question makes my head hurt a little.)
36. Had enough money to be truly satisfied37. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
38. Gone rock climbing
39. Seen Michelangelo’s David
40. Sung karaoke
41. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
42. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
43. Visited Africa
44. Walked on a beach by moonlight
45. Been transported in an ambulance
46. Had your portrait painted
47. Gone deep sea fishing
48. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
49. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
50. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
51. Kissed in the rain
52. Played in the mud
53. Gone to a drive-in theater
54. Been in a movie (I was an extra in the Sean Penn movie At Close Range… it filmed at my high school & later at a local amusement park in Nashville. Actually, that’s a good story. I should tell you all about it sometime.)
55. Visited the Great Wall of China
56. Started a business
57. Taken a martial arts class
58. Visited Russia
59. Served at a soup kitchen
60. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
61. Gone whale watching
62. Gotten flowers for no reason (my husband is sweet like that)
63. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
64. Gone sky diving
65. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (it was eye-opening, awful, and I had to go back to the bus because the whole vibe was making me physically ill. I was 17 years old.)
66. Bounced a check (I was in college, and the check was for $5.00!!! Ridiculous. It’s never happened again.)
67. Flown in a helicopter
68. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Somewhere in storage I still have a teddy bear that one of my mom’s friends made for me when I was little. It used to make me happy because it smelled like suntan lotion on its back, and I would go to sleep smelling the coconut goodness. I don’t know how the lotion got there, but the smell lasted forever.)
69. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
70. Eaten Caviar (and wasn’t impressed. Not my speed, really.)
71. Pieced a quilt
72. Stood in Times Square
73. Toured the Everglades
74. Been fired from a job
75. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
76. Broken a bone
77. Been on a speeding motorcycle
78. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
79. Published a book
80. Visited the Vatican
81. Bought a brand new car
82. Walked in Jerusalem
83. Had your picture in the newspaper
84. Read the entire Bible
85. Visited the White House
86. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
87. Had chickenpox
88. Saved someone’s life
89. Sat on a jury
90. Met someone famous
91. Joined a book club (if the Literary Guild counts.)
92. Lost a loved one
93. Had a baby
94. Seen the Alamo in person
95. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
96. Been involved in a lawsuit
97. Owned a cell phone
98. Been stung by a bee
99. Fallen in LOVE
100. Decorated a Birthday Cake
40. Sung karaoke
41. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
42. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
43. Visited Africa
44. Walked on a beach by moonlight
45. Been transported in an ambulance
46. Had your portrait painted
47. Gone deep sea fishing
48. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
49. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
50. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
51. Kissed in the rain
52. Played in the mud
53. Gone to a drive-in theater
54. Been in a movie (I was an extra in the Sean Penn movie At Close Range… it filmed at my high school & later at a local amusement park in Nashville. Actually, that’s a good story. I should tell you all about it sometime.)
55. Visited the Great Wall of China
56. Started a business
57. Taken a martial arts class
58. Visited Russia
59. Served at a soup kitchen
60. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
61. Gone whale watching
62. Gotten flowers for no reason (my husband is sweet like that)
63. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
64. Gone sky diving
65. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (it was eye-opening, awful, and I had to go back to the bus because the whole vibe was making me physically ill. I was 17 years old.)
66. Bounced a check (I was in college, and the check was for $5.00!!! Ridiculous. It’s never happened again.)
67. Flown in a helicopter
68. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Somewhere in storage I still have a teddy bear that one of my mom’s friends made for me when I was little. It used to make me happy because it smelled like suntan lotion on its back, and I would go to sleep smelling the coconut goodness. I don’t know how the lotion got there, but the smell lasted forever.)
69. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
70. Eaten Caviar (and wasn’t impressed. Not my speed, really.)
71. Pieced a quilt
72. Stood in Times Square
73. Toured the Everglades
74. Been fired from a job
75. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
76. Broken a bone
77. Been on a speeding motorcycle
78. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
79. Published a book
80. Visited the Vatican
81. Bought a brand new car
82. Walked in Jerusalem
83. Had your picture in the newspaper
84. Read the entire Bible
85. Visited the White House
86. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
87. Had chickenpox
88. Saved someone’s life
89. Sat on a jury
90. Met someone famous
91. Joined a book club (if the Literary Guild counts.)
92. Lost a loved one
93. Had a baby
94. Seen the Alamo in person
95. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
96. Been involved in a lawsuit
97. Owned a cell phone
98. Been stung by a bee
99. Fallen in LOVE
100. Decorated a Birthday Cake
I’m pretty sure that this is the same plane that is supposed to carry us to Dallas tomorrow morning, where we will hopefully connect with our next flight to Nashville. If all goes well, we should be home by 2:30p. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, since we had a huge snowfall yesterday (at least 8 inches fell at our house), and another major storm is supposed to blow through tomorrow and last through Christmas Day. Forecasters are saying we might get one or two feet of snow. Not inches; FEET. If we don’t get out tomorrow morning, we’re probably not getting home for Christmas. If we don’t get home for Christmas, Tracy is going to be one sad, sad puppy. I’ve been looking forward to seeing my family & friends for weeks.
I hope that everyone whose travels have been disrupted by the crazy winter weather finds their way home to family & friends safely. Happy holidays to all, and if I don’t make it back here before New Year’s Eve, I wish everyone the best for 2009! Merry Christmas!
I’ve spent the day working on Christmas-related activities.
Christmas tree?
Check.
Cute little Christmas treats?
Check.
Christmas cards? Get off my back. I’m working on them. Didn’t you see all the other stuff I did today? 🙂
Anyhoo... 