Saturday, May 31, 2003

Saturday, May 31, 2003

We went to see The Matrix: Reloaded tonight along with one of Galahad's martial arts instructors and the instructor's son.  Laugh.  I never realized how much sex was in a typical movie until I sat next to a 12 year old boy.   I barely could enjoy the steamy scenes.  Plus, they did an odd thing.  [DISCLAIMER:  I don't think this is a spoiler at all except that I'm sharing one non-consequential love scene.]  They showed Trinity & Neo all hot & heavy sans clothes, so you could see all the ports on Neo's back.  It kind of took some of the sexiness away for me. Maybe that was their point.  Dunno.

Afterwards, we went back to their house and visited.  He is a former East German citizen who told us some fascinating (and quite scary) stories about the Stazi.

Thursday, May 29, 2003

Thursday, May 29, 2003

Whatever happened to brevity?  Someone I work with (who is in sales and should supposedly know better) has logorrhea.  Don't most salespeople know that the best ones are better at listening than talking?  I let Galahad listen to one of his phone messages to see if I was overreacting.  [Me?  Overreact?  Never! ;)]  He couldn't even sit through the whole message.  For those of you new to my life, Galahad is the most patient man I know.  Gah, he puts up with me on a daily basis.  :) 

Here's a free tip from your friendy Wendy:  When leaving a business voicemail, make it short and relay pertinent information.  If it must be long, vary your voice pitch.  When sending business emails, keep them to less than one page.  One should never have to scroll down.  If you need to write a lot to organize your thoughts, by all means do so, then go back and edit for clarity & succinctness.  Yes, there will be exceptions, but make them few & far between. 

You guessed it, his emails suck, too, all 500 a day that I get.  Sigh.  Does he think he is the only person who emails?

Wednesday, May 28, 2003

Wednesday, May 28, 2003

I'm hoping that my angst is done with for now.  I seem to be cheerier even though I have a migraine and a new mini-zit.  :(

Last night Galahad and I stayed up signing all the documents required for a Streamlined Refinancing Mortgage Application from the same company we currently use.  I couldn't believe the paperwork required just for the streamlined version.  Imagine if our deal had been complicated?  Imagine if we had been switching to another company?  Somehow we had left things to the last minute and started doing this at 11:30 pm.  It felt like Sunday night back in school trying to finish a big project that I had procrastinated all weekend.  Galahad kept saying just sign here, but...   My mother always taught me to read everything before I signed it.  I was having a hard time last night trying to understand the complicated legalese with my continual yawning and the pain in my head.  Somehow I looked over at my Galahad and just started laughing and soon the process became fun.  I hope we are able to lock in that rate. 

/crosses my fingers

At one point I felt all old and spinsterly.  I had to check the box that I'm unmarried and middle-aged.  And here I was refinancing a mortgage.  That sounded so grown-up and adult-like.  READ: Boring & Old.  Shouldn't they have had a checkbox for domestically partnered?  Living with a significant other?  Common law?  Anything but OLD & UNMARRIED.  Aren't I too old & spinsterly to be getting zits still?  =p

There is a flood watch in effect today.  We have had constant rain for 5 days or so.  I think the weather is about to shift though, which is why I got the migraine last night.  Fortunately it's not a killer one, but I still woke up at 5 am to take Imitrex.

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

I'm feeling much better today and even got brave enough to make my dermatology appointment.  Omg, I'm scared.  I have a new spot on my face.  I don't want any more scars, especially on my face.  I'm pretty sure it's nothing serious, but I don't want to stall when it's on my face.  I'll get the spot on my ankle looked at, too, when I'm there.  That has changed appearance lately and seems to be going away.  Yay!!  Maybe if I wait 3 more months, the one on my face will magically disappear also. 

I hate panicking myself about these spots.  Stress can only make me worse.  Plus, I really feel silly getting so upset about what is mostly a vanity issue.  However, in the back of mind is the thought that some day the melanoma may return.  I caught it incredibly fast last time, but I am constantly reading how many women my age die from it.

I find myself fumbling on a sliver of a tightrope.  Lack of sun makes me sad, and too much sun may in fact kill me.  Yeah, I know, get over myself and my trivial problems.  Many people out there have real problems not just made up ones in their head.

Monday, May 26, 2003

Monday, May 26, 2003

Rain again on & off.  I finished my other book and am almost done with the next one I'd started.  I've been kind of restless & moody all day.  On the way to have dinner with Galahad's parents, I started crying.  He was driving, and I turned my head to the side so he wouldn't notice.  I just let the tears roll quietly down my face.  I gave myself a pep talk the whole way, interspersed with trying to figure out why I'm so sad.  I think I'm just crazy.  :(  I had brief thoughts of my mom and new skin cancers, but really I had no valid reason to be crying.  I tried to force myself to think funny thoughts.  I managed to pull myself together a half mile away.  I pretended to check my makeup in the mirror and nonchalantly wiped the traces of tears away.  My nose was a little bit pink, but I was hoping that would fade soon.

I put on my happy face and greeted his parents.  His dad started in with the fucking skinny comments -- a lot of them, 4 in a row.  I almost told him to go fuck himself.  I decided to be the bigger person and let it go.  I don't mind him teasing me with one, but 4 was pushing it.  Somehow, I managed to turn my mood around and enjoy myself.  I know his parents love me and mean well.  And, his dad stopped being an ass towards me.  :)

When we got home, I secluded myself back in the library with my book trying not to inflict my mood on Galahad.  I was mostly better anyway, but I still wanted to be alone.

Sunday, May 25, 2003

Sunday, May 25, 2003

   The rain isn't stopping.  It's great for all of our plants since we're too lazy to water much, but it's making me feel blah.  I wonder if I need more sun than the average person to affect my mood since I grew up in Miami and am used to it.
 

Saturday, May 24, 2003

Saturday, May 24, 2003

Rain & more rain.  I'm just gonna curl up with a book in my library tucked under my softest blanket and be lazy. 

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

I'd like to congratulate my dragon-tattooed friend on successfully starting to quit smoking.  He's down from a pack to only 3 a day.  I'm hoping he keeps going with this and quits altogether.  But, I'll still call him friend if he gets weak and starts back up.  I may call him my weak friend after that but definitely still a friend.  :p

One of my Phalaenopsis orchids is blooming.  Such a gorgeous bloom.  It makes me smile every time I walk outside and see it.

That illness gave me writer's block.  I have nothing interesting to say.  Laugh, did I ever?

Sunday, May 18, 2003

Sunday, May 18, 2003

Mmmmmm, had a fabulous day with Galahad by the pool.  Then we went to have Thai for dinner.  Omfg, the Thai donuts in a glaze & peanuts are fucking scrumptious!

/rejoice

I am recuperating nicely.  Today was my first day out of the house besides my quick trip to the pharmacy.

Friday, May 16, 2003

Friday, May 16, 2003

I know I said no more whining, but I really fucking hurt this morning.  Severe migraine.  :(  I had to do an injection.  My brother is so sweet and saw me online and offered to bring me soup.  Awwwww.  I promised to hold my breath while he delivered it in case I'm still contagious.

Did anyone else see the full lunar eclipse last night?  It was partially cloudy here (probably why I got this fucking migraine), so it wasn't as crisp as I would have liked, but it was pretty neat anyway.

Thursday, May 15, 2003

Thursday, May 15, 2003

I broke down today and finally called my doctor.  Apparently, he's very busy so he couldn't see me.  I whined/croaked to the nurse and described my symptoms.  She said I didn't have to come in, and they would call in Rx's to my pharmacy.  Yay!!!  I hate taking antibiotics for colds as they're usually viral which is not affected by antibiotics.  At this point though, I'm starting to get paranoid about walking pneumonia (wtf is that anyway?), so I decided to take my antibiotics like a good girl.  He gave me Zithromax Z-PAK and some grape codeine cough syrup.

The cough syrup doesn't appear to work at all.  What's it supposed to do anyway?  I'm still coughing just as much, and my throat still hurts when I do.  My abs are getting so ripped though.  Damn, I'll be sexy if I live through this.  :p

Wednesday, May 14, 2003

Wednesday, May 14, 2003

Okay it's not fucking funny anymore.  I'm all done being sick!!!!  I'm ready to feel good again.

/whine

Last night, my compassionate Galahad brought me home some hot miso soup and sushi of course.  Hehe, I should be grateful that I haven't lost my appetite during the course of this affliction.  I can't kick this fucking migraine either.  Omg, I haven't felt this pitiful about myself in so long.  I've had a four day pity party for me.  Good god, even I'm getting sick of it.  I promise no more whining tomorrow.  I'll try anyway.  :)

Tuesday, May 13, 2003

Tuesday, May 13, 2003

After another less than four-hour-night's-sleep, I am almost ready to visit the doctor.  The Benadryl isn't even knocking me out properly.  I just took a Benadryl-Imitrex cocktail so maybe that will do the trick.  And last night was the first night I ever voluntarily spent away from my darling Galahad.  I felt selfish staying there, coughing and whimpering all night while he needed his sleep.  I would feel even worse if his immune system got run-down from sleep deprivation and he caught this nasty thing.

On the bright side, I am getting an extraordinary abdominal workout from all the coughing.

Monday, May 12, 2003

Monday, May 12, 2003

I am all drugged up on Imitrex & Benadryl.  Galahad brought me home some wonton soup.  I want Pho :(

Did I mention that my combination lock was cut off of my suitcase on the flight home?  We found it inside in 2 pieces taped to a flyer saying it was done for my safety.  Fuck you!  My bag was already safe.  I'm tired of Big Brother breathing down my neck in the interest of safety.  I already got molested by a screener on the way there; now, my lock gets violated on the way home.  Wtf did they see in the x-ray machine that aroused their suspicion?  My dirty socks & unmentionables?  Fuckers!  Yeah, I'm sick & cranky, but that doesn't mean I agree with all this new bullshit we are enduring.  If you think for one second we are any safer than we were before September 11, 2001, you are wearing blinders and are severely naive.

They recommend that I should have left my bag unlocked.  What American hasn't seen 4,625,384 specials on Dateline about thieving airport baggage handlers?  No I didn't have any so-called valuables in my bag, but if I had to replace any of my clothes or shoes, I'd be out substantial coinage, not to mention how much I detest shopping.  I suppose I should be ever so grateful that they allowed me to bring my Imitrex injections with me.

By the way, the airline employee who checked us in at the Seattle airport warned us to remove any undeveloped film from our bags prior to them zapping it with the x-ray machine.  It might have been nice if the people at the beginning of our trip had advised us of the same.  I wonder if we will develop a roll of white pictures.  Yeah, yeah, for my fucking safety.

I haven't had the energy yet to sort through our bag to see if anything is missing.  It feels kind of pointless to complain to some Big Brother organization anyway.

Sunday, May 11, 2003

Sunday, May 11, 2003

Omfg, I'm dying!   I think I have SARS.  Whatever it is, I'm not feeling good --- fever, coughing, and no voice.  :(  Did I mention a migraine, too?

Happy fucking mother's day!  I sulked for a little while over that, reminisced about my mom, and encouraged Galahad to go visit his without me.  They were excited because they were able to go out unhindered to eat Indian food, which neither her husband nor I am fond of.

Saturday, May 10, 2003

Saturday, May 10, 2003

Those little rug rats kind of grew on me...  They crawled to the doorway to say goodbye to us.  It was so cute.

Off to the airport when serendipity strikes.  :)  My friend happened to be there to pick someone up, so I got one last chance to say a quick hello and snag a hug. 

Over the course of our long travel day, my throat started getting a little scratchy and I got that bubble-headed feeling.   :(  A little over 12 hours later, we pulled into our driveway.  Yay, my yummy bed!!!

Friday, May 9, 2003

Friday, May 9, 2003

Ugh!  I hate waking up at 6 am with a migraine, listening to 2 babies wail & scream.  :(  Luckily, the Imitrex I took worked well.  I woke up again a few hours later feeling much better.   My brother was showing Galahad a new video game he was playing, Earth & Beyond.  Watching the screen of them flying through space at warp speed got me dizzy, so I declined to give it a whirl.

My brother took us to a cutesy little place for lunch, 5 Spot.  Apparently, they totally change their decor & menu every 4 months to keep it fresh & trendy.  The current theme is Sante Fe; next up on June 15 is Springfield, USA.

My brother is a HUGE fan of games, both electronic & board.  He taught us to play this great game he had called the Settlers of Catan or in actuality, he had the German version, so it was Die Siedler von Catan.  It was kind of funny to see him trying to remind himself of some of the rules by sifting through the German instructions.  In true beginners' luck spirit, Galahad won the first game and I won the second.  Dunno if my brother was going easy on us or just suffering from sleep deprivation.  ;)

They arranged for a sitter, so the 4 of us went out to dinner at a trendy Asian fusion restaurant, Wild Ginger.

I can't believe we're leaving already, but I miss my quiet bed.

Thursday, May 8, 2003

Thursday, May 8, 2003

Today started off as a hanging out with the family day, but then their plans changed so we had some time to ourselves.  Off to lunch at Racha.  Mmmmmm, so much yummy food in this city.  :)

We were supposed to be home by 4, so we didn't have a lot of time.  It was another glorious day here in Seattle, so we went back to the Seattle Arboretum to view the rest of the grounds.  They had some lovely little trails through the forest.  I think I had an averse reaction to the blooming rhododendrons.  One minute I was fine, and the next I became Delirious Dorothy walking through the poppy fields in the Wizard of Oz.  We stopped to rest on a bench, and I nearly fell asleep.  By then, it was time to drive back and visit with my family. 

I got to watch and help (yikes!) the process of feeding and putting to bed my twin one-year-old nieces.  We stayed up visiting for a while with my brother & sister-in-law.  It was nice to catch up with the two of them.

Wednesday, May 7, 2003

Wednesday, May 7, 2003

Seattle is so cold but beautifully sunny.  Hehe, I'm wearing layers & my silk thermals and the natives are running around in shorts.
After getting woken up at 5 am by my twin baby nieces, we managed to fall back asleep until 10ish.  We had sushi for lunch in town after figuring out how to park.  They have all these signs that say No Parking West of this Sign.  How the fuck do I know which way is west?  :p  I guess everyone in Seattle is hip enough to have a compass with them at all times.

We spent a few hours at the Japanese Gardens before meeting up with friends for dinner.  One of them suggested the downtown REI as the easiest place to meet.  It sounded very cute to meet him in front of the climbing wall.  We were early for once, so the employee stationed there decided to come chat with me after I sent Galahad exploring into the store.  Fortunately my friend was very prompt and we went in search of Galahad.  Lol, that store just sucks you in.

Off to a dinner of Pho.  Yum!!!!  We had so much fun hanging out with our friends!  :)   I wish we could have stayed longer.  As it was, we went skulking back to my brother's house at 2:30 am.

Tuesday, May 6, 2003

Tuesday, May 6, 2003

Time to pack up and venture forth to Seattle.

First though, we saw Gramps one last time.  It made me sad to think this may be the last time I see him alive.  I guess that could happen with anyone at any time, but what are the odds he'll live 3 more years until my next random trip out there?

We met my sister for lunch and said our goodbyes there, too.  She went back to work and we went driving through the mountains and exploring until it was time to head to the airport.  More screaming babies and a quick dinner at the airport.  And, yes I took off my boots this time before going through the metal detector.  ;)

Monday, May 5, 2003

Monday, May 5, 2003

We have had the dubious privilege of having my sister's kitties sleep in our bed every night.  I drew the line at the dog joining us, too.  :p  The female kitten just got spayed, so she has to wear a plastic collar around her neck to keep from chewing on her stitches. They both think it's great fun to pounce on our toes as we move around.  The male kitten purrs so loudly that it's almost unnatural.  But then again, I'm not a cat person, so what do I know?  It's amazing how the kitties flock to me and I don't really even like cats.  They're cute and all, but I'm just as happy without a kitty.

We slept late and went to visit Grampa afterwards.  He told us some fabulous stories about back in the day.  He used to live in Harlem in the 1910s.  He regaled us with stories of keeping chickens (in Pasadena) during the war to get fresh eggs and stories of his father-in-law fighting against Pancho Villa.  Dunno how true the Pancho Villa stories were, but they were fascinating to hear regardless.

Then, we met up with a friend of ours in Santa Monica and had dinner at Mario's.  I thoroughly confused the waiter with my special requests.  Yes, I'm one of those kind of girls.  :p

Sunday, May 4, 2003

Sunday, May 4, 2003

Today is the big day of Grampa's 95th birthday party. 

Galahad & I are staying at my sister's house.  She & her husband recently decided to separate after 20 years of marriage.  He moved out about 3 days ago, so we walked into an emotionally raw household.  :(  It was weird to see her husband today.  I like him a lot and had no idea how to react to him.  Fortunately, he just acted normal, so I did, too.

Anyway, Grampa loved his little party and was especially excited that he could eat his chocolate cake with his fingers.  He was thrilled to see Galahad and me.  It's been almost 3 years.  Yeah, I know, I'm a negligent granddaughter.  Fortunately, my other siblings aren't so bad.

This was the first night that my sister's husband had the kids.  She was a wreck, poor thing.  It was probably only the 3rd time I've ever seen her cry.  Somehow I got all the crying genes, and she got none.  Yes, I started crying, too.  We stood in the window, hugging & crying, and watched them drive off.

 She decided that she wanted to re-claim the house, so my lovely Galahad moved furniture until 2 am.  We did a fabulous job of changing around her bedroom and her living room. 

Saturday, May 3, 2003

Saturday, May 3, 2003

The airport was a fucking disaster.  I hate flying out of Ft. Lauderdale airport on cruise day.  We barely made our flight.  Curbside check-in was the longest I've ever seen.  Inside was even crazier.  Everybody and their brother had those stupid cardboard carrying cases full of liquor.  Wtf?  Don't people have liquor stores at home?  Is saving $5 worth the trouble of lugging that shit across the country?

Then, we go inside and the security line just never ended.  I went up to the front and asked the woman if we would make our flight.  She just pushed us through ahead of everyone.  They recommended that I remove my boots.  I, of course, didn't listen.  So, I had to get hand-searched after my boots set off the detector.  Hehe, I was wearing my WTF? t-shirt.  The woman asked me what it meant, but I was too shy to answer.  Another woman answered for me and said she had teenage sons. The first woman asked me why I didn't remove my boots the first time and literally looked at me and said WTF when I said I didn't think they would set off the detector.  I thought that was so fucking funny, and she was all excited that she had a new expression.  :)

She proceeded to wand me down and took her job a little too seriously.  I may not look like every other woman out there, but I'm pretty sure I don't look like a terrorist.  Afterwards, some man asked Galahad if he had gotten pictures.  :p

We finally got to our gate and boarded our never-ending flight.  So far to get to Cali from here.

Friday, May 2, 2003

Friday, May 2, 2003

Getting ready to leave tomorrow morning.  I'm trying to finish up laundry and figuring out what to pack.  It's so much colder on the West Coast.  I hate packing.  I never know what I'm going to feel like wearing.

Thursday, May 1, 2003

Thursday, May 1, 2003

We got a second opinion on the roof.  He quoted $75 for the chimney and maybe $250ish for the bathroom leak.  This guy doesn't have all the references and licenses but seems more personable.  We have to wait until we get back in town though.  We'll probably start with this guy and see how he does.  Seems hard to go wrong for $75.