January 31, 2008
Better
- I'm feeling a little more in control today. I don't want to blame my hormones, but they really do make things more complicated. At this point my goal is to make it through an entire day without crying. So far, so good.
- Part of that control stems from some changes at work. Instead of being pulled in two very opposing directions, I'm back on one track. With more support from management, which is key. Up until now, I've been asked to do enough work to look like three full-time people for one project and at least one for another, while being accountable for it all. Now, with a little help, I'm only two people. Someday, I would like to be responsible for the work of just one person.
- I've made it to the gym for three days now and I'm on my way again tonight. And although I'm practically counting down the hours until I can go home for the weekend, I will probably go tomorrow night too. It's one thing that feels good no matter how crappy my day has been.
- The river of ideas flowing through my head never seems to stop. I have a bunch of ideas for cute Valentine's cards but I haven't been able to collect them and then focus on creating them. But that's what weekends are for.
Posted by criminal at 6:11 PM | Comments (0)
January 30, 2008
Ladies Who Lunch
The lunch with my coworkers at Flatbread that I had been looking forward to for almost a week has arrived. And now I don't want to go. I love Flatbread pizza. I really enjoy spending time with my coworkers. But I'm not sure I can hold it together long enough to have lunch in a public setting, not when work topics are bound to come up. Not when I can't hold it together for more than 15 minutes at a time even when work topics don't come up.
Posted by criminal at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)
January 29, 2008
The Little Gym
I signed up to get access to the "free" gym at work almost a year ago but I never made it over, even to check it out, until last night. I've had my gym bag sitting at my desk or in my car for two weeks now, just waiting for me to use it. And I did. I forced myself to leave work, even if it meant not finishing every last thing I wanted to do, so that I could go to the gym.
The little gym, which used to charge monthly fees, was not as bad as some of my coworkers had lead me to believe. It's not an airy downtown loft packed with row after row cardio machines, but it's relatively clean and stocked with a variety of exercise equipment. It has a few bikes, treadmills, ellipticals, and even two rowing machines. Also a full compliment of weight machines and free weights. And did I mention there's a spacious and clean locker room? It's about the size of the fitness center in the basement of WPI's Alumni Gym without the divider between the fitness equipment and free weights. In other words, just about right.
Now that I've been, I don't think there's any good excuse not to go. It's not so big that I need a tour or training. And unless it's absolutely packed, I should always have time to get in at least one circuit on the machines.
Posted by criminal at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2008
Restless
I'm feeling extremely restless today, like I'm being forced to live in slow motion. I can't move fast enough to keep up with my racing thoughts. I'm growing impatient as the day wears on, with myself and the rest of the snail's pace world. Ordinarily I like things to move slowly so that I have time to organize my thoughts before proceeding, but today is something else entirely. I have a full-blown case of the fidgets too: playing with my hair, jiggling my feet, chomping on gum, and cracking my knuckles. I might wiggle myself right out of this chair if I'm not careful.
Posted by criminal at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2008
Late Again
I'm chronically late to most everything in my life. Mostly it doesn't bother me. Except when I'm nearly two hours late leaving work...
Posted by criminal at 7:20 PM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2008
Negotiable
I attended a training session about negotiating last Friday in hopes of learning new skills to use in the increasing number of contract negotiations I'm responsible for. I know that I'm not entirely comfortable in negotiations of any kind. At the outset of the class the instructor reminded us that negotiations are everywhere and asked a rhetorical question about never paying full price at a yard sale. I wanted to scream, "I do!" Because, well, I do. I'm the type of person who will walk away from a once-in-a-lifetime find rather than bargain with someone. I just don't like making deals or haggling. Hence the negotiating course.
Except I don't think I learned a lot that will help me at work. Maybe in buying a new car (don't bargin, just research and make an offer "at cost" and pray they take it), but not really in the kinds of contract negotiations I'm doing with publishers. Especially not when I have to negotiate without the authority to concede on any terms. That might be more of a reflection of my job than the training though. Either way, I'm still feeling ill-equipped to handle negotiations and I'm not sure how to go about teaching myself.
Posted by criminal at 3:15 PM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2008
Adventures in Furniture Shopping
After months of hemming and hawing, Jon and I finally admitted that we couldn't wait any longer to get a new sofa.
My beloved salvation army find is deteriorating at an alarming rate since removing the slip cover. It's really too big to fit most standard slip covers and the custom covers I wanted never seemed to be in stock when I had the copious amounts of cold hard cash needed to buy them, so it has gone without since we moved. Now it's threadbare in places, particular on the cushion corners where the welting cord has become exposed. It's quite sturdy, doesn't stink, has no stains, and the down fill in the cushions means that it still sits well. We just don't want to invest the money for custom covers or the time and effort to make our own. Jon is to the point that he doesn't want to invite people over because they might see the couch.
With that in mind, we set forth on Saturday afternoon to find the perfect seating.
Comfortable and sturdy for Jon, attractive and cat-proof for me. We started at La-Z-Boy where we found the affordable, almost perfect Sheffield sectional with an 8-week delivery time frame. That wasn't fast enough for Jon, who seemed to be hoping to have something delivered that night. From there we visited Bernie & Phyl's whose selections seemed really dated or inappropriate. There was one sectional I liked the look of, but it was being sold to a family who was testing it for use as a jungle gym, so we left without checking it out. Jordan's, who seemed to be filled with tiny little sofas and gigantic, poofy sectionals wasn't much better: just one cheap, customizable sectional that looked a little better than La-Z-Boy's, but would take just as long. Since I had long lusted after Pottery Barn's furniture, we went there next. None of the models I wanted to try were in the store, so we shuffled over to the new Crate and Barrel, where we found the totally awesome and totally expensive Axis Sectional. Down filled cushions, solid construction, attractive, and in stock in colors and fabrics we wanted.
I would like to say the search ended there, but when you're balancing the adult need for durable furniture with the desire to be fiscally responsible, a little negotiation is required. We started with a $3000 budget, but it's awfully tempting to go as low as possible and use the savings for other important purchases (like a laptop that doesn't overheat). In fact, our first instinct was to head back to La-Z-Boy, but the long delivery time made us reconsider long enough to find out that they have abysmal consumer reviews. Like shoddy workmanship and warranties not worth the paper they're printed on. The fact that their stock has been on a steady decline and they're closing stores made Jon wonder if they would even be around in five years to consider honoring a warranty. And that cheaper Bauhaus sectional at Jordans? Manufactured by La-Z-Boy. Meanwhile, we had trouble finding negative reviews about Crate and Barrel, aside from snarky comments about being a Pottery Barn clone.
In the end, we went back and purchased the Axis sectional from Crate and Barrel in a herringbone microfiber called Peat. We're just more confident that it will not only withstand our abuses, but continue to be comfortable. It helps that the staff was helpful, friendly, and seemed to know their stuff. We should have the furniture within three weeks (one half of the sectional is back-ordered). Now we just have to find a comfy ottoman for Jon, since the chaise section is on my side of the sofa.
Posted by criminal at 2:19 PM | Comments (3)
January 16, 2008
A Few Pet Peeves
I was tagged by Gillian, the queen of pet peeves. And I'm really only doing this to take a break from what feels like non-stop work.
List and describe as many of your pet peeves as you can then tag someone for every pet peeve just to annoy them:
- Tags sticking out of other people's collars.
- Excessive product packaging.
- Companies that send me coupon and sale e-mails several times a week.
I probably could've listed a few more, but that would mean tagging everyone and their brother to get in on this meme. As it is, Amy, Jami, and Carol need to do it now.
Posted by criminal at 4:38 PM | Comments (0)
January 15, 2008
Under the Weather
I'm not one to call in sick on a snowy day, but I did yesterday. Jon and I picked up food poisoning or a stomach bug this weekend, making for a miserable Sunday and Monday. He made it to work on Monday morning, but he wasn't up most of Sunday night with stomach cramps. I tried to be productive once the worst was past, knitting the edging on Caitie's shrug, doing laundry, organizing the explosion of gift wrap in the guest room, making dinner, and even shoveling snow. The shoveling revealed just how beaten I was: my arms and legs felt rubbery and weak after just a few minutes. I persevered, but it was slow going without my usual energy.
Although I'm feeling better today, I'm not entirely well. I have an appetite, but my stomach feels a bit upset every time I eat. I half contemplated taking today off too, just to get more rest and maybe get a few more things done around the house. I have a pile of mending, shopping to do, tons of laundry to be folded, stamps to be broken in, and just general tidying. There is at least a long weekend on the horizon.
Posted by criminal at 12:53 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2008
Heat Wave
Before the weather turns appropriately cold again, I thought it was worth noting that for the last two days it has felt more like spring than the dead of winter here in New England. Highs 62 yesterday and 67 on Tuesday. Today won't make it out of the 50s, but even that feels pretty warm after the frigid temperatures last week. Even the giant mounds of snow are shrinking into ugly gray ice sculptures. Makes me miss all the pretty white snow.
Posted by criminal at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
January 8, 2008
Primary Colors
In case you haven't been watching the news, today is New Hampshire's first in the nation primary. They're expecting record numbers of voters at the polls after weeks of hard core campaigning by dozens of candidates. If the traffic coming from the center of town (and our polling place) is any indication, I think they're going to see a big turn out. It took me almost 20 minutes to get out of town because I live just off the main drag, between the polling center and the highway. I have no idea how long it would've taken me if I'd tried to play my part in our democracy this morning. I'm planning to try tonight if I can get out of work at a reasonable hour.
Posted by criminal at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)
January 2, 2008
Happy New Year
- We enjoyed a low-key New Year's celebration at Steve's. Highlights included quiche, champagne, the Simpsons, and Pirates. Steve was also kind enough to let us crash in his guest room so that we wouldn't doze off on the drive home.
- I <3 my new iPod. Almost as cool is the alarm clock dock I bought for it with my gift cards. I originally bought it to put in the guest/craft room so that I could listen to my music when I'm working and still have an alarm there if we needed it. Last night I brought it into the bedroom while I was folding laundry and have fallen in love with it as an alarm clock. I may need another.
- Jon's cleaning frenzy inspired me to organize my closet and purge some of my vast clothing collection. I set aside a few things that don't fit right now. More importantly, I'm getting rid of a bunch of clothes that I just don't wear any more. I may offer them up here if some of them look good enough to pass on, otherwise they'll go to a donation bin. It feels good to see the floor of my closet though.
- My craft room is still a disaster. I rearranged a bit to make room for the iPod dock, but the desk is swimming in a pile of paper scraps and I have a few new supplies to make room for before I can even dream of being crafty. I desperately want to be crafty though, so that may be enough motivation to get it done.
- The Christmas tree survived another year and will probably live to see at least one more holiday. Unless we move to a fabulous mansion and need a tree that's more than 5' tall. I just can't bring myself to commit to throwing it out and buying a new one next year. If we need to, I'll worry about it then. It's coming down this week, before the cats get annoyed that we aren't lavishing them with attention all day and decide to take out their frustration on it.
- I did Tae Bo this morning for the first time in a few years. It totally kicked my butt and I can't wait to do it again tomorrow.
Posted by criminal at 1:55 PM | Comments (0)