One of many of my quirks – proper good-byes

Back when I was only working part-time, and even when I would sleep in on work-from-home days, my husband would often try to sneak out of the house without waking me. I know he was trying to be courteous, allowing me the extra sleep he wouldn’t get that morning. However, I need the proper good-bye. Most mornings, no matter how quiet he tried to be, I would hear the door close behind him. then I’d bolt out of bed, run downstairs and out the front door in my jammies, and I would demand my good-bye hug and kiss.

For a while I think he looked at it as a kind of game – could he succeed in getting out of the house without my noticing? But I kept telling him that I wanted…no, needed…that good-bye. Mornings that I woke up after he’d left, without my good-bye, I would cry. It took a while, but I finally got him to understand how much I needed that good-bye, and he would at least come upstairs and kiss me before he left for work – he had figured out that this was much less disruptive to my sleep than bolting out of bed to track him down.

To be honest, I’m not sure I even knew why I felt I needed the good-bye every morning – afterall, I would be seeing him again in a few hours, right? But if I think back, I have a feeling it comes from the death of a high school friend of mine. I still remember the last words we exchanged. He and I were walking out of chemistry class into the melee of the high school halls. It was a Friday. He said, “Have a good weekend.” I said, “I’ll try!” That was it. What a stupid thing to say. Why not, “Thanks you have one, too”? No, just “I’ll try”.

I know that we can’t plan our last words to anyone because life is unpredictable. But I do know that I can give my husband a hug and a kiss every day before we part. I suppose that has to be enough.

Tags: mental note

Bike DC

[Cross-posted on Jiggles]

This was the first time I’ve done an organized ride. We tried to do the WABA ride several years ago, but it was cancelled by damage from Hurricane Isabel. Each year since then we have had some conflict with the ride. I was excited that this year’s ride worked out for us…excited and a little nervous. I’m not exactly the fastest rider on the planet, so one of my biggest fears was that we’d get “swept up” before finishing the ride. I knew I could do the 19 miles – that’s actually a couple miles short of what our long ride should be this weekend for our training schedule…I’m just not as fast as many other riders.

I wasn’t certain about the weather, since I’d woken up a couple times in the night to hear downpours and thunder. We got up at 5:30 and checked the weather reports – one said 10% chance of rain until about 11AM when it would go up to 40-50%; another site said 90% chance for rain going up to 100% at 11AM. Hmmmm….they could not have been more different. We decided to at least head downtown, and if it was raining hard, we could always bail.

We had to be on the first Metro train out of the station in the morning so we could check in at registration. I’d been hoping to be one of the first riders out, but the 7AM train didn’t get us into DC until about 7:40. We checked in at the Registration at Freedom Plaza downtown and got going on the ride a bit before 8AM.

The route brought us right by the White House.

Then we went into Georgetown along the Whitehurst Freeway. It’s a little sad that this freeway is usually occupied by cars with drivers who probably don’t enjoy the view, because it was quite lovely. From there we crossed the Key Bridge and hopped onto the GW parkway. Part of the Parkway was closed off for the ride. It started drizzling a bit on this stretch of the ride, but it wasn’t bad. The route was a bit of a bear, though, because it was uphill, it seemed, for about 1.5 miles. Coming back down? Fun!

The next stop was a trip around the Iwo Jima memorial.

Then it was on to the Air Force Memorial. It was a huge uphill trip from the main road up, but worth it for the view. It was also my first time at this memorial.

From there it was just a few miles to the finish in Crystal City. And I didn’t get “swept up”! We arrived around 10:30AM, so 2.5 hours for 19 miles, photos, and a pit stop. Mostly I had fun – the only questionable part was that uphill on the GW Parkway, but hey, it’s in the bank, right?

You can see the rest of my pics from the ride here: Bike DC

Tags: bike

2010 Movie Project C & D Movies

Finally watched all of our C and D movies (didn’t help that we bought some new movies a couple weeks ago at a Blockbuster that’s closing its doors – many of the new movies were C and D movies, d’oh!)

Here’s the rundown:

• Casa de los Babys – This was really Andrew’s movie, but I wanted to see it. It’s the story of several women waiting in South America to adopt babies. A moving drama, but I can’t see myself watching it again.
• Catch Me If You Can – This one is fun, and I enjoyed watching it again. Based on a true story of a young man who successfully conned millions before his 19th birthday impersonating an airline pilot, doctor, and lawyer.
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – This is the re-make with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. Love this one almost as much as the original. The oopma loompas creep me out less, and just make me laugh.
• Charlie’s Angels – Okay, so not great drama or comedy, but a fun action flick. Totally fun watching chicks kick ass.
• Cinderlla – Classic Disney. Haven’t watched this in forever. Glad to get a chance to see it again.
• Clerks – Had forgotten how much I liked this one; I wasn’t really looking forward to watching it this time, but really enjoyed it.
• Contact – I know a lot of people don’t like this; it’s not as good as the book. However, I was at Tech when it was filmed, so I have fond memories of the excitement that was on campus and in town. Frankly I like it.
• Coraline – This was just as fun the second time…not much more to say.
• Crossing Over – I had never even heard of this one until we saw it at the Blockbuster that was closing. It stars Harrison Ford as an immigration officer, and tells the stories of several immigrants, immigration officials, and an immigration lawyer. It was quite good, and I’m not sure why it didn’t get more attention when it was out.
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – I probably will get my geek card revoked for this, but I’m just not enamored of “kung fu” dramas. It was okay the second time; though I think I was more absorbed in it the first time in the theater. Don’t really need to see it again.
• The Cutting Edge – Two words: “toe pick”!
• Dead Poets Society – Watched this numerous times at Tech; still as powerful and speaks to me even more than a decade later.
• The Devil’s Own – I hadn’t seen this in the theater, and had meant to watch it many times since. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn’t exactly it. Having said that, it was quite good, with Brad Pitt as a IRA terrorist and Harrison Ford as police officer. Not sure how often I’ll watch it, but it was very good.
• District 9 – Saw this in the theater, too. Wow, what great movie. And what a surprise. A spaceship stalled over Johannesburg 20 years ago. In this mock documentary, the 1.2 million aliens are being moved from the make-shift ghetto that was created for them in Johannesburg to a new facility outside of the city limits.
• Don Knotts Collection – This is a collection of 4 movies: The Relucatant Astronaut, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Shakiest Gun in the West, and The Love God?. I mainly got it to see the first two again, since I hadn’t seen the last two. However, I really enjoyed Gun and Love God a lot…maybe even more than the other two. Probably will send this collection on my Mom.
• Down With Love – Love, love, love, love, love this movie. That’s all I want to say.

Tags: reviews

2010 Movie Project A & B Movies

We have a lot of DVDs in our house…not scary-numbers, but a lot. We have a 4-shelf case full of movies and a 5-shelf case full of TV shows. I have my favorites, and when I go to watch something, it’s usually one of my favorites because those are the ones that catch my eye on the shelf. That means I have a lot of DVDs that I haven’t watched in a long time (a few that I haven’t actually watched at all).

So, I’ve decided that in 2010 I’m going to try to watch ALL of the DVD movies (all of mine, that is…I don’t have to watch the ones that Andrew bought, though I can if I want to try them). We have approximately 200 DVD movies — so in theory I need to watch about 16-17 per month. Oh, and I’m going to watch them in alphabetical order, so I can’t skip ahead to my favorites and leave all the others for later (when I might not watch them at all). (Okay, there’s a little lee-way with the strict order, because Andrew wants to watch some of them, and I don’t want to wait for him necessarily before moving on.)

So far I’ve finished pretty much all of the A-D movies (still have Crouching Tiger, which Andrew wants to watch, and still have a couple of Don Knotts movies, because I couldn’t watch them all in a row).

Here’s the run down of the As and Bs:

• Across the Universe – I hadn’t seen this in the theater…it was Andrew’s movie, but I wanted to see it. Found it so-so — story was not exactly strong, music was fine, but I’d rather hear the Beatles versions of the songs. Probably won’t watch this again
• Aladdin – A classic, but I haven’t seen it in a while. While some of the jokes are a bit dated (I knew they wouldn’t age well even when I first saw the movie), the movie is still a lot of fun to watch.
• Amazon Women on the Moon – I got hooked on this at Tech, and I wondered if I’d still like it now. Definitely still like it now – made me laugh!
• Anastasia – Not bad, not great account of the Grand Dutchess Anastasia. Enjoyed it again, but not a favorite.
• The Aristocats – Hadn’t seen this since Kirsten got it when it was re-released in the mid-90s. Classic Disney faire. Definitely a 60s flick, but a lot of fun.
• Atlantis – I’ve always loved stories of Atlantis. This one is no different.
• Batman Begins – Have to say I love the Dark Knight take on the series.
• Batman Forever – Sorry, this one has a special place in my heart…and there’s just something about Val Kilmer in a tux…Yum.
• Beauty and the Beast – More classic Disney – love the story.
• Being John Malkovich – I had forgotten most of the plot of this one, so it was fun to see it again.
• Big Fish – Another one where I had forgotten much of the story — tall tales at their best.
• Blade Runner – Classic Harrison Ford and sci-fi…’nuff said.
• Bride and Prejudice – hadn’t seen this one. Turns out I’m not a huge fan of the story, but loved the colorful Bollywood-style
• Bridget Jones’ Diary – ah, Bridget Jones. Classic girly flick (yes same basic story as Bride and Prejudice, but better disguised, I guess).

I’ve watched more, but will leave those for another post later.

Tags: reviews

Just Hanging On

I keep thinking I should blog more, but when I sit down to do it, I find I don’t have much to say. This year has been so stressful, and I find it hard to be inspired by much. The house has this pall of sadness over it, and every day at home is a slog. I’m watching Ares to see what side-effects of chemo he may develop, constantly watching what he eats and checking the litter box (yes, isn’t that lovely). Also constantly trying to see that Duncan has food any time he shows interest, and that it’s food he likes. One has few external signs that he’s sick, but I know the cancer is eating away at him. The other has lost nearly half his body weight and feels so fragile to the touch. It’s hard enough to face losing one, but facing losing two just seems inconceivable.

Mostly I try to celebrate them, taking pictures and snuggling copiously. Then, of course, I have to make sure that Artemis, our non-sick cat, gets enough attention, too. Often she feels left out because I’m not facing losing her sooner rather than later. So it feels like every day at home is just all about the cats. And all about the prospect of loss.

On the one hand, I know that it’s “just my cats”, not like it’s a human that’s sick. On the other hand, Ares has been part of my life since 1996, and Ducan since 2000. It’s hard to pretend it doesn’t matter because they’re “just a pet”, because I’ve never seen pets as “just pets” – they’re family members.

So for now, I’m just hanging on. Hoping for the best, and often cursing that hope. Follow her blog for any pets reviews.

Tags: pets, suckitude

Oh 2009, how I misjudged you

Dear 2009,

I was ready to be done with you sometime in the middle of the year. Honestly, I wanted 2010 to come quickly, and put you behind me. I truly believed that 2010 would be present the opportunity for a fresh start, a shiny new year to bring a new attitude.

Sadly, it looks like I may have misjudged you, 2009. I may have been ready to be done with you too quickly. Little did I realize how much 2010 would suck so early on.

Sure, I was uncertain of my job situation much of last year, working less than full time most of the year. I traveled for a few job interviews, from New Paltz, NY to Midland, TX. Finally offered a job in Mississippi the same week I found out I could stay at my current job. Not sure why I had to go through all the interviews…seems like it was for nothing; though I suppose whatever doesn’t kill you, blah blah.

But that all seems like a bad dream now. 2010? Has sucked worse in the first month than all of you, 2009, all put together. Okay sure, I love that our basement has been re-done, complete with a full storage room. But that doesn’t outweigh 2010’s bad stuff. Okay, I could deal with the dumping of snow….don’t like it much, but I can deal with it.

The topper is that we have two sick cats. Duncan has lost almost half his weight, and we can’t seem to get it back up. Ares has cancer, which we first found out about January 4. So far we have had a slew of tests for Ares, removed a tumor from his ass, and started chemotherapy. He’s doing really well, and each time we decide on another therapy or treatment, I do some soul searching to make sure that we’re doing the best thing for Ares. I don’t want to put him through stuff just because I don’t want to lose him – I want to make sure that his discomfort is short and has some measurable benefit. The good news is that cats don’t respond to chemo as violently as humans tend to. The bad news is that the chemo is our last shot – the cancer is a bad one, that tends not to respond to chemo, and tends to grow quickly. But at this point, it’s either chemo or making him comfortable….certainly not ready for that yet.

Anyway, 2009, I apologize for underestimating you. After seeing 2010, you’re not so bad.

Tags: grad life, suckitude

Movie Meme

Via Terminal Degree.

Apparently, if you’ve seen more than 85, you have no life. There are 238 films on this list. Put x’s next to the films you’ve seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
() Airplane
Total so far: 9

Read more…

Tags: dumb fun

If I could have tweeted (2)

If I could have tweeted the past couple days…

Cold. Fraking cold. Cold Cold. Fraking, frak, frak, frak cold. (Tue Dec 23, 2008 – 8:32 AM)

Ahhh hot cocoa! Good for aching feet and cold, cold, cold, me. (Tue Dec 23, 2008 – 12:48 PM)

Mmmm…Roch Voisine is still very cute. Remember swooning over him in high school French class. (Wed Dec 24, 2008 – 9:36 PM)

No, I am NOT afraid to make the drive home by myself. I realize that I’m a helpless girl, but lay off already! (Wed Dec 24, 2008 – 11:54 AM)

Merry Christmas everyone! (Thu Dec 25, 2008 – 10:14 AM)

Sigh. Missing home – either one. So “not my Christmas” here. (Thu Dec 25, 2008 – 11:58 AM)

Would you be grilling @akuchling about driving “such a long way”? Or is it just that I’m a girl? So tired of this. (Thu Dec 25, 2008 – 2:25 PM)

Score one for my grandma! Asked how long my drive would be Sat., told her 10 hours, responded “oh good, that doesn’t sound too bad.” Hah! (Thu Dec 25, 2008 – 5:10 PM)

Holy crap! We spent a lot in Canada! (Fri Dec 26, 2008 – 10:12 AM)

Packing, packing, packing. Hoping to get car packed up so I’m ready to just breakfast and go tomorrow morning. (Fri Dec 26, 2008 – 10:23 AM)

Kicking back and relaxing for the evening. Just about everything is packed up for the drive tomorrow. Yay! (Fri Dec 26, 2008 – 7:03 PM)

Tags: trip report

Quiet Canadian Christmas

We’ve had a quiet Christmas. Yesterday it snowed again – third snow storm this week, I think. We’ve decided to just hunker down and enjoy being in the house. Not much to report from here – we opened presents last night, slept in this morning, and are just kicking around the house. We’ve watched the Christmas specials that I brought with me (White Christmas, A Christmas Carol (the Patrick Stewart/TNT version), and A Christmas Story). Andrew’s cousin came for a little while yesterday, and his Auntie and another cousin came for tea today. We may go into “the village” tomorrow to check out a new antique store.

We’ve been keeping an eye on the weather to see when I should drive home. It looks like I’m still okay to head home on Saturday — the forecast is for rain and 50 degrees for a high in upstate New York. Hopefully I’ll be home Saturday night.

Tags: build-a-bear, christmas, family, trip report

Slushy and Cold Days in Montreal

After a bit of…um…schimpfing…we drove up to Montreal yesterday. Once we got onto the main highway, the roads were fairly clear. The wind was blowing, so snow swirled on the roadways, but mostly visibility was good. Montreal proper was actually worse than the highways – sloppy and slushy and slippery. But, with only one wrong turn (which actually made the directions easier), we made it to the hotel, checked in and parked in the underground garage.

On tap for the day? Shopping!

We bundled up (it was *cold*), grabbed lunch, then took the metro to Old Montreal. Jo came with us, so she could pick out a new outfit and a couple things for her friends back home. We also took in Notre Dame Cathedral in the snow — very pretty.

After a bit more shopping, finally making into a little mall (for warmth!), we settled down for hot cocoa. I also got new mittens and a hat (tuque or tuke), which helped me keep warmer.

Next stop? A Hello Kitty shop!!!! I picked up a few fun things, and we headed back to the hotel for a while. We needed to rest from the trudging around in the slush and the cold.

Finally we walked down Saint Catherine’s Street, stopping at Addition Elle – an awesome “plus sized” shop (unlike Lane Bryant, their most common fabric is *cotton*, not polyester or some crappy, shiny, wrinkle-attractor). I ended up finding a cute new winter coat, so I spent way more than I should have. Oh well – it’s so much better than the one I had.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped to press our noses against the Ogilvy’s window – dressed up for the holidays.

The morning was cold. Cold, cold. Frost-bite cold. Cold, cold, cold. (Woke up to -8 degrees F). We bundled up and went found a crepe place on St. Cate’s. Very cold breakfast — the crepes were warm, but we sat by the window, which was very, very, very cold.

Then we walked to the Canadian Centre for Architecture. We spent some time there – the special exhibit was about ways that people change and interact with their surroundings, featuring exhibits on guerrilla art and gardening, among other things. We also walked through the restored Victorian house which had been turned into a reading and meeting area (so no Victorian furniture or decor). Finally looked at the exhibit on sky lights. It didn’t take us very long — I’m glad we went once, but we don’t feel the need to go again.

Finally we met up with Andrew’s friend and his wife for lunch. We had been thinking about going to the Botanical Garden, but I didn’t feel like walking much more (I’d forgotten how tiring it is to walk in the slush and ice), and I really didn’t want to drive home in the dark. So, we headed back to the “country” and Andrew’s parents’ house.

Tags: build-a-bear, museums, trip report