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December 31, 2005

hey, 2006!

this will be the year of few injuries, illnesses, and furnace incidents that keep us from being warm; also, more dinner parties and more pool parties.

i say so.

sarah and georg just left; i made dinner for us and we killed a bottle of wine and a bottle of sparkling wine, so my fingertips are numb as i type this. it was nice. my "new" kitchen is already kicking ass.

whee!

Posted by lisa at 11:32 PM

December 30, 2005

the kitchen follies!

this is so boring that i can barely write about it. you will be fascinated to know that i cleaned the top of my refrigerator (where the appliances live), which was completely disgusting, and then cleaned the appliances, which were slightly less disgusting. well, except for the waffle iron, which i have sadly decided must go. i love that waffle iron and hosted many good brunches with it, but it's probably sixty years old and i don't know how gran kept it as clean as she did for so long. i just don't have the housekeeping chops.

so add waffle iron to the list of things i'll be replacing.

the kitchen aid has to stay on the counter; it's too heavy to lift, but i moved the food processor to the newly clean refrigerator top. that was really all it took to free up the counter on the other side of the sink, and now i have much more free counter space. almost double.

see, i told you this was boring. to you. to me, it is quite thrilling.

and oh, there is more yet to come! you'll see!

also, i got my hair cut. finally. why did it take 36 years before someone put a layer in my hair? it looks so much better this way. if only i had known.

Posted by lisa at 07:46 PM

December 29, 2005

sometimes a band-aid is better than a gaping wound...

...even if what's really needed is major surgery.

my kitchen needs major surgery; i've known this for quite a while. it needs a renovation, but that won't be happening any time soon.

so, band-aids it is.

utensils. i think it's time that my love of rusty vintage kitchen utensils be retired. seriously. i bought a microplane. it makes me want to grate again.

lighting. it was pointed out to me recently that a single 40-watt bulb in the overhead might be insufficient lighting for a kitchen, a suggestion backed up by the fact that i often turn on the dining room light when making food, because it's the only way i can even begin to see what i'm doing.

today, i replaced the 40-watt with a 100-watt, replaced the bulb in the over-sink fixture, causing it to work for the first time since i moved in. i put in an under-cabinet light that makes everything look pretty, even the dirt that i can now see very clearly.

there's more to this project, but i won't spoil the surprises. you'll just have to wait for it to unfold.

i know you're dying to see how it all goes down.

Posted by lisa at 07:15 PM

December 27, 2005

ladder?

Does anyone have my ladder? I think I may know who last had it, but I'm not completely certain.

The person who may have it is out of town for a while– does anyone have a 6' ladder that i could borrow for a few minor household tasks?

Posted by lisa at 05:23 PM

traffic calming devices

- or - the dumbest cat ever

one night recently after dark i was tooling down Dacian and there in the very center of the intersection with North was a fluffy cat sitting on a manhole cover.

the cat did not move.

i drove carefully past the cat, which watched me dolefully as i passed it. i pulled over, got out of my car, and chased the cat out of the street.

today as i tooled down dacian, the same cat blocked my way. it was sitting behind a pickup truck full of compost. there was a young man in the bed of the truck moving the compost out of the truck and on to the ground. after a few moments, the man noticed me. i gestured to the cat. he chased it out of the street.

as i pulled alongside him, i opened my window and asked if that was his cat. he said that it was. i told him that i'd nearly run the cat down after dark recently. "Yeah, he's only six months old, i'm hoping he'll outgrow that." i advised him to consider keeping the cat indoors more often.

ougrow it? outgrow being dumb as a post and completely unafraid of cars? the only way he's going to learn a fear of cars is if he gets hit by one. and then he'll be dead. that'll learn him.

in other traffic calming neighborhood news, it appears that the traffic circle at markham and glendale is now sporting a menorah made of bricks (and candles, of course).

Posted by lisa at 04:11 PM

December 24, 2005

you don't like everyone you meet

MORE...

Posted by lisa at 04:10 PM

December 23, 2005

holding down the fort

as always, i'll be here in town during the next week. my company closed at 2pm today and doesn't open again until january 2nd. i've got a few cats to feed, like usual. it'll be quiet.

the man from the north (TMFTN) stopped in last night on the way to visit relatives. he gave me an awesome christmas present that i loved and that made all my co-workers jealous. i'll have to take a picture of it, because words just cannot describe it.

i was sad to see him go after such a short visit. better than no visit, though, since otherwise it would be a full month between visits. next time, it's my turn to visit him, and i have to admit that i'm looking forward to a little road trip.

tomorrow the family is having lunch with mom's college roommate, then we're going to visit gran. she's not able to join us this year at mom's house on christmas day, which is very sad.

i think sunday will be nice. just us. daniel suggested they wait to open presents until i arrive, which was very considerate of him.

i plan to put a lot of work into the van during the free week. and into the new wxdu web site. i've neglected the van for three months. last night i showed it to TMFTN and seeing how much there is to do, i felt a little hopeless, like it's turning into a folly. but i know a good week of work will make me feel quite different.

Posted by lisa at 10:32 PM

December 22, 2005

something beautiful for the VW fans

via boingboing.

Photos of VW's transparent factory in Dresden.

This factory is where VW's high-end sedan (saloon?), the Phaeton, is made. I'm not a fan of VW's large, fuel-gobbling vehicles, and unless things take an unexpected turn, the Phaeton will never be something I can afford, anyway. But that's not the point.

The factory is the star here, not the car. If you're a VW enthusiast, an engineer of any sort, or have an interest in human factors, this place will sing to you.

I would love to see the human factors research that went into this place. There's one photo that is very telling– where a platform raises to support the car at a comfortable working height, rather than the car being lowered to the floor. You never see a assembly worker bending or crouching or otherwise assuming an uncomfortable working position (although since these photos are courtesy of VW's media department, they don't show us everything). Just the fact that the place is so beautiful and so clean shows respect for the workers.

I would love to see this place in person some day...

Posted by lisa at 08:56 AM

December 21, 2005

lunch in durham on christmas eve

My family is looking for a place to have lunch with out of town friends in Durham on Christmas Eve. Federal and Q Shack will be closed. Any other suggestions? We don't want it to take hours and hours.

ETA: Pops, Mellow Mushroom, Tyler's Taproom, Grasshopper, City Beverage, Papas Grill, and Pizza Palace are all closed. I guess I should try chain restaurants.

Posted by lisa at 12:34 PM

that was not nice

yesterday at work was very stressful. enough said.

:|:

i dreamed this morning that i had replaced my cozy 1946 cottage with a rambling, crumbling victorian. literally replaced the house, moved my perfectly good house away and put a 1930's crap pile in its place.

i know it was a crap pile because part of the living room ceiling tore away as i was watching, leaving half the living room exposed to the uninsulated ceiling. my mother was with me. indicating the room above the living room, she said, "now, that's not a room." i considered remodeling such that the living room would have 20 foot ceilings. then, as i watched, terrified, the roof tore away, leaving a gaping, windy hole.

i went to the kitchen to find the phone number of the roofing company i used once to repair a leak on my cottage (oh, my cottage, why did i get rid of you?) my mom pulled a phone book from someplace odd, like the microwave, and i searched for the listing. the phone book made no sense. it did not seem to be in alphabetical or any other discernible order.

i gave up, and woke up, groggy and disoriented.

:|:

my show last night did not suck too badly, and it was one of the smoothest running shows i've had all year. the web cam and online request line appeared to be broken, but everything else was working pretty well. checking over the last ten days worth of online playlists, not a single one seems to have fallen victim to our old loss of session problems (immediately recognizable because the dj winds up with multiples of the same playlist). could it be that i actually managed to... fix it? golly.

Posted by lisa at 08:47 AM

December 20, 2005

on ze air

i'll be on the air tonight, 8-10pm ET, 88.7 if you're durham-local, wxdu.org if you are not.

i haven't done a show in at least a month, so it will definitely SUCK.

Posted by lisa at 09:06 AM

December 17, 2005

yard art

i have a fascination with sculpture and other large objects that are covered with living moss, vines, grass, and other plant life.

so, i have this big back yard, which is largely unused. it's a maintenance nightmare, and i get very little satisfaction out of it.

i did get a pool like christa's, so next summer, i'll have that going on. it'll reduce the amount of grass i'll have to mow, and it'll give me something nice to do with the yard.

i'd like to leave open the possibility that i might have a vegetable garden.

so, i have these two old rocking chairs and the base of a small old table. all three have been out in the elements for so long that they're no longer usable as furniture. i could take 'em to the dump... or...

what if i put them back in the back yard and invited the vines back there to grow on them?

Posted by lisa at 01:38 PM

my self of the past is an annoying housemate

you know how people sharing a space will have temperature wars? one person is cold, and they turn up the heat... the other person gets too warm, or feels strongly that to save energy, we must keep the thermostat at 65, and so turns it down...?

in march, i got a new heating and cooling system, complete with a programmable thermostat. i recall spending a good deal of time programming it (gleefully, i would imagine); going into this winter, there was already an elaborate program in place for heat.

apparently living in a cold house while the new system was being installed skewed my idea of what constitutes "warm". the lisa of december 2005 is having a temperature war with the lisa of march 2005.

i wake up in the morning, and raise the temperature to 67. halfway through my morning ablutions, i raise it again to 67, the "day" program having kicked in and brought the temp all the way down to fricking 62 degrees. (lisa of the past had a different work schedule from lisa of the present.) i come home from work and raise the temperature. and raise it again a few more times during the evening as new phases of the program kick in. weekends are worse, of course.

what was i thinking? i swear, i am wearing layers. socks, sweaters, sitting under a wool blanket while watching tv. still, brrr.

obviously, i need to re-do the programs; it's a tedious task, which is why i keep putting it off.

all of this makes it occur to me that my self of the past has done some other annoying things that my self of the present is left to deal with. she stored items for goodwill in the basement, knowing full well that when it started raining again, they'd get wet. guess what? it's raining again. the drought is officially over; my basement floor is wet again.

my self of the past probably could have kept better care of the back yard; it might not be such a mess if she had.

but i dunno, she did some good stuff, too. she cleared all the crap out from under the bed, so now i can clean under there. she bought some nice furniture, and did a lot of painting and stuff.

in the end, i suppose it may not be mentally healthy to think of my self of the past as a separate person. it's just that i really do not understand how she could stand the thermostat set so low.

Posted by lisa at 10:38 AM

December 16, 2005

this hurts me more than it hurts you

i took today off, and did the bulk of my christmas shopping, plus some grocery store trips.

i bought ingredients for the everyday italian version of chicken piccata, which i guess i will make later.

after walking so much today, my foot hurts. rather a lot, actually. right now i'm sitting on the sofa, watching The Triangle. i think the foot, it needs the rest. owie.

somewhat inappropriately, i am considering a new pair of boots. for those keeping track at home, it has been several months since i bought some new footwear, but my last purchase was rather major.

but i probably have no business buying anything like that until my foot heals completely.

one of the presents i bought today was a tie. i don't think i've ever bought a tie for anyone before. it was a startling experience. knowing that the recipient is very conservative (and yes, actually needs a tie), i felt it would not be a good idea to get him, say, a pink tie, or an orange tie. A bold pattern seemed risky. This narrowed the field considerably. A price check at Nordstrom sent me scurrying to Hecht's; I had no idea that ties might actually be that expensive.

Dear readers, you'll be fascinated to know that in the end, I settled on a tasteful medium blue Calvin Klein with a reasonable pricetag and a subtle pattern.

Posted by lisa at 07:18 PM

December 15, 2005

The reason I wish I was eighteen in 1978

via "BoingBoing":

london punk photos on flickr

and another little bonus via b2, Other Music Year End Recap (Just in case you don't listen to XDU and already know all of this stuff, anyway.)

Posted by lisa at 11:29 AM

December 13, 2005

Bush on the Constitution: 'It's just a goddamned piece of paper'

Via Steph.

This is so appalling, if true, that it bears repeating. All over the blogosphere.

"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face," Bush screamed back. "It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!"

ETA: It's difficult to know how credible this is. It originates from a journalist(?) named Doug Thompson, at a site called Capitol Hill Blue. Searching Google News reveals that although it is all over the blogosphere, it hasn't been picked up by any big mainstream news outlets. Here's a follow-up from Thompson.

Posted by lisa at 09:27 AM

December 12, 2005

surfeit

now is the time of year when we are eating, eating, eating. i made christmas cookies this weekend and yes, ate a few. tomorrow is the department luncheon at a restaurant. due to dinner at federal tonight, including a milk stout (yummy!) i am feeling very full right now, and a little headachey, which is what makes me think of it.

plus, i am watching cooking shows. how does that woman in "everyday italian" make such rich food and stay so tiny? it's weird.

my friend from virginia (who needs a better nickname here, but i can't think of one) came to visit this weekend. he's an appreciative audience for the small amount of cooking that i do while he's here, but i find i am not very good at coming up with ideas for things to make. "everyday italian" and "30 minute meals" have gone into the TiVO. it probably wouldn't hurt for me to build up my recipe collection, anyway.

he also looked at my foot, the only person to do so besides the doctor. the bruising was at its peak, and he proclaimed it to be "corpselike" in appearance. i felt vindicated. i really did get hurt! i wasn't faking. since no one really saw me when i was limping, it kind of felt as if the whole thing was invisible.

Posted by lisa at 10:07 PM

December 09, 2005

trosa tree!

maybe all tree lots are like this-- i don't remember ever buying a tree at a lot before.

i went to the TROSA tree lot at northgate tonight and bought a smallish tree that is just the right size for my living room.

once i selected my tree, a whirlwind of activity involving at least three different TROSA employees commenced. first, two women put my tree on sawhorses, whipped out a chainsaw and made a fresh cut on the trunk (so it'll drink water more readily). then they wrapped the tree in netting while i pulled my car around. they lined spacepod's hatch with paper, then three of them wrestled the tree into the car.

they all loved spacepod's jingle bell wreath.

:|:

so far, all i've put on the tree is lights. the lights are mostly what i like, anyway. maybe i'll just leave it at that.

Posted by lisa at 09:19 PM

December 08, 2005

good and bad things about working from home.

Yesterday, I worked from home all day.

Good Things:

1. Opportunity to discover that Loco Pops now has White Chocolate Peppermint. It's quite tasty and has little bits of peppermint stick in it. It was a little too sweet for my tastes, but most folks would not mind that, I think.

2. All cat, all the time.

3. Evening commute is much less stressful. Also, less time consuming.

4. Widescreen laptop is much nicer than display at work.

5. Better snacks.

Bad Things:

1. It's way too easy to get Loco Pops.

2. Interaction with other living beings limited to felines.

3. Realization that my normal evening commute is stressful and eats a lot of time in the evenings.

4. Desktop emulator is just slow enough to be exasperating.

5. Fewer opportunities to wear cool shoes.

Posted by lisa at 02:59 PM

December 06, 2005

House of Yum

The BPAL labbies timed my Yule shipment perfectly. It arrived yesterday, around 11am, a moment when I was wondering just how my week– and month– was going to go. Was I grounded? Would I be entertaining my weekend visitor with a bare cupboard? Oh, the uncertainty.

So here's what arrived: the single yummiest shipment of oils I have ever received in o these long months of BPAL collecting.

These are perfumes that have me sniffing at my wrists all day. So delicious! I could swear that Lick It! has a touch of chocolate, and I'm amazed to find myself loving Snow White. I'm not normally a florals sort of girl, but this is a very delicate white floral that's not at all cloying, and there's a decent dose of vanilla in the drydown as well.

I'm a little afraid of Beaver Moon-- the cream cheese tang is pretty strong. But I want to try it. Sugar Cookie is the only off note; in the bottle, I feel uncertain of it, but I'll work up the nerve to try it and we'll see.

I'm wearing Gingerbread Poppet right now. It's perfectly the smell of delicious things baking. How does she bottle that?

Posted by lisa at 11:54 PM

mystical healing powers

maybe i have slayer healing powers, or maybe i'm just especially good at sitting on my ass when necessary, because my foot is improving more dramatically than i really dared to hope. this is like, wildest fantasies improvement.

many thanks to b. who loaned me his bug so i could go to the doctor this morning. doc said i could give manual transmission a try in a couple of days.

since my doctor is where i work, i went into the office this morning, but found that i could not elevate my leg and work comfortably. i'm going to work from home tomorrow, and then i should be driving on thursday. i can bring my laptop to work if i still need to elevate my foot, and get a little more comfortable.

i walk almost normally on a level surface at slow speeds. normally enough that a co-worker who saw me ambling down the hall commented that my limp was not very pronounced. i should have offered to show him my foot. it's lovely now. the bruising is really going strong and my ankle bone isn't yet visible (normally, it's quite pronounced).

:|:

i've been watching a lot of chick flicks. the video equivalent of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. surprisingly good: spanglish and a lot like love. i tried to watch a very long engagement but somehow could not get past the opening sequence. subtitles and battlefields. no way. non-chick-flicks included Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I was surprised at how good Lemony Snicket actually is. I didn't remember it being that good.

:|:

i kinda had this momentum going. read plone docs. get some christmas presents together. make some things, buy some things. buy things to make things. that feels kind of shot now.

oh, and i had things i wanted to do with christmas lights. well, i might still do them. if i do then you'll see. if not then maybe next year.

i was all ready to buy a real christmas tree on sunday after i got my burger that i never got. i moved the furniture around and put the stand where i wanted it and got all the decorations down from the attic. i had a list of other things i wanted to get-- like bubble lights, i love bubble lights-- and i was going to do that on sunday too.

so it's good i am a fast healer, maybe i will still get to do all of that.

Posted by lisa at 08:00 PM

December 05, 2005

i'll live

being unable to drive is quickly becoming one of my least favorite things ever. i can imagine ways that this could be much worse-- no internet or other communications, for instance, or if i had no health coverage, or if i had no friends in town to help out.

nevertheless, it freaks me out to be sort of helpless. at one moment, i'm thinking that the universe is trying to teach me a lesson: you are helpless. then i remind myself that it was a series of choices i made that lead me to the many injuries, near death experiences, etc that have occurred this year. is my fate controlled by external forces, or by my own unconscious compulsions? is it a cop-out if i say i think the answer is "both"? and what are these unconscious compulsions that have lead me along this somewhat self-destructive path?

in other shocking news, i might seriously consider an automatic for my next daily driver, should one come my way. in fact, there's actually an auto TDI jetta in my price range on the carmax site right now, but the timing isn't right, i don't really want to buy a car right this second.

thanks to everyone who has offered help. bb is loaning me his bug, which is an automatic, tomorrow, so i can take myself to the doctor, which everyone seems to agree would be a good idea. and sarah is taking moses to the vet for his arthritis shot, since even with a car i can drive, i don't think i can wrangle him while he's in his carrier, it's too heavy.

the ankle looks and feels better today, which makes me hopeful that i'll be driving spacepod again before long. but we'll see what the doctor says.

oh, and this morning i dreamed that i was transferred suddenly to NYC. I think I was living in the van, but it was like a Tardis, much bigger and more luxurious inside that it appeared to be from the outside.

Posted by lisa at 12:07 PM

December 04, 2005

so much for being mobile again.

after lots of yardwork this morning, i was hungry, and decided to go to cookout for a burger. i need to learn to stop doing that.

i stopped off at a mailbox on my way, and on the way back to the car, i stepped into a hole disguised by leaves, twisted my ankle, and fell.

i seem to have severely fucked up my ankle. it's quite difficult to walk, and the swelling is... dramatic. my ankle looks like a baseball now.

i don't think i can drive.

i am so fucking tired of being sick, injured, and stranded at home. i have never had a year like this before. living alone fucking sucks in these kinds of situations.

i've never done anything like this to my ankle before. i'm not sure what i should do. getting to my doctor is going to be problematic so i'm not sure if it's worth it, although if it's broken then obviously i should go and it's not going to just be one doctor visit, but also a referral to an orthopedic place.

this just so fucking sucks. advice and offers of assistance appreciated.

Posted by lisa at 03:25 PM

free holly boughs

I pruned my hollies today and now have a very large pile of holly boughs.

These are nice for holiday decorating. I have more than I can reasonably use.

The leaves are larger than the traditional holly, and they have almost no thorns, which makes them easier to work with.

If you'd like some, please get in touch.

Posted by lisa at 02:08 PM

December 03, 2005

nap #2, aka great cover up rant.

i did have a second nap. it was interrupted by the ringing of my doorbell. i didn't answer. the phone rang as soon as the doorbell stopped ringing. i didn't answer the phone, either, but it was clear that the world wanted me to wake the hell up.

i was going to go to the great cover up, but only because some folks had suggested going together. i am not down with driving to raleigh by myself for a show. the folks wound up not being up for it, so i stayed home.

one of my friends commented that not knowing in advance what bands are being covered hurts attendance. i think they probably get plenty of people in there, but i do find it completely annoying. the reason i went the first time was because i knew that i was going to see gang of four and joy division.

grandma is old and never goes to see the rock anymore. yes, i would have been ecstatic to see a really good elvis costello & the attractions, and a good birthday party, but it would take a lot for me to drive all the way to raleigh and suffer through the disgusting air quality at kings on the chance of seeing something like that.

i also find the game-playing aspect of it annoying. i do not want to participate in your stupid "game" that is not fun. it's like in grade school when the teacher would give us a word find and tell us that it was fun. i did not think that word finds were fun. they were stressful and boring, just like a bad cover up night at kings, and yes, i have suffered through an all-bad cover up night at kings.

see, you don't want me there. it's really best i just stay home.

Posted by lisa at 08:50 AM

December 02, 2005

nap #1: very strange

i am home today. my primary goal is to nap. I will not allow myself to contemplate secondary goals.

during the last part of nap #1, i experienced an extended period of dreaming while being or trying to be awake. i was definitely in sleep paralysis, yet trying to move, a feeling that i hate. first i was trying to get my glasses from my bedside table, but i could not see. i tried many things to trick myself into seeing, none of which worked.

then there was a spider in the room. then it was a GIANT SPIDER and moses was holding me in front of him as protection from the GIANT SPIDER, which is not how it is supposed to work. the cat is supposed to protect me from all eight and six-legged things, giant or otherwise. living things with more than two pairs of legs are supposed to be his specialty. given that i was paralyzed with sleep, this was especially distressing.

then the most distressing thing of all happened– i heard a baby crying very close by, possibly in my room. i couldn't move to pin down the location of the child.

then i woke up, starvinghungry. i am going to q-shack now.

Posted by lisa at 11:56 AM

December 01, 2005

crabby crabberson

if i were wealthy to the point that i did not have to work, i wonder if i would be able to get all the sleep i ever wanted, and stay home and do what i pleased on days when i feel crabby? or would i just have a different set of obligations that would force me into the company of others on days when, really, no one should have to be around me?

i am, yes, crabby today.

the core issue is probably sleep. the alarm has been set an hour early all week, to catch rides to work, to get the cat to the vet, and this morning i was going to get out to the B100 pump and fill up, but my alarm went off for forty-five minutes before i achieved consciousness, so that did not actually happen.

an exacerbating circumstance is the replacement of my PC at work today. i did get a better PC, one that is faster, has more memory, and won't explode (the old one was yanked due to a recall), but much of my environment has to be restored by hand, by me, which takes time and causes aggravation. i am also oncall, but fortunately things are quiet today.

in the month of november, i was oncall 16 days out of 30, including the outage weekend. given that i am not and have never been a systems administrator, this is somewhat extraordinary. i went through two pagers this month: one i accidentally laundered, and one i left in the car while it was in the shop. both the data center and the people who provide us with pagers know me now, which is embarassing.

if i were not oncall this week, i'd be taking tomorrow off. this year i have half my vacation time allotment left to carry over to next year.

Posted by lisa at 01:07 PM